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A History of the So-Called Jansenist
Church of Holland By the Rev. J.M. Neale, M.A. Oxford: John Henry and James Parker,
1858 Chapter II. The Brothers Of The Common Life.
Geert Groote (Gerardus Magnus) was born at
Deventer, in the October of 1340. The place was one of considerable
importance, and had formed its own treaties with the Count of Holland, and
with the King of Denmark. His father held the offices of burgomaster and
sheriff in the town. Geert commenced his education in the school of his
native place, and was then removed to Aix-la-Chapelle, and afterwards to
Paris, where his career fell in the troublous times of the domination of the Prevôt
des marchands, Jean Marcel, and the plague and famine that desolated the
city. In three years he took the degree of Master, and some years later we
find him at Avignon. On his return to his native land, he spent some time at
Cologne; where, and at Aix, he held a prebend. 2. “But,” says his affectionate
biographer, Thomas à Kempis, “not as yet inspired by the Spirit of God, he
walked along the broad ways of this world, until, through God’s loving
kindness, he became changed into another man.” The pious writer goes on to
tell [76] us how Geert was convinced of the vanity of the world by the prior
of a Carthusian monastery, near Arnheim:— “At that time,” says he, “the state
of the world appeared everywhere most lamentable; there were few who preached
the Word of Life, either by their lips or their lives, — fewer who observed
continence, — and, grievous to say, the name of holy religion and the state
of devotion did, for lack of the Holy Ghost, exceedingly fall away from the
footsteps of the fathers. Yet among the Carthusians the light of celestial
life remained hidden.” This is another testimony to the
truth of the proud motto of that order — Never reformed, because
never deformed. Thomas goes on to describe the alteration effected in
Geert — his resignation of his canonries at Utrecht and Aix, and finally his
pilgrimage to Groenendael, to receive instruction from John Ruysbroek. 3. The first effect of his conversion
was his intense zeal to bring back his countrymen to real, vital religion.
His mission wonderfully resembles that of Wesley, and the tenor of his
letters is exactly like that of the English missionary and his friends. But
he met, at the outset, with greater support. Providentially, at that time
Utrecht had a prelate, Florentius van Wevelinckhoven, (1379 — 1393), who had
courage to support, though not himself distinguished for his learning, the
enthusiastic reformer. Of him it is recorded, that such was his ardour in
prayer, as to expose him to the ridicule of his clergy; and that his only
reply was, “What wonder is it, seeing I have many sheep, that I should make
many prayers?” This prelate gave Geert, though only a deacon, permission to
preach through his whole diocese, after he had in vain endeavoured to
persuade him to receive the priesthood. [77] “No,” replied he; “not for all
the gold of Arabia would I have the care of souls, even for one night.” We
find him at Utrecht, at Deventer, at Zwolle, at Zutphen, at Kampen, at
Amersfoort, at Gouda, at Amsterdam, at Haarlem, at Delft, at Leyden. Crowds
hung upon his words; the ordinary business of life ceased where he preached.
He frequently delivered two sermons in the same day, and they not unusually
were of three hours’ length. Whatever popularity he might win among the
common people, the clergy were jealous and offended. The curious regime
of mediaeval Holland, which supplied the want of episcopal efficiency by a
reticulation of enormous collegiate churches, — such as those of Oldenzaal,
Zutphen, and Zwolle, — must also have occasioned a swarm of exactly that kind
of dignitaries who have always proved themselves most bitterly opposed to
earnestness, in whatever shape. 4. Their influence at length
prevailed on the Bishop to revoke his license, and Geert Groote thus found
himself silenced. I have said that some of his expressions and letters
strongly resemble those of Wesley at the commencement of his career. Thus an
epistle written by him to some priests in Amsterdam runs thus:— “Be not
terrified, beloved, if ye hear an evil report from them of Kamperi against
me. All, as I trust, succeeds according to the will of God, and the Church
in Kampen” (notice how strongly the phrase resembles that of a later
period,) “is marvellously increased; to God Most High be praise and glory!
Let love be inflamed within us, and that not moderately, but vehemently. Let
us despise earthly commendation; and at the same time let us be patterns to
the praise of the Most High[1].” Thus might Wesley have written; [79]
but Wesley would not have acted as Geert’s biographer goes on to inform us
that he did:— “Perceiving that many ecclesiastical
dignitaries were against him, and through hostile emulation endeavoured to
hinder his preaching, and that he was interdicted by a crafty edict, he
humbly yielded to their fury and malice, not choosing to agitate the people
against the clergy. And he said to those who were indignant at an inhibition
so got up, — ‘They are our superiors, and we wish, as we ought and are bound,
to observe their edicts. For we seek not to hurt any, nor to excite scandal.
The Lord knoweth from the beginning those that are His; and He will call
them, as He pleases, without our means.’ He therefore kept silence for a
time, and in the meanwhile betook himself to private exhortations.” Strong representations were, however,
made to the Bishop of Utrecht as to the injustice of this interdict; and it
would seem to have been removed. An anonymous epistle to that prelate on the
subject is preserved by Thomas. But although his labours as a
preacher might thus be interrupted, Geert Groote found abundant employment in
the foundation and the development of the order which has made his name
famous in the Church. 5. In looking back from a point of
view which his contemporary biographers could not even imagine, it is
impossible to avoid expressing our amazement at the intuitive — I had almost
said the prescient — sagacity of Geert’s conception. Profane learning was
then just beginning to revive. It is as though Geert had foreseen the near
approach of that fierce devil, unsanctified human intellect, and the chief
means by which it would prevail — an ignorant priesthood, and the almost
total proscription of Holy Scripture. The order, then, was designed to teach
the young, to send [79] out preachers, and to recommend the study of Holy
Scripture; in short, it was a true and holy reform, and was therefore certain
to find bitter opposition. Deventer was the centre of the movement. Geert
procured the best MSS. from neighbouring abbeys and collegiate churches; he
collated, he corrected, he introduced a true criticism; and his
fellow-labourers distinguished themselves by the beauty of their calligraphy
and the correctness of their text. This was the commencement of that
reputation which Holland retained for her learning when she lost her faith.
