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Booft  flo. 


IPro«<ratbebraI  Xibrai^, 

Clifton. 


<Ea0c.Z.\  ©belt 


Pe^-    11^     e.     Si 


r 


fiW?  -is^ftA} 


fK**?.<^'^!' 


THE  IRISH 

ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD 


Jl  fiCotdhl^  lomrnol, 


UNDEB    EPISCOPAL    SANCTION. 


THIRD  8ERt£9. 

•        t       -  * 

VOLUME    v.— 1884. 


«(  nt  Chiistumi  ita  et  Bomani  aitia.*' 

**  As  jon  are  children  of  Christ,  so  be  yon  children  of  Rome." 

Em  DieHs  8.  Fatrioii,  Booh  of  Armagh^  foL  9. 


DUBLIN : 
BROWNE    A    NOLAN,    NASSAU-STREET. 

1884. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


lO* 


pAoa 
Abbeydiiralef  Go.  Longford      ....  652 

Ad  Almam  Matrem .                 ....  322 

American  Flea  for  Physical  Fremotion    .               .               .  341 

An  Impedimenta  Canonica  Attingant  lieretioos      .               .  647 

Aiiima  Christi             .....  767 

Apology  for  Thomifim  considered,  The    .               .               .  299 

Apostolica  Benedictio  in  Artioolo  Mortii                •               •  108 

Benedictio  in  Articido  Mortis    ....  170 

Brownson's  Works     .....  13 

Bangor,  the  School  of                ...                .  749 

Calendar  Ecclesiastical ;  Becent  Changes  in            .               .  216 

Cashel  of  the  Kings    ....  552,629,732 

Catholk;  Opinion,  A  New  Organ  of  •  .88 

Charles  O^Conor  of  BeUnagare                .               •               .  285,  786 

Cholera,  Sanitary  Sermon  on      .               .                .               .  566 

Colnmbanos,  St.,  The  Death  of                .                .                .  771 

Comgall,  St.,  Founder  of  Bangor  School                                .  749 

Confessor,  The,  as  Consulens   ....  681 

Confession,  Integrity  of            ...                .  399, 595 

Convert,  A  Distingnished         «...  285 

COBBESPONDEKCE  :— 

Monita  Breyia  by  the  late  Dr.  Murray  .  .  54 

Can  Cvrates  assist  at  Marriages  ?      .  .  .55 

The  Birth  Flace  of  St.  Boniface         .  .  115,  190,  259 

Clandestinity  and  Domestic  Servants  .  .    121, 192 

Was  St.  Boniface  an  Irishman  ?         .  .  ,  181 

A  New  Faper ;  a  SViggestion  .  .  igj 

Butter  on  Fast  Days  ....  194 

Directorimn  sen  Ordo  Officii  Diyini^Bedtandi  .  195 

Pecunia  in  Tribunali  ....  196 

The  Nationality  of  St.  Boniface         .  .  115, 190,  259 

On  giving  Communion  from  a  Ciborium   before  the 

Communion  of  the  Mass  in  which  it  was  consecrated    264, 324 
Extreme  Unction  •  •  •  .  826 

Quasi  Domicile   .  •  .  •         '      .  327 

Milk  at  Collation  ....  828 


ContentB. 


V. 
PAoa 
290 
552, 629,  7S2 
647 
.    899,595 
487 
137 
881 
22,  81 
80,  95 
420 
865 
.    273,854 


BSfltoxians  of  Ossory,  The 

Holy  Flacee  of  Ireland 

Impedimenta  CanomcA,  an  Attmgant  HereticoB  ? 

Integrity  of  Confession 

Indufltnal  Schools  in  Ireland     . 

Jnspiration  of  Scripture,  Card.  Newman  on 
yj  „  Card.  Franzelin  on 

Interest,  Plain  Truths  about 

Lrish  Grammar,  Recent  Books  <m 

Irish  Theologians,  Marianua  ScotuSi  The  Chronicler 

James  Clarence  Mangan. 

Jurisdietion  and  Besenred  Cases 

liiTCBeiCAL  Questions  :— 

Vestments  of  the  Gothic  pattern  forbidden  by  the  S.E.C.  56 

Vestments  of  blue  or  yellow  colour  not  allowed — ^Decrees 

of  S.B.C  on  this  matter  ...  57 

Stations  of  the  Cross :— The  crosses  and  not  the  pictures 
indulgenced,  58.  When  some  few  Crosses  are  broken, 
they  may  be  replaced,  and  the  new  ones  need  no  bless* 
ing,  58.  New  concession  in  regard  to  the  Indulgences 
of,  namely,  that  when  many  persons  join  in  making 
the  Stations  before  a  properly  indulgenced  Crucifix 
each  person  need  not  hare  a  distinct  Crucifix,  661. 
Power  of  Bishop  in  delegating  his  Priests;  to  erect 
the  Stations.    How  limited?         .  .  .      58,661 

Various  Questions  regarding  a  Crudfix  indulgenced  for 

the  Stations  of  the  Cross  .  .  .  808 

Indulgenced  Prayer  "  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my  Sal- 
vation^' .  ,  .  •  .  125 
*'  Deusj  omniim  Jiddium  pastor  et  rector^''  when  said  for  a 
Bishop  on^the  day  of  his  consecration,  should  the  name 
of  his  diocese  be  inserted?  126.  Correction  of 
last,  268.  Should  this  Prayer  be  said  on  Anniyersary 
of  Election  as  well  as  of  Consecration  of  a  Bishop  V  126. 
Said  on  Anniyersary  of  the  Translation  of  a  Bishop 
from  one  See  to  another,  126^  May  be  said  on 
Anniyersary  of  his  Consecration,  de  mandato 
EpUcopk  Should  be  omitted  as  an  Orafio  imperata 
on  the  Anniyersary  of  the  Consecration  of  the  Ordinary, 
as  it  is  said  specially  for  him,  126.  When  the 
Bubric  says  that  the  3rd  Oratio  will  be  pro 
Eeciesia  vel  pro  Papa^  and  the  pro  Papa  is  already  an 
Oratio  imperata^  both  prayers  must  be  said— the  EccU' 
mae  tuae  in  the  8rd  place,  and  the  Prayer  pro  Papa  as 
ibe  Oratio  imperata         .               .               .            126,127,268 


Contenta.  vii. 

pAoa 

liTUBOIGAL  QUESnOKS— COnhntte<f. 

The  Credo  not  said  within  the  Octave  of  St.  John  Baptist. 

Why?  ...  636 

The  Consecration  Crosses  in  a  Church,  can  they  be  removed?  538 

Rosary  said  in  Choro  as  a  substitute  for  the  Office  by 

those  who  have  the  privilege         .  .  .  468 

Tlie  Crescent  Lunette,  proper  provision  for  preserving  the 

Blessed  Sacrament  in  connection  with  .  .  469 

Missa  Solemnis  de  Bequiem  during  Octave  of  Corpus 

Christi,  absente  cadavere  .  .  .  469 

New  Votive  Offices,  Gloria  in  ExcelsU  said  in  the  six  new 
Votive  Masses.  This  does  not  apply  to  all  other 
Votive  Masses,  231.  The  last  Gospel  in  the  six  new 
Votive  Masses  is  <ie  Feria  in  Lent,  and  whenever  it 
would  be  the  last  Gospel  on  an  ordinary  semi-double 
Feast,  331.  Li  other  Votive  Masses  the  last  Gospel 
is  always  St.  John's  Initium,  &c.,  332.  Votive  Mass 
on  a  semi-double  ad  libitum,  332.  May  one  say  a 
Votive  Office  followed  by  a  Missa  de  requiem  on  a 
Ferial  ordeeaf  466.  Recent  decisions  of  S.B.C.  on  • 
the  New  Votive  Offices,  659.  New  Votive  Office  in 
Lent,  Lessons  for,  663.  .  231, 332,  467,  659,  663 

**  Angelus  *'  Lidulgences,  New  concessions  removing  the 
conditions  of  saying  the  Angelus  at  the  sound  of  the 
bell  and  on  bended  knees  in  case  of  those  who  are 
legitimately  hindered^  657.  Five  ^'Hail  Marys ''  a 
substitute  for  those  who  do  not  know  the  Angelus 
or  Regina  Coeli,  658.  ....  657,  658 
The  Latin  Ordo,  Directions  given  in        •  .    664,  806,  807 

Ceremony  of  Ordination,  the  Inhibition  to  the  Ordinandi 
must  be  made  in  the  name  of  the  Ordinarius  Lod,  or  of 
the  Vicar  Capitular,  sede  vacante    .  .  .  268 

Dress  of  Celebrant,  when  Benediction  immediately  follows 

Vespers  .....  269 

Feast  of  St.  Malachy  in  the  Diocese  of  Armagh,  Decree 

of  S.R.C.  regarding  the  .  .  .  .665 

The  Seven  Dolour  Beads ;  how  blessed,  and  by  whom  ?  .  804 

Newly  Indulgenced  Prayers  for  Priests  .  .  805 

Indult  revalidating  the  invalid  reception  of  Scapulars      .  806 

The  Credo  on  Feast  of  S.  Mary  Magdalen  .  806 

The  Colour  of  Vestments  on  the  Festum  Prodigiomm 
■■^ —        ...  M)7 


Contents^ 

Notices  of  BooKS^-^ontimied. 

Land  Sales,  Ireland  .  .  .  . 

The  Cnlttire  of  the  SptrittuJ  Senae   . 

A.  Supplemental  Appendix  to  the  Easay  on  the  Relations 

eziatmg  between  Conyent  Schools  and  the  Systems  of 

Intennediate  aid  Primary  National  Education 
Footprints,  Old  and  New 
The  Glories  of  Onr  Lady  of  Perpetoal  Sncconr 
The  Complete  Story  of  the  Passion  and  Death  of  Christ 
A  Short  Memoir  of  Esterina  Antinori 
The  Maxnns  and  Conndls  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
The  Bdigioos  State 
An  Easter  Book 
Notes  on  Catholic  Missions 
liesyes  from  My  Note  Book ;  or,  A  Tear^  Ramble  in  the 

United  States  and  Canada 
St.  Joseph  .  •  •  . 

Jjather  and  his  Century 
A  few  ilowers  from  the  Garden 
Occasional  Sermons,  Addresses,  and  Essays     . 
Our  Birthday  Bouqnet 
Allocations  to  the  Clergy  and  Pastorals  of  the  late  Rer 

Dt.  Moiiarty,  Bishop  of  Kenry 
Early  Christian  Symbolism 
Spiritnal  Devotion 
Tlie  Year  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
The  Month  of  Mary 

The  Messenger  of  the  Immaculate  Heart 
From  the  Crib  to  the  Cross 
Derotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
The  Smuggler's  Bevenge| 
Ill-won  Peerages,  or  an  Unhallowed  Union 
The  Ufe  of  Elizabeth,  Lady  Falkland 
A  Maryellous  History 

The  Difference  between  Temporal  ai^d  Eternal 
'Die  S^aphic  Guide  .  , 

llie  life  of  Mdlle.  Le  Gras 
Luther's  own  Statements,  concerning  his  Teaching  and 

its  Results       .... 
An  Easy  Method  of  Meditation 
Marims  and  Duties  of  Parenis 
Latin  Prose  Exercises 


'■""Ka    T^MUTTtA    r%t   ^l«A   i^i 


IX. 

272 
272 


884 
889 
839 
840 
840 
840 
405 
406 
406 

407 

407 

408 

408 

470. 

471 

541 
271, 642 
548 
548 
548 
548,679 
548 
544 
544 
544 
612 
612 
675 
674 
675 

676 
677 
678 
678 


nfl  tfk.tfw«« 


Contents.  xi. 

TmoLoaiChi.  Questions — 

Csa  Curates  assist  at  Marriages  ?  •  •  .  66 

CUDdestinitj  and  Domestic  Serrants        .  .  .   1^1,192 

Batter  on  Fast  Dsfs  .  ,  .  19  { 

Pecunia  in  Tribniiali  .....  196 

Extreme   Unction,  Pions  Prayers  not  to  be  inserted  in 

the  rite  of  administering  ....  S27 

Qaam-Domicile  -  ■  .  .  .  S27 

Uilk  at  Collation  -  ■  ■  .  .  S28 

Is    Uean    Solar  Time    obligatory    for    Ecclesiastical 

Fmiotiona  .  ,  .  .  .        82»,  483, 464 

Integrity  of  Confession — the  Confessor's  obligation  in 

»gMd  to 399,  69fi 

Uatrimony — Case  of  Clsndestinity         ,  .  .  46s 

Case  of  Invalid  Mwriage — Diaparitaa  Cnltus     .  .  666 

Matrimonial  Cansee 

Case  of  a  Mixed  Marriage  with  special  circumstancea 

patrimonial  Domicile 

Simples  ConfessariuB 

Qaestions  regarding  Honoraria  ....    667  801 

Tbeiam,  the  Hiilosophy  of,  by  Dr,  Ward        .  .  .  '  477 

Three  literary  Maaqueradera 


THE  IRISH 

ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


JANUARY,  1884. 


)  CONTAQION. 

per,  dealing  with  the  ques- 
on,    Bv  many  these  terms 

fact  tney  are  bo  regarded 
r  ao ;  fur  many  diseases  are 

infectious.  All  infectious 
>:ion8;  but  all  contagious 
jctioue.  NeverthelesH,  the 
liscrimiuately.  Contagion 
d  the  former,  taken  in  its 
garded  as  identical  widi 
erie*  morbi,  is  brought  into 
some  such  medium  as  the 
gion.  Contagion  creeps, 
ce  is  more  of  degree,  than 
s  also  used  to  mean  the 
If,  by  which  the  disease  is 

nlagion ;  not  of  sin  nor  of 
ntagious  and  sometimes 
contagion  which  gives  rise 
[uction  of  a  specific  poison 
oduces  itself  with  absolute 
according  to  the  doctrine 
eciea  "As  surely  as  a 
writes  one  of  the  foremost 


2  »  Sanitary  Sermons. 

thorn  from  the  thorn ;  so  surely  will  the  Typhoid  virus 
increase  and  multiply  into  Typhoid  Fever,  the  Scarlatina 
virus  into  Scarlatina,  the  Smallpox  virus  into  Smallpox. 
What,"  ho  asks,  "is  the  conclusion  that  suggests  itself 
here?  It  is  this — ^that  the  thing  which  we  vaguely  call  a 
virus  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes*  a  seed."  1  he  modem 
theory  as  to  infectious  and  contagious  diseases  could  not  be 
stated  in  language  more  clear  or  terse.  If  we  were  poetically 
incUned  we  might  picture  to  ourselves  Death  as  the  husband- 
man goin^  forth  to  scatter  the  seed,  which,  falling  on  ever- 
fruitful  soil,  takes  speedy  and  steadfast  root,  and  quickly 
blooms  and  blossoms  on  the  cheeks  and  bodies  of  men ; 
fast  ripening  for  the  ever-ready  reaper. 

Do  these  diseases  then  never  originate  and  arise  de 
novo  f  Science  answers  never ;  contagion,  or  infection, 
never  starts  except  from  pre-existing  germs  of  the  same 
disease !  How  then,  it  may  be  asked,  did  they  first 
begin  ?  It  may  be  asked,  but  not  satisfactorily  answered, 
until  God  shall  choose  to  reveal,  through  the  mind  of 
some  man  of  genius,  one  of  the  greatest  mysteries  of  the 
creation.  Why  these  things  were  created  I  know  not,  no 
more  than  I  know  why  many  things  and  shapes  of  evil 
exist  and  are  permitted.  As  the  countless  millions  which 
constitute  the  human  race  spread  from  Adam,  so  may  we 
suppose  that  the  myriad  germs  of  infection  and  contagion  had 
their  origin  in  as  limited  a  parentage,  which  bore  un  them 
the  primal  law  of  increase  and  multiply.  That  they 
existed  in  far-oflF  ages  we  know  from  history  as  well 
as  from  the  fact  that  one  of  tjie  most  widely-spread, 
the  butyric  microbe-^  has  been  found  fossilized  in  countless 
numbers,  just  as  it  exists  to-day.  In  truth,  they  are  a 
hardy  race.  What  their  mission  was  it  is  hard  to  say : 
whether  to  wreak  God*s  wrath  on  man  for  his  trans- 
gressions, or  serve  some  purpose  directly  opposite,  we  know 
not.  That  to  which  I  have  just  alluded,  the  butyric 
microbe,  was,  according  to  Van  Tieghen,  "  the  agent  which 
in  the  marshes  of  the  coal  epochs,  as  in  those  of  to-day,  was 
the  great  destroyer  of  vegetable  organs,  dissolving  the 
envelopes  of  the  cells,  and  preparing  the  way  for  their 
fossilization."  It  is  a  strange,  important,  and  suggestive 
fact,  that  more  light  has  been  thrown  on  the  process  of 
infection  and  contagion  by  the  study  of  fermentation, 
and  of  the  diseases  of  plants  and  of  the  lower  animals, 
by  Pasteuf,  Koch  and  others,  than  by  any  other  means 
whatever,  within  our  time.    Thus  every  living  thing  is 


Samtan/  Sermoiu,  i 

shown  to  be  linked  in  bonds  of  suffering  and  sympathy, 
&om  the  cell  to  the  sphere,  and  &om  the  worm  that 
crawls  beneath  to  the  fly  that  flits  above.  The  investiga- 
tion was  began  thirty  years  since  by  the  study  of  Spleaio 
Fever,  a  disease  which  was  proving  aa  destructive  to  cattle, 
as  it  had  proved  in  the  old  days  of  the  Jewish  Bondage, 
when  Jehovah  sent  it  npon  the  flocks  and  herds  of  Egypt ; 
for  Splenic  Fever  is  regarded  as  identical  with  the  plague 
of  cattle  which  devastated  the  land  of  Pharaoh. 

The  minute  organisms,  or  microba,  as  they  have  come  to 
be  called,  which  cause  infection  and  contagion,  may  not 
have  been   originally   so   fatal,   but  may  have  acjinirwd 
increased  virulence  by  transmission.    This  theory  is  ren- 
dered probable  by  the  history  of  Fowl  Cholera — a  disease, 
so  called,  not  from  its  resemblance  to  the  nholera  which 
attacks   mankind,  but  irom  the  fact,   that  it    prevailed 
in  Franco  simnltaneously  with  the   latter.     Toussaint,  a 
distingnished  French  investigator,  asserts,  and  seems  to 
have  proved,  that  it  has  its  origin  in  an  organism  found, 
in  common  with  others,  in  ordinary  putrefaction.     Thia 
mierobe,  he    says,    is  swallowed  by   the    fowl    with  its 
food,  is  absorbed,  or  inoculated,  owing,  perhaps  to  the 
presence    of   some    accideotal    abrasion   of  the  mucous 
membrane,  is  multiplied  within  the  body,  and,  eventually 
being    got  rid   of,  is  swallowed    by    other    fowl    ^vith 
thpir  fonf)  ;   iust  ar   tvn>i(ii(l    fnvBr  ia  propagated  amongst 
imitted,  or  cultivated, 
enormous   virulence, 
ory.     Koch,   another 
lies  the  proof.     This 
plorers,  who,  not  long 
ititioner  in  a  remote 
icficent  despotism  of 
t  in  Berlin,  and  lately 
m  Egypt  to  India,  to 
Dg  link  in  the  chain 
;ing  a  single  drop  of 
n  of  a  mouse,  death 
be  blood  was  found 
med  vibrioa.      Other 
inoculated  a  rabbit 
,  and  the  blood  was 


4  Scmitary  Sermons. 

out  of  48  rabbits,  injected  with  from  1  to  10  drops  of  putrid 
blood,  26  died.  Next  they  found  that,  by  injecting  from 
1  to  4  drops  of  the  blood  of  any  of  the  26  so  killed  into  a 
number  of  fresh  rabbits,  every  one  died.  Repeating  the 
experiment  again  and  again,  it  was  found,  at  the  fifrh 
cultivation,  or  generation,  that  the  one-hundredth  part 
of  one  drop  proved  fatal  in  less  than  20  hours,  and  at  the 
tenth  generation,  the  twenty-thousandth  part  of  a 
smg^e  drop  was  sufficient.  By  frirther  cultivation  its 
fistality  was  still  further  increased.  The  history  of  Fowl 
Cbofera  is,  I  hope,  of  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  me  in 
following  it  a  little  further.  To  Pasteur, who  is  to  France  all 
that,  and  more  than,  Koch  is  to  Germany,  is  due  the  credit 
(rf  having  solved  this  problem.  He  cultivated  the  microbe  in 
chicken-soup,  showing  it  to  be  possessed  of  an  existence, 
and  a  vitahty,  independent  of  the  birds  in  which  it  con- 
stituted a  disease.  Dipping  the  point  of  a  needle  into 
the  blood  of  a  fowl  affected  with  the  disease,  he  introduced 
it  into  chickenH30up,  kepi  free  from  danger  of  other  con- 
tagion, and  maintamed  at  a  proper  temperature,  and  after 
a  time  the  soup  became  turbid,  and  he  found  it  filled  with 
the  microbe  multiphed  a  thousand-fold.  After  some  days, 
he  introduced  a  orop  of  this  microbe-permeated  soup  into 
another  vessel  of  chicken-soup,  and  the  same  thing 
happened.  However  often  performed,  a  similar  result 
followed;  and  after  even  the  hundredth  cultivation  the 
disease  was  reproduced  by  inoculation,  with  precisely  the 
same  characteristics. 

Continuing  the  experiments  he  found  that  by  allowing 
the  infected  medium  to  rest  for  weeks,  the  microbe  became 
less  virulent ;  and  the  longer  it  was  allowed  to  lie  by  the 
weaker  it  became.  Exposfed  to  the  air  for  six  or  eight 
months,  it  ce^ased  to  prove  fatal  when  injected  into  the 
circulation  of  a  fowl;  but,  like  vaccination,  warded  oflT 
subsequent  attacks.  When  reduced  by  exposure  below 
the  fatal  point,  and  then  cultivated  as  at  first,  the  same 
mild  form  was  reproduced  invariably,  and  this  when  injected 
gave  rise  to  merely  local  inflammation,  but  still  acted  as  a 
preservative.     A  strange  fact,  likely  to  prove  of  great 

Sractical  importance,  was  eHcited,  namely,  that  the  most 
eadly  microbe  was  foimd  in  the  blood  of  birds  that  had 
lingered  imder  the  disease  for  weeks  or  months,  instead  of 
in  the  more  rapidly  fatal  cases ;  but  even  this,  so  fatal  that 
the  fraction  of  a  drop  of  blood  inoculated  on  20  hens 
killed  every  one  of  them  within  24  hours,  was  rendered 


Sanitary  Sermont*  5 

harmlees  hy  cQltiTation.  Yet  between  the  two  varietids, 
even  the  microscope  failed  to  reveal  any  difference.  The 
Time  when  bo  weakened  as  to  prove  innoonoua  to  fowl, 
was  found  to  be  fatal  to  ench  birds  as  Bparrows,  and  on 
them  it  eTentnally  acqnired  all  its  old  viruIeDce  and  malig- 
nity. Tlie  same  thing  was  found  to  ocoar  in  the  similarly 
attenuated  organism  of  Splenic  Fever,  to  which  I  have 
before  alluded,  when  cultivated  through  a  number  of 
guinea-pigs,  llie  question  occurs: — may  not  tbe  same 
tiling  occur  in  Typhoid  Fever  t 

Another  fact  of  great  practical  importance  was  elicited. 

Pasteur  observed  that  drowsiness  was  one   of  the  most 

prominent    symptoms    of   the    disease.     Filtering    some 

chicken-broth  in  which  he  had  cultivated  the  microbe,  he 

injected  the   fluid  into  some  fowl,  and  found  the  same 

drowsiness  supervene ;  but  after  a  time  it  passed  off,  and 

tiiey  recovered.    He  thus  found  that  the  microbe,  by  a 

iduces  a  sort  of  alcohohc  poison 

x)ms  given  rise  to  by  the  microbe 

may  possibly  occur  in  Typhus 

ar  line  of  investigation,  patiently, 
',  Pasteur  brought  Splenic  Fever 
J  of  his  intelligence,  and  flashed 
),  enkindled  by  his  genius.  Ko 
his  country  so  much  as  this 
The  triumphs  of  Napoleon  pale 

He  has  preserved  the  wine  and 
atened  with  extinction  by  disease, 
ic  Fever  may  be  combated ;  there- 
ally  to  France  and  to  Europe; 
ly  beyond  which,  are  the  priceleas 
^t  to  mankind,  as  to  how  disease 
its  own  weapons, 
red  too  long  over  this  phase  of  the 
that  X  have  lost  sight  altogether 
t  it  may  not  be  thought  so.  I 
\i&  idea  that  specific  diseases  are 
specific  germs,  which  exist  widely 

ready  to  settle  down  when  a 
f,  be  it  in  earth,  air,  or  water ;  in 


6  Solitary  Sermons. 

sufficiently  vigorons  health,  or  wha  is  not  susceptible  of  them, 
they  fail  to  effect  a  lodgment ;  but  too  often  they  find  the 
poitals  open,  and  once  they  have  gained  a  foothold  they 
are  not  easily  shaken  offl  Besides  the  diseases  ordinarily 
regarded  as  infectious,  many  others  have  lately  been 

J  roved  to  depend  on  the  presence  of  a  specific  organism, 
'oremost  of  these  is  Conaumptioriy  that  terrible  malady 
which  claims  more  victims  than  any  other  disease  of  whicn 
we  have  cognisance.  "  K,"  says  Koch, "  the  seriousness  of 
a  malady  be  measured  by  the  number  of  its  victims,  then 
the  most  dreaded  pests  which  have  hitherto  ravaged  the 
world,  plague  and  cholera  included,  must  stand  far  behind 
the  one  now  under  consideration."  He  computes  that  one- 
seventh  of  the  deaths  of  the  entire  human  race  are  due  to 
this  disease,  whilst  one-third  of  those  who  die  in  middle 
life  are  carried  off"  by  it.  He  has  succeeded  in  cultivating 
and  reproducing,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  microbe  of 
fowl-cholera  was  cultivated,  the  structure,  organism,  or 
parasite,  on  the  presence  of  which,  he  maintains  that 
tubercular  disease  depends ;  and  by  injecting  it  so  culti- 
vated he  has  reproduced  the  disease.  If  it  can  be  tamed 
and  attenuated  so  as  to  prove  harmless,  yet  protective,  the 
greatest  triumph  of  modem  medicine  will  have  been 
achieved.  The  well-recognised  hereditary  character  of 
consumption  has  compUcated  the  investigation,  and  makes 
many  slow  to  believe  m  its  infectiousness.  It  is  not  asserted, 
however,  that  the  disease-germ  is  transmitted ;  but  only 
the  tendency  to  disease ;  a  structural  weakness  is,  it  is  saia, 
inherited,  which  readily  gives  way  to,  or  invites  attack  from 
the  swarming  hosts  of  micro-organisms.  The  disease  can 
be  transmitted,  not  only  from  man  to  man,  but  also  from 
one  lower  animal  to  another,  and  again  to  man.  Meat  and 
milk  may  mtroduce  it  through  the  digestive  apparatus  ; 
and  it  can  be  also  readily  communicated  to  the  lun^ 
through  an  abrasion  of  the  mucous  membrane,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  a  prolongation  inwards,  and  a 
modification  of  the  skin ;  and  whicD,  when  intact,  possesses 
the  faculty  of  filtering  the  air  of  excessive  moisture,  as  well 
as  of  dust  and  disease-germs. 

M.  Galtier,  a  distinguished  Veterinary  Surgeon  of  Lyons, 
has  conducted  important  investigations  into  the  cause  of 
that  dreaded  disease,  hydrophobia,  and  has  found  that  by 
injecting  the  virus  directly  into  the  blood,  the  animal  so 
treated  not  only  did  not  develope  the  disease,  but  was  pro- 
tected from  it,  even  when  subsequently  inoculated ;  whilst 


Sanitary  Sermons.  7 

other  animals  not  so  protected,  quickly  succumbed.  This 
result  he  arrived  at  oy  observing  that  similar  results  were 
attained  by  some  of  his  confreres  m  the  cattle  disease  known 
as  Charbon  Symptomatique^  also  called  la  maladie  de  Chabert. 

Ague  and  typhoid  fever  have  lately  been  proved  to 
depend  on  the  presence  in  the  blood  of  specific  organisms, 
which  can  be  cultivated  outside  of  the  Dody,  and  repro- 
duce the  disease  when  inoculated;  and  diphtheria,  yellow 
fever,  typhus,  and  cholera  have  recently  been  added  to  the 
list ;  whilst  many  other  diseases,  to  which  I  need  not  even 
refer,  have  been  likewise  proved  to  depend  on  the  presence 
of  similar  bodies.  Doubtless,  future  investigations  will  yet 
bring  all  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  within  the 
same  category. 

The  question  of  greatest  importance  undoubtedly  is, 
how  may  these  diseases  be  prevented?  The  first  step  has 
been  tak'en  in  ascertaining  ?he  cause.  Pasteur  says^  «  it 
is  in  the  power  of  man  to  banish  parasitic  diseases  from  the 
surface  of  the  globe ;  "  and  science  partly  shows  how  this 
may  be  done.  The  fully  developed  microbes  are  compara- 
tively easily  killed,  whilst  the  spores  or  seeds  are  extremely 
difficult  to  destroy.  Dr.  Cameron,  M.P.  for  Glasgow, 
in  a  masterly  paper,  of  which  Tyndall  says  that  "  Matthew 
Arnold  himself  could  not  find  fault  with  its  lucidity ^^^  thus 
writes :  "  The  most  extraordinary  difference  exists  between 
the  tenacity  of  life  exhibited  by  the  developed  microbes 
and  the  spores  or  gei-ms  from  which  they  spring.  Submit 
the  microbes  to  a  boiling  heat,  or,  in  many  instances,  to  a 
heat  far  short  of  the  boiling  point,  and  they  are  killed. 
Dry  them,  and  in  many  cases  they  die  at  once,  and  in  all 
in  a  comparatively  short  time.  Expose  certain  of  them  to 
the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and  they  pensh.  Saturate  the  fluid 
in  which  others  are  found  with  carbonic  acid,  and  they  are 
paralysed ;  and  though  fpr  a  time  capable  of  revival  by 
oxygen,  ultimately  succumb.  Expose  any  of  them  to 
t)xygen  under  high  pressure,  and  they  are  asphyxiated. 
Dilute  solutions  of'  antiseptic  agentis  kill  them.  But 
as  to  the  spores  which  they  produce,  and  from 
which  succeeding  generations  spring,  there  is  almost 
no  killing  them.  The  more  you  dry  them  the 
better  they  resist  destruction.  Time  is  no  object  with 
them,  and  they  maintain  their  dormant  vitality  for  an 
indefinite  number  of  years.  Absolute  alcohol  has  no  effect 
on  them.  As  to  oxygen,  they  can  stand  that  concentrated 
by  the  pressure  of  twenty  atmospheres,  and  be  none  the 


8  ^anUary  Sermons^ 

worse.  Two  or  three  hours*  boiling,  if  they  have  been 
well  dried  beforehand,  seems  not  to  nnrt  them,  and  they 
have  been  even  known  to  survive  eight  hours  of  the  pro^ 
cess.  The  only  effectual  meajis  for  their  immediate  de- 
struction, that  I  am  aware  of,  is  the  flame  of  a  spirit  lamp." 
"  How  comes  it,  then,"  he  asks, "  when  these  germs  can  stand 
so  much  rough  handling,  without  destruction,  that  mild  solu- 
tions of  such  harmless  antiseptics  as  carboHc  acid  or  borax, 
or  permanganate  of  potash,  can  have  any  eflFect  in  preserving 
US  against  the  mischief  they  work?"  And  he  answers: 
"while  they  remain  simple^spores  they  resist  prolonged  boil- 
ing. But  allow  them  to  germinate,  and  deal  with  each 
successive  crop  as  it  is  springing  into  life,  and  your  victory 
is  of  the  easiest.  In  the  same  way  we  can  easily  see  how  any 
solution  which  will  kill  the  developed  microbe  can  preserve 
the  decoction  or  wound  in  which  it  is  placed  from  the 
development  of  microbes.  It  may  not  kill  the  refractory 
germs,  but  it  will  kill  them  off  in  detail  as  they  spring 
into  life." 

On  the  recognition  of  this  fact,  and  its  practical  appli- 
cation by  Lister,  rest  some  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of 
modem  surgery. 

Of  aU  antiseptic  agents  which  we  possess,  corrosive 
sublimate  or  percnloride  of  mercury,  is  the  most  potent ;  but 
carbolic  acid  is  found  the  most  generally  useful.  It  is  a 
most  interesting  fact,  that  quinine,  which  experience  has 
proved  to  be  so  useful  in  the  treatment  of  intermittent 
fevers,  stops  at  once  the  growth  of  the  spores  in  the  culti- 
vating medium,  and  if  added  to  the  blood  causes  them  to 
disappear. 

The  acute  infectious  diseases  with  which  we  have  most 
to  do  in  this  coimtry  are : — Typhus  fever,  measles, 
whooping-cough,  mumps,  scarlatina,  diphtheria,  small-pox, 
and  occasionally,  but  happily  very  rarely,  cholera.  Infec- 
tion is  effected  through  the  air,  which  becomes  charged 
with  the  disease-germs,  without  the  need  of  actual 
contact  with  the  patient.  The  person  attacked  is,  as 
it  were,  a  seed-pod  of  disease,  and  every  breath  of  air 
disperses  the  death-pollen.  Those  infectious  diseases 
which  are  accompanied  by  a  visible  eruption  or  rash,  are 
called  exanthemata.  Infection  is  effected  in  many  and 
different  ways ;  it  enters  through  niany  portals,  and  the 
virulence  of  the  disease  is  centred  on  different  organs,  each 
after  its  kind.  After  the  poison  is  absorbed  mere  is  a 
period  of  quiescence,  of  varying  duration,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  disease,  called  iticubation — as  the  mischief  is 


Sanitmy  Sernunu,  9 

then  hatehinq;  alter  frhich  the  disease  itself  becomes 
manifeflt.  l^he  actnal  tOtack  or  inicatwR  is  announced  in 
many  ways ;  asaally  by  naium  or  vomiting,  ihicering  and 
htadache.  Special  Kymptoms,  however,  courier-like,  an- 
notmce  the  special  enemy;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
ennmerate  them.  The  contagion,  meaning  thereby  the 
vuUrus  morbi,  is  beUeved  to  act  by  effecting  a  eort  of 
catalt/tic  or  fertr.eMative  change  in  the  blood,  whence 
the  term  zymotic,  as  applied  to  difieases ;  zyme  or 
(vpji,  meaning  ferment.  But  the  term  zymotic  is  now 
generally  used  to  designate  all  communicable  diseases 
which  are  capable  of  being  prevented  by  hygienic  and 
other  measurea 

In  these  diseases  i^ch  are  now  under  consi deration, 
the  attack  is  of  definite  duration,  and,  when  not  fatal,  it 
nsnally  secures  immunity  against  future  attacks  of  the  same 
disease.   Indeed  it  is  asserted  by  some,  and  is  quite  conceiv- 
able, that  a  severe  attack  of  one  species  of  fever  will  protect 
a  person  exposed  to  another  and  dofferent  form  of  fever.  But 
this  is  not  usually  the  case.     That  it  may  occur,  we  know 
from  experiments  performed  on  the  lower  animals,  when 
the  injection  of  the  vims  of  chicken  cholera  was  found  to 
aftnfi anreflervativA airninRt SnleTiic fover.  But SUsceptibiUty 
e  who  never  escape 
appear  to  enjov  com- 
k  "  the  reintro auction 
renew  that  patient's 
:lcoholic  fermentation 
iread   or  wine.     The 
dable,  that  each  such 
inctiveness  of  elective 
)r  ingredients  of  the 
ular  material  in  febrile 
3n  the  exhaustion  is 
'hich    the    contagium 
3f  the  beat  autborities 

h  that  which  occurs 

exhausted.    As  yet 

)  conta^one,  such  for 


10  Samtary  Sermons, 

bined  attack  of  typhoid  fever  and  diphtheria.  In  his 
experiments  on  anunals,  Eoch  found  that  by  injecting 
a  drop  of  putrifying  matter  into  the  ordinary  mouse,  the 
blood  was  filled  with  orgam'sms  of  a  peculiar  character,  and 
at  the  point  of  inoculation  there  were  others  of  a  totally 
diflFerent  character ;  whilst  in  the  field-mouse  the  former 

Eerished,  and  the  latter  caused  gangrene.  And  Pasteur  in 
is  experiments  with  ferments  found  that  when  the  yeast- 
plant  was  vigorous,  it  triumphed  orer  any  parasites  with 
which  it  mignt  have  been  accidently  contaminated,  and 
killed  them  or  restrained  their  development,  but  that  when 
its  vigour  was  impaired  the  parasites  kiUed  it ;  just  as  weeds 
grow  apace  when  other  vegetation  fails.  In  the  case  of 
contagion,  if  it  were  two-fold,  one  variety  might  in  the 
same  manner  dominate  over  or  kill  the  other.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  they  do  not  usually  counterbalance  or 
destroy  one  another.  The  nearest  approach  to  this  an- 
tagonism, of  which  in  drugs  there  are  many  examples,  is 
the  case  of  the  virus  of  fowl-cholera,  already  quoted, 
neutralizing  that  of  splenic  fever,  and  of  vaccination  modi- 
fying or  neutralizing  small-pox.  ' 
I  have  said  that  susceptibility  to  infection  vanes 
greatly  in  different  individuals ;  it  also  varies  veiy  much 
in  the  same  individual  at  different  times.  It  is  influenced 
by  the  condition  of  health,  by  the  atmospheric  conditiofi 
that  prevails,  and  by  the  vigour  or  vmilence  of  the 
disease.  After  an  epidemic  has  prevailed  for  some  time  it 
tends  of  its  own  accord  to  die  out,  owing  to  the  want  of 
freBh  pabulum ;  having,  as  it  were,  consumed  all  that  there 
was  lor  it  to  feed  on :  and  until  the  population  has  been 
regenerated,  or  until  some  time  has  elapsed,  a  certain 
immunity  is  enjoyed.  In  this  way  the  periodicity  observed 
in  epidemics  may  be  partiallv  accounted  for.  But  after  all, 
this  scientific  speculation  will  prove  comparatively  useless 
unless  we  can  derive  some  practical  lessons  from  it,  as  to 
how  infection  and  contagion  may  be  avoided  or  prevented. 
How  are  they  acquired  by  the  individual,  and  how  spread 
in  the  commimity  ?  These  questions  must  first  be  answered. 
Other  things  being  equal,  that  individual  is  most  likely  to 
be  attacked  whose  general  health  is  below  par,  and  whoae 
system  is  at  the  time  most  absorbent.  Exhaustion,  fatigue, 
hunger,  a  moist  condition  of  the  skin,  favour  absorption 
of  the  poison.  Absorption  may  take  place  through  the 
skin,  or  through  the  mticous  mernirane  of  the  pulmonary  or 
digestive  apparatus.  When  near  a  patient  one  should,  so 
far  as  possible,  avoid  breathing  in  the  air  expired  by  the 


Sanitary  Strmotu.  11 

invalid,  and  this  prohibition  applies  to  coQsnmption  as  well 
as  to  typhus  fever,  smallpox,  measles,  whooping-cough, 
Bcarlatina  and  diphtheria. 

Notinfreqaontly  the  infection,  particularly  of  Diphtheria, 
has  been  taken  from  the  lips  oi  a  dead  husband  or  child,  by 
the  too-fond  wife  or  mother,  bidding  an  eternal  adieu.  It 
is  no  wonder  that,  in  such  a  case,  popular  imagination 
should  have  personiBed  the  disease,  and  invested  it  with  the 
human  form,  by  which  the  fatal  embrace  and  death-kiss  are 
given. 

One  should,  particularly  at  such  a  time,  as  indeed  at 
all  times,  breathe  through  the  nostrils,  and  not  through  the 
mouth.  It  is  well  to  spit  out,  or  even  to  wash  the  mouth, 
and  use'one's  handkerchief  immediately  afterwards.  I  kuow 
some  in  whom,  from  habit,  salivation  is  induced  on  examin- 
iog  a  patient  suffering  from  even  slightly  infectious  diseases. 
Soft,  flo8By,or  woollen,  clothing  is  hkely  to  carry,  and  be  a 
means  of  propagating, the  contagion;  and  hence  should 
not  be  worn.  Ccunphor,  which  is  by  some  greatly  relie* 
on  as  a  preventitive,  is  of  little  use,  although  it  has  been 
found  to  destroy  the  tubercle-bacillus.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  smoking,  which  is  besides  intolerable  in  a  sick 
room.  Stimulants  afford  no  protection,  and  should  not 
be  resorted  to.  Tea  and  coffee  may  be  recommended  with 
advantage  to  those  in  attendance. 

Bedi^ng,  clothes,  towels,  or  any  articles,  of  whatsoever 

kind,  used  by  the  sick  person  should  be  disinfected  and 

washed;    and  all   exhalations  and  discharges,  so  far  as 

possible,  disinfected.     Of  course  the  room  occupied  by  the 

mvalid  must  be  thoroughly  cleansed  and  disinfected,  else 

it  may  prove  contagious  years  after,  owing  to  the  vitality 

of  the  disease  srerms.     Sulphurous  acid,  got  by  burning 

chlorine  gas,  got  from 

te  of  potash,  contained  in 

ctants  which  we  possess 

hen  suflSciently  strong  to 

5ast,  moist  air  is  better 

allows  the  almost  ind&- 

3n,  as  we  have  seen,  they 


ised  person  acts  as  a  soil 
altiplied  and  propagated. 


12  Sanitary  Sermons. 

food-Bupply ;    or  may  lie  dormant  for  even  lengthened 
periods  of  time. 

Hence  it  follows,  first  of  all,  that  a  thorough  and  com- 
plete separation  Bhovldhe  efiFected  between  the  sick  and  the 
nealthy — a  separation  which,  as  Simon  writes,  **  so  far  as 
the  nature  of  the  disease  requires,  must  regard  not  only 
the  personal  presence  of  the  sick,  but  equally  all  the 
various  ways,  direct  and  indirect,  by  which  infective 
matters  from  that  presence  may  pass  into  operation  on 
others."  Everyone  suffering  from  a  contagious  or  infectious 
disease  should  be  regarded,  to  use  the  words  of  Cameron, 
of  Glasgow,  **  as  a  hot-bed  swarming  with  living  organisms 
which  cause  and  spread  the  disease.  So  long  as  these  are 
confined  within  the  body  of  the  individual,  the  pubUc— 
selfishly  speaking — need  not  trouble  itself,  but  when  the 
organism  beeins  to  be  eliminated  from  the  body,  when  its 
spores  in  millions  and  hundreds  of  millions  are  sent  forth  by 
the  skin  or  intestines,  then  the  danger  to  the  community 
T^egins."  The  liberty  of  one  man  ends  where  that  of 
another  begins ;  and  therefore,  as  each  case  of  infectious 
disease  is  a  pubhc  danger,  the  pubUc,  through  the  proper 
sanitary  authority,  should  be  warned  of  its  danger ;  so  that 
all  due  care  should  be  taken  against  the  spreading  of  infec- 
tion. Hence,  individuals  suffering,  or  recovering,  from  any 
such  disease,  should  not  be  allowed  to  mix  with  others,  but 
should  be  sent  to  hospital  or  Convalescent  establishments, 
if  they  cannot  be  taken  care  of  at  home ;  and  above  all, 
public  conveyances,  dairies,  laimdries,  lodging-houses,  and 
schools  should  be  looked  to,  so  that  they  be  not  means  of 
disseminating  disease. 

In  an  epidemic  the  greatest  personal,  domestic,  and 
general  cleanliness  should  be  observed ;  sewers,  cesspools, 
and  the  like  should  particularly  be  attended  to ;  over-crowd- 
ing should  be  avoided ;  free  and  thorough  ventilation  should 
be  secured ;  and  the  general  health  should  be  maintained 
by  the  avoidance  of  fatigue,  privation  and  excesses. 

This  much  sanitation  requires,  and  will  not  be  satisfied 
with  less.  If  this  were  done,  if  the  requirements  of  health 
were  always  careftdly  regarded,  then  should  a  different  tale 
be  told  by  the  the  death-register :  which  even  yet  shows 
that  a  fifth  of  all  the  deaths  which  take  place  annually  in 
these  countries  is  due  to  preventible  diseases,  for  as  Pasteur 
wrote,  ^^  it  is  in  the  power  of  man  to  banish  parasitic 
diseases  from  the  surface  of  the  globe,  if,  as  I  am  convinced, 
the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation  is  a  chimera." 

MiOHASL  F.  Cox. 


[    13    ] 


BROWNSON'S  WORKS.* 

WE  have  received  a  copy  of  the  works  of  the  late  Dr. 
BrowDfion  coUected  and  arranged  by  his  son,  H.  F. 
Brownson,  and  such  a  collection  deserves  special  notice  at 
our  hands.  Brownson  was  before  the  English-speaking 
world  as  a  publicist  for  fifty  years.  During  twenty  years 
of  that  he  was  groping  his  way  honestly  and  earnestly  to 
the  light ;  during  the  remaining  thirty  years,  when  his  mind 
was  iUundned  bv  faith  and  his  soul  at  rest  in  the  conviction 
of  truth,  he  did  brilUant  service  to  the  cause  of  Catholicity 
both  in  America  and  in  these  islands.  He  undoubtedly  fell 
into  errors,  but,  as  he  himself  truly  observes,  the  Church  is 
tolerant  of  many  strange  opinions  in  philosophy  and 
politics.  She  leaves  her  children  a  large  realm  for  free 
discussion  in  all  things  in  which  '*  freedom  is  compatible 
with  the  end  for  which  she  has  been  instituted.  Her  wish 
is  not  to  rear  a  race  of  slaves  but  of  free  and  loyal 
worshippers  of  God.** 

We  are  inclyied,  therefore,  to  ^ve  Brownson  all  credit 
for  his  great  services  to  the  Church,  and  to  look  with  much 
forbearance  on  what  we  consider  to  be  unsound,aIthough  not 
quite  heterodox,  philosophical  principles.  Few  men  travelled 
over  a  wider  domain — philosophy,  politics,  ethics,  and 
religion — ^he  discusses  them  all  with  a  courageous  and 
inquiring,  yet  withal,  a  reverent  spirit.  He  was  a  docile 
son  of  the  Church,  and  bowed  to  her  authority ;  but  in  the 
free  and  ample  realm  of  speculation,  he  soared  aloft  on 
strong  and  fearless  pinions,  generally  in  the  sun-light  of 
truth,  but  sometimes  in  the  mists  of  error. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  career  Brownson  was  in  philos- 
ophy an  eclectic,  and  in  religion  a  naturalist.  It  was  the 
result  of  the  principle  of  private  judgment  in  both  cases ; 
for  naturalism  is  a  logical  outcome  of  Protestantism,  and 
eclecticism  only  means  that  each  philosopher  should  select 
for  himself  what  he  thinks  right,  and  reject  what  he  thinks 
WTonff,  in  every  system.  This  right  of  judging  for 
oneself,  which  impUes  the  right  of  judging  and  condemning 
every  body  else,  was  very  flattering,  and,  therefore,  very 
acceptable  to  a  young  and  able  man  just  let  loose  from  his 
university  studies. 

!  The  works  of  Orestes  A.  Brownson,  collected  and  arranged  by 
Henry  F.  Brownaon.  Detroit :  Thomdike  Nourse.  1882-3. 


14  BrownsofCs  Works. 

But  eclecticism  could  not  satisfy  an  inquiring  mind. 
He  knew  too  much  not  to  know  that  his  own  authority  was 
but  a  poor  foundation  for  a  religious  or  philosophical 
system ;  and  he  saw  so  many  errors  in  the  other  self-con- 
stituted teachers  of  mankind  that  he  soon  perceived  the 
necessity  of  aid  and  light  from  above  to  strengthen  and 
illumine  the  gloom  and  weakness  of  human  nature.  As  he 
himself  emphatically  expressed  it,  **A  man  cannot  lift 
himself  by  his  own  waistbands ;  **  neither  can  any  one  else 
on  the  same  level  do  it  for  him.  The  light  and  the  help 
must  be  from  the  very  nature  of  things — desursum  —from 
above.  The  man  who  accepts  this  principle  honestly  must, 
of  logical  necessity,  become  a  CathoUc;  and  so  ferown- 
son,  following  the  *  kindly  light  *  that  led  another  and  a 
greater  mina  to  the  Church,  placed  himself  under  the 
guidance  of  the  late  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  of  Boston,  and 
soon  foimd  that  light  and  peace  in  the  City  on  the 
Mountain,  which  he  had  for  so  many  years  vainly  sought 
elsewhere. 

Although  a  neophyte  in  Catholic  theology,  Brownson, 
by  the  advice  of  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  still  continued  to  write 
articles  on  philosophy  and  religion  in  his  Review ;  for  it 
was  felt  that  what  came  from  him  would  have  much 
greater  weight  with*  non-Catholics  than  anything  spoken 
or  written  by  those  who  were  born  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church.  He  certainly  dealt  very  severe  blows  at 
Protestantism  in  America.  Rarely  attacking  it  directly, 
his  incidental  thrusts  were  felt  to  be  irresistible.  Protes- 
tantism, he  used  to  say,  is  composed  of  two  elements,  the 
negative  and  positive.  In  so  far  as  it  is  positive  it  holds 
fast  to  a  portion  of  the  truth,  which,  however,  is  in  no  sense 
its  own,  but  the  inheritance  of  the  Catholic  Church.  In  so  far 
as  it  is  negative,  it  denies  the  truth  of  God  on  the  strength  of 
purely  individual  opinion,  and  inasmuch  as  the  individuals 
are  all  divided  amongst  themselves,  it  follows  that  Protes- 
tantism, as  such,  in  so  far  as  it  has  anything  of  its  own,  is 
infidel,  denies  the  truth  of  God,  and  hence,  as  history 
proves,  finally  resolves  itself  into  Atheism. 

In  his  philosophy — and  Brownson  waa  before  all  things 
a  man  of  philosophic  mind — ^he  was  an  ontologist.  It  is  ridt 
easy  to'  ascertam  what  phase  of  ontologism  Brownson 
adopted,  for  he  censures  Malebranche,  openly  attacks 
Gioberti,  sneers  at  the  Rosminian  ens  in  generty  and 
pronounces  the  Germans  to  be,  as  no  doubt  they  are, 
altogether  heterodox  ontologists.    Yet  we  think  the  differ- 


Bromuon's  Works.  15 

encee,  at  least  in  the  first  three  caaee,  are  011I7  accidental, 
and  that  the  ontologiem  of  Browneoa  is  radically  as 
natenable  and  ae  dangerous  in  its  (sonsequeDcefl  aa  any  of 
the  systemB  which  he  reprehends.  In  his  Essay  on  the 
Existence  of  God  he  asserts  "  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  every 
man,  in  every  act  of  intelligence,  in  every  exercise  of  the 
nnderstanding,  in  every  thonght,  apprehends  and  asserts 
thai  viki^k  i»  God,  although  he  himself  may  not  be  distinctly 
conscioTis  that  such  is  the  fact."'  His  whole  argument  in 
favour  of  the  existence  of  God  is  founded  on  the  fact  that 
the  "  mind  of  man  has  immediate  and  direct  intuition  uf 
lw>ino'."'  that  this  beinp  is  «  real  being,"  and  he  adds,  "  it  is 
'eal  being  is  necessary  and  eternal 

ough,  it  is  ontologism  pure   and 

'Malebranche;  butBrowuson  goes 
t,  the  "  belief  in  God  is  one  that, 
ith  it,  could  not  originate,"'  This 
iQ  Council  and  the  censure  of  the 

1866,  is  one  that  can  no  longer 
,  however,  be  said  that  this  essay 
fore  the  ultimate  development  of 
xoversy.  Browneon  accordingly 
irgument  for  the  existence  of  God 
form  or  an  undue  assumption  of 
But  his  reasoning  clearly  shows 
ly  mora  carefully  and  systemati- 
se of  which  hs  makes  so  light. 
,  deny  all  intuition,  that  is,  direct 
,  of  real  and  neceswary  being,  and 
al  and  necessary  being  is  legiti- 
:ognition  of  contingent  existences. 
he  contends,  that  the  conclusion 

premises,  which  is  against  the 
ogism.*  It  is  very  manifest  from 
rowns'on  confounds  the  matter 
its  torm,  and  because  the 
QS  imperatively  requires  that  no 

forma)  greater  extension  in  the 
premises ;  therefore,  the  existence 


16  BrownsofCs  Works. 

premises  I !  But,  urges  Brownson,  the  truth  of  the  con- 
clnsion  is,  according  to  the  Scholastics  themselves,  con- 
tained in  the  truth  o£  the  premises ;  and,  therefore,  he  who 
has  intuition  of  the  premises — that  is,  of  contingent  being, 
has  therein  also  hxtmtion  of  the  conclusion — that  is,  of  the 
existence  of  God.  Is  there  no  difference,  then,  between 
what  is  contained  formally  or  expUcitly,  and  what  is  con* 
tained  virtually  in  the  premises  ?  Do  the  bOys  beginning 
their  EucUd  who  "  intue  "  the  axioms  of  the  First  Book, 
"intue"  also,  by  the  very  fact,  the  perns  asinorum  and  the  47th 
proposition?  If  they  did,  it  would  be  for  them  a  great 
olessing,  for  it  would  save  them  much  labour  and,  some- 
times, many  stripes.  Yet  the  truth  of  the  47th  is  virtually 
contained  in  the  truth  of  the  axioms,  but  it  needs  a  long 
chain  of  demonstration  to  educe  the  scientific  cognition  of 
the  former  from  the  intuitive  truth  of  the  latter.  In  like 
manner,  from  the  principle  of  contradiction  and  the  exist- 
ence of  contingent  beings  we  can,  by  a  process  of  reason- 
ing, educe  the  existence  of  God ;  but  it  does  not,  therefore, 
foUow  that  he  who  has  intuition  of  the  two  former  truths 
hath  therein  direct  and  immediate  intuition  of  the  latter. 
Brownson  may  have  meant  well,  but  greatly  erred  on  these 

goints,  as  also  when  he  thought  it  necessary  "  to  teach  our 
cholastic  Psychologists — St*  Thomas  and  the  rest — that 
to  their  demonstrative  method  (of  proving  the  existence  of 
God)  they  must  add  tradition  or  history,  and  prove  to  the 
heterodox  that  true  philosophy  can  be  found  only  where 
the  primitive  tradition  and  the  unity  and  integrity  of 
language  have  been  infallibly  preserved,  therefore  only  in 
the  Catholic  Society  or  Church."  In  so  far  as  this  propo- 
sition implies  that  the  knowleage  of  one  God  cannot  be 
obtained  with  certainty  from  created  things,  by  the  light 
of  reason,  it  is  now  contrary  to  the  defined  doctrine  of  the 
Catholic  Church.^  And  in  so  far  as  it  implies  that  this 
knowledge  is  not  scientia  obtainable  by  a  posteriori  reasoning 
from  tjie  existence  and  wonderful  order  of  the  created 
universe,  without  any  need  of  primitive  tradition,  such 
statement  is  at  least  erroneous  and  no  longer  tenable  by 
Catholics.  For  although  the  Council  used  the  word  cog- 
nosciy  the  mediiun  of  knowledge  is  declared  to  be  per  ea 
quce  facta  sunty  and  elsewhere  e  rebus  creatis,  which  can' 

i*'Si  quia  dixerit  Denm  tinmn  et  yemm  Creatorem  et  Dominma 
nostrum,  per  ea  qiUB  facta  Bunt,  natniali  rationis  humansB  lumine  oerto 
cognoad  non  posse :  anathema  sit/'    Can.  IL,  No.  1,  Condi.  Yat. 


BrownBorCs  Works.  17 

hardly  be  understood  of  inttdtion,  but  rather  of  reasoning 
&om  created  things.  It  is  manifest,  at  least,  that  human 
reason  is  self-su£Scing  for  the  purpose,  and  that  tradition 
is  certainly  by  no  means  necessary  to  enable  men  to  know 
br  prove  the  existence  of  God. 

His  son  informs  us,  that  Dr.  Brownson  greatly  loved 
his  country,  but  detested  the  dominant  radicalism,  which, 
he  adds,  if  unchecked,  bannot  fail  to   lead  a  nation  to 
destruction.     In  his  detestation  of  radicalism  he  has  our 
hearty  sympathy.     He  is  undoubtedly  right  in  the  view, 
apparently  endorsed  by  his  son,  that  "  no  government  can 
be  a  good  government  if  divorced  from  religion,  and  moving 
on  independently  of  the  Church.*'     Hence  he  severely  con- 
demns those  Catholics  ^  who  adopt  the  false  maxim  that 
tiieir  politics  have  nothing  to  do  with  their  religion,"  and 
its  inevitable  consequence  that  the  Church  or  the  Pope  has 
no  right  to  interfere  with  politics — a  principle  that  has  been 
recently    put    forward   by  people    who   call   themselves 
Cathohcs  I    As  if,  forsooth,  politics  have  nothing  to  do  with 
morals ;  as  if  peoples  and  governments  never  do  wrong ; 
or,  when  they  do,  are  not  amenable  to  the  law  of  God,  and 
to  the  authority  of  his  Church.     This  doctrine  has  been 
condemned  in  the  Syllabus,^  and  is  undoubtedly  erroneous ; 
for  it  is  a  virtual  denial  of  the  authority  of  God  and  of  the 
rights  of  his  Church.    For  what  is  meant  by  politics? 
Etymologically  as  well  as  philosophically  they  mean  the 
affairs  of  the  State,  the  practical  science  that  ascertains  and 
expounds  the  rights  and  duties  of  all  the  members  of  the 
body  politic,  but  especially  of  the  government  in  all  its 
branches  towards  the  people  and  of  the  people  towards  the 
government.     Even  Aristotle  laid  down  the  doctrine  that 
this  science  was  a  branch  of  ethics,  and  the  same  view  is 
repeatedly  put  forward  in  the  dialogues  of  Plato.     In  moral 
theology  the  discussion  of  these  questions  constitutes  a 
special   part  of  the  treatise  on  justice — it  is  known  as 
"  Justitia  Legalia"    To  say  that  the  Pope,  as  expounder  of 
the  moral  law,  has  no  right  to  interfere  in  questions  of 
politics,  IB,  therefore,  to  deny  his  right  to  teach  the  Church 
of  God,  both  rulers  and  subjects ;  in  other  words,  it  involves 
heresy 


18  Brownson^s  Works. 

contraryjisthedivinelyappointed  •'Judex  controversianim,'' 

not  only  in  all  purely  spiritual  questions  of  faith  and  morals, 

but  also  in  all  temporal  questions  where  the  interests  of  faith  or 

morals  are  at  stake.   In  purely  temporal  or  political  questions, 

which  have  nothing  to  do  with  morality  or  with  the  salvation 

of  souls,  either  as  obstacles  or  necessary  aids  for  the  attain- 

raent  of  that  great  end  for  which  the  Church  was  instituted 

— ^with  these  the  Church  has  no  concern,  she  has  neither 

the  wish  nor  the  right  to  interfere.     But  in  regard  to  that 

large  class  of  poUtical  questions  in  which  the  faith  or  morals 

of  the  children  of  the  Church  are  concerned,  where  her 

highest  interests  are  at  stake,  she  has  a  Divine  right  of 

interference,  and  she  has  Divine  guidance  in  her  action,  not 

in  the  sense  that  she  is  infallible  in  the  decision  of  every 

point,  but  in  the  sense  that  God  has  furnished  her  with  the 

means  of  deciding  these  questions  throughout  the  entire 

Church,  that  she  has  the  help  of  His  Holy  Spirit  in  making 

use  of  these  means  of  action  fpr  the  good  of  the  Church, 

that  she  cannot  be  false  to  her  high  trust.     Hence  she  has 

the  right  to  decide  in  all  doubtful  points,  not  only  questions 

of  law  but  of  fact,  she  has  the  right  to  decide-  the  proper 

time  and  place  and  manner  of  intervention  in  aU  such 

questions,  and  her  children,  one  and  all,  are  bound  under 

pain  of  sin  to  yield  j;ier  unhesitating  obedience.    This  right 

at  least  of  a  directive  guidance  in  political  questions,  and  of 

commanding  her  own  children  under  penalty  of  mn,  has,  as 

far  as  we  know,  never  been  questioned  by  any  theologian 

of  eminence;    not  only    Gerson  and  Fenelon,  but  even 

Bossuet  himself  when  rightly  understood  admits  it — on  these 

questions,  however,  he  is  now  no  authority,  for  his  teaching 

has  long  since  been  repudiated  by  the  Church.  But  the  Pope 

may  be  misinformed  or  mistaken — so  said  Luther,  and  the 

Jansenists,  and  the  Disciples  of  Febronius.    It  is  enough 

for  us  to  kiiow  that  the  Ruler  of  the  Church  has  the  n^t 

to  decide,  and  has  abundant  means  of  information  and 

of  action  at  his  disposal  with  the  unfailing  guidance  of  the 

Holy  Spirit  in  his  government  of  the  Church.    And  it  is  sin 

and  dislovalty  to  assume  that  he  acts  rashly,  unadvisedly, 

or  trnjusuy. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  we  know  that  the  Church  has 
always  exercised  her  right  of  interfering  in  political 
questions  connected  with  faith  or  morals.  She  has  an- 
nulled penal  laws,  she  has  condenmed  secret  societies, 
she  has  denounced  godless  education,  she  has  interdicted 
States,  excommunicated  rebelUous  subjects,  and,  as   an 


Browtuon'i  Worki.  19 

extreme  resource,  pronoanced  the  depoffltion  of  oatrageonfily 

rinical  kings,  who  violated  their  coronation  oath,  hroke 
constitutional  pact,  and  raged  Hke  lions  against  the 
Chnrch  of  God.  To  deny  the  right  of  intervention  in 
many  cases  of  politics  is,  therefore,  erroneous  doctrine,  that 
has  been  repeatedly  condemned  by  the  Chnrch.  But  on 
these  questions  Brownson  seems  to  have  gone  quite  as  far 
ae,  if  not  farther,  than  Bellarmine.  He  was  a  courageous 
thinker  as  well  as  a  keen  logician.  He  always  followed 
out  his  principles  to  their  logical  conclusious.  Hence  we 
are  not  suprised  to  hear  from  his  son,  what  is  evident 
enough  from  his  own  later  writings,  that  he  always,  since  he 
became  a  Catholic,  maintained  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope 
as  the  representative  of  the  spiritual  order  over  temporal 
princes,  fhis  supremacy  has  been  formally  asserted  in 
two  famous  doouments  inserted  in  the  Corpus  Juris 
Canonici — the  celebrated  Decretal  Novii  of  Innocent  III., 
and  the  famous  constitutioQ  Vnam  Sanctam  of  Boniface 
VIII. 

John,    King    of     England,    was    summoned    by    his 

Hege   lord,   Philip  Augnetus,  King  of  France,   to  defend 

himself  against  the  charge  of  assassinating  his  nephew, 

Arthur.     John  not  appeanug,  as  in  duty  bound,  was  found 

'  "■    '       oade  war  against  him  to 

led  to  the  Pope,  and  com- 

hia  territories,  had  broken 

Pope,  the   great-souled 

Bgates  to  both,  imploring 

bmit  their  case  to  arbitra- 

1  cause  against  the  Turks. 

the  fruits  of  his  victories, 

er  of  fiefs  and  vassals  the 

lat  the  Pope  had  no  right 

otifi"  wrote  his  celebrated 

t  documents  on  this  ques- 

e   declares,    "  Non   enim 

cujue  ad  ipsum   spectat 

aere  de  peeeato,  cujns  ad 

tuHora,  quam  in  quemlibet 

It  is  the  famous  dietinc- 

vRfillfti    ■ 


20  Brownsi^ris  Woris, 

by  one  and  denied  by  the  other  party  who  appeals  to  the 
Pope,  then  the  Pope  has,  jure  divinOf  the  riffht  to  judge 
the  moral  question  at  issue  between  his  clularen — it  mat- 
ters not  whether  they  be  peasants  or  princes.  Thus  it  is 
that  he  has,  as  the  representativ^e  of  God,  an  indirect 
power  of  judging  in  temporal  things ;  and  it  is  so  called, 
because  directly  it  regardia  only  the  moral  question,  but 
indirectly  it  re^rds  the  temporal  queBtion  wUch  uuderlies 
it.  The  Decretal  "  Novit"  to  this  day  forms  a  part  of  the 
Canon  Law,  and,  indeed  it  is  manifest  that  the  doctrine 
which  it  asserts  can  hardly  be  questioned  by  those  who 
recognise  the  Pope  to  be  the  divinely  appointed  teacher 
and  guardian  of  moraUty  whom  all  Christians  are  bound 
to  obey. 

But  Brownson  emphatically  proclaims  the  essential  sub- 
ordination of  the  temporal  to  the  spiritual  power.  No 
doubt  the  State  is  a  perfect  and  independent  society,  and, 
it  may  be  added,  self-sufficing  for  the  attainment  of  its  own 
end.  But  that  end  is  purely  temporal ;  it  is  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  man's  life  in  this  wond,  so  far  as  it  is  attainable 
through  the  preservation  of  law  and  order,  and  the  protection* 
of  life  and  property.  No  Christian,  however,  can  assert 
that  this  is  the  final  end  of  man  or  of  society ;  it  is  in  reaUty 
only  a  means  to  an  end,  and  it  is  a  means  that  is  divinely 
ordained  to  man's  higher  and  supernatural  end.  God 
himself  has,  therefore,  subordinated  the  temporal  to  the 
spiritual  end  of  man,  and.consequently  He  has  subordinated 
the  society,  whose  end  is  merely  temporal,  to  that  society 
whose  end  is  spiritual^  that  is,  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 
And,  as  the  Pope  is  the  divinely  appointed  guardian  of 
man's  spiritual  interests,  it  follows  mat  he  is  entitled  to 
receive  the  co-operation  of  all  Christian  rulers  for  that 
purpose,  that  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  involves 
the  denial  of  a  Christian  duty ;  that  in  any  conflict  of 
interests,  real  or  apparent,  the  temporal  must  yield  to  the 
spiritual ;  that  in  all  matters  of  controversy  the  Pontiff  is 
the  supreme  and  final  judge ;  and  thus  has  the  two  swords, 
the  spiritual  sword,  which  he  bears  himself,  and  the 
temporal  sword,  which,  at  least  in  mixed  questions, 
is  to  be  drawn  under  his  guidance  and  according  to 
his  direction.  The  conse<^uences  of  this  doctrine  are 
very  far-reaching,  vet,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  flaw  in 
the  reasoning  involved;  and  it  is  undeniable  that,  if 
carried  into  practice,  Europe  would  not  be,  as  it  now  is, 
an  armed  camp,  where  milhons  of  men,  when  not  engaged 


BrmtmtoiCt  Wor]u.  21 

in  bloodshed,  lire  in  idlenen  on  the  fmits  of  other  men'c 
industry. 

Bu^  althongh  the  Pope  posseaaeB  these  rights  jura 
divitio,  it  hj  no  means  follows  that  he  ought  to  try  and 
exercise  them  eveiywhere  and  always.  He  must  look  to 
what  ia  expedient,  that  is,  he  must  regulate  the  exercise  of 
these  powers  with  a  view  to  the  interests  of  the  Church, 
according  to  the  circumstances  in  which  she  is  placed.  Even 
in  matters  spiritual,  he  may  forego,  by  Concordat,  for  a  time, 
the  exercise  of  certain  rights  that  are  not  essential,  as,  for 
instance,  Domination  to  oishoprios,  in  return  for  certain 
advantages  from  the  State — the  regulating  principle  being 
always  the  same — to  keep  in  view  what  is  most  likely  in 
the  circumstancee  to  promote  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

It  will  he  seen  that,  in  most  questions,  Brownson  waa 

what  is  called  a  thorough  Ultramontane.      He  believed 

that  the  Churcti  was  the  salt  of  the  earth,   that  the  Pope 

was  the  divinely  appointed  teacher  of  governments  and 

jteoples,  quite  as  much  as  of  individuals.     He  held,  that 

the  nations  who  reject  his  authority  are  on  the  way  to  ruin; 

for,  from  the  Quistian  point  of  view,  Atheism  brings  ruio. 

ith  G&llicanism,  and  h« 

lore  dangerous  even  than 

is  we  think  his  teaching 

,  he  errs  on  the  safe  side. 

he  essays  in  these  four 

absence  of  an  episcopal 

caution.     For  a  layman, 

acquaintance  with  phil- 

:,  however,  he  is  bv  no 

b  might  have  treated  the 

more  consideration.    At 

t  the  first  three  voltmies 

ngularly  able,  and  most 

7  important  question  in 

IS  the  relations  between 

snson  and  revelation.    Of 

lliug   to   pronounce   any 

If  admits  that  it  contains 

n  theoriea  advocated  by 


22  Plain  Truths  about  Interest 

again  by  their  author;  but  the  world  is  bo  full  of  evfl 
books,  that  we  could  very  well  aJKord  to  dispense  with  the 
immature  speculations  of  even  such  a  mind  as  Dr.  Brownson's. 
For  the  rest,  no  one  can  deny  liim  the  praise  of  vast  mental 
power,  great  and  various  learning,  as  well  as  of  high  purpose, 
and  imdaunted  courage. 

John  Hkalt. 


PLAIN  TRUTHS  ABOUT  INTEREST. 

I. — ^Have  the  Usury  Laws  Retarded  Commercial 

Progress  ! 

IT  is  still  fashionable  to  denounce  the  Church  as  the  enemy 
of  progress  and  enUghtenment.  In  every  age,  say  her 
adversaries,  she  has  stood  in  the  way  of  some  needed  reform, 
or  over-awed  with  the  spectre  of  her  teaching  authority  the 
noblest  efforts  of  the  human  mind  to  investigate  truth  and 
seek  the  perfectibility  of  our  race.  As  the  merest  matter 
of  course,  the  Mediaeval  Church  had  this  fell  purpose 
peculiarly  dear  at  heart,  and  for  most  selfish  ends,  kept  the 
world  shrouded  in  ignorance,  burned  innovators,  and 
exercised  relentless  tyranny  over  mind  and  body.  These 
are  sopie  of  the  charges  made  on  that  ^rand  old  pillar-tower 
of  Christianity,  all  oiwhich  have  resulted  in  but  exhibiting 
its  structure's  strength  and  the  weakness  of  its  assailanta 
By  degrees,  indeed,  the  assault  is  being  grudgLngly 
abandoned,  and  in  latter  times  foes  are  compelled,  from  a 
fair  study  of  facts,  to  join  friends  in  lauding  the  Middle-age 
Church  as  a  most  praiseworthy  institution  for  the  time  and 
circumstances.  But  this  exculpation  regards  her  poUcy  as 
a  whole,  and  not  its  several  paita.  Many  counts  yet  remain 
in  the  indictment,  and  one  in  particular  which  the  com- 
mercial  spirit  of  this  age  is  Uttle  disposed  to  cancel.  It  is 
that  when  the  crusades  against  Saracen  and  Turk  had 
spent  their  force,  a  new  and  more  persistent  series  of 
crusadee  were  directed  indisoriminately  against  Cibristian 
and  Hebrew  money-lendera 

To  do  them  justice,  it  l9  not  these  obliging  fiiends  of 
suffering  humanity  who  alone  or  most  complain.  Far  louder 
and  much  more  wroth  are  the  political  economists  in 


Phin  Tmtht  about  Interest.  33 

invdghing  ag^Bt  an  outrage,  as  they  conceive,  put  by 
&nticipatioii,  on  the  principles  of  then*  '  diurnal  science.' 
Even  grave  liistonans  and  eage  commentatora  on  law 
have-  fallen  in  with  the  general  prejudice,  and  taxed  the 
UBury  legislation  of  the  Church  with  retarding  prosperity 
uid  civilization  throughout  the  different  countneB  of 
Eorope. 

That  these  writers  should  fail  to  give  credit  to  the 
Ciinrch  for  enforcing  what  many  men,  as  able  as  themselves, 

{'unBts  as  well  as  canonists  and  theologians,  coasidered  to 
>B  dictated  by  Nature's  Lord,  is  not  perhaps  surprising. 
But  strange  it  is,  and  to  them  discreditable,  that  when  they 
wish  in  onnfnt*  hor  ftntHnn  in  prohibiting  iuterest  on  a  loan 
aodity  consumed  by  its  first  and 
■signed  as  unanswerable  proofs 
ice  of  any  one  of  which  in  a 
B  held  by  Catholic  writers  to 
increase.  Says  one  in  effect, 
lusti  in  case  of  hazard  interest 
ivay  of  insurance  against  risk. 
s  of  natural  equity  a  merchant 
who  interferes  with  a  profitable 
e  a  neighbour  with  a  loan  of 
lird,  is  he  who  for  a  hke  purpose 
y  he  necessary  to  enable  him  to 
ticlee  until  they  can  be  disposed 

e  undoubtedly  valid  reasons; 
I  be  lawful  where  the  Church 
rrupted  gain  (bicrum  cessaru), 
ergens),  and  risk  of  principal, 
d    always    were,    universally 

lona  fide  difBculty  to  be  met  in 
Hallam  and  Mill  ground  wbat- 
icter  they  say  of  Church  legisla- 
te well  to  examine  the  matter 
)jectiou  seems  to  be  that  the 
me  Old-Law  prohibitione,  or 
fly  Jewish  ordinance,  unwisely 


24  Plain  Truths  about  Interest 

make  fortunes  if  they  coiild  but  command  the  necessaiy 
capital  for  a  beginning.  Credit  is  the  soul  of  trade,  and 
no  interest,  they  say,  meant  meagre  credit. 

Fiu-ther  on  it  will  be  seen  how  little  effect  on  the 
world's  commerce  such  prohibition  could  have  had,  did 
it  exist  in  full  vigour  against  interest  on  productive  loans 
(mutuum  productionis),  supposing  the  absence  of  an  extrinsic 
title.  Here  other  aspects  of  the  questions  present  them- 
selves more  conveniently.  Of  consumptive  loans  (mutuum 
consumptionis)  nothing  need  be  said.  Indeed,  the  pro- 
hibition of  interest  for  them  is  commended  on  economic 
grounds.  And  as  regards  the  alleged  restraint  on 
lending  in  other  cases,  assuredly  we  may  decline  to 
accept  material  progress  as  the  sole  criterion  of  reason- 
ableness. To  promote  material  progress,  was  not  the 
object  of  the  Church's  institution,  and  in  the  unreal 
hypothesis  of  conflict  between  the  two,  she  should  unhesi- 
tatmgly  seek  the  mju'ch  of  spiritual  progress  instead.  The 
supposition  is,  however,  unfounded ;  in  this,  as  in  every 
other  department,  the  Church  has  led  the  vanguard  of  true 
prosperity  and  civilization.  Of  both,  as  their  admirers  in 
modem  times  triumphantly  assert,  the  noblest  aim  and 
object  should  be  to  raise  the  condition  of  the  lowest  class, 
to  eUminate  vice  by  removing  want.  Well,  whereas 
it  is  extremly  doubtful,  to  say  the  very  least  of  it,  whether 
improvements,  vast  as  they  have  been,  in  the  machinery 
of  production  and  methods  of  exchange,  have  at  all 
benefited  the  condition  of  the  toiling  many  who  earn 
their  bread  in  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  certain  it  is 
that  the  Usury  laws  and  charitable  banks  (montes  pietatis), 
under  papal  control,  saved  directly  or  indirectly  millions  of 
the  human  family  from  being  engulphed  in  ruin  by  over- 
reaching Jew  and  grasping  Lombard.  Fair  compensation 
this  for  damper,  if  any  were  put  on  commercial  activitr  by 
the  EncycUcal  which  Benedict  XI V.  addressed  to  the  bishops 
of  Italy  in  1745,  or  any  similar  document.  Not  to  speak 
then  of  the  spiritual  at  all,  in  the  temporal  order  mankind 
gained  much  by  papal  intervention,  and  the  loss  to  com- 
merce must  have  been  so  small  as  to  be  inappreciable.  This 
we  now  proceed  to  establish. 

Trade  is  the  exchange  of  one  commodity  for  another. 
The  primary  condition  of  prosperity  is  abundant  production, 
and  nothing  further  is  required  for  brisk  trade,  if  men  desire 
it,  except  the  presence  in  sufficient  quantity  of  a 
medium  for  exchanging  the  products  of  the  same  or  of 


Flain  Jruthi  about  laterest. 


25 


difTerent  conDtries.  This  latter  is  the  great  function  of 
money  in  commerce.  No  doubt  the  precious  metals  are 
themselves  articles  of  commerce,  and  gold,  with  ub,  serves 
besides  as  a  standard  of  value :  but  for  trade  in  general  the 
amount  of  money  required  is  precisely  Trhat  will  suffice  to 
exchange  manufactured  products  as  well  as  effect  the  pr^ 
limiuary  ezchaoges  necessary  in  production.  Accordingly, 
if  at  any  particiirar  period  we  find  there  was  enough  money 
to  be  had  for  the  whole  function  of  exchange,  plainly  during 
that  time  the  slow  progress  of  commerce  is  not  traceable 
to  legislation  against  Usury.  Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in 
every  century  from  the  twelfth  to  the  nineteeth,  the  supply 
trf  money  was  abundant,  and  even  if  it  had  been  otaer- 
wise,  some  other  cause,  and  not  the  Church,  should  be  held 
reeponfiible,  so  long  as  she  admitted  the  justice  of  extrinsic 
titles.     Both  points  in  order. 

It  is  complained  against  the  Holy  See  that,  through  its 
legiiladon,  men  of  butdness  who  wanted  loans  and  were 
willing  to  pay  for  them,  could  not  find  ready  lenders.  But 
the  facts  are  far  different  There  was  more  money  on  the 
worlds  market  than  productive  industries  cared  to  employ 
at  a  price  Englanct  has  long  been  in  the  fore  front  of 
„.„  -jjg  y^^  hoarding  was   a  common 

?Ja  hundred  years  ago.     So  rare 
6  "5ts  for  money  saved,  in  the  early 
^  hat  it  was  a  matter  of  ordinary 
isiness,  on  retiring  firom  trade,  to 
""ong  box  before  quitting  town  for 
B  told  of  Pope's  father,  as  a  typical 
II  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and 
"  had  been,  it  was  only  opened  to 
of  his  household.     This  occurred 
seventeeth  century.     What  his 
J  point.     The  custom  which  he 
ind  where  papal  laws  did  not 
n   from  lending,  and  in  which 
kted  fully  as  much  demand  for 
'as  anywhere   else    in    Europe, 
borrowers  could  not  find  ready 
pould  not  find  borrowers  of  fair 

it,  trading  nation,  much  capital 


26  Plain  Truths  abovU  Interest 

profitable  investments  were  still  rarer.  But  the  latter  fact 
should  no  i^ov^  be  attributed  to  papal  prohibitions  of  Usury 
than  the  former.  Let  some  economist,  making  allowance 
for  other  recognised  deterrents,  show  that  alarger  proportion 
of  capital  remained  idle  in  Catholic  than  in  non-Catholic 
towns  and  countries.  No  one  has  done  so,  for  the  good 
reason  that  no  one  can.  Something  different,  therefore, 
from  Usury  legislation  must  be  sought,  to  explain  why  all 
over  Europe,  much  of  the  yellow  metal,  not  employed  in 
purchasing  land,  was  consigned  to  the  darksome  recesses  of 
mouldering  wainscots  or  back  again  to  the  earth  from 
which  it  had  been  digged. 

Instability  of  government  and  danger  in  transit  retarded 
the  commercial  progress  of  many  nations.  Want  of  dis- 
positions or  opportunities  kept  others  back.  But  no  country, 
which  got  a  fair  start,  seems  to  have  faUed  from  mere  want 
of  money.  Irish  industry  a  hundred  years  ago  sprang  into 
vigorous  Ufe  on  smaU  begmnings,  and  when  it  went  down, 
want  of  capital  was  not  the  cause,  but  want  of  fair  play. 
Even  in  new  countries,  provided  their  products  are 
numerous  and  in  demand,  money  becomes  plentiful  in  a 
wonderfully  short  period.  In  reaJity,  it  is  a  serious  error  to 
mistake  gold  and  mlver  for  prosperity,  or  suppose  that  their 
presence  in  large  quantities  impHes  the  existence  of  what 
is  required  to  inspire  commercial  enterprise.  The  precious 
treasures  of  Mexicoand  Peru  did  not  make  of  the  Spaniards 
a  nation  of  merchants  or  bankers.  Money  is  required  to 
effect  exchanges,  whether  in  production  or  afterwards ;  but 
it  IS  not  what  inspires  production,  and  when  the  proper 
incentive  is  present,  the  money  necessary  as  an  aid  soon 
appears. 

The  real  motive  power  of  commercial  enterprise  will 
, explain  how  the  Church,  admitting  extrinsic  titles,  could  not 
have  stood  in  the  way  oi  those  loans  which  traders  required. 
Remotely,  production  of  any  commodity  is  stimulated  by 
production  of  other  things  useful ;  proximately,  by  demand 
for  specific  products.  The  effect  of  demand  deserves 
attention.  As  soon  as  it  exists,  there  is  an  inducement,  for 
those  who  have  means,  to  engage  in  trade.  Before,  the  pos- 
session of  wealth  did  not  enable  a  man  to  grow  richer ;  now, 
by  entering  business  an  independence  can  be  realized  out 
of  a  small  capital.  This  is  the  point  at  which  it  would  bo 
important  for  a  person,  with  an  inclination  for  trade,  to 
negotiate  a  loan  on  reasonable  terms.  The  Usury  laws 
were  no  obstacle.    When  to  produce  is  profitable,  a  large 


Plain.  Thitht  about  Interest.  27 

nnmber  out  of  the  monied  clasB  will  conaider  it  ekeer 
Ion  to  part  with  the  meaos  of  personal  trial.  Some 
wiU  refuse  to  do  so ;  others  will  abandoD  their  chance  and 
lend  money  for  fair  compensation.  We  speak  of  times 
antecedent  to  the  present  century,  and  plainly  from  the 
second  class  jost  mentioned,  those  who  wished  to  borrow  for 
prodnction  might  procure  whatever  capital  was  necessary, 
and  could  not  be  obtained  gratuitously.  Thus  then  follows 
an  important  conclusion.  As  soon  as  we  can  conceive  trade 
as  requiring  loans  for  its  development,  those  who  needed 
tiie  use  of  other  men's  money  practically  could  have  it, 
because  the  inducement  to  produce  and  borrow  for  that 
purpose  created  also  the  title  of  accruing  lost  (damnum 
emergen*),  which  the  Church  fully  recognised  and  on  which 
the  necessary  advances  could  be  made  at  interest. 

it  is  then  both  illogical  and  unfair  to   attribute  the 

stagnant  funds,  locked-up  capita),  and  wholesale  hoarding 

of   every   century    up    to    the  present,  to    ecclesiastical 

legislation  against  Usury.     Hoarding  went  on  where  the 

prohibitions  were  disregarded ;  hoarding  ceased  when  and 

where  production  \'itahzed  money  by  multiplyingexchanges. 

Had  extrinsic  titles  been  disallowed  the  allegation  might 

be  sustained.      But  so  far  from  this,  as  soon  as  borro'wmg 

commerce,  facilities  at  once 

be  just  ground  of  '  damnum 

were  the  demands  of  trade 

uppear  that  the  prohibition 

productive  loans  without  an 

ed  progress.     Does  not  such 

lOt  estimate  the  giving  of  a 

jage  themselves  m  produc- 

gain  is  prohibited?    Does 

sionally  to  obtain    capital 

1  in   Church  legislation   as 

yseem  calculated  to  awaken 

iwed  abundant  facilities  for 

1  in  question  could  not  have 

I  a  whole.     But  as  affecting 

worth  noticing  that  many 

_         _  _  .  .  y  altogether  the  exteiTion 


28  Plain  Truths  about  Interest. 

Dioeesana,"  seem,  no  doubt,  to  brand  interest  on  advances 
for  commercial  purposes  as  unlawful  Usury,  forbidden  by 
the  natural  law.  Still  there  always  was  much  controversy 
about  what  exactly  the  Pope  meant  to  condemn,  and  in  his 
own  day,  immediately  after  the  Encyclical,  as  ever  since, 
the  opposite  opinion  was  held  and  taught  with  perfect 
freedom.  Even  Carriere,  who  has  all  the  zeal  of  the 
Sulpicians  against  Usury  in  every  shape,  holding  himself 
that  interest  on  commercial  loans  was  prohibited,  admits 
the  tenableness  of  the  other  opinion,  on  the  ground  that  its 
•condemnation  cannot  be  conclusively  established.  Assu- 
redly, severe  critics  might  do  the  justice  of  fully  acknow- 
ledging this  diversity  of  opinion,  as  well  as  the  service 
which,  according  to  their  own  theory,  miust  have  resulted 
to  trade  from  the  prohibition  of  interest  on  the  much 
more  numerous  loans  that  were  purely  consumptive 
and  tended  to  destroy  capital  altogether.  To  examine 
the  reasons  on  either  side  of  the  controversy  alluded  to  is 
not  within  the  scope  of  this  paper.^  Independently  of  its 
issue,  the  ages  which,  under  the  Church's  fostering  care, 
saw  painting,  sculpture,  and  architecture  cultivated  as  they 
never  rince  have  been,  during  which  printing  was  invented, 
America  discovered,  and  Uterature  revived,  if  they  failed  at 
all  in  commercial  activity,  lacked  its  spirit  not  because  of 
ecclesiastical  restraint,  but  rather  from  the  absence  in  the 
world  of  trade  of  certain  economic  conditiona  essential  to 
material  progress.  Besides,  the  practical  question  now  to 
be  discussed  must  be  decided  on  widely  different  consid- 
erations. 

If,  as  has  been  shown,  the  Church  never  discouraged 
that  credit  which  serves  commerce,  we  are  naturally  led  in 
the  next  place  to  examine  what  precisely  it  is  which  she 
continues  to  prohibit  down  to  our  own  time.  Obviously, 
in  general  terms,  it  is  nothing  else  than  unjust  interest,  one 
of  the  greatest  enemies  of  progress.  But,  to  come  to 
particulars,  what  does  the  prohibition  of  Usury  now  a  days 
miply? 

Viewed  under  one  aspect  the  literature  of  the  question 
is  immense.  As  anyone  looking  into  Carriere's  foot-notes 
may  easily  conclude,  the  books  written  to  investigate  the 
fiource  or  sources  of  prohibition  would  of  themselves  fill  a 

^  For  an  able  treatment  of  this  subject,  see  two  articles  in  the  Dublin 
Review — ^Vol.  m.,  1873;  VoL  xxii.,  1874— where  the  writer  argues 
strongly  that  Papal  prohibition  did  not  affect  productive  loans. 


Flain  Instha  about  Interest  39 

goodly-sized  Kbrary.  Increase,  however  small,  to  money 
lent,  V19LB  the  matter  under  consideration,  and  according 
to  the  most  prevalent  opinion  it  was  forbidden  by  the  law 
of  Nature,  of  Christ,  and  of  His  Church.  Some,  however, 
questioned  the  existence  of  a  natural  prohibition,  and  others 
held  the  restraint  to  be  purely  ecclesiastical.  Again,  there 
were  several  smaller  divergencies,  with  a  distinction  drawn 
pretty  often  in  favour  of  productive  loana  High  rates 
were  condemned  by  all,  extrinsic  titles  admitted  by  all, 
whilst  serious  differences  of  opinion  arose  as  to  what  the 
latter  were  in  detail.  But  these  controversies,  once 
interesting  and  practical,  can  scarcely  claim  to  be  so  any 
longer.  What  a  fair  rate  of  interest  really  is  concerns 
Catholics  much  more  intensely  at  present.  There  is  no 
law  against  charging  it,  and  to  exact  more  is  against  the 
law  of  God  and  man. 

It  is  idle  for  the  moneyed  classes  to  talk  of  the  Church 
as  interfering  with  their  fair  profit,  as  harsh  and  unjust  to 
them  in  her  over-indulgence  to  the  poor.  For  the 
toiling,  helpless,  humbler  classes,  who  form  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  her  flock,  she  has  always  manifested  the  deepest 
concern ;  but  just  as  her  efforts  in  the  past  to  shield  them 
from  oppression  in  no  way  clashed  with  legitimate  trade, 
so  the  mterest  now  a  days  permitted  on  all  loans  is  not  a 
farthing  less  than  reason  dictates  to  be  alone  lawful  She 
might,  indeed,  if  the  public  good  could  benefit  thereby, 
prohibit  the  taking  of  tnis  sum  in  full.  But  in  this  century 
at  least,  her  restraint  is  co-extensive  with  that  of  the  natu- 
ral obligation.  By  the  latest  decisions  those  who  charge 
a  moderate  rate  are  not  to  be  disturbed.  Such  in  effect 
seems  to  be  their  meaning.  Assuredly,  money  lenders  need 
not  grumble  if  allowed  to  exact  what  is  the  current  rate 
for  a  loan  in  open  market.  The  standard  is  obviously 
most  fair  to  them,  and  on  a  future  occasion  we  hope  to 
claim  for  it  ecclesiastical  sanction. 

Patrick  G'Donnell. 


[    30    ] 


RECENT  BOOKS  ON  IRISH  GRAMMAR. 

IN  the  I.  E.  Record  for  November,  I  find  a  reply  to  a  short 
notice  of  mine  in  July  last  hurriedly  written,  owing 
to  circumstances,  and  so  late  that  the  Editor  had,  with 
characteristic  kindness,  to  put  it  personally  into  the  printer's 
hands  in  order  to  its  timely  appearance.  The  reply  to  this 
by  Rev,  Dr.  M*Carthy  concludes  characteristically  thus : — 
"  We  subjoin  a  Ust,  which  is  not  exhaustive,  of  F.  Malone's 
errata,  compiled  from  three  pages  of  his  paper."  I  did  not 
write  a  fourth  page.  Such  as  they  are,  divided  over  seven 
words  and  one  letter,  and  arising  from  misconception  and 
a  httle  unintentional,  of  course,  misrepresentation,  they  do 
not  bear  on  the  main  question.  I  do  not  complain  that  the 
alleged  errors  are  compiled,  bracketed,  measured  and 
numbered,  but  that  the  reader  has  no  means  of  weighing 
them,  as  there  had  not  been  the  slightest  allusion  to  any 

Previously  except  one,*  to  indicate  their  connection  or 
earing.  I  wisn  the  reader  wotdd  carry  away  correct 
notions  on  the  matter  at  issue — whether  our  forefathers 
were  a  race  of  self-prostrators.  Not  to  speak  of  the  ten 
attributed  errors,  one  may  be  fatal  to  a  theory;  and  I 
believe  that  a  double  error  has  been  committed  by 
confounding  Sundays  with  churches,  and  not  making 
"  slechtam "  identical  with  *^Jillem  gluni"  I  shall  be 
thankful  for  the  correction  of  errors,  whether  arising  on 
the  main  question  or  collateral  issues,  but  I  protest,  in  the 
interests  of  truth,  against  a  bare  mention  of  errors  as 
mystifying. 

2.  I  cannot  admit   Dr.  McCarthy's  translation  of  the 
Irish  quatrain : 

"  When  we  reach  the  church 

We  prostrate  ourselves  (we  kneel,  ilechtham)  fully 

thrice: 
We  bend  them  not — the  knees  aloney  (we  kneel  not, 

fillem  gluniy  only) 
In  churches  (on  Sundays)  of  the  living  God.'' 

^  FiUim,  Dr.  McCarthy  says  that  this  ia  an  actiye  verb,  sometimes 
used  colloquially  in  an  intransitiye  sense  to  tum^  though  not  by  itself 
without  three  other  words.  But  it  is  found  in  the  best  MSS.,  used  in 
a  reflectiye  sense  per  se.  Thtis  the  L.B,  uses  it  in  that  sense  in  four 
different  places  (p.  160, 1.  9, 10, 15,16)  Ro  JhUlset  na  mercedu.  *»  The 
branches  in  the  handft  of  the  soldiers  before  the  court  of  Pilate  Ixnoed 
to  Christ.'*  ThatJUUmhBa  a  passiye  form  too  is  seen  by  the  phrase  glun 
fUte,  See  par.  24  of  this  paper.  Usmg/Uem  for  brevity  sake  I  intended 
It  should  be  taken  in  connection  with  glunt. 


Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar.  31 

Dr.  McCarthy  contends  that  the  Italicized  line  is  a  causal 
sentence,  and  that  since  is  understood  before  it.  Besides 
this  ellipsis,  it  is  elliptical  in  another  way,  in  that  it  does 
not  tell  us  what  else  besides  the  knee  is  bent.  Moreover, 
there  is  no  reason  given  in^the  latter  lines  that  is  not  given 
in  the  former.  In  other  words,  we  are  told  that  persons 
were  to  prostrate  themselves  at  the  Church  because  they 
did  prostrate  themselves  in  Churches  of  the  living  God. 

Kneeling  or  bending  the  knee  is  quite  plain,  but  making 
we  bend  them  not  the  knees  alone  an  equivalent  for  prostra- 
tion is  very  unnatural  if  intelligible  EngUsh :  and  I  must 
honestly  declare  that  in  my  limited  experience  I  never 
met  the  expression,  as  it  stands,  in  the  Irish,  as  synonomous 
with  prostration  :  and  even  if  I  had  met  with  it  in  other 
places  I  would  not  admit  it  in  the  present  connection. 
Moreover,  in  a  few  stanzas  under  the  one  under  discussion, 
persons  are  told  to  genuflect  three  times  (slechtham)  before 
and  after  each  celebration.  Would  not  this  be  immeaning 
if  the  word  meant  prostration  ? 

St.  Ailbe,  who  was  bom  before  St.  Patrick  came  to 
Ireland,  drew  up  a  religious  rule  of  life,  whose  authenticity 
O'Curry  sqes  no  reason  to  question.  It  has  been  published 
as  well  from  two  Latin  copies,  a  Brussel's  and  Colgan's 
Boman  one,  as  from  Irish  copies  in  the  R.I.  A.  and  in  T.C.D. 
Well,  the  17th  strophe  enjoins  "  a  hundred  genuflections  at 
the  Beatusj  a  hundred  genuflections  every  evening.*'  (See 
LE.R.,  Jan.,  1872).  So,  too,  strophe  35  directs :  " advance 
to  None  with  a  chorus  of  psalms  with  S.g}n\l-genu/lexions, 
as  enjoined."    Again,  the  18th  strophe  has  :  "  a  hundred 

Snunexions  every  Matins  are  required  in  a  devout 
urch."  Yet  Dr.  McCarthy  says  they  bent  them  not  the 
knees  alone! 

When  at  prayer  in  a  Church,  St.  Moling,  who  is  re- 
presented as  a  Ctildee,  was  addressed  by  the  devil  (vid. 
Whitley  Stokes'  very  learned  Calendar  of  Oengus).  He 
craved  the  saint*s  blessing ;  but  not  having  given  satisfac- 
tory answers  to  the  questions  put  him  as  to  his  willingness 
to  serve  God  or  to  fast,  he  was  finally  asked,  could  he 
kneel  (slechtaim)  f  The  devil  replied  "  he  was  unable  to 
bend  forwards,  as  his  knees  were  backwards,"  Star  atait 
mo  gluine.  Here  we  see  that  slechtaim  instead  of  being 
opposed  to,  is  identical  with  bending  the  knees  alone*  Yet 
Dr.  McCarthy  says  there  was  no  genuflection ! 

3.  Though  Kneeling  be  the  usual  meaning  of  sUchtham, 
yet  it  can  mean  bowing  or  adoration,  and  is  found  in 


32  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

connection  with  a  standing,  kneeling,  or  prostrate  attitude. 
Thus  a  writer  in  the  L,B.^  tells  us  that  the  Hebrew  youths 
paid  honor,  worship,  and  bowing  in  [adoration  (slechtain) 
to  our  Saviour  entering  Jerusalem.  None  of  the  Evangelists, 
though  alluding  to  the  occasion,  makes  mention  of  kneeling ; 
and  considering  the  crowds  that  followed  and  preceded 
them  it  was  not  very  easy  to  do  so,  and  therefore  we  have 
no  warrant  in  giving  any  meaning  to  slechtain  used  by  the 
Irish  writer  than  bowing  and  adoring. 

4.  Thus  too  St.  Martin  is  represented  as  kneeling  and 
adoring  (slechtain).  A  poor  woman  whose  son  was  after 
dying  begs  of  the  saint  to  raise  him  to  Ufe.  *  St.  Martin 
knelt,  adored  (slechtain)  and  did  the  crossfigell.'  Slechtain 
could  not  be  prostration  as  beiQg  inconsistent  with  the 
crossfigell. 

5.  So,  again,  the  word  slechtain  for  adoration  is  foimd  in 
connection  with  prostration.  The  wise  kings  are  repre- 
sented as  coming  with  their  gifts  into  the  stable  of  Beth- 
lehem and  honoring  our  Saviour  by  prostrations  and 
adoration — -prostrait  a^gus  oc  slechtain^ 

AgaiQ,  a  writer  on  the  life  of  Pope  Marcellinus  repre- 
sents him  as  charged  with  "  adoring  *'  idols  and  ^bowing  to 
them  (slechtaim).     (L.B.,  p.  8,  a.  39.)     Now,  this  word  un- 

auestionably  means  not  prostration  nor  kneeling  here ;  for 
le  martyr  is  represented  as  admitting  the  charge,  and  as 
having  gone  to  confess  the  name  of  Christ  before  the 
Emperor  Diocletian,  and  acknowledged  in  sorrow  that  he, 
from  weakness,  and  not  conviction,  adored  the  demon,  and 
stooped  to  it.  {Ibid.  p.  55.)  While  the  W9rd  for  "  adore  '*  is 
the  same  here  as  above,  the  equivalent  for  slechtaim  is 
crommsa^ "  I  stooped." 

Dr.  McCarthy,  while  admitting  '  that  definitions  sustain 
F.  Malone's  contention,'  endeavours  to  weaken  the  force  of 
passages  quoted  in  support  of  the  definitions.  One  of  the 
passages  describes  St.  James's  knees  as  like  those  of  a 
came^  from  constant  kneeling  in  the  temple,  so  that  he 
was  known  by  the  name  of  James  the  Kneed.  How  does 
Dr.  McCarthy  meet  this?  By  saying  that  he  met  with 
instances  of  imury  to  the  forehead,  nose,  and  elbows,  from 
prostration.  But  this  only  proves  that  when  such  effects 
are   not   spoken  of  here  that  there  was  no  prostration. 

1  P.  160,  a.  »  L.  B.  p:  138  a. 

'  EnsebiuB,  Ktifttvos  IWi  rois  yovairi.  In  referring  to  this  in  a  former 
paper,  the  reference  to  L.  5,  cap.  5,  was  by  mistake  given,  should  any  caie 
to  learn,  for  L.  2,  ch.  28,  however,  either  reference  establishes  the  point 
aimed  at — the  custom  of  kneeling  with  the  primitive  Christians. 


Beeent  Booh  on  Trith  Grammar.  33 

There  is  mention  of  no  effect  but  on  the  knees ;  so  mtich 
10  that  Iiieh  writers  instead  of  calling  him  the  man  of  the 
noee,  or  forehead,  or  elbows,  calls  him  the  kneed,  because 
he  knelt  (elecht)  400  times  in  every  24  honra 

7.  There  was  another  passage  quoted  hj  me  and  so 
convincing  that  the  meaning  <ntlecKtkain  is  rendered  by 

Snua  fieeUndo.  Nothing  could  be  clearer.  But  Dr. 
'Cbrthy  meetfl  this  by  stating  that  he 'took  (/mua/fo*- 
tmhtr  to  mean  prostration.'  If  his  translation  be  right, 
1  have  to  change  the  idea  that  was  always  left  on  my  mind 
by  the  Rubric  of  the  Mass— /fcfomiM  gemui. 

8.  But  Dr.  M'Carthy  appeals  to  Scripture.  He  eaya 
that '  But  yvva.TA  and  aenuflectere  could  mean  not  only  genu- 
flection but  prostration.'  For  this  he  refers  to  St.  Luke's 
narrative  of  the  Passion.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  classical 
writer,  before  nor  since  St  Luke,  used  the  words  per  se  for 
prostration,  nor  does  St  Luke  say  that  they  have  such  a 
meaning.  Did  not  Dr.  M'Carthy  hear  of  minor  discrepan- 
cies of  a  real  or  apparent  character  between  the  Evangel- 
igtsT  and  if  he  looked  into  one  of  our  ordinary  Catholic 
commentaries  he  would  find  that  they  admit,  that  while 
the  other  Evangelists  state  or  imply  tnat  our  Saviour  fell 
nmetrntd  Sf  T.iiVo  imvH  i\mi  he  Only  knelt'     Therefore 

lid  establish  by  no  means  his 
len,  taking  for  granted  that 
oceeds  to  say :    "  very  fortu- 

required  expression  in  the 
>ook,  and  find  St.  Matthew's 
en  by  the  Irish  writer,  who 
^one  a  little  aside  from  the 
!  on  the  ground.'    In  the  next 

ill  on  ttie  narrative  by  St. 
but  St.  Luke  says,  that  our 
ine's  throw  &om  the  Apostles, 
irayer." 

Mention,  for  its  own  sake  and 
Titer,  in  giving  St.  Matthew's 
'or  lor  (KfiM  do  gne  ernaigkti^ 
d  and  did  prayer  ;    in  giving 

tlechtana  agu*  emaighti — He 


S4:  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

therefore  the  Irish  writer  never  suspected  that  the  word  for 
kneeUng  (slechtam)  could  be  taken  to  signify  prostration ; 
otherwise  it  was  not  a  different  version  we  wonld  have,  as 
he  intended,  but  a  repetition.  And  yet  Dr.  McCarthy  had 
the  temerity  to  appeal  to  this  passage. 

9.  The  Greet  and  Latin  and  Irish  being  against  him, 
perhaps  the  English  may  favour  him.  I  willingly  turn  to 
the  Douay  Bible,  authorized  by  the  Archbishops  and 
Bishops  of  Ireland.  In  opening  it  I  find  the  passage 
referred  to — "  and,  kneeling  down.  He  prayed.'*  For  my 
part  I  prefer  following  the  opinion  of  their  lordships, 
on  the  meaning  of  a  Greek  or  Latin  passage,  with  due 
respect  for  Dr.  McCarthy,  to  his  opinion. 

10.  Dr.  McCarthy  appeals  from  writings  to  the  Acts  of 
Saints,  and  says  that  St.  Columba  came  down  at  sound  of 
bell,  and  rested  on  his  knees  in  prayer,  and  adds  that  -the 
equivalent  is  given  by  an  Irish  writer  once  again  in  L.B.- — 
do  roigne  slechtain  ocus  emaightu  In  reply,  see  my  answer 
in  last  number  on  the  phrase  on  St.  Liike. 

11.  He  then  introduces  St.  Columbanus : — "Accordingly 
we  find,  corporis  flexibilitate^  in  the  second  instruction  of 
St  Columbanus.''  Not  a  word  besides  is  given  by  Dr. 
McCarthy.  But  perhaps  this  refers  to  dancing.  If  he  under- 
stood the  phrase,  I  think  he  would  not  allude  to  it.  The 
passage  in  which  it  occxurs  I  thus  literally  translate:  — 
"  Whoever,  then,  wishes  to  be  made  the  habitation  of  God, 
let  him  strive  to  make  himself  humble  and  quiet,  so  that  he 
may  be  known  to  be  a  worshipper  of  God,  not  from 
avidity  after  words  dkudi  flexibility  of  the  hody^  but  in  the  truth 
of  humility ;  for  goodness  of  heart  {cordis  bonitas)  does  not 
require  the  false  religions  of  words.''  The  Saint  wished  to 
guard  against  the  extravagances  in  words  and  gestures 
denounced  previously  by  the  Fathers,  and  in  almost  hiis 
words.^  Tertullian  denounced  the  loud  voice  used  in 
praying,  and  the  tossing  of  the  hands  wildly,  with  other 
faults,  which,  he  says,  were  common  to  pagans,  but  recom- 
mended the  use  of  a  low  voice  and  the  arms  moderately 
raised,  "  for  God  is  a  hearer  not  of  the  voice  but  of  the 
heart."     To   this  St.  Columbanus  alludes,  to  whom  the 

^  Hier.  in  Ep,  ad  Ephesios,  **  Deo  non  voce  sed  corde  cantaDdom, 
nee  in  tragsedoi^m  moaum,  &e." 

s  Tertul.  de  Oratione,  eh.  12.  Yacufe  observationes  .  .  .  non  relig- 
ioni  sed  superstitioni  deputantur:  Humiliter  adorantes  magis  com- 
mendabimus  Deo  preoes  nostraa  ne  attoUamtis  manus  sublimhiB  elataa. 
•  .  .  Yel  pTopterea  in  nobis  reprehendi  mereatur  quod  apad  Idola 
celebzatnr.*'    Gh.  xiii. 


Recent  Booii  on  IrUh  Grcanmar.  35 

writing  of  the  primitive  Fathers  were  familiar ;  and  even 
though  we  were  absurdly  to  suppose  that  the  phrase 
eoTporit  JUxibilitate  meant  prostration,  etill  St.  ColumDanus 
discountenanced  it.  And  if  Dr.  M'Carthy  had  looked  into 
the  course  or  arrangement  of  Offices  by  the  Saint,  he  would 
have  eeen  that  genuflexion  was  enjoined  after  each  psalm, 
and  thia  in  obedience  to  what  he  had  learned,  as  he  saya, 
from  his  fathers  in  Ireland,     Further  comment  ia  useless. 

Ab  to  the  objections  raised  in  connection  with  particular 
instaacea,  mich  aa  those  of  SS.  Columbamis  and  Columba, 
it  may  be  replied,  on  principle,  that  the  Irish  quatrain 
neceesarily  deala  only  with  the  genuflection  on  entering  a 
Chnrch,  though  other  evidence  would  affect  kneeluig 
during  the  pubhc  religious  services  or  Liturgy. 

Aa  to  St.  Columba  coming  down  and  kneeling  after 
midnight,  Sunday,  there  may  be  a  special  answer,  that  he 
threw  himself  on  his  knees  in  his  dying  agony  to  support 
his  sinking  frame. 

Then  as  to  the  instance  of  pTnyiag  prostrate  on  Sunday, 
on  hearing  of  St,  Columbauus  death,  Dr.  M'Carthy  is  not 
accurate  in  his  reference.  He  refers  me  to  page  375  of 
Greit's  German  worti,  Geschichte  der  altirlschen  Kirclie,  for 
the  saint's  death  on  Sunday,  I  have  looked  into  it,  and 
find  not  the  shghtcst  allusion  to  his  death  at  aU  ;  nor  in 
any  subsequent  page  have  I  seen  anything  at  variance 
with  the  Irish  aud  Catholic  rule  of  praying  in  a  standing 

anua, 

arher 

and 

lis  to 
antur 
a  are 
aityt 
ireht 
room 
rmed 
utrea, 
dthe 
retro 


36  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

versus  retro  presbtter  adpopulum  compleat  has  orationes  "  super 
eosjacentes.  *  Then,  at  the  Agnus  Dei,  even  the  spouses  nse. 
You  may  suspect  why  Dr.  McCarthy  gave  only  the  few 
unconnected  words  of  the  Rubric.  And  this  is  the  testimony 
of  a  writing  that  he  has  summoned  to  his  aid  I 

In  looking  the  Missal  through,  I  find  that,  before 
adoring  the  Cross  on  Good  Friday,  the  celebrating  priest 
was  directed  by  the  rubric  to  address  a  short  homily  to  the 
people,  and  to  finish  by  telling  them  to  prostrate  themselves 
before  God.  Now,  how  could  they  be  told  to  prostrate  if 
they  had  been  prostrate  previously  ?  Besides,  while  all  are 
adoring  the  Cross,  the  celebrant  was  to  remain  sitting  like 
a  good  Roman  or  Irish  bishop.  Furthermore,  there  is  a 
Rubric  for  Good  Friday,  which,  while  directing  most  of  the 
prayers  to  be  said  with  a  flectamus  genua,  as  at  present, 
enjoins  some  to  be  said  sine  genuflexione.  Now  if  flectamus 
genua  means  prostration,  accordmg  to  Dr.  McCarthy,  the 
prayers  said  with  a  non  Jlectamits  gefiua  must  mean  the  con- 
tradictory. Therefore,  imless  a  thing  can  be  and  not  be 
at  the  same  time,  in  the  same  circumstances,  Dr.  McCarthy 
is  wrong. 

13.  Fmally,  there  is  an  appeal  to  the  famous  Stowe 
Missal,  It  is  relied  on  as  *  a  positive  and  decisive  proof.' 
It  is  an  Irish  Rubric  of  the  Mass  supplied  by  a  learned 
AngUcan  clergyman  from  his  fac-similes :  "  When  Jesus 
received  bread  is  chanted,  the  priest  bows  thrice  in  repentance 
of  his  sins,  offers  them  to  God  (consecrates)  and  the  people 
adore  "  slechthith.  On  this  Dr.  McCarthy  strives  to  form  an 
argument.  I  give  his  own  words.  "The  force  of  this 
proof  can  be.  evaded  only  by  one  of  two  methods — either 
by  maintaining  that  slechthith  means  genuflection,  or  that 
Mass  was  not  celebrated  on  Sunday  in  our  ancient  church." 
The  first  contention  has  been  disposed  of  already,  the  second 
is  a  reductio  ad  absurdum. 

If  *  the  force  of  the  dilemma  can  be  evaded  by  either  one 
or  two  ways  *  it  is  a  lame  dilemma.  Even  though  it  be 
conceded  that  the  Rubric  applied  to  the  Sunday  Mass  as  well 
as  week-day  Mass  there  are  many  knswers : — Firstly,  that  the 
prohibition  against  kneeling  was  confined  to  the  limitation 
m  the  matter  of  the  Irish  quatrain ;  that  is,  to  the  entrance 
into  the  church  and  other  customary  prayers ;  just  as  at 
present  we  repeat  the  Angelus  in  a  standing  posture  in 
commemoration  of  a  past  mystery,  though  a  direction  to 
that  effect  is  overridden  by  the  Rubric  which  enjoins  kneel- 
ing at  the  real  though  mystical  mystery  of  the  Mass  while 


7he  Sevolation.  37 

KctnaUy  perfonned.  Secondly,  it  could  be  said,  that  thou^^h 
tUehthitk  meact  kneeling  at  the  Elevation,  still  to  all  intenta 
it  wooid  be  true  substantially  to  assert  that  there  waa  no 
kneeling  on  Sunday.  Thirdly,  it  can  be  replied,  without 
asking  a  grain  of  allowance,  that  we  need  not  answer  at  all, 
as  the  disjunctive  is  illogically  foolish,  admitting  of  a 
medium.  For  I  proved  (see  No.  3),  that  slechtkam  could, 
and  does  mean  adoration  and  bowing,  aa  it  does  in  the  Hubric 
referred  to :  and  thus  then  the  head  waa  bowed  in  adora- 
tion of  the  Host  without  kneeling  or  prostration.  ITie  very 
priest  at  the  altar,  through  whose  instrumentality  the  dread 
mysteries  were  effected,  only  bowed.  He  waa  the  model — 
forma  gregv.  The  priest  and  people  were  in  accord.  The 
Rubric  directed  that  to  be  done  which  waa  done  in  other 
chnrchee  and  other  times  in  Ireland.  Thus  in  a  Maas  which 
O'Curry  maintained  to  be  St.  Patrick's,  but  which  has  been 
proved  by  me  to  be  several  centuries  later,  the  priest 
IB  represented  as  bowing  three  times  at  the  consecration. 
(Vid.  L.  B,,  p.  251,  a).  In  bowing  then  in  adoration  at  the 
coneecration  the  priest  waa  in  accord  with  the  discipline  of 
the  Irish  Church,  which  enjoined  abstinence  from  kiieeling 
on  Sunday.' 

Sylvester  Malone. 
[We  regret  that  we  must  reserve  the  remainder  of  this 
paper  for  the  next  number  of  the  RECORD. — Ed.] 


TION. 

theories  of  that  phase  of 
es  its  immediate  origin 
'  1789,  is  a  matter  which 
E^e  at  the  present  day. 
ilization,  the  lighta  and 
frequently  the  aubject 
orator,  that  any  attempt 
in  many  quarters,  acorn 
evils  of  the  times,  of  the 


38  The  Revolution. 

age  which  began  in  1789,  we  are  reproached  as  bein^ 
enemies  of  modem  society — ^men  who  fear  the  light,  ana 
regret  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  seems  to  us,  nevertheless,  that  we  best  show  onr 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-creatures,  when  we 
boldly  speak  the  truth,  be  the  consequences  what  they  may. 

In  dealing  with  our  present  subject,  it  is  by  no  means 
our  intention  to  deny  or  under-rate  any  real  progress  which 
modem  society  has  made,  or  to  dimmish,  in  any  respect, 
its  claims  to  tnat  glory  of  which  it  may  be  justly  proud. 

We  are  willing  to  admit,  for  instance,  that  tne  means 
of  acquiring  knowledge  were  never  so  great  as  at  the 
present  time.  Never,  at  any  previous  period  of  man's 
history,  was  his  sway  over  the  material  world  so  great  or 
80  extensive.  Never  were  his  movements  so  rapid,  never' 
were  earth's  treasures  so  developed,  or  so  largely  utilized, 
for  man's  enjoyment.  The  astronomer's  vision  has  acquired 
a  lonffer  range ;  the  geologist  has  penetrated  more  deeply 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth ;  and,  we  may  add,  that  at  no 
period  in  the  past  history  of  the  human  race,  were  the 
aspirations  towards  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  more 
ardent  or  more  universal  than  at  the  present  time. 

Having  freely  admitted  so  much,  we  may  be  permitted 
to  ask,  wais  European  society,  at  any  former  period  of  its 
history,  so  profoundly  agitated,  or  so  subject  to  those 
periodical  convulsions  which  threaten  the  existence  of  all 
order  and  of  all  civilization? 

During  the  last  ninety  years,  forty-three  thrones  have 
crumbled,  twenty-four  reigning  dynasties  have  gone  into 
exile.tweniy-nine  constitutionshave  been  sworn, acclaimed, 
and  torn  to  shreda  In  France  alone,  within  eighty  years, 
<^e  form  of  government  has  been  changed,  with  more  or 
less  violence,  eighteen  or  nineteen  times,  and  nothing 
indicates  that  the  cycle  of  its  revolutions  is  as  yet  closed. 

There  is  hardly  a  government  in  Europe  that  does  not 
totter,  while  the  goveminjg  and  the  governed  are  alike 
living  by  expedients  from  day  to  day.  The  vessel  of 
society  seems  advancing  without  a  helm  amongst  shoals 
alnd  quicksands,  and  no  Ught  is  recognised  on  the  horizon' 
tb  pomt  the  way  of  safety. 

Audit  is  not  alone  the  {Political  pov^er  which  guides^ 
and  protects  society  that  is  iiireatened,  but  the  ramily 
relations,  the  rights  of  property,  and  all  the  most  essential 
elements  of  civmzed  life,  are  in  imminent  danger  of  beinp 


The  JRewlittion.  89 

ewallowed  up  in  the  abTBa.  Men's  minds  are  troubled  at 
the  prospect  of  an  unknown  future ;  and  society,  surrounded 
by  tozmy  and  splendour,  reprodaces  in  onr  day  the  picture 
of  Balthaasar  revelling  in  his  eacrflegions  cnpe,  and 
stnick  with  terror  at  the  mysterioue  handwritiug  upon 
tie  waiL 

The  masses  on  the  Continent  of  £urope  are  discontented 
snd  impatient  of  control,  and  cherish  a  hatred  of  all  pre* 
eminence.  The  authority  of  the  father,  and  the  authority 
of  the  state,  are  equally  disregarded.  All  rights  are  called 
in  question  by  the  pre«8,  aud  from  the  tribune.  A  wither- 
ing scepticism  haa  rendered  the  minds  of  men  incapable  of 
strong  convictions ;  and,  as  the  basis  of  future  legislation, 
new  principles  of  justice  are  announced,  which  consist 
only  in  the  denial  of  all  recognised  ideas  of  rights 

Materialism  is  the  fashionable  creed  amongst  a  large 
DioportioQ  of  the  better  classes ;  ignorance  of  the  most 
dangerous  type—that  proud  ignorance  which  knows  only 
how  to  read  and  write— is  the  condition  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  massea  The  extravagance  of  hastily  made 
fortunes,  the  ardent  pursuit  of  material  enjoyments,  the 
distrast  and  fear  that  prevail  between  class  and  class, 
rnnat  not  be  omitted  Crom  this  disheartening  picture  of 
existrng  European  sooisty. 

AAA  *«  thim  tiiat  {»  «ll  flia  nniintvliui  of  EoTOpe,  the 
Bvstem  of  edu- 
suit,  immorality 

all  influence  in 
as  a  necessity 
dgn  of  a  virile 
progr«BB. 
[era  society — ^if 
ts  surface — are 
vasting  disease 
itiistanding  its 
dy  in  Europe  ifl 

red  at  by  some 
h  them,  we  are' 
i  reserved  some 


40  The  Revolution. 

deepest  and  most  far-seeing  writers  of  the  present  century 
DoNOSO  Cortes,  exclaimed : — 

*' Tes,  European  society  is  dying;  its  extremities  are  already 
cc^d,  and  its  heart  shall  soon  be  stilL  ....  Eurc^  is  dying; 
for  she  has  been  poisoned  with  error.  No  saving  truth  remains 
intact  ....  and  for  this  reason  the  i^proaching  catastrophe 
of  Europe  shall  be  called  the  great  catastrophe  of  history."^ 

By  what  name  shall  we  designate  that  terrible  malady 
to  which  modem  society  is  a  prey,  and  which  has,  within 
recent  years,  made  gigantic  strides  towards  that  final  issue 
of  which  the  illustrious  Spanish  publicist  i^eakst  It» 
friends  and  foes  are  alike  agreed  as  to  its  name.  It  is  hj 
both  termed  The  Revolution. 

It  has  been  the  lot  of  the  human  race,  in  recent  times^ 
to  become  the  victim  of  words.  The  magic  terms,  **  Refor- 
mation,'' "  Liberty,"  Process,"  have  in  turn  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  exciting  umversal  interest,  and  of  agitating 
society  to  its  depths.  But  no  word  in  the  vocabulary  of 
human  language  has  possessed  a  stronger  influence,  and 
exercised  a  wider  empire,  than  that  of  the  ^  Revolution.'* 
On  the  platform^  in  the  press,  in  the  schools  and  the 
academies,  it  has  attained  all  but  universal  sway  during 
the  last  ninety  years.  It  is  impossible  to  convey  even  a 
partial  idea  of  the  passions  it  has  evoked,  and  the  debatea 
it  has  originated.  The  vague  and  indefinite  sense  so  fre- 
quently attached  to  it,  has  but  added  to  its  prestige^ 
There  are  those  who  glory  in  the  Revolution,  and  those 
who  tremble  at  its  name.  Some  regard  it  as  the  liberation 
of  mankind  from  every  species  of  servitude,  the  destruction 
of  tyranny,  and  of  every  form  of  abuse ;  and  some  look 
upon  it  as  identical  with  absolute  indep^idence  and 
universal  licence.  The  former  regard  it  as  synonymous 
with  that  progress  which  advances  through  all  barriers  to 
a  new  civilization,  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  world,  while  the 
latter,  meditating  on  its  past  history,  shudder  at  the  pros- 

Sect  of  what  this  new  civilization  may  bring  forth.  The 
iends  of  the  Revolution  exult  in  it  as  the  triumphant 
march  of  the  human  race  towards  the  El  Dorado  of  all  pros- 
perity, the  ideal  and  long  sought  paradise  upon  earth, 
whilst  its  adversaries  consider  it  as  the  return  of  the  worst 
form  of  pagan  barbarism,  and  the  advent  of  an  iron 
despotism  such  as  the  world  has  never  yet  beheld. 

^Letters  to  the  Paisand  Heratdo.  Apud  Mgr.  Lafobet,  Ze  <%8a&itt 
tt  ks  plaiesde  la  Societi  Modeme^  p. 6. 


The  Revolution.  41 

The  Revolution  I  We  may  here  venture  to  strip  this 
magic  word  of  its  vagueness,  and  exhibit  it  in  its  native 
colour. 

The  Revolution,  as  now  considered,  does  not  consist  in 
a  change  of  reigning  dynasties,  nor  in  the  substitution  of 
one  form  of  government  for  another.  It  is  not  identified 
with  any  special  form  of  poHtical  constitution.  Europe  has 
witnessed  Republics  that  were  not  revolutionary ;  and  it 
has  seen  the  Revolution  prostrate  herself  at  the  feet  of 
despots.  Revolutions,  social  convulsions,  and  violent 
changes  have  hitherto  been  frequently  witnessed  in  the 
world,  but  never,  until  recent  times,  has  history  witnessed 
Hie  Revolution^  that  is,  a  chronic  state  whose  special  charac- 
teristic seems  to  be  a  rage  for  destruction,  and  whose  virus 
has  penetrated  the  social  body  and  infected  the  sources  of 
legidation. 

Ask  this  mysterious  being  who  and  what  she  is,  and 
firom  out  the  chaos  of  ideas  which  hope  and  fear,  love  and 
hatred,  have  engendered  regarding  her,  she  seems  to 
reply : — "  T  am  not  Freemasonry,  nor  Carbonarism,  I  do  not 
wiish  to  be  taken  for  secret  conspiracy  or  open  insurrection. 
These  things  are  my  work,  they  are  not  myself.  Call  me 
not  Marat,  nor  Robespierre,  Mazzini,  nor  Cavonr.  These 
men  are  my  children,  they  are  not  myself.  Those  events, 
those  characters  are  transitory,  I  am  a  permanent  state. 
I  am  the  hatred  of  every  order  of  things  in  which  man  is 
not  his  own  sovereign  and  god.  I  represent  the  principle 
of  the  rights  of  man  as  opposed  to  the  rights  of  God.  I 
am  the  philosophy  of  revolt,  the  religion  of  revolt.  Like 
Hephistopheles  in  Faust,  1  am  the  spirit  of  negation, 
negation  itself,  defiant  and  destructive.  Callme  anarchy, 
if  you  will,  but  call  me  first  the  Revolution^  for  it  is  my 
mission  to  upturn  and  root  out  the  present  order  of  society, 
and  replace  it  by  one  of  my  own  creation.  I  demand  the 
destruction  of  property,  which  I  call  robbery.  I  demand 
the  abolition  of  stan<£ng  armies,  and  the  defence  of  the 
nation  by  the  nation.  1  demand  the  destruction  of  the 
magistracy,  and  the  election  by  the  people  of  judges  who 
will  serve  the  cause  of  popular  justice.  I  demand  the 
suppression  of  the  right  of  inheritance  as  opposed  to  my 
prmciples.  In  the  name  of  Revolutionary  Uberty,  I  demand 
the  suppression  of  the  free  school,  the  exclusion  of  all 
religious  teaching,  and  the  instruction  of  the  whole  nation 
concentrated  in  the  hands  of  the  State.  In  fine,  I  demand 
the  abolition  of  capital,  and  the  distribution  amongst  the 


42  The  Revolution, 

masses,  of  the  nation's  riches,  together  with  the  machineiy, 
implements,  and  other  sources  of  wealtL" 

The  Revolution  is  not,  I  repeat,  a  special  political  system 
of  government.  It  is  neither  Republic,  nor  Monarchy,  nor 
Empire.  It  is  the  appetite  of  disorder,  the  genius  of 
destruction,  the  hatred  of  authority,  the  irresistible  instinct 
of  independence  and  anarchy.  It  is  a  blind  and  furious 
ra^  for  the  annihilation  of  all  the  fundamental  institutions 
hitherto  recognised  as  the  basis  of  human  society.  It  is, 
in  a  word,  the  realization  on  earth  of  that  vision  of  another 
region,  which  the  poet  describes : — 

'*  The  stormy  blast  of  heU 
With  restless  fury  drives  the  spirits  on, 
Whirled  roimd  and  dashed  amain  with  sore  annoy, 
When  they  arrive  before  the  ruinous  sweep. 
Their  shrieks  are  heard,  their  lamentations,  moans, 
And  blasphemies  against  the  good  power  in  heaven.*^ 

It  is  to  no  purpose  to  inform  us  that  disorders  and 
crimes  have  been  always  visible  in  the  world,  and  that 
modem  society  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  True,  criminal 
excesses  and  subversive  theories  have  ever  stained  the 

{)age  of  history  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  But,  for  tho 
ast  ninety  years,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  such  excesses  have  asserted  their  right  of  citizenship 
on  earth,  and  such  theories  have  been  dignified  into  a 
system,  and  claim  the  sanction  of  public  law  in  Europe. 

Tvranny  and  oppression  have  always  existed  m  the 
world,  but  hitherto  they  were  not  set  up  as  the  standard 
of  justice,  freedom,  and  humanity.  In  the  past,  even  in 
the  midst' of  the  greatest  crimes,  enough  of  conscience  wfitfi 
left  in  the  perpetrators  to  force  them  in  numberless  cases 
to  recognise  the  justice  of  the  law  that  punished  them,  and 
to  bring  them  many  a  time  to  repentance.  But  it  remained 
for  modem  society  to  uphold  such  crimes,  and  to  glory  in 
them  in  the  names  of  Liberty,Equality,  and  Fraternity.  Cain 
oppressed  his  brothel*  Abel,  but  not  in  the  name  of  liberty. 
He  slew  him,  but  not  in  the  name  of  fraternity ;  and  Cain'0 
despairing  remorse  sufficiently  testified  his  belief  in  the 
Divme  law  he  had  violated.  My  iniquity  is  too  greai  tha 
I  should  merit  pardon} 

But  Vermesoh  and  his  associates  of  the  Paris  Conmmne, 
gloried  in  deeds  of  blood,  and  paraded  themselves  before 

*  Carey's  Dante  I/Infemo,  Canto  V,  *  Om.  iv.  8. 


The  Revolution.  43 

tbb  world  ae  ths  apostlee  of  liberty,  and  the  champions  of 
hamamtr  and  progress. 

It  wul  not  sufGcG  to  remind  ub  that  the  ReTolution  has 
swept  away  many  intolerable  abuseB,  for  in  the  violent 
changee  which  it  hag  brought  about,  we  are  not  to  be  sur- 
prised that  eome  real  abuses  have  disappeared.  In  the 
Inrious  torrent  which  has  overflowed  its  oanks,  and  ew^rt 
through  the  fertile  valley,  scattering  ita  people  and  de- 
vastating their  peaceful  homes,  we  should  not  wonder  if 
nanynoxioUB  elements  and  sources  of  disease  must  naturally 
disappear  with  the  stores  of  wealth  which  years  of 
pati«at  iodushy  have  accumulated. 

We  have  considered  the  Revolution  in  its  nature  and 
general  aspects.     Lest  we  should  be  taxed  with  exaggerat- 
ing this  dismal  picture,  we  now  purpose  to  descend  some- 
what  into  the  details  of  its  hietoiy.     The  origin  of  so-called 
:ed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
[  dates  from  the  proclamation 
I .     This  was  the  great  epoch 
.a  were  to  be  applied  to  the 
new  era  of  prosperity  intro- 
ance,  always  so  enthusiastic 
,  and  come  what  may,  whose 
literated,  to  France,  we  say, 
of  initiating  the  era  of  the 
The  genius  of  its  people, 
seemed  singularly  suited  to 
evolution,  and  spread  their 

Lcuse  or  palliate  (he  crying 
■ance.  The  absolute  power 
the  king,  the  pagan  idea  of 
■  the  legists,  the  grinding 
de  for  the  splendour  of  the 
ses  of  long  continued  and 
rhich  if  they  have  sometimes' 
I  existed  in  terrible  reality, 
been  exhibited  at  court,  and 
5S  of  society.  The  writings 
;nlarly  the  cynical  sarcasms 
it  of  irreligion  through  the 


44  2  he  Revolution. 

to  ridicule  the  idea  of  God,  and  reeard  as  imbeciles  those 
who  believed  in  religion."  *  "  There  existed  a  league 
to  annihilate  religion,"  says  our  great  fellow  countryman, 
Edmund  Burke. 

If  we  are  appalled  at  the  infernal  orgies  of  licentiousness 
and  blood  into  which  the  people  plunged  during  the  frenzy 
of  the  Revolution,  we  must  not  forget  that  when  religion 
is  brought  into  contempt,  and  has  lost  its  influence  over 
men,  the  worst  passions  of  the  human  heart  are  let  loose, 
for,  says  de  Bonald,  "  A  people  of  dissolute  morals  are  easily 
moved  to  ferocity." 

Yes,  when  pride,  absolutism,  and  violence  were  seated 
on  the  throne  of  the  Bourbons,  when  Fenelon,  the  saintly 
Archbishop  of  Cambray,  wrote  of  Louis  XIV.,  **  The  king 
has  no  idea  of  his  duty,  and  he  spends  his  time  outside  the 
ways  of  justice  and  truth,  and  consequently  outside  the  pale 
of  the  Gospel,"*  when  Vauban  pointed  out  the  half  of 
France  reduced  to  mendicity,  and  La  Bruy^re  exclaimed 
that  either  God  **  was  not  God,  or  those  disorders  were 
occasioned  by  the  malice  of  men,"  we  are  not  to  be 
surprised  that  the  people  grew  tired  of  the  yoke,  and  that 
a  revolution  of  some  kind  had  been  foreseen  long  before  the 
event,  by  the  most  serious  thinkers  of  the  age. 

Such  was  the  deplorable  state  of  society  in  France  on 
the  eve  of  the  great  Revolution.  By  this  time  a  school  of 
poUtical  economy  had  sprung  into  existence,  whose  ideas 
and  aspirations  had  already  exercised  considerable  influence 
in  the  country,  and  many  there  were  who  believed  that 
France  possessed  in  itself  sufficient  power  to  right  its  wrongs 
by  a  pacific  and  legitimate  Revolution,  without  having 
recourse  io  those  scenes  of  violence  and  blood  by  which 
the  vital  forces  of  the  nation  were  dissolved,  and  which 
cast  it  headlong  into  a  fever  of  commotion  from  which  it 
has  not  as  yet  recovered. 

At  that  time  France  was  ruled  by  a  monarch  who  was 
the  reverse  of  many  of  his  predecessora  Louis  XVI.,  was 
correct  in  his  private  life,  and  desired  nothing  so  ardently 
as  the  reform  of  abuses,  and  the  alleviation  of  the  miseries  of 
the  people.  The  States  General  were  summoned  to  devise 
means  to  carry  out  the  benevolent  wishes  of  the  king.  I 
cannot  better  describe  the  spirit  which  animated  the 
beginning  of  their  counsels  than  in  the  words  of  an  eminent 
writer  on  this  subject : — "  We  have  often  seen  in  history,*" 

1  In  1771.  *  Uttre  a  M^  de  MairUenon. 


The  Revolution.  45 

says  P.  Gratry,  "  men  rise  up  to  demand  justice  for  them- 
selves, but  here  we  behold  an  entii'e  people  demand  justice 
for  others.  The  most  influential,  the  most  enlightened,  the 
most  prosperous  rise  up  to  demand  justice  for  the  masses 
of  the  people.  I  behold  the  great,  the  powerful,  asking 
justice  jfor  the  little  and  the  weak,  in  order  to  establish 
civil  and  political  equality."^ 

"I  have  studied  history  profoundly,"  says  M.  de 
Tocqueville,  "and  1  unhesitatingly  declare  that  I  have 
never  found  in  any  revolution  so  great  a  number  of  men 
filled  with  a  more  thorough  spirit  of  patriotism,  more  dis- 
interestedness, and  a  higher  spirit  of  true  nobiUty."  *  It 
was  truly  a  memorable  night,  that  of  the  4th  August,  1789, 
when  kin^,  nobles,  and  clergy  came  forward  and  laid  down 
the  cherished  privileges  of  their  classes  in  favour  of  the 
people,  and  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  sacred 
enthusiasm  to  establish  what  may  justly  be  called  the 
Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 

But,  alas  I  that  this  salutary  current  of  opinion  should 
have  been  reversed,  and  that  selfishness,  passion,  and 
violence  should  have  conspired  to  dash  from  the  lips  of  an 
expectant  people  the  peaceful  cup  of  hope,  and  firom  their 
eyes  the  prospect  of  a  glorious  futmre. 

Scarcely  had  the  representatives  of  the  nation  begun 
their  deUberations  when  shouts  of  violence  were  heard, 
and  blood  was  seen  to  flow  in  the  streets  of  Paris.  The 
city  resounded  to  the  cry,  '*  The  people  have  conquered  ilie 
Bcutille;  the  people  heme  borne  in  triumph  four  human  heads  on 
their  pikes  T      THE    PEOPLE   HAVE   TAKEN    THE   BaSTILLE  ! 

why  aid  they  not  ask  for  the  key  and  wait  a  Uttle  to  get  it  t 
The  people  !  that  is  to  say,  a  ferocious  group  of  malefactors, 
who  were  destined  to  be  henceforth  the  masters  of  the 
gi  andest  nation  on  earth.  They  call  themselves  the  people, 
and  identify  themselves  with  twenty-five  milhons  of 
Frenchmen.  **  That  false  people,"  says  Siey^s,  "  the  most 
mortal  foe  which  France  ever  encountered — ^that  false 
people  alighted  upon  us  like  a  race  of  harpies,  to  defile  all, 
and  devour  all  before  them."  ^  "  There  were  not  more  than 
four  hundred  or  five  hundred  miscreants,'*  says  Petion, 
**  who  were  the  authors  of  all  these  crimes.'**  This  is  the 
astounding  fact  which  undeniable  history  aflSrms,  and  we 

» P.  Gbatkt,  La  Morale  de  VHistoire^  vol.  it,  ch.  7, 

*  VAncien  Regime  et  la  Revolution,  p.  260. 

•  Notice  o/Sieye's,  by  himself ,  in  1794, 
«  Petion  at  Conyention,  10  Ap.,  1793. 


46  The  Mevolution. 

may  add  with  Vergniaud,  "  That  posterity  will  never  be 
able  to  conceive  the  shameful  bondage  in  which  Paris  was 
held  by  a  mere  handful  of  brigands,  the  offscourings  of  the 
human  race."  Such,  however,  I  repeat,  waa  the  astound- 
ing fact,  and  henceforth  violence  snail  be  erected  into  a 
principle  of  government,  and  insurrection  declared  the  holie$t 
of  duties.  The  result  is  thus  described  by  Leonce  de 
Lavergne.  '*  From  October,  1789,  the  National  Assembly 
loses  the  direction  of  affairs.  It  obeys  the  clamour  of  the 
mob,  and  the  spirit  of  justice  and  of  Uberty  is  succeeded 
by  violence  and  oppression.  All  rights  are  trampled  upon, 
all  properties  violated,  every  liberty  destroyed.  Blood 
flows  in  torrents,  and  the  legislators  of  1789,  who  knew  the 
laws  of  soimd  government  and  the  true  conditions  of  hberty, 
are  succeeded  by  men  who  ignore  every  law  and  disregard 
every  right."* 

Such  was  the  origin  of  what  is  called  the  Revolution, 
and  such  the  beginning  of  modern  society  as  issued  from 
the  Revolution.  Violence,  tyrannical  oppression  of 
minorities,  the  ruin  of  Uberty,  hatred  of  religion,  contempt 
of  law,  war  in  the  streets,  anarchy  everywhere,  followed 
by  an  iron  dictatorship,  universal  centralization,  and 
universal  servitude ;  and  if  this  be  the  Revolution,  are  we 
not  justified  in  saying  "  that  it  is  the  ruin,  the  shame,  and 
the  last  agony  of  civmzed  society."* 

But  the  Revolution  was  blown  away,  says  Carlyle,  by 
Bonaparte  in  a  whiff  of  grape-shot  on  the  13  Vendemiaire.* 
We  must  here  be^  Mr.  Oarlyle'a  pardon.  The  Revolution 
lives;  it  is  domiciled  in  Europe,  and  has  now  become  a 
permanent  part  of  contemporary  history.  The  Revolution 
exists  more  defiant,  more  wide-spread,  and  better  organized 
than  ever.  It  has  become  incarnate  in  a  strange  race  of 
men,  new  beings  in  human  form  "  who  have  spread  them- 
selves," says  de  Tocqueville,  "over  the  entire  civilized 
world,  and  everywhere  exhibit  the  same  character,  the 
same  instincts,  and  pursue  the  same  line  of  conduct  without 
any  change  or  conceivable  improvement."' 

But  it  LB  time  we  should  take  to  task  those  preachers 
of  the  new  Gospels,  and  those  apostles  who  promised  to  the 
human  race  a  new  era  of  Liberty^  Equality,  and  Fraternity. 

1  Conyention,  28th  December,  1792.        »  EccnomU  rurale^p.  18. 
•  P.  Grdtry  Morale  de  VHistoire  Tom.  11  CL  IX.  j 

^Ihe  French  Revolution,  Vol,  III.  Ch.  VII. 
'  DAnden  Regime  etla  Revolution^  CH.  II, 


The  Revolution,  47 

"  Liberty,"  criea  Madame  Roland  on  her  way  to  the  scaSbld 
"how  many  crimee  are  committed  in  thy  name  I"  For 
ninetj-  years  the  Revolution  has  been  propagated  in  the 
name  of  liberty  and  I  say,  without  heatatioii,  that  whilst 
ite  disciples  reject  absolutism  in  name,  they  maintain  it  ia 
substance.  The  pagan  emperor  of  old  said, "  lly  will  is  the 
law,"  and  Louis  XlV.,  reviving  the  pagan  tnidition,  held 
that  he  wag  the  stale.  The  disciples  of  modem  society 
denounce  this  tlieory,  whUe  tbey  ring  changes  on  the 
name  of  liberty  by  which  the  generations  have  been 
eDchauted.  And  in  the  person  of  Robespierre  they  declare, 
"Liberty  is  the  despotism  of  reason,  it  is  what  I  and  the 
Committee  of  Public  Safety  ordain.  See  you  follow  it 
strictly,  otherwise  the  guillotine  will  make  shfirt  work 
of  you."  Liberty  is  fine  in  theory,  but  detestable  in 
♦practice,"  said  M.  Cuignet,  of  the  Commune,  in  IST],  "  We 
must  annihilate  our  adversaries  or  we  shall  be  overborne 
by  them," 

The  ancient  Working  Men's  Corporations  which  had 
flourished  in  France  for  ages,  and  which,  notwithstanding 
many  abuses,  had  offered  to  the  labouring  classes  a  power- 
ful guarantee  of  their  just  rights,  were  abolished  by  the 
Bevolution;  and   this    is  what  Pierre  Leroux,  a  decided 

'   ■"     "  ■  "■'  ■     ■ id 

ih 


48  The  Eevohition. 

name  of  the  right  for  every  man  to  go  and  come,  in  the 
name  of  Uberty  of  the  press,  of  liberty  of  thought,  and  of 
the  ri^t  of  meeting,  and  behold,  no  one  can  go  or  coma 
Barriers  to  liberty  are  erected  on  every  side  .  .  .  there 
is  neither  liberty  of  the  press,  nor  hberty  of  speech,  nor 
liberty  of  conscience/* 

The  Revolutionary  idea  of  liberty  is  always  the  same. 
Have  we  not  seen  in  our  own  day  thirty  newspapers 
suppressed  in  one  week  in  Paris  in  1871,  for  criticising  the 
acts  of  the  Commune?  The  Dictator,  M.  Gambetta, 
refused  for  six  months  to  permit  general  elections  of  the 
National  Assembly,  and  when  those  elections  arrived,  ho 
strove  with  might  and  main,  to  exclude  from  the  right  of 
voting,  an  entire  class  of  P  rench  citizens.  The  present 
revolutionary  leaders  in  France  still  hold  fast  to  the 
theories  announced  by  their  predecessors  in  1792.  "  The 
Republic,'*  said  St.  Just,  "  consists  in  the  destruction  of 
everything  that  is  opposed  to  it."  They  are  the  legitimate 
heirs  of  those  who  filled  the  prisons  of  Paris  with  twenty- 
two  thousand  of  their  victims,  and  with  at  least  half  a 
million  more  the  prisons  of  the  provinces,  and  such 
prisons  I  "  The  prisons,'*  said  Dumont,  in  1797,  **  are  tombs 
in  which  one  dies  a  hundred  times.** 

It  would,  indeed,  be  vain  to  hope  for  liberty  from  men 
who  may  be  aptly  described  in  the  words  of  the  Sacred 
Text,  "  They  promise  liberty  to  men  who  themselves  are  the 
slaves  of  corruption."^ 

True  liberty  can  only  consist  in  the  faculty  of  enjoying 
our  just  rights,  and  in  freedom  from  restraint  in  the  dis- 
charge of  one's  obligations.  "  We  can  only  be  free,**  says 
Goetiie,  "under  the  empire  of  God*s  law.**  This  is  what 
the  great  Liberator  of  the  human  race  pointed  out  in  his 
address  to  the  Jews :  "  If  you  abide  in  my  word^  you  shall 
know  the  truths  and  the  truth  shall  set  you  free,**  They 
repUed :  "  We  are  the  seed  of  Abraham^  and  we  were  never 
slaves J^  He  answers :  *'  Amen,  ameriy  I  say  whoever  sinsy  is 
the  slave  of  sin.  If  then^  the  Son  of  God  deliver  you  from  sin^ 
you  shaU  be  truly  free.*^^ 

Society,  aa  issued  from  the  Revolution,  has  ignored  or 
despised  this  law,  and  hence  it  falls  by  turns  under  the 
despotism  of  the  mob,  and  the  despotism  of  Caesar.  Both 
despotisms  are  identified  with  the  ruin  of  liberty  and  the 
filavery  of  the  people. 

1  2  Peter,  ii,  «/oA>i,  viiiSl. 


The  nevolution.  4S 

Equality. 

There  is  an  eqnality  which  makes  all  men  brothers,  one 
that  is  just,  wise,  and  necessary,  and  which,  as  men  and 
Christians,  we  are  all  bound  to  uphold.  Men  are  equal, 
because  tbej  have  a  common  origin,  and  a  common 
destiur.  We  are  all  equal,  because  for  as  all  there  is  bot 
one  religion,  one  moral  code,  one  judgmeut,  one  Qod. 

But  to  say  that  all  should  occupy  the  same  position  is 
■odety,  exercise  the  same  influence,  share  in  the  same 
hoDOuis,  and  posaeaa  only  the  same  amount  of  property,  is 
just  as  Benedble  as  to  maintain  that  all  should  be  alike  in 
peiBoaal  complexion,  equal  in  stature,  or  in  power  of  mind 
and  body-  This,  nevertheless,  is  something  like  equality 
according  to  the  theory  of  the  Revolution. 

Nothmg  is  more  essential  for  the  well-being  of  society 
than  that  oomestic  authority  should  be  strenuously  main- 
tained. Without  this,  the  family  ia  in  disorder,  and  when 
disorder  reigns  generally  in  the  family,  anarchy  is  the  per- 
manent condition  in  the  state.  The  father  has  received 
from  God  the  right  to  govern  and  direct  his  children-  His 
paternal  love,  the  labours  and  sacrifices  of  his  life,  give 
him  an  undoubted  claim  to  the  reverence  and  gratitude  of 
his  ofispring,  and  confer  upon  him  the  right  to  reward 
and  pnmsh.  The  Revolution  has  undermined  his  authority 
by  depriving  him  of  the  right  to  dispose  of  his  property  at 

id  amongst  all  nations, 
favours  conferred  on 
1  on  some  signal  service 
790,  all  distinctions  and 
ty,  were  abolished.  So 
>f  equality  gone,  that  it 
Mister"  and  "Madam" 
here  exists  a  resolution 
ding  that  the  spires  and 
because  their  elevation 
as  considered  an  oQence  - 

.n  fared  by  the  law  of 

free,  more  independent  t 

Quite  the  contrarv.  The 


50  The  RevolutiofL 

of  1789  revolted  against  the  titled  aristocracy,  so  the 
•workingmen  of  the  present  day  are  preparing  to  revolt 
against  the  aristocracy  of  the  money-bag.  Fourier,  in 
1808,  said  the  social  movement  originated  by  the 
Kevolution  tended  more  and  more  to  impoverish  the 
poorer  classes  for  the  benefit  of  the  rich,  and  citizen  Prost, 
a  representative  workingman,  declared  in  1876  that  '^the 
workingman  was  condemned  to  a  subjection  impossible  to 
be  endured,  and  one  that  was  a  hundred  tunes  more 
oppressive  than  that  against  which  their  fathers  of  1789 
and  1793  rose  in  insurrection.** 

Such  is  the  equality  of  the  Revolution,  as  seen  in  con* 
temporary  history,  and  as  judged  by  the  Revolutionists 
themselves.  It  is  equality  in  misery — the  savage  equaUty 
of  Proudhon — a  ruthless  levelling  down  of  all  ranks  and 
conditions,  tending  only  to  socialism,  communism,  and 
anarchy. 

Fratebntty. 

This  is  the  most  brilliant  term  found  in  the  vocabulary 
of  the  Revolution.  To  fraternity,  in  the  revolutionary 
sense,  we  may  apply  what  Goethe  says  of  a  certain  class 
of  men  whom  he  compared  to  drums — ^the  emptier  they  are 
the  more  noise  they  make.  The  Revolution  talks  loudly 
of  fraternity,  and  yet  it  never  ceases  to  sow  the  seeds  of 
discord  and  calumny  among  men.  It  has  made  a  reUgion 
of  hatred.  Its  disciples  daily  prepare  the  way  for  civil 
strife,  and  to  their  adversaries  they  offer  the  alternative  of 
fraternity  or  death. 

All  men  are  brothers,  for  God  is  the  common  Father  of 
all.  Such  is  the  foundation  of  that  brotherhood  inculcated 
by  the  Redeemer — a  brotherhood  based  on  devotedness, 
charity,  patience,  and  forgiveness.  The  fraternity  intro- 
duced by  the  Revolution  creates  suspicion,  developes 
enmity,  and  ends  in  assassination.  A  series  of  iniquitous 
laws  confiscated  the  revenues  of  the  poor,  the  hospitals, 
and  the  Church.  Edmund  Burke  says  the  National 
Assembly  laid  its  hands  on  five  miUions  sterling  oi  revenue, 
and  hunted  from  their  houses  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  human 
beings,  because  such  was  its  goodwill  and  pleasure.  A 
report  presented  by  the  Committee  of  Pubuo  ReUef  in 
1794  describes  in  terrible  language  the  condition  of  the 
poor  of  Paris,  without  beds,  without  covering,  all  sexes 
huddled  together.  ^*  The  aged  and  infirm  are  in  want  of 
the  barest  necessaries    There  are  three  thousand  of  such. 


The  BevobUion.  51 

and  the  Government  can  only  provide  for  five  hundred." 
Of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  tweaty-two  foundlings 
brought  to  the  asylums  in  the  year  IV.,  only  two  hundred 
and  fifteen  survived  at  the  end  of  that  year. 

The  city  of  Lyons  revolted  against  the  oppression  of 
the    Convention.     The    Convention   deGre<;d   that  Lyons 
should  be  destroyed.     Who  has  not  heard  of  the  thousands 
massacred  with  hardly  a  semblance  of  judicial  form  by  the 
agents  of  the  Revolution  to  advance  the  cause  of  glorious 
&at«niity  t      Thirty    thousand  were    sliiin   at  Lyons  by 
Collot    D'Herbois,   thirty    thousand    at    Nantes,    twelve 
thousand  during  the  massacre  of  September  in  Paris,     At 
the  barrier  of  St.  Antoine  an  immense  aqueduct  was  made 
to  convey  the  blood  of  the  slain.     At  Nantes  the  waters  of 
the  Lou^  were  infected  by  the  bodies  of  the  drowned,  and 
ran  red  with  the  blood  of  the  victims — a  fact  sworn  at  the 
trial  of  the  ferocious  Carriere.     In  La  Vendee  twenty  com- 
manee  had  laid  down  their  arms  and.  surrendered  to  the 
Republic.     Their  inhabitants  were  all  immediately  slain* 
says  Merlin  de  Theonville.     Danton  called  for  the  heads 
of  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  aristocrats,  and  Carriere 
demanded  that   two-tmrds  of  the  inhabitants  should  be 
tappretied,  that  the  Repubhc  might  live  to  clierish  frater- 
nity.   At  tbe  sitting  of  the  Assembly,  2nd  May,  1795,  Louvet 
declared  that  two   hundred   revolutionary  tribunals  had 
B^ra!uiv  nent  AhnnHrorl  tVimifunH  Frptinhmeu  to  their  graves. 
on  of  the  Revolution, 
than  four  millions  of 
space    of  ten  years. 
ce.    Id  those  days  a 
i  from  Amiens  to  the 
;g  hve  the  Republic, 
>ehold  the  operations 

itenial  towards  the 
>8e  whom  it  regarded 
lists  who  had  voted 
d  by  Danton,  Danton 
Tallien,  so  that  w© 
,  "  like  Saturn    the 


52  The  Revolution. 

Religion. 

De  Bonald  has  said,  *'  It  is  all  over  with  Europe  when 
she  no  longer  possesses  a  public  religion."  The  blind  rage 
of  destruction  which  animates  the  Revolution  has  left  it 
vision  enough  to  see  this  truth.  Hence  all  its  energies 
are  turned  against  religion,  which  it  pursues  with  an 
intense  and  satanical  hatred.  £dgard  Quinet  has  but 
spoken  a  clear  historical  fact  in  saying  "  the  abolition  of  all 
religion  shall  be  for  ever  the  distinctive  mark  of  the  French 
Revolution."  This  ideal  the  Revolution  still  pursues  by 
means  of  all  the  engines  which  modem  society  furnishes  for 
creating  and  directing  public  opinion.  Whether  by  covert, 
stratagem,  or  open  violence,  her  end  is  always  the  same 
— the  destruction  of  religion — for  it  alone  is  capable  of 
presenting  an  efiective  obstacle  to  that  material,  moral,  and 
mtellectual  ruin  of  which  the  Revolution  is  the  herald  and 
agent.  In  the  popular  repubUcan  catechism,  youth  are 
taught  that  "  there  is  no  power,  no  justice  above  man. 
.  .  .  To  deny  God  is  to  affirm  that  man  is  the  sole 
true  sovereign  of  his  own  destiny."  We  do  not  exaggerate 
when  we  say  that  the  Revolution  is  essentially  antichristian 
in  its  principles  and  in  its  object,  and  that  it  is  in  direct 
opposition  to  all  revealed  religion.  This  truth  becomes 
more  evident  day  by  day.  In  the  first  stage  of  its  history- 
men  stood  aghast  at  the  prospect  created  by  the  aboUtion 
of  all  worship,  and  Robespierre  was  forced  through  political 
necessity  to  decree  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being. 
**  For,"  said  Camille  Desmouline,  "  if  kings  were  ripe  for 
destruction,  God  was  not  yet  so." 

But  we  have  made  progress  since  that  time,  and  the 
Revolution  has  now  visibly  thrown  off  the  mask.  **  Catho- 
licity must  be  destroyed,"  says  E.  Quinet.  "  It  is  not  a 
question  of  refuting  the  Papacy,  it  must  be  extirpated,  not 
onW'  extirpated,  but  dishonoured,  not  only  dishonoured,  but 
stifled  in  mud.*^ 

In  the  secret  instruction  of  a  supreme  Venta  or 
Revolutionary  Coimcil  discovered  by  the  Roman  poUce,  we 
find  these  words  : — **  Our  object  is  the  same  as  that  of 
Voltaire  ....  the  complete  desti-uction  once  and 
for  ever  of  CathoHcity,  and  even  of  the  Christian  idea."* 
The  revolutionary  correspondent  at  Leghorn  writes  to 
Nubius  (probably  the  mysterious  chief  of  me  sect)  and  re- 

*  Lettres  de  Marmx^  Introduction,  p.  yiL 
■  Apud  Segur^  La  B  evolution,  p.  32. 


The  Sevolation.  53 

porta  that  be  liad  visited  aH  the  secret  societies  of  Enrope, 
aad  eajB,  "  the  overthrow  of  all  European  thrones  is  now  a 
matter  easily  accomplished ;  but  what  is  chiefly  to  he 
desired  ie  not  s  revolntion  in  this  or  that  particular  country 
— a  tbio^  Which  could  be  effected  at  any  time — but  in  order 
to  kill  the  old  world  effectively,  every  germ  of  Catholicity 
and  Chriatianity  should  be  smothered."^  Was  not  De 
Maistre  right  when  he  said  that  "the  Revolution  was 
satanical  in  He  essence  1  "*  And  can  we  tax  with  exagger- 
ation the  words  of  the  late  Pius  IX.,  of  glorious  memory, 
when  he  wrote  "  the  Kevolution  is  inspired  by  Satan.  Its 
object  is  to  effect  the  utter  ruifl  of  Cnristian  society,  and 
re-establish  on  its  ruins  the  social  order  of  Paganism?  "* 

We  have  seen  what  the  Revolution  is  in  its  nature,  and 
in  its  object.  Its  promises  have  been  great,  its  results  dis- 
astrous. This,  some  of  its  most  ardent  admirers  are  forced 
to  confess.  The  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  a  publication 
iniatuated  with  "modem"  ideas,  exclaimed,  after  the 
atnvit;<ui  nf  *ha  IntA  nfimmiinn  ■  "  The  Revolution  has  not 
It  has  made  shipwreck 

'e  repeat,  and  its  deadly 
[vitzerlaud,  and  elsewhere, 
are  spread,  and  in  nearly 
holds  the  reins  of  govem- 
it  to  await  a  favourable 
ate  deeigas.     Wbat  shall 

ot  wanting  deep  and  far 
,t  no  distant  future  to  the 
,  and  a  universal  reign  of 
i  time  may  shortly  come 
it  loose  from  the  caverns 
away  every  vestige  of 
vith  tears  and  blood  I 

fi  be  realized,  then  shall 
e  opened,  the  altar  shall 
'  innocent  victims  flow  in 
lall  be  forced  from  his  last 
k  refuge  once  more  in  the 


54  Correspondence, 

devoured  its  own  children.  Then,  in  the  midst  of  scenes 
of  blood  and  smoking  ruins,  a  venerable  man,  with  hoary 
locks,  whose  head  is  bowed  with  sorrow  and  the  weight  of 
years,  shall  once  more  be  seen  issuing  from  his  hiding 
place.  In  one  hand  he  holds  the  Book  of  Truth,  and  with 
the  other  he  clasps  to  his  heart  the  image  of  the 
Crucified.  He  breathes  a  blessing  of  peace  upon  the 
scattered  children  of  men.  His  voice  reaches  through 
a  continent,  and  is  heard  on  the  shores  of  that  land 
whose  hills  are  ever  green,  and  whose  heart  is  ever 
faithful.  Holy  Ireland  responds  to  the  call  of  her 
father.  She  is  once  more  ready  for  her  traditionary 
work  of  CJhristian  civilization.  What  has  already  happened 
may  occur  again — ^for  history,  some  one  has  said,  but 
repeats  itself— and  as  Erin  in  former  days  played  so 
active  a  part  in  rescuing  Europe  from  barbarism,  the 
same  lofty  mission  may  fall  to  her  lot  once  again.  It 
may  be  her  noble  destiny  to  aid  once  more  in  restoring 
Chnstian  civilization  in  Europe,  and  thus  to  co-operate  in 
the  fulfilment  of  De  Maistre's  prophecy,  that  "  the  Revolu- 
tion which  began  by  the  proclamation  of  the  rights  of  man 
shall  end  by  proclaiming  the  rights  of  God." 

D.  Keller. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


MONITA  BrEVLA.,  by  THE  LATE  Dr.  MuRRAT. 
TO  THB  EDITOB   OF  THE  IBISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Many  of  your  readers  will,  I  think,  be  glad  to  have  the 
following  relic  of  the  pious  and  learned  Professor  of  Theology, 
Dr.  Murray,  of  Maynooth.  He  seems  to  have  given  this  printed 
leaf  to  his  students  at  the  end  of  their  course  : —  M.K. 

MONITA  QUAEDAV,  IK  USUM  PRARSBRTIM  E0RU1C  QUI  JAMJAM 
ORDINANDI  SUNT  PRESBTTBRl  BT  AD  YINEAM  DoMIMI  EXCOLBN- 
DAM  PROFECTURI. 

I.  Haec  quotidie  petenda  sunt,  et  etiam  saepius  in  die: — 1% 
Omnium  peccatorum  vestrorum  venia ;  2^,  Gratia  nunquam  post- 
hac  ullum  peccatum  deliberatum  admittendi,  maxime  grave ;  3^, 
Ut  quotidie  proficiatis  in  odio  peccati  atque  in  amore  Dei  et  B.  V. 
Mariae :  4°,  Ut  tempore  mortis  omnia  ultima  sacramenta  mentis 
compotes  ac  digne  recipiatis ;  5^,  Perseverantia  finalis.^ 

^  Preces  pro  bona  morte,  quae,  utpote  brevissimae,  faoUe  memoriaa 
mandari  possunt,  vid.  apud  *^  Raccolta,"  nn.  6,  19,  187.  Aliae  sunt 
paulo  longiores,  ibid.  n.  181, 132,  item,  n.  84  (feria  3),  126  (oratio  3), 
125  (Sabb.)    Yid.  indulgentias  singulis  istis  predbus  ^^nnA-gftg^ 


Correspondenee.  55 

H.  Frequenter  in  die,  qnibngcnrnqne  negotiis  diatenti,  et 
wmper  nocte  e  somno  excitati,  attoUite  meatea  vestraa  in  coelnm, 
pnces  quas  vocant  ejaculatorias  effundeudo. 

III.  Confessionem  hebdomadalem,  niat  caiua  gnm  nrgente^ 
nanqnuii  intemtlttite.' 

IV.  Ab  omni  moto  ultioou  deliberato,  qnacumqoe  offensa 
illAla,  strenuo  cavete. 

V.  Qo&taor  novissima  crebro  recolite. 

TI.  LectioDi  lifarorum  Bpiritualium  sedulo  Incnmbite.  In  istia 
pabola  doctrinae  salataris  omnlgeaa  invenietis.  quibus,  ut  cibig 
diomu,  uti  possitia  et  ad  veatr&s  aniraas  alendaa  et  animaa  eomm 
qoonim  coram  utcnmqae  habebitb.'maxime  antem  in  sacro  Foe- 
nitentiae  tribonali. 

"Tantam  iJIud  voa  rogo,  nt  ad  Domiai  allare  memineritis 
Eoei,  abi  ubi  fneritis." — S.  Adodst.  Coofeaa.  1.  9,  c  11. 

Decern.  1670.  P.  M. 


Can  Curates  assist  at  Marriages  t 

inch  obliged  for  your  satis- 

Record.  Your  concluding 
Ton  tay  the  curate  should 
I  marriage.    Is  it  true  that, 

curate  to  a  parish  in  this 
irera  aa  the  parish  priest  in 
iage  ceremony  without  any 
I  P.P.  ?     I  have  heard  that 

c.c. 

lis  ooontry  have,  by  virtue 
the  same  powers  as  the 
ting  at  marriagefl.  The 
loee,  authorise  curates  to 
iah,  or  in  epecial  districta 
a  be  an  explicit  declara- 
■Qy  dioceses  in  which  it  is 
it  marriages  without  the 
are  saj,  appointment  as 
would  suffice.  Otherwise 
cannot  validly  aasist  at 
the  parish  priest. 

J.  H 


[    5fi    J 


LITUEGY. 
I. 

Gothtb  Vestments,    Blue  and  white  Vestments. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir — Having  to  officiate  where  there  are 
Gothic  vestments,  as  they  are  called,  which  hang  down  cope-like 
over  the  shoulders,  and  some  of  which  are  of  a  blue  and  white 
pattern,  I  would  ask  you  kindly  to  inform  me  : 

I. — (a)  Whether  there  is  a  decision  6f  the  Congregation  con- 
demning the  use  of  such  chasubles  ? 

{b)  If  there  is  such  a  decision,  what  b  the  date  of  it  ? 
(c)  And  whether,  in   the   face  of  such  a  decision,  it  is 
lawful  to  manufacture  new  vestments  of  the  style  referred  to,  not 
only  for  churches  and  chapels  in  which  they  were  in  use  prior  to 
the  prohibitory  decision,  but  also  for  other  churches  and  chapels. 

II. — ^In  the  matter  of  the  vestments  of  the  blue  pattern  which 
are  in  use  on  the  feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  I  would  ask  whether, 
and  how  far  the  blue  colour,  pure  and  simple,  may  be  used  in 
conjunction  with  white  or  yellow  in  chasubles  ? 

Constant  Reader  of  the  Record. 

Answer  to  question  I,  (a) — Yes,  there  is  a  general  decree 
forbidding  the  use  of  vestments  of  the  Gothic  pattern. 
(6)  The  date  of  the  decree  is  the  21st  of  August,  1863, 
(c)  In  the  face  of  this  decree,  it  is  not  la'wful  to  manu- 
facture new  vestments  of  this  pattern.  The  bishop  may 
aUow  the  use  of  those  already  made,  till  they  are  worn 
out.  We  give  the  decree  in  full,  as  you  and  those  con- 
cerned will  be  anxious  to  see  it. 

Rbverndissime  Domine  uti  Frateb— Quum  renunciantibus 
nonnullis  Episcopis  aliisque  ecclesiasticis  et  laicis  viris  Sanctam 
Sedem  non  lateret  quasdam  in  Anglia,  Grallia,  Germania  et  Belgio 
Dioceses  immutasse  formam  sacrarum  vestium,  quae  in  celebratione 
Sacrosanctae  Missae  Sacrificii  adhibentur,  easque  ad  stylum,  quem 
dicunt  gothicum,  elegantiori  qujdem  opere  conformasse. 

Ex  hoc  porro  examine,  quamvis  eadem  Sacra  Gongregatio  probe 
nosceret  sacras  illas  vestes  stylum  gothicum  praeseferentes  praecipue 
saeculis  VIIL,  XIV.,  et  XV.  obtinuisse,  aeque  tamen  animadvertit 
Ecclesiam  Romanam  aliasque  latini  ritus  per  orbem  Ecclesias,  Sede 
Apostolica  minime  reclamante,  a  saccule  XVI.,  nempe  ab  ipsa 
propemodum  Concilii  Tridentini  aetate,  usque  ad  noetfa  haec 
tempera  illarum  reliquisse  usnm,  proindeque,  eadem  perdurante 
disciplina,  necnon  Sancta  Sede  inconsulta,  nihil  *  innovari  posse 
oensuit,  uti  pluries  Summi  Pontifices  in  sois  edocuere   Constitu- 


Idturgical  QuesUona.  57 

tionibus  sapienter  monentes  immutationes  istas,  utpote  probata 
Ecclesiae  mori  contrarias,  saepe  pertnrbationes  producere  posse  et 
fidelium  animos  in  admirationem  inducere. 

Sed  quoniam  Sacrorum  Rituum  Congregatio  arbitratur  alicujus 
ponderis  esse  posse  rationes,  quae  praesentem  immutationem  per* 
fioasenint,  hinc,  aadito  Sanctissimi  Domini  Nostri  Pii  Papae  IX. 
oraciiloy  verbis  amantissimis  invitare  censuit  Amplitudinem  Tuam, 
Qt  quatenos  in  tua  Diocesi  hujnsmodi  immutationes  locum 
habnenint.  rationes  ipsas  exponere  velis,  quae  illis  causam  dederunt. 

Interim  Amplitudini  Tuae  fausta  omnia  a  Domino  adprecor,  &c» 

Card.  Patrizi,  S.R.G.,  Praef. 

21  Aug.,  1863. 

Answer  to  question  IF. — The  vestments  must  be  of  the 
recognised  rubrical  colours,  if  we  except  those  made  of 
gold  tissue.  Neither  blue  nor  yellow  is  a  rubrical  colour, 
and  accordingly  it  is  forbidden  to  make  vestments  of  either 
of  these  colours.  It  is  obvious  that  it  would  be  better, 
because  more  in  keeping  with  Church  regulations,  to 
exclude  those  colours  altogether  from  vestments  ;  and 
it  would  be  certainly  in  violation  of  the  decision  of  the 
Congregation  of  Rites,  to  make  blue,  instead  of  white,  the 
donunant  colour  in  a  chasuble  used  on  the  feasts  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  We  append  some  decrees  bearing  on  this 
question. 

Marsordh. 

Quaer, — "Potestne  continuari  usus  illarum  ecelesiarum,  quae 
pro  colore  tam  albo,  quam  rubro,  viridi,  et  violaceo  utuntur  p£u*a- 
mentis    vel    flavi    colons,    vel    mixtis   diversis   coloris   floribus, 
praeaertim  si  colores  a  Bubrica  praescripti  in  floribus  reperiantur  ? 
In   Rubriea   Missalis   Fratnim   Ordinis    Praedicatorum   num.   6, 

legitur :  in  diebus  vero  solemnibus uti  possumus 

pretiosioribus  paramentis  cujusoumque  sint  coloris,  dummodo  non 
sunt  nigri." 

S.R.C.   resp. : — "  Servetur    strictim    Rubrica  quoad    colorem 
Paramentorum."— 12th  Nov.,  1831. 

Ve&onem. 

Quaer. — "  Utrum    liceat    uti    colore    flavo,  vel    caeruleo    in 
Sacrificio  Missae,  et  expositione  Sanctissimi  Sacramenti." 
&R.C.  resp.:— *' Negative."— 16  Mart.,  1833. 

Cong.  Oblatorum  B.  M.  V 

Qii€ier, — *'  An  usus  coloris  caerulei  in  sacris  Paramentis  permitti 
possit  pro  colore  albo,  uti  lieri  assolet  in  Missis  Beatae  Mariae 
Yirginis,  vel  potius  violaceo  ?" 

S.R.C.  resp. : — "  Negative  in  omnibus,  et  usum  caerulei  coloria 
veluti  abusum  eliminandum." — 23  Feb.,  1839. 


58  Liturgical  Questions* 

IL 

When  some  of  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  are  broken,  must  all  he 

blessed  again  f 

Rrv.  Sir — ^What  is  to  be  done,  if  after  the  Stations  of  Uie 
Cross  have  been  solemnly  erected  in  a  church,  one  or  more  of  the 
fourteen  get  injured  or  broken.  Can  one  or  more  new  ones  be 
procured  and  erected,  and  do  they  require  to  be  blessed,  or  are  the 
fourteen  to  be  again  blessed  ? 

Any  information  on  the  point  will  much  oblige 

Sacerdos. 

1;  Our  respected  correspondent  will  bear  in  mind  that 
it  is  to  the  crosses  and  not  to  the  pictures  that  the  indul- 
gences are  attached.  Consequently  even  though  all  the 
pictures  were  destroyed,  but  not  the  crosses,  the  indul- 
gences are  not  lost. 

2.  Even  though  a  few  of  the  crosses  (less  than  half) 
were  destroyed,  it  is  only  necessary  to  substitute  others  in 
their  place,  and  those  thus  substituted  do  not  need  any 
new  blessing 

The  following  are  the  decrees  which  bear  on  these 
points. 

1**.  An  pereant  indulgentiae,  cum  Cruces,  vel  imagines  quatuor- 
decim  stationum  aut  partim,  aut  integre,  quacumque  de  causa  e 
suo  loco  amoveantur,  etiam  ad  breve  tempus  ? 

2^:  An  pereant,  cum  novae  imagines,  servatis  crucibus,  aut 
vice  versa,  novae  cruces,  servatis  imf^inibus,  in  locum  aliaram 
pariter  aut  partim,  aut  integre  sufficerentur  ? 

3°.  An  pereant  indulgentiae,  si  cruces  et  imagines  meliori  mode 
disponantur  ? 

Sac.  Cong.  resp. : — 

Ad  1™.  Indulgentiae  Viae  Crucis  crucibns  tantum  sunt  adnexae, 
minime  vero  imaginibus»  quae  necessariae  non  sunt.  Hoc  posito, 
ei  cruces,  vel  imagines  quatuordecim  stationum  Viae  Crucis  aut 
partim,  aut  integre  e  loco  suo  moveantur  ad  tempus,  ut  denuo 
eidem  loco  restituantur,  indulgentiae  non  pereunt. 

Ad  2*°.  Si  cruces  primitus  benedictae  omnino  pereant,  vel 
tollantur,  iterum  nova  erectio  el  benedictio  requiritur  ad  acquirendas 
indulgentias ;  si  vero  pereant,  vel  tollantur  ex  minore  parte,  licet 
alias  illis  substituere  absque  uUa  nova  erectione  et  benedictione ; 
ideoque  indulgentiae  perseverant. 

Ad  3*^.  Ob  meliorem  dispositionem  crucium,  indulgentiae  non 
ftBiittuntur. 

R  Browne. 


DOCUMENTS. 
Decree  seqardinq  Uixbd  Mabriages. 

The  last  issue  of  the  "  Acta  Sonctae  Sedia  "  republishes  a  decre* 
oi  the  CongT^&tion  of  the  Inqoiattion  regarding  mixed  maniageB. 
In  this  decree  the  following  points  are  clearlj  stated : — 

1.  It  is  not  unlawftil  in  the  case  of  mixed  marriages  that  the 
contractiog  partiea,  if  nt^ently  required  by  the  heretics  or  by  the 
law,  should  present  themselves  in  fulfilment  of  the  law  before  a 
heretical  minister,  when  such  heretical  minister  is  also  the  civit 
officer,  and  acta  merely  at  ruck.  And  in  these  circumstances  the 
parties  may  lawfully  present  themselves  before  him  either  before 
or  after  the  celebration  of  the  marriage  prescribed  by  the  Council 
of  Trent. 

2.  Bnt  whenever  the  heretical  minister  is  regarded  as  perform- 

mere  fungens,  then  it  is 
)arty  to  present  himself 
the  purpose  of  express- 
would  be  in  that  case 
md  taking  part  in  an 
liesion  to  heresy,  must 
icatio  in  divinis. 
.  and  others  engaged  in 
ir  people  regarding  the 
e  points,  warning  them 
ast  never  to  celebrate 
u  addicixu,  that  is,  acts 
I  is  altogether  unlawful 

the  contracting  parties 
.he  parish  priest  should 
s  purpose  to  go  before 
pve  their  matrimonial 
I  should  wani  them  of 
le  censures  which  they 

L  particular  case  should 
:he  proceeding,  and  no 
ng  before  such  minister 
hough  he  foresee  that, 
retical  minister,  yet  to 
...  iheclearlyperceiveshia 


60  Documents. 

6.  If  the  parties  wish  to  renew  their  consent  before  the  parish 
priest,  having  first  given  their  consent  before  the  heretical  minister, 
and  that  this  fact  should  be  publicly  known,  or  notified  to  the 
parish  priest  by  the  parties  themselves,  he  may  not  assist  at  the 
renewal  of  such  consent  except  all  other  requisite  conditions  are 
fulfilled,  and  that  the  Catholic  party,  truly  penitent  for  the  crime, 
for  which  due  penance  is  to  be  imposed,  shall  also  have  received 
absolution  from  the  censures  incurred. 

Feije  thinks  that  the  censures  to  which  this  decree  refers  are 
local  censures  which  may  be  imposed  by  the  Ordinaries.  The 
words  of  the  decree,  however,  *'  in  quas  incumint,"  not  incurrant, 
and  "contractis  censuris,"  are  very  definite,  and  seem  to  imply 
censures  contracted  by  the  common  law  as  well  as  by  local  laws. 
The  first  case  of  specially  reserved  excommunication  in  the  Bull 
of  the  Apostolicae  Sedis  includes  *'  fautores  hereticorum,"  and  we 
venture  to  think  that  the  public  celebration  of  a  mixed  marriage* 
to  which  the  decree  makes  special  reference,  is,  at  least  in  foro 
extemo,  abetting  heresy,  and  comes  under  this  censure.  Yov  as 
Busembaum  Observes,  "auctoritas  ministri  et  consequenter  doc- 
trinae  ejus  augetur,  concurriturque  ad  ritus  hereticos  quos  minister 
isto  actu  exercet."  If  such  a  case,  therefore,  should  occur  in  this 
country,  we  think  it  would  be  well  to  apply  to  the  bishop  for  power 
to  absolve  from  the  censure. 

We  subjoin  the  document  itself,  for  although  it  contains  nothing 
new,  it  is  well  to  have  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  important  practical 
questions  which  it  determines.  J.  H. 

Ex.  S.«  Cong.  S.R.U.  Inqcisit. 

DECBBTUM. 

Quoad  matrimonia  mixta  quae  iniri  solent  coram  heretico  mia- 
istro. 

Non  latet  quibusdam  in  locis  haereticum  ministmm  agere  per- 
sonam magistratus  mere  civilis,  coram  quo  se  sistere  solent  conjuges 
aut  etiam  debent  ob  fi nem  politicum,  nempe  ut  habeantur  civiliter 
honesti  conjuges  prolesque  censeatur  legitima.  Tunc  vero  urgen- 
tibus  haereticis  aut  lege  civili  imperante,  non  improbatur  quod 
pars  Catholica  una  cum  haeretica  se  sistat  ante  vel  post  contractum 
ad  formam  Tridentini  matrimonium,  etiam  coram  ministro  haeresi 
addicto  ad  actum  civilem  dumtaxat  implendum.  Etenim  ad 
dubium  olim  sic  expressum,  '*  Utrum  Catholicus  coram  proprio 
Catholico  parocho  cum  haeretico  contrahens  licite  possit,  urgenti- 
bus  haereticis,  matrimonium  hoc  ratificare  coram  ministro  haeretico, 
si  nulla  hinc  ritus  haeretici  professio  habeatur  ant  colligatur,  et 
qnidquid  minister  haereticus  in  casu  agit  civilis  dumtaxat  et  poli- 
tica  postulatio  sit,  et  censeatur,"  per  banc  S.  Congregationem  re- 
sponsum  fuit-affirmative. 

Verum  enim  vero  quotiescumque  minister  haereticus  censeatur, 
veluti  sacris  addictus,  et  quasi  Parochi  munere  f  nngens,  non  licet 
Catholicae  parti  una  cum  haeretica  matrimonialem  consensum 
coram  tali  ministello  praestare,  eo  quia  adhiberetur  ad  quamdam 


DocumenU.  61 

leEgjosam  coeremoniam  complendam,  et  pars  CsthoHca  ritui 
haeretko  se  consociaret ;  unde  oriretur  quaedam  implicit  a  haeresi 
■dliaesio,  ac  proinde  iUicita  omnino  haberctur  cum  haereticia  in 
dinnia  commimicatio.  Ea  propter  et^i  perniciosa  haec  consuetudo 
iDoleferit,  ita  nt  s  clero  de  facUe  cortigi  non  possit ;  nihilo  tamen 
teciiu  Mnni  adbibito  studio  ac  zelo  evellenda  erit. 

Et  sane  Beoedictos  XIV.  aperte  docct  non  licere  conlrahen- 
tibos  ee  sistere  coram  miuistro  haeretico,  quatcnus  asaistal  nt 
miniater  addictus  aacris,  et  contrahentes  peccare  mortaliter,  et  esse 
monendos. 

Opportune  itaque  a  t«  instruct!  et  commoniti  Paroclii  ac 
Miaaionarii  edoceant  Adelea,  qua  pablicia  in  Eccleaiia  Catecbesibaa, 
qua  priratia  inatructioaibiis  circa  conatantera  Ecclesiae  doctrinam 
et  prazim,  ita  ul  a  mixtis  contrahendig  nuptiis  quoad  fieri  poasit 
s&lnbriter  BTertantnr:  ain  autem,  abhorreant  prorauaacelebrando 
matrimonio  coram  haeretico  miniatro  sacris  addicto,  id  quod 
omnimode  illicitom  et  aacrilegum  eat  Ita  rcsponsum  fuit 
Ordinario  Treverensi  sub  fer  IV.  SI  Aprilis.  1847,     ^ 

Sciant  inanper  Farocbi,  ai  interrogentur  a  contra'entibus,  vel 
u  certe  noverint  eos  adituros  miDistrum  bacreticum  eacris  addic- 
tom  ad  consenaam   matrimonialem   praeatandum,   se   ailcre  non 
posse,  aed  monere  eoadem  debere  aponaos  de  graviasimo  peccato 
quod  patrant,  et  de  censuris  in  quas  incurrunt.     Veruntamen  ad 
gravia  praecaveoda  mala  ai  in  aliquo  peculiari  caau  I'arocbus  non 
fuerit  interpeUatus  a  aponais,  an  liceat  necne   adire    miniatnim 
baereticum,  et  nulla  fiat  ab  iiadem  apooaia  nxplicita  declaratio  de 
adeimdo  miniatrum  baereticum,  praevideat  tamen  eos  foraan  adi- 
turos ad  matrimonial sm  renovandum  consensum,   ac   inauper  ez 
em  certo  non 
materiale  in 
nen  acandalo, 
3  atque  cau- 
>nia  exercitio 
role  in   reli- 
enaua  coram 
nt  coram  mi- 
ipaia  sponsla 
ioterait  nisi 
itholica  facta 
mem  a  con- 
Congregatio 
er  et  firmiter 
itum  tectum 
leant,  damna 
'oborati  ince* 


[    62    ] 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

The  New  Parish  Priesfs  Practical  Manual.  Bj  Josbph  Frasi* 
KRTTi,  Prior  o^  S.  Sabina.  Translated  from  the  Italian  hj  Rev. 
W.  Hutch,  D.D.    London :  Burns  &  Oatks. 

We  think  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  comprise  in  the 
sam^  space  a  greater  amount  of  more  useful  matter  for  missionary 
priests  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  present  excellent  Manual.     It 
certainly  well  deserves  its  name,  for  it  is  beyond  all  things  a  prac- 
tical Manual  touching  on  every  single  point  of  the  wide  sphere  of 
duties  which  a  missionary  priest  is  called  upon  to  discharge.     The 
writer  of  this  book  was  not  one  of  those  pious  and  well-meaning 
scholars  who,  in  the  comfort  of  their  studies  and  in  the  protection 
of  their  cloisters,  philosophise  at  their  ease  about  the  performance  of 
duties  concerning  which  they  have  nothing  but  a  speculative  know- 
ledge.    GnAhe  contrary,  he  bore  the  burden   of  the   day  and 
the  heat.     He  was  for  thirty  years  a  parish  priest;  and  for  seven 
of  these  years  he  governed  a  large  suburban  parish  in  which  he 
had  wide  experience  of  both  town  and  country  life.     He  was, 
moreover,  a  learned  and  evidently  a  very  holy  man.     Such  a  man 
has  a  right  to  say,  as  he  says  to  young  priests,  ^*  You,  fresh  from 
your  studies,  siu'pass  me  in  theoretical  science ;  but  in  practical 
matters   I   must,   of  necessity,   have  an   advantage  over  you." 
Every  young  soldier  in  the   Church's    warfare    should    listen 
with  respect,  and  can  attend  with  profit,  to  the  sage  advice  of  such 
a  veteran  warrior. 

Ballerini,  certainly  no  incompetent  judge,  pronounces,  in  one 
of  his  notes  to  Gury,  an  extraordinary  eulogy  on  the  merits  of 
this  book.  He  says  that,  in  the  matter  of  a  parish  priest's  obliga- 
tions^ it  is  *•  dignissimum  quod  legatur  ** — most  deserving  of  peru- 
sal :  that  it  should  be  in  the  priest's  hands  day  and  night ; 
that  it  omits  nothing  appertaining  to  his  duties;  that  he  does 
not  deal  in  rhetorical  exaggeration,  or  bitter  censure  of  the  faults 
and  failings  of  others ;  but  that  he  gives  brief  and  sober  warning 
in  all  wisdom  and  prudence  and  tenderest  charity,  such  as  might 
be  expected  from  a  man  of  solid  learning  and  vast  experience,  with 
a  temperate  and  well-balanced  mind. 

We  need  say  no  more  on  the  merits  of  the  book.  We  have 
only  to  add  that  Dr.  Hutch  has,  as  might  be  expected,  performed 
his  task  of  translation  with  great  taste  and  literary  skill.  The 
work  is  beautifully  printed  in  the  clearest  type,  on  the  finest  rolled 
paper,  in  a  fashion  very  creditable  to  its  publishers.  We  owe 
thanks  to  Dr.  Hutch  for  giving  this  exceUent  work  to  English- 
speaking  priests,  and  we  dare  say  a  new  edition  will  soon  be  called 
for.  J.  H. 


Noticei  of  Books.  69 

Tie  ParotAiai  i^mn  Bool.  Londoa :  BCBiia  &  Oates,  1863. 
This  is  bj  for  the  moat  complete  Uacual  of  its  kind  which  we 
tiBTe  seen.  It  not  only  contains  «  very  large  coUwtion  of  the 
choicest  hTmns  on  all  the  great  truths  of  religion  as  well  as  on  the 
principal  festivals  of  the  church,  but  also  excellent  sets  of  prayers 
for  nse  on  all  ordinary  occasions.  It  thus  combines  the  double 
adrantage  of  being  a  Manual  of  devotion,  as  well  as  a  Hymnal 
in  the  usual  tense  of  the  word.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  tt 
will  prove  of  very  great  utility  for  all  those  churches  and  parishes 
where  congregational  singing  is  practised.  It  is  greatly  to  be 
regretted  that  our  people  in  this  country  are  not  sufficiently 
trained  id  sacred  mnsic  to  adopt  the  same  devotional  practice,  and 
we  venture  to  think  a  young  priest  with  a  knowledge  of  music 
could  not  direct  his  zeal  to  any  more  laudable  object  than  the 
instruction  of  his  flock  in  congregational  singing.  It  may  be,  in 
many  cases,  a  work  of  some  difficulty,  but  there  is  no  reason  in  the 
nature  of  things  why  our  people  in  Ireland  could  not  do  what  is 
inccessfally  done  by  the  factory  hands  of  the  great  towns  in 
England.  The  possession  of  this  book  will  greatly  facilitate  the 
tssk ;  for  it  not  only  gives  a  great  number  of  most  appropriate 
hjmns  but  gives  the  music,  which  appears  to  be  of  a  simple 
duracter,  at  the  head  of  the  hymn.  We  hope  the  book  will  have 
a  large  sale,  it  certainly  deserves  it.  J.  H. 

nutortcal  and  Biographical  Sketches:  by  the  late  Most  Rev.  John 

MacHai-e,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Tuara.     Edited  by  TnoitAB 

MacHalk,  D.D.,  Ph.  D.      M.  H.  Gill  &  Son,  Dublin. 

This  book  contains  a  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  church 

for  the  first  fonr  centuries.    It  was  prepared  ncarlysixty  years  ago, 

when  the  Archbishop  was  professor  in  the  college  of  Maynooth, 

._j  ~; — «  ;..  tu«  f»...»  ^f  U..1..W..  t«  .i.n  "»udenl8  of  his  class. 

igorous  thought,  the 

of  illustration  that 

irime.   Consummate 

;ht  and  shade  in  this 

I  leading  men  of  the 

3  that  no  reader  can 

tortant  incidents  are 

en  we  laid  the  book 

eriy  contrast  drawn 

if  the  Arian  heresy, 

s,  we  found  ourselves 

iter  gives  expression 

red  to  the  illustrious 


64  Notices  of  Booh. 

Alice  Riordan^  or  the  Blind  MarCe  Daughter.    By  Mrs.  J.  Sadueb. 

Dublin  :  Gill  &  Co. 

'*  The  Blind  Man's  Daughter  *'  first  appeared  in  the  columns  of 
the  Boston  Pilots  and  was  widely  read  and  highly  appreciated.  It  is 
a  very  interesting  story  for  the  young,  and  improves  the  hearts,  as 
well  as  wins  the  sympathy  of  its  readers.  Books  of  this  kind  are 
a  desideratum  amongst  us;  the  supply  is  very  limited,  and  we 
hope  this  one  will  have  a  large  circulation.  J.  H. 

True  Men  as  we  Need  Them,    By  the  Rev  B.  O'Rkillt.  Dublin  : 
Gill  &  Son. 

This  is  a  reprint  of  the  American  edition  of  an  exceedingly 
useful  book  for  men  of  all  classes  in  the  world.  Father  O'Reilly, 
its  author,  is  already  favourably  known  to  the  reading  public  by 
his  "  Mirrors  of  True  Womanhood/'  a  work  that  has  had  a  large 
sale  and  wrought  much  practical  good  for  many  members  of  the 
female  sex.  The  present  work  wiU,  we  hope,  prove  useful  to  the 
sons  and  fathers  of  many  families  in  Ireland.  We  should  very 
earnestly  recommend  the  clergy  to  try  and  circulate  it  amongst 
their  flocks ;  it  would  certainly  serve  to  improve  their  people  and 
lighten  their  own  labonr. 

The  Book  of  the  Professed  (New  York :  Benziger  Brothers), 
is  a  translation  from  the  French,  by  Miss  Ella  M^Mahon,  of  a 
work  on  the  religious  state,  which  is  highly  commended  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Avignon.  The  reverend  author  is  already  well 
known  as  the  writer  of  ^*  Golden  Sands  *'  and  other  works,  which 
convey  sound  ascetic  theology  in  a  simple  and  pleasing  style. 

We  cannot  speak  very  highly  of  *'  Twitterings  at  Twilight  ** 
(Gill  &  Son).  Its  preface  condemns  it.  Rhyme  does  not  make 
poetry  of  common-place  thoughts  expressed  in  common-place 
language.  The  author  would  do  well  to  study  the  great  masters 
of  song,  and  try  to  catch  the  breath  of  their  inspiration;  If  not,  he 
had  better  take  to  something  useful. 

The  Catholic  World  for  November  furnishes  much  interesting 
reading.  "  Luther  and  the  Diet  of  Worms,"  is  the  opening  article, 
and  gives  a  very  complete  and  satisfactory  account  of  that  famous 
incident  in  the  life  of  the  pugnacious  Doctor.  Irish  readers  will 
probably  take  a  greater  interest  in  the  article  on  Celtic  Art  by  Mr. 
Clynch.  Though  we  cannot  agree  with  all  the  writer's  conclusions, 
we  give  him  credit  for  discussing  the  subject  in  an  artistic  and 
sympathetic  spirit.  The  remaining  articles,  especially,  '^  The 
Early  Fruits  of  the  Reformation  in  England,''  and  ''  Skepticism  in 
its  relations  to  Modern  Thought,"  are  readable  and  instructive. 
We  wish  a  long  career  of  usefulness  to  our  American  contemporary. 

An  Appeal  and  a  Defiance  is  a  translation  from  a  little  work 
of  Gardinid  Deschamps,  in  which  he  appeals  to  the  good  fedth  of 
the  Protestant,  and  defies  the  rationalist  to  give  a  rational  account 
of  his  own  opinions,  or  any  refutation  of  the  evidences  of  Catholicity. 


.      [    6*    ] 

APPENDIX. 

MONTHLY  NOTES. 

DR  MOLLOT  AND  DR.  PORTER  ON   UNIVERSITIES 
IN  IRELAND. 

An  interesting  eoirespondeoce  haa  lately  appeared  in  the 
tdunms  of  the  IriA  Times  on  the  relative  merits  of  the  Catholic 
Dmreisity  and  the  Queen's  Colleges,  as  well  as  on  the  general 
question  of  University  Education  in  Ireland.  In  the  first  para- 
grsph  Dr.  UoUoy  explains  the  "Constitution  of  the  Catholic 
CniTOTsity." 

"COSanTDTIOH  OF  THK  CATnOLIC    DNIVER3ITr. 

"  Dr.  Porter  seems  greatly  puzzled  about  the  present  Constitu- 
tioii  of  tlie  Catholic  University.  He  says  it  is  a  mystery  '  which 
Dr.  MoUoy'a  explantition  makes  only  more  mysterious.'  With  a 
vieic,  therefore,  to  satisfy  Dr.  Porter's  mind  oa  the  Eubject.  and  to 
prerent  future  mbunderstanding,  I  will  briefly  set  forth  what  the 
Constitution  of  the  Catholic  University  really  is.  The  Catholic 
University  coasista  of  a  number  of  Colleges,  each  one  having  its 
own  head  and  its  own  independent  organisation,  while  all  co-operate 
together  for  the  development  of  higher  Catholic  education.  First 
amongst  these  colleges  in  dignity  and  importance  is  the  College  of 
Maynooth,  which  is  the  chief  seat  of  the  Faculties  of  Theology 

—J  TM,:! 1.„     -M^-..^.!.  i..,~  _)„«  .,  ijigiier  course  of  studies  in 

up  to  the  examinations  of 
he  highest  distinctions  for 
cr  come  the  colleges  which 
mportant  of  tliese  Colleges 
^een,  which  is  now  under 
Vencli  College,  I31ackrock, 
hers  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
t  Catholic  College  foun<led 
Lolics  had  ceased  to  be  a 
tly,  we  have  the  Medical 
3  been  an  integral  part  of 
this  organisation,  and  to 
one  harmonious  whole,  a 
nown  by  the  name  of  the 
:h  consists  of  the  heads  of 
i,  in  each  academical  terra ; 


6  6  Montlily  Notes. 

for  the  degrees  of  the  Royal  University  in  Arts,  Medicine, 
Engineering,  and  Law ;  but  it  confers  its  own  degrees,  as  hereto- 
fore, in  Theology  and  Philosophy.  That  this  Constitution  is  far 
from  ideal  perfection  I  frankly  admit.  But  it  is  certainly  not  very 
mysterious,  and  I  do  think  that  it  provides  as  well  as  can  be  done, 
in  our  present  difficult  circumstances,  for  the  promotion  of  higher 
Catholic  education  in  Ireland.  As  time  goes  on,  and  the  policy  of 
our  rulers  is  guided  by  wiser  and  more  liberal  counsels,  we  hope  to 
attain  a  fuller  and  more  complete  organisation. 

*'  This  Constitution,  however,  is  by  no  means  satbfactory  to 
Dr.  Porter.  He  complains  that  the  colleges  of  which  the  Catholic 
University  is  composed,  *  with,  perhaps,  a  single  exception,  are 
Intermediate  Schools.'  To  this  charge,  if  it  be  a  charge,  I  might 
simply  answer  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  fact.  Maynooth  College 
is  not  an  Intermediate  School ;  University  College  is  not  an  Inter- 
mediate School ;  the  Medical  School,  in  Cecilia-street,  is  not  an 
Intermediate  School ;  the  French  College,  £lackrock,  contains  two 
distinct  departments — one  is  a  flourishing  Intermediate  School,  the 
other,  a  flourishing  University  College.  But  I  do  not  care  ta 
quarrel  about  names.  I  will  content  myself  with  recording  a 
statement  which  I  have  received  from  the  head  of  the  University 
department  in  the  French  College.  He  teUs  me  that  the  students 
of  the  French  College,  at  present  reading  in  the  first  three  years 
of  the  Arts  course,  have  gained  more  honours,  exhibitions  and 
scholarships,  under  the  Royal  University,  than  all  the  students  of 
the  corresponding  three  years  in  the  three  Queen's  Colleges  taken 
together.  Dr.  Porter,  then,  has  his  choice  of  two  alternatives. 
Either  he  must  acknowledge  that  the  French  College  is  a  Uni- 
versity College,  or  he  must  admit  that  the  three  Queen's  Colleges, 
taken  together,  have  been  defeated  in  open  competition  for  Uni- 
versity prizes  by  one  Catholic  Intermediate  SchooL" 

Dr.   Molloy  then  applied   Sir  Lyon  Playfair's  Test  of  the 

Success  of  a  University. 

"sir  lton  playfair's  test. 

"  Sir  Lyon  Playfair,  in  defending  the  Queen's  Colleges  before 
Parliament,  said  that  the  true  test  of  an  University  College  is  the 
number  of  graduates  it  produces,  and  applying  this  test  to  the  late 
Queen's  University  he  proved  that  it  stood  higher  than  Oxford  or 
Cambridge,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  or  London,  because  it  produced 
a  greater  number  of  graduates  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  its 
students.  In  dealing  with  this  argimient,  I  said,  in  effect,  that 
the  number  of  graduates  produced  may  or  may  not  be  a  good  test 
of  a  University  College.  It  is  a  good  test,  if  the  standard  of 
examination  is  high  ;  it  is  no  test  at  all  if  the  standard  of  examina- 
tion is  low.  But  Sir  Lyon  Playfair  did  not  show,  nor  attempt  to 
show,  that  the  examination  for  degrees  in  the  Queen's  University 


Monthljf  Notet.  67 

was  kept  up  to  a  ii^h  standard,  and,  therefore,  his  arguments 
really  proved  nothing  at  all.  To  this  Dr.  Porter  replies  that  '  the 
c^nuioQ  of  Sir  Lyon  Flaj^air,  on  auch  a  subject,  will  cany  qnite 
u  mnch  weight  with  the  British  public  as  that  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  HoUoy.'  Dr.  Porter  does  not  seem  to  appreciate  the  differ- 
ence between  the  weight  of  an  opinion  and  the  weiglit  of  an 
argsment.  I  did  not  question  the  value  of  Sir  Lyon  Flayfair's 
opinion,  much  less  did  I  presume  to  set  up  my  own  opinion  against 
it.  What  I  undertook  to  do  was  to  answer  his  argument,  and 
Dr.  Porter  does  not  even  attempt  to  show  that  I  have  failed  iif 
doing  so. 

"  But  I  pushed  the  matter  further.     I  said   that  if  we  accept 

Sir  LyoD  Playfair's  test  it  will  prove  agtunst  the  cause  of  which 

he  was  the  champion.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  Sir  Lyon  Playfair 

wu  defending,  not  one  Queen's  College  only,  as  Dr.   Porter  is 

doing,  but  all  three — Cork,  Galway,  and  Belfast,     1  took  ^then 

Sir  Lyon  Flajrfair's  lest,  end  I  applied  it  to  Queen's  College,  Cork  { 

not  ss  it  was  in  the  halcyon  days  of  Queen's  University,  but  as  it 

now  exists  under  the  Boyal   University.      From   the   published 

returns  I  showed  that  the  uomber  of  students  in  the  first  year  of 

the  Arts  course  was  only  14,  and  that  of  these  14  students  only  six 

passed  the  first  University  Examination  at  the  close  of  the  session. 

Now  this  examination  is  a  necessary  step  to  all  degrees  in   the 

Bo;al  University,  and,  therefore,  these  six  students  constitute  the 

wbolematerial.sotospeak,  out  of  which  all  the  graduates  of  one  year, 

d  Iaw,  are  to  be  manufactured. 

ided  that  if  Queen's  College, 

in  Playfair's  test  its  prospecta 

7  bright.     To  this  ai^ument 

Molloy  refers  to  his  own  and 
tore  of  University  Education 


FiaiTIES  IN  IBttLAND. 

Dr.  Porter  will  find  himself  in 
t  body  of  Catholics  in  Ireland, 
liversity,  and  so  are  they.  It 
e  Catholics  of  Ireland  are  not 
bliahment  of  the  Royal  Uni- 
:  they  never  accepted  it  as 
ause  it  is  better  than  nothing, 
substantially  with  Dr.  Porter's 


68  MonMy  Notet. 

value  of  examinatioii8.  As  regards  Univernty  students,  it  tends 
to  develop  a  morbid  and  almost  feverish  competition  for  honours 
and  prizes  as  the  be-all  and  end-all  of  University  life.  As  regards 
University  professors,  it  tends  to  lower  them  to  the  condition  of 
college  grinders,  and  to  extinguish  all  ardour  for  original  research. 
But  even  with  these  drawbacks,  which  I  fully  appreciate,  I  still 
prize  the  Royal  University,  and  prize  it  highly,  because  it  affords 
to  Irish  Catholics,  for  the  first  time,  an  opportunity  of  proving 
that  they  are  worthy  of  a  University  of  their  own— chartered, 
endowed,  and  fully  recognised  by  the  State. 

**Dr.  Porter,   being  dissatisfied  with  the  Royal  University, 

proposes  that  a  new  University  should  be  created  in  Belfast.   ThLo 

proposition,  considered  in  itself,  plainly  assumes  that  Dr.  Porter 

and  his  friends  have,  by  some  peculiar  privilege,  a  right  to  be 

dissatisfied  with  the  Royal  University,  while  everybody  else  must 

be  content  with  it ;  that  the  Royal  University,  in  fact,  is  not  at 

all  good  enough  for  the  Ptesbyterians  of  Ulster,  but  quite  good 

enough  for  the  Catholics  of  all  the  four  provinces  of  Jreland. 

These  assumptions,  of  course,  cannot  for  a  moment  be  entertained, 

and  need  not  be  further  discussed.     But  Dr.  Porter's  proposition, 

regarded  as  part  of  a  possible  reconstruction  of  the  University 

system  in  Ireland,  seems  to  me  deserving  of  favourable  oonsidera* 

tion.     According  to  the  last  census,  the  population  of  Ireland  is 

thus  composed — Catholics,  76*6  per  cent. ;  members  of  the  late 

Established  Church,  12*3  per  cent. ;  Presbyterians,  9*4  per  cent. ; 

all  others,  1  '7  per  cent.     Now,  the  University  of  Dublin  amply 

and  nobly  provides  for  the  members  of  the  late  Established  Church  ; 

the  Catholic  University,  chartered  by  the  Crown,  and  suitably 

endowed,  would  furnish  University  education  to  the  Catholic  body ; 

and  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  University, 

would  meet  the  wants  of  the  Presbyterian  Community.  A  provision 

might  be  adopted,  and  enforced  under  suitable  regulations,  that 

each   University   should    be  ready  to  receive  students  of  other 

religious  denominations  who  might    choose  to  come  to  it,  and 

should  not  interfere  with  their  religious  opinions.     Under  such  a 

system  the  three  great  religious  bodies  which  constitute,  when  taken 

together,  98  J  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population,  would  be  provided 

with   University  education  in   a  manner  conformable  to    their 

religious  convictions,  while  the  remaining  \\  per  cent,  would  be  at 

least  as  well  off  as  they  are  at  present.     This  would  be  a  solution 

of  the  University  question,  as  I  think,  devoutly  to  be  wished  for.'* 


1 


THE   IRISH 

ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


FEBRUARY,  1884. 


TEE  ENGLISH  OR  SCOTCH  LAKES— WHICH  ? 

No.  L— Scotch  Laxes. 

9a  recommend  1 
>Qa  of  this  kmd 
'  our  return  from 
el  Ab  regards 
^  to  come  to  a 
determine  what 
m.  ideal  of  lake 
imself;  he  has 
rater  of  certain 
rith  a  due  pro- 
itioLa,  at  least  he 
upoD  him  -which 
B  conditiouB,  or, 
a  what  he  had 
mself  ae    much 

has  at  another 
iilfilment  of  his 
J  circumstaDces 
'  health — at  the 
roDgh  them,  the 
9  ourselveH  prize 
aee,  and  decide 

to  do  with  the 


70  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes — Which  ? 

Perhaps  the  safer  course  will  be  to  recall  to  mind,  as  far 
as  memory,  unaided  by  notes,  can  do,  some  of  the  scenes 
through  wtiich  we  have  recently  passed,  and  to  lay  our 
Record  before  the  inquirer,  that  he  may  determine  for 
himself  which  it  shall  be,  England  or  Scotland,  which 
shall  show  him  its  beautiful  lake  scenery.  Confident  in 
this,  whatever  misgivings  we  may  have  of  the  result  in 
other  respects,  that,  go  to  which  he  may,  he  will  have 
reason  to  rejoice  in  the  resolution  that  took  him  there, 
amid  scenes  which  cannot  fail  to  please  every  lover  of  the 
beauties  of  nature.  We  will  devote  this  chapter  to  the 
Scotch  Lakes,  reserving  for  another  what  we  have  to  saT 
of  those  of  England,  follo^ving  thereby  the  order  in  which 
we  made  our  recent  visit. 

By  some  accidental  good  fortune  we  took  a  railway- 
route,  which  carried  us  past  the  three  glorious  Cathedrals 
of  Ely,  Lincoln,  and  York,  on  our  way  to  Durham,  where 
we  made  a  brief  stay.  So  we  seemed  to  enter  Scotland 
with  enough  of  the  Episcopal  element  in  our  constitutions 
to  protect  us  againt  the  anti-prelatical  influences  of  the 
Kirk,  Established,  Free,  or  Combined  (U.P.,  as  it  is 
generally  called). 

Beautiful  and  picturesque  Edinburgh  has  its  Cathedral 
too,* St.  Giles,  which  Chambers,  of  the  Journal^  has  restored 
at  great  cost  and  vn\h  good  effect,  at  least  as  far  as 
Presbyterianism  would  allow.  It  seems  waiting  for  better 
days,  and  will  require  but  little  additional  restoration  to 
fit  it  for  the  old  CathoUc  rites,  when  it  will  become,  indeed, 
a  Cathedral  once  more.  In  the  meantime,  waiting  also  for 
these  better  days,  the  Catholics  have  to  content  themselves 
with  a  tiny  pro-cathedral,  which  is  put  to  shame  by  a 
bran-new  Protestant  episcopal  building  of  very  fair  dimen- 
sions and  of  no  little  pretence.  But  Edinburgh  must  not 
delay  us  now,  though  it  failed  not,  at  the  time,  to  detain 
us  for  several  davs,  while  Queen  Mary's  Holyrood  Palace, 
with  its  gloomy  chambers  and  grim  memories,  the  towering 
Castle,  and  the  other  imuosing  buildings  of  this  remsirkable 
city,  fully  occupied  our  long  days.  Nor  must  we  omit  just 
a  single  word  to  tell  of  the  poorest  and  oldest  parts  of 
Edinburgh,  which  we  were  shown  over,  up,  and  tnrough, 
to  the  no  small  surprise  of  the  queer  inhabitants,  who 
seemed  Uttle  accustomed  to,  and  no  little  suspicious  of, 
such  visits.  Staircases  opened  upon  the  street,  and 
wound  up  exterior  turrets,  which  were  almost  detached 
from  the  nouses  to  which  they  seemed  scarcely  to  belong. 


The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes — Which  f  71 

Indeed,  they  appeared  rather  to  be  remains  of  ancient 
fortificationB,  which  had  survived  alone,  and  been  since 
converted  to  more  domestic  uses.  If  so,  they  are  soon  to 
follow  their  old  companions,  .and,  therefore,  we  look  with 
additional  interest  upon  these  last  vestiges  of  an  ancient 
world,  which  are  fast  disappearing  before  light,  air  and 
cleanUness,  with  which,  in  truth,  they  seemed  to  have  had 
but  Uttle  intimacy. 

On  to  Stirling,  and  a  few  days'  delay ;  not  there,  but 
at  charminff  Bridge  of  Allan ;  for  Stirling  has  but  few 
attractions  beyond  its  well-placed,  but  otherwise  unin- 
teresting Castle :  it  is  another  relic  of  past  times,  (with,  of 
course,  sad  memories  of  Queen  Mary,)  out  modernized  into 
a  barrack,  which  somehow  seems  to  imply  in  its  very  name 
ugliness,  and  the  absence  of  all  grace  of  form.  How  is 
this,  we  say  to  ourselves,  as  we  look  up  from  the  plain,  or 
climb  the  steep  cliff  on  which  it  stands  I  how  is  it  that 
old  castles  have  so  much  grandeur  about  them,  so  much 
character,  and  are  so  eloquent,  even  in  their  ruins,  of  the 
times  and  people  among  which  and  whom  they  flourished ; 
and  these  moaem  buildings  are  characterless  and  lifeless, 
telling  of  nothing,  and  having  no  history  for  posterity, 
unless  it  be  that  military  life  has  become  a  thing  of  system, 
a  dull  formality,  a  machine  which  can  neither  Uve  *nor 
think,  and  so  its  outcome  are  their  powder  magazines, 
and  hideous  factory-like  buildings  f  So  we  prefer  bright^ 
beautifol  Bridge  of  Allan,  with  its  adjacent  parks,  its 
noble  terraces,  which  climb  one  above  another  into  the 
lofty  woods  that  shut  it  in,  and  make  it  so  salubrious  a 
dwelling  in  spring  and  autumn.  If  we  wish  to  indulge 
our  antiquarian  tastes  there  are  the  ruins  of  Dotme  Castle, 
but  not  Bums'  "  Bonnie  Doune  "  and  the  majestic  reUcs  of 
Dunblane  Cathedral ;  this  latter  being  one  of  the  finest  in 
Scotland  of  the  few  the  old  Covenanters  spared. 

On  by  train  again  to  Callander,  where  the  visitors  to 
the  lakes  leave  the  railway  and  take  coach,  as  of  old,  to 
the  Trossachs,  while  those  in  haste  for  Oban  continue  on 
the  line.  We  join  the  former,  and  dash  along  in  first-rate 
style,  as,  indeed,  one  does  on  every  coached  road  in 
Scotland.  A  pleasant  drive — all  the  pleasanter  for  being 
the  first  of  a  tour — ^brings  us  throuffh  eight  miles  of  wild 
and  lakey  scenery  to  the  Trossacns,  which,  to  say  the 
truth,  is  a  terribly  over-rated  glen,  leading  down  to  Loch 
Eatrine.  Walter  Scott  has  thrown  a  glamour  over  this 
district,  and  must  be  held  responsible  tor  the  make-believe 


72  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Which  f 

enihusia«m  which  seems  to  be  expected  here.  "  The  Ladj 
of  the  Lake  "  is  in  everybody's  mind,  and  in  everbody's 
eye  too ;  and  so,  the  scenery  is  not  what  it  really  is,  but 
what  it  once  was,  or,  perhaps  what  the  poet  feigned  it  to 
be.  But  the  Trossachs  Hotel  is  very  comfortable,  and 
there  every  one  lunches  at  least,  while  many  linger  for  a  day 
or  two ;  and  so  the  scenery  is  visited  under  favorable 
influences,  and  the  satisfied  tourist  is  in  tgniable  mood,  and 
sees,  or  fancies  he  sees,  what  the  poet  so  well  paints. 

Lochs  Venachar  and  Achray,  which  he  has  viewed  firom 
the  commanding  heights  of  the  stage-coach,  have  prepared 
the  well-fed  traveller  for  closer  acquaintance  with  Loch 
Katrine,  and  so  he  embarks  in  the  little  steamer,  Scot  in 
hand,  declaims  "  With  promontory,  creek,  and  bay, "  &c^ 
and  hardly  finds  time  to  look  about  him  to  compare  the 
original  with  the  copv  in  verse,  before  the  seven  miles  are 
steamed,  and  he  lanos,  with  all  his  traps,  books,  and  minor 
luggage,  at  Stronachlachar,  which  sonorous  name  he  rolls 
about  his  mouth  like  a  first  taste  of  Gaelic,  and  hastens 
nervously  to  the  awaiting  coaches,  under  an  unfoimded 
dread,  which  never  leaves  him,  in  spite  of  repeated  proofisi 
of  its  needlessnesSy  that  he  will  not  get  a  seat  ana  may 
have  to  walk — goodness  knows  how  far. 

C!ould  he  have  been  left  behind,  and  have  left  his 
anxiety  with  his  luggage,  he  would  have  enjoyed  the  walk 
of  five  miles  between  Loch  Katrine  and  Loch  Lomond* 
But  here  we  are  at  Liversnaid,  on  the  banks  of  the  greater 
Lake,  and  just  at  a  point  where,  on  the  right,  the  waters 
contract  into  a  narrow  channel  shut  in  by  lofty  mountains, 
and,  on  the  left,  spread  out  into  the  broad  sheet  which,  to 
the  southern  end,  widening  to  five  miles,  has  in  all  a  length 
of  about  23  miles,  and  contains  about  20,000  acres  of 
water,  to  speak  with  Scotch  precision.  Liversnaid  has  aa 
excellent  hotel,  which^  indeeo,  is  no  diBtinguifihiQg  mark  in 
this  land  of  good  living;  and  some  of  our  tourists  cast 
longing  eyes  at  the  plenteous  luncheon  exposed  to  view, 
and  seem  to  regret  their  anticipation  thereof  at  the 
Trossachs.  But  eating  has  its  limits  even  in  the  '^  Land 
of  Cakes,"  and  so,  as  me  steamboat  has  not  yet  arrived,  an 
half  hour  may  be  spent  about  an  adjacent  waterfall,  which, 
it  seems,  Wordsworth  has  immortalized  in  his  poem,  ^^  The 
Highland  Girl."  It  is  close  at  hand,  and  easy  of  access, 
for  bridges  span  its  large  boulders  and  wild  banks ;  it  is  a 
complete  waterfall,  minus  the  water,  which,  happily  for  us 
travellers,  is  just  now  wanting — A  very  unusual  want  in 
rainy  Scotland. 


The  EnglUh  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Wliick  t  78 

So  the  crowd  fidgeta  nntil  the  boat  arriTee,  and  ofiF 
they  rtinh  away  once  more,  full  steam,  up  or  down  the 
lake,  to  Balioch,  at  one  end,  for  (ilaegow ;  or  for  Inver- 
arnan  (another  Hotel),  and  the  beautiful  Glenfalloch,  at 
the  other,  for  Oban.  We  leave  the  boat  at  Rowardennan, 
for  the  cb'mb  up  Ben  Lomond,  and  to  escape  the  stampade. 
The  rush  is  made  from  Glasgow  or  Edinburgh  for  this 
expedition,  which  can  eaaily  be  completed  in  one  day — 

By  rail,  road,  boat,  road,  boat  and  rail  again. 
(HaTing  accidentally  constructed  a  Terse,  we  give  it  a  line 
to  itself). 

This  is  one  of  many  day-excursion e  which  Scotland  has 

provided  for  ita  people  who  congregate  in  the  large  cities, 

and  daily  crowds  show  how  they  are  appreciated.     The 

company  is  somewhat  mixed,  very  resolute  and  outspoken, 

and  bent  on  enjoyment     For  the  quiet  tourist,  or,in  truth, 

for  men  of  ordioary  capacity  or  movement,  these  excursion- 

ista  are  a  source  of  occasional  excitement  and  distraction ; 

and  sweep  yon  on  in  their  rush  with  almost  as  much  im- 

petttositj  as  a  mountain  torrent,  and  with  somewhat  of  the 

nme  unsatisfactory  result.     So  we  land  at  the  foot  of  Ben 

Lomond ;  pass  the  afternoon  in  strolling  along  the  beauti- 

folly-wooded  shore  at  its  base ;  climb  it«  bold  head  the 

following  day,  and  spend  a  third  in  traversing  the  take 

s  it  were,  the  mountain  view 

last  for  Loch  Awe  and  Oban. 

one,  but  not  arduous.     We 

6,  in  truth,  a  carthorse,  old, 

stumbling;    like    the    Last 

lave  known   a  better  dayj" 

y,  surveyed  the    path  widi 

med  in  spirit  when  urged  to 

IB  a  fine  view  ;  it  is  3,192  feet 

tiles   long.       Loch    Lomond 

eals  all  its  many  islands  and 

h,  of  course,  it  is  too  close 

a  view  of  it.      Loch  Katrine 

eas-known  lochs,  while  moun- 

ns  by  name,  spread  out  map- 

for  a  while,  filled  with  mist, 

1,  and  reveals  all  this  in  sun- 

Q  to  the  foot  of  the  lake,  and 


74  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Which  f 

the  railway  we  had  quitted  at  Callander  which  was  to 
carry  us  to  Oban.  The  drive  was  through  a  wild  and 
desolate  wilderness,  whose  only  life  TCas  a  brawling  stream, 
for  such  it  now  appeared  to  be,  though  it  bears  the  more 
dignified  name  of  the  River  Falloch,  and  doubtless,  at 
ordinary  times,  is  as  grand  and  maje^ic  as  it  is  now 
sportive  and  wilful ;  for  its  bed  of  large  rocks  is  now  its 
play-ground,  wherein  it  dances  and  flashes  in  the  bright 
sunshme,  and  would  be  thought  a  water-maiden,  did  not 
its  steep  banks  tell  of  a  fierce,  manly  power,  which  at  times 
makes  itself  felt.  K  we  gain,  as  surely  we  do,  by  its  many 
cascades  in  place  of  a  few  wild  leaps,  and  a  headlong- 
hurrying  to  destruction,  we,  of  course,  lose  the  grandetir  of 
its  renowned  fall,  which  we  can  judge  by  its  site  and 
accessories,  to  be  a  sight  to  see.  We  are  told  that  the 
wild  scenery  through  which  we  are  driving  is  historic,  and 
we  hear  of  Robert  Bruce  and  the  Lord  of  Lorn ;  but,  in 
truth,  we  are  more  interested  by  still  older  memorials  of 
the  past,  which  stand  single  and  widely  scattered  for  miles 
and  miles  over  glen  and  mountaina  There  are  trees  of 
unknown  age,  gnarled,  twisted  bv  fierce  temnests  into 
strange  shapes,  some  branchless,  and  others  weighed  down 
by  their  limbs ;  each  one  sohtary,  the  last  of  his  group, 
and  all  combine  into  a  memorial  of  that  vast  Caledonian 
Forest  which  has  passed  away,  sind  left  these  relics  alone 
to  tell  of  what  once  had  been. 

But  while  we  are  lingering  in  thought  amid  times  past, 
the  present  has  its  railway  claim  upon  us,  and  we  urge  our 
driver  to  hasten  on  that  we  may  catch  the  last  train.  He 
promises  to  be  in  ^ood  time,  which  in  truth  he  is ;  for  we 
orive  into  the  station  as  the  clock  strikes.  But  the  train  T 
There  is  no  sign  of  it,  no  token  of  expectation,  none  of  that 
bustle  which  generally  receives  a  coach-load  of  people  at 
a  side  station.  So  we  wait,  at  first  impatiently,  and  at  last 
resignedly,  for  some  two  hours  and  more,  when  in  it  comes, 
steadily  and  orderly  enough,  and  we  think  of  the  Lish 
Express,  or  the  Flying  Dutclunan,  and  the  sensation  when 
either  is  a  few  minutes  behind.  The  explcmation  is,  that 
it  is  the  First  of  August,  and  everybody  is  ^ing  North  for 
the  shooting,  and  does  not  expect  to  reach  it  m  a  hunry.  The 
railroad,  which,  at  one  time,  seems  to  have  been  given  up 
in  despair,  is  now  completed  to  Oban.  Very  wild,  not  a 
little  oreary,  but  at  times  wonderfully  grand,  is  the  route 
of  this  brave  little  line,  which  creeps  among  the  base  of 
Ben  Cruachan  (3,670  feet),  skirts  the  best  bits  of  such 


The  Engluh  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Which  t  75 

sceneiy  as  Lochs  Awe  and  Etive,  climbs  up  heights  and 
planges  down  agaia  into  dark  valleys,  and  m  time — houre 
atter  its  due  time — ecreams  and  snortB  into  beautiful  Oban, 
as  though  proud,  as  it  may  well  be,  of  having  arrived  at 
alL  Everybody  seems  to  have  turned  out  to  receive  us, 
and  Oban  itself  talks  not  a  little  of  the  late  arrival,  as 
though  it  were  a  proof  of  the  grandeur  of  the  undertaking, 
which  could  contrive  the  loss  of  so  many  hours.  As  people 
Baid,«iid  not  without  reason,  it  is  worth  coming  to  Scotland 
to  make  that  Railway  journey. 

Beautiful  Oban,  we  called  it  quite  naturally ;  for  it  ie  so 
femimne  in  its  aspect — so  cosily  placed  is  it  on  the  bright 
sea-shore,  so  jealously  guarded  by  its  overhanging  mils, 
and  then  so — seemingly    uunecessarily — land-locked  by 
Eerrara  Island  placed  down  right  in  front  of  it,  while  grim 
old  Mull  stands  scowling  close  behind,  towering  above 
Eerrara,  and  looking  longingly  at  the  pet  of  the  moun- 
tains, which  has  been  snatched  from  his  protecting  arms. 
It  is  on  the  sea-shore,  and  yet  on  every  sea-side  there  is 
gome  outlying  land ;  so  that  the  approach  to  the  harbour 
is  every  where  between  lofty  heights,  and  opens  up  fresh 
vistas,  look  where  we  will  from  me  little  harbour,  or  the 
broad  promenade  which  skirts  the  adjacent  shora    And 
then  when  any  of  the  heights  are  climbed,  up  steep  streets 
andly  the  distance  spreads 
nes  mto  view,  which  lies 
md  Ireland ;  that  sea  over 
hirteen  hundred  years  ago, 
re  at  lona,  near  that  won- 
emphatically  of  hia  native 

rst  excursions  which  await 
■the  island  of  the  church  of 
in — though,  of  course,  we 
th  due  submission  to  the 
hat  link  of  mysterious  pris- 
the  Giant's  Canseway  in 
ountry  "  followed  its  mis- 
g  arms  beneath  the  sea,  and 
t  it  may  still  claim  him  as 
8  of  pflgrimage  rather  than 


76  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes— Which  f 

afraid  to  leave  the  landlocked  bay  and  face  the  open  ronnd 
the  wild  coaet  of  Mull. 

Another  of  the  favourite  excursions  from  Oban  is 
through  the  Caledonian  canal  to  Inverness,  a  voyage  of 
great  and  varied  interest  across  Scotland,  from  west  to 
east  The  route  is  a  very  skilful  piece  of  engineering  by 
Telford,  and  occupied  upwards  of  forty  years  in  its  com- 
pletion. 

Its  whole  length,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  German 
Ocean,  is  about  sixty  miles,  of  which  thirty  seven  are  lakes 
cleverly  connected  by  links  of  canaL  Now,  these  lakes 
are  very  grand  in  some  parts;  and  very  beautifrd  in  others ; 
so  that  the  canal  seems  but  resting  places  for  the  mind  and 
eye  to  repose  on,  as  we  pass  from  one  noble  or  exquisite 
scene  to  another.  Coasting  northwards  from  Oban,  we 
are  soon  in  the  broad  waters  and  amid  the  very  striking 
and  romantic  scenery  of  Loch  Linnhe,  whence  we  diverge 
from  our  eastern  route  to  visit  tjie  beautiful  Loch  Leven. 
(not,  however.  Queen  Mary's  Loch  of  that  name),  and 
land  at  Ballachulish.  Many  hasten  on  to  the  wild  pass  of 
Glencoe ;  but  we  while  away  the  time  on  the  banks  of  the 
sweet  Leven,  and  prefer  its  ever- varying  charms  to  the 
wild  desolation  ofXxlencoe  and  its  hideous  memories.  Not 
but  that  Glencoe  well  repays  a  visit,  and  would  guide 
books  but  be  content  to  twine  the  sublimity  of  this  land 
of  Morven  with  the  memory  of  the  poet  whose  home  and 
inspiration  it  was  scdd  to  be,  and  to  tell  of  Ossian  rather 
than  of  the  Massacre  of  Glencoe,  the  mind  might  be  filled 
with  accordant  thoughts,  and  enter  somewhat  into  the  sub- 
Ume  suggestions  of  so  grand  a  scene.  Strange  that  men 
will  not  be  content  with  polluting  such  spots  with  their 
brutcd  rivalries,  but  must  needs  seek  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  their  evil  deeds,  by  connecting  them  with  the 
names  of  the  localities  themselves. 

In  the  bright  afternoon  we  steam  back  into  Loch 
Linnhe,  and  pass  through  a  narrow  passage,  almost  a 
doorway,  into  Loch  Eil.  Here  the  grand  Ben  Nevis  (4,406 
feet)  is  the  chief  feature  of  the  scene,  and  at  Fort  William 
we  rest  for  the  night.  On  we  sail  by  the  first  canal  the 
next  morning  into  and  through  Loch  Lochy,  ten  miles  in 
len^h,  whose  banks  owe  their  beauty  to  a  rich  foliage, 
and  to  the  occasional  openings  into  wild  and  picturesque 

flens.    Another  canal  leads  through  into  another  lake — 
loch  Oich — some  four  miles  long,  and  then  again  another 
of  many  locks,  which  gives  us  time  to  visit  the  noble 


7%e  EnglM.  or  Scotch  Lain—  Which  t  7 

monastery  at  Fort  Angostas,  where  the  English  Beaedio- 
tinefl  are  employed  in  their  old  work  of  prayer,  praise,  and 
the  tnBtraction  of  the  young.  All  honotir  to  Lord  Lovat, 
who  parchaaed  this  Govemment  property  and  presented  it, 
and  much  more  besides,  to  those  who  have  used  it  well  in 
the  erection  of  so  imposing  a  group  of  buildings.  But  th© 
eeren  lochs  are  passed  by  our  steamer,  and  once  more  we 
are  aboard  and,  traveising  the  twenty-four  miles  of  the 
wide  waters  of  Loch  Ness  {the  Lake  of  the  Cataract),  we 
of  coniBe  visit  the  Ness  itself,  the  well-known  Fall  of 
Foyere,  as  a  thing  to  be  "  done,"  and  for  the  doing  of 
which  the  steamboat  waits  'somewhat  impatiently,  and 
with  occaaional  protesting  screams.  There  are  two  falls ; 
the  lower  being  down  a  perpendicular  height  of  two 
hundred  feet;  the  upper  being  about  thirty  feet,  and  that 
twice  broken.  Fine  weather  had  diminished  the  body  of 
water ;  but  it  was  still  grand :  and  not  very  much  imagi- 
i»tion  was  needed  to  realize  the  fine  lines  with  which  it 
inspired  Bums. 

U any  historical  castles  are  seen  on  the  pleasant  TOy- 

»ge,  and  each  with  itslegend  of  times  old  and  new.     Some 

are  bat  relics  of  bygone  times ;  while  others  have  developed 

into  modem  residences  which  yet  retain  much  of  their 

ancient  lochs   and   the 

istics  of  what  is  around, 

ink  of  modem  civilisation 

)88t.    And  so  we  arrived 

nrlieat  history  we  touched 
lECORD,^  carried  us  from 
nt  instead  of  continuing 
1  route,  we  left  it  mid- 
along  the  wild  shore  of 

the  coast  at  Oairloch. 
iries  of  Scotland.     Some 

with  several  beautiful 
too  grand — setting;  for 
sn  for  Scotland,  and  so 
>wl  at  what  tempers  its 
inate  even  its  own  little 
ate :  it  was  fishiest  of  the 


78  The  English  or  Scotch  LakcB — Which  f 

> 

fishers,  who  wasted  hour  after  hour  in  unskilled  line 
drawing,  and  what  time  they  spent  on  shore  in  talking 
over  their  useless  and  purposeless  employment.  So  the 
next  morning  we  cross  to  the  Isle  of  Skye  and  land  at  its 
quaint  little  capital  Portree,  after  a  Toyage  of  some  hours 
in  varying  sunshine  and  shower. 

Now  Skye  has  two  special  excursions,  one  of  which  we 
had  done  years  ago :  so  it  was  at  once  determined  to  do 
the  other ;  and,  indeed,  the  plan  was  put  into  immediate 
execution,  for  the  drag  was  waiting  for  us  at  our  Royal 
Hotel.  In  truth,  we  started  so  quickly  that  we  left  our 
baggage  in  the  hall,  and  found,  on  our  return,  that  it  hsul 
gone  on  an  excursion  of  its  own,  or  had  quitted  us  in  dis- 
gust at  our  neglect  in  not  seeing  it  to  our  rooms,  and  had 
returned  by  the  steamboat  to  Gairlochl  However,  by 
means  of  telegraphing  in  some  very  primitive  manner, 
which  would  be  called  telegraphing  no  where  but  in  Skye, 
we  recovered  most  of  our  property  the  next  morning,  and 
carried  it  triumphantly  home  again,  with  the  loss  only  of 
our  guide  boot  and  notes  (manuscript,  not  bank),  to 
which  loss  the  reader  will  be  kind  enough  to  attribute  the 
vagueness  and  many  inaccuracies  of  this  present  RECORD. 

The  Quiraing  is  a  famous  mountain  some  1,774  feet  in 
height,  sloping  steeply  towards  the  west,  but  with  its 
eastern  or  sea  face  composed  of  rugged  precipices,  varied 
by  huge  columns  of  basalt  and  massy  fragments  of  fluted 
rock  Such  queer  giants  are  no  where  else  to  be  seen ; 
but  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  thcQi  now,  for  our  excur- 
sion is  in  quite  the  opposite  direction.  However,  we 
viewed  the  Quiraing  from  the  deck  of  our  steamer,  and  so 
may  make  tins  briei  allusion  to  its  strangeness. 

So  off  we  drive  to  explore  the  Cuchullin  Hills,  and  to 
see  what  we  can  &om  the  heights  above  of-  the  famous 
Lochs  Coruisk  and  Scavaig. 

The  drive  of  upwards  of  nine  miles  from  Portree  to 
Sligachan  is  inexpressibly  dreary,  and  occasional  showers 
did  not  increase  the  pleasure  of  the  journey.  Fortimately 
we  were  seated  at  the  back  of  the  <;Aar-a-6ane,  and  so 
enjoyed  the  only  interesting  object  to  be  seen;  for  we 
were  leaving  it  behind  the  nirther  side  of  the  Royal  Port 
(as  the  name  implies) :  this  is  the  Stor  Rock.  It  is  a  lofty 
mountain,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shore,  the  summit  of 
which  has  been  cut  down  b^  man  or  nature  in  a  vertical 
face  of  500  feet :  down  this  face  have  been  tossed  the 
fragments  in  enormous  masses ,  but  the  strangest  and  most 


The  EnglUh  or  Scotch  Laktt — Which  f  79 

stiiking  feature  is  the  gTonj)ing  of  what  atill  remaine  above, 
vbich  has  split  up  into  intricate  groups,  that,  at  a  distance, 
combine  into  castles,  towers,  and  spires ;  and  so,  as  we  drive 
aloQ^,  the  forms  seem  shifting,  and  we  have  a  city  moving, 
as  it  were,  in  a  mazy  dance. 

Sligachan  is  nothing  more  than  a  comfortable  little  inn, 

irith  its  needful  surroundings,  including  stables  for  mouu- 

tain  poniea.     These  latter  we  call  loudly  for  at  once,  and 

perhaps  the  moreloudly  because  the  callers  are  more  uumer- 

oni  than  the  steeds,  and  "  first  come "  is  not  only  "  first 

served,"  but  probably  alone  served.     So  the  ladies  and  the 

elderly  gentlemen  are  soon  mounted,  while  the  more  active 

start  ahead  for  what  proved  to  be  about  the  roughest, 

wettest,  and  dirtiest  bog- scrambling  which  probably  wild 

and  ragged  Skye  could  furnish.     Thin  desolate  valley  is 

Glen  Sugachan,  and  its  five  miles  of  toiling,  stumbling,  and 

splaehiug,  grow  to  the  mind's  eye  and  to  the  body's  torture 

into  at  least,  twice  the  distance.    Mountain  climbing  on 

Swiss  mules  ispleasant  enough,  for  the  paths  are  often  good, 

and  fresh  views  are  ever  opening  upon  the  traveller  to 

beguile  him  on;  but  here  almost  every  step  has   to  be 

selected,  and  the  gradual  ascent  reveals  but  Qttle  beyond 

the  adjacent   mountains.     These  indeed  are  often  very 

grand  in  outline,  and  are  of  a  colour  that  at  first  surprizes, 

and  never  becomes  familiar.     This  is  an  ashy  brown ;  very 

volcanic  are  they  in  character,  and  this  ashy  tone  impresses 

that,  c.h&fflcter  still  more  forciblv  noon  the  mind.     At  last 

he  ponies  are  left  with 

the    climb   among  the 

itifi  pull  brings  ue  to  fl 

3wn  into  the  upper  end 

in  the  vast  mountaiua 

le  inner  face  of  the  cliff 

eep,  brings  ns  to  the  end 

and  at  our  feet  ties  the 

hy-coloured  monntaiDB, 

es  streams  innumerable ' 

IB  by  the  heavy  storm 

ire  IB  Loch  Scavaig  and 

;lim|>ae  of  it  at  the  point 

ige  into  Loch  Coruisk  ; 


80  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes---  Which  f 

basaltic  oolumnBy  but  looking  down  from  them  is  far  leas 
striking  than  looking  up.  However,  see  it  how  you  may, 
the  scene  is  very  striking — sea,  loch,  and  mountains  jumbled 
in  the  wildest  confusion,  and  each  jcontributing  it » best  to 
make  the  picture  complete.  The  proper  way  is  to  approach 
by  the  sea  :  and  this  the  steamboat  from  Oban  to  rortree 
does,  but  only  once  a  week,  for  Scavaig  lies  much  out  of 
its  straight  course.  The  next  day  opens  with  rain  and 
wind ;  and  the  usual  quiet,  landlocked  harbour  is  alive  with 
wild  commotion.  What  are  we  to  do  ?  Skye  in  bad 
weather  must  be  simply  intolerable  ;  and  so  we  resolve  to 
face  the  storm,  and  to  make  the  run  of  110  miles  to  Oban« 
We  expected  a  rough  passage,  and  we  were  not  disap- 
pointed Seldom  have  we  seen  waves  run  so  high  and 
make  such  a  plaything  of  a  steamboat ;  but  the  scene  was 
grand  beyond  expression  ;  for  the  stem  coast  was  as  wild 
as  the  waters,  threatening  them  and  driving  them  back 
with  a  power  equal  to  their  own.  Storms  such  as  these 
explain  the  scenery  which  in  calm  weather  seems  need- 
lessly rugged  and  barren ;  and  eive  it  life,  as  the  battle 
rae:es  between  land  and  water.  We  have  made  the  voya^ce 
in  calm  and  sunshine,  when  it  was  charming  if  somewhit 
tame  in  its  quietness,  but  now  it  is  a  grand  and  sublime 
thing,  and  is  worth  experiencing  in  spite  of  its  incon- 
veniencies. 

So  we  are  at  home  again  :  for  so  Oban  seems  to  be  in 
right  of  the  several  times  we  have  been  in  and  out  of  it. 
The  next  day  the  storm  is  fiercer  than  ever,  and  scarcely 
one  of  the  usual  steamboats  ventures  out.  We  enjoy  it  as 
best  we  may  from  the  windows  of  the  Argyle  Hotel,  and 
the  next  day  depart  for  Glasgow,  on  our  way  to  the  English 
Lakes. 

The  voyage  from  Oban  to  Glasgow  is  quite  a  different 
affair  from  that  which  has  brought  us  from  Skye.  Then 
after  we  had  worked  our  way  along  the  coast,  and  through 
the  narrow  Kyles  of  Rhea,  we  were  in  the  broad  Atlantic, 
with  the  western  Hebrides  in  the  distance,  and  some  other 
isles,  which,  like  Skye  itself,  come  under  the  same  name, 
closer  at  hand:  but  it  was  not  until  nearly  at  the 
end  of  our  rough  voya^,  and  had  entered  the  Sound  of 
Mull,  that  we  were  m  comparatively  quiet  waters; 
but  now,  to-day,  our  final  voyage  is  tnrough  land- 
locked straits  and  a  narrow  canal;  so  that  me  swell 
which  followed  yesterday's  storm  is  hardly  felt  in 
such  pleasant  waters.    Two  hours  and  a  half  bring  us  to 


i^n  Tmtht  (^out  InteresL  81 

the  entnuice  of  the  Oman  Canal,  where  the  steamer  is  left 
for  a  Tei7  small  one  which  just  fills  the  narrow  passage,  and 
leemB  to  glide  on  land  rather  than  on  water  for  nine  mileB, 
wbeu  we  pass  once  more  to  a  fine  steamer,  which  carriea 
DS  thiongh  Loch  Gilp,  over  the  lower  portion  of  Loch 
Fvne,  np  the  Kyles  of  Bute,  into  the  Clyde,  and  bo  on  to 
Ouisgow.  Beautiful  and  varied  are  the  scenes  which  pr^ 
lent  themselves  in  this  dehghtful  sail.  The  wildness  of  the 
north-west  has  been  left  l>ehind,  and  something  of  the 
Knth  is  here;  Wealth  in  its  outcome — beautiiul  parks, 
■tstely  mansiouB,  and  mnch-&equented  watering-places — 
ibowB  itself  on  all  sides ;  and  as  we  steam  at  last  up  the 
buy  Cljde,  amid  a  fieet  of  ships  and  noisj  factories, 
we  seem  to  trace  to  its  source  the  trade  which  has  produced 
all  these  fair  &mts  of  labour,  and  added  to  the  natural 
besuty  of  Scotland  a  chann  and  refinement  which  civilizes 
lion  iJone  cu.  give.  ^^^^  BmFOBD. 


nitentiary  and 
y  in  reference 
iationis,"  and 
mm,  &c,"  as 
penitent,  pre- 
I0I7  See,  was 
.thors  remark, 
all  together, 
own  a  practi- 
lerate  rate  is 
■ilitr  or  otber- 
Piaiulj,  too. 
What  influ- 


82  Plain  Truths  about  Interest 

of  fact  it  is  commonly  held  that  such  a  title  exists  now-a- 
days  in  every  loan.  Benedict  XIV.  seems  to  lay  down 
the  very  contrary  of  this.  But  times  are  changed,  and  with 
them  money. 

Within  little  more  than  a  century,  great  has  been  the 
change  in  its  value  and  capacity.  At  the  beginning  of 
this  short  period  profitable  investments  were  inconveniently 
rare  ;  now  their  number  and  variety  are  indefinite.  Then, 
as  a  rule,  a  man  should  either  engage  personally  in  trade, 
or  lock  his  cash  in  a  strong  box ;  at  the  present  time,  an 
imbecile,  having  a  thousand  or  two,  need  not  starve,  should 
he  live  for  a  millennium.  There  were  no  Savings  Banks, 
in  those  days  for  the  hard-won  earnings  of  the  labourer ; 
now  his  weekly  wages,  deposited  in  the  office,  to  which  he 
goes  occasionally  for  a  letter,  will,  with  unerring  fecundity, 
produce  fruit  according  to  their  land.  What  had  been  to 
most  a  res  sterilis  became  to  all  a  res  frugifera  by  an 
alteration  which  gave  money  power  of  increase  indepen- 
dently of  its  owner's  exertion.  With  its  present  purposes, 
it  possesses  the  capacity  of  multiplication,  and  many 
hold  that,  in  this  age,  there  is  an  intrinsic  title  justifying 
interest. 

In  practice  it  makes  little  difference  whether  it  be  main- 
tained that  in  every  loan  there  is  found  some  extrinsic 
tide,  or  that  the  fruitfulness  of  money  constitutes  an  in- 
trinsic reason  for  demanding  an  increase.  So  too  in 
theory,  except  that  the  former  view  is  not  easily  demonstrable 
for  all  cases  that  can  be  imagined,  though  certainly 
true  in  general.  Whatever  fruitfulness  money  enjoys  is 
founded  on  the  aggregate  of  extrinsic  titles.  Ultimately, 
the  reason  why  a  loan  brings  a  certain  market  price  is 
because  it  can  be  invested  in  production,  which  will  bring 
at  least  an  equal  return,  and  which  becomes  impossible  for 
him  who  gives  away  his  capital.  As  trade  began  to 
develope,  the  inconvenience  and  loss  of  thus  parting  for  a 
time  with  one's  money  was  being  gradually  felt  by  a 
greater  number,  and  by  each  in  a  more  intense  degree. 
Commercial  enterprise,  by  enlarging  the  outlets  for  capital, 
extended  the  range  of  damnum  emergens  and  lucrum  cessans^ 
until  finally  profitable  production  became  so  varied,  and 
its  demancU  for  aid  in  the  form  of  capital  so  manifold,  that 
producers  came,  as  it  were,  spontaneously  into  the  market, 
and  without  asking  questions  for  conscience'  sake,  offered 
indiscriminately  to  all  having  money  a  certain  price  for  its 
temporary  use.    At  this  stage,  when  governments,  com- 


Plain  Truths  about  Interest.  83 

ponies,  and  mdividiialB  competed  in  ofiTerin^  terns,  when 

every  pennj  on  the  market  found  a  ready  and  secure 

emplover,  money,  as  a  whole,  as  such,  ceased  to  be  barren, 

and  put  on  the  quality  of  practical  Iniitfulnesa     From  itB 

nee  being,  some  time  ago,  to  a  large  extent,  of  no  avail  to 

increase  wealth,  it  ifl  now  universally  capable  of  employ- 

raeat  in  production,  and  the  person  who  receives  interest 

oualoan,  does  so,  not  so  much  because  he  intended  to 

employ  the  som  personally,  as  because,  independently  of 

hi«  intention,  another  willingly  pays  for  a  portion  of  the 

world's  capital,  which  can  be  at  once  invested,  and  which 

no  man  of  business  allows  to  lie  idle.     8uch  certainly  is  the 

attitude  of  companies  towards  the  lending  public,  a  fact 

which  would  justify  the  taking  of  interest  from  individual 

borrowers  not  similarly  disposed.     Demand  on  more  or  less 

favourable  terms  exists  for  all  sums  offered.       From  day  to 

day  is  formed,  a  public  estimate  of  the  use  of  money,  as  a 

whole,  looking  to  the  various  profitable  concerns  to  which 

it  can  be  turned.     The  right  of  employing  it  for  a  time 

has  a  market  value  just  as  horses  have,  and,  as  in  the 

latter  instance,  so  in  the  former,  want  of  asefulness  to  the 

owner  need  not  prevent  him  from  selling  at  current  prices. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  explain  an  apparent  change 

in  the  CSiurch's  dealings  with  usury.     Up  to  the  beginning 

of  this  century  queriste  were  referred  to  Benedict  XlV.'s 

leon  directed,  as 

its  who   charge 

)ey  any  decision 

it  in  this  there 

What  altered 

a   title   did  not 

Berent  economic 

atment ;  and,  as 

one  need  dread 

le  a  thoroughly 
d  period  is  daily 
1  other  articles, 
emotely,  indeed, 
annum  emergens, 
I  auother.  This 
d.  For,  capital 
investments,  and 


84  Plain  Truths  about  TnteresU 

a  eelection.  The  just  prioe  for  d  loan,  then,  should  be  easily 
determined.  Obviously  it  is  that  which  it  brings  in  publio 
market  There  is  no  other  standard  by  which  to  decide 
the  value  of  goods  for  sale.  And  as  in  ordinary  circum- 
stances the  man  who  charges  his  neighbour  a  shilling  for 
a  sixpenny  loaf  is  guilty  of  injustice,  so  too  is  he  who, 
without  any  special  reason,  charges  higher  interest  than 
he  can  secure  on  his  loan  in  the  open  competition  of 
commerce. 

Now,  the  return  which  can  be  had  from  investments 
open  to  capital  is  no  secret  At  the  present  time,  whether 
the  man  of  money  looks  to  Government  stock,  or  railway 
shares,  or  trading  speculations,  he  finds  it  extremely 
hard  to  secure  four  per  cent  Plainly  then  more  cannot 
in  justice  be  demanded  from  a  poor  man  compelled  to 
borrow,  if  his  security  be  equally  good,  and  if  there  be  no 
special  inconvenience  in  letting  him  have  the  small  sum  he 
desires.  Hence  the  current  price,  something  under  four 
per  cent.,  is  the  proper  rate  of  interest  when  this  two-fold 
condition  is  fulfilledl  In  private  lending,  however,  some- 
what more  trouble  and  nsk  are  involved,  especially  the 
latter,  and  a  proportionate  allowance  must  be  made.  It  ia 
important  to  determine  the  amoimt  of  this  proportion* 
Where  the  borrower  is  himself  perfectly  reliable,  or  brings 
an  unexceptional  surety,  it  is  dif&cult  to  see  how  any  notable 
increase  on  the  normal  rate  can  be  justified.  In  such  cases, 
to  go  beyond  four  and  a-half,  or  at  the  utmost  five,  per 
cent.,  is  patent  extortion.  Plainly  five  per  cent  makes 
allowance  for  some  extra  risk,  and  hence  ordinary  rates 
should  be  within  its  compass.  A  shilling  in  the  pound 
seems,  no  doubt,  small  to  money-lenders,  who  fence  them*** 
selves  within  a  secure  paling  of  legal  instruments,  and 
afterwards  exact  three  times  that  amount.  They  are  not, 
however,  good  judges.  Their  profession  hardens  the  heart 
and  dries  the  wells  of  human  feeling,  and  too  often  avarice 
runs  riot  with  their  reasonings. 

Nothing  above  four  per  cent  can  be  taken  in  justice  at 
the  present  time,  unless  by  way  of  compensating  labour 
or  hazard  not  found  in  lending  to  rauway  companies 
in  these  countries.  How  to  assess  fairly  for  extra  perils 
where  it  exists,  can  best  be  determined  by  what  au 
Assurance  company  would  demand  on  becoming  req)onsible 
for  the  additional  danger.  This  can  be  ascertained  itoxa 
the  daQy  transactions  of  such  companies,  and  should  be 
added  to  the  normal  four  per  cent,  to  come  at  fair  interest 


Haul  TruAt  about  Intereat.  89 

Such  is  the  method  which  Crolly  recommMida,  and  under 
ite  guidance,  he  concludes,  in  his  practical  rules,  that  for 
goods  sold  on  credit  to  the  poor  a  merchant  ehonld  not 
charge  more  than  six  per  cent.,  tmless  where  the  danger 
is  Twy  extraordinary,  even  in  rec^tect  of  this  class  of 
CDStomers.* 

Rarely  is  it  lawful  to  demand  a  higher  rate  for  money 
lenL  Two  per  cent,  is  considerable  insurance.  In  those 
very  excepbonal  cases,  however,  where  it  would  not  cover 
the  risk,  three,  four,  or  five  per  cent.,  might  be  added  on 
this  score  alone,  so  as  to  maKe  the  aggregate  rate  £7,  £S, 
or  £9,  for  every  £100.  *'  Sed  secluso  aliquo  caaa  periculi 
9iilde  extnwrdinani  nunqnam  concederemus  ut  fenus  8  vel 
9  pro  100  excederet."* 

In  imposing  interest  the  lender  mnst  decide  each  case, 
or  class  of  cases,  on  its  merits,  and  not  fine  one  man  for  the 
risk  of  lending  to  another.  Bat  &om  what  has  been  said, 
it  is  obvious  a  money-lender  or  shop-keeper  cannot  charge 
ike  run  of  his  poor  customers  a  higher  rate  than  six  per 
cent.  There  is  absolutely  no  title  for  more,  and  to  exact 
it  is  to  traffic  on  the  necessity  of  those  who  are  in  want. 
Tet,  sad  to  say,  vrithin  recent  years,  this  amount  has  been 
enormously  exceeded  on  the  necessanes  of  life  supplied  by 
credit  to  a  starving  people.     The  meal  trade  in  several 

1„  -f  tu; 4. — '"riously  allied  with  the  cruel 

summer  of  1880,  a  cwt.  of 
idy  money,  for  seven  shillings 
t  his  name  into  the  book,  and 
r  two,  until  he  could  sell  some 
ig  it,  and  eight  shillings  or 
lis  eiccouat.  Worse  still,  if,  as 
yment,  a  second  supply  were 
isome  salting  was  r^eated. 
No  doubt  many  Catholic 
extortion,  even  when  others 
3ut  cases  of  its  occurrence 
1,  and  how  so  large  a  number 

S)tation  seems  unexplainable, 
vertence,  in  great  measure, 
bnrtcen    shillings'   worth    of 


86  Plain  Truths  about  Interest. 

sixth  of  it.  Nor  is  it  the  least  justification  to  say  that  very 
little  more  would  have  been  added  for  the  whole  year. 
However  plausible  such  a  plea  may  seem  to  a  merchant 
whose  credit  trade  is  largely  restricted  to  May,  June,  and 
July,  it  cannot  make  a  loan  for  two  and  a  loan  for  twelve 
months  identical. 

Before  1854  the  legal  rate  of  interest  in  Ireland  was 
six  per  cent.,  in  England  five.  In  that  year,  however,  all 
restriction  was  removed  by  17  and  18  Vic,  c,  90,  on  the 
ground  that  laws  prohibiting  high^  rates  defeated  their 
own  purpose,  inasmuch  as  money-lenders,  whilst  restraints 
oontinued,  were  sure  to  charge  their  customers — needy, 
heedless,  or  spendthrift — for  the  risk  involved  in  their  viola- 
tion. Whatever  is  to  be  said  of  this  sweeping  change  in 
law,  one  important  exception  was  made  m  the  case  of 
pawnbrokers^  who  lend  a  sum  of  less  than  £10  on  pledge 
security.  For  them  a  very  hi^h  legal  rate  is  still  fixed, 
and  as  they  are  commonly  held  justified  in  taking  what  is 
allowed  by  law,  provided  they  conscientiously  observe  its 
requirements,  and  give  a  fair  price  for  articles  not  redeemed, 
one  might  think  that  a  good  case  could  be  made  for 
provision  dealers  by  comparison  with  them. 

There  is  no  parity  whatever.  The  business  of  the  "  poor 
man's  banker,"  as  he  loves  to  style  himself,  is  extremely 
disagreeable,  laborious,  and  risky.  He  lends  to  the  poorest 
class,  for  the  shortest  periods,  the  smallest  sums,  on  every 
variety  of  merchandize,  and  keeps  accounts  and  checks  of 
the  minutest  transaction.  Stolen  goods  are  often  pledged, 
and  no  matter  how  honest  the  act  may  have  been  on 
the  pawnbrokei'^s  part,  a  detective  officer  sent  in  pursuit 
will  seize  the  property  for  the  original  owner.  "  Refusing  to 
deliver  up  goods  pawned,  on  order  of  Justices,  committal 
to  prison  till  goods  delivered  up,  or  satisfaction  made.  " 

These  are  some  of  the  evils  to  which  the  "  Lords  of 
the  golden  balls  *'  are  heir.  They  are  not  enumerated  to 
exonerate  the  whole  craft.  Although  in  large  towns,  un- 
licenced  houses  are  much  the  most  pernicious,  pawnbrokers 
but  too  frequently  imitate  their  malpractices.  What  the 
disadvantages  mentioned  prove  is  that  there  exist  reasons 
peculiar  to  pawnbroking  and  justifying  its  high  legal 
mterest,  whicn  are  not  foimd  in  ordinary  businesa 

In  the  matter  we  have  been  considering  there  is  really  no 
^reat  danger  to  prindple.  Where  such  risk  exists,  surety 
IS  usually  required.  For  ordinary  cases  the  known  machin- 
ery of  law,  combined  with  a  pretty  generally  used  expedient, 


Plain  TrtUh$  about  Interest.  87 

of  not  Buj^lying  for  one  year  until  the  previous  year's 
account  is  cleared,  affords  adequate  protection  against  bad 
debts.  No  extra  labour,  wortn  speaking  of,  is  necessary 
for  sale  on  credit  A  little  book-keeping  is  ihe  only  addi- 
tion to  the  cash  system.  And  so  far  from  interfering  with 
ready-money  trade,  a  meal  merchant,  on  ceasing  to  give 
credit,  should  find  his  cash  sales  decrease,  not  merely  in 
that^  but  in  every  other  department  of  his  business. 

Justification  is  sometimes  sought  for  an  exorbitant  rate 
of  interest  by  appealing  to  the  freedom  which  customers 
enjoy  in  selecting  with  whom  they  are  to  deal,  and  the 
consequent  competition  amongmoney-lenders  or  merchants. 
Freedom  there  is  none,  where  people  must  borrow  and 
can  find  no  one  in  their  neighboiurhood  able  and  willing  to 
lend  on  fair  terms.  As  for  competition  and  its  effect  on 
lenders  being  a  protection  against  extortion,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  has  in  no  age,  even  at  the  largest  centres  of 
commerce,  been  able  to  save  the  poor  and  the  improvident 
from  usury's  cruel  grasp.  Much  more  is  this  true  of  remote 
isolated  districts.  Competition,  indeed,  soon  reduces  cash 
prices  in  a  locality,  because  the  contracting  parties  are 
&ee,  but  where  a  large  number  must  borrow,  and  com- 
paratively few  have  means  to  give  supplies  on  credit,  each 
of  the  latter  will  find  himself  practically  imopposed,  and 
without  interchanging  a  word,  a  high-rate  interest  will  be 
charged  all  round,  as  if  by  arrangement.  The  poor  are 
not  free.  They  can  be  got  at  by  a  thousand  subtle  influences, 
and  up  to  the  present  the  benefits  of  competition  have  not 
reached  their  demands  for  credit.  An  open  market  and 
not  forced  willingness  should  fix  the  standard. 

Private  money-lenders  thiok  themselves  safe  if  their 
charges  are  not  much  above  current  bank-rates.  As  a  rule 
they  should  be  less.  Banks  rarely  serve  a  rural  district. 
Their  rates  of  lending  are  often  exorbitant.  Frequently 
the  effects  of  mismanagement  are  sought  to  be  remedied 
by  a  tax  on  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  poor.  Still  their 
interest  is  generally  much  under  that  of  private  lenders, 
and  occasionally  they  are  at  considerable  expense  to  main- 
tain establishments  without  which  borrowers  could  not 
easily  procure  the  required  advances.  Like  merchants, 
money-lenders  of  every  description  should  remember 
that  p  '"'«o*  a^^ount  of  their  dealing  is  not  with  free  agents 


88  A  New  Organ. 

or  expenses.    The  precise  amount  in  each  case  may  be 
determined  by  an  honest  estimate  of  the  extrinsic  titles,  or 
more  conveniently,  by  the  general  rule  alreadjr  explained. 
This  brings  our  remarks  to  a  close.     Chanty  often  im- 

Eoses  an  obligation  of  lending  gratuitously  to  one  in  need ; 
ut  it  is  the  violation  of  justice  and  charity  together  that 
grinds  the  faces  of  the  poor  and  brings  a  curse  on  their 
oppressors.  In  words,  that  sound  like  thunder-claps,  Sacred 
Scripture  speaks  protection  for  the  widow  and  the  orpkan. 
All  the  faults,  however,  are  not  on  one  side.  "  Many  have 
looked  upon  a  thing  lent  as  a  thing  foxmd,  and  have  given 
trouble  to  them  that  helped  them."  .  .  "Many  have 
refused  to  lend,  not  out  of  wickedness,  but  they  were 
afraid  to  be  defrauded  without  cause."^  Too  often  debtors 
discharge  their  obligations  with  as  much  reluctance  as  if 
they  were  compelled  to  pay  without  having  received. 
Covetousness  is  not  confined  to  one  class  in  particular,  and 
once  involved,  a  man  is  apt  to  yield  to  despairing  reckless- 
ness. For  tiie  poor,  especially,  borrowing  cannot  be 
too  much  discouraged,  and  where  unavoidable,  prompt 
payment,  besides  being  commanded  under  pain  of  sin,  is 
the  debtor's  surest  hope  of  future  independence.  But  the 
repayment  of  principle  with  fair  interest  is  full  satisfaction 
of  ms  indebtedness,  and  whoso  demands  more  commits  a 
crime  against  the  human  race  and  its  Protector. 

Patrick  O'Donnell. 


A  NEW  ORGAN. 


A  FEW  evenings  ago,  during  a  mission  recently  given  by 
the  Redemptorist  Fathers,  we  were  present  at  an 
evening  service  at  the  large  church  of  Rathnunes,  dedicated 
to  Our  Lady  of  Refuge.  The  building  was  crowded  in 
eveiy  part;  a  few  minutes  after  the  hour  at  which  the 
service  was  to  commence,  the  great  doors  leading  to  the 
sanctuary  were  closed,  there  beinff  neither  sitting  nor  stand- 
ing room  left.  In  one  of  the  wings  or  arms  (the  church, 
it  will  be  remembered,  is  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross), 
where  there  are  no  seats,  we  succeeded  in  finding  standing 
room,  a  unit  in  a  dense  mass  of  human  beings,  young  ana 
old.     An  Italian  Redemptorist  mounted  the  pulpit  and 

^  EcdesiasticuB,  zxix.,  4  and  10. 


A  New  Organ.  89 

preached  for  nearly  an  hour;  his  eloquence  held  the  people 
spell-boimd.  Bat  it  is  not  our  intention  to  say  anything 
about  Oxe  sermon,  admirable  in  many  ways  as  it  was.  The 
behaviour  of  the  people  was  the  striking  feature  of  the 
scene,  and  impressed  us  profoundly.  Here  were  hundreds 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  many  of  them  of  a  very  poor 
class,  standing  patiently  all  this  time,  in  an  atmosphere 
none  of  the  best ;  and  yet  neither  in  word,  nor  look,  nor 
gesture,  did  any  individual  in  that  great  number  behave 
otherwise  than  as  was  fitting  in  that  sacred  place.  Several 
women  and  children  could  not  endure  the  heat  and 
pressure,  and  showed  symptons  of  fainting ;  way  was  then 
promptly  and  silently  made  for  them,  and  those  supporting 
them,  through  the  crowd,  that  they  might  escape  into  the 
open  air.  The  attention  to  the  sennon  was  general  and 
profound ;  and  even  within  a  few  feet  of  where  we  were 
standing,  we  noticed  on  several  faces  tears  that  would  not 
be  repressed.  At  the  end  of  the  service  there  was,  of  course, 
great  thronging  to  the  single  door  of  exit,  beyond  which 
were  five  or  six  stone  steps.  Had  there  been  the  least 
attempt  at  wanton  or  voluntary  crowding,  an  accident 
must  have  happened ;  the  weak  would  have  fallen  down, 
and  a  terrible  confusion  must  have  resulted^  But  the  per* 
feet  behaviour  of  the  people  continued  to  the  end,  and 
though  the  delay  was  some  trial  to  the  patience,  eventually 
the  throng  extricated  itself  from  the  narrow  passage  and 
dispersed.  A  mild  contentment,  to  say  the  least,  sat  upon 
every  face ;  all  had  been  brought  together  under  the  -^ang 
of  the  one  holy  Mother  of  Souls ;  all  had  drunk  in  the  same 
holy  doctrine ;  and  a  common  sentiment  seemed  to  pervade 
all  hearts,  as  though  all  felt  themselves  to  be  members  of 
one  happy  united  family. 

Amia  such  scenes  the  Irish  race  shows  itself  in  its  true 
colours.  The  kindliness,  self-respect,  and  mutual  courtesy 
of  a  people  nurtured  on  fourteen  centuries  of  Catholicism 
keep  out  of  sight,  in  such  surroundings,  the  harsher  and 
wilcler  lineaments  which  untoward  circumstances  and 
fi*equent  disappointments  have  superinduced  upon  their 
character.  Tnis,  one  feels,  is  their  congenial  element. 
Ad  Irishman,  as  such,  is  a  Catholic ;  if  any  Irishmen  are 
not  Catholics,  their  error  arises  rather  from  oismal  mistakes 
and  confusions  in  the  past,  than  from  any  split  in  the 
natio]    ~         t,  any  schicma  in  the  jpopular  conscience.    The 


90  A  New  Organ. 

there  will  be  bo  much  the  less  of  wasted  effort,  and  the 
advent  of  a  better  time  will  be  the  nearer. 

The  object  of  this  paper  is  very  practical,  as  will  pre- 
sently be  seen ;  but  it  was  necessarjr  to  commence  by  a 
statement  of  principles,  for  if  first  principles  be  wrong,  all 
is  wron^.  We  maintain  that  Ireland  is  Catholic,  and  that 
those  who  love  her  and  wish  to  serve  her,  must  take  this 
iLS  a  fundamental  axiom,  or  they  will  lose  their  labour. 
There  are  a  number  of  men — ^mistaken  men,  we  think — 
who  tell  us  to  "  sink  our  religious  differences,"  to  join  all 
together  in  suppressing  the  landlords  and  resisting  England, 
and  not  to  trouble  our  heads  how  a  man  worships  God,  or 
whether  he  worships  Him  at  all.  This  party  has  an  organ — 
"United  Ireland."  But  if  creed  be  indeed  a  matter  of 
indifference,  what  fools  were  the  Irishmen  of  former 
days  to  let  so  sU^hfc  a  matter  come  between  themselves 
and  prosperity  I  If  the  Catholic  creed  be  no  better  than 
the  Protestant,  the  conduct  of  the  maiority  of  Irishmen 
during  two  centuries,  in  enduring  decimation,  banishment, 
robbery,  outlawry  from  the  constitution,  and  ill  usage  of 
every  kind,  rather  than  change  one  creed  for  the  other, 
was  not  wise  or  glorious,  but  simply  idiotic.  The  party 
who  lay  such  a  basis  as  this  for  their  public  action  are 
defiling  the  graves  of  their  forefathers,  neutralizing  their 
protest,  and  obscuring  their  fame.  No  I  the  Irish  of  the 
past  were  right — sublimely  right — in  making  the  sacrifice 
which  they  made ;  it  is  for  us,  who  inherit  the  fruit  of  their 
struggle  and  the  purchase  of  their  agony,  and  who  can 
profess  the  faith  in  peace,  to  see  that  we  do  not  fall  behind 
themF  in  fideli^.  They  retained  the  Catholic  faith  under 
persecution.  We,  who  are  xmder  no  persecution,  are  bound 
to  put  forth  an  energy  not  inferior  to  theirs,  to  raise  that 
faith  to  its  rightful  position  in  our  midst.  It  is  not  our 
business,  therefore,  to  talk  about  a  *^  United  Ireland  ** — as  if 
a  people  split  up  into  sects,  but  joining  to  get  certain 
things  they  all  want,  were  in  an  ideally  perfect  condition — 
but  about  a  Catholic  Ireland.  Try  the  matter  over  longp 
periods  of  time,  and  you  will  find  that  a  people  falls  or  rises 
according  to  the  nature  of  its  **  philosophy  of  the  universew^ 
The  Irishman's  philosophy  is  that  of  the  CathoUc  Church  t 

Let  us  return  now  to  that  misoellaneouB  tlvrong  whicH 

)  Soph.  Antig, 


A  Nete  Orgim.  91 

i»ned  that  evening  bom  the  doore  of  Our  Lady  of  Refuge^ 
Their  feelings  have  been  deeply  stirred ;  they  would  be 
glad  to  do  aomething,  to  begin  aome  course  of  action,  but 
they  do  not  well  know  what.  "Hodie  mutatio  dexterae 
EsctUi."  They  have  been  spoken  to  as  men  and  women, 
and  they  hope  that  their  lives  will  be  the  belter  and  the 
purer  for  the  instraction.  But  they  are  also  citizens — 
members  of  an  organized  civil  society  ;  is  there  no  teacher, 
who,  in  alliance  with  the  Catholic  priest,  will  show  them 
their  duties  and  privileges  here  alsoT  Surely  there  is;  it 
is  the  Catholic  Journalist.  In  the  morning  the  worshipper 
of  the  night  before  will  read  his  newspaper;  will  he  hero 
^8o  find  what,  as  a  Catholic  Irishman,  he  ought  to  findt 
Thii  is  a  matter  which  deserves  carefnl  investigation. 

A  newspaper  has  two  principal  functions;  one  aa  a 
vehicle  of  news,  the  other  aa  an  organ  of  criticism.     The 
former  function  i»  one  which  is  performed  in  substantially 
the  same  way  by  all  journals  alike ;  it  is  therefore  needless 
to  dwell  upon  it  at  length.    It  should,  however,  be  remem- 
bered  that   our   Catholic  Irishman  does  not  want  news 
served  up  to  him  by  men  who  will  designedly  give  it  a 
iwvnliihiiMinrT  nr  hnrfiHnnl  flavour.    He  does  not  desire  that 
be  BuppUed    by  Oallenga,  or 
va.     Nor  again  does  he  want 
iws,"  or  "Presbyterian  Kewa," 
st  Newa  "  that  can  be  of  interest 
it  a  Methodist,  is  the  news  that 
he  absurdity  and  peril  of  their 
ibout  to  become  Catholics.     At 
ay  that  the  performances  of  a 
f>ublic  notice,  are  as  interesting 
as  they  are  to  his  own  sect 
Methodists,  qua  Methodist,  are 
pt  to   themselves;    and   there 
sive    in    the    parade    of   their 
f  such  a  heading  as  "  Methodiat 

criticism  that  a  representative 
uost  easily  and  effectually  serve 

speaking,  newspaper  criticism 
s :  institutions,  books,  and  men. 
a  the  Church  or  to  tbe  State ; 
t.    A  few  years  ago,  a  Catholic 


92  A  New  Organ. 

lished  and  maintained  by  force  in  Catholic  Ireland 
Thanks  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  that  anomaly  no  longer  exists : 
Protestantism  has  been  disestablished.  Nevertheless,  not 
only  is  the  rightful  superiority  of  the  CathoUc  Church 
ignored,  but  even  that  visible  equaHty  of  treatment,  with 
less  than  which  no  Irishman  should  rest  satisfied,  is  withheld. 
To  foreigners  visiting  DubUn,  it  is  still  a  subject  of  wonder 
and  scandal  that  both  the  ancient  cathedrals  of  the  city 
are  in  Protestant  hands.  Christ  Church,  where  stood  the 
archiepiscopal  throne  of  the  last  canonized  saint  of  Ireland, 
St.  Laurence  O'Toole,  ought,  in  common  justice  and 
decency,  to  be  restored  to  the  Church.  Similarly,  the 
Rock  of  Cashel,  with  its  sacred  edifices,  the  ruins  of  Qon- 
macnoise  and  Glendalough,  and  the  cathedral  of  St.  Canice 
at  Kilkenny,  ought,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  if  any 
approach  is  to  be  made  to  the  visible  equahty  of  which  wo 
spoke,  to  be  replaced  in  the  hands  of  the  original  pro- 
prietors. Of  course,  all  bona  fide  expenditure,  recently 
made  on  any  of  these  buildings  by  private  benefactors, 
would  have  to  be  made  good  to  them ;  but  this  is  a  mere 
detail.  The  point  of  importan,ce  is,  that  the  principle  of 
equitable  treatment  should  be  conceded ;  and  in  preparing 
pubUc  opinion  in  this  direction,  the  services  that  might  be 
rendered  by  an  able  and  resolute  CathoUc  journal  would 
be  of  inestimable  value. 

Among  the  civil  institutions  of  Ireland,  the  vice-royalty 
holds  the  highest  place.  As  the  law  now  stands,  no 
CathoUc  can  be  Lord  Lieutenant.  The  Nationalists  care 
little  for  this,  because  their  object  is  to  aboUsh  the  con- 
nexion with  England  altogether ;  if  that  went,  of  course 
the  anomaly  in  question  would  disappear  along  with  it. 
Without  entering  into  argument  on  this  point,  may  we  not 
say  that  those  who  take  this  view  would  do  well  to  con- 
sider whether  it  is  not  the  part  of  practical  poUticians  to 
strike  first  for  a  reform  which  is  obviously  just,  and  there- 
fore probably  attainable,  before  stirring  ulterior  questions  ? 
The  law,  as  it  stands,  casts  a  slur  upon  them,  in  common 
with  the  great  majority  of  the  Irish  population ;  why  then 
not  agitate  for  its  removal  ?  They  would  be  in  no  worse, 
but  rather  in  a  better  position,  when  this  grievance  was 
remedied,  to  pursue  any  further  designs  which  they  might 
regard  as  coming  withm  the  scope  ot  Irish  .^patriotism.  It 
seems  impossible  to  doubt  that  a  steady  and  united  pres- 
sure on  tne  part  of  the  Irish  p€trty  in  ParUament  would 
easily  force  this  concession  from  any  government.    This, 


A  New  Organ.  93 

agaiD,  is  a  matter  on  which  the  new  organ  that  we  have  in 
view  could  render  effectual  aid. 

The  legal  inBtitutions  of  Ireland,  on  account  of  the 
general  fairness  which  characterises  the  action  of  Govern- 
ment in  appointing  to  the  high  posts,  offer  Uttle  ground 
for  criticism.  However,  the  vi^ance  of  a  daily  paper, 
devoted  to  the  CathoUc  cause,  would  here  also  be  always 
useful;  for  the  motives  of  a  Protestant  government,  in 
appointing  Catholics  to  o£Sce,  are  seldom  such  as  to  com- 
mand entire  confidence. 

Coming  to  the  institutions  connected  with  education, 
we  note  that  the  equaUty  between  the  two  confessions, 
which  is  the  very  least  that  Irish  Catholics  should  be  con- 
tented with,  is  far  from  havine  been  yet  realised.  We 
cannot  here  enter  into  details ;  but  our  readers  know  that 
neither  in  respect  of  primary,  nor  of  secondary,  nor,  least 
of  all,  of  University  education,  does  the  CathoHc  majority 
at  present  receive  equal  justice.  If  we  had  an  organ  of 
Irisn  opinion,  conducted  with  the  energy  and  singleness  of 
purpose  which  characterise  the  management  of  the 
Germanioj  the  well-known  organ  of  the  Prussian  Catholics, 
the  solecism  of  one  University  and  three  Queen's  Colleges, 
wholly  imder  Protestant  management,  and  largely  endowed 
or  sul^dized  by  the  State,  while  no  Catholic  College  draws 
from  the  Treasury  one  farthing,  would  be  continually 
exposed  in  its  naked  monstrosity,  and  could  not  be  much 
longer  upheld. 

Other  lines  of  criticism  might  be  named,  in  which  the 
services  of  the  new  journal  might  be  utilized  in  promoting 
the  cause  of  Art  and  Learning,  pari  passu  with  that  of 
rdigion.  These  it  is  easy  to  imagine;  they  would  all 
naturally  be  followed  up,  were  such  an  organ  once  started. 

It  may  be  objected  that  Irish  Catholics  have  already  an 
efficient  organ  in  the  Freeman's  Journal.  But,  without  dis^ 
(mting  tfie  ability  with  which  the  Freeman  is  conducted,  or 
the  reality  of  the  services  to  the  cause  of  reUgious  equality 
wludi  it  hae  occasionally  rendered,  we  may  answer  that  a 
mefe  reperusal  of  what  we  have  written  will  show  that  the 
Fnmnan  is  not  exactly  the  sort  of  organ  which  the  serious 
teeiio"  ^^  ^^^^  ^rish  Catholic  people  requires.    It  seems  to 


94  A  New  Organ. 

side  witb  journals  which  place  the  political  interests  of 
mankind  in  the  foremost  rank. 

Again,  it  may  be  said  that  the  time  is  ill-chosen  ;  that 
the  Irish  Catholic  majority  has  taken  for  its  leader  a 
Protestant,  Mr.  Pamell ;  that  it  is  enthusiastically  attached 
to  him  ;  and  that  he  cannot  be  supposed  likely  to  fayojor 
any  of  the  objects  which  we  have  specified.  Mr.  Pamell 
has  been  the  principal  agent  in  obtaining  for  the  tenant 
farmers— t.e.,  for  the  bone  and  marrow  of  the  Irish  popu- 
lation — a  signal  amelioration  of  their  condition;  and  we 
do  not  grudge  him  one  iota  of  the  gratitude  with  which  he 
is  consequently  regarded.  We  would  not  indeed  commit 
ourselyes  to  the  approval  of  every  speech  which  he  has 
made — every  course  which  he  has  recommended.  Still  it 
is  obvious  that  without  Mr.  Pamell  there  would  have  been 
no  Land  Act ;  and  it  is  no  less  certain  that  the  Land  Act 
has  anchored  the  Irish  people  to  the  soil  in  a  way  that  hcM 
been  unknown  for  three  centuries.  We  do  not,  therefore, 
wonder  or  murmur  at  the  political  leadership  which  such 
services  have  conferred.  At  the  same  time,  since  the  con- 
cessions to  Catholicism  which  we  have  sketched  are 
manifestly  just,  what  reason  is  there  why  Mr.  Pamell,  or 
any  other  smcere  politician,  should  not  accept  and  further 
them  ?  K  Mr.  Gladstone,  a  devoted  Anglican,  could  feel 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  disestablish  the  Irish  Church,  why 
should  not  Mr.  Pamell,  with  equal  conviction  and  sincerity, 
aid  in  securing  for  Catholics  the  restoration  of  those  equal 
rights  of  which  they  were  wrongfully  deprived?  He 
would,  by  so  doing,  enhance  that  claim  on  the  gratitude 
of  the  people  which  he  has  already  established ;  and  such 
a  CathoUc  organ  as  we  are  considering,  finding  him  pre- 
pared to  work  for  the  good  of  Ireland  in  all  clearly  just 
causes,  would  freely  and  cheerfully  support  him  on  that 
pinnacle  of  unexampled  influence  ana  chieftainship,  to 
which  his  own  high  qualities,  and  the  course  of  eventSi 
have  con/^ired  to  raise  him. 

F.RU.I. 


[    95    ] 


RECENT  BOOKS  ON  IRISH  GRAMMAR— CoNTiNum 

THE  dtacipline   of  the  Iriah   Church  wae  in  hannonj 
with  the  Catholic  Church.     Public  fflnnera  or  penitentB 


formed  &n  exception,  for  these  were  to  kneel  on  Sundar. 
The  intereatB  of  the  general  discipline  were  consulted  for 
by  the  standing  of  the  body  of  the  faithfnl,  while  thtt  good 
tad  edification  of  the  particular  church  were  secured  hj 
the  penitential  attitude  of  the  public  einuers.  But  at 
oertain  solemn  parts  of  the  Maes  even  the  penitents  or 
■inners  were  directed  to  stand  up,  but  to  bow  the  head 
odIj,  as  beine  more  correctly  symbolical  than  a  kneeling 

Sitore.  Tdo  same  exception  was  made  in  the  Irian 
nrch  in  regard  to  penitents.  While  others  were  to 
rejoice  tmd  be  glad,  to  be  free  from  fasting,  and  enjoying 
the  privilege  of  standing,  the  penitents  were  to  be  treated 
othuwise.  Thus  it  was  decreed  r — "  Go  festivals  and 
Snndays  a  collation  of  gpiel  to  penitents,'  and  there  is  no 
freedom  from  viyili  (which  supposed  kneeling),  but  on  one 
evemng.  on  every  high  festival  between  Easter  and  Pente- 
ooBt"  (L.B.  10  a.)  Every  day  from  the  Reeurrection-day 
till  Pentecost  was  treated  as  Easter  Sunday  (L.B.  p.  261,  b.) 
Oonld  there  be  a  clearer  proof  of  the  accord  between  ths 
Irish  and  Catholic  disciphne  on  this  point? 

But  Dr.  M'Carthy  remarks  that  the  passages  in  favour 

of  a  standing  posture  on  Sunday  contain  nothing  racy  of 

the  eolL     Taere  was  very  little  racy  of  the  sod  in  the 

doctrine  and  discipline  which  St  Patrick  brought  us :  and 

if  there  be  anything  rather  than  another  indigenous  to  the 

Quistian  soQ  of  Ireland  it  is  its  orthodoxy  in  matters  of 

n  the  early  ages  of  the 

rving  and  honoring  the 

-the  Resurrection — and 

■8  than  a  preference  for 

ne  Host    The  Fathere 

Ipline  of  standing  was 

M  etiam  diebns  remiaaloals  ' 

Q  ea  ab  Apostolis  religioM 
unlluB  Deque  in  tenam  tlralo 


96  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

apostolic,  and  yet  it  was  not  to  be  valued  becatiBe  Tiot  racy 
njf  ike  soil ! 

15.  But  in  point  of  fact,  is  Dr.  McCarthy  correct  in  say- 
ing that  the  passages  quoted  in  favour  of  a  standing 
posture  were  mere  transcripts  from  Continental  or  Roman 
writers?  Have  we  not  seen  that  the  privilege  of  standing 
on  Sundays  wcus  denied  by  the  rule  of  the  Irish  Culdees  to 
penitents  ?  apd  again  that  when  a  festival  fell  on  Saturday 
outside  Lent,  the  vigil  prayers^  as  requiring  genuflection, 
were  discontinued  at  None  (L.B.  10  b.)  St.  Augustine 
says  that  this  observance  of  standing  was  observed  every- 
where so  far  as  he  was  aware.  The  observance  of  the 
Sunday  began,  as  elsewhere  (4)  in  Ireland  on  Saturday 
evening;  "  that  is,  from  Vespers  on  Saturday  to  Matins  (or 
morning  watch)  of  Monday."  CEspurta  in  toathaim  oo 
fuinne  maitne  dialuain  (L.B.  202).^ 

Not  racy  of  the  soil,  indeed  1  Why  the  MSS.  which 
supplies  the  quatrain  under  discussion,  and  on  which 
Dr.  McCarthy  relies  for  the  prostration  theory,  states  *  that 
every  day  from  £aster  till  r  entecost  is  to  be  treated  aa  the 
great  festival  of  the  Resurrection,'  and  that  no  fasting 
diould  take  place  on  Sundays  *  in  honor  of  Him  who  savea 
us.'  Not  onJy  so,  but  there  was  to  be  no  kneeling  of  the 
figell  on  the  principal  feasts  of  the  apostles  and  martyrs  in  the 
refectory.  {Feli  apstal  ardmartir  eenfigilt).  When  speaking 
of  honoring  the  Sunday  properly,  tne  writer  spoke  of  not 
fasting ;  but  in  speaking  of  the  feasts  of  apostles  he  said 
besides,  there  should  be  no  kneeling.  Why  was  this  ?  Was 
the  feast  of  a  martyr  to  be  more  respected  than  the  Lord's 
day  ?  No,  but  he  had  said  before  in  the  quatrain  under 
discussion,  that  we  were  not  to  bend  the  knees  on  Sunday 
of  the  living  God. 

Not  racy  of  the  soil  I  Adamnan.  whose  Life  of  St. 
Columba  has  been  quoted  by  Dr.  McCarthy  to  prove  the 
proetration  theory,  he  Burely  is  racy  of  the  soil,  not  to  speak 
of  SS.  Ailbe,  Molua,  and  of  Connall,  who  brought  the  Law 
of  Sunday^  beginning  on  Saturday  evening,  cu*.  590,  from 
the  Altar  of  Peter.  Well,  the  directions  given  in  the 
Vision  of  Adamnan  were,  that  people  should,  in  obedience 
to  the  testament  of  St.  Patrick,  perform  triduums 
periodically ;    and    that    during    these    tridua    in    the 


^  *<  Hoc  quoqne  nosse  debenms  a  yespere  sabbati  quo  lucesoit  in 
diem  domini  usqne  in  dkm  sequentem  apudEgyptios  non  genua  curvarL*^ 
Cassian,  Imt.  L  2,  C  la 


SeeetU  Sook$  on  Iriah  Grammar.  97 

churches  they  should  perfonn  100  gmuflecHona  snd  the 
croBsfigell,  and  have  their  hands  joined  at  the  hymn 
"  Dicat,"  that  they  should  gmufieet  toree  times  at  end  of 
each  hymn,  striking  their  breasts  at  each  genuflectioa,  and 
raising  their  bands  np  to  Heaven,  Now,  the  word  used 
for  genuflection  in  the  above  instajice  was  (alechtan),  and 
conid  not,  as  appears  from  the  contest,  mean  prostration. 
This  surely  was  racy  of  the  soil. 

But  to  return  to  the  Rubric.     Dr.  M'Carthy  should  have 
eMablished  not  only  that  tlechthith  could  and  should  mean 
prostration,  but  that  it  coold  not  mean  genuSeL-tiou  or 
bowing.      Why,  the  contradictory  has  been  proved  (see 
Ho.  3  of  this  paper.)     Waiving  ray  right,  however,  of  not 
Inlying  to  him  as  being  out  ot  form,  and  pardoning  him 
logical  improprieties,  I  would  fain  have  Dr.  M'Carthy  t^e 
his  perch   oa   the  horns  of   a   legitimate    dilemma,  iac 
the  matter  is  capable  of  it.      Jt  is  this: — "Before  con- 
secration the  people  were  either- prostrate  or  they  were 
not;  if  they  had  been,  the  Rubric  la  useless,  as,  according 
to  Dr.   M'Carthy,   sUchthith  means  prostration ;   if    they 
had   oot  been   prostrate   it  proves  his  contention  to  be 
Maa  ■  tV,ari,(nra  fhft  Riihriiv  "  woTth  anything,  proves  him 
own  petard.'     Yet  this  was 
5  proof'  of  prostration, 
e  no  kneeling,  but  prostra- 
ig  God,  without  exception, 
limited  to  the  "early  Irish 
to  the  Culdees ;  and  1  hope 
istration,  in  bis  next  paper, 
"  hatemity. 

y  last  words  of  hia  reply 
"  that  the  rule  (for  proatea- 
of  the  body  of  the  people, 
ghtly  says,  a  monk. "  Tboee 
[tended  were  not  ri^tly 
ed  Dean  Reeves  who  reviews 
Dllandists  and  others  onboth 
ry,  ably  suma  up  by  stating 
rving  some  of  the  diacipUne 
rere  in  Ireland,  in  their  mpin 
d  if  Dr.  M'Carthy  had  not 
Reeves'   Culdtet.  he  mierht 


98  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammat. 

and  stated  so,  in  nineteen  stanzas,  says  that  now  he  treats 
of  the  occupations  of  the  Culdees ;  therefore,  according  to 
the  writer  of  the  Rule,  the  Culdees  were  not  monks. 

17.  1  apprehend  that  Dr.  McCarthy's  reference  to  tiie 
Corpus  Miss^  does  not  limit  prostration  to  the  Culdees  unless 
he  supposes  like  Dean  Reeves  and  Rev.  Mr.  Warren,  whose 
modesty  and  gentlemanly  courtesy  are  on  a  par  with  their 
vast  learning,  that  the  Culdees  Uved  in  opposition  to  and 
at  variance  with  the  Roman  See.  I  am,  therefore,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  opposed  to  siving  the  Culdees  this  additional 
peculiarity  attributed  to  them  dj^  Dr.  McCarthy.  But  had 
they  in  point  of  fact  this  pecuharity  f  Well,  I  know  no 
better  authority  on  the  question  than  the  very  Rule  of  the 
Culdeea 

That  Rule  prescribes  (L.B.,  p.  10.)  '*  that  when  a  psalm 
is  chanted  it  is  to  be  said  by  them  alternately  standing  and 
sitting ;  for  when  they  sit  it  induces  sleep,  and  if  they  stand 
too  long  it  is  fatiguing."  Now,  to  repy  to  this  he  must 
quote  some  authority  as  good  fius  the  framer  of  the  Rule,  and 
what  he  quotes  must  refer  to  the  Culdees.  For  by  his 
subterfuge  he  has  narrowed  the  matter  to  that  issue.  But 
I  am  certain  Dr.  McCarthy's  views  on  prostration  c^e  as 
baseless  as  are  in  regard  to  independence  of  Rome  those  of 
Protestant  writers. 

18.  I  regret  that  the  point  intended  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Crossfigell  by  me  has  been  missed.  I  intended  to 
come  at  the  meaning  of  slechtam.  Dr.  McCarthy  says,  truly 
indeed,  that  there  is  no  radical  connection  between  the 
words,  but  withal  there  is  a  necessary  however  indirect 
connection,  and  therefore  he  is  not  correct  in  saying  that 
the  objection  founded  on  it  falls  to  the  ground.  The 
glossanst  defined ^^U  to  be  <  a  prayer  or  meditation  which 
one  performs  on  his  knees,  as  genuflection  (slechtaim).  Here 
was  the  equivalent  for  the  word  in  dispute.  He  repeated 
the  same  meaning  in  giving  the  defimtion  of  Crossfi^U, 
explaining  the  Cross  by  ^  the  hands  stretched  out  crosswise.' 
But  because  I  adopted  the  explanation  oifigdl  in  its  simple 
state,  making  use  of  the  word  meditation  as  being  more 
intelligible  tnan  wcUcliing^  which  weus  employed  by  the 
glossarist  in  defining /{^eu  in  composition  with  Cross^  I  am 
credited  with  emU.  No.  10.  I  did  not,  and  do  not  sub- 
scribe to  O'Clery's  idea  of  the  Crossfigell  but  intended 
merely  to  come  at  his  idea  and  the  meaning  of  sleektham  as 
used  by  him.  But  as  Dr.  McCarthy  has  taken  trouble 
to  conrect  my  imaginary  errors  in  connection  with  Crossfi^U 


Recent  Booh  tm  Inth  Grammar.  99 

I  have  something  to  say  to  his  real  eirora  io  the  same  con- 
nectioD. 

19.  That  a  standing  posture  was  not  necessaiT'  to  the 
idea  ofCroesfigellismaaeclearbT  an  entry  in  /..£.  (p.  6I.a). 
A  desolate  widow  came  to  St.  MartiD  and  implored  him  to 
raise  her  son  lately  dead  to  life.  Thelriah  wnter  represents 
him  as  yielding  to  her  request :  m  fkiU  M.  a  gltmi  antin  agut 
dotgtd  aUehtain  agtu  Croifi^ll.  "Martin  bent  his  knees, 
made  adoration  and  the  CroMfigell,"  Dr.  M'Oarthy  is  not 
ooirect  in  saying.tbat  here  there  is  a  contrast,  there  is  only 
a  connection  between  kneeling  and  (gleehtain)  adoration. 
Snch  had  been  St.  Martin's  life-long  habit  of  prayer,  with 
•yes  and  hands  directed  to  heaven,  that,  in  the  crisis  of  his 
dying  agony,  be  would  not  purchase  ease  by  turning  prone 
on  the  ground,  in  order  that  he  might  die  as  be  bad  lived, 
looking,  when  praying,  to  heaven.  The  description  in  the 
L.B.  tallies  with  what  is  given  of  him  in  the  old  Latin 
Hves.  They  Te[)reBeut  bim  not  as  praying  with  clasped 
hands,  nor  as  Saints  Agatba  and  Amoroso  are  respectively 
repreeented  by  their  acts,  "  with  hands  expanded,"  and 
"formed  to  the  image  of  a  cross" — manibvt  expantu,  et  in 
!w,  but  "  with  eyes  and  bands 
manibuK  in  eoebtm  semper  in- 

I  Apostle  pray.  He  is  repre- 
art  of  the  night  in  prayer  and 
be  second  part  of  the  night  in 
le  cold  brook,  with  eyes  and 
Its  manibiumie  ad  caelum.  Our 
tin,  whose  lives  represent  him 
and  hands  directed  to  heaven. 
Croesfigell.  Yet  Dr.  M'Carthy 
his  Hves  state,  but  stretched 
therwise  bis  hands  could  not 
The  L.B.  says  (p.  259)  that, 
ids  in  CrossSgell  to  God,  the 
irossfigelj  then  depended  not 
3ut  the  position  of  the  hands, 
lecessaty  to  the  idea  of  Cross- 
hat  the  Irish  writer  says  of 
n  allusion  to  the  passage  in 
re  know  Moses  was  not  pros- 
o  r.iU-i-1  =o™  / /■  D   ..  -.^  .  < 


100  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar, 

shall  perform  100  genuflections  (slechthain)  and  CrossfigeU 
with  Beattie" 

21.  It  would  appear  that  kneeling  though  usual  was 
not  necessary,  in  idea  or  practice,  to  the  CSrossfigell,  as  the 
genuflections  were  omitted  on  Sundays  and  Paschal  time, 
nee  genua  flectenda.  {LuB.^  54,  b.)  These  words  were 
used  to  explain  slecht/ianaf  and  I  was  right  then  in  stating 
that  the  "  genuflections  of  the  CrossfigeU  "  were  not  per- 
formed on  Sunday.  Yet,  unaccountably,  the  "  genuflec- 
tions of  the  Crossflgell  '*  are  marked  by  errat.  9.  Dr. 
McCarthy  makes  a  mistake  by  thinking  that  I  intended  to 
give  anything  but  the  equivalent  of  genua  fiectenda^  kneel'- 
ing  without  at  all  going  into  the  natiure  of  CrossfigeU.  He 
then  gives,  in  correction,  a  definition  of  CrossfigeU  which 
I  did  not  intend  to  touch  on — "  prostration  and  exten- 
sion of  the  hands  crosswise."  But  neither  prostration  nor 
extension  of  the  hands  was  a  part  of  CroeefigeU.  He  is 
mistaken  consequently  in  connecting  extension  of  the  hands 
with  Moses'  CrossfigeU,  and  doubly  so  in  ^ving  it  with 
prostration  in  connection  with  that  of  St.  Martm's  CrossfigeU. 
Dr.  M^Carthjr  understands  the  reference  to  the  CrossfieeU 
three  times  m  the  next  paragraph,  as  meaning  outstretched 
arms  in  regard  to  Josue,  and  thus  commits  three  mistaken. 

22.  But  if  it  consist  not  in  any  particular  attitude  of  the 
body,  it  must  be  sought  for  in  the  position  of  the  hands. 
O'ReiUy  in  his  Dictionary  says  that  the  hands  should  be 
crossed  on  each  other. 

There  is  a  great  deal  to  favor  the  view  of  the  out- 
stretched arms  crosswise.  It  was  the  position  in  which 
Christ  last  prayed  and  died ;  and  the  early  Christians  loved 
to  imitate  him.^  And  this  apostoUc  custom  was  not  unknown 
to  our  Irish  Saints.  The  Irish  writers  emploved  pretty 
imagery  to  express  a  Hkeness  of  the  cross.  Havmg  traced 
a  Ukeness  to  it  in  the  horizontal  points,  an  Irish  writer  con- 
tinues : — ^'  A  likeness  to  the  cross  in  air  is  the  bird  on  the 
wing;  a  Ukeness  to  it  on  earth  is  man  with  hands  out- 
stretched (sinte)  in  prayer ;  a  likeness  to  it  on  water  is  a 
ship  under  saU  and  canvass  unfurled."  (i.B».  p.  234,  a). 
These  simiUtudes  appear  taken  from  St.  Jerome  (comm.  on 
St.  Mark),  who  adds,  if  I  remember  rightly,  the  likeness  of 
a  man  swimming. 

There  would  appear  then  an  antecedent  probabiUty  in 

^  MaximuB  Turin.  "  Cracia  signum  est  cum  homo  porrectis  Manibua 
Deum  pura  mente  Yeneretur/'    Tom.  11.  c2e  Cruce  Domini, 

EKTtTOfitpaf  irpofidkkoftttfot  rat  ycipaf  to  tov  frravpov  mtfoff  cv  rm 
XI f^*"''^  cfucovtfci.     Apud   Vhn^.  Qnd.  ^1. 


P 


Recent  Booh  on  Irish  Grammar. 


IDI 


&TOiir  of  outstretched  anns  in  connection  with  Crossfigell. 

Dr.  Beeves  thinks  the  matter  is  decided  by  a  passage  in 
ZjSL,  ^  when  Moses  raised  his  hands  in  Crossfigell  the 
heathens  were  defeated."  But  is  it  certain  that  Moses  in 
Exodus,  to  which  allusion  is  made,  had  the  hands  outstretched 
laterally  f  Or  what  is  more  to  the  point,  how  did  the  Irish 
writers  understand  it  ?  I  maintain  that  they  imderstood  hj 
it '  the  hands  raised  as  those  of  the  priest  at  the  altar.'  This 
is  the  ^sence  of  CrossfigelL  There  is  some  confusion  in  a 
reference  made  by  an  Irish  writer  in  L.B.  (p.  124  b)  to 
Moses  and  Josue ;  but  I  have  only  to  reconcile  him  with 
IdmBelf.  "  When  Josue,  the  son  of  Nun,  raised  in  front  of 
Amra  (Moses),  his  two  beautiful,  singularly  white,  and  pure 
hands  in  Crossfigill,  the  Canaanites  were  overcome  in 
battle ;  but  when  the  Crossfigill  ceased  and  the  hands  fell 
by  his  side,  the  children  of  Israel  were  defeated.  They 
then  adopted  an  ingenious  and  prudent  plan — they  fixed 
and  raised  two  chosen  stones  under  the  hands  of  Josue,  so 
that  they  may  be  in  Crossfigell  during  the  battle."  Now 
ike  hands  must  have  been  raised  aloft,  otherwise  they  would 
not  be  raised  in  front  of  Moses,  but  stretched  out  on  either 
side  of  him.  Besides,  it  is  not  the  arms  but  the  hands,  the 
white  and  beautiful  hands,  that  are  raised  up  to  heaven, 
which  could  not  properly  be  said  if  they  had  not  been  higher 
&an  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  or  if  the  arms  were  as  high 
by  being  outstretched  laterally.  Finally,  whenever  Israel 
was  overcome,  not  only  had  the  Crossfigell  ceased,  but,  as 
a  different  thing,  the  arms  fell  by  the  side ;  whereas  if  the 
aims  had  been  outstretched  the  cessation  of  the  Crossfigell 
and  the  falling  of  the  hands  would  not  be  different*  Moses 
must  have  been  considered  by  the  Irish  wiiter  as  a  sort  of 
propitiatory,  and  Josue  before  him. 

24.  I  shall  cite  several  instances  of  Crossfigell  as  proofs 
or  tests  of  my  defijiition*  The  first  is  firom  the  Martyrology 
of  Donegal  on  the  life  of  St  Becan,     The  Saint  is  found 

raying  and  building  by  St.   Columba.     (See  April  5> 

\&E.):— 


5 


1st  Stanza.  , 
^  Making  a  wall, the  Crossfigell, 
Kneeling  in  pure  prayer  (slech- 
taib' 


Tli 


^11  •- 


2nd  Stanza. 
*'  Hand  on  a  stone,  hand  raises 
up; 
Knee  bent  (glun  fiUte)  to  set  a 


102  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

The  second  is  only  an  explanation  of  the  first  stanza ; 
and,  by  the  way,  fillem  gluni  and  slechtham  are  identified 
(see  par.  1).  Now  hand  raised  up  is  the  equivalent  tor 
Crossfigell.  The  hand  was  not  stretched  out ;  and  if  wo 
suppose  that  the  Crossfigell  consisted  of  the  cross  by  out- 
stretched arms,  one  arm  outstretched  would  be  meaning- 
less, unless  in  a  menacing  or  demonstrative  manner ;  not 
so,  if  raised  without  relation  to  a  cross  formed  by  the  handa 

25.  Another  instance  is  given  in  the  Milan  Glosses.  The 
passage  translated  runs  thus :  **  The  word  of  the  bold  eyes 
IS  in  raising  them  up  to  heaven  (vid.  Oadoilica  p,  21),  and 
the  word  of  the  bold  body  is  when  it  is  stretched  to  God 
in  kneeling  (slechtain)  and  Crossfigell*' 

The  aUusion  to  the  bold  eyes,  etc.,  of  the  ancient 
Glossarist,  is  understood  by  a  reference  to  Tertullian,  who 
recommended  the  Publican's  method  of  prayer — ^not  to 
raise  the  hands  too  high  (sublimius),  nor  even  the  face  too 
boldly.  (Vultu  quidem  in  audaciam).  Audacity  (dana)  is 
the  very  word  in  the  Gloss.  Now  when  the  body  was 
reached  as  far  as  the  hands  could  oifer  it  to  God  in  Cross- 
figell it  came  under  the  description  discountenanced  by 
TertulUan,  who  did  not  censure  the  expansion  of  the  hancis 
but  practised  it.^ 

26.  The  L.B.  (p.  135  a),  gives  another  instance.  Speak- 
ing of  the  Immaculate  Virgin  on  the  25th  December,  the 
writer  says ;  **  after  her  going  into  the  house  (stable),  she 
began  prayer  and  the  Crossfigell,  and  her  eyes  up  to 
Heaven."  The  Virgin  was  represented  so  weak  as  to  be 
supported  on  the  left  by  James  the  Kneed  and  by  Simon  on 
the  right ;  and  considering  that  there  were  five  virgin  com- 
panions with  her  cmd  St.  Joseph,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
she  could  have  extended  her  arms  in  a  narrow  stable, 
surrounded  as  she  was. 

27.  The  last  instance  is  taken  from  the  Rule  of  the 
Culdees.  *^Deus  in  adjutorium  down  to  festina  and  thy  two 
hands  up  to  Heaven ;  and  the  sign  of  the  cross  afterwardB 
with  the  right  hand  similiter  in  every  direction,  thus  iS 
down,  up,  it  is  the  shrine  of  ipietv  with  tnem  ;  but  the  Ooss- 
figell  premously^  it  is  their  shield."  (i.5.,  p.  10).  Here  the 
Crossfigell  is  distinguished  from  the  cross,  consisting  of 
raising  the  hands  up  to  Heaven. 

Now  that  we  have  determined  the  nature  of  Croflsfigell, 
a  question  rises  to  the  lips ;    Is  the  Crossfigell  a  misnomer  T 

>  Nob  yero  non  attollimoB  tantxim,  sed  etlam  expandimnB,  et  dominica 
pasdone  modulantes  et  oiantes,  &c.,  Tert,  de  oradone,  ch.  IL. 


Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar,  103 

No.  The  early  Chrigtianfl  loved  to  express  a -likeness  to 
our  Saviour  on  the  Cross ;  but  in  doing  so  ran  into  excesa 
To  this  the  earliest  of  the  Latin  Fathers  alluded  when  he 
recommended  a  moderate  elevation  of  the  hands.  The 
Chnrch  comes  forward  and  recommends  by  her  practice 
such  a  position  as  the  priest  gives  now  to  the  hands  at  Mass. 
This  came  into  use  before  St  Patrick's  time.  St  Sylvester 
is  represented  as  so  praying  (Vid.  Bened.  xiv.  Sac.  Mis. 
Kb.  it,  ch.  vi.  No.  5,  and  Mus.  Bonarrotae).  This  manner 
of  prayer  observed  in  St.  Patrick  was  copied  by  his  very 
docile  converts;  and  the  manner  of  prayer  observed  before 
the  altar-cross  got  the  name  of  Crossfigell. 

There  is  another  reason  for  the  name.  The  sacrifice  at 
the  altar  being  the  same  as  that  of  the  cross,  the  position 
of  the  priest's  bands  in  his  sacrificial  capacity  could  be  said 
to  be  that  of  the  cross.  To  this  L.B.  (p.  234^,  alludes :  <*  If 
it  be  right  to  honour  and  respect  the  ordinary  altar  on  which 
we  offered  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  daily,  much  more 
flhould  we  honour  the  first  altar  (piece  of  the  true  cross)." 
flere  the  altar  and  cross  are  convertible  terms. 

Now  that  we  have  established  the  essential  meaning  of 
Crossfigell,  I  am  in  a  position  to  repay  Dr.  McCarthy  for  the 
trouble  he  took  in  correcting  imaginary  errors  in  connectiou 
with  the  Crossfigell.  He  is  inconsistent  in  that  in  one  place 
he  says  that  Moses  was  in  Crossfigell  on  an  occasion  when 
he  could  not  be  prostrate,  and  in  another  says  that  it  con- 
sisted '  of  prostrations  and  extension  of  the  hainds  crosswise  ' 
(pp.  708-10  Record,  1883).  ' 

27.  He  tells  us  in  an  unscientific  if  not  tinkering 
manner,  that  by  tacking  a  phrase  in  a  Paris  manuscript  to 
another  in  a  Bobio  manuscript  we  will  find  a  Cros^gelL 
The  first  piece  is  palmce  superncs  ad  orationem.  Why  the 
palms  were  not  to  be  supine  at  all  in  Crossfigell.  Besides, 
the  supine  position  of  hands  is  impossible  with  full 
prostration^  which  he  wrongly  made  a  condition  to 
Crossfigell.  The  other  piece  was,  canat  triginta  psalmos  in 
eruee,  Kor  has  this  more  than  the  first  patch  an  element 
of  the  Crossfigell.  He  need  not  have  crossed  the  seas  to 
patch  up  a  Qrossfigell,  if  he  knew  how  to  understand  one 
at  his  door. 
Di hv.  in  order  to  crive  us  his  irlpa    o  •mT.r»*%*^  rv.*« 


104  Recent  Books  on  Irish  Grammar. 

Church."  Now,  the  arreum  which  Dr.  McCarthy  gives  as 
the  second,  in  reference  to  the  Crossfigell,  is  quite  oiflFerent 
from  that  given  in  the  bishop's  very  correct  version  of  the 
arreums. 

