JOHN OF THE CROSS

john of the cross, st (1542-1591), spanish mystic, was born at ontiveros (old castile) on the 24th of june 1542. he became a professed carmelite in 1564, and was ordained priest at salamanca in 1567. he met with much opposition in his efforts to introduce the reforms proposed by st theresa, and was more than once imprisoned. his real name was juan de yepez y alvarez; in religion he was known as juan de san matias till 1568, when he adopted the name of juan de la cruz. broken by persecution, he was sent to the monastery of ubeda, where he died in 1591; his _obras espirituales_ were published posthumously in 1618. he was beatified in 1674 and canonized on the 27th of december 1726. the lofty symbolism of his prose is frequently obscure, but his lyrical verses are distinguished for their rapturous ecstasy and beauty of expression. some of his poems have been translated with great success by arthur symons in _images of good and evil_; the most convenient edition of his works, which have been frequently reprinted, is that contained in vol. xvi. of the _biblioteca de autores espanoles_. john of asia (or of ephesus), a leader of the monophysite syriac-speaking church in the 6th century, and one of the earliest and most important of syriac historians. born at amid (diarbekr) about 505, he was there ordained as a deacon in 529, but in 534 we find him in palestine, and in 535 he passed to constantinople. the cause of his leaving amid was probably either the great pestilence which broke out there in 534 or the furious persecution directed against the monophysites by ephraim (patriarch of antioch 529-544) and abraham (bishop of amid c. 520-541). in constantinople he seems to have early won the notice of justinian, one of the main objects of whose policy was the consolidation of eastern christianity as a bulwark against the heathen power of persia. john is said by barhebraeus (_chron. eccl._ i. 195) to have succeeded anthimus as monophysite bishop of constantinople, but this is probably a mistake.[1] anyhow he enjoyed the emperor's favour until the death of the latter in 565 and (as he himself tells us) was entrusted with the administration of the entire revenues of the monophysite church. he was also sent, with the rank of bishop, on a mission for the conversion of such heathen as remained in asia minor, and informs us that the number of those whom he baptized amounted to 70,000. he also built a large monastery at tralles on the hills skirting the valley of the meander, and more than 90 other monasteries. of the mission to the nubians which he promoted, though he did not himself visit their country, an interesting account is given in the 4th book of the 3rd part of his _history_.[2] in 546 the emperor entrusted him with the task of rooting out the secret practice of idolatry in constantinople and its neighbourhood. but his fortunes changed soon after the accession of justin ii. about 571 paul of asia, the orthodox or chalcedonian patriarch, began (with the sanction of the emperor) a rigorous persecution of the monophysite church leaders, and john was among those who suffered most. he gives us a detailed account of his sufferings in prison, his loss of civil rights, &c., in the third part of his _history_. the latest events recorded are of the date 585, and the author cannot have lived much longer; but of the circumstances of his death nothing is known. john's main work was his _ecclesiastical history_, which covered more than six centuries, from the time of julius caesar to 585. it was composed in three parts, each containing six books. the first part seems to have wholly perished. the second, which extended from theodosius ii. to the 6th or 7th year of justin ii., was (as f. nau has recently proved)[3] reproduced in full or almost in full, in john's own words, in the third part of the _chronicle_ which was till lately attributed to the patriarch dionysius telmaharensis, but is really the work of an unknown compiler. of this second division of john's _history_, in which he had probably incorporated the so-called _chronicle_ of joshua the stylite, considerable portions are found in the british museum mss. add. 14647 and 14650, and these have been published in the second volume of land's _anecdota syriaca_. but the whole is more completely presented in the vatican ms. (clxii.), which contains the third part of the _chronicle_ of pseudo-dionysius. the third part of john's history, which is a detailed account of the ecclesiastical events which happened in 571-585, as well as of some earlier occurrences, survives in a fairly complete state in add. 14640, a british museum ms. of the 7th century. it forms a contemporary record of great value to the historian. its somewhat disordered state, the