GREGORY. 



a\l his liiimllit 7, howevpi-, Gregory was a mod zealous_af- 

 I'ertor of thu- power and prerogatives which his predecelTors 

 had cxt-rcifed, or at any time claimed. He would declare, 

 and no one feemed to doubt the fincerity of his afTortlon, 

 tiiJt lie would rather lofe his life, than 'fuiTcr the fee of St. 

 Peter to forfeit any of the priiileEjcs which it had ever en- 

 ioved, or the prime apoftle to be any ways injured, or rob- 

 bJd of his rights. In the year 593, the emperor iffued an 

 cdicl, forbidding any foldiers to quit the army, under the pre- 

 tence of emiiracing a monaftic life, tiil the time of their fer- 

 vice was expired The pope determined to reraonftrate 

 a'raiiill the decree, being pcrfuadcdthal the eeclefiallical road 

 was more fafc than any other to the attainment of a heavenly 

 crown. For t!\is and fome other acls of interference, the 

 emperor exprefTed his diffatisfadion with the fteps taken by 

 the pope, in ftrong and c\en abufive terms, and they proved 

 the means of frullrating his application for a redrefs of 

 grievances occafioned by the cruelty and avarice of the 

 imperial officers. The king of the Lombards threatened to 

 lav fiege to Rome, in order that he might avenge himfelf 

 of fome cirenmihuice that had liappened contrary to his 

 dignity, but (}regorv made friends with his favourites, who 

 had themfelves embraced tlie Catholic faith, and by their 

 interceffions the prince was induced to draw off his troops. 

 About this time the patriarch of Conftantinople affumed the 

 title of 1" Univerfal Patriarch,' a meafure which alarmed 

 Gregory, who made every exertion to prevent him from 

 making good his claims. All his entreaties were vain, the 

 patriarch eflablilhed his title, and entailed it on his fuc- 

 cefTors. When Gregory was informed of this he renounced 

 the patriarch's communion, and condemned his conduft on 

 the occafion as vain, ambitious, profane, impious, execra- 

 ble, anti-chriftian, blafphemous, infernal, and diabolical. 

