n from idolatry or heresy, the Frank and the
Visigoths were disposed to embrace, with equal submission, the inherent
evils and the accidental benefits, of superstition. But the prelates
of France, long before the extinction of the Merovingian race, had
degenerated into fighting and hunting Barbarians. They disdained the use
of synods; forgot the laws of temperance and chastity; and preferred the
indulgence of private ambition and luxury to the general interest of the
sacerdotal profession. The bishops of Spain respected themselves, and
were respected by the public: their indissoluble union disguised their
vices, and confirmed their authority; and the regular discipline of the
church introduced peace, order, and stability, into the government of
the state. From the reign of Recared, the first Catholic king, to that
of Witiza, the immediate predecessor of the unfortunate Roderic, sixteen
national councils were successively convened. The six metropolitans,
Toledo, Seville, Merida, Braga, Tarragona, and Narbonne, presided
according to their respective seniority; the assembly was composed of
their suffragan bishops, who appeared in person, or by their proxies;
and a place was assigned to the most holy, or opulent, of the Spanish
abbots. During the first three days of the convocation, as long as they
agitated the ecclesiastical question of doctrine and discipline, the
profane laity was excluded from their debates; which were conducted,
however, with decent solemnity. But, on the morning of the fourth day,
the doors were thrown open for the entrance of the great officers of the
palace, the dukes and counts of the provinces, the judges of the cities,
and the Gothic nobles, and the decrees of Heaven were ratified by the
consent of the people. The same rules were observed in the provincial
assemblies, the annual synods, which were empowered to hear complaints,
and to redress grievances; and a legal government was supported by the
prevailing influence of the Spanish clergy. The bishops, who, in each
revolution, were prepared to flatter the victorious, and to insult the
prostrate labored, with diligence and success, to kindle the flames of
persecution, and to exalt the mitre above the crown. Yet the national
councils of Toledo, in which the free spirit of the Barbarians was
tempered and guided by episcopal policy, have established some prudent
laws for the common benefit of the king and people. The vacancy of the
throne was supplied