[Footnote116:SeetheTopographiaChristianaofCosmas,surnamedIndicopleustes,ortheIndiannavigator,l。iii。p。178,179,l。
xi。p。337。Theentirework,ofwhichsomecuriousextractsmaybefoundinPhotius,cod。xxxvi。p。9,10,edit。Hoeschel,
Thevenot,inthe1stpartofhisRelationdesVoyages,&c。,andFabricius,Bibliot。Graec。l。iii。c。25,tom。ii。p。603—
617,hasbeenpublishedbyFatherMontfauconatParis,1707,intheNovaCollectioPatrum,tom。ii。p。113—346。Itwasthedesignoftheauthortoconfutetheimpiousheresyofthosewhomaintainedthattheearthisaglobe,andnotaflat,oblongtable,asitisrepresentedintheScriptures,l。ii。p。138。
Butthenonsenseofthemonkismingledwiththepracticalknowledgeofthetraveller,whoperformedhisvoyageA。D。522,andpublishedhisbookatAlexandria,A。D。547,l。ii。p。140,141。Montfaucon,Praefat。c。2。TheNestorianismofCosmas,unknowntohislearnededitor,wasdetectedbyLaCroze,ChristianismedesIndes,tom。i。p。40—55,andisconfirmedbyAssemanni,Bibliot。Orient。tom。iv。p。605,606。]
[Footnote117:InitslongprogresstoMosul,Jerusalem,Rome,&c。,thestoryofPresterJohnevaporatedinamonstrousfable,ofwhichsomefeatureshavebeenborrowedfromtheLamaofThibet,Hist。GenealogiquedesTartares,P。ii。p。42。Hist。deGengiscan,p。31,&c。,andwereignorantlytransferredbythePortuguesetotheemperorofAbyssinia,Ludolph。Hist。Aethiop。
Comment。l。ii。c。1。Yetitisprobablethatinthexithandxiithcenturies,NestorianChristianitywasprofessedinthehordeoftheKeraites,D'Herbelot,p。256,915,959。Assemanni,tom。iv。p。468—504。
Note:TheextenttowhichNestorianChristianityprevailedamongtheTartartribesisoneofthemostcuriousquestionsinOrientalhistory。M。SchmidtGeschichtederOstMongolen,notes,p。383appearstoquestiontheChristianityofOngChaghan,andhisKeraitesubjects。—M。]
[Footnote118:TheChristianityofChina,betweentheseventhandthethirteenthcentury,isinvinciblyprovedbytheconsentofChinese,Arabian,Syriac,andLatinevidence,Assemanni,Biblioth。Orient。tom。iv。p。502—552。Mem。del'AcademiedesInscript。tom。xxx。p。802—819。TheinscriptionofSiganfuwhichdescribesthefortunesoftheNestorianchurch,fromthefirstmission,A。D。636,tothecurrentyear781,isaccusedofforgerybyLaCroze,Voltaire,&c。,whobecomethedupesoftheirowncunning,whiletheyareafraidofaJesuiticalfraud。
Note:Thisfamousmonument,theauthenticityofwhichmanyhaveattemptedtoimpeach,ratherfromhatredtotheJesuits,bywhomitwasmadeknown,thanbyacandidexaminationofitscontents,isnowgenerallyconsideredaboveallsuspicion。TheChinesetextandthefactswhichitrelatesareequallystrongproofsofitsauthenticity。ThismonumentwasraisedasamemorialoftheestablishmentofChristianityinChina。Itisdatedtheyear1092oftheeraoftheGreeks,ortheSeleucidae,A。D。781,inthetimeoftheNestorianpatriarchAnan—jesu。ItwasraisedbyIezdbouzid,priestandchorepiscopusofChumdan,thatis,ofthecapitaloftheChineseempire,andthesonofapriestwhocamefromBalkhinTokharistan。Amongthevariousargumentswhichmaybeurgedinfavoroftheauthenticityofthismonument,andwhichhasnotyetbeenadvanced,maybereckonedthenameofthepriestbywhomitwasraised。ThenameisPersian,andatthetimethemonumentwasdiscovered,itwouldhavebeenimpossibletohaveimaginedit;fortherewasnoworkextantfromwhencetheknowledgeofitcouldbederived。Idonotbelievethateversincethisperiod,anybookhasbeenpublishedinwhichitcanbefoundasecondtime。ItisverycelebratedamongsttheArmenians,andisderivedfromamartyr,aPersianbybirth,oftheroyalrace,whoperishedtowardsthemiddleoftheseventhcentury,andrenderedhisnamecelebratedamongtheChristiannationsoftheEast。St。Martin,vol。i。p。
