slavery held under the yoke of sin.'

But we have noted

our own Collect in more than one German Missal: a fact which ought to be known to English liturgical scholars.

On S. Stephen's Day, our Prayer-book has, in our opinion, a clear advantage over its original. The Gregorian Prayer is somewhat lean and poor. 'Grant to us, LORD, we beseech Thee, to imitate that which we celebrate, that we may learn to love our enemies, because we celebrate his birthday, who 'could pray even for his persecutors to our LORD JESUS CHRIST.' And the same remark may apply to that for S. John. The Ecclesiam tuam benignus illustra is but poor compared with its exquisite development, Merciful LORD, we beseech Thee to cast Thy bright beams of light upon Thy Church.' If the reader wishes for a bathos, he has only to turn to King William's book: Merciful God, Who art light, and in Whom is no darkness at all, enlighten our minds, we humbly be'seech Thee, with such a full understanding of the doctrine ' taught by Thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist S. John, that we, walking in the truth and in all holiness and purity of life, may have fellowship with Thee and Thy Son JESUS CHRIST, by Whose blood being cleansed from all our sins, we 'may at length attain to everlasting life.'

The first Prayer-book of Edward VI. gives the Collect for Holy Innocents from the original:- Almighty God, Whose praise this day the young innocents, Thy witnesses, both confessed and shewed forth, not in speaking, but in dying: 'mortify and kill all vices in us, that in our conversation our life may express Thy faith, which with our tongues we do 'confess, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.' So far as we know, our present composition is original; it seems no improvement on the old Collect. King William's Divines have, however, sunk far beneath it :-'O most Blessed GOD, Who, having sent Thy Son in our nature, didst preserve Him in His Infancy from the malice of Herod, by whom many other children were 'slain, grant that in all dangers and adversities we may put our whole trust and confidence in Thee, and do Thou by Thy good providence preserve us from the rage of unreasonable and wicked men, or strengthen us by patient sufferings to glorify Thy Holy Name, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen.'

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It were difficult to say why the Sunday in the Octave of Christmas has no especial Collect: its original one has certainly no small beauty:- Almighty, everlasting GOD, direct our acts according to Thy good will; that in the name of 'Thine Only-Begotten Son, we may be fruitful in all good 'works.'

In the Circumcision we have-what is not usual-deep theo

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logical teaching slurred over for the sake of a smoother prayer; and it is worth noticing how the same process takes place in the Parisian Missal as in our own. The Collect in the Roman and most other Missals is simply a prayer for the intercession of S. Mary that which our compilers were imitating is a Gregorian Benediction On the Octaves of the LORD: Almighty GoD, Whose Only-Begotten SoN received corporal circumcision on this day, to the end that He might not destroy the law which He came to fulfil, purify your minds by spiritual circumcision from all the incentives of vice, and pour upon you His benediction.' We see how our own Prayer-book polishes this Benediction, losing at the same time some of its value: the Gallican compilers write thus:-O GOD, Who being made Man for our sakes, didst vouchsafe as on this day to be cir'cumcised, and to receive that name of JESUS: grant, of Thy mercy, that we, renouncing the works of the flesh, may obtain the reward of eternal salvation by the invocation of Thy Holy Name; Who with the Father,' &c.

On the Epiphany, we have a mere translation of the Sarum rite. The Parisian agrees with it. King William's Commissioners do little more than dilute it, without any material change in the substance.

First Sunday after Epiphany.-Our Prayer-book sadly falls short of the pithy vigour, and what the French would call verve, o. the Collect from which this is taken:-'Ut et quæ agenda sunt videant, et ad implenda quæ viderint convalescant:" where notice the admirable force of the last word, and especially of its preposition, so feebly expressed by the 'may also have grace and power.' The Commissioners dilute it in the folLowing fashion :-'O GOD, Whose infinite mercies in our blessed 'Saviour encourage us to call upon Thee: we beseech Thee graciously to hear us, and grant that we may both perceive and know what is Thy good and acceptable and perfect will ← revealed in us, and also,' &c. We can find no variation in the ordinary Liturgies..

Second Sunday after Epiphany.-Again a literal translation from the Sarum. All the books agree. The Commissioners :and so rule and guide us, that we may do our duties faithfully, in their several places and relations, constantly abhorring that which is evil,' &c. &c.; taking it, according to their usual fashion, from the Epistle..

Third Sunday after Epiphany.-Again a translation: except that 'in all our dangers and necessities,' is an addition of the compilers. Notice how beautifully, in the original Office, the 'right hand' of the LORD, stretched out in the Gospel to heal the leper, prayed for in the Collect to be our own defence, is glorified in the 'Offertory:' The right hand of the LORD hath

'the pre-eminence; the right hand of the LORD bringeth mighty 'things to pass.' The Commissioners, as usual, insert a large portion of the Epistle.

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Fourth Sunday after Epiphany.-Here the famous expression, 'that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright,' is, probably, as good a translation as can be made of' pro humana fragilitate non posse subsistere.' By the Commissioners it is softened down into that in many things we offend all.' There seems very little connexion between this Collect and the Epistle: whether taken, as in our Book, from the beginning of the thirteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans; or, as in the Sarum and Roman, from the eighth and following verses. But it is worthy of notice, that there is a very strong connexion between our Collect and the Mozarabic Epistle, the complaint of S. Paul in Romans vii., regarding the struggle of the two natures. One cannot but think that the two were originally co-existent for this Sunday. The curious difference in the termination of the Sarum and our Collect, is not easily to be explained. Instead of 'as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations,' the original has, that the things which for our sins we suffer, by Thy help we may overcome.'

We will now go on to Septuagesima.-Here all the books seem to agree. The Commissioners introduce a long insertion as to the Christian race from the Epistle.

