Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/40

 enrolled beneath its banners, we must render all praise to the mind that first contemplated the establishment of a brotherhood combining within its obligations such apparently contradictory duties, and yet fulfilling its purposes with so much lasting benefit to Christianity, and imperishable renown to itself.

It will be well, at this point, before proceeding with the history of the Order, to devote a short space to the consideration of its government and internal polity as first established under Raymond du Puy. Having been originally organized for charitable purposes only, the changes introduced by Gerard and Raymond du Puy successively, gave it a religious, republican, military, and aristocratic character. It was religious, since every member took the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. It was republican, since its chief was always chosen by election of the members. It was military, since two of the three classes into which it was divided were constantly under arms, waging unceasing warfare with the Saracens; and it was aristocratic, since, as we shall presently see, none but the first class had any share in the legislative or executive power.

To regulate the new administration rendered necessary by the changes which he had introduced, Raymond called together the leading members of his Hospital, who bore the name of Master's assistants; forming them into a chapter or council, he submitted for their revision the ordinances originally drawn up by Gerard. It was at this meeting that the first statutes for the governance of the Order under its new character were instituted, and these were laid before, and received the sanction of the Pope. It may here be recorded that the original rule was lost at the capture of the city of Acre in the year 1289. Eleven years afterwards Pope Boniface VIII., at the request of the then Grand-Master, presented the Hospital with a fresh bull, in which the contents of Raymond's rule were recapitulated with a few trivial alterations.

One of the first steps taken by this council was to divide the Order into three classes, according to their rank and functions the first class, which formed the aristocracy, were to be named knights of justice; the second, which included the ecclesiastic