There  is  still  more  reason  for  quesrioning  the  propriety 
of  translating  arrevm  by  "  penance,*'  as  Dr.  McCarthy  has 
done.  Of  course  he  might  say  that  a  word  by  itself  can 
have  a  meaning  different  from  what  it  has  in  composition. 
True.  I  therefore  await  his  translation  of,  if  not  all  the 
arreums  occupying  only  fourteen  full  lines,  at  least  the  first 
arreum,  Arreum  superpositionis  c.  psalmi  et  c,  fiectianes 
genuum  vel  ter  guingenta  et  cantica  septem.  If  I  rightly  under- 
stand the  two  first  words  of  this  arreum,  Dr.  McCarthy  has 
to  change  his  views  «U8  expressed  on  his  second  arreum. 

28.  He  says  the  Crossfigell  has  two  meanings  1  It  has  the 
right  and  wrong  one.  Dr.  McCarthy's  views  on  the  Crossfigell 
have  been  wrong  and  inconsistent ;  and  when  a  difficulty 
arose  he  ought  rather  have  paused  than  misrepresent  facts 
that  they  should  square  with  his  theory.  To  multiply  words 
or  their  meanings  when  any  difficulty  arises  as  to  the  true 
meaning  is  bad  enough,  but  to  do  so  without  any  difficulty 
in  the  way  is  far  more  imreasonable.  It  were  to  revolu- 
tionize language  to  multiply  words  for  difficulties  created 
not  merely  by  some  mented  obtiquit)',  but  by  not  opening 
our  eyes  physically.  The  evils  of  such  a  system  are 
illustrated  m  Dr.  McCarthy's  writing.  As  to  Crossfigell,  he 
says  i—^*^  The  second  meaning  is  given  in  the  Prose  rule  of 
the  Culdees,  and  said  to  be  the  sign  of  the  cross,with  the  right 
hand,"  Not  at  all ;  there  is  no  mention  or  trace  of  a  second 
meaning  (i.-B.,  p.  10).  The  writer  does  not  say  that  it 
consists  of  the  sign  of  the  cross,  but  quite  differently  [see 
Par.  26).    Thirdly,  the  translation  is  not  up,  down,  as  he 

fives  it,  but  down,  up,  sis  ecus  suass.  The  '*  Tlwughts'^  of 
ascal  tells  us  that  the  common  people  have  truth  with 
them,  but  do  not  know  the  point  where  it  is  to  be  foimd ; 
Dr.M*Carthy  not  only  has  not  a  true  notion  of  the  Crossfigell, 
and  does  not  appear  to  know  where  to  find  it.  And  if  he 
has  erred  in  a  matter  of  fact  that  he  could  see  and  touch,  he 
has  no  less  reason  to  fear  that  the  unseen  and  supposed 
link,  with  a  causal  force  between  the  first  and  second  half 
of  the  Irish  quatrain,  in  support  of  the  prostration  theory, 
is  only  a  creature  of  the  imagination.  At  aU  events  Dr. 
McCarthy's  views  on  the  Crossfigell  have  been  characterized 
by  confusion,^contradiction,  and  manifold  mistakes,  in  fact  as 
well  as  opinion. 


Explanatory  Note.  105 

While  Dr.  McCarthy  finds  fault  with  the  adoption  of 
what  is  tenable  in  O'Cleary's  definition  of  Crossfigell,  as  to 
the  meaning  of  sUchtaim^  supported  as  that  meaning  is  by 
an  irresistible  mass  of  evidence,  he  may  then  get  the  benefit 
of  his  own  remarks,  as  it  is  to  be  observed  that  his  adop- 
tion of  what  is  untenable  in  the  definition — the  error  touch- 
ing the  hands  crosswise — and  superadding  to  it  that  of 
i)ro8tration,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  done  by 
earned  societies  during  thelast  100 years,  "  shows  how  far 
Irish  studies  have  progressed  in  Ireland  since  the  28th 
October,  1643.*'  Sylvester  Malone. 


EXPLANATORY  NOTK 


[May  we  venture  to  express  a  hope  that  with  the 
publication  of  the  following  Explanatory  Note,  this 
interesting  controversy  will  now  cease  ?] 

In  reference  to  the  misreading  Briani^  Rev.  E.  Hogan,  S.J., 
has  pnblished*  a  copy  of  the  original  entry  in  the  Book  of 
Armi^L  From  this  it  resnlts  that  what  Father  O'CarroU's 
anonymous  defender  disparagingly  called  the  '^new/'  is  in  reality 
the  tme,  reading.  "  The  facsimile/'  we  are  told,  **  is  wrong  in 
muting  t  and  n  in  Briain  .  .  .  even  with  the  naked  eye  I  could 
see  they  are  not  joined  in  the  MS."     Solventnr  risu  tabule  ! 

Father  Hogan  goes  on  to  show  that  my  transcript  contains  as 
many  as  six  errors.  They  are  as  follows : — 1.  **  Patncius." 
This  means  that  I  did  not  mark  the  letters  which  were  omitted  from 
the  MS.  form  Patrius.  But,  as  I  have  done  so  in  no  case,  hy  the 
same  role  I  should  have  been  written  down  for  twenty  additional 
blunders.  Strange,  however,  the  instance  selected  for  animad- 
yeraion  is  the  only  one  in  which  an  error  as  to  the  letters  omitted 
was- possible;  stranger  still,  that  error  has  been  fallen  into  by 
Father  Hogan ;  and,  strangest  of  all,  he  would  have  avoided  it, 
had  he  been  content  to  copy  O'Ctury.  For  Patrius  is  what  pakeo- 
graphers  call  a  syncopated  stfllabic  contraction;  and,  unless  the 
Spelling-hooks  are  wrong,  or  to  be  read  backwards,  there  is  no 
such  syllable  as  ic  to  be  omitted  or  retained  in  Patricias. 

2.  "  Caelum  {recte  celum,  the  e  being  a  Utera  caudatay^  A 
reference  to  Reeves*  Adamnan'  will  show  the  same  a  retained  in 


106  Explanatory  Note. 

6.  "Maceridtf  for  Maceri^.*'      Herein,   however,   I  have  been 
foUowed  by  Father  Hogan,  who  writes  Calvus  and  mumae, 

6.  "  Bebliothica  for  bebliothici[8]."  Having  before  me 
O 'Curry *s  assurance,  that  the  facsimile  was  a  *'  perfect 
representation,"  how,  I  may  fairly  ask,  was  I,  who  had  never 
seen  the  original,  to  know  that  the  facsimile  was  so  far  from 
being  perfect  that  it  contained  two  disgraceful  blunders  ? 

In  one  of  these  I  was  enabled,  it  wiU  not  be  denied,  Ui  give 
what  the  result  has  shown  to  be  the  true  reading.  The  other  I 
had  no  option  but  to  read  as  I  did.  Father  Hogan,  indeed,  says 
that  what  I  took  to  be  an  a  is  "  unlike  any  of  the  eighteen  a's  of 
this  entry."  But,  under  favour,  the  entry  contains  twenty  a's ; 
yet,  notwithstanding,  the  standards  of  comparison  for  my  guidance 
were  but  one-fifth  of  that  number.  Irish  Palaeographers  will 
smile  when  they  learn  that,  though  he  spent  *'  many  a  day  over 
that  celebrated  Book  of  Armagh,"  Father  Hogan  never  noticed 
any  difference  between  the  writing  in  the  first  and  that  in  the 
second  part  of  the  entry  in  question.  The  character  read  by  me 
as  an  a  bears,  anyone  but  a  mere  tyro  will  admit,  an  exact 
resemblance  to  the  same  letter  in  the  last  word  of  the  facsimile. 

Moreover,  the  singular  seemed  calculated  to  lessen  the 
enormity  of  what,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  was  an  impudent 
forgery  on  the  part  of  O'Carroll.  For  the  **  accomplished  Irish 
scholar,"  or  **  distinguished  literary  gentleman,"  who  can  point  out 
the  "book-collections  of  the  Scots,"  wherein  it  is  stated  that 
St.  Patrick  commanded  the  whole  fruit  of  his  labour  to  be  carried 
to  Armagh,  will  have  rendered  a  lasting  service  to  Irish 
Archeology. 

Of  Father  Hogan's  philological  errors  I  have  already  corrected 
some  in  my  Reply  to  Father  Malone ;  the  rest  I  may  rectify  on  an 
another  occasion. 

F.  Hogan^  goes  out  of  his  way  to  characterize  in  angry  terms  my 
mistake  in  reference  to  or*e  blunder  in  F.  M'Swiney's  TVanslation  of 
Windisch's  Grammar.  This  I  explained  and  apologized  for  at  the 
earliest  opportunity — a  fact  which  entitles  me  to  say  to  my  accuser : 
Qui  secutus  es  errantemy  sequere  poenitentem.  For  the  following 
statement  of  F.  Hogan  is  utterly  destitute  of  foundation : — ^  In  his 
note  to  p.  484,  Dr.  MacCarthy  wrongly  attributes  to  F.  M^winey, 
line  24,  2nd  column,  p.  162,  of  Dr.  Moore's  Grammar." 

I  attributed  nothing  of  Dr.  Moore's  Translation  to  F.  M^winey. 
The  words  alluded  to  stand  thus  in  Windisch* :  sa  Part,  augens  der 
1  Sg. ;  and,  difficult  as  they  are,  yet  I  was  able  to  master  them 
before  the  appearance  of  either  the  unauthorized  or  the  authorized 
version  of  the  Chammar. 

With  respect  to  O'Curry's  original,  and  F.  O'CarroU's  adopted, 
blunder,    Briani    instead    of   Briain^    F.    0*CarroU*s    nameless 

» Gaelic  Journal,  No.  8.  »p.  146,  coL  2. 


Explanatory  NoU.  107 

blight  has  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  contest.  He  has 
not,  I  r^ret  to  saj,  had  the  candour  to  admit  that  he  was 
bopeleesfy  vanqoished. 

In  regard  to  bis .  ascription  of  palseographic  infallibilitj  to 
(yCnnjy  the  sajne  fate  has  befallen  him.  Still  he  looks  forward,  be 
confesses,  with  curiosity  to  see  what '  line  will  next  be  taken  up '  by 
me  on  thia  sabject  in  the  Record.  I  may,  therefore,  take  occasion 
to  famish  wherewithal  to  slake  his  laudable  thirst  for  knowledge. 

With  reference  to  Hibemo-Latin,  it  is  less  satisfactory  to  find 
that,  instead  of  taking  my  advice  to  consult  approved  authors,  this 
writer  fills  a  column  and  a  half  in  proving,  with  schoolboy  confi- 
dence, that  he  has  nothing  to  learn  on  the  subject, 

**  The  truly  peculiar  Hibemo-Latin,"  he  lays  down  emphatically, 
"  mixed  up  with  the  classic  tongue  even  Irish  words  which  were 
not  proper  names."  Doubtless  it  will  be  new  to  him  to  hear  that, 
nevertheless,  Br.  Reeves  could  find  but  three  such  instances  in 
the  whole  of  Adamnan's  Columba.  And,  if  he  wiU  allow  me  to 
inform  him,  m  all  three  Dr.  Reeves  was  mistaken  /  For  the  first 
example  is  part  of  a  personal  name ;  the  second,  a  gloss  which  crept 
into  the  text ;  and  the  third,  a  factor  in  a  locative  adverbial  phrase.^ 
His  proof  is  as  original  as  his  thesis.  He  quotes,  namely,  as  Latin 
an  Irish  sentence,  in  which  part  of  the  subject  and  three  genitives  are 
in  "  the  classic  tongue !"  By  parity  of  reasoning  he  must  main- 
tain a  fortiori  that  a  great  man  penned  a  Latin  sentence  when  he 
wrote :  *^  Nitor  in  advertun  is  the  motto  for  a  man  like  me." 

The  following  elementary  distinction,  this  disputant  will  learn 
in  due  time,  sets  the  subject  in  its  true  light.  The  introduction  of 
native  proper  names,  inflected  according  to  native  rules,  by  ancient 
Irish  writers  into  their  Latin  compositions,  and  the  use  of  foreign 
WQfds  by  Irishmen  writing  in  Irish,  Germans  in  the  common  dialect 
of  scholars,  or  Englishmen  in  English,  form  two  literary  features 
which  are  radically  distinct.  One  appears  in  works  intended  for 
readers  who  were  necessarily  ignorant  of  our  national  tongue ;  the 
other,  in  writings  composed  for  those  who  either  knew,  or  had 
within  reach  the  means  of  knowing,  the  strange  vocables  em? 
ployed.  The  first  constitutes  what  may  be  called  Hibemo-Latin ; 
the  second,  according  to  circumstances,  is  bilingualism,  or  pedantry, 
or  adoption.  As  I  may  revert  to  the  subject,  I  need  not  illustrate 
the  foregoing  with  examples. 

In  justice  to  the  readers  of  the  Record,  I  cannot  close  without 
putting  before  them  the  decision  of  the  ^'  editor  "  of  the  high-class 
monthly:* — "Rev.  Father  O'Carroll's  quotation  in  our  columns 
firom  a  weiymown  printed  book  did  not,  in  our  opinion,  place  on 
us  the  — — '*— 'bility  of  ascertaining  whether  the  late  illustrious 

•._a1.^>_ l_    l__J ?-a ii       p •        .     •%.mc% 


108         The  Benedictio  Apostolica  in  Articulo  Mortis. 

seqaentlj  have  been  so  printed  by  the  author  of  the  work  quoted 
by  Father  O'Carroll,  or  by  that  writer  himself.'' 

Ah  !  la  beUe  chose,  que  de  savoir  quelque  chose  T 

So  that,  if  I  read  this  lucid  judgment  aright,  the  whole  discus* 
sion  turned  upon  the  question  whether  O'Curry  copied  a  Latin 
sentence  correctly.  But,  with  all  submission,  I  may  be  allowed 
to  state  that,  for  reasons  set  forth  by  me  at  due  length,  and  which 
F.  O'Carroll^s  shadowy  champion  with  commendable  discretion 
passed  over  in  silence,  O'Gurry's  Latin  transcripts  lay  outside  the 
limits  of  discussion.  The  point  in  dispute,  it  is  evident  to  all  con- 
cerned except  "us,"  was  whether  a  certain  zcord  was  Irish  or 
Latin,  as  written  by  the  original  scribe. 

I  The  foregoing  shows  how  much  we  have  lost  by  "  the  Editor's  " 
determination  "  to  have  no  part  inithe  controversy  itself;"  and  how 
justly  this  ^^  most  accomplbhed  Irbh  scholar  '*  thinks  his  journal  much 
more  suitable*'  for  articles  like  mine  than  the  pages  of  the  Record. 

B.  MacGartht,  D.D. 


THE  BENEDICTIO  APOSTOLICA  IN  ARTICULO 

MORTIS. 

ON  the  third  of  last  January  the  first  copy  of  the 
work,  issued  by  Pustet,  of  Ratisbon,  New  York,  and 
Cincinnati,  entitled  Decreta  Auihentica  Sacrae  Congregatumis 
IndulgeniiiSf  Sacrisque  Reliquiis  praepositae^  ab  anno  1668  ad 
annum  1882,  edita  jussu  et  auctoritate  Sanctissimi  I).  N. 
Leonis  XIILj  reached  the  United  States  by  mail,  and  was 
immediately  placed  in  the  writer's  hands  by  the  New  York 
members  of  the  firm.  In  the  Pastor  of  the  same  month, 
a  hurried  notice  of  the  work  appeared,  accompanied  by  an 
assurance  that  at  the  earUest  opportunity  some  farther 
details  would  be  given  of  the  na^e  and  contents  of  the 
book.  After  looUng  carefully  through  the  Decreta^  I 
directed  the  attention  of  clergymen,  in  the  March  number, 
to  a  series  of  dec^es  respecting  the  plenary  indulgence 
imparted  by  the  Benedictio  ApostoUcoj  and  wound  up  the 

Saper  in  the  following  words  : — "From  the  foregoing 
ecrees  we  may  infer:  (a)  that  the  plenary  indulgence 
pro  mortis  articulo  is  not  appUed  spiritually  to  the  soul  at 
the  time  the  Benedictio  is  pronounced  by  the  priest,  but 
only  at  the  moment  of  death,  let  that  come  sooner  or  later, 
in  the  impending  danger,  by  reason  of  which  the  Benedictio 
is  imparted ;  (b)  that  it  is  wholly  needless  for  the  priest  to 
de  lay  giving  the  Benedictio^  as  long  as  be  dare  risL    The 


The  Benedictio  Apostolica  in  Articuto  Mortis.        109 

BenidicHo  given  three  months  before  the  hour  of  death 
is,  caeteris  parHms^  just  as  efficacious  when  apphed  now,  in 
articuloj  as  the  same  Benedictio  given  three  mmutes  before ; 
(c)  that  consequently  it  may,  and  should,  be  given,  when 
tiie  danger  would  justify  the  giving  of  £xtreme  Unction ; 
((f)  that  the  condition  once  fulfilled,  it  would  be  as  silly  to 
impose  a  repetition  thereof,  as  to  require  one  who  had 
ah^ady  complied,  say,  with  tiie  fast  prescribed  in  a  jubilee, 
to  repeat  his  fast  as  a  necessary  condition  for  gaining  the 
indulgence ;  (/)  that  the  repetition  (of  the  Benedictio 
Apostoliea)  woind  not  only  be  silly  and  useless,  but  sinful 
on  the  part  of  the  priest  in  face  of  the  positive  prohibition 
of  the  sacred  Congregation  of  Indulgences;  (g)  and  finally, 
just  as  it  is  not  among  the  requirements  for  gaining  the 
mdulgence  of  a  jubilee,  that  the  man,  while  complying 
witii  the  required  fast,  should  be  in  the  state  of  grace,  or, 
if  in  the  state  of  grace  at  the  time,  that  he  should  not  fall 
into  sin  between  then  and  the  jubilee  communion,  neither 
is  it  necessary,  so  far  as  regards  the  plenary  indulgence  in 
articulo  mortis^  that  the  sick  person  be  in  the  state  of  grace 
when  the  papal  blessrug  is  imparted ;  nor,  being  so  just 
tiien,  that  he  should  not  forfeit  that  state  previous  to  the 
final  absolution  and  remission  of  his  sins,  whether  such 
remission  be  obtained  by  perfect  contrition  or  through  the 
Sacrament  of  Penance." 

To  these  conclusions  I  had  come  from  a  perusal  of  the 
decrees  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  and  though  over  a 
score  of  years  in  the  ministry,  and  having  in  that  time 
devoted  as  much  time  to  theological  reading  as  the 
average  secular  clergyman  engaged  in  parish  duties,  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  confess  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  these 
conclusions  were  new  to  me.  But  so  was  the  volume 
of  Decreta  just  published,  and  so  was  an  important  work 
published  the  year  before  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Schneider,^ 
8.J.,  entitled,  "  Die  Ablasse,  ihr  Wesen  und  Gebrauch." 
Now,  on  this  question  of  repeating  the  Benedictio^  let  us  at 
once  hear  Schneider,  page  610  of  the  "Ablasse,"  hejwrites ; — 

^  This  blessing,  imparting  the  plenary  indulgence,  is  not  to  be 
repeated  even  though  the  sick  person,  when  receiving  it,  was  in 
the  state  of  sin  ;  for,  to  the  query — ^licetne,  aut  saltem  convenitne, 
itenim    applicare    indulgentiam    in    furticulo  mortis,    l**   quando 

1  Father  Schneider  is  well  known  as  the  author  of  the  "Mannale 
Sseerdotnm.^    He  is  a  consnltor  of  the  S.  Cong,  of  IndoleenceB  and 


110         The  Benedictio  ApoBtolica  in  Articulo  Mortis. 

aegrotus  accepit  applicationem  in  statu  peccati  mortalis  ?  2^  quando 
post  applicationem  in  peccatom  relapsus  est  ?  8^  quando  post  appli- 
cationem diutuma  laborat  aegritudine,  uno  verbo,  quando  Bituale 
permittit,  aut  praecipit  iterationem  Extremae  Unctionis,  aut  con* 
tessarius  judicat  iterandam  esse  absolutionem  ?  To  these  questions 
the  decision  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  was  rendered  June  20, 
1836,  as  follows  :  Ad  1"™  et  2*^  Negative.  Sicut  non  iteratur 
Extrema  Unctio,  etsi  aegrotus  sacramentum  hoc  accepit  in  statu 
lethalis  peccati,  vel  postea  in  peccatum  relapsus  est,  sic  non  est  in 
casu  proposito  iteranda  Benedictio  pro  lucranda  plenaria  indul- 
gentia,  quae,  cum  concessa  sit  a  Sununis  Pontificibus  pro  mortis 
articulo,  suum  sortitur  effectum  in  vero  articulo  mortis.  Ad  3"*, 
proHtjacet,  Negative  pariter  in  omnibus.  Neque  valent  exempla 
iterationis  Extremae  Unctionis  ac  absolutionis.  Iteratur  saepe 
absolutio,  sed  pro  remisgione  peccatorum  quoad  culpam,  Ac 
Iteratur  Extrema  Unctio  in  ipsa  infirmitate,  si  diutuma  sit,  ut, 
cum  infirmus  convaluerit,  iterum  in  periculum  mortis  incidat 
(  Rituale  Bom.  de  Extr.  Unct.),  quia  per  istud  sacramentum  peccata 
yenialia  remittuntur,  aegroti  mens  a  timore  mortis  liberatur,  ani- 
musque  pio  et  sancto  gaudio  repletur,  &c.,  ac  sanitas  quoque 
corporis  eidem,  si  ita  expediat,  redditur  (Trident.  Syn.,  Sess.  14, 
de  Extr.  Unct.).  Aliunde  vero  indulgentia  plenaria,  per  ApostoU^ 
earn  Benedicttonem  lucranda,  remittit  poenam  temporalem  peccati, 
et  in  vero  mortis  articulo  effu^aciam  habet,  ut  fj  deles,  vere  contriti 
de  peccatis,  ad  aetemam  beatitudinem  statim  perducantur.*^ 

Nothing  could  be  more  clearly  expressed.  Though 
Absolution  "and  Extreme  Unction  may  be  repeated  in 
eadem  infirmitate,  Schneider  teaches  that  the  Benedictio 
should  not  be.  And  surely  if  it  come  to  a  question  of 
interpreting  a  decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  cujus 
pars  magna  est  Schneider,  it  would  be  rash  of  any  untned 
and  inexperienced  individual  to  set  up  his  own  judgment 
against  that  of  the  learned  Jesuit. 

We  must  follow  Die  Ablasse  a  little  further.  The  dying 
cannot  receive  this  blessing  from  several  priests,  each 
having  faculties  to  impart  it:  Utrum  infirmus  lucrari  possit 
indulgentiam  plenariam  in  mortis  articulo  a  pluribus  sacer- 
dotibus  facultatem  habentibus  impertiendam  t  The  Sacred 
Congregation  replied,  Feb.  5,  1841,  in  una  Valentitien : 
negative,  in  eodem  mortis  articulo. 

This  answer  provoked  a  fiirther  interrogation :    Utrum 

I  O'Kane  writes,  n.  962  : — ^*'  It  is  certain  that  the  Benediction  may 
be  repeated  in  the  circumstances  in  which  Extreme  Unction  may  be  repeated^ 
He  thought  so,  and  many  a  worthy  theologian  thought  so  too,  at  the 
time  O^Kane  was  writing.  Again,  n.  63  :--If  the  sick  person,  however, 
be  not  in  the  state  of  grace  when  the  Benediction  is  given,  it  is  of  no 
ayail,  and  should  be  repeated  when  he  recovers  the  state  of  grace.'* 
Were  CKane  writing  in  1883  he  would  pen  no  such  sentence. 


The  Benedietio  ApoBtolica  in  Artictdo  Mortis.        Hi 

Ti  praecedentijs  resolutioni8/>roAt&t^m  sit,  infirmo  in  eodem 
mortis  periculo  permanenti,  impertiri  plories,  ab  eodem  vel 
a  pluribns  sacerdotibus  banc  facultatem  habentibus,  indul- 
gentiam  plenariam  in  articnlo  mortis,  quae  vulgo  Benedietio 
Papalis  cncitur?  2°.  Utrum  vi  ejusdem  resolutionis  item 
prohibitum  sit  impertiri  pluries  infirmo  in  iisdem  circum- 
Btantiis,  ac  supra,  constituto,  indulgentiam  plenariam  in 
articulo  mortis  a  pluribus  sacerdotibus  banc  facultatem  ex 
diverso  capite  habentibus,  ratione  aggregationis  confrater- 
nitati  SS"*.  Rosarii,  S.  Scapularis  de  Monte  Carmelo,  SS°*® 
Trinitatis,  etc.  I 

In  Prinzivalli's  edition  of  the  "  Resolutiones  Sacrae 
GoDgregationis,"  published  in  1862,  with  an  attestation 
over  the  signature,  Aloisiiu  Colombo  Secretarius^  that  the 
Sacred  Congregation  recognised  as  authentic  all  the 
decrees,  decisions,  declarations  and,  rescripts  contained  in 
the  volume,  the  answer  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  to  the 
dubium  just  quoted:    Utrum  prohibitum  sit,  &c.,  is:    Ad 

f)rimum  et  ad  secundum.  Negative,  firma  remanente  reso- 
utione  in  una  Valentinen^  sub  die  5  Februarii,  1841.  The 
decision,  as  pronoimced  by  the  Sacred  Congregation,  was 
confirmed  by  Pius  IX.,  on  March  12,  1855. 

According  to  the  reading  of  this  decision  in  Prinzivalli, 
it  was  not  forbidden  to  impart  the  Benedietio  Apostolica 
several  times  to  the  same  sick  person,  whether  given  bv 
the  same  priest  or  by  several  different  ones.  And  yet  it 
was  obviously  intended  by  their  Eminences  that  their  deci- 
sion in  this  case  should  harmonize  with  that  given  in  1841 
to  a  similar  query.  The  decision  of  1841,  referred  to, 
reads :  Utrum  infmnus  lucrari  possit  indulgentiam  plena- 
riam in  mortis  articulo  a  pluribus  sacerdotibus  facultatem 
habentibus  impertiendamT  Et  Sacra  Congregatio  respon* 
dit.    Negative  in  eodem  mortis  articulo. 

It  was  assuredly  no  reproach  to  a  theologian  to  be  foimd 
floundering  helplessly,  trying  to  reconcile  these  irreconci- 
lable decisions.  Some  very  ingenious  explanations  were 
put  forward,  but,  however  ingenious,  all  proved  very  lame 
and  inadequate  to  the  sounder  scholars,  who  mind  things 
not  words.  Besides,  it  is  well  known  that  of  all  the  Roman 
Congregations,  the  one  in  charge  of  Indulgences  makes  a 
special  point  of  endeavouring  so  to  word  its  decisions,  that 
no  doubt  can  be  entertained  of  their  intent  and  meaning, 
father  Schneider  writes  (1.  c.  p.  612) : — 

''As  I  conid  not  reconcile  this  response  of  March,  1855,  with 
preTious  decisions  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  I  petitioned  for  a 


Il2        7  he  BenedUHo  Apostolica  in  Articulo  Mortis, 

solution  of  the  following  dttbium : — Sacra  Congregatio  Indulgen- 
tianim  quoties  interrogata  fuit,  ntrum  liceret,  intirmo  in  eodem 
mortis  articulo,  plnries  impertiri  Benedictionem  ApostoUcam  com 
applicatione  indulgentiae,  usque  ad  annum  1855  semper  rcspondit: 
Negative ;  quae  reqponsio  negativa  non  admisit  uUam  exceptiooem. 
Anno  vero  1855  die  13  Martii  eadem  S.  C.  interrogata,  utmm  vi 
resolutionis  Valentinen^  diei  5,  Febr.,  1841,  prohibitum  sit  infirmo 
in  eadem  mortis  periculo  permanent!  impertiri  pluries  ab  eodem 
Tel  a  pluribus  sacerdotibus  banc  facultatem  babentibus,  indulgen- 
tiam  plenariam  in  articulo  mortis,  quae  vulgo  Benedictio  Papalis 
dicitur,  respondit.  N^egative,  firma  remanente  resolutione  Valentinen^ 
sub  die  5,  Febr.  1841.  Huic  responsioni  negatnrae  nulla  conditio 
nuUa  clausula  restrictiva  adjecta  est ;  non  dicitur  '  si  prior  imper- 
titio  verosimiliter  vel  certo  invalida  fuit; '  nee  dicitur,  '  si  infirmus 
post  priorem  irapertitionem  in  peccatum  relapsus  fuit,'  sed  simpli* 
citer  dicitur ;  non  est  prohibitum,  infirmo  in  eodem  mortis  periculo 
permanent!  impertiri  pluries  dictam  benedictionem,  sed  infirmus 
eemel  tantam  lucratur  indulgentiam.  Quaeritur  igitur,  ntrum 
standum  sit  norissimae  resolutioni  tali  sensu  acceptae,  et  utrum 
hac  resolutione  anterioros  decisiones  contrariae  sint  revocatae  vel 
reformatae  ?  ** 

"  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Oreglia,"  writes  Father 
Schneider,  **  ordered  the  officials  of  the  Secretariate  to 
investigate  the  question  and  give  me  a  reply ;  and  a  reply 
wajB  accordingly  forwarded  to  me,  June  25,  1879,  as 
follows: — 

Est  error  amanuensis,,  ut  patet  ex  actis  in  archive  servatis; 
legendum  est ;  Affirmative^  firma  remanente  reso.utione  Valentinen, 
sub  die  5  Febr.  1841.     (Die  Ablasse,  p.  613  ; 

Now,  with  professors  and  writers  labouring  under  the 
delusion  that  the  answer  given  in  Prinzivalli's  edition  waa 
correct,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  general  practice  was 
to  repeat  the  Benedictio  in  certain  circumstances. 

I  must  call  attention  to  a  distinction  made  in  a  paper, 
more  fierce  than  forcible,  lately  published  in  the  RECORD. 
"  If  it  be  true,  ar^es  the  writer,  "  that  a  main  reasou  for 
its  being  received  only  once  in  the  same  sickness  is  that^  in 
reality,  the  indulgence  is  not  applied  spiritually  until  the 
physical  moment  of  death,  the  same  argument  would  hold 
good  for  receiving  it  only  once  in  a  lifetime.  It  could  just 
as  well  remain  suspended  as  to  effects.'*  I  answer,  so  ife 
could.  And  the  all-sufficient  reason  for  its  not  remcuning 
80  is  simply  because  so  wills  the  Holy  See.  Has  the  writer 
never  seen  an^  of  the  formularies  by  which  the  indulgentict 
plenaria  in  articulo  mords  is  conveyed  to  members  of  several 


The  Benedietio  Apoitoiica  ut  Articulo  Morlit.        113 

confraternities :  "  quodra  praeeens  periculum,  Deo  far^ite, 
erBfleria,  sit  tibi  haec  indulgeDtia  pro  vero  mortis  aiiaculo 
reeervata ; "  or,  again — "  si  in  infirmitate,  qua  aegrotas, 
decedas;  alias  ex  nusericordia  Dei  salva  sit  tibi,  doaeo 
inerifl  in  articulo  mortis  constitutus ; "  another  still — 
"quodsi  hac  rice  non  decesseiis,  reservo  tibi,  auctoritate 
^edicta,  istam  indnlgentiain  pro  vero  mortis  articulo.'* 
These  indnlgences  do  actually  remain  suspended  usqae  ad 
ficem  vitae,  quoad  appiicationem.  The  Holy  Hee  does  not 
vish  that  the  BenedtcHo  ApostoUca  once  received  shovdd 
hold  the  effects  suspended  longer  than  fot  that  one  sick- 
lies, or,  if  preferable,  stage  or  state  of  sickness. 

Huch  ado  is  made  about  the  expression  eodtm  statu 

morbi    Now  how  else   could  the    Sacred   Congregation 

express  its  idea.     I  have  seen  persons  die  of  diseases  of 

which  they  had  been  ailing  for  years.    I  have  seen  them 

■t  death's  door  with  the  disease   to  which  they  finally 

eaccumbed,  but  recover  again,  and  go  about  their  badness 

for  three,  four,  five,  six  or  more  years.     If  the  congrega- 

tion's  answer  had  been  lemel  in  eodem  morbo,  none  of  these 

persons  could,  or  would  need,  to  receive  the  Bmedietio 

Afottoliea  again.     Bat  the  S.  Congregation  does  not  wish 

mcb  to  be  the  case,  and,  while  distinctly  declaring  that 

absolution,  yea,  and  Extreme  lUnction,  wiU  often  have  to 

be  given  when  the  Blessing  is  not  to  be  repeated,  neither 

can  it  define  that,  when,  for  the  samt  ncknets,  Extreme 

UDction  is  to  be  repeatec^   the  Bmedtctio  is  not  to -be 

repeated.     It  is  to  be,  when  the   convalescence  is  such 

that,  when  the  person  qQacumque  de  causa,  whether  Irom 

the  same  or  any  other  cause,  relapses,  the  relapse  may  be 

buly  regarded  as  a  new  fit  of  sickness.     Convalescence  ia 

required.     No  convalescence,  but  only  diutuma  infirmitas, 

is  required  for  repeating  Extreme  Unction.     When  things 

id  regulated  by  such  dififerent 

iment,  the  other  an  indulgence, 

:in8  solely  on  the  will  of   the 

ason  to  argue  from  one  to  the 

I  similarity  of  phrase.     We  hope 

B  "  si  convaluerit "  to  extremes 

Extreme  Unction.     The  will  or 

Congregations  of  Indulgences 

i.    But  be  may  rest  perfectly 

Benedietio  Apostolica  once  in  the 


Il4        The  BmedicHo  Apostolica  in  Articulo  Mortis^ 

lent  to  a  new  one,  843  when  a  convalescent  relapses  into 
fever,  the  Holy  See  and  the  Sacred  Congregation  do  wish 
and  will  that  such  person  at  death  receive  all  the  benefits 
flowing  from  the  BenedicHo  AposipUca. 

And  this  is  a  great  relief  to  priests,  and  enables  us 
effectually  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  Benedict  XIV.^ 
expressed  in  the  Constitution,  Pia  Mater,  namely,  that 
"  none  of  the  faithful  might  have  to  depart  this  life  without 
80  great  a  spiritual  benefit.*'  We  need  not  be  waiting  to 
the  last. 

As  we  cannot  hope  for  more  space  we  subjoin  the 
following  epitome  of  the  subject : — "  Non  potest  infirmus 
in  eodem  articulo  mortis  pluries  lucrari  indulgentiam 
plenariam  a  pluribus  sacerdotibus  facultatem  impertiendi 
habentibus,  (S.C.I.,  Feb.  5,  1841^.  Non  potest  naec  in- 
dulgentia  pluiies  impertiri  permanente  mfirmitate  etai 
diutuma  (March  12,  1855).  Accipitur  indulgentia  tantum 
in  vero  articulo  mortis,  (April  23,  1675),  semel  tantum 
Benedictio  conferri  debet  in  eodem  statu  morbi  (Sept.  20, 
1775).  Potest  vero  iterari,  si  infirmus  convaluerit,  ao 
deinde  quacumque  de  causa  in  novum  mortis  periciilum 
redeat  (Feb.  12,  1842).  Valida  est,  quamvis  Benedictio 
collata  fuerit  infirmo  in  statu  lethalis  peooati  existent! 
(June  20,  1836).  VaUda  quoque  nee  iteranda,  si  aeerotus 
post  receptionem  in  peccatum  sit  lapsus,  (ibid.)  Per  se 
non  repetenda  eo  quod  forte  repeti  debeat  Extrema 
Unctio  (ibid.)  Non  potest  repeti  in  eodem  morbo,  qui 
insperate  protrahitur  (Sept.  20, 1775,  et  Sept.  24,  1887). 
Tum  valide,  tum  licite,  conceditur  iis,  qui  etiam  culpa- 
biliter  non  fuerunt  ab  incoepto  morbo  sacramentis  refecti, 
subitaque  vergunt  in  interitum.    (Sept.  20,  1775). 

The  truest  honour  and  fittest  monument  to  Fr.  O'Eane 
would  be  a  new  edition  of  his  "Notes."  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  he  was  republished  here,  in  New  York,  a 
couple  of  years  ago,  without  revision.  If  the  Rev.  E.  T. 
O'Dwyer  would  undertake  to  follow  in  the  track  of 
O'Kane's  studies,  and  bestow  plenty  of  time  and  conscien- 
tious care  in  investigating  each  question,  he  would  do 
himself  more  lasting  honour  in  editing  0*Eane,  than  he 
ever  will  by  "  going  for  " or  •' demolishing"  (!)  Seeley  and 
the  Sacred  Congregation,  and  might  possibly  furnish 
English-speaking  clergymen  with  an  invaluable  and  much 
needed  work. 

W.  J.  Wiseman. 


[    115    J 
CORRESPONDENCE. 


TO  THK  XDITOB  OF  THB  IBISH   EOCLESIABTICAL  BECOKD. 

Deak  Sir, — Dr.  Healj  calls  St.  Bonifftce  aa  EnglislimftD  in  his 
irticle  OD  S.  VirgUins  ;  Dr.  Moran  takes  it  for  granted  or  rather 
offers  proofs  at  page  151  of  his  Essays,  that  S.  Boniface  was  an 
IriibnuD  ;  "  turn  matre  turn  patre  Scottus."  Would  you  or  the 
ProfeflMor  of  History  let  me  know  through  Record  which  ia 
right  ?  I  would  also  respectfully  ask  htm,  is  the  unsouod  man 
wibom  Alzog  calls  "  Clement  an  Irish  Bishop,"  the  same  as  Dr. 
Honui's  Claudius  Clemens,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  and  whom  be  aU 
b«  frees  from  Alzog'a  censures  ?  Amor  Patriae. 

L  TheleamedBishopofOseOTyhasTerykindlyintiraated 
hia  intention,  in  case  Be  ahould  hare  leisure,  of  setting 
forth  Ireland's  elaina  to  St.  Boniface  in  the  March  number 
of  the  Record.  Meanwhile  it  ma;  be  well  to  indicate  the 
reasons  that  have  led  us  to  believe  that  the  Apostle  of 
Qermany  was  of  Anglo-Saxon  birth  and  parentage.  We 
HbaD  be  delighted,  however,  if  Dr.  Morao  can  succeed  in 
ehowing  that  to  Irelaod  belongs  the  great  glory  of  having 
produced  the  moat  iUiistrioiis  Saint  and  MartjT  of  the 
eighth  century. 

1.  The  earliest  extant  life  of  St.  Boniface  was  written 

b^  hia  disciple  WilHbald,  who  calls  himself  a  priest,  and 

Beems  to  be  the  same  WiUibald  whom  Boniface  appointed 

to  the  See  of  Eichstadt  about  the  year  740.     T^e  life  is 

dedicated  to  "  Dominis  Sanctis  et  vere  in  Christo  charisaimis 

Lnllo  et  Megingozo  coepiscopis  WilhbalduB  licet  indignns 

in  Domino   presbyter."     Lullus  succeeded   St.   Boniface, 

i  See  of  Mayence,  and 

ears  previous  Bishop  of 

J,  therefore,  must  have 

after  the  death  of  St. 

imple  opportunities  of 


er  of  this  life  says : — 
is  Dei  judicio  camalem 
t  languor,  deposita  mox 


116  Correspondence. 

it  was  ad  Escam  Castnim,that  is,  near  the  fort  on  the  Esk, 
a  well  known  river  in  Devonshire,  on  the  banks  of  which 
this  monastery  was  situated.  Not  only,  therefore,  the 
father  of  Bonuace — ^the  saint  was  then  called  Winifred — 
but  apparently  all  his  relations,  lived  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  th^  river  Esk,  and  all  the  scenes  of  the  subsequent 
events  of  the  saint's  youthhood,  as  narrated  in  this  life,  are 
laid  in  the  south  of  England. 

2.  Boniface  himself  writing  to  Pope  Zachary  about  the 
year  742  (epist.  49,)  says : — ^"  Quod  non  aestimamus  esse 
verum,  quia  synodus  et  ecclesia  in  qua  riatus  et  nutritue  fuij 
id  est,  in  transmarina  Saxonia,  Londimensis  synodus,"  &c. 
He  was  writing  from  Germany  and  describes  the  church  in 
which  he  was  bom  and  bred  as  in  Saxon-land  beyond  the 
sea,  and  the  synod,  or  general  assembly,  of  which  it  formed 
a  part,  as  the  synod  of  London.  The  bishop,  too,  of  his 
native  church  was  Daniel,  to  whom  several  of  his  letters 
are  addressed.  Daniel  was  the  Bishop  of  Wessex,  or  West 
Saxony,  of  which  Devonshire  formed  a  considerable  p€a^ 

8.  Wandelbert,  a  monk  and  deacon  of  the  abbey  of 
Pram,  in  the  diocese  of  Fulda,  wrote  a  metrical  martyrology 
about  the  year  848,  when  he  himself  was  only  thirty-five. 
In  this  martyrology,  first  published  by  D'Achery,  we  find 
the  following  reference  to  St  Boniface  on  the  fifth  or 
Non^  of  June  : — 

Nonis  antistes  fulget  Bonifacius,  Anglis 
Editus,  ad  Christum  Oceani  qui  traxit  alumnos, 
Frisonimi  puro  submittens  coUa  lavacro. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  quote  later  authorities,  because 
it  has  always  admittedly  been  the  common  opinion  amongst 
scholars  that  St  Boraface  was  a  native  of  CSrton  in 
Devonshire. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  following  authorities  are  certainly 
in  favour  of  the  Irish  birth  of  Boniface. 

1.  The  Chronicon  of  Marianus  Scotus.  It  is  admitted 
on  all  bands  that  Marianus  was  an  Irishman.  In  the  Vatican 
MS.,1  the  original  writer  in  his  own  hand  and  in  the  Irish 
language  distinctly  states  that  he  was  of  Irish  birtlx. 
This  original  MS.  belonged  to  the  monastery  of  St  Martin 
of  Mayence,  and  so  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that 
Marianus  was  not  only  an  Irishman  but  that  he  lived  as  a 
recluse,  first  at  Fulda  and  afterwards  at  Mayence,  where 

^  The  Codex  Palatino-Vaticanos,  No.  830,  which  is  commonly 
regarded  as  an  autograph.    See  Pertz.  Mon.  G«r.  His.  v.,  p.  481. 


Corrtspondmee.  117 

be  Beems  to  have  composed  his  creat  work  known  aa  the 
Cbronicon.  On  the  otner  hand,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
tbat  he  flourished  certainly  not  less  than  300  years  after 
the  death  of  St.  Boniface,  and  hence  can  have  no  claim  to 
the  authority  of  a  coeval  writer. 

In  this  Chronicon,  under  date  of  DCCXV  (715),  we 
have  the  following  entry  about  PopoGrregory  JI. ; — Hie  erat 
rir  caatna  et  sapiens,  qui  Bouifaciuni,  patre  atque  etiam 
matre  Scottmn,  ordinavit  episcopum  ad  sedem  Mogua- 
tJDum,  &c."  Here  we  have  a  definite  statement  of  the 
original  scribe  that  Booiface  was  by  father  and  mother  of 
liiah  parenioffe,  but  not  precisely  of  Irish  birth.  The  entry, 
by  the  way,  is  certainly  in  one  respect  inaccurate,  for  it 
was  not  Pope  Gregory  but  Pope  Zacbary  who  made 
Booiface  Archbishop  of  Mayence.  During  the  life  of 
Gregoiy  that  See  was  filled,  and  continued  so  until  745, 
when  Gervilio  was  deposed  for  homicide  and  Boniface 
Darned  by  Pope  Zachary  to  the  vacant  See.  The  expression, 
however,  might  perhaps  be  «xplained  to  mean  that  it  was 
Gregory  who  ordained  Boniface  bishop — that  Boniface 
who  afterwards  became  Moguntinus. 

In  the  marffin  of  the  MS.  foHo,  and  it  would  seem  in 
a  diferent  hand,  we  have  the  following  entry : — « lete  enim 
Bomfatius  de  Hibemia  missus  est  cum  Wilhbrordo  Anglico 
episcopo  nt  in  vita  ejus  Willibrordi  legitur."  This  is,  as  we 
have  said,  a  later  entry  on  the  margin  and  only  goes 
to  rfiow  Boniface  was  in  Ireland  before  he  came  vnih 
^^brord  to  Germany.  It  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that 
tbou^  WiUibrord  was  an  Anglo-Saxon,  he  had  studied 
in  Ireland  before  his  departure  for  the  continent,  where  he 
was  made  bishop  of  Utrecht. 

:  chronicon  under  theaubsequent 
band,  and  some  in  the  margin, 

riutedly  too,  as  a  Scottus,  or 
,  spoken  of  oa  the  Scotio 
tum — Bo  much  so  that  it  seems 
lestioned  at  the  time,  and  the 
a  and  his  continuator  meant  to 
fello  w-c  oimtry  man. 
f  original  evidence  that  can  be 


118  Correspondence. 

of  a  writer  who  flourished  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century  is  entitled  to  no  special  weight  in  fixing  the  birth- 
place of  a  man  who  flourished  seven  hundred  years  before 
Ms  own  time. 

Dr.  Moran  cites  the  authorities  quoted  in  Pertz's 
"  Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica,"  voL  vii. ;  but  these 
authorities,  so  far  as  we  could  ascertain,  make  no  reference 
to  the  Irish  birth  of  Boniface.  We  consulted  all  the 
references  to  Boniface  in  vol.  vii.,  but  the  only  one 
regarding  his  birth-place  is  the  expUcit  statement  made 
by  a  writer  contemporary  with  Marianus  Scotus,  and  a 
writer  too  of  high  authority,  Magister  Adamus  Canonicus 
Bremensis,  that  "  Winifridus,*'  that  is  Boniface,  "  erat 
natione  Anglus,  verus  Christi  philosophus  .  .  .  cui 
postea  cognomentum  erat  ex  virtute  Bonifacius." 

In  our  opinion  there  are  many  probable  reasons  which 
go  to  show  that  Boniface  was  not  of  Irish,  but  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  birth.  His  name  Winfrid  is  certainly  Anglo-Saxon. 
His  associates  in  his  apostolic  labours  in  Germany — Bur- 
chard,  Lullus,  Willibald,  Wimibald,  and  Wita — ^were,  as 
their  names  imply,  all,  or  nearly  all,  Anglo-Saxons  whom 
he  appointed  to  the  principal  suffiragan  Sees  of  Germany. 
His  correspondence  with  Daniel,  the  Abbess  Eadburga,  the 
virgin  Leobgitha  (his  cousin),  Ebwald,  King  of  the  East 
Angles,  Ethelbald,  King  of  the  Mercians,  Ethelbert  of  Kent, 
as  well  aa  with  several  other  eminent  persons  amongst  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  both  male  and  female — all  point  to  the  fact 
that  not  only  were  his  friends  and  associates  to  be  found 
amongst  the  Saxons  "  beyond  the  sea,"  but  that  his  asso- 
ciations, sympathies,  and  instincts  all  tended  in  the  same 
direction.  Moreover,  if  he  were  an  Irishman,  he  certainly 
treated  his  fellow-countrymen  with  a  harshness  quite  as 
singular  as  the  sympathy  which,mthat  hypothesis, he  shows 
for  the  Anglo-Saxons.  He  was  undouDtedly  severe  on 
VirgiKus  of  Salzburg ;  but  VirgiUus  very  clearly  showed 
that,  on  the  question  of  re-baptism,  he  waa  an  abler  theo- 
logian than  Boniface,  and  on  the  question  of  the  antipodes 
he  was  a  sounder  philosopher  than  Boniface,  or  any  other 
man  of  his  time.  The  latter  also  severely  attacked  another 
Irishman  called  Samson,  of  whom  we  know  nothing  else, 
on  account  of  his  alleged  teaching  that  a  man  could  be- 
come a  Christian  merely  by  the  imposition  of  hands  without 
baptism.    We  flnd  Boniface  also  attacking  Adalbert  and 

See  Fertz,  YoL  yii.,  page  287.    Gesta  Pont\f.  Eccles.  Hammonb. 


Correspondence,  119 

Qement  the  Scot.  Against  the  latter  he  brings  several 
heinonfl  charges  before  rope  Zachary.^  He  was,  according 
to  Boniface,  "  genere  Scotus,"  and  a  **  hereticus  publicus, 
peesimus,  et  blasphemus  contra  Deum,"  &c.  But  when  he 
comee  to  specify  the  charges  in  the  end  of  his  letter,  it 
most  be  confessed  that  they  are  exceedingly  vague,  and 
rather  of  a  moral  than  doctrinal  character. 

**  Alter  antem  hereticus  qui  dicitur  Clemens,  contra 
Oitholicam  contendit  ecclesiam,  et  canones  Ecclesiarum 
Qu^  abnegat  et  refutat,  tractatus  et  sermones  sanctorum 
patram,  Hieronymi,  Augustini,  Gregorii  recusat  Synod- 
aHa  jnra  spemens,  proprio  sensu  affirmat  se  post  duos  filios 
a'bi  in  aanlterio  natos  sub  nomine  episoopi  esse  posse 
Qiristianae  legis  episcopum.  Judaismum  inducens  judicat 
JTwtum  esse  Cnristiano,ut  si  voluerit  viduam  fratris  defuncti 
acdpiat  uxorem.  Contra  fidem  sanctorum  patrum  quoqne 
contendit,  dicens,  quod  Christus  Filius  Dei,  descendens  ad 
inferos,  omnes  quos  infemi  career  detinnit  inde  liberavit, 
crednlos  et  incredulos,  laudatores  Dei  simul  et  cultores 
idolomm  et  multa  alia  horribilia  de  praedestinatione  Dei 
contraria  fidei  Catholicae  affirmat." 

Both  Adalbert  and  Clement  the  Scot  were  condemned 
and  imprisoned  by  Boniface,  and  afterwards  condemned 
by  Zacnary  in  a  Council  held  at  Rome  in  745,  on  the 
representations  made  by  Boniface  through  one  of  his 
pnests,  Deneard,  who  was  admitted  to  the  Council,  and 
read  the  letters  of  Boniface  before  the  assembled  fathers. 
It  k  a  pity  that  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  what 
Clement  the  Scot  had  to  say  in  his  own  defence.  It  may 
be  diat  he  deserved  the  chastisement  inflicted ;  but  it  may 
be,  too,  that  these  vague  charges  were  as  greatly  exag- 
gerated in  his  case  as  they  undoubtedly  were  in  tne  case 
of  St.  Vir^  of  Salzburg. 

II.  "  element,  an  Irish  bishop,"  whom  Alzog  mentions 
(page  127,  voL  ii.)  is  Clement  the  associate  of  Adalbert,  to 
▼hom  we  have  just  now  referred.  What  Boniface,  how- 
ever, says  of  him  is  not  precisely  that  he  was  "  an  Irish 
Iwahop,"  bnt  that  he  was  **  genere  Scottus,"  and  claimed  to 
be  a  bishop  notwithstanding  his  alleged  crimes.  He  was 
certainly  luive  in  745,  and  can  hardlv  be  the  same  as  the 
dius  GkBfllik  referred  to  by  Dr.  Moran,  who  first  came 


120  Correspondence. 

Clement  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  the  Bishop  of  Oaeoiy  folIoTVB 
Usher  Colgan,  and  several  other  Irish  writers.  On  the 
other  hand,  MabUlon,  Lanigan,  and  the  continental  writers 
generally  hold  a  different  opinion. 

Clement,  the  bishop  of  Irish  birth,  who  was  condemned 
by  the  Roman  Council  in  745,  cannot  with  certainty  be 
referred  to  any  particular  See.  It  is  not  unlikely,  hoi?v- 
ever,  that  he  was  the  same  Gement  who  about  that  tune 
was  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  Benedictine 
Annals  (voL  iii.,  p.  63).  Dr.  Lanigan  (vol  iii.,  p.  218),  re- 
ferring to  that  very  passage,  sa^s  that  Mabillon  makes  it 
clear  that  Clement  of  Auxerre  died  in  738.  In  that  case  he 
certainly  could  not  be  identical  with  Gement  the  heretical 
Scot  But  Dr.  Lanigan  is  for  once  inaccurate  in  his  oi?vix 
reference.  What  Mabillon  says  is  to  this  effect,  that 
dement  was  bishop  of  Auxerre  five  years  and  one  month, 
his  successor,  Aidulphus,  was  bishop  fifteen  years  and 
some  months,  at  whose  death  Maunnus  became  bishop 
about  the  year  768,  which  he  takes  as  about  the  beginning 
of  Charlemagne's  reign.  It  is  manifest^  therefore,  that  there 
was  a  Bishop  of  Auxerre  called  Clement  about  the  year 
746  or  747^  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  was  Clement 
the  Scot. 

The  other  and  later  Clement,  who,  according  to  the 
high  authority  of  the  Monk  of  St.  Oall,  an  aknofit 
contemporary  writer,'  came  to  France  about  the  time  that 
Charles  the  Great  became  sole  monarch,  that  is,  about 
771,  cannot,  we  think,  be  proved  from  any  early  authority 
to  have  been  Bishop  of  Auxerre.  The  name  Claudius^ 
is  sometimes  prefixed  to  that  of  Clement,  and  he  is 
called  by  several  of  our  writers  Claudius  Clements 
Lanigan  thinks  this  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  was  con- 
founded with  a  very  different  person,  who  was,  however, 
a  teacher  in  the  same  school,  Claudius^  Bishop  of  Turin. 
We  know  of  no  ancient  authority  that  gives  the  nfiune 
Claudius  to  the  Irish  Clement,  who  founded  the  Palatine 
School  some  years  before  the  English  Alcuin  came  over  to 
France.  Dr.  Moran,  following  Usher,  seems  to  think  that 
this  Irish  Claudius  Clement  was  not  only  the  Bishop  of 
Auxerre,  but  also  the  author  of  the  unpublished  com- 
mentary on  St.  Mathew  in  the  Vatican,  and  he  appeals  tx> 
the  difference  in  the  style  of  the  introduction  to  that  Goqpel, 
which  has  been  published  by  Mai,  and  the  sfyle  of  the 
preface  or  introduction  prefixed  by  Claudius  of  Turin  to  his 
own  commentaries  on  the  Pauline  £pistles,  as  well  as  to  the 


Correspondence.  121 

designation  Claudii  Scoti^  which  Usher  alleges  is  to  be 
found  in  the  heading  of  the  Cambridge  MS.  of  the  Com- 
mentary  on  St.  Mathew's  Gospel. 

Dr.  Moran's  opinion  is  entitled  to  the  very  greatest 
weight  on  a  question  of  this  kind;  Lanigan,  however, 
thii)^  that  Claudius  of  Turin  wrote  the  Exposition  on 
St  Mathew  as  well  as  on  the  other  parts  of  Scripture,  and 
he  says  that  the  heading  Scoti  after  Clavdii  may  have  been 
an  interpolation  by  a  later  hand.  The  question,  though 
interesting,  is  likely  to  remain  for  some  time  longer 
amongst  me  unsolved  literary  problems. 

J.  H. 


Clandestdoty  and  Domestic  Servants. 

Sev.  and  Dkab  Sir. — Will  you  kindly  allow  me  to  say  a  few 
words  on  this  vexed  question  ?  Knowing  the  many  demands  on 
yoor  valuable  space,  my  say  shall  be  very  brief.  Domestic  ser* 
▼ants  must,  I  think,  always  be  married  as  ''vagi."  Let  me  assign 
the  reasons.  We  may  assume  a  triple  ^'  domiciHom" — the  domi- 
cilium  '*  originis,*'  ^*  permanens,"  and  **  quasi." 

I^.  The  domestic  servant,  male  or  female,  cannot  contract  mar- 
riage by  virtue  of  the  ''  domicilium  originis/'  When  a  young  man 
or  woman  leaves  the  paternal  home  to  seek  a  living,  the  going  out 
is  finaL  Just  as  the  old  birds  turn  the  young  out  of  the  nest  when 
able  to  feed  themselves,  in  the  same  way  the  parents — always  poor 
— of  domestic  servants,  turn  their  children  adrift  when  able  to  pro- 
vide for  themselves.  If  they  return  now  and  then  to  the  *•  domi- 
cilinm  originis,**  it  is  not  as  a  right,  but  as  a  favour — as  guests.  The 
^domicilium  originis,"  therefore,  will  not  validate  the  marriage  of 
domesttt  serwnts. 

2®.  The  servant,  male  or  female,  cannot  contract  marriage  by 
virtue  of  the  '*  damiciHum  permanens,"  because  a  servant  cannot 
possibly  acquire  a  '^  domicilium  **  of  this  kind.  The  domestic  ser* 
vast  is  absolutriy  dependent  on  the  whim  of  the  master  or  mistress. 
The  place,  it  always  held  provisionally.  Master  or  mistress  may, 
influenced  by  some  personal  dislike  or  mistrust,  both  in  many 
Cases  purely  imaginary,  dismiss  at  any  moment,  without  fault  of 
any  kind  on  servant's  part,  and  without  a  notice.  One  month's 
wages  in  advance  legally  entitles  the  employer  to  dismiss  on  the 
spot.  Completely  unable,  therefore,  to  acquire  a  "domicilium 
permancns,*'  the  domestic  servant  cannot  marry  by  virtue  of  it. 

S^.  The  servant,  male  or  female,  cannot  contract  marriage  by 
virtue  of  the  "  quasi-domicilitun.  A  '^  quasi-domicilium  ^  requires 
the  intention  of  residing  in  a  certain  place  '^  a  notabilis  pars  anni,** 
mod  also  an  actual  residence  <^  some  time,  more  or  les$.    But  a 


122  Correspondence. 

domestic  servant  cannot  possibly  comply  with  these  requirements. 
The  reasons  assigned  in  No.  2  hold  equally  here. 

4°.  Domestic  servants  therefore  must,  I  take  it,  be  married  as 
"  vagi." — ^Yours,  Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  very  faithfully, 

Pab.  Dub. 

We  shall  reply  to  the  points  made  by  our  respected 
correspondent  one  by  one. 

1.  First,  then,  we  agree  with  him  that  neither  a  domestic 
servant,  nor  anybody  else,  can  be  validly  married  by  the 
parochns  originis.  The  episcopus  ratione  originis  may 
ordain,  but  the  person  who  is  parochus  merely  ratione  domi- 
cilii originis  cannot  assist  at  the  marriage — on  that  point  all 
the  canonists  are  agreed. 

2.  As  to  our  correspondent's  second  point,  we  can 
neither  accept  his  reasons  nor  his  conclusion. 

The  domestic  servant  may,  when  he  or  she  has  re- 
nounced the  paternal  domicue,  secure  a  domicile  in  the 
house  of  the  master  or  mistress.  This  is  quite  possible  in 
the  case  where  the  servant,,  having  no  other  domicile, 
means  to  continue  to  live  in  that  house  with  its  kind 
master  or  mistress  until  he  or  she  get  married,  or  some 
other  unexpected  thing  may  happen.  This,  perhaps,  is  not 
usual,  but  it  is  certainly  ppssible,  especially  when  the  ser- 
vant has  no  other  domicile.  We  shall  give  the  reasons 
forthwith. 

3.  We  still  more  emphatically  object  to  the  third  state- 
ment of  our  correspondent,  *'  that  male  or  female  servants 
cannot  contract  marriage  by  virtue  of  the  quasi-domicile  " 
— and  why  ?  because,  he  says,they  caimot  have  the  intention 
of  residing  in  the  place  for  a  ^  notabilis  pars  anni,"  inaa- 
much  as  they  are  dependent  on  the  whim  of  the  master  or 
mistress,  and  may  be  dismissed  at  any  moment  for  cause 
shown,  or  without  any  cause  at  all,  if  the  mistress  pays  the 
servant  a  month's  wages  in  advance. 

This  argument,  unfortimately,  proves  a  great  deal  too 
much.  For  centuries  the  gi'eat  majority  of  oiu*  Irish 
farmers  were  tenants  at  will,  and  in  many  cases  could  at  any 
momentbe  dismissed  fromtheirhomeswithoutnotice,ormore 
recently  at  six  months'  notice,  yet  no  one  would  go  so  far  as 
to  say  they  had  no  domicile  for  the  purpose  of  marriage.  We 
have  known  cases  where  several  of  the  tenants  on  a  great 
estate  held  on  leases,  terminable,  exactly  like  the  servant's 
hiring,  at  a  month's  notice ;  yet,  surely,  the  acceptance  of 
such  a  lease  from  the  landlord  did  not  render  them  vagi, 
and  make  it  impossible  for  their  .parish  priest  to  many  them 
except  as  vagi 


Correspondence.  123 

Again,  in  the  city  of  Dublin  there  are  many  families  who 
inhabit  rooms  or  housea  let  by  the  month  or  by  the  week, 
and  who  may  be  tamed  out  at  a  month's  or  a  week's  notice 
reepectiTely.  Have  they,  then,  no  domicile  in  their  respective 
panshes  1  Are  they  vagi  or  vagabonds,  in  the  sense  of  the 
law,  without  house  or  home  T  Nobody  would  dream  of 
regarding  them  aa  such,  Dotwithstanding  the  insecurity  of 
their  tenure. 

The  law  most  asfuredly  does  not  require  a  domicilium 
ptrmanetu  in  the  sense  of  our  correspondent.  It  requires 
no  security  of  tenure  that  their  home,  such  aa  it  is,  may 
be  for  them  a  true  domicile.  It  only  requires  the  intention 
of  remaining  there,  as  in  their  home,  as  long  as  they  are 
left  in  it,  and  does  not  even  necessarily  exclude  the  intention 
of  changing  theu-  home  if  they  should  find  a  more  suitable 
home  OT  a  more  profitable  situation.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  the  "  intentio  ibi  perpeluo  manendi,  nisi  quid  inopinatum 
aeeideril."  Hence  Dr.  Murray,  quoting  Schmalzgrueber, 
eipressly  declares — "  Nihil  refert  utrum  Caiua  domiciUum 
habeat  ut  rem  suara,  per  emptionem  aut  succeasionem,  an 
ut  conductum,  vel  precario  possessum  ('  tenancy  at  will  ")." 
It  makes  no  difTerence,  therefore,  whether  the  house  oe 
fee-simple,  or  leasehold,  or  held  by  yearly,  moothty,  or 
weekly  teuaucy — it  may,  all  the  same,  be  the  domicile  or 
home  for  the  purpose  of  marriage,  as  it  is  for  the  piurpose 
of  social  Ufa 

So  also  a  servant  by  the  year  or  by  the  quarter  may, 
notwithstanding  the  insecurity  of  the  situation,  acquire  a 
qnasi-domicile,  and  in  certam  rare  cases  a  domicile,  pro- 
vided  the    other    conditions    are    fulfilled — the    general 
IV  looks  not  to  the  theoretical 
ice,  but  to  the  ordinary  course 
in  the  world. 

udent's  statement  in  the  first 
its  leave  their  parents'  house 
it  of  young  birds  when  they 
k,  contrary  to  experience  and 
ry  one  knows  that  although 
B  is  final,  yet  in  many  other 
'  is  it  intended  to  he  final.  If 
_  .d  happen,  loss  of  situation. 


124  lAturgical  Questions^ 

on  the  impediments  of  matrimony.  He  says — **  Juvenes  qui 
in  seminario,  vel  coUegio,  pnellae  quad  in  monasterio  vel 
oonservatorio  educationis  cau8&  deganiy/amuU  et  ancillcein 
domo  heri  eommorantesy  quasi-domicilium  nabent  in  parochia, 
in  qua  est  seminarium,  collegium,  monasterium,  conserva- 
torium,  domus  heri,  neo  idcirco  amittunt  domicilium  qnod 
in  alia  parochia  habent,  et  cui  non  renuncianmt."^  Feije 
in  this  passage  expresses  the  common  teac^iing  of  all 
canonists  that  8erTants,male  and  female,  generally  speaking, 
acquire  a  quacd-domiciUum  in  the  house  of  their  master,  and 
at  the  same  time  retain  a,  domicile  in  their  own  parish 
except  they  have  renounced  it.  And  as  reffaros  the 
renmciation  he  8ay^»Porro  ad  amittendum  domicUium 
non  sufficit  actualis  discessus,  nee  diutuma  absentia ;  sed 
sive  verbis  sive  factis  debet  oonstare  de  animo  valedicendi 
domicilio  et  quamdiu  de  eo  non  coiutiterity  illud  con- 
servatur.'**  This  is  an  important  statement.  One  may 
renounce  the  parental  domicile  by  words  or  facts,  but  the 
law  presumes  ttie  retention  of  the  domicile  of  the  parent  by 
the  servant  until  there  is  the  evidence  of  words  or  facts 
that  it  is  has  been  renounced.  One  thing  is  certain,  going 
to  service  of  itself  is  not  evidence  of  such  renunciation, 
and  the  last  thing  we  should  advise  our  correspondent  to 
do  is  to  assist  at  the  marriage  of  a  servant  as  if  she  were 
a  vaga.  J.  H. 


=c 


LITURGICAL  QUESTIONS. 

I. 

1$  the  Prayer^  "  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary^  be  my  Sahation^ 

indulgenced  f 

Rbv.  Sib, — I  shall  take  it  as  a  great  favour,  if  yoa  will  reply 
to  the  following  : — 

The  Haccolta  contains  an  ejaculatory  prayer,  stated  to  have 
been  indulgenced  in  September,  1852.  .  .  Pere  Maurel,  S.J.,  gives 
it  in  Italian^ 

•*  Dolce  cuor  di  Maria, 
Slate  la  Salvezza  mia." 
Maurel  gives  it  in  French  also— 

"  Dottx  coeur  de  Marie,  soyez  mon  salut." 

^^  Page  14a  a  Page  130. 


LUurgieal  Questions,  125 

In  the  English  addition  of  the  BadeoUa ;  in  Father  Comerford*8 
book,  Hoiy  Indulgences ;  and  in  other  books,  it  is  rendered — 

'*  Sweet  heart  of  Mary,  be  my  salvation.** 

The  question  arises :  Can  the  indulgence  be  gained  by  the 
recital  of  that  English  form,  because  it  is  maintained  that  the 
English  is  an  erroneous  translation  ? 

Maurel  says,  in  section  4,  of  the  second  part  of  his  book  on 
Indulgences :  '*  In  order  to  gain  the  Indulgence  attached  to  a 
prayer,  it  is  necessaiy  to  recite  it  in  the  language  in  which  it  has 
receive  the  application  of  the  Indulgence,  because  the  Ohurch 
dreaib,  above  all  things,  that  which  could  in  any  way  be  injurious 
to  the  faith,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  slip  into  error  in  translating^ 
•nd  thus  mislead  ill  instructed  minds." 

It  is  presumed  that  this  Indulgence  was  attached  to  the  Italian 
disUch,  as  given  by  Maurel,  and  it  is  maintained  that  the  English 
18  not  a  correct  translation  in  the  words,  "  Be  my  salvation." 
The  word  salvation  in  English,  has  only  one  meaning  in  theological 
connection,  namely,  *'  redemption  in  its  effect ;"  and,  therefore,  is 
not  an  accurate  meaning  of  the  Italian  *'  Salvezza.*'  This  word  is 
given  in  the  Italian-English  Dictionary  of  Graglia,  as  meaning 
"safety,  welfare,  salvation."  It  is  contended  that  either  of  the 
two  finst  of  those  words,  or  such  as,  protection,  refuge^  would  be 
ooQsistent  with  Catholic  Faith  and  with  the  English  language,  which 
the  word  '*  salvation "  is  not.  Maurel  in  his  French  translation 
of  the  distich,  gives  the  word  ^'  saiut/'  which  also  has  safety, 
welfare,  for  a  just  English  equivalent. 

The  origin  of  this  contention  was,  that  the  ejaculation  was 
feand  in  use  in  a  school  of  young  children ;  the  objection  taken  to 
it  was,  that  a  vulgar  and  not  reverent  metuiing  may  be  attached 
to  the  English  form  of  the  first  line,  and  an  un-Catholic  meaning 
may  be  drawn  from  the  second,  and,  finally,  that  the  privilege  is  not 
applicable  to  it.     On  tliis  your  opinion  is  sought. 

Yours  respectfully, 

T. 

Piufl  IX.  declared  on  the  30th  September,  1852,  that 
the  mdulgences  mentioned  in  the  Raooolta  may  be  gained 
by  saying  the  prescribed  pmyers  ib  any  language,  provided 
the  traaflLition  was  a  faithful  Tersion  of  the  original.  Ho 
moreoTer  declared  on  the  same  occasion  that  translations 
of  the  Raccolta  should  not  be  published  without  the 
ipprobation  of  the  S.  Congregation  of  Indulgences.^ 

Uo^  •"  ift^^  an  English  trandation  of  the  Raccolta 


ft  rm. 


126  Liturgical  Questioni, 

Indulgeaces,  in  view  of  the  testimony  of  the  profeeaorfl  of 
theology  of  Woodstock  College,  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  auarantees  the  fidelity  of  this  English  version. 
Well,  in  this  edition^  we  find  the  ejaculation  you  mention 
translated : — 

"  Sweet  Heart  of  Mary,  be  my  salvation," 

and  consequently  we  ccm  have  no  doubt  that  the  indulgence 
may  be  gamed  by  using  this  translation  of  the  prayer. 

The  word  "  salvation  *'  may  not  be  the  best  translation, 
as  it  is  open  to  misinterpretation  by  those  who  do  not 
understand  the  CathoUc  doctrine  touching  the  nature  of 
the  power  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  but  it  can  hardly  em- 
barrass any  instructed  OathoUc  child  who  understands  in 
what  sense  we  style  her  "  our  life,  our  sweetness,  and  our 
hope,"  in  the  Salve  Regina. 

II. 

Questions  regarding  the  prayer  "  Deus  omnium  fidelium  pastor 

et  rector.** 

(a)  In  saying  the  prayer  "  Deus  omnium,"  for  the  Bishop  on 
the  Anniversary  of  his  Consecration,  do  we  merely  insert  his  name^ 
or  should  we  also  add,  after  the  word  ^'  Ecclesiae,"  the  name  of 
the  Diocese  ? 

(b)  Should  this  prayer  be  also  said  on  the  Anniversary  of  his 
Election  f 

(c)  When  it  is  an  ''Oratio  iroperata,"  what  should  be  done 
regarding  it  in  the  above  event  ? 

(d)  When  the  Ordo  says,  "  8*  Oratio  Ecclesiae  vel  pro  Papa," 
may  we  select  the  latter  although  it  is  already  an  '^  Oratio  imperata," 
and  make  it  serve  the  double  obligation,  or  seeing  that  both 
prayers  are  somewhat  similar  in  their  object,  may  we  say  both  ? 

Answer  to  (a). — You  merely  insert  the  name  of  the 
bishop. 

Answer  to  (6). — The  anniversaries  of  the  Election  and 
Consecration  are  regarded  in  the  rubrics  as  of  equal  im- 
portance.' But  the  obUgation  of  making  the  commemora- 
tion on  either  day  is  not  obUgatory  throughout  the  whole 
diocese,  except  de  mandate  Episeopi  ^  and  it  is  not  usual  in 
this  country  to  order  the  prayer  except  on  the  anniversary 
of  the  consecration.  In  the  case  of  a  bishop  who  has  been 
transferred  from  one  See  to  another,  the  commemoration  is 
to  be  made  on  the  anniversary  of  his  translation.    He  may 

»  Page  229,  n.  112.  •  Caer.  Epis  Cap,  XXXV. 

•DeHerdt  PraxuLUur.  Par8.L»n.71 


Liturgical  Questioiu.  127 

order  a  commemoration  for  the  day  of  his  consecration 
alfio.^ 

Answer  to  (<?). — The  prayer,  Detu  omnium  fidelium 
pastor  should  be  omitted  as  an  *'  Oratio  imperata,''  and  said 
on  this  day  for  the  bishop* 

Answer  to  (d). — In  this  case  you  are  not  allowed  to 
select  the  prayer  **  pro  Papa "  for  the  third  Oratio.  You 
must  say  the  "  pro  Ecclesia"  for  the  third  prayer,  and  the 
"pro  Papa  "  as  the  Oratio  imperata.^ 

111. 

On  giving  Communion  from  a  Ciborium  before  the  Communion 
of  the  Mass  in  which  it  was  consecrated, 

DsAS  Sir — Let  me  suppose  the  case  of  a. priest  who  has  to 
give  communion  to  the  faithful,  and  (there  being  no  other  conse- 
crated particles)  who  takes,  for  the  purpose,  a  ciborium  directly 
after  its  consecration  in  a  Mass  which  another  priest  is  saying  at 
the  same  time.  As  a  rule,  the  small  particles  consecrated  remain 
on  the  altar  stone  until  the  communion  of  the  priest.  Now,  can  a 
dq)arture  from  this  rule  be  authorized  by  the  inconvenience  of 
delaying  communion  when  great  numbers  are  waiting  to  receive  ? 
In  my  humble  opinion,  I  say  it  cannot.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
reasons  which  weigli  with  me,  1  ask : — 

1.  Is  it  not  the  teaching  of  theologians  on  the  rubrics  of  the 
missal,  that  the  particles  may  not  be  removed  from  the  altar  stone 
before  the  communion  of  the  priest  ? 

2.  The  particles  received  in  communion  are  no  longer  present 
in  the  samfice — ^is  it  lawful,  then,  to  communicate  with  them 
immediately  after  the  consecration,  by  which  means  they  cannot 
continue,  at  least  in  a  complete  sense,  to  be  the  object  of  the 
ritual  of  the  sacrifice? 

3.  Is  not  such  a  communion  to  be  considered  communio  intra 
ntMam,  and  consequently,  why  not  keep  to  the  rubrics  of  the  missal 
(No.  6),  according  to  which  communion  can  be  given  to  the  people 
only  when  the  consecrating  priest  has  communicated  ? 

As  this  is  a  question  of  interest  for  priests  generally,  and 
wpedally  such  for  those  having  large  parishes,  not  only  in  Ireland, 
hot  also  in  the  great  cities  and  towns  of  England,  in  which  the 
occasion  for  the  practice  alluded  to  may  more  easily  occur,  I 
Tenture  to  address  you  this  letter  on  the  subject,  with  the  view  of 
eliciting  from  yourself,  or  one  of  your  learned  correspondents,  some 
•nthoritative  opinion  on  the  subject  or  elucidation  of  it,  or,  it  may 


128  Documents. 


Answer  to  Question  1. — I  am  not  aware  that  the  theo- 
logians teach  thus  absolutely,  that  the  particles  may  not 
be  removed  from  the  altar  before  the  communion  of  the 
priest. 

Answer  to  Question  2. — The  communion  particles  are  not, 
after  the  consecration,  the  object  of  the  ritual  of  the 
Sacrifice,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  word  or  rite,  after  the 
t^onsecration,  which  is  directed  or  referred  to  them. 

Answer  to  Question  3. — This  is  not  communio  intra 
Missam  in  the  sense  of  the  rubrics.  The  communion  intra 
Missam  is  distributed  immediately  after  the  celebrant's 
communion.  This  is  the  proper  time  for  distributing  holy 
Communion,  as  every  priest  knows,  but  a  cau^a  rationabilis 
will  justify  one*  in  departing  from  this  order  either  by 
anticipation  or  by  postponement.  Among  the  excusing 
causes  are  usually  enumerated  cases  similar  to  the  one  you 
mention. 

It  may  be,  however,  a  matter  for  doubt  whether  it  would 
not  be  better  in  the  case  you  make,  to  wait  for  the 
communion  of  the  priest — a  delay  of  only  a  few  minutes — 
than  to  disturb  the  congregation  at  so  solemn  a  part  of 
the  Mass.     This  is  a  question  for  the  local  authorities. 

R.  Browne. 


ROMAN  DOCUMENTS. 

FOR  the  convenience  of  ftiture  reference  we  print  the 
following  important  Documents  regarding  the  addition 
to  the  Holy  Rosary  and  the  Prayers  of  the  Mass,  which  the 
Holy  Father  has  prescribed  for  the  Universal  Church : — 

LEO  PP.  xni. 

Ad  Pbrpetuabi  Rbi  Memobiam. 

Salutaris  iUe  spiritus  preoum,  misericordiae  divinaemunus  idem 
et  pignus,  quern  Deos  olim  effondere  poUicitus  est  super  domum 
David  et  super  hahitatores  lerusalem^  etsi  numquam  in  Ecdesia 
catholica  cessat,  tamen  experrectior  ad  permovendos  aminos  tunc 
esse  yidetur  cum  homines  magnum  aliquod  aut  ipaius  Ecclesia  aut 
reipublicae  tempos  adesse  vd  impendrae  sentiunt.  Solet  enim  ia 
rebus  trepidis  excitari  fides  pietasque  adversos  Deum,  quia  quo 
minus  apparet  in  rebus  humanis  praesidii,  eo  maior  esse  caelestis 
patrocinii  necessitas  intelligitur.  Quod  vel  nuper  perspezisse 
videmur»  cum  Nos  diutumis  Ecdesiae  acerbitatibus  et  communium 
temporum  difficultate  permoti,  pietatem  ehristianorum  per  epistolam 


Documents.  129 

Kostram  EncjcUcam  appellants,  Mariam  Virginem  sanctiasimo 
Roearii  ritn  coleodam  atque  implorandam  Octobri  mense  toto 
decreriniua.  Cui  quidem  voluotati  Kostrae  obtemperatum  eaaa 
DOvimuB  studio  et  alacritate  tanta  quantam  vel  rei  sanctitaa  vel 
causae  gravitas  postulobat.  Est  eaim  neque  m  hac  solum  It^ia 
nostra  Bed  in  omnibus  terris  pro  re  cathoUca,  pro  salute  publica, 
mpplicatom :  et  Episcopts  auctoritale,  Clericis  exemplo  operaqua 
praeeuntibus,  magnae  Dai  matri  liabitus  certatim.  honos,  Et 
mirifice  sane  Nos  declaratae  pietatis  ratio  multiplex  delectavit ; 
templa  magnificentius  ezomata  :  ductae  solemni  ritu  pompae :  ad 
sacras  concioiies,  ad  synaxin,  ad  quotidianas  Rosarii  preces  magna 
abiqne  populi  frequentio.  Nee  praeterire  volumus  quod  gpstienti 
aoimo  accepimua  de  nonnuUis  lociii,  quos  procella  temporum 
vehementius  offligit ;  in  quibus  tantus  extitit  feiror  pietatis,  ut 
presbyterorum  inopiam  privati  redimere,  quibus  in  rebus  pt^sentt 
guomet  ipsi  ministerio  maverint,  quam  ^ere  ut  in  templis  suis 
indict  ae  preces  silerent. 

Quare  dum   praesentium    malonim   sensum   spe  bonitatis  et 

misericordioe    divinae   coasolamur,    ioculcari    bononim    omnium 

animis  intelligimus  oportere,  id  quod  sacrae  Litterae  passim  aper- 

teqne  declarant,  sicut  in  omni  virtule  sic  in  ista  quae  in  obsecrando 

Deo  Teraatur,  omnino  plurimum  referre  perpetuitatem  atque  cou- 

Blantiam.     Exoratur  enim  placaturque  precando  Deus  :  boc  tamea 

ipsua  quod  se  exortari  sinit,  noo  solum  bonitatis  suae,  sed  etiam 

peneTerantiae  nostras  vult  esse  fructum.     Talis  aulem  in  orando 

peneverantia  longe  plus  est  hoc  tempore   necesaaria,   cam   tarn 

circumstant  ex  omni 

mperari  non  possunt. 

Oeusetcolitur:  oppug- 

coDsiliia,  aed  civilibua 

i|)  ientiae  adversantnr 

sua  cuique  et  publica 

ema  virium  coniura- 

pToelii    complectentea 

a  animo  esse  censemus 

lo  Nos  ad  imitationem 

fbrmulis  in  Ecclesia 
te  fioearium  Mariale 

In  quibus,  quemad- 
rmavimns,  illud  per- 
plorando  Matris  Dei 
nstitutum  :  eaque  ex 
amitatibus  idem  saepe 


130  Documents. 

atque  obsecramus,  ut  quotidianam  Bosarii  consnetudinein 
religiose  et  constanter  insistant :  itemque  declaramus,  Nobis  esse 
in  optatis  ut  in  Dioeceseon  sinsnilarum  templo  principe  quotidie,  in 
templis  Curialibus  diebus  festis  singulis  recitetnr.  Huic  autem 
excitandae  tuendaeque  exercitationi  pietatis  magno  usui  esse 
poterunt  familiae  Ordinum  religiosorum,  et  praecipuo  quodam  iure 
8U0  sodales  Dominiciani :  quos  omnes  pro  certo  habemus  tarn 
fructuoso  nobilique  officio  minime  defiituros. 

Nos  igitur  in  honorem  magnae  Dei  genitricis  Mariae ;  ad  per- 
petuam  recordationem  implorati  ubique  gentium  per  mensem 
Octobrem  a  purissimo  Eius  Corde  praesidii ;  in  perenne  testimonium 
amplissimae  spei,  quern  in  Parente  amantissima  reponimus;  ad 
propitiam  eius  opera  magis  ac  magis  in  dies  impetrandam, 
volumus  ac  decemimus,  ut  in  Litaniis  Lauretanis,  post  invoca- 
tionem,  Begitia  sine  l<ibe  originali  concepta,  addatur  praeconium, 
Eegina  tcusraiiasimi  Bosarii  ora  pro  nobis, 

Volumus  autem,  ut  hae  Litterae  Nostrae  firmae  rataeque,  nti 
sunt,  ita  in  posterum  permaneant :  irritum  vero  et  inane  f uturum 
decemimus,  si  quid  super  his  a  quoquam  contigerit  attentari: 
contrariis  nonobstantibus  quibuscumque. 

Datum  Bomae  apud  S.  Petrum  sub  annulo  Piscatoris  die 
XXIV.  Decembris  An.  MDCCCLXXXIH.,  Pontificatus  Nostri 
Anno  Sexto. 

Th.  Card.  Mubtel. 


Degrrttih  Urbis  ST  Obbis. 

lam  inde  ab  anno  MDCCCLIX  sa.  me.  Pius  PP.  IX.  ad  im- 
petrandam Dei  opem  quam  tempora  difficilia  et  aspera  flagitabanty 
praecepit,  ut,  in  templis  omnibus  Ditionis  Pontificiae,  certae  preces, 
quibus  sacras  Indulgentias  adiunxerat,  peracto  sacrosancto  Missae 
sacrificio,  recitarentur.  lamvero  gravibus  adhuc  insidentibus 
malis  nee  satis  remota  suspicione  graviorum,  cum  Ecclesia  catho- 
lica  singulari  Dei  praesidio  tantopere  indigeat,  Sanctissimas 
Dominus  Noster  Leo  Papa  XIII.  opportunum  indicavit,  eas  ipsas 
preces  nonnullis  partibus  immutatas  toto  orbe  persolvi,  ut  quod 
christianae  reipublicae  in  commune  expedit,  id  communi  prece 
populus  christianus  a  Deo  contendat,  auctoque  supplicantium 
numero  divinae  beneficia  misericordiae  facilius  assequatur.  Itaque 
Sanctitas  Sua  per  praesens  Sacrorum  Hituum  Congregationis  De- 
cretum  mandavit,  ut  in  posterum  in  omnibus  tum  Urbis  turn 
catholici  orbis  Ecclesiis  preces  infrascriptae,  ter  centum  diemm 
Indulgentia  locupletatae,  in  fine  cuiusque  Missae  sine  cantu  cele* 
bratae,  flexis  genibus  recitentur,  nimirum : 

"  Ter  Ave  Maria,  etc 

^^Deinde  dicitur  semel  Salve  Regina,  etc.  et  in  fins: 

'*  F.  Ora  pro  nobis,  sancta  Dei  Grenitrix. 
R.  Ut  digni  efficiamur  promissionibus  Christi. 


u 


"Dens  refoginm  noetram  et  virtns,  adesto  piis  Ecclegiae  tnae 
precibni ,  et  praesta ;  ut,  intercedente  gloriosa  et  Imm&cutiita 
Virgine  Dei  genitrice  Maria,  beato  Josephs,  ac  beatia  Apostolis 
toil  Petro  et  Paulo  et  omnibiu  Sanctis,  quod  in  praesentibus  neces- 
atatibns  hnmiliter  petimug,  efficaciter  consequamur.  Per  enindem 
Cbristnni  Donunnm  noetnun. 
',  V.  Amen," 

Coatrariis   non   obstantibns  qoiboBcamque^     Die  Epiphania« 
Domini  vi  laonarii,  hdccclzxxit, 

J>.  Cakdihalis  Bartoliniob 

S.  H.  C.  Praefoctna. 
L.*S. 

liAnBBNTIUB  Salvati, 

S,  R.  C-  Secretarins. 


wifB  &  Nolan. 

bavfl  a  more  than 
l^e.  The  special 
ich  the  Very  Rev. 
Talsh  has  iDsertcd 

of  the  College,  in 
I  College,  from  the 
year,  are  set  forth, 
all  who  filled  any 
lent. 

te.  Dr.  Walsh  Has 
collection  of  faetn 
tors  of  the  College, 
highly  interesting 
Jl  briefer  notices  of 
rs.  Flood,  Dunne, 
so  mentions  some 
from  Dr.  Power  to 
to  collect  matarials 
of  the  College,  he 


132.  Notices  of  Books. 

from  oblivion  the  history  of  the  early  superiors  and  professors  of 
their  Alma  Mater,  and  we  feel  we  may  express,  in  their  name,  a 
wish  that  the  work  begun  in  this  Calendar  may  be  continued,  as 
far  as  practicable,  in  succeeding  numbers. 

There  are  also  other  Appendices  ;  one  is  an  interesting  essay, 
extracted  from  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Becobd,  on  the  Foun- 
dation of  Maynooth,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Gunn,  formerly  Dean  of  the 
College  ;  and  another  is  a  graceful  and  appreciative  memoir  of  the 
late  Dr.  Murray,  from  the  pen  of  his  successor  in  the  prefecture  of 
the  Dunboyne  Establishment,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Healy. 

In  the  body  of  the  Calendar  we  get,  as  usual,  full  information 
on  the  College  staff,  courses,  classes,  numbers  and  names  of 
students,  diocesan  tree  places,  and  such  other  matters  as  may  be 
expected  in  a  college  calendar.  We  note  with  pleasure  that  the 
number  of  students  has  this  year  reached  the  very  high  figure  of 
525,  perhaps  a  larger  number,  and  certainly  quite  as  large,  as  the 
College  has  had  in  residence  at  any  period  of  its  history.  This  is 
very  gratifying,  when  we  consider  the  change  financially  which  the 
with^awal  of  the  Grovemment  Grant  has  made  in  the  condition  of 
the  students.  , 

In  the  section  onHhe  Programme  of  Entrance  Examination  an 
important  notice  is  printed  on  a  fly-sheet,  which  concerns  candi- 
dates for  the  September  Examination,  and  their  masters.  It  runs 
thus : — 

*'  In  consequence  of  the  modifications  elsewhere  referred  to 
(p.  38),  in  the  Programmes  of  the  Classes  of  Philosophy,  certain 
changes  are  to  be  made  in  the  Entrance  Courses  for  these 
classes. 

*^  These  changes,  the  details  of  which  are  not  as  yet  fully 
arranged,  will  not  tiJce  effect  until  after  the  Entrance  Examination 
in  January,  1884.  A  copy  of  the  revised  Programme  will  be  sent 
as  soon  as  possible  to  the  President  of  each  of  the  Diocesan 
Seminaries  and  Colleges." 

Theologia     MoraUs,      Atjotorb    AnousTiNO    Lbhhkubl,     S.J. 

Freiburg,  Herder,  1888. 

This  is  the  first  volume  of  a  new  Moral  Theology  just  published 
by  Father  Lehmkuhl,  S.J.,  for  several  years  Professor^  Theology 
in  the  College  of  Marienlachs — ^Maria  ad  Lacuiii<-«n  Rhenish 
Prussia. 

In  his  prefaoe  the  author  apologises  for  adding  another  to  the 
vast  number  of  treatises  on  Moral  Theology  that  have  appeared 
from  time  to  time.  The  intrinsic  exceUence  of  the  book  needs  no 
such  apology,  for  beyond  doubt,  it  is  a  valuable  addition  not  only 
to  the  number  of  books,  but  also  to  our  stock  of  accurate  and  easily 
accessible  knowledge.  A  writer  on  Moral  Theology  cannot  give 
us  much  original  iQ&>l{^tion ;  but  he  can  put  the  old  knowledge 


Notices  of  Books*  ISS 

in  a  new  foim;  he  can  be  clearer,  more  accurate,  and  more 
attractive  than  others  in  handling  this  supremely  important  subject. 
Moreover,  he  can  give  us  the  benefit  of  the  latest  legislation,  and 
of  the  most  recent  decisions,  which  is  in  itself  a  matter  of  great 
TtUlity.  On  many  controverted  questions  the  living  voice  of  the 
Chan^  is  heard  from  time  to  time,  and  although  it  does  not  always 
settle  the  question  at  issue,  it  can  never  be  ignored  by  the  moralist, 
because,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  is  the  voice  of  authority  as  well  as  the 
voice  of  truth.  This  new  treatise  at  once  suggests  comparison 
with  Gury,  and  most  people  will  readily  admit  that  it  must  be  a 
work  of  great  excellence  if  it  should  prove  superior,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  general  use,  to  Ballerini's  edition  of  that  famous  manual. 
We  have  not  studied  the  new  book  with  enough  of  care  to  pro- 
nounce a  decided  opinion,  but  from  a  hasty  perusal  we  are  certainly 
inclined  to  think  that  both  students  and  missionary  priests  will 
find  the  new  work,  when  completed,  the  more  useful  treatise ; 
because  it  gives  us  all,  and  more  than  all,  the  knowledge  in 
Ballerini's  Gury,  without  the  disputatious  verbosity  of  Balleriiii's 
Notes.  It  is  much  fuller  in  matter  than  Gury,  and  equally  clear, 
terse,  and  practical.  More  than  all,  it  is  eminently  scientitic,  not 
only  in  its  careful  exposition  of  principles  and  the  just  deduction 
of  its  conclusions,  but  in  the  perfection  of  the  unity  and  co-ordination 
which  it  establishes  between  all  the  branches  of  the  great  St^ience 
of  Morals.  It  is  eminently  practical  too,;  the  author  always  has 
an  eye  on  the  confessional,  and  gives  most  valuable  rules,  and 
bmts  for  the  confessor's  guidance  on  all  questions  that  present  any 
difficulty. 

This  first  volume  deals  with  Moral  Theology  in  general — 
Human  Acta,  Conscience,  Laws,  and  Sins — as  also  with  those 
special  treatises  which  discuss  the  theological  virtues,  and  the 
moral  virtues  whether  in  the  realm  of  domestic,  social,  or  indivi- 
dual Ufe.  The  second  volume  will,  it  seems,  be  given  up  to  the 
Sacraments,  and  other  kindred  questions.  Father  Lehmkuhl's  disser- 
tation on  Probabilism  is  certainly  about  the  best  we  have  yet  seen — 
simple,  thorough,  and  consistent.  In  this  he  is  a  great  improve- 
ment on  St.  Liguori  and  La  Croix ;  the  former,  especially,  very 
often  gives  conclusions  somewhat  inconsistent  with  his  own  prin- 
ciples, and  the  latter,  though  full  of  information,  is  altogether 
deficient  in  systematic  arrangement.  On  some  future  occasion  we 
hope  to  call  the  attention  of  our  re€ulers  to  F.  Lehmkuhrslvaluable 
observations  on  ^'  Abortion,"  and  although  we  may  not  be  able  to 
accept  aU  his  conclusions,  yet  we  think  no  one  can  deny  him  the 
merit  of  great  learning  and  ingenuity,  as  well  as  lucid  and  cautious 
exposition. 

We  have  given,'  as  we  have  said,  only  a  hasty  and  partial 
penual  to  this  volume,  but  we  think  we  are  justified  in  strongly 
recommending  it  to  all  students  of  Moral  Theology.  j^  ^ 

YOL.  V.  K 


1 34  Notices  of  Boohs. 

The  Relations  existing  between  Convent  Schools  and  tite  Systems  of 
Intermediate  and  Primary  National  Education,  By  the  MoBt 
Rev.  Dr.  Nultt,  Bishop  of  Meath.  Dublin :  Bbowmb  &  Nolan, 
1884. 

The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Nulty  has  just  published  a  very  able  and 
eloquent  pamphlet,  which  all  true  friends  of  education  should  read, 
on  the  relations  between  the  Convent  Schools  and  the  Primary  and 
Intermediate  systems  in  Ireland.  The  author  opens  with  a  grace- 
ful dedication  to  Cardinal  Manning,  and  thus  administers  a  just 
and  sharp  rebuke  to  the  anonymous  scribblers  who,  writing  in  the 
interests  of  the  Alexandra  College,  so  falsely  assumed  that  the 
Convent  Schools  withdrew  from  the  Intermediate  Examinations 
because  they  were  worsted  in  the  contest.  In  this  matter  of  Inter- 
mediate Education  the  Bishop  holds  that  Convent,  as  well  as 
other  schools,  can  derive  great  benefit  from  a  healthy  national 
rivalry,  which  reminds  them  of  their  defects,  and  stimulates  them 
to  exertion.  But  he  points  out  that  the  Programme  of  the  Inter- 
mediate Board  admits  authors  like  Horace,  the  study  of  which 
must  sully  the  lustre  of  female  purity,  and  that,  moreover,  the 
useful  arts  are  neglected,  and  too  much  prominence  is  given  to  the 
study  of  speculative  sciences,  which  tends  to  produce  tiiose  horrid 
*^  strong-minded  "  women  of  the  present  day,  who  are  a  terror  to 
their  male  and  female  Mends.  In  the  matter  of  Primary  Educa- 
tion, some  will  think  his  Lordship  is  unduly  severe  on  the  National 
System  of  female  education,  to  which  he  seems  to  attribute  the 
decadence  of  our  national  industries.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  a 
girl  is  apt  to  become  a  less  useful  servant,  or  a  less  industrious 
housewife,  because  she  has  gone  to  school  and  learned  to  read, 
write,  and  cipher.  We  happen  to  know,  too,  that  in  those  parts 
of  Ireland  where  there  have  been  few,  if  any,  schools,  the  females 
are  not  on  that  account  more  religious,  industrious,  or  intelligent 
in  the  performance  of  their  household  duties.  The  prelates,  too, 
who  testify  to  the  generosity  and  piety  of  uneducated  servant  girls 
in  America,  admit  that  many  of  them  lost  their  faith  mainly  be- 
cause they  wore  uneducated  in  religious  as  in  secular  knowledge. 
And  if  education  could  do  anything  to  raise  Irish  emigrant  girls 
from  their  present  destiny  of  becoming  ignorant  drudges  in  the 
households  of  the  great  American  cities,  we  should  deem  it  a  great 
temporal  and  spiritual  blessing.  We  think,  so  far  as  it  goes,  the 
National  system  has  done  good  work  in  educating  the  females  of 
Ireland,  and  that  it  is  not  responsible  for  the  (decadence  of  our 
domestic  or  other  industries ;  but  his  Lordship  is  quite  right  in 
insisting  that  it  should  be  supplemented  by  industrial  and  technical 
training,  and  with  pardonable  pride  he  points  to  the  Navan  Con- 
vent and  Industrial  Schools  as  the  most  successful  institutions  of 
their  kind  in  Ireland.  We  hope  the  *^  Commissioners  **  of  every 
kind  will  take  the  trouble,  or  rather  the  pleasure,  of  reading  this 
excellent  brochure. 


Notiett  of  Bookt.  135 

Tkt  Lift  and  Teaehitig  of  Jetui  Chriit.  By  Father  Nicholas 
AvASCOto  (2  vols.)  London:  Bdb»3  &  Oates,  1883. 
Tlie  very  title  of  these  two  volumes  of  the  "  Quarterly  Series  " 
implies  that  it  is  a  work  eminently  useful  for  priests.  The  original 
antbor  was  Father  Nicholas  Avancino,  a  most  learned  Jesuit,  who 
flourished  during  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century—an  age 
&mons  for  men  of  solid  learning.  It  was  subsequently  enlaced 
'by  its  German  editor,  who  drew  fab  materials  from  the  works  of 
uothcr  &mous  writer.  Father  Louis  de  la  Puente. 

Father  Coleridge  in  these  two  volomes  gives  ua  an  English 
Tosion  of  that  Oermao  Edition ;  so  that  in  reality  this  work  is  the 
fruit  of  the  rich  maturity  of  three  great  minds.  It  is  quite 
mmecessaiy  for  us  to  say  that  in  soch  a  treatise  there  is  sound 
Ibmli^  and  various  learning,  expressed  in  chaste  and  appropriate 
taognage.  It  is,  as  it  were,  an  epitome  of  that  most  profound  and 
beaatifnl  of  all  the  treatises  written  by  Suarez — "I)e  Mysteriis 
Vilae  Christi " — and  we  can  conGdently  recommend  it  as  admirably 
nited  to  furnish  matter  not  only  for  private  meditation,  but  abo 
for  public  instruction.  J.  H. 

Tkt  Old  Religion.    By  Rev,  W.  Lockhart,  B.A.,  Ozon.   London  : 
Bdrss  &  Oatks.  New  York :  Gatholiq  Pdblioatioh  Sooiety. 
Father  Lockhart's  happy  thought  of  making  ordinary  couvet- 
satiotis  the  medium  of  expounding  and  defending  Catholic  doctrine, 
has  already  produced  abundant  fruit  amongst  the  readers  of  the 
Catholic  Ojrimon  and  Tka  Catholic  World,  in  which  the  subject- 
matter  of  this  volume  first  appeared.     We  beg  pardon,  however, 
for  irwTling  them  ordinary   conversations,  for  the  genius  of  the 
writiT  luu  woven  them  into  a  tale  of  great  dramatic  interest, 
deal  of  a  fonnol  course  of  instruc- 
to  receive  it  through  tJie  more 
□versatioDS  like  the  present,  not 
imd  witty  repartee. 
Clement  Maria  Bo/bauer,  of  the 
ly   Redeemer,  written   by  Father 
tor-General  of  the  same  Gongre* 
;ranslated  into   English   by  Lady 
Pustet  &  Co.,   New  York  and 
lerable  Father  Clement,  so  beauti- 
r,  is  an-  exceedingly  edifying  nar- 
«r  that  of  his  spiritual  father,  St. 
lis  own  person  all  the  virtues  that 


136  Notices , of  Books. 

Poland^**  wliidi  first  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York 
Freeman*s  JbumaL  It  is  trandated  from  the  French,  but  with  a 
freedom  and  spirit  which  preserve  all  the  charm  of  the  original.  It 
will,  we  are  confident,  be  eagerly  read  by  the  young,  and  its  pemsal 
will  tend  to  vivify  Catholic  sentiment  andconfinn  Catholic  principles. 

^^  The  Castle  oj  Roussillon  "  (Gill  &  Son),  is  another  translation 

from  the  French  by  Mrs.  Sadlier,  equally  interesting  and  no  less 

^Catholic  in  tone  and  spirit.      Books  of  this  character  would 

admirably  serve  as  premiums  for  our  schools  and  Christian  Doctrine 

classes. 

"  Young  Ireland  *'  is  a  two-shilling '  ;^print  by  the  same  pub- 
lishers, of  Sir  Charles  Gavan  Duffy's  famous  work.  It  is  certainly 
a  marvel  of  cheapness,  but  by  no  means  a  marvel  of  handicraft, 
for  the  printing,  though  perfectly  legible,  is  in  places  somewhat 
blurred.  However,  we  ought  not  to  be  too  hard  pleased  when  we 
can  get  a  book  so  deeply  interesting  at  so  trifiiug  a  figure. 

"  Adventures  at  Sea,'*  published  by  Messrs.  Burns  &  Gates,  is 
a  neat  little  volume  of  thrilling  interest.  It  has  this  peculiar  merit 
amongst  £ng)ish  books  of  a  similar  character,  that  in  most  cases 
the  heroes  of  the  stirring  scenes  of  danger  and  privation,  which 
are  so  vividly  narrated,  are  animated  by  the  courage  of  Christians, 
and  in  the  hour  of  darkest  danger  lose  not  their  faith  in  God*s 
good  providence. 

^^ Alley  M^Cahej  or  the  Boatman* s  Sorrows"  is  a  small,  but  in 
our  opinion,  a  truly  beautiful  poem  in  blank  verse  by  a  writer  to 
us  ui^nown,  who  signs  himself  "  J.  G.  C."  We  have  not  space 
for  a  lengthened  criticism,  but  we  are  confident  that  the  writer ^s 
soul  has  been  touched  by  the  divine  afflatus  of  genuine  inspiration, 
and  we  would  recommend  him  to  persevere  hopefully  but  labo- 
riously in  his  task,  and  Melpomene  may  yet  crown  his  brows  with 
Delphic  bays  that  are  the  highest  reward  of^true  merit. 

^^ Faddy  Blake  amongst  the  Soupers'**  (Dublin:  J.  Duflly)  is 
not  the  work  of  a  novice  in  poetry.  Father  Casey  is  already 
widely  known  to  fame  by  his  previous  poems.  In  Paddy  Blake, 
however,  he  is  at  his  best,  for  he  has  a  keen  eye  for  drollery,  and 
keen  wit  in  its  expression.  Paddy  is  a  rare  theologian,  as  well  as 
a  genuine  wit,  .and  his  poetic  harangue  to  the  leaders  of  the 
Soupers,  must,  we  should  think,  have  made  them  look  supremely 
ridiculous.  We  hope  the  bard  of  Athleague  won't  forget  to  send  a 
copy  to  Mrs.  Smyly. 

^^  The  Little  Seraphic  Manwd^*  for  the  members  of  the  confra- 
ternities of  the  Chord  of  St.  Francis,  by  Fr.  Jarleth  Prendergast, 
Q&S.  (Dublin  :  Duffy  &  Sons),  contains  much  useful  instructioQ 
as  well  as  very  many  beautiful  prayers  and  hymns. 


THE   IRISH 

ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


MARCH,  1884. 


CARDINAL  NEWMAN  ON  THE  INSPIRATION 
OF  SCRIPTURE. 

IN  the  January  number  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  there  is 
an  article  on  "  The  Inspiration  of  Scripture,  written 
bj  Cardinal  Newman,  which  has  attracted  a  very  consi- 
unongat  Cathoucs  and 

poatiOD  in  the  Church, 
own  love  of  truth,  not 
0  everything  he  writes, 

His  smallest  word  is 

to  with  attention,  and 
i  hundred-fold  when  he 

of  the  Inspiration  of 
it  are  cert^ly  calcu- 
the  theological  schools. 
Tallin  ^  the  attention  of 
on  this  most  important 

imberthatthe  Cardinal 
ments  are  simply  my 
uiyone  h  erades  myself. ' ' 
genuine  filial  obedience 
,  he  nnreservedly  sab- 
judgment  of  the  Holy 
ements  are  more  of  a 


138      Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture. 

and  we  trust  that  in  our  observations  we  shall  not  say 
a  single  word  inconsistent  with  the  aflfectionate  rev- 
erence in  which,  in  common  with  all  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  these  kingdoms,  we  hold  his  Eminence  Cardinal  New- 
man. 

The  question  which  he  proposes  for  consideration  is 
whether,  as  alleged  by  Renan  and  others,  "it  is  an 
undoubted  fact  that  the  Church  does  insist  on  her  children's 
acceptance  of  certain  Scripture  informations  on  matters  of 
fact,  in  defiance  of  criticism  and  history."  Many  persons 
would  probably  object  to  the  assumption  implied  in  this 
question,  that  there  are  Scripture  mformations  on  any 
matters  of  fact  which  are  in  defiance  of  genuine  criticism 
and  true  history.  Hence,  we  think  it  is  safer,  and  more 
satisfactory  from  a  logical  point  of  view,  as  being  less  open 
to  the  charge  of  undue  assumption,  to  accept  the  statement 
of  the  question  at  issue  as  it  is  formulated  a  little  lower 
down  in  No.  8 :  "Now,  then,  the  main  question  before  ns 
bein^  what  it  is  that  a  Catholic  is  free  to  nold  about  Scrip- 
ture m  general,  or  about  its  separate  portions  or  its  state- 
ments, without  compromising  his  firm  mward  assent  to  the 
dogmas  of  the  Church,  that  is,  to  the  de  fide  enunciations 
of  rope  and  Councils,  we  have  first  of  all  to  inquire  how 
many  and  what  these  dogmas  are."  Then  the  writer  goes 
on  to  say  that  there  are  two  such  dogmas ;  one  relates  to 
the  authority  of  Scripture,  or,  as  we  Miould  say,  its  inspira- 
tion, the  other  to  its  interpretation. 

With  regard  to  the  Cardinal's  views  on  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture,  we  have  nothing  to  say  ;  he  merely 
expresses  the  common  teaching  of  theologians  on  this 
pomi  We  shall,  therefore,  confine  ourselves  to  the  first 
question  which  he  discusses — ^the  authority  or  inspiration 
of  Sacred  Scripture. 

In  answer  to  his  own  question  on  this  point — What  is 
de  fide  with  regard  to  the  inspiration  of  Scripture?  his 
reply  is : — **  As  to  the  authority  of  Scripture,  we  hold  it  to 
be,  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  morals,  divinely  inspired 
throughout"  In  No.  11  he  tells  us  that  the  Councils  of 
Trent  and  the  Vatican  "  specify  *  faith  and  moral  conduct  * 
as  the  *  drift '  of  that  teaching  (in  Scripture)  which  has  the 
guarantee  of  inspiration."  In  No.  12  he  says  that  the 
Vatican  Council  pronounces  that  supernatural  Revelation 
consists  "  in  rebus  divinis,"  and  is  contained — the  italics  are 
not  ours — ^^  in  Ubris  scriptis  et  sine  scriptis  traditionibus." 
And  finally,  in  No.  13,  he  asserts  that  while  the  Councils,  as 


Cardinal  Neaman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture.     139 

has  been  shown,  lay  down  so  emphatically  the  inspiration 
of  Scriptnre  in  respect  to  "  futh  and  moraJs,"  it  is  remark- 
able that  they  do  not  say  a  word  directly  as  toiia  inspira- 
tion in  "  matters  of  fact  ■"  and  hence  he  nuses  the  question 
— biit  does  not  answer  it — whether  there  may  not  be  in 
Scriptnre,  as  there  are  in  the  dogmatic  utterances  of  Fopea 
and  CouBcils,  obiter  dicta,  "  unimportant  '  statements  of 
feet,' not  inspired,  and  therefore  unauthoritative  "  (No.  26), 
and,  we  may  add,  not  even  neceasarily  true. 

The  merest  tyro  iu  the  schools  of  Catholic  theology 
will  at  once  perceive  the  Btartling  character  of  these  state- 
ments, and  the  pregnant  consetjuencea  which  they  involve. 
Hence  we  prcyose  to  examine  them  very  briefly,  in  order 
to  ascertain  if  the  dejide  utterances  of  the  Church  on  this 
matter  of  the  inspiration  of  the  sacred  volume  are  exactly 
of  the  character  described  by  Cardinal  Newman;  and  we 
shall  for  the  moat  port  con£ne  ourselves  to  an  analysis  of 
these  dogmatic  utterances  themselves. 

Of  couise,  when  the  Cardinal  says  \i  \&  de  fide  that 
R/^.^tr..^  in  oil  mottaH,  (jf  fjQth  ftud  morals,  is  divinely 
3ays  what  is  true ;  but  he  certainly 
not  defide  that  Scriptnre  is  inspired 
e  any  such)  which  are  not  '*  matters 
iw,  here  precisely  we  join  issue,  and 
ion,  the  Catholic  dogma,  as  defined 
rent  and  the  Vatican,  admits  of  no 
:hat  it  is  adequately  and  accurately 
inating  that  clause;  or,  in  other 
gma  IB,  to  borrow  some  of  the 
that  Sacred  Scripture  is  divinely 

it  first  enumerates  the  books  that 
Scripture,  and  then,  in  the  strictest 
decree  in  the  following  words : — 
ipsos  integrot  cam  omnibia  auia  par- 
>atholica  legi  consueverunt,  et  in 
editione  haoentur,  pro  socris  et 
t,  et  troditiones  praedictas  Bdeos 
,  anathema  sit."'  There  is  here  no 
I  or  canonicity  to  matters  of  faith 

books,     with    all    thrif    rtnrtt      a-ra 


140      Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture, 

that  is  the  meaning  of  sacred  and  canonical,  as  applied  by 
the  Council  of  Trent  and  of  the  Vatican  to  the  books  of 
Scripture.  If  we  take  the  expression  "  entire  books,  with 
all  their  parts,"  to  be  equivalent  to  the  Cardinars  word 
ihroughouty  we  have  a  right  to  conclude  that  the  Catholic 
dogma,  as  enunciated  in  that  canon,  proclaims  that  these 
canonical  books  are  inspired  throughout^  and  therefore  not 
merely  in  questions  of  faith  and  morals. 

Lest  there  might  be  any  doubt  of  the  meaning  of  the 
expression  "  pro  sacris  et  canonicis,"  we  beg  to  append 
the  analogous  canon  in  the  Vatican  Council,  which,  m  our 
opinion,  leaves  no  doubt  about  the  matter.  Here  it  is  : — 
"  Si  quis  sacrae  Scripturae  libros  integros  cum  omnibus  suis 
partibus,proutillos  SanctaTridentina  Synodusrecensuit,pro 
sacris  et  canonicis  non  susceperit,  aut  eos  divinitusinspiratos 
esse  negaverit,  anathema  sit."  (Can.  4,  De  Revelatione.)  It 
is  impossible  to  enunciate  in  clearer  language  the  great 
Catholic  truth,  that  the  entire  books  of  Sacred  Scripture, 
with  all  their  parts,  are  divinelv  inspired ;  or  in  other  words, 
that  the  books  of  Sacred  Scripture  are  inspired  throughout. 
If  any  one  should  urge  that  perhaps  "  eos,*'  in  the  last 
clause  of  this  canpn,  is  not  necessarily  the  exact  equivalent 
of  the  subject  of  the  preceding  clause,  our  answer  is,  that 
both  grammatically  and  logically  **eos  "  and  "illos  "  stand  for 
the  subject  of  the  preceding  clause,  and  are  therefore  exactly 
co-extensive  with  it.  At  any  rate,  the  Council  pronounces 
the  entire  books — eos,  soil,  Ubros  vUegros — to  be  inspired, 
without  making  any  distinction  between  "matters  of 
fact "  and  "  matters  of  faith  and  morals,"  and  that  is  quite 
enough  for  our  argument. 

Every  one  trained  in  theological  discipline  knows  that  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  ascertain,  from  the  wording  in  the  body 
of  a  dogmatic  chapter  of  a  General  Council,  what  is  strictly 
and  exactly  defde.  But  when  a  Council  wishes  to  express 
CathoUc  dogma  with  the  utmost  accuracy  and  exactness, 
it  formulates  it  as  a  canon,  and  pronounces  anathema 
against  the  gainsayers.  I  have  a  right,  therefore,  to  infer 
from  this  canon,  as  a  Catholic  dogma,  that  Sacred  Scripture, 
without  exception  or  restriction,  is  inspired  throughout 

Cardinal  Newman  says  that  the  dogmatic  phrase  used 
by  the  Councils  of  Florence  and  Trent  to  denote  the  inspi* 
ration  of  Scripture,  viz.,  that  one  and  the  same  God  was 
the  author  of  Doth  Testaments — Deus  unus  et  idem  utrius^ 
e  Testamenti  Auctor — ^left  some  room  for  holding  that 
e  word  "  Testament"  might  mean  "  Dispensation,  rather 


qu 
th< 


Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture.     141 

than  the  Books  of  the  Testaments,  although  he  admits 
that  the  Vatican  Comicil  has  settled  the  question  by  insert- 
ing the  word  "  books." 

It  appears  to  us  that  the  Council  of  Florence  left  no 
doubt  about  the  matter,  for  it  has  explained  the  meaning  of 
the  word  "  Testament "  in  its  decree,  as  may  be  seen  in  so 
common  a  book  as  Franzelin  (De  Inspir.  S.  Scrip.  Thesis.  II., 
No.  1.)    Here  are  the  words : — 

• 

"Firmissime  credit,  profitetur  et  praedicat  (SacrosanctaBom. 
Ecclesia)  unom  verum  Deum  Patrem  et  Filium  et  Spiritum  Sanctum 

creatorem Unom  atque  eundem   Deum  Yeteris  et 

Novi  Testament!,  hoc  est,  Legis  et  Prophetarum  atque  Evangelii 
profitetur  Auctorem,  quontam  eodem  Spiritu  Sancto  inspir  ante 
utriusque  Testamenti  sancti  locuti  sunt,  quorum  libros  suscipit  et 
veDcratur,  qui  titulis  sequentibus  continentur.^ 

Surely  the  expression  "  Old  and  New  Testament,"  when 
explained  to  mean  "the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the 
Grospel,"  can  mean  nothing  else  but  the  Sacred  Books  that 
commonly  go  under  these  names. 

But  if  there  could  be  any  doubt  about  the  matter  it 
would  be  removed  by  the  reason  that  is  subjoined — God  is 
the  author  of  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Gospel, 
htcause  it  was  under  the  inspiration  of  His  Holy  Spirit  that 
the  saints  of  both  Testaments  spoke^  whose  hooks^  therefore, 
the  Council  receives  and  veneratea  The  word  "  locuti " 
evidently  refers  to  the  written  word^  as  in  2  Peter  i.,  21, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  libros,  clearly  shows  that  by 
Testament  the  Council  meant  the  hooks  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament — that  is,  as  it  explains,  the  Law,  the 
Prophets,  and  the  Gospel. 

It  is  diflScult  to  see  how  this  explanation  given  by  the 
Council  itself  can  be  reconciled  with  the  statement  that 
the  Councils  of  Florence  and  Trent  left  the  meaning 
of  the  word  Testament  in  the  phrase  referred  to  somewhat 
doubtfol.  The  Council  of  Florence  certainly  did  not ;  and, 
PaOavicini  tells  us,  the  Coimcil  of  Trent,  in  framing 
its  decree,  was  careful  to  follow  the  very  words  of  the 
Council  of  Florence.^ 

It  is  defined  both  by  the  Coimcils  of  Trent  and  of 
Florence  *^at  God  is  the  auctor  utritisque  Testamenti^  and 

as    "VrCk     K< „      llia'i'       CmOn       -fnQ4'    10    -fklA      OamA    on    4-r\    etn^rr  \>r\    in    4-l«<% 


142     Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inepiration  of  Scripture. 

Conncil,  as  the  Cardinal  himself  admita  Bnt,  he  says,  the 
Latin  word  auctor  still  leaves  some  ambignily,  for  it  is  not 
equivalent  to  the  English  ^ord, author.  That  maybe  very 
true,  when  there  is  question  of  the  words  auctor  and 
avihor  in  their  generic  sense ;  it  is  too  delicate  a  point  for 
tis  to  discuss,  and  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  discuss  it. 
For  there  is  no  question  now  of  the  generic  meaning 
of  these  terms,  but  of  their  specific  meaning,  which^ 
as  Cardinal  Franzelin  clearly  pointo  out  (Thesis  IIL, 
No.  1.)  is  determined  by  the  context,  that  is,  by  the  special 
eflSciency  of  which  there  is  question.  Generically,  both  in 
English  and  Latin,  *  author '  means  the  person  who  gives 
origin  or  authority  to  anything,  but  in  its  specific  sense  the 
meaning  will  very  much  depend  on  the  kind  of  origin  or 
authority  of  which  there  is  question*  The  same  man  may  be 
the  author  of  a  law,  the  author  of  a  book,  and  the  author 
of  a  crime,  but  in  very  different  senses.  Now  it  is  de  fide 
that  God  is  the  author  of  the  Books  of  the  Old  and  New- 
Testament,  and  will  the  Cardinal  undertake  to  say,  that 
when  thus  used  in  regard  to  books,  auctor  in  classical 
Latin  is  not  equivalent  to  "author"  when  said  in 
reference  to  books  in  English  !  We  do  not  pretend  to  the 
Cardinal's  knowledge  of  classical  Latin,  but  we  know 
something  of  ecclesiastical  Latin,  as  used  by  the  Councils  of 
Trent  and  Florence,  and  we  are  quite  sure  that  auctor  libri 
in  ecclesiastical  Latin  is  pretty  much  the  same  as  the  ^author 
of  a  book"  in  English. 

It  is  defidcj  therefore,  that  God  is  the  author  of  all  the 
Books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament ;  and  we  have  seen 
that  it  is  defide  that  they  are  inspired  throughout,  whole 
and  entire,  without  any  distinction  between  '  matters  of  fact 
and  *  matters  of  faith  and  morals.*  Well,  now,  in  No  11, 
the  Cardinal  asks,  in  what  respect  are  the  Canonical  Books 
inspired?  "It  cannot  be  in  every  respect,"  he  says, 
"except  we  are  hound  defide  to  believe  that  *  terra  in 
aetemum  stat,'  that  heaven  is  above  us,  and  that  there 
are  no  antipodes.*'  If  by  "  respect "  is  meant  every  signifi- 
cation which  a  word  or  phrase  might  have,  scientific  or 
popular,  Uteral  or  metaphorical,  he  is  evidently  right ;  but 
then  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  tell  us  so.  Surely  the  phrases 
"  terra  in  aetemum  stat,"  "  and  heaven  is  above  us,*'  "the 
sun  rises,"  and  the  like,  have  a  popular  meaning  which  is 
perfectly  true,  and  which  might  be  revealed  by  God,  and 
which  tf  revealed  by  God,  incidentally  or  otherwise^  in 
that  popular  sense,  we  should  be  bound  to  believe  as  defide. 


Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Tn^nration  of  Scriptare.     143 

Sut  apparently  this  is  not  what  Cardinal  Newman 

means,  for  ia  the  next  aentence  he  Bays :  "  And  it  seems 

imworthy  of  Divine  greatness  that  the  Almighty  should,  in 

His  rerdation  of  mmself  to  ns,  undertake  mere  secular 

duties,  and  assume  the  office  of  a  narrator  as  such,  of  a 

historian,   or  geographer,   except  bo  far   as  the  secular 

matteiB  bear  directly  on  the  revealed  tmth."    Doe*,  any 

one  assert  that  God  in  His  Bevelation  undertakes  the  office 

of  narrator,   at  tueh,   or  historian,  or   geographer?     We 

thought  it  was  a  well-known  diBtinction  made  by  Catholic 

tiieologians  of  every  school  between  the  things  revealed 

propter  se,  or,  as  the  Cardinal  calls  them,  matters  of  faith 

and  morals,  and  things  revealed  per  accident,  including 

every  other  statement  made  in  Sacred  Scripture,  whether 

in  narration,  history,  geography,  or  anything  else.     God 

reveals  none   of  these  thmgs  propter  ae.    He  does  not 

ondertake  the  work  of  annalist,  historian,  geographer,  a» 

nch.    They  are  revealed  on  account  of  tbeir  connection, 

oeceasary,  useful,  or  accidental  as  the  case  may  be,  with 

the    main   purposes    of    Divine    Revelation.     Bat    as 

Benedict  XIX.  m  his  Dotrmatic  Catalogue  of  the  Errors  of 

signifies,  they  must  be  all 

ivebeen  revealed  pw  accidena, 

be  word  of  God,  and  all  serve 

e  economy  of  our  salvation.^ 

written,  were  written  for  our 

mce  and  the   comfort  of  the 

pe."    Rom.  XV.  4. 

be  should  undertake  to  pro- 

what  is  unworthy  of  Divine 

tempt  to  do  BO,  especially  in 

luld  we  stop  !    Does  not  the 

of  God  to  reveal  mysteries? 

iwhat  similar  reason,   denies 

otestant    contends   that  tbe 

Blessed  Eucharist  is  utterly 

le  gives  up  the  literal,  and 

It  is  the  old  atory — Dnros 

sum  andire?    Our  reply  is — 

i,  qui  instruat  eum  t    Human 

ly  tnat  of  all  unworthy  things 


144     Cardinal  Nevrman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture. 

the  most  unworthy  of  God  was  to  redeem  the  word  by  the 
"  folly  "  of  the  cross ;  and  it  did  say  it  by  the  month  both 
of  Jew  and  Gentile. 

We  have  no  objection  to  the  statement  that  faith  and 
moral  conduct  is  the  '  drift  *  of  the  teaching  that  has  the 
guarantee  of  inspiration,  or  that  the  Council  of  Trent  inaists 
on  faith  and  moraUty  as  the  *  scope'  of  inspired  teachings, 
provided  always  it  is  not  thereby  mipUed  that  Scripture  is 
not  also  inspired  throughout,  even  in  those  things  which  to 
us  seem  to  have  least  connection  with  faith  and  morals.    It 
is  in  this  sense  and  in  no  other  sense  the  Council  of  Trent 
speaks.      In  the  preamble  of   the  chapter  it  states,    as 
Cardinal  Newman  says,  that  faith  and  morality  is  the 
*  scope '  of  ini^ired  teaching,  and  that  the  Gospel  is  the 
'  fount '  of  all  saving  truth  and  all  instruction  in  morals ; 
and  this  is  perfectly  true,  but  the  main  proposition  to  which 
everything  else  is  incidental  is  contained  in  the  following 
words,  which  necessarily  imply  the  inspiration  of  every 
single  statement  made  by  sacred  writers.  **Sacrosancta  .  .  , 
Synodus  .   .   .   orthodoxorum    patrum    exempla    secota, 
omnes  Ubros  tam   Veteris  quam  Novi  Testamenti,  cum 
utriusque  imus  Deus  sit  auctor,  necnon  traditiones  ipsas,  turn 
ad  fidem,  tum  ad  mores  pertinentes,  tanquam  vel  oretenus 
a  Christo,  vel  a  Spiritu  Sancto  dictatas  et  continua  succes- 
sione  in  ecclesia  Oatholica  conservatas  pari  pietatis  affectu 
et  reverentia  suscipit  et  veneratur."    From  the  l]ueginmng 
of  the  chapter  to  the  word  veneratur  is  one  single  sentence; 
the  last  part,  as  written  by  us,  contains  the  main  assertion, 
the  purport  of  which  is  perfectly  clear :  that  as  God  is  the 
author  of  all  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and, 
as  the  divine  traditions  regarding  faith  and  morals  were 
either  spoken  by  Christ  himself  or  dictated  by  His  Holy 
Spirit,  therefore  the  Council  accepts  and  venerates  both  with 
equal  affection  of  piety  and  reverence — and  why  ?  because 
they  are  both  equally  the  Word  of  God.    It  must  be  care- 
fully observed  that  the  words  "tum  ad  fidem,   tum  ad 
mores  pertinentes  '* — refer  onlj'  to  the  traditions,  and  have 
nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the  preceding  words.    And  they 
were  inserted,  as  Pallavicini  tells  us,  in  order  to  distinguiw 
the  divine  traditions,  of  which  God  is  the  author,  and 
which  concern  faith  and  morals,  firom  purely  apostoHc  and 
ecclesiastical  traditions,  which  are  of  their  own  nature 
disciplinary  and  mutable.     So  far,  therefore,  is  the  Council 
of  Trent  from  lending  any  countenance  to  the  idea  that 
all  Scripture  is  not  inspired,  that  it  distinctly  affirms  the 


Cardinal  Nemman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture,     145 

divine  anthorehip  of  all  the  books  of  Sacred  Scripture,  and 
as  we  have  seen,  proaoimceB  anathema  against  those  who 
would  dare  to  assert  that  thej  are  not  "sacred  and 
caoonical,"  and  inspired  Scripture  throughout 

There  is  one  point  to  be  carefully  kept  in  mind  in  any 
discuBsion  on  this  important  question,  if  we  wish  to  avoid 
grave  errors — thediflerence  between  inspiration  and  revela^ 
tion.  Inspiration,  as  we  shall  eee  further  on,  in  its  plenary 
sense,  implieB  three  tbinge,  the  Divine  afflatus  moving, 
enlightening,  and  guiding  the  writer — inspiratio  active 
gumpta :  the  state  of  the  human  agent  under  this  Divine 
influence — inspiratio  passive  sumpta ;  and,  lastly,  the  pro- 
dact  of  the  combined  action  of  God  and  man,  that  is, 
llie  book  written  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  man's 
agency — which  is  inspiratio  terminative  sumpta.  Inspira- 
tion therefore,  in  reference  to  Sacred  Scripture,  essentially 
regards  the  writing — the  writing  injtiri,  and  the  writing 
in  facto  e*se.  Not  so  in  the  case  of  revelation.  It  need 
have  no  coonection  with   inspired    writing   at   aU.      In 

;.-  _„*; — ;+  ;„  „: — t^  jj,g  Divine  manifestation  of 

j  of  things  not  previously 
t  merely  means  the  things  so 
atioQ,  therefore,  necessarily 
le  sense  given  above ;  but 
vine  traditions  not  contained 
r  at  all  to  do  with  inspiration, 
md,  for  the  Cardinal  goes  on 
acil  pronounces  that  super- 
s/ms  JJivinis,  and  is  contained 
ttraditionibus,"  italicising  as 
t  seems  to  us,  that  all  Sacred 
'ine  truth  or  a  Divine  revela- 
aspiration  are  identical. 
;he  first  point  is  contained  in 
certainly  will. not  admit  the 
iplication :  — "  Hmc  Divinae 
m  est,  at  ea,  quae  in  rebus 
86  impervia  non  sunt,  in 
lani  conditione  ab  omnibtis 
uUo  admixto  errore  cognosci 
B  Council  declares  in  that 
iets  "  in  things  Divine,"  but 
1  sav  is.  that  everv  statement 


146     Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture. 

implication,  regarding  the  Scriptures  certainly  of  the  Old 
Testament,  if  not  also  of  some  of  the  New — TrSa-a  ypa<^ 
ficoTTvcvcTTos  Kot  (o^cXi/io?  &0.  If  everj"  scripture  is  dc<JaT€va'T05, 
it  may  well  be  called  Divine. 

As  regards  the  second  point,  the  Council  does  say  that 
the  supernatural  revelation  is  contained  in  the  written  Dooks 
and  unwritten  Divine  traditions;  but  concerning  these 
same  books  it  says  in  the  very  next  sentence,  mat  the 
church  does  not  regard  them  as  sacred  and  canonical, 
merely  because  they  contain  this  revelation  without  error, 
but  because,  having  been  written  under  the  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  they  have  God  for  their  author,  and  as 
such  have  been  handed  down  to  the  church,  "  Eos  vero 
(libros)  ecclesia  pro  sacris  et  canonicis  habet,  non  ideo 
quod  sola  humana  industria  concinnati,  sua  deinde  auctori- 
tate  sint  approbati,  nee  ideo  duiitaxat,  quod  revelationem 
sine  errore  contineant ;  sed  propterea  quod  Spiritu  Sancto 
inspirante  conscripti,  Demn  habent  auctorem,  atque  ut 
tales  ipsi  ecclesise  traditi  simt."  To  say,  therefore,  that  the 
Divine  books  contain  the  revelation  of  God,  and  even 
without  any  error,  is  declared  by  the  Oouficil  itself  to  be 
an  inadequate  description  of  their  sacred  and  canonical 
character.^  The  reason  is  manifest.  A  book  might  contain 
the  whole  revelation  of  God,  and  contain  it  without  error, 
and  yet  not  be  at  all  an  inspired  book,  because  inspir$ttion 
essentially  regards  the  writing  or  authorship  of  the  book. 
K  it  is  .an  inspired  book  God  is  its  author;  it  must  have 
been  written  m  all  its  parts  under  the  guidance  and 
inspiration  of  the  Holv  Spirit  of  God,  so  much  so,  that 
God  becomes  responsible  for  every  single  statement  it 
contains,  and  therefore  quite  as  much  responsible  for  its 
statements  ^<  in  matters  of  fact,"  as  for  its  statements  in 
reference  to  *^  faith  and  morals."  All  these  truths  will  not 
have  the  same  intrinsic  importance  in  relation  to  each 
other,  or  to  the  economy  of  man's  redemption ;  but  they 
are  all  divine  as  regards  their  origin  and  their  authority. 

And  now  this  leads  us  to  give,  in  conclusion,  a  Tery 
brief  explanation  of  the  nature  of  inspiration  as  taught  in 
all  Catholic  schools,  and  it  is  as  contained  in  the  writings 
of  the  Fathers,  and  of  all  our  eminent  theologians,  since 
the  Council  of  Trent.  Catholic  teaching  on  this  point  has 
become  still  more  definite  and  dogmatic  since  the  defin- 
itions of  the  Council  of  the  Vatican  abeady  referred  to. 

• 
^  See  Franz,  page  375,  Theaia  IV. 


Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture.     147 

The  points  of  Catholic  do^a  clearlj  defined  are, 
(a)  that  God  is  the  antibor  of  all  the  canonical  books  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  (b)  that  these  books  have  been 
wriUen  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Ood, 
(c)  and  henpe  the  entu-e  books  are  inspired.  The  second 
ct  these  points  more  clearly  and  accurately  defines 
the  meaning  of  the  first;  and  the  third  expresses  the 
abiding  consequence  of  the  other  two,  that  is,  the  in- 
spiration of  the  sacred  books  terminaiive,  as  the  theologians 
€»llil 

God,  then,  is  defined  to  be  the  author  of  all  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  because  they  were  written  under  the  inspiration 
of  His  Holy  Spirit.  Now,  what  is  meant  by  bemg  the 
authoj  of  a  book  in  this  sense  t  It  must  mean  here,  as  it 
means  everywhere  else,  either  that  He  Himself  wrote  it,  as 
He  wrote  me  Tables  of  the  Law,  with  his  own  finger, 
wfaicli,  of  course,  is  out  of  the  question ;  or  that  He  dictated 
the  sacred  bopks  word  for  word  to  the  inspired  penmen, 
an  opinion  which  has  been  held  by  a  few,  but  is  now  justly 
and  generally  rejected ;  or  finally,  as  a  minimum^  it  must 
mean  accordmg  to  the  use  of  language,  that  He  directed 
or  procured  the  writing  of  all  these  sacred  books;  that 
He  eruggested  to  the  sacred  writers  all  the  matter  to  be 
written — ^res  et  sententias — even  that  known  before,  and 
finafly  gave  them  such  constant,  ever  watchful  assistance 
in  the  composition  of  all  these  books  as  to  ensure 
tiiat  eveiytmn^  which  He  wished  should  be  said,  and 
that  notiiing  would  be  said  except  what  He  wished, 
and  hence  that  there  should  be  no  trace  of  falsehood 
or  error,  for  which  He,  the  principal  and  infallible  Author 
of  the  book,  would,  in  that  absurd  h^othesis,  be  held 
renponsible.  The  venr  nature  of  Divme  authorship  re- 
quires this  at  least ;  if  the  instrumental  author  begm  to 
write  motu  proprio,  it  is  in  no  special  sense  God's  work ; 
if  he  write  anything  which  he  is  not  directed  to  write, 
it  is  not  God's  work  so  far ;  and  if  there  could  be  errors 
or  mistakes  in  any  book  written  by  Divine  authority, 
God  could  never  olaim  that  book  whole  and  entire,  witii 
aB  its  parte,  as  purely  and  simply  His  own — as  written  in 
lb  entirety  unaer  uie  inspiration  of  His  Holy  Spirit. 
Bberefo*^  +1^^  Divine  authorship  of  the  Sacred  Books,  in  the 


148     Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture. 

possible,  would  not  be  the  error  of  man,  but  of  GoA  It  is 
as  absurd  to  say  that  a  man  could  commit  sin  under  the 
impulse  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  to  say  that  the  sacred  writer 
could  write  error  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Therefore,  ositiB  de  fide  that  the  Sacred  Bookfiip  whole  and 
entire,  were  written  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  follows,  at  least  as  a  conclusion  theologically 
certain,  that  everything  written  by  the  sacred  writers  is, 
what  it  is  called  in  Scripture,  and  by  the  Church,  and  by  the 
Fathers,  and  by  the  people,  verily  and  indeed  the  Word  of 
God,  unmixed  with  any  false,  or  erroneous,  or  merely  human 
element. 

This  doctrine,  regarding  the  nature  of  inspiration,  does 
not  imply  that  God  did  not,  in  most  cases,  leave  the  choice 
of  the  words  to  the  sacred  writer.  It  does  not  even  imply 
that  the  words  chosen  were  the  most  elegant,  or  most 
appropriate,  for  expressing  the  Divine  ideas  in  the  Writer's 
mind.  It  does  not  imply  the  adoption  of  the  graces  of 
style,  nor  the  niceties  of  grammar,  nor  exactness  in 
scientific  or  rhetorical  arrangement.  But  it  does  imply 
that  the  words  must  be  suitable  to  express  the  writer's 
Divine  thoughts,  that  his  language  must  be  intelligible, 
and  that  the  arrangement  must  not  be  such  as  will  neces- 
sarily lead  the  readers  astray. 

Again,  inspiration  does  not  exclude  antecedent  know- 
ledge of  much  of  the  matter  to  be  written,  nor  labour  in  its 
acquisition,  provided  always  it  is  written  by  the  huma:a 
author  of  the  Sacred  Book,  not  motu  proprioy  but  in  virtue 
of  the  Divine  impulse,  consciously  or  unconsciously  fol- 
lowed, and  written  also  under  the  Divine  guidance,  lest 
any  error  might  creep  in,  of  which,  as  it  could  not  originate 
from  God,  He  could  not  accept  the  authorship  or  respon- 
sibility. 

Neither  does  our  doctrine  on  inspiration  imply  that  it  is 
confined  to  the  autograph  of  the  sacred  writer.  Inspiration 
does  not,  terminative  sumpta,  consist  in  the  material  book  as 
suoh — in  the  handwriting,  the  ink,  and  the  vellum ;  but  it 
consists  in  the  book  as  a  series  of  signs,  with  a  definite  ob- 
jective significance  for  the  mind  of  man :  and  hence  the 
mspired  books  remain,  although  the  autographs  have  all 
perished. 

Of  couree,  what  we  have  been  saying  only  regards  tiiat 
which  has  been  actually  written  by  me  sacrea  writers. 
We  are  not  now  speaking  of  any  additions,  omissions,  or 
other  changes  in  the  sacred  text.    We  know,  however,  for 


Cardinal  Newman  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture.     149 

certain^  that  in  the  Vulgate,  at  least,  these  corruptions  do 
not  involve  any  error  in  faith  or  morals,  or  interfere  with 
the  substantial  integritv  of  the  text. 

It  will  be  observed  that  we  have  not,  except  incidentally, 
appealed  to  Sacred  Scripture  in  support  of  our  views,  nor 
quoted  the  Fathers,  many  of  whom  speak  in  exceedmgly 
strong  language  of  the  impossibility  of  the  smallest  error 
in  Sacred  Scripture.  Neither  have  we  oited  the  authority 
of  all  the  great  scholastic  and  modem  theologians,^  from 
St.  Thomas's  to  the  present  time,  who,  if  they  do  not  go 
much  farther  in  the  durection  of  verbal  inspiration,  without 
exception  deny  the  possibility  of  merely  human,  and  there- 
fore possibly  erroneous,  statements  in  Sacred  Scripture. 

In  conclusion,  we  wish  to  observe,  that  it  is  with  great 
reluctance  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  dissent  from  the  views 
which  Cardinal  Newman  has  put  forward  regarding  the 
inspiration  of  the  Sacred  Scripture.  We  think,  with 
St  Augustine,  that  the  possibility  of  a  falsehood  in  Sacred 
Scripture  woidd  be  fatal  to  the  Sacred  Volume.  "  I  pay 
the  canonical  books,'*  he  adds, "  such  reverence  and  honour, 
that  I  most  firmly  beUeve  that  no  sacred  writer  in  writing 
committed  the  least  mistake."^  On  the  other  hand,  to  use  the 
words  of  the  learned  Patrizi,  while  the  Church  is  silent,  we, 
of  course,  do  not  dare  to  censure  those  views,  but  neither 
do  we  dare  to  hold  them.  In  one  respect  at  least  we  beg 
to  follow  the  excellent  example  of  the  Cardinal,  by  unre- 
servedly submitting  our  observations,  such  as  they  are,  to 
the  judgment,  and,  if  necessary,  to  the  correction  of  our 
ecclesia!stical  superiors. 

John  Healy. 

^The  opinion  of  Lessias,  Du  Hamel,  and  Bonfrere,  pnt  forward  by 
them  only  as  a  hypothesis,  is  no  longer  tenable  since  the  Vatican 
Coimcil.  In  any  case  the  doctrine  of  subsequent  inspiration  does  not 
touch  the  present  ouestion. 

*De  Consensu  JBvang.  L  11,12. 


[    150    ] 

GREENLAND :  WHAT  IS  IT  ? 
The  Question  Answered. 

SOME  nine  months  ago  Baron  Nordenskiold  asked  this 
question :  he  has  since  answered  it  :^  and  perhaps  our 
readers  may  wish  to  have  a  Record  of  his  reply,  as  we  gave 
them  one  of  his  questions  (pp.  358-365,  vol.  ivA  Then  we  set 
forth  his  reasons  for  supposmg  that  Greenland  was  a  country 
in  accordance  with  its  name ;  shut  in,  it  is  true,  by  enormous 
barriers  of  ice,  but  containing  within  that  iron  frame  many 
a  scene  of  sylvan  beauty,  with  fertile  valleys  intersected 
by  mountam  ranges.  He  is  not  a  man  to  rest  content 
with  speculations,  and  so  he  started  last  June  on  a  voyage 
to  the  unknown  land,  to  test  his  theories  by  actual  observa- 
tion. If  our  readers  will  take  the  trouble  to  refer  to  our 
former  article  they  will  see  that  Nordenskiold  explained 
and  maintained  that  the  interior  condition  of  Greenland 
depends  unon  the  configuration  or  orographical  features 
of  the  lanA  K  it  follows  the  same  law  as  tnat  which  pre- 
vails in  England  and  in  Sweden,  as  indeed  also  in  both 
American  Uontinents,  the  highest  points,  or  culminating 
line  of  the  land,  will  run  along  the  west  coast,  and  the  interior 
will  be  such  as  Nordenskiold  suggested ;  if,  on  the  contrary, 
it  rises  gradually  from  both  eastern  and  western  shores  to 
the  centre,  it  will  be  a  land  of  glaciers.'  The  former  eon- 
formation  seemed  the  more  probable,  for,  indeed,  this  latter 
formation  had  not  been  found  in  any  part  of  the  known 
world,  and  why  should  Greenland  be  the  one  exception? 
So,  last  June,  Nordenskiold  sailed  to  the  unknown  land, 
and  landed  on  July  4th,  on  the  western  coast,  at  the  head 
of  tiie  Auleitsivik  Fjord,  whence  he  had  made  his  former 
attack  upon  the  country  in  1870  (see  p.  362),  and  the  next 

*  See  Nature,  vol  29,  pp.  10-18,  89-42. 

>  Fjofessor  Borgen,  in  the  Deutsche  Geographische  BUiUer  (No.  8, 
vol.  yi.),  controverts  these  theories  of  Nordenskiold,  and  maintains 
that,  considering  the  comparatively  short  distance  of  any  part  of  Green- 
land from  the  sea,  and  its  low  average  temperature,  winds  both  from 
the  east  and  west  most  deposit  snow  everywhere  on  the  weather  side  of 
the  mountains  against  which  they  strike,  and  so  maintain  the  conditions 
for  the  formation  of  glaciers.  Tliese  glaciers  again  must,  in  the  course 
of  time,  drift  down  into  the  vaUeys  and  the  lowest  levels,  the  tempera- 
ture of  Greenland,  even  down  to  the  level  of  the  sea,  being  everywhere 
below  the  freezing  j^int.  The  controversy  is  interesting,  and  between 
two  snch  -  distinguished  men  as  Nord^oskiold  |and  ^igen  must 
eventuate  in  the  advance  of  science. 


Greenland  :  What  U  it  ?  151 

morning  the  inland  advance  began^  though,  at  first,  a 
deiour  to  the  north  had  to  be  made  in  order  to  find  a  route 
eastwards  practicable  for  the  aledges  his  party  had  with 
tiiem.  Their  two  Lapps  were  invaluable  wjth  their  long 
$Udar  [pinewood  shoes] ;  they  made  their  way  over  the  ice 
ynih  perfect  ease,  even  though  it  abounded  with  crevasses, 
and  were  of  the  greatest  service  in  tracing  out  the  route  for 
the  advance.  The  expedition  took  only  necessaries,  but  had 
Bofficient  food,  and  suffered  only  from  an  occasional  wetting. 
Their  stout  alpenstocks  were  of  extra  use  in  bridging  over 
numerous  streams  and  frequent  crevasses.  For  the  first 
three  days  the  advance  was  slow  indeed,  averaging  only 
two  and  a-half  miles  a  day.  The  ice  was  at  times  so  un- 
even that  no  tent  could  be  pitched,  sometimes  so  soft  and 
slnfihy  that  a  dry  spot  could  not  be  found,  and  then  again 
it  abounded  in  small  cavities,  into  which  they  often  sUpped 
at  much  risk  of  sprained  ankle&  These  cavities  have  a 
special  scientific  interest  as  Nordenskiold  shows,  but  they 
'^were  perhaps  more  dangerous  to  our  expedition  than 
anything  else  we  were  exposed  to."  They  lie,  with 
a  diameter  just  large  enough  to  hold  the  foot,  as  close  to 
one  another  as  the  stumps  of  trees  in  a  felled  forest,  and  it 
was,  therefore,  impossible  not  to  stumble  into  them  at 
every  moment,  which  was  the  more  annoying  as  it 
happened  just  when  the  foot  was  stretched  for  a  step 
forward,andthetravellerwasprecipitated  to  the  groimd  with 
his  foot  fastened  in  a  hole  3  feet  deep."  Constantly  did  they 
meet  rivers  in  the  ice,  and  these  occasionally  flowed  into 
lakes  which  discharged  themselves  into  deep  abysses.  Then 
the  rate  of  advance  increased  to  six  or  eight  miles  a  day, 
but  all  alon^  the  ascent  was  rapid,  their  ninth  camp  being 
2,400  feet  above  the  sea.  But  ice,  ice  everywhere ;  "  no 
stone  was  found,  not  even  one  as  large  as  a  pin's  head."  Up 
to  the  middle  of  July  the  weather  was  fine  and  mild,  and  tiie 
ascent  had  reached  3,000  feet,  but  then  the  thermometer 
sank  considerably  below  freezing  point,  and  the  nights 
en^ecially  were  very  cold.  Onwards,  but  still  upwards,  yet 
with  gradual  ascent ;  but  no  mountains,  not  even  hiUs,  to 
give  h<y e  of  a  summit  crest  of  the  interior  ;  no  sign  of  the 
hoped-for  Greenland;  but  every  sign  of  that  gradual 
rising  to  the  centre  which  would  account  for  a  land  of 


152  Greenland :   What  is  it  f 

and  they  were  compelled  to  pitch  their  tent  in  wet  snow. 
The  Lapps  were  sent  on,  and  reported  that  the  ice  was 
everywhere  covered  with  water  and  snow.  "It  being 
ntterly  impossible  to  get  the  sledges  further  on,"  says 
Nordenskiold,  "  I  had  no  choice.  J  decided  to  turn  back" 
But  Nordenskiold  resolved  upon  giving  the  Lapps  a  nm 
eastwards  for  four  days  to  see  if  anything  more  promising 
should  show  itself  in  that  last  eflFort.  So,  at  2  a.m.,  on  the 
22nd,  they  started,  but  on  the  24th  they  returned,  after  an 
absence  of  S8  hours,  and  it  is  believed  that  they  advanced 
72  miles,  and  attained  an  altitude  at  their  tummg  point  of 
6,600  feet.  They  returned  because,  after  about  half  way 
out,  no  more  drmkinff  water  was  met  with  by  the  Lapps, 
when  the  ice  became  level  and  smooth.  But  what  of  the 
promised  Greenland  ?  This  is  their  report : — "  From  their 
furthest  point  they  saw  no  trace  of  land  appearing  above  the 
surface  of  the  ice,  nothing  but  an  even  sheet  of  ice,  rising  in 
terraces,  covered  with  snow  to  the  depth  of  about  four  feet 
The  only  living  things  they  saw  were  two  ravens  which 
came  from  the  north,  and  swept  round,  disappearing  in  the 
same  direction."  At  night  the  cold  was  intense,  frequently 
down  to  zero,  Fahrenheit.  While  they  were  shivering  in 
their  now  constantly  wet  clothes,  awaiting  the  return  of 
the  Lapps,  a  dry,  warm  mist  descended  upon  them,  and 
dried  their  dresses.  So  the  return  journey  is  made  without 
accident,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  they  regain  the  Fjord. 

What  is  the  outcome  of  the  expedition  t  Nordenskiold 
was  right  in  foreseeing  that  it  would  turn  out  to  be  a  land 
of  ice,  if  its  orographical  features  were  such  as  they  proved 
to  be.  He  was  wrong  only  in  supposing  that  Greenland 
would  not  be  the  sole  exception  in  me  world  to  the 
general  rule.  At  any  rate  he  solved  the  enigma,  he 
answered  his  own  question ;  and  in  so  doing  he  was  able, 
by  the  help  of  his  Lapps,  "  to  penetrate  into  the  very  heart 
of  Greenland,  and  thus  to  be  the  first  to  explore  the 
interior  of  the  only  continent  into  which  man  had  not 
previously  been  able  to  penetrate," 

Several  scientific  inquiries,  of  which  we  spoke  last 
June,  were  investigated,  but  of  'these  we  need  not  here 
speak.  Now  we  know  that  Greenland  has  no  bright, 
fertile  interior — none  of  those  mountains  and  valleys  upon 
which  the  imagination  delighted  to  dwell,  but  instead  it 
is — if  we  may  venture  to  quote  our  own  words  (p.  361), 
which  we  little  thought  to  have  so  closely  verified — "  a 
frozen  mass  of  ice,  with  nought  of  mother  efiu*th  visible  and 


Systems  of  Grace.  153 

profitable ;  a  barren,  lifeless,  fruitless  waste,  one  enormous 
glacier;  the  last  remnant  of  that  terrible  glacial  wave 
which  once  swept  over  our  Europe,  and  extmguished  or 
drove  away  the  fife  which  previously  prevailed,  and  made 
it  for  a  time  a  veritable  desert ;  and  then,  when  life  and 
heat  once  more  came,  and  the  earth  smiled  into  plenteous 
harvests,  and  rejoiced  in  the  new  life  of  her  children,  did 
the  cold  death-hand  linger  on  this  ill-fated  spot,  and  men 
mocked  it  with  the  strange  name  of  Greenland. 

Hbnry  Bedford. 


SYSTEMS  OP  GRACE. 
No.n. 


IN  measuring  the  share  which  human  fiberty  has  in  the 
performance  of  a  salutary  act,  it  is  evident  that  the 
via  media  is  the  only  safe  guide.  We  must  not  exaggerate 
its  influence,  for,  by  so  doing,  we  should  fall  into  semi- 
Pelagianism.  Neither  can  we  unduly  extenuate  that 
influence,  for  undue  extenuation  would  cany  us  headlong 
mto  even  more  revolting  error&  On  the  one  hand  we 
cannot  attribute  to  man  even  the  "  initium  *'  of  a  salutary 
work,  remembering  that  over  no  purely  human  foundation 
can  a  supernatural  structure  be  raised.  On  the  other  hand 
we  must  maintain  that  man  is  truly  and  unequivocally  the 
responsible  cause  of  that  salutary  act ;  that  he  is  not  the 
"  inanime  quoddam  "  through  which  a  superior  intelUgence 
works,  nor  his  will  a  passive,  sleeping  faculty,  that  receives 
the  substance  and  form  of  its  motion  from  the  dominating 
will  of  another.  Whatever  analysis  we  may  make  of  the 
complex  or  concurring  causes  of  the  salutary  act,  we  must 
vincEcate  for  man's  will  a  complete  and  abiding  freedom. 
The  words  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  speaking  of  efficacious 
grace,  are  clear — ^^  quippe  qui  illam  et  abjicere  potest." 

1.  The  very  definition  of  the  **  supernatural "  places  it 
on  an  elevation  to  which  unassisted  human  nature  cannot 
reach,  and  towards  which  it,  unaided,  can  make  no  progres- 
sive step.  **  Supernaturale  est  quidquid  exigentias  et  vires 
natoras  superat."  This  is  why  all  the  theologians  of  every 
school  maintain  (for  it  is  Catholic  doctrine)  that  before  man 
can  ever  contemplate  the  doing  of  a  supernatural  act,  the 

VOL.  V.  M 


154  Systems  of  Grace. 

faculties  of  his  soul  must  have  been  themselves  super- 
naturalized  by  God's  ^  illuminating  "  and  **  elevating" 
grace.  The  most  perfectly  formed  organ  of  vision  cannot 
see  without  light;  n,or-can  the  most  exquisite  piece  of 
mechanism  act  upon  an  object  placed  beyond  the  range  of 
its  influence.  Hence  thev  all  hold — and  must  hold — ^that 
before  the  human  will  is  m  a  position  to  even  desire  what 
is  supematurally  good,  it  must  nave  undergone  preparation 
at  the  hands  of  God,  and  that  this  preparation  is  God's 
purely  gratuitous  gtft,  to  which  man  can  establish  no 
shadow  of  claim.  "Non  quod  sufficientes  sumus  aliquid 
cogitare  a  nobis,  quasi  ex  nobis ;  sed  sufficientia  nostra  ex 
Deo  est"  (2  Cor.  3,  5). 

Thus  far,  if  you  will,  all  theologians  are  Thomists,  for 
they  all  hold  (in  conformity  with  CathoUc  dogma)  that  this 
illumiaation  of  the  intellect  and  inspiration  of  the  will  are 
in  nobis  sine  nobis. 

Yet  even  all  this  is  not  enough  for  the  doing  of  the 
salutary  act;  for  thus  far  man  has  only  undergone  that 
preparation  which  is  necessary  that  his  intellect  may  form 
its  judgment,  and  that  his  will  may  be  disposed  to  embrace 
the  good  things  of  the  higher  order.  A  new  grace,  or  (as 
many  say)  a  new  function  of  this  preparative  grace,  is 
further  required  in  order  that  man  may  de  facto  perform  the 
act  for  wnich  those  graces  were  given.  This  is  called 
"  gratia  adjuvans,"  and,  like  the  former  (if  it  be  a  distinct 
grace)  is  in  nobis  sine  nobis.  We  can  do  nothing  to 
merit  it — ^though,  by  misconduct,  we  may  disquaUfy 
ourselves  from  receiving  it — "  Dei  enim  donum  est,  ne  quis 
glorietur." 

It  may  or  may  not  have  been  necessary  to  premise 
all  this;  but  we  do  so  by  way  of  forewarning  that 
when,  in  any  system,  theologians  speak  of  the  action 
of  man's  will,  they  always  mean  the  will  of  man  prepared 
and  supematurah'zed  by  grace.  They  never  speak  of  it  as 
a  merely  natural  faculty. 

2.  At  this  stage  we  have  the  two  elements  essential  to 
the  performance  of  a  salutary  act.  We  have  (1)  the  abun- 
dant "gratia  adjuvans'*  which  God  gives,  and  (2)  a  free 
human  soul,  thus  enlightened,  thus  inspired,  thus  imbued 
and  penetrated  by  supernatural  life  and  dueposed  towards 
good.  Grace  and  free  will  form  together  the  potestas 
adaequata  to  the  performance  of  the  act ;  and  the  act,  when 
perfonned,  is  directly  attributable  to  each  as  to  its  cause. 
It  is  God's  act ;  "  Deus  est  enim  qui  operatur  in  nobis  velle 


Syitems  of  Grace.  155 

et  perficere."    No  less  truly  is  it  man's  act :  "  Merces  mea 
in  manu  mea,  reddere  unicuique  secundum  opera  ejusJ* 

Thus  we  arrive  at  the  question  in  controversy :  What 
sets  this  caitaa  adaequata  in  motion  ? 

3.  It  cannot  be  the  physical  premotion  of  the  Thomists, 
which  begins  by  eliminating  man's  freedom. 

Nor,  for  the  same  reason,  can  it  be  any  intrinsic  quality 
of  the  grace  which  so  dazzles  and  draws  and  overwhelms 
the  will  by  its  attractiveness,  that  resistance  or  non-com- 
pliauce  is  a  veritable — ^albeit  merely  a  moral — ^impossibility. 

Neither  can  it  be  such  a  mechanical  creation  or  adjust- 
ment of  surrounding  circumstances  ("  Cum  Dei  sit  circum- 
fitantias  ordinare."  Suarez).  that  the  will  sees  no  escape 
from  yielding  its  assent — the  circumstances  being  so 
artifitically  contrived,  or  availed  of,  that  it  will  seek  none. 

Whence,  therefore,  comes  the  ulterior  impulse  in  response 
to  which  the  causa  adaequata  becomes  operative? 

On  the  one  hand,  "gratia  adjuvans"  cannot  take  the 
ioitiative,  for  the  will  is  free  to  repel  it  (Trent.)  On  the 
other  it  would  be  preposterous  to  conceive  man  direct- 
ing the  movements  of  grace  ;  and  thus  we  are,  of  sheer 
necessity,  straitened  to  hold  that  the  salutary  act  is 
produced  by  the  simultaneous  movement  of  both  grace 
and  free  will.  "Non  partim  gratia,  partim  liberum 
arbitrium,  sed  totam  singula  opere  individuo  peragunt." 
(St.  Bernard  apud  Jungmann). 

4.  This  simultaneity  of  action  reveals  to  us  in  matters 
spiritual  the  same  wakeful  vigilance  of  Providence  which 
is  momentarily  exercised  in  our  ordinary  acts.  We  know 
that  for  each  ordinary  act,  no  matter  how  trivial,  we  stand 
in  need  of  the  Divine  concurrence  to  work  with  our  faculties 
whether  of  mind  or  body.  These  allied  influences  begin  at 
absolutely  the  same  indivisible  instant;  they  work  together, 
and  desist  from  working  at  the  same  moment.  Remove 
the  interval  that  lies  between  the  igniting  of  a  train  of 
gunpowder  and  the  explosion  that  follows  it,  and  we  have 
Borne  idea  of  this  simultaneity.  Subtract  the  time  which 
an  electric  current  consumes  in  traversing  the  length  of  an 
inconceivably  short  wire,  and  the  action  of  the  fluid  upon 
objects  at  either  pole  gives  us  a  notion  of  simultaneity. 
All  these  illustrations,  however,  being  derived  from  material 
things,  are  necessarily  cramped  and  inadequate.  If  we 
could  reason  from  observation  upon  immaterial  objects, 
the  difficulty  of  conception  would  vanish. 

5.  We  may  form  a  fair  estimate  of  the  agency  of  the 


156  Systems  of  Grace. 

human  will  in  the  performance  of  a  salutary  act,  by 
expanding  the  idea  of  what  occurs  in  the  "reviviscence" 
of  a  sacrament.  The  sanctifying  and  sacramental  graces 
are  produced  by  the  vaUd  sacramental  act,  but  their 
entrance  into  the  soul  is  stayed  by  the  presence  of  some 
obstacle.  Remove  it,  and  all  at  once  the  soul  is  flooded 
by  the  full  tide  of  grace.  Similarly,  the  sufficient  grace 
lies  around  and  invests  the  will;  the  ejfficacixi  virtutu  is 
there :  let  the  will  but  yield  to  the  tendency  that  has  been 
^ven  to  it  by  preparative  grace,  and  the  ejfficacia  cannexiojiis 
is  established. 

6.  No  doubt,  the  will  has  plenaiy  power  to  resist  and 
refuse  comphance ;  but  the  "  preventing  '*  grace  has  con- 
ferred upon  it  the  inestimable  privilege  of  being  in  a 
position  of  making,  if  it  so  pleases,  the  better  choice. 

7.  This  may  be  the  fitting  place  to  advert  to  the  only 
objection  of  moment  raised  against  the  structure  of  thiB 
system. 

Granting  that  absolute  simultaneity  is  possible,  from 
what  principle  comes  the  antecedent  determination  of  the 
will  to  co-operate  with  the  motions  of  grace?  If  we  say 
that  it  is  from  a  new  grace,  our  system  relapses  into 
Thomism.  If  we  replv  that  it  is  from  the  native  energy  of 
the  will  itself,  we  fell  into  semi-Pelagianism,  If  we  say 
that  it  is  from  "  preventing  "  grace,  we  transform  it  into 
«<  efficacious,"  and  the  same  question  returns  upon  ua 

The  objection  is  founded  on  a  falsely  assumed  analogy 
between  things  material  and  spiritual,  and  the  answer  to  it 
is  very  simple.  No  such  determination  of  the  will,  as 
distinct  from  the  consent  itself,  is  necessary  or  indeed 
possible.  If  it  were  possible,  it  follows  that  this  determin- 
ation, being  in  se  an  act  of  the  will,  must  (in  the  theory  of 
the  objection)  be  preceded  by  one  still  earlier — and  thus  a 
final  consent  coula  never  be  given,  because  the  series  of 
antecedent  acts  could  never  be  begun. 

8.  Such — in  ve^y  imperfect  outline — is  the  theoi^ 
which  Molina  formulated  into  the  system  known  by  his 
name — "  doctrina  quae  (sola)  semper,  ubique,  cimctis 
fidelibus,  doctis  et  indoctis,  justis  et  injustis,  tutissime  et 
fructuosissime  prsedicari  potest "  (Dr.  Murray). 

9.  It  is  evident  that  the  system  of  Molina  is  not 
exposed  to  the  objections  that  surroimd  Thomism  and  the 
others.  It  neither  imperils  the  existence  of  Hberty  nor 
impoverishes  sufficient  grace.  It  is  the  only  system  that 
makes  manifest  the  ^^  copious  redemption  "  and  -bountiful 


Systems  of  Grace.  157' 

love  of  God,  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  which  the  Divine 
exhortationB  and  threats  and  punishments  accord  with  His 
jastice.  It  alone  affords  intelligible  interpretation  of  myriad 
passages  of  Sacred  Scripture.  In  the  work  of  salvation 
two  only  are  concerned,  God  and  ma^.  The  inference  is 
easy.  If  that  work  fail  of  accomplishment,  the  failure 
must  be  attributable  wholly  to  one  or  partially  to  both. 
That  God  has  no  share  in  the  failure — even  in  those  *'  dura  < 
cervice  et  incircumcisis  cordibus  et  auribus  " — ^is  proclaimed 
over  and  over  again  in  Sacred  Scripture.  In  fact,  God 
speaks  there  like  one  oppressed  by  an  anxiety  that  this 
shonld  be  made  clear:  He  even  -condescends  to  invoke • 
upon  it  the  verdict  of  men  :    ' 

"Ye  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  ye  men  of  Juda, 
]ndge  between  me  and  my  vineyard.  What  more  is  there  that 
I  ought  to  do  for  my  vineyard,  that  I  have  not  done  for  it  t 
...  I  looked  that  he  should  do  judgment,  and  behold 
iniquity :  and  do  justice,  and  behold  a  cry  1"     (Isaias  v.) 

**  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me,  saying,  .  .  . 
Thou,  therefore,  O  son  of  man,  say  to  the  house  of  Israel : 
Thus  you  have  spoken,  saying :  Our  iniquities  and  our  sins 
are  upon  us,  and  we  pine  away  in  them :  how  then  can  we 
live?  Say  to  them :  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  desire  not 
the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his 
ijcay  and  live.  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways ;  and 
why  will  you  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ?  .  .  And  if  I  shall 
say  to  the  wicked.  Thou  shalt  surely  die :  and  he  do  penance 
for  his  sinSf  and  do  judgment  and  justice^  he  shall  surely  live 
and  shall  not  die,  &c."     (EzecL  33.) 

*'  God  made  man  from  the  beginning  and  left  him  in 
the  hand  of  his  own  cotmseL  He  added  his  commandments 
and  precepts:  If  thou  toiU  keep  his  commandments  and 
perform  acceptable  fidelity  for  erer,  they  shall  preserve  thee. 
Ee  hath  set  water  and  fire  before  thee :  stretch  forth  thy  hand 
to  which  thou  toUt"    (Eccles.  15.) 

"  My  son,  if  thou  wilt  receive  my  words  .  .  .  incline 
Ay  heart  to  know  prudence  .  .  .  Forget  not  my  law, 
^d  let  thy  heart  keep  my  commandments  •  •  .  Let  not 
mercy  and  truth  leave  thee,  put  them  about  thy  neck^  and 
vrite  them  in  the  tablets  of  thy  hearty  Ac,  &o."     {Prov.) 

10.  In  an  essay  of  this  kind  it  would  be  out  of  place 
to  give  farther  proofs  from  Sacred  Scripture  of  the  doc- 
trine that  forms  the  weft  and  warp-thread  of  Revelation — 
the  doctrine,  namely,  that  pre-supposes  and  proclaims  that 
the  doing  or  neglecting  of  salutary  works  ninges,  (in  the 


158  Systems  of  Grrace. 

sense  emlained)  upon  man's  volition.  God  supplies  his 
share  in  bountiful  abundance.  All  the  rest,  fbr  better  or 
for  worse,  lies  with  man. 

11.  Molina  and  his  followers,  strenuously  rejecting  the 

Sredestination  of  the  Thomists,  &c.,  assert  that  God's  first 
ecree  secured  to  all  men  indiscriminately  an  abundance 
of  graces  of  such  "  sufficiency  "  that  the  mere  acceptance 
of  them  by  man  would  make  them  efficacious  of  salutary 
acts.  (2)  That  God  saw  from  eternity  what  use  man,  in 
the  exercise  of  his  freedom,  would  make  of  these  ffracea 
(3)  That  God,  in  possession  of  this  fore-knowledge, 
enrolled  in  the  Book  of  the  Elect  those  who  (as  He  fore- 
saw) would  persevere  in  grace  to  the  end.  In  other 
words — if  we  may  i^eak  in  apparent  paradox — ^the  Book 
of  God's  Predestined  is  a  transcript,  made  by  anticipation, 
from  the  record  of  his  own  future,  which  each  man,  day  by 
day,  writes  by  his  own  life.  This  is  Predestination  post 
pravisa  merita, 

12.  In  sustainment  of  this  doctrine  from  sacred  Scrip- 
ture, the  MoUnists  are  chiefly  concerned  in  evolving  such 
interpretation  as  fits  in  with  their  theory,  from  those 

Eassages  which  seem  to  speak  of  the  antecedent  PROPOSITUM 
>EL  This  they  do  abundantly ;  and  it  must  be  remembered 
that  they  cannot  be  required  to  do  more.  Nevertheless, 
they  go  farther  and  trace  the  plain  revealing  of  predestina- 
tion post  prcevisa  merita  in  many  texts.  For  example : 
^  Then  shall  the  King  say  to  them  that  shall  be  on  his  right 
hand :  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  possess  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world*  FOR  I  teas 
hungry  and  you  gave  me  to  eatj  ^c."  Here,  they  say,  the 
Divine  Judge  not  merely  rewards  the  good  works  of  man, 
but  proclaims  that  a  throne  was  prepared  from  eternity  in 
order  to  reward  their  charity.  This  would  clearly  be 
predestination  post  prcevisa  merita.  A^ain,  they  discover 
this  doctrine  in  the  parable  of  the  mamage  feast*  "  Many 
were  called"  by  preventing  grace*:  of  these  some  "  would 
not  come  " ;  others  "  neglected  and  went  their  ways,  one 
to  his  farm,  another  to  his  merchandise:"  "few  were 
chosen'*  to  sit  at  the  banquet,  namely,  those  alone  who 
clothed  themselves  in  "  the  wedding  garment."  The  same 
doctrine,  they  say,  is  formally  propoimded  by  St.  Paul  in 
his  arrangement  of  the  divmo  decrees:  "Whom  [1]  He 
foreknew  He  [2]  predestined  to  be  made  conformable  to 
the  image  of  His  Son  .  «  •  and  whom  He  predestined, 
them  He  also  [3]  called,  and  whom  He  called,  them  He 


Systems  of  Grace^  159 

abo  [4]  justified,  and  whom  he  justifiedy  them  He  also 
[5]  glorified" 

13.  Retoming  at  last  to  the  question  with  which  wo 
firt  out,  let  ns  see  bow  does  the  system  of  Molina  explain 
the  "mystery  of  God's  prevision  and  man's  perfect 
freedom." 

It  most  be  admitted  that  this  system,  unlike  Thomism 
and  the  rest,  establishes  complete  himian  liberty,  whereas 
the  others  begin  by  extinguishing  it.  It  also  amply  pro- 
Tides  for  God's  unalterable  and  infaUible  foreknowledge 
of  man's  free  acts.  For,  how,  in  this  theory,  does  God 
foreknow  themt  Through  a  mediimi  which  is  "termi- 
nated" in  their  actual  free  performance.  To  form  a 
conceptionjof  this  scientia  divtna,  let  us  examine  its  imper- 
fect counterpart  as  it  exists  in  man.  In  man  it  is  called 
conjectural  mowledge,  and  may  be  invested  with  much 
accuracy.  Instances  of  it  are  of  daily  occurrence.  We 
may  mention,  as  an  illustration,  that  one  of  the  London 
Monthlies,  pubUshed  in  1867,  predicted  the  outbreak  of  a 
Franco-German  war  to  happen  within  a  few  years ;  and, 
with  almost  prophetic  inerrancy,  foreshadowed,  even  in 
detail,  its  probable  duration,  its  varied  fortime,  and  final 
iflBae,  To-day,  the  knowing  ones,  even  outside  the 
cabinet,  can  tell  us  who  will  be  the  next  Liberal  Premier, 
and  who  will  be  the  chief  officers  of  state  during  his 
administration. 

14.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  in  these  and  the  hundred 
other  examples  that  will  suggest  themselves,  the  liberty  of 
those  concerned  is  not  affected  by  our  conjectures  regard- 
ing their  acts.  On  the  contrary,  the  more  inviolate  that 
h*berty  is  preserved,  the  nearer  to  the  truth  will  be  our 
forecasting. 

15.  With  God,  however,  there  is  no  conjecture,  for 
conjecture  involves  liabiHty  to  error.  His  knowledge  of 
future  events  is  perfect :  He  knows  them  because  from  all 
eternity  they  were  objective  truths,  and  no  element  of 
*  necessity"  is  needed  that  the  event  may  verify  that  fore- 
knowledge. 

All  this  will  become  much  more  strikingly  evident  if 
we  revert  to  the  idea  which  theologians  give  us  of  the  • 
Eternity  of  God.    God  sees  through  duration,  as  a  medium, 
jittt  as  we  see  through  space ;  and  just  as  our  seeing  the 
present  act  of  a  free  agent  does  not  rob  him  of  his  freedom^ 


1 60  Reminiscences  of  MaynootL 

revolves  in  the  circumference.  With  God  the  past,  and 
present,  and  future  have  present  existence  and  are  the 
objects  of  His  Divine  vision — which  cannot  be  dimmed 
by  His  having  bestowed  free  agency  upon  man. 

Futura  srmt  Deo  praesentia,  non  soltmi  objective  et 
intentionaliter,  sed  physice  et  realiter.  Est  communis  inter 
Thomistas  quibus  jungunturMoHna  et  alii."  (BiLLUART.) 

C.  J.  M. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  MAYNOOTH.— No.  U. 

IN  the  account  which  appeared  in  the  May  nimiber  of  the 
Record,  of  the  foundation  of  Maynoofli  College,  some 
things,  from  space  being  limited,  were  omitted,  which  I 
now  purpose  laying  before  the  reader — some  of  them, 
though  not  essential,  with  the  hope  that  they  will  be 
interesting  to  the  readers  of  the  RECORD ;  others  of  primary 
importance,  and  necessary  for  the  completeness  of  the 
account  itself. 

Maynooth  College  is,  in  many  respects,  remarkable. 
So  great  a  number  of  ecclesiastical  students  educated  in 
the  same  college  is,  1  beUeve,  nowhere  else  to  be  seen.  A 
National  college,  too,  for  all  the  dioceses  of  a  country,  is 
rather  an  exceptional  form;  the  diocesan  seminary,  as 
regulated  by  the  Council  of  Trent,  being  the  ordinary 
mode  of  providing  for  the  education  of  the  clergy.  But 
whether  It  be  more  or  less  perfect  from  those  circumstances 
is  beyond  my  power  of  estunating :  the  matter  was  doubt- 
less thought  of  by  those  concerned  in  founding  the 
^^  peramplum  seminarium,"  as  it  was  called.  In  calling  the 
attention  of  the  reader  to  the  subject,  I  should  add  that 
what  I  have  called  the  exceptional  form  of  Maynooth  is 
itself  in  accordance  with  the  Council,  as  the  country  was 
then  clearly  in  those  circumstances  in  which  they  leave  it> 
to  the  discretion  of  the  bishops  to  unite  the  resources  of 
two  or  more  dioceses  in  the  same  seminary.^ 

One  considerable  advantage,  it  seems  to  me,  in  this 
country,  from  a  national  college,  is,  that  it  tends  to  dimin* 
ish  the  elements  of  discord  that  were  but  too  prevalent 
in  Ireland  in  past  times.  For,  a  body  like  the  CathoUo 
clergy,  who  were  educated  in  the  same  place,  and  had 

^C.  Trid.  Se«3.  28,  de  Bef.  18,  ad  finem. 


Beminiscenees  of  MaipiootJi.  161 

fonned  acquaintances  and  fiiendships,  and  have  in  many 
reepects  a  community  of  ideas — ^'  facies  non  omnibus  una, 
nee  diversa  tiMuen,  qualis  debet  esse  sororum  " — ^by  their 
infinence  with  the  people  amongst  whom  they  are  placed, 
most  have  great  power  to  counteract  the  habits  of  disunion. 

In  the  sketch  that  has  already  appeared  of  the  Maynooth 
foundation,  I  said  that  '^the  great  body  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  of  Ireland  "  were  educated  there.  Fearing  that  to  be 
an  overstatement,  and  as  some  might  wish  for  more  accu* 
racy,  I  securched  the  matter  out.  In  1855  the  Commissioners, 
I  find,  inquired  about  this  subject ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  the 
English  Directory  for  1853  was  given  to  Dr.  Renehan,  then 
President;  and  he  was  requested  to  mark  off,  in  the  hsts  of 
the  clergy  therein,  the  names  of  those  who  were  educated 
at  Maynooth.  After,  he  says,  a  careful  examination  of  the 
lists,  file  return  he  gave  to  the  Commissioners  was,  that 
1,222  were  educated  at  Maynooth,  and  1,069  in  other  col- 
leges, some  on  the  Continent,  some  in  Ireland.  To  the 
1,222,  which  represented  the  parochial  clergy,  were  to  be 
added  52  others  engaged  as  chaplains  or  in  colleges.  The 
number  of  students  now  at  Maynooth  is,  I  believe,  about 
ihe  same  as  then ;  and  I  am  not  aware  of  anything  that 
would  make  the  proportion  at  present  much  different  from 
what  it  was  then. 

Being  an  alumnus  of  Maynooth  myself,  I  acknowledge 
a  leaning  to  those  who  studied  there ;  and  I  will  now  give 
them  some  useful  advice.  In  former  times,  when  all  were 
educated  abroad,  there  was  cause  of  complaint,  it  appears, 
that  some  were  in  the  habit  of  ^ving  exaggerated  acccTunts 
of  what  they  had  seen  in  foreign  countries ;  seemingly  to 
increase  their  influence.  In  a  theological  treatise  written 
shortly  before  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  for  the  use  of 
missionaries,  I  find  some  of  them  referred  to  as  ^*  ad  fabulas 
convertentes  de  suis  magnificis  gestis  (quamvis  falsis),  et 
de  moiibus  Gallorum,  Hispanorum,  &c.,  et  de  rebus  mira- 
bilibus  ab  ipsis  visis  tractantes."  I  am  not  aware  that  any 
of  those  at  the  present  day  who  were  educated  abroad 
would  use  such  means  to  draw  the  people  to  themselves. 
I  hope  not.  But  if  the  Maynooth  men  should  feel  aggrieved 
m  that  way,  or  have  their  just  influence  imperilled,  I  would 


162  Reminiscences  of  MaynootK 

home,  and  some  abroad,  is  surely  the  most  perfect  way.  It 
will  be  useful  as  well  as  agreeable  to  communicate,  each  to 
other,  what  they  have  learned  and  seen ;  and  some  degree 
of  emulation,  which  wiU  best  promote  the  common  purpose, 
will  not  be  undesirable,  while  they  labour  together  in  the 
vineyard. 

When  treating  of  the  foundation  of  the  College,  it 
would  clearly  belong  to  the  subject  to  give  some  account 
of  the  first  staff  of  oflScers  who  managed  the  institution. 
But  of  most  of  them,  but  few  particulars  can  now  bo 
gleaned.  I  have  spoken  of  some  of  them  already,  espe- 
cially of  Dr.  Hussey, 

About  this  time,  owing  to  the  French  Revolution,  there 
were  many  dispossessed  of  th6ir  places  in  the  Continental 
Colleges ;  and  several  of  the  first  appointments  at  Maynooth 
were  from  those. 

Dr.  Power,  who  was  appointed  vice-president,  was  a 
native  of  Clonmel.  He  studied  in  Paris,  and  was  ordained 
for  the  diocese  of  Cloyne.  Going  into  the  diocese  of 
Avignon,  in  France,  he  became  a  Canon  of  that  diocese, 
and  subsequently  Archdeacon,  till  he  was  expelled  by  the 
Revolution ;  when  he  returned  to  Ireland.  He  held  oflSce 
at  Maynooth  for  fifteen  years,  when  he  resigned,  burdened 
with  years ;  and  afterwards  taught  the  Church  ceremonies 
to  the  students.  He  died  in  1817,  and  was  the  first  interred 
in  the  college  cemetery. 

There  was  no  Dean  appointed  till  January,  *98. 
Dr.  Ferris  was  the  fii'st  Dean  of  the  college.  He  was  a 
native  of  the  Kerry  diocese,  and  made  his  studies  in  France, 
where  he  became  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University 
of  Paris,  and  Rector  of  the  Irish  College,  then  called  of  the 
Lombards.  During  the  Revolution  he  returned  to  Ireland. 
After  serving  in  the  deanship  for  three  years  he  went  to 
the  chair  of  Moral  Theology.  He  died  about  1810,  and 
was  interred  in  Laragh  Brien :  but  as  he  belonged  to  the 
Vincentian  Order,  they  have  of  late  years  removed  his 
remains  to  their  cemetery  in  Castleknocfe. 

The  earliest  of  the  French  professors  that  came  to 
Maynooth  was  Dr.  Delort,  in  *95.  He  was  from  the  dioceee 
of  Bourdeaux,  and  was  doctor  of  laws  in  that  city.  He 
was  appointed  to  the  Physic  class,  which  he  taught  for 
four  or  five  years.  Dr.  Darre  was  appointed  to  the  lorfo 
class  in  '96 ;  and  in  1801  he  succeeded  Dr.  Delort  in  the 
Physic  chair,  which  he  held  for  twelve  years.  The  treatise 
on  Geometry  composed  by  him  must  have  been  considered 


Remimscenc€9  of  Maynooilu  '  163 

well  adapted  for  the  college  course,  as  it  has  kept  its  place 
as  class-book  since  his  time,  and  continues  so  to  the  pre- 
sent day.  Both  these  seem  to  have  returned  to  France 
when  affairs  there  settled  down. 

Dr.  Ahem,  who  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Moral 
Theology,  was  from  the  diocese  of  Kerry.  He  came  from 
France,  where  he  had  been  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Paris,  and  Canon  of  the  diocese  of  Qiartres« 
He  died  in  February,  1801. 

The  Western  Province,  too,  was  represented  on  that 
firat  list  of  professors.  Dr.  Clancy,  who  was  made  Pro- 
fessor of  Sacred  Scripture,  was  from  the  diocese  of  Tuam. 
He  had  been  a  Lector  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of 
Prague :  and,  after  one  year's  professorship  of  Scripture  at 
Haynooth,  he  returned  to  Prague  in  1797.  Galway  also 
furnished  a  member  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Lovelock,  who 
was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Humanity,  and  subsequently 
to  that  of  Rhetoric.^ 

Of  those  Founders  of  the  College,  as  I  may  call  them,  I 
regret  I  cannot  give  a  more  detailed  account.  One  might 
reasonably  wish  to  know  something  more  of  each  of  them, 
as — ^was  he  mild  or  austere  in  his  manner ;  was  he  social, 
or  disposed  to  silence  and  solitude ;  what  power  of  memory 
had  he,  or  of  other  mental  faculties ;  what  degree  of  learn- 
ing, and  in  what  departments ;  what  faciUty  or  eloquence; 
are  any  sayings  recorded  of  hhn,  of  wisdom  or  of  wit ;  and 
for  his  pupils,  what  was  his  manner  of  explaining,  and  how 
cKd  he  endeavour  to  form  them  in  piety  or  m  their  studies,  as 
his  office  might  be ;  and  what  degree  of  attachment  had  they 
for  him  ?  But  it  is  vain  to  inqmre.  Their  merits  and  their 
imperfections  are  alike  unknown, "  Carent  quia  Vate  sacro." 

To  those  of  my  readers  at  least  who  studied  at  May- 
Dooth  everything  in  it  must  be  interesting,  the  grounds  and 
walks,  the  trees,  the  buildings.  But,  for  those  who  saw  it 
ai  the  earlier  period,  many  changes  have  been  made,  and 
noted  objects  effaced.  On  the  terrace  near  the  Senior 
iDfirmaiy  there  was  a  hawthorn  called  the  third  year's 
Divines  ^ush,  because  the  budding  of  its  leaves  in  Spring 
\ye  notice  to  that  class,  then  the  highest,  to  prepare  for 
img.    That  part  of  the  terrace  has  disappeared,  being 


164  Reminiscences  of  Maynooth» 

formed  in  early  times  the  College  boundary  on  that  side, 
before  the  enclosing  wall  was  bunt.  About  the  central  part 
of  it,  betwe^en  the  two  rows  of  trees,  it  was  interrupted  by 
a  pond ;  which  also  was  part  of  the  boundary.  About  that 
pond  many  stories  used  to  be  told  of  jiunping  feats  by 
students  wno  cleared  it.  The  pond  is  long  since  closed  up, 
its  site  being  traceable  only  by  a  sUght  depression  in  the 
groimd*  The  two  large  yew  ^ees  in  the  front  square,  had, 
in  former  times,  the  walk  passing  between  tnem;  and 
spectres  were  said  to  be  sometimes  seen  dancing  between 
them  by  moonlight.  The  walk  has  been  taken  away,  and 
replaced  by  another  through  the  centre  of  the  square ;  and 
two  young  trees  have  been  planted  on  the  south  side  in 
places  corresponding  with  the  old  yews,  and  they  are  fast 
putting  forth  their  strength  to  compete  with  their  northern 
companions.  In  the  garden  there  was  a  Harp  formed  of 
boxwood,  planted  so  as  to  represent  beautifully  the  frame 
and  strings;  and  it  was  always  kept  neatly  trimmed  into 
form.  It  was  said  by  some  to  be  the  work  of  Paul  O'Brien, 
the  Professor  of  Irish ;  by  others,  of  the  French  Professors, 
who  were  beheved  to  have  a  great  taste  for  such  thmgs ;  for 
the  tradition  varied  on  the  subject.  The  latter  account  is 
rendered  more  probable  by  the  following  anecdote  which 
was  formerly  current.  On  some  Visitation  day,  when  the 
Judges  were  visitors,  Lord  Manners,  the  Chancellor,  was 
lookmg  at  that  part  of  the  garden  where  the  Harp  was, 
amongst  the  flower  beds,  accompanied  by  some  of  the 
Professors,  who  acted  as  cicerones ;  when  Lord  Norbury, 
who  was  in  the  garden  at  the  same  time,  came  towards 
them,  and  exclaimed, "  Oh,  my  Lord,  I  regret  it  will  be  my 
duty  to  report  you  to  the  Government,  as  I  have  caught 
you  with  the  Maynooth  Professors  in  a  French  plot."  The 
place  where  the  Harp  was,  is  now  enclosed  within  the  new 
square,  somewhere  near  the  door  that  opens  from  the  £ast 
cloister  into  the  square ;  either  within  the  cloister,  or  on  the 
grass-plot  outside,  that  adjoins  the  new  chapeL 

As  for  college  facetiee,  they  are  numberless.  K  they 
could  be  collected  from  the  different  generations  since  the 
beginning,  the  electric  flashes  crackling  aroxmd  the  Poles^ 
in  ever  varying  colours,  would  but  fainuy  represent  the  wit 
and  fancy  (£splayed  in  them.  But  they  should  be  used  with 
caution  by  a  writer,  not  knowing  where,  like  shells,  they 
might  explode;  perhaps  in  his  own  hands,  "Horresco 
referens.''  Soubnauets  applied  to  individuals  were  also 
numerous,  but  as  tney  might  offend,  it  would  not  be  well 


ReminUeenees  of  MaynootJu  *       1 65 

to  qaote  anj  of  ^em.  They  were  applied  also  to  classes. 
Those  in  the  Physic  Class  who  were  not  successful  in  their 
stadieSy  were  called  ^^  Doctors."  Some  students  who  seemed 
of  such  manners  or  disposition  as  would  deserve  to  be  only 
sabordinates^  and  to  have  the  rough  part  of  the  work  put 
on  them,  were  called  ^  Sappers."  These  may  be  taken  as 
samples. 

Of  the  old  college  stories  I  will  mention  a  few.  Some 
of  the  Professors  played  a  practical  joke  on  Dr.  Delahogue. 
A  large  turnip  was  scooped  out,  the  rind  alone  remainmg, 
and  eyes,  nose  and  mouth  cut  on  it,  to  represent  a  man's 
face ;  and  it  was  placed,  with  a  Ughted  candle  inside  it,  in 
Dr.  Delahogue's  room,  on  the  table.  When  he  opened  the 
door  to  enter  his  room,  and  saw  the  spectre,  as  he  thought, 
he  ran  off  in  terror  to  Paul  O'Brien,  crying  out,  **  0  Father 
Paul,  vidi  daemonem  in  cubiculo ;  he  is  persecuting  me 
for  that  treatise  I  wrote  de  Ecclesia." 

In  the  examinations  of  the  Church  History  Class,  Dr.  R. 
asked  a  student  to  give  some  account  of  the  ^'  Tria 
Oapitula"  controversy.  The  answer  not  seeming  sufficient, 
the  Professor  asked  the  same  question  a  second  and  a  third 
time,  with  the  same  result,  when  the  student  said;  ^I 
believe,  sir,  in  the  three  answers  I  have  given  I  have 
replied  indirectly  that  I  don't  know  anything  of  the  matter." 

But  if  the  professors  could  press  the  students  hard  at 
examinations,  sometimes  the  students  would  occasionally 
replv  in  good  humour.  An  aged  Professor  examining  a 
student  in  logic,  asked  him  to  explain  a  "  morally  universal" 
proposition ;  and  gave  as  an  instance,  "  Juvenes  sunt 
mconstantes."  While  explaining  it,  the  student,  fearing 
the  inconstancy  was  intended  for  himself,  gave,  instead  of 
the  professor's  example,  "  Senes  sunt  queruli ;"  at  which  a 
great  laugh  was  raised  in  the  Hall,  by  all  present ;  in  which 
the  professor  heartily  joined.  This,  it  should  be  observed, 
was  all  in  good  humour. 

Whether  any  of  the  Freshmen,  coming  for  the  first  time 
to  the  College,  were  treated  as  Mr.  Pucker  was  at  Oxford, 
when  Verdant  Green  became  an  imdergraduate,  I  cannot 
say.  I  knew  no  instance  of  it ;  but  there  was  a  tradition 
certainly  of  some  having  been  hoaxed  in  that  way  by 
students  pretending  to  be  Examinera     Some  accordmgly 


166  BeminUcences  of  MaynooHu 

the  Endowment  Act,  of  the  foundation  of  the  new  buildings, 
of  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  &c.  But  all  these  were 
only  means  to  an  end.  The  machinery  was  at  work ;  but 
for  what  purpose  ?  Of  that  purpose  I  will  now  say  some- 
thing ;  for  an  account  of  the  College  that  would  not  include 
the  end  and  main  purpose  of  its  existence,  would  be  very 
incomplete;  the  more  so  as  philosophers  tell  us  that,  in 
every  deliberate  act,  the  end,  though  last  in  the  execution 
or  attainment,  is  the  first  in  the  intention.  With  regard  to 
Maynooth  Colleee,  I  need  not  say  that  the  end  is  to 
educate  and  send  out  clergymen  on  the  mission.  It  is  weU 
that  I  do  not  require  to  beat  about  for  matter:  on  this  subject^ 
or  labour  in  thinking  how  I  should  state  it.  Indeed  tho 
attempt  to  say  what  that  education  should  be  might  appear 
to  some  to  be  uncalled  for,  or  presumptuous  on  my  partw 
But  I  will  set  before  them  a  document  which  forms  part  of 
the  early  history  of  the  college,  and  speaks  with  authority 
on  the  subject  we  are  now  considering ;  and  draws  the  lines 
deep  and  clear  for  that  moral  foundation,  of  which  the 
other  we  have  spoken  of  is  the  outward  figure. 

As  80on  as  the  Education  Bill  had  passed,  and  the 
Board  of  Trustees  was  constituted,  the  Ecclesiastical 
Trustees  wrote  to  the  Propaganda  to  notify  the  event ;  and 
after  some  time  received  from  the  Cardinal  Secretary  a 
letter,  the  substance  of  which  I  will  now  place  before  the 
reader. 

They  say  to  the  Bishops,  that  "  As  they  formerly  shared 
their  sorrow  in  adversity,  they  now  rejoice  with  them  in 
their  prosperity;  and  that,  from  the  fond  esteem  they 
always  had  for  the  Irish  Church,  which  was  ever  con- 
spicuous for  the  praise  of  sanctity,  it  is  a  source  of  con- 
gratulation to  the  Propaganda  no  less  than  to  the  Bishops 
themselves,  to  have  received  the  glad  tidings,  that  the 
permission  and  the  means  to  found  an  ample  seminary 
(peramplum  seminarium)  for  the  education  of  youth  for  the 
sacred  ministry,  has  been  granted  by  the  liberality  of  the 
Legislature;  for  which  imceasing  thanks  are  due  to  the 
Almighty.  And  if  gratitude  for  benefits  is  due  even  to 
adversaries,  how  much  more  to  those  by  whose  aid  God 
enables  us  to  lead  a  quiet  life,  in  all  piety. 

"  The  Congregation  is  confident,  from  their  knowledge 
of  the  Bishops'  distinguished  virtue,  that  they  will  attend 
carefully  to  mese  two  things. 

«  1st,  That  the  young  men  called  to  the  Ecclesiastical 
state  be  formed  and  instructed  in  a  manner  worthy  of  that 


JSemniseenees  of  Mdynooih,  167 

Tocatioii)  as  the  Apostle  teaches ;  to  advance  in  faith  and 
love ;  to  be  sober,  prudent,  chaste,  modest,  not  given  to 
wine,  not  litigious,  giving  oflFence  to  none,  but  careful  to 
preserve  peace  in  unity  of  epirit.  And  that  they  will 
diligently  instruct  them  to  be  subject  to  Princes  and 
Powers ;  as  obedience  to  the  higher  Powers  is  what  the 
Congregation  impresses  on  its  own  alumni  in  all  parts  ot 
the  world. 

"  2ndly,  That  they  will  use  the  most  watchful  care  that 
they  be  taught  the  words  of  sound  doctrine,  which  they 
will  also  be  able  to  teach  others ;  lest  the  flock  be  infected 
with  the  monstrous  errors  prevalent  in  these  evil  days, 
which,  issuing  in  a  flood  of  all  kinds  of  crimes  and  wicked- 
ness, would  extinguish  not  only  the  knowledge  of  the 
Sapreme  Being,  but  all  reUgion,  and  every  feeUng  of 
humanity  itself.  Nor  should  the  sacred  dogmas,  nor  the 
language  used  to  convev  them,  be  softened  down  to 
conciliate  the  sectaries;  that  the  entirety  of  the  Catholic 
doctrine  may  be  a  splendid  note  to  prove  the  divinity  of 
the  Catholic  religion,  and  to  distinguish  it  from  the  ever 
varying  sects;  and  to  avoid  all  contentions,  which  are 
foreign  to  the  Church  of  God,  who  is  a  God  of  peace. 

"  To  remedy  such  evils,  let  the  yoimg  men  *  be  not  too 
hi^-minded,  but  wise  unto  sobriety,'  and  shun  all  strange 
and  deceitful  learning,  how  ornate  soever  it  appear ;  and 
to  be  safe  from  error,  let  them  go  to  the  Chair  of  Unity,  as, 
according  to  St.  Augustine,  *  doctrinae  Veritas  posita  est  a 
Domino  in  Cathedra  Unitatis;'  that  the  nations  may 
believe,  hearing  the  words  of  the  Gospel  from  the  lips  of 
Peter,  who  is  always  living.  Nor  should  they  be  ashamed 
to  be  dependent  on  the  magistracy  of  Him  from  whom 
St  Jerome  earnestly  besougnt  a  standard  to  regulate  his 
judgments  and  his  words* 

"  But  in  matters  which  are  discussed  salva  fide  pro  and 
con  in  the  Schools,  a  safe  guidance  is  presented  in  those  two 
farifht  luminaries,  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Thomas,  whose 
briUiancy  has  enlightened  and  adorned  every  age ;  and 
whose  doctrine,  embracing  the  whole  circle  of  theological 
Aidies,  may  be  the  more  safely  followed,  as  it  Uas  been 
Qommended  in  every  age  by  the  consent  of  the  wise,  the 
Jaorees  of  the  Pontiffs,  and  the  tradition  of  the   Holv 


168  Reminiscences  of  Maynooth. 

doubts  not  that  from  such  a  choice  circle  of  students  m  the 
bloom  of  youth,  who  are  the  hope  of  the  Church,  and  now 
committed  to  the  C6u:e  of  the  Bishops,  and  whom  the 
Congregation  fondly  embraces,  there  will  go  forth  very 
many  fit  mimsters  of  Christ,  who  will  exeinpUfy  the  truth 
of  doctrine  by  the  sanctity  of  their  lives,  and  whose  con- 
versation, descending  from  heaven  on  earth,  will  force  even 
adversaries  to  admiration,  and  bring  them  to  glorify  God." 
This  letter  is  dated  9th  July,  1796.    It  shows  the 

Eatemal  solicitude  of  the  Congregation  for  the  Church  of 
reland ;  the  more  so  that  it  was  written  at  a  moment,  to 
themselves,  of  the  greatest  danger  and  distress.  The 
French  Revolutionary  army,  animated  by  those  doctrmee 
referred  to  by  the  Congregation,  had,  led  by  their  bright 
Chieftain,  conquered  a  great  part  of  Northern  Italy,  and 
already  had  seized  some  of  the  Pope's  territories;  and 
were  now  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Mantua,  then  the  great 
fortress  of  Austria  in  Italy ;  the  fall  of  which  would  lay  the 
whole  Peninsula  at  the  feet  of  the  Revolution.  It  was 
while  the  conflagration  was  thus  rapidly  approaching 
Rome,  the  seizure  of  which  was  an  avowed  object  of  the 
Revolution,  that  the  Propaganda  was  thus  careful  not  to 
neglect  its  duty  to  Ireland. 

After  this  letter  was  received  by  the  Trustees,  there  was 
some  delay  in  answering  it,  as  there  was  no  meeting  of  the 
Board  till  November;  on  the  17th  of  which  the  answer  was 
agreed  to  and  signed  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Trustees. 

In  their  reply  the  Bishops  say,  that  "  When  that  letter 
was  read  at  their  meeting,  it  was  received  with  joy,  and 
with  applause  for  the  grave  and  prudent  instructions  it  con- 
tained, and  the  charitable  care  of  the  S.  Congregation  for 
their  welfare.  They  promise  to  give  eflfect  to  those  in- 
structions that  concern  the  interests  of  reUgion,  and  the 
decorum  of  the  sacred  ministry ;  that  the  students  will  be 
instructed  in  the  principles,  regarding  the  Chair  of  Unity, 
pointed  out  by  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Jerome,  in  the  words 
referred  to ;  and  that  the  guidance  of  St.  Augustine  and 
St.  Thomas  will  be  recommended  to  them  in  those  matters 
that  are  of  free  choice  in  the  Schoola"  Itwould  be  a  needless 
repetition  to  ^ve  at  more  length  the  Bishops'  letter ;  as  they 
use  almost  the  same  words  as  me  letter  from  the  Propaganda. 
But  they  add  that  "  It  is  an  especial  duty  for  them,  and  for 
all  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Order,  with  regard  to  the  doctrines 
referred  to,  by  which  men  confederated  together,  are 
trampling  under  foot  all  laws  human  and  divine,  to  reost  as 


ReminiBcenceB  of  Maynootlu  169 

much  as  they  can  the  evil  consequences  of  them,  by  sound 
doctrine  and  a  blameless  life ;  and  which  resistance  they 
will  exert "  agmime  facto,  et  in  aciem  instructo ;"  that  they 
may  efficaciously  convince  the  gainsayers." 

The  expressions  used  by  the  Trustees  are  remarkable ; 
and  I  cannot  help  viewing  them  as  divining  that  material 
reostance  that  was  brought  to  bear  against  those  destructive 
doctrines ;  in  which  the  Empire  to  which  they  belonged 
acted  no  secondary  part  in  co-opeyating  to  bridle  the 
Sevolution,  and  to  subdue,  not  France,  which,  even  in  its 
d^eats,  was  always  a  ^eat  nation,  but  the  predominance 
(A  those  doctrines ;  while  France  was  enabled  to  return  to 
the  well-known  place  it  always  held  amongst  the  nations 
of  Europe,  of  bemg  the  first  in  those  arts  that  adorn  and 
dyilize. 

The  Bishops  conclude  by  saying  that,  "  with  regard  to 
Csttholic  Dnity,  they  received  that  rule  from  their  Prede- 
cesBors,  who  were  surpassed  by  none  in  accepting  and  de- 
fending the  authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs ;  to  which 
doctrine,  and  to  aU  omers  in  the  sacred  deposit  of  the  faith, 
they  will  be  always  faithful." 

Here  1  will  close  this  account  of  Maynooth  College, 
having  intended  from  the  first  to  sketch  its  commencement 
only.  If  1  proceeded  further,  and  came  nearer  to  modem 
times,  I  would  be  in  danger  of  moving  *'  Per  ignes  suppositos 
cmeri  doloso."  During  the  time  of  which  I  treated  the 
College  was  in  a  condition  like  that  of  the  Church  of  the 
middle  ages,  when  the  words  of  the  Prophet  were  fulfilled, 
''That  Kmgs  would  be  its  nursing  fathers,  and  Queens  its 
nurses."^  That  state  of  things  has  passed  away,  and  may 
be  considered  as  the  scaffolding  that  served  to  erect  the 
building.  The  building,  in  its  present  state,  is  more  in 
accordance  with  the  sentiments  of  the  clergy  and  people, 
for  whose  benefit  it  was  at  first  established. 

J.  GUNN. 

^  Isaias,  xlix. 


VOL.  V. 


[    170    ] 


THE  BENEDICTIO  IN  ARTICDLO  MORTIS. 

AN  article  which  appeaxed  in  the  Record  for  February 
makes  it  necessary  to  re-discuss  the  decrees  of  the 
Sacred  Congregation  on  the  repetition  of  the  Benedictio  in 
articulo  mortis  during  the  same  sickness. 

The  writer  does  not  go  the  length  of  the  view  put 
forward  last  Septeqiber  by  Rev.  E.  A.  Selley,  that  the 
Benedictio  in  articulo  mortis  can  be  given  '*  only  "  once  in 
the  same  sickness,  *<  however  long  "  that  sickness  may  last. 
He  draws  the  line  not  at  the  same  sickness,  but  at  the 
same  "  fit "  of  sickness,  and  holds  that  it  is  necessary  for  a 
repetition  of  this  blessing  that  the  person  receiving  it  should 
so  far  recover  from  the  sickness  in  which  he  first  received 
it,  that  he  may  be  considered  to  suflFer  from  virtually  a  new 
sickness,  or  what  is  commonly  understood  by  a  new  attack 
of  sickness. 

I  cannot  acquiesce  in  this  view,  which  I  think  incon- 
sistent with  the  explicit  decisions  of  the  Sacred  Congre- 
gation, difficult  to  carry  out  practically,  and  involving 
everything  objectionable  in  Father  Selley's  view,  without 
either  its  simpUciiy  or  consistency  in  the  interpretation  of 
decrees. 
•^  I  am  still  of  opinion  that  a  priest  may  securely  repeat 
this  Benedictio  in  each  new  periculo  mortis  during  the 
same  sickness  which  is  prolonged :  in  other  words,  that 
the  conditions  prescribed  by  the  Roman  ritual  as  inter- 

{)reted  by  O'Kane,  following  the  common  opinion  of  theo- 
ogians  for  the  repetition  of  Extreme  Unction,  are  precisely 
the  same  as  those  given  in  the  decrees  of  the  Sacred  Con- 
gregation for  the  repetition  of  this  blessing,  and  that  what- 
ever decrees  are  alleged  in  a  contraiy  sense  are  at  most 
80  uncertain  in  their  meaning  as  to  be  unavailing  against 
the  dear  decisions  which  I  can  adduce. 

To  maintain  this  view  it  becomes  necessary  for  me  to 
re-examine  these  decrees,  even  at  the  cost  of  repeating 
almost  all  the  arguments  in  my  former  article,  which  1 
think  Fr.  Wiseman  has  rather  evaded  than  answered ;  but 
as  the  question  is  one  affecting  our  daily  practice,  it  may 
be  worth  while  to  sift  it  until  we  get  to  a  safe  and  certain 
conclusion. 

This  veiy  question  arose  soon  after  the  publication  of 
the  Bull  Pia  Afater ;  for  in  the  year  1775  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing decision.    I  quote  here  and  all  through  from  the 


The  Benediclio  in  Articvlo  Mortis.  171 

recent  edition  of  the  decreta  "  Authentica"  of  Pustet,  Ratia^ 
bonne : — 

**  Benedictio  in  articulo  mortis  cum  applicatione  indul- 
gentiae  plenariae,  potestne  bis  aut  amplins  m  eodem  morbo 
qui  insperate  protrahitur  impertiri,  etiamsi  non  convaluerit 
aegrotus?  Si  possit  iterari  haec  benedictio,  quodnam 
requiritur  intervallum  inter  ejus  largitiones  ?" 

Sac.  Congregatio  die  20  Septembris  1775  respondit 
ad  6™ : — "  Semel  in  eodem  statu  morbL" 

I  think  I  can  show  that  Father  Wiseman  misinterprets 
this  answer,  which  seems  to  me  decretorial  on  the  question. 
He  would  wish  to  make  nothing  of  it.  "  Much  ado,"  he 
writes,  "  has  been  made  about  the  phrase  *  in  eodem  statu 
morbi*"  And  why  not,  1  askt  Is  it  not  the  entire  and 
explicit  answer  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  and  if  it  can 
be  shown  to  have  a  clear  and  distinct  meaning  according 
to  the  well  known  use  of  language  in  the  theological 
schools,  that  meaning  is  binding  on  us.  We  are  not  at 
hl)ert7  to  emasculate  formal  decisions  such  as  this,  and  to 
render  such  a  phrase  as  "  in  eodem  statu  raorbi "  by  "  in 
one  sickness,  or,  if  preferable,  stage  or  state  of  sickness," 
and  then  a  few  lines  farther  on  to  substitute  **  attack,"  and 
finally  to  settle  down  on  "fit.'*  Surely  language,  espe- 
cially the  language  of  a  formal  decree,  is  not  this  jelly  fish 
kind  of  thing  that  can  take  any  shape ;  or  rather  a  kind  of 
steps  of  stairs  by  which  the  writer  gradually  lets  himself 
down  from  the  **same  sickness"  simply  through  **  stages,*' 
"states,"  "attacks,"  tmtil  he  reaches  terra  firma  (?),  and 
stands  on  "fits." 

His  idea  is,  that  a  "  novus  status  morbi,"  in  the  sense  of 
this  decree,  is  such  an  one  as  occurs  when  an  interval  of 
years  intervenes  between  two  "  fits,"  or  when  a  patient 
having  recovered  from  fever  sufiers  a  relapse. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  say  that  "  novus  status  morbi  " 
means  no  such  thing,  and  that  no  standard  theologian  can 
be  quoted  to  sustain  such  a  meaning ;  whereas  I  think  I 
rfiowed  beyond  all  question  in  my  last  article  that  the 
phrase  "  novus  status  morbi  '*  had  the  fixed  conventional 
meaning  attached  to  it,  which  I  give  as  determined  by  no 
other  Qircumstance  than  such  a  change  as  is  involved  in 
the  passing  off  and  recurrence  of  a  periculum  mortis. 
Let  me  quote  again  the  words  of  St.  Thomas : — 
"  Quaedam  ergo  infirmitates  non  simt  diutumae  ;  unde 


172  The  Benedictio  in  Articvlo  Mortis. 

statu  illo,  nisi  infirmitate  curata ;  et  ita  iterum  non  debet 
inungi ;  sed  si  recidivum  patiatur,  erit  alia  infirmitas  et 
potent  fieri  aKa  inunctio. 

"  Quedam  vero  sunt  aegritudines  diutumaOyUt  hectica  et 
hydropisis  et  bujusmodi;  et  in  talibus  non  d^bet  fieri 
inunctio  nisi  quando  videntur  perducere  ad  periculum 
mortis  ;  et  si  bomo  ilium  articulum  evadat,  eadem  infirm- 
itate  durante,  et  iterum  ad  similem  statum  per  illam 
infirmitatem  reducatur,  iterum  potest  inungi ;  quia  jam 
est  quasi  alius  infirmitatis  status ;  quamvis  non  sit  alia 
infirmitas  simpliciter." 

If  tbat  passage  be  of  authority,  and  it  is  j;aken  from 
St.  Thomas,  quoted  by  Benedict  XIV.,  St.  Liguori,  and 
almost  all  the  great  theologians,  the  meaning  of  "  status 
morbi"  **in  eodem  statu  morbi,"  "alius  status  morbi*'  is 
clear.  .Every  line  of  it  is  a  distinct  contradiction  of 
Fr.  Wiseman's  interpretation  of  these  phrases.  He  asserts 
that  a  relapse  in  fever  may  be  called  a  "novus  status  morbi." 
It  is  no  such  thing.  It  is  a  distinct  sickness  "  erit  alia 
infirmitas."  He  asserts  that  to  constitute  a  novus  status 
morbi  in  a  prolonged  sickness  that  an  interval  of  years  is 
necessary  between  its  attacks :  there  he  is  equally  wrong. 
No  such  circumstance  is  even  suggested  in  this  passage. 
The  one  condition  in  reference  to  which  we  are  to  deter- 
mine  whether  or  not  the  status  morbi  is  changed  is  simply 
the  periculum  mortis,  and  if  that  periculum  is  removed  and 
recm-s  there  is  a  new  status  morbi,  whether  the  interval 
between  the  recovery  and  renewal  of  the  danger  of 
death  be  one  of  years  or  weeks. 

But  what  removes  this  point  practically  out  of  the 
region  of  uncertainty,  and  determines  for  us  the  precise 
meaning  of  status  morbi,  is  the  fact  that  in  this  passage 
St.  Thomas  lays  down,  for  the  repetition  of  Extreme 
Unction,  the  canon  which  has  been  followed  unanimously 
by  theologians.  Fr.  Wiseman  will  hardly  hold  that  such 
an  interval  as  he  requires  between  the  repetitions  of  the 
Benedictio,  or  such  distinction  as  he  thinks  necessary 
between  the  attacks  in  which  it  may  be  given,  is  necessary 
for  repeating  Extreme  Unction.  But  the  changes,  whether 
of  time  or  condition,  which  St.  Thomas  considers  necessary 
for  repeating  Extreme  Unction,  are  those  which  in  a  long 
sickness,  constitute  a  novus  status  morbi. 

If  then  we  ask  St.  Thomas  and  the  Theologians  how 
often  we  may  repeat  extreme  Unction  their  answer  is 

^  Semel  in  eodem  statu  morbL" 


The  Bmedictio  in  Articulo  Mortis. 


178 


The  Sacred  Congregation,  in  answer  to  the  same  question 
with  regard  to  the  Benedictio,  decide  that  it  can  b© 
repeatea 

"  Semel  in  eodem  statu  morbi," 
by  what  principle  of  interpretation  can  we  be  justified  in 
iuaiataiDing  that  both  decisions  do  not  mean  the  same. 
And  here  I  have  to  interpose  a  remark  which  ought  not 
to  be  necessary.  It  does  not  at  all  follow  that  because  I 
argue  from  the  identity  of  language  which  theologians  use 
m  reference  to  the  repetition  of  Extreme  Unction  and  the 
Benedictio  in  articulo  mortis,  that  I  presuppose  any 
similarity  of  naturebet ween  a  Sacrament  and  an  Indulgence. 

No  one  will  deny  that  in  the  first  instance  I  am 
justified  in  giving  the  Benedictio  whenever  I  am  justified 
in  anointing.  What  is  my  justification?  The  language 
of  Decrees  and  Rubrics,  and  the  writings  of  theologians 
explaining  them.  Precisely  the  same  method  is  followed 
by  me  with  regard  to  the  repetition.  I  have  nothing  to 
guide  me  but  such  authoritative  pronouncements,  nor  any 
way  of  ascertaining  the  meaning  of  these  pronouncements 
except  the  ordinary  rules  of  interpreting  language,  and 
one  of  these  rules  is  that  language  has  a  fixed  definite 
meaning,  which  cannot  be  changed  at  the  caprice  of  every 
writer. 

When  I  maintain  that  the  Benedictio  can  be  given  as 
(rften  as  Extreme  Unction,  I  do  so,  not  from  anything  they 
have  in  common  by  their  nature,  but  because  the 
authoritative  decision  of  the  Congregation  says  that  the 
Benedictio  can  be  given  "  semel  in  eodem  stiatu  morbi," 
and  the  distinct  and  almost  unanimous  teaching  of  Theo- 
logians lays  down  the  same  for  Extreme  Unction. 

The  same  remark  applies  to  my  argimient  from  the 
next  decree  on  which  I  rely. 

As  in  my  previous  article,  I  now  print  the  decree  and 
the  Rubric  of  the  Ritual  on  the  repetition  of  Extreme 
Unction  side  by  side. 


Decree. 
^  Utmm  Benedictio  Apostolioa 
pliuies  impertiri  possit  novo 
mortis  periculo  redeunte  ? 


i  J     CVm  te  11.T. 


Rubric. 
In    eadem    infinnitate    hoc 
sacramentum  (Extrema'  Unctio) 
iterari  non  debet,  nisi  diutuma 


174  The  Benedictio  in  Articulo  Mortis. 

I  think  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  distinct  deci- 
sions on  different  subjects  not  only  so  like  each  other,  but 
almost  so  identical  down  to  their  minutest  terma  Whether 
I  am  right  or  wrong  in  my  view,  1  maintain,  without  any 
doubt,  that  the  decree  must  have  been  framed  with  regard 
to  the  Rubric ;  yet  Fr.  Wiseman  imagines  that  he  can 
run  away  from  the  argument  by  saying  that  it  all  rests 
"  on  a  fancied  similanty  of  phrase."  Indeed  I  do  fancy 
that  there  is  a  great  BimUarity,  and  much  more,  and  it  is 
simply  childish  to  try  and  deny  it. 

JBut  then  Fr.  Wiseman's  difficulties  only  begin.  He  has 
to  interpret  both  the  Decree  and  the  Rubric  consistently 
with  his  views,  and  it  is  amusing,  to  follow  his  efforts.  "  Si 
convaluerit "  in  the  case  of  the  JBenedictio,  means,  accord- 
ing to  him,  total  recovery,  so  that  any  further  attack  would 
be  virtually  a  new  fit  of  sickness.  *'  Si  convaluerit,"  in 
the  case  of  Extreme  Unction  means  nothing,  because  '*  no 
convalescence  "  is  required  for  its  repetition.  Of  necessi^ 
he  must  give  a  similar  twist  to,  "  iterum  in  periculum  mortis 
incident."  The  "  novum  periculum  mortis  "  means,  in  the 
case  of  the  Ben6dictio,  such  a  change  in  the  patient's 
condition  as  occurs  in  a  relapse  in  fever,  in  which,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Thomas,  there  is  not  "  aUus  infirmitatis  status/' 
but  alia  infirmitas,  whereas  it  means,  with  regard  to 
Extreme  Unction,  merely  the  vicissitude  in  the  patient's 
state  which  is  involved  in  mere  Ungering  for  a  good  while. 
Surely  nothing  but  the  stress  of  argumentative  difficulty 
could  drive  anyone  into  such  absurdities.  **  Si  conva- 
luerit" and  "novum  periculum  mortis"  mean  the  same 
thing  in  both  cases.  1  may  be  wrong  in  the  meaning  I 
ffive  them,  but  in  one  thing  I  know  I  am  not  wrong,  and 
tnat  is,  in  maintaining  that  whatever  they  mean  in  the  Rubric 
they  mean  the  same,  neither  more  nor  less,  in  the  Decree. 

My  argument  on  this  head  is,  I  think,  complete  here. 
Yet  I  think  it  well  to  add  instead  of  Fr.  Wiseman's  gloss, 
St.  Liguori's  exposition  of  the  Rubric  on  the  repetition  of 
Extreme  Unction,  as  laying  down  authoritatively  the  safe 
opinion  to  follow  in  this  matter,  and  as  illustrating  most 
luminously  the  meaning  of  the  Decree  on  the  repetition  of 
the  Benedictio. 

«  Unde  adverte  quod  in  morbo  duitumo,  siinfirmus  post 
unctionem  certe  manserit  in  eodem  periculo  morti£^  non 
potent  rursus  ungi."  {Lib.  6,  Tract  5,  n.  715.) 

The  Decree  lays  down  "  Benedictio  non  potest  eadem 
permanente  infirmitate,  etsi  diuturna  iterum  impertiri." 


The  Benedictio  in  Articulo  Mortis.  175 

What  is  the  meaning  of  eadem  permanente  infirmitate 
etfii  diutuma  ?  Mind,  not  eadem  infirmitate,  but  eadem 
pomanente?  It  is  to  be  interpreted  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  second  part  of  the  answer ;  ^^  Si  convaluerit  et 
iteram  in  mortis  pericnlum  redeat,"  that  is,  it  means  exactly 
what  St  Liguori  lays  down  for  Extreme  Unction,  and  not- 
withstanding Fr.  Wiseman's  long  years  of  study,  I  prefer 
to  foUow  St  Liguori  rather  than  hun,  and  hold  that  it  can-^ 
not  be  repeated  when  the  patient,  eyen  in  a  long  sickness, 
has  remamed  in  eodem  penculo  mortis. 

Again,  let  us  consider  St  Liguori's  exposition  of  the 
conditions  in  which,  according  to  the  Rubric,  we  may 
repeat  £xtreme  Unction,  and  compare  with  it  the  affirma- 
tive part  of  this  decree. 

"Si  ob  mortem  impendentem  quis  unctus  fuerit,  et 
evaserit,  et  deinde  ex  eodem  morbo  in  aliud  simile  periculum 
mortis  rursus  incident  rursus  ungi  debet. 

Again,  he  says  in  the  same  place,  ^' Praesciptum 
Tridentini,  *  Si  convaluerit,*  non  potest  veiificari  nisi  saltern 
probabiliter  a  periculo  mortis  exierit." 

According  to  St  Liguori,  then,  there  is  a  strict 
correlation  between  the  convalescence  expressed  by  "  Si 
convaluerit,  and  the  escape  from  the  periculum  mortis ;  and 
a  necessary  condition  for  the  repetition  of  Extreme 
Unction  is  the  return  of  another  sucn  danger.  Apply  his 
exposition  to  this  decree  of  1838*  **  Affirmative  Si  con- 
valuerit, et  deinde  quacunque  de  causa  in  novum  mortis 
periculum  redeat,"  and  word  for  word,  does  it  not  fit  it  as 
accurately  and  exhaustively  as  if  it  were  written  for  it 
originally,  and  not  for  the  Rubric  on  the  sacrament  of 
Ex&eme  Unction. 

There  remains  one  minute  point  of  difference  to  be 
noticed^  The  Rubric  runs  **m  eadem  infirmitate  nisi 
diutuma,"  whereas  the  decree  is  "  eadem  permanente 
infirmitate  etsi  diutuma  "  ;  but  the  explanation  is  obvious. 
In  the  Rubric  we  have  the  simple  phrcuse  "  eadem  infirmi- 
tate," and  then  "  nisi  diutuma "  with  a  qualification  of 
diutuma ;  in  the  decree  we  have  "  eadem  permanente 
Q^rmitate,  etsi  diutuma/'  a  totally  different  expression. 

I  think,  then,  I  am  justified  in  maintaining  that  these 
two  decree"  '^f  1775  ana  1838  are  so  explicit  in  allowing 


176  Tlie  Benedictio  in  Articulo  Mortis, 

opinion  until  an  equally  clear  decision  is  given  on  the  oth^ 
side* 

Nor  does  the  interestii^g  history  of  PrinzavaUi's  mistake, 
by  which  he  led  Maurel  and  other  writers  on  indulgences 
astray,  tell  against  the  conclusion. 

When  the  Congregation  had  definitely  settled  that  the 
Benedictio  could  be  repeated  in  each  new  status  morbi,  or 
in  each  periculo  mortis,  a  further  concession  was  sought. 

2°.  Utrum  vi  praecedentis  resolutionis  prohibitum  at, 
infirmo  in  eodem  mortis  periculo  permanenti  impertiri 
pluiies  ab  eodem,  vel  a  pluribus  sacerdotibus  hanc  facul- 
tatem  habentibus  Indulgentiam  Plenariam  in  articulo 
mortis  quae  vulgo  Benedictio  Papalis  dicitur  ? 

Sac  Congregatio  die  5  Mar.,  1855,  respondit. 

Ad  2™.  Affirmative  ad  utrumque,  firma  remanente  reso- 
lutione  in  una  valentinen.     Sit  die  5th  February,  1841. 

That  decree  makes  it  plain  that  the  Benedictio  can  be 
given  only  once  in  "  eodem  periculo  permanente,"  and  is 
inconvenient  only  for  those  who  were  led  by  Prinzavalli 
into  holding  that  in  such  circumstances  it  could  be  re- 
peated. 

It  has  this  further  use,  that  it  shows  the  insecurity  of 
any  private  authority  in  deahng  with  decrees  of  Congre- 
gations. Personally,  Prinzavam  was  a  high  authority  on 
indulgences,  and  even  Substitutus  of  the  Congregation. 
Yet  we  find  him  going  wrong  on  a  most  important  practi- 
cal point,  and  setting  astray  so  learned  and  careful  a  writer 
as  Maurel,  S.J.,  who  even  went  to  Borne,  and  remained 
there,  I  think,  for  years,  that  he  might  derive  the  doctrine 
and  accurate  decisions  at  the  foimtain  head. 

For  that  reason  I  do  not  think  that  Father  Schneider,  S.  J., 
is  entitled  to  pronounce  the  final  decision  on  the  question 
which  I  now  oiscuss,  and  I  much  prefer  to  consider  his 
arguments  than  his  authority,  weighty  though  it  be,  in 
discussing  decrees  of  Congregationa 

However,  he  is  cited  for  tne  direct  contradictory  of  my 
proposition ;  and  an  expUcit  decree  of  the  Congregation 
IS  alleged  for  the  view,  that  even  when,  according  to  the 
ritual,  Extreme  Unction  may  be  repeated  in  a  long  illness, 
the  Benedictio  Papalis  may  not  be  repeated. 

7^  Licetne  aut  saltem  conveni^e  iterum  applioare 
Indulgentiam  in  articulo  mortis  1^  Quando  aegrotus 
accepit  applicationem  in  statu  peccati  mortalis.  2^.  Quando 
post  apphcationem  in  peccatum  relapsns  est.  3^  Quando 
post  applicationem  diutuma  laborat  aegritudine,ano  verbo^ 


Thi  BatedicHo  in  Articulo  Mortis.  177 

Souido  ritnale  permittit  autpraecipit  iterationem  Extrema© 
nctionia,  ant  confesBariuB  judical  iterandam  esse  absolu- 
tjonem. 
Sac.  Congregatio  die  20  Jmiii,  1836,  respondit. 
Ad  7",  ad  1"  et  2°  negative,  ad  3°  prout  jacet  negative 
paritcr  in  omnibus. 

Here,  they  say,  is  the  whole  question  settled,  eind  in 
clear  terms. 

But  we  may  be  allowed  to  observe — 1°.  That  this 
decree  ia  prior  to  that  of  1838,  which  I  have  ehown  has 
decided  beyond  yea  or  nay,  that  the  Benedictio  may  be 
repeated  in  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Eitual  pre- 
Bcribes  the  repetition  oi  Extreme  Unction.  2".  The  Con- 
gregation answers  directly  "  Negative  "  to  the  first  and 
second  divisions  of  the  question,  but  with  the  important 
prefix  of  "  prout  jacet "  to  the  third.  I  called  attention  in 
my  last  article  to  this  qualification,  which  simply  puts  the 
decision  out  of  this  argument :  yet  Father  Wiseman  quietly 
ignores  the  point.  So,  too,  does  Father  Schneider,  S.J. 
in  my  humble  opinion  their  omission  to  discuss  the  value  of 
this  qualification  is  quite  enough  to  invalidate  their  author- 
ity, because  if  they  were  twice  as  great  men  as  they  are, 
tkey  can  hardly  aBk  us  to  believe  that  "  Negative  "  and 
"  Negative  prout  jacet "  mean  the  same  thing. 

1  contend  that  "prout  jacet"  indicates  a  defect  of  form, 
not  of  substance,  in  the  question,  and  I  should  be  inclined 
to  enrmiee  that  the  mind  of  the  Congregation  was  that  the 
fienedictio  and  Extreme  Unction  did  go  together,  but  that 
an  affirmative  answer  to  the  question,  as  put,  might  lead 
farther  than  that. 

Besides,  it  is  one  thing  for  me  to  contend  that  they  go 
together  according  to  the  Rubric,  and  for  the  Congregatioo 
to  determine  one  in  terms  of  the  other. 

leld  with  regard  to  the  repetition 
beyond  those  which  1  have  quoted 
Thomas.  We  know,  from  Bene- 
views  were  held  in  the  Eastern 
man  be  a  fair  authority  it  would 
tch  them  in  the  American.  It  ia 
t  first  Bight  to  determine  amongst 
s  meant  by  "  quando  permittit 
g  a  very  indefinite  term,]and  this 


178  The  Benedictio  in  Artieulo  Mortis. 

show  that  it  is,  that  it  wonld  be  unreasonable  to  depart 
from  a  practice  which  has  grown  up  under  the  sanction  of 
clear  and  explicit  decrees  such  as  mese  of  1775  and  1838, 
on  no  better  authority  than  a  private  and  obviously 
erroneous  interpretation  of  a  most  obscure  decision. 

There  remains  to  be  noticed  the  opinion  which  I  am 
satisfied  weighs  much  with  the  writers  from  whom  I 
presume  to  differ,  that  the  Indulgentia  attached  to  the 
benedictio  in  Artieulo  Mortis,  is  only  gained  at  the  moment 
of  death,  remains  suspended  during  a  sickness,  however 
long  it  may  be,  and  consequently  that  the  repetition  of 
the  Benedictio  must,  in  such  a  sickness,  be  a  useless 
ceremony. 

I  might  retort  on  these  gentlemen,  and  maintain  that  the 
fact  that  the  Church  allows  the  Benedictio  to  be  repeated  is 
an  evidence  that  its  repetition  is  not  useless.  But,  as  I  said 
in  my  last  article,  we  have  to  do  here,  not  with  a  priori 
reasoning,  but  with  positive  decision, 
♦  However,  I  may  say  that  I  do  not  think  it  at  all  certain 
that  the  Indulgence  is  suspended  until  the  actual  moment 
of  death.  Such  a  separation  of  an  Indulgence  from  a 
special  blessing  to  which  it  is  annexed  is  so  extraordinary 
a  thing,  that  I  can  accept  it  only  on  the  authority  of  a 
most  explicit  decree,  or  the  unanimous  opinion  of  writers 
on  Indulgences. 

We  are  asked  to  believe  that  when  Benedict  XIV, 
grants  power  "  Benedictionem  Apostolicam  cum  applica- 
tione  IndulgentiaB  plenarias  Christi  fidelibus  in  Artieulo 
Mortis  constitutis  impertiri  **  he  meant  "  in  Artieulo  Mortis 
constitutis "  to  be  an  equivocation— to  mean  in  periculo 
mortis  as  regards  the  Blessing  and  "  in  vero  Artieulo  mortis  '* 
for  the  Indulgence. 

The  form  of  appUcation  given  by  him  runs  :— 

"  Indulgentiam  plenariam  et  remissionem  omnium  pec- 
catorum  tibi  concede."  "  Concede/'  in  the  present  tense,  and 
absolutely,  yet  it  too  has  to  be  qualified.  It  means  what 
it  expresses  if  the  person  die,  but  if  the  person  does  not 
die,  it  means  nothing  at  all,  or  rather  is  completely 
falsified. 

The  following  reason,  which  is  given  by  Amort,  a  great 
authority  on  Indulgences,  and  who  wrote  in  the  time  of 
Benedict  XIV.,  deserves  consideration : — 

<<Est  exorbitans  a  stylo  Ecclesise  et  sana  ratione 
suspendere  effectum  Indulgentiaa  ad  conditionem  indepen- 
deutem  ab  homine  quantumvis  jam  posuerit  omnes  con- 


The  Benedietio  in  Artieulo  Mortii.  179 

didonee  ex  parte  sua  pro  Incrandis  Indulgeatiia  reqiuaitas. — 
(TheoL  Moraiifl.  Tract  XIII.,  n.  XIV,  Qusea.  27.) 

These  reasona  eeem  so  strong  that  I  should  reqtiire  a 
yeej  clear  decree  to  displace  them,  and  one  directed 
.ezj^esdy  to  this  Becedictio  Apostolica.  Yet  it  will  strike 
many  readere,  I  am  snre,  witli  surprise,  to  learn  that  no 
such  decree  exists,  and  that  no  decree  bearing  at  all,  even 
indirectly,  on  the  point,  has  emanated  from  the  Sacred 
Congregation  since  the  Bull  Fia  Mater  was  pubUshed. 
There  is  an  old  decree.  No.  9  in  the  collection  of  Deer. 
Anthentica,  of  the  date  of  1675,  the  Bnll  Pia  Mater  being 
pobHshed  in  the  year  1747,  and  by  that  very  Bull  the 
conditions  under  which  this  Benedictio  Apostolica  was 
given,  were  completely  altered. 

However,  let  tib  just  consider  the  decree  itself. 
1°  Utnun  indulgentia  plenaria  in  artieulo  mortis  quae 
one  alia  declaratione  adjecta  concedi  solet,  in  vero  mortis 
artieulo  accipienda  sit,  an  in  presumpto,  an  demum  in 
ntroqueT 

Sac  rVinflTeeratio  die  23  Aprilis,  1676,  respondit,  Ad  l" 
ipi."  Observe  there  is  no  direct 
Apostolica  even  as  it  was  given 
to  be  given  under  the  Bull  Fia 
I  to  any  particular  blessing  or 
;eDce  was  attached,  but  simply 
fvhich  a  particular  indulgence 
claratione  accipienda^'sit,  which 
3  gained,"  or  "  is  to  be  under- 
er  meaning  to  avoid  discusfflon. 
3f  this  decree  ?  Considering  it 
comes  to  this.  If  a  plenary 
rtis  is  granted  without  any 
d  of  the  Pope  as  to  the  precise 
aed,  beyond  the  simple  phrase 
at  phrase  to  be  understood? 
lulgence  in  artieulo  mortis  is 
.  particular  sodaUty  or  to  those 
;ertain  devotion,  or  personally 
anything  in  the  terms  of  the 
e  tune  for  which  it  is  made, 
3  mortis,  are  we  to  understand 
1  moment  of  death,  or  simple 


180  The  Benedictio  in  Articulo  Mortis. 

Here  we  have  "alia  conditio  adjecta,"  and  the  plainest 
indication  of  the  mind  of  the  Pope,  and  therefore  1  hold 
that  this  decision  does  not  apply  to  the  case.  Some  forms 
in  use  amongst  various  confraternities  have  been  referred 
to  as  evidence  that  a  suspension  of  this  indulgence  until 
the  moment  of  death  is  not  out  of  keeping  with  the 
practice  of  the  church.  "  Has  the  writer,*'  asks  Rev.  W.  J. 
Wiseman,  in  the  pride  of  his  erudition,  "never  seen  any  of 
the  formularies  by  which  the  indulgentia  plenaria  in 
articulo  mortis  is  conveyed  to  members  of  several  confra- 
ternities :  *  quod  si  presens  periculum  Deo  favente  evaseris, 
sit  tibi  haec  indulgentia  pro  vero  mortis  articulo  reservata?'" 
The  writer  has  seen  them ;  and  more  than  that,  he  has 
seen  a  decree  of  Sac.  Congregation  dated  18th  May,  1879, 
by  which  several  such  formulae  which  were  in  use  amongst 
the  Tertiaries  of  various  orders  were  abolished,  as  "  in  their 
obvious  and  literal  sense  opposed  to  the  truth,  and  injurious 
to  the  dogmatic  doctrine  of  indulgences,"  and  for  the 
future  it  was  ordered  that : 

"  Formula  Benedictina  est  praescribenda  sub  poena  nullitads 
pro  omnibus  indiscriminatim  facto  verbo  cum  SSmo." 

That  decree  ought  to  put  an  end  to  arguments  founded 
on  the  Uteral  sense  of  these  old  formulas. 

Nor  can  we  draw  any  inference  as  to  the  tin^  at  which 
the  indulgence  is  gained  from  the  refusal  of  Sac.  Congrega* 
tion  to  allow  the  repetition  of  the  blessing  for  a  person 
who  received  it  in  mortal  sin,  or  commits  mortal  sin  after 
its  reception.  Any  one  who  attends  to  the  manner  in 
which  tnis  blessing  and  indulgence  have  been  restricted  in 
their  use  by  the  church,  will  see  that  they  have  not  been 
regarded  as  the  simple  right  of  the  faithful,  but  as  a  great 
privilege,  anciently  entrusted  only  to  episcopal  hands  for 
distribution  amongst  the  people,  and  even  now  dispensed 
only  by  priests  specially  delegated  for  it. 

In  conclusion  I  have  only  to  add,  that  I  trust  a  more 
mature  dehberation  will  suggest  to  Rev.  W,  J.  Wiseman 
the  possibiU^  of  his  being  in  error,  and  the  propriety  of 
qualifying  his  very  dogmatic  assertion,  that  all  who  differ 
from  him  and  act  on  their  opinion,  are  not  only  "  silly  but 
sinfuL" 

Edward  T,  O'Dwter. 


[    181    ] 

COKRESPONDENCE. 
Was  St.  Boniface  an  Irishman  t 

TO  THE   BDITOB  OP  THS  HUBH   ECCLBStABTtCAL  KECORD. 

Ret.  Dkab  Sib, — ^The question,  "Was  St.  Bonibce  an  Irish- 
msn,"  proposed  by  your  coireapondent  in  the  last  number  of  the 
IfiiSH  Ecclesiastical  Record,  cannot  foil  to  interest  very  many 
ofyoDr  readers.     The  English  writera  of  the  present  day,  almost 
witboQt  exception,  claim  St.  Bonifoce  for  their  countryman.     Nor 
is  thia  to  be  wondered  at;  for,  whilst  the  royal  families  of  England 
bare  given  many  sabts  to  the  Calendar  of  Holy  Church,  and  the 
Anglo-Saxon  cloisters  have  yielded  abundant  fraitfi  of  piety,  there 
tra  comparatively  few  of  England's  sons  whose  names  are  enrolled 
iBKOg  the  apostles  and  sainted  missionaries  of  mediieTal  Europe. 
On  the  other  hand,  St.  Boniface  is  a  missionary  of  whom  any 
BitioD  may   be  justly  proud.      His  labours  in  propagating   the 
futh  in  the  eighth  century  were  those  of  an  Apostle,  and  the  im- 
mortal services  which  he  rendered  to  Germany,  as  well  as  his 
riitnes,  and  writines,  and  heroism  in  martyrdom,  have  won  for  him 
ightcst  ornaments  of  Christendom  in 
it  England  should  have  found  so  able 
Everyone  must  admit  that  her  case 
lealy  with  all  his  usual  vigour,  pre- 
ning;  and  if  the  desired  conclusion 
ises,  it  certainly  cannot  be  said  that 

St.  Boniface  was  an  Englishman,  it 
any  way  this  great  missionary  saint 
ftt  I  am  convinced  that  the  witness  of 
I's  claim.  The  roll  of  Irish  saints 
Ltrons  in  Belgium,  Franco,  Switzcr- 
lany,  is  too  illustrious  that  we  should 
er  lands  ;  hut  it  would  be  ungenerous 
rch,  whom  we  so  love,  to  surrender 
d  son  whom  the  authentic  voice  of 

n,  Dr.  Healy  cites  :  (1),  ike  words  of 
i  Bonifacii  ;"  (2),  an  extract  from  a 
Zachary ;  (8),  the  metrical  "  Martyr- 

BD  In  any  way  the  authority  of  these 


182  Correspondence^ 

Sancti  BonifaciL**  Two  questions  must  be  asked  regarding  that 
work :  first,  who  was  the  Willibald  by  whom  it  was  written  ? 
second,  have  we  the  genuine  text  of  WiUibald^s  work  ? 

On  the  first  question,  Dr.  Healy  adopts  the  opinion  that 
Willibald  was  a  cherished  disciple  of  St.  Boniface,  '^who  calls 
himself  a  priest,  and  seems  to  be  the  same  Willibald  whom  Boniface 
appointed  to  the  See  of  Eichstadt  about  the  year  740."  This 
opinion  was  held  long  ago  by  such  able  men  as  Canisius,  Serarios, 
and  Mabillon.  The  writer  of  the  life  would  appear  indeed  to  claim 
identity  with  that  disciple  of  St.  Boniface,  when  he  dedicates  his 
work  to  Lullus  and  Megingaud  '*  clarissimis  coepiscopis,"  and 
when,  at  the  end  of  the  life,  as  edited  by  Wicelius,  he  adds,  *^  Ego 
Willibaldus  Episcopus,  etc.,  conscripsi."  Nevertheless,  the 
Bollandist  Grothfried  Henschen,  S.J.,  writing  after  Mabillon,  has 
proved  to  evidence  that  the  work  is  not  firom  the  pen  of  Bishop 
Willibald,  disciple  of  St.  Boniface  ;  and,  without  entering  into  his 
proofs,  it  may  suffice  to  state  that  the  two  great  German  his- 
torians of  our  own  day,  Pertz  in  *'Monumenta  Historica  Grer- 
maniae,"  and  Jaff^  in  ^'  Monumenta  Moguntina,"  have  adopted  the 
opinion  of  the  Jesuit  Henschen. 

As  regards  the  second  question,  I  fear  it  must  also  be  admitted 
that  we  are  far  from  having  the  genuine  text  of  Willibald's  work. 
Not  to  wander  too  far  from  the  matter  now  before  us,  I  will 
merely  cite  the  words  of  Jaffe,  the  ablest  editor  of  the  text :  "  Est 
vero  cognitum  (he  writes)  opusculum  hoc  non  integrum  usque  ad 

nos  remansisse ut  maxime  verisimile  sit,  jam  primom 

vitae  exemplar  detrimenta  cepisse  hiatusque  et  nmas  postea  levi 
brachio  oblitos  fuisse."  (Monum.  Mogunt.  page  424.) 

But  I  have  said  that  it  is  only  as  a  matter  of  erudition  that  I 
refer  to  these  points  ;  for  I  wish  to  waive  all  this.  I  will  accept 
in  full  the  statements  made  in  the  three  passages  relating  to 
St.  Boniface.     What  do  they  affirm  ? 

(1)  In  the  Vita,  by  WilUbald,  the  scenes  of  the  saint's  boyhood 
are  laid  in  the  south  of  England,  and  the  saint,  at  an  early  age,  is 
said  to  have  been  enrolled  among  the  religious  Brethren  in  the 
Monastery  of  Adestancastre,  on  the  banks  of  die  Exe  in  Devonshire, 
in  or  near  the  present  City  of  Exeter. 

(2)  In  the  second  extract,  St.  Boniface,  writing  to  Pope 
Zachary,  mentions  the  transmarine  Saxonland  ''  in  qua  natos  et 
nutritus  foL" 

(3)  The  Martyrology  of  Wandalbert  refers  to  St.  Boniface  as 
bom  in  England,  '*  Anglis  editus." 

All  this  only  proves  that  St.  Boniface,  by  accident  of  birth^ 
was  bom  cU  Crediton  in  Devonshire ;  but  it  affords  no  proof  that 
St.  Boniface  was  not  an  Irishman.  We  have  seen,  in  our  own 
time,  a  somewhat  similar  discussion  about  Cardinal  Wiseman,  and 
Dr.  Grant,  Bishop  of  Southwark,  and  Archbishop  Strain,  of 
Edinburgh.  Their  birth-place  may  be  assigned  to  Spain,  or  France, 


Correspondence.  183 

<ffSeotland;  bat  wbo  vQl  renture  to  deny,  vliat  they  themselves 
itteeted  a  thousand  times,  that  they  were  all  three  sons  of  old 

The  "probable  "  reasooa  advanced  to  prove  that  St.  Boniface 
nam  Englishman,  will  not  detain  ns  long: 

(1)  Hb  name  Wyofrith,  in  later  documents  more  commonly 
writteo  Winifred,  is  pure  Saxon.  To  this  I  reply,  that  it  is 
quite  uncertain  whether  the  name  Winifred  was  given  to  him 
io  baptism  or  on  his  embracing  a  religions  life  ;  nor  should  it  be  a 
matter  of  wonder  if  Boniface,  born  in  England,  would  receive  at 
baptinn  a  Saxon  name  ;  however,  it  is  far  from  being  improbable 
tlul  both  the  Saxon  Winifred,  and  the  Latin  Bonifacius  {i.e,  bene- 
Scent),  are  nothing  more  than  translations  or  adaptations  of  hie 
ariginEil  Celtic  name.  There  was  another  Irish  saint,  known  in 
Scottiah  history  by  the  name  Boni&cius,  who,  nevertheless,  is  regis- 
tered in  our  calendars  by  his  Celtic  name  of  Curitan.  May  not  this, 
ia  like  manner,  have  been  the  original  name  of  St.  Boniface,  the 
Apostle  of  Giermany  ? 

(2)  "  His  associates  in  his  apostolic  labours  in  Germany  were 
■S,  or  nearly  all,  Angb-Saxons."  That  there  were  several  zealous 
'""'    "  "  *■'  *  with  St.  Boniface  in  his  apostolic 

it  it  wonld  be  a  mistake  to  suppose 
ting  among  the  most  cherished  com- 
ihard,  foremost  among  the  bishops 
I ;  Bishop  Eoban,   his   companion 

Bishop  of  Burabm-g,  were  Irish, 
narratives  in  St.  Boniface's  life 
LB  described  aa  going  forth  to  wel- 

man,  devoted  to  Giod's  service  from 
pilgrim  from  Ireland  to  Gaul,  and 
years.     Hearing  of  the  abundant 

Boniface,  he  wished  to  be  sharer 
ooiface,  who  had  seen  in  vision  a 
he  See  of  Wnrzburg,  now  tenderly 
lard,  and  turning  to  those  around 
ren,  for  God  has  sent  us  the  chosen 
ollected  in  Wurzburg  by  St,  Kilian, 
>nilt  a  cathedral  church,  in  which 

Kilian  and  companions,  and  dedi- 
»tion  of  these  Irish  martyrs.  In 
■g  are  still  preserved  the  fine  old 
queathed  to  his  spiritual  children. 
■eligious  capital  of  all  the  territory 
erected  his  cathedral  there,  not  nn- 


184  Correspondence. 

great  ceDtre  of  piety  for  all  the  faithful  of  the  adjoining  territory. 
The  name  Witta  is  the  Celtic  Fintaa.  For  instance,  St.  Fimuan, 
of  Moville,  was  known  in  England  as  St.  Winnio:  and  the  Saxon 
tongue  loved  to  assiiydlate  the  n  before  d  or  t:  thus  not  to  multiply 
examples,  Brendan  became  Braddon,  and  St.  Gwendoline's  Church 
was  called  Uanwaddolen.  There  was,  moreover,  a  host  of  other 
Irish  missionaries  scattered  throughout  the  Prankish  Kingdom  at 
this  very  time,  as  St.  Dobda,  St.  Alto,  St.  Declan,  to  say  nothing  of 
St.  Ferghal  and  St.  Sedna.  But  we  should  hold  in  mind  that  it.was 
from  England  that  St.  Boniface  set  out  on  his  German  apostolate, 
and  it  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  we  were  not  to  find  him  accom* 
panied  by  several  religious  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  monasteries. 

(3)  He  treated  the  Irish  missionaries  with  *'  a  singular  harsh- 
ness." This  I  cannot  admit.  It  is  unquestionable,  indeed,  that  at 
this  very  time  jealousy  of  Ireland's  renown  had  taken  hold  of  some 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  schools ;  and  we  would  not  err  perhaps  were  we 
to  assign,  in  part  at  least,  to  this  very  spirit  of  jealousy,  the  decay 
of  piety  which  was  witnessed  at  this  period  in  the  English  church. 
But  such  men  as  Venerable  Bede  and  St.  Boniface  were  above 
those  petty  jealousies,  and  none  more  than  they  lamented  the  sad 
state  of  irreligion  to  which  England  was  now  (reduced.  Some  of 
the  Irish  missionaries  were  St.  Boniface's  chosen  companions, 
as  we  have  just  seen,  and  if  he  wrote  in  the  strongest  terms 
to  Pope  Zachary  against  the  errors  which  were  erroneously 
imputed  to  St.  Virgil  (Ferghal)  and  St.  Sidonius  (Sedna),  it  appears 
to  me  that  it  was  not  any  national  antipathy,  but  rather  his  apos- 
tolic earnestness  and  love  of  the  Faith  that  made  his  words  more 
forcible  than  otherwise  they  might  have  been.  Moreover,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  anything  he  wrote  about  the  supposed 
errors  of  those  missionaries  is  mild  indeed  compared  with  his  bitter 
denunciations  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  pilgrims  who  lived  forgetful  of 
their  religious  duties  on  the  Continent. 

I  come  now  to  the  direct  proofs  that  St.  Boniface  was  an  Irishman. 
The  principal  witness  in  favour  of  Ireland^s  claim  is  the  chronicler 
Marianus  Scotus.  He  received  in  Baptism  the  name  Moelbrigte, 
but  he  is  better  known  as  Marianus,  the  name  which  he  assumed 
when  he  embraced  a  religious  life  in  Germany,. and  as  was  usual 
in  those  times,  his  contemporaries  added  the  epithet  ^  Scotus,'  i^^ 
'  the  Irishman,'  to  designate  his  country  and  distinguish  him  from 
others  of  the  same  name.  He  begins  his  chronicle  with  the  words: 
^'  In  nomine  Sanctae  Divinitatis,  Resurrectionis  Christi  inquisitio 
incipit,  quam  Marianus  Hibernensis  inclusus  congregavit."  He 
was  bom  in  the  year  1028,  as  he  records  in  his  chronicle  under 
that  year:  "Ego  miser  Marianus  in  peccatis  fui  in  hoc  anno 
natus."  Educated  under  the  care  of  Tighemach  of  Boirche,  Abbot 
of  Moville,  in  the  County  Down  (whose  death  is  recorded  in  our 
Annals  in  the  year  1061),  he  became  a  pilgrim  for  Chnst,  and 
entered  a  monastery  at  Cologne  in  1056 :  **  Ego  Marianus  pere- 


Correspondence.  185 

grinns  factor  pro  regno  coelesti,  patriam  motuavi  (sic),  et  in 
Colonia,  5  feria,  Kal.  August!,  monachus  efifectus."  Two  years 
later  he  was  enrolled  among  the  religious  brethren  at  Fulda,  and 
he  was  ordained  in  1059  at  Wurzburg,  as  he  takes  care  to  record, 
"  JQXta  corpus  Sancti  Kiliani  martyris."  For  ten  years  he  led  the 
life  of  a  strict  recluse  in  Fulda,  spending  his  whole  time  in  prayer 
and  study ;  but  in  1069,  with  the  consent  of  the  Abbot,  and  at  the 
inTitation  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  he  proceeded  to  that  city, 
and  he  continued,  till  his  death  in  the  year  1082,  to  pursue  the 
same  austere  manner  of  life  in  the  hermitage  chapel  at  St.  Martin's 
MoDastery  in  Mentz.  Dr.  Lanigan  writes  of  him  that  ^'  his  reputa- 
tion for  piety  was  very  great ;  and,  as  to  learning,  he  has  been  ever 
ance  considered  as  one  of  the  first  men  of  his  times,"  and  adds  that 
hk  Chronicle  '^  exceeds  anything  of  the  kind  which  the  middle  ages 
have  produced."  (Ec  Hist.  iv.  7.)  His  chronicle  became  the 
groondwork  of  most  of  the  later  chronicles,  particularly  in  England, 
and  William  of  Malmesbury  was  so  proud  of  him,  as  to  boast  that 
he  was  a  lineal  descendant  from  the  family  of  Venerable  Bede. 
Ihring  the  past  centuries  his  fame  was  not  a  little  impaired  on  the 
continent  in  consequence  of  spurious  additions  introduced  by 
Lutheran  editors  into  the  printed  text  of  the  Chronicle,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  entry  which  purported  to  record  the  election  to  the 
Popedom  of  the  Papessa  loanna.  However,  in  our  own  days  his 
£air  fame  has  been  fully  vindicated,  and  the  accurate  edition  of  the 
Chronicle  by  Waitz,  in  the  7th  vol.  of  Pertz*s  "  Monumenta 
Historica  Germaniae,"  has  revealed  the  fact  that  not  one  of  those 
heretical  or  offensive  entries  is  to  be  found  in  the  genuine  text. 

In  this  matter,  indeed,  of  the  authentic  text  of  Marianus*8 
vork,  all  question  has  been  set  at  rest  by  the  discovery  of  the 
original  MS.,  of  the  Chronicle  in  the  Vatican  Library,  whither  it 
was  brought  from  Mentz,  and  where  it  is  now  accessible  to  all 
students  of  history.  It  is  classed  among  the  Palatine  MSS., 
No.  830,  membr.  saec.  xi.  The  greater  part  of  the  Chronicle  was 
dictated  by  Marianus,  and  written  by  an  expert  Irish  scribe,  who 
attests  in  a  marginal  Irish  gloss  that  he  was  engaged  at  this 
task  for  the  Recluse  Moelbrigte,  at  Mentz,  the  year  of  the  murder 
<^  Biarmid,  King  of  Leinster,  whose  death  is  recorded  in  our  Irish 
Annals,  and  in  the  Chronicle  of  Marianus,  at  a.d.  1072.  **  It  is 
pleasant  for  us  to-day,  0  Maelbrigte,  recluse,  in  the  enclosure 
Idusail)  in  Mentz,  on  the  Thursday  before  the  Feast  of  Peter,  in  the 
fart  year  of  the  yoke  (ilegaid,  i.e.,  the  religious  profession)  that  is, 
ikt  year  in  — ^ich  Diarmait,  King  of  the  Leinstermen  was  slain,  and 


*VJ_  ;_  ji       ■  T      .  e A  It 


18,6,  Correspondence^ 

fir9t  foliQS,  however,  of  thc^  Chronicle,  and  those  from  folio  150  to 
folio  166  are  writt^a  in  Marianiis's  hand ;  and,  farther,  his  addi* 
tions  and  corrections  rup  through  the  whole  text.  After  the  year 
1074,  in  Marianus's  own  writing,  the  Colophon  is.  added,  giving 
us  the  author's  name : — 
'  Hiiltuiu  ob  excerptos  legimus  barbaricos 

Beges  Justificandos  g^taque  turbida  egenos : 

Collige  litteram  anteriorpm,volvito  summam, 

Bxistat  numeratu^  aiictor ;  intra  require, 

Rectus  omnes  me  tulit  in.  novum  (t.e,  librum)  ordine  laudis.** 
Putting  together,  as  he  directs,  the  first  letters  of  these  words, 
we  have  '^  Moelbrigte^  Clausenair  Romtinbl,"  which  I  find  trans: 
late4  in  one  of  the  Wadding.MSS.:  "  Moelbrigte,  inclusus  coenobita,** 
that  is,  *  Moelbrigte,  the  hermit  Recluse.* 

I  have  been  particular  in  these  details  that  the  reader  may 
underistand  that  in  the  following  passages  relating  to  St.  Boniface, 
we  have  the  authentic  testimony  of  the  most  accurate  Irish 
chronicler  Marianus,  who  spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  the 
exercises  of  piety  and  the  pursuits  of  study,  at  Fulda  and  Mentz, 
the  great  monastery  and  diocese  which  honour  St.  Boniface  as 
founder  and  patron. 

I  will  now  reduce  to  a  few  heads  the.  testimony  given  by 
Marianus  in  regard  to  St.  BonifiEu^e : — 

(a)  He  tells  us  that  both  the  father  and  the  mother  of  St. 
Boniface  were  Irish  :  a.d.  715  :  "  Hie  (Papa  Gregorius)  erat  vir 
caistus  et  sapiens,  qui  Bonifacium,  patre  atque  etiam  matre  Scott  am, 
ordihavit  Episcopum  ad  sedem  Moguntinum,  et  per  eum  in 
Germania  verbum  salutis  praedicavit,  gentemque  illam  in  tenehris 
sedentem  evangelica  luce  illustravit." 

(b)  He  expressly  calls  St.  Boniface  an  Irish  Archbishop : 
A.D.  7^23.  ^^Juramentum  Sancti  Scotti  Archiepiscopi  Bonifatii 
(sic)  in  ecclesia  Sancti  PetH  Apostoli  coram  Papa  Gregorio 
Secundo." 

(cV  In  the  marginal  additions  to  the  text  made  in  Marianns's, 
owA  hand,  St.  BonLface  is  said  to  have  been  from  Ireland :  ^  Iste 
enim  Bonif^itius  de  Hibemia,  missus  est  cum  WiDebrordo  Anglico 
Episcopo,  ut  in  vita  ejus  Willebrordi  lejptur/^ 

(d)  Passages  from  Pontifical  letters  are  cited  by  Marianus, 
addressed  to  the  Irish  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mentz.  Thus  :«^ 
^'Epistola  Gregorii  ad  Bonifacium  Scotituin  Moguntinupi  (sic) 

clusenair  isin  clnsail  immagantia  isin  dardoen  ria  fel  petair  isin  cet  blia* 
dain  denilegaid  -1-  Idn  bliadain  irromarbat  diannait  ri  lagen,  agus  iai^ds 
cetha  bliadain  tanac  sa  aalbain  in  peiegrinitate  mea,*'  &c.  This  text  hMi 
been  inaccuirately  piibliahed  by  Z^ufis  and  dimmer.  It  is  fttntfigQ  to  fod 
that  both  those  Grennan  schol^.omit  the.^iai^  clusail/'  an4  .both.  SQ^., 
ttitutedendegaid  for  *'  denilegaid,**  though  this  is  quite  plainly  wntten  m* 
the  ancient  manuscript.  In  some  less  important  oetidLi'  they  ^dietStom 
one  another^  both  difEering  frotnthe  authentic  text. 


i 


Gorre9pondenee:  187 

« 

Aidiiepiscopam."  ^'Epistola  Zachariae  Papae  ad  Bonifacium 
Scottiim  Archiepificopum  Moguotinum  data  nonas  Januarias,"  &c. 
Again :  *'  Alia  epistola  Zachariae  Papae  ad  Bonifacium  Seottum 
.^jchiepiscopam  Mosruntinnm." 

(e)  Wh«i  iQCording  the  dtetraotion  of  the  monaBteries  of 
St.  G-ail:  and  Falda,  in  the  Hnngarian  incarsions,  he  links  these 
great  monasteries  together  as  founded  by  Irish  saints  :  a.d.  1037. 
«<  Monasteriasanetonim  Seottorum,  Sancti  Galli  et  sancti  BoniCacii, 
igne  consnmanttir." 

It  will  be  said,  perhaps^  that  Marianns  was  prejudiced  in  this 
case,. and; that. he  allowed  love  of  country  to  give  a  bias  to  those 
entries  in  his  chronicle  which  refer  to  St.  Bonileuse.  HowcTer,  you 
will  searcdi  in,  vain  for  any  trace  of  such  bias  or  prejudice  through- 
oat  the  work  of  Marianas.  He  was  indeed  thoroughly  acquainted ' 
with  the  ecdesiastical  history  of  his-  country,  and  refers  with 
pardonable  pride  to  Ireland's  saints  and  her  fame  for  sanctity. 
Thus,  at  A.D.  521,  recording  the  death  of  St.  Bridget,  he  takes 
oare  to  call  her  an  Irish  virgin :  ^'  Sancta  Brigita  Scotta  virgo  in 
HibemiA  obiit."  In  the  heads  of  chapters  of  Book  the  "iniird ' 
(No.  63),  he  refers  to  St.  Oolnmbanus  :  ^'Sanctus  pater  Oolumbanus 
etx  nostra  .sanctissima  insula  Hibemia,^  quae  insula  sanctorum  nomi- 
oatur,  cum  sancto  Gallo  et  aliis  probatis  discipuHs  in  Burgundiam 
venit.'^  And  here  I  may-  remcu-k  that  Waitz,  in  the  printed  text, 
adopts  tke  reading  inmla-Sootorum^  but  in  the  MS.,  the  latter  word 
has  the  doable  contraction  usual  with  Celtic  scribes  when  writing 
SiUKtorum^  so  that  th^e  can  be  no  doubt 'as  to  the  true  reading 
iuula  Sftftetorunu  Again,  at  a.d.'  674,  we  have:  ^'Hibernia, 
imula  .Sanetorum,  Sanctis  mirabilibus  perplurimis  sublimiter  plena 
habetor/'  where  Waitz  gires  the  accurate  reading  of  the  text.  So, 
too,,  at  A.D..  667,  Marianus  commemorates  St.  Kihan-as'  an  Irish 
saint:  '^Sanotus  Kilianas  Scottus,  de  Hibernia  iusiria  natus, 
Wirziburgensis  Episcopus  darus  habetur." 

Bnt  if  Marianas  is  -  thus  attentive  to  give  Iteland  her  di!ie  meed 
of'praise^  he  is  not  less  particular  in  removing  aU  doubt  as  to 
England's  claim  to  her  illustrious  saints.  Thus,  at  a.d.  372: 
^SanctosiPatricius  nasoitur  in  Britania  insula  ex  patre  nomine 
CUpuint."  JuiK  431 :  <'  Sanctus  Patricius,-  genere  Brittus,  a 
Sancto  Celestiaa  Papa  consecratur."  a.d.-  694:  '^Sergius  Pkpa 
oidiiuurit^  venerabtlem  virnm  Vilbrordum,  cognomine  Clementem, 
FresQoumigenti  Bpiscopum,  de  Britaoia  natum,  genere  Ataiglicum." 
Again:  .^' Ecberctus  vir  sanctus,  de  gente  Anglorum,  etsacerdos 
monaflhica  vita  et  peregrinus  exomans,-  plurimaa  Scotticae  gentis 
pnyvinoiaa  ad .  canonicam  pasehalis  -  temporis  observantiam,  a  qua 
diutius  aberraverant,  pia  praedicatione  convertit  anno  ab  Incarna- 
tione'Demini  juxta  Dionysium  71 6i^  These  entries  suffice  to 
prove  jtkat'Mananus  did  not  alibw  himself  to  be  influenced  by  mere 
mrtjonal  bias  in  assigning  to>  their  respecdre  nations  the  great 
Bants-Sffhomhe  commemopates.     On  the  contrary,  his  accuracy  and 


188  Correapofidenee. 

impartiality,  as  shown  in  the  above  entries,  are  a  sure  gaarantee 
that  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  be  influenced  by  national  prejudice 
when  dealing  with  St.  Boniface. 

But  Dr.  Heal  J  remarks  that  the  repeated  use  of  '^  Bonifacius 
Scottus  "  is  rather  a  proof  '^  that  the  point  was  questioned  at  the 
time.''  It  is  to  be  presumed,  indeed,  that  the  point  was  questioned. 
It  is  probable  that  many  of  the  Franks  and  Saxons  supposed 
St.  Boniface  to  be  an  Englishman,  because  he  had  come  to  them 
from  England,  precisely  as  they  supposed  St.  Willibrord  to  be 
an  Irishman,  because  it  was  from  Ireland  he  had  set  out  on  his 
missionary  enterprise.  In  proof  of  this  latter  assertion,  I  may  refer 
to  the  following  entry  in  the  ancient  catalogue  of  the  Abbots  of 
Epternach,  the  monastery  in  which  St.  Willibrord's  relics  are  pre- 
served :  '^  Sanctus  Willibrordus  Ibemus,  anno  Domini  658  natus, 
venit  ex  Ilibemia  trajectum  anno  690."  (Published  by  Brusch, 
"  De  Monast.  Eptem.")  So,  also,  Molanus,  in  his  Martyrology, 
in  accordance  with  the  Grerman  tradition,  calls  St.  Willibrord  an 
Irishman,  "  Willibrordus  Hibernus."  As  Marianus  wished  to  cor- 
rect this  latter  error  by  attesting  that  Willibrord  was  "  de  Brit- 
tania  natus,  genere  Anglicus,"  so  he  set  at  rest  the  former  mis- 
take by  recording  that  Boniface  was  **  de  Hibemia/'  ^'patre  atqae 
etiam  matre  Scottus.'* 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  Marianus  does  not 
always  add  as  a  mere  matter  of  course  the  epithet  Seottus  to 
St.  Boniface's  name.  On  the  contrary,  having  recorded  the  fact  of 
his  Irish  nationality,  he,  in  the  direct  entries  regarding  the 
saint,  seldom  makes  use  of  that  designation.  Thus,  we  find  at 
A.D.  743:  '*  Sanctus  Bouifatius  Moguntinus  Archiepiscopus  clams 
habetur;"  At  a.d.  750  :  *^  Pipinus  decreto  Zachariae  a  Bonifatio 
Moguntino  Archiepiscopo  unguitur  (sic)  in  imperatorem,  et  deinde 
ob  id  post  Papam  secundus  habetur  episcopus  Moguntinus;"  and 
again,  commemorating  his  martyrdom  at  a.d.  765  :  ^'  Sanctas 
Bonifatius  Archiepiscopus  adnuntianB  verbum  Dei  in  Fresia  passus 
est  cum  aliis  martyribus,  nonas  lunii."  Thus,  it  is  not  by  a  set 
phrase,  or  as  a  matter  of  hobby,  that  Marianus  speaks  of  *^  Boni- 
facius  Scottus  ;"  and  if  in  the  heading  of  some  of  the  Pontifical 
Letters  addressed  to  St.  Boniface,  we  meet  with  the  phrase  *^  ad 
Bonifacium  Scottum,"  it  appears  to  me  that  in  this  case  Marianas 
inserted  those  documents  with  their  address  and  context  precisely 
as  he  found  them,  as  we  know  by  many  examples  was  the  usage 
of  the  old  Celtic  annalists.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
although  in  the  printed  text  nothing  but  the  titles  of  these 
Pontifical  Letters  is  given,  the  Letters  themselves  are  inserted  in 
Marianus's  original  manuscript. 

Dr.  Healy  interprets  the  marginal  entry,  *' Bonifatius  de 
Hibemia,"  to  mean  that  ^*  Boniface  was  in  Ireland  before  he  canie 
with  Willibrord  to  Germany.'*  I  cannot  accept  this  interpretation  ; 
for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  not  consistent  with  historic  truth,  all 


Corrapondence.  189 

uthoritiei  being  agreed  that  it  waa  trom  the  Anglo-SaxoD 
•dmolfl  St.  Boniface  prooeeded  on  his  mission  to  evangelize  the 
Gtnnans;  and,  aecondly,  because  the  phrase  de  Hibemia,  like  the 
Bmilar  phrase  de  Brittania,  has  a  definite  meaning  in  the  pages  of 
Uarianns,  and  is  need  to  indicate  the  oation  to  which  the  saint 
betoDged. 

I  come  now  to  Trithemius,  who  conSrms  the  statement  of 
Htrianus,  and  attests  that  St.  Boniface  was  "Scotus  natu,!'  that  is 
m  Irishman ;  but  Dr.  Heal;]'  writes  that "  the  statement  of  an  author 
wbo  fionrished  at  the  eod  of  the  fifteenth  century,  is  entitled  to  no 
ipedal  weight  in  fixing  the  birth-place  of  a  man  who  flourished  seven 
bnsdred  years  befora  his  time."  For  my  part,  however,  I  assign 
consitierable  weight  to  the  authority  of  TrithemiuB.  He  was  abbot  of 
tbehmoas  Benedictine  Monastery  of  Spanheim,  and  was  remarkable 
imong  hia  contemporaries  for  the  accuracy'  of  his  historical  koow- 
ledge.  The  treatise  "  De  Scriptoribos  Ecclcsiasticis,"  in  which  he 
inigns  St.  Bonifitce  to  Ireland,  is  still  regarded  as  a  classical  work ; 
ud  Gams,  a  learned  German  writer  of  the  present  day,  does  not 
Iwntale  to  assert  that  Trithemius,  in  this  treatise,  "  surpassed  all  bia 
predecessors  of  the  Middle  Ages."  One  fact,  moreover,  should  add 
weight  to  the  authority  of  Trithemius  in  the  matter  of  which  we 
treat  He  held  in  his  hand  the  traditions  of  Meutz  and  Fulda^ 
thstfis,  of  the  See  of  St.  Bouiface,  and  of  the  great  monastery 
which  he  founded.  It  appeara  to  me  that  it  would  be  alike  strange 
to  suppose  that  if  St.  Boniface  were  a  Saxoo,  the  traditions  of 
Henti  and  Fulda  would  assign  him  to  Ireland,  as  that  Liixeuil 
■sd  Rohhio  would  conspire  to  assign  to  England  their  great  patron 
ud  founder  St.  Columlnuius.  But,  it  is  said,  that  Trithemius  cites 
Mariaous,  and  evidently  consulted  bis  chronicle.  It  is  to  be  pre- 
nmied,  indeed,  that  it  was  so;  but  whilst  Trithemius  accepts  as 
mrrect  the  statements  of  Marianus  relating  to  St.  Boniface,  be 
becomes  voucher  to  us  that  those  statements  are  conformable  to 
the  traditions  of  the  spiritual  children  of  St.  Boniface,  which  is  the 
k  of  Msrianos's  authority 

oar  correspondent  proposed 
d.  His  "  Commentary  on 
lifterent  in  style  from  the 
rurin.  Three  ancient  MS. 
it  the  Vatican,  and  in  the 
last,  which  I  repeatedly 
inal  MS.  of  Claudius.  It 
it  is  written  on  the  finest 
7e  Irish  band  as  the  "  Book 
le  MS.  heirlooras  that  have 


190  Correspondence. 

dedication  of  die  commentary  to  the  Abbot  Jastns,  ait  *w1io0e 
request  it  was  written,  and  this,  of  itself,  if  other  proofs  were 
wanting,  should  suffice  to  mark  out  the  nationality  of  the  writer. 
Dr.  Lanigan,  indeed,  «ays,  that  "  perhaps  "  this  title  may  be  an 
addition  of  a  later  age ;  but,  with  all  xespeot  for  Dr.  LanigaA, 
such  a  line  of  argument,  resting  on  a  mere  conjecture  regarding  a 
MS.,  which  he  did  not  take  the  ironble  :to  ^examine,  cannot  be 
allowed  a  place  in  serions  criticism.  60  for  as  I  liave  been  able 
to  discover,  there  is  no  trace  in  the  "  Commentary  on  tiie  Oo^iel 
of  St.  Matthew,"  of -any  of  those  errors  which  St.  Boniface  imputes 
.to  Clement,  **  genere  Seottus,"  and  which,  at  his  request,  'were 
condemned  in  the  Sj^mod  of  Bishops  of  the  Frankish  kingdom  in  tiK 
year  745. 

4^  Patrick  F.  Moban,  Biskap  ofOatorif. 


St.  Boniface. 

to  the  £ditob  of  the  ibish  ecoi^siastioal  record. 

The  Presbytbrt,  St.  MartchuroHv 

Torquay. 

Sir, — Will  you  kindly  allow  a  Deyonshire  Priest  to  make  a 
few  remarks  upon  your  very  clear  statement  of  the  grounds  for 
regarding  the  Apostle  of  Germany  as  -an  Anglo-Saxon. 

1.  The  correct  intetpretation  of  the  '' Adesoanoastre"  of  the 
life  by  Bishop  Willibald  is^  "  Near  the  Fort  on  the  Exe,"  not  the 
*'  £sk,"  the  latter  name  belongs  to  two  rivers  in  Scotland,  and  to 
one  in  Cumberland,  as  well  as  to  a  lake  in  Donegal,  but  is  unknown 
in  Devonshire. 

3.  Crediton,  or  Kirton,  is  said  to  be  the  native  place  o£ 
St.  Boniface  in  the  old  Exeter  Lectionary,  revised  by  Bishop 
Grandisson,  a.d.  1B27.  The  Best  Lection  of  the  second  Noctum 
begins :  '*  Beatus  Bonefacius  in  Westsaxonum  Provincia  Angtie 
apud  Creditoniam,  in  Devonia,  ^bc"  There  is  still  to  be  seen  at 
Crediton,  *'  St.  Wynfrith's  Well ;"  and  there  seems  much  pro- 
bability in  the  conjecture  that  Crediton  was  chosen  to  be  the 
Episcopal  See,  140  years  before  St.  Edward  the  Confessor  founded 
the  Cathedral  of  Exeter,  on  account  t>f  its  having  ^ven  birth  to 
St.  Boniface. 

3.  I  venture  to  call  in  question  one  of  your  grounds  for 
judging  St.  Boniface  to  iiave  been  an  Englishman.  You  saj, 
''If  he  were  an  Irishman,  he  certainly  treated  his  fsllow-country- 
men  with  a  harshness  quite  as  singular  as  the  sympathy  which,  ia 
that  hypothesis,  he  ahows  for  the  Anglo-Saxons."  Are  you  im>4 
implying  that  in  the  eighth  century  the  same  antipathy  existed 
between  the  Irish  and  the  English  which  now  unhappy  obtains  ? 
I  can  find  no  trace  of  such  an  antipathy  in  the  writmgs  of 
St.  AHhelm,  or  the  Venerable  Bede.  The  former  describes  how 
English  scholars  streamed  over  to  the  Irish  centres  of  learning 


Correspondence.  191 

fike  bees  to  a  hive,  and  draws  a  pleasing  picture  of  tlie  kindly 
llieodore,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  surrounded  by  youug  Irish 
monks,  whose  eager  powers  of  disputation  so  hotly  pressed  the 
eood  prelate  as  to  make  him  appear  like  an  old  boar  defending 
himseU  from  a  pack  of  hounds.  We  may  judge  of  the  warm 
sympathy  that  existed  between  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  their  Irish 
brethren  at  this  period,  by  the  indignant  liorror  with  which 
Venerable  Bede  narrates  the  atrocious  outrage  committed  by 
Egfrid,  King  of  the  Northumbrians,  who,  in  684,  '*  sent  Beort, 
Ids  general,  with  an  army  injto  Ireland,  and  miserably  wasted  that 
harmless  nation,  which  had  always  been  most  friendly  to  the 
English:  Gentem  innoxiam  et  neUioni  Anglorum  semper  amicutai- 
vtam.** — (H.  K,  B.  iv.  c.  26).  It  is  p}easaQt  to  look  back  at  a 
period  when  this  could  be  said,  and  I  therefore  trust  you  will 
pardon  my  protest  against  importing  into  that  age  of  amicable 
rivaby  .our  own  more  modem  antipathies.  Dr.  Mervale,  the 
Protestant  Dean  of  Ely,  in  his  presidential  address  last  year 
before  the  '*  Devonshire  Association,"  makes  a  point  of  Saint 
Boniface's  supposed  antagonism  to  '*  the  Celtic  or  British  forms  of 
fiuth,"  I  believe  most  unwarrantably ;  but  he  will  claiin  you  as  an 
anthority  on  his  side. 

I  should  like  to  say  something  about  Clement  and  Adalbert, 
and  also  about  the  Yirgilius,  whom  Pope  Zachary  says,  ''  lied 
wickedly,"  and  whom  I  cannot  kdmit  to  have  been  St.  Virgil, 
Bishop  of  Salzburg,  but  1  have  already  made  my  letter  too  long. 
—1  am,  Sir,  yours  faithfully,  W.  K.  Cam'ok  Brownlow. 

We  beg  to  thank  onr  correspondent  for  giving  us  the 
correct  nanie  of  t&e  Devonshire  river:  the  Latin  name 
Tmded'ns.  As  to  his  seconcl  point,  we  have  only  to  say 
that  we  stated  our  own  conviction  honestly,  and  that  we 
turrived  at  it  mattirely,  after  k  carefol  perusal  of  most  of 
tiie  letters  of  St.  Boniface.  He  undoubtedly  did  show 
great  sympathy  for  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  no  sympathy 
for  the  Scoto-Celts ;  but  we  by  no  means  accuse  £l\  his 
countiyn^en,  either  then  or  how,  of  antipathy  for,  or  even 
a  want  of  sympathy  with,  Irishmen.  J.  H. 


A  StTGfOESTIOk 

TO  THE  EnrroB  of  the  ibish  ecclesiastical  becord. 

^        .  ,    WiTHAM,  Essex. 

SiBj — ^In  the  part  of  your  jperiodical  devoted  to  correspondence, 
tDow  me,  please,  a  small  space ,  in  which  to  nif^ke  a  suggestion, 
whicB  *"«^  Af.  T«i^y  not,  be 'worthy  of  notice.     The  suggestion  is 


192  Correspondence^ 

than  the  ordinary  run  of  Irish  papers,  were  estahjished  and  placed 
under  ecclesiastical  management  or  Rupervision,  a  paper  with  good 
and  well-written  leading  articles  upon  Irish  and  Catholic  subjects, 
and  with  interesting  Irish  and  Catholic  news  and  information,  a 
paper  well  got  up  and  printed,  and  arranged  somewhat  after  the 
manner  of  the  Tablet,  the  Weekly  Register,  the  Spectator^  or  the 
Pall  Mall  Gazette  f  Like  the  Tablet,  it  might  be  "  A  Catholic 
Weekly  Newspaper  and  Review,"  and  deal  largely  with  Irish 
educational  and  ecclesiastical  matters. 

By  the  way,  if  we,  English  Priests,  want  to  know  anything  of 
the  educational,  ecclesiastical  and  Catholic  state  of  affairs  in 
Ireland,  it  is  chiefly  to  the  Tablet  we  have  to  turn.  8trange  to 
say,  there  is  not,  I  think,  in  Ireland  a  single  Catholic  newspaper 
which  may  be  termed  an  Ecclesiastical  one ;  that  is,  one  dealing, 
if  not  exclusively,  at  least  principally,  with  matters  interesting  to 
Catholics  in  general,  and,  above  all,  to  priests.  And  by  the 
way,  too,  how  many  eloquent  and  splendid  Irish  Catholic  sermons 
are  lost  to  English  Catholics,  and  also  to  the  world,  for  want  of 
being  reported  and  published  in  occasional  and  cheap  numbers, 
and  so  forming  what  might  be  entitled,  "  The  Irish  Catholic 
Pulpit." 

But  to  continue.  There  are  not  wanting,  I  am  sure,  in 
Ireland,  or  amongst  Irishmen,  talent  and  ability  for  the  manage- 
ment and  conducting  of  such  a  paper  as  I  suggest.  With  a  staff 
of  steady  and  thoughtful  directors,  and  of  able  and  talented 
writers,  such  a  paper,  I  think,  could  not  fail  of  becoming  a 
success,  and  of  becoming  the  leading  Catholic  paper  of  Ireland, 
and  a  paper  most  acceptable  to  priests,  and  to  Catholic  educated 
laymen.  And  no  doubt  the  paper  would,  in  time,  have  a  sale  in 
England  and  Scotland,  equal  to  that  of  the  Tablet  and  the  Weekly 
Register  in  Ireland,  and  containing  general  9JiA  interesting  Irish 
and  Catholic  news,  would  also  have  an  extensive  circulation  in 
America  and  Australia.  The  paper  might  be  entitled.  The  Irish 
Catholic  Chronicle :  a  Weekly  Newspaper  and  Review  ;  or,  perhaps 
better,  The  Irish  Chronicle:  a  Catholic  Weekly  Newspaper  and 
Review.    I  have  done. — ^Faithfully  yours, 

An  English  Priest. 


Clandestxnxty  and  Domestic  Servants. 

Our  correspondent  **  Dunenfiis,"  referring  to  the  decision 
which  we  gave  in  the  case  made  ny  "Canonicus 
Dublinensis,"  where  the  servant,  after  having  the  banns 
twice  published  in  one  parish,  "  resigns  her  situation  in 
that  parish,"  leaving  it  miaUy  and  for  good,  and  takes  a 
room  in  another  parish,  in  which  she  intends  to  live  after  her 
marriage,  and  where,  in  our  opinion,  she  gets  married  law* 
fullj  and  validly,  observes  as  follows,  in  reference  to  onr 


Correspondence.  198 

opinion,  and  our  quotation  from  Dr.  Murray  in  its  support, 
(see  Record,  vol.  iv.,  new  series,  page  740) : — 

**  Now,  what  I  dan*t  understand  is  the  ffrottnda  of  the  universality 
of  this  solution.  It  is  true  that  we  must  have  conjoined  the 
*<  &ctQm  habitationis,*'  and  the  ''  intentionem  ibidem  perpetuo 
habit&ndi,^  in  the  case  of  a  domicile,  and  in  that  of  a  quasi- 
domicile,  the  "  factum,  et  animum  ibidem  permanendi  per  majorem 
aani  partem."  In  cases,  however,  such  as  that  proposed,  there 
most  be  numberless  instances  in  which,  owing  to  want  of  means 
and  other  causes,  which  might  be  easily  specified,  the  ''  animus 
habitandi  perpetuo,  vel  per  majorem  anni  partem ''  is  not  absolute, 
bat  merely  conditional ;  the  condition  beipg  that  of  marriage. 
Hence,  in  such  instances,  we  would  have  the  validity  of  marriage 
dependent  on  a  condition  which  does  not  exist,  and  which  will  only 
exist  when  the  marriage  has  actually  taken  place.  In  other  word^ 
the  existence  of  a  condition  necessary  to  the  validity  of  a  marriage 
depends  on  the  due  celebration  of  that  marriage,  and  the  validity 
of  the  marriage  itself  depends  on  the  existence  of  a  condition  which 
is  simply  non-existent.  Such  is  the  difficulty  in  which  your  solution 
involves  me.  May  I  trouble  you  to  elucidate  it  ? — Faithfully 
Toors, 

"  DUNKNSIS." 

We  think,  if  our  correspondent  refers  to  the  last  num- 
ber of  the  Record,  in  which  we  pointed  out  that  speculative 
imcertainties  of  this  kind,  whether  regarding  the  tenure  of 
the  house,  or  the  means  of  living,  cannot  affect  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  domicile  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  he  will  find  his 
first  objection  satisfactorily  answered.  As  regards  his 
second  objection,  that  the  animus  perpetito  habitandi  is  con- 
ditional on  the  marriage,  the  distinction  to  be  made  is  very 
obvious:  it  is  conditional  on  the  intention  of  getting 
married,  we  admit ;  it  is  conditional  on  the  actual  marriage, 
we  deny.  What  is  conditional  on  the  actual  marriage  is 
actual  residence  subsequent  to  that  marriage;  but  not 
actaal  residence  before  it,  nor  the  intention  of  living  there 
after  it 


In  reference  to  another  statement,  incidentally  quoted 
bom  the  Rbcobd  by  "  Can.  Dub.,"  that  parties  from  the 
coontry,  even  when  the  female  does  not  mean  to  return 
again  to  her  father's  house,  may  be  validly  married  in 
Dablin  by  her  own  countrv  pastor,  because  the  sponsa 
loses    her         n,  and  intends  to   acquire  her  husband's 


194  Correspondenee. 

marriage  at  some  length,  and  with  much  ingenuity;  tut, 
inasmuch  as  the  same  question  was  asked  and  answered 
in  the  Record  before  (see  new  series,  voL  iii.,  page  M3), 
we  think  it  unnecessary  to  re-open  the  case  again,  aiid 
beg  to  refer  our  correspondent  to  the  place  indicated  for  b 
solution  of  his  difficulty. 

A  correspondent,  who  eignfl  himself  a  "Cotmtry 
Priest,"  asks  whether  he  is  bound  to  perform  the  Oaesarean 
Section  in  order  to  baptize  a  foetiis  less  than  four  months 
and  a  half  old,  when  the  mother,  too,  is  dying  of  a  lingef- 
ing  and  painfol  disease,  and,  moreover,  there  was  no  one 
there  to  help  him,  and  a  doctor  assured  him  that,  in  any 
case,  there  would  be  no  use  in  his  performing  it.  W6 
answer,  most  decidedly  not — the  last  reason  alone  woulA 
isuffice ;  and  we  may  add  that,  in  oiu:  opinion,  in  this 
country  a  priest  is  rarely,  if  ever,  bound  to  perform  this 
operation,  in  order  to  baptize  a  child  or  a  foetus, 

J.  H* 


Butter  on  Fast  Days  ouTsroE  Lent.^^Stipendium 

FOR  THE  SECOND  MaSS. 
TO  THE  BDITOB  OF  THE  BOOLBSIASTICAL  BBOORD. 

Rev.  Sir, — ^May  I  trouble  you  to  give  replied  to  die  two 
llowing  queries  in  the  next  number  of  the  Record  : — 

1.  Does  the  dispensation  granted  by  the  Holy  See  for  the  use 
of  butter  at  collation  during  Lent  apply  to  the  same  meal  on  other 
fast  days  outside  Lent  ? 

2.  In  a  diocese  where  the  Priests  who  duplicate  on  Sundays 
have  permission  from  the  Bishop  to  adopt  a  honorarium  for  each 
Mass,  is  there  any  law  to  prevent  a  Parish  Priest,  should  he  find 
it  necessary  to  duplicate,  ^m  accepting  a  honorarium  for  his 
seccmd  Mass  ? — Faithfully  yours, 

A.  B. 

As  to  the  first  question,  we  cannot  speak  with  certainty, 
because  we  have  not  seen  the  original  applicatioix.  We 
^re  inclined,  however,  to  think  that  the  phvilege,  su<^h  as 
ft  is,  extends  to  fast  days  outside  Lent;  for  the  bhlV 
Exception  made  regaHs  the  ^more  solemn  f^  dKje^ 
'#hicn  se^ms  to  ref^  to  black  fast  days  of  Lent-^th^y  iure 
lBf{>ecial]y  excepted. 

'  If  our  correspondent  in  the  second  question  '^r<£9  i&b 
Bishop's  permission  iaccurately.  Parish  Priests  Wb6  nrb 
^aUoided  to  duplicate  are  not  included,  for  hh  b^^  ihat 


-  k.     ..,  -y . 


Correspondence^  195 

Bishops  gire  permiflaioii  to  priests  who  duplicate  on  Stndays 

^tD  accept  a  honoraritim    for  each    Mass/'      He    could 

give  DO  such  permission. to  Parish  Priests — one  Mass  at 

least  must  be  said  for  their  flock,  and  without  a  honorarium. 

But,  if  the  Bishop  considers  himself  jufitified  in  giving  « 

general  permission  to  Priests  who  duplicate  to   take  a 

honorarium /or  t/ie  second  MclsSj  then  we  should  isaj  that 

the  Parish  iSiests  ^re  included,  and  may  take  that  honot^ 

aiiom  for  the  ^saiiie  puita  et  grams  cawa  which  warrants  th^ 

Bishop  in  granting  the  permission  to  ta;ke  a  honot'arium 

for  the  two  Masses,  in  the  case  of  the  Curate,  may  justify 

faim  in  granting  permission  to  the  Parish  Prie^  to  take  it 

fbr  their  second  Mass.  J.  H. 


DiRBCTOEIUM,  fflBU   OrTK)   OFFIOn   DiVINI    RBOITANDt. 
TO   THE   EDITOB  OF  THE  IRISH   KCCTLBSIAfltlOAL  RECORD. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir. — ^The  DirtcXoriunif  seu  Ordo  is  an  annual 
publication  of  great  importande  to  the  clergy.  It  is  in  their  hands 
dailj  for  reference.  It  has  an  enduring  interest  extending  over 
the  entire  year.  A  compilation  of  so  opportune  and  practical  a 
character -shoald  above  all  things  recomttiend  itself  to  its  supporters 
bj  deamess  and  complet^iess  in  matter,  as  well  as  hj  convenience 
in  form.  The  labour  and  devotion  which  the  reverend  and  revered 
compiler  bestows  on  his  work  year  after  year  cannot  be  dented 
genoine  appreciation  on  all  sides.  But  where  Canon  Kehoe's 
work  concludes,  the  publisher  makes  his  advance  and  unduly 
intrudes  on  the  attention  of  the  clergy  with  some  282  pages  of 
totally  extrinsic  and  superfluous  matter  in  the  line  of  business 
advertisements  and  public  noticeSb  The  result  is  that  the  **  Ordo  " 
proper  of  120  pages  is  made  so  gross  and  cumbersome  that  a  priest 
is  obliged  when  going  £rom  home  for  a  day  or  looger  to  tear  out  a 
leaf  containing  the  required  office  which  he  runs  the  risk  of  lonngor 
misplacing  at  one  time  or  another^  and  thereby  peiplexing 
himself  for  a  time  at  least  very  considerably.  It  is  time  to  ^leak 
freely  on  this  mattw.  What  is  wanted  in  the  #ay  of  an  Otic  is 
a  emaU  and  w«ll  got-np  pocket  issu«^^aper  aild  lettlarpress  the  best* 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  olet^  could  be  supplied  with  an  Ordo 
of  this  class  for  a  shilling  or  under^  The  cletgy  use  the  current 
Ordo  only  of  necessity.  They  have  no  oheice.  Tliere  is  a  okss  of 
matter,  specially  selected  and  appropriate,  which  might  with 
advantage  be  partially  intermixed  with  the  Ordo  without  altering 
die  character  of  the  publication  or  adding  very  much  to  its  sub- 
sCftnoe.  A  few  texts  of  dogmatic  or  tno^  extracts  given  at  thd 
md  of  each  page  wotlld  give  warmth  to  the  tnatter,  atid  sei2iQg  th6 
eye  and  the  mind,  would  help  those  about  to  recite  the  great 
prayers  of  the  church  to  cdlect  theii  thoughts,  and  thus  ^'  Dign^ 


196  Correspondence. 

attente,  et  devote  ofBcium  recitare,  et  exaudiri  ante  conspectnm 
Divinae  Majestatis."  Such  texts  abound  in  the  Psalms,  Book  of 
Job,  Imitation,  Memoriale,  and  in  the  works  of  St.  Francis  De 
Sales  and  St  Teresa. 

Nearly  four  years  ago  (Record  1880,  vol  L,  No.  6)  complaint 
was  made  by  a  correspondent,  **  W.  O'B."  of  the  '^  bulky  and 
expensive  way  our  Ordo  is  brought  out." 

I  will  supplement  my  present  remembrance  with  the  cogent 
remarks  of  W.  0*B.  and  so  conclude.  '*  One  hundred  and  fifty  pages 
are  taken  up  with  the  Orcio  proper,  the  rest  being  devoted  to  advertise- 
ments which,  for  the  great  majorityof  priests,  have  no  interest,  and  for 
this  we  are  called  on  to  pay  1<.  6d.  Now,  I  think  they  (the 
priests  of  Ireland)  could  and  ought  to  be  supplied  with  a  handy  volume 
containing  what  is  necessary  for  sixpence.  Other  improvements 
might  also  be  introduced  into  it  with  advantage,  but  I  content 
myself  with  objecting  to  the  size  and  price.  I  may  remark  that 
the  English  clergy  have  their  Ordo  for  sixpence.  In  Rome  and 
Belgium  the  price  is  still  less." 

I  am,  &C.)  &c., 

Gbo.  Joseph  GtOwimo,  P.P. 


TO  THE  EDITOR   OF  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Dear  Sir,— ^Amongst  the  Statutes  of  our  Diocese  I  read  the 
following  admirable  one : — "  Omnino  prohibetur  Clericis  nostris, 
mib  qtiocunque  praetextu,  pecuniam  accipere  in  tribunali  penitentisB. 

The  **  pecunia  "  here  referred  to  usually  takes  the  form  of  an 
^'  honorarium  "  for  Mass,  and  the  Statute  as  it  stands  receives 
three  different  interpretations,  viz. : — (1)  Some  say  it  no  longer 
binds,  for  that  custom  has  abrogated  it ;  (2)  others  contend  that 
you  may  accept  when  the  confession  is  over,  but  not  before ; 
(3)  lastly,  there  are  those  who  maintain  that  you  cannot  take  at 
all,  before  or  after. 

Those  who  adopt  opinion  No.  1  are  certainly  wrong^  for  I  have 
it  on  the  highest  authority  that  this  Statute  stiU  retains  its  binding 
force. 

It  therefore  is  a  question  as  to  the  interpretation  put  upon  it 
by  Nos,  2  and  3.  I  hold  that  the  words  ^'  in  tribunali  penitenti®" 
mean  not  alone  the  Confession  but  the  Confessional  also,  and  that 
therefore  opinion  No.  2  is  incorrect.  I  shall  thank  you  for  your 
reading  of  it. — Your's  in  Christ,  W.  J.  P. 

We  should  say  in  this  case — consolatar  episcopus. 
Meanwhile,  however,  we  are  inclined  to  agree  with  our 
correspondent  that  the  Statute  forbids  taking  any  money, 
not  only  during  confession,  but  also  before  or  after  it. 
And  if  it  meant  anything  else,  it  would  be  perfectly 
useless.  J.  H. 


[    197    ] 

LITURGICAL  QUESTIONS. 

L 

The  BUssinff  of  the  Baptismal  Font  on  the  Vigil  of  Pentecost, 

Rev.  Deab.  Sm. — Would  you  kindly  inform  me : — 

V.  Is  there  an  obligation  of  blessing  the  B^tismal  Font  on 
the  Vigil  of  Pentecost,  and  what  is  the  origin  of  this  obligation  ? 

^,  If  the  answer  be  in  the  affirmative,  I  would  ask  further  is 
the  Font  to  be  blessed  on  the  Vigil  of  Pentecost — 

(a)  If  it  is  still  almost  full  of  the  water  coosecrated  oa  the 
preceding  Holy  Saturday  ? 

(h)  If  the  faithful  are  unable  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony  ? 

(c)  If  there  is  in  the  parish  or  diocese  a  custom  of  not  blessing 
the  Font  on  the  Vigil  of  Pentecost  ? 

I  am  aware  that  the  Ritual  uses  the  particle  vel  in  giving  its 
directions  on  this  point  (in  Sabbato  Sancto  vel  Sabbato  Pentecostes). 
(yKane,  in  his  Treatise  (4th  Edition),  leaves  one  under  the  same 
impression  as  the  Ritual  does,  viz.,  that  it  suffices  to  bless  the  Font 
either  on  Holy  Saturday,  or  on  the  Vigil  of  Pentecost. 

Kindly  enlighten  me  on  this  important  question. 

A.  O.  R. 
I. 

Yes;  the  Font  is  to  be  blessed  on  the  Vigil  of  Easter 
and  of  Pentecost.  The  Rubric  of  the  Missal  {in  Vigilia 
Pentecostes)  is  clear  on  the  point ;  it  supposes  the  ceremony 
of  blessing  wherever  there  is  a  Font,  just  as  on  Holy- 
Saturday.  The  Council  of  Rome  held  in  1725,  under 
Benedict  XIII.,  speaks  of  the  obligation  "quod  juxta  sacra 
canonom  statuta  Kituali  Romano  praescribitur  ut  solemnis 
Kilicet  per  eos  (parochos)  bis  in  anno,  utroque  Sabbato 
ante  sacratissimum  Pascha  et  Pentecostem,  baptismalis 
Fontis  benedictio  persolvatur." 

The  Congregation  of  Rites  has  also  decided  this  point 
a?  Sept.,  1844,  n.  4993). 

Tins  enactment  has  had  its  origin  in  the  ancient  discip- 
line of  the  Church.  In  the  early  ages  it  was  usual  for 
inahops  to  reserve  to  themselves,  except  in  cases  of  neces- 
6tf,  me  administration  of  baptism.^  This  custom  accounts 
&r  the  fact  that  in  the  old  Churches  the  baptistery  was 
ttoally  found  in  connection  with  cathedrals  only.    It  was 

1  **  Frimum  est  olim  in  soHs  fere  cathedralibus  ecdesiia  extitisse  hap- 


198  Liturgical  Questions. 

E laced  ueax  the  cathedral  for  the  convenience  of  the  bishop, 
ut  outside  of  it  to  indicate  that  it  is  by  baptism  one  is 
made  a  member  of  the  Church,  and  allowed  to  participate 
with  the  faithful  in  the  sacred  mysteries. 

In  those  early  times  it  was  also  customary  to  admimster 
baptism  only  twice  a  year,  viz.,  on  the  Vigils  of  Easter  and 
Pentecost,^  except  in  cases  of  necessity.  On  those  two  days 
the  Font  was  blessed,  and  then  followed  the  administration 
of  solenm  baptism  with  the  newly  consecrated  water.  In 
course  of  time,  as  the  number  of  the  faithful  increased,  the 
Church  had  to  change  this  discipline.  Baptismal  fonts  were 
attached  to  parochial  churches,  and  the  ceremony  of  con- 
secrating  the  water  and  administering  solemn  baptism 
were  no  longer  exclusively  episcopal  fonctiona  But,  while 
changing  her  discipline  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  time, 
the  Church  was  desirous  to  retain  some  part  of  her  ancient 
practice,  in  order  to  connect  the  new  with  the  old  discip- 
line. With  this  purpose  in  view  she  continued  the  practice 
of  consecrating  the  baptismal  water^  as  oi  old,  on  the 
Vigils  of  Easter  and  Pentecost,  and  gav>e  expression  to  her 
mind  in  the  Rubrics.* 

II. 

(a)  Yes ;  the  Rubrics  i*equire  the  consecration  of  the  Font 
bis  in  anno,  viz.,  on  the  Vi^ls  of  Ekifiter  and  Pentecost. 
This  enactment  is  independent  of  the  arrangement  pro- 
vided for  blessing  baptismal  water  in  case  the  water  oi  the 
Font  failed  in  the  intervals  between  those  vigils,* 

(b)  Yes,  for  the  same  reason. 

(<?).  Yes.  This  caae  was  submitted  to  the  Congregation 
of  Rites  in  1844  by  the  Bishop  of  Orvieto.  The  bishop 
explains  tha4;  he  fouiKi  in  his  diocese  an  immemorial  custom 
of  blessing  the  Fonts  only  once  a  year,  that  is,  on  Holy 
Saturday,  and  not  on  the  Vigil  of  Pentecost,  and  he  asked 
the  Congregation  whether  he  may  conform  to  this  custom. 
Tie  Congregation  replied :  "  Having  diligently  examined 
the  rubrics  and  decrees,  especially  the  decree  of  the  12th  of 
August,  1775,  in  Lueana,  in  which  it  is  cleariy  laid  down 
that  parish  priests  ought  to  bless  the  baptismal  Font  on , 
the  Easter  and  Pentecost  Saturdays,  we-  answer  that  the 

^  SiRiaus  Epist,  ad  Bimerium,  Leo  Magnus  Epist,  4  et  80.  Gela- 
sius  Epist,  ly  c,  12,  apnd,  CavalierL  6aRI>ellini,  note  to  degree 
23  Sept.,  1837,  n.  4820. 

"  CaVALIERI,  ibid. 

>GARDELLiNi,note  to  decree  of  3rdSept.,18d7,n.4820.  MABTomca^, 
lib,  iii.  cap.  viiL  n.  1.  "  EV^clesiae,  in  quibus  adest  f ons  baptiamalis  teneotiir 
function^pi  pez^^ere  h^ijiis  die^  nje^o  licet  i^iaiocho. ipmu  o^utteijeJ' 


IMurgical  Questiona*  1^. 

aforesaid  custom,  abould  be  elimini^d  a^.  an  abuse  and 
conUary  to  the  Bubnca"^ 

II. 
The  Bkised  Sacrament  reseroed  in  a  Priest' $  house  inMs  absence^ 

Prieats  on  the  Mission  in  Ireland  are  allowed,  for  weighty 
reasons,  to  keep  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  their  houses.     If  the 
Priest  is  on  his  vacation,  can  the  Blessed  Sacrament  be  kept  in  his. 
house  in  his  absence  ? 

It  should  be  bor^e  in  mind  that  the  Priest  is  responsiblo 
not  only  for  the  regular  renewal  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
but  also  for  its  safe   guardianship.    Who  is.  tq  be  the . 
guardian  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  during  his  long  absence? 
Moreover,  the  reason  why  the  great  privilege  of  keep* 
ing  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  his  house  is  given  to  the. 
wdx  Mi88io^ary  Priest,  is  that  he  may  have  the  Viaticum 
in. readiness  for  the  many  sick  people  of  his  parish.    Now^ 
during  his  vacation,  wluch  may  extend  to  two,  iiiree,  or- 
four  w;eek;B,  YnBpyxU  is  certainly  not  to  be  usedy  I  presume, 
for.  a  sick  call,  and  accordingly  it  would,  in  our  opinion,  be , 
much  bettfsr  not  to  reserve  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  bisi 
house  during  this  prolonged  absence  from  home^ 

IlL 
7^  Blessed  Sacrametit  reserved  in  the  Oratories  of  certain 

Communities. 

I,  Is  it  allowable  for  persons  not  Priests,  say,  Christain  Brothers, 
to  keep  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  a  room  fitted  up  for  the  purpose  ? 

2;  If  not,  who  can  give  the  necessary  permission,  and  is  it 
moreover  required  that  tl^  document  granting  the  privilege  should 
be  posted  in  any  part  of  the  room  ? 

&.  W^ty  if  Mass  is  never  or  hardly  ever  said  during  a  whole . 
year  in  this  loom  or  oratory  where  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  kept  ?  • 

^XJrbenetanae  Ecclesiae  nt  primmn  lenmiciatus  fuit  Epis.  R.)^.D. 
Jeieph,  Maria  Archiep.  Yespignani,  Fastoralis  sui  muneris  partes  Busci- 
piens.iQud  aoimadyertit  conveniens  minus,  immo  uniyerMJi  prari  et.. 
rabricarom  sanctioni  contranum,  quod  in  ecdesiis.  ubi  Fons  B^^tismaliB . 
reperitur,  ipsius  Fontis  benedictio  semel  tantmn  per  annum  Sabbatb, 
nimiram  ante  Besurrectionem  Domini  peragebatnr,  quin  eaden^  bene-., 
dictio  iteretur  Sabbato  etiam  ante  Pentecostem.    Immemorabili  huic  in 
nia  dioceasi  consuetudmi  quum  suffragare  compererit  Synodales  leges,* 
QuiiL  pro  Buo  arbitcib  quid^uam  in  re  deoemeret  memoratus  Praesul 
o.jEC«C.  humilimus  datus  precibus  adivit,  eique  rem  ipsam  exponens  enixe 
rogarit  ut  dedarare  dignaretur  num  immemorabili  huic  consuetudini 
Btandmnsit? 

B£m.  vero  ac  Rmi  Patres    .    .    .    attentis  Rufarioornm  Banctioni- 
bot^kp.a^i^  I)ecan$ti9^p^^rtim,^in^  Lqcfma  d|^  12  ApriUsj  1775,  in^nOf. 
deludde  edicitur  parochos  Fontem  feaptiamalem  Sapbatisjli^bqs  Fa^« 
cbatis  et  Pentecostis  benedioere  debere  respondendum  oensuerunt :— 
Cometa4iiMm,vthU  akvawB^  ct^IUtbricis  coatrarit^  esse'tliminandafB.' 
17  Sept.,' 1844.       


200  Liturgical  Questions. 

We  are  not  allowed  to  take  the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  the  sick 
merely  that  they  may  pray  before  it.  Has  this  any  analogy  to  the 
question?  Besides,  many  of  those  houses  to  which  I  refer  are 
only  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  church,  and  the  inmates  are  not 
bound  to  enclosure. 

1.  We  have  treated  this  question  at  considerable  length 
in  the  Record,^  Vol.  II.,  pages  365-370  (1882).  On  that 
occasion  we  concluded  our  essay  in  the  following  words : — 
"  From  all  we  have  said,  our  opinion  as  to  the  answer  to  be 
given  to  the  questions  proposed  by  our  revered  corres- 
pondent may  be  easily  irderred. 

First,  we  think  that  the  bishop  has  no  power  to  give 
permission  to  the  Christian,  or  Patrician,  or  Presentation 
Brothers  to  reserve  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  their  domestic 
oratories,  unless  he  has  received  special  faculties  for  this 
purpose.  Because  it  is  not  in  any  sense  necessary  that  it 
should  be  kept  there  per  modum  Viatici. 

Secondly,  for  the  same  reason,  we  think  it  is  not  in  the 

Eower  of  the  bishop  to  allow  it  to  be  reserved  in  the  poor- 
ouse  chapel  merely  to  give  the  resident  nuns  and  others 
an  opportunity  of  visiting  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  It  may 
perhaps  be  allowed  to  be  reserved  there  as  Viaticum  for 
the  sick,  as  in  the  chapel  of  a  hospital. 