Sexagesima. Here the more ancient books have, for the conclusion, instead of mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity,'-' mercifully grant, that 'by the protection of the Doctor of the Gentiles, we may be 'defended against all adversity;' a clause, which, from its very nature, is not of remote antiquity, and which manifestly has reference to the actions of S. Paul, as related in the Epistle. Quignon, who eliminates several passages of a similar kind, allows this to remain. But in the Parisian, instead of 'Doctoris Gentium protectione,' we have, Gratiæ tuæ protectione.'

Quinquagesima. Here the compilers of our Prayer-book introduce a new Collect: and, it will scarcely be denied, to the manifest improvement of the Office. The key-note of the whole service for Quinquagesima is, and ought to be, the greatest of these is charity but to that charity the Sarum Collect makes not the slightest reference. We beseech Thee, O LORD, graciously to receive our prayers, and having freed us 'from the chains of our sins, to preserve us from all adversity;' -a mere repetition of what has occurred in previous prayers. Ours must be regarded as one of the most successful of modern compositions in this line. The Commissioners leave it almost unaltered.

Ash-Wednesday.-Our Collect is rather a résumé of that *recited at the benediction of the ashes, than a literal translation of any. It is rather wonderful, that the Collect for the first Sunday in Lent was not transposed with this. At the same time, it shows the most venerable antiquity of these compositions, that fasting should be for the first time mentioned, not on the Wednesday, but on the Sunday: the four extra days being, as every one knows, of comparatively modern introduction. They were not introduced into the Mozarabic ritual till the revision of Cardinal Ximenes. And here, in entering on Lent, it is impossible not to bewail the ritual loss we experience in the rejection of the daily varying Collects during that most holy time. That there is a certain amount of sameness in them, may not be denied: but, surely, had it been thought not desirable to retain all, every Wednesday and Friday might at least have been distinguished by their own. We will give examples of these for one week, noting the variations in varying rituals. And for that purpose we will take the first Sunday in Lent.

The First Week, Monday.-The Roman and Sarum:- Turn 'us again, O GOD of our salvation: and, to the end that our fast of forty days may profit us, instruct our minds with Thy 'celestial discipline.'

Parisian:-Grant, we beseech Thee, O LORD, that our fasts 'may be acceptable to Thee: that by purifying us, they may make us worthy of Thy grace, and may bring us to eternal glory.' And this is the general Collect for the day in most of the modern French Breviaries, although some few, as the Rouen, agree with Rome.

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Let us turn to the Ambrosian. The first of the five at Lauds is the same as the Roman. The second:- We beseech : Thee, O LORD, vouchsafe to bear, of Thy mercy, the morning prayers of Thy servants; and to them that desire to attain to Thee, let the door of Thy indulgence ever stand open.' The third:- GOD, Who sheddest forth light at the morning hour, guard, we beseech Thee, of Thy mercy, our steps, that while we walk in good works, the faith of believers may ever shine 'forth in us.' The fourth-Sanctify, O LORD, we beseech Thee, our fasts; and, of Thy mercy, give us the pardon of all our faults.' The fifth:-Stretch forth, O GOD, Thy hand over us, and bestow upon us the help of celestial virtue.'

From the Ambrosian, turn we to the Mozarabic. The Collects at Matins are as follows:- Although, O LORD, the multitude of our enemies may deny that there is any help for us in Thee; 'yet the strength of our hope is mightily increased, because Thou didst vouchsafe to undertake our cause. Wherefore the 'mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped, since perpetual

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mercy surrounds them that put their trust in Thee.' The second:- O LORD, with Whom is the full salvation of righteous'ness, and the perfection of incorruptible beatitude; grant to us that we may pass the time in the meditation of Thy law by 'day and night, and may forsake the way of sinners, and the 'seat of the scornful; to the end that, like a tree which bringeth forth its fruits in due season, planted by the rivers of waters, 'we may be full of fruits, and beautified with grace.' The third: Let Thy discipline both join us to Thee by holy fear, and by fear, bring us to Thy joy: and, to the end that we 'may not depart from the path of righteousness, restrain us; 'and, to the end that we may attain to felicity, give us faith in 'Thee.'

Notice the marvellous difference between the brevity of the Roman, the quaint amplification of the Ambrosian, and the derivation from the Psalter, of the Mozarabic rite. It helps to give one some idea of what the treasury of the Church really is, when one calls to mind their countless Collects, each composed, not for the sake of appearing in an Office, but as the real utterance of some soul in affliction or distress; composed at the expense of how much suffering, collected and arranged at the price of how much labour; starting from so many dif ferent points, twining themselves round so many passages of Scripture, employing so many varied forms of expression! Commentators admire, and rightly, the richness of our own Collects. But what, when instead of one a week, there are three or four for each Hour of the day? and what, still further, when we take the aggregate of all these Offices, and consider them as a whole? To us it is perfectly marvellous what multitudes of exquisitely beautiful prayers, once the daily heritage of thousands who have now entered into their rest, are now absolutely lost; dead prayers, as it were, to be found in folios which but few scholars open, and they principally for antiquarian, rather than for religious, purposes. The two folios of the Mozarabic ritual, absolutely unused, except in a few Spanish churches; the Ambrosian, confined but to one province, and beyond that exercising no influence whatever.

We will proceed to the Tuesday.

Roman and Sarum:- Look down, we beseech Thee, O LORD, upon Thy family, and grant that our souls may through Thy love be accounted glorious with Thee, forasmuch as they 'chasten themselves by the mortification of the flesh.'

The Parisian:-' Preserve, O LORD, Thy family, so as to be ever instructed in good works; and so console it with Thy pre'sent assistance, that Thou mayest of Thy mercy lead it on to 'eternal joys.'

Ambrosian. First Prayer, the same as the Roman. Second: