II. Expository works. These are compilations from the Fathers, which originally were
carefully assigned by marginal notes to their proper source, but the notes have been obliterated in
the course of frequent copying. He wrote either on the whole or a part of the Pentateuch, Samuel,
Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, the Twelve
Minor Prophets, Tobit, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Catholic Epistles and the Apocalypse.^1057 His
comments are of course made upon the Latin Bible, but his scholarship comes out in the frequent
correction and emendation of the Latin text by reference to the original. The most frequent subject
of remark is the want of an article in the Latin, which gave rise to frequent ambiguity.^1058 Throughout
he shows himself a careful textual student.^1059
III. Homilies.^1060 These are mostly doctrinal and objective. The fact that they were delivered
to a monastic audience explains their infrequent allusion to current events or to daily life. They are
calm and careful expositions of passages of Scripture rather than compact or stirring sermons.
IV. Poetry.^1061 Most of the poetry attributed to him is spurious. But a few pieces are genuine,
such as the hymn in his History upon Virginity, in honor of Etheldrida, the virgin wife of King
Egfrid;^1062 the metrical version of the life of Saint Cuthbert and of the Passion of Justin Martyr,
and some other pieces. The Book of Hymns, of which he speaks in his own list of his writings, is
apparently lost.
V. Epistles.^1063 These are sixteen in number. The second, addressed to the Archbishop Egbert
of York, is the most interesting. It dates from 734, and gives a word-picture of the time which shows
how bad it was.^1064 Even the archbishop himself comes in for faithful rebuke. Bede had already
made him one visit and expected to make him another, but being prevented wrote to him what he
desired to tell him by word of mouth. The chief topics of the letter are the avarice of the bishops
and the disorders of the religious houses. After dwelling upon these and kindred topics at considerable
length, Bede concludes by saying that if he had treated drunkenness, gluttony, luxury and other
contagious diseases of the body politic his letter would have been immoderately long. The third
letter, addressed to the abbot of Plegwin, is upon the Six Ages of the World. Most of the remainder
are dedicatory.
VI. Hagiographies.^1065 (a) Lives of the five holy abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow, Benedict,
Ceolfrid, Easterwine, Sigfrid and Huetberct. The work is divided into two books, of which the first
relates to Benedict. (b) The prose version of the Life of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. The poetical
version already spoken of, is earlier in time and different in character in as much as it dwells more
upon Cuthbert’s miracles. The prose version has for its principal source an older life of Cuthbert
still extant, and relates many facts along with evident fictions. Great pains were bestowed upon it
(^1057) Bede’s expository works fill Tom. XCI., XCII., XCIII. in Migne’s series.
(^1058) G. F. Browne, The Venerable Bede, pp. 129-132. A translation of one of Bede’s homilies is given on pp. 148-159.
(^1059) The Uncial E (2), the Codex Laudianus, which dates from the end of the sixth century, and contains an almost complete
Greek-Latin text of the Acts, is known to have been used by Bede in writing his Retractions on the Acts. The Codex was brought
to England in 668.
(^1060) Tom. XCIV., col. 9-268.
(^1061) Ibid., col. 515-529, 575-638.
(^1062) Hist. IV. 20. Bohn’s ed., pp. 207, 208.
(^1063) Migne, XCIV. col. 655-710.
(^1064) Browne (I. c., pp. 172-179) reproduces it.
(^1065) Migne, XCIV., col. 713-1148. Browne (pp. 80-126) gives a full account of the first two of these works.