The Universities of Leyden, Utrecht, and Groningen — the Graevii, the
Gronovii, the Heinsii, the Valckenaers, the Kusters, the Burmanns, the
Hemsterhuises, all owe their name and their fame to the impulse given by the
scholar-monk of Deventer. 6. During the course of his studies
in Paris, Geert had contracted an intimate friendship with William de
Salvavarillâ, Precentor of that cathedral, and Archdeacon of Brabant in the
diocese of Liége. This ecclesiastic enjoyed a high character both for
religion and learning, and circumstances gave considerable weight to his
partizanship. The great schism had just broken out between Urban VI., elected
at Rome on the 8th of April, 1378, by sixteen cardinals, and Clement VII.,
elected at Fondi, the 27th of August of the same year, by fifteen. France,
Scotland, Savoy, and Lorraine acknowledged the latter; England, Germany, and
the Northern States were for Urban. Salvavarillâ, though a Frenchman, sided
with Urban; and the intercession of a learned divine of that nation had of
course considerable weight. In a letter to the Pope, preserved by Thomas, the
Precentor earnestly requests that his friend may have license to preach in
the whole province of Cologne, — or, at [80] least, in the diocese of
Utrecht. Urban, himself an earnest man, listened graciously to the petition,
and, furthermore, approved the Institute of which I shall presently have more
to say. 7. The final permission[2],
however, could hardly have been received by the zealous preacher, when he was
called from his labours on the earth, and the schism which rent the Western
Church, to his rest above in the true vision of peace. During the time of his
inhibition Geert Groote had principally resided at Woudrichem, now called
Workum. The traveller from Antwerp to Utrecht by the post-road may see its
spire to the right, at the junction of the Waal and the Maas, as he crosses
the united river to Gorcum. In 1383 the plague broke out at Deventer, and
raged fearfully, but not so destructively as in the following year. Geert
Groote hastened to his native place, and busied himself in diligent
attendance on the stricken men, ministering fearlessly both to their bodily
comfort and to their ghostly welfare. In the month of August he was himself
seized with the pestilence. Thomas à Kempis gives a touching account of his
last moments:— “‘May God grant me,’ said the dying
reformer, ‘to find rest after my death, since for His cause I have laboured,
written, and preached.’ His disciples, full of heaviness, groaned deeply, and
cried, ‘What shall we do? Who will instruct us for the future? You have been
our defender and father, you have drawn us to the Lord. Now our adversaries
will rejoice, now worldly men will mock at us, and say, They have no leader
or prince; they will soon be reduced to nothing.’ The kind and gentle
teacher, seeing the grief of his sons, consoled them, and replied, — ‘Have
trust in the Lord, [81] beloved; fear not the reproaches of worldly men;
abide firmly in your holy resolution; the Lord will be with you in this
place. They will never be able to undo that of which God has decreed the
accomplishment..... There is Florentius, the beloved disciple, in whom of a
truth the Holy Ghost rests: he shall be your father and your ruler. Hold him
in my place; hear him, and obey his counsel.’ After this there came to him
certain devout scholars, who were struck with the pestilence, desiring, for
the remedy of their souls, to hear some salutary speech from him. To whom he
said kindly, — ‘If ye have a good will of serving God, ye may die with
security. All the lessons which ye have learnt shall be reckoned to you as
the Lord’s Prayer, on account of the pious intention towards God which ye had
in studying.’ When they heard these things, the young men were consoled; and
returning to their lodgings, they died in a good confession, commending to God
and the holy angels their souls redeemed through the Blood of Christ. And so
after the Assumption of the Blessed and ever Virgin Mary, when the day of the
Festival of S. Bernard was come, the venerable father, Master Gerard, who had
a special devotion towards the said saint, when it was drawing towards
evening, between the hours of five and six, rendered up to God his soul,
fortified with the Sacrament of the Church, precious through its faith and
illustrious for its many virtues; in the year of our Lord one thousand three
hundred and eighty-four.” He was buried in the lady-chapel of
the collegiate church at Deventer, where his skull was discovered in 1697,
and removed in a chest to the Fraterhuis at Emmerik[3]. It was easily
known from the remarkable orifice in the bones of the forehead, which was
noticeable even in his lifetime, and which he used playfully to call his
chimney. [82] 8. Gerard was only in the 45th
year of his age; but besides his indefatigable labours as a preacher, and the
foundations of which I shall presently have to speak, he found time for the
composition of many works, the greater part of which remain MSS. in the
libraries of his native land. Of his printed compositions, the most
remarkable is his “Protest concerning True Preaching,” which is sometimes
annexed to the works of Thomas à Kempis. He also left treatises on “The
Institute of the Common Life;” “On the Institution of Novices;” “On the
Government of a Sisterhood;” “On the Recall of those who have Fallen;” “A
Harmony of the Evangelical Accounts of the Passion;” “A Commentary on the
Lessons for the Dead;” and many other pamphlets. Another of his treatises is
“Against the Tower of the Cathedral of Utrecht.” This vast erection, the
glory of the metropolitical see, was commenced in 1320[4], and not
completed till 1372; and it is not wonderful that Geert, more intent on the
living and spiritual temple than on the outward fabric, should have felt
indignant at the worldly neglect of the one, as contrasted with the lavish
decorations bestowed on the other. It will be convenient, in the first place,
to sketch the lives of some of his principal disciples and followers, then to
proceed to the history of his Institute, and lastly to its regulations. 9. Floris Radewijnzoon,
(Florentius Radwini,) the successor of Geert Groote in the headship of the
Institute of the Brothers of the Common Life, was born at Leerdam about the
year 1350, and having early distinguished himself by his talents and
application, [83] was sent to complete his studies at Prague. This fact,
though mentioned by his biographers, is scarcely made so much of as it
deserves to be. The avidity with which the Bohemians had, as early as the
beginning of the fourteenth century, received a vernacular translation of the
Bible, might well have impressed Florentius; at the same time he must have
noticed the growing heresies which, after he had left Bohemia, found an organ
