Strengthened by this signal victory, other points of the Alexandrian creed2 were attacked in succession; and the time of the Jesuits was fully3 occupied in the translation into Ethiopic of sundry4 dogmatical treatises5 on subjects of disputed faith. But the barbarism of the language was despised by most—the Latin interpolation abhorred6 as magic by all—and a furious paper controversy7 raged for a time; until the Abyssinians becoming scurrilous8, the wrath9 of the monarch10 was again roused, and he issued a severe edict, wherein the people were forbidden from celebrating the Jewish Sabbath, which from time immemorial had hitherto been sacred.
The inhabitants of Begemeder flew to arms; and people from all parts of the country, groaning11 under the yoke12 of foreign oppression, poured in to join the standard of rebellion which Joanel had reared on the plains of his government. A horde13 of Galla, delighting in the confusion, offered their assistance, and the most haughty14 conditions were speedily conveyed to court from a large assembly in arms.
Again the most earnest entreaties15 were employed to induce the emperor to compromise; but influenced by the words of the Jesuits, he called together his principal chieftains, monks16, and learned men, and in their presence solemnly declared that he would defend the Catholic religion to the last drop of his blood; adding, that it was the first duty of his subjects to obey their legitimate17 monarch. Energetic measures were forthwith agreed upon, and, at the head of a large array, the king proceeded in person to the war. Joanel, finding himself too weak to contend in the plains, withdrew to the inaccessible18 mountains, where a blockade by the royal troops soon caused a scarcity19 of provisions. His forces gradually deserted20, and he himself escaping to the Galla, was pursued, betrayed, and put to death.
This reverse sustained by the defenders21 of the old cause did not, however, intimidate23 the inhabitants of Dámot, a province situated24 on the borders of the Nile; for scarcely had the emperor reached his capital, when the population rose en masse, with the determination of dethroning a monarch who so basely truckled to a foreign yoke, and of driving from the land the authors of its distraction25. An army of fourteen thousand warriors26 was speedily organised; and monks and hermits27, burning with zeal28 in the cause, emerged from the cave and from the wilderness29 to join the fast-swelling ranks.
Ras Sela Christos marched against the rebels, but desertion considerably30 thinned his troops; and he confronted the enemy with barely one-half the numerical strength of their formidable array. Governor of the province, and greatly beloved by the people, a proposal was tendered to him, that if he would only lend his assistance in burning the monkish31 books and hanging the worthy32 fathers themselves upon tall trees, he might be seated upon the imperial throne of his ancestors. But the general, despising the offer, and resting confident in the firelocks of the Portuguese33, rushed to the attack. The combat raged fiercely for a time. Four hundred monks, devoting themselves to death, carried destruction through the royal host; but the tide of victory set at length in his favour, and after a fearful carnage on either side, he found himself master of the field.
Great rejoicings at court followed the news of this success. Peter declared that Heaven, by the extermination34 of his enemies, had given the desired sign that the Roman Catholic should be the religion of the land; and the emperor, who, partly from fear of his subjects, and partly from dislike to relinquish35 his supernumerary wives and concubines, had not as yet publicly professed36 the Latin religion, now openly embraced the faith, and confessed his sins to the triumphant37 Jesuit.
A letter containing the royal sentiments was published for the benefit of the nation:—“The king henceforth obeys the pope of Rome, the successor of Peter, chief of the apostles, who could neither err38 in doctrine39 nor in conduct; and all subjects are hereby advised to adopt the same creed.” And the missionary40, who now reasonably imagined that the work was satisfactorily concluded, wrote to the courts of Rome and Lisbon, requesting that a patriarch and twenty ecclesiastics41 might be immediately sent to the vineyard; adding, that “although the harvest was plentiful43, the labourers were but few.”
These happy and unlooked-for tidings were received by Philip the Fourth of Spain. Mutio Vitelesi, the general of the Jesuits, offered to proceed in person, but the pope refused permission, as he had done in the case of his predecessor44 Loyola; and Alphonso Mendez, a learned doctor of the society of Jesus, was inaugurated at Lisbon with all the customary solemnities.
