that "out of the greatness of his mind he could not be persuaded." But excess of daring in a British seaman meets with casy pardon, and without some such examples, the English navy would never have been, as it now is, the admiration and terror of the world. Biog. Brisan.-A.

GREENVILLE, sir BEVIL, a gentleman of distinguished worth and loyalty, grandson of the preceding, was born at the seat of his father Bernard Greenville, esq. in 1596. He was educated at Exeter college, Oxford, under Dr. Prideaux, where he acquired a large share of knowledge, together with a warm attachment to religion. When he came to his estate, he distinguished himself by all the popular qualities of a respectable country gentleman, and repeatedly sat in parliament as knight of the shire for the county of Cornwall, and burgess for Launceston. In 1638 he attended the king with a troop of horse raised at his own expence in his expedition to Scotland. He was knighted for this service; and being returned member for the county in the Long Parliament, of 1640, he adhered to the royal party, though with prudence. When the civil war broke out, he did not hesitate to declare himself; but while the king's friends were yet weak in the west, he joined sir Ralph Hopton and others, and by his interest greatly contributed to the raising of the Cornish army of loyalists. He had a command in the battle of Stratton gained by Hopton against the earl of Stamford, in May, 1643. Upon the junction of the marquis of Hertford and prince Maurice with the Cornish troops, sir Bevil was of great service in preserving unanimity by his influence. After some smaller actions, the royal forces met those of the parliament commanded by sir William Waller, at Landsdown near Bath, on July 5th, 1643. A hard-fought action ensued, in which sir Bevil, gallantly charging at the head of his Cornish men, received a fatal blow with a pole

His body was afterwards found surrounded by those of his officers; and it was observed that in this battle there were more officers and gentlemen than common men, killed on the king's side. Sir Bevil was extremely lamented, as might be expected of one who deserved the following character drawn by lord Clarendon. "That which would have clouded any victory was the death of sir Bevil Greenville. He was, indeed, an excellent person, whose activity, interest, and reputation, was the foundation of what had been done in Cornwall, and his temper and affection so public, that no accident which happened could make any impression on

him; and his example kept others from taking any thing ill, or at least seeming to do so. In a word, a brighter courage, and a gentler disposition, were never married together, to make the most cheerful and innocent conversation." A monument erected by his descendant lord Landsdown marks the spot where he fell. Biog. Britan.-A.

GREGORY, I. Pope, surnamed the Great. and also dignified in the Romish calendar with the title of saint, was a natiye of Rome, and a descendant from one of the most illustrious and wealthy patrician families in that city. He was educated in a manner suitable to his rank, and as he possessed excellent natural abilities, and, a love of study, distinguished himself by his proficiency in the different branches of literature. and science. Gregory of Tours, his contemporary, informs us, that none at Rome excelled him in grammar, rhetoric, and logic. He, likewise, paid particular attention to the study. of jurisprudence, an acquaintance with which was indispensably necessary for the stations to which he was entitled. by his birth. His parents had also taken care to have his mind early impressed with sentiments of piety, and to habituate him to the steady observance of the laws of morality and honour. He discovered such abilities, integrity, and prudence, in the exercise of different senatorial employments, that the emperor Justin the younger appointed him to the honourable and important post of governor of Rome. In this office he acquitted; himself to the entire satisfaction of the emperor, and also of the Roman senate and people. How. long he retained it is uncertain; but he appears to have quitted it soon after the death of his father, when he came into the possession of immense wealth. He had now become disgustedwith the world, and determined to embrace the religious life. Under the influence of this disposition he devoted the greatest part of his. vast property to the foundation of monasteries, in conformity with the prevalent superstition of the times, and to charitable uses. He founded no fewer than six monasteries in Sicily, and: one at Rome, in his father's house, dedicated; to St. Andrew, over which he constituted Valentius abbot, whom he had selected for. that post from a country monastery, and to. whose discipline he submitted himself. The. year when he embraced the monastic state, cannot be ascertained. From the time of his taking the vows he abandoned himself to medita-, tion, devotion, and the most rigorous abstinence and austerities. He was not permitted, however, to remain in this state of seclusion from:

the world for many years, but was obliged to quit it on the following occasion: upon the death of pope Benedict, Pelagius II. was chosen his successor; and, as Rome was at that time besieged by the Lombards, who cut off all communication between that city and Constantinople, was ordained before his election was confirmed by the emperor. As such a proceeding was contrary to law as established by custom, no sooner was the siege of the city raised, than the new pope determined to send a proper person to the emperor Tiberius, to excuse his conduct on account of the peculiar circumstances in which he had been placed; and also to apply for relief in behalf of the inhabitants of Italy, against the ravages of the Lombards. For this delicate embassy, no person seemed to him so well qualified as Gregory; and accordingly, compelling him to leave his monastery, he ordained him a deacon, and sent him his nuncio to the imperial court in the year 579. So ably did he conduct himself in this business, that the emperor appears to have been entirely satisfied, and Gregory became in a short time one of his principal favourites. Afterwards he was equally respected by Mauricius, the successor of Tiberius. Indeed, by his prudent, obliging, and modest manners, he obtained not only the esteem of the emperors, but of the principal courtiers, and even of the bishops, notwithstanding the jealousy which they generally entertained of a pope's nuncio. While he was at Constantinople he had a dispute with the patriarch Eutychius on the idle question, whether after the resurrection the bodies of the righteous should be palpable, or not? and maintained the affirmative against his opponent. The emperor Tiberius, in whose presence the debate was held, was pleased to give his sanction to the orthodoxy of Gregory's opinion, ordering the patriarch to acquiesce in his judgment, and condemning to the flames a treatise of that prelate in support of the negative side of the question. In the year 583 Gregory was recalled to Rome, and employed for some time in the capacity of secretary to pope Pelagius, until at length he obtained permission to retire again into his monastery. Soon after his return le was chosen abbot; and in that office exacted of his monks as strict an observance of rigorous abstinence and discipline, as he practised himself. While he was employed in governing his monastery, and indulging the hope that he should be suffered to spend the rest of his life in that retirement, pope Pelagius died. This event took place in the year 590; and Gregory was immediately chosen his successor,

by the joint suffrages of the senate, clergy, and people of Rome. The news of this election. was highly acceptable to every Roman, excepting Gregory himself, who appears to have been seriously averse to undertake so weighty a charge. At first he endeavoured to persuade his fellow-citizens to annul their choice, and fix upon any other person for that dignity. Finding, however, that they persisted in deinanding him for their bishop, he wrote to the emperor Mauricius, earnestly entreating him not to confirm his election, but to command the people of Rome to choose another. His letter was intercepted by the governor of the city, who sent the decree of the election to Mauricius, with a letter, begging him, in the name of the people, clergy, and senate of Rome, to confirm the election of a person whom they had unanimously chosen, as the most capable to provide for the safety of the church and of the empire, amidst the distresses and calamities which then prevailed. To this request the emperor readily acceded, and not only confirmed the election of Gregory, but congratulated the Romans on the choice which they had made. When Gregory was informed of the result of the application to Constantinople, he resolved to adopt the only expedient left, which was to withdraw into concealment, till the patience of the people should be tired out, and they should consequently be induced to proceed to a new election. Accordingly, he found means to escape in disguise from Rome, and reached a forest, where he took up his abode in a cave. Here he believed that he was safe from discovery. But notwithstanding the utmost care and precaution of which he made use, his place of retreat was soon found out, and he was brought back in triumph by the people; when being carried to the church of St. Peter, he was immediately ordained, to prevent his making his escape a second time.