We  cannot  say  what  are  the  special  faculties  of  our 
bishops  on  this  point,  &c. 

We  are  allso  unable  to  state  what  are  the  privileges  of  the 
Communities  you  mention,  but  we  conclude  from  the  fact 
that  they  reserve  the  Blessed  Sacrament  in  their  private 
oratories,  with  of  course  the  permission  of  the  bishop  of 
ihe  diocese,  that  they  have  received  the  necessary  Apostolic 
Indult  ^ranting  the  privilege. 

2.  We  do  not  thmk  that  they  are  obliged  to  post  thehr 
Indult  on  the  walls  of  their  oratory,  or  to  show  it  to  every- 
one who  questions  their  claim.  This  is  a  matter  to  be 
settled  between  the  bishop  «ind  the  community. 

3.  The  general  rule  is  to  require  a  daily  Mass  where  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  reservecL^  The  Holy  See  has,  in 
some  special  cases,  relaxed  the  stringency  of  this  general 
rule  and  required  Mass  only  foiur  times  a  week,  and  in  a 
case  lately  decided,  only  once  a  week,  but  I  have  met  no 
case  in  which  it  dispenses  altogether  with  the  celebration 
of  Mass  in  private  oratories  where  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
is  reserved.  In  this  case  the  Indult  should  be  examined 
and  its  provisions  observed. 


» S.R.C.  16  Mart.  1838  (4,700).    S.  Cong.  Ep.  et  Reg.  22  Mart.  1864. 


Liturgical  Questions.  201 

IV. 

Questions  on  the  New  Rubrics. 

Bbv.  Sir — ^In  connection  with  the  recent  changes  in  the 
Calendar,  kindly  afford  the  following  information  :— 

1.  Feast  of  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  is  fixed  by  Papal  Bull  for 
March  18th.  Why  is  it  given  in  our  Ordo  for  the  23rd? 
St.  Gabriel's  Feast  is  the  same  day  with  the  Romans  as  with  us. 

2.  Feast  of  St.  Justin  fixed  for  April  14th,  our  Ordo  makes  no 
mention  of  it — why  not  ? 

3.  On  the  10th  of  January  fDom.  SeptuagesimaJ  our  Ordo  said  : 
'*  Com.  S.  Scholasticae  (dupl.)  sine  nona  lectione."  Should  not  the 
9th  lesson  have  been  read.  Similarly  in  the  case  of  St.  Fintan 
(dupl.)  on  January  ITtfa,  Dom.  Sexagesima. 

4.  Have  the  Feasts  of  B.  Urban  and  S.  John  Leonard  been 
extended  to  Ireland  ? 

The  Feast  day  of  St.  Cjml  of  Jerusalem  in  the  universal 
Calendar  is  on  the  18th  of  March,  but  in  the  calend&'-s  of 
particular  churches  the  dies  jixa  of  this,  as  of  other  feasts, 
may  be  different. 

St.  Cyril's  feast,  being  only  a  minor  double,  cannot 
be  held  on  the  18th  of  March  either  in  Rome  or  with  us, 
because  in  both  calendars  the  18th  is  the  feast  of 
St  Gabriel,  which  is  a  major  double.  Neither  can  it 
be  placed  on  the  19th  in  the  Roman  calendar  or  in  ours, 
for  the  19th  is  St.  Joseph's  feast.  In  the  Roman  calendar 
the  20th  of  March  is  the  first  free  day  after  the  18th,  and 
accordingly  in  the  very  Constitution,  Nullo  unquam  tempore^ 
to  which  you  refer,  the  Pope  states  that  the  20th  of  March 
is  to  be  the  dies  fixa  for  St.  Cyril's  OflBce  in  the  calendar 
of  the  Roman  clergy.  With  us  the  20th  is  not  a  free  day, 
neither  is  the  21st  nor  22nd,  all  three  being  already  occupied 
by  double  feasts,  and  so  the  earliest  day  on  which  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  celebrate  St.  Cyril's  feast  in  any  year  is 
the  23rd,  the  first  free  day  after  the  ^  8th  in  our  calendar. 
Hence  the  23rd  becomes  the  dies  Jixa^  or  feast  day,  of 
St.  Cyril  in  our  calendar. 

St.  Cyril,beinff  a  doctor^  is  transferable ;  and  consequently 
his  feast  may  be  later  than  the  23rd,  propter  occurrentiam, 
as  happens  this  year  when  the  4th  Sunday  of  Lent  falls  on 
the  23rd. 

Our  correspondent  will  also  remark  that  the  feast  of 
St  ^ril  of  Alexandria  of  the  9th  o^  February  is  Jixed  in 


^02  Liturgical  Questions. 

14th  of  November  for  the  14th  of  December.  These 
particulars  are  stated  in  the  ConstitutioQ  itself,  I^uUo 
tmquam  tempore. 

II.  In  tnis  your  Ordo  is  right.  There  are  nine  days  in 
the  year  on  which  simplified  doubles  are  not  to  be  com- 
memorated, namely,  the  three  last  days  of  Holy  Week, 
Easter  Sunday  and  the  two  following  days,  and  Pentecogt 
Sunday  with  Monday  and  Tuesday  of  the  same  week.  In 
the  present  year  Easter  Monday  will  fall  on  the  14th  of 
April. 

III.  The  Ordo  was  right.  The  9th  lesson  of  a  com- 
memorated feast  is  not  to  be  read  on  a  Sunday  which  has 
a  9th  responsory,  "quae  lectio  de  Sancto  non  leritur, 
quando  de  eo  fit  commemoratio  in  Dominicis  quae  h^ent 
nonum  responsorium "  (Tit  ix.  10).  The  Sundays  you 
mention  had  the  9th  responsory. 

IV.  No,  the  feasts  of  B.  Urban  and  B.  John  iLeonard 
have  not  been  extended  to  Ireland. 

V. 

Dear  Mr.  Editor — Can  you  inform  me  if  it  is  right  for  a 
priest  to  hold  the  Chalice  in  his  hands  while  reading  or  reciting 
prayers  prescribed  to  be  said  on  bended  knees  after  Mass.  In 
Rome  the  Chalice  is  not  removed  from  the  altar  till  after  the 
prayers.         • 

There  is  no  express  prohibition,  as  far  as  we  know, 
forbidding  the  practice  you  mention,  but  the  Roman  custom 
of  not  removing  the  chalice  from  the  altar  till  the  prayers 
are  over,  is  manifestly  safer  and  more  becoming,  and  to 
be  preferred.  When  those  prayers  are  read  from  a  book  or 
chart,  the  celebrant  is  not  allowed  to  lay  the  book  on  the 
burse,  and  if  he  tries  to  support  the  chalice  with  the  left 
hand  only,  the  right  beiug  engaged  in  holding  the  book, 
the  paten,  burse,  and  purificatory  may  be  easily  upset.  The 
attitude  is  certainly  not  a  becoming  one,  and  we  ou^t, 
moreover,  to  follow  the  practice  of  Rome. 

VL 

The  name  of  the  diocese  is  to  be  inserted  when  the  prayer 
"  Deus  omnium  fidelium  "  is  said  for  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese. 

In  the  last  number  of  the  Record  (February)  it  was 

stated,  in  reply  to  questions  sent  to  us,  that  the  name  of 

'  the  diocese  should  be  omitted  in  the  prayer,  **  Deus  omnium 


Notices  of  Books.  208 

fdeGmn  pastor  et  rector,/  when  said  for  a  bishop  on  the 
occasion  of  the  anniversary  of  his  consecration.  The  answer 
was  60  obvions  a  mistake  that  it  could  have  misled  but 
very  few.  The  name  of  the  diocese  should,  of  course,  be 
inserted,  as  is  very  plainly  indicated  in  the  Missal,  where 
the  letter  N.  is  placed  after  the  word  Eeclesiae^  and  in  place 
oi  the  pronoun  suoij  in  the  prayer, "  Deus  omnium  fidehum," 
given  in  the  Mass  in  Armiversario  Electionis  sen  Consecrationis 
Episcopi 
The  prayer  is  printed  in  the  Missal  thus : — 

Deus  omniam  fidelium  pastor   et  rector,  famulum  tumn  N. 
<iaem  pastorem  Ecclesiae  N.  praeesse  voluisti.  .^^  J,  iN^rnn 

R.  Browne. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Uriel ;  or  the  Chapel  oj  the  Holy  Angels.    London :  Burns  &  Oatbs, 

1884. 

Hiis  little  volume  is  a  republication  of  a  charming  tale  which 
speared  in  the  columns  of  our  excellent  contemporary,  The  Irish 
Monthly.  On  a  previous  occasion  we  referred  to  the  power  and 
literary  skiU  shown  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  chapters  of  this  story ; 
it^  perusal,  as  a  whole,  now  confirms  us  in  the  opinion  we  expressed 
then.  We  have  no  idea  who  the  writer  is ;  but  we  can  truly  say 
that  we  have  not  for  a  long  time  read  anything  more  attractive 
than  "  Uriel ;  or  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Angels."  Wo  hope  it 
will  have  a  wide  sale :  it  deserves  it.  J.  H. 

Ellif^s    Irish   Education    Directory  for    1884.      Dublin : 

M.  H.  Gill  &  Son. 

This  excellent  work  b  every  year  increasing  in  size  and  utility, 
and  secm*ing  a  more  extensive  patronage.  Much  new  matter  has 
been  this  year  introduced,  especially  a  very  full  and  interesting 
•8}Dopsis  of  our  Irish  Educational  Annals  from  1320-1883.  The 
informalion  concerning  the  various  educational  institutions  in  this 
«oantrj  is  accurate  and  abimdant ;  even  the  recent  changes  made 
in  the  management  and  personnel  of  the  Catholic  University  are 


204  Notices  of  Books. 

surprised  to  find  that  it  is  largely  availed  of  for  this  purpose  hj 
the  managers  of  schools  of  all  denominations.  We  heartily  wish 
it  a  long  Ufe,  and  a  widening  sphere  of  interest  and  utility. 

J.  H. 

The  Manucde  Parvulorum  is  a  translation  firom  the  Latin  of 
*' Thomas  h,  Kempis."  It  is  a  tiny  little  volume,  very  neatly 
brought  out,  by  the  Messrs.  Gill,  and  bears  the  imprimatur  of 
His  Eminence  Cardinal  M'Cabe.  It  is  written  in  the  spirit  of  the 
"  Imitation,"  and  will  no  doubt  prove  a  useful  and  welcome  gift  to 
to  the  "  little  ones  *'  for  whom  it  is  destined. 

In  the  current  number  of  the  Dublin  Review^  which  we  failed 
to  notice  last  month,  there  is  an  interesting  article  from  the  pen  of 
Father  Delplace,  S.  J.,  on  "  Wycliffe  and  his  Teaching  concerning 
the  Primacy,"  in  which  the  learned  writer  shows  that,  in  spite  of 
his  errors  and  inconsistencies,  the  great  parent  of  the  Reformation 
in  England  was  very  far  firom  holding  Protestant  views  on  tliis 
important  question.  The  article  is  well  worthy  of  perusal.  We 
have  also  a  number  of  other  interesting  articles  on  "  Secular  Edu- 
cation," "  The  Copts,"  "  Madagascar,  Past  and  Present,"  and  the 
"  Notices  of  Books  "  are,  as  usual  in  the  The  Dublij^,  very  full  and 
interesting. 

The  Irish  Monthly  continues  to  pursue  its  varied  and  interesting 
career.  The  **  Original  Correspondence  of  O'Connell,"  now  pub- 
lished for  the  first  time,  is  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  traits  of  our 
enterprising  contemporary,  and  must  be  specially  interesting  to  the 
admirers  of  the  immortal  Liberator.  May  its  shadow  never  grow 
less. 

Liber  Status  Animarum^   or  Parochial  Begister^      Dublin : 
Browne  &  Nolan,  Nassau-street. 

The  Synod  of  Maynooth,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  direct 
Parish  Priests,  and  others  entrusted  with  the  care  of  souls,  to  have 
a  Parochial  Register,  in  which  they  are  to  keep  a  record  of  the 
names,  the  age,  and  the  religious  condition  of  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  parish,  as  prescribed  by  the  Roman  Ritual.  Everyone 
knows  the  great  assistance  which  such  a  Register  will  afford  to  the 
parochial  clergy  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  It  is  prescribed, 
too,  that  it  should  be  open  for  the  inspection  of  the  Bishop  at  his 
visitation  of  the  parish.  We  think  it  well,  therefore,  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  clergy  to  the  excellent  form  of  Parochial  Register, 
which,  at  the  suggestion  of  some  of  the  Bishops,  has  just  been 
published  by  Messrs.  Browne  &  Nolan.  It  contains,  on  the  face 
of  each  double  page,  a  column  for  marking  every  particular  which 
the  Parish  Priest  may  find  it  necessary  or  useful  to  note,  and  is 
published  at  a  very  low  price.  When  this  Registry  is  once 
filled  in,  it  may  be  kept  with  very  little  trouble,  and  will  greatly 
facilitate  the  labours  of  the  Parochial  Clergy. 

J.  H, 


THE   IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


APRIL,  1884. 


SYSTEMS  OF  GRACE,  FROM  THE  THOMIST 

POINT  OF  VIEW.^ 

UflTH  the  Editor's  permission  I  would  ask  a  little  sj)ace 
n     in  the  Record — just  enough  for  a  few  observations 
on  the  article  entitled  "  Systems  of  Grace,"  which  appeared 
m  the  number  for  last  December. 

Although  a  Thomist,  and  therefore  one  to  whom 
**the  phantoms"  that  disturb  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  that 
article  are,  and  have  been  for  many  years,  living  reaUties, 
I  should  not  have  thought  of  reviving  an  old  domestic 
controversy,  the  resuscitation  of  which,  however  useful  in 
exercising  trained  intelligences,  carries  us  too  far  from  the 
sphere  of  modem  Polemics  to  serve  any  practical  purpose- 
In  Theological  works  on  the  subject  of  Grace,  and  some 
topics  aUied  to  it,  the  Thomistic  and  other  views  are,  no 
doubt,  to  be  found  explained  mth  more  or  less  of  detail, 
and  the  various  points  emphasized,  according  as  the  incU- 
nation  of  the.  writer  led  him  in  the  direction  of  either 
Thomism  or  Molinism ;  but,  as  a  rule,  while  announcing 
iiid  justifying  the  view  adopted  by  them,  Theologians 
have  not  nesitated  to  allow  the  admissibility  of  the  con- 
trary opinion.     This  was  precisely  the  conclusion  arrived 

a^  after  protracted  disputations,  over  two  centuries  ago 

a  oonclusion  that,  so  far  as  1  know,  has  undergone  no 
<j«uige  from  that  time  to  the  present.  This  state  of  things, 
fcdWever,  appears  unsatisfactory  to  yqur  contributor, 
CIJ.M.,  to  judge  from  his  article,  so  far  at  least  as  the 


206     Systems  of  Graces  from  the  Thomist  Point  of  Vieic. 

Thomistic  view  is  concerned.  Thoraism  is,  he  thinks, 
clearlj^  out  of  couil; ;  indeed  his  impression  for  years  was 
that  it  was  utterly  defunct,  and  his  theological  conscience 
takes  fright  at  the  mere  suggestion  of  a  possible  retitm  to 
its  tenets ;  and,  no  doubt  with  the  best  nitentions,  he  sets 
to  work  in  very  downright  style  to  ridicule  its  pretensions 
to  any  degree  of  credibiUty.  The  Thomists,  according  to 
him,  entangle  themselves  in  the  meshes  of  inconsistency; 
their  system  is  derogatory  to  the  Divine  attributes ;  it  is 
at  variance  with  the  doctrine — a  very  important  one — of 
"  sufficient  Grace,"  and  utterly  subversive  of  free  will,  the 
principle  of  merit  and  demerit. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  have  enumerated  all,  but  only  what 
seem  to  me  the  weightiest  pai;ts  of  the  indictment  against 
the  Thomistic  view.  The  charges  are  certainly  formidable. 
But  are  they  true  ?  I  hope  to  be  able  to  show  that  they 
are  not.  The  work  would  be  easier  and  the  defence  made 
not  less  piquant,  perhaps,  than  the  attack,  had  I  the 
advantage  of  having  before  me  the  view  patronised  by  the 
writer.  As  it  is,  Thomism  alone  is  before  the  readers  of 
the  Record,  and  therefore  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a 
defence,  or  apology  for  that  system,  which  is  my  own, 
merely  saying  for  the  present  that  it  is  in  the  power  of  a 
Thomist  to  raise  difficulties  against  the  systems  to  which 
he  is  opposed,  not  less  startling  in  their  character  than 
those  objected  to  him,  and  as  puzzling,  in  one  instance  at 
leasts  as  the  famous  Thomistic  knot  of  free  will  under 
"  physical  premotion." 

Keeping,  then,  exclusively  to  the  Thomistic  theory  of 
Grace,  it  is  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  state  it  clearly 
and  a  little  in  detail,  even  though  this  involve  reference  to 
questions  not  in  controversy,  but  having  a  bearing  on  the 
subject.  A  clear  and  adequate  view  of  the  system  will 
help  to  remove  some  of  the  difficulties,  and  may  present  it 
in  a  more  favourable  light  than  the  lively  Khetoric  of 
C.  J.  M.  has  cast  around  it. 

The  subject  of  Grace  is  one  of  acknowledged  difficulty. 
St.  Augustine  speaking  of  it,  says :  "  Ista  quaestio,  ubi 
de  arbitrio  voluntatis  et  Dei  gratia  disputatur,  ita  est 
ad  discemendum  difficilis,  ut  quando  defenditur  liberum 
arbitrium  negari  Dei  gratia  videatur,  quando  autem 
Dei  gratia  asseritur,  liberum  arbitrium  videtur  auferri." 
(De  Grat  xl.  et  Peccati.Or.  L.  1,  c.  17.)  Now  it  would 
be  vain  to  seek  for  that  difficulty  anywhere  except  in 
the    relations  between  Grace  and  free  will.      All    the 


Systems  of  Grace^  from  tlie  Tliomist  Point  of  Hew.    207 

other  doctrines  are  comparatively  plain,  or,  if  a  difficulty 
is  involved,  it  is  one  submitted  to  by  all.  It  is  with 
this  a«pect  of  the  question,  in  fact,  that  the  doctrine  of 
"efficacious  Grace,"  that  Thomism  concerns  itself,  and  its 
fault,  if  fault  there  be,  consists  in  an  attempt  to  explain 
the  nature  and  action  of  "  efficacious  Grace"  m  accordance 
with  the  philosophical  principles  of  the  Angel  of  the 
schools. 

All  systems  unite  in  this — for  it  is  question  of  dogma — 
that  there  is  a  Grace  infalliblv  and  certainly  joined  with 
its  eflFect  (Gratia  efficax),  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  does 
not  impose  any  necessity  on  the  will.  So,  too,  must  there 
be  admitted  a  Grace,  not  joined  with  its  effect  (Gratia 
snfficiens),  which  confers  on  man  full,  and  taking  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  into  account  ready  (expeditam) 
power  to  perform  good  actions ;  but  this  Grace  is  made 
useless  by  the  resistance  of  the  wilL  So  far  all  are  agreed. 
Now  coraes  division.  The  question  naturally  presents 
itself:  What  is  the  nature  of  these  two  kinds  of  Grace? 
Why  is  one  always  efficacious,  the  other  not  so.  In  what 
way  does  efficacious  Grace  act,  and  how  is  its  action  joined 
with  that  of  a  will  that  always  remains  free  ? 

Two  schools,  the  Thomists  and  the  Augustiuians, 
answer  by  saying,  that  efficacioTis  Grace  differs  "  entita- 
tive"  from  sufficient  Grace,  and  operates  by  a  power  inherent 
in  itself  which  infallibly  sways  the  wilL  Thev  therefore  hold 
that  Grace  is  efficacious  **  ab  intrinseco."  Two  others — the 
Molinists  and  Congruists — hold  that  the  infallible  connection 
of  efficacious  Grace  with  its  effect,  is  to  be  sought  for,  not 
in  the  nature  of  the  Grace,  but  in  something  extrinsic  to  it, 
in  the  circumstiances  or  in  the  will,  or  rather  in  the  pre- 
vision of  the  will's  consent. 

Keeping  now  to  the  Thomistic  theory,  the  only  one  in 
conffict  just  at  present,  the  fundamental  principle  out  of 
which  it  has  grown,  and  as  I  think  must  grow,  if  the 
principle  be  true,  is  this — "  All  second  causes  depend  on  the 
fint  cause,  which  is  God,  as  to  their  operations,  and  this  in 
»  manner  so  absolute  and  essential,  that  in  the  natural 
<>Pfer  no  less  than  the  supernatural,  to  do  *'  aUquid  boni," 
4«y  need  to  be  moved  and  determined  by  the  first  cause." 


208     Systems  of  Grcuie^from  the  Thomist  Point  of  Vieic, 

Very  many  passages  of  St.  Thomas  may  be  quoted  in 
the  same  sense.  I  select  this  for  the  very  sufficient  reason 
that  even  Suarez  is  forced  by  its  clearness  to  admit  that 
St,  Thomas  not  only  favours  but  teaches  "praemotio 
physica"  in  it.  Metaphy.  disp.  22,  Lect,  4,  adding,  however, 
that  he  retracted  his  words  in  the  Summa  1 

It  follows  from  this  principle  of  the  universal  causality 
of  the  first  cause  that  not  alone  must  we  receive  from  God 
the  power  (potentiam)  "  volendi "  et  "  agendi/*  but  that 
furthermore,  this  power  must  be,  by  a  Divine  motion, 
appKed  to  the  act.  This  is  "  praemotio  physica/*  necessary, 
according  to  Thomists,  in  every  case  when  a  power  or 
faculty  is  moved  from  quiescence  into  activity.  It  is 
called  "praemotio,"  because  it  precedes  the  act  of  the  will, 
not  indeed  in  point  of  time  or  duration,  but  by  a  priority 
natural  to  it  as  a  cause,  from  which  the  action  of  a  sub- 
ordinate cause  depends.  It  is  "  physical,"  that  is  real,  not 
metaphysical,  or  "moral"  motion,  such  as  we  ourselves 
and  the  enemjr  of  souls  can  eflfeci  We,  Thomists,  hold 
that  "premotion**  is  necessary  to  all  actions,  a  fortiori^ 
therefore  to  salutary  works  of  the  supernatural  order,  that 
as  regards  these  "  praemotio  physica"  is  grace  itself,  per  se 
et  ab  intrinsecoj  efficacious,  and  may  therefore  be  defined 
"  the  help"  (auxihum)  by  which  God  bestows  on  the  soul, 
not  onlv  a  real  power  of  performing  good  actions,  but  also 
determmes  the  will  "ut  actu  bonum  velit  ac  operetur.*' 
Efficacious  Grace  is  then  a  certain  virtuous  and  powerful 
motion,  having  a  double  function — 1st,  it  enhghtens  the 
intellect,  enabling  it  to  distinguish  what  is  really  good  from 
that  which  has  the  semblance  only ;  2ndly,  it  determines 
the  will  to  consent  to  the  Divine  invitation. 

In  addition  to  this  grace,  efficacious  ah  intrinseco, 
Thomists  maintain  a  grace  which  is  "  sufficient,"  and 
which  of  itself  conveys  the  power  of  performing  the  good 
and  salutary  actions  for  which  it  is  given,  but  by  the 
perversity  and  maUce  of  the  will  it  is  extinguished  and 
deprived  of  its  effect — for  the  aety  however,  they  still 
require  '*  efficacious  Grace."  C.  J,  M.  treats  this  as  ilhisory 
— the  power  it  gives  he  calls  a  parchment  power,  the  grace, 
a  Tantalus  cup.  But  surely  there  is  a  difference  between 
the  poir^  of  doing  a  thing  and  the  act.  1  don't  lose  the 
power  of  vision  because  I  happen  to  be  in  the  dark,  nor 
the  power  of  reading  simply  because  I  am  at  the  moment 
writing.  WJjiat  hinders  us  from  recognising  the  same 
difference  in  actions  of  the  supernatural  order  and  in 


Systems  of  Grace^  from  the  Thomist  Point  of  View,    209 

requisites  in  the  matter  of  grace?  At  all  events,  the  difference 
made  itself  clear  enough  to  S.  Augustine : — "  Ipsa  adju- 
toriaf"  he  says,  "  distinguenda  sunt ;  aliud  est  adjutorium, 
fime  quo  aliquid  non  fit,  et  aliud  est  adjutorium  quo  aliquid 
fit  Nam  sine  alimentis  non  possumus  vivere,  nee  tamen, 
cum  affluerint  aJimenta,  eis  fit,  ut  vivat  qui  mori  voluerit ; 
ergo  adjutorium  alimentorum  est  sine  quo  non  fit,  non  quo 
fit,  ut  vivamus,"  It  is  not  difficult  to  draw  "sufficient" 
and  "efficacious"  Grace  from  this  passage.  It  will  be 
found  in  Lib.  de  Correp.  et  Gratia,  c.  12.  St.  Thomas  is  no 
less  clear.  In  Lect.  II.,  in  cap.  3  ad  Eph.,  he  says : — 
"Hujusmodi  auxilium  duplex  fuit;  unum  quidem  ipsa 
facultas  exequendi,  aliua  ipsa  operatic  sive  actualitas. 
Facultatem  oat  Deus  infundendo  virtutem  et  gratiam, 
per  quas  efficitur  homo  potens  et  aptus  ad  operandum : 
sed  ipsam  operationem  confert  in  quantum  operatur  in 
nobis  interius  movendo  et  instigando  ad  bonum." 

C.  J.  M.'s  metaphors,  referred  to  above,  express  a  diffi- 
culty which  is  obvious.  How  can  Grace  be  sufficient 
which  requires  something  more  ?  Well,  St.  Thomas  deals 
with  this  also.  In  3  p.,  qu.  61,  ur.  1,  having  proved  the 
necessity  of  the  sacraments,  he  objects  thus  : — "  Posita 
causa  sufficienti,  nihil  aliud  videtur  esse  necessarium  ad 
effectum;  sed  Passio  Christi  est  sufficiens  causa  nostrae  sa- 
Intis.  .  .  .  Non  ergo  requiruntur  sacramenta."  To 
this  he  answers :  — "  Passio  Christi  est  sufficiens  causa  nostrae 
fialutis,  nee  propter  hoc  sequitur  quod  sacramenta  non  sint 
necessaria,  ^uia  operantur  in  virtute  Passionis  Christi ;  et 
passio  Chnsti  quodammodo  applicaiur  hominibus  per 
sacramenta."  So  is  it  with  sufficient  Grace.  It  confers  the 
power  of  doing  what  is  good  and  salutary  (I  use  the  word  all 
through  in  its  technical  sense, "  opus  salutare'*) ;  it  is,  there- 
fore, perfect  "  in  genere  suo,*'  and  nothing  is  wanting  to 
it  But  that  this  power  be  brought  to  act,  a  determination 
of  the  will  is  needed,  and  here  the  Divine  motion,  which  is 
efficacious  Grace,  comes  in,  we  say,  in  accordance  with  our 
master  St.  Thomas*  maxim : — "  Ipsum  bonum  usum  gratiao 
fl»e  a  Deo.'*  So  much  for  our  system.  Difficulty  there 
toy  be,  and  no  doubt  there  is,  in  some  parts ;  but  difficul- 
fies,  inexplicable  difficulties,  may  be  found  in  truths  belong- 
ttttrto  the  natural  order:  thev  jcertainlv  nrA.  nn  RtrRnorprH 


210     Systems  of  Crrace^from  the  Thomist  Point  of  View. 

light,  where  minds  Uke  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Thomas  found 
profound  obscurity,  if  not  darkness,  would  in  some  minds 
raise  a  presumption  against  the  theory  that  moves  so  easily 
and  freely  when  they  advanced  with  "hesitating  step  and 
slow,"  and  more  than  one  admission  of  humble  subjection 
to  what  was  mysterious.  It  woidd  take  a  good  deal  to 
convince  me  that  Molina  made  a  discover}'  unknown  to 
St  Augustine  and  St.  Thomas — one  that  would  have  made 
semi-Pelagian  controversy  pointless,  if  it  were  possible — 
and  that  the  discovery  was  true. 

Recognising  a  difficulty,  Thomists  hold  still  by  Grace 
per  se  efficacious,  and  they  justify  themselves  on  many 
grounds — first,  on  the  dependence  of  the  creature  on  God. 
The  second  cause  is  subordinate  to  the  first  cause,  not 
only  as  to  the  power  or  faculty,  but  as  to  the  act.  It  is  or 
ought  to  be  obvious  that,  as  the  second  depends  on  the 
first,  the  positions  cannot  be  reversed,  so  that  the  effica- 
ciousness of  Grace  cannot  be  dependent  on  the  consent  of 
the  will,  but  rather  the  consent  of  the  will  on  the  efficacious 
nature  of  the  Grace.  Then,  in  the  next  place,  they  consider 
that  Grace  per  se  efficacious  corresponds  to  those  expres- 
sions occurrmg  frequently  in  Holy  Writ,  where  God's 
action  on  the  heart  and  will  of  man  is  described — 
Ezech,  xxxvi.  26  ;  Hebrews  xiii.  21  ;  PliiL  ii.  13 ; 
Prov.  xxi.  1 ;  John  vi.  44.  In  these  and  other  similar 
places  of  Holy  Scripture,  an  action  or  influence  is  attributed 
to  God  which  is  proper  to  Him  alone  :  at  least  there  would 
seem  to  be  more  mvolved  than  is  found  in  moral  pressure 
or  persuasion,  in  which  sense  the  will  may  be  moved  by 
mere  human  agency,  not  to  speak  of  diabolic.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  in  the  power  of  God  to  act  on  the  will 
directly,  and  through  it  on  its  action ;  and  this  power  is 
His  "  exclusive.^*  St.  Thomas  is  our  guide  here.  In  quaest. 
de  Malo,  ar.  5,  he  says  : — "  Relinquitur  ergo,  quod  causa 
perficiens  et  propria  voluntarii  actus  sit  solum  id  quod 
operatur  inteHus,  Hoc  autem  nihil  aliud  esse  potest  quam 
ipsa  vohmtas,  sicut  causa  secunda,  et  Deus  sicut  causa 
prima" — and  then  farther  on  : — "/Sic  ergo  motus  voluntatis 
directe  procedit  a  voluntate  et  a  Deo  qtti  est  voluntatis  causoj 
qui  solus  in  voluntate  operatur,  et  voluntatem  inclinare  potest 
in  quodcunque  voluerit.'*  The  same  idea  is  expressed,  i.e., 
quaest.  9,  ar.  6,  quaest.  80,  ar.  1,  and  in  other  places.  In 
these  places  the  saint  teaches  that  God  moves  the  will,  or 
first  cause,  just  as  the  will  moves  itself  in  the  order  of 
second  causes.    But  no  one  doubts  that  the  will  moves  and 


Sy$Um$  of  Graeejfrom  the  Thomist  Point  of  View,     211 

determines  itself  physically.  Therefore,  the  motion  of  God 
is  a  physical  motion,  and  the  efficacy  of  that  Grace  which 
is  according  to  all  efficacious  is  inherent  in  it  as  the  divine 
action  or  inotion  imder  which  the  will  moves  itself. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  notion  of  a  Divine  influence 
swaying  and  ruhng  with  masterful  hand  the  capricious 
will  of  man  is  one  that  occurs  frequently  both  in  the 
prayers  of  the  Church  and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers. 
A  catena  might  be  formed  of  passages  from  Latin  Fathers 
especially,  which  would  be  an  extensive  cpmmentary,  in 
the  most  rigorous  Thomistio  sense,  of  the  famous  passage 
of  St  Paul  to  the  Corinthians — "  Quid  habes  quod  non  rece- 
pisti,"  &c.  And  making  every  allowance  for  the  fact  that 
some  of  these  passages  occur  m  discourses,  when  a  certain 
latitude  is  admissible,  the  current  of  thought  they  picture 
for  us  demands  something  more  than  a  grace  of  power ^ 
however  much  augmented  by  a  '*  genus  beneficii,*'  what- 
ever that  may  mean.  It  seems  to  demand  a  Divine  influence, 
immediate,  direct,  and  efficient,  to  which  the  will  yields, 
and  under  which  it  acts  certainly  and  infallibly,  yet  freely 
at  the  same  time.  Instead  of  encumbering  your  pages  with 
quotations,  allow  me  to  call  attention  to  a  single  fact  in 
connection  vrith  St.  Augustine,  whose  authority  on  this 
question  is  undoubted,  recognised,  as  it  has  been,  by  Pontiff 
after  Pontiff,  by  Congniists  and  Thomists,  heretics  and 
Catholics  alike.  He  was  engaged  in  controversy  on  this 
subject  for  a  great  part  of  his  life,  and  of  course  he  had 
keen  and  able  adversaries.  Now,  what  form  did  their 
objections  take  ?  They  exclaimed,  that  he  destroyed  man's 
freedom  I  that  he  preached  a  Grace  "  quae  libertatem  des- 
truat  (Caelestius  in  Ep.  ad  Cleseph.),  et  sine  voluntate 
nostra  sanctitatem  perficiat."  "  Quae  ita  velle  et  operari  in 
iiobis  operatur  ut  nos  non  agamus — qxiae  invites  cogat 
adbonum,  imponat  necessitatem  volendi  bonum,"  &c. 

Are  we  to  suppose  that  Pelagians  and  semi-Pelagians 
^ould  have  said  tnese  things  if  the  Grace  St.  Augustine 
Doabtained  depended  for  its  eflScacy  on  man's  will  t  Where 
^ould  then  be  the  point  of  their  argument  ?  I  may  be 
wrong,  but  I  confess  I  cannot  remember  a  single  instance 
in  which  danger  to  free  will  has  been  charged  on  the 
system  of  either  Molina  or  Suarez,  at  least  in  the  grace 


212    Systems  of  Graces  from  the  Thomist  Point  of  View. 

Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  Caelefitius  and  his  other 
opponents  misunderstood  St.  Augustine.  What  more  easy 
than  to  disengage  himself  from  the  web  in  which  they  tried 
to  involve  him — the  web  of  ruined  freedom  of  the  will ! 
Could  he  not  point  out  that  the  will  was  imtouched — ^that 
the  Lord,  like  a  wise  and  prudent  adviser,  sought  to  bend 
the  will  by  coimsel,  persuasion,  entreaty,  and  every  other 
multiplied  form  of  inducement,  its  freedom  remaining  all 
the  while  inviolate  ?  Did  St.  Augustine  do  this  ?  Nothing 
of  the  kind.  After  labouring  for  twenty  and  more  years  at 
the  elucidation  of  this  question,  he  can  discover  no  other 
means  of  reconciUng  hberty  and  grace  than  to  fall  back  on 
God's  omnipotence,  which,  having  created  man's  will,  can 
change  it — which  gave  us  freedom,  and  so  gives  the  exer- 
cise of  freedom ;  and  in  the  end  to  confess  that  such  was 
the  diflSculty  remaining  that,  **  when  Grace  was  asserted, 
free  will  appeared  to  be  taken  away." 

Perhaps  Thomists  may  find  in  the  example  of  this 
great  Father  a  few  crumbs  of  comfort  to  console  them 
under  the  sneer  which  C.  J.  M.  thought  fit  to  fling  at  them 
in  the  amusing  but  rather  illogical  story  that  appears  as  a 
foot-note  to  one  of  the  pages  of  his  article. 

From  all  that  has  been  hitherto  advanced,  it  ought  to 
be  evident  that  Thomism  has  a  vast  deal  more  in  its 
favour,  than  anyone  whose  acquaintance  with  it  was  gained 
from  the  article  in  the  Record  could  or  would  have 
anticipated,  that  the  controversy  is  not  one  that  can  be 
gone  through  in  a  canter,  nor  is  the  result  a  kind  of  fore- 
gone conclusion.  Until  the  writings  of  St.  Augustine  and 
St  Thomas  are  relegated  to  the  dust — ^imtil  their  authority 
in  religious  controversy  is  set  aside — until  they  cease  to 
be  what  they  are,  the  two  great  luminaries  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  will  the  doctrine  "intrinsic  efficacv"  hold  its 
ground,  and  this  in  the  face  of  all  the  difficulties  urged  by 
writers  like  the  present — which  difficulties  are  in  substance 
as  old  as  St,  Augustine — and  were,  many  of  them,  origin- 
ally flung  at  the  doctrine  he  defended. 

The  first  in  importance  of  these  is  the  rebuke  of  the 
people  of  Corozain  and  Bethsaida.  How  can  they  be 
censured  for  not  doing  without  "  efficacious  Grace,"  which 
clearly  was  wanting  to  them,  what  Tyre  and  Sidon  would 
have  done  under  its  influence  ?  The  objection  is  a  strong 
one.  It  is  a  comfort  to  Thomists  to  know  it  does  not  fall 
exclusively  on  their  shoulders.  A  large  and  important 
body  of  Iheologians,  not  Thomists,  shrink  from  what  I 


Systems  of  Grace,  frani  the  ThomUt  Point  of  View.    213 

may  call  the  extreme  view  of  "  extrinsic  eflRcacy,"  accord- 
ing to  which  it  is  placed  in  the  assent  and  co-operation  of 
the  will.  Of  this  opinion,  Bellarmine  says: — "Omnino 
tdi^a  est  a  sententia  D,  Angustini,  et  quantum  ego  existimo 
etiam  a  sententia  Scripturarum  Divinarum,  Lib.  1,  cap.  12, 
de  Gratia.  He  refers  to  "  suflScient  Grace  "  plus  the  consent 
of  the  will,  qao  accedente  it  is  eflScacious.  Wow,  this  is  the 
theory,  and  the  only  one,  that  completely  avoids  the 
difficulty.  I  need  not  pause  to  prove  it.  But  this  theory 
is  not  that  generally  embraced  by  the  school  opposed  to 
ours,  according  to  which  '*  semper  moralit^r  et  m  ratione 
beneficii  plus  aliquid  in  "  efficaci  "  quam  in  '*  suflSciente 
gratia  continetur."  The  Jews  then  might  answer,  *'  If 
you  had  given  us  that  beneficium,  which  would  have  been 
given,  with  the  *  signs  and  wonders '  to  the  Tyrians  and 
Sidonians,  we,  as  they,  would  have  done  penance.*' 

The  answer  Thomists  give  to  the  objection  is  this: — The 
reproach  is  just,  because  by  their  greater  obdmacy,  malice 
and  ingratitude,  the  Jews  rendered  themselves  more 
unworthy  of  the  grace  that  was  necessary  for  their  conver-^ 
fflon.  St.  Augustine  says  this,  De  dono  persev.  c.  14 ;  and 
Our  Lord  even  cives  it  as  a  reason  for  His  rebuke,  for  He 
adds : — "  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  in 
tiie  day  of  judgment,  than  for  thee."  Why  ?  For  no  other 
reason,  surely,  than  their  lesser  obduracy  and  hardness  of 
hearts  Perhaps  they  might  rejoin  that  their  obduracy 
was  due  to  the  absence  of"  efficacious  Grace  "  which,  were 
it  wanting  to  the  others,  their  obduracy  would  have  been 
the  same.  I  answer,  the  cause  of  obduracy  is  the  perversity 
of  the  will,  not  the  absence  of*'  efficacious  Grace."  It  is  quite 
true, "  efficacious  Grace  "  either  prevents  or  removes  hard- 
ness of  heart ;  for  as  St.  Augustine  says,  "  a  nullo  duro 
corde  respuitur;  ideo  quippe  datur  ut  duritiam  cordis 
auferat."  But  it  is  not  true  to  infer  obduracy  from  the 
privation  of  Grace  as  its  cause.  1  hold  a  stone  in  my  hand 
and  thereby  keep  it  from  falling.  I  withdraw  my  hand 
suddenly,  it  falls  to  the  ground.  Is  the  movement  of  my 
hand  the  cause  of  its  fall  f  Every  schoolboy  knows  it  is 
lM)t.  The  stone  falls  in  virtue  of  the  attraction  of  gravita- 
tion. Man,  therefore,  and  not  Grace,  or  its  absence,  is 
iecountable    for   his  own  bad  dispositions — which  may 


214    Systems  of  Gmce^  from  the  Thomist  Point  of  View, 

fant  them  to  the  less  unworthy  "  pro  miserieordia." 
can  say,  then,  in^  reference  to  another  argument  of 
C.  J.  M.— the  case  of  the  father  and  his  sons — that  if  the 
misconduct  of  the  boy  deprived  him,  as  imfit,  of  the 
advantage   of   university  training,  neither  reproach  nor 

Eunishment  would  be  out  of  place,  though  the  latter  might 
e  excessive  under  the  circumstances. 

Taking  into  account,  then,  the  possible  dispositions  of  the 
will,  there  is  ample  room  and  need  for  warnings,  exhortations, 
prayers,  &c. — ^full  reason  to  work  in  "  fear  and  trembling  " — 
to  neglect  no  means  whereby  salvation  is  sought  for. 
"  Ideo,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "  haec  et  nobis  praecipiuntur 
et  dona  Dei  esse  monstrantur,  ut  intelligamus  quod  et  nos 
facimus  et  Deus  facit,  ut  ilia  faciamus.*'  De  Predest, 
Sanct.,  cap.  ii. 

Coming  now  to  the  special  difficulty  of  the  Thomistic 
system,  that  about  free-will,  C.  J.  M.  will  pardon  me  if  1  say 
that  the  form  it  assumes  in  his  pages  is  rather  novel  as 
applied  to  deep  problems  of  metaphysics;  and,  judging 
from  the  result,  1  doubt  whether  the  style,  popularly 
denominated  as  "  slashing,"  is  the  one  best  adapted  for  a 
fair  statement  of  an  opponent's  case.  I  don't  think  there 
is  a  sentence  in  pages  785,  786,  to  which  a  Thomist  might 
not  fairly  take  exception  on  one  or  another  ground. 
However,  the  diflBculty  is  a  genuine  one,  and  a  closer 
treatment  of  it  will  be  mor6  satisfactory,  as  it  certainly 
will  be  more  to  my  taste  than  a  fusilade  of  verbal  criticisms 
with  possible  rejoinders  and  sub-rejoinders  in  the  distance. 

Here  is  the  objection.  Efficacious  Grace  (that  of  the 
Thomists)  determmes  the  will,  "ad  unum,"  so  that  it 
cannot  do  the  opposite.  Therefore,  it  takes  away  the 
liberty  of  power,  dominion  and  indifference,  which  in  our 

E resent  state  is  necessary  for  merit.  To  this  Thomists  reply 
y  their  famous  distinction,  that  the  will  cannot  do  the 
opposite  "  in  sensu  composite  ;*'  that  "  in  sensu  diviso  "  it 
has  the  power — and  this  suffices  for  liberty.  The  distinc- 
tion is  subtle,  yet  it  may  be  made  clear  if  we  turn  our 
thoughts  for  a  moment  on  what  takes  place,  when  the  will 
determines  itself,  as  it  does,  let  it  be  remembered  in  every 
hypothesis  on  the  subject.  Let  us  suppose  then  the  will 
determining  itself  by  its  own  native  strength  as  opponents 
of  Thomism  wish,  to  the  act  of  loving ;  certainly  "  in 
sensu  composito  "  with  that  determination  it  cannot  but 
love— supposing  the  determination  to  be  efficacious- 
otherwise  it  would  be  efficaciously  determined  to  love  and 
it  would  not ;  for  a  determination  without  effect  is  ineffica- 


Sgilema  of  Grace,/rom  the  Thomial  Paint  of  View.     215 

ciona.  Yet  the  will  thua  detennined  ia  still  free,  for  it  is 
mita  power  "not  to  love  in  seaeu  divieo."  In  the  eame 
manner,  there  cannot  be  with  efficacious  Grace,  the  con- 
trary act  "  in  sensH  compoeito  "  it  can  "  in  sensu  diviso  " 
wliicii  Boffices  for  liberty.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  will  detenoineB  itself  as  ti  "  vera  causa  efficiens,  licet 
Beconda" — that  prtemotion  or  gratia  efEcax  is  the  action 
of  the  first  cause — that  it  "influes"  (sit  venia  verbo)  on 
the  act  of  the  second  cause,  with  the  cause  itself,  for 
priority  of  time  there  is  none,  and  the  reconciliaf.ioa  of 
treedom  with  efficacious  Grace  becomes  conceivable.  It 
18  not  free  from  obscurity,  it  is  from  contradiction,  which 
■is  all  that  now  concerns  us.  The  ultimate  test  of  any 
controversy  that  touches  in  any  way  the  Deity  and  Hir 
sctioa  is  contradiction  in  terms.  Theologians  are  satisfied 
when  they  are  clear  of  this  in  the  problems  of  God's 
fteedom  post  decreta — of  the  obedience  and  merit  of  our 
Saviour.  Thomists,  therefore,  may  ^  be  satisfied  if  they 
reach  thus  far  in  the  difficulty  arising  in  the  subject  of  Grace. 
There  is  another  charge,  that  of  inconsistency,  directed 
against  us — founded  on  the  notion  of  eternity  accepted  by 
ns,  who  nevertheless  describe  a  certain  order  in  the  Divine 
decrees.  Do  not  all  Theologians  lay  down  such  order  and 
racceasion — iu  the  Fall  and  Redemption  for  instance — in 
vocation  to  grace  and  to  glory  T  But  then  do  they  mean  a 
real  distinction  or  one  "  rationisratiocinatfe  V  Does  that  hurt 
tiie  Divine  eternity  any  more  than  the  Divine  simplicity  ? 
These  are  questions  I  leave  to  C.  J.  M.  My  own  opinion 
IB,  that  a  necessity  for  them  should  never  have  arisen  in  a 
theological  paper. 

One  word,  now,  before  I  end  this  article,  already  too 

long.    C.  J.  M.  quotes,  with  approval,  a  sentence  of  the 

,  the  Thomistic  system 

lligence    and    win    the 

0  theologise  scholasticse 
le  su%  scholse  aut  alio 
ectendum  systema  illud 
sion  of  opinion  1  fully 
econd  clause  I  dismiss  ■ 
jr  which  the  wonderful 
ip  have  not  sufficiently 

1  Tiot   trnifind    iin  in  nnv 


[    216    ] 


ON    THE    RECENT    CHANGES    IN     THE 
ECCLESIASTICAL   CALENDAR. 

Supplementary  Paper.^ 

THE  point  to  which  attention  is  called  in  the  following 
question  is  one  that  seems,  since  the  beginning  of  the 
present  year,  to  have  occurred  to  many  priests  as  a  matter 
requiring  explanation. 

'*  In  your  Paper  on '  The  Recent  Changes  in  the  Ecclesiastical 
Calendar/  in  the  last  Decemher  numher  of  the  Record,  page  788, 
you  say  that,  '  as  regards  semi-douhles  and  ordinary  douhles  «  • 
the  transferring  of  feasts     .     •     .     is  now  at  an  eud.' 

"  Will  you  kindly  tell  me,  then,  why  was  the  Feast  of  St.  Ray- 
mond of  Pennafort  transferred  to  the  11th  inst.  from  the  23rd  alt 
[i.e ,  to  the  11th  of  February  from  the  28rd  of  January],  and  why 
was  the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellas  transferred  for  Cashel  and  Limeridc 
from  the  16th  ult.  to  the  11th  inst.  [i.e.,  from  the  16th  of  January 
to  the  11th  of  February]  ?     This  has  puzzled  several  grave  heads." 

Even,  it  may  be  added,  before  the  date  of  the  above 
letter  (17th  of  February),  several  other  instances  of  such 
"  transfers  "  had  occurred,  and  since  that  date  the  number 
has  been  still  further  increased.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  the 
Ordo  for  the  month  of  February  we  find  the  following : — 


Feast 

Db7  assigned  in 

the  Encleaiaatioal 

Calendar 

1 
Daj  aarigned  in  this  year's  Ordo 

S.  Romuald 
S.John  of  Matha... 
S.  Ignatins 

S.  Raymond 
S.  Maroellus 

S.  Ignatius 

7th  Feb.       . . 
8th  Feb. 
Ist  Feb. 

23rd  Jan. 
16th  Jan. 

Ist  Feb. 
SsCt  «Src,  Sse, 

9th  Feb.  (Ferns) 

0th  Feb.  (KUdare :  I^ighlin) 

0th  Feb.  (Cashel:  Limerick:  Ar- 
dagh) 

11th  Feb. 

11th  Feb.  (Cashel:  Limerick:  Kil- 
dare :  Leighlin :  Ardagb) 

11th  Feb.  (Ferns) 

How,  then,  is  all  this  to  be  explained  t  Our  respected 
correspondent  seems  to  have  overlooked  the  letters  A /., 
standing  in  abbreviation  for  dies  jixa^  which  are  carefufly 
inserted  by  the  Very  Rev.  Compiler  of  the  OTdx>y  in  each  of 
the  instances  referred  to,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  the 
many  similar  instances,  amoimting  probably  to  several 
hundreds,  occurring  throughout  the  year. 

»See  I.  E.  Record  (Third  Series)  voL  iv.,  n.  12  (Dec.,  1883),  p.  787. 


On  the  Recent  Changes  in  the  Eccleeiaetical  Calendar.    217 

The  asaigninent  of  "  fixed  "  days,  as  distinct  from  the 
mere  "  tranfflening  "  of  Feasts,  has  been  noticed  in  a  former 
paperin  the  RECORD,^  on  the  subject  of  the  changes  effected 
by  the  Brief  of  the  18th  of  July,  1882.  In  the  mimber  for 
November,  1882,  on  pages  696,  697,  the  following,  among 
other  observations  regarding  this  branch  of  Uturgical  law, 
wfll  be  found  :— 

« In  many  cases  the  day  assigned  to  a  Feast  in  our  Irish 
Calendar  is  different  from  that  assigned  to  the  same  Feast 
m  the  general  Calendar  of  the  Church.  For,  when  special 
Feasts  are  introduced  by  Indult  into  a  particular  Cakndar, 
as  into  that  of  Ireland,  a  permanent  displacement  of  some  we- 
riouily  eadsting  Feasts  is  frequently  rendered  necessary.  The 
day  to  "whicn  a  Feast  is  thus  permanently  transferred  is 
Uirmed  ek  dies  Jiaa.  •  .  .  Tlie  assignment  of  fixed  days  is 
wt  interfered  with  by  the  new  Decree'* 

The  rules  regiJating  the  permanent  displacement  of 
Feasts,  and  the  copsequent  assignment  of  ^' fixed  days," 
need  not  be  enumerated  here.  They  may  be  found  in  any 
of  the  ordinary  manuals  of  liturgical  law,  as,  for  instance, 
in  De  Herdt's  Sacrae  Liturgiae  Praxis,  where  they  arc  veiy 
clearly  set  forth. 

But  it  may  be  useful  to  illustrate  the  application  of  these 
roles  by  examining  in  detail  their  operation  in  the  cases 
meDtiooed  in  the  preceding  letter. 

We  may  begin  with  the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellus.  Why, 
then,  was  this  Feast  celebrated  this  year  on  the  11th  of 
February,  and  not  on  the  16th  of  January,  the  day  assigned 
to  it  in  the  Ecclesisistical  Calendar  ? 

The  explanation  is  as  follows : — The  16th  of  January 
being  occupied  in  Hie  Irish  Calendar  by  the  Feast  of  an 
Irish  saint,  St.  Fursey,  that  day,  as  regards  Ireland,  has  long 
nnce  ceased  to  be  the  calendar  date  of  St  Marcellus.  As 
the  displacement,  which  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  the 

{ear  1747,  was  permanent,  a  dies  fi>xa  was  assigned  to  the 
'east  of  St  MarceDus ;  this  was  the  9th  February,  the  next 
day  that  then  happened  to  be  vacant.  Thus,  then,  the 
Wi  of  February  became,  for  Ireland^  the  Calendar  date  of 
itie Feast  of  St  Marcellus;  and  so,  last  year,  when  that  Feast 
W»  transferred  (owing  to  the  occiu-rence  of  one  of  the 
fmtkB  of  the  Passion  assigned  to  the  Fridays  in  Lent)  it 


218     On  ike  Recent  Clianges  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Calendar. 

day  "  assigned  to  it  in  the  Calendar  of  the  Irish  Church 
This  may  be  seen  from  the  Ordo  of  last  year,  pages  12 
and  20,  or  from  any  previous  Ordo  for  many  yeara  past. 

But  no'w  this  Feast  has  once  more  been  permanently 
displaced.  The  new  Feast  of  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  has 
been  estabhshed  for  the  9th  of  Februaiy,  and,  as  it  is  of 
double  rite,  it  takes  precedence  of  the  (semi-double)  Feast 
of  St.  Marcellus.  Thus,  then,  a  new  permanent  displacement 
of  the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellus  has  taken  place.  The  new  dies 
jixa  consequently  assigned  to  it,  is  the  next  day  now  hap- 
pening to  be  vacant,  which  is  the  19th  of  February. 

On  this  day,  then,  in  future,  the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellus 
will  be  celebrated  (or  commemorated,  as  the  case  may  be), 
not  subject  to  "  translation,'*  but  still,  of  course,  subject  to 
permanent  "displacement,"  if,  at  any  future  time,  the  19th  of 
February  shoxild  happen  to  be  assigned  to  any  new  Feast  to 
which,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  regulating  this  branch 
of  the  liturgy,  the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellus  should  eive  way. 

As  regards  the  Feast  of  St.  Raymond,  the  explanation  is 
precisely  similar.  Permanently  displaced,  apparently  in  the 
year  1772,  by  the  extension  to  Ireland  of  the  Feast  of  the 
Espousals  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  (23rd  of  January),  it  was 
assigned  in  the  Irish  Calendar,  as  may  be  seen  from  last 
year's  Ordo,  to  the  11th  of  Febiniary.  Thus,  then,  as  St.  Ray- 
mond's feast  is  one  that,  under  the  new  regulations,  cannot 
be  transferred,  it  Avill  invariably,  unless  once  more  removed 
by  some  future  permanent  displacement,  be  celebrated  (or, 
as  the  case  may  be,  commemorated)  on  the  11th  of  February, 
its  dies  Jixa  in  the  Calendar  of  the  Iiish  Church. 

I  may  here  transcribe  a  short  explanatory  note  on  this 
subject  of  "  fixed  days,"  inserted  by  the  present  Very  Rev. 
Compiler  of  the  Ordo,  in  the  Ordo  for  the  year  1844. 

"Hie  diligenter  est  distinguendum  inter  translationem 
festi  et  mutationem  diei  illius.  Translatio  quippe  importat 
iransitum  oflScii  a  die  sibi  assignato  in  calendario  ad  alium, 
per  modum  peregrinationis,  sic  ut  anno  sequenti  vel  altero 
sedem  sibi  fixam  recuperet.  MutaHo  vero  diei  importat 
transitum  officii  ad  alium  diem  in  quo  sedem  fir  am  acqnirit^ 

"  Translatio  locum  habet  quando  per  accidens  tantum 
festum  a  suo  die  transportatur ;  mutatio  autem,  quando 
tjnctannis  necessario  trausportari  debet  ob  occursum  officii 
dignioris.     .     .     . 

"  Assignanda  est  dies  fixa  prima  die,  etiam  infra  Octavam^ 
non  impedita  officio  dupUci  vel  semiduplici.     Hanc  autem 


0»  the  Recent  Changes  in  the  EccleMmtical  Calendar.     219 

diem  deincepa  ita  Srmiter  tenet  ut  ab  eo  dimoveri  non  poseit 
falo  translalo  quantumvis  xolemni,"     HOMSEE,  I'raMB  Div. 

O^i,  Art  21,  sect.  vi.  n.  2- 

It  still  remains  to  be  explained  why  the  "  fixed  daya  " 
asagned  in  our  Irifih  Calendar  differ  bo  widely  in  the 
Calendars  of  the  various  dioceses. 

Why,  for  iuetance,  is  tho  11th  of  February  nssi^ed  in 
tile  dioceses  of  Caehel,  Limerick,  Kildare,  and  Leiglilin,  to 
the  Feast  of  St.  Marcellus  (permanently  removed  from  the 
16thof  January)  whilst  in  rems  that  day  is  assigned  to  the 
Feast  of  St.  Ignatius  (permanently  removed  from  the  1st  of 
February),  and  in  the  rest  of  Ireland  to  the  Feast  of 
St.  Raymond  of  Pennafort  (permanently  removed  from  the 
Srd  of  January)? 

Let  us  first  take  the  less  complicated  case,  that  of  the 
anwigement  for  the  dioceses  generally  throughout  Ireland. 
Previous  to  the  year  1869,  there  were  in  the  general 
of  January,  and  down  to 
iree  instances  of  permanent 
Feasts  thus  displaced  were 
•om  the  16th  of  January; 
the  23rd  of  Januaiy;  and 
a  the  lat  of  February.  It 
t  of  these  three  cases,  the 
reax  1747,  and  in  the  second, 
d,  as  it  resulted  from  the 
St.  Bridget  on  the  let  of 
n  the  General  Ecclesiastical 
arobably  of  much  older  date, 
irded  as   dating  from    time 

:  that  the  first  vacant  day  in 
lat  is  to  say,  the  (ith  day  of 
assigned  to  the  Feast  of  St 
is  the  9th  of  February)  to 
lird  (which  is  the  11  th  of  Feb- 
.  Thus,  when  the  feast  of  St. 
"or  "  the  first  free  day  after  the 
in  the  general  Irish  Calendar 
t  day  having  previously  been 
9  earlier   days  having  been 


220     On  the  Recent  C/uxnges  in  the  Ecclesiaatieal  Calendar. 

This,  then,  was,  in  fact,  the  arrangement  of  the  Irish 
calendar  in  the  Ordoa  for  the  years  1855-62. 

Subsequently,  the  extension  of  the  Feasts  of  the 
diocesan  Patrons  to  the  dioceses  of  Ireland  generally,  ouce 
more  displaced  the  Feast  of  St.  Ignatius:  the  6th  of 
February,  the  day  previously  assigned  to  that  Feast,  being 
also  the  feast-day  of  St.  Mel,  the  Patron  Saint  of  the 
diocese  of  Ardagh,  to  which,  as  a  Feast  of  one  of  our 
national  saints,  the  Feast  of  St.  Ignatius  should  give  way. 
The  18th  of  February,  then,  became  the  new  "  fixed  day'^ 
for  St  Ignatius,  thus,  for  the  second  time,  displaced. 

This  was  in  the  generallnQh  Calendar.  Let  us  now  see 
why  in  various  dioceses — in  the  diocese,  for  instance,  of 
Limerick — a  totally  different  arrangement  prevails.  The 
principle  being  absolutely  the  same  in  all  cases,  the 
explanation  to  be  given  in  this  instance  will  apply  equally, 
mutatis  mutandisy  in  the  case  of  any  other  diocese. 

In  Limerick,  then,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the 
Ordo  for  1868,  or  for  any  previous  year,  a  special  dis- 
placement occurred  on  the  15th  of  January,  by  the 
occurrence  of  the  feast  of  one  of  the  local  saints,  St.  Ita. 
Here,  let  us  remember,  we  are  considering  the  state  of 
things  existing  previous  to  1869,  the  year  in  which  this  Feast 
was  extended  to  the  rest  of  Ireland.  Thus,  then,  in  Limerick, 
although  not  throughout  Ireland  generally,  .the  feast  of 
St.  Paul,  the  first  Hermit,  was  permanently  displaced.  To 
it,  consequently,  in  the  Calendar  for  Limenck,  was  assigned 
the  first  vacant  day,  that  is  to  say,  the  6th  of  February, 
elsewhere,  generally  speaking,  assigned  to  the  Feast  of 
St,  Imatius.  In  Casnel  also,  1  may  perhaps  add  without 
unduly  compUcating  the  matter,  a  local  displacement  of 
the  same  feast  of  St.  Paul,  the  first  Hermit,  took:  place,  as  its 
Calendar  date,  the  15th  of  January,  is  also  the  Octave  day 
of  the  diocesan  patron,  St.  Albert.  Thus  in  Cashel,  as  in 
Limerick,  the  6th  of  February  was  assigned  to  the  Feast  of 
St.  Paul,  the  Hermit ;  and  thus  too  it  happens  that  those 
two  dioceses  are  practically  bracketed  together  as  regards 
so  many  of  the  "  fixed  days "  assigned  m  their  diocesan 
Calendars  during  the  month  of  February. 

Since,  then,  m  Cashel  and  in  Limerick,  the  first  vacant 
day  was  thus  given  to  the  Feast  of  St  Paul,  all  the  other 
displaced  feasts  were  in  those  dioceses  necessarily  put  back 
each  by  one  step  in  the  assignment  of  their  "  fixed  days," 

Having  thus  pointed  out  the  circumstances  that  have 
led  to  the  existing  diversity,  I  shall  probably  best  succeed 


Oh  the  Recent  Changes  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Calendar.     221 

in  conveying  a  clear  idea  of  the  whole  case  by  setting  forth 
in  tabular  form,  a  statement  of  the  results  of  the  successive 
establisliment  of  new  Feasts,  as  affecting  the  arrangement 
of  the  "fixed  days"  during  the  months  of  January  and 
February,  in  all  those  inst^inces  in  which  the  Calendars  of 
any  Irish  diocese  differ  in  this  respect  from  the  General 
Calendar  of  the  Irish  Church. 


TABLE  1. 

Feasts  permanently  displaced  in  Irish  Calendars,  general 
OR  diocesan,  previous  to  1869,  THE  year  in  which  the 
Fkasts  op  the  Irish  Diocesan  Patrons,  and  of  St.  Ita, 
were  extended  to  all  the  Dioceses  op  Ireland. 


^*"    1  Irish  Calendar 

In 
Caahel 

In 

Limerick 

In 
Arda«h 

In 
Ferns 

In 
KUdare 

Jan.l5 

__ 

S.  Paul 

Paul 

„  16 

S.Marcel1u>> 

Marcellus 

Marcf'llus 

Marcellus 

Marrellus 

MareelluH 

„  2« 
„  31 

S.  Raymond 

Raymond 

Raymond 

Raymond 

Raymond 
P.Nolasco 

Raymond 

Feb.  1 

S.  Ignatius 

Ignatius 

Ignatius 

Ignatius 

IgtiatiuK 
Romuald 

IgnatiuM 

.     ft 

Jno.,Matha 

TABLE  n. 

Resulting  arrangemrnt  of  Calkndar  in  1868,  showing  the 
Feasts  then  allottkd  to  all  those  days  that  are  capable 

OF  BEING  assigned  AS  DIES  FIXAE. 


Ti,*.       In  Oeaoral 

In 
Cashel 

In 
Limeridc 

In» 
Ardagh 

In 

Ferns 

In 
Kildare 

Feb.  « 
,.     9 
»  11 
„  12 
„  13 

..  u 

..  15 

n    16 

..  18 

•    n    10 

„  20 
.  21 

S.iunatiiis 
S.  Marcellus 
S.  Uaymond 
S.Titnfl 

Paul 
Ignatins 
MarcelliiF 
Raymond 

Paul 
Ignatius 
Marcellus 
Raymond 

[S.Mel] 
Ignatius 
Marcellus 
Raymond 
Oct.  S.Mel 

P,Nolcuco 

Romuald 

Ignatius 

Marcellus 

Raymond 

Ignatius 
Jno.^Matha 
Marcellus 
Raymond 
Titus 

la 

Titns         1  Titns 

U 

Titus         'Titns 

Note  on  Tables  I.  and  II. — In  both  Tables,  the 
Feasts  displaced  6y  the  occurrence  of  a  local  Feast,  as  of 
the  Feast  of  the  Diocesan  Patron,  or  of  its  Octave  day,  are 
VOL.  V.  R 


222     On  the  Becent  Clumges  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Calender. 

printed  in  itaKcs.  It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  afiBign- 
ment  of  fixed  days,  the  Feasts  thus  displaced  obtain  a 
priority. 

Previous  to  1869,  all  the  days  left  blank  in  Table  II., 
down  to  the  22nd  of  February,  were  merely  Ferias, 
either  altogether  unoccupied,  or  occupied  only  by  Simple 
Feasts. 

TABLE  ni. 

Feasts  permanently  displaced  in  1869  by  the  extension  op 
THE  Fkasts  of  the  Irish  JSaints  to  all  the  Diogeses  of 
Irkland. 


Date 

Tn  General 
Ixish  Calendar 

In 
Cashd 

In 
limerick 

In 

In                In 

Ferns            EikUve 

JaD.25 

M    31 

Feb.  6 

S.Paul 

S.P.Nolaero 

S.Tsrnatius 

P.Nolasco 
Panl 

P.Nolasco 
Paul 

Paul 
P.Nolasco 

Paul           Panl 

P.Nolasco 
P.Nolasco  Ignatias 

Note. — Fixed  days,  then,  were  to  be  assigned  to  the 
Feasts  thus  permanently  displaced  ;  also  (except  in  Cashel) 
for  the  Feast  of  St.  Albert,  the  Calendar  date  of  which  is 
January  2nd,  and  (except  in  Limerick)  for  the  Feast  of 
St.  Munchin,  the  Calendar  date  of  which  is  January  8th. 
In  Cashel  and  Limerick,  respectively,  these  Feasts,  as 
doubles  of  the  first  class  in  the  diocese,  are,  of  course, 
celebrated  on  their  Calendar  dates. 


A       TABLE  IV. 
Resulting  arrangement  of  Calendar  in  the  years  1869-1883, 

AS  REGARDS  THE  DAYS  MI£NTIONED  IN  TaBLB  U. 


TWafA 

In6«Deral 

In 

In 

In 

In 

In 

Iriah  Oaleodar 

Oishel 

Limeriok 

Aidacfa 

Ferofl 

ESkte* 

Feb.  6 

,  S.Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

„     9   S.  MarceUus'  Ignatins 

Ignatius 

Igrnatins 

Romuald 

Jno.,Math|i 

.    11 

S.  lUymobd 

MarcelluB 

Marcfillus  MarceUus 

Ignatius 

MajrceUus 

.   13 

S.Titus 

Raymond 

Raymond  ;  Raymond 

MarceUus 

Raymood 

„   13    S.Munrhin 

Titus 

Titus 

Oct.S.Mel 

Raymond 

Titus 

„   U    S.Albert 

Munchin 

Albert 

Titus 

Titus 

Munchin 

„  15   S.Panl 

Ita 

P.Nolasco  Munchin 

Munchin 

Albert 

.  16   S. P.Nolasco 

P.Nolasco 
Paul 

Paul 

Albert 
.Paul 
P.Nolasco 

Albert 
Paul 

Paul 

„  18 
.   19 

S.  Ignatins 

IH 

P.Nolasco 

19 

P.Nolasco  1  Ignatius 

.  20. 

• 

H    21' 

On  the  Recent  Cfianges  in  the  EcclesiasHcal  Calendar,     223 


TABLE   V. 

Pe&vanskt  displacement  caused  bt  the  establishmrnt  of  the 
NEW  Feast  of  St.  Cybil  foe  the  9th  of  Febbuaby. 


D^ 

In  General 

ItubCalandnr 

In 
Cnthel 

In 
TJmerick 

In                  In 
Axdagfa            Ferni 

In 
KIldaM 

Feb.  9 

S.  Mareellus 

NOTK — In  the  general  Irish  Calendar,  the  Feast  previously 
assigned  to  the  9th  of  February  having  been  that  of 
St.Marcellus,  which  is  a  semidoubU,  the  Feast  of  St.  Cyril  of 
course  takes  its  place.  But  in  those  dioceses  where,  as  shown 
in  Table  IV.,  Feasts  of  dovhh  rite  were  already  assigned  to 
the  9th  of  February,  those  Feasts  remain  undisturbed  and 
tiie  Feast  of  St.  Cyril  is  placed  on  the  next  vacant  day, 
which  in  Limerick  is  the  18th;  in  Cashel,  the  19th ;  and 
in  Ardagh,  Ferns,  and  Kildare,  the  20th,  of  February. 

TABLE  VI. 

Pebsent  arrangement,  consequent  on  the  establishmekt  of 
THE  NEW  Feast  of  St.  Cyril  op  Alexandria. 


<i 


21 


Dite 

XnOcnenJ 
Iii^  Calendar 

In 

Gaahal 

In 

Umerfck 

Mel 

In 

Aidagh 

In 

Femif 

In 
Klldaie 

Feb.  6 

S.Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

Mel 

„     0 

S.Cjril 

Ignatius 

Ignatius 

Ignatius 

Romuald 

Jno.,Matbs 

..  11 

S.  Raymond 

Mareellus 

Mareellus 

Mareellus 

Ignatius 

Mareellus 

„  12 

S.Tita8 

Raymond 

Raymond 

Raymond    Mareellus 

Raymond 

..  13 

S.MaDcbin 

Titus 

Titus 

Oct.S.Mel 

Raymond 

Titus 

«  u 

S.Albert 

Munehin 

Albert 

Tilus 

Titus 

Munehin 

.,  15 

S.Paul 

Ita 

P.  Nolasco 

Munehin 

Munehin 

^bert 

„  16 

S.P.Nolasoo 

P.Nolasco 

Paul 

Albert 

Albert 

Paul 

„  18 

S.Igi]atraB 

Paul 

Cyril 

Paul 

P.Nolasco 

Cyril 

Paul 

P.Nolasco 

Cyril 

P.  Nolasco 

„  19 

S.Marcellus'  Cyril 

19 

Ignatius 

„  SO 

20 

Cyril 

Note, — This  Table,  representing  the  actual  arrange- 
ment of  this  portion  of  the  Calendar,  stands  in  remarktu)le 
contrast  with  Table  IL  The  diflference  is,  of  course,  the 
result  of  the  establishment,  or  extension  to  all  the  dioceses 
of  Ireland,  of  the  new  Feasts  mentioned  in  the  headings  oC 
the  various  Tables. 

W.  J.  Walsh. 


[     224     ] 

THE  ENGLISH  OR  SCOTCH  LAKES :  WHICH  ? 
Chapter  II. — The  English  Lakes. 

TTI7E  entered  Scotland  from  Durham,  and  found  in  the 
IT  stately  capital  its  ancient  Church  of  St.  Giles 
restored,  as  if  the  Old  Faith  were  about  once  more  to  take 
possession  of  it.  Now  we  take  our  last  look  and  linger 
awhile  in  its  second  capital,  and  in  Glasgow  admire  a 
similar  restoration  of  an  old  cathedral,  St.  Mungo^s,  and 
quit  it  to  find  in  England  a  daughter  of  the  great  church 
of  Durham,  and  to  see  in  Carlisle  the  family  likeness,  the 
same  and  yet  with  a  difterence. 

We  must  not  stay  at  Glasgow,  at  least  in  our  writing — 
though  an  old  friend  made  it  for  some  days  a  home  tons — 
and  we  found  its  new  and  splendid  university,  its  parks 
and  its  restored  cathedral,  more  than  made  amends  for 
the  gloom  which  a  canopy  of  smoke  and  the  consequent 
rain  spread  ever  around. 

Perhaps  some  of  the  charm  of  the  journey  over  the 
Border  was  due  to  the  contrast  with  this  preceding  gloom ; 
but  certain  it  is,  the  bright,  watery  meadows  out  of  which 
Merry  Carlisle  rises,  were  smiling  their  brightest ;  and  the 
group  of  cathedral  and  castle  standing  on  a  peninsula 
between  the  abounding  waters  of  the  Eden  ana  Coldew, 
hemmed  in  by  ancient  walls  and  surrounded  by  quaint 
houses,  was  a  sight  of  Merry  England  which  warmed  our 
heart. 

Nor  was  the  first  impression  weakened  by  closer 
inspection.  If  "  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view," 
by  enabling  us  to  group  into  one  picture  the  many  striking 
features  of  the  Border  city,  a  visit  in  detail  tends  only  to 
strengthen  the  interest  which  is  thus  excited,  and  make^  us 
pause  ere  we  hasten  on  to  the  lakes. 

The  cathedral  is  a  sore  puzzle  to  those  who,  like  our- 
selves, have  not  mastered  its  history  before  visiting  it. 
There  is  no  west  front,  but  instead  a  dead  wall  built  amid 
the  ruins  of  an  ancient  nave.  When  we  enter  what  is 
behind  this  wall,  we  find  round  arches  and  massive  pillars 
which  are  like  those  of  Durham,  yet  with  a  marked  differ- 
ence. Some  years  ago  this  fragment  of  a  nave  was  barred 
off  by  another  dead  wall  from  the  choir  beyond.  This 
has  now  been  removed,  and  through  a  central  door, — 
which  yet  is  not  central — we  enter  the  wonderful  choir, 


The  English  or  Scotch  Ixikes—  W7ii<;//  f  225 

**  one  of  the  finest  in  England,*'  and  possessing,  moreover, 
an  east  window  which  has  nine  lights  (**  more  than  any 
other  Flamboyant  window  in  existence  "),  while  its  upper 
portion  "  exhibits  the  most  beautiful  design  for  window 
tracery  in  the  world/'  So  say  the  great  critics,  and 
few  will  be  disposed  to  question  their  judgment ;  though 
the  glass  in  the  nine  ligkts  is  modem,  and  scarcely  manages 
to  hold  its  own  against  the  ancient  splendour  above,  fiut 
that  central,  non-central  door  which  leads  from  the  frag- 
ment of  a  Norman  nave  into  this  splendid  Early  English 
choir,  which  joins  the  eleventh  with  the  fourteenth  century, 
that  is  a  puzzle.  Central  it  is  to  the  choir,  leading  out 
between  tne  fine  stalls  which  are  returned  on  each  side 
of  it,  and  above  wliich  rises  the  grand  organ ;  but  not 
central  to  the  tower  into  which  it  leads,  but  far  on  one 
aide :  so  the  vista  from  east  to  west  is  strange  and  perplex- 
ing. Something  Uke  it  we  remember  at  Toulouse,  but  the 
excuse  there  given  was  that  the  choir  was  later  work,  built 
quite  independently  of  the  nave,  which  wa*  to  have  been 
rebuilt  in  harmony  of  design  and  position  with  the  choir. 
But  here,  at  Carlisle,  no  such  reason  is  assigned  :  the  choir 
was  built  duly  in  line  with  the  nave,  the  centi*al  line  pass- 
ing through  both.  But  in  process  of  time,  it  seems,  the 
authorities  resolved  to  widen  the  choir,  which  was  done  by 
simply  throwing  the  north  of  its  aisles  into  the  choir  itself 
ana  building  a  new  north  aisle  beside  it,  without  any 
consideration  for  the,  even  then,  venerable  nave  and  its 
central  tower,  which  were  thrown,  as  it  were,  off  their 
centre,  and  left  to  take  care  of  themselves  and  to  account 
as  best  they  could  for  their  queer  position.  Truly  these 
fourteenth  century  builders  were  bold  and  independent 
men  and  studied  other  things  rather  than  general  effects. 

There  are  some  quaint  fifteenth  century  paintings  with 
equally  quaint  English  inscriptions  on  the  back  of  the 
stalk,  telling  the  legends  of  St.  Augustine  of  Hippo, 
the  Patron  of  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral,  and  of  St. 
Cathbert,  whose  veneration  the  painter  Bishop  of  Carlisle 
brought  with  him  from  Durham  when  he  left  its  deanery 
tot  tms  new  see. 

After  last  Mass  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption  at  the 
Iwgc,  if  not  imposing,  Catholic  Church — which  on   this 


226  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes— Which  t 

penetrated  by  them.  The  consequence  i«  that  excellent 
roads  traverse  the  beautiful  district,  and  equally  excellent 
coaches  traverse  the  roads.  The  railway  journey  to 
Keswick  is  unpromising ;  some  rain  and  much  mist  fill  np 
the  valleys  and  cut  off  the  tops  of  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains. I'hus  much  is  left — almost  too  much — ^for  the 
imagination  and  the  memory  of  la  former  visit  to  paint, 
and  the  outlook,  both  present  and  prospective,  is  gloomy. 
We  make  no  delay  at  Keswick,  which  is  too  much  of  a 
town  for  our  present  taste,  but  mount  to  the  outside  of  an 
omnibus  which  carries  us  over  the  four  miles  of  lakeside  to 
the  excellent  Lodore  Hotel  in  a  half  hour.  We  are  in  'the 
midst  of  the  haunt  of  the  Lake  Poets.  Southey  and 
Wordsworth  are  supposed  to  be  in  every  body*8  mouth, 
and  here  at  Lodore  we  have  the  waterfall  which  inspired 
the  former  with  that  fantastic  poem  in  which  the  words  not 
only  paint  the  scene,  but  follow  the  rhythm  of  the  water 
itself.  The  rain  and  mist  clear  off  as  we  pursue  the  wind- 
ings of  the  shore,  and  beautiful  Derwentwater  reveals 
itself  in  all  its  exquisite  charms.  '*  Derwentwater  should 
be  kept  for  the  end  of  the  tour,"  say  prudent  people, 
because  the  best  should  be  reserved.  But  what  ardent 
lover  of  nature  follows  prudent  advice  ;  and  when  does  he 
care  to  keep  in  store  what  may  be  enjoyed  at  once  ?  So 
we  have  come  straight  to  the  most  charming  of  the  lakes, 
and  carry  from  it  many  a  pleasant  picture,  each  of  which 
seems  to  give  a  zest  to  other  charms  rather  than  to  injure 
them  by  contrast*  So  we  escape  the  fidget  which  comes 
of  something  special  in  store,  and  having  had  what  is 
pronounced  to  be  the  best,  enjoy  more  leisurely  and  with 
an  equable  mind  the  scenes  that  follow.  Lodore  is  at  its 
wildest  to-day,  at  least  at  summer  wildness.  The  fall 
between  the  two  crags  is  about  150  feet,  but  broken  into 
several  leaps,  and  as  we  climb  its  wooded  sides  it  offers 
views  from  all  points  ;  each  of  which  seems  to  have  some 
special  charm  which  marks  it  as  the  point.  The  next  day 
is  fine  and  bright,  and  the  fall  loses  much  of  its  grandeur  ; 
but  now  it  has  new  charms* and  compensates  for  the  loss 
of  volume  by  an  increased  number  of  sportive  leaps  in 
graceful  cascades  which  seem  in  truth  to  be  its  happiest 
and  most  appropriate  character.  For  already  we  feel  that 
beauty,  richness  and  colour,  rather  than  gloom  and  barren 
sublimity,  are  the  things  to  be  enjoyed  in  the  Englisti 
Lakeland. 

To-day  we  make  a  grand  excursion,  not  on  any  one  of 


The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Which  f  227 

die  smart  coaches  that  pass  us  on  the  road ;  but  on  foot, 
leisurely  and  most  eujojablj.  We  coaflt  the  lake  to  its 
liead  where  the  Derwent  pours  into  it,  traverse  Borrowdale, 
climb  Honister  crag  (1,100  feet),  descend  to  Buttermere 
and  Crammock  water,  climb  again  over  Buttermere  Hatise 
(1,095  feet),  down  into  Ne^lands  valley,  and  then  another 
climb  over  a  rough  and  pathless  height  brings  us  at  last 
saddenly  above  Derwentwater,  with  our  hotel  glittering 
with  its  many  lights  on  the  further  side  of  the  lake.  But 
what  do  these  names  reveal  f  Enough  to  say,  they  mean 
the  finest  valley,  the  steepest  crag,  and  three  of  the  most 
beautiful  lakes  in  the  district  An  authority  says,  ^  It  is 
justly  aeeounted  the  finest  carriage  drive  in  Britain ;  neither 
Scotland  nor  Ireland  has  anything  to  match  it."  So  we 
begin  well ;  indeed  the  scenery  is  so  varied  and  inspiring 
that  we  do  the  rough  climbing  and  the  long  sweeps 
around  the  lakes,  through  the  dales,  and  over  the  wide 
i?{ffeading  downs,  with  scarcely  a  sense  of  fatigue,  though 
it  is  a  walk  of  23  miles,  and  feel  at  home  here  as  we  had 
never  done  in  the  wilder,  sterner  end  more  scattered 
soeuery  of  Scotland.  This  is  walkable,  sociable  and 
mvitiug;  it  can  be  grasped  and  mastered,  while  there 
it  must  be  looked  up  to,  revealed  from  a  distance,  and 
reached  by  riding  or  driving  through  great  intervening 
difltances. 

The  mext  day  is  again  fine — our  usual  good  fortune — 
^  we  stay  at  home,  which  means  that  we  limit  our 
wanderings  to  our  own  lake — ^for  Derwentwater  has  already 
become  our  own, — and  make  on  foot  its  complete  circuit 
wme  ten  miles  in  all.,  We  visit  Keswick,  but  eschew  its 
otnseam  and  all  indoor  pursuits,  and  content  ourselves 
with  its  pencil  manufactory  of  ancient  renown.  Indeed 
Keiwick  has  no  plumbago  left,  and  so  imports  its  metal 
&MI  abroad  and  makes  the  famous  lead  pencils  by  quite  a 
WW  process.  From  the  Lodore  we  return  on  Saturday 
te  Keswick  and  thence  by  rail  to  Penrith ;  for  Catholic 
Chutes,  although  increasing,  are  still  not  very  numerous 
ii  Lakeland.  As  we  leave  thfe  lovely  vale  beneath  the 
^veriumging  heights  of  Skiddaw  (3,054  feet)  and  Saddle- 
Mk  (2,^47  feet),  with  the  sunlight  playing  on  the  placid 
y^uu  where  tm^  lake  reveals  itself  between  the  openings 


228  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes—  Which  f 

After  Ma43s  it  is  a  pleasant  mid-day  stroll  to  Pooley 
Bridge,  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  Ullswater,  and  which  has 
pleasant  walks  enough  to  occupy  the  rest  of  the  day,  one 
especially  deserving  of  commendation  is  for  four  miles  to 
Howtown,  at  first  through  meadows  by  the  side  of  the 
lake,  and  then  by  a  carriage  road,  through  two  or  three 
domains  which  are  charming  in  their  abundant  foliage  and 
the  frequent  glimpses  they  afford  of  the  lake  beyond.  The 
lake  itself  is  long  enough  to  justify  a  steamboat ;  pleasant 
is  the  voyage  from  end  to  end,  through  three  reaches, 
which  are  so  different  in  character  and  so  seemingly  cut 
off  from  one  another,  that  they  may  fairiy  count  for  three 
lakes.  The  scenery  improves  as  one  advances:  in  the 
second  reach  Helvellyn  (3,118  feet)  appears ;  in  the  third 
Patterdale,  like  Borradale  at  Derwentwater,  rises  gradually 
until  it  culminates  in  the  famous  Kirkstone  Pass.  The 
length  of  Ullswater  is  eight  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth 
is  little  more  than  half  a  mile ;  yet  in  that  short  distance 
there  is  such  variety  of  scenery  that  somehow  it  suggests 
recollections  of  foreign  lakes ;  giving  us,  as  it  were, 
favourite  bits  of  each.  So  it  seems  agreed  that  it  is  not 
unique,  like  Derwentwater  and  Windermere,  which  recal 
DO  lakes  elsewhere. 

Here,  of  courae,  is  an  excellent  hotel  in  its  own  exten- 
sive grounds,  close  upon  the  lake,  with  guides,  mules, 
boats  and  coaches  for  difierent  excursions  without,  and 
every  creature  comfort  within  for  those  who  have  done 
the  Uons  of  the  neighbourhood  or  have  lounged  along  the 
pleasant  heights  which  overhang  the  lake.  Everywhere 
It  is  the  same  ;  the  pleasure  of  arrival  with  its  courteous 
welcome  is  dimmed  only  by  the  thought  that  a  day  or  two 
must  see  us  on  our  way  again. 

We  leave  Helvellyn,  as  we  left  Skiddaw,  tmclimbed ; 
and  are  content  to  rest  in  the  memory  of  former  ascents. 
The  next  day  we  are  on  foot,  traverse  Patterdale,  skirt 
the  gloomy  Brotherswater,  and  climb  the  somewhat  stiff 
ascent  of  Kirkstone  Pass,  and  rest  awhile  at  the  Kirkstone 
Inn,  which  rejoices  in  the  deputation  of  being  the  highest 
inhabited  house  in  England.  We  are  told,  probably  by 
some  envious  Derbyshire  man,  that  the  Cat  and  Fiddle,  on 
the  Buxton  and  Macclesfield  road,  stands  a  hundred  feet 
higher,  but  here  in  Lakeland  we  laugh  him  and  bis  Cat 
and  Fiddle  to  scorn,  and  maintain  that  nothing  can  exceed 
the  1,500  feet  of  the  Inn  where  we  rest  We  rest  and 
hesitate,    for    here  are  twb  roads,  both  inviting;  both 


The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes—  W  hieh  f  229 

ihow  lovely  views  of  lake,  beck  and  fell  beyond.     8hall 
we  take  the  one  that  leads  direct  to  Ambleside,  our  next 
resting  place,  or  shall  we  diverge  some  four  miles,  by  a 
bold  sweep  by  Troutbeck  to  Windermere?     Our  host  is 
consulted  and  he  almost  insists  upon  the  latter  and  longer 
route,  seeming  to   think  it   little   less  than   sin   to  miss 
Troutbeck  and  that  famous  view  of  Windermere  from  its 
heights.    So  down  we  swing,  in  a  good  round  pace,  which 
is  more  refreshing  than  rest  after  our  long  climb ;  the  bright 
fresh  air  adding  still  more  stimulant  to  what  the  choice 
ale  of  the  mountain  Inn  had  already  impai-ted.     That  was 
a  day's  walk  not  to  be  forgotten.     The  view,  which  was 
so  fine  and  diversified  from  the  Pass,  grew  in  beauty  as  it 
diminished  in  extent,  until  a  final  upward  climb  brought 
ns  abruptly  upon  a  bold  ridge  Qiause)  from  which  nearly 
the  whole  extent  of  Windermere  could  be  seen.     W^inder- 
mere, —  Winandermere  as  it  is  more  correctly  called  by 
those  who  are  not  in  a  hurry,  and  do  not  care  to  clip  their 
words — is  the  acknowledged  queen  of  Lakeland  by  right 
ot  grandeur,  and  still  more,  to  our  thinking,  because  her 
mountain  court  stands  at  a  reverential  distance  around  her, 
instead  of  crowding  upon  her  shores  with  undue  famil- 
iarity, as  smaller  and  less  noble  lakes  are  hemmed  in  and 
seemingly  overpowered  by  overhanging  giants.     Eleven 
miles  of  placid  waters  with  an  average  breadth  of  a  mile, 
thus  afibrding  a  pleasant  drive   of   some    twenty-three 
miles  along  its  margin,  arp  the  ample  dimensions  of  the 
royal  mere  :  so,  as  we  should  expect,  there  is  a  steamboat 
to  carry  us  from  end  to  end,  with  pleasant  villages  and 
even  riny  watering  places  where  we  can  break  our  journey 
and  land  to  extend  our  wanderings  beyond   the  shore. 
Perhaps  we  are  wrong  in  saying  watering  places,  at  least 
in  the  common  use  of  that  word :  for  our  readers  must  not 
suppose  that  there  is  any  of  the   confusion,   noise   and 
pretence,  which  characterize  such  places ;  in  Lakeland  all 
ifl  quiet,  orderly  and  rural ;  a  group  of  cottages,  a  simple 
landing  place,  a  few  boats,  and  perhaps  an  omnibus  from 
an  hotel  buried  amid  the  Neighbouring  trees,  suffice  to 
nutfk  the  spot  which  is  not  even  to  be  identified  by  its 
BMI16  on  the  landing  place.    As  we   descend   from   our 
iBoontain  height  to  the  shore,  all  its  beautiful  features 
wveal  themselves,  and  we  but  lose  the  general  view  to 


230  Tlie  English  or  Scotch  Lakes— Which  f 

The  descent  is  fortunately  not  abrupt,  so  we  have  no 
need  to  divert  our  attention  from  the  scene  before  us  to 
guard  and  guide  our  feet.  Up  and  down  the  path  wan- 
ders, seemingly  more  intent  upon  showing  us  the  view 
from  each  successive  coin  of  vantage,  than  on  leading  us 
down  to  the  lake  ;  and  doubtless  with  this  intention  it  was 
laid  out,  for  such  indeed  is  the  spirit  of  Lakeland,  where 
each  proprietor  seems  to  do  his  best  to  make  our  wander- 
ings pleasant,  and  in  honest  pride  to  exhibit  the  beauties 
of  the  lovely  land  to  the  best  advantage. 

Our  few  remaining  miles  are  along  the  margin  of  the 
lake,  by  a  winding  road  which  follows  each  graceful  curve 
of  the  shore,  under  the  shadow  of  fine  trees,  and  with  the 
inland  side  adorned  with  gigantic  flowering  shruba  We 
reach  Waterhead,  but  resist  the  attraction  of  its  pleasant 
hotel,  and  ask  our  way  to  Ambleside.  Surely  it  is  charac- 
teristic of  what  we  have  just  said,  that  the  reply  we 
receive  is,  that  there  is  a  short  way,  but  we  are  recom- 
mended to  take  a  more  circuitous  route, "  the  view  is  so 
much  more  beautiful."  Evidently  we  are  away  from 
railway-land,  and  have  no  train  to  catch.  We  catch 
instead  the  spirit  of  the  place,  and  lounge  along  the  longer 
way,  lingering  over  some  of  the  many  charming  bits  of  the 
suburb  of  Ambleside. 

We  are  soon  at  home  in  our  comfortable  hotel,  the 
"  Salutation,"  for  here  we  look,  and  not  in  vain,  for  letters, 
and  find  pleasant  news  and  kind  greetings  awaiting  us ; 
and  so  we  settle  down  for  a  few  days,  far  too  few,  for  the 
investigation — no,  that  is  not  the  word,  for  that/  implies 
trouble — but  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  surroundings  of 
Ambleside,  far  and  near. 

Ambleside  is  a  great  centre,  and,  to  our  mind,  quite 
ideal  in  its  perfection  as  such.  There  are  centres  that  are 
in  themselves  ugly,  out  of  which  one  is  almost  driven  to 
look  for  attractions  elsewhere,  and  to  which  the  return  is  a 
necessary  evil,  to  be  endured  only  for  the  night,  in  the 
knowledge  that  joy  cometh  in  the  morning,  when  a  freah 
escape  awaits  one.  Such  is  not  Ajnbloside.  It  is  .the  very- 
centre  of  varied  andcharming  expeditions,itself  as  charming^ 
and  beautiful  as  any  of  them,  and  somehow  as  varied  as  all  of 
them  put  together.  There  are  wonderful  drives  in  and 
among  the  Langdale  Pikes,  by  noble  roads  running  through 
park-like  domams  and  through  flowering  meadows,  with 
rivers  which  have  not  yet  lost  their  wild  character  of 
mountain  torrents:  at  times  there  are  steep  climbs  and 


TU  Englith  or  Scotch  Laiei—  ITAicA  ?  231 

rapid  deecents,  which  neceaaitate  no  little  skill  in  the 
dnver,  and  stren^^  in  the  carriage  drag ;  and  all  around 
sweep  the  beautiful  bille,  which  mingle  so  sweetly  their 
rich  foliage  and  soft  outlines  with  the  quaint,  almoet  ero- 
te«qae,  grimneBs  of  the  Laugdales  themBelves.  But 
Ambleside  will  show  mauy  of  these  scenes  from  the  heights 
that  surroimd  it,  and  will  give  es  sudden  and  eharp  climbs 
and  twists  to  those  who  limit  their  wanderings  to  its 
immediate  surrouDdiugs.  Again,  there  are  pleasant  drives 
or  strolls  to  the  adjacent  lakes,  Grasmere  and  Rydal ;  but 
Ambleside  has  its  own  Windermere  close  at  hand,  yet  so 
shut  out,  that  it  breaks  upon  the  view  in  half  an  hour's 
«'alk,  with  all  the  charm  of  a  discovery  at  the  end  of  a 
long  expedition. 

We  feel  as  if  we  were  in  a  new  world,  and  so  vary  our 
overland  routes  by  a  sea  voyage.  We  spend  a  day  upon 
Windermere.  The  steamboat  is  a  tiny  monster  of  the 
deep;  small,  clean,  and  comfortable.  It  has  a  shrill  whistle 
of  its  own ;  but  as  this  awakens  pleasant  echos,  we  excuse 
its  noise:  and  gliding  over  the  lake  like  a  water-bird,  and 
winding  its  way  amid  the  islands  and  the  sailing  boats 
just  as  deftly,  it  seems  eo  in  harmony  with  things 
aroimd,  that  its  outer-world  character  is  overlooked.  But 
at  length  it  fulfilled  some  misgivings,  and  proved  itself  to 
be  the  missing  link  with  what  is  not  Lakeland,  for  it  landed 
UB  at  Bowness,  which  led  us  to  a  railway  on  the  top  of  a 
lofty  hill  and  at  last  drew  up  at  the  further  end  of  the  lake, 
at  a  landing-place  which  was  a  railway  station  in  disguise. 
So  we  thought  evil  of  the  little  steamer  until  it  took  us 
back  again,  and  landed  us  within  a  mile  of  our  Lakeland 
home,  Ambleside. 

Nor  indeed  had  we  much  reason  to  complain  of  these 
Dnobtrasive  tokens  of  the  outer  world  :  for  by  one  a  person 
in  derm  ere  without 
moog  us  almost  at 
the  heights  above 
ems  a  due  compli- 
h  it  is  a  steep  and 
vhen  reached  it  is 
I  that  it  is  invisible 

id  unpresuming — 
it  it  seems  to  have 
inoffensive,  which. 


232  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakts— Which  ? 

waters  discharge  themselves  by  the  pretty  meandering 
Leven,  has  many  and  varied  charms;  but  the  return 
voyage  up  to  Waterhead  is  far  grander.  Here  the  three 
valleys,  each  with  its  well-known  river  and  towering 
heights,  open  out  in  succession,  taking  turn  to  reveal  their 
several  beauties,  and  then  combining  into  one  grand 
amphitheatre  of  Iiills,  which  close  in  upon  us  as  we 
approach  the  shore,  in  well-ordered  confusion  :  telHng  a 
fresh  arrival  of  what  Ambleside  has  in  store,  and  reminding 
us,  who  have  already  explored  much,  of  what  still  remains 
to  invite  our  willing  steps.  There  is  no  use  in  stringing 
together  names  of  mountains,  some  of  which,  in  truth,  are 
queer  and  unpoetical  enough:  each  has  its  record  in 
memory,  or  promises  to  write  its  record  there.  The  past 
and  future  speak  at  Waterhead,  and  we  hasten  to  Amble- 
side to  arrange  future  expeditions. 

For  the  next  day,  however,  there  is  no  choice  to  be 
made.  P]  very  body  is  going  to  Grasmere,  and  to  Grasmere 
we,  of  course,  go  with  the  rest  of  the  world ;  and  that 
"  world  "  extends  far  beyond  Ambleside  and  the  Winder- 
mere district,  and  includes  in  its  compass  Cumberland, 
Westmoreland,  and  much  of  Lancashire  oesides.  In  short, 
there  is  a  great  gathering,  which  draws  to  Grasmere  all 
classes ;  for  there  are  to  be  sports  which  all  can  more  or 
less  understand,  and  so,  from  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  our 
county  downward,  all  hasten  in  carriages  of  varying 
dignity,  on  horseback,  or  on  foot,  to  an  amphitheatre 
which  is  as  noble  in  its  surroundings  as  it  is  wonderfully 
adapted  for  the  very  peculiar  sports  it  has  to  exhibit 

The  pleasure  of  the  walk  of  nine  miles  we  defer  till  our 
return,  so  we  get  seats  in  the  first  public  carriage  that 
offers  itaelf,  cUmb  the  hills,  and  rattle  down  the  dales, 
through  Rydal,  with  scarce  a  thought  of  Wordsworth, 
until  the  beautiful  Grasmere  sudd^*nly  breaks  upon  the 
view. 

There  spread  the  placid  waters  of  the  lake,  and  at  their 
lower  end  is  a  grassy  plain.  Around  rises  a  noble  range 
of  hills,  themselves  inclosed  by  a  still  grander  range,  which 
cuts  the  cloudless  sky,  a  fitting  canopy  for  so  noble  a 
theatre ;  for  the  plain  is  the  auditorium,  and  the  lower  hilb 
the  stage. 

A  large  space  is  inclosed  by  three  ranges  of  rustic 
benches,  where  hundreds  can  sit  at  their  ease  and  criticise 
what  they  evidently  thoroughly  understand ;  outside  the 
circle  are  ranged  the  carriages  and  horsemen;  while  tho8« 


The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes--  Which  f  238 

who  prefer  a  more  distant  and  bird's-eye  view,  scatter 
themselves  over  the  neighbouring  heio^hts.  Wrestling  is 
the  first  sport,  where  many  local  celebrities  display  their 
drill — local,  and  yet  general ;  for  the  best  men  of  other 
counties  seem  well  known  here,  and  receive  due  honour, 
without  regard  to  geographical  divisions.  Wrestling  has 
grown  more  refined  than  it  was  some  half-century  ago ; 
fornow  there  is  no  kicking  of  shins,  a&we  refnember  in 
that  far  distant  past.  Football  seems  to  have  inherited  the 
brutality  which  wrestling  has  had  the  grace  to  discard. 

But,  for  ourselves,  the  sport  that  followed  was  more 
exciting,  and  turned  to  good  account  the  special  advan- 
tages of  our  theatre.  The  trail  had  been  drawn  over  the 
nuTounding  heights,  and  the  hoimds  were  let  loose  in  the 
cia-le  to  find  the  trail  and  follow  it  home.  The  whole 
course  was  open  to  our  sight ;  up  and  down,  over  fence 
and  through  woods;  now  single,  and  now  in  orderly  pro- 
cession, the  dogs  worked  their  way :  at  times  at  tault,  and 
then  again  the  scent  is  found — until  at  length  the  dash 
home  is  made ;  and  woe  be  to  the  wanderer  who  has  got 
in  the  way,  for  the  dogs  are  too  much  in  earnest  to  stand 
on  manners  when  the  chase  is  nearing  ita  end.  But 
another  race  has  to  be  run,  when  guides  have  to  show 
their  skill  in  hitting  on  the  best  route  and  cUmbing  it  with 
topmost  speed.  Fine^oung  fellows  they  are,  as  we  watch 
them  assembling  in  the  midst  of  the  circle.  The  word  is  given : 
away  they  go,  over  the  seats,  and  over  an  enclosing  wall, 
through  some  marsh  land,  and  then  up  the  Silver  Howy  on  the 
topmost  peak  of  which  flies  the  signal  flag.  The  height  is 
some  fifteen  hundred  feet,  and  the  winner  reaches  the 
wmmit  in  ten  minutes,  and  is  down  again  in  the  midst  of 
B8  in  five  minutes  more.  We  should  not  care  to  be  guided 
np  the  Silver  How  at  this  pace,  and  resolve  to  keep  clear 
(a  such  swift-footed  guides.  But  the  sight  was  exciting 
enough,  as  werff  the  cheers  with  which  the  victor  was 
greeted.  We  were  assured  that  it  had  never  before  been 
nm  in  so  short  a  time. 

The  sports  are  over  in  sufficient  time  to  allow  a  pleasant 
itnUhome  to  Ambleside— pleasant  when  amid  the  mea- 
fcws,  over  the  heights,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  lakes ; 
fcilt  dusty,  indeed,  for  those  who  take  to  the  road  and 


234  The  English  or  Scotch  Lakes — Which  f 

his  house — as  we  had  just  before  done  to  his  grave  at 
Grasmere — ^here  at  Mount  Rydal,  where  he  lived  and  was 
worshipped.  In  past  years  we  had  been  admitted  into  the 
garden,  and  saw  the  simple  rooms  in  which  the  great 
phiJosopher-poet  lived  so  long;  but  now  that  it  has  grown 
into  a  villa,  perhaps  it'  is  na  harm  that  a  notice  on  the 
locked  gates  should  say  that  there  is  no  admission  for 
strangers ;  for  plainly  it  is  no  longer  the  poet's  home.  But 
yet,  somehow,  this  notice  jars  upon  the  feelings  which  a 
very  different  custom  has  cultivated  in  us,  by  which  we 
were  bid  to  find  and  make  ourselves  at  home  everywhere 
in  this  enchanted  land. 

However,  we  must  not  linger  at  and  around  Ambleside, 
though  a  pleasanter  place  for  so  doing  could  scarcely  be 
found ;  but  must  hasten  on  to  our  last  lake  at  Coniston, 
when  at  the  railway  station  we  bid  adieu  to  Lakeland,  on 
which  we  cast  back  many  a  longing  look  as  we  hasten  on 
through  Lancashire,  homewards.  Coniston  Lake  must  not 
detain  us,  though  it  has  varying  and  pleasant  scenery  which 
unfolds  itself  with  becoming  pride  as  the  pretty  Gondola 
carries  us  over  its  four  miles  of  water.  It  has  two  graceful 
residences  on  its  shore,  which  have  been  rendered  illustrious 
by  distinguished  occupants.  In  one  Tennyson  once  lived, 
while  the  other,  formerly  belonging  to  Gerald  Massey,  is 
now  the  home  of  John  Ruskin.  The  Waterhead  Hotel 
claims,  by  right  of  position  and  architecture,  a  leading 
place  among  even  these,  and  affords  pleasant  views  over 
the  lake  and  the  grand  mountain  scenery  which  shuts  it  in, 
and  localizes  what  otherwise  would  be  too  extensive  a  view. 

And  so  we  quit  Lakeland  with  pleasant  memories  stored 
up  for  future  enjoyment;  with  regret  that  we  cannot 
longer  remain,  and  with  a  hope  of  some  day  revisiting  it 
This  hurried  glance  is  reflected  but  imperfectly  in  this  still 
more  hurried  record.  But  even  this  will  serve,  if  no  other 
purpose,  at  least  to  show  how  we  answer  the  question  we 
started  with — ^which  lakes  do  we  prefer  ?  •  It  is  a  matter 
of  taste,  much  influenced  by  accidental  circumstances, 
and  still  more  dependent  upon  the  individual  who  judges ; 
but,  be  this  as  it  may,  our  preference  is  for  the  English 
lakes,  not  that  we  love  Scotland  less,  but  that  we  love 
England  more.  But  we  desire  to  impose  our  dictum  upon 
no  one.  Let  the  reader  go  and  juage  for  himself;  and 
perhaps,  if  he  is  wise,  he  will  .visit  both,  and  so  love  both 
and  prefer  neither. 

Henry  Bedfc«d. 


r     235     ] 

CHARLES  O'CONOR  OF  BELINAGARE.— IV. 
Family,  Birth,  Education. 

rhave  tried,  in  former  numbers  of  the  RECORD,  to 
vindicate  the  fame,  the  learning,  and  the  patriotism 
of  the  venerable  Charles  O'Conor,  of  Belinagare,  from  the 
UDJust  aspersions  of  his  grandson.  Dr.  Charles  O'Conor, 
Librarian  to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  Chandos,  at 
Stowe.  It  occurs  to  us  that  some  chapters  from  the  life  of 
this  pioneer  in  the  field  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Catholic  Committee,  the  greatest  Irish 
scholar  and  antiquarian  of  his  century,  may  prove  interest- 
ing to  our  readers.  They  will  open  to  us  a  glimpse  of  the 
practical  working  of  the  Penal  LawH,  of  their  fatal  efiects 
on  the  intellectual,  social,  and  physical  life  of  the  Irish 
people,  the  remnant  of  the  slaughter  and  confiscation  of 
Elizabeth  and  James,  Cromwell  and  Wilham.  They  will 
show  us  how  the  dauntjess  courage,  the  heroic  devotion 
and  martyr  zeal  of  those  whom  it  is  our  privilege  to 
sacceed  in  the  sacred  ministry,  have  preserved,  under  God, 
tiie  altars  and  the  faith  of  the  Irish  race. 

The  O'Conors  were  the  chief  sept  of  the  Siol-Murray,* 
or  Murray  race  of  Connaught.  They  descended  through 
Duach  Galach,  the  youngest  of  the  twenty-four  sons  of 
Brian,  King  of  Connaught,  from  Eochaidh  Moyvane,* 
Monarch  of  Ireland  (died  A.D.  379),  and  father  of  Niall  of 
the  Nine  Hostages.  The  O'Conor  Don,  chief  of  the  sept, 
traces  his  descent  from  Cathal  Craobh-Dearg,  Charles  of  the 
Bed  Hand,*  younger  brother  of  Roderick,  the  last  monarch 
of  Iieland.  Dr.  Kelly,  of  Maynooth,  in -his  notes  on 
ODngan's  topographical  poem,  says,  writing  in  1848  : — 
**Thi8  family  (CConchobhair,  now  O'Conor),  is  now  repre- 
sented by  the  son*  of  the  late  O'Conor  Don,  aged  about  12 
yean,  and  his  brother*  aged  about  ten.     The  next  to  these 

^ffiol — ^Moireadhaigh  =  Clan-Murray,  so  called  from  Moredach 
fflKmr)  Mullethan,  King  of  Connaught,  a,J>.  696. 

*  fiochaidh  Mm^hmeadhoin. 

*Thi»  18  the  ffing  of  Connaught  whose  times  are  celebrated  by 
j^C-Xangan  in  his  weird  and  musical  ballad  **Cahal  More  of  the  Wine- 


236  Charles  O* Conor  of  Belinagare, 

in  point  of  seniority,  are  Denis  O'Conor,  of  Mount  Druid, 
and  his  brothers,  Arthur  O'Conor,  of  Elphin  Palace  House, 
and  Matthew  O'Conor,  Esquires.  These  five  individuals, 
with  the  venerable  Thomas  O'Conor,  of  New  York,  are  the 
only  descendants,  whose  pedigree  is  to  a  certainty  known, 
of  Turlogh  More  O'Conor,  King  of  Connacht,  and  sole 
monarch  of  Ireland."^  The  first  of  the  race  of  Clan- 
Murray  who  assumed  the  name  of  O'Conor  was  Teige,  of 
the  White  Steed  (Teige  an  Each  Ghal),King  of  Connaught, 
A.D.  1030,  from  his  grandfather  Conor  (Conchobhar,  A  973). 
The  distinguishing  title  of  O'Conor  Don  dates  from  the 
end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  arose  in  this  way. 

Richard  II.,  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  expedition  to 
Ireland  in  1394,  summoned  the  Irish  chieftains  to  meet  him 
in  Dublin.  It  is  said  that  no  less  than  seventy-five  princes 
exercising  sovereign  rights  in  their  own  tribes  and  districts, 
attended  Richard's  court  on  this  occasion,  "  all,*'  as  Leland 
politely  observes,  "  bUndly  attached  to  their  own  unrefined 
customs  and  manners.'*  Turlough  O'Conor,  King  of 
Connaught,  was  one  of  the  four  Provincial  Kings  who  were 
present,  and  were  most  graciously  received  by  Ifichard. 
Froissart,  who  was  an  eye-witness,  relates  how  the  Irish 
princes,  when  offered  the  honour  of  knighthood,  expressed 
their  wonder  that  the  Saxon  King  should  think  his  knight- 
hood any  additional  honour  or  dignity  to  them.  They 
assured  him  that  every  Irish  king  made  his  son  a  knight  at 
the  age  ot  seven.  "We  assemble,"  they  said,  "on  a 
plain :  the  candidates  run  with  slender  lances  against  a 
shield  erected  on  a  stake,  and  he  who  breaks  the  greatest 
number  is  distinguished  by  marks  of  peculiar  honour 
annexed  to  his  new  dignity.*'  They  were,  however,  per- 
suaded to  gi'atify  King  Richard.  The  four  kings  kept  the 
vigil  preparatory  to  knighthood,  and  on  the  t  east  of  the 
Annunciation  they  received  the  honour  with  all  the 
formalities,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Chiist  Church.  After  the 
ceremony,  Richard  entertained  the  new  jmights  right 
royally  at  a  splendid  banquet,  at  which  th'ey  sat  as  his 
equals. 

But  his  English  knighthood  cost  Turlough  O'Conor 
dearly.  On  his  return  to  Connaught,  he  found  his  clansmen 
disgusted  with  his  submission  to  Richard  and  his  foreign 

^  ^'  CambrenBis  Eversus/*  edited  with  translation  and  notes,  by  the 
Rev.  Matthew  Kelly,  St.  Patrick's  College,  Maynooth,  yol.  I,  p.  250, 
note  L 


Cliarles  O' Conor  of  Belinagare.  237 

hoDonra  His  cousin  and  namesake  Turloagh,  grandson  of 
the  gallant  Felim,  who  had  fallen  on  the  fatal  field  of 
Athunree,  was  supported  against  him  by  McDermot,  of 
Moylurg,  and  O'Rorke,  of  Brefiny.  McDermot,  to  whom 
the  office  belonged,  had  summoned  the  electors  and 
clansmen  of  Connaught  to  the  hill  of  Carn-free,^  the  place 
where  the  O'Conors  were  inaugurated.  He  presented  the 
youBg  prince  with  the  straight  white  wand  of  chieftaincy, 
put  on  his  foot  the  royal  shpper,  and  declared  him  **  The 
O'Conor."  After  a  time,  to  put  an  end  to  war,  the 
electors  divided  the  government  of  Connaught  between 
the  cousins.  One  of  them  was  named  Turlough  Don^(the 
son  of  Hugh,  the  son  of  Turlough,  the  brother  of  Felim) ; 
the  other,  Turlough  Roe  (the  son  of  Hugh,  and  grandson  of 
Felim),  from  the  colour  of  their  hair.»  With  this  division 
of  power  and  territory,  begetting  endless  internecine  strife, 
began  the  decline  of  the  O'Conors.  The  principal  castle 
of  the  O'Conor  Don  was  at  Ballintubber,  that  of  O'Conor 
Roe  at  Tulsk.  Dermod  O'Conor  Don,  of  BaUintubber,  in 
conjunction  with  O'Neil,  sent  an  army  of  7,000  men  to 
assist  Lord  Thomas  Fitzgerald,  then  besieged  by  Sir 
William  Skeffington  in  his  Castle  of  Maynooth.  In  1584, 
Lord  Deputy  Perrot*  signed  an  indenture  by  which  Hugh 
0*Conor  Don,  the  son  of  Dermod,  compounded  for  ms 
estates,  then  known  as  the  Maghera,  or  Plain  of  Connaught, 

1  So  called  from  Fraech,  the  son  of  Fiodhach  of  the  red  hair  (Cam- 
Fraoigh-mhir.-Fiodhaigh-foltruaidh),  the  mound  on  which  the  O'Conor 
waa  inaugurated,  and  which  is  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Irish 
Annals.  It  is  in  the  townland  of  Cams,  parish  of  Ogulla,  barony  and 
Coanty  of  Roscommon,  south  of  Tulsk,  and  about  three  miles  south- 
east of  Rathcroghan.  In  the  same  townland  is  the  Dumha-Sealga,  or 
Moimd  of  the  Chase,  so  celebrated  in  the  Dinseanchus,  and  lives  of 
St.  Patrick. 

*  Don  =  Dun,  darkish  brown.    Roe  =  Ruadh,  red. 

'Charles  O'Conor  Roe,  the  last  proprietor  of  the  Castle  of 
Ballinafad,  near  Strokestown,  sailed  from  Ireland  after  the  capitulation 
of  limerick,  and  afterwards  became  Goyemor  of  Civita  Vecchia,  in  the 
Pope's  dominions.^  a  place  of  great  trust.  From  this  he  sent  tc 
BeHoagare  a  marole  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  family,  with  a 
beautiful  and  classical  inscription,  which  may  still  be  read  in  the  grave- 
yard  of  lisanufFy,  at  Ballinafad,  and  which  would  be  greatly  improved 
hj  a  cleaning  process.  He  also  sent  his  portrait,  said  to  be  a  striking . 
lueness,  which  is  still  at  Belinpgare.  According  to  Dr.  Charles  O'Conor, 
be  was  the  last  of  the  O^Conors  Roe.  But  according  to  popular  tradition 
ttie  last  O'Conor  Roe  died  at  Tumona,  near  Tulsk,  in  the  middle  of  the 
present  century. 

«The  country  of  O'Conor  Don  was  then  formed  into  the  barony  of 
BaUintobber,  and  that  of  O'CoAor  Roe,  into  the  barony  of  Roscommon. 

VOL.  V.  S 


238  Charles  O' Conor  of  Belinagare. 

extending  from  the  hill  of  Sliabh  Ban  eastward,  to  the 
County  of  Gal  way  westward,  and  from  the  barony  of  Boyle 
to  the  barony  of  Athlone.  This  indenture  is  preserved  in 
the  Rolls'  Office,  and  a  counterpart  was  kept  among  the 
family  records  at  Belinagare.  This  Sir  nugh  O'Conor 
Don  was  the  first  knight  of  the  shire  returned  for  the 
County  of  Roscommon  in  1585.  He  died  at  his  Castle  of 
Ballintubber  in  1632. 

He  divided  his  estates  among  his  four  sons,  Calvagh, 
whose  family  became  extinct,  in  his  only  son  Hugh,  who 
died  in  1762  without  male  issue,  to  whom  be  left  the  castle 
and  estate  of  BalUntubber ;  Hugh,  to  whom  he  left  Castlerea; 
Charles,  to  whom  he  left  the  Castle  of  Belinagare,  Bardeerin, 
and  Shananalag,  and  Brian,  to  whom  he  left  the  estates  of 
Behagh  and  Cloonikeamy.  The  second  son  Hugh-og,  of 
Castlerea,  represented  the  County  of  Roscommon  at  the 
Council  of  the  Confederation  of  Kilkenny.  His  last  male 
representative,  Alexander  0*Conor  Don,  the  head  of  the 
Goonalisbranch,diedin  1823,  whenOwen  O'Conor,  descended 
from  Charles  0*Conor,  the  third  son  of  Sir  Hugh,  grandson 
of  Charles  O'Conor  of  Belinagare,  and  brother  of  Dr. 
Charles  O'Conor,  became  the  0  Conor  Don.  He  was  the 
first  Catholic  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  County  of 
Roscommon  in  the  British  ParUament  since  the  Reformation. 
The  present  O'Conor  Don  is  his  grandson.  Thomas  O'Conor 
of  New  York,  referred  to  by  Dr.  Kelly,^  was  also  a  grandson 
of  Charles  of  Belinagare,  "  the  Historian,"  and  father  of  the 
distinguished  lawyer,  the  present  Charles  O'Conor,  of  New 
York. 

The  Desiderata  Curiosa  Hibemica  contains  an  interesting 
account  of  a  contested  election  for  the  County  of 
Roscommon  between  Charles  of  Belinagare,  the  third  son 
of  Sir  Hugh,  in  the  Catholic,  and  Sir  John  King,  of  Boyle, 
m  the  Protestant  interest 

In  the  confiscations  of  the  .Stuarts  and  CromweU,  the 
O'Conors  lost  their  estates.     Owen  O'Conor  of  Belinagare, 

grandson  of  Sir  Hugh  O'Conor  Don,  followed  Charles  ft  to 
landers,  and  his  estates  were  restored  to  him  by  the  Act 
of  Settlement.  He  raised  three  troops  of  horse  for 
James  II.  at  his  own  expense,  and  was  governor  of  Athlone. 
He  was  afterwards  sent  to  England  with  the  troops  raised 
in  Ireland  to  oppose  the  landing  of  William  rrince  of 
Orange.    He  was  made  prisoner,  and  was  confined  in  the 

>  Ante,  p.  2. 


Charles  O^  Conor  of  Belinagare,  239 

Castle  of  Qiest^  where  he  died  in  1690.  He  left  no  son, 
mi  his  brother  Charles  succeeded  to  the  property.  But  on 
the  final  triumph  of  the  Williamite  ai'ras,  the  family  foimd 
themselves  involved  in  the  general  proscription,  and  lost 
the  remnant  of  their  estates. 

Denis,  the  son  of  this  Charles,  known  as  Dona^ha  Lia, 
or  Denis  the  grey-headed,  was  the  father  of  the  celebrated 
Charles  0*Conor  of  Belinagarci.  Deprived  of  the  estates  of 
his  ancestors,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Monarchs  of 
Erin,  one  foot  of  whose  soil  he  could  not  now  call  his  own,  he 
maiiaged  to  obtain  a  small  farm  at  a  place  called  Kilmac- 
tranny,  in  the  County  SUgo,  which  he  tilled  with  his  own 
hands.  His  wife  was  Mary  O'Rorke,  of  the  princelv  race 
of  Brefifny.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Captain  Tieman 
O'Rorke,  who  sailed  with  Sarsfield  after  the  capitulation  of 
Limerick,  and  fell  fighting  in  the  army  oi  France,  at 
the  Battle  of  Luzzara,  m  1702.  O'Conor's  nephew, 
Francis  MacDonnell,  Major  in  the  Imperial  service,  was 
killed  in  the  same  battle,  fighting  on  the  opposite  side. 
This  was  the  same  MacDonnell,  who,  in  the  attack  on 
Cremona,  captured  Marshal  Villeroy,  and  rejecting  the 
most  tempting  offers,  delivered  him  up  to  Prince  Eugene, 
who  earned  him  prisoner  to  Innsbruck.  For  his  gallant 
wnduct  on  this  occasion  Captain  MacDonnell  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  major.  He  is  honorably  mentioned 
by  Thomas  Davis  in  his  stirriAg  ballad,  "  The  Surprise  of 
Qremona" : — 

*•  News,  news,  in  old  Ireland ! — high  rises  her  pride, 
And  high  sounds  her  wail  for  her  children  who  died ; 
And  deep  18  her  prayer :  '  God  send  I  may  see 
Macdonnell  and  Mahony  fighting  for  me !'" 

1q  their  humble  home  at  Kilmactranny,  this  long 
descended  pair,  poor  in  the  world's  goods,  but  rich  in  an 
inheritance  of  virtue  beyond  the  reach  of  the  world's  chang- 
ing fortune,  brought  up  their  children  in  honest  industiy, 
and  in  the  love  and  practice  of  that  Old  Faith  .for  which 
they  had  forfeited  all  earthlj  possessions.  The  venerable 
Charles  O'Conor,  when  in  his  eightieth  year,  loved  to  tell 
his  grandson  how  this  excellent  father  often  took  him  up 
in  his  arms  when  a  child,  and  said  to  him  with  deep  emotion, 


240  Charles  G* Conor  of  Belinagartk 

We  may  here  practically  realize  what  we  have  often 
read,  how  the  most  high  spirited  and  gifted  of  the  Irish 
race  were  forced  to  emigrate  to  foreign  lands,  in  whose 
camps,  and  courts,  and  councils,  as  the  history  of  Europe 
bears  witness,  they  rose  to  rank  and  renown.  They  left 
behind  them  chiefly  the  old,  the  feeble,  the  widow,  and 
the  orphan.  In  every  generation  since,  this  history  has 
been  repeating  itself.  Over  a  century  later,  the  Times  in 
its  truculent  way  was  fond  of  saying :  "  The  Celt  counts 
with  the  lame,  the  bUnd,  the  sick,  and  the  insane,  as  an 
impotent  class."  "  Ireland  is  a  trouble,  and  a  vexation, 
and  an  expense  to  this  country.  For  a  whole  generation 
the  prolific  wretchedness  of  the  unreclaimed  Celt  has  made 
Ireland  a  continual  drain  on  the  resources  of  this  country." 
Supposing  by  impossibihty,  that  these  statements  were 
true,^  to  whom  were  the  poverty,  wretchedness,  and 
impotence  of  the  Celt  to  be  attributed  ? 

In  the  example  of  Denis  O'Conor,  we  see  the  noblest  of 
the  Irish  race,  the  ancient  owners  of  the  soil,  become 
ploughmen  and  labourers,  sinking  to  the  lowest  steps  in 
the  social  scale.  Archbishop  King  writes,  in  1730: — 
**  Their  sons  or  nephews  brought  up  in  poverty,  and 
matched  with  peasant  girls,  will  become  the  tenants  of 
the  EngUsh  officers  and  soldiers ;  and  thence  reduced  to 
labourers,  will  be  found  the  turf-cutters  and  potato-diggers 
of  the  next  generation."  Monison,  in  his  Threnoida  IlibernO' 
Caiholica^  writing  at  an  earUer  period,  says  that  in  his 
presence,  Daniel  Connery,  a  gentleman  in  the  county  of 
Clare,  was  sentenced  to  banishment  by  Colonel  Henry 
Ingoldsby,  for  harbouring  a  priest.  Mr.  Connery  had  a 
wife  and  twelve  children.  His  wife  fell  sick,  and  died  in 
poverty.  "  Three  of  his  daughters,  beautiful  girls,  were 
transported  to  the  West  Indies,  to  an  island  called  the 
Barbadoes;  and  there,  if  still  alive,  they  are  miserable 
slaves.''^  Who  will  restore  the  gallant  youths  and  gentle 
maidens  of  the  Celtic  race,  who  spent  their  years  as  slaves 
on  those  West  Indian  Islands,  weeping  out  their  eyes  as 
they  remembered  Erin !  Hence  we  may  understand  the 
declaration  of  John  Keogh,  in  1792,  that  the  desoendants 
of  the  ancient  possessors  of  the  soil  of  Ireland  "  had  simk 
into  the  dregs  of  the  people,  and  were  labourers  in  the.  fields, 

'  At  this  time  England  was  drawing  from  Ireland  a  tax-tribute  of 
four  millions  annually,  over  and  above  Government  expenditure  in  this 
country. 

^  ihrenoida  HihernO'CathoUca ;  Innsbruck,  1659. 


Charles  0^  Conor  of  Belinagare.  241 

or  porters  on  the  quays  of  Dublin,  or  beggars  in  the  streets, 
unable  to  read  or  write,  or  prove  their  legitimacy,  or  trace 
a  pedigree.'** 

Denis  O'Conor,  however,  proved  more  foi-timate.  He 
managed  to  recover  a  fragment  of  his  family  inheritanca 
Counsellor  Terence  M'Donagh,  who  was  M.P.  for  the  town 
of  Shgo,  in  Bang  James's  rarhament,  moved  by  his  mis- 
fortunes, undertook  on  his  behalf  a  suit  before  the  Court  of 
Claims,  appointed  in  1703,  to  inquire  into  the  disposal  of 
Irish  forfeited  estates.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  for 
Denis  O'Conor,  and  his  sisters  Anne  and  Mary,  three  divi- 
sions of  their  hereditarv  property.  "1  gladly  consign  to 
oblivion,"  says  Dr.  Charles  O'Conor,  "  the  various  artifices 
practised  to  wrest  their  possessions  from  the  old  natives,  by 
which  Belinagare  and  Cloonalis,  two  of  the  most  ancient 
properties  perhaps  in  the  kingdom,  are  the  only  remnants 
of  the  immense  estates  of  Roderick  now  vested  in  his  own 
posterity." 

Having  thus  obtained  the  dearest  wish  of  his  heart, 
possession  of  Belinagare,  old  Denis  O'Conor  opened  the 
mansion  as  a  hospitable  refuge  for  the  homeless  and  the 
dislreesed  who  had  been  less  fortunate  than  himself.  Here 
the  ruined  adherents  of  a  fallen  cause  always  found 
welcome.  The  hunted  and  disguised  priest,  who  at  peril 
of  life  and  limb,  administered  the  sacraments,  and  kept  the 
fiiith  alive  among  the  people ;  the  bard  who  yet  survived 
to  sing  the  deeds  of  the  heroes  of  the  race  of  Heremon ; 
the  seannachie  who  related  the  ancient  stories  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  Celt,  or  the  valour  of  the  Wild  Geese  on  the 
battle-fields  of  Europe,  were  all  freely  bade  to  stay. 
Though  even  such  pity  for  fallen  greatness  and  generous 
hospitality  was  forbidden,  and  by  one  of  the  refining 
touches  of  the  Penal  Code  it  was  enacted," "  that  all  vagrants 
pretending  to  be  Irish  gentlemen  who  coshered  about  from 
house  to  house,"  should,  on  presentment  by  grand  juries,  be 
ient  onboard  the  fleet,  or  transported  to  the  plantations.  The 
ftomwellian  members  of  those  grand  juries,  we  may  be  sure, 
did  not  much  like  meeting  the  rightful  owners  of  the  estates 
^Wdi  they  had  seized,  hovering  like  reproaching  spirits 
iwind  their  ancient  patrimonies.  Accordingly,  under  the 
ptoviaions  of  this  barbarous  Act,  the  Government  Emigra- 


242  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church. 

were  transported  to  the  North  American  Colonies,  where 
in  due  time  they  and  their  children  became  known  to  the 
armies  and  rulers  of  England. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  this  true  old  Irish  gentleman, 
Denis  O'Conor  of  Belinagare,  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  the  darkest  and  most  dismal  time  of  the  "  long 
agony  of  the  nation,"  directed  his  son  Charles  to  write  au 
inscription  for  his  monument.  It  may  still  be  read  on  the 
flag  at  the  Rock  of  Drimmin,  between  BeUnagare  and 
Elphin,  and  runs  thus : — 

'*  D.  O.  M.  Pro  majoribus  Fidei  et  virtuti  addictissimis,  in 
tueoda  patria  et  religions  constantissimis,  ac  tandem  pro  utriusqne 
defensione  redactis,  despoliatis,  dispersis — Ex  Scotonim  regibos 
oriundis,  pro  se,  Conjuge,  et  famiUa  hie  sepultis,  hoc  monum. 
Statuit  Dion  O'Conor,  1738.  Christianus  Lector  Cogitet,  nihil 
esse  in  hac  vita  ex  omni  parte  beatum,  Humanam  mortalitatem 
Consideret,  et  propriae  memor  Animam  piis  suffragiis  Divinae 
Misericordiae  Commendet." 

J.  J.  Kelly. 


DR.  ZIMMER  ON  PROSTRATION  IN  THE  EARLY 

IRISH  CHURCH. 

D£AR  Sm, — ^Permit  me,  in  return  for  your  various,  and  to  me 
very  instructive  papers,  to  express  my  thcuiks  hy  transmitting  a 
brief  Article,  which,  if  you  deem  well,  you  are  at  liberty  to  publish 
in  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record. 

With  reference  to  the  discussion  respecting  yi/Zittc^  and  slechtcm, 
I  agree  with  your  opinion.  I  consider  your  exposition  and  render- 
ing of  the  quatrain  in  question  not  alone  as  grammatically  possible 
ttnd  correct ;  but,  having  regard  to  the  sense,  as  the  only  ones  which 
are  possible.  In  proof  hereof  I  shall  adduce  two  very  ancient 
authorities. 

In  the  Codex  Bemensis,  No.  S6d,  which  must  have  been 
written  before  the  year  840  (Gloss.  Hib.  p.  xxii.),  but  which,  there 
is  reason  to  believe,  dates  from  the  eighth  century,  is  contained 
(pp.  1-142),  Servus  the  Grammarian's  Commentary  upon  VirgiU 
It  was  transcribed  by  Irishmen,  and  is  interspersed  with  a  few 
Irish  Glosses  and  numerous  national  names.  The  MS.  was  pro- 
bably compiled  in  Ireland  itself.  At  folio  104^,  yenita  ampLexus^ 
JEn.  iii.,  607,  is  explained  by  gemhus  volutans.  Opposite  this,  one 
who  was  not  ati  Irishman  wrote :  deflexu  genuum  ut  JScatti /aciunU\ 

Two  conclusions  follow  from  this  marginal  entry.  Fu*st,  that 
the  Jlexus  genuutrij  as  practised  by  the  Irish  monks,  differed  from 


I^'ostration  in  tJie  Early  Irish  Church.  243 

that  which  was  carried  out  in  the  monasteries  of  the  Continent ; 
and  consequently  appeared  remarkable.  Secondly,  that  the  Jiexus 
genuum  of  the  Irish  monks  was  in  reality  not  a  mere  fexus  genuumy 
but  signified  se  prostemere  in  addition.  Outside  the  Irifih  monas- 
teries, therefore,  flexus  genuum  was  a  real  filUud  nan  glunet  bending 
of  the  knees,  or  genuflection;  within  them,  a  slechtan^  genibus 
whitcmSy  or  prostration. 

The  latter,  therefore,  always  includes  the  former,  and  some- 
thing additional.  In  support  of  this,  we  have  another  old  Irish 
authority  in  the  Milan  Codex;  which,  as  is  well  known,  was 
brought  from  Bobbio,  one  of  the  foundations  of  St.  Columbanus. 
At  folio  138%  the  passage,  habitus  quippe  et  rationahilis  membrorum 
motus  sermo  quidem  est  corporis^  is  glossed  as  follows :  cumgabal  inna 
lam  hi  cronsfigiU^  issi  hriathar  lam  insin ;  ocus  issi  bnathar  sule  dano 
acumgabal  suas  dvchum  nDa ;  ocus  issi  briathar  giuna  ocus  choss  a 
JUUudfri  ilechtan  ;  ocus  issi  briathar  choirp  dona  intan  roichther  do 
Dia  oc  slechtan  ocus  chrosigill — ^raising  of  the  hands  cross-wise, 
this  is  the  speech  of  hands;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  eyes, 
indeed,  to  raise  them  up  to  God ;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  the 
knees  and  feet,  to  bend  them  unto  prostration ;  and  the  body's 
speech  is  this,  therefore,  when  it  is  directed  to  God  in  prostration 
and  in  placing  hands  cross-wise. 

Need  I  direct  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  slechtan  and 
chrosigill  here  given  correspond  with  the  fleacis  in  oratione  genibus 
recumbere  quoted  by  you  ?  To  anyone  with  the  least  philological 
knowledge,  it  is  clear  from  the  foregoing  that  crosfigill  and  se 
prostemere  or  genuum  flexio  have  absolutely  nothing  in  common. 

Some  new  light  id  now  thrown  upon  the  quatrain  under  discus- 
sion.   When  it  is  translated — 

Cnm  intramuB  (adimos)  ecclesiam, 
Frostemamus  nosmet  usque  ter. : 
Non  ea  flectimus — genua  tantum 
In  ecclesia  Dei  vivi. 

we  can,  by  analogy  from  ut  Scotti  faciunt  of  the  Codex  Ber- 
nensis,  supply  ut  Francij  AUmanni,  etc.,  faciunt  as  an  implied 
clause  after  genua  tantum.  In  this  way  alone  does  the  passage 
possess  a  pregnant  meaning. 

Whence,  it  may  be  asked,  arises  the  difference  thus  clearly 
.^hown  to  have  existed  between  the  Irish  monks  and  those  of  the 
Continent  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  ?  To  me  it  appears 
beyond  doubt  that  simple  genuflection  was  the  original  posture, 
since  the  name  and  thing  correspond ;  and  when  we  find  the  Irish 
method,  or  prostration,  ceAled  flexus  genuum^  as  in  the  Codex  Ber- 
nensis  and  elsewhere,  this  is  a  secondary  meaning,  and  only  shows 
that  the  usual  designation  was  retained  in  Latin,  although  it  repre- 
sented the  Irish  custom  but  incorrectly  (pars  pro  toto). 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  solve  the  question  proposed  above, 
Every  one  familiar,  like  yourself  with   Old  and  Middle  Irish 


244  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church. 

knows  that  almost  all  the  words  which  have  reference  to  Chris- 
tianity, Church,  Discipline,  and  Worship  are  loan-words  from  the 
Latin.  Precisely  the  same  we  find  in  Welsh,  for  example,  and 
Old  High  German.  And  the  fact  is  readily  conceivable,  since  all 
such  ideas  were  as  perfectly  foreign  to  your,  as  to  our,  heathen  fore- 
fathers. And  even  though  they  had  had  some  things  similar,  the 
missionaries  would  have  had  good  reason  for  not  selecting  their 
native  names :  since  thereby  too  much  of  the  pagan  reality  might 
have  been  too  easily  retained  by  the  new  converts.  The  names 
for  God  are  the  only  ones  which  wo  find  generally  adopted. 

A  study  of  the  Old  Irish  loan-words  in  connection  with  Latin 
illustrates  the  truth  of  the  foregoing.  Thus,  the  Irish  case  cor- 
responds to  the  Christian- Latin  pascha^  corcur  to  purpura^  clumio 
pluma,  cruimther  to  presbyter.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Latin 
predico  is  represented  by  the  Irish  prtdchim,  and  prancUum  by 
proind.    How  comes  this  difference  in  the  treatment  of  the  Latin  P/ 

The  oldest  missionaries  of  Ireland  in  the  third  and  fourth  cen- 
turies were  Britons,  like  your  national  apostle,  St.  Patrick  himself. 
At  that  period  the  Britannic  and  Old  Irish  cannot  have  diverged 
so  much  as  the  derivative  languages,  modem  Welsh  and  modem 
Irish,  have.  The  differences  were  principally  dialectical ;  and  as 
the  Anglo-Saxon  missionaries  who  came  to  Lower  Germany  in  the 
eighth  century  soon  overcame  similar  divergencies,  and  were  able 
to  preach,  so  did  it  happen  with  the  British  missioners  in  Ireland. 

A  leading  difference  between  the  Gaelic  tongues  (Irish, 
Scottish-Gaelic,  Manx)  and  the  British  (Welsh,  Cornish,  Breton) 
consists  in  this,  that  in  many  words  which  are  identical  in  etymol- 
ogy, p  occurs  in  British  where  c  is  found  in  Irish.  Thus  Irish 
cethir  (four)  =  Welsh /?e/^ar,  pedwar;  Ir.  cruim  (worm)  =  W.  pryf; 
It.  crann  (tree)=  W.prenn;  Ir.  cenn  (head)  =  W.penn;  Ir.  mac{8on)  = 
W.  map;  Ir.  ech  (horse)  =  W.  ep  ;  Ir.  each  (each)  =  W.  paup,  pop  ;  Ir. 
Jliuch  (wet)  =  W.  gulip,  etc.  This  law  was  observed  even  by 
Cormac :  is  mac  inni  ts  mabb  isln  bretnais — mac  is  the  same  as  maib 
in  the  Britannic  (Glossary  sub  voce  Mogheime);  and  it  was  also 
noted  by  the  British  missionaries. 

Accordingly,  to  make  themselves  understood  in  Irish,  for  penn 
they  had  but  simply  to  say  cenn;  for  mapj  mac ;  and  so  on.  In  this 
way  they  changed  all  the  Latin  words  which  had  been  real  loan-words 
in  Cymric:  which  had,  namely ^  gained  a  firm  foothold  in  the  Urn- 
guatje  of  ths  people.'  Thus,  casc^  clum,  etc.,  came  into  the  Irish. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  peccad,  pian^  etc.,  were  transferred  directly 
from  th^  Latin  to  your  national  tongue.  The  foregoing  can  be 
considered  at  the  present  day  a  well-established  result  of  philolog- 
ical research. 

Another  consonantal  difference  exists  between  the  Gaelic  and 
Britannic  languages.  The  Old  Indo-European  combination  srhsB 
become /r  in  British  initial  sound.  Thus,  the  Welsh /ni/,  modem 
fnvd  (stream)  =  Irish  sruth,  Sanskrit  srutisysrutam;  W.froen  =  Ir. 
sron  (nasus).    See  Gram.  Celt.*,  p.  80.    Now,  in  the  same  way  as, 


Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church.  245 

thioo^  the  influence  of  the  British  missionaries,  the  Irish  clum 
arose  from  the  Latin  pluma,  the  Irish  srian  came  from  the  British- 
lAimfrentun,  W./rwyn;  Ir.  senister  iromfenestra,  W.henestyr;  Ir. 
nogell  from  JlageUum^  W.  frowyll,  etc.  Side  by  side  with  these, 
however,  we  find  felsub  (philosophus),  fellsube  (philosophia),  etc., 
taken  directly  frx)m  the  Latin. 

To  come  back  now  to  where  we  set  out  from.  When  the  Church- 
Latm  expressions  fiectio  genuum  and  Jlectere  genua  came  to  the 
Imh  with  Christianity  and  genuflection  itself  through  British 
missionaries,  at  the  earliest  period,  how  must  they  have  been  modi- 
fied according  to  the  analogy  of  fenestra  =  senister^  etc.  ?  From 
fectio,  Jlectionis  came  slechte,  slechtan,  like  coibse^  coibsen  from  con^ 
fesgio,  canfe9sionis  ;  and  from  Jlecto  came  slechtim^  just  as  pridchim 
from  predieo.  Accordingly,  the  Irish  sUchtan  and  slechtain  are  the 
geaoine  representatiyes  of  the  JjoXin  flection — BXkdiflecto, 

The  subject  is  now,  to  all  appearance,  more  complicated  than 
before :  in  reality,  however,  we  have  now  the  key  to  the  solution  of 
theqaery^-whence  arose  the  difference  in  devotional  posture  between 
the  frish  and  Continental  monks  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries. 

You  are,  of  course,  acquainted  with  the  conception — **  Folk- 
Etymology."  Whenever  loan-words,  from  whatever  cause, 
become  forgotten  in  their  origin,  popular  linguistic  instinct  at- 
tempts to  draw  them  from  their  isolation,  and  attaches  them  to 
other  words  of  the  language.  Under  the  influence  of  this  trans- 
formation even  the  forms  of  the  vocables  are  not  unfrequently 
altered.  For  instance,  the  English  crawfish^  crabfish  =  German 
hrthst  French  ecrivisse;  E.  causeway  =  F.  chavssee,  L.  calciata 
(Even  in  Milton,  P.  L..10,415,  we  find  causey) ;  sparrowgrass  =  aspar' 
agus;  passover  =  passah.  Runagate^  from  the  Romance  renegade^ 
was  attached  to  rnnaioay  and  gate.  See  many  more  examples  from 
Greek,  Latin,  English,  French,  Italian,  and  German  in  Andresen  : 
On  German  Folk-Etymology,  pp.  1-64. 

In  the  case  of  the  verb  slechtaim  and  the  noun  slechte  or  slech* 
ton,  the  connection  with  the  Latin  words  had  been  severed.  They 
▼ere  consequently  attached  to  the  Irish  word  sligim,  prostemo;  and  . 
thereby  became  altered  in  meaning.  Through  this  process  it  was 
that  prostration  usurped  \the  place  of  genuflection  as  the  meaning  of 
fkcktain  and  slechtan. 

The  Irish  sligim  is  etymologically  the  same  as  the  Gothic 
*^en,  German  schlagen,  A.S.  slahhan,  sleahany  English  to 
^;  and  to  the  examples  quoted  by  you  can  be  added  such 
others  as  :  huare  roslechta  trichumacht  nDa — quia — Assyrii — 
^ti,  vel  prostrati,  sunt  potentia  Dei,  Ml.  48'*,  28.  When  you 
consider  all  the  passages  taken  together,  you  will,  I  think,  con- 
chide  with  me  that  the  meaning  of  slechtaim  and  slechtan  could  not 
have  arisen   ''    cthf  with  etymological  accuracy  from  the  root  slak 


246  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Churclu 

When  the  old  loan-words  for  flectio  (genuum)  BxAfledere  (genua) 
were  thus  altered  in  signification,  the  Irish  language  was  wanting 
in  terms  for  the  well-detined  ecclesiastical  conception  flectere^JUetiOy 
as  practised  outside  Ireliuid.  Acccordingly,  the  verb  JilLim^  to 
Jbend,  inf.  filliud^  was  employed  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  St.  Gail  Priscian,  157^  ifitrinsecus  fit  declinatiois glossed  is 
immedun  dogniiher  inJiUiudy  nifodeud—^si  in  medio  fit  flectio,  non  in 
fine ;  and  at  158^  6,  infilliud  is  the  equivalent  of  decUnatio.  To  tiie 
first  example  corresponds  the  sentence  in  the  Carlsnihe  Priscian,  63 : 
in  magen  in  den  tar  infilliud — locus  in  quo  fit  flectio.  Compare  also 
filter^  flecti(ur  in  the  St.  Gall  MS.  203*»,  9.  12;  and  inrufiU,  the 
gioss  upon  implicuit  in  the  Ambrosian  Codex,  33^,  11. 

As  you  accurately  observe,  th.e  word  cross figill  has  no  relation 
whatsoever  to  genuflection  or  prostration.  Crossflgill,  from  a  purelj 
linguistic  point  of  view,  can  only  mean  watching  before  the  cross 
or  crucijix;  afterwards  the  method  in  which  the  exercise  was  performed 
received  the  name  crossflgill.  In  this  sense  it  is  employed  in  the 
quotation  given  in  the  beginning  of  this  letter  from  folio  188*  oC 
tiie  Milan  Columbanus. 

Two  more  remarks,  in  conclusion,  upon  the  quatrain.  As  the 
metre  shows,  we  must  read  ar-ro-isam  in  four  syllables,  like 
Oolman's  Hymn,  42  :  sechroised  roisam  (seven  syllables).  In  Old 
Irish  an  (cum)  is  always  followed  by  the  relative  (subjunctive)  n  .• 
an-vho-n-derbid  — cum  probatis,  Wb.  22**,  andunerckain — com 
prophetavit.  Ml.  15**,  andumhertis  acoibsena — cum  ferebant  suae 
confessiones,  Taur.  2**  (Gram.  Celt.  709).  Was  the  original,  there- 
fore, arronuiam  inn  eclais,  and  are  we  to  refer  the  reading  rohiss«im 
of  H.  2.  16.  to  this  as  a  Middle-Irish  alteration  of  the  older  form  ? 

Again,  in  the  last  line,  H.  9,  16.  has  preserved  the  original  lec- 
tion ;  we  must,  it  is  evident  from  the  metre,  read  in  domnach  De  bu 
The  strophe  would,  accordingly,  be  reconstructed  as  follows  :— 

ArroDisam  inneclais  slechtam  co  bo  thri : 

NisfiUem  gluni  namma  indomnach  De  hi. 

Tour's  sincerely, 

H.  ZiMlIBR. 

Greifswald,  December  10, 1883. 


POSTSCRIPT. 

In  taking  leave  of  thiB  discnsmon, — ^the  other  questionB 
of  Philology  and  Archaeology  treated  of  in  Dr.  Zinuner's 
Letter  can  be  dealt  with  more  Batisfactorily  in  a  separate 
paper — we  beg  to  direct  attention  to  some  facts  which 
came  to  onr  knowledge  since  the  appearance  of  F.  Malone'B 
second  article.  They  show  prettj'  clearly  how  far  the 
lection  and  version  so  "  hurriedly  **  volunteered  were  the 
result  of  independent  investigation. 


J^'09tration  in  the  Early  Irish  ChurciL  247 

The  Yellow  Book  of  Lecan,^  the  antedating  of  which 
by  690  years  has  been  neither  retracted  nor  defended,  was 
cited  so  circnmstantially — Trin.  Coll.,  classed  H.  2, 16,  col. 
825 — as  to  lead  ns  to  conclude  that  the  text  and  reference 
were  not  copied  from  Reeves'  Culdees^,  wh4re  the  whole 
Rule  is  accurately  said  to  be  found  in  cols.  224,  225.  An 
inspection  of  the  MS.,  however,  has  since  shown  us  that 
they  were.  "Col.  225"  was  merely  a  wrong  guess.  The 
quatrain,  we  saw  at  a  glance,  is  contained  in  column  224. 

Again,  the  disquisition  upon  Sunday-standing,  we  were 
aware,  was  taken  without  acknowledgment  from  the 
source  indicated  in  the  note  on  the  same  page :  "  Possibly 
there  is  reference  here  to  the  practice  of  standing,  which  was 
anciently  enjoined  on  the  Lord's  Day.  See  Bingham,  Antiqq., 
Kb.  xiii.,  cap.  8,  sec.  ^  (Works,  vol.  iv.,  p.  325,  ed.  1840.*') 

Still,  as  the  edition  known  to  us  contained  only 
references  J  F.  Malone's  ^uotations^Yro  imagined,  were  the 
product  of  original  research.  Hence  we  expressed  amaze- 
ment how  anyone,  with  Eusebitis  before  him^  could  print 
two  clauses  from  the  fifth  Book,  and  gravely  apply  them 
to  St  James,  who  had  been  already  described  as  far  back 
as  the  second  Book  I  The  edition  of  1840  has  supplied 
a  ample  but  all-sufficient  explanation.  There'  the  two 
extracts  are  given,  one  under  the  other,  hut  F,  Malone 
copied  from  the  loronff  one !  There,*  too,  whoever  turns 
over  the  pages  will  find  at  foot  all  the  patrology  which  so 
often  puts  F.  Malone's  margin  in  such  charming  contrast 
with  his  text.  And  there,*  finally,.will  be  found  ample  reason 
to  admire  the  discretion  that  made  no  vain  attempt  to  escape 
from  the  awkward  dilemma  in  regard  to  Cassian.  For  the 
senienceSi  no  less  than  the  reference^  lay  ready  for  transcription. 

Risum  Comicla  movebit, 
Furtivis  nudata  coloribus. 

F.  Malone's  somewhat  diffuse  dissertation  need  not, 
therefore,  detain  us  long.  What  is  the  use  of  correcting  mis- 
statements like  those — some  at  hap-hazard,  others  at  second- 
hand— about  the  second  Instruction  and  the   Cursus  of 

^  F.  O'CsTToll  (Gaelic  Journal,  No.  12,  p.  377),  employa  Book  of 
Lscan  and  Yellow  Book  ofLecan  as  conyertible  tirinB.  But  they  are 
different  MSS.  1  The  former  is  preserved  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  ; 
the  latter  in  Trinity.  College.  Quod  abundat  non  viliat  is  F.  O'CarroU^s 
nile  for  Textual  Recension.  He  prints  (lb.  p.  378,  sq.^  at  second-hand, 
although  two  of  the  three  MSS.  are  in  Dublin,  **  three  different  texts  "  of 
aa  anaent  Iriah  tale.  The  difference  consists  in  this :  the  second  textia  a 
conupt  copy  of  the  first ;  the  third,  a  still  more  corrupt  copy  of  the  second. 

'  IVans.  R.I.A.,  vol.  xzir.,  pt.  ii.,  p.  201. 

•  VoL  iv.,  p.  829.  *  P.  824,  seq.  »  P.  326. 


248  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church. 

St.  Columbanus ;  or  of  showing  the  irrelevancy  of  extracts 
from  such  remote  sources  as  the  Winter  and  Spring  parts 
of  the  Roman  Breviary  ? 

Moreover,  as  we  anticipated,  not  a  shred  of  proof  has 
been  produced  in  support  of  the  new  construction  on 
which  was  founded  the  translation  which  Celtic  scholars 
were  henceforward  to  adopt. 

Nothing  remains,  then,  but  to  subjoin  a  few  specimens 
from  the  misreadings  and  the  mistranslations  to  be 
found  in  ten  of  F.  Malone's  twenty-eight  "paragraphs."  As 
they  all,  with  two  exceptions/  have  reference  to  the 
Leabhar  Breac,  they  disclose  a  unique  acquaintance  with 
that  invaluable  memorial  of  our  Early  Church. 

(1, 2.)  Hands  joined  at  the  hymn  "  IHcat**  The  Irish 
word  here  rendered  hands  joined  is  lamchomair^y  which 
means  beating  hands  in  lamentation.  The  word  is  weB 
adapted  to  test  an  elementary  knowledge  of  Irish  verbal 
Composition.*  It  is  a  double  compound :  the  factors  are 
lam^  handy  and  chomairt;  the  latter  being  itself  made  up  of 
the  separable  particle  com  (con)^  together  and  airt  (ort)^ 
striking.  The  new  hymn  *'Dicat''  is  manufactured  from 
the  MS.  himmnum  dicat^^  the  opening  words  of  a  well- 
known  old  hymn,  which  is  contained  in  the  Franciscan' 
and  Trinity  College*  copies,  and  published  in  the  second 
fasciculus,*^  of  the  Liber  Hymnorum : 

Ymnum  dicat  turba  fratrum,  ymnum  cantus  personet ; 
Christo  regi  concinentes,  etc. 

(3-7.)  Here  is  an  attempt  at  higher  criticism.  "  There 
is  some  confusion  in  a  reference  made  by  an  Irish  writer  to 
Moses  and  Josue ;  but  I  have  only  to  reconcile  him  with 
himself.  When  Josue  raised  in  front  of  Amra  (Moses)." 
And,  lest  we  should  lose  sight  of  the  reconciliation^  infrotU 
of  Moses  is  repeated,  and  the  exposition  concluded  with  the 
dictimi,  "  Moses  must  have  been  considered  by  the  Irish 
writer  as  a  sort  of  propitiatory,  and  Josue  before  him." 

This  makes  matters  worse.  First,  so  far  from  even 
implying  the  presence  of  Moses  on  that  occasion,  the 
wnter  had  recorded  his  death  two  colunms  back.*  Next, 
whenever  Moses  is  introduced,  the  writer  naturally  calls 
him  Moses :  once  adding  son  of  Amrai?  another  time,  son  of 

»  Those  given  under  (9, 10).  «  L.B.,  p.  259a.  39. 

»  See  Record,  vol.  iv.,  p.  429-30.  *  L.  B.,  p.  259a.  39. 

»Fol.  10ft.  «Fol.  6(i  7p.  161,  seq.         » L.B.,  p.  128J. 

9  P.  117a.  12. 


Prostration  iri  the  Early  Irish  Church  249 

Ararat  But,  perhaps,  F.  Malone  thinks  Juda  antra  on 
page  124,"  means  Juda  Moses  !  Thirdly,  the  original,*  in 
toisech  amraj  is  to  be  rendered,  (not  in  front  of  Moses^  but) 
the  distinguished  leader ;  and  that  for  three  fairly  conclusive 
reasons.  In  signifies  the;  toisech^  leader;  and  amra,  die- 
tinguished.  The  very  same  phrase  is  applied  to  Josue  in 
the  preceding  page.*  Our  readers  can  now  decide  for 
themselves  whose  "views"  to  quote  F.  Malone's  words, 
"have  been  characterized  by  confusion,  contradiction  and 
manifold  mistakes,  in  fact  as  well  as  opinion." 

(8.)  F.  Malone  had  already  placed  Gregory  the  Great* 
and  Cassian  upon  his  Catalogue  of  Irish  Authors:  he  has 
now  added  the  name  of  the  Christian  Sallust.  For  "  the 
Irish  writer,"  whose  description  of  St.  Martin  "  tallies  with 
the  old  Latin  hves,"  is  no  other  than  Sulpicius  iSeverus. 
His  old  Latin  life  was  copied  into  the  Book  of  Armagh ; 
and  the  miracle  of  raising  the  widow's  son  to  life  will  be 
found  at  foUo  210,  second  page,  first  column.* 

(9,  10;)  Bold  eyes — hold  body.  Audacity  {dana)  is  the  very^ 
word  of  the  gloss.  Unfortunately  for  F.  Malone,  the  whole 
gloss — text  and  translation — is  given  in  Dr.Zimmer's  Letter; 
and  the  word,  whether  read  dana  or  dano,  is  a  conjunction, 
ergo,  igituvy  quoque,  autem !     To  Dr.  Zimmer^  belongs  the 

1  P.  1286, 14.         8  A.  46.  »  P.  1246. 25  <  P.  1236.  37. 

« In  the  Dublin  Review  for  April,  1881  (p.  346,  note),  F.  Malone 
sajs : — "  Irish  writers  state  that  some  were  satisfied  with  beginning  Lent 
on  Quadragesima  Sunday.  Et  quibusdam  sex  dies  dominici  abstirientiae 
fubstrahuntury  But  the  MS.  (LB.  47a.  62-8)  has  as  plain  as  print :  [dies]. 
Ezquibusdum  .  .  .  sublrahuntur ;  and  the  Irish  writers  are  Pope 
Gregory  I.,  from  whose  Homily  fot  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent  the  whole 
passage  is  taken !    Greg.  Mag.  Op.  Om.,  Paris.  1705 ;  torn,  i,  col.  1494-5. 

*  lib.  ii.,  cap.  33.  The  xnuii.  stood  on  the  left  margin  :  but  xxx. 
disappeared,  with  several  more  important  entries,  when  the  edges  were 
cut  away  in  binding  the  volume.  Two  misreadings  in  the  Gaehc 
Journal  fNo.  7,  p.  226),  may  be  corrected  here.  The  unmeaning  form 
ar  ahoula,  as  any  one  could  foresee,  have  been  read  as — the  third  singular, 
relative,  of  the  verb  substantive  (fol.  11a.  6,  top  margin) ;  and 
oedessiam^  not  the  comical  acclessiam,  is  given  quite  legibly,  the  e  being 
curved  over  the  following  c,  at  f oHo  156. 6.  Yet,  F.  Hogan  says :  I  fancy 
that  I  have  made  a  very  faithful  transcript  of  what  relates  to  St.  Patrick. 

'  Gloss.  Hib.,  p.  liii.  seq.  F.  McSwiney  (Gaelic  Journal,  No.  10, 
p.  321),  writes — "  N.B. — As  C.  Nigra  shows,  instead  of  dam,  dan,  dim, 
dm,  we  should  read  dano,  cUno'^  This  is  so  inaccurate,  that  we 
are  bound  to  assume  F.  M*Swiney  never  saw  Nigra's  Glosses,  p.  xxvii. ; 
or  his  Celtic  Reliques,  p.  30 — ^the  two  places  where  the  subject  is  treated. 
But,  unless  he  quoted  at  second-hand^  he  did  see  Zimmer's  Glosses. 
Now,  in  that  work,  p.  liii.,  it  is  stated,  with  perfect  accuracy: — 
*^  Nigra  .  .  .  banc  conjunctionem  dan^  din,  scribendam  esse  putavit.'* 
It  ^,  therefore,  not  excite  surprise  when  we  mention  that  F.  M'Swiney's 
Notes  m  this,  and  his  Translations  in  the  preceding,  No.  of  the  Journal 
contain  thirty  additional  errors. 


250   On  National  and  Compulsory  Education  in  Ireland, 

credit  of  having  first  shown  the  true  form  of  the  vocable. 
This  he  has  established  so  conclusively,  that  even  Windisch 
was  compelled  to  insert  the  correction  in  the  authorised 
English  version  of  his  so-called  Grammar. 

The  substantive  danatUj  it  is  needless  to  remind  Celtic 
scholara,  and  not  the  adjective  dana^  is  the  Irfsh  equivalent 
for  audacity. 

In  regard  to  the  death  of  St.  Columbanus  on  Sundt^y 
F.  Malone  says  we  are  not  accurate  in  our  reference  to 
Greith,  p.  375.  "I  have  looked  into  it,  and  find  not  the 
slightest  allusion  to  his  death  at  all."  To  a  rigid  logician 
like  F.  Malone,  this  proof,  no  doubt,  is  conclusive.  But 
ordinary  persons  may  be  pardoned  if  they  fail  to  see  how 
the  existence  of  a  thing  is  disproved  because  somebody  hat 
failed  to  find  it 

This  leads  to  the  question  of  the  day  and  date  on 
which  St.  Columbanus  died — a  literary  problem  to  the 
solution  of  which  we  shall,  with  the  Editor's  permission, 
devote  our  attention  on  a  future  occasion. 

B.  MacCarthy. 


ON  NATIONAL  AND  COMPULSORY  EDUCATION 

IN  IRELAND. 

• 

PERHAPS  the  promised  Bill  of  the  Government  on 
elementary  education  in  the  National  schools  in  Ireland 
may  be  introduced  into  Parliament  before  the  issue  of  the 
April  number  of  the  RECORD.  Feeling,  therefore,  the 
urgency  as  well  as  the  importance  of  the  question,  and 
rejoicing  that  the  priests  of  Ireland  have  a  common  organ, 
free  from  tinge  of  provincialism,  for  the  conveyance  of 
clerical  intelligence  and  the  formation  of  sound,  accurate 
judgment  on  matters  involving  great  difficulty,  I  venture 
to  lay  my  views  before  the  refers  of  the  Record — views 
which  are  entertained  by  many  educationists  whom  I  know 
— on  Compulsory  Education  in  Ireland.  On  matters  which 
have  been  brought  before  the  public,  from  time  to  time,  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  m  reference  to  the  improve- 
ment of  tne  condition  of  the  national  teachers,  there  has 
been  expressed  but  one  opinion  as  to  salary,  pension,  and 


On  National  and  CompuUory  Education  in  Ireland.  251 

residence.      Any  improvement  contemplated  by  the  Bill 
under  any  of  these  heads  will  be  hailed  with   general 
delight    These  are  but  details  of  the  original  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment which  should  have  been  carried  out  long  ago.     But 
any  departure  from  the  old  lines  upon  which  the  education 
(rfthe  people  has  been  based,  any  new  principle  introduced 
into  the  system,  which,  to  say  the  least,  has  worked  well 
for  national  instruction,  must  be  considered  with  ecictreme 
cantion.    And  considering  the  great  number  of  persons 
who   clamour   for    compulsory    education,    the    motivea 
by  which  they  are  actuated,  and  the  expressions  they 
use  hostile  to  reli^on  and  the  church,  not  only  in  foreign 
countries,  but  within  the  United  Kingdom,  there  is  evident 
danger    at    present    in    any    innovation    on    this    vital 
question  of  education.     I  ao  not  believe  there  was  any 
period  in  the  history   of  popular   teaching  in   Ireland 
when  the  minds  of  the  people  were  mor^  at  rest  as  to 
the  general  working  of  the  system.     Then,  why  not  let 
well  enough  alone  ?     The    French    adage   expresses  it 
better — Le  mieux  est  Fennemi  du  bien.    No  doubt,  all  the 
soundest  advocates  and  best  friends  of  the  people  admit 
that  the  attendance  at  National  schools  falls  below  the  due 
proportioB  of  the  pupils  on  the  rolls.     They  all  regret  such 
a  state  of  things.    But,  with  the  admitted  poverty  of  the 
country,  how  could  it  be  otherwise  ?    Should  compulsion 
be  iqpplied  to  poor,  half-famished  and  half-clad  cliildren  f 
In  the  depth  of  winter  they  are  seen  to  run  for  miles  to  the 
nearest  school.     It  is  only  when  spring  labour  has  to  be 
done  or  the  harvest  to  be  gathered,  that  children  from  nine 
to  fourteen  years  of  age  are  kept  at  home.    If  they  be  not 
permitted  to  work  at  such  times,  the  landlord  will  not  get  his 
lent,  and  then  the  Government  will  sanction  their  eviction. 
And  if  those  children  be  absent  from  school,  the  compulsory 
law  would  reach  the  parent.     Thus  the  poor  tiller  of  the  soil 
Would  be  crushed   oetween  two  diametricaUy  opposing 
forcea      A  .law  which  invites,   encourages,   and  assists 
emigration  in  the  niral  districts  of  Ireland,  clashes  wofully 
with  another  law  to  promote  the  extension  of  the  education 
of  its  people.     It  would  be  sheer  irony  to  depopulate  the 
country,  and  yet  to  propose  to  educate  the  country.     Con- 
flWering  the  present  depressed  state  of  the  Irish  tenantry,  if 
tte  government  contemplate  the  erection  of  school-houses  in 
n&al  dist-'  -^^  where  they  are  now  rather  sparse,  the  people's 


252    On  National  and  Compulsory  Education  in  Ireland, 

somewhat  inconsistent  for  the  advocates  of  compulsory 
education  to  bring  a  charge  of  degeneracy  against 
the  descendants  of  the  farmers  of  Munster  and  Connaught 
who  were  wont  to  give  hospitality  and  everything  else  that 
was  needed  to  many  a  clear-headed  boy  from  the  North, 
and  who  discoursed  in  the  language  of  Virgil  and  Homer 
as  eloquently  as  a  paid  professor  does  now  in  someof  thestate 
endowed  colleges  in  Ireland  ?  A  due  veneration  for  the 
memory  of  our  persecuted  forefathers,  and  an  abiding  love 
of  country,  assort  badly  with  a  demand  from  Irishmen  made 
to  an  English  Parliament  for  a  measure  of  Compulsory 
Education,  as  if  the  penal  laws  against  it  were  forgotten,  and 
the  heroic  sacrifices,  too,  that  were  made  in  quest  of  that 
golden  treasure,  in  foreign  climes,  which  was  locked  against 
the  Irish  student  at  home.  Is  not  this  love,  as  well  as  aptitude 
for  learning,  exhibited,  of  late  years,  in  an  augmented  form, 
in  the  successful  competition  of  the  Irish  scholar  for 
diflFerent  branches  of  the  Civil  Service,  and  for  the  honors 
and  rewards  both  of  the  Intermediate  system  and  of  the 
University?  And  where  did  many  of  the  youths  qualify 
for  civil  appointments  but  in  the  National  schools  of  the 
country?  Let  the  National  system  be  widened  in  its 
operations;  let  emoluments,  privileges,  and  prizes  be 
granted  in  money  and  books;  so  arrange  tne  whole 
system  of  education,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest 
branches,  that  the  National  schools  may  be  feeders  of 
the  Intermediate  schools,  and  they,  in  their  turn,  of 
the  University,  and  the  necessity  for  compulsion  ceases 
at  once.  But  if  to  compulsion  during  schoolboy  days 
you  have  nothing  to  add  but  coercion  in  manhood, 
it  is  as  if  you  compelled  the  youth  to  wander,  for  years, 
through  a  weary  desert  without  chance  of  ever  arriving  at 
promised  land.  The  words  of  the  Latin  poet  are  as  truthful 
now  as  when  they  were  permed — 

*^  Ut  pueris  olim  dant  crustula  blandi 
Doctores,  elementa  velint  nt  discere  prima.** 

If  to  the  children  of  the  schools,  and  not  the  teachers,  the 
surplus  revenues  of  the  Disestablishment  had  been  allocated, 
it  would  have  been  a  more  fitting  interpretation  of  the 
wishes  of  the  founders,  and  more  beneficial  to  the  interests 
of  education  in  general.  In  the  ages  of  faith,  colleges  in 
coimexion  with  universities  were  founded  with  the  sole 
object  of  attracting  to  them  the  sons  of  the  poor,  and  now 
we  are  to  have  compulsion  in  primary  schools,  without  any 


J 


On  National  and  Compulsory  Education  in  Ireland.     253 

attractive  influences  whatever.  This  odious  principle  is 
not  found  in  any  known  code  of  laws,  Jewish  or  Gentile, 
Greek,  Roman,  or  barbarian.  And  the  forces  which  in 
these  latter  days  sustain  it,  are  CsBsarism  impelled  by  thirst 
formilitary  glory  and  dominion;  a  wild  and  enthusiastic 
democracy,  hostile  to  God  and  religion  ;  and  a  plutocracy 
which  never  can  be  satisfied.  In  met,  the  enforcement  of 
this  principle,  in  the  countries  which  have  adopted  it,  is  but 
the  work,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  test  of  tne  prevailing 
indiflference,  if  not  hostility,  to  all  revealed  religion.  Will 
Ireland,  faithful  Ireland,  abet  the  scheme  ?  The  Catholic 
bishops  have  not  approved  of  it,  nor  the  general  body  of 
the  priests,  nor  any  considerable  number  of  the  laity. 
National  t.eachers  only,  and  but  few  of  them,  express  their 
approval  of  it  in  order  to  qualify  for  salary  and  the  pay- 
ment of  results'  feea  And  yet,  strange  to  say,  a  large 
number  of  them  contend  that  the  results  system  is  not  only 
a  failure  but  a  false  principle.  -They  may  soon  find,  that 
wider  this  principle  of  compulsion,  they  have  lost  their  best 

Sying  pupils,  who  will  resort  to  higher  schools  rather  than 
feit  tneir  freedom.  The  worst  feature  in  the  case  is  that 
onder  a  law  of  this  kind,  an  odious  distinction,  in  a  Christian 
conn^,  is  introduced,  by  separating  the  poor  from  the 
rich,  and  applying  to  them  imequal  laws.  Society  will  be 
a  loser  from  the  strong  contrast  between  the  humbler  and 
more  privileged  classes,  and  an  obstruction  will  be  raised 
to  the  fusion  of  those  heterogeneous  elements  which  are 
found  in  the  different  conditions  of  life. 

We  all  know  the  opposition  that  was  given  to  the  step 
taely  taken  by  the  English  Government,  to  require,  namely, 
tttttendance  of  seventy  pupils  in  order  to  obtain  an  assistant 
B&adiooL  Everyone  in  Ireland  admits  that  a  serious  blow 
**»  thus  dealt  to  education.  The  teachers  were  the  first  to 
M  and  acknowledge  it.  The  Commissioners  of  National 
fifccation  must  have  bewailed  it  as  a  departure  from  long 
•■Wblished  usage.  The  Catholic  bishops  remonstrated 
'  ^  it,  both  for  the  sake  of  the  teachers  and  for  the  in- 
I  of  popular  instruction.  They  deputed  some  members 
y  ftcir  venerable  bod^  who  declared  the  grievance  in 
clear  and  forcible.    Yet,  the  grievance  remains 


254     On  National  and  Comptijisory  Education  in  Ireland. 

And,  pray,  is  the  primary  principle  on  which  the  National 
system  of  education  is  founded — the  principle  of  united 
secular  and  separate  religious  instruction — is  it  so  sacred 
and  so  general  in  its  acceptation  as  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  the  liberty  of  the  youth  of  Ireland!  It  is  ignored  in 
England  and  Scotland,  and  is  not  deemed  worthy  of 
acceptance  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  It  has  not  its 
OMgin  in  Catholicity,  it  does  not  come  to  us  recommended 
by  the  authority  of  a  single  pope,  or  general  or  particular 
council ;  it  is  merely  the  outcome  of  Protestant  statesman- 
ship, simply  proposed  and  reluctantly  received  as  a  comvro- 
mise.  The  mixed  system  is  a  misnomer^  for  during  a  oalf 
century  in  which  it  has  been  in  operation,  though  nominally 
non-sectarian,  it  has  been  really  denominational. 

The  following  is  the  return  taken  from  "  Thom's  Official 
Directory,"  1883,  page  651,  of  the  working  of  the  Mixed, 
system.     At  the  close  of  the  year  1881,  the  figures  stood 

thus: — 

Under  Protestant  Teachers. 


Provinces. 

Protestant  Pupils. 

R.  C.  Pnpils. 

per  cent. 

percent. 

Leinster 

... 

84-0 

16-0 

Munster 

... 

80-9 

19-1 

Ulster 

.«• 

840 

16-0 

Connaught 

••• 

704 

29-6 

Mixed  Schools — Under  Roman  Catholic  Teachers. 

Provinces.  Protestant  Pnpils.  R.  C.  Pupils. 

Leinster  ...  3-8  96-2 

Munster  ...  2-5  97-5 

Ulster  ...  11-8  88-2 

Connaught  ...  3*6  964 

The  total  of  Protestant  pupils  under  Catholic  teachers 
is  5*9  against  94*1,  and  this  is  the  system,  forsooth,  thai 
should  be  perpetuated  by  a  compulsory  Act  of  ParHament. 

It  is  maintained  that  the  average  daily  attendance  d 

Eupils  at  National  schools  is  so  much  lower  than  the  num- 
ers  on  the  rolls,  that  it  argues  a  general  neglect  and  care^ 
lessness  about  education,  so  much  so,  that  a  compelli 
force  is  required  to  make  parents  discharge  their  duty  i 
this  respect.  No  doubt,  an  attendance  of  50  out  of  1 " 
looks  very  bad  on  paper,  but  yet  may  be  accounted  for. 
there  be  100  children  of  school-going  age  in  a  ce 
district  of  country,  it  ia  much  better  to  have  aU  tb 
names  entered  on  the  register  than  to  have  only,  say, 
names  inserted.  Which  is  the  more  creditable  to  the  distric 
which  shows  the  greater  love  for  learning  ?    Evidently, 


On  Natinnal  and  CompaUory  Education  in  Ireland.     235 

fonner  is  the  more  deeirabte  one.  And,  therefore,  I  con- 
tend,  that  the  more  names  there  are  on  the  Roll  Bo  oksof  the 
National  schools  in  Ireland,  the  more  evidently  does  it  indi- 
cate the  inmate  love  for  ^owledge  in  the  breasts  of  the 
Iriah.  Yet  we  are  told  these  are  the  very  people  who  need 
compulsioD.  Oh !  no.  The  people  are  willmg,  but  they 
are  unable  in  this  respect  to  satisfy  the  yearning  of  their 
hearts.  If  the  children  did  not  put  in  the  required  nuiftber 
of  days  for  examination,  if  the  attendance  be  so  iiTegular, 
why  were  they  taken  to  school  at  all,  unless  the  parent 
wirfied  to  see  the  youth  educated?  Was  it  to  mock  the 
teacher  that  the  child's  name  was  added  to  the  rolls,  or 
was  there  a  day  when  bribes  were  promised  to  the  new- 
comeist  Nothing  of  the  sort.  It  simply  shows  the  parental 
anxiety  of  the  Irish  for  the  school-traming  of  their  offspring, 
'  and  that,  were  it  not  for  some  cause  over  which  they  have 
no  control,  they  would  never  shrink  from  discharging  this 
duty.    Why  have  not  you  that  child  at  school,  says  a  cold 

u., j,__  i-  i\. ii 'a  little  girl,  eight  years  of  age, 

if  two  miles  from  the  nearest 
ou,  a  great  shame  for  you,  he 
1  school.  Oh,  air,  says  the 
it  on  her.  The  weather  is  wet 
,  and  the  last  day  she  was  at 
ver,  and  little  Nellie  had  no 
cold,  nor  has  she  any  covering 
d  weather  is  coming,  and  with 
>  school  again.  Oh  I  ray  good 
rted,  would-be  educator,  the 
do  your  duty.  Do  you  hear 
id  tale,  that  may  be  heard  in 
-and  tins  is  the  consolatory 
m  of  education  for  the  worst- 
st-clad  children  of  any  nation 

icational  figures  from  Thorn's 
151,  and  place  them  vi»-a~\'in 
r  the  year  1851,  1861,  1871, 

[reUnd.  Pnpili  on  the  Bolls. 

8  520,401 
7  803,364 
7         972,906 

9  1,066,»9 


256     On  National  and  Comptdaory  Education  in  Ireland. 

the  rolls  of  the  National  Board  have  increasedy  for  the  same 
period  of  time,  by  545,858,  or,  in  other  words,  at  the  rate 
of  105  per  cent.  Such  a  phenomenon  is  the  clearest  proof 
of  the  love  for  learning  which  any  people  could  exhibit. 
Or,  compare  the  numbers  on  the  register  with  the  popula- 
tion and  you  have  more  than  one  out  of  every  five  persons 
proving  their  anxiety  to  be  at  school.  Contrast  thJs  state 
of  tilings  with  that  of  £ngland  and  Wales. 

The  day  schools,  there,  are  classed  under  these  several 
heads. 

Church  of  England,  Wesleyan,  Roman  Catholic,  British, 
Undenominational,  and  School  Board  schools,  and  the  total 
attendance  at  all  these  schools,  on  the  rolls,  amounted  to 
3,372,900  in  the  year  1881.  Now,  the  population  in  that 
year  is  given  as  25,y68,286,  and  therefore  the  school  pro- 
portion to  Ireland  should  be  upwards  of  5,366,000 ;  that  is  , 
— 1,993,100  names  of  school  children  are  to  be  added  to  the 
rolls  in  the  schools  of  England  and  Wales  imtil  they  be 
equal  with  Ireland,  or  until  the  members  of  Parliament  of 
these  two  countries  can  fairly  demand  compulsory  educa- 
tion for  Ireland. 

Take  again  the  case  of  Scotland.  Its  population  in  the 
year  1831  was  3,734,370.  If  the  fifth  part  of  it,  as  in 
Ireland,  were  enrolled  as  pupils,  the  numbers  should 
amount  to  746,874;  but  all  tne  children  at  inspection 
counted  merely  475,021.  Until  the  difference  between 
these  figures,  viz. — 271,853  be  added  to  the  Scotch  educa- 
tional rolls,  the  Scotch  members  of  Parliament  have  no 
right  to  call  for  compulsory  education  for  this  country. 

Let  us  now  taKe  the  average  daily  attendance  of 
children  at  school  in  the  three  kingdoms,  and  we  arrive  at 
the  respective  per  centage. 

Popoli^oii.  Average  AttendAoce. 

England        ...        26,968,286        2,863,535  or  11  p.  c. 
Scotland        ...  3,734,370  409,966  nearly  11  p.  c. 

Ireland  ...  5,159,839  674,290  therefore  13  p.  c. 

Here  is  practical  proof  of  love  for  education. 

Ireland  is  ahead  of  every  other  portion  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  notwithstanding  its  poverty  and  the  famishing 
condition  of  its  youth  and  all  other  impediments  in  the  race 
for  education.  I  am  not  aware  of  the  method  by  which  the 
average  daily  attendance  is  taken  in  England  and  Scotland, 
but  I  cannot  approve  of  the  Commissioners'  method  in 
Ireland. 

They  insist  upon  the  school  being  open  for  200  days  in 


Ou  National  and  Campuhoty  Education  in  Ireland.    257 

the  year,  and  they  also  require  the  surplus  days  to  be  taken 
into  account  for  calculating  the  average.  Were  only  half 
the  number,  in  monthly  attendance,  present  in  school,  how 
inclement  soever  the  weather  may  be,  it  would  be  only 
fair  to  allow  all  the  lowest  school  days  above  200  to  be 
kept  out  of  reckoning. 

Take,  for  example,  the  last  quarter  of  the  past  year. 
Th»e  were  65  school  days  in  it.  One  teacher,  A.  B.,  kept 
his  echool  open  for  50  days  only,  and  had  an  avemge 
aUendance  of  30  pupils.  C.  D.,  another  teacher,  continued 
his  school  for  the  entire  65  days.  If  he  had  closed  his 
school  at  the  same  time  with  A.  B.*  he,  too,  would  have  had 
an  average  attendance  of  30.  But,  being  anxious  to 
advance  a  set  of  grown-up  boys,  who  must  soon  leave  the 
school  entirely,  he  continued  to  keep  it  open  for  the  addi- 
tional fifteen  days,  with  an  average  daily,  attendance  of  15. 
The  former  teacher  instructs  30  boys  for  50  days,  and  gets 
his  fall  salary  and  credit  for  attendance  at  his  school.  The 
latter  does  as  much  as  the  former,  and  besides  gives  instruc- 
tion to  15  boys  for  15  days.  What  is  the  return  t  He 
mnst  calculate  all  the  attendances  which  amount  to  1725 
hy  dividing  it  by  the  number  65,  which  expresses  the  dayst 
in  the  quarter,  and  the  quotient  is  26.  He  is  deprived, 
fliereby,  of  his  full  salary,  and  the  public  are  given  to 
vnderstand  that  the  average  attendance  is  much  below  the 
number  on  the  rolls.  In  tina  way,  I  may  say,  the  average 
attendance  throughout  Ireland,  which  was  674,290  in  the 
year  should  be,  in  reality,  returned  at  10  per  cent. 

ler,  or  in  round  numbers,  at  740,000.  The  method  of 
[culation  hitherto  adopted  is  misleading  and  paradoxical, 
as  the  greater  the  attendance  of  pupils  at  National  schools 
ky  Hie  less  it  is  made  to  appear ;  and  the  more  a  teacher 
labors,  the  less  he  is  remunerated. 

If  1,500  attendances  during  the  quarter  be  accepted  as 
the  role  enabling  teachers  to  earn  tneir  salaries,  I  do  not 
»ee  why  they  may  not  be  made  up,  between  wet  days  and 
Ay  days,  and  half-days  on  Saturdays.  If  the  constant 
wiser  be  60  and  quotient  not  under  30,  the  hard-working 
tnoher  diould  not  be  made  to  suffer,  when  his  school 
teete  ike  required  calculation,  whilst  at  the  same  time  the 
Ml  state  of  education  in  this  oountry  would  be  plainly 


258     On  National  and  Compulsofy  Education  in  Ireland. 

schools,  with  an  average  of  8,958 ;  15,420  m  workhouse 
schools;  1,149  in  reformatories;  in  Industrial  schools  no 
less  than  5,900.  There  are  nearly  29,000  bovs  at  the 
Christian  schools  throughout  the  country,  from  the  returns 
given  by  the  directors,  last  year.  Again,  we  have  500 
schools  under  the  Church  Educational  Society,  which, 
with  an  average  of  80,  would  give  15,000,  besides  Ragged 
schools  and  others ;  so  that  in  all  Ireland  we  have  edncation 
imparted  in  elementary  schools  to  825,000  children.  How 
insane,  then,  is  the  cry  for  compulsory  attendance  in  the 
face  of  these  facts  and  figures.  Leave  foreigners  to  cast 
the  stone  at  us,  but  let  not  the  children  who  were  nurtured 
on  Ireland's  bosom  defame  the  mothers  who  took  such  tender 
care  of  their  infancy.  Rather  let  them  say  of  their  British 
legislators — 

''  Times  Danaos  et  dona  ferentes.'* 

I  have  mentioned  above  the  District  Model  Schools. 
Thev  are  29  in  number  throughout  Ireland.  The  number 
on  me  rolls  is  16,819,  and  the  average  attendance  is  8,953, 
or  barely  above  the  half.  All  things  considered,  the 
greatest  anomaly  in  the  educational  history  of  the  country 
is  this  pampered  institution.  If  such  be  the  daily  attend- 
ance in  towns  in  these  Model  schools,  why  should  not  a 
large  allowance  be  made  for  irregularity  in  rural  districts, 
where  the  pupils  are  obliged  to  travel  a  long  distance  in  all 
sorts  of  weather?  But  can  a  better  attendance  he  enforetd 
even  in  these  favoured  institutes  of  Government?  I 
answer,  no,  because  those  who  once  patronised  those  higblj' 
lauded  seats  of  learning  have  contrived  to  build  scnool- 
houses  of  their  own,  and  they  who  formerly  frequented  them 
now  find  it  too  far  to  travel.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done 
with  them  ?  Why,  as  they  are  dying  of  inanition,  let  them 
die,  and  the  unsavory  haunts  undergo  a  thorough  purga- 
tion. So  early  as  the  year  1851  the  inspectors  reported  cH 
these  Model  schools.  "  The  greater  portion  of  our  time  has 
been  occupied  in  the  examination  of  teachers  and  in  super- 
intending the  district  Model  schools."  Cui  bono,  I  ask,  was 
their  superintendance.  Read  this  narrative  of  an  honest 
Englishman  in  the  *^  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  for  August; 
and  who  in  Ireland  can  say  the  picture  is  overdrawn? 
"  After  leaving  the  village  (in  Cork  County),  the  condition 
of  which,  to  English  ideas,  was  more  aegrading  and 
degraded  than  words  can  describe,  I  met,  coming  from  the 
school  situate  on  the  high  road  about  a  mile  off,  a  troop  of 


Correyxmdence^  259 

little  girls  and  boys  dancing  over  the  stones,  or  jumping 
from  rock  to  rock,  by  the  only  rough  track  that  lea  to  their 
homes — ^for  no  two-wheeled  horse  vehicle  had  ever  entered 
the  village.  Of  course,  again,  the  children  were  bare- 
legged and  bare-footed,  and  scantilv  clothed.  But  they 
were  bright,  healthy,  ioyous,  cheery-looking  little  beings — 
a  picture  of  neat-patching  and  tattered  cleanliness.  How 
such  comely  and  tidily-dressed  children  (and  the  country 
school-houses  are  full  of  them)  could  possibly  be  sent  fortn 
of  a  morning  from  the  very  hovels  of  smoke,  dirt,  poverty, 
and  wretchedness  which  we  have  just  visited,  was  a  puzzle 
that  conld  not  be  unravelled."  And  yet,  I  say,  it  would  be 
a  greater  puzzle  to  imagine  how  any  Irishman  could  foster 
the  new-bom  craze  of  compulsory  education  for  those  little 
children  "who"  (continues  the  English  writer)  "are  the 
descendants  of  those  who  were  far  advanced  in  religious 
civilization,  science  and  arts,  when  our  British  ancestors 
were  akin  to  painted  savages." 

GpORGE  Pye,  V.F.,  P.P. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


The  Nationality  of  St.  Boniface. 

Rev.  and  Deail  Sir, — With  much  reluctance  I  enter  the  lists  to 
maintain  the  English  nationality  of  St.  Boniface  against  so  learned 
an  archaeologist  as  the  Bishop  of  Ossory,  especially  as  I  feel  sure 
Dr.  Healy  can  defend^  his  own  propositions  much  more  forcibly 
than  I  can.  However,  as  a  priest  of  the  diocese  of  which  he  is  the 
patron,  I  ought  not  to  refuse  to  do  my  best  to  prove  our  right  to 
his  patronage. 

I  observe  with  satisfaction  that  Dr.  Moran  does  not  really  call 
in  question  the  Saxon— or  even  the  Devonian — birthplace  of 
St.  Boniface  ;  but  only  maintains  that  he  was  of  Irish  parentage, 
'^  Patre  atque  etiam  matre  Scottum,"  as  Marianus  expresses  it.  I 
am  also  happy  to  see  that  his  lordship  bears  out  the  opinion  I  ven- 
tured to  put  forth,  that  St.  Boniface  showed  no  prejudice  against 
Irishmen  as  such. 

I  must  confess  it  is  somewhat  startling  to  me  to  find  Dr.  Moran 
speaking  of  ^  England's  claim  "  to  St.  Boniface,  as  though  it  were 
a  new  idea  started  *'  by  English  writers  of  the  present  day."  I 
always  thought  it  was  admitted  that  England  was  in  possession,  and 
that  only  a  few  Irish  writers  put  forth  Ireland's  claim  to  be  mother 
of  the  apostle  of  Germany.     At  the  time  of  the  definition  of  the 


260  Carrespondenee. 

Immaculate  Conception,  when  bishops  of  all  nations  assembled  in 
Rome,  the  German  and  English  bishops  petitioned  the  Holy  See, 
that  the  Mass  and  Office  of  St.  Boniface  might  be  conceded  *'  at 
least  to  the  whole  of  Grermanjr  and  to  the  whole  of  England,  that 
the  latter  may  venerate  St.  Boniface  as  her  son,  the  former  i|s  her 
apostle, — Quod  in  S.  Bonifacio  suum  haec  filium,  suum  ilia  vene- 
retur  apostolum.''  The  decree  granting  the  petition  thus  recited  h 
dated  March  29th,  1855.  Has  any  similar  claim  on  the  part  of 
Ireland  to  be  the  mother  of  St.  Boniface  ever  been  msule  and 
acknowledged  ? 

But  this  is  no  new  claim  on  the  part  of  England.  In  755, 
Cuthbert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  wrote  to  LuUus,  Archbishop 
of  Mentz.  congratulating  the  Church  on  the  glorious  martyrdom  of 
St.  BonifEice  and  his  companions — **  €rens  Anglomm  advena  ex 
Brittania  meruit  palam  omnibus  ad  spiritales  agones  emittere/' 
and  informs  him  that  in  a  full  Council  the  English  Church  decreed : 
— **  Ejus  diem  natalicii  illinsque  cohortis  cum  eo  martyrizantis 
annua  frequentatione  soleniter  celebrare,  utpote  quern  specialiter 
nobis  cum  beato  Gregorio  et  Augustino  et  patronum  quaerimus  et 
habere  indubitanter  credimus  coram  Christo  Domino.'*  (Stubbs, 
Councils^  iii.,  894).  His  feast  is  marked  in  all  versions  of  the 
Sarum  Calendar  given  in  Maskell's  Monunienia  Ritualia,  Thus,  by 
a  tradition  of  eleven  hundred  years  the  Catholics  of  England  have 
considered  Boniface  as  of  the  English  race.  You  will  correct  me  if 
I  am  wrong  in  saying  that  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Irish 
Calendar.     I  cannot  even  find  it  in  the  Martyrology  of  Tallaght. 

The  passage  from  St.  Boniface's  own  letter  which  Dr.  Healy 
quoted,  acknowledging  that  he  was  bom  and  died  '^  in  Transmarina 
Saxonia,"  does  not  stand  alone.  The  same  idea  of  his  English 
extraction  runs  through  all  his  correspondence  with  his  Saxon 
friends.  Thus  he  tells  Herefrith  that  his  terrible  letter  of  warning, 
addressed  to  Ethelbald  King  of  Mercia,  was^lely  dictated  by  the 
pure  friendship  of  charity,"  et  quod  de  eadem  gente  Anglomm  nati 
et  nutriti  hie  per  praeceptum  Apostolicae  Sedis  peregrinamur,  bonis 
et  laudibus  gentis  nostrae  laetamur  et  gaudemus  :  peccatis  autem 
ejus,  et  vituperationibus  tribulamur  et  contristamur,  opprobrium 
namque  generis  nostri  patimur  sive  a  Christianis,  sive  paganis 
dicentibus,  quod  gens  Anglomm  spreto  more  caeteramm  gentium, 
et  despecto  praecepto  apostolico,  etc.**  (Epist.  71,  Wnrdtwein.) 
I  do  not  know  how  he  could  express  more  strongly  the  feelings  of  a 
true  Christian  patriot.  Again,  in  his  Epistle  to  all  bishops,  priests, 
deacons,  canons,  clerics,  abbots,  abbesses,  monks,  nuns,  *'  immo 
generaliter  omnibus  Catholicis  Deum  timentibus  de  stirpe  et  pro- 
sapia  Anglomm  procreatis,"  he  styles  himself  '*  Ejusdem  generis 
vemaculus,  Bonifacius,  qui  et  Winfrethus."  And  he  implores 
them  to  beseech  Qod  for  the  conversion  of  the  pagan  Saxons, 
*'  Miseremini  illomm,  qui  et  ipsi  solent  dicere  de  uno  sanguine,  et 
de  uno  osse  sumus."    (Epist.  86,  Wurdtwein.)    All  throng  his 


Correspondence.  261 

life,  though  he  never  returned  to  what  Dr.  Moraa  admits  to  have 
been  his  native  land,  jet  he  identified  himself  completely  with  Eng- 
lish affairs,  and  gave  the  English  prelates,  monks  and  nuns,  his 
tenderest  sympathy  and  best  advice. 

The  Bishop  of  Ossory  contends  that  many  of  his  most  intimate 
disciples  were  Irish.  I  have  no  wish  to  call  this  in  question.  But 
in  some  of  the  instances  he  cites,  I  believe  his  lordship  to  be  mis- 
taken. He  gives  the  beautiful  narrative  of  St.  Boniface's  loving 
welcome  to  St.  Burchard,  whom  he  considers  to  have  been  an 
Irishman.  But  when  I  turn  to  the  life  of  St.  Burchard  given  by 
Caoisius  (Tom.  ii.  5),  I  read :  '*  Venerabilis  Burchardus,  Anglorum 
genere  nobilis  .  .  .  tandem  relicta  Britannia,  peregrinationis 
obtentu,  in  quandam  Galliae  partem,  transacto  salo,  pervenit,  etc.*' 
Ganisins  quotes  Trithemius — to  whose  authority  Dr.  Moran  assigns 
**  considerable  weight,"  as  holding  "  in  his  hand  the  traditions  of 
Mentz  and  Fulda" — ^to  this  effect :  "  Burchardus  monachus  cujus- 
dam  coenobii  in  Anglia,  socius  et  comes  peregrinationis  S.Bonafacii 
martyris,  etc.'*  (Trithem.  L.  iv.  c.  184.)  Basnage  remarks  that 
some  traditions  say  that  Burchard  and  Swithun  were  not  only 
fellow-countrymen,  but  also  fellow-kinsmen  of  St.  Bomface.  The 
devotion  of  both  St.  Boniface  and  St.  Burchard  to  the  Irish  martyr 
St.  EHian  is  very  precious  to  me,  as  showing  that  St.  Boniface  had 
no  paltry  prejudice  against  Irish  missionaries.  I  do  not  know 
Dr.  Moran*s  grounds  for  supposing  Bishop  Eoban  to  have  been  an 
Irishman,  but  St.  Witta  had  the  same  name  with  the  grandfather 
of  Hengist  and  Horsa,  according  to  Florence  of  Worcester. 

It  seems  to  be  scarcely  necessary  to  discuss  writers  of  a  later 
date,  when  we  have  such  abimdant«  proof  of  Boniface's  nationality 
from  his  own  correspondence,  but  Dr.  Moran  insists  strongly  upon 
the  traditions  of  Fulda.  I  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  all  the 
various  versions  that  we  have  of  Willibald's  life  of  the  saint  agree 
in  his  education  at  '^  Adescancastre,"  though  they  spell  the  word 
somewhat  differently.  The  Bollandists  have  just  published  in  their 
Analecta  BolUmdiana  a  version  which  they  consider  the  earliest  of 
an,  and  this  styles  the  place  "  Oratorium  "  instead  of  '*  Monaste- 
num."  I  cannot,  however,  pass  over  in  silence  the  Life  of 
St.  Bonifisce>by  Othlo,  a  monk  who  wrote  in  the  time  of  Pope  Leo IX.; 
and  while  Egbert,  who  died  in  1078,  was  Abbot  of  Fulda.  If  not  a 
monk  of  Fulda,  he  wrote  in  the  interests  of  that  monastery,  as  his 
prolc^ue  shows.  Othlo  begins  his  biography  thus  : — *'  Cum  gens 
Anglorum  sacrae  fidei  jugo  per  S.  Gregorii  Papae  Apostolatum 
snbdita,  ejus  suffragantibus  mentis,  in  sanctorum  virorum  pro* 
creatione  prae  multis  nationibus  splendere  coepisset,  muhaque 
lumina  sanctae  ecclesiae,  quibus  varia  cordium  obcaecationes  illus- 
trarentur,  protulisset,  inter  hujus  mundi  lumina  sanctum  quoque 
BonifEtcinm  velut  Lucif erum  quondam,  caeteris  sideribus  clariorum, 
huic  mundo  edere  meruit." 

The  Annals  of  Fulda  by  Enhard,  extending  from  630  to  838 


262  Correspondence. 

which  Pertz  (vol.  i.,  888)  has  separated  off  from  their  continnatioii 
by  other  hands,  makes  the  following  entry  :— 

"717.  His  temporibus  Wynfridus,  qui  et  postea,  cum  episcopus 
ordinaretur,  Bonifaeii  nomen  accepit,  Doctor  Catholicus,  natione 
Anglus,  primaru  Romam,  deinde  cum  auctoritate  Gregorii  Papae 
in  Franciam  ad  praedicandum  verbum  Dei  venit." 

The  annalists  of  other  monasteries  are  in  perfect  accordance 
with  those  of  Fulda,  Thus,  Regino  of  Treves,  whose  epitaph,  with 
the  date  of  916,  was  found  in  the  16th  century,  writes : — 

"  An.  Dom.  incamationis  650  .  .  .  circa  haec  tempera 
.  •  .  Gregorius  Papa  constituitur ;  hie  Bonifacium  ex  Britan- 
nia ortum  episcopum  ordinavit,  et  per  enm  in  Grermaniam  verbum 
salutis  praedicavit,  etc/' 

The  Annals  of  Lauresham,  closely  connected  with  Fulda,  say : — 

"  746.  Bonifatius,  vir  sanctus  de  genere  Anglorum,  etc" 

The  "  Annales  Xantenses,"  which  give  the  traditions  of  Utrecht, 
have: — 

"  762.  Passus  est  sanctus  pater  noster,  Bonifacius,  vir  Aposto* 
licus  &t  omni  sapientia  adomatus,  qui  de  Anglorum  gente  nobilem 
ducens  originem,  ibidem  in  sancto  proposito  religiosissime  educa- 
tus,  etc." 

All  these  extracts  are  taken  from  the  two  first  volumes  of  Pertz, 
who  appends  to  the  Life  of  St.  Boniface,  another  set  of  fragments 
by  an  unknown  priest  of  Mentz,  in  the  first  chapter  of  which  he 
narrates  the  deposition  of  the  unworthy  Bishop  Grewelib,  and  says  : 
— "  Eodem  tempore  venerabilis  Bonifacius,  domino  ducente,  de 
Britannia,  Anglorum  gente,  Germaniam  est  ingressus,  etc." 

Thus,  both  in  Fulda  and  in  Mentz,  Marianus  Scotus  found  a 
very  considerable  collection  of  documents  attesting  the  English 
nationality  of  St.  Boniface.  We  are  not  able  to  examine  the  grounds 
on  which  he  formed  his  own  very  positive  conclusion  that  St.  Boni- 
fece  was  of  Irish  extraction.  Whether  he  evolved  it  out  of  his  own 
inner  consciousness,  or  whether  he  had  some  Celtic  documents  which 
asserted  that  Boniface^s  father  and  mother  were  both  Irish,  we 
cannot  say.  The  way  in  which  Marianus  parades  it  has  certainly 
the  air  of  a  new  and  original  discovery.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine 
that  Pope  Zachary  should  have  inserted  the  word  *'  Scottum  **  in 
his  own  address  of  a  letter  to  Boniface.  The  hct  is  that  the 
extracts  Dr.  Moran  quotes  as  '^  Passages  from  Pontifical  Letters 
cited  by  Marianus,"  are  not  real  quotations  from  pontifical  letters 
at  all.  They  are  only  the  titles  given  to  the  letters  by  Marianus 
as  the  editor  of  the  collection.  I  quote  an  example  from  Wurdt* 
wein: — 

"  Epistola  Ixxiv, 
^^Zachariae  Pontificis  ad  S,  Bonifacium  litterae  de  nonnullis  ad 
sacerdotum  integritatem^  Ulicita  conjugioj  haereticorum  guorun" 
dam  examen  et  poenam  spectantibus, 
''Reverendissimo  et  Sanctissimo  Bonifacio  Coepiscopo  Zacharias 

servus  servorum  Dei." 


Correspondence:  263 

Onlj  the  last  nine  words  are  the  Pope's,  the  preceding  words  in 
italics  are  due  solely  to  the  editor ;  and  Marianus  was  apparently 
80  possessed  with  his  discovery  that,  when  he  came  across  the  name 
"Bonifecium,"  he  could  not  refrain  from  reminding  his  readers — 
*An  Irishman  yoa  know,  ScottumJ*  Othlo  gives  the  Epistles 
withoQt  any  titles  at  all.  It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  so 
Iftborioos  and  accurate  a  chronicler,  as  Marianus  is  acknowledged 
to  be,  should  have  led  some  of  his  contemporaries  and  successors 
to  have  adopted  his  theory  without  examination.  Still,  William  of 
Mahneshury,  whom  I>r.  Moran  cites  as  testifying  so  warmly  to  the 
merits  of  Marianus,  does  not  adopt  his  theory  about  St.  Boniface. 
He  says : — **  Boniface,  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  an  Angle  by  nation, 
who  was  subsequently  crowned  with  martyrdom,  etc."  {Chron. 
Lie.  4.) 

Florence  of  Worcester,  who  died  in  1118,  avowedly  adopted 
the  Chronicle  of  Marianus  as  the  basis  of  his  own.  Two  ancient 
MSS.  copies  of  the  latter  are  preserved  in  the  Library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.  One  of  these,  E.  6,  4,  on  fol.  56,  has,  "  Pippinus 
decreto  Zacharie  Pape  a  Bonifacio,  Moguntino,  archiepiscopc, 
^enere  Anglo,  unguitur  in  imperatorem  .  .  .  cui  [i.e.  Bonifacio] 
BQCcessit  Lull,  et  ipse  genere  Anglus'*  The  other  MS.,  E.  5,  23, 
records  St.  Boniface's  ordination,  715,  and  speaks  of  him  as 
^^gtnere  Angltis"  Thus  it  appears  that  those  who  lived  nearest  to 
the  age  of  Marianus,  and  most  highly  esteemed  his  learning,  did 
not  always  follow  him  when  his  patriotic  feelings  carried  him  away 
from  historicfd  facts. 

I  have  given  the  testimony  of  one  contemporary  of  Marianus, 
Othlo,  chosen  by  the  Abbot  of  Fulda  to  write  the  Hfe  of  St.  Boni- 
bce,  and  supplied  with  documents  by  Pope  Leo  IX.  himself.  I 
give  that  of  another  contemporary,  Hermann,  Count  of  Voringen, 
sornained  "  Contractus,"  from  a  natural  deformity,  which  did  not 
peveot  his  being  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his 
«^e— philosopher,  poet,  astronomer,  and  the  author  of  the  Salve 
Begim  and  the  Alma  Redemptorts,  He  was  a  monk  at  Reichenau 
**  Augiae  Majoris  '* — and  compiled  a  chronicle,  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  to  a.d.  1064,  when  he  died.     He  says : — 

"717.  Hoc  tempore  Winfridus,  qui  et  postea  Bonifacius, 
S^ere  Anglus  Germaniae  gentibus  verbum  salutis  praedicat, 
•octoritate  Gregorii  Papae  II." 

I  sum  up  my  argument  thus : — ^The  Catholics  of  England,  from 
th«  time  of  Boniface's  martyrdom  to  the  present  day,  have  always 
daimed  him  as  their  own  kith  and  kin,  and  this  by  solemn  acts  as 
*  Church.  No  such  claim  has  ever  been  made  by  the  Church  of 
Ii^and,  though  here  and  there  individuals,  like  Marianus  Scotus  in 


264  Correspondence. 

respondents  in  their  replies,  mention,  sometimes  explicitly,  bis 
Saxon  origin ;  while  all  the  early  annals  of  Grerman  monasteries, 
that  mention  his  nationality  at  sJl,  declare  that  he  was  an  English- 
man. The  same  declaration  is  made  by  writers  of  mark,  contem- 
porary with  Marianus,  one  of  whom,  Othlo,  wrote  the  life  of  the 
saint  at  the  special  request  of  the  monks  of  Fulda.  This  weight 
of  authority  is,  I  submit,  sufficient  to  justify  our  setting  aside  as 
inadequate  the  unsupported  statements  of  Marianus,  however 
highly  we  may  esteem  his  learning  and  general  accuracy. 

In  April,  1864,  Dr.  Moran  wrote :— **  St.  Boniface,  the 
illustrious  Martyr  and  Apostle  of  Germany,  was  a  native  of 
Ireland :  passing  in  his  youth  to  England,  he  received  in  its 
monasteries  the  name  of  Winfred."  (Essays  on  the  Early  Irish 
Church,  p.  151.)  His  historical  researches  since  have  led  His 
Lordship  to  acknowledge  that  St.  Boniface  was  born  in  England, 
as  he  candidly  admits  in  his  letter  to  you.  May  I  express  the  hope 
that,  upon  hirther  research,  the  same  candour  will  lead  him  to 
admit  that  Marianus  was  mistaken  in  claiming  an  Irish  parentage 
for  the  Apostle  of  Germany  ? — I  remain,  yours  faithfully, 

W.  R.  Canon  Brownlow. 
St.  Marychurch,  near  Torquay, 

Feast  of  St.  Gh-egory  the  Great^  1884. 


On   giving  Communion  from  a  Ciborium  before  the 
Communion  of  the  Mass  in  which  it  was  Consecrated. 

Dear  Rev.  Sir — ^Will  you  kindly  permit  me  to  suggest  some 
reasons  which,  if  valid,  will  afford  ground  for  dissent  from  the 
answers  to  your  correspondent  R.  given  in  the  month  of  February. 

1.  All  the  particles  on  the  Altar  are  part  of  the  l^iest's 
Sacrifice :  equally  and  together  with  the  large  Host  they  constitute 
the  materia  adaequata  in  the  Offertory  and  Consecration ;  and  are  to 
be  regarded  as  numerically  one  species  panis  per  modum  unius^  oa 
account  of  their  moral  conjunction  on  the  same  Altar  and  in  one 
and  the  same  Sacrifice.  So  that  in  the  case  of  small  particles  being 
consecrated  in  Mass,  and  the  disappearance  or  poisoning  of  the 
large  consecrated  Host  (the  Rubrics^  on  this  point  clearly  do  not 
suppose  the  presence  of  any  small  consecrated  particles),  the  Priest 
would  be  obliged  to  continue  the  Mass,  and  communicate  with  one 
of  the  small  consecrated  Hosts. 

2.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  grave  theologians,  and  amongst 
them,  of  the  holy  Dootor  Alphonsus  Liguori,  Uiat  the  Eucharistie 
Sacrifice  consists  essentially  in  the  Consecration  and  Communioii 
together,  and  that  it  is  not  completed  and  consummated  until  the 
Priest — normally  of  course  the  celebrant — haa  himself  partaken  of 
the  Victim  offered,  sub  utraque  specie.    Whilst  the  the(^gians  who 

1  De  Defectibos,  iii.  7,  x.  7. 


Corretpondenee.  265 

dIsKDt  from  this  oplnioi),  hold  that  sncfa  Communion  pertains  at 
u;  nl6  to  the  inl^ritj'  of  the  Sacrifice. — (Cool  S.  Alpbons.  Th. 
Hor.  L.  vi.  n.  191.  Qu.  2.  et  n.  305j. 

3.  It  would  seem  to  be  at  least  incongruous,  and  out  of 
iunnony  with  the  mystical  sense  and  order  of  the  Holy  Mysteries, 
•9  prescribed  by  the  Church, — and  it  ia  difficult  alwaya  to  determine 
wliat  herein  is  aimply  of  ecclesiastical,  and  what  of  divine  institu- 
tion,— to  remove  from  the  Altar  any  of  the  Sacred  Species  which  all 
ftr  taodum  tiniiu  is  the  matter  of  the  Sacrifice,  anil  therewith  to 
communicate  the  faithful,  before  the  priest  who  offers  has  com* 
pkted  the  Sacrifice,  and  himself  duly  partaken  of  the  Feast. 

4.  If  all  the  particlea  on  the  Altar  are  to  be  regarded  as 
nmnerically  one  and  the  aaaie  adaequata  materia  rub  &pteie  panig, 
ptr  modum  uni'uj,  they  form  equally  with  the  large  Host,  the 
afjtctvm  adaeqvatma  of  all  the  prayers  and  rites  after  the  Consecra- 
tioiL  as  thev  did  in  the  Offertory  and  in   the  Consecration,  even 

«rnally  and  manually  to  the  large 
be  words: — " De  tuts  dtmis  ac 
tanctam,  Hosiiam  immaculatam, 
—Supra  quae  propitio  ac  sereno 
pta  habere. — Jube  haec  per/erri, 
it'ne  semper  boita  areas,  saactiiiea», 
uded  all  the  Sacred  Species  of 
ifice.  Consequently  the  prayers 
ics,  which  are  of  greater  than 
e  truncated,  so  far  as  any  part  of 
he  Altar  and  given  in  Communion 
rued ;  or,  perhaps  I  should  rather 
1  rites  would  have  derived  their 
such  Sacred  Species; — for  in  this 
!  nature  and  force  of  the  mystical 

acrifice  after  the  Consecration 
to  all  tlie  Sacred  Species  on  the 
J :  "  £/(  quotquot  ex  hac  Altarig 
tut  Corpus  et  Sanguinem  sump' 
as  comroentators  explain  it — a 
the  days  when  it  was  the  normal 
rticles  should  be  consecrated  for 
e  during  Mass,  and  which  would 
if  tlie  Sacred  Species  consecrated 
il  had  been  already  removed  from 

nuch  reason,  and  so  for  as  I  have 
Ktiption  for  all  the  sacred  species 
Lltar-stone),  throughout  the  Mass 


266  Correspondence. 

• 
from  the  Altar  until  the  Sacrifice  is  consummated  hj  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Priest. 

Nor  have  I  seen  that  any  anticipation  or  postponement  of  the 
people's  Communion  is  alluded  to  or  recognised  hj  Authors,  except 
that  befoie  or  after  Mass  for  a  causa  rationahilis, 

7.  Communion  given  as  referred  to  by  R.  must  be  either 
Communio  intra  Mtssam,  or  extra  Missani^  or  neither  of  these, 
but  s%Lx  generis. 

If  intra  Missam,  then  evidently  the  rubrics  are  flagrantly 
violated,  as  this  is  prescribed  to  be  given  by  the  celebrant  after  his 
own  Communion. 

If  extra  Missam^  the  rubrics  are  equally  violated,  as  they 
prescribe  that  the  Priest  is  to  give  Communion  from  the  Pyxis  or 
Ciborium  in  the  Tabernacle,  as  well  as  the  ceremonies  to  be 
observed  in  its  administration. 

If  neither,  but  sni  generis,  it  is  unrecognised  by  the  Church  in 
her  Liturgy,  Ritual,  Rubrics,  Decrees  and  Authors,  is  merely  of 
private  institution,  and  consequently  is  self-condemned. 

If  the  practice  referred  to  were  lawful,  and  pnly  objectionable 
on  account  of  the  disturbance  of  the  congregation ;  then  cleariy  it 
would  be  legitimate  and  preferable  too,  even  when  consecrated 
particles  were  in  the  Tabernacle ;  since  less  disturbance  would  arise 
from  simply  taking  a  Ciborium  off  the  Altar  during  Mass  than  by 
opening  the  Tabernacle,  and  taking  it  thence. 

6.  The  administration  of  Holy  Communion,  as  in  some  cases 
practised  during  Holy  Mass,  from  a  Ciborium  in  the  Tabernacle, 
appears  to  me  very  different,  and  to  rest  on  entirely  other  grounds. 
It  happens  sometimes  that  there  is  a  General  Communion,  perhaps 
of  2,000  persons,  members  of  a  Confraternity,  when  it  would  be 
impossible  for  them  to  communicate  otherwise  than  during  Mass 
without  grave  inconvenience,  and  disarranging  the  order  of  the 
parochial  Masses.  In  such  a  case  Communion  is  given  by  one  or 
more  Priests  from  the  commencement  of  Mass  ;  or  after  the 
Consecration,  at  the  time  of  the  celebrant^s  Memento  for  the  dead, 
when  the  pause  does  not  interfere  with  the  ritual,  a  Priest  takes 
the  Ciborium  from  the  Tabernacle,  and  the  prescribed  rite  for 
Communion  extra  Missam  is  observed.  An  exceptional  case  like 
this  appears  to  me  one  which  may  be  legitimately  dealt  with  by  the 
local  authorities. 

The  above  considerations  I  submit  respectfully  for  correction, 
more  particularly  as  just  now  I  have  no  opportunity  of  consulting 
Authors  or  Decrees. — Your  obedient  servant,  C. 

P.S.  — Since  writing  this  letter,  a  friend  has  f umbhed  me  with 
the  following  passage  from  De  Lugo,  De  Euch.  disp.  20,  sect.  2, 
n.  68,  who,  after  deciding  that  not  only  the  large  Host,  but  the 
others  also  should  be  on  the  altar-stone,  not  only  at  the  moment  of 
Consecration,  but  afterwards,  draws  this  conclusion  : 

'^  Unde  obiter  infero,  minus  rite  facere  aliquos,  quos  vidi  statim 


Correspondence,  267 

post  consecrationem  dare  vas  cum  particnlis  consecratis  alteri 
sacerdotit ut  eas  in  alio  altari  populo  distribuat.  Hoc  inqoam  non  rite 
fit :  nam  sicut  ex  hostia  sua  Sacerdos  non  debet  dare  partem  usque  ad 
finem  sacnficii,  et  non  minus  offeruntur  quam  hostia  major ;  et  ideo 
onmes  orationes,  oblat^ones  et  benedictiones  frequentes  aeque 
gpeetani  ad  illas :  nee  ante  sumptionem  a  Sacerdote  est  victima 
perfecte  et  integre  sacrificata.  Minus  etiam  congruit,  ut  alius 
participet  prius  de  sacrificio,  quam  ipse  Sacerdos»  qui  est  princi- 
paliter  offerens,  et  sacrificans  respectu  aliorum.  Unde  in  omnibus 
Litorgiis  et  Ritualibus  ac  Begulis  antiquis  semper  primo  loco 
ponitur  communio  sacerdotis  celebrantis,  et  postea  communio 
cleri  et  populi,  nee  videtur  ille  ordo  facile  pervertendus." 

My  attention  has  been  also  called  to  Gury,  Cos,  Consctent. 
P.  11. 262, 265.  But  I  must  leave  it  to  others  to  ^cover,  in  his  own 
Compendium  n,  407,  or  in  Ve  Herdt — ^the  only  authorities  he  there 
refers  to— any  trace  of  the  doctrine,  he  says  De  Herdt  asserts,  viz., 
that  when  a  priest  is  justified  in  interrupting  the  Sacrifice  after 
the  Consecration  in  favour  of  a  moribund,  he  may  generally  (as 
Gury  would  seem  to  intimate)  give  him  Communion ;  and,  in  the 
case  he  does  so,  communicate  him  either  with  a  small  Host,  conse- 
crated  in  that  MaeSj  or  with  a  fragment  of  the  large  Host,  hefort 
hii  otrni  Communion. — Conf.  De  Herdt,  De  Defectihue  Missce, 
174-177.  C. 

We  thank  our  revered  correspondent  for  his  learned 
letter,  in  which  he  dissents  from  our  opinion,  viz. — that,  if 
there  be  a  causa  rationabilis  to  justify  the  departure  from 
the  rubrical  order,  a  priest  may  take  the  cibonum  from  the 
altar  after  the  consecration  in  a  mass  which  another  priest 
is  celebrating,  and  distribute  from  it  the  Holy  Communion. 

We  shall  return  to  this  letter  again,  but  for  the  present 
we  beg  to  point  out  to  our  correspondent  that  in  the  very 
passage  cited  by  him,  De  Lugo;  though  differing  as  to  the 
question  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  Mass,  insinuates  that  he 
holds  the  opinion  expressed  by  us  in  the  Record.  De  Lugo 
says  that  he  has  seen  this  method  of  giving  communion, 
and  the  severest  words  of  censure  he  has  for  those  who 
practised  it,  are  minus  rite  facere^  minus  congruit^  "  nee 
videtur  ille  ordo  (in  ritualibus  praescriptus)  facile  perverten- 
dusJ*  Plainly,  then,  if,  in  the  ease  he  witnessed,  there  was 
a  causa  rationabilis  for  this  departure  from  the  usual  order, 
the  procedure  would  be,  in  his  opinion,  quite  justifiable. 
This  conclusion  is  clearly  stated  by  Cavalieri  {Tom.  iv.. 

Dee,  xi.-  rtan.  Ixiv-  n.  6^  who   Adnntfl  fViA  n-nininn  nr\A  avati 


268  Liturgical  Questions. 

illos  qui  peracta  consecratione  recondunt  pyxidem  intra 
tabemactuuin,  vel  earn  extra  aram  super  aiiud  corporale 
eollocant.  Multo  magis  reprehendi  veniunt,  qui,  nulla 
urgente  necessitate^  statim  post  consecrationem  distnbaunt 
populo  particxilas  consecratas  quae,  cum  pertineant  ad 
idem  sacrificium,  non  licet  eas  dispensare  fidelibus,  nisi 
peracto  eodem  sacrificio.  Quod  si^  urgente  aliqua  necessitate^ 
statim  post  consecrationem  pyxis  adaliud  altare^  vel  ad  infiitnos 
deportari  deheat,  idpraestet  sacerdos  alter  y  etcelebransretrahat 
se  interim  ad  cornu  Evangelii,  &c.  We  then  were  not 
incorrect  when  we  wrote  in  the  RECORD  "  that  theologians 
do  not  teach  absolutelt/y  that  the  particles  may  not  be 
removed  from  the  altar  before  the  communion  of  the 
priest." 

What  would  amount  to  a  **  causa  rationabilis "  in  a 
particular  case  is  a  question  chiefly  for  the  local  authojities. 

R.  B. 


LITURGICAL  QUESTIONS. 
Recent  Decisions. 

I.  Regarding  the  Ceremony  of  Ordination, 
.     II.  Regarding  the  Ceremony  of  Benediction  after  Vespers. 

Salpeen. 

Rmus  Dnus  Edmundus  Knight  Episcopus  Salopien.  Sacrae 
Rituum  Congregationi  insequentia  dubia  pro  opportuna  declaratione 
hiimillime  subjccit : 

Dub.  I.  In  Opere  R.  P.  D.  Martinucci,  cui  titulus  Manuale 
Sacrar.  Caeremoniarum  (lib.  vii.,  cap.  2,  n.  47)  de  inhibitione  dis- 
cedendi,  quse  legitur  ab  Arcbidiacono  ante  Ordinationes,  dicitor 
'*  Si  ordinatio  peragetur  ab  Episcopo  extraneo,  ex  mandato 
Episcopi  ordinarii,  legetur  semper  praodictum  mandatum  nomine 
Episcopi  ordinarii.'*  Quaeritur  quomodo  sit  legenda  haec  inhibitao, 
si  ordinatio  fiat  ab  Episcopo  extraneo,  servatis  servandis,  tempore 
sedis  vacantis  ?  An  sit  nominandus  Episcopus  extraneus,  seu  potios 
Vicarius  Capitularis  ? 

Et  quatenus  affirmative  ad  secundam  partem,  quibus  verbid  sit 
nominandus  ? 

m 

Dub.  II.  Ritus  servandus  in  Expositione  et  Benedictione 
Sanctissimi  Sacramenti,  auctoritate  Concilii  primi  Provincialia 
approbatus  praecipit  ut  sacerdos,  superpelliceo  indutus  utatur 
amictu,  et  adjungit.    Si  expositio  Sanctissimi  Sacrament!  imme* 


Liturgical  Questions.  269 

diate  seqnatnr  aliud  Officium  Diyinam,  et  Sacerdos,  pluviali  colon 

Officio  carrenti  respondentis  indutns,  non  recedat  ab  Altari,  tunc 

paramentis  non  mutatis,  velum  humerale  albi  col6ris  assumatur. 

Quatenos  vero  recedat,   et  expositio   habeatur  tanquam  functio 

£stincta  ab  officio  praecedenti,  paramenta  albi  coloris  adhibeantur. 

Nee  tamen  improbaiidus  usus  aasumendi  pluviale  album  pro  exposi* 

tione  Sanctissimi  Sacramenti,  etiam  si  ipsa  immediate  sequatur 

Officiom,  cui  competit  color  diversus.     Quando  Benedictio  Sanctis* 

simi  Sacramenti  immediate  sequatur  Yesperas  solemniter  cantatas^ 

et  paramenta  non  sint  mutanda,  quaeritur  an  foret  contra  Deere tum 

geoerale  Sacrae  ipsius  Congregation!  diei  7  Septembris  1816,  si 

^acerdos,  antequam  induat  pluviale  pro  Vesperis,  simul  sumat 

amictam  et  stolam  propter  Benedictionem,  quae  Yesperas  statim 

secutura  est?     £t  quatenus   hoc   sit  prohibitum,   quaeritur  an 

Sacerdos  pluviali  indutus  ^pud  Altare,  illud  deponere  et  resumere 

debeat,  sumptis  interim  amictu  et  stola,  et  hoc  etiamsi  paramenta 

noa  sint  albi  coloris  ? 

Et  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio  ad  relationem  infrascripti  Secre- 
tarii  exquisito  voto  alterius  ex  Apostolicarum  Caeremoniarum 
llagistris  omnibus  accurate  perpensis,  ita  rescribendum  censuit : 

Ad  I.  Inhibitio  legenda  est  nomine  Yicarii  Capitularis  hisce 
verbis:  "RmusDnus  N.  N.  hujus Dioecesis,  Sede  vacante,  Vicarius 
Capitularis  deputatus,  sub  excommunicationis  poena  praecipit,  &c." 
Ad  II.  licet  sumere  amictum  et  stolam  ante  Yesperas,  si  ante 
Vesperas  fiat  Expositio,  et  Benedictio  immediate  illas  sequatur. 
Atque  ita  rescripsit  die  19  Septembris  1883. 

Pro  Emo  et  Kmo  Dno  Card,  D.  Bartolini,  S.RC.  Praefecto. 

C.  Card,  di  Pietro,  Episc.  Ostien  et  Velitem.  ' 

We  are  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Knight,  Bishop  of  Shrewsbury,  for  a  copy  of  the  foregoing 
important  decisions  obtained  in  reply  to  questions  sub- 
mitted by  him  to  the  Congregation  of  Rites. 

L  The  first  decision  will  have  a  special  interest  for 
bishops  and  for  priests  who  may  be  engaged  as  the  arch- 
deacon in  the  ceremony  of  ordination.  It  declares  that 
when  a  bishop  is  invited  to  confer  Orders  in  a  vacant 
fiocese,  the  mhibition  to  the  Ordinandi  read  by  the 
archdeacon  should  be  made  in  the  name  of  the  Vicar- 
Capitular.  The  decision  confirms  by  insinuation  the 
teaching  of  Martinucci  referred  to  in  the  question,  namely, 
that  when  a  bishop  is  invited  to  confer  Orders  in  another 
diocese,  this  inhibition  to  the  Ordinandi  should  be  made  in 
the  name  c*  *^'^  bishop  of  the  diocese  and  not  of  the  con- 


270  Liturgical  Questional 

beginning  of  Vespers,  provided  he  has  to  expose  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  before  V^espers  and  to  give  Benediction 
immediately  after  them. 

But  there  are  other  points  of  liturgy  which  receive 
confirmation  from  this  decision,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  questions  to  which  it  is  given  as  an  answer.  First,  we 
infer  that  it  is  not  permitted  to  wear  the  amict  and  stole 
under  the  cope  at  vespers,  when  the  Vespers  are  imme- 
diately followed  by  Benediction,  but  are  not  preceded  by 
Exposition.  For,  when  asked  whether  this  is  lawful,  the 
Congregation  does  not  answer  affirmative  before  it  has 
inserted  an  additional  condition  of  its  own — namely,  the 
Exposition  before  the  Vespers.  This  is  manifestly  equiva- 
lent to  a  negative  answer  to  the  bare  question  submitted 
to  it ;  and  this  negative  answer  is  in  harmony  with  the 
common  teaching  of  the  rubricists. 

2.  The  Congregation,  by  not  telling  us  directly  what 
vestments  are  to  be  worn  by  the  priest  at  Benediction 
when  it  follows  Vespers  immediately,  leaves  us  to  the 
direction  of  the  approved  rubricists  in  this  matter.  Now, 
what  do  they  prescribe?  I  shall  quote  from  a  few  of 
them : — 

Baudry*  describes  the  vestments  of  the  celebrant  at 
Benediction  thus : — "  Sacerdos  cotta,  aut  alba  cum  stola 
aut  etiam  pluviaU  indutus ;  "*  and  when  explaining  the 
Benediction  ceremony  after  Vespers,  the  only  additiou 
which  he  requires  to  be  made  to  the  Vespers  (Lress  of  the 
celebrant  is  a  stole.  Now  an  amict  is  not  worn  under  the 
cope  at  Vespers. 

Likewise,  Baldeschi,  when  describing  the  same  cere- 
mony of  Benediction  after  Vespers,  orders  the  use  of  the 
stole,  and  makes  no  mention  of  the  amict. 

A.ccording  to  De  Herdt,  the  vestments  of  the  celebrant 
at  Benediction  are — ^the  surplice,  stole,  and,  when  it  can  be 
bad,  the  cope.* 

Neither  does  Martinucci  mention  the  amict  as  one  of 
the  Benediction  vestments  when  the  celebrant  uses  the 
surplice.  He  describes  the  ceremony  in  at  least  three 
parts  of  his  work.  In  one  he  writes :  "  Celebrans  siqier 
vestem  talarem  induct  sibi  superpelliceum,  stolam^  et 
pluviale*; "  in  another :  "Praeparabitur  in  sacrario  pluviale 

*  De  Festo  Corp.  Christi,  Art.  ix.,  n.  1.  •i6W.  Art.  vl,  n.  1. 

*  Tom.  n.,  cap.  yiL,  Art.  i.,  n.  5.    (Italian  edition.) 
^  Sacrae  Liturgiae  Praxis.    Tom.  ii.,  n.  26. 

*  lib.  I,  cap.  xiii,  §  ii. 


Noticea  of  Booh.  271 

cum  stola  albi  colons,  superpelliceum  et  biretum  pro 
celebrante."^ 

M.  Jos.  Aertnys  also  writes :  "  Sacerdos  superpelliceo, 
stola,  et,  si  placeat,  etiam  pluviale  indutos  erit."  Finally, 
we  have  the  authority  of  Mon.De  Conny*  and  Le  Yavasseur,* 
neither  of  whom  mentions  the  amict  as  a  part  ol  the  Bene- 
diction dress  when  the  surplice  is  worn. 

To  sum  up.  None  of  the  many  rubricists  whom  we 
have  consulted,  recommends  that  the  amict,  as  well  as  the 
stole,  should  be  put  on  by  the  celebrant  after  Vespers 
when  Benediction  follows  immediately. 

Moreover,  it  will  be  seen  that  none  of  the  highly- 
approved  authors  whom  we  have  cited  states  that  the 
amict  is  to  be  worn  imder  the  surplice  at  Benediction  when 
celebrated  as  a  separate  ceremony.  Seeing  that  the  Con- 
gregation of  Bit^  in  the  decree  pven  above,  uses  the 
word  licet,  and  does  not  impose  an  obligation,  we  conclude 
that  we  may  still  follow  the  direction  of  those  approved 
ritualists  in  this  matter.  j^  BROWNE. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Earhj  Christian  Symbolism.  Br  J.  Spencer  Northcotf,  D.D., 
Canon  of  Birmingham,  and  W.  R.  Brownlow,  M.A.,  Canon 
of  Plymouth.    London :  Eeegan  Paul  &  Co. 

This  is  the  first  number  of  a  very  remarkable  work,  to  be  com- 
pleted in  eight  monthly  parts,  and  edited  by  two  gentlemen  whose 
eminent  services  in  the  cause  of  Christian  archaeology  famish  a 
^cient  guarantee  that  this  work,  like  the  others  in  which  they 
have  been  engaged,  will  be  well  done. 

The  coloured  drawings  from  the  Catacombs,  originally  executed 
by  Mr.  W.  Palmer,  the  "  true  and  loyal  friend  of  Cardinal  Newman," 
jve  here  reproduced  with  wonderful  accuracy  of  outline  and  beauty 
of  colouring.  The  letterpress,  too,  explains  the  symbolism  of  the 
compositions,  and,  furthermore,  gives  a  key  for  the  interpretation  of 
^ilar  monuments  of  art.  It  is  really  wonderful  how  much  sacred 
significance  these  coloured  plates  are  shown  to  possess  when  exam- 
ined under  the  luminous  guidance  of  the  accomplished  editors. 
"Hus  work  must  entail  considerable  expense  on  the  publishers,  and 


272  Notices  of  Books. 

The  Baptism  of  the  King.    By  the  Rev.  H.  J.  Colebidge,  S.J. 

London :  Burns  &  Oates. 

It  is  quite  superfluous  for  us  to  bestow  any  praises  on  Father 
Coleridge's  literary  labours  in  the  service  of  the  Church.  Every 
one  knows  that  in  all  his  books  he  communicates  solid  instruction 
in  a  chaste  and  noble  style,  which  eminently  befits  the  subject.  We 
would  call  special  attention  to  the  present  work,  because  it  emi- 
nently suits  the  present  time.  It  is  a  series  of  meditations  on  the 
Passion  of  Christ :  but  these  '^  Considerations  aim  at  treating  the 
Sacred  Passion  in  the  light  of  general  truths  rather  than  by  Uie 
way  of  meditation  on  the  details  of  the  history,  one  after  another." 
Considerations  of  this  general  character  will  give  the  work  a  wider 
sphere  of  utility,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  very  gene- 
rally welcomed,  not  only  by  priests  and  nuns,  but  also  by  the  body 
of  the  faithful.  They  will  find  it  a  most  suitable  book  for  perusal, 
especially  during  the  Passion  time  now  at  hand.  J.  H. 

"  LandSales^  Ireland,'*  by  the  Messrs.  Fottrell— (Dublin.  M.  H. 
Gill  &  Son) — appears  to  us  to  be  an  excellent  work,  not  only  for 
lawyers,  but  also  for  all  who  contemplate  purchasing  their  farms 
under  the  late  Acts  of  Parliament.  The  real  security  for  Ireland's 
peace  and  future  prosperity  lies  in  the  creation  of  a  peasant  pro- 
prietary, as  men  of  all  classes  now  admit.  Priests,  who  are  anxious 
to  aid  their  parishioners  by  their  advice  and  tosistance  in  bring* 
ing  about  this  desirable  object,  will  find  this  little  work  very  usef  uL 
It  will  furnish  them  with  all  the  information  they  can  possibly 
require,  and  in  the  smallest  compass. 

"  The  Culture  of  the  Spiritual  Sense"-<i>[ew  York,Steiger  &Co.) 
— is  an  address  delivered  to  the  senior  students  of  Bock  Hill  Ccl- 
lege,  in  the  United  States.  The  author.  Brother  Azarias,  develops 
his  conceptions  regarding  the  supernatural  in  mem  with  much  force 
and  beauty.  His  motto — Signatum  est  super  nos  lumen  vultus 
tui  Domine — ogives  the  key-note  to  the  entire  address.  It  is  Locke 
Christianized  and  supematuralized,  and  may  be  read  with  pleasure 
and  profit. 


We  have  also  received  to  be  noticed  in  our  next : — 

1.  Transactions  of  the  Ossory  Archseologkal  Society, 

2.  The  Olories  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Sttccour,     Translated  from 

the  French.    By  the  Rev.  Thomas  Livius,  C.S.S.B. 

3.  Flowers  from  the  Garden,    Burns  &  Gates. 


We  have  to  apologise  to  our  correspondents  for  holding,  over  seveml 
interesting  questions,  which,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  other  matter,  we 
cannot  answer  in  the  present  issue. — Editor. 


THE   IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


MAY,  1884 


JURISDICTION  AND  RESERVED  CASES- 

THE  following  notes  were  put  together,  not  because  the 
writer  thinks  he  has  any  new  light  to  throw  on  such  an 
old  qnestios.  All  has  been  said  long  since  that  can  be 
said  at  all,  perhaps  more  than  ought  to  have  been  said. 
There  may  be  some  who  can  spare  neither  time  nor  patience 
to  read  through  the  controversy ;  and  surely  one  would 
require  a  fair  stock  of  both  commodities  for  that  purpose, 
For  it  is  not  enough  to  read,  even  with  attention;  one  should 
examine  each  point  separately  and  distinctly,  and  balance  the 
arguments  for  and  against  What  adds  to  the  difficulty  is, 
that  the  real  question  at  issue  is  frequently  forgotten,  and  the 
controversy  sinks  into  a  petty  dispute  as  to  what  Cajetan 
or  Navarre,  or  some  other  theologian  taught,  when  it  is 
really  of  very  little  consequence  what  his  opinion  may 
have  been.  This  paper  aims  at  a  plain  and  substantial 
statement  of  the  case  for  such  readers  as  wish  to  avoid,  as 
far  as  possible,  intricacy  of  detaiL 

1.  Can  a  bishop  prohibit  his  subjects,  under  pain  of 
invalidity,  from  confessing  outside  his  diocese? 

This  question  is  the  first  here  proposed,  because  it  serves 
to  introduce  the  larg^er  and  more  practical  controversies 
about  reserved  cases.  In  itself  it  is  speculative  and  of  very 
little  importatioe.    * 

Gury's  answer  varies  with  the  various  editions.  In 
those  edited  by  Father  Ballerini,  he  distinguishes  between 
the  regulars  and  seculars ;  and  whilst  admitting  that  bishops 
cannot  prevent  their  subjects  from  going  to  the  former,  he 
holds  that  they  have  power  to  invalidate  confessions  made  ^ 
to  the  latter — ^that  is,  to  the  secular  clergy.  In  other 
editions  there  is  no  such  distinction ;  it  is  laid  down  abso- 
lutely that,  aa  the  bishop  does  not  supply  jurisdiction  in 

VOL.  V.  X 


274  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

such  cases,  he  has  no  power  to  refuse  it,  and  thereby  iDval- 
idate  the  confessions.^ 

Let  us  confine  our  attention  to  the  seculars.  Can  a 
bishop  prevent  his  subjects,  under  pain  of  invalidity,  from 
going  to  confession  to  the  secular  clergy  outside  the  dio- 
cese t 

He  can,  if  he  and  he  alone  supplies  the  necessary  juris- 
diction; otherwise  he  can  not.  This  everyone  admits. 
The  question  thus  depends  on  another — who  supplies  the 
jurisdiction  in  such  cases  ?     Here  is  the  real  controversy. 

Let  us  see  what  is  the  histoiy  of  the  question. 

For  two  or  three  centuries,  at  least,  it  has  been  the 
practice  of  confessors  to  absolve  all  who  come  to  confes- 
sion with  the  proper  dispositions.  No  one  ever  thinks  of 
inquiring  whether  the  penitent  is  from  the  diocese  or  not- 
It  was  not  always  so. 

In  the  middle  ages,  when  anyone  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  from  home  for  a  short  time,  the  first  thing  he  had  to  do 
was  to  obtain  leave  to  go.  This  permission  he  got  from  his 
parish  priest  or  bishop.  As  no  long  journey  can  be  made 
as  it  ought  to  be  without  occasional  confession^  those  who 
get  this  permission  to  go  from  home  had  power  to  select  a 
confessor  while  away.  It  was  the  penitent's  superior  who 
gave  this  confessor  the  necessary  jurisdiction. 

At  the  period  in  question  no  one  ever  thought  of  juris- 
diction being  supplied  by  the  Pope.  It  was  not  necessary 
that  he  should  interfere.  The  local  sup^or  always  gave 
the  necessary  faculties,  just  ajs  now  they  give  what  might 
be  called  permission  to  get  married ;  and  if  they  did  not  do 
80,  no  secular  priest  would  think  of  hearing  the  confession 
of  a  stranger,  except  in  danger  of  death.  No  priest  coidd 
absolve  such  a  person,  just  as  we  cannot  now  marry  people 
without  the  paiish  priest's  permission.* 

^  In  the  Ratisbon  editions,  or  the  editions  published  in  Rome  in 
1862,  and  again  in  1872-78. 

*  This  is  admitted  by  everyone :  hence  it  is  not  necessary  to  quote 
authorities.  Let  one  or  two  suffice: — Concordant  in  hoc  sciL  quod 
peregrini  ...  si  non  habent  licentiam  a  suis  curatis  .  .  .  vel 
sine  licentia  eorum  iter  arripiunt,  non  possunt  ab  aliis  absoln.  .  .  . 
8i  autem  de  licentia  eorum  profecti  sunt,  eo  ipso  habent  interpretatiyam 
licentiam  confitendi,  cum  sine  confessione  digne  peregrinari  non  queant.'' 
St.  Antoninus  (P.  3,  tit.  17.  c.  4.)  "  Si  peregrini  acceperunt  peram  et 
baculum  a  propiiis  sacerdotibus,  sive  aliter  de  eorum  licentia  iter  arri- 
piunt, praesumendum  est  datam  eis  esse  licentiam  confitendi  . 
Si  autem  sine  licentia  proprii  sacerdotis  peregrinantur,  non  possunt 
absolvi  ab  alio  nisi  in  necessitate.''   Summa  Fisana  (v.  confessio  iii.). 


Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases.  275 

After  some  time  travelling  became  more  common,  owing 
to  the  increased  facilities  of  communication.  People  left 
home  so  frequently  that  it  was  found  to  be  a  serious  incon- 
venience to  be  obliged  to  obtain  the  necessary  permission. 
The  result  was  that  they  went  away  without  it.  Ecclesias- 
tical superiors  had  only  one  means  of  asserting  their  rights 
—to  refuse  faculties  for  absolution.  They  did  refuse  for  a 
time;  but  the  remedy  was  not  without  its  danger.  It  was 
found  after  a  little  that  the  days  of  ecclesiastical  perrais- 
siom*  had  gone  by  ;  that,  rightly  or  wrongly,  the  faithful 
would  no  longer  seek  them.  Was  it  well  to  prevent  people 
from  going  to  confession  at  a  time  when  they  were  most  in 
need  of  the  sacrament,  when  they  were  away  from  home  ? 
The  true  remedy  was,  not  the  refusal  of  faculties,  but  the 
abolition  of  the  permissions ;  and  accordingly  it  came  to  be 
recognised  that,  whether  one  had  obtained  permission  or 
not,  one  might  go  to  confession. 

It  is  not  easy  to  specify  the  exact  time  at  which  the 
new  practice  commenced.  It  was  unknown  in  the  days  of 
St  i\jitoninus,  who  teaches  expressly,  that  such  travellers 
must  abstain  f^om  confession  if  they  have  not  obtained  the 
necessary  permission.  St.  Antoninus  died  in  the  year 
1459,  ten  years  before  the  birth  of  Cajetan,  who  was  the 
occasion,  if  not  the  cause,  of  a  departure  from  the  ancient 
Qsage.  Cajetan  alleged  an  oral  decision  of  Eugene  IV., 
in  which  the  Pontiff  declared  that,  in  Paschal  time,  pere- 
^rini  were  to  be  treated  as  the  ordinary  inhabitants  of  the 
place,  and  could  go  to  confession.  This  caught  the  atten- 
tion of  Dominic  Soto,  who  Uved  shortly  after  Cajetan,  and 
was  at  the  Council  of  Trent.  Soto  extended  Pope  Eugene's 
declaration  to  the  whole  year  round.  The  new  doctrine 
was  approved  by  other  theologians ;  it  was  said  by  Suarez 
to  be  sufficiently  sanctioned  by  custom,  and  thus  passed  into 
the  universal  practice  of  confessors.  The  change  took 
pbfcce  about  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Trent. 

To  come  back  to  our  question :  for  the  absolution  of 
peregrini  we  may  conceive  four  sources  of  jurisdiction : — 
(1)  the  bishop  of  the  confessor;  (2)  the  bishop  of  the 
penitent ;  (3)  an  unanimous  consent  of  all  the  bishops  of 
the  Church,  excluding  the  penitent's  own  bishop  and  the 
Pope ;  (4)  the  Pope. 


276  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

enjoyed,  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  well  as  now.  If  the  Pope 
wished,  he  could,  of  course,  enlarge  bishops'  jurisdiction  in 
this  matter,  giving  them  authority  over  peregiini ;  and 
such  supplementary  authority  would  be  ardinary^  and 
might  be  delegated.  But  it  is  much  more  convenient  to 
regard  any  such  supplementary  power  as  coming  fron>  the 
Pope,  not  as  vested  in  the  bishops. 

Why  is  it  said  that  the  power  of  absolving  peregrini 
does  not  come  from  the  conlesst^r's  bishop?  Because  he 
has  no  power  to  give,  as  is  manifest  from  the  history  of  the 
question.  According  to  the  old  discipline,  no  bishop  could 
absolve  aperegriniiSj  except  the  penitent  had  got  permission 
from  his  own  superior  to  set  out  on  his  journey.  Why  ! 
Because  a  bishop  had  no  jurisdiction  over  peregrini.  And 
if  he  himself  was  not  able  to  absolve  a  penitent  without  the 
consent  of  the  penitent's  superior,  how  could  he  delegate 
power  to  another  ? 

The  authors  of  the  "  Vindiciae "  do  not  deny  these 
statements.  Their  contention  is  that  the  discipline  of  the 
(church  has  changed,  thereby  admitting  the  former  pre- 
valence of  the  custom  which  has  been  mentioned.^  The 
Sower  of  .the  bishops  is  the  same  now  as  it  was  in  the 
[iddle  Ages ;  at  that  time  they  could  not  absolve  peni- 
tents from  another  diocese  without  delegation :  neither  can 
they  now. 

Let  it  be  carefully  borne  in  mind  that  this  is  to  be 
understood  of  the  power  which  the  bishops  always  possessed^ 
If,  as  St.  Alphonsus  suggests,  the  Pope  has  made  peregrini 
sufficiently  subject,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Sacrament  of 
Penance,  to  the  bishops  of  the  various  places  in  which 
they  may  wish  to  go  to  confession,  of  course  such  bishops 
would,  as  has  been  said,  have  ordinary  jurisdiction  over 
such  penitents,  and  could  delegate  it  to  their  priests.  But 
it  is  much  simpler  to  regard  jurisdiction  in  that  ca«e  as 
coming,  not  from  the  bishop,  but  from  the  Pope.  And  this 
is  quite  true.  For  it  does  not  form  a  part  of  that  power 
which  bishops  possessed  always^  and  of  which  there  is 
question  just  at  present. 

(2.)  It  follows  as  equally  certain  that  all  the  bishops  of 
the  Church,  exclusive  of  the  Pope  and  the  penitent's  own 

1 "  Peregrini  ....  hodie  non  ampUus  abBolrantur  ex  yoluntate 
Buorum  Episcoporum/'  St.  Alph.  n.  588,  of  course  approved  by  the 
W. ;  they  approve  a  like  expreBsion  of  Bonacina^s  ^Q.  Al.>  a.  2>  n.  6), 
and,  indeed,  the  &ame  ia  approved  in  many  places. 


Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases.  277 

bishop,  cannot,  by  any  agreement,  confer  the  power  of 
9bBo\ying  peregrini. 

The  reason  is  manifest.  No  individual  has  the  least 
power  over  such  a  penitent ;  how  can  the  collection  have 
any?  If  all  the  bishops  of  the  Church  met  in  sj^'nod, 
exclusive  of  the  Pope  and  the  bishop  of  any  individual, 
they  would  not  be  able  to  bind  that  person  by  any  law  or 
precept.  In  like  manner  they  could  not  absolve  him  from 
nisBiDS. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  one  may  be  sufficiently  subject 
for  the  purposes  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  though 
independent  of  contentious  jurisdiction.  That  is  not  so. 
If  it  were,  it  would  have  been  so  in  tho  fifteenth  century 
as  well  as  now ;  but  it  was  not  so  then,  as  has  been  shown. 
The  expression  is  used  by  St.  Alponsus  ;^  but  he  means 
that  the  Pope  has  made  pereqrini  sufficiently  subject ;  so 
that,  when  they  go  to  confession,  it  is  no  longer  their  own 
bishop  but  the  bishop  of  the  confessor  who  supplies 
jurisdiction.  If  the  Pope  has  made  such  a  transfer,  the 
expression  is  intelligible  and  correct;  but  then,  as  has 
been  so  frequently  said,  it  is  much  simpler  to  regard  the 
jurisdiction  in  that  case  as  coming  from  the  Pope  and  not 
from  the  bishop.  It  is  only  per  accidens  that  the  bishop 
enjoys  it. 

(3.)  The  bishop  of  the  penitent  can  give  power  to 
priests  all  over  the  world  to  absolve  his  subjects. 

This  was  the  usual  custom  formerly,  as  every  one 
admita  No  one  would  think  of  saying  that  the  power 
ha^  been  withdrawn  from  the  bishops. 

(4.)  The  Pope  can  give  any  priest  jurisdiction  over  any 
penitent. 

He  may  do  so  in  two  ways ;  either  giving  it  immediately 
to  the  priest,  or,  as  St.  Alphonsus  suggests,  mediately 
through  the  priest's  bishop,  making  the  penitent  subject  to 
that  bishop  for  the  purposes  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance. 

Thus  we  find  that  there  are  only  two  sources  from 
which  jurisdiction  over  peregrini  may  come, — from  the 
Pope  or  the  bishop  of  the  penitent  Either  may  supply 
it ;  by  which  is  it  actually  suppUed  ? 

Here  we  come  to  tne  real  question, — the  question  of 
fact.    One  should  take  care  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  point 


278  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

all  that  Father  Ballerini  has  written  in  proof  of  this 
doctrine  is  quite  irrelevant.  Neither  does  any  one  contend 
that  custom,  per  se  and  independently  of  a  superior's  con- 
sent,  can  supply  jurisdiction.  The  real  question  is :— how 
many  superiors  capable  of  supplying  jurisdiction  has  the 
penitent  ?  and  is  it.  supplied  oy  all,  or  only  by  some  one 
or  more  of  them  ? 

The  first  part  has  been  already  answered.  There  are 
two,  and  only  two  such  superiors — the  Pope  and  the 
penitent's  bishop.  The  second  part  requires  to  be  investi- 
gated more  at  length. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  paper  to 
examine  the  question  in  its  entirety.  We  are  content  for 
the  present  to  inquire  whether  a  bishop  can  prohibit  his 
subjects,  under  pain  of  invalidity,  from  confessing  outside 
his  diocese.  It  has  been  answered  he  can,  if  it  is  only  he 
who  supplies  jurisdiction  in  the  case.  It  only  remains  to 
find  out  whether  this  is  so ;  and  as  no  one  else  can  give 
faculties  except  the  Pope,  the  question  may  be  reduced  to 
this  more  convenient  one :  does  the  Pope  supply  jurisdiction 
to  absolve  peregrini  ? 

St  Alphonsus  and  his  party  teach  that  the  Pope  does 
supply.  They  admit  that  it  was  not  so  always,  but  con- 
tend that  in  latter  times  the  practice  of  the  Church  has 
changed,  and  that,  whereas  formerly  the  validity  of  the 
confesmorxB  of  peregrini  depended  altogether  on  the  consent 
of  their  bishops,  the  Pope  now  steps  in  and  takes  the 
matter  completely  out  of  the  bishops*  hands. 

They  defend  this  view  by  two  kinds  of  reasons,  some 
from  intrinsic  evidence,  others  from  authority.  First,  with 
regard  to  the  intrinsic  evidence :  the  following  is  the  line 
of  argument : — 

(a)  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  world  has  very 
much  changed  from  what  it  was  in  the  Middle  Agea  We 
might  as  well  turn  Mrs.  Partingtons  at  once,  and  keep 
out  the  sea  with  a  mop,  as  turn  back  that  great  tide  of 
travel  nad  communication  between  different  places.  No 
one  could  reasonably  expect,  that,  as  often  as  people  from 
the  provinces  come  up  to  stay  a  while  in  Dublin,  or  go  to 
the  sea-side,  or  to  a  neighbouring  town,  they  should  get 
permission  from  their  bishop  if  they  want  to  go  to  confes- 
sion. We  are  quite  satisfied  if  they  go  at  all,  even  when 
we  have  supplied  every  facility.  All  this  being  so,  it  is 
hard  to  say  that  any  individual,  even  though  a  bishop,  has 
It  m  his  power  to   cause  such   an  inconvenience  iw  it 


Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases.  279 

nndoubtedly  would  be  if  he  refused  to  give  the  necessary 
facnltie&  The  only  way  to  obviate  the  difiSculty  is  to 
have  the  Pope  supply  the  jurisdiction  in  all  cases. 

(6)  Besides,  the  Pope  is  the  only  one  who  possesses 
universal  jurisdiction.  Matters  which  concern  the  welfare 
of  the  whole  Church  are  his  care ;  it  is  his  duty  to  provide 
for  wants  which  are  everywhere  felt.  This  want  is  not 
any  longer  what  it  was  of  old — the  want  of  individuals. 
It  concerns  the  Church  at  large.  Hence  we  may  be 
assured  that  the  Pope  supplies  jurisdiction. 

(e)  Again,  the  custom  of  going  to  confession  wherever 
one  finds  one's  self,  is  not  now  peculiar  to  any  particular 
place.  It  is  universal ;  it  prevails  in  Rome  under  the  eyes 
of  the  Holy  Father,  and  in  every  other  part  of  the  Christian 
world  It  is  universally  approved,  not  merely  in  the  sense 
that  each  of  the  bishops  gives  it  his  individual  sanction, 
but  that  it  is  recognised  by  the  Church  at  large,  and  by 
the  Pope  as  head  of  the  Church.  But  recognising  means 
supplymg  jurisdiction. 

So  far  St.  Alphonsus  and  those  who  adopt  his  view. 
There  is,  however,  something  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the 
other  opinion. 

And,  in  the  first  place,  might  not  this  line  of  reasoning 
prove  a  little  too  much  ?  For  the  practice  of  going  to 
confession  inside  one's  own  diocese  is  not  less  universal.  It 
prevails  in  Rome  under  the  Holy  Father's  eyes,  and  in 
every  othei*  portion  of  the  Church.  It  is  universally 
approved,  not  only  by  individuals,  but  by  the  Church  at 
large,  and  by  the  Pope  a«  head  of  the  Church.  Whatever 
it  requires  is  a  universal  want,  and  ought  to  be  the  Pope's 
care.  It  is  too  much  to  suppose  that  it  could  be  in  the 
power  of  any  individual,  to  cause  such  inconvenience  as 
would  be  caused  if  people  could  not  go  to  confession  to  the 
priests  of  their  own  diocese.  And  yet  the  Pope  does  not 
interfere.  He  is  quite  content  to  leave  the  matter  in  the 
bands  of  the  Bishops.  If  any  of  them  should  actually 
cause  inconvenience  the  Pope  will  see  that  he  is  called  to 
order ;  but,  until  an  abuse  arises,  the  Holy  Father  is  con- 
tent to  leave  things  aa  they  are.  He  is  appointed  to 
govern  the  Church,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  bishops  ; 
and  he  should  not  set  them  aside  for  the  mere  possibility 
of  grave  inconvenience,  which  might  be  soon  remedied. 

To  come  to  a  dirftf»t   rftnlv ;  no   oua  rl^niAja  f  hnf    •/"  •/ 


280  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

but  18  there  Buch  a  want  ?     There  would  be  if  the  biidiops 
were  not  able  to  meet  the  demand ;  but  they  are  ready; 
they  provided  formerly  for  the  wailts  which  aroee;  why 
should  they  be  now  set  aside  ? 

It  is  said  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Bishops  met 
this  want  without  any  necessity  of  recurring  to  the  Pope. 
For,  when  the  old  practice  ceased,  and  the  faithful  began 
to  go  from  home  without  asking  leave,  it  was  uncertain 
for  some  time  whether  they  could  be  absolved  while  away. 
After  a  time,  it  became  usual  to  absolve  them.  Who 
supplied  the  jurisdiction  ?  It  was  supplied  by  the  tacit 
consent  of  the  penitents'  bishops.  There  is  no  denying 
this.*  Why  should  the  bishops  be  afterwards  set  aside t 
Because  of  a  universal  want.  That  reason  would  show 
that  they  do  not  give  jurisdiction  even  to  the  confessors 
in  their  own  dioceses,  for  there  is  the  same  universal  want, 
and  the  same  possibility  of  inconvenience. 

The  secona  class  of  arguments  comprises  those  which 
are  derived  from  authority. 

(a)  The  authors  of  the  "  Vindiciae  "  appeal  to  the  Bull 
Cum  sicut  of  Innocent  XII.  The  Pontiff  is  dealing  with  that 
old  controversy  about  approbation,  and  decides  that  it  must 
be  had  from  the  bishop  of  the  place  where  the  confession 
is  heard.  Otherwise  the  confession  is  invalid,  no  matter 
how  formally  and  expressly  jurisdiction  may  have  been 
supplied.  But  to  approve  and  to  give  jurisdiction  mean  the 
same  thing.  Hence,  it  is  the  bishop  of  the  place,  and  not 
the  bishop  of  the  penitent  who  supplies  jurii^iction. 

It  is  very  easy  to  see  that  this  argument  wiQ  not  stand* 
When  a  bishop  approves  a  confessor  for  his  oum  subjects^  he 
gives  jurisdiction  at  the  same  time,  and  the  act  as  a  whole 
may  be  called  approbation.  That  is  only  a  question  of  the 
use  of  a  word,     feut  to  say  that,  when  a  bishop  approves  a 

^  That  is  the  explanation  giveii  bj  all  the  theologians  of  the  period. 
Thu8«  for  example,  the  Salmiinticences  teach  that  peregrini  can  be  ab- 
solved,  '^  spectata  consuetudine  et  tacita  suorum  Pastoriuu  consendone  '* 
{De  Poen.  c.  xi.,  n.  63).  And  Lugo,  '•  qui  peregrinantur  .  .  .  possunt 
jam  ex  voluntate  tacita  suorum  Pastorum  conflteri,'*  &c.  (Z).  19,  n.  7). 
Laymann  says  the  same  {De  Poen.,  o.  10,  n,  9-10).  See  all  the  theo- 
logians quoted  by  Ballerini  under  n.  555,  quaer.  13^.  It  is  tacitly 
admitted  by  St.  Alphonsus  (n.  588),  "  Peregrini  .  ,  .  hodie  nan  ampltut 
absolvuntur  ex  voluntate  suorum  Episcoporum.*'  And  the  W.  say, 
*•  cessante  consuetudine  facultatem  itinerandi  a  proprio  Parocho  petendi^ 
Episcopi  tacite  consensenmt  ut  dioecesani  itinerantes  in  aliena  diocesi  con-> 
fiteri  valeant,  et  tacite  oonfessariia  aUenia  jurisdictionem  ad  hoc  tribv* 
erunt "  {Q.  ».,  a.  1,  n.  1> 


Jurisdictiofi  and  Reserved  Cases.  281 

confessor  to  hear  peregrini,  he  gives  jurisdiction  by  the  same 
act,  is  to  assume  the  whole  qaestion.  How  can  he  give 
jurisdiction  if  he  has  not  it  to  give  t  Approbation  then  may 
retain  its  original,  and  strict  signification. 

(b)  Another  proof  is  drawn  from  the  Constitution  Supema 
of  Clement  X.  This  Constitution  settles  many  of  the  dis- 
pntes  which  had  arisen  between  the  birfbps  and  the  regular 
clergy.  The  jurisdiction  which  regul#  confessors  claimed 
immediately  through  their  superiors  from  the  Pope,  had 
always  been  a  fruitful  source  of  contention,  and  the  bishops 
complaiued  of  great  irregularities  with  regard  to  the  abso- 
lution of  reserved  cases.  Accordingly  it  was  decided  by 
the  Holy  Father,  that  no  friar  could  absolve  peregrini  from^ 
such  cases,  if  they  left  their  own  dioceses  in  fraudem 
re»ervationis.  If,  however,  there  was  no  sucn  fraus 
ruervatiomsj  the  regular  confessor  might  absolve,  that  is,  he 
might  absolve  independently  of  the  penitent's  bishop,  who 
did  his  best  to  reserve  the  case  to  himself. 

The  authors  of  the  "  Vindiciae  "  urge  that  the  Constitu- 
tion Supema  applies  not  only  to  regulars,  but  to  seculara. 
In  proof  they  allege  the  authority  of  Benedict  XIV.,  and 
other  theologians.  The  consequence  is,  that  secular  as  well  as 
regular  confessors,  can  hear  the  confessions  of  p^rejrrini,  can 
absolve  them  from  all  sins  which  are  not  reserved  in  the 
diocese  of  the  confessor  ;  can  do  this  on  the  authority  of 
^e  Pope,  and  in  spite  of  the  penitent's  bishop. 

On  reading  the  constitution  of  Clement,^  it  strikes  a 
person  as  strange  that  any  one  should  think  it  applies  to 
seculars.  For  besides  being  entitled,  Constitutio  in  qua 
Regularium  privilegia,  quoad  .  ,  ,  S.  Poenitentias  administra^ 
tionem  declarantur^  there  is  not  a  word  about  secular  con- 
fessors from  beginning  to  end. 

As  for  the  theologians,  they  taught  for  a  long  time,  it 
is  true,  that  secular  confessors  can  absolve  peregrinij  and 
eren  from  reserved  cases,  provided  the  sins  have  not  been 
reserved  by  the  confeBsor's  bishop ;  but  they  reUed  for 
proof  of  this,  not  on  the  constitution  of  Clement,  but  either 
on  the  tacit  consent  of  the  prelates,  or  on  universal  custom 
tacitly  approved  by  the  Holy  See.  St.  Alphonsus  seems  to 
^ve  been  amongst  the  first  to  have  recourse  to  the  Con- 
•Btation  Supema.  At  least  the  authors  of  the  **  Vindiciae  *' 
^  not  quote  any  others ;  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  they 
voold  nave  done  so,  if  there  were  any  others  to  quote. 


282  Jurisdiction  and  JResei'ved  Cases. 

Benedict  XIV.  deserves  especial  mention,  because  of 
the  great  influence  his  authority  would  have  on  either  fdde. 
Any  one  who  reads  with  an  unprejudiced  mind  the  passage 
which  is  quoted  in  the  "  Vindiciae  ^"  will  not  think  it  either 
asserted  or  implied  by  Benedict  XIV.,  that  the  Constitution 
Superna  extends  to  seculars.  The  learned  Pontiff  speaks  of 
confessors  in  general.  He  says  that  they  cannot  absolve 
those  who  come  from  another  diocese  in  fraxidem  reserva- 
iionis.  In  support  of  his  teaching,  he  quotes  a  decree, 
which  either  exclusively,  or  almost  exclusively,  regards 
regulars.  He  says  this  decree  was  confirmed  by  the  Con- 
stitution Superna ;  and  surely  it  would  be,  even  though  that 
Constitution  applied  to  regulars  only. 

The  most  tnat  can  be  drawn  from  the  learned  Pontiff's 
words  is,  that  there  is  an  argument  by  analogy  from  one 
case  to  another.  No  one  denies  that  there  is  such  an 
argument;  but  it  only  proves  that,  as  the  Pope  prohibits 
regulars  from  absoiving  those  who  come  to  them  in 
fraudeni,  so  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  bishops  will  give 
faculties  to  secular  priests  of  other  dioceses,  to  absolve  such 
penitents  as  may  go  to  confession  to  these  priests  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  avoiding  their  own  superiors.  There  is  no 
evidence  of  Papal  approbation. 

(c)  A  third  testimony  is  that  decision  of  Eugene  IV., 
mentioned  by  Cajetan.  Cajetan's  words  are: — Memini 
alias  me  legisse  Eugenium  guar  turn  concessisse  vivae  voris  oraculo 
viatoresy  uhi  se  invenerint  in  Paschate,  cense Jidos  tanguam  adepios 
incolatum  quoad  Sacramenta  Poenitentiae  et  Euchari^tiae; 
et  secundum  hoc,  non  est  opus  in  Paschate  hujusmodi  interpreta-- 
tiva  licentia ;  et  possunt  tunc  ab  illis  confessoribus  a  quxbui 
incola^  absolvuntur^  absolvi  etiam  a  casibfis  episcopalibfis^  proul 
Episcopus  loci  disponit.  On  which  Suarez  comments: 
if  at  Paschal  time,  a  fortiori  at  other  times.  For  we  are 
specially  boimd  to  make  our  Paschal  communion  at  home. 
Hence,  for  the  purposes  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
Eugene  IV.  transferred  aMperegrini  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  bishop  of  the  place  of  domicile  to  that  of  the  bishop 
of  the  place  of  present  occupation. 

Apart  altogether  from  anv  question  of  the  authenticity 
of  the  declaration,  which,  at  best,  is  but  an  oral  statement, 
may  have  been  but  an  opinion,  and  depends  on  Cajetan's 
memory  of  what  he  had  somewhere  read, — it  may  be  asked ; 
is  that  a  fair  comment  either  of  Cajetan's  or  of  Suarez*  ? 
Eugene  declared  that  they  are  to  be  treated  as  inhabitants 
of  the  place ;  immediately  Cajetan  concludes  that  they  are 


Jttrisdietion  and  Reserved  Cases.  283 

independent  of  their  bishops  for  the  time,  and  Suarez 
extends  the  time  of  independence  to  the  whole  year  round. 
Now  it  has  been  already  shown  that,  at  Pope  Eugene's  time, 
if  a  person  went  away  from  home  without  permission  from 
bis  ecclesiastioal  superior,  he  could  not  go  to  confession  at 
all  while  away.  The  theologians  of  the  period  generally 
admitted  an  exception  in  case  of  necessity,  but  thought  the 
necessity  of  making  Paschal  communion  sufficient.  Perhaps 
that  is  what  Pope  Eugene  meant : — they  can  ^o  to  confes- 
sion like  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  by  the  tacit  permission 
of  their  bishops ;  but  can  be  aosolved  from  reserved  cases 
only  by  such  confessors  as  the  bishop  ol  the  place  of  con- 
fession may  appoint.  Why  not  by  others  ?  because  their 
own  bishop  cannot  be  presumed  to  consent  that  such 
peregrini  should  be  placed  m  an  altogether  desirable  position. 
Even  though  it  were  held  that  Pope  Eugene  transferred 
sach  penitents  to  the  jmisdiction  of  the  bishop  of  the 

f^lace  for  the  Paschal  confession,  it  would  by  no  means 
bllow  that  they  were  transferred  altogether.  In  fact 
this  was  distinctly  denied  by  the  theologians  of  the 
period. 

(d)  There  is  a  more  recent  and  important  decision — of 
the  S.  Penitentiary  of  1873.  A  confessor  refused  absolution 
to  a  person  who  had  confessed  sins  which  were  reserved  in 
the  confes80i'*s  diocese.  It  was  asked :  was  the  confessor 
right  ?  and  might  he  continue  to  do  so  ?  The  answer  was : 
Qj^rmative  ad  utrumque. 

The  confessor  would  not  have  been  right  if  he  had  had 
jurisdiction  :  therefore  he  had  none.  Why  ?  Not  because 
the  penitent's  bishop,  in  tacitly  supplying,  reserved  these 
oases;  for  they  were  reserved  only  in  the  diocese  of  the 
confessor.  Hence,  jurisdiction  over  peregnni  does  not  come 
•from  their  own  bishops  at  all,  but  either  mediately  or 
immediately  from  the  Sovereign  PontiflF. 

Father  Ballerini  urges,  in  reply,  that  the  penitent  in 
qaestion  may  not  have  been  from  another  diocese ;  this 
wiB  scarcely  commend  itself  to  a  candid  and  unprejudiced 
leader  of  the  qnestion  proposed.  Moreover,  he  argues,  the 
deoiJBion  proves  only  that  a  confessor  may  safely  follow 
9L  Alphonsus.  It  was  asked  whether  the  priest  in  question 
iww  right,    and    could    continue    to    refuse    absolution. 

flu.         A ^tL  111  ll»ii  .».*  » 


284  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

that  this  individual  confessor  was  at  liberty  to  follow  one 
of  these  opinions  on  the  occasion  in  question  ? 

Apart  from  all  this,  the  reply  of  the  Penitentiary  would 
not  prove  that  jurisdiction  over  peregrini  is  not  suppUed  by 
the  penitent's  bishop*  For,  even  though  the  confessor 
had  no  jurisdiction,  it  would  only  follow  that  some  one  had 
limited  his  faculties.  Why  not  the  bishop  of  the  penitent  ? 
Because,  it  is  said,  he  had  not  reserved  tte  cases  in  his 
own  diocese.  But  might  he  not  reserve  them  elsewhere? 
May  we  not  reasonably  suppose  that,  .when  bishops  tacitly 
allow  their  subjects  to  go  to  confession  outside  the  diocese, 
they  would  require  the  penitents  to  conform  to  the  local 
regulations  ? 

(e)  One  other  point.  A  strong  argument  in  favour  of 
St.  Alphonsus'  view  is  derived  from  the  teaching  of  modem 
theologians.  Even  Ballerini  admits  that,  from  the  time  of 
Suarez,  theologians  commonly  told  confessoi'S  to  look  to 
the  terms  of  the  faculties  given  by  their  own  bishops,  and 
this  even  when  dealing  with  vei'egriiii. 

This  teaching  was  usually  defended  by  representing 
such  penitents  as  sufficiently  subject  to  the  local  authorities 
for  the  purposes  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance.  You  may 
think  these  theologians  inconsistent ;  so  perhaps  they  were, 
but  the  fact  remains:  they  taught  that  the  Pope  had  trans- 
ferred peregrini  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  superiors. 
After  St.  Alphonsus  had  published  his  theological  works, 
and  proved  himself  so  gieat  a  master,  his  opinion  came  to 
be  almost  universally  received. 

The  Popes  could  so  transfer  peregrini.  They  may  safely 
be  presumed  to  act  in  conformity  with  the  universally 
received  opinion.  Hence  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  trahsfer  did  actually  take  place. 

Who  can  expect  to  decide  I  The  most  one  can  say  is : 
each  opinion  is  probable.  What  then  is  a  confessor  to  do  ! 
It  is  but  a  speculative  question  ;  but,  if  a  particular  bishop 
did  forbid  a  subject  to  go  to  confession  outside  the  diocese, 
and  did  withdraw  faculties,  secular  confessors  of  other 
places  would  have  only  probable  jmisdiction.  St  Alphonsus 
says  such  jurisdiction  will  suffice,  given  a  reasonable 
cause ;  it  is  usually  easy  for  any  confessor  in  such  circum- 
stances to  find  one, 

Walter  McDonald. 


[    285     ] 


A  DISTINGUISHED  CONVERT. 

THE  memoirs  to  which  we  wish  to  invite  attention  make 
their  appearance  in  two  handsome  octavo  volumes, 
and  mider  unusual  and  noteworthy  auspices.^  For  the 
Prime  Minister  to  find  time  amidst  his  multifarious  avoca- 
tions, not  only  to  furnish  materials  for  the  life,  but  to 
correct  and  annotate  the  proof  sheets,  says  much  for 
Mr.  Gladstone's  personal  interest  in  the  work  itself,  and  for 
the  estimate  he  has  formed  of  its  value.  And  when  to  this 
high  testimony  we  add  that  of  Cardinal  Newman,  who  has 
done  as  much  and  even  more,  by  not  only  supplying  a 
large  number  of  letters,  and  correcting  the  work  in  its  way 
through  the  press,  but  even  by  taking  upon  himself  the 
labour  which  is  implied  in  revising  the  original  manuscript 
ere  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  printer. 

Evidently  Mr.  Hope-Scott  is  no  ordinary  personage, 
when  his  memoirs  are  ushered  into  the  world  by  two  men 
of  such  renown.  When  we  add  that  the  book  itself  is 
worthy  of  such  sponsors,  we  say  much,  but  not  more  than 
is  his  due,  of  the  author.  Professor  Ornsby. 

Mr.  Hope  was  of  noble  lineage,  being  the  grandson  of 
the  Earl  of  Hopetown  ;  so  on  entering  life  he  had  not  to 
fight  his  way  upwards  into  position,  but  took  his  place 
quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  good  society,  where  he  soon 
showed  powers  of  mind  that  enabled  him  not  only  to  hold 
his  own  there,  but  to  live  on  equal  terms  With  the 
intellectual  leaders  of  the  period  who,  in  various  ways, 
had  gained  renown  both  in  Church  and  State. 

His  two  marriages  tended  in  different  ways  to  spread 
his  influence  and  to  connect  him  in  still  closer  ties  with  the 
Hterary  world  he  loved,  and  with  the  aristocracy  to  which 
he  already  belonged. 

His  first  wife  was  Charlotte,  the  daughter  of  the  cele- 
brated reviewer,  Lockhart,  and  grand-daughter  of  the 
"  Author  of  Waverley."  Sir  Walter  Scott  had  toiled  beyond 
his  strength  to  build  up  a  fortune  and  heritage  for  his 
family,  and  looked  forward  with  honest  pride  to  a  male  lino 
which  should  perpetuate  his  name  and  entwine  it  with  his 
great  renown  at  Abbotsford.  But  it  was  not  so  to  be;  and 
very  curious  is  the  history  of  the  brief  succession,  which 

^MemoirB  of  J.  R.  Hope-Scott,  of  Abbotsford,  D.C.L.,  Q.C.,  bj 
Bobert  Ornsbj,  M.A.    2  toIs.    London,  1884. 


286  A  Distinguished  Convert. 

with  many  narrow  escapes  has  but  preserved  it  in  the 
female  line. 

His  own  children  all  died,  childless,  with  the  exception 
of  one  daughter  Sophia,  who  maiTied  John  Lockhart.  All 
the  issue  of  this  marriage  passed  away  childless,  save  one 
daughter,  Charlotte,  who  married  Mr.  Hope.  When  her 
brother  died  and  she  succeeded  to  the  heritage,  Mr.  Hope 
became  Mr.  Hope-Scott  of  Abbotsford. 

All  the  children  of  this  third  generation  died  young, 
save  one  daughter,  Monica,  who  as  Mrs.  Maxwell-Scott 
carries  on  the  name  in  this  strange  and  tenacious  way,  and 
Abbotsford  possesses  a  second  Scott,  who  is  so  only  by 
assumption. 

Mr.  Hope-Scott's  second  marriage  was  with  the 
daughter  of  the  late  Duke  of  Norfolk.  His  children  seem 
to  have  dropped  the  aflSx  to  the  family  name,  and  are 
content,  as  well  they  may  be,  with  that  which  their  father 
made  so  respected. 

Mr.  Hope  at  first  intended  to  t^ke  Orders  in  the 
EstabUshed  Church ;  but  circumstances  which  are  not 
mentioned,  but  only  somewhat  mysteriously  hinted  at  by 
Mr.  Ornsby,  induced  him  to  choose  that  other  profession 
which  seems  somewhat  quite  naturally  to  present  itself  to 
the  mind  of  an  English  undergraduate  as  tne  only  alterna- 
tive when  he  does  not  resolve  upon  "  entering  the  Church." 

But  though  the  course  of  life  was  changed,  much  of  the 
spirit  which  suggested  the  Church  rather  than  the  Bar  yet 
remained,  and  showed  itself  in  the  interest  he  took  in  the 
controversies  with  which  the  Establishment  was  troubled, 
and  the  struggles  which  shook  it  to  its  base  and  destroyed 
many  of  the  fragments  of  Catholicitv  it  had  managed  to 
preserve.  It  was  of  course  in  these  latter,  rather  than  in 
the  former,  that  he  took  an  active  part ;  his  well-balanced, 
calm,  and  clear  mind  found  therein  its  natural  food ;  and 
happily  it  was  just  herein  that  his  aid  was  most  needed, 
and  where  it  would  be  most  eflective.  Thus  his  work  in 
Church  matters  was  for  many  years  amid  the  active 
outcomes  of  the  moment,  the  half- ecclesiastical  and  half- 

{ political  action  of  the  State,  the  position  and  work  of  the 
establishment  both  at  home  and  abroad,  rather  than  in  the 
theological  controversies  and  the  dogmatic  teachings  of 
the  various  parties  and  sections  into  which  the  Church  of 
England  was  divided.  Of  course  he  felt  deeply,  spoke 
earnestly,  and  made  great  sacrifices  for  what  he  then 
beheved  to  be  the  truth;    but  after  all  it  was  as  the 


A  Distinguished  Convert  287 

Christian  lawyer,  well  read  in  ancient  charters,  deeply 
versed  in  ecclesiastical  history,  and  with  a  keen  eye  to 
judge  present  action  by  past  experiences,  that  he  felt  his 
strength  and  used  it  ungrudgingly  in  the  cause  he  had  at 
heart 

This  taste  for  historic  and  antiquarian  research,  with  ever 
a  practical  result  in  view,  soon  showed  itself  in  the  young 
Fellow  of  Merton.  He  saw  how  the  ancient  spirit  of  his 
college  had  passed  away,  and  how  laxity  had  crept  in 
through  lapse  of  time,  as  he  then  thought,  but  rather  by 
change  of  religion,  as  we  know,  and  as  he  afterwards 
understood. 

We  need  scarcely  add  that  his  suggestions  were  coldly 
received,  aud  the  reform  he  sought  to  bring  about  came  to 
nought.  Soon  we  find  him  on  most  intimate  terms  with 
Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was  then  busy  upon  his  celebrated 
treatise  on  "  The  State  in  its  relations  with  the  Church." 
Several  letters  are  given  which  show  how  completely 
ilr.  Gladstone  placed  the  manuscript  in  the  hands  of- 
Mr.  Hope  ;  not  merely  that  he  might  read  it  carefully  and 
correct  wherever  he  thought  fit,  but  even  to  determine 
whether  it  should  be  published  at  all.  This  correspondence, 
as  indeed  all  the  many  and  long  letters  (some  fiity  in  all), 
which  are  herein  published  between  these  two  intimate 
friends,  are  full  of  interest,  and  throw  much  light  upon  the 
characters  of  both.  Of  course  the  interesting  correspondence 
extended  far  beyond  the  work  which  the  rising  statesman 
submitted  so  deferentially  to  the  young  lawyer.  It 
embraces  many  of  the  leading  subjects  of  the  period, 
w'hich,  outside  party  poKtics,  exercised  so  much  influence 
upon  the  Established  Church,  and  drove  so  many  to  the 
True  Fold. 

There  was  the  foundation  of  the  Protestant  Bishopric 
of  Jerusalem,  which  was  the  first  shock  to  his  confidence  in 
the  Anglican  Church,  as  it  was  indeed  to  many  others. 
The  (late)  King  of  Prussia  had,  with  the  help  of  M.  Bunsen, 
welded  together  the  two  great  sections  into  which  the 
Protestantism  of  his  kingdom  was  divided ;  and  while  his 
hand  was  in,  he  resolved  to  effect  another  fusion  with  the 
help  of  England ;  and  the  outcome  was  this  famous 
Bishopric  of  Jerusalem.  The  Catholics  were  united,  and  so 
were  the  Greeks;  why  should  not  the  Protestants  be 
similarly  as  one  ?  It  coidd  hardly  be  spiritually,  seeing 
how  their  formulae  of  faith  differed,  but  why  not  outwardly 
At  least  under  one  Oriental  head ;   and  as  Jerusalem  was  a 


288  A  Distinguished  Convert. 

common  centre  for  all  creeds,  why  not  have  a  Proteatant 
Bishop  to  rule  over  all  who  felt  disposed  to  accept  him  and 
his  ministratioDS  ?      To  make  matters  smooth  the  nomina- 
tion was  to  be  alternately  by  the  English  and  Prussian 
Crowns,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  to  have 
jurisdiction  over  the  Bishop  "until  some  other  relation 
might  be  judged  expedient."     German  subjects  might  nse 
their  own  Liturgy ;  candidates  for  ordination  were  to  sign 
the  thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and 
those  destined  for  German  congregations  were  to  sign  in 
addition  the  Augsburg  Confession.     An  Act  of  ParUament 
got  over  the  difficulty  of  an  Anglican  Bishop  ordaining 
persons  who  were  not  British  subjects:  and  in  due  time 
the  unholy  alliance  was  completed,  and  a  gentleman  whose 
faith  (even  in  Anglican  eyes)  was  sufficiently  unsound,  wa« 
eent  out  to  add  another  element  to  the  distractions  under 
which  Jerusalem  suffers,  and  to  enjoy  in  the  society  of  a 
charming  wife  and   family   the   consolations  which   his 
mongrel  mission — which  did  not  affect  to  be  a  diocese- 
could  not  aff'ord  him. 

Mr.  Hope  used  his  powers  of  argument  against  this 
queer  scheme.  He  saw  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
told  him  that  he  hoped  in  Jerusalem  "  the  holders  of  all 
kinds  of  Protestant  opinions  might  exist  amiably  together 
under  the  protection  of  the  proposed  Bishop."  Upon  which 
I  asked  whether  his  Grace  meant  that  if  a  Socinian 
congregation  were  to  desire  to  place  itself  under  the 
protection  of  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  this  might  be 
permitted?  To  which  (as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect)  he 
replied  :  **  Such  a  case  is  not  likely  to  occur,  but  if  it  did 
I  should  say  yea*'  No  wonder  Mr.  Hope  and  his  com- 
panion exclaimed,  almost  simultaneously,  that  this  was  a 
more  fitting  office  for  a  Consul  than  for  a  Bishop.  Never- 
theless the  scheme  was  can-ied  out,  and  a  heavy  blow  and 
a  great  discouragement  was  happily  given  to  those  who 
clung  so  tenaciously  to  the  Establishment,  and  who  needed 
many  such  before  they  let  go  their  hold  upon  what  they 
once  loved  if  not  wisely  yet  too  well.  These  useful  knocks 
came  rapidly  enough  to  do  their  work.  The  appointment 
of  a  heretic  to  the  Bishopric  of  Hereford,  the  thrusting  of 
a  denier  of  baptismal  regeneration  into  a  parish  against  the 
protest  of  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  tne  suspension  ot 
Dr.  Pusey,  the  deprivation  of  Mr.  Ward  of  his  University 
Degree,  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Newman  from  St^Mar/s,  all 
these  showered  down  upon  Mr.  Hope^  and  he  flies  from 


r 

A  Distinguished  Cofwert  289 

them  to  foreign  travel — but  in  vain.  Then  the  end  of  the 
struggle  draws  near.  The  leaders  drop  oflF  one  by  one 
and  disappear  from  the  well-known  places ;  a  chill  comes 
over  the  anxious  hearts  which  they  had  so  long  sustained. 
The  then  lost  ones  re-appear ;  but  no  longer  desponding, 
no  longer  in  doubt,  for  they  have  found  elsewhere  wnat  they 
had  in  vain  sought  at  home.  Elsewhere!  surely  not, 
**  at  .home,"  surely  not;  for  that  elsewhere  is  now  the 
home,  and  that  home  is  now  the  elsewhere.  They  enjoy 
in  the  Church  what  they  once  vainly  sought  for  in  schism; 
and  there  they,  one  and  all,  find  the  true  Home  which  is  the 
Church  of  God.  Happy  disappointments  which  have  so 
joyous  an  outcome,  blessed  trials  whose  end  is  peace. 

Upon  this  inner  life  of  Mr.  Hope-Scott  the  author  of 
the  Memoirs  has  principally  dwelt ;  wisely  judging  that 
such  is  the  true  life  rather  than  that  outward,  professional 
one  which  the  world  sees  and  by  which  it  so  misjudges 
men. 

Mr.  Hope-Scott  was  successful  indeed  in  both,  and  not 
only  played  an  important  part  in  the  religious  struggle  for 
truth,  but  was  at  the  same  time  the  leading  lawyer  of  his 
day  in  what  is  perhaps  the  highest,  certainly  the  most 
lucrative  branch  of  the  profession,  the  Parliamentary  Bar. 
He  is  said  to  have  received  on  one  occasion  a  fee  of  ten 
thousand  pounds.  We  may  form  some  idea  of  his  pro- 
fessional income  by  the  amount  of  his  known  charities,  for 
Mr.  Omsby  states  "  on  the  testimony  of  one  who  knew  the 
fact  from  his  own  personal  knowledge,'that  in  twelve  or 
thirteen  years  (from  1859  or  thereabouts)  he  gave  away  in 
charity  of  some  form  or  other,  not  less  than  forty  thousand 
pounds." 

Mr.  Hope-Scott's  life  is  worthy  of  a  careful  study.  It 
shows  the  Christian  gentleman  in  the  various  phases  of  life ; 
the  diligent  student,  the  fascinating  companion,  the  earnest 
inquirer  after  the  Truth,  the  diligent  professional  man,  the 
thoughtful  and  open-handed  friend,  the  tender  husband 
and  father,  the  considerate  master.  On  all  classes  he  made 
hiB  impression,  everyone  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
has  a  kind  and  respectful  word  to  say.  Mr.  Gladstone  fills 
page  after  page  with  his  recollections,  and  Cardinal 
Jjewman  contributes  letter  after  letter  to  the  collection 


290  Tha  JER^toriam  of  Chtory. 

keeping  with  the  Bubjeet,  for  eoiBDle,  eameat  aod  wtoAf 
^onld  be  all  that  is  written  about  Mr.  H<H>e-Scatt. 

The  history  of  the  period  this  life  embraces  has  beea 
written  over  and  over  again;  but  while  such  ralaable 
materials  are  still  in  store^  it  is  indeed  w^  to  bring  them 
together,  especially  when,  as  in  the  pn-esent  case,  they  are 
so  admirably  clustered  around  a  worthy  name,  and  illustrate 
therein  the  working  of  those  principles  for  which  the  great 
struggjie  was  made. 


THE  HISTORIANS  OF  08S(«Y.* 

KILKETNNY  has  beea  described  by  one  of  its  own 
illustrious  sons  as  ^^  the  fair  city  on  the  banks  of  the 
crystal  Nore,  where,  if  anywhere,  the  muse  of  Irish  Catholic 
history  h&s  established  a  permanent  shrine.'^  This  remark 
of  Dr.  Kelly,  the  late  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  Histc^ry  in 
Maynooth  College,  is  just  and  beautifuL  We  may  add,  too, 
that  the  Clio  of  the  crystal  Nore  is  of  diviner  birth  uian  JoTe*s 
jBabled  daughter  that  haunted  the  Pierian  Spring.  Almost 
every  century  since  it  became  the  second  city  of  thtf  Pale, 
Kilkenny  has  produced  or  nurtured  some  distkigiiiBbed 
ecclesiastical  historian. 

The  list  begins  with  John  Cfyuj  a  Friar  Minor  of  the 
Franciscan  Convent  in  Kilkenny,  whose  Annals  have  beenr 

Sublished  by  ihe  Royal  Archeeological  Society.  He 
ourished  during  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  centoxyy. 
and  wrote  his  Annals  in  Latin.  The  poor  man  seems  to 
have  found  much  difficultv  in  Latinizing  the  uncouth 
Celtic  names  of  the  neighbouring  tribes  amongst  tiie 
^  Iridi  enemy,"  and  hence  it  is  not  always  easy  to  ascertain- 
those  to  whom  he  refers.  These  Annals  are  especiaUy 
full  and  valuable  during  his  own  lifetime,  and  he  give»  us 
much  interesting  information  regarding  the  Pales-m^i  of 
that  periods  He  tells  us,  for  instance,  how  in  1324,  or, 
according  to  Grace,  in  1325,  the  good  people  of  Kilkenny 

%  TheAmcUeeiaof  DaM  Roikey  Bukn  of  (ktoiif^hf  FntndL F.Mocaiv 
fiittKTP  of  Ouarj.    Dablio :  M»  Q.  GiU  &  Son. 

*Traruaetion$  cf  At  Oimj^  ArchmlogicQl  Society.  "£i]keany 
Jouniftl  **  Offioe. 


The  SiBtoruuu  of  Ossory.  291 

had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Dame  Petronilla  burnt  for 
heresy  and  witchcraft.  She  was  tried  by  Ledred,  the 
Bishop,  and  Arnold  Pow w,  Seneschal  of  Kilkenny^  with  the 
MAcbon  of  the  Justiciary  of  Ireland ;  and  having  been  con- 
victed of  making  charms  from  the  brains  of  young  children 
boiled  in  tiie  skull  of  an  executed  thief,  of  offering  sacri- 
fice to  the  devil,  and  of  similar  nameless  practices,  she  met 
her  terrible  fate  at  the  stake. 

Dame  Eyteler  and  William  Outlaw  narrowly  escaped 
at  the  same  time.  The  former,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  her  accomplice  Petronilla,  used  to  '*  ride  on  an  iron 
coulter  whithersoever  she  willed  through  the  world,  with- 
out let  or  hindrance."  (Grace.)  The  coulter  must  have 
helped  her  in  the  end ;  for  had  she  not  succeeded  in  esca- 
fing  to  England,  she  would  certainly  have  shared  the  fate 
of  Dame  Petronilla.  It  was  never  heard  of  in  time  past 
that  anyone  was  burnt  for  heresy  in  Ireland,  says  the 
chronicler ;  and  it  ia  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  the  actors 
m  this  dreadful  tragedy  were  all,  without  exception, 
An^o-Normans,  both  judges  and  victims:  some  of  the 
latter  were,  it  is  said,  connected  with  the  highest  families 
ia  the  land. 

Clyn  gives  us  also  a  terribly  graphic  picture  of  a  great 
plague  that  visited  Kilkenny,  like  the  rest  of  Ireland,  in 
1349 : — M  ^  jQQj  beyond  measure,  wonderful,  unusual,  and 
m  many  thinCT  prodigious ;''  and  '*  a  year  in  which  the 
penitent  and  me  confessor  were  carried  together  to  the 
^ve."  The  poor  man  writes  as  if  he  were  Uving,  as 
mdeed  he  was,  amongst  the  dead ;  for  there  was  not  a 
bouae,  he  says,  without  more  than  one  dead  in  it.  ^  I 
ieave  parchment,"  he  adds,  '^  for  continuing  this  work  (the 
Anoafe),  if  haply  any  man  survive.''  He  died,  it  seems,  next 
jmt,  in  1350. 

John  Grace,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  Canon  of  the 
Aagttitinian  Priory  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  in  Kilkenny, 
19  Mid  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  Annals  that  bear  lus 
;  they  have  been  also  published  by  the  Archaeological 
tf.  He  flourished  just  before  Henry  VIII.  confiscated 
llle  priory  and  the  other  religious  houses  in  Kilkenny.  His 
Mmmim^  also  written  in  Latin,  are  mainly  interesting  as 
Cpnsoloaical  records  of  the  ereat  Anglo-Norman  famiUes, 
%Ofeft  ol  which  he  himself  b€£)nged.    For  we  must  bear  in 


*t      A       j» ! A.A X ?,-      TT'TL 


292  The  Historians  of  Ossory. 

proud  keep  of  William  Earl  Mareehal.     The  Parliaments 
of  the  Pale  were  mostly  held  at  Kilkemiy.     All  its  Bishops 
for  three  centmies,  without  exce{)tion,  were  Norman,  the 
burgesses  were  Norman,  even  the  friars  in  the  convents 
were  Norman.      Clyn  and  Grace  speak  of  the   "meere 
Irish"   as  if  they   were   the   Zulus  of  the  period.    The 
Norman  families,  that  intermarried  with  the  natives  and 
used    their    language    and    dress,    are    the    degenerate 
EngUsh,  whom  they  hold  in   contempt.     This  was  for 
three  hundred  years  the  tone  of  the  pitiable  colony  in 
the  Pale.       They  were  bold  warriors,  but  men  of  narrow 
hearts    and    scanty    brains,   who    preferred    to  be  task- 
masters over  herds  of  slaves  rather  than  the  great  nobles 
of  a  free  people.      And  this  wretched  Bovcli  of  hatred 
and  disunion  was  steadily  fostered  by  the  English  Govern- 
ment.  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence,  foimd  Kilkenny  a  suitable 
and  sympathetic  place  to  hold  the  Parliament  that  passed, 
in   1367,  the  infamous   Statute    of  Kilkenny  which  the 

firelates  and  nobles  of  the  Pale  were  not  ashamed  to  sign, 
t  was  written  in  the  barbarous  Norman  French  of  the  time ; 
it  speaks  throughout  of  "  the  Irish  enemy ;"  it  enacts  the 
severest  penalties  against  the  degenerate  EngUsh   who 
would  in  any  way  associate  with  them.     It  was  strictly 
forbidden  by  this  atrocious  Statute  to  take  an  Irish  name, 
to  speak  the  Irish  language,  to  adopt  anv  Irish  custom, 
to  wear  the  Irish  dress,  to  entertain  a  travelling  minstrel  of 
the  Irish  race.     It  was  treason  to  foster  or  intermarry  with 
the  Irish.     The  Brehon  code  was  declared  to  be  wicked 
and  danmable.     No  mere  Irishman  might  be  promoted  to 
any  bishopric,  canonry,  abbacy,  or  parish ;   it  was   even 
forbidden  to  receive  an  Irishman  into  any  of  the  religious 
houses  of  the  Pale.    And  all  this  was  enacted  "for  the 
good  of  religion,  and  the  advancement  of  Holy  Church, 
with  the  assent  of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots,  and 
friars,  as  well  as  of  the  barons  and  commons  of  the  said 
land   of  Ireland."    Henry  VIII.  did  many  wicked   acts, 
but  it  was  not  his  worst  act  to  turn  gentlemen  of  this 
stamp  out  of  the  cathedrals  and  cloisters  which  they  -were 
unworthy  to  fill. 

The  days  were  now  at  hand  when  the  Pales-men  of 
Kilkenny  were  to  be  sorely  tried  by  their  English  masters; 
and  to  do  them  justice  they  bore  that  trial  well.  Most  of 
them  remained  loyal  to  the  ancient  faith.  Community  of 
suflFering  taught  them  sympathy  for  the  Irish  race  which 
they  had  never  known  in  the  days  of  their  prosperitj. 


The  HUtorians  of  Ossory.  293 

The  KUkenny  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  as  much  above 
the  Kilkenny  of  the  fourteenth  as  David  Rothe  is  above 
John  Clyn.  In  1641  the  city  of  the  Pale  opened  its  hospitable 
gates  to  admit  the  delegates  of  Catholic  Ireland,  and 
the  noble  motto  of  the  Confederation  : — "  Pro  Deo,  Rege,  et 
Patria,  Hibemi  unanimes,"  showed  that  the  exclusive  spirit 
of  the  Pale  was  levelled  as  low  as  the  earthen  moat  that 
once  defended  the  colonists  from  the  fierce  attacks  of  the 
clansmen  on  the  border. 

In  the  next  century,  from  1759  to  1776,  the  See  of 

Ossory  was  filled  by  the  illustrious  author  of  the  Hibemia 

Daminicanoj  the  briUiant  writer  and  the  sterling  patriot, 

whose    indignant    narrative    of    his    country's    wrongs 

frightened  the  timid  prelates  of  the  Province  to  try  and 

hold  a  meeting  in  his  own  city  for  the  suppression,  or  at 

least  the  expurgation,  of  the  book.     However,  De  Burgo's 

determined  attitude   frightened   them   home   again,   and 

although  some  of  the  prelates  afterwards  met  in  Cashel 

and  decreed  the  excision  of  a  few  iust  and  eloquent  pages 

about  James  II.,  still  the  Church  of  Ireland  was  spared  the 

shame  of  censuring  the  noblest  work  ever  inspired  by  the 

historical  muse  that  loves  the  marble  city  by  the  *  stubborn  * 

Nore. 

Next  door  to  the  house  where  De  Burgo  dwelt  was  bom 
Dr.  Mathew  Kelly,  the  translator  and  annotator  of  Lynch's 
great  work,  Cambrensis  Eversua.  With  his  whole  soul  he 
loved  the  historical  muse  of  CathoHc  Ireland.  He  did 
much,  and  was  doing  more  for  Irish  History,  when  an 
early  death,  at  the  age  of  forty-four,  snatched  him  from 
his  labour  of  love,  and  blighted  the  high  hopes  that  were 
centered  in  his  labours.  His  first  teacher  was  the  Rev. 
U.  A.  Brennan,  the  author  of  the  best  arranged  and  most 
readable  ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland  that  we  have. 
Dr.  Kelly  died  in  October,  1858,  and  just  three  years  later, 
in  1861,  Dr.  Moran,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Ossory,  iust  now 
transferred  to  the  Primatial  See  of  Australia,  pubhshed  the 
first  of  a  long  series  of  most  valuable  works  which  show 
that  the  muse  of  Irish  Catholic  history  stiU  haunts  the  fair 
city  on  the  banks  of  the  crystal  Nore.  We  need  not 
i^^ecially  refer  to  the  many  distinguished  Irish  historians 
whose  names  will  be  found  in  the  pages  of  the  Ossory 


291  The  Btitorians  cf  Ossory. 

tiie  eccleriastical  history  of  Irelaaid  is  the  repnbHcation  of 
the  Analecta  of  David  Rothe  and  the  valuable  introdiictkm 
which  accompanies  it.  An  excellent  Memoir  of  David 
Rothe  has  been  published  by  Dr.  Moran  in  the  Terj  AiH 
and  interesting  account  of  the  Bishops  of  Ossory,  published 
in  the  second  volume  of  the  Osaary  ArchcBological  Society, 
of  which  Dr.  Moran  was  the  fDunder  and  ^ding  spirit 
This  Memoir  is  especially  valuable  because  it  gives  many 
new  facts,  and  corrects  old  errors  regarding  the  history  of 
the  famous  Confederation  of  Kilkenny. 

David  Rothe,  author  of   the  Analecta^  was   bom  at 
Kilkenny  in  the  year  1568.    His  femily  were  bui^esses  of 
Anglo-Ncmnan  origin,  wealthy  and  respected.    He  studied 
at  Douai  and  Salamanca,  and  subsequently  went  to  Rome 
about  1602,  where  he  became  Secretary  to  Peter  Lombard, 
Archbishop    of   Armagh,  the    president    of   the  famous 
Congregation  de  AuaHHs.    Rothe  came  to  Ireland  in  3610, 
as  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Ossory  and  Vice-Primate  of  Ireland, 
for  Lombard,  who  resided  at  Rome,  delegated  both  his 
ordinary  and  primatial  jurisdiction  to  his  late  secretary, 
with  whose  eminent  merits  he  was  well  acquainted.    Dr. 
Rothe  was  about  to  be  appointed  to  the  See  of  Ossory  in 
1613,  but  it  was  at  the  time  deemed  prudent  to  def^  the 
actual  appointment  to  a  later  date.    It  took  place  in  1618, 
and  Rothe  was  towards  the  close  of  the  same  year  coa- 
secrated  in  Paris.    From  his  arrival  in  Ireland  in  1610  to 
his  death  in  1650,  as  BiBho|>  of  Ossory  and  Vice-Primate^ 
he  was  the  central  figure  m  Irish  ecclesiastical  histovy. 
His  learning  was  immense,  and  his  Eeal  was  equal  to  has 
learning.    Coura^,  too,  was  indispensable  in  those  yieaza 
of  persecution;  but  courage  witnout  cautious  prudence 
would  have  left  the  diocese  without  its  pastor.    He  was 
greatly  revered   by  the  clergy  of   all  ranks,  and  this 
reverence  for  his  character  and  abilities  lent  great  weight 
to  his  authority  as  judge  and  arbitrator  in  l^e  many  biiter 
ecdesiasticid  disputes  that  w^e  composed  mainly  tiiToiic;h 
his  great  learning,  patience  and  chanty.    Like  St.  Paul,  he 
had  the  care  of  all  the  churches,  he  was  anxious  for  ali,  «nd 
he  laboured  for  all.  In  many  dioceees  there  were  no 
and  the  spiritual  destitution  was  great ;  but  wherever  iit 
greatest,  there,  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  in  the  woocte  and 
valleys,  was  Rothe,  preaching,  confirming,  and  alwol^m^ 
the  a^eted  Catholics  to  whom  he  came  ae  an  aoDigel  frcMa 
heaven.    He  was  zealous,  too,  for  the  mainteaaaee   ol 
eodesiastical  disoipline,  and  la  spite  of  tbe  {>erilB  t)f  the 


*l%e  Butofiofm  of  Oiaoty.  295 

tii&eB,  lie  presided  as  Vice-Primate  for  the  Ndthem 
Provitice  at  a  Synod  held  in  1618,  in  which  many  ealutaiy 
decTeeB  were  enacted  and  enforced,  so  far  as  the  circum- 
Utances  of  the  time  wonld  permit.  His  hospitable  honse  in 
Kilkenny  waft  always  opened  for  the  prelates  of  Leinstet 
and  Mnnster,  and  we  find  him  present  or  preedding  at 
Synods  of  Kilkenny  in  1624  and  1629. 

Besides  his  own  Kterary  labours,  to  which  we  shall 
presenliy  refer,  he  lent  effective  assistance  to  Messingham, 
writing  two  Tracts  for  the  Florilegium^  one  on  the  Namei 
of  IrtlanS^  and  the  other  a  collection  of  Notez  or  Elucida" 
tionsy  as  he  called  them,  on  the  **  Life  of  St.  Patrick,**  He 
promised  Luke  Wadding  to  give  every  help  in  his  power 
towards  collecting  those  materials  for  our  Irish  hagiology, 
afterwards  so  wen  utQized  by  John  Colgan.  And  nrother 
Michael  CClery  tells  us,  that  nowhere  did  he  receive  a 
warmer  welcome,  when  engaged  m  collecting  these 
materials,  than  from  Dr.  Rothe  of  Ossory.  Even  Usher,  in 
spite  of  his  bigotry,  was  softened  into  complimentary  lan- 
guage towards  a  Catholic  bishop  by  Kothe's  urbane 
scholarship,  and  he  thanks  ^  Dr.  Rothe,  a  most  diligent 
investigator  of  his  country's  antiquities,"  for  lending  him 
some  MS.  verees. 

Dr.Rothe'sattitudeduringthestormyperiodoftheConfe-^ 
deration,  was  not  uniformly  consistent.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  he  was  an  Anglo-Norman,  and  a  staunch  loyalist, 
bound  to  obey  the  Pope's  Nuncio  as  a  bishop,  but  bound 
also  to  yield  obedience  to  the  crafty  Ormond,  the  repre- 
sentative of  King  Charles.  When  these  two  were  in  direct 
oppoation,  it  was  not  easy  for  Dr.  Rothe  to  steer  an  even 
keeL  He  tried  to  do,  it,  but,  of  course,  he  signally  failed. 
At  first  he  published  the  interdict,  thereby  adhering  to  the 
Nuncio;  then  it  was  said  the  Jesuits  got  round  him,  showed 
him  that  the  interdict  and  other  censures  were  invalid,  and 
induced  him  to  change  his  mind.  It  is,  however,  certain 
that  he  withdrew  the  interdict  from  the  Citv  of  Kilkenny, 
gave  favourable  answers  to  the  <Jueries  of  the  Supreme 
Council,  and  formally  sanctioned  the  Second  Peace  with 
Ormond,  and  the  Truce  with  Inchiquin.  "Resurgent 
Ireland  *'  was  again  stricken  down;  the  Concord  of  which 
they  boasted  was  broken ;  Ireland,  divided  and  paralysed 
by  the  treason  of  her  own  eons,  became  once  more  a 
victim  to  be  lacerated  by  the  Puritan  wolves  of  CromwelL 
Dr.  Rothe,  in  his  eightv-first  year,  weak  in  mind  and  body, 
saw  the  horizon  of  his  beloved  country  growing  darker  and 
dadttf  during  the  fatal  year  of  1649. 


296  Tlie  Historians  of  Ossory, 

In  January  the  king  was  beheaded  at  Whitehall.  Oa 
the  22nd  of  February,  Kinuccini  sailed  from  Gal  way.  On 
the  6th  August,  the  troops  of  Ormond,  who  were  besieg- 
ing Dublin,  were  chased  from  Rathfamham  by  Jones's 
Puritan  soldiers,  and  Ormond  himself  fled  home,  as  fa«t  as 
his  horse  could  carry  him,  to  hide  his  shame  or  his  treason. 
On  the  20th  of  same  month  of  August,  Cromwell  landed 
in  DubHn  with  12,000  veterans,  and  with  him  came  a  fear- 
ful plague  that  swept  away  nearly  a  third  of  the  population 
in  the  cities.  On  the  5th  of  November,  a  wail  of  woe  was 
heard  through  all  the  North — Ireland^s  latest  hope  was 

fone,  for  Owen  Roe  0*Neil,  her  sword  and  her  buckler,  lay 
ead  at  Cloughouter,  in  Cavan.  Cromwell  was  now  free 
to  range  throughout  the  land  on  his  tour  of  slaughter. 
He  came  to  Kilkenny  about  the  22nd  of  March,  1650.  The 
city  surrendered  after  a  stubborn  defence,  and  the  poor 
old  bishop  saw,  before  he  died,  his  churches  profaned,  his 
clergy  massacred,  his  faithful  flock  outraged,  insulted,  or 
slain.  He  was,  it  is  said,  himself  dragged  to  prison,  until 
death  mercifully  came  to  end  the  miseries  of  the  old  man 
sometime  towards  the  close  of  1650. 

Dr.  Rothe's  greatest  work  is  the  Analecta.  Dr.  Moran 
declares  that  it  is  by  far  the  most  important  historical  wbrk 
which  any  member  of  the  Irish  Hierarchy  had,  up  to  the 
time  of  its  appearance,  contributed  to  our  literature.  The 
first  part  was  pubh'shed  in  16l().  A  new  and  complete 
edition,  in  two  volumes,  appeared  at  Cologne,  1617  and 
1619.  The  first  incomplete  edition  was  dedicated  to 
Charles,  Prince  of  Wales,  in  a  Dedicatory  Letter  which, 
in  our^days,  would  be  denounced  by  irreverent  patriots  as 
fulsome  flattery  of  the  worthless  Stuarta  But  Ealkenny 
was  a  city  of  the  Pale,  eminently  loyal  even  to  persecuting 
princes — perhaps  a  trifle  too  ready  to  lick  the  nands  that 
smote  them.  The  full  title  of  this  first  edition  gives  a 
summary  of  the  contents  of  the  work.  He  called  it: — 
**  Analecta  Sacra  Nova  et  Mira  de  Rebus  CathoUcorum  in 
Hibemia  pro  fide  et  religione  gestis,  divisa  in  tres  partes, 
quarum. 