and a mouthpiece in John Huss. How far he influenced Gerard, how far they
both saw that the increasing Wickliffism in England and Bohemia would avail
itself of the new development of feeling, and of the demand for the
vernacular Scriptures, and that the Church should employ, instead of
endeavouring to suppress, both, — is a point which may excite curiosity, but
which must be left in doubt. 10. On his return from Prague, he
experienced a remarkable escape from imminent danger, which altered the whole
course of his future life. He was descending a steep hill, the road being particularly
narrow, and fenced in on both sides, when a waggon, that had overpowered its
horses, was hurried towards him at a fearful pace, leaving the traveller no
apparent possibility of escape. In this extremity, he made an earnest vow of
devoting himself to God’s service, if his life were spared; and in a moment,
he could not tell how, the vehicle had passed, and he was in safety. While
still under the impression of this deliverance, he attended a sermon preached
by Geert Groote in S. Mary’s at Deventer; and forthwith determined to follow
that life which the preacher was himself pursuing. Ridicule, reproaches, and
revilings were heaped upon him; he was called idiot and Lollard[5],
but his [84] resolution was taken. In process of time, Geert recommended him
to devote himself to the priesthood; the only one of his disciples whom he
permitted to receive that dignity. “I have once in my life,” he was
accustomed to say, “made one priest, and I hope he is a good one.” His
biographer gives several amusing particulars of his life, especially after he
had succeeded his master:— “Once,” says he, “he was devoutly
speaking of the love of God; and there stood by him a certain scholar with
long and curious sleeves, quite taken up by them, and putting his hands in
and out of them. ‘See, brother,’ said Florentius, looking at him kindly,
‘what sort of sleeves I have; they give me no care or trouble. It would be a
positive trial to me to wear them as long as you do.’ The scholar, on hearing
this, blushed a little, and stood more quietly; and, taking in good part what
had been said, departed with great edification.” At another time, we are told, while
the rector was taking his turn in the kitchen, (for at that time, says
Thomas, all the brethren were eager to take the meanest occupations,) “One of his neighbours was moved with
compassion and said, — ‘My good sir, why should you take the kitchen
department? Have you no one else to undertake it for you? Would it not be
better that you should go to church, and that some one else should cook in
your place?’ The humble minister of Christ, Florentius, answered, — ‘Ought I
not rather to seek for the prayers of others than for my own? While I am in
the kitchen, all will pray for me; and I hope that I shall obtain more
benefit from the prayers of those who are in the church, than if I were to
pray alone for myself.’” He spent a considerable time in the
work of copying, which, as we shall see, was an especial employment of the
Brothers of the Common Life. It is [85] rather amusing to see the scant
measure of praise which Thomas à Kempis, the first copyist of his time,
awards him: qui licet minus bene scribere sciret, says he, Florentius
would fold and pumice the leaves, and rubricate the lines for the use of
others. His advice and counsel was so much sought after, that frequently he
was unable to leave his room for hours together, one visitor succeeding
another during the whole course of the day. Often interrupted when he had
commenced one of the hours, it was his wont to say, when he resumed the book,
Adhuc semel propter Deum. In the month of May, when, as Thomas
observes, herbs of the greatest medicinal value come into flower, it was his
custom to spend days together in the fields, and employ his knowledge of
medicine, which was considerable, in collecting them for the benefit of his
poor. His long and repeated fasts had so completely destroyed his sense of
taste, that once, as his biographer relates, intending to drink off a tumbler
of beer, he swallowed one of oil instead; and that without discovering his
mistake till it was pointed out to him. His illnesses were frequent and
severe, and his life was more than once despaired of:— “As often,” says Thomas, “as he was
seized by any dangerous illness, it was the custom to send to the neighbouring
congregations of brothers, clerks, and sisters, and request them all to pray
instantly for him, that God might spare him, and might prolong his life for
the salvation of many, lest we should have sorrow upon sorrow if we lost so
loving a father, and so necessary a governor. I was once charged with this
message to the sisters: ‘Pray for our master Florentius, for he is grievously
ill.’ And, behold, the merciful Lord Who despiseth not the prayers of the
poor, but willingly hears the cry of the humble, restored health to His
beloved and faithful servant, to the end that he might make His power known
to the sons of men. There was at that time a [86] certain celebrated bachelor
in medicine, Master Everard Eza, curate in Almeno, a very learned man, who,
inspired by the grace of devotion, was an intimate friend of Florentius, and
of his brethren, and of other devoted servants of Christ. He was frequently
accustomed to visit the house, and to employ all his medical skill upon it.” This Eza had been a most vigorous
opponent of Geert Groote, by whom he was won over from the world, and
induced, after his wife’s death, to take orders[6]. 11. Thomas, in relating the
opposition which Florentius and his disciples experienced, points out that,
nevertheless, true devotion was on the increase in Holland. The Carthusians,
as always, took the lead. Some Cistercians and Benedictines are also
mentioned in terms of high approbation. A school of preachers was formed in
the diocese of Utrecht, chiefly owing to the example and teaching of Groote
and Florentius. Of these, Master Wermbold, who was confessor to the convent
of S. Cecilia, at Utrecht, was the most celebrated; at Amersfoort, William
Hendrickzoon, the founder of the Canons Regular there; at Zwolle, Hendrik
Gronde, confessor to the Béguinage in that town: that convent was the first
reformed, and was for a long time the only one in that part of the country
that was not notoriously and shamefully irregular. Mention is also made of
Gisbert Dou, in Amsterdam; Deric Gruter, at Doesbrouch; and a priest named
Paul at Medenblick. The progress which the Institute made under Florentius I
shall presently relate; but his labours and austerities did not permit him to
govern the order for many years. In the spring of 1400, when he had been superior
about sixteen years, he was seized with one of his usual Lent illnesses,
which the medical [87] science of Eza soon pronounced to be mortal.