Gregory now entered upon his pontificate, the principal events of which we shall enumerate as concisely as possible. His first step was to satisfy the bishops of the chief sees, as to the orthodoxy of his faith. For this purpose he wrote to the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, declaring that he received the first four councils, as the four books of the holy gospel; that he reverenced the fifth; and that he condemned the three chapters. His next attempt was to reunite the Istrian bishops to the see of Rome, who remained firm in their adherence to the three chapters, and refused to communicate with those who condemned them. With this view

he obtained an order from the emperor, enjoining those bishops to attend a council that was to be held at Rome; but by memorials which they presented to the emperor, they procured a revocation of his order, and assurances of protection against any violence which the pope might attempt to offer them. Defeated in this design, he spared no pains to arm the civil and ecclesiastical power against the Donatists in Africa, and all who favoured them. And though he does not appear to have been at first successful in destroying the harmony which then subsisted between the catholic and donatist parties in that country, he found means to introduce among them invidious distinctions, which by degrees renewed the animosities by which they had been formerly distracted, and terminated in the ultimate triumph of the catholic, which was the strongest party. At the same time, however, that this pope signalised his zeal against heretics, he was favourable to the Jews, and protected them from the rage of some hot-headed Christians. In the letters which he wrote to some bishops who were for forcing them to embrace Christianity, he could condemn all persecution in the strongest terms; while with no little inconsistency he recommended and enforced it in the instance of Christians who ventured to differ from the catholic creed. He was also desirous of using other arguments than those of reasoning and persuasion in converting the Jews: for he chose to tempt those who lived on the patrimony of St. Peter, in Sicily, with an offer of a remission of one third of the taxes which they paid to the Roman church, upon the condition of their becoming Christians. If, as he justly observed in one of his letters, "conversions owing to force are never sincere," might not the same objection have been made against conversions owing to bribery? Gregory's zeal was employed with more success in reforming the clergy, than in converting the Jews, or the heretics. On his accession to the papal chair, a general relaxation of discipline, as well as of piety and morals, prevailed in the clerical orders. He therefore set about the correction of these evils with the utmost diligence and perseverance. The monastic institutions he subjected to regulations, which, if they had been observed by his successors, would have rendered those establishments far less injurious to society, than they afterwards proved for a long series of ages. Such bishops as were guilty of notorious excesses he deposed; and rebuked and threatened others, according to the nature and quality of their crimes. As

simony and simoniacal practices prevailed at that time in the most open and barefaced manner, he was indefatigable in his endeavours to remove this opprobrium from the church, and in a great number of letters to the bishops, to the kings and princes, and to all men in power, earnestly called upon them to concert such measures as might put an effectual stop to an evil which reflected so much disgrace on the ecclesiastical order, and on the religion which they taught or professed. He also exerted great vigilance in correcting the licentious manners, and particularly the incontinence, of the clergy. But he had not the wisdom to apply to the latter evil the only effectual remedy, which was the restoration of that order of men to the liberty of contracting marriage; and he even contributed to the extension of the evil, by more strictly enjoining the law of celibacy on the subdeacons, who had been but lately subjected to it, and by obliging those who were married to quit their wives, or their offices. While Gregory was thus enforcing reformation on the clergy, he set before them an example of the conduct which he prescribed. He was strictly attentive to the duties of piety, though his religious observances partook much of a monkish spirit, and in many instances degenerated into the grossest superstition. He was humble, mild, compassionate, hospitable and disinterested; an utter enemy to all pomp, grandeur, and shew; frequently abridged himself of the necessaries of life, to relieve the indigent; and was indefatigable in instructing his flock, both by preaching and writing. But with all his humility, Gregory was a most zealous assertor of the power and prerogatives which his predecessors had exercised, or at any time claimed. He often declared, that he had rather lose his life, than suffer the see of St. Peter to forfeit any of the privileges which it had ever enjoyed, or the prime apostle to be any ways injured, or robbed of his rights. Thus he maintained and asserted, with as much resolution and vigour as any of his predecessors, the pretended right of receiving appeals from all parts of the christian world; of re-examining the causes which had been judged and determined by the metropolitans, or the provincial synods; and of reversing their sentence or judgment by the authority of St. Peter. particular instances in which he contended for those prerogatives, but without always succeeding in maintaining them, we refer to our authorities.