Prima  quae  nunc  datur  continet  Semestrem  gravaminom 
Relationem. 

Secunda,  Paraenimn  ad  martjn-es  designatos. 

Tertia,  Processum  Martynalem  quorundum  fidei 
pugilum ; 

Relatore  et  Collectore  T.  N."  In  the  second  edition  it 
was  "  T.  N.  Philadelpho."    The  author,  of  course,  dare  not 


The  Historiana  of  Ossory.  291 

giTe  his  name  without  exposing  himself  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  Irish  Government. 

Dr.  Rothe  tells  ns  that  he  called  the  first  part,  published 

m  1616,  a  Semestris  gravamimnn  Relatio^  partly  because  it 

wag  written  in  six  months,  which  shows  tnat  the  writer  had 

a  Tery  ready  pen,  and  partly  because  the  fines  and  other 

pains  and  penalties  imposed  on  recusants  were  renewed 

erery  six  months.       This  first  part  certainly  contains  a 

moving  tale  of  the  infamous  wrongs  inflicted  on  Catholics, 

not  only  during  the  later  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  but  up 

to  the  very  time  that  Dr.  Rothe  was  writing.     The  second 

part,  as  it«  name  implies,  is  a  touching  exhortation  addressed, 

about  the  year  1611,  to  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor, 

Cornelius  O'Devany,  and  to  other  confessors^  who  were  in 

prison  for  the  faith  throughout  Ireland.     Some  of  them,  as 

Dr.  Rothe  elsewhere  says,  were  packed  into  the  poisonous 

jaik,  **  likfi  herrings  in  a  barrel.'' 

The  third,  and  much  the  most  valuable  part  of  the 
Analecta^  sets  forth  with  great  minuteness  of  detail  the 
terrible  and  prolonged  sufferings  of  the  three  illustrious 
martyrs,  Richard  Creagh,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  Patrick 
O'Healy,  Bishop  of  Mayo,  and  Dermod  O'Hurley,  Arch- 
bishop of  Cashel,  as  well  as  of  several  other  martyrs  and 
confessors  who  suffered  during  the  reign  of  EKzabeth.    This 
I\'0€essu9  Martyrialis  is  a  work  of  great  authority,  coming 
firom  a  contemporary  writer  whose  means  of  obtaining 
accurate  information  were  ample,  and  whose  veracity  can- 
not be  impugned.     Some  of  the  details  given  by  Dr.  Rothe 
have  been  questioned  or  denied  by  later  Protestant  writers. 
It  wtis  a  fortunate  circumstance,  for  it  has  elicited  from 
Dr.  Moran,  in  the  Introduction,  a  brilliant  vindication  ot 
the  facts  narrated  by  his  illustrious  predecessor  in  the  See 
of  Ossory,  and  upon  evidence  which  cannot  be  gainsay ed — 
the  oflicial  Records  of  the  State  Papers,  drawn  up  by  the 
very  men  who  perpetrated  these  legal  murders.  We  regret 
that  we  cannot  now  find  space  to  give  some  specimens  of 
Dr.   Moran's  triumphant  vindication  of  Rothe's  historical 
accuracy ;  we  must  refer  our  readers  to  the  book  itself, 
which  will  amply  repay  perusal. 

Stwienta  of  Irish  history  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
Dr.  Moran  for  the  republication  and  vindication  of  this 
valuable  historical  treatise :  but  it  is  only  one  of  the  great 


298  The  Historians  of  Ossory. 

Irish  ecclesiastical  history,*  besides  writing  many  valuable 

gapers  on  the  same  subject  for  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical 
lECORD,  of  which  he  was  for  several  years  the  editor  and 
chief  contributor.      His  labours  have  entitled  him  to  high 
rank  amongst  the  illustrious  sons  of  Ireland,  who  for  no 
earthly  reward  spent  many  toilsome  years  in  vindicating 
the  glories  of  our  National  Church.   He  is  one  of  those  who, 
as  David  Rothe  has  well  said,  preferred  to  consult  for  the 
honour  of  their  country,  the  glory  of  their  ancestors,  and 
the  instruction   of  posterity,  rather  than  for  their  own 
security  and  ease.      His  name  will  go  down  to  future  ages 
with  the  Rothes,  the  Waddings,  the  Coleans,  the  O'Clerys, 
and  the  other  sons  of  Ireland,  who  have  shed  so  much  lustre 
on  their  native  land.    Now,  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  the 
Church's  Ruler,  he  leaves  the  fair  city  which  the  Muse  of 
History  loves,  to  govern  the  archiepiscopal  see  q£  Sydney, 
to  which  is  annexed  the  Primacy  of  the  Australian  Empire. 
He  goes  out  at  the  call  of  God  into  a  strange  land ;  but  he 
goes  in  the  spirit  of  the  Irish  peregrini  of  old,  not  without 
regret,  but  with  courage  and  confidence  withal,  to  work 
the  work  of  God. 

The  Record  bids  him  a  hearty  God  speed  on  his 
distant  journey.  May  St.  Cormac  the  Sailor,  and  his  own 
St.  Brendan,  who  so  often  tried  the  perils  of  the  stormjr 
seas,  send  him  prosperous  breezes  to  waft  him  to  his 

>  The  following  is  a  list  of  Dr.  Moran's  works  on  Irish  EodesiiS- 
tical  History : — 

(1.)  Memoirs  of  the  Most  Rev,  Dr.  Oliver  Plunkett,  Archbishop  <if 
Armagh,  who  mfferedfor  the  Faith  in  1681.     Dublin :  Duffy,  1861. 

(2.)  Essays  on  the  Origin,  Doctrines^  and  Discipline  of  the  Early  Irigh 
Church,    Dublin  :  Duffy,  1864. 

.  (3.)  History  of  the  Catholic  Archbishops  of  Dublin  since  the  Before 
mation.    Duffy,  1864. 

(4.)  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Persecutions  suffered  by  the  Catholics  of 
Ireland  under  the  rule  of  Cromwell  and  the  Puritans,  Duffy,  1866.  Seteial 
editions  have  been  published. 

(5.)  The  Episcopal  Succession  in  Ireland  under  the  Reign  of  EtuxMh* 
Dublin :  Kelly,  1866. 

(6.)  Life  of  the  Most  Rev,  Dr,  Plunkett.    1870. 

(7.)  Acta  Sancti  Brendani,    KeUy,  1872. 

(8.)  Monasticon  Hibemicon.  With  Notes.  Kelly,  1875.  Two 
volumes  only  hare  been  published. 

(9.)  Spidlegitm  Oasoriense,  Browne  &  Nolacn.  The  third  Ychaae 
-IB  being  published. 

(10.)  Early  Irish  Saints  in  Great  Britain, 

(11.)  Life  of  Father  Mather,  PJ^.  of  CarloW'^raigue,  Togetiicr  witk 
Hie  worKs  at  the  head  of  ou^  Notice* 


The  Apehgy  far  Thotmitni  e&niidered.  299 

flonthem  home ;  a&d  may  all  the  Saints  of  £rin  help  him 
hj  their  strong  prayers  to  build  up  in  Australia  an  Irish 
diurch,  that  in  the  ooming  time  will  rival  in  sanctity  and 
learning  the  unforgotten  glories  of  the  ancient  church  of 

rrelaod. 

John  HEAiiX. 


THE  APOLOGY  FOR  THOMISM  CONSIDERED. 

L.  J.  fl.  feels  shocked  that  any  one  should  seem  to 
question  the  **admissibihty*'  of  Thomism — an  immunity 
conceded  Jjo  it  "  over  two  centuries  ago" — ^the  questioning 
of  which,  in  those  days  of  practical  polemics,  argues,  he 
thinks,  a  disordered  theological  conscience. 

I  presume  that  he  derives  this  claim  to  ^^  admissibility" 
from  the  Decrees  of  Popes  Paul  V.,  Urban  VIIL,  and 
Innocent  X,  What  these  Pontiffs  prohibited,  however, 
was,  "ne  conlrariae  opiniones  t^lla  cemxera  notentur." 
L.  J.  H.  will  pardon  me  for  reminding  him  that  this 
prohibition  does  not  prevent  us  from  asserting  and 
proving  that  Thomism,  or  any  of  the  other  systems,  is 
tmtenaDle. 

The  legislation  of  these  Pontiffs  does,  however,  most 
strictly  forbid  us  to  brand  any  of  the  systems  with  censure ; 
and  I  hope  that  your  correspondent  has  not  singed  his 
wings  in  his  references  to  Molinism.  It  is  perilously  like 
affixing  to  Mohnism  the  "proxima  haeresi"  note,  to  assert 
that  its  "  discovery  would*  have  made  the  semi-Pelagian 
controversy  pointless ;"  and  that,  because  **  danger  to  free 
will  has  not  oeen  charged  against  the  system  of  Molina," 
ilierefore  the  upholders  of  his  system  would  have  no  room 
fflr  need  of  controversy  with  those  heretics.  No  doubt, 
if  Molinism  be  all  that  L.  J.  H.  hints  it  is,  there 
would  be  between  it  and  Pelagianism  a  thorough  coin- 
cidence; for  each  would  assign  to  the  purely  unaided 
iimnaa  will  a  share  in  the  doing  of  salutary  acts. 
iMatmzch,  however,  as  it  is  notorious  that  Molinism  does 
QoftiDg  of  tiie  kind,  but  quite  the  contrary,  I  prefer  to 


800  Tlie  Apology  for  Thomism  considered. 

the  opinion  of  Bellarmine — that  Molinism  is  "omnino 
aliena  a  sententia  D.  Angustini,  et  quantum  ego  existimo  a 
sententia  Scripturarum  Divinanim." 

Bellarmine  "  refers  to  *  sufficient  grace'  plus  the  consent 
of  the  will,  quo  accedente  it  is  efficacioua"  But  this 
"  phantom" — sprout  sta,t — is  not  Molinism. 

It  is  a  bold  and  amusing  move  on  the  part  of  an 
"  apologist "  for  Thomism,  to  quote  the  opinion  of 
Bellarmine  on  the  systems,  and  seemingly  to  abide  by  it. 
For  Bellarmine  uses  words  regarding  Thomism  which  no 
one  of  any  theological  conscience  at  all,  would  think  of 
using  now.     He  says : — 

''  Est  alia  sententia  aliorum  qui  decent  gratiam  efficacem  esse 
actionem  Dei  physicam  quae  determinat  voluntatem  ad  volendum 
et  eligendum  bonum  quod  illi  fuerit  per  gratiam  excitantem 
inspiratum,  Hac  opinio  videtur  mihi  aut  esse  omnino  eadem  cum 
errore  Calvini  et  Lutheranorum,  aut  panim  ab  eo  distare." 

Your  correspondent  seems  to  think  that  the  system  that 
bears  Molina's  name  was  the  "  discovery"  of  Molina.  On 
the  contrary,  the  "  versatility"  of  grace  was,  at  the  time  of 
Calvin,  one  of  those  venerable  and  universally  accepted 
doctrines,  in  regard  of  which  he  undertook  to  "  reform"  the 
Church.     Calvin  writes  (Lib.  2,  Inst.  c.  3) : — 

**  Voluntatem  movet  gratia  nan  qualiter  multts  aaeculia  traditttm 
est  et  creditum^  ut  nostrae  postea  sit  electionis  motion!  aut  obtem- 
perare  aut  refragari,  sed  illam  efficaciter  efficiendo." 

Instead  of  citing  the  words  of  Bellarmine,  and  giving 
to  them  the  negative  approbation  conveyed  in  silence,! 
assert  that  Thomism  diners  toto  coelo  from  Calvinism  and 
Lutheranism.  Luther  and  Calvin  persist  in  denving  that 
free  will  can  coexist  with  efficacious  grace.  The  Thomists 
of  course  hold  that  free  will  can  and  does  survive  in  the 
fullest  measure  under  the  influence  of  efficacious  grace. 
By  holding  to  this,  in  conformity  with  Catholic  dogma, 
they  separate  themselves  from  all  contact  with,  and 
suspicion  of,  dogmatic  error.  "  Salvant  fidem."  But  how 
do  they  explain  the  possibility  of  this  co-existence  I  How, 
in  the  adoption  of  the  Catholic  definitions  of  efficaciouB 
grace  and  of  free  will,  do  they  show  that  this  co-existence 
would  not  involve  that  "  contradictibn  in  terms,  which  is 
the  ultimate  test  of  any  controversy  that  touches  the  D^ty 
and  His  action"  ? 

Chiefly  by  applying  their  **  famous  distinctioa  o£  sensus 


The  Apology  for  Thandsm  considered,  301 

wmpontus  and  eensue  divisus"    This  solutioiiy  however,  is 
abandoned,    as    indefensible,  bj    many    of   the    leading 
Thomistic  writers. 
Thus  Cardinal  Cajktan  says : — 

"Quae  commoniter  dicuntur  de  sensa  composite  et  sensu  diviso 
.   .    .    intellectum  non  quietant." 

Aravius  says : — 

"Quod  quidam  dicunt.  .  .  .  mihi  est  parom  probabile  .  .  .  . 
shnpliciter  et  in  omni  sensu  necessitare  debet  voluntatem  ad  ilium 
actum." 

BiLLUART  adds : — 

"Non  satis  explicatur  modus  quo  haec  concordia  a  nobis 
infelligi  possit.     .     .     Hespondeo,  mysterium  esse." 

And  Bannez  himself  assures  us  that  any  attempt  to 
solve  this  mystery  would  involve  "  ignorantia,  ne  dicam, 
temeritaa" 

L.  J.  H.'s  treatment  of  this  sensue  compoeittLS  solution, 
though  not  new  in  substance,  is  invested  with  very  com- 
menMble  novelty  in  the  boldness  with  which  it  discards 
all  dust-raising  and  ambiguity,  and  stands  forth  in  the 
open  on  its  own  merits.  "Let  us  suppose  the  will  deter- 
nuning  itself  by  its  own  native  strengtn  ...  to  the  art  of 
loving:  certainly  *  in  sensu  composito '  with  that  determina- 
tion it  cannot  but  love-nsupposing  the  determination  to  be 
eflScacioua  .  .  The  wiU  thus  determined  is  still  free,  for 
it  is  in  its  power  *  not  to  love  in  sensu  diviso.*  In  the  same 
manner,  there  cannot  be  with  efficacious  grace,  the  con- 
liary  act  *  in  sensu  composito* :  it  can  *  in  sensu  diviso,* 
which  suffices  for  liberty.*' 

All  which  means — 

The  determination  of  the  will  effected proprio  rnotu  does 
not  destroy  Uberty.  Therefore  "  in  the  same  manner  the 
det^mination  of  the  will  effected  alieno  ineluctabili  motu 
does  not  destroy  liberty — 

Because  in  each  case  we  find  an  equally  restrictive 
determination  ad  ununu 

Let  us  test  the  strength  of  this  argument  by  another 
nwtance  in  which  a  similar  senaua  campositiAs  may  be 
Mognised 

A  and  B  find  themselves  rushing  at  a  rapid  rate  in  a 


302  The  Apology  for  Thatniim  eon$idere<L 

face  of  the  fact,  that  A  is  there  in  purstiit  of  pleasure, 
while  B  is  there  under  police  escort. 

We  might,  with  just  as  logical  a  sequence,  infer  that 
all  the  countless  streams  that  have  fed  the  ocean,  sprang 
firom  fountains  of  the  same  sea-level,  flowed  through  the 
same  sunny  valleys  or  over  the  same  blistering  sands— ^ 
because  their  final  "  determination"  is  the  same. 

Thomism  will  seek  in  vain  to  establish  a  parallel 
between  two  **  determinations,**  one  of  which  is  free  from 
its  birth,  while  the  other  is,  in  all  its  stages,  unalterably 
prearranged  and  forced. 

II.  I  accept  without  criticism  your  correspondent's 
description  of  "  suflScient  grace ;"  that  it  **  confers  on  man 
full,  and  taking  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  into  con- 
sideration, ready  (expeditam)  ppwer  to  perform  good 
actions;  but  this  grace  is  made  useless  by  the  resistance  of 
the  will."  I  accept  it ;  but  I  maintain  that  no  Thomist 
can,  at  the  same  time,  defend  it  and  his  own  systenu 
Between  them  there  is  no  concord :  they  mutually  repel 
each  other.  The  Thomist  must  hold  (1)  that  a  grace  that 
is  at  am  time  merely  sufficient  is  so,  in  the  very  merenesB  of 
its  sufficiency,  because  it  was  so  constructed.  ^2)  That 
grace,  whether  sufficient  or  efficacious  in  its  creation,  is  as 
unalterable  in  its  nature  as  the  decree  by  which  it  was 
created,  and  that  is  as  unalterable  as  God.  (3)  That  the 
Divine  Onmipotence  is  pledged  to  the  attainment  by 
efficacious  g^ce  of  the  finis  ad  quern  for  which  it  was 
created,  despite  of  ail  opposition  from  "  human  or  diabolic" 
power.  (4)  That  the  giving  of  merely  sufficient  rather 
than  the  giving  of  efficacious  grace  rests  with  God  alone ; 
and  (5)  That  God  is  not  influenced  in  the  selection  He 
makes  by  Us  foreknowledge  of  man's  merits  or  demerits. 

When,  therefore,  they  say  that,  in  any  partictuar 
instance,  it  is  ^^  man's  resistance  to  grace''  that  nullifies  the 
action  of  that  "  full  and  expedite  power  which  the  grace 
conferred,"  the  answer  is  very  obvioua  If  that  **fuir  and 
ready  power^'  was  ab  initio  intended  to  take  effect,  no 
created  resistance  could  stay  its  efficiency.  (2)  When  we 
know  (from  the  result)  that,  although  it  gave  all  this 
plenitude  and  readiness  of  power,  it  proved  to  be, 
nevertheless,  a  merely  sufficient  grace,  we  infer  at  once 
that  it  never  '*  contained,"  and  was  not  intended  for  the 
production  of  a  salutary  act.  With  all  the  ftillnesB  of  power 
which  the  Thonnsts  ascribe  to  thdr  ^sufficient  grace,"  it 
never  oaa,  defacto,  be  of  use  ta  man.    It  lacks  from  itv 


The  Apology  for  Thondam  considered.  303 

creation    one  essential  element,  the  presence  of  which 
would  infallibly  secure  the  salutary  act,  the  want  of  which 
would  just  as  infallibly  presage  and  warrant  its  absence. 
At  the  veiy  best :  the  giving  of  sufficient  grace,  in  the 
Thomistic  sense,  is  like  the  bestowing  of  a  duly  filled 
cheqae,  the  payment  of  which  has  been  inexorably  stopped. 
UI.  As  part  and  portion  of  the  same  subterfuge,  the 
Thomists  say — I  submit,  with  transparent  inconsistency — 
(1)  that  efficacious  graces  were  refused  to  the  people  of 
Corazain  because  of  their  crimes ;  and  (2)  that  ^cacious 
graces  would  have  been  given  in  preference  to  those  of 
Tyre,  because  the  latter  were   not    quite  so  obdurate, 
perverse,  and  ungrateful  as  the  former. 
This  is  not  Thomistic  doctrine. 

For  Thomism  is  founded  on  the  theory  of  a  distribution 
of  grace  destined  to  secure  a  predestination  decreed  ante- 
cedently to,  and  wholly  independently  of,  all  prevision  of 
man's  actions.  We  must  hold  one  of  two  thmgs :  either 
that  the  prevision  of  man's  greater  or  less  unworthinesa 
guides  God  in  the  distribution  of  His  graces,  and  thus 
abandon  Thomism :  or  we  must  hold  that  man's  obduracy 
and  sinfulness  exercise  no  influence  on  that  distributiony 
and  thereby  surrender  to  the  objection  drawn  from  the 
text  of  St.  Matthew. 

But,  besides  this  special  difficulty  which  concerns  the 

Thomists  alone — and  is  therefore  purely  "  domestic" — ^the 

theory  of  the  solution  seems  irreconcilably  at  toriance  witk 

the   course  of  Divine  Mercy,  as  pourtrayed  in  Sacred 

Scripture.    Our  Divine  Lord's  mission  was  chiefly  amcmgst 

sinners,  and,  surely  not  for  the  distribution  amongst  them 

of  merely  sudflBcient  graces.     "Non  veni  vocare  justos,  sed 

peccatores,"    The  Divine  Love  from  which  those  graces 

came  was  not  less  intense  for  those  who  were^^  ungrateful" 

^an  for  the  others ;  nor  the  favours  He  bestowed  upon 

them  less  ''  useful."    Quite  the  contrary :  He  gauged  the 

extent  and  value  of  His  mercies  by  their  greater  needs. 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that  God  has  for  sinners,  without  distinc- 

tion,  a  very  wealth  of  patience  and  long-suffering  (both  of 

which  suppose  perversity  and  obduracy  in  man) ;  that  His 

benignity  ever  leads  to  penance  the  wicked  man,  even  the 

man  of  hardness  and  hitherto  impenitent  heart.   The  reply 

of  the  Thomists  would  lead  us  to  expect  that  such  men 

night  indeed  receive  sufficient  graces,  but  presumably,  and 


304  Iht  Apology  for  Thomism  considered. 

prayers  of  the  Church  and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers," 
even  though  all  of  them  should  seem  to  bear  "a most 
rigorous    Thomistic    sense,"    would  not  be  to   establish 
Thomistic  doctrine.      Every  MoHnist  or  Congruist  writer 
supplies  interpretations  of  these  prayers  and  pajssages  in 
full  harmony  with  his  own  view,  and  supplements  such 
interpretation  with  a  catena  of  other  extracts  from  the 
same  sources,  that  seem  fatal  to  Thomism.     They  draw 
in  greatest  abundance  from  the  writings  of  St.  Augustine 
and  St.  Thomas.     With  regard  to  the  **  prayers  of  the 
Church,"  I  invite  your  correspondent  to  give  any  legitimate 
rendering  that  will  not  put  Thomism  completely  **  out  of 
court,"  to   that  prayer  which  the  priest  daily  recites  in 
discharge,  of  the  most  solemn  fimction  of  his  sacred  oflfiee . 

"  Hanc  igitur  Oblation  em  servitutis  nostrae 

quaesumus  Domine  ut  placatus  accipias     .     .     .  atque  nos 
.     .     .    in  Electorum  tuorum  jubeas  grege  numerari." 

V.  It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  the  doctrinal  "  incon- 
veniences" that  spring  from  a  consistent  adhesion  to 
the  Thomistic  system.  One  is  suggested  by  your  cor- 
respondent's illustration  of  the  stone  that  is  kept  by  the 
hand  from  falling,  but  that  falls  to  the  ground  when  the 
hand  is  withdrawn.  The  stone  may  be  taken  to  represent 
the  soul  that  has  never  lost,  or  has  completely  regained,  the 
fulness  of  justification.  The  withdrawal  of  that  sustainment 
would  be  the  abancfonment  of  that  soul  (in  time  of  danger) 
to  somethin^less  than  "intrinsically  efficacious  graces," 
without  any  previous  record  of"  ingratitude  and  obduracy" 
on  the  part  of  man — an  event  against  the  possibility  of 
which  we  have  the  pronouncement  of  the  Council  of  Trent: 
"Deus  namque  sua  gratia  semel  justificatos  non  deserit 
nisi  ab  iis  prius  deseratur^*  (Sess.  6,  c.  11).  It  is  hard  to 
see  how,  in  the  theory  of  the  Thomists,  the  dogma  of  the 
"  AdmissibiUty  of  Justification"  could  be  maintained. 

I  have  reserved  to  the  closing  paragraph  all  allusion 
to  the  hard  things  L.  J.  fl.  says  regarding  my 
arguments  and  style  of  writing.  He  tells  us  that  he  is  a 
man  of  "taste,*'  and  I  accept  the  assurance.  When, 
however,  I  remember  the  old  saying  that  "  in  disputation, 
heat  of  temper  and  strength  of  argument  vary  in  the 
inverse  ratio,**  I  can  understand  how  even  a  man  of  "  taste*' 
can  stoop  to  saying  un^acious  worda  Struggling  against 
unconquerable  dimculties,  generates  irritation:  irritation 
finds  relief  in  uncomely  words ;  and — it  is  a  "  crumb  of 
comfort*' — hard  words  break  no  bones.  q^  j^  jy[ 


[    305    ] 


PLAIN  FACTS :  TRINITY  COLLEGE. 


Doctrina  sed  vim  premovet  insitam, 
Bectique  cultos  pectora  roborant ; 
Uteunqne  defecere  mores, 
Indeoorant  bene  nata  culpae. 

'^Biit  teaching  farthers  inbred  energy,  and  genuine  modes  of 
culture  strengthen  the  soul ;  whenever  morals  chance  to  fail,  foul 
stams  disfigure  the  noble  endowments  of  nature." 


¥0U  and  we,  dear  reader,  can  recollect  the  fate  which 
befel  a  certain  homeward-bound  East-Indian  ship 
some  few  years  aga  She  had  reached  even  so  far  as  the 
English  Channel ;  under  a  cloud  of  white  swelling  sails 
Ae  glides  majestically  over  the  blue  i^arkling  waters, 
and,  as  she  nears  the  shore,  a  crowd  of  sunburnt  exiles 
may  be  discerned  thronging  the  decks,  and  gazing  with 
feeling  of  deep,  overflowing  joy  on  that  dear  native  land, 
in  which  iliey  expect  to  find  that  rest  so  anxiously  looked 
forward  to  duiing  long  years  of  toil  and  danger  under  an 
Indian  sky.  At  length,  in  spite  of  every  fifficulty  and 
danger,  their  dearest  wishes  are  about  to  be  gratified :  the 
fresh  green  hiUs  along  the  shore,  the  clear  SKy,  the  sunlit 
waves,  contiibute  to  the  cheerful,  animating  Mpect  of  the 
scene,  and,  while  heightening  the  transports  ot  the  return- 
ing wanderers,  appear  to  bid  them  a  right  hearty  welcome 
home.     Truly  it  is  a  most  gladsome  spectacle. 

But  all  on  a  sudden,  a  cloud  sweeps  across  the  face  of 
the  sun,  and  swiftly,  as  speeds  the  lightening  flash,  a 
viol^it  squall  fliee  over  the  now  darkling  waters,  and, 
before  a  single  sail  can  be  furled,  strikes  the  noble  ship 
with  a  terrifio,  irresistible  force.  The  spectators  on  shore 
can  scarcely  credit  their  senses;  a  wild,  frantic  shriek, 
from  a  thimsand  voices,  smites  the  ear ;  the  stout  ship,  as 
ff  a  thing  widowed  with  life^  struggles  convulsively  for  a 
few  Beconds ;  when  all  at  once,  with  her  white  sails,  and 
<fal)r  hull,  and  crowd  of  human  freight,  she  plunges 
faOMafli  the  waves,  and  leaves  no  trace  on  the  face  of  the 


306  Plain  Facts:  Trinity  College. 

appointment,  of  deep,  irremediable  loss,  fills  our  soul ;  and 
when  we  hear  of  a  young^Cathohc  student  entering  Trinity, 
or  any  other  such  mixed  or  godless  College,  a  somewhat 
similar  feeling  grows  upon  us ;  for  there  can  be  very  little 
doubt  that,  either  in  piety  or  in  faith,  that  young  man, 
whose  Catholic  home  training,  whose  innocent  and  suc- 
cessful school  career,  gave  such  cheering  promise  of  a 
noble  and  useful  manhood,  shall  suffer  a  veritable  ehip- 
Vreck  in  fair  but  treacherous  waters,  and  in  spite  of  all 
efforts  to  save  him. 

The  Rev.  Charles  H.  Wright,  Incumbent  of  St.  Mary's, 
Belfast,  in  a  pamphlet  published  quite  recently,  speaks 
with  great  candour,  and  in  terms  that  cannot  be 
explained  away,  of  the  infidehty  which  prevails  in  Trinity 
College. 

"  It  cannot,"  says  the  writer,  "  any  longer  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  Fellows  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  are 
believers  in  Divine  Revelation.  If  report  be  true,  some  of 
them  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  personal  God. 
There  are  Professors  in  the  University  who  are  reasonably 
suspected  of  Agnosticism,  if  not  of  Atheism.  It  is  impossible, 
however,  to  demand  the  dismissal  of  a  Fellow  or  Professor 
on  the  ground  of  any  erroneous  opinions  he  may  hold  on 
religious  questions,  and  it  would  oe  highly  undesirable, 
even  if  it  were  possible,  to  prosecute  any  University 
teacher  for  sceptical  views.  But  it  is  a  lamentable  fact 
that  many  students  '  unlearn*  at  Dublin,  as  well  as  at 
Oxford,  the  religious  principles  in  which  they  were 
instructed  at  home.  There  exists  in  Trinity  College  what 
is  virtually  a  propaganda  for  sceptical  views,  and  too  little 
effort  is  put  forth  on  the  other  side  in  order  to  stem  the 
tide  of  infideUty  among  the  students.'* 

When  we  thus  hear  honest  Protestants  crying  out 
against  the  "propaganda  for  sceptical  views,"  and  "the 
tide  of  iufideUty  amongst  the  students,"  it  is  high  time  for 
Catholics  to  rouse  themselves  from  the  guilty  apathy  into 
which  they  seem  to  have  fallen,  and  to  tear  from  their 
eyes  those  scales  which  have  prevented  them  from  seeing 
I'rinity  as  it  really  is — a  hot  bed  of  irreligion.  That  this 
lamentable  viciousness  of  Trinity  concerns  Catholics,  there 
can  be  no  doubt ;  for  at  this  moment  there  are  amongst  its 
students  many  Cathohcs — many  of  those  who  figured  on  the 
Intermediate  Lists,and  who  have  noiselessly  and  unobserved 
passed  into  its  unhallowed  halls.  Let  our  Catholic  people 
bestir  themselves  manfully,   both  collectively  and  indi- 


Plain  Facts :  Irinity  College.  307 

▼iduafly,  and  avert  the  sacrifice  of  some  of  the  most 
promising  of  their  young  men  at  the  altar  of  infidelity. 
Iiiflhmen  are  distinguished  for  their  strong  faith :  St.  Peter, 
too,  was  strong  in  faith,  yet  he  denied  his  Lord.  He  was 
over  confident  in  himself,  and  entered  into  the  occasion  of 
an,  Irish  CathoUcs  are  exposed  to  similar  presumption 
and  it«  consequences;  they  are  much  less  m  dread  of 
infideUty  than  they  ought :  it  is  ^own  only  to  them  by 
name;  it  is  only  a  person  who  has  had  the  dreadful 
misfortune  to  be  exposed  to  the  terrible  influence  of 
infidelity  that  can  even  faintly  realise  with  what  hellish 
force  it  eat6  and  eats  into  the  soul,  slowly  but  ruthlessly 
destroying  the  life  of  faith,  as  inevitably  as  cancer  wears 
away  the  life  of  the  body. 

In  the  Dublin  Review  of  July,  1863,  we  find  it  stated 
that— 

"  It  is  a  known  fact  that,  of  the  Catholics  who  have  studied  at 
Trinity  College,  Dublin,  few  have  escaped  without  more  or  less 
injury,  not  only  to  piety,  but  to  faith.  .  .  .  Hundreds,  it  is  said, 
eould  easily  be  counted  up,  who  have  lost  the  faith,  two  of  them  a 

dean  and  a  bishop  in  the  Irish   Establishment A 

Catholic  bishop,  who  studied  there,  has  been  heard  to  say  that  his 
preservation  from  perdition,  amongst  so  many  dangers,  was  as 
great  a  miracle  as  the  preservation  of  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den." 

Many  of  our  readers  shall  be  able  to  add,  from  their 

own  experience,  numerous  instances  in  confirmation  of  the 

truth  of  these  deplorable  facts  set  forth  by  the  reviewer ; 

and  surely,  a  system  that  bears  such  bUghted  fruit,  must 

be  woftdly  pernicious,  and  should  be  shunned  by  Catholics 

as  a  deadly  moral  plague.    The  Catholic  student  of  Trinity 

will   indeed  ordinarily  assert   that  he  can   discover  no 

danger  there  for  religion ;  and  in  proof  of  the  correctness 

of  this  view,  he  alleges  that  in  his  *'  Alma  Mater  "  one 

bardly  ever  hears  a  word  in  disparagement  of  Catholicisim 

'—the  students  are  so  gentlemanly  and  considerate,  and 

Ae   professors   are  so  Teamed  and    so    liberal-minded: 

flnthermore,  he  has  ample  opportunity  of  attending  to  his 

idigioiis  duties,  and  greater  safeguards,  he  thinks,  cannot 

te  reftsonably  required. 

How  worthless  are  the  arguments  built  upon  these  and 
«uch  deceptive  foundations,  and  how  essentially 
"^      is  the  godless  system,  whether  at  Trinity  or 


308  Plain  Facts :  Trinity  College. 

of  the  Catholic  Church  have  solemnly  and  repeatedly 
condemned    both   mixed  and   godless  UniversitieH,  and 
warned  the  faithful  against  them.    That  the  condemnation 
is  just,  and  that  the  words  of  warning  should  be  dutifully 
received  and  acted  upon,  will,  as  a  general  proposition,  be 
denied  by  no  CathoUc  who  deserves  the  name ;  but  when 
individuals  come  to  consider  their  own  particular  case, 
they  unfortunately  succeed  sometimes,   by  some  flimsy 
sophistry,  in  persuading  themselves  that,  in  their  peculiar 
circumstances,  an  exception  may  indeed  be  made.     Now, 
to  show  to  such  persons  the  true  charactCT  of  the  secular 
University,  and  thus  induce  them  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 
reason  and  religion,  we  shall  quote  the  deliberate  pro- 
nouncements of  some  of  the  greatest  thinkers  of  the  day, 
which   will   give  a   pretty   clear    insight  into    the  wise 
motives  which  impelled  the  pastors  of  the  Church  to  warn 
their  flocks  against  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  age.    In 
his  Lecture  on  a  "  Form  of  Infidelity  of  the  Day,"  Cardinal 
Newman  lets  in  much  light  on  the  insidious  policy  of  the 
apostles  of  godless  education.    In  speaking  of  them,  he 
says : — 

"The  very  policy  of  religious  men,  they  wiH  argue,  is  to  get 
the  world  to  fix  its  attention  steadily  upon  the  subject  of  Religion. 
.  .  .  .  And  their  own  game,  they  will  consider,  is,  on  the 
contrary,  to  be  elaborately  silent  about  it." 

And  the  result  answers  their  expectation  ;  for  this  elaboraU 
silence  about  Religion  does  liul  young  Catholics  at  the 
University  into  a  false  and  fatal  security. 

Again,  Cardinal  Newman  farther  on  says  :-— 

•*  Nor  is  this  all ;  they  trust  to  the  influence  of  the  modem 
sciences  on  what  may  be  called  the  Imagination.    When  anything 
which  comes  before  us  is  very  unlike  what  we  commonly  expe- 
rience, we  consider  it  on  that  account  untrue ;  not  because  it 
really  shocks  our  reason  as  improbable,  but  because  it  startles  our 
imagination  as  strange.     Now,  Revelation  presents  to  us  a  per- 
fectly different  aspect  of  the  universe  from  that  presented  by  the 
Sciences.     .     .     .    While,  then.  Reason  and  Revelation  are  con- 
sistent in  fact,  they  are  often  inconsistent  in  appearance ;  and  this 
seeming  discordance  acts  most  keenly  and  alarmingly  on  the  Imagi- 
nation, and  may  suddenly  expose  a  man  to  the  temptation,  and  even 
hurry  him  on  to  the  commission  of  definite  acts  of  unbelief,  in  wfaic^ 
Reason  itself  really  does  not  come  into  exercise  at  all.  I  mean,  let  a 
person  devote  himself  to  the  studies  of  the  day ;  let  him  be  taught 
by  the  astronomer  that  our  sun  is  but  one  of  a  million  globes  moving 


Plain  Facts :  Trinity  College.  309 

inspactf ;  let  him  learn  from  th^  geologist  that  on  that  globe  of 

oonenormons  revolutions  have  been  in  progress  through  fcmu- 

merable  ages ;  let  him  be  told  \>j  the  comparative  anatomist  of 

the  minutelj  arranged  system  of  organised  nature :  by  the  chemist 

and  physicist  of  the  peremptory  yet  intricate  laws  to  which  nature, 

organised  and  inorganic,  is  subjected  ;  by  the  ethnologist  of  the 

on'^als,  and  ramifications,  and  varieties,  and  fortunes  of  nations  ; 

bj  the  antiquarian  of  old  cities  disinterred,  and  primitive  countries 

laid  bare,  with  the  specific  forms  of  human  society  once  existing  ; 

by  the  linguist  of  the  slow  formation  and  development  of  Ian  images ; 

by  the  physiologist  and  the  economist  of  the  subtle,  complicated 

structure  of  the  breathing,  energetic,  restless  world  of  men  ;  I  say, 

let  him  take  in  and  master  the  vastness  of  the  view  thus  afforded 

him  oi  Nature,  its  infinite  complexity,  its  awful  comprehensiveness, 

and  its  diversified  yet  harmonious  colouring ;  and  then,  when  he 

has  for  years  drunk  in  and  fed  upon  this  vision,  let  him  turn  round 

to  peruse  the  inspired  records,  or  listen  to  the  authoritative  teaching 

of  Revelation,  the  book  of  Genesis,  or  the  warnings  and  prophecies 

of  the   Gospels,  or  the   Symbolism    Qutcumque,  or   the  Life  of 

St.  Anthony  or  St.  Hilarion,  and  he  may  certainly  experience  a 

tnoH  distressing  revulsion  of  feeling — not  that  his  reason  really 

deduces   anything  from  his  much   loved  studies   contrary  to  the 

faith,  but  his  imagination  is  bewildered,  and  swims  with  the  ineffable 

dbtance  of  that  faith  from  the  view  of  things  which  is  familiar  to 

him,  with  its  strangeness,  and  then  again  its  rude  simplicity,  as 

he  considers   it,   and   its   apparent  poverty,  contrasted  with  the 

exuberant  life  and  reality  of  his  own  world.     All  this  the  school 

I  am  speaking  of  understands  well ;  it  comprehends  that,  if  it 

ean  but  exclude  the  professors  of  Religion  from  the  lecture-halls 

of  Science,  it  may  safely  allow  them  full  play  in  their  own  ;  for 

it  will    be    able   to   rear  up    infidels   without  speaking  a  word, 

merely  by  the  terrible    influence  of  that  faculty  against  which 

both  Bacon  and  Butler  so  solemnly  warn  us.'' 

This  eloquent  and  apposite  passage  from  Cardinal 
Newman  shows  forcibly  and  clearly  tnat  the  startling 
facts  spoken  of  by  the  Dublin  Reviewer  are  the  natural 
outcome  of  the  godless  system  of  education.  It  is  like 
recording  a  truism  Avhen  we  say  that  the  vast  learning, 
clear,  practical  sense,  very  large-minded  views,  deep  and 
fiuv-reaching  knowledge  of  the  subtle  influences  and 
tendencieSy  of  the  immense  dangers  and  capabilities  of 
Ufiiverfiity  life,  qualify  his  Eminence,  better  perhaps  than 


310  Plain  Facts :   Trinity  College. 

zeal,  to  take  up  exaggerated  or  alarmiet  views  of  intellec- 
tuat  dangera. 

How  unquestionably,  too,  the  genuine  Catholic  spirit  of 
the  Irish  nation  is  opposed  to  the  odious  mixed  system  of 
education,  is  evinced  by  the  simple  fact,  that  in  the  space  of 
twenty-five  years  £250,000  has  been  subscribed  for  the 
purpose    of   keeping    alive    a  struggUng    University  in 
Stephen*8-green,  as  a  means  of  asserting  their  right  to  a 
proper  University  system — to  one  that,  in  developing  the 
mind,  would  not  deaden  faith  and  taint  the  heart.    This 
was  an  immense  sum  from  a  heavily  burdened  people,  and 
bespeaks  very  generous  sacrifices  on  their  part  to  further 
the  cause  of  higher  education,  which  directly  affects  but 
few.     And  now,  after  long  years  of  toil  and  patient  expec- 
tation, it  is  a  sad  and  humiliating  sight  to  see  many  of  oar 
CathoUc  youths,  ignoring  the  existence  of  the  Royal  Uni- 
versity, and,  smothering  the  voice  of  conscience,  quietly 
pass  into  Trinity  College,  and  there  drink  in  at  poisoned 
sources  ruin  for  themselves,  and  it  may  be,  for  hundreds  of 
Others  who  will  come  within  the  range  of  their  influence 
in  their  after  career.     This  reckless  conduct  is  eminently 
unwise  and  unpatriotic  ;  for  every  Catholic  who  becomes  a 
student  of  Trinity  thereby  proclaims  to  the  Irish  parlia- 
mentary representatives  and  to  the  British  Government 
that  he  is  satisfied  with  the  education  given  there,  and  thus, 
as  far  as  in  him  Ues,  weakens  the  hands  of  those  who,  in 
supporting  the  Royal  University,  endeavour  to  force  on  the 
attention  of  our  rulers  and  of  our  representatives  the  im- 
perative need  there  is  of  establishing  that  unsubstantial 
fabric  of  a  University  on  such  a  basis  as  may  enable  it 
adequately  to   answer  to  the   educational  wants   of  the 
country. 

The  number  of  students  entering  the  universities  has 

greatly  increased  since  the  passing  of  the  Intermediate 
ducation  Act ;  and  we  are  convinced  that  there  have 
been  more  Catholics  drawn  to  Trinity  than  heretofore,  and 
of  a  certainty  their  numbers  will  increase  still  more  unless 
parents,  priests,  and  head  masters  employ  more  than  a 
negative  opposition  to  this  senseless  course.  We  trust,  too, 
that  those  intending  to  become  students  will,  when  the  real 
dangers  and  the  shadowy  advantages  are  brought  before 
them,  honestly  realise  their  own  responsibility  in  the  matter; 
for,  indeed,  the  example  or  remissness  of  others  cannot 
exempt  them  from  the  serious  culpability  of  their  own  acts. 
We  confidently  expect  that  our  members  of  Parliament^ 


J 


Plain  Facts:  Trimty  College.  311 

as  soon  as  liiey  shall  have  obtained  redress  of  the  more 

freasing  grievances,  will  take  up  the  important  question  of 
iniversity  as  well  as  of  Intermediate  Education,  and  that 
they  will  not  desist  from  their  efforts  until  they  will  have 
obtained  such  substantial  modifications  as  may  suit  the 
requirements  of  an  intelligent,  education  loving,  Catholic 
people. 

In  the  meantime,  let  our  young  men  keep  away  from 
Trinity  and  the  other  godless  colleges:  for  it  is  onljr 
natural  to  expect  that  the  man  whose  first  public  act  is 
one  of  extreme  and  needless  selfishness,  and  of  quasi 
rebellion  a^inst  the  warning  voice  of  the  pastors  of  the 
Church,  will  turn  out  the  very  reverse  of  what  a  good 
Catholic  should  be.  Even  granting  these  poor  deluded 
Catholic  students  do  not  become  professing  infidels,  they 
shall  at  all  events  turn  out  very  objectionable  and 
dangerous  members  of  society. 

The  Eev.  Edmund  O'Reuly,  S.  J.,  in  a  number  of  The 
McntJi  of  1872,  speaking  of  mixed  education,  says : — 

"The  great  evil  to  be  feared  is  not  apostacj,  but  a  kind  of 
uosouBdness,  which  may  easily  be  found  in  professing  Catholics. 
A  most  undesirable  class  of  them  are  an  easy  fruit  of  such  training, 
a  class  distinguished  by  doctrinal  looseness,  joined  with  a  very 
imperfect  aUegiance  to  the  Chiu'ch." 

The  Bev-  Thomas  Cahill,  S.  J.,  in  his  evidence  before 
the  Victorian  Education  Commission  (Australia),  speaks  in 
terais  of  the  strongest  condemnation  of  both  mixed  and 
purely  secular  systems  of  education,  whether  in  primary 
schools,  colleges,  or  universities,  and  amongst  other 
authorities  mentions  an  American  author,  the  Rev.  M. 
Muller,  who  says : — 

^I  truly  believe  tfiat  if  Satan  were  presented  with  a  blank 
sheet  of  paper,  and  bade  to  write  upon  it  the  most  fatal  gift  to 
man,  he  would  simply  write,  '  godless  schools.*  He  might  then 
turn  his  attention  from  this  planet :  godless  public  schools  would 
do  the  rest" 

He  further  cites  the  Boston  Daily  Herald : — 

''Within  a  few  months  a  gentleman  (I'rofessor  Agassiz^ 
'VhoBe  scientific  attainments  have  made  his  name  a  household  word 
bk  afl  lands,  has  personally  investigated  the  subject,  and  the  result 

lias  iSll.J  V^ txV.    j: 1 1 -.1--    J-_a1-     -^   1 J,^'-- 


312  PlaiH  Faeti :  Trinity  College. 

devil  18  in  the  public  schools,  raging  and  rampant  there  among  the 
pupils,  as  well  as  among  the  teachers^  no  One  can  well  doubt.** 

And  thus  the  watchword,  "  Away  with  godless 
eduojBition/'  is  now  echoed  from  the  Antipodes  and  across 
the  Atlantic,  and  may  its  sound  ever  wax  louder,  and  its 
influence  ever  more  and  more  efficacious. 

Before  concluding  we  find  it  incumbent  on  us  to  devote 
some  space  to  fastening  attention  on  the  most  disastarous 
calamity  of  the  age— the  modem  unsound  systems  of 
philosophy.  Few  even  amongst  enlightened  Catholics  can 
justly  estimate  what  the  University  does  for  its  students: 
it  is  quite  a  peculiar  world,  and  very  different  from  the 
bustling,  bargain-driving  world  of  Commerce,  and  from  the 
exciting  arena  of  political  life.  The  young  minds  are  keen, 
yet  impressionable,  eager,  yet  pliant,  and  exert  a  mar- 
vellously potent  influence  on  one  another ;  the  professors^ 
so  generally  regarded  as  oracles  in  their  several  depart- 
ments, wield  a  kind  of  subtle,  magical  power ;  the 
intellectual  atmosphere,  the  spirit  of  the  place,  is  commn- 
nicated  from  one  to  the  other ;  and  this  all-pervading,  all- 
powerful  spirit  is  specially  shaped  and  guided  by  the 
philosophy  of  the  University  Lecture  Halls. 

The  nrst  thinkers  of  the  day.  Catholics  as  well  as 
Protestants,  regard  with  feelings  of  positive  dismay  the 
rapid  strides  which  infidel  philosophy  is  making  in  non- 
Catholic  centres  of  thou^t ;  they  jndge  rightly  that  iiie 
modem  false  philosophy  is  alarmingly  fatal  to  all  belief  in 
revealed  dogma. 

It  has  been  said,  "  Give  me  the  making  of  the  songs  of 
a  people  and  I  will  let  who  may  make  the  laws ;"  but 
with  a  hundred-fold  more  justice  might  w#  declare  of  a 
University :  "  Give  us  the  direction-  of  the  philosophical 
studies  of  the  students,  and  it  matters  little  who  occupy 
the  preachers'  pulpit*'  The  following  extract  from  Tkm 
Months  of  May,  1869,  is  much  to  our  purpose : — 

''Is  it  not  time  that  we  should  ask  ourselves  how  long 
Catholics  can  submit  to  have  anything  to  do  with  educational 
bodies,  to  meet  whose  examinations  our  young  men  must,  if  they 
would  secure  success,  make  themselves  acquainted  with,  and  study 
the  writings  of  the  MiUs,  the  Bains,  the  Huxleys  of  the  day  ? 
These  men  are  the  prophets  of  modem  jNrogress.  They  have  ik 
name  and  a  corresponding  influence.  They,  at  least  some  of  them^ 
write  in  a  style  which  fascinates  the  young,  now  by  its  BspgansA 
cleamess,  now  by  its  charming  variety,  itA  brilliant  illustration,  i 


PUdn  Facts :  Trinity  CoUege.  313 

poede  oatbnrsts.  The  joimg  are  eager  to  learn,  but  naturallj 
abhorrent  of  the  labour  of  thought.  Such  teachers  are  pretty  sure 
to  be  popular  with  them — it  is  so  pleasant  to  float  along  the  stream 
of  a  lucid  style  without  having  to  strain  a  muscle,  or  being  even 
ooee  compelled  to  take  to  the  oars  !  And  so,  dreaming  placidly 
that  they  are  becoming  philosophical  thinkers,  and  lulled  into 
lecarity  by  occasional  vague  panegyrics  on  the  noble,  the  philan- 
thropic, the  useful,  the  inexperienced  readers  drift  unsuspectingly 

to  the  goal  of  atheism  or  scepticism Nor  let  it  be 

supposed  that  the  absurdity  of  scepticism  is  sufficient  to  ensure  the 

nnwary  reader  from  being  caught  in  the  snare.  Good  care  is  taken 

to  cover  the  pitfall  with  an  exuberance  of  the  most  natural-looking 

and  attractive  herbage.     Rhetoric  goes  a  long  way  towards  con- 

ceah'ng  the  danger.     Lon^  trains  of  reasoning,  or  of   clear  and 

e?en  truthful  analysis,  lure  the  eager  student  on,  till  he  is  prepared 

to  accept  almost  any  conclusion   which  is  confidently  advanced. 

How  can  it  be  that  a  guide  who  has  made  so  many  hard  problems 

easy,  and  led  the  way  happily,  with  much  science  and  skill,  through 

90  fflany  entanglements,  and  triumphed  over  so  many  obstacles, 

should  after  all  turn  out  to  be  a  blind  guide,  ready  in  the  end  to 

fall  with  his  followers  into  the  ditch  ?     Even  those  who  unite 

natural  acuteness  with  honesty  of  heart  and  sound  faith,  find  it 

difficult  to  resist  first  impressions  or  to   detect  the  fatal  errors 

which  lurk  under  so  much  truth.     When  at  last  they  are  startled 

by  8ome  proposition  evidently  at  variance  with  Catholic  belief, 

even  if  they  have  grace  to  withhold  assent,  they  are  not  wholly 

saved  from   the   influence  so  long  exercised  over   them.      Less 

patent  faUacies  have  found  acceptance  with  them :  the  imagination 

18  filled  with  delusive  images ;  they  are  staggered  by  objections 

which  they  fancy  insoluble,  because  they  know  of  no  sufficient 

answer  themselves.'' 

Nor  can  the  overwhelming  tide  of  deception  and 
error  be  warded  off  from  those  devoted  victims,  who  rush 
in  where  angels  fear  to  tread,  by  the  pitchfork  of  occasional 
or  even  frequent  resource  to  a  Catholic  professor  howsoever 
competent. 

"  It  will  be  said,  perhaps,  that  these  dangers  may  be  obviated  if 
the  student  have  a  Catholic  professor  at  his  elbow  to  warn  him 
against  accepting  falsehoods,  to  expose  fallacies,  to  answer  objections 
for  him,  to  inculcate  and  expound  truth.  .  .  .  That  man  knows 
little  of  philosophy  or  of  the  difficulties  of  teaching,  who  imagines 
that  two  opposite  systems  of  philosophy  can  be  taught  with  any 

reasonable  hope  of  our  pupils  entering  fully  into  both 

KaturalJy  eager  to  obtain  academic  success,  impatient  of  any 
obstacle  to  its  attainment,  with  or  without  conscientious  misgivings 


314  Plain  Facts :   Trinity  College. 

they  will  be  expected  at  the  University  to  know  ;  they  will  cram 
themselves  with  the  poison  to  the  exclusion  of  the  antidote;  thej 
will  imbibe  error,  and  neglect,  if  they  do  not  reject,  truth." 

Our  last  extract  will  be  a  not  unfamiliar  one  to  Catholic 
philosopherB,  from  the  pen  of  a  Protestant  divine,  the 
Rev.  Mark  Pattison,  who  was  elected  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College,  Oxford,  in  1840,  and  became  Rector  of  his  College 
in  1861. 

Mr.  Pattison  says : 

**  For  my  part  I  think  the  fears  of  the  Catholic  party  whether 
within  or  without  the  National  Establishment  are  substantially 
well  founded.  It  is  especially  the  philosophical  subjects  which 
alarm  the  Church  party.  This  party  must  either  conquer  (by 
expellinc^  philosophy  from  the  course  of  teaching)  or  be  content  to 
see  all  the  minds  that  come  un<}er  the  influence  of  that  training* 
that  is  all  the  minds  of  any  promise  that  pass  through  Oxford, 
hopelessly  lost  to  them." 

Briefly  then  the  philosophical  education  at  Oxford,  is 
fatal  to  the  belief  in  the  sacred  truths  of  revelation  ;  and 
on  his  words  we  need  not  comment;  they  speak  for 
themselves  and  clench  our  arguments  strongly  home ;  for 
if  Oxford,  which  was  wont  to  be  so  close  to  CathoUc 
orthodoxy,  has  so  lamentably  fallen  away,  what  must  we 
not  think  of  those  seats  of  learning  where  the  traditions 
have  long  been  grimly  sinister. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  purely  secular  and  mixed  systems 
of  education  deaden  and  m  many  cases  even  destroy  faith ; 
that  this  result  naturally  springs  from  the  elaborate  silence 
about  religion,  and  the  almost  exclusive  prosecution  of 
secular  studies  which  saturate  and  captivate  the  mind  and 
carry  it  inevitably  beyond  the  reach  oi  religious  influences ; 
that  the  experience  of  able  thinkers  in  Australia  and 
America  coincides  with  our  experience  at  home ;  that  the 
expedient  of  counteracting  the  fatal  efiects  of  the  false 
philosophy  by  administering  the  antidote  of  Catholic 
professional  aid  is  mainly  a  mere  conscience-silencing 
delusion ;  and  these  considerations  singly  (and  still  more 
when  taken  conjointiy)  insist  upon  the  conclusion,  that 
Catholics  at  the  peril  of  their  souls'  salvation  are  solemnly 
bound  to  abhor  and  avoid  Trinity  College  and  other 
similar  institutions,  be  their  students  resident  or  non- 
resident 


Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church.  315 

We  may  draw  attention  also  to  the  fact,  that  Catholics 
will  find  it  their  interest,  even  from  a  wordly  point  of  view, 
to  keep  clear  of  the  non-Catholic,  contaminating  Universities, 
for  we  beheve  that  priests,  and  Catholic  laymen  (when 
duly  enlightened  on  the  subject)  will  find  themselves 
bound  in  conscience  to  consider  the  stamp  of  the  godless 
University  on  any  candidate  for  a  position  at  their  disposal, 
a  positive  disqualification ;  and  more  especially  so,  when 
there  is  question  of  appointing  a  medical  officer.  The 
teaching  of  Protestant  medical  schools  does  not  by  any 
means  square  with  the  laws  of  God.  In  this  connection 
we  need  only  refer  our  readers  to  an  article  on  medical 
subjects,  trepanning,  &c.,  which  appeared  in  this  Magazine 
sqme  ten  years  ago.  And  the  pitiful,  silly  snobbishness 
which  in  not  a  few  cases  leads  Catholics  to  these  Universities, 
is  miserably  shortsighted;  they  would  fain  run  with  the 
hare  and  hunt  with  the  hounds  ;  bi^t  they  are  of  a  certainty 
looked  down  upon  even  when  condescendingly  patronised, 
by  their  Protestant  fellow-students,  and  they  justly  incur 
the  contempt  and  distrust  (not  always  openly  manifested) 
of  their  co-rehgionists. 

Arthur  H.  Weybourne. 


PROSTRATION  IN  THE  EARLY  IRISH  CHURCH. 

IN  closing  my  correspondence  on  the  above  subject,  I 
think  it  right  to  state  that  though  there  appear  no 
grounds  for  asserting  that  perpetual  prostration  prevailed 
in  any  Church  in  Ireland,  yet  there  was  occasional  prostra- 
tion in  some  religious  houses,  for  instance,  at  the  end  or 
beginning  of  an  exercise,  or  once  after  entering  a  church. 
But  no  proof  of  this  is  afforded  by  the  quatrain  on  which 
8ome  have  relied  even  for  perpetual  prostration. 

The  learned  Professor  Zimmer,  m  the  April  number  of 
the  Reoori),  while  differing  from  Rev.  Dr.  McCarthy 
as  to  the  root  and  original  meaning  of  slechtan^  asserts 
that  in  the  eighth  century  the  word  came  to  signify  not 
kneeling,  as  originally,  but  prostration,  and  that  the  word 
fiUimj "  to  bend,"  was  employed  to  express  genuflection ; 


316  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church. 

and  that,  secondly,  the  flexus  genmim   came  to  signify 
prostration  not  unquaUfiedly,  as  Dr.  McCarthy  asserted,  but 
as  understood  in  Irish  convents.     The  fact  of  his  saying 
that  words  lost  their  usual  and  natural  meaning  inside  a 
convent  shows  how  facts  tell  against  him.     He  grounds 
his  argument  on  two  Irish  glosses : — 1^  As  to  the  jlexus 
geiiuum  :  he  quotes  a  remark  on  a  Bernese  (Irish)  gloss 
on  genibw    volutans    made    by   a    non-Irishman — dfjUxu 
genuum  ut  Scotti  faciunt^  and  infers  from  this  that  the  dejkxu 
genuum  meant  prostration.    But  I  submit  there  is  not  a 
shadow  of  reason  for  such  an  inference.     All  Dr.  Zimmer 
can  tell  us  is  that  the  phrase  genua  amplexusiQ  explained  by 
genibus  volutans  in  reference  to  the  607th  line  of  Virgil, 
iJook  III.     Now,  when  Achemenides  embraced  the  knees  of 
^neas,  he  was  either  standing   or  did  not  sink  below  a 
kneehng  posture.  If  the  writer  had  wished  to  expressprostrar 
tion,  as  Dr.  Zimmer  contends,  he  could  and  should  have 
used  not  genibus,  hut  facie  volutans.  Thus,  TertulHan  speaks 
of  prostration  by  volutante  hmni  fade}    It  is  remarkable 
that  this  writer  appUes  the  word  volutans  generally,  as  an 
act  of  the  body,   to  penitents  or  their  reconciUatiou — in 
sacco  et  cinere  volutati ' — ilium  lugere,  ilium  volutare.*     Again, 
speaking  of  husband  and  wife,   he   says :   "  Simul  orant, 
simul  volutantur,  et  simul  jejunia  transigunt."*     Finally, 
the  use  of  the  word  occurs  in  the  book  Depudicitia  (xviii.  D), 
where  he  objects  to  the  reconcihation  oi  sinners  even  after 
they  have  by  rolling  brushed  the  garments  of  the  brethren 
— caligas  fratrum  volutando  deterserint — and,  what  follows 
shows  that  the  fratres  were  not  laics  or  equals,  "  after  they 
have  shaken  off  their  heads  the  ashes  of  all  the  fires  in  the 
church."     The  learned  Menard  informs  us  that  caligas  were 
leggings  extending  to  the  knees  of  a  bishop,  to  whom 
belonged  the  office  of  reconciling  penitents.^    The  Berne 
gloss  then  very  probably  referred  to  either  public  or  sacra- 
mental confession.     The  ancient  practice  with  some  had 
been  to  kneel  leaning  on  the  knees  of  the  confesisor ;  and 
Baronius  thinks   (ad  an.  56  n.   18)  that  the  foolish  and 
abominable  charge   of  idolatry    made  by  pagans  in  the 
Octavius  of  Minutius  Felix  arose  from  the  posture  of  peni- 
tents.®    By  the  way.  Dr.  Zimmer  may  be  interested  in 


^  Adversus  Marcionem,  p.  408,  xix.  A  (Paris  1664,  foL  ed.) 

•  Apolog.  p.  33.        •  De  pudicitia,  p.  562.         *  Ad  Uxorem,  ad  finenu 

•  "  Usque  ad  genua  tendentia."    De  sacramentario ,  p.  2G0. 

•  Biblioth.  P.F.,  vol.  ii. 


Prostration  in  (lie  Early  Irish  ChurrJu  317 

IwmiTTg  that,  as  in  the  eighth  century^  so  at  present,  an 
nmnaX  expression  for  sacramental  confession  is  dul  folk  lam^ 
"  going  under  thy  hand,*'  thus  verifying  the  relative  posi- 
tion of  confessor  and  penitent,  and  explaining  the  mystery 
of  the  Berne  glosa  But  let  us  even  suppose  that  the  gloss 
referred  to  tkfiexus  gentium  at  Mass,  there  is  no  reason  for 
making  it  prostration.     For  without  revolutionizing  lan- 

ne  there  were  other  words  before  and  ever  since  m  use 
_ ,  Every  day  after  Mass  in  an  authorized  prayer  there 
occurs  the  phrase  genibus  meprovolvo.  No  one  imderstands 
by  it  prostration.  One  of  the  Irish  arreums  or  canons  of 
the  eighth  and  eleventh  centuries  required  «  xii  flectiones 
in  imaquaque  hora  et  palmae  sopinatae  ad  orationem.'* 
Here  the  flectiones  must  mean  kneeing,  not  prostration. 
A^ain,  the  "  corpus "  Irish  Missal  enjoined  prayers  to  be 
said,  genu  fiecteniioj  which  it  was  impossible  or  absurd  to 
have  done  in  a  prostrate  state.  It  were  the  wildest  thing 
then  to  change  the  meaning  of  language  on  the  strength  of 
a  translation,  itself  indefensible,  of  a  Berne  gloss. 

2*.  In  support  of  his  views  on  slechtan^  Dr.  Zimroer  refers 

to  a  Milan  ^oss :  **•  Cumgabal  inna  lam  hi  crossfigill,  issi 

briathar  lam  insin:  ocns  issi  briathar  sule   dano.(dana) 

aciungabal  saas  dochumnde  ;  ocus  issi  briathar  glunse  ocus 

choBB  a  filliud  fri  slechtan  ;  ocus  issi  briathar  choirp  dono 

(dana)  intan  roichter  do  Dia  oc  slechtan  ocus  crossigill" — 

raiang  of  the  hands  crosswise,  this  is  the  e^eech  of  hands  ; 

and  t^  is  the  speech  of  eyes,  indeed^  to  raise  them  up  to 

God;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  the  knees  and  feet,  to  bend 

them  nnto  prostration ;  and  the  body's  speech  is  this  there* 

fon  when  it  is  directed  to  God  in  prostration  and  in  placing 

hands  crosswise."    Now,  his  version  of  the  gloss  is  different 

from  others  (Vid.  Gadoilica,  21),  and  if  he  read  it  by  the 

Kght  of  the  passage  refeiTed  to  in  my  paper  in  February, 

from  T^nlhan,  it  will  change  his  views.     Giving  dono  in 

one  place  and  dano  in  the  next,  each  intended  for  dana^ 

•"bold,"  betrays  the  corrupted  version  ;  besides,  the  giving 

ttie  an  illative  meaning,  diereforey  and  to  the  other  that  of 

a  aoleinn  indeed^  is  out  of  place.     Besides  his  translation  is 

objectionable — ^firstly,  as  L.  B.  (p.  10)  makes  the  crossfigill 

eonast  in  ^^  raising  uie  hands  up  to  heaven,"  as  opposed  to 

^  bands  crosswise  as  in  prostration."     Secondly,  slechtan^ 


318  Prostration  in  tlie  Early  Irish  Church. 

the  knees ;  moreover,  the  knee  is  not  bent  more  by  pros- 
tration than  standing.     Thirdly,  if  sUchtan  and  crossigiU 
meant  prostration  with  hands  crosswise,  how  reconcile  it 
with  crossJighiU  slechtan  in  martyrology  of  Donegal  (April  5) 
in  reference  to  St.  Becan,  who  prayed  and  knelt  with  one 
hand  raised  and  the  other  building,  and  where  slechtan  is 
explained  by  glun  fillte,  kneeling  ?    Fourthly,  the  service 
of  the  body  as   a  member  consisted  in  being  reached 
(roichter  =  porrigitur,  gloss)  to  God  through  the  hands; 
and  surely  that  is  done  more  naturally  by  the  body  follow- 
ing the  hands  raised  up  and  stretching  to  where  the  eves 
were  raised,  than  by  being  prostrate  with  hands  pointmg 
to  the  horizon.     Fifthly,  Dr.   Zimmer*s  translation  would 
not  allow  room  for  a  congregation.    During  ^Triduum^  all 
who  could  were  bound  to  attend  at  it.  Slechtan  and  crosdaiU 
appear  enjoined ;  and  allowing  5x6   feet  to  each  lull 
grown  person,  and  taking  each  primitive  church  as  scarcely 
averaging  50  X  20  =  1,000  feet,  we  would  have  accommo- 
dation omy  for  30  persons,  chancel-space  calculated,  not  to 
speak  of  wives  or  children.     Sixthly,  the  gloss  text — ^habitus 
et  rationahilis  motus  membrorum  est  sermo  corporis — tells 
us  ther.e  is  question  only  of  the  members :  now  the  last 
division  of  Dr.  Zimmer's  translation  includes  not  merely  a 
member,  but  the  whole  frame  from  head  to  the  feet  by 
prostration.      Finally,  while  the  motion  of  the  knees,  eyes, 
and  hands,  recommended  itself  to  the  mere  rational  man — 
genibus  volutans  ad  caelum  tendens  ardentia  lumina — manus  ad 
sidera  tendens — prostration  and  the  cross  which  was  folly  to 
the  Gentile  reason  did  not  so  recommend  themselves. 

I  alluded  to  Tertullian,  with  whose  writings  Saint 
Columbanus  was  conversant.  In  his  treatise,  De  Oratiantj 
he  recommends  the  humility  of  the  Publican  as  seen  in  his 
•eyes  and  attitude  at  prayer:^  he  would  not  have  the  eyes 
too  boldly  raised  (vultu  in  audaciam  erecto),nor  the  hands 
raised  too  high  (subhmius),  but  the  whole  man  showing 
humility  (humiliatus  et  dejectus).  The  raised  eyes  then, 
however  holily  or  fervently  so,  were  called  bold,  danoj  as 
also  the  attitude  of  the  body  not  prostrate  or  dejected. 
The  translation  then  of  the  gloss  is :  "  raising  of  the  hands  to 
heaven  (as  the  priest's  at  the  altar),  this  is  the  speech  of  the 
hands  then ;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  the  bold  eyes  to  raise 
them  to  God ;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  the  knees  and  feet  to 
bend  them  in  adoration ;  and  this  is  the  speech  of  the  bold 

1  L.  B.  p.  259a.  «  Ch.  xin.,  p.  184. 


Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church.  319 

body  when  it  is  reached  to  God  in  kneeling  or  adoration 
between  uplifted  hands."  Slechtan  is  sometimes  found  in 
connection  with  prostration — prostrait  ocus  slechtan — 
prostration  and  adoration;  and  it  sometimes  means 
adoration  in  a  standing  posture^,  but  generally  implied 
kneeling  and  adoration.  Dr.  Zimmer  gives  the  Milan  gloss 
—the  only  proof  of  his  theory — to  show  that  slechtan  came 
to  signify  prostration.     Wher'i  was  the  necessity!     The 

Chraees  prostraity  and  do  rat  agnuis  frilar^  and  ocus  anaigthi 
ad  been  in  use.^  If  filliudy  to  genuflect,  was  introduced 
in  the  eighth  century,  how  is  it  that  we  find  it  so  early  in  the 
Milan  gloss  beside  slechtan,  arid  in  the  seventh  century,  in  the 
quatrain  which  gave  rise  to  the  discussion  ?  If  slechtan 
cnanged  its  meaning  to  prostration,  how  is  it  that  all  along 
subsequently  to  the  eignth  century  it  continued  to  mean 
not  prostration  but  kneeling?  The  Irish  writers  tell  us 
that  while  one  Evangelist  says  our  Saviour  was  prostrate, 
St  Luke  says  he  only  knelt  (slechtan)^  and  that  the  Jews 
in  mockery  knelt  (slechtan)  to  Him.*  These  few  instances 
as  representing  unchanged  inspiration  and  Liturgy,  are 
worth  hundred  of  other  proofs  that  I  could  adduce. 
Hence  down  to  the  15th  and  ,  17th  centuries  it  meant 
kneeling,  The  word  slechtana,  of  the  Crossfigill,  is  equated 
by  genua  Jlectenda.*  Dr.  Zimmer  immediately  after  his 
translation  of  the  Milan  gloss,  adds :  "  Need  I  direct  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  slechtan  and  crossigill  here 
correspond  with  the  fiexis  in  oratione  genibtMs  recumbere 
quoted  by  you''  (Dr.  McCarthy)  t 

One  side  of  his  equation  is  as  unknown  (to  him)  as  the 
other.  If  he  look  into  the  Museum  Italicum,^  he  will  see 
Uiat  the  Pontiflf  and  Caesar  only  knelt  on  the  prie  dieu 
(recmnbentes  .  .  .  genibus  flexis) ;  and  if  Dr.  McCarthy 
have  the  goodness  to  search  he  will  find  in  a  Rubric  in 
the  Roman  Ritual  (de  Comm.  Infir.)  a  stronger  phrase, 
fummbus  in  genua  procumbentibus,  meaning  kneeling  not 
prostration.  Laying  aside  word-and-phrase-spUtting,  the 
matter  may  be  put  in  a  nutshell:  The  quatrain  under 
dJacnaBJon  refers  to  the  Culdees;  but  their  Rule  ordains 
fliat  the  office  should  be  chanted  by  them,  sitting  and 
rtadiiig  alternately,  and  therefore  that  translation,  on  its 
Ofwn  merits  indefensible,  must  be  rejected  which  represents 
tiiein  as  perpetually  prostrate. 


320  Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  drawing  Dr.  M*Carthy's  attention 
to  his  worthlessly  loose  method  oireasomng.  In  p.  714,  of  the 
Record,  wishing  to  trace  prostration  to  St.  ratrick,  he 
Bays : — St.  Finian  may  have  been  instructed  by  him,  and 
p.  715,  St.  Carthach  may  have  called,  and  may  have  used  a 
certain  missal.    He  says  lameomairt  is  **  beating  hands  in 
lamentation  :**  if  so  bascaire  "daughter  or  noise  of  the  pahns,*' 
with  other  words  need  nof  have  been  added  to  it,*  and 
even  bascaire^  which  means  "  clapping  of  hands,"  does  not 
include  lamentation :    thus  gnid.  gol  ocus  bascaire^  *'  did 
lamentation  and  clapping."*    In  correction  of  an  imaginaiy 
error,  he  says,  p.  717,  **lhe  original  passage  is  *nec  genua 
in  oratione  flectuntur' — nocodentur  slechtana  na  CrossfigeU  ic 
irnaighthe :  neither  prostrations  nor  extension  of  the  hands 
crosswise  are  performed  at  prayer."    Any  one  with  an 
elementary  knowledge  may  see  how  faulty  is  the  translation 
of  the  Latin ;  and  that  of  the  Irish  is  more  outrageously 
faulty  still.     Referring  to  page  708,  a  portion  of  which  has 
been  already  corrected,  I  find : — "  Figill  has  in  Irish  the 
various  meanings  it  possesses  in  the  Liturgical  Latin  from 
which  it  is  borrowed  (1).  Thus  we  find  cenfigiU  'without 
watching'  (2)  fiaUmy  *  let  us  watch'  (8).   These  exercises  and 
the  posture  in  which  they  were  ordinarily  practised  are  shown 
in  one  of  the  (4)  *  Can  ones  Hibemenses'  (11, 2),  in  which  it  will 
be  noted  standing  (5)  is  imposed  as  a  penance.     We  give  the 
reading  of  the  Paris  as  bemg  fuller  than  that  of  the  Saint 
Germain  MS.  Arrium  (6)  is  the  Latinized  euphonic  form  of 
the   Irish  word  aithirge  (7),  penance.     It  is  correctly  (8) 
explained  remissio  paenae    ,    .    .    by  Du  Cange.    Arrium 
anni  trini  dies.    .    .    •  et  palmae  supemae  ad  orationem. 
Taking  palmae,  &c.  (9)  in  connection  with  canat  30  psalmos 
in  cruce  of  the  Bobio  Missal   (10)  we  have  one   of  its 
(Crossfigill)  meaninffs  (11).     In  the  L.  B.  eumque  levant 
Moyses  manus  is  rendered  (12)  in  *  conocbad  Moysi  a  lamu  Ai 
crossJigiU  (13)  when  Moses  raised  his  hands  placed  cross- 
wise"  (14).    (1)  No ;  it  has  not :  there  is  no  proof  that 
JigiU  meant  in  Irish  a  vigil  or  a  solar  day  before  a  feetivaL 
(2)  Cenfigil  meant  the  absence  of  genufiections  on  Sunday 
that  used  accompany  prayers.  (3)  This  is  only  an  inflexion 
of  "watch"  rather  than  a  different  .meaning.      (4)  The 
accurate  Dr.  Moran  gives  under  five  heads  the  substance 
of  Synodus  Samentium:    the    first   heading  is    Canones 
Hibemenses.    The  canon  referred  to  by  Dr.  McCarthy  is 

L.  B.,  p.  234,  27a.    /&ti.  p.  235,  866.  ^iUdlp.  dS&. 


Prostration  in  the  Early  Irish  Church.  321 

Mt  of  that  heading,  but  of  the  second  heading,  de  arrets ; 
and  it  would  have  been  safer,  though  apparently  not  so 
original,  to  copy  Dr.  Moran  correctly  than  go  to  Saint 
Germain  for  11,  2),  (2nd  canon  of  the  2nd  heading).    For 
it  is  the  third  not  the  second  of  the  arreums ;  and,  secondly, 
the  Arabic  number  (2)  is  not  found  in  an  eleventh  century 
MS.  The  first  use  of  Arabic  numbers  even  in  public  documents 
in  England  appears  no  earlier  than  1282.^  (5)  Dr.  McCarthy 
itdicizes  **  standing,"  enjoined  in  the  arreum,  and  says  that 
it  was  a  penance.     Having  introduced  the  arreum  to  prove 
prostration,  he  fancies  he  meets  an  objection  by  saying 
standing  was  a  penance.     On  the  same  principle  we  could 
prove  there  was  not  prostration  usuaUy.    Flectio  genuum 
being  prescribed  as  penance,   and  meaning  prostration 
according  to  Drs.  McCarthy  and  Zimmer,  the  opposite  to 
prostration,  according  to  the  new  logic,  was  the  normal 
stata    (6)  The  word  is  arreum,      (7)  Even  though   we 
allow  it  to   be  arriuniy  it   does   not  come  from  aithirge^ 
"penance."    If  Du  Cange  appealed  to  for  its  explanation 
be  any  authority,  he  says  it  comes  from  the  Saxon  Arian^ 
"  to  forgive."    (8)  Du  Cange  is  doubly  wrong :  penitentia^  not 
poena,  is  always  employed  in  the  canons;  and  even  though 
it  came  from  aithirge  or  arian^  as  Du  Cange  says,  that  is  no 
reason  why  it  should   be  the    forgiveness  of    penance. 
(9)  Upturned  palms  were  no  part  of  the  Crossfigill.    (10)  In 
erace  means  prayers  said  at  the  cross.^    And  though  the 
elements  of  Crossfigill  were  to  be  found  in  the  passages 
referred  to  in  the  difierent  MSS.,  still  there  is  as  much  reason 
in  appealing  to  them  as  there  was  in  the  Scripture  reader 
who   would  have  a  conclusion  drawn  from  two  tacked 
passages  of  the  Evangelist,  **  Judas  hanged  himself,"  and 
"go  and  do  likewise."     (11)  Crossfigill  has  only  one  right 
meaniDg.    (12)  Dr.  McCarthy  omits  a  part  of  the  Irish, 
firia  dia,    (13)  His  English  is  a  translation  neither  of  the 
Iriah  nor  Latin.    The  Douay  Bible  says,  "When  Moses 
thed  his  hands."     (14)  Crosswise :  EngUsh  scholars  under- 
stand by  hands  placed  crosswise,  a  cross  formed  by  the 
liaiids   tiiemselves,  whereas    Dr.  McCarthy  makes    it   in 
nottier  place  extension  of  the  hands  crosswise  (p.  717),  a 
fiSarent  idea.    Then — ^but  I  must  close.    I  remember  that 
Iht^ltCarthy  in  shooting  his  last  Parthian  arrow  feathered 


322  Ad  Ahnom  Matrem. 

it  with  a  missive  Dot  only  of  truce  but  absolute  cessatioa. 
I  am  glad  of  it,  for  1  have  felt  for  some  time  past  that  too 
much  was  made  of  a  small  thing.  I  respond  willingly,  by 
buiying  the  hatchet  of  war  €md  by  smoking  my  calumet 
of  peace ;  and  in  token  thereof  I  beg  Co  compliment  him 
on  the  ingenuity,  the  very  considerable  learnmg,  and  the 
knightly  courtesy  which  marked  his  defence  of  what  I  deem 
a  weak  cause— exhibiting  in  his  conduct  those  traits 
recommended  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  to  the  truly 
Christian  knight  in  intellectual  tilting — in  dtibiis  libertatyin 
omnibus  autem  charitas.  g   jj^q^qj^j 

[This  discussion  is  now  finally  closed* — Editor.] 


AD  ALMAM  MATREM. 


The  Recobd  has  made  a  row  not  to  dally  with  the  Muses,  but  we 
have  obtained  a  dii^nsation  in  faronr  of  Alma  Mater*^ 


Maynooth  I   God  guard  thy  loved  waUs  well  I 
Thy  chapels  and  thy  halls  of  prayer. 
Thy  corridors  and  cloisters  fair, 

Where  youth's  bright  memories  always  dwell : 

Where  wiUi  the  Saints  we  WBlked  of  old 

In  Grod's  own  House,  and  knelt  and  pn^red. 
Whore  Peace  its  home  of  beau^  made. 

The  Peace  of  God  by  tongue  untold. 

No  wonder  aged  priests  who  bear 

The  burden  of  accomplished  days, 

With  saddened  eyes  should  backward  gase 

On  those  dear  walls  aod  all  declare^— 

^'  Maynooth  I   our  happiest  years  are  thine  I 
Thine  are  the  springs  of  sacred  truth, 
The  unforgotten  friends  of  youth, 

Eeut  through  the  yean  ^y  turrets  shine." 

What  marrel  thy  sweet  grace  should  win 

The  heart  of  youth  from  boisterous  h^qkU  ? 
Better  one  day  in  thy  calm  Courts 

Hum  thousands  inttbe  haunts  of -ain. 


[    324    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE, 


On   giving  Com^iunion  from  a  CmoRiUM  before  the 
Communion  of  the  Mass  in  which  it  was  Consecrated. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir — Through  some  error  a  few  words  necessary 
to  complete  the  sense  slipped  out  of  the  quotation  I  gave  from 
De  Lugo  in  my  last  letter.  The  full  sentence  is  as  follows  (the 
clause  omitted  in  italics) : — 

*'  Hoc  inquam  non  rite  fit :  nam  sicut  ex  hostia  sua  sacerdos  non 
debet  dare  partem  usque  ad  finem  sacrificii,  sic  nee  de  illis pai'ticnlis 
quae  sunt  etiam  victima  tllius  sacrijicii,  et  non  minus  offeruntur 
quam  hostia  major;  et  ideo,"  &c. 

If   I   venture  to  offer   a  few  remarks   which   will  still  run 
counter   to  the  answers  of  the  Very  Rev.  Fr,  Browne  on  the 
particular  question  at  issue,  I  would  be  understood  as  doing  so  with 
all  due  respect,  and  deference  to  his  much  greater  learning  and 
far  larger  acquaintance  with  theologians,  than,  as  I  am  fully 
conscious,  I  can  claim  to  possess ;  and  as  being  quite  ready  at  once 
<o  reform  any  opinion  or  statement  I  may  advance  when  shown 
according  to  approved  Authors  to  be  inexact.     And  here  in  limint 
allow  me  gratefully  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  him  for 
being  enabled  through  his  brief  remarks  in  the  April  number  of 
the  Record  to  correct  myself  on  a  point  I  had  expressed   in  my 
letter.      I  was  previously  not  aware  that  Authors  recognised  the 
lawfulness  of  removing  the  consecrated  particles  from  the  altar 
even  in  exceptional  cases.     (Of  course  in  these  I  am  not  including 
cases  of  absolute  necessity,  such  as  sudden  fire,  &c.) 

I  have  no  opportunity  of  consulting  Cavalieri,  but  in  the 
extract  given  he  evidently  admits  the  lawfulness  of  such  removal 
**  si  urgente  aliqua  necessitate  pyxis  ad  aliud  altare,  vel  ad  infirmos 
deportari  debeat."  And  Tamburini,  as  will  appear  later  on,  goes 
still  further,  so  as  to  meet  precisely  the  practice  in  question. 

I  am  however  unable  to  see  that  either  Cavalieri  or  De  Lugo 
can  be  said  to  endorse  the  opinion,  that  a  '^  causa  rationabilis  ** 
sufiices  to  justify  a  practice  which  both  the  one  and  the  other  unite 
in  condemning. 

De  Lugo  fails  to  record  any  reason  that  would  justify  an 
exceptional  departure  from  the  prescribed  order  of  the  Sacred 
Mysteries :  whilst  we  cannot  but  presume  the  presence  of  wbat 
would  be  generally  deemed  a  "  causa  rationabilis  "  in  the  very  case 
he  holds  up  for  censure  :  scil.  "  aliquos,  quos  vidi,"  &c.  For  surely 
these  priests  would  have  for  the  motive  of  their  action  censured  by 
De  Lugo,  the  avoidance  of  an  inconvenience,  viz.,  some  minutes* 
delay ;  and  the  desire  to  expedite  the  communion  of  the  people. 

With  regard  to  the  measure  of  De  Lugo's  censure  ;  hia  ipvords: 


CorrespondeHee.  325 

^mlnns  rite  facere,^  maat  of  ^course  be  understood  as  he  explains 
tiiera  himself  immediately  afterwards :   *'  Hoc  inquam  non  rite  fit." 
The  grare  reasons  on  which  De  Lugo  grounds  his  censure 
voald  serve  to  show  that  in   his  own  mind  that  censure  was 
anything  but  unimportant.     For  it  must  be  remarked  that  he 
regards  the  practice  not  merely  as  a  departure  from  the  "  ordo  in 
Ritualibus  praescriptus,"  but  ^m  the ''  ordo  sacrificii  ex  institutione 
ipsins  ChristL^      This  is  plain  from  the  whole  passage,  and  from 
what  he  says  afterwards :   '^  Facilius  posset  admitti,  quod  ante 
swnptionem  Calicisdaretur  aliiscommunio;  quia  Christus  non  solum 
ante  sumptionem,  sed  etiam  ante  consecrationem  Calicis  videtur 
dedisse  ApostoUs  Corpus,  ut  ex  contextu  Evangelii  colligi  potest." 
De  Lugo  had  in  the  paragraph  preceding  the  citation  in  my 
letter^  condemned  the  practice  of  placing  the  pyxis  after  Conse- 
cration outside  the  altar-stone,  basing  this  censure  also  on  reasons 
intrinsic  to  Uie  Sacrifice.      But  as  the  prescriptions  regarding  the 
altar  are  of  exclusively  ecclesiastical  institution,  and  deviation 
therefrom  does  not  per  se  infringe  upon  what  may  be  of  divine 
ifistitudon,  it  was  doubtless  for  this  reason  that  Cavalieri,  after 
approving  this  censure  of  De  Lugo,  adds :   ^^  Multo  magis  repre- 
ktndi  veniuntj*'  jv;.,  as  such  invert  the  order  of  the  Holy  Mysteries 
set  forth  by  Christ  ELimself,  and  this  he  says  only  some  urgent 
necessity  can  excuse.      What  that  urgent  necessity  might  be  which 
Cavalieri  had  in  mind  for  removing  the  consecrated  pyxis  to  another 
altar,  or  for  therewith  communicating  the  sick  before  the  priest's 
eommoAion,  he  does  not  explain      But  we  must  note  well  that  he 
does  not  speak  of  a  ''  causa  rationabilis,'*  but  '^  urgente  aliqua 
aecessitatey'^  and  these  two  are  very  different. 

We  should,  moreover,  bear  in  mind  that  theologians  and  rubri- 
cists, when  treating  of  the  celebrant  breaking  off  a  portion  of  his 
own  Host,  in  the  absence  of  any  smaU  consecrated  particles,  for 
communicating  a  dying  person,  or  for  other  exceptional  cases, 
•ever  (so  far  at  least  as  I  can  discover)  contemplate  his  doing  so 
before  his  own  communion,  even  though  the  sacred  fragment  is  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  moribund  by  another  priest ;  and  that  theolo- 
gwofi,  v,g^  De  Lugo,  Lacroix,  St.  Alphonsus,  De  Herdt,  hold  that 
the  case  of  all  the  particles  consecrated  in  the  sacrifice  is  parallel, 
6r  rather  one  and  the  same  with  that  of  the  large  Host,  and  that 
tliey  are  therefcnre  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  way. 

I  w^ill  now  give  a  passage  from  Lacroix  (Lib.  vi.  p.  ii,  308), 
both  because  it  shows  the  opinion  of  that  great  theologian,  and  be- 
csBse  it  entirely  reflects  the  teaching  of  De  Lugo  on  the  two  ques- 
tiaoBf  first,  of  removing  the  consecrated  particles  from  the  altar, 
neoondly,  of  giving  them  in  communion  to  the  people  before 


3B6  Correspondence, 

^  Nod  snfficit  antem  hostias  esse  in  arei  oonsecrata,  dmn  oonse* 
crantur,  vemm  etiam  debent  (tarn  parvae  quam  magnae)  in  eadeni 
relinqui  tempore  sacrificii,  et  non  aJibi  (licet  supra  alind  eorporale) 
deponi,  v.  g.,  propter  loci  angustias,  quia  omnes  sunt  unica  vietiins 
et  per  modum  unins  o£Pemntur.  Quapropter  rubricae  miasalis  eas 
super  corponde  ante  yel  post  caiicem  poni  rcdunt.  Hine  etiam 
minus  recte  faciunt,  qui  consecratione  facta  mox  hostias  minores  a 
se  consecratas  dant  alteri  saeerdoti  distribuendas  populo,  quia  sicnt 
sacerdos  non  debet  de  sua  hostia  dare,  priusquam  ipse  sumpserit, 
sic  nee  de  aliis,  cum  sint  una  yictima  et  hostia,  omnesque  orattones, 
oblationes,  et  benedictiones  sequentes  non  minus  speetent  «d  panras 
hostias,  quam  ad  magnam,  neque  ante  sumptionem  saca^dotis  per- 
fecte  et  int^re  sacrificata  sit  victima.*'     Lugo,  d.  20  p.  69. 

**  Eum  tamen  qui  contrarium  fecerit  a  pecoato  saltem  mortali, 
imo  si  neeessitas  fiiit  expediendi  communionem  popnlo  ab  omni 
excusat."     Tamb.  L.  v.  exp.  Sac.  c.  5. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  Tamburini  says  "  neeessitas  expedimdi, 
ftc.**  What  such  necessity  may  be  for  expediting  the  Commu- 
nion by  a  few  minutes,  or  how  £eu*  it  may  be  identical  witli  a 
^  rationabilis  causa,"  I  must  leave  others  to  judge. 

In  condunon,  whilst  I  am  unable  to  allow  that  a  *^  causa 
rationabilis,*'  taken  in  its  ordinary  acceptation,  would  justify  de^ 
parture  from  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Mysteries,  "ex  institutiona 
Christi,'*  and  as  prescribed  "  in  omnibus  liturgiis,  et  Ritualibua  ae 
Begulis  antiquis.'*  Neither  could  I  admit  that  the  justifying' 
reason  for  rach  departure  is  a  question  to  be  decided  by  the  local 
anthorities.  I  know  of  more  than  one  learned  priest  who  in  con- 
science could  not  suffer  his  sacrifice  to  be  interfered  with  in  a  easa 
of  the  kind.  Clearly  it  is  not'  within  the  competence  of  vaj  local 
authorities  tD  lay  down  new  rules  of  their  own,  or  to  prescribe  onr 
questions  of  Bnbrics  and  the  Order  of  Mass,  or  dcTiatioB  tlMre- 
from.  This  bel(Higs  to  the  organs  of  Pontifical  authority  akme.  In 
a  particular  ease  it  must  be  left  to  the  celebrant,  who  is  responsibla 
for  his  sacrifice^  to  decide  whether  there  be  such  argent  necessity 
as  will  b^ore  God  and  the  Church  justify  his  departure  froai  tha 
ordinary  prescriptions  which  per  st  bind  him  snb  gravi  ;  aad  ha 
must  make  his  deoimon  hie  et  mtnc  according  to  his  dictamef^  cw»- 
seientiaey  improved  and  guided,  as  best  may  be,  by  the  recegaisedl 
rules  and  principles  of  sound  theology  thought  to  bear  on  tha 
•ircumstances  of  the  ease. — Your  obedient  s«rvant^  G. 


Extreme  Unction. 

TO  THS  EDrrOR  OF  THK  IRtSfa  ECCLBSIASTICA£  RBCOKD. 

Dear  Rev.  Editor, — ^Please  allow  a  Subscriber  to  submit  the 
IdUowing  for  solution  in  your  esteemed  Magaane : — It  is  your 
servant's  practice — and  also  the  practice  of  many  prie^a — vldla 


Correspondence.  827 

Msastermg  the  SAcmment  of  Extreme  Unction  to  interpose  before 
every  aoointing  a  short  and  suitable  act  of  contrition.  V.G.  Before 
inoioting  the  ejes^  to  say,  ^^  O  Lord,  I  am  sorry  for  my  sins  of 
fight :  I^urdon  me  and  forgive  me,"  and  so  on  before  the  anointing 
d  the  ears,  mutatis  mutandis.  Many  priests  hold  that  these  acts 
are  substantial  interraptions.  Among  them,  some  hold  that  they 
ioTtdidate  the  Sacrament,  while  others  content  themselves  with 
iBjing  they  make  a  serious  upset  to  the  ritus  administrandi. 

Eveiyone,  of  couree,  admits  how  useful  such  a  practice  is  to 
slimolate  the  fervour  both  of  the  sick  person,  those  present,  and 
even  the  priest  himself.  While  trusting  you  will  find  it  convenient 
to  solve  this  doubt,  and  begging  you  in  case  it  has  been  already 
answered  to  request  your  publishers  to  forward  me  the  number, 
fijr  which  I  shall  pay  them, — ^Believe  me,  your  servant  in  Christ, 

S. 

We  qnite  agree  with  oiir  Reverend  Correspondent  that 
it  is  an  excellent  and  most  desirable  thing  to  stimulate  in 
every  way  the  faith  and  piety  of  those  who  are  going  to 
receive  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction.  But  let 
everything  have  its  own  proper  place  and  time.  We  find 
no  authority  in  the  Roman  Ritual  for  the  insertion,  on  the 
part  of  the  priest,  of  such  acts  as  our  correspondent  refers 
to.  Let  him  instruct  the  penitent  to  make  use  of  these 
acts ;  let  him,  if  not  satisfied,  afterwards  aid  the  penitent 
in  making  these  acts.  But  we  cannot  justify  any  inter- 
ference with  the  due  attention  which  the  priest  is  bound  to 
give  to  proper  application  of  the  matter  and  form  by  his 
interposing  such  acts  during  the  administration  of  the 
Sacrament ;  neither  can  we  justify  the  interruption  which 
wch  acts  would  involve  in  the  due  application  of  the 
matter  and  form.  Our  answer  then  is :  Servetur  JUtuale 
R<nnanum — ^it  makes  no  mention  of  these  acts — ^therefbre 
they  are  excluded.  We  do  not  think,  however,  that  such  an 
mterruption  would  make  the  Sacrament  invaUd. — J.  fl. 


Quasi- Domicile. 

TO  THK  EDITOR  OF  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Rev.  Sir, — I  would  feel  ohliged  if  you  would  kindly  answer 
the  following  questions  in  the  next  number  of  the  Record  : — 

I.  0*Kane,  on  Matrimony,  n.  1028,  s&ys :  '^  An  intention  of 
"^iit^^ining  six  months  would  certainly  suffice  "  to  constitute  a 
<lut8i4omicile.     Can  we  still  follow  that  opinion  in  practice  or  has 


828  Correspondence* 

domicile,  would  the  certificate  of  being  free  to  marry,  given  by  the 
parish  priest  of  the  sponsi,  enable  me  to  assist  validity  at  the  mar- 
riage ?  The  certificate  is  in  the  ordinary  form  ;  it  is  addressed  to 
me  personally,  and  contains  these  words :  "  Patricius  e  nostris  liber 
est  ad  matrimonium  contrahendum  cum  Maria  e  vestris." 

The  parish  priest  gives  this  certificate  in  the  usual  way,  with- 
out being  aware  that  the  sponsa  has  no  domicile,  or  quasi-domicile, 
in  my  parish. — I  am,  yours  sincerely,  Sacerdos. 

1.  It  is  now  certain  that  the  intention  of  remaining 
for  six  months  complete — ^per  majorem  anni  partem — com- 
bined with  actual  residence,  is  necessary,  and  suffices  for 
obtaining  a  quasi-domicile  for  the  purpose  of  marriage. 
Such  is  the  tenor  of  the  Instruction  of  the  S.  Congregation, 
dated  7th  July,  1867  :  "Ad  constituendumjquasi-domicilium 
duo  simul   requiruntur;   habitatio  nempe  in  eo  loco  ubi 
matrimonium  contrahitur,  atque  animus  ibidem  permanendi 
per  maiorem  anni  partem.     Quapropter  si  legitime  constat 
vel  ambos  vel  alterutrum  ex  sponsis  animum  habere  per- 
manendi per  majorem  anni  partem  ex  eo  primum  die  quo 
haec  duo  simul  concurrunt  nimirum  et  hujusmodi  animus  et 
actualis  habitatio,  judicandum  est  quasi-domicilium  acqui- 
situm  fuisse,  et  matrimonium  quod  perinde  contrahatur 
esse  validum." 

2.  It  is  not  usual,  at  least  in  this  country,  for  the  sponsa 
to  seek  or  get  a  certificate.  She  should  be  married  by 
the  parish  priest  of  her  domicile,  or  quasi-domicile,  or  at 
least  with  his  licence,  and  hence  she  wants  no  certificate, 
or  testimonium  of  her  "  status  liberi."  The  certificate,  as 
such,  is  not  a  "  licentia  "  to  assist  at  the  marriage,  whether 
there  be  question  of  the  sponsus  or  sponsa ;  and  hence  it 
will  not  make  valid  a  marriage  aliunde  invalid.  See  the 
Synod  of  Maynooth,  No.  108,  de  Matrimonio,  where  this 
is  expressly  stated.  J.  H. 

Milk  at  Collation. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Vert  Rev.  Sir, — ^Would  some  reader  of  the  Record  have 
the  kindness  to  answer  in  its  next  issue  the  following  questions  2— 

Now  that  it  seems  to  be  assumed  that  the  use  of  butter,  at  thd 
collation,  has  been  permitted,  by  the  Rescript  of  last  year,  may 
(1)  those  not  fasting  use  it  at  breakfast  during  Lent  ?  (2)  does  the 
permission  extend  to  extra-quadragesimal  fasts  ?  and  (3)  may  milk  be 
taken  in  place  of  tea  when  butter  is  permitted,  on  the  ground — 
minus  in  majori  continetur  ?  Enquirrr. 

1.  If  persons  bound  to  fast  may  use  butter  for  their 


Correspondence*  329 

coDation^  a  fortiori^  persons  not  bound  to  fast  may  uffe  it  at 
breakfast  during  Lent — ^the  indult,  such  as  it  is,  extends  to  all. 

2.  We  think  so ;  no  exception  is  made,  so  fttr  as  we 
could  ascertain,  except  on  the  more  solemn  fast  days — 
that  is  the  black  fast  days  of  Lent. 

3.  We  think  not.  In  that  case  there  is  no  consuetudo 
to  be  tolerated,  and  we  should  require  an  express 
permission.  The  milk  seems  to  enter  more  into  the 
sabstance  of  the  meal  than  a  little  butter  does.        J.  H. 


Is  Mean  Solar  Time  obligatory  in  Ecclesiastical 

Functions  ? 

TO  THE  EOrrOR  OF  THE  IRISH  RCCLFSIASTICAX  KRCORD. 

Mk.  Editor — ^Information  on  the  following  point  will  be  very 
welcome  to  the  undersigned. 

Lately,  in  the  United  States,  a  standard  time  has  been  intro- 
duced by  which  the  same  hour  is  recorded  within  certain  degrees 
of  longitude.  The  country  is  I  believe  divided  into  three  belts. 
Eastern,  Western^  and  Middle,  and  in  all  points  within  each  of 
these  districts  the  same  time  is  kept,  so  that  though  clocks  and 
watches  reckon  the  same  hour,  the  difference  in  time  is  in  many 
places  great.  Where  the  writer  happens  to  live,  the  new  or  stand- 
ard time  is  sixteen  minutes  slower  than  the  meridian  time.  Is  he, 
as  regards  the  ecclesiastical  fast  and  office,  free  to  observe  the  new 
time  or  the  c^d  time,  (x  can  he  observe  whichever  he  pleases  and  as 
he  pleases  ?  A  Subscriber. 

We  have  to  apologise  to  our  reverend  correspondent  for 
not  answering  his  questions  sooner.  The  reason  was,  that 
being  a  question  of  positive  law,  we  sought  for  information  ; 
but  we  cannot  say  that  we  succeeded  in  obtaining  it. 
Heuce  we  must  with  all  caution  reply  according  to  general 
principles.  The  other  points  contained  in  1ms  question  wa 
reserve  for  another  occasion. 

We  take  it  ionc  granted  that  the  common  Hme  of  each 
tone  will  lawfully  suffice  for  the  due  performance  of  aU 
ecclesiaatical  functions  within  that  zone — else  there  is  no 
meaaine  in  fixing  a  ssone  at  all — we  mean  a  longitudinal 
one.  The  question  then  is,  will  the  mean  solar  time,  say  at 
tiie  western  extremity  of  the  zone,  suffice  for  the  lawful 
fmtonDa3io&  of  ecclesiastical  purposes,  even  though  it  be 
**^  Ml  minutes  later  than  the  mean  or  common  time  of 


330  Correspondence. 

nntil  the  proper  authorities  clearly  decide  otherwiisre — ^which, 
however,  for  uniformity  sake,  is  within  their  competence. 

Afi  to  the  recitation  of  the  Divine  Office,  we  beg  to 
remind  our  correspondent  of  the  decision  given  by  the 
S.  Penitentiary,  29th  November,  1882,  and  quoted  in  the 
Record  for  July,  1888,  page  469. — *'  Utrum  ubi  horologia 
adhibentur,  tempori  me(£o  accomraodata,  ipsis  sit  standum 
turn  pro  onere  divini  officii  solvendo,  tum  pro  jejunio 
natural!  servando ;  vel  debeat  quis,  aut  saltem  possit  uti 
tempore  vero:" 

Sacra  Penitentiaria  huic  dubio  respondit : 

JFtdeles  in  jejunio  natnrali  servando^  et  in  divino  officio 
recitando,  sequi  tempus  medium  posse  sed  non  teneru 

From  which  it  seems  to  follow  that  the  law  imposing 
the  mean  time  as  obligatory  ought  to  be  clear.         J.  H. 

Misprint  in  thb  Ritual. 

TO  THB  EinXOR  OF  THE  IBI8H  ECCLE8IA8T1CAI.  RECORD. 

Sir, — In  the  Irish  Ritual  published  by  Coyne,  there  is  a  glaring 
misprint  in  the  first  prayer  of  the  blessing  of  water  {ad  fadendam 
aquam  benedictam),  Anj  person  who  pays  attention  to  what  he 
reads,  must  have  been  shocked  at  finding  *'  car  eat  omni  mundttia'* 
in  place  of  "  careat  omni  immtmditicu*'  The  correction  should  he 
made  by  those  who  use  the  said  Ritual  at  once,  so  that  part  of  s 
boly  prayer  should  not  be  ehaaged  into  an  absurd  profanity. 

Yours,  &c.     M.  J.  O'BKUEar. 


Books  Wanted  and  Offered. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OP  THB  IRISH  ECCLB8IASTXCAI.  REOORD. 

Deui  Sir, — The  Publishers  of  some  of  the  Catholic 
bave  adopted  the  usage  of  giving  on  cover  a  list  of  Books  Wanted, 
and  of  Books  Offered,  It  appears  to  me  that  it  would  be  of 
advantage  were  this  done  in  the  case  of  the  L  E.  Record.  Some 
might  in  tids  way  be  able  to  procure  books  which  they  need,  and 
others  to  dispose  of  duplicate  copies.  I  don't  know  on  what  temift 
this  is  carried  out,  but  a  p^  centage  of  one  shilling  in  the  pousd, 
chargeable  to  the  seller,  would  probably  repay  for  advertiseinenta. 
If  it  be  desired  to  start  it,  I  could  supply  a  couple  of  itemt. 

Tours  sincerely,  W.  C. 

We  think  oar  correroondenf  b  nuggeBtioa  a  very  useftit 
one.  Any  coramunications  addressed  to  the  Publumem  on 
this  matter  will  reeeire  due  attention.  In  our  next  issue 
we  propose  to  make  a  beginnings  and  issue  a  short  list  of 
works  which  mar  be  heui  through  the  Publidiers  at  the 
prices  fixed  in  the  Catalogue  of  the  RsoOBD.  We  shall 
insMt  also  a  list  of  books  waited — Editob. 


f    831    ] 

LITUEGICAL  QUESTIONS. 

I 

The  Gloria  ui  Excehia  in  the  New  Votive  Masses. 

Rby.  Sib — ^Heretofore  the  Gloria  in  Exeelsis^  was  not  said  In 
VotiTe  MaMes  (Exoept  of  £.  Y.  M.  on  Saturdays  and  of  the 
Angels.)  In  the  new  Votive  Masses  it  is  ordered.  Does  this 
apply  to  all  Yotives  (e.  g,  de  Trinitate,)  or  only  to  the  six  there 
specified  ?     I  suppose  the  Ite  missa  eat  follows  the  Gloria. 

The  new  rubric  prefixed  to  the  new  Votive  Masses 
prescribes  the  Gloria^  and  this  rubric  applies  only  to  the 
six  Votive  Masses  there  specified.  The  Gloria  is  not, 
consequently,  to  be  said  in  the  Votive  Mass  de  Trinitate  or 
in  others  which  did  not  previously  admit  of  it 

The  Ite  missa  est^  follows  the  Gloria. 

This  new  rubric  regarding  the  saying  of  the  Gloria  is 
m  keeping  with  former  le^slation  respecting  a  Votive 
Mass  when  preceded  by  its  own  Votive  Office.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  case  of  the  Votive  Office  and  Mass  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  which,  by  special  Indult,  we  in  the 
Irish  Church  were  long  since  privileged  to  substitute  for 
the  Ferial  Office  and  Mass  of  Thursday.  In  this  Votive 
Mass  when  accompanied  by  its  Votive  Office,  the  Gloria 
should  be  said«  though  the  Gloria  is  not  to  be  said  in  the 
nsual  private  Votive  Mass  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  when 
not  conformable  to  the  Office  of  the  day. 

Accordingly,  we  believe  that  the  explanation  of  the 
apparent  conta:udiction  between  the  new  and  old  rubrics  is 
this : — the  general  rubric  which  prohibits  the  Gloria  in  a 
private  Votive  Mass^  (except  in  that  of  the  Angels  and  of 
the  B.  Virgin  on  Saturdays)  applies  to  a  Votive  Mass  which 
is  not  preceded  by  a  Votive  Office  ("  Non  conformis  officio"); 
and  the  special  rubric  regards  Votive  Masses  following 
on  their  own  Votive  Offices.  Hence,  whenever  a  Votive 
Mass  is  not  in  connection  with  its  Votive  Office,  the  general 
rubric  of  the  Missal  {Tit.  viii.  n.  4.)  should,  we  think,  be 
followed. 

n. 

The  Last  Gospel  in  the  New  Votive  Masses. 

Rev.  Deab  Ste- — ^Would  you  be  good  enough  to  say  whether 
any  new  regulation  has  been  made  regarding  the  last  Gospel  in  a 
Votive  Mass  celebrated  on  a  Feria  ? 

In  De  Herdt  we  read  (vol.  I.,  pars.  1  no.  49.  Edit.  Lovan,  1870) 
**  Vunquam  legitnr  in  fine  missae  votivae  dliud  evangelium  nisi  S. 
Jomnis^  qnamvis  celebretur  in  /eria,  aut  vigilia  proprium  evangeltum 


332  Liturgical  Quesiioiu^ 

habente,''^  and  yet  the  Ordo  directs  us  (if  we  take  the  Votive  Office 
and  Mass)  to  read  "  Evg.  fer.  in  fin  J"  An  answer  in  next  number 
will  oblige — A  Subscribrr. 

Yes.  A  new  regulation  has  been  made,  affecting  not 
Votive  Masses  in  general,  but  only  those  six  Votive  Masses 
which  with  their  Offices  have  been  lately  allowed  as  a 
substitute  for  the  Office  and  Mass  of  Simples  and  Feriae 
(with  certain  exceptions.)  This  new  rubric  is  prefixed*  to 
the  new  Votive  Masses.  It  prescribes  that  the  last  gospel 
is  to  be  deferia^  whenever  this  would  be  said  as  the  last 
gospel  on  an  ordinary  seraidouble  feast.  Hence,  whenever 
one  of  these  Votive  Offices  with  its  Mass  is  said  in  Lent, 
the  last  gospel  will  be  de  feria. 

In  the  passage  you  quote,  De  Herdt  is  writing  of  the 
ordinary  Votive  Mass  which  is  not  conformable  tp  the 
Office  of  the  day,  and  of  which  the  general  rubrics  of  the 
missal  {Tit.  xiii.,  2)  say: — "in  Missis  Votivis  nunquam 
legitur  in  fine  aliud  Evangelium,  nisi  S.  Joannis." 

It  should,  perhaps,  be  remarked  that  heretofore, 
when  by  special  Indult  a  Votive  Office  and  Mass  were 
granted  to  a  particular  church,  e.  g,  the  Votive  Office  and 
Mass  of  the  B.  Sacrament  for  a  ferial  Thursday,  the 
Indult  always  excepted  the  time  of  Advent  and  Lent, 
and  other  days  when  the  gospel  of  the  day  would  take  the 
place  of  St.  John's  gospel.  But  the  six  new  Votive  Offices 
and  Masses  may  be  said  in  Advent  and  Lent,  (except  from 
the  17th  to  the  24th  of  December,  and  during  Passioatide), 
and  it  is  for  those  times  that  the  new  rubno.  legislates  in 
the  matter  to  which  you  refer. 

IIL 

Extent  of  the  new  Indult. 

The  new  Indult  regarding  Votive  Offices  does  not  interfere,  I 
take  it,  with  our  former  privilege  as  to  Votive  Masses.  For 
instance,  I  could  say  any  of  the  Votive  Masses  on  March  Slst., 
April  l8t  and  3rd,  Dec.  17th,  &c. 

You  are  right.  The  new  Indult  does  not  interfere  "with 
former  legislature  or  privileges. 

IV. 
Votive  Mass  on  a  Semidouble  "  ad  Libitum^ 

Could  a  Votive  Office  be  said  on  a  Semidouble  ad  libitum:- 
19  Jan.,  feast  of  S.  Canute  ? 

Yea    An  Office  ad  libitum  is  so  called,  not  because  it 
can  be  recited  or  omitted  in  all  circumstances^  but  only 


Documents.  333 

when  it  occurs  with  a  Votive  Office,  or  with  a  transferred 
office  which  would  be  placed  on  that  day  but  for  the 
Officium  ad  libitum,  De  Herdt  (Tom.  II.  n.  284),  quoting 
the  decree  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites,  answers  the 
qnestion  clearly.    He  says : — 

*'  Pro  fetjto  ad  libitum  dies  impedita  non  est  ilia  in  qua  alias 
aliquod  officium  translatum  poneretur,  aut  aliquod  officium  votivum 
per  hebdomadam  aut  per  mensem  concessum  recitaretur ;  in  casu 
enim  liberum  est  officium  ad  libitum  recitare ;  et  officium  translatum 
nlterius  transferre  vel  iUud  votivum  omittere.  Si  tamen  liberum 
nt  officium  ad  libitum  in  casu  recitare ;  sequectur  etiam  liberum 
esse,  illud  omittere,  et  officium  translatum  aut  votivum  recitare, 
prout  S.RC.  respondit^  pro  officio  votivo  festum  semiduplex  ad 
fibitom  'Mmpedimentum  esse  ad  libitum;  impedire  enim,  si  amat 
oflBcinm  festi  ad  libitum  recitare ;  non  impedire,  si  ab  eo  absti- 
nendam  censet." 

Testum  autem  translatum  numquam  mutari  seu  fixe  reponi 
potest  in  diem  festi  ad  libitum,  nisi  id  ex  speciali  indulto  permit- 
tatur." 

R.  Browne. 


DOCUMENTS. 


St.  Vincent  constituted  Patron  of  all  Charitable 

Institutions  in  Ireland. 

Beatissime  Pater. 

Nos  infrascripti  Archiepi.  et  £pi.  Hiberniae,  pleni  venerationo 
ei^  Blm.  S.  Vincentium  a  Paulo,  raerito  Apostolum  charitatis 
appellatuni  et  cupientes  gratum  nostrum  animura  exhibere,  tum  erga 
filios  ejus,  presbyteros  congregationis  Missionis,  quorum  labores  ex 
tempore  Yen.  decessoris  tui  Innocenti  X.,  quo  auspicante  prime  in 
Hibemiam  ab  ipso  Vincentio  missi  sunt,  fructus  uberrimos  usque 
oonc  tulerunt,  tum  erga  filias  ejus,  sorores  charitatis,  laicorum 
issociationes,  quo  sub  ejusdem  S.  V.  nomine  et  patrociuio  pro 
aolamine  fidelium  corporaU  et  spirituali  tam  feliciter  cum  clero 
eooperantnr ;  et  praeterea  magno  moti  desiderio  protegendi  et  pro- 
tterendi  hisce  temporibus  non  solum  inter  nos  sed  in  omnibus  terrae 
legionibos  opera  charitatis^  quae  religionem  Catholicam  imprimis 
ornant  et  commendant — ^preces  nostras  cum  votis  jam  sanctitati 
Testrae  prolatas  Eporum  Galliae,  humillime  deferimus,  ut  Sancti- 


834  Notices  of  Books. 

Ad  pedes  S.  V.  provoluti  Apostolicam  benedictioaein  pro  nobis  ei 
pro  dero  et  pc^ulo  nobis  commisso  humillime  imploramns. 

Beatissime  Pater,  SanctitaUs  Yestrae,  Send  hnmillimi  et  addic- 
tissimi.  0 

Dublin,  die  dO  Oct.,  1888. 

HiBEBNIAB. 

Quum  superiore  anno  Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster  Leo 
Papa  m.  ad  enixas  preces  Sacromm  Antistitum  Dioeoesinm  Gal- 
liarum  Sanctum  Vincentium  a  Paulo  seu  peculiarem  apud  Deum 
constituent  Patronum  Societatum  omnium  charitatis  in  illa-ie- 
gione  existentium,  quae  ab  eodem  praeclaro  institutore  suam 
quomodocumque  cognoscunt  originem:  pari  religionis  studio  per- 
moti  Rmi.  Diocesium  Hibemiae  Praesules,  Sanctissimum  eumdem 
Dominum  Nostrum  sup{^icibus  votis  rogaverunt,  ut  Sanctum  ipsom 
etiam  pro  similibus  Institutionibus  et  operibus  in  Hibemia  sedem 
habentibus  uti  Patronum  declarare  et  concedere  dignaretur.  Quas 
preces  ab  inf rascripto  Sacrorum  Bituum  Oongregationis  Secretario 
relatis  Sanctitas  Sua  perlibenti  animo  excipiens,  Sanctum  Vincen- 
tium a  Paulo  uti  peculiarem  praefatarum  Societatum  in  Hibemia 
existentium  apud  Deum  Patronum  constituere  dignata  est.  Dia 
14th  Februarii,  1884. 

D.  Cardinalis  Bartolinius,  S.B.C.,  PraefectuSi 
Laurentius  Salvati,  S.E.C.9  Secretarius. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Supplemental  Appendix  to  the  Essay  an  the  Belations  existing 
between  Convent  Schools  and  the  Systems  of  Intermediate  and 
Primary  National  Education,  By  the  Most  Rev.  T.  Nultt. 
Dublin :  Browne  &  Nolan. 

A  writer  in  the  February  number  of  the  Record  publiahed  the 
following  brief  notice  of  a  pamphlet  written  by  the  Most  BeT. 
Dr.  Nulty,  "  On  the  Relations  existing  between  Convent  Sdiools 
and  the  Systems  of  Intermediate  and  Primary  National  £dn- 
cation  :^— 

**  The  Moat  Bey.  Dr.  Nulty  has  just  pnhliahed  a  yary  wklt  and  elo^Mt 
pamphlet,  which  all  true  friends  of  education  should  read,  on  the  lalationa 
between  the  Convent  Schools  and  the  Primary  and  Intermediate  ayatema  in 
Ireland.  The  author  opens  with  a  graceful  dedication  to  Cardinal  Manning, 
and  then  adminiatera  a  just  and  f^bup  rebuke  to  the  aaonymoea  aaribbloa 
who,  writixig  in  the  interests  of  the  Alexandra  OeUeiia,  ao  Ubikj  sBimr***^ 
that  the  Con?ent  Schools  withdrew  from  the  Intermediate  Kyaminatiflgf 
becauae  they  were  worsted  in  the  contest.  In  this  matter  of  Intermediste 
Education  the  Bishop  holds  that  Convent,  aa  well  aa  other  schoola,  eao 
derive  great  beneAt  ijrom  a  healthy  national -riyalxy,  wUdi  Tesdnda  them  of 


NoHe€$  of  Booki.  83fi 

thdr  defiwts,  sod  stinnilates  them  to  exertion.  Bat  be  poantfl  oat  that  the 
Programme  of  the  Intennediate  Board  admits  aothors  like  Horace,  the 
ttody  ef  whieh  moit  eolly  the  lastre  of  female  parity,  and  that,  moreorer, 
tke  oBefol  arts  are  nei^ted,  and  too  maeh  prominenoe  is  given  to  the  study 
of fpecolatire scieaces,  which tendsto produce  those  horrid  *' strong-minded" 
womeD,  of  the  present  day,  who  are  a  terror  to  their  male  and  female  friends. 
In  the  matter  of  Primary  educatioxi.  some  will  think  his  Lordship  is  unduly 
letere  en  the  National  System  of  Female  education,  to  whidi  he  seems  to 
Ittdhote  the  decadence  of  our  national  industries.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
•  girl  is  apt  to  become  a  less  useful  seirant,  or  a  less  iodustrioas  housewife, 
bMsuse  she  has  gone  to  school  and  learned  to  read,  write,  and  cipher.  We 
luppen  to  know,  too,  that  in  those  part8  of  Ireland  where  there  have  been 
Ibv,  if  any,  sehoMs,  the  females  are  not  on  that  account  more  religious, 
isliistrious,  or  intelligent  in  the  performance  of  their  heosehold  duties. 
The  prelates,  also,  who  testify  to  the  generosity  and  piety  of  vnedaeated 
ier?aQt  girls  in  America,  admit  that  many  of  them  lost  their  laith  mainly 
beeause  they  were  uneducated  in  religious  as  in  secular  knowledge.  And  if 
edocation  eould  do  anything  to  raise  Irish  emigrant  giris  from  their  present 
desdny  of  becoming  ignorant  drudges  in  Uie  households  of  the  great 
American  cities,  we  should  deem  it  a  great  temporal  and  spiritual  blessing* 
We  Uiink,  so  far  as  it  goes,  the  National  system  has  done  good  work  in  eda- 
catisg  the  females  of  Ireland,  and  that  it  is  not  responsible  for  the  deoadenoe 
of  oar  domestic  or  other  industries  ;  but  his  Lordship  is  quite  right  in  in- 
nstiog  that  it  should  be  supplemented  by  industrial  and  technical  training, 
snd  with  pvdonable  pride  he  points  to  the  Navan  CouTent  and  Industrial 
Sdiools  as  the  most  successful  institutions  of  their  kind  in  Ireland.  TVe 
kope  the"  Commissioners  "  of  every  kind  will  take  the  trouble,  or  rather 
the  pleasure,  of  reading  this  excellent  Inoehurt," 

Dr.  Nulty  has  lately  ismied  a  **  Sapplemental  Appendix,"  to 
tiiai  pamphlet,  in  which  he  says  so  many  hard  things  of  this  brief 
notice,  that  we  think  the  moat  respectful,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
the  most  effectiye  way  we  can  reply,  is  to  publish  the  notice  itself, 
tad  then  let  the  readers  of  the  pamphlet  judge  for  themselyes 
whether  or  not  the  following  epithets  are  just  and  appropriate.  It 
IB  described  ^  as  an  inaccurate  and  ill-considered  critique — the 
writer  of  which  appears  never  to  have  read  the  essay  which  he 
erMciKs  so  recklessly — and,  at  the  same  time,  with  snch  an  affected 
of  discernment  and  impartiality— unjustly  distorting 
inisrepresenting  the  author's  views/*  The  writer  is  also 
of  ^  inetcusable  misrepresentation  springing  from  negli« 
w«rse  thing  to  beih^  wilful."  Moreover,  Dr.  3^ul^ 
of  the  critic's  '^ questionable  zeal"  in  making  these 
harmless  observatiops;  he  accuses  him  of  ^'wantonly 
offensively  insulting  tho  Irish  emigrant  gii^  (in  America)^ 
teterking  their  business  or  occupations  as  'ignorant 
;'*'  fie  declares^  too,  that  the  writer  of  tile  critique 
^Ibe  tinderstandings  of  his  hearers  i^hen  he  further 
"llHiimates  tfant'  the  Iridh  emigrant  girls  needed  the  aid  of 
~  -system  to  save  them  from  apostatising  from  tho 
^lyeh  thiey  mad^  such  splendid  mcrifiees."    Last  oi  all. 


S36  Notices  of  Booh, 

sort,  no  matter  by  whom  it  is  penned.  But  let  it  pass :  hard  words 
break  no  bones.  For  our  own  part,  we  are  in  the  habit  of  attend- 
ing to  arguments,  not  to  superfluous  adjectives  and  adverbs.  It  is, 
however,  for  our  readers'  sake  worth  while  to  see  whether  or  not 
we  were  justified  in  our  brief  critique. 

Dr.  Nulty  finds  in  that  notice  much  more  than  its  writer  ever 
dreamt  of ;  but  the  charges  against  it  may  conveniently  be  reduced 
to  four. 

1.  The  bishop  says,  **  we  accused  him  of  attributing  the  decline 
of  our  national  industries  to  the  influence  of  the  national  system 
of  primary  education."  What  we  really  did  say  was,  that  "he 
seeffis  to  attribute  to  it  the  decadence  of  our  national  industries.^* 
Our  reason  for  saying  so  is  contained  in  th§  following  passages 
from  the  pamphlet,  which  we  regret  we  cannot  cite  in  fidl : — 

"  The  rise,  the  progress,  and  the  final  development  of  this  system  of 
National  education  into  its  present  huge  proportions  synchronize  very 
curiously  with  the  decline,  the  rapid  decay,  and  apparently  the  final  dis- 
solution of  all  our  national  domestic  industries  ....  The  average  Irish 
girl  of  that  period  (before  the  introduction  or  general  acceptation  of  the 
National  System)  was  busily  and  incessantly  occupied — singularly  laborious, 
and  self-denying — th«re  was  no  industry  in  which  she  was  not  well  versed. 
....  But  an  average  Irish  girl  who  has  just  completed  her  course  of 
education  at  a  National  School,  and  is  nearly  full-grown,  cannot  cut  out,  or 
make  up  her  own  clothing,  she  cannot  knit  or  sew,  or  spin,  she  canuot 
milk  cows,  or  make  butter,  she  is  totally  unskilled  and  inexperienced  in  the 
art  of  cookery.  In  fact^  through  h3r  utter  ignorance  of  the  useful  iudnstries 
she  can  render  n6  service  which  anyone  wants  or  cares  for;  she  can  produce 
DO  commodity  for  which  there  is  any  demand." 

And  the  bishop  adds,  ^^  the  National  System  is  responsible  for  the 
deplorable  results  just  enumerated."  (Page  54  &  35.) 

If,  before  the  system  was  introduced,  the  average  Irish  girl 
was  weU  versed  in  every  industry;  if  imder  its  influence  she 
becomes  utterly  ignorant  of  all  these  useful  industries;  if  the 
National  System  of  female  education  is  responsible  for  this  deplor- 
able result ;  if,  moreover,  the  rise,  progress,  and  final  development 
of  this  system  of  National  Education  so  *' curiously  synchronizes,"  step 
by  step,  with  the  decline,  rapid  decay,  and  apparently  final  disso- 
lution of  all  our  national  domestic  industries — are  we  not  justified 
in  saying  that,  in  asserting  all  this,  the  bishop  seems  to  attribute  to 
the  National  System  of  Education  the  decadence  of  our  national 
industries.  Can  '^  this  curious  synchronism,"  in  these  special 
circumstances,  imply  anything  else  ?  We  think  not ;  and  we  are 
happy  to  find,  if  we  are  mistaken,  that  we  err  in  very  good  com- 
pany, for,  according  to  the  bishop  himself,  another  writer  "  of  the 
highest  integrity  and  honour,*'  moreover,  "  an  intelligent  and  highly 
experienced  educationist,"  deduced  the  very  same  conclusion  from 
the  language  of  the  pamphlet.  Two  heads  are  proverbially  better 
than  one,  except  it  is  a  very  extraordinary  one. 

2.  The  second  charge  against  us  is  that  we  said,  ^*  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  how  a  girl  is  apt  to  become  a  less  useful  servant,  or  a 


Notices  of  Books.  337 

leas  industrions  housewife,  because  she  has  gone  to  school  and 

karaed  to  read,  write,  and  cipher."    The  bishop  says  he  asked  us 

to  M«  no  such  thing,  and  that  f  he  *'  reckless  charge  "  could  only  be 

made  by  one  who  never  read  the  Essay.     We  beg  to  assure  his 

Lordship  that  we  carefully  read  and  marked  the  Essay  before  we 

wrote  a  single  line.     And  we  now  assert  formally  and  deliberately^ 

that,  in  our  opinion,  the  statement  is  an  inevitable  conclusion  from 

more  than  one  passage  in  the  pamphlet.     However,  we  can  cite 

only  one.     The  previous  sentence  in  the  notice  clearly  shows  that 

we  spoke  of  National  Schools,  and  the  bishop  himself  seems  to 

admit  it  was  of  these  schools  we  spoke.     Now  here  are  his  own 

words  in  regard  to  these  schools : — 

**Lt  (the  National  System)  inatmcts  Irish  girls  in  those  arts  vhich  are 
merelj  the  aecidents  of  life,  and  leaves  them  in  utter  ignorance  of  those 
which  constitute  life*s  essential  elements.  That  it  to  tay,  it  teaches  them 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  <feo.,  &c.,  or  the  arts  which  adorn  or  embellish 
fife,  and  make  it  eiyoyable.  while  it  neglects  those  arts  on  which  life  itself 
•■entiaUy  depends,  and  which  alone  can  support  and  maintain  it.  .  .  . 
The  direct  and  practical  result  of  this  teaching,  as  daily  experience  but  too 
dearly  proves,  is  to  educate  Irish  girls  into  a  feeling  of  contempt,  and  positive 
aUiorrence,  of  hard  manual  work,  and  to  make  them  recoil  from  those  neces- 
taiy  and  honourable  employments  by  which  Providence  has  appointed  that 
they  should  earn  a  respectable  and  independent  livelihood." 

Now  m  this  passage  the  Bishop  clearly  asserts  that  the  system 
which  teaches  Irish  girls  the  mere  accidents  of  life — treading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  &c.,  &c.,  or  the  arts  which  adorn  or  embellish 
hfe,  whilst  it  leaves  them  in  ignorance  of  its  essential  elements, 
produces  several  disastrous  effects — the  direct  and  practical  result 
of  its  teaching — (a)  it  educates  Irish  girls  into  a  feeling  of  con- 
tempt for  manual  work,  (b)  nay,  a  positive  abhorrence  for  such 
wori^,  and  (c)  furthermore,  it  makes  them  recoil  from  necessary 
and  honourable  domestic  or  other  employments.  If  learning  to 
read,  write,  and  cipher,  &c.,  &c.,  in  a  National  School  produces,  a» 
^  bishop  asserts  it  does,  these  deplorable  results  on  Irish  girls» 
does  it  not  inevitably  tend  to  make  them  *^  less  useful  servants  and 
less  industrious  housewives  ?"  And  were  not  we,  with  this  passage 
before  our  eyes,  justified  in  implying  that  such  was  Dr.  Nulty's  view  ? 
We  can  only  repeat  now  what  we  said  before,  that  learning  the 
time  It's,  even  in  a  National  School,  does  not,  in  our  opinion,  pro- 
Aloe  these  effects,  and  that  consequently  we  cannot  admit  what  his 
bidship  implies  in  the  above  passage,  that  *'  a  girl  is  apt  to  become 
•1m  industrious  servant,  or  a  less  useful  housewife  because  she  has 

Cto  school  and  learned  to  read,  write  and  cipher.*'    It  might  be  a 
r  plan,  as  the  bishop  says,  to  make  industrial  training  precede 
Stonirv  education,  althoufirh  we  cannot  a^ee  with  him  :  or  tn 


338  Notices  of  Books. 

less  useful  servants  or  less  industrious  housewives.     The  bishop 
thinks  it  does — all  we  can  say  is,  we  think  exactly  the  reverse. 

3.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  with  his  views  on  this 
question,  Dr.  Nulty  refuses  to  accept  our  statement  that  '^  so  far  as 
it  goes  the  National  System  has  done  good  work  in  educating  the 
females  of  Ireland."    It  is  not  the  secular  character  of  the  system 
that  the  bishop  here  objects  to.     He  has  himself  declared  in  the 
first  pamphlet,  that  he  did  not  touch  that  aspect  of  the  question, 
yet  he  will  not  admit  that  as  an  educational  agency  for  females  the 
system  has  doue  any  good  at  all.    His  reply  to  our  statement — 
that  ^0  far  as  it  goes  it  has  done  good  work — ^is  the  emphatic 
assertion  that  "  it  has  done  nothing  of  the  kind.*'    Nay,  more,  if 
we  are  to  believe  the  bishop,  it  has  wrought  much  evil,  for  he  adds, 
and  it  is  a  very  extraordinary  assertion,  "  by  doing  too  much  on 
one  hand,  and  nothing  at  all  on  the  other,  it  has  become  a  prolific 
source,  not  of  good,  but  of  great  practical  evil  to  the  female  youth 
of  the  working  classes,  by  making  it  morally  impossible  for  th^m  to 
earn  a  livelihood  either  by  physical  or  intellectual  labour  !'*     The 
bishop  will  pardon  us  &  we  venture  to  think  differently ;  in  our 
opinion,  such  education  as  Irish  girls  have  received  in  the  National 
Schools  has,  generally  speaking,  been  productive  of  great  good. 

4.  As  to  the  high  crime  and  misdemeanour  we  committed  by 
expressing  a  hope  ^'  that  education  at  home  might  do  something  to 
raise  our  Irish  emigrant  girls  from  their  present  unhappy  destinyi 
of  becoming  ignorant  drudges  in  the  households  of*  the  great 
American  cities,"  we  have  only  to  observe,  that  as  to  their  being 
ignorant^  it  is  too  true  of  most  of  them ;  and  in  so  far  as  they  are 
not,  it  is  undeniably  due,  at  least  in  great  part,  to  that  very  system 
which  the  bishop  says  has  done  no  good  for  the  education  of  Irish 
females.  And  as  to  their  being  drudges  his  Lordship  himself  tells 
us  that  he  was  informed  by  American  prelates  that  the  churches 
and  cathedrals  of  the  United  States  were  mainly  built  by  Irish 
servant  girls.  Surely  servant  girls  are  drudges,  and  every  one 
knows,  that  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  such  is  the  destiny  of  our 
poor  Irish  emigrant  girls  in  America. 

His  Lordship  seems  to  infer  from  our  statement  that  many  of 
these  poor  servant  girls  "  lost  the  faith  mainly  because  they  were 
uneducated  in  religious  as  in  secular  knowledge^"  that  we  attribute 
some  saving  virtue  to  seoplar  knowledge ;  weU,  we  do,  in  combina- 
tion with  religious  knowledge,  but  that  cannot  be  inferred  from  the 
above  statement,  as  any  one  can  see  for  himself. 

Dr.  Nulty  discusses  several  other  very  interesting  questions  in 
this  **  Supplementary  Appendix."  We  honestly  confess  that  w*  are 
not  courageous  enough  to  hazard  a  candid  opinion — and  anything 
else  would  be  worthless— concerning  these  new  views.  We  might 
not  be  able  to  assent;  and  we  dare  not  dissent.  In  such  cir- 
cumstances, speech  may  be  silvern,  but  silence  is  golden. 

Thb  Writiw  of  thr  Notick 


I 


Notices  of  Books^  339 

I%e  BubUn  Review.    Third  Series.    April,  1884.     London : 

Burns  &  Oates. 

In  the  current  number  of  the  Dublin  Review  there  is  an 
interesting  article  by  the  Rev.  Sylvester  Malone,  in  reply  to  a 
previous  paper  which  followed  the  editor  of  the  Aanalecta  Juris 
Pontificii,  in  rejecting  the  authenticity  of  the  famous  Bull  of 
i'  Adrian  IV,  The  writer  in  the  Analecta  pretended  to  have  dis- 
<»vered  Adrian's  genuine  letter,  in  which,  so  far  from  sanctioning 
Heniy  the  Second's  project  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland,  he  did 
exactly  the  reverse — refusing  to  countenance  it  any  way  I 

Ireland  was  not  mentioned  by  name,  but  designated  as  H , 

which  the  writer  in  the  Analecta  interprets  as  Hibernian  but  which 

all  previous  writers  referred  to  as  Htspania,    No  person  acquainted 

with  the  internal  history  of  Ireland,  could,  for  a  moment,  be  misled 

into  referring  this  document  to  Ireland.     We  were  bad  enough  in 

the  twelfth  century,  as  Father  M alone  clearly  establishes,  but  our 

worst  enemies  did  not  charge  us  with  being  at  that  time  pagans 

and  apostates — epithets  which   could  only  apply   to  the  Spanish 

Moors.     Dr.  Moran  has  lent  no  countenance  to  this  document, 

although  anxious  enough  to  disprove  the  Bull  of  Adrian,  because 

he  knows  very  well  it  could  not  possibly  apply  to  Ireland.     Father 

Halone  has  done  good  service  by  proving  this  to  evidence.     There 

are,  as  usual,  several  other  readable  articles  in  the  present  issue  of 

the  Dublin  Review. 

Footprints  Old  and  New.    By  L.  Y.  B,    Bubns  &  Oates,  London. 

If  this  very  readable  volume  were  entitled  '*  From  Australia  to 
Rome,"  it  would  not  be  an  inapt  description  of  the  book.  It  is 
apparently  written  by  a  nun  from  the  antipodes,  in  a  lively  and 
interesting  style,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  original  poems 
of  considerable  merit.  The  author  gives  very  graphic  pictures  of 
cdonial  life  both  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand ;  and  we  venture 
to  think,  her  account  of  the  voyage  homeward  will  be  read  with 
much  interest.  For  people  in  these  Islands  the  chapters  on  Roman 
Beenes  and  incidents,  will  not  be  equally  novel ;  but  no  doubt  for 
Australians  they  will  form  the  main  interest  of  the  book.  It  is  a 
wjr  interesting  and  instructive  little  work  to  while  away  a  leisure 

Tk4  Olories  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Succour,  A  Manual  for  the 
Month  of  Mary.  Translated  from  the  French  of  Rev.  II. 
SAniTBAiN,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Livius,  C.S.S.R.  Dublin : 
X.  H«  Gnx  &  Son. 

VhSs  18,  indeed,  an  excellent  book  of  devotion,  and,  as  its  very 


3 10  Notices  of  Books. 

he  experienced  the  miraculous  aid  of  Our  Lady  of  Perpetual  Succour. 
Tlie  plan  of  the  work,  too,  is  excellent.  It  furnishes  a  series  of 
instructions,  meditations,  prayers,  and  examples  for  every  day  in 
the  month.  Not  the  least  interesting  portion  of  these  instructions 
is  taken  from  the  history  of  the  miraculous  picture  itself,  which  is 
told  with  the  beautiful  simplicity  so  well  adapted  for  edification. 
We  venture  to  recommend  this  little  work  to  our  Irish  Priests, 
for  their  May  devotions.  It  will  suit  equally  well  to  be  read  in  the 
Church,  or  to  furnish  matter  for  a  brief  and  practical  instruction. 

The  Complete  Story  of  the  Passion  and  .Death  of  Christ,  By  the 
Rev.  Arthur  Ryan,  St.  Patrick's  College,  Thurles.  Dublin : 
Browne  &  Nolan. 

This  little  work  has  received  so  many  commendations  from 
various  soiurces,  that  it  is  quite  superfluous  for  us  to  add  our  own 
recommendation.  It  is  certainly  the  clearest,  the  most  succinct, 
and  at  the  same  time,  the  most  complete  gospel  narrative  of  the 
Passion,  which  we  have  in  the  English  language.  The  learned 
\iTiter  did  well  to  follow  Dr.  Walsh's  Harmony  of  Passion,  for  he 
could  have  no  better  guide  in  narrating  the  somewhat  intricate 
events  of  the  Sacred  Story.     It  is  a  useful  book  for  every  priest. 

A  Short  Memoir  of  Esterina  Antinori,    Translated  from  the  Italian. 
By  Lady  Herbert.     Dublin  :  Gill  and  Son. 

Lady  Herbert  is  so  well  and  widely  known  as  an  authoress, 
that  her  name  is  of  itself  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  moral 
excellence  and  literary  finish  of  any  book  for  which  she  is  respon- 
sible, either  as  author  or  translator.  She  is  both  in  the  present 
case,  for  this  memoir,  to  some  extent,  consists  of  original  matter. 
It  tells  the  story  of  a  life,  eminently  holy  and  happy,  led  by  the 
daughter  of  a  nobleman — the  Marquis  Spinello  Antinori — in  the 
Convent  of  the  Trinitd,  de'Monti,  at  Rome.  That  b'fe  was  indeed 
short  in  years,  but  it,was  a  very  beautiful  life,  fragrant  with  the 
aroma  of  all  virtues.  This  little  book  is  dedicated  to  the  Children 
of  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  would  be  a  most  suitable  prize  for  girls 
in  Catechism  classes  and  Convent  schools. 

"  The  Maxims  and  Councils  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul " — (Gux 
AND  Son) — by  the  late  Most  Rbv.  Dr.  Walsh,  Archbishop  of 
Halifax,  is  a  very  small  little  book  ;  but  it  is  golden  within  and 
golden  without.  We  have  seldom  seen  so  neat  a  specimen  o€ 
Dublin  book-binding,  and  we  need  scarcely  say  that  maxims  for 
every  day  in  the  year  taken  from  the  writings  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  are  sure  to  contain  many  gems  of  **  purest  ray  serene.** 
Here  is  one: — "Ihe  practice  of  prayer  is  as  necessary  for  the 
ministers  of  the  altar  as  arms  are  to  a  soldier."  It  is  a  pity  the 
names  of  the  various  months  are  not  put  at  tha  head  of  the  page. 


THE   IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


JUNE,  1884. 


AN  AMERICAN  PLEA  FOR  PHYSICAL  PREMOTION. 

ONE  of  the  most  notable  results  as  yet  brought  about  by 
the  publication  of  the  "  iEterni  Patris  "  is  the  revival 
of  the  old  controversy  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Divine 
co-operation  with  the  free- will  of  man.  During  the  few 
years  that  have  elapsed  since  that  remarkable  document 
was  issued,  numerous  works  have  appeared  on  the 
subject,  varying  in  size  from  the  respectable  volume  of 
Fr.  Schneeman  to  the  condensed  articles  in  the  Irish 
Ecclesiastical  Record. 

The  greater  part  of  these  writings  have  been  directed 
against  the  advocates  of  Physical  Premotion.  Two  charges 
have  been  laid  at  their  door.  One  is  that  they  have 
usiuped  the  title  by  which  they  have  hitherto  been  known 
to  tne  Theological  world  ;  the  other  that  they  are  guilty 
of  defending  a  system,  which,  to  say  the  veiy  least,  is  most 
uuphilosopldcal.  We  do  not  care  to  occupy  ourselves  at 
present  with  the  first  of  these  accusations.  It  is  so  para- 
doxical that  we  cannot  but  doubt  whether  even  its  authors 
sincerely  believe  it  to  be  well  founded.  However  that  may 
be,  we  ourselves  are  convinced  that  the  adherents  of 
Physical  Premotion  are  the  genuine  Thomists.  We  are  of 
their  number ;  and  we  accept  the  appellation  of  *  fiannesian ' 
as  applied  to  us,  only  in  the  sense  in  which  we  would  accept 
that  of  Billuartian  or  Gondinian. 

It  is  for  the  purpose  of  dealing  with  the  second  charge 
that  we  solicit  the  favour  of  a  few  pages  in  the  Record. 
We  wish  to  place  before  its  Readers  some  of  the  arguments 
'which  have  induced  ourselves  and  so  many  others  to  em- 
brace Thomism  while  fully  conscious  of  the  existence  of 
VOL.  V.  3  0 


342  An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Pr emotion* 

the  apparently  formidable  objections  urged  against  it 
We  ask  of  them  a  patient  hearing  while  we  endeavour  to 
show  that,  (1)  unless  Physical  Premotion  be  admitted, 
God's  fore-knowledge  of  future  events  depending  on  the 
free-will  of  man  cannot  be  explained ;  (2)  without  Physical 
Premotion  man's  will  would  remain  for  ever  inactive,  (3) 
Physical  Premotion  cannot  be  proved  incompatible  with 
liberty.  From  the  issue  of  our  attempts  to  establish  these 
three  propositions  we  would  have  them  judge  whether  or 
not  the  accusation  in  question  is  merited. 

Perhaps  it  is  well  to  observe  here  that  we  do  not  treat 
of  physical  predetermination  as  it  pertains  exclusively  either 
to  the  natural  or  to  the  supernatural  order.  All  that  is  said  of 
the  unassisted  will  under  its  influence  may  be  understood 
also  of  the  will  elevated  by  grace.  Another  prefatory 
remark  we  would  make  is,  that  throughout  this  article  we 
shall  avoid  everything  that  would  savour  of  rhetorical 
display,  and  shall  not  hesitate  to  employ  scholastic  terms 
in  cases  where  we  deem  the  use  of  them  conducive  to 
clearness. 

It  is  de  fide  that  God  knows  all  future  things  with  a 
certain  and  infallible  knowledge.  Even  unaided  reason 
has  no  difficulty  in  admitting  this  truth  in  so  far  as  it 
concerns  those  future  events  which  depend  for  their  fulfil- 
ment solely  on  the  Divine  will,  or  upon  it  in  conjunctioD 
with  necessary  second  causes.  It  is  only  when  it  is  ex- 
tended to  embrace  effects  produced  by  created  causes  of 
their  very  nature  indifferent  that  the  poor  human  intellect 
begins  to  stagger.  It  can  easily  understand  that,  God 
himself  being  unchangeable.  His  own  eternal  resolves  must 
necessarily  be  executed,  and  His  eternal  knowledge  of  that 
execution  thus  verified.     With  equal  facility  does  it  com- 

Erehend  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  the  Divine  prescience 
eing  falsified  by  an  agent  whicjh  operates  according  to  a 
certain  fixed  law  imposed  by  the  Creator  Himself.  But 
when  there  is  question  of  including  in  the  circle  of  object** 
eternally  fore-known  the  acts  of  an  agent  that  is  essentially 
free,  and  whose  liberty  must  be  respected,  then  man's 
reason  finds  itself  confronted  with  what  would  seem  to  be 
an  inscrutable  mystery.  The  question  it  naturally  asks 
itself  is  this  :  If  during  the  eternal  years  that  preceded  the 
performance  of  a  given  act  by  such  a  creature,  there  existed 
no  ratio  sujfficieiis  which  would  infalUbly  determine  it  to  that 
act  rather  than  to  another ;  if  when  on  the  very  point  of 
producing  that  act  it  possessed  the  most  unlimited  freedom 


An  American  Flea  for  Physical  Pr emotion.  343 

to  act  or  not  to  act.,  how  could  God  have  had  any  more 
than  a  mere  conjectural  knowledge  of  the  course  it  would 
follow  ? 

Vanquished  by  this  difficulty,  some  ancient  philosopherH, 
notably  Cicero  (Lib.  ii.  de  Divin.\  denied  that  God  possessed 
an  infallible  knowledge  of  the  future  acts  of  man's  will. 
Others,  as  the  Stoics,  went  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and 
rejected  the  doctrine  of  human  liberty.  We  may  be  allowed 
to  remark  en  passant  that  these  methods  of  disposing  of  the 
question  were  highly  illogical  These  philosophers  seem 
to  have  admitted  the  principle  that  the  mere  incapacity  of 
man's  reason  to  reconcile  two  apparent  truths  is  a  sufficient 
warrant  for  the  denial  of  one  or  the  other  of  them  ;  a  prin- 
ciple which  is  utterly  false,  but  which,  as  we  shall  see 
further  on,  our  adversaries  would  have  us  Thomists  adopt. 
Fortunately  for  the  cause  of  truth,  neither  of  the  proposed 
solutions — if  such  they  may  be  termed — is  permitted 
to  CathoUc  philosophers.  Divine  revelation  assures  them 
that  both  God's  prescience  and  man's  freedom  are  unde- 
niable facis,  and  they  must  endeavour  to  show  that  the  co- 
existence of  the  two  truths  is  not  an  impossibility.  He 
alone  can  be  said  to  attain  this  object,  whose  explanation 
of  the  one  does  not  in  any  way  involve  a  denial  of  the 
other. 

That  the  Thomistic  system,  if  true,  would  adequately 
account  for  the  Divine  foreknowledge  is  too  evident  to 
require  demonstration.  According  to  it,  the  sufficient 
reason  of  that  knowledge  is  furnished  by  the  very  nature 
of  second  causes.  In  order  that  a  created  agent  may 
operate,  it  is  necessary  that  it  receive  a  physical  influx  of 
the  fiipt  cause,  which  shall  actuate  its  own  native  power, 
and  incUne  it  infaUibly  to  the  production  of  a  determinate 
effect.  All  creatures  are  as  instruments  in  the  hands  of 
the  Creator.  "  Cum  Deus  sit  primum,"  says  the  Angelic 
Doctor,  "  omnia  quae  sunt  post  ipsum  sunt  quasi  quaedam 
iostrumenta  ipsius."  (Contra  Gentes,  i.  3,  c.  100).  The  free 
will  of  man  does  not  form  an  exception  to  the  general  rule  : 
**Sub  Deo  qui  est  primus  intellectus  et  volens,  ordinantnr 
omnee  intellectus  et  voluntates  sicut  instrumenta  sub  prin- 
dpali  agente."  (Ibid.  c.  147).  But  the  essence  of  an 
ii^trninental  cause  consists  in  this,  that  its  own  innate 
*  virtuB  "  is,  as  it  were,  a  medium  through  which  the  action 


344         An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Pranotion, 

modo  operationis  principmm  in  buo  ordine,  id  est,  nt  agat 
ut  instrumentum  superioris  virtutis.  Unde  exclusa  supe- 
riore  virtute,  virtus  inferior  operationem  non  babet." 
(St.  Tbomas,  qq.  Disp.  de  Potent,  ix.  3,  Art.  4).  Since 
then  tbe  Divine  impulse  is  a  condition  essentially  pre- 
requisite to  each  individual  act  of  free  as  well  as  of  neces- 
sary causes  ("  secundum  modum  proprium  luiiuscuj usque," 
as  St.  Thomas  puts  it),  it  follows  that  God,  in  order  to 
know  what  His  creatures  would  and  what  they  would  not 
do  in  time,  had  only  to  consult  His  own  most  efficacious 
will. 

It  appears  to  some,  however,  that  the  system  of  the 
Angelic  Doctor  and  his  school  thus  perfectly  solves  the 
question  of  God's  prescience  only  at  the  expense  of  man's 
freedom.  They  maintain  that  liberty  cannot  stand  together 
with  the  physical  predetermination  described  above  ;  hence 
they  reject  it  and  the  entire  system  of  which  it  is  the 
foundation.  Physical  Promotion,  say  they,  is  not  at  all 
necessary  in  order  that  the  will  may  act ;  and  the  Divine 
foreknowledge  can  be  satisfactorily  explained  without  it 

No  one  can  deny  that  an  important  point  would  be 
gained  against  Thomism  if  this  latter  assertion  could  be 
naade  good.  It  is  true  that  the  perfect  solution  it  furnishes 
to  the  question  of  God's  foreknowledge  is  not,  so  to  say, 
the  primary  reason  by  which  Physical  Premotion  is  sup- 
ported. But  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  fundamenUil 
arguments  in  its  favour,  drawn  from  the  nature  of  secondary 
causes,  would  be  materially  strengthened  if  no  other 
equally  satisfactory  solution  were  to  be  had.  Let  us  now 
examine  that  oflFered  by  our  adversaries,  and  see  whether 
or  not  it  justifies  its  pretensions.  It  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  following  propositions :  — 

1.  God,  prior  to  any  decree  whatever  concerning  the 
acts  of  A,  for  instance,  sees  what  He  would  do  if  He  were 
situated  in  such  or  such  a  combinauon  of  circumstances, 
and  had  placed  at  his  disposal  certain  axixilia  (natural  or 
supernatural  as  the  case  may  be)  of  their  natiire  indifferent. 

2.  If  he  see  that  A,  placed  in  circumstances  of  X  and  Y, 
and  furnished  with  auxUia^  W  and  Z  would  consent^  and  if  it 
be  His  benevolent  will  that  it  should  be  so,  God  decrees  to 
place  A  in  such  circumstances,  and  give  him  such  help& 

3.  A's  consent,  hitherto  conditional,  now  passes  into  the 
realm  of  absolute  futmities,  and  God  beholds  him  actually 
consenting  in  time. 

It  is  evident  that  the  whole  of  this  system  must  stand  or 


An  American  Plea  for  Fhysical  Premotion,  345 

fall  Trith  the  first  proposition.    And  now  we  ask :  Does 

God  previously  to  all  decrees  possess  any  such  knowledge 

as  id  tnerein  attributed  to  Him  ?    If  so,  how  does  he  know 

that  A,  under  certain  conditions,  will  consent  rather  than 

not  consent  t     The  answer  to  the  first  of  these  questions 

must  depend  upon  that  given  to  the  second.     If  there  can 

be  no  medium  assigned  through  which  the  Divine  eye  may 

behold  the  objects  of  this  pecuUar  scientia^  it  is  only  an 

arbitrary  assumption  to  say  that  such  a  scientia  exists.    In 

order  to  agree  with  us  in  this,  it  is  only  necessary  that  our 

readers  have  a  clear  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  "  medium 

cognitionis." 

Philosophy  and  common  sense  tell  us  that  the  knowable- 
ness  of  a  thing  is  proportionate  to  its  mode  of  existence, 
tf  it  actually  exist,  it  can  be  known  in  itself.  If  it  be  only 
a  passible  entity,  that  is,  if  it  exist  solely  in  a  cause  capable 
of  giving  it  real  existence,  it  cannot  be  known  in  itself,  but 
only  in  the  cause  which  contains  it.  This  distinction  might 
be  carried  further,  but  to  do  so  is  not  necessary  for  our 
present  purpose.  We  only  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  when  a  thing  does  not  actually  exist,  it  can  be  known 
only  through  something  else  which  may  bring  it  into  being. 
It  is  this  **  something  else"  that  we  understand  by  **  medium 
cognitionis."  A's  consent  in  the  example  we  are  employing 
does  not  exist  in  itself ;  for,  according  to  hypothesis,  God 
has  not  yet  placed  him  in  any  particular  cu-cumstances. 
Consequently,  if  known  at  all,  it  must  be  known  in  some- 
thing which  contains  it. 

The  defenders  of  the  system  under  examination  are  not 
agreed  as  to  the  nature  of  this  medium.  Molina  and  a  few 
others  taught  that  God  knows  what  will  be  the  action  of 
A,  in  virtue  of  a  most  penetrating  knowledge  which  He 
possesses  of  A*s  will  and  his  surroundings ;  a  knowledge  by 
which  He  understands  so  thoroughly  the  created  faculty, 
that  seeing  it  He  discerns  what  it  would  do  in  any  given 
circumstances. 

This  opinion  appears  to  be  now  universally  rejected. 
And  justly  so  ;  for  a  mere  glance  suffices  to  show  that  it 
explains  nothing.  If  A  is  really  free,  no  matter  in  what 
circumstances  he  may  be  situated,  he  must  have  the  abso- 
lute power  to  act  and  not  to  act,  to  do  this  or  to  do  that. 
True,  certain  surroundings  may  incline  him  strongly  to  one 
side ;  but,  as  the  patrons  of  this  opinion  admit,  he  may  at 


346  An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Premotion. 

understanding  of  His  will  could  furnish  the  Divine  intelli- 
gence with  only  a  sort  of  moral  certitude  of  his  future  free 
acts. 

Nearly  all  the  more  modem  adherents  of  scientia  media 
maintain  that  God  knows  conditional  future  events  in  se 
ipsis  or  veritate  ipsorum  objectiva,  "  Hanc  (sententiam; 
Suarez  proposuit,"  says  De  Kleutgen,  "  et  sequuntur  pleri- 
que  recentiores,  qui  scientiam  mediam  defendunt."  A'e 
future  consent  under  certain  conditions  was  always  an 
objective  truth,  and  consequently  always  present  to  the 
Divine  mind  like  every  other  tnith. 

If  there  could  be  two  ways  of  understanding  this  opin- 
ion, the  fact  that  it  is  put  forth  by  such  learned  men  as 
Suarez,  Franzelin,  Liberatore,  and  Mazzella,  would  make  us 
beUeve  that  we  understand  it  in  the  wrong  way.  If  our 
idea  of  it  is  correct,  it  is  a  most  manifest  petitio  principii 
No  Thomist  ever  dreamed  of  asserting  the  necessity  of  a 
medium  for  knowing  a  thing  actually  existing  and  present 
to  the  Divine  intellect.  If  it  could  be  shown  that  prior  to 
all  decrees  conditional  futures  were  objective  truths,  the 
demand  for  the  assignment  of  a  medium  through  which  God 
might  know  them  would  be  an  absurdity.  The  Thomist 
denies  that  they  are  such  j  and  when  he  calls  for  a  medium 
he  is  only  asking  for  a  reason  why  they  are  objective 
truths.  And  here  he  is  answered :  "  because  they  are  objec- 
tive truths  /*' 

To  assert  that  of  the  two  contradictory  propositions  : 
A  will  consent ;  A  will  not  consent;  one  was  true  from 
eternity,  is  only  to  repeat  the  same  sophism  in  another 
form.  No  one  will  deny  that  the  disjunctive  proposition : 
Either  A  will  consent  or  he  will  not  consent,  needed  no 
decree  to  make  it  true.  It  is  a  necessary  truth,  and  in 
order  that  God  should  know  it,  no  other  medium  was  re- 
quisite than  that  by  which  he  knows  that  *'  a  thing  cannot 
be  and  not  be  at  the  same  time."  Both  of  these  truths  were 
eternally  present  in  the  Divine  Essence. 

It  is  clear  that  what  is  said  of  the  disjunctive  proposi- 
tion cannot  be  said  of  either  of  the  two  simple  ones  ol 
which  it  is  made  up.  "  A  will  consent "  is  not  a  necessary 
truth — else  he  could  not  but  consent — ^for  then  he  could 
not  consent  if  he  willed  to  do  so.  Since,  therefore,  neither 
is  objectively  true  or  false  of  itself,  it  follows  that  one  is 
true  and  the  other  false  because  of  some  extrinsic  reason. 
The  Thomists  say  this  reason  is  God's  will.  When  oppo- 
nents reject  this  one,  and  when  called  upon  to  assign 


An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Premotion.         347 

another,  reply :  It  is  true  because  it  is  true !  We  find  in 
Cardinal  Franzelin,  quoted  by  Mazzella  (De  Gratia,  Disp.  iii. 
Art.  7),  a  truly  singiilar  bit  of  reasoning  in  support  of  the 
opinion  with  which  we  are  dealing.  We  giVeits  substance 
here,  believing  that  its  refutation  will  put  in  very  clear 
light  the  utterly  unsatisfactory  nature  of  our  adversaries' 
explanation  of  the  Divine  foreknowledge. 

When  A's  will,  say  these  authors,  freely  elicits  a  given 
act  in  certain  circumstances,  the  eliciting  of  this  act  by  A's 
will  in  those  circumstances  is  a  determinate  truth,  and  was 
so  from  eternity.  Wherefore  the  conditional  proposition  : 
If  A  should  be  placed  in  sv^h  circumstances  he  would  so  acty 
was  also  determinately  true  from  the  beginning. 

We  admit  every  word  of  this  argument  as  it  here  stands  ; 
but  we  deny  that  it  even  touches  the  point  in  proof  of  which 
it  is  adduced.  It  proves  that  the  conditional  proposition 
was  always  true,  but  not  that  it  was  true  without  a  reason 
for  its  being  so.  It  is  true  now,  because  A  freely  deter- 
mines himself  to  this  act.  Without  such  a  determination 
it  would  not  be  true  now.  Before  God  had  decreed  to 
place  A  in  those  circumstances,  that  determination  to  this 
particular  act  did  not  exist.  Consequently,  it  was  for  some 
other  reason  that  the  said  proposition  was  true.  What  that 
reason  was  the  above  argument  does  not  say. 

If  the  falseness  of  that  argument  is  not  rendered  suffi- 
ciently cleai-  by  the  direct  reasoning  against  it,  it  will  be 
made  abundantly  so  by  a  reductio  ad  absurdum,  A  logical 
application  of  it  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  everything 
that  exists  owes  its  being  to  a  blind  fatality.  If  the  mere 
fact  of  a  man's  performing  a  given  action  under  certain 
conditions  proves  that  it  was  true,  prior  to  God's  decree, 
that  he  would  ehcit  that  act,  so  the  fact  that  he  is  now 
placed  in  those  circumstances  proves  that  it  was  true  pre- 
vious to  all  decree  that  he  would  be  placed  in  such 
surroundings.  Wherefore  God  was  obligea  so  to  place  him 
under  penalty  of  denying  an  objective  truth  and  falsifying 
His  own  knowledge.  Again,  the  sole  fact  that  we  exist 
now  by  virtue  o£  God's  having  created  us,  proves  that 
before  He  had  decreed  to  create  us  it  was  determinately 
true  that  He  should  do  so.  Consequently  we  have  no 
reason  for  thanking  Him  for  bringing  us  into  existence. 

These  are  some  of  the  considerations —  in  an  article  like 
this  we  cannot  give  all — which  have  convinced  us  that 


348     '      An  American  Plea  for  Physical  PremoHon. 

defective,  we  do  not  see  how  anyone  can  fail  to  come  io 
the  same  conclusion.  If  it  contain  some  flaw,  we  shall  not 
hesitate  to  acknowledge  it  on  its  being  pointed  ont  to  us ; 
for  we  are  seeking  only  the  truth,  and  are  willing  to  con- 
cede to  our  opponents  every  point  which  they  can  justly 
claim  in  their  favour. 

We  now  proceed  to  establish  our  second  proposition, 
viz. :  Without  physical  promotion  the  human  will  would 
for  ever  remain  inactive. 

It  is  the  common  teaching  of  philosophers  and  theolo- 
gians that,  for  a  secondary  cause  to  produce  an  act,  it  does 
not  suffice  that  God  confer  upon  it,  and  preserve  in  es^e  ^ho 
virttis  agendi  or  faculty  of  operating.  Over  and  above  this, 
in  every  operation  of  created  agents,  there  is  requisite  a 
new  and  special  intervention  of  the  first  cause.  The  reason 
of  this  is  thus  ably  stated  by  Fr.  Liberatore :  "  Res  creatae, 
dum  agunt,  ipso  activitatis  exercitio  augescunt  quodam- 
modo,  ac  ratione  aliqua  saltern  physice  perficiuntur.  Plus 
enim  profecto  est  actu  agere,  quam  nondum  agere,  sed  sola 
agendi  potestate  gaudere.  At  vero  nulla  res  sine  locu- 
pletioris  causae  adminiculo  largiri  sibi  potest  id,  quod 
aequo  aut  etiam  nobiliori  modo  ante  non  continet :  Ergo 
efficientia  quae  vis  creata  ut  agant,  ab  altiori  quadam  causa 
juvari  egent.  Haec  autem,  ut  perspicuum  est,  nonnisi  Deus 
esse  potest*'  (Inst.  PhiL  Kd.  Lovan.,  vol.  2,  page  272). 

We  have  already  exposed  the  idea  of  St.  Thomas  and 
his  school  concerning  the  nature  of  this  Divine  co-operation. 
Those  to  whom  that  idea  appears  inadmissible  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  not  compatible  with  a  true  conception  of 
human  Uberty,  substitute  for  it  the  doctrine  which  fol- 
lows:— 

{a)  The  action  of  God  does  not  precede  that  of  the 
creature,  neither  tempore  nor  naiurdy  but  is  simultaneous 
with  it. 

(b)  The  Divine  influx  is  not  received  in  the  created 
faculty,  but  in  its  action. 

(c)  This  concursus  is  indifferent:. i.€.,  has  of  itself  no 
determination  to  any  particular  act ;  that  it  is  used  for  the 
producing  of  one  efiect  rather  than  ot  another  comes  from 
the  creature. 

Viewed  superficially,  this  theory  is  a  most  attractive 
one.  It  seems  to  assign  to  both  the  Creator  and  the  creature 
their  proper  share  in  the  production  of  an  act  without 
bringing  them  into  confiict.  But  a  close  and  serious 
examination  shows  that  it  respects  the  rights  of  neither; 


An  American  Plea  far  Physical  Pr emotion,  349 

that  it  restrictfl  in  an  undue  measure  the  Divine  causality, 
and  places  the  creature  in  the  absolute  impossibility  of 
acting. 

In  laying  down  at  the  beginning  the  points  which  we 
purposed  to  treat,  we  knowingly  renounced  the  right  to 
mtioduce  the  argument  for  physical  premotion  taken  from 
the  universal  nature  of  God's  action.  To  develop  it 
thoroughly  a  separate  treatise  would  be  requisite.  Not- 
withstanding this  fact,  since  it  has  been  casually  mentioned, 
we  beg  leave  to  present  it  here  in  outline,  and  leave  it  for 
f  development  to  the  thoughts  of  our  readers. 
;  From  the  exposition  we  have  given  of  Molinism,  it  is 

clear  that  according  to  it  there  is  a  certain  act  which  pro- 
'     ceeds  solely  from  the  unaided  human  will.     Molinists  are 
doubtless  loath  to  admit  this,  but  we  do  not  see  how  they 
1     are  to  avoid  it.     When  it  is  said  that  the  Divine  concursus 
is  mdifferent,  the  sense  cannot  be  that  in  actually  operating 
it  does  not  tend  to  the  production  of  a  deternunate  eflFect. 
Such  an  action  cannot  be  conceived  any  more  than  can  a 
,     PJ^^J^  l>©  conceived  as  walking  in  no  particular  direction. 
The  meaning  is  then  simply  this :  God  oflfers  to  the  creature 
an  aid  which  the  latter  may  accept  or  refuse  at  pleasure, 
and  which,  if  accepted,  may  be,  so  to  say,  applied  to  this 
or  that  purpose,  according  to  the  creature's  Uking.     From 
this  it  follows  that  the  acceptance  of  the  concursus  for  a 
definite  purpose  is  prior  to  all  action  of  the  concursus  itself. 
God  does  not  begin  to  "concur'*  until  the  will  has  deter- 
mined itself,  and  marked  out  the  direction  in  which  the 
Divine  action  must  tend. 

Now,  by  what  right  do  the  Molinists  exempt  this 
operation  of  the  will  from  the  influence  of  God's  causality  I 
Surely  the  powerful  reason  given  above  from  Fr.  Liberatore 
holds  good  in  this  case  as  in  all  others.  In  performing  this 
act  also  the  will  *'  augescit  quodammodo  et  ratione  aliqua 
perficitur."  If  then  for  all  subsequent  acts  a  Divine  con- 
<mrBU8  is  required,  why  not  for  this  one  as  well  ?  And  if 
not  for  this  one,  why  for  the  others  ? 

To  us  this  seems  a  fatal  defect  in  the  system  of  our 
q[qponents.  They  appear  to  limit  the  extent  of  the  Divine 
oaoaality,  the  unlimited  nature  of  which  they  profess  to 
Mimowledge ;  and  in  doing  so,  they  are  grossly  incon- 


350  An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Premotion. 

of  which  he  would  otherwise  be  deprived.  Their  conduct 
would  certaioly  be  to  some  extent  excusable  it'  they 
succeeded  in  effecting  this  benevolent  purpose.  But  we 
are  now  going  to  show  that  this  design  is  as  impossible  of 
execution  as  would  be  that  of  giving  understanding  to  a 
stone. 

The  Angelic  Doctor  lays  down  as  a  principle  that — 
"  nihil  quod  est  in  potentia  reducitur  in  actum  nisi  per 
aliquod  quod  est  in  actu."  It  cannot  be  conceived  that 
anyone  of  sane  mind  should  call  the  truth  of  this  proposi- 
tion into  question.  To  deny  it  would  be  to  assert  that  a 
being  can  communicate  a  perfection  which  it  does  not 
possess.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  will,  when  not  acting, 
is  in  potentia  with  respect  to  actual  operation.  It  may  be 
said  that  it  is  always  in  act  "circa  bonum  universale." 
That  we  may  grant,  but  it  does  not  affect  the  question,  for 
according  to  all,  under  the  motion  to  universal  good,  it 
remains  indifferent  to  every  bonum  particulare.  Since 
then  the  will  just  before  acting  has  not  the  perfection  acfn 
a(jerey  it  follows  that  if  it  ever  obtains  that  perfection,  it 
must  come  to  it  from  some  extrinsic  source.  Molinism 
refuses  to  Wiq  will  any  such  extrinsic  assistance,  and  in 
consequence  deprives  it  of  the  capacity  of  acting. 

Those  who  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  consider  pro- 
foundly this  oft-repeated  argument  of  the  Thomists,  think 
that  they  elude  its  force  by  the  following  reply  : — It  is  true, 
say  they,  that  previously  to  acting  the  will  is  indifferent — 
in  potentia.  But  its  indifference  is  an  indifferentia 
activay  by  reason  of  which  it  has  the  power  to  determine 
itself. 

We  have  never  been  able  to  see  in  this  reply  anything 
more  than  the  unmerited  insinuation  that  Thomists  regard 
the  will  as  an  inanimate  instrument,  and  a  re-assertion  of 
what  has  been  proved  false  in  the  preceding  arg:ument. 
Thomists,  too,  admit  an  "  active  indifference."  But  by  that 
term  they  do  not  understand  the  power  to  give  what  one 
has  not.  Such  is  the  sense  attributed  to  it  in  the  above  reply. 
That  reply  comes  to  this:  Though  the  will  in  the  indivisible 
instant  which  precedes  its  action  is  undetermined,  it  is 
determined  in  the  immediately  succeeding  instant  without 
having  received  anything  from  without.  To  Thomists, 
who  consider  "actu  agere"  as  something  more  than 
"  nondum  agere,  sed  sola  agendi  potestate  gaudere ;"  who 
know  that  the  will  in  one  instant  has  not  "actu  agere" 
which  it  has  in  the  next  instant ;  who  are  convinced  that 


An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Pr emotion,  351 

"nulla  res.  .  .  largiri  sibi  potest  id  quod  non  continet," 
such  an  indifferentia  activa  is  a  monstrous  absurdity.  And 
such,  we  think,  it  should  appear  to  every  candid  and 
unprejudiced  mind  that  fully  comprehends  its  meaning.  It 
may  be'that  we  are  labouring  under  a  delusion ;  but  the 
metaphysical  and  physical  impossibility  of  the  unaided 
will's  determining  itself  to  act,  seems  to  us  quite  as  evident 
?♦«  does  the  falseness  of  the  assertion — two  and  two  make 
j       five. 

I  Though  what  has  hitherto  been  said  seems  to  demon- 

j  strate  the  necessity  of  Physical  Premotion,  both  as  a  means 
j  of  the  Divine  foreknowledge,  and  as  an  indispensable 
'  condition  of  aU  acts  of  creatures,  it  would,  nevertheless, 
have  to  be  abandoned  could  it  be  proved  incompatible 
j  with  liberty.  For  the  •existence  of  the  latter  we  have  the 
I  warrant  of  revelation  whose  claim  upon  our  assent  and 
submisgion  is  infinitely  greater  than  that  of  reason,  and 
^       which  in  case  of  conflict,  must  always  prevail. 

ITie  argument  by  which  Molinists  think  they  prove  this 
point  against  us,  is  thus  formulated :  *'  Liberum  arbitfium," 
they  say,  "  is  a  facultas  quae,  positis  omnibus  praerequisitis 
ad  agendum,  potest  agere  vel  non  agere.  But  according  to 
you  Thomists,  Physical  Premotion  is  one  ofthe  praerequisites 
(id  agendum^  and  under  its  influence  the  will  must  infallibly 
act—cannot  not  act.  Therefore  the  will  is  not  free  when 
premoved  to  act." 

In  order  to  see  that  this  objection  does  not  effect  the 
purpose  for  which  it  is  advanced,  it  is  necessary  to  advert 
to  the  very  important  distinction  between  posse  agercy  and 
agere  actu.  A  thing  potest  agere^  i.e.,  has  the  power  of 
acting  when  it  contains  what  we  will  call  a  principium 
iufficiens  of  operating.  A  stone  cannot  be  said  to  nave 
the  power  of  imderstanding  for  the  reason  that  it  contains 
no  such  principle.  Likewise  the  will,  without  grace,  has 
not  the  power  of  eliciting  a  supernatural  act,  for  there  is 
no  proportion  between  its  own  native  '*  virtus "  and  such 
an  act.  Grace,  then — we  mean  habitual  grace,  or  at  least 
**per  modum  habitus  '* — is  requisite  to  give  the  will  posse 
jagere  in  the  supernatural  order.  But  something  more  is 
necessary  to  confer  upon  it  actu  agere ;  otherwise,  just  as 
halntaial  grace  gives  it  posse  agere  supematurally  in  a  per- 
aBaent  form,  so  would  it  give  it  OAitii  agere  in  the  same  way, 
■ad  Ae  will  would  never  cease  to  act  while  the  jrrace 


352  An  American  Plea  for  Phydcal  Premolion. 

nothing  else  were  requisite  for  actual  operation,  it  would 
always  be  acting  in  that  order. 

Now  we  ask :  What  are  the  praerequisita  referred  to  in 
the  above  definition  of  free  will  ?  Are  they  those  things 
which  go  to  make  up  the  power  of  adding  in  the  senses 
explained  ?  If  so,  that  definition  evidently  contains  no 
difficulty  for  the  Thomist  The  will  unassisted  is  a  "suffi- 
cient principle  "  of  the  act  of  loving  or  hating ;  endowed 
with  habitual  grace,  it  can  (potest)  command  an  act  of 
faith  or  refuse  to  do  so. 

Are  we  to  understand  by  those  praerequisita  the  neces- 
sary conditions  for  actual  operation  t  If  so,  since  among 
those  conditions  is  contained  the  free  determination  of  the 
will  to  act,  either  with  Premotion,  according  to  the 
Thomists,  or  without  it,  according  to  Molinists,  it  is  clear 
that  when  they  are  at  hand,  the  will  is  actu  operans  jast  as 
it  is  really  potena  operari  when  the  conditions  necessary  for 
posse  agere  are  present.  But  the  will  cannot  act,  and  not 
act  at  the  same  time.  Hence  both  Thomists  and  Molinists 
must*have  recourse  to  the  very  reasonable  distinction  of 
sensus  compositus  and  sensus  divisusy  in  order  to  explain  the 
"  potest  agere  et  non  agere." 

We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  asserting  in  this 
answer,  to  the  much  vaunted  objection  of  our  opponents, 
that  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  reconciling  Physical 
Premotion  with  human  Uberty.  That  would  be  to  belie 
our  own  convictions.  There  is  a  real  difficulty.  But  we 
hold — and  the  above  answer  conclusively  shows — ^that  it 
is  not  found  in  this  objection,  which  we  have  sometimes 
heard  called  a  "formal  demonstration"  that  Premotion 
and  Liberty  cannot  co-exist.  The  true  "  nodus "  lies 
here  :  Can  the  will,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  premoved  to 
act,  and  under  the  influence  of  Premotion,  determine 
itself,  just  as,  according  to  Molinists,  it  determines  itself 
without  being^premoved  t  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  this  can  be.  In  order  to  fully  comprehend  this 
point,  it  would  be  necessary  to  understand  the  nature  of 
God's  action.  The  only  idea  we  have  of  this  action  here 
below  is  that  furnished  by  comparing  it  with  that  of 
creatures.  We  know  that  between  the  two  there  is  some 
faint  analogy,  but  no  more.  The  intellect  of  the  Angelic 
Doctor,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  penetrate  far  more  deeply 
into  the  Divine  secrets  than  ordinary  mortals,  seems  to 
havp  experienced  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  an  infallible 
premotion  with  perfect  freedom :  **  Deus  mo  vet  immata- 


An  American  Plea  for  Physical  Premotion,  353 

biliter  voluntatem  propter  efficaciam  virtutis  moventis, 
quae  deficere  non  potest ;  sed  propter  natiiram  voluntatis 
malae  quae  indifferenter  se  habet  ad  diversa,  non  inducitiir 
necessitas,  sed  manet  libertas."  (De  Malo,  Q.  6,  Art.  unic. 
ad  3".)  We  confess  our  own  inability  to  explain  perfectly 
what  appears  to  have  been  clear  to  the  Augel  of  the 
Schoola  But  of  one  thing  we  are  certain ;  our  adver- 
saries can  never  prove  that  there  is  here  more  than  an 
obscurity.  We  defy  them  to  prove  a  contradiction  ;  but 
that  they  must  prove  before  they  will  have  effected  any- 
thing against  Thomisra.  We  are  well  aware  that  when 
the  Thomists  tell  them  this,  they  grow  sarcastic,  and  ask 
if  Physical  Premotion  is  a  revealed  doctrine  :  **  Num  reve- 
lata  est  praedeterminatio  physical"  (Mazzella.)  To  this 
answer  :  By  no  means.  ^  Nor  is  it  necessary  that  it  should 
be  of  faith  in  order  that  we  may  be  justified  in  accepting 
it,  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  of  seeing  how  it  is  har- 
monized with  another  truth.  Reason,  Uke  faith,  is  a  light 
which  man  is  bound  to  follow.  And  just  as  such  an 
obscurity  would  not  excuse  from  heresy  him  who  would 
deny  a  revealed  truth,  so  neither  does  it  excuse  from  being 
illogical  him  who  rejects  a  conclusion  of  reason.  More- 
over, our  opponents  themselves  do  not  consistently  main- 
tain the  principle  which  they  here  ask  us  to  accept.  In 
their  philosophical  works  they  prove  that  the  universe  is 
created,  while  acknowledging  that  they  cannot  explain 
how  creation  is  effected.  They  demonstrate  the  "  sub- 
stantial unity"  of  the  human  soul  and  body,  while 
admitting  with  St.  Augustine  that  "iste  modus  quo 
corporibus  adhaerent  spiritus,  et  animalia  fiunt  omnino 
minis  est,  nee  comprehendi  ab  homine  potest.'*  These 
truths,,  and  many  others  of  a  like  character,  they  would 
doubtless  admit  even  if  revelation  did  not  exist.  And  yet 
because  we  Thomists  cannot  explain  how  God  *'premoves 
freely,"  they  would  have  us  set  at  naught  the  irrefragable 
reasons  exposed  in  this  article,  and  say  that  He  does  not 
premove  at  all  I     On  which  side  is  logic  and  consistency  t 

L.  F.  K. 


[    354    ] 


JURISDICTION  AND  RESERVED  CASES.— II. 

I  PURPOSE  in  this  paper  to  draw  some  practical  con- 
elusions  from  what  has  been  already  laid  down.  With 
regard  to  the  confessions  oi peregrini^  it  has  been  said  that 
the  necessary  jurisdiction  comes  probably  from  the  peni- 
tent's bishop,  and  probably  from  the  Pope,  either 
immediately  or  through  the  bishop  of  the  confessor. 

Gury^  puts  this  question:  can  a  subject  of  another 
diocese  be  absolved  from  a  sin  which  is  reserved  in  the 
place  of  confession  only  ? 

The  answer  is  diflFerent  in  the  various  editions.  In 
those  edited  by  Fr.  Ballerini  we  are  told  that,  whilst  the 
more  common  opinion  among  recent  writers  would  not 
allow  a  confessor  to  absolve  in  the  case  proposed,  yet 
among  older  theologians  the  contrary  opinion  was  com- 
munissima.  Fr.  Ballerini  adds,  in  his  note,  that  Henriquez 
was  the  first  to  propound  the  new  opinion ;  his  great 
pupil,  Suarez,  took  it  up,  and  thus  it  passed  into  the  more 
common  teaching. 

In  the  other  editions,  Gury  instructs  confessors  to  look 
to  the  terms  in  which  the  bishop  granted  them  faculties, 
to  act  in  every  case  in  conformity  with  these  terms,  and 
not  to  trouble  themselves  about  what  may  or  may  not 
be  reserved  in  the  penitent's  diocese. 

The  query,  of  course,  immediately  suggests  itself :  can 
one  acton  Fr.  Ballerini's  opinion?  The  matter  was  con- 
sidered at  the  Synod  of  Maynooth,  and  the  prelates 
inserted  into  the  Decrees  a  paragraph  which  has  a  special 
bearing  on  the  question.  But  as  the  Maynooth  decree 
can  have  reference  only  to  a  penitent  who  goes  from  one 
diocese  in  Ireland  to  another,  it  will  be  convenient,  in  the 
first  place,  to  consider  the  general  doctrine,  and  then  to 
particularise  the  case  of  Ireland. 

1.  Can  a  confessor  absolve  a  penitent  from  a  sin  which 
is  reserved  in  the  confessor's  but  not  in  the  penitent's 
diocese  t 

The  answer  depends  on  who  supplies  the  jurisdiction. 
If  it  comes  only  through  the  bish5p  of  the  confessor,  the 
penitent  cannot  be  absolved ;  for  the  bishop  has  limited 
t  le  faculties  with  regard  to  this  sin.  But  if  it  comes  from 
the   penitent's  bishop — whether  from  him  alone,  or  from 

1  Ed.  Ball.  n.  573,  quaer.  4". 


Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases.  355 

the  confessor's  bishop  as  well, — the  confessor  could  and 
should  give  absolution  ;  for  the  penitent's  bishop  has  made 
no  limitation. 

We  have  already  seen  that  it  is  now  impossible  to 
decide  from  whom  the  jurisdiction  does  come.  Each 
opinion  is  probable — perhaps  not  equally  so,  but  still 
probable.  Hence  the  cenfessor  has  probable  jurisdiction, 
and  can  act  accordingly,  always  remembering  that,  nearly 
in  every  case,  there  will  be  question,  not  of  the  existence, 
but  of  the  extent,  of  his  jurisdiction. 

It  is  but  just  to  the  defenders  of  St.  Alphonsus'  view 
to  state  one  or  two  arguments  in  favour  of  his  opinion, 
which  were  omitted  in  the  last  paper,  because  they  can 
be  more  conveniently  considered  in  this. 

(a)  And,  in  the  first  place,  it  might  be  argued  that,  in 
the  case  proposed,  the  confessor's  approbation  is  limited  by 
his  own  bishop.  But  approbation  is  a  necessary  condition 
for  jurisdiction,  not  merely  in  the  sense  that  no  one  gets 
jurisdiction  who  has  not  been  approved,  but  also  that 
jurisdiction  and  approbation  are  coextensive.  Witness 
the  case  of  the  Regulars.  They  get  jurisdiction  from  the 
Pope,  but  only  to  the  extent  of  the  Episcopal  approbatior, 
60  that  a  Regular  priest,  if  not  approved  by  the  bishop  for 
certain  cases,  cannot  absolve  from  them.     A  pari. 

Father  Ballerini  puts  the  objection,  and  answers  it  by 
denying  the  necessary  coextension  of  approbation  and 
jurisdiction.  They  are  coextensive  in  the  case  of  Regulars,^ 
because  they  have  been  made  so  by  express  Papal  decrees. 
If  the  Pope  wished,  he  could  make  the  same  regulation  for 
Seculars  to-morrow.  But  he  has  not  made  it  up  to  the 
present.  If  he  had,  surely  such  an  important  decree  would 
not  have  escaped  the  notice  of  all  the  learned  men  who 
have  written  on  this  question,  and  of  whom  many  have 
been  so  anxious  to  find  a  good  sohd  argument  in  favour 
of  St.  Alphonsus'  opinion.  Yet,  read  their  books  ;  you  will 
search  them  in  vain  for  this  objection  or  even  any 
allusion  to  it. 

Father  Ballerini  goes  on  to  give  cases  to  prove  that 
approbation  and  jurisdiction  are  not  necessarily  coexten- 
«ve.  He  does  not,  however,  prove  his  point  decisively, 
and  he  seems  to  quote  St.  Alphonsus  for  an  opinion  which 
the  saint  never  advocated.     Yet  the  cases  instanced  by 


35  6  JurUdiction  and  Reserved  •  Cases. 

Father  Ballerim,  if  they  do  not  strictly  prove  his  point, 
make  his  contention  at  least  very  probable  ;  and  the  argu- 
ment will  be  almost  decisive  when  supplemented  from 
another  paragraph  in  St.  Alphonsus'  book. 

Be  it  remembered  that,  to  refute  the  argument  from 
approbation,  all  Father  Ballerini  has  to  prove  is  this: 
approbation  need  not  be  so  extensive  as  jurisdiction.  He 
might  argue,  in  the  first  place,  what  right  has  any  one  to 
say  it  must  be  so  ?  True,  the  two  are  usually  given  at  the 
same  time  and' by  the  same  act;  hence  the  limits  of  each 
will  usually  be  the  same.  But  is  that  any  reason  why, 
when  approbation  is  given  by  one  bishop  and  jurisdiction 
by  another,  the  two  must  be  coextensive?  Perhaps  it  may 
be  that,  once  a  confessor  has  been  approved,  the  extent  of 
his  jurisdiction  depends  only  on  the  terms  in  which  it  is 
granted.  At  least  we  are  entitled  to  think  it  may  be  so, 
until  some  pi  oof  is  given  of  the  contrary. 

But,  it  is  urged,  there  is  the  proof  already  given  from 
the  case  of  the  Regulars?  That  is  a  special  case.  To 
find  the  extent  of  their  jurisdiction  over  penitents  of  the 
diocese  where  they  hear  confessions,  Regulars  must  look 
to  the  terms  of  their  approbation.  But  why?  Because 
the  Pope  expressly  says  so,  and  it  is  from  him  the  jurisdic- 
tion comes.  These  are  the  terms  in  which  it  is  granted  ; 
and  hence  it  is  limited  by  these  terms,  and  not  by  the 
Episcopal  approbation. 

So  far  it  has  been  shown  merely  that  there  is  no  proof 
for  the  assertion  that  approbation  and  jurisdiction  are 
necessarily  coextensive.  Is  there  proof  of  the  contrary? 
There  is  the  negative  argument  from  the  silence  of  theolo- 
gians. There  are  the  cases  mentioned  by  Father  Ballerini, 
which  produce,  at  least,  a  large  amount  of  probabihty,  if 
not  certainty.     There  is  this  argument  too : — 

St.  Alphonsus^  puts  the  question  :. whether  nuns,  who 
are  exempt  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop,  are  subject 
to  his  reserved  cases?  He  answers:  probably  no.  luat 
is,  though  the  bishop  must  approve  a  confessor  for  such 
religious,  yet,  no  matter  how  he  may  limit  the  approbation, 
the  limitation  will  be  invalid, — will  not  atfect  the  extent  of 
the  jurisdiction.  The  two  will  not  then  be  coextensive, 
and  the  jurisdiction  has  to  be  determined  by  the  terms  in 
which  it  is  granted  by  the  Religious  Superior. 

With  regard  to  this  special  question,  whether  ^appro- 

» N.  602,  quaer.  6. 


Jurisdietion  and  Reserved  Cases.  357 

bation  and  jurisdiction  must  be  coextensive,  Fr.  Ballerini's 
opinion  has  not  been  quite  conclusively  proved,  but  it 
appears  to  be  much  more  probable  than  the  opposite. 

(6).  Let  us  come  back  to  the  general  question.  A 
second  argument  in  favour  of  St.  Alphonsus'  view  may  be 
drawn  from  the  presumed  will  of  the  penitent's  bishop.  It 
may  be  said,  even  supposing  the  jurisdiction  to  come  from 
the  penitent's  bishop,  might  not  he  limit  the  confessor's 

?ower8f  You  reply:  he  has  not  limited  thom  at  home, 
es ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  he  will  not  do  so  abroad, 
for  the  sake  of  convenience.  For  few  will  deny  that  it 
would  be  a  convenience  if  confessors  had  to  look  only  to 
the  terms  of  their  own  faculties. 

There  is  a  fair  answer.  The  bishop  might  limit  the 
faculties;  but  does  he?  A  posse  ad  actum  non  valet  con- 
secutio.  It  would  be  convenient  surely;  but  how  many 
things  would  be,  which  are  not  yet  done  I  How  many 
controversies  could  the  Congregations  at  Rome  decide,  and 
^thout  much  difficulty  either,  and,  though  the  decision 
would  in  many  cases  be  a  great  convenience,  yet  we  must 
wait  for  it  This  is  a  question  of  hard  fact,  not  of  proba- 
bilities or  conveniences. 

(c).  There  is  a  third  argument  If  Fr.  Ballerini's  opinion 
be  correct,  a  confessor  who  would  undertake  to  hear  the 
confessions  of  peregrini — and  every  priest  undertakes  to 
he^  every  one  who  comes  to  the  confessional — should  be 
made  up  on  all  the  reserved  cases  throughout  the  entire 
Christian  world.  For  a  penitent  may  at  any  time  come 
from  any  diocese  whatsoever.     But  surely  that  is  too  much. 

Again,  there  is  a  fair  reply.  Granted :  what  follows  ? 
Either  that  the  transfer  which  St  Alphonsus  mentions 
diould  take  place,  or  that  the  bishops,  in  granting  jurisdic- 
tion over  their  subjects  outside,  should  grant  it  for  every 
J  case  which  is  not  reserved  in  the  place  of  confession.  But, 
then,  you  will  urge,  such  bishops  would  be  granting  powers 
to  extems  which  they  refuse  to  their  own  priests  t  Granted 
again :  such  is  the  force  of  conveniences. 

There  is  just  one  remark  before  leaving  this  portion  of 
tiie  question.  It  is  usually  taken  for  granted  that,  in  the 
case  of  peregrini,  jurisdiction  must  come  either  from  the 
bishop  of  the  confessor  or  the  bishop  of  the  penitent  Why 
I     not  from  both  ?    If  the  transfer  has  taken  place,  which  Saint 


358  Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases. 

in  any  part  of  the  world,  or  delegate  others  to  absolve 
them. 

Consider  this  view.  It  has  been  already  shown  that,  up 
to  the  time  of  ^uoxez^  peregrird  were  absolved  by  the  tacit 
consent  of  their  own  bishops.  Let  us  suppose  that  a 
transfer  did  take  place  some  time  afterwards,  and  that  all 
peregrini  were  made  for  the  future  sufficiently  subject,  for 
the  piuposes  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  to  the  bishop  of 
the  place  where  they  go  to  confession.  Would  siicn  a 
transfer  necessarily  suppose  that  their  own  bishops  should 
not  any  longer  supply  jurisdiction  ?  Each  bishop  can  do 
so — ^perhaps  does ;  and  if  he  does,  you  have  the  foundation 
laid  for  Fr.  Ballerini's  opinion. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  we  may  regard  that  opinion 
as  fairly  probable.  Let  us  now  come  to  the  special  cajseof 
Ireland. 

2.  Amongst  the  Statutes  of  the  Synod  of  Maynooth 
we  find  this: — ^^  Casus  reservatus  in  diocesi  confessarii  non 
subtrahitur  reservationi  ea  de  causa  quod  non  reservatur  in 
dioecesi  poenitentisJ'^  This  decree  does  not  in  any  way 
aflFect  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Fr.  Ballerini's  opinion.  For 
no  one  can  be  more  ready  than  he  to  admit  the  right  of  a 
bishop  to  limit  the  jurisdiction  which  he  gives.  The  Irish 
prelates  do  not  touch  at  all  the  question  of  the  source  of 
jurisdiction.  They  say  in  eflFect :  **  it  makes  no  matter 
whence  the  power  comes ;  but,  if  Fr.  Ballerini's  view  be 
correct,  and  the  jurisdiction  come  from  the  penitent's  bishop, 
we  all,  the  bishops  ol  Ireland,  hereby  limit  it  according  to 
the  extent  of  the  faculties  which  each  confessor  gets  firora 
his  own  bishop.  Accordingly,  even  Fr.  Ballerini  would  not 
deny  that,  in  Ireland,  confessors  must  look  in  all  euch  cases 
to  tne  terms  in  which  they  have  been  approved. 

So  far  for  Seculars.  Whether  Regulars  are  affected  by 
this  decree  depends  on  a  different  question  :  is  the  juris- 
diction which  they  get  from  the  Pope  limited  by  the  terms 
of  the  approbation  t  We  have  already  argued  that  it  is 
not  necessarily  so — ^usually.  But,  taking  the  Maynooth 
decree  into  account,  the  case  is  somewhat  different.  For 
even  Fr.  Ballerini  admits*  that  Regulars  cannot  absolve 
if  the  case  be  reserved  in  both  dioceses.  It  is  true  the  effect 
of  the  Maynooth  decree  is  not  to  reserve  the  case  at  home ; 
but  for  extern  confessors,  whether  Secular  or  Regular,,  the 
effect  would  appear  to  be  the  same.  For  if,  out  of  deference 

» n.  86.  •  Vol.  il,  p.  518. 


Jurisdiction  and  Reserved  Cases*  359 

to  a  bishop's  home  reservation,  Regulars  cannot  absolve 
when  the  case  is  in  the  strict  sense  reserved  in  the  two 
dioceses,  why  not  respect  the  episcopal  reservation,  which, 
though  it  does  not  affect  his  own  confessors,  yet  is  intended 
to  produce  its  effect  outside  his  diocese  ?  The  point  is  not 
decisive,  but  still  it  deserves  grave  consideration. 

Even  for  Secular  priests  a  case  may  arise  to  which  the 
decree  of  the  Irish  prelates  will  not  apply — when  the  peni- 
tent comes  from  England,  or  any  otherplace  not  subject  to 
the  bishops  assembled  at  the  Synod.  The  confessor  would 
then  be  at  liberty  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  conclusions 
to  which  we  came  when  treating  of  the  general  question — 
that  is,  he  would  have  probable  jurisdiction. 

With  regard  to  that  Maynooth  decree  a  difficulty  has 
been  raised  by  some — that  it  might  be  regarded  not  so 
much  as  a  decree  limiting  the  confessor's  faculties,  but 
rather  as  a  theological  opinion.  Such  an  opinion  would  of 
course  be  entitled  to  the  highest  respect,  but  yet  would  not 
be  decisive. 

There  does  not  appear  to  be  much  to  sustain  this  view. 
No  doubt  it  is  a  portion  of  the  duty  of  bishops,  whether  in 
Synod  or  out  of  it,  not  only  to  rule  but  to  teach ;  and 
independently  of  the  nature  of  the  question  and  of  circum- 
stances, a  sentence,  even  when  found  amongst  synodical 
decrees,  does  not  necessarily  mean  more  than  an  authorita- 
tive doctrinal  opinion.  But  both  the  object  of  this  decree 
and  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  issued  are  very 
peculiar. 

It  is  admitted  by  all  that  the  whole  thing  depends  on 
the  will  of  the  bishop.  If  there  is  a  fair  expression  of  that 
will,  it  should  be  decisive.  Now,  it  is  commonly  believed 
that  this  decree  was  expressly  devised  to  meet  Fr.  Ballerini's 
<^inion.  The  bishops  intended,  without  doubt,  to  teach 
conf^sors  that  they  are  not  at  liberty  to  follow  the  opinion 
in  practice.  But  their  lordships  were  quite  aware  how 
everything  depended  on  their  own  will.  They  wished  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  absolutions  which  Fr.  Ballerini  advocated  : 
they  had  a  ready  means  at  hand,  by  limiting  the  jurisdic- 
tion. Will  anyone  say  that,  knowing  all  this,  they  were 
content  merely  to  give  expression  to  what  would  be  a  prac- 
tically ineffectual  expression  of  theological  opinion  ? 


[    360    ] 

THE  TRUE  GREGORIAN  MUSIC  OF  THE  CHURCH: 

«  RATISBON  "  OR  ROMAN  ? 

IN  a  paper  under  this  title^  in  the  Record  for  last  July, 
the  opinion  was  expressed  that  the  important  Decree 
of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  then  published,  in 
formal  approbation  of  the  Ratisbon  edition  of  the  Roman 
liturgical  chant,  had  put  an  end  to  a  controversy  which, 
while  it  lasted,  had  been  by  no  means  edifying.  This 
favourable  anticipation,  however,  and  fbe  words,  "  causa 
Jinita  est,''  with  wnich  the  paper  closed,  were,  as  it  now 
appears,  somewhat  premature.  A  further  pretext  in  justi- 
fication of  the  policy  of  disregard  of  the  significant  action 
of  the  Holy  See  has  since  been  found.  Thus,  a  few 
months  ago,  the  question  entered  upon  a  new  phase. 
Nor  were  the  opponents  of  the  authorised  version  of  the 
Uturgical  music  now  satisfied  with  a  merely  defensive 
policy.  They  became  boldly  aggressive.  Dexterously 
suggesting  that  the  Decree  which,  for  a  time,  had  thrown 
their  ranks  into  confusion,  was,  after  all,  but  a  Decree  of 
the  Congregation  of  Rites,  they  now  claimed  for  their 
cause  the  sanction  of  the  Supreme  PontiflF  himself. 
The  pretext  for  this  daring  move  was  foimd  in  the 
followmg  letter,  addressed  by  the  Pope,  on  the  8th  of  last 
March,  to  the  erudite  and  zealous  Benedictine,  Dom 
Pothier,  in  praise  of  his  magnificent  edition  of  the  Roman 
Gradual,  recently  issued  : — 

"LEO  PP.  xm. 

'*DiLEOTE  FiLi,  Religiose  Vik,  Salutem  et  Apostoucah 

Benedictioneh. 

"  Redditum  fuit  Nobis  a  Ven.  Fratre  Nostro  Johanne  Baptista, 
Cardinali  Episcopo  Tusculano,  opus  musicae  a  vobis  in  lucem 
editum,  vestrumque  munus,  turn  propter  ejus  meritum,  turn  propter 
ilia  quae  spectatissimus  Vir  Nobis  significavit,  libenti  gratoque 
animo  accepimus. 

"  Agnovimus  enim,  Dilecte  Fill,  vos  solertem  operam  dedisse 
explicandis  et  illustrandis  veteribus  musicae  sacrae  monumentis, 
omnemque  diligentiam  adhibuisse,  ut  illorum  accuratam  rationem 
et  formam,  ex  antiquis  lucubrationibus  a  majoribus  vestris  magna 
ciu*a  servatis,  artis  musicae  cultoribus  exhiberetis.  Hac  in  re, 
Dilecte  Fili,  non  solum  laudandam  ducimns  industriam  vestram, 
quae  in  opere  difRcultatis  et  laboris  pleno  plurium  annorum  curaA 
iDSumpsit,  sed  etiam  egregiam  voluntatem  vestram  erga  Romanam 
Ecclesiam,  quae  genus  illud  sacroruili  concentuum,  qui  S.  Gregorii 

» See  I.  E.  Record  (Third  Series)  Vol.  iv.,n.  7  (July,  1883)  p.  437 


The  True  Gregorian  Mumc  of  the  Clmrclu  361 

M.  nomine  commendantur,   magno  semper  in  honore  habendum 
judicayit. 

**  Quapropter  Nos  impense  cupimus  ut  hae  Nostrae  litterae 
Tobis  flint  testes  commendationis,  quae  praeclara  studia  vestra 
historiam,  disciplinam,  decus,  musicae  sacrae  spectnntia  tan  to  magis 
prosequimur,  quo  magis  adversorum  temporum  asperitatem  eluc- 
tantes,  honori  religionis  et  Ecclesiae  strenue  famulari  contenditis. 

"  Adprecantes  autem  clementissimum  Deum  ut  virtutera  vestram 
sua  potenti  gratia  roboret,  quo  in  dies  magis  lux  eius  luceat  coram 
hominibns,  Apostolicam  Benedictionem  in  auspicium  coelestium 
manenim  et  in  pigrfns  pateroae  Nostrae  dilectionis,  Tibi  Dilecte 
Fili,  cunctisque  reiigiosis  sodalibus  tuis,  peramanter  in  Domino 
impertimus. 

'*  Datum  Romae  apud  S.  Petrum,  die  8  Martii,  1884.  Ponti- 
ficatos  Nostri  Anno  Septimo. 

"Leo  pp.  XIII;* 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  publication  of  this  letter 
was  the  signal  for  a  general  uprising  of  the  partisans  of 
all  those  various  local  editions  which  had  to  so  large  an 
extent  been  discredited  by  the  Decree  of  the  Sacred  Con- 
gregation in  the  preceding  year.  The  authorised  version 
of  the  Chant,  the  true  nature  of  which  it  is  their  policy  to 
misrepresent  by  their  persistent  designation  of  it  as  the 
"Ratisbon"  version,  was  once  more  violently  assailed. 
Especially  in  certain  French  journals,  the  Pope's  letter  to 
Dom  Pothier  was  paraded  as  a  Papal  approval  of  another 
edition,  admittedly  and  substantially  at  variance  with  that 
of  Ratisbon,  which  they  consequently  represented  as  thus 
deposed,  by  the  personal  action  of  the  Holy  Father 
himself,  from  the  exalted  position  in  which  it  had  been 
placed  by  the  Decree  of  last  year. 

But  before  we  proceed  further  with  our  examination  of 
what  has  since  occuri'ed,  it  may  be  well  to  bring  to  mind 
the  emphatic  terms  in  which  the  Ratisbon  edition  of  the 
various  works  of  the  liturgical  chant  were  approved  in 
that  Decree.     They  are  as  follows : — 

"  Earn  tanium  uti  authenticam  Gregoriani  cantus  formam  at  que 
UgiUmam  hodie  habendam  esse,  quae  juxta  Tridentinas  sanctiones 
4lWo  V.,Pio  IX.,  sac.  mem.,  et  SS.  D.  N.  Leone  XIII.,  atque  a 
Smhi  Bitnum  Congregatione,  juxta  editionem  Ratisbonae  editam, 
*ia  habita  est  et  confirmata,  utpote  quae  unicb  eam  cantus 
iBttioiittn  contineat,  qua  Romana  utitur  £cclesia. 


362  The  True  Gregorian  Mtisic  of  the  Church : 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  an  allegation  more 
palpably  absurd  than  that  by  which  it  was  sought  to 
create   the   belief  that  this  formal,  detailed,  and  exclvr 
five  approbation  of  the  works  of  the  Ratisbon  edition  was 
now  summarily  set  aside  by  the  letter  of  the  Holy  Father. 
But  the  manifest  absurdity  of  their  plea  in  no  way  affected 
the  tactics  of  those  interested  in  the  maintenance  of  those 
other  versions  of  the  chant,  which  had  been  thus  author- 
itatively branded  as  neither  **  authentic,"  "legitimate,"  nor 
"  Roman."     The  mode   of  action  which  they  were  thus 
forced  to  ascribe  to   the   Sovereign  Pontiff  was  indeed 
peculiar.    They  did  not  care  to  deny  it.     Desperate  cases 
were  not  to  be  dealt  with  except  by  extraordmary  means. 
And  had  they  not  all  along  foretold  that  in  some  way 
or  other,  ordinary  or  extraordinary,  natural  or  supernatural, 
the  Church  was  to  be  saved   from  the   deadly  peril  to 
which  it  had  been  exposed  by  the  Decree  of  last  year? 
Had  not  one    of    them   even    expressed    his    assurance 
that  "  the  *  gates  '  of  charlatanism,'*  as  personified  in  the 
enterprising  Ratisbon  publisher,  "  pas  plus  que  celles  de 
I'enfer,  ne  pre vaudront  jamais  centre  Teglise?"     And  so, 
they  chose   to  represent,   the  personal   authority  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  had,  in  this  letter  to  Dom  Pottuer,  been 
exercised  for  the  rescue  of  the  Church  from  th&  snares  so 
skilfully  set  by  the  crafty  Germans  for  the  destruction  of 
her  venerable  chant.    Not  indeed  that  they  cared,  many  of 
them,  one  jot  for  Dom  Pothier  and  his  edition.     JBut  they 
wished,   on   some   ground   or  other,   to   get   rid   of    the 
practical  slur  which  had  been  cast  upon  them  all  by  the 
•'  authentication "   of  one  edition  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
othera     For  this  purpose,  Dom  Pothier's  edition,  if  now 
approved  in  opposition  to  the  Decree  of  last  year,  would, 
for  the  time,  serve  them  as  well  as  any  other. 

Now,  can  it  be  necessary  to  point  out  that  between 
the  two  expressions  of  the  mind  of  the  Holy  See — ^last 
year's  Decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  so  formaUy 
approved  by  the  Pope,  and  this  year's  letter  of  the  Pope 
to  Dom  Pothier — there  is  not  a  shadow  of  contradiction  ? 
In  fact,  there  is  not  the  faintest  trace  even  of  divergence.  * 
Divergence,  at  all  events,  there  might  have  been,  if  the 
subject  had  not  been  so  fully  dealt  with  in  the  Decree  of 
last  year.  But  the  absolutely  exhaustive  character  of  that 
Decree,  dealing,  as  it  did,  with  every  conceivable  aspect 
of  the  case,  left  no  room  even  for  (UTergence,  except,  of 
course,  for  such  as  would  be  involved  in  a  fojnual  and 
absolute  reversal  of  the  decision  then  given. 


Uhon"  or 

Sacred  C 
pflr  alreac 
vu  totally 

the  muBi< 
urgieal,  d 
tical  leg] 
ig  for  it« 
it  manusc 
IS  to  the  e 

of  ecclee 
cism  or  c 
of  ecclesii 
.tioQS,  if  c( 
:t8  dealt  V 

the  bless 

of  its  pro 
Lctual  leg 
cast  her 
re  fully  iu 

the  earl 
does  not 

energy. 
I,  for  very 
1  the  rule. 
nore  expl 
;ree : — 

i  cantiu  cu 

I'litumm  sit, 
la  eccleaiat 
lodum  de 
fiartibiit  e\ 
.  inquirere  « 

the  appro' 
m  of  the 
oiigh  the ' 
)le,  in  acci 
xtent  the 
oughont 1 
)  the  Dec 
pticitnees 


rd  Series),  ^ 


364  The  True  Greffcrian  Music  of  the  ChurrJu 

archadological  and  liturgical  questions  in  tUs-  matter  of 
Plain  Chant  music : — 

"  Plures  ecclesiasticae  musicae  cnltores  subtilla»  inquireTe 
co^perunt  quaenam  esset  primogenia  Gregoriani  cantus  ratio, 
quaeque  fuerint  per  subsequentes  aetates  variae  ejusdem  pBases. 
Verumtamen  plus  aequo  hujus  tnwstigaiionis  itmites  prcutergrtssij  ac 
nimio  ccntiquitatis  amore  fortasse  abreptij  iiegligere  visi  svint  recenteg 
Sedis  Apostolzcae  ordwationes,  ejusdemque  desideria  plures  mani- 
festata,  pro  introducenda  uniformitate  Gregorian i  cantus,  juxta 
inodum  prudent isskno  Bomasae  Ecelesiae  usu  ceroprobalumJ*^ 

Let  us  now  look  back  trpon  the  Pope's  letter  to  Dom 
Pothier.  What  is  it  that  the  Holy  Father  commends? 
"^Vos  solertem  operam  dedisse  expticandis  et  Ulufirandix 
vrteribus  musicae  sacrae  monimientisy  omnemque  diligentiam 
adhibuisse  ut  illomm  accuratam  rationem  et  formam,  ex 
antiquis  Kicubrationibus  a  majoribns  vestris  magna  cura 
BWvatis,  artis  musicae  cultorihus  exhiberetis."  Is  there  in 
this  anything  even  bordering  upon  an  approach  to  diver- 
gence from  the  Decree  of  last  year  ? 

But  the  Holy  See  has  not  rested  satisfied  with  merely 
trasting  to  the  effect  of  the  plain  import  of  the  words  thus 
employed.  The  ill-advised  zeal  of  the  champions  of  the 
various  "  non-authentic  '*  versions  of  the  Gregorian  Chant 
made  it  practically  imperative  upon  the  Soverqign  Pontiff 
to  take  decisive  steps  for  the  protection  of  his  Letter 
against  the  danger  of  perversion  by  the  plausible  inter- 
pretations of  those  disingenuous  critics.  No  sooner,  then, 
nad  their  newspaper  campaign  against  the  '^  Ratisbon  '* 
Chant  been  re-opened,  than  it  was  brought  to  an  inglorious 
close  by  the  appearance  of  the  following  letter  of  the  Holy 
Father,  written  for  the  express  purpose  of  putting  them  <o 
silence. 

The  text  of  this  most  significant  letter  is  as  follows: — 

"  D11.ECT0  FiLio  Reltgioso  Viro  Josspho  Pothier  O.S.B. 

'*  SoLESMES  IN  Gallia^  I*E0  PP.  XIH. 
^I^LECTB  Fiij,  Religiose  Vir,  Salutem  bt  Apostoucam 

£  enedictioneh. 

^  Quamquam  Nos  ad  tuam  epistolam  rescribentes  qnam  die 
24  Decembris  anno  superiori  dedisti,  in  tua  tuorumque  iiidustria 
commendaoda,  quam  explicandis  et  illustrandis  veteribus  mnsicae 
sacrae  monumentis  attulistis,  opus  Gradualism  a  vobis  editi  unice 
tpectayerimus  tamquam  opus  adhistoriam  et  disciplinam  seu  sdsnXxam 
musicae  sacrae  pertmens  et  eruditioms  gratia  institutum,  uti  er 
NostrU   Utteris  patety  tamen  ne   litterae  illae  occaaioneia  falsis 

^  Ibid,  pages  445»  467. 


James  Clarence  Mangan,  365 

interpretationibus  praebeant,  Tibi,  Dilecte  Fili,  signiiicandum  in 
praesens  censuimus,  Nos  in  iisdem  litteris  ad  Te  datis  non  earn 
mentem  habuissfs  ut  vel  minimum  a  Decreto  per  Congregationem 
Nostram  Sacris  Ritibus  praepositam  die  10  Aprilis  anno  sup'  /lore 
auctoritale  Nostra  yulgato,  cuius  initium  '  Romanorum  Pont'  licuin 
sollicitudo  recederemus,  nee  consilium  Nostrum  fuisae  opus 
Gradualis  Nobis  oblati  ad  Liturgiae  Sacrae  u$um  approhare :  quam  in 
rem  opus  ipsum  accurato  examini  memoratae  Congregationis,  ut 
moris  est  Apostolicae  Sedis  in  hujusmodi  negotiis,  necessario 
fuisset  subjiciendum. 

Hoc  mente  Nostra  Tibi  signijicatfjj  qua  memorati  Decreti  vim 
fimiam  ratamque  esse  dererrmnuSf  Apostolicam  Benedictionem  in 
pignus  patemae  dilectionis,  et  in  auspicium  caelestis  praesidii  Tibi, 
taisque,  Dilecte  Fili,  peramanter  in  Domino  impertimus. 

^'  Datum  Romae  apud  8.  Petrum,  3  M^'i  an.  1884.  Pont.  Nostri 
Anno  Vn. 

"  Leo  P.P.  Xni." 

Once  more,  then,  Roma  locuta  est.  But  whether  the 
persistent  champions  of  private  enterprise,  as  against 
ecclesiastical  authority,  in  the  matter  of  liturgical  music 
will  even  now  submit,  it  would  be  by  no  means  easy  to 
foretell. 

W.  J.  Walsh. 


JAMES  CLARENCE  MANGAN. 

IT  cannot  be  but  gratifying  to  the  numerous  admirers  of 
Clarence  Mangan  to  see  that  so  much  attention  is  being 
now  directed  to  this  hitherto  neglected  and  almost  forgotten 
Irishman.  The  beautiful  edition  of  the  "  Poets  and  Poetry 
of  Munster,"  just  published,  gives  ground  for  hope  that  the 
name  of  the  gifted  poet  will,  for  the  time  to  come,  be  more 
widely  known. 

That  Clarence  Mangan  should  be  unknown,  or  rather 
ignored,  across  the  Channel,  is  a  thing  which  will  scarcely 
cause  much  surprise ;  but  that  he  should  be  comparatively 
unknown  even  to  Irish  readers,  this  it  is  which  any  one 
acquainted  with^ihe  life  and  character  of  Mangan  will  find 
hard  to  understand.  Mangan  is  indeed  an  ornament  to  the 
land  which  gave  him  birth.  Though  his  writings  up  to 
the  present  have  been  so  little  read,  yet  he  has  done  real 
work  in  enriching  English  literature ;  though  his  spirit  is 


366  James  Clarence  Mangan. 

so  seldom  invoked  to  arouse  patriotic  feelings  in  the  brea«t, 
yet  Mangan  was  a  devoted  lover  and  servant  of  his-country ; 
though  his  name  is  generally  so  little  known,  yet  he  must  be 
ranked  among  those  really  great  sons  of  Ireland,  that  have 
risen  up  from  time  to  time,  and  shone,  like  so  many  stars  in 
the  dark  firmament  of  her  history. 

There  is  something,  moreover,  in  Mangan,  which  we 
look  for  in  vain  in  those  other  great  men  of  whom  we  are 
so  justly  proud.  Inhere  is  something  strange  and  raysteriouB 
about  the  man,  which  lends  more  than  ordinary  interest  to 
his  life.  Writers  of  romance  ha^  endeavoured  to  give  us 
pictures  of  human  nature  in  all  its  aspects — of  all  that  is 
picturesque  and  beautiful,  as  well  as  of  all  that  is  repulsive 
and  deformed  in  human  character.  By  depicting  at  cue 
time  eminent  virtue,  at  another  debasing  vice,  they  excite 
alternately  our  admiration  and  our  horror.  Oftentimes,  by 
blending  quahties  apparently  opposed,  they  prodube  those 
evolutions  of  the  fancy  which  used  to  be  the  wonder  and 
enigma  of  our  youth.  Yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any 
of  these  beings  of  the  imagination  ever  presented  such  a 
combination  of  apparently  opposite  qualities  as  we  discover 
in  the  real,  living,  Clarence  Mangan.  He  led  a  reckless 
dissipated  life ;  yet,  we  know  he  was  an  admirer  of  moral 
beauty.  For  a  long  time  he  neglected  the  duties  of  a 
religion  which  he  believed  to  be  Divine;  yet»  notwith- 
standing his  neglect,  if  we  can  believe  his  own  words, 
God  was  the  ruling  idea  of  his  mind.  His  frequent  walks 
of  pleasure  were  to  the  low  taverns  of  the  city,  through 
dirty  lanes  and  back  streets,  yet  he  loved  the  green 
fields,  and  was  charmed  with  the  little  singing  birds, 
which,  in  his  ears,  re-echoed  the  cheerful  thoughts  with 
which  the  sight  of  the  country  filled  him.  But  it  was 
the  intellectual  portion  of  the  man  which  was  the  arena 
of  the  greatest  struggle  within  him.  While  he  was 
yet  young,  a  deep  melancholy  settled  down  upon  his  mind, 
and  continued  to  oppress  him  during  all  the  days  of  his 
existence.  He  indulged  in  strong  drink  as  a  remedy,  and 
often  his  reason,  from  being  enervated,  became  almost  com- 
pletely obscured.  Yet  he  possessed  a  mind  which  would 
wilUngly  free  itself  from  the  trammels  which  held  it  down. 
He  possessed  a  mind  which  was  full  of  very  manv  noble 
qualities ;  it  was  a  garden  in  which  grew  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  rarest  flowers.  Nature  was  in  fact  in  his 
regard  another  Zeuxis.  All  that  was  fair  in  the  intellectual 
world  seemed  to  have  served  as  a  model  for  the  formation 


James  Clarence  Mangan.  367 

of  this  one  great  mind.  Though  accident  may  have  over- 
clouded its  brightness,  yet  undoubtedly  it  combined  all  the 
tints  and  shades  which  would  have  made  it  a  masterpiece 
among  the  productions  of  its  kind. 

James  Mangan  was  bom  in  Fishamble-street,  Dublin, 
on  the  Ist  of  May,  1803.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
Shanagolden,  Co.  Limerick,  and  came  to  reside  in  Dublin 
in  1801 ;  his  mother's  name  was  Catherine  Smith ;  she 
belonged  to  a  place  called  Kiltale,  in  Co.  MeatL  He  had 
two  brothers,  John  and  William,  and  a  sister  whose  eariy 
death  was  a  source  of  great  affliction  to  the  poet. 

James  Mangan's  father  began  life  in  Dublin  as  a  grocer ; 
afterwards  he  gave  up  the  grocery  business  for  the  occu- 
pation of  a  vintner.  He  engaged  in  certain  building 
apeculations  which  turned  out  unsuccessful ;  and  the  con- 
sequence was,  that  he  entailed  on  himself  and  family 
misery  and  ruin.  He  is  described  by  his  son  as  extrav- 
agant, of  an  irascible  temper,  and  careless  about  the  interests 
of  his  children.  Nothwithstanding  his  apathy,  however, 
his  son  James  was  sent  to  school  at  a  pretty  early  age. 
There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the 
particular  school,  or  schools,  at  which  Mangan  received 
m  education.  It  would  seem  that  he  was  sent,  at  the  age 
of  seven,  to  a  school  in  Saul's-court,  estabhshed  about 
1760,  by  a  Jesuit,  Father  Austin.  Mangan  was  placed 
nnder  the  supi^rvision  of  Father  Graham,  who  had  been 
educated  at  Palermo  and  Salamanca,  and  from  whom 
undoubtedly  Mangan  received  his  first  lessons  in  Spanish, 
Italian,  French,  and  Latin.  When  he  was  about  eleven 
years  of  age,  he  appears  to  have  entered  himself  at  a  school 
m  Derby-square,  oi  which  the  Mr.  Courtney,  mentioned  in 
the  autobiography,  was  cither  principal  or  proprietor.  After- 
wards, when  Mangan's  family  removed  to  Chancery-lane, 
he  placed  himself  under  the  direction  of  a  certain  WiUiam 
Browne,  who  kept  an  academy  there.  It  was  this  Browne 
that  must  have  initiated  Mangan  in  the  mysteries  of  tht^se 
tboiiginal  periodicals,  in  which  he  put  forth  his  first  efforts. 

He  began  to  write  for  "  Grant's  Almanac,"  and  for  the 
*Kew  Ladies'  Almanac,'*  in  1818,  and  dated  his  first  con- 
lobiitions  from  Chancery-lane.  He  continued  to  write  for 
fc»e  "periodicals"  until  1826,  when  they  ceased  to  be 
ftUished.  His  contributions  at  this  time  do  not  seem  to 
Mmas  any  singular  merit.  The  "  Elegy  of  the  death  of 
MiBBy  KoDobinow  "  is  ingenious  indeed ;  but  that  is  the 
iMk  be  said  of  almost  all  these  juvenile  performances. 


368  James  Clarence  Mangan, 

In  1821,  Mangan  ceased  to  write  from  Chancery-lane, 
and  hence  it  is  inferred  that  it  was  in  the  preceding  year 
he  was  apprenticed  to  the  scrivener.  Mangan's  father 
having,  by  extravagance  and  mismanagement,  reduced  his 
family  to  indigence,  it  devolved  on  their  son  James  to 
procure  for  them  the  necessaries  of  Kfe.  The  work  in  the 
scrivener's  office  was  laborious,  and  to  Mangan  hateful; 
yet  he  toiled  at  it  for  six  or  seven  years.  After  the  expira- 
tion of  this  period,  he  was  engaged  for  two  or  three  years 
as  clerk  in  an  attorney's  office.  He  was  completely 
disgusted  with  the  companions  whom  this  new  employ- 
ment threw  in  his  way.  Mangan  was  among  them  only  in 
body,  it  is  true ;  and  besides  he  had  the  consolation  of  his 
books  when  the  day's  work  was  done.  Nevertheless,  he 
was  in  the  depths  of  misery.     Condemned 

To  herd  with  demons  from  heU  beneath, 

and  deprived  of  all  healthy  exercise,  he  sank  daily  deeper 
and  deeper  into  that  morbid  melancholy,  which  the  fever 
and  the  fatigues  of  the  scrivener's  office  had  already 
brought  upon  him.  Probably  it  was  about  this  time  he 
began  to  use  strong  drink  as  a  remedy  for  his  despondent 
state  of  mind.  At  any  rate  he  did  make  use  of  such  a 
remedy,  and  it  was  this  that  tended  so  much  to  debase  a 
spirit  otherwise  brave  and  noble. 

Mangan,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  oflFered,  quitted  his 
place  in  the  attornev's  office,  and  betook  himself  to  a 
sphere,  which  must  have  been  more  congenial,  that  of 
hterature.  However  he  was  destined  first  to  receive 
another  and  more  severe  blow  from  his  relentless,  and,  as 
he  likely  thought,  natural  enemy,  Dame  Fortune.  He  had 
given  his  affections  to  some  young  lady,  whose  name  is  not 
recorded.  He  addresses  her  somewhere  as  Frances. 
Perhaps  she  was  the  same  young  maiden  for  whom,  when 
both  were  young  and  innocent,  he  had  gone  out  amid  the 
rain  and  storm  to  procure  the  Uttle  song  that  pleased  her. 
At  any  rate,  whoever  she  was,  she  deceived  the  too-con- 
fiding poet,  and  the  dim  taper  of  the  poor  unfortunate 
man's  happiness  was  extinguished  for  ever. 

He  was  never  tired  of  telling  how  this  blow  oppressed 
and  tortured  him  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and 
how— 

.     .     .     With  genius  wasted, 
Betrayed  in  friendship,  befooled  in  love, 
With  spirit  shipwrecked  and  young  hopes  blasted, 
He  still,  still  strove. 


JameB  Clarence  Mangan.  369* 

Mangan  did  strive  indeed:  notwithstanding  all  his  own 
misery,  he  could  think  more  of  the  misery  of  others,  and 
strive  to  alleviate  it.    About  the  year  1830  his  real  literary 
labour  began.     He  was  admittea  this  year  as  a  member  of 
the    "Comet    Club,"    which    now    consisted    of   twelve 
members,  the  projectors,  among  other  things,  of  the  Comet 
newspaper.      This   club  included  such   men    as   Samuel 
Lover,  Maurice  O'Connell,  son  of  the  Liberator,  Dominick 
Ronayne,   M.P.     The   society  of  such  men   must  surely 
have  had  some  influence  in  inciting  Mangan  to  the  literary 
effort  he  now  began  to  make.     By  contributions  to  the 
IrUh  Penny  Journal^  the  Dublin  Penny  Journal,  and  the 
Dublin  University  Magazine^  he  managed  to  procure  a  little 
bread  for  the  members  of  his  family  still  depending  on  him 
lor  support.  It  is  remarkable  that  Mangan  never  published 
any  of  his  pieces  in  an  English  periodical  or  newspaper. 
Mangan   without   doubt  had  a  hatred  of  England,  and 
everything  English.     But,  if  he  had,  it  arose,  in  his  case, 
as  in  that  of  all  the  greatest  and  best  of  Irishmen,  not  from 
any  narrow-minded  prejudice,  but  from   a  sense  of  the 
wrongs  which  the  "  step-sister  "  island  had,  most  certainly, 
inflicted  on  his  country.     Mangan  was   indeed  a  sincere 
lover  of  his  native  land,  and,  living  at  such  a  time,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  his  patriotism   should    take  an  active   and 
practical  form.     But  a  few  years  before  his  birth  there  had 
taken  place  one  of  the  most  remarkable  uprisings  against 
English  rule  in  Ireland.     The  soldiers  of  England   came 
and  put  down  the  insurrection,  but  they  could  not  stamp 
out  the  germs  of  future  conflagrations  which  the  smoulder- 
ing embers  contained.     William  Pitt,  no  doubt,  imagined 
that  for  him  was  reserved  the  work  of  making  a  peaceful 
Ireland.     But  William  Pitt  was  mistaken  in  his  calculations. 
Legislative  independence  indeed  departed  from  Ireland ; 
but    Irish    discontent    remained.      The    year    in    which 
Clarence    Mangan  saw  the  light  witnessed  another  Irish 
rebellion.     The  year  which  lent  the  beauty  and  freshness 
of  the  spring-time  to   grace  the   coming  of  the  future 
patriot  and  poet  was  destined  to  mourn  in  its  declining 
days  the  loss   of  the   gentle  youth  who   had  sacrificed 
his  life  for  Ireland.    In  1808  Robert  Emmett  died  upon 
the  scafiold.     But  the  principles  of  which   he  was  the 
exponent  lived  after  him.     The  cloak  fell  from  him  only 
to  be  taken  up    by  men   like   Mitchell,   Meagher    and 
Smith  O'Brien,  politicians  who  considered  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation the  first  little  instalment  of  justice,  and  nothing 


370  James  Clarence  Mangan, 

more.  These  men  were  the  soul  of  the  movement  which 
sprang  up;  but  they  were  assisted  by  men  of  equal 
abilities  and  perhaps  equal  patriotism  with  themselves. 
In  1842  the  Nation  was  established  under  the  specifiJ 
guidance  of  Davis  and  Dufiy :  it  was  to  introduce  a  new 
feature  into  Irish  politics :  it  was  to  be  the  organ  of  the 
Young  Ireland  party,  the  leaders  of  the  advanced 
National  opinion  of  the  time. 

There  was  one  thing  naturally  very  desirable  in  such  a 
publication;  it  was  some  soul-stirring  National  poetry. 
There  was  one  man  then  alive  who  of  all  others  was  most 
capable  of  contributing  it — that  man  was  James  Clarence 
Mangan.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  instead  of 
honouring  an  English  periodical,  he  should  contribute  to 
the  Nation^  and  afterwards  even  to  such  an  advanced  paper 
as  the  United  Irishman.  Indeed,  as  Mangan  told  Mitchell 
some  time  after,  he  was  ready  to  embark  in  any  scheme, 
which  might  bring  about  the  regeneration  of  Ireland. 
That  was  an  object,  he  considered,  to  be  attained  by  the 
energy  of  Irishmen  alone — 

Within  itself  must  grow,  must  glow, 

Withio  the  depths  of  its  own  bosom 

Must  flower  in  living  might,  must  broadly  blossom, 

The  hopes  that  shall  be  bom,  ere  freedom ^s  tree  can  blow. 

It  is  not,  kowever,  on  his  political  achievements  that  the 
fame  of  Mangan  is  likely  ever  to  depend.  His  relations 
with  the  Young  Ireland  party  may  be  quoted  to  show  the 
ardour  of  his  patriotism ;  his  patriotism  may  be  point«d 
out  as  the  source  from  which  some  of  his  most  beautiful 
poems  derived  their  inspiration  ;  but  it  is  his  poetry  alone 
that  will  secure  for  him  the  high  place  he  is  destined  to 
hold  in  the  estimation  of  posterity. 

Mangan's  principal  works  are,  the  "  German  Anthology," 
first  published  in  1845 ;  the  "  Irish  Anthology,"  parts  of 
which  are  found  in  his  "  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Munster," 
first  nublished  in  1849;  miscellaneous  pieces,  which  are 
not,  like  the  preceding  translations,  but  his  own  composi- 
tiona  He  also  wrote  pieces  himself,  which  he  pretended 
were  translations  from  certain  Eastern  languages  of  which 
he  knew  nothing  whatever.  The  most  complete  edition 
of  his  works  is  that  edited  by  John  Mitchell ;  and  yet  it 
contains  not  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  Mangan's  po^ns- 

No  one  can  peruse  these  works  of  the  poet  without 
feeling  that  secret  pleasure  which  is  to  be  obtained  from 


James  Clarence  Mangan.  371 

the  productions  of  genius  alone.     No  one  can  peruse  them 
without  being  struck  with  the  truth  of  Gavan  Duffy's 
words,  that  Mangan  "  was  aa  truly  born  to  sing  deathless 
songs  as  Keats  or  Shelley." 

And  yet  it  is  not  so  much  from  what  he  has  written  as 
from  what  he  evidently  could  have  written  that  we  are  to 
form  an  estimate  of  Mangan's  poetical  powers.  Some 
writers  have  written  so  much  that  it  is  evident  they  could 
not  have  written  more.  Lord  Byron  began  to  write  early, 
and  continued  to  write  almost  up  to  the  .day  on  which  he 
closed  his  eyes  in  Greece.  He  wrote  some  of  his  best 
poems  while  sojourning  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  it  was  the  wild  romantic  scenery  around  Geneva 
that  inspired  some  of  thq  finest  passages  in  Childe  Harold. 
Schiller,  the  great  German  poet,  was  accustomed  during  a 
long  period  of  his  hfe  to  protract  his  studies  far  into  the 
night  So  it  was  with  most  of  those  poets  with  whom  we 
are  all  familiar,  with  Shakspeare  and  Dryden,  Shelley  and 
Moore,  with  men  like  Goethe  who  wrote  only  for  fame,  and 
with  men  like  Scott  who  wrote  for  money  as  well.  But 
the  case  was  very  difierent  with  Clarence  Mangan.  Neither 
fame  nor  money  had  any  attractions  for  him.  Probably 
he  thought  that  posterity  could  not  do  better  than  forget 
that  he  bad  ever  lived.  As  for  money,  he  did  not  require 
much.  His  scanty  meal  was  a  daily  sermon  to.  the  epicures 
around  him ;  and  his  short  coat,  wide  pantaloons,  and 
inevitable  umbrella  stood  their  ground  undisturbed  amid 
many  a  fluctuation  of  the  Paris  fashions.  Indeed  Mangan 
could  seldom  allow  himself  the  time,  even  if  he  had  the 
inclination,  to  study  or  devote  himseli*  to  literary  labour. 
The  taverns  of  the  city  generally  had  more  attractions  for 
him  than  his  own  quiet  room  and  the  society  of  his  books. 

In  such  circmnstancesit  is  surprising  how  Mangan  wrote 
even  so  much.  But  it  is  still  more  surprising  that  his 
viitings  possess  such  singular  merit.  His  poems  are  not 
inferior  to  many  on  which  great  minds  have  bestowed  far 
■lore  time  and  attention.  In  many  respects  his  poetry 
i^sembles  Moore's,  but  it  possesses  far  more  manly  vigour. 
Perhaps  Mangan  is  too  fond  of  ventilating  his  own  misery ; 
^^  unlike  Cowper,  he  does  not  lay  it  to  the  charge  of  all 
t&sn  except  himself,  and  we  look  in  vain  for  any  trace  of 
tke^fcbig  and  bitterness  of  Pope.  The  **  Nameless  One  "  is 
JwfcaHy  a  record  of  the  poet's  misfortunes ;  if  so,  it  shows 


372  James  Clarence  Mangan, 

might  complain  that  pleasure  was  fleeting,  but  Mangan 

knew  not  what  it  was. 

•  

Kemer's  tears  are  wept  for  withered  flowers, 
M  ine  for  withered  hopes,  my  scroll  of  woe 
Dates,  alas  !  from  youth's  deserted  bowers 
Twenty  golden  years  ago. 

"  The  Karamanian  Exile," ''  The  Irish  National  Anthem," 
"  The  Time  of  the  Barmecides,"  are  all  very  beautiful 
pieces,  and  are  the  composition  of  Mangan  himself.  Per- 
haps it  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  confined  himself 
more  to  original  composition ;  but  at  any  rate  he  has 
written  enough  to  show  that  he  could  write  true  genuine 
poetry.  His  translations  from  the  German  contain  also  a 
deal  of  real  excellence.  They  would  have  added  a  great 
deal  to  the  fame  of  Dryden  or  Pope.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
either  of  these  would  have  translated  the  German  poets 
better  than  Mangan  ;  but  it  can  be  safely  said  that  they 
would  not  have  embellished  them  with  happier  ideas  of 
their  own  than  those  for  which  Mangan  gave  the  German 
poets  credit  At  any  rate  some  one  has  ventured  the  opin- 
ion that  these  bards  would  most  certainly  have  felt 
flattered  at  seeing  themselves  in  the  garb  provided  them 
by  Mangan.  It  is  difficult  to  single  out  any  particular 
piece  for  eulogium,  they  are  all  so  very  good.  Everyone 
of  them  bears  the  impress  of  the  translator's  great  poetical 
endowments.  Mangan  generally  selects  subjects  which 
used  to  occupy  his  own  thoughts ;  they  are  sometimes 
religious,  sometimes  patriotic,  and  not  imfrequently  on 
human  misery.  However,  they  are  not  always  of  a  plaintive 
strain,  as  we  might  be  disposed  to  imagine.  The  opening 
verse  of  the  piece  entitled  "Cheerfulness"  is  a  curious  com- 
mentary on  his  own  Ufe : — 

See  how  the  sun  beameth  brightly  before  us ! 
Blue  is  the  firmament — green  is  the  earth — 
Grief  hath  no  voice  in  the  Universe-chorus — 
Nature  is  ringing  with  music  and  mirth. 
Lift  up  the  looks  that  are  sinking  in  sadness-^ 
Gaze !  and  if  Beauty  can  capture  thy  soul, 
Virtue  herself  will  allure  thee  to  gladness — 
Gladness,  philosophy's  guerdon  and  goal. 

In  his  translations  from  the  Irish,  Mangan  adheres  more 
closely  to  the  original  He  knew  no  Irish  himself,  but  used 
to  get  literal  ppose  translations  from  John  O'Donovan,  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  from  £ugene  Cuny,  or  some 
other  kmd  friend*    Naturally  his  versions  of  the  Lrish  are  on 


James  Clarence  Mangfin,  373 

patriotic  subjects,  with  a  few  exceptions.  "  Dark  Rosaleen  " 
18  one  of  the  many  pieces  in  which  the  snfFerings  of 
Ireland  are  depicted.  "The  Lament  for  the  Princes  of 
Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell  ;'*  "  Lament  o*er  the  ruins  of  Teach 
Molaga;  "The  Dawning  of  the  Day;"  and  "Patrick 
Condon's  Vision/'are  all  well  worthy  of  James  Mangan's  pen. 

Mangan  must  be  admitted  to  have  done  great  service 
to  the  language  of  his  country.  Though  he  did  not 
understand  it  lumself,  still  he  strove,  as  far  as  in  him  lay, 
to  open  up  to  his  countrymen  some  of  the  rich  treasures 
it  contained.  If  his  life  had  been  prolonged,  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  done  still  more  to  excite  an  interest  in 
the  old  Irish  bards. 

But  Mangan's  life  was  not  destined  to  be  a  long  one. 

Oppressed  by  misfortunes,  and  worn  out  by  disease,  he 

began  to  feel  at  a  comparatively  early  age,  that  death  had 

already  begun  to  steal  slowly,  but  certainly,  upon   him. 

John  Mitchell,  when  he  saw  him  in  the  humble  office  in 

Trinity  College  Library,  which  the  favour  of   Dr.  Todd 

had  procured  for  him,  must  have  felt  that  the  pale  creature 

before  him  could  not  long  encumber  a  world  from  which 

even  now  he  seemed  so  far  removed.    Nor  was  there  much 

in  life  which  could  have  any  attraction  for  him.     He  had 

indeed  experienced  the  friendship  of  Dr.  Anster,  Mr.  Petrie, 

D.  F.  McCarthy,  Duffy  and  M'Gee.     But  towards  the  end 

of  his  days  nearly  all  the  companions  of  other  times  were 

gone ;  and  were  it  not  for  a  few  kind  friends  that  still 

remained,  he  would  have  gone  down  deserted  to  his  grave. 

In  184U  cholera  broke  out  in  Dublin,  and  James  Mangan, 

smitten  with  the  disease,  was  brought  to  the  Meath  Hospital 

He  felt  that  his  end  was  drawiug  near;  that  he  was  soon 

to  leave  a  world  that  had  always  been  unkind  to  him.     As 

be  lay  upon  his  bed  of  death,  and  thought  of  the  past  and 

of  what  was  soon  to  come,  poor  Mangan  must  have  felt  that 

this  was  indeed  the  happiest  period  of  his  life.     The  taper 

which  was  burning  dimly  near  him,  with  light  enough  to 

reveal  the  loneliness  around,  must  have  shed  a  far  more 

certain  glow  on  the  spirit  still  lingering  within.     On  the 

20th  of  June,  the   day  on  which  he  died,   he  sent  for 

Fr.  Meehan,  who  had  always  been  his  best  friend.    He 

received  the  last  rites  of  the  Church :  and  the  g^entle  voice,. 

which  had  comforted  and  encouraged  him  during  life,  was 

now  heard  whispering  words  of  hope   and   consolation, 

until  his  pure  spirit  passed  into  the  presence  of  its  God. 

J.  M.  C. 

YOL.  V.  2  E 


[    374    ] 

THE  MISSION  TO  THE  ABORIGINES  OF  WESTERN 

AUSTRALIA. 

IT  is  perhaps  a  very  safe  assertion  of  fact  to  state  that  the 
largest  in  point  of  size  of  all  the  Australian  Colonies  is 
the  least  known  and  least  heard  of.     The   scantiness  of 
its  population,  the  relative  insignificance  of  its  products, 
and,  not  improbably,  the  extremely  placid,  if  not  sluggish, 
stream  of  its  current  events  from  the  date  of  foundation — 
all  contribute   to   render  the  vast  territory  of  Western 
Australia  a    terra  incognita  to  many  down  to  the  present 
day.     Yet  the  Colony  cannot  claim  for  itself  that  feUcity 
which,   according  to   the  ancient   dictum,   attaches  to  a 
people  altogether  without  annals.  There  are,  indeed,  events 
worthy  of  record,  as  there  must  always  be,  even  in  a  meagre 
narrative   of  the  first  steps  in  social  progress  and  first 
strivings  towards  a  more  advanced  and  stable  social  order. 
It    is,  however,  from  the    religious  point   of    view  that 
Western  Australia  will  be  chiefly  interesting  to  many 
persons,  inasmuch  as  Western  Australia  has  been  the  field 
of  a  great  and,  better  still,  a  successful  missionary  under- 
taking for  the  benefit  of  the  lowly  savages  who  once  were 
the  sole  and  imdisputed  lords  of  the  soil. 

It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  premise  that  Western 
Australia  occupies  the  whole  of  the  great  island-continent 
westward   of  the    120th  parallel  of  east  longitude.    Its 
length  from  N.  to  S.  is  1,280  miles,  and  breadth,  E.  to  W., 
about  800.     In  1792  the  adventurous  French  navigator, 
D'Entrecasteaux,  explored  its  shores  with  a  view  to  annexa- 
tion, but  as  those  were  troublous  times  for  the  French 
Government,  the  formaUty  of  annexation  was  not  pro- 
ceeded with,  and  the  English  Government  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  omission,  sent  out  an  expedition  under  Captain 
(afterwards  Sir  James)  Sterling,  who,  on  the  1st  of  June, 
1829,  landed  at  Freemantle,  ran  up  the  British  flag,  and 
proclaimed  a  new  Colony  under  the  name  of  the  *'  Swan 
River  "  settlement.    More  than  the  usual  share  of  opening 
diflSculties   and  privations  awaited  the  new  comers,  but 
they  need  not  be  adverted  to  here  at  any  length.     SuflBce 
it  to  say  that  the  Roman  Catholic  portion  of  the  little  com- 
munity remained  for  fourteen  years  totally  bereft  of  relig- 
ious ministration.      At  length  a  petition  was  drawn  up, 
and  forwarded  to  the  head  of  the   Church  in   Sydney, 
praying  that  a  priest  should  be  sent  to  the  Catholics  of 


The  Mission  to  the  Aborigines  of  Western  Aitstralia.    375 

Perth,  Dr.  Folding,  appointed  to  the  See  of  Sidney  in 
1835,  replied  to  the  petition  by  sending  two  of  his  pnests 
and  a  catechist  to  reside  permanently  and  attend  to  the 
spiritual  requirements  of  the  Catholic  colonists.  The  chief 
of  these  priests,  the  Rev.  John  Brady,  was  sent  as  the 
bishop's  vicar-general ;  his  assistant,  the  Rev.  John 
JoGsteens,  a  Dutch  clergyman,  had  been  for  years  chaplain 
in  the  armies  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  I.,  and  the  catechist 
was  an  Irish  youth  named  Patrick  O'Reilly.  These  three 
pioneers  of  the  faith,  the  first  Catholic  clergymen  that  had 
ever  set  foot  in  Western  Australia,  landed  at  Fremantle,  at 
the  mouth  of  Swan  River,  on  the  4th  November,  1843. 
There  were  great  reioicings  on  the  part  of  the  Catholic 
residents,  who  had  hved  so  many  years  without  either 
priest  or  chapeL  The  administration  of  the  sacraments 
was  forthwith  commenced.  Marriages  were  blessed,  infants 
baptized,  and  Mass  regularly  celebrated  in  the  most  appro- 
;  pnate  place  available,  pending  the  erection  of  a  regular 
place  of  worship  in  Perth.  Dr.  Brady  spent  nearly  three 
months  in  visiting  and  consoling  the  scattered  members  of 
the  Catholic  body.  By  that  time  he  had  acquired  a  just  idea 
of  its  many  requirements,  and  felt  convinced  that  his  own 
endeavours,  however  strenuous,  aided  by  the  efforts  of  a 
solitary  clergyman,  were  totally  inadequate.  He  resolved 
to  set  oul  for  Europe,  and  lay  before  Propaganda  the  state 
of  the  Church  confided  to  his  care.  At  Rome  it  was  re- 
solved that  Swan  River  should  be  constituted  a  new  diocese, 
and  Dr.  UUathome  was  nominated  bishop  of  the  new  See. 
This  distinguished  ecclesiastic,  who  had  spent  several 
years  of  missionary  toil  in  Sydney,  and  was  destined 
afterwards  to  grace  the  episcopal  chair  of  Birmingham,  de- 
clining the  proffered  honour  for  sufficient  reasons.  Dr.  Brady 
was  selected  in  his  place,  and  on  the  18th  May,  1845,  con- 
secrated Bishop  of  Perth.  The  new  prelate  was  fortunate 
in  being  able  largely  to  recruit  his  st^  of  fellow-labourers 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  On  his  return  to  Swan  River 
he  took  with  him  seven  priests,  one  sub-deacon,  two  Bene- 
dictine novices,  eight  Irish  catechists,  two  lay  brothers  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  S.  Heart  of  Mary,  six  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  and  a  novice  of  the  same  Order,  all  of  whom 
disembarked  at  the  port  of  Freemantle,  together  with  the 


376     Ihe  Mission  to  the  Aborigines  of  Western  AmtraUa. 

A  favorable  circximstance,  or  rather,  a  providential  arrange- 
ment, made  it  possible  for  him  to  efiFectuate  this  cherished 
project.  Among  the  missionaries  introduced,  as  before 
stated,  by  Dr.  Brady,  in  1846  were  the  two  Spanish  monkB, 
Don  Joseph  Serra  and  Don  Rosendo  Salvado.  These  two 
zealous  fathers  of  the  Benedictine  order,  driven  away  from 
the  peaceful  cloisters  of  their  native  land  by  poUtic«J 
intrigues,  had  found  a  home  in  the  monastery  of  La  (Java, 
not  far  from  Naples.  There  they  had  long  and  prayerfully 
discussed  the  resolve  of  devoting  their  lives  to  missionary 
work  among  savage  races.  Their  generous  and  fervent 
impulses  had  been  duly  submitted  to  the  proper  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Propaganda,  Don 
Serra  and  Don  Salvado  quitted  La  Cava,  and  joined 
Dr.  Brady's  missionary  party,  with  the  object  of  labouring 
in  the  new  diocese  for  the  welfare  of  the  native  blacks. 

For  the  conversion  of  the  aborigines.  Bishop  Brady 
formed  three  missionary  parties,  and  sent  them  t.o  diflferent 
parts  of  the  Colony,  to  open,  as  it  were,  central  stations  in 
each  locality.  The  Northern  Mission  was  given  in  charge 
to  the  Rev.  Angelo  Confaloniere  with  two  Catechist  astdst- 
ants,  James  Fagan  and  Nicholas  Hogan.  They  set  out 
for  Port  Essington,  but  were  shipwrecked  in  Torres  Strait. 
The  two  young  Irishmen  were  drowned — only  the  priest 
and  captain  were  saved  of  all  on  board.  Fr.  ConfaJoniere 
labomred  for  two  years  at  his  post  in  the  lonely  bush,  and 
died  there  on  the  9th  June,  1848,  after  patiently  bearing 
untold  privations.  Two  priests  of  the  Order  of  Mary  were 
sent  to  the  Mission  of  the  South  at  Albany,  King  George's 
Sound.  This  mission  also  ended  disastrously.  The  Rev. 
P.  Tebeaux,  Superior,  and  the  Rev.  P.  Tierse,  with  two  lay 
brothers  of  the  Order,  laboured  heroically  for  a  while  in 
their  appointed  district.  Famine  at  length  prevailed 
against  them — they  had  more  than  once  been  saved  from 
perishing  of  hunger  by  the  gift  of  food  from  the  kind 
heai-ted  sailors  that  touched  at  the  Port.  They  all  left  for 
the  Mauritius  where,  if  they  had  to  yield  th^ir  Uves,  it 
would  not  be  from  utter  destitution.  The  Central  Mission 
had  its  crop  of  trials  in  the  beginning  also,  but  these  have 
so  long  passed  away,  that  they  are  now  remembered 
by  only  a  few  of  the  oldest  missionaries  and  settlers.  The 
principal  Foundation  stood  the  test  of  many  a  nide  shock  in 
its  earliest  days,  but  it  has  weathered  all,  and  remains  to  the 
present  time  the  chief  missionary  centre  for  the  conversion 
of  natives — well  known  to  Australians  as  the  Benedictine 


The  Mission  to  the  Aborigines  of  Western  Australia.    377 

Mission  of  New  Norcia.  Don  Joseph.  Serra  was  appointed 
the  Superiory  having  for  assistant  priest  bis  inseparable 
companion  Don  Bosendo  Salvado.  They  left  Perth  on  the 
16th  February,  1846,  and  after  a  few  days  journeying  in 
^e  bush,  fixed  the  site  of  the  mission  on  the  banks  of  the 
Moore  River,  about  eighty-four  miles  from  the  capitaL 
A  sub-deacon  and  two  catechists  were  of  the  party.  A 
beginning  was  at  once  made.  With  their  own  hands  the 
mifisioners  commenced  the  task  of  building  a  little  place  of 
habitation,  clearing  the  ^ound  of  timber,  and  finally 
planting  seeds  of  various  kinds.  Natives  ^thered  round, 
and  advantage  was  taken  of  their  visits  to  impart  religious 
instruction.  Not  much  could  be  done,  but,  at  least,  a 
beginning  of  the  good  work  was  undertaken.  Soon,  how- 
erer,  poverty  oppressed  the  little  community.  Want  of 
f  the  commonest  necessities  of  life  stopped  the  work.  The 
k  natives  paid  little  heed  to  the  Gospel  teachings  when 
\  their  stomachs  were  empty,  but  marched  off  incontinently 
r  to  the  forest  to  hunt  for  fresh  supplies  of  food.  Nor  coidd 
the  missionaries  hope  to  long  continue  the  hard  work  of 
felling  trees  and  clearing  away  dense  scrub  if  they  had  no 
better  food  than  what  the  Fathers  Serra  and  Salvado  once 
lived  on  for  a  fortnight — namely,  a  bag  of  rice  and  such 
insects  and  roots  as  they  picked  up  in  the  bush.  Don 
Salvado  came  towards  Perth  to  appeal  to  the  Bishop  for 
relief.  So  sad  a  plight  of  raggedness  was  the  good  missioner 
reduced  to  that  ne  had  to  halt  at  Bamden's  Hill,  a  mile  or 
so  from  the  city.  Word  was  sent  to  a  Catholic  lady  in 
Perth,  who  in  a  few  hours  sewed  together  a  new  cassock  for 
Father  Salvado,  and  so  enabled  him  to  present  himself  in 
decent  garb  before  the  bishop.  Nemo  dat  quod  non  Iiabet, 
The  bishop  was  the  poorest  of  aU  his  missioners.  At  the 
time,  and  for  a  long  while  subsequently,  his  residence  was 
flw  "belfry,"  a  wooden  enclosure  put  up  to  protect  from  the 
"Weather  a  good  bell  that  had  been  presented  to  the  mission. 
At  the  suggestion  of  Protestant  sympathisers  a  concert 
IWw^  given.  Don  Salvado  was  a  most  accomplished 
anuician.  The  bishop  gave  consent  tnat  in  this  way  the 
uKrf  which  was  so  urgently  needed  should  be  sought.  A 
fair  was  the  chief  patron  of  the  entertainment;  the 
Ttotestant  minister  of  Perth  offered  the  use  of  his  piano, 
«Dd  on  a  memorable  evening  Fr.  Salvado  for  three  nours 


378     The  Mission  to  the  Aborigines  of  Western  Australia, 

bullocks,  which  the  missioner  himself  drove  back  through 
the  bush,  well  laden  with  provisions  for  the  starving  New 
Norcians.  In  sordid  troubles  such  as  these  the  early  eflorts 
of  the  founders  of  the  Central  Mission  were  too  much 
engaged.  The  Superior  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
a  poor  mission  to  the  Austrahan  natives  could  not  be  much 
other  than  an  ineflScient  one.  He  resolved  to  take  steps  on 
an  improved  plan,  as  suggested  by  the  experience  already 
gained.  The  desired  object  was  to  found  a  monastery  as 
well  as  a  missionary  station.  The  rule  of  St.  Benedict 
enjoins  the  duty  of  manual  labour,  and  no  better  school 
could  be  had  for  the  natives  than  the  fields  in  which  they 
should  assist  the  brethren  in  all  kinds  of  agricultural  occu- 
pations. With  the  approval  of  Dr.  Brady,  Don  Serra  set 
out  on  a  visit  to  Europe  to  seek  alms  and  search  for  fellow- 
labourers.  CathoUc  Spain  answered  nobly  to  his  appeal 
He  collected  large  sums  of  money,  and  received  many 
presents  of  valuable  objects.  Besides,  a  number  of  Spanisn 
youths  volunteered  to  accompany  him  back  to  Austraha, 
and  join  the  Order.  Being  appomted  Coadjutor  Bishop  of 
Pertn,  Dr.  Serra  returned  to  the  colony  with  ample  funds 
in  hand,  and  with  a  zealous  band  of  missionanes,  com- 
prising seven  priests  and  thirty-two  youths,  aspirants  to 
the  Benedictine  habit.  Dr.  Salvado  subsequently  visited 
Italy  and  Spain.  Kaised  to  the  episcopal  dignity  by  the 
title  of  Bishop  of  Port  Victoria,  he  elected  to  remain  always 
with  his  first  beloved  mission,  and,  as  a  proof  of  his  un- 
changing interest  in  it,  soon  after  his  consecration  sent 
thirty-nine  youths  from  Cadiz,  in  charge  of  some  priests, 
to  join  the  Order  at  New  Norcia, 

The  impulse  given  by  the  abundant  alms  of  Spain  at  a 
critical  moment,  and  the  steady  labour  of  so  many  lay 
brothers,  during  five-and-thirty  years,  have  placed  the 
monastery  and  mission  of  New  Norcia  on  a  very  secure 
basis  financially.  It  is  well  known  that  monastic  bodies, 
however  poor  at  their  first  institution,  have  almost  always 
grown  great  in  worldly  possessions.  Their  regularity  of 
well-directed  and  constant  industry  invariably  bring  about 
that  result.  At  present  New  Norcia  is  rich  in  the  possession 
of  wide  tracts  of  land,  both  leasehold  and  in  iee-simple, 
and  in  numerous  flocks  of  sheep,  cattle  and  horses.  The 
religious  community  also  constitute  a  strong  staff  of 
missionaries.  There  are  about  50  professed  brothers,  with 
5  priests  and  the  Bishop-Abbot,  Dr.  Salvado,  all  of  whom 
keep  strictly  every  point  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict, 


'  The  Mission  to  thi  Aborigines  of  Western  Australia.    379 

while  they  do  their  duty  to  the  blacks  as  missionaries. 
The  monastery  is  surrounded  by  cottages  built  for  married 
natives,  of  whom  there  are  about  20  resident.     These 
cottages,  with  the  schools  for  boys  and  girls,  the  granary, 
stables,  storehouses  and  workshops,  make  up  a  good  sized 
Tillage,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  the  chapel,  a  building 
of  considerable  size,   and  not  wanting  in  architectural 
merit.    There  is  also  a  Post  and  Telegraph  OflSce,  the  post- 
mistress and  Telegraph  operator  being  a  native  girl,  pupil 
of  the  institution.     The  Mission  lies  84  miles  N.W.  of 
Perth,  and  a  pleasant  morning's  ride  from  a  neighbouring 
township  called  Bindoon.     It  is  an  agreeable  surprise  for 
the  early  traveller  to  come  upon  the  view  of  the  bright 
settlement  in  the  midst  of  dreary  bueh ;  the  gleaming  white 
of  many  hme-washed  buildings  shows  well  in  the  morning 
light.    His  attention  is  fixed,  perhaps,  by  the  tolling  of  a 
fine  bell   calling  to   early  mass.     A   crowd  of  some   70 
or  80  black  boys  and  girls  are  bustling  towards  the  chapel, 
while  the  more  staid  steps  of  their  native  parents,  friends 
or  relatives,  take  the  same  direction.     At  Mass  all  attend 
with  edifying  devotion.     On  Sundays  a  portion  may  be 
seen  to  go  to  commimion,  and  on  Festivals  as  many  as 
30  or  40  may  be  observed  approaching  the  Holy  Table. 
After  Mass  the  visitor  is  invited  to  partake  of  the  well- 
known  hospitality  of  the  Benedictinei?  at  a  substantial 
breakfast,  and  he  is  conducted  afterwards  to  see  the  whole 
house  at  work.     There  is  an  extensive  garden  and  orchard 
close  at  hand.     As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  there   are 
fields  which  are  the  scene  of  ceaseless  labours.     The 
monks  and  their  sable  proteges  are   everywhere  busy. 
The  boys'  school  and  the  girls'  are  not  far  off.     They  are 
easily  recognisable  by  the  noise  and  clatter  which  children 
dehght  in,  but  the  din  of  an  adjacent  building  is  ear  ^ 
splitting.     A  great  steam  engine  is  in  full   blast  at  its 
uproarious  work,  driving  machinery,  which  thrashes,  cuts 
cnaff,  stacks  hay,  grinds  corn,  or  gives  motive  power  to  a 
variety  of   other  mechanical   devices.     Or   perhaps    the 
traveller  to  avoid  a  blazing  sun,  will  have  journeyed  by 
the  light  of  the  bright  Australian  moon  and  reached  New 
Norcia  in  the  small  hours  of  the  new  day.    His  ears  will 
!         be  saluted  by  the  recital,  in  grave  and  solemn  voice,  of  the 
I.        divine  office,  or  his  whole  soul  enthralled  by  the  chanting 
■  of  the  hymn  of  8t.  Benedict,  with  which  the  deep  voiced 


680     The  Mission  to  the  Aborigines  of  Western  Australia. 

Champion  Bay  and  to  the  north  of  the  Colony,  and  every 
visitor  departs  deeply  impressed  by  the  fervent  piety  and 
prudent  zeal  of  the  Spanish  brotherhood.  The  plan  (rf 
following  the  natives  m  their  wanderings,  and  dwelling 
with  them  in  their  huts,  was  tried  for  a*short  time  by  the 
missionaries  but  quickly  abandoned.  It  was  found  neces- 
sary to  induce  the  blacks  to  adopt  a  fixed  place  of  habita- 
tion, and  acquire  some  few  habits  of  industry  before  they 
could  be  Christianised.  On  account  of  the  fewness  of  the 
tribes  and  the  great  diversity  of  dialects,  the  labour  to  con- 
vert them  is  great  and  the  result  scanty.  In  every  fifty  miles 
or  so  of  district  there  is  a  difierent  tongue,  and  population  is 
kept  down  by  incessant  assassinations.  The  theory  of  the 
natives  is  that  no  one  dies  a  natural  death.  The  magic  of 
another  tribe  has  wrought  the  mischief  and  a  life  must  be 
taken  in  reprisal.  They  take  a  low  place  in  the  scale  of 
inteUigence,  remaining  children  to  the  last  in  their  simpli- 
city and  in  their  feebleness  of  will.  Constitutionally  also,  the 
aborigines  are  very  delicate.  Death  has  been  making  so 
muph  ravages  among  them  as  to  threaten,  at  no  distant  dat^ 
to  exterminate  them  altogether.  All  the  first  dwellers  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  Norcia  have  quite  passed  away  long  since. 
Dissipation  and  vice  throughout  the  colony  has  also  told 
disastrously  upon  their  weak  physique.  The  wretched 
hangers-on  about  the  towns  are  shockingly  dnmben  and 
immoral.  The  main  hope  of  the  Missioners  is  centred  in  the 
children,  who  are  traiued  to  piety  and  industry  at  the  insti- 
tution. The  mortality  at  the  Mission,  as  elsewhere,  has  been 
great,  although  every  care  is  taken  of  the  health  of  the 
native  inmates.  The  young  people  die  fortified  by  all  the 
sacraments  of  the  church,  and  the  old  natives  are  preparedfor 
eternity  as  far  as  their  intelUgence  and  perception  of  divine 
things  permits.  That  the  Aboriginal  Australians,  when  early 
and  suflSciently  instructed,  are  capable  of  truly  receiving 
leligious  impression,  has  been  so  abimdantly  proven  as 
to  be  quite  beyond  further  question  as  regards  those  who 
have  had  experience  among  them.  Instances  might  easily 
be  given  of  even  singular  graces  of  which  they  were  the 
recipients.  The  writer  of  this  paper  once  knew  a  native 
known  by  the  name  of  Alick  among  the  English  settlers. 
Alick  had  been  for  some  time  at  New  Norcia,  out  growing 
flick  was  permitted  to  make  a  tour  in  the  bush — a  course 
often  taken  when  the  natives  are  unwell.  He  called  on  me 
at  York,  a  town  and  district  of  which  1  was  the  resident 
priest.   He  asked  me- to  go  baptise  an  orphan  child  of  who  m 


Extract  from  Cardinal  Franzelin.  381 

he  was  the  nearest  surviving  relative,  and  consequently 
over  whom  he  had  the  greatest  right  of  control  1  did  so, 
but  was  not  permitted  even  to  see  the  child  by  the  bnsh 
natives.  Alict  waited  his  opportunity,  and  carried  the 
dying  child  in  his  arms  to  the  chapel  for  baptism.  He  had 
aDother  contest  with  the  wild  natives  about  the  burial, 
but  at  length  succeeded  in  having  the  little  one  buried  in 
consecrated  ground  with  Christian  ceremonial.  I  heard  no 
more  of  Alicfc  for  a  couple  of  months  after  this,  until,  late 
one  winter's  evening,  I  was  told  a  native  was  very  ill  and 
wanted  to  see  me.  It  was  Alick,  who  had  come  to  make 
his  confession  And  receive  the  last  sacraments.  He  had 
journeyed  far  away  into  the  bush,  getting  worse  and 
worse  daily.  When  he  at  length  felt  convinced  that 
death  was  approaching,  he  turned  round  to  make  his  way 
towards  me.  For  many  days  he  was  carried  by  the 
natives  in  their  fashion  of  riding  on  the  shoulders.  The 
last  50  miles  of  the  journey  was  done  in  a  spring  cart  lent 
by  a  Protestant  settler,  who  was  moved  to  compassion  by 
poor  Alick's  intense  desire  to  reach  me  before  he  died.  Thi 
udthful  creature  received  all  the  rites  of  holy  church,  and 
wag  placed  by  the  side  of  his  little  relative  in  a  Catholic 
cemetery.  Mere  theorists  may  declaim  that  the  Australian 
aborigines  are  incapable  of  improvement — not  even  of 
social  amelioration,  much  less  of  religious  culture.  Not  so, 
however.  Dr.  Salvado  and  all  others  who,  like  him,  have 
had  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  blacks,  and  who,  in 
their  regard  have  been  witnesses  to  the  validity  of  the 
Scriptural  prophecy,  or  perhaps  threat,  that  what  has 
been  hidden  from  the  wise  and  prudent  is  often  revealed 

^  "^^  ^^^  A,  BOURKE. 


EXTRACT  FROM  CARDINAL  FRANZELIN  ON  THE 
EXTENT  OF  THE  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

{As  we  have  reason  to  know  that  some  of  our  readers 
would  be  8un>rised  if  they  saw  no  reference  in  our 
pages  to  the  Inspiration  Controversy,  we  beg  to  say  that 
ye  have  resolved  to  continue  it  no  furlher.  We  had, 
Hideed,  written  and  printed  a  further  vindication  of  our 
own  views;  but,  guided  by  the  coimsel  of  our  best  and 
nwst  revered  friends,  we  have  resolved,  at  least  for  the 


382  Extract  from  Cardinal  Franzelin  on  the 

present,  to  suppress  it.  It  might  perhaps  aid  doctrine,  but 
it  might  also  wound  charity.  Our  views  are  on  record ; 
we  have  nothing  to  change,  nothing  to  reform.  We  hope 
that  future  disputants  in  our  pages  will  be  prepared  to 
follow  our  example,  and  allow  us  the  right  of  suspending 
a  controversy  whenever  there  is  any  danger  of  its  deflect- 
ing from  the  rule  of  charity. 

We   earnestly  recommend  priests  to  study  the  sound 

Erinciples  laid  down  by  Cardinal  Franzelin,  the  first  of 
ving  dogmatic  theologians,  regarding  the  extent  of 
inspiration.  For  this  purpose  we  here  publish  the  first 
part  of  his  .valuable  dissertation  on  toe  subject;  but 
we  do  not  wish  to  impute  to  anyone  the  views  which  he 
censures. — Editor.] 

AD  TRACTATUM  DE  DIVINIS  SCRIPTURIS 

2YMB0AH 

ANnTADVEUSIONUM  IN  DISSEKTATIONEM INSCRIPTAM  "dE  BiBLIOBUM 
INSPIRATIONE  EJU8QUE  ITALORE  AC  VI  PRO  LIBERA  SCIENTIA." 

Novam  quandam  de  extensione  inspirationis  librorum  sacronim 
opinionem  in  opusculo  lingua.  Germanica  scripto  explicatam  ac 
propagnatam  viri  boni  mihi  indicarunt,  ut  quae  sentirem,  edicerem. 
Earn  sloe  dubio  falsam  et  cum  gravioribus  periculis  coniunctam 
vidi,  quam  ab  auribus  et  animis  Catholicorum  omnino  arceri  oporteat. 
Cum  vero  ipse  dissertationis  auctor  ab  ilia  tanti  discriminis  sen- 
tentia  iam  discessisse  dicatur,  gratulanduro,  noo  crimen  inferendom 
est.  Et  certe  nisi  scirem  eandem  doctrinam  alicubi  latius  serpere 
coepisse,  abstinuissem  a  raovenda  hac  quaestione ;  at  falsae  opinio- 
nis  propagatio  mihi  persuasit,  operam  necessariam  et  auctore  non 
invito  me  impensurum,  si  ad  ea,  quae  ipse  iam  improbat,  ego 
quoque  nonnullas  Cbnferrem  animadversiones.  Nee  sane  a  theologi 
erudiiti  et  catholici  laude  quidquam  detractum  velim,  dum  non 
hominem  accuso,  sed  dissertationis  in  lucem  publicam  editae 
argumenta  oppugno. 

I. ^NOVA  ET  FALSA  DOCTRINA  DISSERTATIONIS. 

1.  Disceptatio  in  opusculo  cl.  Doctoris  non  est  ilia  critica,  quae 
subinde  haberi  solet,  utrum  partes  omnes  librorum  sacrorum  ut 
nunc  nobis  prostant,  genuinas  censeri  oporteat  et  ab  ipsis  primis 
librorum  conscriptoribus  profectas  :  sed  quaestio  nunc  inducitur 
alia,  inter  Catholicos  fere  nova  eaque  prorsus  theologica^  an  libri 
canonici  secundum  omnes  suas  partes  genuinas  crfedi  debeant  con- 
scripti  Deo  inspirante  ?  Insuper  quaestio  non  est,  utrum  nomine 
partium  librorum  necessario  intelligi  debeant  singula  vel  mioutis- 
sima  incisa,  cuinsmodi  sunt  e.  g.  salutationes  ab  Apostolis  adnaxae 
epistolis,  vel  quae  habet  Paulus  de  paenula  relicta  Troade,  vel  (ut 
auctor  ait)  de  vino  modico,  quod  Apostolus  commendat  discipolo. 


Inspiration  of  Scripture.  383 

Non  ignore,  unum  vel  alterum  theologum  (loquor  de  paulo  vetus- 
tioribus)  repertum  fuisse,  qui  ad  huiusmodi  minuiissima  inspira- 
tionem  extendi,  cmsusfuertt  negate}  Verum  nunc  nostra  disser- 
tatio  longe  ulterius  progreditur,  doctrinamque  proponit,  cui  equidem 
censeo  auctoritatem  repugnare  ineluctabilem,  ex  qua  insuper 
pericula  intelligo  consequi  gravissima  et  ab  auctore  certe  numquam 
iDtenta,  quam  denique  nuUo  argumento  sed  meris  conjecturis  fulciri 
yideo. 

2.  Examinemos  summa  capita  huius  novae  commentationis. 
In  sacris  libris,  ibi  dicitur,  distinguenda  est  doctrina  fidei  et  morum, 
quae  etiam  ab  auctore  verbis  Magistri  (non  rite  intelleotis)  appel- 
lator "  scientia  animae "  (die  Wissenschaf t  der  Seele)^,  turn  vero 
discernendae  sunt  (ut  ait)  "  res  profanae"  in  iisdem  Scripturis  com- 
prehensae.  In  rebus  fidei  et  morum  scribendis  auctor  humanus  a 
Deo  supematiu^i  ope  praeservabatur  ab  omni  errore,  utrum  ho- 
mines in  iis  scribendis  non  modo  per  assistentiam  divinam  ab  errore 
praemuniti,  sed  etiam  per  inspirationem  fuerint  illuminati  in  intel- 
lectu  et  moti  in  voluntate  ad  ea  omnia  et  sola  scribenda,  quae  Deus  . 
voluit  per  Scripturam  hominibus  proponere  tamquam  verbum  suum 
scriptum,  cl.  disputator  nullibi  satis  declarat.  Hypothetice  dum- 
taxat  proponit  notionem  aliquam  '*  inspirationis  strictiori  sensu," 
p.  102,  quae  vero  notio  vel  admodum  obscura  est  vel,  si  sumitur  in 
obvio  verborum  sensu,  minime  sincera,  et  quae  maxime  post  defini- 
tionem  Yaticanam  non  amplius  possit  sustineri. 

3.  Certissimum  quidem  est,  in  inspiratione  ad  scribendum  gra- 
dus  fuisse  diversos ;  sed  aeque  certum  haberi  debet,  neque  veritatis 
revelationem  per  se  esse  inspirationem  ad  scribendum,  neque  ad 
buius  essentiam  sufficere  praemunitionem  ab  errore  per  divinam 
assistentiam,  cuiusmodi  requiritur  etiam  in  infallibilibus  definiti- 
onibus  Conciliorum  vel  Romanorum  Pontificum,  quin  propterea 
definitiones  istae  constituantur  Scrtptura  impirata.  Omnium  vero 
minime  admitti  potest,  quod  auctor  p.  100, 101,  docet  de  discrimine 

^  De  hac  opinione  legi  posaunt  Canus  dc  Locis  1,  II.  c.  16,  sqq.  et 
BeUiunninus  de  Verbo  Dei  1.  I.  c.  6,  n.  16,  sqq.,  qui  eam  Bimpliciter 
appellat  haeresim  Cf.  Benedictum  XII.  loco  quern  citavi  in  tractatu  de 
Scripturis,  p.  351,  nota. 

*  In  ilia  phrasi  toties  a  nostro  Prof essore  repetita  "  scientia  animae," 
apQd  Magistnun  2  diet.  23  anima  non  accipitur  pro  obiecto,  ut  disser- 
tator  interpretatur  ;  sed  pro  subiecto  scientiae.  Agit  enim  ibi  Lombardus 
de  quaestione,  "  qualis  fuerit  primus  homo  (in  statu  originalis  institiae) 
secundum  arUmam}^  Fuit  autem  in  illo  statu  multiplex  scientia  animae, 
scientia  naturalis  ad  usum  vitae,  scientia  praeternaturalis,  et  supema* 
tuialis.  lam  ait  sdentiam  naturalem  ad  usum  vitae,  ^^  ut  sciret  animali- 
bus  ac  propriae  cami  providere  necessaria,"  per  peccatum  non  periisse 
generi  humano  ;  sed  perdidimus  scientiam  supematuralem.  **  llano 
Bcientiam  (naturalem)  homo  non  perdidit ;  et  idcirco  in  Scriptura  homo 
de  hoiuBmodi  non  eruditur,  sed  de  scientia  (bupematurali)  animae  quam 
peccando  amisit.^'  Etiamsi  enim  in  Scriptura  doceantur  aliqua  ratione 
obiecti  naturalia,  haec  tamen  non  ibi  docentur  propter  se,  sed  in  ordine 
ad  snpematuralia  et  modo  supematurali. 


384  Extract  from  Cardinal  Franzelin  on  the 

inter  *' infallibilitatem  Ecclesiae  et  inspirationem  Scriptorae,*' 
quasi  istud  tanttmmodo  in  diversitate  ohiecti  consisteret,  quatenus 
per  inspirationem  novae  Teritates  revelentur,  per  infallibilitatem 
Ecclesiae  non  novae  sediam  pridem  reyelatae  veritates  proponantor. 
Nee  revelatio  stricto  sensu,  manifestatio  nempe  rei  occultae,  nee 
nova  revelatio  sensu  latiori,  prima  videlicet  veritatis  propoaitio 
divinitus  facta,  pertinet  ad  essentialem  notionem  inspiraiionis, 
Multa  inspirabantur  ad  scribendum,  quae  hominibus  inspiratis  per 
humana  subsidia  et  per  humanam  industriam  comperta  eraot: 
"  qui  hagiographa  conscripserunt,  ait  S.  Thomas  (2.2.  q.  174  a,  2. 
ad  3),  eorum  plured  frequentius  loquebantur  de  his,  quae  humana 
ratione  cognosci  possunt,  non  quasi  ex  persona  Dei  sed  ex  persona 
propria,  cum  adiutorio  tamen  divim  luminisJ*  Hoc  lumen  expHcat 
^'  lumen  intellectuale  divinitus  infasum  non  ad  cognoscendum  aliqna 
supernaturalia  (ut  m  superiori  prophetiae  vel  inspirationis  gradu), 
sed  ad  iudicandum  secundum  certitudinem  veritatis  divinae  eo,  quae 
humana  ratione  cognosci  possunt"  Pariter  doctrina  evangelka 
pridem  erat  revelata,  in  Ecclesia  praedicata  et  quotidie  in  praxim 
deducta,  antequam  eadem  inspiraretur  Evangelistae  s.  Matthaeo 
ad  scribendum ;  imo  plurima  quae  iam  etiam  in  Scriptura  erant 
proposita,  denuo  sub  charismate  inspirationis  consignabantur  ab 
aliis  sacris  scriptoribus,  quod,  ne  de  reliquis  dicam,  ex  comparatione 
quatuor  Evangeliorum  omnibus  compertum  est.  Discrimen  itaqne 
inter  propriam  rationem  infallibilitatis  Ecclesiae  et  inter  essentiam 
inspirationis  nequaquam  eo  modo,  quo  auctor  asserit,  positum  est 
in  obiecto,  sed  omnino  in  diversitate  ipsius  charismatis  in  subiecto, 
quoniam  ad  infallibilitatem  sufficit  assistentia  divinoj  qua  error  in 
definitione  excludatur,  ad  inspirationem  scriptionis  praeter  muni- 
tionem  ab  errore  essentialiter  requiritur  positiva  supematuralis 
operatio  Dei  in  intellectum  et  voluntatem  scriptoris,  qua  fiat,  ut 
Deus  ipse  per  hominem  inspiratum  proprio  sensu  sit  auctor  libri^  ao 
proinde  liber  non  quomodocumque  contineat  verbum  Dei  sine 
errore,  sed  quatenus  est  liber  scriptus,  sit  efficienter  a  Deo  auctore, 
et  verbum  Dei  scriptum.  Hanc  inspirationis  notionem  ex  Scriptnris 
ipsis,  ex  Conciliis  et  ex  consentiente  doctrina  PP.  satis  demonstra* 
vimus  in  tract,  de  Scripturis  sect.  I. 

4.  Verum  nunc  non  tam  de  notione  et  essentia  inspirationis 
quam  de  eius  amplitudine,  non  de  intenmone  sed  de  extensione  inspi- 
rationis disceptatio  est.  Facta  enim  distinctione,  quam  commemo- 
ravi,  inter  doctrinam  "religiosam"  et  inter  "res  prof  anas  in 
Scripturis  sacris,  dissertatio  affirmat,  in  his  "  rebus  profianis" 
scribendis  homines  fuisse  omnino  sibi  relictos  adeo,  ut  in  his  etiam 
errare  potuerint,  ac  proinde  ad  harum  renim  scriptionem  nee  ins|ii- 
ratio  (quaecumque  eius  notio  statuatur)  nee  assistentia  divina  {Htsa- 
cavens  errores  extenderetur.  Secundum  omnes  ergo  has  partes^  quae 
non  continent  "  doctrinam Jidei  vel  morum^^  si  novae  theoriae  fiden- 
dum  esset,  Scriptura  haberetur  mere  humana,  viribus  nimiram 
dumtaxat  humanis  exarata,  quae  propterea  in  hisce  partibus  dm 


Inspiration  of  Scripture,  385 

iospirata  eredi, posset,  nee  a  priori  haberi  immunis  aberroribus  ; 
coosequenter  in  hisce  omnibus  partibus,  sive  actu  insint  sive  non 
insint  eiTores,  neque  Scriptura  canamca  censenda  foret.  In  hac 
doctrina  porro  quaerentibus  nobis  certam  normam,  qna  partes  has 
humanas  distinguamus  ab  illis,  quae  vel  inspiratae  sunt  vel  saltern 
infallibiliter  continent  verbum  Dei,  banc  regulam  auctor  proponit 
p.  98,  99.  ^'Si  narratio  aliqua  historica  (inquit)  necessarium 
fandamentum  constituit  veritatum  religiosarum,  ita  ut  ipsae  hae 
Tcritates  pendeant  a  veritate  historiae,  quemadmodum  e.  g.  com- 
morado  populi  Israel  ad  montem  Sinai  veritatem  legislationis  sus* 
tinet  ac  communit ;  turn  debuit  Deus  in  gratiam  veritatis  religio- 
sae  scriptorem  immunem  servare  ab  errore.  Si  autom  huiusmodi 
connexio  facti  narrati  cum  veritate  religiosa  non  obtinet ;  turn  ab 
hiimana  critica  pendet,  utrum  Veritas  huiusmodi  historiae  agnos* 
cenda  an  repudianda  sit."  ^ 

Haec  normam  praebent  satis  claram,  quam  vero  nemini  Catho- 
lico  fas  fuerit  adoptare.  Libri  sacri  nub  charismate  infallibilitatis 
(an  etiam  inspirationis,  non  dicitur)  scripti  sunt  in  iis  partibus 
damtaxat,  quae  continent ''  veritates  religiosas*^'  vel  iacta  historica 
at  '^fimdamentum  necessarium,"  sine  quo  ipsa  Veritas  religiosa 
concideret ;"  reliqua  igitur  omnia  in  iisdem  libris  scripta  sunt  mere 
bamanitus  ;  ac  proinde  de  his  omnibus  sicut  de  aliis  libris  humanis 
ad  criticam  pertinet  iudicare,  non  iam  utrum  divinitus  an  humani- 
tos  sint  scripta  (constat  enim  secundum  normam  propositam,  opera 
esse  omnino  humana)  sed  utrum  vera  sint  an  falsa.  Si  examine 
critico  vera  fnerint  reperta,  sine  dubio  credenda  sunt  fide  humana 
li.  e.  propter  demonstratam  scientiam  et  veracitatem  hominis 
narrantis,  sed  numquam  possunt  credi  Jide  divina  tamquam  verbum 
Dei  propter  auctontatem  Dei,  quoniam  in  iis  omnibus  non  Dei,  sed 
tantummodo  hominis  verbum  est  et  auctoritas.  Hinc  apparet, 
quid  valeant,  quae  ibi  infert  cl.  auctor  :  ^'  Si  animo  sincero  examen 
iostituatur,  rarissime  eveniet,  ut  narrationem  biblicam,  etiam  cum 
religione  non  connexam,  cogamur  repudiare."^  Nempe  sicut  in 
Tlxucidide  vel  Tacito,  ita  in  hisce  libris  rarissime  reiiciemus'hujus- 
modi  narrationem  ut  falsam,  sed  tamen  semper  negabimus  inspi- 
ratam  vel  ex  divina  saltem  assistentia  infallibilem,  et  admittemus 
docmnentum  dignum  fide  humana,  quantum  scientia  et  veraeitas 
testis  humani  fuerit  demonstrata. 


^  **£ntweder  bildet  eine  liistoriBche  Darstellimg  das  nothwendige 
Fundament  religioeser  Wabrheiten,  mit  dcm  diese  stehen  imd  fallen, 
wei  der  Aufenthalt  am  Sinai  die  dortige  Gosetzgebung  stutzt  und 
traegt,  und  dann  muss  Gott  den  Schriftsteller  im  Interesse  der  reli* 
gioesen  Wahrheit  vor  Irrtlium  achutzen ;  oder  solches  ist  nicht  der  Fall, 
und  dann  kaengt  die  Verwer/ung  oder  Anerketmung  der  fraglichen  Dars^ 
tellung  von  der  menschUchen  Kritik  a6." 

• "  Indem  wir  gewissenhaf  t  zu  Werke  gehen,  gelangen  wir  nur  in 
den  seltensten  Faellen  dazu,  eine  auch  nicht  religioesc  Mittheilung  der 
Bible  fallen  xu  lassen.^' 


386  Extract  from  Cardinal  Franzelin  on  the 

5.  At  hac  ratione  magna  pars  libroram  et  libri  integri  praesertim 
Veteris  Testamenti  censebuntur  libri  mere  humani,  quantumlibet 
fide  humana  veraces  demonstrari  queant.  Quaeso  enim  e.  g.  in 
libris  Ruth,  Esther,  in  epistola  ad  Philemonem  aliisqae,  quaenam 
proponuntur  in  sensu  nostri  auctoris  "  veritates  religiosae"  quae 
facta  ''  sine  quibus  Veritas  religiosa  consistere  non  posset?'' 
luxta  novam  igitur  doctrinam  isti  libri  cum  magna  parte 
aliorum  non  possent  haberi  canonici  in  sensu  ecclesiastico 
huius  appellationis.  Atqui  de  fide  est  in  Conciliis  Florentino, 
Tridentino,  Vaticano  definitum,  ne  de  aliis  dicam,  libros  ibi 
enumeratos  Veteris  et  Novi  Testamenti  "  integros  cum  omnibus  suis 
partibus  "  esse  sacros  et  canonicoSy  ipseque  sensus  huius  appellationis 
est  a  Concilio  Vaticano  diserte  declaratus:  "eos  (integros  cum 
omnibus  suis  partibus)  Ecclesia  pro  sacris  et  canonicis  habet  .  • 
propterea  quod  Spiritu  Sancto  inspirante  conscripti  Deum  kabent 
audorem^  atque  ut  tales  Ecclesiae  traditi  sunt." 

6.  Error  in  ipsa  re  et  doctrina  viri  eruditi,  nisi  ego  fallor, 
originem  habet  ex  errore  methodico.  Voluit  nimirum  ex  rerum 
intestina  necessitate  et  a  priori  decernere  de  amplitud^ne  inspira- 
tionis,  cum  tamen  de  ea  non  nisi  a  posteriori  ex  testimonio  divino 
constare  queat,  Notio  enim  inspirationis  tota  theologica  est,  ac 
proinde  inquirenda  in  divina  revelatione,  ut  haec  in  Ecclesia  Dei 
traditur  et  declaratur,  ex  eademque  revelatione  ab  Ecclesia  propo- 
sita  discamus  oportet  inspirationis  extensionem.  Omissa  quaes- 
tione  de  genuino  conceptu  inspirationis,  quoad  ejus  extenfsionem 
omnino  certum  est,  a)  nomine  excellentia  ScripturOy  Scriptura  sacra, 
et  formulis  scriptum  est,  Scriptura  dicit  bisque  geminis  non  modo 
totam  coUectionem  vel  integros  libros,  sed  singulas  eorum  partes  et 
singulos  etiam  textus  fuisse  ab  ipso  Christo,  ab  Apostolis,  ab  uni- 
versa  Ecclesia  designatos,  h)  hoc  nomen  Sci^ipturae  fuisse  semper 
intellectum  pro  Scriptura  tnspirata  iracra  ypa<t>rj  0€oirv€x>iTTos,  et 
illas  formulas  fuisse  aequipollenter  ac  promiscue  adhibitas  cum 
aliis :  "  Deus  dicit,  Spiritus  Sanctus  dicit,  homo  in  Spiritu  Sancto 
dicit;  c)  banc  excellentiam  Scripturae,  ut  omnis  Scriptura  torn 
nempe  in  integris  libris  turn  in  singulis  partibus  declararetur  et 
crederetur  inspirata  et  verbum  Dei  scriptum,  non  fubse  repetitam 
ab  excellentia  materiae  sed  formaliter  a  modo,  quo  scripta  est,  nt 
nomen  ipsum  inspirationis  satis  manifestum  reddit.  Haec  in 
tractatu  de  Scripturis  divinis  satis  demons trata  nunc  assumo. 

"  Jam  vero  ex  hac  universali  doctrina  consequitur,  illas  partes 
historicas  de  quibus  loquitur  cl.  auctor,  tam  certo  et  indubitanter 
ab  Ecclesia  fuisse  habitas  et  haberi  ut  scriptas  sub  ckarismate 
inspirationis  quam  certo  accensebantur  et  accensentur  Scripturae 
sacrae.  Atqui  numquam  in  Ecclesia  catholica  dubitatnm  est; 
sed  semper  in  homiliis,  in  commentariis,  in  citationibus  Patrum  et 
Doctorum,  in  synopsibus  et  indiculis  librorum  sacrorum  est  ex- 
pressum  et  praedicatum,  e.  g.  caput  I.  Gen.  2-25,  de  quo  auctor 
dissertationis  nominatim  agit,  omnino  pertinere  ad  Scripturwn 
sacramj  ut  profecto  caecus  sit  oporteat,  qui  hac  de  re  dabiom  non 


Inspiration  of  Scripture,  387 

dico  praevalaisse,  sed  permissum  ant  toleratum  aut  aliquando 
aaditom  fuisse  dicat.  Ergo  partes  istae,  ac  singillatim  Gen.  I, 
2-25,  ab  Ecclesia  Catholica  creditae  sunt  et  creduntur  scriptae  sub 
ckarismate  inspirationis^  in  quo  a  fortiori  charisma  infallibilitatis 
inclnditur. 

7.  Lcgantur,  quaeso,  horailiae  Basilii  et  his  gemini  libri 
Ambrosii  ac  iterum  homiliae  hexaemeron  Chrysostomi,  libri  deinde 
Augtistini  in  Genesin  ad  litteram  aliorumque  Patrum  frequentis- 
»imae  lucubrationes  in  historiam  creationis,  in  quibus  interpretatio 
Terboram  ac  sententiarum  diversa  quidem  et  multiplex,  at  per- 
suafio  non  iam  privata  sed  publica  Ecclesiae  de  inspiratione  Moysis 
in  his  scribendis  expressa  prostat  velut  per  se  certa  ac  indubitata 
omnibus  Christianis.  Ch^sostomus  exordiens  enarrationem,  "  has 
Jitteras,  inquit,  quasi  longe  absentibus  Deus  misit,  attulit  autem 
Moyses  .  .  .  Quasi  ad  omnes  nos  clam  at ;  qui  haec  cum  non 
essent,  fecit  ut  essent,  is  et  linguam  meam  ad  horum  enarrationem 
impolit.  Igitur  ita  auscultemus,  ut  quae  non  a  Moyse  sed  per 
linguam  Moysis  ab  omnium  Deo  audiamus*'  horn.  I.  in  Gen. 
Aeqaipollentia  invenies  apud  Basilium  et  Ambrosium. 

8.  Sed  quoniam  adversarius  nescio  quomodo  ad  Hieronymum 
et  Augustinuni  provocavit ;  de  utroque  hoc  doctore  singillatim 
dicendum  est.  Hieronymus  in  Scripturis  agnoscit  "  normam  veri- 
tatis  "  pro  ipsa  scientia  "  de  naturis  rerum,"  quatenus  nempe  de 
Ms  in  Scripturis  aliquid  contineatur.  "  Urges,  ait  contra  Rufinum 
(Apol  1.  UI.  ed.  Martian,  p.  465),  ut  respondeam  de  natura  rerum. 
Si  esset  locus,  possem  tibi  vel  Lucretii  opiniones  juxta  Epicurum, 
vel  Aristotelis  ...  vel  Platonis  atque  Zenonis  .  .  . 
dicere.  Et  ut  ad  Ecclesiam  transeam,  ubi  norma  est  veritatis,  multa 
et  Genesis  et  prophetarum  libri  et  Ecclesiastes  nobis  de  huiusmodi 
quaestionibus  suggerunt."  Eodem  sensu  dissent  in  epistola  ad 
Panlam  (T.  II.  p.  708).  "Dixi,  quomodo  philosophi  solent  dispu- 
tationes  suas  in  physicam,  ethicam,  logicamque  partiri,  ita  et  eloquia 
divina  aut  de  natura  disptitare,  ut  in  Genesi  et  in  Ecclesiaste,  aut 
de  moribus,  ut  in  Proverbiis  et  in  omnibus  sparsim  libris,  aut  de 
logica  pro  qua  nostri  (scriptores  sacri)  theologicen  sibi  vindicant, 
nt  in  Cantico  Canticorum  et  in  Evangeliis."  Aeque  igitur 
tloquia  divina  credit  Hieronymus  in  disputationibus  de  natura 
ac  in  illis  de  moribus  et  de  theologia.  Generatim  Hiero- 
nymus explicat,  quomodo  etiam  quae  minutiora  videantur 
in  sacris  libris,  sint  habenda  vere  ut  Scriptura  divina 
atque  hoc  ipso,  ut  quae  Christus  loquatur  in  homine,  et  quae  homo 
loquatur  per  Spiritum  Sanctum.  Refellens  enim  homines  sine 
dubio  haereticos,  qui  ob  eandem  rationem  quam  nunc  noster  ad- 
versarius inducit  repudiabant  epistolam  ad  Philemonem,  et  similia 
**  humanae  imbecillitatis  exempla"  in  aliis  libris  Veteris  et  Novi 
Testamenti  negabant  esse  dicta  per  Spiritum  Sanctum,  doctor 
maximus  responsum  profert,  quod  prorsus  argumento  praecipuo 
recentis  dissertationis  occurrere  videtur.     "  Quod  si  non  putant 


L 


888  Extract  from  Cardinal.  franzeUn  on  tlie 

eonim  esse  parva  ,  quorum  et  magna  sunt ;  alteram  mihi  condito- 
rem,  juxta  Yalentinum,  Marcionem  et  Apellen,  formicae,  vermium, 
culicum,  locustarum,  alteram  coeli,  terrae,  maris  et  Angelonun 
debent  introducere.  An  potius  eiusdem  potentiae  est  (divioae), 
ingenium  quod  in  maioribus  (in  ''rebus  fidei  et  morum*'  iaxta 
nostrum  auctorem)  exercueris,  etiam  in  minoribus  non  negare  V 
(Prolog,  ad  ep.  Philem.  T.  IV.  p.  442). 

Cur  vero  pro  nova  vindicanda  doctrina  ad  Hieronjmum  in 
ler.  XXVnr.  provocare,  imo  s.  doctoris  verba  ex  contextu  avulsa 
praefigere  placuerit  velut  totius  dissertationis  compendium,  nemo 
facile  intellexerit.  Nee  Hieronymus  nee  uUus  umquam  ss.  Patram 
sensit  aut  dixit,  scriptores  sacros  quandoque  sibi  relictos  opiniones 
falsas  sui  temporis  combibisse,  hosque  errores  ut  suam  sententiam 
in  libris  canonicis  perscripsisse.  Inter  doctrinas  enim,  quae  in 
universa  Ecclesia  a  nemine  in  controversiam  vocatae  constanti  et 
unanimi  praedicatione  traderentur,  omnes  cum  Qrigene  (Praefat 
in  II.  de  princip.)  etiam  banc  babebant:  ^'Scripturam  sacram  (sine 
distinctione)  esse  a  Spiritu  Sancto  inspiratam.*'  Hieronymus  in 
loco  citato  et  in  Matth.  XIV.  9.  non  aliud  dicit,  nisi  quod  ali- 
quando  in  Scripturis  res  exprimuntur  verbis  ac  nominibus,  quibos 
non  ab  auctore  Scriptiu*aram  et  secundum  rei  veritatem,  sed  ab 
aliis  secundum  apparentiam  censentur.  Idque  locum  babet  non 
modo  in  ''  rebus  profanis"  sed  aequo  in  dogmaticis,  ut  exempla  a.s. 
doctore  inducta  satis  demonstrant.  Ananias  pseudopropheta  ibi 
appellatur  propheta,  quod  nomen  LXX  omisisse  Hieronymo  non 
probatur.  ''  Propbetam  (Septuaginta)  non  dixere  Ananiam, 
ne  scilicet  propbetam  viderentur  dicere,  qui  propbeta  non  erat; 
quasi  non  multa  in  Scripturis  Sanctis  dicantur  iuxta  opinionem 
illius  temporis,  quo  gesta  referuntur,  et  non  iuxta  quod  rei  Veritas 
continebat.  Denique  et  loseph  in  Evangelio j^a/er  Domini  vocatur, 
et  ipsa  Maria  quae  sciebat  se  a  Spiritu  Sancto  concepisse  .  .  . 
loquitur  ad  filium :  ego  et  pater  tuua  dolentes  quaerebamus  te." 

"  Multo  magis  miror,  viro  docto  opportunam  visam  fuisse  appel- 
lationem  ad  8.  Augustinum.  In  loco  quem  citat  (de  actis  cum  Felice 
Manicb.  1.  I.  c.  10),  nullum  est  vestigium  sententiae,  de  qua  none 
quaeritur.  Non  enim  de  textibus  agit  Augustinus  qui  sint  in  Scrip- 
tiu*a,  sed  de  doctrinis  quae  nee  in  Scriptura  uUo  modo  reperiuntor, 
nee  in  praedicatione  ecclesiastica  traduntur.  Porro  non  dicit,  nihil 
omnino  in  doctrina  Christiana  doceri  de  sole  et  luna ;  sed  ea  quae 
Felix  affirmaverat  per  paracletum  Manicbaeum  esse  revelata  **de 
initio,  medio  et  fine,  de  fabrica  mundi,  quare  facta  est  et  unde  facta 
est  et  qui  fecerint,  quare  dies  et  quare  nox,  de  cursu  solis  et  lunae 
*'  baec  inquam  dogmata  Manichaei  negat  A.ugustinus  continent  in 
Evangelio,  non  autem  dicit  aut  somniavit,  ea  ibi  legi  quidemet 
nihilominus  posse  censeri  falsa. 

Quid  doctor  Hipponensis  senserit  de  inspiratione  et  infallibili 
divina  veritate  omnium  textuum  in  libris  canonicis,  ipse  declarant 
locis  pluribus,  in  quibus  repetit  illud  notissimum :  ego  solis  eis 
Scripturaram  libris  qui  jam  canonici   appellantur,  didici   hunc 


Inspiration  of  Scripture.  389 

timoreni  honoremque  deferre,  tit  nullum  eorum  auctorem  scrihendo 
aliqutd  errasse  Jirmissime  credam,  Ac  ei  aliquid  in  eie  offendero 
litteris,  qucMl  videatur  contrarium  veritati,  nihil  aliud  quam  vel 
codicem  mendosum  esse,  vel  interpretem  non  assecutum,  quod 
dictum  est,  vel  me  non  intellexisse,  non  ambigam  .  .  .  De 
prophetarum  et  Apostolornm  scriptis,  quod  omni  errore  careanty 
dubitart  nefarium  est "  Aug.  ad  EGeronym.  ep.  82  n.  8  ;  Civ.  Dei 
XI  3 ;  contr.  Fauat.  XL  5.  6. 

I^)eciatim  autem  in  re,  de  qua  nunc  disputamus,  in  iis  inquam 
testimoniis,  quae  de  historia  creationis  aliquid  continent,  Augus- 
tinus  testatur  ;     "  Scripturam    veractn    esse    nemo    duhitat    nisi 
infidelis  out  impius'  in  Gen.  ad  litt.  I.  VII.  c.  28.     Prae  ceteris 
vcro  lectu  dignissima  sunt,  quae  disputat  1.  I.  quatuor  ultimis 
capitibns  c.   18-21,  in  quibus  haec  potissimum  advertantur  a  s. 
doctore  inculcata  a)  Aliud  est  quaerere  de  interpretatione,  aliud 
de  sensu  libri ;  ilia  saepe  est  incerta  vel  erronea  :  hie  semper  est 
infallibiliter  verus.  h)  Interpretatio  in  locis  Scripturae  quae  agunt 
de  rebus  naturalibus,  multum  juvari  potest  per  scientias  natu- 
rales.(^)  c)     At  si  constat,  in  scientiis  naturalibus  aliquam  senten- 
tiam  proferri  contrariam  genuino  et  indubio  sensui  Scripturae,  ilia 
certissime  pro  errore  haberi  debet;  adeoque  studendum  est,  ut 
etiam  ex  propriis  principiis  scientiae  naturalis  refeUatur,  quod  si 
Dondum  fieri  potest,  ex  principio  fidei  '*  nuUa  dubitatione  credamus 
ease  £alsissimam."     Nam  d)  "  quidquid  his  nostris  litteris  profertur 
contrarium "  (agitur  de  rebus  naturalibus),  id   ^'  contrarium  est 
catholicae  fidei."  e)    Eo  majori  cautione  opus  est,  ne  nostram 
interpretationem  temere  venditemus  ut  certam  cum  ea  fortasse 
flensum  nostrum  falsum  non  sensum  Scripturae  verum  contineat, 
quae  qnidem  temeritas  et  fidelibus  molestiam  tristitiamque  ingerit, 
et  infidelium  salutem  impedit ;    ^*  si  namque  hos  libros  putaverint 
fiUiaciter  esse  eonscriptos  de  his  rebus,  quas  ipsi  infideles  indubitafis 
fomeris  percipere  potuerunt,  quo  paeto  iisdem  libris  eredituri  sunt 
de  resurreetione  mortuorum,  de  spe  vitae  ctetemae  regnoque  coelorum  ?*' 
Plurium   ss.  Doctorum   testimoniis   non    opus  esse   existimo, 
niflnifeste  enim  hi  quos  obiter  citavi,  modo  ipso  loquendi  demon- 
Btnmt,  doctrinam  quam  proponunt,  esse  universalem  et  communem 
onmibus  Christianis,  quae  nefarie  et  non  nisi  ab  impiis  et  in  fideli- 
bus negetur.      Goncludam  ergo  ex  omnibus  praestitutis,  novam 
doctrinam  quae  proponitur,  nee  cum  integritate  canonis  Scriptu- 
rtrum  consistere,  nee  cum  manifesta  praedicatione  ecclesiastica 
posse. 


1  flinc  ait :  "  esse  lucem  corporalem  coelestem,  aut  etiam  supra 
floelum  vel  ante  coelum,  cui  nox  succedere  potuerit  tamdiu  non  est  contra 
Mem^  donee  veritate  certtssima  refellatur.  Quod  si  factum  fu^rft^  non 
hoA  iiab^t  divina  Scriptura,  sed  hoc  senserat  humana  ignorantia  (inter- 
ittibV*  Qui  igitur  sentit  in  hisce  rebus,  aliquam  sententiam  esse  veri- 
faBlMiliiiimnii  contrariam,  et  nihilominus  errorem  hunc  putat  inesse 
%i8nj^tanie,  is  ab  Augustino  iudicatur  sen  tire  *'  contra  ndem.'*  Quia 
:  Bon  videt,  in  nova  doctrina  quam  impugnamus.  omnino  iUud 
stetai,  quod  Augustinus  damnat  r 

fOUV.  2p 


L 


[    890    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 

« 

[In  publishing  this  interesting  letter  of  our  reverend 
correspondent,  we  would  direct  his  attention  to  the  precise 
terms  of  a  portion  of  the  important  passage  which  he 
quotes  from  Benedict  XIV. 

The  Pope,  no  doubt,  as  is  clearly  indicated  in  this  pas- 
sage, "  concedes  to  the  Bishops  throughout  the  Church  a 
certain  extent  of  licence  as  to  the  pubUcation  and  enforce- 
ment of  laws  issued  by  him."  But,  as  Benedict  XIV., 
expressly  declares,  a  Bishop  who  considers,  in  the  case  of 
any  special  law,  that  sufficient  reasons  exist  for  acting  on 
the  Ucence  thus  conceded,  is  bound  to  set  forth  those 
reasons  to  the  Holy  See — "  rationes  repraesentare  omnino 
teneturJ'  Then,  the  Pontiff  adds,  it  is  for  the  Holy  See  to 
consider  what  weight  is  to  be  attached  to  the  reasons  thus 
set  forth,  and  if  the  reasons  are  considered  valid,  to  exempt 
the  dioceses  in  question  from  the  obhgation  of  the  law. — 
Ed.  I.  E.  R.] 

Abyssits  abyssum  invocat  (Pa.  xli.  8.) 

Vert  Rrv.  and  Dkar  Sir, — You  must  not  imagine,  that  because 
I  quote  a  text  of  Scripture  to  head  this  paper,  I  am,  therefore  going 
to  preach  a  sermon.  I  desire  only  to  observe  how  the  question  of 
"  Testimonials"  has  opened  to  us  a  kind  of  abyss  into  the  subject 
of  "Apostolical  Constitutions,"  and  how  this  latter  subject  now 
opens  to  us  a  yet  wider  and  deeper  abyss  into  the  question  of 
Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 

The  subject  appears  to  me  a  grave  one,  presenting,  as  it  does, 
questions  of  great  practical  importance,  respecting  which  we  should, 
if  possible,  have  clear,  distinct,  and  well  defined  notions.  I  have 
much  hesitation  and  diffidence  in  approaching  it,  and,  if  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  to  take  it  in  hands,  it  is  with  the  view  of  "  casting 
my  bread  on  the  running  waters  that  1  may  find  it  again,**  rather 
than  with  the  pretention  of  being  *'  a  master  in  Israel^  on  a  subject 
that  requires  more  thought,  and  time,  and  study,  than  I  can  devote 
to  it. 

That  there  is  Canon  Law  in  Ireland,  that  it  binds,  and  that  its 
obligation  is  recognised,  can  admit  of  no  doubt ;  but  the  questions 
that  practically  concern  us  are,  to  what  extent  does  it  exist,  to  what 
extint  does  it  bind,  and  to  what  extent,  consequently,  are  we  to 
recognise  its  obligation  amongst  us  ? 


Correspondence.  '     391 

The  Church  has  been  legislating  from  the  commencement,  and, 
hj  this  hour  of  day,  her  enactments  with  the  voluminous  com- 
meotaries  of  all  sorts,  that  have  been  written  upon  them,  would, 
in  themselves,  make  a  very  considerable  library. 

This  immense  compilation  exhibits  the  Church  in  the  midiiit  of 
a  flnctuating  world  accommodating  herself  to  its  unceasing 
vicissitudes,  and  the  countless  varying  forms  social  and  political 
of  different  nations  and  peoples  in  continuing  the  Mission  of  her 
Divine  Founder  anoongst  mankind.  The  legislation  of  the  Church 
must  consequently  have  largely  partaken  of  the  world's  mutability, 
and  when  we  raise  the  question  about  Canon  Law  in  Ireland,  it 
cannot  be  meant  to  ask,  if  this  enormous  mass  of  legislation,  com- 
posed as  it  could  not  but  be,  of  heterogeneous  elements  of  all  sorts, 
apply  in  its  entirety  to  this  country,  no  more  than  a  similar 
question  could  be  asked  with  respect  to  any  other  country,  or,  indeed^ 
with  respect  to  the  Church  at  large. 

Our  scope,  therefore,  becomes  narrowed,  and  we  are  now  to  ask, 
if  Canon  Law,  as  at  present  upheld  by  the  Supreme  Authority  of 
the  Church,  is  in  force  in  its  full  entirety  in  Ireland,  and,  if  not,  how 
far  are  we  exempt,  and  on  what  grounds,  from  its  operation  ? 

This  question  may  be  asked  with  respect  to  other  countries  as 
well  as  Ireland,  and  it  conducts  us,  at  once,  into  the  wide  subject 
of  the  general  jurisprudence  of  the  Church  in  adapting  her  laws, 
whether  general  or  particular,  to  the  exigencies  she  may  have  to 
deal  with,  acconling  to  occurring  events  throughout  the  world  at 
large,  or  the  special  circumstances  of  the  various  nations,  of  which 
the  world  is  composed. 

