Crane.) 
expedition. After the capture of Narbonne in 1217 he was made Bishop 
of Accon (Acre) in Palestine, where he remained, taking an important part 
in the crusades. In 1227 he returned to Rome, and between 1228-30 was 
made a cardinal and Bishop of Tusculum by Gregory TX, who employed 
him on several missions. He was offered the patriarchate of Jerusalem, 
but refused it, and died at Rome in 1240.* He is chiefly known by his 
Historia orientalis which extends from 622-1218. We are, however, espe- 
cially interested in his sermons, We have seen above that he was an 
enthusiastic preacher of the Albigensian crusade, and Etienne de Bourbon 
says of him: ‘‘ Vir sanctus et litteratus * * * predicando per regnum 
Francis et utens exemplis in sermonibus suis, adeo totam osama Fran- 
ciam, quod non putat memoria aliquem ante vel post sic novisse.’’ His 
printed sermons (Antwerp, 1575) are what are technically known as 
Sermones de tempore et sanctis, and are distinguished from the mass of ser- 
mons of that day by the use of less scholastic argument and more exam- 
ples borrowed from history and legend. His unpublished sermons (Se7- 
mones vulgares) are, as L. de la Marche says, literally crammed with stories, 
and constitute a treasure house which succeeding preachers have pillaged, 
often without any acknowledgment. L. de la Marche says, p. 276, that each 
sermon contains three or four evempla in succession, The more simple and 
common the audience the more prodigal he is of his stories. He says him- 
self, in his preface: ‘*The keen sword of subtle argumentation has no 
power over the laymen, To the knowledge ofthe Scriptures, without which 
one cannot take a step, must be added examples which are encouraging, 
amusing and yet edifying. Let us lay aside the pagan fables and poetry 
which do not afford any moral instruction ; but let us open the door to the 
maxims of the philosophers which express useful ideas * * * * * * 
The inexperienced who blame this mode of preaching do not suspect the 
profit it may produce ; for our part we have tried it.’’ He then continues 
relating how he excited the attention of his hearers: ‘‘Suchan example,’’ 
he says, ‘‘seems dull when read, which, on the contrary, will be very 
pleasing in the mouth of a skillful narrator.’’ } 
*See Histoire litltéraire dela France, X VITI, 209 et seq., Grasse, Lehrbuch einer 
allgemeinen Literirgeschichte, ii. BA. ii. Abth.,, ii, Milfte, p. 1058, and Gadeke in 
Orient und Occident, i. 541. 
+L. de La Marche, op. cit. pp, 276-277, who adds: ‘Les extraits, les reproduc- 
tions diverses qui furent faites de ses @uvres presqueimmediatement prouvent 
combien son idée eut de succes, & quel point elle s’ adaptait aux besoins des 
populations,’ It was fora long time supposed that Jacques de Vitry was the 
author of a Speculum Hxzemplorum (see Godeke, op, cit. p. 542); this is not the 
case, his exempla are found in his inedited sermons. Itis greatly to be wished 
that L, de la Marche who has so ably edited Htienne de Bourbon would do the 
same for Jacques de Vitry, whose importance for the diffusion of popular tales 
is greater than that of any writer we shall have occasion tomention in the pres- 
ent article. How muchthis writer was used by other preachers willappear when 
we consider later Etienne de Bourbon’s obligations to him, Goodeke in the arti- 
ele above cited mentions another case of wholesale borrowing, that of the monk 
Johannes Junior in his Scala coeli 
[March 16, 
