With regard to the rest of the head, its top, from the forehead to the

back part, was at Rhodes, and I suppose must now be at Malta, at least the

knights boast that the Turks had restored it to them. The back of the head

is at St John’s Church at Nemours, the brains at Nogent le Rotrou, a part

of the head is at St Jean Maximin, a jaw is at Besançon, a portion of a

jaw is at St John of the Lateran, and a part of the ear at St Flour in

Auvergne. All this does not prevent Salvatierra from possessing the

forehead and hair; at Noyon they have a lock of the hair, which is

considered to be very authentic, as well as that at Lucca, and many other

places.

Yet in order to complete this collection, we must go to the monastery of

St Sylvester at Rome, where the whole and real head of St John the Baptist

will be shown to us.

Poets tell us a legend about a king of Spain who had three heads; if our

manufacturers of relics could say the same of St John the Baptist, it

would greatly assist their lies; but as such a fable does not exist, how

are they to get out of this dilemma?(145)

I shall not press them too hard by inquiring how could this head be so

divided and distributed, or how have they procured it from Constantinople?

I shall merely observe, that either St John must have been a miracle, or

that those who possess so many parts of his head are a set of the most

audacious cheats.

What is more than this, they boast at Sienna of possessing an arm of that

saint, which is contrary, as we have already said, to the statements of

all the ancient historians; and yet this fraud is not only suffered, but

even approved of, for in the kingdom of Antichrist nothing is too bad

which can serve to keep people in a state of superstition.

Another fable has been invented respecting St John the Baptist. When his

body was burnt, they say that the finger with which he had pointed out our

Lord Jesus Christ had remained whole and uninjured by the fire. Now this

story may easily be refuted by the ancient historians, because Eusebius

and Theodoret distinctly state that the body had already become a skeleton

when the Pagans burnt it; and they certainly would not have omitted the

relation of such a miracle in their histories if there had been any

foundation for it, having been but too eager to narrate such events even

as are quite frivolous. But supposing that this miracle had really taken

place, let us seek where this finger is now to be found. There is one at

Besançon in the Church of St John the Great, a second at Toulouse, a third

at Lyons, a fourth at Florence, and a fifth at St Jean des Aventures, near

Maçon. Now I request my readers to examine this subject, and to judge for

themselves whether they can believe, that whilst St John’s finger, which,

according to their own tradition, is the only remainder of his body, is at

Florence, five other fingers can be found in sundry other places, or, in

short, that six are one, and one is six. I speak, however, only of those

that have come to my knowledge; but I make no doubt, if a careful inquiry

were made, that one might discover half a dozen more of St John’s fingers,

and many pieces of his head, besides those I have enumerated.(146)

There are many relics of another kind shown as having belonged to St John

the Baptist; as, for instance, one of his shoes is preserved in the Church

of the Carthusians at Paris. It was stolen about twelve years ago; but it

was very soon replaced by that sort of miracle never likely to cease so

long as there are shoemakers in the world.

At St John of the Lateran, at Rome, they boast of having his haircloth

mentioned in the Gospels. The Gospel speaks of his raiment of camel’s

hair, but they endeavour to convert it into a horse-hair garment.(147)

They have also at the same church the altar before which he prayed in the

desert, as if altars were in those days erected on every occasion and in

every place. I wonder, indeed, that they have not ascribed to him the

saying of the mass.

At Avignon they show the sword with which he was beheaded, and at

Aix-la-Chapelle the sheet which was spread under him at that time. Is it

not absurd to suppose that the executioner would spread a sheet under one

whom he was about to kill?

But admitting that this should be the case, how have they obtained these

two objects? Is it likely that the man who put him to death, whether a

soldier or executioner, should have given away his sword and the sheet we

have mentioned, in order to be converted into relics?

ST PETER AND ST PAUL.

It is now time to speak of the apostles, and I shall begin with St Peter

and St Paul. Their bodies are at Rome; one part of them in the church of

St Peter, and the other in that of St Paul. We are told that St Sylvester

weighed their bodies in order to divide them into equal parts. Both their

heads are preserved also at Rome in St John of the Lateran. Besides the

two bodies we have just mentioned, many of their bones are to be found

elsewhere, as at Poitiers they have St Peter’s jaw and beard. At Treves

there are several bones of the two apostles. At Argenton in Berri they

have St Paul’s shoulder, and in almost every church dedicated to these

apostles there will be found some of their relics. At the commencement of

this treatise I mentioned that St Peter’s brains, which were shown in this

town (Geneva), were found on examination to be a piece of pumice stone,

and I have no doubt that many of the bones considered to belong to these

two apostles would turn out to be the bones of some animal.

At Salvatierra they have St Peter’s slipper. I do not know what shape it

is, or of what material it is made; but I conclude it to be similar to the

slippers of the same apostle shown at Poitiers, and which are made of

satin embroidered with gold. It would seem as if they had made him thus

smart after his death as a compensation for the poverty which he suffered

during his lifetime. Their bishops look now so showy in their pontificals,

that no doubt it would be thought derogatory to the apostles’ dignity if

they were not dressed out in the same style. They take, therefore, figures

which they gild and ornament all over, and name them as St Peter or St

Paul, forgetting that it is well known what was the condition of these

apostles whilst in this life, and that they wore the raiments of the poor.

They show also at Rome St Peter’s episcopal chair and his chasuble, as if

the bishops of that age had thrones to sit upon. The bishops then were

engaged in teaching, consoling, and exhorting their flocks both in public

and private, setting them an example of true humility, but not teaching

them to set up idols, as is done by those of our day. With regard to his

chasuble, I must say that it was not then the custom to put on disguises,

for farces were not at that time performed in the churches as they are

now. Thus, to prove that St Peter had a chasuble, it is necessary to show

in the first place that he had played the mountebank, as the priests do

now whenever they intend to serve God.

It is, however, no wonder that they have given him a chasuble since they

have assigned an altar to him, there being no more truthful foundation for

the one than for the other. It is well known what kind of mass was said at

that time. The apostles simply celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and this

requires no altar; but as to the celebration of the mass, it was then not

heard of, nor was it practised for a long time afterwards.(148) It is,

therefore, evident that those who invented all these relics never expected

contradiction, or they would not have devised such audacious falsehoods.

The authenticity of St Peter’s altar at Rome (which I have just mentioned)

is denied by Pisa, that town pretending to possess the real one. The least

objectionable of St Peter’s relics is undoubtedly his staff, it being most

probable that he had made use of one during his travels, but unfortunately

there are two of them at Cologne and Treves, each town claiming exclusive

possession of the identical one.(149)

THE OTHER APOSTLES.

We shall speak of the rest of the apostles together, in order to get

quicker over the matter, and we will relate, in the first place, where

their whole bodies are to be found, that our readers, by comparison, may

be able to form their own opinions on the subject. All know that the town

of Toulouse boasts of possessing the bodies of six, namely, St James the

Major (brother of St John), St Andrew, St James the Minor, St Philip, St

Simeon, and St Jude. At Padua they have the body of St Matthias, at

Salerno that of St Matthew, at Orconna that of St Thomas, in the kingdom

of Naples that of St Bartholomew.

Now, let us reckon up those apostles who possess two or three bodies. St

Andrew has a duplicate at Amalfi, St Philip and St James the Minor both

have duplicates at Rome, _ad sanctos Apostolos_, St Simeon and St Jude the

same in St Peter’s Church. St Bartholomew enjoys an equal privilege at

Rome, in the church bearing his name. Here we have enumerated six of them,

each provided with two bodies, and St Bartholomew has an additional skin

into the bargain, which is shown at Pisa.(150) St Matthew, however,

outrivals them all, for besides the body at Padua, which we have before

mentioned, he has another at Rome in the church of St Maria Maggiore, a

third at Treves, and an additional arm at Rome.(151)

It is true that the bits and scraps of St Andrew’s body, scattered in

various places, counterbalance, in some measure, the superiority of St

Matthias; for he has at Rome, in St Peter’s Church, a head, and a shoulder

in that of St Chrysostom, an arm at St Esprit, a rib at St Eustache, I do

not know how many bones at St Blaise, and a foot at Aix in Provence.

Now, as St Bartholomew has left his skin at Pisa, so he has left there a

hand; at Treves he has also some bones, of which I forget the number; at

Frejus a finger, and at Rome there are other of his bones; so that, after

all, he is not the poorest of the apostles, others not having such a

number of relics. St Matthew and St Thomas are the poorest of all. The

first has only, besides his body at Salerno, which we have mentioned, some

bones at Treves, an arm in the church of St Maria at Rome, and in that of

St Nicolas his head; though it may be that other of his relics may have

escaped my knowledge, which would be no wonder, for who is not confused

with this ocean of impostures?(152)

As they pretend, in their tales, that the body of St John the Evangelist

disappeared immediately after it was deposited in the grave, so they

cannot produce any of his bones, and they therefore sought for a

compensation amongst his clothing, &c. Thus they show at Bologna the cup

from which he was forced to drink poison by order of the Emperor Domitian.

Probably owing to some wonderful process of alchemy, the same cup exists

also in the church of St John of the Lateran at Rome.

They have also his coat, and the chain with which he was bound when

brought from Ephesus to Rome, as well as the oratory at which he used to

pray when in prison.(153)

ST ANNA.

We must now hurry on, or we shall never quit this labyrinth. We will,

therefore, only briefly mention the relics of those saints who were our

Lord’s contemporaries, and then proceed to those of the martyrs, &c.,

leaving our readers to form their own conclusions from these brief

sketches.

St Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin, has a whole body at Apt in

Provence, and another at Notre Dame de l’Isle at Lyons. She has a head at

Treves also, a second at Duren near Cologne, and a third at a town called

after her name in Thuringhia. I shall not speak of her other relics shown

in more than a hundred different places. I remember that I myself kissed

one of her relics, kept at the abbey of Orcamps near Noyon, on the

occasion of a grand festival held in its honour.

LAZARUS, MARY MAGDALENE, ETC.

Lazarus has, to my knowledge, three bodies, at Marseilles, Autun, and

Avalon. A protracted lawsuit took place between the two last-named towns

concerning the validity of their respective claims to the possession of

the real body of this saint. Yet after an immense expense, both parties

may be said to have gained their suit, for neither forfeited its title to

ownership. With regard to Mary Magdalene, she owns but two bodies, one at

Auxerre, and another of very great celebrity, with its head detached, at

St Maximin, in Provence.

Of their numerous relics scattered over the world I shall not speak. I

would merely inquire whether Lazarus and his sisters ever went to preach

in France; for those who have read the accounts given by ancient

historians of those times cannot fail to be convinced of the folly of this

fable.(154)

ST LONGINUS, AND THE THREE WISE MEN, OR KINGS.

The individual who pierced the side of our Lord on the cross has been

canonised under the name of St Longinus, and after having thus baptized

him, they have bestowed upon him two bodies, one of which is at Mantua,

and the other at Notre Dame de l’Isle at Lyons.(155)

The same has been done with the wise men who came to worship our Lord at

the nativity. In the first place they settled their number, telling us

that there were three. Now the Gospel does not mention how many were

present, and some eminent ecclesiastical writers have maintained their

number to have been fourteen, as mentioned for instance in that imperfect

commentary on St Matthew which is ascribed to Chrysostom.

Moreover, the _Gospel_ calls them _wise men_, but they have elevated them

to the dignity of kings, without bestowing on them, however, either

kingdoms or subjects. Finally, they have been baptized under the names of

Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar. Now, supposing we concede to them these

fables, frivolous as they are, it is certain that the wise men returned to

the east, for the Gospel informs us of this, and we may conclude that they

died in their native land, there being no reason for thinking otherwise.

Now, who transferred their bodies to the west, for the purpose of

preserving them as relics? It would be quite ridiculous, however, for me

to attempt seriously to refute such a palpable imposture. Let Cologne and

Milan, both of which towns pretend to possess relics of these _wise men_,

or _kings_, decide this question between themselves.(156)

ST DIONYSIUS.

St Dionysius is considered to be one of the most celebrated of ancient

martyrs, as a disciple of the apostles, and as the Evangelist of France.

Occupying such high rank, it is therefore very natural that his relics

should be so liberally dispersed; his whole bodies are, however, only

preserved at the Abbey of St Dénis in France, and at Ratisbon in Germany.

About a century ago Ratisbon instituted a lawsuit at Rome to prove that

the body in its possession was truly that of the saint, and the justice of

the claim was established by a decision of the Papal Court, delivered in

the presence of the French Ambassador. And yet, any one so bold as to dare

to assert at St Dénis that theirs was not the real body would run the risk

of being stoned for blasphemy; whilst those who oppose the claim of

Ratisbon are considered as heretics, rebellious to the decision of the

Holy See.(157)

ST STEPHEN.

The whole body of St Stephen is at Rome, his head is at Arles, and his

bones are in more than three hundred places; and the Papists, as if to

show themselves to be the partisans of those who murdered him, have

canonized the stones with which he was killed.

It may be asked how these stones were obtained, but to my mind this would

be a foolish question, as stones may be picked up anywhere, without

incurring any trouble or expense in their transport. These stones are

shown at Florence, at the convent of the Augustine monks at Arles, and at

Vigan in Languedoc, &c.

Whoever will close his eyes and allow his understanding to be set aside,

may believe that these are the identical stones with which St Stephen

suffered martyrdom, but whoever will exert his reason a little cannot but

laugh at this imposition. The Carmelite monks of Poitiers discovered some

of these stones only fourteen years ago, to which they ascribed the virtue

of assisting women in the pains of travail; but the Dominican monks, from

whom a rib of St Margarita which possessed the same virtue had been

stolen, were very indignant, and raised a great outcry at the deception

practised by the Carmelites, but the latter gained the body by firmly

maintaining their rights.

THE HOLY INNOCENTS.

It was not at first my intention to mention the Holy Innocents, for if I

were to enumerate a whole army of their relics, it might always be said to

me in reply that history is not contradicted by that, as their number has

never been mentioned to us. I shall not dwell, therefore, upon their

multitude, merely observing that they are to be found in every part of the

world. I would ask, however, how it came to pass that their graves were

discovered so long after their massacre, since they were not considered as

saints when their murder by Herod took place? And then, how were these

numerous bodies conveyed to the many places where they are now to be seen?

To these questions but one answer can be given—“All this occurred five or

six hundred years after their death.” How can any but idiots believe such

things?

But supposing even that some of their bodies had really been discovered,

how came so large a number of them to be transported to France, Italy, and

Germany, and to be distributed amongst so many towns situated so far

apart? This can only be a _wholesale_ deception.

ST GERVASIUS AND ST PROTASIUS.

The sepulchres of these two saints were discovered at Milan in the time of

St Ambrose, as testified by him. This fact is confirmed also by the

evidence of St Jerome, St Augustine, and several others; consequently

Milan maintains its possession of the real bodies of these saints.

Nevertheless, they are likewise to be seen at Brissach in Germany, and in

the Church of St Peter at Besançon, besides an immense number of different

parts of their bodies scattered throughout the land, so that each of them

must have had at least four bodies.

ST SEBASTIAN.

This saint, from the wonderful power his remains possessed of curing the

plague, was put into requisition and more sought after than many of his

brother saints, and no doubt this popularity was the cause of his body

being quadrupled. One body is in the church of St Lawrence at Rome; a

second is at Soissons; the third at Piligny, near Nantes, and the fourth

at his birth-place, near Narbonne. Besides these, he has two heads at St

Peter’s at Rome, and at the Dominican church at Toulouse. The heads are,

however, empty, if we are to believe the Franciscan monks of Angers, as

they pretend to possess the saint’s brains. The Dominicans of Angers

possess one of his arms, another is at St Sternin, at Toulouse, a third at

Case Dieu in Auvergne, and a fourth at Montbrisson. We will pass over the

small fragments of his body, which may be seen in so many churches. They

did not rest satisfied with this multiplication of his body and separate

limbs, but they converted into relics the arrows with which he was killed.

One of these is shown at Lambesc in Provence, another is in the Augustine

convent at Poitiers, and there are many others in different towns.

ST ANTHONY.

A similar reason has bestowed on St Anthony the advantage of

multiplication of his remains, he being considered as an irrascible saint,

burning up all those who incur his displeasure; and this belief caused him

to be dreaded and reverenced. Fear creating devotion, and producing also a

universal desire to possess his relics, on account of the profits and

advantages to be derived therefrom, Arles therefore had a long and severe

contest with Vienne (in France) respecting the validity of the bodies of

this saint possessed by each of these towns.

The issue was the same as in other similar disputes, _i.e._, matters

remained in the same state of confusion as before; for if the truth had

been established, both parties would have lost their cause.

Besides these two bodies, St Anthony has a knee in the Church of the

Augustines at Albi, and several other limbs at Bourg, Maçon, Ouroux,

Chalons, Besançon, &c.

Such are the advantages of being an object of dread and fear, otherwise

this saint might possibly have been permitted to remain quietly in his

grave.(158)

ST PETRONILLA—ST HELENA—ST URSULA—AND THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS.

I must not forget to mention St Petronilla, St Peter’s daughter, who has a

whole body at Rome, in the church dedicated to her father, besides other

relics in that of St Barbara. This does not, however, prevent her from

owning another body in the Dominican convent at Mans, which is greatly

venerated for the virtue it possesses of curing fevers. St Helena has not

been so liberally provided for. Besides her body at Venice, she has but an

extra head in the Church of St Gereon at Cologne.(159) St Ursula beats her

hollow in this respect; for she has a whole body at St Jean d’Angely, and

a head into the bargain at Cologne, besides three separate limbs, and

various fragments at Mans, Tours, and Bergerat. The companions of this

saint are called _the eleven thousand virgins_, and although this is a

respectable number, yet it is still too small, considering that the

remains of these virgins are to be seen everywhere; for besides there

being about one hundred cart-loads of their bones at Cologne, there is

hardly a town where one or more churches have not some relics of these

numerous saints.(160)

If I was to enumerate all the minor saints I should enter a labyrinth

without possibility of egress. I shall, therefore, rest satisfied with

giving a few examples, leaving my readers to judge from these of the rest.

For instance, there are two churches at Poitiers, one attached to the

convent of Selle, and the other dedicated to the saint in question,

between which a great dispute has been going on as to the possession of

the real body of St Hilarion.

The lawsuit upon this point has been suspended for an indefinite time, and

meanwhile the idolaters worship two bodies of one and the same individual.

St Honoratus has a body at Arles, and another at the island of Lerins,

near Antibes.

St Giles has a body at Toulouse, and a second in a town bearing his name

in Languedoc.

I could quote an infinite number of similar cases. I think that the

exhibitors of these relics should at least have made some arrangement

amongst themselves the better to conceal their barefaced impostures.