In  considering  this  very  grave  subject  we  must  take  account  of 
the  different  Authorities  possessing  and  exercising  legislative  powers 
in  the  Church,  and  how  these  Authorities  harmonize  their  action 
respectively  jind  conjointly,  so  that  according  to  the  beautiful 
figure  of  the  Apostle,  whilst  she  consists  *^  of  many  memhers^'\'ihe  is 
^*yet  but  one  body**  (1  Cor.  xii.  20),  ^^  being  compacted  and  fitly 
joined  together,  by  what  every  joint  snppliethy  according  to  the 
operation  in  the  measure  of  every  part,  and  maketh  increase  of  the 
body  unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  charity,*^  (Ephes.  iv.  16). 

Well  then,  from  the  day  the  Apostles  met  in  Council 
in  Jerusalem,  the  General  Councils  of  the  Church  have  authority 
from  her  Divine  Founder  to  enact  laws  for  the  universal  faithful. 
In  like  manner  the  Supreme  Pastor  has  authority  equally  extensive, 
having  to  feed  the  sheep  and  lambs  of  the  entire  Fold. 

Under  him  the  Bishops  throughout  the  Church  have  combined 
legislative  powers  in  their  National  and  Provincial  Synods  to  legis- 
late for  the  country,  or  province,  within  their  jurisdiction,  as  each 
of  them  separately  can  do,  also,  for  his  own  diocese  in  particular. 

In  the  legislative  action  of  these  various  Authorities  there  must 
be  no  collision,  '*f?o  schism  in  the  body^*  {Cor,  xii.  25),  but  **  all  the 
members  of  the  body^   whereas   they   are   many,  yet  are  one  body 


892  Correspondence. 

(Ibid.  12).  This  combination  and  harmony  are  the  blessed  result  of 
condescension  on  the  part  of  the  higher  to  the  lower  Powers,  within 
a  certain  measure,  as  also  of  correlative  subordination  of  the  latter 
to  the  former ;  and  it  is  supremely  interesting  and  admirable  to  see 
how  this  condescension  and  subordination  work  together,  as  the 
Apostle  would  say,  "/o/*  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry  y  foi  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ^  (Kphes,  iv,  12). 

By  all  means  we  are  to  be  understood  as  not  speaking  now  of 
faith  or  morals,  as  the  objects  of  the  Church's  legislation.  These 
come  from  on  high,  and  are  as  immutable,  "  (w  the  Father  of  ligfUs 
Himself  with  whom  there  is  no  change^  nor  shadow  of  alteration*^ 
(James  i.  17). 

No  doubt,  faith  and  morals  do  come  within  the  scope  of  the 
Church's  legislation  for  application  and  enforcement;  but  onr 
concern  at  present  is  with  discipline,  and  the  enactment  of 
the  disciplinary  laws  of  the  Church,  and  we  are  to  see  how  from 
above  and  below  the  Divine  Spirit,  in  ruling  the  Church,  maintains 
harmony  and  co-operation  between  the  various  enacting  powers. 

There  is  condescension,  in  the  first  place,  from  above.  A  General 
Council,  or  the  Pope,  makes  all  due  allowances  for  the  state  of 
particular  churches.  They  have  their  birth,  their  infancy,  their 
maturity,  and,  sometimes,  even  their  decline,  as  history  tells  us.  In 
these  different  states  much  is  left  to  the  local  Episcopate,  who, 
according  to  their  zeal  and  discretion,  have  to  act  on  liie  Divine 
Maxim  ;  "  neither  do  tliey  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles ;  otherwise 
the  bottles  breaks  and  the  wine  runneth  out,  and  the  bottles  perish. 
But  new  wine  they  put  into  new  vessels,  and  both  are  preserved'* 
(Matt.  ix.  17).  For  this  discernment  they  have  grace  from  above, 
and  St.  Paul  would  therefore  exhort  them,  as  he  did  the  local 
Bishops  of  Asia,  saying :  '*  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  and  to  the  whole 
flock,  wherein  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  placed  you  Bishops  to  ruU  the 
Church  of  God,  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood^* 
(ActH  XX.  28). 

We  may^  therefore,  consider  the  Supreme  Legislator  and 
Ruler,  the  Pope,  as  dealing  with  particular  churches,  either  in 
applying  to  them  the  "  jus  commune  "  or  the  body  qf  Canon  Law, 
as  at  present  upheld  in  the  Church  by  his  authority,  or  issuing 
new  enactments  in  the  form  of*  general  Apostolic  Constitutions  " 
emanating  from  his  own  immediate  legislative  authority.  He 
would,  in  either  case,  concede  much  to  the  wisdom  and  zeal  of  the 
Bishops  in  their  respective  dioceses,  and  still  more  to  a  provincial 
or  national  body  of  Bishops  acting  in  concert.  He  would 
naturally  take  account  of  all  the  local  circumstances  to  be  dealt 
with,  and  seeing  that  the  Bishops  on  the  spot  were  fully  cognizant 
of  these  local  circumstances,  he  would  aUow  them  great  latitude 
of  discretion  to  apply,  or  not  to  apply,  or  modify  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  general  provisions  of  Canon  Law,  or  his  own  enact- 
ments, such  as  would  be  meant  and  intended  for  general  applica- 


Correspondence.  898 

tion.  With  respect  to  the  "jus  commune,"  or  general  Canon 
Law,  he  would  recommend  them,  by  all  moans,  to  have  it  in  view, 
and  to  apply  it,  as  far  as  local  circumstances  would  permit,  and 
keep  it  before  their  eyes,  as  the  "  norma  rect6  statuendi,  recte 
decemendi,  recte  judicandi,  et  recte  agendi ;  **  but  they  should,  at 
the  same  time,  take  account  of  local  impossibilities,  local  difficul- 
ties, and  local  exigencies  of  all  sorts,  bearing  in  mind  that  the 
laws  of  the  Church  do  not  caU  for  overstrained  efforts  in  their 
application. 

Just  at  this  point  are  we  face  to  face  with  the  grave  canonical 
questions  :  I*',  what  promulgation  is  pecessary  for  Papal  Constitu- 
tions of  a  general  tenor  to  give  them  the  force  of  law  ;  2°,  how  far 
they  need  the  acceptation  of  the  Bishops  in  different  countries ; 
and  3°,  how  far  the  Bishops  are  bound  to  publish  and  enforce  them 
within  their  respective  jurisdictions?  We  know  the  varying 
views  of  canonists  and  theologians  on  these  points,  but  we  also 
know  that  mere  shades  and  shadows  are  enough  to  put  them  in 
speculation  on  opposite  sides,  whereas,  viewing  their  teaching  prac- 
tically we  find  them,  in  so  manj  instances,  to  agree.  It  is  in  the 
hope  of  finding  this  "concordia  discors'^that  I  venture  to  examine 
then*  differences  on  the  questions  just  referred  to. 

In  the  first  place,  some  say,  or  rather  it  is  the  more  general 
teaching,  that  it  is  sufficient  to  have  these  enactments  promulgated 
in  Rome  by  a  certain  posting  of  them,  according  to  an  established 
nsage  for  the  purpose,  and  they  maintain  themselves  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  every  government  is  competent  to  fix  its  own  mode  of 
promulgation,  provided  only  that  it  affords  means  for  its  enact- 
ments becioming  known  to  those  whom  they  may  concern. 

On  the  other  hand,  advantage  is  taken  of  this  proviso,  and  it 
is  objected  that  promulgation  at  Rome  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
CImrch  at  large,  and  that,  tlierefore,  the  enactment  cannot  have 
the  force  of  law  in  any  country  till  it  be  also  promulgated  by  the 
Bishops  of  that  country. 

But  these  two  views,  when  practically  considered,  are  easily 
brought  into  harmony.  By  all  means,  the  law  is  a  law,  when  pro- 
mulgated in  the  appointed  manner  in  Rome,  and  has,  from  that 
moment  a  binding  force,  or,  in  other  words,  binds  potentialiy 
throughofut  the  Church.  But  that  it  actuality  binds  everywhere — 
this  cannot  be,  till  it  be  made  known  through  some  authentic 
medium,  and  this  medium  can  be  no  other  than  the  Bishops. 
Consequently  both  views,  however  speculatively  discordant,  have 
practically  ^e  same  operation  and  effect,  and  therefore  become 
reconciled. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  asserted,  that  these  Papal  Constitutions 


894  Correspondence. 

admitted,  on  the  other  side,  as  regards  the  Constitutions  themselres, 
but  it  is  asked,  do  the  Popes  in  issuing  these  enactments,  mean  and 
intend,  that  the  Bishops  on  receiving  them,  will,  at  once,  give  them* 
publicity,  and,  without  using  any  discretion  on  their  own  part, 
enforce  their  observance  ?  Here  we  have  before  us  two  questions, 
one  a  question  of  law,  and  the  other  a  question  of  fact.  Some 
canonists  confine  their  attention  to  the  question  of  law,  whilst 
others,  taking  a  wider  view  of  the  matter,  inquire  also  what,  in 
point  of  fact,  the  Pope  wishes  and  intends  the  Bishops  should  do. 
Both  parties,  1  think,  can  be  brought  to  agree  by  listening  to  what 
the  Popes  themselves  say,  as  they  vie  with  each  other  in  their 
respect,  reverence,  and  loyalty  towards  the  Supreme  Head  of  the 
Church  in  his  legislative  capacity. 

We  have  already,  in  another  paper,  produced  the  words  of  the 
great  Oracle,  Benedict  XIV.,  on  the  subject,  and  to  save  the  trouble 
of  reference,  it  may  be  well  to  quote  them  again  for  the  purpose  of 
the  present  argument.     They  are : — 

"Nonnunquam  experientia  demonstrat  aliquod  ex  hujusmodi 
generalibus  statutis,  licet  plerisquj  Provinciis,  ac  Dioecesibus  utile 
atque  proficuum,  alicui  tamen  Provinciae  aut  Dioecesi  opportunum 
non  esse ;  id  quod  Legislatori  compertum  non  erat,  cum  ipse 
peculiares  omnes  locorum  res,  atque  rationes  perspectas  habere 
nequeat.  In  his  itaque  rerum  circumstantiis  Episcopus  intelligens 
Apostolicae  Sedis  legem  in  Dioecesi  sua  noxium  effectum  producere 
posse,  non  modo  suas  Romano  Pontifici  rationes  repraesentare  non 
prohibetur^  quin  potius  ad  id  omnino  tenetur.  Neque  Romani 
Pontifices  unquam  renuerunt  inferiorum  rationibus  aures  praebere ; 
et  quoties  has  satis  validas  esse  agnoverunt,  minime  recusanmt 
aliquas  Provincias  aut  Dioeceses  generalium  Constitutionum  suarum 
lege  eximere." — {De  Syn,  Dioeces,  Lib.  ix.  cap.  8.) 

Here  let  us  observe,  that  the  illustrious  Pontiff  fully  admits, 
that  in  framing  and  issuing  their  general  Constitutions,  the  Popes 
cannot  be  cognizant  of  how  things  are  everywhere,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, it  may  happen  that  certain  of  the  provisions  in  these 
enactments  may  be  inexpedient,  and  even  injurious,  in  Provinces 
and  Dioceses  here  and  there  throughout  the  Church.  On  this 
account  it  plainly  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Bkhops  not  to  publish 
them,  or  take  any  steps  for  th%ir  enforcement,  until  they  have 
examined  them ;  and  in  this  examination  they  are  admitted  to  be 
competent  judges,  as  to  whether  tKey  are  to  be  put  into  operation, 
and  if  they  come  to  an  adverse  conclusion,  they  are  to  suspend  all 
further  action,  tiD  they  communicate  with  the  Pope,  and  receive 
his  instructions. 

It  is,  moreover,  to  be  noticed  that  Benedict  XIV.  points  out, 
that  this  mode  of  acting  was  a  constant  rule  of  conduct  observed 
uniformly  by  the  Supreme  Pontiff.  ("  Nunquam  renuerunL^) 
Of  this  we  have  evidence  so  far  back  as  the  thirteenth  century,  in 
a  celebrated  Constitution  of  Boniface  VUL,  which  holds  a  pro- 


Correspondence.  895 

minent  place  in  Canon  Law,  and  states  as  follows : — "  Quia 
Bomanns  Pontifex  loconim  specialium  consuetudines  et  statuta, 
cum  sint  facti,  et  in  facto  consistunt,  potest  probabiliter  ignorare ; 
ipsis,  dum  tamen  sint  rationabilia,  per  Constitutionem  a  se  noviter 
editam  nisi  expresse  caveatiur  in  ipsa,  non  intelligetur  in  aliquo 
derogare." — {In  cap.  Licet,  de  Constit,  in  6  ibL) 

Here  it  is  plainly  put  forward,  that  the  Popes,  probably  not 
being  acquainted  with  local  usages  and  statutes,  do  not  mean  to 
interfere  with  thero,  even  though  the  letter  of  the  Constitutions 
they  issue  should  appear  to  intend  their  abrogation. 

These  declarations  show  us  in  the  clearest  light  the  spirit  of 
condescension  and  concession  that  actuates  the  Supreme  Rulers  of 
the  Church  in  their  Constitutions,  and  we  are  warranted  in 
interpreting  their  concessions  in  a  large  and  generous  sense,  in 
favour  of  the  discretion  allowed  the  Bishops  within  the  sphere  of 
their  respective  jurisdictions. 

Our  third  question  is,  how  far  are  the  Bishops  bound  to  publish 
and  enforce  general  Pontifical  Constitutions  ?  This  question  sup- 
poses, from  what  we  have  said,  that  a  Bishop  has  examined  a 
Constitution,  and  finds  nothing  in  it  to  object  to,  on  local  grounds. 
This  being  so,  he  becomes,  without  reserve,  the  humble  servant  of 
the  Servts  Servorum  Dei,  and  with  all  dutifulness  he  sees  to  the 
publication  and  observance  of  the  enactment  in  his  diocese. 

Hius  do  we  see  the  perfect  harmony  that  prevails  above  and 
below,  by  the  confidence  the  Supreme  Pontiff  extends  to  the  Bishops 
o?er  the  entire  world,  and  the  corresponding  fidelity  and  Royalty 
with  which  they  sustain  and  carry  out  his  supreme  dominion,  so  as 
to  unitate  the  action  of  Divine  Providence,  "  ruling  f ram  end  to  end 
mightily f  and  ordering  all  things  sweetly. ^^ 

So  far  I  have  been  dealing  with  views  and  considerations  of 
general  import,  and  I  have  been  brought  much  farther  than  I  had 
anticipated.  However,  it  was  necessary  to  clear  the  ground  for  our 
subject  respecting  Canon  Law  in  Ireland,  and  having  done  so,  I 
feel  I  should  trespass  unduly  on  your  space,  were  I  to  go  farther,  at 
present,  more  especially  as  I  apprehend  the  subject  must  branch 
oat  into  a  variety  of  details,  which  will  furnish  ample  matter  for  a 
distinct  paper. 

I  shall,  therefore,  come  to^Etn  end  by  summing  up  in  the 
following  conclusions  what  I  have  attempted  to  say  so  far : — 

1°.  It  is  most  desirable  to  have  clear  ideas  upon  the  state  of 
Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 

2°.  Canon  Law  in  its  entirety  cannot  be  observed  in  this 
country  no  more  than  in  any  other  country,  on  account  of  the 
mutability  of  human  affairs,  and  the  Church  having  to  adapt  her- 
self, moreover,  to  local  exigencies,  as  she  has  had  to  deal  with  them 
from  time  to  time  throughout  the  world. 

3*.  The  subject,  however,  becoming  narrowed  in  its  scope,  the 
qu^ion  respecting  Ireland  is,  how  far  Canon  Law,  a^  at  present 


896  Correyxmdenee. 

upheld  by  the  Supreme  Authority  of  the  universal  Church,  is  ef 
obligation  in  our  National  Church  ? 

4°.  This  question  brings  under  consideration  the  various 
legislative  Authorities  of  the  Church,  General  Councils,  the  Supreme 
Pontiff,  &c.,  &c. 

5°.  These  various  Authorities  act  in  perfect  harmony  by  the 
relations  subsisting  between  them,  in  virtue  of  which  the  Roman 
Pontiff  concedes  to  the  Bishops  throughout  the  Church  a  certain 
extent  of  licence  as  to  the  publication  and  enforcement  of  the  laws 
issued  by  him. 

6°.  Seeing  that  a  particular  Pontifical  Constitution  is  in  no  wise 
inexpedient,  having  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  his  diocese,  the 
Bishop  publishes,  and  enforces  the  enactments,  and  it  has  its  fmrce. 
not  as  from  his  authority,  but  as  emanating  from  the  Supreme 
Head  of  the  Church. 

I  deemed  it  necessary  to  clear  up  these  points,  in  order  to 
approach  the  question  of  our  local  Canon  Law,  or  Canon  Law  as 
binding  in  Ireland.  I  desire,  however,  before  finishing,  to  say, 
that  I  by  no  means  assume  to  myself  any  authority  in  discussing 
this  important  subject.  My  object  is  rather  to  subject  it  to 
discussion  at  the  hands  of  all  who  are  concerned  in  any  way  in 
conducting  the  government  of  our  National  Church,  and  who  desire, 
as  we  should  all  desire,  *^  to  keep  the  unhy  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace'^  (Ephes,  iv.  3). 

I  have  the  honour  to  remain.  Very  Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  very 
respectfully  yours,  X.  Z. 


Our  National  Catechism. 

TO   THE    EDITOR   OP   THE   IRISH    EC0LB8TA8T1CAL   RECORD. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir, — In  his  essay  'on  Religious  Instruction  in 
Intermediate  Schools,  lately  published  in  the  Record,  Dr.  Hutch 
makes  reference  to  the  good  fortune  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland 
who  *' possess  a  Catechism  which,  for  fulness,  accuracy  and 
precision,  leaves  little  to  be  desired."  Every  Priest  in  the  land, 
I  have  no  doubt,  will  agree  with  Dr.  Hutch  in  his  commendation 
of  our  National  Catechism.  It  is  an  admirable  compendium  of 
Christian  Doctrine,  containing^within  a  small  compass  a  large 
share  of  theological  learning.  For  the  higher  classes  in  our 
colleges  and  schools,  for  Catholic  men  and  women  who  wish  to 
improve  or  revive  their  knowledge  of  the  teaching  of  the  Church, 
and  for  persons  outside  the  true  fold  of  Christ  who  may  desire  to 
learn  what  we  believe  and  what  we  are  bound  to  practise, 
Dr.  Butler's  Catechism, — for  with  all  the  changes  and  revisions  it 
has  undergone  it  is  still  substantially  the  work  of  that  great 
prelate, — is  an  excellent  exposition  of  Catholic  faith  and  morality. 
Shorter  and  less  controversial  in  its  tone  than  Hay's  '*  Sincere 
Christian"   or  Challoner's   ^Catholic  Christian  Instructed,"  it 


Correspondence.  397 

sores   the    same    purpose    for  which    these  books  have   been 
composed. 

Bat  there  are  many  priests   and  other  catechists  of   large 

experience  who  consider  onr  National  Catechism  not  as  fitting 

aa  would  be  desirable  for  those  for  whose  use  and  benefit  it  is 

mainly  intended,  that  is  to  say,  for  school  children  under  twelve 

years,  and  for  youths  of  a  more  advanced  age  who  are  illiterate, 

and  are,  therefore,  obliged  to  learn  the  Christian  Doctrine  by  ear 

akme.    For  such  as  these,  who  ordinarily  constitute  the  classes 

preparing  for  Holy  Communion  and  Confirmation,  the  Catechism 

is  4oagnt  to  be  unsuitable,  partly  by  reason  of  its  "  fulness,"  to 

use  Dr.  Hutch's  word,  and  also  because,  though  it  may  deserve 

praise  for  the  "  accuracy  and  precision  "  of  its  terminology,  it  is 

not  written  in  that  simple  language  which  should,  with  little  or  no 

explanation,   convey  clear  ideas   to  the   minds   of  readers   and 

hearers.     It  is  believed  that  the  little  book  could  be  reduced  to  a 

;      still  smaller  size,  and  that  its  language  could  be  simplified,  to  the 

>      decided  advantage  of  teachers  and  pupils.     It  is  only  when  our 

p      school-days  are  over,   when    our   mental    faculties    have    been 

p      considerably  developed  and  when  our  acquaintance  with  men  and 

books  has  been  extended,  that  we  appreciate  as  we  ought  this 

condensed  manual  of  Christian  Doctrine.     Now,  stories  written  to 

interest  children  differ  in  subject  and  style  from  those  works  of 

fiction  composed  for  the  amusement  of  older  heads ;  and  so,    I 

[      respectfofly  but  earnestly  contend,  should  our  elementary  catechism 

differ  in  matter  and  manner  from  a  doctrinal  work  which  we 

cannot  understand  to  our  satisfaction,  until  we  have  "  passed  the 

Bishop  "  by  many  a  year. 

Our  National  Catechism  is  deemed  unfitting  for  the  classes  I 
jiave  indicated  on  account  of  its  *'  fulness."  Could  not  some  of 
it  be  omitted  altogether,  and  much  of  it  be  given  in  a  more 
abridged  form  ?  Take,  for  instance,  the  chapters  on  the  Com- 
Baandraents  and  compare  them  with  the  corresponding  chapters  of 
the  catechism  used  in  England,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  latter 
are  much  more  concise  than  ours,  and  yet  are  adapted  to  afford 
diUdren  of  tender  years  and  illiterate  adults  a  sufficiently  correct 
notion  of  what  is  commanded  or  forbidden  by  each  precept  of  the 
t^«calogue.  Or,  take  our  form  of  reciting  the  Acts  of  Faith, 
Hope  and  Charity  and  contrast  it  with  the  forms  used  in  other 
coantries,  and  especially  with  one  that  is  often  heard  at  Mass  in 
Rcndi  Churches,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  those  important  prayers 
conid  be  drawn  up  in  simpler  words  for  the  use  of  the  young  and 
Ae  tmeducated. 

little  need  be  said  regarding  the  unsuitableness  of  the 
hnigiiige  of  our  National  Catechism.     It  is  acknowledged  on  all 


398  Correspondence. 

Surely  they  deserve  our  pity  rather  than  our  censure  when  they 
show  some   unwillingness  to  apply  their  minds   to   a   lesson  set 
before  them  in  a  most  unattractive  form.     Dr.  Hutch  tells  us  how 
experienced  catechists   insist   on  making  their  pupils  learn  the 
ipsissima  verba  of  the  book.     I  remember  when  I  had  to  learn  the 
ipsissima  verba  in  my  childhood  ;  and  I  have  a  lively  recollection 
of  my  strong  aversion  to  that  ponderously-worded  sixth  chapter 
in  Butler's  Catechism,  with  its  heavy  account  of  the  corruption  of 
our  whole  nature,  the  darkness  of  our  understanding,  the  weakness 
of  our  will  and  our  inclination  (it  was  propensity  in  some  versions,) 
to  evil.     Dark,  indeed,  was  my  understanding   of  thaf  chapter 
then,  although  I  had  the  ipsissima  verba  as  accurately  and  precisely 
as  possible,  and  was  able  to  give  a  meaning  for  all  the  **  hard  words/' 
At  the  same  period  of  my  life,  being  then  "  in  the  Third  Book,' 
I  had  no  more  idea  of  what  the  Council  of  Trent  was  than  I  have 
now  of  the  interior  of  the  moon, — no  more  than  those  **  in  the 
Third  Book  **  to-day  have  on  the  same  subject — yet  my  catechism 
informed  me,  as  it  still  informs  youngsters  of  eight  or  ten  years, 
that  it  is  a  decree  of  this  same  Council  which   "  condemns  and 
annuls'*  clandestine  marriages,  wherever  that  decree  happens  to 
be  published.     The  learned  Priest  who  prepared  us  for  our  first 
communion  did  not  tell  us  what  all  this  meant,  though  he  insisted 
vigorously  on  our  learning  the  ipsissima  verba^  for  he  knew  well 
that  it  would  be  simply  a  waste  of  time  to  be   describing  the 
Council  of  Trent  to  a  number  of  very  small  boys,  many  of  whom 
could  not  spell  the  word,  clandestinity^  and  not  one  of  whom  conld 
point  out  Trent  upon  the  map.     It  is  all  very  well  to  make  little 
children  and  poor  illiterate  servants  learn  the  words  of  the  book, 
but  common  sense  requires  that  the  words  should  be  such  as  they 
can  understand,  and  that  their  heads  should  not  be  encumbered 
with  phrases  fit  only  for  the  lecture  hall  of  a  theological  seminary. 
It  was  expected  that  the  language,  at  least,  of  the  Catechism 
would  have  been  altered  for  the  better  and  made  more  suitable 
for  young  minds  during  the  late  revision.     A  little  was  done  in 
this  way ;  but  that  small  improvement  has  only  helped  to  show 
what  need  there  is  for  further  changes  in  the  text.     The  sixth 
chapter  has  been  slightly  amended  ;  but  it  might  very  well  be  re- 
touched, abridged,  and  simplified.     And  what  is  said  of  the  sixth 
may  be  said  of  many  another  chapter.    The  first  of  the  alterations 
lately  made  occurs  in  the  answer  to  the  third  question  in  the  first 
chapter.     Here  is  the  question — "  Where  is  God  ?"     The  answer 
in  the  old  editions  ran  as  follows : — "  God  is  everywhere,  but  is 
said  principally  to  be  in  Heaven  where  He  manifests  himself  to 
the  Blessed.*'     In  the  newly  published  edition  the  question  remains 
as  Archbishop  Butler  wrote  it,  but  the  answer  is  given  thus  :«— 
*'God  is  everywhere;  but  He  manifests  His  glory  in  Heaven, 
where  He  is  enjoyed  by  the  Blessed."     This  answer  may  be  more 
explicit  than  the  old  one,  but,  surely,  it  13  not  simpler ;  and,  I 


correspondence.  399 

r^)eat,  simplicity  in  language  no  less  than  accuracy  in  doctrine  is 
a  primary  requisite  in  a  Catechism  intended  for  the  young  and  the 
unlearned.  Very  few  children  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
word  manifest  It  is  not  a  common  word  by  any  means  :  it  is 
not  often  heard  in  conversation  even  amongst  the  well  educated. 
Why  then  use  it  in  the  very  beginning  of  a  child's  catechism  ? 
The  question  and  answer,  I  take  leave  to  suggest,  might  be  set 
down  in  this  manner  : — **  Where  is  God'?  God  is  everywhere; 
but  it  is  in  Heaven  He  shows  Himself  in  glory  to  the  angels  and 
fiaints."  This  form  of  speech  will  be  readily  understood  by  every 
child  who  has  come  to  the  use  of  reason  and  who  speaks  the 
English  tongue,  from  Donegal  to  Cork.  Most  of  the  answers  in 
our  National  Catechism  could  be  reduced  to  a  simpler  and  a  more 
intelh'gible  form  in  a  similar  manner. 

If  that  were  done  once  for  all, — if  we  had  a  short,  simple, 
yet  instructive  Catechism, — then  catechists  need  not  be,  as  they 
often  are  at  present,  spending  time  in  asking  and  explaining  the 
meaning  of  "  big  words,"  as  if  they  were  hearing  a  lesson  in  'the 
spelling-book,  whilst  endeavouring  to  teach  children  the  rudiments 
of  their  creed  and  the  duties  of  their  calling.  When  Archbishop 
Bntler  wrote  his  Catechism,  the  greater  number  of  young  people, 
in  rural  places  at  all  events,  were  learning  these  things  in  the 
Irish  language  from  teachers  who  had  text-books  in  that  language 
suited  to  the  wants  and  capacities  of  their  pupils.  But  times  are 
changed.  As  the  latest  edition  of  our  National  Catechism 
professes  to  be  "  approved  of  by  the  Cardinal,  the  Archbishops 
aiwi  Bishops  of  Ireland,  for  general  use  throughout  the  Irish 
Church,''  it  may  seem  presumptuous,  and  little  short  of  irreverent, 
for  me,  an  unknown  individual,  to  find  any  fault  with  it,  and  still 
more  to  ask  you  to  publish  my  remarks  on  it.  Two  things  have 
encouraged  me  in  my  boldness.  I  heard,  lately,  one  of  our 
Tenerat^  Bishops  pronounce  it  "too  difficult  for  children."  If 
other  members  of  the  hierarchy  think  as  he  does,  they  will  not 
blame  me.  And  I  have  a  confidence,  too,  that  no  Ecclesiastics  in 
the  land  will  treat  my  suggestions  with  more  leniency  than  the 
Bishops,  should  any  of  them  deign  to  read  what,  with  the  best 
intentions,  I  have  ventured  to  write.  H. 


The  Integrity  of  Confession. 

TO   THE   EDITOR  OP  THE   IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  KECORD. 

Bet.  Deak  Sir, — Everybody  is  praising  Frassinetti's  Priest's 
M<mual,  and  Dr.  Hutch's  translation  of  it,  lately  published  by 
Boms  &  Gates,  and  by  the  Catholic  Publication  Society  of  New 
York. 

Has  your  attention  been  drawn  to  pages  309-310  of  the  trans- 
lation ?     Surely  it  is  wrong  to  assert  that  "  the  obligation  .... 


400  Correspondence. 


the  integrity  of  confession  belongs  to  the  penitent,  and  not  to 
e  confessor.**     St.  Alphonsus  says  a  different  thing,  and  I  hare 


of 

the  ^        ^ 

carefully  compared  De  Lugo,  who  gives  no  countenance  whatever 
to  the  assertion  in  Frassinetti's  text.  The  point  seems  to  me  to 
be  serious,  as  I  know  that  confessors  are  quoting  these  passages 
as  authority  in  putting  no  questions  whatever  to  bona  fide  pen- 
itents. I  may  add,  that  I  have  compared  the  original  with  the 
translation,  and  that  the  latter  is  quite  accurate  in  its  rendering  of 
the  passage. — I  remain,  with  best  wishes,  your  devoted  servant, 

W.H. 

In  reply  to  'our  venerated  correspondent,  we  beg  to 
say  that  our  attention  had  not  previously  been  called  to 
the  passage  in  question,  which  certainly  is  not  unlikely 
to  be  misunderstood.  Here  it  is  in  full :  "  Whenever  we 
hear  confessions,  we  must  keep  before  us  that  golden 
principle  laid  down  by  De  Lugo,  and  recognised  as  true  by 
St.  Alphonsus  and  all  sound  theologians,  namely,  that  the 
obligation  of  the  examination  of  conscience,  and  conse- 
quently of  the  integrity  of  confession,  belongs  to  the 
penitent  and  not  to  the  confessor ;  so  that  when  the  pen- 
itent, according  to  his  capacity,  has  done  all  that  is  in  his 
!)ower,  the  confessor  is  not  obUged  to  interrogate  him 
iirther,  even  though  he  might  foresee  that  the  examinatioD 
was  of  consequence,  and  consequently  the  accusation  might 
be  more  exact  from  a  theological  point  of  view.  As  regards 
the  integrity  of  confession,  the  confessor  is  obliged  to 
supply  by  his  questions  only  what  may  have  been  culpably 
omitted  by  the  penitent  (See  De  Lugo,  Dis.  16,  de  Poenit 
9, 14,  n.  589.)" 

Frassinetti  is  here  speaking  of  sick  persons  where 
further  interrogatories  cannot  be  put  without  injury  or 
danger  to  the  penitent's  health ;  and  in  that  case  the 
confessor  is  manifestly  not  bound  to  put  them.  But  the 
doctrine  here  laid  down  by  Frassinetti  cannot  be  accepted 
as  a  general  principle,  and  we  agree  with  our  corres- 
pondent that  it  is  not  the  doctnne,  in  that  sense,  of 
De  Lugo  or  St.  Liguori.  What  De  Lugo  says  is  perfectly 
clear  and  accurate : —  > 

''Itaque  advertendum  est  per  se  loquendo  non  esse  in  hoc 
puncto  majorem  obligationem  confessarii  ad  int<^rroganduin,  qnam 
sit  ipsius  paenitentis  ad  examinandam  suam  conscientiam,  et 
recogitanda  sua  peccata.  I  mo  paenitens  obligatnr  prima  loc^ 
et  in  ejus  defectum  obligator  confessarios  ad  eum  javandom. 
Juxta  ipsius  ci4)acitatem  atque  ideo  mmus  obligatur  quam  ipse 
paenitens.^ 


Correspondence,  401 

Now  penitents,  and  especially  ignorant  penitents,  may 
fail  in  fulfilling  this  obligation,  and  yet  be  sometimes  bona 
Me.  The  confessor,  too,  may  perceive  this  defect ;  then 
per  $e  loquendo,  but  not  always  and  in  all  circumstances, 
the  confessor  is  bound  to  supply  the  penitent's  deficiency 
with  reasonable  diligence. 

Hence  we  think  Frassinetti  should  have,  like  De  Lugo, 
ingerted  the  words  "primarily/'  &c.,  &c.  It  would  then 
read  thus :  "  The  obUgation  of  examination  of  conscience, 
and  consequently  of  the  integrity  of  confession,  belongs 
primarily  to  the  penitent,  and  only  when  he  fails  to  the 
confessor,"  &c.  For  the  same  reason  the  last  sentence 
Bhould  be  quaUfied  in  a  somewhat  similar  way.  De  Lugo 
himself,  in  No.  589,  lays  down  this  doctrine  even  more 
distinctly,  and  asserts  that  the  confessor  is  bound  to 
interrogate  the  rudiores,  and  "  si  facile  possit  sua  mdustna 
extorquere  numerum  ma^s  distincte,"  but  that  ordinary 
dihgence  vriU  suffice  in  this  matter,  »/^^^  i.^- 


Protection  for  Irish  Immigrants  in  New  York. 

We  earnestly  recommend  the  following  circular  to  the 
Attention  of  the  Irish  Qergy.  Emigration  is  an  evil,  but  if 
inevitable  it  is  well  to  minimize  its  mischievous  effects : 

TO  THE  BOrrOR    OF  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Dear  Sir. — Perhaps  it  may  be  a  benefit  to  some  of  your  readers, 
who  propose  to  leave  Ireland  for  Araerica,  to  know  that  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  Irish  Catholic  Colonization  Society,  His  Eminence 
CtedmalMcCloskey,  Archbishop  of  New  York,  has  erected  the  new 
Kssion  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary,  at  Castle  Garden,  Battery  Park, 
Sew  York,  and  has  placed  it  under  the  charge  of  the  undersigned. 

The  object  of  the  Mission  is  to  secure  for  Catholic  immigrants 
Inding  at  this  port,  the  benefits  which  the  advice  of  a  priest  can 
tfbrd  to  people  who  are  wholly  ignorant  of  the  perils  which  at  every 
i»tstep  in  a  great  port  and  city  such  as  this,  threaten  the  poor 
auMnnocent,  if  unprotected  and  unguided. 

I  need  not,  I  am  sure,  inform  you  that  neither  have  the  bishops 
iVli  tayinen  who  form  the  Colonization  Society  and  who  have  sub- 
loJbed  for  the  expenses  of  this  Mission,  nor  has  His  Eminence 
Ordinal  McCloskey,  the  slightest  wish  to  increase  the  flow  of  im- 
iricnttioo  from  Ireland  to  this  country.     Happily,  it  seems  now  to 

NB  abated,  and  those  who  are  coming  here  are,  seemingly,  better 

I  to  protect  themselves  than  were  too  many  of  their  predecessors. 

But  the  Society  and  the  Cardinal  recognise  the  fact  that,  much 


402  St/nopsis  MfditanSi. 

as  we  all  may  deplore  their  abandoDmeDt  of  their  native  land,  the 
unprotected  and  UDilirected  Iriab  will  continue  to  pour  through 
tliese  galea. 

To  offer  them  the  temporary  protection  of  advice  and  supervision 
at  an  exceedingly  critical,  and,  bo  to  apeak,  focal  point,  where  all 
the  manifest  dangers  of  emigration  aie  in  a  roomeAl  concentrated, 
this  Mission  has  been  established,  not  merely  by  the  authority  and 
with  the  good  wilt  of  the  Cardinal,  but  also  with  his  most  heartfelt 
blessing,  and  with  the  help  of  his  own  sukstttntial  subecripiion. 

It  will  greatly  facilitate  my  work,  and  enable  me  to  distinguish 
the  deserving  fi^m  the  black  sheep,  who,  to  the  discredit  of  the 
Irish  name  abroad,  have  been  shipped  hereby  poor  law  unions  and 
landlords,  if  immigrants  caliing  on  me  bring  a  letter  of  character 
from  any  of  their  priests  at  home. 

I  Deed  not  point  out  that,  while  at  best  the  temporal  aid  which 
it  is  passible  for  the  Mission  to  render  to  the  numbers  passins 
through  hero,  must  ordinarily  bo  limited  to  guidance,  it  will  be  of 
importance  to  Catholics,  especially  to  girls  of  good  character,  to 
know  that  they  can  lind  here  a  priest  whose  advice  at  its  threshuld. 
may  help  them  through  some  of  the  dan;rers  of  a  new  country. 

May  I  then  ask  you  to  give  publicity  to  the  cslablishmeet  of 
this  Mission,  so  that  my  brethren  of  the  Irish  priesthood  may  learn 
e  and  character. 

Your  servant  in  Christ, 

J.   J.    RlORDAN. 


SYNOPSIS  MEDITANDI. 

THE  clever  aud  pious  young  prieet  who  wrote  the 
following  marvelloualy  iugemoua  lines,  and  composed 
the  "  Synopsis  Meditaudi,"  etc.,  has  been  called  to  bis 
reward.     IVlay  he  rest  in  peace. — Ed.  : — 

MNEMOSYNON  PRIMAE  MISSAE 

IN  TbNITE  ObSF.KVANTIAE   AC     DiLECTIONIS   PiGNCS  Cf^' 

[samis  sens  Condiscipulis  i^t  in  Almo  SEMiNAnm  Socii^ 
iCAViT  ATQL'E  Obiulit  Joannes  Pktbus  GoEML£^ 
tequiescat  in  Pace). 

Inter  cuncta  micans         Igniti  sidera  coell, 

Expellit  tenebras  E  toto  Phoebus  ut  orhE; 

Sic    coccas    removet  lESVS     coliginis    umbraS , 
Vivilicansquc  simul  Vero     praecordia    motV , 

SoLEU  jDsiiTiAB  ^ese  probat  esse  beatiS . 


Synopsis  Meditandi. 


403 


Synopsis  AIeditandi'Rationis  ad  Mentem  S.  Ignatii. 
Latine  rx  Anglico  sehmonb  versa. 


PreparcUto  remota  consistit  : 

1.  In  superbia,  hjpocrisi,  dissi- 

patione.  ca^terisque  peccatis 
amovendis. 

2.  In    praxi    virtutum    opposi- 

tarum,  liumilitate,  mortifi- 
catlone. 


Preparatio  proxima  consistit  : 
1.  In      meditatione     a     pridie 


S5 


< 


a 


T. 


legenda. 

2.  In  eo;>itando  super  jam  in- 
stante  meditatione  statim 
ac  expergitus. 

3.  In  affectibus  elicicndis   me- 

ditation is     materiae     con- 
form ibus. 

4.  In  meditatione  animo  sereno 

ac  tranquillo  ineunda. 

1.  Stans  recto,  in  mentem  levoca  Divinam  praesentiam. 

*2.  Deum  flexis  genibus  adora. 

3.  Recita  orationem  praeparatoriam. 

1.  Matcriam  meditationis  breviter  in  mentem 

revoca. 

,    ^  ,    ,.     J2.  Imaginatione  locum  mysterii  repraesenta. 

r«  J?  ac  praeiuuia*  <ot        x  x*  t*  'i 

'^  ]o,  Impetra     gratiam    aliquam    specinlem  ; 

lumen  pro  intellectu  ;  pias  inclinationes 

pro  voluntate. 

Memoria  materiam  revocat  meditatiinis. 

/^l.  Quid  considerandum  veoiat  quoad  rem  pro- 
positam  ? 

2.  Quaenam  practica  conclnsio  sit  derivanda  ? 

3.  Quaenam  motiva  ejus  adoptionem  urgeant  ? 
Utrum  sit  conveniens^  utilis,  jucunda, 
facilisy  necessaria  ? 

4.  Quonam  pacto  hucusque  fuerit  observata? 
6.  Quid  in  posterum  faciendum  ? 
6.  Quodnam  impedimentum  amovendum  ? 

^7.  Quaenam  media  eligenda  ? 
1.  Pio8  affectus  elicit  tota  durante  meditatione, 
corde  potiusquam  labiis. 

^I.  EflFormata  post  refl«^xionem 
practicam. 

2.  Practica. 

3.  Particularia, 

4.  Praesentia  statui  aptata. 
^  5.  Solidis  innixa  motivis. 

6.  Humilia. 

7.  Ferventibus  ac  enixis  sup- 
plication ibus   pro   Divino 

\^        aiixilio  coiijuncta. 


2.  Intellectus 
recogitat 


3    Voluntas. 


2.  Bonaefformat 
proposita, 
quae  esse 
debent — 


\ 


404 


lAturgy, 


CO 

p 

O 


o  /I.  RecapitulattOy  sen  anacephalaeosisy  qua  bona  proposita  adop- 
tata  confirmantur. 
2.  Jaculatoria  oratio,  8eu  tessera^  quae  interdiu   inserviat  ad 
^  integram  meditationem  breviter  in  mentem  revocandaxn. 

^  ^3.  Colloquium  J.  C.,  B.  M.  V.,  vel  Sancto  directum. 

^1.  Examen  circa  modum,  quo  peracta  est  meditetio. 

1.  Integrae  meditationis. 

2.  Practicarum  reflexionura,  motivorum, 
piorum  afPectuum,  resolutionum  pfirti- 
cularium,  illustrationum  atque  favorum 
spiritualium. 

A  M.  D.  G. 

4<  Fridericcs, 
Archiepiscopus  Bonaeransis. 


b  1 2.  Recapitulatio 


I 


Imprimatur, 
Noviembre  20,  1880. 


LITURGY. 

Under  this  heading  we  wish  to  make  special  reference  to  an 
excellent  work,*  which  comes  from  the  learned  author  of  the 
**  Programmes  of  Sermons  and  Instructions."  The  authorship  of 
that  valuable  work  is  no  secret;  and  the  '* Prefatory  Address  **  to 
the  present  volume,  shows  that  we  owe  this  treatise  also  to  the 
indefatigable  zeal  and  learning  of  the  Rector  of  the  Irish  College, 
Paris. 

Every  priest  of  any  missionary  experience  must  have  felt  the 
want  of  some  such  book  as  the  present.  Assuredly  there  is  no  lack 
in  the  Church  of  learned  works  on  every  phase  of  liturgical  learn- 
ing ;  but  for  hard  worked  priests  on  the  mission  they  are  too 
cumbrous  and  elaborate,  and  have  the  additional  inconvenience  of 
being  written  in  Latin,  French,  or  Italian.  There  is  red  gold 
indeed  in  the  mine,  but  not  every  one  is  able  to  delve  for  it.  Yet 
some  knowledge  on  the  subject  is  essential  for  the  instruction  and 
edification  of  the  people.  The  Council  of  Trenv  imperatively  re- 
quires all  her  pastors  to  explain  to  their  flock  not  only  the  virtue 
and  use  of  the  sacraments,  but  also  the  significance  of  the  cere- 
monies employed  in  their  administration.  (Sess.  xxiv.)  These 
last  are  employed  by  the  Church  not  only  to  inspire  devotion  and 
reverence  for  the  sacraments,  but  also  to  make  their  nature  and 

*  Allocutiaivt  on  Liturgical  Observances  and  Ritual  Functions,  By  the 
Author  of  *^  Programmes  of  Sermons  and  Instructions.*'  Browne  & 
Nolan,  Nassau-street,  Dublin. 


i 


Notices  of  Books.  405 

efficacy,  as  it  were  visible  to  the  people.  Hence  the  Roman  Ritual 
requires  that  the  priest  should  diligently  explain  ^^  the  meaning  of 
the  ceremonies  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Fathers  and 
the  Catechism  of  the  Council  of  Trent."  These  are  the  fountains 
of  sound  doctrine,  but  those  who  cannot  spare  time  to  search  the 
Fathers  for  their  doctrine  can  find  all  they  need  for  practical  pur- 
poses in  this  neat  volume. 

Again,  we  need  hardly  remind  our  readers  how  important  it 
is  to  explain  to  the  people  the  purpose  and  significance  of  the 
great  annual  cycle  of  Feasts  and  Fasts  in  the  Church.  There  is 
nothing  they  listen  to  with  greater  attention  when  suitably  explained ; 
nothing  is  better  adapted  to  quicken  their  devotion  and  deepen  in 
their  souls  the  fountains  of  spiritual  life.  Here,  too,  the  priest 
will  find  this  manual  of  great  value.  The  whole  series  of  the 
Churches  Feasts  is  explained — their  origin,  their  purpose,  their 
otility — and  explained,  too,,  briefly  and  practically.  If  the  priest 
has  not  time  to  prepare  a  longer  sermon  for  his  people,  he  may  give 
them  with  great  advantage  the  substance  of  one  of  these  '^allocu- 
tions." He  will  find  them  always  useful,  and  always  to  the  pur- 
pose. 

The  work  is  strongly  commended  by  his  Eminence  the  Cardinal 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  whose  "  imprimatur  "  it  bears.  We  recom- 
mend it  cordially  to  the  clergy,  because  we  are  satisfied  that  it  will 
give  them  much  help  in  the  cQscharge  of  their  onerous  duties. 

J.  H. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

The  Religious  State.    A  Digest  of  the  Doctrine  of  Suarez.     By 
Wn-LiAM  HuMPHRET,  S.J.    Londou :  Burns  &  Dates. 

Everyone  has  read  of  the  great  work  of  Suarez,  "  De  Statu 

Befigionis."     It  is  a  mine  of  dogmatic  and  ascetic  theology  written 

[Ihr  a  man  whose  sanctity  was  equal  to  his  learning.     It  is  by  far 

\mb  meet  complete  and  exhaustive  work  on  the  subject ;  and  even 

our  time  has  not  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  the  great  book  of 

on  questions  connected  with  the  Religious  State.     Few 

however,  in  our  times  have  courage  to  face  the  folios  of 

scholastics ;  and  hence  we  regard  it  as  a  happy  thought 

9r,  Hinnphrey  to  give  us  the  pith  of  the  doctrine  of  Suarez  in 

tinree  highly  instructive  and  very  readable  volumes.   So  for  as 

judfi^efirom  a  hasty  perusal,  fV.  Humphrevhas  executed  his 


406  Notices  of  Boohs. 

combined  with  admirable  simplicity  of  language  and  exposition. 
We  would  strongly  recommend  this  excellent  work  to  the  clergy, 
both  secular  and  regular.  They  will  find  it  equally  valuable  for 
their  own  guidance  and  for  the  instruction  of  others.  The  two 
first  volumes  deal  with  the  religious  state  in  general,  but  the  third 
is  mainly  given  up  to  the  special  constitutions  of  the  Jesuit  Order. 
In  this  the  author  follows  Suarez,  but  he  will  find  in  all  the  books 
the  same  fulness  of  doctrine  and  the  same  maturity  of  thought 
Even  the  educated  laity,  and,  as  the  author  hopes,  non-Cathohcs 
also,  who  are  desirous  to  obtain  accurate  information  on  almost  all 
the  great  questions  connected  with  the  religious  orders  of  the 
Church,  will  find  this  book  an  authoritative  and  invaluable  guide. 
We  hope  it  will  be  widely  circulated  amongst  the  clergy  and  laity. 

An  Easter  Book,  In  honour  of  the  Sacred  Humanity  of  oor 
Blessed  Lord  and  of  His  Holy  Mother.  Dublin  :  Dollabd, 
1884. 

This  is  a  little  work  full  of  admirable  reflections  on  the  Sacred 
Humanity  present  on  our  Altars.  The  imprimatur  of  His  Eminence 
Cardinal  M'Cabe  guarantees  its  perfect  orthodoxy — a  matter  of 
great  importance  in  dealing  with  such  a  subject.  The  author  tells 
us,  too,  that  the  sheets  in  passing  through  the  press  were  revised 
by  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  the  venerable  Hierarchy  of  Ireland. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  every  page  breathes  a  spirit  of  the  most 
fervent  piety.  The  book  though  small  in  size  is  large  in  the 
learning  that  enlightens  and  edifies.  We  think  it  would  be 
especially  useful  for  nuns  and  students  whose  fervour  would  be 
intensified  by  the  glowing  odour  of  its  pages. 

Notes  on  Catholic  Missions,  By  A.  H.  Atteridge,  S.J.  (Re- 
printed from  The  Messenger  oj  the  Sacred  Heart.)  London  : 
St.  Joseph's  Library,  Grosvenor-square. 

This  little  work  is  eminently  worthy  of  perusal,  and  the 
Catholic  public — at  least  the  charitable  Catholic  public  who  are 
interested  in  missionary  work — will  be  thankful  to  the  accomplish 
author  for  collecting  and  re-publishing  these  papers.  Euntes 
omnes  gentes  was  the  great  commission  of  the  Church.  Our  Lo 
jsent  His  Apostles  primarily  to  those  who  sat  in  darkness  and 
shadow  of  death.  These  pages  tells  us  how  many  millions  still  si 
m  the  night  of  paganism ;  and  they  tell,  too,  of  the  heroic  charit; 
of  those  who  strive  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  to  announce  the  g: 
tidings  to  the  benighted  millions  of  China  and  Hindostan,  wh 
most  of  the  world's  infidels  are  found.  We  are  quite  confident 
the  circulation  of  this  little  work  would  contribute  to  stimulate 
charitable  at  home  to  support  the  College  of  the  Propaganda 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  in  this  cUvinest  ol 
works — ^preaching  the  Grospel  to  the  poor  and  to  the 
Our  own  countrymen  are  foremost  in  this  blessed  work,  as 


Notices  of  Books. 


407 


following  carefully  compiled  statistics  furnished  to  us  by  the 
Most  Rev.  Dr.  Leonard,  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  abundantly 
prove.  They  show,  also,  how  liberally  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith  contributes  to  the  support  of  the  various  Irish  missions 
throughout  the  world,  and  how  well  worthy  it  is  of  the  practical 
sympathy  and  assistance  of  Catholic  Ireland.  Irishmen  give  much 
for  the  propagation  of  the  Faith  in  foreign  lands,  but  not  so  much 
as  is  spent  by  this  great  Society  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  their  own 
countrymen. 


1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

G  nntJi  made  to  Bishops,\ 
natives  of  Ireland  or 
um9  of  Irish  parenta,  ' 
whose  flocks  consift 
principallj  of  Irish     ' 

O  rants  made  to  Bishops ' 
notnatirc  tof  Ireland, 
but  many  of  whose  ' 
Priests  and  pcnple  are 

9,248    0    0 
20,270    0    0 

£      s.    d. 
10,986    0    0 

18,588    0    0 

• 

i,    d. 

9,068    0    0 

18,825    0    0 

10,945    0    0 
17,860    9    0 

£     s.    iS. 
8,008    0    0 

16,891    0    0 

A 

Toial  Grants       

Total  Irish  Receipts  for  ^ 
jear  ending  Jan.  1 

99,518    0    0 
4,069    6    7 

29,474    0    0 
4,118  18    5 

27,888    0    0 
2,785  19    6 

28,805    0    0 
8,186  12  11 

24,899    0    0 
5,507    6    Si 

Total  excess  of  Grants) 
above  Irish  Receipts  ) 

25,448  18    5 

25,855    1    7 

24,602    0    6 

25468    7    1 

18,891  13    8^ 

I^eaves  from  my  Note  Book  ;  or  a  Year's  Ramble  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  By  The  Rev.  W.  Meagher,  P.P., 
Dublin :  Dufft  &  Sons. 

Some  twelve  years  ago  Father  Meagher  spent  a  year  travelling 
in  Canada  and  the  States.  He  kept  a  journal  of  his  "  rambles," 
noting  down  with  graphic  fidelity  the  most  striking  scenes  and 
incidents  which  he  observed.  The  present  little  volume  is  a  series 
of  extracts  from  this  journal,  and  a  most  readable  one  it  is.  There 
is  a  vivid  freshness  about  the  observations  on  American  persons, 
places  and  institutions  which  could  only  be  the  outcome  of  an 
observant  and  well-stored  mind.  That  the  proceeds  of  the  book's 
sale  are  intended  to  forward  a  charitable  work,  in  which  the  writer 
18  engaged,  will,  no  doubt,  be  an  additional  motive  for  many 
persons  to  purchase  the  book  and  circulate  it  amongst  their  friends. 

St.  Joseph.  His  Life,  His  Virtues,  His  Privileges,  His  Power. 
By  the  Vert  Rev.  Archdeacon  Kinane,  P.P.,  Fethard,  Co. 
Tipperary.     Dublin :  M.  H.  Gill  &  Son. 

Archdeacon  Kinane  has  done  so  much  for  the  devotional 
literature  of  Ireland,  and  his  works  are  so  widely  known,  that  his 
name  alone  is  a  gnarantee  that  any  subject  he  treats,  will  be  handled 
with  literary  skill,  and  in  a  truly  reverential  spirit.    This  work 


408  Notices  of  Booh. 

has,  moreover,  quite  a  catalogue  of  episcopal  approbations  written 
in  language  of  warmest  eulogy.  The  subject  is  treated  with  great 
fulness,  so  that  even  the  most  learned  reader  will  find,  in  the 
simplest  language,  all  the  information  he  could  possibly  desire 
about  St.  Joseph,  his  life,  virtues,  privileges,  and  power.  This  is 
not  only  a  great  boon  for  the  ordinary  faithful,  but  also  for  the 
clergy,  who,  nowhere  else,  will  find  so  much  useful  and  reliable 
matter  for  their  lectures  on  the  great  Patron  of  the  Universal 
Church,  It  will,  no  doubt,  have,  as  it  deserves  to  have,  a  very 
wide  circulation. 

The  Rev.  II.  O'Connor,  S.J.,  of  the  German  Province,  but  now 
officiating  in  Lancashire,  has  published  a  second  edition  of  his 
Pamphlet,  "  The  only  Reliable  Evidence  concerning  Martin  Luther." 
So  far  as  it  goes,  this  evidence  is  undoubtedly  reliable,  for  it  is 
taken  entirely  from  the  acknowledged  writings  of  Luther  himself; 
seeing,  however,  that  it  does  not  extend  beyond  62  pages,  we  have 
some  difficulty  in  perceiving  how  it  can  claim  to  be  the  onl}^  reliable 
evidence  forthcoming  regarding  the  heresiarch.  It  is  certainly  a 
most  interesting  brochure ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
nowhere  else  can  one  produce  so  much  reliable  information  in  the 
same  space. 

"  Luther  and  His  Century,^  is  the  title  of  a  pamphlet  by  the 
Rev.  Herman  Etkerlikg — (London:  Burns  &  Oatrs) — ^which 
for  sixpence  gives  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  regarding 
the  Lutheran  epoch.  It  contains  no  less  than  seven  learned  lectures 
founded  on  Dr.  Janssen,  and  eminently  profitable  for  every  student 
of  that  most  interesting  period  of  church  history. 

"-4  Few  Flowers  from  the  Garden*^ — (Burns  &  Oates)— 
shows  that  the  collector  had  both  taste  and  skill  in  making  his 
selection.  It  is  a  choice  collection  of  short  prayers  in  English  and 
Latin,  small  in  compass  and  very  handy  for  daily  use.  The  series 
of  prayers  for  the  Via  Crucis  is  particularly  good.  Although  all 
these  prayers  seem  to  be  taken  from  approved  sources,  it  would  be 
well  to  have  a  formal  episcopal  approbation  of  the  book  itsell 
The  law  on  this  point  is  very  clear  and  very  stringent.        J.  H. 


We  have  also  received  — 

The  Smuggler's  Revenge,    By  Lady  Lentaigne. 

The  Month  of  May,    By  the  Rev.  Fr.  Beckx,  S.J. 

From  the  Crib  to  the  Cross.    By  the  Very  Rev.  F.  PcrbR[CK,  S.J. 


THE  IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


JULY,  1884. 


f  DOUBTFUL  IMPEDIMENTS  OF  MATRIMONY. 

DOUBTFUL  impediments  are  of  various  kinds.  Some- 
times they  precede  marriage  and  are  accordingly 
called  antecedent^  sometimes  they  follow  its  celebration  and 
are  aptly  temied  supervenient  In  either  case  the  doubt 
,  may  be  a  dnbium  juris  or  a  dubium  facti.  Thus  a  four-fold 
j  division  at  once  suggests  itself.  It  seems  convenient  to 
follow  this  airangeraent  of  subject,  but  in  doing  so  it  will 
be  necessary  to  introduce  an  occasional  subdivision  and  add 
towards  the  end  a  few  observations  on  doubts  which  lie 
somewhat  outside  the  divided  area. 

Antecedent  Doubts  of  Divine  Law, 

L  Where  before  marriage  a  dubium  juris  occurs,  some 
of  the  early  probablist  writers,  quoted  approvingly  and 
followed  by  the  Melanges  Theologiques,^  permit  celebra- 
tion, without  making  any  distinction  between  laws  human 
and  Divine.  Liberty  was  held  to  be  equally  in  possession 
in  both  cases.  And  when  the  well-known  proposition, 
which  Innocent  XI.  condemned  for  its  undue  advocacy  of 
probable  opinions  in  conferring  the  Sacraments,  was 
objected  as  involving  in  its  condemnation  this  very  thesis 
80  far  as  Divine  law  was  concerned,  those  who  were  not 
convinced  replied  by  enumerating  the  many  respects  in 
which  Matrimony  differs  from  the  other  Sacraments,  and 
pointing  out  how  they  themselves  could  agree  to  condemn 

^  Ser.  vi.,  p.  355,  &c. 
TOL.  V.  2  H 


410  Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony, 

doctrine  so  general  and  little  safe-guarded.*  Besides 
Urban  VIII.'s  reply  in  reference  to  the  re-marriage  of 
converts  in  Paraguay  was  urged  as  deciding  the  whole 
controversy  in  their  favor. 

Still  as  the  Church  cannot  supply  for  a  defect,  should 
it  exist  by  the  Divine  law ;  a  dnbium  juris  Divini  accord- 
ing to  S.  Alphonsus  and  almost  all  modern  authors  suflBcea 
to  prevent  the  licit  celebration  of  marriage.  Yet  even 
these  recognise  an  exception  as  possible  when,  without 
solving  a  particular  doubt,  a  Papal  declaration  is  given 
interpreting  the  moral  law  in  favor  of  liberty.  This  is 
their  inference  from  Urban  VIII.*s  reply.  But  against  any 
such  restriction  it  may  be  said  that  the  Pope's  declaration 
does  not  prove  its  own  necessity,  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
one  holding  a  less  liberal  view  than  S.  Alphonsus  might 
contend  that  all  uncertainty  had  already  ceased  inasmuch 
as  the  cases  explained  were,  according  to  the  tenor  of 
previous  answers  Casu^  Apostoli. 

No  doubt,  Ballerine,  with  great  show  of  reason,  main- 
tains that  what  Paul  III.,  S.  Pius  V.,  Gregory  XIII.,  and 
Urban  VIII.,  did  in  similar  circumstances,  was  to  dispense 
in  matrimonio  rato  non  consummato  post  conversionem  utri- 
usque,  and  in  that  opinion,  which  seems  much  the  more 

Erobable  in  some  of  the  cases,  there  would  be  an  argument 
ere  in  favor  at  least  of  S.  Liguori's  view,  unless  indeed 
dispensations  be  supposed  as  already  granted.  But  the 
inference  is  not  so  clear,  if  with  Feije  these  decisions  are  to 
be  taken  as  interpreting  what  constitutes  discessio  in  the 
Divine  law  of  which '  quod  si  discedit,  discedat,  non  enim  servituti 
subjectus  est  frater^  aut  soror  in  hujusm^di '  is  the  general 
expression.  Still  Feije  himself,  perhaps  on  the  ground  that 
Urban  VIII.  here  abstained  from  interpreting  discessio ^  adopts 
S.  Liguori's  conclusion,  and  accordingly  is  at  one  with  most 
modern  authorities  in  treating  tliis  Pontiflfs  reply  as  a 
permission  to  celebrate  marriages  of  doubtful  vaUdity. 
Since  the  matter,  though  speculative,  has  an  important 
moral  aspect,  it  may  be  well  to  give  in  substance  the 
correspondence  between  Urban  Vlll.  and  John  De  Lugo, 

# 

1 "  Non  est  illicitum  in  sacramentis  conferendis  sequi  opinioncm 
probabilem  de  valore  sacramenti  relicta  tutiore ;  nisi  id  vetat  lex  con- 
ventio  aut  periculum  gravis  damni  incurrendi.  Hinc  Bententia  probabili 
tantum  utendutn  non  est  in  coUatione  Baptismi,  Ordinis  sacerdotalis, 
aut  episcopalis." 

« N.  636, 


J 


Dovbtful  Impedimenta  of  Matrimony,  411 

afterwards  Cardinal.  The  inference  to  be  drawn  is  evidently 
not  weakened  by  some  of  the  doubts  being  dubiafactL 

"Sanctissime  Pater,  in  Provincia  et  regno  Paraguariae,  in 
India  Occidentali  maxima  difficultas  suboritor  in  conversione 
infidelium  ad  fidem  nostram,  quando  aliqui  ex  ministris  volunt  lUos 
cogere  ad  recipiendam  at  retinendam  primam  conjugem,  quam  in 
intidelitate  habuerunt:  gens  quippe  ex  innata  barbarie  passim 
coDJuges  si  veri  conjuges  dicendi  sunt  dimittunt,  non  alitor  quam 
nostri  famulas  vel  famulos:  et  hoc  solum  quia  conjux  infir- 
mator,  nee  coquere  cibos  potest,  aut  vestes  consuere,  vel  domus 
coram  habere,  vol  quia  jam  senescit.  Imo  frequenter  non  unam 
solam  uxorem  accipiunt,  sod  simul  cum  ea  omnes  ejus  filias  vel 
fV)rores,  si  quas  habet :  Ex  quibus  postea  donat  amicis  aliquam, 
vel  famulo  in  gratiam  obsequii,  quam  postea  rcpetit  si  famulus 
discedat.  Aliis  sola  loci  mutatio  causa  est  deserendi  conjugem,  ne 
earn  secum  ferat.  Itaque  plerique  putant  non  esse  saltem  com- 
muniter  apud  illos  verum  matrimonium,  sod  concubinatum ; 
atque  ideo  permittunt,  quod  conjugem  baptizatam  recipiant, 
quando  ad  fidem  convertuntur.  Alii  tamen  scrupulum  habent,  et 
cogunt  eos  ad  repetendum  primum  conjugem,  ex  quo  magna 
incommoda  sequuntur. 

Prime  .  .  .  Baptismum  avorsantur  .  .  .  secundo  .  . 
mentiuntur  .  .  .  Tertio,  fingunt  so  repetere  primam  .  .  . 
Quarto,  .  .  .  difficillimum  est  primam  agnoscere  . 
in  tanta  multitudine.  His  accedit,  quod  non  utantur  signo  aliquo 
extemo  special!,  diverse  ab  eo  quo  concubinam  .  .  .  accipiunt. 
Undo  .  .  .  multi  pii  et  docti  viri  purtant  communitor  non 
fieri  apud  ipsos  verum  contractum  Matrimonii.  Caeterum  ad 
toUendos  scrupulos  et  dubia  .  .  ;  .  .  petit ur  ut  quando- 
quidem  juxta  doctorum  virorum  doctrinam  sedes  Apostolica  ex 
gravi  causa  potest  aliquando  Matrimonium  infidelium  dissolvere, 
prout  Sanctitas  Vestra  declaravit  in  Brevi  sue  expedite  die 
vigesima  Octobris  anno,  1626,  et  rursus  in  alio  simile  die  decima 
septima  Septembris  anno  1627,  his  verbis,  *Nos  attendentes 
hujusmodi  infidelium  Matrimonia  non  ita  censeri,  quin  necessitate 
suadento   dissolvi  possint,  &c.'       ....     dignetur  Sanctitas 

Vestra  concedere  provincial! manento  dubio  de 

valore  prius  Matrimonii  in  infidelitate  facti,  vel  magna  difficultate 
inveniendi  veritatera  vel  ,  .  .  repetendi  primam  conjugem 
...  possint  ....  dispensare  cum  ejusmodi  convorsis, 
ut  possint  post  Baptismum  contrahere  verum  Matrimonium  in  facie 
Ecclesiae !"  And  Nicol,  del  Techo  in  his  History  of  Paraguay 
continues : — "  Urbanus  Octavus  indicto  sapientum  virorum  super 
ea  re  consulto,  pronunciavit,  non  videri  sibi  speciali  sua  dispensa- 
tione  opus  esse,  ubi  doctorum  sententiae  utrimque  probabiles 
intercederent :  sequerentur  opiniones  pro  conditionc  locorum  ac 
hominum  Barbaris  favorabiliores,  salva  interim  utriusque  partis 
authoritate,  sinerent  doctis  hominibus  sentiendi  libertatem.*' 


412  Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony. 

Antecedent   and    Supervenient    Doubts    of 

Ecclesiastical  Law. 

II.  A  much  more  practical  portion  of  the  division 
remains.  If  a  dnbium  antecedens  be  juris  ecclesiastici,  it  does 
not  interfere  with  the  validity  of  marriage.  To  enpply 
for  any  defect  is  in  this  case  within  the  range  of  ecclesias- 
tical authority,  and  that  the  power  is  exercised  for  the 
Church's  advantage  seems  certain.  Notwithstanding 
Carriere*8  hesitation,  theologians  generally  teach  such  inter- 
vention here  as  either  certain  or  probable,  and  when  they  do, 
as  S.  Alphonsus  explains,  the  Church  suppUes  whatever  may 
be  necessary  for  vahdity.  In  other  words,  whether  a 
certain  case  came  originally  under  the  terms  of  an  ecclesi- 
astical law  or  not,  the  Church  ceases  to  include  it  when 
the  interpreters  of  law  raise  serious  doubts  about  its 
inclusion  or  exclusion. 

Still,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  judgment  in  regard  to 
doubtful  impediments  is  a  judicial  act  appertaining  to 
episcopal  rignts,  and  hence,  when  time  permits,  the  Bishop 
should  always  bo  consulted.  It  the  doubt  be  one  for  the 
solution  of  which  querists  are  referred  by  the  Holy  See  to 
Frobati  Auctores^  ho  will  give  his  *  licet  procedere,*  or 
dispense,  the  latter  course,  should  he  deem  it  preferable 
in  deference  to  Carriere,  being  certainly  within  his  com- 
petence juj*e  quasi  ordinario.  So,  too,  in  all  such  cases  of 
doubt  coupled  with  urgency.  But  where  time  does  not 
press,  and  the  doubt  is  one  about  which  the  Holy  See  has 
not  been  consulted,  the  Bishop  usually  applies  for  a  decision 
before  gianting  his  licet  procedere.^  And  then,  for  the 
public  good,  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  law,  whose 
obligation  doubt  had  thrown  mto  abeyance,  is  again 
enforced  by  a  decision  in  its  favor. 

III.  Where  a  dubium  juris  arises  after  the  celebration 
of  marriage  and  it  happens  to  bo  of  ecclesiastical  law, 
nothing  need  be  done,  unless  a  positive  decision  making 
the  law  prospectively  certain  be  deemed  desirable.  Many 
such  doubts  are    found  under  '*  Cognatio  Spiritualis,"  in 

'  Dr.  Murray's  and  other  treatises. 

Supervenient  Doubts  of  Divine  Law, 

IV.  A  supervening  doubt  of  Divine  or  Natural  law 
creates  much  more  difficulty.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case 
of  metus  subjective  gravis  objective  levis^  it  is  within   the 

»  Cf.  Feije,  p.  655. 


Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony.  413 

power  of  the  contracting  parties  themselves  to  remedy 
any  defect  which  may  exist,  and  then  it  will  be  for  the 
prudence  of  a  director  to  select  a  proper  course.  Generally, 
he  will  deem  it  best  to  allow  the  marriage  life  to  continue 
without  alluding  to  the  question  of  original  validity  or 
even  asking  the  metumpatiens  to  give  any  formal  renewal  of 
ceDsent.  The  latter,  however,  may  manifest  grave  anxiety 
about  the  Sacrament,  and  then  conditional  renewal  is 
advisable,  unless  likely  to  result  in  multiplying  scruples  or 
sought  for  as  an  eflPect  of  them.  Should  any  uncertainty 
exist,  as  to  how  an  intimation  would  affect  the  other  party, 
remedial  measures,  if  any,  are  to  be  confined  to  the 
^meium  patiens.*  Rarely,  if  ever,  is  it  desirable  to  go 
further.  In  the  unhappy  event  of  separation,  obviously, 
re-marriage  cannot  be  allowed. 

Again,  it  may  not  be  possible  for  the  contracting  parties 
to  remove  the  source  of  doubt,  as  when  brother  and  sister, 
married  before  baptism,  embrace  Catholicity  and  desire 
to  conform  their  lives  to  it«  teaching.  Here  a  dubium  juris 
naturalis  vel  divini  arises  in  regard  to  vaHdity,  and  plainly 
if  willing  to  live  apart  in  celibacy,  for  many  reasons, 
thev  are  to  be  recommended  to  do  so.  But  what  is 
to  De  said  in  this  rare  case  when  their  desire  is  to  con«- 
tinue  as  before  ?  Feije^  would  insist  on  separation  until 
the  Pope  had  given  judgment.  Ballerini^  seems  to  hold 
they  cannot  be  separated  even  to  avoid  public  scandal 
unless  an  ordinance  of  the  civil  power  exist  declaring  these 
unions  invalid  and  such  legislation  be  deemed  not  ultra 
vires.  In  this  conflict  of  opinion  one  is  justified  in  not 
going  beyond  advice,  pending  instructions  from  the  Holy 
See, 

Antecedent  Doubts  about  facts  involving  bipediments 

OF  Divine  institution, 

V.  Doubts  oifact  are  still  more  troublesome  than  doubts 
of  laic.  But  too  frequently  they  remain  despite  the 
matm-est  examination  and  call  for  treatment  ready  and 
skilful.  If  before  contracting  marriage  a  fact  be  doubtful, 
the  existence  of  which  would  involve  an  impediment  of 
Divine  or  Natural  Law,  the  Melanges  cite  Sanchez,^ 
Kugler,*  De  Coninck^  and  Castropalao,^  as  requiring  only 

>  p.  243.        «  p.  781.       »  Lib.  viii.,  Dis.  vi.,  n.  18. 

«  Tom.  i.  n.  1050  sq.,  1533  sq.,  and  Tom.  ii.,  quaest.  xxvil,  p.  631  sq. 

»  Tom.  ii,  Disp.  xxxiv.,  n.  104. 

•  Tract  xxyiii,  Diap.  iii.,  Punct.  iv.,  n.  4. 


414  Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony/. 

full  investigation  previous  to  permitting  the  ceremony. 
But  on  referring  to  these  authorities  it  is  not  by  any  means 
certain  they  all  hold  this  view,  even  subject  to  the  restric- 
tion which  is  made  when  a  presumption  exists  in  favor  of 
the  impediment,  as  it  does,  ft)r  instance,  if  a  doubt  regard 
the  death  of  former  husband  or  wife.  Or  perhaps  the 
opinion  thus  qualified  may  be  harmonized  with  the  common 
teaching  by  adding  that  the  legal  presumption  is  almoet 
universal  for  impediments  of  Divine  institution.  8ee  with 
what  care  the  Church  guards  against  the  matrimonial 
union  of  those  who  may  be  in  the  first  degree  of  consan- 
guinity. Indeed  in  the  absence  of  favourable  interpreta- 
tion from  the  Pope  only  in  one  instance,  and  for  obvious 
reasons,  does  it  appear  lawful  to  presume  liberty — '*  in  casu 
dubiae  impotentiae^  ne  in  perpetuum  interdicatur  matri- 
monium  '* — and  then  evils  are  to  be  minimised  by  contract- 
ing conditionally  and  warning  the  other  party. 

Antecedent  Doubts  about  facts  involving  impediments 

of  ecclesiasticai^  institution. 

VI.  Antecedent  doubts  respecting  impediments  of 
ecclesiastical  institution  come  next  in  order.  In  this 
itoportant  class  of  cases  Cardenas,  Lacroix,  the  theologians 
named  in  the  last  paragraph,  with  several  others,  say  the 
parties,  after  careful  examination,  may  use  their  liberty 
should  a  doubt  remain,  unless  a  legal  presumption  happen 
to  exist  in  favor  of  the  law.  These  writers  freely  admit 
such  presumptions,  but  in  their  absence  deem  dispensations 
unnecessary,  although  by  no  means  as  one  with  each  other 
as  to  whether  the  Church  interferes  to  make  the  marriages 
valid  by  removing  an  impediment  when  it  stands  in  2ie 
way.  *  Impedimentum  diihium  impedimentum  nullitm '  and 
*  libertas  in  possessione '  are  their  favourite  arguments  in  this 
context.  And  we  might  possibly  expect  S.  Liguori,*  from 
what  he  says  of  Cognatio  Spiritualia  in  connection  with 
conditional  baptism,  would  use  these  maxims  for  a  somewhat 
similar  purpose.  But  on  the  general  question  he  distinctly 
holds  it  necessary  to  apply  for  a  dispensation.  And  plainly 
there  is  not  the  same  reason  for  the  Church  interposing  in 
dubia  facta  as  in  dubia  juris,  .  Foi^  it  is  one  thing  not  to 
press  a  law  in  a  particular  class  of  cases  which  according 
to  many  never  came  within  its  compass,  and  would  be 
something  far  different  to  remove  an  impediment  already 

^  De  BaptiBmo,  n.  151. 


Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony.  415 

contracted  simply  because  post  factum  in  a  particular  case 
it  cannot  be  found  whether  the  fact  to  which  an  impedi- 
ment is  attached  occurred  or  not.  Again,  doing  the  latter 
might  tend  to  promote  remissness  in  the  previous  investi- 
gation. 

But  obviously  a  priori  reasoning  cannot  be  decisive 
here.  Let  us  see  wnat  the  Church's  practice  has  been. 
According  to  some,  as  above,  every  deficiency  is  remedied 
just  as  where  a  doubt  directly  regards  ecclesiastical  law. 
St.  Alphonsus,  however,  speaking  of  this  opinion,  says  it 
cannot  be  safely  followed  in  practice,  because,  although  it 
were  probable  that  the  Church  intervenes,  the  opinion  that 
she  does  so  is  not  commonly  or  certainly  admitted  as  probable, 
which  it  ought  in  order  to  create  a  reliable  presumption. 
Now,  since  his  time  it  cannot  be  said  that  theologians  have 
been  more  indulgent  in  opinion  on  this  point  than  their 
predecessors.  On  the  contrary,  whilst  most  modem 
writers  ratify  his  judgment,  scarcely  any  is  as  strong  as 
Cardenas^  on  the  other  side.  For  the  present  then,  and 
until  theological  opinion  is  more  pronounced  in  holding 
Church  intervention,  it  cannot  be  practically  certain  that  an 
existing  impediment  disappears  in  deference  to  such  opinion. 

How,  it  may  be  asked,  does  the  Sacred  Congregation 
treat  doubts  of  fact  in  reference  to  impediments  in  which 
dispensations  are  usually  granted  ?  There  is  considerable 
variety  according  to  the  varying  circumstances.  At  one 
time  it  dispenses  absolutely^  at  another  ad  cautelam^  and 
again  declares  the  marriages  may  be  celebrated.  But  just 
as  answers  of  the  first  and  second  class  are  not  proof  con- 
vincing that  any  impediment  existed,  so  the  last  class  of 
replies  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  owing  to  the  doubt 
no  impediment  remained  for  removal.  What  then  is  the 
guiding  principle  I  It  seems  as  if  the  Church  allowed  her 
laws  to  have  the  usual  efiect  in  cases  of  doubtful  fact  not 
brought  before  her  courts,  and  decided  particular  diffi- 
culties sent  to  Rome  by  the  ordinary  rules  of  judicature, 
granting  an  absolute  dispensation  in  doubtful  circumstances 
where  the  legal  presumption  favours  the  impediment,  an 
ad  cautdam  where  it  is  neither  way,  and  declaring  merely 
licet  procedere  vf\iQx&  \i  is  against  the  impediment.  That 
a  dispensation  is  implied  in  this  third  case,  if  required  for 
validity,  is,  of  course,  highly  probable.  The  important 
point,  however,  to  note  is,  that  the  Roman  decisions  do  not 
settle  the  question  at  issue,  and  therefore  leave  it  still 

»  Crisis  Theologica.    Dissert.  11.,  n.  625-527. 


416  Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony. ^ 

unsafe  to  treat  dubia  facti  like  duhia  juris,  if  there  be  an 
obligation  to  make  sure  the  sacrament. 

A^d  plainly  there  can  be  no  justification  for  exposing 
it  to  risk  in  these  circumstances,  as  it  is  so  easy  to  set 
matters  thoroughly  straight,  by  applying  to  the  bishop  for 
a  dispensation,  which  his  quasi-ordinary  authority  enables 
him  to  give  in  doubtful  cases  beyond  the  reach  of  his 
purely  delegated  faculties.  That  bishops  enjoy  this  power 
needs  no  special  proof.  It  is  generally  admitted,  because 
reservations  are  odious  and  to  be  strictly  interpreted,  as  well 
as  because  suoh  matters  often  occur  for  dispensation  in  the 
many  needs  of  a  bishop's  flock. 

It  is  well,  however,  to  remember  that  when  the  fact 
quoad  substantiam  is  certain,  and  doubt  falls  only  on  some 
circumstance  necessary  to  induce  the  impediment  and 
usually  present  with  the  fact,  a  presumption  of  law  exists 
in  favour  of  the  impediment,  which  will  place  it  mforo 
ed'temo  on  exactly  the  same  footing  as  if  certain  in  eveiy 
respect.  Such  presumptions  are  common  in  connection 
with  crimen  and  ajffinity.  Besides  a  question  is  raised  by 
Feije  as  to  whether  the  quasi-ordinary  power  of  dispensing 
in  doubtful  impediments  extends  to  public  cases  at  all. 
He  himself  much  prefers  a  declaration.  When  this  power 
comes  from  urgency,  no  doubt  it  does  not  include  them 
and  is  available  only  for  the  forum  convenientiae.  Still  the 
responses  declaring  pubUc  cases  outside  the  range  of 
episcopal  quasi-ordinary  power  may  be  fairly  construed  as 
referring  to  certain  impediments  alone,  since  up  to  the 
present,  doubtful  ones,  without  distinction,  have  been 
generally  held  to  come  within  its  compass.  Now  although 
a  dispensation  as  being  a  vulnus  legis  should  receive  strict 
interpretation,  not  so  the  power  of  dispensing,  which, 
being/ar(waJt7w,  is  to  be  widely  construed  until  restrictions 
are  put  on  by  competent  authority.  The  following  reply, 
given  in  1852  by  the  S.  C.  C  in  reference  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  bishops  over  cases  of  doubtful  fact,  does  not  make  the 
distinction  : — "  Consulat  probates  auctores  et  in  casibus 
gravioris  dubii  recurrat  ad  S,  sedem  saltern  ad  cautelam." 

Supervenient  Doubts  about  facts  involving  impeddients 
whether  of  jjlvine  or  of  ecclesiastical  institutios. 

VII.  Let  us  next  suppose  a  doubt  of  fact  to  arise  after 
marriage.     If,  when  full  examination  has  been  made,  a 

»  S.  Dguori,  n.  902. 


Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony.  417 

doubt  continues  in  reference  to  a  fact  which,  where  exist- 
ing, gives  rise  to  an  impediment  of  Divine  institution, 
matrimony  is  in  possession,  and  nothing  need  be  done 
unless  it  be  within  the  power  of  the  person  concerned  to 
remove  all  uncertainty ;  as,  for  instance,  in  case  of  doubt- 
ful consent,  by  renewing  it  conditionally,  ^^^lat  was  said 
already,  in  regard  to  caution  on  a  somewhat  similar  issue, 
raust  oe  understood  as  applying  here.  Plainly  renewal 
by  words  is  not  required. 

VIII.  But  where  the  doubt  bears  on  a  fact  which,  if 
present,  would  give  rise  to  an  impediment  of  ecclesiastical 
institution,  per  se  a  dispensation  should  be  sought, 
because  otherwise  it  does  not  appear  how  or  when  the 
impediment,  if  present,  is  to  be  removed,  and  where  fairly 
feasible,  there  seems  to  be  an  obligation  of  securing  its 
absence.  Per  accidensj  however,  if  not  asked  by  an  intelli- 
gent penitent  to  interfere,  the  confessor  will  deem  it  more 
prudent  in  the  majority  of  cases  to  let  matters  stand, 
rather  than  run  what  might  be  a  considerable  risk 
of  unsettling  consciences.  As  a  rule  he  will  not  mind 
his  own  doubts,  but  only  those  of  his  penitent,  which  are 
to  be  hushed  or  refeiTed  to  the  bishop,  according  to  his 
best  judgment  of  spiritual  advantage  either  way. 

But  against  applying  at  all  for  a  dispensation  in  such 
cases,  well-known  decisions  in  reference  to  doubtful 
baptism  appear  to  create  a  difficulty.  Let  us  see.  When 
both  are  Catholics,  the  person  whose  baptism  is  doubtful 
is  to  be  rebaptised  conditionally  sine  praejudicio  matrimoniu 
Where  one  is  a  Protestant,  a  doubt  in  regard  to  the  baptism 
of  the  non-Catholic  must  not  prevent  that  sacrament  from 
being  considered  valid  in  ordine  ad  validitatem  matrimonii.  It 
maybe  well  to  state  how  the  latter  decision  came  to  be  given. 

In  1830,  the  Bishop  of  Annecy,  in  Savoy,  called  atten- 
tion to  the  serious  difficulty  which  mixed  marriages  pre- 
sented in  his  district  owing  to  the  uncertain  nature  of 
baptism,  as  administered  by  Protestants,  and  sought  an 
answer  to  the  following  question : — 

**  An  Calvinistae  et  Lutherani  in  illis  partibus  degentes,  quorum 
Baptisma  dubium  et  suspectum  est,  infideles  habendi  sunt,  ita  ut 
inter  hos  et  Catholicos  Disparitatis  Cultus  impedimentum  dirimens 
•^esse  censeatur  ?" 

The  reply  was; — 

**  1**  Quoad  haereticos,  quorum  sectae  ritualia  praescribunt 
collationem  baptismi  absque  necessario  usu  materiae  et  formae 
^ssentialis,  debet  examinari  casus  particularis. 


418  Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony. 

*<  2^  Quoad  alios  qui  juxta  eomm  ritualia  baptizant  yalide, 
validum  ceusendum  est  baptisma.  Quodsi  dubium  persistat,  etiam 
in  V  casu,  censendum  est  validum  baptisma  in  ordine  ad  validi- 
tatem  matrimonii. 

"  3"  Si  autem  certe  cognoscMtur  nullum  baptisma  ex  consaetu- 
dine  actuali  illius  sectae,  est  nullum  matrimonium." 

• 

Again,  in  1837,  it  was  added : — 

"  In  tertio  casu  praefati  decreti,  respiciente  nullitatcm 
certum  baptismi  in  parte  haeretica,  recurratur  in  casibus  particu- 
laribus." 

How  are  these  replies  to  be  understood  ?  Merely  as 
rules  for  practical  guidance,  or  over  and  above  as  intima- 
ting that  an  impediment,  if  it  exist,  is  removed  to  make 
marriage  valid  ?  Again,  are  they  applicable  to  contrcJienday 
as  well  as  to  contracta,  to  marriages  celebrated  without  a 
dispensation  in  the  prohibent  impediment,  to  purely  non- 
Catholic  marriages  ?  When  a  married  Catholic  is  condi- 
tionally re-baptized,  any  obstacle  to  the  validity  of  marriage 
in  the  case  of  baptism  is  removed,  and  it  is  certain  enough 
the  union  is  thereafter,  at  least,  real  matrimony.  But  we 
fear  it  is  very  different  if  the  doubt  of  baptism  regards  a 
non-Catholic.  In  this  case  baptism  is  not  conditionally 
re-administered,  and  though  Ballerini  inclines  to  hold  that 
the  Church  dispenses,  her  whole  dealing  in  the  matter 
seems  to  point  to  the  contrary  conclusion,  unle-ss  when 
kno^ving  the  difficulty  in  a  particular  case  about  baptism, 
the  S.  Congregation  grants  a  dispensation  in  the  prohibent 
impediment  Certainly,  if  two  years  after  a  serious  doubt 
had  arisen  as  to  the  baptism  of  a  Protestant,  long  since 
married  to  a  Catholic  without  a  dispensation,  the  baptism 
were  discovered  to  have  been  invalid,  scarcely  anyone 
would  hold  that  the  marriage  was  now  for  two  years 
valid  owing  to  the  doubt  which  began  with  that  period. 
Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  it  be  seriously  contended, 
that  at  the  time  of  contracting  marriage,  the  Church  acted 
differently,  according  as  the  invalidity  of  baptism  wa« 
destined  in  future  time  to  become  certain  or  only  doubtful. 
Therefore,  since  matrimony  is  null  whenever  baptism  is 
found  to  have  been  invalid,  a  dispensation  is  given  neither 
at  the  time  of  contracting  nor  of  doubting,  at  least  outside 
the  exception  already  made. 

Doubts  about  baptism  are  explained  when  writing 
to  Rome  for  a  dispensation  in  a  mixed  marriage.  Should, 
however,  the  omission  occur,  it  need  not  cause  farther 


Doubtful  Impediments  of  Matrimony.  41  % 

delay,  as  the  above  replies  make  no  distinction  between 
cGntrahenda  and  contracta.  Purely  non-Catholic  marriages 
are  subject  to  the  same  rules,  a  fact  which  throws  additional 
light  on  the  Church's  action.  The  following  decision  will 
be  interesting  in  this  connection : — 

"  Vir  quidam  Anglicanae  ecclesiae  vult  amplecti  Catholicam 
religioDem.  In  Anglia  matrimoniiiin  fecit  cum  muliere,  quae  ad 
sectam  ADabaptistarum  pertinebat,  et  quae  prouti  ipse  afiirmat, 
nunqnam  baptizata  fuit.  Quum  vir  ipse  baptismum  a  ministro 
Protestante  Anglicano  receperit,  de  valid itate  ejus  proprii  baptis- 
matis  ratio  quoque  gravis  dubitandi  est.  Propter  jurgia  continua 
malierem  Anabaptistam  vir  praefatus  deseruit,  venitque  N.  ubi 
matriiQOoium  iterum  fecit,  sed  cum  muliere  Lutherana.  Quaenam 
ex  istis  mulieribus  tanquam  ejus  uxor  vera  haberi  debet  ? 

"  Feria  IV.,  die  20  Julii,  1840." 

**  Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster  Gregorius  Divina  providentia 
Papa  XVL,  in  solita  audientia  R.  P.  Assessori  S.  Officii  impertita, 
audita  relatione  suprascripti  dubii  una  cum  Emin.  et  Rev  D.D. 
Cardinalium  Generalium  Inquisitorum  suffragiis,rescribi  mandavit, 
qaod,  dummodo  constet  de  non  collatione  baptismi  mulieris  Ana- 
baptistae,  primum  matrimonium  fuisse  nullum ;  secundum  vero, 
dmnmodo  nullum  aliud  obstet  impedimentum,  fuisse  validum.  Ad 
dnbium  autem  valid! tatis  baptismi  viri,  standum  esse  decreto 
feriaeiv.,  17  Novembris,  1830." 

Returning  to  the  immediate  subject,  to  explain  which 
this  digression  has  been  made,  whatever  opinion  is  held  of 
the  Church's  dealing  with  supervening  doubtful  impedi- 
ments of  disparitis  cultus^  it  cannot  be  concluded  that, 
because  they  are  not  to  be  remedied  by  asking  for  a  dis- 
pensation ad  cautelamj  other  dubia  facti  are  always  to  be 
treated  in  like  manner. 

A  ruling  given  for  one  class  of  probable  cases  cannot 
extend  to  others,  where  a  parity  of  reason  does  not  exist, 
in  the  absence  of  a  declaration  to  that  effect.  And  the 
reasons  here  were  very  special.  Such  doubts  occur 
frequently,  are  of  their  own  nature  difficult  to  solve,  and  most 
of  all  it  would  be  utterly  against  ecclesiastical  usage  to 
openly  give  dispensations  to  non-Catholics  in  such  profusion. 

The  difficulty  of  ever  discoveringjthe  truth  about  doubtful 
baptism  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  what 
theologians  more  commonly  teach  in  reference  to  cognatio 
spirituaUs  arising  therefrom.     According  to  S.  Liguori,  and 

_xl •!•  _x 1 1^1.  J*^ •.       jl  f  f  . 


420  Irish  Theologians. 

opinion  be  followed  in  practice  t  Yes,  provided  the 
grounds  alluded  to  are  really  strong,  because  the  case  has 
acquired  the  advantages  of  a  dubium  juris  by  so  many 
excepting  it  from  the  law  independently  of  how  the  facts 
may  stand. 

Other  Doubts. 

IX.  Connected  with  what  has  been  explained,  a  few 
other  points  of  probability  yet  remain.  Should  an  impedi- 
ment be  certain,  and  for  any  reason  a  serious  doubt  arise 
as  to  whether  a  dispensation  had  been  procured,  the 
impediment  is  in  possession  and  must  be  removed  in  the 
ordinary  way  before  contracting  maiiiage.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  dispensation  of  doubtful  validity  is  presumed 
valid,  although,  if  possible,  recourae  should  be  had  to  the 
bishop  before  applying  it. 

X.  Again,  bishops^  can  grant  dispensations  where 
sufficiency  of  cause  is  uncertain,  while  tne  contrary  holds 
good  when  a  doubt  falls  on  their  power  itself — "  Quodsi 
constet  ab  episcopi  potestate,  sed  dubitetur  an  causa  ad 
dispensandum  sufficiat,  dispensare  episcopus  potest ;  sed 
dispensare  nequit  quando  ipsa  ejus  potestas  duoia  est,  ex. 
gr.,  utrum  is  cum  quo  est  dispensandum  sit  ei  subjectus."* 

Lastly,  it  will  be  observed,  no  allusion  has  been  made 
to  prohibent  impediments  as  such  in  treating  the  subject 
of  this  paper.  There  is  nothing  peculiar  to  draw  doubts 
in  their  regard  out  of  the  ordinary  cases  of  probable 
prohibition  discussed  in  treatises  on  "  conscience."  It  is 
otherwise  with  serious  issues  bearing  on  validity,  and  these 
alone  have  we  considered.  Patrick  O'DonnelLi 


IRISH    THEOLOGIANS. -NO.   VIU. 
Marianus  Scotus,  the  Chronicler. 

S  the  name  of  Marianus  Scotus,  the  Chronicler,  was 
brought  prominently  into  notice  on  the  occasion 
ot  the  recent  interesting  discussion  regarding  the  birth- 
place of  St.  Boniface,  we  think  our  readers  will  be 
anxious  to  have  a  fuller  account  of  the  life  and  writings  of 
that  distinguished  chronologist,  and  also  of  his  namesake 
And  contemporary,  Marianus  Scotus  the  "  Poet  and  Theo- 

»  CaiUaud,  p.  196.  «  Feije,  p.  555. 


A 


Marianus  Scotus,  the  Chronicler.  421 

logian."  These  two  writers  have  been  often  confounded ; 
and  that  is  not  unnatural,  seeing  that  they  had  both  the 
same  name,  both  were  Irishmen,  and  contemporaries,  and 
both  recluses  in  German  monasteries.  It  is,  however, 
essential  to  keep  them  distinct,  for  they  were  undoubtedly 
diflFerent  persons;  men,  too,  of  great  learning  and  great 
holiness,  whose  writings  prove  that  in  the  eleventh  centuiy, 
in  spite  of  foreign  spoilers  and  domestic  dissension,  the 
schools  of  Ireland  produced  scholars  of  European  fame. 

It  is  fortunate  that  so  far  as  Marianus  the  Chronicler  is 
concerned,  we  have  the  principal  facts  of  his  life  recorded 
by  himself  or  at  least  taten  down  from  his  own  lips  by  his 
amanuensis.     In  his  Chronicle  under  date  of  1028,  he  says, 
**  I,  Marianus,  the  wretched,  was  this  year  bom  in  sin."^ 
Unfortunately  he  does  not  tell  us  where,  nor  indicate  the 
name  or  locality  of  his  family.     A  marginal  entry,  how- 
ever, in  the  original  MS.,  of  the  Chronicle  (now  preserved 
in  the  Vatican)  written  in  hnah^  leaves  no  doubt  on  the 
point    "  It  is  pleasant  for  us  to-day,  0  Maelbrigte,  recluse 
in  the  enclosure  in  Mentz,  on  the  Thursday   before  the 
Feast  of  St.  Peter,  in  the  first  year  of  the  yoke  (religious 
profession)  that  is  in  the  year  in  which  Diarmait,  King  of 
the  Leinstermen,  was  slain.     And  this  is  the  first  year  I 
came  from  Alba  on  my  pilgrimage  :"^  and  then  he  adds  in 
Latin,  "  and  I  have  written  this  book  out  of  love  for  you^ 
and  for  all  the  Scots,  that  is,  the  Irish,  because  I  myself 
am  an  Irishman — et  scripsi  hunc  librum  prae  caritate  tibi 
et  Scottis  omnibus,  id   est  Hibemensibus,  quia  sum  ipse 
Hibemensis.**     "  To-day, "  to  which  the  scribe  so  touchingly 
refers,  was  Thursday  before  the  Feast  of  St.  Peter  in  1072, 
and  serves  to  fix  the  time  in  which  the  Chronicle   was 
being  written,  for  that  entry  is  within  one  page  of  the  end. 
It  is  worth  mentioning  as  a  proof  of  the  accuracy  of 
our  native  Annals  that  the  Four  Masters  under  date  ot" 
1072,  record  the  death  of  King  Diannait  "  on  Tuesday  the 
seventh  (VII.)  before  the  Ides  of  February,"  while  this 
scribe,  -writing  the  following  Summer   in    the    German 
cloister,  the  very  year  he    came   from  Ireland,  records 
Diarmait*s     death    anno,    1072,   in   the    following    brief 
entry: — "  Diarmait  rex  Lag.  8  Idus  Febr.  feria  secunda 

*  Ego  mieer  Marianus,  in  peccatis  fui  in  hoc  anno  natus. 

^For  the  Irish  words  of  this  extract  quoted  by  Dr.  Moran,  now 
Archbishop  of  Sydney,  see  the  Record  for  March,  1884,  page  185, 
when  they  have  been  for  the  first  time  correctly  translated— for  they 
puzzled  Waitz  and  the  Germans — by  the  Rev.  Dr,  McCarthy,  Macroom. 


^22  Irish  Theologians : 

occisTis  " — Diarmait  was  slain  on  Monday  the  eighth  before 
the  Ides  of  February.  Did  the  battle  begin  on  Monday 
and  end  on  Tuesday ;  or  was  the  king  wounded  or  made  a 
prisoner  on  Monday  and  *' slain  and  beheaded,"  as  the 
FoTir  Masters  tell  us,  on  Tuesday  ?  This  minor  discrepancy 
is  only  a  new  proof  of  the  extraordinary  accuracy  of  our 
ancient  Annals.^ 

It  is  evident  from  the  marginal  entry  of  the  scribe  that 

Marianus  was  called  in  his  native  Irish  tongue  Maelbrighe, 

the  servant  of  Bridget,  a  favourite  name  with  our  Irish 

saints  and  scholars.     We  can  only  conjecture,  with  some 

probability,  where  Marianus  was  educated  in  Ireland,  from 

an  incidental  reference  which  he  makes  to  his  own  spiritual 

director  or  teacher.     Under  date  of  1043  he  makes  the 

folio wiug  interesting  statement  regarding  an  incident  which 

happened  before  he  had  left  Ireland : — "  On  the  third  day 

before  the  calends  of  February,  Anmchaidh  (Animchadus), 

an  Irish  monk  and  recluse,  died  in  the  monastery  of  Fulda. 

Over  his  tomb  hghts  were  seen  and  psalms  were  heard. 

Over  him,  too,  I.  Marianus  Scotus,  a  recluse  (in  Fulda)  for 

ten  years,  sang  a  daily  Mass  standing  over  his  feet."    The 

holy  recluse  had,  it  would  seem,  been  buried  at  or  under 

the  altar  of  the  hermitage  chapel,  so  that  Marianus  in 

offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice  stood  over  bis  feet  on  the  spot 

where  he  was  buried.  He  then  adds :  "  The  monk  William, 

a  priest  who  had  entered  religion,  and,  moreover,  a  wise 

man,  the  most  rigid  and  devout  of  all  the  monks  of  Fulda, 

as  I  witnessed  with  my  own  eyes,  once  brought  the  deceased 

Anmchaidh  to  bless  him.     On  that  veiy  night,  as  WiUiam 

himself  assured  me  over  his  body,  he  dreamt  that  he  saw 

Anmchaidh  standing  up  in  his  grave  radiant  with  brilliant 

light,  and  stretching  out  his  hand  Anmchaidh  blessed  him. 

And  when  my  own  grave  (of  Marianus),  not  yet  finished, 

lay  open  by  his  side  for  one  night,  during  that  entire  night 

I  was  sensible  of  a  most  delicious  fragrance."     From  which 

it  appears  that  Marianus  had  caused  his  own  grave  to  be 

dug  beside  the  body  of   his  countryman,   and  probably 

watching  by  the  holy  tomb  during  the  night  that  the  work 

remained  imfinished,  perceived  this  deUghtful  fragrance  to 

which  he  refers.     Ana  then  he  adds,  "  When  Anmchaidh 

was  in  the  Island  of  Keltra,  (now  Iniscalthra  in  Lougli 

Derg,)  he,  at  their  earnest  request,  gave  food  and  drink  ti> 

1  The  Four  Masters,  however,  were  right,  for  a  contemporary  W*** 
poet  and  chronologist,  Gilla  Caemghan,  gives  the  VII.,  before  the  Ides 
of  February,  that  is  Tuesday  the  seventh  of  that  month,  as  the  true  date. 


Marianus  Scotus^  the  Chronicler.  423 

some  of  the  brethren  without  asking  permission  from 
Carcra  the  senior  or  Prior ;  although  he  sent  the  drink  to 
the  senior  to  be  blessed  as  usual.  The  senior  making 
inquiries  and  ascertaining  what  had  been  done,  expelled 
him  not  only  from  Inascaltra  but  from  all  Ireland — a 
sentence  which  Anmichaidh  humbly  accepted.  So  Tigher^ 
Hack  Borchech  once  told  me  when  1  was  blamable  for  some 
slight  fault."  The  Latin  sentence — Ita  Tighemach  Bor- 
chech mihi  culpabili  in  aUqua  levi  culpa  pronuntiavit — 
is  somewhat  ambiguous,  and  might  perhaps  mean  that 
Tighemach  pronounced  a  similar  sentence  against  Marianus 
himself,  but  the  Cottonian  MS.  renders  it  as  we  have  done. 
Moume  was  anciently  called  Boirche  and  Tighemach 
Boirchech,  or  Tighemach  of  Moume,  was  Abbot  of  Moville 
in  the  Co.  Down,  for  bjs  death  is  recorded  by  the  Four 
Masters  in*  1061,  so  we  may  fairly  conclude  that 
Marianus  was  a  pupil  of  the  school  of  Moville  before  his 
departure  for  the  continent. 

That  event  i^  mentioned  by  the  Chronicler  himself  as 
occurring  in  1056,  when  he  was  only  twenty-eight  years 
old.  "  I,  Marianus,  having  become  a  pilgrim  for  the 
heavenly  kingdom,  left  my  native  country  and  was  made  a 
monk  at  Cologne,  on  Thursday,  the  first  of  August,"  in 
that  year.  But  he  found  friends  before  liim  there,  for  the 
Monastery  of  St  Martin,  at  Cologne,  was  founded  for  Irish 
monks  so  early  as  975,  as  Marianus  himself  tells  us,  by  the 
Archbishop  Ebergerus,  who  chose  an  Irishman  named 
Alinnbarinus  to  be  its  first  abbot.  He  died  in  986,  and  was 
succeeded  by  another  Irishman  named  Kihan,  who,  when 
he  was  called  to  his  reward  in  1003,  was  succeeded  in  the 
Abbacy  of  St.  Martins  by  Ilelias,  also  an  Irishman.  He 
governed  that  Irish  community  for  nearly  forty  years. 
Helias  of  course  was  his  Latin  name,  the  equivalent  Irish 
form  being  Aitell,  as  we  learn  from  the  entry  of  his  death, 
which  is  recorded,  not  only  by  Marianus  himself  in  1042, 
but  also  by  the  Four  Masters  and  by  the  Annals  of  Ulster 
at  the  same  date.  "  Aitell  of  Mucnamh  (Mucknoe  in  the 
Co.  Monaghan),  head  of  the  monks  of  the  Gaidhel,  died 
at  Cologne.  He  had  been  chosen  to  rule  another  monas- 
tery in  that  city  along  with  St.  Martins ;  and  the  following 
entry  in  1036,  shows  that  Helias  and  his  Irish  monks  were 
looked  upon  with  some  jealousy  in  the  German  city, 
especially  by  the  clergy  and  monks  who  had  no  love  for 
their  rigorous  discipline,  seeing  that  it  was,  no  doubt,  a 
standing  reproach  on  their  own  relaxed  hves.  "  On  account 


424  Irish  Theologians: 

of  the  strictness  of  their  religions  observance,  and  the 
severity  of  their  discipline,  and  also  on  account  of  some 
Irishmen  whom  the  Irish  Abbot  Helias  kept  with  him,  in 
the  Monasteries  of  St.  Pantaleon  and  of  St.  Martin,  for  he 
was  at  that  time  ruler  of  both,  Piligrinus,  the  Bishop  of 
Cologne,  instigated  by  some  envious  men,  told  Helias  that 
neither  he  nor  any  other  Irishman  should  remain  in  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Pantaleon  after  his,  the  Bishop's,  return 
from  the  royal  palace.  Thereupon  Helias  and  the  other 
Irishmen  to  whom  the  Bishop  had  spoken,  said  amongst 
themselves  (condixerunt). — '*lf  Christ  is  in  truth  with  ug, 
pilgrims,  the  Bishop  Piligrinus  will  never  return  alive  from 
the  royal  court."  And  so  God  brought  it  about.  Piligrinus 
died  on  the  eighth  day  before  the  kalends  of  September  in 
the  next  year,  and  Helias  continued  to  govern  the  two 
monasteries  of  St.  Pantaleon  and  St.  Martin  until  his  death 
in  1064,  when  Majobus,  another  Irishman  succeeded  him. 

This  Helias,  or  Ailell,  of  Mucknoe  is  described  by  Marianus 
as  a  prudent  and  religious  man ;  and  the  fact  that  he  was 
chosen  to  rule  the  two  monasteries  shows  that  he  was  held 
in  the  highest  estimation.  But  that  he  was  an  exceedingly 
strict  disciplinarian  is  clear  from  an  incident  recorded  by 
Marianus  himself: 

A  Frankish  monk  under  his  obedience  had  written  a 
"  beautiful  "  Missal  with  great  care  and  great  labour,  but 
without  getting  the  permission  of  his  abbot.  When  Helias 
found  it  out  he  summoned  the  two  communities  together, 
told  them  what  had  been  done,  and  taking  the  beautiful 
Missal  in  his  hand,  the  fruit  of  so  much  time  and  labour,  he 
flung  it  into  the  fire,  where  it  was  burnt  to  ashes  in  presence 
of  all  the  monks  I  Ho  did  so,  says  the  Chronicler,  to  deter 
them  from  writing  or  doing  anything  else  in  future  with- 
out due  permission.  It  was  certainly  a  severe  lesson  of 
monastic  obedience,  and  helps  to  explain  why  the  com- 
munity of  St.  Pantaleon,  which  was  not  exclusively  Irish, 
like  that  of  St.  Martin,  were  anxious  to  get  rid  of  that 
terrible  abbot. 

It  'vvas  doubtless  in  St.  Martin's  that  Marianus  made  his 
reh'gious  profession,  imder  the  rule  of  the  abbot  Majobus — 
a  virgin  as  he  calls  him,  patient  and  wise.  He  remained 
at  Cologne  about  two  years,  and  then,  it  seems,  he  was 
induced  to  go  to  Fulda  by  the  abbot  Ecbert,  who  wished 
to  have  near  himself  a  man  so  holy  and  learned  as  Marianus. 

On  this  jonmey  they  paid  a  visit  to  Paderborn,  and  he 
recounts  with  great  satisfaction  that  he  had  there  the 


J 


Marianus  Scotus^  the  Chronicler,  425 

privilege  of  praying  on  the  mat  on  which  a  holy  recluse 

from  Ireland,   called  Patemus,  had   a  few   days   before 

suffered  a  voluntary  martyrdom.     When  once  enclosed  it 

was  not  lawful  for  the  recluse,  on  any  account,  to  leave  his 

cell  without  the  permission  of  the  bishop  or  abbot  who  had 

"  enclosed  "  him.     On  Friday  in  Passion  Week  of  1068,  the 

monastery    at    Paderborn  took  fire,   but  the  Irish  monk 

Paternus,  who  had  been  for  many  years  enclosed  in  his 

little  cell,  now  refused  to  leave  it  as  the  flames  approached, 

being  anxious  for  a  martyr's  crown  ;  and  so,  through  the 

flames  of  his  little  cell  he  passed  to  his  eternal  reward.  Many 

wonders  are  told  of  his  tomb,  says  Marianus,  "  and  I  myself, 

on  the  Monday  after  Low  Sunday,  a  fortnight  after  his 

death,  prayed  on  the  mat  in  his  cell  upon  which  he  was 

burned  to  death  and  gained  the  crown/' 

Ecbert  the  abbot  died  in  that   year,  but  next   year 
Sigfridus  succeeded,  and  so  Marianus  going  to  Wurtzburg 
**  was  ordained  priest  with  Sigfried  abbot  of  Fulda,  nigh  to 
the  body  of  his  countryman,  the  holy  martyr  Killian,  at 
Wurtzberg ;"  and  shortly  after  his  ordination,  in  May  of  the 
same  year,  he  was  once  more  "  enclosed  "  aqd  continued  to 
live  as  a  strict  recluse  for  the  next  ten  years  in  Fulda. 
These  were  years  of  prayer,  penance,  and  study,  which  he 
spent  in  his  little  cell,  saying  his  daily  Mass  over  the  body 
of  the  blessed  Anmchaidh,  from  Iniscaltra,  with  his  grave 
dug  beside  him,  that  he  might  be  reminded  eveiy  moment  of 
death  and  judgment.     Truly  the  Danes  had  not   extin- 
guished the  spirit  of  religion  in   Ireland  when  it   could 
produce  such  men  as  these. 

It  is  evident  enough  that  the  holy  recluse  was  much 
beloved  by  Sigfried,  at  that  time  abbot  of  Fulda ;  but  who 
was  not  long  after  made  Archbishop  of  Mentz  by  Pope 
Alexander.  So  that  prelate  induced  him  to  leave  his  cell 
at  Fulda  and  come  to  Mentz,  where  he  was  again  "enclosed" 
in  a  cell  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Martin  in  that  city. 
"A.D.  1069,"  he  says:  "I,  the  wretched  Marianus,  by  order 
of  the  archbishop  of  Mentz,  and  of  the  abbot  of  Fulda,  after 
ray  enclosure  of  ten  years,  was  led  from  my  cell  in  Fulda 
to  Mentz."  It  is  evident  that  it  was  with  great  reluctance, 
and  only  in  obedience  to  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  that 
lie  was  induced  to  leave  that  beloved  cell  where  he  had  spent 
so  many  penitential  years,  and  where  he  had  hoped  to 
rest  in  peace  beside  the  body  of  the  holy  Anmchaidn.  But 
his  friends  were  not  unmindful  of  him.  He  tells  us  that 
the  chapel  of  the  hermitage  of  St.  Martin's  monastery  of 
VOL.  V.  2  I 


426  Irish  Tlieologians : 

* 

Mentz  was  solemnly  dedicated,  on  the  10th  July,  and  that 
he  himself,  the  "  wretched  Marianus  "  was,  for  his  sins,  a 
second  time  enclosed  therein  on  the  same  day. 

Here  he  spent  thirteen  years  more  in  strict  enclosure, 
and  composed  the  great  work  which  has  made  his  name 
famous,  and  of  which  we  now  propose  to  give  a  short 
account. 

We  owe  to  Professor  G.  Waitz,  of  the  University  of 
Kiel,  the  first  correct  edition   of  even  a  portion  of  the 
Chronicon  of  Marianus.     Herold,  it  is  true,  so  eaily  as  1559, 
purported  to  publish  the  *'  Chronicles  of  Marianus  Scotus ;" 
it   was,  however,    not    the    genuine    text    of    Marianus, 
but  rather  a  summaiy  collected  from  Marianus,  as  well  afi 
from  several  other  writers,  especially  from  Methodius  and 
the  Wiui;zburg  Annals.     Professor  Waitz,  however,  Ut  upon 
the  autograph  manuscript  of  Marianus  in  the  Vatican — the 
Codex  Palatini)  Vaticanus  No.  830 — and  ascertaining  that 
it  was  indeed  the  genuine  work  of  Marianus,  and  that  the 
other  Codices,  including    the    famous    Cottonian   Codex, 
which  Usher  had  promised  to  publish,  were  only  imperfect 
copies,  he  resolvea  so  far  as  he  went  to  follow  the  Vatican 
autograph.     He  observes  that  there  were  evidently  two 
hands  engaged  in  writing  the  MSS.,  that  what  he  calls 
the  "  first  hand  "  wrote  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  MS., 
from  foho  25  to  folio  149.  The  first  25  foUos  and  the  last.  20, 
from  149 — 170,  are  written  in  a  different  hand,  wliich  he 
calls  the  "  second."     Most  of  the  marginal  entries,  too, 
seem  to  have  been  written  in  this  "  second  hand."     We  have 
been  informed,  however,  by  Dr.  M*Carthy  of  Macroom,  who 
consulted  the  original  MS.,  in  the  Vatican,  that  what  Waitz 
calls  the  "  second"  and  imperfect  hand  is  really  the  hand- 
writing of  Marianus  himself,  and  that  the  body  of  the  work 
written  in  what  Waitz  calls  the  "first  hand," is  really  thework 
of  an  amanuensis  from  Ireland,  whose  handwriting  is  very 
beautiful,  and  who,  about  the  year  1071,  happened  to  come 
to  Mentz,  where  he  was  employed  to  write  in  his  own  neat 
caUgraphy  from  the  dictation  of  Marianua     This  would 
explain  why  the  earUer  folios,  up  to  26,  before  he  arrived, 
are  in  a  different  hand,  and  it  also  shows  from  the  marginal 
entry,  anno  1072,  in  the  **  first  hand,"  in  which  the  scribe 
addresses  Marianus,  that  Waitz'  "first  hand"  was  in  reality 
the  work  of  the  scribe,  and  that  his  "  second  hand  "  was 
the  work  of  Marianus  himself.    Neither  writer,  however,  is 
free  from  blemishes  both  in  grammar  and  orthography,  so 
much  so  that  Waitz  thinks  Marianus  himself  wrote  none  of 


Marianus  ScotuSj  the  Clironicler,  427 

the  Chronicle,  but  that  two  successive  pcribes  may  have 
written  it  in  his  name.  Blemishes  of  this  kind,  however, 
are  not  unusual  in  our  Irish  manuscripts,  especially  if  we 
judge  them  by  a  standard  diflFerent  from  that  in  use  amongst 
Irishmen  themselves ;  but  before  we  censure  them  it  would 
be  necessary  to  fix  some  standard  of  absolute  perfection  in 
orthography,  which  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  accomplish. 

Waitz  published  his  edition  of  Marianus  in  the  fifth 
relume  of  r  ertz's  Monumenta  Germanica  Historiae;  and  this 
edition  has  been  republished  in  Migne's  Latin  Patrology, 
voL  147,  page  602 ;  where  Irish  scholars  will  more  readily 
be  able  to  consult  it.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  German 
Professor  to  whom  we  owe  many  thanks  has  only  published 
the  Third  Book  of  the  Chronicon,  and  the  First  and  Second 
Books  still  remain  unpubhshed.  The  entire  work  was  a 
kind  of  universal  Chronicle,  from  the  creation  to  the  age 
of  the  writer;  but  he  dealt,  at  least  in  the  first  two  books, 
much  more  with  the  problems  of  Chronology  than  with  the 
facts  of  history.  It  is  well  that  Professor  Waitz  has  pub- 
lished at  least  the  contents  of  these  books,  from  which  we 
can  obtain  an  idea  of  the  subject  matter.  Book  the  First 
contains  22  chapters,  and  deals  with  all  the  great  questions 
of  scriptural  history  and  chronology  from  the  creation  to 
the  birth  of  Christ.  It  is  unnecessary  to  remind  our  readers 
how  many  abstruse  questions  regarding  the  days  of  creation, 
the  lives  of  the  patriarchs,  the  deluge,  the  sojourn  in 
Egypt,  the  seventy  weeks  of  years  foretold  by  Daniel,  &c., 
are  contained  in  this  long  period.  The  Second  Book, 
in  83  chapters,  discusses  all  the  chronological  questions 
connected  with  the  evangelical  history,  from  the  birth  of 
Johw  the  Baptist  to  the  ordination  of  the  Seven  Deacons. 
It  contains,  moreover,  an  interesting  summary  of  the 
Gospel  narratives,  arranged  as  far  as  possible  in  the  chro- 
nological order  according  to  the  author's  notions.  The 
Third  Book,  the  only  one  yet  published,  is  more  properly 
speaking  a  chronicle,  and  gives  a  brief  summary  of  the 
most  noteworthy  events  from  the  birth  of  Christ  down  to 
the  death  of  the  author.  But  in  the  writer's  estimation 
history  is  always  secondary  to  chronology,  and  his  main 
purpose  in  this  hook  is  to  show  that  Dionysius  Exiguus  has 
fixed  the  natal  year  of  our  Lord  some  twenty-two  years 
too  late,  and  that  we  are  as  it  were  to  that  extent  behind 
our  true  time.  Hence  he  gives  all  his  own  dates  twenty- 
two  years  in  advance  of  tixe  common  or  Dionysian  era — 
a  fact  that  miist  be  borne  in  mind  when  conBulting  the 
Chronicle. 


428  Irish  Theologians: 

Although  Marianus  has  not  succeeded  in  persuading 
posterity  that  Dionysius  en-ed  to  that  extent,  it  is  wonder- 
ful how  well  he  succeeded  in  persuading  the  most  learned 
of  his  contemporaries  and  immediate  successors.  *'  Marianus 
Scotus,"  says  Sigebeii;,  "  wrote  a  Chronicle  from  the  birth 
of  Christ  to  the  year  of  Christ  1082,  in  which  he  shows 
with  extraordinary  ingenuity  the  mistake  made  by  previous 
chronographists  in  fixing  such  a  date  for  the  birth  of  Christ, 
that  the  year  of  his  Passion  according  to  their  computation 
{quantum   ad    rationem   computi)   could    not   be  made  to 
harmonize  with  the  Gospel  truth.     But  he,  by  adding 
twenty-two  years  to  the  date  at  which  the  others  fix  the 
birth  of  Christ,  and  by  giving  on  the  margin  of  the  page, 
on  the  one  side  the  years  of  the  Gospel  truth,  and  on  the 
other  the  years  of  the  false  computation,  makes  the  truth 
of  the  one  and  the  falseness  of  the  other  not  only  intelligible 
but  visible.'*^    This  iSigebert  of  Gembloux  was  a  most 
learned  man,   a    chronicler    himself   contemporary   with 
Marianus,  for  he  was  born  only  three  years  after  him, 
although  he  outUved  him  nearly  thirty  years,  for  he  died 
in   1112.     A   somewhat    similar    testimony  is   borne  by 
WilHam  of  Malmesbuiy,  and  by  Odericus  Vitalis.   The  latter 
"writer,  however,  although  highly  lauding  Marianus  as  a 
chronologist,  does  not,  like  the  former,  specifically  refer 
with  approbation  to  his  correction  of  Dionysius.     These 
testimonies  show  the  high  estimation  in  which  Marianus 
was  held  by  the  most  learned  men  of  his  own  time ;  and 
although   we   cannot   agi*ee  with   him  in   attributing  to 
Dionysius  an  error  of  twenty-two  years,  yet  we  thinJK  he 
deserves  great  credit  for  his  ingenuity  in  showing,  as  he 
was   one   of  the  first  to   show,  that  Dionysius   did  not 
accurately  fix  the  natal  year  of  our  Lord — a  fact  now 
admitted  by  eveiy  scholar. 

The  learning  of  Marianus  was  undoubtedly  very  great. 
A  glance  at  the  list  of  the  authorities  whom  he  consulted, 
is  of  itself  sufficient  to  prove  this.  Waitz  gives  a  catalogue 
of  nearly  thirty  authors — Latin  Fathers,  or  Latin  transla- 
tions from  the  Greek  Fathers — whom  he  quotes  in  the 
course  of  his  work.  Amongst  them  were  Josephus, 
Eusebius,  nearly  all  the  writings  of  St.  Jerome,  St. 
Augustine,  Cassiodorus,  Prosper,  St.  Gregory,  Isidore,  and 
Bede — ^not  to  mention  the  annalists  immediately  preceding 
his  own  time.     One  important  entry  refers  to  the  mission 

*  De  Script,  Eccles.,  c.  149,  Chron.  Anno.  1061-1082. 


Marianus  ScotuSj  the  Clironicler.  429 

of  St.  Patrick,  of  British  origin  (genere  Bnttm\  who  was 
sent  by  St.  Oelestine  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Ireland,  where 
he  spent  sixty  years  in  missionary  labour.  He  thus  con- 
firms the  opinion  which  assigns  St.  Patrick's  death  to  the 
year  492,  and  his  authority,  whilst  the  traditions  of  the 
Irish  Church  were  so  vivid  is  entitled  to  veiy  great  weight. 
Many  of  the  most  interesting  records  in  the  Chronicle 
regard  Irish  aflFairs,  especially  about  the  author  s  own  time. 
He  gives  in  one  place  a  long  hst  of  our  native  princes  of 
the  line  of  Conn,  the  Hundred  Fighter,  and  from  time  to 
time  records  the  death  of  the  most  celebrated  amongst 
them.  He  takes  particular  care  to  refer  to  his  distinguished 
fellow  countrymen  in  the  religious  houses  of  the  Continent ; 
and  he  tells  with  evident  pride  of  the  sanctity  of  their 
hves,  and  of  the  high  places  which  they  filled.  Neither 
was  he  insensible  to  the  kindness  shown  to  himself  and  his 
fellow  countrymen,  exiles  for  Christ  in  a  foreign  land.  For 
instance,  under  date  of  the  year  1039,  he  records  the  death 
of  Richard,  Abbot  of  Fulda,  of  blessed  memory,  and  adds 
the  interesting  information  that,  "he  admitted  into  the 
brotherhood  many  holy  men  of  the  Irish  nation,  that  he 

five  them  rooms  and  dormitories,  for  their  own  use,  apart 
om  the  others,  and  that  in  everything  he  acted  like  a 
father  and  treated  them  as  brethren.'*  It  is  interesting 
to  find  so  many  holy  men  from  Ireland  in  this  eleventh 
century,  thronging  the  monastic  cloisters  of  Fulda,  Cologne, 
and  Mentz ;  and  what  is  more,  giving  glory  to  God  and 
to  Ireland  by  the  extent  of  their  learning  as  well  as  by  the 
holiness  of  their  lives. 

The  last  entry  in  the  original  manuscript  is  dated  1181, 
and  notices  the  murders  and  robberies  committed  in  Italy 
in  that  year  by  the  partisans  of  Henry  IV.,  in  their  persecu- 
tion of  Pope  Gregory  VII.  There  is  indeed  a  continuation  of 
the  Chronicle,  in  a  new  hand,  down  to  the  year  1133  ;  but 
Avith  this  neither  Marianus  nor  his  scribe  had  anything  to 
do.  The  last  entry  made  by  the  scribe  was  to  note  under 
the  year  1182,  and  in  the  margin,  at  least  out  of  its  proper 
place,  the  death  of  his  beloved  master ;  and  then  he,  too, 
seems  to  have  given  up  the  work.  He  had  lost  that  dear 
associate  of  his  labours  whose  society  made  that  poor  cell 
so  "pleasant  **  for  these  two  exiled  children  of  Ireland.  He 
had  no  one  now  to  speak  to  him  in  the  sweet-toned  Gaelic 
tongue  which  he  loved.  He  had  been  working,  he  says, 
"  for  love  of  you,  Maelbrighte,  and  of  all  the  Irish,  because 
I  myself  am  an  Irishman  " — and  now  he  was  left  alone,  and 


430  A  Scriptural  Sketch. 

he  could  not  so  lovingly  labour  for  the  stranger.  May  ye 
rest  in  peace,  dear  sons  of  Ireland,  whether  or  not  ye  sleep 
together  in  the  hermitage  chapel  of  Mentz,  where  ye 
laboured  so  long  and  so  lovingly ;  and  may  we  who  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  your  labours,  never  forget  the  bright  example 
of  your  virtues. 

"In  Marianus,"  says  his  philosophical  German  editor, 
"  you  have  a  man  altogether  weaned  from  the  things  of  the 
world,  one  who,  enclosed  in  his  narrow  cell  and  assiduous 
in  the  contemplation  of  heavenly  things,  strove  to  secure 
the  tranquillity  of  his  mind  and  the  salvation  of  his  eoul; 
whence  we  may  justly  assiune  that  he  was  altogether 
devoted  to  exercises  of  piety  and  practices  of  penance. 
Yet  he  raised  his  mind  beyond  these  things;  for  in  the 
soUtude  in  which  he  Uved  he  gave  himself  up  to  sacred 
study,  and  thereby  won  no  mean  praise  for  himself  both 
with  his  contemporaries  and  with  posterity." 

The  "  Blessed "  Marianus  Scotus  is  venerated  on  the 
9th  of  February,  and  we  have  a  Ufe  of  the  Saint,  who  is 
called  a  Chronographer,  given  by  the  Bolandists  of  that 
date.  But  it  is  now  almost  certain  that  Marianus  Scotus, 
the  "  Blessed,"  was  not  Marianus,  the  Chronicler,  of  whom 
we  have  been  speaking,  but  another  Marianus,  the  "  Poet 
and  Theologian  of  Ratisbon,"  the  story  of  whose  life  and 
writings  we  must  reserve  for  another  issue  of  the  Record. 

John  Heaxy. 


A  SCRIPTURAL  SKETCH.— lU. 

THE  south-western  part  of  the  Arabian  peninsula  is  not 
so  barren  and  is  much  more  thickly  popidated  than  the 
rest  of  the  immense  country  that  hes  south  of  Syria.  It 
was  called  Arabia  Felix  on  account  of  its  rich  products. 
In  olden  times  it  had  mines  of  gold  and  silver.  Pliny  saj^s 
that  it  abounded  in  precious  stones,  Horace,  in  one  of  his 
Odes,  alludes  to  its  proverbial  wealth  : — 

^*  Icci,  beatis  nunc  Arabum  invidis 
Gazis,  et  acrem  militiam  paras 
Kon  ante  devictis  Sabaeae 
Regibus." 

Lib.  L  Od.  29. 


A  Scriptural  Sketch.  431 

It  was  the  home  of  the  phoenix — the  holy  burd  that  was 
gifted  with  the  power  of  resurrection,  and 

"  That  sung  to  the  last  his  own  death  lay, 
And  in  iusic  and  perfumes  died  away> 

Moore,  Lalla  Rookk. 

Ancient  •historians  say  that  it  was  also  renowned  for 
incense,  balm,  and  myrrh,  and  modem  travellers  tell  us 
that  even  at  this  day  the  air  is  full  of  those  sweet  odours, 
and  that  they  are  carried  by  the  breeze  far  out  over  the 
sea,  so  that  the  sailor  breathes  Arabia  long  before  he  lands 
npon  its  coast. 

Amongst  all  the  ancient  tribes  of  Arabia  Felix,  the  tribe 
of  Sabaeans  was  celebrated.  Greek  and  Roman  writers 
spoke  highly  of  the  riches  of  their  territory. 

'*  Gallus  oppida  diruit  et  retulit  Sabaeos  ditissimos  sylvarum 
fertilitate  odonfera,  auri  metallis,  agrorum  rivis,  mellis  ceraeque 
Proventu.''  Pliny  i.^  6^  c.  28. 

The  capital  of  this  tribe  was  Saba,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  founded  soon  after  the  deluge.  It  owed  its  name  to 
one  of  the  grandchildren  of  the  patriarch  Heber.  The 
modern  town  of  Zebid  occupies,  we  oelieve,  the  site  of  the 
ancient  city. 

The  tribe  was  primitively  governed  by  women,  a  fact 
which  is  mentioned  by  the  poet  Claudian  : — 

"  Medis,  levibusque  Sabaeis, 
Imperat  hie  sexus  regina,  unique  sub  armis 
Barbariae  pars  magna  jacet." 

Claud,  in  Eutrop.,  Lib.  XI. 

At  the  time  when  Solomon  ruled  over  Judaea  the 
Sabaeans  were  subject  to  a  princess  whom  Josephus,  in  his 
"Anti(juitie8  of  the  Jews,"  seems  to  confound  with  the 
Nitocns  of  Herodotus,  but  whom  Arabian  traditions  call 
Balkis.  She  is  only  known  in  history  by  the  title  of 
"  Queen  of  Sheba  or  Saba,"  and  her  journey  to  Jerusalem 
to  visit  Solomon.*  She  was  inquisitive  into  philosophy, 
and  having  heard   of  the  virtue   and  prudence   of   the 

'  There  is  a  singular  controversy  as  to  whether  the  Queen  of  Saba 
came  from  Arabia  Felix  or  from  Ethiopia.  There  are  great  authorities 
on  both  sides.  In  favour  of  Ethiopia  we  find  Origen,  St.  Jerome,  St. 
Angustine,  Josephu8,Eabban  More,  and  Cornelius  a  Lapide.  In  favour 
of  Arabia  Felix,  Cajetan,  Baronius,  Pineda,  and  Suarez.  Weston  says 
there  is  little  occasion  for  doubting  in  the  matter,  as  it  is  now  generally 
agreed  that  she  came  from  Arabia  Felix. 


432  A  Scriptural  Sketch. 

Israelite  monarch,  she  had  a  great  wish  to  see  him,  and  to 
make  a  trial  of  his  wisdom. 

Several  interpreters  of  Scripture  believe  that  the  Queen 
of  Saba  was  moved  by  an  interior  warning,  and  came  to 
Jerusalem  to  seek  a  better  treasure  than  the  precious  stonefl 
and  perfumes  of  Arabia — ^namely,  the  knowledge  and  wor- 
ship of  the  time  God.  For  even  at  the  period  when  the 
law  had  been  laid  down  only  on  the  heights  of  Sinai,  and 
was  known  to  none  except  the  Jews,  it  would  be  wrong  to 
think  that  the  other  peoples  scattered  over  the  face  of  the 
earth  were  condemned  to  error.  It  was  always  possible 
for  sincere  minds  and  for  pure  hearts  to  find  the  road  that 
leads  to  religious  truth.  There  is  no  reason,  then,  to  be 
astonished  if  a  call  of  supernatural  wisdom  had  more  to  do 
in  inducing  the  "  Queen  of  the  South "  to  visit  Solomon 
than  the  philosophic  or  superstitious  curiosity  that  was  then 
so  common  outside  of  Palestine. 

In  any  case  Solomon  had  a  right  to  the  admiration 
of  his  contemporaries.  His  reign  was  for  the  Jews  an 
incomparable  epoch  of  glory  and  prosperity.  Agriculture 
was  developed  and  systematized  to  an  extent  hitherto 
unknown  ;  moderate  taxes  were  raised  on  the  lands  of  the 
citizens  ;  imposts  were  levied  on  foreign  merchandize ; 
a  system  of  protection  prevailed  that  would  drive  modem 
free-traders  mto  frenzy;  public  works  were  carried  out  by 
slaves,  or  by  workmen  hired  at  paltry  wages ;  a  stream  of 
wealth  flowed  into  the  coffers  of  the  treasury. 

We  may  judge  of  the  advanced  state  of  the  arts  by  the 
construction  of  the  temple,  which  was  built  in  seven  years, 
and  by  the  pomp  and  richness  of  the  ceremonies  of  worship. 
It  was  like  the  happy  reign  of  Alfred  the  Great  in  England, 
or  that  of  the  good  St.  Louis  in  France.  Every  man  from 
Dan  to  Beersheba  could  sit  without  fear  under  his  vine  or 
fig-tree.  His  property  and  his  person  were  safe  under  the 
just  rule  of  the  "  wisest  man  that  ever  lived." 

And  not  only  was  his  kingdom  flourishing  within,  but 
all  the  princes  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Mediterranean, 
and  from  the  northern  frontiers  of  Syria  to  Idumaea  and 
Egypt,  were  on  friendly  terms  with  him.  They  sent  him 
presents,  and  asked  his  advice  in  matters  of  importance 
to  their  country.  The  most  able  workmen  of  Tyre  were 
at  his  service.  His  vessels  went  to  foreign  lands  in 
search  of  gold,  ivory,  rare  animals,  and  sweet-smelling 
woods.  Pharaoh,  that  ruled  from  Memphis,  gave  him  his 
daughter  in  wedlock.      He  built,   or  at  least  restored 


A  Scriptural  Sketch.  433 

Palmyra ;  for  it  would  be  difficult  to  maintain  that  he  was  its 
founder.  Those  who  see  the  ruins  of  Tadmor  lying  in  the 
wilderness,  Uke  the  bones  of  a  gigantic  city,  doubt  that 
Solomon  could  have  had  time,  or  that  his  contemporaries 
could  have  had  strength  to  execute  works  which  modern 
science,  with  all  its  perfection  of  mechanics,  could  not 
undertake  to  recommence ;  so  that  antiquarians  now-a- 
days  are  incUned  to  agree  with  the  fable  that  attributes 
them  to  a  race  of  gods  or  giants  whose  physical  propor- 
tions have  never  since  been  attained,  and  the  secrets  of 
whose  workmanship  are  lost  in  the  gloom  of  antiquity. 

In  addition  to  all  those  attributes  of  wealth  and  power, 
Solomon  had  the  reputation  of  being  very  learned  in  the 
sciences  that  were,  in  his  age,  the  test  of  intellectual  culture. 
We  know  that  many  of  his  works  have  been  lost ;  that  he 
wrote  much  about  trees,  about  the  animals  of  the  earth, 
about  birds,  reptiles,  and  fishes.     It  is  also,  according  to 
many  learned  commentators  before  this  period,  that  he  had 
written  the  "  Book  of  Proverbs,'*  the  "  Book  of  Ecclesiastes," 
and  the  "  Canticle  of  Canticles."     It  is  indeed  a  matter  of 
controversy  openly  discussed,  and  never  likely  to  be  de- 
cided on  this  side  of  eternity,  whether  the  "  Book  of  Eccle- 
siastes "  was  written  before  or  after  the  fall  of  Solomon. 
All  we  can  say  with  certainty  on  the  matter  is,  that  those 
who  maintain  that  it  was  "  before,"  join  their  adversaries 
in  the  hope  that  (for  Solomon's  sake)  they  may  be  in  error. 
The  queen  entered  Jerusalem  in  state,  followed  by  a 
gUttering  train  of  attendants,  bringing  camels  laden  with 
gold,  spices,  aromatics,  and  precious  stones.     When  pre- 
sented to  the  king,  "  she  told  him  all  she  had  in  her  heart." 
Solomon  instructed  her  on  every  subject  she  brought  under 
his  notice.     He  left  no  question  without  an  answer,  and 
solved  all  her  doubts.     When  she  was  convinced  of  his 
wisdom,  and  of  the  grandeur  of  his  soul,  she  visited  the 
palaces  and  the  temple.    He  had  just  constructed  a  road 
across  the  valley  of  Mello,  joining  the  lower  part  of  the 
city  with  the  Moimt  of  Sion ;  on  the  latter  hill  he  had  built 
two  royal  houses,  one  for  himself  and  one  for  the  queen. 
The  architecture  of  these  structures  was  rich  and  elegant. 
Grreat  cedars  of  Lebanon  carved  in  columns  ornamented 
the  interior  galleries ;  the  panels  and  wainscoting  were  of 
cedar  "wood;  leaves  of  gold  ran  artistically  through  the 
moolifings and  turnings;  officers  in  magnificent  costmnes 
camnrded  through  the  halls ;  the  luxiuy  and  splendour  of 
tiie  table^rvices  and  furniture  was  unrivalled.    Then  in 


434  A  Scriptural  Sketch. 

grandeur  still  more  imposing  came  the  Temple.  A  htmdred 
thousand  men  had  worked  at  it  for  seven  years.  The  wood 
with  which  it  was  decorated  was  all  of  the  most  costly 
cedar ;  the  stone  was  wrought  to  a  high  degree,  and  the 
floor  was  covered  with  leaves  of  gold.  Latin  historians 
have  written  of  the  wonderful  richness  of  the  temple  that 
was  burned  by  Titus,  but  the  Jews  that  saw  it  built 
on  their  return  from  captivity  shed  tears  of  regret 
when  they  remembered  the  magnificence  ot  the  ancient 
temple  that  was  profaned  and  plundered  by  the  tyrant  of 
Babylon. 

No  wonder  those  superb  monuments  excited  the  admi- 
ration of  the  queen,  in  her  own  kingdom  she  had  no 
workmen  capable  of  executing  such  works,  although  the 
country  was  well  furnished  -with  materials.  Writers  well 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  Arabia  state  that  nothing 
precise  is  known  about  the  state  of  the  arte  in  that  country 
m  those  remote  ages,  but  they  presume  from  the  pastoral 
life  and  nomadic  habits  of  ite  inhabitante,  that  they  had 
then  at  least  no  claim  to  the  reputation  they  afterwards 
acquired  by  the  rich  and  graceful  architecture  of  the 
Alhambra,  or  the  cathedral  of  Cordova.  Their  opinion  is 
borne  out  by  the  fact  that  Arabia  presents  none  of  the 
great  ruins  such  as  are  to  be  seen  in  Syria  and  on  the 
banks  of  the  Nile,  and  which  date  back,  like  those  of 
Memphis,  Baalbec,  and  Palmyra,  perhaps  to  centuries 
before  the  time  of  Solomon. 

The  want  of  anything  of  the  kind  in  her  southern  home 
made  the  buildings  of.  Jerusalem  appear  doubly  grand  in 
the  eyes  of  Queen  Ballds,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to  call  her 
by  that  name^  and  giving  utterance  to  her  admiration  she 
said : — 

"  The  word  is  true  which  I  heard  in  my  country  of  thy  virtues 
and  wisdom." 

'^  Happy  are  thy  men,  and  happy  are  thy  servants,  who  stand 
always  before  thee." 

''  And  blessed  be  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  hath  been  pleased  to 
set  thee  on  His  throne  ;  because  God  loveth  the  people  of  Israd, 
and  will  preserve  them  for  ever,  and  therefore  hath  He  made  thee 
king  over  them,  to  do  judgment  and  justice.'' 

XL  Paralip.,  eh.  IX. 

It  is  believed  that  the  queen  remained  some  months  at 
Jerusalem.  When  about  to  depart,  she  offered  Solomon 
an  immense  quantity  of  gold,  spices  and  precious  stones ; 


A  Scriptural  Sketch.  435 

and  he,  in  rettqn,  bestowed  on  her  gifts  of  the  costliest 
ttiDgs  his  fleets  had  brought  from  Ophir  and  other  foreign 
landE;  wishing  even  to  make  presents  superior  to  those  he 
had  received,  he  offered  her  whatever  she  desired. 

In  those  relations  of  mutual  good  will  that  existed 
between  the  two  rulers  the  Jews  recognised  the  link  of 
parentage  that  bound  them  to  the  Arabs.  For  almost  all 
the  Arabians  are  descendants  of  Abraham  by  Hagar  and 
Cethura,  as  the  Jews  are  children  of  Abraham  and  Sarah  ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  mark  how  those  two  peoples  have 
developed  and  lived  through  so  many  centuries,  always 
maintaming  the  distinctive  character  tjiat  belonged  to 
them  over  four  thousand  years  ago.  The  Jews,  though 
dispersed  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  the  Arabians^ 
still  fixed  imder  their  cloudless  sky,  remain  faithful  to  the 
manners,  to  the  laws,  and  to  the  spirit  of  their  ancestors. 
The  Jew,  the  child  of  the  believing  Abraham,  still  awaits 
the  Messiah.  The  precepts  of  Sinai  are  still  his  code.  He 
reads  the  Bible  on  the  banks  of  every  river  in  the  world,, 
as  he  read  it  long  ago  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  or  tho 
Euphratea  But  the  Arab,  the  descendant  of  the  patriarch 
and  pastor,  now  as  then,  makes  his  rough  coat  of  ill-spun 
Woof,  and  covers  his  tent  with  the  hair  of  goats.  He  hves 
on  dates  and  water-melons  and  the  milk  of  camels.  His 
Kfe  reminds  the  civilized  European  of  the  infancy  of  the 
world  and  of  the  rudeness  oi  primitive  manners.  His 
religion  is  borrowed  from  the  Bible,  but  disfigured  by  a 
mixture  of  Ishmaelite  idolatry. 

It  was  after  the  visit  of  this  illHstriotis  stranger  that 
Solomon  fell,  and  became  a  worshipper  of  idols.  His  wives 
turned  away  his  heart  after  other  gods ;  for  he  went  alter 
Ashteroth,  the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  and  after  Moloch,, 
tile  abomination  of  the  Ammonites.  He  began  by  tolerat- 
ing idolatry ;  by  degrees  he  became  what  men  now  call 
liberal.  Finally,  he  believed  all  reli^ons  equally  true — the 
real  meaning  of  which  is  that  all  religions  are  equally  false. 

'*  All  things  come  alike  to  all ;  there  is  one  event  to  the  up- 
right and  to  the  wicked ;  to  the  good  and  to  the  clean  and  to  the 
QQclean  ;  to  him  who  sacrificeth,  and  to  him  who  sacrificeth  not.'* 

These  are  the  first  thoughts  of  a  man  from  whom  faith 
is  slipping  away.  Soon  God  is  no  longer  felt  to  be  the 
Eternal  Ruler  of  the  world.  A  blind  chance,  a  dark  destiny,, 
henceforth  direct  all  earthly  things.  The  way  is  lost,for  God 
hides  Himself  from  those  who  try  to  do  without  Him. 


L 


436  A  &mptural  Sketch, 

TJie  last  Bentiments  of  the  unhappy  king  are  to  this 
<ia7  a  problem  unsolved.  Some  believe  that  he  was 
saved,  others,  that  he  never  repented ;  but  the  saying  con- 
cerning three  great  lights  of  the  "world  is,  we  believe, 
generally  accepted,  viz. : — 

De  Origene  speratur, 
De  Salamone  dubitatur, 
De  Tertiilliano  desperatur." 

Profane  history  says  nothing  as  to  what  became  of  the 
t^ueen  of  Saba  after  her  visit  to  Jerusalem.  In  early 
Christian  times  it  was  beKeved  that  she  had  followed  the 
lessons  of  wisdom  she  had  received  more  faithfully  than 
her  royal  teacher.  She  was  regarded  by  several  Fathers 
of  the  Church  as  a  holy  woman,  and  one  of  the  elect  of 
God,  and  what  is  more  than  all  human  praise,  her  name 
Was  pronounced  with  honor  by  the  Incarnate  Word  himself, 
who  deigned  to  propose  her  as  an  example  of  what  could 
and  ought  to  be  done  when  there  is  question  of  finding 
out  the  truth. 

*'  The  Queen  of  the  South  shall  rise  up  in  judgment  against 
the  men  of  thid  nation,  and  shall  condemn  them ;  for  she  came 
from  the  extreme  ends  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon." 

Several  of  the  most  able  masters  have  painted  the 
beautiful  subject  of  the  Queen  of  Saba  coming  in  all  her 
^andeur  to  visit  Solomon.  In  the  Italian  School,  Raphael 
and  Dominichino;  !n  the  French  School,  Eustache 
Lesneur;  in  the  German  School,  Holbein,  and  in  the 
Flemish  School,  Gerard  de  Lairesse,  have  all  contributed 
to  her  immortality.  She  has  been  more  fortunate  in  paint- 
ing than  in  poetry.  With  the  exception  of  some  passing 
allusions  in  the  works  of  the  great  authors,  she  has  been 
almost  completely  neglected  by  the  "  capricious  muse.^ 

J.  F.  HOGAN> 


[    437    ] 


INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

THERE  is  scarcely  a  priest  in  Ireland  who  does  not  fre- 
quently feel  embarrassed  by  finding,  in  the  region  of 
his  ministration,  helpless  and  destitute  children.  To  provide 
for  such  is  always  a  work  of  great  charity,  and  to  do  so 
satisfactorily  is  frequently  a  task  of  great  difficulty,  if  not, 
an  unpossibility.  The  relieving  officer,  in  most  cases,  will 
give  tnem  temporary  relief,  and  the  Poor  Law  guardians 
will  ofier  them  the  shelter  of  the  workhouse.  But  the 
workhouse  is,  admittedly,  a  bad  place  to  bring  up  children. 
Idleness,  meanness,  and  a  spirit  of  dependence,  together 
with  a  tendency  to  crime,  are  frequently  the  habits  acquired 
in  our  Poor-law  institutions.  Nor  is  the  system  of  sending 
out  children  to  *'  nurse  " — "  baby-farming,"  as  it  is  some- 
times called — a  satisfactory  one.  As  a  rule,  such  children 
are  not  well  clothed,  nor  well  housed,  nor  well  fed  ;  while 
their  education,  both  secular  and  reUgious,  is  frequently 
neglected.  Besides,  the  example  and  associations  in  which 
they  move  are  not  always  such  as  children  should  have. 
Hence,  the  Poor-law  system  for  relieving  destitute  children 
is  not  a  good  one,  though  if  properly  looked  after,  in  some 
instances  it  may  be  turned  to  good  account. 

There  is  a  better  way  to  provide  for  such  children  than 
by  sending  them  to  the  poorhouse,  or  by  "  farming  "  them 
out,  and  that  is  by  having  them  committed  to  Industrial 
schools. 

These  institutions,  if  not  called  into  existence  in 
Ireland,  were  first  legally  recognised  and  subsidised  by  the 
Industrial  School  Act  passed  iu  1868.  This  Act  was  slightly 
amended  in  1880;  and  it  is  by  virtue  of  these  two  pieces 
of  legislation  the  schools  in  question  do  so  much  good  to 
the  poorer  classes  and  to  the  coimtry  at  large.  As  Catho- 
lics enjoy  them,  they  maybe  described  as  institutions  under 
religious  management  and  supported  by  public  funds,  where 
destitute  innocent  children,  or  juveniles  who  have  mani- 
fested only  slight  tendencies  to  crime,  are  legally  detained 
till  they  attain  their  sixteenth  year,  for  the  pui'pose  of  being 
fio  educated  and  trained  that  they  may  afterwards  become 
useful  and  respectable  members  of  society. 

Industrial  schools  differ  from  Reformatories,  as  these 
suppose  the  juveniles  to  be  convicted  of  some  legal  crime. 
The  Industrial  schools  are  open  to  juvenile  criminals  too> 
but  only  when  the  "criminals"   are  under  the   age  of 


438  Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland 

twelve.  Juveniles  convicted  of  crime  under  that  age  may 
be  committed  to  either  class  of  school,  but  the  Govern- 
mental Inspector  of  Reformatories,  in  his  report  published 
in  1883,  strongly  urges  on  magistrates  to  send  them,  ia 
preference,  to  Industrial  schools,  unless  their  criminal  ten- 
dencies be  very  much  developed. 

Industrial  schools  are  strictly  sectarian.  They  are,  as 
we  have  them,  either  exclusively  for  Catholics  or  for  Pro- 
testants :  and  those  for  Catholics  are  all  under  the  manage- 
ment and  control  of  reUgious,  and  subject  to  Government 
inspection.  There  are  Industrial  schools  for  boys,  and 
Industrial  schools  for  girls — all  separate  institutions ;  and,  in 
both  classes  of  schools,  the  juveniles  who  would  otherwise  be 
the  arabs  of  our  streets,  or  the  inmates  of  our  workhouses, 
or  prisons,  are  healthily  housed,  comfortably  clad,  abund- 
antly fed,  trained  in  secular  knowledge  and  in  handicraft 
for  their  success  in  after  life,  and  carefully  brought  up  in 
the  knowledge  and  practice  of  their  holjr  faith.  A  visit  to 
one  of  our  Industrial  schools  will  convince  even  a  person 
prejudiced  against  reUgious  institutions  of  the  superior  care 
taken  of  the  inmates  in  these  places.  The  rooms  are  cheerftd 
and  healthy,  the  food  is  good  and  abundant,  the  clothing 
neat  and  warm,  and  the  children  are  clean,  mannerly, 
healthy,  and  happy.  Under  the  care  of  reUgious — generally 
of  holy  nuns — ^who  feel  a  Christian  love  for  them,  and  who 
minister  in  a  Christian  spirit  to  all  their  corporal,  mental,  and 
religious  requirements,  what  an  advantage  chUdren  in 
Industrial  schools  have  over  those  brought  up  in  workhouses 
somewhat  in  the  OUver  Twist  fashion  I 

As  proof  of  their  efficiency  we  subjoin  two  extracts 
from  the  Government  Inspector's  report  pubUshed  in  1883, 
one  showing  the  interior  working  of  the  Industrial  school 
at  Strabane,  selected  at  hap-hazard  from  the  report,  and 
the  other  showing  the  high  name  our  Industrial  schools  in 
general  have  acquired : — 

**St.  Catherine's  Industrial  School  for  Roman  Catholic 

Girls,  Strabane. — Certified  30th  November,  1869. 

"Inspected  *20th  September,  1882. 

Average  number  of  imnates  paid  for  by  Treasury     .     .     100 
Voluntary  inmates      .......        7 

Extems  who  attend  the  school^-on  rolls,  420  ;  average 

attendance 297*9 

"  Siatt  of  premses, — A  sum  amounting  to  £1,065  2«.  6<i.  was 
expended  on  the  buildings  of  this  school  in  1882.  It  is  now 
becoming  perfect  in  all  its  details,  and  meets  the  warm  approval  of 


Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland.  439 

€Teryone  in  the  district.  The  new  dressing-room  and  lavatory 
baTe  been  completed.  Two  new  dormitories  have  also  been 
provided. 

^'Health  and  general  condition. — One  girl  died  from  consumption 
and  another  from  disease  of  the  bowels,  in  1882.  The  health  of 
the  other  children  was  excellent,  and  I  never  saw  a  finer  set  of 
girls  than  I  have  met  amongst  the  pupils  of  this  school. 

**  Conduct  and  discipline, — Very  satisfactory.  The  manager 
reports  that  no  serious  fault  was  committed  by  any  of  the  children 
during  the  year.     They  are  very  cheery  and  happy. 

**  Educational  state, — This  school  is  managed  in  connexion  with 
the  Board  of  National  Education,  and  is  examined  by  the  District 
Inspector,  as  if  for  results.     He  writes  : — 

" '  I  have  not  had  time  to  examine  this  large  school  since  the 
results  examination  last  August,  but  no  school  in  my  district  needs 
a  second  examination  in  the  year  less.  There  were  about  350 
children  examined  (including  externs)  for  results  last  year,  of  whom 
a  more  than  average  proportion  stood  in  the  higher  classes.  Their 
answering  in  the  ordinary  subjects  was  excellent,  especially  in 
arithmetic,  writing,  and  dictation,  while  a  large  number  were  pre- 
sented in  French,  music,  drawing,  cookery,  and  other  extra  subjects 
with  success.  In  fact  this  school  was  specially  exempted  from  the 
operation  of  the  rule  limiting  the  number  of  extra  subjects, 
owing  to  the  very  favourable  reports  made  on  the  ability, 
method,  and  industry  with  which  all  subjects  are  taught,  the 
i  elementary  subjects  not  having  been  sacrificed  as  is  in  other 
\      schools  sometimes  the  case,  to  the  extra  subjects. 

*« '  Signed, 

***W.   NiCHOLLS, 

"  *  District  Inspector,  National  Schools. ' " 

**  French,  drawing,  vocal  and  instrumental  music  are  well 
taught.  Some  of  the  Industrial  school  pupils  are  paid  monitresses 
under  the  National  Board,  and  passed  most  creditable  examinations 
for  the  appointment. 

"  Industrial  training, — The  public  laundry  continues  to  give  the 

greatest  satisfaction.     The  work  of  the  girls  cannot  be  surpassed. 

,       The  whiteness  of  the  linen  washed  in  the  school  is,  I  am  informed, 

due  to  the  water  for  the  laundry  being  filtered  before  being  used, 

and  also  to  the  bleaching  on  the  hill. 

*'  Needlework  in  its  different  branches  is  well  taught.  The 
girls  make  all  the  clothes  they  wear,  and  work  for  the  shops.  They 
upholster  mattresses  and  palliasses.  They  work  fine  embroideiw  in 
gold  and  silk. 

*'Ten  cows  are  on  the  farm,  and  a  number  of  calves  and  poultry 
arc  reared.     The  frfrls  milk  cows,  and  make  butter.    Thev  bake  all 


440  Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland. 

each  is  instructed  accordiog  to  her  capacity  in  the  work>  by  which 
she  can  earn  a  livelihood  when  she  leaves  the  school. 

^^  Staff. — Mrs.  Atkinson  and  J  2  Sisters  of  Mercy,  with  a 
laundress  and  school  teacher,  form  the  staff  of  this  establishment. 

"Total  cost  of  the  school  in  188-2,  £3,r)91  U$,  Ad.,  of  which 
^1,065  25.  Crf.  /was  for  building.  Cost  per  head,  £18  18«.  9d. 
Industrial  profits,  £226  158.  7d. 

''  Results,  1879-80-81.— Fifty-five  discharged  ;  51  doing  well, 
2  since  dead,  and  2  re-admitted  to  school.  Many  of  the  girls 
trained  in  this  school  are  now  in  good  situations. 

"  Those  who  reside  near  the  school  visit  it  often,  and  a  regular 
correspondence  is  kept  up  with  others  living  in  England,  Scotland, 
and  various  parts  of  America.  Several  ap{)lications  were  received 
during  the  year  for  servants  from  ladies  who  reside  in  England,  and 
know  the  girls  from  this  school  who  are  living  in  their  neighbour- 
hoods. One  girl  sends  money  from  America  to  educate  her  brother 
before  bringing  him  to  that  country.  And  another  (also  living  in 
America)  pays  to  further  her  sister  in  industrial  training  in  this 
school. 

So  much  for  the  eflSciencyof  one  of  our  Industrial  Schools. 
What  follows  is  the  character  the  Inspector  gives  of  our 
Industrial  Schools  in  general. 

*'  The  Industrial  schools  of  Ireland  need  no  comment  from  me- 
They  arc  considered  by  the  most  distinguished  publicists  of  Europe 
who  have  visited  them  to  be  models  on  which  a  general  system  of 
technical  instruction  might  well  be  founded.  Their  future  progress 
depends  on  the  reports  of  the  two  Royal  Commissions  now  sitting. 
The  members  of  both  Commissions  have,  I  am  happy  to  say, 
expressed  to  me  their  approval  of  the  management  of  the  Irish 
Industrial  Schools,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  system  will  develop, 
and  tend  towards  the  spread  of  technical  education  throughout  the 
count  ly." 

What  an  advantage  to  have  such  homes  for  the  poor 
destitute  children  in  our  midst  I  What  blessings  they 
bestow !     What  happiness  and  prosperity  they  create ! 

From  the  same  report  on  Industrial  schools  we  learn 
there  were  in  1882  forty  of  these  institutions  for  Catholic 
girls  and  12  for  Catholic  boys,  62  being  the  entire  number 
in  Ireland.  The  number  of  children  in  the  institutions  on 
the  31st  December,  1882,  was— boys,  2,418;  girls,  3,660 
=  6,078.  Adding  377,  who  were  then  absent  on  leave,  we 
have  a  total  of  6,455  destitute  children,  most  of  whom  are 
Catholics,  who  were  being  usefully,  comfortablv,  and  reli- 
giously brought  up,  saved  from  the  criminal  habits  that 
poverty  so  frequently  teaches,  and  protected  from  the 
snares  of  proselytizing  societies. 


Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland.  441 

It  18  pleasant  in  a  country  overtaxed  with  demands  for 
charitable  objects  as  Ireland  is  supposed  to  be,  to  find  that 
the  charitable  work  of  Industrial  schools  is  carried  on  by 
aid  from  the  public  funda  The  Industrial  Schools  Acts 
allow  this,  but  it  is  to  be  regretted  they  do  not  enforce  it. 
They  allow  no  grants  for  the  erection  of  Industrial  schools, 
nor  for  their  enlargement,  nor  their  improvement,  though 
Acts  authorize  such  expenditure  for  Keformatories ;  but 
they  allow  interest  on  the  money  expended  on  the  buildings 
to  be  charged  in  the  accounts,  and  they  allow  grand  juries 
in  the  several  counties  to  contribute  for  each  child  sent  to 
an  Industrial  school  from  their  county,  and  they  authorize 
the  Treasury  to  supplement  the  grand  jury  allowance  to  a 
sufScient  amount.  Accommodation  being  provided,  and 
the  house  and  premises  approved  of  by  the  inspector,  a 
certificate  describing  the  building  as  an  Industrial  school, 
and  able  to  accommodate  a  certain  number,  is  given  to  the 
manager;  and  thereupon  he  is  authorized,  though  not* 
obliged,  to  admit  suitable  persons  after  a  certain  legal 
process  has  been  gone  through.  On  their  admission,  the 
grand  juries  of  the  counties,  or  of  the  counties  of  the  towns, 
or  of  the  cities,  from  which  the  children  are  sent,  are  at 
liberty  to  contribute  out  of  the  funds  at  their  disposal  for 
their  proper  maintenance.  The  Treasury  supplements  such 
■  contnbutions,  so  that  considerable,  if  not  adequate, 
remuneration  is  given  to  the  managers. 

On  looking  over  the  report  of  1883,  it  is  seen  that  36 

grand  juries  are  "  contributories,"  and  that  only  three  in 

Ireland — those  of  Carlo  w  and  of  the  two  Ridings  of  Tipperary 

—are  not    It  is  not  to  be  concluded  that  all  the  grand  juries 

that  contribute  act  up  to  the  spirit  of  the  Act:  for,  some  of 

them  give  only  a  very  limited  patronage  to  it  by  paying 

towards  the  support  of  a  very  hmited  number  of  destitute 

children;  while  others  contribute  in  a  very  miserly  way  even 

for  a  very  limited  number.     The  contributions  of  the  grand 

juries  vary  from  half  a  crown  to  a  shilling  each  week  per 

j     child.    The  system  is  evidently  very  faulty,  but  nevertheless 

I     the  amount  given  the  Industrial  schools  annually  is  consid- 

\     erable.    In  1882  grand  juries  gave  £26,702;  the  Treasury, 

£74,997 ;  and  the  incomes  from  all  sources  were  £120,177, 

against  £143,843,  expenditure. 

The  report  so  often  alluded  to  in  this  paper  is  very 
satisfactory  where  it  shows  the  efficacy  of  Industrial  schools 
in  the  after  Ufe  of  those  trained  in  them.  Every  one  knows 
how  badly  workhouse  children  turn  out  in  after  life,  and  it 

VOL.  V.  2  K 


* 

1 


442  Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland. 

is  therefore  all  the  more  to  be  rejoiced  at  when,  as  an 
almost  universal  rule,  children  of  the  same  class  brought  up 
in  these  schools  go  on  well  in  their  subsequent  career. 
In  recent  yeai"s,  upwards  of  a  thousand  on  an  average 
leave  them  annually.  Most  have  suitable  employment 
provided  for  them  before  they  leave.  Some  join  Her 
Majesty's  forces,  and  some  seek  prosperity  in  foreign  lands. 
A  Knowledge  is  kept  up  of  almost  all  of  them,  and  the 
influence  their  education  and  training  exercise  upon  them, 
is  clearly  shown  by  what  is  reported  of  those  who  left  in 
the  years  1879,  '80,  and  *81  :— 

"  Total  number  who  left  the  schools  in  the  three  years  1879, 
'80-'81  was  3,029,  viz.,  boys.  1,308 ;  girls,  1,721. 

*'  Of  these,  15  boys  and  8  girls  were  committed  to  Reforma- 
tories, 104  boys  and  114  girls  died  in  the  schools,  18  boys  and  3^ 
girls  for  whose  detention  orders  were  deemed  insufficient  were  dis- 
charged by  the  Chief  Secretary,  and  119  boys  and  44  girls  were 
transferred  to  other  Industrial  schools. 

**  The  total  to  be  reported  on  up  to  31st  December,  18S2,  was 
therefore,  9,575,  viz.,  1,059  boys,  1,523  girls. 

'*  Of  the  boys,  24  died  after  discharge,  leaving  1,028  to  be  re- 
ported on,  of  whom — 

930,  or  90 '5  per  cent.,  were  reported  as  doing  well. 
22,  or    2*1        „  „  doubtful. 

6,  or    0*5        „  „  convicted. 

67,  or    6*5        „  „  unknown. 

3  re-committed  to  school. 
''Of the  1,523  girls,  46  have  since  died,  leaving  1,477  to  be 
reported  on,  of  whom — 

1,405,  or  91*5  per  cent.,  were  reported  doing  welL 
23,  or    1*5         „  „  doubtful. 

43,  or    2*9         „  „  unknown. 

6,  or  0*4  „  werere-committed  to  an  Industrial  school. 
**  The  preceding  table  gives  a  proportion  of  90*5  per  cent.,  of 
males  and  91*5  per  cent.,  of  females  discharged  from  Industrial 
schools  during  the  three  years  (1879-'80-'81)  who  are  reported  to 
have  been  doidg  well  since  they  left  the  schools,  and  in  no  instance 
can  I  trace,"  says  the  Inspector,  '^  that,  of  the  1,523  girls  discharged 
from  Industrial  schools  during  that  period,  any  one  of  them  was 
convicted  of  crime  during  1882.*' 

There  is  abundant  proof  in  the  above  quotations  of  the 
advantage  Industrial  schools  are  to  this  country,  and  of 
how  satisfactorily  the  system  fits  in  with  the  conscientious 
requirements  of  its  people.  Though  they  are  now  pretty 
large  and  numerous,  and  though  they  welter  thousands^ 
yet  they  are  not  large  enough  for  all  they  contain,  nor  are 


Industrial  Schools  in  Ireland.  443 

they  adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  poor.  They  were  over- 
crowded in  '82,  the  Inspector  tells  us ;  they  are  so  still. 
The  writer  of  this  paper  had  recently  to  make  application 
in  a  score  of  schools  before  finding  vacancies  for  three  des- 
titute orphans,  and  he  finally  succeeded  in  getting  admis- 
sion for  them  only  after  waiting  a  considerable  time  for 
vacancies  to  occur.  There  is  no  more  meritorious  charity 
than  to  reUeve  and  train,  as  Industrial  schools  do,  the  help- 
less and  destitute  young ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  such 
abodes  for  them  will  increase  and  multiply  till  juvenile 
beggars  disappear  from  our  streets,  and  our  workhouses 
have  none  but  the  old  and  infirm.  There  are  destitute 
children  in  every  county  for  at  least  one  male  and  one  female 
Lidustrial  school ;  and  even  if  money  had  to  be  borrowed 
for  its  erection,  its  interest  would  be  admitted  as  a  proper 
charge  in  the  accounts  submitted  to  the  Government  In- 
spector. Seeing  the  vast  strides  made  in  sixteen  years  in 
the  erection  of  upwards  of  fifty  such  institutions,  it  may 
reasonably  be  hoped  that  the  charity  of  the  faithful,  the 
sacrifices  of  religious,  and  the  zeal  and  tact  of  the  bishops 
and  priests  of  Ireland,  will  soon  supply  all  that  is  needed. 

It  may  be  useful  to  specify  the  classes  of  children  that 
are  fit  subjects  for  admission  to  Industrial  schools,  and  how 
an  order  for  their  detention  is  to  be  obtained.  The  Act  of 
1868  states  that  any  two  justices  at  petty  sessions,  or  a 
divisional  magistrate  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  can  make  the 
required  order  on  the  appUcation  of  anyone  in  a  suitable 
case.  Thereupon,  the  poUce  take  charge|of  the  child,  and 
are  responsible  for  its  safe  delivery,  free  of  all  cost,  to  the 
Industrial  school  for  which  the  order  is  made.  Previous 
to  the  appUcation,  it  is  well  to  have  the  consent  of  the 
manager  to  admit  the  child  in  case  the  magistrates  commit 
it,  but  if  that  be  not  done,  the  police  are  to  take  it  to  the 
workhouse  tiU  a  vacancy  is  found,  which  is  to  be  done 
within  eight  days.  The  Industrial  school  named  in  the 
order  must  be  one  "  under  the  exclusive  management  of 
persons  of  the  same  reUgious  persuasion  as  that  professed 
by  the  parents,  or,  should  that  be  unknown,  by  the  guard- 
ians of  such  child.  In  all  cases  in  which  the  religion  of 
the  parents  and  guardians  of  such  child  is  unknown,  the 
said  child  shall  be  considered  as  belonging  to  that  religious 
persuasion  in  which  he  shall  appear  to  have  been  baptized, 
or,  that  not  appearing,  to  which  he  shall  profess  to  belong." 
(31  Vic,  cap.  25,  sec.  14). 

The  foUowmg  is  a  summary  of  the  grounds  upon  which 


444  Indttstrial  Schools  in  Ireland. 

a  lawful  order  for  admission  to  Industrial  schools  can  be 
made  :-^ 

«  Under  the  Industrial  Schools  Act  (Ireland),  1868  (31  Vic, 
c.  25,  8.  11),  the  child  must  be  apparently  under  fourteen  years  of 
age,  and  must  also  be — 

1,  A  child  found  begging  or  receiving  alms,  whether  doing  so 

actually  or  under  pretext  of  selling  anything  or  offering 
anything  for  sale ;  or 

2.  A  child  being  in  any  street  or  public  place  for  the  purpose 

of  begging  or  receiving  alms,  whether  actually  doing  so 
or  under  pretext  of  selling  anything  or  offering  anything 
for  sale ;  or 
8.  A  child  found  wandering,  and  not  having  any  home ;  or 

4.  A  child  found  wandering,  and  not  having  any  settled  place 

of  abode ;  or 

5.  A  child  found  wandering,  and  not  having  proper  guardian- 

ship ;  or 

6.  A  child  found  wandering,  and  not  having  visible  means  of 

subsistence ;  or 

7.  A  child  found  destitute,  and  being  an  orphan  without  any 

parent  ;  or 

8.  A  child  found  destitute,  and  having  a  surviving  parent  who 

is  undergoing  penal  servitude  or  imprisonment ;  or 

9.  A  child  who  frequents  the  company  of  reputed  thieves. 

**  The  13th  section  of  the  Industrial  Schools  Act  (Ireland),  1868 
(31  Vic,  c.  25),  speciGes  also  a  class  additional  to  the  classes  above 
enumerated,  and  requires  that  the  child  shall  be  apparently  under 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  charged  before  two  or  more  magistrates  in 
petty  sessions,  or  before  a  divisional  magistrate  in  a  Dublin  police 
court,  with  an  offence  punishable  by  imprisonment,  or  a  less 
punishment,  but  who  has  been  convicted  of  felony,  and  who,  in  the 
opinion  of  such  magistrates  or  divisional  magistrate,  ought  (regard 
being  had  to  the  age  of  the  child  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
case)  to  be  dealt  with  under  the  Act. 

'*  In  any  of  the  foregoing  cases  the  detention  order  may  bo 
made  by  two  magistrates  in  petty  sessions,  or  a  divisional  magis- 
trate in  a  Dublin  police  court, 

In  addition  to  the  classes  above  specified  the  Prevention  of 
Crimes  Act,  1871  (34  &  35  Vic,  c.  113,  s.  14),  enacts  that,  when 
a  woman  is  convicted  of  crime,  as  defined  by  the  20th  section  of 
that  Act,  and  a  previous  conviction  is  proved  against  her,  her 
child  or  children,  fulfilling  all  of  the  following  conditions,  namely; 
(a)  Under  fourteen  years  of  age, 
(6)  And  under  her  care  and  control  when  she  is  convicted  of 

the  last  of  such  crimes, 
(c)  And  who  have  no  visible  means  of  subsistence  ;  or 
Are  without  proper  guardianship-*- 
may  be  sentenced  to  detention  under  the  Industrial  Schools  Act 


On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin.  445 

(Ireland),  1868,  either  by  the  court  before  which  such  woman  is 
convicted,  or  by  two  magistrates  in  petty  sessions,  or  by  a  divi- 
sional magistrate  in  a  Dublin  police  court/' 

By  the  Act  of  1880  (43  and  44  Vic,  c.  15)  a  child  under 
fourteen  years  of  age  is  a  fit  subject  for  committal  to  Indus- 
trial schools 

Who  *'  is  lodging,  living,  or  residing  with  common  or 
reputed  prostitutes,  or  in  a  house  resided  in  or  frequented 
by  prostitutes  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution,"  or 

Who  "frequents  the  company  of  prostitutes." 

From  this  summary,  which  is  taken  from  authentic 
sources,  it  is  evident  that  the  Industrial  Schools  Acts  could 
be  very  extensively  availed  of  in  this  country — even  much 
more  so  than  they  are — to  the  incalculable  advantage  of 
the  poor.  An  amendment  of  them,  however,  is  much 
needed,  giving  means  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings, 
making  it  compulsory  for  magistrates  to  commit  in  the 
cases  specified,  and  requiring  grand  juries  to  contribute 
unifomaly  and  adequately.  Were  the  laws  improved  in 
these  particulars,  schools  of  Industrial  education  that  a 
Catholic  country  could  accept,  would  soon  be  sufliciently 
numerous  for  our  destitute  poor.  Industrial  learning  would 
spread,  and  tend  veiy  considerably  to  revive  the  prosperity 
of  Ireland.  jOHjj  CUBRY,  Adm. 


ON  THE  PRONUNCIATION  OF  LATIN. 

WE  have  no  way  of  exactly  finding  out  how  the  ancients 
pronounced  Latin.  Of  late  years,  however,  a  good 
deal  of  attention  has  been  directed  to  this  subject,  and 
owing  to  the  same  conclusions  having  been  arrived  at  in 
so  many  different  quarters,  we  may  well  pause  in  astonish- 
ment and  ask  ourselves  whether  really  the  new  style  of 
Eronouncing  Latin,  according  to  modera  scholars,  may  not 
ave  been  the  very  same  in  wnich  Cicero  uttered  his  periods 
in  the  Forum,  or  Caesar  harangued  his  soldiers  before  battle. 
In  our  young  days  we  learned  Prosody,  because,  as  we 
were  told.  Prosody  taught  us  to  pronounce  Latin  correctly. 
That  "correct"  pronunciation  however  helped  us  very 
Kttle  indeed,  in  K>rming  an  estimate  of  what  must  have 
been  the  old  way  of  reading  and  speaking  Latin.    Neither 


446  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin, 

were  those  rules  of  Prosody  oJF  any  assistance  to  us  in 
understanding  any  of  the  Continental  proniinciationB,  or 
of  making  ourselves  better  understood  among  foreigners^ 
The  study  of  ancient  Prosody  in  place  of  clearing  up 
mysteries  merely  multipUed  them.     What   insight  does 
Prosody  give  us  into  the  manner  of  reading  ancient  poetry? 
We  know  very  well,for  instance,  what  is  meant  by  a  bexam- 
eter,  but  let  us  take  the  hexameters  of  Virgil,  and  see 
how  they  are  to  be  read.    The  ancients  in  reading  classical 
poetry  observed  an  ictus  or  rhythmic  beat  in  each  foot,  in 
other  words,  what  may  be  loosely  termed,  a  kind  of  accent 
By  placing  this  accent  on  the  first  syllable  of  each  hexam- 
eter foot,  we  certainly  obtain  a  pleasing  rhythm.      This 
rhythm  has  been  introduced  into  German   and   English 
poetry — ^the  writers  making  in  their  hexameters  the  accented 
syllable  of  a  word  receive  the  arsis  or  stress  of  voice.   Thus 
in  Longfellow  the  natural  accent  of  each  word  corresponds 
with  the  ictus  of  the  ancients,  and  the  ear  certainly  cau 
grasp  the  rhythm  of  the  following  from  Evangeline : — 

**  Strongly  built  were  their  houses  with  frames  of  oak  and 

of  che^nut. 
**  Such  as  the  peasants  of  Normandy  built  in  the  reign  of 
•       the  Henries." 

And  we  find  the  same  thing  in  German,  as  for  instance, 
in  the  following  hexameter  rendering  by  Voss  of  the 
famous  line  in  Homer: — B^  8*  cikcwv  vapa  6tva,etc. 

Schweigend  ging  er  zum  Strand  des  weitrauschenden  Meercs. 

Now  in  imitations  of  hexameter  in  modern  languages 
the  ictus  or  verse-accent  is  the  same  as  the  natural  accent 
of  the  word.  But  can  we  say  this  of  Latin  t  No,  and  here 
the  difficulty  begins.  It  is  well  known  that  leaving  aside 
altogether  the  so-called  verse-accent  of  poetry,  words  have 
in  Latin  their  ordinary  acute  and  circumflex  accents,  and 
certain  rules  are  laid  down  as  to  the  placing  of  these  accents 
which  every  schoolboy  knows.  1. — ^No  dissyllable  word  is 
accented  on  the  last  syllable  but  on  the  first.  2. — ^In 
polysyllabic  words,  if  the  penult  be  long,  it  is  accented ; 
if  short,  the  antepenult  is  accented.  These  rules  are 
observed  in  our  Uturgical  works.  Dissyllables  will  be  found 
unmarked  in  the  Missal  and  Breviary,  as  according  to  the 
rule  there  is  only  the  one  place  to  put  the  accent  This 
accent  is  not  always  a  guide  to  the  quantity  of  a  syllable. 
We  must  know  that  the  antepenult  of  "  Dominus  "  is  shorty 


t 


On  the  Pronimciatum  ofJLatiru  447 

thongh  it  bears  the  accent.  Now  we  shall  find  in  scanning 
that  this  word-accent  is  in  many  cases  quite  diflFerent  from 
the  verse-accent  or  ictttSy  whicn,  according  to  prosodians, 
falls  upon  certain  syllables  in  verse.  To  make  this  plain, 
1  have  only  to  give  the  opening  lines  of  Virgil's  iEneid. 
In  the  first  example  I  mani:  the  accent  according  to  the 
ancient  rules  of  accentation : — 

"  Arma  virumque  cano  Tr6jae  qui  pHmus  ab  oris, 
Italiam  fate  profdgus  Layfnaqae  v^nit 
Litora r 

Now  let  us  take  the  second  line  above  and  mark  the 
ietusj  and  it  appears  as  follows : — 

"  Italiam  fat 6  profiigus  Lavfnaqne  v^nit." 

How  in  the  name  of  wonder  were  the  Romans  able  to 
observe  in  reading  the  two  seemingly  conflicting  accents? 
In  order  to  discuss  this  question  properly,  it  will  be 
necessary  in  the  first  place  to  inquire  more  closely  into  the 
nature  of  the  Latin  accents.  The  accentus  or  Trpoo-ySta  of 
the  ancients  meant  something  more  than  the  stress  of  voice 
with  which  we  pronounce  one  syllable  of  a  word  more 
distinctly  than  another.  Both  the  above  words  are  derived 
from  verbs  which  mean  "  to  sing,"  and  from  this  we  may 
fairly  conclude  that  accent  among  the  ancients  meant  what 
we  would  call  "  pitch  "  or  "  tone."  That  is  to  say,  the  part 
of  the  word  over  which  the  accent-mark  was,  or  should  be 
placed,  was  sounded  in  a  diflFerent  tone  from  the  rest  of  the 
word.  The  grammarian  Aristophanes,  of  Byzantium,  is  said 
to  have  invented  accent-marks,  B.C.  264.  Over  the  syl- 
lable which  was  sounded  in  a  higher  key  he  placed  a  mark 
slanting  to  the  right,  which  was  called  17  o^€ta  Trpoa-tpBia 
"  sharp  "  or  "  acute  accent."  But  it  was  found  that  in  cases 
of  long  vowels  or  diphthongs,  not  only  did  the  voice  take  a 
higher  pitch  in  sounding  them,  but  that  before  it  passed  on 
to  the  next  syllable,  it  deflected  to  the  normal  tone  in 
which  the  rest  of  the  word  was  pronounced.  Aristophanes 
represented  this  tone  by  a  roof-shaped  sign — symbolic  of 
ti»e  rising  and  sinking  of  the  voice — which  was  called 
13  v€punrtofi€vrj  ir/xxrySia  the  "tumedround"  or  "circumflex 
accent*'  This  mark,  it  may  be  observed,  is  sometimes  found 
in  Greek  books,  shaped  like  an  «.  What  is  called  the  grave 
accent  in  Greek  only  marks  the  absence  of  the  above  two 
secantfL 


448  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin* 

This  tone-accent  may  be  heard  from  the  first  organ-grinder 
or  vendor  of  images  you  meet.   He  pronounces  the  accented 
syllables  in  a  kind  of  half-singing  tone,  which  makes  one 
imderstand  why  '* accent"  is  derived  from  canonising." 
We  have  seen  that  by  taking  no  notice  of  the  accent,  but 
by  merely  laying  a  stress  of  the  voice  on  the  syllable  where 
the  ictiu  metricus  falls,  Latin  hexameter  is  still  pleasing  to 
the  ear.     Could  this  possibly  be  if  the  accent  was  ako 
observed  in  reading  poetry  ?     A  way  of  getting  out  of  the 
difficulty  is  by  suggesting  that  the  ancients  had  an  artificial 
way  of  reading  or  chanting  poetry,  which  we  know  nothing 
about.     And  we  have  reason  to   suppose  that  in  olden 
times  all  poetry  in  metre  was  written  to  be  simg  or  spoken 
in  recitative.     The  ictus  may  have  been  a  long  low  note, 
and  the  accent  a  high  note,  short  or  long  according  to  its 
quantity.    But  supposing  the  poetry  was  only  read,  may 
we  not,  from  the  fact  already  made  palpable,  of  hexameter 
being  still  pleasing  to  the  ear,  though  the  verse-accent  or 
ictus  is  only  noticed — may  we  not,  1  say,  boldly  accept  the 
theory  that  the  accent,  when  it  was  found  to  clasn  with 
the  syllable  in  arsis  was  displaced,  and  the  word-accent 
and  verse  accent  became  one.     This  theory  need  startle 
no  one,  for  we  find  many  instances  of  it  in  English  poetry, 
especially  in  the  ballad  style.     I  may  quote  the  following 
from  the  weird  legend  by  Walter  Scott : — 

"  There  is  a  Nun  in  Dryburgh  bower, 

Ne'er  looks  upon  the  sun. 
There  is  a  Monk  in  Melrose  tower, 

He  speaketh  word  to  none. 
That  Nun  who  ne'er  beholds  the  day. 

That  Monk  who  speaks  to  none — 
That  Nun  was  Smaylho'me's  Lady  gay, 

That  Monk  the  bold  Baron." 

How  many  in  reading  the  above  do  not  instinctively 
find  themselves  putting  the  accent  on  the  last  syllable  of 
"Baron,"  t.^,,  transferring  the  accent  to  where  the  ictus 
or  beat  of  the  iambic  would  be  expected.  And  in  the 
following  from  Longfellow : — 

"  It  was  the  schooner  Hesperus, 
That  sailed  the  wintry  sea ; 
And  the  skipper  had  taken  his  little  daughter 

To  bear  him  company." 

• 

how  few  can  refrain  from  saying  "  companee?"    Why  then 
shordd  we  be  slow  to  accept  the  theory  that  the  Romans 


On  (Ae  Pronunciation  of  Latin,  449 

did  not  always  pronounce  their  words  the  same  in  poetry 
aa  in  proee  when  we  cannot  avoid  doing  it  in  EngliehT 

J  cannot  pauae  here  to  discuss  the  queetion  of  potition, 
interesting  tnough  it  may  be,  but  before  I  bring  my  few 
remarks  on  Prosody  to  a  close,  I  muat  write  something  ■ 
about  the  hymns  of  the  Church.  They  are  of  different 
kinds,  but  they  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — those  that 
are  composed  in  the  claaeical  style,  and  those  that  are  com- 
poeed  in  the  modem  style  of  accent  and  rhyme.  The 
Sapphics  "late  Confessor"  and  "Nocte  surgentea"  belongto 
the  former  class,  and  the  "  Lauda  Sioa "  and  "  Stabat 
Mater"  to  the  latter.  But  the  most  common  style  of  hymn 
IB  the  Dimeter  Iambic  Acatalectic,  which  appears  to  me  to 
possess  the  characteristics  of  classical  poetry.  Iambics  are 
found  in  the  even  places  (the  second  and  fourth),  and 
Spondees  are  admitted  into  the  odd  places.  The  syllables  in 
ariit  are  long  by  nature  or  by  position.  The  metrical 
beats  in  the  following  verse  from  the  "Veni  Creator," 
toiTesponds  with  those  of  the  English  version  subjoined : — 
"  Ho8t«ni  repellas  longius, 

Pacemque  donea  protinus ; 

Ductore  sic  te  praevio 

Vitemna  omne  noxium." 
"  Far  from  us  drive  the  foe  we  dread, 
And  grant  us  Thy  true  peace  instead ; 
So  shall  we  not  with  Thee  for  guide. 
Turn  from  the  path  of  life  aaide," 
When  we  settle  ourselves  to  grapple  with  the  question, 
bow  the  ancients  did  really  pronounce  Latin  the  study  of 
proBody  is  as  we  have  seen  of  very  little  assistance.     It 
is  well  known  that  the  different  nations  of  Europe  attach 
different  values  to  the  Latin  vowels  and  consonants — in 
fact  each   country   pronounces    Latin   according  to  the 
genius   of  its   o^vn   language.      Hence   one   who   knows 
several  modem  languages  has  the  key  to  the  pronunciation  ■ 
of  Latin  in  the  countries  where  these  languages  are  spoken. 
Bnt  to  the  Latin  scholar  who  knows  no  modem  language 
bnt  bis  own,  nothing  seems  so  grotesque  as  the  variations 
of  the  pronunciation  of  Latin  in  the  different  countries. 
A'ii  admirari  is  the  sage's  advice,  and  those  of  us  who  may 
Snd  aomettung  ridiculous  in  a  foreigner's   way   of  pro- 
nouncing Latin,  should  ask  ourselves  whether  the  foreigner 
may  not  find  something  equally  ridiculous  in  our  own. 


450  On  the  Pr&nunciation  of  Latin, 

Swiss  guttural,  the  Polish  has  sounds  like  sneezing,  the 
English  is  nondescript,  and  the  Irish  the  "  abomination  of 
desolation."  Strange  as  is  the  English  pronunciation,  a 
knowledge  of  the  English  language  would  prepare  a 
.foreigner  for  all  its  peculiarities,  but  no  knowledge  of 
EngUsh  or  Irish  can  give  a  foreigner  a  clue  to  some  of  the 
vagaries  of  our  own.  When  I  speak  of  the  English  pro- 
nunciation, 1  do  not  mean  the  new  style  of  reading  Latin, 
which  has  been  lately  argued  out  and  adopted  by  the  most 
learned  men  in  England,  out  the  old  English  pronunciation, 
which  the  new  style  is  superseding.  The  EngUsh  style 
was  to  pronounce  Latin  words  like  so  many  English  words. 
Whether  such  words  as  "  ratio,**  '*  species,"  "  medium," 
"  fiat,"  ♦'  major,*'  were  regarded  as  Latin  or  English,  there 
was  no  difference  made  in  the  pronounciation.  "mare* 
was  pronounced  •*  Mary,''  "  salus,"  "  sailus."  This  pronun- 
ciation never  obtained  a  solid  footing  in  Ireland,  and  even 
by  our  Protestant  countrymen  was  treated  with  contempt. 
Among  priests  in  Ireland  a  kind  of  quasi-continental 
pronunciation  is  general.  It  still  retains  many  of  the 
defects  of  the  English  pronunciation,  and  we  have  added  a 
host  of  monstrosities  of  our  own.  Where  in  the  name  of 
wonder  has  "yewt"  or  "yoot"  (ut)  come  from?  Itifl 
neither  the  French  nor  the  Italian  pronunciation  of  "  ut," 
nor  can  it  be  accounted  for  by  the  genius  of  the  Englii^ 
or  of  the  Irish  language.  Why  should  u  be  pronounced 
long  when  we  know  by  prosody  it  should  be  snort?  And 
wo  pronounced  it  short  in  "  sicut  I "  I  have  heard  "  huic" 
very  often  pronounced  "  hike."  Where  has  this  pronun- 
ciation come  from  ?  I  know  the  Dutch  pronounce  mi  like 
(w,  for  instance  **huis"  is  spoken  *' hoice,"  but  have  we 
gone  to  Holland  for  the  pronunciation  of  "  huic  t"  And 
then  we  have  our  "  chews  "  and  "  chewams  "  and  "  chewos." 
These  latter  peculiarities  may  be  accounted  for.  There  is 
a  class  of  people  still  in  Ireland  who  pronounce  "dues" 
and  "  fortitude,"  "  Jews  "  and  "  forty  chewed."  Our  Irish 
pronunciation  presents  many  other  grotesque  features;  but 
most  of  them  will  occur  to  me  when  I  treat  of  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet  in  detail.  Before  I  proceed  to  do  so,  I 
must  call  attention  to  the  great  movement  for  reform  in 
the  pronimciation  of  Latin,  which  was  set  on  foot  some 
years  ago  in  England.  The  incongruities  of  the  English 
pronunciation  had  however  been  known  long  before  that 
time.  1  find  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  of  February  1758 
the  "  humble  petition "  of  the  letters  C  O  and  J  to  the 


A  Nineteenth  Century 'Philosopher,  451 

literati  and  schoolmasters  of  Great  Britain  seeking  for 
redress  in  the  shape  of  a  proper  pronunciation.  The 
"petition  "  advocates  the  hard  sound  of  c  and  g  always^ 
and  sound  o{j  like  y  in  *•  year."  However  it  was  reserved 
for  the  learned  of  our  own  times — about  a  dozen  years 
ago — ^to  strike  out  vigorously  for  reform.  Controversies 
with  regard  to  the  pronunciations  of  certain  letters  were 
started  in  the  great  seats  of  education  in  England,  schemes 
were  proposed  and  ardently  discussed.  At  last  the 
professors  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford  came  to  an  agreement 
and  issued  a  "  Syllabus  of  Latin  Pronunciation  *'  the 
purport  of  which  I  beg  space  to  explain  in  the  next  number 
of  the  Record. 

M.  J.  O'Brien. 


A  NINETEENTH  CENT  DRY  PHILOSOPHER, 

THE  paper  by  Mr.  Herbert  Spenser  entitled  "  Religion ; 
A  Retrospect  and  Prospect,*'  and  accorded  the  first 
place  in  the  January  number  of  The  Nineteenth  Century^ 
merits  some  remarks,  if  not  exactly  by  way  of  criticism,  at 
least  in  order  to  correct  the  misstatements  and  to  expose 
the  false  inferences  in  which  it  abotinds.  It  is  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  **  evolution  '*  of  the  hiunan  mind  regarding 
religion,  when  faith  in  Divine  Revelation  has  been  cast 
aside,  and  it  marks  the  penultimate  stage  reached  by  the 
English  philosopher  of  the  nineteenth  century  after  the 
licence  of  thought  begun  in  the  sixteenth.  Penultimate 
has  been  said,  for  the  modem  German  philosopher,  more 
logical  indeed  than  his  English  brother,  has  invoked  a 
deeper  abyss  and  acknowledges  no  ** Great  Enigma"  or 
"  Ultimate  ReaUtjr  *'  or  "  Infinite  and  Eternal  Energy,"  in 
other  words,  admits  nothing  but  matter,  if  he  concede  even 
that  much.  Probably  it  would  be  vulgar  for  the  refined 
EngUsh  thinker,  rejoicing  in  the  company  otliterati^  an 
author,  a  contributor  to  high-class  magazines,  to  be  classed 
amon^  the  common  herd  of  atheists.  Yet  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  the  appellation.  Agnostic,  will  not  save  him  from  that 
imputation,  if  one  follows  the  principle  given  by  Tertullian 
in  the  second  century  :  "  To  deny  in  God  what  is  essential 
to  Him,  is  to  deny  Him  in  effect.*'    Moreover,  such  writinga 


452  A  Nineteenlh  Century  Philosopher. 

as  the  one  in  question  help  to  swell  the  number  of  infidels, 
hy  seducing  from  their  allegiance  to  the  Christian  Fgdth, 
firstly,  the  semi-educated  who  have  learned  a  smattering 
of  philosophy,  or  dipped  a  Uttle  into  some  pojjular  manual  of 
science,  and  secondly,  the  artizan  or  working  class,  who 
seeing  their  betters  to  be  unbelievers,  become  so  likewise. 
It  is  needless  to  observe  that  a  wide  door  is  thus  opened  to 
«very  sort  of  crime,  and  that  the  only  sanction  laws  have 
is  that  which  the  fear  of  the  police  inspires. 

Mr.  Spenser's  article  is  so  airy,  so  fanciful,  so  worthy  of 
a  work  emanating  from  the  realms  of  dream-land,  that  the 
satirical  verses  of  a  French  poet  may  be  well  applied  to  it: 

*'  Je  vis  sous  Tombre  d'un  rocher 
L'ombre  d'un  cocher 
Qui  frottait  Tombre  d'un  carrosse 
Avec  Tombre  d'une  brosse." 

Assuming  however,  that  there  is  some  reality  in  the 
sketch  and  that  it  is  a  learned  one,  as  far  as  big  words 
clever  sophisms,  and  miscellaneous,  but  imdigested  know- 
ledge can  contribute  to  that  effect,  the  "Retrospect"  is 
historibally  untrue,  and  the  "  Prospect"  must  be  regarded 
in  the  light  of  a  false  prophecy.  The  article  in  fact  is, 
in  the  first  part,  an  attempt  to  clothe  in  philosophical  guise 
the  hideous  monster  of  pagan  mythology  and  aU  the  oth^ 
ideas  about  God,  by  representing  them  as  the  natural 
evolution  of  human  thought,  and  m  the  second  part  it  is 
chiefly  a  rehearsal  of  the  old  objections  about  God  and 
His  nature,  which  have  been  answered  over  and  over 
again  from  the  days  of  TertulUan  in  the  second  century 
down  to  the  present. 

A  nineteenth  century  philosopher  poses  before  the 
world  as  a  student  of  nature  alone,  whereas  everyone 
knows  that  whatever  system  of  reUgion  he  tries  to  establish, 
whether  rational,  deistic,  or  agnostic,  is  derived  from  the 
«heer  perversion  of  the  truths  taught  in  the  Christian 
Revelation.  In  other  words,  take  awav  the  fundamental 
truths  which  he  has  learned  in  youth,  supposing  him 
to  be  brought  up  in  a  Christian  family,  or,  failing  this, 
which  he  has  read  in  Christian  books,  and  he  would  be  as 
far  removed  in  knowledge  from  Plato  and  the  other  ewrly 
philosophers,  whom  he  despises,  as  the  heavens  are  from 
the  earth.  He  is  very  ungrateful,  too,  after  reaching  the 
lofty  eminence,  whence  he  presumes  to  examine  the  nature 
and  attributes  of  God,  and  cast  a  horoscope  about  the 


A  Nineteenth  Century  Philosopher.  452 

future  reli^ons  ideas  of  the  human  race,  to  kick  down  the 
ladder  that  helped  his  ascent. 

In  these  days  when  the  sciences,  higher  and  lower,  are 
80  glorified,  it  will  be  allowable  to  examine  what  philology 
can  teach  about  God  and  religion. 

The  Hebrew  name  for  God,  Jehovah  (f.e..  Who  is)  is 
derived  from  hcdali^  to  be^  and  the  abbreviation  of  it  is  iaA, 
to.  But  the  word  ia  has  great  analogy  with  the  Latin 
particle  ;o,  juy  jov^  whence  jo-pater,  jov-patery  ju-pater.  The 
Greeks  to  signify  Ju-pater  used  the  words  zeus  pater ^  or 
zeu9  only,  and  this  also  comes  from  joy  ju.  For  since  the 
Greek  is  wanting  in  the  letters  y  and  g  soft,  the  letter  z 
was  employed,  which  is  a  double  one,  composed  of  ds  or  <«^ 
whence  came  a  double  form  of  the  name  by  which  God 
was  designated,  one  having  the  letter  i>,  as  Zeus  among 
the  Greeks,  Deus  among  the  Latins,  Deva  among  the 
Indians,  the  other  having  T,  as  Tkeos  among  the  Greeks^ 
Tot  among  the  Egyptians,  Tia  among  the  Chinese, 
Teutates  among  the  Germans.  The  name  with  us  God^^ 
and  Gotty  Gut  in  the  Saxon  and  Danish,  has  the  same 
origin.  For  if  in  pronouncing  j  or  g  it  is  changed  from 
soft  to  aspirate,  as  actually  occurs  m  Spanish,  io  easily 
becomes  go  or  got.  Similar  Bog  in  Slavonic  has  clearly  an 
affinity  with  6ot,  Again,  the  Latin  Deus  (God)  is  found 
with  little  or  no  change  in  twenty-two  other  European 
languages,  living  or  dead,  in  three  living  African  languages 
the  word  is  omy  sKghtly  different,  viz,,  JWt?,  Deanskata^ 
Deson,  in  twelve  living  languages  of  Oceanica  it  is  Deva^ 
or  the  word  slightly  altered,  as  also  in  nineteen  living  or 
dead  Asiatic.  The  dialects  in  India  give  us  Dewj  Deva^ 
Devita,  Vevuto^  the  Japanese  Daf,  the  Chinese  Tao,  7\ 
Thieny  Thiariy  Tchu,  Chang-Tiy  ifoang-thieuy  Ckang-tien^ 
Tching-tchuy  Tay-g.  In  Zend,  the  ancient  language  of 
Persia,  the  word  is  Daeva^  in  Sanscrit  Deva^  Devata^  Dairate^ 
Divaikasy  Divichaty  and  at  last  we  reach  the  root  Dtv.  The 
great  chains  of  this  ascending  series  are,  1,  the  word  Deus 
of  the  Latins,  2,  the  word  Theos  of  the  Greeks,  3,  the  three 
Chinese  forms,  Tai,  Ti  and  Thien,  4,  the  Daeva  of  Zend, 
5,  the  Sanscrit  form  Deva.  The  Latin  and  Greek  languages 
are  posterior  to  the  Chinese,  Zend,  and  Sanscrit,  and  denve 
many  words,  especially  from  the  last :  thus  Dei^  and 
Theos  come  from  one  of  the  words,  Thien,  Tao,"!  "liT' 
Deca,  or  from  a  mother  language  anterior  to  Zend^  iJi, 
and  Sanscrit.  '^^ 

Now  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  primitive  vocabl        % 


454  A  Nineteenth  Century  Philosopher. 

what  idea  did  it  convey  to  the  mind  of  him  that  uttered  it? 
Did  it  mean  that  God  was  a  "  visible,"  "tangible,"  "audible" 
Being  ?  Did  it  ascribe  to  Him  "  physical  properties,'*  and 
materialize  Him?  Was  He  in  the  conception  of  the 
utterer  Hable  to  "  himian  passions,"  and  "  possessing  an 
intelligence  scarcely,  if  at  all,  greater  than  that  of  the 
living  man?"     Was  he  a  gboul  or  a  ghost t 

Not  one  of  all  these.  The  words  Deva  and  Daeva  imply 
the  idea  of  splendour^  and  their  termination  indicates  the 
possession  of  it,  so  that  etymologically  speaking  they  mean 
the  being  that  possesses  splendour.  The  Chinese  words  Too, 
Tij  Thien,  have  a  common  foundation  which  implies  the 
idea  of  heaven  mixed  with  that  of  unity^  grandeur,  reason 
and  spirit.  Thien  written  consists  of  two  signs,  one 
signifying  the  greatest  extension  {Le.y  immensity},  and  the 
other  that  of  unity ;  for  the  former  the  sign  is  r^  and  gives 
the  idea  of  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and  for  the 
latter  it  is  : — .  The  two  united  give  -^  and  this  is  the 
graphic  sign  for  the  word  Thien,  God.  The  word  Tt, 
usurped  by  the  Emperor,  signifies  originally  the  spirit  of 
heaven,  the  master  of  heaven,  and  the  word  Too  in  the  mo^ 
ancient  books  means  the  eternal  reason,  whilst  To,  Da,  and 
Tha  connote  the  idea  oifatJier.  Deva  in  its  Indian  modifi- 
cations means  the  heavenly  one^  him  who  dwells  tn  heavefh 
the  kina  of  heaven.  Thien  even  to  this  day  is  the  Chinese 
word  lOT  heaven ;  their  Ti  is  master  or  sovereign,  and  their 
Tao  always  means  the  eternal  reason,  the  way  by  exceUenee. 

The  conclusion  from  these  philological  examinations  is 
obvious,  viz.,  if  we  go  back  to  the  primitive  epoch  when 
these  words  came  from  a  common  root,  the  idea  of  the 
Divinity  was  that  of  a  Being  who  possesses  splendour  within 
Himself,  who  is  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  the  great  Unity,  the 
Eternal  Reason,  who  exists  of  Himself.  Now  this  collection 
of  attributes  implies  monotheism,  and  cannot  be  explained 
if  polytheism,  or  the  religiousideas  mentioned  by  Mr.  Spenser 
was  the  beUef  of  the  age  contemporary  with  the  formation 
of  their  common  root.  So  far,  therefore,  from  "  our  final 
consciousness  of  the  Unknowable"  being  reached  by 
successive  modifications,  quite  the  contrary  is  the  fact 
And  by  a  strange  contradiction  this  is  admitted  by  the 
write-*^mself  when  he  says  that  "  at  the  outset  a  germ  of 
phiioso^jyg  contained  in  the  primitive  conception."  It  was 
the  ea^ng  after,  in  the  second  age,  that  the  vocable  for  the 
lotty  e^y  y^Q^  profaned,  sometimes  by  kings  in  their  pride, 
and  a^^  \yj  being  applied  to  the  sun,  to  the  stars,  and  to 


A  Nineteenth  Century  Philoaoplier.  455 

the  material  heavens,  and  again  by  the  mythological  con- 
ception of  many  distinct  genii,  each  representing  an  attri- 
bute of  the  Supreme  God,  and  by  the  adoration  of  innu- 
merable symbols,  as  animals,  plants,  mountains,  seas,  rivers, 
even  of  statues  and  fetches  under  the  name  of  God. 
St  Paul  characterizes  these  aberrations  as  follows :  "  And 
they  changed  the  image  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  the 
likeness  of  the  image  of  a  corruptible  man,  and  of  birds, 
and  of  four-footed  beasts,  and  of  creeping  things  "  {Rom. 
i  23),  and  it  was  on  this  head  one  of  their  own  poets 
ridiculed  them  saying :   "  0  sacred  nations,  whose  gods 
grow  in  the  gardens."     Thus  the  word  for  God  which  was 
€88entially  singular  in  its  origin  came  in  process  of  time  to 
be  used  in  a  plural  signification.    Hence  the  renowned 
Oriental  scholar  Jahn  writes :  "  They  who  contend  that 
the  first  religion  was  feticism,  or  the  worship  of  creatures, 
and   idolatry,  form    history   a  priori^    and    gratuitously 
assume  that  men  in  their  cognitions  always  ascend  and 
never  deseendy  a  thing  that  all  history,  particularly  that 
of  rehgion,  refutes,  for  example,  the  frequent  relapses  of 
the  Jews  into  idolatry."     Some  attempts  were  made  by 
Lao-Tsew  Zoroaster  and  Plato  to  restore  the  word  God  to 
its  primitive  ilieaning,  but  they  failed  in  this,  as  in  their 
eflorts  to  reform  the  morals  of  the  people.     It  was  Jesus 
Christ  who   in  the  third  age  taught  the  world   by  his 
religion  the  true  meaning  of  Deusj  Deva^  Theos^  Thien^  Tao^ 
and  restored  it  to  its  first  signification. 

Mr.  Spenser  says:  "If  we  contrast  the  Hebrew  God 
described  in  primitive  traditions,  man-like  in  appearance, 
appetites,  and  emotions  with  the  Hebrew  God  as  charac- 
terized by  the  Prophets,  there  is  shown  a  widening  range 
o[  power  along  with  a  nature  increasingly  remote  from 
that  of  man."  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  where 
these  primitive  traditions  are  found,  and  it  would  have 
been  only  fair  to  the  pubUc  to  have  cited  them  in  a 
document  professing  to  give  a  retrospect  of  all  religion. 
Facts,  however,  are  stubborn  things,  and  one  fact  never 
can  be  contradicted,  viz.,  that  the  Mosaic  history  is  the 
most  ancient  of  all ;  for  a  pre-Adamite  man  has  yet  to  be 
proved,  and  granted  that  he  ever  existed,  a  pre-Adamite 
**  Hebrew  God "  would  be  an  anachronism.  The  God  of 
the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  whose  "  spuit  moved  over  the 
waters,"  who  said  to  Moses  in  Exodus  (iii.,  4),  **  I  Am,  WHO 
Am,  whom  King  Pharaoh  a  Gentile  acknowledged  to  be 
his  scourger  {Gen,  xii.),  to  whom  Melchisedech,  King  of 


456  A  Nineteenth  Century  PhilosopJier. 

Salem  (Gen.  xiv.)  sacrificed,  is  the  same.  One,  Simi 
Eternal,  Spiritual,  Infinite  Being  who  says  in  Jeren 
(xxiii.  24),  "Do  I  not  fill  heaven  and  earth?"  and  wb 
Spirit,  in  Wisdom  (i.  7),  "  hath  filled  the  whole  wor 
Improperiv,  and  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  human  emoti* 
are  sometimes  ascribed  to  God,  as  when  addressing  m.»  ^ 
and  accommodating  Himself  to  their  weak  understandiiij  ; 
He  uses  a  form  of  words  which  would   express  lmrr\:  ' 
members,  or  corporal  properties  and  affections,  so  that  iA) 
might  understand  that  He  did  those  things  by  an  act  of 
His  own  will,  which  they  as  corporal  beings  could  do  only 
by  an  ^exercise  of  their  human  powers.     The   Scripture 
gives  us  spiritual  and  divine  things  under  the  likeness  of 
corporal  things;  thus  is  said  in  Job  (xi.  8,  9)  of  God: 
"  He  is  higher  than  Heaven,  and  what  wilt  thou  do  ?     He 
is  deeper  than  hell,  and  what  wilt  thou   know  ?      The 
measure  of  Him  is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader  than 
the  sea."    By  this  threefold  dimension  ascribed  to  God  is 
meant,  under    the    likeness  of    corporal  quantity,  God's 
virtual  or  potential  quantity,  viz.,   oy  depth  His  power 
of   knowing   secret    things;    by  height,  the  excellenec 
of  His  power  over  all  things;    by  length.  His  eternal 
duration,  &c.     Similarly  God  is  said  to  be  sitting,  because 
of  his  immovabiHty  and  authority;  standing,  because  of 
His  strength  to  overcome  all  opposition ;  approaching  and 
receding^hj  spiritual  affection  aud  visible  action. 

Mr.  Spenser  says  that  "  in  the  primitive  human  mind 
there  exists  neither  reUgious  idea,  nor  reUgious  sentiment'* 
This  is  another  gratuitous  statement,  and  I  must  refer 
again  to  the  most  ancient  of  all  histories,  that  of  Moses, 
who  tells  us  of  Adam  having  very  correct  ideas  of  God 
and  of  the  worship  due  to  Him  till  he  fell  into  sin.  If 
Mr.  Spenser  says  he  does  not  mean  Adam,  but  a  human 
being  before  Adam's  day,  then  where  is  the  proof  that 
there  ever  existed  such  a  man  ?  For  geological  researches 
have  failed  to  discover  any  traces  of  him.  Nay  more  the 
fifteen  creative  acts  narrated  by  Moses,  whether  the  days 
of  creation  were  ordinary  ones,  or  indefinite  periods  of 
time,  for  the  Hebrew  word  can  mean  either,  perfectly 
correspond  in  their  chronological  order,  with  geological 
discoveries,  so  that  now-a-days  no  one  learned  in  that 
department  disputes  the  scientific  accuracy  of  the  Bible, 
except  those  who  are  carried  away  by  the  hallucinations 
of  their  own  disordered  brams. 

Behef  in  the  existence  of  a  Being  supremely  perfect. 


A  Nineteenth  Century  Philosopher,  457 

ate  in  the  heart  of  man — it  is  engraven  there,  or 
it  is  bom  with  him.  At  the  eight  of  his  own 
?tion  and  weakness,  he  feels  within  him  the  need 
J  attached  to  One  placed  above  him.  This  was 
nion  even  of  pagan  philosophers,  as  of  Gcero 
^^o<j  TuscuL  1):  "ITiere  is  no  nation,  however  wild 
« 5* 2- ^'barons,  though  it  may  not  know  what  god  to 
©S^l^nYet  it  knows  it  should  honour  one;"  and  of 
l-ittiifcl^^i^who  said  :  "  Go  over  the  world,  and  it  would 
be  easier  to  find  cities  without  walls,  without  sciences, 
without  money,  without  a  king,  than  to  find  a  city  that 
had  not  its  gods  and  its  temples."  The  same  truth  was 
confirmed  on  the  discovery  of  America.  Though  a 
crowd  of  races  was  found  there,  overwhelmed  in  all  the 
sensuality  of  animal  life,  yet  they  preserved  among 
them,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  a  trace  of  belief  in  a 
Supreme  Being,  whom  they  called  the  Great  Spirit. 
Hence  Divine  revelation  taught  man  many  things  which 
he  had  already  within  him,  but  which  he  failed  to  see 
himself,  as  the  treasures  of  a  beautiful  and  richly  fur- 
nished room  are  not  seen  in  the  dark,  but  are  visible 
when  a  light  is  brought;  yet  they  did  not  enter  with 
the  light,  for  they  were  there  already. 

The  ''Prospect"  is  professedly  a  sequel  flowing  from 
the  "Retrospect?'  If,  therefore,  the  latter  is  shown  to 
be  void  of  any  reality  in  fact,  the  former  must  take 
its  place  in  that  ever  recurring  circle  of  illusions,  by 
which  men  allow  themselves  to  be  deceived,  when  with 
unbridled  thought  they  form  religion  for  themselves, 
or  try  with  finite  minds  to  grasp  the  infinite.  The 
"  Prospect "  is,  however,  something  more  than  it  appears 
at  first  eight.  It  is  a  well  planned  attack  on  the  whole 
Christian  faith,  whose  tenets  have  been  held  as  sacred  by  the 
wisest  and  holiest  in  every  age — that  faith  which  has  been, 
and  yet  is,  the  bond  that  keeps  together  civilized  society. 
One  of  the  London  dailies  recognised  this,  when  it 
selected,  as  the  cream  of  the  whole  paper,  that  part 
which  was  intended  to  be  most  damaging  to  Christianity, 
where  the  writer  professes  to  give  a  summaiy  of  its 
dogmas,  commenting  on  them  with  more  than  the  sneer 
of  Voltaire,  and  throwing  them  overboard  with  con- 
temptuous sangfroid.     Here  it  is  right  to  dwell  a  Httle. 

Almighty  uod  is  accused  of  **  cruelty."  To  Mr.  Spenser 
He  appears  **  cruel,"  but  not  to  believers  in  Christianity, 
who  ought  to  be  the  first  to  complain.  The  fear  of 
VOL.V.  2l 


458  A  Nineteenth  Century  Philosopher, 

**  eternal  torments,"  is  doubtless  a  wholesome  deterrent 
from  sin;  but  it  is  the  lowest  of  all  the  motives  that 
animate  a  soul  in  the  service  of  God,  and  enters  least  of 
all  into  the  thoughts.  We  serve,  love,  and  worship  God, 
because  He  created  us  out  of  His  goodness,  because  He  is 
Goodness  itself,  because  we  are  His  children  and  address 
Him  by  the  affectionate  name  of  Father,  because  He  loves  us 
and  gives  so  many  and  such  powerful  aids  to  reach  the 
place  He  has  prepared  for  us  in  heaven.  It  is  wrong  to  say 
that  any  motive  of  self  interest  influenced  Him  in  creating 
man,  as  for  instance  that  "  He  was  seized  with  a  craving  for 
praise,"  and  that  "  we  might  be  perpetually  telling  him  how 
great  He  is ;"  for  nothing  is  wanting  to  the  plenitude  of  His 
Being  and  His  happiness,  and  the  Psalmist  says  (xv.  2) : 
**  Thou  art  my  God,  for  Thou  hast  no  need  of  my  goods." 

Yet  should  we  love  Him  and  praise  Him,  and  "  perpe- 
tually," too,  and  in  doing  so  we  benefit  ourselves,  not  Him. 

In  the  "eternal    torments,"  so  unpalatable  to   "the 
better  natured,"  the  believer  sees  only  the  justice  of  God, 
and  the  natural  consequence  of  sin.     Sin,  namely,  a  viola- 
tion of  the  law  of  conscience  (which  itself  testifies  to  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  law-giver)  is  to  its  punishment,  in 
the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.     The  man  who  destroys 
his  own  eve-sight,  though  he  lived  for  ever,  would  be  for 
ever  blind,  a  very  great  punishment,  no  doubt,  yet  a  neces- 
sary consequence  of  the  act  he  freely  committed ;  and  the 
man  who,  oy  a  serious  violation  of  the  law  of  conscience, 
makes  himself  the  enemy  of  God,  and  deprives  himself  of 
the  aummum  bonum,  eternal  life,  freely  suDJects  himself  to 
eternal  pimishment  and   its  consequences,  namely,   the 
eternal  loss  of  the  happiness  for  wluch  he  was  destined, 
the  eternal  regret  for  having  lost  it  through  his  own  fault, 
and  those  other  necessary  pains  by  which  reason  says  he, 
as  a  guilty  person,  should  be  pimished  eternally.    The 
philosopher  Leibnitz  (Sr/sterna  TJieo,  p.  338)  says :  "When 
the  soul  leaves  the  body  in  the  state  of  mortal  sin,  and 
thus  badly  disposed  towards  God,  like  a  weight  broken 
off,  it  rushes  to  the  abyss  of  destruction,  and  sentences 
itself   to    eternal  damnation."      No    theologians  in  the 
Catholic   Church,  therefore,  "  quietly  drop  out  of  their 
teachings  belief  in  hell  and  damnation." 

Mr.  Spenser  does  not  know  the  teaching  of  the  Catholic 
Church  concerning  original  sin  and  its  consequences,  else 
he  would  not  have  framed,  on  this  head,  a  second  charge 
of  cruelly  against  God.     Passing  by  traces  of  tradition 


A  Nineteenth  Century  Philosopher.  459 

on  the  fall  of  the  first  man,  found  among  the  most 
ancient  peoples,  and  summed  up  by  Voltaire  himself,  no 
friend  of  Christianity,  in  these  words :  "  The  fall  of  man  ift 
the  foundation  of  the  theology  of  almost  all  the  most 
ancient  peoples,"  the  sin  of  Adam  was  something  more 
than  **  a  small  transgression."  It  was  disobedience(fiff.  Paul 
to  Rom.  V.)  to  the  highest  and  most  venerable  authority, 
disbelief  in  Him  who  is  truth  itself — for  Adam  believed  the 
word  of  the  tempter — contempt  of  God  and  ingratitude  to 
Him,  a  sin  the  malice  of  which  was  increased  from  the 
very  ease  with  which  the  command  could  have  been  kept, 
and  because  the  punishment  was  clearly  announced  before- 
hand. The  guilt  of  this  sin  and  part  of  its  punishment  have 
indeed  passed  to  Adam's  descendants ;  but  in  us  the  sin  is 
pasrivey  in  Adam  it  was  actualy  and  the  "  penalties  "  we 
inherit  are  the  deprivation  of  all  those  privileges  which 
were  supperadded  to  Adam's  nature.  Does  it  **call 
forth  expressions  of  abhorrence  "  that  the  descendants  of 
all  those  English  noblemen,  who  were  guilty  of  high 
treason  in  the  past,  and  whose  estates  were  confiscated, 
should  be  in  poverty  to  day  1  Would  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land bo  considered  "cruel,"  if,  after  ennobling  a  poor 
man  and  giving  him  estates,  she  deprived  him  and  his 
descendants  of  all  these  privileges  for  the  crime  of  high 
treason  committed  by  him  ? 

Mr.  Spenser  sees  another  '*  cruelty"  in  "  damning  all  men 
who  do  not  avail  themselves  of  an  alleged  mode  of  obtain- 
ing forgiveness,  which  most  men  have  never  heard  of." 
Here  again  his  ignorance  of  CathoUc  teaching  appear& 
No  man  is  damned  except  he  act  against  his  conscience, 
St  Paul  saying :  "  Whosoever  have  sinned  without  the  law, 
shall  perish  without  the  law ;  and  whosoever  have  sinned 
in  the  law,  shall  be  judged  by  the  law.  For  when 
the  Gentiles,  who  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  those 
things  that  are  of  the  law,  these  having  not  the  law, 
are  a  law  to  themselves.  Who  show  the  work  of  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  bearing  witness  to 
theniy  and  their  thoughts  between  themselves  accusing,  or 
also  defending  one  another."  And  this  is  as  true  to-day 
of  the  heathen  Chinee,  or  of  the  Kaffir,  or  of  any  other 
iadhridual  pagan  on  whom  the  Ught  of  the  Gospel  has  not  yet 
ibone,  as  it  was  of  the  Gentiles  of  whom  St.  Paul  speaks. 


460  A  Nineteenth  Centurn/  Fliilosoplier. 

assumed  necessity  for  a  propitiatory  victim."  The  redemp* 
tion  of  the  human  race  was  not  necessary^  God  being  as  free 
not  to  redeem  as  not  to  create.  Neither  was  the  satisfac- 
tion of  Christ  or  the  Incarnation  of  the  Word  iiecesmry^  for 
God  is  not  bound  to  maintain  the  extreme  rigour  of  His 
justice ;  He  can  yield  His  right,  or  dispense  m  His  law 
against  sinners,  by  exacting  even  imperfect  satisfaction. 
But  God  did  not  refuse  the  equivalent  satisfaction  given 
by  His  Son,  when  He  in  His  goodness  and  mercy  took  on 
Himself  human  nature,  and  freely  offered  Himself' a  victim 
for  sin:  "  Sacrifice  and  oblation  thou  wouldest  not;  but  a 
body  thou  hast  fitted  to  me ;  holocausts  for  sin  did  not  pleage 
thee.^  Then  said  1,  *  Behold  I  come.'"  (St.  Paul  to  Heh.  x.) 

So  much  for  the  chapter  of  horrors,  so  ingeniously  con- 
ceived and  80  graphically  described,  but  so  utterly  void  of 
foundation  in  fact. 

Mr.  Spenser  says  "  the  growing  intelligence,"  meaning 
perhaps  his  own,  which  he  probably  regards  as  the  highest 
development  the  human  mind  has  yet  reached  on  reUgious 
matters,  "detects  logical  incongruities  more  and  more 
conspicuous  " — '*  the  familiar  diflSculties  that  sundry  of  the 
implied  divine  tracts  are  in  contradiction  with  the  divine 
attributes  otherwise  ascribed;*'  that  the  attributes  them- 
selves are  "irreconcilable"  with  one  another,  and  that 
examined  separately  they  do  not  stand  the  test,  and  become 
only  " meaningless"  words. 

The  "familiar  difficulties"  have  been  familiarly  answered 
over  and  over  again,  and  it  does  not  require  any  great 
**  intelligence  "  to  see  that  when  God  is  said  to  be  angiy, 
repent,  forget,  or  recollect,  these  emotions  are  ascribed  to 
Him  in  a  metaphorical  and  improper  sense,  and  that  He 
does  in  time,  but  according  to  a  free  act  of  His  will  from 
eternity,  those  various  things  which  men  influenced  by 
anger,  repentance,  forgetfuluess,  or  recollection,  are  wont 
to  do.  But  these  emotions  are  never  ascribed  to  God  in 
the  same  sense  as  they  are  to  man,  and  argue  no  imperfec- 
tion or  chan^eableness  in  Him,  as  is  very  clear  from 
Scripture.  Therefore  God  is  said  to  be  angry,  when  He 
threatens  or  punishes ;  to  repent  of  something  He  has  done, 
when  in  altered  circumstances  He  destroys  His  world ;  to 
forget  men,  when  He  allows  them  to  be  in  trouble;  to 
remember  them,  when  He  consoles  and  bestows  favours  on 
them.  Thus  God  loves  the  just  man  whom  before  when  a 
sinner  He  hated,  but  there  is  no  change  in  Him  who  from 
all  eternity,  by  the  most  simple  act,  abhors  sin  and  loves 


A  Nineteenth  Ceniury  Philosopher,  461 

good;  the  whole  change  is  in  the  man,  who,  from  being 
a  sinner  and  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God,  becomes  just  ana 
pleasing  to  Him.  The  sun  illumines  with  his  rays  the  man 
who  exposes  himself  to  them,  but  if  he  withdraw  from 
them  he  is  no  longer  illumined,  y^t  the  sun  is  unchanged ; 
so  God,  without  any  ctauge  on  his  part,  loves  the  man 
placed  in  the  sun  of  justice,  whom  He  did  not  love  before, 
nay,  hated  when  he  fell  from  justice. 

Similarly  with  the  other  attributes  of  God — ^they  are 
reconcilable  one  with  the  other,  and  argue  no  change  or 
succession  in  Him ;  and  if  He  wiDs  or  understands,  the  act 
of  volition  or  the  act  of  intelligence,  is  not  "a  meaningless 
word,"  but  represents  to*  our  minds  God  under  the  one 
aspect  or  under  the  other. 

Therefore  it  is  lawful  to  conclude  from  the  preceding 
remarks  that  there  never  was,  as  alleged,  a  gradual 
"dropping  of  anthropomorphic  characters,  given  to  the 
First  Cause,"  there  is  not  at  present,  and  there  never  will  be; 
nor  is  the  conception  of  God  a  bit  different  to-day  from 
what  it  was  in  the  beginning,  nor  a  bit  larger,  for  the 
reason  that  His  nature  is  incomprehensible  to  our  finite 
minds  **  yesterday,  to-day,"  and  as  long  as  man  is  in  this 
mortal  life.  What  more  visible  than  the  sun,  more  brilliant  I 
yet  nothing  so  diflScult  to  look  at,  precisely  on  account  of 
its  splendour  and  clearness,  and  of  the  weakness  of  our 
vision.  So  there  is  nothing  more  intelligible  to  our  reason 
than  God,  and  at  the  same  time  nothing  more  difficult  to 
comprehend  in  this  life.  The  astronomer  may  continue  to 
use  the  most  improved  instruments  of  his  science,  the 
physicist  discover  hidden  properties  in  nature,  their  wonder 
will  increase,  but  they  are  as  far  from  comprehending  God 
as  the  lowest  savage,  or  the  simplest  child.  And  no 
accumulation  of  future  "evolved  intelligences"  will  be 
able  to  apprehend  God,  for  the  reason  that  no  number  of 
finites  can  equal  the  infinite.  Does  Mr.  Spenser  himself,  an 
"  evolved  intelligence,"  apprehend  more  of  God,  whom  he 
calls  "Infinite  and  Eternal  Energy,"  than  St.  Paul,  who 
said  of  God :  "  He  is  not  far  from  everyone  of  us,  for  in 
Him  we  live,  and  move,  and  be ;"  or  than  Moses,  to  whom 
God  said :  "  1  am  who  am."  Whoever  wants  to  know  more 
than  reason  and  nature  testify  of  God,  can  find  it  in  Divine 
Revelation :  "  A  Deo  discendum  est,  quid  de  Deo  intelli- 
gendum  sit,  quia  non  nisi  se  auctore  cognoscitur."  (Bellarm, 
de  Trin.  L.V.  21). 

Daniel  Ferris. 


[    462    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Matrimony, 

Titius,  a  Catholic  whose  home  is  in  Dublin,  travels  through 
England  and  Scotland  for  two  or  three  months  each  year,  soliciting 
orders  for  the  firm  with  which  he  is  connected  in  Dublin.  On 
these  occasions  he  never  remains  more  than  a  week  or  two  in  the 
same  town.  Having,  as  usual,  arrived  on  February  28rd  in 
Liverpool  for  this  purpose,  he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  of 
attending  two  days  later,  a  ball  in  that  city.  Here  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Titia,  a  young  Catholic  lady,  who  also  lived  in 
Ireland,  but  who  had  come  to  England  that  day  to  spend  three  or 
four  weeks  with  some  friends.  The  chance  acquaintance  thos 
made  ripened  in  a  few  days  into  love,  and  they  agreed  to  marry. 
But  as  Titius  waa  to  start  on  his  business  circuit  through 
Scotland  in  a  week  or  two,  and  as  he  wished  to  give  Titia  an 
opportunity  of  enjoying  the  beautiful  scenery  in  Scotland  through 
which  he  was  to  pass,  seeing  the  impropriety  there  would  be  if  they 
travelled  together  without  being  married,  he  persuaded  her  to  be 
married  by  special  licence  at  the  office  of  the  Registrar,  before 
setting  out  on  their  Highland  tour.  Having  given  her  consent, 
they  were  married  at  the  said  office,  and  travelled  through  Scotland 
together,  combining  the  "  utile"  and  "  dulce,"  the  duties  of  business 
with  the  enjoyment  of  the  honeymoon.  The  business  over,  they 
retimed  together  to  their  mutusd  home  in  Dublin. 

Quaeritur — ^An  validum  sit  matrimonium  inter  eos  contractum  ? 

Sacerdos  in  Angua. 

The  case  of  those  who,  having  their  residences  in  a 
place  where  the  Decree  "Tametsi**  is  in  force,  contract 
clandestine  marriage  in  a  parish  in  which  it  is  not  published^ 
without,  on  the  one  hand,  acquiring  a  new  domicile,  or  on 
the  other,  going  out  of  their  own  parish  itxfraudem  legU^coxAi 
not  easily  receive  better  illustration.  In  the  September 
number  of  the  RECORD,  1882,  the  arguments  on  both  sides  of 
this  important  question  are  set  forth  at  length  in  a  paper 
which,  while  not  incHning  to  pronounce  such  marriages  up 
to  that  time  invaUd,  recommended  that  a  c^se  occumng  in 
practice  should  be  referred  to  the  S.C.C.  for  authoritative 
decision.  Since  then,  through  Dr.  O'Connell's  kindness,  the 
document,  with  which  his  name  is  in  this  matter  connected, 
was  ascertained  to  be  fully  reliable ;  also  in  the  TabUt  of 
February  16, 1884,  a  decision  is  given  bearing  date  the  16Ui 
September,  1883,  which  states,  "  constare  ex  deductis  de 


Corre^ondence.  463 

nollitate  matrimonii,"  in  the  case  of  a  French  lady  and 
gentleman  who  went  through  the  ceremony  of  marriage 
before  a  Catholic  priest  and  the  Registrar  in  England, 
whither  they  had  come  for  rbarriage  bonafide^  intending  no 
evasion  except  that  of  the  civil  rite  in  France.    .There  is  of 
course  some  diflference  between  this  case  and  the  one  before 
us,  as  Titins  and  Titia  in  no  sense  left  Ireland  to  contract 
marriage.     Still  the  cases  are  very  like,  and  manifestly  the 
S.  Congregation,  which  can  at  any  time  make  an  txteimve 
interpretation  binding,  has  been  gradually  fixing  on  the 
wider  construction.     Before  Urban  VlIL's  Decree  it  is 
highly  probable  those  who  went  out  in  fraudem  legis  con- 
tracted validly.    Not  so  afterwards,  and  in  modem  times 
also  the  tendency  seems  to  have  been  in  the  direction  of 
gradually  establishing  an  extended  interpretation,  so  as  to 
include  all  cases  in  which  a  domicile  or  quasi-domicile  is 
not  acquired  in  the  exempt  territory.      This   probably 
will  be  'made  clear  by  the  next  decision,  a  fact  which 
would  leave  the  union  of  Titius  and  Titia  invalid,  at  least 
in  foro   exiemo.    Meantime  as  the  case  is  so  like  that 
reported  in  the  Tablet^  and  as  the  parties  are  Catholics,  they 
should    renew    their   consent    in    Tridentine    form    and 
conditionally.  P.  O'D. 


Is  Mean  Solar   Time   obligatory  in   Ecclesiastical 

Functions. 

TO  the  BDITOB   of  THB  1BI6H  ECCLESTASTIGAL  RECORD. 

Rkv.  Dear  Sir. — I  have  to  return  thanks  for  the  answer  given 
in  the  May  issue  of  the  Record  to  my  inquiry  regarding  the  new 
or  standard  time  and  its  application  to  ecclesiastical  functions. 

But  I  fear  I  did  not  state  my  case  plainly,  and  so  I  put  it  now 
as  clearly  as  I  can. 

A  standard  time  has  been  lately  introduced — mind  not  by  any 
ecclesiastical  authority.  As  said  before,  the  country  is  divided  into 
three  belts  or  zones,  eastern,  western,  and  middle,  and  within  the 
limits  of  each  of  these  belts  the  same  time  is  kept.  Here  where  I 
live  this  standard  time  is  sixteen  minutes  slower  than  the  meridian 
or  solar  time,  and  in  some  other  districts  it  is  much  slower  than 
that.  And  so  when  the  clock  sounds  twelve  o'clock  it  is  in  reality 
later. 

1.  Now  the  question  precisely  is  this :  when  the  clock  (new 
time)  points  to  five  minutes  to  twelve  at  night  may  refreshments 
be  taken  ? 

3.  May  the  office  be  begun  at  a  quarter  before  two  (new  time)  ? 

That  is,  may  I  perform  my  ecclesiastical  functions  according  to 


464  Correspondence. 

the  new  time  which  is  the  slower  ?  This  decree  quoted  seems  to 
allow  us  observe  the  new  time  or  the  old  as  we  wish. 

3.  But  as  in  some  cases  the  solar  time  is  the  slower,  can  those 
living  in  such  districts  observe  it  in  preference  to  the  other? 

In  this  matter  the  bishops  have  said  nothing,  nor  is  it  likelj 
that  they  ever  will. 

Apologizing  for  trouble,  I  have  the  honour  to  be.  Very  Rev. 
Sir,  your  obedient  Servant — A  Subscriber. 


TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  IRISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

In  the  May  number  of  the  Record  a  "Subscriber"  seeks 
information  about  the  change  of  schedule  time  lately  adopted  in  the 
United  States.  He  states  the  case  fairly ;  but  he  should  kuow 
that  Unde  Sam*s  laws  do  not  bind  in  Ireland.  Even  in  the 
States  the  new  standard  was  made  for  commercial  and  not  for 
ecclesiastical  purposes.  The  Canonical  time  for  all  ecclesiastical 
duties  is  the  same  as  heretofore.  Time  between  New  York  and 
San  Francisco  varies  by  several  hours.  This  being  a  country  of 
magnificent  distances,  the  business  interests  of  commercial  people 
demanded  a  new  and  fixed  standard  of  railroad  time. 

Thomas  Quiglkt. 

1.  In  reply  to  our  esteemed  correspondents  we  beg  to 
repeat  now,  what  we  said  before,  that  this  is  pre-eminently 
a  question  for  the  local  ecclesiastical  authorities  to  decide. 

2.  If  what  the  Pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  says  in  his  letter  be 
accurate,  that  the  **  Schedule ''  time  has  been  introduced 
only  for  the  convenience  of  commercial  intercourse,  then 
we  quite  agree  with  him  in  his  inference  that  it  is  not 
lawful  to  adopt  it  as  the  rule  for  ecclesiastical  functions. 

3.  In  any  case  we  think  a  priest  may  follow  the  solar 
time,  and  is  not  bound  to  adopt  the  schedule  time,  but 
then  he  ought  to  follow  it  in  oZZ  cases  where  the  beginning 
or  ending  of  the  obligation  is  determined  by  the  time. 

4.  We  cannot  undertake  to  say  that  a  priest,  is  justified 
in  making  the  "  Schedule"  time  the  rule  for  determining 
the  limits  of  his  obligations  except  custom  in  any  particular 
district  should  have  made  its  adoption  lawful.  It  is  easy 
to  conceive,  at  least  in  those  places  where  the  difference 
between  the  '*  Schedule  *'  time  and  the  solar  time  is  small, 
how  ecclesiastics  might  find  it  convenient  to  follow  the 
"  Schedule  *'  time  ratber  than  the  solar  time.  In  that 
case  we  cjuld  not  venture  to  condemn  as  unlawful  the 
general  adoption  of  the  "Schedule"  time  for  all  ecclesiastical 
lunctions.  J.  IL 


[    465    ] 

LITURGY. 

I. 

Ihe  Prayers  ordered  to  be  said  after  every  Low  Mass  by  the 

Pope. 

Bev.  Sir — ^Will  you  kindly  give  us,  Missionary  Priests,  your 
valuable  opinion  in  a  matter  affecting  the  correctness  and 
uniformity  of  our  public  service.  I  refer  to  the  prayers  lately 
ordered  by  the  Holy  Father  to  be  said  after  every  Low  Mass. 

P.  In  some  places  those  prayers  are  said  before  the  De 
ProfundU,  but  the  more  general  usage  is  to  say  them  after  it. 
Which  practice  is  right  ? 

2*^.  Some  priests  stand  when  saying  the  prayer,  "  O  God ,  our 
refuge  and  our  strength,"  but  the  greater  number  say  it  kneeling. 
Which  is  the  correct  way  ? 

3*.  In  some  churches  the  people  are  encouraged  to  join  in 
saying  the  Holy  Mary  in  response  to  the  Hail  Mary  said  by  the 
priest ;  but  generally  the  Mass-server  only  answers,  and  the  congre- 
gation is  not  invited  to  join.     Which  course  should  be  adopted? 

4^  Finally,  what  of  the  **  Hail,  Holy  Queen;"  is  this  to  be  said 
by  the  priest  only,  or  is  the  congregation  to  join  in  this  prayer 
also? 

In  the  cause  of  correctness  and  uniformity,  I  ask  for  your 
decision.  A  Vicar. 

1. — It  ie  our  opinion  that  the  prayers  to  which  you 
refer,  and  which  were  ordered  by  a  decree  of  the  Sacred 
Congregation  of  Rites  (Jan.  26th,  1884),  at  the  express 
desire  of  the  Holy  Father,  should  be  said  before  the  De 
Profundis,  Our  reason  for  saying  so  is  because  they  are 
liturgical  prayers.  They  are  as  strictly  liturgical  as  a  Collect 
ordered  by  the  Pope  or  S.  Congregation — the  difference 
being  that  the  Collect  is  a  part  of  the  liturgy  to  be  said  in 
the  Mass,  but  those  prayers  form  the  part  of  the  liturgy  to 
be  said  after  Mass  ("  peracto  Missae  sacrificio.'*^  As  such, 
they  take  precedence  of  all  other  prayers  after  Mass,  which 
have  not  this  liturgical  character ;  and  the  De  Profundis^ 
though  made  obligatory  by  custom  in  this  country,  and 
sanctioned  by  the  Synod  of  Maynooth,  is  not  a  liturgical 
prayer. 

It  has  come  to  our  knowledge  that  so  strictly  Uturgical 
are  those  prayers  after  Mass,  that  the  Roman  authorities 
will  not  allow  them  to  be  said  in  French,  oi  English,  or 
any  language  but  Latin,  without  the  gravest  cause  and  the 
permission  of  the  S.  Congregation. 


466  Liturgical  Questions. 

II. — Seeing  that  the  prayers  are  strictly  liturgical,  the 
Oratio  ^^Deus,  refugium  et  wV^iw,"  should  be  said  by;  the 
priest  standing,  just  as  he  says  the  prayer  at  Benediction 
and  similar  functions  standing.  This  is  the  practice  of 
Rome  where  those  prayers  have  been  in  use  since  an  early 
date  in  the  reign  of  Pius  IX. 

Ill' — The  congregation,  and  not  the  mere  Mass  servers, 
should  answer  the  ''  Holy  Mary."  The  object  of  the  Pope 
is  to  get  the  priest  and  people  to  join  in  public  prayer  for 
the  necessities  of  the  Church :  "  Ut  quod  Christianae 
reipublicae  in  commune  expedit,  id  communi  prece  populos 
Chnstianus  a  Doo  contendat,  auctoque  supplicantiura 
numero,  divinae  beneficia  misericordiae  facilius  assequatur."^ 

It  is  certainly  the  duty  of  the  priest  to  instruct  the 
people  how  to  answer  those  prayers  and  to  encourage  them 
to  join  in  answering  the  Holy  Mary. 

IV. — It  is  the  unvarying  practice  of  Rome  for  the 
people  as  well  as  the  priest,  to  say  the  Salve  Regina;  and 
the  practice  of  Rome,  where  those  prayers  have  been  in 
common  use  for  so  many  years,  is  our  best  and  safest  model 
to  follow. 

We  should  remark  here  that  one  of  the  obvious  results 
of  the  liturgical  character  of  those  prayers  is  that  we 
should  strictly  adhere  to  the  form  of  prayer  prescribed, 
neither  adding  to  it  nor  taking  from  it.  Hence  we  should 
not  say  the  Gloria  Patri  after  the  Hail  Marys,  nor  the 
Divinum  auxilium  at  the  end. 

It  is  obviously  most  desirable  and  indeed  necessary,  as 
you  remark,  that  in  saying  those  prayers  which  are  now 
made  a  permanent  part  of  our  public  service,  uniformity  of 
practice  should  be  observed  not  only  through  all  the 
dioceses  of  Ireland,  but  with  all  parts  of  the  imiversJ 
Church.  Of  course  our  Bishops  will  in  due  tim^  conaider 
the  matter  and  rive  us  a  practical  decision  for  our  guidance 
regarding  all  the  points  you  refer  to  in  your  letter.  And 
we  may  not  have  to  wait  for  this  direction  longer  than 
next  week,  when  their  Lordships  hold  their  summer 
meeting  at  Maynooth. 

II. 

The  Votive  Office  and  Missa  Defanctorum. 
Very  Rev.  Sir — The  new  Indult  regarding  Votive  Masses 
Slits  on  a  ^^De  ea"*  either  the  office  of  the  dav,  or  the  Votive 


penmts 
Office. 


1  Decretum,  S.R.C.,  6th  Jan.,  1884. 


Liturgical  Questions.  467 

I  would  feel  obliged  if  you  would  kindly  answer  the  following 
question  :  — 

Could  a  priest  celebrate  the  Missa  Quotidiana  Defunctorum  on, 
for  example,  Thursday,  the  4th  of  September  (a  De  ea)^  and  the 
Officiom  Yotivum  SSmi.  Sacramenti. 

Yours  sincerely,        John  Quinn. 

There  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  tliis  may  not  be 
done.  The  Votive  OflSces  may  be  substituted  ad  libitum 
sacerdotis  for  Ferials  and  Simples,  and  it  is  nowhere  stated, 
as  far  as  we  know,  that  this  privilege  is  granted  only  on 
the  condition  of  celebrating  a  Votive  Mass  after  the  Votive 
OflSce.  Consequently  we  infer  that  the  recitation  of  the 
Votive  OflSce  does  not  deprive  a  priest  of  the  liberty 
allowed  by  the  Rubrics  of  saying  a  Missa  Defimctorum  on 
on  a  Fena,  or  a  Simple. 

III. 

BepetUion  of  the  Kyrie  Eleison,   Christe  Eleison  in  the 

Litany. 

R£v.  Sir — In  singing*or  saying  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
—and  it  applies  also  to  other  Litanies — ought  the  Kyrie  Eleison, 
Chritte  Eleison,  Kyrie  EleisoUy  at  its  commencement,  be  doubled  or 
not? 

Formerly,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  it  was  the  uniform 
custom  to  say  each  of  these  once  only,  but  of  late  years  in  many 
diurches  in  these  countries,  they  are  each  said  twice.  I  have  heard 
it  asserted,  (I  know  not  on  what  grounds)  that  this  latter  is  the 
correct  mode,  and  I  have  also  seen  it  stated  lately  that  this  mode  is 
incorrect. 

I  have  heard  also  the  invocations  which  immediately  follow 
Chriite,  audi  nos  ;  CJiriste  txaudi  nos^  doubled,  but  this  I  conceive 
must  be,  without  doubt,  wrong. 

Yours,  &c,  C.S.S.R. 

According  to  the  text  of  the  Litany  of  the  B.  Virgin,  as 
fixed  and  approved  by  the  Church,*  these  invocations, 
Kyrie  eleison^  Christe  eleison^  Kyrie  eleison^  should  be  said 
only  once.  The  practice  of  doubling  them  was  intro- 
duced for  the  convenience  of  the  chant,  the  congregation 

*See  RaccoUa,  Ed.  1878.  Maryland,  p.  174  Rituale  Romanum. 
Fnstet'B  Ed.  1881.  p.  23.» 

It  is  strange  that  in  the  English  version  of  the  13th  edition  of  the 


468  Liturgical  Questions. 

repeating  what  the  chanters  have  just  sung.  M.  BouAon 
tells  us  that  it  is  followed  in  well-ordered  churches  in 
Rome  and  elsewhere,^  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
practice  (and  certainly  it  is  not  the  form  of  tne  Litany 
approved  and  indulgenced  by  the  Church)  it  is  an  improve- 
ment upon  a  decidedly  wrong  custom  which  prevailed  in 
Bome  churches  of  omitting  the  third  invocation  {Ki/rie 
eleison)  on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  inconvement 
for  the  chanters  to  sing  this  and  the  following  ChrisUj 
audi  nos. 

[t  is  then  our  opinion  that  in  singing  the  Litany  these 
invocations  should  not  be  repeated,  provided  the  chant  can 
be  conveniently  and  suitably  ordered  otherwise ;  but  there 
is  no  reason  or  excuse  why  they  should  be  repeated  when 
the  Litany  is  not  sung,  but  only  said.  The  Christe,  andi 
nos ;  Christe,  exaudi  nos^  should  be  said  only  once. 

We  may  here  suggest  a  doubt  of  our  own  as  to  whether 
the  indulgence  is  gained  when,  in  accordance  with 
another  very  common  practice,  the  Ora  pro  nobis  is  sung 
only  after  every  third  invocation.  Is  this  sufficient  to 
gain  the  indulgence?  We  doubt  it  stronrfy;  for  the 
Litany  to  which  the  indulgence  is  attached  nas  the  Ora 
pro  nobis  after  every  invocation.* 

IV. 

The  Rosary  as  a  substitute  for  the  Office,  said  in  Choro. 

A.  has  received  a  dispensation  to  substitute  the  fifteen  decades 
of  the  Rosary  for  the  Divine  Office,  whenever  ho  feels  disposed 
to  tivail  himself  of  this  privilege,  from  want  of  time  or  other 
causes.  6.  has  a  similar  privilege.  It  is  late  in  the  day  of  tolK 
and  for  neither  of  them  is  it  convenient  to  recite  the  Office.  In 
college  days  they  recited  the  Office  in  ckoro,  and  now  they  say  the 
Rosary  together,  A,  giving  out  the  Hail  Mary,  and  B.  responding 
with  the  Holy  Mary.  Please  inform  me  do  both  comply  with  their 
obligation  of  reciting  the  Rosary  instead  of  the  Office  by  following 
this  method. 

The  sufficiency  of  the  cause  for  exercising  the  privilege 
being  admitted,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the 
mode  of  reciting  the  Rosary  is  satisfactory.  It  seems 
obvious  that  all  that  is  required  as  to  the  mode  of  saying 
it  is  that  it  should  be  recited  as  a  prayer  in  such  a  manner 

^Introduction  aux  Ceremonies  Romaines^  p.  411. 
■  See  Rit,  Rom.y  ibid, ;  Raccolta,  ibid. 


Liturgical  Questions.  46^ 

as  would  meet  with  tliQ  approval  of  the  Church.  Now,  to 
the  Rosary  said  as  you  describe  it,  the  Church  does  not 
deny  her  indulgences. 

The  Crescent  Lunette. 

What  is  the  proper  provision  for  preserving  the  Sacred  Host  in 
» crescent  lunette  from  Mass  till  Benediction,  and  from  Benediction 
till  the  lunette  can  be  purified  at  Mass  within  the  ensuing  week  ? 
Would  it  do  to  place  the  lunette  furnished  with  the  Sacred  Host  on 
the  corporal  within  the  tabernacle,  or  could  the  Sacred  Host  be  put 
in  the  ciborium  immediately  after  Benediction,  and  the  lunette  be 
purified  at  once  ?  A  Puzzled  P.P. 

In  connection  with  the  crescent  lunette,  a  gilt  or 
ffllvered  box  should  be  supplied  for  holding  the  lunette 
when  in  the  tabernacle.  In  this  box  or  case  there  is  a 
groove  in  which  the  lunette  is  fixed,  and  so  held  that  the 
Sacred  Host  itself  does  not  touch  any  part  of  the  box^ 
This  is  the  proper  provision  for  preserving  the  Sacred 
Host  in  a  crescent  lunette. 

While  waiting  for  such  a  case,  which  can  be  got  in 
Dublin,  you  must  provide,  as  best  you  can,  for  the  reverent 
protection  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  In  the  circumstances, 
you  may,  1  think,  follow  either  of  the  two  methods  you 
suggest,  but  1  should  prefer  the  second,  care  being  taken 
to  treat  properly  the  purifications  of  the  lunette. 

VI. 

Mitsa  Solemnis  pro  Defunctis  during  the  Octave  of  Corpus 

Christ}, 

Dear  Sir — Kindly  say  in  the  next  number  of  the  E.  Eecord 
if  solemn  Mass  **Pro  Defunctis  "  could  be  offered  on  last  Saturday 
June  14th,  the  festival  of  St.  Basil,  and  within  the  Octave  of 
Corpus  Christi  "  absente  sed  insepulto  cadavere." 

I  find  it  stated  at  page  ix.  in  the  Synopsis  of  the  "  Exequiae 
&c.  **  "  Si  cadaver  sit  insepultum  licet  non  presens  "  cantare  licet 
Missam  solemnem  de  Requiem  "  una  cum,  &c.,  in  diebus  etiara 
festivis  et  duplicibus  secundae  classis"  S.R.C.  23  Mail,  1G03 — 
11  Maii  1754-25  April  1781—7  Sept.  1816. 

On  the  same  point,  p.  209,  n.  57,  Vavasieur  says — *'Avant 
rinhumation,  on  pent  celebrer  cette  Messe,  meme  im  jour  de 
dimanche  ou  de  fete  de  precepte,  et  du  rit  double  de  seconde  classe." 

Gavantus.  Pars.  I.  Tit.  v.  p.  79,  writes— "In  dominicis  et 
festis  potest  celebrari  Missa  de  Requie  pro  Defunctis  insepulto 
cadavere'*  S.R.C.  23  Maii,  1603. 

De  Herdt  pp.  59-60,  Resp.  II.,  states— "  Corpore  nondum 
sq)ulto,  sed  non  praesente  ob  morbum  contagiosum  aut  aliam 


470  Notices  of  Booh. 

rationahiUm  causam^  missa  exequialis  ....  prohibetor  ia  omnibnA 
duplicibus  1  cl.  .  .  .  Permittitur  autem  in  Pominias  (2)  in  dapli- 
cibus  2  cl.  et  diebus  inferioris  ritus,  etiam  festivis  de  praecepto 
(3)  et  in  hebdomada  sancta  excepto  triduo  BSLcro^juxta  dec.  Sept 
1887  (4)  quo  permittitur  corpore  pridie  sepulto.  Ergo  eo  magis 
etiam  corpore  quidem  absente  sed  nondum  se|)ulto,  quia  decreta 
eo  casu  plura  privilegia  concedunt^  etc  J' 

These  are  the  only  authorities  I  have  consulted  on  the  subject 
at  present,  and  until  the  case  actually  turned  up  I  did  not  think 
there  was  any  doubt  or  second  opinion  on  the  matter.  It  may  be 
well  to  say  by  way  of  explanation  that  the  burial  could  not  take 
place  untU  Sunday,  the  day  after  the  office  ;  and  hence  the  corpse 
could  not  be  conveniently  brought  to  the  church.  This  I  presume 
would  be  in  the  mind  of  De  Herdt  an  '^  alia  rationabilis  causa  "  to 
allow  the  Mass. — ^Yours,  &c. 

A  Subscriber. 

The  cause  for  the  absence  of  the  corpse  from  the  church 
being  supposed  to  be  sufficient,  it  is  the  common  opinion 
of  Rubricists  that  the  Solemnis  Missa  Exequialis  may  be 
celebrated  on  the  day  you  mention.  The  Congregation 
has  decided^  that  in  those  circimistances  the  Missa  Exequialis 
may  be  said  in  Holy  Week,  excepto  Triduo,  and  from  this 
Rubricists  commonly  infer  that  it  is  also  allowed  within  the 
privileged  Octaves,  as  those  days  are  not  more  specially 
exempted  than  the  first  days  of  Holy  Week.^  We  have 
akeady  touched  on  this  topic  in  the  R£CORD  (3rd  Series 
Vol.  I.,  pp.  239-40,  May,  1880).  R.  Browne. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Occasional  Sermons^  Addresses^  and  Essays^  by  the  Rioht  Rkv. 
Gkorob  Conrot,  D.D.,  late  Bishop  of  Ardagh.  Dublin:  M. 
H.  Gill  &  Son,  1884. 

'J  The  clergy  of  Ireland  will  be  thankful  to  the  Editor— we  suspect 
it  is  Canon  Hoare — ^who  has  coUected  and  published  the  literary 
remains  of  the  late  distinguished  Bishop  of  Ardagh.  The 
present  volume  is  not  very  large,  but  it  is  very  valuable, 
for  it  contains  the  choice  thoughts  of  a  man  who  was  a 
profound  scholar,  as  well  as  an  accomplished  literary  artist 
He  was  indeed,  as  our  readers  well  know,  cut  off  in  the  prime  of 
his  manhood,  at  the  early  age  of  45,  while  yet  the  highest  hcmoars 
of  the  Church  were  in  store  for  her  distinguished  son ;  but  even 
many  years  previous  to  his  early  death,  he  was  well  known  to  the 

^23  Sept.  1837  (4822). 

•  De  Herdt  S,  Litur.  Praxis  Tom.  L,  n.  66,  6**  Reap.  \L 


NoHces  of  Books.  471 

Irish  clergy  as  an  eloquent  speaker  and  most  accomplished  writer. 
In  a  very  neatly-written  introduction,  the  Editor  gives  an  interest- 
ing sketch  of  Dr.  Conroy's  ecclesiastical  career,  which  will  be  read 
with  great  interest.  Then  the  first  part  of  the  work  gives 
us  some  twelve  or  fifteen  sermons,  preached  on  various  important 
occasions.  We  always  thought  the  opening  sermon  ^of  this  series, 
preached  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Chinrch  of  St.  Kyran  of  Clon- 
macnoise,  a  very  perfect  model  of  this  kind  of  pulpit  eloquence.  It  was 
published  at  the  time  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Record,  and  charmed 
all  who  read  it.  The  lectures  are  for  the  most  part  connected 
with  the  great  question  of  Irish  Education,  although  a  few  of  them 
were  delivered  during  the  period  of  Dr.  Conroy's  delegation  in 
America.  There  are  also  some  twenty  essays,  for  the  most  part 
reprinted  from  the  Irish  EcCLBsrASTiCAL  Record,  of  which 
Dr.  Conroy  was  the  first  Editor,  or  perhaps  we  should  rather  say 
co-Editor  in  conjunction  with  the  present  distinguished  Archbishop 
of  Sydney.  The  first  of  these  is  the  introduction  to  the  Ecclesi- 
astical Record,  in  which  the  writer,  with  simple  and  manly 
eloquence,  explains  the  aims  and  motives  of  its  original  founders, 
and  the  spirit  that  guides  it  still.  '^  It  is  ecclesiastical  by  reason 
of  its  subject-matter,  of  the  class  which  it  addresses,  and  of  the 
sanction  under  which  it  appears.  Next  it  is  Irish,  because  to  the 
best  of  its  humble  ability  it  is  intended  to  serve  the  Catholic  Church 
of  our  native  country,"  and  moreover,  it  was  designed,  says  Dr. 
Conroy,  "  to  be  a  bond  of  union  between  the  clergy  of  Ireland  and 
their  foreign  brethren."  It  was  on  these  lines  the  Record  was 
conducted  from  the  beginning,  and  on  the  same  lines  it  is  meant  to 
conduct  it  to  the  end,  growing,  however,  we  hope,  with  the  growth 
and  strengthening  with  the  strength  of  the  Irish  Church  through- 
out the  world. 

This  volume  has  been  very  well  brought  out ;  it  is  well  bound 
and  printed,  and  will  form  a  valuable  addition  to  the  library  of 
every  priest.  J.  H. 

Our  Birthday  Bouquet^  culled  from  the  Shrines  of  the  Saints 
and  the  Gardens  of  the  Poets,  by  Eleanor  C.  Donnelly. 
Benzigbr  Brothers,  1B84. 

This  little  volume  fully  sustains  the  high  name  of  its  gifted 
authoress  in  the  domain  of  spiritual  literature.  The  design  of  the 
book  is  peculiarly  happy.  For  every  day  in  the  year  a  saint's  life 
is  told  in  its  facts,  its  poetry,  and  its  moraL  The  poetical  selections 
are  made  with  much  taste,  from  a  long  and  varied  list  of  sweet 
songsters.  To  use  something  like  the  language  of  the  preface,  this 
beautiful  bouquet  blows  from  January  to  December,  gracing  each 
succeeding  birthday  with  the  rich  tints  and  fragrance  of  its  many 
seasonable  flowers.  P.  O'D. 


We  are  compelled  to  hold  over  for  the  present  several  other  Notices 
oi  Books.— £j>. 


[    472    ]. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  QUEEN'S  COLLEGES  COMMISSION— EVIDENCE 
OF  THE  VERY  REV.  DR.  WALSH,  PRESIDENT  OF 
IVIAYNOOTH  COLLEGE. 

AT  the  opening  of  the  Commission  in  Dublin,  on  Saturday,  the 
21st  June,  the  first  witness  examined  was  the  Very  Rer. 
Dr.  Walsh,  President  of  Maynooth  CoUege.  The  following  is  a 
summary  of  his  evidence,  condensed  from  the  full  report  of  it, 
given  in  the  FreemarCa  Journal^  of  Monday,  23rd  of  June : — 

Dr.  Walsh  was  examined  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Commission. 
He  explained,  in  the  first  instance,  the  opportunities  he  has  had  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  work  of  education  in 
Ireland — as  President  of  Maynooth,  as  a  member  (until  qnit« 
recently)  of  the  Senate  of  the  Royal  University  and  of  its  Standing 
Committee,  and  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Headmasters  of 
Catholic  Schools  and  Colleges  working  in  connexion  with  the 
Intermediate  Education  Board. 

Beginning,  then,  with  the  Matriculation  Examination  Pro- 
grammes of  the  Queen's  Colleges,  and  selecting,  in  the  first  instance, 
that  of  the  Cork  College,  Dr.  Walsh  pointed  out  in  detail  how 
notably  lower  is  the  standard  of  education  which  it  represent  than 
that  proposed  by  the  Intermediate  Board  even  for  the  school  hoys 
of  the  Junior  Grade  from  9  or  10  up  to  16  years  of  age.  He 
relied  especially  on  the  absence  from  the  Queen's  College  Programme 
of  the  two  tests  that  he  regarded  as  of  essential  importance,  namely 
translation  from  English  into  Latin,  and  the  exercise  known  as 
'*' unprepared "  work,  or  translation  into  English  of  some  easy 
passage  from  a  classical  author  not  prescribed  in  the  Programme. 

Both  of  these  exercises,  Dr.  Walsh  explained,  are  found,  both 
for  Greek  and  Latin,  in  the  Intermediate  Programme  even  of  the 
Junior  Gradcy  the  importance  attached  to  them  being  shown  by 
the  fact  that  440  marks  are  assigned  to  them,  in  the  case  of  each 
language,  out  of  a  totalof  1200. 

Again,  in  the  Cork  College  Programme,  the  amount  of  matter 
prescribed  from  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors  is  not  only  small  in 
extent  but  it  is  insufficient  in  another  respect ;  for  neither  in  Greek 
nor  in  Latin  is  any  work  of  a  poet  prescribed;  in  the  Junior 
Grade  Intermediate,  as  in  other  School  and  College  Examina- 
tions, the  practice  being  to  require  that  one  half  of  the  prescribed 
matter  shall  be  in  poetry. 

As  the  eminent  authority  of  Cardinal  Newman  had  been  relied 
upon  by  the  President  of  the  Cork  College  in  favour  of  a  shwt 
Programme  for  a  Matriculation  Examination,  Dr.  Walsh  pointed 
out  that  in  the  same  essay  Dr.  Newman  had  insbted  most  strongly 


Appendix.  473 

<m  the  importance  of  Ascertaining  how  &r  the  student  can  succeed 
in  translating  from  English  into  the  language  in  question }  it  was 
a  most  unfair  representation  of  the  Cardinal's  view,  then»  to  quote 
him  as  favouring  a  Programme  such  as  that  of  Cork,  in  which 
no  such  exercise  is  required. 

The  witness  here  went  into  a  detailed  statement  showing  that 
the  Gralway  Programme  has  in  some  respects  advantages  over  that 
of  Cork ;  and  that  the  Belfast  Programme  has  a  decided  superiority 
over  both  the  others,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  only  one  of  the  three  in 
which  translation  into  Latin  is  required. 

Bat  as  regards  the  three  College  Programmes  Dr.  Walsh 
explained  that  his  comparisons  had  reference  to  the  School  Pro* 
grammes  of  the  Intermediate  Board,  and  not  of  the  Senior,  nor  even 
of  the  Middle,  but  of  the  Junior  Grade !  In  reply  to  the  Chairman 
he  stated  the  requirements  of  the  Programme  for  entrance  into 
Maynooth  College,  pointing  out  that,  of  course,  the  Maynooth 
Programme  could  in  no  way  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Junior 
Grade  of  the  School  Course ;  and  iiaX  while  the  Middle  Grade 
Programme  of  that  Course  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  accepted  as 
sufficient  for  admission  to  the  lowest  class  in  Maynooth,  yet  the 
great  majority  of  the  students  who  present  themselves  for 
examination  in  Maynooth  in  the  matter  of  the  intermediate 
Programmes,  are  admitted  only  to  the  lowest  class  in  the  College 
on  examination  in  the  Programme  of  the  Senior  Grade. 

But  the  portion  of  Dr.  Walsh's  evidence  which  will  be  of  most 
general  interest,  is  that  in  which  he  refuted  the  reckless 
statements  made  by  more  than  one  of  the  officials  of  the  Cork 
Qaeen's  College,  that  the  College  was  obliged  to  rest  satisfied 
with  its  present  Programme  for  Matriculation,  and,  even  on  that» 
to  admit  students  '^  unprepared  in  every  branch  of  school  work,'^ 
sa  education  in  Ireland^  and  more  especially  in  Munster,  was  in  a 
deplorably  low  condition,  and  that,  instead  of  improving,  it  was,  in 
fact,  going  backwards.  It  would  seemj  indeed,  that  important  as 
was  the  evidence  given  by  Dr.  Walsh  on  the  other  aspects  of  the 
case  before  the  Commiarion,  the  main  object  which  he  had  in 
view  throughout,  and  to  which  his  evidence  from  beginning 
to  end  was  more  or  less  distinctly  directed,  was  the  vindication 
of  the  schools  and  colleges  of  Ireland  from  the  slanders  that 
had  been  so  recklessly  uttered  against  them.  It  is  impossible 
to  condense  this  portion  of  the  evidence^  which  was  most  minutely 
detailed,  but  we  may  select  a  few  of  the  more  salient  points. 

The  Report  of  the  Intermediate  Board  on  their  Examinations 
of  the  year  1882  was  the  first  source  of  information  to  which 
Dr.  Walsh  referred  the  Commissioners.  As  a  proof  that  it  waa 
not  from  want  of  fairly  educated  students  that  the  Cork  College 
was  obliged  \as  E^sident  Sullivan  described  its  practice)  to  admit 
students  '*  unprepared  in  every  branch  of  school  work,"  and 
**  unable  to  follow  a  University  course  except  in  a  Limping  and 
VOL.  V.  2  M 


474  Appendix. 

unsatisfactory  manner,"  the  Intermediate  Education  Report  shows 
that  last  year  the  following  numhers  of  students  passed  the  exami- 
nations either  of  the  Junior,  or  of  the  Middle  and  Senior  Grades  :— 

Senior.    Middle.    Junior.  Total 

In  Greek  ...         122         226         313  661 

„  Latin  ...         143         876         613  1,132 

,.  English  ...         214         434     2,064  2,712 

„  Euclid  ...         265         694     2,195  3,054 

The  numbers  who  not  merely  ^^  passed  "  the  examination,  bat 
passed  ^*  with  merit,"  for  which  distinction  the   Gommissionen 
require  a  scoring  of  45  per  cent,  on  the  questions  proposed,  were  as 
follows : — 

In  Greek  ...  ...         291 

„  LaUn  ...  .••         516 

„  English  ...  ...         772 

,.  Euclid  ...  ...      1,867 

Thus,  then,  it  is  not  from  any  lack  of  fairly  educated  bo^s  in 
the  Irish  schools  that  the  authorities  of  the  Cork  College  have 
been  obliged  so  notably  to  lower  their  standard  of  admission  as  to 
bring  into  their  halls  those  **  uninstructed  ^'  students,  whose 
**  limping  **  progress  through  the  University  course  has  been  so 
graphically  described  by  their  President. 

Over  against  this  confession  of  failure,  and  Dr.  Sullivan's  weak 
apology  for  it.  Dr.  Walsh  set  forth  in  contrast  the  brilliant 
career  in  the  Royal  University  of  two  Ma3n;iooth  students, 
both  of  whom  had  received  their  classical  education  in  Munster 
schools.  And  from  his  wide  experience  in  educational  matters  he 
was  able  to  tell  the  Commissioners  of  the  marvellous  success  Of  the 
Catholic  schools  in  every  province  of  Ireland. 

Another  most  instructive  section  of  his  evidence  was  that 
in  which  he  tested  the  educational  standing  of  even  the  holders  of 
the  Queen's  College  '^  Scholarships,"  by  tracing  in  the  Returns  of 
the  Intermediate  Examinations  the  record  of  three  Students — one 
of  whom  competed  with  the  schoolboys  of  the  Junior  Grade,  another 
with  those  of  the  Middle  Grade,  and  the  third  with  those  of  the 
Senior  Grade,  in  the  same  year  in  which  they  won  their 
"  Scholarships  "  of  £24  each  in  the  Cork  College. 

In  the  first  of  these  cases,  the  Student  who  obtained  a  Science 
Scholarship  in  Cork  was  examined  in  the  same  year  in  the  Jufiior 
Grade  of  the  Intermediate  Examinations  I  The  result  of  his  com- 
petition with  the  lowest  grade  of  schoolboys  was,  that  there  came 
before  him,  in  order  of  merit,  no  fewer  than  320,  many  of  them, 
of  course,  in  the  earliest  stages  of  their  education  in  the 
schools !  The  Intermediate  Examination  included  Arithmetic, 
Euclid,  and  Algebra  —three  out  of  the  four  subjects  of  the  Exasii- 
nation  on  which  this  Student  obtained  the  Science  Scholarship  in 
Cork.  And  in  Algebra,  there  were  85  junior  schoolboys  b^ore 
faim;  in  Euclid,  46;  and  in  Arithmetic,  388! 


I 


Appendix,  475 

The  second  case  was  that  of  a  Student  who  entered  the  Cork 
College  in  1879  :  at  entrance  he  obtained  a  Science  Scholarship  of 
i:24 :  after  spending  a  year  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  supposed 
educational  advantages  of  that  well-endowed  institution,  he  came 
up  for  competition  with  the  schoolboys  of  the  Middle  Grade  I  The 
result  was  instructive.  No  fewer  than  319  of  the  schoolboys  came 
before  him  in  order  of  merit !  On  the  Arithmetic  list  his  name 
does  not  appear  at  all ;  the  number  before  him  in  Algebra  was 
173;  andinEucUd,  263. 

In  Euclid  his  marks  were  only  295,  and  in  Algebra  260,  out  of 
a  possible  600  in  each  case. 

With  these  marks  Dr..  Walsh  contrasted  those  scored  on  the 
same  occasion  by  boys  from.  Catholic  Schools:  these  were,  for 
example,  iu  one  instance.  530  and  400  ;  in  another,  475  and  510 ; 
in  auother,  460  and  520 ;  in  another,  535  and  430 — all  obtained 
by  boys  who  are  now  Students  of  Maynooth.  Numerous  other 
instances  were  also  cited. 

The  third  case  is  of  a  Student  who  entered  the  Cork  College  in 
1877.  At  entrance,  and  in  each  successive  year  throughout  his 
College  course,  he  won  a  College  Scholarship  of  J^24 :  in  1879,  he 
won  the  first  place  in  the  Inter-Collegiate  Competition  of  the  three 
Queen's  Colleges  and  thus  obtained  the  1st  '*Peel  Exhibition"  of 
the  year :  in  1880,  he  obtained  the  highest  collegiate  prize,  a 
Senior  Scholai-ship  of  i»40.  Now  in  this  same  year  he  appeare  as  a 
schoolboy  competing  in  the  Senior  Grade  of  the  Intermediate  EX" 
aininutiotiSy  where  he  obtained  only  46th  place  I 

Then  passing  to  an  analysis  of  the  Honour  Lists  of  the  Royal 
University,  Dr.  Walsh  handed  in  a  tabulated  statement  showing 
numerous  instances  in  which  the  College  Scholarships  not  only  of 
Cork  but  of  Gal  way,  and  even  of  Belfast,  were  awarded  to 
Students  who,  when  tested  in  the  open  competition  of  the  Royal 
Universitjy  barely  ^*  passed  '*  the  examination,  without  obtaining 
Honours  of  any  kind. 

Next  he  showed  the  lamentable  falling  off  that  has  even 
already  taken  place  in  the  number  of  graduates  produced  each 
year  by  the  three  Queen's  Colleges,  since  the  substitution  of  the 
comparatively  satisfactory  examination  system  of  the  Royal 
University  for  the  close  domestic  monopoly  of  the  Queen's.  Thus 
for  instance,  he  pointed  out,  as  regards  Cork,  that,  last  year,  the 
"First  University"  Examination,  the  passing  of  which  is  an 
indispensable  condition  for  obtaining  a  Royal  University  Degree 
iyt  any  JFhculty  was  passed  by  only  6  Students  I 

The  various  Honour  Lists  of  the  Royal  University  were  then 
referred  to  as  showing  that  the  distribution  among  the  three 
Colleges  of  even  the  small  numbers  of  Honours  obtained  by  their 
Students  is  almost  invariably  in  accordance  with  the  order  in 
which  the  Colleges  stand  as  regards  the  higher  or  lower  r^uire- 
mcnts  of  their  Entrance  Examination  Programmes.    Thus  in  one 


476  AppendtJt. 

case  the  nnmbers  are,  Belfast  81 ;  Gal  way  15 ;  Cork  10 :  in  another, 
Belfast  36  ;  Galway  13 ;  Cork  4 :  in  a  third,  Belfast  18;  GalwajG; 
Cork  1 ;  and  so  on,  in  numerous  other  instances. 

Dr.  Walsh  also  gave  the  Commissioners  his  views  upon  a  num- 
ber of  topics  arising  out  of  the  present  arrangements  for  University 
Education  in  Ireland,  as,  for  instance,  upon  the  disadvantage  under 
which  several  of  the  most  successful  of  the  Catholic  Colleges  labour, 
from  the  Royal  University  Examinations  being  conducted  to  so 
large  an  extent  by  the  Professors  of  the  Queen's  and  of  one  of  two 
other  Colleges. 

A  sort  of  crote«examination  attempted  by  Dr.  Johnstone 
Stoney  as  representative  of  the  Quecfn*s  Colleges,  gave  the  witness 
•n  opportunity  of  showing  up  more  than  one  of  the  fallacies 
by  which  it  has  been  attempted  during  the  course  of  the  present 
inquiry  to  weaken  the  force  of  the  case  against  them.  One 
example  must  here  suffice. 

"Would  it  improve  your  opinion  of  the  efficiency  of  the 
Colleges,"  asked  Dr.  Stoney,  '*  if  it  were  shown  to  you  that  although 
the  students  enter  them  so  badly  educated,  they  come  out  highly 
educated  ?  " 

"  If  it  could  be  shown,"  was  the  answer,  "  that  the  particular 
elass  of  students  who  get  in  without  sufficient  preparation  are 
afterwards  sent  out  educated  men,  I  should  regard  that  as  a  feet  of 
some  fanportance.  But  if  you  try  to  argue  from  the  faet  that 
some  students  go  in  without  sufficient  education,  and  that  some 
atadents  are  turned  out  highly  educated,  I  think  we  have'  an 
example  ci  a  form  of  syUogism  with  which  logicians  are  pretty 
familuu*." 

Dr.  Walsh  also  took  occasion  to  express  to  the  Commissioners 
that  in  one  way,  and  in  one  way  only,  could  the  needed  ra  sing  of 
the  standard  of  education  in  the  Colleges  be  effected.  "  It  cannot 
possibly,"  he  said,  **  be  raised  except  by  chanj?ang  the  system  of 
the  Colleges  so  as  to  make  them,  what  they  are  not  at  present, 
available  for  the  youth  of  the  country  at  large," 

This  point,  however,  the  Chairman  was  obliged  by  the  tenn» 
of  his  Commission  to  declare  to  be  *'  outside  the  scope  of 
the  inquiry  I "  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  official  announcement 
will  be  kept  well  in  view  in  the  House  of  Commons,  if  any 
attempt  should  be  made  to  represent  to  the  House  that  the  inquiry 
DOW  in  progress  is  one  that  can  be  regarded  as  in  any  way  satis- 
factory, as  regards  the  main  point  at  issue. 


IE   IRISH 


TICAL  RECORD. 


UGUSZ  1884. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  THEISM."^ 

es  we  find  a  handy  collection  of 

itten  by  Dr.  Ward  whilst  Editor  of 

In  recommending  them  to  the 

give  warning— though,  indeed,  the 

dd  be  warning  sufficient — that  the 

nd  Ught  reading  for  half-hours  of 

)  who  are  not  content  to  examine 

things,  who  would  dig  down  to  find 

all  knowledge  as  of  all  error  and 

►f  mind  makes  it  impossible  for  them 

assent  to  truths  however  evident, 

he  wherefore  and  the  why, — ^to  those 

ill  sincerity  recommend  Dr.  Ward's 

eir  careful  study. 

[its  on  the  motives  of  certitude,  the 

mes  convinced  that  there  is  no  via 

either  adopt  the  doctrine  of  the 

a  complete  sceptic. 

Lud  wnither  does  he  lead  ?    He  sets 

t  we  could  not  trust  our  cognitive 

rst  knew  that  there  is  a  God  who 

and  cannot  deceive.     Does  not  the 

suggest  itself:  how  do  we  know 

?     Not  from  creatures  other  than 

even  guess  at  the  existence  of  any 

hy  of  Theism^  by  the  late  William  George 
ed  from  the  "  Dublin  Review."  Edited  with 
Ward.    In  two  volumea.    London :  Keegan 

2n 


478  Br.  Ward's  "  Philosophy  of  Theism:' 

euoh  without  trusting  your  faculties,  whose  trustworthiness 
you  want  to  prove.  Not  from  consciousness :  cogito^  ergo 
sum  is  a  capital  argument,  if  you  may  trust  your  faculties ; 
but  how  do  you  know  that  you  do  think,  or  that  your  rea- 
soning powers  may  not  be  leading  you  astray?  If  other 
cognitive  faculties  might  lead  into  error,  unless  backed  by 
God's  tnith,  why  not  consciousness  and  reason  ?  You  reply : 
in  case  of  consciousness  there  is  no  resisting.  True,  but  if 
one  has  brought  one's  self  to  beUeve  that  membry  may  be 
false  and  the  uniform  testimony  of  the  senses  a  lie,  what 
right  has  one  to  stop  at  consciousness  t  Why  not,  even 
with  regard  to  consciousness,  admit  that,  as  Air.  Huxley 
says,^  "  some  powerful  and  malicious  being  may  find  hi 
pleasure  in  deluding  us,  and  in  making  us  believe  the 
thing  which  is  not  every  moment  of  our  HvesI"  For, 
remember,  you  admit  that  consciousness  may  be  trusted 
independently  of  God. 

The  only  refuge  left  for  a  Cartesian  is  the  innate  idea ; 
but  who  believes  in  an  innate  idea  of  Godf  If  that  is  all 
the  evidence  you  have  of  His  existence,  you  may  go  forth 
and  preach  your  doctrine  to  the  world,  but  you  will  surely 
stretch  forth  your  hands  to  an  unbelieving  people.  And 
thus  the  logical  result  of  Descartes'  new  light  is  the 
Pantheism  and  sceptical  Idealism  of  the  Germans. 

The  English  school  pretend  to  greater  caution.  They 
build  on  the  only  sohd  foundation,  as  they  think,  of 
experience ;  they  have  not  imagination  for  the  ideal ;  the 
best  corrective  of  sceptical  tendencies  is  to  stick  to  the 
sure  basis  of  fact. 

Yet  even  this  road,  so  safe  in  appearance,  leads  to 
scepticism.  It  is  safe  only  so  far  as  ite  admissions  go  ;  ixs 
denials  are  its  danger.  He  who  would  build  a  philosophical 
structure  on  the  basis  of  experience  alone,  pulls  down  with 
the  left  hand  what  he  sets  up  with  the  right. 

If  the  followers  of  Locke  had  been  content  to  assert 
that  experience  is  an  excellent  guide  on  the  road  to 
knowleage,  they  would  not  have  been  at  variance  with 
the  schoolmen  in  the  least.  But  they  deny  the  existence 
of  any  other  guide  whatsoever.  The  direct  result  is  the 
denial  of  necessary  truth.  Experience  teUs  of  what  hcis 
been,  it  says  nothing  of  what  must  be.  Now,  it  is  on 
'  necessary  truths — on  musts — that  all  science  is  founded ; 
hence  the  philosophers  of  the  English  school,  though  priding 

1 "  lay  Sermons,"  p.  856. 


T>r.  Ward: 8  «  Philosophy  of  Theism:'  479 

themselves  on  their  devotion  to  science,  set  out  on 
principles  which,  if  consistently  followed,  would  reduce  us 
to  the  level  of  long-memoried  brutes. 

This  charge  is  of  so  grave  a  character,  that  it  ought 
not  to  be  made  except  on  strong  evidence  of  its  truth. 
Without  entering  for  the  present  into  a  discussion  of  the 
principles  we  speak  of,  we  think  that  sufBcient  evidence 
will  be  found  in  MilPs  Logic. 

"I  am  convinced,"  he  says,  "that  any  one  accustomed 
to  abstraction  and  analysis  .  .  .  will  find  no  difficulty 
in  conceiving  that  in  some  one,  for  instance,  of  the  many 
finnaments  into  which  sidereal  astronomy  now  divides  the 
universe,  events  may  succeed  one  another  at  random 
without  any  fixed  law/'^  Perhaps  the  most  fixed  of  all 
laws  which  regulate  phenomena  are  the  laws  of  causation 
and  the  uniformity  of  nature.  Hence  Mr.  Mill  has  no  diffi- 
culty in  conceiving  that,  in  one  of  the  stars  of  Orion,  there 
may  be  effects  without  any  cause,  there  may  be  no  law  of 
gravity ;  that  the  very  same  fire  may  burn  wood  to-day, 
and,  though  applied  in  the  very  same  circumstances,  may 
on  to-morrow  cease  to  burn. 

Let  us,  however,  be  just.  Mr.  Mill  makes  at  least  this 
admission :  *'  That  a  straight  line  is  the  shortest  distance 
between  two  points  we  do  not  doubt  to  be  true  even  in 
the  region  of  the  fixed  stars."*  But  then  comes  a  qualifi- 
cation :  **  The  truths  of  geometry  are  valid  whenever  the 
constitution  of  space  agrees  with  what  is  within  oiur  means 
of  observation."  So  that,  as  Dr.  Ward  puts  it,"  Mr.  Mill's 
doctrine  is,  wherever  space  has  the  same  constitution  with 
which  we  are  acquainted,  straight  lines  are  the  shortest 
distance  between  points;  all  trilaterals  are  triangular; 
no  square  can  be  round :  but,  if  space  were  not  what  it  is 
with  us,  these  truths  might  be  reversed. 

Have  we  any  guarantee  that  space  in  Aldebaran  is  like 
ours?  Mr.  Mill  says  in  his  text:*  "we  have  ample  reason 
to  beUeve  that  it  is  so ;  **  but  in  his  note  he  is  not  so  siu'e. 
**That  space  cannot  anywhere  be  differently  constituted, 
or  that  Almighty  power  could  not  make  a  different 
constitution  of  it  we  know  not."  After  all,  then,  space  in 
Aldebaran  may  not  be  such  as  ours  is;  and  hence  in  the 
region  of  the  stars  it  may  be  that  the  shortest  cut  from 
one  point  to  another  is  by  a  curve,  that  there  are  some 

Mill,  Logic,  vol.  ii.  p.  98.  =  Logic,  voL  i.  p.  S50. 

•  Vol.  i.  p.  178.  *  1a 


480  Br.  Ward^s  «  Philosophy  of  Tlieism.'" 

trUaterals  with  four  or  five  angles,  and  that  the  ordinary 
puzzle  of  schoolbojre,  if  there  should  be  such  unfortunates, 
IS  to  draw  coroUanesfrom  the  constitution  of  square^circles. 

Dr.  Ward  wisely  begins  his  work  by  an  Essay'on  the 
Bule  and  Motive  of  Certitude ;  for  it  is  useless  to  argue 
about  the  existence  of  God  or  of  anything  else,  unless  the 
disputants  first  agree  as  to  what  evidence  will  be  satis- 
factory. "The  inquiry,  then,  to  be  instituted  is  this; 
Firstly,  what  characteristica  must  be  possessed  by  those 
truths,  which  the  thinker  may  legitimately  accept  m 
primary  !  and  secondly,  on  what  ground  does  he  know  that 
the  propositions  are  true  which  j9055^5«  those  characteristics? 
Or,  to  express  the  same  thing  in  F.  Kleutgen's  words 
(n.  263),  firstly,  what  is  the  rule  of  certitude!  and,  secondly, 
what  is  its  motive  ?  *'  ^ 

Amidst  great  diversity  of  opinion,  all  are  agreed  on 
this, — that  we  do  not  get  all  our  knowledge  immediately 
and  by  intuition,  but  rather,  for  the  most  part,  by  deduction 
from  elementary  trutha  If,  therefore,  we  would  not  raak.- 
an  infinite  series  of  deductions,  some  truths  must  be  known 
without  deduction, — ^these  we  call  primm^  truths.  The?^ 
is  no  unanimity  as  to  what  they  are,  or  as  to  the  test  bj 
which  they  may  be  found ;  but  that  there  are  such  t 
admitted  by  all.  Mr.  Mill  says :  "  iJnless  we  know  soni*- 
thing  immediately,  we  could  not  know  anything  mediately, 
and  consequently  could  not  know  anything  at  alir* 
And  again :  '  "  Our  belief  in  the  veracity  of  meraorr  i^ 
evidently  ultimate."  Dr.  Bain  agrees  in  this  with  Mr.  Mil ; 
and  even  Mr.  Huxley  cannot  go  behind  consciousness,  h-^ 
thinks  himself  safe  in  assenting  to  its  testimony  for  it^  o^:. 
sake.* 

The  question,  therefore,  is:  Whg,t  are  these  prima? 
truths  ?  and  why  do  we  assent  to  them  ? 

Dr.  Ward  very  plainly  states  the  old  teaching  of  tie 
Schoolmen : 

"Primary  truths  are  those  which  the  human  intellect  i* 
necessitated  by  its  constitution  to  accept  with  certitude,  not  J>i 
inferences  from  other  truths,  but  on  their  own  evidence  :  this  L^  '^ ' 
rule  of  certitude.  These  truths  are  known  to  be  tniths ;  becaite  a 
created  gift  called  the  light  of  reason  is  possessed  by  the  sc'pJ* 
whereby  every  man,  while  exercising  liis  cognitive  faculti^ 
according  to  their  intrinsic  laws,  is  rendered  infallibly  certain  th:t 
their  avouchments  correspond  with  objective  truth ;  this  is  tb-: 
motive  of  certitude.**' 

1  '•  Philosophy  of  Theism/'  p.  6.  «  On  Hamilton,  p.  lo"-. 

*  Ibid.  p.  203,  note.  *  Lay  Sermons,  p.  359.         *  Vol.  i.,  p-  *■ 


Dr.  WarcCa  «*  Fhilosopliy  of  Theism:*  481 

With  regard  to  the  existence  of  such  truths,  we  have  said 
all  are  agreed  ;^  difference  of  opinion  exists  only  when  W0 
comedo  particularise  them,  ana  to  assign  the  motive  why 
we  assent  to  them* 

Thus  Mr.  Mill  says :  '*  According  to  all  philosophers,  the 
evidence  of  consciousness,  if  only  we  can  obtain  it  pure,  is 
conclusive."  But  ask  him  or  any  of  his  school  why  is  it 
conclusive,  and  they  will  invariably  shirk  the  real  question. 
The  Schoolmen  taught  that,  as  God  gave  the  sunlight, 
which  is  reflected  from  the  external  object  to  the  eye  and 
enables  one  to  see,  so  that,  given  a  sound  eye  open  and 
plenty  of  light,  the  eye  cannot  help  seeing;  so  He  has 
j^ven  a  light  of  reason  reflected  bv  objective  truth,  and  a 
faculty  to  see  this  light ;  so  that,  eiven  a  present  sensation 
and  a  mind  awake  to  it,  one  cannot  nelp  feeling  the  sensation 
DO  more  than  one  can  help  seeing  the  page  or  other  object 
before  one. 

Ask  the  phenomenist^  why  he  trusts  his  consciousness 
or  his  senses;  he  will  reply  that  they  are  hisprimary 
experience,  on  which  he  cannot  help  relying.  Urge  the 
question :  why  can  he  not  help  relying?  There  will  be  no 
reply,  except  that  the  testimony  of  consciousness  is  ultimate, 
and  must  be  tnisted  if  we  are  to  know  anything  at  all. 
You  see  how  muchii  these  philosophers  take  for  granted, 
whilst  they  are  constantly  crying  out  against  us  for  building 
on  a  foundation  for  which  we  have  no  solid  proof.  Not 
that  we  think  there  can  be  any  proof  for  primary  truths, 
but  you  should  not  condemn  others  for  not  producing  a 
demonstration  of  any  proposition  which  you  admit  without 
any  demonstration  yom*self. 

Consciousness  attests  the  present ;  memory,  the  past : 
induction,  the  future.  We  shall  see  that,  with  regard  to 
memory  and  induction,  the  phenomenists  are  more  and 
more  astray. 

With  regard  to  memory  they  do  not  by  any  means 

^  They  are  admitted  in  Kant^s  philosophy  as  well  as  in  ours  or  in 
Mr.  Mill's.  However,  Kant's  terminology  differs  from  ours.  The 
propositions  which  he  calls  analyiicalwe  might  call  tautologouSj such  as  A 
IS  A.  What  we  call  analytical  he  designates  synthetical  a  priori,  English 
^Titers  commonly  understand  the  terms  in  Kant*s  sense. 

* "  English  philosophers,  for  our  present  purpose,  may  be  divided 
into  two  sharply  contrasted  classes,  whom  we  may  call  objectivists  and 
phenomenists  respectively.  The  latter  think  that  man  has  no  knowledge 
J^hatever,  except  of  phenomena,  physical  or  psychical,  .  .  .  whereas 
toe  former  stoutly  maintain  that  man  has  cognisance  of  objective 
truth."-Dr.  Ward,  vol.  i.,  p.  1. 


482  Dr,  WarcCa  «  PUlosophxj  of  Theism:* 

agree.  Some,  like  Mr.  Huxley,  would  accredit  memory 
with  a  certain  amount  of  trustworthiness  sufficient  to 
produce  probabiUfify  or  a  lower  kind  of  certainty.  "  The 
general  trustworthmess  of  memory  is  one  of  those  hypothet- 
ical assumptions  which  cannot  be  proved  or  known  with  that 
highest  degree  of  certainty  which  is  ^ven  by  immediate 
consciousness;  but  which,  nevertheless,  are  of  the  highest 
practical  value,  inasmuch  as  the  conclusions  logically  drawn 
from  them  are  always  verified  by  expprience."i  Dr.  Ward 
truly  remarks:^  ''This  seems  the  most  unreasonable  opinion 
on  the  subject  which  can  possibly  be  held.''  "  You  trust 
your  present  act  of  memory  because  in  innumerable  nast 
instances  the  avouchments  of  memory  have  been  true.  How 
do  you  know,  how  can  you  even  guess,  that  there  has  been 
one  such  instance  ?  Because  you  trust  your  present  act  of 
memory ;  no  other  answer  can  possibly  be  given.  Nerer 
was  there  such  an  audacious  instance  of  arguing  in  a  circle."^ 
Mr.  Mills  takes  another  line.  According  to  him  "  our 
belief  in  the  veracity  of  memory  is  evidently  ultimate ;  no 
reason  can  be  given  for  it,  which  does  not  presuppose 
the  belief,  and  ajssume  it  to  be  well-founded."*  Dr.  Bain 
follows  suit.  On  this  admission  Dr.  Ward^  challenged  Mr. 
MiU:— 

''He  holds  that  there  is  just  one  intuitions-one,  and  only 
one — ^which  carries  with  it  immediate  evidence  of  trnth.  There 
was  an  imperative  claim  on  him  then — ^to  explain  clearly  ai»i 
pointedly  where  the  distinction  lies  \>eiween  acts  of  memory  and 
other  alleged  intuitions." 

To  this  challenge  Mr.  Mill  replied : — 

"The  distinction  is,  that  as  all  the  explanations  of  mental 
phenomena  presuppose  memory,  memory  itself  cannot  admit  of 
being  explained.  Whenever  this  is  shown  to  be  true  of  any  other 
part  of  our  knowledge,  I  shall  admit  that  part  to  be  intuitive/' 

To  which  Dr.  Ward  very  justly  rejoins : — ^ 

**  The  question  which  he  'answers  is,  whether  my  knowledge  of 
past  facts  {assuming  that  I  have  such  knowledge)  is  on  the  one  hand 
an  immediate  and  primary,  or  on  the  other  hand  a  mediate  and 
secondary  part  of  my  knowledge.  But  the  question  we  aaked 
was  totcdly  different  from  this.  We  asked,  on  what  ground  mj 
belief  of  the  facts  testified  by  memory  can  be  accounted  part  of  «^ 
knowledge  at  all  i^ 

1  Lay  Sermons,  p.  859.  «  Vol.  I,  p.  11.  •  Ibid,  p.  132. 

*  Oa  HamUton,  p.  203,  note.       « Vol.  i.,  p.  65.       •  Ibid,  p.  V2S. 


Dr.  Ward's  ''  Philosophy  of  Theism^  483 

Mr.  Huxley  is  really  more  consistent  than  Mr.  Mill,  as 
the  former  does  not  desert  the  philosophy  of  experience  so 
soon,  only  neither  of  them  is  truly  consistent,  for  their 
principles  if  followed  out,  would  destroy  not  only  memory 
but  consciousness  itself.  Let  us,  however,  take  care  to  be 
just  to  Mr.  Mill.  Though  his  inconsistency  is  greater 
than  that  of  others,  it  is  not,  as  we  should  expect,  so 
glaring.  Mr.  Huxley  admits  consciousness  to  be  in  all 
cases  a  safe  guide,  but  not  memory,  though  he  assigns  no 
valid  reason  for  the  difference  between  the  two.  Mr.  Mill 
accepts,  as  ultimate,  both  memory  and  consciousness,  and 
would  accept  any  other  motive  in  the  same  way  which 
could  be  proved  to  be  ultimate  hke  them.  But  he  won't 
admit  the  proof.  In  this  his  inconsistency  lies,  that, 
whereas  the  very  same  reasons  force  on  us  the  conviction 
that  pure  reason  is  truthful  and  its  truth  ultimate,  yet  he 
rejects  pure  reason  as  ultimate  and  accepts  memory.  Trurn 
his  guns  against  himself  and  he  will  have  to  fly  from  his 
own  position.  This,  of  course,  supposes  that  the  reasons 
in  both  cases  are  the  same, — a  truth  which  Dr.  Ward  in 
many  cases  conclusively  proves. 

So  far  for  our  knowledge  of  the  present  and  the  past; 
let  us  test  the  phenomenist  theory  as  to  how  we  may  look 
into  the  future.  Nothing  is  more  marvellous  in  the  pro- 
gress of  science  than  the  certainty  with  which  certain 
events,  such  as  eclipses,  returns  of  comets,  &c.,  may  be 
predicted.  This  wonderful  power  depends  altogether  on 
Induction.  Given  a  sufficient  number  of  individuals  and 
in  sufficient  variety,  we  may  acquire  by  examination  such 
a  knowledge  of  their  nature  as  to  pronounce  that  they  act 
according  to  such  and  such  fixed  laws,  and  must  so  act  in 
the  future  unless  a  higher  power  intervene. 

No  one  could  lay  down  more  clearly  than  Mr.  Mill  the 
the  various  processes  by  which  the  examination  should  be 
conducted.  His  exposition  of  the  four  "  Methods  "  is  lucid 
and  masterly ;  and  yet,  he  completely  misunderstood  the 
reason  why  there  should  be  an  Induction  at  all. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  briefly  explain  the 
Scholastic  doctrine, — for  the  Schoolmen  knew  something 
of  Induction,  whatever  may  be  the  prejudice  of  English- 
men to  the  contrary.*  Let  us  take  an  example. 

We  have  known  many  particular  fires  to  bum,  in  an 
immense  variety  of  circumstances ;  therefore,  all  fires  biun 

^  A  prejudice  which  Macaulay's  Essay  ou  Bacon  has  not  dispelled. 


484  Bt.  Ward's  "  Philosophy  of  Theism:' 

and  shall  bum  in  the  future,  as  long  as  fire  continues  what 
it  is,  and  its  action  is  not  impeded  by  a  superior  cause. 
There  is,  evidently,  some  proposition  of  the  antecedent 
suppressed ;  the  full  argument  would  be  stated  in  some 
sucn  form  as  the  following : — 

(1.)  We  have  known  vast  numbers  of  instances  in 
which  burning  was  consequent  on  the  application  of  fire. 

(2.)  The  numbers  are  so  great,  and  the  circumstances 
so  various,  that  nothing  but  the  fire  can  have  caused  the 
burning. 

(3.)  Therefore  fire  caused  it. 

(4.)  But  in  the  same  circumstances  the  same  natural 
cause  must  always  produce  a  Uke  effect.    . 

(5.)  Therefore,  in  the  same  circumstances,  as  long  as 
fire  remains  what  it  is,  it  must  always  bum. 

Propositions  (1)  and  (2)  we  know  by  observation ;  it  is 
about  propositions  (3)  and  (4)  a  difficulty  will  arise. 

Proposition  (3)  says:  '* therefore  fire  caused  if  But 
what  ii  it  had  no  cause?  The  Schoolmen  replied  by 
quoting  the  principle  of  causation :  whatever  begins  to 
exist  must  have  a  cause.  How  would  you  prove  this 
principle  f  By  analysis.  Examine  the  term :  *' oeginning 
to  exist  '* ;  examine  the  predicate  :  "  a  thing  which  must 
have  a  cause."  By  simply  considering  the  idea  of  the  sub- 
ject and  predicate,  and  independently  of  all  experience, 
one  comes  to  see  that  there  exists  between  them  the  relation 
which  the  proposition  expresses.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  saying  that  the  principle  of  causation  is  analytical ;  its 
proof  in  this  sense  may  be  found  in  any  of  the  Catholic 
writers. 

Let  us  consider  proposition  (4) ;  "  in  the  same  circum- 
stances the  same  natural  cause  must  always  produce  a  like 
effect."  This  is  the  principle  of  the  uniformity  of  nature ;  it 
also  is  analytical,  though  it  is  to  be  desired  that  writers 
would  explain  more  fully  and  clearly  the  process  of  analysis. 
Here  is  how  it  strikes  us : — 

Examine  what  is  meant  by  a  natural  cause  :^ — a  being 
which,  without  any  choice  of  its  own,  puts  forth  an  ener^ 
to  produce  something.  As  the  agent  has  no  choice,  this 
energy  does  not  come  by  accident,  but  from  the  essence 
or  nature ;  and  hence,  since  essences  cannot  change,  as 

1  We  use  the  term  *'  natural  caose^'  in  a  sense  in  which  it  is  commonly 
applied  to  denote  an  agent  void  of  free  will,  not  as  opposed  to  anj- 
thing  supernatural 


Dr.  WartTs  «  Philosophy  of  Theismr  485 

long  as  the  agent  remains  what  it  is,  it  must  always  energise 
in  the  same  manner.  This  is  the  unitbrmity  of  nature 
which  accordingly  we  know  by  analysis,  and  not  from 
experience. 

Observe  all  this  does  not  interfere  with  the  possibility 
of  miracles.  For  in  the  action  of  such  a  natural  agent  we 
may  distinguish  two  things,  the  ener^  and  the  result  of  the 
energy.  Thus  in  fire  we  may  distinguish  the  combustive 
energy  f  without  which  there  would  be  no  fire,  but  only  as  it 
were  a  painted  fire,  and  the  actual  combustion.  It  is  the 
combustive  energy  that  springs  from  the  essence,  and  is 
unchangeable.  Not  that  Almighty  Power  could  not 
destroy  the  combustive  energy ;  it  could  as  well  as  the  fire ; 
but  it  could  not  leave  the  fire  and  destroy  the  energy, 
because  that  energy  is  of  the  essence  of  the  fire. 

Fire,  accordingly,  always  means  combustive  energy^  but 
not  necessarily  combustion.  We  know,  by  considering  what 
combustive  energy  is  that  it  will  produce  combustion  except 
a  Superior  Cause  interfere ;  for  that  is  the  very  idea  we 
have  of  the  nature  of  force.  By  the  light  of  reason  alone 
we  might  never  have  suspected  such  interference ;  but 
when  our  attention  has  been  called  to  the  matter  by  an 
actual  miracle,  we  may  know  that  the  interference  is  not 
impossible.  We  find  then,  what  we  might  never  have 
suspected  else,  that  analysis  of  the  term  "  natural  agent" 
will  not  justify  us  in  asserting  that  it  must  always  in  like 
circumstances  produce  like  results ;  but  only  that  it  must 
always  have  the  energy ^  and  that  this  energy  must  produce 
the  result  unless  a  Superior  Cause  intervene. 

It  was  not  necessary  for  Dr.  Ward's  position  against 
Mr.  Mill  to  examine  whether  and  how  we  mav  be  certain 
that  there  will  b^  no  such  intervention,  mi.  Mill  had 
denied  all  necessary  and  analytic  judgments ;  Dr.  Ward 
proved  one, — that  nature  is  uniform  unless  a  Superior  Cause 
intervene.    This  one  was  sufficient. 

But  if  some  one  should  ask  whether  and  how  we  may 
be  certain  there  will  be  no  intervention  with  the  agency 
of  naturalcauses ;  it  will  be  necessary  to  distinguish  between 
two  classes.  For  (a)  one  may  come  to  the  inquiry  firmly 
convinced  of  the  perfection  of  the  Lord  of  nature;  or 
(Jj)  one  may  either  be  not  so  convinced,  or,  like  Dr.  Ward, 
put  one's  self  for  argument  sake  into  the  position  of  a  man 
who  wants  to  gain  conviction  by  the  arguments  derived 
from  necessary  truths. 

(a)  For  the  former  class  there  wiU  in  ordinary  cases 


486  Dr.  WarcTs  "  Philosophy  of  TJieUnK*" 

be  certainty,  not  experimental  but  analytic — derived 
from  the  notion  which  they  already  have  of  God  as  the 
wise  and  provident  Ruler  of  natural  causes.  This  very 
character  and  attribute  of  the  Deity  requires  that  He 
should  not  intervene  except  in  special  cases,  and  for 
grave  reasons  of  a  special  kind;  m  all  other  ordinary 
cases  He  must  let  things  take  their  natural  course. 

(b)  But  for  sceptics,  whether  real  or  suppositional,  it  is 
not  so  clear  that  there  may  be  certainty  of  that  kind. 
For  while  such  inquirers  would  admit  the  possibility  of 
God's  interference,  they  might  doubt  about  those  attributes 
by  which  His  interference  is  as  it  were  regulated.  He 
maybe  to  them  like  the  powerful  and  mah'cious  being  of  Mr. 
Huxley's — a  being  who  would  find  it  a  pleasure  to  delude 
us.  Inquirers  of  this  class  may  think  it  very  highly 
probable  that,  as  there  was  not  much  interference  in  the 
past,  so  there  will  not  be  much  in  the  future ;  but  they 
never  can  be  certain  of  this.  Let  them  fir^  convince 
themselves  of  the  perfection  of  the  Divine  nature,  and 
then  they  may  be  sure  of  the  validity  of  their  Inductiona 
They  may  so  convince  themselves  without  Induction,  even 
on  Dr.  Ward's  argument ;  for  he  argues  not  on  Induction 
itself  but  on  a  necessary  principle  which  underlies  it,  and 
the  necessity  of  this  principle  no  has  established  against 
Mr.  Mill. 

The  Schoolmen  do  not  exclude  experience  from  the 
process  of  Induction ;  quite  the  reverse.  Without  large 
and  careful  experience  you  will  never  know  which  of  the 
various  antecedents  is  the  real  cause ;  but  experience  can 
tell  nothing  of  the  principle  of  causation  or  of  the  necessary 
uniformity  of  nature ;  and  it  is  on  these  two  principles  all 
induction  ultimately  rests. 

So  much  for  the  scholastic  view ;  let  us  consider  the 
position  of  those  whom  Dr.  Ward  designates  phenomenists. 

Mr.  Mill,  like  ourselves,  may  know  from  experience 
(1)  that  in  a  great  number  of  instances  burning  foUowed  the 
application  of  fire ;  and,  (2)  that  owing  to  the  immense 
variety  of  the  circumstances  the  combustion  can  be 
ascribed  to  nothing  but  the  fire.    Even  with  regard  to  pro- 

Eosition  (3) :  "  therefore  the  fire  is  the  cause  of  the  burning" 
e  is  in  an  apparently  better  position  than  ourselves;  lor 
he  understands  cause  in  thie  sense  of  immediate  antecedent, 
and  experience  tells  him  that  fire  has  been  the  invariable 
immediate  antecedent  of  burning,  whilst  we  have  to  depend 
on  analysis  and  intuition  for  our  principle  of  causality 


Bt.  WarcCs  ''Philosophy  of  Theism,:'  487 

This  is  apparently  a  better  position  than  ours,  yet  not 
really  so ;  for  Mr.  Mill's  notion  of  invariable  antecedent 
would  never  supply  any  ground  of  proof  for  the  next  and 
most  important  proposition  of  the  five,  whilst  in  our  system 
the  proof  is  easy. 

Here  is  the  fourth  proposition:  (4)  "thesamenatural  cause 
will  in  similar  circumstances  always  produce  like  results : " 
how  would  you  prove  this  from  experience  ?  You  may 
easily  show  that  up  to  the  present  it  has  been  so ;  but 
what  does  experience  tell  of  the  future?    Nothing. 

Mr.  Mill  grounds  his  reply  on  what  he  calls  the 
Association  Psychology.  He  admits  this  law  of  the 
imiformity  of  nature  as  well  as  most  of  the  truths  which 
we  call  necessary,  and  he  further  admits  that  they  are 
necessary  in  a  certain  sense.  But  in  this  sense  alone — 
when  a  phenomenon  is  so  circumstanced  that  not  only  my 
experience  of  it  is  constant  and  uniform,  but  the  juxta- 
position of  facts  in  experience  is  immediate,  and  close  and 
so  free  from  even  the  persistent  semblance  of  an  exception, 
that  no  counter-association  can  possibly  arise — an  im- 
pression will  inevitably  be  made  on  my  mind  that  this 
phenomenon  is  a  self-evidently  necessary  truth. 

This  diflSculty  of  the  uniformity  of  nature  is  a  regular 
puzzler  for  the  phenomenists,  so  much  so  that  many  of 
them,  notably  Dr.  Bain,  throw  up  the  case  and  admit  that 
it  is  a  truth  which  paust  be  known  analytically.  '*  We  can 
give  no  reason  or  evidence  for  this  uniformity;  and, 
therefore,  the  course  seems  to  be  to  adopt  this  as  the 
finishing  postulate."  "Without  it  (the  assumption  of 
nature's  uniformity)  we  can  do  nothing ;  with  it  we  can  do 
anything.  Our  only  error  is  in  proposing  to  give  any 
reason  or  justification  for  it."i  This  is  pretty  strong  from 
a  philosopher  who  professes  to  found  all  science  on 
experience,  and  denounces  all  a  priori  reasoning.  "  For 
this  amazing  assumption,"  writes  Dr.  Ward,  Dr.  Bain 
**  gives  no  reason  whatever,  and  says  that  no  reason  can 
be  given,  except  that  physical  science  could  not  go  on 
without  it.  let  what  woul4  he  himself  say  to  an 
objectivist,  who  should  assume  the  intuitive  cognizableness 
(rf  morality,  while  giving  no  other  reason  for  tnat  assump- 
tion, except  that  Christianity  could  not  get  on  without  it  ? 


488  Dr.  Ward's  «  Philosophy  of  Theism.'' 

to  be  so  narrow-minded,  *  so  much  the  worse  for  physical 
science/  We  really  know  not  one  of  the  a  /?ru>ri!fallaciee 
which  Mr.  Mill  in  his  *Lo^c*  so  ably  denounces,  more 
extravagantly  wild  than  Dr.  Bain's. 