Assembling the brethren around him, he nominated Brother Amilius as his
successor, and then, says Thomas, “after Compline, when the Angelus had been
rung in honour of the Blessed Virgin, the day being now finished, he also
finished his earthly life.” It was his special request to be buried in the
churchyard of S. Lebuin’s, without any pomp whatever; but Rambert, archpriest
in the deanery of Deventer, interposed his veto. The corpse was accordingly
borne by the brethren into the church, and buried before the altar of S.
Paul. I have visited the flat stone which marks the resting-place of this
truly great reformer. His affectionate disciples made a collection of his
sayings, which Thomas has taken care to preserve:— “In praying, you should rather ask
for the grace and mercy of the Lord, than for any great rewards.” “By
hurrying your words, you lose your devotion.” “Fly to your cell as you would
to a friend’s; you are safe there.” “You can think in a crowd.” “If I have
nothing great to offer, I will give what I have; as Mary’s offering was a
pair of turtledoves, and not a lamb.” “The devil is well read in Scripture,
and yet is none the better for it.” “A little earnestness is better than much
learning without devotion.” “Do not look at your neighbour as rich, or
learned, or handsome, but as redeemed by the Blood of Christ.” “We seldom sit
down to table without the devil’s laying an ambush for us.” “Take care what
you write, that your copy is correct and your punctuation good and distinct,
because it is a sad trouble to study out of an incorrectly written book.”
“Whatever a man takes in hand, if he does not feel the humbler when it is
finished, he has made very little progress indeed.” 12. Another of Geert Groote’s
earliest fellow-labourers was John Van der Gronde, a native of Ootmarsum. He
was labouring with singular success in [88] Amsterdam, when Geert summoned
him to Deventer, where he spent the remainder of his life, and after the
death of Geert, became confessor to the sisters in that place. He was one of
the most celebrated among the early preachers of the order, and it is
especially related of him, that his voice filled the great church at
Deventer. Thomas once heard him preach on Good-Friday for more than six hours
continuously, with only the rest of a few minutes in the midst of his
discourse. He was occasionally resident at Zwolle, and frequently visited
Mount S. Agnes, of which more anon. He was at a distance from home when
seized with an illness which he felt to be mortal, and hastened to return to
Deventer, in order that Florentius might assist him in his last agony. His
wish was granted, and he gave up the ghost with great resignation on May 7,
1392. Indeed, over-exertion and over-austerity mowed down the early Brothers
of the Common Life. Gerard Van Zerbolt, another of their fellow-labourers,
only reached the age of thirty-one. He had distinguished himself by two
treatises written in Dutch, on the “Benefit of Reading Holy Scripture,” and
the “Use of Vernacular Prayer.” On both these points he speaks most clearly
and decidedly, and brings forward numerous arguments against those who were
for forbidding the laity the use of Holy Scripture at all, and compelling
them to employ Latin, even though they might not understand a syllable of it,
in their own prayers. Van Heussen has translated large extracts from both[7]:
the references to the Fathers are numerous, but not very accurate; the writer
continually quoting pseudo-treatises as the composition of the authors whose
name they bear. The same remark applies to a writer who has been called the
second to à Kempis — Gerlach Petersen. He was [89] received very young at
Windesheim by Florentius; and, while he was distinguished for his gift of
meditation, he was also distinguished by his determined opposition to the
austerities which had brought so many of the brethren to an early grave:— “And from that time,” says the chronicler
of the order, “it has been a custom among us to demand, whenever any clerk
presents himself for admission, these three points: whether he can eat well;
whether he can sleep well; and whether he is willing to obey; because we know
that on the answers to these three questions depends, in great measure, the
likelihood of his perseverance.” Petersen, however, was as short-lived
as the others, dying at the age of thirty-three, in 1414. He is known by his
work, Ignitum cum Deo soliloquium, which has been translated into
Flemish and French, and which was a great favourite with the Port-Royalists.
