of God, Augustine, and with him several other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the word of God to the English nation.

They having, in obedience to the pope's commands, undertaken that work, were seized on their journey with a sudden fear, and began to think of returning home rather than proceed to a barbarous, fierce, and unbelieving nation, to whose very language they were strangers; and this they unanimously agreed was the safest course. In short, they sent back Augustine, who had been appointed to be consecrated bishop in case they were received by the English, that he might by humble entreaty obtain of the blessed Gregory that they should not be compelled to undertake so dangerous, toilsome, and uncertain a journey. The pope, in reply, sent them a hortatory epistle, persuading them to proceed in the work of the word, and rely on the assistance of God. The form of this letter was as follows:

'Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our Lord. Forasmuch as it had been better not to begin a good work than to think of desisting from that which has been begun, it behooves you, my beloved sons, to fulfil the good work which, by the help of our Lord, you have undertaken. Let not, therefore, the toil of the journey nor the tongues of evil-speaking men deter you; but with all possible earnestness and zeal perform that which, by God's direction, you have undertaken, being assured that much labor is followed by an eternal reward. When Augustine, your chief, returns, whom we also constitute your abbot, humbly obey him in all things, knowing that whatsoever you shall do by his direction will in all respects be available to your souls. Almighty God

1 Gregory was the first pope to assume this style (Plummer).

protect you with His grace, and grant that I may see in the heavenly country the fruits of your labor, inasmuch as, though I cannot labor with you, I shall partake in the joy of the reward, because I am at least willing to labor. God keep you in safety, my most beloved sons. Dated this 23d of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our most pious Emperor Mauritius Tiberius, the thirteenth year after the consulship of our said lord, in the fourteenth indiction.'

7. THE ARRIVAL OF AUGUSTINE (A.D. 597)

Bk. 1, chap. 25

Augustine, thus strengthened by the confirmation of the blessed father Gregory, returned to the work of the word with the servants of Christ, and arrived in Britain. The powerful Æthelbert was at that time king of Kent. He had extended his dominions as far as the great river Humber, by which the Southern Saxons are divided from the Northern. On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according to the English way of reckoning, six hundred hides,1 divided from the other land by the river Wantsum,2 which is about three furlongs over, and fordable only in two places, for both mouths of it run into the sea. In this island landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men.

They had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, taken interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to

1'The amount considered adequate for the support of one free family with its dependants. . . . The general conclusion appears to be that it was normally 120 acres; but the size of the acre itself varied' (New Eng. Dict.). Thanet actually contains less than 30,000 acres, including tidal water and foreshore.

2 The lower course of the river Stour, below Stourmouth (Moberly).

Æthelbert, signified that they were come from Rome and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would never end with the living and true God. The king having heard this, ordered that they should remain in the island where they had landed, and that they should be furnished with all necessaries, till he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha,1 whom he had received from her parents upon condition that she should be permitted to practise her religion with the bishop Liudhard, who was sent with her to preserve her faith.

Some days after, the king came into the island, and sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, according to an ancient superstition, if they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not with diabolic virtue, bearing a silver cross for their banner,2 and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board; and, singing litanies, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom they were come. When they had sat down, pursuant to the king's commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, the king answered thus: Your words and promises are very fair, but as they are new to us and of uncertain import, I cannot approve of them so far as to

1 Daughter of Charibert, King of Paris.

2 See Wordsworth, Eccl. Sonnets 14.

forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favorable entertainment, and take care to supply you with your necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion.' Accordingly he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and, pursuant to his promise, besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to preach. It is reported that as they drew near to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang in concert this litany:1 We beseech Thee, O Lord, in all Thy mercy, that Thy fury and Thine anger be turned away from this city, and from Thy holy house, because we have sinned. Alleluia.'

8. AUGUSTINE'S MANNER OF LIFE (A.D. 597)

Bk. 1, chap. 26

As soon as they entered the dwelling-place assigned them, they began to imitate the course of life practised in the primitive church: applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and fasting; preaching the word of life to as many as they could; despising all worldly things, as not belonging to them; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living themselves in all respects conformably to what they prescribed to others;

1'A pathetic antiphon belonging to the Rogation days' (Bright, Early Eng. Church Hist., p. 48), founded upon Dan. 9. 16.

and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die, for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was on the east side of the city a church1 dedicated to the honor of St. Martin, built while the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach, and to baptize, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly, and build or repair churches in all places.

When he, among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these holy men and their delightful promises, which by many miracles they proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the word, and, forsaking their heathen rites, to associate themselves by faith to the unity of the holy church of Christ. Their conversion the king so far encouraged as that he compelled none to embrace Christianity, but only showed more affection to the believers, as to his fellow-citizens in the heavenly kingdom. For he had learned from his instructors and leaders unto salvation that the service of Christ ought to be voluntary, not brought about by compulsion. Nor was it long before he gave his teachers a settled residence in his metropolis of Canterbury, with such possessions of different kinds as were necessary for their subsistence.

1 Dean Stanley says (Hist. Mem. Canterbury, p. 31): 'The present church, old as it is, is of far later date, but it unquestionably retains in its walls some of the Roman bricks and Roman cement of Bertha's chapel. . . . Of all the great Christian saints of whom she [Bertha] had heard in France before she came to England, the most famous was St. Martin of Tours'; and hence Stanley suggests that the Canterbury church may have been named from him.