LITERATURE AND SCIENCE OF ENGLAND. 35 



In the tenth century its constitution was reformed by 

 Elfege, a native of this district, for he was born at 

 the little village of Weston under Lansdown. In 

 the earlier part of his life he lived principally at 

 Glastonbury and Bath. Here he presided over the 

 monastery, the rule of which he had reformed. 

 From hence he was called on to preside over the see 

 of Canterbury. The history of his life is the subj ect 

 of a particular memoir by one of his contemporaries. 

 He appears to have possessed some great and good 

 qualities. He perished at last by the hands of the 

 Danes. 



The monasteries were in those ages almost the 

 only seats of learning and science. We are not quali- 

 fied to judge how far the institutions of Elfege went to 

 form the mere devotee, or the far nobler character of 

 the religious man who endeavours to gain knowledge 

 for himself and imparts it willingly to others. But 

 soon after the Conquest another change took place in 

 the constitution of the monastery, which was highly 

 favourable to the introduction of the light of litera- 

 ture and science among us. To one member of its 

 body soon to be mentioned, or at least to an inhabi- 

 tant of Bath, Western science owes perhaps greater 

 obligations than to any individual from the fall to 

 the revival of learning; and from his time to the dis- 

 solution of the house, there appear never to have 

 d2 