Some consider it the masterpiece of mystic theology. 13. John Brinkerinck, who succeeded
Van der Gronde as confessor to the sisters at Deventer, was also a celebrated
preacher. Thomas has a story about him which, though I have already repeated
it in another place, it would not be fair to omit here:— “He was once preaching on the
Circumcision, and treating most pleasantly and sweetly of the name of Jesus;
exalting this blessed and delicious name above all things in heaven and
earth. At length he condescended to rebuke the irreverence and familiarity
with which some foolish men of this world treated the name of Jesus. ‘Why,’
said he, ‘there are some who say, with a contemptuous sneer, “Oho! Jesus is
the God of the Béguines!” Fools and miserable men! Jesus the God of the
Béguines? Then, pray, who is your God? Truly it is the devil. To us this holy
name is a great honour and a singular joy: over and over again our brethren
name Jesus; above all other things they worship Jesus; before and above the
names of all the saints, they [90] love and adore Jesus, the Son of the
living God, whom you deride and despise. True it is, the Brothers and the
Béguines do name Jesus willingly, do laud Him devoutly, do salute each other
in His name. And woe to you who have the devil in your mouths oftener than
Jesus: He is too lowly and despised to please you.’ Thus speedily,” adds
Thomas, “he gladdened the lovers of Jesus, and confounded his deriders
according to their deserts.” Under his direction the number of the
Béguines increased exceedingly. He erected for them a new convent, for they
had hitherto been domiciled in the house that belonged to Geert Groote, and
was indefatigable in catechising them in Holy Scripture. He died on March 26,
1419, and was buried before the high altar of the convent. 14. Another of the early brethren was
Lubert ten Bosche, born of a good family at Zwolle, and a devoted disciple of
Florentius. Thomas relates a story of his obedience:— “He was one day sitting in his cell
and writing, and Master Florentius sent for him. He was in the last line of
the page, and there were but three or four words to finish it. The brother
who was sent for him said, ‘Finish that line, then the page will be complete;
there is no hurry.’ Whereto he, like a true son of obedience, replied, ‘Not
one word more; I must obey at once.’ When Master Florentius heard of this
prompt obedience of Lubert, ‘Ah!’ he said, ‘Lubert, how well you know what is
your true gain, and advantageous to your soul!’ He was so diligent in
writing, that, if anyone were talking to him, he would write on just the
same, and yet be able to keep up the conversation. At another time, a youth,
who was studying in the house, was writing to his parents, and Lubert invited
him to sit, while doing so, in his chamber. I was there myself. Master
Florentius came in and said, ‘What are you about?’ He answered with
reverence, ‘My companion is writing to his father.’ Then our sweet Father
said, ‘Write, that you yourself may be written [91] in the Book of Life.’
Afterwards that youth became a devout monk, and I forgot not the words of my
master Florentius, which he spoke in the chamber of Lubert; for a good man,
out of the good treasure of his heart, always bringeth forth good things.” There are yet some other anecdotes
which à Kempis relates of his friend:— “Once on a time, when the brethren
were gathered together, Master Florentius interrogated them concerning
certain subjects from Holy Scripture. While many kept silence, Lubert, who
was the eldest, began to reply. Master Florentius, wishing to humble and
prove him before the others, says to him seriously, ‘Lubert, do you think
that we are ignorant of this, although we are not bachelors or masters?’ He
very humbly answered, ‘My presumption.’ For he had a custom, that, when he
was rebuked for any little fault, he never would excuse himself, but rather
confess it, and would say, ‘My fault.’ or ‘My negligence,’ or ‘My
inadvertency,’ or ‘My levity,’ or ‘My stupidity and idleness,’ or some other
expression of humility which might edify the brothers. When he was reading at
dinner-time, he sometimes made a mistake on purpose, that he might be
corrected by the corrector of the table; and sometimes he pretended that he
did not hear, that he might be corrected again, desiring to be put to shame,
and to be thought stupid, as if he could read no better. But Master Gerard of
Zutphen, who was the corrector of the table, perceiving that he did not make
mistakes from ignorance, but from humility, ceased to correct him any more.
He had a manly voice like a trumpet, and read capitally well. One of the
brethren once asked Master Florentius, ‘Why do you not find fault with and
correct me, as you do Master Lubert, and John Kettel, our cook?’ The good
Father, full of the virtue of discretion, answered, ‘If I saw that you were
as full of courage as they, I would try you in the same manner. But they are
such, that they derive advantage from blame, and do not murmur, but become
more humble and more fervent.’.... He could write sufficiently well, and he
was fond of writing, to avoid idleness, and would induce others to write
also. A young man once asked him [92] to set him a copy, and he kindly
consented to do so. ‘And,’ saith he, ‘you will learn to write well, for you
have long and soft fingers.’ And by the co-operation of God, what he said
came true. He wrote in round hand these words as a copy: ‘Take My yoke upon
you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.’” And here is the closing scene of
Lubert ten Bosche:— “When, then, the plague was raging in
Deventer, and the surrounding country, it removed many also of the brethren
from this life, but, as we may piously believe, joined them in eternal life
in the next. It fell out also that Master Lubert was seized with the same
plague. And behold, in the month of July, three days before the feast of
blessed Mary Magdalene, he fell ill, and took to his bed, and said that he
was not long for this world. We, on the other hand, laboured with many
prayers, and sought remedies from God, and from intelligent surgeons, because
his life was desirable to all. But his prayers were heard beyond ours, and
they were full of desires to be admitted among the heavenly citizens. One of
the brethren said, ‘We shall not be separated so quickly; but we shall hold
our conversations in the room of Master Florentius.’ ‘No,’ said he; ‘not here