In the year 593 the emperor issued an edict, forbidding any soldiers to quit the army, under

the pretence of embracing the monastic life, till the time of their service was expired. This edict was transmitted to the pope, who published it, in conformity with his duty as a subject, but determined to remonstrate against it, prepossessed as he was that monkery was a sure way for all, and for many the only way to heaven. The letters which he wrote to the emperor on this occasion, and to Theodorus, his physician and favourite, are chiefly worthy of notice from the acknowledgments which they contain of the paramount authority of the imperial power over ecclesiastics as well as laymen, equivalent to the supremacy which the church of England acknowledges in the king. In the year 594 the pope was wholly employed in procuring some relief for the inhabitants of Italy, who were harassed by the Lombards on one side, and by the imperial officers on the other. For this purpose he made proposals of peace to Agilulph king of the Lombards, who seemed disposed to agree to them; but the exarch, who reaped great advantages by the war, and was not affected by the miseries of the people, would consent to no terms whatever, and complained to the emperor of Gregory's conduct, as if he had suffered himself to be over-reached by the crafty Lombard king. These complaints induced the emperor to express his dissatisfaction with the steps taken by the pope, in very sharp and abusive terms; and they also proved the means of frustrating his application for redress of grievances occasioned by the cruelty and avarice of the imperial officers. The pope, however, succeeded, by applying to Theudelinda, Agilulph's queen, who as well as her husband had embraced the catholic faith, in prevailing upon that prince to withdraw his troops from the territories of Rome, and to lay aside all thoughts of besieging that city. About this time the patriarch of Constantinople assumed the title of "Ecumenical," or "Universal Patriarch." This measure alarmed Gregory, who endeavoured through the medium of his nuncio, as well as in a long letter to the patriarch himself, to persuade him to relinquish that invidious title. When he found himself unsuccessful in these applications," he wrote to the emperor and empress, inveighing against the patriarch, as one who by that ambitious assumption attempted to enthral the whole church, and proclaimed himself the forerunner of Antichrist; and he endeavoured to alarm the patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, and to persuade them to join in a common cause against a man who, by this new appellation, disclosed his design of engrossing to himself all ecclesiastical power and authority.

VOL. IV.

All the pope's efforts, however, to deprive the patriarch of his new title were ineffectual, and, to his great mortification, as well as jealousy,: he was informed of its being entailed on his rival and his successors. Upon this his nuncio, in compliance with the express orders of the pope, renounced the patriarch's communion. Considering the claim which Gregory's successors in the papal dignity made to the same title, in effect, it is curious to attend to the language in which he condemns it. He calls it vain, ambitious, profane, impious, execrable, antichristian, blasphemous, infernal, diabolical. But though zeal against any encroachment on the rights of the episcopal order in general, was the avowed motive of Gregory's opposition to this new title, from incidental expressions in his letters it plainly appears, that the honour and dignity of St. Peter and his see were primary considerations in his mind.

In the year 596, Agilulph, provoked at the exarch's rejecting the terms of peace which the pope had proposed, broke into the imperial territories with more fury than ever, laying waste the Roman dukedom and Campania, and carrying the inhabitants into captivity. On this occasion Gregory exercised the most unbounded charity, in relieving the poor, and redeeming great numbers of captives; not only applying the revenues of his see to those benevolent purposes, but large sums which he obtained by his application to the bishops, and the great men who were his friends, both in the East and West. In the same year he embarked in an undertaking on which he had for some time been intent, for the purpose of converting the Saxons in Britain to the christian faith. Several circumstances concurred at the time, to favour his design. Ethelbert king of Kent, and the most considerable of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs in Britain, had married Bertha, daughter of Cherebert king of Paris, who was a Catholic, and allowed the free exercise of her religion. This princess, partly by her own influence, and partly by the pious efforts of the clergy who had followed her into Britain, gradually formed in the mind of Ethelbert a certain inclination to the christian religion. While the king was in this disposition, Gregory sent Augustin, prior of the monastery of St. Andrew, accompanied with forty monks, into this island, in order to bring to perfection what the queen had so happily begun. Of the several circumstances attending his mission, and its success, we have already made particular mention in our Life of Augustin. In the mean time John patriarch of Constantinople, who first assumed the title of universal 3 U