69。M。Remusathasalsostronglyexpressedhisconvictionoftheauthenticityofthismonument。MelangesAsiatiques,P。i。p。33。
YetM。SchmidtGeschichtederOstMongolen,p。384deniesthatthereisanysatisfactoryproofthatmuchamonumentwaseverfoundinChina,orthatitwasnotmanufacturedinEurope。ButiftheJesuitshadattemptedsuchaforgery,woulditnothavebeenmoreadaptedtofurthertheirpeculiarviews?—M。]
[Footnote119:JacobitaeetNestorianaepluresquamGraecietLatiniJacobaVitriaco,Hist。Hierosol。l。ii。c。76,p。1093,intheGestaDeiperFrancos。ThenumbersaregivenbyThomassin,Disciplinedel'Eglise,tom。i。p。172。]
[Footnote120:ThedivisionofthepatriarchatemaybetracedintheBibliothecaOrient。ofAssemanni,tom。i。p。523—549,tom。
ii。p。457,&c。,tom。iii。p。603,p。621—623,tom。iv。p。164
—169,p。423,p。622—629,&c。]
[Footnote121:ThepompouslanguageofRomeonthesubmissionofaNestorianpatriarch,iselegantlyrepresentedintheviithbookofFraPaola,Babylon,Nineveh,Arbela,andthetrophiesofAlexander,Tauris,andEcbatana,theTigrisandIndus。]
Accordingtothelegendofantiquity,thegospelwaspreachedinIndiabySt。Thomas。^122Attheendoftheninthcentury,hisshrine,perhapsintheneighborhoodofMadras,wasdevoutlyvisitedbytheambassadorsofAlfred;andtheirreturnwithacargoofpearlsandspicesrewardedthezealoftheEnglishmonarch,whoentertainedthelargestprojectsoftradeanddiscovery。^123WhenthePortuguesefirstopenedthenavigationofIndia,theChristiansofSt。ThomashadbeenseatedforagesonthecoastofMalabar,andthedifferenceoftheircharacterandcolorattestedthemixtureofaforeignrace。Inarms,inarts,andpossiblyinvirtue,theyexcelledthenativesofHindostan;thehusbandmencultivatedthepalm—tree,themerchantswereenrichedbythepeppertrade,thesoldiersprecededthenairsornoblesofMalabar,andtheirhereditaryprivilegeswererespectedbythegratitudeorthefearofthekingofCochinandtheZamorinhimself。TheyacknowledgedaGentooofsovereign,buttheyweregoverned,evenintemporalconcerns,bythebishopofAngamala。HestillassertedhisancienttitleofmetropolitanofIndia,buthisrealjurisdictionwasexercisedinfourteenhundredchurches,andhewasintrustedwiththecareoftwohundredthousandsouls。TheirreligionwouldhaverenderedthemthefirmestandmostcordialalliesofthePortuguese;buttheinquisitorssoondiscernedintheChristiansofSt。Thomastheunpardonableguiltofheresyandschism。
InsteadofowningthemselvesthesubjectsoftheRomanpontiff,thespiritualandtemporalmonarchoftheglobe,theyadhered,liketheirancestors,tothecommunionoftheNestorianpatriarch;andthebishopswhomheordainedatMosul,traversedthedangersoftheseaandlandtoreachtheirdioceseonthecoastofMalabar。IntheirSyriacliturgythenamesofTheodoreandNestoriuswerepiouslycommemorated:theyunitedtheiradorationofthetwopersonsofChrist;thetitleofMotherofGodwasoffensivetotheirear,andtheymeasuredwithscrupulousavaricethehonorsoftheVirginMary,whomthesuperstitionoftheLatinshadalmostexaltedtotherankofagoddess。WhenherimagewasfirstpresentedtothedisciplesofSt。Thomas,theyindignantlyexclaimed,"WeareChristians,notidolaters!"andtheirsimpledevotionwascontentwiththevenerationofthecross。TheirseparationfromtheWesternworldhadlefttheminignoranceoftheimprovements,orcorruptions,ofathousandyears;andtheirconformitywiththefaithandpracticeofthefifthcenturywouldequallydisappointtheprejudicesofaPapistoraProtestant。ItwasthefirstcareoftheministersofRometointerceptallcorrespondencewiththeNestorianpatriarch,andseveralofhisbishopsexpiredintheprisonsoftheholyoffice。