Mr.  Mill  rushes  in  with  a  proof  where  Dr.  Bain  fears  to 
tread, — a  proof  from  the  exhaustless  store-house  of  expe- 
rience. His  reasoning  is  thus  summarised  by  Dr.  Ward,* 
who,  as  Mr.  Mill  himself  admitted,  is  not  accustomed  to 
understate  the  arguments  and  whole  case  of  an  opponent 

"  If  in  any  part  of  the  world  there  existed  a  breach  in 
the  uniformity  of  nature,  that  breach  must  by  this  time 
have  been  discovered  by  one  or  other  of  the  eminent  men 
who  have  given  themselves  to  physical  experiment.  But 
most  certainly  .  .  none  such  has  ever  been  discovered, 
or  mankind  would  be  sure  to  have  heard  of  it;  consequently 
none  such  exista" 

Those  who  need  arguments  to  persuade  themselves  of . 
the  sophistry  of  this  reasoning  should  go  to  Dr.  Ward's 
book ;  we  can  spare  space  for  only  one  reply. 

"Let  us  suppose  for  argument  sake  that  Mr.  Mill  had 
fully  proved  the  past  and  present  uniformity  of  nature. 
Still  the  main  dMiculty  would  continue:  viz.,  how  he 
proposes  to  show  that  such  uniformity  will  last  one  moment 
beyond  the  present.  It  is  quite  an  elementary  remark 
that,  whenever  a  propositionis  groimdedon  mere  experience, 
nothing  whatever  can  be  known  or  even  guessed  concern- 
ing its  truth,  except  within  the  reach  of  possible  observation. 
For  this  very  reason  Mr.  Mill  professes  himself  imable  to 
know,  or  even  to  assign  any  kind  of  probabiUty  to  the 
supposition,  that  nature  proceeds  on  uniform  laws  in 
distant  stellar  regions.  But  plainly  there  are  conditions  of 
time  as  well  as  of  space^  which  preclude  the  possibiHty  of 
observation ;  and  it  is  aa  simply  .impossible  for  man  to 
know  Irom  mere  experience  what  will  take  place  on  earth 
to-morrow,  as  to  know  from  mere  experience  what  will 
take  place  in  the  planet  Jupiter  to-day.'** 

Mr.  Mill  can  form  no  idea  of  whether,  in  some  distant 
star  at  this  moment,  it  is  the  tendency  of  fire  to  bum  wood, 
of  stones  to  sink  in  water,  supposing  all  these  thiogs  to 
exist  there ;  but  nevertheless  he  is  quite  sure  that  as  long 
as  earth  remains  what  it  is,  be  it  in  thousands  of  years  to 
come,  its  fires  must  bum,  and  its  stones  must  sink.  You 
may  be  sure  of  what  is  removed  from  you  by  time  and 

»Vol.  i.,p.71.  «  Vol  I,  p.  73. 


IriBh  Theologians.  489 

concealed  within  the  dark  womb  of  futurity ;  but  let  space 
remove  a  thing,  and  jou  have  no  chance  of  even  guessing 
what  it  may  be. 

Here  we  conclude  for  the  present.  In  these  yolumes  of 
Dr.  Ward's  there  are  other  most  interesting  essays  on  which 
we  have  been  unable  even  to  touch, — on  morality,  free  will, 
causation,  the  relations  between  prayer  and  natural  causes, 
Ac.  We  hope  Mr.  Wilfred  Ward  will  see  his  way  to  collect 
more  of  his  father's  scattered  productions,  and  to  prefix 
to  each  collection  as  able  an  essay  as  the  introduction  to 
the  volumes  befor.e  us.  We  sincerely  recommend  the 
**  Philosophy  of  Theism  "  to  all  readers  who  have  a  turn  for 
the  study  of  fundamental  truths. 

W.  M*DONALD. 


IRISH  THEOLOGIANS. -No.  IX. 

Marianus  Scotus— Commentator  on  S.  Scripture. 

IT  is  fortunate  that  we  have  an  authentic  life  of  the  Blessed 
Marianus  Scotus,  S6ribe  and  Commentator  of  Sacred 
Scripture,  written  by  a  coimtryman  of  his  own,  an  inmate, 
it  seems,  of  the  religious  house  which  he  founded,  and  less 
than  one  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Marianus  himself. 
The  writer,  moreover,  tells  us  that  in  what  he  wrote  he. 
followed  the  testimony  of  the  Father  Isaac,  then  living,  who 
had  reached  the  great  age  of  120  years,  and  had  been  a 
companion  of  Marianus  m  his  youth,  living  under  his 
direction  and  obedience.  With  many  tears  the  old  man 
told  the  young  brother  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  the 
Slessed  Marianus,  so  that  we  have  not  a  shadow  of  reason 
for  doubting  that  this  life  is  a  faithful  and  authentic 
narration  of  facts.  The  manuscript  was  found  in  the 
Carthusian  monastery  of  Gaming,  in  Lower  Austria,  and 
was  transcribed  by  Father  John  Gamansius,  S.J.,for  Fathei* 
John  Bollandus,  who  has  published  it  in  the  Acta  Sanctorum 
at  the  9th  of  February. 

This  life  is  valuable  for  another  reason.     It  gives  us  an 
authentic  accoimt  of  the  foundation  of  several  of  the  Irish 


490  IrUh  Theologians: 

their  heavenly  country,  had  left  home  and  friends  in  naked- 
ness to  follow  the  naked  Christ.  Lest,  however,  men 
should  think  them  like  the  vulture  and  the  heron  that  have 
no  home,  whose  origin  and  destiny  are  known  to  God  alone, 
he  would  tell  them  how  they  came  from  the  sweet  soil  of 
Ireland,  who  was  their  guide,  and  who  their  leaders  when 
they  came  to  dwell  in  the  suburbs  of  Ratisbon,  a  city  of 
old  renown,  and  a  pious  mother  to  strangers,  but  especially 
to  the  children  of  Ireland.^ 

Then,  after  briefly  sketching  the  history  of  St.  Patrick, 
St.  Columbanus  and  St.  Gall,  the  writer  comes  to  give  an 
account  of  the  Blessed  Marianus  himself.  He  was,  he  says, 
a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  from  his  boyhood  his 

Earents  had  handed  him  over  to  religious  men,  in  order  to 
e  trained  for  the  clerical  state  in  all  sacred  learning  and 
pious  discipline.  The  writer  does  not  mention  the  family 
name  of  Marianus,  nor  the  locality  where  he  was  bom ;  but 
Marianus  himself  supplies  this  omission.  In  the  last  folio 
of  lus  commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  we  find  these  words 
written  in  his  own  neat  hand — ^In  nonore  Individuae  Trini- 
tatis,  Marianus  Scotus  scripeit  hunc  Ubrmn  suis  fratribus 
peregrinis :  anima  ejus  requiescat  in  pace.  Propter  Deum 
devote  dicite  amen — xvi.  KaL,  Junii  feria  vL  anno  Domini, 
I07y.  Just  over  the  words  Marianus  Scotus  he  wrote  with 
his  own  hand  his  Celtic  name — Muu'edach  MacRobartaig— 
and  in  two  other  places  of  the  same  manuscript  he  marks 
the  date,  and  beseeches  God  to  have  mercy  on  "poor 
Muiredach." 

These  entries  leave  no  doubt  about  the  name  or  family 
of  Marianus.  In  the  parish  of  Dnunhome,  Barony  of 
Tirhugh,  Co.  Donegal,  there  is  a  townland  still  called  Bally- 
magrorty,  remarkable  as  containing  Rathcimga,  where  St 
Patrick  built  a  church,  and  where  seven  bishops  are  buried, 
amongst  whom  are  St.  Bitheus  and  St.  Asicus,  Bishop  of 
Elphin.  This  townland  took  its  name  from  the  family  of 
MacRobartaig  (Magrorty),  to  whom  it  was  given  at  a  very 
early  date,  because  they  were  entrusted  with  the  custoify 
of  the  Cathach  of  St.  Columcille,  and  had  these  lands  for 
their  maintenance,  as  well  as  the  Island  of  Tory,  off  the 
coast  of  Donegal  We  may  then  fairly  assume  that 
Mariai^s  was  bom  at  ornear  Ballymagrorty,and  in  his  youth 
was  given  up  by  his  parents  to  the  monks  of  Drumhome, 
down  near  the  seashore,  where  he  spent  his  boyhood,  like  the 

*  See  life,  caput  L,  sec.  1.  «  See  Tripart,  page  144. 


i 


Marianus  Scotua — Commentator  on  S.  Scripture.      491 

great  Adamnan,  Abbot  of  Hy,  in  the  sight  and  hearing  of 
the  wild  Atlantic  waves  that  break  upon  these  shores.  This 
would  be,  in  all  probability,  between  the  years  1030  and 
1040.  Later  on  he  might  be  sent  to  Kells,  which  was 
founded  by  St.  Columcille,  and  it  seems  that  several 
members  of  the  family  of  Magrorty  presided  over  that 
famous  abbey.  Domhnall  MacRobartaig  was  abbot  of 
Kells  when  the  beautiful  casket,  now  known  as  the 
Cathach,  was  made  in  that  abbey  to  cover  Columcille *s 
Psalter.  His  death  is  recorded  in  I098i  And  this  Mac- 
Robartaig was  also  Airchinech  of  Louth  and  died 
in  1081.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  members  of  this  family, 
or  its  branches,  were,  during  the  eleventh  century,  in- 
fluential ecclesiastics  at  DiTimhome,  Tory,  Kells,  and  Louth. 
It  is  certain,  from  the  statement  of  Marianus  himself, 
that  he  left  Ireland  in  1067,  and,  therefore,  eleven  years 
after  the  Chronicler,  who  assigns  his  own  departure  to  the 
year  1056.  At  this  time  the  writer  of  his  life,  on  the 
authority  of  old  Father  Isaac,  who  remembered  him  well, 
describes  Marianus  as  a  handsome,  fair-haired  youth,  strong 
limbed  and  tall,  moreover  a  man  of  godly  mien  and  gracious 
eloquence,  well  trained  in  all  human  and  divine  knowledge.^ 
He  had  with  him  two  companions — John  and  Candidus, 
and  their  purpose  was  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  the 
holy  city  of  the  Apostles.  On  their  way  they  called  to  see 
Otno  Bishop  of  Bamberg,  a  famous  and  holy  man,  who  was 
greatly  pleased  with  the  Irish  strangers,  and  induced  them 
to  remain  with  him  for  a  whole  year.  But  the  pious 
strangers  longed  to  give  themselves  up  to  exercises  of 
prayer  and  penance,  and  accordingly  received  the  religious 
habit  in  the  Monastery  of  Michelsberg,  near  the  city.  They 
were  ignorant,  however,  of  German,  and  therefore  unsuited 
for  community  life,  so  the  good  prelate,  at  their  own  earnest 
request,  gave  them  a  cell  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
suppUed  them  abundantly  with  everything  needful  for  their 
scanty  wants.  Otho  dying,  the  three  Irishmen  were  left 
without  a  protector,  and  so  resolved  to  prosecute  the 
pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Accordingly,  having  first  obtained  the 
permission  and  blessing  of  the  Abbot  of  St.  Michel's,  they 

ioumeyed  as  jFar  as  Ratisbon,  and  there  sought  and  obtained 
lospitality  from  the  Venerable  Emma,  the  Abbess  of  the 

^  DecoTO  vultu,  crine  nitenti ;  ultra  communem  yalentiam  hominum, 
forma  erat  speciosus,  diyinis  ac  humanis  litteris  et  eloquentia  erat 
praeditua,  ita  ut  8.  Sanctus  per  inhabitautem  gratiam  in  eo  esse  nemo 
videns  com  dubitaret. 


492  Irish  Tlieologians : 

Upper  Monastery  (Obemiunster),  and^the  hostess-mother  of 
strangers.  During  their  sojourn  at  the  Upper  Monastery, 
as  well  as  afterwards  in  the  Lower  Monastery,  where  the 
travellers  were  induced  to  stay  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of 
the  Venerable  Emma  and  her  nuns,  Marianus  devoted 
himself  with  great  zeal  and  success  to  the  transcription  and 
composition  of  religious  books  for  their  kind  patroness,  and 
the  clergy,  and  even  the  monks  of  the  entire  nei^bour- 
hood.  His  pen  was  swift,  his  handwriting  clear  and 
beautiful,  and  his  labour  incessant.  He  worked  so  diUgently 
that  his  two^  companions  found  enough  to  do  in  preparing 
the  parchments,  which,  as  soon  as  they  were  reaay,  the 
diligent  scribe  filled  up  with  the  words  of  salvation.  He 
worked  without  fee  or  reward — he  and  his  companions 
giving  their  books  gratuitously,  and  all  the  time  content 
tnemselves  with  the  poorest  raiment,  and  the  plainest  and 
scantiest  fare.  To  tell  the  truth,  without  a  fog  of  words, 
says  the  writer  of  the  life,  amongst  all  the  things  which 
Divine  Providence  wrought  by  the  hands  of  tho  said 
Marianus,  nothing,  in  my  opinion,  is  so  wonderful  and 
praiseworthy  as  the  zeal  with  which  the  holy  man  not  once 
or  twice,  but  frequently  transcribed  with  his  own  hand  the 
entire  Old  and  New  Testament,  with  commentaries  and 
explanations;  while  at  the  same  time  he  wrote,  many 
smaller  books,  and  psalters  for  poor  widows,  and  for  the 
needy  clerics  in  the  same  city,  and  that,  too,  merely  for  his 
souVs  sake  without  any  hope  of  earthly  gain«  Moreover, 
many  monastic  congregations,  in  faim  and  charity, 
imitators  of  same  Blessed  Marianus,  havinjj  come  from 
that  same  Ireland  (Hibemia),  and  now  dwelling  throughout 
Bavaria  and  Franconia,  are,  for  the  most  part,  sustained  by 
the  writings  of  that  same  holy  man. 

This  is  a  noble  testimony  to  the  learning  and  zeal  of  this 
true  hearted  Irishman  in  the  land  of  the  stranger,  and 
explains  how  it  came  to  pass  that  he  and  his  fellow-country- 
men were  so  gladly  received,  and  so  generously  treated  in 
the  cities  of  Medieval  Germany. 

**  Marianus  was,*'  says  the  writer  of  this  life, "  like  Mos 
the  meekest  of  men,  and  God  bestowed  upon  him  in 
wonderful  way  the   gift  of  heaUng  many  diseases,  bui 
especially  fevers,  not  only  during  life,  as  I  have  hear 
from  trust-worthy  witnesses,  but  at  his  tomb  after  death, 
1  Iiave  seen  with  my  own  eyes'* 

Now,  there  was  Uving  in  a  cell,  near  the  Upper  Monas 
tery,  a  holy  recluse  from  Ireland,  Muircertacn  by  nam 


i 


Marianus  Scotus — Commentator  on  5.  Scripture.       493 

and  he  was  established  there  many  years  before  Marianus 
came  to  Ratisbon.  The  latter  was  troubled  in  mind  in 
consequence  of  his  pilgrimage  to  Rome  having  been  in- 
terrupted by  the  literary  labours  in  which  he  was  engaged. 
In  this  perplexity,  he  sought  the  counsel  of  the  holy  recluse, 
his  countryman,  who,  groaning  in  spirit,  said  to  him,  "  Let 
us  fast  to-day,  my  brother,  and  beseech  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
make  known  to  you  whether  God  wills  you  to  remain  hero 
or  continue  your  journey  to  Rome."  Next  night,  MarianiL«? 
dreamt  that  the  Holy  Spirit  counselled  him  to  take  with 
him  his  two  companions,  and  set  out  on  his  jouruey ;  "  but 
the  spot  where  you  shall  first  see  the  rising  sun,  that 
shall  be  the  place  of  your  resurrection."  Before  the  dawn, 
Marianus,  with  his  two  companions,  bade  farewell  to  the 
old  hermit,  and  set  out  on  the  journey ;  however,  according 
to  his  wont,  he  stepped  aside  to  pray  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter,  without  the  walls,  and  they  besought  the  Saint, 
with  earnest  prayers,  to  direct  them  in  their  pilgrimage  to 
his  shrine  at  Rome.  They  rose  up  strong  m  spirit,  and, 
lo  I  just  as  Marianus  and  his  companions  crossed  the  thres- 
hold of  the  Church,  the  sun  rose  up  in  glory  before  their 
eyes  from  behind  the  summit  of  the  Bayrischer  wald. 
Then,  recognising  the  divine  sign  given  in  his  dream, 
on  bended  knees,  he  thanked  God  and  St.  Peter,  who  had 
given  him  a  place  of  rest  until  the  day  of  judgment ;  and 
there  he  remained. 

The  clergy  and  the  people,  and  the  holy  abbess  Emma, 
with  all  her  nuns,  were  full  of  joy  when  they  heard  that 
Marianus  haa  changed  his  purpose,  and  resolved  to  stay 
near  St.  Peter's  Church.  .  With  the  approbation  of  the 
Emperor  Henry  IV.,  the  abbess  Emma  gave  to  Marianus 
and  his  Irish  followers,  for  ever,  the  Church  of  St.  Peter 
— called  the  Weich-Sanct-Peter.  The  citizens,  too,  and 
especially  Bethselmus,  of  pious  memory,  built  for  them 
at  large  outlay,  a  cloister,  and  all  other  suitable  build- 
ings, not  large,  indeed,  but  amply  sufficient  for  a  few  poor 
pilgrims.  And  so  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter  of  Ratisbon 
was  founded  for  Irish  pilgrims  about  the  year  1076,  when 
Henry  IV.  was  Emperor,  and  the  illustrious  Hildebrand  was 
Pope  under  the  name  of  Gregory  VII. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  that  the  fame  of  these  things  was 
blazed  abroad,  as  is  wont,  and  word  was  even  brought  by 
pilgrims  to  those  far  oflf  northern  parts  of  Ireland,  where 
the  Blessed  Marianus  himself  was  bom.  Thereupon  many 
of  his  neighbours— multi  ex  concivibus  suis — who  were 

VOL.  V.  2  0 


494  Irish  Tlieologians  : 

aware  how  the  boyhood  and  youth  of  Marianus  had  been 
given  to  the  service  of  God,  abandoning  all  things  for 
God's  sake,  and  crossing  many  seas  and  mountains,  came  to 
Marianus  to  live  under  his  guidance,  as  a  holy  man  in 
Ireland  had  long  ago  foretold  would  happen.  The  men 
of  Donegal  have  been  always  clannish  in  things  spiritual 
as  in  things  temporal.  Just  as  a  constant  stream  of  clans- 
men kept  going  from  Ireland  to  lona,  several  centuries 
before,  to  the  great  school  of  their  own  Coliunba,  so  now 
quite  a  crowd  of  holy  men  from  Donegal  went  to  their 
countrvman  at  Ratisbon,  and  we  are  told  that  no  less  than 
seven  of  them — all,  except  the  last,  from  the  north  of 
Ireland — succeeded  Marianus  in  the  abbey  of  St.  Peter  s. 
Domnus,  the  last  of  the  seven,  was  a  native  of  the  south  of 
Ireland — a  man  famous  through  all  Bavaria  for  the  holineps 
of  his  life.  But  they  did  not  all  remain  at  Ratisbon  until 
their  death.  Clemens,  the  third  of  the  number,  went  on 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land  for  his  souVs  salvation,  and 
there  ended  his  life  in  peace  at  Jerusalem.  John,  like^vise, 
leaving  liis  dear  associates  at  Ratisbon,  went  to  the  monas- 
tery of  Gottweich,  in  Lower  Austria,  where  he  spent  several 
years  in  fastings  and  prayers  and  tears.  The  fame  of  his 
holy  life  was  such,  that  it  reached  even  to  the  city  of 
Rome,  and  Pope  Urban  IL  conferred  upon  the  holy  man 
the  power  of  binding  and  loosing  throughout  all  Bavaria 
and  Austria.  This  was  about  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
c<mtury. 

Meanwhile,  the  brethren  greatly  multipUed  in  the  old 
cloister  of  St.  Peter's,  so  that  it  became  too  small  for  them, 
neither  could  they  find  room  for  any  more  cells  in  the 
eastern  suburb,  either  within  or  without  the  enclosiu'e,  so 
with  the  sanction  of  our  Lord,  Pope  Calixtus,  and  of  the 
Emperor  Henry  V.,  and  of  Count  Frederick  de  Franeinhp, 
they  bought  for  thirty  talents  of  the  money  of  Ratisbon,  a 
piece  of  ground  outside  the  city  walls  on  the  west,  and 
there  laid  the  foundations  of  a  noble  monastery  in  the 
name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  in  honour  of  St.  James  the 
Apostle,  and  St.  Gertrude  Virgin.  The  good  citizens  of 
Ratisbon  helped  the  undertaking  in  every  way,  supplying 
victuals  to  the  brothers,  and  wages  to  the  masons,  and 
so,  by  God's  help,  the  work  was  soon  completed,  and 
that  Domnus,  from  the  south  of  Ireland,  of  whom  we  havo 
just  spoken,  became  the  first  abbot. 

Thus  was  founded   by   these  zealous   Irishmen  that 
famous  monastery  of  St.  James  of  Ratisbon,  which,  in  later 


Ma7*ianu3  Scotus — Commentator  on  S.  Scripture.       495 

days,  was  claimed  and  obtained  by  the  Scots,  of  North 
Britain,  as  if  they,  and  not  the  men  of  Donegal,  had  been 
the  original  founders. 

The  abbot  Domnus,  an  eloquent  and  noble  hearted  man, 
dying  soon  after,  his  place  was  filled  by  Christian,  who 
being  unwilling  to  transfer  the  community  from  the  old 
foimdation  of  8t,  Peter's  without  due  authority,  consulted 
Pope  Innocent  11. ,  and  with  the  sanction  of  the  Bishop  of 
Ratisbon,  placed  the  new  monastery  under  the  Pope's 
special  patronage,  and  was  solemnly  consecrated  abbot  of 
iSt.  James's  monastery  by  the  Pope  in  person.  This  abbot 
Christian,  so  highly  honoured  by  the  Pope,  having  thus 
firmly  estabUshed  his  new  monastery, "  resolved  to  pay  a 
visit  to  his  native  Ireland,  and  was  received  with  great 
honour  by  all  the  kings  and  princes  of  that  country,  who 
gave  him  no  less  than  200  marks  of  silver,  with  which  he 
returned  joyfully  to  Ratisbon,  and  Uke  a  wise  and  prudent 
father,  with  that  money,  through  the  agency  of  Henry 
Burgrave  of  Ratisbon,  he  bought  lands  and  other  posses- 
sions for  the  benefit  of  the  brothers,  present  and  future. 
Moreover,  God  inspired  the  wealthy  citizens  of  Ratisbon 
to  grant  many  endowments  of  lands  and  vineyards  for  the 
benefit  of  these  poor  brothers  so  far  away  from  their  own 
country;  they  selected  their  place  of  burial,  too,  saj^'s  the 
Chronicler,  in  our  church,  and  loved  the  strangers  much. 
And  then  our  author  gives  a  long  list  of  the  rich  citizens 
and  noble  ladies,  who  gave  these  large  grants  for  their 
souls'  sake  to  God,  and  to  the  poor  Irish  monks  of  St. 
James  of  Ratisbon. 

So  the  fame  of  this  religious  house,  founded  by  the 
brothers  of  the  B.  Marianus,  spread  far  and  wide  through- 
out Bavaria,  and  came  to  the  ears  of  the  Bishop  Henry  of 
Wurzburg,  the  city  where,  to  this  day,  repose  the  holy 
relics  of  the  Irish  martyr  St.  Kilian,  its  first  Bishop  and 
Apostle.  Now,  Bishop  Henry  wished  to  found  a  house  at 
Wurzburg  for  a  colony  of  these  holy  men  from  Ratisbon,  and, 
accordingly,  to  the  great  joy  of  all  the  people,  the  holy 
Macariue  was  sent  by  the  Abbot  Christian  from  the  monas- 
tery of  St.  James  with  a  few  of  the  brothers  to  found  the 
new  house  at  Wurzburg.  "  This  Macarius,*'  says  the 
writer, "  was  a  man  full  of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  celebrated 
throughout  all  Ireland  (Hibemia)  for  his  knowledge  of  the 
Divine  law,  and  his  long  studies  in  all  the  Uberal  arts."^ 

^  In  lege  divina  doctissimum  atque  divinis  liberalium  artium  studiis 
per  totam  Hiberniam  celeberrimum.    C.  V.,  8,  21. 


496  Irish  Theologians: 

There  had  been  long  before  this  an  Irish  monastery  at 
Wurzburg,  for  under  date  of  1085,  the  Four  Masters  record 
the  death  of  "  Gilla  na  Naemh  Laighen,  a  noble  Bishop  of 
Glendaloch,  and  afterwards  head  of  the  monks  at  Wurz- 
burg." Gilla  na  Naemh  might  very  well  be  rendered  in 
Latin  by  llacarius,  but  the  Macarius,  of  whom  there  is 
question  here,  could  not  have  flourished  for  some  fifty 
years  later,  seeing  that  Innocent  TI.  reigned  from  1130- 
1143.  It  may  be  that  after  the  death  of  Gilla  na  Naemh, 
of  Leinster,  the  Irish  house  began  to  decline,  and  that 
Bishop  Henry  wished  to  have  it  peopled  by  a  more  fervent 
colony  from  the  younger  house  at  Ratisbon,  It  is  certain 
that  Macarius  was  a  man  of  most  holy  and  mortified  life. 
On  one  occasion,  in  presence  of  the  Bishop  himself,  when 
the  latter  commanded  him  to  take  a  Uttle  wine  against  his 
will,  the  monk  obeyed,  but  it  was  found  that  the  wine  had 
been  miraculously  changed  to  water  in  the  hands  of  the 
saint,  who  thus  became  very  celebrated  through  all  the 
country  round.  Two  other  brothers  from  Ratisbon  were 
chosen  in  succession  to  the  abbacy,  the  last  of  whom, 
Cams,  became  chaplain  to  the  Empress  Gertrude,  who 
gave  him  the  Church  of  St  Aegidius  at  Nuremburg,  where 
there  was  another  house  of  Irish  monks,  an  offshoot  from 
the  mother  house  at  Ratisbon. 

The  great  Abbot  Christian  returned  to  Ireland  in  his  old 
age,  for  he  greatly  loved  the  Saints  of  Ireland,  and  wished 
that  his  ashes  should  mingle  with  theirs.  Thereupon,  the 
community  at  Ratisbon  elected  Gregory  as  abbot,  a  wise 
and  prudent  man,  who  repaired  the  monastic  building?, 
too  hurriedly  put  up  in  tne  beginning.  It  was  at  this 
time  that  Henry,  Duke  of  Austria,  son  of  the  Emperor 
Henry  V.,  built  and  endowed  at  Vienna,  at  his  own  expense, 
a  magnificent  monastery  for  the  Irishmen  of  Ratisbon; 
and  mither  the  Abbot  Gregory  sent  twenty-four  of  the 
brethren,  with  the  holy  man  Sanctinus  to  rule  over  them. 
Shortly  after,  another  rich  and  holy  man,  the  provost  of 
the  Church  of  Eichstadt,  foimded  and  endowed  a  house 
in  that  city  for  the  brethren  of  Ratisbon,  to  which  the 
same  Abbot  Gregory  sent  a  colony  of  his  Irish  monks.  Thus 
it  came  to  pass,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  that  the  houses  of 
the  Irish  monks,  the  spiritual  children  of  the  Blessed  Mari- 
anus,  were  greatly  multiplied,  and  were  honoured  before 
God  and  man  throughout  all  Bavaria  and  Austria. 

And  tow  it  is  time  to  say  a  few  words  about  the 
writings  of  Marianua 


Marianus  Scotus — Commentator  on  SL  Scripture.       4  J 7 

Aventinus  in  his  "Annals  of  Bavaria,"  published  in  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  thus  speaks  of  Marianus 
Scotus.  "At  that  time  flourished  the  blessed  Marianus 
Scotus,adistingui8hedpoetand  theologian — poetaet  theologus 
insigrm — second  to  no  man  of  his  time.  With  his  fellow 
scholars  John,  Candidus,  Clement,  Donatus,  Muircertach, 
Magnaldus,  and  Isaac,  who  lived  beyond  a  hundred  years, 
he  came  to  Germany  .  .  .  and  by  teaching,  writing,  and 
interpreting  Sacred  Scripture  they  obtained  a  living,  and 
won  for  themselves  great  fame.  Unfortunately  none  of  the 
poetry  of  the  B.  Marianus  has  been  preserved,  or  at  least 
has  not  yet  been  discovered  in  the  hiding  places  of  the 
German  libraries." 

The  same  Aventinus  speaks  of  a  manuscript  copy  of 
the  Psalms  with  a  commentary,  as  being  extant  in  his  own 
time  in  the  Lower  Monastery  of  Ratisbon.  He  has  trans- 
cribed too  the  beginning  of  the  Preface,  which  gives  the 
date  of  its  composition  as  1074,  '*  in  the  seventh  year  of 
my  pilgrimage,'*  says  the  writer,  which  fixes  the  date  of 
his  departure  from  Ireland  as  1067.  The  commentary 
on  the  Psalms,  Marianus  tells  us,  was  taken  from  the  works 
of  Jerome,  Augustine,  Cassiodorus,  Arnobius,  and  St. 
Gregory,  names  which  show  that  our  Irish  saint  was  familiar 
with  writings  of  the  principal  Latin  Fathers,  and  must 
have  had  copies  of  their  works  in  his  monastery  at  Ratisbon. 
He  forbids  the  book  to  be  lent  to  anyone  outside  the 
convent  who  has  not  deposited  sufficient  security  for  its 
safe  return — a  precaution  to  which  in  all  probabihty  we 
owe  its  preservation  down  to  the  time  of  Aventinus.  The 
work  was  begun  on  St,  George's  Day,  and  finished  at 
the  festival  of  St,  Mathew,  a  fact  which  shows  the  rapidity 
with  which  Marianus  executed  his  task.  There  is  another 
work  of  Marianus  in  the  Cotton  collection,  entitled  "  Liber 
Mariani  genere  Scoti  exceptus  de  Evangelistarum  voluminibus 
aire  Doctorihm,  This  is  evidently  another  commentary  of 
the  same  character,  on  the  Gospels,  mainly  composed  of 
extracts  from  the  Fathers. 

The  chief  works,  however,  by  which  Marianus  is  now 
known  to  the  literary  world  is  the  famous  MS.  containing 
the  p]pistles  of  St.  Paul  with  both  a  marginal  and  inter- 
linear commentary.  This  precious  treasure  is  now  in  the 
Imperial  Library  at  Vienna,^  and  is  especially  interesting 
because  it  contains  several  entries  in  the   old^nd  pure 

*  No.  1247  (Theol.  287.) 


498  Irish  Theologians : 

Celtic  of  the  eleventh  century.  Zeuse  refers  to  these 
entries  in  Celtic  Grammar;  they  have  been  published 
also  by  Dr.  Zimmer  in  his  Irish  Glosses,  and  an  interesting 
account  both  of  them  and  the  manuscript  which  contains 
them,  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Reeves,  will  be  found  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  Vol.  VII. 
page  295. 

The  manuscript  is  a  quarto  volume  of  160  folios  of 
vellum;  the  letters  of  the  text  are  remarkably  well  formed, 
and  of  a  moderate  size.  The  author's  gloss,  both  marginal 
and  interlinear,  is  written  in  very  small,  neat,  and  dehcate 
characters,  and  by  the  same  hand  throughout.  The  Codix 
contains  all  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  including  the 
Apocrypal  one  to  the  Laodiceans;  but  Marianus  was 
evidently  aware  that  it  was  not  of  equal  authority  with 
the  othera ;  for  he  observes  that  this  "  Epistle  to  the 
Laodiceans  is  believed  to  have  been  written  by  some  one 
else  under  the  name  of  St.  Paul.*'^  It  is  remarkable  that 
this  Epistle  is  also  inserted  in  the  Book  of  Armagh,  with  an 
observation  that  St.  Jerome  denied  its  authenticity.  It 
seems,  however,  that  in  the  Irish  Church  at  this  time  thepe 
was  some  doubt  about  the  question.  It  is  quite  astonishing 
what  a  number  of  writers  are  quoted  by  Marianus  in 
the  marginal  gloss.  Besides  those  already  named  we 
find  passages  from  Origen  (Latin  translation),  Leo 
the  Great,  Alcuin,  Cassian,  Peter  the  Deacon,  Pelagins, 
and  the  Ambrosiastic  books  with  which  Mananus  must 
have  been  acquainted  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
country. 

There  are  several  very  interesting  entries  in  Irish  at  the 
foot  of  some  of  the  folios  to  which  we  cannot  refer  in 
detail.  At  the  foot  of  folio  10  he  marks  the  date  of  revising 
in  Irish  as  the  Sabbath  or  Saturday  of  the  Pasch,  on  the 
night  of  the  10th  of  the  Kalends  of  April,  1079-  At  the 
foot  of  foho  17  he  gives  the  date  of  writmg  as  Ascension  in 
June,  1074,  which  shows  the  year  in  which  he  began  this 
beautiful  manuscript.  Then  he  adds  to  the  foot-note  the 
wail  of  penance — Mariani  miserere  Domine,  miserere.  And 
again,  in  a  foot-note  at  folio  87,  iu  his  native  tongue,  he 
marks  the  date,  the  10th  of  June,  on  Friday,  the  festival  of 
Comgall  (of  Bangor),  and  adds  "  an  entreaty  to  God  for 
forgiveness  to  Muiredach  the  wretched."  As  we  observed 
before,  h^  marks  the  work  as  completed  on  Friday,  the 

^  Laodicensium  epistola  ab  alio  sub  nomine  Patdiputatur  editou 


Mariamis  Scotus —  Commentator  on  fif.  Scripture.       499 

16th,  before  the  Kalends  of  June,  1079,  when  he  gives 
both  his  Irish  and  Latin  name,  and  asks  the  readers  to  say 
Amen  to  the  prayer  for  his  soul's  salvation.  "  Amen,  God 
rest  him,"  (Amen  Got  dem  Erleich\  wrote  a  pious  old 
German  of  the  fifteenth  century  on  the  face  of  the  page,  in 
response  to  this  pious  request.  Amen,  say  we,  may  God 
give  him  eternal  rest — that  God  whom  he  served  so  well 
during  all  the  years  of  his  pilgrimage  in  the  German  land. 
"  And  now,  my  brothers,*'  says  the  eloquent  old  Irish  monk 
who  wrote  the  life  of  Marianus,  thinking,  no  doubt,  of  his 
own  home  in  Ireland,  "and  now,  my  brothers,  if  you 
should  ask  what  will  be  the  reward  of  Marianus,  and  pilgrims 
like  him,  who  left  the  sweet  soil  of  their  native  land,  which 
is  free  from  every  noxious  beast  and  worm,  with  its 
mountains  and  hills,  and  valleys  and  groves  so  well  suited 
for  the  chase,  and  the  picturesque  expanses  of  its  rivers, 
and  its  green  fields,  and  its  streams  flowing  down  from 
purest  fountains ;  and,  like  the  children  of  Abraham  the 
ratriarch,  came  without  hesitation  into  the  land  which  God 
had  pointed  out  to  them,  this  is  my  answer — They  shall 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  with  the  Angels  and 
Archangels  their  God  for  ever ;  they  shall  go  from  virtue 
to  virtue  ;  they  shall  behold  in  Sion  the  God  of  gods,  to 
whom  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 

The  year  of  the  death  of  Marianus  is  not  marked  with 
exactness,  but  it  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  1088,  just 
fflx  years  atter  the  death  of  his  namesake  at  Mentz.  We 
deem  it  unnecessary  to  state  at  length  the  reasons  that  go 
to  show  that  the  "poet  and  theologian"  is  a  different 
person  from  the  Chronicler.  They  came  to  Germany  at 
different  times ;  they  had  different  Celtic  names ;  they  lived 
in  different  cities  ;  their  life-work  was  altogether  different 
in  its  character,  and  they  died  at  different  dates.  In  a 
word,  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  who  bas  read  for  himself 
the  Chronicle  of  Marianus  of  Mentz,  and  the  life  of  Marianus 
of  Ratisbon,  written  on  the  authority  of  one  of  his  own 
disciples,  not  to  see  that  the  two  men  are  as  distinct  as  any 
other  two  characters  mentioned  in  history. 

John  Healy. 


[    500    ] 


TRREE  LITERARY  MASQUERADERS. 

1MUST  confess  that  1  have  been  somewhat  puzzled  to 
give  a  name  to  this  paper.  I  have  selected  the  word 
Masqueraders  as  less  ofltensive  than  that  which  naturally 
suggests  itself — forgers — and  as  implying  more  accurately 
the  view  I  take  of  their  literary  doings,  and  the  very  mild 
condemnation  I  would  pass  upon  them,  if  indeed,  as  may 
be  questioned,  they  deserve  any  censure  at  all. 

The  three  writers  I  have  to  bring  before  you  are 
James  M*Pherson,  Thomas  Chatterton,  and  WilUam  Ireland, 
and  their  forging,  or  masquerading,  consists  in  publishing 
works  of  their  own  uuder  other  names,  in  claiming  to  be 
translators  or  editors  when  they  were  in  truth  authors,  and 
thus  palming  oflf  upon  their  friends  and  the  pubUc  as  the 
works  of  men  of  other  days  what  they  themselves  had 
written. 

Here  you  see,  we  have  just  the  opposite  to  what  we 
might  naturally  expect  when  men  assume  other  characters. 
These  are  not,  as  the  fable  says,  daws  decking  themselyes 
in  peacock's  feathers;  but  peacocks  hiding  their  gaudy 
plumage  under  the  sober  colours  of  daws.  So  they  seem  to 
be  men  annihilating  themselves,  in  a  literary  sense,  Uiat 
they  may  appear  to  be  much  less  than  they  really  are; 
authors  presenting  themselves  as  mere  editors,  directing 
attention  to  themselves  only  in  this  inferior  capacity,  and 
attributing  to  real  or  imaginary  pei*sons  writings  that  would 
bring  them  much  more  honour  did  they  claim  as  their  own 
what  was  indeed  such. 

So  strange  a  course  may  be  attributed  to  peculiar 
circumstances  under  which  the  authors  wrote  ;  and  not  a 
little  perhaps  to  that  morbid  frame  of  mind  whiph  induces 
some  people  to  choose  a  roundabout  way  of  doing  every 
thing  they  take  in  hand  ;  or  again,  to  that  love  of  mystery 
which  is  a  large  element  in  the  same.  Perhaps  this  will 
come  out  more  clearly  as  we  consider  the  three  individuals 
whom  I  have  selected  from  this  class  to  illustrate  the 
widely  difterent  minds  which  still  have  been  impelled  into 
the  same  course  of  literary  imposture,  forging  or  masque- 
rading, whichever  term  we  may  prefer  by  which  to  charac- 
terize them,  or,  which  perhaps  it  will  be  more  accurate  io 
say,  whichever  we  may  select  as  appropriate  to  each 
individual. 

And  first  let  me  present  to  your  notice  James  M*Pher8on 


Three  Literary  Masqueraders.  501 

translator,  as  he  styles  himself,  but  author  or  inventor,  as 
we  call  him,  of  Ossian. 

He  wag  born  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  in  1738,  and 
was  intended  for  the  Kirk,  that  is,  to  be  a  Presbyterian 
minister ;  but  fate—  shall  we  say,  his  evil  destiny  1 — and  the 
Muses  turned  him  from  the  study  of  the  grim  theology  of 
Calvin  to  the  more  cheerful  pages  of  the  poets ;  the  early 
outcome  of  which  was  an  heroic  poem  in  six  cantos,  "  The 
Highlander,"  which  he  published  when  he  was  barely 
twenty  years  old.  A  critic  fell  foul  of  tbe  youthful  work, 
and  pronounced  it  to  be  "a  miserable  production  which 
proved  at  once  his  ambition  and  his  incapacity."  But  the 
young  bard  was  not  to  be  easily  extinguished,  or  it  may  be, 
BBj  in  Byron*s  case,  the  early  pmning  but  made  the  tree 
grow  the  stronger. 

For  a  time^  however,  he  subsided  into  the  humble 
position  of  a  village  schoolmaster;  thence  he  rose  to  be 
private  tutor  to  that  wonderful  Lord  Lynedoch,  who  Uved 
almost  to  the  present  day.  Then  he  met  Home,  tbe 
reverend  author  oF  a  once  popular  play,  "  Douglas,"  which 
injieed  lives  still,  at  least  in  one  famous  speech,  **  My  name 
is  Nerval,"  so  dear  to  schoolboys.  To  Home  he  showed 
some  translations  (as  he  called  them)  of  ancient  Gaelic 
poetry,  and  he,  together  with  others  of  his  friends,  Blair, 
Carlyle  and  Ferguson,  men  of  mark  in  their  day,  believed 
in  him  and  encouraged  him  to  proceed  in  working  this 
ancient  literary  gold  mine.  Nothing  loath,  he  next  year 
published  a  small  volume  of  60  pages,  which  he  called 
'*  Fragments  of  ancient  poetry,  translated  from  the  Gaelic 
or  Erse  language."  This  attracted  so  much  attention  that 
a  subscription  was  raised  to  enable  M'Pherson  to  travel  in 
the  Highlands  for  the  pm*pose  of  collecting  similar  tradi- 
tional poems.  After  two  years  (1762)  appeared  f*  Fingal, 
an  ancient  Epic  poem  in  six  books,"  and  in  the  following 
year  another,  **Fenora,  in  eight  books."  The  sale  was 
immense.  The  explanation  given  of  this  find  was  thia 
**  In  the  tliird  and  fourth  centuries  in  the  remote  Highlands 
were  a  people  of  high  and  chivalrous  feelings,  of  refined 
valour,  generosity,  magnaminity  and  virtue.  Their  poems 
were  handed  down  by  tradition  through  centuries  among 
rude,  savage  and  barbarous  tribes."  Ossian  was  the  Homer 
of  this  new  Odyssey,  and  Fingal  was  the  Hero,  and 
M'Pherson  realized  twelve  hundred  pounds ;  so  there  was 
at  any  rate  something  sterling  in  the  matter. 

And  now  uprose  a  fierce  controversy  about  the  authen- 


502  Three  Literary  Masqueraders. 

ticity  of  these  lengthy  poems ;  high  words  and  not  over 
courteous;  were  used  on  both  sides,  and  MTherson— in 
order,  we  may  suppose,  to  prove  himself  a  good  translator, 
•  which  you  know  was  all  he  claimed  to  be — tried  his  hand 
at  a  version  of  Homer's  lUad ;  but  this  proved  just  the 
contrary  to  what  it  was  intended  td  do :  for  it  was  such  a 
miserable  failure  that  it  covered  him  with  ridicule,  and 
drove  him  quite  out  of  the  flowery  meads  of  song  into  the 
briary  ways  of  politics  and  parliamentary  agency,  from 
which,  after  sixteen  years  of  not  unprofitable  toil — for  he 
always  had  a  careful  eye  to  the  main  chance — ^he  retired 
to  the  land  and  parish  of  his  birth,  where  he  built  himself 
a  fine  house  at  Raitts  (which  h©  euphonized  into  Belleville) ; 
and  dying  in  1796,  was  buried  at  his  own  request,  and  at 
his  own  expense,  in  Westminster  Abbey — which  seems  not 
to  have  been  so  select  in  those  days — and  left  three  hundred 
pounds  for  a  monument  to  himself! 

It  is  but  fair  to  the  memory  of  M'Pherson,  in  the  literary 
monument  we  are  here  erecting,  to  say  that  Dr.  Blair 
thought  well  of  his  work. 

Regarding  him  as  a  translator  of  Ossian,  he  says  his 
translation  is  **  elegant  and  masterly:"  and  Sir  W.  Scott 
says,  looking  altogether  from  another  point  of  view,  and 
from  quite  the  other  side  of  the  controversy,  "M'PherBon 
in  his  way  was  certainly  a  man  of  high  talents,  and  his 
poetic  powers  were  as  honourable  to  his  country  as  the  use 
which  he  made  of  them,  and  1  fear  his  personal  character 
in  other  respects  were  a  discredit  to  it." 

But  what  of  the  controverted  question  ?  Looking  at 
it  from  this  distance  of  time,  when  120  years  have  passed,  it 
seems  probable  enough  that  M'Pherson  picked  up  numerons 
fragments  of  ancient  poetry — such  as  exist  among  all 
people — that  he  acquired  thus  much  of  the  spirit  of  the 
ancient  times,  that  he  was  not  content  to  string  altogether 
these  disjecta  membra,  but  set  himself  to  weave  them  into 
long  epics ;  supplying  names  and  localities,  and  spinning 
out  what  matter  he  had  by  those  long  and  wearisome 
repetitions  with  which  the  poems  abound.  Had  M'Pherson 
been  content  to  give  such  an  account  as  this  of  his  work, 
he  would  have  gained  credit  for  what  be  had  done,  and  done 
so  well.  But  he  was  not  content.  He  was  sent  to  travd 
in  search  of  original  manuscripts  which  he  asserted  existed, 
and  which  he  now  said  he  had  found,  translated  and  t^ 
possessed,  and  thus  he  laid  himself  open  to  the  attack 
which  Dr.  Johnson  made  upon  him,  and  which  utterly 
routed  him  in  the  opinion  of  every  impartial  critic. 


Three  Literary  Masquer aders,  503 

With  this  final  episode  I  shall  conclude  what  I  have  to 
say  of  the  author  of  Ossian's  poems.  Everybody  I  suppose 
knows  something  of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  author  of  our 
best  English  Dictionaiy,  and  the  greatest  and  surely  the 
most  ponderous  critic  of  the  last  centuiy.  His  life,  by 
Boswell,  is  certainly  the  best  biography  in  the  English 
language,  for  it  puts  the  man  before  us  in  the  clearest 
li^t,  revealing  his  littleness  as  well  as  his  greatness,  so 
that  when  we  lay  aside  the  book,  we  know  Dr.  Johnson  as 
few  men  are  known  by  what  others  tell  us  of  them.  I  will 
give  you  two  letters  of  his  upon  M*Pherson,  which  are 
highly  characteristic  of  the  great  critic,  characteristic  alike 
of  nis  critical  acumen,  of  his  honest  straightforwardness,  of 
bis  undaunted  courage,  and  not  a  little,  also,  of  his 
dogmatic  style. 

Mr.  James  Boswell,  the  biographer  of  Dr.  Johnson,  was 
a  Scotch  gentleman,  and  as  the  great  lexicographer  hated 
and  despised  all  Scotchmen,  we  may  imagine  what  Boswell 
suflfered  at  his  hands  for  the  sins,  both  real  and  imaginary, 
of  his  nation.  But  being  resolved  upon  writing  the  life,  he 
endiu'ed  a  kind  of  martyrdom  in  accumulating  his  materials 
from  the  loud  mouth  and  strong  pen  of  his  idol.  The 
opening  of  the  first  letter  I  am  about  to  quote  will  illus- 
trate this,  and  the  gentle  way  in  which  Boswell  submits. 
It  is  in  answer  to  some  inquiries  which  the  latter  made  of 
Johnson  respecting  rumours  which  had  reached  him  upon 
this  famous  controversy  and  his  opinion  thereon,  and  it 
opens  thus  pleasantly  for  Boswell. 

*'  I  am  surprised  that,  knowing  as  you  do  the  disposi- 
tion of  your  coimtrymen  to  tell  lies  in  favour  of  each  other," 
— to  which  Boswell  is  content  to  append  this  mild  and 
modest  note  ("  My  friend  has  relied  upon  my  testimony 
with  a  confidence,  the  ground  of  whicn  has  escaped  my 
recollection") — "  you  can  be  at  all  affected  by  any  reports 
that  circulate  among  them.  M*Pherson  never  in  his  life 
offered  me  a  sight  of  any  original  or  of  any  evidence  of  any 
kind.  The  state  of  the  question  is  this.  He  and  Dr.  Blair, 
whom  I  consider  as  deceived,  say  that  hecopied  the  poems 
from  old  manuscripts.  His  copies^  if  he  had  them,  and 
1  believe  him  to  have  none,  are  nothing.  Where  are  the 
manuscripts?  They  can  be  shown  if  they  exist;  but  they 
were  never  shown.  No  man  has  a  claim  to  credit  upon 
his  own  word,  where  better  evidence,  if  he  had  it,  may  be 
easily  produced.  But,  as  far  as  we  can  find,  the  Erse 
language  was  never  written  till  very  lately,  for  the  purposes 


504  Three  Literary  ilasqueraders* 

of  religion,   ,A  nation  that  cannot  write,  or  a  language 
that  was  never  written,  has  no  manuscripts." 

Once  more :  it  seems  that  M'Pherson  wrote  a  rude  letter 
to  Dr.  Johnson,  which  Boswell  never  saw.  But  the  answer 
appeared  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  a  copy  of  which  is  now 
in  the  Library  of  the  British  Museum,  authenticated  by 
Johnson  himself  thus :  "  this  1  think  is  a  true  copy."  And 
here  is  the  letter — 

"  Mr.  James  M'Pherson — I  received  your  foolish  and  impudent 
letter.  Any  violence  offered  me  I  shall  do  my  best  to  repel ;  and 
what  I  cannot  do  for  myself,  the  law  shall  do  for  me,  I  hope 
I  shall  not  be  deterred  from  detecting  what  I  think  a  cheat  by  the 
menaces  of  a  ruffian.  What  woidd  you  have  me  retract  ?  I  thought 
your  book  an  imposture  ;  I  think  it  an  imposture  still.  For  this 
opinion  I  have  given  my  reasons  to  the  public,  which  I  here  dare 
you  to  refute.  Your  rage  I  defy.  Your  abilities,  since  your 
Homer,  are  not  so  formidable,  and  what  I  hear  of  your  morals 
inclines  me  to  pay  regard  not  to  what  you  shall  say,  but  to  what 
you  shall  prove. 

"  You  may  print  this  if  you  will.  "  Sam.  Johnson." 

So  I  think  we  may  dismiss  James  M'Pherson  with  this 
parting  kick  from  the  great  lexicographer. 

The  next  of  our  three  masqueraderg  is  a  very  diflFerent 
person  from  M'Pherson.  As  unlike  him  in  his  mind  a«  in 
his  career;  the  one  died  young,  brokenhearted,  and  in 
abject  poverty,  while  the  other  feathered  his  nest  for  a 
comfortable  middle  life ;  Chatterton  found  a  pauper's  grave, 
while  M*Pherson  had  at  his  own  expense  a  monument  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  They  had  indeed  but  one  thing  in 
common  which  brings  them  together  in  our  paper,  and 
that  is  the  masquerading  freak  of  publishing  as  the  works 
of  others  the  productions  of  their  own  brains,  otherwise  no 
two  men  could  well  be  more  unlike. 

Of  Thomas  Chatterton  Dr.  Gregory  said,  "He  must  rank 
as  an  universal  genius,  above  Dryden  and  perhaps  only 
second  to  Shakespeare."  Malone  calls  him  "  the  greatest 
genius  England  has  produced  since  the  days  of  Shakes- 
peare." Vicesimus  Knox  says,  "  Chatterton's  was  a  genius 
like  that  of  Homer  and  Shakespeare,  which  appears  not 
about  once  in  many  centuries." 

This  concurrent  testimony  is  very  striking ;  all  three 
critic8,perfectly  independent  of  one  another, find Chattertoa'a 
parallel  only  in  Shakespeare,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  greatest 
mind  England  ever  produced.     Our  old  friend  Dr.  Johnson 


Three  Literary  Afasqueraders,  505 

ttims  up  once  more,  and  being  evidently  puzzled  with 
young  Chatterton,  says,  in  his  own  peculiar,  rough,  though 
not  unkind  manner,  "  this  is  the  most  extraordinary  young 
man  that  has  encountered  my  knowledge.  It  is  wonderful 
how  this  whelp  haa  written  such  things." 

Wonderful  indeed,  as  you  yourselves  may  judge,  when 
I  quote  a  couple  of  stanzas  he  wrote  when  only  eleven 
years  old. 

"  A  humble  form  the  Godhead  wore, 
The  pedns  of  poverty  He  bore, 
To  gaudy  pomp  unknown ; 
Though  in  a  human  walk  He  trod, 
Still  was  the  man,  Almighty  God, 
In  glory  all  His  own. 
Despised,  oppress'd,  the  Godhead  bears 
The  torments  of  this  vale, of  tears, 
Nor  bids  His  vengeance  rise ; 
He  saw  the  creatures  He  had  made 
Revile  His  power.  His  peace  invade 
He  saw  with  mercy's  eyes." 

That  is  what  he  wrote  at  eleven ,  and  then  he  died  in 
despair  and  starvation  before  he  was  eighteen.  Such  was 
the  brief  career  of  the  boy  who  had  shown  himself  to  be 
superior  to  Dryden,  and  to  take  rank  with  Homer  and 
Shakespeare  I 

Let  us  see  what  was  the  literary  life  that  was  crowded 
into  this  little  span  of  barely  seven  years. 

Thomas  Chatterton  was  born  at  Bristol  in  1752 ;  his 
father  wa«  dead,  and  so  he  was  sent  to  a  charity  school. 
Books  were  not  so  common  in  those  davs  as  now,  and  the 
child  learned  his  ftst  lessons  out  of  a  black-letter  Bible ; 
whose  quaint  old-English  letters,  which  are  puzzling  enough 
to  grown  up  men,  doubtless  had  their  influence  upon  his 
imagination,  and  gave  him  a  taste  for  antique  forms,  for 
obviously  his  mind  and  fancy  were  morbidly  precocious, 
and  made  him  a  thoughtful  and  imaginative  poet  from  his 
earliest  years. 

Another  account  says  that  he  was  sent  by  his  mother 
when  he  was  only  five  years  old  to  the  person  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father  in  the  charge  of  a  school,  and  was  soon 
sent  back  again,  as  being  *^  a  dull  boy  and  incapable  of 
farther  instruction."  So  his  mother  kept  him  at  home, 
where,  at  six,  he  learned  his  letters  from  the  illuminated 
capitals  of  an  old  French  manuscript,  with  which,  as  she 
said,  he  **  fell  in  love,"  and  then  his  progress  was  as  rapid 
as  it  was  previously  slow. 


506  Three  Literary  Masqueraders. 

The  child's  mind  was  opened,  I  may  say,  with  this 
antique  key,  and  his  imagination  brought  to  light  from  its 
hidden  recesses.  Then  he  went  to  Colston's  school,  the 
chief  and  most  renowned  in  Bristol. 

At  fourteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  an  attorney,  which 
was  not  so  uncongenial  a  soil  for  Chatterton  to  be  planted 
in  as  we  might  first  suppose.  Ancient  documents  came  in 
his  way,  and,  seemingly,  he  had  plenty  of  leisure  for  his 
favorite  pursuits,  antiquities,  heraldry,  and  of  course  poetiy. 

His  ruling  passion  is  ambition,  "  unconquerable  pride," 
he  calls  it.  And  now  at  once  his  great  work  is  begun: 
what  is  it  I  A  whole  series  of  literary  impostures— if  so 
we  are  to  call  them — which  he  veils  under  the  pretended 
discovery  of  old  manuscripts. 

We  are  amazed  at  the  extent  and  variety  of  the«e 
productions.  He  has  them  ready  for  all  occasions,  or  we 
should  rather  say,  the  occasions  suggest  them  and  they 
are  quickly  produced.  When  he  is  scarcely  sixteen  years 
old,  the  new  bridge  is  finished  at  Bristol;  whereupon 
Chatterton  sends  to  the  newspapers  a  pretended  account  of 
the  opening  of  the  old  bridge,  with  a  letter  saying:  "the 
descnption  of  the  Friars  first  passing  over  the  old  bridge 
was  taken  from  an  ancient  MS."  Again,  he  has  a  friend 
who  prides  himself  upon  the  antiquity  of  his  family ;  to  him 
Chatterton  sends  a  pedigree  from  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  For  another  person  he  produces  a  poem  **  the 
Romaunt  of  the  Cnyghte,"  professedly  written  by  an 
ancestor  450  years  before.  To  a  citizen  who  has  a  love  for 
sermons  he  transmits  "  a  fragment  of  a  sermon,  on  the 
Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  written  by  Thomas  Rowley, 
a  monk  of  the  15th  century."  While  to  another  citizen  he 
sends  a  still  more  clever  production,  which  is  nothing  less 
than  an  account  of  all  the  Churches  in  Bristol,  as  they 
appeared  three  hundred  years  before;  illustrated  with 
drawings,  and  a  description  of  the  Castle,  all  from  the 
writings  of  this  pretended  Friar  Rowley. 

Then  he  flies  at  higher  game,  and  addresses  Horace 
Walpole,  the  great  letter  writer  and  art  critic  of  the  day. 
and  sends  him  an  account  of  eminent  (imaginary)  "Carvel- 
lers  and  Peyneters  "  who  once  flourished  at  Bristol,  as  a 
contribution  to  the  celebrated  History  of  British  Painters 
upon  which  Horace  is  then  busily  employed ;  but  this  doea 
not  impose  upon  the  noble  author,  who  at  least  neglects  to 
use  it  in  his  History, 

What  wonderful  fertility  is  there  in  this  young  active 


Three  Literary  Masqueraders,  507 

mind;  what  a  variety  of  subjects  he  grawps;  and  how 
completely  is  he  at  home  in  the  early  literature  he  imitates. 
His  mind  is  indeed  the  antique  chest  which  he  ransacks  for 
all  kinds  of  ancient  lore.  We  naturally  ask,  what  kind  of 
life  does  he  lead,  that  thus  he  accumulates  such  miscel- 
laneous materials.  We  might  naturally  enough  imagine 
him  to  be  what  we  call  a  hard  student,  poring  over  ancient 
documents,  and  with  great  patience  and  wearisome  perse- 
verance burning  the  midnight  oil  in  his  lone  chamber. 
Perhaps  there  is  something  of  this,  as  there  must  needs  be, 
to  put  into  shape  what  is  to  puzzle  and  surprize  the  world. 
But  the  source  of  his  inspiration  is  elsewhere.  The  mind 
was  fed  not  so  much  by  what  he  read  in  others  as  by  what 
he  elaborated  out  of  his  own  imagination  and  fancy.  His 
midnight  lamp  was  the  flame  of  genius  that  burned  within, 
and  on  that  he  pondered  in  silent  reverie ;  and  of  course 
people  pronounced  him  to  be  eccentric,  as  indeed  he  was ; 
for  the  circle  in  which  he  moved  had  a  centre  which  men 
could  not  see ;  and  he  was,  by  the  very  nature  of  his  mental 
and  perhaps  also  of  his  physical  constitution — for  these  two 
play  upon  and  into  one  another  much  more  than  we  are 
apt  to  think — **  a  soul  apart "  from  others,  and  a  mystery 
to  them  and  as  surely  to  himself.  So  we  must  not  be 
surprized  when  we  hear  that  he  wrote  by  moonlight,  as 
believing  in  its  influence  upon  him. 

Supremely  absurd  would  this  be  with  ordinary  men  and 
small  poets  ;  but  Chatterton's  was  no  ordinary  mind,  and 
subject,  we  may  well  imagine,  to  what  the  poet  calls 
"skyey  influences.'*  He  sketched  Churches  on  Sunday 
instead  of  praying  in  them.  No  very  commendable  action 
in  itself,  it  is  true ;  but  when  we  remember  that  the  poor 
boy's  heart  was  in  the  Ages  of  Faith,  that  the  ancient 
religion  was  in  mystical  shadow  upon  his  soul,  and  that  he 
contemplated  it  as  we  do  heavenly  things,  "  as  through  a 
glass,  darkly,"  we  can  scarcely  wonder  at  his  finding  no 
spiritual  attraction,  because  no  heavenly  nurture,  in  the 
services  to  which  the  old  Catholic  Churches  were  now 
dedicated.  He  did  not  turn  away  from  them,  but  he  prayed 
in  diflerent  fashion  ;  for  we  are  told  he  would  "  lie  down  in 
the  meadows,  in  view  of  that  grand  old  church,  St.  Mary's 
Kedchfi*,  fix  his  eyes  upon  it,  and  seem  as  if  he  were  in  a 
kind  of  trance."  What  saw  he  in  that  inner  vision  ?  What 
rose  before  his  mind's  eye  as  he  gazed  with  bodily  sight 
upon  that  venerable  temple  of  God  ? 

Surely  he  re-peopled  with  men  of  old  those  ancient 


508  Three  Literary  Masqiteraders. 

cloisters,  and  watched  the  noble  processions  and  glorious 
rites  which  in  their  grandeur  and  sublimity  were  in  fullest 
harmony  with  the  architectural  glories  which  once  en- 
shrined them.  But  what,  alas  I  were  they  to  him  but 
beautiful  visions ;  and  in  his  unhappy  condition,  almost 
unreal  mockeries,  which  told  him  of  what  had  once  been, 
but  which  were  now  for  him,  in  that  period  of  spiritual 
desolation  in  England,  as  things  past  and  gone,  lost  to  him 
for  ever.  Need  we  wonder  that  they  filled  his  imagination 
only,  and  eat  away  his  young  life  and  heart  in  vain  yearn- 
ings after  what  seemed  to  be  the  impossible?  For  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  he  was  no  mere  dreamer,  who 
made  day  dreams  an  excuse  for  idleness  and  the  neglect 
of  moral  laws.  "  He  was  earnest  and  orderly  in  his  life," 
we  are  told,  but  already,  thus  early — before  16 — "  hie  faith 
had  gone.*'  Poor  child!  he  had  not  the  true  church  to 
sustain  him,  and  what  was  offered  to  him  in  its  place  could 
not  satisfy  his  souL  He  had  grown  out  of  that,  fallen  from 
it,  if  you  will ;  and  so  it  was  into  the  gulf  of  despair  that  he 
sank ;  for  the  church  was  not  at  hand  to  save  him.  He 
became  a  sceptic,  and  thought  suicide  a  noble  refuge  for 
disappointment. 

The  world  was  full  of  such  paganism  in  those  days : 
so  Chatterton  only  followed  where  many  men  of  intellec- 
tual renown  were  leading.  But  thus  far  he  was  only 
theorizing;  feeding  his  mind,  it  is  true,  with  poieonous 
thoughts,  but  his  mental  vigour  was  as  yet  powerful  against 
the  bane.  Ambition  and  indomitable  resolution  kept  him 
up,  and  in  these  he  had  great,  far  too  great,  confidence. 
His  beUef  was  real  enough  in  thi%  that  "  man  is  equal  to 
anything ;  and  that  anything  might  be  achieved  by  dili- 
gence and  abstinence." 

Of  course  this  is  an  exaggeration,  due  to  overweening 
self-confidence;  but  a  great  truth  underlies  it.  Obviously, 
hero  are  the  elements  out  of  which  great  men  and  holy 
men  are  made ;  bnt  other  ingredients  are  wanting,  and 
these  by  themselves  are  worse  than  useless,  they  are  soul 
destroying.  But  they  are  interesting  at  least  in  this,  that 
they  show  us  what  the  poor  boy  had  in  him,  and  out  of 
which  so  much  that  was  wonderful  and  beautiful  came. 
We  may  not  commend,  but  at  least  we  need  not  judge 
harshly,  one  who  was  in  so  widely  a  different  position  from 
ourselves  in  reUgion.  But  enough  of  these  speculations ; 
it  is  time  to  say  something  about  the  manuscripts. 

How  came  they  into  his  possession  t     This  is  his  stoiy. 


Three  Literary  Masqueraders.  509 

He  fotiiid  tiiem,  he  said,  in  his  mothert  house.  ^*  In  the 
muniment  room  of  St.  Mary's,  Redcliffe,  several  chests  had 
been  anciently  deposited,  among  which  was  one  called  the 
*  Coffire '  of  Mr.  Canynge,  an  ancient  merchant  of  Bristol,  who 
had  rebuilt  the  church  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  About 
the  year  1727  the  chests  were  broken  open,  some  ancient 
deeds  were  taken  out,  and  the  rest  of  the  manuscripts  left 
exposed  as  useless."  His  father,  nephew  to  the  sexton, 
carried  oflF  a  number  of  parchments  to  cover  the  books  used 
m  his  schooL  Chatterton  pretended  that  he  found  his 
mannscripts  among  what  remained,  and  these  included 
writings  oy  Canynge  and  his  friend  Friar  Rowley.  The 
interesting  character  of  these  papers  naturally  attracted 
attention,  and  Chatterton  was  pressed  to  show  the  original 
manuscripts,  and,  unlike  M'rherson,  he  answered  the 
challenge  and  produced  what  he  called  the  originals. 

We  may  easily  imagine  the  int^est  they  created,  for 

they  had  all  the  appearance  of  great  antiquity.    Then  the 

question  arose  and  was  warmly  disputed,  were  they  real 

or  spurious  ?   had  he  found  them  as  he  said,  or  had  he 

forged  them  t     It  is  now  allowed  that  the  writings,  and  all 

their  mari^  of  time  and  age,  were  the  work  of  his  own 

r   hwids.    The  parchments  covered  with  antique  writing,  had 

1  been  ^  rubbed  with  ochre,  stamped  on,  blackened  in  the 

P  chimney  and  by  the  flames  of  a  candle,"  so  says  one  of  his 

I  biogn^hera     These,  then,  were  the  productions  to  which 

j  he  owed  his  first  renown,  and  these  bring  him  among  our 

I  masqueraders.    But  these,   clever  as  they  undoubtedly 

;  Were,  were  not  the  real  employment  of  his  life,  even  at  this 

\  early  period  of  that  brief  but  crowded  existence.     Besides 

his  office-duties  and  these  strange  recreations,  his  studies 

embraced  a  wide  range  of  subjecte.    Heraldry,  English  anti-* 

^ties,  metaphysics,  mathematics,  astronomy,  music  and 

physic,  by  turns  occupied  his  attention,  though  the  two 

niBt  were  his  favourite  studies.     "  The  Town  and  Country 

l[aga2dne''  of  that  date  contained  most  of  his  essays  in 

pose  and  verse.     He  grew  discontented  with  Bristol ; 

wmbtless  his  overworked  mind  and  body  preyed  upon  one 

ttiother  and  reduced  his  physical  man  until  he  became,  as 

*^  firiend  said, "  Uke  a  spirit."    His  master  heard  of  his 

dal  theories,  and  was  doubtless  glad  to  get  rid  of  so  extra- 

inary  an  apprentice,  and  he  resolved  to  go  to  London 

'  try  his  fortune  there,  like  many  an  aspiring  boy  before 


510  Three  Literary  Masgueroders. 

sellers,  for  his  reputation  had  preceded  him ;  but  he  had 
what  doubtless  he  considered  a  more  matured  plan,  with, 
as  we  should  say,  "  more  than  one  string  to  his  bow." 
Here  is  what  he  says,  and  very  characteristic  you  will  see 
it  to  be,  not  only  of  his  energy,  but  of  his  strange  views  or 
notions.  "  My  first  attempt  shall  be  in  the  hterary  way, 
the  promises  1  have  received  are  suflScient  to  dispel  doubt; 
but  should  1,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  find  myself 
deceived,  I  will  in  that  case  turn  Methodist  preacher. 
CreduUty  is  as  potent  a  Deity  as  ever,  and  a  new  sect  may 
easily  be  devised.  But  if  that  too  should  fail  me,  my  la^ 
and  final  resource  is  a  pistol." 

All  promised  well.  His  first  letters  to  his  mother 
and  sister  are  full  of  hope.  "I  am  settled,  and  in 
such  a  settlement  as  1  can  desire.  What  a  glorious  pr(»- 
pect."  His  satirical  spirit  found  genial  occupation  in  party- 
writing  ;  and  indeed  he  wrote  on  both  sides  of  the  public 
questions  of  the  day.  Any  kind  of  writing  seemed  to  suit 
him,  from  sermons  down  to  dramatic  sketches,  and  under 
the  momentary  excitement  he  boasted  that  "he  would 
settle  the  nation  before  he  had  done,"  feeling  himself  equal 
to  anything,  and  of  course  bearing  in  mind  his  old  axiom, 
"  anything  might  be  done  by  diligence  and  abstinence,'* 
only  he  forgot  the  latter  qualification,  at  least  in  practice. 
He  was  the  lion  of  the  season,  and  as  such  courted  bv 
fashion,  and  like  such  animals,  went  out  with  the  season  to 
give  place  to  some  other  novelty.  He  turned  to  the 
magazines  for  his  daily  bread,  and  soon  they  failed  him ; 
he  tried  for  the  poor  place  of  surgeon's  mate  in  a  vessel 
bound  for  Africa,  and  failed  again. 

Would  that  he  had  borne  in  mind  his  own  beautiful 
lines  on  Resignation,  and  especially  these : 

"O  teach  me  in. the  trying  hour 
When  anguish  swells  the  dewy  tear, 
To  still  my  sorrow,  own  Thy  power, 
Thy  goodness  love,  Thy  justice  fear." 

But  the  disappointment  was  overwhelming.  It  was  too 
much  for  the  poor,  heart-wearied  boy,  whose  over-worked 
intellect  had  failed  him  even  as  a  literary  drudge.  All  was 
given  up :  hope,  ambition,  the  promptings  of  a  mighty 
intellect,  love — ^no,  there  I  wrong  him. 

Love  remained  and  showed  itself  in  the  remittances  h© 
sent  to  his  mother  and  sister  while  anything  remained  to  be 
sent ;  and  then  ^he  fled  to  that  terrible  refage  of  orer- 


Three  Literary  Masqueraders',  511 

wrought  minds  and  desponding  hearts ;  he  had  no  practical 
religion  to  sustain  him — ^he  took  to  drink,  with  the  usual 
alternation  of  remorse  and  intemperance — and  then  came 
absolute  want — starvation  ;  too  proud  to  accept  the  food 
his  kind-hearted  landlady  offered  him,  he  tore  up  his 
papers — he  had  no  more  to  do  with  life — and  poisoned 
himself  ere  he  was  eighteen. 

They  buried  him  as  a  pauper  in  the  workhouse  ground, 
and  then,  when  all  was  over,  of  course  they  erected  a 
monument  to  his  memory  at  Bristol,  which  he  had  so 
glorified. 

"  No  English  poet,"  says  Campbell,  himself  no  mean 
poet  and  critic,  "  no  English  poet  ever  equalled  him  at  the 
same  age,"  and  surely  you  will  agree  with  me  when  I  add 
no  poet  was  ever  so  hardly  and  cruelly  dealt  with. 

Another  and  more  recent  poet  has  wrought  into  an 
exquisite  sonnet  his  picture  of  Chatterton  with  which  I  will 
close  my  notice  of  him.  Dante  Gabriel  Rosetti,  who  could 
paint  with  pen  as  well  as  with  pencil,  and  win  renown  in 
both,  thus  writes  with  thoughtful  eloquence  in  lines  which 
need  and  deserve  to  be  pondered  over,  that  their  full 
significance  may  be  grasped. 

"  With  Shakespeare's  manhood  at  a  boy's  wild  heart — 
Through  Hamlet's  doubt  to  Shakespeare  near  allied, 
And  kin  to  Milton  through  his  Satan's  pride — 
At  Death's  sole  door  he  stooped,  and  craved  a  dart ; 
And  to  the  dear  new  bower  of  England's  art — 
Even  to  that  shrine  Time  else  had  dei6ed, 
The  unuttered  heart  that  soared  against  his  side — 
Drove  the  fell  point,  and  smote  life's  seals  apart. 
Thy  nested  home-loves,  noble  Chatterton : 
The  angel-trodden  stair  thy  soul  could  trace 
Up  Redcliffe's  spire ;  and  in  the  world's  arm'd  space 
Thy  gallant  sword-play ;  these  to  many  a  one 
Are  sweet  for  ever ;  as  thy  grave  unknown 
And  love-dream  of  thy  unrecorded  face.'' 

But  it  is  time  for  me  to  come  to  our  third  masquerader, 
Samuel  William  Henry  Ireland,  who  in  a  literary  point  of 
view  ranks  low  indeed,  and  deserves  hardly  to  be  mentioned 
with  M'Pherson,  and  of  course  is  nowhere  in  comparison 
with  Chatterton.  But  what  he  wanted  in  eenius  he  made 
up  for  in  audacity ;  for  while  the  one  aimed  only  at  giving 
form  and  substance  to  a  poetic  myth,  and  the  other  was 
content  to  father  his  productions  upon  an  unknown 
mediaeval  monk,  Ireland  attempted  to  write  a  play  for 


512  Three  Literary  Masqueradere, 

Shakespeare,  and  to  pass  oflF  his  miserable  production  as 
a  work  of  the  sweet  Swan  of  Avon. 

I  cannot  bring  myself  to  say  that  there  was  anything 
in  common  between  Ireland  and  Chatterton ;  I  woula 
rather  say  the  career  of  the  former  was  a  kind  of  burlesque 
of  that  of  the  latter.  It  may  be  that  he  had  it  in  mind, 
for  he  played  his  strange  part  some  five  and  twenty  years 
after  poor  Chatterton's  death,  and  while  his  history  was 
yet  in  the  public  mind. 

Like  Chatterton  he  was  a  limb  of  the  law,  and  like  him 

{)roduced  some  of  his  manuscripts,  but  for  most  of  his 
orgeries  he  had  no  more  to  show  than  M'Pherson. 

Ireland  received  a  good  education,  partly  at  home  and 
partly  in  France.  His  father  was  a  man  of  some  mark  in 
his  day,  and  has  left  works  behind  him  which  have  their 
value  as  records  of  things  now  lost  and  gone,  if  not  ^ 
works  of  art.  He  was  originally  a  mechanic  in  Spitalfields, 
then  became  a  dealer  in  curiosities  and  antiquities :  could 
draw  fairly,  and  teaching  himself  to  engrave,  published  his 
travels  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  illustrated  them  with 
his  own  aquatint  engravings.  His  wanderings,  with  this 
end  in  view,  brought  him  to  Stratford-upon-Avon,  and 
there  his  son,  our  third  masquerader,  who  accompanied 
him,  in  order,  as  he  afterwards  said,  to  delight  his  fatl)ier 
who  had  an  ardent  devotion  to  Shakespeare,  invented  a 
lease^  bearing  the  signature  of  the  great  dramatist,  and 
presented  it  to  his  father  as  a  rare  document  and  a  most 
interesting  relic.  Bare  indeed  and  almost  priceless  would 
such  a  signature  be  now  considered,  and  no  wonder  the 
elder  Ireland  urged  his  son  to  search  among  the  old 
papers  which  he  said  he  had  Ughted  upon,  for  other  docu- 
ments in  that  mighty  hand. 

A  century  has  well  nigh  passed  since  that  time,  and  the 
search  for  real  Shakespeare  documents  has  but  grown  the 
keener :  though  it  has  met  with  no  proportional  reward. 

It  is  a  puzzle  to  scholars,  and,  with  the  single  exception 
of  Moliere,  perhaps  unparalleled,  that  beyond  four  signa- 
tures, two  of  which  are  on  his  will,  and  the  other  two  on 
legal  documents,  not  a  single  line  is  known  to  be  in 
existence  of  all  that  Shakespeare  wrote ;  not  a  fragment 
of  a  play,  not  a  letter  to  a  friend,  not  a  single  worn  has 
ever  been  found  of  all  that  his  prolific  pen  produced.  All 
is  lost,  and  is  as  though  it  had  never  been — and  this  afi^ 
a  search  of  unexampled  diligence  and  perseverance.  Men 
have  devoted  their  lives  and  fortunes — ^witness  my  old 


Three  Literari/  Masqueradere*  513 

college  friend,  Halliwell  PhiUipps,  who  has  personally 
ransacked  every  aceesedble  known  collection  of  legal  and 
family  papers  which  seemed  likely  to  be  of  use,  and  who 
has  read  and  published  long  and  wearisome  documents 
which  bear  however  remotely  upon  Shakespeare,  and  who 
has  paid  fabulous  prices  for  them — ^yet  the  outcome  is  next 
to  nothing.  Where  are  the  Shakespeare  MSS.  t  Where 
are  his  family  papers  and  letters?  and  echo  answers^ 
Where? 

For  myself  I  have  a  kind  of  belief,  not  merely  a  vague 
hope,  that  they  are  still  in  existence  and  possibly  concealed 
behind  the  wainscot  of  a  certain  mansion  in  Northampton-* 
shire.  Would  that  the  noble  owner  of  Abingdon  would 
make  or  permit  the  search.  There  Shakespeare's  only 
granddaughter  and  last  lineal  descendant  lived  with  her 
second  husband,  and  there,  as  we  have  on  record,  she 
left  what  she  inherited  to  her  husband,  Sir  John  Bernard, 
and  among  the  rest  ^^all  the  books  in  the  study''  in  1670* 
That  study  is  still  there,  untouched,  as  she  left  it ;  and 
behind  its  quaint  wainscotting  I  see  in  my  mind's  eye  in 
some  well  hidden  recess,  those  long  sought  manuscripts, 
whose  loss  the  whole  literary  world  deplores, — but  1  am 
wandering  from  my  subject  which  is  not  Shakespeare  but 
I];^nd,  strange  and  absurd  as  it  may  seem  to  oring  the 
two  names  together,  I  must  crave  pardon  for  this  di- 
gression, but  the  truth  is  that  Shakespeare's  name  is  a 
magnet  that  is  very  apt  to  draw  me  out  of  my  coursa 
The  younger  Ireland  having  pleased  his  father  with  this 
lease  bearing  apparently  the  signature  of  the  great  poet, 
failed  not  to  produce  from  his  stc»:e  other  still  more 
interesting  documents.  Indeed  the  forgeries  were  soon  so 
numerous  that  the  father  brought  them  out  in  a  volume 
which  he  called  *'  Miscellaneous  papers  and  legal  instruments 
under  the  hand  and  seal  of  William  Shakespeare,  including 
the  Tragedy  of  King  Lear,  and  a  small  fragment  of  Hamlet, 
from  the  original  MSS.  in  the  possession  of  Samuel  Ireland, 
of  Norfolk-street,  London,  1796." 

In  the  preface  he  says :  "He  received  these  papers  from 
his  son,  S.  W .  BL  Ireland,  a  young  man  then  under  nineteen 
years  of  age,  by  whom  the  discovery  was  made  at  the 
I       noose  of  a  gentleman  of  considerable  property,"  who  gave 


514  7  hree  Literary  Masqueraders. 

The  "  King  Lear  "  in  this  volume  differs  but  little  from 
the  ordinary  edition,  as  does  the  fragment  of  **  Hamlet ;  ^ 
but  some  of  the  pretended  papers  are  bold  and  impudent 
forgeries.  There  is  what  professes  to  be  a  letter  from 
Queen  Elizabeth  to  "  her  good  master  William,"  another 
from  thepoet  " to  dearest  Anna '*  (Hatherway  his  future 
wife).  There  are  several  deeds  and  letters,  all  and  each 
bearing  Shakespeare's  signature:  but  perhaps  the  most 
audacious  trial  of  his  father's  credulity  is  a  curiouB 
deed  of  gift  to  one  William  Henry  Ireland,  in  which  it  duly 
set  forth  how  he  saved  Shakespeare's  life,  when  a  boat 
containing  themselves  and  others  was  upset  in  the  Thames— 
the  gift  being,  besides  ten  pounds  for  a  memorial  ring, 
"  Ist,  my  written  play  of  '  Henry  IV.,*  *  Henry  V.,'  *  King 
John,'  and  '  King  Lear,'  as  also  my  written  play  never  yet 
printed  of  '  Henry  III.  of  England.' "  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  I  think,  that  Samuel  Ireland  published  the  strange 
collection  in  good  faith.  He  may  have  had  misgivings,  as 
his  course  of  action  shows,  but  if  he  did  all  he  claimed  to 
have  done,  no  stain  rests  upon  his  memory. 

See  what  he  says  in  the  preface. 

"  Mr.  Ireland  has  incessantly  laboured,  by  all  means  in 
his  power,  to  inform  himself  with  respect  to  the  validity  of 
these  interesting  papers.  Throughout  this  period  there  l^as 
not  been  an  ingenuous  character,  a  disinterested  individual 
in  the  circle  of  literature,  to  whose  critical  eye  he  has  not 
been  earnest  that  the  whole  should  be  subjected.  He  has 
courted,  he  has  even  challenged  the  critical  judgment  of 
those  who  are  best  skilled  in  the  poetry  and  phraseology 
of  the  times  in  which  Shakespeare  Uved,  as  well  as  those 
whose  profession  and  course  of  study  has  made  them  con- 
versant with  ancient  deeds,  writings,  seals  and  autographs;" 
with  more  to  the  same  effect,  and  tbe  outcome  is  that  "  as 
far  as  he  has  been  able  to  collect  the  sentiments  of  the 
several  classes  of  persons  above  referi'ed  to,  they  have 
unanimously  testified  in  favour  of  their  authenticity ;  and 
that  these  papers  can  be  no  other  than  the  production  of 
Shakespeare  himself." 

Ana  yet  in  the  end  the  son  pubUcly  acknowledges  tiiat 
they  were  all  forgeries,  the  work  of  his  own  brains  and 
hands  I 

But  besides  the  plays  and  papers  published  in  this 
volume,  there  were  greater  works  behind.  A  play, 
^  Vortigem,"  was  then  in  rehearsal  at  Drury-lane  Theatre. 
Sheridan  was  at  that  time  meager  and  had  purchased  it, 


Three  Literary  Maaqueraders*  515 

not  without  considerable  misgivingB,  it  is  said;  and 
John  Kemble  was  to  play  the  hero  "  Vortigern."  As  it  was 
not  to  be  pubhshed  before  its  production  on  the  stage,  we 
may  imagine  the  excitement  among  the  crowded  audience. 
A  new  play,  by  Shakespeare,  to  be  played  for  the  first 
time.  Every  one  then  present  felt  himself  in  the  judgment 
seat,  and  how  was  he  swayed  in  advance  ?  Doubtless  he 
went  prepared  to  applaud,  yet  with  misgivings  as  to  the 
authenticity  of  the  piece.  If  it  was  really  Shakespeare's, 
how  absurd  would  each  unfavourable  critic  appear.  He 
might  be  pardoned  for  admiring  Ireland,  but  who  would 
fail  to  laugh  to  scorn  the  hisser  at  Shakespeare? 

Surely  it  was  a  very  favom*able  audience,  and  one 
naturally  given  to  accept  the  play  for  the  motives,  among 
others,  that  I  have  suggested.  But  it  would  not  do :  it  was 
soon  seen  to  be  by  a  very  different  hand  from  that  which 
penned  ** Hamlet"  and  "Macbeth,"  and  though  it  was 
allowed  to  proceed  far  on  its  way  to  the  end,  it  fell  at 
last  under  a  single  line,  which  John  Eemble  emphasized 
with  perhaps  sinister  intention — 

**  And  now  this  solemn  mockery  is  o'er** — 

the  long  smothered  discontent  broke  forth,  and  amid  loud 
and  prolonged  signs  of  disapproval  the  curtain  fell  and 
**  Vortigem**  disappeared  for  ever.  It  was  never  published, 
and  of  course  we  hear  no  more  of  that  other  "  and  more 
interesting  historical  play  in  the  handwriting  of  Shakes- 
peare'* to  which  the  preface  alludes,  and  which  it  promises 
**  will  in  due  time  be  laid  before  the  public.'*  This  failure, 
and  the  attacks  of  Malone,  the  editor  of  Shakespeare's 

{)lay8,  and  others  questioning  the  authenticity  of  the  pub- 
ished  papers,  shook  the  faith  of  the  father,  who  on  pressing 
fais  son  for  fuller  explanation  as  to  the  source  whence  he 
had  derived  his  MS S.,  had  at  last  the  truth  revealed,  that 
the  whole  was  a  fabrication.  The  son  made  what  amends 
he  could  in  vindication  of  his  father's  ignorance  of  the  truth, 
and  published  his  confession.  He  abandoned  his  profession 
and  took  to  Uterature,  publishing  sundry  novels,  each  in 
four  volumes,  which  attracted  but  little  attention ;  indeed 
he  survived  rather  in  no  very  reputable  connection 
with  the  name  of  Shakespeare  to  my  own  time ;  for  I  have 
a  distinct  recollection  of  visiting  him  in  my  boyhood,  and 
having  a  kind  of  vague  respect  for  one  who  had  played  so 
bold  a  game,  and  who  had  for  a  time  at  least  been  the 
Lion  of  his  day. 


£16  On  ike  PronuneUxtton  of  Latuu 

1  hope  you  do  not  expect  me  to  draw  any  moral  firom 
this  queer  chapter  of  Uterary  history,  or  to  make  any 
reflections  more  or  less  profound  on  the  characters  of  m^ 
three  literary  masqueraders.  If  1  fciy  that  imposture  is 
never  successful,  and  illustrate  it  by  Qiatterton  and  Ireland, 
you  may  retort  with  M'Pherson  and  his  monument  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  If  I  maintain  that  writers  who  resort 
to  such  contrivances  to  bring  themselves  before  the  public, 
are  intellectually  weak  and  incapable  of  working  succesB- 
fully  in  their  own  names,  you  can  retort  Chatterton  to  my 
instances  of  M'Pherson  and  Ireland. 

So  you  see  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides,  which 
suggests  that  it  will  be  as  well  to  follow  the  example  of 
most  readers  of  edifying  and  disedifying  stories — get  what 
amusement  you  can  out  of  the  book  and  leave  the  moral  to 
take  care  of  itself. 

Heney  Bedford. 


ON  THE  PRONUNCIATION  OF  LATIN.— No.  IL 

THE  professors  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford  issued  their 
"  Syllabus,"  with  the  following  introduction : — 

"  The  head-masters  of  schools,  at  their  conference,  held  in  1871, 
declared  the  system  of  Latin  pronunciation  prevalent  in  England  to 
be  unsatisfactory,  and  agreed  to  ask  the  Latin  professors  of  Oxfoid 
and  Cambridge  '  to  draw  up  and  issue  a  joint  paper  to  secure 
uniformity  in  any  change  contemplated.'  This  request  they 
repeated  at  their  meeting  of  1872.  As  we  are  ourselves  agreed  in 
all  essential  points,  and  find  that  there  is  a  considerable  body  of 
opinion  in  the  universities  and  elsewhere  in  harmony  with  oar 
views,  we  beg  to  offer  the  following  brief  suggestions  : — 

"  If  it  were  thought  advisable  to  adopt  any  existing  pronuncia- 
tion, we  should  be  inclined  for  many  reasons  to  recommend  the 
Italian  with  perhaps  a  few  modifications.  But  not  to  speak  of 
other  difficulties,  the  tyranny  of  accent  over  quantity  is  at  least  as 
marked  in  the  Italian  as  in  the  English  reading  of  Latin  ;  and  we 
hold  with  the  most  experienced  teachers  that  to  distinguidi  between 
long  and  short  syllables  is  an  essential  part  of  a  reform  in  prt>- 
nnnciation.  At  the  same  time  Italian  appears  to  qs  to  <^Per  wuif 
valuable  aids  which  should  not  be  neglected;  as  English  in  its 


On  the  Pronuneiaiion  of  Lalin.  51T 

tones  and  vocaHsation  seems  so  different  from  old  Latin,  that 
often  it  is  not  easy  to  find  in  it  even  single  sounds  to  give  an 
adequate  representation  of  an  old  Latin  sound.  •  .  We  propose 
then  that  the  letters  of  Latin  should  be  sounded  as  follows,  &c." 

For  cleamees'  sake,  what  is  here  to  be  quoted  from  the 
**  Syllabus'*  is  printed  in  Italics,  and  the  remarks  1  have 
deemed  necessary  to  add  by  way  of  explanation  or  fmther 
ioformation  will,  I  hope,  be  not  thought  out  of  place.  By 
hng  or  short  vowels  is  meant,  I  take  it,  long  or  short  by 
nature. 

^a*  €U  the  uncLCcented  Italian  *  a ;'  ue.  as  the  middh  ^a*  of 
^Qonatay  or  as  the  ^  a'  of  'father,'  It  is  idle  speaking  of  the 
«ound  of  *  a '  in  '  father,'  to  a  certain  class  of  people  in 
Ireland  with  some  pretensions  to  education,  who  at  the 
same  time  think  that  the  familiar  word  should  be  pro- 
nounced *  fawther.'  A  distinction  should  be  made  between 
(what  used  to  be  called)  the  German  '  a '  in  '  ball,*  *  talk,' 

*  swarm,'  and  the  Italian  *a'  in  *  father,'  *  farthing,' 
'pardon.'  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  are  persons 
in  Ireland,  having  charge  of  the  education  of  youth,  and 
professing  to  teach  them  how  to  speak  correctly,  who  are 
themselves  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the  difference  between 
these  two  sounds.  Here  I  may  be  allowed  to  remark  that  it 
is  not  by  '  putting  on  '  an  *  accent '  or '  tone '  that  a  correct 
pronunciation  of  English  can  be  acquired,  but  by  learning  to 
make  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  vowels  and  consonants  of  the 
English  language,  and  pronounce  them  accordingly,  a  task 
which  very  often  those  who  are  most  anxious  to  have  a 

*  beautifol  accent '  are  the  least  fitted  for.  Such  affected 
monstrosities  as  *  pawter,'  *  pawtris,'  for  *  pater,'  *  patris,' 
should  never  be  heard.  As  nearly  everybody  has  heard  of 
Ae  notes  of  music,  the  least  mistakable  way  of  describing 

I      the  Italian  •  a '  is  by  saying  it  is  the  *  a '  of  the  notes  *  fa ' 
j     tod  Ma." 

^a^  as  the  unaecented  Italian  /  o;'  i.e,  as  the  first  and  last 

*  a  *  tn  *  amat€u  It  is  not  easy  to  represent  tins  sound  in 
English ;  we  know  nothing  better  than  the  first  *  a '  in  *  awap, 

*  apartf*  ^  aJuu*  Short  a  should  be  always  distinguishable 
from  short  e  or  u  The  obscure  way  in  which  we  sound 
diort  or  unaccented  vowels,  makes  it  very  b^d  for 
fereigners  to  understand  us. 

*e'a«  the  Italian  close  '  e' ;  *  arena;'  nearly  as  ^ai*  in 
JBnjjUsh  'pain'  The  professors  say '  nearly,' for  in  England 
*'H.[h  sounded  with  what  is  called  the  'vanirfi,*  a  pecu- 
fittdtjr  which  is  pretty  generally  unknown  in  Ireland, 


L 


518  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin. 

*  a€  '  OS  in  the  Italian  open  *  c  • ;  *  secolo ;'  nearly  as  the 
first  ^e*  in  English  ^  there,*  or  French  ^pere** 

*  ^,*  the  same  shortened ;  nearly  as  in  English  *  men.* 

'  iy  as  accented  Italian  *  i  ;'  i.e.  as  the  first  *  t '  of*"  timidi^ 
or  the  ^  i*  of  *  machine  ;'  *  i *  as  unaccented  Italian  H:* as  the 
two  last '  Vs '  of '  timidi  *  or  tAe  '  t  *  of  pity.* 

^ o*  as.  Italian  close  * Oy  nearly  as  in  German  * ohnty 
English  *  more.* 

^6* as  Italian  open  * o '  shortened ;  nearly  as  in  Oerman 
^  goldy  less  nearly  as  in  English  '  com.*  The  English  pro- 
nounce *  o '  in  a  peculiar  way.  My  readers  must  surely 
have  noticed  the  difference  between  the  English  and  our 
homely  Irish  way  of  saying  *  No.*  "  We  have  scarcely  in 
English  or  in  English-Latin,"  says  Professor  Munro;"a 
genuine  '  o  *  except  perhaps  before  '  r ' :  '  roar^  *  mores.'^ 

^a*  as  accentu^ated  Italian  ^  u^  as  the  first  *  u'  of  *"  tumvhf 
the  second  of  ' tumulto,  or  (xs  ^ u*  in  ' rule,*  *  lure.* 

*  a*  as  unaccented  Italian  '  u,*  as  the  second  ^u*  oj^  tumtdo,* 
the  first  ofHumulto,*  the^u*  of  ^fruition.*  This  change  in 
the  pronunciation  of '  u  *  is  a  thorough  one,  and  a  decided 
movement  towards  Rome  ?     The  professors  want  us  to  say 

*  oonus  '  and  *  oonitas  *  ('  unus  *  and  *  unitas  *)  with  the 
Italians,  in  place  of '  yunus  *  and  '  yunitas,*  The  Belgians 
pronounce  '  u '  sometimes  like  '  v,'  as  '  quis '  *  kvis.*  The 
Spaniards  leave  out  *  u '  sometimes  after  *  q.*  Thus  yon 
may  hear  a  Spanish  priest  sing  at  Benediction  *  relikisti '  in 
place  of '  reliquisti.'  The  peculiarity  of  the  French  ' u 'is 
pretty  generally  known.  In  a  Frenchman's  Latin  ite 
sound  is  modified  by  nasals  just  as  in  French,  but  the 
termination  '  um  *  is  pronounced  somewhat  in  our  Irifih 
style,  v,g.  *  meum,*  '  meom.* 

*  Au,*  as  Italian  *  au,*  nearly  as  ^  ow^  in  English  ^  power. 
Yes,  but  the  sound  of  *  a '  is  more  distinctly  heard  in 
Ita.lian.     I  have  heard  home-educated  priests  pronounce 

*  autem,* '  owtem.'  This  is  one  of  several  instances  which 
could  be  given,  where  Continental  peculiarities  are  en- 
grafted on  the  native  pronunciation — 

Purpureus,  late  qui  splendeat,  unus  et  alter 
Adsuitur  pannus. 

eu  *  as  Italian  *  eu,*  or  Latin  *  e  *  quickly  followed  ijf 
Latin  ^u.'  In  other  words  'e'  and  <u'  should  be  both 
heard  as  in  *  meum/ 

^  A  few  remarks  ou  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin  By  H.  A  J* 
Munro.   Cambridge,  1874. 


On  tlie  Pronunciation  of  Latin.  519 

'  oe ' .  .  .  like  the  German  *  o,'  as  an  alternative  we  propose 
the  open  Italian  *  e '  for  *  oe  *  as  before  for  *  ae.* 

*ei*  .  .  .  we  would  give  it  the  Latin  * e '  sound  quickly 
followed  by  the  Latin  *  i '  sound.  The  *  ei '  should  be  heard 
in  *Dei,'  'mei'  as  in  'teipsum/  and  not  like  *y/  as  for 
instance  *  Die  '  and  *  my  *  which  are  heard  pretty  often 
among  Irish  priests. 

'c  *  always  as  *  A:.*  Here  the  professors  make  their  first 
great  break  with  Rome,  and  in  fact  with  the  other  civihzed 
nations.  This  certainly  is  a  bold  innovation,  and  it  must 
be  supported  by  strong  arguments,  otherwise  we  cannot 
nnderstand  how  it  could  have  been  made.  Though  I 
give  the  following  arguments  in  favour  of  the  hard  sound 
of  *  c,*  and  should  even  beheve  them  conclusive,  1  hope  no 
person  will  deem  me  presumptive  enough  to  advocate  a 
change  in  this  direction  as  far  at  least  as  we  priests  are 
concerned.  (1)  *  c '  is  in  form  Uke  the  Hebrew  Kaph 
turned  round,  which  had  always  a  hard  sound.  (2)  c  was 
invariably  represented  in  Greek  by  kappa ;  while,  if  it  had 
been  soimded  soft,  the  Greeks  could  have  easily  indicated 
the  soft  sound  by  one  of  their  sibilants.  *  Centurio  *  was 
written  in  Greek  K^vrvpLiov  *  Lucius  Cfiecilius,  Acwtos  Kat/ctXios, 
' Cicero,*  Kt/cepwi'.  (3)  We  can  find  internal  evidence  in 
favour  of  the  hard  soujid.  '  Pulcher  *  and  '  pulcer,* 
*  audaciter '  and  '  audacter '  are  two  words  spelled  diflFer- 
ently,  which  can  easily  and  only  be  accounted  for  by 
supposing  the  hard  sound  of '  c  '  in '  pulcer  *  and  *  audaciter.' 
We  can  easily  imagine  how  '  dice  '  and  '  face  '  with  hard 
'cV  could  be  shortened  into  *  die  '  and  '  fac,'  but  if  the  *  c*8* 
were  soft  the  natural  shortening  should  be  '  diss  *  and  '  fass.' 
The  connexion  between  '  cano  '  and  *  cecini,'  *  cado  '  and 
}  *  cecidi,'  *  canus '  and  *  accentus,*  &c.,  is  better  understood 
;  by  supposing  uniformly  hard  *  c'  (4)  Though  it  is  not 
disputed  that  at  a  pretty  early  period — sometime  or 
other  about  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire— 
*c*  had  acquired  a  soft  sound  before  certain  vowels, 
still  we  find  traces  in  modern  languages  even  yet 
of  its  former  hard  sound  before  these  vowels.  It  is 
I  true  that  in  Itahan  *  c '  before  *  e '  and  '  i  *  is  sounded 
like  *  ch.'  How  has  the  hard  *  c  *  become  *  ch  ?*  Very 
easily.      *  Kirk '  has  become  *  church,'  the  German  <  kerl ' 


£20  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin. 

have  been  at  one  time  the  hard  sound  of  *  c  '  before  *  e' 
and  *  i.*  *  Magro ' — the  German  *  mager ' — from  *macer,' 
fiuggeets  itself  to  ua  at  once.       So   does  *  deca '  firom 

*  decenu'  The  German  *  kerker,*  *  kaiser,'  *  kicher.' 
represent  the  Latin  forms  *  career,*  *  Caesar/  ^cicer.'  In 
English    we    find    *  canker*    (cancer),    *  sickle*    (sicilis), 

*  cow  *  ("ceva),  *  waggle '  (vacillare),  *  elk  *  (alces),  *  eager' 
(acer),  *  meagre '  (macer),  the  slang  word  'fake* 
(facere).  Still  the  instances  which  can  be  produced  in 
most  of  the  European  languages  are  mere  exceptions.  The 
*c'  had  acquired  its  sibilant  sound  before  the  mass  of  the 
Latin  words  were  introduced  into  these  languages.  But  in 
the  Celtic  tongues,  with  which  the  Latin  element  largelj 
commingled  at  an  early  date,  we  find  invariably  the  hard 
80imd  of '  c'  The  hard  sound  is  retained  in  the  following 
Irish  words: — *sagart' (sacerdos),  *ceangail'  (cingulum) 

*  ceil '  (celo),  *  ceir  *  (cera),  *  cill '  (cella),  '  ceud  *  (o^itum), 

*  caoch*  (caeous),  *cios'  (census),  'cisde'  (cista) — German, 

*  kiste ' — '  deich  *  (deoem),  *  deisciobal '  (discipulus).  The 
list  is  not  exhausted,  and  a  similar  list  could  be  made  out 
in  the  Welsh  language.  Objections  have  been  offered  to 
the  hard  *  c '  theory,  the  strongest  being  the  frequent  con- 
fusion of  such  endings  as  '  tins*  and  *  cius.'  The  advocates 
for  the  hard  *  c,'  say,  in  reply,  that  this  confusion  in  spell- 
ing occurs  only  at  a  period  when  *  c '  had  already  acquired 
its  sibilant  sound,  also,  that  when  this  confusion  occurs  in 
the  specimens  of  old  inscriptions  which  have  been  handed 
down  to  us,  the  copyists  are  to  blame,  and  that  wh&SL  the 
copyists  have  done  their  work  scrupulously,  this  confusion 
does  not  occur.  •  The  Celtic  languages  hoax  out  the  con- 
chisions  which  the  learned  have  arrived  at  with  regard  to 


always  asserted  that  the  name  of  our  national  saint  » 
mer^j  }^  word  made  into  a  proper  name.  That 
St.  Patrick  wrote  his  name  *  Patricii^'  and  pronounced  it, 
like  our  lri€4i  ancestors,  *  Patrikius,'  is  what  the  traditional 
forms,  *  Patraic,'  <  Padrtdg,'  and  *  Patrick,'  would  lead  one 
to  suppose. 

Hard  *  c '  is  pronounced  by  the  Swiss  with  a  staronij 
gutturfiJ  sound,  and   <  o '  before  *  e '  and  '  i,*  is  sounded     ^ 

by  the  Spaaiaxds  like  hard  *  th ;'  thus,  <  in  printiiipio '  {i^     • 

11 

'j 
1  Latin  Grammar  §  110, 4. 


On  the  Pronuneiation  of  Latin.  ji2t 

principio).  'o'  before  'e'  and  'i'  is  somided  by  the 
Germaos  like  '  ts;'  thos, ' decern,'  'deteem.' 

'ff' alwapa  as'g'in  'get.'  In  moat  of  the  nations  of 
Europe,  it  etUl  retains  in  al]  cases  its  hard  eound.  fn  oar 
word  '  conger '  the  old  hard  eound  still  remaina  The 
argmnentfl  for  the  nniformlj-  hard  sound  of  g  are  stronger 
than  for  e,  and  need  not  be  gone  into.  The  Italians  pro- 
nounce '  g'  before  '  e '  and '  i '  soft,  as  in  Knglieb. 

' »,'  at  the  begittning  ajul  end  of  words,  and  at  ike  begin- 
Mng  of  tyVables,  and  before  contonants,  is  alway$  tharp  {as 
ihe'  $'o/'  sin ')  in  Itaiian,  and  tkould  be  so  in  Latin. 

'$,'  between  two  vowels,  has  in  Italian  a  soft  z-sound,  at 
in  our  '  nose.'  The  Germans  pronounce  '8 '  like  '  z '  in  the 
beginning  of  words ;  thus, '  sed,' '  zed.' 

'('  is  alwayt  a  pure  dental;  in  'ratio,*  as  in  'ratis.'^ 
This  certainly  is  a  radical  change,  as  '  t'  ha«  sometimea  a 
nbilant  sound- in  most  European  languages.  '  Oratio,' 
according  to  the  new  pronunciation,  would  be  '  ora-tee-^),' 
tbe  Old  English  pronunciation  is  'orashio,'  the  French 
(usaal  amongst  us)  '  ora-aee-o,'  the  Italian  and  German 
'orat-see-o.' 

Isidoms  tells  us  that '  tia '  was  sounded  in  the  begin- 
mng  of  the  7th  century  like  '  zia.'*  Among  those  who 
Bpe&  Irish,  and  on  the  Continent,  the  pure  dental  is 
heard,  >.e,  '  t '  formed  by  a  slap  of  the  tongue  against 
the  teeth,  and  not  against  the  gums,  or  roof  of  the 
mouth,  as  in  the  English  '  t,' 

'  63,' '  bt^  should  be  sounded  {and  generally  vsriHen)  as  '^«,' 
'/)(,' '  tapstu,'  '  aps.' 

'j,'  or  consonant  'i'  as'y'  in'  yard.'  With  few  exceptions 
it  is  sounded  so,  in  every  country  from  Russia  to  Ireland. 
In  fact  Latin  is  often  printed  without  j's — 'jam,'  for 
mstaiice  being  written  <iam.'  'i'  was  both  Tocal  and 
coaeonantal ;  and  '  j  '  was  invented  by  the  Dutch  scholars 
*f  the  16th  century,  to  mark  the  consonantal  sound  of  'i,' 
■which  is  heard  in  '  onion." '  The  y  sound  shows  better  the 
connexion  betwen  yoke  and  jugum,  young  and  juvenis. 

As  to  the  consonant  'u"  or  'w,  we  believe  that  its 
*amd  was  as  near  as  possible  to  that  of  the  vowel  '«,'  i.«., 
ate  the  '  on'  of  the  French  'oi«,'  not  diftriny  mneh  there- 
^W  from  Engliih  '  to.'  Sowever  on  accoont  of  the  con- 
tooversT  which  this  letter  has  given  rise  to.  the  nrofessors 


522  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin, 

leave  it  an  open  question  whether  it  shall  be  sounded 
as  above  or  like  *  v.'  The  suggested  ir-sound  reminds 
me  of  a  funny  story  1  read  not  long  since,  about  a 
class  of  young  ladies  who  were  being  examined  in 
Latin  before  a  prelate  of  the  Establishment,  and  shocked 
the  old-fashioned  gentleman  by  blurting  out  *  We-kiss-him 
(vicissim) — ^in  turn.*  Both  *  u '  and  *  v  *  are  usually  repre- 
sented by  ovin  Greek: — Servius,  Scpowos,  Venusia,  Omvowla} 
*5r,'  *pA,'  *fA,'  we  propose  should  be  sounded  as  at  present; 

*  ch '  should  never  be  pronounced  a>s  in  our  *  charter.'  It  is 
supposed  that  *  ch,'  '  ph,*  and  '  th,'  were  at  one  time  real 
aspirates ;  i.e.,  the  sounds  of  the  tenussy  c,  jo,  <,  were  heard, 
and  the  aspirate  accompanied  them,  as  *  ch,'  *  ph,'  and  '  th,* 
in    the   following     words:    '*  publichouse,'    *  uphill,'    and 

*  anthill.'  This  style  of  pronouncing  the  tenues  with  a 
breathing  is  not  unusual  in  Ireland,  and  when  Paddy  is  made 
to  say  *  bhoy  '  and  '  dhrunk,  nothing  more  is  conveyed  than 
that  he  pronouuces  *  b  *  and  *  d '  with  a  strong  volume  of 
breath.  P&ddy  cannot  say  '  come  '  with  his  mouth  close 
to  a  lighted  candle  without  putting  it  out,  an  Englishman 
can  pronounce  the  same  word  just  as  distinctly  without 
causing  a  flicker  in  the  flame.  The  Irishman's  *  c '  is  the 
real  aspirate  *  c,' '  the  Enghshman's,  the  tenuis.  The  only 
reason  1  can  see  for  retaining  the  peculiarly  English  sound 
of  Hh '  is  that  it  does  service  for  the  Greek  ^,  which  at  the 
present  day  has  the  same  sound.  In  Ireland,  especially 
in  the  South,  this  sound  is  often  incorrectly  uttered.  In  the 
North,  however,  the  digraph  is  correctly  pronounced  even 
by  the  uneducated.  *  < '  in  the  Irish  language  is  the  real 
dental '  <,*  formed  by  slapping  the  tongue  against  the  teeth, 
and  immediately  withdrawing  it,  and  this  dental  *t'  is 
very  often  substituted  by  the  Munster  people,  for  the 
pecuhar  hard  and  soft  sounds  of  Hh '  in  English  words. 
These  latter  sounds,  it  need  scarcely  be  observed,  are  ]jro- 
duced  by  making  a  hissing  sound  with  the  tongue  agamst 
the  upper  teeth  or  gums.  Continental  nations  sound  the 
digraph  as  their  *  t,'  which  is  generally  dental  as  in  Irish. 

How  far  final  *7n*  was  mute  or  nasal  it  is  not  easy  to 

detemdne.    The  old  Romans  slurred  it  over,  as  we  can  see 

from  Prosody.     So  we  have  treated  it  in  Irish  in  words  of 

undoubted  Latin  origin.    And  the  Portuguese  treat  it  in  a 

* 
'  A  Grammar  of  the  Latin  Language ;  By  Henry  John  Roby,  M~A. 

London :  Macmillan  &  Co. 

*  The  aspirate  'o'  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  guttunl^C 

and'ch.' 


ciation  of  Latin.  523 

i  their  own  language  and  in 

'  Syllabus '  about  *  r.'  Among 
it  may  be  said  to  have  two 
i  between  vowels  it  is  a  con- 
ing/ But  final  or  preceding 
I  kind  of  vowel  sound  hard  to 
5  any  difference  among  refined 
bion  of  the  musical  note  *fa' 
d  would  think  it  a  strange 
given  to  John  Bull,  that  the 
f  the  alphabet  ^  R:  And  still 
way  oi  conveying  to  him,  that 
^1  name  amongst  us.  The  '  r ' 
,  vocal  murmur,  or  the  dying  off 
5  word  differs  in  sound  from  the 
bell  I  The  *  r '  is  trilled  by  the 
itch,  just  as  in  Kerry,  but  in 
nany  it  is  now  produced  by  a 
sely  described  it  may  be  called 
t  must  have  been  an  affected 
what  is  affected  in  one  genera- 
ext.  It  is  called  '  r  ^rasseye '  by 
ming  fashionable  in  Belgium 
hen  heard  in  this  country  from 
t  may  be  thought  that  their 
3ut  this  cannot  be  said  now, 
>und  would  imply  the  contrary, 
ng  *  r '  obtains  in  the  North  of 
he  '  Northumberland  burr.*  It 
ound  of  *  oo '  is  modified  by  an 
biced  more  in  England  than  in 
*s  pronunciation  of  *  Moore' 
ike  *More.'  The  EngUshman 
ce  '  r,'  which  neceBsariiy  causes 

ttion  is  spreading  very  rapidly, 
the  great  Protestant  seats  of 
es.  Even  the  *  girl  graduate ' 
the  church  glibly  in  the  new 
^  in  connexion  with  this  pro- 
ovement  towards  Rome  1  The 
been  adopted.  **It  combines," 
uty,  firmness  and  precision,  in 
ly  other  system  of  which  I  have 


524  On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin, 

any  knowledge,  The  little  ragged  boys  in  the  streets  of 
Rome  and  Florence  enunciate  their  vowels  in  a  style  of 
which  prinees  might  be  proud."*  Satis  supergue !  In  the 
pronunciation  of  the  consonants,  however,  the  new  method 
does  not  altogether  tally  with  the  Italian.  It  is  a  pity 
that  there  is  not  a  unifonn  pronunciation  of  Latin  through- 
out the  world.  It  is  also  a  matter  of  regret  (at  least  I 
think  so)  that  Latin  is  not  more  a  spoken  language. 
"  On  the  Continent — and  that  not  only  in  Italy,  France  or 
Spain,  but  even  among  Teutonic  nations — Latin  at  least 
is  spoken  to  a  degree  that  is  unknown  in  England,  and  a 
familiarity  with  the  language  is  gained  that  we  do  not 
usually  acquire.  In  Continental  schools,  writes  Canon 
Farrar,  *  I  have  not  only  heard  boys  converse  in  Latin 
with  perfect  fluency — an  accomplishment  in  which  even 
our  best  scholars  are  needlessly  deficient — but  even  turn 
into  good  classical  Latin  long  German  sentences,  which 
would  have  surpassed  the  powers  of  English  boys  fer 
older  than  themselves.'  "^  The  writers  evidently  do  not 
know  to  what  an  extent  the  speaking  of  Latin  is  practised 
even  at  home  in  our  Catholic  theological  coUegea  But  it 
should  be  spoken  far  more  than  it  is,  and  when  Irish  priests 
meet  foreign  priests,  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in 
their  speaking  with  and  understanding  each  other  in  the 
language  of  the  Church.  As  far  as  understanding  each 
other  is  concerned,  uniformity  of  pronunciation  would  be 
a  great  desideratum,  to  obtain  which  a  universal  adoption 
of  the  Italian  pronunciation  would  be  the  simplest  way. 
It  is  the  best  known.  Cardinal  Manning  and  Bishop 
Vaughan  have  exerted  themselves  very  much  in  introdo- 
cing  it  into  England.  It  is  being  extensively  adopted  in 
the  United  States.  I  believe  it  is  also  general  in  the  East. 
Music-masters,  leaders  of  choirs,  and  the  more  respectable 
class  of  singers  know  all  about  it.  In  fact  in  our  large 
churches  in  Ireltmd  it  is  more  likely  to  be  heard  from  the 
choir  than  from  the  altar!  Oscar  Wilde  used  to  telln* 
that  lite  wearing  of  trousers  helped  to  bring  discredit  on 
modem  art  Our  sense  of  the  beautiful,  he  urged,  is  mdelj 
shocked  by  the  presence  of  the  clumsy  garment  which 
hides  the  graceful  curve-lines  of  the  calves.  In  like 
mamier  one's  sense  of  the  melodious  is  shocked,  and  a 
proper  vocalization  is  rendered  impossible,  by  such  a  faiiUj 

^  A  few  remarkB  on  the  Pronunciation  of  Lfttin,  p.  5S3. 
*  Latin  and  Greek  att  in  Rome  and  Athens.    By  the  Bev.  FraocB  M« 
Wyndham,  M.A,  page  16, 


M'   like 
like'ts*  * 


On  the  Pronunciation  of  Latin.  525 

pronunciation  as  ours.    The  pecuKarities  of  the  Italian  way 
of  reading  Latin  have  been  par^  stated  already.    I  need 
not  again  refer  to  the  vowels.     The  open  and  close  sounds 
of  '  e '  and  *  o '  must  be  correctly  learned  from  a  native. 
The  peculiarities  of  the  oonsonants  may  however  be  stated 
here— '0 '  before  *  e '  *  i '  and  *  y  *  *  ae '  and  /  oe  *  is  sounded 
like  soft  *  ch '.     If  you  place  *  s '  before  *  c '  in  these  cases 
you  have  the  sound  of  *  sh ' — thus  *  cena ',  *  scena,'  like 
*  chaina '  *  shayna.'    *  g  *  as  we  sound  it,  *  gallus  *   *  gero,* 
like    *  y\   T  in  cases  where  wo  sibilate  it  is  soimded 
gratia '  *  notio '  '  laetitia '  as  *  grats-ia  '  *nots-io,* 
'laetis-ia.'    *  Sch  *  and  '  ch  *  have  in  every  case  the  sounds 
of  *  sk '  and  '  k  *  respectively — *  gn '  has  the  sound  of  *  ny ' 
— *  dignus/    *  cognosce,*     *  din-yns,'     *  con-yosko.'     <  H  * 
has  the  soimd  of  *  K '  in  a  few  words — *  mihi,'  *  nihil,*  nihil- 
ominus,'  *annihilare' — *  miki,'  &c.      It  is  silent  in  *traho,* 
*veho,'   &c. — *z,'    like  *ts,'    thus    ^zona*  is   pronounced 
as  though  we  said  rapidly  in   English   '*/t'«  zona.''     I 
heard  Italians  pronoimce  *  dixi,'   *  dissi.'    How    far    this 
sound  of  *x*  prevails,  I   do  not  venture  to  decide.     P 
is  sounded  in   'psalmus'  I  believe  all  over    the    Con- 
tinent.    We  make  the  p-sound   heard  in  the  Greek   ori- 
ginal  ^AfM>9,  why  not   give  ^psalmus'  the  same  initial 
sound?       The   Italians  accent  learned  terms  of  Greek 
origin  strongly  on  the  penult : — *  theologia '  (geea)  philo- 
sophia  (pheea).    The  *  i '  in  these  words  is  short,  but  Dears 
the  accent  in  Greek.     The  accented  syllables  are  sounded 
by  the  ItaKans  with  a  beautiful  elevation  of  tone,  which 
has  been  often  written  about.  Not  from  the  educated  alone 
may  it  be  heard,  but  from  the  poor  wandering  organ- 
grinder,  and  the  pictiu'esquely-clad  pifferari,  who  sometimes 
make  their  appearance  in  our  streets.    From  the  wretched 
vagrant,  with  a  httle  tact  and  trouble,  may  be  learned  that 
very  vowel  system,  which  English  scholars  have  gone  into 
such  raptures  about.    And  stui  this  *.tone  accent '  is  not 
altogetner  imknown  in  our  own  land.     Thackeray  was 
Btruck  by  the  way  in  which  the  urchin  pronounced  *posy '  on 
th^  banks  of  the  Lee.^    In  speaking  Latin  the  Italians  pro- 
noaace  the  consonantal  endings  with  a  kind  of  echo  or 
rebaood  of  the  voice,  which  makes  one  fancy  that  every 
word  ends  with  a  voweL    In  solemn  enunciation  this  style 
of  pronotmoing  is  most  impressive. 


\ 


526  On  the  Pronunciaiion  of  Latiru 

pronouncing  Latin  we  should  avoid  anything  Uke  an 
aflFected  mincing  EngUsh  pronunciation  We  should  pro- 
nounce Latin  ore  rotando,  or  with  full  chest  sounds.  2. 
Attention  should  be  paid  to  the  accent  as  we  find  it  marked 
in  our  Uturgical  works.  The  accent  is  often,  though  not 
always,  a  guide  to  the  quantity  of  the  vowels.  3.  Through 
a  mistaken  notion  of  showing  one's  knowledge  of  Prosody,* 
there  is  often  no  distinction  made  in  the  sounds  of  the 
vowels.  *  Literis '  and  '  litoris  *  should  not,  for  instance,  be 
pronounced  alike,  4.  The  sounds  of  *  d '  and  *  t '  should 
not  be  changed  into  *  g '  or  *  ch  *  in  such  words  as  *  induo,' 
*  tuo,'  which  should  be  pronounced  *  indoo-o '  and  '  too-c* 
5.  In  *  Dei/  *  mei,'  *  ei,'  *  ei '  should  be  heard  as  in  '  meip- 
sum.'  6.  In  the  diphthong  *  ui '  in  *  cui,'  '  huic,*  the  sound  of 
both  letters  should  be  heard  as  in  *  erui,'  and  such  monstros- 
ities as  *  ky '  and  '  hyke '  should  never  more  be  heard  of. 
7.  *  A '  should  never  be  sounded  as  in  '  ball  *  or  *  man '  (of 
course  I  do  not  mean  the  incorrect  sound  of  *  a '  in  '  man,* 
general  in  the  North  of  Ireland).  8.  *  Ut '  should  be  sounded 
as  in  *  put ' — B.D.T. — corrtpa  semper J^  9.  *  S '  should  not 
be  changed  into  *sh'  in  *usu'  'possui.'  10.  In  reading 
Latin,  short  *  u '  should  be  the  short  *  u  *  in  *  bull  *  or  *  put,' 
and  not  the  short  '  u '  of  *  but'  I  have  given  these  hints 
a  centre  coeur,  far  preferring  to  openly  advocate  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Italian  pronunciation  pure  and  simple,  if  I 
dared  do  so.  Strange  that  I  should  have  scruples  on  this 
score,  but  stranger  when  a  Protestant  clergyman  can  write 
as  follows : — 

^^  Certainly  to  hear  Latin  spoken  by  an  Italian  of  culture  and 
refinement  is  a  pleasure  which  few  persons  could  fail  to  enjoj. 
What  has  been,  as  with  us,  a  language  of  Books  falls  upon  the  ear 
in  melodious  tones  expressive  of  every  shade  and  variety  of  mean- 
ing. It  seems  as  though  one  who  by  his  writings  had  become 
familiar,  as  an  old  and  valued  friend,  was  present  before  us,  and  was 
delighting  us  with  the  sounds  of  his  living  voice.  If  then  we  would 
give  a  freshness  and  a  life  to  Latin,  and  stimulate  an  interest  in  it 
that  will  relieve  the  dryness  of  the  severer  mental  discipline,  we 
shall  do  well  to  assimilate  our  speech  to  that  of  Rome  of  to-day.'*' 

M.  J.  O'Brien. 

^  Alvarez  was  a  Portuguese.  The  only  foreigner  I  ever  heard  quote 
his  rules,  or  speak  about  him,  or  the  prosody  he  wrote,  was  a  Sp&nat^ 

*  Latin  and  Greek  as  in  Rome  and  Athens.  By  Rev.  Francis  M* 
Wyndham,  pp.  22,  23. 

A  very  useful  and  interesting  work,  the  Magister  ChoraUs  translated 
from  the  German  by  the  Rev.  N.  (now  Bishop)  Donnelly,  may  also  be 
consulted  on  the  excellence  of  the  Italian  pronunciation  of  lAtin,  vid 
other  matters  I  have  touched  upon. 


i 


[    527    ] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 

Vert  Rkv.  Deab  Sir, — ^In  resuming  the  subject  of  "  Cikon 
Law  in  Iseland/'  I  desire  to  thank  you  for  your  kind  and 
cautious  admonition,  with  which  you  so  thoughtfully  headed  what 
I  had  written  on  this  subject,  directing  my  attention  to  the  precise 
terms  of  the  important  passage,  as  you  justly  consider  it,  quoted 
by  me  from  Benedict  XIV.,  in  which  the  great.  Pope  lays  down 
the  rule,  obliging  a  Bishop,  when  he  considers  a  law  emanating 
from  the  Holy  See  to  be  unsuitable  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
diocese,  to  notify  .his  reasons  to  the  Supreme  Pontiff,  leaving  it  to 
His  Holiness  to  decide  if  they  be  sufficient  for  exempting  the 
diocese  in  question  from  the  obligations  of  the  law. 

Believe  me,  I  had  this  rule  very  distinctly  before  my  mind,  but 
I  had  also  in  view  how  it  would  work  itself  into  practical  effect, 
and  I  allowed  myself  to  think,  that  at  least  here  in  Ireland,  which 
alone  we  are  at presentconcemed  about,  a  Bishop,  in  the  case  supposed, 
would  consider  the  objections  occurring  to  him,  to  be  probably 
applicable  as  well  to  some,  if  not  to  all,  the  other  dioceses 
of  the  country,  and  would,  therefore,  deem  it  prudent  to  wait  for 
one  of  those  meetings,  which  occur  at  such  short  intervals,  to  con- 
fer with  his  Venerable  Colleagues  in  order  that  joint  action  might 
be  taken  in  the  case,  if  such  a  course  would  appear  advantageous 
virith  a  view  to  give  more  weight  to  the  representations  that  would 
be  sent  forward.  On  this  account  I  was  content  with  saying,  that'  if 
the  Bishops  come  to  an  adverse  conclusion  as  to  the  expediency  of 
putting  into  operation  a  law  of  the  nature  contemplated,  they 
would  suspend  all  further  action  till  they  could  communicate  with 
the  Pope,  and  receive  his  ulterior  instructions ;  and  I  observed, 
moreover,  that  the  observance  of  rule  is  placed  in  absolute  security 
by  the  special  loyalty,  respect,  and  veneration  of  our  Bishops  for  the 
Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  in  his  legislative  capacity  as  in  all 
other  regards. 

I  am  additionally  grateful  to  you,  as  your  thoughtful  admonition 
gives  me  to  hope  I  am  to  be  favoured  with  your  valuable  assistance  in 
getting  out  of  the  fog.  in  which,  I  fear,  many  of  us  are  enveloped 
on  a  subject  so  important  to  our  Ministry  here  in  Ireland. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  our  subject,  and  I  will  commence  by 
bringing  to  mind  the  conclusions  at  which  I  arrived  from  the 
stetements  I  ventured  to  put  forward  in  the  paper  you  were  good 
enough  to  make  room  for  in  the  June  number  of  the  Hecokd. 
They  are : — 

1.  That  it  is  most  desirable  to  have  clear  ideas  on  the  slate  of 
Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 


528  Correspondence. 

2.  The  Common  Law  in  its  entirety  cannot  be  observed  in  this 
country,  no  more  than  in  any  other  country,  owing  to  the  mutabilities 
of  human  affairs,  the  Church  having  to  adapt  her  legislation  to  local 
exigencies,  as  she  had  to  deal  with  them  from  time  to  time, 
throughout  the  world. 

3.  The  subject,  however,  becoming  narrowed  in  its  scope,  the 
question  respecting  Ireland  is,  how  far  Canon  Law,  as  at  present 
upheld  by  the  Supreme  authority  of  the  Universal  Church,  is  of 
obligation  here  in  our  National  Church. 

4.  This  question  brings  under  consideration  the  various  legis- 
lative authorities  of  the  Church,  General  Councils,  the  Supreme 
Pontiff,  &c.,  &c. 

5.  These  various  authorities  are  in  perfect  harmony  by  the 
relations  subsisting  between  them,  in  virtue  of  which  the  Roman 
Pontiff  concedes  to  the  Bishops  throughout  the  Church  a  certain 
extent  of  licence  as  to  the  publication  and  enforcement  of  the  laws 
issued  by  him. 

6.  Seeing  that  a  particular  Pontifical  Constitution  is  in  no  wise 
inexpedient,  having  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  his  diocese,  the 
Bishop,  as  a  matter  of  course,  publishes  and  enforces  it,  and  it  has 
its  force,  not  as  from  his  authority,  but  as  emanating  from  the 
Supreme  Head  of  the  Church. 

I  deem  it  well  to  recall  these  conclusions,  as  I  mean  they  should 
serve  as  a  basis  for  the  now  immediate  treatment  of  our  subject, 
and  recollecting  that  our  inquiry  is  confined  to  discipline,  I  think 
we  may  say  in  a  general  view  of  the  subject,  that  the  disciplinarj 
law  of  our  National  Church  is  the  *^  jas  commune  "  or  the  common 
law  of  the  Church  at  large,  as  we  find  it  on  all  disciplinary  matters 
in  the  various  collections  constituting  the  general  Body  of  Canon 
Law,  in  so  far  as  it  is  upheld,  and  maintcdned  in  use,  by  the 
authority  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff,  due  allowance^  nevertheless^  being 
made  for  our  local  legislation,  traditions,  customs,  and  exemptions,  (u 
sanctioned^  assented  to,  or  tolerated  by  the  same  authority,  I  em- 
phasize these  latter  words  as  bringing  us  home  to  ourselves,  and 
placing  us  face  to  face  with  our  actual  Canonical  situation.  How- 
ever, to  obviate  all  misunderstanding,  certain  important  points  most 
be  kept  steadily  in  view. 

First  of  all,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  all  the  disciplinaiy 
enactments  of  the  general  legislation  of  the  Church  emanate  fitun 
the  Supreme  governing  authority  of  the  Church,  and  carry  with 
them,  therefore,  a  binding  force  over  the  entire  extent  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church,  and  we  consequently  are  included  with  all  other 
local  or  national  Churches  within  their  scope. 

Secondly,  it  must  be  recollected,  that  ecclesiastical  law,  mor» 
especially  in  matters  of  discipline,  is  liable  to  change,  and  even  to 
abrogation,  from  the  various  causes  producing  such  effects  in  all 
human  legislation  of  whatsoever  kind. 

Thirdly,  such  changes  or  abrogations  are  always  subject  to  the 


Correspondence.  529 

fiupreme  junsdiction  of  the  Holy  See,  the  Homan  Pontiff  being  for 
ever,  according  to  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Florence,  "  the  true 
Vicar  of  Christ,  the  successor  of  the  Blessed  Peter,  the  Head  of 
the  entire  Church,  the  Doctor  and  Pastor  of  all  Christians,  to  whom 
in  the  Blessed  Peter,  fall  power  has  been  given  by  Christ  of 
feeding,  ruling,  and  governing  the  Universal  Church." 

Fourthly,  it  cannot,  however,  be  expected,  that  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  will  always  notify  to  the  faithful  the  changes,  as  they 
occur,  from  time  to  time,  in  disciplinary  matters  under  his  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  these  changes  not  being  the  result  of  actual 
or  specific  enactments  in  most  instances,  but  brought  about  by  the 
various  agencies,  which  are  ever  at  work  in  human  society,  not 
allowing  it  no  more  than  the  individual,  according  to  the  words  of 
Holy  Job,  '*  to  continue  in  the  same  state,^*  The  inost  ordinary  of 
these  agencies  is  disuse,  which  begins  silently,  progresses  almost 
without  observation,  but.  in  the  end,  succeeds  in  completely  super- 
seding the  law.  Nevertheless,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  change 
escapes  the  vigilance  of  the  Supreme  *'  Watchman  to  the  House  of 
Israely*  and  he  has  under  him  besides  his  subordinate  Watchman 
upon  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  all  the  day^  and  all  the  night,  who  never 
Jiold  their  peace,  and  who,  moreover,  in  their  periodic  visits  *'  ad 
limina,"  as  also  in  their  official  reports,  afford  the  Supreme  Pontiff 
a  constant  view  of  the  entire  Church  spread  though  it  is  over  the 
whole  universe,  so  that  nothing  of  any  moment  can  take  place  from 
end  to  end  without  his  knowledge.  In  addition  to  all  this,  the 
constant  communications  of  all  sorts  passing  between  the  various 
congregations,  by  whom  he  is  aided  in  the  government  of  the 
Church,  and  the  Bishops,  as  also  the  inferior  Clergy,  and  even 
the  Laity  themselves,  in  several  instances,  afford  what  we  may  caU 
a  panoptic  view  to  the  Holy  Father,  whereby  he  has  his  spiritual 
children  unceasingly  under  his  eyes  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the 
earth.  These  congregations,  moreover,  whilst  sharing  with  the 
Supreme  Pontiff  his  ^*  solicitude  for  all  the  Churches,'^  are  an  in- 
valuable resource  to  aU  the  faithful  for  consultation  and  guidance ; 
and  should  we  be  disposed  to  undervalue  their  importance, 
Benedict  XTV.  would  admonish  us  veiy  gravely  in  the  following 
words : — Scriptores  de  quffistionibus  verba  faciunt,  congregatio 
dissolvit  •  .  .  impudentissimus  esset,  qui  contenderet  majoris 
ponderis  habendum  esse  privatum  hominem  quam  sententia  prae- 
clarissimi  coetus,  quem  amplissimi  cardinales  ecclesiasticae  dis- 
ciplinae,  et  sacrorum  canonum  peritissimi  constituunt." — (Inst,  107, 
No,  6.     Inst.  Can,) 

I  have  deemed  it  right  to  lay  down  these  statements,  in  order 
to  guard  against  a  possible  misunderstanding,  as  if  our  ecclesiastical 
government  here  in  Ireland  were  carried  on,  as  it  were,  in  some 
obscure  comer  of  the  world,  and  we  would  have  to  fear  lest  our 
insular  position  would  isolate  us  in  any  degree  from  the  vigilance  and 
concern  of  the  Supreme  Pastor.    What  we  have  just  said  warrants 


530  Correspondence. 

us,  on  the  contrary,  in  insisting,  that  under  his  eyes  we  OMne 
within  the  general  administration  of  the  Church  at  large,  and,  as 
we  have  stated,  our  disciplinary  Canon  Law  is  the  *'  jus  commune  " 
or  common  law  of  the  Church,  such  as  we  find  it  in  the  tsjioiis 
collections  constituting  the  Body  of  Canon  Law,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
upheld,  and  applied  by  the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Pontiff. 

Nevertheless,  as  we  have  also  ventured  to  assert,  we  are  to 
claim  due  allowance  for  our  local  legislation,  traditions,  customs, 
and  exemptions,  like  every  other  national  or  local  Church,  as 
sanctioned,  assented  to,  or  tolerated  by  the  same  august  authoritj. 
In  taking  account  of  these  special  derogations  we  must  bear  in 
mind,  that  all  legislation  must  keep  in  view  the  circumstances  of 
those  to  be  governed,  so  as  to  be  adapted  and  accommodated  to  the 
position  in  which  they  are  placed,  and  must  also  vary  according  as 
their  position  changes.  Hence,  to  form  a  just  and  correct  judg- 
ment of  our  Canonical  situation,  it  becomes  necessary  to  take  a 
glance  back  on  the  ordeal  of  suffering  L*eland  had  to  undergo  for 
her  faith.  We  must  look  back  on  those  days  of  sorrow,  when  oar 
Churches  were  ruthlessly  demolished,  and  the  stones  of  the  SaD^ 
tuary  scattered,  and  the  "  abomination  of  desolation  "  everywhere 
prevailed.  Nevertheless,  the  retrospect  affords  us  the  consolation 
of  seeing  the  Pastor  yet  at  his  post  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  sheep,  and  the  fiock  clinging  to  their  Pastor  prepared  to  sbed 
their  blood  in  a  common  martyrdom  with  him.  What  Canon  Law 
could  there  have  been  then  in  Ireland  ?  Without  Church,  wherein 
to  celebrate  the  Divine  Mysteries  with  his  flock,  and  not  having 
himself,  in  many  instances,  **  whereon  to  lay  hts  heady  ^  the  poor 
Parish  Priest  had  to  look  back  for  example  to  the  Pastor  of  Pastors, 
as  "  He  went  about  doing  good!*  passing  from  village  to  village,  and 
from  house  to  house,  preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  he  had  also 
to  recollect  how  this  Divine  Master  sent  His  Apostles  without  scrip 
or  staff,  or  bread  or  money,  ordering  them  to  abide  in  whatercr 
house  they  would  enter,  bringing  into  it  their  blessing  of  peace,  and 
"  eating  such  things  as  were  set  before  them ; "  and  thus  bearing  in 
mind  how  the  Kingdom  of  God  began  upon  earth,  the  Irish  Pari^ 
Priest  made  the  administration  of  Religion  a  domestic  fonctioot 
80  that  looking  back  on  these  evil  days  we  are  to  thank  God,  tbat 
under  His  all  ruling  Providence  our  holy  religion  was  preserred, 
both  in  faith  and  practice,  and  so  handed  down  to  us  as  our  most 
precious  inheritance. 

But  Sunday  came,  and  where  was  the  Priest  to  assemble  his 
devoted  flock  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice  ?  The  word  had  passed  from 
mouth  to  mouth  the  evening  before,  and  as  Sunday  dawned,  the 
scattered  members  of  the  fold  were  to  be  seen  repairing,  as  it  might 
be,  to  the  dreary  cavern,  the  lonely  valley,  or  ^e  silent  grove, 
where  around  God*8  Minister,  and  the  humble  table  serving  as  an 
Altar,  they  poured  out  their  souls,  adoring  in  fidth  and  piety  the 
Adorable  Victim  of  Salvation. 


Correspondence,  531 

As  an  illustration  of  these  calamitons  days,  I  remember  well 
the  account  I  frequently  heard  from  a  venerable  old  Priest  not  fifty 
years  dead  of  what  he  saw  and  experienced  in  his  youth.  He  was 
a  native  of  Belfast,  and  there  was,  through  God's  mercy,  a  Priest 
in  that  northern  city  for  **  the  domestics  of  the  faith,"  who,  *'  few  and 
far  between,"  were  scattered  amongst  the  population.  As  Sunday 
morning  arrived,  they  were  on  the  look-out,  according  to  the  word 
that  had  been  sent  out  the  evening  before,  and  in  the  direction 
indicated  a  man  was  to  be  seen  carrying  a  table,  whilst  another 
bore  the  Vestment  box,  and  a  third  had  with  him  a  spade  to  ^x  and 
steady  the  table,  which  was  to  serve  for  the  Altar.  As  they  went 
along  they  looked  around,  and  finding  a  sheltered  spot  beneath  a 
thick  and  spreading  hedge-row,  they  made  their  preparations.  The 
Priest  arrived  in  due  time,  dressed  like  another  to  avoid  detection, 
and  as  he  vested,  and  the  Altar  having  been  laid,  and  the  candles 
lighted,  two  or  three  men  stood  at  either  side  with  their  great  coats 
extended  for  protection  against  the  blowing  breeze,  whilst  the  faithful 
worshippers  knelt  on  the  moist  earth  during  the  Adorable  Sacrifice. 

This  good  Priest  used  also  relate  that  he  had  seen  in  his  early 
years  what  was  to  him  a  wonder  at  the  time,  the  spectacle  of  three 
Prists  together,  and  such  a  hold  did  the  sight  take  of  his  feelings, 
that  the  recollection  of  it  remained  fresh  and  fragrant  in  his 
memory  even  amidst  the  gorgeous  displays  of  religious  ceremonial 
he  afterwards  witnessed  on  the  Continent  during  the  several 
years  he  resided  in  one  of  its  chief  cities.  A  century  has  not  since 
passed,  and  how  can  we  sufiiciently  bless  God  on  beholding  the 
contrast  between  Belfast  as  it  was  then,  and  the  Belfast  of  the 
present  day  ? 

Again,  let  us  ask  the  question,  what  was  Canon  Law  in  Ireland, 
or  what  could  it  have  been,  in  these  dismal  times  ?  The  Priest 
had,  of  course,  his  Breviary,  and  recited  in  due  order  the  Divine 
Office ;  he  had  his  Missal,  and  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
according  to  the  Rubrics ;  he  had  his  Ritual,  and  administered  the 
Sacraments  according  to  its  essential  prescriptions ;  he  maintained 
amongst  his  poor  people  a  knowledge  of  the  principal  mysteries,  of 
the  seven  capital  sins,  of  the  ten  commandments  of  God,  of  the  six 
precepts  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  seven  Sacraments,  teaching 
them  on  this  elementary  basis  how  ''  to  decline  from  evil^  and  do 
good,^^  and  so  conducted  them  through  "  the  narrow  gate"  and  along 
"  the  straight  way  that  leadeth  to  lifeJ^  He  studied  on  the  Continent, 
there  being  no  ecclesiastical  education  here  at  home,  and  he  came 
back  a  Priest  prepared  to  live  a  confessor's  life,  or  die  a  martyr's 
death,  his  mission  being  that  of  the  Apostles :  '^  Oo:  Behold  I  send 
you  as  lambs  amongst  wolves"  (Luke  x.  81;  and  his  all-inspiring 
and  all-absorbing  sentiment  was, ''  The  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life 
for  his  sheep  "  (John  x.  11). 

Once  again,  let  us  ask,  what  was  Canon  Law,  cr  what  could 
have  been  Canon  Law  in  Ireland  during  this  darksome  period  of 


532  Correspondence. 

oar  history  ?  It  could  be  observed  only  in  essential  points  in  the 
functions  of  the  Sacred  Ministry,  as  far  as  the  Priest  could  perform 
them,  and  in  the  application  of  positive  theology.  In  every  other 
regard  necessity— dure  necessity  ruled  the  situation. 

Time  passed  on,  and  oppression  mitigated  its  rigour  by  degrees, 
yet  effects  ensued  determining  in  many  important  particulars  the 
canonical  position  of  the  Irish  Church,  so  that  the  entire  structure 
of  our  ecclesiastical  ministry  was  moulded,  and  took  shape  from 
the  consequences  that  supervened. 

Our  Benefices  having  been  spoliated,  it  beciune  necessary,  in  the 
first  place,  to  invent  a  little  unsown  to  Canon  Law  for  promoting 
our  ecclesiastics  to  holy  orders ;  and  when  ordained  the  curate  had 
his  appointment  immediately  from  his  Bishop,  and  was  removable 
only  by  his  authority,  an  arrangement  which,  no  doubt,  has  its 
advantage  in  placing  the  curate  in  a  position  claiming  for  him 
more  respect  from  his  Parish  Priest,  whilst  by  the  law  of  mutuality 
the  latter  in  turn  respects  all  the  more  the  higher  position  of  the 
former. 

Our  Parish  Priests  have  their  appointment  without  ^^con- 
cursus/' which  leaves  the  Bishops  more  free  to  take  account  of  their 
qualifications  in  the  aggregate,  whilst  he  has  sufficient  opportuni- 
ties in  the  conferences  of  the  diocese  to  know  their  relative  merits 
en  the  score  of  theological  science,  and  when  put  in  possession  of 
his  parish,  the  adage,  ^^  Beneficium  propter  officium ''  has  no  appli- 
cation to  the  Irish  Parish  Priest.  His  is  a  more  apostolic  position, 
depending,  in  one  direction,  on  the  principle,  **  freely  Aow  yon 
received,  freely  give,*  and  in  the  other,  on  the  natural  maxim,  ^'Ou 
labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire;'*  and  these  relations  of  Apostolic  zeal 
on  the  part  of  the  clergy,  and  of  spontaneous  generosity  on  the 
part  of  the  faithful,  constitute  that  happy  union  of  Priest  and 
people  which  held  them  inseparably  together  during  the  centimes 
of  suffering  through  which  they  had  to  pass.  Other  Churches 
may  have  whatever  systems  they  prefer,  but  for  us  the  voluntary 
system  possesses  a  charm  endearing  in  the  recollection  of  the 
past,  as  it  is  endearing  alike  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  present,  and 
cheeringly  hopeful  in  the  prospects  of  the  future. 

Our  Bishops  themselves  are  appointed  in  pursuance  of  a  special 
constitution  devised  for  the  Irish  Church,  which  we  should  be 
grateful  in  considering,  whilst  it  reserves  to  the  Supreme  Pontiff 
bis  inalienable  right,  allows  our  clergy  a  larger  amount  of  influence 
than  is  conceded  elsewhere  in  the  nomination  of  the  Chief,  who  is 
to  rule  over  them. 

In  several  of  our  dioceses  we  have  Cathedral  Chapters,  with  the 
usual  Canonical  functionaries  to  aid  the  Bishop  in  his  administra- 
tion, and  although,  for  the  present,  their  titles  want  much  of  their 
official  significance,  in  practice  they  are,  nevertheless,  of  impor- 
tance as  recognizing  superior  merit  in  the  ranks  of  the  clergy,  and 
holding  them  up  in  the  face  of  the  diocese  as  models  for  imitation. 


Correspondence.  533 

They  may  be  regarded  also  as  pointing  to  a  future  more  or  less 
near,  when  more  favourable  circumstances  will  admit  of  the 
authority  contemplated  by  Canon  Law  as  attached  to  these  yarious 
positions. 

In  the  meantime,  if  the  Bishop  has  less  support  in  the  govern- 
ment of  his  diocese,  he  is  more  free  to  exercise  his  personal  zeal 
and  ability ;  and  in  a  state  of  progress,  such  as  we  have  in  Ireland,  it 
must  be  idlowed  that  opportunities  constantly  arise  for  initiation 
and  enterprise  requiring  prompt  and  decisive  action ;  and,  in  point 
of  fact,  so  far  from  having  reason  to  complain,  we  are  bound  on 
the  contrary  to  thank  the  Almighty,  as  we  look  back  and  behold 
how,  in  so  short  a  time,  under  a  system  necessarily  abnormal,  our 
Churches,  our  Monasteries,  our  Convents,  our  Colleges,  in  fine  our 
institutions  of  every  sort,  have  sprung  up  anew,  and  cover  the  face 
of  the  land,  reminding  us  on  aU  sides  of  the  words  of  the  Prophet, 
"  Oreat  shall  he  the  glory  of  this  last  house  more  than  ofthefinV*  (Agg. 
ii.  10.) 

And  whilst  the  Almighty  has  so  marvellously  blessed  our 
efforts  here  at  home,  we  are,  under  His  Divine  Providence,  fulfilling 
an  Apostolic  destiny  abroad  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  by  the 
spread  of  Catholicity,  resulting  from  the  emigration  of  our  poor 
people,  and  their  mingling  with  nations  ^*  seated  in  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death.^*  Yes,  whithersoever  they  go,  and  in  whatever 
climes  the  Irish  race  find  new  homes,  they  take  with  them  the 
faith  of  this  old  green  land,  and  promote  its  propagation,  so  that 
their  poverty  in  a  material  sense  is  made  by  the  agency  of 
Providence  the  means  of  imparting  the  treasures  of  religion  to 
other  populatiSns,  reminding  us  forcibly  of  the  mission  of  Him, 
^'  who  became  poor  for  your  takes,  thcU  through  His  poverty  you  might  he 
rwh."    (2  Cor.  viii.  9.) 

Nor  are  our  poor  people  allowed  to  go  alone.  Our  Missioners, 
inheriting  the  zeal  of  the  primitive  ages  of  our  national  Church, 
follow  their  fellow-countrymen  in  their  dispersion,  whilst  it  is 
reserved  for  our  day  to  witness  a  new  kind  of  apostolate,  which  the 
world  admires  in  the  spouses  of  Chrj^,  who,  forgetful  of  the  weak- 
ness of  their  sex,fiy,  as  it  were,  on  the  wings  of  charity  to  the  enda 
of  the  earth  to  advance  the  empire  of  Him  to  whose  love  and 
service  they  have  consecrated  their  entire  existence.  Thus  is  it  that 
we  may  boast  of  Ireland,  and  say  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  that 
her  *^  sound  hath  gone  forth  into  all  the  earthy  and  her  words  to  the 
endoftheearth.'^     (Bom.  x.  18,) 

We  have  now  before  us  the  structural  form  of  the  Irish 
National  Church,  and  we  see  the  results  it  has  achieved,  with 
God's  blessing,  under  very  adverse  circumstances.  Altbough 
duly  recognised  and  legalised  by  the  Holy  See,  it  is,  indeed, 
abnormal  to  a  large  extent,  but  are  we  to  find  fault  with 
it  on  that  account?  To  do  so  would  be,  in  my  mind,  to 
arraign    Providence    itself.      What    branch    of    God's    Church 


534  Liturgical  Questions* 

on  earth  has  so  abonnded  in  fruit  within  the  memorj  of  a 
generation  not  yet  entirely  gone  by  ?  Looking  back  no  farther 
than  the  last  fifty  years  on  the  work  of  the  Catholic  Chnrch  in 
Ireland,  are  we  not  bound  to  say  in  all  gratitude,  *'  ft^  the  Lord  thit 
has  been  done,  and  tt  is  wonderful  in  our  eyesJ*     (Ps.  cxvii.  22.) 

But  I  feel  I  must  break  off,  not  to  occupy  unduly  your  pages 
80  precious  for  other  subjects.  Besides,  I  find  I  have  yet  a 
considerable  way  to  go,  and  I  imagine  I  must  make  still  a 
large  demand,  with  tdi  due  deference,  on  your  space  in  some 
subsequent  number,  for  what  I  shall  have  to  add  on  a  department 
of  ecclesiastical  science,  over  which  hangs  a  cloud,  which  it  is  most 
desirable  to  clear  away. 

Let  me,  however,  deprecate  the  idea,  that  I  pretend  to  be  ^  a 
teacher  in  IsraeV*  in  what  I  say.  My  desire  is  rather  to  ventiUrte 
the  subject,  and  I  shall  be  only  too  glad,  if  I  succeed  in  drawing 
out  the  mind  of  others  more  competent,  and  more  particularly  of 
the  gifted  and  erudite  "  Editor  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Record," 
who  will,  let  me  request,  allow  me  to  remain,  very  sincerely,  his 
obedient  servant, 

X.Z. 


LITURGY. 


Regulations  of  tlie  Irish  Bishops  regarding  the  Prayers  to  he 

said  after  every  Low  Mass. 

In  the  last  number  of  the  Record  we  gave  it  as  our 
opinion  that  the  prayers  ordered  by  the  Pope  to  be  recited 
after  every  Low  mass  should  be  said  (a)  in  Latin,  (6)  before 
the  De  profundisy  (c)  in  conjunction  with  the  congregation, 
and  (d)  with  the  ceremonies  observed  at  Rome,  ie.,  A® 
priest  kneeling,  except  at  the  Prayer.  * 

Since  then  our  bishops  have  had  the  matter  under  con- 
sideration at  their  general  meeting  held  at  Maynooth,  and 
we  are  now  in  a  position  to  state  definitely  how  they  wflh 
those  prayers  to  be  said  throughout  all  Ireland. 

1**.  The  prayers  are  to  be  said  in  English. 

2^  The  prayers  are  to  be  said  after  me  Deprofmdii. 

S*».  The  priest  is  to  remain  kneeling  even  at  the  Praytf . 

4**.  The  congregation  is  to  join  in  the  responses. 

I.  The  praj^ers  are  to  be  said  in  English.  Seeing  that 
it  is  expresdy  mtended  by  the  Pope  that  the  people  hearing 


lAturgical  Questions.  535 

Mass  should  join  with  the  priest  in  saying  those  prayers, 
our  bishops  felt  that  it  would  be  exceemngly  diflScult, 
indeed  at  the  present  time  practically  impossible,  to  carry 
out  this  important  object  if  the  congregation  had  to  answer 
in  Latin.  Accordingly  his  Eminence,  Cardinal  MacCabe, 
appUed  to  the  Holy  Father,  in  the  name  of  all  the  bishops  of 
Ireland  for  an  Indult  to  justify  their  departure  in  thisinstance 
from  the  use  of  th^  liturgical  language,  and  to  allow  us  in 
Ireland  to  say  the  prayers  in  Enghsh.  The  Indult  was 
granted  on  the  22nd  of  June,  and  reached  this  country  in 
time  to  be  laid  before  their  Lordships  at  their  late  meeting. 
Through  the  kindness  of  his  Eminence,  who  has  sent  the 
document  to  the  Record,  we  are  able  to  place  before  our 
readers  a  copy  of  the  Indult : — 

Beatissihe   Pater, 

Ednardus  Cardinalis  MacCabe,  Archiepiscopus  Dubliniensis,  ad 
pedes  Beatitudinis  tuae  humillime  provolutus,  nomine  omnium 
£piscoporum  Hiberniae  speciale  petit  Indultum  quo  liceat  Sacer- 
dotibus  et  Fidelibus  lingua  vemacula  recitare  preces  quae  ex 
nuperrima  praescriptione  Beatitudinis  Tuae  post  Missam  dicendae 
sunt,  ita  ut  Fideles  qui  linguam  latinam  ignorant  has  preces  una 
cum  Sacerdote  recitare  valeant.     Quare  etc. 

Ex  Audientia  SSmi  diei  22  Junii  1884. 

SSmus  Dominus  Noster  Leo  Divina  Providentia  P.  P.  XIU. 
referente  me  infrascripto  S.  Congiiis  de  Propaganda  Fide  Secre- 
tario,  benigne  annuere  dignatus  est  pro  gratia  juxta  petita. 

Datum  Bomae  ex  Aed.  dictae  S.  Con^is  die  et  anno  praedictis. 

^  D.  Archusp.,  Syren.  Coniis. 
Gratis  quacumqne  titulo. 

As  the  reason  which  was  relied  on  by  the  Cardinal  when 
asking  for  the  Indult,  and  deemed  satisfactory  at  Rome, 
was  tne  great  difficulty  of  getting  the  people  to  join  in 
making  the  responses  in  the  Latin  language  which  they 
do  *iot  understand ;  and  as  this  reason  does  not  apply  to 
colleges  and  communities  where  the  congregation  is  in  the 
habit  of  answering  prayers  in  Latin^  it  is  the  wish  of  our 
bishops  that  in  all  such  institutions  those  prayers  should 
fitill  be  said  in  Latin.  Manifestly  this  is  as  it  ought  to  be, 
for  by  this  arrangement  those  institutions,  whicn  cannot 
claim  an  exemption  on  the  ground  alleged,  will  find  them- 
selves in  conformity  with  the  Roman  practice  and  the 
practice  of  the  church  generally. 

11.  The  prayers  are  to  be  said  after  the  De  profundis. 
Up  to  this,  it  was  a  matter  of  opinion  on  which  persons 
qualified  to  judge  differed^  as  to  whether  those  prayers 


536  Liturgical  Qaestions* 

should  be  said  before  or  after  the  De  profundis.  But  now 
that  we  are  privileged  to  say  them  in  English,  it  is 
obvious  that  it  would  be  very  inconvenient  and  strange 
to  insert  prayers  in  English  between  the  Latin  of  the 
Mass  and  the  Latin  of  the  De  profundis.  Accordingly,  tha 
bishops,  having  considered  the  matter  in  all  its  bearings, 
have  made  the  ruling  as  stated  iabove. 

nL  They  have  also  decided  thal^  the  priest  is  to 
remain  on  his  knees  when  saying  the  Prayer,  "  0  God,  our 
refuge  and  our  strength,  &c."  This  they  consider  to  be 
another  deviation  warranted  by  the  departure  from  the 
liturgical  language. 

IV.  Lastly,  the  people  are  to  be  encouraged  to  join  in 
the  responses,  as  it  is  expressly  mentioned  in  the  decree  of 
the  Sacred  Congregation  when  ordering  those  prayers 
that  they  are  to  be  the  united  suflfrages  of  the  priest  and 
people : — '*  Gravibus  adhuc  insidiantibus,  nee  satis  remota 
suspicione  graviorum,  cum  ecclesia  catholica  singulari  Dei 
praesidio  tantopere  indigeat,  D.  N.  Leo  Papa  XIlL  oppor- 
tunum  judicavit  certas  preces  toto  orb©  persolvi,  ut  quod 
christianae  reipublicae  m  communi  expedit,  id  commuui 
prece  populus  christianus  a  Deo  contendat,  auctoque 
supplicantium  numero,  divinae  beneficia  miserecordiae 
facuius  assequatur."     S.R.C.    lam  inde,  6  Jan.  1884. 

IL 
The  Credo  and  the  Octave  of  St.  John  ilie  Baptut. 

Why  is  it  that  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  whidh  is  a 
double  of  the  first  class  with  an  Octave,  has  not  the  Credo  ii?  the 
Mass— nist  in  propria  Ecclesia  f 

The  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  is  not  one  to  which 
the  Credo  is  assigned  in  the  JRubrics,  and  the  fact  of  its 
being  a  double  of  the  first  class,  or  of  its  having  an  Octave, 
does  not  bring  with  it  as  a  consequence  the  Credo  in  the 
Mass. 

Let  us  point  to  other  exainples  of  this  kind.  The  Feast 
of  the  Holy  Innocents  has  an  Octave,  and  the  Credo  is  not 
said  on  the  Octave  day.  It  is  said  indeed  on  the  days  tn/>« 
Octavam,  but  only  because  they  fall  within  the  Octaves  of 
Feasts  that  have  the  Credo,  such  as  Christmas  Day  and 
St.  John  the  Evangelist's.  For  a  similar  reason  the  Credo 
is  said  on  St  Stephen's  day, and  not  because  it  has  an  Octave^ 
St.  Laurence,  Martyr,  has  an  Octave,  but  the  Credo  is  not 
said  on  the  Feast.  ]n  a  word,  the  rubric  so  common  in  the 
Directory,  Credo  per  Oct.,  applies  only  to  Feasts  which  have 
both  an  Octave  and  the  Credo, 


Liturgical  Questions.  537 

The  Credo  is  of  course  said  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
feast  in  propria  ecclesia,  because  there  he  is  the  titular  of 
the  Church. 

lU. 

The  Indulgence  of  lAtany  of  Loretto  when  sung. 

In  the  July  number  of  the  Record  we  raised  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  indulgence  is  gained  by  those  who,  when 
singing  or  saying  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virrin,  repeat 
the  Ora  pro  nobis  only  after  every  second  or  third  invoca- 
tion. Since  then  we  nave  received  a  communication  from 
a  distinguished  ecclesiastic  in  England,  which  goes  far  to 
decide  the  question  in  the  af&rmative.  The  document, 
which  through  his  kindness  we  are  able  to  print,  does  not, 
however,  take  the  question  quite  out  of  the  region  of  doubt 
and  controversy,  because  it  is  not  a  formal  decision  of  the 
Congregation  of  Indulgences. 

Our  respected  correspondent  tells  us  how  the  answer 
was  procured.  Last  year  one  of  the  questions  at  a  diocesan 
conference  in  England  was : — ^^  Quomodo  recitari  vel  can- 
tari  debent  Litaniae  Lauretanae  ad  indulgentias  lucran- 
das  t"  The  Master  of  Conference,  who  revised  the  various 
answers,  not  being  able  to  find  any  satisfactory  authority 
on  the  point,  drew  up  a  "  Dubiiun  *'  for  the  Congregation 
of  Indulgences,  winch  was  forwarded  to  Rome.  For  some 
reason  the  "Dubium"  never  came  formally  before  the 
Congregation,  but  an  informal  answer  was  given  by  "  ima 
persona  competente,"  as  the  ecclesiastic  who  had  charge 
of  sending  forward  the  question  writes  when  returning  the 
reply.  It  is  understood  that  this  competent  person  was 
the  Substitute  of  the  Congregation  of  Indulgences.  Accord- 
ing to  his  decision  the  indulgence  is  gained  when  the  Ora 
-pro  nobis  is  repeated  only  after  every  second  or  third  invo- 
cation (this  was  the  case  put  forward),  because  even  then 
the  prayer  is  not  substantially  altered. 

The  document  is  as  follows : — 

Quest'  oso  di'recitare  le  litanie  Laoretane,  che  daMgr.  Yescovo 
di — si  dice  essere  invalso  nella  sua  diocesi  e  quasi  ia  tutta  I'lnghil- 
terra,  h  comune  a  molti  altri  luoghi  anche  in  Italia,  et  in  Roma 
ancora  y'^  Fuse  di  recitarle  in  sunil  guisa,  almenoquando  si  cantano 
in  musica  ;  eppure  niuno  ha  mosso  mai  11  dubbio  se  i  fedeli  lucrino 
e  no  le  indulgenze,  ed  h  chiaro  che  il  dubbio  non  potesse  aver 
luogo,  stante  che  la  preghiera  rimane  sostanzialmente  la  mede- 
sima,  rimanendo  sempre  salvd  le  invocazioni,  che  son  la  parte  prin- 
cipale  di  questa  preghiera.  Dunque  non  sembra  doversi  muover 
dubbio  anche  per  il  case  proposto  da  Mgr.  di 


538  Liturgical  Questions. 

IV. 

The  Consecration  Crosses  in  a  church ;  can  they  be  removedl 

My  church  was  consecrated,  and  the  consecration  crosses  are 
painted  on  the  walls  on  parts  of  three  stones,  and  not  on  a  single 
stone,  as  is  usual.  As  I  want  to  hang  up  stations  of  the  cross,  I 
now  find  that  these  consecration  crosses  are  in  the  way.  Please 
tell  me  can  I  paint  them  elsewhere  in  the  church,  for  instance,  be- 
tween the  stations  ? 

MissiONABT  Rector. 

The  maimer  in  which  the  crosses  are  painted  fulfils  the 
prescription  of  the  Pontifical,  which  only  requires  that  the 
crosses  should  be  painted  on  the  walls.  It  is  not  infrequent, 
as  a  token  of  respect  and  reverence,  to  insert  in  the  wall 
marble  slabs  or  special  stones  to  receive  those  crosses 
which  are  either  painted  or  cut,  but  this  is  not  necessary. 

The  Sacred  Congregation  has  decided  that  the  conse- 
cration crosses  are  not  to  be  destroyed  or  obliterated ;  that 
they  are  to  remain  in  witness  of  the  consecration  of  the 
church:  ^'An  duodecim  cruces  quae  in  consecratfone 
ecclesiae  solemni  pinguntur  in  parietibus  et  ab  episcopo 
consecrante  sacro  chi'ismate  liniuntur,  expleta  consecratione 
possint  evelli  si  sint  factae  ex  marmore,  aut  deleri  si  sint 
depictae?  An  vero  remanere  debeant  perpetuis  futuris 
temporibus,  in  testimoniimi  consecrationis  ejusdem 
ecclesiae  V* 

"  S.  R.  C.  resp. : — Omnino  perpetuis  futuris  temporibus 
remanere  debero.     Die  18  Feb.  1696  in  Januen." 

The  Congregation  has  however  also  decided  (19  S^t, 
1859)  that  a  «hurch  does  not  need  re-consecration  in  which 
two  of  those  crosses  have  been  removed  to  anotiier  part  of 
the  walls  for  the  sake  of  convenience  and  symmetry. 

From  these  and  other  decisions  we  are  of  opinion  that, 
while  those  crosses  must  be  retained  in  the  church  as  me- 
morials of  the  consecration,  they  may  be  removed  from  their 
first  position  to  another  for  reasonable  cause. 

In  a  matter,  however,  of  such  practical  importance,  the 
Bishop  of  the  diocese  is  the  person  who  should  be  con- 
sulted, and  he  will  seek  guidance  from  the  authorities  at 
Rome,  if  it  be  deemed  necessary, 

R.  Browne. 


[    539    ] 

DOCUMENTS. 

The  following  is  the  reply  of  His  Holiness  to  the  Address 
of  the  Irish  Prelates  lately  presented  to  the  Holy  Father  in 
reference  to  the  proposed  conversion  of  the  property  of  the 
Propaganda,  and  the  establishment  in  Dublin  of  a  centre 
for  the  reception  and  preservation  of  its  property  in  future. 

Roma,  23  Aprilit^  1884. 
Eme.  AC  Bmb.  Domine, 

Litteras  ab  Eminentia  Tua  nomine  omnium  Hiberniae  Episco- 
porum  Sanctissuno  Domino  Nostro  datas  sub  initio  huius  raensis 
accepi,  easque  Sanctitati  Suae  per  infrascriptum  Secretarium 
tradendas  curavi.  Sanctitas  vero  Sua  libentissime  easdem  accepit, 
novumque  pignus  Devotionis  Episcopatus  Hiberniae  erga  S.  Sedem 
in  lis  recognovit. 

Pergrata  pariter  mihi  fuerant  quae  Eminentia  Tua  in  litteris 
mihi  datis  significabat,  turn  de  indignatione  justissima  omnium 
Hiberniae  Episcoporum  ob  iniquam  sententiam  contra  banc 
S.  Congregationem,  ut  notum  est,  perlatam,  necnon  de  proposito 
vestro  agendi  quoad  fieri  posset  in  favorem  ejusdem  S.  Consilii, 
turn  etiam  de  peculiari  sollicitudine  Eminentiae  Tuae  relate  ad 
procurationem  istic  erectam,  qua  de  re  dubitari  profecto  minime 
potuisset. 

Interim  manus  Eminentiae  tuae  humillime  deosculor. 

Eminentiae  Vestrae 
HumiUimus  Addictissimus  famulus. 

Joannes  Cardin.  Simeoni,  Praefectus. 
S  D.  Archiep.  Tyren.  Secret, 

Ex  Sacra  Congreoatione  Indttlgentiarum. 
Obdinis  S.  Crucis. 

Die  15  Martti  1884. 

De    Indulgentia    qdingentortjm    dierum    adkexa    calculis 

BOSABII   PER   CrUCIGEROS    BBNEDICTI. 

Ordinis  Sanctae  Crucis.  Quum  innumerae  propemodum 
quaestiones  et  dubia  Sacrae  Congregationi  indulgentiis  Sacrisque 
Beliquiis  praepositae  exbibita  fuerint,  nomine  etiam  Archiepis« 
coporum  et  Episcoporum  de  authenticitate  Indulgentiae  dierum 
quingentorum  a  Leone  Papa  X.  Litteris  in  forma  Brevis  datis  die 
20  Augusti  1516  concessae  et  quodammodo  confirmatae  a  Summis 
Pontificibus  Gregorio  XVI.,  et  Pio  IX.  rescriptus  Sacrne  Congre- 
gationis  de  Propaganda  Fide  dierum  13  Julii  1845  et  9  Januarii 
1848,  quam  lucrari  dicuntur  Cbristifideles,  quoties  in  JRosariia 
Beatae  Mariae  nuncupatis  et  benedictis  a  Magistro  Generali 
Ordinis  Sanctae  Crucis  vel  a  Sodalibus  eiusdem  Ordinis,  a  ]Magistro 
Generali  ad  id  specialiter  deputatis,   orationem  dominicam  vel 


540  Documents. 

salatationem  angelicam  devote  recitaverint.  Sacra  eadem  Congre- 
gatio,  ut  C.hristifidelium  tranquillitati  prospiceret,  rem  mature 
perpendere  et  absolvere  constituit.  Qaa  oblata  opportanitate 
quaesitum  etiam  est  de  necessitate  recitandi  tertiam  saltern  partem 
Bosarii  B:  Y.  Mariae,  ut  Indnlgentia  ilia  acquiri  possit,  quemad* 
modum  fortasse  innuere  videbantur  verba  quibus  Romani  Ponti* 
fices  praef atas  Indulgentias  adamussim  adnexas  Rosariis  a  Magistro 
Grenerali  dicti  Ordinis  benedictis  concesserunt.  Insaper  quom 
plures  sacerdotes  turn  a  Sanctissimo  Domino  Nostro  Papa,  turn  a 
sacra  ipsa  Congregatione  privilegium  expostulaverint  Bosaria 
benedicendi  cam  applicatione  Indulgentiae  qoam  ipsis  Sodales 
Crucigeri  adnectunt,  quaesitum  quoque  est  de  huiusmodi  precibos 
exaudiendis,  vel  respuendis. 

Quae  omnia  sequentibus  dubiis  propositis  complexa  sunt : 

I.  Utrum  Indulgentia  quingerUorum  dterum  qttoties  in  Eosariis 
per  Crucigeros  benedictis  oratio  dominica^  vel  saltUatio  cmgeUoa 
devote  dicatur,  revocanda  sit, 

(a)  Vel  uti  apocrypha^  seu  ratione  dubiae  authenticitatis. 

(b)  Vel  uti  indiscreta,  seu  ratione  indiscretae  concessionis, 

(c)  Vel  ob  alias  extrinsecas  rationes. 

Et  quatenus  neoativb  ad  omnbs  I  dubii  partes. 

II.  Utrum  eadem  Indulgentia  rata  habenda  sit  et  confirmanda 
velpotius  dicenda  sit  ratihahitione  et  eonfirmatione  non  indigere. 

III.  Utrum  pro  acquirenda  eadem  Indulgentia  necesse  sit 
integrum  Rosarium  devote  recitare, 

IV.  Utrum  expediat  aliis  etiam  Sacerdotibus  eoncedi  privilegium 
benedicendi  Rosaria  cum  applicatione  Indulgentiae,  quo  gaudent 
Sodales  Crucigeri  f 

Et  Patres  Eminentissimi  in  Congregatione  Generali  habita  die 
11  Martii  1884  in  Aedibus  Apostolicis  Yaticanis  rescripseruot : 

Ad  L  Negative  in  omnibus. 

Ad  II,  Non  indigere. 

Ad  III,  et  IV,  Negative, 

Die  vero  15  eiusdem  mensis  et  anni  facta  ab  infrascripto 
Sacrae  Congregationis  Secretario  relatione.  Sanctissimus  Dominas 
Noster  Leo  Papa  XIII.,  Patrum  Cardinalium  responsiones  benigne 
approbavit. 

Datum  Eomae  ex  Secretaria  Sacrae  Congregationis  Indulgeotiis 
Sacrisque  Beliquiis  praepositae  die  15  Martii  1884. 

Al.  Card.  Oreglia. 
a  S.  Stephano  Praefectus. 
Franciscus  Delia  Volpe  Sccretarius. 


[    541    ] 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Allocutions  to  the  Clergy  and  Pastorals  of  the  Late  Right  Rev.  Dr, 
Moriarty^  Bishop  of  Kerry.  Dublm :  Browne  and  Nolan. 
1884. 

The  clerical  public  of  these  coimtries  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  the  learned  editors — the  Very  Rev.  Fathers  GriflSn  and  Coffey — 
of  this  beautiful  volume.  The  late  Dr.  Moriarty  was  well 
known  to  be  a  prelate  of  great  eloquence,  as  well  as  of  solid  and 
Taried  learning.  He  was  familiar  with  all  the  branches  of 
ecclesiastical  science.  He  had,  moreover,  a  massive  and  well- 
balanced  mind,  warmed  with  a  holy  zeal  that  was  tempered  by  a 
cautious  and  benignant  prudence.  The  addresses  of  such  a  prelate 
to  his  clergy,  learned,  thoughtful,  and  carefully  worded  as  they  are, 
cannot  fail  to  be  of  great  value  for  ecclesiastics,  both  high  and 
low.  For  the  most  part  they  consist  of  Allocutions  delivered  to 
his  clergy  at  the  annual  Synods  from  1854  to  1874,  and  deal  in 
great  fulness  with  the  primary  obligations  of  the  pastoral  ministry. 
Nowhere  else  have  we  read  more  solid  instruction,  given  in 
language  so  weighty  and  vigorous.  We  have  also  several  Pastoral 
Letters  addressed  by  the  Bishop  to  his  clergy  on  various  important 
occasions ;  for  instance,  on  the  Disendowment  of  the  Protestant 
Church  in  1867;  on  the  Diocesan  Seminary;  and  on  Papal 
Infallibility.  These  Pastorals  are,  as  might  be  expected, 
characterized  by  the  same  wide  learning  and  vigorous  eloquence 
as  the  other  addresses. 

We  think  it  a  loss  that  the  editors  did  not  publish  also  some  of 
the  sermons  delivered  by  Dr.  Moriarty  on  various  occasions. 
Who,  for  example,  that  heard  it,  would  not  like  to  read  the  noble 
discourse  which  he  pronounced  on  the  occasion  of  laying  the 
foundation-stone  of  the  new  Church  of  Maynooth  College  ?  We 
are  thankful,  however,  for  what  we  have  received,  and  we  earnestly 
hope  that  the  sale  of  this  work  will  be  such  as  to  induce  the 
learned  editors  to  publish  any  sermons  of  Dr.  Moriarty  which 
hi^pen  to  be  still  in  manuscript. 

In  a  few  neat  and  appropriate  sentences  the  editors  dedicate 
this  volume  to  his  Eminence  Cardinal  Newman,  who,  as  he  tells  us 
lumself,  always  felt  "the  truest  love  and  gratitude"  for  Dr, 
Moriarty,  for,  as  he  emphatically  puts  it,  *'  he  was  a  rare  friend, 
one  of  ten  thousand."  The  publishers,  too,  have  done  their  work 
weB — the  book  is  clearly  printed,  and  very  tastefully  bound,  and 
^^  we  dare  say,  find  a  place  on  the  book-shelves  of  many 
hundreds  of  English-speaking  priests. 

J.  H. 

VOL.  V.  2  R 


542  Notices  of  Books. 

Theologia  Moralis^  Vol.  II.    Auctobe  Augustino  Lehxeuhl, 

S.J.    Freiburg :  Hebdbr,  1884. 

In  the  Eecord  for  last  February,  we  gave  a  very  favourable 
notice  of  the  first  volume  of  Father  Lehmkuhl's  Moral  Theology. 
The  learned  author  has  lately  sent  us  the  second  volume  of  the 
work,  which  in  our  opinion  deserves  the  same  strong  commenda- 
tion as  its  predecessor.  We  have  had  occasion  to  examine  this 
work  on  several  important  questions,  and  we  think  we  are  fully 
justified  in  recommending  it  as  a  most  excellent  treatise  on  Moral 
Theology,  both  for  priests  and  students.  It  can  scarcely  be  sur- 
passed by  any  work  of  the  same  compass  for  the  fulness,  clearness, 
and  general  accuracy  of  its  treatment  of  moral  questions.  £Ten 
those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  theology  in  all  its  branches, 
and  have  mastered  the  writings  of  the  greatest  masters  of  the 
schools,  will  find  it  useful  to  consult  a  work  which  contains  so 
many  of  the  most  recent  and  useful  decisions  on  moral  questions. 
The  whole  of  this  second  volume,  which  completes  the  work,  deals 
with  the  theology  of  the  Sacraments,  and  of  course  discusses  all  Uiose 
questions  that  are  most  useful  and  interesting  for  missionary  priests. 
They  will  find  the  treatises  on  Penance,  Matrimony,  and  Censures  to 
be  especially  useful — full  of  sound  doctrine  and  well  reasoned  conclu- 
sions. Of  course  we  do  not  mean  to  commit  ourselves  to  accepting 
all  the  conclusions  enunciated  by  the  learned  author.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  minor  points  from  which  we 
might  venture  to  dissent,  but  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  thai 
in  our  opinion  the  teaching  of  Father  Lehmkuhl  is  always  sound, 
and  his  conclusions  are  based  on  solid  grounds.  He  is  not,  we 
thinly,  fond  of  novelties,  and  steers  with  even  keel  between  the 
perilous  rocks  of  rigorism  and  laxity.  We  believe  and  hope  that 
this  excellent  book  will  have  a  large  sale  amongst  the  studious 
clergy. 

J.  H* 

JEarly  Christian  Symbolism^  by  William  PALifER,  M.A.  Edited 
by  J.  Spekcer  Northcotb,  D.D.,  and  W.  R.  Brownlow, 
M.A     London :  Keegam  Paul,  Trench  <&  Co. 

We  have  already  called  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  this 
beautiful  work  of  art,  of  which  we  have  just  received  the  third 
part.  Christian  SymhoUsm  when  complete,  will  form  a  magnificent 
volume,  and  can  be  had  by  the  subscribers  for  one  guinea  and  a* 
half.  Several  of  the  compositions  in  the  present  part  are  iUastradre 
of  the  greatest  of  all  the  Christian  Mysteries — the  Holy  Eucharist 
The  chromo-lithographs  are  exceedingly  beautiful,  and  executed 
in  the  highest  style  of  art.  The  descriptive  letterpress  too  is  finely 
printed,  and  well  worthy  of  careful  perusaL  This  beaudfol  wofk 
would  be  a  most  becoming  ornament  on  a  priest's  table. 


Notices  of  Booh.  543 

Spiritual  Devotion  for  the  use  of  Eeligious  Communities  (New- 
York,  Benziger  Brothers),  is  a  neat  and  useful  little  book,  trans- 
lated from  the  French  by  Miss  Ella  McMahon.  It  has  been 
strongly  commended  by  several  French  prelates,  and  certainly  gives 
many  valuable  hints  for  the  guidance  of  the  spiritual  directors  of 
religious  communities.  Those  priests  who  have  charge  of  such 
communities  will  find  it  a  very  useful  little  book. 

The  Year  of  the  Sacred  Heart  (New  York,  Benziger  Brothers), 
is  a  Deat  little  volume,  translated  ^om  the  French  by  Miss  Anna 
T.  Sadlier.  As  its  name  implies,  it  gives  a  collection  of  thoughts 
on  the  Sacred  Heart  for  every  day  in  the  year,  taken  from  the 
writings  or  sayings  of  those  saints  who  were  most  devoteft  to  the 
Sacred  Heart.  This  little  work  will  help  to  propagate  and 
s^engthen  this  excellent  devotion. 

The  Month  of  Mary,  by  Father  Beckx,  General  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus.  Translated  from  the  German  by  Miis.  Edward 
Hazbland.     London :  Burks  &  Oates. 

The  name  of  Father  Beckx,  the  celebrated  General  of  the 
Jesuits,  is  of  itself  a  guarantee  that  the  Month  of  Mary  is  far  above 
the  average  standard  of  such  books  of  devotion.  If  any  further 
proof  were  wanting,  it  might  be  found  in  the  fact  that  this  little 
book  in  honour  of  Mary  has  been  translated  into  several  European 
languages,  and  has  had  a  wide  circulation  in  each.  We  are  thankful 
to  Mrs.  Hazeland  for  giving  us  this  English  version,  which  we  dare 
say  will  command  a  ready  and  extensive  sale  in  these  kingdoms. 
The  book  is  neatly  bound  and  printed,  which  is  a  further  recom- 
meodation. 

The  Messenger  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  (May  and  June),  edited 
by  Father  Nolan,  O.D.C.,  Jand  published  by  Duffy  &  Sons,  is  a 
small  but  interesting  record  of  the  beautiful  devotion  to  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  our  Queenly  Mother.  **  The  Confraternity 
of  the  Holy  and  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners  "  is  not  long  established,  but  it  has  already  done  excellent 
work,  and  we  are  glad  to  learn  that  its  sphere  of  utility  is  ever 
widening.  This  little  periodical  is  designed  to  make  known  the 
aims  and  needs  of  the  confraternity,  as  well  as  to  furnish  a  record 
of  its  labours.  We  hope  the  promoters  will  succeed  in  their  holy 
purpose,  for  it  is  the  loftiest  aim  that  can  engage  the  thoughts  and 
labours  of  a  good  priest. 

From  the  Crib  to  the  Cross,    London :  Burns  &  Gates. 
This  is  an  excellent  series  of  simple  meditations,  translated  from 


544  Notices  of  Books. 

Father  Purbrick,  S.J.,  in  a  neatly-written  preface,  very  justly 
observes  that  meditation  is  a  bard  word,  and  that  meditations  pro- 
perly so  called,  are  beyond  the  reach  of  most  children.  There  is, 
however,  an  easier  and  no  less  effective  way  of  bringing  children 
to  Christ,  and  that  is  to  set  before  their  eyes  a  brief  and  vivid  nar- 
rative of  the  leading  events  in  the  life  of  our  Blessed  Lord.  This 
is  the  purpose  of  the  present  little  work,  and  w^  think  the  book  is 
very  well  calculated  to  attain  that  object.  It  is  written  in  a  dear, 
simple,  and  attractive  style,  such  as  suits  the  capacity  of  children, 
and  cannot  fail  to  make  on  their  tender  minds  a  deep  and  lasting 
impression  for  good. 

J.  H. 

Devotions  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  by  a  Sister  of  Mercy,  and  published 
by  the  same  enterprising  firm,  is  a  work  of  the  sanie  size,  and  of 
similar  import  to  the  preceding.  These  little  books  would  be 
very  well  adapted  as  catechism  prizes  for  younger  boys  and  girls. 

The  Smuggler's  Revenge,  by  Lady  Lentaigne,  is  a  very  interesting 
little  tale,  and  conveys  a  high  moral  lesson.  Of  such  books  we 
cannot  have  too  many,  for  young  people  love  variety  as  well  as 
adventure.  Priests,  now  at  least,  can  have  no  reason  to  complain 
of  a  lack  of  books,  suitable  for  parochial  libraries,  which  will  hdp 
to  wean  young  people  from  a  love  of  dangerous  literature,  and 
implant  lessons  of  high  principle  in  their  tender  minds. 

Ill' Won  Peerages,  or  An  Unhallowed  Union,    By  M.  L.  CBeikni, 
Author  of  Leixlip  Castle,  &c.     Dublin  :  M.  H.  Gill  &  Son. 

We  noticed  Leixlip  Castle  at  the  time  of  its  appearance,  aid 
some  persons  thought  not  over  favourably.  It  is  true  we  qualified 
our  praise,  but  in  so  far  as  our  critique  was  laudatory  it  is  all  the 
more  valuable  because  it  was  manifestly  the  candid  expression  of 
our  opinion.  The  authoress,  who  now  gives  us  her  real  name,  has 
we  think,  at  least  to  some  extent,  corrected  in  this  volume  the 
faults  to  which  we  called  attention  in  the  preceding  one.  We 
think  her  sentences  are  still  a  trifle  too  long,  and  sometimes  too 
much  involved.  But  the  plot  is  well  constructed,  the  scenes  are 
full  of  interest,  and  the  outlines  of  historical  truth  are  filled  in  with 
considerable  vigour  and  vividness.  The  scene  is  laid  during  the 
wild  and  troublesome  period  of  ninety-eight— a  period  so  full  of 
tK^c  interest  for  all  Irishmen.  The  writer  is  evidwitly  fiilled  with 
the  undying  spirit  of  Irish  nationality,  and  as  she  sorrows  for  the 
evil  decKls  of  the  past,  so  she  glories  in  the  growing  prospects  of 
a  brighter  future  for  her  native  land.  The  book  will  be  read  with 
much  interest,  at  least  by  all  those  who  share  her  national 
aspurations.  «. 


THE    IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


SEPTEMBER,  1884. 


ORIGIN,  NATURE,  AND  USE  OF  THE  PALLIUM. 

NATURE  OF  THE  Pallium. — The  Pallium  is,  materially 
considered,  a  white  woollen  band  of  circular  shape, 
about  three  fingers  broad,  worn  over  the  breast  and 
shoulders,  the  single  band  falling  down  in  front,  adorned 
with  four  black  crosses,  and  fastened  with  three  golden  pins. 
Anciently  these  crosses  were  of  a  red  or  purple  colour ;  but 
Bmee  the  time  of  Innocent  III.  the  crosses  have  been  black, 
although  the  reason  for  changing  the  colom:  has  not  been 
ascertained.*  In  the  formal  or  legal  sense  of  the  word, 
the  Pallium  is  defined  to  be  "  the  characteristic  ornament 
of  Archbishops  and  other  superior  prelates,  taken  from  the 
body  of  St.  reter,  granted  by  the  rope  alone,  and  symbol- 
ising and  conferring  the  plenitude  of  the  pastoral  power.*' 
It  is  said  to  be  taken  from  the  body  of  St.  Peter,  because 
in  ancient  times  it  was  customary  to  preserve  the  Palliums 
in  the  confession  of  St.  Peter,  and  under  the  altar  beneath 
which  the  bodies  of  the  blessed  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul 
repose — *'  Per  Canonicos  Basilicae  ponuntur  super  corpora 
Petri  et  Pauli  Apostolorum  sub  altari  majori,  ubi  factis  de 
more  vigiliis,  ilia  per  noctem  dimittunt,  deinde  restituunt 
subdiaconis,  qui  in  loco  honesto  ea  conservant.**'  As  we 
dudl  see  further  on,  the  same  custom  is  still  observed 
before  the  Palliums  are  solemnly  blessed  by  the  Pope,  or  the 
Cardinal  who  officiates  in  his  stead. 

'  On  the  origin  of  the  Pallium. — There  are  three  differ- 
ent opinions  regarding  the  origin  of  the  Palliimi.  According 

*  '  De  Angelis,  vol.  WV'  163. 

'  Benedictus  XIV.,  Constit.  voL  iL,  page  494. 
yOL.  V.  2  S 


546  Origin,  Nature^  and  Use  of  tlie  Pallium. 

to  De  Marca,  and  writers  of  his  school,  it  was  originally  an 
imperial  ornament  worn  by  the  Roman  emperors,  which 
Constantine,  after  the  peace  of  the  Church,  permitted  Pope 
Sylvester  to  wear  as  the  symbol  of  supreme  authority,  and 
which  he  authorised  him  also,  in  certain  cases,  to  grant  as 
a  special  privileffe  to  others.  Hence,  they  say,  as  it  was 
treasonable  by  the  Roman  law  to  wear  the  imperial  orna- 
ments without  special  licence,  we  find  that  Virgilius  asked 
the  permission  of  Justinian,  as  St.  Gregory  the  Great  did 
of  the  Emperor  Maurice,  to  grant  the  Pallium  to  certain 
prelates.  There  is  no  foundation,  however,  for  this 
opinion,  except  the  alleged  donation  of  certain  privileges 
to  St.  Sylvester  by  Constantine,  amongst  others  to  wear— 
Phrygium  et  super  humerale  videHcet  lorum,quod  imperiale 
circumdare  assolet  collum«  This  band,  thrown  over  the 
shoulders  and  round  the  neck  of  the  emperor,  was,  accord- 
ing to  Antonius  de  Dominis,  the  original  Pallium  which  the 
emperor  permitted  the  Popes  to  use.  This  document  is  in 
Gratian's  Decree ;  but  every  scholar  now  recognises  it  as 
one  of  the  forgeries  of  the  Pseudo-Isidore,  and  conse- 
quently of  no  weight  whatever.  As  to  St.  Gregory  and 
Virgilius  asking  the  imperial  permission  to  grant  the 
Pallium,  they  did  so  because  they  feared  that  otherwise 
the  grant  of  the  PaUium  to  foreign  prelates  might  be 
regarded  by  emperors,  or  their  minions,  as  an  attempt  to 
secure  the  protection  of  foreign  princes  at  the  expense  of 
their  own  allegiance  to  the  empire. 

Others  think  that  the  Pallium,  though  of  purely  eccle- 
siastical origin,  was  worn  by  the  Popes  in  imitation  of  the 
rational  and  superhumeral  worn  by  the  High  Priests  of 
the  Old  Law.i  Baronius  seems  to  adopt  this  as  the  more 
probable  opinion,  and  it  is  adopted  by  several  eminent 
canonists. 

A  third  opinion,  however,  traces  the  origin  of  the 
Pallium  to  St.  Linus,  the  immediate  successor  of  St  Peter, 
who,  as  such,  wore  the  PaUium  of  the  Prince  of  the 
Apostles,  and  ordained  that  it  should  be  worn  by  his  snc- 
cessors  to  signify  that  the  lawful  successors  of  St.  Peter 
inherited  from  him  the  fulness  of  the  Apostolic  power. 
We  have,  in  favour  of  this  opinion,  the  high  authority  of 
St.  Maximus,  Bishop,  who,  in  his  sermon,  **De  Veste 
SacerdotaU,"  says — "In  lege  gratiae  antiquum  est  illud 
nostrum  Ephod  (id  est  PaUiimi)  quod  nostri  Patriarchae 

1  See  Exod.  xxyiii.,  4. 


Origin^  Nature^  and  Use  of  the  Pallium,  547 

arbitrantur  a  Lino  post  Petrum  secundo  Romano  Pontifice 
institutnm,  et  in  siDguIaris  potestatis  privilegium  nostris 
primis  praesulibus  datum." 

One  thing  at  least  is  certain,  that  the  use  of  the 
PalUum  is  very  ancient  in  the  Church,  both  Eastern  and 
Western.  For  Gregory  the  Great*  refers  to  it  expressly 
in  his  letter  to  the  Bishops  of  Illyrium;  and  Pope 
Symmachus'  (498-514),  when  granting  it  to  Theodore, 
declares  that  he  does  so  more  majorum^  that  is,  in  accordance 
■with  ancient  practice. 

The  preparation,  benediction,  and  granting  op  the 
Pallium. — The  wool  from  which  the  Pallium  is  made,  is 
prepared  in  a  special  and  significant  maimer.  On  the  Festival 
of  St.  Agnes,  the  nuns  of  her  monastery,  in  the  Nomentane 
Way,  make  an  offering  of  two  white  lambs  at  the  altar, 

{'ust  at  the  moment  when  the  Agnus  Dei  of  the  Mass  is 
)eing  sung.  The  lambs  are  then  taken  charge  of  by  two 
canons  of  St.  John  Lateran,  who  have  them  cared  and  fed 
until  the  proper  time  for  diearing.  The  pm-e  white  wool 
of  these  two  lambs  is  then  mixed  with  more  white  wool  of 
similar  texture,  and  from  the  mixture  the  Palliums  are 
spun  and  woven. 

We  have  a  special  constitution  of  Benedict  XIV.,  in 
which  that  learned  Pontiff  prescribes  the  maimer  of  blessing 
and  granting  the  Pallium.  After  referring  to  the  ancient 
rites  of  blessing  the  Pallium,  the  Pontiff  ordains  the  rule 
to  be  followed  in  future.  A  suflBcient  number  of  Palliums 
shall  be  prepared,  and  on  the  Vigil  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul's 
Day,  shall  be  carried  by  the  Canon  Sacristan  of  the 
Basilica,  attended  by  the  customary  retinue,  to  the  Con- 
fession of  the  blessed  Peter.  They  are  to  be  carried  on  a 
golden  dish,  and  placed  on  the  table  of  the  altar,  which 
was  covered  with  a  cloth  richly  adorned,  between  two 
candelabra  with  lighted  candles.  After  Vespers  to  be 
celebrated  in  the  BasiUca  by  the  Pontiff  himself,  or  by  a 
Cardinal,  the  celebrant  shall  go  down  to  the  Confession  of 
St.  Peter  attended  by  certain  ministers  and  guards,  and 
solemnly  bless  the  Palliums,  which  should  be  placed  before 
him  by  one  of  the  Auditors  of  the  Apostolic  ralace.  The 
blessing  over,  the  Palliums  are  to  be  placed  in  a  box  of  silver, 
gilt  with  gold — arcula  argentea  auro  obducta — ^which  box 
should  always  be  kept  in  the  Confession  of  the  blessed 
Apostle,  and  near  his  sacred  Body.     The  box  itself,  of  ex- 

1  Lib.  ii.,  Epist.  22.        >  Epist.  11.,  Apnd  Labbeiun.  T.  v. ;  col.  440* 


548         .    Origin^  Naturey  and  Use  of  the  Pallium. 

quisitely  embossed  workmanship,  was  made  by  the  special 
order  of  the  Pope  for  that  purpose,  and  was  by  him  offered  to 
the  blessed  Peter  in  remission  of  his  sins.  It  was  to  remain 
under  the  custody  of  the  Canon  Sacristan  of  the  Basilica; 
but  the  key  was  to  be  kept  by  the  First  Master  of  Cere- 
monies. 

The  prelate  who  is  entitled  to  use  the  PaUium,  should 
make  application  for  it  within  three  months  after  his  conse- 
cration, or  if  he  should  have  been  already  consecrated, 
within  three  months  after  the  confirmation  of  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  new  See.  That  application  is  made  in 
Consistory  through  one  of  the  consistorial  advocates,  who 
is  specially  constituted  procurator  for  the  purpose,  and 
who,  in  the  name  of  the  new  prelate,  demands  the  Pallium 
from  the  Pope  ifistanter^  instantius^  et  instantissime.  The 
procurator  then  retires,  the  Pope  consults  the  Cardinals, 
and,  of  course,  grants  the  request.  The  senior  of  the 
Cardinal-deacons  is  authorised  to  confer  the  Pallium,  and 
names  a  day  and  place  for  the  purpose.  Sometimes  the 
Cardinal  grants  the  Pallium  in  the  private  oratory  of  his 
own  house ;  but  not  unfrequently,  especially  when  received 
by  great  prelates  in  person,  it  is  conferred  by  the  Cardinal- 
deacon  at  the  great  altar  of  St.  Peter's.  Then  the 
prelate,  kneeling  on  the  altar  step,  begs  the  PalUum  firom 
the  Cardinal-deacon,  who  stands  at  the  right  comer  of  the 
altar,  in  the  following  words : — "Ego  N.  electus  ecclesiaeN. 
instanter,  instantius,  et  instantissime  peto  mihi  tradi  et 
assignari  Pallium  de  corpore  B.  Petri  sumptum,  in  quo  est 

f)lenitudo  Pontificalis  oflScii."  But  if  the  Pallium  is  con- 
erred  not  on  the  prelate  personally,  but  through  his  pro- 
curator, then  the  latter  asks  it  in  the  name  of  the  prelate  as 
above,  but  he  is  required  to  swear  solemnly — "  et  promitto 
illud  reverenter  portare  eidem  Rev.  Patri  D.  et  nee  per- 
noctabo  in  aliquo  loco  nisi  una  nocte  tantum,  nisi  prepe- 
ditus  fuero  legitim'e,  et  tunc  in  cathedrali  ipsins  (ant 
coUegiata,  aut  parochiali  ecclesia)  remittam  et  honoriiSce 
reponam,  sic  me  Deus  adjuvet  et  hac  Sancta  Dei  evangelia." 
Not  unfrequently  it  happens  that  a  bishop  is  constituted 

frocurator  for  his  archbishop,  to  receive  and  bear  him  the 
'allium.  The  clause  in  which  the  procurator  promise«  not 
to  remain  more  than  one  night  in  any  place,  though  given  in 
the  older  form  of  the  oath  (vide  Ferraris  vol.  I.,  page  77^ 
Mice's  edition),  is  omitted  from  the  Benedictine  consti- 
tution. 


Origin^  Nature,  cmfCt  Use  of  the  Palliurf^  54ft 

The  use  op  the  Pallium. — The  law  regarding  the  use  of 
the  PalUum  is  contained  in  the  First  Book  of  the  Decretals — 
"Titulus  Octavns,  de  Auctoritate  et  Usu  Pallii,"  and 
has  remained  practically  unchanged  since  the  time  of 
Gregory  IX.  It  is  summed  up  in  seven  brief  and  clear 
capitula. 

I.  The  Archbishop  may  use  his  Pallium  within  any 
church  of  his  province ;  but  when  going  in  procession 
outside  the  church,  even  though  clothed  in  his  sacred  vest- 
ments, he  may  not  use  the  Pallium.  Ferraris,  however, 
thinks  that  if  the  multitude  of  people  rendered  it  necessary  to 
celebrate  praeforibua  eecleaiaej  he  might  in  that  case  use  his 
Pallium;  it  is  morally  as  it  were  within  the  church.  It 
seems  too  (from  the  chapter — Quod  eicut  28  de  Electione) 
that  it  is  not  lawful  for  the  Archbishop  to  hold  a  Provincial 
Synod  without  his  Pallium-^non  licet  Archiepiscopo  sine 
PnUio  convocare  eoncUitim — and  it  is  stated  by  Petra  that 
Benedict  XIII.,  when  Archbishop  of  Benevento  and  St. 
Charles,  at  Milan,  alwavs  wore  the  Palhum  in  their 
Provincial  Synods,  which  of  course  were  held  in  the 
church.^ 

II.  The  Archbishop  may  not  lend  his  Pallium,  because  it 
is  his  personal  ornament  and  should  be  buried  with  him. 
If  it  is  burned  or  lost,  he  should  make  application  for  a 
new  one. 

If  transferred  to  another  See  he  should  get  another 
PaUium,  and  no  longer  use  the  first  one,  but  he  should 
carry  it  with  him  to  be  placed  under  his  head  after  his 
death,  the  last  Pallium  being  placed,  as  in  life,  over  his 
vestments  around  his  neck.  If  the  Prelate  has  resigned 
his  See  he  can  no  longer  wear  his  PalUum ;  and  if  the 
Pallium  has  been  granted,  but  the  Prelate  is  unable  to  wear 
it,  then  it  should  be  burned  and  the  ashes  thrown  into  the 
Sacrarium,'  according  to  a  decree  of  the  S.  Congr.  of  Rites 
(Uth  May,  1606). 

IIL  The  Pallium  confers  the  plenitude  of  the  Apostolic 
OfEce,  and  title  of  Archbishop ;  nor,  says  Innocent  III., 
should  any  one  call  himself  an  Archbishop  before  he  has 
received  the  Pallium  from  us — non  tamen  deberet  se  Archi- 

Siscopum  appellare  priusquam  a  nobis  Pallium  suseepisseU 
ence  the  new  Prelate,  except  prevented  by  lawful  impedi- 
ment, is  bound  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  his  dignity  to 
apply  for  the  Pallium  within  three  months  from  the  date  of 

^  Penaris,  No.  22, 29.  «  Craisson,  No.  858. 


550  Origin  J  Nature^  and  Use  of  the  Pallium. 

his  consecration,  or  if  consecrated,  of  his  confirmation ;  bat 
it  may  be  done  personally  or  by  procurator.  Strictly 
speaking  then,  the  Prelate  has  no  right  to  his  title  of 
Archbishop  until  he  gets  his  Pallium,  and  he  may  not  during 
the  interval  exercise  any  of  those  episcopal  functions  which 
usually  require  the  Pallium  when  exercised  by  an  Arch- 
bishop. He  may,  however,  perform  all  other  episcopal 
functions,  and  depute  another  rrelate  to  perform  the  special 
functions  forbidden  to  him  without  the  Pallium. 

IV.  The  Roman  Pontiff  alone  has  the  right  during  the 
celebration  of  Mass  to  wear  the  Pallium  everywhere  and 
always ;  for  he  alone  possesses  the  fulness  of  that  Apostolic 
authority  which  is  symbolized  by  the  Pallium.  Others  may 
not  use  it  except  in  their  own  churches  and  on  certain  days, 
because  their  jurisdiction  is  limited  both  as  to  place  and 
persons — they  are  called,  in  partem  soUicitudinis  non  in 
plenitudinem  potestatis.  The  Pallium  is  accordingly  granted 
only  to  Patriarchs,  Primates,  and  Archbishops  who  have 
their  own  flocks ;  but  not  to  Bishops  or  titular  Archbishops, 
even  if  they  should  be  Cardinals.  Some  Bishops,  however, 
have  the  use  of  the  Pallium  by  special  privilege  granted  to 
their  Sees,  or  to  themselves :  such  are  tne  Bishops  of  Ostia, 
Pa  via,  Lucca,  Bamberg ;  and  in  France,  of  Autun,  Le  Puy, 
and  Marseilles.  But  it  is  then  a  mere  prerogative  of 
honour,  and  neither  entitles  the  wearer  to  take  precedence 
of  his  seniors  by  consecration,  nor  exempts  him  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  his  Archbishop— (jDe  Angelis.)  The  days  on 
which  the  Pallium  may  be  worn  at  Mass  are  the  principal 
festivals  of  our  Lord,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  Apostles, 
the  Nativity  of  St  John  the  Baptist,  and  All  Saints'  Day, 
as  also  at  the  dedication  of  churches,  the  ordination  of 
Clerics,  the  consecration  of  Bishops,  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  Prelate's  consecration,  and  the  principal  feasts  of  his 
church. 

The  v.,  VL,  and  VII.  chapters  of  this  same  title  are 
merely  explanatory  of  the  others,  and  contain  nothing  new. 
Chapter  Vt,  emphatically  asserts  that  the  Archbishop  cannot 
use  the  Pallium  outside  his  own  province  in  anv  circum- 
stances, that  any  custom  to  the  contrary  is  an  abuse  and 
corruptela,  although  the  Pontiff,  by  special  grace  and  in 
very  special  circumstances,  allowed  the  Archbishop  of 
Compostella  to  use  the  Pallium  outside  his  own  province, 
but  only  with  the  consent  of  the  Prelate  in  whose  church 
he  was  allowed  to  officiate. 

The  VI.  chapter  restricts  the  use  of  the  Pallium  to  the 


Origin^  Nature^  and  Use  of  the  Pallium,  551 

cases  where  the  prelate  is  miasarum  celebrationibus  constitutits 
within  his  own  province  and  within  the  Church;  and  in 
the  VII.,  Honorius  III.  permits  the  prelate  to  celebrate 
without  the  Pallium  either  within  or  without  his  diocese^ 
because,  he  adds,  it  is  only  on  those  days  expressed  in  his 
priyilege  that  he  ought  to  celebrate  with  the  Pallium. 
Hence  it  is  not  allowed  to  use  the  Pallium  in  Masses  for  the 
dead,  for  they  may  not  be  celebrated  on  these  privileged 
days. 

In  the  schismatical  Greek  Church  all  the  bishops  use  a 
Palliiun,  which  is  called  by  tiiem  omophorion,  because 
worn  over  the  shoulders ;  but  it  is  of  a  dinerent  form  from 
the  Latin  Pallium,  and  is  laid  aside  by  the  prelate  during 
Mass  from  the  Gospel  to  the  Communion,  when  it  is  re- 
sumed. It  is  said  that  this  privilege  of  wearing  the  Pallium 
was  first  extorted  from  John  XL,  m  favour  of  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople,  and  was  by  him  and  his  successors 
granted  to  aU  their  suffragans  without  the  permission  of 
the  Roman  Pontiff.  Li  the  Council  of  Lateran,  however, 
the  great  Patriarchs  in  communion  with  the  Pope  were 
allowed,  after  having  themselves  received  the  Pallium  from 
the  Pope,  to  grant  it  to  their  suflfragans  entitled  to  use  it, 
on  condition,  however,  of  taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  and 
obedience.^  But  at  the  present  day  even  the  four  great 
titular  Patriarchs,  though  in  conmiunion,  with  Home  are 
not  allowed  the  use  of  the  Pallium,  because  they  have  no 
clergy  and  flock  of  their  own.' 

We  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  use  of  the  Pallium  in 
the  Irish  Church  before  the  time  of  Cardinal  Papiro,  who 
came  to  this  country  shortly  after  Michaelmas  in  1151.  He 
remained  during  the  winter,  and  in  Laetare  Sunday  in  the 
spring  of  1152  he  convened  a  great  synod  at  Kells,  in  which 
he  conferred  four  Palliums  on  the  four  Archbishops  who  were 
present  at  the  synod — Gelasius  of  Armagh  (the  Primate), 
bomnald  O'Lonergan,  "  Archbishop  of  Munster,"  Gregory, 
"  Bishop  of  Dublin,"  and  Maelisa  O'Connachtain,  *'  Bishop 
of  Eastern  Connaught"  So  these  prelates  are  reroectively 
described  in  an  extract  from  the  Annals  of  Clonenagh 
(apud  Colgan  T.  Th.  p.  306)  which  is  manifestly  a  perfectly 
accurate  and  authentic  account  of  this  Council,  given 
apparently  by  one  of  those  present  at  the  synod,  who  gives 
the  exact  date  of  opening  and  closing  the  synod,  the  pre- 
lates present,  their  names,  their  number,  their  sees,  tneir 

^  F^raris.  sub  Pallivm,  '  De  Ang.  Hoc.  tit.  no.  6. 


552  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland  : 

titles,  and  the  principal  acts  of  the  synod.  From  this  we 
may  fairly  infer  that  Armagh  and  Cashel  were  then  recog- 
nised as  Archbishoprics,  but  that  Dublin  and  Tuam  had  not 
previously  been  so  recognised. 

Gerald  Barry  indeed  states  that  before  the  advent  of 
Cardinal  Papiro  there  were  no  Archbishops  in  Ireland,  and 
he  has  been  severely  taken  to  task  by  Usher,  Colgan,  and 
Lynch,  for  that  audacious  statement.  Yet  in  the  joridical 
sense  at  least  Gerald  Barry  was  perfectly  right,  for  as 
Innocent  III.  emphatically  proclaimed  at  the  very  time  that 
Gerald  Barry  was  writing,  no  man  is  entitled  to  the  name 
or  jurisdiction  of  an  Archbishop  who  has  not  received  the 
Pallium  from  the  Pope,  and  there  is  not  a  particle  of  trust- 
worthy evidence  to  show  that  the  Pallium  had  been  pre- 
viously used  in  Ireland.  Indeed  St.  Bernard,  in  his  Life  of 
St.  Malachy,  states  expressly  that  if  never  was  used  even  in 
Armagh  from  the  beginning.  Colgan  tries  to  explain  away 
the  force  of  this  observation,  but  we  think  its  meaning  iB 
evident  to  every  impartial  reader.  *'  Metropoliticae  sedi, 
deerat  adhuc,  et  defuerat  ab  initio  usue  Pallii.**  Yet  it  is  at 
the  same  time  eviaent  from  the  language  of  St.  Bernard, 
that  Armagh  was  commonly  recognised  long  before  the 
advent  of  Papiro  as  the  Metropolitan  See,  not  only  of  the 
northern  province,  but  of  all  Ireland.  We  cannot,  however, 
for  the  present  enter  further  into  the  discussion  of  this  most 
interesting  question. 

John  Healt. 


THE  HOLY  PLACES  OF  IRELAND. 

I. — ^Cashel  of  the  Kings. 

^^  "pROM  the  midst  of  a  fertile  plain,"  says  Jewett,  "rises 
JL  abruptly  the  immense  mass  of  limestone  known  as 
the  Rock  of  Cashel,  and  which,  crowned  as  it  is  by  lofty 
and  venerable  ruins,  forms  a  conspicuous  landmark  to  the 
surrounding  country  for  many  miles.  On  a  nearer  approadi 
it  increases  in  grandeur  and  interest.  The  town  lies  at 
its  foot,  and  the  small  whitewashed  cottages  which  are 
nestled  xmder  it  serve  to  give  interest  and  contrast  to  the 
scene.  The  rock  is  inaccessible  on  all  sides  except  the 
south,  where  it  is  defended  by  a  gateway.    On  entering 


Cashel  of  the  King$.  553 

anthill  this  enclosare,  whilst  standing  on  the  green  sward 

at  the  west  end  of  the  building,  it  is  impossible  to  describe 

the  feelings  which  crowd  upon  the  imagination — the  grey, 

hoar,  solemn,  and  melancholy  ruins  seem  in  their  mute 

eloquence  like  spirits  of  the  past  standing  in  the  present, 

silent  yet  speaking — ^the  ruined  cathedral,  the  shattered 

castle,  and  the  weather-beaten  cross — all  raise  thoughts 

which  it  is  not  possible  to  express ;  and  when  all  these  are 

seen  by  the  lignt  of  the  setting  sun  shining  from  behind 

clouds  over  the  distant  Galtees,  the  effect  is  beyond  any 

thing  that  can  be  conceived."  There  are  few  who  visit  the 

ancient  city  of  Cashel  to  whom  thoughts  akin  to  those  so 

elegantly  expressed  by  the  English  traveller  do  not  occur. 

To  many,  too,  other  thoughts  and  memories  will  rise  up 

unbidden  when  they  ascend  the  steep  rock  and  mount  to 

the  summit  of  the  old  castle  and  gaze  in  wonder  and  love 

on  the  vast  plain  below,  emerald  green,  fair,  and  beautiful, 

and  rich  as  any  part  of  God's  creation  ;  and  they  will  be 

tempted  to  exclaim,  as  Cromwell  and  William  did,  looking 

down  on   that  same  glorious   plain,  the  Golden    Vale : 

"Surely  that  is  a  country  worth  fighting  for";  and  they 

will  wish  that  over  that  fair  plain  more  of  the  human  kind 

were  spread,  and  less  of  flocks  and  herds,  and  they  will 

find  it  nard  to  forgive  the  men  that  heartlessly  drove  forth 

those  who  in  days  gone  by  dwelt  here  in  peace  and  purity, 

"a  bold  pe€wantry,  their  country's  pride." 

The  ancient  name  of  the  Rock  was  Sidh*dhruim,  Le» 
Fairy  Hill.  The  present  name,  O'Donovan  says,  comes 
from  a  circular  stone  fort  or  caiseal  that  formerly  stood  on 
its  summit,  ^Cormac's  Glossary  derives  it  from  Cis  ail,  the 
rock  of  the  Tribute,  the  stone  on  which  was  laid  down  the 
tribute  given  to  it  by  the  men  of  Eire.  The  Book  of  Rights, 
which  very  probably  dates  from  the  fifth  century,  tells  us 
that  in  the  time  of  Core,  the  son  of  Lughaidb,  who  lived 
about  400  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ,  two  swineherds 
tised  to  frequent  the  hill  for  the  space  of  a  quarter  of  a 
year  to  feed  their  swine  on  acorns,  for  it  was  a  woody 
Ml,  the  swineherds  of  the  Kings  of  Eli  and  of  Ormoni 
There  appeared  to  them  a  figure  brighter  than  the  sun,  with 
a  voice  sweeter  than  the  angular  harp,  blessing  the  hill 
and  place.     The  figure  which  appeared  was  Victor,  the 


554  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland: 

of  vaxiouB  grades  to  serve  Christ  the  benign,**  Core  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  who  fixed  his  royal  residence  at 
Cashel.  For  centuries  after,  ahnost  up  to  the  time  of  the 
English  invasion,  the  kings  of  Munster  dwelt  there ;  indeed 
they  were  called  Kings  of  Cashel,  just  as  the  Ardrigh  was 
called  King  of  Tara  because  he  resided  there.  Now  these 
kings  must  have  had  a  good  time  of  it  on  the  whole,  if 
eating  and  drinking  and  making  merry,  with  an  occasional 
sluaigheachd  or  hosting  against  their  neighbours,  could  con- 
stitute earthly  bliss.  The  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the 
King  of  Cashel  when  he  was  Ardrigh  or  King  of  Erin 
were  the  following.  The  King  of  Cruaghan  should  enter- 
tain him  for  half  a  year,  and  accompany  him  into  Tir-ChonailL 
He  had  a  month's  refection  from  the  Cineal  Conaill,  and  an 
escort  to  Tir-Eoghain.  A  month's  refection  from  the  King 
of  Aileach,  and  an  escort  to  Tulach  Og.  Twelve  days' 
refection  from  the  lord  of  Tulach  Og,  and  an  escort  to 
the  Oirghialla.  At  Emhain  entertainment  for  a  montii, 
and  an  escort  to  the  Ulstermen.  The  Ulstermen  gave 
him  a  month's  refection  and  an  escort  to  Tara.  Tnere 
he  received  a  month's  refection,  and  the  four  tribes  escorted 
him  to  Athcliath  (Dublin).  The  King  of  Athcliath  gave 
him  a  month's  refection,  and  accompanied  him  to  the 
Leinstermen.  He  gave  to  the  tributary  kin^  in  return 
drinking  horns,  swords,  coats  of  mail,  steeds,  chess-boards^ 
ships,  and  cows.  His  rights  as  King  of  Cashel  were  the 
government  of  the  half  of  Erin  from  Kenmare  in  the  west 
to  Athcliath,  together  with  the  followinff  tributes.  From 
Ormond,  300  cows,  300  hogs  and  100  clo«is ;  from  Owner, 
100  milch  cows,  300  hogs,  and  300  mantles  ;  from  the  men 
of  Ara,  30  beeves,  30  hogs,  and  30  cloaks,  ak  received  a 
like  tribute  from  Orrery,  O'DriscoU's  country.  West  Keny, 
West  Clare,  Corcomroe,  Burren,  and  the  Decies.  "  It  was 
not  because  of  inferiority  of  race  that  they  paid  these 
tributes,  but  for  their  territories,  and  for  the  superior  right 
of  Cashel,  and  for  its  having  been  blessed  by  Patrick."  To 
the  kings  of  his  territories  he  gave  as  stipends  ships,  swords, 
shields,  coats  of  mail,  rings,  drinking  horns,  steeds,  bonds- 
men, and  bondswomen. 

After  journeying  through  the  eastern  parts  of  Ireland,  and 
founding  churches,  consecrating  bishops,  and  ordaining 
priests  in  the  various  places,  St.  Patrick  turned  his  steps 
towards  Munster.  At  this  time,  about  445  after  Christ, 
^n^hus,  the  son  of  Nadfraich,  ruled  over  the  soutL  At 
Patnck's  approach  the  idols,  set  up  in  the  temples  by  the 


Cashel  of  the  Kings*  555 

people  then  pagan,  fell  to  the  ground,  as  Dagan  did  of 
old  before  the  Ark  of  the  Lord.  Hearing  of  the  holy 
man's  coming,  King  .^kighus  went  out  to  meet  him,  and 
inyited  him  to  enter  his  palace.  The  saint  spoke  to  him  of 
the  one  God  and  of  Christ  crucified.  The  king  and  his 
attendants  listened  with  attention  to  Patrick's  preaching 
and  believed.  The  saint  laid  his  hand  on  the  king's  head, 
and  gave  him  a  special  blessing,  promising  him  that  he 
should  be  in  his  descendants  a  wide-spreadiag  tree : — 

The  sons  of  Nadfraich,  of  sounding  fame, 
Of  them  shall  be  kings  and  chieftains, 
^nghus  from  the  laonds  of  Feimhin, 
And  Ailell  his  brother. 

During  the  ceremony  of  the  baptism  the  point  of  the 
crozier  on  which  Patrick  was  leanmg  entered  the  king's 
foot.  Afterwards  the  saint  asked  him  why  he  did  not  make 
the  circumstance  known.  "  Because,"  said  the  noble  hearted 
king,  '*I  thought  it  was  a  rule  of  the  faith."  "  You  shall 
have  its  rewards,"  replied  Patrick,  ^*  for  your  successors 
from  this  day  forth  shall  not  die  of  wounds."  We  are  told 
that  twentv-ejght  kings,  **  ordained  with  the  crozier,"  that 
is,  at  once  kings  and  bishops,  of  the  race  of  ^nghus  reigned 
in  Cashel  up  to  the  time  of  Caengegan,  who  was  slain  in 
897.  It  would  seem  that  a  synod  was  held  by  Patrick  at 
Cashel,  Ailbe  and  Declan,  who  some  think  had  preached 
the  Gospel  in  Munster  before  Patrick's  coming,  assembled 
there,  and  it  was  determined  that  Ailbe  should  rank  as  a 
second  Patrick,  that  there  should  be  two  chief  bishops  of 
Ireland — one  of  Leath  Chuin  or  Con's  half,  the  northern  part 
of  Ireland;  the  other  of  Leath  Mhogha  or  Mogha's  naif, 
tile  southern  part.  In  901  Cormac  MacCuUenan,  the  last 
of  the  race  of  iEnghus,  was  king-bishop.  He  was  the 
author  of  Cormac's  Glossary,  which  is  still  m  existence,  and, 
as  is  conunonly  supposed,  of  the  Psalter  of  Cashel,  at  least 
in  its  latest  form,  of  which  only  a  few  fragments  remain. 
He  is  said  to  have  offered  protection  and  shelter  to  the 
monks  ci  the  monastery  of  Rosglas,  now  called  Monaster- 
evan,  when  they  were  driven  from  their  home  by  the  King 
of  Leinster.  For  this  his  territory  was  invaded.  The  armies 
met  at  Bealach  Mughna,  two  and  a  half  miles  north  of  the 
town  of  Carlow.  After  a  long  and  fierce  battle  Cormac  was 
■bin,  with  many  of  his  chiefs.     Some  say  his  body  was 

k*«»..j.x  x^  r^^ji^^i J   1 :^j   xT ^xi X J   xu^x 


556  The.  Holy  Places  of  Ireland  : 

Brian  Boroimhe  lived  here.  In  990  he  fortified  the 
Rock.  In  1101  Murtagh  O'Brien,  kin^  of  Munster,  called 
an  aj9sembly  of  the  bishops,  clergy,  (mief^  and  people  of 
Leath  Mhogha  at  Cashel,  an.d  there,  with  the  consent  of  all, 
dedicated  Cashel,  his  cluef  residence,  to  God,  St.  Patrick, 
and  St.  Ailbe  for  ever.  Soon  after  he  resided  his  sovereignty 
to  his  brother  Dermot,  and  retiring  to  Lismore,  passed  there 
the  rest  of  his  days  in  great  piety  and  austerity.  In  1216 
Cashel  was  constituted  a  borough  by  Donat  O'Lonergan, 
who  occupied  the  seefirom  1216  to  1223.  He  handed  over 
the  town  to  a  provost  and  twelve  burgesses,  reserving  to 
his  see  only  a  small  pension.  Eight  years  later  Henry  III, 
remised  and  quit-claimed  to  Maelmuire  O'Brien  and  his 
successors  the  new  town  of  Cashel,  to  be  held  by  him  and 
his  heirs,  in  free,  pure,  and  perpetual  alms,  discharged  of 
all  exactions  and  secular  services.  About  1240  it  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  wall 

We  will  now  pass  on  to  an  examination  of  the  ruins  on 
the  Rock  itself.  These  have  been  declared  by  competent 
authority  **  for  picturesque  beauty  and  antiquarian  interest 
unparalleled  in  Ireland,"  They  consist  of  around  tower, 
Cormac*s  chapel,  the  cathedral,  the  archbishop's  palace, 
a  fortified  building,  various  smaller  buildings  in  which  the 
clergy  that  served  the  church  dwelt,  and  a  portion  of  the 
ancient  walls  surrounding  the  summit  of  the  hill.  The 
round  tower  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  in  Ireland.  A 
thousand  years  have  passed  over  it,  and  yet  it  is  as  solid 
and  fresh  to-day  as  when  the  crowning  stone  was  set  on 
its  summit.  The  material  is  the  sandstone  of  the  n^gh- 
bourhood,  with  the  exception  of  two  bands  of  limestone. 
It  is  80  feet  high ;  the  circumference, of  the  base  is  54  feet; 
the  walls  are  four  feet  thick. 

But  the  chief  attraction  of  Cashel  is  Cormac's  chapeL 
The  building  of  this^  in  many  respects  unique,  structure 
was  for  a  long  time  attributed  to  Cormac  MacCulleuan, 
king-bishop  of  Cashel,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made 
already.  But  Petrie  has  proved  beyond  the  possibility  of 
a  doubt  that  it  was  built  by  Cormac  MacCartny  two  cen- 
turies later.  He  too  was  a  king-bishop.  In  the  Annals 
of  Innisfallen,  under  the  date  1127,  we  read  that"Tnr- 
logh  O'Conor  and  Donogh  MacCarthy  caused  Cormac^ 
60^  of  Muiredhach,  son  of  Carthach,  to  be  dethroned,  so 
that  he  was  obUged  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Lismore^ 
and  take  a  staff  there  ;  and  Donogh,  son  of  Muiredhach, 
son  of  Carthach,  was  inaugurated  in  his  presence.    Twq 


Cashel  of  the  Kings.  557 

churches  (were  erected)  at  Lismore  and  a  church  at  Cashel 
by  Cormac."  Turlogh  O'Brien  and  Dermot  MacOarthy, 
in  whose  favour  Turlogh  O'Conor  had  driven  out  Ck)nnac, 
were  in  their  turn  very  soon  dispossessed  by  Conor  O'Brien, 
The  same  Annals  tell  us  that  "  Conor  went  to  Lismore,  and 
gave  his  hand  to  Cormac  MacCarthy,  and  brought  him 
again  into  the  world,  and  made  him  King  of  Desmond." 
And  under  the  date  1134,  '*  the  consecration  of  the  church 
of  Cormac  MacCarthy  at  Cashel  took  place  by  the  arch- 
bishop and  bishops  and  magnates  of  Ireland  both  lay  and 
ecclesiastical."  The  Annals  of  Ulster  also,  under  the  same 
date,  speak  of  "  the  consecration  of  the  church  built  at 
Cashel  by  a  synod  of  the  clergy  assembled  together."  The 
Annals  of  Innisfallen  say  that  Cormac*s  death  took  place 
four  years  after.  **In  1138,  Cormac,  son  of  Muiredhach,  son 
of  Carthach,  a  man  who  had  continual  contention  for  the 
sovereignty  of  the  entire  province  of  Munster,  the  most 
pious  and  most  brave,  most  liberal  of  victuals  and  clothing, 
after  having  built  the  Teampul  Cormaic  in  Cashel  and  two 
churches  in  Lismore,  was  treacherously  murdered  by  Dermot 
Sugach  O'Oonor  Kerry,  at  the  instigation  of  Turlogh 
O'Brien,  who  was  his  own  son-in-law,  gossip,  and  foster- 
child."  Inside  the  doorway  is  a  stone  coflin.  The  cover, 
no  longer  m  existence,  was  decorated  with  a  cross,  and 
bore  an  Irish  inscription  containing  the  name  of  Cormac, 
king  and  bishop  of  Munster.  When  thetomb  was  opened, 
a  crozier  of  exquisite  workmanship  and  rare  beauty  of 
design  was  found  within.  The  material  is  brass,  overlaid  in 
part  with  gold,  and  richly  adorned  with  precious  stones  of 
different  kmds.  Only  the  crook  remains ;  the  staff,  which 
was  of  wood,  has  been  lost.  **  As  a  work  of  art,"  says 
Petrie,  **  it  may  challenge  comparison  with  any  Christian 
monument  of  the  same  class  and  age  now  remaining  in 
Europe."  It  is  preserved  in  the  museum  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  Dubhn. 

Cormac's  chapel  is  undoubtedly  the  masterpiece  of 
ancient  Irish  architecture.  Its  style  is  what  has  been  of 
late  years  aptly  called  Hibemo-Romanesque,  the  general 
ouihne  being  of  a  distinctly  foreign  character,  while  very 
many  of  the  ornamental  details  are  of  that  exclusively  Irisn 
type  which  is  seen  on  our  ancient  crosses  and  in  our  oldest 
manuscripts,  though,  on  the  whole,  it  approaches  nearer 
than  most  other  churches  of  this  class,  such  as  Monahincha, 
Eillaloe,  and  Rahan,  to  the  Norman  style.  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  this  adoption  of  the  more  foreign  elements  arose 


558  Tlie  Holy  Places  of  Ireland: 

from  Cormac*s  intercourse  with  St.  Malachy,  who  had  spent 
much  of  his  Ufe  in  Prance  and  afterwards  founded  many 
churches  in  Ireland,  which  he  strove  to  make  Uke  those  he 
had  seen  in  other  countries,  "  adorning  them,"  as  his  accxiBers 
said, "  with  proud  and  imnecessary  art,"  Its  length  is  53  feet 
The  nave  is  30  feet  in  length  by  18  feet  in  breadth ;  the 
chancel  is  13  feet  8  inches  long  by  11  feet  6  inches  wide. 
The  shape  is  cruciform,  the  cross  being  formed  by  the 
addition  of  a  square  tower  at  each  side  where  the  nave  and 
chancel  meet.  There  are  two  peculiarities  well  worthy  of 
remark  in  the  orientation  of  the  bi^lding  and  in  the 
relative  positions  of  the  nave  and  chancel.  Contrary  to  the 
usual  custom,  the  major  axis  of  the  church  does  not  lie  due 
east  and  west;  it  is  16  degrees  towards  the  north.  This 
may  be  explained  by  the  fact,  that  while  in  medieval 
architecture  especially  it  was  the  rule  to  have  the  altar  end 
of  the  church  at  the  east,  for  in  this  way  the  worshippers 
would  be  reminded  of  Him  who  is  styled  the  Sun  of  Justice, 
the  Orient  from  on  high,  yet  it  was  not  unusual  to  make 
the  church  point  exactly  to  where  the  sun  rose  either  on 
the  day  on  which  the  foimdation  was  laid  or  on  that  of  its 
dedication,  flence  if  the  day  fell  in  Jime,  the  direction 
would  be  somewhat  north  of  east ;  if  in  winter,  south  of 'that 
point.  The  second  peculiarity,  which  in  Lord  JDunraven's 
work  on  Irish  architecture  is  said  to  be  inexplicable,  is  that 
the  chancel  and  chancel  arch  are  not  in  the  centre  of  the 
end  wall  of  the  nave,  but  towards  the  south  east  He 
remarks  that  a  similar  irregularity  is  observed  in  the 
Chapelie  des  Allinges,  in  the  oiocese  of  Geneva.  But  this 
is  a  point  of  symboUsm  not  so  rare.  It  is  typical  of  the 
inclined  position  of  our  Lord's  head  as  he  lay  on  the  cross. 
*' Nothing,"  says  Petrie,  "can  exceed  the  grace  and 
beauty  of  the  decoration  absolutely  lavished  on  the  exterior 
and  interior  of  Cormac's  chapel.  The  arched  mouldings, 
rich  in  sculptures  serious  and  grotesque,  the  vaulted  roof, 
the  noble  doorway,  the  elaborately  carved  pillars,  the 
graceful  towers :  all  vie  with  each  other  in  beauty  of 'design 
and  wondrous  finish  of  execution.  Scarce  a  stone  but  is 
enriched  with  tracery  delicate  as  lace-work,  purely  Irish  in 
character."  We  cannot  do  better  than  borrow  from  this 
learned  writer  the  technical  part  of  our  description  of  the 
details. 

There  are  three  doorways,  two  of  them  contemporaneons 
with  the  church ;  the  third  is  evidently  of  later  data  The 
main  entrance  is  not,  as  is  usual,  at  the  west  end,  but  in 


Cashel  of  the  Kings.  559 

the  north  walL  This  doorway  is  of  singular  beauty.  It 
has  rounded  arches  of  five  orders  springing  from  detached 
shafts.  It  is  protected  by  a  high  projoctine  canopy, 
divided  into  panels  by  perpendicular  banos,  enriched  with 
zigzag  mouldings,  rosettes,  and  carved  heads.  It  measures 
22  feet  in  height  from  the  top  of  the  canopy,  and  12  feet 
5  inches  from  pier  to  pier.     The  external  arch  projects 

4  feet  2  inches  from  the  face  of  the  wall,  and  is  7  feet 
10  inches  deep.  The  capitals  of  the  shafts  are  variously 
decorated  with  heads  of  animals  and  trumpet  pattern  spiral 
designs.  On  the  face  of  the  tympanum,  in  bas-relief,  a 
hehnetted  centaur — half  man  and  half  horse — with  a  bow 
and  arrow,  is  represented  shooting  at  a  lion  which  is  tearing 
a  smaller  animal  lying  dead  at  its  feet.  The  label  termina- 
tions here  and  throughout  the  building  are  human  heads. 
The  door-w^ay  in  the  south  wall  of  the  nave  measures  2  feet 

5  inches  in  width  and  6  feet  8  inches  in  height.  The  jamb, 
of  only  one  order,  was  ornamented  with  the  lozenge 
pattern.  This  is  much  decayed,  as  is  also  the  dripstone. 
A  grotesque  figure  of  an  animal  is  sculptured  on  the  lintel, 
its  tail  terminating  in  a  trefoil  leaf.  JSesides  these  door- 
ways, there  are  two  others  in  the  nave,  both  richly 
ornamented,  which  lead  to  the  towers.  The  southern  tower 
is  45  feet  high.  It  is  ornamented  externally  with  eight 
projecting  bands,  the  lowest  3  feet  from  the  ground.  The 
parapet  is  probably  of  a  much  later  date  than  the  original 
building.  The  northern  tower  is  50  feet  high.  It  has  six 
projecting  belts,  and  is  covered  with  a  pyramidal  roof. 
Externally  the  walls  are  decorated  with  blank  arcades  of 
semicircular  arches,  arranged  into  two  stories,  the  lower 
being  carried  round  the  southern  tower. 

The  nave  was  Ughted  by  three  large  round-headed 
windows  in  the  west,  all  three  above  the  level  of  the  door- 
way ;  the  chancel,  by  a  round-headed  window  in  the  north, 
and  another  in  the  south  wall.  These  were  very  small, 
^rith  splayed  sides,  measuring  2  feet  in  height  by  8  inches 
in  width  at  the  bottom  and  7  inches  at  the  top.  No  fittings 
for  glass  are  perceptible  in  any  of  these  apertures.  It  is 
spanned  by  a  barrel  vault,  having  plain  rectangular  ribs 
springing  from  the  capitals  of  an  upper  tier  of  colimms. 
The  lower  tier,  consisting  of  rectangular  piers  connected  by 
round  arches,  foims  an  arcade.     The  capitals  from  which 

4-k^  .^1 —  ^rxu^  ^^:i:«.—  ^,^^^— : r i*  l^      i     n 


560  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland. 

columns  with  moulded  bases.  The  piers  of  the  arcades  in 
the  lower  story  are  decorated  on  their  faces  and  sides  with 
various  incised  patterns  of  very  deUcately  executed  diapers, 
stars,  hollow  squares,  and  billets,  all  arranged  with  a 
certain  disregardof  symmetry  which  seems  to  belong  to  early 
art  The  chancel  arch  is  of  four  orders,  with  roll  mouldings 
outside  them  and  a  hollowed  space  running  round  the  arch, 
and  down  each  side  studded  with  faces  in  nigh  relief,  each 
one  of  which,  to  judge  from  their  varying  character,  would 
seem  to  have  been  meant  for  a  portrait,  some  of  them  being 
long  and  narrow,  others  .round  and  full,  some  tonsured, 
others  crowned ;  many  of  them  are  now  destroyed,  but  all 
seem  to  have  been  human  heads.  The  next  order  was 
ornamented  with  a  rich  surface  chevron  moulding, 
and  sprang  from  spiral  shafts,  only  one  of  which  is 
remaining.  The  form  of  the  arch  is  somewhat  of  the 
horseshoe  shape,  probably  brought  about  by  an  old  settle- 
ment arising  from  pressure.  Ihe  bases  of  the  piers  are 
shallow,  and  the  capitals  small ;  these  are  decorated  with 
interlaced  and  spiral  designs  showing  a  variety  of  the 
trumpet  pattern. 

The  apse  at  the  east  end  of  the  chancel  is  square.  The 
floor  is  higher  than  that  of  the  chancel  by  one  step.  In  the 
comers  are  the  bases  of  the  columns  on  which  the  altar 
stood.  The  eastern  wall  is  decorated  with  an  arcade  of 
three  round  arches  springing  from  columns;  the  two 
centre  ones  are  ornamented,  one  with  spiral,  the  other  with 
zigzag  mouldings.  The  panels  here  as  well  as  in  the 
arcades  of  the  nave  and  of  the  chancel  and  the  whole  of 
the  roof  were  painted  in  fresco,  but  the  colouring  is  almost 
entirely  effaced. 

The  roof  consists  of  two  layers  of  stone,  the  outer  of 
sandstone,  the  inner  of  calc  tufa,  probably  formed  by  deposit 
in  the  springs  of  the  Umestone.  The  mode  of  construction 
was  admirably  calculated  to  lessen  the  superincumbent 
weight,  and  to  keep  out  damp  without  impairing  the  stability 
of  the  building.  It  is  groined  with  semicircular  ribs 
springing  diagonally,  and  moulded,  while  a  group  of  four 
heads  is  seen  at  their  point  of  intersection.  \Vithin  the 
southern  tower  there  is  a  spiral  staircase  leading  up  the 
tower  to  two  crofts  or  lofta  These  were  either  sleeping 
apartments,  libraries,  or  safe-rooms  for  preserving  the  sacred 
vessels,  vestments,  books,  and  othei;  treasures  of  the  church. 
That  over  the  nave  is  27  feet  long,  10  feet  6  inches  broad, 
and*21  feet  high  to  the  soffit  of  the  pointed  arch  which 


The  New  Edition  of  the  "^  ExuaqvMur  561 

forms  the  roof.  It  was  lighted  by  two  small  windows  on 
tiie  east  side  and  two  more  in  the  south  wall,  the  latter  of 
modem  conBtmction.  There  is  a  large  space  at  the  end 
for  a  fire  place,  but  no  chimney.  At  each  side  the  openings 
of  two  horizontal  flues  may  be  seen,  which  run  round  the 
chamber  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  till  they  meet  at  the  junction 
of  the  south  tower  and  the  comer  of  the  wall.  Here  they 
are  met  by  another  flue,  apparently  from  the  chancel  below, 
aU  uniting  in  a  shaft  into  the  south  tower,  which  was  never 
roofed,  and  through  which  the  smoke  found  vent.  The 
smaller  crofb  over  the  chancel  is  entered  by  a  door  in  the 
east  wall  of  this  chamber.  It  is  lighted  by  two  small 
circular  windows  of  diflTerent  sizes.  The  floor  is  6  feet 
6  inches  lower  than  that  of  the  croft  over  the  nave. 

Denis  Murphy,  S.J. 

(7o  he  continued,) 


THE  NEW  EDITION  OF  THE  « EXSEQUIAE." 


OMcium  Defunctorum  et  Ordo  Exsequiarum  pro  adultia  et 
fartmis  una  cum  Missa  et  Absolutione  Defimctorum,  Ex 
Bitualij  Missalij  Gradualiy  Breviario,  et  Pontificali  Romano : 
cwn  cantu  a  Sacr.  Bit.  Congreg.  adprobato  ; — in  ueum  veneru' 
hUis  Cleri  saecularis  Hibemiei; — cura  Gulielmi  J.  Walsh^ 
S,T.D.^Eccl.Metrop.  Dublini  Canonici^  Collegii  Maymitiani  S, 
P(UriciiPraesidisjlJepromptaetIHspo9ita,Ihtbliniy  1884.  Apud 
if,  H,  Gill  et  Filium ;  J.  Duffy  et  fUioB ;  Browne  et  Nolan. 

SUCH  is  the  full  title  of  this  latest  edition  of  a  most  use- 
ful little  book,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  untiring 
energy  and  ability  of  the  learned  President  of  Maynooth. 
The  name  of  Dr.  Walsh  on  the  title  page  is,  or  ought  to  be, 
a  snfiScient  guarantee,  that  nothing  has  been  leu  undone 
to  m{^e  this  almost  necessary  vade  mecum  of  the  Irish  Priest, 
clear,  accurate,  and  practical ;  and  a  mere  cursory  glance 
through  the  book  itself  will  prove  that  what  might  be  con- 
fidently expected  firom  such  a  compiler  has  been  thoroucrhlv 


562  Tlie  New  Edition  of  the  «  Exsequiae." 

this  little  excerpt    from  the  various  ponderous  volumes 
that  contain  the  several  portions  of  what  we  may  call  the 
Catholic  Burial  Service.    The  pious  custom  which  so  ex* 
tensively  prevails  of  solemnly  celebrating  a  Requiem  Office 
and  Mass  on  the  Death,  at  me  Month's  Mind,  and  on  the 
Anniversaries  of  all  deceased  Bishops  and  Priests,  and  of 
many  amongst  the  laity,  render  this  function  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  make  it  necessary  that  every  Priest  should 
be  provided  with  a  compact,  portable,  book  containing  the 
entire  Liturgy  for  these  solenm  occasions.     This  necessity 
has  been  hitherto  fairly  met  by  the  books  actually  in  use, 
and  transmitted  to  us  from  some  time  about  the  close 
of  the  last  century,  and,  as  subsequently  revised  by  one  of 
Dr.  Walsh's  venerated  predecessors,  the  late  Dr.  Renehan, 
reproduced  in  several  successive  editions  down  to  the 
present  day.    That  work  has  done  valuable  service,  both 
oy  keeping  alive    amongst  the  Clergy   some    practical 
knowledge  of  Gregorian  Chant  which  is  seldom  heard 
in  any  of    our  Churches    except    on    the    occasion  of 
a   Requiem ;    and    the    very    compact    and    convenient 
form  in  which  it  was  brought  out  enhanced  its  valu& 
But  the  version   of  the  Chant  contained  in  this  book 
can  no  longer  be  considered  authentic,  and  in  many  other 
respects  the  book  is  not  free  from   serious    blemishes. 
The    crowding    together     of    the    musical    type,    the 
frequent    and    urmecessary    use    of    ledger    lines,  are 
errors  in  typography  which  can  never  be  conceived  dear- 
able  ;  whilst  tne  doubtful  character  of  some  of  the  melodic 
phrases  and  above  all  the  constant  use  of  long  notes, 
and  even  of  complicated  groups  of  notes,  over  unaccented 
syllables,  are  abuses  that  could  not  be  permitted  to  remain 
long  uncorrected.     Fortunately  the  correction  came  in 
good  time,  and  in  most  authoritative  form,  for  the  Sacred 
Congregation  of  Rites  issued  a  new  edition  of  tiie  Choral 
Books  but  a  few  years  ago,  which  at  once  set  up  a  standard 
from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal.    Many  in  ffood  faith 
were  of  a  different  opinion  for  a  time,  and  coinbated  the 
idea  that  this  edition  carried  any  more  authority  with  it 
than  what  a  commendatory  letter  to  the  typographer  may 
be  supposed  to  impart. 

It  IS  needless  for  us  to  refer  to  this  sometimes  angij 
controversy  that  has  been  going  on  for  several  years 
past.  Such  speculations  are  all  put  an  end  to  now  by  the 
final  Decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  issued  in  Apn1 
of  last  year,  wherein  we  read:  "That  form  only  of  ' 


The  N€W  Edition  of  the  «  Exsequiaer  563 

Gregorian  Chant  is  to  be  held  authentic  and  legitimate, 
which,  according  to  the  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent, 
was  sanctioned  and  confirmed  by  Paul  V,,  by  Pius  IX.  (of 
Bacred  memory),  by  our  Most  Holy  Lord,  Leo  XIII.,  and 
by  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  according  to  the 
edition  prepared  at  Ratisbon — as  the  only  edition  which 
contains  that  form  of  the  Chant  which  is  used  b^  the 
Roman  Church,  Wherefore,  the  authenticity  and  legitmiacy 
(of  this  edition)  can  no  longer  be  a  subject  for  investigation 
or  doubt  among  those  who  render  unqualified  obedience 
to  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See." 

The  force  of  this  authoritative  declaration  dare  not  any 
longer  be  questioned,  as  those  who  still  dared  to  question 
it  found  out  quite  recently,^  and  it  is  the  plain  duty  of  all 
loving  children  of  the  Church  to  fall  into  line  with  the 
rest  of  Christendom,  not  only  in  the  Uturgy,but  in  adopting 
that  form  of  the  chant  prescribed  by  the  Liturgy,  and 
80  closely  bound  up  with  it.  The  Synod  of  Maynooth, 
taking  cognisance  of  the  first  fervent  appeal  made  by 
our  late  revered  Supreme  Pontifi*,  adopted  it  as  the  official 
edition  of  the  Church  in  Ireland,'  and  the  Dublin  Diocesan 
Synod  of  1879,  in  pursuance  of  the  legislation  in  Maynooth, 
decreed  as  follows : — ^*^  Libri  chorales  et  liturgici  nuper 
RatUbofuze  a  Pustet  editi  adhibeantur  a  sacerdotibus  in  omnibue 
qmdem  divinis  officiia  sed  praesertim  in  Defunctorvm  offlciia 
cantandis.'* 

In  a  spirit  of  prompt  obedience  to  this  Diocesan  Decree, 
the  Seminary  of  Holy  Cross,  Clonliffe,  and  a  considerable 
section  of  the  Dublin  Clergy,  provided  themselves  with 
copies  of  the  "  Ordo  Exsequiarum"  issued  by  Pustet,  which 
was  the  only  edition  extant  that  contained  this  authentic 
form  of  the  chant.  Unfortunately,  however,  Pustet's  book 
was  compiled  for  other  customs  than  those  that  obtain  with 
na  With  us  the  custom  is  to  sing  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
office,  such  as  the  Invitatorium  and  iBenedictus,  and  to  re- 
cite the  rest ;  whereas,  Pustet's  edition  was  published  for 
Ihose  places  where  the  entire  office  is  sung  throughout. 
Hence  he  provided  the  chants  for  the  Antiphons,  Psalms 
and  Responsories,  and  what  made  his  book  most  complete  in 
everv  particular,  rendered  it  embarrassing  and  confusing 
to  those  who,  for  those  portions  of  the  Office,  required 
only  the  letter-press.     Thus,  though  many  commenced 

» See  L  E.  Record  (Third  Series)  voL  iv.,  n.  7  (July,  1883),  p.  437» 
■id  ToL  v^  n.  6  (June,  1884),  p.  360. 
*  C9f.  xm.  De  Euchariatia,  n.  73. 


564  The  New  Edition  of  the '' Exseqmae:*     . 

to  use  this  book  with  excellent  intentions,  they  did  nofc 
persevere  long,  and  they  soon  took  refage  in  the  older 
acquaintance  with  which  they  had  been  so  long 
familiar.  Now,  the  edition  of  Dr.  Walsh  disposes  ^ 
this  difficulty  once  and  for  ever,  for  it  tctkes  the  ola  book  as 
the  model  in  size  and  general  arrangement,  but  substitutes 
for  the  faulty  version  oi  the  chant  there  given,  the  authentic 
and  legitimate  version  sanctioned  and  recommended  by  the 
Holy  t  ather :  '*  the  authenticity  of  which  can  no  longer  be 
a  subject  of  doubt  among  those  who  render  unqiuLlified 
obedience  to  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See."  This,  we 
take  it,  removes  all  excuse  from  the  clergy  for  not  providing 
themselves  at  once  Mrith  this  complete  and  correct  version 
specially  compiled  to  meet  their  requirements — ^^in  usum 
venerabUis  Cleri  saecularie  Hibemici,*' 

Some  may  urge,  of  course,  that  this  introduction  of 
yet  another  edition  will  create  confusion,  and  that  it  will 
not  be  so  easy  to  adopt  it  generally,  because  the  chant  in 
many  places  differs  so  much  from  what  we  have  been 
accustomed  to.  Our  answer  to  this  two-fold  difficulty 
is  easy:  1st.  This  is  not  ^yet  another  edition,'  bat 
only  Pustet's  edition  in  a  new  and  more  practical  form : 
2ndly.  The  variations  in  the  Chant  are  neither  so  numer- 
ous nor  60  perplexing  as  most  people  imagine.  The  main 
features  of  the  several  melocuc  phrases  are  unchanged, 
and  what  trifling  alterations  do  occur  are  vast  improve- 
ments on  the  version  in  use,  which  so  frequently  compels  ns 
to  make  false  quantities  in  Latin,  breaks  up  the  sense  and 
•  meaning  of  the  text,  and  perpetrates  other  minor  atrocities  in 
the  deUvery  of  the  chant  which  rob  it  of  some  of  its  most 
potent  charms.  A  little  time  and  a  little  patience  is  all 
that  is  necessary,  and  if  one  of  the  Diocesan  Cionferences, 
or  even  a  portion  of  one  of  them,  were  set  aside  for  a 
united  practice  of  the  clergy  in  the  new  book  under  some 
member  of  the  conference  acting  as  conductor,  its  prompt 
adoption  would  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  become 
universal  We  should  then  be  working  into  a  system  of 
imiformity  with  the  rest  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  be 
giving  the  stamp  of  Roman  to  our  chant  as  well  as  to  onr 
Liturgy.^ 

^  Within  the  past  few  days  we  came  across  a  copy  of  an  edition  of 
Guidetti's  Directarium  Chori,  published  at  Munich  in  1618.  The  fint 
Edition  was  brought  out  in  Rome  in  1582,  under  the  joint  saperfmsmoi 
Palestrina  and  Guidetti,  only  thirty-six  years  earlier.  Now  in  this  Munich 
edition  we  find  the  Migga  Defunctorum  given,  note  for  note  as  it  is  to  be 
found  in  the  book  we  are  now  reviewing,  in  other  words,  Dr.  Walflh^ 
book  contains  the  chant  "  quo  semper  Romana  utihar  JSccktkw* 


The  New  Edition  of  the  «*  Exsequiae:*  66S 

It  now  remains  for  us  to  speak  of  the  specific  merits 
of  this  book.  The  old  book,  as  we  have  ahready 
stated,  is  taken  as  the  model  in  size  and  general  arrange-* 
ment.  The  long  introduction  on  Rubrics,  so  seldom  con- 
sulted, is.  omitted  from  that  particular  place,  but  will  be 
found  scattered  up  and  down  through  the  book,  in  the 
form  of  most  useful  and  abundant  foot-notes,  just 
at  the  places  where  we  would  be  naturally  inclined 
to  look  for  them.  The  order  in  the  new  book  is  better, 
and  follows  the  natural  order  of  the  functions  them- 
selves; commencing  with  the  removal  of  the  remains 
from  the  house,  which  is  given  in  frill;  then  their 
reception  in  the  church,  and  the  absolution  in  the 
end,  and  the  s^ulture.  Here,  as  elsewhere  throughout 
the  work,  the  Miserere^  etc^  axe  printed  in  full,  so  as  to 
avoid  all  necessity  for  referring  from  one  part  of  the  book 
to  another.  The  Office  commences  with  Vespers,  and 
is  arranged  precisely  as  in  the  old  book,  t.«.,  the  Antiphons 
are  given  m  frill,  without  musical  notation,  before 
and  after  each  Psalm.  The  Mass  comes  immediately 
after  the  Office.  Then  come  the  absolutions  over  Bishops, 
with  the  rubrical  directions  for  the  complicated  ac- 
companying ceremonial  given  in  full  from  the  text  of 
Pontifical ;  and,  lastly,  the  Ordo  sepeliendi  ParmdoB.  To  this 
Pr.  Walsh  adds  an  appendix,  containing  the  Benedictus  and 
Magnificat^fyjiXij  pointed  for  chanting,  and  displayed  in  a  kind 
of  tabulated  form,  by  which  every  Etyllable  is  placed  under 
the  note  to  which  it  should  be  simg.  This  is  invaluable 
for  practice  purposes,  in  order  to  ensure  a  good  ensemble 
of  the  voices.  In  the  body  of  the  work,  where  these 
Canticles  occur,  the  places  to  breathe  are  marked  by 
perpendicular  hair-strotes,  and  the  syllables  in  each  verse 
v^hich  correspond  to  the  several  notes  of  the  inflections 
at  the  medianon  and  at  the  ending,  are  printed  in  thicker 
type,  so  as  to  catch  the  eye. 

The  Appendix  also  contains  an  abbreviated  form  of 
chant  for  the  Gradual,  Tract,  and  Offertory,  which  will 
meet  the  exigencies  of  weak  choirs :  the  harmonised  version 
of  the  Dies  Irae^  with  some  few  errors  in  the  counterpoint 
corrected;  and  lastly,  three  different /auar  bourdons  for  the 
Benedictus^  which,  if  well  rendered  by  a  few  trained  voices, 
will  add  much  to  the  grandeur  ana  impressiveness  of  the 
deremoniaL 

There  is  one  special  claim  to  merit  in  this  edition  which 
has  barely  been  touched  oi^  t.^.,  the  rubrical  directions. 


566  Sanitary  Sermons. 

They  abound  without  confounding  one,  and  they  are 
marked  with  that  marvellous  j^enspicuil^  and  cleameas  of 
arrangement  that  is  characteristic  of  the  compiler,  eveiy 
possible  direction  that  can  be  required  being  supplied  in  a 
footnote,  and  on  the  page  where  it  is  certain  to  be  called  for. 
The  latest  decisions  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  are  supplied, 
and  points  hitherto  doubtful  are  quickly  set  at  rest,  question 
and  answer  being  given  in  full,  so  as  to  supply  unimpeachable 
authority. 

The  type  of  the  letter-press  is  clear'  and  beautiful,  whilsfc 
the  musical  type  employed  is  unquestionably  the  best  we 
have  yet  seen.  As  a  specimen  of  the  typographic  art  the 
book  may  defy  criticism,  whilst  from  the  pomts  of  practical 
utility  it  solves  a  difficulty  and  supplies  a  want  that  has 
been  sadly  felt  for  some  time  past.  There  are  few  reH- 
gious  fimctions  in  which  the  faithful  take  a  deeper  interest 
or  attend  in  greater  numbers  than  a  Requiem.  The  ties 
of  friendship  or  neighbourhood,  coupled  with  the  solemn 
celebration  and  the  soul-stirring  tones  of  the  sacred  chant, 
form  a  combined  attraction  that  leaves  lasting  effects 
behind,  flow  careful  therefore  should  we  not  be  to  carry  out 
this  solemn  ceremonial  in  the  spirit  and  according  to  the 
decrees  of  the  Church,  and  to  strive  to  invest  the  inspired 
chant  with  all  that  devotional  tenderness  which  is  inherent 
to  it  and  which  needs  but  a  little  careful  studv  and  a  little 
earnestness  to  produce  effects  on  the  minds  of  the  hearers 
that  will  be  at  once  Both  sublime  and  edifying.  We  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  but  that  this  new  edition  of  the 
Exsequiae  will  materially  serve  this  most  desirable  purpose,, 
and  we  cordially  and  confidently  recommend  it  to  the 
attention  of  the  clergy.  jj^  Donnelly. 


SANITARY  SERMONS- 
CHOLERA. 

I  FEEL  that  I  owe  some  explanation  to  the  readers  of 
the  Record,  for  the  temporary  discontinuance  of  Ae 
series  of  papers  which  I  undertook  to  write ;  and  about 
which  I  nave  received  words  of  encouragement  and 
approval  from  many.  My  silence  has  been  due  to  the 
death  of  a  dear  friend,  who  was  suddenly  struck  down  in 


Scmitary  Sermons.  5i>7 

his  strong  manhood  by  that  fell  Infection,  whereof  I  wrote 
in  mj  last  paper.      In  my  affliction,  as  in  a  palimpsest, 
I  read  througn  the  words  of  the  sanitarian  the  heart* 
wrong  ciy  of  the  Psalmist — Sanitas    Sanitatum  became 
changed  for  me  into   Vanitas  Vanitatum ;  and  I  could  not 
write.    *'  After  life's  fitful  fever  he  sleeps  well : "  he  died,  at 
his  post,  a  martyr  to  duty,  and  I  should  neglect  mine  if 
I  allowed  private  grief  to  prevent  me  from  doing  what  little 
good  I  mayT3e  capable  of  performing.     It  has  occurred  to 
me  that,  at  the  present  time,  when  Europe  is  again  attacked 
by  an  enemy,  more  dreaded  and  more  deadly  than  any  bar- 
barian horde,  I  might  do  some  little  service  by  telling,  so 
feir  as  I  know,  something  of  the  origin,  mode  of  extension, 
prevention,  and  treatment  of  Asiatic  cholera.  It  is  now  more 
than  fifty  years  since  cholera  first  made  its  appearance  in 
Europe.     It  had  long,  perhaps  from  time  immemorial,  been 
endemic  in  India;  but  then   bursting  beyond  its  former 
confines  like  a  mighty  torrent,  it  swept  onward  with  irre- 
sistible force,  and  earned  destruction  far  and  wide.     The 
mortality  was  appalling.    Through  Russia  it  first  entered 
Europe,  appearmg  in  Moscow  in  September,   1830,   but 
its  ravages  were  principally  confined  to  hospital  attendants, 
30  or  40  per  cent,  of  whom  were  attacked,  whilst  it 
affected  not   more    than    8    per    cent,   of   the    general 
population.       It    is    most    remarkable,    and    altogether 
contrary    to    the    popular    opinion    entertained    on    the 
subject,  even  at  the  present  time,  thai  the  epidemic  raged 
witn  undiminished  violence  through  all  tne  ri^or  of  a 
Bussian  winter.     By  the  spring  of  the  following  year 
(1831)  it  had  spread  as  far  south  as  Bulgaria,  and  was 
carried  into  Poland  in  the  invasion  of  that  country  which 
commenced  on  the  5th  of  February.     Then  was  that  ill- 
fated  country  doubly-cursed   by  its  remorseless  enemy. 
The  Russian  army  lost  heavily  by  the  disease,  amongst  its 
victims  being  Marshal  Diebitch,  whose  death,  occurring 
after  a  few  hours*  illness,  gave  rise  to  the  suspicion  of 

Eoisoning.  The  details  of  his  illness  were  published 
y  Dr.  Koch  of  the  Prussian  service — a  name  which 
has  become  so  famous  in  our  own  time.  In  July, 
1831,  cholera  appeared  in  St,  Petersburg,  where  it  was 
regarded  by  the  populace  as  having  been  introduced, 
as  a  species  of  dynamite,  by  friends  of  Poland,  and  gave 
to  serious  disturbances,  during  which  the  cholera  hos- 


568  Sanitary  Sertnatu^ 

burg,  and  later  on  in  Paris  and  in  HtmgaiT.  In  1820,  when 
the  disease  broke  out  in  the  Phillipme  Islandfi,  the  nativoB 
rose  en  masaej  believing  that  thej  were  being  poisoned  hj 
Europeans  and  Chinese,  and  the  insurrection  was  not  quelled 
until  15,000  liyes  had  been  sacrificed.  During  May,  1831, 
the  disease  spread  through  Austria,  and  in  July  through 
Hungary,  where  by  the  April  of  next  year  it  had  carried 
off  240,000  victims.  In  the  same  month  (July)  it  reached 
Constantinople,and  appeared  in  Berlin  on  the  30th  of  August 
It  is  remarkable  that  Saxony,  Bavaria,  the  Tjtol, 
Mecklenburg,  Brunswick,  and  some  other  German  States, 
escaped  altogether.  £gypt  was  attacked  in  August,  and 
lost  150,000.  Greece  escaped  this  epidemic  as  well  as 
that  of  1849.  On  the  27tli  January,  1832,  Edinburgh 
was  visited  by  the  pestilence,  wluch  had  first  been 
conveyed  to  Sunderland  presumably  firom  Hamburg- 
London  was  attacked  on  the  lOth  February,  Dublin 
on  the  22nd  of  March,  and  Paris  on  the  24th.  Throughout 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  the  mortality  did  not  exceed 
30,000.  France  suffered  much  more  in  proportion.  In 
Ireland,  Dublin  and  Sligo  suffered  most  heavily.  From 
Europe  it  spread  to  America,  first  anpearing  at  Quebec  on 
June  8th,  1832,  and  on  the  13th  at  Montreal.  It  reached 
New  York  on  June  24th,  and  spread  rapidly  through* 
out  the  United  States — South  America  escaped,  as  did 
also  Australia.  By  1838  the  disease  had  died  out  of 
Europe.  During  1847*8  it  a^ain  appeared  in  Bnssii) 
travelling  by  the  same  route  as  in  1831,  having  been  intwv 
duced  by  the  army  fighting  against  the  GircasBians.  Too 
often,  indeed,  has  pestilence  followed  in  the  wake  of  war, 
slaying  those  whom  the  sword  had  spared.  Thus  also  was  it 
in  Egypt  after  the  burning  of  Alexandria  and  the  battle  of 
Tel-el-Kebir !  By  1849  the  epidemic,  ushered  in  through 
the  Caucasus,  had  spread  through  Europe. 

Writing  of  this  epidemic  Dr.  Milroy  says,  **  Its  dMEuaive 
energy  was  considerably  greater  than  tiiat  of  its  predeceasor, 
invaduQg  a  larger  area  of  the  world's  surface,  and  ^rith 
more  deadly  consequences  than  in  1831-32." 

In  1854  and  1865  the  disease  again  made  its  appeaninee;! 
on  the  latter  occasion  entering  Europe  via  Alexandria  and 
Marseilles,  as  in  the  present  epidemic.  Graves,  writing  of 
the  first  out-break  of^cholera,  says: — "  Had  Egypt  likewise 
been  then  attacked  by  cholera,  it  is  doubtftu  whether 
Europe  would  have  been  so  lone  spared."  Once  again, 
from  1869  to  1873,  cholera  pervaded  Europe  and  America, 


Sanitary  Sermons,  569 

carrying  off  a  million  victims,  but  liiese  islands  almost 
entirely  escaped.  The  present  epidemic,  as  is  well  known, 
began  in  Egypt,  whence  in  all  probability  it  reached 
Tonlon  and  Marseillea  BiEt  the  point  has  not  been  satisfac- 
torily settled,'  some  attributing  its  origin  to  an  old  French 
hulk,  die  Montebello,  which,  having  been  infected  by 
cholera  patients  during  the  Crnnean  war,  had  lain  disused 
in  the  rort  of  Toulon.  The  two  first  victims  of  the 
disease  were  amongst  the  sailors  having  charge  of  old 
shakoes  and  cartridge  pouches  which  had  been  brought 
back  from  Sebastopol,  and  which  had  remained  there 
ever  since. 

It  is  not  then  without  reason  that  his  Eminence  Cardinal 
McCabe  writes  in  his  recent  pastoral : — ^^  Is  God  once  more 
about  to  assert  His  divine  authority  by  striking  unfaithful 
Europe  with  the  scourge  of  affliction  ?  The  mere  mention 
of  the  word  *  cholera '  startles  the  strongest  man,  and 
blanches  with  terror  the  faces  of  many  who  are  strangers 
to  fear.  And  no  wond^  that  it  should  be  so.  Such  of  us 
as  are  old  enough  to  remember  the  former  and  early 
visitations  of  this  scourge  of  God  cannot  blot  from  our 
memories  the  appalling  scenes  which  met  us  almost  every 
moment.  A  wail  something  like  that  which  swept  over 
Egypt  when  the  destroying  angel  passed  from  house  to 
house  was  heard  through  the  land.  The  strongest  men 
fell  before  its  ravages  as  the  tender  grass  falls  before  the 
mower's  arm.  Nothing  more  common  than  to  see  at  early 
dawn  the  hurried  funeral  of  him  who  late  last  night 
revelled  in  pleasure,  with  the  hope  that  his  vigorous  con- 
stitution was  a  guarantee  for  many  years  of  Ufe  and 
health. 

"  Many  a  family  circle,  made  up  of  loving  and  happy 
hearts,  was  broken  into  fragments  in  two  or  three  short 
hours;  the  father  or  the  mother — and  often  both — being 
suddenly  swept  away,  leaving  their  little  ones  face  to  face 
'^th  li^long  sorrow  and  destitution.  These  calamities 
God  permitted  in  His  justice  and  fatherly  providence.  Are 
they  to  be  repeated!" 

HappDy  up  to  the  present  no  case  of  Asiatic  cholera, 
Iwa  occurred  either  in  Great  Britain  or  Ireland — but  its 
extension  in  the  south  of  France  and  its  appeaitince  in 
Italy  and  elsewhere,  bid  us  trumpet-tongued  to  be  prepared 
^d  to  set  our  houses  in  order.  For  it  is  in  truth  at  our 
Very  doors.  Infected  vessels  have  arrived  in  the  Mersey ; 
^d  Tre  know  firom  50  years'  exp^ence  that  it  is  in  the 


510  Sanitary  Sermons» 

paths  of  comiserce  cholera  invariablj  travels — so  fast  and 
speedy  as  the  flying  sails  of  the  merchantman  or  the  pant- 
ing steam  of  the  engine  it  comes^  and  no  faster.  North, 
south,  east  and  west  it  travels ;  along  rivers  and  highways, 
across  seas  and  oceans,  over  mountains  and  through  fore^ 
Once  it  was  thought,  and  some  yet  beUeve,  that  its  course 
is  invariably  from  east  to  west :  but  this  is  not  so — except 
in  so  far  as  it  comes  from  the  east  to  ua  In  Asia  its  course 
has  been  westward. 

Now  what  is  cholera  ?  Whence  does  it  come  ?  te  what 
is  it  due?  how  may  it  be  prevented?  and  how  is  it  to 
be  treated  ?  These  are  questions  of  the  most  vital  import- 
ance. Cholera — ^known  as  Epidemic,  Asiatic,  Algide, 
Spasmodic,  Serous,  and  Mali^ant  Cholera — may  be  defined 
as,  an  acute,  specific,  contagious^  gastro-intestinal  catarrh. 
It  is  non-infectious  in  the  sense  that  Small-pox,  Scarlet 
Fever,  Measles  and  Typhus,  are  infectious.  Some  eyen 
deny  that  it  is  contagious.  It  may  be  remembered  that  in 
my  last  paper  I  drew  a  distinction  between  Contagion 
and  Infection.  Infection  I  described  as  winged  contagion : 
that  is,  the  material  which  gives  rise  to  infectious  diseases 
such  as  these  I  have  just  mentioned,  being  volatile, 
permeates  and  impregnates  the  atmosphere,  and  is 
disseminated,  as  an  invisible  pollen,  by  every  breath, 
and  is  liable  to  be  inhaled  b^  persons  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
disease ;  whereas  the  matenaiwhicjh  gives  rise  to  contagious 
diseases,  such  as  typhoid  fever  and  cholera,  being  as 
it  were  less  volatile,  does  not  usually  rise  into  the  atmos- 
phere, but  is  conveyed  in  food  and  drink — principally 
through  the  medium  of  water.  Hence,  under  ordmaiy 
circumstances,  the  air  is  unpolluted  by  these  latter  diseases 
and  may  be  breathed  with  impunity;  but  it  may,  from 
overcrowding  in  houses,  or  from  stagnation  induced  by  want 
of  proper  ventilation,  become  saturated  with  the  poison ; 
and  then  infection  may  occur.  The  contagion  is  also 
sometimes  carried  by  air-currents.  Cholera  luco  Typhoid 
is  filth-begotten,  filth-engendered ;  or  as  Murchison  called 
typhoid,  rythogenic.  Filth  is  iiie  prolific  seed-bed  in 
which  both  are  sown.  Typhoid  is  indigenous,  and 
dwells  amongst  us.  Cholera  is  an  exotic,  but  unhap- 
pily a  hardy  one.  But  filth  of  itself  cannot  bring  forth 
these  diseases — ^the  seed  must  be  sown,  the  germ  must  be 
planted.  Ex  nihiloy  nihil  fU.  What  a  baleful  sowing— 
what  a  fearful  harvest  I  I  treated  in  my  last  paper  of  the 
germ-theory  of  disease,  now  almost  univereally  held,  and 


Sanitary  Sermons.  571 

referred  to  the  labours  of  Koch,  who  had  been  sent  by  the 
German  government  to  Egypt  and  India  to  investigate  the 
origin  of  Cholera.  To  him  is  due  the  credit  of  having 
discovered  the  cholera-germ;  which  he  has  described 
as  a  small  organism  or  microbe^  a  bacillus  or  little  rod, 
in  shape  like  a  comma.  This  commanshaped  baciUus 
or  microbe  Eoch  has  found  in  the  intestines  and 
dejecta  of  those  who  have  died  of  cholera,  and  he 
also  found  it  in  enormous  quantities  in  the  tanks  or 
trenches  tiiat  surround  the  dwellings  of  infected  villages 
in  India.  It  has  also  been  discovered  in  the  water-supply 
at  Aix  Aries  and  Marseilles.  Eoch  has  succeedea  in 
cultivating  the  microbe  artificiallv,  but  not  in  getting  it 
to  produce  spores.  He  has  hitherto  failed  to  induce 
the  disease  in  any  of  the  lower  animals.  This,  however, 
is  not  surprising  and  does  not  lessen  the  value  of  his  dis- 
covery, inasmuch  as  none  of  the  lower  animals  naturally 
suffers  from  the  diseafi(e.  These  organisms,  whether  they 
belong  to  the  animal  or  the  vegetable  world  is  not  deter- 
mined, must  be  swallowed  in  order  to  obtain  a  hold  on 
man.  Water  is  the  usual  mediimi  through  which  they 
effect  an  entrance.  They  may  also  be  introduced  directly 
if  one's  hands  become  soiled,  in  any  way,  by  the  discharges 
from  the  intestines  of  Cholera  patients.  Entering  oy 
the  mouth  they  take  up  their  abode  in  the  intestines, 
and  rapidly  multiply  there,  causing  violent  inflammation 
of  the  coats  of  the  intestmes,  with  consequent  griping 

Sains,  serous  and  mucous  discharges,  and  usually  profuse 
iarrhoea.  Developing  and  acting  like  a  ferment — ^they 
give  rise  to  a  poison,  which  being  absorbed  into  the 
blood,  excites  the  lethal  symptoms  observed  in  cholera. 
The  bacillus  has  not  been  found  in  the  blood.  In 
Bengal  the  natural  habitat  of  the  cholera-germ  is  found 
—in  the  delta  of  the  Ganges,  well  described  by  Sheridan 
a  hundred  years  a^o  as  *Hhe  polluted  Ganges."  Here, 
and  indeed  througnout  India,  even  in  ordinary  years, 
the  mortality  from  cholera  is  enormous.  Thus,  in  1875, 
there  were  (excluding  Calcutta)  884,000  victims;  in 
1876,  487,000,  whilst  in  1877  the  mortality  reached 
685,000.  Nor  is  this  surprising  when  one  reads  of 
tiie  awful  condition  in  which  the  vast  majority  of  the 
people    of    India   Uve — a    condition    almost    incredible 


572  Sanitary  Sermons* 

raised  on  mounds  to  protect  them  against  inmida- 
tion,  the  excavations  thns  formed  making  the  so-called 
*<  tanks."  Around  one  of  those  tanks  Koch  found  80  or  40 
huts  inhabited  by  some  200  or  300  people — of  whom  17  had 
died  of  cholera ;  the  number  of  those  affected  not  having 
been  ascertained.  The  tank  received  all  the  refuse  from 
the  dwellings ;  in  it  household  utensils  and  clothing,  soiled 
with  choleraic  discharges,  were  wadied,  but  assuredly  not 
cleaned ;  in  it  the  people  performed  their  ablutions,  and 
from  it  they  drant.  Little  wonder  that  the  cholera- 
microbe,  like  that  of  chicken-cholera,  thus  cultivated  and 
transmitted,  should  acquire  the  deadly  virulence  which  it 
possesses.  And  the  state  of  things  tiius  described  is  it 
appears  by  no  means  exceptional,  but  may  be  taken  as  a 
type  of  what  prevails  over  a  large  part  of  India.  The 
following  graphic  description  conveys  an  appalling  idea  (£ 
the  wretdhed  state  of  the  unfortunate  mhabitants: — 
*^  A  bustee  or  native  village  generally  consists  of  a  mass  oC 
huts  constructed  without  any  plan  or  arrangement,  withont 
roads,  without  drains,  ill-ventilated,  and  never  cleaned* 
Most  of  the  villages  and  towns  are  the  abodes  of  miseiy, 
vice,  and  filth,  and  the  nurseries  of  sickness  and  disease. 
In  these  bustees  abound  green  and  slimy  stagnant  ponda^ 
fall  of  putrid  ve^table  and  animal  matter  m  a  state  of 
decomposition,  whose  bubbling  surface  exhales,  under  & 
tropical  sun,  noxious  gases,  poisoning  the  atmoephere  and 
spreading  around  disease  and  death.  These  ponds  supply 
the  natives  with  water  for  domestic  purposes,  and  are  also 
the  receptacles  of  their  filth.  The  arteries  which  feed 
these  tanks  are  the  drains  which  ramify  over  the  villages 
and  carry  the  sewage  of  the  huts  into  them«  Their  posi- 
tion is  marked  by  a  development  of  rank  vegetation* 
The  huts  are  huddled  together  in  masses  and  pushed  to 
the  very  edges  of  the  ponds,  then  projecting  over,  very 
often  meeting  together,  whOst  the  intervening  spaces^ 
impervious  to  the  ravs  of  the  sun,  are  converted  into 
necessJBiries,  and  used  oy  both  sexes  in  common.  In  these 
huts  often  Uve  entire  fiskmilies,  the  members  of  a  hut  aft 
occupying  the  single  apartment  of  which  it  is  not  unfi^e- 
quendy  composed,  and  in  which  they  cook,  eat,  and  deeg 
together ;  the  wet  and  spongy  floor,  with  a  mat  qpread  oa 
it,  servinff  as  a  bed  for  the  whole."  From  auch  plague- 
spots  Cholera  is  spread  over  India  principally  by  means  of 
pilgrimages — when  hundreds  of  thousands  and  sometimes, 
over  a  miUion  of  people  congregate  oa  the  banks  of  somft 


Samtary  Sermons.  573 

sacred  nver  each  as  the  Ganges — ^in  which  they  bathe  and 
deep  and  from  which  they  drink.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
Cholera  is  worshipped  as  a  goddess  in  India — for  every 
hovel  is  her  temple  and  her  hecatombs  are  mighty.  Thus, 
in  April,  1783,  at  Hurdwar  on  the  Ganges,  where  between 
one  and  two  millions  of  people  were  assembled  on  a 
pilgrimage,  20,000  were  struck  down  within  eight 
aays. 

But  I  have  written  enough  as  to  the  history  and  the 
causation  of  the  disease:  now  as  to  the  ^lisease  itself. 
It  usually  comes  on  very  suddenly.  The  period  of  incuba- 
tion, that  is  the  time  from  which  the  poison  has  been 
absorbed  until  the  symptoms  begin  to  appear,  varies  from 
a  few  hours  to  a  few  days.  The  actual  attack  frequently 
takes  place  towards  morning.  It  usually  commences 
with  intestinal  or  abdominal  pain  and  diarrhoea.  "Prior 
to  the  more  distinct  and  alarmmg  attack,''  writes  Twining 
in  his  clinical  illustrations  of  the  more  important  diseases 
of  Bengal,  "  there  are  sometimes  for  a  few  hours,  and  in 
fiome  cases  for  two  or  three  days,  symptoms  of  indisposi- 
tion,  evident  not  only  to, the  patient  himself,  but  to  his 
£iend&  When  cholera  is  ragmg  severely  the  disease  is 
often  ushered  in  by  diarrhoea ;  at  other  times  it  begins 
with  catarrh,  nausea,  and  oppression  at  the  scrobioulus 
cordis,  which  are  not  in  an  early  stage  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  slight  indisposition  which  often  precedes  fever. 
The  approach  of  cholera  in  this  manner  makes  the  patient 
feverish  or  bilious ;  and  if  recourtse  be  had  to  some  of  the 
medicines  commonly  used  in  slight  ailments  of  that  sort, 
the  disease  is  said  to  be  caused  by  the  dose  of  medicine 
taken,  when  in  fact  it  had  been  insidiously  making 
progress  for  some  hours."  Hence  an  attack  of  cnolera  has 
frequently  been  ascribed  to  a  dose  of  rhubarb  or  castor  oil 
Another  careful  observer,  quoted  by  Annesley,  writes: 
**  As  the  patient  is  approached  an  appearance  of  over- 
powering lassitude  is  at  once  perceived,  with  a  pallid, 
anxious,  and  sorrowful  cast  of  countenance."  Dr.  raine, 
who  observed  the  disease  in  New  York,  says,  "  Diarrhoea 
and  vomiting  do  not  always  distinguish  the  premonitory 
stage;  but  it  is  sometimes  denoted  only  by  head-ache, 
loss  of  appetite,  oppression  at  the  chest,  &c. ;  and  again, 
tpams  are  known  to  have  been  the  earliest  symptom,  and 


574  Sanitary  Sermons. 

cases  diarrhoea  is  entirely  absent  and  the  patients  rapidly 
sink,  as  if  a  fatal  dose  of  Prussic  Acid  had  been  taken,  or 
as  if,  in  the  words  of  a  Naval  Surgeon,  quoted  in  Sir 
William  Burnet's  Report  on  Cholera  in  the  Black  Sea 
Fleet  in  1864, "  they  had  drunk  the  concentrated  poiBon 
of  the  Upas-tree."  Within  the  last  few  days  a  case  has 
been  reported  from  the  village  of  Clermont,  near  Tou- 
louse, where  the  parish  priest  is  described  as  having  been 
literally  struck  down  dead  whilst  officiating  at  the  altar. 
Some  causes,  however,  recover  almost  as  rapidly,  in  the 
words  of  Twining,  quoted  by  Dr.  George  Johnson, 
*^as  patients  who  are  resuscitated  after  supension  of 
animation  from  submersion  in  water."  **I  have  seen," 
says  Grainger,  quoted  by  the  same  authority,  **a  man  stand 
at  his  door  on  Wednesday,  who  on  Monday  was  in  perfect 
collapse."  Rapidly  fatal  cases  of  cholera,  occurring  with- 
out premonitory  symptoms,  are  usually  met  with  at  the 
commencement  of  an  epidemic ;  and  resemble  maUgnant 
forms  of  scarlatina,  small-pox,  or  typhus,  where  the  system 
is  saturated  with  the  disease,  ^  and  the  patient  (Ues  of 
blood-poisoning  before  the  characteristic  rash  has  had  time 
to  appear.  During  an  epidemic  of  cholera,  cases  of 
choleraic  diarrhoea  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  it  is 
sometimes  almost  impossible,  if  not  absolutely  so,  to 
distinguish  them  from  cases  of  Asiatic  cholera.  A  fatal 
case  of  such  a  character,  if  indeed  it  was  not,  as  there 
is  too  much  reason  to  feax  it  was,  one  of  genuine  cholera, 
has  just  occurred  at  Birmingham,  and  another  at  Kilmac- 
thomas,  near  Waterford.  Frequently,  however,  such 
cases  terminate  in  recovery.  They  are  caused  by  faults 
in  diet,  by  excessive  drinking,  by  the  use  of  impure 
water,  of  decaying  fruit  or  vegetables,  or  of  putrifying 
meat,  milk  or  fish,  by  fetid  effluvia,  or  miasmata,  or  hj 
climatic  or  meteorological  conditions.  Cases  due  to  some 
such  origin  are  to  be  met  with  every  summer,  throughout 
these  countries ;  and  constitute  so-called  simple,  sporadic^ 
bilious,  or  Enalish  Cholera — also  called  Cholera  nostrai^  or 
Cholerine,  They  may  perhaps  be  due  to  an  attenuated 
organism  akin  to  the  real  cholera-germ,  and  which  undercon- 
ditions  favourable  to  its  development,  such  as  prevail  so 
largely  in  India,  would  de  velope  into  the  latter.  For  if  highest 
organisms  are,  as  we  know  they  are,  largely  modified  by 
their  environment,  how  much  more  so  should  not  the  lowest 
organisms  be  modified,  for  good  or  evil,  by  theirs*  And 
just  as  at  birth,  or  in  early  life,  we  cannot  often  distingoisli 


Sanitary  Semum$.  575 

between  the  child  destined  by  its  surroundings  and  training 
to  become  a  criminal  and  a  curse  to  mankind,  and  the 
other  whom  favourable  influences  may  guide  to  noble 
aims ;  so  can  we  not  distinguish  any  morphological  differ- 
ence between  the  BaciUus  Anthrads  of  mali^ant  charbon 
and  the  innocuous  Bacillus  Subtilis  got  from  Hay-Infusion. 
**  I  see  no  more  difficulty,"  writes  Dr.  WiUiam  Roberts,  "  in 
believing  that  the  Bacillus  Anthrada  is  a  *  sport '  from  the 
Bacillus  SubtiUsj  than  in  believing,  as  all  botanists  tell  us, 
that  the  bitter  almond  is  a  *  sport '  from  the  sweet  almond ; 
the  one  a  bland,  innocuous  fruit,  and  the  other  containing 
the  elements  of  a  deadly  poison."  But  as  Dr.  Carpenter 
observes  in  his  Physiology  :  **  It  is  the  human  body  which 
forms  the  appropriate  testing  apparatus  for  morbid  poisons : 
and  even  if  we  could  always  obtain  them  in  a  separate 
state,  and  could  subject  them  to  a  separate  analysis,  we 
should  know  much  less  of  their  most  important  properties 
than  we  can  ascertain  by  observation  of  their  action  on  the 
system ;  this  alone  affording  the  means  of  judging  of  their 
dynamical  character,  which  is  of  far  more  importance  than 
their  chemical  composition." 

Cholera  may  be  divided  into  four  stages — 1st,  the  Pre^ 
monitory  stage^  already  described ;  2nd,  the  stage  otEvacua* 
tion  or  development^  characterised  by  severe  purging, 
vomiting,  thirst,  and  painful  muscular  cramps,  affecting 
the  fingers,  toes,  legs,  thighs,  and  abdominal  muscles  ; 
Srd,  the  cold  or  Algide  stage,  or  stage  of  Collapse^  which  re- 
quires detailed  description ;  and  4th,  the  stage  of  Reaction^ 
which  may  terminate  either  in  rapid  recovery  or  in  death, 
through  relapse  or  the  development  of  some  complication. 
A  distinguished  authority.  Dr.  Macnamara,  thus  writes : 
"After  the  first  outbreak  of  the  disease,  as  a  rule,  cholera 
commences  with  diarrhoea,  the  stools  being  copious  and 
watery,  (and,  adds  Roberts,  *  at  first  coloured  by  the  pre- 
vious intestinal  contents,*)  followed  by  great  prostration  of 
strength,  with  a  peculiar  feeling  of  exhaustion  at  the  pit 
of  the  stomach;  the  sick  person  suffers  from  nausea,  but 
seldom  from  actual  vomiting  or  pain,  at  the  outset  of  the 
attack.  If  judiciously  treated  many  patients  recover  from 
this,  ihQ  first  stage  of  cholera,  but  if  neglected  the  tendency 
of  the  disease  is  to  grow  rapidly  worse.  The  stools  become 
very  frequent,  and  resemble  in  appearance  and  consistency 


576  JSanitary  Sermons. 

with  a  sense  of  relief  rather  ilian  otherwise ;  but  ihe  patient 
now  commences  to  vomit  •  .  .  the  fluid  is  ejected 
from  his  mouth  with  considerable  force,  and  this  adds  to 
the  increasinj^  prostration  which  is  one  of  liie  most  urgent 
and  marked  features  of  the  disease.  The  patient  complaini 
of  intense  thirst  and  a  burning  heat  at  the  pit  of  his 
stomach ;  he  suffers  also  excruciating  pain  from  cramps  in 
the  muscles  of  the  extremities ;  he  is  terribly  restless;  and 
his  urgent  cry  is  for  water  to  quench  his  thirst,  and  that 
some  one  might  rub  his  limbs,  and  thus  relieve  the  muscular 
spasm.  Although  the  temperature  of  the  sick  person's  body 
falls  below  tiie  normal  standard,  he  complains  of  feeling 
hot,  and  throws  off  the  bed  clothes  in  order  that  he  may 
keep  himself  cooL  The  pulse  is  rapid  and  very  weak,  the 
respirations  are  hurried,  and  the  patient's  voice  becomes 
husky.  His  countenance  is  pinched,  and  the  integument 
of  his  body  feels  inelastic  and  doughy,  while  the  fikin  of  his 
hands  ana  feet  becomes  wrinkled  and  purplish  in  colour. 
The  duration  of  this,  the  second  stage  of  cholera,  is  very 
uncertain ;  it  may  last  for  two  or  three  hours  only,  or  may 
continue  for  twelve  or  fifteen  hours ;  but  so  long  as  the 
pulse  can  be  felt  at  the  wrist,  there  are  still  good  hopes  of 
recovery.  The  weaker  the  pulse  becomes  the  nearer  the 
patient  is  to  the  third,  or  collapse  stage  of  cholera,  from 
which  probably  not  more  than  35  per  cent,  recover.  Of 
this  stage  Rooerts  writes:  ** There  is  no  abrupt  com- 
mencement of  this  stage,  but  a  more  or  lees  rapid  transition 
from  the  former.  The  aspect  of  the  patient  becomes  hidily 
characteristic.  The  features  are  pmched  and  8hruiu:en, 
assuming  a  leaden  or  livid  hue,  especially  about  the  lips; 
the  eye-balls  sink  in  their  sockets,  while  the  lower  eye-Bds 
fall,  and  the  eyes  are  half  closed ;  the  nose  is  sharp  and 
pointed,  and  the  cheeks  are  hollowed.  The  entire  surface 
IS  more  or  less  cyanotic  (or  blue),  especially  that  of  the 
extremities,  while  the  skin  presents  a  peculiar  wrinkled  and 
shrivelled  aspect,  being  often  at  the  same  time  bathed  in 
cold  sweats,  the  hands  appearing  sodden  like  those  of  a 
washerwoman.  When  pinched  up  the  folds  disappear 
slowly.  The  temperature  rapidly  fails,  and  the  surface  soon 
has  a  death-like  coldness,  particularly  over  exposed  parts, 
though  it  is  stated  that  the  temperature  wUkin  the  body  is 
usuaSy  increased.  In  the  mouth  it  ranges  from  79®  to  86®, 
in  the  axilla  from  90®  to  97®."  The  temperature  of  the 
body  in  health,  I  may  remark,  is  about  98*4®  F.  It  may 
vary  from  97*3®  to  100®;  but  if  it  goes  much  outside  this  limi^ 


Sanitary  Sermojis.  577 

Tip  or  down,  and  remains  so  for  any  length  of  time,  there  is 
something  wrong.  The  circulation  of  Ihe  blood  now  becomes 
greatly  affected,  the  pulse  is  scarcely  to  be  felt,  or  disap- 

Eears  altogether,  not  only  at  the  wrist  in  the  radial  artery, 
ut  even  in  the  carotid  (in  the  neck).  The  heart-beat 
becomes  almost  imperceptible,  and  the  normal  heart  sounds 
are  weak  and  inaudible.  If  a  blood  vessel  be  opened,  little  or 
no  blood  escapes ;  if  any  should  escape,  it  is  tbiok  and  tarry. 
The  breathing  is  greatly  embarrassed,  and  the  patient 
gasps  and  craves  for  air.  The  expired  air  is  cold,  and 
found  to  be  devoid  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  carbonic  anhy- 
dride, which,  being  retained  in  the  blood,  gives  it  its  pecu- 
liar morbid  characteristics,  and  further  tends  to  poison  and 
asphyxiate  the  patient.  "  What,"  writes  Dr.  George 
JohnsoD,  "  is  the  pathological  explanation  of  the  remark- 
able train  of  symptoms?  The  one  great  central  fact 
is  this,  that  during  the  state  of  coUapse,  the  passage 
of  blood  through  the  lungs^  from  the  right  to  the  left 
side  of  the  hearty  isy  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  impeded,** 
Hence  he  adds,  "in  the  great  majonty  of  cases 
in  which  death  has  occurred  during  the  stage  of 
collapse,  the  right  side  of  the  heart  and  the  pulmonary 
arteries  are  filled,  and  sometimes  distended  with  blood ; 
while  the  left  cavities  of  the  heart  are  generally  empty,  or 
contain  only  a  small  quantity  of  blood."  Thus  the  lungs 
are  star^'^ed  of  blood  ;  the  blood  is  not  oxygenated,  and, 
owing  to  the  arrest  of  the  secreting  action  of  the  kidneys 
and  liver  which  occurs,  is  not  purified,  but  retains  the  pro- 
ducts of  decomposition,  and  thus  becomes  thick  and  tarry, 
as  it  always  does  when  aeration  or  oxygenation  is  imper- 
fect. "  The  blood  in  cholera  is  black  and  thick  only 
during  the  stage  of  collapse,*'  writes  Johnson  ;  **  in 
other  words,  during  the  stage  of  pulmonary  obstruction 
and  defective  aeration.  This  state  of  blood  bears  no 
relation  to  the  loss  of  water  (by  diarrhoea)  ;  it  comes  on 
when  the  loss  of  water  has  been  very  trifling ;  it  paases  off 
rapidly,  while  loss  of  water,  by  purging,  continues  un- 
checked. It  is  simply  a  defect  of  aeration,  just  as  the 
thick  and  smoky  flame  of  a  lamp  is  the  result  of  defective 
aeration."  This  engorgement  or  obstruction  accounts  for 
the  loss  of  pulse  in  the  arteries,  for  the  absence  of  blood 
when  they  are  opened,  and  for  the  enormous  and  imme- 
diate relief  whicn  venesection^  or  opening  of  a  vein,  some- 
times aflords.  Bell  in  his  treatise  on  Cholera  Asphvxia 
fiays :  '^  the  effect  of  blood-letting  would  indeed  sometimes 
VOL.  V-  2  U 


578  Somitetry  SermonB. 

appear  almost  miraeulous.  A  patient  will  be  bronght  fn, 
in  a  cot,  unable  to  move  a  umb ;  and  but  that  he  can 
speak  and  breathe,  having  the  character,  both  to  touch  and 
mght,  of  a  corpse,  yet  will  be,  by  free  venesection  alone, 
rendered  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  able  to  walk  home 
with  his  friends."  And  Sir  Ranald  Martin  gives  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  instance  : — ^^  On  visiting  my  hospital  in 
the  morning,''  he  says,  **  the  European  Farrier-Major  was 
reported  to  be  dying  of  cholera.  His  appearance  was 
strikingly  altered ;  his  resp^ation  was  oppressed ;  the 
countenance  sunk  and  livid ;  the  circulation  flagging  in 
the  extremities.  I  opened  a  vein  in  each  arm,  but  it  was 
long  ere  I  could  obtain  anything  but  trickling  of  dark 
treackly  matter.  At  length  the  blood  flowed,  and  bj 
degrees  its  darkness  was  exchanged  for  more  of  the  hut 
of  nature.  The  farri^  was  not  of  robust  health  (and 
according  to  Sir  Ranald,  ^  had  been  drained  of  all  the  fluid 
portion  of  his  blood,  during  the  night  **)  ;  "  but  I  bled  him 
largely ;  when  he,  whom  but  a  moment  before  I  thought 
dying,  soon  stood  up  and  exclaimed,  •*  Sir,  you  have  made 
a  new  man  of  me."  From  the  form  of  expression  he  used 
the  farrier  must  have  been,  I  imagine^  an  Irishman.  When 
Sir  Ranald  wrote  he  was  still  aUve  and  well 

But  I  have  digressed  very  much,  and  must  return  to  the 
consideration  of  the  other  symptoms  present  in  the  coUapu 
stage  of  the  disease.  Muscular  prostration  is  very  maiked, 
as  a  rule,  but  occasionally — as  also  happens  in  other 
diseases — great  physical  strength  remains  to  the  very 
end.  "  Instances  are  not  wanting,"  says  Scott  in  his  Report 
on  Epidemic  Cholera,  ^'  of  patients  being  able  to  walk^  abd 
to  perform  many  of  their  usual  avocations,  even  after  the 
circulation  has  been  so  much  arrested  that  the  pulse  has 
not  been  discernible  at  the  wrist."  Restlessness  is  a  very 
prominent  symptom ;  the  patient  longs  for  sleep,  but  it 
will  not  come  ;  he  is  tortured  by  thirst,  but  Tantalus-like 
cannot  assuage  it  The  intellect  continues  clear  until  it 
is  lost  in  the  stupor  and  coma  that  precede  death.  At  first 
great  anxiety  is  felt,  but  apathy  and  indifference  quickly 
supervene,  even  when  consciousness  is  unimpaired.  No 
case,  however  bad,  should  be  regarded  as  hopeless ;  and 
care  should  be  exercised  so  that  persons,  in  a  condition  of 
lethargy  or  suspended  animation,  should  not  be  buried 
ahve,  as  has  sometimes  happened,  even  during  the  present 
epidemic.  The  third  or  collapse  stage  of  cholera,  seldom 
lasta  tor  more  than  twenty-four  hours^  and  it  not  fatal. 


Sanitary  Sermons,  579 

terminates  either  in  reaction  tending  to  recovery,  or  in  the 
third  stagey  which  in  99  cases  out  of  100  ends  fatally  within 
a  few  hours.  In  this  stage,  although  the  body  remains 
cold  to  the  touch,  the  temperature  rises,  quickly  reaching 
99°  or  100®  F. ;  and  continues  to  rise  after  death ;  a 
phenomenon  observed  frequently  in  fatal  cases  of  fever. 
Keflex  sensation  and  irritabihty  are  now  quite  lost,  and 
hence  vomiting  and  purging  cease ;  the  patient  lies  in  a 
semi-comatose  condition,  bathed  in  cold  perspiration,  the 
eyes  sufiused  and  staring  but^ightless,  until  their  light  goes 
out  for  ever.  On  the  other  hand  reaction  may  set  in  :  one 
by  one  the  unfavourable  sjrmptoms  disappear;  the 
breathing  becomes  quicker  and  more  regular ;  the  temper- 
ature gradually  rises;  the  skin  becomes  warmer  and 
assumes  a  healthy  colour;  the  circulation  is  restored 
and  the  pulse  can  be  felt;  thirst,  vomiting,  and 
diarrhoea  diminish;  the  normal  secretions  of  the  kidney 
and  liver  are  gradually  restored;  the  awful  restlessness 
disappears,  and  the  patient  sinks  into  a  calm  sleep, 
from  which  he  awakes  to  consciousness  and  life.  Con- 
templating such  a  scene,  even  in  fancy,  one  recalls  the 
beautiful  words  of  England's  greatest  poet : — 

"  Thou  art  not  conquered,  beauty's  ensign  yet 
Is  crimson  in  thy  lips  and  in  thy  cheeks  ; 
And  Death's  pale  flag  is  not  advanced  there." 

Complications  may  arise,  or  a  relapse  occur  :  but  it  is  not 
necessary  to  consider  these. 

And  now  for  the  treatment:  and  first  for  prevention, 
which  is  assuredly  better  than  cure.  First  of  all,  for  the  in- 
dividual and  the  community  alike  comes  cleanliness.  One 
might  say,  not  irreverently,  this  is  the  entire  law.  It  is 
the  foundation  of  all  preventive  medicine ;  it  includes  first, 
and  above  all,  a  pure  food  and  water  supply,  the  impor- 
tance of  which  cannot  be  exaggerated ;  next,  proper  and 
efficient  sewerage ;  and  last,  but  not  least— nay,  rather 
first  in  presence  of  disease — thorough  disinfection.  These 
laws,  slowly  ascertained,  are  immutable,  and  disease  or 
death  follows  the  infraction  of  any  one  of  them.  Again 
and  again  have  cholera  and  typhoid  been  clearly  traced  to 
some  hidden  and  unsuspected  sin  of  omission  or  commis* 
eion  against  the  laws  of  health.  Thus,  in  the  epidemics  of 
1849,  i854,  and  1866,  cholera  was  widely  spread  in  London 
by  the  polluted  water  of  the  Thames  used  for  drinking ; 
and  in  1854,  no  less  than  616  persons  died  from  drinking 
the  water  of  the  Broad-street  pump,  which  was  proved  by 


580  Sanitary  Sei^inons, 

Dr.  Snow  to  have  been  contaminated  by  cholera-infected 
sewage-matter.  It  is  honible  to  think  that  London  is  still 
largely  dependent  on  the  Thames  for  its  water  supply ;  for 
however  well-filtered,  it  has  been  shown  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  free  water  from  the  taint  of  organic  poison. 
Happily  the  water  supply  of  DubUn  is  beyond  suspicioD ; 
but  it  is  not  so  with  the  rest  of  Ireland ;  and  sanitation 
cannot  rest  satisfied  until  every  city,  town,  village,  and 
hamlet  has  water  pure  as  nature  gives  it,  ere  man  pollutes 
it.  The  general  and  individiml  health  should  then,  by  all 
known  means,  be  maintainea,  in  face  of  an  epidemic,  as 
zealously  and  rigidly  as  discipline  in  an  army  in  the  pre- 
sence of  an  enemy ;  and  if  quarantine  be  deemed  advisable, 
it  should  be  as  strict  as  a  blockade  in  time  of  war.  Cholera, 
like  typhoid,  is  spread  principally  by  the  intestinal  dis- 
charges ;  and  these  should  therefore  be  immediattly  and 
thoroughly  disinfected^  whilst  any  clothes,  clothing  or  bedding 
soiled  by  them  should  be  destroyed,  or,  if  not  destroyed, 
disinfected  by  Condy's  Fluid,  or  by  being  kept  for  some 
hours  in  a  5  per  cent,  hot  solution  of  carbolic  acid.  The 
bodies  of  persons  who  have  died  of  cholera  should  be  also 
disinfected  and  quickly  buried.  If  cremation  be  ever 
adopted,  it  will  find  its  best  justification  in  the  safety 
which  it  would  confer  against  the  dissemination  of 
infectious  diseases  by  the  dead. 

Panic  should  be  avoided,  and  the  public  mind  calmed 
— ^not  in  ignorance,  stoical  indiiference,  or  bUnd  confidence, 
but  in  the  assurance  that  every  known  precaution  shall  be 
taken,  and  in  the  determination  of  every  man  and  woman 
to  do  his  and  her  duty,  be  the  issue  what  it  may.  In 
Ireland,  tried  as  she  has  been  by  fever  and  by  famine,  and 
by  other  trials  not  less  terrible,  the  fear  of  death  has  never 
made  men  nor  women  abandon  the  post  of  duty.  Doctor 
Graves,  writing  before  the  awful  visitations  of  '48  and  '49 
had  tried  our  country  as  in  a  crucible,  bears  eloquent  and 
wilUng  testimony  to  the  courage  with  which  the  first 
cholera  outbreak  was  met,  whilst  elsewhere  it  was  the 
signal  for  insane  riot  or  craven  panic.  These  are  his 
words : — 

"  The  visitation  was  in  no  country  met  with  greater  intrepidity 
and  resignation  than  in  our  own  native  land.  When  a  citjor 
town  was  attacked  in  Ireland,  we  never  witnessed  the  flight  oi  the 
better  classes ;  there  was  neither  migration  into  the  country  nor 
desertion  of  their  poorer  fellow-citizens.  No  ;  I  record  the  feet 
with  pride,  everyone  remained— everyone  was  ready  to  do  his  duty, 


Sanitary  SermoTia*  581 

and  abide  in  his  place  until  the  plague  was  stayed.  In  Dublin, 
and  generally  throughout  Ireland,  the  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, and  the  public  at  large,  believed  the  malady  to  be  contagious, 
yet  the  sick  were  never  abandoned  by  their  friends  in  private 
honses,  nor  in  the  least  neglected  in  the  hospitals." 

In  some  instances,  during  the  present  epidemic  in 
France,  sauve  qui  pent  seems  to  have  been  the  order  of  the 
day.  And  it  is  hard  to  blame  people ;  for  such  scenes  are 
enough  to  unnerve  even  the  boldest.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, and  inculcated,  that  practically  the  disease  can  only 
be  communicated  through  the  dejecta,  and  that  persons  in 
attendance  on  the  sick  run  no  risk,  in  well-ventilated  and 
not  over-crowed  rooms,  except  from  swallowing  the  poison; 
and  this  can  only  occur  from  an  utter  absence  of  clean- 
liness. 

Cleanliness  and  disinfection  are  at  once  the  shield  to 
ward  oflF,  and  the  spear  to  strike  down,  the  disease.  Thus 
Dr.  Budd,  in  1866,  enabled  Bristol,  by  being  prepared,  to 
shake  off  the  pestilence,  and  baffle  its  attacks.  His  advice 
was :  Be  beforehand  imth  the  disease ;  prepare  a  chemical  bed 
for  the  poison ;  disinfect  the  sewers ;  disinfect  your  close^ ;  and 
privies  every  night  and  morning^  as  long  as  clwlera  prevails  in 
England^  and  you  will  do  more  to  keep  the  disease  away  from 
your  homCy  and  from  your  city^  than  can  possibly  be  done  by 
any  other  means  in  your  poicer.  This  dismfection  is  accom- 
phshed  by  a  5  per  cent.,  or  one  in  twenty,  solution  of 
sulphate  of  iron  ;  that  is,  an  ounce  of  the  sulphate  of  iron 
to  a  pint  of  water.  "  The  sulphate  of  iron  m  the  drain, 
thus  lying  in  wait  for  the  poison,  may  be  likened  to  the 
wire- gauze  on  the  Davy  lamp,  always  at  hand  to  prevent 
the  explosion  of  the  fatal  fire-damp.*' 

In  the  individual,  courage  and  calmness  should  be 
studied  ;  for  it  has  been  stated,  other  things  being  equal, 
that  that  person  is  least  hkely  to  be  attacked,  or  to  die, 
who  is  least  afraid  of  dying.  Excesses  in  eating  and 
drinking,  and  unsound  food  and  impure  or  doubtful  water, 
should  be  carefully  avoided.  The  ordinary  diet,  if 
judicious,  need  not  be  changed.  The  body  should  be 
warmly  clothed,  so  as  to  avoid  the  danger  of  chill,  which 
is  a  very  common  but  unsuspected  cause  of  gastric  and 
intestinal  catarrh.  Flannel  or  woollen  material  should  be 
worn  next  the  skin,  and  particularly  around  the  waist. 
Niemezer  observes  that  this  precaution  is  too  much 
neglected  at  all  times  in  these  countries.  Diarrhoea  should 
be  checked,  because,  according  to  Koch,    the  lax  and 


582  Sanitary  Sermons. 

moist  condition  of  the  intestines  affords  snitable  pabultm 
for  the  cholera-germs ;  not  that  simple  diarrhoea  can  of  itself 
run  into  cholera — although  some  hold  that  all  the  symp- 
toms of  collapse  are  due  to  the  violent  irritation  of  tne 
intestinal  mucus  membrane,  produced  by  the  poison,  jtwt 
as  it  might  be  by  the  action  of  an  irritant  purgative  such 
as  castor  oil  This  view,  however,  does  not  now  meet  with 
much  acceptance.  Acting  on  this  view  principally,  astrin- 
gents are  administered — either  sulphuric  acid,  chalk,  with 
or  without  opium — in  pill  or  mixture,  or  acetate  of  lead, 
with  opium.  The  last  combination,  which  was  first 
recommended  and  employed  by  our  distinguished  fellow- 
coimtryman,  Graves,  has  been  foimd  most  generally 
useful;  but  its  employment  requires  much  care  and 
supervision,  and  it  should  not  be  entrusted  to  unskiUed 
bands.  It  should  only  be  administered  in  the  early  stages 
and  not  when  collapse  has  set  in,  as  then  it  would  be 
likely  to  increase  the  mischief.  On  the  (the  opium)  prin- 
ciple that  the  purging  favours  the  multipUcation  of  the 
disease-germs,  it  undoubtedly  should  be  controlled,  if 
possible — apart  even  from  the  lowering  effect  which  it 

S reduces  on  the  system  generally,  by  the  loss  of  so  much 
uid.  But  Dr.  George  Johnson,  regarding  thp  Diarrboe* 
as  eliminativej  as  an  effort  of  nature  to  expel  (e  Umine)  the 
poison,  thinks  that  it  ought  not  be  stopped — but  should 
rather  be  encouraged — as  otherwise  the  pent-up,  poispn- 
laden  secretions  will  work  more  mischief;  hence,  ne  and 
others  have  given  castor  oil  with  excellent  results  in  many 
cases.  At  the  commencement  ot  an  attack,  as  in  typhoid, 
such  treatment  might  certainly  be  of  service.  This 
diversity  of  opinion  will  almost  indicate  the  great  necessity 
there  is  for  care  and  for  the  exercise  of  a  sound  judgment. 
Great  discretion  is  evidently  necessary ;  and  above  all 
things,  meddlesome  treatment  should  be  avoided.  Routine 
treatment  is  also  dangerous,  as  the  Lancet  wrote  in  view 
of  the  epidemic  of  1866 :  "  We  should  pray  to  be  deUvered 
from  men  who  have  only  one  idea.  Every  stage  and 
every  phase  of  the  disease  must  b6  treated  as  they  arise—, 
just  as  in  anjr  other  disease,  for  there  is  no  specific 
Specifics  in  disease  are  indeed  few,  and  I  fear  must 
remain  so. 