want of chronological arrangement, and the occasional repetition of accounts of the same events are due, as the author himself informs us (ii. 50), to the work being almost entirely composed during the times of persecution. the same cause may account for the somewhat slovenly syriac style. the writer claims to have treated his subject impartially, and though written from the narrow point of view of one to whom monophysite "orthodoxy" was all-important, it is evidently a faithful reproduction of events as they occurred. this third part was edited by cureton (oxford, 1853), and was translated into english by r. payne-smith (oxford, 1860) and into german by j. m. schonfelder (munich, 1862). john's other known work was a series of _biographies of eastern saints_, compiled about 569. these have been edited by land in _anecdota syriaca_, ii. 1-288, and translated into latin by douwen and land (amsterdam, 1889). an interesting estimate of john as an ecclesiastic and author was given by the abbe duchesne in a memoir read before the five french academies on the 25th of october 1892. footnotes: [1] see land, _joannes bischof von ephesos_, pp. 57 seq. [2] cf. land's appendix (_op. cit._ 172-193). [3] see _bulletin critique_, 15th june and 25th aug. 1896, and 25th jan. 1897; _journal asiatique_, 9th series, vol. viii. (1896) pp. 346 sqq. and vol. ix. (1897) p. 529; also _revue de l'orient chretien, suppl. trimestriel_ (1897), pp. 41-54, 455-493; and compare noldeke in _vienna oriental journal_ (1896), pp. 160 sqq. the facts are briefly stated in duval's _litterature syriaque_, p. 192. a full analysis of this second part of john's history has been given by m. nau. john of damascus (johannes damascenus) (d. before 754), an eminent theologian of the eastern church, derives his surname from damascus, where he was born about the close of the 7th century. his arabic name was mansur (the victor), and he received the epithet chrysorrhoas (gold-pouring) on account of his eloquence. the principal account of his life is contained in a narrative of the 10th century, much of which is obviously legendary. his father sergius was a christian, but notwithstanding held a high office under the saracen caliph, in which he was succeeded by his son. john is said to have owed his education in philosophy, mathematics and theology to an italian monk named cosmas, whom sergius had redeemed from a band of captive slaves. about the year 730 he wrote several treatises in defence of image-worship, which the emperor, leo the isaurian, was making strenuous efforts to suppress. various pieces of evidence go to show that it was shortly after this date that he resolved to forsake the world, divided his fortune among his friends and the poor, and betook himself to the monastery of st sabas, near jerusalem, where he spent the rest of his life. after the customary probation he was ordained priest by the patriarch of jerusalem. in his last years he travelled through syria contending against the iconoclasts, and in the same cause he visited constantinople at the imminent risk of his life during the reign of constantine copronymus. with him the "mysteries," the entire ritual, are an integral part of the orthodox system, and all dogma culminates in image-worship. the date of his death is uncertain; it is probably about 752. john damascenus is a saint both in the greek and in the latin churches, his festival being observed in the former on the 29th of november and on the 4th of december, and in the latter on the 6th of may. the works of damascenus give him a foremost place among the theologians of the early eastern church, and, according to dorner, he "remains in later times the highest authority in the theological literature of the greeks." this is not because he is an original thinker but because he compiled into systematic form the scattered teaching of his theological predecessors. several treatises attributed to him are probably spurious, but his undoubted works are numerous and embrace a wide range. the most important contains three parts under the general title [greek: pege gnoseos] ("the fountain of knowledge"). the first part, entitled [greek: kephalaia philosophika], is an exposition and application of theology of aristotle's dialectic. the second, entitled [greek: peri aireseon] ("of heresies"), is a reproduction of the earlier work of epiphanius, with a continuation giving an account of the heresies that arose after the time of that writer. the third part, entitled [greek: hekdosis akribes tes orthodoxou pisteos] ("an accurate exposition of the orthodox faith"), is much the most important, containing as it does a complete system of theology founded on the teaching of the fathers and church councils, from the 4th to the 7th century. it