OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 283 sion of arms ; and the order of chivalry was assimilated in its rights and privileges to the sacred orders of priesthood. The bath and white garment of the novice were an indecent copy of the regeneration of baptism ; his sword, which he offered on the altar, was blessed by the ministers of religion; his solemn reception was preceded by fasts and vigils ; and he was created a knight, in the name of God, of St. George, and of St. Michael the arch- angel. He swore to accomplish the duties of his profession ; and education, example, and the public opinion were the inviolable guardians of his oath. As the champion of God and the ladies (I blush to unite such discordant names), he devoted himself to speak the truth ; to maintain the right ; to protect the dis- tressed; to practise courtesy, a virtue less familiar to the ancients ; to pursue the infidels ; to despise the allurements of ease and safety ; and to vindicate in every perilous adventure the honour of his character. The abuse of the same spirit provoked the illiterate knight to disdain the arts of industry and peace ; to esteem himself the sole judge and avenger of his own injuries ; and proudly to neglect the laws of civil society and military dis- cipline. Yet the benefits of this institution, to refine the temper of barbarians, and to infuse some principles of faith, justice, and humanity, were strongly felt, and have been often observed. The asperity of national prejudice was softened ; and the com- munity of religion and arms spread a similar colour and generous emulation over the face of Christendom. Abroad in enterprise and pilgrimage, at home in martial exercise, the warriors of every country were perpetually associated ; and impartial taste must prefer a Gothic tournament to the Olympic games of classic antiquity.^'* Instead of the naked spectacles which cor- rupted the manners of the Greeks and banished from the stadium the virgins and the matrons, the pompous decoration of the lists was crowned with the presence of chaste and high- bom beauty, from whose hands the conqueror received the prize of his dexterity and courage. The skill and strength that were exerted in vrestling and boxing bear a distant and doubtful re- lation to the merit of a soldier ; but the tournaments, as they were invented in France and eagerly adopted both in the East and West, presented a lively image of the business of the field. 5" The athletic exercises, particularly the cocstus and pancratium, were con- demned by Lycurgus, Philopoemen, and Galen, a lawgiver, a general, and a phy- sician. Against their authority and reasons, the reader may weigh the apology of Lucian, in the character of Solon. See West on the Olympic Games, in his Pindar, vol. ii. p. 86-96, 245-248.