A  bland  diet  of  milk  with  rice  or  arrowroot,  when  it 
can  be  taken,  is  perhaps  best  Ice  and  iced-water  may  be 
given  in  small  quantities.  The  employment  of  stimulants 
require  extreme  care,  and  many,  if  injudicioudy  admintf- 


Sanilaty  Sermons,  583 

tered,  do  mncli  harm.  Spirits  of  camphor  and  chlorodyne 
have  been  found  useful  in  threatened  attacks;  but  the 
latter  is  dangerous  as  it  contains  opium  (as  Morphia)  and 
PmsBic  acid.  I  have  seen  blistering  behind  the  ears  and 
at  the  angles  of  the  jaws,  vaunted  almost  as  specific — ^it 
may  check  the  vomiting,  and  that  is  something,  but  it 
oansot  kill  ihe  microbe.  When  alrtacked,  vrarmth  pi  bed 
and  friction  are  alike  useful  and  harmless.  Nutritious  and 
stimulating  enemata,  the  injection  c^  hot  saline  fluids  into 
the  veins,  and  bleeding  (as  ctlready  referred  to)  are  at 
times  of  ^eat  service ;  but  these  operations  can  only  be 
performed  under  direction,  or  by  the  hands  of  a  physician 
or  sor^eon^ 

All  in  contact  with  a  Cholera  case  dioold  be  careful  to 
wash  their  hands  carefully  in  water  to  which  some  of 
Condy's  Fluid  or  carbolic  acid  has  been  added* 

The  present  epidemic  seems  to  be  spreading  surely  if 
dowly.  No  sooner  does  it  smoulder  in  one  place  than  it 
breaks  out  elsewhere,  and  the  flames  spreading  already 
from  France  to  Italy  may  yet  enwrap  all  Europe  in  one 
vast  conflagration.  That  such  may  not  be,  we  ever  shall 
kope  and  pray.  Terrible  as  the  plague  is  it  has  evoked 
many  scenes  worthy  of  admiration.  Thus  we  read  of 
hospital  attendants,  students,  doctors,  and  nuns,  going 
about  daily,  undismayed  by  danger,  and  fully  conscious 
of  their  peril,  ministering  to  the  afflicted.  In  one  place  we 
read  oi*  a  poor  Italian,  stricken  by  the  disease,  whose 
family  abandoned  him  after  having  stripped  his  dead  body. 
The  Bureau  of  Assistance,  though  iuK^rmed  of  this,  took 
no  action.  Next  morning  the  vicar,  who  came  to  conduct 
the  religious  ceremonies  for  the  defunct,  was  compelled, 
on  the  refusal  of  all  assistance  from  the  men  present,  to 
take  off  his  ecclesiastical  clothing,  enter  the  chamber  of 
the  dead,  and  alone  place  the  body  in  the  coffin.  Then, 
aided  by  some  women,  he  carried  the  coffin  downstairs  to 
the  hearse.  This  work  accomplished  he  had  to  wash  his 
hands  in  the  water  flowing  in  the  gutter,  and  wipe  them 
on  his  surplice.  The  Republican  Oommittiee  in  the  11th 
Seetion  has  unanimously  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the 
vicar  for  the  seal  he  has  shown  in  nursing  the  cholera 
patients. 

In  another  place  we  read  that  the  violent  outbreak  of 


584  Darwinism. 

children,  who  have  been  temporarily  provided  for  by  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  recalling  to  readers  of  Romola,  that 
beautiful  scene  by  the  same  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean entitled  Romolaa  Wakina,  where  the  heroine  goes 
about  Madonna-like  amongst  the  plague-smitten,  comfort- 
ing the  afflicted,  as  mother  to  the  childless. 

Worthy  of  all  admiration,  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  heroism 
which  promptjs  the  sentinel  to  die  at  his  post  rather  than 
betray  his  trust,  the  sailor  to  meet  his  doom  on  the  sinking 
vessel,  amid  the  roar  of  waters,  after  he  has  seen  the  last 
of  his  crew  and  passengers  to  the  boats,  but  no  less  worthy 
of  admiration  is  that  heroism  which  prompts  priest  and 
nun,  nurse  and  student  and  physician,  unhinged  by  enthu- 
siasm, without  hope  of  plaudit  or  reward,  but  simply  at  the 
call  of  duty,  to  brave  death  at  the  pest-house  oi  disease. 
Never  did  the  flag  of  France  more  fittingly  enshroud  the 
dead,  than  when  in  Toulon  it  was  wrapped  around  the 
body  of  the  humble  hospital  attendant ;  nor  the  Cross  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour  more  justly  decorate  one  of  Napo- 
leon's veterans,  than  when  on  the  breast  of  Robert  Koch, 
a  son  of  the  German  Fatherland,  it  set  at  naught  inter- 
national prejudice,  recognised  the  universality  of  science 
and  humanity,  and  rewarded  the  peaceful  but  perilous 
triumphs  achieved  beneath  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  by  the 
waters  of  the  Ganges,  and  by  the  blue  waves  of  "  the 
tideless  ^Egean." 

Michael  F.  Cox. 


DARWINISM. 


THE  Evolution  theory  appeared  long  before  Mr.  Darwin's 
time ;  but  it  owes  to  him  the  great  and  widenspread 
popularity  it  has  attained.  In  A.D.  1881,  Darwin,  then 
known  as  a  distinguished  naturalist,  embarked  on  board 
H.M.  ship  the  "Beagle,**  for  a  voyage  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean ;  his  object  being  to  examine  the  Coral  Islands  of 
that  ocean  for  facts  illustrative  of  natural  history.  After 
six  years  he  returned  to  England,  and  set  himself  to  arrange 
the  materials  he  had  collected.  He  compared  the  plants 
and  animals  he  had  seen  abroad  with  those  he  had  observed 
at  home,  and  after  thirteen  years  studying,  analysing,  and 


Darwinism,  585 

comparing,  he  gave  to  the  world  the  result  of  his  labours 
and  speemations  in  the  now  too  famous  book,  "  The  Origin 
of  Species."     Some  years  later  he  developed  his  theory 
more  fully  in  the  "  Descent  of  Man."  Darwin  noticed  strong 
and  striking  resemblances  between  the  various  orders  of 
animal  and   vegetable  life ;  he  noticed  the   similarity  of 
man  to  the  lower  animals  in  many  points  of  structure  and 
constitution ;  and  from  these  data  he  bounded  to  a  conclu- 
sion unscientific,  illogical,  degrading,  which  places  on  the 
same  level  the  beasts  that  perish  and  the  soul  that  never 
dies.    He  infers  from  the  above  data  that  all  existing  forms 
of  life  must  have  descended  from  a  few  primordial  forms. 
He  even  says  that  analogy  would  carry  him  on  to  "  the 
belief  that  all  animals  and  plants  have  come  down  from  one 
single  prototype."   ("  Origin  of  Species,"  sixth  edition,  page 
424).     Thus,  accor^g  to  Darwui,  Ufe  commenced  in  the 
most  simple    forms,  gradually  ascended,  becoming  more 
and  more  perfected  and  complicated  in  its  evolution,  and 
ultimately  appeared  in  man.     The  vital  spark  passed  on 
through  mollusc,  reptile,  gorilla,  ape,  from  which  very  re- 
spectable   parentage,    we    ourselves   have   come.       And 
thus,  our  greatest  philosophers,  our  wisest  statesmen,  our 
bravest    generals,    our    most    able     divines,    must    look 
back  to  the  hairy  gorilla,  or  some  such  being,  as  an  ancestor. 
And  the  proud  privilege  of  such  parentage  we  are  asked 
to  admit  as  established  beyond  cavil  by  such  apostles  of 
%ht  as  Darwin,  Huxley,  Haackel,  Buchner,  and  Spencer. 
Aad  the  teachings  of  these  men  are  being  published  to  the 
world  trumpet- tongued  as  a  new  revelation,  destined  cer- 
tainly and  soon  to  set  the  old  aside.  They  tell  us  that  science 
has  utterly  disproved  the  revealed  record  of  creation ;  and 
that  consequently  that  record  is  neither  an  inspired  book 
nor  a  truthful  history,  but  a  clumsy  collection  of  ground- 
less legends,  tolerable,  perhaps,  in  the  infancy  of  society, 
but  completely  exploded  by  science  in  her  onward  march. 
Darwin  himself,  who  is  much  more  cautious  in  his  asser- 
tions than  any  of  his  disciples,  says :  '*  He  who  is  not  con- 
tent to  lo(  >k  like  a  savage  at  the  phenomena  of  nature  as 
disconnected,  cannot  any  longer  Deheve  that  mantis  the 
work  of  a  separate  act  of  creation.'*     ("  Descent  of  Man," 
second  edition,  p.  607).    Huxlev  says  *'  the  notions  of  the 
beginning  and  end  of  the  world  entertained  by  our  fore- 
fEithers  are  no  longer  credible.**    ("  Science  and  Culture,*' 
p.  15).    And  he  adds  :  "  Choose  your  hypothesis,  I  have 
chosen  mine,  and  I  refuse  to  run  the  risk  of  insulting  any 


586  Darwinism. 

sane  man  by  supposing  that  he  seriously  holds  such  a 
notion  as  that  of  speoial  creation.*'  Buchner  says: 
**  Christianity  stands  in  such  striking  and  irreconcilable, 
nay  absolutely  absurd  contradiction,  with  all  the  acquisi- 
tions and  principles  of  modern  science,  that  its  future 
tragical  fate  can  only  be  a  question  of  time."  ("  Man^  Pcatj 
Presents  and  Future,"^  p.  220).  A  Mr.  Leshy,  secretary  to 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  says :  "  There  is  no 
alliance  possible  between  Jewish  theology  and  modem 
science.  They  are  sworn  enemies."  ("  Man*8  Oriain  and 
Destiny.'')  And  this  writer,  with  the  peculiar  modesty  of 
the  Yankee,  adds  that  he  thinks  it  necessary  merely  to  tick 
the  old  theology  aside.  The  necessity  for  doing  this  will 
survive  Mr.  Leshy,  but  the  extracts  are  useftil  as  showing 
the  animus  of  the  men  with  whom  we  have  to  deal. 

This  is  the  latest,  as  it  is  the  most  wide-spread  and 
dangerous  of  heresies.  While  the  old  landmarks  of  con- 
troversy are  fast  disappearing,  we  find  confrontinff  tis, 
daring  us,  this  enemy,  new,  vigorous  and  formidable,  wnose 
tactics  and  weapons  must  be  studied  by  defenders  of  reve- 
lation. Protestantism,  with  its  cognate  broods  of  heresy,  ifl 
dead  and  gone,  is  beneath  contempt  as  an  adversary  now. 
Our  "advanced  thinkers"  admit  this,  and  admit  also  that 
if  there  be  supernatural  truth  anywhere,  it  is  in  the  CathoKc 
Church.  But  they  do  not  trouble  themselves  about  Ae 
"  Rule  of  Faith,"  the  controversy  is  not  now  whether  we  are 
"justified  by  faith  alone,"  but  whether  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  supernatural  justice  at  all ;  not  whether  man  was 
endowed  with  supernatural  gifts  by  his  Creator,  but  whether 
he  was  ever  created ;  not  whether  we  are  bound  to  read 
the  Bible,  but  whether  the  Bible  is  worth  reading  at  aD; 
in  other  words,  the  enemy  is  now  assailing  the  very  foun- 
dation of  supernatural  belief.  We  must,  therefore,  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  difficulties  of  modem  science.  We  must 
acquaint  ourselves  with  what  the  scientists  have  got  to  say, 
and  if  we  keep  them  rigidly  and  logically  to  the  estabHshcd 
facts  of  science,  revelation  will  have  nothing  to  fear. 

In  the  opening  chapter  of  the  "  Origin  of  Species," 
Mr.  Darwin  shows  that  time  and  care  have  caused  great 
varieties,  and  effected  great  improvement  in  plants  and 
animals  under  domestication.  This  he  takes  to  imply  a 
universal  tendency  to  vary,  and  this  tendency  he  notices, 
though  in  a  less  perceptible  degree,  among  plants  and 
animab  under  nature.  As  the  variation  progresses,  new 
species  are  in  time  generated.      He  says :    "  I  look  at 


Darwinism.  587 

Tarieties  which  are  in  any  degree  more  distinct  and  per- 
manent as  steps  towards  more  strongly  marked  and  per- 
manent varieties,  and  at  the  latter  as  leading  to  snb-species, 
and  then  to  species  ...  A  well  marked  variety  may, 
therefore,  be  called  an  incipient  species."  (Or,  Sp.y  p.  42). 
According  to  Darwin  various  circumstances  combine  to 
preserve  and  transmit  those  variations  and  improvements 
which  constitute  the  new  species.  All  beings  in  nature 
are,  he  says,  engaged  in  a  perpetual  struggle  to  maintain 
themselves  in  existence.  He  says :  **  A  struggle  for  exist- 
ence inevitably  follows  from  the  high  rate  at  which  all 
organic  beings  tend  to  increase.  .  .  .  Hence,  as  more 
individuals  are  produced  than  can  possibly  mrxije,  there 
must  in  every  case  be  a  struggle  for  existence,  either  one 
individual  with  another  of  the  same  species,  or  with  the 
individuals  of  distinct  species,  or  with  the  physical  condi- 
tions of  life.*'  (p.  50).  The  issue  of  the  struggle  is  deter- 
mined  by  what  Darwin  calls  "  Natural  selection."  He  says 
(page  63)  :  **  Can  we  doubt  that  individuals  having  any 
advantage,  however  slight,  over  others,  would  have  the  best 
chance  of  surviving,  and  of  procreating  their  kind?  On 
tiie  other  hand,  we  may  feel  sure  that  any  variation  in  the 
least  degree  injurious  would  be  rigidly  destroyed.  This 
preservation  of  favourable  individual  differences  and  varia- 
tions, and  the  destruction  of  those  which  are  injurious,  I 
have  called  natural  selection,  or  the  survival  of  the  fittest." 
These  extracts  contain  the  principles  on  which  Mr.  Darwin 
has  built  up  his  theory  of  evolution.  The  Malthusian  theory 
on  population  he  applies  to  nature  in  general.  He  supposes 
that  a  ceaseless  battle  for  life  is  going  on  amongst  all  the 
beines  in  existence,  and  that,  consequently ,when  beings  are 
multiplied  to  a  great  degree,  some  will  seek  to  supplant 
and  destroy  others.  Thus  does  the  struggle  begin.  In 
thk  struggle  the  weaker  are  worsted.  Circumstances  of 
place  and  climate  enter  materially  into  the  struggle,  and 
help  to  determine  its  issue;  and  those  beings  are  victo- 
rious and  survive,  which  owe  their  superiority  to  some 
tpecial  quality  or  circumstance.  Thus,  then,  such  superior 
qualities  will  be  exercised  by  circumstances,  and  will 
receive  in  the  struggle  higher  and  higher  development, 
while  inferior  quaJitiee  will  be  dormant,  and  gradually  die 
out  The  qualities  that  are  best  fitted  to  carry  on 
■nccessfully  the  struggle  for  existence  survive,  are  deve- 
loped and  improved,  and  thus  improved,  are  transmitted 
to  the  next  generation,  to  receive  in  that  generation  such 


588  Darwinism. 

further  development  as  the  circumstances  of  the  struggle 
may  demand.  Thus,  a  scale  of  organism  gradually  asceud 
ing  to  higher  and  more  perfect  forms,  is,  from  the  very 
nature  of  things,  called  for,  and  natural  selection  directs 
and  controls  the  construction  of  this  scale.  Darwin  says 
(Or.  S/>.,  p.  23),  that  just  as  gardeners  and  cattle-breeders 
bring  about  great  variations  and   improvements  in  their 

Elants  and  flocks  and  herds,  by  always  selecting  their 
est  individuals  to  breed  from,  so  too  does  nature,  by 
a  like  process  of  selection,  gradually  improve  the 
various  species  of  plants  and  animals,  and  thus 
render  them  better  suited  to  the  external  condition  of 
life.  And  when  the  process  of  change  has  gone  so  far  as 
to  lead  naturalists  to  denote  the  specific  type  arrived  at 
by  a  different  name,  then  natural  selection  has  transmuted 
one  species  into  another.  Thus  must  we,  according  to 
Darwin,  trace  this  gradual  improvement  of  organism,  and 
the  consequent  gradual  progression  of  life.  The  vital  spark 
that  appeared  in  the  mollusc,  passed  on  through  the  mons- 
ters of  the  deep,  and  higher  still,  through  the  various  beings 
that  have  peopled  our  earth  in  the  past ;  and  thus  perfecting, 
and  being  itself  perfected  in  its  course,  it  has  ultimately 
appeared  in  the  most  perfect  of  all  known  beings — Man. 

Man's  pedigree  is  given  by  Mr.  Darwin  as  follows : — 
"  These  animals  (marine)  probably  gave  rise  to  a  group  of 
fishes,  as  lowly  organised  as  the  lancelet.  .  .  .  From 
such  fish  a  very  small  advance  would  carry  us  to  the 
Amphibians.  .  .  .  We  inay  thus  ascend  to  the  Lemu- 
ridaB,  and  thei  nterval  is  not  very  wide  from  these  to  the 
Simiadee.  The  SimiadaB  then  branched  off  into  two  great 
stems :  the  New  World  and  the  Old  World  monkeys :  and 
from  the  latter,  at  a  remote  period,  Man,  the  wonder  and 
glory  of  the  universe,  proceeded.'*  {Descent  of  Many  2nd 
Ed.,  p.  165.)  The  words  italicised  above  show  how  largely 
Mr.  Darwin  deals  in  conjecture — how  easily  he  substitotes 
hypothesis  for  fact — the  possible  for  the  real — what  would 
be^  or  may  be,  for  what  is ;  and  it  is  characteristic  of  hia 
entire  system,  the  easy  indifference  to  logic  which  carries 
him  from  the  conditional  propositions,  in  the  opening  part 
of  the  above  extract,  to  the  sunple  unconditional  assertion 
at  its  close.  How  the  ape  became  the  man,  Darwin  telb 
at  great  length  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  ^^  Descent  of  Man^* 
The  process  is  described  more  briefly,  and  without  the 
disguise  of  Darwin's  cautious  language,  by  Buchner,  one 
of  his  most  loyal  disciples.     He  says :  **  Man  was  produced 


Darwinism.  589 

from  the  anthropoid  apes,  by  complete  habituation  to  an 
erect  gait ;  and  by  the  stronger  dinerentation  thus  caused 
between  the  extremities,  by  the  development  of  the  fore- 
limb  into  a  true  hand,  and  of  the  hind-limb  into  a  true 
foot.  He  was  still  destitute  of  the  essential  characteristic 
of  the  true  Man,  namely,  articulate  speech,  and  the  con- 
scious thought  which  is  associated  with  it.  From  this 
primitive  Man,  by  natural  selection  in  the  struggle  for 
existence, then  was  developed  as  a  last,  and  topmost  branch, 
the  true  or  speaking  Man."  (Man :  Past,  Present  and  Future, 
p.  128.)  Thus,, according  to  our  *'  advanced  thinker,*'  the 
ape  took  it  into  his  head  to  stand  erect ;  and  this  happy 
tfiought  transformed  his  fore-legs  into  human  hands,  and 
his  hind-legs  into  human  feet.  He  became  a  man  by  exer- 
cise ;  and,  exulting  in  his  new  capacity,  he  broke  forth 
into  articulate  speech.  And,  most  •  wonderful  of  all,  after 
some  ages  of  rapid  progress,  he  was  able  to  give  to  the  world 
80  mighty  a  prodigy  of  genius  as  philosopher  Buchner, 
who  rejoices  in  a  parentage  of  which  he  is  clearly 
worthy ! 

The  slightest  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of 
**  Modem  Science,"  will  make  it  clear  that  our  "  advanced 
thinkers,"  one  and  all,  **  beg  the  question,"  in  their  contro- 
versy with  revelation.  They  quietly  set  revelation  aside — 
completely  ignore  it — in  the  discussion.  They  discuss  the 
origin  of  the  world — man's  past,  present,  and  future — as  if 
science  had  been  indisputably  the  sole  criterion — as  if  a 
revelation  on  the  subject  had  never  even  been  alleged. 
Now,  surely,  a  revelation  on  the  origin  of  man  has  been  in 
possession  for  many  centuries  before  any  of  our  modern 
scientific  theories  was  broached.  Its  credibility  has  been 
established  by  argimients  perfectly  independent,  and  of 
such  cogency,  as  to  have  satisfied  and  convinced  the 
greatest  minds  that  have  ever  been.  Our  scientists  must 
then  remember  that  on  them  hes  the  burthen  of  proof. 
Logically  they  are  bound :  1**,  to  disprove,  utterly,  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  revelation ;  and  2**,  to  estabUsh 
their  own  theories  by  conclusive  arguments.  The  former 
they  have  not  seriously  attempted ;  the  latter,  they  have 
utterly  and  ignominiously  failed  to  do.  It  would  then  be 
unreasonable,  illogical,  to  displace  such  a  revelation  for 
an  unproven — a  doubtful  hypothesis. 

And  Darwin  himself,  more  cautious  than  his  ^disciples, 
evidently  speaks  of  his  theory  as  a  hypothesis.  He  is 
oontinually  applying  to  it  such  expressions  as  '*  1  conceive," 


590  Darmnism. 

"  I  believe,"  **  is  it  not  possible;"  and  at  the  same  time  he 
is  appealing  to  possible  discoveries  in  the  future  to  rid  his 
theory  of  the  difficulties  under  which  it  laboura  now.  He 
has  it  is  true,  produced  an  immense  array  of  alleged  facts, 
to  establish  an  analogy  between  man  and  the  lower 
animals.  Into  the  discussion  of  these  facts  it  would  be 
endless  and  quite  unnecessary  to  follow  him.  If  the 
biackbone  of  his  theory  be  broken,  no  amount  of  analogy 
can  galvanize  it  into  life.  And  he  admits  (Descent  of  Man^ 
p.  424)  that  "  analogy  may  be  a  deceitful  guide."  The 
variations  occurring  under  domestication  constitute  the 
groundwork  of  his  theory.  Now,  from  such  changes, 
occurring  within  well  defined  limits,  it  is  illogical  to  infer 
illimitable  change.  The  changes  noted  by  Mr.  Darwin 
are  all  varieties  within  the  same  speciea  His  gardeners 
and  breeders  have  not  succeeded  m  transforming  an  oak 
into  an  apple-tree,  nor  a  cow  into  a  horse.  And  in  all  his 
research  ne  has  found  no  fact  to  show  that  a  new  species 
has  arisen  from  his  system  of  selection. 

On  the  contrary,  the  notorious  fact  of  the  sterility  of 
hybrids — a  fact  admitted  by  himself,  is  an  insuperable 
barrier  to  his  theory,  and  breaks  down  the  evolution  in 
the  first  generation. 

Mr.  Darwin  says  that  we  do  not  know  sufficiently  the 
laws  which  regulate  the  sterility  of  hybrids.  Neither  do 
we  require  to  know  them.  We  know  the  fact,  and  it  is 
fatal  to  the  theory.  He  argues  from  certain  points  of 
similarity  in  construction  and  constitution  between  different 
beings,  that  they  must  have  come  from  a  common  parent. 
Just  as  well  might  he  have  argued,  from  certain  points  of 
dissimilarity  between  the  same  beings,  that  they  must  have 
come  from  different  parenta  Again,  from  changes  brou^t 
about  by  intelligent  design,  it  is  illogical  to  infer  that  like 
changes  must  arise  when  no  such  design  controls ;  and  the 
end  and  aim  of  Mr.  Darwin's  theory  is  to  exclude  intelli- 
gent design.  Variations  have  occurred  in  nature  as  well 
as  under  intelUgent  design ;  but  Mr.  Darwin  has  brou^t 
no  evidence  of  any  variation  amounting  to  a  transmutation 
of  species.  And  he  admits  that  "  several  eminent  natu- 
ralists have  of  late  published  their  behef  that  a  multitude 
of  reputed  species  are  not  real,  and  that  "  real  species  have 
been  independently  created."  (Or,  Sp.  423.)  It  most, 
moreover,  be  admitted  that,  in  the  struggle  for  existence, 
natural  selection  has  not  always  acted  so  heroically  as 
Mr.  Darwin  asserts.    For,  side  by  side  with  the  victorious 


Darunnism,  591 

o&pring,  the  outcome  of  the  "  survival  of  the  fittest," 
we  find  very  often  that  less  perfect  parent  whom  natural 
•election  is  supposed  to  have  destroyed.  The  least  per- 
fect— ^the  simple^  organisms — are  found  side  by  side  with 
the  most  complex  and  perfect;  a  fact  which  shows  that 
either  Mr.  Darwin's  principle  of  natural  selection  is  unsound, 
or  the  struggle  for  existence  imaginary. 

The  intrinsic  inconsistency  of  Mr.  Darwin's  theory  is 
not  compensated  for  by  extrinsic  evidence.  Neither 
geology  nor  paleontology  gives  it  any  confirmation.  It 
i*  only  in  the  most  recent  formations  of  the  earth's  crust 
that  man  and  his  works  lie  buried  side  by  side.  As  we 
go  further  back  into  the  geologic  record,  we  find  traces  of 
animals  somewhat  resembling  man ;  but  behind  the 
human  period  we  find  no  trace  of  a  transition  from  the  animal 
possessed  of  instinct  to  the  man  endowed  with  reason. 
Just  as  man  has  been  man  as  long  as  we  can  trace  back 
his  history,  so,  too,  has  the  ape  been  ape  from  the 
first  specimen  down  to  the  latest.  The  points  of  resem- 
blance, and  the  degrees  of  divergence  were  seven  thousand 
years  ago  precisely  what  they  are  to-day.  Mr.  Darwin 
admits  that  many  of  the  connecting  links  between  man 
and  ape  are  missing;  and  he  meets  the  difficulty  by 
aaying  that  the  geological  record  is  incomplete.  So,  too, 
is  Mr.*  Darwin's  theory ;  and  it  is  unfortunate  for  that 
theory  that  the  record  should  be  defective,  precisely 
where  its  evidence  is  most  sadly  needed ;  and  it  is  sus- 
picious against  the  theory  that,  though  scientists  have 
been  searching  long,  and  anxiously,  and  carefully,  all  the 
world  over,  the  links  are  missing  still. 

Mr.  Darwin's  theory  then  is  reduced  to  his  own  asser- 
tion, and  what  is  that  assertion  worth  f  When  this  new 
Prophet  appeared  some  years  since  he  took  men's  breath 
away  by  reason  of  the  startling  message  which  he  bore. 
Newspapers,  and  Reviews  pronounced  him  an  intellectual 
prodigy ;  and  almost  immediately,  without  question  as  to 
his  titles,  he  found  himself  enthroned  on  the  high  alta,r  of 
the  Temple  of  Fame.  But  as  time  has  passed  on,  Reason 
is  again  asserting  its  sway  over  excited  scientists;  and 
many  of  them  are  now  wagging  their  heads  in  derision  at 
the  idol  before  whom  they  bent  the  knee  some  years  ago. 
It  is  now  beginning  to  be  admitted,  that  Darwin's  intellect 
and  acquirements  were  gi'eatly  exaggerated,  and  that  he 
'Was  little  better  than  an  average  specimen  of  the  Ration- 
^^bUc  schooL    Even  as  far  back  as  A.D.  1876,  Mr.  Carlyle 


592  Darwinism. 

wrote  of  Darwin  as  follows :  "  I  have  known  three  genera- 
tions   of    Darwin's,    grandfather,    father,    son  ;    Atheists 

all I  saw  the  Naturalist  not  many  months 

ago  :  told  him  I  had  read  his  "  Origin  of  Species  "  and  other 
books,  that  he  had  by  no  means  satisfied  me,  that  men 
were  descended  from  monkeys,  but  had  gone  far  towards 

Eersuading  me  that  he  and  his  so-called  scientific  brethren 
ad  brought  the  present  generation  of  Englishmen  veiy 
near  to  monkeys.     A  good  sort  of  man  is  this  Darwin,  and 
well  meaning,  hut  of  very  little  intellect     .     .     •     .     And 
this  is  what  we  have  got :  All  things  from   frog-spawD. 
The  gospel  of  dirt,  the  order  of  the  day."    {Daily  Tribune., 
Nov.  4th,  1876.)     The  author  of  this   "  gospel  of  dirt," 
did  not  rank  very  high  in  Carlyle*s  estimation.     But  more 
competent    authorities    have    spoken.      Dr.    Constantine 
James,  Dr.  Em.  Bailey,  and  A.  KolUker,  and  many  other 
eminent  men,  deny  altogether  the  physiological  principles 
laid  down  by  Mr.  Darwin,  and  show  that  he  had  no  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  Embryology,  though  he  draws  largely 
on  that  science  when  illustrating  his  evolution  theory  from 
the  human  foetus.     We  are  not  therefore  called  upon  to 
regard  Mr.   Darwin's   assertion    as  final.      And  on  this 
special  question  he  is  contradicted  by  a  whole  host  ot 
naturalists,  many  of  them  quite  as  distinguished  as  he  is 
supposed  to  be.     A  condition  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
truth  of  the  evolution  theory  is  the  complete  transmuta- 
tion of  species.     And  yet  the  most  eimnent  Natiu'alists 
pronounce  this  transmutation  impossible.     Darwin's  own 
admission  has  been   already   quoted.      The    late    Abbe 
Moigno,  who  devoted  fifty  years  to  this  special  study, 
whose  abiUty  and  fearless  honesty  no  one  who  reads  his 
work  can  question,  says  of  Darwin's  system,  "it  is  a 
gratuitous  hypothesis  triumphantly  refuted  by  the  noto- 
rious fact  of  the  fixity  of  all  species."     (Vol.  II.,  p.  33^). 
And  in  the  same,  and  subsequent  pages,  Moigno  quotes  a 
number  of  eminent  French  scientists  against  the  transmu- 
tation of  species.     Some  of  them  go  so  far  as  to  say  that 
*'  this  mutabihty  of  species  would  render  experimcDtal 
science    impossible."      One  of   these  writers,  M.  Andre 
Sanson,  says  that  for  denying  the  transmutation  of  species, 
he  has  been  charged  by  some  of  his  brother  positivists 
with   affording  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  Biblical 
dogma   of  creation.     And  he  admits  the  charge,  saying, 
"  In  truth  it  ii3  not  my  fault,  it  is  the  fault  of  science,  I  am 
a  man  of  science,  not  a  theologian."    A  candid  admiasion 


Darwinism.  593 

this  that  he  cuts  away  the  foundation  from  the  evolution 
theory  because  science  compels  him  to  do  so.    If  then,  it 
were  even  a  mere  matter  of  testimony,  the  evidence  of  so 
many  eminent  men  must  far  out-weigh  that  of  Darwin. 
The  differences  in  structure  between  nlan  and  the  gorilla, 
may  be  very  trifling,  and  such  as  they  are  we  must  accept 
them  from  anatomists,  but  we  must  learn  from  nature  her- 
self the  value  of  these  differences ;  and  she  understands 
them  to  be  the  equivalent  in  physical  organisation  of  the 
entire  mental  difference  between  man  and  the  gorilla. 
The  fore-paw  of  a  monkey,  and  the  human  hand,  may 
differ  very  little  on  the  dissecting  table,  but  nature  uses 
one  for  the  climbing  of  trees,  and  like  functions,  whilst  the 
other  is  the  instrument  whereby  the  most  ingenious  con- 
trivances of  man's  mind  are  executed.    Besemblances  of 
organism  do  not,  therefore,  explain  the  enormous  ^If 
wUeh  separates  the  works  of  one  clsjas  from  the  other. 
The  evolution  theory  breaks  down    hopelessly   in    the 
attempt  to  bridge  over  the  gulf  between  instinct  and 
reason.    If  the  theory  be  true,  instinct  must  have  passed 
into  reason,  the  sensitive  appetites  of  the  brute   must 
have  passed  into  the  intellectual  and  moral  faculties  of 
man.  Now,  even  the  most  enthusiastic  evolutionists  admit 
their  inability  to  account  for  this  great  change.    Darwin 
evades  the  difficulty  by  saying  that  the  mental  powers  of 
man  and  beast  differ  onlv  in  degree,  not  in  kind.     Huxley 
honestly  admits  that  **  there  is  an  immense,  practically,  an 
infinite  distance,  an  impassable  gulf  between  the  mental 
powers  of  the  lowest  man  and  the  highest  ape."    Scores 
of  writers  of  the  same  positivist  school  could  be  quoted 
re-echoing  Huxley's  sentiments.    We  see  around  us  some 
of  the  species  from  which  Darwin  and  his  friends  would 
derive  our  origin.    Clever,  cimning,  agile,  these  apes  are 
certainly ;  they  can  climb  trees,  pluck  fruit,  worry  their 
enemies,  and  play  several  pranks,  just  as  well-trained  dogs 
may  do.     But  of  any  higher  mental  operation,  of  compar- 
ison, induction,  invention,  even  for  self-defence,  other  than 
that  which  nature  supplies,  they  are  quite  incapable,  as 
they  have  been  every  day  of  the  seven  thousand  years 
that  man  has  known  them.    Brute,  unreasoning  things  as 
they  are  to-day,  they  have  been  since  the  first  day  of  this 
Watery,  their  mental  powers  fixed  and  stationary  all  the 
tune.    Man,  on  the  other  hand,  from  the  very  dawn  of  his 
hJBtory,  verified  the  character  which  Revelation  gives  of 
^:  ''Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  less  than  the  Angels.*' 
VOL.  V.  2  X 


594  Darwinism. 

From  the  earliest  times  he  has  filled  this  earth  with  monu 
ments  of  his  genius.     Beason,  that   glorious   God-given 
ffift,  has  asserted  itself  in  every  age,  as  the  one  quality 
that  has  made  man  what  his  Creator  intended  him  to  be — 
Lord  of  all  creatures.     The  highest  mountain  capped  with 
eternal  snow,  the  ice-bound  regions  that   surround  the 
poles,  the  barren  waste  and  sandy  desert,  he  has  mapped 
out  and  measured.     He  has  surveyed  the  extent  of  the 
heavens  and  the  ocean's  abyss.    He  reads  the  debris  of 
our  oldest  monuments,  and  makes  them  tell  the  history  of 
those  who  witnessed  their  rise,  their  duration,  and  their 
falL    He  has  dug  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  from 
the  strange  hieroglyphics  that  lie  buried  there,  he  has 
rescued  the  history  of   long   forgotten    ages.     He   has 
analysed  and  mastered  the  powers  of  nature,  and  is  daily 
making  them  more  and  more  subservient  to  his  will    The 
fury  of  the  storm,  the  darkness  of  night,  time  and  distance, 
are  yielding  to  man's  intellectual  powers.   And  yet  Darwin 
dares  the  audacious  assertion  that  man's  mental  powers 
differ  from  those  of  the  brute,  not  in  kind  but  in  degree  I 
Surely  every  page  of  man's  history  stamps  upon  Darwin's 
degrading  system  a  verdict  of  contemptuous  condemna- 
tion.   The  evolution  theory  then,  whether  applied  to  man's 
body  or  mind,  is  a  hopeless  failure.     Science  condemns  it; 
reason  revolts  against  it ;   Revelation  anathematizes  it. 
Therefore  "  cut  it  down,  why  cumbreth  it  the  ground?" 
How  forcibly  do  the  inspired  words  come  home  to  us. 
•*  Man  when  he  was  in  honour  did  not  understand,  he  is 
compared  to  senseless  beasts,  and  is  become  like  to  them." 
Man  in  the  pride  of  his  heart  refuses  to  listen  to  the  voice 
of  his  Creator :  shuts  his  eyes  to  the  Ught  of  reason,  scofi 
at  Revelation,  and  in  his  foolish  effort  to  escape  from  his 
Creator's  hands  he  brings  himself  down  to  the  level  of  the 
beasts,  and  deliberately  claims  kindred  with  them.    Such 
are  the  dreamings  which  our  scientists  offer  as  a  substitute 
for  our  faith.     They  would  take  from  us  the  God  whom 
our  fathers  adored,  the  religion  that  is  our  sole  consolation 
here  and  our  passport  to  happiness  hereafter,  and  as  a 
substitute  they  would  give  us — nothing,  absolutely  nothing. 
Well  may  we  reproach  them  in  the  words  of  Magdalen 
of  old,   "  they  have  taken  the  Lord  away,  and  we  know 
not  where  they  have  laid  Him." 

J.  Murphy. 


[    595    ] 


QQESTIONS  REGARDING  "  FORMAL  INTEGRITY." 

F[  a  recent  number  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Record  allusion 
was  incidentally  made  to  the  duty  of  th*e  confessor  to 
secure,  by  interrogation,  the  integrity  of  his  penitent's  con- 
fession ;  but  circumstances  then  admitted  no  lengthened 
consideration  of  the  extent  of  that  duty.  As,  however,  it 
is  a  matter  involving  grave  and  daily  recurring  responsi- 
bility upon  the  confessor,  an  inquiry  in  more  minute  detail 
—though  necessarily  limited  in  its  scope — may  be  useful. 
The  purpose  of  this  paper  will  be  fully  attained  if  it  serve 
as  even  an  imperfect  Index  Capitum  of  authors  in  whose 
works  the  subject  will  be  found  fully  discussed. 

That  the  confessor  is  bound  to  interrogate,  and  bound 
m  an  obligation  second  only  to  that  of  the  penitent  to 
examine  his  conscience,  is  obviously  involved  m  the  fact 
that  he  is  the  custodian  and  dispenser  of  the  sacraments, 
and  must  therefore  jealously  make  provision  against  their 

firofanation.  Hence  in  the  sacrament  of  Penance  the  con- 
essor  is  bound  by  his  office  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of 
his  penitent,  so  that  the  sacrament  may  not,  by  the  default 
of  either,  be  subjected  to  irreverence.  "  Per  se  datur  obli- 
gatio  gravis  in  confessario  interrogandi  poenitentem,  quia 
confessarius,  tanquam  judex,  curare  debet,  ut,  quantum 
satis  est,  causa  judicii  sacramentalis  instruatur."  (Gury, 
Gas.  Consc.)  Failing  to  secure  the  formal  integrity  of  ms 
penitent's  confession,  he  would  be  (1)  abdicating  a  funda- 
mental function  of  his  own  ministration,  by  ceasing  to  be  a 
competent  judex  ;  and  (2)  he  would  be  treacherously  and 
disloyally  exposing  the  sacrament  to  invalidity.  La  Croix 
certifies  that  this  is  the  **  sententia  communissima "  of 
theologians. 

Since,  however,  the  obligation  of  supplying  formal 
integrity  belongs  primarily  to  the  penitent,  the  confessor's 
obUgation  to  interrogate  arises  only  when,  and  in  so  far  as, 
the  penitent  has  presumably  failed.  "  Poenitens  obligatur 
primo  loco,  et  in  ejus  defectum  obligatur  confessarius  ad 
eum  juvandum  juxta  ipsius  capacitatem,  atqui  ideo  minus 
obUgatur  quam  ipse  poenitens."  (De  Lugo.  D.  xvi.  S,  xiv.) 
From  this  universally  accepted  principle  some  most 
useful  practical  rules  are  at  once  derived : — 
1**.  **  Non  teneris  interrogare,  si  scias  poenitentem  scire 

Juid  requiratur  ad  validam  confessionem.''     (La  Croix). 
rURT  adds:  ^^Confessarius  enim  interrogare  non  tenet ur 


596  Questions  regarding  **  Formal  Integrity^* 

nisi  advertat  integritatem  certo  axit  probabiliter  in  aliqua  r© 
deficere."  **  Coneequenter,"  observes  the  former,  **Reli- 
giosi,  clerici,  aliiqne  praecipue  in  Theologia  versati,  non 
sunt  facile  interroganoi,  nisi  manifestum  sit  omitti  vel  non 
satis  discemi  aliqnid  necessarium/' 

2^.  ^^  Confessarius  non  tenetur  interrogare  quando  ad- 
Tertit  poenitentem,  qui  noverat  se  examinsure,  adiiibuisse  ad 
hoc  moralem  diligentiam.*'  {Ibid).  De  Lugo  puts  this 
more  pointedly :  "  Quando  confessarius  advertit  poeniten- 
tem scire,  et  posse  ex  se  adhibere  debitam  diligentiam  in 
examine,  et  de  facto  adhibuisse,  non  debet  confessarius  aliam 
interro^ationem  addere,  sineseiat  f^oc  est,  nisi  sciat]  aliquid 
per  obhvionem  esse  omissum."     (1).  xxii.  S.  ii.) 

In  this  way  theologians  indicate,  by  a  general  rule,  the 
two  very  distinct  objects  of  interrogating — (1)  the  revelation 
of  sins  brought  to  memory  by  a  suflScientlv  dihgent  exam- 
ination of  conscience,  and  (2)  the  making  oi  the  examination 
itself.  These  should  be  always  kept  apart,  and  the  distinc- 
tion runs  through  the  whole  inquiry  as  to  the  confessor's 
duty  in  interrogating. 

All  penitents,  however,  cannot  be  described  as  "  praecipue 
in  Theologia  versati ;  "  and,  consequently,  the  above  rules 
are  practically  of  very  limited  application.  Outside  of  these 
and  the  "  poenitentes  pii "  to  whom  the  frequentation  of 
the  sacraments  has  imparted  a  sound  knowledge  of  practical 
theology,  we  have  those  numerous  classes  designated  by 
theologians  as  igiiari^  hebetes^  rudes  conditioner  tardi  ingeniOp 
&c.  Unlike  the  pii  and  doctiy  the  presumption  should 
generally  be  against  the  probability  of  their  having  made 
the  requisite  examination  of  conscience  and  the  ^<  confessio 
integra "  to  which  they  are  bound.  Oftentimes  they  are 
unable  to  make  either,  and  not  unfrequently  they  are 
unwilling ;  but  from  what  source  soever  their  deficiencies 
come,  the  duty  of  the  confessor  is  well  defined. 

His  first  duty  is  to  place  himself  morally  and  intellec- 
tually in  the  position  of  his  penitent.  His  questions  must 
assume  no  theological  knowledge  which  the  penitent  does 
not  already  possess,  or  which  he  himself  is  not  bound  to 
impart  to  him.  He  must  not  seek  to  find  in  his  penitent,  as 
if  he  was  an  educated  man,  an  intelligent  power  of  analys- 
ing events  and  modes  of  thought,  or  of  computing  numbers. 
He  must  take  him  as  he  is — cramped  by  ignorance  and 
slug^shness  and  dearth  of  spiritual  sensibility.  He  must 
carefully  remember  that  in  the  matter  of  self-examination, 
the  capacity  of  men  is  very  variable,  and  that  this  variable 


Questions  regarding  "  Formal  Integrity.**  597 

moral,  and  intellectual  power  is  at  the  same  time  the 
measure  of  each  man's  obligation  to  examine  himself,  and 
of  the  confessor's  obligation  to  interrogate :  "  Non  enim," 
says  Billuart,  **  sacerdos  tenetur  plus  examinare  poeniten- 
tem  qaam  ipse  poenitens  tenetur  se  examinare."  He  must 
recognise  the  fact  that  some  men  are  indirectly  relieved 
(because  incapacitated)  from  trying  to  make  even  an 
approximately  accurate  examen  of  conscience,  bv  the  very 
multitude  of  their  sins  and  the  grossness  of  their  sinful 
habits ;  by  the  dulness  of  intellect  which  unbridled  indul- 
gence and  sensuality  almost  invariably  engender.  Taking 
tiie  penitent  as  he  finds  him,  he  must  accommodate  his 
interrogations  to  the  penitent's  abihty  to  reply,  and  not 
unfrequently  be  satisfied  with  only  such  distorted,  incon- 
sistent, and  otherwise  fatdty  revelations  as  are  now  possible 
to  an  intelligence  thus  darkened  and  wrecked  by  igno- 
rance and  sin. 

This  is  plainly  the  meaning  of  the  rule  laid  down  by  all 
Iheologians,  and  summarised  thus  by  De  Lugo  :-^ 

"  Late  probavimus  hoc  examen  et  interrogationem  con- 
fessarii  debere  fieri  juxta  regulam  prudentiae,  et  non  meta- 
physice  sed  moraliter  ac  humane  modo,  ita  ut  sacramentum 
non  fiat  onerosum,  sed  sit  facile  remedium  juxta  debilem 
hominum  conditionem." 

Hence  they  lay  down  the  practical  rule : — 

"Constat  secundo,  circa  examen  et  interrogationem 
humanam  quam  diximus  solum  requiri,  non  posse  dari 
unam  et  eandem  regulam  pro  omnibus  personis:  pendet 
enim  ex  capacitate  et  dispositione  corporali,  ex  attentione, 
et  ahis"  circumstantiis :  quare  pauciores  et  crassiores  inter- 
rogationes  debent  fieri  homim  inculto  quam  alicui  Euro- 
paeo  :  levius  etiam  examinandus  est  rusticus  noster  quam 
nomo  civilis ;  levius  qui  aegrotat  et  difficile  potest  ad  sub- 
tiliora  attendere,  propter  capitis  debilitatem,  quam  homo 
sanus  et  robustus:  denique,  quod  notandum  etiam  est, 
levius  et  minus  exacte  interrogandus  est  circa  singula  qui 
plura  habet  peccata  quam  qui  pauciora  \  .  .  Debet 
ergo  confessarius  se  accommodare  poenitenti,  et  notitiam 
peccatorum  a  singulis  petere  juxta  capacitatem  singulorum: 
subtiliorem  a  subtilionbus,  crassiorem  a  crassioribus,  bre- 
viorem  ab  infirmioribus :  haec  enim  est  notitia  et  interro- 
gatio  humana  quam  solum  Jioc  sacramentum  desiderata 
(D.  xvi.  S.  xiv). 

Before  proceeding  further  it  may  be  well  to  define  still 
more  exactly  the  limits  within  wmch  the  examination  of 


598  Questions  regarding  "  Formal  Integrity.^* 

conscience  and  the  correlative  interrogation  by  the  priest 
may  move,  without  ceasing  to  be  humana*  (1)  They  do 
not  exclude,  or  relieve  the  penitent  from,  the  embarrass- 
ment and  ervhescentia  which  are  intrinsic  to  the  truthfnl 
revelation  of  peccata  gravia :  the  humiliation  involved  in 
this  is  part  of  the  penalty  which  the  penitent  must  pay  in 
order  to  obtain  pardon  in  the  sacrament.  Neither  do  they 
warrant  the  abating  in  any  degree  of  that  diligence  of 
investigation  which  men  employ  ordinarily  in  transactions 
of  serious  issue.  (2)  But  they  do  most  sci-upulously  exclude 
from  the  examination  of  conscience — whetner  made  by  the 
penitent  alone  or  by  the  penitent  and  confessor  conjointly 
— aU  such  superadded  probing  and  mathematical  exactitude 
of  inquiry  as  would  cause  to  the  penitent  "  tribulatio  et 
nimia  animae  maestitia,"  and  would  change  the  sacrament 
from  being  a  ''remedium  facile  "  into  something  onerous 
and  revolting — a  '*  camificina  animae."  Billuart,who  cannot 
be  suspected  of  laxity,  says:  "Examen  debet  esse,  non 
summum  et  exquisitum,  sed  humanum,  mediocre  et  con- 
forme  ad  capacitatem  poenitentis."  DeLugo  says  :  "  Solum 
requiritur  duigentia  et  examen  humanum  :  hots  autem  non 
generat  ex  se  fastidium  et  taedium  hujus  sacramenti :  con- 
sequens  est  ut  minus  distincta  notitia  requiritur  ab  eo  qui, 
vel  propter  incapacitatem,  vel  propter  morbum,  vel  propter 
peccatorum  multitudinem,  vel  aham  ob  causam,  difficilius 
posset  exactam  notitiam  reddere."  Finally,  La  Croix, 
quoting  and  adopting  the  teaching  of  many  most  grave 
tneologians,  says  :  *'  Praeceptum  confessionis  materialiter 
integrae  non  obligat  ubi  integritas  haberi  non  potest  sine 
gravi  molestia,  et  in  casu  quo  confessio  redderetur  odiosa : 
hinc  dicunt  Lugo,  &c.  non  valere  illam  consequentiam  ;  si 
hoc  vel  illud  interrogarem,  distinctius  intelligerem  hoc 
peccatum,  ergo  teneor  interrogare  :  uti  etiam  non  valet : 
si  hie  homo  adhuc  una  hora  se  examinaret,  cognosceret 
plura  peccata,  ergo  ad  hoc  tenetur.''  When,  therefore,  the 
"  examen  satis  diligens "  is  once  made,  it  need  not  ever 
afterwards  be  disturbed. 

Evidently,  these  principles  do  not  lessen  the  number  of 
the  confessor's  duties,  although  they  limit  the  area  within 
which  his  zeal  is  to  be  exercised.  **  Ex  imparatis  parati 
fieri  possunt  [poenitentesj  si  modo  sacerdos  viscera  indutns 
misericordiae  Christi,  sciat  studiose,  patienter  et  mansuete 
cum  ipsis  agere  .  .  .  Imparati  emm  illi  non  sunt  judi- 
candi  .  .  .  qui  rudes  conditione,  aut  tardi  ingenio  Don 
satis  in  se  ipsos  inquisierint,  nulla  fere  industria  sua  id,  sine 


Qitestion8  regarding  "  Formal  Integrity."  599 

sacerdotis  ipsius  opera,  assecnturi ;  sed  qui,  adbibita  ab  eo 
necessaria,  non  qua  praeter  modum  graventur,  in  iis  inter- 
Togandis  diligentia,  &c."    (Leo  XII.,  Encyc.) 

It  is  still,  therefore,  the  confessor's  duty,  when  neces- 
sary, to  help  the  penitent  to  systematically  review  his  life, 
sometimes  in  whole  and  sometimes  in  part ;  to  investigate 
with  him,  in  the  order  of  the  commandments,  the  sins  of 
boyhood,  of  adolescence,  of  manhood,  of  old  age;  to  bring 
them  to  light  by  considering  the  obligations  appertaining 
to  the  various  conditions  of  each  period  of  his  life — for 
example,  when  transacting  business  for  others  and  when 
trading  for  himself,  &c.  All  this  is  involved  in  that 
"diligentia"  which  it  is  part  of  the  confessor's  sacred 
office  to  employ ;  but  it  is  m  the  employment  of  it,  in  each 
stage  of  his  inquiry,  that  the  theological  principles  given 
above  will  be  of  value. 

Hence  when  the  **  rudes  conditione  aut  tardi  ingenio  " 

f)re8ent  themselves,  we  cannot  infer  that  because  they,  if 
eft  to  their  own  resources,  could  make  no  methodical 
examination  of  conscience,  or  only  a  very  imperfect  one, 
the  confessor^s  obligation  is,  on  that  account,  proportion- 
ately lightened.  No ;  the  field  to  be  travelled  over  is  the 
same  for  all,  the  only  diflFerence  being  that  material  results 
cannot  be  alwavs  hoped  for  in  uniform  abundance,  as  the 
soil  is  not  of  umform  fertility.  Take,  by  way  of  illustration, 
two  men  of  different  capacities  and  different  degrees  of 
mental  culture,  say,  an  ordinary  labouring  man  and  a 
barrister.  Assume  that  each  has  been  guilty  of  the  same 
large  calendar  of  sins,  identical  in  number,  in  species,  in 
aggravating  circumstances,  in  degree  of  wilfulness,  &c. 
Further,  assume  that,  before  presenting  himself  to  his  con- 
fessor, each  has  written  out — "  post  examen  ad  capacitatem 
suam  conforme " — what  would  seem  to  him  a  confessio 
formaliter  Integra — ^why,  the  two  revelations  would,  in  the 
reading,  represent,  in  many  items,  lives  of  a  wholly  diver- 

§ent  character.  Does  it  follow  that  the  judgments  which 
le  confessor  is  finally  enabled  to  form  must  be  also  mate- 
riallv  different  ?  By  no  means  ;  for  he  will  be  easily  able 
to  fill  in,  in  sufiSciently  full  figure,  the  portrait  of  which  the 
unlettered  man  has  supplied  but  the  outline.  The  con- 
fessor's knowledge  oT  the  evils  wrought  by  the  indulgence 
of  sinful  habits,  by  perseveringly  livine  in  the  occasions  of 
sin,  by  neglecting  prayer  and  the  frequentation  of  the 
sacraments,  &c.,  will  shed  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  condi- 
tion  of  his  penitent's  soul.    The  very  naming  of  his  chief 


€00  Questions  regarding  **  Formal  Integrity.** 

sins  will  Quggest  almost  unerringly  the  existence  of  others  of 
the  same  or  of  kmdred  species,  so  that,  with  even  moderate 
experience,  the  confessor  can  anticipate  and  even  forestal 
the  revelation  of  misdeeds  which  the  penitent  had  failed  to 
remember,  but  of  which  he  will  wonderingly  admit  his 
guilt.  Thus,  conducting  his  inquiry  **  studiose,  patienter 
et  mansuete ; "  taking  care  never  to  overstrain  the  capacity 
of  his  penitent,  and  never  to  embarrass  him ;  remembering 
that  it  is  not  material,  but,  when  they  differ,  formal  intee>- 
rity  that  he  is  entitled  to  expect,  and  that  the  latter  should 
not  be  purchased  at  the  cost  of  the  penitent's  **  tribulatio 
et  nimia  animae  maestitia,"  the  judgments  which  he  wiB 
ultimately  form  of  the  case  of  both  penitents  will  be  sub- 
stantially alike. 

It  is  evident  that  both  penitent  and  confessor  will  &id 
their  chief  diflSculty  in  the  attempt  to  satisfy  the  law  which 
prescribes  a  very  exacting  accuracy  in  confessing  the 
number  of  sins  committed.     How  can  the  *'  tardi  ingenio  " 
and  "  rudes  conditione,"  years  of  whose  lives  have  been 
wasted  in  the  indulgence  of  uninterrupted  sensuality,  de- 
fine the  number  of  their  sinful  thoughts  and  acts,  so  as  not 
to  outstep  the  limits  of  the  plu^  minusve  within  which  their 
computation  must  be  fixed  ?     So  well  defined  is  this  margin 
of  plus  minusve  J  that  ten  per  cent,  under  or  over  the  number 
so  quaUfied  is  regarded,  even  by  the  milder  schools  of  theo- 
logy, as  perilously  generous.    Nevertheless,  by  an  applica- 
tion of  the  same  dominant  principle,  that  the  examen  mast 
be  ^^conforme  ad  capacitatem  poenitentis"  and  such  as 
beseems  a  "remedium  facile,"  even  Collet — one  of  the  most 
inflexible  of  moralists — ^lays  down  the  following  practical 
rule : — 

"  Qui  vero  certi  nihil  ao  fixi  detegere  possunt,  sen  quia 
per  annos  plures  ab   omni  confessione  abstinuerint ;  sen 
quia  capitis  sui  capillos  supergressi  sint  iniquitatibus  smB, 
id   saltern  agere  debent,  ut    in  qualibet  peccati  specie 
aperiant  suum  vivendi  morem^  oeeasionesy propenttionemyineenr 
tiva  Ubidinis,  spatium  temporisy  quo  in  exercitio  peccati,  pec- 
candi  voluntate,  facti  complacentia,  ejusdem  apud  aJiofl^ 
quot  et  quaies,  jactatione  permanserint :  ut  tandem,  omni- 
bus pensatis,  intelligat  confessarius  ouoties  circiter  lapfl 
sint  m  mense,  in  hebdomada,  in  die.    Sic  enim  staitts  eonun 
intelligetur,  quantum  potest"  (T.  xL  P.  v.,  C.  5).    The  same 
rule  is  adopted  by  De  Lugo,  who,  as  is  usual  with  him, 
illustrates  his  theory  by  practical  cases,  such  as  eveiy  con- 
fessor has  frequently  to  deal  with;    and  by  La  Qnhx^ 
St  Liguori,  Gury,  Ac. 


Correspondence.  601 

In  acquiring  even  this  ^^  schedula  confiiBa  "  of  sins  it  is 
essential  to  remember  that  in  the  passions,  as  in  the  other 
«afl5iirB  of  men,"  there  are  tides  and  ebbings  and  periods  of 
comparative  tranquillity ;  that,  as  no  one  "  repente  fit  tur- 
pissimns,"  so  no  one  maintains  throughout  a  protracted 
career,  the  same  high  level  of  turpitude ;  and  hence  that 
it  will  be  necessary  to  investigate^ — always  '*  patienter  et 
mansuete" — ^the  origin  and  gradual  growth  and  fitful 
developments  of  each  passion  separately.  Such  minute 
inquiry  seems  quite  compatible  with  the  "interrogatio 
humana"  beyond  which  we  cannot  go ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  seems  indispensable  to  every  careful  investigation. 

In  bringing  these  discursive  remarks  to  a  close,  it  may 
be  well  to  emphasize  that  the  pervading  principle  from 
which  theologians  draw  the  foregoing  practical  rules,  is 
clearly  this — that,  in  interrogating,  the  confessor  should,  in 
all  circumstances,  exhibit  himself  as  one  "  viscera  indutus 
misericordiae  Christi ;"  that  he  should  assist  the  penitent 
with  no  less  tenderness  than  studious  care ;  that,  "  salvo 
examine  satis— nonpraeter  modum — diligenti/'  he  should 
solve  in  favour  of  silence  every  doubt  as  to  the  necessity 
of  further  probing ;  that  he  should  never,  by  unnecessaiy 
or  merely  tentative  inquisitiveness,  transform  that  which 
by  divine  institution  is  a  "remediimi  facile"  into  the 
possible  torture  and  "  camificina  "  of  his  penitent's  souL 

Finally,  it  would  be  unfair  to  take  the  foregoing  obser- 
vations as  professing  to  deal  generally  with,  much  less  to 
exhaust,  the  question  of  how  far  and  by  what  methods 
the  confessor  is  bound  to  interrogate  with  a  view  of 
securing  formal  integrity.  They  touch  upon  only  a  few 
of  his  outlying  duties ;  but  these  are  precisely  the  ones 
fi'om  which  spring  most  of  his  troubles  and  anxieties. 

C.  J.  M. 


COERESPONDENCE. 


Canon  Law  in  Ireland. 

ViERT  Rev.  and  Deak  Sir, — Resuming  the  subject  of  Canon 
Law  in  Ireland,  it  may  be  well  to  recollect  what  we  observed  in 
our  previous  paper  as  to  the  structure  of  our  administrative  system, 
that  being  in  a  large  degree  abnormal  and  special,  it  grew  up,  and 
took  its  form  from  the  circumstances  our  National  Church  had  to 
deal  with,  the  difficulties  she  had  to  struggle  against,  and  the 


602  Correspondence. 

means  and  opportunities  of  progress  she  had  to  take  advantage  of) 
as  time  advanced.  In  all  this  we  were  happy  to  recognise  the 
particular  superintendence  and  guidi^ice  of  Edvine  Providence  as 
evidenced  by  the  marvellous  progress  she  has  made,  and  the 
abundant  fruits  she  has,  under  God's  blessing,  produced  ai  home 
and  abroad,  within  so  short  a  time ;  and  we  noticed,  that  she  has 
had  the  sanction  and  approval  of  Bome  all  through  in  her  resur- 
rection, as  we  may  term  it,  from  the  utterly  prostrate  state,  to 
which  her  trials,  surpassed  in  duration  and  intensity  only  by  the 
persecutions  of  the  early  Church,  had  reduced  her. 

We  are  now,  however,  to  observe,  that  the  Fathers  of  the 
Irish  Church  never  lost  sight  of  Canon  Law,  or  the  Common  Law 
of  the  Church,  so  far  as  times  and  circumstances  allowed  them  to 
attend  to  its  observance.  Even  in  the  most  calamitous  periods 
they  contrived  to  meet  and  hold  counsel  with  each  other.  Their 
meetings  were,  indeed,  informal.  How  could  they  be  otherwise? 
Yet,  the  free  and  graceful  command  they  display  of  the  Latin 
language  in  the  fragmentary  records  that  have  come  down  to  us, 
of  their  acts  and  proceedings,  show  them  to  be  men  of  high  literary 
culture  and  profound  erudition,  capable  of  filling  the  highest  posts, 
as  several  of  them  did  fill,  in  the  Universities  and  other  seats  of 
learning  on  the  Continent. 

As  better  days  came,  they  took  advantage  of  them  to  put 
things  in  more  regular  order,  and  more  in  harmony  with  the  pre- 
scriptions of  Canon  Law.  But  they  wisely  bore  in  mind,  that 
sound  legislation  in  Church  and  State  is  of  slow  growth,  and  that 
a  people  cannot  be  forced  abruptly  to  relinquish  habits,  to  whidi 
they  have  been  long  accustomed,  in  order  to  enter  on  new  courses. 
They  had  to  consider  in  several  matters,  tliat  what  is  best  in 
speculation  and  theory  is  frequently  not  even  second  best  in 
practice,  owing  to  existing  circumstances,  and  they,  therefore, 
adopted  the  motto  *'  festina  lent^  "  in  approaching  the  ameliorati(Hi5 
they  desired  to  make  in  the  disciplinary  situation  of  the  Church. 

At  length  the  time  arrived,  some^  fifty  years  ago,  for  the  enact- 
ment of  a  regular  code  of  Diocesan  Statutes,  which  dealing  with  the 
life  and  manners  of  the  Clergy,  as  also  the  functions  of  the  Sacred 
Ministry,  projected  a  Canonical  Status  for  their  various  dioceses,  in 
conformity,  as  much  as  possible  at  the  time,  with  the  requirements 
of  the  general  jurisprudence  of  the  Universal  Church. 

As  time  advanced,  it  waa  found  convenient  to  hold  IVovincial 
and  Diocesan  Synods,  and  additional  enactments  were  appended  to 
the  Statutes  of  the  Diocese,  till  at  length  came  the  National  Synod 
of  Thurles,  which  taking  account  of  the  country  at  large,  placed  the 
National  Church  on  a  still  more  Canonical  footing. 

But  legislation  must  be  in  every  society  an  unceasing  work 
owing  to  the  unstable  condition  of  human  affairs,  and,  therefore, 
another  quarter  of  a  century  called  for  a  second  National  Assembly^ 
which  history  is  to  record  as  the  Maynooth  Synod.    The  enac^ 


Correspondence.  603 

ments  of  this  Assembly  reviewed  those  of  Thurles,  supplementing 
them,  and  adding  to  them,  according  as  their  Lordships  in  their 
wisdom  deemed  it  salutary  a^  expedient. 

Besides  all  this  domestic  legislation,  we  are  to  bear  in  mind,  as 
I  have  already  noticed,  that  ^e  Supreme  Legislator,  has  his  eyes 
always  open  upon  us,  as  upon  the  entire  Church ;  and  the  various 
congregations,  that  aid  him  in  his  world-wide  administration,  are 
erer  accessible  for  consultation.  However,  to  avoid  mist€ikes  in 
tiiese  consultations,  the  distinction  between  questions  of  law  and 
fact  must  never  be  lost  sight  of.  As  a  general  rule  the  responsi- 
bility of  law  or  principle  only,  rests  with  the  congregation  con- 
sulted, whilst  the  party  consulting  is  answerable  for  the  correct 
statement  of  the  fact  with  its  essential  circumstances,  as  well  as  for 
the  manner  of  stating  it.  On  this  account  Canonists  point  out  in 
minute  detail  the  various  causes  invalidating  the  rescripts,  or  re- 
sponses returned  from  the  various  tribunals  in  Bome  owing  to  the 
faulty  way  in  which  cases  are  sometimes  presented ;  and  they  are 
very  care^il  in  warning  us  against  inferences  beyond  the  terms  of 
the  decisions  arrived  at  in  particular  cases,  as  well  as  the  appli- 
cation of  such  decisions  to  what  might  appear  analogous  cases. 
When  consequently  there  would  be  question  of  referring  any 
matter  of  general  import,  it  would  be  desirable  by  all  means 
to  have  the  terms  of  the  consultation  approved  of  by  the 
Bishops  in  one  of  those  meetings,  which  bring  them  so  frequently 
together,  more  particularly  as  they  are  authorised  by  special  Indult 
to  dispense  with  the  solemn  formalities  prescribed  by  the  Roman 
Pontifical.  Such  a  precaution  would  obviate  all  ambiguity  and 
imcertainty  as  to  the  application  or  applicability  of  the  reply. 

In  laying  down  in  a  previous  paper  the  general  statement,  that 
we  in  Ireland  are  subject  to  the  **  jus  commime,"  or  common  law 
of  the  Church,  so  far  as  it  is  maintained  in  use  by  the  Supreme 
Pontiff,  I  laid  particular  stress  on  the  allowance  we  are  to  claim 
on  the  ground  of  local  legislation,  traditions^  customs,  and 
exemptions,  as  sanctioned,  assented  to,  or  tolerated  by,  the  same 
authority.  In  putting  forward  this  claim  we  pretend  to  no  special 
privilege  that  is  not  allowed  to  other  local  or  national  churches  as 
well.  Nevertheless,  considerable  obscurity  hangs  over  this  claim, 
and  minds  are  rather  much  divided  as  to  the  extent^  to  which  it  is 
to  be  relied  upon ;  and  if  I  venture  to  approach  it,  I  confess  I  do  so 
with  much  hesitation  and  diffidence.  However,  as  I  disclaim  all 
idea  of  speaking  with  authority,  my  purpose  will  be  attained,  if  I 
succeed  in  bringing  the  subject  under  ^  the  consideration  of  your 
readers,  being  prepared  to  have  my  views,  such  as  they  are, 
controverted,  as  I  shall  be  glad  to  adopt  the  ideas  of  others,  so  far 
as  they  may  be  sounder  in  principles,  and  especially  more 
deferential  to  the  great  centre,  that  should  hold  us  all  united  in 
**  one  mind,  having  the  same  charity ,  being  of  one  accord,  agreeing  in 
mttment:'  (Philip,  ii.  2.) 


604  Correspondence. 

We  may  select  as  examples  of  the  subjects  in  question,  sins  and 
censures  reserred  to  the  Holy  See,  the  alienation,  and  leasing  of 
ecclesiastical  property,  the  restrictions  respecting  the  confessors  of 
female  communities,  the  Index  of  prohibited  books,  ''extra 
tempora  "  ordinations,  liturgical  and  rubrical  observances,  &c.,  &e. 
I  mention  these  as  examples,  there  being  several  others  that  might 
be  added,  to  present  in  a  tangible  form  the  question  I  desire  to 
submit  for  consideration,  and  respecting  which  I  presume  to  offer 
the  following  remarks : — 

First  of  all,  I  think  we  should  not  assent  to  that  form  of  words, 
which  would  say,  such  and  such  a  law,  such  and  such  a  Pontifical 
constitution,  such  and  such  a  decree,  has  not  been  received  in  this 
country.  This  I  conceive  to  be  an  ill-sounding,  and  really  unsoond 
mode  of  expression,  setting  up  apparently,  at  least,  the  pretension, 
that  a  particular  or  local  church  can  lawfully  withdraw  itself  from 
the  supreme  legislative  authority  of  the  universal  Church.  On  the 
other  hand,  is  it  to  be  inferred  that  every  portion  or  branch  of  the 
Church  at  large  is  de  facto  under  the  obligation  of  her  general 
legislation,  and  of  the  enactments  all  and  several  therein  contained? 
This  question  recalls  the  distinction  we  have  already  noticed 
between  the  binding  force  and  binding  effect  of  the  general  laws  of 
the  Church,  and  this  distinction  opens  room  for  local  customs  tri> 
ditions,  and  exemptions  derogating'  from  such  general  legisladon 
so  that,  whilst  its  binding  force  and  authority  are  by  all  means  to 
be  universally  recognised,  its  actual  application  may  nevertheless 
be  in  abeyance  in  various  parts  of  the  Church  owing  to  local 
causes  requiring  temporary  or  permanent  exemptions.  As  to  the 
sufficiency  of  these  causes  it  is  to  be  presumed,  that  there  is  aa 
understanding  between  the  Pope  and  the  Bishops  with  r^ard 
to  them. 

In  the  second  place,  the  principle  is  to  be  ever  kept  in  view, 
that  human  legislation  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastic  does  not  exact 
compliance  under  grievous  inconvenience,  and  consequently  we  are 
to  consider  that  where  such  a  bar  exists,  it  has  been  duly  tata 
account  of  in  the  same  way. 

Thirdly,  owing  to  the  different  states  and  positions  of  particnlar 
Churches,  according  as  they  may  be  in  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment, they  necessarily  require  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  are  respectively  placed  for  the  timo 
being,  the  full  canonical  legislation  having  its  application  only  to 
a  completely  organised  system  either  actually  or  prospectivelj  i» 
operation. 

Fourthly,  how  can  it  be  maintained,  that  provisions  of  Caooii 
Law  which  we  can  observe  in  Ireland  at  present,  could  be  attended 
to  fifty  or  eighty  years  ago,  as  we  are  to  hope,  that  in  the  samo 
periods  to  come  we  shall  be  in  a  much  more  advanced  state  <a 
conformity  with  the  general  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  that  froa 
year  to  year  in  the  interim  we  shall  be  making  way  towards  so 
desirable  a  result  ? 


Corretpondenee.  605 

It,  therefore,  necessarilj  fi^ows,  that  all  legislation,  and  still 
nH)re  its  ^plication,  must  depend  on  circumstances  in  order  to  attain 
its  essential  and  final  purpose  of  being  useful  and  advantageous  to 
tiiose  who  are  concerned,  and  that  in  the  exercise  of  her  legislative 
aathoritj'the  Church  has  always  in  view  the  maxim  of  the  Apostle, 
that  she  possesses  this  authority  *'  unto  the  edification^  and  not  the 
destruction*'  of  her  children.     (2  Cor.  x.  8.) 

In  venturing  to  lay  down  these  general  statements  I  confess  I 
feel  very  much  sustained  by  some  concluding  remarks  of  Avanzini 
in  hid  learned  commentary  on  the  celebrated  constitution  ^'  Apos- 
TOUCAK  Sedis,'*  of  the  late  Pope  Pius  IX.,  respecting  censures.  The 
illuBtrious  canonist,  after  having  commented  on  the  various 
enactments  of  the  Constitution,  notices  certain  objections  which, 
he  says,  he  heard  made  by  persons  alleging  that  the  Constitution 
instituted  several  obligations,  and  placed  them  even  under  the 
s&oction  of  censures,  which,  however,  in  the  times  in  which  we 
live,  cannot  be  applied  in  very  many  nations  owing  to  different 
reasons  resulting  in  the  main  from  the  fact,  that  governments  do 
not  admit  the  laws  of  the  Church  as  having  force  within  their 
dominions,  and  that  laws  and  customs  of  a  contrary  import  stand 
io  the  way.  He,  nevertheless,  seeks  to  uphold  the  enactments  of 
the  Constitution  on  several  grounds. 

He  pleads,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  obb'gations  in  question 
are  not  new  in  the  Church,  that  on  the  contrary  they  are  very 
ancient,  and  that  the  Constitution  so  far  from  creating  these 
enactments  mitigates  and  lessens  the  penalties  attached  to  them, 
thereby  intimating  how  altered  circumstances,  and  change  of  time, 
have  the  effect  of  influencing  legislation. 

But  the  Constitution  itself  is  more  explicit  in  putting  forward 
this  view,  stating,  as  it  does,  in  the  preamble,  that  the  reserved 
censures  of  the  Church  wisely  enacted  at  different  periods  of  her 
history,  had  by  degrees  increased  so  as  to  be  very  numerous,  and 
that  several  of  them,  owing  to  changes  of  times  and  manners,  had 
ceased  to  answer  the  end  and  causes,  on  account  of  which  they  had 
been  imposed,  or  to  be  further  useful  or  suitable,  and  that  by  this 
means  doubts,  anxieties,  and  troubles  of  conscience  had  been 
occasioned  both  for  those  who  had  the  direction  of  souls,  and  the 
faithful  themselves,  all  which  is  made  the  ground  for  reviewing  the 
censures  as  they  stood  recorded,  in  order  to  retain  some  of  them,  and 
moderate,  or  entirely  abolish,  others. 

The  learned  commentator  goes  on  to  say,  in  the  second  place, 
that  admitting  the  obligations  of  the  constitution  to  be  impossible 
of  enforcement  in  certain  countries,  the  Supreme  Legislator  onght 
not  to  refrain  on  that  account  from  keeping  them  in  view,  and  in- 
culca^g  them,  inasmuch  as  it  must  be  ever  useful  to  the  faithful, 
as  also  to  ecclesiastics,  to  know  what  the  discipline  of  the  Church 
requires,  lest  by  degrees  they  should  come  to  imagine  that  others 
aei  lawfoDy  in  violating  the  rights  of  the  Church,  and  disregarding 


606  Correspondence. 

public  propriety  and  the  public  good.  Here  we  see  a  dear  dis* 
tinction  between  the  law  itself  in  its  binding  force,  and  its  de  fado 
obligation. 

In  the  third  place,  he  asserts  that  these  laws  can  be  observed 
in  very  many  countries.  The  conditions  of  mankind  being  different 
in  different  parts  of  the  world,  so  that  what  cannot  be  observed  in 
one  place  may  be  observed  in  many  others,  thereby  making  allow- 
ance for  those  deviations  and  derogations  from  the  General  Canon 
Law  which  various  local  causes  require  and  authorise. 

Finally,  he  observes  that  in  practice  Confessors  are  to  look 
for  guidance  to  standard  authors,  and  see  what  course  they  are 
to  pursue  according  to  the  special  circumstances  of  persons  and 
things,  since  there  is  question  of  nothing  new  in  the  matter,  and 
the  principles  of  moral  prudence  remain  unchangeable,  pointing 
out  when  the  law  of  the  Church  does  not  bind,  and  how  penitents 
are  to  be  dealt  with,  whether  they  know  it  or  be  in  hondfida 
ignorance  of  it. 

No  doubt  these,  and  such  like  considerations  were  present  to 
the  minds  of  our  Bishops,  and  they  took  serious  account  of  them 
in  the  practical  application  of  Canon  Law  according  as  varying 
circumstances  in  the  onward  march  of  time  guided  their  zeal  and 
wisdom. 

Hence  we  see  in  the  matter  of  censures  they  deemed  it  prudent 
to  make  very  sparing  use  of  these  penalties  in  framing  their 
Diocesan  Statutes,  and  although  in  most  instances  they  are  reserved 
to  the  Pope,  the  Bishops  considered  themselves  warranted  in  con- 
fining them  to  their  own  tribunals. 

As  to  the  alienation  and  leasing  of  ecclesiastical  property,  the 
laws  under  which  we  live  stand  very  much  in  the  way  of  the 
application  of  Canon  Law,  and  whilst  their  Lordships  keep  its 
prescriptions  in  view,  they  are  obliged  to  act  as  prudence  miV 
direct  according  to  occurring  circumstances. 

In  reference  to  the  Confessors  of  female  communities,  it  was 
always  held  according  to  Canon  Law  that  they  required  special 
faculties  for  a  ministry  so  important,  but  it  is  only  lately  that  the 
triennial  limitation  began  to  be  applied,  owing  to  the  difficulty  d 
finding  in  the  limited  ranks  of  the  Clergy,  Confessors  in  every  way 
suitable.  *  The  same  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  othtf 
countries  as  well,  and  a  similar  exemption  has  been  found  neces- 
sary. 

The  index  of  prohibited  books  has  not  been  published  in  this 
country,  nor  the  rules  sanctioned  by  Canon  Law  in  respect  of  itf 
the  Bishops  deeming  it  more  expedient  to  leave  the  prohibition 
under  the  guarantee  of  the  Natural  and  Divine  Lffw,  and  using  all 
vigilance  to  guard  against  the  evils  in  view. 

With  regard  to  "  extra  tempora  "  ordinations,  it  was  thought, 
some  years  ago,  that  the  -Aime  had  arrived  for  the  observaooe  of 
the  Canonical  Bule.  However,  reasons  soon  appeared  for  soiog 
an  exemption  from  it  again  in  Maynooth  and  elsewhere. 


Correspondence,  607 

Litargical  and  Eubrical  observances  are,  indeed,  part  of  the 
Canon  Law,  but  they  suppose  the  possibiKty  and  convenience  of 
being  carried  out,  and,  of  course,  according  to  circumstances,  they 
can  be  attended  to  only  more  or  less  perfectly. 

These  observations  might  be  extended  to  all  other  matters,  in 
which  the  Church  of  Ireland  is  not  in  full  conformity  with  Canon 
Law.  The  Bishops,  whom  as  St.  Paul  teaches,  '*  the  Holy  Ghott 
hath  placed  to  ruU  the  Church  of  Ood^'  {Act$  xx.  28,)  were 
always  alive  to  the  momentous  responsibilities  of  their  position, 
and  we  are  to  presume  that  on  account  of  the  relictions  existing, 
at  all  times,  between  their  Lordships  and  the  Supreme  Head  of 
the  Church  on  earth,  they  acted  according  to  the  large  measure  of 
confidence  He  felt  necessary  to  allow  them,  and  that,  moreover,  he 
bad  His  eyes  open  to  watch  with  special  vigilance  over  a  portion 
of  His  charge,  which  claimed  His  particular  concerns  on  account  of 
its  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  Holy  See  under  the  terrible  trials 
and  sufferings  our  National  Church  had  to  struggle  against  for  such 
a  length  of  time. 

If,  therefore,  our  position  be  yet  somewhat  abnormal  as  regards 
the  "  Jus  Commune,"  or  the  general  prescriptions  of  Canon  Law, 
we  are,  nevertheless,  quite  within  rule  as  to  the  conditions 
required  for  the  exceptions  and  derogations  deemed  expedient,  and 
in  several  regards  jiecessary,  for  the  situation  in  which  we  are 
placed ;  and  in  all  this,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  we  stand  on  the 
same  footing  as  other  local  and  particular  Churches,  which,  in  the 
same  way,  are  allowed  similar  privileges,  and  usages  of  their  own. 
Looking  back  on  all  I  have  ventured  to  advance,  and  desiring 
to  come  to  an  end,  on  the  very  important  subject  of  '*  Canon  Law 
in  Ireland,"  I  think  the  following  propositions  may  be  fairly  laid 
down:— 

V*.  That,  we  are  under  the  obligation  of  the  general  law  of  the 
Church,  except  in  so  far  as  we  are  duly  exempted. 

2**.  The  entire  structure  of  our  Ecclesiastical  Ministry  is 
peculiarly  our  own,  having  sprung  out  of  the  ordeal  of  suffering 
through  which  we  had  to  pass,  and  having  taken  shape  according 
to  the  exigencies,  and  special  circumstances,  that  supervened. 

3^.  We  have  Canon  Law  blended  to  a  considerable  extent  with 
the  treatises  forming  the  ordinary  "  curriculum  "  of  Theology, 
especially  with  those  treating  of  the  Precepts  of  the  Church,  the 
Seven  Sacraments,  Censures,  and  Irregularities.  So  far  Canon 
Law  may  be  regarded  as  applied  Theology,  and  is  of  course  to  be 
observed  with  adl  strictness. 

4°.  In  our  every  day  ministry  we  use  Canon  Law  in  our  Litur- 
gical and  Ritual  functions,  by  attending  to  the  Rubrics,  which  have 
been  drawn  up  with  so  much  care,  and  enjoined  with  so  much 
weight  of  authority  for  our  observance. 

In  the  department  of  Ritual  the  lat^  lamented  Father  O'Kane, 
Dean  of   the  College  of  Maynooth,  has  left  behind  him  a  very 


608  Correspondence. 

valuable  legacy  to  the  Irish  Ohnrch  in  his  *^  Notes  on  the  Boman 
Bitnal,"  &c. ;  and  as  it  would  be  ''  nno  avolso  non  deficit  alter 
aoreiis/'  the  worthy  Vice-President  of  the  same  national  estaldish- 
ment,  the  Very  Rev.  Eobert  Browne,  is  entitled  to  our  best  thanks 
for  his  excellent  papers  on  Liturgical  subjects,  from  month  to 
month,  in  the  pages  of  the  Record.  Without  presuming  to  offer 
any  suggestion,  it  may  be  hoped,  that,  later  on,  the  respected 
author  will  collect  these  papers,  and  reproduce  them  in  book-form, 
arranging  the  subjects  under  distinct  headings  for  ccmvenient  con- 
sultation. Th^  compilation  would,  no  doubt,  be  hailed  with  eameit 
welcome,  and  do  good  service  in  improving  the  various  services  of 
our  Liturgy. 

5^.  We  are  to  observe  as  our  domestic  Canon  Law  the  statutes 
of  our  respective  dioceses,  together  with  the  successive  enactments 
of  our  diocesan  synods,  and  the  ordinances  of  the  Bishop  as  issued 
in  virtue  of  his  legislative  authority  within  the  limits  of  his 
diocese. 

6^.  With  these  we  are  to  combine  the  enactments  of  the  two 
national  synods  of  Thurles  and  Maynooth  as  adopted  and  applied 
by  diocesan  authority. 

7**.  We  are  to  receive  with  all  respect  and  obedience,  all  con- 
stitutions, decrees,  rescripts,  and  orders  of  every  kind,  emanating 
£rom  the  Holy  See,  whether  coming  immediately  from  the  Ho^ 
Father  himself  or  from  any  of  the  several  Congregations  aiding 
him  in  the  government  of  the  Church,  as  made  known  to  us 
through  the  Bishops,  as  the  ordinary  channel  of  communication. 

Finally,  our  Bishops  are  all  allowed  by  the  ^'  formula  sexta," 
extensive  powers  for  dispensing  in  the  prescriptions  of  Canon  Law, 
and  in  availing  ourselves  of  these  dispensations  at  their  hands  we 
do  homage  to  the  supreme  authority  from  which  they  proceed 
equaUy  as  in  observing  its  positive  injunctions. 

With  this  summary  I  will  conclude  what  I  can  call  only  «i 
essay  on  a  most  important  subject.  My  observations  are,  indeed, 
very  desultory.  I  could  not  help  it  in  order  to  keep  within  the 
space  I  could  venture  to  hope  you  would  indulgenUy  allow  me. 
Let  me,  however,  repeat,  that  I  do  not  presume  to  advance  any- 
thing as  one  having  authority,  I  wish  rather  to  be  understood  as 
speaking  under  correction,  my  chief  object  being  to  ventilate,  as  I 
l^ve  already  said,  an  important  ecclesiastical  subject ;  and  I  shall 
rejoice,  if  what  I  have  said  attract  the  notice  of  others  more 
competent  to  speak  on  such  a  subject,  either  to  supply  what  I  have 
left  unsaid,  or  to  rectify  anything  I  may  have  said  amiss. 

Allow  me  to  remain, 

Very  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, 

Very  dutifully  yours, 

H  X.Z. 


[    609    ] 


DOCUMENTS. 

CIRCULAR  Letter  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  addressed 
to  all  the  Bishops  of  the  Church,  ordering  a  Triduum 
iu  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  on  the  6th,  7th,  and  8th 
of  this  month  —September,  1884. 

SUMMARY   OP   THE   LETTER, 

Cardinal  Hainald,  bishop  of  Colocza,  in  Hungary,  addressed  to 

the  Pope  a  petition  signed  by  several  Cardinals  and  other  digni^ 

taries,  praying  for  a  special  and  solemn  celebration  on  the  8th  of 

September,  1885,  in  honour  of  the  19th  Centenary  of  the  birth  of 

the  Blessed  Virgin.     The  Pope  appointed  a  special  commission  of 

the  Cardinals  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  to  examine  and  report 

on  the  question,  whether  the  centenary  celebration  may  be  held. 

The  Cardinals  report  against  the  centenary  celebration.  The  reasons 

stated.     The  Congregation  of  Rites  formally  decides,  that  it  is  not 

evpedient    to   hold  the  proposed  IDth  centenary  celebration,  but 

strongly  recommends  the  present  occasion  for  a  special  and  solemn 

celebration  in  honour  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  to  testify  our  filial 

devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God,  and  to  make  some  reparation  for 

outrages  offered  to  her,  even  in  her  favoured  shrines,  by  wicked  men. 

Pope  Leo.  the  Xn I.  adopts  the  suggestion  of  theSacre^l  Congregation, 

and  orders  a  Solemn  Triduum  on  the  6th,  7th,  and  8th  of  September, 

throughout  the  whole  Church.     Indulgence  of  seven  years  and  seven 

qnarantines  for  each  attendance  at  the  devotions.  Plenary  Indulgence 

for  attendance  at  the  whole  Triduum,  accompanied  by  confession, 

communion,  and  prayers  for  the  intention  of  the  Pope.     Indulgence 

applicable   to   the   souls   in   Purgatory.      He    also    recommends 

pilgrimages  to  the  B.  Virgin's  shrines,  especially  to  Loretto,  during 

the  month  of  September,  1884. 

ILIifiE  ET  KME  DOMINE. 

Vir  Eminentissimus  Metropolitanae  Ecclesiae  Colocensis  et 
fiacaienslA  in  Hungariae  Regno  Antistes  Ludovicus  Cardiualis 
Haynald,  humiUimis  oblatis  precibus.  Sanctissimum  Dominum 
Nostrum  Leonem  Papam  XUI.  rogavit,  ut  probata  aliquorum 
Tbeologorum  ecclesiastieae  historiae  peritorum  sententia,  quae 
niadet  proximo  anno  1885  completum  iri  decimum  nonum  saecu- 
hm  ab  ortu  gloriosae  Virginis  Dei  genitricis  Mariae,  de  eo  laetissi- 
mo  erentu  speciale  festum  solemni  ritu  celebrandum  decemeret  in 
eatholico  Orbe  universo,  die  octava  Septembris  ejusdem  anni. 
Postnlationi  quamplurimi  alii  subscripserunt  ecelesiarum  Prae- 
sules,  inter  quos  aliquot  £mi  Ccu*dinale8 ;  permulti  quoque  acces- 
sere  ecclesiastici  Viri  dignitate  clari,  et  laici  rehgione  praestantea  : 
onmes  ferventi  permoti  desiderio  novum  cultus  honorem  opponendi 
probria  ac  blasphemiis,  quibus  excelsa  Doi^ina  a  tenebrarum  pro- 
VOIj.  v.  2  y 


610  Documents, 

testate  hodie  lacessitur,  ab  eaque,  tarn  propitia  oblata  oocaaione, 
enixius  implorandi,  ut  optatae  pacis  nostrae  sequestra  fiat  apud 
Deum,  et  caelestium  administra  grntiaram. 

S^ictissimus  Dominus  rei  perspecta  gravitate,  earn  videodam 
demaDdavit  peculiar!  CoDgregationi  EminentissimorumCardinaliam 
sacris  tuendis  ritibus  praepositonim.  Quae  die  31  mox  praeteriti 
mensis  Maji  ad  Yaticanum  coadunata,  in  piimis  in  hoc  themate 
pervidit  obicem.  hactenus  insolubilem,  ex  defectu  not  itiae  certae, 
quae  prorsus  necessaria  esset,  veri  anni  Virginei  natalitii;  com 
eruditi  omnes  tarn  veteres  quam  recentiores,  ac  ipsi  centeDarii 
propugnatores  censeant  tempus  nativitatis  Deiparae  beatissimae 
historica  certitudine  definiri  non  posse.  Quae  enim  maxime  affe- 
runtur  documenta,  videlicet  fragmentum  epistolae  Evodii,  poet 
Sanctum  Petrum  primi  Antiocheni  £piscopi,  juxte  quod  beata 
Virgo  decimuin  quint um  annum  agens  peperisset  bujus  mmidi 
lucem  ;  et  Cbronicon  Paschale,  unde  deducere  daretiu:  Mariae  ortum 
undecimo  anno,  ad  suramum,  ante  Christum  natura  contigisse :  haec 
praeterquamquod  secum  non  cohaerent,  ab  omnibus  melioris  DOtae 
criticis,  validis  adductis  rationum  momentis,  facile  refelluntur  ad 
apocrypha^  aut  prorsus  dubiae  auctoritatis.  Hi  propterea  incunc- 
tanter  n^ant  fidem  esse  adjungendam  rei,  de  qua  sacrae  litterae, 
veteres  Patres,  ecclesiasticae  historiae  et  sacrae  antiqnitatis 
explorata  monumenta  nihil  omnino  tradiderint.  Ac  si^ienter,  pro 
suo  more,  de  hoc  ipso  scribit  Summus  Pontifex  Benedictus  XIV. : 
*'  Foilasse  nonnemo  mirabitur  nos  de  nativitate  beatae  Virginis 
nihil  afferre ;  sed  dum  de  ea  sacer  textus  omnino  sileat  optinoiD 
putavimus  et  nos  de  re  prorsus  incerta  tacere,  de  qua  cum  pinres 
scribere  voluerint,  ex  turbidis  fontibus,  quae  tradiderunt,  haosisae 
videntur,  puta  ex  Proto-Evangelio,  quod  Sancto  Jacobo  fJ» 
tribuitur,  ex  libro  de  Ortu  Virginis  qui  perperam  Sancto  Jacobo 
fratri  Domini  Nostri  Jesu-Christi,  et  a  quibusdam  Cyrillo  Akxan- 
drino  adscribitur,  ....  ex  commentitia  S.  Evodii  eiHStola 
etc."  {De  festU  B.  M.   V.  lib.  IL,  cap.  IX). 

Consuetudinem  autem,  quae  invaluit,  celebrandi  sacras  centeo- 
arias  commemorationes,  rei  praes^iti  minus  congniere  depreb^isani 
fuit.  Quandoquidem,  uti  iidem  centenarii  fautores  testantiB'. 
expetitum  festum  prima  vice  hoc  decimonono  saeculo  foret  ixvlo- 
cendum,  veluti  quid  novum  in  Dei  Ecclesia,  et  cunctis  retroacttf 
sfteculis  ne  cogitatnra  quidem  ab  eximia  majorum  erga  incljrtiiB 
Dei  Grenitricem  pietate  et  devotione,  ant  certe  illis  inasitatain- 
Profecto  satis  congrua  theologica  atque  liturgica  ratione  inoferise 
censendnm  est,  ut  saecularia  solemnia,  quae  aliis  Sanctis  cum 
Christo  regnantibus  non  denegantur,  ea  de  praecipois  sacratissimid 
Beatae  Virginis  vitae  actis  et  mysteriis,  sdlicet  de  NadTitate,  ^ 
Annunciatione,  ac  porro  de  caeteris,  non  oelebrentur.  Nam 
eminentiori  veneratione  supra  ceteros  Sanctos  colit  Ecdesia  Coeli 
Reginam  et  Dominam  Angelorum,  cui,  tin  qvantum  ^>m  tst  mater 
Dei     ....     debetur    ....    non   quaiiacumque    duiict. 


Documents.  611 

sed  hfperdulia  (S,  Thorn,  3  parU  quctest.  2b j  art,  5).  Ideoque 
plasquam  centenaria  solerani  commemoratioDe,  eadem  semper  cul- 
tas  praestantia,  eodemque  honoris  tributo  Ecclesia  celebrat  recur* 
rentes  ejus  niysteriomm  solemni tales ;  cum  de  caetero  cultus 
Deiparae  in  Ecclena  sit  plane  qaotidianns,  ac  prope  nuUa  temporis 
mensura  limitatus. 

Haec  pauca,  vel  leviter  tantom  adnmbrata,  satis  ostendnnt 
prodeDttam  Sacrae  Congregationis,  quae  proposito  dubio:  ^'An 
recoli  expediat  anno  proximo  1885  in  toto  Orbe  centenaria  com- 
memmoratio  Nativitatis  Beatae-  Mariae  Virginis?"  mature  ex- 
pensis  omnibus,  unanimi  suffragio  respondit  non  expedire,  Valde 
tamen  laud&vit,  ac  Sanctiseimo  Domino  deferendum  voluit,  pium 
tot  praeckurissimorum  Postulantium  desiderium  exhibendi  Geni- 
tiici  Dei  gloriosae  novum  aliquod  obsequii  ac  fllialie  amoris 
pobiicum  argumentum  pro  novis  injuriis  a  perditis  blasphemisque 
Itomioibus  ei  inlatis ;  qui,  occasione  arrepta,  etiam  in  Alroae  ejus 
Domus  Lauretanum  Sanctoarium  toto  Orbe  celeberrimum  acuerunt 
linguas  suas. 

Facta  vero  de  his  per  me  infrascriptum  Cardinalem  fideli 
relatione,  Sanctitas  Sua  Sacrae  Congregationis  sententiam  in 
omnibus  ratam  habuit  et  confirmavit.  Mandayitque  ad  suprame- 
moratum  effectum  a  Reverendissimis  locorum  Ordinariis  celebrari 
in  sois  Diocesibus  triduana  derota  solemnia  diebus  sexta,  septima 
et  octava  Septembris  hnjus  vertentis  anni  1884  in  honorem 
Beatissimae  Virginis,  ad  instar  eorum  quae  Romae  in  templo 
Saoctae  Mariae  supra  Minervam  iussu  ejusdem  Sanctissimi  Domini, 
propediem  erunit  oelebranda.  Concessitque  fidelibus,  pro  qualibet 
vice  septem  annorum  ac  septem  quadragenarum  Indulgentiam ; 
qnotidie  vero  interessentibus,  et  intra  triduum  confessis  ac  sacra 
sjnaxi  refectis,  et  ad  mentem  Sanctitatis  Suae  Deum  orantibus, 
pleoariam  Indulgentiam  semel  lucrandam,  etiam  animabus  in 
pnrgatorio  detentis  applicabilem.  Yoluit  autem  hujusmodi  tri- 
dnana  festa  in  Lauretana  Basilica  omnino  peragi :  quocirca 
magnopere  probavit,  ut  a  die  prima  proximo  futuri  mensis  Sep- 
tembris ad  Decimam  Decembris  inclusive  piae  peregrinationes  in 
eumdem  finem  ad  praefatum  Sanctuarium  Lauretanum  instituan- 
tor ;  concessa,  in  omnibus  ut  supra  de  thesauro  Ecclesiae  plenaria 
Indnlgentia  semel  lucranda. 

Haec  dum  pro  mei  mimeris  ratione  Amplitudini  tuae  com- 
munico,  Eidem  fausta  omnia  precor  a  Domino. 

Bomae  in  Solemnitate  Pentecostes  die  1  Junii  1884. 

D.  Cabdikaus  Babtounius,  S.  B.  C, 

Fraefoctua, 

LkURsamus  Saltati,  S.  R.  C, 

Seoreiariue. 


[    612    ] 
NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

The   Life   of  Elizabeth  Lady  Falkland,      By  Lady  Georoiaua 
FuLLERTON.     LondoD :  Burns  &  Oates. 

Lucius  Caiy,  Lord  Falkland*  who  fell  od  the  field  of  Newborj, 
fighting  for  the  cause  of  his  royal  master,  is  known  as  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  and  most  estimable  men  of  the  days  of  King 
Charles  the  First.  His  mother,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Lord 
Chief  Baron  Tanfield,  became  a  conyert  to  the  true  faith  at  t 
time  when  Prelacy  and  Puritanism,  though  at  variance  with  eadi 
other  in  the  Chui^  of  England,  were  at  one  in  the  bitterness  of 
their  hostility  to  the  Church  of  Bome.  The  story  of  her  life  b 
presented  to  us  in  this  yolume,  which  Lady  Greorgiana  FuUertoi 
has  lately  contributed  to  the  Quarterly  Serks  published  by  Bum 
and  Oates.  We  have  perused  it  with  pleasure  and,  we  trust,  witk 
profit.  It  is  a  book  we  can  heartily  recommend  to  all  our  readenu 
but  particularly  to  those,  and  they  are  always  many,  who  feel  an 
interest  in  the  religious,  as  well  as  in  the  political,  history  of  Greit 
Britain  and  Irel^d  during  the  seventeenth  century.  The  subject 
of  this  biography  had  to  encounter  stern  trials  and  to  endure  con- 
siderable hardships  after  her  conversion,  but  with  a  spirit  naturaUr 
brave,  and,  above  all,  with  the  aid  of  abundant  grace  from  God. 
she  overcame  the  obstacles  that  beset  her  course,  and  died  in  peace 
the  death  of  the  just.  It  must  have  been  a  congenial  occupados 
for  Lady  Georgiana  Fullerton  to  write  the  history  of  this  noble 
convert ;  and  it  is  not  the  least  meritorious  of  her  literary  laboon 
to  have  given  us  a  book  so  edifying,  so  interesting,  and,  in  manj 
ways,  so  instructive.  M.  L.  H.  S. 

A    Marvellous  History. 

The  biography  of  Jeanne  De  La  Noue  is,  indeed,  a  *'  mar- 
vellous story,*'  and  shows  how  God  is  wonderful  in  his  saints. 
This  most  extraordinary  servant  of  QkA  was  bom  at  Saumtu; 
in  1666.  After  a  short  time  spent  in  the  service  of  the  world* 
her  heart  was  converted  to  her  Saviour,  who  made  use  of  her  a» 
a  chosen  instrument  to  show  his  watchful  care  for  the  poor,  and 
to  solace  many  who  were  in  trouble  and  affliction.  Three  things 
are  particularly  striking  in  the  life  of  Jeanne  De  La  Noue — ^vix^ 
her  extraordinary  austerities,  her  extraordinary  activity,  and  her 
unbounded  confidence  ^n  God,  that  he  would  send  her  the  means  of 
providing  for  the  poor  and  sick  whom  she  gathered  into  her  hoepice. 

Her  story  is  told  with  great  clearness,  simplicity,  and  brevity, 
with  too  much  brevity,  indeed,  we  think,  as  we  could  desire  a  great 
deal  more  of  a  narrative  so  interesting,  and  so  well  sustained  from 
beginning  to  end.  We  wish  we  had  hundreds  of  such  readable 
books  to  replace  the  sensational  rubbish  which  sentimental  yoiuig 
ladies  and  youths  spend  so  much  time  over. 


[We  are  obliged  to  hold  over  the  notices  of  several  books  till  uesX 
month— Ed.  I.  K  R. 


THE  IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


OCTOBER,  1884. 


EMERSON :  FREE-THOUGHT  IN  AMERICA. 

AMERICA  has  become,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century,  the  object  on  which  the  eyes  of  the  intel- 
lectual world  have  been  fixed,  with  all  the  interest  that 
attaches  to  a  novel  and  critical  experiment.  Up  to  that 
period  she  had  virtually  taken  not  only  her  rehgious 
systems,  but  all  her  ideas  on  philosophical  science,  from 
the  Old  World.  She  had  mutely  acknowledged  her 
indebtedness  to  the  great  intellects  whom  the  combined 
thought  of  Europe  had  canonised  as  men  of  **  Hght  and 
leading,"  in  their  respective  departments.  Her  universities 
were  fashioned  after  Oxford  and  Gottingen,  and  their 
students  sat  at  the  feet  of  Old  World  professors,  and 
accepted  their  teachings  with  the  deference  that  is  due  to 
learning  and  the  sanctities  of  tradition.  Meanwhile,  in  the 
mechanical  arts,  America  had  asserted  her  independence. 
She  took  the  moulds  of  European  inventions,  improved 
upon  them,  broke  them,  and  cast  them  aside  as  worthless 
and  aotiquated.  And  whilst  her  schools  and  colleges 
iw^ere  accepting  European  ideas  and  traditions,  there  was 
scarcely  a  mill  in  America  that  had  not  reached  a  full  half. 
century  of  progress  beyond  the  best-appointed  and  best 
conducted  factory  in  Leeds  or  Sheffield. 

Such  a  state  of  things  could  not  last.  A  nation  of 
fifty  million  inhabitants,  with  infinite  possibihties  before  it, 
and  with  all  its  intelligence  quickenea  into  activity  by  the 
interfusion  of  races,  with  their  specific  principles  and  tra- 
ditions, could  not  remain  in  leading  strings  to  any  other 
people,  nor  maintain  a  rigid  and  senseless  conservatism  in. 
tiiose  very  things  in  which  the  human  mind  demands: 
VOL.  V.  2  Z 


614  Emerson:  Free-Thotight  in  Americcu 

absolute  and  unconditional  freedom.  Hence,  during  these 
latter  years,  the  mind  of  America  has  ascended  from 
mechanical  to  philosophical  experiment,  and,  with  the 
facility  begotten  of  wealth  and  independence,  has  explored 
every  system  of  thought,  and  revelled  in  the  creation  of 
new  and  fanciful  theories  in  the  world  of  mysticism. 

What  then  is  to  be  the  leading  system  of  thought  in 
the  great  Western  Republic  ?  How  will  its  progressive 
ideas  develop  themselves  t  It  starts  on  its  career  free  and 
untrammelled  by  prejudice  or  superstitions.  .  It  enjoys 
the  most  perfect  freedom,  not  only  in  its  political  life,  but 
even  in  that  social  Ufe  which  amongst  ourselves  has  laws 
more  despotic,  and  decisions  more  magisterial,  than  state 
constitutions.  Nature'  has  thrown  open  her  treasury,  and 
already  dowered  it«  children  with  superabundant  wealth, 
and  promises  of  inexhaustible  supplies.  America  inherita 
free  all  the  blessings  of  the  civilisation  which  nineteen 
centuries  with  an  infinite  expenditure  of  thought  and 
labour  have  accumulated ;  and  she  commences  her  career 
without  a  single  care  for  all  those  sad  and  terrible  possi- 
bilities which  hamper  progress  in  the  Old  World.  What 
is  to  be  the  issue  of  the  new  civilisation  ?  Will  it  become 
licentious  in  its  freedom,  and  reap  in  the  near  future  the 
sad  consequences  of  the  violation  of  that  poUtical  and 
intellectual  discipline  which,  like  the  laws  of  natui'e, 
avenges  itself  upon  its  transgressors  ?  Will  it  run  riot  in 
speculation  and  conjecture  about  the  mighty  mysteries  of 
mortality,  and  end,  like  the  Old  World,  in  dreary  scep- 
ticism t  Or  ^vill  it  accept  theology  as  an  exact  science, 
with  it43  truths  revealed  and  absolute,  and  preserved 
inviolate  in  its  temple,  the  living  Church?  Will  its  strong 
democratic  spirit  eventuate'in  that  freedom  which  "  slowly 
broadens  down  from  precedent  to  precedent,'*  or  will  it 
issue  in  a  revolution  which  will  dwarf  the  revolutions  of 
the  Old  World  by  its  colossal  wickedness?  Will  its  aris- 
tocracy of  wealth  and  intellect  draw  away  more  and  more 
from  the  masses,  and  ignoring  all  Christian  obUgations 
seek  to  establish  feudalism  and  an  oligarchy;  until  the  inev- 
itable disruption  that  will  fling  them  and  the  people  in 
common  ruin  ?  Or  will  they  admit  a  common  brotherhood, 
and  coming  down  to  the  level  of  poverty  and  ignorance, 
throw  the  glamour  of  intellect  and  wealth  over  the  forced 
asceticism  of  the  people?  To  reduce  the  question  to 
its  broadest  terms,  will  the  future  religion  of  America  be 
the  oultus  of  *'  sense  and  science,"  the  Neo-Paganism,  ia 


Unierson:  Free-Thought  in  America.  615 

"which  the  God  of  Sinai,  with  Hie  commandmentB,  "  Thou 
flhalt,"  **  Thou  shalt  not,"  and  the  meek  Saviour,  with  His 
beatitudes,  shall  find  no  place  ?  or  will  the  pure  Christianity 
of  Catholicism,  the  conserving  element  in  European 
society,  be  the  active  and  vigorous  agent  of  the  new 
civilisation  of  America?  The  question  is  interesting, 
doubly  interesting  to  us,  for  assuredly  the  most  powerful 
auxiliaries  on  the  side  of  Christianity  in  the  New  World, 
are  the  exiled  children  of  our  race. 

There  are  two  things  indicative  of  the  mental  and 
moral  genius  of  a  people :  its  habits  of  thought  and  its 
habits  of  life.  These  two  agents  act  and  re-act  on  each 
other ;  licentiousness  of  thought  producing  laxity  in  moral 
principles,  and  easy  virtue  begetting  the  utmost  liberality 
m  matters  of  belief.  We  will  glance  at  both,  and  see  if, 
to  borrow  an  expression  from  Matthew  Arnold,  "  the  stream 
of  tendencies  "  m  modem  America  makes  for  righteousness 
or  not  We  shall  put  aside  for  a  moment  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America,  and  consider  the  systems  of  religious 
thought  that  lie  outside  it. 

The  whole  history,  then,  of  Protestantism  in  the  States 
at  the  present  time,  may  be  described  as  the  history  of  a 
desperate  and  critical  struggle  with  that  Agnosticism  which 
has  followed,  not  very  logically  indeed,  from  the  theories 
of.the  evolutionists.  Owing  to  the  absence  of  copyright, 
and  the  consequent  enterprise  of  publishers,  all  the  Agnostic 
literature  of  the  Old  World  has  become  the  property  not 
only  of  the  thinking,  but  even  of  the  reading  public  of 
America.  When  we  are  told  that  the  poetry  of  Matthew 
Arnold  adorns  the  tea-papers  of  the  New  World,  that  the 
publishers  have  issued  a  popular  edition  of  his  works,  that 
the  treatises  of  the  International  Scientific  Series  have 
been  cheapened  and  simphfied,  that  sociology  and  kindred 
subjects  ai'e  matter  for  study  and  debate  in  the  homeUest 
literary  societies,  and  that  a  vulgar  lecturer,  like  IngersoU, 
can  always  command  an  audience  of  three  or  four 
thousand  persons  in  every  city  of  the  States,  we  must  be 
prepared  to  admit  that  materiaUsm  is  a  growing  creed  in 
America,  and  that*  it  will  need  the  strongest  eflforts  of 
Christian  faith  and  Christian  scholarship  to  resist  it.  The 
causes  that  have  led  up  to  such  a  disposition  in  the  public 
mind  are  manifold.  In  tracing  and  classifying  them  we  shall 
best  understand  how  deeply  laid  are  anti -Christian  ideas, 
upon  what  forms  of  investigation  or  imagination  they  are 
founded,  what  influence  external  causes  have  exercised 


616  Emerson:  Free-Thought  in  America^ 

Tipon  them.  From  the  depth  and  strength  of  the  founda- 
tions alone  can  we  conjecture  to  what  stature  the  temple 
of  Unbelief  and  Unreason  shall  rise.  The  future  shall  oe 
measured  by  the  present  and  the  past. 

The  sources  tnen  of  Free-thought  in  America  may  be 
stated  thus. 

They  are  historical  changes,  speculations  in  philosophy, 
the  absence  of  definitive  dogmas  m  all  the  Protestant  com- 
munions, wealth  boundless  and  luxury  unrestricted,  weak- 
ness from  within,  and  aggression  from  without.  We  will 
limit  this  Paper  to  a  consideration  of  the  first  two  of  these 
causes  which  are  also  the  most  important. 

The  dark,  intolerant  spirit  brought  over  by  the  Puritans 
in  the  Mayflower,  and  which  is  best  known  to  us  through 
the  sombre  pages  of  Hawthorne,  might  be  said  to  have 
been  broken  by  the  great  War  of  Independence.  The 
principles  involved  in  the  famous  Declaration,  and  which 
were  simply  the  expression  of  the  collective  feelings  of  the 
people,  were  found  to  be  inimical  not  only  to  foreign 
domination,  but  also  to  the  class  and  creed  ascendency 
which  had  hitherto  obtained  in  the  New  England  Statea 
The  right  of  every  man  to  worship  his  Creator  as  he  willed 
was  made  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  New  Republic,  and 
it  broke  for  ever  the  power  of  the  fierce  bigots  who  rigidly 
upheld  their  ancestral  beliefs  against  Catholic  and  Quaker 
by  appeals  to  the  branding  iron  and  the  pillory.  A  re- 
action was  inevitable.  Intoxicated  with  freedom,  the 
people  rushed  from  the  gloomy  doctrines  and  unbending 
discipline  of  Puritanism  into  extreme  liceuce  of  thought  as 
the  Jews  of  old,  freed  from  the  terrors  of  invasion  and 
death,  revelled  in  sensuality  and  idolatry.  And  events  on  the 
European  Continent  were  giving  to  the  mind  of  America  a 
bias  in  the  same  direction.  The  American  Revolution  was 
immediately  succeeded  by,  that  in  France.  An  invisible 
bond  of  sympathy  existed  between  them ;  and  although  in 
their  motives,  their  objects,  and  especially  in  their  results, 
they  were  essentially  different,  they  agreed  at  least  in  their 
hatred  of  tyranny,  their  demand  for  freedom,  their  insist- 
ence on  social  equality,  their  impatilnce  of  any  thing  or 
person,  who  would  attempt  to  limit  human  freedom,  or 
coerce  human  thought.  And  the  ideas  that  led  up  to  the 
French  Revolution,  the  Deism  of  Voltaire  and  the  Ency- 
clopedists, were  wafted  to  the  New  World,  and  became 
the  foundation  of  that  Unitarianism,  which  for  so  many  years 
was  the  -  prevalent    belief   in    America,  which  counted 


Emerson:  Free-TliouglU  in  America.  617 

amongst  its  professors  the  most  emiuent  men  in  science, 
art  and  literature,  which  founded  one  of  the  great  American 
universities,  and  which  prepared  the  American  mind  to 
receive  with  facility  all  those  conjectural  theories  of 
existence  on  which  the  modem  philosophies  are  founded. 
For  Deism  marks  the  extreme  limit  of  religious  belief.  It 
has  its  place  in  the  outer  spaces  of  the  realms  of  faith.  It 
stands  on  the  horizon-line  of  the  creeds.  Beyond  it  are 
the  regions  of  speculation  and  conjecture.  It  needs  but  a 
single  step  to  fall  from  it  into  the  abysses  of  imbehef.  And 
one  did  fall ;  fell  too  Uke  an  archangel,  drawing  hosts  of 
gifted  minds  with  him.  The  history  of  his  intellectual  life 
will  contain  a  summary  of  the  second  cause  of  the  growth 
of  imbelief  which  we  have  cited  imder  the  name  of 
philosophical  speculations. 

Beyond  comparison  the  «rst  name  in  the  annals  of 
Unitarianism,  as  well  as  the  first  m  American  literature,  is 
that  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson ;  and  we  introduce  his  name 
here,  for  we  believe,  that  his  life  of  lofty  spiritual,  if  not 
Christian  thought,  and  his  character  of  quaint  and  earnest 
simpUcity,  have  had  a  charm  for  the  young  intellects  of 
America,  the  potency  of  which  can  only  be  measured,  when 
its  effects  are  clearly  understood.  He  might  have  removed 
for  ever  his  own  stiong  indictment  against  his  nation  that 
it  had  no  distinct  national  literature,  had  he  not  selected  as 
the  basis  of  his  philosophy  that  German  idealism,  which 
originated  with  Kant,  was  developed  by  Hegel,  and  still 
holds  pre-eminence  amongst  all  othersystems  in  the  German 
schools.  His  tour  in  Europe  in  1833,  and  his  visit  to 
Carlyle  at  Ecclefechan,  became  turning  points  in  his  pro- 
fessional and  Uterary  career.  He  was  seized  with  the 
ambition  of  effecting  for  America  what  Carlyle  had  effected 
for  England — to  create  in  all  minds  the  beUef  that  what 
the  world  was  seeking  for  q(Bnturies  was  to  be  foimd  in 
Germany — a  perfect  system  of  philosophy  which  would 
satisfy  everv  demand  of  the  human  intellect,  and  every 
craving  of  the  human  heart.  He  became  the  interpreter  of 
German  transcendentalism  to  the  mind  of  America.  And 
no  professor  by  the  Elbe  or  Rhine  ever  disclosed  to 
receptive  minds  the  mysteries  of  the  new  philosophy  with 
such  passionate  earnestness,  or  preached  the  naturahsm 
that  underUes  it  with  such  faultless  eloquence.  Rhetoric, 
in  fact,  is  not  only  the  handmaiden,  but  the  mistress  of  this 
vague  philosophy.  To  hide  an  obscure  thought  in  a 
cloud  of  words,  or  to  present  a  familiar  idea  in  strange  and 


618  Emerson:  Free-Thought  in  America. 

beautiful  language — this  appears  to  be  the  main  end  of 
German  philosophy.  "Know  you  not,"  says  St.  Paul, 
"  that  your  bodies  are  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost.* 
**  You  touch  heaven,"  says  Novaiis,  "  when  you  lay  your 
hands  on  a  human  body."  Here  is  the  same  truth  arrived 
at  by  difierent  ways,  and  clothed  in  diflferent  language. 
And  scattered  here  and  there  through  the  writings  of 
idealists,  we  find  some  such  precious  thought  in  the  very 
richest  of  caskets ;  yet  we  may  pass  over  whole  pages  of 
heavy  reading  without  finding  a  single  idea  worth  preser- 
ving, or  a  single  principle  that  could  sustain  human  hope,  or 
brighten  the  sombre  mystery  of  Ufe.  It  is  a  philosophy  of 
phrases :  andnve  know  how  in  our  hurried  lives,  men  some- 
times found  their  religion  on  an  epigram.  It  is  said  that  the 
fijst  requisite  for  a  successful  politician  is  to  be  able  to  invent 
nicknames  for  an  adversary ;  and  before  now  a  neatly- 
turned  expression  has  overthrown  Governments  in  France. 
Epeolatry  is  the  fashion  of  the  day.  The  wisdom  of  the 
world  is  apparently  exhausted ;  and  all  that  can  be  done 
with  its  worn  out  material  is  to  break  it  up,  and  remould  it 
in  new  casts  of  thought. 

Yet  the  play  of  splendid  intellects  around   mighty 

{problems  of  nature  and  mind  has  in  it  something  highly 
iascinating  to  the  young  and  the  undisciplined.  To  leave 
behind,  for  a  moment,  the  solid  groimd  of  Christian  philos- 
ophy, founded  on  Divine  revelation,  and  to  ascena  into 
cfoudland  with  the  gods — to  see  mighty  mysteries  of  life 
and  death,  time  and  space,  God  and  the  universe,  duty 
and  immortality,  treated  as  freely  as  the  astronomer  swings 
his  globe,  or  the  navigator  his  sextant :  all  this  is  very  daring 
and  attractive  to  the  young.  And  when  the  brilliant 
speculations  of  these  leaders  are  floated  through  the  world, 
and  through  the  ears  of  men,  in  liquid  poetry,  and  prose 
that  is  as  firm  and  measured  as  the  tramp  of  a  conquering 
army,  it  is  not  easy  to  resist  the  temptation  of  worshipping 
their  brilliant  but  erratic  intellects.  We  know  now 
Carlyle  was  sage  and  prophet  to  half  the  young  intellects 
of  England  in  his  time ;  how  he  drew  all  London  to  his 
lectures  on  "  Heroes,"  and  how  silently  and  respectfully 
they  listened  to  this  uncouth  Scotchman  telling  them,  in 
his  broadest  Doric,  that  there  was  only  one  thing  worth 
worship  in  the  universe,  that  is,  strength  and  success ;  how 
he  hela  spell-bound  the  students  of  Edinburgh  University 
in  his  famous  address  as  rector ;  and  how  a  single  phrase 
of  that  address  was  made  the  text  of  a  hundred  sermons. 


Emerson:  Free^Tliought  in  Amenccu  619 

Yet  the  influence  of  Carlyle  in  England  was  not  equal  to 
the  influence  of  Emerson  in  America.  Nor  will  it  be  half 
as  abiding.  A  far  more  subtle  intellect  had  the  latter,  and 
a  far  firmer  grasp  of  the  principles  on  which  all  philo- 
sophers are  united,  and  the  principles  on  which  they 
specifically  differ.  And  strange  to  say,  he  never  acquired 
that  obscure  and  Germanised  style  for  which  Carlyle  will 
be  for  ever  remarkable.  Not  quite  so  pure,  his  style  has 
all  the  clearness  and  precision  of  Lord  Bacon's.  His  sen- 
tences are  generally  short,  crisp,  and  full  of  meaning.  It 
is  only  when  he  speaks  of  the  majesty  and  beauty  of 
nature  that  he  broadens  out  into  stately  and  harmonious 
lines,  that  remind  one  irresistibly  of  the  prose-poems  of 
Ruskin.  And  his  essays  and  addresses  are  absolutely 
bristling  with  sharp,  pungent  epigrams,  each  with  its  grain 
of  wisdom  put  as  neatly  as  our  cumbrous  language  will 
allow.  The  author  of  the  "Novum  Organum'*  woiildnothavo 
been  ashamed  of  such  sayings  as  these :  "Nature  stretcheth 
out  her  arms  to  embrace  man,  only  let  his  thoughts  be  of 
equal  greatness."  "Nothing  divine  dies."  "All  good  is 
eternally  reproductive."  "  Words  are  signs  of  natural 
facts.*'  "  Children  and  savages  use  only  nouns  or  names  of 
things,  which  they  continually  convert  into  verbs,  and 
apply  to  analogous  mental  acts,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  And 
Ruskin,  in  his  most  inspired  moments,  might  have  written 
of  nature  thus : 

"  But,  in  other  hours,  nature  satisfies  the  soul  purely  by  its 
loveliness,  and  without  any  mixture  of  corporal  benefit.  I  have 
seen  the  spectacle  pf  morning  from  the  hill-top  over  against  my 
house,  from  day-break  to  sunrise,  with  emotions  which  an  angel 
might  share.  The  long  slender  bars  of  cloud  float  like  fishes  in 
the  sea  of  crimson  light.  From  the  earth,  as  a  shore,  I  look  out 
into  that  silent  sea.  I  seem  to  partake  its  rapid  transformation  v 
the  active  enchantment  reaches  my  dust,  and  I  dilate  and  conspire 
with  the  morning  wind.  How  does  nature  deify  us  with  a  few  and 
cheap  elements  ?  Give  me  health  and  a  day,  and  I  wiU  make  the 
pomp  of  emperors  ridiculous.  The  dawn  is  my  Assyria  ;  the  sun- 
set and  moonrise  my  Paphos,  and  unimaginable  realms  of  faerie  : 
broad  noon  shall  be  my  England  of  the  senses  and  understanding ; 
the  night  shall  be  my  Germany  of  mystic  philosophy  and  dreams. 
Not  less  excellent,  except  for  our  less  susceptibility  in  the  after- 
noon, was  the  charm  last  evening  of  a  January  sunset.  The 
western  clouds  divided  and  subdivided  themselves  into  pink  flakes 
modulated  with  tints  of  unspeakable  softness ;  and  the  air  had  so 
much  life  and  sweetness,  that  it  was  a  pain  to  come  within  doors, 
What  was  it  that  nature  would  say  ?     Was  there  no  meaning  in 


620     •  .       Emerson:  Free^Thought  in  America. 

the  live  repose  of  the  valley  behind  the  mill,  and  which  Homer  or 
Shakespeare  could  not  reform  f  >r  me  in  words  ?  The  leafless  trees 
become  spires  of  flame  in  the  sunset,  with  the  blue  east  for  their 
background,  and  the  stars  of  the  dead  calices  of  flowers,  and  every 
withered  stem  and  stubble  rimed  with  frost,  contribute  something 
to  the  mute  music." 

But  it  is  with  his  thoughts  we  have  principally  to  deal, 
and  they  are  manifold  and  brilliant  Wisdom  flashes 
everywhere  through  his  writings — wise  thoughts  that  have 
never  touched  us  before,  and  thoughts  as  familiar  to  us  as 
our  daily  prayers.  It  is  a  feature  of  genius  that  it  can 
present  to  us  our  own  ideas,  yet  so  changed  and  coloured 
that  we  can  scarcely  recognise  them.  The  thought  that 
we  see  from  only  one  direction  presents  itself  to  the  mind 
of  a  great  thinker  under  eveiy  aspect.  And  under  every 
aspect  it  is  shown  us,  until  we  declare  it  unfamiliar  and 
original.  Like  the  story  of  Faust,  which  is  totally  different 
as  it  comes  from  the  hands  of  Marlowe,  and  Goethe,  and 
Bayley,  or  the  sweet  legend  of  "  the  Falcon,"  which  is  one 
thing  in  Coventry  Patmore's  verses,  quite  another  in 
Tennyson's  drama,  all  our  wise  fancies  come  back  to  us  in 
the  pages  of  Emerson,  but  so  glorified  and  etherealised 
that  we  cannot  recognise  them.  The  commonplace  in  his 
hands  becomes  brilliantly  original.  Every  page  of  his 
writings  sparkles  with  the  wisest  thoughts  and  the  wittiest 
conceits,  and  conjectures  'as  lofty  as  ever  disturbed  the 
mind  of  Plato  are  compressed  with  Scriptural  conciseness 
into  a  single  line.  Hence,  a  generation  of  American 
scholars  has  sat  at  his  feet,  and  accepted  his  teachings  as 
the  sum  and  essence  of  all  that  is  worth  knowing  in 
ancient  and  modem  philosophy.  And  hence,  too,  to  nim 
^  more  than  to  any  other  teacher  of  his  time  is  to  be  ascribed 
'  the  fact  that  the  test  intellects  of  America  have  been  swept 
clear  of  every  vestige  of  revealed  religion,  and  left  blank 
to  receive  the  new  impressions  that  have  been  made  hy 
the  theories  that  of  latter  years  have  been  pushed  to  the 
front  in  the  name  of  science. 

For  Emerson,  let  it  be  said,  was  not  a  philosopher  in 
the  same  sense  as  Plato  or  Bacon.  He  is  an  eclectic ;  hut 
by  far  the  most  brilliant  of  eclectics.  He  did  not  create 
BO  much  as  collect.  His  warmest  admirers  cannot  discover 
a  trace  of  system  in  his  writings.  The  sincerest  critic 
amongst  his  friends,  M.  Arnold,  has  declared  that  he  can 
never  be  considered  a  great  philosophical  writer  on 
account  of  his  method,  or    rather  want  of  method,  in 


Emerson :  Free-Thought  in  America.  621 

imimg.      And  yet  it  was  apparently  his  ambition  to  con- 
struct such  a  system.      He  commenced  by  removing  ail 
traces  of  the  Divine  Revelation  of  Christianity.     Speaking 
of  Carlyle  he  says,  evidently  in  sympathy  with  him,  "that 
all  his  quahties  had  a  certain  virulence  coupled  in  his  case 
with  the  utmost  impatience  of  Christendom  and  Jewdom, 
and  all  existing  presentments  of  the  *  good  old  story  ;  * " 
and  in  the  introduction  to  his  Essays  he  says ;  "  The  fore- 
going generations  beheld  God  and  Nature  face  to  face ; 
we,  through  their  eyes.     Why  should  not  we  also  enjoy  an 
original  relation  to  the  universe?      Why  should   not  we 
have  a  poetry  and  philosophy  of  insight  and  not  of  tradi- 
tion, and  a  reUgion  by  revelation  to  us,  and  not  the  history 
of  theirs?    Embosomed  for  a  season  in  Nature,  whose  floods 
of  life  stream  around  and  through  us,  and  invite  us  by  the 
powers  they  supply,  to  action  proportioned  to  nature,  why 
should  we  grope  among  the  diy  bones  of  the  past,  or  put 
the  living  generation  into  masquerade  out  of  its  faaed 
wardrobe  ?    The  sun  shines  to-aay  also.      There  is  more 
wool  and  flax    in   the   fields.       There   are   new  lands, 
new    men,  new  thoughts.      Let  us    demand    our  own 
works,   and    laws,     and  worship."      But    although    he 
succeeded  so  far   as    to  remove    Christianity    from  the 
minds   of  many,  the  rehgion  which  he   was  to   found, 
the  worship  he  was  to  originate,  the  world  has  not  as  yet 
seen.     His  religion  or  philosophical  system  was  essentially 
negative.    Whenever  he  attempts  to  construct,  he  drifts  of 
necessity  into  pantheism  as  absolute  as  that  of  Spinoza. 
His  lefty  idealism  leads    inevitably  to    this.    He    cites 
approvingly  the  words  of  Turgot : — "  He  that  has  never 
doubted  the  existence  of  matter  may  be  assured  he  has  no 
aptitude  for  metaphysical  inquirieb."     It  is  the  common 
opinion  of  all  metaphysicians,  that,  as  Sir  W.  Hamilton 
says,  "  The  study  of  mind  is  necessary  to  counterbalance 
and  correct  the  study  of  matter."     But  Emerson  declares 
that  never  yet  has  there  been  made  a  single  step  in  intel- 
lectual science  that  did  not  begin  in  idealism.     It  is  a 
necessity.     The   moment    the   mind  turns   inward  upon 
itself,   and    stands    face    to    face    awe-stricken  with  its 
own  creations,  it  begins  to  regard  all  external  things 
as  dreams  and  shadows.     It  is  with  us  as  with  the  monk 
in  the   Spanish  convent — the  men  and  things  that  pass 
before    our  eyes,  appearing  and  disappearing,   are  but 
pictures  and  shades ;  the  paintings  on  the  walls,  that  is, 
our  own  ideas  that  are  ever  present,  are  the  only  realities. 
Hence  he  holds  that  there  is  a  necessary  affinity  between 


622  Emerson :  Free^ThougUt  in  America. 

idealism  and  religion.  Both,  he  thinks,  put  the  affront 
upon  natui-e.  "  The  things  that  are  seen  are  temporal," 
says  St.  Paul,  "the  unseen  things  are  eternal."  The 
uniform  language  of  the  churches  is :  "  Condemn  the  vain 
imsubstantial  things  of  this  world ;  they  are  fleeting  and 
shadowy.  Seek  the  realities  of  religion.'*  Plotinus,  he 
says,  was  ashamed  of  his  body.  Michael  Angelo  declared 
that  external  beauty  is  but  the  frail  and  weaiy  weed,  in 
which  God  dresses  the  soul,  which  he  has  called  into  time. 
Like  his  German  friends,  Emerson  has  struck  upon  a  truth, 
but  from  what  a  different  stand-point  from  St.  Paul's,  and 
with  what  different  conclusions  I  He  will  not  rise,  like  the 
latter,  to  the  "  house  of  many  mansions,"  nor  will  he  accept 
the  doctrine,  that  what  is  '*  sown  in  corruption  will  be 
reaped  in  incorruption.'*  He  flouts  Nature,  because  he 
has  not  read  its  meaning,  nor  will  he  believe  the  interpre- 
tations which  Faith  puts  upon  it.  But  has  he  not  gone  too 
far  ?  He  who  has  written  so  beautifully  of  Nature,  has  he 
come  to  despise  her  ?  No.  He  sees  he  is  drifting  too  far 
in  the  dangerous  cuiTent.  And  although  he  avows  himself 
an  ideaUst,  and  holds  that  all  culture  tends  to  idealism,  he 
shrinks  from  the  consequences.  **  I  have  no  hostility  to 
Nature,'*  he  says,  *'  but  a  child's  love  to  it.  Let  us  speak 
her  fair.  I  do  not  wish  to  fling  stones  at  my  beautihil 
mother,  nor  soil  my  gentle  nest."  What  then?  Nature 
must  be  underrated  and  despised  in  the  religion  of  idealism. 
No,  he  says,  but  N  ature  itself  must  be  idealised.  But  how  f 
Mark  the  consequences.  "  The  mind,"  he  says,  **  is  a  part 
of  the  nature  of  things,  the  world  is  a  Divine  dream,  from 
which  we  may  presently  awake  to  the  glories  and  cer- 
tainties of  day.  There  is  a  universal  soul  in  all  things. 
It  is  within  and  behind  man's  individual  life.  Intel- 
lectually considered  we  call  it  reason.  Considered  in 
relation  to  Nature,  it  is  Spirit.  Spirit  is  the  Creator.  Spirit 
hath  life  in  itself.  And  man,  in  all  ages  and  countries, 
embodies  it  in  his  language  as  the  Father.  That  Spirit 
creates.  That  Spirit  is  one  and  not  compound.  That 
Spirit  does  not  act  upon  us  from  without,  that  is,  in  Space 
and  Time,  but  spiritually  through  ourselves.  Man  has 
access  to  the  entire  mind  of  the  Creator — is  himself  the 
Creator  and  the  Finite.  I  am  part  or  particle  of  God." 
This,  of  course,  is  the  purest  pantheism,  and  thus  what  is 
called  Natural  Religion  in  its  worst  and  lowest  sense,  was 
put  before  the  thinking  mind  of  America  in  its  most  subtle 
and  attractive  form.  The  consequences  are  apparent*  All 
Bevelation  is  rejected,  save  such  as  comes  intuitively  from 


Emerson:  Free-Thought  in  America,  623 

man's  own  consciousness,  or  is  produced  from  the  contem- 
plation of  external  nature.     The  Sacred  Scriptures  like  the 
Koran  or  the  Veda  are  simply  the  histories  and  legends  of 
a  fairly  cultured  race.     The  Hebrew  prophets  are  ranked 
with  the  priests  of  Vishnu  and  Buddha.     Christianity  is 
only  another  form  of  the  universal  religion  of  mankind,  and 
its  Divine  Author  is  classed  with  Confucius  and  Plato.    All 
divinely  revealed  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  Incarnation 
are  allegories  and  myths,  and  God  Himself  has  no  distinct 
personality,  but  is  the  soul  which  pervades  all  things,  and 
IS  incarnated  in  Nature.    Thus  the  young  intellect  of 
America  has  been  taught,  and  taught  by  a  master,  whose  per- 
sonal character  added  weight  to  every  word  which  he  spoke. 
Unlike  Carlyle,hi8  idol,  Emerson  was  essentially  an  optimist. 
In  the  very  attitude  of  modem  society  towards  all  great 
spiritual  questions,  and  in  which  the  EngUsh  philosopher 
could  only  discern  traces  of  inevitable  spiritual  dissolution, 
the  American  recomised  elements  of  hope  for  the  future. 
Probably  because  ne  himself  was  so  very  sanguine,  and 
knew  so  little  of  men,  he  brought  himself  to  beUeve  that 
liis  countrymen  would  be  weaned  more  and  more  from  the 
pursuit  of  wealth  and  position,  and  come  to  live  more  and 
more  the  fine  life   of  the  Spirit,  in  which  he  believed 
all  true  happiness  to  be  foimd.     In  this  he  was  egregiously 
mistaken.     Once  in  a  century  perhaps,  some  great  hopeful 
mind  like  his  may  be  able  to  wrap  itself  up  in  its  own 
ideas,  and  live  a  calm  life  full  of  all  serenity  and  dignity. 
But  the  world  at  large  demands  something  more  positive 
and  real  than  this.     Theories   however  splendid  will  not 
satisfy  the  eternal  cravings  of  the  human  mind  for  the 
knowledge   that  is  not  bom  of  itself;  and  the  grandest 
Pantheistic  conceptions  may  flatter  the  vanity,  but  will 
never  meet   the  wants,  of  men.     Yet  a  character  like 
Emerson's,  so  delicate  and  so  elevated,  had  a  lesson  of  its 
own  for  the  refined  and  impressive  minds  that  gathered 
round  him,  and  took  from  him  the  ideas  that  were  to  serve 
for  dogma,  and  the  disciphne  that  took  the  place  of  virtue. 
But  of  them,  and  in  consequence  of  his  influence  over 
them,  we  may  ask  in  his  own  words :  **  Where  dwells  their 
religion  ?"    And  answer  againpn  his  own  words,  "  Tell  me 
where  dwells  electricity,  or  motion,Jor  thought,  or  gesture  ? 
They  do  not  dwell  or  stay  at  all.*'    And  the  divine  secret 
is  reduced  to  the  common  platitude  that  rehgion  is  the 
doing  of  all  good,  and  for  its  sake  the  suffering  of  all  evil, 
**  Bouffrir  de  tout  lemonde^  et  ne  faire  souffrir  peraonne.^* 

P.  A.  Shjsehan. 


[    624    ] 


A  HIGHLAND  MONASTERY. 

AN  invitation  to  a  Benedictine  Monastery  in  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland  was  not  easy  to  refuse.  It  seemed 
an  offer  both  of  a  grace  and  of  a  pleasure,  and  1  accepted 
it  in  the  spirit  of  a  pilgrim  and  tourist  combined.  ''  St 
Panras,  Monday  next.  Eight  o'clock;  mind  don't  fail" 
With  these  words  my  friend  left  me  on  the  terrace  at 
Oscott,  as  I  sat  looking  out  upon  a  scene  familiar  to  me 
from  my  boyhood — a  scene  sketched  in  "  The  Second 
Spring  '*  by  him  whose  aged  form  and  fascinating  presence 
had  been  the  charm,  as  well  as  the  honor,  of  the  Cestive 
day  then  drawing  to  a  close.  Scotland,  I  mused,  has  had 
her  Second  Spring,  and  St.  Benedict's  College  is  to  her, 
what  St.  Mary's  College  was  to  England,  the  firstling  of 
her  reviving  hope.  And  the  towers,  and  courts,  and 
cloisters  of  the  Warwickshire  hill  were  transported  in  my 
fancy  to  the  Highland  mountain  side,  for  I  could  not  y^ 
see,  and  could  not  realize,  what  a  few  days  after  I  saw— 
the  stately  shrine  of  Scottish  Catholicity — ^the  modem 
home  of  St.  Benedict  upon  the  shores  of  the  Scottish 
lake,  and  the  Alma  Mater,  young  and  beautiful,  of  Scot- 
land's noblest  sons. 

The  Midland  Highland  Express,  leaving  St.  Pancras  at 
8  p.m.,  and  reaching  Inverness  at  1.30  p.m.,  next  day, 
is  a  train  to  travel  by  if  you  would  know  the  best,  in  the 
way  of  pace  and  comfort,  that  an  English  train  can  do. 
Of  course,  few  of  my  Irish  readers  would  go  by  this  route 
to  the  Highlands.  Their  way  is  shorter  far.  Indeed  few 
realize  how  close  the  Irish  north-eastern  coasts  lie  to  the 
very  choicest  of  the  lake  scenery  in  England  and  Scotland. 
However,  should  they  find  themselves  in  London,  and 
should  they  wish  to  spare  as  much  as  possible  of  time  and 
money,  let  them  take,  as  we  did,  a  third-class  ticket  by  the 
Highland  Express,  and  their  tWo  guineas  will  land  them 
as  far  and  as  fast  and  as  comfortably  as  two  guineas  can 
land  mortal  man.  Well-sprung  cushioned  seats,  good 
light,  good  ventilation,  and  good  company  are  not  the 
ordinary  experiences  of  Irish  third-class  travellers.  Indeed 
the  third-class  compartment  we  travelled  in  that  night 
was  far  superior  to  many  first  class  carriages  on  other 
lines.  But  this  is  chat  by  the  way ;  it  may  be  useful  to 
some,  however,  who  might  fear  a  long  journey,  third-clasB, 
on  an  English  line. 


A  Highland  Monastery.         t  625 

It  was  close  on  six  o'clock,  and  the  morning  sun  was 
already  bright  and  warm,  when  we  reached  Edinbugh, 
The  run  from  the  Scottish  capital  to  Perth  is  very  beautiml, 
and  full  of  historic  interest.  No  guide  book  is  wanted  to 
point  the  significance  of  such  names  as  Linlithgow,  Ban^ 
nockbum,  Stirling;  and  from  Perth  to  Inverness  the 
railway  passes  through  some  of  the  finest  Scotch  scenery, 
and  by  the  battle-fields  of  Dunkeld,  Eillicrankie,  and 
Culloden.  At  Inverness  we  surrendered  our  well-clipped 
and  much-inspected  tickets,  and  went  on  board  the  steamer 
that  was  to  take  us  down  Loch  Ness.  Some  five  hours' 
sail  between  wooded  hills,  with  now  a  caH'on  the  northern 
shore  to  discharge  a  cargo  of  timber,  and  now  on  the 
southern,  to  put  on  shore  some  bales  of  trussed  hay,  and  a 
veritable  pig  in  a  bag,  brought  us  in  a  free-and-easy 
fiashion  to  our  journey's  end;  and  the  clock  in  the 
monastery  tower  was  cniming  eight  as  we  stepped  from 
our  steamer — exactly  twenty-four  hours  after  we  had 
started  from  St.  Pancras. 

The  first  feeling  on  sighting  from  the  steamer  the 
monastery  at  Fort  Augustus  was  one  of  surprise.  The 
wild,  heather-clad  mountain  sides  of  the  Highland  lake, 
where  we  had  been  looking  for  the  deer,  and  on  nearer 
approach  for  the  grouse  and  black-cock  that  abound  there, 
had  not  in  any  way  prepared  us  for  this.  Cardinal  New- 
man's words  again  recurred ;  for  here  indeed,  on  a  **  high 
spot,  far  from  the  haunts  of  men  ...  a  large  edifice, 
or  rather  pile  of  edifices,  appears,  with  many  fronts  and 
courts,  and  long  cloisters  and  conidors,  and  storey  upon 
storey."  And  here,  too,  as  at  Oscott,  is  a  "building 
fashioned  upon  that  ancient  style  of  art  which  brings  back 
the  past;"  nere,  too,  is  to  be  heard  as  we  pass  near  the 
chapel  to  the  Hospitium,  "  the  sound  of  voices,  grave  and 
musical,  renewing  the  old  chant  with  which  Augustine 
greeted  Ethelbert  in  the  free  air  upon  the  Kentish  strand.*' 
And  in  very  truth,  to  continue  the  words  of  the  great 
preacher,  **  St.  Benedict  is  there  .  .  .  counting  over 
the  long  ages  through  which  he  has  prayed,  and  studied, 
and  laboured."  For  this  is  Saint  Benedict's  home — the 
flower  of  Scotland's  Second  Spring. 

Three  great  towers  rise  above  the  stately  pile,  the 
glittering  cross  upon  the  highest  shining,  just  200  feet 
above  the  lake  in  whose  placid  waters  it  is  mirrored.  Over 
the  second — a  smaller  conical  tower — at  a  height  of  more 
than  100  feet,  the  thistle  of  Scotland  is  wrought  into  a 


626  A  Highland  Monastery. 

curious  finial ;  while  the  great  tower  on  the  northern  front 
lifts  some  120  feet  into  the  air  the  flag  of  England.  That 
flag  recalls  the  olden  time  in  the  days  of  the  Young 
Pretender,  when  it  saw  in  this  very  spot  the  fierce  slruggle 
of  the  loyal  Highlander  against  the  Hanoverian  troops, 
and  when  it  floated  over  "  the  Bloody  Duke  of  Cumberland/' 
housed  here  during  his  terrible  mission  of  extermination. 
That  flag  recalls,  too,  the  signal  failure  of  that  missioD, 
for  the  Catholic  blood  spilt  here  has  borne  the  fruit  that 
blood  spilt  in  a  good  cause  ever  bears,  and  the  sufferera— 
I  had  almost  written  martyrs — of  1745  have  been 
succeeded  by  the  monks  of  1884.  There  is  scarcely  time 
/  for  such  a  glance  and  such  reflections  when  we  are 
acknowledging  the  cheery  welcome  of  the  guest-master, 
who  shows  us  to  the  rooms  we  are  to  occupv  during  our 
stay  at  the  monastery.  Supper  and  bed  are,  the  hospitable 
Prior  knows,  the  best  of  welcomes  for  travellers  like  us, 
and  both  are  ready. 

Next  morning,  after  a  good  night's  rest  in  a  cell  where 
the  rigours  of  a  Benedictine  bed  had  been  softened  in 
favour  of  a  weary  "  secular,'*  I  had  time  to  examine  the 
plan  of  the  splendid  monastery.  The  building  is  quad- 
rangular. The  four  cloisters,  with  windows  of  the  richeet 
Gothic  tracery,  reminding  me  much  of  those  in  the  Scottish 
Benedictine  Monastery  at  B^tisbon,  look  out  upon  a  closely 
shorn  green  sward,  which  lends  to  the  quadrangle  that  air 
of  refinement  inseparable,  somehow,  from  well-kept  grass. 
The  cloisters  here  have  all  that  cloisters  ever  have  for  those 
who  come  to  them  from  the  rush  and  racket  of  the  world. 
In  them  one  feels  doubly  secluded  from  that  world  by  ihe 
massy  walls,  the  groined  roof,  and  the  carved  and 
clustered  pillars  of  these  monastic  haunts,  and  by  the 
great  mountain  wilds,  and  the  lonely  and  far-stretch- 
ing loch  that  make  this  place  nature's  claustrumj 
and  every  dweller  here  a  hermit.  There  is  not,  how- 
ever, much  sign  of  monkish  silence  in  that  northern 
cloister  where  the  cheery  ring  of  manv  youthful  voices 
reminds  me  that  we  have  here  a  College  as  well  as  a 
monastery,  and  that  St.  Benedict's  labour  here  is  the  labour 
— who  will  tell  me  it  is  not  a  labour  ? — of  teaching  and 
training  youth.  Among  the  boys  now  gleeful  wim  the 
prospect  of  vacation  close  at  hand  manv  bear  names  noted 
m  the  history  of  Scotland  and  of  England.  That  lad  in 
the  kilt  of  Fraser  plaid  is  the  descendant  of  the  bravo 
Catholic  laird  who  in  the  dungeons   under  that  veiy 


A  Highland  Monastery.  627 

cloister  paid  the  penalty  of  hie  devotion  to  the  House  of 
Stuart.  The  boy  next  lum  is  from  Wales,  for  this  Highland 
school  tempts  parents  even  at  that  distance ;  and  the  monk 
whose  black  cowl  and  scapular  in  no  way  awe  the  merry 
lads  that  crowd  about  him  has  a  name,  I  am  told,  that  the 
world  would  gladly  honour  did  he  not  prefer  to  be  a  simple 
"Brother  "  of  St.  Benedict  No  wonder  that  the  boys  love 
their  monastery  school,  and  prize  it  for  the  freedom  that 
its  seclusion  allows.  Who  would  not  envy  them  in  their 
play-ground  from  which  they  can  hear  the  grouse  crowing 
on  the  mountain,  and  across  which  comes  untainted  the 
breath  of  the  heathery  slopes  I  Look  at  them  sub  they  loose 
their  boats  from  the  Uttle  harbour,  and  with  practised  arms 
pull  out  across  the  lake,  or  set  their  sail  to  catch  the  breeze 
that  seldom  fails  between  those  high  mountain  walls.  Look 
down  that  lake  lying  in  the  summer  sun  before  us  as  we 
stand  at  the  monastery  porch ;  look  at  the  cloud-flecked 
vista  of  hills  and  mountains  rising  3,000  feet  on  right  and 
left  and  stretching  away  till  lake  and  land  melt  into  blua 
mist  on  the  horizon :  look  at  this  and  do  not  wonder  that 
some  have  looked  and  said :  "  This  is  my  rest ;  here  will  I 
dwell,  for  I  have  chosen  it." 

My  rest  it  certainly  became  for  much  longer  than  I  had 
originally  intended.  "It  may  be  hard  to  get  to,  but  it  is 
much  harder  to  leave,"  was  my  companion's  remark ;  and 
I  realized  the  truth  of  it.  Where  could^a  priest  more 
easily  take  his  vacation  rest;  and  where  could  he  make 
for  that  would  not  be  a  place  of  weariness  after  this  ?  The 
Exhibition  day  came.  Friends  flocked  in  from  far  and 
near — if  there  be  a  "near*'  where  friends  could  live. 
Ah,  yes  I — ^the  Fort  Augustus  Hotel,  that  was  near  and 
was  filled  with  visitors.  The  usual  programme  was  gone 
through.   Strange  the  sight  in  the  College  grounds  when, 

Erize-giving,  dinner,  and  cricket  over,  all  assembled  in  the 
right  sunsmne  for  afternoon  tea.  There  were  to  be  seen 
in  picturesque  confusion  the  gay  toilettes  of  London  and 
Paris,  the  Mlts  of  the  Highland  lairds,  the  orthodox  collar 
and  hat — high,  but  not  Highland — of  young  men  late  from 
"town,"  and  the  sombre  cowls  and  scapulars  of  the 
hospitable  '  Benedictines.  There  were  Scotch,  English, 
Irish,  French.  Maltese,  Americans,  Australians,  all  doing 
honour  to  St.  Benedict  and  justice  to  Benedictine  tea  and 
tftotwberries  and  cream.  And  as  the  northern  evening 
dowlv  fell — it  was  but  dusk  at  ten  o'clock — the  sounds  of 
ib^  Highland  pipes  alone  reminded  us  that  it  was  in 


628  A  Highland  Monastery. 

Scotland  not  in  Italy  we  were,  and  that  the  water  at  our 
feet  was  not  the  Mediterrane&ii  but  Loch  Nesa  Next  day 
the  College  was  empty.  The  early  steamer  to  Inyemesa, 
and  the  later  one  up  the  Caledonian  canal  to  Oban,  bore 
away  their  freights  of  light-hearted  school-boys,  and  the 
playgrounds  and  the  boats  were  deserted,  and  the  College 
cloisters  silent*  as  the  monastery.  Every  day,  however, 
was  that  silence  broken  and  that  solitude  invaded.  For 
Fort  Augustus  stands  at  the  northern  entrance  to  the 
Caledonian  canal.  Seven  locks,  one  above  another  like 
steps  in  a  staircase,  arrest  the  tourist  steamers  here ;  aod 
while  their  boat  is  climbing  up  or  down,  those  tourists  turn 
into  the  monastery  of  St.  Benedict,  after  true  tourist  fashion, 
to  see  what  is  to  be  seen.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  how  much 
good  that  peep  into  the  quiet  home  of  Catholic  monas- 
ticism  must  often  do  those  wanderers.  I  shall  not  easily 
forget  how  I  was  myself  impressed  by  the  sight  I  showed 
a  Protestant  clergyman  to  whom  I  acted  as  a  volunteer 
cicerone.  It  was  the  Scriptorium  of  the  monastery,  Pugin's, 
every  line  of  it.  There  were  the  young  monks  grouped 
around  a  model  and  a  ground  plan  of  a  medieval  church, 
studying  its  details  and  listening  to  the  explanations  of  an 
older  monk,  who  spoke  with  the  ease  of  one  who  was 
master  of  the  art.  They  minded  us  not  in  the  least  when 
we  looked  in,  and  my  companion  seemed  to  hold  his  breath 
as  if  he  fancied  himself  in  presence  of  a  ghostly  vision  of 
the  past.  No  doubt  these  brothers'  quiet  mission,  without 
seeing  being  seen,  is  working  greater  good  than  they  can 
ever  know ;  and  the  tide  of  tourists  that  daily  flows  by 
Fort  Augustus  surely  bears  away  many  a  seed  that  will,  in 
time,  bring  forth  fruit  of  faith. 

The  church  of  a  Benedictine  monastery  is,  by  all  the 
traditions  of  the  Order,  as  splendid  as  the  resources  of  the 
Order  can  make  it.  The  Benedictine  Church  at  Molk, 
whose  domes  of  burnished  gold  high  above  the  blue 
Danube  were  the  first  glimpse  I  caught  of  this  most  famous 
monastery,  and  the  new,  and  as  yet  unfinished  church- 
cathedral  almost  in  its  proportions — of  the  Benedictines  at 
Downside,  are  proofs  that  the  traditions  of  the  Order  in 
this  matter  are  loyally  adhered  to.  There  is,  as  yet,  but  a 
temporary  church  at  Fort  Augustus.  The  plans  for  the 
future  buildings  show  that  it  will  far  surpass  anything 
already  erected,  and  will,  when  completed,  Tbe  one  of  the 
finest  monastic  churches  in  Christendom.  The  temporaiy 
chapel  is  spacious,  and,  in  ita  way,  imposing  within.    Ifl 


The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland.  629 

its  sanctuary  the  Divine  office  is  daily  chanted,  and  every 
morning  there  is  a  Missa  Cantata.     It  was  not  the  least 
part  of  the  charm  of  this  charming  spot,  to  hear  the  old 
Gregorian  chant  sung  there  day  by  day  with  the  ease 
begotten  of  constant  practice,  and  with  an  intelligence 
of  interpretation  and  a  devout  simplicity    that  it  was 
pleasant  to  listen  to  and  edifying  to  pray  with.     Could  I 
nave  wished  even  Palaestrina's  splendid  contrapuntal  sonff 
to  take  the  place  of  that  quiet,  eloquent  unison  ?     I  thinl 
not;  and  this  was  the  comfort,  self-admimstered,  for  not 
having  ^one  to  Germany  with  other  Irish  lovers  of  sacred 
song  to  hear  the  Cecilian  festival  by  the  Rhine.    The  plain 
chant  by  Loch  Ness  is  not  without  faults;  but  the  memory 
of  it  wiU  outUve  that  of  many  a  performance  that  I  have 
been  obliged  to  acknowledge  perfect.     It  was  such,  that  I 
could  have  been  content  to  listen  to  it,  daily,  for  a  lifetime. 
But  that  lifetime  was  not  to  be,  and  the  steamer  came 
at  last  that  was  to  take  me  away.    Not  the  prospect  of  a 
day's  sail  through  scenery  which  I  had  for  years  longed  to 
visit,  not  even  the  thought  that  I  had  already  overtaxed 
-if  indeed  that  were  possible-the  kindneea  and  hospitality 
of  my  Benedictine  hosts,  could  make  it  other  than  a  wrench 
to  leave  this  quiet  sanctuarv.    And  so  unlike  was  this 
vacation  experience  to  any  I  have  known  amid  the  excite- 
ments of  London,  Paris,  or  Vienna,  so  far  above  them  all, 
both  at  the  time,  and  now  that  all  alike  are  memories,  that 
I  have  ventured  thus  far  to  share  my  experience  with  such 
of  my  fellow-priests  as  may  see  the  Reoord,  and  to  give 
them,  in  outline,  at  least,  which  they  may  themselves  fill  in, 
a  peep  at  perhaps  the  fairest  spot  which  a  priest  can  find  in 
the  Scottish  Highlands — the  Monastery  of  St.  Benedict  at 
Fort  Augustus.  Arthur  Rtan. 


THE  HOLY  PLACES  OF  IRELAND. 
I. — Cashbl  op  the  Kings— (CoNTiNcnED.) 

NEXT  to  Cormac's  chapel  in  antiquity  comes  the 
cathedral.  The  date  of  its  erection  is  not  quite 
certain.  Most  probably  it  was  built  in  11 71,  on  the  site  of 
a  church  erected  some  thirty-five  years  before.  Lord 
Dunraven  will  not  allow  the  present  structure  to  be  older 
than  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  This  may  be 
VOL.  V.  3  a 


080  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland: 

true  of  some  of  the  details,  which  are  decidedly  later  than 
the  corresponding  parts  of  the  cathedrals  of  Limerick  and 
Killaloe,  and  which  may  have  been  additions  to  or  inser- 
tions in  the  original  building.  But  a  well  established 
tradition  points  to  the  former  of  these  dates  as  being  the 
correct  one.  Besides,  in  dealing  with  Gothic  architecture 
in  Ireland,  the  periods  of  time  are  by  no  means  so  well 
marked  off  by  the  details  of  the  different  styles  as  they  are 
either  in  France  or  England.  The  foundei'  is  admitted  by 
all  to  have  been  Donald  O'Brien,  king  of  South  Munster, 
the  same  to  whom  we  owe  the  cathedrals  of  Limerick  and 
Ballaloe  and  the  monasteries  of  Holy  Cross  and  Inuislaught, 
a  worthy  descendant  of  King  Brian  and  a  fitting  repre- 
sentative of  the  grand  old  clan  of  the  **  Dalgais  of  the 
Churches."  He  and  his  son  Donough  Carbreac  endowed 
it  with  considerable  grants  of  land.  Archbishop  Richard 
0*Hedian,  who  occupied  the  see  from  1406  to  1440,  found 
it  in  a  state  of  decay  and  repaii-ed  it.  In  1495  Gerald, 
eighth  Earl  of  Kildare,  set  fixe  to  it ;  but  we  have  no  record 
of  the  injury  done  in  consequence.  It  would  seem  diat 
there  was  a  quarrel  between  him  and  David  Creagh,  who 
was  then  Archbishop.  Anger  waxed  high  between  them, 
and  the  Earl  strove  to  take  summary  vengeance  on  his 
adversary.  He  was  accused  of  many  crimes,  and  of  this  in 
particular,  before  King  Henry  VII.  Witnesses  were  at 
hand  to  prove  the  facts.  But  he  openly  confessed  the  deed 
and  swore  that  he  would  not  have  done  it  but  that 
he  thought  the  Archbishop  was  within.  "Which  being 
uttered  with  a  bluntness  peculiar  to  this  lord,*'  a«  an  old 
chronicler  tells  us,  "did  exceedingly  work  upon  the  King. 
For  whilst  the  Earl  did  so  earnestly  urge  that  for  his  excuse 
which  was  the  greatest  aggravation  of  his  crime,  the  King 
easily  perceived  that  a  person  of  that  natural  simplicity 
and  plainness  could  not  be  guilty  of  these  finesses  and 
intrigues  that  were  objected  against  him.  And  when  the 
Bishop  ot  Meath,  his  most  inveterate  accuser,  concluded 
his  last  article  with  this  sharp  expression : — *  You  see  what 
a  man  he  is ;  all  Ireland  cannot  rule  yonder  gentleman ;' 
the  King  replied; — 'If  it  be  so,  then  he  is  meet  to  rule 
all  Ireland,  seeing  all  Ireland  cannot  rule  him.'  And 
accordingly  he  was  made  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  restored 
to  his  honour  and  estate,  and  dismissed  with  many  rich 
presents."  Arthiur  Price,  the  Protestant  Archbishop  from 
1744  to  1752,  procured  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  remove  the 
cathedral  from  the  Bock  into  the  town  and  to  bold  the 


Ca^el  of  the  Kings,  631 

• 

services  in  the  parochial  church  of  St.  John.  The'  con- 
sequence was,  the  building  soon  fell  into  a  state  of  decay. 
Charles  Agar,  one  of  his  successors,  was  anxious,  some 
fifty  years  later,  to  restore  it  to  its  former  uses.  He  had  a 
survey  made,  but  finding  it  in  a  condition  which  would  not 
allow  of  repair,  he  had  the  two  churches  consolidated  by 
an  Act  of  Council  About  eighty  years  ago  the  leads  were 
taken  off  to  be  sold.  Soon  after  the  roof  fell  in.  From 
that  time  up  to  a  few  years  since  no  attempt  was  made  to' 
arrest  its  decav.  On  the  22nd  February,  1848,  a  violent 
storm  parted  the  south  tower  in  two  from  top  to  bottom, 
and  the  southern  portion  fell  with  a  terrific  crash.  The 
fallen  part  is  still  lying  where  it  fell. 

Mention  has  been  made  already  of  the  relative  positions 
and  the  directions  of  the  two  churches  on  the  Rock.  The 
cathedral  lies  due  east  and  west;  Cormac's  Chapel 
somewhat  north-east  and  south-west.  The  direction  of  the 
former  would  go  to  show  that  it  was  begun,  or,  perhaps 
we  should  rather  say,  consecrated,  on  the  feast  of  Saint 
Patrick,  to  whom  it  is  dedicated ;  that  of  the  latter  points 
to  some  time  in  tjie  month  of  May  as  the  date  of  its  conse- 
cration. The  shape  of  the  cathedral  is  cruciform.  At  the 
junction  of  the  choir  and  chancel  there  is  an  huge  square 
tower  supported  by  massive  pillars.  The  beautiful  chancel 
arch  will  remind  the  visitor  of  the  grandest  of  these 
churches  which  the  ages  of  faith  erected  for  God's  worship, 
putting  to  shame  the  puny  efforts  of  our  times.  A  very 
peculiar  feature  of  this  church  is  that,  instead  of  the  western 
doorway  and  window,  which  are  usual  in  Gothic  churches, 
and  on  which  the  builders  employed  all  the  resourceis  of 
their  skill,  there  is  here  a  massive  tower,  or  castle  rather 
we  should  call  it.  The  lower  part  of  it  is  vaulted.  The 
principal  room  on  the  second  storey  is  approached  by  a 
narrow  staircase  built  into  the  wall,  A  battlement  runs 
round  the  roof.  A  few  narrow  windows  give  light  to  the 
rooms.  Our  ancient  churches  were  oftentimes,  in  part  at 
least,  military  fortresses,  in  which  the  clergy  and  people 
could  take  refuge  when  a  neighbouring  chief  made  a 
hosting  and  invaded  their  territory.  In  later  times  even 
the  churches  were  not  inviolable.  Hence  the  crenelated 
battlements  of  the  walls  and  towers  peculiar  to  Irish 
ecclesiastical  architecture,  such  as  we  see  in  the  cathedral 
of  Limerick  and  elsewhere. 

Close  to  the  door  is  an  altar  tomb,  supposed  by  many  to 
cover  the  grave  of  David  O'Keamey,  who  held  the  see  from 


632  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland. 

• 
lfi04  to  1625.  This  is  the  burial  place  of  a  branch  of 
that  ancient  family,  as  the  inscription  on  it  testifies.  But 
Archbishop  0* Kearney's  bones  are  lying  in  a  foreign  land. 
For  many  years  he  laboured  most  zealously  to  keep  the 
faith  alive.  At  one  time  he  was  the  only  bishop  in  the 
whole  of  Ireland.  But  his  turn  too  came,  and  he  was  forced 
to  fly.  After  a  long  and  wearisome  journey  through  Spain, 
he  fell  ill  of  fever  in  the  Cistercian  monastery  of  Bomieu, 
near  Bordeaux,  and  died  there. 

Edmund  Butler,  Archbishop  of  Cashel  from  1527  to 
1551,  lies  buried  in  the  chapel  of  the  Apostles  in  the  north 
transept.  His  arms  €ure  on  a  stone  close  by.  What  was 
probably. the  frontal  of  the  altar  of  the  Apostles'  chapel  is 
also  in  the  north  transept.  He  was  one  of  the  Ormonde 
family,  and  before  his  elevation  to  the  See  of  Cashel  he 
was  prior  of  the  Augustinian  Abbey  of  Athassel. 

But  the  principal  monument  of  the  cathedral,  and  one 
deserving  of  something  more  than  passing  mention,  is  that 
of  Myler  Magrath.  It  is  on  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel. 
It  has  an  effigy  of  a  bishop  in  high  relief,  with  a  mitre  on 
his  head,  and  a  pastoral  staff  in  his  hand.  Over  the  head 
is  a  coat  of  arms,  at  his  feet  the  image  of  our  Lord 
crucified,  on  his  right  the  image  of  St.  Patrick.  The 
epitaph  runs  as  follows : — 

^'  Mileri  Magrath,  Archiepiscopi  Cassiliensis  ad  viatorem  carmen. 

Yenerat  in  Dunum  prime  sanctissimus  dim 

Patricias,  nostri  gloria  magna  soli. 
Huic  ego  succedens,  utinam  tarn  sanctus  ut  ille. 

Sic  Duni  primo  tempore  praesul  eram. 
Anglia,  lustra  decern  sed  post  tua  sceptra  colebam, 

Principibus  placui  Marte  tonante  tuis. 
Hie  ubi  sum  positus  non  sum,  sum  ubi  non  sum. 

Sum  in  ambobus,  sum  sed  utroque  loco.  I 

Dominus  est  qui  me  judicat. — 1  Cor,  iv. 
Qui  Stat  videat  ne  cadat." 

It  is  thus  translated  in  Ware's  BUhops : — 

''  Patrick,  the  glory  of  our  isle  and  gown, 
First  sat  as  bishop  in  the  see  of  Down. 
I  wish  that  I,  succeeding  in  his  place, 

As  bishop  had  an  equal  share  of  grace.  j 

I  served  thee,  England,  fifty  years  in  jars,*  | 

And  pleased  thy  princes  in  the  midst  of  wars. 
Here  where  Pm  placed,  I'm  not ;  and  thus  the  case  is* 
I'm  not  in  both,  yet  am  in  both  the  places. 

He  that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord. — 1  Cor.  tL 
Let  him  who  stands  take  heed  lest  he  &U." 


Caahel  of  the  Kings.  633 

This  is  the  tomb  of  Mylor  Magrath,  Protestant  Arch- 
bishop of  Cashel  from  1570  to  1622.    The  epitaph  is  said 
to  be  his  own  composition.    The  last  lines  are  supposed  to 
refer  to  a  wish  expressed  by  him  and  carried  out  after  his 
death,  that  he  should  be  buried  elsewhere.     He  died  at 
Cashel  over  a  hundred  years  old.    His  career  was,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  a  strange  one  and  certainly  not  edifying. 
In  early  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis, 
an  order  which,  in  spite  of  the  falling  away  of  one  or  two 
false  brethren,  did  far  more  than  any  other  to  uphold  the 
faith  among  our  people  in  the  times  of  persecution,  and 
whose  labours  are  held  in  loving  and  grateful  remembrance 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.     He  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  Down  on  the  12th  of  October  1565, 
but  it  would  seem  that  he  never  took  actual  possession  of 
the  see.     He  was  the  only  bishop  of  the  Irish  race  who  at 
the  time  of  the  Reformation   abandoned  the   old   faith, 
though  to  profess  that  faith  then  meant  for  a  bishop  or 
priest,  and  not  unfrequently  for  the  laity  too,  persecution 
of  the  fiercest  kind  and  sometimes  death.     Most  probably 
he  was  a   heretic  already  before  his  appointment     Of 
course  he  was  deposed  for  the  crime  of  heresy  and  also  for 
having  written  a  series  of  anonymous  letters,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  defame  the  character  of  Richard  Crea^h, 
Archbishop  of  Armagh.    His  conversion  was  rewarded  with 
almost  every  ecclesiastical  preferment  that    his    patron 
Queen  Elizabeth  could  confer  on  him.     She  made  him 
Bishop   of  Clogher  in   1570  and  in  the  following  year 
Archbishop  of  Caehel.    For  a  good  part  of  his  life  he  held 
the  four  bishoprics  of  Cashel,  Emly,  Waterford,  and  Lis- 
more,   and  a  great  number  of  livings  besides.     Yet  he 
still   craved  for  more.    Not  getting  the  deanery  of  St. 
Patrick's  cathedral  and  the  bishopric  of  Limerick,  which 
he  preferred  to  Waterford,  he  wrote  to  Burleigh,  the  Lord 
High  Treasurer  of  England :  "  I  may  say  with  the  Prophet, 
thy.  rebuke  hath  broken  my  heart,  1  am  full  of  heavmess. 
I  look  for  some  one  to  have  pity  on  me,  but  there  is  no 
man,  neither  found   I  any  to  comfort  me."     The  Royal 
Commissioners,  after  their  visitation  in  lt515,  recorded  that 
Archbishop  Myler  Magrath  would  give  them  no  satisfactory 
information  respecting  his  revenues,  though  he  held  so 
many  bishoprics  and  hvings.    James  I.,  in  1624,  declared 
in  one  of  his  despatches,  that  the  property  of  the  sees  of 
Oifihel   and  Emlv  had,  mainly  through  the  arts  and  con- 
trivances  of  Meilerus,  late  Archbishop  of  Cashel,  been  so 
diminished  that  they  did  not  exceed  three  score  pounds 


634  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland : 

English  in  the  year.  "  His  sons  and  executors,"  he  says 
elsewhere,  "  had  grown  men  of  great  estates  by  the  rob- 
beries made  upon  their  church  by  their  father."  One  of 
his  robberies  was  the  alienation  of  the  manor  and  castle  oi 
Lismore,  which  was  the  Bishop's  residence,  to  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  for  an  annual  rent  of  Jtl3.  6«.  8<f.  Prom  Raleigh 
it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Richard  Boyle,  first  Earl  of 
Cork,  another  notorious  plunderer  of  the  church ;  and  from 
him  by  inheritance  in  the  female  line  to  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire.  Strafford,  the  Lord  Deputy,  expressed  to 
Laud  his  ^'  desire  to  redeem  the  See  of  Cashel  from  the 
u^ly  oppressions  of  Magrath,"  and  he  styles  him  "that 
wicked  Milerus."  Camden  calls  him  "  aman  of  uncertain 
faith  and  credit  and  of  depraved  life."  Of  course,  as  hap- 
pens in  all  such  comedies,  a  marriage  foUowed  quickly  after 
his  conversion.  There  is  a  poetical  satire  still  extant, 
bearing  the  title  "The  Apostacy  of  Myler  Magratii," 
written  by  Owen  O'Dufiy,  a  Franciscan,  about  the  year 
1577.  Qe  begins  by  reproaching  the  Apostate  with  being 
false  to  the  name  he  bore,  Myler  i,e.  Maelmuire,  the 
tonsured  or  the  servant  of  Mary.    **  He  is  not  the  Myler  of 

Mary,  but  the  Myler  of  Annie Myler  wiilioiit 

Mary,  Mary  without  Myler  is  your  name  for  evermore. 
Myler  has  forsaken  the  Virgin  for  Annie,  and  bartered  his 
faith  for  flesh  on  Fridays.  I  congratulate  the  Virgin  that 
Myler  has  forsaken  her,  the  Queen  of  heaven  of  the  face 
benign.  0  Annie  !  whose  cousin  I  should  be  sorry  to  be, 
I  cannot  congratulate  you  on  your  swarthy  Myler.*'  Yet 
.strange  to  say !  in  spite  of  all  his  misdeeds — and  they  were 
manv  and  heinous — ;be  seems  not  to  have  lost  the  faith 
wholly.  There  is  a  tradition  that  as  he  wa^  one  day 
riding  out  towards  Golden,  he  found  a  poor  person  in  a 
dyin^  condition  on  the  roadside.  He  mquired  whether 
;the  |Sick  man  was  ^  Catholic  or  a  Protestfmt ;  and  being 
told  thft  he  was  a  Catholic,  he  gave  him  absolution  ana 
extreme  unction.  The  spot  is  otill  pointed  out,  and  the 
^11  is  called  Knock^a^-uUa,  the  hill  of  the  oil.  It  is  also 
said  that  nis  mother  when  ill  inquired  from  him,  as  being 
acquainted  with  both  religions,  wheither  he  would  advise 
^er  to  remain  as  she  was,  a  Catholic,  or  become  a  Protestant, 
^d  that  he  answered:  ^^  Mother,  confess  your  sins  and  ^ 
yourself  ajQointed."    }Ii^  wife  too,  Aime  Q'^eara,  in  q^ 

?i  her  infan^,  retain,ed  some  attachment  tp  the  old  faith. 
)n  on,e  CMCcasion  when  she  was  seated  at  dinner  on  a  Fridaj» 
peeing  lahe  did  not  eat,  Myler  asked  her  whether  she  wsi 
^l ;  she  an#we(red  t^at  she  did  mpt  think  it  ^gl^t  tp  ,eat  meat 


Cashel  of  the  Kings,  635 

on  sach  a  day.  He  replied  that  abstaining  would  be  of 
litde  avail  to  her,  as  she  was  sure  to  go  to  hell  for  having 
married  him.  She  was  in  the  habit  of  picking  state 
secrets  out  of  Mjler  and  using  the  knowledge  she  acquired 
in  this  way  to  give  timely  warning  to  the  bishops  and 

J  nests  of  any  special  danger  that  impended  over  them, 
[yler,  perhaps  to  secure  peace  in  his  household,  used  to 
aid  her  at  times  in  this  good  work.     Thus  he  writes  from 
Greenwich  on  the  26th  of  June  1582,  to  his  loving  wife,  in 
reference  to  Darby  Creagh,  Bishop  of  Cork  :  •*  I  desire  you 
now  to  cause  his  friends  to  send  him  out  of  the  whole 
country,  if  they  may ;  or  if  not,  to  send  my  orders  ;  for 
there  is  such  search  to  be  made  for  him  that  unless  he  be 
wise,  he  shall  be  taken."     Ue  also  bids  her  **  to  send  away 
from  her  house  all  the  priests  she  is  in  the  habit  of  having 
thore."     The  times  must  have  been  hard  indeed,  and  the 
search  after  bishops  and  priests  close,  when  they  sought 
shelter  under  such  a  root     Anne  died  reconciled  to  the 
church  by  David  O'Keamey.    Myler  too  cheated  the  devH 
in  the  end.     O'Keamey  asked  and  obtained  from  Paul  V« 
in  1608,  the  faculty  to  absolve  him,  and  we  may  fairly  infer 
that  such  a  facultjr  would  not  have  been  asked  for   or 
granted  if  he  had  not  requested  to  be  received  again  into 
the  church.     Ware,  who  wrote  not  more  than  finy  years 
after  his  death,  says,  ^  the  Romanists  have  a  tradition  that 
he  died  a  Papist."    Brennan  in  his  EccleHottieal  History 
asserts  Hie  fact  positively.    In  White's  manuscript  History 
of  Limerick,  it  is  said  that  ^  upon  his  death  a  i<  riar  of  his 
own  order  received  him  privately  into  the  church,  and 
after  his  death  laid  him  out  in  the  habit  of  his  order.** 
tiis  sons  were  Catholics,  and  one  of  them  a  vecusant  who 
Koffered  for  the  faith.     He  had  secured  for  them  large 
estates  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  property  of  the  sees  and 
livings  which  he  held ,  among  them  the  vast  territoiy 
ef   Termon  Magrath  in  the  Uounty  of  Fermanagh,  of 
which  his  ancestors  had  been  in  former  times  the  erenachs 
or   hereditary    guardians,  though    George  Montgomery, 
another  of  the  apostles  of  tiie  Reformation,  was  veiy  eager 
to  get  it  into  his  ehitobes.    But  Myler'a  services  were  too 
important  to  be  overlooked.     His  sons  too  were  active  and 
trusted  friends  of  the  govennneaxt  of  the  day,  and  the 
{Mtges  of  Pijyoaia  Hibetnia  tell  us  that  Mountjoy  and  Carew 
were  not  over  sorupulous  or  delicate  in  the  choice  at*  the 
work  which  they  set  out  to  be  done  by  their  agents. 

D.  VLjjkpby. 
{To  be  continued,) 


[    636    ] 

THE    FRIENDLESS    EXILES   OF   ERIN. 
An  Apostle  in  the  Gap  of  Danger. 

THERE  has  lately  landed  in  this  country  a  Irifih  priec* 
from  al>road,  the  resultR  of  whose  mission  will,  it 
is  hoped,  open  a  new  and  brighter  chapter  in  the  sad  story 
of  Irish  emigration.  For  the  sake  of  the  cause  which  he 
advocates,  and  the  friendly  shores  from  which  he  comes,  a 
word  of  introduction  and  explanation  is  asked  for  him  to 
the  readers  of  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record  who 
feel  an  interest  in  the  absorbing  question  with  which  hie 
journey  is  connected.  Undoubtedly,  there  is  not  a  more 
melancholy,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  more  intricate  problem 
than  this  one  which  touches  the  exodus  of  the  Irish  race  to 
other  and  distant  lands.  It  is  a  subject  on  which  volumes 
have  been  written,  and  one  with  regard  to  which,  many 
sound  Irishmen,  and  ardent  lovers  of  their  native  soil,  have 
held  diverse  opinions  all  through  the  varying  phases  of  our 
country's  chequered  history.  Irish  emigrants  there  have 
been  from  the  earUest  times,  since  the  sweet  and  sanctifying 
breath  of  our  great  Apostle  first  kindled  the  fire  of  Faith 
on  these  shores,  and  left  devoted  children  to  keep  it  alive^ 
and  bear  its  blessings  to  lands  and  peoples  far  from  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  green  Innisfail.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  glorious 
privilege  for  those  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  our  race  to  carry  the 
glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  to  regions  beyond  the  sea,  and 
to  raise  up,  on  foreign  land,  thosehomesand  temples  where 
the  lamp  of  learning  and  religion  would  bum  with  undim- 
med  lustre,  and  where  the  Irish  name  would  be  interwoywi 
with  all  that  is  holy  and  noble  during  many  succeeding 
generations.  No  doubt  this  tide  of  emigration  was  en- 
couraged, and  blessed  by  instincts  and  whisperings  higher 
and  h,olier  than  those  which  flow  from  human  hearta 
It  must  have  been  a  divine  smnmons  alone  which  led  men 
forth,  in  that  distant  time,  to  abandon  the  sacred  spot 
where  their  hearts'  best  feeling  were  enshrined,  and  sail 
away,  on  fragile  bark  and  trail  shallop,  to  encounter  the 
hard  life  of  the  missionary  on  the  shores  of  the  stranger. 
Surely,  too,  it  must  have  been  a  more  than  ewiiily  influence 
which  kept  the  same  noble  spirit  alive  through  the  ensuing 
ages — making  the  Apostolic  messengers  from  Ireland  beacon 
lights  in  the  new  countries  that  were  untravelled  by  their 
evwgelising  fathers  in  the  past.     That  blessed  inspiration, 


J 


The  Friendless  Eailes  of  Erin.  637 

thank  God,  is  still  abroad,  and  will,  no  doubt,  continue  to 
shed  its  benign  influence  over  distant  nations  till  the  day 
of  the  final  harvesting  arrives — and  the  fruits  of  many  cen- 
turies of  Irish  toil  and  Irish  travel  have  been  gathered  into 
the  great  Master's  bam. 

Other  Irish  exiles  and  emigrants  in  various  ways, 
and  at  different  periods,  hkewise  crossed  the  ocean,  and 
carved  for  themselves  an  honoured  career,  of  whose 
features  history  keeps  faithful  record,  and  on  which 
most  sections  of  their  countrymen  look  with  feelings 
of  legitimate  pride.  Sad  it  was,  of  course,  that  so 
many  strong  and  valiant  sons  of  Ireland  should  have  gone 
to  lay  the  labour  of  their  good  swords  in  what,  too  often, 
turned  out  to  be  an  unrequited  foreign  service,  and  that 
their  deeds  rtf  daring  were  so  scantily  acknowledged  by  the 
alien  masters,  whose  falling  fortunes  they  had  sustained. 
We  could  wish,  perhaps,  that  they  had  stayed  at  home, 
and,  mayhap  within  their  own  fair  Island  they  might 
have  expended  their  valour  in  a  better  cause,  received 
a  more  favourable  requital,  and  repaired  some  sad 
disasters  of  the  dark  and  stormy  past.  Yet,  we  do  not 
mourn  without  some  comfort  for  the  laurels  won  by 
those  forced  and  voluntary  exiles,  who  caused  the  Irish 
name  to  be  respected,  and  made  Celtic  achievements  his- 
toric on  those  "  far  foreign  fields  from  Dunkirk  to  Belgrade." 
There  is  no  nation  whose  children  have  not  been  found 
winning  fame  and  fortune  in  other  lands  than  those  in 
which  they  had  been  nursed.  We  must,  in  this  matter, 
accept  the  fate  that  is  sent  us,  and  cherish,  all  the  more 
dearly,  the  deeds  of  our  distinguished  brothers  of  Irish 
stock,  because  their  valour  was  kindled  on  a  distant  soil, 
and  in  a  cause  not  altogether  of  their  own  choosing. 

Sad  and  hapless,  too,  beyond  the  telling,  it  was  when 
some  other  strange  destiny,  in  later  days,  drove  our 
kindred,  in  myriad  groups,  across  the  ocean — forced  emi- 
grants for  the  most  part— fleeing  from  the  shores  in  which 
their  fondest  feelings  were  centred,  to  eat  the  bitter  bread 
of  exile  in  the  cities  and  prairies  of  the  West — and  long 
unceasingly  for  a  ghmpse  of  Erin  before  their  exhausted 
hmbs  were  laid  in  foreign  clay.  But  many  of  them  helped 
to  build  up  those  thriving  American  cities  where  some  of 
their  race  nave  found  a  welcome^ home.  They  gained  a 
competence  for  themselves  as  well,  and  won  an    inde- 

Eenaence  which  they  could  never  have  found  in  the  hapless 
ind  from  which  they  fled  in  the  hour  of  its  darkest  for- 


638  The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Erin. 

tune&  Their  love  for  their  first  home  only  grew  stronger  bj 
time  and  distance,  and  we  have  good  reason  to  know  that 
-it  was  the  supplies  which  oame  from  loving  hearts  abroad 
that  kept  the  rooftree  over  many  a  pleasant  homestead  in 
Ireland,  and  kept  the  lire  still  burning  in  the  cabin, 
where  exiled  Irish  children  had  seen  the  Ught. 

There  are  good  men  and  true,  here  and  abroad,  who  say 
that  it  would  have  been  a  disastrous  day  for  the  Irish  race— 
for  its  existence  at  home  and  its  honour  in  other  lands— if 
this  tide  of  emigration  had  been  barred  at  its  early  rising,  and 
if  no  outlet  had  been  given  to  the  vigorous  Celtic  stock  thus 
forced  to  seek  a  new  sphere   in    other  climeii,  and  who 
afterwards  carved  niches  in  the  temple  of  fame  in  these  more 
favoured  lands,  to  which  their  fleeing  footsteps  bore  them. 
We  do  not  stop  to  argue  such  questions,  and  the  other 
kindred  propositions  over  which  there  has  already  been  so 
much  discussion.      But  we  may,  at  the  same  time,  look  forth 
with   pride   and   hope   to  that  younger,  yet  not  fairer, 
Ireland  across  the   ocean — thinlang  that  its  growth  and 
progress  will  only  consoUdate   the   old  royal  race  from 
which  such  healthy  and  fixdt-bearing  offshoots  have  ripened 
into  vigorous  vitaUty.     Yet  the  conviction  seems  to  grow 
more  settled,  as  time  speeds  on,  that  matters  in  this  respect 
have  gone  far  enough.    It  is  felt  that  the  army  of  Irish  exiles 
is,  just  now,  numerous  enough  abroad,  and  Irish  hands  and 
Irish  hearts  are  needed,  at  present,  more  than  ever,  on  that 
native  spot  where  they  have  the  best  right  to  find  a  field  for 
their  operations.     Our  cities  and  towns  have  been  already, 
to  a  large  extent,  robbed  of  the  flower  of  their  popular 
tion.       Our    peaceful    country    homesteads    have,   long 
before  this,  been  reUeved  of  what  is  termed  their  sniplni 
occupants ;  and  it  is  high  time  that  the  parting  wail  flf 
the  farced  emiarant  should  cease   to    be  heard  on  the 
wharfe  and  landing  stages  of  our  seaport  places  of  endiwt 
^tion.    No  one  has  a  right  to  push  our  people  out  of  dieir 
positions  here,  however  deplorable  they  may  be,  and  force 
them  over  the  ocean — not  recking  the  cruel  fate  that  will 
overtake   them  after  they  have   oe^i  transplanted  froa 
their  own  soil.    They  may  find  a  peace  and  plenty  among 
us  that  would  be  sweeter  than  the  greatest  abundanoe 
abroad ;  and  to  the  better  and  brighter  future  that  we 
think  is  nearing  for  our  sorely  tried  and  most  patient 
people,  the  native  race  have  surely  the  first  and  strongest 
claim. 

It  is  not  alone  our  faithfiil  prelates  and  priests — tliesafiMt 


The  Friendletfs  Exiles  of  Erin.  639 

and  wisest  guardians  of  the  sacred  interests  of  our  people 
— who  make  these,  and  similar  declarations  regarding  the 
crying  evil  of  emigration.  There  are,  indeed,  amongst  us 
unhappily  men  who,  in  the  press,  the  platform,  and  even  in 
the  Senate,  fear  not  to  speak  the  blacK  and  bitter  calumny, 
that  in  opposing  this  so-called  needful  exodus,  the  spiritual 
sentinels  on  the  watch-towers  of  Ireland  are  only  acting 
from  self-interested  motives.  These  shepherds,  it  is  saio, 
mourn  solely  over  the  temporal  lossessustained  by  themselves 
in  the  departure  of  the  best  and  most  promising  portion  of 
their  flocks.  We  shall  not  stay  to  notice  this  narrow-sided 
view  of  the  question — it  being  imworthy  of  serious 
consideration  in  these  pages. 

But  the  voice  of  warning  conaes  from  other  an4  more 
unquestioned  authority.  It  proceeds  from  men  who  are 
in  tne  midst  of  the  struggle  abroad,  and  who  are  in  the 
best  position  to  judge  of  the  reality  of  the  prospects 
oflTered  to  Irish  emigrants  on  the  free  soil  of  Amenca.  The 
prelates  and  priests  of  that  flourishing  Church  beyond  the 
Atlantic,  whose  foundations  have  been  laid,  and  whose 
BoUdity  has  been  established,  mainly  by  the  fruits  of  Irish 
faith  and  Irish  generosity — these  calm,  thoughtful,  yet 
keenly  practical  bishops  re-echo  the  cry  of  their  brethren  in 
the  Irish  Hierarchy  on  this  vital  question.  They  call  fox 
Ihe  stoppage  of  all  enforced,  and,  to  some  extent,  of  even 
voluntai^  Irish  emigration.  They  ask  that  our  people  may 
be  kept  in  their  own  fair  and  fertile  land ;  and  asseverate 
that  the  prospects  abroad  for  intending  emigrants  are  every 
day  becoming  more  gloomy.  The  time  is  gone  by  when 
fortunes  can  be  made  at  a  moment's  notice — no  matter  how 
quick  the  brain,  or  how  skilled  the  hand  of  the  Irish 
worker.  The  hour  is  past  when  it  could  be  stated  with 
ftruth — as  it  used  to  be  &sdd  formerly — that  the  American 
soil  welcomes  all  weary  wayfarers  to  its  friendly  embraces, 
and — ^let  the  tide  flow  at  its  highest — there  is  room  and 
tee^  and  nourishment  for  all  on  its  sheltering  bosom.  The 
American  prelate^  do  not  hold  out  any  such  hopes  as  these 
to  the  intending  emigrants  from  Ireland.  They  have 
•Stated  this  in  pastoral  letters  and  in  Synodical  Councils ; 
•and,  to  friend  and  foe  ahke,  they  have  told  the  selfsame 
*tory — thai  the  fittest  place  for  Irish  people  to  thrive  and 
Mxxi  proroer  in^  is  at  home  on  the  fertile  sward  sad  safo 
chores  of  holy  Ireland. 

We  have,  therefore,  a  singular  consensus  of  opinion,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  that  an  end  should  be  put 


640  The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Eriru 

to  this  trifling  and  trafficking  with  the  rights  of  Irishmen- 
kind  souls  sending  the  young  and  weak  ones  adrift» 
from  charitable  motives  forsooth,  to  meet  with  a  rich 
and  bountiful  harvest  in  the  fields  of  their  distant 
toiling.  Long  ago,  when  this  evil  had  not  risen 
to  its  highest  pitch,  there  welled  up  from  the  soul  d 
a  gifted  Irish  priest  still  surviving,  that  plaintive  and 
piercing  wjdl  over  the  departure  of  the  noble  Celtic  Irish 
race.  His  words,  though  capable  of  moving  the  moBt 
stony  hearts,  were  at  that  time  unheeded,  to  some 
extent  even  in  high  places  at  home.  Now  it  is  hoped 
they  are  bearing  their  fulfilment,  and  from  tower  and 
temple, — from  the  plains  of  Ireland  to  the  prairies  of 
America, — we  shall  at  last  hear  all  good  men  re-echo, 
with  unfaltering  accents,  this  united  cry : — 

"  They  will  not  go,  the  Ancient  Race ! 
They  must  not  go— the  Ancient  Race  I 
The  cry  swells  loud  from  shore  to  shore— 
From  emerald  plain  to  mountain  hoar — 
From  Altar  high  to  Market  Place — 
They  shall  not  go — ^the  Ancient  Race  ! !" 

But  in  spite  of  all  that  we  may  wish,  and  all  that  may 
be  said  upon  the  subject,  there  will  still  be  Irish  emigrants. 

It  has  been  so  with  the  natives  of  the  most  frivoured 
countries  of  the  Continent,  and  the  same  tale  shall  continue 
to  be  told  of  their  migrations  in  the  future,  as  that  which 
can  be  written  of  them,  and  of  our  own  people,  in  the  years 
that  are  past.  The  German  emigrant  leaves  the  Fatherland 
—not  driven  forth  by  pressure  of  domestic  circumstances, 
nor  by  the  severity  of  that  cruel  code  against  the  Church, 
which  recalls  the  worst  features  of  the  penal  enactments  in 
Ireland  in  days  that  are  happily  over.  The  light-hearted 
Gaul  goes  away  from  fair  h  ranee— not  forced  by  famine, 
nor  sent  out  by  other  distressing  reasons  such  as  these 
which  have  swelled  the  tide  of  emigration  here  at  home. 
Fortune  tempts  him.  Glory,  he  believes,  awaits  him  in 
other  spheres,  and — much  as  he  may  love  and  like 
the  pleasant  land  where  his  lot  had  been  cast — ^he 
will  still  travel,  in  quest  of  a  better  living,  to  fredi 
fields  and  pastures  new.  Italy — where  most  dwellers 
might  be  supposed  to  sit  content,  and  pass  away  a  happy 
and  inactive  lifetime  under  the  shadow  of  their  own  vine 
and  fig  tree — this  favoured  region  has  its  representatives 
in  the  distant  cities  of  America,  and,  a^  time  goes  by,  the 


The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Erin.  641 

wave  of  emigration  from  that  sweet  and  sunny  clime  will 
roll  ever  onward.     So,  to  some  extent,  it  will  continue  to 
be  with  regard  to  our  own  people — even  though  their 
affections  have  struck  their  roots  too  deep  in  their  native 
soil  to  be  transplanted  without  many  painful  heartburnings. 
There  will  be  adventurous  spirits  to  the  last,  strong  and 
hopeful  Irish  youths — and  fair  and  virtuous  Irish  maidens 
— who  will  sever  their  ties  with  the  old  home,  brave  the 
perils  of  the  deep,  and  sail  to  foreign  shores  in  search  of 
better  fortunes.    Loving  hearts  there  will  be,  too,  acro^  the 
wave,  that  will  never  rest  satisfied  in  the  new  homes  they . 
have  made  far  away,  until  they  have  carried  some  youthful 
and  dear  relative  from  Ireland,  to  share  the  simshine  that 
has  been  won  by  years  of  striving  in  the  West.   These  and 
various  other  motives  will  always  beckon  a  certain  pro- 
portion of  our  people  from  their  moorings  at  home,  and 
thus  keep  up  a  tide  of  emigration  which  no  human  power 
can  stay.    The  next  best  service,  therefore,  that  can  be 
rendered  to  those  who  will  still  tempt  the  perils  of  foreign 
travel,  is  to  see  that  they  shall  be  safely  and  securely 
placed  as  soon  as  they  have  set  foot  on  American  soil. 
A  sacred  task  it  is  to  take  care  that  no  vicious  influence 
will  mar  the  hopes  with  which  they  enter  upon  their  new 
careers,  and  that  they  shall  find  real  true  fnends  to  begm 
with  in  the  land  of  their  adoption.    They  must  be  protected 
from  certain  deadly  dangers,  even  at  the  moment  when 
their  exiled  footsteps  touch  on  foreign  shores.   They  must  be 
saved  from  the  human  vultures— mayhap  more  destructive 
than  those  whom  they  have  left  behina — that  darkly  flap 
their  wings  over  the  new  and  innocent  arrivals — and  the 
graces  and  pearls  which  they  have  borne  unsullied  from 
their  homes  must  not  be  tarnished  as  soon  as  they  come  in 
contact  with  the  bU^hting  breezes  of  a  foreign  land. 

For, — alas  that  it  should  have  to  be  related  I— this 
opems  up  a  new  and  gloomy  chapter  in  what  might  other- 
wise be  a  fair  and  stainless  record.  Manva  precious  Irish  dia- 
mond has  reached  the  other  shore  only  to  be  despoiled  of 
its  greatest  beauty — many  a  weary  Irish  exile  has  been 
crushed  and  broken  at  the  time  when  hope  should  rise 
eternal  in  his  breast  The  partings  from  Ireland  are  sad. 
The  perils  of  the  ocean  are  numerous.  But  the  wrecks  of 
Irish  virtue  and  Irish  honour  soon  after  landing  abroad  are 
still  sadder  and  more  heart-burning.  We,  Irish  priests,  are 
only  too  familiar  with  this  melancholy  story.  Our  emi- 
grants betrayed — ^their  hopes  shattered — exiles  fleeing  from 


642  The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Erin, 

a  land  of  poverty  and  heartless  oppression,  to  find  a  speedy 
future  of  shame  and  dishonour  I  Many  never  reach  their 
friends  across  the  water ;  many  never  see  the  happy  homes 
that  were  said  to  be  in  store  for  them — and  they  are  not 
heard  of  again  in  the  old  land,  because  there  is  no  good 
tale  to  tell  of  them  in  their  places  of  sojourning  in  the 
West. 

To  meet  this  crying  evil  is  a  foremost  duty  with  all  who 
have  at  heart  the  real  welfare  and  honour  of  the 
Irish  race.  To  welcome  the  friendless  emigrant  with 
the  warm  affection  that  true  religion  inspires  is  a  heroic 
duty,  and  is  a  work  in  which  all  good  men  may  bear  an 
honourable  part.  But,  most  of  all,  it  is  the  work  and  duty 
of  the  revered  bishops  and  priests  of  the  Irish  stock  at 
home  or  away  in  the  lands  to  which  the  emigrants  are  ever 
tending.  How  sore  it  must  be  to  the  unselfish  heart  of 
many  an  Irish  priest  to  hear  the  doleful  tiding  that 
some  of  the  most  chaste  and  precious  lambs  of  his  flock 
were  sacrificed  at  the  altar  of  sin  on  their  landing  in 
America!      How   galling    to    the    feelings    of   the    true 

Eriest  abroad  to  discover  that  those  whom  he  expected  to 
e  the  prop  and  the  pride  of  his  congregation  were  wrecked 
and  ruined  before  their  virtues  could  blossom  on  the  shores 
where  they  sought  a  home  I  What  incident  more  touching 
in  this  connection — and,  alasl  more  common — than  that 
related  by  the  sweet  songster  of  Tipperary  regarding  the 
fate  of  the  widow's  brown-haired  daughter  who  dwelt 
beside  the  Anner  at  the  foot  of  Slievnamon. 

This  charming  writer^ draws,  with  lifelike  touch,  a  tme 
picture  of  the  innocent  village  girl  before  she  quits  her 
native  land,  and  then  tells  the  sad  story  of  her  after  fate 
— and,  alas!  that  of  many  another  like  her — ^when  the 
Ocean  has  rolled  between  her  and  Irish  soil — 

"  How  pleasant  'twas  to  meet  her 
On  Sunday,  when  the  bell 
Was  filling  with  its  mellow  notes 

Lone  hill  and  grassy  dell ; 
And  when  at  eve  young  maidens 
Strayed  the  river-bank  along, 
.  The  widow's  brown-haired  daughter 
Was  loveliest  of  the  throng." 

Following  the  footsteps  of  myriads  of  her  sex>  she  went 
from  her  qu^et,  peaceful  valley,  in  order  to  hoard  up  in  a 
foreign  land  those  hard  won  earnings  for  the  loving  ones 


The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Erin.  643 

at  home.  Who  does  not  feel  a  pang  of  the  keenest  sadness 
over  the  wreck  of  such  innocent  and  honest  hopes,  and  is 
not  moved  with  kindred  sympathy  at  the  poet's  plaintive 
recital  of  the  manner  in  which  these  fair  prospects  were 
blighted: — 

"  Oh,  brave,  brave  Irish  girls, 

We  well  may  call  you  brave ; 
Sure  the  least  of  all  your  perils 

Is  the  stormy  ocean  wave. 
When  you  leave  your  quiet  valleys, 

And  cross  the  Atlantic  foam, 
To  hoard  your  hard  wpn  earnings 

For  the  loving  ones  at  home. 

"  Write  word  to  my  dear  mother, 

Say  we'll  meet  with  God  above. 
And  tell  my  little  brothers 

That  I  send  them  all  my  love. 
May  angels  ever  guard  them, 

Is  their  dying  sister's  prayer; 
And  folded  in  the  letter 

Was  a  braid  of  nut-brown  hair. 

"  Ah  1  cold,  and  well-nigh  callous, 

This  weary  heart  has  grown 
For  thy  hapless  fate,  dear  Ireland, 

And  for  sorrows  of  my  own. 
But  still  the  eye  will  moisten, 

As  by  Anner  side  I  stray, 
For  the  lily  of  the  mountain  foot. 

That  perished  far  away." 

No  doubt  this  is  a  true  picture  of  the  fate  that  has  overtaken 
many  of  our  Iridi  peasant  maidens,  and  well  may  we  in- 
voke a  woe  upon  those  who  have  unloosed  them  from  their 
native  moorings,  and  sent  them  rudely  over  the  ocean  to 
rest  in  nameless  and  unhonoured  graves  1  It  is  then,  a 
heavenly  task  for  the  anointed  sons  of  God  —  prelates 
and  priests  of  Irish  blood  or  birth — to  meet  this  crushing 
and  rfiameful  evil  at  its  very  threshold.  It  will  give  joy, 
therefore,  to  all  friends  of  our  name  and  nation  to  know 
that  a  most  important  step  has  at  length  been  taken  in  this 
pressing  matter.  The  gravity  of  the  question  could  be  borne 
no  longer,  and  in  consequence  there  has  been  established 
at  Castle  Garden,  in  New  York,  under  the  direction  of 
a  warm-hearted  Irish  priest,  and  with  the  full  sanction 
and  oo-operation  of  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  a  regular 


644  The  Friendless  Exiles  of  Erin. 

agency  and  a  friendly  home  to  welcome  and  shelter  the 
Irish  exiles — especially  Irish  girls — at  their  first  landing  on 
strange  shores.  He  has  organised  a  bureau^  with  a  full  8ta£f 
of  assistants, presided  over  by  his  own  clear  head,  and  guided 
by  the  sympathetic  promptings  of  his  genuine  Irish  heart. 
Its  functions,  as  we  have  said,  will  be  specially  directed 
towards  the  protection  of  such  angels  as  that  widow's 
brown-haired  daughter  of  the  Anner  side,  who  have  no  safe 
friends  to  welcome  them  on  the  other  shore.  By  this  good 
priest — a  real  Apostle  in  the  gap  of  danger,  as  we  nave 
taken  the  liberty  of  styling  him — such  emigrants  will  be 
received  and  protected  who  go  bearing  letters  of  introdttetion 
and  recommendation  from  their  clergymen  at  home.  Tliey  trifl 
be  advv^ed  at  their  landing.  They  vnll  be  sheltered  from 
harm.  In  many  instances  a  suitable  employment  will 
be  found  for  tnem  in  safe  quarters ;  and  should  their 
destination  be  the  distant  cities  of  the  West  or  Centre,— 
they  will  be  put  on  the  proper  track,  and  sent  rejoicing 
on  their  way.  The  good  Samaritan  who  has  been  founa 
to  fill  such  an  Apostolic  commission  as  this  is  the 
Rev.  Father  Biordan,  of  the  Arch-diocese  of  New  York 
Be  has  been  selected  for  the  sacred  trust  because  of  his 
special  fitness  for  such  a  responsible  and  such  a  representa- 
tive post.  He  is  of  Irish  parents,  though  bom  in  America — 
He  has  ever  since  his  birth  resided  in  New  York  city,  made 
his  sacred  studies  in  a  seminary  in  the  States,  and  spent  a 
decade  of  fruitful  years  oi^  the  American  mission.  His 
superiors,  in  calling  him  to  occupy  this  great  position  of 
trust  and  charity,  are  only  gratifying  a  wish  that  was  long 
living  in  his  heart,  of  doing  vital  and  lasting  service  to  his 
fellow  exiles  at  the  precise  moment  when  their  dearest 
interests  are  most  imperilled.  Many  friends,  lay  and 
clerical,  have  encouraged  him  in  his  arduous  undertaking ; 
and  though  only  a  short  time  in  tbe  field  of  action,  he  has 
already  been  the  means  of  cheering  memy  a  sad  heart,  and 
of  making  the  bread  of  exile  sweet  and  wholesome  for  some 
of  the  helpless  exiles  from  £rin.  To  follow  up  that 
holy  crusaae,  and  make  it  still  better  known  and  more 
fruitful,  he  has  left  for  a  while  his  post  in  the  hands  of  a 
fellow-clergyman,  and  crossed  the  ocean  at  the  bidding  of 
his  Ordinary,  Cardinal  M'Closkey,  to  push  his  mission 
among  the  prelates;  priests,  and  people  of  Ireland. 

**  The  Rev.  J.  Riordan,"  vmtes  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
Corrigan,  Coadjutor  Archbishop  of  New  York,  in  his  letter 
of  introduction!  ^  is  a  priest  of  this  diocese,  comn^jssioned 


The  Frietidless  Exiles  of  Erin.  645 

by  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  M*Clo8key,  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  Irish  Immigrants  who  land  at 
(Swtle  Garden  in  this  city." 

"  In  order  to  make  his  labours  more  useful  and  more 
effective,  Rev.  Mr.  Riordan  has  obtained  permission  to  visit 
Ireland,  in  order  to  explain  to  the  Most  Rev.  Ordinaries, 
and  the  Rev.  Clergy,  particularly  of  the  seaport  towns, 
the  object  and  ends  he  has  in  view. 

^As  the  mission  has  been  established  solely  in  the 
interests  of  our  holy  reUaion,  I  beg  to  conmiend  Father 
Riordan  most  kindly  and  earnestly  to  the  good  offices  of 
all  to  whom  he  may  have  occasion  to  present  this  letter," 

About  a  month  since  he  landed  at  Queenstown, 
bringing  letters  and  testimonials  from  many  friends  in 
high  position  abroad.  After  calling  on  the  bishops  of 
Cloyne  and  Cork,  he  went  on  to  Thurles,  to  obtain  the 
fatherly  advice  and  blessing  of  the  Archbishop  of  the 
province,  to  whom  he  was  the  bearer  of  many  messages 
of  affection  and  esteem.  Though  an  enemy  of  foifced 
emigration,  and  opposed  to  the  further  depletion  of 
ottr  country  of  its  test  and  bravest  children.  Archbishop 
Croke  qui6kly  saw  that  Father  Riordan  was  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place ;  that  he  was  on  a  laudable 
track,  and  promised  all  the  advice  and  sustainment  that  he 
couldgive  to  such  a  meritorious  undertaking.  Father  Riordan 
proposes  to  lay  the  object  of  his  mission  before  the  other 
members  of  the  Irish  Hierarchy,  and,  with  this  view,  he  was 
present  at  the  great  Trappist  ceremony  in  Roscrea,  in 
August,  and  at  the  Consecration  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  Healy,  at  Sligo,  in  September.  The  many  bishops 
whom  he  met  on  these  occasions  have  fervently  blessed 
his  work,  and  promised  cordial  co-operation.  It  is  his 
intention  to  wait  on  the  assembled  bishops  at  their  next 
general  meeting,  and,  moreover,  to  explain  his  views  still 
nurther  by  means  of  the  press  and  pulpit ;  and  few  there 
are,  we  feel  sure,  who  read  these  pages  but  will  be  prepared 
to  give  himself  and  the  cause  he  represents  a  warm  and 
friendly  reception. 

He  rests  the  success  of  his  mission  not  alone  upon  its 
intrinsic  merits,  and  on  the  sympathetic  assistance  he  will 
have  here  at  home  in  the  cradle  and  nursing  ground  of 
emigration.  He  has  placed  it  upon  a  higher  basis,  and  under 
the  protection  of  a  Power  that  has  ever  been  as  a  Morning 
Star  to  the  exiles  of  Erin — their  life,  their  sweetness^ 
and  their  hope  in  aU  their  weary  wanderings — ^thi 
VOL.  V.  3  B 


646  The  Friendless  Eailes  of  Eritu 

sheltering  care  of  our  Lady  of  the  Rosary.  With  this 
view  he  has  established  a  religious  society  under  the 
patronage  of  this  fairest  Star  of  the  Sea,  beseeching  our 
Holy  Mother  on  High,  through  the  most  pious  and 
most  popular  of  our  devotions  in  her  honour — to  be  a  beacon 
light  to  the  voyagers  who  sail  across  the  seas  from  Ireland — 
to  save  them  from  woe  and  peril,  and — bringing  them  to 
shores  of  safety  even  in  the  country  of  the  stranger — to  lead 
them  to  that  far  oflF  better  Kingdom,  which  should  be  the 
terminus  of  all  our  travelling  over  landandocean.  Who  shall 
doubt,  with  such  fostering  care,  that  blessings  from  earth 
and  sky  will  not  descend  upon  his  mission,  and  make  his 
agency  at  Castle  Garden  a  real  haven  of  rest  and  a  port  of 
refuge  to  the  banished  sons  and  daughters  of  InnisfaiL 
It  may  be  stated  that  Father  Riordan  possesses  other  gifts 
and  qualities  that  would  go  far  to  make  his  undertaking 
successful,  even  without  the  aid  of  such  favourable  auspices 
as  these  which  we  have  already  mentioned.  He  is  a  priest 
with  a  most  honorable  record  of  good  work  done  m  his 
past  positions — ^is  a  fluent  and  versatile  speaker,  and  with 
feelings  that  throb  as  warmly  for  the  name  and  fame  of 
the  old  country  as  if  he  had  spent  all  his  years  on  Irish 
groimd.  He  makes  a  sojourn  of  about  two  months  in  this 
country,  and  will  afterwards  visit,  in  the  furtherance  of 
his  mission,  some  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  England  where 
our  brothers  have  also  found  a  home.  He  then  returns  to 
his  post  in  the  gap  of  danger — and  with  his  experience  of 
emigrant  life,  both  here  and  in  America— we  may  trust  that 

f)QTUR  like  those  on  which  so  much  of  Irish  purity  and 
rish  honour  was  so  often  wrecked  in  the  past  will 
disappear  under  his  fatherlv  protection.  During  his  stay 
in  Ireland  we  feel  satisned  that  his  mission  will  be 
welcomed,  and  his  Apostleship  appreciated  in  a  special 
manner  by  his  brethren  in  the  sacred  ministry,  who  must 
know  all  too  sadl^  that  his  work  is  needed,  and  that  he  is 
the  man  for  the  situation.  Among  our  faithful  people  too, 
we  make  no  doubt,  his  presence  -mil  be  hailed  with  glad- 
ness. His  stay  we  know  shall  be  made  eaefy  and  pleasant, 
and  he  will  return  where  duty  calls,  and  great  gloiy  awaits 
him,  having  gathered  fresh  incentives  to  labour  m)m  the 
reception  that  he  has  met  with  in  the  cradle  of  the  emigrant 
race — ^to  the  service  of  whose  scattered  sons  and  dau^ters 
he  has  consecrated  all  the  resomrces  of  his  cultivated  mind, 
and  the  warm  vigour  of  his  noonday  manhood.  Under  the 
protection  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Rosary — with  the  prayers 


An  Impedimenta  Canonica  attingcmt  Hereticos  ?      647 

and  blessings  of  Irish  prelates,  priests,  and  people  at  home 
and  abroad — ^the  bitter  cup  of  those  who  must  go  from 
their  own  land,  shall  thns  be  sweetened — the  honour  and 
virtue  of  our  emigrants  will  be  preserved  though  clouds 
may  gather  and  storms  seem  to  lower  on  the  other  shore, 
through  the  blessed  and  ever  increasing  influence  of  this 
faithful  sentinel  who  will  keep  sacred  watch  and  ward 
at  his  post  in  the  gap  of  danger,  over  the  fate  and  fortunes 
of  the  friendless  emigrants  from  Ireland  at  Castle  Garden  in 
New  York. 

Cornelius  Buckley. 


AN  IMPEDIMENTA  CANONICA  ATTINGANT 

HERETICOS  1 

THE  practical  importance  and  diflSctdty  of  this  question, 
combined  with  a  desire  to  elicit  a  full  elucidation  of 
it  from  one  of  your  Theological  contributors,  is  mv  apology 
for  introducing  this  topic  in  the  Record.  I  beheve 
there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  practical 
solution  of  cases  affected  by  the  doctrine  which  different 
authors  propound ;  and  few  of  the  readers  of  the  Record 
are  without  knowing  that  there  is  a  great  controversy 
outside  as  well  as  inside  of  Theological  books,  as  to  whether 
the  Church  urges  the  Ecclesiastical  Impediments  of 
Matrimony,  and  if  so,  how  far,  against  heretics  or,  as  it  might 
now  be  more  conveniently  expressed,  against  non-Catholics 
(baptized).  Examples  are  not  few  of  the  practical  importance 
of  the  question.  Two  Protestants,  for  instance,  who  are 
second  cousins,  contracted  marriage  in  heresy.  One  of 
them,  let  us  say  the  wife,  has  been  converted  to  the  true 
faith.  She  has  become  aware  of  the  obstacle  to  the  validity 
of  her  marriage.  It  is  obviously  very  important  in  many 
cases  for  the  confessor,  and,  under  peculiar  circumstances, 
for  the  Ordinary  of  the  Diocese,  to  be  able  to  say 
whether  such  a  marriage  is  certainly  invalid  or  valid,  and 
accordingly  to  give  such  direction  or  authoritative  doctrined 
instruction  as  the  necessity  of  the  case  may  require.  A 
case  has  occurred  where  the  parish-priest  ordered  the 
parties  in  the  circumstances  I  have  described,  to  be  sep- 
aratedy  and  where  the  Ecclesiastical  Superior,  upon  the 


648       An  Impedimenta  Canoniea  attingant  Heretieoef 

matter  being  referred  to  him,  ordered  the  very  reverse,  on 
the  ground  that  the  marriage  was  not  certainly  invalid. 
And  may  it  not  very  often  happen  too,  that,  though  both 
parties  who  had  contracted  in  heresy  in  violation  of  an 
Ecclesiastical  impediment,  have  now  embraced  the  Faith, 
there  are  the  greatest  inconveniences  in  deferring  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  case,  until  the  marriage  can  be  declared  certainly 
valid,  by  obtaining  the  necessary  dispensation  or  otherwise. 
Other  similar  cases  are  before  my  mind ;  and  I  sincerely 
hope  that  in   candidly  stating  my  reading,  opinion,  and 

Eractical  conclusion  on  this  very  practical  question,  I  may 
e  instrumental  in  eliciting  a  fuller  and  more  learned  ex- 
position of  it  from  the  many  able  theological  Contributors 
of  our  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Periodical. 

This  question  is  sometimes  discussed  generally,  and 
without  any  distinction  of  the  different  Ecclesiastical  Im- 
pediments. This  is  inconvenient :  for  as  there  are  cases  in 
which  all  are  agreed  that  the  Law  of  the  Church  urges, 
yet  the  resolution  of  the  general  que^on  is  availed  of 
against  those  who  limit  their  teaching  to  a  much  narrower 
compass.  There  are  Ecclesiastical  Impediments  of  Matri- 
mony, in  which  the  Church  rarely  or  never  dispenses.  There 
are  impediments  as  to  which  the  Church  could  not  upon  any 
ground  be  presumed  not  to  urge  her  law.  Further,  there  may 
be  some  cases  in  which  the  general  good  of  the  chiirch  re- 
quires the  indiscriminate  enforcement  of  her  law,  no  matter 
whether  heretics  attend  to  it  or  not.  In  the  impedimenium 
criminis  there  may  be  room  for  this  distinctioiL  But  I 
have  said  more  than  enough,  I  hope,  for  securing  in  some 
measure  the  purpose  of  my  very  orief  paper.  That  pur- 
pose is  to  arrive  at  a  prudentlv  safe  opinion  upon  this  ques- 
tion :  Is  it  clearly  and  certainly  the  will  of  the  church  that 
heretics  (baptized)  are  bound  by  those  Ecclefdaatical  Imped- 
iments of  Matrimony,  in  which  for  sufficient  cause  the 
faithful  are  commonly  dispensed? 

There  are  two  opinions :  the  affirmative  doctrine  is 
based  upon  arguments  almost  unanswerable. — 

1  ®  All  baptized  persons  are  per  se  bound  by  the  laws 
of  the  church  :  unless,  therefore,  some  probable  argument 
be  shown,  that  mider  certain  circumstances,  or  from  the 
express  declaration  of  the  legislator — the  law  does  not 
affect  these  who  are  otherwise  pgr  se  sttbditij  of  course  the 
canonical  impediments  afiect  the  marriages  of  all  baptized 
persons.  As  to  the  effect  of  custom,  this  pa^  of  the  ques- 
tion has  been  already  fully  disposed  of  in  the  pages  of  the 


An  In^edimenta  Cananiea  attinga$U  Hereiicas  t       649 

BscofiD.  If  the  ciutoin  of  heretics  against  the  laws  of  th» 
church  could  prevail,  heretics  would  soon  be  exempt  from 
all  Ecclesiastical  law. 

2  ^  (a).  There  is  the  FORMULA  SEXTA,  in  which  our 
BiBhops  in  Ireland  are  given  faculties  of  dispensing  con^ 
vertea  heretics  who  had  contracted  in  violation  of  the 
canonical  Impediments,  (h.)  In  the  ^*  Declaration  of  Bene- 
dict XiV.,  in  reference  to  Holland,  the  Pontiff,  after  de- 
ciding that  the  law  of  Trent  regarding  clandestine  mar- 
riages did  not  apply  under  the  conditions,  adds  the  saving 
clause : — dummodo  aUud  non  obstiterit  impedimentum  canonu 
cum.  Therefore  Bendict  XIV.,  had  no  doubt  that  all  oth^ 
canonical  impediments  did  affect  heretics  as  well  as 
Catholics. 

8  ^  The  very  express  exception  which  has  been  made 
in  the  inpediment  of  clandestinity,  indicates  the  intention 
of  the  church  in  regard  of  canonical  impediments  generally. 
No  matter  what  opinion  we  hold  as  to  the  force  of  the 
law  of  Trent  in  the  decree—**  Tametsi,"  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that,  in  reference  to  the  various  circumstances  which 
have  since  arisen,  the  Holy  See  has  given  special  dispen- 
sations in  different  countries  for  the  marriages  of  heretics, 
which  would  be  otherwise  invalid.  Therefore  the  church 
intends  to  urge  all  canonical  impediments  without  limita^ 
tion,  unless  expressly  declared. 

4  ^  For  these  reasons  I  consider  it  far  more  probable^ 
if  not  certain,  that  non-Catholics  (baptized)  are  bound 
even  bv  those  Ecclesiastical  Impediments  in  which  the 
church  18  wont  to  dispense  the  faithful. 

There  is  an  opinion  perhaps  not  improbable,  I  think 
not  at  aU  improbable,  that  the  Holy  See  aoes  not  urge  the 
laws  of  the  church  with  such  rigour  against  heretics. 
Here  is  the  position  of  the  authors  who  defend  this  opinion. 
— (a) — They  solve  the  arguments  against  their  opinion  in 
the  first  place  thus  : — As  to  the  faculties  of  the  FORMULA 
SEXTA,  the  Holy  See  grants  these  without  intending  to  say 
one  word  about  the  probability  or  improbability  of  any 
opinion  which,  if  sufficiently  probable,  might  seem  to  ex- 
clude the  necessity  of  dispensation.  Did  me  sacred  Peni- 
tentiary, in  the  response  it  gave  for  the  direction  of  a  con- 
fessor who  had  to  judge  the  case  of  a  penitent  confessing 
sins  reserved  in  the  confessor's  diocese  out  not  reserved  in 
the  dipcese  of  the  penitent,  decide  the  question  of  the 
source  of  jurisdiction  over  pere^rirti;  or  put  an  end  to  the 
controversy— ^whether  in  practice  a    confessor  may  not 


650       An  Impedimenta  Canonica  attingant  HereticOB  f 

safely  absolve  peregrini  who  lay  before  him  sins  of  tiie 
kind  described. 

(b)  Benedict  XIV.,  declared  the  law  of  Trent  regarding 
clandestinity  did  not  aflPect  the  HoUand  Marriages.  As 
to  any  other  canonical  impediment,  his  deciBon  for  that 
case  does  not  bear  npon  the  present  question.  Benedict 
XIV.,  farther  decided  that  the  marriage  of  a  Jew  with  a 
Protestant  woman  was  invalid,  because  the  Protestant 
being  baptized,  was  boimd  by  the  law  of  the  church  which 
makes  marriage  inter  fidelem  (baptizatum)  et  infidelem 
invahd.  But  tliis  case  is. not  at  all  to  the  point,  at  least 
for  the  question,  as  we  have  put  it ;  because  the  church  is 
not  wont  to  dispense  the  faithful  to  contract  with  injiddes, 
f.e.,  unbaptized  persons. 

(c)  Layman  ^  and  Schmazgrueber  and  others  distinctly 
teach  that  the  canonical  impediments,  at  least  within  the 
limit  of  our  question,  do  not  affect  the  marriages  of 
heretics.  Carriere,  Ballerini,"  Feije,  and  Lehmkuhl  admit 
that  the  question  is  controverted  and  controvertible  too. 
The  last  named  authors  (F^ye  and  Lehmkuhl)  propound 
it  as  practically  certain  that  the  canonical  impedfiments  df 
marriage  affect  non-Catholics  (baptized)  equally  as  Catho- 
h'cs.  Lemhkuhl,  following  Feije  almost  verbatim,  writes 
thus  upon  the  question  briefly : — "  Ad  IV.,  aliqui  quidem 
scriptores  in  dubium  vocare  volunt,  nimi  acatholici  baptizati 
ecclesiastici  impedimenti  matnmoniaUbus  subjaceant,  at 
id  nullatenus  videtur  sustineri  posse."  The  learned  author 
then  quotes,  as  decrotorial  of  the  general  question,  Benedict 
XIV.,  ad  Card,  ducem  Eboracensem,  9th  Feb.  1749  Now 
this  case  is  not  decisive ;  there  is  the  distinction  of  the  im- 
pediments in  which  the  Church  is  wont  to  dispense  and 
those  in  which  it  does  not  dispense  :  and  certainly,  there 
is  no  case,  we  think,  in  which  the  Holy  See  has,  expressly 
at  all  events,  dispensed  in  the  impediment  of  disparitas 
oultus  between  CathoUcs  and  persons  certainly  unbaptized. 

(d^  The  special  exemption  of  heretics  from  the  law  of 
clandestinity,  in  nowise  indicates  the  mind  of  the  church 
with  regard  to  other  ecclesiastical  impediments. 

Here  I  may  briefly  state  the  law  of  the  church  on  this 
head  in  Ireland  ;  I  of  course  do  so  under  correction. 

I  *,It  is  certain  the  marriages  of  heretics  inter  se,  quoad 
elandestinitatem^  are  valid,  I  think  that  without  any  special 
concession  or  dispensation  of  the  Holy  See,  the  Tridentine 

'  Schmalz  lib ;  IV.  Tit.  9,  n  29-31. 
«  BaU's  Gury  n,  802,  note  (c.)  Vol  11- 


An  Impedimenta  Canonica  attingant  Heretieoe  f       651 

Decree— Tom^tet — would  not  touch  the  marriages  of  her- 
etics, at  least  of  those  who  were  members  of  a  sect  that 
had  churches  or  conventicles  in  any  diocese  before  the 
Council  of  Trent  was  published  in  that  diocese.     But  to 
make  the  point  certain,  we  have  the  rescript  of  Pius  VI., 
3  Maii,  1785.     Hence  two  Protestants,  or  a  CathoKc  and 
Protestant,  in  Ireland,  can  c ertain  ly  contract  marriage  validly, 
independently  of  any  prescription  of  the  ecclesiastical 
law  or  decree   Tametsi  of  Trent.     (Vid.  Carriere  de  im- 
pedimento  clandestinitatis.)  (e)  There  remains  the  argument 
most  difficult  to  solve ;  namely  there  is  no  probable  reason 
to  warrant  us  in  holding  that  the  Church  does  not  intend 
that  the  laws  of  ecclesiastical  impecKraents  of  Matrimony 
should  not  bind  without  Umitation  all  who  per  se  are  sub- 
ject to    the  laws  of  the  Church ;  and  of  course  heretics 
(baptized)  are  per  se  subject  to  these  laws.      Nor  has  any- 
thing   been  aaduced  from  the  practice  of  the  Church 
or  otherwise  to  indicate  any  limitation  or  exemption,  such 
as  is  contended  for  in  this  second  opinion. 

Here  is  the  answer :  the  Church  in  her  wisdom  and 
beniffnity  may  be  prudently  considered,  as  not  urging 
her  laws,  where,  according  to  probable  judgment,  by 
urging  them  she  could  not  obtain  any  good;  and  at  the  same 
time  very  grave  inconveniences  should  not  imfrequently 
occur  for  those  who  enter  or  return  to  the  church.  For  my 
own  humble  part,  I  think  that  in  the  circumstances  of  thiis 
country,  this  reason  is  not  improbable. 

In  conclusion,  I  give  the  opinion  I  have  formed  and 
taught  on  the  question  I  have  ventured  to  discuss,  a  question 
so  difficult  and  unsettled,  and  1  believe  too,  of  very  practical 
interest  to  the  readers  of  our  most  useful  and  able  Irish 
Ecclesiastical  Periodical; — in  practice  I  hold  that  the 
doctrine  affirming,  that  non-Catholics  (baptized)  are  bound 
by  the  ecclesiastical  impediments  of  Matrimony,  even  by 
those  in  which  the  Holy  See  is  wont  to  dispense,  from 
theol  ogicai  argument  and  from  authority  is  all  but  practically 
certain,  if  not  practically  certain :  that,  notwithstanding,  if 
heretics  had  bona  fide  contracted  marriage,  for  instance, 
within  the  prohibited  degrees  of  consanguinity,  in  which 
the  church  is  not  unwont  to  dispense,  I  would  hold 
that  such  a  marriage  is  not,  indubitably  and  beyond 
all  controversy,  invaUd ;  and  therefore,  ii  hie  et  nunc  no 
more  satisfactory  remedy  could  be  had,  I  should  feel  safe 
in  applying  the  principle : — that  a  marriage  bona  fide  con- 
tracted is  to  be  held  vaUd,  until  its  invalidity  is  demon- 
strated. M.  Hawe, 


[    652    ] 


ABBEYSHRULE,  CO.  LONGFORD. 

THE  ancient  ecclesiastical  mins  of  Ireland  maj  be 
divided  into  two  great  classes.  To  the  first  claw 
belong  those  very  small  churches  which  we  find  scattered 
here  and  there,  sometimes  in  the  islands  of  our  lakei, 
sometimes  in  remote  comitry  places.  The  second  claBS 
embraces  the  larger  churches  or  abbejs  which  are  mostly 
situated  in  the  vicinity  of  towns  and  cities,  though  ocoa- 
sionallj  built  on  the  older  site&  The  former  churches 
were  erected  b^  the  immediate  disciples  of  St.  Patrick  and 
the  holy  hermits  who  edified  our  nation  by  their  sanctity 
and  pursuit  of  saiDred  learning  during  the  four  or  five 
centuries  that  followed  his  time.  The  latter  were  the 
creation  of  the  Anglo-Norman  chiefs  after  they  had 
settled  down  in  this  country,  and  also  of  the  old  Irish 
princes  who  were  not  outdone  in  piety  and  generositj 
by  the  unbidden  and  unwelcome  strangers. 

To  the  second  class  must  be  assigned  the  Abbey  church 
of  Abbeyshrule,  in  the  parish  of  Carrickedmond,  Oo. 
Longtbrd,  for  it  was  founded  in  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth 
century  by  O'Farrell,  Prince  of  Annaly,  for  monks  of  the 
Cistercian  Order,  who  placed  it  under  the  invocation  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  or,  as  is  stated  by  some,  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity.  Dr.  Lanigan.  the  most  distinguished  of  our 
ecclesiastical  historians,  is  disposed  to  think  that  Abbey* 
shrule  is  one  of  the  five  Cistercian  Abbeys  that  were  in 
Ireland  at  the  time  of  St.  Malachy*s  death,  1151,  though 
Ware  considers  that  it  was  not  built  until  the  following  year. 
It  appears,  however,  that  an  Abbey  of  more  ancient  d^ 
previously  existed  in  the  same  spot,  as  we  find  the  death 
of  its  abbot,  Moelpoil,  recorded  in  904  by  the  Four  Mastera 

The  Abbey  was  situated  on  the  southern  bank  of  the 
river  Inny,  a  tributary  of  the  Shannon,  which,  rising  near 
Oranard,  Co.  Longford,  crosses  the  Great  Midland  Railway 
not  tar  from  the  Cavan  Junction,  flows  thence  througn 
Lough  Iron,  passes  within  view  of  the  Castle  of  Empor, 
Co.  W  estmeath,  on  one  hand,  and  the  Castle  of  Ardandra, 
Co.  Longford,  on  the  other,  and  hurrying  on  past  the  road 
leading  from  Legan  to  Forgney  and  through  the  Abbey 

g'oundis,  next  runs  close  to  Pallas,  the  birthplace  oi 
oldsmith,  and  through  the  town  of  Ballymahon,  beyond 
which  it  empties  itself  into  Lough  Bee.  The  River  thus 
flows  by  many  beautiful  spots,  out  not  one  of  them  can 


AbbtyshruUi  Co.  Longford.  653 

compare  •with  the  country  around  Abbeyshrule,  for  the 
land  there  is  surpaesing  rioh;  handsome  groves  every- 
wh^e  abound,  and  extensive  views  over  the  undulating 
plains  can  be  had  at  every  point  A  complete  circle  of 
nills  bounds  the  horizon  at  a  radius  of  about  twelve  mile& 
Thus  may  be  seen  the  Moat  of  Granard  in  the  northern 
end  of  the  Co.  Longford,  as  it  belongs  to  the  same  chain 
(X  hills,  and  also  in  another  direction  the  more  important 
hills  of  Westmeath. 

Near  the  ruins  of  the  old  monastery  is  a  very  ancient 
graveyard  which  was  walled  in  not  long  since  and 
planted  on  the  outskirts  with  pretty  shrubs.  It  contains  two 
or  three  vaults  which  are  marked  oflF  overhead  by  iron  rail- 
ings, within  which  tnassive  monuments  have  been  erected. 
Oi  a  neater  and  certainly  of  a  more  religious  design, 
however,  than  these  are  five  or  six  tasteful  head  stones 
which  are  to  be  met  with  in  difierent  places  through  the 
graveyard.  The  is  one  grave  which  has  special  interest 
lor  the  ecclesiastical  antiquarian.  It  is  that  of  one  of  the 
saintly  bishops  who,  in  succession  to  St.  Mel,  ruled  the 
ancient  and  historical  See  of  Ardagh.  The  tombstone 
which  covers  the  grave  exhibits  a  large  cross  in  raised 
work  extending  the  full  length  of  the  slab,  and  bears  a 
Latin  inscription  which  runs  at  both  sides  parallel  to  the 
cross.  The  Abbey  ruins  are  kept  at  present  in  very 
good  order,  but  for  many  long  years  they  were  greatly 
neglected,  cattle  being  allowed  to  go  in  and  out  through 
them,  knocking  down  portions  of  the  walls  and  disfiguring 
others.  Owing  to  the  exertion  of  the  late  King-Uarman 
of  Newcastle,  father  of  the  member  for  Co.  Dublin,  a  wall 
was  run  round  the  Abbey  and  also  the  square  tower  which 
formed  part  of  the  original  structure,  when  the  lord  of  the 
soil  bad  refused  his  permission  to  have  them  incorporated 
with  the  adjoining  burial  ground.  A  double  row  of  deal 
trees  was  planted  inside  the  wall,  and  they  being  now 
pretty  tall  give  the  place  a  calm  and  sheltered  air. 

The  Abbey  was  laid  out  in  two  ranges  of  building  which 
w^re  so  united  as  to  form  an  angle  with  each  other.  Running 
out  from  the  angle  and  in  a  Une  with  one  of  the  ranges  is 
the  church.  It  is  like  the  remainder  of  the  Abbey  unroofed, 
though  the  belfry  is  still  standing.  It  is  about  40  feet  in 
lengUi  and  18  or  twenty  feet  in  breadth.  In  the  eastern 
^abie,  which  even  now  is  almost  intact,  there  is  a  large 
"window  with  a  skilfully  wrought  stone  framework,  divided 
iuto  two  compartments  by  a  centre  pillar.    The  entrance 


654  AhheysKrule^  Co.  Longford. 

(rather  small  and  with  pointed  top)  is  on  the  northern  ride 
which  was  only  lighted  by  one  window,  whilst  the  southern 
side  was  lighted  by  two.  The  frames  were  in  all  cases 
composed  of  limestone  and  were  simply  but  chastely  orna- 
mented. The  belfry,  which  is  like  those  in  modem  use, 
rests  on  two  groined  arches,  one  above  the  other,  and 
arranged  like  sections  of  concentric  circles.  At  the  western 
end  of  the  church  there  is  a  small  choir  separated  from  it 
by  a  wall,  but  a  narrow  passage  serves  as  a  connecting 
link  between  both.  Behind  the  arches  on  which  the  belfiy 
is  supported,  three  cells  with  vaulted  roofs  run  out  parallel 
to  each  other.  The  choir  communicates  with  the  centre 
cell,  and  the  cells  themselves  open  into  a  large  apartment 
which  may  have  been  formerly  the  dining-hall  or  com- 
mimity  room  of  the  monastery.  Near  the  lower  end  are 
two  side  doors,  one  opposite  the  other.  Below  these 
doors  and  close  to  the  end  wall,  which  is  at  present  only  a 
few  feet  high,  there  are  now  three  newly-made  graves,  on 
which  is  gently  cast  the  sweet  shadow  of  a  white  marble 
cross  that  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
lie  buried  beneath.  The  side  wall  which  faces  the  south 
is  still  20  or  30  feet  in  height  and  is  partly  overgrown  with 
ivy.  Standing  there  within  the  precincts  of  that  holy 
place  one  can  fancy  that  he  hears  the  sacred  chant  of  the 
monks  lidDg  above  the  sharp,  ceaseless  murmurings  of  the 
running  waters,  and,  as  he  listens,  the  solemn,  prayerful, 
and  soothing  words  of  the  De  Profundis  seem  to  be  echoed 
back  from  the  distant  past. 

The  second  range  of  building  stretched  from  the 
southern  side  of  the  choir  of  the  church  to  the  square 
tower  which  lies  about  100  feet  distant.  The  under  por- 
tion, or  ground  story,  would  appear  to  have  consisted 
chiefly  of  small  rooms,  or  cells,  in  which  the  monks  spent 
their  time  when  alone,  or  in  which  they  rested  at  night 
High  up  in  the  tower  may  be  observed  the  shattered 
ends  of  the  roof  that  formerly  covered  the  second  or  third 
story,  which  was  raised  over  the  lower  apartments,  but  of 
which  no  trace  is  now  to  be  had.  A  pillared  entrance, 
half-buried  in  the  debAs  which  is  scattered  round,  leads 
into  the  front  cell  of  the  row,  namely,  the  one  next  the 
church. 

The  height  of  the  tower  is  about  50  feet.  Twelve 
feet  or  so  up  from  its  base,  it  has  a  neat  door-way, 
bordered  with  cut  stone  of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  which 
is  in  striking,  though  not  displeasing,  contrast  with  the 


AbbeyshmUj  Co.  Longford^  655 

dark  appearance  of  the  rest  of  the  building.  The  door- 
way iB  of  modern  construction,  but  is  in  imitation  of  the 
old  entrance,  which  was  also  at  the  same  elevation.  Two 
aides  of  the  tower  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  time  much 
better  than  the  others,  as  they  are  much  higher  and  in  a 
better  state  of  preservation.  From  the  western  side  a 
large  and  handsome  square  window  looks  down  on  the 
winding  river,  whilst  on  the  opposite  side  there  is  a 
window  of  much  smaller  size  and  of  the  lancet  pattern. 

From  the  top  of  the  tower,  or  from  the  landingHBtages 
on  a  level  with  the  windows,  beautiful  views  of  the  sur- 
roxmding  scenery  may  be  fully  enjoyed.  The  tower  is 
raised  on  vaulted  arches,  which  on  one  side  were  fast 
giving  way,  until  Mr.  John  Farrell,  of  Com  Mills,  near 
fiallymore,  got  them  filled  in  by  a  basement  of  solid 
masonry,  that  will  render  the  structure  quite  firm  and 
secure  for  the  future. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  same  gentleman,  a  great 

deal  of  the  loose  debris^  which  surrounded  the  Abbey,  was 

removed,  and  then  were  discovered  the  monks*  cells  to 

which   I  have  already  referred.     When  the  debris  was 

being  cleared  away,  a  large  number  of  human  bones  and 

skulls   were   also  found  under  the   end   window  of  the 

church,   and  the  presumption  is  that  the   monks  were 

slaughtered  there  as  they  were  endeavouring  to  escape 

from  the  flames  by  which  the  entire  monastery  was  being 

devoured;  the    soldiers,  or  others,  who    had    come    to 

plunder  the  place  having  set  it  on  fire.     Indeed  the  inner 

floor  of  the  building  is  only  one  deep  layer  of  ashes,  sad 

proof  in  itself  of  the  fact  that  the  abbey  sufiered  from  the 

eflTects  of  a  terrible  conflagration. 

Lately,  too,  when  one  of  the  three  graves,  which  are 
now  within  the  abbey,  was  being  dug,  the  skeleton  of  a 
body  ^vas  found  a  few  feet  from  the  surface,  in  an  inverted 
posture ;  the  front  of  the  skull  being  downwards,  and  the 
mouth  widely  open,  as  if  the  person  were  buried  alive  in 
the  burning  ruins. 

The  property  of  the  monastery,  which  was  not  incon- 
siderable, was  confiscated  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time,  as  we 
leam  from  the  following  inventory  in  the  Audit  General: — 

"  Abbeyshrule,  May  2nd.  11th  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  site  of 
the  monastery,  with  its  appurtenances,  24'  cottages  in  the  town  of 
Yore,  180  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  same,  80  acres  of  pasture 
and  underwood  adjoining  the  same,  one  messuage,  4  cottages  in 
the  tOTvn  of  Ballynemanaghe,  and  64  acres  near  the  same,  2  mes- 


656  AhbeythruUy  Co*  Longford* 

^ages,  8  cottages  in  the  town  of  Knockaghe,  and  64  acres  adjoining 
the  same,  were  granted  to  Robert  Dillon  ai]^  his  heirs  in  cofUt,  at 
the  annual  rent  of  £10  14«.  and  4d." — ^Archdall's  Monaxikm 
Hihemicunu 

And  in  the  Chief  Remembrancer  another  record  concern* 
ing  this  Abbey  is  met  with,  which  is  also  quoted  by 
Archdall  :— 

^'An  inquisition  taken  Jan.  22nd,  1692,  found  that  at  the 
time  of  the  surrender  of  this  abbey,  the  abbot  was  seized  (that  is, 
^possessed)  of  the  Church  of  Agharje,  fmd  the  tithes  of  two 
quarters,  or  eight  small  cartrons,  of  land,  belonging  to  the  said 
church  in  the  village  and  lands  Agharye,  in  this  county,  the  said 
church,  with  its  rights,  etc.,  being  of  tlie  yearly  value  of  4s.  Irish 
money,  besides  reprises,  and  till  then  concealed  from  the  queen." 

Again,  from  the  same  source,  we  learn  of  anather 
inquisition,  26th  Jan.,  82nd  Queen  Elizabeth,  which — 

"Finds  that  in  Moyltenny,  in  Clanawly,  near  Abbejdeirg, 
were  3  parts  of  a  cartron  of  land,  value,  besides  reprises,  S^.,  in 
Killenboy,  3  cartons,  in  RathsaUagh  2,  in  TuUenan  2,  27«.,  all 
Irish  money,  and  parcel  of  the  possessions  of  this  Abbey." 

In  this  way,  in  various  parts  of  our  island,  were  sacri- 
legiously wrested  from  their  rightful  owners  the  lands 
which  had  been  given  to  them  by  the  faithftil  in  their 
pious  generosity.  The  monks  were  banished  by  royal  edict, 
their  houses  razed  almost  to  the  very  ground,  and  their 
possessions  shamefully  appropriated  to  secular  use.  T1i6 
impious  desecrators  thought  that  when  they  had  done 
these  things,  they  could  force  the  people  to  abandon  their 
rehgion,  and  adopt  the  false  doctrines  which  were  created 
to  gratify  the  sinful  passions  of  wicked  men.  But  the 
Irish  Catholics,  true  to  their  traditions  as  steel  to  the 
magnet,  climg  tenaciously  to  their  own  beloved  faith,  and 
either  went  into  distant  lands,  where  they  formed  new 
churches  of  the  Catholic  creed,  or,  remaining  at  home, 
practised  their  rehgion  for  many  a  long  year  at  the  immi- 
nent risk  of  their  lives,  until  at  length  tneir  descendants  of 
to-day  sew  the  hurtful  traces  of  bigotry  and  persecution 
well-nigh  wiped  away,  and  the  sun  of  religious  freedom 
shining  gloriously  on  an  enUghtened  nation,  blessed  in  its 
devotion  to  the  See  of  Rome,  rich  in  its  ecclesiastical  edifice^ 
ardent  and  earnest  in  its  pursuit  of  charitable  and  pious 
works,  and  full  of  anxious  zeal  to  promote  the  glory  of  Gody 
the  education  of  youth,  and  the  honour  of  Erin's  saints. 

Thomas  Lanqik. 


[    657    ] 

LITURGY. 

I. 

The  Indulgences  of  the  **  Angelas,** — New  Concessions. 

When,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1724,  Benedict  XIII., 
indulgenced  the  "  Angelus,"  granting  a  plenary  indulgence 
to  the  daily  recitation  of  it  for  a  month,  and  a  partial 
indulgence  of  one  hundred  days  to  each  distinct  recitation 
without  any  regard  to  its  repetition,  he  imposed  these 
two  conditions : — that  it  should  be  said  at  tne  sound  of 
the  Angelus  bell,  and  on  bended  knees. 

In  1727  he  exempted  religious  of  both  sexes  and  others 
Kving  in  community,  from  the  condition  of  saying  it  at  the 
Bound  of  the  bell,  as  often  as  they  happened  to  be  engaged 
just  -then  in  some  religious  exercise  prescribed  by  their 
rule,  provided  that  they  said  the  **Angelus"  immediately 
on  the  conclusion  of  the  exercise. 

Benedict  XIV.,  confirmed  these  indulgences  (April 
20th,  1742),  on  the  same  conditions,  adding,  however,  that 
the  ^Regina  Coeli"  should  be  substituted  in  Paschal  time 
for  the  ** Angelus'*  where  practicable,  and  that  the 
"  Angelus  "  was  to  be  said  standing  on  Saturday  evening 
and  on  Sunday,  and  during  Paschal  time  also  by  those 
who  were  not  able  to  say  the  "Regina  Coeli." 

Pius  VI.,  (18th  March,  1781),  extended  the  favour  by 
allowing  the  faithful,  who  five  in  places  where  no 
Angelus  bell  is  rang,  to  gain  the  indulgences  if  they  say 
the  prescribed  prayers  at  or  about  the  times  specified — 
namely,  morning  or  noon,  or  evening. 

Our  present  Pontiff,  Leo  XIII.,  has  this  year  made  a 
fturther  concession.  He  has  dispensed  with  the  condition 
of  saying  the  '*  Angelus "  on  bended  knees,  or  at  the 
sound  of  the  Angelus  bell  in  the  case  of  all  who  cannot 
conveniently  comply  with  these  conditions  because  of 
any  reasonable  obstacle.  Moreover,  he  allows  those  who 
do  not  know  by  heart  the  "Angelus,"  and  who  cannot 
read  it,  to  substitute  for  it  five  "  Hail  Mary's,"  and  in  this 
way  to  gain  all  the  indulgences  of  the  "  Angelus." 

The  following  is  the  recent  decree  containing  this 
concession : — 

Decbetitm  Urbis  et  Obbis. 

Ad  acqairendas  Indulgentias,  quas  Benedictus  XIU ;  Literis 
in  forma  Brevis  sub  die.  14  Septembris,  1724  concessit  omnibus 
Christifidelibus,  qui  recitayerint  versiculos  Angelus  Domini,  etc. 
temasque  Angelicas  Salutationes ;  et  quas  Ber  ^^'         ^IV ;  die 


658  Liturgical  Questions. 

20  Aprilis  1 742  confinnavit  pro  lis  etiam  qui  tempore  pascM 
recitaverint  Antiphonani  Regina  Coeb\  etc.  cum  versiculo  et  on* 
tione  propria,  necesse  est  illos  versiculos,  Angelicas  Salutationes, 
Antiphonam  et  orationcm  recitari  quaodo  aes  campanum  dat  dg- 
num.  Necesse  ulterius  est  pro  hujusmodi  recitatione  versicnlomm 
Angelus  Domini,  etc  et  Aogelicarum  Salutationem  genua  singulis 
vicibus  flectere,  si  excipias  dies  Dominicos  a  sabbati  cuiasqm 
vespere  et  tempus  paschale,  quibus  tum  versiculi  illi  et  Angelicae 
Salutationes,  tum  Antiphonam  Regina  Coeli,  etc.  cum  yersiculo  et 
oratione  propria  stando  dici  debent.  Jam  vero  plerique  pii  yiri 
Sacram  banc  CoDgregationem  Indulgentiis,  Sacrisque  Reliqoiis 
praepositam  enixe  precati  sunt,  ut  aliquantulum  ilia  duplex  conditio 
adimpleoda  temperaretur.  Siquidem  non  ubique  gentium  aes  cam- 
panum ad  hoc  signum  dandum  pulsatur,  aut  pulsatur  ter  in  die, 
aut  iisdem  horis.  Insuper  contingere  quandoque  potest,  quod 
signum  aeris  campani,  si  detur,  non  audiatur  ab  omnibus,  ant, 
si  audiatur,  aliquis  Chris tifidelis,  quominus  in  genua  provolvat 
statuta  hora  versiculos  recitet,  legitime  impedimento  detineator. 
Sunt  tandem  innumeri  ferme  Christiii  deles,  qui  versiculos  Angdw 
Domini,  etc.  et  Antiphonam  Regina  Coeli,  etc  pec  memoria,  nee 
de  scripto  recitare  sciunt 

Quapropter,  Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster  Leo  Papa  XIII; 
ne  tot  Christifideles  ob  non  adimpletas  conditiones  spiritualibos 
hisce  gratiis  priventur,  et  quo  efficacius  omnes  Christifideles  ad 
Divinae  Incamationis  et  Eesurrectionis  mysteria  perpetuo  grateqne 
recolenda  incitentur,  in  Audientia  habita  die  15  Martii  nuper  elapsi, 
ab  infrascripto  Secretario  Sacrae  Congregationis  Indulgentianim 
et  SS.  Reliquarum  benigne  indulgere  dignatus  est,  ut  omnes 
Christifideles,  qui  legitimo  impedimento  detenti  non  flexis  genibos, 
nee  ad  aeris  campani  signum  versiculos  Angelua  Domini,  etc  com 
tribus  Angelicis  salutationibus,  alio  versiculo  Ora  pro  nobiSt  etc 
et  oratione  Oratiam  tuam,  etc ;  tempore  vero  Paschali  Antiphonam 
Regina  Coeli,  etc  cum  versiculo  et  oratione  propria ;  aut  si  nesciant 
praedictos  versiculos,  Antiphonam  et  preces  tum  memoriter  dicere, 
tum  legere,  quinquies  Salutationem  Angelicam  digne,  attente  ac 
devote,  sive  mane,  sive  circiter  meridiem,  sive  sub  vespere  redta- 
verint,  Indulgentias  superius  memoratas  lucrari  valeant. 

Quae  quidem  benigna  Sanctissimi  Domini  Nostri  Papae  ooo- 
cessio,  ut  facile  innotescat.  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio  praeseos 
Decretum  tjpis  imprimi  ac  publicari  mandavit  absque  nlla  Brevis 
expeditione  in  perpetuum  valiturum.  Non  obstantibus  in  codUSt 
Hum  facientibus  quibuscumque. 

Datum  Bomae  ex  Secretaria  eiusdem  Sacrae  Congregatioius 
die  8  Aprilis,  1884. 

Ax  Cabd.  Obeolia  A.  S.  Stbphano, 

Praefeetus. 

Franciscus  Delul  Yolpb, 

Secretarims. 


lAturgical  QaeBiions.  659 


II. 

Recent  Decisions  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  relating  to  the 

New  Votive  Offices, 

I.  In  dioceses  where,  by  special  privilege  granted  pre- 
vious to  the  introduction  of  the  New  Votive  OfiSces  of 
July,  1883,  the  priests  used  to  say  a  Votive  OfiSce  instead 
of  a  Ferial  on  certain  days,  they  are  still  bound  to  say  the 
Votive  OflSce  and  are  not  free  to  choose  the  Ferial  on  those 
daya 

They  are,  however,  free  to  choose  between  the  Votive 
and  Ferial  or  Simple  OfiSces  on  other  days  not  included  in 
their  former  privilege. 

n.  In  the  Votive  OfiSce  in  paschal  time  the  addition  of 
alleluia  and  the  other  specialties  of  the  paschal  season  are 
to  be  observed. 

III.  The  Votive  OfiSce  may  be  substituted  for  the 
Simple  as  well  as  for  the  Ferial  OflBce. 

IV.  When  one  of  the  Votive  OfiSces  concurs  with 
another  Votive  Office,  both  being  of  the  semidouble  rite,  the 
Vespers  will  be  a  capitulo  de  sequenti  cum  commemoratione 
praecedentisy  no  regard  being  paid  to  the  relative  dignity  of 
the  Votive  Offices. 

In  case,  however,  of  concurrence  with  the  Office  of  the 
Passion,  which  is  assigned  to  Fridays,  the  Vespers  will  be 
totum  de  praecedenti^  nihil  de  sequenti. 

V.  When  the  Feast  of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude  (28th  Oct) 
falls  on  Monday,  and  the  Votive  Office  of  the  Apostles 
happens  to  be  said  on  the  following  day,  the  prayer  of  the 
commemoration  of  the  Votive  Office  which  is  to  be  made 
in  the  2nd  Vespers  of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude  is  that  given 
on  the  29th  of  June,  pro  aliquibus  locis^  namely — "  Deus, 
qm  nos  Beatorum  Apostolorum  commemoratione  laetificas : 
praesta,  quaesumus,  ut  quorum  gaudemus  meritds  instru- 
amnr  exemplis,  per  Dominum,  &c." 

VI.  When  a  Votive  Office  is  recited  in  choir  on  a  Vigil, 
in  Quarter  Tense,  or  on  other  days  which  have  a  Mass  of 
their  own,  two  Masses  must  be  sung,  one  corresponding  to 
the  Votive  Office,  the  other  of  the  day. 

VII.  When  the  Votive  Office  of  the  Apostles,  which  is 
assigned  to  Tuesday,  is  said,  the  commemoration  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul  is  to  be  made  as  usual  in  the  Sufifragia  of 
LaudB  and  Vespers. 


660  Liturgical  Questions. 

We  append  the  text  of  those  recent  Decrees : — 

DUBIA 
Quoad  Recitationem  Officiorum  Votivobum. 

Sacrae  Rituum  Congregationi  insequentia  dubia  pro  opportima 
declaratione  proposita  fuere,  nimirum : 

DuBiUM  I.  Cum  ex  decreto  diei  5  Julii,  1883,  liberum  sitiis, 
qui  nullo  canonico  titulo  ad  chorum  tenentur,  recitare,  quibusdam 
feriis  exceptis,  vel  Officium  votivum  vel  OflBcium  feriale,  hoic 
feriae  respondens,  quaeritur :  utrum  obligatio  adhoc  maneat  solum 
officium  votivum  recitandi,  ubi  istud  Officium  antea  jam  foerat 
speciali  privilegio  alicui  Diocesi  concessum,  ita  ut  praefatis 
d[iebus  f erialibus  non  detur  optio  inter  Officium  feriale  et  Officium 
votivum  ?  Et  quatenus  affirmative,  an  optio  detur  diebus  contentiB 
in  novo  Indulto  5  Julii,  1883,  in  alio  precedenti  exceptis  ? 

DuBiuM  II.  Tempore  Paschali  in  Officio  votivo  Passionisestae 
addendum  alleluia^  et  servanda  ejusdem  temporis  propria  ? 

DuBiDM  III.  In  Rubrica  Officiis  votivis  nuper  indultis  praemissa 
statuitur,  ut  eadem  officia  habeant  tum  commemorationem,  torn 
IX.  lectionem  de  Festo  simplici  occurrenti :  quaeritur  igitor,  an 
praedicta  Officia  Votiva  recitari  possint,  nedum  loco  Officiorum 
ferialium,  prout  in  Decreto  diei  5  Julii,  1883,  sed  etiam  loco  OfficS 
alicujus  Festi  simplicis  (v.g.  S.  Agoetis  secundo),  quod  unice  ea 
die  in  Kalendario  assignetur  ? 

DuBiUM  IV.  Ex  eadem  Rubrica,  Vesperae  Officii  votiri 
currentis  ritus  semiduplicis,  si  die  praecedenti,  vel  sequent!, 
occurrat  officium  aJiud  quodcumque  IX.  Lectionum,  ordinandae 
sunt  juxta  Rubricam  de  concurrentia  Officii.  Cum  autem  Officium 
votivum  cum  alio  semiduplici  concurrere  possit ;  quaeritur  atmm 
in  hoc  casu  Vesperae,  juxta  praefatam  Rubricam  generalem  Bro* 
viarii  tit.  xi.,  n.  4,  semper  dicendae  sint  a  capitulo  de  sequenti,  com 
commemoratione  praecedentis ;  an  vero  habenda  sit  ratio  dignitatis 
unius  Officii  Votivi  prae  alio,  juxta  ejusdem  Rubricae  n.  2  ?  Et 
quid  praesertim  agendum  sit,  cum  Officio  de  Passione  D.N.J.C.  ? 

DuBiuM  V.  Cum  festum  Hanctorum  Apostolorum  Simoniset 
Judae  die  28  Octobris  incidit  in  feriam  secundam,  qnaenam  is 
mcundis  Vesperis  adhibenda  est  oratio  pro  commemoratione  Officii 
votivi  de  Apostolis,  quod  sequenti  f eria  tertia  recitari  contingat  ? 

DuBiUM  VI.  Si  in  Vigilia,  feriis  quatuor  Temponim,  aliisqne 
feriis  propriam  Missam  habentibus,  recitetur  in  chore  Officiam 
votivum,  suntne  canendae  duae  Missae,  altera  de  Officio  votivo, 
altera  de  vigilia,  vel  feria  ;  an  potius  unica  dicenda  est  Missa  d« 
Vigilia,  vel  feria  cum  commemoratione  Officii  votivi  ? 

DuBiUM  Vn.  Quoties  feria  tertia  recitatur  Officium  votivum 
omnium  sanctorum  Apostolorum,  omittine  debet  in  suffragiis  si 
Vesperas  et  Laudes  commemoratio  Apostolorum  Petri  et  Pauli  ? 

His  porro  dubiis  ab  infrascripto  Secretario  relatis,  Sacra  eacfem 
Congregatio,  post  accurraum  omnium  examen>  sic  rescribere  rata 
est: 


Liturgical  Questions.  661 

Ad  L — Affirmative  ad  primam  et  secundam  partem. 

Ad  II. — A£Qrmative^  et  adhibeatur  color  rubeos  toto  anni 
tempore. 

Ad  III. — Provisum  in  Rubrica  OflBciorum. 

Ad  IV. — Quoad  1.  Ad  primam  partem  affirmative;  ad  secnn- 
dam  negative.     Quoad  2.  Totum  de  praecedenti,  nihil  de  sequent!. 

Ad  y. — Sumatur  oratio  pro  aliquibus  locis  die  XXIX.,  Junii, 
scilicet :  **  Deus  qui  nos  Beatorum  Apostolorum  commemoratione 
laetificas:  praesta  quaesumus,  ut  quorum  gaudemus  mentis 
instruamur  exemplis.     Per  Dominum.** 

Ad  YI. — ^Affirmative  ad  primam  partem ;  negative  ad 
secundam. 

Ad  VII. — Negative.  Atque  ita  declaravit  ac  rescripsit  die 
24  Novembris,  1883. 

III. 
7 he  Indulgences  of  the  Stations  of  the  Cross. 

It  is  known  generalljr  that  the  indulgences  of  the  Way 
of  the  Cross  may  be  gained  by  one  who  being  prevented 
from  visiting  the  Stations  erected  in  churches  or  oratories, 
Bays  twenty  Paters,  Ave^s,  and  Gloria  PatrVs  with  the  proper 
dispositions  and  intentions  before  a  crucifix  specially 
blessed  for  this  purpose.  Up  to  the  present,  this  privilege 
was  limited  to  the  one  person  who  had  in  his  possession 
such  a  crucifix,  and  for  whom  it  was  blessed  or  who  had 
made  it  his  own  by  use.  He  could  not  even  lend  it  to 
another  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  gain  the  indul- 
gences of  the  Way  of  the  Cross. 

Our  present  Pontiff  has,  however,  recently  made  conces- 
sion in  tnis  matter  similar  to  the  concession  applied  to  the 
Rosary  by  Pius  IX.  When  many  join  in  saying  the  Rosary, 
it  is  enough  for  gaining  the  Dominical  indulgence,  if  one 
person  has  a  beads  in  his  hands  and  uses  it ;  so  now,  when 
a  number  join  in  making  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  before  a 
crucifix  indulgenced  for  the  purpose,  it  is  enough  if  any 
one  present  hold  in  his  hands  the  privileged  crucifix.  A 
distinct  crupifix  for  each  is  no  longer  necessary. 

This  is  the  substance  of  the  following  decree  : — 

Beatissime  Pateb, 

F.  Bemardintis  a  Portu  Romatino, 
Fr.  Bernardinus  a  Portu  Romatino^  Minister  generalis  totius 
Ordinum  Fratnim  Minonim  S.  Franciaci,  ad  pedes  Sanctitatis 
Toae  provolutus,  humiliter  exponit,  saepe  saepius  fideles,  qui  exer- 
citium  S.  Viae  Crucis  peragere  legitime  impedimento  prohibentur, 
etiam  impediri,  quonunus  indulgentias  viae  crucis  exercitio  aduexas 
VOL.  V.  3  0 


662  Liturgical  Questions. 

lucrifaciant  adhibendo  Oucifixtim  ad  hunc  effectam  benedictem, 
eo  quod  non  possident,  siciiti  accidit  in  familiis  paupemm,  in  bo6- 
pitalibus  aliisque  hujus  generis  locis  piis. 

Hinc  ut  devotio  erga  Paseionem  D.  N.  J.  C.  magis  magiRque 
augeatur,  neve  fideles,  imprimis  animae  in  porgatorio  detentae,  ob 
expositum  Crucifixi  defectum,  a  participatione  praedictarum 
indulgentiarum  arceantur,  Orator  enixis  precibos  suppltcat,  ut 
Sanctitas  tna  ad  Crucifizos  viae  crucis  vulgo  nuncupatos  benigne 
extendere  dignetur  indultmn  a  6.  m.  Pio  PP.  IX ;  in  ordine  ad 
Rosariiun  sub  die  22  Januarii,  1858  concessum,  ita  nt  omnes  utri- 
usque  sexus  Christifideles  praescripta  viginti  Pater^  Ave  et  Glma 
in  communi  recitantes,  lucrari  vedeant  indulgentias  viae  cmds 
exercitio  adnexas,  licet  manu  non  teneant  crucifixuni  benedictum, 
ac  sufficiat,  ut  una  tantum  persona,  quacumque  ea  sit  ex  communi- 
tate  ilium  manu  teneat,  caeterique  omnes,  caeteris  curis  remotU  se 
componant  pro  oratione  facienda,  una  cum  persona,  quae  tenet 
crucifixum. 

Quam  gratiam,  etc 

Sanctissimus  Dominus  Noster  Leo  Papa  XIII;  in  audientiA 
habita  die  19  Januarii  1884  ab  infrascripto  secretario  Sac.  Coo- 
gregationis  Indulgentiis  sacrisque  reliquiis  praepositae,  benigDe 
annuit  pro  gratia  juxta  petita  ad  tramitem  indulti  jam  concesfli 
pro  recitatione  SSmi.  Rosarii,  ut  nimirum  Christifideles,  de  quibu0 
in  precibus,  ita  se  componant  pro  pio  exercitio  viae  crucis  pent- 
^ndo  una  cum  persona,  quae  tenet  crucifixum,  ut  viae  cnicis 
indulgentias  lucrari  queant  ;  praesenti  in  perpetuum  valitmo 
absque  ulla  brevis  expeditione.  Contrariis  quibuscumque  doo 
obstantibus. 

Datum  Romae  ex  Secretario  ejusdem  Sacrae  Congregationis 
die  19  Januarii,  1884. 

Al.  Card.  Obeolia  A.  S.  Stephano, 

Praefeci^ 
IV. 

The  Stations  of  the  Cross. — The  power  of  a  Bishop  in  deUgaiing 
'  his  priests  to  erect  the  Stations, 

A  bifihop  who  has  received  an  indult  to  erect  the 
Stations  of  the  Cross,  with  power  to  delegate  his  priests  to 
perform  this  function,  is  not  thereby  authorised  to  give  • 
general  delegation  to  his  priests  for  this  purpose.  A  special 
aelegation  for  each  case,  as  it  occurs,  is  necessary.  Here  i« 
the  latest  decree  on  the  matter : — 

Eeverendissimus  Archiepiscopus  N.N.,  gaudet  indulto  Apo^* 
ico  erigendi  Viam  Crucis  cum  facultate  commnnicandi  ejusmodi 
licenti  aliis  sacerdotibus  spirituali  ipsius  jurisdictioni  subjectii* 
Tali  indulto  suffultus  sacerdotibus  Archidiocesis  f acultatem  pra^ 
dictam  generali  modo  impertitus  est,  ita  ut  in  singulis  casibo* 
recursum  ad  ipsum  instituere  hand  debeant. 


Liturgieal  ,Quesiions.  66S 

Qanm  vero,  jnxta  superius  exposita  S.  Gongregationis  inchil- 
gentiamm  decreta  (21.  July,  1879,  a.d.,  8,  n.  445j  hujusmodi 
erectiones  Viae  Cmcis  merito  myalidae  censendae  sint,  hinc  humi- 
Jis  orator  supplici  genu  postulate  quatenus  Sanctitas  Vestra  in 
radice  sanare  dignetur  omnes  et  singulas  erectiones  Viae  Cmcis 
pro  tempore  in  Archidiocesi  N.N.  existentes,  quae  invalidae 
fuerint,  vel  ob  causam  in  precibus  enunciatam,  vel  ob  quamcunqae 
aliam  causam. 

Ex  audientia  SSmi.  habita  21  Oct.  1883.  SS,  Dom.  Nost^ 
Leo,  Divina  Providentia  P.P.  XIII.,  petitam  sanationem  benigne 
coDcedere  dignatus  est.  Ad  evertendam  vero  in  posterum  quod- 
cunque  dabium  desuper  legitima  erectione  Viae  Cmcis,  curent 
Parocbi  vel  Bectores  ecclesiamm  in  quibus  modo  expositi  erecta 
sint  Via  Cmcis,  petere  in  scriptis  ab  ordinario  requisitam  consen- 
6um  pro  qoaliet  erectione  singillatim." 

V. 

Votive  Offices, 

Vebt  Rev.  Sir — Would  you  kindly  answer  in  the  Record  the 
following  questions : — 

1.  What  Lessons  should  be  read  in  the  first  nocturn  of  the 
Votive  Offices  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  Immaculate  Conc^>- 
tion,  when  they  fall  on  Lenten  or  other  ferias  that  have  no 
Scripture  occurring.  The  Breviary  merely  says  they  are  to  be 
taken  from  the  Scripture  occurring,  and  in  the  case  of  these  two 
Offices  assigns  no  Lessons  to  be  read  instead  on  such  an  occasion, 
though  it  does  so  for  the  other  four.  The  case  actually  occurred 
on  the  first  two  Thursdays  and  first  Saturday  of  last  licnt.  No 
doubt  it  will  again. 

The  Lessons  for  the  first  nocturn  of  the  Votive  Office  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  when  said  in  Lent,  are  the  same  as 
the  Lessons  of  the  first  nocturn  of  Corpus  Christi,  and  are 
taken  from  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  third 
chapter: — Convenientihus  vobis  in  ununiy  ^c. 

The  Lessons  of  the  first  nocturn  of  the  Votive  Office  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception  in  Lent  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  feast  itself,  and  are  taken  from  the  3rd  chapter  of 
Genesis : — Serpens  erat  callidior^  ^c- 

These  Lessons  are  given  in  their  pro'per  place  in  the 
Majnooth  New  Supplement. 

VI. 

The  Lessons  of  certain  Feasts  as  prescribed  in  the  "  Ordo" 

Urn  Was  our  Ordo  quite  correct  in  directing  the  Lessons  of  the 
first  nocturn  to  be  taken  from  the  Scripture  occurriDg  on  the  feasts 


664  Liturgical  Questions. 

of  St.  Dominic  T^th  August),  St.  Natheus  (9th  August),  and 
St.  Fachanan  (14th  August),  all  greater  doubles? 

De  Herdt  says  (Sacr.  Lit.  Praxis,  vol.  2,  no.  341,  R.  2) :  "In 
duplici  majori  et  altiori  ritu  semper  sunt  (lectiones  primi  noctomi) 
propriae  vel  de  communi,  non  autem  de  Scriptura  occurrente," 
and  for  his  authority  quotes  (1.  c.)  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
Biles. 

The  Ordo  was  not  correct.  The  Lessons  of  the  first 
Noctum  should  have  been  taken  from  the  Commune 
Sanctorum.  There  is  only  one  combination  which  justifies 
the  reading  of  the  Scripture  occurring  on  a  duplex  majus, 
namely,  when  an  Initium  Libri  shonld  otherwise  bo 
omitted  altogether,  there  being  no  day  of  lower  rite 
available  on  which  it  could  be  read.  This  combination 
does  not  occur  in  the  cases  to  which  you  refer. 

VII. 

The  Plenary  Indulgence  attached  to  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity 

of  the  B.  r.M. 

Deak  Rev.  Sm — Fr.  McNamara  states,  in  his  Allocutions  on 
Liturgical  Observances,  p.  186,  that  this  Indulgence  is  for  the 
members  of  the  Living  Rosary,  whereas  the  Directory,  p.  1*2, 
includes  the  feast  in  the  list  of  Indulgences  quae  omnibus  Ckristi- 
fidelibus  totius  regni  conceduntur.     Which  is  to  be  followed  ? 

Yours,  J.  C. 

Both  are  right  They  refer  to  distinct  Plenary 
Indulgences.  There  is  a  Plenary  Indulgence  on  this  feast 
special  to  the  associates  of  the  Living  Rosary ;  and  Uiere 
is  another  panted  to  all  the  faithful  in  this  country  on  tho 
usual  conditions.  There  are  also  several  other  Plenary 
Indulgences  (Falise  mentions  as  many  as  eleven),  whica 
can  be  gained  on  this  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  the  conditions  of  course  differing  for  each 
Indulgence. 

VIII. 

Kyrie  Eleison* 

Sir — ^Fr.  O'Brien  having  recently  brought  us  to  book  in  the 
Record  with  regard  to  our  pronunciation  of  Latin,  I  should  like 
to  ask  you  for  an  opinion  as  to  our  manner  of  pronouncing  a 
certain  Greek  word  which  occurs  daily  in  our  Mass  and  Office, 
viz.,  Eleison, 

This  word,  I  take  it,  is  one  of  four  syllables,  but  we  not  only 
contract  it  into  three  (which  may  be  ascribed  to  rapidity)  but  we 
unduly  emphasize  the  second  as  if  an  i,  thus :  "  e-ly-sonf**  £ot  which 
I  seek  authority. 


Liturgical  Questions.  665 

Confessing  myself  a  sjncopist,  I  contend  these  words  should 
ran  thus :  "  Kee-ree,  el-e«-son,'*  What  says  Borne  ?  What  says 
the  Editor  ?  W.  O'B. 

Every  priest  knows  that  Kyrie  (Kvpu)  is  a  Greek 
word  of  tliree  syllables,  and  Eleison  (cA^i^o-ov)  a  Greek 
word  of  four  syllables.  In  the  Latin  liturgy  also  they 
should  be  pronounced  respectively  as  of  three  and  four 
syllables.  There  is  no  reason  why  either  should  be 
shortened,  as  they  retain  all  their  letters  and  syllables, 
there  being  no  syncope  or  synaeresis  in  either  case.  This 
is  also  the  reading  of  Rome,  if  we  are  to  jud^e  by  its 
official  liturgical  books.  In  the  Processionale,  for  instance, 
the  words  are  printed  '*  Ky-ri-e,  e-le-i-son"  at  the  Ordo 
Exsequiarum,  and  "Ky-ri-e,  e-le-i-son"  in  the  Litanies 
for  Holy  Saturday. 

The  habit  of  lengthening  the  antepenult  (-le-)  and 
shortening  the  penult  (-i-)  in  eleison  is  not  correct.  The 
antepenult  representing  epsUon  is  short,  and  the  penult 
whicn  stands  for  eta  is  long. 

IX. 

2  he  Feast  of  St.  Malachy  in  the  diocese  of  Armagh. 

The  Sacred  Congregation  has  decided  that  whentver 
All  Souls  Day  is  kept  on  the  8rd  of  November,  the  Feast 
of  St.  Malachy  in  the  diocese  of  Armagh  should  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  3rd  on  which  it  is  permanently  fixed,  to 
the  4th  of  November.  The  following  is  the  decree  to  this 
effect,  received  by  the  Franciscan  Fathers  of  Drogheda 
only  last  June. 

Obdinis  Minorum  S.  Francisci. 

Hmus.  Fr.  Bemardinus  a  Portu  Bomantino  Minister  Generalis 
totius  Ordinis  Minorum  S.  Rituum  Congregation!  insoquentia  dubia 
pro  opportuna  resolutione  humillime  subjecit. 

In  Dioecesi  Armacan.  in  Hibemia  die  3  Novemhris  celebratur 
Festum  Sancti  Malachiae  Episcopi  Confessoris,  ipsius  Dioecesis 
Patroni,  sub  ritu  dnplici  primae  classis,  sed  sine  obligatione 
audiendi  Sacrum.  Hoc  festum  ex  die  2  Novemhris  ad  diem  8 
perpetuo  translatum,  etiam  a  Regularibus  intra  limites  Dioecesis 
commorantibus  celebrari  debet.  Quum  antem  non  raro  accidat, 
ut  die  3  Novemhris  in  universal!  Ecclesia  fieri  debeat  com- 
memoratio  Omnium  Fidelinm  Defunctorum,  ignoratur,  quomodo 
in  casu  in  praefata  Dioecesi  ordinandnm  sit  officium.    Hinc  oritur. 

Dubium  I.  Utrum  Festum  Sancti  Malachiae  in  dicto  casu  in 
primaevum  suum  diem  2  Novemhris  reponendum  sit  ? 


666  Theologial  Correspondence. 

Dnbiiim  II.  An  potius  post  diem  %  Novembris  in  ca^  trans- 
f em  debeat  ? 

Dubium  III.  An  denique  Commemoratio  Omnium  Defonc- 
torom  alia  die  fieri  debeat  ? 

Et  Sacra  eadem  Congregatio  ad  relationem  infrascripti  Seeretarii 
anditoque  voto  alterins  ex  Apostolicarum  Caeremoniaram  Magistris, 
re  mature  perpensa,  ita  tribus  propositis  Dubiis  simnl  rescri- 
bendum  censuit.  Adsignetur  Festum  S»  Malachiat  diet  4  Novembrii 
aniandato  Feito  Saneti  Caroli  ad  priviam  diem  Uheram,  Atque  ita 
rescripsit  et  servari  mandavi^  die  37  Junii,  1884. 

D.   Cabdikalis  Bartolinus,  S.R.C.,  Praefectut^ 
Laurentius  Salvati,  S.RC,  Secretarius, 

R,  Browne. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


I. 

TO  THE  EDITOB  OF  THE   IRISH   ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir, — I  see  by  the  number  of  the  Record  received, 
that  when  the  difference  between  the  standard  and  solar  time  is 
smaU,  its  adoption  in  the  performance  of  ecclesiastical  functions  is 
not  to  be  condemned. 

This  seems  to  be  a  very  wise  ruling.  For  it  woiild  be  hard  to 
oblige  a  priest  to  have  one  measure  of  time  for  the  recital  of  his 
Office  and  the  observance  of  his  fast,  and  another  for  the  discharge 
of  his  public  duties,  since  all  public  rites  and  ceremonies  are  regu- 
lated according  to  the  standard  time. 

The  observance  of  this  code  in  the  Eastern  States — ^Adanlic 
seaboard — is  universal,  metaphysically  so.  Whether  it  is  so  in 
the  West  or  not,  where  Rev.  Mr.  Quigley  lives,  I  cannot  telL 

Now  I  have  another  query  to  which  I  ask  an  answer.  A 
lady  was  lately  married  before  some  sort  of  a  public  ofiBcer. 
She  wished  to  be  married  ritu  CaiholicQ,  but  was  on  that  partic- 
ular time  or  day  disappointed.  She  then  called  in  a  minister  of 
some  kind,  and  had  the  legal  contract  made. 

Immediately  on  arriving  at  her  new  home,  ske  wished  to  be 
reconciled  to  the  Church,  but  so  far  has  been  unable  to  procure 
his  consent  to  a  performance  oi  the  ceremony.  He  i»  a  tar  of  the 
primitive  kind,  and  a  non-haptizaius  too.  But  she  says  that  he 
will  never  trouble  her  iii  matters  of  faith,  and  that  she  can  bring 
up  her  children,  if  there  be  any,  Catholics.  Anne  uUo  modo  istnm 
matrimonium  (si  ita  dicam^  etiam  dispensatione  in  radice  convali- 
dari  possit,  et  si  non,  quid  taciendum  ?    An  answer  will  obh'ga 

S. 


Theological  Correspondence.  667 

The  marriage  is  evidently  invaUd,  and  can  be  rectified 
only  by  a  dispensation  from  Rome  in  the  diriment  imped- 
iment of  disparitas  cultus,  unless  indeed  the  non-baptizatus 
consents  to  receive  baptism.  Such  dispensation  should 
be  sought  at  once,  as  it  is  the  immediate  remedy  for  these 
imhappy  people.  A  decree,  having  in  view  difficulties  of 
this  very  kind,  and  issued  in  1837,  briefly  directs; — 
**  Recurratur  in  casibus  particularibus."  The  whole  occur- 
rence then  need  only  be  explained,  and  the  Holy  See  will 
settle  the  case  as  deemed  uest ;  probably  by  granting  a 
dispensation  which  will  not  require  the  renewal  of  his 
consent,  if  it  cannot  be  conveniently  procured.  His 
original  consent  seems  to  have  been  valid,  and  apparently 
he  did  not  retract.  The  dispensation,  however,  it  granted, 
will  most  probably  demand  renewal  from  the  other  party. 

P.  0*D. 

IL 

Simplex  Confessarius. 

Dear  Rev.  Sir, — Will  you  kindly  say  yea  or  no  to  the  follow- 
ing question  in  the  next  issue  of  the  Record  : 

"An  vcdide  absolvatur  qui  bona  fide  peccatum  reservatum  et 
peccatnm  non-reservatum  accusat  confessltrio  simplici  bona  sine 
mala  fide  absolvat  confessarius  ?  " 

Some  priests  think  that  the  absolution  is  not  only  illicit,  'but 
invalid.  The  question  is  put  and  answered  plainly  in  Ratisbon 
Edition,  Gury  No.  578.  However,  you  will  oblige  me  very  much 
by  answering  in  the  Ebcord. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Simplex  Confessarius. 

The  answer  in  Gury  is  quite  correct,  and  may  be 
followed  in  practice. 

III. 

Questions  regarding  Honoraria. 

Very  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — I.  In  the  parish  in  which  I  am 
stationed,  and  where  the  separate  maintenanance  system  is  estab- 
lished, there  is  a  custom  of  making  all  the  stipends  received  for 
Corpse  Masses  form  part  of  the  divisible  dues.  I  should  like  to 
know  whether  this  practice  is  lawful,  or  whether  it  does  not  eome 
under  the  decree  of  the  S.  Cong,  of  the  Council,  and  a  proposition 
condemned  by  Alexander  YII.,  on  the  same  subject,  both  of  which 
may  be  found  in  the  Ratisbon  Edition  of  Qury,  page  581,  n.  884. 
The  decree  rum  thus  :  ^  Omne  damnabile  lucrum  £cclesia  remo- 
vere  vol  ens  prohibet  sacerdoti,  qui  Missam  suscepit  celebrandum 
cum  certa  eleemosyna,  ne  eandem  Missam  alteri,  parte  ejusdem 
eleemosynae  sibi  retenta,  celebrandam  committit." 


668  Theological  Correspondence. 

The  arrangement  I  speak  of  is  carried  on  in  this  manner  :— 
Whenever  a  Corpse  Mass  occurs,  one  of  the  carates  is  told  off  to 
say  it.  He  takes  the  honorarium  whatever  it  be,  retains  for  him- 
self only  his  divisible  share,  gives  to  his  fellow  carates  a  share 
equal  to  his  own,  while  the  remainder,  which  is  a  larger  portion 
than  falls  to  any  of  the  curates,  is  given  to  the  parish  priest. 

Query : — is  it  lawful  for  those  priests  to  take,  even  in  virtue  of 
their  mutual  agreement,  a  part  of  the  stipend  given  for  the  Mass  ? 

n.  Again  the  parish-priest  occasionally  receives  money  to 
have  the  Mass  which  is  said  every  morning  in  the  parochial  church 
offered  during  the  week  for  certain  deceased  relatives  or  friends  of 
the  donor.  The  parish-priest  engages  his  curate  to  say  these 
pafish  Masses,  but,  notwithstanding,  retains  his  share  (one-half)  of 
the  honorarium,  and  distributes  the  remainder  among  all  his 
coadjutors  equally.  This,  I  fancy,  comes  more  directly  than  the 
former  case,  under  the  decree  of  the  Cong,  of  the  Council  and  the 
condemned  proposition  of  Alexander  VII. 

Query : — is  this  practice  lawful  ?  By  solving  those  questions 
you  will  ease  my  mind  and  the  minds  of  others,  and  much  oblige 

A  Reader  of  the  Record. 

There  are  certain  principles  which  govern  all  cases  of 
this  kind. 

1®.  The  money  in  question  belonged  to  the  man  who 
gave  the  honorarium^  and  may  be  appropriated  by  the 
priest  only  according  to  the  intention  of  the  giver. 

2^  That  intention  may  be  manifested  either  by  express 
words,  or  by  the  nature  of  the  contract,  or  by  diocesan  and 
other  laws  or  customs.  For  in  these  things,  when  a  man's 
iutention  is  not  clearly  known,  it  is  supposed  to  be  what  it 
ought  to  be  and  what  it  usually  is. 

I.  Take  the  first  case  mentioned  by  our  correspondent— 
the  case  of  the  Corpse  Masses.  It  is  obvious  that  the  cele- 
brant of  the  Mass  always  gets  what  is  at  least  equivalent 
to  the  ordinary  honorarium.  For  if  the  parish  priest  has 
but  one  curate  the  latter  will  usually  receive  three-and-four- 
pence  as  his  portion.  If  there  be  two  curates  each  will 
receive  five  shillings  for  such  Mass, — one  half-crown  for 
his  own,  and  another  for  that  of  his  colleague,  who  cele- 
brates in  his  turn.  If  the  curates  be  three  or  more  the 
portion  of  each  one  will  be  greater  still. 

But  it  is  asked :  has  he  a  right  to  even  more  than  that! 
It  will  depend  on  how  the  money  is  given.  Is  it  given 
merely  as  a  personal  gift  to  the  curate  ?  If  so,  then  the 
parish  priest  nas  no  right  to  any  portion  of  it.     But  if  it  be 

g'ven,  as  indeed  it  always  is,  as  a  portion  of  the  parochial 
^  nd  for  the  priest's  support,  then  the  parish  priest  has  his 
rights  also. 


Theological  Correspondence.  669 

It,  may  be  further  asked :  can  the  curate  tell  the  friends 
of  the  deceased  to  make  a  present  of  the  money  to  him- 
self, smce  the  whole  thing  depends  on  their  intention? 
He  cannot.  He  is  bound  to  collect  the  parochial  funds 
when  due.  When  that  has  been  paid  up,  he  may  without 
injustice  ask  any  presents  he  pleases. 

We  would  add  that,  to  our  own  knowledge,  in  many 
parishes  the  custom  is  for  the  celebrant  of  the  Mass  to 
deduct  the  ordinary  half-crown  for  his  own  honorarium,  and 
then  throw  the  remainder  into  the  common  fund.  This  is 
but  fair  and  reasonable.  But  whether  the  parish  priest  is 
bound  in  justice  to  allow  it  is  quite  another  things  afad 
depends  on  what  is  the  custom  and  diocesan  law.  If  it  be 
doubtful  whether  the  curate  can  do  this  or  not,  the  Ordi- 
nary of  the  diocese  should  be  asked  to  settle  the  matter, 
and  all  should  abide  by  his  decision. 

II.  N6w  we  come  to  the  second  case — the  case  of  Masses 
for  the  week.  Here  a^in  the  reply  depends  on  this, — 
whether  or  not  in  certam  places  this  money  is  regarded  as 
parochial  dues.  We  know  many  places  in  which  it  is  not 
so  regarded;  indeed  until  we  read  the  question  of  our 
esteemed  correspondent  we  thought  it  was  not  so  regarded 
in  any  place.  If  it  is  not,  it  should  be  distributed  equally 
among  all  who  say  the  Masses. 

But  if  there  be  anyplace  in  which  according  to  diocesan 
law  or  approved  custom  the  money  is  regarded  as  paro- 
chial dues  belonging  to  the  common  fund,  the  P.P.,  nasa 
right  to  a  more  than  ordinary  share,  according  to  the  law 
or  custom  regulating  the  matter.  If  the  thing  be  doubtful 
the  Ordinary  should  be  asked  to  decide.  We  would  add 
that  in  the  second  case,  where  the  money  is  regarded  as 
parochial  dues,  it  will  scarcely  be  found  to  be  the  custom 
that  the  curates  should  say  Mass  for  less  than  the  usual 
Jumorarium. 

Our  correspondent  will  not  think  what  we  have  said  in 
any  way  opposed  to  what  is  laid  down  in  the  decrees  to 
which  he  refers.  By  looking  at  Gury  (Excipe  10),  or  St. 
Alphonsus  (n.  321)  he  will  see  that  they  restrict  the  mean- 
ing of  the  decree  to  that  portion  of  the  money  which  is  in- 
tended as  a  honorarium.  Where  an  intention  is  suflBciently 
manifested  of  giving  a  portion  of  the  money  for  other  pur 
poses,  that  portion  may,  and  sometimes  should,  be  set  aside 
lor  these  purposes,  But  an  intention  may,  as  we  have  said, 
be  sufficiently  determined  by  law  and  custom  as  well  as 
by  words. 

W.Mo. 


[    670    ] 


EOMAN  NOTES- 


Matrimonial  Causes. 

A  recent  number  of  the  "  Acta  Sanctae  Sedis  '*  gives  a  sketch  of 
an  interesting  application  for  a  dispensation  in  a  matrimonio  rato 
non  consummato,  which  lately  came  before  the  congregation  of  the 
council. 

In  the  year  1870,  a  yonng  girl,  aged  fourteen,  was  married, 
in.  faeiem  ecclesiae,  to  a  young  man  some  years  older.  After  the 
ceremony  the  young  married  couple  went  to  the  house  of  tike 
bride's  father  for  the  usual  wedding  breakfast  with  their  friends, — 
but  immediately  after  the  breakfast  they  were  separated  accordittg 
to  the  custom  of  the  place — ^bride  and  bridegroom  returning  to  the 
houses  of  their  respective  parents,  and  apparently  meeting  no 
more.  No  civil  marriage  had  been  celebrated  at  the  time  beo&use 
the  female  was  then  under  the  legal  age ;  no  sooner,  however,  did 
she  attain  this  age  than  she  entered  into  a  civil  marriage  witli 
another  man,  and  the  late  bridegroom  seeing  himself  so  badlj 
treated  by  his  wife  did  the  same  with  another  female.  In  tlM 
year  1875,  both  parties  anxious  to  consult  for  their  consciences, 
applied  for  a  dispensation  in  this  alleged  matrimonio  rata  non 
eoMummato, 

The  reasons  alleged  in  favour  of  the  dispensation  being  granted 
were  briefly  :— 

(1 .)  That  the  original  consent  was  defective,  because  the  parties 
were  very  young,  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  obligations  of  the 
married  state,  and  were  unduly  influenced  to  get  married  by  their 
parents. 

(3.)  It  was  evident  from  the  sworn  declaration  of  the  parties 
themselves,  from  the  witnesses  examined,  and  horn  the  lacts  of 
the  case,  that  even  had  there  been  a  valid  marriage  there  was  no 
consummation. 

(8.)  There  was  sufficient  cause  for  a  dispensation  on  account  of  the 
public  scandal  given  by  the  civU  marriages ;  from  the  fact  that 
the  oratrix  had  children  by  her  husband  under  the  civil  marriage 
who  were  to  be  legitimized ;  and  from  the  mutual  hatred  and  danger 
to  life  which  would  result  from  their  being  compelled  to  five 
together. 

On  first  application  the  dispensation  was  not  granted,  becavOt 
as  the  defensor  matrimonii  showed,  in  the  hearing  of  the  cause 
before  the  delegated  judge,  neither  the  notary  nor  the  defemor 
PuUrimonii  before  that  judge  was  duly  sworn ,  and,  moreover, 
that  defensor  matrimonii  was  the  vicar  who  applied  for  the 
dispensation,  and  was  most  anxious  to  get  it,  an<^  therefbre.  wis 
not  a  bona  fide  defensor. 


Boman  Notes.  671 

j^fter  a  aecond  hearing  of  the  cause,  in  which  these  defects 
were  corrected,  answer  was  given  that  the  dispensation  might  be 
sought  (and  no  doubt  obtained)  from  His  Holiness,  on  the  nsual 
condition  of  temporarj  separation. 

DUBIOH. 

An  sit  consnlendum  SSmo.  pro  dispensatione  a  matrimonio 
rato  et  non  consommato  in  casn  ? 

BesoL  Sacra.  Cong,  in  comitiis  diei  17  Martii  1888,  responsum 
dedit:  PraBvia  sanatione  Actoram,  affirmative;  imposita  tamen 
partibns  separatione  ad  tempos  Archiepiscopo  administrator! 
benevisnm. 

Beproposita  eansa  in  comitiis,  2nd  June,  1888,  cnm  novis 
animadversionibus  defensoris  ex  officio,  eandem  ediderunt  Emi. 
Patres  sententiam  per  rescriptnm  :  In  decisis. 

From  this  case  the  writer  in  the  Acta  infers  the  following 
conclnsions : — 

L — ^Exchisa  per  sponsomm  testinmqne  Concordes  depositiones 
consummatione  matrimonii,  monJem  haberi  non-consmnmationis 
certitndinem. 

II.~  Matrimoninm  non  dari  sine  consensu.  Oonsensum  vere 
in  matrimonio  deficere,  si  desit  contratrahentium  voluntas,  sive  ex 
ignorantia  sive  coactione, 

m.— -Ignorantiam  haberi  cum,  ob  teneram  nimis  aetatem 
ingeniiqne  ruditatem,  quae  matrimonii  sacramenti  propria  sunt, 
contrahentes  latent  omnino.     s 

IV. — Coactionem  non  pro  omnibus  similem  requiri,  sed  indoli, 
sexni,  et  potissiroe  aetati  proportionalem. 

v.— Cum  de  adolescentibus  agitur  baud  graves  minas  requiri 
ut  suasimi  sit,  eos  parentum  voluntati  in  matrimonio  contrahendo 
obtemperasse. 

Yl.-^Causas  dispensationis  concedendae  sat  validas  haberi  in 
probato  periculo  odii  inter  conjuges,  necnon  in  remotione  pubHci 
scandalL' 

We  must  confess  it  is  not  easy  to  infer  all  these  conclusions 
from  the  Acts  of  the  case ;  if  the  marriage  were  invalid  there  was 
no  real  dissolution  of  the  vinculum  by  dispensation.  The  validity, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  doubtful,  and  this  was  probably  one 
of  the  reasons  for  granting  the  dispensation. 

J-H. 


[    672    ] 

DOCUMENTS. 

Enoy{jlical  Letter  of  Pope  Leo.  XIII.,  cm  the  Rosary 
OP  THE  Blessed  Vmam,  and  the  Special  Devotioks 

for  the  MONTH  OF  OCTOBER,  1884. 

SUMMARY. 

Eef erence  to  the  Encjclical  of  last  year  ordering  the  recitation 
of  the  Rosary  during  the  month  of  October.  Ready  compliance 
of  the  faithful.  Reasons  for  the  renewal  of  the  devotion  during 
the  present  October  explained.  A  special  reason  for  Italy  in  the 
presence  of  the  -cholera. 

Ordered  that  the  kosary  and  Litany  be  said  publicly  every  day 
from  the  Ist  of  October  to  the  2nd  of  November  of  this  year  in 
all  parochial  churches,  or  public  oratories  dedicated  to  the 
B.  Virgin,  or  in  any  other  church  or  oratory  appointed  by  the 
Ordinary.  When  these  devotions  are  held  in  the  forenoon,  they 
ought  to  be  in  connection  with  the  morning  Mass ;  when  in  the 
afternoon,  the  prayers  are  to  be  recited  before  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment exposed,  and  followed  by  the  usual  Benediction.  Processions 
of  the  Sodality  of  the  Rosary  are  recommended. 

Indulgence  of  seven  years  and  seven  quarantines  every  time 
one  joins  in  the  public  recitation  of  the  Rosary  and  prays  for  the 
intentions  of  the  Pope ;  and  the  same  indulgence  extended  to  ihoee 
who,  being  unable  to  attend  in  the  church,  recite  those  prayen 
privately.  A  plenary  indulgence  for  at  least  ten  attendances  at 
the  public  devotions,  accompanied  by  confession  and  commnniiHi. 
A  plenary  indulgence  also  extended  to  those  who  cannot  attend 
the  public  devotions  but  who  say  the  prayers  privately  at  least  ten 
times,  and  confess  and  communicate.  A  plenary  indulgence  for 
those  who  confess  and  communicate  on  the  solemnity  of  the  Holy 
Rosary  (October  the  6th)  or  within  its  Octave,  and  pray  in  church 
for  the  intentions  of  the  Pope. 

The  Ordinary  empowered  to  prolong  these  concessions  to 
November  or  December  in  favour  of  those  who  are  occupied  during 
October  in  field  work  which  they  cannot  conveniently  abandon : 

Venerabilibus  Fratribus  Patbllrchis,  Primatibus,  Archi»- 
piscopis  ET  Episcopis  Catholici  Orbis  Universis  gratiam  et 

COMMUNIONEM  CUM  ApOSTOLICA  SEDE  HABENTIBUS. 

LEO  pp.  XIIL 

y£NERABU.E8  FrATRES  SALUTEM  £T  ApOSTOLICAM  BeNEPIO 
TIONEH. 

Superiore  anno,  quod  singuli  novbtis,  per  litteras  Nostras 
Encyclicas  decrevimus,  ut  in  omnibus  Catholici  orbis  partibiis, 
ad  caeleste  praesidium  laboranti  Ecclesiae  impetrandum,  magna 
Dei  Mater  sanctissimo  Rosarii  ritu,  Octobri  toto,  coleretiir. 
In  quo  et  iudicium  Nostrum  et  exempla  seqnnti  sumns  Deoes* 
sorum  Nostrorum,  qui  diffidllimis  Ecclesiae  iemporibaa   ancto 


* 


DocumentSm  673 


pietatis  stndio  ad  angnstam  Yirginem  confagere,  opemqne  eias 
flomiiiis  precibus  implorare  consueverunt.  Voluntati  vero  illi 
Nostrae  tanta  animoram  alacritate  et  concordia  ybique  lok^orum 
obtemperatum  est,  ut  lucnlenter  appamerit  quantas  religionis 
et  pietatis  ardor  exstet  in  populo  christiano,  et  qnantam  in 
caelesti  Mariae  Yirginis  patrocioio  spem  universi  reponant.  Quern 
qnidem  declaratae  pietatis  et  fidei  f ervorem  Nos,  tanta  molestiarum 
et  malonim  mole  gravatos,  non  mediocri  consolatione  leniisse  pro- 
fitemnr,  imo  animum  addidisse  ad  graviora  quoque,  si  ita  Deo 
placeat,  perferenda.  Donee  enim  spiritus  precum  effunditur  super 
dornum  David  et  super  habitatores  Jerusalem,  in  spem  certam 
adducimur,  fore  ut  aHquando  propitietur  Deus,  Ecclesiaeque  suae 
miseratus  vicem,  audiat  tandem  preces  obsecrantimn  per  Eam^ 
qoam  ipse  caelestium  gratiarum  voluit  esse  administram. 

Quapropter  insidentibus  causis,  quae  Nos  ad  publicam  pietatem 
excitandam  uti  diximus,  anno  superiore  impulemnt,  officii  Nostri 
daximus,  Venerabiles  Fratres,  hoc  quoque  anno  hortari  populos 
Christianos,  ut  in  hujusmodi  precandi  ratione  et  formula,  quae 
Bosarium  Mariale  dicitur,  perseverantes,  sibi  validum  magnae  Dei 
Genitricis  patrocinium  demereantur.  Cum  enim  in  oppugnatori- 
bos  non  minorem  esse  oportet  constantiam  voluntatis,  quum  prae* 
sertim  caeleste  auxilium  et  collata  nobis  a  Deo  beneficia,  perseve- 
rantiae  nostrae  saepo  soleant  esse  fructus.  Ac  revocare 
luvat  in  mentem  magnae  illius  ludith  exemplum,  quae  al- 
mae  Yirginis  typum  exhibens  stultam  ludeorum  repressit 
impatientiam,  constituere  Deo  volentium  arbitrio  suo  diem 
ad  subveniendum  oppressae  civitati.  Intuendum  item  in  exemplum 
Apostolorum,  qui  maximum  Spiritus  Faracliti  donum  sibi  promis- 
som  expectaverunt,  perseverantes  unanimiter  in  oratione  cum 
Maria  Matre  lesu. — ^Agilur  enim  et  nunc  de  ardua  ac  magni 
momenti  re,  de  inimico  antiquo  et  vaferrimo  in  elata  potentiae 
suae  acie  bumiliando ;  de  Ecclesiae  eiusque  Capitis  libertate  vindi- 
eanda ;  de  lis  conservandis  tuendisque  praesidiis  in  quibus  conquies- 
cere  oportet  securitatem  et  salutem  bumanae  societatis.  Curandum 
est  igitur,  ut  luctuosis  hisce  Ecclesiae  temporibus  Marialis  Rosarii 
s&nctissima  consuetudo  studiose  pieque  servetur,  eo  praecipue  quod 
huiusmodi  preces  cum  ita  sint  compositae  ut  omnia  ex  ordine  salutis 
nostrae  mysteria  recolant,  maxime  sunt  ad  fovendum  pietatis 
spiritum  comparatae. 

Et  ad  Italiam  quod  attinet,  potentissimae  Yirginis  praesidium 
nunc  maxime  per  Rosarii  preces  implorare  necesse  est,  quum  nobis 
adsit  potius,  quam  impendeat,  nee  opinata  calamitas.  Asiana  enim 
lues  terminos,  quos  natura  posuisse  videbatur,  Deo  volente,  prae- 
tervecta,  portus  Gallici  sinus  celeberrimos,  ac  finitimas  exinde 
Italiae  regiones  pervasit.  Ad  Mariam  igitur  confugiendum  est,  ad 
earn,  quam  iure  meritoque  salutiferam,  opiferam,  sospitatricem 
appellat  Ecclesia,  uti  volens  propitia  opem  acceptissimis  sibi  pre- 
cibus imploratam  afferat,  impuramque  luem  a  nobis  longe  depellat. 

Quapropter  adventante,  iam^  mense  Octobri,  quo  mense  sacra 


674  Documents. 

solemnia  Mariae  Yir^nis  a  Rosario  in  orbe  catliolico  agontor, 
omnia  ea,  quae  praeterito  anno  praecepimns,  hoc  anno  itenun 
praecipere  statuimns.  Decemimus  itaque  et  mandamus,  ut  a 
prima  die  Octobris  ad  secundam  conseqnends  Novembris  in 
omnibus  curialibus  templis,  sacrariisve  publicis  Deiparae  dicatii, 
aut  in  aliis  etiam  arbitrio  Ordinarii  eligendis,  quinqne  saltern 
Bosarii  decades,  adiectis  litanniis,  quotidie  recitentnr :  quod  si 
mane  fiat,  sacrum  inter  preces  peregatur :  si  pomeridianis  hom 
Sacramentum  augustum  ad  adorandum  proponatur,  deinde  qui  in- 
tersunt  rite  Instrentur.  Optamus  autem,  ut  Sodalitates  Sanctissimi 
Rosarii  solemnem  pompam,  ubicunque  per  civiles  leges  id  sinitar, 
vicatim  publicae  religionis  causa  ducant. 

Ut  Tero  christianae  pietati  caelestes  Ecdesiae  thesauri  redo- 
dantur,  Indulgentias  singulas,  quas  superiore  anno  largiti  sumus, 
renovamus.  Omnibus  videlicet  qui  statis  diebus  publicae  Bosarii 
recitationi  interfuerint,  et  ad  mentem  Nostram  oraverint,  et  his 
pariter  qui  legitima  causa  impediti  privatim  haec  egerint,  8q>tcsii 
annorum  itemque  septem  quadragenarum  apud  Deum  indulgeDtiam 
singulis  vicibus  concedimus.  £is  vero  qui  supra  dicto  tempore 
decies  saltern  vel  publico  in  templis,  vel  iustis  de  cansis  inter 
domesticos  parietes  eadem  peregerint,  et  criminnm  confessione 
expiati  sancta  de  altari  libaverint,  plenariam  admissomm  veniam 
de  Ecclesiae  thesauro  impertimus.  Plenissimam  banc  admissonim 
veniam  et  poenanun  remissionem  his  omnibus  etiam  largimur,  qui 
rel  ipso  beatae  Yirginis  a  Rosario  die  festo,  vel  quolibet  ex  oeto 
insequentibus,  animi  sordes  eluerint  et  divina  convivia  sancte  oele- 
braverint,  et  pariter  ad  mentem  Nostram  in  aliqua  sacra  aede  Deo 
et  sanctissimae  eius  Matri  supplicaverint. 

lis  denique  consultum  volentes  qui  ruri  vivunt  et  agri  eultioDe, 
praecipue  Octobri  mense,  distinentur,  concedimus  ut  singula,  quae 
supra  decrevimus,  cum  sacris  etiam  incl,ulgentiis  Octobri  mense, 
lucrandis,  ad  insequentes  vel  Novembris  vel  Decembris  menses. 
Prudenti  Ordinariorum  arbitrio  differri  valeant. 

Non  dubitamus,  Yenerabiles  Fratres,  quin  curis  hisce  No^ris 
nberes  et  copiosi  fructus  respondeant,  praesertim  si  quae  Nos  plan- 
tamus,  et  vestra  soUicitudo  rigaverit,  iis  Deus  gratiarum  suaram 
largitione  de  coelo  afferat  incrementum.  Pro  certo  quidem 
habemus  populum  christianum  futurum  dicto  audientem  Aposiol- 
icae  auctoritati  Nostrae  eo  fidei  et  pietatis  f  ervore»  cuius  praeterilo 
anno  amplissimum  dedit  documentum.  Caelestis  autem  Patrcuia 
per  Bosarii  preces  invocata  adsit  propitia,  efficiatque,  ut  soblatis 
opinionum  dissidiis  et  re  Christiana  in  nniversis  orbis  terramm 
partibus  restituta,  optatam  Ecclesiae  tranquillitatem  a  Deo 
impetremus.  Cuius  auspicem  beneficii,  Vobis  et  Clero  vestat>,  el 
populis  vestrae  curae  concreditis  Apostolicam  Benedictioiiem 
peramanter  impertimus. 

Datum  Bomae  ,apud  S.  Petrum  die  zxx.  August!  isjioccuxxxv^ 
Pontificatus  Nostri  Anno  Septimo. 

LeoPP.  XHL 


[    675    3 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

The  Difference  hettveen  Temporal  and  Eternal,     Reviaed  by  the 
Rev.  Matthew  Russell,  S.J.    Duffy  &  Sons,  Dublin,  1884. 

Many  of  us  are  somewhat  familiar  with  the  famous  spiritual 
book  Temporal  and  Eternal,  We  used  to  hear  chapters  read  from  it 
during  our  college  course,  and  we  remember  so  well  that  it  was 
oneof  those  great  old  spiritual  books  remarkable  for  their  solid 
instruction,  which  our  superiors  used  to  recommend  for  spiritual 
reading  and  striking  thoughts  for  sermons.  But  why  is  it  that  we 
are  only  somewhat,  and  not  thoroughly^  familiar  with  this  excel- 
lent book  ?  Most  of  us  would  answer,  "  it  was  too  unreadable. 
We  could  study  it  in  French  or  German ;  but  to  read  it  in  our 
faulty  inelegant  English  version  was  a  hard  task."  Thanks  to 
the  Rev.  Editor  of  this  new  and  revised  edition,  this  objection 
exists  no  longer.  He  has  undertaken  to  remove  those  blemishes ; 
and  we  have  only  to  mention  that  the  editor  is  the  Rev.  Matthew 
Russell,  S.J.,  himself  a  distinguished  litterateur, ,  to  satisfy  our 
readers  that  the  revision  is  all  that  it  ought  to  be — for,  while 
leaving  us  the  golden  book  of  Father  Nieremberg,  Father  Russell 
has  impressed  on  it  the  stamp  of  his  own  pure  style,  and  matured 
literary  judgment. 

Ed. 

The  Seraphic  Guide.      By  a  Franciscan  Father.      Benziger, 

Brothers,  New  York,  1884. 

This  prayer  book  is  intended  specially  for  the  members  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  In  addition  to  the  usual  prayers 
found  in  prayer  books,  it  contains  a  full  and  interesting  account  of 
the  nature,  excellence,*prerogatives,  and  obb'gations  of  the  Third 
Order  Secular.  It  is  of  this  Third  Order  that  the  Cure  of  Ara 
used  to  say  that  the  safety  of  society  depended  on  its  propagation, 
and  our  present  Holy  Father,  not  only  fostered  it  when  he  was 
Bishop  of  Perugia,  but  lately  called  on  all  the  bishops  of  the  Church 
to  protect  and  encourage  it  in  their  dioceses.  He  even  altered 
some  of  its  rules,  in  order  to  make  it  more  suitable  to  the  wants  of 
our  time. 

We  believe  that  many  a  priest  would  be  inspired  to  introduce 
this  Third  Order  among  his  people,  by  reading  the  first  part  of  this 
prayer  book. 

Ed. 