thus embodies the finished result of the theological thought of the early greek church. through a latin translation made by burgundio of pisa in the 12th century, it was well known to peter lombard and aquinas, and in this way it influenced the scholastic theology of the west. another well-known work is the _sacra parallela_, a collection of biblical passages followed by illustrations drawn from other scriptural sources and from the fathers. there is much merit in his hymns and "canons"; one of the latter is very familiar as the hymn "the day of resurrection, earth tell it out abroad." john of damascus has sometimes been called the "father of scholasticism," and the "lombard of the greeks," but these epithets are appropriate only in a limited sense. the christological position of john may be summed up in the following description:[1] "he tries to secure the unity of the two natures by relegating to the divine logos the formative and controlling agency. it is not a human individual that the logos assumes, nor is it humanity, or human nature in general. it is rather a potential human individual, a nature not yet developed into a person or hypostasis. the hypostasis through which this takes place is the personal logos through whose union with this potential man, in the womb of mary, the potential man acquires a concrete reality, an individual existence. he has, therefore, no hypostasis of himself but only in and through the logos. it is denied that he is _non-hypostatic_ ([greek: anypostatos]); it is affirmed that he is _en-hypostatic_ ([greek: enypostatos]). two natures may form a unity, as the body and soul in man. so man, both soul and body, is brought into unity with the logos; there being then one hypostasis for both natures." there is an interchange of the divine and human attributes, a communication of the former which deifies the receptive and passive human nature. in christ the human will has become the organ of the divine will. thus while john is an adherent of chalcedon and a dyothelite, the drift of his teaching is in the monophysite direction. "the chalcedonian _definition_ is victorious, but apollinaris is not overcome"; what john gives with the one hand he takes away with the other. on the question of the atonement he regards the death of christ as a sacrifice offered to god and not a ransom paid to the devil. literature.--the _life_ of john of damascus was written by john, patriarch of jerusalem in the 10th century (migne, _patrol. graec._, xciv. 429-489). the works were edited by le quien (2 vols., fol., paris, 1712) and form vols. 94 to 96 in migne's greek series. a monograph by j. langen was published in 1879. a. harnack's _history of dogma_ is very full (see especially vols. iii. and iv.; on the image-worship controversy, iv. 322 seq.), and so are the similar works of f. loofs-seeberg and a. dorner. see also o. bardenhewer's _patrologie_, and other literature cited in f. kattenbusch's excellent article in hauck-herzog, _realencyklopadie_, vol. ix. footnote: [1] g. p. fisher, _hist. of chr. doctrine_, 159 seq. more fully in r. l. ottley, _the doctrine of the incarnation_, ii. 138-146. john of hexham (c. 1160-1209), english chronicler, is known to us merely as the author of a work called the _historia xxv. annorum_, which continues the _historia regum_ of simeon of durham and contains an account of english events 1130-1153. from the title, as given in the only manuscript, we learn john's name and the fact that he was prior of hexham. it must have been between 1160 and 1209 that he held this position; but the date at which he lived and wrote cannot be more accurately determined. up to the year 1139 he follows closely the history written by his predecessor, prior richard; thenceforward he is an independent though not a very valuable authority. he is best informed as to the events of the north country; his want of care, when he ventures farther afield, may be illustrated by the fact that he places in 1145 king stephen's siege of oxford, which really occurred in 1142. even for northern affairs his chronology is faulty; from 1140 onwards his dates are uniformly one year too late. prior richard is not the only author to whom john is indebted; he incorporates in the annal of 1138 two other narratives of the battle of the standard, one in verse by the monk serlo, another in prose by abbot ailred of rievaux; and also a poem, by a glasgow clerk, on the death of sumerled of the isles. the one manuscript of john's chronicle is a 13th century copy; ms. c. c. c. cambridge, cxxxix. 