Something of this sort was managed between the canons of Trêves and those

of Liége about St Lambert’s head. They compounded, for a sum of money, not

to show publicly the head in their possession, in order to avoid the

natural surprise of the public at the same relic being seen in two

different towns situated so near to each other. But, as I have already

remarked at the commencement of this treatise, the inventors of these

frauds never imagined any one could be found bold enough to speak out and

expose their deceptions.

It may be asked, how it came to pass that these manufacturers of relics,

having collected and forged without any reason all that their imaginations

could fancy in any way, could have omitted subjects pertaining to the Old

Testament?

The only reply I can give to this query is, that they looked with contempt

on those subjects, from which they did not anticipate any considerable

gain.

Still they have not entirely despised them, for they pretend to have the

bones of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the church of _St Maria supra

Minervam_, at Rome. They also boast of possessing, at St John of the

Lateran, the ark of alliance, with Aaron’s rod, though the same rod is

also at the Holy Chapel in Paris, whilst some pieces of it are preserved

at Salvatierra. Moreover, at Bordeaux they maintain that St Martial’s rod,

which is exhibited in the church of St Severin, is no other than that of

Aaron. It seems, indeed, that they would wish with this rod to perform

another miracle; formerly it was turned into a serpent, whereas now they

would convert it into three different rods! It is very likely that they

may have other relics of objects mentioned in the Old Testament, but the

few we have here alluded to show that they have treated them much in the

same style as those belonging to Christian times.

I now beg to remind my readers of what I mentioned at the beginning of

this work, that I have had no commissioners for visiting the numerous

churches of the different countries enumerated by me, nor must my

description be taken for a register or inventory of all that can be

discovered respecting relics. I have mentioned about half-a-dozen towns in

Germany, but three in Spain I think, about fifteen in Italy, and between

thirty and forty in France, and even of these few examples I have not

related all that I might concerning them. Now, let us only imagine what a

mass might be raised out of all the relics which are to be seen in

Christendom, if they were collected and arranged together in proper order.

I speak, however, only of those countries which we know and frequent; for

it is most important to observe that all the relics belonging to Christ

and the apostles which are displayed in the west are also to be seen in

Greece, Asia, and all other countries where Christian Churches are in

existence. Now, what are we to say when the Eastern Christians assert

their claims?

If we contradict them, alleging on our part that the body of such a saint

was brought to Europe by merchants, that of another by monks, that of a

third by a bishop, that a part of the crown of thorns was sent to a king

of France by an emperor of Constantinople, and another part was carried

off in time of war, and so on of every object of the kind, they would

shake their heads, and laugh at us! How are such differences to be

settled? In every doubtful case we can only judge by conjecture, and, in

following this out, the adherents of the Eastern Churches are sure of

success, because their claims are more probable than those of their

opponents. It is indeed a difficult point for the defenders of relics to

settle.

Finally, I beseech and exhort, in the name of God, all my readers to

listen to the truth now clearly displayed before them, and to believe

that, by God’s especial providence, those who have endeavoured thus to

lead mankind astray have been rendered so blind and careless as to neglect

a proper concealment of their deceptions, but that, like Midianites having

their eyes put out, they run one against another, for we all know that

they quarrel amongst themselves, and mutually injure each other. Whoever

is not wilfully prejudiced against all reason must certainly be convinced

that the worship of relics, whether true or false, is an abominable

idolatry; yet should not this even be the case with him, he must

nevertheless perceive the evident imposture, and whatever may have been

his former devotion to relics, he must lose all courage in kissing such

objects, and become entirely disgusted with them.

I repeat what I said at the commencement of this treatise, that it would

be most important to abolish from amongst us Christians this pagan

superstition of canonising relics, either of Christ or of his saints, in

order to make idols of them; for this is a defilement and an impurity

which should never be suffered in the Church. We have already proved that

it is so by arguments, and also from the evidence of Scripture. Let those

who are not yet satisfied look to the practices of the ancient fathers,

and conform to their examples. There are many holy patriarchs, many

prophets, many holy kings, and other saints mentioned in the Old

Testament. God ordained at that time the observance of more ceremonies

than are needed now. Even funerals were performed then with more display

than at present, in order to represent symbolically the glorious

resurrection, especially as it had not then been so clearly revealed by

the Word of God as it is to ourselves.

Do we ever read in that book that these saints were taken from their

sepulchres as idols? Was Abraham, the father of the faithful, ever thus

raised? Was Sarah ever removed from her grave? Were they not left in

peace, with the remains of all other saints? But what is more conclusive,

was not the body of Moses concealed by God’s will, in such a manner that

it never has been or can be discovered? Has not the devil contended

concerning it with the angels, as St Jude says? Now, what was our Lord’s

reason for removing that body from the sight of men, and why should the

devil desire to have it exhibited to them? It is generally admitted that

God wished to put away from his people of Israel all temptation to commit

idolatry, and that Satan desired its introduction amongst them.

It may be said, however, that the Israelites were inclined to

superstition. I ask, how stands the case now with ourselves? Is there not,

without comparison, more perversity in this respect amongst Christians

than there ever was amongst the Jews of old?

Let us call to mind the practice of the early church. It is true that the

first Christians were always anxious to get possession of the bodies of

the martyrs, lest they might be devoured by beasts or birds of prey, and

decently to bury them, as we read was the case with the bodies of St John

the Baptist and St Stephen. This solicitude was shown, however, in order

to inter them in their graves, and there to leave them until the day of

the resurrection; but they did not expose these remains to the sight of

men for their adoration.

The unfortunate custom of canonising saints was not introduced into the

Church until it had become perverted and profaned, partly by the folly and

cupidity of its prelates and pastors, and partly because they were unable

to restrain this innovation, as people were seeking to deceive themselves

by giving their hearts to puerile follies, instead of to the true worship

of God. If we wish, in a direct manner, to correct this abuse, it is

necessary to abolish entirely what has been so badly commenced and

established against all reason. But if it is impossible to arrive at once

at such a clear comprehension of this abuse, let people at least have

their eyes opened to discern what the relics are which are presented for

their adoration.

This is indeed no difficulty for those who will only exercise their

reason, for amongst the numerous evident impostures we have here

mentioned, where may we find one real relic of which we may feel certain

that it is such as is represented?

Moreover, all those that I have enumerated are nothing comparatively to

the remainder yet untold by me. Even whilst this treatise is in the press,

I have been informed of many relics not mentioned in it; and if a general

visitation of all existing relics were possible, a hundredfold more

discoveries would be made.

I remember when I was a little boy what took place in our parish. On the

festival day of St Stephen, the images of the tyrants who stoned him (for

they are thus called by the common people) were adorned as much as that of

the saint himself. Many women, seeing these tyrants thus decked out,

mistook them for the saint’s companions, and offered the homage of candles

to each of them. Mistakes of this kind must frequently happen to the

worshippers of relics, for there is such confusion amongst them that it is

quite impossible to worship the bones of a martyr without danger of

rendering such honours by mistake to the bones of some brigand or thief,

or even to those of a horse, a dog, or a donkey.

And it is equally impossible to adore the ring, the comb, the girdle of

the Virgin Mary, without the risk of adoring instead objects which may

have belonged to some abandoned person.

Now, those who fall into this error must do so willingly, as no one can

from henceforth plead ignorance on the subject as their excuse.(161)

POSTSCRIPT.

The following extract from the _Ecclesiastical Gazette_ of Vienna has been

reproduced in an Extraordinary Supplement of the _Allgemeine Zeitung_, of

Augsburg, for the 11th May 1854. I subjoin a translation of it in a

postscript, as an additional evidence of the persecution to which the

Greek Church united with Rome has been subjected in Russia, and which I

mentioned on page 161 of this work:—

“Spies appointed for this especial purpose transmitted, in their

reports to the Government, lists of such individuals as were

suspected to be Catholics at heart; and if all the exaggerated

accounts which had been made of the Spanish Inquisition were true,

they would be thrown into the shade by the proceedings that were

adopted against the above-mentioned individuals. And indeed it is

an averred fact, that many of them fell a victim to starvation,

blows, and other cruel treatment. The Catholic inhabitants of

Worodzkow were forced with stripes, by the Governor and his

satellites, to sign a _voluntary_ petition, expressing their

ardent wish to be received into the pale of the orthodox Russian

Church. The names of those who could not write were signed by

others, and whoever showed the slightest manifestation of his

desire to remain a Catholic, after having performed this

_voluntary_ act, was treated as one guilty of high treason. The

same proceedings as at Worodzkow were adopted in a hundred other

places, whose _voluntary_ petitions were obtained with bloody

stripes of the knout. The unfortunate petitioners were, in order

to perform this operation, dragged from their homes, sometimes to

a distance of 18 or 20 versts (1-½ verst to an English mile), and

those who steadfastly refused to sign were treated by the Russian

papas with the utmost cruelty and indignity. They were put into

irons, barred up in cold prisons without any fire, starved, thrown

into large tubs filled with an icy and stinking water, and most

mercilessly beaten, so that many, in order to escape from such

torments, signed the _voluntary_ petition, with hearts as bleeding

as their bodies. Many succumbed under these fearful persecutions,

which were not much inferior to that which the Christians had

suffered under the reign of Diocletian. The Papa Stratanovich

extorted the signatures made by the feverishly agitated hands of

the clerical victims, whilst his lay associate, Waimainich

Zokalinski, performed the same charitable office to other

unfortunate individuals. Some of these miserable persons were

reduced by starvation and every kind of ill-treatment to such a

condition, that they were almost unconscious of what they did in

signing the _voluntary_ petitions for the reception into the pale

of the Russian Church, all of which were obtained by more or less

similar means.

