“Thus hath Lucania a river Jordan of her own. Wherefore, both for religion’s sake and for the profit of the people, it behoves that good order should be kept among the frequenters of the fair, since in the judgment of all, that man must be deemed a villain who would sully the joys of such happy days.”[403] CHAPTER XX GROWTH OF THE HUMANITARIAN MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT EUROPE—IN THE DARK AGES—CHURCH TAKES UP THE HUMANITARIAN WORK IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY—SALE OF CHILDREN COMMON—STORY OF SAINT BATHILDE—CHILDREN SOLD FOR FATHER’S DEBTS—DATHEUS THE FIRST TO OFFER CHILDREN A HOME—APPEAL OF POPE INNOCENT III. In the Eastern Empire it was always a fight with the Church on the one hand and barbarian customs on the other for the humanization of the rapidly developing peoples. We may now look at the Dark Ages in a very different spirit from that which animated our fathers. We now know that whatever may have been the faults of the priests or the rulers, the world was making progress, and new and inherently strong peoples were developing as fast as they could assimilate a superior civilization.[404] The Church, very early in the history of the Christian era, became the avowed protector of the parentless children and it soon became a custom to confide infants to the Church when mothers felt that they were unable to raise their offspring. The gain made by the Church by this step was immeasurable, for however much those opposed to Christianity might argue, the onward march was irresistible when religion rested itself on the mother instinct and, without accusation or attempted retribution, willingly assumed the ties that maternity was obliged to forego. By the door of the churches it became the custom to have a marble receptacle in which mothers placed the children that they were forced to abandon. The newly born was received by the _matricularii_ or by the priest, who, following the form prescribed, asked those who assisted at the adoption ceremonies if there was any known person who would consent to take charge of the infant. These formalities had to receive the sanction of the bishop. Not infrequently the priest succeeded in finding among the parishioners of his church someone who would adopt the infant, but if he did not, the church always assumed the responsibility and took care of the orphan. In some places the children that had been abandoned by their mothers were, by the order of the bishop, shown at the door of the church for ten days following their abandonment, and if any one recognized and was able to declare who the parents were, he made such a declaration to the ecclesiastical authorities—a dangerous custom as many unfortunate though innocent people discovered.