Excerpt from The Lothian Prize Essay, 1873<br><br>An activity so various could only be maintained by attracting and adeptin g talent from every quarter. In this respect the Monastery is the forerunner of the University. Princes assumed the cowl when their work proved beyond their strength, and serfs were freed from their bonds that they might submit themselves to the self-imposed rule of the monk.' In this concourse of would-be recluses we perceive the origin of monastic corruption. The institution extended itself far beyond the needs of society; the fatal mistake by which a corporate rule was supposed to take the place of individual conscience became ever more common; until the fame of their origin was utterly obscured, and the names of the brotherhoods were made bywords of reproach.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.