“It appears from a great mass of documentary evidence, containing

the names of localities and persons, that the proselytism of 1841

was carried out in the following manner:—Military authorities, and

Russian papas or priests, visited Catholic villages, and having

called together the Catholic peasantry and landowners of the

neighbourhood, declared that they must join the Russian Church,

throwing into prison those who resisted the summons. In the most

part of cases, a petition for this object was signed by some hired

wretches in the name of all the community, of whom many often knew

nothing about this business, but when they behaved as Catholics,

they were punished, as guilty of high treason.”

The _Allgemeine Zeitung_ states, in giving this extract from the

_Ecclesiastical Gazette_ of Vienna, that this periodical contains many

well-authenticated cases of religious persecution against the Roman

Catholics of Russia; and I have little doubt that if the Protestants of

Western Europe had taken as much pains to ascertain and denounce the

persecution of their brethren in the Baltic provinces of Russia, which I

have mentioned on p. 162, as is done, be it said to their great honour, by

the Roman Catholics, they would find many acts of persecution directed

against the above-mentioned Protestants, as flagrant as those which have

just been described.

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FOOTNOTES

1 An English translation of this Treatise was published under the

following title:—“A very profitable Treatise, declarynge what great

profit might come to all Christendom yf there were a regester made

of all the saincts’ bodies and other reliques which are as well in

Italy as in France, Dutchland, Spaine, and other kingdoms and

conntreys. Translated out of the French into English by J. Wythers,

London, 1561.” 16mo. I have made my translation from the French

original, reprinted at Paris in 1822.

2 It is well known that more than half a million of pilgrims went to

worship the holy coat of Treves in 1844, and that many wonderful

stories about the cures effected by that relic were related. Several

of these stories are not altogether without foundation, because

there are many cases where imagination affects the human body in

such a powerful manner as to cause or cure various diseases. It was

therefore to be expected that individuals suffering from such

diseases should be at least temporarily relieved from their ailings

by a strong belief in the miraculous powers of the relic. Cases of

this kind are always noticed, whilst all those of ineffectual

pilgrimage are never mentioned.

3 A translation of this letter was published in the _Allgemeine

Zeitung_ of Augsburg.

4 Thus St Anthony of Padua restores, like Mercury, stolen property; St

Hubert, like Diana, is the patron of sportsmen; St Cosmas, like

Esculapius, that of physicians, &c. In fact, almost every profession

and trade, as well as every place, have their especial patron saint,

who, like the tutelary divinity of the Pagans, receives particular

honours from his or her _protégés_.

5 In his Treatise given below.

6 “Quod legentibus Scriptum, hoc et idiotis, præstat pictura, quia in

ipsa ignorantes vident quid sequi debeant, in ipsas legunt qui

litteras nesciunt,” says St Gregory.—_Maury, Essai sur les

Legendes_, &c., p. 104.

7 “Quoniam talis memoria quæ imaginibus fovetur, non venit es cordis

amore, sed ex visionis necessitate.”—_Opus illustrissimi Caroli

magni contra Synodum pro adorandis imaginibus_, p. 480, (in

18—1549),—a work of which I shall have an opportunity more amply to

speak.

8 See his chapter on the “Ill Effects of Solitude on the

Imagination”—English translation.

9 Ibid.

10 “Fleury Histoire Eccles.,” lib. xxi. chap. 15.

11 The author of this sketch says himself, in a note, “Yet this

idolatry is far from having entirely disappeared. Pilgrimages, and a

devotion to certain images, but particularly to that of the Virgin,

are still continuing,” &c. This was said in 1843. I wonder what he

will say now, when this idolatry is reappearing, even in those parts

of Europe where the Calvinists had, according to his expression,

struck at its very root.

12 “Essai sur les Legendes Pieuses du Moyen Age,” par Alfred Maury, pp.

111, _et seq._

13 “Chateaubriand Etudes Historiques,” vol. ii. p. 101.

14 “Histoire de la Destruction du Paganisme dans l’Empire d’Orient,”

par M. Chastel, Paris, 1850, p. 342 _et seq._

15 “Histoire de la Destruction du Paganisme en Occident,” par A.

Beugnot, Member of the French Institute, Paris, 1835, 8vo, 2 vols.

_ 16 Translator’s Note._—Was not the introduction of pagan rites into

the church the indirect way to idolatry alluded to in the text?

_ 17 Author’s Note._—The festivals of the martyrs was a very large

concession made to the old manners, because all that took place

daring those days was not very edifying.

_ 18 Translator’s Note._—I shall give in its proper place a more ample

account of Vigilantius.

_ 19 Author’s Note._—These compromises were temporary, and the church

revoked them as soon as she believed that she could do it without

inconvenience. She struggled hard against the calends of January,

after having for a considerable time suffered these festivities; and

when she saw that she could not succeed in abolishing them, she

decided to transport the beginning of the year from the first of

January to Easter, in order to break the Pagan customs.

_ 20 Author’s Note._—“The Saturnalia, and several other festivals, were

celebrated on the calends of January; Christmas was fixed at the

same epoch. The Lupercalia, a pretended festival of purification,

took place during the calends of February; the Christian

purification (Candlemas) was celebrated on the 2d of February. The

festival of Augustus, celebrated on the calends of August, was

replaced by that of St Peter _in vinculis_, established on the 1st

of that month. The inhabitants of the country, ever anxious about

the safety of their crops, obstinately retained the celebration of

the _Ambarvalia_; St Mamert established in the middle of the fifth

century the _Rogations_, which in their form differ very little from

the _Ambarvalia_. On comparing the Christian calendar with the Pagan

one, it is impossible not to be struck by the great concordance

between the two. Now, can we consider this concordance as the effect

of chance? It is principally in the usages peculiar only to some

churches that we may trace the spirit of concessions with which

Christianity was animated during the first centuries of its

establishment. Thus, at Catania, where the Pagans were celebrating

the festival of Ceres after harvest, the church of that place

consented to delay to that time the festival of the Visitation,

which is celebrated everywhere else on the 2d July.”—_F. Aprile

Cronologia Universale di Sicilia_, p. 601. I would recommend to

those who wish to study this subject the work of _Marangoni_, a very

interesting work, though its author (whose object was to convince

the Protestants who attacked the discipline of the Roman Catholic

Church on account of these concessions) tried to break the evident

connection which exists between certain Christian and Pagan

festivals.

_ 21 Author’s Note._—“There are at Rome even now several churches which

had formerly been pagan temples, and thirty-nine of them have been

built on the foundations of such temples.”—_Marangoni_, pp. 236-268.

There is no country in Europe where similar examples are not found.

It is necessary to remark, that all these transformations began at

the end of the fifth century.

_ 22 Author’s Note._—At Rome four churches have pagan names, viz:—_S.

Maria Sopra Minerva_, _S. Maria Aventina_, _St Lorenzo in Matuta_,

and _St Stefano del Cacco_. At Sienna, the temple of Quirinus became

the church of _St Quiricus_.

_ 23 Translator’s Note._—And still more to their corruption.

_ 24 Translator’s Note._—Christ has said, “Come unto me, all ye that

labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke

upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye

shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden

is light.”—Matt. xi. 28-30. I would ask the learned author, whether

these words of our Saviour are not sufficiently mild, tender, and

consoling, and whether there was any necessity to _consecrate_ some

new ideas in order to temper their severity?

_ 25 Author’s Note._—Amongst a multitude of proofs I shall choose only

one, in order to show with what facility the worship of Mary swept

away in its progress the remnants of Paganism which were still

covering Europe:—Notwithstanding the preaching of St Hilarion,

Sicily had remained faithful to the ancient worship. After the

council of Ephesus, we see eight of the finest Pagan temples of that

island becoming in a very short time churches dedicated to the

Virgin. These temples were, 1. of Minerva, at Syracuse; 2. of Venus

and Saturn, at Messina; 3. of Venus Erigone, on the Mount Eryx,

believed to have been built by Eneas; 4. of Phalaris, at Agrigent;

5. of Vulcan, near Mount Etna; 6. the Pantheon, at Catania; 7. of

Ceres, in the same town; 8. the Sepulchre of Stesichorus.—V. _Aprile

Cronologia Universale di Sicilia_. Similar facts may be found in the

ecclesiastical annals of every country.

_ 26 Translator’s Note._—The time when the church is to accomplish this

purification has, alas! not yet arrived.

27 Beugnot, vol. ii., book xii., chap. 1, pp. 261-272.

28 The opinions of different writers on the number of Christians in the

Roman empire at the time of Constantine’s conversion greatly varies.

The valuation of Staudlin (“Universal Geshichte der Christlichen

Kirche,” p. 41, 1833) at half of its population, and even that of

Matter (“Histoire de l’Eglise,” t. i. p. 120), who reduces it to the

fifth, are generally considered as exaggerated. Gibbon thinks that

it was the twentieth part of the above-mentioned population; and the

learned French academician. La Bastie (“Memoires de l’Academie des

Inscripter,” &c.) believes that it was the twelfth. This last

valuation is approved by Chastel (“Histoire de la Destruction du

Paganisme en Orient,” 1850, p. 36) as an average number, though it

was much larger in the East than in the West. The celebrated passage

of Tertullian’s “Apology,” in the second century, where he

represents the number of Christians in the Roman empire to be so

great, that it would have become a desert if they had retired from

it, is considered by Beugnot (vol. ii. p. 188) as the most

exaggerated hyperbole which has ever been used by an orator.

_ 29 Translator’s Note._—Expression of St Jerome, Op. iv. p. 266. It

would be curious to know what this father of the church would have

said of the present Rome.

