Lastly, the following is the avowal of the Benedictine Editor of St. Ambrose's Works in his preface to the de Bono Mortis, on certain passages concerning the state of the dead, some of which have been above extracted in the course of these remarks.

"If we interpret the words of our author strictly and literally, we must plainly confess that in his judgment souls are kept shut up in certain dwellings till the general resurrection, and there wait the award due to their deeds, which will not however be paid them before the last day; meanwhile that they are visited with some good or punishment, according as each of them has deserved. Lastly, the joy of the righteous is dispensed according to certain ranks.

"It is not surprising that Ambrose should have written in this way concerning the state of souls; but what might seem almost incredible, is, the uncertainty and inconsistency of the Holy Fathers on the subject from the very times of the Apostles down to the Pontificate of Gregory XI. and the Council of Florence, that is, for nearly the whole of fourteen centuries. For, not only do they differ one from the other, as commonly happens in such questions not yet defined by the Church, but they are not even consistent with themselves, sometimes appearing to grant that those souls enjoy the clear sight of the divine nature, of which at other times they deprive them."

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$ 4. THE COUNCIL OF FLORENCE.

It remains to give a brief notice of the Council of Florence, by which the doctrine of Purgatory was first made an article of faith. With it I shall bring this paper to an end.

The Council of Constance, which had been summoned principally with a view to the reformation of the clergy, terminated in April 1418, without having taken any effectual measures for their object. Five years afterwards the remonstrance which the existing state of things occasioned, obliged the then Pope Martin V. to summon another, which, in consequence of his sudden death, eventually opened at Basle, 23d of July, 1431, in the pontificate of Eugenius, under the presidency of Cardinal Julian Cæsarini. Basle, as being across the Alps, was removed from the influence of the Roman see: and the Fathers assembled at once applied themselves to determine a question, which had already been agitated at Constance, the superiority, viz. of a General Council to the Pope. They passed a decree that the jurisdiction of the representatives of the Church Catholic in Council Assembled was supreme and universal, and that they could not be dissolved, prorogued, or transferred without their own consent. They proceeded to summon, threaten, and censure Eugenius; and at length when he resisted their proceedings, they suspended him from all his powers unless he submitted to them within 60 days. In these acts they were supported by the Emperor and other chief powers of Europe, as well as by the clergy; and the Pope was forced to submit.

They next attempted to reconcile the Greeks to the Latin Church. At this time Constantinople was much pressed by the Turkish arms; and the Emperor John Palæologus, the second of that name, after the example of his father, hoped by holding out the prospect of a union of the Churches to gain succours from the West. The Fathers of Basle invited him to attend their meeting with the Patriarch and other chief ecclesiastics of his division of Christendom; but, on his objecting to a journey across the

Alps, an opening was afforded to Eugenius, who was not slow to avail himself of it, to propose to the Greeks to transfer the seat of the Council from the Rhine to Italy. In spite of the opposition of the Fathers at Basle, Eugenius was successful in his overtures. The Greek Emperor and ecclesiastics accepted the place of meeting which he proposed, which was Ferrara, and proceeded thither, that is, besides Palæologus himself, the Patriarch, and twenty chief bishops, among whom were the metropolitans of Heraclea, Cyzicus, Nice, Nicomedia, Ephesus, and Trebizond; representatives also attended from Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem; and the Primate of Russia. Such were the members of the Greek Church present at this Council, who, however, high in station as they were, evidently were too few to express the voice of the East. It is well known that on the ancient principle of Councils, decisions were made not by authority, but by the independent and concordant testimony of all the Bishops of Christendom, or what was virtually all, to the doctrines declared. On the side of the Latins there were but five archbishops, eighteen bishops, and ten abbots, the greater part of whom were subjects. or countrymen of the Pope. This scanty representation however of the Latin Church received, as it happened, a considerable reinforcement from Basle; for a reaction taking place there in the Pope's favour, some chief members of the rival Council coming over to him, the whole number of subscribers which he at last obtained to the synodical decree, amounted to eight cardinals, two patriarchs, eight archbishops, fifty-two bishops, and forty-five abbots. After all, however, these are at first sight scarcely to be considered representatives of the whole of Christendom; yet such was the composition of the assembly, known in history as the Council of Florence, (whither a plague had driven it from Ferrara) which established the doctrine of Purgatory.

