gard for the Rule and its observance
led them to extremes. They were convinced that it was inspired by our
Lord Himself and they attributed to it an authority equal to that of
the Gospels. Contending that it was perfectly clear and intelligible,
they denied that any authority on earth had the power to explain or
interpret it. In these ideas they were strengthened by the writings of
Joachim, Abbot of Flora.

This remarkable man flourished about the latter {51} portion of the
twelfth century. He was deeply imbued with the spirit of mysticism,
and its dangers were only too fully realized in his case. In treating
of the Blessed Trinity he erred seriously, and his doctrine was
condemned by the Fourth Lateran Council. He seems to have considered
himself inspired, and he gave utterance to a long series of prophecies
concerning the Church's future. He declaimed vehemently against all
ranks of the clergy--denouncing Popes, Cardinals and Bishops for their
indifference and corruption, and predicting for them the most terrible
punishments. Turning to the relations between mankind and God he
proceeded to divide Revelation into three epochs: that of the Father,
or the Old Testament; that of the Son, or the New Testament; and that
of the Holy Ghost--a period which was to come and which would be much
more perfect than the preceding two. It was to be characterized by the
most powerful and universal sway of Divine Love, a clear vision of the
eternal truths, and the rise of a contemplative monachism.

Notwithstanding these peculiar tenets, Joachim was a man of rare
virtue and piety and he died in full union with the Church. He was
regarded by many as a saint and a prophet, and his writings were
thought to be divinely inspired. John of Parma, indeed, held him in
high esteem, but some of the Brethren with whom he was intimately
associated, and to some extent identified, exceeded {52} the bounds of
all moderation in their ardent advocacy of him. Inflamed as they were
with intense religious fervour and deeply penetrated with a spirit of
penance and self-sacrifice, the teaching of Joachim appealed most
forcibly to them. His denunciation of the worldliness of the age, his
contempt for all things temporal, his love of contemplation, and above
all, his vivid prophecy about the institution of a new Religious Order
in which the light and love of God would govern all, filled them with
unbounded admiration. They pretended to see in Joachim the precu