30 Beugnot, vol. i., p. 86.

31 “Ludorum celebrationes, deoram festa sunt.”—Lactantius,

_Institutiones Divin._, vi., 20, _apud_ Beugnot.

32 “Adite aras publicas adque delubra, et consuetudinis vestræ

celebrate solemnia: nec enim prohibemus preteritæ usurpationis

officia libera luce tractari.”

33 The _labarum_ was a cross, with the monogram of Christ.

34 The Græco-Russian church has, however, given him a place in her

calendar on the 21st May, but only in common with his mother Helena.

This was done only a considerable time after his death.

35 Beugnot, upon the authority of Ausonius, vol. i., p. 321.

36 Thus Symmachus, one of the leaders of the old aristocracy of Rome,

celebrated for his learning, virtues, and staunch adherence to the

national polytheism, was invested by Theodosius with the dignity of

a consul of Rome; the well known Greek orator, Libanius, was created

prefect of the imperial palace; and Themistius, who had been

invested with the highest honours under the preceding reigns, was

created by Theodosius prefect of Constantinople, received in the

senate, and entrusted for some time with the education of Arcadius.

These distinguished polytheists never made a secret of their

religious opinions, but publicly declared them on several occasions.

Many of Theodosius’ generals were avowed Pagans, but enjoyed no less

his confidence and favour.

37 Fallmerayer, “Geschichte der Morea,” vol. i., p. 136.

_ 38 Vide supra_, pp. 30-32.

39 I think that it will not be uninteresting to my readers to know how

the Roman Catholic Church explains this prohibition, and which may

be best seen from the following piece of ingenious casuistry, by one

of her ablest defenders in this country:—“Canon xxxvi. of the

Provincial Council held in 305, at Eliberis, in Spain, immediately

refutes the error of Bingham. (Bingham maintained the same opinion

on the images which is expressed in the text.) The pastors of the

Spanish church beheld the grievous persecution that Diocletian had

commenced to wage against the Christian faith, which had for a

lengthened period enjoyed comparative repose, under the forbearing

reign of Constantius Cæsar, father of Constantine the Great. They

assembled to concert precautionary measures, and amongst other

things, they determined that, in the provinces under their immediate

jurisdiction, there should be no fixed and immovable picture

monuments, such as fresco paintings or mosaics, no images of Christ

whom they adored, nor of the saints whom they venerated, on the

walls of the churches which had been erected and ornamented during

the long interval of peace which the Christians had enjoyed.

‘Placuit,’ says the council, ‘picturas in ecclesia esse non debere,

ne quod colitur et adoratur, in parietibus depingatur,’ (Con. Elib.,

_apud Labbeum_, tom i. p. 972.) This economy was prudent and adapted

to the exigency of the period. The figures of Christ and of his

saints were thus protected from the ribaldry and insults of the

Pagans. But this well-timed prohibition demonstrates, that the use

of pictures and images had already been introduced into the Spanish

church.”—_Hierurgia, or Transubstantiation, Invocation of Saints,

Relics, &c., expounded by D. Rock, D.D._, second edition, p. 374,

_note_. There can be no doubt that the enactment in question proves

that images were used at that time amongst the Spanish Christians,

as a law prohibiting some particular crimes or offences shows that

they were taking place at the time when it was promulgated; but the

opinion that the above-mentioned enactment was not a prohibition of

images, but a precautionary measure in their favour, must be

supported either by the other canons of the same council, which

contain nothing confirmatory of this opinion, or by the authority of

some contemporary writer, and is without such evidence quite

untenable, and nothing better than a mere sophism, I have given this

explanation of the Council of Elvira by a Roman Catholic writer as a

fair specimen of the manner in which all other practices of their

church, derived from Paganism, are defended.

_ 40 Translator’s Note._—And yet the same writer has defended this

manner of recruiting the church.—_Vid. supra_, p. 17.

_ 41 Translator’s Note_.—And yet this system of concession has been

called by the same author _true wisdom._—_Vid. supra_, p. 18.

_ 42 Translator’s Note._—It dated from the time when the Christian

church began to make a compromise with Paganism.

43 Who would defile themselves by the impious superstition of the

idols.

44 An ecclesiastical writer of the fifth century.

_ 45 Translator’s Note._—Importing usually into the Christian church

that leaven of Paganism which is mentioned in the text.

_ 46 Translator’s Note._—Retaining meanwhile, however, the thing itself.

_ 47 Translator’s Note._—It is a great pity that the author leaves us in

the dark about the time when this great improvement in the Roman

Catholic Church to which he alludes took place.

48 St Augustinus relates, in the fourth book of his Confessions, chap,

iii., that he was diverted from the idea of studying astrology by a

pagan physician, who made him understand all the falsehood and

ridicule of that science.

49 A similar custom is still prevalent is Russia. _Vide infra_, “On the

Superstitions of her Church.”

_ 50 Author’s Note._—In 1215, Buondelmonte was murdered by the Amidei at

the foot of the statue of Mars. This murder produced at Florence a

civil war, which, gradually spreading over all Italy, gave birth to

the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibelines.

51 Basnage, “Histoire de l’Eglise,” p. 1174.

52 An interesting account of Vigilantius was published by the Rev. Dr

Gilly, the well-known friend of the Waldensians.

_ 53 Vide supra_, p. 8.

54 Gibbon’s “Roman Empire,” chap. xlix.

55 The Greeks and Russians worship their images chiefly by kissing

them, and it was probably on this account that it was ordered to

raise them to a height where they could not be reached by the lips

of their votaries, because this means could not prevent them from

bowing to them.

56 It is related that the women were the most zealous in defending the

images, and that an officer of the emperor, who was demolishing a

statue of Christ placed at the entrance of the imperial palace, was

murdered by them.

57 Gibbon and some other writers think that Constantine survived for

some time the loss of his eyes, but I have followed in the text the

general opinion on this event.

58 Irene was a native of Athens.

59 Vol. ix. p. 429, _et seq._

60 Extracts from the works of this celebrated monk, and his life,

_apud_ Basnage _Histoire de l’Eglise_, p. 1375.

61 Theodora, on being appointed by her husband regent during the

minority of her son, was obliged to swear that she would not restore

the _idols_. The Jesuit Maimbourg, who wrote a history of the

iconoclasts, maintains that, in restoring the worship of images, she

did not commit a perjury, because _she swore that_ she would not

restore the _idols_, but not _images_, which are not idols.

62 I may add, as well as the Russo-Greek Church, which, as I shall have

an opportunity to show afterwards, is no less opposed to

Protestantism than her rival, the Church of Rome.

63 Thus, for instance, the well-known work of the celebrated patriarch

Photius, written in the ninth century, contains extracts from and

notices of many works which have never reached us.

64 “Edinburgh Review,” July, 1841, p. 17.

65 According to the author of “Hierurgia,” Cassianus suffered martyrdom

under the reign of Julian the Apostate; we know, however, from

history, that no persecution of Christians had taken place under

that emperor. Cassianus’ body is still preserved at Imola, but

according to Collin de Plancy he has besides a head at Toulouse.

66 “Hierurgia,” by D. Rock, D.D., second edition, p. 377, _et seq._

67 Prudentius was known as a man of great learning, and had filled some

important offices of the state.

68 The title of this book is—“Opus illustrissimi Caroli Magni, nutu

Dei, Regis Francorum, Gallias, Germaniam, Italiamque sive harum

finitimas provincias, Domino opitulante, regentis, contra Synodum

quæ in partibus Greciæ, pro adorandis imaginibus, stolide sive

arroganter gesta est.”

69 I think that it has recently been completed at Brussels.

70 The title of Ruinart’s work is—“Acta primorum Martyrum sincera et

selecta ex libris, cum editis, tum manuscriptis, collecta eruta vel

emendata.” 4to, Paris 1687, and several editions afterwards.

71 The most important of these Apocrypha of the New Testament, some of

which have reached us, whilst we know the others from the writings

of the fathers, are the Gospels according to St Peter, to St Thomas,

to St Matthias, the Revelations of St Peter, the Epistle of St

Barnabas, the Acts of St John, of St Andrew, and other apostles.

72 Mabillon on the Unknown Saints, p. 10. _Apud_ Basnage, p. 1047.

73 “Vie de St François Xavier,” par le Pere Bouhours, 1716. _Apud_

Maury, p. 22.

74 “Liber Aureus Inscriptus, Liber Conformitatum Vitæ Beati ac

Seraphici Patris Francisci, ad Vitam Jesu Christi Domini Nostri.” It

went through several editions.

75 The title of this curious work is “Histoire de St François d’Assise,

par Emile Chavin de Malan.” Paris: 1845.

76 “Edinburgh Review,” April 1847, p. 295.

77 History of St Waltheof, p. 2 in the 5th vol. of the collection.

78 Ibid., p. 24.

79 Life of St Augustine of Canterbury, Apostle of the English, p. 237,

in the 1st volume of the English Saints, mentioned above.

80 There is a German story which is evidently a parody of this legend.

It says that an individual who was passionately fond of playing at

nine-pins committed a crime for which he was sentenced to be

beheaded. He requested, as a favour which was usually granted to

culprits before their execution, to indulge once more in his

favourite game. This demand being conceded, he began to play with

such ardour that he entirely forgot his impending execution. The

executioner, who was present, got tired of waiting for the culprit,

and seizing a moment when he stretched his neck picking up a ball

from the ground, cut off his head. The culprit was, however, so keen

in the pursuit of his game, that he seized his own head, and having

made with it a successful throw, exclaimed, “Haven’t I got all the

nine?”