Theflock,withoutashepherd,wasassaultedbythepowerofthePortuguese,theartsoftheJesuits,andthezealofAlexisdeMenezes,archbishopofGoa,inhispersonalvisitationofthecoastofMalabar。ThesynodofDiamper,atwhichhepresided,consummatedthepiousworkofthereunion;andrigorouslyimposedthedoctrineanddisciplineoftheRomanchurch,withoutforgettingauricularconfession,thestrongestengineofecclesiasticaltorture。ThememoryofTheodoreandNestoriuswascondemned,andMalabarwasreducedunderthedominionofthepope,oftheprimate,andoftheJesuitswhoinvadedtheseeofAngamalaorCranganor。Sixtyyearsofservitudeandhypocrisywerepatientlyendured;butassoonasthePortugueseempirewasshakenbythecourageandindustryoftheDutch,theNestoriansasserted,withvigorandeffect,thereligionoftheirfathers。
TheJesuitswereincapableofdefendingthepowerwhichtheyhadabused;thearmsoffortythousandChristianswerepointedagainsttheirfallingtyrants;andtheIndianarchdeaconassumedthecharacterofbishoptillafreshsupplyofepiscopalgiftsandSyriacmissionariescouldbeobtainedfromthepatriarchofBabylon。SincetheexpulsionofthePortuguese,theNestoriancreedisfreelyprofessedonthecoastofMalabar。ThetradingcompaniesofHollandandEnglandarethefriendsoftoleration;
butifoppressionbelessmortifyingthancontempt,theChristiansofSt。ThomashavereasontocomplainofthecoldandsilentindifferenceoftheirbrethrenofEurope。^124
[Footnote122:TheIndianmissionary,St。Thomas,anapostle,aManichaean,oranArmenianmerchant,LaCroze,ChristianismedesIndes,tom。i。p。57—70,wasfamous,however,asearlyasthetimeofJerom,adMarcellam,epist。148。Marco—PolowasinformedonthespotthathesufferedmartyrdominthecityofMalabar,orMeliapour,aleagueonlyfromMadras,D'Anville,Eclaircissemenssurl'Inde,p。125,wherethePortuguesefoundedanepiscopalchurchunderthenameofSt。Thome,andwherethesaintperformedanannualmiracle,tillhewassilencedbytheprofaneneighborhoodoftheEnglish,LaCroze,tom。ii。p。7—
16。]
[Footnote123:NeithertheauthoroftheSaxonChronicleA。D。
833notWilliamofMalmesburydeGestisRegumAngliae,l。ii。
c。4,p。44werecapable,inthetwelfthcentury,ofinventingthisextraordinaryfact;theyareincapableofexplainingthemotivesandmeasuresofAlfred;andtheirhastynoticeservesonlytoprovokeourcuriosity。WilliamofMalmesburyfeelsthedifficultyoftheenterprise,quodquivisinhocsaeculomiretur;
andIalmostsuspectthattheEnglishambassadorscollectedtheircargoandlegendinEgypt。TheroyalauthorhasnotenrichedhisOrosiusseeBarrington'sMiscellanieswithanIndian,aswellasaScandinavian,voyage。]
[Footnote124:ConcerningtheChristiansofSt。Thomas,seeAssemann。BibliotOrient。tom。iv。p。391—407,435—451;
Geddes'sChurchHistoryofMalabar;and,aboveall,LaCroze,HistoireduChristianismedesIndes,in2vols。12mo。,LaHaye,1758,alearnedandagreeablework。Theyhavedrawnfromthesamesource,thePortugueseandItaliannarratives;andtheprejudicesoftheJesuitsaresufficientlycorrectedbythoseoftheProtestants。
Note:TheSt。ThomeChristianshadexcitedgreatinterestintheancientmindoftheadmirableBishopHeber。Seehiscuriousand,tohisfriends,highlycharacteristiclettertoMarAthanasius,AppendixtoJournal。Theargumentsofhisfriendandcoadjutor,Mr。Robinson,LastDaysofBishopHeber,havenotconvincedmethattheChristianityofIndiaisolderthantheNestoriandispersion。—M]
