Page:King Alfred's Old English version of St. Augustine's Soliloquies - Hargrove - 1902.djvu/35

RELATING OF ALFRED TO ST. AUGUSTION XXIX He was thus the first English king to become a truly great defender of the Faith.

From his various prefaces and other undisputedly original writings we learn that he was fond of the contemplative life, and could easily have become an ascetic; that he yearned for the education and salvation of his people; that he felt himself a leader in the acquisition of salvation for himself and for his people. With such surroundings and such a character, the logical thing for him to do was to read and study the Latin writings of St. Augustine. It followed easily that he translated and adapted some of these to the needs of his people.

Alfred found in St. Augustine the embodiment of many of his ideals. Had he been blessed with the advantages of early study and leisure, he doubtless would have become a spirit of the same kind - we dare not say of the same degree, for his practical Anglo-Saxon mind could hardly have compassed that lofty and subtle thought which characterized the great Latin Father. As a matter of fact, Alfred was in character and circumstances more nearly similar to Charlemagne, with whom he has often been compared. This similarity is seen in the fact that they both became students, started a revival of learning, established court schools, fostered literature, and collected scholars from other parts of the world. Charlemagne drew Alcuin from England, and in turn Alfred, a century later, drew Grimbold from France.

Had he not given this new impulse to learning and literature, to the founding of schools and churches, the mighty tide of Danish invasion would soon have swept all barriers away, the activity of Ælfric would not have been possible, and Old English literature might have been such a weakling, when in 1066 William the Conqueror forced his own laws and language on the English people, as entirely to lose its identity. Thus we see that Alfred, in several senses, was the mighty Defender of England, and well might he be called England's Darling.