81 An old German ballad gives a fair specimen of the ideas which people

entertained of the joys of heaven. It says, amongst other

things:—“Wine costs not a penny in the cellar of heaven; angels bake

bread and cracknels at the desire of every one; vegetables of every

kind abundantly grow in the garden of heaven; pease and carrots grow

without being planted; asparagus is as thick as a man’s leg, and

artichokes as big as a head. When it is a lent day, the fishes

arrive in shoals, and St Peter comes with his net to catch them, in

order to regale you. St Martha is the cook and St Urban the

butler.”—See Maury, p. 88.

82 Zimmerman’s “Solitude Considered with respect to its Dangerous

Influence upon the Mind and Heart.” English translation. Ed. 1798,

p. 102, _et seq._

_ 83 Vide supra_, p. 17.

84 “Mandat sancta synodus omnibus episcopis et caeteris, ut juxta

catholicae et apostolicae ecclesiae usum, a primaevis Christianae

religionis temporibus receptum, de legitimo imaginum usu fideles

diligenter instruunt, docentes eos, imaginis Christi et Deiparae

Virginis, et aliorum sanctorum, in templis praesertim habendas et

retinendas, eisque debitum honorem et venerationem impertiendam; non

quod credatur inesse aliqua in divinitas, vel virtus, propter quam

sint colendae; vel quod ab iis aliquod sit petendum; vel quod

fiducia in imaginibus sit figenda, veluti olim fiebat a gentibus,

quae in idolis (Psalm cxxxv.) spem suam collocabant: sed quoniam

honos, qui eis exhibetur, refertur ad prototypae, quae illae

representant, ita ut per imagines, quae osculamur, et coram quibus

caput aperimus et procumbimus, Christum adoremus; et sanctos quorum

illae similitudinem gerunt veneremur.”—Sessio xxv. _de Invocatione

Sanc. et Sacr. Imag._

85 The following description of this little idol is given by a

well-known French writer of last century:—“This morning, when I was

quietly walking along a street towards the capitol, I met with a

carriage, in which sat two Franciscan monks, holding on their knee

something which I was unable to distinguish. Every body was stopping

and bowing in a most respectful manner. I inquired to whom were

these salutations directed? ‘To the _Bambino_,’ I was answered,

‘whom these good fathers are carrying to a prelate, who is very ill,

and whom the physicians have given up.’ It was then explained to me

what this _Bambino_ is. It is a little statue, meant for Jesus, made

of wood, and richly attired. The convent which has the good fortune

of being its owner has no other patrimony. As soon as any body is

seriously ill, the _Bambino_ is sent for, in a carriage, because he

never walks on foot. Two monks take him and place him near the bed

of the patient, in whose house they remain, living at his expense,

until he dies or recovers.

“The _Bambino_ is always driving about; people sometimes fight at

the gate of the convent in order to get him. He is particularly busy

during the summer, and his charges are then higher, in proportion to

the competition and the heat, which I think is quite

right.”—_Dupaty, Lettres sur l’Italie_, let. xlviii.

The _Bambino_ continues to maintain his credit; and I have read not

long ago in the newspapers, that an English lady of rank, who had

joined the communion of Rome, was performing the duties of his dry

nurse on a festival of her adopted church.

_ 86 Insolitam imaginem._ I have made use in the text of the English

Roman Catholic translation of the canons of the Council of Trent, by

the Rev. Mr Waterworth.

87 “Omnia hæc impia sunt et cultus idolorum, alloqui ipsas statuas aut

ossa, aut fingere Deum aut sanctos magis in uno loco, seu ad hanc

statuam alligatos esse quam ad alia loca. Nihil differunt

invocationes quæ fiunt ad Mariam Aquensem seu Ratisbonensem ab

invocationibus ethnicis, quæ flebant ad Dianam Ephesiam, aut ad

Junonem Platæensem, aut ad alias statuas.”—_Respon. ad Articul.

Bavaric_, art. 17, p. 381.

88 Middleton’s “Miscellaneous Works,” vol. v., p. 96, edition of 1755.

89 Ibid., p. 97.

90 Hospinian, “De Origine Templ.,” lib. ii. cap. 23; _apud_ Middleton,

_loco citato_.

91 Beugnot, vol. i. p. 231, on the authority of Sosomenes.

92 There are some Protestant writers who attach great value to the

apostolic canons, as, for instance, Dr Beveridge, Bishop of St

Asaph, who wrote a defence of them.

93 “Institutiones Christianæ,” lib. vi., cap. 2; apud, “Hospinian de

Origine Templorum,” lib. ii., cap. 10.

94 This date is a mistake, and I would have taken it for a misprint if

the author had not said before, that “Vigilantius attacked the

practices of the church in the fourth age.” I have, in speaking of

this subject, p. 71, followed the authority of the great historian

of the Roman Catholic Church, Fleury, who says that Jerome answered

Vigilantius in 404.

_ 95 Vid. supra_, p. 14, _et seq._, the opinions of Chateaubriand and

Beugnot on the same subject.

96 The appellation of _regina cælorum_, queen of heaven, is frequently

given to the blessed Virgin in Roman Catholic litanies and hymns

addressed to her. The queen of heaven mentioned by Jeremiah is

supposed to be the same as Astarte, or the Syrian Venus.

97 Herodot., lib. ii., p. 36,—

“Qui grege linigero circumdatus et grege calvo,

Plangentis populi currit derisor Anubis.”

_Juvenal_, vi. 532.

98 He describes in it the well-known Roman Catholic practice of

flagellation or self-whipping, which has been, and is still, done by

the priests and votaries of several Pagan deities.

99 “Namque omnia loca quae thuris constiterit vapore fumasse, si tamen

ea fuisse in jure thurificantium probabitur, fisco nostro adsocianda

censemus,” &c.—_Vid._ also _supra_, p. 48.

100 I give these numbers on the authority of the Almanac de Gotha.

101 The facts of this curious affair have never been published, but they

are preserved in the ecclesiastical archives of Moscow, and a copy

of them in the ecclesiastical academy of St Petersburgh.—_Strahl’s

Beyträge zur Russischen Kirchengeschichte_, p. 239.

102 Hermann Geschichte von Russland, 1853, vol. v., p. 89.

103 Anointment with oil makes a part of the Greek ritual of baptism.

104 These regulations may appear strange in a country like this, but in

Russia all the population is divided into various classes, and

nobody can pass from one of them into another without the

authorization of the Government; as, for instance, if a peasant or

agriculturist wishes to become a burgher by settling in a town. The

peasantry in the Baltic provinces were emancipated under the reign

of the Emperor Alexander, but the landowners still maintain a

certain authority over them.

105 The Pope, book iv., chap. 1.

106 Bodenstedt’s Morning Land; or, Thousand and One Days in the East.

Second Series, vol. i., p. 61, _et seq._, a work which is

particularly interesting at the present time.

107 Studien über Russland, vol. i., p. 101.

108 The Russians of that time were known as slave dealers, according to

Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveller of the same period.

109 Travels of Ibn Foslan, German translation, by Frähn, p. 7.

110 “Die Völker des Kaukasus,” p. 284.

111 It owned before the confiscation of the church estates more than a

hundred thousand male serfs.

112 Studien über Russland, vol. i. p. 87.

113 Simocatta, _apud_ Basnage, p. 1332.

114 This reform, accomplished in the reign of Alexius, father of Peter

the Great, consisted chiefly in the correction of the text of the

Slavonic Scriptures and liturgical books, which had been greatly

disfigured by the ignorance of successive copyists, and in the

prohibition of some superstitious practices, which had usurped an

important part in the divine service of the Russian Church. These

wise reforms produced, however, a violent opposition, and several

millions separated from the established church, and are known,

though divided into many sects, under the general appellation of

_Raskolniks_, _i.e._, schismatics, whilst they call themselves

_Starovertzi_, or those of the old faith, and designate the

established church by the name of the Niconian heresy.

115 Leveque, Histoire de Russie revue, par Malte Brun et Depping, tom.

iv. p. 131.

116 The title of this book is “Das Merk würdige Jahr Meines Lebens”—“The

Memorable Year of my Life.” It has been, I believe, translated into

English.

117 A civil grade equal to that of a captain in the army.

118 The author observes in a note that, in former times, a petty

ecclesiastical prince, the Archbishop of Cologne, could conceive and

partly execute the gigantic plan of the Cologne minster, and that in

the present time, though the whole of Germany had undertaken to

build the remainder of it, her people would have abandoned this

project long ago, if it were not supported by the kings. He ought,

however, I think, to confine his remarks to Germany, because there

are certainly more places of worship built by voluntary

contributions in England than in Russia.

119 Studien über Russland, vol. i. p. 91.

120 Studien über Russland, vol. i. p. 93.

121 Leveque, Histoire de Russie, vol. iv., p. 133.

122 London: Longman & Co. 1854.

123 The title of this curious production is, “An Appeal on the Eastern

Question to the Senatus Academicus of the Royal College of

Edinburgh. By a Russian, Quondam Civis Bibliothecæ Edinensis.”

Edinburgh: Thomas C. Jack, 92 Princes Street. London: Hamilton,

Adams, & Co. 1854.

124 Letter xxxvi., at the end.

_ 125 Vide supra_, p. 184.