II。ThehistoryoftheMonophysitesislesscopiousandinterestingthanthatoftheNestorians。UnderthereignsofZenoandAnastasius,theirartfulleaderssurprisedtheearoftheprince,usurpedthethronesoftheEast,andcrushedonitsnativesoiltheschooloftheSyrians。TheruleoftheMonophysitefaithwasdefinedwithexquisitediscretionbySeverus,patriarchofAntioch:hecondemned,inthestyleoftheHenoticon,theadverseheresiesofNestorius;andEutychesmaintainedagainstthelattertherealityofthebodyofChrist,andconstrainedtheGreekstoallowthathewasaliarwhospoketruth。^125Buttheapproximationofideascouldnotabatethevehemenceofpassion;eachpartywasthemoreastonishedthattheirblindantagonistcoulddisputeonsotriflingadifference;
thetyrantofSyriaenforcedthebeliefofhiscreed,andhisreignwaspollutedwiththebloodofthreehundredandfiftymonks,whowereslain,notperhapswithoutprovocationorresistance,underthewallsofApamea。^126ThesuccessorofAnastasiusreplantedtheorthodoxstandardintheEast;SeverusfledintoEgypt;andhisfriend,theeloquentXenaias,^127whohadescapedfromtheNestoriansofPersia,wassuffocatedinhisexilebytheMelchitesofPaphlagonia。Fifty—fourbishopsweresweptfromtheirthrones,eighthundredecclesiasticswerecastintoprison,^128andnotwithstandingtheambiguousfavorofTheodora,theOrientalflocks,deprivedoftheirshepherds,mustinsensiblyhavebeeneitherfamishedorpoisoned。Inthisspiritualdistress,theexpiringfactionwasrevived,andunited,andperpetuated,bythelaborsofamonk;andthenameofJamesBaradaeus^129hasbeenpreservedintheappellationofJacobites,afamiliarsound,whichmaystartletheearofanEnglishreader。FromtheholyconfessorsintheirprisonofConstantinople,hereceivedthepowersofbishopofEdessaandapostleoftheEast,andtheordinationoffourscorethousandbishops,priests,anddeacons,isderivedfromthesameinexhaustiblesource。ThespeedofthezealousmissionarywaspromotedbythefleetestdromedariesofadevoutchiefoftheArabs;thedoctrineanddisciplineoftheJacobitesweresecretlyestablishedinthedominionsofJustinian;andeachJacobitewascompelledtoviolatethelawsandtohatetheRomanlegislator。
ThesuccessorsofSeverus,whiletheylurkedinconventsorvillages,whiletheyshelteredtheirproscribedheadsinthecavernsofhermits,orthetentsoftheSaracens,stillasserted,astheynowassert,theirindefeasiblerighttothetitle,therank,andtheprerogativesofpatriarchofAntioch:underthemilderyokeoftheinfidels,theyresideaboutaleaguefromMerdin,inthepleasantmonasteryofZapharan,whichtheyhaveembellishedwithcells,aqueducts,andplantations。Thesecondary,thoughhonorable,placeisfilledbythemaphrian,who,inhisstationatMosulitself,defiestheNestoriancatholicwithwhomheconteststheprimacyoftheEast。Underthepatriarchandthemaphrian,onehundredandfiftyarchbishopsandbishopshavebeencountedinthedifferentagesoftheJacobitechurch;buttheorderofthehierarchyisrelaxedordissolved,andthegreaterpartoftheirdiocesesisconfinedtotheneighborhoodoftheEuphratesandtheTigris。ThecitiesofAleppoandAmida,whichareoftenvisitedbythepatriarch,containsomewealthymerchantsandindustriousmechanics,butthemultitudederivetheirscantysustenancefromtheirdailylabor:
andpoverty,aswellassuperstition,mayimposetheirexcessivefasts:fiveannuallents,duringwhichboththeclergyandlaityabstainnotonlyfromfleshoreggs,butevenfromthetasteofwine,ofoil,andoffish。Theirpresentnumbersareesteemedfromfiftytofourscorethousandsouls,theremnantofapopulouschurch,whichwasgraduallydecreasedundertheimpressionoftwelvecenturies。Yetinthatlongperiod,somestrangersofmerithavebeenconvertedtotheMonophysitefaith,andaJewwasthefatherofAbulpharagius,^130primateoftheEast,sotrulyeminentbothinhislifeanddeath。InhislifehewasanelegantwriteroftheSyriacandArabictongues,apoet,physician,andhistorian,asubtilephilosopher,andamoderatedivine。