entary of St. Gregory, differs from that of Gelasius only in
some collects or prayers. The conformity between the present church
office and the ancient appears from this work, and the saint's
Antiphonarius and Responsorium. The like ceremonies and benedictions
are found in the apostolic constitutions, and all other ancient
liturgic writings; out of which Grabe, Hickes, Deacon, and others
have formed new liturgies very like the present Roman, and several
of them have restored the idea of a true sacrifice. Dom Menard has
enriched the Sacramentary of St. Gregory with most learned and
curious notes.

Besides his Comments or Morals on the book of Job, which he wrote at
Constantinople, about the year 582, in which we are not to look for
an exposition of the text, but an excellent compilation of the main
principles of morality, and an interior life, we have his exposition
of Ezekiel, in twenty-two homilies. These were taken in short hand
as he pronounced them, and were preached by him at Rome, in 592,
when Ag{}ulph the Lombard was laying waste the whole territory of
Rome. See l. 2, in Ezech. hom. 6, and Paul the deacon, l. 4, hist.
Longob. c. 8. The exposition of the text is allegorical, and only
intended for ushering in {} moral reflections, which are much
shorter than in the books on Job. His forty homilies on the gospels
he preached on several solemnities while he was pope. His
incomparable book, On the Pastoral Care, which is an excellent
instruction of pastors, and was drawn up by him when he saw himself
placed in the pontificate, consists of four parts. In the first he
treats of the dispositions requisite in one who is called to the
pastoral charge; in the second of duties of a pastor; in the third
on the instruction which he owes to his flock; and, in the fourth,
on his obligation of watching over his own heart, and of diligent
self-examination. In four books of dialogues, between himself and
his disciple Peter, he recounts the miracles of his own times, upon
the authority of vouchers, on whose veracity he thought he could
rely. He so closely adheres to their relations, that the style is
much lower than in his other writings. See the preface of the
Benedictin editor on this work. His letters are published in
fourteen books, and are a very interesting compilation. We have St.
Gre