This is a sketch of its external history: but the point to be considered is the part taken by the Greeks in its proceedings. At the first glance here is this circumstance, almost in itself decisive against its authority, that the Greeks were actuated by motives of interest, and at least by the influence and the presence of a Sovereign. Were they in number fifty times as many, they

Greeks distressed for their pay and detained against their will. 55

would not have appeared in Italy at all, had not the Ottomans been at the gates of Constantinople. Next they were unprotected in a strange country, depending even for their daily food on the bounty of those who were bent upon the reconciliation of the Churches; and they were detained by delays which, whether necessary or not, were sufficient to alarm them, and to make them impatient to bring their dispute to a termination. After the first session of the Council at Ferrara, the public proceedings were adjourned about six months. The Greek ecclesiastics were allowed each three or four gold florins a month; at one time there was an arrear of four months in the payment, at another of three, and at the time of their agreeing to unite with the Latins, of five and a half. Besides, even had they the means, their withdrawal from the Council was absolutely forbidden: passports were required at the gates of Ferrara, the Venetian Government had engaged to intercept all fugitives, and civil punishment awaited them at Constantinople. Their condition is vividly described by Syropulus or Sguropulus, the ecclesiarch or preacher, who was present at the Council as one of the Patriarch's five attendants, and whose history of its proceedings is extant. Some extracts shall be introduced from his work; which, besides proving what I have said about the position of the Greeks, will introduce us in particular to the course taken in their discussions on the subject of Purgatory. There were four points of difference between the Churches: the use of leaven in the Eucharistic bread, the supremacy of the Pope, the nature of Purgatory, and the double procession of the Holy Ghost. Concerning the subject which alone here concerns us, Syropulus says,

"At our fourth meeting the bishop of Ephesus said, 'In our last meeting, venerable Fathers, you laid before us four heads for discussion, out of which we might take our choice. .... Julian (the legate of Eugenius at Basle) said........ it seems to us best, to treat first of the purgatorial fire, that our own minds may be cleared by the discussion. Let us then now dispute upon this subject. The Bishop of Ephesus answered, Be it so as you have decided; but tell us first, whence has your Church her traditions about it, and when did she receive and profess it, and what is her exact doctrine on the subject. These inquiries will help us forward. This was agreed to, and we separated.

"Meanwhile our allowance of provisions was demanded, but not given us.

Though we made frequent demands on account of our need, it was not given until we came into the proposed conditions. When we had come round, we received the second monthly allowance on the 12th of May.

"While we were so circumstanced, serious news kept coming that Amurath was preparing an attack upon Constantinople. The Venetians sent the despatches to our Emperor and the Patriarch; afterwards came letters from the city itself, intimating the same, and begging them to do their utmost to gain succours. On hearing this, we were sadly afflicted, were sick of life, prayed to GOD for help, took it to heart, and with groans and tears begged for some escape from so great a calamity.... The Emperor had much talk with the Cardinals on this subject, and made representations through them to the Pope. We, indignant at their unbecoming conduct, betook ourselves to such private friends as we might have among them. When some of us had intreated in this way brother Ambrose, he said to them, 'Be not out of heart, but do your utmost to bring about an union, and then we shall make great preparations, and will send a formidable force to Constantinople.'

"Meanwhile some of our company said, that if a subscription for raising forces was proposed to our Archbishops, they would be ready according to their power. The Emperor catching at this, immediately went to the Patriarch, and called us all together, and made us a speech concerning contribution, saying that he himself had set the pattern by borrowing money to fit out a vessel of his own, that he felt confident the Pope would send some also, and that it was a duty in the case of those who had the means to be liberal in the service of their country. To this the principal Archbishops made answer, that were they in Constantinople, they would contribute even more than they could well afford; but, being at present in a foreign land, and not knowing what was coming upon them, they felt it necessary to keep what they had, even supposing some among them had any thing left;. ... however, under the necessity, they would each give something. Accordingly four of them promised 50 aspers apiece.

"The Bishop of Nicea (the celebrated Bessarion) said, 'I have no ducats, but I have three urns, of which I will contribute two.' The Bishop also who came next said, 'I have no ducats, but I have two woollen cloaks, and I give one of them.' The Emperor on hearing as far as this, gave up the attempt as vain, for he had reckoned that the Archbishops together might have almost fitted out one vessel....

"In the fifth meeting, Julian began to discuss the subject of Purgatory, and said that the Roman Church, even from the very first, had received and held this doctrine, from the time of the Holy Apostles, receiving it from St. Peter and St. Paul,....and then from the Doctors of the Church who succeeded them."

To complete the imbecility of the Greek party, they were at variance with each other, Bessarion of Nicea inclining to the Latins, Gregory the Penitentiary taking either side as it hap