The contemporaneous and posthumous fame of Gros- seteste insured a copious crop of legends. He was supposed to have prophesied the ensuing civil war, which he might have done without an}- extraordinary illumination. On the night of his death, bells ring- ing in the skj"^ were heard by Mr. Bishop, of London, and by some Franciscan friars in the neighborhood. He appeared in a portentous dream to Innocent IV in his last illness. ISIiracles were attributed to him, and in 1307 the king requested his canonization. To him was also ascribed the talking head of brass, which has been sometimes assigned to Friar Badon, and some- times to Friar Bungay ; but this arose from his reputa- tion as a magician, and not as a saint. His books he bequeathed to the Franciscans at Oxford, out of friend- ship for Adam de Marisco, or out of regard for the school which he had taught, governed, cherished, and organized. The services rendered by Pobert Grosse- teste to the University of Oxford have been too little appreciated.
Character, Acquirements, and Influence. — There was no one in the age in which he lived who led a more blameless life, or displayed higher excellences than Grosseteste : JIatthew Paris, whose temperament and associations bred prejudice, attests his pre-eminent vir- tues. The elegance of his manners attracted admiring comment ; the placidity and placability of his disposi- tion equalled his unyielding resolution. The eulogy pronounced upon him after his death b}' the Universi- ty of Oxford was entirely just : " No one knew him to neglect any good action appropriate to his office or his charge from fear of anj^ man ; he was ever readj' for martyrdom if the sword of the executioner should pre-
GROSSETESTE
1016
GROSSETESTE
sent itself." This testimony is re-echoed by Adam de Marisco. He was essentially a reformer without be- ing an innovator. He " stood upon tlie ancient waj's" to restore, preserve, or improve what was good and old. In this sense he was a reformer in Church and State, in education, in letters, and in philosophy. He is not to be regarded as a reformer before the Refor- mation— as a herald of either Lollardism or Luther- anism. His career tended to that result, but it was unforeseen and undesigned. He is devoted to the or- der of the Church, solicitous for Catholic orthodox}-, imbued with the spirit, sentiments, and doctrines of his communion. These points are abundantly contirmed bv his letters (A))p. l.xxii, cxxii). Notwithstanding the sternness and severity of his ministry, there was great gentleness in his demeanor, with moderation and prudence in his private and public counsels. He seems to have had withal a very moderate opinion of his own judgment, and habituallj' sought aid from others whom he deemed wiser than himself. He was easily charm- ed with simple amusements, enjoj'ed a jest, and had a rich vein of native humor, as numerous anecdotes at- test. This lofty character was sustained and irradi- ated by transcendent genius and splendid accomplish- ments. These can be onlj' imperfectly appreciated from his remains published or preserved. They must be estimated from the commendations of his own and of immediately succeeding times. His pupil, Eoger Bacon, calls him '■'■ sapkntissimus Latinorum" and '■^ sa- pientissimus (heologus et optimus homo" (Opus Minus, p. 317, 320), and remarks that " Grosseteste alone knew the sciences" {Opus Tert. c. x ; Compend. Stud. c. viii); that " Robert, bishop of Lincoln, and Brother Adam de Marisco, were perfect in all wisdom, and that no more were perfect in philosophy" than these two, and Avi- cenna, and Aristotle, and Solomon (Op. Tert.c. xxxi); that the said Kol)ert and Adam were "the greatest clerks in the world, perfect in divine and human knowl- edge" (/6trf. c. xxiii). Tj'ssington speaks of him, "ci/jMS comparatio ad omnes doctores modernos est velut compa- ratio solis ad lunam quando edipsatur." The range of his acquirements will be partiallj' illustrated by the number and variety of his writings. He is credited with a consummate mastery of all existing science, and with a knowledge of the three learned professions. Roger Bacon distinctly assigns to him the adoption or the inauguration of the Experimental Method (Comp. Stud. c. viii). Several poems, Latin, French, and even English, are attributed to him; and he certainly en- couraged the use of the English tongue in preaching, and it may have been, from his employment of the still rude vernacular, that he became the most popular as well as powerful preacher of his daj'. He is reputed to have been familiar with Greek and Hebrew, but we are assured that he attained onh- in advanced life a sufficient mastery of the former to translate Greek books (Rog. Bacon, Op. Tert. c. xxv), and tlien not with- out more competent assistance {Comp. Stud. c. viii). The vast influence which he exercised over his con- temporaries and our succeeding times is aldy present- ed by Luard {Pref. p. Ixxxv, ix) : " No one," sa3's he, " had a greater influence upon English thought and English literature for the two centuries which followed his time; few books will be found that do not contain some quotations from Lincolniensis, '■ the great clerk Grostest."
Wiitings. — The works of Grosseteste have been di- versely reported at 200 and 300. The difference of estimation, as well as the magnitude of the sum, may be explained by loose modes of enumeration, as indi- cated by the comparison of the lists of Roger Bacon's treatises witli his actual remains. Divisions or chap- ters were freiiucntl}' accounted separate productions. The same works were circulated under differenftitles. Many of Grosseteste's alleged books were oply elabo- rate epistles or occasional essays, which would now pass as tracts. Many compositions were assigned to