by inspiration as by law, governed the outward actions of men, the
human mind was in complete, and almost universally willing, subjection
to theological influence. The state of war, or of readiness for war,
which was the inevitable accompaniment of feudal tenure, did much to
sustain the state of profound ignorance and consequent superstition in
which the people of mediæval times were plunged, both by preventing the
pursuit of peaceful occupations and the growth of knowledge, and by
increasing the element of danger in life, which always inclines the
human mind to a belief in the supernatural. The same results were
brought about by the character and aims of the Roman Church. The
unswerving purpose of that church was to govern, temporally as well as
spiritually. She sought to supply to men from her own store all the
knowledge which was necessary for their welfare, and that knowledge was
limited to dogmas and beliefs which would strengthen the power of the
priesthood. A strict and absolute acceptance of the truths of
Christianity as she defined them, and a humble obedience to the clergy
were made the sole and necessary conditions of salvation. A questioning
of those truths or a violation of that obedience was a crime before
which murder and license faded into insignificance. The spirit of doubt
and of inquiry which alone leads to knowledge, and through knowledge to
civilization, was repressed by excommunication or in blood. As long as
men continued in a state of helpless ignorance and willing credulity,
the church was a fitting, even a beneficent, mistress and guide. For
centuries she was the sole teacher and the sole external source of
moral elevation. For centuries she alone pointed out the distinction
between right and wrong, the beauty of virtue, and the ugliness of sin.
Whatever there was in life to raise men above their earthly struggles,
their evil passions, and the despair of a hard and dangerous existence,
was supplied by her. The consolations of religion, the ennobling
acquaintance with the character of Christ, and the hope of salvation