10
rilj be tinderstood to represent ane of original
standing, and acted upon £rom very remote
times.
To this power of granting indulgence, theoi
is to be assigned the power of pecuniary abso-
lution, or the commutation of penance for
money, which is the foundation of the Tane^
and constitutes thieir essence. Simply to enjoin
penitence and penance, and to absolve the
offender on the performance of them, may be
considered as an exercise of ecclesiastic aatho*
rity, emanating from the power of the keys:
but to allow these to be conunuted, to be com-
pounded for, or redeemed, by money^ is cer«*
tainly the exercise of a farther prerogative— it
is not an act of discipline, but of indulgence.
And that such a prerogative was claimed by the
church, with respect to all sins, of whatsoever
enormity, is evident from many, perhaps the
greater part, of the ancient Penitentiary Canons.
This important subject will be elucidated by
inquiring into a few of them.
Theodorus, who was sent from Rome to be
Archbishop of Canterbury, in the seventh cen-
tury, was the first who introduced Penitentiary
Canons from the East into the West. His
PoDuitentiale is extant, and an excellent edition