126 “Custine’s Russia,” letter xxxvi. The same opinion is expressed by

Baron Haxthausen, whom I have quoted above, and who says, “The sons

of the papas and other young men acquire in the seminaries and

ecclesiastical academies a certain degree of theological learning,

after which they indue the monacal dress, and are inscribed on the

rolls of some convent, without however remaining in it. They enter

the offices of bishops and archbishops to perform their personal as

well as clerical service. Their position becomes then exactly the

same as that of the military aides-de-camp of the Generals, and of

the civil ones of ministers, and it is from amongst them that

bishops, archimandrites, abbots, &c., are chosen. It is a career

like every other service in Russia. Several of these ecclesiastics

may have chosen their calling from a real devotion; the most part of

them are, however, driven into it by an immeasurable ambition,

selfishness, speculation, and vanity, the curse of the upper classes

of Russia.”—(_Studien über Russland_, vol. i., p. 89.) It must be

remarked that all the dignities of the Greek church are reserved for

the monastic or _regular_ clergy, whilst the secular (who cannot

take orders without being married) do not rise above the station of

a parish priest. This last-named function, which gives no prospects

of promotion, is generally left to such theological students as are

not fit for any thing better, and, with some few honourable

exceptions, they are generally an ignorant and drunken set, treated

with very little respect by the upper classes. The following

anecdote, characteristic of the moral and intellectual condition of

that class of the Russian clergy, was related to the author by a

friend who had resided for some time in Russia. A landowner of the

government of Kazan, Mr Bakhmetieff, who was very fond of the

pleasures of the table in the old style, was in the habit of

inviting to his revels the priests of the neighbourhood. Once, when

his clerical guests had got so drunk as to lose all consciousness,

their host, who was less overpowered by the effect of drink,

determined to play them a practical joke, by daubing their beards

with melted wax. The distress of these poor fellows, on awaking from

their sleep, at this strange unction of their beards, was very

great, because it was impossible to get rid of the wax without

greatly injuring that hirsute appendage, upon which so much of their

personal respectability rests. They became the laughing-stock of

their congregations, and the story made a great noise over all the

country.

127 The Greek Church admits no carved images, as being prohibited by the

second commandment.

128 They have considerably more, as will be shown presently.

129 Every altar in a Roman Catholic church must contain some relic.

130 It is said to have been made of pasteboard.

131 There are, besides the five water pots mentioned by Calvin, thirteen

others, at St Nicolo of the Lido at Venice, at Moscow, at Bologne,

at Tongres, at Cologne, at Beauvaia, at the abbey of Port Royal at

Paris, and at Orleans, though the Gospel mentions but six. The

materials of which they are made are very dissimilar to each other,

and so are their respective measures, whilst those mentioned in the

Gospel seem to have been all of the same size.

132 There are, besides these, thirteen more, unknown probably to Calvin;

but it would be too tedious to enumerate where they may be seen.

133 If a diligent inquiry were instituted after these relics in

particular, four times as many as are here enumerated might be found

in other parts.

134 I have employed the term Sudary, which has been adopted by Webster,

from the Latin word _sudarium_, to designate the relic in question.

135 It appears that a kerchief with the likeness of the face of Jesus

Christ imprinted on it, and covered with blood and sweat, was kept

in a church at Rome in the eleventh century, for it is mentioned in

the brief of Pope Sergius IV., dated 1011. We do not know what tales

respecting this relic were related at that time, but it appears that

copies of it called _Veronies_, _i.e._, a corruption of _verum

icon_, “the true image,” were sold; and no doubt this appellation

gave rise to the legend of _Sancta Veronica_ who wiped the face of

Christ with her kerchief as he was going to Calvary. There are many

versions of this legend, as for instance that it was this woman whom

Christ had cured of the bloody issue, whilst again it is maintained

that she was no less a person than Berenice, niece to King Herod. It

is also related that after the dispersion of the apostles, St

Veronica went in company with Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Lazarus,

to Marseilles, where she wrought many miracles with her kerchief.

The Emperor Tiberius heard of these miracles, and having fallen ill,

he summoned Veronica to Rome. She cured him in a moment, and was

rewarded with great honours and rich presents. The remainder of her

life was spent at Rome in company with St Peter and St Paul, and she

bequeathed the miraculous kerchief to Pope St Clement. It must,

however, be observed, that this legend has not obtained the official

approbation of the Roman Catholic Church, though St Veronica is

acknowledged and has a place in the calendar for the 21st of

February; and it is said she suffered martyrdom in France. With

regard to the large sudaries or sheets upon which the whole body of

Jesus Christ is impressed, and the absurdity of which Calvin has so

clearly exposed, the most celebrated of these is that at Turin. Its

history is curious, inasmuch as it shows that the efforts of

enlightened and pious prelates to prevent idolatrous practices

invading their churches proved unavailing against that general

tendency to worship visible objects, so strongly implanted in

corrupt human nature, that even in this enlightened age we are

continually witnessing such manifestation of its revival as may be

compared only to that of the dark period of the middle ages. The

most striking instances undoubtedly are those of the holy coat of

Treves, and the relics of St Theodosia, which have been recently

installed at Amiens, with great pomp, and in the presence of the

most eminent prelates of the Roman Catholic Church, who seem now to

be as anxious to promote this kind of fetishism, as some of their

predecessors were formerly to repress the same abuse. But let us

return to our immediate subject—the _holy sudarium_ of Turin. It is

a long linen sheet, upon which is painted in a reddish colour a

double likeness of a human body, _i.e._, as seen from before and

from behind, quite naked with the exception of a broad scarf

encircling the loins. It is pretended that this relic was saved by a

Christian at the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, and it was preserved

for many centuries by the faithful.

In 640 it was brought back to Palestine, from whence it was

transferred to Europe by the Crusaders. It was taken by a French

knight named Geoffroi de Charny, who presented it to the collegiate

church of a place called _Liré_, which belonged to him, and which is

situated about three leagues from the town of Troyes, in Champagne;

the donor declaring, on that occasion, that this holy sheet was

taken by him from the infidels, and that it had delivered him in a

miraculous manner from a prison dungeon into which he had been cast

by the English.

The canons of that church, seeing at once the great profits to be

derived from such a relic, lost no time in exhibiting it, and their

church was soon crowded with devotees. The bishop of Troyes, Henri

de Poitiers, finding however no proofs of the authenticity of this

relic, prohibited it to be shown as an object of worship, and it

remained unheeded for twenty-four years.

The sons of Geoffroi de Charny, about the year 1388, obtained

permission from the Papal legate to restore this relic of their

father’s to the church of Liré, and the canon exposed it in front of

the pulpit, surrounding it with lighted tapers, but the bishop of

Troyes, Peter d’Arcy, prohibited this exhibition under pain of

excommunication. They afterwards obtained from the king, Charles

VI., an authorization to worship the _holy sudarium_ in the church

of Liré. The bishop upon this repaired to court, and represented to

the king that the worship of the pretended sheet of Jesus Christ was

nothing less than downright idolatry, and he argued so effectually

that Charles revoked the permission by an edict of the 21st August

1389.

Geoffroi de Charny’s sons then appealed to Pope Clemens VII., who

was residing at Avignon, and he granted permission for the holy

sudarium to be exhibited. The bishop of Troyes sent a memorial to

the Pope, explaining the importance attached to this so-called holy

relic. Clemens did not, however, prohibit the sudarium to be shown,

but he forbade its being exhibited as the _real_ sudary of Jesus

Christ. The canons of Liré, therefore, put aside their sudary, but

it reappeared in other places, and after being shown about in

various churches and convents it remained at Chambery in 1432, where

nobody dared to impugn its reality. From that time its fame

increased, and Francis I., king of France, went a pilgrimage on

foot, the whole way from Lyons to Chambery, in order to worship this

linen cloth. In 1578 St Charles Borromeo having announced his

intention of going on foot to Chambery to adore the holy sudary, the

Duke of Savoy, wishing to spare this high-born saint the trouble of

so long a pilgrimage, commanded the relic to be brought to Turin,

where it has since remained, and where the miracles performed by it

and the solemn worship paid to it, may be considered as a proof that

its authenticity is no longer doubted.

There are about six holy sudaries preserved in other churches,

besides the pieces shown elsewhere.

136 Calvin, speaking of the silver pieces for which Judas betrayed our

Lord, does not say where they are shown. Two of them are preserved

in the Church of the Annunciation at Florence, one in the Church of

St John of the Lateran, and another in that of the Holy Cross at

Rome. There is one piece at the Church of the Visitandine Convent at

Aix in Provence besides many other places where they are

displayed.—_Collin de Plancy, Dictionaire des Reliques._

137 The whole skeleton of the animal is preserved at Vicenza, enclosed

in an artificial figure of an ass.

138 Eusebius relates, that Abgarus, king of Edessa, having heard of

Christ’s teaching and miracles, sent an embassy to acknowledge our

Lord’s divinity, and to invite him to his kingdom, in order to cure

Abgarus of a complaint of long standing; upon which Christ sent him

the likeness mentioned in the text. Now, it is impossible for one

moment to admit, that, if such an important fact had any truthful

foundation, it would have been left unrecorded by the apostles.

139 The Roman Catholic Church maintains that the Blessed Virgin was

carried to heaven by angels, and it commemorates this event by the

festival of the Assumption on the 15th August. This belief was

unknown to the primitive church; for, according to a Roman Catholic

writer of undoubted orthodoxy, the Empress Pulcheria, in the fifth

century, requested the Bishop of Jerusalem, Juvenal, to allow her to

have the body of the Virgin, in order to display it for the public

adoration of the faithful at Constantinople.—(Tillerant’s “Memoires

Ecclesiastiques.”)—There are many other proofs that, even at that

time, when many idolatrous practices had begun to corrupt the

church, the Virgin’s body was generally believed to be in earth, and

not in heaven.