8. the best edition is that of t. arnold in _symeonis monachi opera_, vol. ii. (rolls series, 1885). there is an english translation in j. stevenson's _church historians of england_, vol. iv. (london, 1856). (h. w. c. d.) john of ireland (johannis de irlandia), (_fl._ 1480), scottish writer, perhaps of lowland origin, was resident for thirty years in paris and later a professor of theology. he was confessor to james iv. and also to louis xi. of france, and was rector of yarrow (de foresta) when he completed, at edinburgh, the work on which rests his sole claim as a vernacular writer. this book, preserved in ms. in the advocates' library, edinburgh (ms. 18, 2, 8), and labelled "johannis de irlandia opera theologica," is a treatise in scots on the wisdom and discipline necessary to a prince, especially intended for the use of the young james iv. the book is the earliest extant example of original scots prose. it was still in ms. in 1910, but an edition was promised by the scottish text society. in this book john refers to two other vernacular writings, one "of the commandementis and uthir thingis pretenand to the salvacioune of man," the other, "of the tabill of confessioune." no traces of these have been discovered. the author's name appears on the registers of the university of paris and on the rolls of the scottish parliaments, and he is referred to by the scottish historians, leslie and dempster. see the notices in john lyden's introduction to his edition of the _complaynt of scotlande_ (1801), pp. 85 seq.; _the scottish antiquary_, xiii. 111-115 and xv. 1-14. annotated extracts are given in gregory smith's _specimens of middle scots_ (1902). john of ravenna. two distinct persons of this name, formerly confused and identified with a third (anonymous) ravennese in petrarch's letters, lived at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. 1. a young ravennese born about 1347, who in 1364 went to live with petrarch as secretary. in 1367 he set out to see the world and make a name for himself, returned in a state of destitution, but, growing restless again, left his employer for good in 1368. he is not mentioned again in petrarch's correspondence, unless a letter "to a certain wanderer" (_vago cuidam_), congratulating him on his arrival at rome in 1373, is addressed to him. 2. son of conversanus (conversinus, convertinus). he is first heard of (nov. 17, 1368) as appointed to the professorship of rhetoric at florence, where he had for some time held the post of notary at the courts of justice. this differentiates him from (1). he entered (c. 1370) the service of the ducal house of padua, the carraras, in which he continued at least until 1404, although the whole of that period was not spent in padua. from 1375 to 1379 he was a schoolmaster at belluno, and was dismissed as too good for his post and not adapted for teaching boys. on the 22nd of march 1382, he was appointed professor of rhetoric at padua. during the struggle between the carraras and viscontis, he spent five years at udine (1387-1392). from 1395-1404 he was chancellor of francis of carrara, and is heard of for the last time in 1406 as living at venice. his history of the carraras, a tasteless production in barbarous latin, says little for his literary capacity; but as a teacher he enjoyed a great reputation, amongst his pupils being vittorino da feltre and guarino of verona. 3. malpaghini (de malpaghinis), the most important. born about 1356, he was a pupil of petrarch from a very early age to 1374. on the 19th of september 1397 he was appointed professor of rhetoric and eloquence at florence. on the 9th of june 1412, on the re-opening of the studio, which had been shut from 1405 to 1411 owing to the plague, his appointment was renewed for five years, before the expiration of which period he died (may 1417). although malpaghini left nothing behind him, he did much to encourage the study of latin; among his pupils was poggio bracciolini. the local documents and other authorities on the subject will be found in e. t. klette, _beitrage zur geschichte und litteratur der italienischen gelehrtenrenaissance_, vol. i. (1888); see also g. voigt, _die wiederbelebung des klassischen altertums_, who, however, identifies (1) and (2). john of salisbury (c. 1115-1180), english author, diplomatist and bishop, was born at salisbury between the years 1115 and 1120. beyond the fact that he was of saxon, not of norman race, and applies to himself the cognomen of _parvus_, "short," or "small," few details are known regarding his early life; but from his own statements it is gathered that he crossed to france about 1136, and began regular studies in paris under abelard, who had there for a brief period re-opened his famous school on mont st genevieve. after abelard's retirement, john carried on his studies under alberich of reims and robert of melun. from 1138 to 1140 he studied grammar and the classics under william of conches and richard l'eveque, the