any more, but in the heavenly places with the saints:’ for he desired to
depart, and to be with Christ. On the feast of S. Mary Magdalene, he asked
that the Sequence, Laus Tibi Christe, might be sung in his room. [This Sequence, which is one of the
most beautiful of the kind called “Notkerian,” is by Godeschalkus, and runs
as follows:— “1. Praise be to Thee, O Christ, Who
art the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Saviour “2. Of the heaven, the earth, the
sea, angels, and men. “3. Whom alone we confess to be God
and Man. “4. Who didst come that Thou mightest
save sinners. “5. (Without sin, assuming the
likeness of sin.) “6. From the number of which sinners,
as Thou didst visit the Canaanitish woman, as also Mary Magdalene. [93] “7. At the same table of the
divine Word, Thou didst refresh the one with crumbs, the other with drink, “8. In the house of Simon the Leper,
sitting down at the typical feast. “9. The Pharisee murmurs, where the
woman, conscious of her sin, laments. “10. The sinner despiseth his
fellow-sinner. Thou that knewest no sin, hearest her, penitent, — cleansest
her, defiled, — lovest her, that Thou mayest make her fair. “11. She embraceth the feet of the
Lord, washeth them with her tears, wipeth them with her hair: by washing, by
wiping, by ointment, she anointeth them, — with kisses she encircled them. “12. These are the banquets which are
well-pleasing to Thee, O Wisdom of the Father, “13. O Thou, born of a Virgin, Who
disdainedst not to be touched by a woman that was a sinner. “14. Thou wast invited by the
Pharisee; Thou wast banqueted by Mary. “15. Much Thou forgivest to her that
loved much, and repeated not her sin in time to come. “16. From seven devils Thou
cleansedst her by Thy sevenfold Spirit. “17. Arising from the dead, Thou
didst grant her to see Thee before the others. “18. By her, O Christ, Thou signifiest
Thy proselyte Church; whom, albeit alien-born, Thou callest to the table of
Thy sons. “19. Whom at the feast of the law and
grace, the pride of the Pharisees contemns, the leprosy of heresy vexes. “20. What she is Thou knowest; she
toucheth Thee because she is a sinner, because she is a desirer of pardon. “21. What, sick one, could she have
possessed, if she had not received it, if the Physician had not been present? “22. King of kings, rich unto all,
save us; Thou that wipest away all the crimes of sinners, Thou that art the
hope and glory of saints.”] “When it had been sung, he said,
‘What devout and fervent words are these! And he repeated to himself this
verse, ruminating upon it:— ‘What, sick one, could she [94] have possessed,
if she had not received it, if the Physician had not been present?’ “Many of the brethren who were
present wept when they heard these things. But he, joyful in the Lord,
consoled them that were mourning. Brother Amilius, who nursed him carefully,
heard many edifying things from his mouth, and wrote them down.” These notes of Brother Amilius are
preserved by Thomas, and are very interesting. He first gives a letter
dictated by Lubert to Florentius, who was then at a distance, on the Vigil of
S. James; and next proceeds:— “When he had dictated it, he sat up
and read it over, to see if he wished to add or omit anything. Then suddenly
there fell upon him such a horror and such a weakness, that he seemed to have
lost all his senses; and he asked me to collect all the brethren of our house,
and other good men who lived near at hand. When they were come, he was
exceedingly distressed and agitated, and uttered doleful cries and lamentable
sentences..... Then he made a sign to me, Amilius, who never left him, to
take away the taper which I had put in his hand, thinking him to be in the
act of death, that I might read with him the seven Psalms, — ‘ for,’ said he,
‘I shall not die yet.’ So he began reading one verse with me, and the other
making a response, and so he went all through them with great fervour and
devotion.” After describing the temptations by
which Lubert was tried, he says of the evening of the same day:— “After this, entirely worn out, he
lay in great tranquillity and peace of heart until his death. For ardently he
desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ, having a firm confidence and
hope of the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Virgin Mary, and
the other saints. And in the aforesaid ardent desire he continued to pray, to
sigh, and to meditate on pious Psalms, especially the Psalm Beati
Immaculati, till the morrow of S. James, — often enquiring whether he was
near death; whether he yet had all the signs of death; whether short breath
was a true sign of death, and the like. We could in no wise console him
better than [95] by assuring him that death was at hand. Sometimes with great
confidence he would exclaim, ‘O when will the Lord Jesus and S. Mary, with
the holy angels, come to set me free?’ and the like. ‘I hope that they will
not tarry long. O if they would come quickly. O if they would put an end to
this. I trust that I shall not abide here much longer,’ and the like. And
frequently he invoked SS. Mary, Jerome, and Gregory, whom he specially loved,
and the other saints, to pray for him, and to succour him in the hour of
death.... Thus in so great fervour, in such devotion, in so ardent a desire
of being dissolved, in so affectionate and trustful an expectation of the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Virgin Mary, the holy angels,
and the other saints, he came to his last hour; nor, as it seems, was the
request of his lips denied. In all his limbs he was already dead, and quite
cold; life only seemed to palpitate on his tongue and in his breast, and he
could scarcely move any one of his limbs. And, behold, on a sudden, without
“any help, he sat up by himself, struck together and raised his hands, fixed
his eyes on the wall, and bowed towards it with great devotion; and with what
strength he might, in his poor broken voice he exclaimed, ‘In Thy glory, in
Thy goodness, in Thy mercy, take me, take me. In Thy glory, in Thy glory; in
Thy goodness, in Thy goodness; in Thy mercy, take me, take me, take me.’ He
sat upright, and went over the same words several times, and then lay down on
his bed again; and twice over he went through the same actions and words. The
last time he lay down, he seemed to be in great astonishment and admiration.