After suffering much difficulty and delay in his passage, the Portuguese patriarch at length arrived on the Danákil coast with a large train of priests, servants, masons, and musicians. The same greediness and cupidity45 were experienced amongst the savage46 Ada?el that the traveller finds at the present day—baseness and avarice47 having stamped their character for generations; but the troubles of a weary march were soon forgotten in the cordial reception which awaited the party at the royal camp; and the day was finally fixed48 when the homage49 of the king and of the country should be rendered to the Pope of Rome.
On the 11th of February, 1626, the court and the nobles of the land were assembled in the open air. Two rich thrones were occupied by the monarch and his distinguished50 guest, and a surrounding multitude gazed upon the imposing51 ceremony in silence. “The hour is come,” exclaimed Mendez, “when the king shall satisfy the debt of his ancestors, and submit himself and his people to the only true head of the church.” A copy of the Gospel was produced, and the monarch, falling upon his knees, took the oath of homage. “We, King of the kings of Ethiopia, believe and confess that the Pope of Rome is the true successor of the Apostle Saint Peter, and that he holds the same power, dignity, and dominion52, over the whole Christian53 church. Therefore we promise, offer, and swear sincere obedience54 to the holy father Urban, by God’s grace Pope and our Lord, and throw humbly55 at his feet our person and our kingdom.”
As the emperor rose from his position, Ras Sela Christos, suddenly drawing his sword, shouted aloud, “What is now done is done for ever; and whoso in future disclaims56 the act, shall taste the sharp edge of this trusty weapon. I do homage only to true Catholic kings.” The monks, clergy57, and noblemen followed the example of their superiors; and the assembly was closed by a public edict, proclaimed through the royal herald58, that all Abyssinians should, under pain of death, forthwith embrace the Roman religion.
Palaces and revenues were set apart for the ministers of the new faith; seminaries for youth were established throughout the country, and baptism and ordination59 went on in peace. The success of the Jesuits increased rapidly, and many thousand souls were enrolled60, who had been converted from the delusions61 of the Alexandrian creed.
The trial of two years failed, however, to convince the nation of the benefits of the new religion; and the emperor and patriarchs could not deceive themselves in the fact, that the cause advanced rather in appearance than in reality. Missionaries62 who entered the native churches were found murdered in their beds; the most disparaging63 stories were everywhere circulated regarding the holy fathers, and more particularly on the representation of scriptural performances at the Paschal feast, when demons64 being introduced by the Romans upon the stage, the spectators rushed simultaneously65 from the theatre, exclaiming, “Alas! they have brought with them devils from the infernal regions,” and the tale spread like wildfire through the land.
Nothing daunted66 by the unfortunate fate of Aelius and Joanel, Tekla Georgis, another son-in-law of the emperor, with a large body of the discontented, rose to defend the religion of their forefathers67. Burning the crosses and rosaries, together with a Jesuit priest who fell into their hands, the party rapidly increased, and the emperor was compelled to march an army to quell68 the insurrection. The rebels were completely routed by Rebaxus, the viceroy of Tigré, and all who fell into his hands, men, women, and children, were barbarously massacred. Georgis and his sister Adera concealed69 themselves in a cave during three days, but were at length discovered and brought before the irritated emperor. Condemned70 by the advice of the Jesuits to be burned to death as a heretic, Georgis was allowed by the monarch publicly to solicit71 the patriarch to be admitted into the Roman church; but it being afterwards considered politic72 to imagine that his intentions were insincere, the unfortunate prince was hung in front of the palace in presence of the whole court; and his devoted73 sister, fifteen days afterwards, suffered the same fate upon the same tree, notwithstanding that the most strenuous74 efforts were made to save her life by the queen and by all classes of society.
