DOCTRINE
78
DOCTRINE
with these different classes of inquirers, the saint de-
votes no less than five lengthy chapters (x to xiv) to
the causes of weariness (the opposite of hilarilas)
and the remedies for it. This portion is perhaps the
most valuable of the whole treatise, at least from a
practical point of view. Only the merest outline of
St. Augustine's advice as to the remedies can be given
here. We must bring ourselves down to the level of
the lowest of our hearers, even as Christ humbled
Himself and took upon Himself "the form of a serv-
ant". We must vary the subjects, and we must in-
crease in earnestness of manner so as to move even the
most sluggish. If it seems to us that the fault is ours,
we should reflect, as already pointed out, that the in-
struction, though not up to our ideal, may be exactly
suited to our hearer and entirely fresh and new to
him; in any case the experience may be useful as a
trial to our humility. Other occupations may be
pleasanter, but we cannot say that they are certainly
more profitable; for duty should come first, and we
should submit to God's will and not try to make Him
submit to ours. After laying down these precepts,
St. Augustine goes on to give a short catechetical in-
struction as an example of what he has been inculcat-
ing. It is supposed to be addressed to an ordinary
tj'pe of inquirer, neither grossly ignorant nor highly
educated (xvi to xxv), and might well be used at the
present day. What specially strikes one in reading it
is the admirable way in which the saint brings out the
prophetical and typical character of the Old-Testa-
ment narrative, and insinuates gradually all the arti-
cles of the Creed without seeming to reveal them.
The sketch of Christ's life and passion, and the doc-
trine of the Church and the sacraments are also note-
worthy. The discourse ends with an earnest exhorta-
tion to perseverance. This short work has exercised
the greatest influence on catechetics. In all ages of
the Church it has been adopted as a textbook.
(5) When all fear of persecution had passed away, and the empire had become almost entirely Christian, the necessity for a prolonged period of trial and in- struction no longer existed. About the same time the fuller teaching on the subject of original sin, occa- sioned by the Pelagian heresy, gradually led to the administration of baptism to infants. In such cases instruction was, of course, impossible, though traces of it are still to be seen in the rite of infant baptism, where the godparents are put through a sort of cate- chesis m the name of the child. As the child grew, it was taught its religion both at home and at the ser- vices hi church. This instruction was necessarily more simple than that formerly given to grown-up catechu- mens, and gradually came to be what we now under- stand by catechetical instruction. Meantime, how- ever, the barbarian invaders were being brought into the Church, and in their case the instruction had to be of an elementary character. The missionaries had to go back to the methods of the Apostles and content themselves with exacting a renunciation of idolatry and a profession of belief in the great truths of Chris- tianity. Such was the practice of St. Patrick in Ireland, St. Remigius among the Franks, St. Augustine in Eng- land, St. Boniface in Germany. We should bear in mintl that in those ages religious instruction did not cease with Iiaptism. Set sermons were rarer than in our time; the priest spoke rather as a cateehist than as a preacher. We may take the practice among the Anglo- Saxons as typical of what was done in other countries. "Among the duties incumbent on the parish priest the first was to instruct his flock in the doctrines and duties of Christianity, and to extirpate from among them the lurking remains of paganism. . . . He was ordered to explain to his parishioners the ten com- mandments; to take care that all could repeat and imderstand the Lortl's Prayer and the Creed; to ex- pound in English on Sundays the portion of Scripture proper to the Mass of the day, and to preach, or, if he
were unable to preach, to read at least from a book
some lesson of instruction" (Lingard, " Anglo-Sa.xon
Church", c. iv). The laws enacting these duties will be
found in Thorpe, "Ecclesiastical Institutes", i, 378:
ii, 33, .34, 84, 191.
(6) It is the custom with non-Catholic writers to assert that during the Middle Ages, "the Ages of Faith", religious instruction was entirely neglected, and that the Protestant Reformers were the first to restore the practice of the Early Church. In the " Diet de th^ol. cath.", s. v. "Catechisme", and in Bareille, " Le Catechisme Romain", Introd., pp. 36 sqq., will be found long lists of authorities showing how false are these assertions. We must here content ourselves with stating what was done in England. Abbot Gasquet has thoroughly gone into the subject, and declares that "in pre-Reformation days the people were well in- structed in their faith by priests who faithfully dis- charged their plain duty in their regard" (Old English Bible and other Essays, p. 186). In proof of this he quotes the constitutions of John Peckham, Arch- bishop of Canterbury (1281), in which it is enjoined that every priest shall explain to his people in English, and without any elaborate subtleties {vulgariter absque cujuslibet subtilitatis texturd fantasticd), four times a year, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the two pre- cepts of the Gospel (viz. love of God and man), the seven deadly sins, the seven chief virtues (theological and cardinal), and the seven sacraments. In these constitutions is contained a brief instruction on all these heads, "lest anyone should excuse himself on the ground of ignorance of these things which all the ministers of the Church are bound to know". This legislation, after all, was nothing but an insisting on a practice dating from Saxon days, as we have already seen. Moreover, it is constantly referred to in subse- quent synods and in countless catechetical writings. One of Peckham 's predecessors, St. Edmund Rich (1234-1240), was not only a man of great learning, but also a zealous teacher of Christian doctrine among the people. He wrote familiar instructions on prayer, the seven deailly sins, the Commandments, and the sacra- ments. Cardinal Thoresby, Archbishop of York, pub- lished in 1357 a catechism in Latin and English, the "Lay Folks Catechism", for the purpose of carrying out Peckham 's Constitutions, and it is based on Peck- ham's instruction. The two, with the English transla- tion in rude verse, have been reprinted by the Early English Text Society, No. 1 18. In the episcopal Regis- ters and Visitations we read how the people were asked whether their pastor fulfilled his duties, and they con- stantly answer that they are taught bene et optime. Chaucer's Poor Parson may be taken as a type: — But riche he was of holy thought and work. He was also a lerned man, a clerk. That Christes Gospel trewly wolde preche, His parischens devoutly wolde he teche. His tale is practically a treatise on the Sacrament of Penance. As regards catechetical manuals we need only mention the " Pars Oculi Sacerdotis" (about the middle of the fourteenth century) which was very popular; "Pupilla Oculi", by John de Burgo (1385); "Speculum Christiani", by John Wotton, containing simple English rhymes as well as the Latin text. " One of the earliest books ever issued from an English press
by Caxton was a set of four lengthy discourses,
published, as they expressly declare, to enable priests to fulfil the obligation imposed on them by the Consti- tutions of Peckham" (Gasquet, op. cit., p. 191). The part which pictures, statues, reliefs, pageants, and especially miracle plays took in the religious instruct tion of the people must not be forgotten. All of tliese give proof of an extensive knowledge of sacred history and an astonishing skill in conveying doctrinal and moral lessons. It is enough to refer to Ruskin's " Bible of Amiens", and to the Townley, Chester, and Coven- try miracle plays. (Cf. Bareille, op. cit., pp. 42 sqq.)
