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 ULLATHORNE

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ULLATHORNE

Christian converts to seek refuge in Moesia. It was at this period in his life that lie conceived the idea of translating the Bible into the langviage of the Goths, a task demanding as a preliminary that he should invent a special alphabet. His familiarity with Greek made the task comparatively simple, only a few letters being borrowed from other sources, Runic or Latin. Despite his many other activities Ulfilas translated "all tlic books of Scripture with the excep- tion of the Books of Kings, which he omitted because they arc a mere narrative of miUtary exploits, and the Gothic tribes were especially fond of war, and were in more need of restraints to check their military passions than of spurs to urge them on to deeds of war" (Philostorgius, "Hist, eccl.", II, 5). The Books of the Old Testament were translated from the

Arctic explorer, was a convert. When he was ten years old, the whole family removed to Scarborough, where young UUathorne made his first acquaintance with the sea. His hvely imagination and adventur- ous spirit led him to desire to be on the ocean and to see the world; and for three and a half years his wish was gratified, during which time ho made several voyages in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea and elsewhere. It was on one of these voyages that a chance opportunity of attending Mass "at Mcmel, a port in the Baltic, proved the turning-point of his Ufe, for he then and there made up his mind to devote his life to the service of God. On his return to England, therefore, he entered as a novice of the well-known Benedictine community at Downside, near Bath, in February, 1823. He received the habit in March.

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F.\C8IMILE Portion of a Page of Ulfilas's TRANsr..\TiON of the Gospels Preserved at I'psala Mark, iv, 3, 4: The Jews unless they often wash their hands do not eat, and there is much else whirh. ..

Scptuagint; those of the New Testament from the original Greek. Ulfilas was at the Synod of Const an- tinople in 360 when the sect of Acacius triumphed and issued its compromise creed as a substitute for the formularies of the Orthodox as weO a-s the Arian parties. It is unfortunate that the career of Ulfilas was marred by his adherence to the Arian heresy. It may be said in extenuation of this fault that he was a victim of circumstances in coming under none but Arian and semi-Arian influences during his residence at Constantinople; but he persisted in the error until the end of his life. The lack of orthodoxy deprived the work of Ulfilas of permanent influence and wrought havoc among some of his Teutonic converts. His labours were impressed not only on the Goths, but on other Teutonic peoples, and because of the hereti- cal views they entertained they were unable to main- taint hemsel ves in t he kingdoms which they est ablishei! . Only a few chapters of Ulfila-s's translation of the Old Testament are in existence. Of the New Testament we have the greater portion of the Gospels in the beautiful Silver Codex (a purple parchment with silver and gold letters) now at Upsala, and dat- ing from the fifth century perhaps; nearly all of St. Paul's Epistles in a ^Iilanese Codex edited by Cardinal Mai, and a large fragment of the Epistles to the Romans on a Wolfenbtittel palimpsest.

Waitz, Lehen und Lehre des Ulfila (Hanover, 1840). thi.i work contains the account of Ulfilas's hfe written by his di.'*cip!e Auxentiufl, Bishop of Dorostorus; Bessel, Ueber das Lehen des Ulfilas xtnd die Rekehrung dcr Golen zum Christentum. (Gottingon, 1860): Scott. Ulfilas, Apostle of the Goths, together with an account of the Gothic Churches ami their Decline (London. 188,i); Stamm, Ulfilas Oder die uns erhaltenen Denkm/iler dcr gntischcn Sprache (Paderborn, 1896); P. L., XVIII. contains the existing fragments of the Bible of Ulfilas with notes and gio.s.sar>'.

Patrick J. Healy.

Ullathorne, William Bernard, English Bene- dictine monk and bishop, b. at Pockhngton, York- shire. 7 May, 1S06; d. at O.=cott, W.irwickshire, 21 March. 1SS9. His father was a lineal descendant from Blessed Thomas More, but hatl fallen in life and was then the chief tradesman of the village. His mother, a distant connexion of Sir John Frankhn, the

1824, and was professed a year later, taking the name of Bernard. Later on he spent a year as jji-cfect at Ampleforth College, nea,r York, and was (irdained ])riost at Ushaw College in 1831. Soon after his re- turn to Downside, in response to an invitation from Dr. Morris, O.S.B., Vicar Apostolic of the Mauritius, Ullathorne offered himself as a volunteer for the Au.stralian mission, which then formed part of that vicariate. His offer was accepted, and in view of the difficulty there had always been of governing the colony from such a, distance, Dr. Morris gave him full powers as his vicar-general there.

Ullathorne landed in Australia in February, 1S33, and his connexion with the colony lasted eight years. During the first part of that time he devotwl himself to organizing the beginnings of the mission there. \\'hen he first landed there were only three priests. Father Therry and Father McEncroe at Sydney, and Father Connolly in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). At both places they were working independently and without an.v kind of supervision. There were internal dissensions among the Catholics, as well as difficulties with the colonial authorities, both due to the want of proper ecclesiastical go\-ernment. Ullathorne, by his tact and strength of character, soon succeeded in ad- .iusting these, both at Sydney and in Tasmania. He likewise visited the con\-ict settlement on Norfolk Island, which he describes as "the most beautiful spot in the uni%'erse", and his ministrations to tho.sc who were condemned to death, as well as to the others, had most consoling results. In 183.5 Bishop Fold- ing, O.S.B., arrived as Vicar Apostolic of Australia, accompanied by three priests and four ecclesiastical students. Ullathorne, being thus set free, set out soon afterwards to visit England and Ireland, to ob- tain further helj) for the mission. During his stay he was called upon to give evidence before the Parlia- mentary Commission on the evils of transportation, and, at the request of the Government, he wrote a tract on the subject. He was also summoned to Rome,;it the in.stance of Cardinal Weld, to report on the state of the Australian mission.

In 1838 he once more set sail for Sydney, with sev-