140 Vials filled with such milk were shown in several churches at Rome,

at Venice in the church of St Mark, at Aix in Provence, in the

church of the Celestins at Avignon, in that of St Anthony at Padua,

&c. &c., and many absurd stories are related about the miracles

performed with these relics.

141 There are about twenty gowns of the Blessed Virgin exhibited in

various places. Many of them are of costly textures, which, if true,

would prove that she had an expensive wardrobe.

142 The number of miraculous images of the Virgin in countries following

the tenets of the Roman Catholic and Greek Churches is _legion_, and

a separate volume would be required if we were to give even an

abridged account of them.

143 “The most celebrated relic of St Joseph is his ‘_han_,’ _i.e._, the

sound or groan which issues from the chest of a man when he makes an

effort, and which St Joseph emitted when he was splitting a log of

wood. It was preserved in a bottle at a place called Concaiverny,

near Blois, in France.”—_D’Aubigne’s Confessions de Sancy_, chap.

ii. _apud_ Colin de Plancy.

144 It is said that as late as 1784, at Mount St Michael in Bretagne, a

Swiss was vending feathers from the archangel Michael’s wings, and

that he found purchasers for his wares.

145 This multiplication of St John’s head reminds one of an anecdote

related by Miss Pardoe in her “City of the Magyar.” A museum of

curiosities was kept in the chateau of Prince Grassalkovich in

Hungary, and it was usually shown to strangers by the parish priest

of that place. This worthy man was once conducting a traveller over

the collection, and showed him amongst other curiosities two skulls,

of large and small size, saying of the first, “This is the skull of

the celebrated rebel Ragotzi;” and of the second, “That is the skull

of the same Ragotzi when he was a boy!”

146 Calvin has not rendered full justice to the relics of John the

Baptist exhibited in various places. He only mentions the different

parts of his head and the fingers; and the quantity altogether shown

implies no doubt that the head was one of no ordinary dimensions. He

evidently was not aware that there are about a dozen whole heads of

St John the Baptist, which are or were exhibited in different towns.

The most remarkable of them was undoubtedly that one which the

notorious Pope John XXIII., who was deposed for his vices by the

Council of Constance, had sold to the Venetians for the sum of fifty

thousand ducats; but as the people of Rome would not allow such a

precious relic to quit their city, the bargain was rescinded. The

head was afterwards destroyed at the capture and pillage of Rome by

the troops of Charles V. in 1527. There are, besides, many other

parts of St John’s body preserved as relics. A part of his shoulder

was pretended to have been sent by the Emperor Heraclius to King

Dagobert I.; and an entire shoulder was given to Philip Augustus by

the Emperor of Greece. Another shoulder was at Longpont, in the

diocese of Soissons; and there was one at Lieissies in the Hainault.

A leg of the saint was shown at St Jean d’Abbeville, another at

Venice, and a third at Toledo; whilst the Abbey of Joienval, in the

diocese of Chartres, boasted of possessing twenty-two of his bones.

Several of his arms and hands were shown elsewhere, besides fingers

and other parts of his body; but their enumeration would be too

tedious here.

147 Calvin here alludes to the haircloth worn by the monks of some

orders, and other Roman Catholic devotees, instead of the ordinary

shirt.

148 There is a French edition of the New Testament, published, I think,

at Louvaine, in which the 13th chapter of Acts, 2d verse, is thus

translated: “_Etquand ils disotent la messe_,”—“And when they were

saying mass.”

149 The relics of Peter and Paul became at an early period the objects

of veneration to the Christians of Rome. Gregory the Great relates

that such terrible miracles took place at the sepulchres that people

approached them in fear and trembling, and he adds that those who

ventured to touch them were visibly punished. The Emperor Justinian,

desiring some relics of these two apostles, some filings from their

prison chains, and sheets that had been consecrated by having been

laid over their bodies, were sent to him; but some time afterwards

these relics were touched and handled without persons suffering any

visible punishment for so doing. Their heads were transferred to the

church of St John of Lateran, and their bodies were divided and

placed in the churches of St Peter and St Paul in the Ostian Road.

We have seen in the text that different parts of their bodies are

shown in many places, and the celebrated D’Aubigné relates that

France had possessed formerly the entire bodies of Peter and Paul

before the Huguenots burnt and destroyed a great number of the

relics in that country.

150 This relic is considered a very efficient remedy for cutaneous

disorders.

151 Calvin was evidently in haste to get over his task, as he intimated

to us at the commencement of this chapter. He has made very great

omissions. In the first place, he appears to have forgotten the body

of St James the Major at Compostella in Spain, one of the most

celebrated places of pilgrimage of the Western Church. According to

the legend, this apostle went to Spain to preach Christianity and

then returned to Jerusalem, where he was beheaded by Herod.—(Acts

xii.) His body was afterwards removed by his disciples to Spain.

This is, therefore, his second body. He has a third at Verona, and a

fourth at Toulouse, besides several heads elsewhere. The other

apostles have also more bodies than are mentioned in the text, but

the limits of this work forbid enumeration.

152 St Matthew is not so poor in relics as Calvin supposed, for we could

quote several whole bodies, as well as members, with which he was

not acquainted.

153 An oratory is a small chapel or cabinet, adorned with images of

saints, &c., and used by the Roman Catholics for private devotions.

The absurdity of ascribing to John the Evangelist the possession of

such an oratory is too palpable a falsehood to require any comment.

154 According to the well-known Jesuit writer Ribadeneira, the Jews

seized Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Marcella, Maximin,

Celidonius (supposed to have been the man born blind, who was

restored to sight by Jesus Christ), and Joseph of Arimathea, and

placing them on board a vessel without helm, oars, or sails,

launched it forth into the sea. By a miracle the vessel reached

Marseilles, where Lazarus was appointed the first bishop of that

town. Maximin became bishop of Aix, Joseph of Arimathea went to

England, Martha entered a convent, and Mary, after preaching in

various parts of Provence for some time, retired into the desert of

St Beaume, to weep and lament over her sins.—_Flower of Saints, July

22._

155 The legends say that the soldier, whom they name Longinus, was

struck with blindness immediately after piercing Jesus Christ’s

side. He perceived the enormity of his crime, recognised the

divinity of our Lord, and having rubbed his eyes with the blood

which was on his lance, he recovered his sight, and finally became a

monk in Cappadocia. It is true that neither the Gospels nor the

early ecclesiastical writers mention anything respecting St

Longinus, but Ribadeneira and other narrators of legends speak much

of him. The reader may possibly object to the tale of his becoming a

monk, since in those days there were none; but that difficulty

merely requires the addition of another miracle.

156 Calvin is wrong here. Milan only assumes to have possession of the

graves of the wise men, not their bodies, which were removed to

Cologne at the capture of Milan in 1162, by Frederick Barbarossa.

_ 157 Vid. supra_, p. 120.

158 St Anthony is venerated, or rather worshipped, by the Eastern as

well as the Western Church, and he seems to have bestowed his

favours upon each with the utmost impartiality, for a body of his is

shown at Novgorod, in Russia, where a church, with a convent

attached to it, is dedicated to him. The legend concerning St

Anthony’s arrival at Novgorod is curious. It is said that this

saint, whilst at Rome, was commanded by an angel, in a dream, to go

and convert the inhabitants of Novgorod. In obedience to this

angelic injunction, St Anthony embarked on a millstone, and floated

on this extraordinary craft down the Tiber, passed over the

Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Baltic seas, and arrived safely at the

river Wolchow, upon which stream Novgorod is situated, having

accomplished the whole voyage in four days—a marvellous speed

indeed, and which completely shames all the wonders of modern steam

navigation! The date assigned to this wonderful voyage happens to be

that of a few centuries _after_ St Anthony’s death, but we suppose

this too must be considered as another miracle.

159 Calvin is much mistaken about Helena, who was better provided for

than he imagined. Besides the body mentioned in the text, she has

one in the Church of _Ara Cæli_, at Rome. There was one also at

Constantinople, in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, and another at

Hauteville, near Epernay, in Champagne.

160 The legend tells us that an English chief, after conquering and

taking possession of Lower Brittany, returned to his native land in

search of wives for his army and himself. He married Ursula, an

English princess, and took eleven thousand maidens as brides for his

companions in arms. Ursula, whilst journeying with this bridal train

to join her husband, was driven by a storm into the mouth of the

Rhine, and arrived at Cologne. There they were beset by a party of

Huns, who murdered them all. Their bodies were discovered at Cologne

in the 16th century, and the remains of St Ursula, which at first

were mixed with those of her companions, were pointed out, by a

miracle, for the special veneration of the faithful. Several of

these virgins have relics in various parts of Europe, and they are

distinguished by proper names, as, for instance, St Ottilla, St

Fleurina, &c. &c.. The origin of this absurd legend is ascribed by

some antiquarians to the following inscription found upon a

tomb:—“_St Ursula et XI. M. V._,” _i.e._, _et 11 martyres virgines_,

which, through ignorance or wilful deceit, has been converted into

_millia virgines_—11,000 virgins. Other savans believe that the

inscription meant “_St Ursula et Undecimilla, martyres virgines_,”

and that _Undecimilla_, which was the proper name of a virgin

martyr, was mistaken by some ignorant copyist for an abbreviation of

_undecim millia_, 11,000.

161 It must be remarked that many relics described in this Treatise were

destroyed during the religious wars, but particularly by the French

Revolution. I recommend to those who have an interest in this

subject the observations made on it in Sir George Sinclair’s

Letters, p. 88, _et seq._