Inhisdeath,hisfuneralwasattendedbyhisrivaltheNestorianpatriarch,withatrainofGreeksandArmenians,whoforgottheirdisputes,andmingledtheirtearsoverthegraveofanenemy。ThesectwhichwashonoredbythevirtuesofAbulpharagiusappears,however,tosinkbelowtheleveloftheirNestorianbrethren。ThesuperstitionoftheJacobitesismoreabject,theirfastsmorerigid,^131theirintestinedivisionsaremorenumerous,andtheirdoctorsasfarasIcanmeasurethedegreesofnonsensearemoreremotefromtheprecinctsofreason。SomethingmaypossiblybeallowedfortherigoroftheMonophysitetheology;muchmoreforthesuperiorinfluenceofthemonasticorder。InSyria,inEgypt,inEthiopia,theJacobitemonkshaveeverbeendistinguishedbytheausterityoftheirpenanceandtheabsurdityoftheirlegends。Aliveordead,theyareworshippedasthefavoritesoftheDeity;thecrosierofbishopandpatriarchisreservedfortheirvenerablehands;andtheyassumethegovernmentofmen,whiletheyareyetreekingwiththehabitsandprejudicesofthecloister。^132
[Footnote125:IstheexpressionofTheodore,inhisTreatiseoftheIncarnation,p。245,247,asheisquotedbyLaCroze,Hist。
duChristianismed'Ethiopieetd'Armenie,p。35,whoexclaims,perhapstoohastily,"Quelpitoyableraisonnement!"RenaudothastouchedHist。Patriarch。Alex。p。127—138theOrientalaccountsofSeverus;andhisauthenticcreedmaybefoundintheepistleofJohntheJacobitepatriarchofAntioch,inthexthcentury,tohisbrotherMannasofAlexandria,Asseman。Bibliot。
Orient。tom。ii。p。132—141。]
[Footnote126:Epist。ArchimandritarumetMonachorumSyriaeSecundaeadPapamHormisdam,Concil。tom。v。p。598—602。ThecourageofSt。Sabas,utleoanimosus,willjustifythesuspicionthatthearmsofthesemonkswerenotalwaysspiritualordefensive,Baronius,A。D。513,No。7,&c。]
[Footnote127:AssemanniBibliot。Orient。tom。ii。p。10—46
andLaCrozeChristianismed'Ethiopie,p。36—40willsupplythehistoryofXenaias,orPhiloxenus,bishopofMabug,orHierapolis,inSyria。HewasaperfectmasteroftheSyriaclanguage,andtheauthororeditorofaversionoftheNewTestament。]
[Footnote128:Thenamesandtitlesoffifty—fourbishopswhowereexiledbyJustin,arepreservedintheChronicleofDionysius,apudAsseman。tom。ii。p。54。SeveruswaspersonallysummonedtoConstantinople—forhistrial,saysLiberatusBrev。
c。19—thathistonguemightbecutout,saysEvagrius,l。iv。
c。iv。Theprudentpatriarchdidnotstaytoexaminethedifference。ThisecclesiasticalrevolutionisfixedbyPagitothemonthofSeptemberoftheyear518,Critica,tom。ii。p。
506。]
[Footnote129:TheobscurehistoryofJamesorJacobusBaradaeus,orZanzalustmaybegatheredfromEutychius,Annal。tom。ii。p。
144,147,Renaudot,Hist。Patriarch。Alex。p。133,andAssemannus,Bibliot。Orient。tom。i。p。424,tom。ii。p。62—
69,324—332,414,tom。iii。p。385—388。HeseemstobeunknowntotheGreeks。TheJacobitesthemselveshadratherdeducetheirnameandpedigreefromSt。Jamestheapostle。]
[Footnote130:TheaccountofhispersonandwritingsisperhapsthemostcuriousarticleintheBibliothecaofAssemannus,tom。
ii。p。244—321,underthenameofGregoriusBar—Hebroeus。LaCrozeChristianismed'Ethiopie,p。53—63ridiculestheprejudiceoftheSpaniardsagainsttheJewishbloodwhichsecretlydefilestheirchurchandstate。]
[Footnote131:ThisexcessiveabstinenceiscensuredbyLaCroze,p。352,andevenbytheSyrianAssemannus,tom。i。p。226,tom。ii。p。304,305。]
[Footnote132:ThestateoftheMonophysitesisexcellentlyillustratedinadissertationatthebeginningoftheiidvolumeofAssemannus,whichcontains142pages。TheSyriacChronicleofGregoryBar—Hebraeus,orAbulpharagius,Bibliot。Orient。tom。
ii。p。321—463,pursuesthedoubleseriesoftheNestorianCatholicsandtheMaphriansoftheJacobites。]