B)' very quick progression, the pride and confidence of the Mendicants arrived at such a i)itch that they had the jtresumption to declare themslves jiubliily possessed of a divine impulse and commission to illustrate and maintain the religion of Jesus. They treated with the
utmost insolence and contempt the priesthood ; they af- firmed without a Ijlush that the true method of salvation was revealed to them alone; proclaimed with ostentation the superior efficacy and virtue of their indulgences ; and vaunted beyond measure their interest at the court of heaven, and their familiar connections with the Supreme Being, the Virgin Man,-, and the saints in glory. By these impious wiles they so deluded and captivated the ignorant and blinded the multitude that they would not intrust any others but the Mendicants with the care of their souls. They retained their credit and influence to such a degree nearly to the close of the Mth century that great numbers of both sexes — some in health, others in a state of infirmity, others at the point of death— ear- nestly desired to be admitted into the Jlendicant order, which they looked upon as a sure and infallible method of rendering Heaven propitious. Many made it an es- sential part of their last wills that their bodies, after death, should be wra|)ped in old, ragged Dominican or Franciscan habits, and interred among the Jlendicants; for such was the barbarous superstition and wretched ignorance of this age, that people universally believed they should readily obtain mercy from Christ at the day of judgment if they ap[)eared before his tribunal associ- ated witli the Jlendicant friars. About this time, how- ever, the Mendicants fell under a universal odium ; but, being resolutely protected against all opposition, whether open or secret, by the popes, who regarded them as their best friends and most effectual supports, they suffered little or nothing from their numerous adversaries.
In the 15th century, besides their arrogance, which was excessive, a quarrelsome and litigious spirit pre- vailed among the JMendicants, and drew upon them justly the displeasure and indignation of many. By affording refuge at the time to the Beguins (q. v.) in their order, they became offensive to the bishops, and were involved in difficulties and perplexities of vari- ous kinds. They lost their credit in the IGth cen- tury by their rustic impudence, their ridiculous super- stitions, their ignorance, cruelty, and brutish manners. They displayed the most barbarous aversion to the arts and sciences, and expressed a like abhorrence of certain eminent and learned men, who had endeavored to open the paths of science to the pursuits of the studious youth, and had recommended the culture of the mind, and at- tacked the barbarism of the age in their writings and discourses. The general character of the society, to- gether with other circumstances, concurred to render a reformation desirable, and had the effect of bringing it about. Among the number of Jlcndicants are also ranked the Capuchins, Kecollets, Minims, and others, who are branches or derivations from the former. Bu- chanan says that the Mendicants of Scotland, inider an appearance of beggary, lived a very luxurious life; whence one wittily called them, not MtmUcant, but Manditcanl friars. See Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Hist, lies Moines mendiants (Paris, 17G8, 12mo; German by J. Scheubner, Nuremb. 17C9); J. Gurlitt, Gesc/i. <l. Bettel- munchsorden im 13 Jahrh. {Thevl. Htudien v.Kritiken, i, 100 &i\.) ; Gieseler, Kccles. Hist, ii, 287 sq. ; iii, 4G et al. ; Jlosheim, Kccles. IJist. vol. ii (sec Index) ; Neander, C/i. J/ist.\o\. v (see Index); Milman, Hist, o/ Latin C/iris- tianity, vii, o21 et al.; Hardwick, Ch. Hist. (:SIiddle Ages) p. 252 sq., 320 sq. et al. ; jMrs. Jameson, J At/ends oj'tlie Monastic Orders, p. 227 &i\.\ Lea, Sacerdotal Ctl- ibacii, p. 377; Chr. Review, vol. xx, Jan. (J.Il.W.)
Mendoza. See Mendez.
Mends, lIicnBian-, an English Trotestant divine, born at Brinkworth. in Wiltshire, about the niiilcUe of the 181 h cenliiry, was the son of Christopher blends, also a clergyman. He early decided to devote himself to the ministry, and was accordingly pl.-iced at a gram- mar-school at riymouth, where he obtained the rudi- ments of a classical education; and was after that in- structed by the Rev. Samuel Buncombe, a minister of the Independent Church at Ottery St. Mary, Devon,
MENE 6
where he continued three years. In 1777, having com- pleted his academical studies, he removed to Sherborne, in Dorset, and was ordained pastor of the Church, In 1782, his father's infirmities increasing, he was invited to assist him at Plymouth ; here he was very successful, his Church augmenting greatly, not only in the number of hearers, but in the membership. He was steadfast and consistent in his attachment to evangelical truth in the midst of various and conflicting errors, which at that period pervaded the West of England, and which led him to express his sentiments with unusual energy in his confession of faith delivered at his ordination. If in his later years he insisted more earnestly on the ob- ligations of" true Christians to maintain good works, it dill not arise from any diminished sense of the value of other religious duties; but local circumstances in- duced him to inveigh against certain errors which seemed to him dangerous to practical religion. Anoth^ er great cause of his success was the animation and warmth of his address, which not only attracted a large congregation, but krpt I luin si ill united at a period when a minister's waning; ciur-us liequently impair his use- fulness. In 1785 Mr. iMends became the first and most active promoter of the Association of Independent Min- isters of Churches in the West of England, by which so- ciety valuable aid was contributed to the extension and success of the Gospel. He died about the opening of this century. Mends did not write much for publica- tion. In 1785 he published an J^leijt/ on the Death of WiUiain Sh(ph(inl,Esq.; in 1789, A Sermon on the In- justice and C melt I) of the Slare-trade ; in 1790, A Ser- mon on the Educ'ntinii <f thi- ChUdnn of th,- Poor; in \l'd7,ADefenceoflifiiit /!,ij,/i.<n, .• .-nKl. in l.sill,^! Ser- mon preached in Loinloii liij'orc Ih,' Mis>ii(iiiiirii Society.