To increase the dread75 effects of his tyranny, the emperor now issued a manifesto76, that even as he had punished with death the obstinacy77 of his own son-in-law, so would he of a surety not spare any who in future committed a like transgression78. The remarks of the worthy missionary Antoine, regarding this execution, will show the spirit which animated79 the fathers in their course of persecution80, so novel in the annals of Abyssinia, and so contrary to the mildness of the Christian faith. “He who reads with attention the history of Ethiopia, will observe, that at no previous period was such ardent81 zeal displayed for the honour of religion, and a direct miracle, indeed, must have induced the emperor to hang his own son-in-law in the blessed cause.”
Dazzled by the success that had hitherto attended their measures, the patriarch and his colleagues now plunged82 headlong into proceedings83 which eventually proved disastrous84 to their cause. Excommunications were lightly launched in civil disputes, and the soul of every counsellor of the state was committed to the devil if he dared to question the authority of the foreign priest. Conspiracies85 were hatched against the imperial person; and the body of a distinguished non-conforming ecclesiastic42, which had been interred86 within the walls of the church, was exhumed87 by order of the Portuguese prelate, and thrown to the wild beasts—an action which raised the indignation of the ethiopians to the highest pitch against a set of men “who had ever the words of religion in the mouth, but who, after persecuting88 the living, denied even to the dead that repose89 which neither Pagan nor Mohammadan ever disturbed.”
The detestation of the fathers and their religion daily waxed stronger in the hearts of all. Their great patron, Ras Sela Christos, was deprived of power and property for seditious attempts; and the bold mountaineers of Begemeder at length seized their long spears to uphold the faith of their ancestors. The viceroy was driven from the province, and Meleaxus, a youth of royal blood, appointed defender22 of the ancient religion, and leader of the armed host of peasants who flocked to his standard from all parts of the country, but especially from Lasta, the seat of the bravest warriors of the land.
To quell this insurrection, the Emperor assembled in Gojam an army of twenty-five thousand men, and attacked the insurgents90 among their strongholds. His troops were, however, repulsed91 at all points with the loss of many officers and men, and he was reluctantly obliged to retreat to the plains. Deputies followed from the victorious92 camp, to supplicate93 him to take pity upon his subjects, and to dismiss those evil-minded strangers who had so long oppressed Abyssinia. The royal army was in no heart or condition to renew hostilities94. Rumours95 went through the land that angels sent from heaven had proclaimed the restoration of the ancient religion; and in the general excitement the king perceived that his own authority would be fatally compromised unless some concessions96 were made.
The patriarch was nevertheless inflexible97; and letters were at the same time received from Rome, instigating98 the emperor to combat stoutly99 with his rebellious100 subjects, and extending to Ethiopia the general absolution of the great year of Jubilee101. But the unhappy inhabitants laughed the offer of this indulgence to scorn, and were utterly102 unable to comprehend by what authority the pope held in his possession the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
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1
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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treatises
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| n.专题著作，专题论文，专著( treatise的名词复数 ) | |
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6
abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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7
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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8
scurrilous
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| adj.下流的，恶意诽谤的 | |
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9
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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10
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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16
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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17
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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scarcity
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| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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23
intimidate
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| vt.恐吓，威胁 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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hermits
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| （尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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28
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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35
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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41
ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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43
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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cupidity
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| n.贪心，贪财 | |
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46
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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48
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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49
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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50
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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51
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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52
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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53
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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54
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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55
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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56
disclaims
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| v.否认( disclaim的第三人称单数 ) | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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58
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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59
ordination
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| n.授任圣职 | |
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60
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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61
delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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62
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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63
disparaging
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| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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64
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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68
quell
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| v.压制，平息，减轻 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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70
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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manifesto
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| n.宣言，声明 | |
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obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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78
transgression
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| n.违背；犯规；罪过 | |
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79
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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80
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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81
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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82
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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83
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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84
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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85
conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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86
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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87
exhumed
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| v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
persecuting
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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89
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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90
insurgents
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| n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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91
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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92
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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93
supplicate
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| v.恳求；adv.祈求地，哀求地，恳求地 | |
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94
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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95
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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96
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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97
inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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98
instigating
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的现在分词 ) | |
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99
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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100
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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101
jubilee
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| n.周年纪念；欢乐 | |
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102
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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