disciples of bernard of chartres, though it is still a matter of controversy whether it was in chartres or not (cf. a. clerval, _les ecoles de chartres au moyen age_, 1895). bernard's teaching was distinguished partly by its pronounced platonic tendency, partly by the stress laid upon literary study of the greater latin writers; and the influence of the latter feature is noticeable in all john of salisbury's works. about 1140 he was at paris studying theology under gilbert de la porree, then under robert pullus and simon of poissy. in 1148 he resided at moutiers la celle in the diocese of troyes, with his friend peter of celle. he was present at the council of reims, presided over by pope eugenius iii., and was probably presented by bernard of clairvaux to theobald, archbishop of canterbury, at whose court he settled, probably about 1150. appointed secretary to theobald, he was frequently sent on missions to the papal see. during this time he composed his greatest works, published almost certainly in 1159, the _policraticus, sive de nugis curialium et de vestigiis philosophorum_ and the _metalogicus_, writings invaluable as storehouses of information regarding the matter and form of scholastic education, and remarkable for their cultivated style and humanist tendency. after the death of theobald in 1161, john continued as secretary to thomas becket, and took an active part in the long disputes between that primate and his sovereign, henry ii. his letters throw light on the constitutional struggle then agitating the english world. with becket he withdrew to france during the king's displeasure; he returned with him in 1170, and was present at his assassination. in the following years, during which he continued in an influential situation in canterbury, but at what precise date is unknown, he drew up the _life of thomas becket_. in 1176 he was made bishop of chartres, where he passed the remainder of his life. in 1179 he took an active part in the council of the lateran. he died at or near chartres on the 25th of october 1180. john's writings enable us to understand with much completeness the literary and scientific position of the 12th century. his views imply a cultivated intelligence well versed in practical affairs, opposing to the extremes of both nominalism and realism a practical common sense. his doctrine is a kind of utilitarianism, with a strong leaning on the speculative side to the modified literary scepticism of cicero, for whom he had unbounded admiration. he was a humanist before the renaissance, surpassing all other representatives of the school of chartres in his knowledge of the latin classics, as in the purity of his style, which was evidently moulded on that of cicero. of greek writers he appears to have known nothing at first hand, and very little in translations. the _timaeus_ of plato in the latin version of chalcidius was known to him as to his contemporaries and predecessors, and probably he had access to translations of the _phaedo_ and _meno_. of aristotle he possessed the whole of the _organon_ in latin; he is, indeed, the first of the medieval writers of note to whom the whole was known. of other aristotelian writings he appears to have known nothing. the collected editions of the works are by j. a. giles (5 vols., oxford, 1848), and by migne, in the _patrologiae cursus_, vol. 199: neither accurate. the _policraticus_ was edited with notes and introductions by c. c. i. webb, _ioannis saresberiensis episcopi carnotensis policratici_ (oxford, 1909), 2 vols. the most complete study of john of salisbury is the monograph by c. schaarschmidt, _johannes sarisberiensis nach leben und studien, schriften und philosophie_, 1862, which is a model of accurate and complete workmanship. see also the article in the _dict. nat. biog._ john (1290-c. 1320), surnamed the parricide, and called also john of swabia, was a son of rudolph ii. count of habsburg and agnes daughter of ottakar ii. king of bohemia, and consequently a grandson of the german king rudolph i. having passed his early days at the bohemian court, when he came of age he demanded a portion of the family estates from his uncle, the german king albert i. his wishes were not gratified, and with three companions he formed a plan to murder the king. on the 1st of may 1308 albert in crossing the river reuss at windisch became separated from his attendants, and was at once attacked and killed by the four conspirators. john escaped the vengeance of albert's sons, and was afterwards found in a monastery at pisa, where in 1313 he is said to have been visited by the emperor henry vii., who had placed him under the ban. from this time he vanishes from history. the character of john is used by schiller in his play _wilhelm tell_.