84 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 



ently it became the popular notion that if one 

 desired to lead a hcly life, it was necessary to enter 

 a monastic order. 



There can be no doubt, that so long as the rules 

 of the founders of these orders were observed, their 

 influence was wholesome. Learning was encour- 

 aged in the monasteries, copies of the Scriptures 

 were multiplied, the works of the Fathers were 

 transcribed and studied, schools were established, 

 the poor were fed, an asylum was always ready for 

 the sick and the troubled, and great churches were 

 built. Even, indeed, when the strictness of the 

 founders' rules was departed from, they still sub- 

 served many useful purposes. 



At the close of this period, however, the monas- 

 tic orders had declined in usefulness, and the 

 good they had the opportunity of doing was often 

 left undone, although their popularity was never 

 so great before. Even kings left their homes to 

 shut themselves up in the monasteries, that they 

 might devote themselves to prayer and meditation 

 and holy deeds. So high did the monks stand in 

 favor, that many were promoted to posts of honor 

 under the different governments. The revenues 

 of the different orders grew to be immense, and 

 their lands were almost beyond measuring 



The Feudal System. — To understand the feudal 

 system, it must be remembered that, when the 