I asked the question, and said to him, ‘Brother Lubert, what is it? How fare
you?’ He replied, as it were in great astonishment, ‘Wonders, wonders;
admirable things, admirable things; great and admirable things I saw when I
sat up!’ He added directly, ‘Call the brethren, call the brethren.’ As soon
as they were called, he passed through a brief agony, and happily fell asleep
in the Lord, full of virtue and good works, concerning whom God be blessed
for ever.” 15. Henry Brune and Gerard of Zutphen
were two of the most zealous of the early labourers in the same work. Amilius
de Buren has been honoured with a [96] short memoir by Thomas à Kempis: it
was he who attended Lubert ten Bosche on his death-bed, and who afterwards
succeeded Florentius in his government of the House of Deventer. He held that
office more than four years, and departed this life in 1404. One of those who
exercised the greatest influence at Deventer was John Kettel, the cook. He
had been a merchant, and would never take upon himself any higher office than
that to which he was at first appointed. He also died of the plague in 1398,
and was attended by brother Amilius on his death-bed. 16. Having thus commemorated the
principal fellow-labourers of Geert Groote, I will give a brief sketch of the
nature of his Institute. His disciples were usually known as the Brothers of
the Common Life, or of Good Will; sometimes as Fraterheeren, Devoted
Clerks, Collationary Brothers; occasionally as Hieronymians, or Gregorians,
from their great veneration for those saints, and the frequent dedication of
their houses to them. The association was entirely voluntary; none of the
brothers were bound by a vow; and yet none were ever known, having put their
hand to the plough, to turn again to the world. Each house consisted of four
or more priests, twice as many clerks, and a few laymen. The head was called
indifferently Ruler, Prior, or Provost. Next to him were the Vice-Ruler and
Procurator, whose business lay in the management of the worldly affairs of
the house. As the brothers were so much occupied in transcription, among the
other functionaries of their establishment appear the rubricator, ligator,
and scripturarius. One or other of the principal houses was chosen for
the yearly “colloquy.” At first, it was the parent institution at Deventer;
after the death of Florentius Radewijns, the high reputation of Diderick van
Herxen caused Zwolle to be chosen for the place of meeting. Later, [97] we
find the annual assembly in other places, as in 1500 at Groningen, in 1560 at
Bois-le-duc, in 1561 at Emmerik. In the middle of the fifteenth century, the
three leading houses were Deventer, Zwolle, and Hieronymusberg at Halten. The
German brotherhoods formed a separate union, under Münster first, and
afterwards under Emmerik. While by no means neglecting manual labour, the
Brothers of the Common Life were emphatically and mainly an order devoted to
instruction and to the propagation of learning. 17. Before the death of Florentius,
they numbered seventeen collegiate churches in the Netherlands; of which,
next to Windesheim, the most famous was Mount Saint Agnes, near Zwolle. Here
it was that, in 1400, Thomas à Kempis was transferred; his brother John being
then first Prior of that newly-established House. Here, for seventy years, he
occupied himself in all the exercises of a pious monk; and more especially in
the transcription of books. A Bible of his writing is still extant, in four
volumes, folio; begun in 1417, and finished in 1459. The epigraph is,
“Finished and completed by the hands of brother Thomas à Kempis.” The same
words may be seen in a Missal, which he completed in 1414. It is beyond my design
to enter at length into the question, whether the “Imitation” has been
rightly ascribed to him; that work which, next to the Holy Scriptures, has
probably been read more widely than any other in the Western Church, — and
which has, it is said, gone through as many editions as there have been
months since it first appeared. It is now, however, almost a settled point
among ecclesiastical scholars, that Thomas was not its author. The arguments
against his claims are briefly these:— [98] 1. The simple fact, that the
only reason for ascribing it to him consists in the epigraph, “Finished and
completed in the year of our Lord 1441, by the hands of brother Thomas à
Kempis, of the monastery of Mount Saint Agnes, near Zwolle.” The same reason
might make him author of the Bible itself. 2. The account given by his
contemporaries that, in writing the “Imitation,” Thomas employed the most
ancient MSS. he could find, 3. The fact that, in the very rare editio
princeps of the works of Thomas, printed by Keteleer about 1475, and
edited by the brothers of his own order, the “Imitation” is
not to be found. 4. Nor is it to be found in any
Dutch edition for fifty years after. 5. It is said in Holland — and the
assertion has never been contradicted — that M. Van Vree, President of the
college at Warmond, has fragments of the “Imitation” in Flemish, written in
the fourteenth century. 6. Anyone who will study the
undoubted works of Thomas — “ The Valley of Lilies,” “The Book of the Three
Tabernacles,” “The Sermons to the Novices,” — will be morally convinced that
he did not write the “Imitation.” The style is as different as is that of S.
Bernard from S. Augustine. And the quotations he makes from the “Imitation”
prove the same thing. Who ever thus quoted his own works? Nor do we ask the
reader to take this assertion on our credit only; though we make it without
the least hesitation. M. Kamper, who lately published a translation of the
undoubted works of Thomas, gives it as his settled opinion, that either
these, or the “Imitation,” are not from his pen. M. Holtropp, of the
Hague, has published a most convincing pamphlet on the subject. [99] The only
modern ecclesiastical scholar of eminence who supports the opposite side is,
we believe, the present excellent Bishop of Bruges; and he writes with a
warmth which betrays a secret mistrust of his cause. The reader who wishes to
become acquainted with the sum and substance of all that can be said on the
question is referred to the eleventh volume of Dupin’s Bibliothèque,
and to Gregory’s Histoire du Livre de l’Imitation de Jésus Christ.