 In the year 596, Agilulph, king of the Lombards, broke 

 into tlie imperial territories, laying wafte the Roman duke- 

 dom of Campania, aud carrying away the inhabitants into 

 captivity. On this occafion Gregory exercifed the moit 

 unbounded cliarity, in relieving the poor, and redeeming 

 great numbers of prifoners, not only applving the revenues 

 of his fee to thofe benevolent pnrpofes, but large funis which 

 he obtained by his application to the biOiops, and the great 

 iren who were his friends, both in the Eait and Vs'eft. LTn- 

 der his reign the Arians of Italy and Spain were reconciled 

 to the Catholic church, and the conquell of Britain reflects 

 lefs glory on the name of Cxfar than on that of Gre- 

 gory I. Inllead of fix legions, forty monks were em- 

 barked for that diftant'ifiand, and the pontiff lamented the 

 aullere duties which forbade him to partake the perils of 

 their fpiritual warfare. In lefs than two years he could 

 announce to the archbifliop of Alexandria, that tliey had 

 baptized the king of Kent with ten tlioi^fSiid of his Anglo- 

 Saxons, and the Roman miffionaries, like lliofe of the pri- 

 mitive church, were armed only with fpiritual and fuper- 

 natural powers. The credulity or the prudence of Grcfrory 

 was always difpofed to confirm the truths of religion by 

 villous and pretended miracles, and he accordingly acquired 

 a high reputation with his own and fuccecding ages. The 

 patriarch of Conftantinople dying, lie was fucceeded by 

 Cyriacus, vvhofe faith was deemed orthodox by the pope, 

 but who perfifted in claiming the title " Univerfal Patri- 

 arch." Gregory flill rcfifted, and in the courfe of the cor- 

 rcfpondence which he maintained with the patriarchs of 

 Antioch and Alexandria to intprefl them on his fide of the 

 difpute ; the lall mentioned prelate gave liim the title of 

 " Univerfal Pope," in hopes thereby of terminating the 

 difference between the contending parties. Gregory, how- 

 ever, rejcfted the title with great indignation, and by way 



t'3 



of contraft to the patriarch's conduft, he adopted the ap- 

 pellation of " Servant of Servants," which his fuccefTors 

 have retained to this day, and afleited to ufe it even vhea 

 diib'nguilhcd by the moil fcandaloiis cxercife of pride and 

 defpotifm. In the year i6oi, at the requeil of Auguftin,- 

 the pope fent a frefli colony of monks into Britain, and with 

 fuch directions to that apoftle of the Anglo-Saxons, as he 

 has been denominated, as have proved the means of hitro- 

 dncing the groffeft corruptions and foperflitions into the 

 fyftem of Chriilianity cllablilhed through his miffion. 

 During this fame yc.ir Serenus, bifhop of Marfeilles, or- 

 dered all the images throughout his diocefe to be call out 

 of the churches and deftroyed : his condudl was not quite 

 approved by Gregory, though he pretended to applaud 

 Serenus's zeal, in not fuffering any thing to be worfnipped 

 tliat is made with hands. Nevertlielcfs, he condemned his 

 cafting them out of the churches and dafliing them to 

 pieces, as the cffeft of an inconfiderate and indifcreet zeal, 

 obferving, that " though images were not fet up in the 

 churches to be vvorfhipped, yet they ferve to inilruft the 

 ignorant : and it is one thing to adore an image, and an- 

 other to learn from an image what is to be adored." During 

 the year 602 a revolution took place at Conltantinople, in 

 confequence of the revolt of the army, at the inlligation 

 of Pliocas, a centurion, who was proclaimed emperor, and 

 obtained podcnion of the imperial city and throne. The 

 firll obje£t of the j;ew fovereign was to dellroy the abdi- 

 cated prince, with his fix fons and a number of his relations 

 and friends, and then he got himfelf acknowledged lawful 

 emperor in all parts of the empire. On this occafion, 

 Gregory expreffed his utmoil fatisfaftion and joy at the 

 change that had taken place, without hinting that he 

 felt any forrow at the means by which it had been ac- 

 complidied. He immediately wrote letters to the new 

 emperor, congratulating him on his acceffion to the imperial 

 crown, which he faid was cfleited by a particular pro- 

 vidence, to deliver the people from the oppreffions under 

 wliich they had fo long groaned, and lie even commended, 

 flattered, and extolled the tyrant, for his juiHce, clemency, 

 and pietv, in the moll fuliome terms. His objccl in this 

 abjedl behaviour was that he Dijght, by means of the in- 

 fluence of the emperor, defeat the attempt of tlie patriarch 

 to afTume the title of " Univerfal Bidiop." This he plainly 

 told to Leontia, the nev.r cmprefs, reprcfenting to her what 

 bleflings they might expeft from St. Pettr in heaven, pro- 

 vided tiiey obliged the patriarch to relinquiih the title, which 

 the pope confidered derogatory to the honour, dignity, and 

 interells of his fee. In this objcA he fucceeded, for Pliocas 

 cnafted a law, by which he proliibited the bifhop of Conftan- 

 tinople from ftyling himfelf oecumenical or general patriarch, 

 declaring that this title belonged to none but the bifliop of 

 ancient Rome. This was not the only inftance in which 

 Gregory condefcended to flatter bafe and infamous cha- 

 raftcrs : he fhewed equal or even greater complaifance to 

 Brunchaut, queen of France, who is defcribed by Bayle as 

 the moll wicked woman upon earth, but as capaljle of 

 winning over the clergy to her interell, becaufe at the fame 

 time that flie committed the moft enormous crimes, fhe was 

 exceflively liberal to ccclefiaftics, and founded temples and 

 convents, not forgetting to fue very devoutly for relics to 

 the holy father. In all the letters which the pope wrote to 

 her, he treated her with the moft abjedl flattery, declaring 

 that no nation in the world was fo happy as the French, 

 fincc it merited fuch a queen, endowed with virtues and fine 

 qualities of every kind. In the year 604, Gregory was 

 attacked with a fevere fit of the gout, a diforder to which 

 he had teen accuftomcd, and which rendered him incapable 



of 