After all, a far more edifying point of consideration than that of its
authorship, is the comfort and blessing which, for nearly four hundred years,
the “Imitation” has been to every Christian nation. Thus, the countless
German, French, and Italian translations, the frequent English reprints, are
known to everyone. The Spaniard reads it in the venerable Luis de Grenada’s
version, — the best of all; the Bohemian, in Balthazar Osthowne’s; the
Hungarian, in Peter Pazmany’s; while the Turkish, the Arabian, and the modern
Greek have their respective translations. 18. With the death of Thomas, the
learned generation may be said to have commenced. Overyssel and Guelderland
were undoubtedly, at the epoch of the invention of printing, the most learned
countries in Europe; and the first leading colleges were at Deventer,
Zutphen, Zwolle, and Kampen. The Cardinal Cusa and Pope Hadrian VI. owed
their erudition to these institutions; and in 1476 a young lad named Gerard
was received at Deventer, who afterwards became known to all the literary
world as Desiderius Erasmus. From these, as from a centre, radiated schools
into every part of north-western Europe. Rodolph Lang established that of
Münster; Louis Dingenberg that of Schelstadt: here he had for pupils, Murrho
(founder of the college at Colmar), Wimpheling [100], and Simler, the master
of Melanchthon. Rodolph Agricola was the master of Beatus Rhenanus, the first
editor of Tertullian, and one of the most eminent scholars of the fifteenth
century. 19. Such an order naturally seized
with avidity the invention of printing. The wooden blocks of Laurence Jansz,
commonly called Coster, at Haarlem, may have familiarized them with the idea
before John Gutemberg invented his movable metallic types at Mayence. Certain
it is, however, that among the most valuable volumes to be found in the incunabula
of German libraries, the Canons of Windesheim have their full share. In 1474,
those of Val Sainte Marie, near Mayence, printed a psalter and a breviary;
and those of S. Michael, at Rostock, the editio princeps of
Lactantius; in 1476, those of Nazareth, at Brussels, the Speculum Humanae
Salvationis — the first work printed in that city. It may be truly said that the
stimulus to the revival of ecclesiastical learning came from Windesheim, as
that to profane learning from Rome. And it should be a humbling thought for
educated, wealthy, intellectual Holland that, in her Catholic times, the north-eastern
provinces were immeasurably superior to their present condition in that
mental culture which Protestantism is usually supposed to foster. 20. The institute, in the course of
years, developed itself into six different families. The first was the Belgian,
of which the House of S. Gregory, at Deventer, was considered the head.
Another of its most celebrated houses was that at Zwolle; where, in the
middle of the fifteenth century, Diderik Van Herxen attained a degree of
celebrity equal to that of Florentius: it was famous also for the teaching
and reputation of Gerard Van Kalkar, another of the early brothers. [101] At
Amersfoort, at Groningen, at Harderwyck, at Utrecht itself, and at Liége,
there were celebrated houses. At Louvain, their printing-press sent forth a
great number of the early books of the Low Countries. The second family was the German,
which, however, acquired less reputation, and became afterwards in some
degree connected with the outbreak of the Reformation. “Would,” said Luther,
in 1534, of that at Herford, “that all monasteries would teach and hold the
Word of God as earnestly as this.” The third family was the Italian,
which also was not one of the most illustrious. It had houses at Venice,
Padua, Rimini, Rome, and other places. That at Rimini strenuously resisted
the imposition of vows, when accepted by almost all the other houses; and,
when compelled by Pius V. to take them, did it under protest that they were
taken by mere compulsion. The fourth family was the Portuguese.
This did not contain many houses, but those which existed held a high
reputation for good order and sanctity. That at Coimbra persisted to the end
in its rejection of vows; and it is said that, during the whole course of its
existence, scarcely one or two of the brothers forsook it. The fifth and
sixth were the Sicilian and the Genoese. 21. The Brothers of the Common Life
were, as may be seen from the above, a chiefly local institution. It was not
long before the non-existence of vows was brought forward as derogatory to
the sanctity, and likely to peril the stability, of the order. It is not
wonderful, therefore, that the House of Canons Regular at Windesheim, which
had acquired great reputation both for learning and piety, should have
attracted to itself the Dutch institution, and tended [102] in some degree to
remodel it. In the middle of the fifteenth century a union took place between
the two, and thenceforward the earlier appellation of Brothers of the Common
Life was generally lost in that of Canons Regular of Windesheim. The congregation of Windesheim had a
golden age of about one hundred years. After 1500 we hear little of it. Swept
out of Holland by the whirlwind of the Reformation, it had not the vitality
to propagate itself in the neighbouring countries. Though it continued to
exist, it did not continue to spread, and became, as it were, a mere fragment
in the institute of Canons Regular. In this respect, the well-defined
existence which the Béguines have kept up is not a little remarkable; and the
wisdom of Geert Groote in avoiding any close assimilation to, or amalgamation
with, the Canons Regular will, perhaps, be acknowledged. [1] Quoted by Thomas à Kempis, chap. ix. [2] Delprat, p. 25, shews by a comparison of letters of
Groote himself with that of Salvavarillâ, that the application to Urban VI.
must have been made in 1383. [3] And this was his epitaph:— “Gerardus Magnus vixit sicut pius
agnus, [4] So the inscription on the tower itself sets forth:— “M. C. ter. X. bis. semel S. Paulique
Johannis That is, on the Feast of SS. John and
Paul, June 26. [5] Elegit namque potens abjectus Lullardus cum habitu
suis vocari, aut insanus a secularibus nominari, quam magnus Dominus et
magister nominari.” — Thomas à Kempis, cap. 9. [6] Historia Episc.: Episc. Daventr., p. 157. [7] Historia Episcopatuum: Daventr., p, 88. |
John Mason Neale, 1818-1866 |