Life  ofMdlle.  Le  Gras,  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

This  IS  a  translation  from  the  original  French— unlike  most 
translations— into  graceful,  easy-flowing,  readable  English.  We 
have  not   seen  the  origmal  of  the  Life  of  Mdlle.  Le    Oras^ 


676  Notices  of  Books. 

and  are  not  therefore  in  a  position  to  pronounce  of  our  own 
knowledge  an  opinion  on  the  accuracy  of  the  rendering  into 
English.  But  from  the  filial  pietj,  reverence,  and  love,  that 
must,  in  part  at  least,  have  prompted  the  undertaking,  as  well 
as  from  the  well-known  character  of  the  eminent  publishers, 
Benziger,  Brothers,  New  York,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  the  translation  is  no  less  accurate  than  it  is  beautifuL 

There  is  no  one  who  has  not  heard  of  the  Sister  of  Charity. 
Her  praises  are  on  every  tongue.  Infidel  and  Christian,  Catholic 
and  non-Catholic  alike  join  with  willing  accord  in  testifying  to  the 
heroic  fortitude,  the  self-sacrificing  spirit,  the  practical  sympathy 
with  every  form  of  suffering  humanity,  that  have  distingtushed 
the  Sisters  of  Charity,  wherever  their  lot  has  been  cast,  from  the 
days  of  their  holy  foundress  down  to  the  present  hour.  Whether 
on  the  battlefield,  in  the  cholera  hospital,  among  the  galley-slaves, 
or  in  the  orphan  asyliun,  the  career  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  has 
been  one  uninterrupted  vindication  of  their  title  and  name — a  con- 
stant exercise  of  the  highest  and  holiest  charity  for  God  and  man. 
No  wonder  then  that  the  reading  public  should  hail  with  delight 
the  appearance  of  a  work  purporting  to  give  a  full  and  truthifnl 
record  of  the  principal  events  in  the  life  of  the  wonderful  woman 
who,  under  the  Divine  guidance,  laid  the  first  beginnings  of  a 
congregation  fraught  with  such  benefits  to  the  Church  and  to 
society  at  large.  Heretofore  the  most  that  was  generally  known 
of  MdUe.  Le  Gras,  was  that  she  founded  "  the  Sisters  of  Charity," 
and  that  she  had  been  the  faithful  and  constant  co-operator  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  all  his  works  of  charity  and  zeal.  The 
present  volume  gives  us  a  clear  insight  into  her  life  as  mother, 
widow,  and  foundress ;  into  the  virtues  and  austerities  she  loved  and 
practised  in  her  spiritual  life,  and  the  labours  she  underwent  and 
the  sacrifices  she  made  in  carrying  to  completion  the  work  which 
God  had  entrusted  to  her  hands.  We  deem  it  impossible  that 
any  one,  whether  religious  or  secular,  priest  or  laic,  should  read 
this  Life  without  being  forcibly  stimulated  to  a  more  exact  imita- 
tion of  the  virtues  of  her  whose  actions  are  therein  pourtrayed, 
and  brought  into  a  closer  union  with  God.  We  heartily  wish  to 
see  the  present  edition  soon  exhausted,  and  rapidly  succeeded  by 
many  new  ones. 

R. 

Luther^s  Own  Statements  concerning  his  Teaching  and  its  Besulti* 
By  Henry  O'Connor,  S.J.     Benziger :  New  York. 

This  is  a  third  and  stereotyped  edition  of  Father  O'Connors 
remarkable  portrait  of  Martin  Luther,  faithfully  copied  from  the 
original  as  delineated  by  the  Arch-heretic  himseLT. 

In  this  American  edition  a  slight,  yet  important  change  may 
be  observed.  The  former  title,  **  The  only  reliable  Evidence  con* 
ceming  Martin  Luther,"  has  been  dropped  for  the  more  appropriate 
one, ''  Luther's  Own  Statements  concerning  his  Teachu^  uid  rts 


Notices  of  Books.  t>77 

Besolts."  All  groand  for  misconception  is  now  removed,  and  it  can 
no  longer  be  said  thaUthe  author  conveys  the  impression  that  his 
evidence  is  the  only  reliable  one.  From  one  point  of  view,  however, 
and  that  a  very  striking  one,  the  evidence  collected  by  Fr.  O'Connor 
is  the  only  kind  of  evidence  that  can  be  relied  upon.  Consisting 
as  it  does  of  *'  Luther's  own  statements,  taken  exclusively  &om  the 
earliest  and  best  editions  of  Luther's  German  and  Latin  Works/' 
Father  O'Connor's  book  supplied  that  evidence  which  alone  cannot 
be  set  aside  by  those  friends  and  admirers  of  Luther  whose  only 
Gospel  is  the  teaching  of  the  hero  worshipped  by  them.  Dr. 
UUathorne,  Bishop -of  Birmingham,  is  of  opinion,  *'  that  the  only 
way  of  rightly  exposing  that  infamous  man  is  by  giving  his  own 
words  from  his  authentic  writings."  Fr,  O'Connor  is  acknowledged 
by  most  competent  judges  to  have  done  so,  in  a  work  of  great  and 
permanent  value. 

Were  ;wq  to  venture  a  suggestion,  we  would  urge  the  accom- 
plished author  to  construct,  on  the  solid  basis  he  has  set  before  us, 
a  larger  work,  giving  a  detailed  account  of  Luther's  teaching,  of 
the  agencies  employed  by  him  in  propagating  his  new  doctrines, 
and  of  the  full  harvest  of  sin  and  misery  produced  by  them.  He 
possesses  all  the  qualifications  required  for  such  a  task.  In  the 
meantime,  we  advise  every  student  of  Church  History  to  provide 
himself  with  a  copy  of  the  work  before  us ;  he  will  find  that  the 
approval  so  widely  accorded  to  it  is  at  once  a  proof  and  a  recogni- 
tion of  its  results.  G.  D. 

An  Easy  Method  of  Meditation.     By  Rev.  F.  X.  Schouppe,  S.J. 

This  modest  little  work  is  well  worthy  of  its  pious  and  distin- 
guished author.  Father  Schouppe  is  a  well-known  Theologian, 
and  an  eminent  member  of  the  great  order  of  the  Jesuits.  His 
name  is  a  guarantee  that  the  book  contains  nothing  but  sound 
doctrine  and  solid  piety.  It  is  a  practical  illustration  of  the 
"  Second  Method  of  Prayer  "  proposed  by  Saint  Ignatius  in  his 
Spiritual  Exercises,  This  second  manner  of  praying  consists  in 
reflecting  seriously  and  attentively  on  each  word  of  whatever 
prayer  we  are  saying,  in  order  to  extract  from  it  the  thoughts  and 
spiritual  affections  it  is  capable  of  suggesting.  Father  Schouppe 
in  his  "  Easy  Method  of  Meditation "  takes  up  the  prayers  in 
daily  use  among  Catholics,  viz. :  The  Lord's  Prayer,  Hail  Mary, 
and  Creed ;  these  he  analyses  and  explains  very  fully,  thereby 
furnishing  to  the  reader  the  rich  and  abundant  treasure  of  holy 
thoughts  which  the  words  are  capable  of  suggesting.  The  work 
is  most  valuable  as  a  Meditation  Book,  being  suited  to  the  capacity 
of  all  who  can  read.  It  may  also  be  utilised  by  the  preacher  or 
lecturer,  as  it  contains  many  holy  thoughts,  and  much  matter  that 
can  be  easily  and  advantageously  embodied  in  lectures  or  Cate- 
chetical instructions.  The  wide  circulation  of  this  little  book  will 
greatly  tend  to  promote  knowledge  and  piety  among  its  readers. 

A.  B. 
VOL.  V.  3d 


678  NoticeB  of  Booki. 

Maxims  and  Ditties  of  Parents.    By  Rev.  M.  Aroissnet. 

Hev.  M.  Aroisenet,  author  of  this  ^  excellent  treatise  on 
parental  duties,  is  well  known  to  readers  of  ascetic  hooks  hoth 
in  this  country  and  in  France,  and  this  new  work  of  his  is  sore 
to  be  well  received  by  them.  It  contains  a  clear  and  full  account 
of  the  duties  which  parents  owe  their  children,  and  also  many 
and  forcible  reasons  for  the  ful61ment  of  these  duties.  Many 
examples  from  Sacred  Scripture  and  Ecclesiastical  History  are 
given  to  support  and  illustrate  these  reasons  We  respectfully 
but  earnestly  recommend  this  useful  little  treatise  to  parents  and 
guardians,  and  indeed  to  all  those  who  hold  the  responsible  office 
of  training  youth.  It  is  translated  in  pure,  simple  language, 
neatly  brought  out  by  the  publishers,  and  well  deserves  a  wide 
circulation  among  Catholic  families.  A.  B. 

Latin  Prose  Exercises^  based  upon  "  Caesar^s  Gallic  War."  By 
Clement  Bryans,  late  Scholar  of  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
&c.    Macmillan  &  Co. 

The  plan  of  this  little  book  is  good,  and  has  been  well  carried 
out.  Mr.  Bryans  proposes  to  teach  Latin  composition  from  one 
trustworthy  author ;  and  with  this  object  in  view  he  has  selected 
"  Caesar's  Gallic  War."  He  mentions  three  reasons  for  this 
selection:  1st,  because  every  boy  who  is  put  to  learn  Latin  reads 
Ccesar;  2nd,  because  Ceesar's  plain,  terse  style,  and  excellent 
Latinity,  are  known  to  all  scholars  ;  and  drd,  because  he  admits  of 
close  and  not  diflBcult  imitation.  Mr.  Bryans  properly  censures  the 
system  of  attempting  to  impart  a  facility  in  Latin  writing  by  the 
use  of  the  Latin-English  dictionaries  which  contain,  as  he  cadis  it, 
only  hybrid  phraseology,  and  he  much  prefers  the  close  study  of  an 
author  of  acknowledged  excellence. 

To  attain  his  object,  Mr.  Bryans  gives  full  lists  of  phrases  from 
**  Cfesar's  Gallic  War,"  suitably  arranged  under  various  headings, 
such  as  military  and  geographical  phrases,  Caesar's  use  of  cases, 
moods,  prepositions,  and  conjunctions.  Then  follow  well-selected 
exercises. 

This  little  book  will  be  specially  valuable  if  studied  in  connection 
with  the  CflBsar  class ;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  any  diligent  and 
intelligent  student  may  not  apply,  with  immense  improvement 
to  his  Latin  vocabulary  and  style,  Mr.  Bryans*  plan  to  the  prose 
author  he  happens  to  be  reading  in  school.  Ed. 

The  League  of  the  Cross  Magazine. 

This  little  Magazine,  although  not  quite  eight  months  in 
existence,  can  point  to  very  gratifjring  results  in  the  cause  of  holj 
temperance.  It  is  a  monthly  publication,  and  can  be  had  at  the 
small  cost  of  three  halfpence  a  number  from  the  editor,  8,  Gunsler- 
row,  Isleworth,  London,  from  Burns  &  Gates,  M.  H.  Gill  &Soo. 
or  any  of  our  Catholic  booksellers.  The  number  for  July,  which 
is  now  before  us,  containsi,  besides  other  most  interesting  matter, 


Notices  of  Books.  679 

a  very  tbonghtfol,  well-reasoned  paper  on  the  connection  between 
insanity  and  intemperance.  We  think  the  Magazine  should  be 
subscribed  for  and  read  by  all  who  are  interested — and  who  is  not  ? 
— in  the  suppression  of  the  destroying  vice  of  drunkenness.   , 

The  Messenger  of  the  Immaailate  Heart,    By  Rev.  J.  E.  Nolan, 

O.D.C.    Dublin  :  Duffy  &  Sons. 

The  Messenger  is  a  monthly  publication  of  a  very  unpretending 
but  neat  appearance.  It  contains  a  calendar  for  the  current 
month,  indulgenced  prayers,  a  discourse  on  some  attribute  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  together  with  an  account  of  the  more  memorable 
facts  connected  with  the  doings  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Imma- 
culate Heart  of  Mary.  Its  gifted  and  hard-working  editor,  in  this, 
as  in  his  many  other  little  books,  adopts  the  most  practical  and 
successful  method  of  permanently  benefiting  his  readers.  His  lan- 
guage is  clear  and  impressive,  and  he  gives  an  example  at  the  end 
of  each  instruction. 

Tlie  Virgin  Mother  of  Good  Counsel,  By  Monsignor  G.  F.  Dillon, 
D.D.    London:  Burns  &  Gates,  1884. 

Devotion  to  our  ** Mother  of  Good  Counsel**  is  not  without 
being  cultivated  in  these  countries,  but  it  is  cultivated  to  a  far  less 
extent  than  it  ought  to  be.  "  Good  Counsel "  is  one  of  the 
attributes  that  strikes  us  as  specially  becoming  in  her  whom  we 
salute  as  the  *'  Virgo  Sapiens,'*  and  to  whom  the  Church  applies  the 
words  of  the  Holy  Ghost  '*  in  me  is  counsel."  Besides,  we  feel 
assured  that  it  is  an  attribute  that  is  calculated  to  call  forth  in 
a  very  special  way  the  devotion  of  the  faithful,  who  are  so  trustful 
in  the  protection  and  guidance  of  the  Mother  of  God,  particularly 
in  times  of  doubt  and  difficulty.  Yet  the  picture  of  the  "  Virgin 
Mother  of  Good  Counsel "—  and  it  is  indeed  a  very  distinctive 
and  devotional  picture — is  not  often  met  with  in  our  churches  or 
oratories,  nor  is  the  invocation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  under  this 
sweet  title  so  frequently  on  our  lips  as  the  many  other  ejaculations 
that  are  so  familiar  to  us  from  childhood  onwards.  The  real  cause, 
however,  of  this  omission  is  to  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  the  people 
generally  had  no  knowledge  of  the  devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God 
under  this  special  form :  at  least  we  had  no  full  history  of  its 
origin  and  wonderful  development  in  other  countries.  This  want, 
we  are  happy  to  say,  is  now  admirably  met  by  Monsignor  Dillon's 
beautiful  book. 

Among  the  shrines  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  there  is  none, 
perhaps,  so  ancient,  and  few  more  famous  for  its  miracles,  the 
number  of  its  pilgrims,  and  the  extraordinary  manifestation  of 
piety  to  be  witnessed  there  from  year  to  year,  than  the  shrine  of 
the  "  Virgin  Mother  of  Good  Counsel.''  This  famous  shrine  is  at 
Genazzano,  a  picturesquely  situated  little  town,  in  the  Sabine 
Eanges,  some  thirty  miles  from  Bome,  near  Palestrina,  the  old 


680  Notices  of  Books. 

Praeneste  capital  of  Latium.  Here  our  Mother  of  Good  Counwl 
has  been  honoured  under  this  beautiful  title  from  the  earliest 
times,  indeed  from  those  far  off  times  when  the  deserted  pagan 
temples  round  Rome  were  taken  up  by  the  Christians,  and  t&e 
abominations  of  idolatry  replaced  by  the  pure  worship  of  the  tme 
God.  We  are  told  that  the  first  sanctuary  of  our  Lady  of  Good 
Counsel  at  Genazzano  had  been  a  temple  of  Venus. 

In  course  of  time  God  manifested  his  pleasure  at  the  great 
honour  paid  to  his  Mother  at  Genazzano  by  a  miracle  of  a  kind 
which  reminds  us  forcibly  of  that  other  renowned  sanctuary,  the 
holy  House  of  Loretto.  In  the  year  1467,  a  beautiful  picture  of 
the  Virgin,  holding  in  her  arms  the  Divine  Infant,  passed 
miraculously  from  Albania  when  seized  by  the  Turks,  to  the 
shrine  at  Genazzano.  This  picture  is  preserved  with  jealous  care, 
and  we  have  been  told  by  friends,  who  were  present  on  the 
occasion  of  the  annual  Feast  when  the  picture  is  uncovered,  that 
the  piety  of  the  people  was  such  as  to  make  even  one  who  had 
witnessed  the  enthusiasm  of  the  pilgrims  at  Lourdes,  to  marrel. 

But  we  must  send  our  readers  to  Monsignor  Dillon's  highly 
interesting  book  for  a  fiill  history  of  our  Lady's  Shrine  at  Grenazzano. 
The  work  is  so  complete  and  of  so  useful  a  character  as  to  merit 
the  high  commendation  of  Cardinal  Simeoni ;  and  even  the  Pope 
himself  has  sent  to  the  Right  Eev.  author,  with  his  blessing,  a 
letter  of  praise  and  thanks. 

If  we  may  venture  to  make  a  suggestion  to  the  Bight  Ber. 
author,  we  would  say  to  him  to  complete  his  splendid  service  in 
spreading  devotion  to  our  Virgin  Mother  of  Good  Counsel  bj 
publishing  in  due  course  a  small  popular  Manual,  embodying  in  a 
concise  form  the  history  of  this  venerable  and  famous  shnne,  with 
prayed  and  suitable  devotions.  Thus  he  will  establish  a  veiy 
strong  claim  to  the  reward  he  speaks  of  so  earnestly  and  loviDgljf 
^'  Qui  elucidant  me,  vitam  aetemam  habebunt."  £i>« 

Manual  of  the  Infant  Jesus.      By   Fr.  Sebastian.      Dublin: 

Gill  &  Son. 
This  little  Manual  is  divided  into  two  parts  :  the  first  contains 
forty- four  considerations  on  the  Life  of  our  Divine  Lord  and  other 
suitable  subjects,  and  the  second  part  is  made  up  of  the  prayeo 
usually  found  in  prayer  books.  We  think  this  a  good  plan.  The 
Considerations,  if  read  attentively,  will  serve  the  purpose  of  a 
Meditation,  or  of  the  daily  Spiritual  Beading,  and  we  are  quit* 
sure  that  no  one  can  use  them  regularly  without  much  spintiial 
profit.  They  lead  all  classes  of  people  easHy  and  naturally  to  think 
and  pray.     They  also  contain  much  solid  instruction.  E^* 


THE  IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


NOVEMBER,  1884. 


THE  CONFESSOR  AS  '' CONSULENSr 

OF  the  many  heavy  duties  annexed  to  the  oflSce  of 
confessor  few  involve  the  load  of  care  wh:ch  attaches 
to  his  obUgation  of  giving  advice  on  matters  of  restitution. 
It  comes  ^on  him  in  numerous  cases  varying  in 
Knd  and  difficulty.  At  one  time  it  is  a  child  stealing  from 
parents,  at  another  an  unjust  co-operator,  again  an 
unfaithful  public  servant,  and  again  an  accidental  agent  of 
injury.  Counsel  in  affairs  so  complex  is  no  easy  task,  and 
yet  it  belongs  to  the  ordinary  office  of  confessor  to  be 
accurate  in  them  all. 

Every  obligation,  however,  which  official  tinist  imposes, 
is  not  binding  in  justice.  Without  its  bond  the  virtues  of 
charity,  fidelity,  and  religion,  may  demand  the  performance 
of  certain  acts  under  heavy  penalty.  It  is  often  so  with  the 
confessor.  When  he  hears  the  confession  of  a  person  duly 
disposed  he  is  bound  per  se  in  justice  to  give  absolution  ; 
but  he  is  not  bound  per  $e  in  justice  to  admonish  in  regard 
to  restitution,  although  he  may  be  guilty  of  a  serious 
dereUction  of  duty  by  neglecting  the  admonition. 

How,  it  may  be  ajsked,  does  the  confessor,  as  such,  come 
under  the  weight  of  any  serious  obUgation  to  procure  the 
temporal  well-being  of  his  penitent  or  a  third  party,  seeing 
that  his  office  is  concerned  with  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
former  alone  ?  Indirectly  for  the  most  part.  As  father 
and  friend  the  sinner  has,  no  doubt,  strong  claims  on 
his  charity  to  prevent  even  worldly  losses,  when  this  is 
feasible ;  but  the  main  source  of  obUgation  is  that  the 
confessor  is  bound  directly  to  procure  the  spiritual  good  of 
his  penitent,  and  cannot  do  so  in  many  instances  without 
giving  advice  and  instruction  iu  regard  to  temporal 
VOL.  V.  3  E 


Ihe  Confessor  as  "  Consulens"  683 

mortally  sinful  neglect,  ignorance, .  or  malice.  In  the 
former  it  should  be  purely  accidental,  or  at  worst,  arise  out 
of  some  slight  fault.  It  is  necessary  to  keep  these  two 
classes  of  cases  carefully  apart. 

Taking  them  in  order,  as  is  obvious,  a  most  discreet 
and  efficient  confessor  may,  as  long  as  man  remains  what 
he  is,  give  wrong  instruction  through  inadvertence  or 
forgetfulness,  though  confident  that  he  knows  the  whole 
case  and  overlooks  no  point  in  giving  decision.  Or  again, 
possibly  there  has  been  some  slight  venial  fault  of  over- 
naste  in  putting  the  circumstances  together.  Such  slips 
are,  on  thejone  hand,  possible,  and  on  the  other,  according 
to  the  unanimous  opinion  of  theologians,  it  would  make 
the  confes80i''8  position  unbearable,  if  he  were  bound  in 
justice  to  prevent  their  evil  results,  at  relatively  grave 
inconvenience  to  himself.  This  also  is  the  dictate  of 
reason  where  sin,  if  any,  is  but  venial.  Nor  does  the  public 
good  require  a  special  penalty  in  this  particular  case.  It 
is  fully  protected  by  the  facility  with  which  neglect  in 
matters  so  serious  becomes  a  grave  offence,  bringing  -Nvith 
it  the  burden  of  complete  compensation,  and  by  the 
obligation  to  which  we  are  going  to  allude. 

For  though  not  bound  in  justice  by  reason  of  his  advice 
to  interfere  cum  gravi  incpmmodo  to  prevent  its  evil  eflcct, 
he  is  under  the  obUgation  of  doing  so  at  appreciable  dis- 
advantage to  himself.  By  supposition  his  act  will  be  at 
least  the  material  cause  of  injury,  if  allowed  to  take  its 
course.  Now  in  such  circumstances  the  person  about  to 
be  injured  has  a  strict  right,  as  all  admit,  that  at  some 
personal  inconvenience  an  effort  should  be  made  to  prevent 
.the  evil  by  him  who  has  been  the  material  cause  of  its 
otherwise  sure  occurrence. 

Moreover,  this  obligation,  though  urging  only  sub  levi 
incommodoy  is,  of  its  own  nature,  grave^  That  is,  by 
neglecting  to  discharge  it,  one  contracts  mortal  guilt, 
where  the  matter  is  of  serious  importance,  and  becomes 
liable  for  the  evil  consequences  of  his  advice  just  as  if  he 
had  committed  a  mortal  sin  in  the  beginning.  Both  points 
are  well  explained  by  Lehmkuhl.^ 

**Nam  qui  actione  vel  inculpabile  vel  imperfecte  culpabile 
causam  damni  alieni  posuit,  tenetur  impedire,  quominus  actio 
suum  effectum  producat  vel  nocere  pergat,  mode  id  etiamnunc 
efficere  possit  sine  incommodo  relative  gravi.     Sicut  enim  quilibet 

1  Vol,  L  n.  969. 


a  cominoae  potest  tiamoncre  ■   sicut,  qui  uicuipaDiliter  accennii 
1  Dis.  ixii.,  n.  66.  '  De  Poenit.    Die.  ixii.  sec.  iiL  n.,  64 


The  Confessor  as  "  Consulens.'*  •  685 

aedea  alienas,  quae  valeant  ceDtum  mille  aureos,  Don  excusabitur 
ab  extinguendo  incendio,  si  possit  uno  aureo  vocare  sibi  socios 
qui  illud  extinguant ;  commode  enim  potest  illud  extinguere 
respective  ad  damnum  de  quo  agitur." 

Such,  then,  is  the  inconvenience  at  which  wrong  advice, 
given  without  grave  fault,  must  be  amended,  to  avert 
the  burthen  of  full  restitution.  The  prudent  practice  of 
confessors,  however,  is  their  sure  defence  in  these  matters. 
When  a  case  of  unusual  difficulty  arises  which  cannot  be 
satisfactorily  settled  without  reference  or  deliberation, 
judgment  is  deferred  and  time  taken  to  think  over  every 
circumstance  of  importance.  This  is  much  better  than  to 
hazard  an  opinion  which  might  happen  to  be  unsafe.  To 
postpone  one's  decision  for  a  trifling  scruple  could,  of 
course,  serve  no  good  purpose.  Delays  are  but  second- 
best  remedies  to  be  applied  when  sure  advice  cannot  be 
commanded.  Still,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  which 
require  postponement,  no  considerable  disadvantage  need 
^be  feared.  If,  however,  the  penitent  cannot  return  to  the 
same  confessor  without  considerable  inconvenience,  he  is  to 
be  told  that  the  matter  requires  deliberation,  and  that  in  the 
circumstances  he  must  explain  it  over  again  to  his  next 
confessor.  Should  he  happen  to  be  dying,  and  have  no 
hope  of  life  continuhig  until  proper  counsel  could  be 
given,  the  best  expedient  for  him  woidd  be  to  leave  his 
confessor  means  of  making  restitution  conditionally  on  its 
being  of  obligation.  But  if  in  some  extraordinary  case  this 
or  any  similar  provision  could  not  be  made  without 
endangering  eternal  salvation,  and  the  penitent,  on  beins 
told  how  matters  stood,  showed  no  desire  to  be  liberal 
beyond  his  obligations,  the  confessor  should  announce  to 
him  that  in  such  a  complication  he  was  practically  free 
from  restitution. 

So  far  the  absence  of  gravely  culpable  ignorance  or 
neglect  has  been  supposed.  But  the  presence  of  either  is 
at  least  possible,  and  it  is  therefore  requisite  to  explain 
the  consequences  of  such  advice.  To  ui^dertake  the 
decision  of  grave  questions  in  justice  without  having  once 
acquired  and  now  possessing  the  necessary  knowledge  for 
a  confessor,  or  to  pronounce  on  important  and  controverted 
rights  without  due  examination  of  their  bearings,  will 
make  the  rash  adviser  be  the  positive,  efficacious,  unjust, 
and  culpable  cause  of  whatever  injury  results  from  such 
imorance  or  neglect,  and  render  him  liable  accordinglv  to 
the  injured  person  or  persons.    The  penitent  or  a  third 


The  ConfesBor  as  **  ComuUns.'*  687 

mnfit  be  broken  by  convincing  arguments.  Otherwise, 
the  result  is  still  traceable  to  the  confessor's  counsel. 
And  it  is  not  merely  that  reasons,  which  of  themselves 
bring  conviction,  must  be  advanced,  they  must  also  be 
convincing  f©r  the  individual  to  whom  they  are  addressed. 
Plainly  in  any  other  hypothesis  the  retractation  is  not 
efficacious,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  so  difficult  to  secure 
this  point  when  arguments  have  been  already  put  forward 
to  prove  the  penitent's  exemption.  Still  in  practice  we 
must  make  allowance  for  an  opinion,  referred  to  further  on, 
which  S.  Liguori  considers  prooable,  although  speculatively 
the  matter  seems  to  admit  of  little  doubt. 

It  may  be  well  to  go  through  the  possible  cases  more  in 
detail.  For  it  is  much  easier  to  recall  advice  opposed  to 
the  penitent's  temporal  interest,  than  that  which  favours 
him  at  some  other's  expense.  Above  everything,  it  is  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  attempts  made  by  the  conmlens  to  get 
free  from  the  obligation  of  restitution  must  be  sine  periculo 
Btmlli,  and  hence  that,  if  the  confession  be  over,  he  must 
ODtain  permission  for  alluding  to  a  matter  protected  by 
its  se^l. 

Now  let  us  first  deal  with  advice  which  is  unfavourable 
to  a  third  party  and  favours  the  penitent.  Practically  it 
takes  two  forms.  ITiey  are  permission  to  make  occult 
compensation  and  approval  of  omitting  restitution.  As 
regards  the  former,  Kttle  need  be  added.  The  revocation, 
we  suppose,  is  intimated  in  time  to  avert  the  mischief. 
Otherwise  it  is  of  no  avail.  But  when  intimated,  as  has 
been  said,  it  must  be  fortified  with  such  reasons  as  will 
utterly  nullify  the  former  instruction  given  to  the  penitent. 
For  if  he  proceeded  to  take  his  neighbour's  property, 
because  persuaded  that  the  change  of  advice  was  not 
meant  honajide^  or  in  anj  case  not  shown  to  be  just  by  the 
reasons  alleged,  the  original  unjust  counsel  would  still  flow 
into  the  act  of  injury,  as  cause  into  efiect,  and  the  revo- 
cation could  not  be  deemed  efficacious.  Again,  in  the 
absurd  hypothesis  of  anything  being  said  to  create  feelings 
of  hatred  and  revenge  towards  a  third  person,  or  point 
out  an  ingenious  way  of  taking  his  propertv,  it  might 
be  simply  impossible^  to  withdraw  the  influx  oi  permission, 
once  given,  to  make  occult  compensation  at  his  expense. 
On  the  other  hand,  however,  in  almost*  every  practical 
instance,  consilium  doctinnale  et  vestitum  can  be  completely 

»  Cf .  CroUy,  p.  656.  •  Ibid.  p.  654. 


The  Confessor  as  "  Consulens.'^  689 

or  he  was  not.  If  hot,  it  may  be  more  difficult,  as  has 
been  just  stated,  to  move  him  to  it  now,  after  having  been 
declared  free,  than  it  would  to  dissuade  him  from  making 
occult  compensation.  This,  however,  is  the  only  point 
of  difference.  The  two  cases  are  settled  on  the  same 
principlea  But  if  when  resolved  to  make  restitution 
m  the  beginning  he  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the 
confessor's  advice,  and  now  declines  to  accept  the  change 
of  counsel,  no  matter  how  irrational  his  conduct,  the  con- 
fessor is  bound  to  compensate  the  third  party.  And 
obviously  so,  because  in  tnis  hypothesis  his  consilium  is  the 
real  cause  of  the  injury.  It  prevented  the  restitution, 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  made.  It  has  already 
caused  the  damnum^  and  its  influx  or  efficacy  can  be 
retracted  only  when  the  damnum  ceases : — 

"  Sed  merito  sapientissimus  Lugo  non  excusat  confessarium 
CO  casu  a  restitutione ;  ratio,  quia,  esto  is  qui  auctoritative  dat 
pravum  consiliam,  revocato  consilio  ad  nihil  amplius  teneatur,  ut 
commnniter  decent  DD.,^  hoc  tamen  procedit,  quando  damnum 
non  est  adhuc  factum ;  non  vero  cum  ex  consilio  damnum  est  jam 
illatum  alteri.  Quando  autem  confessarius  positive  et  culpabihter 
deobligat  poenitentem  dispositum  ad  restituendum,  tunc  ipse  est 
causa,  ut  actu  damnum  creditor!  inferatur,  cum  alias  si  non 
deobligaret,  jam  actu  fieret  restitutio.  Unde  si  damnum  jam  actu 
infertur,  confessarius,  etiamsi  postea  quaerat  inducere  poenitentem 
ad  restituendum,  si  ille  renuat,  non  excusabitur  ipse  a  restitutione, 
cum  ipse  fuerit  causa  damni  illati." 

Thus  far  S.  Alphonsus,^  who  would,  of  course,  allow 
a  confessor's  claim  for  compensation  at  the  hands  of  his 
penitent,  when  the  latter  acts  dishonestly. 

And  now  a  word  on  counsel  unfavourable  to  the 
penitent.  It  is  of  all  the  most  readily  withdrawn.  As  a 
rule  it  will  suffice  to  simply  revoke  the  obligation,  which 
was  imposed,  of  making  restitution.  Where  deemed 
necessary,  however,  the  confessor  should  manifest  his  bona 
fides  and  his  recuaons,  because  otherwise  the  penitent  might 
remain  uninfluenced  bv  what  is  said  by  way  of  retractation. 
After  this  precaution,  he  has  plainly  the  advantage  of  the 
opinion  which,  as  was  shown  already,  S.  Liguori  deems 
practically  probable. 

We  have  already  stated  that  a  confessor,  although  by 

Srofession  an  ex  officio  consiliarius  in  matters  of  restitution, 
oes  not  incur  from  mere  silence  the  obligation  of  restoring 

» lib.  It.,  n.  659.  ^Lib.  v.,  Tract,  iv.,  n.  621. 


Religious  Instruction  in  Colleges  and  Convent  Schools.    691 

And  so  it  is  with  Christ's  minister.  Raised  to  the  lofty 
dignity  of  spiritual  judge  in  the  kingdom  of  God  his 
weighty  obligations  ever  remind  him  that  he  dispenses 
his  Master's  bounty  only  to  promote  the  welfare  of  those 
who  throng  around  his  tribunal.  The  place  where  he 
takes  his  seat  is  one  of  great  responsibility  for  him,  of 
mercy  and  security  to  repentant  sinners.  Even  in 
temporal  matters,  which  bear  on  the  spiritual,  his  advice, 
at  a  personal  risk,  must  be  as  correct  as  diligent 
study  can  render  it.  And  how  jealously  are  the  rights 
of  others  yarded!  While  careful  not  to  impose  an 
obligation  m  cases  of  doubt  he  will  not  allow  occult 
compensation  where  the  right  is  uncei-tain.  Truly, 
the  lowliest  and  most  worldly  portion  of  a  confessor's 
office  needs  the  sustaining  hand  of  the  Most  High.  But 
assuredly  He  who  with  loving  care  watches  over  the 
minutest  portions  of  the  universe,  and  ever  equips  His 
creatures  with  abundant  means  to  attain  their  various 
ends,  will  not  shorten  His  arm  in  strengthening  the  heavily- 
laden  minister  of  penance. 

Patrick  O'Donnell. 


RELIGIOUS    INSTRUCTION  IN   COLLEGES    AND 

CONVENT  SCHOOLS. 

THE  History  of  Ireland  for  years  past  has  been  marked 
by  such  great  and  stirring  events  as  to  be  full  of 
exciting  interest.  Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the 
political  condition  of  the  people.  Step  by  step  a  real 
advance,  though  a  slow  one,  has  been  made  in  giving  to 
them  a  share  of  that  Uberty  and  right  of  equal  justice  which 
has  been  won  by  other  peoples  in  our  own  time;  and 
though  the  cause  of  freedom  nas  occasionally  been  stained 
by  crime,  yet  have  not  all  good  causes,  even  that  of 
religion  itself,  been  obstructed  in  like  manner  by  the 
wetness,  the  wilfulness,  and  the  wickedness  of  men  ?  In 
the  midst  of  these,  and  despite  of  them,  the  good  cause 
makes  its  way  and  prevails.  And  such  real  advance  and 
progress  has  been  made  in  amending  misrule,  and  restoring 
right  and  Uberty  to  Ireland  in  our  own  days,  that  they  will 
always  stand  out  in  the  history  of  Ireland  as  marking  an 
important  epoch. 


Religiom  Instruction  in  Colleges  and  Convent  Schools.   693 

There  are  influences  at  work  which  would  tempt  them  to 
look  to  National  progress  and  prosperity  as  the  first  thing. 
Moreover,  they  have  had  lately  opened  to  them  prospects  of 
entering  into  competition  with  others  for  the  honours  and 
rewards  of  learning.  But  those  honours  and  rewards  take 
no  account  of  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  religion^ 
and  they  create  a  new  and  dangerous  temptation  to  eager 
and  aspiring  spirits,  of  giving  the  strengtn  of  their  atten- 
tion so  completely  to  the  secular  subjects,  as  to  overlook 
and  forget  the  one  great  subject  which  concerns  them 
more  than  all. 

In  considering  what  can  be  done  by  way  of  education 
to  meet  these  dangers,  we  find  that  those  that  have  to  be 
dealt  with  are  divided  into  two  distinct  classes.  There 
are  the  younff,  who  are  living  at  home  and  attending 
National  schools  or  private  day  Schools,  and  there  are  those 
that  are  resident  in  Seminaries,  Colleges  and  Convents. 
As  regards  the  first,  neither  the  schools  nor  the  pupils 
attending  them  are  under  the  control  of  spiritual 
authority  to  do  as  they  will  with  them  at  all  hours  and  in  all 
respects.  But  as  regards  the  second,  they  are  placed 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  educating  them. 
They  are  given  over  to  them  for  this  very  purpose.  It  is 
hard  to  believe  then,  that  with  regard  to  these  at  least  it 
should  not  be  possible  so  to  educate  them,  as  to  prepare 
them  to  pass  safely  through  the  dangers  they  must 
encounter  in  after  life.  Leaving  out  of  consideration  the 
first  class  for  the  present,  we  venture  to  offer  for  considera- 
tion some  suggestions  as  to  what  treatment  might  be  of 
service  in  dealing  with  the  second. 

It  is  obvious  at  the  outset  that  religious  instruction 
demands  new  and  special  attention,  both  for  the  reason 
that  it  holds  no  place  among  the  subjects  of  public  •ex- 
aminations, and  also  because  the  pupils  have  to  be  prepared 
more  and  more  for  entering  into  a  state  of  society,  not,  as 
before,  preservative  of  a  religious  spirit,  but  now  more  or 
less  opposed  to  it.  We  cannot  any  longer  depend  on  our 
youn^  people  being  kept  up  in  the  knowledge  andpractice 
of  religion  by  the  support  of  public  opinion^  They  are 
now  liable  to  read  and  hear  things  that  might  tend  rather 
to  weaken  their  faith  and  loosen  their  moral  principles  than 
to  give  them  strength.  Hence  it  is  before  all  things  neces- 
sary, now  that  education,  as  men  say,  is  going  ahead,  and 
the  subjects  of  the  day  are  more  skilfully  taught  and  more 
tjioroughly  learned,  that  the  knowledge  of  reUgion  should 


Religious  Instiniction  in  Colleges  and  Convent  Schools.    695 

it  into  a  wronff  attitude  of  mind  themselves — one  that  is 
unpractical,  self-asserting  and  repulsiye  1 

Once  more,  by  a  thorough  course  of  religion,  we  must 
explain  that  we  do  not  mean  devotion.  For  we  have 
more  than  once  in  visiting  important  places  of  education, 
where  secular  subjects  were  ably  and  successfully  taught, 
found  that  similar  attention  was  professedly  not  given  to 
the  study  of  religion,  on  the  ground  that  the  students 
attended  to  religion  as  a  matter  of  devotion  and  piety. 
Yet  this  is  surely  a  mistake ;  for  piety  is  not  exactly  a 
matter  in  our  hands  or  a  question  of  training  so  much  as 
a  gift  of  God,  and  where  children  are  brought  up  not  so 
much  to  be  conscientious  in  the  fulfilment  of  duties  as  to 
depend  on  piety,  it  is  frequently  found  to  result  in  the 
creation  of  a  religious  excitement  which  has  no  soUd 
foimdation,  and  which  fades  away  when  exposed  to  the 
trials  and  temptations  of  actual  lite,  leaving  those  whose 
religion  has  been  built  on  it  without  strength  to  endure. 
Nuns  and  other  reUgious  persons  who  are  so  eager  to  make 
their  pupils  full  of  devotion  like  themselves,  forget  that 
their  own  devotion  has  a  soUd  foundation  in  the  self-denial, 
self-sacrifice  and  obedience  of  their  life  in  religion.  Nor 
do  they  always  bear  in  mind  that  they  have  to  prepare 
their  pupils  to  encounter  temptations  under  circumstances 
where  they  will  be  without  help  from  the  external  devotions 
in  which  they  now  take  deu^ht,  and  will  have  to  fall 
back  on  their  own  good  religious  principles  and  settled 
habits.  A  true,  solid  devotion  is  indeed  a  thing  to  admire 
and  covet,  but  it  is  not  identical  with  a  soHd  knowledge  of 
the  doctrines  and  duties  of  reUgion,  nor  can  it  be  depended 
on,  like  a  habit  of  self-denial,  of  strict  obedience  to  God's 
Commandments,  and  taking  care  of  one's  own  soul. 

What,  then,  we  understand  by  a  solid  knowledge  of 
religion  is  a  huowledge  of  it,  not  as  a  means  of  gaining 
distmction,  or  dealing  with  others,  but  for  its  oato  sake, 
and  for  the  sake  of  ourselves.  We  see  that  those  who 
enter  into  the  study  of  science  and  history  thoroughly 
become  engrossed  in  it;  it  occupies  and  interests  them, 
until  often  their  character  and  hfe  are  made  up  of  it. 
Cannot  religion  be  studied  in  this  way?  Does  not  the 
subject  admit  of  it?  Is  it  not  capaole  of  feeding  the 
intellect  and  supporting  the  soul  f  Modem  educationalists 
would  have  us  believe  that  science  and  civilization  are  the 
realities  of  life,  and  that  all  else  is  theoretical  and  unsub- 
stantial.   We  desire  so  to  teach  the  knowledge  of  religion 


Lough  Cutra  and  its  Surroundings.  697 

is,  that  it  receives  boys  from  school  and  gives  them  a  sort 
of  freedom  and  independence,  without  at  once  emancipating 
them  from  all  care  and  control.  In  this  way  they  learn 
to  walk  and  take  care  of  themselves,  and  many  are 
preserved  who  would  be  unable  to  stand  exposure  to 
temptation  all  at  once.  Well,  if  we  are  not  able  to  give 
the  like  advantage  to  our  young  people,  it  would  seem 
important  to  their  future  strength  and  perseverance  not  to 
be  afraid  of  every  whiff  of  outer  air  lest  it  should  soil  their 
purity  or  poison  their  minds.  They  are  shortly  to  go  out 
Dodily  into  the  corrupt  atmosphere  of  the  world,  and 
without  purposely  putting  temptation  in  their  way,  yet  we 
need  not  be  sorry  that  their  strength  should  be  tried  by 
anything  in  the  way  of  temptation,  whether  from  books  or 
society,  that  comes  naturally  in  their  way,  while  they  still 
remain  under  surveillance  and  control.  The  preliminary 
canter  prepares  for  the  race ;  and  a  trial  trip  or  two  before 
starting  on  the  voyage  of  life  should  not  fee  regarded  as 
a  needless  exposure,  but  as  a  wise  precaution,  to  ensure 
the  vessel  being  well  founded  and  capable  of  reaching  her 
ultimate  destination. 

J,  Q.  Wenham, 


LOUGH  CUTRA  AND  ITS  SURROUNDINGS. 

rpHE  summits  of  the  mountain  range  which  extends  from 
I  Loughrea  to  Gort  command  some  magnificent  views 
oi  the  south  of  Galway.  They  are,  no  doubt,  changed  in 
many  things  since  Mac  Lonan,  Ireland's  chief  Poet,  in  the 
9th  Century,  sang  of  those  **  delightful "  heights.  However, 
the  purple  glow  of  the  heather  is  still,  perhaps,  as  rich  as 
when  the  authority  of  the  Chiefs  of  Kimeal  Aedh  was 
recognised  here ;  and  though  the  forests  of  yew  trees  and 
hoary  oaks  have  disappeared,  dark  pine  and  larch  plantations 
clothe  the  hill  sides,  and  afford  a  shelter  to  the  deer  that 
range  along  the  moimtain  solitudes.  Immediately  beneath 
lie  tne  plains  of  Aidhne,  once  remarkable  for  **  fleet  steeds," 
and  even  now  rich  in  extensive  plantings  and  cultivated 
fields.  The  nuiet  armlets  of  the  Galway  bay  areseen  glancing 
in  the  sunlight,  and  extending  towards  the  western  horizon  : 
and  there,  too,  is  seen  the  outUne  of  the  Connemara 
mountains,  seemingly  shifting  and  shadowy  in  the  distance, 
VOL.  V.  3  P 


Lcnigh  Cutra  and  its  Surroundings  699 

Little  of  its  history  is  known.  We  are,  however,  informed 
that  those  lovely  solitudes  were  hallowed  by  some  of  our 
primitive  Irish  saints.  Saint  Fechin  was  not  deterred  from 
visiting  Lough  Cutra  by  hispainfiil  experience  of  the  Islands 
of  Galway  Bay.  His  visit  there  was  rendered  memorable 
by  certain  miracles,  the  memory  of  which  he  considered 
should  be  perpetuated  by  the  erection  of  a  suitable  memo- 
rial— probably  a  church.  The  present  ruin  may,  perhaps, 
occupy  its  site.  But  Lough  Cutra  must  have  been  well 
and  Avidely  known  even  before  St.  Fechin 's  time.  One 
of  the  principal  residences  of  Gruaire,  the  hospitable  King 
of  Connaught,  stood  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  And  in  its 
neighbourhood,  too,  was  the  bloody  field  of  Cam  Connall — 
the  scene  of  his  signal  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Dermait, 
king  of  Leinster,  A.D.  648. 

In  the  Pagan  period  Lough  Cutra  was  selected  as  a 
site  lor  a  fortress  or  settlement  by  Cutra  son  of  Omor. 
This  Cutra,  who  has  given  his  name  to  the  lake,  was  brother 
of  Aengus,  the  powerful  chief  whose  fort  at  Aranmore 
still  proclaims  the  ingenuity  of  its  builders,  and  is  justly 
pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  most  magnificent  monuments 
of  the  period  now  extant  in  Europe. 

Hidden  behind  a  thickly  wooded  hill  on  the  north- 
eastern side  of  the  lake,  a  portion  of  the  ruins  of  an  old 
castle  may  still  be  seen.  It  belonged  to  a  branch 
of  the  Mac  Hubert  De  Burgos,  who,  in  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  appropriated  some  of  the  most 
valuable  portions  of  the  territories  of  the  Lords  of  Kinnael 
Aedh.  And  to  the  present  day  it  retains  the  name  of  a 
lady  celebrated  alike  for  her  cruelty  and  her  wealth — 
"  Nora  na  Gcaen, "  second  "  wife  "  of  the  first  Earl  of  Clan- 
ricarde.  This  castle,  dismantled  for  centuries,  was  the  only 
one  built  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Cutra  till  the  present 
magnificent  structure  was  erected  in  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  for  the  Hon.  Colonel  Vereker,  Lord  Gort. 
It  stands  an  enduring  monument  of  the  genius  of  its  archi- 
tect Mr.  Nash.  Mr.  Sullivan  refers  to  it  as  "one  of  the 
show  places  of  the  Western  counties."  The  massive  walls 
are  oi  chiselled  limestone ;  and  the  style  of  "  the  severe 
Gothic. "  No  site  could  be  better  chosen.  The  battlements 
and  terraces  of  the  castle  command  a  fine  view  of  islands, 
and  water,  and  wooded  shore,  and  of  the  undulating  line 
of  the  neighbouring  hills.  The  grotmds  are  extensive  and 
aglow  with  brightand  varied  flowers.  And  alongthe  water's 
edge  where  the  sunhght  struggles  through  the  foliage  of 


700  Lough  Cutra  and  its  Surroundings. 

o  verhan  gin  g  trees,  into  grottoes  and  sheltered  nooks,  the  rich 
bloom  of  the  rhododendrons  and  laburnums  flashes  brightly 
through  the  gloom  of  the  summer  foUage.  Indeed  the  site 
with  its  surroundings  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the  beautiful 
structure  erected  there  at  a  cost  of  £60,000. 

But  short  as  is  the  period  since  its  erection,  it  has  passed 
to  many  owners.  The  circumstances  under  which  the 
ownership  of  Lough  Cutra  castle  and  estates  passed  from 
the  Vereker  family,  are  so  graphically  sketched  by  Mr. 
Sullivan,  that  I  venture  to  place  the  passage  before  my 
readera  with  merely  a  few  omissions.  "  The  Gort  un- 
settled estates  lay  under  a  debt,  in  all,  of  about  £60,000. 
Eighteen  hundred  and  forty-seven  found  Lord  Gort,  a 
resident  landlord,  bravely  doing  his  duty,  refusing  to  fly, 
scorning  to  abandon  his  tenantry.  Rents  could  not  be 
raised ;  and  Lord  Gort  would  not  resort  to  heartless  means 
of  attempting  to  extort  them.    The  interest  of  the  mortgage 

fell  in  aiTear A  petition  for  sale  was  lodged 

in  Chancery,  whence  the  proceedings  were  transferred  to 
the  new  court  created  by  the  Incumbered  Estates  Act. 
Thirteen  years'  purchase  was,  1  believe,  the  highest  given 
at  this  sale.  Lough  Cooter  Castle,  worth  £60,000  or 
£60,000,  was  sold  for  £17,000.  The  fortunate  purchaser 
was  Mrs.  Ball,  Superioress  of  the  religious  Order  of 
Loretto,  Dublin,  who  intended  converting  it  into  a 
Novitiate  house  for  the  Order." 

Immediately  after,  Mrs.  Ball  established  there  a  branch 
of  her  Order,  and  opened  schools  not  merely  for  the  educa- 
tion of  young  ladies  of  the  higher  classes,  but  for  the 
education  of  the  poor  as  welL  The  complete  seclusion  of 
the  place,  and  its  extensive  woodland  solitudes,  were  quite 
suited  to  the  peaceful  and  tranquil  lives  of  ReUgious.  And 
for  a  time,  indeed,  the  meny  laughter  of  the  school 
children  was  the  only  sound  which  woke  the  echoes  there. 
And  for  some  years  the  musical  peals  of  the  convent  bell, 
borne  beyond  the  waters  of  the  lake,  proclaimed  their 
daily  message  of  prayer  to  the  peasants  toiling  on  the  hill 
sides,  and  to  the  remote  mountain  hamlets.  But  the 
community  was  soon  recalled ;  and  when  they  left,  they 
bore  away  with  them  the  blessings  and  the  affectionate 
remembrances  of  the  people  of  the  district. 

Once  more  Lough  Cutra  had  a  change  of  owners.    A 

soldier,  who  won  his  coronet  under  the  burning  suns  of 

India,  became    the    purchaser.      Lord    Gough    became 

3  owner  for  £24,000.     Its  beauty  and  seclusion  gave  pro- 


Lough  Cutra  and  its  Surroundings.  701 

mise  of  that  repose  to  which  the  hardships  of  his  long  and 
successful  campaigns  gave  the  brave  veteran  so  just  a 
claim.  Two  well-  mounted  pieces  of  artillery,  which  he 
captured  in  India,  are  still  preservjsd  on  either  side  the 
entrance  as  trophies  of  the  prowess  of  the  Irish  general. 
And  though  he  retired  from  Lough  Cutra  to  St.  Helen's 
near  Dublin,  he  still  continued  to  love  it  well,  and  returned 
to  it  frequently  as  to  a  home  to  which  he  was  much 
att€U3hed.  In  the  hands  of  its  present  noble  owner,  all  is 
done  for  the  beauty  of  the  place,  which  a  generous  expen- 
diture and  a  cultivated  taate  can  effect. 

Such  the  circumstances  under  which  Lough  Cutra 
changed  hands  during  the  present  century.  But  the 
transfer  of  the  Lough  Cutra  property,  which  took  place  at 
the  close  of  the  17th  century,  is  of  a  far  more  absorbing 
interest. 

When  the  Irish  nation  rallied  at  the  Boyne  around  the 
last  of  our  Stuart  Kings,  Sir  Roger  O'Shaughnessy  was 
owner  of  the  Lough  Cutra  estates.  Though  recognised 
chief  of  the  ancient  tribe  of  Kneal  Aedh,  he  like  his 
ancestors  held  his  tribe  lands  by  letters  patent,  made 
by  Henry  VIII.  Like  so  many  others  of  the  Irish  chief- 
tains, he  staked  all  for  the  CathoHc  cause,  and  for  a  worth- 
less sovereign.  After  that  Sovereign's  defeat  he  returned 
to  Gort  to  die.  In  May,  1697,  a  grant  of  hie  property  was 
made  **  in  custodiam  "  to  the  first  Baron  Hamilton,  who, 
however,  soon  after  received  «,  preferable  gift  from  the 
Crown. 

A  more  needy  favourite  was  soon  found  in  the  person 
of  Sir  Thomas  Prendegrast,  to  whom  a  grant  of  the 
O'Shaughnessy  estates  was  made  by  lettera  patent  on  the 
19th  June  of  the  same  year.  This  grant  included  all  the 
estate,  real  and  personal,  of  the  O'Shaughnessy  during  his 
life  and  that  of  his  son  William,  amd  was  made  to 
Prendegrast  **  in  consideration  of  his  good  and  acceptable 
services."  These  "  acceptable  services  "  consisted  prin- 
cipally of  his  betrayal  of  his  associates  in  what  is  termed 
the  "Assassination  Plot."  It  was  tho  golden  age  of 
"  informers.  "  Oates  and  Dangerfield  had  their  day  of 
inglorious  success ;  but  their  degradation  and  punishment, 
which  followed  in  due  course,  was  hailed  by  the  nation 
as  a  welcome  reUef.  The  more  fortunate  Prendegrast 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  "  Assassination  Plot,*'  which,  it 
was  said,  was  composed  in  a  large  measure  of  Roman 
Catholics — his  co-religionists.    Arrangements  for  effecting 


Lough  CtUra  and  its  Swrroundings.  703 

twenty  were  imprisoned:  and  other  arrests  followed 
quickly.  It  would  seem  that  Prendegrast's  scruples  about 
haying  his  evidence  used  "  against  the  criminals  "  grew 
weaker  under  the  subtle  influence  of  Royal  favour.  Assum- 
ing that  the  king's  "  word  of  honour  "  was  reUgiously 
observed,  the  informer  must  have  ''  freely  (Consented  "  to 
have  his  evidence  used  against  his  fellow  conspirators. 
The  first  victims  who  were  sentenced  and  executed,  were 
Cihamock,  King  and  Keyes.  Two  other  gentlemen,  named 
Friend  and  Parkins,  quickly  followed  them  to  the  scaffold ; 
and  their  execution  seems  to  have  been  ordered  mainly  on 
the  evidence  of  Prendegrast,  which  Macaulay  regards  as 
respectable. 

Such  the  nature  of  the  services  which  secured  for 
Thomas  Prendegrast  a  special  claim  on  the  Royal  favour. 
Accordingly  he  received  such  a  grant  as  has  been 
■referred  to,  of  the  O'Shaughncssy  estates  around  Lough 
Cutra,  made  to  him  by  letters  patent,  dated  20th  September, 
1698.  He  soon  afterwards  received  a  renewal  of  the 
original  grant,  with  additional  estates  in  Tipperary,Galway, 
Roscommon,  and  Westmeath. 

Colonel  William  O'Shaughnessy,  better  known  as  the 
Chevalier  O'Shaughnessy,  succeeded  to  the  blighted  for- 
tunes of  his  father.  Like  many  others  of  his  brave  country- 
men he  left  his  native  land ;  and  accompanying  his  maternal 
uncle.  Lord  Clare,  he  placed  his  good  sword  at  the  service 
of  the  king  of  France.  His  career  as  a  soldier  was  a  dis- 
tinguished one.  In  July  1691,  he  received  the  commission 
6f  Captfdn  in  Lord  Clare's  regiment ;  and  during  that  year 
assisted  at  the  siege  of  Montmelian.  He  afterwards  served 
in  Italy  till  the  siege  of  Valenza  which  brought  the 
campaign  beyond  the  Alps  to  a  conclusion.  For  his 
services  at  that  siege  he  was  appointed  Commandant 
of  the  3rd  battalion  of  his  regiment.  We  soon  find  him 
engaged  against  Marlborough  at  filenhiem :  and  in  1705,  at 
the  memorable  field  of  Ramillies,  where  his  gallant  kinsman. 
Lord  Clare,  had  succumbed  to  his  wounds.  O'Shaughnessy 
was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel.  He  next 
served  with  the  army  at  Flanders  :  and  in  1709  fought  at 
Malplaquet,  where  Prendegrast,  his  plunderer,  was  slain. 
Durmg  the  succeeding  years  he  saw  much  service  and  was 
rapidly  promoted.  At  Gravelines,  in  1743,  he  was  com^ 
mander,  and  received  the  well-merited  distinction  of 
Chevalier  of  the  Royal  and  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis. 
But   death  terminated  the  veteran  exile's  distinguished 


Lotigh  Cutra  and  its  Surroundings.  705 

"  After  Dr.  O'Shaughnessy's  death  this  singular  law  suit 
was  continued  by  hip  brother  Sir  Roebuck  ;  and  after  him 
by  his  son,  Sir  Joseph — ^the  Bishop's  nephew.  Such  deter- 
mined perseverance  must  command  our  admiration.  But 
the  result  might  be  easily  foreseen.  Sir  Thomas  Prende- 
grast  was  a  member  of  ParKament,  and  had  the  sympathy 
of  the  Government,  and  the  support  of  a  persecuting  and 
dominant  class.  And  we  are  assured  on  most  credible 
authority  that  he  did  not  shrink  from  sacrificing  his  honour 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  his  success.  His  opponent  was 
a  Catholic,  and  had  little  else  to  rely  iipon  beyond  the 
justice  of  his  cause  and  the  sympathy  oi  the  people.  Be 
was  the  representative  of  a  family  who,  with  their  faults 
and  weaknesses,  proved  themselves  the  faithful  guardians 
and  promoters  of  Catholic  interests  in  the  territory  which 
St.  Coleman  blessed  by  his  Episcopal  labours ;  and  as  such 
he  retained  the  sympathy  of  the  populace,  and  the  support 
of  many  of  the  leading  families  of  the  West  of  Ireland,  to 
whom  he  was  closely  alUed  by  ties  of  kindred.  But  this 
gratifying  sympathy  rendei;ed  Sir  Joseph  overbold  in  his 
unequal  struggle.    He  was  influenced  by  it  to  take  forcible 

5ossession  of  me  Castle  of  his  ancestors  at  Gort-insi-juaire. 
'he  populace  who  supported  him,  offered  him  their  con- 
^atuJations,  and  did  not  realise  that  his  just  triumph  could 
be  opposed  by  law.  The  bell  towers  of  Athenryand  Gal- 
way  rung  out  their  merry  peals  in  unison  with  the  popular 
ioy.  The  local  poets  vied  with  each  other  in  proclaiming 
his  praises.  Some  lines  in  connection  with  this  event  are 
still  preserved,  which,  even  in  their  English  dress,  fairly 
indicate  the  extent  of  the  enthusiasm  and  popular  joy. 

^<  Majest  thou  meet  neither  peril  nor  danger, 

O  hero  without  fault. 
'  As  thou  hast  won  the  goal  the  tribe  that 

Is  poor  will  be  the  better  of  it. 
The  poets  shall  spread  thy  fame, 

And  the  ollaves  shall  speak  of  thee  ; 
And  from  the  nobles  of  Innisfail  thou  wilt 

Receive  at  Gort  the  palm  for  hospitality." 

It  was,  however,  but  a  short  lived  triumph.  The  law 
proceedings  to  which  it  immediately  led  are  thus  given  on 
the  "  Rules  and  practices  of  the  Equity  side  of  the 
Exchequer  in  Ireland." 

^'  In  the  case  of  Smyth  guardian  of  Prendegrast  and  others 
against  O'Siaughnessy  and  others  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  here 


[    707    ] 

THE  RECENT  ROYAL  UNIVERSITY  EXAMINATION 

IN  METAPHYSICS. 

THIS  being  the  first  year  in  which  the  students  of 
Cathohc  and  of  Non-Catholic  Colleges  competed  at 
this  examination,  special  attention  will  naturally  be  paid 
to  the  character  of  the  paper  set  in  Metaphysics — one  of 
the  very  few  subjects  dealt  with  by  the  Royal  University 
which  have  a  distinct  religious  bearing.  It  is  the  belief 
of  many  that  the  character  of  the  paper  is  such  as  Catholics 
have  no  little  reason  to  complain  of.  Whether  this  belief 
is  well-grounded  or  not,  the  following  analysis  of  the  paper 
will  show. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  at  the  outset,  that  under  the  regulations 
gf  the  Royal  University,  candidates  for  the  Degree  of  B.A., 
who  are  desirous  of  presenting  "Logic,  Metaphysics, 
Ethics,  and  the' History  of  Philosophy" — ^the  course  which 
many  ecclesiastical  students  would  most  naturally  select — 
are  obliged  to  take  Honour  papers  (there  being  no  Pass 
Course  in  this  set  of  subjects),  and  further  that  there 
is  a  regulation  special  to  the  examinations  for  the 
Degree  of  B.A.  with  Honours  and  for  the  Degree  of  M.A. 
with  Honours,  that  "  Candidates  cannot  be  adjudged  to 
hoive  passed  the  examination  unless  their  answering  closely 
approximates  to  the  standard  at  which  Honours  will  be 
awarded."  These  arrangements  might  perhaps  be  advan- 
tageouslv  altered,  but  so  long  as  they  continue  to  exist, 
they  make  it  the  more  imperative  that  the  papers  in  the 
subjects  of  these  examinations  should  be  in  all  respects 
reasonable  and  fair. 

Considering  how  largely  Catholics  predominate  in 
Ireland,  as  also  the  fact  that  the  Royal  University  was 
established  with  the  special  object  of  relieving  their 
educational  grievances,  it  cannot  be  held  to  be  unreason- 
able to  demand  (1)  that  as  many  questions  should  be  based, 
and  should  be  based  as  explicitly,  on  standard  works  of 
Catholic  Philosophy,  as  are  based  upon  the  corresponding 
works  of  Non-Catholic  Philosophy;  (2)  that  the  terminology 
familiar  to  the  Catholic  student  i^ould  be  employed  as 
freely  as  that  which  is  familiar  to  his  rival ;  and  (3)  that 
any  alternatives  which  are  offered  should  be  as  favourable 
to  one  side  as  to  the  other. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  most  elementary  principles  of 
fair  play  are  violated,  when  such  a  set  of  questions  is 


r 


The  Recent  MoycU  University  Examination  in  MetaphysicB.    709 

3.  Explain  and  illustrate  the  various  meanings  of  the  word 
external  as  applied  to  sensible  objects :  or 

State  briefly  the  theory  expressed  in  the  foDowing  : — Corpus 
dicit  compositum  ex  materia  etfoitna. 

4.  Explain,  with  suitable  comment  :  — *'  Reproduction  may  be 
said  to  involve  the  co-operation,  in  different  proportions,  or  with 
different  degrees  of  distinctness,  of  two  elements,  a  link  of 
similarity  or  identity,  and  a  link  of  contiguity  ;"  or 

Explain  the  nature  of  (a)  Obstructive  Association,  {h)  Implicit 
Reasoning. 

5.  State  distinctly  the  law  of  Contiguous  Association,  and  trace 
its  operation  (a)  in  the  acquiring  of  musical  airs,  (Jb)  in  the 
acquiring  of  a  foreign  language, 

6.  Distinguish  between  the  optical  and  muscular  elements  in 
the  sensation  of  sight.  Explain  how,  by  their  combination,  the 
eye  enables  us  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  form^  extension^  and  co« 
ftdstence  in  space.  Could  we  obtain  this  knowledge  by  the  optical 
element  only  ? 

7.  What  do  you  understand  by  the  organic  sense  f  "What  proof 
would  you  give  that  it  is  entitled  to  rank  among  the  senses  pro- 
perly so  called  ? 

8«  What  do  you  understand  by  concentration  of  mind  ?  Explain 
fully  in  what  way  it  aids  (a)  acquisition  ;  (Jb)  discovery.  Is  any- 
thing known  or  surmised  as  to  its  physiological  concomitants  ?  or 

Kt^  Space  and  Time  substances,  or  attributes,  or  relations,  or 
forms  ?    Define  the  terms  used  in  this  question, 

9,'  Is  consciousness  co* extensive  with  the  phenomena  of  mind  ? 

Analysis  op  the  Paper. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  examine  the  paper  in  detail, 
taking  the  questions  one  by  one.  We  take  them  in  order 
thus : — 

1^^  Question. 

Comment  upon  two  of  these  passages: — 

(a.)  "  All  introspection  is  retrospection." 

{h)  *'In  specifying  all  the  conditions  of  a  class  of  mental 
operations,  we  nmst  refer  not  only  to  psychical  but  to  physical 
circamstances." 

(c.)  '*  The  older  psychology  of  Locke  and  his  followers  over- 
looked the  effects  of  individual  *  nature.'  Modem  writers,  are, 
perhaps,  more  liable  to  overlook  the  effects  of  *  nurture.' " 

(a)  This  passage  reads  more  like  a  subject  for  an  essay 
than  a  question  m  Metaphysics.  It  is  no  doubt  right  to 
Bet  questions  which  will  test  a  student's  ability  as  well  as 
his  erudition ;  but  a  question  is  objectionable  on  general 


The  Recent  Royal  Umversity  Examination  in  Metaphysics.  711 

takeable  in  its  meaDing.  All  obscurity,  all  pit-falls,  and 
{JH  ambiguity,  should  be  avoided,  for  they  defeat  their  own 
purpose."  This  question  would  seem  to  be  an  extreme 
mstance  of  the  violation  of  this  "  first  requisite."  The  only 
thing  **  clear  and  unmistakeable  "  about  it  is  that  it  belongs 
to  the  History  of  Philosophy,  and  not  to  the  Science  of 
Metaphysics,  and  that  a  candidate  whose  work  of  prepara- 
tion had  been  done  on  Catholic  lines,  would  be  exceedmgly 
unlikely  to  be  able  to  write  anything  better  in  reply  to 
it  than  some  crude  extempore  speculations  of  his  own. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  alternative  offered  in  this 
questionis — as  far  as  one  class  of  candidates  are  concerned 
— quite  nugatory,  neither  (6)  nor  (c)  being  a  question 
which  they  could  reasonably  be  expected  to  answer  on 
terms  of  anything  like  equality  with  their  competitors, 

2nd  Question. 

Discuss  the  statement — "  Besistance  to  the  locomotive  energy 
is  the  only  mode  of  consciousness,  which  directly  tells  us  of  the 
existence  of  an  external  world ;  and  the  attributes  which  are 
made  known  to  us  in  that  relation  are  the  only  ones  which  are 
directly  given  ad  constituting  a  material  reality." 

This  statement  is  to  be  found  verbatim  in  Mansel's 
Metaphysics  (a  work  most  likely  to  have  been  carefully 
studied  by  every  Non-Catholic  candidate),  8rd  edition, 
,  346.  In  the  context  in  which  the  passage  occurs,  will 
e  foand  all  that  Dean  Mansel  was  able  to  bring  forward 
in  proof  of  this  position. 

xhe  Non-Catholic  candidate,  therefore,  has  the  best 
help  towards  obtaining  an  answer  to  this  question.  The 
less  fortimate  Catholic  candidate  must  endeavour,  as  best 
he  can,  to  collect  the  scattered  fragments  to  be  found 
in  his  sources  of  information,  and  with  great  "  toil  and 
trouble,"  to  fit  them  together,  while  his  neighbour  is 
pleasantly  writing  from  memory.  And  in  this  instance  he 
Tvill  look  in  vain  for  an  alternative. 

8rrf  Question. 

Explain  and  illustrate  the  various  meanings  of  the  word 
external  as  applied  to  sensible  objects  ;  or 

State  briefly  the  theory  expressed  in  the  following  '.--^Corpus 
dicit  compositum  ex  materia  etfonna. 

(1^/  Altemaiive.) 

Under  the  headings,  "  Meaning  or  import  of  Eaten' 
sion^^  and  "  Extension  the  result  of  an  association 
of  mental  effects.       The  opposing  views :    Hamilton^''    the 


s 


The  Recent  Royal,  Vnivereity  IkMimination  in  Metaphydce^  713 

4^  Q^£siion, 

Explain,  with  suitable  comment : — **  Rejfroduction  may  be 
gaid  to  involve  the  co-operation,  in  different  proportions,  or  with 
different  degrees  of  distinctness,  of  two  elements,  a  link  of 
similarity  or  identity,  and  a  link  of  contiguity ;"  or 

Explain  the  nature  of  (a)  Obstructive  Association,  {h)  Implicit 
Beasoning. 

(Is*  AUemative.) 

The  only  diflScnlty  which  the  Non-Catholic  student  can 
have  had  in  answering  this  question  must  have  been  the 
embarrassment  of  too  much  riches.  "  Throughout  the  whole 
of  the  preceding  statement  [extending  over  249  pages]  we 
have  had  in  view,'' — ^we  quote  from  Professor  Bain — "  the 
literal  resuadtationj  revivalj  or  reinstcUement  j]called  elsewhere, 
passim,  ^  reproduction^^  of  former  actions,  images,  emotions, 
and  trains  of  thought."  He  considers  first  the  case  in  which 
this  resuscitation,  &c.,  is  due  '^  to  single  threads  or  indivisible 
links  of  association,  whether  of  contiguiU/  or  similarity y*'  and 
next  "  the  case  where  several  threacis  or  a  Plurality  of 
links  or  bonds  of  connexion  unite  in  reviving  some  previous 
thought  or  mental  state."  To  the  consideration  of  this 
latter  case — ^the  one  referred  to  in  the  present  alternative 
question — he  devotes  26  pages.  The  student  must  be  hard , 
to  please  who  is  not  satisfied  with  the  amount  of  matter 
provided  for  him  within  that  compass. 

Here,  again,  the  Catholic  candidate  craves  our  com- 
miseration. We  can  only  recommend  him  to  ^^  cudgel 
his  brains  no  more  about  it." 

(2nd  Alternative,) 

(a)  Professor  Bain  devotes  a  special  section  to 
^Obstructive  Associations"  (Senses  and  InteUecty^p.  562-566.) 
There  is  not,  it  may  safely  be  said,  any  allusion  to  either 
term  or  thing  in  any  Catholic  handbook.  May  we  not, 
then,  in  all  fairness  object  to  it  as  an  alternative  of  real 
value  to  students  of  the  Catholic  system  of  Philosophy  ? 

(b)  Though  the  subject  referred  to  in  this  question 

airhich,  by  the  way,  belongs  to  Logic  rather  than  to 
etapbysios)  is  discussed  in  some  recent  well-known  works 
of  Catholic  Philosophy,  "  Implicit  Reasoning  "  can  hardly  be 
said  to  be  employed  in  them  as  a  technical  term  (such  as 
the  phrase  is  nere  plainly  suggested  to  be,  from  its  con- 
tiguity with  such  a  pre-eminently  technical  expression  as 
••Obstructive  Association"),  nor  has  it  yet  foxmd  a 
recognised  place,  as  a  technical  term,  in  standard  hand** 
books  of  Philosophy,  OathoUo  or  Non-CathoKc. 

VOL.  V.  8  a 


The  Recent  Royal  Umversiti/  Examination  in  Metaphysics.  715 

between  the  optical  and  muscular  elements  in  the  sensa- 
tions of  sight."  **  The  sensations  of  sight  are  partly  optical^ 
resulting  from  the  effect  of  light  on  the  retina  ;  and  partly 
muscular^  arising  through  Hie  action  of  the  various  muscles. 
Nearly  all  sensations  of  sight  combine  boiJi.  elements.'^ 
{Senses  and  Intellect^  p.  226).  To  the  second  part  of  the 
question,  "  Explain  how  .  .  .  space,"*  he  addresses  himself, 
on  p.  234.  '*  We  must  now  inquire,''  he  says,  "  by  what 
process  we  perceive  Visible  i^orwi^and  JEateftsion^and  acquire 
the  notion  of  Simultaneous  existence  in  Space. ^*  This  he 
explains  by  *'  a  combination  of  opticcd  and  muscular 
effects."  As  to  the  third  part  of  the  question,  *•  Could  we 
obtain  this  knowledge  by  the  optical  element  only," 
Professor  Bain  informs  us  that  we  could  not.  '*The 
combination  of  optical  effect  with  the  feelings  of  move- 
ment arising  out  of  the  muscles  of  the  eyeball,  is  necessary 
as  a  basis  of  those  perceptions  of  tne  external  world 
that  are  associated  with  si^t — Externality^  Motion,  Form, 
Distance,  Size,  Solidity,  and  relative  Position'' — Ibid, p.  230. 

Thus  the  student  of  Bain  has  all  the  advantages 
which  he  could  desire.  The  position  of  his  neighbour — 
if  he  still  have  any  position  in  the  contest — is,  of  course, 
rapidly  becoming  desperate. 

Neither  in  this  question,  nor  in  the  one  immediately 
preceding  it,  is  any  alternative  proposed ! 

lih  Question. 

What  do  you  understand  by  the  Organic  Sense  f  What  proof  would 
you  give  that  it  is  entitled  to  rank  among  the  senses  properly  so 
called  ?  \ 

Here  again  there  is  no  alternative  question.  Let  us  see, 
then,  what  is  the  character  of  the  question  as  it  thus  stands. 
It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  say  what  we  should 
"  understand  by  the  Organic  Sense.'*  Kant  and  "  the 
German  Philosophers "  (as  stated  by  Sir  W.  Hamilton ) 
understand  one  thing  by  this  term ;  Professor  Bain  and  his 
followers  understand  by  it  the  exact  opposite.  It  is  clear, 
however,  from  the  second  part  of  the  question,  that  we 
are  expected  to  follow  Professor  Bain's  use  of  the  term. 
He    then   gives  us  the  required  "  proof "  in  his  Senses 

*  "  Kant  divides  the  whole  bodily  senses  into  two — ^into  a  Vital 
Sense  (Sensus  Vagus),  and  an  Organic  Sejise  (Sensns  Fixus).  To  the 
former  class  belong  the  sensations  of  heat  and  cold,  shuddering,  quak- 
ing, &c.  jTfte  latter  is  divided  into  the  Jive  senses,  of  Touch  Propet ,  Sight, 
Hearing,  Taste,  and  SmelV^    Sir  W.  Hamilton,  Metaphysics  ii,  p.  157. 


7%€  Recent  Royal  University  Examination  in  Metaphysics,    717 

This  question  affords,  then,  another  instance  of  alterna- 
tives, both  of  which  are  valuable  to  one  set  of  students, 
while  but  one  of  them  is  valuable  to  the  other. 

9th  Question. 

Is  consciousness  coextensive  with  the  phenomena  of  mind  ? 

This  question,  '*  Are  there  ejij  phenomena  or  modifica- 
tions of  the  mind  of  which  we  are  unconscious,"  is  one 
which  Sir  W.  Hamilton  has  made  famous  in  these  countries. 
It  is  discussed  by  him  at  considerable  length  in  his  Meta- 
physics, Led.  xviii.,  and  also  by  Mill,  Exam,  of  Sir  W, 
Hamilton's  Philosophy^  Chap,  xv.,  and  by  nearly  all  recent 
English  Philosophers.  The  question,  as  Sanseverino  con- 
fesses (Philosophia  Christiana^  Dynamil.,  p.  944)  is  one 
which  was  not  oiscussed  by  the  Scholastics.  It  can  hardly  be 
said  as  yet  to  have  been  adequately  treated  by  any  Catholic 
writer  except  Sanseverino  himself  in  his  large  work,  which 
certainly  is  not  a  student's  handbook.  The  question,  as 
being  a  prominent  one  in  Non-Catholic  Philosophy,  might 
be  admitted  to  be  fair,  if  a  question  eqtiaUy  prominent 
belonging  to  Catholic  Philosophy  had  also  been  given.  It 
was  only  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  paper 
throughout,  that  this  should  not  have  been  done. 

Summary  of  the  foregoing  ANALYSia 

Taking  the  questions,  then,  in  the  aggregate,  the  position 
of  the  rival  candidates  is  this : — A  Non-Catholic  candidate 
could,  by  a  judicious  choice  of  alternatives,  select,  out 
of  the  total  ot  nijie  questions  which  he  was  permitted 
to  answer,  no  fewer  than  eight  (Questions,  2 ;  8,  either  alter- 
native; 4,  fi<A«r  alternative ;  5;  6;  7;  8,  «<W  alternative ; 
and  9)  whicdi  are  treated  ex  professo  and  in  terminis  in  his 
ordinarv  handbooks^  and  he  would  have,  moreover,  in  three 
cases  (Questions  3^  4,  and  8^  an  option  as  between  altema- 
idve  questions,  each  of  whicn  is  treated  ex  professo  and  in 
terminis  in  those  handbooks.  A  Catholic  candidate,  on 
the  other  hakid,  could  not,  by  any  selection  of  alternatives, 
find  more  than  two  questions  (m.  8,  2nd  alternative,  and 
No.  8,  2nd  alternative)  which  are  treated  ex  professo  and 
ffi  terminis  m  the  ordinary  (or  indeed,  we  may  say,  with  the 
exception  of  No.  9,  in  any)  CathoUc  handbooks,  and  even 
these  two  are  also  treated  ex  professo  and  in  terminis  in 
tiie  corresponding  Non-Catholic  handboohB  I 

Further,  there  is  not  in  the  whole  paper  a  question, 
BOT  even  an  aitemative  under  a  question,  whi<m  is  not 


The  Recent  Royal  Univereiiy  Examination  in  Metaphyeiee.  719 

that  a  Catholic  student  could  not  be  properly  prepared  to 
answer  them  by  any  method  other  than  that  of  putting 
the  Non-Catholie  handbook  into  hie  hands,  and  helping  him 
to  master  it  in  aUits  details.  No  other  plan  would  afford 
him  sufficient  help.  Now  it  has  above  been  proved  in  detai), 
that  in  at  least  seven  instances  the  questions  or  alternatives 
on  this  paper  are  to  be  found  in  their  entirety,  and  in 
exactly  tne  same  terminolo^  (that  terminolo^  being  often 
novel  and  peculiar),  in  Pro^ssor  Bain's  works  (Senses  and 
Intellect,  or  the  more  compendious  Mental  Science)^  and  are 
there  diiBCUSsed  ex  professo.  Professor  Bain's  works,  then, 
or  those  of  his  disciples  and  expounders,  would,  beyond 
question,  have  been  incomparably  the  most  help^l  which 
a  candidate  preparing  for  this  examination  in  Metaphysics 
could  have  had  in  his  hands,  and  this  circumstance  is  one 
which  must  have  given,  in  the  competition  for  Honours 
and  Prizes,^  an  immense  advantage  to  Non-Catholic  candi- 
dates, with  whom  Professor  Bain's  works  are  well  known 
to  be  favourites.  With  a  view,  therefore,  to  success  at  the 
Boyal  University,  these  are  the  works  for  which  Catholic 
candidates  are  practically  called  upon  to  discard  their  own.' 

1  While  these  sheets  were  passing  through  the  ^ress,  the  lists  of 
candidates  who  obtained  Honours,  or  who  upon  their  answering  were 
qualified  to  obtain  Exhibitions,  at  the  Royal  University,  were  published. 
Eight  candidates  obtained  Honours  in  the  course  of  Logic,  Metaphysics, 
History  of  Philosophy,  (fc.  Of  these  eight,  no  Jewer  than  seven  were 
Non-Catholics,  and  Non-Catholics  who,  in  addition  to  the  advantages 
which  the  paper  here  under  criticism  and  others  of  a  somewhat  simBar 
character  must  have  afforded  to  all  candidates  prepared  upon  Non- 
Catholic  lines,  enjoyed  also  the  advantages  which  students  who  are 
examined  by  their  own  Professor  necesMuilv  have  over  those  who 
are  examined  by  a  stranger.  Further,  of  candidates  who  pre- 
sented this  course,  three  were  declared  to  be  qualified  upon  their 
answering  to  obtain  Exhibitions — one  First  Class  Exhibition  of  the 
value  of  £50,  and  two  Second  Class  Exhibitions,  of  the  value  of 
£25  each.  All  three  candidates  were  Non-Catholics,  enjoying  all  the 
exceptional  advantages  just  referred  to.  Non-Catholic  candidates  may, 
no  doubt,  have  been  so  far  superior  to  their  Catholic  competitors,  as  to 
be  justly  entitled  thus  practically  to  monopolise  University  Honours 
and  Exhibitions  in  this  department,  but  assuredly  such  superiority  was 
not  established  by  any  test  which  we  are  bound  to  regard  as  impartial 
or  decisive. 

'  It  appears  that  '*  at  the  Examinations  of  the  University  of 
London,  and  at  some  others  besides,  a  tacit  understanding  between 
examiners  and  candidates  seems  to  have  been  arrived  at,  that  the  papers 
for  the  B.A.  (Pass)  Examination  shall,  in  the  main,  be  based  upon  the 
Mental  and  Moral  Science  of  Professor  Bain.**  (Btland,  Psychology  and 
Ethics  for  the  London  B.A.  Preface).  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  an  under- 
standing of  a  difTerent  character  may  soon  be  arrived  at,  in  reference  to 
the  Boyal  University  Examinations. 


720     Free-Thought  in  Amerioa—The  Sects— Tha  XJkurck. 

Unfortunately,  however,  there  is  hardly  one  fnnda- 
mental  truth  of  religion,  Mrhich  is  not  oontemptnondy 
ignored  or  openly  attacked  in  ProfessMr  Bain's  works,  and 
even  upon  subjects  having  an  immediate  moral  connec- 
tion some  of  his  remarks  have  been  deservedly  stigmatised 
as  **  shameless  "  (Dr.  Ward,  Fhilosophy  of  Theismy  L  p- 103). 
It  is  surely  not  intended,  as  it  is  surely  not  to  be 
permitted,  especially  in  presence  of  the  migh^  movement 
maugurated  b^  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  for  the  restoration  of 
Scholastic  Philosophy,  that  the  Catholic  youth  of  Ireland 
— ^lay  or  ecclesiastical—  lEdiould  be  taught  to  look  up  to  such 
a  Master  for  << light  and  leading"  rather  than  to  the 
Angel  of  the  Schools,  or  to  any  of  his  thousand  interpreter 
There  might  not,  indeed,  be  so  much  objection  to  the  use 
of  such  works  in  the  case  of  students  who  had  already 
mastered  the  leading  principles  of  sound  Philosophy,  but 
there  is  assuredly  tne  gravest  objection  to  permitting 
students  to  begin  and  end  with  such  works,  or  even  merely 
to  begin  with  them.  Tet  this  they  will  have  the  strongest 
temptation  to  do,  unless  the  character  of  tiie  papers  be 
very  materially  altered — as  we  trust  it  shall  be — in  future 
Examinations  of  the  Royal  University  in  Metaphysics^  and 
other  subjects  of  this  coiurse. 

Thomas  Maqrath. 


FREE-THOUGHT  IN  AMERICA— THE  SECTS--THE 

CHURCH. 

IN  our  last  paper  we  tried  to  explain  the  nature  of  the 
changes  that  took  place  with  the  growth  of  time  and 
thought  in  the  mind  of  the  first  of  American  philosophers, 
and  the  consequent  disturbance  o(  fixed  beh^  amoDcst 
that  large  and  important  section  of  the  American  peope^ 
who  accepted  his  teaching  without  question* 

This  strong  bias  towards  scepticism  was  veiy  much 
increased  by  the  dose  intercommimicalion  that  then  was 
established  between  the  Old  and  the  New  worids.  It  is 
very  probable,  that  the  growing  intellects  of  America,  with 
that  natural  elasticity  by  which  the  human  mind  terertB  to 
primal  principles  and  truths,  when  umnfluenced  by  external 
disturbmg  causesi  would  nave  soonw  or  later  recovered 


Free-Thought  in  Americor^The  SecU — The  Church    721 

from  unhealthy  doubts  and  questionings  to  strong  and  firm 
faith,  were  it  not  for  the  constant  stream  of  educated  but 
prospectless  men  that  poured  into  the  American  Continent 
from  Europe,  and  who  brought  with  them  no  capital,  but 
free  and  rigorous  intellects,  no  reUgion,  but  the  most 
fiberal  notions  of  all  moral  and  dogmatic  truth.  Introduced 
as  the  alumni  of  the  great  universitj  centres  of  free  thou^t 
in  Europe,  they  created  the  idea,  which  still  prevails,  that 
a  finished  professional  education,  much  less  a  perfect 
philosophical  education,  was  not  to  be  had  at  home — was 
not  to  be  had  anywhere  in  fact,  except  in  the  cherished 
sanctuaries  of  unbelief.  Hence,  during  these  last  decades, 
a  returning  stream  has  passed  from  the  States  to  Eurc^e, 
dividing  itself  at  Pari&  The  aesthetic  or  pleasure  lovinff 
American  passes  into  the  cities  of  Northern  Italy,  and 
whiles  away  the  summer  in  the  galleries  of  Florence,  or  in 
the  shades  of  Umbria.  But  the  patrons  of  advanced 
thought  plunge  at  once  into  the  German  universities,  studv 
philosophy  under  Virchow,  and  anatomy  tmder  Haeckel, 
and,  refined  by  a  short  residence  in  a  London  club,  they 
return,  and  from  newspaper  and  tribune,  in  the  daily  fly- 
sheets,  and  in  the  pa^es  of  the  Popular  Science  Monthly, 
they  put  forth  their  ideas  boldly  and  ably,  and  scatter 
broadcaat  through  America  the  principles  they  gathered  in 
Europe,  and  developed  at  leisure  at  home. 

Ail  these  causes  were  remote  and  preparatory ;  but 
there  is  not  a  doubt  but  that  the^  had  undermined  the 
faith  of  thousands  in  systems  of  reUgiousthought  which  were 
supposed  to  be  unassailable,  and  op^ied  the  way  for  the 
la&t  concentrated  and  sweeping  attack  that  has  been  made 
on  Christianity.  It  commenced  in  the  great  controversy 
that  agitated  the  world  thirty  years  ago,  and  which 
originated  in  the  assumption  that  the  discoveries  of 
Geologists  were  conta-adictmg  the  testimony  of  the  word 
of  GFoA  The  controversy  raged  fiercely  at  the  time ;  and 
Bowhere  were  there  more  violent  assertions  made  that 
every  stratum  of  rook  discovered  disproved  the  teachings 
of  Holy  Writ;  and  nowhere,  too,  were  more  brilliant  and 
learned  defences  made  for  the  integrity  of  Soriptiiral 
imipiration,  than  in  America.  The  brimcmt  and  successful 
labours  of  Hugh  Miller  in  England,  were  rivalled  in  Hie 
States  by  Professors  Dana  and  Hitchcock,  and  the  great 
naturalist,  Agassiz.  Th^a  came  a  lull.  The  cause  of 
Geology  versus  Revelation  was  withdrawn,  but  scientifio 
speeulation  had  been  awakened*    The  study  of  the  rocks 


722    Free-Thought  in  America— The  SecU—The  Church. 

was  set  aside;  but  in  the  laboratories  of  England  and 
Germany,  under  the  clear  light  of  the  microscope,  nature 
was  reveaUng  new  wonders  in  plant  and  animal,  and 
men's  minds  under  fierce  excitement  were  arranging 
analogy  after  analogy,  and  flashing  back  through  count- 
less centuries  to  the  nebulsB  of  worlds,  and  the  genns  of 
all  existing  life.  Biology  verstu  Creation  now  became  the 
burning  question.  Is  man  the  product  of  mechanical  forcee, 
working  up  and  out  through  the  strata  of  matter,  or  is 
be  indeed  the  son  of  God,  created  to  the  image  and  like- 
ness of  the  Deity  t  The  doctors  of  the  new  science  were 
Haeckel  of  Germany,  and  Darwin  of  England.  The  apostlee 
were  Tyndall  in  these  islands,  and  Huxley  of  New  York 
We  remember  what  a  thrill  of  horror  penetrated  the  world 
when,  in  1874,  Tvndall  defiantly  formulated  and  unfolded  at 
Belfast  the  full  plan  of  the  naked  materialism  that  was  to  sap- 

Elant  the  sacred  traditions  of  humfitnity.  Huxley,  still  more 
oldly,  fled  to  America  a  few  years  before,  and  in  a  series  of 
lectures  in  New  York,  not  only  explained  the  new  theories, 
but  deduced  from  them  a  series  of  conclusions  as  wanton 
and  uncoimected  as  ever  agom'sed  the  intellect  of  a  logician. 
The  mind  of  Am  erica  wa^  agitated.  The  transcendentalism 
and  ill-concealed  pantheism  of  Emerson  were  forgotten. 
Speculation  gave  place  to  examination.  The  scientifio 
journals  teemed  with  praises  of  the  industry^  and  enterprise 
of  the  evolutionists,  and  the  world  of  science  waited  on 
the  tiptoe  of  expectation  for  the  discovery  which  was  con- 
fidently promised — the  Unk  that  was  to  connect  the  organic 
with  the  inorganic  world.  It  was  not  forthcoming.  But 
scientific  speculation  was  accepted  for  certain  revelation, 
and  men  of  science  boldly  launched  themselves  against 
revealed  reUgion  under  every  form.  All  the  caution  that  was 
so  carefully  observed  by  rationalists  of  former  years  was  cast 
aside ;  the  fear  of  wounding  susceptibiUties,  or  of  darkening 
the  light  of  faith  in  minds,  where  the  torch  of  science  could 
provide  no  adequate  substitute,  was  stated  to  be  pusillan- 
imous and  childish.  Scepticism  became  dogmatic ;  and  by 
every  class  of  literary  men,  historians,  metaphysicians  and 
philosophers,  all  faith  in  the  supernatural  was  ridiculed  as 
a  remnant  of  the  weak  and  puerile  superstitions  of  the 
world  in  its  infancy.  Arrogant  infidelity  became  suprwne 
in  America.  The  absolute  freedom  of  the  press  enabled 
the  active  propagandists  of  this  new  religion  of  science 
to  scatter  tneir  pernicious  doctrines  broadcast  through 
the  land.     Scientifio  journals  of  immense  weight  and 


Free-Thoucfht  in  America^The  Sects— The  Church.    723 

authority  were  aesisted  by  the  lighter  magazines,  and 
these  in  turn  by  the  daily  papers,  in  making  the  theories 
and  deductions  of  evolutionists  familiar  to  the  msisses  of 
the  people.  Light  scientific  lectures,  ably  illustrated, 
opened  up  to  wondering  minds  the  spectacle  of  the  world, 
with  all  its  vast  complexities  of  ammals,  vegetables,  and 
minerals,  unfolding  itself  from  the  first  atom,  and  growing 
under  the  hands  of  some  unseen  power,  with  mechanical 
precision,  into  a  universe  of  surpassing  loveliness.  And  if 
these,  in  their  exclusive  devotion  to  science,  spared  the 
susceptibilities  of  their  audiences,  there  were  not  wanting 
in  the  American  cities  street  preachers,  and  day  lecturers, 
and  pamphleteers,  who  repeated  in  coarse  and  indecent 
jests  the  unq^uaUfied  contempt  of  their  superiors  for  every- 
thing savouring  of  religion.  All  our  fundamental  ideas  of 
God  and  Revelation,  the  soul  and  its  everlasting  destiny, 
the  higher  moral  sense,  the  spiritual  desires  and  aspirations 
of  men,  everything  in  fact,  that  could  be  a  motive  of 
virtuous  actions,  and  a  mainspring  of  noble  deeds  and 
ambitions,  was  stigmatised  as  the  fancy  of  superstition, 
or  the  dream  of  enthusiasts,  kept  aUve  by  an  elaborate 
system  of  priestcraft  throughout  the  world.  The  fact  that 
nearly  every  preacher  of  the  new  creed  had  been  obliged 
to  retract  his  assertions  under  the  pressure  of  science  itself ; 
that  Tyndall  in  all  his  later  lectures  withdrew  from  the 
advanced  position  which  he  had  taken  at  Belfast;  that 
Huxley,  in  his  article  "Biology,"  in  the  " Encyclopeedia 
Britannica,''  absolutely  contradicted  his  own  favourite 
theories ;  and  that  Haeckel  himself  in  his  addresses  before 
the  French  Association,  and  in  his  **  Natural  History  of 
Creation,'*  was  driven  to  admit  the  necessity  of  an  absolute 
beginning,  was  most  carefully  kept  in  the  background. 
In  Germany  and  England,  the  ancient  conservatism  of  the 
races,  and  their  stem  and  pitiless  examination  of  these 
subversive  doctrines,  compelled  the  materiaUsts  to  limit 
their  dogmatism.  America  and  France,  let  it  be  said, 
have  stood  forth  in  ugly  pre-eminence  as  the  countries 
where  infideUty  has  taken  its  firmest  foothold.  In  these 
lands  it  is  no  longer  disreputable.  It  is  no  disgrace  to  be 
known  as  an  atheist.  That  temble  name,  which  Voltaire 
in  his  worst  moments  would  have  repudiated,  that  term  of 
shame  which,  even  to  depraved  minds,  carries  with  it  some 
nameless  idea  of  turpitude,  has  been  freely  accepted,  and 
even  boasted  of,  under  the  euphemised  form  of  Agnostic 
and  Materialist,    And  all  sacred  things  of  reUgion,  names 


724    Pree-Thmght  in  America — The  Seete—The  Clmrck, 

that  were  spoken  with  bared  heads  and  bended  kneee^ 
sacred  stories  that  had  so  often  brought  comfort  to  the 
sorrowful,  and  sacred  hopes  that  had  so  long  had  their 
consecrated  shrines  in  the  human  heart,  are  made  subject 
to  derision.  The  scoff  of  the  unbeliever  has  degraded  in 
the  eyes  of  thousands  the  purest  and  holiest  revelations  of 
heaven. 

Our  examination  into  the  growth  of  free  thought  in 
America  would  hardly  be  complete,  did  we  not  advert  for 
a  moment  to  the  luxury  and  voluptuousness  of  social  life, 
and  to  the  corruption  and  venality  that  exist  in  all  the 
State  departments.  So  far  as  the  mei-e  material  growth 
and  progress  of  the  States  is  concerned,  these  things,  which 
in  an  older  and  more  thickly  populated  country,  would  be 
the  prelude  to  extinction,  will  scarcely  have  a  perceptible 
effect.  So  long  as  the  population  is  not  wedged  together 
within  limits  that  are  impassable,  so  long  as  there  is  free 
power  of  expansion,  and  unused  laud  with  its  teeming 
wealth  lies  open  to  the  people,  there  never  can  be  those 
awful  collisions  between  wealth  and  povetiy,  the  govenung 
classes  and  the  governed,  that  are  such  peruous  pos- 
sibilities in  older  states.  But  that  excessive  luxury,  the 
facility  of  making  and  squandering  fortunes,  and  the  com* 
petition  for  wealth,  which  is  so  keeu,  that  dishonesty  ii 
reputed  a  virtue ;  that  these  things  are  inimiccJ  to  religious 
feeUng,  and  direct  incentives  to  infidelity,  is  beyond  all 
dispute.  The  history  of  the  world  testifies  it.  Athens,  in 
the  very  ctimax  of  freedom  and  prosperity,  forgot  ite 
ancient  deities,  and  built  statues  to  the  Great  Unknown. 
Home,  imder  the  emperors,  lost  faith  in  the  gods,  under 
whose  tutelage  it  was  supposed  to  have  waxed  so  sirongp. 
Florence,  under  the  Medid,  became  classic  and  pagan. 
Paris,  under  Louis  XIY.,  became  the  cradle  and  scnocd 
of  all  modem  infiddity.  £ngl€Uid,  under  Victoria,  is 
drifting  every  day  into  the  abysses.  And  America,  whose 
ambition  it  is  to  rival  and  surpass  these  states  and 
empires,  may  succeed  too  in  securing  the  doubtful  honour  of 
towering  above  all  in  colossal  iniquity.  Certainly,  if  there 
be  any  connection  between  fk*6e-Iiving  and  free-thinkiQ^ 
and  some  one  has  said,  <^Les  Passions  sont  atii^ei^"  it 
would  not  be  rash  to  predict  a  supremacy  in  evil  for 
Ammca.  We  will  not  go  into  detaiu,  but  m^ition  tfaat^ 
aa  far  back  as  the  Civil  War,  and  even  amidst  its  honroiBy 
an  outcry  was  raised  against  the  extravagance  4nd  volnp* 
tuoufluesB  of  the  cities  of  the  Union.     Desolations  of 


Free-Thought  in  Ammca—The  Sects— The  Churchy     725 

revelHngs  and  riotous  living  are  quoted  largely  by  Doctor 
Brownson  in  his  Review,^  and  they  read  like  a  page  from 
the  "Arabian  Nights,"  or  trom  a  history  of  Rome  mider 
Caligida.  Now,  if  these  things  were  done  twenty  years 
ago,  what  shall  be  said  of  America  at  present!  The 
answer,  in  all  its  painful  and  vivid  truth,  may  be 
read  in  Mr.  Henry  George's  latest  work,  called  **  Social 
Problems." 

We  now  come  to  the  question,  what  defence  has  been 
made  by  the  Christian  communions  of  America  against 
the  ternfic  assaults  of  infidelity?  We  put  aside  for  a 
moment  the  Catholic  Church,  and  we  candidly  admit  that 
all  that  could  be  done  by  human  zeal,  intensified  by  the 
deadliness  of  the  struggle,  and  fortified  by  learning  as  wide 
and  deep  as  that  of  the  adversary,  was  done  by  the  Evan- 
gelical churches  of  America.  That  their  pastors  were  at 
an  early  period  quite  alive  to  the  dangers  which  were  press- 
ing on  tneir  traditional  creeds,  from  within  and  without, 
was  apparent  from  the  efforts  that  were  made  to  secure 
for  then  theological  students  a  most  accurate  knowledge 
of  those  sciences  which  were  assumed  to  be  in  direct 
hostility  to  revealed  religion.  Hence,  divinity  students 
from  America  crowded  the  xmiversities  of  Germany  for 
the  last  fifteen  years,  and  returned  to  their  missions  fully 
equipped  with  every  fact  and  argument  that  could  teU 
against  the  advancing  lines  of  infidelity.  And  if  we 
except  the  standard  works,  written  by  German  divines, 
we  hardly  exaggerate  when  we  say,  that  by  far  the  fullest 
and  ablest  defences  of  Christianity  have  been  made  by 
the  elders  and  professors  among  the  Non-Catholic  creeds 
of  America.  A  mere  catalo^e  of  the  works  issued  by 
the  religious  press  of  America  during  the  last  fifteen 
years,  would  fill  a  volume.  To  each  succeeding  phase  of 
unbelief, — Rationalistic,  Materialistic,  and  Positive — ^they 
opposed  scholarship  that  was  very  profound,  and  a  tenacily 
for  their  faith  that  was  heroic.    Tney  estabhshed  in  their 

{)rofe6sional  schools,  notably  at  Princeton  and  Andover, 
ectureships  on  the  relation  between  religion  and  the 
sciences.  And,  not  being  impeded  by  strict  theological 
courses,  they  had  leisure  to  devote  themselves  to  the  philo- 
sophical studies  which  have  become  of  such  supreme 
importance  in  our  days.  It  ought,  therefore,  be  a  matter 
of  regret  that  they  were  imable  to  counteract  the  influences 

1  Aeyiew,  January,  1864 ;  Art.  *' Popular  Gorniption  and  Venality.' 


726    Free-Thought  in  America— The  Sects— The  Church. 

of  free  thought.    Ill  their  defeat  there  is  the  pathos  that 
always  hangs  around  the  brave  defenders  of  a  hopelen 
cause.     Thev  went  down  like  the  IsraeUtes  before  the 
Philistines,   because  they  had   not   the   Ark  of  God  in 
their  midst.     Stubbornly  they  contested  every  issue,  and 
gradually  they    had    to    abandon    point  after  point  of 
cherished   beliefs,  which  were   doubly  hallowed  by  the 
worship  of  their  ancestors  and  the  robust  traditions  of  their 
race.     But  no  purely  human  institutions  could  stand  the 
merciless  criticism  that  rained  from  press  and  platform  on 
doctrines  that  had  no  better  support  than  the  mdl  logic  of 
the  class-room,  set  in  stereotyped  forme,  and  supported  by 
ancient  texts,  which  had   lost  all   their  inspired  vigoar, 
because  they  had  been   irreverently  handled  by  every 
individual  /ho  claimed  the  right  of  private  jaagmeut 
The  Nemesis  of  the  Reformation  has  assuredly  come.    Its 
own  children  have  risen  against  it.    They  have  pushed  its 
lessons  to  their  logical  conclu8ion&  With  audacity  unheard 
of  before  our  century,  they  have  assailed  every  doctrine, 
not  only  of  Christian,  but  even  of  Theistic  belief,  and  the 
churches  have  gone  down  before  their  assaults  like  cities 
buUt  upon  the  Band.    Every  familiar  doctrine  must  be 
modified  to  meet  the  requirements  of  science ;  the  integrity 
of  Scriptural  inspkation  must  be  abandoned ;  the  deeply- 
cherished  doctrines  that  the  Puritans  brought  over  in  the 
Mayfiower^  and  which  were  reverenced  as  the  Israelites 
reverenced  the  Ark  and  its  Tables — the  dogmatic  articles 
which  lit  the  fagot  and  heated  the  brand  in  the  New 
England  cities — have  been  swept  away  ruthlessly  by  the 
broader  views  of  that  liberalism  which  environs  all  thought 
in  our  time.    The  texts  and  tenets  which  went  to  build  up 
the  edifice  of  Calvinistic  theology,  and  which  generations 
of  elders  regarded  as  irrefragable,  have  been  torn  in  pieces 
and  flung  to  the  winds  by  the  contemptuous  logic  of  latter- 
day  infidels ;  and  even  that  sacred  belief,  in  which  were 
centrdd  all  hopes  of  comfort  here  and  happiness  hereafter 
— the  belief  m  the  Word  of  God,  the  "  sword  of  the 
spirit '' — has  become  as  vague  a  source  of  religious  thou^t 
as  the  intuitions  of  the  philosopher,  or  the  reason  and 
spirit  of  Emerson.   ^<  Faith  in  spintual  and  divine  realities," 
says  an  American  divine,  ^'  may,  in  some  of  its  older  forms, 
be  passing  into    Herbert    Spencer's  'family  of  extinct 
beliefs  ;*  "  and  his  only  hope  is,  that  he  may  be  allowed  to 
help  in  the  general  movement  towards   a  faith  at  once 
''more  simple,  more  rational,  and  more  assured/'    It  is 


Free-Tlwugkt  in  Ameruxtr^The  Sects— The  Church.     727 

the  same  writer,^  whose  works  have  become  very  popular 
in  En^and  who  declares,  '*  that  the  system  of  philosophy 
in  the   WestmiDster    confession  we    are  not    bound  to 
accept;"  "that  we  are  anxious  to  do  the  real  work  of 
revision,  to   adjust   our    own  fedths  happily  to  modem 
conditions  of  thought,  and  to  learn  to  preach  them  in 
new  tongues  of  knowledge."    And  he  says  that  he  would 
be  far  more  reticent  of  his  views  in  addressing  a  lay  than 
a  clerical  assembly ;  *'  for  if  I  had  been  called  upon  to 
address,  upon  the  same  topic,  an  ecclesiastical  assembly, 
wiy  growing  conviction  of  the  need  of  a  revised  theology, 
suited  to  our  scientific  environment,  €tnd  fitted  to  survive 
our  modem  thought,  would  have  led  me  to  lay  the  stress 
of  my  argument  even  more  strongly  upon  the  desirability 
of  a  re-statement  of  the  standards,  particularly  of  my 
own,  the  Presbyterian   Church."2     And   he  quotes  with 
approval  the  Cambridge  platform  of  the  Congregational 
cnurches,  in  which  it  was  expressly  written  that  in  the 
examination  of  candidates  for  admission  to  the  Church,  a 
"rational  charity*'  should  be  exercised,  and  the  "  weakest 
measure  of  faith"  should  be  acepted.     A  creed  which  thus 
can  be  recast  and  fitted  in  every  new  setting  of  science, 
has  neither  elements  of  cohesion  and  unity  in  itself,  nor 
pow^ers  of  resistance  sufficient  to  maintain  a  distinct  and 
specific  existence  as  a  reUgion.     We  can  hardly  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  then,  that,  in  New  York,  the  churches  are 
comparatively  deserted,  nor  to  read  the  following  verdict 
on  Protestantism  by  one  of  its  own  professors :  **  The  great 
bulk  of  the  Protestant  Church  is  identified  with  the  world. 
It  has  a  name  to  Uve,  while  it  is  dead.     It  has  turned  its 
doctrines  into  nationalism,  or  rationalism,  and  its  life  into 
selfishness.     The  old  landmarks  are  gone.     Family  prayer 
is  given  up.    Prayer  meetings  are  ignored,  worldly  part- 
nerships are  formed,  social  sins  are  connived  at,  and  even 
excuBed,  the  pulpit  is  made  a  stage  on  which  to  stmt  and 
pose  before  a  gaping  world,  and  reUgion  is  made  one  of 
the  instruments  of  fashion."* 

We  turn  atlastfromtheweaknessanddefeatof  thesectsto 
contemplate  the  attitude  of  the  Church  towardsfree  thought. 
And  at  first  sight  there  seems  to  be  such  absolute  indifference 
in  the  Church  to  the  dangers  that  paralysed  the  sects,  that 
we  are  inclined  to  set  it  down  to  a  want  of  forethought 

1  Dr.  Newman  Smith.  > "  Orthodox  Theology  of  To-day." 

•  Idem.    See  Preface.  *  Dr.  Crosby,  New  York. 


728      Free-Thought  in  America— J%e  Sects—  The  Church. 

and  prudence,  that  seems  inexplicable.   We  recognise  none 
of  tnat  anxiety,  and  even  panic,  that  drove  hnndreds  of 
Episcopalians  and  Presbytenans  to  the  Divinity  Bchools  of 
Germany,  we  see  no  chairs  of  biological,  or  other  sciencefl, 
established  in  Catholic  schools,  we  notice  the  total  absence 
of  any  desire  to  adapt  the  teachings  of  the  Church  to  the 
dictates  of  the  sciences,  or  the  wants  of  the  age.    But  the 
closer  the  subject  is  studied,  the  more  majestic  appears  the 
attitude  of  perfect    security  with  which  the  Americaa 
Church  regards  the  last  and  worst  of  the  heresiea    In  thia 
she  presents  in  miniature  the  history  and  character  o{ih$ 
Church  from  the  beginning.    Far  removed  from  the  tumult 
and  warring  of  sects  and  creeds,  the  Church  looks  imper- 
turbably  on  the  evershifting  phases  of  spiritual  thought  in 
which  heresy  and  infideUty  present  themselves ;  but  is  cahn 
about  her  own  future,  for  her  lease  of  existence  and  of 
triumph  reaches  unto  the  years  of  eternity.     This  attitude  of 
security  the  Church  in  America  has  assumed.     She  too 
inherits  the  eternal  promises,  for  she  is  linked  in  visible  bonds 
of  imity  with  the  Cathoh'c  Church.  And  with  singular  facility 
she  has  adapted  herself  to  the  free  institutions  of  America,  as 
easily  as  if  sne  were  not  bom  under  an  Empire.    Democratic 
ideas  fit  in  with  her  dogma  and  discipline,  as  easily  as 
those  of  monarchiea    Here  is  her  siren  gth.    That  whilst  she 
allows  her  children  the  fullest  Uberty  in  political  and  social 
life,  she  maintains  her  authority  in  doctrine  and  discipline  as 
firmly  as  in  the  lands  where  saints  were  bom,  and  the 
blood  of  martyrs  was  shed.     Inflexibility  in  her  teaching, 
universality  in  her  sympathies,  and  constancy  in  active 
well-doing — here   are  her   credentials  to  the  American 
nation,  here  cure  her  answers  to  the  controversies  which 
agitate  the  world  around  her.     Whilst  patronising  the 
sciences,  and  adapting  to  her  own  wants  every  element 
of  human  process,  she  continues  to  preach  and  demand 
submission  to  doctrines  that  were  weighty  with  age  in  the 
remote  periods  when  the  prototypes  of  our  modem  agnostics 
assailea  them.    To  all  objections  against  the  truth  of  her 
teaching  she  has  but  one  answer — ^the  steady  unvaiyinff 
assertion    of  her    exclusive    right   to  teach  the  world 
This  Divine  despotism,  even  in  the  land  of  fireedom,  is  her 
buckler  and  defence.    And  hence  is  she  free  to  exercise 
her  undoubted  strength  to  bind  closer  and  closer  m  com- 

Eact  organisation  the  territories  and  races  that  acknowledge 
er  supremacy.     With  a  hierarchy  chosen,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  great  oratorical  abilitiesi  or  liberal  aoholar- 


Free-Thought  in  America— Tlie  Sects—The  Church.     729 

ship  of  its    individual  members,    as  for    their  splendid 

administrative  talents,  with  a  priesthood  which  combines 

in  a  singular  manner  the  freest   republican  habits  and 

sympathies  with  the  steadiest  adhesion  to  ecclesiastical 

principles — ^with  a  press  second  to  none  in  the  world,  in 

ability  and  enterprise,  and  characterised  by  special  zeal  for 

the  sacred  cause  it  espouses,  and  with  an  aggregate  of 

races,  differing  in  customs,  and  even  in  language,  but 

united  in  the  bonds  of  religion,  the  Church  in  America 

appears  to  be  not  so  much  a  human  association  as  a  vast 

mechanism,  which    is  for    ever    ^ving    and  receiving, 

expanding  and  developing  with  a  silent  power  that  seems 

irresistible.      It  has  all  the  advantages  of  action  over 

speculation,  for  it  has  all  the  advantages  of  firm  faith  over 

wavering  xmbelief.     Carlyle  somewhere  quotes  Goethe  as 

saying  that  "  belief  and  unbelief  are  two  opposite  principles 

in  human  nature.     The  theme  of  all  human  history,  so  far 

as  we  are  able  to  perceive  it,  is  the  contest  between  these 

two  principles.    All  periods  in  which  belief  predominates, 

in  wnich  it  is  the  main  element,  the  inspiring  principle  of 

action,  are   distinguished    by  great,  soul-stirring,  fertile 

events,  and  worthy  of  perpetual  remembrance ;  and  on 

tiie  other  hand,  when  unbeuef  comes  to  the  surface,  that 

age  is  unfertile,  unproductive,    and  intrinsically  mean. 

There  is  no  pabulum  in  it  for  the  spirit  of  man."      The 

Church  in  America  is  proof  of  this.     It  anticipates  all 

the  ambitions  of  the  philosopher.     It  foreshadows  all  the 

benevolent  ideas  of  tne  best  among  the  unbelievers.      Its 

charity  is  wider    than    the    world's   philanthropy.      Its 

devotion  to  the  arts,  which  consecrate  civilization,  is  for 

ever  showing  itself  far  in  advance  of  the  barren  sympathies 

of  the  educated  and  irreligious.      Shall  we  then  complain 

of  the  inaction  of  the  church  in  America  t     Or  wonder  that 

it  has  not  come  down  to  the  arena  of  controversy  with  the 

nnbelievert     Well,  controversy  was  never  yet  the  vehicle 

of  Divine  Faith.    But  Faith  itself,  manifested  in  works 

which  touch  the  sympathies  of  all,  may  generate  Faith  in 

the  infidel.      **  Show  us  your  works,"  was  the  cry  of  the 

Parisian  students  which    ini^ired    Frederic  Ozanam  to 

found  his  great  society.     And  it  is  not  to  great  scholars 

like  the  Abb6  Moignon,  but  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 

the  priests,  who  hovered  round  the  beds  of  the  cholera 

patients,  that  we  are  to  attribute  that  relenting  towards 

the  Church,  which  we  witness  in  contemporary  France. 

The  world,  we  are  told,  now  demands  what  is  real  and 

VOL.  V.  3  H 


730    Free-TIwught  in  America— The  Sects— The  Church. 

positiye  in  preference  to  what  is  imaginary  and  conjectural. 
Well,  here  is   the  Divine  Positivism  of  the  Church,  its 
active  benevolence,  its  never-failing  charity,  its  patronage 
of  the  arts  and  scienceSi  its  persistent  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  education.    And  after  all,  is  not  the  attitude  of 
the   Church  completely  justified  by    the  fact  that  the 
strongest  assertions  of  the  infidels  have  been  withdrawn! 
We  have  already  quoted  some  retractations.    But  it  may 
be  safely  said  that  the  history  of  heresies    afibrds  no 
parallel   to    the    dogmatism    and    assertiveness   of   the 
materialists,  or  the  abject  manner  in  which  they  have 
withdrawn,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  their  boldest  and 
most  impious  declcurations.     We  must  not,  however,  be 
supposed  to  hold,  either  ihat  a  liberal  scholarship  is  not 
necessary    for  the  priesthood  of  America,  or   tnat  the 
American  seminaries   do  not  afford  it  to    ecclesiastical 
students.    The  Church  must  always  be  in  advance  of  the 
world.      The    priest    must    lead    the    flock.      And  his 
spiritual  instructions  will    carry   all    the    more    weight 
when  it  is  understood  that  the  pastor  is  a  man  of  culture 
and  refinement,  and  that  his  condemnation  of  new  and 
fanciful  theories  comes  from  his  belief  founded  on  fair  and 
exhaustive  reading,  that  they  are  utterly  untenable.    A 
Secchi  in  his  lone  observatory  may  be  doine  the  work  of 
an  apostle.      Men  will  reverence  knowlea^  wherever 
found,  and  the  natural  abilities  of  the  schouur  may  lead 
many  souls  to  acknowledge  the  supernatural  mission  of  the 
priest    Hence  it  has  deUehted  all  lovers  of  the  American 
Church  to  hear  that  of  late  years  the  students  in  theo- 
logical seminaries  have  been  able  to  read  a  complete 
course  of  divinity  and  philosophy,  and  that  missionary 
requirements  will  not  for  the  future  necessitate  a  curtailed 
and  unsatisfactory  preparation  for  the  greatest  of  missiona 
We  may  mention,  too,  that  ihe  exhibitions  of  the  Brothers 
of  the  Christian  schools  in  London  lately  have  shown  that 
in  Manhattan  College  the  professors  are  quite  alive  to  the 
necessity  of  taking  their  places  in  the  foremost  lines  of 
scientific  thought ;  and  we  mi^ht  fairly  judge  by  analogy, 
if  we  did  not  already  know  it  as  a  fact,  that  a  sinmar 
spirit  prevails  in  every  Catholic  seminary  in  the  Statea 

There  are  just  two  difficulties  that  bar  the  progress  of 
the  Church  in  America.  Both  will  engage  tne  earnest 
attention  of  the  prelates  who,  on  the  9m  of  this  month, 
will  meet  in  solenm  council  at  Baltimore.  The  first  and 
greatest  is  the  question  of  State  schools.    That  these 


t^ 


J 


Free-Thought  in  America— The  Sects— The  Cliurch.    731 


Bchoolfl  do  not  subserve  the  interests  of  religion  or  morality 
IS  already  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  bishops  have  found 
it  necessary,  at  enormous  sacrifices,  to  establish  Catholic 
schools  m  their  cities.  These  schools  are  supported  by  the 
different  churches ;  and  we  can  understand  what  a  hard- 
ship this  is,  when  we  are  told  that  many  churches  in  the 

^^^^AA  ^®^  ^^^^  ^^^  obliged  to  spend  12,000  dollars,  or 
£2,500  a  year,  m  maintaining  these  schools  in  such  a  state 
of  efficiency  that  they  can  compete  successfully  with  the 
public  schools.  There  appears  to  be  no  great  probability 
that  the  State  will  change  this  secular  system  ofeducation, 
and  thus  relieve  Catholics  from  the  burden  of  double 
taxation.  Neither  is  there  any  likelihood  that  these  public 
schools  will  unprove  their  teachings.  And,  of  course, 
followmff  the  tendencies  of  our  age,  many  CathoUc  parents 
will  send  their  children  to  the  Government  schools,  reckless 
of  their  faith,  if  their  temporal  welfare  be  secured. 

'llie  second  great  difficulty  for  the  church  is  to  reclaim 
the  thousands  who,  with  singular  perversity,  have  chosen 
for  their  homes  the  tenements  of  New  York  in  preference 
to  the  freedom  and  health  of  the  broad  prairies  towards 
the  West.  That  these  dark  places  of  the  great  city  are 
nurseries  of  vice,  that  the  children  bom  in  them  are  reared 
in  spiritual  blindness,  and  that  myriads  of  them  drift  away 
towards  heresy  and  infidelity,  are  things  which  no  one 
desires  to  conceal,  but  for  which  no  remedy  has  yet  been 
found.  But  all  future  emigrants  will  be  protected,  and 
warned  against  the  most  unhappy  social  tendency  of  our 
a^e— the  concentration  of  vast  masses  of  people  in 
districts  where  the  laws  of  God  and  the  laws  of  health 
are  alike  disregarded. 

If  the  evfls  of  pubHc  schools,  and  the  evils  of  the  cities  be 
once  removed,  the  Church  in  America  has  a  future  before  it 
which  the  imagination  itself  fails  to  reach.  We  expect  to 
see  in  the  States  a  reliffious  revolution  such  as  we  behold  at 
present  m  Europe.  We  thmk  that  with  the  advance  of 
education,  most  of  the  Protestant  sects  will  disappear,  or 
mergmg  with  each  other,  descend  to  the  dead  level  of 
Unitarianism.  We  do  not  beUeve  that  Atheism',  pure  and 
simple,  can  ever  become  the  creed  of  vast  masses  of  the 
population  m  America  or  elsewhere.  But  the  Deism  of 
Emerson  and  the  philosophers  will  probably  draw  to  itself 
aU  other  creeds,  except  in  some  remote  districts  where  in  a 
rustic  Sion  or  Bethel,  the  local  deacon  will  still  read  the 
Bible  and  preach  some  surviving  doctrines  of  the  ancestral 


732  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland : 

faitha  The  Church  will  then  be  confronted  with  tiie 
rational  and  conedBtent  behefe  of  the  followers  of 
natural  religion.  And  then,  too,  even  as  now,  will  it 
show  that  it  is  the  custodian  of  all  Divine  Revelation,  the 
living  interpreter  of  the  mind  of  God  towards  men,  that  it 
knows  no  change  or  shadow  of  change,  but  is  perfect  in  its 
light  as  at  the  beginning.  And  the  Universal  Church  will 
recognise  it  as  a  fair  compensation  for  all  the  losses  she 
has  sustained  in  her  combats  with  heresy  and  infidelity  in 
these  evil  days — as  the  fairest  province  in 

The  fair  Eongdom  wide  as  earth, 
Citied  on  aU  the  mountains  of  the  world, 
The  image,  glory-touched,  of  that  great  city 
Which  waits  us  in  the  heavens. 

P.  A.  S. 


THE     HOLY    PLACES    OF    IRELAND. 
L — Cashbl  of  the  Kings — (Concluded). 

FtOM  the  early  date  at  which  Myler  Magrath  was  ap- 
pointed Archbishop  of  Caehel  and  came  to  reside  in  the 
town,  we  may  infer  that  the  cathedral  was  taken  possession 
of  by  the  Protestants  in  the  very  first  years  of  tne  Refor- 
mation. Yet  the  new  religion  was  not  more  acceptable  to 
the  inhabitants  then  that  it  is  in  our  own  times ;  for,  in  ^'  An 
Account  of  Munster,"  written  in  1606,  it  is  said  that  in 
Cashel  there  was  found  only  one  inhabitant  who  came  to 
chui'ch;  even  Magrath*s  sons  and  sons-in-law  dwelling 
there  were  absolute  recusants !  They  held  it  until  the 
war  of  1641  broke  out.  Then  at  Cashel,  as  elsewhere,  the 
wild  justice  of  revenge  roused  the  people  to  make  common 
cause  with  the  men  of  the  North  and  to  drive  out  their 
oppressors.  Pullen,  the  Protestant  Dean,  and  his  family 
were  saved  from  the  fury  of  the  people  by  the  CathoKc 
clergy.  They  took  possession  of  the  cathedral,  and  on  the 
feast  of  its  patron  St.  Patrick,  in  the  year  1642,  it  was 
restored  to  Catholic  worship  with  due  solemnity,  the  people 
who  had  assembled  in  vast  numbers,  weeping  tears  of  joy 
when  they  saw  this  spot  so  dear  to  tnem  once  more 
hallowed  by  the  sacred  rites  of  their  reUgion.  But  their 
joy  was  of  short  duration.     On  the  14th  of  September, 


Cashel  of  the  Kifigs,  733 

1647,  Lord  Inchiquin,  Murrough  of  the  Burnings,  and  his 
army,  appeared  before  the  place.  As  the  walls  of  the  town 
could  oner  but  little  resistance,  the  garrison  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  inhabitants  retired  to  the  Rock. 
The  next  day,  after  reconnoitering  the  walls,  Inchiquin 
determined  to  make  the  assault  on  tne  three  weakest  parts 
of  the  fortifications  at  once.  He  sent  a  messenger  to 
Taaffe,  who  was  in  command  of  the  place,  to  treat  of 
surrender.  All,  both  gcmrison  and  inhabitants,  would  be 
allowed  to  leave  the  town  on  condition  of  paying  him  a 
sum  of  £3,000  and  giving  a  month's  pay  to  his  troops. 
When  these  terms  were  refused,  he  offered  to  allow  the 
garrison  to  march  out  with  their  arms,  but  the  citizens  and 
clergy  should  be  left  to  his  mercy.  The  Governor  and 
his  soldiery  without  a  moment's  hem  tation  repKedthat  they 
would  willingly  risk  their  lives  in  defence  of  those  whom 
they  had  promised  to  protect,  and  dye  that  holy  spot  with 
their  blood  to  save  it  from  being  again  desecrated. 
But  their  efforts  were  useless.  Though  they  disputed  the 
cemetery  inch  by  inch,  and  carried  on  the  contest  in  the 
very  nave  of  the  cathedi*al,  the  enemy  won  the  day,  owing 
to  their  superior  numbers.  A  few  survivors,  who  had 
secured  themselves  within  the  bell-tower,  surrendered  on 
condition  of  their  lives  being  spared.     The  commander 

Eledged  his  word ;  but  when  they  had  given  up  their  arms, 
e  ordered  some  to  be  put  to  death,  others  to  be  spared  in 
the  hope  of  obtaining  n'om  their  friends  a  large  ransom. 

The  Superior  of  the  Irish  Jesuits,  writing  to  Rome  soon 
after,  gives  a  detailed  account  of  ths  cruelty  of  the  heretics 
towards  both  priests  and  people.  After  the  capture  of  the 
town,  *  men  ana  women,'  he  says,  'the  infirm  who  had  been 
borne  to  the  church  as  to  a  place  of  refuge,  even  the  very 
children,  were  slain  at  the  altar/  Twenty  priests  were 
massacred  within  the  sanctuary,  and  at  least  8,000  of  the 
inhabitants  were  slain  in  the  town.  F.  Dominick  Daly, 
in  his  History  of  the  GerdUltnesy  and  De  Burgo,  in  his  Hibemia 
Domicana^  describe  in  detail  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Fr,  Richard  Barry,  Prior  of  the  Dominican  Convent. 
The  latter  says :  *  When  the  other  ecclesiastics  were  cut  off 
after  the  attack  made  on  the  place,  Fr.  Richard  Barry  was 
reserved  for  yet  more  terriole  sufferings.  Being  im- 
portimed  by  the  heretics  to  cast  away  the  religious  habit 
which  he  wore  and  to  come  over  to  their  aoominable 
rites,  he  replied  boldly :  '*  This  habit  of  mine  represents  the 
dress  of  Christ  and  His  passion;   it  is  the  banner  of  my 


734  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland: 

warfare."    After  uttering  these  words  he  was  bonnd  to  a 

Pillar  and  exposed  to  the  wanton  insults  of  the  soldieiy. 
'resently  a  fire  was  placed  round  him,  and  for  two  houTB 
the  lower  part  of  his  body  was  burnt  slowly.  During  these 
tortures  he  did  not  cease  to  commend  both  the  faithful 
people  and  his  own  soul  to  God.  At  length,  after  being 
pierced  through  with  a  sword,  he  yielded  up  his  spirit.' 
After  the  departure  of  the  enemy,  his  body  was  taken 
away  and  buried  in  his  own  convent.  Dr.  John  Lynch 
tells  how  the  soldiery  threw  down  the  altars,  trampled  on 
the  pictures,  plundered  all  the  furniture,  and  broke  the 
statues  in  pieces ;  how  they  pulled  down  the  richly  carved 
woodwork  of  the  chapels,  and  took  down  and  broke  the 
bell  of  the  high  tower  of  the  sacred  building.  In  a  word, 
the  church,  which  but  a  short  time  before  was  most 
beautiful  to  behold,  could  now  excite  only  horror  in  those 
who  saw  its  desolate  condition. 

The  building,  through  the  gateway  of  which  admittance 
is  obtained  to  the  Rock,  was  the  College  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  St  Patrick,  or  the  College  of  Vicars.  They  were 
eight  in  number,  and  were  bound  to  constant  residence 
there  for  the  celebration  of  the  divine  offices  in  the  church. 
It  was  built  by  Archbishop  Richard  O'Hedian  towards  the 
beginning  of  the  15th  century,  and  endowed  by  him  with 
the  lands  of  Grange  Connell  and  Thurles  Beg  *for  the 
health  of  his  soul  and  the  souls  of  his  parents,  predecessors, 
and  successors.'  Of  him  it  was  said  by  way  of  accusation, 
that  he  made  very  much  of  the  Irish  and  loved  none  of 
the  Enfflish.  He  died  in  1440.  His  successor,  John 
CantweU,  also  contiibuted  certain  lands  to  its  support. 
At  the  foot  of  the  Rock  is  Hore  Abbey,  so  named,  verjr 

Erobably,  from  the  white  dress  of  the  order  to  which  it 
elonged.  The  Irish  name  is  ManistirLiath,  t.«.,  the  Grey 
Abbey.  It  belonged  originally  to  the  Benedictines.  But 
Archbishop  David  MacUarvill,  who  held  the  See  from 
1253  to  1289,  having  dreamt  that  these  monks  made  an 
attempt  to  cut  off  his  head,  dispossessed  them  violently  and 
gave  the  whole  of  their  possessions  to  the  Cistercians, 
whom  he  brought  from  Mellifont  in  Louth.  Later  he 
took  the  habit  of  the  order  and  died  here.  He  gave  the 
Abbey  40  acres  of  land  near  the  gate,  12  acres  at  Clenkath, 
the  two  mills  at  Camus,  and  free  commonage  for  all  its 
cattle.  The  rectories  of  Hore  Abbey,  Grangerry,  and 
Lismahud,  were  appropriated  to  the  Abbot.  Moreover,  he 
united  to  this  Abbey  the  hospital  founded  in  honour  of 


Cashel  of  the  Kings.  735 

St.  NicholaB  by  Sir  David  Latimer,  seneschal  of  Marianns 
O'Brien,  who  occupied  the  see  from  1224  to  1288.  Latimer 
had  a  fair  daughter  who  hated  a  leper  worse  than  death. 
Now  it  happened  one  day  that  Latimer's  wife  sent  the 
maiden  to  serve  the  poor  at  the  door.  Among  the  beggars 
was  a  leper.  The  girl  was  so  affiighted  at  the  sight  that 
she  threw  down  the  alms  intended  for  the  poor  and  ran 
back.  The  leper,  afironted  at  her  behaviour,  prayed  to 
God  that  she  might  be  afflicted  with  the  same  disease 
before  the  year  was  out.  And  it  happened  accordingly. 
The  father,  touched  with  his  daughter's  misfortune,  built 
a  lazar-house,  in  which  he  placed  fourteen  beds,  and 
endowed  it  with  four  plough  lands.  And  the  burgesses, 
for  its  better  support,  granted  to  it  two  gallons  of  ale  out 
of  every  brewing  of  ale  intended  for  sale,  *  de  qualibet 
Bructiana  cerevisiae  bructiatae  ad  vendendimi.'  This  was 
called  *the  Mary  flagon,'  as  it  belonged  to  St.  Mary's 
Abbey  of  the  Rock,  for  it  was  known  by  this  name  also. 
In  1561  this  Abbey  and  its  lands  were  granted  to  Sir  Henry 
Radcliffe.  In  1576  a  lease  of  both,  specifying  no  precise 
term,  was  given  to  James  Butler.  Thirty  years  after  a 
new  grant  of  it  was  made  to  Thomas  Sinclair  at  an  annual 
rent  of  two  shillings  Irish  money.  The  ruins,  even  in  their 
present  condition,  prove  this  Abbey  to  have  been  of  very 
great  extent.  The  steeple  of  the  church  measures  20  feet 
within  the  walls,  and  is  supported  by  two  fine  arches  fully 
30  feet  high.  I^he  nave  is  60  feet  long.  The  clerestory  is 
on  an  arcade  of  three  Gothic  arches.  The  lateral  aisles 
are  13  feet  wide.  Of  the  other  buildings  very  little  remains 
standing. 

Close  to  the  rock,  on  the  southern  side  and  within  the 
town,  are  the  ruins  of  the  Dominican  Friary.  It  was  built 
in  1243  by  Archbishop  David  McKelly,  who  was  himself  a 
Dominican.  The  brethren  who  first  inhabited  it  came  from 
Cork.  About  two  centuries  later  it  was  burnt  down 
by  accident.  Soon  after  it  wm  rebuilt  by  Archbishop 
Cantwell,  who  was  in  consequence  constituted  both  its 
patron  and  founder  by  an  instrument  dated  at  Limerick  in 
the  year  1480,  and  by  the  same  instrument  all  persons  who 
assisted  in  the  good  work,  or  agreed  to  this  new  foundation, 
were  made  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Order  and  sharers 
in  all  the  prayers  and  other  good  works  of  the  Order 
throughout  the  kingdom.  It  was  scdd  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  building  belonging  to  the  Dominicans  in  Ireland. 
The  last  prior  was  Edward  Brown.    At  the  confiscation  of 


736  The  Holy  Places  of  Ireland : 

the  religious  houses  under  Henry  VIIL,  the  friary  consisted 
of  a  church  and  belfry,  a  dormitory,  a  chamber  with  two 
cellars,  a  cemetery,  two  orchards,  and  two  gardens,  all 
within  its  precincts ;  it  had,  besides,  eight  messuages,  two 
gardens,  and  two  acres  of  land,  with  their  appurtenances, 
of  the  annual  value,  besides  reprises,  of  his.  4(L  Irish 
money.  The  whole  was  grantea  to  Walter  Fleming  at  a 
yearly  rent  of  2s.  6d.  Irish  money. 

In  1250  Sir  William  Hackett  of  Baltrasna  founded 
here  a  convent  for  Conventual  Franciscans.  It  stood  on 
the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Catholic  church  and  the 
convent.  A  large  stone  coflSn,  curiousljr  wrought,  which  is 
at  present  used  as  a  holy  water  stoup,  is  supposed  to  have 
held  the  body  of  the  founder.  The  lid  was  formerly  built 
into  the  wall  of  the  churchyard.  The  hall  was  burned 
to  the  ground  when  Inchiquin  attacked  the  town,  a 
firebrand  that  was  thrown  by  one  of  his  soldiers  having 
fallen  on  it.  In  1757  the  spire,  said  to  have  been  of  great 
beauty,  fell  to  the  ground.  The  great  east  window  was 
destroyed  some  twenty  years  after.  Every  trace  of  the 
building  has  now  disappeared.  The  last  guardian  was 
Walter  Fleming.  In  1540  he  surrendered  this  friary, 
including  a  church  and  steeple,  a  dormitory  and  hall,  four 
chambers,  a  kitchen,  and  two  gardens,  containing  one  acre, 
the  whole  in  a  ruinous  condition,  eighteen  messuages, 
eight  gardens,  six  acres  of  arable  land,  and  ten  of  bog,  in 
Cashel,  of  the  annual  value  of  £8  10^.  2d.  It  was  granted 
for  ever  to  Edmund  Butler,  Archbishop  of  Cashel,  to  hold 
the  same  in  capite  at  an  annual  rent  of  is.  lOd.  Irish 
money. 

Besides  these  churches  there  was  in  the  town  another 
dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist,  to  which  in  former 
times  a  parish  distinct  from  that  of  St.  Patrick's  of  the  Bock 
was  attached.  The  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Protestant 
church. 

Of  the  relics  and  other  treasures,  which  must  have  been 
very  numerous  and  important  in  a  church  so  ancient  and 
so  "much  venerated  as  that  of  Cashel,  only  a  few  have 
escaped  the  fury  of  the  persecutors.  There  is  inserted  in 
the  Archbishop  *s  crozier  a  portion  of  the  Baculus  Jesa 
left  by  St.  Patrick  as  a  gift  to  the  Church  of  CasheL 
MacGeoghegan  says  it  is  part  of  the  identical  staff  which 
St.  Patrick  held  in  his  hand  when  baptising  Ein^  Enghua. 
The  O'Keamey  family  were  its  hereditary  guardians,  and 
had  the  title  of  Cnix  given  them  in  consequence.     Ev&i 


Cashel  of  the  Kings.  737 

so  late  as  1643  they  used  to  receive  certain  *  oblations  in 
honour  of  St.  Patnck.'  About  thirty  years  ago  it  was 
given  by  the  representative  of  the  fannly  to  the  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  Slattery.  There  is  also  in  the  possession  of  the  Arch- 
bi^op  what  tradition  affirms  to  be  a  foot  of  St.  Bridget. 
But  the  evidence  of  its  authenticity  is  not  sufficient  to 
allow  it  to  be  exposed  to  the  public  veneration  of  the 
faithful.  Lastly,  there  is  a  Cumdach  or  covering  for  the 
Life  of  St  Cailin,  commonly  called  the  Book  of  Fenagh. 
I  purpose  giving  a  detailed  description  of  this  on  anomer 
occasion. 

Owing  to  its  central  position  and  to  its  natural  strength, 
Cashel  has  been  at  all  times  looked  on  as  a  place  of  great 
importance  from  a  military  point  of  view.  Edward  Bruce 
came  there  with  his  army  in.  1316,  and  assisted  at  Mass  in 
the  Cathedral  on  Pahn  Simday.  His  brother  Robert,  King 
of  Scotland,  is  said  to  have  visited  it  soon  after.  Tyrone, 
on  his  way  to  South  Munster,  came  there  in  1600,  and  it 
was  there  he  met  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  who  had  been 
appointed  previously  by  his  command  and  on  his  authority 
contrary  to  the  statute  of  the  sovereign.  And  it  was  from 
Cashel  that  the  Lord  President  of  Munster,  the  merciless 
Carew,  marched  with  an  army  to  intercept  O'Donnell  on 
his  way  to  join  the  Spaniards.  Of  course  Cromwell  was 
at  Cashel.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Parliament  from 
Fethard,  dated  March,  1650,  he  writes:  *The  night  we 
entered  Fethard,  there  lying  about  seventeen  companies 
of  Ulster  foot  at  Cashel,  they  quitted  it  in  some  disorder. 
The  sovereign  and  aldermen  have  since  sent  me  a  petition 
that  I  would  protect  them;  which  1  have  also  made  a 
quarter.'  The  people  of  Cashel  hearing  of  the  favourable 
terms  given  to  their  neighbours  at  FeSiard,  because  they 
had  admitted  Cromwell  and  his  army  into  the  town  as  soon 
as  the^  appeared  before  it,  hctstened  to  offer  him  the  keys 
of  their  town  too  and  to  throw  themselves  on  his  mercy. 
They  too  were  promised,  such  at  least  of  them  as  were  not 
in  the  rebel  army  and  were  actually  inhabiting  the  tovm 
at  the  time  of  the  surrender,  that  they  should  be  dispensed 
from  transplanting.  Later,  he  made  it  the  head  quarters 
of  his  army  while  preparing  to  march  on  Kilkenny  a  second 
time.  Some  of  his  omcers,  to  whom  the  corporate  towns 
had  been  given  as  their  share  of  the  plunder,  did  not  think 
mercy  at  all  suited  to  the  occasion,  when  four  years  later 
they  laid  claim  to  the  town.  All  delay  on  the  part  of  the 
people  in  surrendering  their  homes,  they  declared  dis- 


738  Litutgical  Questions* 

pleasing  to  God;  and  when  eoon  after  the  whole  town, 
excepting  some  few  houses  in  which  the  English  lived, 
was  burnt  to  the  ground  in  Kttle  more  them  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  the  disaster  was  attributed  to  the  wrath  of  Ood 
against  the  iniquity  of  the  people,  not  the  least  of  their 
crimes  being  their  unwillingness  to  quit  their  pleasant  homes 
in  the  Golden  Vale,  and  to  transplant  themselves  and  their 
famihes  to  the  mountains  and  bogs  of  Connaught. 

D.  Murphy,  S  J. 


LITURGY. 
I. 

Decrees  of  the  Congregation  of  Bites  referring  to  the  Prat/en  to 

be  said  after  every  Low  Mass. 

1.  The  people  are  to  join  in  the  prayers. 

2.  The  prayer,  Deusj  refugium^  is  to  be  said  by  the 
priest  kneelmg : — 

Decbbta. 

Dubia  quoad  recitationem  precom  post  Missas  sine  caoU 
celebi*atas. 

Quaesitnm  quum  sit  a  Sacra  Bituuin  Congregatione : — 

L  An  preces  post  finem  cu jusqne  Missae  sine  cantu  celebrats, 
in  universa  Ecclesia  a  Sanctissimo  Domino  Nostro  Leone  Papa 
Xm.,  nuperrime  praescriptae,  recitari  debeant  a  .Sacerdote 
altematim  cum  populo ;  et 

II.  An  oratio  Deus  rejugium  cum  suis  versiculis,  ab  ipeomet 
Sacerdote  in  casu  recitanda  sit,  prouti  Ave  Maria  et  Salve  Beg'tna 
flexis  genibufi  ? 

Sacra  eadem  Congregatio,  ad  relationem  infrascripti  Secrets;!^ 
respondit  ad  utrumqne  Dubium  ;  Affirmative,  Atque  ita  respondit 
et  rescripsit  die  20  Augusti,  1884. 

Pro  Emo.  et  Rmo.  Dno.  Oard.  D.  Babtolzni, 

S.RC.  Ptaefecto. 
A.  Card.  Serafiki. 
Laubentius  Salvati,  S.R.G.9  Secretariof. 

II. 

Decrees  relating  to  the  nvmber  of  Collects^  dc.,  to  be  said  on 

the  occasion  of  ihe^  Quarant*  Ore* 
1.  The  Votive  Mass  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on  the  days 
of  Exposition  and  Reposition,  excludes  all  commemorationa 
During  the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi,  the  Mass  vnll  be  of 


JJUurgical  Quesiians.  739 

the  Ootaye  with  the  Sequence,  but  to  the  exclusion  of 
commemorations. 

2.  On  privileged  Sundays  of  the  first  and  second  class, 
Feasts  of  the  mrst  and  second  class,  Ash- Wednesday, 
the  three  first  days  of  Holy  Week  (the  Exposition  is  not 
allowed  on  the  three  last  days),  during  the  Octaves  of 
Easter,  Pentecost  and  Epiphany,  on  the  Vigils  of  Christmas 
and  Pentecost,  and  dunng  a  local  privileged  Octave,  the 
Mass  of  the  day  is  said  with  a  commemoration  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  under  one  conclusion;  but  no  other 
commemoration  is  to  be  added. 

If,  however,  a  Feast  of  the  first  or  second  class  fall  on 
the  Sunday,  a  commemoration  is  made  of  the  Sunday 
under  a  distinct  conclusion, and  the  Sunday's  Gospel  is  said 
at  the  end  of  Mass. 

3.  On  the  intermediate  day,  when  the  Mass  pro  Pace  or 
other  Votive  Mass  is  said,  a  commemoration  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  is  added  sub  unica  concltisione,  but  no  other. 

On  the  privileged  days,  when  the  Mass  of  the  day  is 
said,  a  commemoration  pro  Pace^  or  of  other  selected  Votive 
Mass,  is  made  mb  unica  conclusione. 

4.  When  the  Exposition  is  held  on  Ash- Wednesday, 
the  Ferial  tone  for  the  Prayers,  the  Preface  and  Pater 
Noster  is  to  be  followed,  and  the  prayer  supra  popiUum 
is  to  be  said  as  usual.    We  append  the  Decrees. 

Decreta. 

In  EoclesiiSi  ubi  chori  obligatio  non  existit,  ac  solemnis  Ex- 
positio  quadraginta  Horarum  peragitur  ex  mandate  Ordinarii, 
iuxta  ordinationem  Clementinam,  quaeritur : 

1.®  Utram  prima  et  tertia  die,  si  non  cantata  faerit  altera  missa 
ccmformis  ofiBcio  correnti,  debeant  in  Missa  Votiva  SS.  Sacramenti 
quaelibet  commemorationes  omitti  ?  An  vero  celebrans  sub  dis- 
tincta  conclusione  cantare  tenetnr,  tum  orationem  missae  de  die, 
quamyis  sit  de  viffilia  communi,  de  qua  nihil  fit  in  duplici  primae 
classis,  aut  de  die  mfra  octayam,  festo  simplici,  ant  feria  communi, 
quorum  commemoratio  locum  non  habet  in  duplici  secundae  classis, 
torn  caeteras  commemorationes  speciales,  quae  adderentur  in  missa 
currenti,  v.g,  de  dominica  per  annum,  de  die  infra  octavam,  etc  ? 

2.^  An  secunda  die,  quando  missa  j9ro  pace^  seu  alia  votiva  rite 
assignata  celebratur,  collecta  SS  Sacramenti  sub  unica  conclusione 
oration!  missae  a<^uncta,  commemorationes  omittendae  sint,  an  non, 
nti  supra  quaesitum  est  ? 

8.^  Utrum,  si  primam  vel  tertiam  diem  impeditam  esse  con- 
tigerit,  (a)  commemoratio  SS.  Sacramenti  post  orationem  missae  sub 
unica  conclusione  semper  cantanda  sit,  non  exceptis  feria  Y  Coenae 
Domini,  Sabbato  Sancto,  et  Festo  Sacratissimi  Cordis  Jesu?-* 


740  JMurgical  Quesiion$. 

(h)  adjungi  debeant  sub  distincta  condudone,  servato  ritu  missae  in- 
trinseco,  singulae  commemorationes  turn  speciales,  turn  commimes, 
quae  in  eadem  missa,  si  cantaretur  extra  solemnis  Ezpofiitionis 
tempus,  essent  faciendae  ? 

4°  Utrum,  si  pari  modo  secunda  dies  f  uerit  impedita,  adjiciendae 
siot  turn  oratio  missae  joro  Pace,  seu  alterius  legitime  assignata,  turn 
collecta  SS.  Sacramenti  ?  Et  quatenus  affirmative,  qaisnam  locos 
utrique  orationi  sit  assignandus  ? 

6.^  An  feria  lY.,  cinerum  in  una  ex  diebus  supradictae  Expos!- 
tionis  occurrente,  tonus  ferialis  in  cantu  Orationum,  Praefationis  et 
Pater  noster  sit  adhibenda  ?  Utrum  omittenda  sit  Oratio  wpra 
populum? 

S.  R.  C.  resp. — Quoad  lam,  2am,  3am  et  4am  quesUonem: 
Serventur  Rubricae  et  Clementina  ordinatio;  Scilicet,  inMissaVoUra 
SS.  Sacramenti  pro  solemni  ejusdem  Expositione  ac  Repositicme, 
omittenda  est  quaelibet  commemoratio  et  collecta.  Infra  octaTam 
SS.  Corporis  Christi,  missa  erit  de  eadem  octava,  cum  sequenda  et 
unica  oratione,  absque  commemorationibus  et  collectis.  In  dominids 
vero  privilegiatis  primae  et  secundae  dassis,  in  festo  pariter  primae  et 
secundae  classis,  feria  IV  cinerum,  feriis  secunda,  tertia  et  quarta 
majorisHebdomadae  (a  mane  enimFeriae  Y  ad  maneSabbati  Sancti 
a  praedicta  expositione  omnino  cessandum),  omnibus  diebu^  octavae 
Paschae,  Pentecostes  et  Epiphaniae,  vigiUis  Nativitatis  Domini  et 
Pentecostes,  necnon  octava  propria  privilegiata,  canenda  est  missa 
diei  currentis  cum  oratione  SS.  Sacramenti  sub  unica  condosiooe, 
omissis  collectis  et  commemorationibua  Quod  si  festum  aliqnod 
primae  vel  secundae  classis  occurrat  in  dominica,  tunc  secundo  loco, 
sub  distincta  conclusione,  fit  commemoratio  dominicae,  et  dicitor 
ejus  evangelium  in  fine.  Missae  tandem  pro  Pace  adjongitnr 
Oratio  SS.  Sacramenti  sub  imica  conclusione:  in  diebus  tamen 
exceptis,  ut  supra,  Missa  canenda  erit  diei  currentis  cum  Oratione 
pro  Pace  sub  unica  conclusione. 

Atque  ita  rescripsit,  dedaravit.  ac  servari  mandavit  Die 
18  Mai.  1888. 

D.  Cabd.  Baetounus,  S.R.O.,  Praefectns. 

III. 

Interpretation  of  the  Faculty  of  ordaining  Extra  Tempora, 

The  Faculty  of  conferring  Holy  Orders  Exb'a  Temwra 
must  be  understood  to  extend  only  to  those  days  on  which 
Minor  Orders  can  be  conferred  according  to  the  common 
law ;  that  is,  on  Sundays,  on  Feasts  of  obligation,  and  on 
suppressed  Feasts  of  obligation. 

Decretuu. 

Utrum  fEicultas  conferendi  sacros  ordines  extra  temporOj  ti 
articuli  1  Formulae  primae  Episcopis  missionariis  generadm  ccm- 
cessae,  limitetur,  nisi  specialissimum  adsit  indultum,  ad  solos  die^ 


J 


Docvmients.  741 

qnibus  de  jure  cominam  conferre  licet  Ordines  Minores,  scilicet  dies 
festivos  de  praecepto,  etiam  in  favorem  fidelium  abrogates  ?  An 
rero  extendatur  ad  singulos  anni  dies,  aut  saltern  ad  omnes  dies  in 
quibus  recitatur  officium  ritus  duplicis  ? 

S.  R.  C.  resp. — ^Aflirmative  ad  l*^  partem :  negative  ad  2^ 

18  Mai.  1883. 

IV. 

Matins  when  separated  from  Lauds. 

When  Matins  are  separated  from  Lauds,  the  former  are 
terminated  with  the  prayer  of  the  OflBce.  The  Lauds 
in  this  case  are  begun  with  the  De^M  in  ad/wionwm, without 
prefixing  a  Pater  and  Ave,  as  the  Rubricists  commonly 
prescribe. 

Decrbtum. 

Si  contingat  in  recitatione  privata  separari  Matutinum  a 
Laudibus,  quaeritur  quomodo  conclndendum  sit  Matutinum,  prae- 
sertim  in  feriis  majoribus,  in  quibus  preces  flexis  genibus  addendae 
sunt  ad  horas  omnes ;  et  quomodo  incho((ndae  sint  Laudes  ? 

S.  R.  C.  resp. — Matutinum  in  casu  concludendum  cum  oratione 
de  Officio  diei ;  Laudes  inchoandas  ut  in  Psalterio. 

R.  Browne. 


DOCUMENTS. 


The  Tercoentenary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo — Special 
cmiebratlon  in  ecclesiastical  colleqes. 

Summary  op  Document. 

The  Tercentenary  anniversary  of  the  death  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo 
on  the  4th  of  November,  1884.  To  the  Saint's  zeal  in  giving  effect 
to  the  Decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent  relating  to  the  establishment 
<^  Ecclesiastical  Seminaries,  is  chiefly  due  the  erection  of  the 
Roman  Seminary  and  of  Seminaries  in  other  parts  of  the  Church. 
His  rules  for  the  government  and  order  of  his  own  Seminary  at  Milan, 
substantially  adopted  in  all  Ecclesiastical  Colleges.  St.  Charles, 
the  Patron  of  the  Roman  Seminary  and  of  many  others.  Reasonable 
and  natural  that  seminarists  should  desire  to  celebrate  his  Ter- 
centenary with  special  solemnity,  to  honour  their  Patron,  to  implore 
his  patronage  in  these  evil  days,  and  to  awaken  his  spirit  among 
them.  This  celebration  specially  agreeable  to  our  present  Pontiff, 
Leo  Xni.,  who  has  done  so  much  ^eady  for  ecclesiastical  science. 
This  wish  on  the  part  of  the  Seminaries  is  made  known  to  Cardinal 
La  Valletta,  Vicar  of  Rome.   He  invites  the  Rectors  to  a  conference, 


742  Docvmeivts. 

approves  of  tbeir  project  to  hold  a  special  celebration  on  St.  Charles*! 
feast  in  this  year,  and  to  communicate  with  the  Bishops  of  other 
Seminaries  at  a  distance  to  join  in  the  celebration. 
The?  following  arrangements  were  agreed  to  :— 

1 .  Every  Ecclesiastical  College  at  Rome  is  to  honour  St.  Charles's 
feast  in  this  year  with  a  special  solemnity. 

2.  On  that  day  all  the  Students  are  to  assist  at  Mass,  receive 
Holy  Communion,  and  say  the  Rosary  for  the  intentions  of  the 
Holy  Father. 

8.  The  Students  of  those  Colleges  are  to  go  in  turn,  during  the 
Octave,  to  the  Church  of  St.  Charles,  where  his  heart  is  enshrined, 
to  visit  and  honour  this  great  relic  of  the  Saint. 

4.  The  President  of  each  College  is  to  collect  the  offerings  of 
the  Students,  which  are  to  be  presented  as  '* Peter's  Pence"  to  the 
Holy  Father. 

5.  The  presentation  of  these  offerings  to  be  made  to  the  Pope 
by  the  assembled  Presidents  and  Students. 

6.  Details  of  arrangements  for  literary  gatherings  to  celebrate 
St.  Charles's  feast,  to  be  announced  later  on. 

An  invitation  to  be  addressed  to  the  Bishops  of  other  Seminaries 
to  join  in  celebrating  the  feast  in  accordance  with  this  programme. 
Communications  to  be  addressed  to  the  undermentioned  Rectors 
of  Colleges  at  Rome. 

Illhb.  AG  Reymb.  Dohinb. 

Pridie  Nonas  Novembres  currente  anno  MDCCCLXXXIV. 
tertia  complebitur  Centenaria  aetas,  ex  quo  inditus  S.  B. 
Ecclesiae  Cardinalis,  ac  Mediolanensium  Archiepiscopus  Carolos 
Borromaeus  ad  Deum  migravit,  condigna  receptums  praemia 
ingentium  meritorum,  quae  sibi  comparaverat  indefessa  iUa  (ffse' 
sertim  soUicitudine,  undo  omnia  Pastoralia  officia  constanter 
ezplevit. 

Haee  inter  singularis  et  pene  incredibilis  virtutis  eius  exempla 
eminuit  etiam  ardens  ipsius  studium,  ut  sapiens  ac  saluberrimom, 
quod  tunc  prodiit,  Tridentini  Concilii  de  Clericalium  Seminaricffum 
erectione  decretum  mox  Romae  ab  Summo.  cui  aderat,  Pontifice 
Pio  lY.,  avunculo  suo,  tum  alibi  etiam  citoad  effectum  adduceretor. 
Suum  autem  Archiepiscopale  Mediolanense  Seminarium  consultis- 
sin^is  illis  Institutionibus  dein  communivit,  ad  quanim  normam 
aliorum  Seminariorum  statuta,  ut  plurimum,  exigi  usque  ad  haee 
tempora,  conformarique  perrexerunt. 

Ea  propter  nil  mirum  si,  Dei  Viro  Sanctis  adscripto,  Romanum 
hoc  Seminarium,  aliaque  huiusmodi  Clericorum  domicilia  in 
Ooelestem  Patronum  ipsum  adsciverint.  Hinc  etiam,  adveniente 
hoc  ab  eius  morte  tercentesimo  anno,  complnribus  piia  viris  ooo- 
venientissimum  fore  visum  est,  si  Clerici,  qui  in  Ecclesiae  spem  in 
Seminariis  succrescunt,  ad  ipsius  opem  in&ustus  praesertim  hisce 
temporibus  impetrandam,  ejusque  fidei  et  charitatis  spiritum  in 


J 


Documents^  743 

seipsk  fovendimi,  splendidius  hoc  anno  Sanctissimi  Antistitis 
Festnm  celebrarent;  atque^  hac  oblata  occasione,  suam  erga 
ApostoHcam  Sedem,  ac  Sapremnm  Ecclesiae  Caput  Bomanom 
Pontificem  Leonem  XTTT.,  a  quo  pia  ipsorum  Clerlcorum  in 
Seminariifl  educatio  sapiensque  institutio  tantopere  provecta  est, 
Yenerationem  et  fidem  illustriori  aliquo  modo  testarentur. 

His  votis  ad  Cardinalem  in  Urbe  Yicarium  Raphaelem  Monaco 
La  Valletta  relatis,  Vir  Eminentissimus  singulos  Seminariorum  ac 
Clericalium  Collegiorum,  qnae  Bomae  ex  dissitis  etiam  nationibus 
extant,  Bectores  ad  se  vocandos,  deque  re  consulendos  putavit. 
Comque  omnes  unanimi  consensu  pium  propositum  laudaverint, 
seque  praeterea  ultro  paratos  ostenderint,  ut  quisque  ad  exteras 
etiam  Dioeceses,  cum  quibus  aliquam  quoquo  titulo  communionem 
habeant,  insignioris  Festivitatis  a  nobis  hoc  anno  in  honorem 
Beatissirai  Caroli  peragendae  nuntium  transmitterent,  idem 
Eminentissimus  Vir  consilium  probavit,  annuitque  ut  rei  notitia 
Episcopis  praeberetur. 

Porro  ad  praedictam  Solemnium  celebrationem,  ac  fidei  pieta- 
tisque  CathoHcae  significationem  erga  Pontificem  Maximum  in 
hisce  IJrbis  Seminariifl  faciendam  isthaec  satis  apta  convocatis 
Bectoribus  visa  est  ratio. 

I®.  In  unoquoque  Urbis  Seminario,  Glericalique  Collegio, 
Festum  S.  Caroli  Borromaei  hoc  anno,  stato  die,  hoc  est  pridie 
Nonas  Novembris,  splendidiore  aliquo  religiose  cultu  habeatur. 

n^  Eo  die  Clerici  in  iisdem  Seminariis  Collegiisve  collecti  hoc 
animo  intererunt  Missae  Sacro,  Communionemque  Eucharisticam 
percipient,  Sanctamque  Bosarii  B.  Virginis  precationem  fundent, 
at  horum  piorum  operum  fructum  Deo  0.  M.  ad  mentem  Summi 
Pontificis  offerant. 

111°.  Singulis  autem  infra  Octavam  diebus  praedictorum  Semi- 
nariorum CoUegiorumque  alumni  ad  Templum  S.  Caroli,  ubi  Cor 
ejus  honorifice  asservatur,  vicissim  accedent,  ut  peiinsignem  banc 
Beliquiam  augustius  sanctiusque  venerentur. 

IV**.  Cuiusque  Seminani  CoUegiique  Praeses  studiose  colliget, 
adnotabitque  oblationes,  quas,  huius  solemnioris  Festi  occasione, 
subiecti  sibi  Clerici,  aliique  pro  Obolo,  qui  dicitur,  S.  Petri  ^Ek^ere 
amabnnt. 

V**.  Festo  peracto,  oblationes  istae  Summo  Romano  Pontifici, 
curante  Emo.  ac  Bevmo  Cardinali  in  Urbe  Vicario,  ab  ipsis 
Seminariorum  CoUegiorumque  Clericalium  Urbis  Bectoribus  et 
alumnis}  prouti  Sanctissimo  Patri  placuerit,  humiliter  exhibebuntur. 
VI°.  Si  quid  praeterea  ad  iUustriorem  Solemnium  celebra- 
tionem  hie  Bomae  indicendum  videatur,  praesertim  quod  attinet 
ad  litterarios  conventus  habendos,  ut  Sancti  Caroli  laudes  impensius 
prosa,  versibus  efferantur,  opportuniore  tempore  deinceps  consti- 
tnetur. 

Interim  haec  omnia  Tibi,  Illme.  ac  Bevme  Domine,  significare 
voluimuSy  ut  si  baud  incongruiuu,  id  quod  speramus,  censeas,  ut 


744  Documents, 

Seminarij,  Seminaripraroye  taornm  alumni,  recumnte  praedicti 
Centenarii  aevi  complemento,  cum  Glericis  in  Seminariid  Urbis 
degentibus  in  Sancti  Caroli  Festo  celebrando  oonsentiant,  non  Te 
lateant,  nee  religiosa  officia,  quae  eo  die  ab  hisce  nostriB  alomms 
peragentur,  nee  modus  quo  collata,  si  quae  in  id  enmt,  tttonun 
Clericorum,  aliorumque  fidelium  pro  Obolo  S.  Petri  subsictia,  haec, 
simul  cum  nostris,  dum  Romam  ad  nos  mature  transmittas, 
Pontifici  Maximo  offerri  possent. 

Bomae,  die  anniversaria  Electionis  S.  Caroli  B.  ad  Archiepts- 
copalem  Sedem  Mediolanensem,  8  Februarii  anno  1884. 
Amplitudinis  Tuae  lUmae.  ac  Bevmae. 

Addictissimi  Famuli 

^  Tobias  Kmsr,  Episcopus   liten.  Collegii   Hibemoram 

Bector. 
Baphael  Cattni  Pont.  Seminarii  Bomani  Bector. 
Fr.  JoH.  Thomas  Tosa  O.P.  Pont.  Seminarii  Pii  Bector. 
JosEPHUS  Dom  Seminarii  Yaticani  Bector. 
Alphonsus  Eschbach  Seminarii  Gallici  Bector. 
Hbrnestus  Prof.    Fontana  Sem.   SS.  Ambrosii  et  Caroli 

Bector. 
GusTAYUs  CoNBADO  Collcgii  Urbauii  de  Propaganda  Fide  j 

Bector.  j 

Fredericus  SchrobderS.  I.  Collegii  Germaniciet  Hungarici 

Bector. 
Henricus  O'Callaghan  Collegii  Anglorum  Bector. 
Jacobus  A.  Campbell  Collegii  Scotorum  Bector. 
P.  Carolus  Grabowski  C.  B.  Collegii  Poloni  Superior. 
FRANascus    ViNCiGUERRA    Almi    Collegii    Capranicensia 

Bector. 
Carolus  de  T'  Serolaes  Collegii  Belgici  Praeses. 
Thomas  Ghetti  S.  L  Collegii  Pii  Latini  Americani  Rector.  ^ 

Silvester    Bonoier    Fullerad   S.  Jacobi  et  S.  Mariae  j 

Montis-Serrati  Bector.  ^ 

AuousTiNus  J.  SoHULTE  CoUegU  Statuum  Foed.  AmericaA 

Septent.  Vicerector. 
Phujppus  Difava  Pont.  Seminarii  Pii  Vicerector. 


Resolutions  of  the  Irish  Bishops. 

The  following  are  the  Resolutions  adopted  by  the 
Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Ireland,  at  the  General 
Meeting,  held  in  Holy  CS-oss  College,  Clonliffe,  on  the  1st 
October,  1884,  His  Grace  the  Primate,  in  the  Chair. 

The  Resolutions  relate  to : — 

1.  Appeal  for  Government  Grants  to  erect  Training  Colleges. 

2.  Unfair  treatment  by  Grovemment  of  Convent  National 
Schools. 


Docummts,  7  45 

3.  Dangerous  tendency  of  questions  in  Metapliysics  set  in  the 
Eoyal  University  Examinations,  injismuch  as  they  practically 
necessitate  the  reading  of  Anti-Chrislian  works. 

4.  Request  to  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  to  bring  forward  the 
Catholic  educational  claims. 

5.  The  renewal  of  condemnation  of  Queen's  Colleges  and 
Trinity  College. 

6.  Appointment  of  a  Promoter  of  the  cause  of  the  Canonization 
of  Irish  xMartyrs. 

Resolutions. 

I.  Eesolved: — "That  the  Bishops,  still  deeming  it  an  indis- 
pensable condition  for  the  extension  of  the  new  Training  College 
system,  and  for  the  adequate  training  of  the  teachers  of  our 
National  Schools,  that  the  Treasury  grants  should  cover  the  total 
authorised  expenditure  of  the  Training  Colleges,  and  that  grants 
and  loans  should  be  given  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  in 
centres  outside  of  Dublin,  again  urgently  and  respectfully  appeal 
to  the  Government  to  make  those  concessions :  and  the  Bishops 
renew  their  assurance,  that  without  those  amendments  of  the 
system,  the  Training  College  arrangements  must  remain,  to  a 
great  extent,  inoperative  in  their  dioceses,  to  the  great  detriment 
of  Primary  education,  and  with  no  small  dangers  to  the  good  order 
of  society." 

IJ.  Ebsolved: — "That  the  Bishops  again  respectfully  repre- 
sent to  Her  Majesty's  Government  the  unfair  treatment,  as  to 
primary  grants,  to  which  the  Convent  Schools  of  Ireland  have 
been  subjected  from  the  first  establishment  of  the  National  system, 
by  the  capitation  grant  system  adopted  by  the  Boaixl  of  National 
Education ;  and  they  venture  to  express  a  hope  that  there  will  be 
no  further  delay  in  treating  these  Schools,  admittedly  the  most 
efficient  in  connection  with  the  system,  with  even-handed  justice. 
The  Bishops  also  hope  and  request  that  the  Bule  of  the  Board, 
which  restricts  the  number  of  Convent  National  Schools,  and  which 
is  justly  regarded  as  a  standing  evidence  of  religious  prejudice, 
will  be  rescinded  by  the  Board." 

J II.  Resolved: — "That,  considering  the  dangers  to  which 
Catholic  students  are  exposed  in  the  Uoyal  University,  as  revealed 
by  the  questions  set  for  their  examination  in  Metaphysics— questions 
practically  necessitating  the  reading  of  Anti-Christian  works,  most 
dangerous  to  Catholic  faith — we  request  that  a  meeting  of  the 
£pisco])al  Education  Committee  be  held  as  soon  as  possible  to  take 
such  steps  as  may  prevent  those  dangers  in  future. ' 

IV.  Resolved: — "Hiat  we  call  upon  the  Irish  Parliamentary 
Party  to  bring  the  foregoing  Resolutions  under  the  notice  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  to  urge  generally  upon  the  Government 
the  hitherto  unsatisfied  claims  of  Catholic  Ireland  in  all  branches 
of  the  Education  question.  We  earnestly  hope  that  the  lovers  of 
justice  and  fair  play  in  the  House  will  co-operate  with  them ." 

VOL.  V.  3  I 


746  Notices  of  Booh. 

V.  Resolved  : — "  That  we  rerew  our  condemnation  of  the 
Queen's  Colleges,  and  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and  warn 
Catholic  parents  of  the  grave  dangers  to  which  they  expose  their 
childi-en  by  sending  them  to  these  institutions,  so  often  condemned 
by  the  Holy  See  as  intrinsically  dangerous  to  faith  and  morals. 

VI.  Resolved:— ''That  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  O'Callaghan, 
Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Cork,  be  appointed  Promoter  of  the  Cause  of 
the  Canonization  of  the  Irish  Martyrs,  in  place  of  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  Moran,  now  Archbishop  of  Sydney." 


NOTICES   OF  BOOKS. 


Luther;  an  Historical  Portrait,     By  J.  Verres,  D.D.    London: 

Burns  &  Oat^s,  1884. 

The  Historical  Portrait,  though  coming,  as  the  author  remarks, 
post  festuiH,  is,  on  this  very  account,  most  seasonably  offered  to  the 
public.  It  is  a  fitting  commentary  on  the  fourth  centenary  drama 
wliich  was  performed,  during  the  past  year,  with  much  pomp  and 
circumstance,  by  those  whose  reverence  for  the  name  of  Lather 
must,  in  great  measure,  be  regarded  as  an  expression  of  hostility 
to  the  Catholic  Church.  The  value  of  such  exhibitions,  contrived 
by  the  agency  of  real  or  assumed  enthusiasm,  is  detected  in  the 
Historical  Portrait  of  the  man  whose  claims  to  the  gratitude  of 
nations  were  urged,  if  not  with  logical  force,  yet  with  persistent 
vehemence  and  studied  intolerance.  Interpreted  in  the  light  of 
the  real  character  of  the  hero,  so  truly  and  so  vividly  depicted  by 
Dr.  Verres,  the  great  celebration  of  1883  must  appear  to  be  a 
prodigious  sham,  and  a  very  painful  illusion. 

We  regard  it  as  fortunate  tliat  the  acts  of  the  centenary  were 
played  out,  and  that  the  long  procession  of  players  had  retir^from 
the  stage,  before  this  new  portrait  of  Luther  had  been  drawn. 
The  celebration  has  furnished  some  fresh  materials  for  producing 
a  faithful  and  effective  likeness.  Though  this  vindication  of 
historical  truth  by  our  author,  was  occasioned  by  what  was  said 
and  written  in  praise  of  Luther  during  the  late  commemoration, 
his  work  is  not  of  that  fugitive  class  which  is  soon  forgotten,  bat 
is  one  of  great  and  abiding  interest. 

ProceSiing  somewhat  on  the  lines  of  Dollinger,  yet  extending 
them,  and  on  those  of  Audin,  which,  if  frequently  contracted,  are, 
at  time^,  enlarged  by  him,  and  coiling  genuine  and  ample  materials 
round  a  solid  core,  similar  to  that  supplied  by  the  skill  and  industry 
of  Father  O'Connor,^  Dr.  Verres  has  given  us,  not  indeed  a  com- 
plete life  of  Luther,  but  an  admirable  sketch,  and  a  fuithfol 
description  of  his  character  and  work. 

*  "  Luther's  own  Statements,"  see  Record,  Oct.,  1884,  p.  676. 


Notices  of  Books.  747 

We  congratulate  those  friends  of  the  author  who  prevailed 
upon  him  to  draw  a  portrait  of  the  Prophet  of  AVittenberg  from 
his  own  works.  They  may  well  feel  proud  of  the  suggestion,  and 
of  the  manner  in  which  it  hiis  been  carried  out.  Every  chapter  of 
the  twenty-four  comprised  in  the  volume,  is  written  in  a  spirit  of 
impartiality,  and  with  a  scrupulous  regard  to  the  dictates  of  justice, 
truth,  and  charity.  What  a  contrast  between  the  tone  of  what 
the  author  has  to  say,  and  the  fierce  and  rabid  utterances  of  the  • 
*'  Prophet  *'  himself  and  many  of  his  adherents ! 

In  the  opening  chapter,  Dr.  Verres  gives  a  sketch  of  the  state 
of  society,  of  literature,  and  of  religion  in  Germany  before  Luther 
appeared  on  the  scene,  and  refute  many  false  statements  on  these 
several  heads.  As  he  proceeds,  he  notes  down  the  causes  that 
prepared  the  way  for  the  revolt  of  Luther,  exhibits  Luther's  igno- 
rance on  thef  question  of  Indulgences,  and  shows  that  the  true 
explanation  of  his  fall  is  to  be  found  in  the  pride  and  sensuality  of 
the  rebel.  The  Heresiarch's  errors  on  Justification,  Free  Will, 
the  Sacraments.  Scriptural  Interpretation,  are  set  forth  with  clear- 
ness, and  established  by  the  irrefragable  testimony  of  the 
"  Reformer's  "  own  statements.  The  intolerance  and  tyranny  of 
the  **  Liberator  "  are  graphically  described.  Nor  has  he  declined 
the  painful  duty  of  exposing  the  credulity,  the  calumnies,  the 
abusive  language  and  ribald  jokes  of  the  "  dear  man  of  God." 

The  fruits  of  the  Reformation,  which  was  designed  to  **  restore 
the  Gospel,"  and  remove  from  the  world  the  depravity  in  which  it 
was  plunged  by  the  old  **  apostate  church,"  are  briefly  and  forcibly 
depicted  by  reference  to  the  forced  admission  of  [juther  and  his 
disciples.  And  what  a  picture  !  Our  readers  must  view  it  in  the 
work  we  are  noticing.  Of  the  many  evils  resulting  from  Luther's 
**  Evangelium,"  the  most  appalling  is  the  wide-spread  rationalism 
of  the  present  day,  and  the  infidelity  to  which  rationalism  leads. 
In  Germany,  legion  is  the  name  of  Protestants  who  are  absolute 
infidels,  and  discard  all  supernatural  belief :  hating  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  boasting  of  being  "  the  legitimate  children  of  the 
Reformation." 

We  should  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  comparison  between 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  and  the  spread  of  Lutheranism  in 
the  sixteenth  chapter,  and  to  Luther's  character  in  twenty-third 
chapter,  if  our  allotted  space  were  not  nearly  filled.  For  the  same 
reason,  we  cannot  dwell  on  the  freshness  and  vigour  of  the  author's 
pen,  on  his  rare  power  of  arresting  the  attention  of  his  readers, 
and  making  them  feel  the  keenest  interest  in  what  he  narrates. 

And  now  a  word  as  to  the  effect  which  this  work  may  have 
upon  the  religious  polemics  of  the  day.  Even  as  the  votaries  of 
Islam  are  blindly  attached  to  the  tenets  of  the  false  prophet,  and 
remain  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  as  the 
worshippers  of  Idols  remained  wedded  to  their  superstitions  in  the 
early  agfes    of  the    Church,  when  the  follies   and  excesses    of 


i 


748  Notices  of  Books. 

paganism  were  exposed  and  denounced  by  Christian  apologists,  so, 
we  fear,  certain  fanatical  followers  of  the  false  prophet  of 
Wittenberg,  will  allow  no  ray  of  light  to  penetrate  the  dark  cloud 
of  illusion  in  which  they  are  wrapped.  The  scoff  ng  rationalist 
and  hardened  infidel  will  cast  aside,  with  equal  indifference,  the 
charges  proved  against  Luther  and  the  vindication  of  the  Catholic 
Church  ;  but  good  men,  earnest  in  the  search  of  truth,  will  find,  if 
they  are  still  straying  away  from  the  one  true  fold,  a  guide  and  a 
help  in  the  work  before  us.  Catholics,  too,  will  be  at  no  loss  to 
form  a  correct  estimate  of  Luther  and  his  work  from  the  evidence 
supplied  by  the  industry  and  ability  of  Dr.  Verres.  D.  G. 

The   Tnith   about  Ireland,     By   an   English   Liberal.     London: 

Kegan  Paul,  Tenoh  &  Co. 

The  spirit  in  which  this  remarkable  brochure  has  been  received 
by  the  Irish  press  makes  it  unnecessary  for  us  to  comment  at 
length  on  its  contents.  In  it  the  state  of  Ireland,  her  mis- 
government,  grievances,  and  aspirations  are  powerfully  portrayed 
by  an  earnest  well-wisher  who  has  the  manliness  not  to  mince  the 
truth  in  speaking  to  his  fellow  Liberals.  For  this  he  will  receive 
the  gratitude  of  Irishmen,  who  at  the  same  time  scorn  his  politico- 
religious  theories.  His  ill-considered  attempt  to  show  that 
Catholicism  is  a  clog  on  Irish  Nationality  receives  a  crushing  blow 
from  the  every-day  iPacts  of  public  life  in  Ireland  as  narrated  by  the 
Author  himself.  Virulence  against  the  Catholic  Church  could 
nowhere  be  displayed  in  more  unfitting  connection.  Yet  on  this 
score  an  *'  English  Liberal,"  might  do  service  as  pamphleteer  to  a 
no-popery  league.  Whilst  Irishmen  stand  up  for  their  country  and 
her  rights  unflinchingly,  strangers  who  as  yet  have  failed  to  make 
themselves  felt  in  critical  moments  as  her  friends,  might  with 
advantage  practise  the  modesty  of  not  lecturing  us  on  the  so-called 
slavish  restraints  of  our  religion.  The  generosity  of  offering  a  choice 
between  *•  Romanism"  and  "Liberalism**  is  intensely  humorous 
at  this  stage  of  history.  If  **  A  Liberal "  devoted  the  same  fair 
and  praiseworthy  attention  to  our  religious  principles  that  he  has 
given  to  the  political  and  social  condition  of  Ireland,  his  notions  of 
the  former  would  be  unstained  by  the  silliness  that  now  charac- 
terizes them,  and  mars  the  effect  of  some  of  his  best  pages. 

P.  O'D. 

St^  Bernard  on  the  love  of  God.       Translated    by    Martaknk 
Cakoline  and  Covkntry  Patmore.  London :  Burns  &  Gates, 

lliis  little  volume  contains  the  translation  not  only  of 
St.  Bernard's  beautiful  work  on  the  love  of  God,  but  also  of  another 
fragment  in  which  the  holy  Doctor  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  We  have,  in  addition,  meditations  for  three  Rosaries ;  one 
in  honour  of  our  Lady  as  Co-redemptrix ;  another  in  honour  of  the 
Sacred  Heart ;  and  the  third  in  imitation  of  our  Lady. 


THE  IRISH 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 


DECEMBER,  1884. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR.— St.  COMGALL. 

ST.  COMGALL,  who  founded  the  great  school  of  Bangor, 
and  is  not  greatly  celebrated  for  his  own  learning, 
was  the  founder  of  a  school  which  of  all  others  seems  to 
have  exercised  the  widest  influence  both  at  home  and 
abroad  by  means  of  the  great  scholars  which  it  produced. 
Bangor  and  Armagh  were  by  excellence  the  gi-eat  Northern 
schools,  just  as  Clonard  was  the  school  of  Meath,  Glenda- 
loch  of  Leinster,  Lismore  of  Mimster,  and  Cloumacnoise 
and  Mayo  of  Connaught.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  Cloumacnoise  was  founded  by  St.  Kieran  from  Roscom- 
mon, that  he  was  the  patron  saint  of  Connaught,^  and  that 
until  a  comparatively  recent  penod  it  formed  a  portion  of 
the  Western  Ecclesiastical  Province.  The  influence  of  the 
other  schools  however  was  mainly  felt  at  home,  or  to  some 
extent  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Germanv ;  but  the  influ- 
ence of  Bangor  was  felt  in  France,  and  Switzerland,  and 
Italy,  and  not  only  in  ancient  times  but  down  to  the 
present  day.  There  are  great  names  amongst  the  Mis- 
sionaries who  have  gone  from  other  monastic  schools  in 
Ireland  to  preach  the  Gospel  abroad,  but  if  we  except 
St.  Columba  who  was  trained  at  many  schools  m 
Ireland,  there  ai'e  no  other  names  so  celebrated  as 
St.  Columbanus  the  founder  of  Luxeil  and  Bobbio,  and 
St.  Gall  who  has  given  his  name  to  an  equally  celebrated 
Monastery  and  Canton  in  Switzerland.  It  is,  then,  highly 
interesting  and  instructive  to  ti'ace  the  origin  and  influence 
of  this  famous  Irish  school. 

St.  Coragall,  the  founder  of  Bangor,  was  a  native  of 
the  territory  anciently  called  Boirche  or  Mourne  in  the 

1  See  the  Poem  from  the  Saltair  na  Rann  on  the  Patron  Saints  of 
Ireland,  Cambr.  Eversus,  Vol.  II.,  page  779. 

VOL.  V.  3  K 


750  The  ScJwol  of  Bangor — St.  Comgall, 

County  Antrim,  a  district  to  the  north  of  Belfast  LoUgh 
opposite  to  the  place  whf^re  he  afterwards  founded  hie 
Monastery.  There  is  some  difierence  of  opinion  as  to  the 
exact  date  of  his  birth,  and  indeed  as  to  the  length  of  his 
life,  although  all  admit  that  he  died  in  the  year  600  or  601. 
He  seems  to  have  been  during  his  Ufe  from  boyhood  to  old 
age  a  friend  and  companion  of  St.  Coluracille,  and  hence 
if  we  accept  the  length  of  his  life  given  by  the  BoUandists' 
as  eighty  years  we  may  fix  his  birth  at  about  520 — which 
was  also  the  date,  or  near  it,  of  Columciile's  birth. 
Comgallus  the  name  by  which  he  was  baptized 
has  been  frequently  explained  to  signify  the  *  luc^ 
pledge' — faustum  pignus — because  he  was  a  child  of 
benediction,  the  only  son  of  his  parents,  and  born  too 
when  they  were  advanced  in  years.  As  usual  in  the  case 
of  our  Irish  saints,  several  prodigies  are  said  to  have  taken 
place  both  before  and  shortly  after  his  birth.  His  father 
was  Sedna  a  small  chief  of  the  district  then  known  as 
Dalaradia  or  Dalaray,  his  mother  was  a  devout  matron 
called  Briga,  who  is  said  to  have  been  warned  before  his 
birth  to  retire  from  the  world  because  her  offspring  was 
destined  in  future  days  to  become  a  great  saint  of  God. 
These  pious  parents  took  him  to  be  baptized  bv  a  blind 
old  priest  called  Fehlim,  who  knew  however,  by  neart,  the 
proper  method  of  administering  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 
There  beinff  no  water  at  hand  a  miraculous  stream  burst 
forth  from  the  soil,  and  the  old  priest  feeUng  the  presence 
of  the  divine  influence  washed  his  face  in  the  stream,  and 
at  once  recovered  his  sight,  after  which  he  baptized  the 
child  and  gave  him  the  appropriate  name  of  ComgalL 
This  is  only  one  of  the  numberless  miracles  recorded  in 
the  two  lives  of  St.  Comgall  given  by  the  BoUandisis,  but 
it  will  be  unnecessary  for  our  purpose  to  refer  to  them  in 
detail. 

The  boy  in  his  youth  was  sent  to  work  in  the  fields 
and  seems  to  have  assisted  his  parenta  with  great  alacrity 
in  all  their  domestic  concerns.  When  he  grew  up  a  little 
more  he  was  sent  to  learn  the  Psalms  and  other  divine 
hymns  from  a  teacher  in  the  neighbourhood  whose  precepts 
were  much  better  than  his  example.  The  young  child  of 
grace,  however,  was  not  led  away  from  the  path  of  virtue, 
on  the  contrary  he  seems  in  his  own  boyish  way  to  have 
given  gentle  hints  to  his  teacher  that  his  life  was  not  what 
it  ought  to  be.     On  one  occasion,  for  instance,  ComgaU 

1  In  the  Second  Life, 


The  School  of  Bangor — St,  ComgalL  751 

rolled  his  coat  in  the  mud  and  coming  before  his  master, 
the  latter  said  to  him,  "  Is  it  not  a  shame  to  soil  your  coat 
so  ?"  "Is  it  not  a  greater  ehame,"  replied  Comgall,  "for 
any  one  to  soil  his  soul  and  body  by  sin  t"  The  teacher 
took  the  hint  and  was  silent ;  but  the  lesson  was  unheeded, 
And  so  the  holy  youth  resolved  to  seek  elsewhere  a  holier 
preceptor. 

This  was  about  the  year  545.  At  that  time  a  young 
and  pre-eminently  holy  man  named  Fintan  had  established 
a  monastery  at  a  place  called  Cluain-edneach,  now  Clone, 
nagh,  quite'  near  Mountrath  in  the  Queen  s  County.  The 
fame  of  this  infant  monastery  had  spread  far  and  wide 
over  the  face  of  the  land ;  for  although  in  many  places  in 
those  days  of  holiness  there  was  strict  rule,  and  poor  fare, 
and  rigid  life,  yet  Fintan  of  Clonenagh  seems  to  have  been 
the  strictest  and  poorest  and  most  rigid  of  them  all.  He 
would  not  allow  even  a  cow  to  be  kept  for  the  use  of  his 
monks — consequently  they  had  no  milk,  no  butter ;  neither 
had  they  eggs,  nor  cheese,  nor  fat,  nor  flesh  of  any  kind. 
They  had  a  little  corn,  and  herbs,  and  plenty  of  water 
near  at  hand,  for  the  bogs  and  marshes  round  their 
monastic  cells  were  frequently  flooded  by  the  many  tribu- 
taries of  the  infant  Nore  coming  down  from  the  slopes  of 
the  Slieve-bloom  mountains.  They  had  plenty  of  hard 
work  too  in  the  fields  tilling  the  barren  soil,  and  in  the 
woods  cutting  down  timber  for  the  buildings  of  the 
monastery  as  well  as  for  firewood,  and  then  drawing  it 
home  in  loads  on  their  backs  or  dragging  it  after  them 
over  the  uneven  soil.  The  discipline  of  this  monastery 
was  so  severe  and  the  food  of  the  monks  so  wretched  that 
the  neighbouring  saints  thought  it  prudent  to  come  and 
beg  the  Abbot  Fintan  to  relax  a  little  of  the  extreme 
severity  of  his  discipline,  which  was  more  than  human 
nature  could  endure.  The  Abbot  though  unwilling  to 
relax  his  own  fearful  austerities  in  the  least,  consented  at 
the  earnest  prayer  of  St.  Canice  to  modify  the  severity  of 
his  discipline  to  some  extent  for  the  others,  and  they  were 
no  doubt  not  unwilling  to  get  the  relaxation.  It  speaks 
well  for  the  love  of  holy  penance  shown  by  these  young 
Christians  of  Ireland  that  in  spite  of  its  severe  discipline 
this  monasteiy  was  crowded  with  holy  inmates  from  all 

})arts  of  the  country,  and  amongst  the  rest  came  Comgall 
rom  his  far-off  Dalaradian  home  to  become  a  disciple  of 
this  school  of  labour  and  penance. 

He  remained  a  considerable  time  under  the  guidance  of 


752  The  School  of  Bangor — St.  Comgall 

the  holy  Fintan,  the  Benedict  of  our  Irish  Church,  who, 
although  his  "  senior  '*  or  superior  in  reli^on,  was  probably 
about  his  own  age  in  years.  There  is  httle  doubt  that  it 
was  from  Fintan,  Comgall  learned  those  lessons  of  humi- 
Kty  and  obedience  which,  as  we  know  from  his  rule  and 
from  his  disciples,  he  afterwards  taught  with  so  much  eflfect 
to  others.  His  teacher  then  advised  him  to  return  to  bis 
own  country,  and  propagate  amongst  his  kindred  in  Dalaray 
the  lessons  of  virtue  which  he  had  learned  at  Clonenagh. 

Hitherto  it  seems  Comgall  had  received  no  holy  orders. 
He  was  a  monk  and  a  perfect  one,  of  mature  age  too,  but 
in  his  great  humiUty  he  had  hitherto  declined  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  priesthood.  Now,  however,  he  resolved  to 
pay  a  visit  to  Clonmacnoise,  which  is  not  very  far  to  the 
north-west  of  Clonenagh.  Its  holy  founder  Kieran  was 
scarcely  alive  at  this  time,  for  he  died  in  548  ;  but  then  and 
Ipng  after  the  fame  of  the  school  was  great,  and  crowds  of 
holy  men  were  attracted  to  its  walls.  Here  Comgall  was 
induced  to  receive  the  piiesthood  from  the  holy  Bishop 
Lugadius,  and  after  a  short  stay  he  returned  northward  to 
his  own  country.  This  was  probably  about  550,  or  perhaps 
a  little  later. 

Some  authorities  place  the  foundation  of  Bangor  at  this 
time  ;  but  it  must  be  understood  ouly  in  a  very  qualified 
sense  at  this  early  date.  Comgall  was  now,  indeed,  a 
famous  saint  himself,  and  likely  enough  companions  came 
to  place  themselves  under  his  spiritual  guidance.  But  we 
are  expressly  told  that  for  some  time  after  his  return  he 
went  about  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  people,  especially 
amongst  his  own  kith  and  kin,  and  in  all  probabihty  this 
took  place  before  he  established  his  monastery  at  least  on 
any  permanent  footing  at  Bangor.  But  the  holy  man  longed 
for  the  solitaiy  life,  and  so  we  are  told  that  he  retired  to  an 
island  in  Lough  Erin,  called  Insula  Custodiaria,  or,  as  we 
should  now  say.  Jail  Island,  and  there  he  practised  such 
austerities  that  seven  of  the  brethren  who  accompanied  him 
died  of  cold  and  hunger.  He  was  then  induced  to  relax 
his  penances  and  fastmgs;  and  shortly  after,  it  seems  at  the 
earnest  prayer  of  his  friends,  he  was  again  persuaded  to 
leave  J  au  Island  an  d  return  to  Dalaray.  This  was  about  the 
year  559,  which  seems  to  be  the  most  probable  date  of  the 
founding  of  Bangor,  although  the  Four  Masters  fix  it  so 
early  as  552. 

feangor  is  very  beautifully  situated.  It  is  about  seven 
miles  from  Belfast,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Belfast  Lough, 


The  School  of  Bangor — St.  Coingall  753 

in  the  county  Down,  and  may  be  reached  either  by  rail  or 
steamer.  It  commands  a  fine  view  of  Camckfergus  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  tiie  bay,  with  the  bold  cliffs  of  Black 
Head  further  seaward;  to  the  right  across  the  narrow  sea 
the  bleak  bluffs  of  Galloway  are  distinctly  visible,  and  far 
away  due  north  in  the  dim  distance  the  Mull  of  Cantire 
frowns  over  a  wild  and  restless  sea.  We  saw  this  fair 
scene  on  a  fine  day  last  June,  when  the  sun  lit'  up  the 
steeples  of  Carrickfergus,  and  glanced  brightly  over  the 
transparent  waters,  so  deeply  and  purely  blue,  whose 
wavelets  played  amongst  the  bare  quartzite  rocks,  and  we 
felt  that  if  the  old  monks  who  chose  Bangor  to  be  their  home 
loved  God  they  loved  nature  also.  Most  of  all  they  loved 
the  great  sea ;  it  was  for  them  the  most  vivid  image  of  God ; 
in  its  anger,  its  beauty,  its  power,  its  immensity,  they  felt 
the  presence,  and  they  saw,  though  dimly,  the  glory  of  the 
Divme  Majesty.  It  was  on  the  shore  of  this  beautiful  bay 
sheltered  from  the  south-western  winds,  but  open  to  the 
north-east,  that  Comgall  built  his  little  church  and  cell. 
Crowds  of  holy  men,  young  and  old,  soon  gathered  round 
him ;  they,  too,  without  much  labour  built  themselves  little 
cells  of  timber  or  wattles ;  the  whole  was  then  surrounded 
by  a  spacious  fosse  and  ditch,  which  was  their  enclosure, 
and  thus  the  establishment  became  complete.  If  St  Bernard 
in  his  Life  of  St.  Malachy  was  rightly  informed,  it  is  clear 
that  there  were  no  stone  buildings  in  ancient  Bangor  before 
the  time  of  St.  Malachy ;  and  even  he  when  restoring  the 
place  with  a  few  of  his  companions  only  built  a  small 
oratory  of  wood  which  was  finished  in  a  few  days. 

Not  its  buildings,  however,  but  its  saints  and  its 
scholars,  were  the  glory  of  Bangor.  St.  Columba  from  his 
home  in  lona  came  more  than  once  with  some  of  his  fol- 
lowers to  visit  Comgall  and  his  good  monks.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  one  of  the  brothers  died  during  the  voyage, 
and  the  corpse  at  first  was  left  in  the  boat  whilst  the  monks 
with  Columba  went  to  the  monastery.  Comgall  received 
them  with  great  delight,  washed  their  feet,  and  on  asking 
if  all  had  come  in,  Columba  said  one  brother  remained  in 
the  boat.  The  holy  man  Comgall  going  down  in  haste  to 
fetch  the  brother  found  him  dead,  and  perhaps  thinking  it 
might  have  happened  through  his  neglect,  besought  the 
Lord,  and  calling  upon  the  monk  to  rise  up  and  come  to  his 
brothers,  the  dead  man  obeyed.  Walking  to  the  monastery 
Comgall  perceived  that  he  was  blind  in  one  eye,  and  telling 
him  to  wash  his  face  in  the  stream  that  stiU  flows  down  to 
the  sea  from  the  church,  he  did  so,  and  at  once  recovered 


754  The  School  of  Bangor — St.  CoingalL 

his  sight.  So  Comgall  brought  back  the  brother  from  the 
grave,  and  moreover  restored  to  him  his  eyesight.  In  this 
age  of  oui*s  we  are  apt  to  smile  at  such  miracles  as  these, 
because  ours  is  not  an  age  of  faith ;  and  the  increduhty  of 
the  world  around  us  make  us  incredulous  also.  Yet  our 
Saviour  said  to  his  disciples  (Luke  xvii.  v.  6),  "  If  you  had 
faith  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  you  might  sary  to  this 
mulberry  tree,  be  thou  rooted  up,  and  be  thou  transplanted 
into  the  sea,  and  it  would  obey  you.*.'  I  doubt  if  any  of  our 
Irish  saints  ever  did  anything  apparently  so  foolish  as  this, 
yet  even  this  they  could  do  in  tne  greatness  of  their  faith. 

St.  Comgall  paid  a  return  visit  to  Columba,  and  it  is 
said  that  ho  even  founded  a  church  in  the  Island  of  Heth, 
now  called  Tiree,  one  of  the  western  isles  to  the  ncn^  of 
lona.  He  also  accompanied  Columba  in  the  famous  visit 
which  he  paid  to  King  Brude,  the  Pictish  King,  who,  at 
the  approach  of  the  saints,  shut  himself  up  in  his  fortress 
on  the  shore  of  the  river  Inverness.  But  Columba  signed 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  the  barred  doors  flew  open  in  the 
name  of  Christ ;  and  the  pagan  King  of  the  Picts,  fearing 
with  a  gieat  fear,  allowed  the  saints  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  his  subjects. 

A  man  so  famous  for  holiness  and  miracles,  soon 
attracted  great  crowds  to  Bangor.  St.  Bernard,  in  his  life 
of  St.  Malachy,  says  that  "this  noble  institution  was 
inhabited  by  many  thousands  of  monks.*'  Joceline,  of 
Furness,  a  writer  of  the  twelfth  century,  says  that "  Bangor 
was  a  fruitful  vine  breathing  the  odour  of  salvation,  and 
that  its  oflFshoots  extended  not  only  over  all  Ireland,  but 
far  beyond  the  seas  into  foreign  countries,  and  filled  many 
lands  ^vith  its  abounding  fruitfulness."  In  the  time  of  the 
Danes  we  are  told  on  the  authority  of  St.  Bernard,  that 
nine  hundred  monks  of  Bangor  were  slain  by  these  pirates 
-^an  appalling  slaughter,  but  not  at  all  an  unusual,  much 
less  an  incredible  massacre  for  the  North  men  to  perpetrate. 
The  second  life  given  by  the  BoUandists  says  distinctly  that 
in  the  various  cells  and  monasteries  under  his  care^ 
Comgall  had  no  less  than  three  thousand  monks ;  but  this,, 
it  seems,  is  to  be  understood  of  all  his  disciples  in  other 
monasteries  as  well  as  in  Bangor. 

Amongst  these  disciples  besides  St.  Columbanus  and 
his  companions,  of  whom  we  shall  presently  speak,  were 
Lua,  called  also  Mo-Lua,  the  founder  of  Clonfert-Molua, 
now  Clonfei-t-Maloe,  in  the  Queen's  County,  and  St.  Cartagh 
founder  of  the  great  school  of  Lismore,  which  became 
almost  as  famous  as  Bangor  itself.     Luanus,  from  Bangor^ 


The  School  of  Bangor — St.  Comgall.  755 

who  seems  to  be  the  same  as  Molua,  is  said  by  St.  Bernard 
to  have  founded  a  hundred  monasteries — a  statement  that 
seems  somewhat  exaggerated.  Even  kings  gave  up  their 
crowns  and  came  to  Bangor  to  live  as  humble  monks  under 
the  blessed  Comgall. 

Special  mention  is  made  of  Cormac,   King  of  Hy- 

BaiiTche,  in  Northern  Leinster.     That  prince  had  been 

freed  from  the  fetters  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  King  of 

Hy-Kinselagh  at  the  earnest  intercession  of  St.  Fintan  of 

Clonenagh.     Before  his   death,   however,   he  retired   to 

Bangor,  and  in  spite  of  great  temptations  to  return  to  the 

world,  he  persevered  to  the  end  in  the  service  of  God  under 

the  care  of  Comgall,  to  whom  he  gave  large  domains  in 

Leinster  for  the  endowment  of  religious  houses.     Comgall, 

according  to  some  authorities,  ruled  over  Bangor  for  fifty 

years,  others  say  for  thirty,  which  is  more  likely  to  be  true, 

and  died  on  the  10th  of  May,  at  his  own  monastery  of 

Bangor,  in  the  midst  of  his  children,  after  he  had  received 

the  Viaticum  from  the  hands  of  St.  Fiacra  of  Conwall,  in 

Donegal,   who  was  divinely  inspired  to  visit  the  dying 

saint  and  administer  to  him  the  last  rites  of  the  Church. 

His  blessed   body  was  afterwards  enclosed  by  the  same 

Fiacra,  in  a  shrine  adorned  with  gold  and  precious  stones, 

which  subsequently  became  the  spoil  of  the  Danish  pirates. 

That  literature,  both  sacred  and  profane,  was  successfully 

cultivated  at  Bangor,  will  be    made   evident  from   the 

writings  of  the  great  scholars  whom   it  produced,  even 

during  the  life-time  of  its  blessed  founder.     Humility  and 

obedience,  however,  were  even  more  dearly  prized  than 

learning.    It  was  a  rule  amongst  the  monks  that  when  any 

person  was  rebuked  by  another  at  Bangor,  whether  justly 

or  not,  he  immediately  prostrated  himself  on  the  ground  iix 

token  of  submission.     They  bore  in  mind  that  word  of  ihe 

Gospel,  "  If  one  strike  thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  also  to 

him  the  other."    But  the  career  of  the  great  Columbanus 

will  prove  that  when  there  was  question  of  denouncing 

crime  against  God,  or  adhering  to  the  traditions  of  the 

holy  founders  of  the  Irish  Church,  the  monks  of  Bangor 

were  men  of  invincible  firmness,  who  felt  the  full  force  of 

the  apostolic  maxim — we  must  obey  God  rather  than  man. 

In  the  question  of  celebrating  Easter  according  to  their 

ancient  usage  this  firmness  bordered  on  pertinacity ;  but 

it  was  excusable  seeing  that  it  sprung  from  no  schismatical 

spirit,  but  from  a  conscientious  adhesion  to  the  ancient 

practice  of  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick. 

John  HEAiiY. 


[    756    ] 


EVOLUTION  AND  FAITH. 

Fa  previous  article  on  Darwinism^  the  present  writer 
contended  that  the  evolution  theory  was  an  unproved 
hypothesis  ;  mainly,  a  mass  of  groundless  assumptions,  and 
gratuitous  assertions,  and  that  its  advocates  '*  beg  the 
question  "  by  ignoring  Revelation, and  by  taking  for  granted 
the  points  that  are  most  vital  to  the  theory.  The  facts 
alleged  by  Mr.  Darwin  and  his  disciples  may  be  facts,  or 
may  be  fictions ;  but  the  evolution  theory  they  do  not  prove. 
Mr.  Mivart,  a  distinguished  Catholic  writer,  holds,  as 
decidedly  as  Darwin  does,  that  the  higher  organisms  now 
existing  have  been  evolved  from  lower ;  but  his  explana^ 
tion  of  the  system  differs  much  from  Darwin's.  Mr.  Mivart 
saw  clearly,  and  exposed  fully,  the  weak  points  in  Darwin's 
theory ;  and  he  claims  for  himself  the  merit  of  finding  a 
remedy  for  them.  He  says,  "  the  problem  then  is  by  what 
combination  of  natural  laws  does  a  new  "  common  nature" 
appear  upon  the  scene  of  realized  existence  t  i.e.,  how  is 
an  individual  embodying  such  new  characters  produced." 
{Genesis  of  Species j  p.  2.)  And  after  acknowledging  our 
indebtedness  to  Darwin  and  Wallace  for  enabhng  us  to 
approximate  to  a  solution  of  this  problem,  Mr.  Mivart  states, 
that  the  object  of  his  book  is  ''  to  maintain  the  position 
that  "  Natural  Selection,"  acts,  and,  indeed,  must  act ;  but 
that  still,  in  order  to  account  for  the  production  of  known 
kinds  of  animals  and  plants,  it  requires  to  be  supplemented 
by  the  action  of  some  other  natural  law,  or  laws,  as  yet 
undiscovered."  (p.  5.)  This  " tmdiscovered "  "unknown" 
internal  "  law,"  which  at  present  science  is  utterly  incom- 
petent to  explain*'  (p.  207)  is  the  principal  factor  in 
Mr.  Mivart's  evolution  theory,  and  he  refers  to  it  veiy 
frequently,  both  in  the  Genesis  of  Species,  and  in  the 
Lessons  from  Nature.  (See  Genesis  of  Species  j  p.  5,  23,270, 
274,  311,  333,  and  Lessons  from  Nature,  chap,  ix.,  &c.) 

According  to  Mr.  Mivart,  then,  "  Natural  Selection" 
acts  its  part  in  the  evolution  of  new  organisms,  but  that 
part  is  secondary.  The  evolution  mainly  "  depends  on 
some  unknown,  internal  law,  which  determines  variation 
at  special  times,  and  in  special  directions."  (p.  811.)  The 
action  of  this  internal  law  is  not,  however,  uniform,  and 
lon^  periods  sometimes  pass  without  any  sendble  indication 
6f  its  energy.    But  when  conditions  favourable  to  the 

1 1.  E.  Record  {Third Serks),  vol  v.,  p.  684  (Sept.). 


Evolution  atid  Faith.  757 

evolution  present  themselves,  then  sudden  changes^— 
**  jumps," — are  noticed,  and  these  are  so  considerable  as  to 
be,  "m  fact,  sensible  steps  such  as  discriminate  species 
from  species/*  (p.  275.)  Thus  do  new  species  arise, 
according  to  Mr.  Mivart.  By  this  theory  does  he  account 
for  all  the  organisms  that  have  come  into  being,  the  body  of 
the  first  man  among  them  (p.  819),  and  he  tells  us  that  this 
theory  is,  "  without  any  doiibt,  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
strictest,  the  most  orthodox,  Christian  theology  "  (p.  6). 

Now,  laying  aside  for  a  moment,  the  theological  aspect 
of  this  theory,  we  may  ask  what  is  its  advantage,  from  a 
scientific  stand-point,  over  Darwinism  pure  and  simple  I 
Like  Darwinism  it  has  to  meet  the  opinion  of  distinguished 
naturalists  that  species  are  immutable.  It  is  intended  to 
meet  the  diflSculties  of  «  Natural  Selection,"  and  it  does 
so,  by  TOshing  into  a  difficulty  quite  as  formidable  as  any 
of  those  it  seeks  to  evade, — namely,  the  assumption,  in  a 
scientific  hypothesis,  of  a  law  unknown  to  science.  We 
know  that  **  Natural  Selection  "  can  induce  some  changes, 
though  they  are  inconsiderable;  but  what  the  alleged 
"internal  law"  can  do,  is,  to  us,  like  the  law  itself, 
absolutely  unknown.  It  is  an  assumption,  without  proof, — 
a  conjecture.  If  this  unknown  law  be  in  existence,  how 
strange  that  it  has  shown  no  sign  of  its  energy  since  man 
first  appeared  I  How  strange  that  conditions  favourable 
to  its  operation  have  not  appeared  during  all  that  long 
period  1  If  this  "unknown  law,"  plus  "Natural  Selec- 
tion," and  "favourable  conditions"  be  competent  to 
introduce  new  species,  why  is  the  theory  at  a  stand-still 
for  seven  thousand  years!  Why  has  evolution  stopped 
with  man?  The  alleged  "jumps,"  are  then  "few  and 
far  between :"  and  as  man  has  never  witnessed  any  of  them, 
we  have  reasonable  grounds  for  being  sceptical  about 
them.  To  meet  these  difficulties  evolutionists  will  have  to 
"try  again." 

In  dealing  with  Mr.  Darwin,  and  his  disciples,  the 
theological  aspect  of  evolution  is  easily  gettled.  Darwin's 
theory  is  not  incompatible  with  the  primary  creation  of 
matter,  though  he  makes  no  clear  reference  to  it,  and  he 
cautiously  avoids  the  question  of  the  origin  of  life.  But 
the  end  and  aim  of  ms  theory  is  to  refute  the  idea  of 
intolUgent  design  in  the  production  of  any  species  of 
organism.  He  clearly  intended  his  theory  to  supplant 
Revelation  which  he  completely  ignores.  He  ignores  the 
existence  of  the  soul.    He  holds  that  man*s  mental  facul- 


^ 


758  Evolution  and  Faith* 

ties  and  powers  differ  only  in  degree  from  those  of  the  lower 
animals,  and  are  subject  to  the  same  process  of  evolution 
as  man's  body.  Between  the  affection  of  a  dog  for  his 
master,  and  the  love,  reverence,  and  adoration  we  pay  to 
God,  he  sees  merely  a  difference  in  degree.  For  such  a 
theory  it  is  clear  that  faith  can  have  no  toleration.  For 
I*'.  To  deny  intelUgent  design  in  creation  is  to  remove  the 
very  foundation  of  faith.  2^.  The  special  creation  of 
Adam's  soul  is  a  dogma  of  faith.  8^  It  is  practically 
certain,  also,  that  the  special  creation  of  the  soul  of  each 
individual  is  a  dogma  of  Catholic  faith.  It  is  true  that  an 
opinion  once  prevailed  to  some  extent,  according  to  which 
the  soul  like  the  body  was  supposed  to  come  from  the 
parents.  This  view  has  been  revived  in  recent  times  by 
Frohschammer  and  some  other  German  theologians  of  very 
questionable  orthodoxy.  And  strangely  enough  Mr.  Lilly 
in  his  recent  work  Ancient  Religion  and  Modem  TImighty 
seems  to  regard  it  as  still  tenable.  It  is  not  tenable. 
It  is  notoriously  opposed  to  the  almost  unanimous 
teaching  of  the  Fathers,  and  of  all  eminent  theo- 
logians ;  it  is  set  down  as  an  error  in  a  letter  of  Pope 
Benedict  XII.  to  the  Armenian  Bishops,  given  in  Raynal- 
dup,  A.D.  1341 ;  and  it  is  clearly  opposed  to  the  voice  of 
the  ordinary  magisterium  of  the  Cnurch.  The  opinion  is 
therefore  altogether  untenable,  and  consequently  Faith 
tolerates  no  evolution  theory  with  reference  to  man's  soul. 
But  the  question  still  remains,  what  may,  or  may  not, 
be  held  with  reference  to  the  bodies  of  oiur  first  parents, 
and  to  the  other  works  of  creation  specified  in  Genesis. 
May  the  evolution  theory  be  applied  to  them,  and  if  bo  how 
far  does  Faith  permit  us  to  go?  As  already  stated, 
Mr.  Mivart  holds,  that  the  evolution  theory  may  be  applied 
fully  to  the  bodies  of  our  first  parents,  and  of  course  to  all 
lower  organisms  as  well.  He  does  not  **  include  in  the 
process  of  evolution  the  soul  of  man"  (page  319).  He 
admits  the  creation  in  the  strict  sense  of  each  individual 
soul,  but  he  does  hold  that  it  is  allowable  to  teach  that  the 
body  of  the  fii'st  man  was  produced  by  evolution  from 
some  lower  animal,  and  that  when  the  process  of  evolution 
had  reached  the  desired  perfection,  God  infused  into  the 

Species  so  perfected  the  human  soul.      And  this  theory 
r.  Mivart  tells  us  repeatedly  "  is  perfectly  consistent  with 
the  strictest,  the  most  orthodox  Christian  theology."  (p.  5.) 
Some  few  months  ago,  a  writer  in  the  Tablet  referring 
to   evolution  seeme'd  to   class  Mr.  Mivart  in  the  same 


JEJvolution  and  Faith.  759 

category  as  Darwin  and  other  well-known  enemies  of 
Revelation.  No  classification  could  be  more  unfair  to 
Mr.  Mivart ;  and  it  is  diflScult  to  see  how  anyone  who  has 
read  his  works  could  confoimd  the  systems  or  compare 
the  men.  In  fact  no  writer  has  yet  dealt  such  a  blow  to 
Darwin's  system  as  Mr.  Mivart  has.  Darwin  applies  his 
theory  to  man  in  his  totality,  body,  mind  and  soul  Mivart 
applies  it  only  to  the  body  of  the  first  man.  Darwin 
excludes  all  intelligent  designin  the  production  of  organisms. 
Mivart  maintains  the  necessity  of  intelligent  design ;  and  he 
has  demonstrated  the  existence  of  an  intelligent  first  cause, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  merit  the  gratitude  of  all  believers. 
Darwin's  system  depends  altogether  on  external  accidental 
circumstances ;  Mivart's  theory  depends  mainly  on  internal 
laws,  which  are  nothing  else  than  the  laws  of  nature 
instituted  and  maintained  in  harmony  by  Almighty  God. 
And  therefore  to  confound  the  theories  and  their  authors 
betrays  either  a  lamentable  want  of  knowledge  or  an 
absence  of  that  spirit  of  fair  play  which  is  due  to  any 
adversary.  One  system  is  the  onslaught  on  Revelation  of 
a  professed  enemy ;  the  other  is  a  well-meant,  if  mistaken, 
effort  of  a  loval  son  of  the  Church  to  defend  Revelation 
against  the  alleged  difficulties  of  science.  To  admit  so  much 
is  but  bare  justice  to  Mr.  Mivart,  though  it  is  very  far  from 
admitting  the  orthodoxy  of  his  theory.  His  theory  is  that 
man  and  all  other  organisms  were  produced  by  **  derivative 
creation,"  which,  A««ay«,meansmerely,  "that  the  pre-existing 
matter  has  been  created  \vith  the  potentiality  to  evolve 
from  it,  under  suitable  conditions,  all  the  various  forms  it 
subsequently  assumes"  {Genesis  of  Species,  291).  It  is,  he 
says,  "simply  the  Divine  action  by  and  through  natural 
laws"  (p.  801),  "the  operation  of  laws  which  owe  their 
foundation,  institution  and  maintenance  "  to  God  (p.  318). 
It  is,  he  says,  "  the  creation  by  God  of  forms,  not  as  existing, 
but  in  poientittj  to  be  subsequently  evolved  into  actual 
existence  by  the  due  concurrence  and  agency  of  the  various 
powers  of  nature."  {Lessons  from  Nature  431.)  Thus,  then 
according-  to  this  view,  the  creation  of  man  and  of  other 
organisms  implies  no  immediate  action  on  the  part  of  God^ 
other  than  his  co-operation  with  the  laws  of  nature  in 
evolving  from  matter  certain  powers  inserted  in  it  at  its 
first  creation.  And  this  view,  Mr.  Alivart  holds,  satisfies 
fully  all  the  requirements  of  faith.  This  is  certainly  going 
very  far  with  evolution.  The  Abbe  Moigno  the  latest  and 
a  very  able  Catholic  authority  on  the  subject,  thinks  that 


760  Evolution  and  Faith. 

it  is  going  too  far.  After  stating  Mivart's  views,  he  says, 
"  poTir  moi  c'est  deja  trop  "  (Splendeurs  de  la  Foi,  vol  2, 
Appendix  c.  page  14).  Now  in  testing  the  orthodoxy  of 
this  theory  there  is,  happily,  no  need  to  discuss  orchids  and 
troglodytes,  or  the  various  families  of  the  Lemuridae ;  we 
need  not  trouble  ourselves  with  the  whereabouts  of  the 
"  missing  link ;"  we  can  apply  to  it  the  unerring  rule, "  quod 
semper,  quod  ubique,  quod  ab  omnibus;"  and  if,  tested  by  this 
rule  Mr.  Mivart's  theory  be  fotmd  wanting,  then  his  scientific 
speculations  must  be  unsound.  There  are  of  course  many 
scientific  theories  of  which  Revelation  takes  no  account, 
but  the  question  at  issue  here — the  origin  of  man — ^is  one 
essentially  and  directly  within  the  province  of  Revelation, 
and  consequently  if  Catholic  teaching  on  the  point  be  clear, 
it  must  be  also  decisive.  Now  Catholic  teaching  does 
seem  clear  on  this  point  to  such  an  extent  as  to  forbid  the 
application  of  the  evolution  theory  to  man.  We  may  not 
be  able  to  point  to  a  solemn  definition  of  a  General  Council 
or  to  any  authoritative  decree  of  a  Roman  Pontiff,  asserting 
the  immediate  formation  of  the  bodies  of  our  first  parent* ; 
but  this  is  by  no  means  necessary.  For  if  that  immediate 
formation  be  asserted  by  the  voice  of  the  ordinary  niagii' 
terium  of  the  Church — the  ordinary  teaching  body — then, 
are  we  as  strictly  bound  to  believe  it,  as  it  it  had  been 
defined  by  a  General  Council  or  by  a  Pope  te^tching  ex 
Cathedra.  This  is  clear  from  the  Constitution  "  Dei  Fifius  " 
of  the  Vatican  Council :  '*  Porro  fide  Divina  et  Catholica 
ea  omnia  credenda  sunt  quae  in  verbo  Dei  scripto  vel  tradito 
continentur,  at  ab  Ecclesia^  sive  solemnt  judicio  nve 
ordinario  et  universali  maffisterio,  tanquam  divinitus  revelata 
credenda  proponuntur."  (cap.  iii.)  And  Pius  IX.  in  a  letter 
bearing  date  December  21st,  1863,  and  addressed  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Munich,  says  that  we  owe  the  obedience  of 
faith  not  merely  to  the  solemn  definition  of  Councils  and 
Popes,  but  also  to  the  voice  of  the  ordinary  magisterium 
of  the  Church,  reaching  us  through  the  constant  and 
universal  teaching  of  Catholic  Theolomans :  '*  ad  ea  quoque 
extendenda  quae  ordinario  totius  Eccleeiae  per  othem 
dispersae  magisterio,  tanquam  divinitus  revelata  traduntor 
ideoqiie  universali  et  constanti  consensu^  a  catholieis  Aedop* 
ad  fidem  pertinere  retinentur.^^  This  same  truth  is  impKed 
in  the  condemnation  of  the  22nd  proposition  of  the 
"  Syllabus."  Now  the  theologians,  and  tectchers  of  the 
Catholic  Church  assert  with  the  most  extraordinary  unani- 
mity, the  immediate  formation  of  the  bodies  of  our  fiist  parents, 


Evolution  and  Faith.  761 

and  by  that  formation  they  understand  an  action,  distinct 
both  from  the  primary  creation  of  matter,  and  from  the 
concurrence  which  God  aflords  to  the  working  out  of 
Nature's  laws.  Such  unanimous  teaching  is,  according  to 
the  Vatican  Council,  and  Pius  IX.  obligatory  upon  us,  and 
consequently  we  are  not  free  to  hold  the  evolution  theory 
even  with  reference  to  the  body  of  the  first  man. 

So  direct,  so  precise,  so  circumstantial,  is  the  Scriptural 
account  of  man's  creation,  that,  if  the  evolution  theory 
were  true,  the  sacred  writers,  if  they  intended  to  deceive 
us,  could  not  have  chosen  language  better  calculated  to 
eflFect  that  end :  *'  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  out  ot 
the  sUme  of  the  earth," — Gen.  c.  2,  v.  7.  *'  Thy  hands  have 
made  me,  and  fashioned  me." — Job.  c.  10,  v.  8.  Now  the 
ordinary  meaning  of  such  texts  (and  they  are  very 
numerous)  is  unquestionably  the  immediate  formation  by 
God  of  the  bodies  of  Adam  and  Eve.  And  on  this  ordi- 
nary meaning  we  can  insist,  unless  the  evolutionists  show 
that  there  is  sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  it.  This 
they  have  not  done.  And  consequently  the  prima  facie 
iSoriptural  view  of  man's  creation  need  not  be  abandoned 
for  that  "  series  infinita  *'  of  hypotheses,  and  conjectures, 
and  possibilities,  which  make  up  the  sum  total  of  the 
evolution  theory. 

The  teaching  of  the  Fathers  on  this  question  has  been 
analyzed  by  an  exceedingly  able  writer  in  the  Dublin 
Revieio  for  July,  1871.  He  sums  up  as  follows:  "  There  is 
no  need  to  say  that  the  whole  school  of  Fathers,  which  has 
been  called  the  School  of  St.  Basil,  takes  for  granted  that 
Adam's  body  was  formed  by  the  immediate  act  of  God." 
(p.  19.)  And  to  say  the  whole  of  this  school  is,  he  says, 
"  nearly  the  same  as  saying  the  whole  '  traditio  Patrum.' " 
And,  after  discussing  the  views  of  St.  Augustine,  this 
writer  concludes  thus :  "  All  those  reasons  combined 
would  make  it — we  are  inclined  to  think — at  least  rash 
and  dangerous  to  deny  that  the  body  of  Adam  was  formed 
immediately  by  God,  and  (juasi-instantaneously  out  of 
the  earth."  (p.  22.)  An  examination  of  the  writings  of  the 
Fathers  will  unquestionably  bear  out  the  statements  of 
this  able  writer.  We  shall  find  the  numerous  followers  of 
St.  Basil  holding  the  literal  meaning  of  Gen.  c.  2,  v.  7. 
We  shall  find  all  the  Fathers  without  exception  accord- 
ing to  Suarez,  holding  the  immediate  formation  of  the 
body  of  Eve.  We  shall  find  many  of  them,  like  TertuUian, 
St.  Chrysostora,  and  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  admiring  the 


762  Evolution  and  Faitk 

formation  of  man's  body  as  a  special  work  of  Divine  Omni- 
potence— a  special  work  of  God's  own  hands.     Again,  we 
shall  find  many  of  them  discussing  the  question  whether  the 
ministration   of  angels  might    have   been    employed  in 
forming  the  body  of  the  first  man.     The  vast  majority  of 
them  deny  such  ministration,  and  regard  man's  body  as 
the  work  of  God  alone.     But  even  those  who  favour  the 
ministration  of  the  angels,  imply  that  man*s  body  was 
formed  by  a  special  action,  distinct  from  the  first  creation 
of  matter,  and  distinct  also  from  the  ordinary  operation  of 
nature's  laws.     The  only  one  of  the  Fathers,  with  regard 
to  whom  there  can  be  any  hesitation,  is  St  Augustine, 
who  is  regarded  bv  "  Christian  evolutionists  **  €is  the  main- 
stay  of  their    orthodoxy.     In    explaining   his  theory  of 
simultaneous  creation^  St.   Augustine    holds    that,   at  the 
primaiy  creation  of  matter,  God  created  all  things;  not, 
certainly,  in  the  perfect  state  in  which  they  subsequently 
appeared,  but  in  what  he  calls  their  "  rationes  seminalesy**  or 
^^  causales,''      The   difficulty,  then,  is  to   determine  what 
St.   Augustine  meant  by  those  "  rationes  seminalesr    He 
himself  does  not  tell  us.     His  language  is  obscure.    He 
hesitates.     He  admits  the  difficulty  of  the  subject  he  is 
treating.     They  were  in  some  sense  the  germs  of  future 
organisms ;  but  he  does  not  anywhere  say  that  these  germs, 
by  the  sole  powers  then  imparted  to  nature,  developed 
into  all  the  forms  of  organic  life  that  subsequently  arose. 
On  the  contrary,  he  makes  statements  which  are  quite 
incompatible  with  any  such  view.     He  holds  the  special 
and  immediate  formation  of  the  body  of  Eve.     He  clearly 
insinuates  that  Adam  first  appeared  as  a  full-grown  maa 
And  in  the  very  treatise  from  which  the  difficultr  arises, 
he  has  the  following  remarkable  passage :  "  Et  elementa 
mundi  hujus  corporei  habent  defimtam  vim  qualitatemque 
suam  quid  unumquodque  valeat  vel  uon  valeat,  quid  de 
quo   fieri  possit,  vel  non  possit.     Ex  his  velut  primordiis 
rerum,  omnia  quae  gignuntur  suo  quoque  tempore  exortus 
processusque  sumunt,  finesque  et  decessiones  sui  cujusque 
generis.      Unde  fit  ut  de  grano  tritici  non  nascatur  faboy  vel 
defaha  triticwn,  vel  de  pecore  homo,  vel  de  homing  pecusJ* 
(Gen.  ai  Lit.  c.  16,  lib.  9.)    This  is  a  clear  assertion  that 
in  the  ordinary  course    of   nature    species    are  fixed — 
unchangeable — and  fixed  in  such  manner  as  to  be  quite 
incompatible  with  the  evolution  theory.     The  saint  then 
goes  on  to  refer  to  the  extraordinary  changes  which  may 
occur  in  organisms ;  and  these,  he  says,  are  due,  not  to 


Evolution  anc^  Faitli,  763 

any  natural  energy  in  the  organisms,  but  to  the  fact  that 
at  their  creation  then,  nature  was  made  obedient  to  a 
higher  will :  "  Ut  non  haeq  haberent  in  motu  naturali.  sed 
in  eo  in  quo  ita  creata  essent,  ut  eorura  natura  voluntati 
potentiori  amphus  subjaceret."  {he.  cit)  It  would  seem 
then,  that  according  to  St.  Augustine,  matter,  at  its 
creation  was  endowed  with  wliat  theologians  call 
**  potentia  obedientalisy'' — an  aptitude,  in  virtue  of  which  it 
may  be  formed  into  any  organism  which  God  may  deter- 
mine to  create.  And  it  is  in  this  sense  precisely  that 
St.  Thomas  understands  the  expression  rationes  causales  of 
St.  Augustine.  In  the  **Summa**  (p.  1,  q.  91,  a.  2), 
St.  Thomas  maintains  the  immediate  creation  of  Adam's 
body ;  and  he  quotes,  as  an  objection,  the  expression  of 
St.  Augustine,  which  he  disposes  of  as  follows :  "  Ad 
quartura  dicendum  quod  secundum  rationes  causales  in 
creaturis  dicitur  aliquid  pre-existere  dupliciter ;  uno  modo 
secundum  potentiam  activam  et  passivam,  ut  non  solum 
ex  materia  pre^existenti  fieri  possit,  sed  etiam  ut  aliqua 
pre-existens  creatura  hoc  facere  possit.  Alio  modo  secundum 
potentiam  passivam  tantum  ut  scilicet  de  materia  prae-existenti 
fieri  possit  a  Deo:  et  hoc  modo,  secundum  Augustinum,  corpus 
hominis  prae-existit  in  operibus  productis  secundum  causales 
rationes''  This  aptitude  in  matter  is  not  an  active  energy. 
It  pre-supposes  tne  action  of  a  competent  cause  in  the 
formation  of  organisms.  No  one,  ot  course,  thinks  of 
saying  that  St.  Augustine  held  the  doctrine  of  evolution. 
No  such  doctrine  could  have  occurred  to  him.  But 
Mr.  Mivart,  who  relies  on  him,  as  well  as  on  St.  Thomas 
and  Suarez,  as  establishing  the  orthodoxy  of  the  evolution 
theory,  says  of  all  of  them :  "  These  writers  asserted 
abstract  principles  such  as  can  perfectly  haimionize  with 
the  requirements  of  modern  science,  and  have,  as  it  were, 
provided  for  the  reception  of  its  most  advanced 
speculations.*'  {Lessons  from  Nature^  p.  433.)  But  if 
St.  Augustine  merely  taught  (as  his  own  words  seem  to 
indicate,  and  as  St.  Thomas  distinctly  asserts)  that  God 
created  matter  with  a  ^^  potentia  obedientalisy'  or  an  innate 
aptitude  for  the  formation  of  organisms,  pre-supposing  a 
competent  cause — then  such  a  view  lends  no  support, 
affords  no  foundation,  to  the  evolution  theory.  And 
whatever  St.  Augustine's  principles  were,  it  is  not  fair  to 
quote  him  for  the  orthodoxy  of  tenets  that  go  altogether 
beyond  his  principles,  and  that  contradict  doctrines 
which  he   explicitly  maintained.     It  follows,   then,  that 


764  Evolution  and  Faitlu 

St.  Augustine  cannot  be  quoted  as  opposed  to  the  **  traiido 
Patrum,''  asserting  the  immediate  formation  of  the  bodies 
of  our  first  parents. 

Passing  from  the  Fathers  on  to   the  great  Catholic 
theologians,  testimony  to  the  immediate  formation  of  the 
body  of  the  first  man  becomes  more  direct  and  explicit. 
Many  of  the  Fathers  referred  to  the  question  only  indirectly 
and   accidentally.      The  theologians    treat  it  professedly. 
St.  Thomas,  as  already  stated,  maintains  the  doctrine,  and 
explains  the  apparent  difficulty  of  St.  Augustine's  expres- 
sion in  the  language  given  above.     Suarez  maintains  it, 
and  holds  it  to  be  Catholic  doctrine   {Opera  Sex  Dierum^ 
lib.  3,  c.  1).     St.  Thomas  and  Suarez  are  quoted  as  asserting 
"  principles  that  can  perfectly  harmom'ze"  with  evolution; 
but  it  is  perfectly  clear  they  have  held  doctrines  which 
cannot  **  harmonize''  with  evolution  at  all.     Berti,  a  zealous 
disciple  of  St.  Augustine,  held  the  doctrine  of  immediate 
formation.    He  says,  "  fuit  praeterea  Adae  formatio  opus 
solius  Dei ;"  and  after  quoting  St.  Augmtine  himself^  to 
prove  his  views,  he  adds,  '*  Hoc  aliisque  exempUs,  probat 
Sanctus     Pater,     Opificem     .omnium      statim    formasse 
hominem    adultum''    (Ub.    12,    o.    2).      And    yet   Beiti 
is  quoted   for   opposite    views   by    Mi*.  Mivart!    Estius 
(Senty  hb.  2,  d.  17),  Becanus,  Billuart,  Widman,  all  hold 
this  doctrine  of  immediate  formation.    And  it  is  no  small 
satisfaction  to  find  a  distinguished  Irish  theologian,  John 
Punchj  of  Cork,  bearing  the  following  exphcit  testimony 
to  the  same  truth.    In  liis  Theologiae  Cursus  Integer  (De 
Op.  Sex  Dierum,  disp.  17,  q.  3,  c.  2),  he  says,  "  Dico,  si  Dens 
ipse  sine  ministerio  Angelorum  creavitreliquaaniraantia,ita 
(ficendum  etiam  de  homine."    The  testimony  of  theologians 
to  this   tnith  may  be  multiplied  a   hundred-fold.     But 
it  is  needless.     It  is  the  teaching,  express  or  implied,  of 
them  all.    But,  inasmuch  as  the  authorities  already  quoted 
could  not  have  contemplated  the  evolution  theory,  it  is 
worth  while  to  quote  some  who  have  written  since  that 
theory  arose,   and   who   have    discussed  its  theological 
bearings.     PeiTone,  a  writer  as  remarkable  for  moderation 
as  for  accuracy  in  stating  CathoUc  doctrines,  maintains  the 
immediate  formation   of  the  bodies  of  our  first  parents, 
and  says  that  it  appertains  to  Faith^  "  Propositio  spectat  ad 
fidem  "  (De  Deo.  Cr.  p.  3,  c.  1,  Prop.  1.)     Ubaldi,  the  present 
distinguished  Professor  of  Scripture  in  the  Propaganda, 
holds  the  doctrine  (In.  in  Sac.  Scrip.,  vol.  1st).  Mazzella, 
the  distinguished  Jesuit  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology, 


Evolution  and  Faith.  765 

at  the  Boman  College,  has  studied  and  mastered  the 
evolution  theory ;  and  in  his  book  "  De  Deo  Creante,"  he 
quotes  largely  from  Mr.  Mivart,  as  well  as  from  Darwin, 
Wallace,  and  Thompson,  In  answer  to  the  question,  how 
the  first  human  body  was  formed,  he  says :  '*  Oui  quaestioni 
theohgiy  insistentes  auctoritati  S.  Scripturae  ex  unanimi  SS. 
Patrum  interpretatione  intellectae,  una  ore  respondent^  corpus 
hominis  primo  efformatum  fuisse  per  directum  et  immediatam 
Dei  actionem^  distinctam  turn  a  prima  rnateriae  creatione^  turn 
concursu  quern  DeuSy  cai^xsa  primay  praebet  secundarum 
causarum  operationibusJ^  (Disp.  3,  Art.)  And  a  fe^  pages 
later  on  (p.  340)  he  plainly  states,  that  denial  of  this 
doctrine  is  either  heresy,  or  very  closely  allied  to  it. 
Professor  Lamy  of  Louvain,  who  is  also  well  read  in 
the  literature  of  evolution,  says  in  his  Commentary  on 
Genesis,  vol.  i.,  p.  155 :  "  EiTonee  igitur  putavit,  ut  mihi 
quidem  videtur,  doctus  vir  Georgius  Mivart,  doctrinam 
asserentem  corpus  hominis  terminum  fuisse  cujusdam 
transformationis  animalis  v.  g.  Simii,  cui  Deus  infuderit 
animam  immortalem,  non  repugnare  narrationi  creationis 
hominis."  And  at  page  179,  he  lays  down  the  doctrine  of 
immediate  creation  in  the  words  aheady  quoted  from 
Mazzella ;  and  he  adds,  "  Undo  sequitur  errare  omnes  trans'- 
formistasy  qui  volunt  entia  omnia  viventia,  etiam  hominem, 

Erovenire  ab  aliquot  formis  inferioribus,  vel  cellulis,  quas 
^eu9  cieaverit."  Professor  Jungman,  of  the  same 
University,  says :  "Absque  dubio  dogma  CathoUcum  hoc 
est,  primes  homines  immediate  a  Deo  conditos  esse  "  (De 
Deo  Great.,  p.  151).  And  at  p.  167,  he  quotes  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  Mivart,  and  says  of  it :  "  Haud  dubium  nobis  esty 
illam  opinionem  penitus  esse  rejiciendam,  nee  galva  doctrina 
Theologica  sana  earn  teneri posse.^* 

Now,  in  the  face  of  this  consensus  of  Catholic  teaching, 
what  becomes  of  the  boasted  "  orthodoxy  "  of  the  evolution 
theory  ?  What  becomes  of  the  assertion,  *'  that  the  strictest 
Ultramontane  Catholics  are  perfectly  free  to  hold  the 
doctrine  of  evolution  V*  {Lessons  from  Nature,  430.)  Be  it 
freely  granted,  that  the  authorities  cited  above  are  not  as 
deeply  read  in  biological  science  as  are  the  advocates  of 
evolution ;  but  if  the  teaching  of  the  CathoUc  Church  be 
what  the  above-named  authorities  say  it  is  (audit  certainly 
is  bo),  then  no  CathoUc  can  admit  the  truth  or  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  evolution  theoiy  as  appUed  to  man.  That  theory 
denies  in  the  formation  of  the  first  man's  body  any  imme- 
diate action  of  God,  other  than  the  primary  creation  of 

VOL.  V.  3  L 


766  Evolution  and  Faith. 

matter,  endowed  with  certain  powers,  and  His  co-operation 
with  the  working  of  Nature's  laws.  On  the  oilier 
hand,  Scripture,  Fathers,  Theologians,  Preachers,  all 
teach,  and  the  simple  faithful  have  always  unhesitatingly 
believed,  that  the  first  man  was  formed  by  a  direct 
immediate  act  of  Almighty  God — an  act  distinct  from  the 
primary  creation  of  matter,  and  from  God's  concurrence 
with  Nature's  laws.  And  according  to  the  Vatican  Couneil, 
and  to  the  letter  of  Pius  IX.  already  quoted,  such  constant 
universal  teaching,  ranks  as  Catholic  doctrine  infallibly 
true,  obligatory  on  all  children  of  the  Church ;  and  there- 
fore any  doctrine  incompatible  with  this  teaching  has  no 
claim  to  be  regarded  as  orthodox.  It  follows,  then, 
inevitably  that  as  far  as  man  is  concerned,  soul  or  body, 
faith  permits  no  coquetting  with  the  evolution  system. 

With  the  application  of  the  evolution  theory  to 
organisms  lower  than  man,  theology  is  not  much,  if  at  all, 
concerned.  The  writer  in  the  Dublin  Review^  says  that  it 
IS  not  against  faith  so  to  apply  it ;  but  he  does  not  admit, 
nor  (as  his  words  seem  to  indicate)  does  he  beUeve  that 
the  theory  is  true,  even  of  lower  orranisms.  It  certainly 
is  not  proved  even  of  them.  A  good  deal  of  variation  is 
.proved,  but  the  evolution  of  one  species  from  another  is 
not  proved ;  and,  according  to  some  of  the  best  authoritiee, 
-cannot  be.  But  with  this  aspect  of  the  question  Theologians 
<io  not  much  concern  themselves,  though  Professors  Lamy 
and  Jungman,  of  Louvain,  both  hold  that  the  application  of 
the  evolution  theory,  even  to  plants  and  animals  mentioned 
in  Genesis,  is  incompatible  witn  the  true  meaning  of  the  text. 

And  now  the  question  may  be  put,  what  has  science 
yet  discovered  that  is  incompatible  with  the  independent 
creation  of  species  ?  Nothing,  simply.  Is  th.ere  any  prob- 
ability of  any  such  discovery  in  the  future!  Very  many 
most  eminent  scientists  tell  us  there  is  not.  Are  we  then 
to  abandon  the  faith  of  all  past  a^es  for  the  dreamings  of 
a  few  would-be  philosophers  of  the  present  day,  who  axe 
blinded  by  excessive  light?  Are  we  to  bend  and  strdn 
Revelation  to  suit  the  speculations  of  even  well-meaning 
men  !  The  Catholic  Chiurch  welcomes  every  fresh  accessitm 
of  knowl^ge ;  die  blesses  and  honours  the  votaries  aAd 
promoters  of  real  science;  but  she  reminds  them,  in  the 
words  of  Pius  IX.,  that  in  their  search  for  knowledge 
Bevelation  must  be  their  guiding  star  "  Catholici  eamm* 
(Scientianun),  cultores,  divinam  Bevelationem,  velnii 
rectricem  steUam  prae  occulis  habeant  oportet,  qua  prae- 


The  "  Amma  ChmtV  767 

lucente,  sibi,  a  syrtibus  et  erroribus  caveant"  (Letter  to 
Archbishop  of  Munich,  Deo.  21, 1883.)  The  Church  has 
seen  many  enemies,  has  witnessed  many  revolutions,  has 
braved  many  storms;  and  whenever  science,  "falselv 
so  called,"  clashes  with  her  deposit  of  faith,  she  meets  it 
with  bold  defiant  front.  She  does  not  tolerate  it,  nor  does 
she  fear  it.  And  from  the  issue  of  such  conflicts  in  the 
past,  we  can  well  infer  what  shall  be  the  issue  of  any  such 
in  the  future.  When  many  of  the  biological  speculations 
of  our  time  will  have  gone  down  into  the  grave  ip  which 
Gnosticism  Hes  mouldering,  forgotten — the  Church  of  God 
will  be  what  she  has  ever  been  since  her  foundation,  the 
sole  faithful,  fearless,  witness,  teacher,  and  guardian  of  all 
revealed  truth.  That  some  of  the  advocates  of  evolution 
mean  well  to  the  Church  is  quite  certain ;  but  the  adoption 
of  this  theory  by  CathoUcs  is  **  a  new  fashion  of  an  old  sin." 
It  is  an  instance  of  a  tendency  that  is  becoming  too 
common — ^that  of  minimizing  Catholic  doctrine — of  diluting 
it,  so  as  to  suit  the  tastes  of  a  class  of  persons  from  whom 
the  Church  has  nothing  to  expect  and  nothing  to  fear. 
<<At  talem  consuetudinem  non  habemus  neque  Ecclesia 
DeL" 

J.  Murphy. 


THE  « ANIMA  CHRISTI.'' 


PRAYER,  as  we  know,  is  one  of  the  principal  duties  ot 
man  to  his  Creator  ;  and  it  is  as  a  duty  that  men 
commonly  regard  it.  Yet  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
besides  being  a  duty  it  is  also  a  privilege,  and  the  mere 
privilege  of  prayer  is  something  very  wonderfuL  Prayer 
IS  one  of  the  great  elemental  forces  of  the  spiritual  order, 
and,  perhaps,  because  it  is  so,  it  seems  to  follow  the  law 
of  the  great  physical  forces  of  the  universe,  in  that  it 
attracts  very  little  notice,  or  at  all  events,  very  little 
express  notice  from  those  who  are  most  familiar  with  it. 
The  sunrise  and  the  sunset — ^the  multitudinous  growth 
that  goes  on  night  and  day  upon  the  face  of  the  earth- 
all  that  is  most  beautiful,  and  all  that  is  most  powerful, 
have  become  so  commonplace,  that  they  are  scarcely 
Noticed,  Those  who  see  them  oftenest  are  least  strucK 
by  them,  and  never  seem  to  dream  of  their  beauty  and 
their  power. 


768  The  ''Anima  ChristV 

No  one  has  better  or  more  frequent  opportunities  of 
seeing  the  sunrise  and  the  sunset  than  the  poor  toiler  in 
the  fields,  and  yet  they  are  to  him  little  more  than  the 
marks  of  the  beginning  and  the  ending  of  his  daily  work. 
Yet  these  phenomena  are  so  stupendous  and  so  beautiM 
that  if  they  were  to  happen  only  once  they  would  leave  of 
their  unearthly  beauty  a  memory  that  would  never  die. 

It  needs  special  culture  to  give  a  man  a  taste  and  an 
eye  for  the  picturesque  in  nature.  Not  one  perhaps  in  a 
thousand  have  them,  even  in  highly  civilized  countries; 
and  it  may  be  that  fifty  out  of  every  hundred  who  talk 
their  language,  talk  it  as  an  unknown  tongue,  merely 
because  it  has  become  a  fashion. 

Now  it  is  so  with  prayer.  Few,  even  of  those  who 
use  to  the  full  the  privilege  of  praying,  ever  care  to  enter 
into  the  possession  of  their  privilege  with  that  fulness  of 
knowledge  and  that  keenness  of  perception  that  only 
spiritual  culture  can  give. 

Let  us,  then,  first  of  all  divest  ourselves  of  that  illusion 
with  regard  to  prayer  that  tempts  us  to  think  less  about  it 
because  the  grace  and  privilege  of  it  are  so  universally 
vouchsafed. 

If  once  only  in  a  long  human  lifetime  man  might 
approach  his  God  in  prayer — if  only  after  long  and  careftd 
preparation,  in  which  would  meet  together  a  full  knowledge 
of  tne  mysteries  of  faith,  and  a  full  experience  of  the  sweet 
and  bitter  of  human  life ;  if  only  when  years  had  shaped  us 
and  long-living  made  us  wise,  and  time  had  trans- 
muted the  buds  and  blossoms  that  go  before  the  fruit  upon 
the  tree  of  mortal  life  ;  if  only  with  hands  that  trembled 
lifted  up  to  heaven,  and  with  the  calmer  thoughts  that  lie 
imder  hair  that  has  grown  white,  moulding  our  words  and 
wishes  into  worthiness — we  were  permitted  to  go  before 
God  and  utter  to  Him  a  prayer  that  would,  for  that  one 
time,  have  it  in  it  to  wield  His  onmipotence :  what  would 
we  think  of  prayer  then  ? 

But  fortunately  for  us  it  is  far  otherwise.  We  cannot 
remember  the  time  when  we  began  to  pray.  From  the 
mother's  heart  steeped  in  those  sacred  feelings  that  God 
has  implanted  in  the  maternal  breast,  the  prayer  is  placed 
upon  the  stammering  lips  of  childhood.  As  yet  it  has  no 
meaning  on  those  lips,  save  that  best  of  all  mecmings  that 
is  always  found  in  the  scarcelv  articulate  lispings  of  perfect 
innocence.  When  reason  aawns,  prayer,  which  is  its 
bighest  expression,  is  found  to  have  preceded  it;  and 


The  "  A  nima  ChristV  769 

whatever  else  a  man  may  remember  or  may  forget,  never 
will  he  forget  those  first  prayers  which  his  mother  taught 
him  in  a  past  so  far  back  that  later  memory  fails  to  reach  it. 

It  is,  I  imagine,  a  danger  which  is  incidental  to  the 
practice  of  a  high  degree  of  prayer,  and  to  a  very  perfect 
conception  of  the  nature  of  prayer — to  be  tempted  to 
undervalue  its  vocal  forms.  Of  course  words  are  nothing 
without  a  realised  meaning  in  the  heart  of  him  who  ntters 
them,  and  of  course,  too,  the  prayers  of  too  many  people 
are  mere  words,  yet  there  lie  the  deepest  meanings  and 
the  noblest  uses  in  those  fixed  and  consecrated  forms  of 
prayer  that  have  spnmg  from  the  heart  of  saints,  and  which 
the  Church  has  made  her  own.  This  is  very  obvious  in 
the  case  of  the  "Our  Father,"  which  welled  out  like  a 
fountain  of  life  from  the  Heart  of  Christ ;  but  it  is  true  in 
its  meajsure  of  those  numberless  prayers  that  are  found  in 
the  books  of  service  of  the  Church.  Everyone  can  pray — 
it  is  everyone's  business  to  pray,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  composing  of  a  prayer  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  forms 
of  human  composition.  It  seems  to  need  genius.  It  is 
well  for  us  that  men  have  lived  before  us  who  Knew  how  to 
make  prayers ;  and  who  built  up,  stone  by  stone,  century 
after  century,  the  wonderful  edifice  of  Catholic  liturgy. 

But  however  well  a  prayer  may  have  been  originally 
made,  and  out  of  however  saintly  a  heart  it  may  have 
sprung,  it  seems  to  me,  that  even  for  such  prayers  time  is 
needed  to  make  them  perfect  in  their  several  kinds.  By 
time  they  pass  under  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
and  by  time  they  secure  the  seal  of  the  growing  approba- 
tion of  the  Church.  These  elements  of  excellence  in  old 
prayers  are  obvious;  but  besides  these,  I  imagine  the 
constant  repetition  by  pious  lips  almost  imparts  to  a  prayer 
qualities  wnich  it  did  not  have,  or  did  not  have  in  their 
fulness,  at  its  birthtime.  To  speak  without  irreverence, 
prayer  improves  as  a  violin  improves.  The  violin  was  not 
at  its  best  when  it  left  the  hands  even  of  an  Amati  or  a 
Stradivarius.  Only  when  it  has  thrilled  imder  the  throb- 
bing fingers  of  generations  of  players;  only  when  the 
melodies  evoked  from  it  by  hands  that  now  are  dust,  have, 
as  it  were  gone  back  into  it,  and  saturated  it ;  only  when 
time  and  many  tunes  have  made  it  mellow :  only  then  will 
it  give  forth  under  the  hand  of  a  master  its  richest  melody. 

It  is  so  with  prayera  When  a  saintly  soul  has  made 
them  first,  and  when  saint  and  sinner  have  repeated 
them,  and  when  the  human  needs  and  human  longings 


770  The  "  Anima  Christie 

they  have  served  to  carry  up  to  heaven  have  become  to 
them  an  added  part— ihen  they  are  at  their  best.  As  it  is 
well  for  even  the  greatest  musician  that  he  has  not  to  make 
his  own  violin,  so  it  is  well  even  for  the  hoUest  that  they 
find  these  old  prayers  ready  to  their  lips.  So  much  do  I 
feel  this,  that  I  miss  in  some  of  the  lately  composed 
prayers — for  instance  in  prayers  composed  for  new  oflSces— 
a  something  I  find  in  older  prayers,  a  something  the  absence 
of  which  I  seem  sensibly  to  feel,  but  which  I  should  be  at  a 
loss  to  define  in  words.  Yet  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  1 
give  all  this  for  what  it  is  worth  as  a  subjective  impression 
which,  if  it  have  any  foundation  in  fact,  may  have  that 
foundation  in  the  fact  of  some  want  of  "  spiritual  ear  "  in 
myself. 

One  of  my  favourite  prayers,  as  doubtless  it  is  a  favourite 
prayer  with  luany  of  my  readers,  has  always  been  the 

Srayer  **  Anima  Christi."  How  old  it  is  it  is  hard  to  fix. 
Ilder  at  all  events  than  the  time  of  St.  Ignatius,  who 
found  it  in  some  old  Spanish  prayer-book,  made  his  own  of 
it  by  his  keen  appreciation,  and  lifted  it  into  fame.  That 
it  was  a  favourite  prayer  of  so  sublime  a  soul  is  worth 
pages  of  comment  on  its  beauty  and  its  excellence. 

Like  many  other  good  things,  the  author  of  it  is 
imknown.  When  he  poured  it  forth  from  a  heart  that  must 
have  glowed  with  the  fire  of  divine  charity,  he  deserved 
a  better  fame  than  any  the  world  could  bestow ;  and  so 
God  hid  him  and  his  name  is  lost,  and  he  has  his  fame 
blooming  perennially  in  Heaven.  1  submit  to  the  patience 
of  my  readers  the  following  translation : — 

Anima  Christi. 

Soul  of  my  Saviour  with  holiness  fill  me ; 
Body  of  Jesus  be  thou  my  salvation — 
Blood  shed  on  Calvary  fill  me  with  rapture. 
Water  that  flowed  from  His  side  at  the  spear-thrust 
Wash  m^^  soul  clean  from  all  stain  of  defilement. 
Passion  of  Christ  make  me  strong  contemplating  lliee, 
Jesus,  dear  Lord,  let  my  cry  wake  Thy  mercy, 
Deep  in  thy  wounds  let  my  soul  find  a  refuge, 
Make  me  in  time  and  eternity  cleave  to  Thee, 
Ward  off  the  stroke  of  the  foe  so  malignant. 
Let  Thy  voice  cheer  me  when  death  gives  the  summons ; 
Say  to  me  **  Come  "  when  the  shadows  are  darkest. 
May  my  seat  for  all  ages  be  near  thee  in  Heaven, 
And  my  voice,  'mid  the  saints  and  the  angels  uplifted, 
Sing  praise  to  Thy  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 

Joseph  Fabrkll 


[    771    ] 


THE  DEATH  OF  ST.  COLUMBANUS. 

IN  pursuance  of  the  promise  given  in  the  April  number  cf 
the  Record,  we  subipit  to  students  of  Irish  Hagiology 
a  solution  of  the  question  respecting  the  date  on  which 
St.  Columbanus  died.  That  his  death  took  place  in 
November,  615,  is  placed  beyond  dispute.  The  controversy 
Has  arisen  in  reference  to  the  day^  of  the  month  :  opinions 
varying  between  the  twenty-fli-st  and  the  twenty-tliird ; 
or,  according  to  the  Roman  notation  employed  in  the  MSS., 
between  the  eleventh  and  the  ninth  of  the  Kalends  of 
December. 

Could  a  question  like  this  be  decided  in  favour  of  the  con- 
clusion adopted  by  the  majority,  irrespective  of  the  nature 
and  force  of  their  proofs,  it  were  labour  in  vain  to  re-open 
the  present  discussion.  Baronius,  Mabillon,  the  elder  Pagi, 
Soller,  O'Conor,  and  Lanigan — not  to  mention  those  who 
copy  them — are  all  agreed  in  accepting  the  twenty-first. 
This,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  a  formidable  array  of  authori- 
ties to  contend  against.  Nevertheless,  having  examined 
the  subject  for  ourselves,  and  having  derived  new  evidence 
from  a  source  unknown  to  these  eminent  writers,  we  have 
been  led  to  the  conclusion  that  our  Saint  was  called  to  his 
reward  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  November  23,  HI 5, 

Three  original  authorities  are  at  present  available  for 
our  guidance.  These  are  a  Biography  ;  the  Martyrologies  ; 
and  a  passage  in  the  Life  of  St.  Gall. 

1.  Some  twenty-five  years  after  the  death  of  Saint 
Columbanus,  his  life  was  written  by  Jonas,  one  of  his 
disciples.  Strangely  enougli,  it  contains  no  details  of  the 
final  scene  beyond  recording  that,  having  passed  one  year 
in  Bobio,  the  saint  rendered  up  his  soul  to  heaven,  on  the 
ninth,  or,  according  to  another  lection,  the.  eleventh,  of  the 
Kalends  of  December,  The  two  readings,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  observe,  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  number 
was  expressed  not  verbally,  but  in  alphabetical  numeration. 
Of  the  confusion  caused  by  ignorant  or  careless  transcrip- 
tion of  this  Roman  notation,  numerous  illustrations  will  at 
once  recur  to  all  who  are  familiar  with  MSS.,  but  the  present 
instance  has  been,  as  far  as  we  know,  the  most  widely- 
extended  and  the  most  long-lived. 


in 


*  Dies  ejus  emortusdis  in  controversiam  vocatus.   Ant.  Pagi,  Critica 
Annales  Baronii,  (^olon.  AUobr.  1705,  torn.  ii.  p.  754. 


772  Tlie  Death  of  SL  Coluvibamis. 

We  shall  first  set  down  the  published  readings  of  the 
)uted  lection  in  chronological  order.     The  numbers 
iiii  brackets — No.  3  was  not  reprinted — are  the  dates 
of  the  first  Editions : — 

1.  Inter  Bedae  opera  (1563),  IX.  Kal.  Dec.,  Nov.  23.* 

2.  Surius  (1570),     -  -  „  „     23.* 

3.  Fleming  (1667),  -  .  „  „     23.* 

4.  Mabillon  (1688)  -  -  XI.  Kal.  Dec..  Nov.  21.* 

"As  to  the  day/'  Lanigan  writes,*  "some  MSS.  have, 
instead  of  XL  Kal.  Dec,  IX.  Kal.,  etc.  But  Mabillon  and 
Pag^  show  that  the  former  is  the  true  reading."  We 
begin,  therefore,  with  Mabillon.  As  the  tabulated  state- 
ment shows,  he  was  the  first  to  alter  the  received  Text : 
hence,  it  is  important  to  learn  in  his  own  words  the  reasons 
which  led  him  to  introduce  the  change. 

At  the  reference  given  by  Lanigan,®  he  states :  "  CJolmn- 
banus  died  on  the  11th  of  the  Kalends  of  Novemb^ 
[December],  as  Jonas  writes.  Hence  the  Edition  of  Surius 
and  some  old  Martyrologies  are  to  be  corrected,  in  which 
his  obit  is  assiffned  to  the  ninth  of  the  same  Kalends,  as  in 
the  genuine  Usuard  and  Ado,  to  whom  Wandalbert,  who 
agrees  with  Jonas,  is  to  be  preferred."  And  in  another 
work,7  not  quoted  by  Lanigan,  he  has  the  following  note : 
"In  Usuard,  Ado  and  Surius  the  reading  is  Nov.  23,  but 
the  memory  of  St.  Columbanus  is  assigned  to  Nov.  21  in 
the  Martyrologies  of  Wandalbert  and  of  the  Benedictines, 
which  are  supported  by  the  MS.  copies  of  the  Life 
examined  by  us." 

O'Conor^  transcribes  and  adopts  these  statements,  and 

*  Col.  Agrip.  1612 ;  torn.  8,  col.  221.  Baronius  (1688)  quotes  the 
sentence  from  the  Edition  of  Bede.  Annales,  Col.  Agrip.  1685;  torn.  8, 
col.  615.  Messingham  copied  the  Life  from  the  same  source,  and  took 
the  Preface  from  Surius.  JPraefatio  auctoris,  he  says,  quae  apud  Surimn 
habetiu*  et  inter  Bedae  opera,  ex  quibus  ipsam  vitam  desumpsimus,  non 
refertur.    Flonlegium  Insulae  Sanctorum,  Paiis,  1624,  p.  219. 

'  De  probutis  sanctorum  historiis,  etc.  In  the  Edition  of  1580 
([Coloniae,  torn.  6,  p.  547),  the  reading  is  undecimo ;  but  Mabillon  says 
in  two  places  that  it  is  as  given  above. 

•  Collectanea  Sacra,  l^vanii,  1667,  p.  242. 

<  Acta  SS.  O.S.B.,  Venetiis,  1733,  Saec.  ii  p.  26. 
»  Ecc.  Hist.,  vol.  2.  p.  296. 

•  Annal.  O.S.B.,  lib.  XI.  §  17,  p  308. 

f  Acta  SS.  O.S.B.,  Venetiis,  1733,  saec.  ii  p.  26.  The  assertion 
regarding  the  readings  of  Usuard,  Ado,  Wandalbert,  the  Benedictioe 
MartyroTogy  and  the  Life  is  found  also  in  vol.  4  of  hia  Analecta,  p.  641 
(Paris,  16850 

*  Rer.  Hib.  Script.,  torn,  iv.,  note  in  Elenchus  inserted  at  p.  192. 


J 


The  Death  of  St.  Columbamie.  773 

Temarks  that  the  error  arose  from  inaccnrate  transposition 
of  XI.  and  IX.  This,  of  course,  is  true;  but  in  the 
opposite  sense  to  that  intended  by  the  author. 

The  principal  argument  employed  by  Mabillon  is  based 
upon  the  assertion  that  Jonas  reads  XI. — ^which,it  is  evident, 
assumes  the  question  in  dispute.  The  same  objection  holds 
good  in  respect  to  Wandalbert;  since  the  only  sources 
of  information  open  to  him  were  the  old  Martyrologies 
-and  Jouaa  Now,  as  will  be  shown  by-and-by,  all  the 
former,  even  Mabillon  admits  somey  read  IX.  Unless, 
therefore,  he  evolved  the  date  from  his  own  consciousness, 
Wandalbert  must  be  admitted  to  have  taken  it  from  a  copy 
of  the  Vita  which  contained  XI.  The  statement  that  Ado 
and  Usuard  read  IX.  is  opposed  to  all  the  evidence  we 
have  collected,  including  that  of  the  BoUandist  SoUer.^ 

But  what  is  specially  noticeable  is  the  matter-of-course 
fashion  in  which  "some  old  Martyrolo^es,"  that  lay 
awkwardly  in  his  way,  are  quietly  set  aside  by  MabiUoa  in 
favour  of  the  Benedictine  Monk  and  the  Benedictine 
Ealendar.  Equally  noteworthy  is  it  ho  w,in  marked  contrast 
with  his  desire  for  accurate  information  on  another 
occasion,^  he  contents  himself  in  this  place  with  a  vague 
reference  to  MSS.,  without  adding  a  word  respecting  their 
locality^  antiquity^  or  authority.  And  yet,  Fleming's 
Collectanea  was,  of  course,  well  known  to  mm.  Can  it  be, 
one  is  constrained  to  ask,  that  he  did  not  care  to  enter 
upon  an  enquiry  which  might  result  in  showing  the 
inaccuracy,  and  so  far  lowering  the  prestige,  of  Benedictine 
-authorities  ? 

Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  pleasant  to  turn  from  such  loose 
statements  to  the  precision  with  which  our  martyed  countir- 
man  bandied  the  subject.  Of  Fleming  it  can  be  truly 
said  that  his  life  was  chiefly  devoted  to  collecting  every 
ecrap  relating  to  St.  Columbanus.  But  his  enthusiasm  did 
not  blind  his  judgment.  On  the  contrary,  he  declares  with 
equal  severity  and  iustice,  that  since  Surius,  as  usualy 
tampered  with  the  Text,  and  Bede's  Editors  printed  it 
incorrectly,  both  Kecensions  were  equally  worthless  for 
historical  students.  Accordingly,  he  sought  personally, 
and  through  such   scholars   as    Mirceus,  Kosweyde  and 

*  Mart.  Ufluardi,  Antverp,  1714^  p.  689. 

*  An  MS.  Codex,  in  quo  Chronicon  istud  reperitar,sit  bonae  notae 
et  cnjufl  aetatis,  is  the  firat  of  six  questions  addressed  by  him  to  the 
liibrarian  respecting  a  MS.  preserved  in  the  Metropolitan  Library  at 
I^likn.    Yeter.  AnSiector.  torn.  L  Luteciae  Farisior.  1675,  p.  4. 


774  Tlie  Death  of  St.  Columbanus. 

Stephen  White,  for  the  best  MSS.,  in  order  to  present  the 
most  accurate  version  of  Jonas.  Nor  were  his  efforts,  it  is 
gratifying  to  learn,  unavailing.  "  Whilst,"  he  writes,^ 
"turning  over  a  considerable  number  of  MSS.  for  this 
purpose,  the  most  ancient  I  met  with  was  from  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Maximin  at  Treves,  which  was  supplied  by  Father 
Heribert  Rosweyde.  From  that  I  transcribed  the  whole 
narrative,  as  you  have  it  here;  I  also  divided  it  into 
chapters,  and  prefixed  the  titles,  which  were  wanting  in 
the  Codex,  from  the  Edition  of  Surius."  This,  therefore, 
is  the  highest  authority  which  is  ever  likely  to  be  forth- 
coming. The  passage  under  consideration  is  ^ven  as 
follows '?  Porro  beatus  Columbanus,  expleto  anm  eirculo 
in  antedicto  coenobio  Bobiensi,  beata  vita  functus,  nono 
Calendas  Decembris  animam  membris  solutam  coelo 
reddidit. 

The  absence  of  a  note  upon  nono  Calendas^  it  is  to  be 
observed  in  conclusion,  shows  that  Fleming  was  unaware  of 
any  different  reading  in  all  the  MSS.  consulted  by  himself 
and  on  his  behalf. 

11.  We  come  next  to  the  Martyrologies.  Before  dis- 
cussing  their  relative  value,  it  will  be  convenient  to  arrange 
them  chronologically. 

1.  Martyrology  (so-called)  of  St.  Jerome  (seventii 
century)  :*  Nov.  23.  In  Italy ^  in  Bobio  Monastery,  deposition 
of  St.  Columbanus  J  Abbot. 

2.  Do.  (prose)  of  Bede  (eighth  century)  :*  Nov.  23.  h 
Italy,  in  Bobio  Monastery,  deposition  of  St.  Columbanus, 
Abbot,  who  was  the  founder  of  numerous  monasteries,  and 
father  of  numberless  monks,  and  rested  in  a  good  old  age^ 
renowned  for  many  virtues. 

8.  Do.  of  Rhabanus  (ninth  century):^  Nov.  23.  /»» 
Bobio  Monastery,  deposition  of  St.  Columbanus,  Abbot 

4.  Metrical  Mart,  of  Wandalbert  (ninth  century)  :* 

Undenarn^  Abba  Columbanus  sibi  servat,  ab  ipso 
Oceano :  multis  vitae  qui  dogmata  sanctae 
Religione  pia  sparsit  sermone  manuque. 

5.  Ado  (ninth  century)^  took  the  date  from^andalbert; 

1  Ubi.  sup.,  p.  212.  «  P.  242. 

'  D'Achery,  SpicUegium,  Paris,  1661,  torn.  iv.,p.  684. 

*  Opera,  Col.  Agr.,  1612,  torn,  iii.,  col.  351. 

*  Caniaius,  Lectiones  Antiquae.  Ed.  Basnage,  Antverp,  1725,  torn, 
ii.,  pars.  2,  p.  348. 

*  D'Achery,  ubi  sup.,  torn,  v.,  p.  339. 
'  That  ifl,  xi.  Kal.  Dec.,  Nor.  21. 

*  Surius,  ubi  sup.,  torn,  vii.,  p.  1218. 


The  Dmth  of  St.  Columbanus.  775i 

and  the  entry  from  Bede.     la  one  and  the  other  he  was 
copied  by 

6.  Usuard  (ninth  century);^  who  was  transcribed,  in 
turn,  with  the  omission  of  the  word  d^ositioy  into  the 

7.  Modern  Roman  Martyrology.  Though  Usuard,  like 
Ado  and  Wandalbert,  was  a  Benedictine,  and  though  his 
work  was  first  read  in  that  Order,*  yet  in  the  present 

8.  Benedictine  Kalendar,  the  feast  is  fixed  at  the  24th, 
and  the  panegyric  states  that  the  natal  day  is  the  2l8t. 
The  latter  statement  occurs  also  in  the  sixth  lesson  of  their 
Breviary.  This  arrangement  was  adopted  into  the  Irish 
Church  ;  but  at  what  time  we  are  unable  to  say. 

9.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal*  has  Nov.  21 ;  but  in 
the  case  of  Irish  saints  who  hved  abroad,  its  authority  is 
not  original. 

In  respect  to  Antiquity,  the  foregoing  Table  is  decisive 
in  favour  of  the  reading  IX.  Kal.  Dec.  With  reference  to 
Authority,  it  will  suffice  to  quote  the  words  of  Benedict  XIV. 
in  his  Letter  to  the  Chapter  of  Bologna* : — '*  As  regards 
Martyrologies,  it  were  an  open  insult  to  your  erudition,  if  we 
doubted  you  were  perfectly  aware  how  highly  that  of  St. 
Jeromeis,andhasbeen  always,  esteemed;  to  wluchholy  men 
in  process  of  time  added  the  names  of  saints  who  lived  after 
St.  Jerome."  Before  showing  how  the  old  reading  is 
confirmed  by  the  Locality  of  the  copies  in  which  it  is 
contained,  we  have  to  consider  the  proofs  brought  forward 
by  those  who  adopted  the  new  lection. 

Baronius^  merely  says  that  Usuard,  Ado  and  others 
more  recent,  treat  of  Columbanus  at  Nov.  21.  Mabillon's 
arguments  have  been  dealt  with  already.  Those  of  SoUer* 
are  easily  disposed  of.  He  first  ironically  commends  the 
authenticity  and  genuineness  of  a  MS.  Aao  in  which  Saint 
Clement's  eulogy  is  partially  expunged  at  Nov.  23,  to  make 
room  for  the  insertion  of  that  of  St.  Columbanus.  But  what 
stronger  proof  could  we  have  that  whoever  made  the 
erasure  considered  the  better  reading  to  be  that  given  in 
the  Hieronymian  Codices  (IX.),  which  Seller  rightly 
conjectures  he    had    examined?      Next,    be    says    Ado 

»  Ed.  Seller,  loc.  dt. 

•Bened.  XTV.  Conat.  Postquam,  §  36.  Bullarii  vol  6,  p.  133, 
Mechlin.  1827. 

•  Ed.  Todd  &  Beeves,  Dublin,  1864,  p.  314.  See  note  from  Colgan 
at  p.  xii.-iiL 

*  Jamdudum  nobis,  §  16,  BoL.  toL  12,  p.  212. 

»  Note  to  his  Edition,  p.  491.  «  Loc.  cit. 


^76  The  Death  of  St.  Columbanus. 

and  Usuard,  there  is  no  doubt,  read  XL — a  matter  in 
which  we  are  not  much  concerned;  and  that  Jonas 
agrees  with  them — which  is  true  of  the  copies  that  have 
XL,  but  not  of  those  that  read  IX.  Lastly,  lie  states  that 
the  entry  in  5  and  6  was  composed  by  Ado,  though,  as  we 
have  shown,  it  was  taken  word  for  word  from  Bede. 

The  only  critic  who  attempts  to  reconcile  the  conflict- 
ing readings  is  Antonius  Pagi  :i  "  The  lection  followed  by 
Mabillon,"  he  decides,  "  is  to  be  retained ;  for  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  Colurabanus  died  on  Nov.  21,  and  was  buried 
on  the  23rd ;  and  that  some  took  occasion  to  corrupt  the 
notation  of  the  Life  from  having  seen  his  festival  entered 
on  the  23rd  in  the  Martyrologies  of  Luxeuil,  Besancon,  and 
Epternac.  But  they  ought  rather  have  inferred  therefrom 
that  Jonas  marked  the  day  of  his  death  and  those  Martyr- 
ologists  the  dav  of  his  buriaV^ 

This  takes  for  granted  that  depositio  here  means  burial: 
an  assumption  which  does  not  remove  the  diflSculty  in  5  and 
6,  where  the  deposition  is  entered  at  Nov,  21.  Now,  Pagi, 
we  think,  would  find  it  hard  to  prove  that  the  dead  were 
consigned  to  earth  on  the  day  tney  died.  But,  to  go  to 
the  root  of  the  matter,  deposition  we  maintain,  does  not 
signify  burial^  but  deatli^iri  Ancient  Martyrologies.  In  the 
phrajse  depositio  Coluntiani^  the  genitive,  to  use  a  gram- 
matical expression,  is  sMectivey  not  objective.  In  support 
of  this,  we  append  the  following  authorities  :— 

1.  **What  is  Deposition?'*  asks  St.  Ambrose,*  "Not 
that,  surely,"  he  goes  on  to  reply, "  which  is  carried  out  by 
the  hands  of  clerics  in  burying  bodily  remains ;  but  that 
whereby  a  man  lays  down  the  earthly  body  in  order  that, 
freed  from  carnal  bonds,  he  may  go  unimpeded  to  heaven. 
Deposition^  in  truth,  is  that  by  which  we  cast  away  evil 
desires,  cease  from  offences,  give  over  sin,  and  put  aside, 
as  if  throwing  off"  a  heavy  burden,  whatever  is  prejudicial 
to  salvation.  Accordingly,  this  day  is  appointed  for 
the  chief  celebration;  because,  in  reality,  the  greatest 
festivity  is  to  be  dead  to  vice,  and  to  Uve  for  justice  cdone. 
Hence,  the  day  of  deposition  is  called  the  day  of  nativity  ; 
since,  when  freed  from  the  prison  of  our  sins,  we  are  bom 
to  the  liberty  of  the  Saviour." 

2.  This  equation  of  depositio  and  natale  is  so  closely 
resembled  by  tnat  given  in  the  Council  of  Clovesho  (A.D.  747) 

1  Loc.  cit.    This  is  the  place  referred  to  by  Lanigan. 
'  Sermo  Izx.,  in  depositione  S.  Eusebii  Opera  Ambrosii,  ParisiiB, 
1549,  foL  213,  A.B. 


The  Death  of  Su  Colunibanus,  777 

as  to  lead  one  to  believe  the  Fathers  had  the  Sermon  of 
St.  Ambrose  before  them  when  drawing  up  the  seventeenth 
Canon  :*  Ut  dies  natalitius  beati  Papae  Gregorii,  et  dies 
qnoque  depositionis,  qui  est  vii.  Kal.  Junii,  S.  Augustini, 
Arcmepiscopi  .  .  .  venerentur.  St.  Augustine  of  Canter- 
bury, it  is  well  known,  died  on  the  26th  of  May. 

8.  Mabillon  quotes'  from  an  Ancient  Kalendar :  May  26. 
Deposition  of  Augustine^  Confessoi* ;  of  Bede^  Presbyter, 
"From  this,"  he  concludes,  "it  appears  that  both  died 
(obiisse)  on  the  same  day ;  but  that  the  feast  of  St.  Bede 
was  put  back  to  next  day,  to  give  a  separate  day  to  each." 
Venerable  Bede,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say,  died  on  the 
26th  of  May. 

4.  The  Martyrologium  Gellonense'  gives  the  deposition 
of  St  Patrick  on  the  17th  of  March.  But  the  Tripartite 
Life,*  the  Memoir  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,*  and  the  Patrician 
Documents  in  the  Book  of  Armagh^ — all  inform  us  that 
our  National  Apostle  was  not  buried  for  twelve  days  after 
his  decease. 

5.  Finally,  Notker  Balbulus  equates  the  three  expressions 
employed  in  the  old  Martyrologies :  XVII.  Kal.  Nov. 
Depositio,  sive  transitus,  vel  ad  aetemam  vitam  natalis 
dies,  beatissimi  Galli,  Confessoris,  festive  celebratur.7 

Having  thus  dealt  with  the  objections  brought  against 
the  older  reading,  a  few  remarks  will  show  how  strikingly 
it  is  confirmed  by  local  and  personal  circumstances 
connected  with  the  Hieronymian  Codices  in  which  it  is 
found. 

Against  the  lection,  we  find  three  Benedictines. 
These  were  all  contemporaries;  and  two  of  them  lived 
in  one  diocese  (Treves).  Furthermore,  he  who  wrote  first 
took  the  date,  235  years  after  the  event,  from  a  faulty 

^  Spelman,  Concilia,  etc.,  Londini,  1739,  p.  249-50. 

•  Vet.  Anal.  torn,  iv.,  p.  642. 

•  Quoted  in  O'Conor,  vol.  I.,  Epistola  Nuncupatoria,  p.  acixviii. 

•  Pri  re  da  aidchi  deao— f  or  the  space  of  two  nights  and  ten,  Vit. 
trip.  MS.  Mus.  Brit.,  p.  151. 

•Tancatar  sruthi  Erenn  xii.  aidchi  co  salmu  ocns  imannaib. — There 
came  the  religious  superiors  of  Erinn  for  twelve  nights  with  psalms  and 
bynms,  i.e.,  to  sin^  psalms  and  hymns,  L.  B,  29  6,  31  -2. 

•Per  duodecunas  dies  .  .  .  mortis  ejus  exequiae  peractae  sunt 
Fol.  8  ab.  Duo  hostes  xii.  diebus  corpus  sancti  Patricii  contenderunt. 
FoL  15  bb.  Pp.  53-89,  Ed.  Rev.  E.  Hogan,  SJ.,  Bruxellis,  1884.  In  a 
futnie  No.  of  the  Record  we  shall  attempt  to  solve  some  of  the 
difficulties  to  which  Fr.  Hogan  has  directed  our  attention. 

Y  Acta  Sanctorum,  Oct.  torn,  iv.,  pars,  ii.,  p.  857. 


T78  7%e  Death  of  St,  Columbanus. 

copy  of  Jonas :  from  him  it  passed  on  to  the  second ;  and 
from  the  second  to  the  third. 

In  favour  of  the  reading,  we  have,  to  mention  but  some 
of  the  authorities,  first,  the  MS.  of  Auxerre.  It  is  unne- 
cessary to  dwell  upon  the  intimate  connection  of  this 
Monastery  with  the  early  Irish  Church.  Its  Martyrology, 
Martene  and  Durandus  declared,  nobody  would  deny  sur- 

gBS&ed  all  others.^  Next,  we  have  the  community  of 
leichenau,  which  was  in  close  amity  with  the  neighbouring 
abbey  of  St.  GaU.  Their  copy,  according  to  Seller,  was 
ancient,  and  of  the  best  authority.*  Lastlv  we  can  quote  the 
MS.  of  the  monks  of  St.  Gall  themselves.'  How  they 
obtained  their  information,  we  now  proceed  to  show. 

III.  The  oldest  extant  memorials  of  St.  Gtdl  are  found 
in  a  brief  Biography  written  about  a  century  after  his 
death,  and  known  imder  the  title  of  the  Vita  primaeva. 
The  anonymous  Author  states  that  his  facts  came  through 
the  deacons  Maginald  and  Theodore,  who  had  attended 
the  Saint  to  the  end ;  and  from  others  who  either  could 
testify  from  personal  knowledge,  or  had  been  informed  by 
eye-witnesses.  The  work,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  a 
writer  not  thoroughly  conversant  with  Latin,  was  charac- 
terized by  solecisms  and  barbarous  modes  of  expression. 
When,  therefore,  the  school  of  St.  Gall  had  become  a 
famous  seat  of  learning,  the  monks  determined  to  have 
the  Life  re-cast  in  a  more  literary  form.  Accordingly,  they 
prevailed  upon  their  neighbour,  the  celebrated  Walafrid 
Strabo,  Abbot  of  Reichenau,  to  imdertake  the  work.  By 
him  the  diction  was  improved,  the  narrative  expanded, 
and  the  text  divided  into  chapters.  The  result  was, 
the  original  Life  became  so  completely  forgotten  that  a 
copy  in  the  Archives  of  St.  Gall  is  the  only  one  preserved. 
From  this  the  Vita  was  edited  by  Father  Ildephonsus 
Von  Arx  in  the  Monumenta  Germaniae  Historica.** 

Few  who  have  compared  them  both  will  feel  disposed 
to  disagree  with  the  Editor's  judgment  that  the  new 
Biograony  did  not  cast  the  least  additional  li^ht  upon  the 
old.  The  evidence  afforded  by  the  passage  bearing  upon 
the  present  question  would  warrant  a  more  severe  con- 

^  Aliis  omnibus  praestare  diffitebitur  nemo.  Vet.  Script.  Noxa  CoJC 
Paris,  1729,  tom.  vi.,  coL  638. 

'Dizimas  antiquum  esse  et  optimae  notae.  Mart.  Bicbenorienae, 
Bollandists  for  June,  torn.- 6,  at  end  of  vol.,  p;  iv. 

»D*Acbery,  Spic.,  foL  Ed.,  tom.  8,  p.  36. 

*  Scriptorum  tom.  2,  p.  L  sq.,  Hanoverae,  1829. 


The  Death  of  St,  Columbanus. 


779 


demnation.  His  heading  of  the  chapter — How  St.  Gall 
learned  the  death  of  Columbanus,  both  by  revelation  and 
by  messengers — shows  that  Strabo  missed  its  purport: 
whilst  by  the  omission  of  a  single  word  he  extinguished, 
as  far  as  in  him  lay,  the  historical  evidence  unconsciously 
aflForded  in  the  \itaprimaeva. 

We  print  side  by  side  the  original  and  the  enlarged  texts. 


Vita  primaeva} 

Nam  quodam  dominico  die 
.  .  .  prima  luce  diei,  vocavit  vir 
Dei  Maginaldum  diaconum,  di« 
cens :  Surge  velociter,  et  pre- 
para  mihi  ad  missam  cele- 
brandam.  Qui  respondlt :  quid 
est  hoc,  domine?  numquid  tu 
missam  celebrabis?  Cui  ille: 
Post  nocturnam  hujus  noctis, 
inquit,  revelatum  est  mihi  mi- 
grasse  praeceptorem  meum 
Columbanum,  pro  cujus  requie 
offeram  Sacri^cium.*' 


Walafridus  Strabo.^ 

Quadam  itaque  die  .  . 
prime  diluculo,  vir  Dei  vocavit 
Magnoaldum  diaconum  suum, 
dicens  illi :  Inst  rue  sacrae  ob- 
lationis  ministerium,  ut  possim 
divina  sine  dilatione  celebrare 
mjsteria.  Et  ille  :  Num,  inqiiit, 
tu  pater  missam  celebrabis? 
Dixit  ergo  ad  ilium  :  Post  hujus 
vigilias  noctis  cognovi  per 
vislonem  dominum  et  patrem 
meum  Columbanum  de  hujus 
vitae  angustiis  hodie  ad  paradisi 
gaudla  commigrasse«  Pro  ejus 
itaque  requie  SacriQcium  salutis 
debet  immolari. 

To  understand  the  Nam,  it  has  to  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  original  writer's  object  was,  not  to  record  the  day 
of  their  great  Teacher's  denuse,  but  to  illustrate  in  the  case 
of  St.  Gall  how  faithfally  obedience  was  observed  in  their 
'little  communiiy.  The  preceding  sentence  is :  Quibus 
aliquid  extra  regulae  tramitem  deviare  omnimodo  indig- 
num  erat.  Nam — and  then  he  proceeds  to  give  a  striking 
example. 

Now,  Maginald,  who  suppHed  the  information  at  first 
band,  knew  personally  that  St.  Columbanus  had  said  to 
St.  Gall :  "  You  shall  not  celebrate  Mass  until  I  die/'* 
He  knew  equally  well  the  query  in  the  Rule*^ — Obedientia 


1  lb.  p.  14.  '  Surius,  nbi  sup.  torn.  v.  p.  988. 

8  Though  he  quoted  this  passage  (p.  875-6),  Greith,  strange  to  say, 
did  not  discover  its  historical  value.  In  two  places  (pp.  830-76),  he  fixes 
the  death  of  Columbanus  at  Nov.  21. 

*Lanigan  (ii.,  291)  peremptorily  rejects  the  account  of  this  mis- 
nnderstandinff.  But  the  Bollandists  (Oct.  tom.  iy.,  p.  874)  have  made 
short  work  of  his  a  priori  arguments.  We  shall  revert  to  the  subject 
isoon. 

»  Fleming,  nbi  sup.,  p.  4. 


780  The  Deadi  of  St.  ColumBanus. 

auteniy  icsque  ad  quern  fnodum  definitur ;  and  the  answer 
that  followed — Usque  ad  mortem  eerie  precepta  est.  When, 
therefore,  he  found  himself  suddenly  called  up,  and  ordered 
to  prepare  for  the  Abbot's  Mass,  what  more  natural  than 
his  astonishment  and  his  query — "  You,  master  I  You  are 
not  going  to  say  Mass,  are  you  ?"  But  the  Rule  was  not  to 
be  broken :  God,  he  was  told,  had  made  known  that  the 
time  of  prohibition  had  come  to  an  end. 

All  this  happened  on  a  certain  day^  writes  Strabo,  to 
whom  the  particular  day  mattered  notUng.  But  not  so  to 
Maginald,  He  was  not  likely  to  forget  the  day  and  the 
hour — at  dar/'hreak,  on  a  Sunday  morning.  Had  ho  not 
additional  reason  to  bear  them  stomped  upon  his  memory? 
Did  he  not  have  to  start  after  the  Mass,  and  foot  it  south  all 
the  way  to  Bobio,  there  to  be  told  that  the  death  had  taken 
place  at  the  day  and  the  Aour  revealed  to  St.  Gall? 

Quodam  domimco  die^  is  the  original  reading.  Plain 
words  to  express  a  simple  matter  of  fact !  But  time  has 
given  them  a  value  which  the  old  Irish  Deacon  could 
have  little  foreseen  they  would  ever  possess.  Their  decisive 
importance  in  the  present  discussion  is  beyond  question. 
Through  them  we  can  establish  the  accuracy  of  the  reading 
nono  Kalendas  Decembris  by  the  unerring  test  of  Chronology. 
Sunday,  it  is  to  be  assumed,  began  at  the  midnight  of 
Saturday.^  The  Dominical  Letter  of  615  is  E;'  New 
Year's  Day,  in  other  words,  fell  on  Wednesday.  The 
Regular  November  Letter  is  d.  Accordingly,  the  first  of 
that  month  fell  on  Saturday,  and  the  2nd  on  Sunday. 
Consequently,  the  23rd  fell  on  Sunday  also.  St.  Columbanus, 
therefore,  died  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  November  23, 
A.D.  615. 

Thus,  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  eleven  hundred  years, 
a  new  witness  arises  to  add  another  to  the  many  and 
undesigned  coincidences  which  so  strikingly  attest  the 
verfitcity  of  our  Ancient  National  Records. 

B.  MaoCabthy. 

\  Reeves,' Adamnan,  p.  809,  sq. 

s  Da  Cange,  Glossarium,  etc.,  Francoforti  ad  Moennm,  1681, 
COL212, 


[    781    ] 


QUESTIONS  REGARDING  PROPOSITUM.— L 

ONE  of  the  many  advantages  of  a  publication  like  the 
Irish  Eoglssiastigal  ^oord  is  that,  in  some  of  its 
pages,  it  supplies,  in  the  form  of  somewhat  lighter  reading. 
Dints  and  suggestions  in  the  presence  of  wnich  items  of 
important  information  that  may  have  been  accumulating 
for  years,  are  drawn  forth  from  the  storehouse  of  the 
reader's  memory,  and,  not  unfrequently,  just  in  time  to 
resume  their  olden  usefulness.  A  fugitive  paper,  like  the 
present,  can  pretend  to  supply  nothing  better  than  sug- 
gestions— especially  when  it  deals  with  a  most  difficult 
and  involvea  subject.  '^  Ecquis  enim  argumentum  rerum 
Dondere  et  varietate  maximum,  in  Epitomen,  quasi  in 
tasciculum,  illiget?" 

Without  apology,  or  further  preface,  I  will  ask  my 
clerical  reader  to  confess  with  me  tW  his  most  embarra^. 
eing  and  perplexing  duty  most  icec^nentij  lies  in  satisfying 
his  own  conscience  as  to  his  penitent's  PROPOSmjM  NON 
PEOOANDI  DB  OAETERO.  Difficulties  regarding  usury,  or 
simony,  or  censure,  or  matrimonial  impediments,  or  resti- 
tution, may  occasionally  arise ;  yet  they  are  contingencies 
with  which  he  is  rarely  troubled.  Dut  the  difficulties 
regarding  Propositum  st&re  him  in  the  face  every  day  he 
fldts  in  hi^  confessionaL 

Furthermore,  its  perpetual  recurrence  furnishes  only 
one  element  of  his  embarrassment;  for,  every  time  it 
crops  up,  it  presents  apparently  a  peculiar  phase  of 
difficulty,  and  seems  to  demand  a  special  system  of  treat- 
ment. Quot  capitOj  tot  casus.  In  secular  life,  one  man 
wears  the  judicial  ermine ;  another  makes  the  circuit  of 
the  hospital  wards ;  a  third  occupies  the  professor's  chair ; 
while  a  fourth  is  engaged  in  parental  responsibilities 
within  his  own  household.  In  the  confessor,  however,  all 
these  avocations  are  united,  and  the  functions  appertaining 
to  them  all  are  discharged  by  one  single  act  of  his. 
Should  the  confessor  execute  the  duties  of  any  one  of 
these  offices  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others,  no  matter  how 
thoroughly  he  may  have  succeeded  in  that  one,  his  work  is 
wholly  incomplete  and  generally  mischievous.  He  must,  by 
the  one  act,  play  the  role  of  all  four ;  he  must  be,  at  the  same 
time,  Judex,  Medicus,  Doctor,  and  Pater.  Here,  too,  and 
very  specially,  the  old  maxim  asserts  itself:  the  smallest 
leaven  of  imperfection  may  vitiate  the  whole  work.  Often- 
VOL.  V.  3  M 


782  Questions  regarding  Propositum, 

times,  no  doubt,  the  ruinous  consequences  that  invariably 
attend  the  imperfect  treatment  of  a  penitent,  are  directly 
referable  to  the  penitent  himself,  whose  desire  to  secure 
absolution,  at  any  cost,  carries  him  to  the  knees  of  a  con- 
fessor when  circumstances  of  time,  and  place,  and  distance 
render  adequate  treatment  a  sheer  impossibility.  For  us, 
however,  it  is  an  imperative  duty  to  recollect  and  verify 
in  our  practice,  that,  no  matter  by  what  cause  our 
efficiency  is  nullified  or  seriously  endangered,  we  should 
steadily  decline  to  act  in  presence  of  such  unfitness. 
Should  the  most  learned  man  in  his  profession  administer 
deleterious  or  unsuitable  medicine,  it  will  be  no  justification 
to  allege  that  he  had  no  time  or  opportunity  to  institute  a 
skilful  diagnosis.  Neither  does  the  possession  of  the 
highest  diploma  qualify  a  man  to  alter  prescriptions  and 
dispose  of  patients  intuitively. 

Lamentable  instances  of  misdirection  are  found  every 
day,  principally  among  penitents  who  are  constanthr 
changing  confessors,  or  who  periodically  present  them- 
selves at  a  distance  from  home,  under  the  delusion  that  a 
long  (and  sometimes  pleasant)  journey  constitutes,  of 
itself,  a  signum  e^rtraordinarium  dolorisy  and  entitles  them  to 
absolution.     It  is  not  rarely  a  sign  of  decided  impenitence. 

As  the  confessor  can  never  appear  otherwise  than 
clothed  in  the  fourfold  capacity  of  Judge,  Physician, 
Teacher  and  Father,  we  can  never  investigate  his  duties 
in  any  one  of  these  characters  to  the  entire  exclusion  of 
the  rest.  Nevertheless,  it  is  only  by  instituting  a  separate 
enquiry  into  the  functions  of  each,  that  theologians 
enable  him  so  to  order  and  an-ange  the  details  of  theolo- 
gical science  that,  when  the  occasion  presents  itself,  his 
treatment  of  his  penitent  will  be,  under  all  the  headings, 
such  as  befits  his  sacred  oflice. 

In  purauance  of  this  enquiry,  theologians  first  consider 
the  case  of  CONSUETUDIJ^ARII,  or  men  who  present  them- 
selves, for  the  first  time,  after  having  contracted,  and 
while  they  still  indulge,  some  gravely  sinful  habit. 

Here,  in  liminey  it  is  well  to  remember  what  writers  on 
Moral  Philosophy  tell  us  regarding  one  of  the  essentials 
of  habit — ^namely,  that  it  is  a  disposition  of  mind  result- 
ing from  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  same  or  kindred 
acts,  continued  for  a  sufficient  period.  The  length  of  time 
required  to  mature  any  habit  cannot  be  defined  by  any 
general  rule ;  for  it  varies  with  the  susceptibility  of 
the  man,  as  well  as  with  the  attractiveness  of  the  act« 


Questions  regarding  Propositiim,  783 

But  for  ordinary  habits  of  sin,  especially  those  arising  ejs 
causa  intrinsecaj  it  is  held  that  less  than  a  month  is  insuf- 
ficient. Should  the  period  of  indulgence  be  short,  or 
should  the  acts  be  done  in  widely  separated  intervals, 
no  feal  habit  is  contracted.  Penitents  confessing  such, 
should,  per  se,  be  treated  as  ordinary  sinners.  Ordinary 
sinners  may  indeed  sometimes  require  a  like  treatment 
with  the  habitual ;  and  this  is  why  we  find  Collet, 
St.  Liguori,  &c.,  designating  as  habitual  sinners,  men 
who  have  not  in  reality  formed  a  sinful  habit.  COLLET 
admits  the  misapplication  of  the  word,  and  excuses  it: 
**  Physice  inaccurata,  moraliter  prodesse  valet." 

Of  the  CONSUETUDINARII,  St.  Liguori  says  (495) :  «  Isti 
bene  absolvi  possunt,  etiamsi  nulla  emendatio  praecesserit, 
modo  earn  serio  proponant,  ut  cum  sententia  communissima 
dicit  Croix." 

This  decision  is  grounded  (1)  on  the  a  priori  reason 
that  "  talis  poenitens  non  est  praesumendus  malus,  ita  ut 
velit  indispositus  ad  sacraraenta  accedere  " — tho^fact  of 
his  voluntarily  confessing  his  sin  giving  him  a  Jus  to  be 
reputed  disposed — "nisi  obstet  aliqua positiva praesumptio 
in  contrarium  ;'*  and  (2)  on  the  following  canon  of  the 
Roman  Catechism :  ''  Si,  audita  confessione,  judicaverit 
fsacerdos]  neque  in  enumerandis  peccatis  dili  gen  tiara,  nee 
m  detestandis  dolorem  poenitentem  omnino  deficisse^  absolvi 
potent." 

It  may  be  well  to  note  here  the  gloss  which)  in  another 
place  (461),  St.  Liguori  appends  to  this  canon :  "  Ergo 
semper  ac  confessario  positive  non  innotescit  poenitenti 
omnino  defuisse  dolorem,  absolvere  potest." 

And  this  other  general  instruction  to  the  confessor  as 
Judge : 

"  Sufficit  quod  confessarius  habeat  prudentem  prohahilitatem  de 
dispositione  poenitentis,  et  non  obstat,  ex  alia  parte,  prutleng 
fluspicio  indispositionis :  alias  vix  ullus  posset  absolvi,  dum  qune- 
.cumque  signa  poenitentiuni  non  praestant  nisi  probabilitatem 
dispositionis,  ut  recte  docet  Suarez." 

With  all  this  plain  statement  of  law,  confessors  justly 
exact  from  the  class  under  notice  more  definite  and  binding 
terms  than  they  require  from  ordinary  sinners.  It  is  hard 
to  root  out  a  habit,  particularly  when  the  commission  of 
the  habitual  sin  has  ceased  to  be  attended  with  shame  and 
remorse.  Habit  dulls  the  force  of  the  will  in  resisting 
temptation,  by  the  very  fact  of  its  necessarily  impartijig  a 


784  QueBtiotiB  regarding  Propositum, 

facility  and  longing  for  indnlgence.  Hence,  confeesors 
are  satisfied  to  absolve  the  cousuetudinarius  only  when, 
with  manifest  sincerity,  he  undertakes  io  employ — besides 
the  ordinary  remedies — such  special  means  of  conversion 
as  his  individual  case  requires.  Should  he  evince  an 
unwillingness  to  abide  by  the  instruction  you  give ;  or 
should  he  seem  insensible  to  the  grave  peril  in  which  his 
habit  has  placed  him,  you  will  be  bound,  as  the  physician 
of  his  soul,  sympatheticallv  but  firmly  to  postpone  his 
absolution.  It  frequently  does  happen  that,  even  during 
the  confession,  suitable  dispositions  will  come  through 
God's  grace  in  response  to  the  confessor's  diUgent  exertions 
(and  these  should  under  no  circumstances  be  omitted) ;  but, 
in  their  ultimate  absence,  that  last  resource,  deferring, 
should  be  adopted. 

In  one  word:  as  the  consuetudinarius  has  all  the 
infirmity  of  sinners  in  general  pbu  that  tendency  to  a 
specific  sin  which  habit  engenders,  his  treatment  must 
involve  all  that  is  usually  prescribed  plus  a  special  treat- 
ment corresponding  with  his  special  malady. 

Experience  proves  too  conclusively  that  the  cansiictt^ 
dinarius  is  scarcely  ever  cured  at  his  &st  visit ;  and  hence 
theologians  discuss  the  method  of  judiciously  treating  him 
at  his  second  and  subsequent  appearances.  If,  aft^ 
receiving  absolution  the  first  time,  he  present  himself  again 
in  precisely  the  same  state— having  fallen  just  as  easily  as 
betore — they  tell  us  that  we  should  not,  on  that  accoxmt 
alone,  assume  that  his  former  prapositum  was  invalid ;  but 
that,  should  he  express  sincere  regret  for  his  relapse^  we 
may  absolve  him  a  second  time  on  the  same  terms  as 
before.  His  subsequent  treatment  will  practically  hinge 
upon  whether  or  not  he  has  seriously — and  with  at  least 
some  success — employed  the  remedia  you  have  prescribed. 
If  he  have  wholly  neglected  them,  he  supplies  much  more 
than  a  ^'prudens  suspicio  indispositionis,"  and  must  be 
deferred.  While  we  snould  alwa^  remember  that  a  sinful 
habit  weakens  a  man,  this  consideration  may  excite  our 
compassion  but  should  never  abate  our  firmness. 

Those  whose  duty  it  is  to  direct  consuehsdinarU  should 
in  every  instance  regard  frequent  confession  and  oom- 
munion  as  the  remedy  par  excellence  around  wMoh  others 
may  indeed  be  grouped,  but  which  itself  tdiould  bs 
invariably  prescribed.  It  is,  in  a  true  sense,  theologically 
certain  that  this  remedy  must  succeed.  They  shoukl  dbo 
regard  it   as  a  source  of  exceptional  and  plassoraUft 


Questions  regarding  Prcqxmiunu  785 

relief  that,  when  their  own  dread  of  risking  the  sanctity  of 
the  sacraments  would  cause  them  to  hesitate  before 
conferring  them  on  such  men,  they  are  encouraged  and 
supported  in  conferring  them  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
theologians.  Furthermore,  confessors  may  feel  assured  that 
utitU  their  eansuetudinarii  penitents  become  perseverinj^y 
faithful  in  frequenting  the  sacraments,  the  other  remedies 
may  possibly  arrest,  but  never  will  subdue,  the  habit  of  sin. 
De  Lugo  employs  unusually  emphatic  words  in  laying 
down  rules  as  to  when  we  may  absolve,  and  when  we 
should  defer,  conauetudinarii : 

^^  Doctrina  communis  et  vera  est,  si  sacerdos  hie  et  nunc,  non 
obstante  consuetudine  praeterita,  judicet  poenitentem  habere  verum 
dolorem  et  propoeitum  uon  peccandi,  posse  eum  absolvere,  quia 
dispoeitio  sufficiens  est  dolor  etpropositum  praesens,  non  emendatio 
futura,  atque  ita  poterit  absdvi,  licet  judicetur  relapsurus* 

'^  Secundo :  certum  est,  quando  sacerdos,  attenta  consuetudine 
praeterita  et  propensione  aliisque  circumstantiis,  judicat  poenitentem 
non  averii  sufficienter  ah  illo  peceato,  non  posse  eum  absolvere  quan- 
tumcunque  poenitens  dicat  se  dolere,  quia,  si  sacerdos  id  non  credit 
non  habet  judicium  requisitum  ad  conferendam  absolutionem/^ 
(Disp.  xiv.,  S.  X.,  n.  166.) 

Postponing  the  absolution  of  a  eonsuetudinariits  is, 
therefore,  sometimes  a  duty  from  which  there  is  no  escaping, 
when,  namely,  the  insincerity  and  invaUdity  of  his  wor& 
of  propositum  are  patent.  Sometimes  too  it  may  be,  though 
not  an  inexorable  necessity,  vet  a  most  salutary  means 
by  which  you  force  him  to  realize  the  dangers  into  which 
his  sinful  habit  has  drawn  him.  In  this  latter  view  we 
oftentimes  may,  and  sometimes  should,  find  an  equally 
effectual  substitute  for  it.  The  gist  of  ascetic  works  seems 
to  be  that  such  a  substitute  is  always  at  hand  in  the  more 
frequent  approach  to  the  sacraments,  and  should  alwavs 
be  preferred  Indeed  the  tendency  of  theolo^cal  works 
in  general  is  to  show  that  the  practice  of  defemng  is  to  be 
avoided  as  much  as  possible,  although  occasionally  it  is 
attended  with  beneficial  residts.  On  one  point  especially 
we  must  be  firm — that,  should  we  fail  (as  too  often  happens) 
in  inducing  the  penitent  to  frequent  the  sacraments  in 
reasonably  exact  compliance  with  our  instructions^  we 
idiould  never  hesitate  to  defer  him. 

La  Croix  lays  down  the  following  rule  which  will  be 
fbund  exceedingly  useful  in  practice : 

Est  tamen  cavendum  ne  tali  [aliunde  disposito]  negetur 
absolutio  quando  exponeretur   periculo   morien^  sine  ilia,  aut 


786  Charles  0' Conor  of  Belinagare. 

quando  sine  nota  [infamiae]  non  posset  omittere  Commnuionent, 
aut  si  propterea  privaretur  InduJgentiis  quas  alio  tempore  lucrari 
non  posset.*' 

The  transition  from  consueiudinarii  to  RecIdivi  has 
already  been  made  ;  for,  scientifically  speaking,  the  former 
have  lapsed  into  the  latter  class  when  they  return  to  their 
confessor  uncured.  All  recidivi  are  consuetudinarii  with  the 
momentous  difference— ^that  they  have  accomplished  the 
facilis  dsscensm  by  which  the  troubles  of  botn  confessor 
and  penitent  are  enormously  multiplied. 

C.  J.  M. 


CHARLES   O'CONOR   OF  BEL  IN  AG  ARK— V. 

Birth,  Education. 

CHARLES  O'CONOR  of  Belinagare,  known  to  Irish 
scholars  and  writers  as  "  the  Historian,"  and  frequently 
called  from  his  patriarchal  appearance  in  his  advanced 
years  "the  venerable,"  was  born  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1710,  in  the  humble  cottage  of  Knockmore,  in  the  district 
of  Kilmactranny,  and  county  of  Sligo.  There,  as  we  have 
seen,^  his  parents,  Denis  O'Conor  and  Mary  O'Rorke,  had 
at  that  time  found  a  home  welcome,  however  obscure. 
About  the  year  1713,  Denis  O'Conor  recovered  a  remnant 
of  his  family  inheritance,  eighteen  or  nineteen  hundred 
acres  of  bad  land,  overburdened  by  the  expenses  of  ^  long 
law  suit  in  the  Court  of  Claims,  which  was  barely  able,  as 
his  grandson,  Matthew  O'Conor,  observes,  to  float  the  family 
above  the  level  of  indigence.  A  long-cherished  desire  of 
his  heart  was  thus  gratified,  and  he  returned  with  joy  to 
the  old  familv  residence  at  Belinagare.  The  hospitable 
mansion  of  the  O^Conors,  where,  with  means  sufficiently 
limited,  Donogha  Lia  had  always  a  warm  welcome  for 
distressed  Jacobites  and  dispossessed  Irish  gentlemen,  is 
now  no  longer  inhabited.  The  son  of  Charles  0*Conor 
the  Historian  was  the  last  who  dwelt  in  it.  Owen  O'Conor 
M.P,  for  Roscommon,  who  in  1823  became  the  0*Conor  Don, 
grandson  of  Charles  O'Conor,  and  brother  of  Dr.  C.  O'Conor^ 

'  Irish  Eccl.  Record,  8rd  Series,  vol  v..  p.  289,  April,  1884* 


Charles  O*  Conor  of  Belinagare.  787 

on  his  marriage,  daring  his  father's  life-rime,  built  a 
new  house  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  the  old 
residence  was  abandoned.  Its  ruins  yet  remam.  It  seems 
to  have  been  a  rather  irregular  building  with  many  gables 
and  tall  chimneys.  Adjoining  it  there  was  an  extensive 
square  of  offices.  The  garden  at  the  rere  of  the  house  may 
yet  be  traced.  Fruit  trees  still  survive,  and  some  cherry 
trees  have  extended  their  branches  into  thei  upper  storeys 
of  the  old  buildings.  Charles  O'Conor  in  his  porrespondence 
Btyles  tiiis  ancient  residence  "  The  Hermitage," 

The  Catholic  then  bom  in  Ireland  and  steadfastly 
adhering  to  the  ancient  Faith,  had  not  his  lot  cast  in 
pleasant  times  or  pleasant  places.  The  Treaty  of  Limerick, 
granted  by  King  William  and  General  Gincle  for  most 
valuable  consideration,  had,  like  the  Treaty  of  Mellifont  a 
hundred  years  before,  granted  by  King  James  and  Lord 
Mountjoy,  been  speedily  and  shamelessly  violated.  King 
William,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  personally  anxious  to 
maintain  the  Treaty,  if  he  could  do  so  without  risk  or 
inconvenience.  Indifferent  himself  in  matters  of  Religion^ 
he  was  rather  disposed  to  grant  toleration  to  all  kinds  of 
religious  opinions.  But  his  English  Parliament  was 
determined  that  no  peace  should  be  granted  to  the  Irish 
enemy.  The  English  Church  in  Ireland  proclaimed  from 
ber  pulpits,  that  no  faith  was  to  be  kept  with  the  perfidious 
race,  that  no  Treaty  made  with  them  was  binding  on 
Protestant  consciences.  The  Colonial  Protestant  Parlia- 
ment of  Ireland  would  grant  Wilham  no  supplies  to  carry 
on  his  great  European  wars,  unless  he  sacrificed  the 
Catholics  to  tJieir  cruelty  and  greed.  In  May,  1695, 
Lord  Capel,  the  avowed  enemy  of  the  Catholic  name,  was 
appointed  by  King  William  deputy,  with  unUmited  powers, 
and  by  that  act  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  were  deUvered 
over,  bound  hand  and  foot,  to  the  ferocious  tyranny  of  a 
cruel,  vindictive,  and  outrageous  oligarchy :  the  sacred 
honour  of  a  reno\vned  king,  and  the  plighted  faith  of  a 
great  nation  were  shamelessly  violated.^ 

From  a  memorandum,  written  by  himself  in  1729,  it 
appears  that  Charles  O'Conor  had  a  Latin  Grammar  first 
put  into  his  hand  on  the  30th  of  September,  1718,  when  he 
was  eight  years  old,  by  a  poor  friar  of  the  Convent  of 

^  In  less  thftB  two  months  after  the  capitulation  of  limerick  William 
gave  hM  aoaent  to  an  Act  of  the  Engiiah  ParBament,  3  W.  &  M,  C.  2, 
impoaing  oatha  in  direct  violation  of  the  Articled  of  Limerick. 


-788  CharliB  0^  Conor  of  BeUnagart^ 


I 


OeeveUagh,^  in  the  conntj  of  Leitrkn.  This  persecoted 
riesty  we  are  told^  could  scarceljr  speak  a  word  of  English, 
nt  he  was  perfect  master  oi  Iriah^  whkdi  he  taught  hia 
pupil,  who  was  under  his  occasional  tuition  for  soojie  six 
years,  to  read  and  speak  ^  with  the  accent  of  the  ancientsi'' 
When  he  was  fourteen  he  was  put  under  the  care  of 
another  priest;,  whose  name  or  hal^tation  we  do  not  learn. 
In  the  memorandum  just  referred  to^  written  in  hia  nine- 
teenth ye€ur,  he  v«ry  touchin^ysaya: — 

^  Alas  I  how  many  years  are  gone  by  to  no  purpose !  What  a 
d^erent  person  would  I  not  be  this  day  from  what  I  am,  if  my 
capacity,  such  as  it  is,  had  been  properly  cultivated  by  a  regular 
education.  But  alas!  twdive  years  are  miserably  squanderedL 
And  what  aggravates  this  pamful  thought  is,  thai  in  my  nadve 
country,  every  property  1  could  have  is  insecure,  and  in  a  foreign 
country  I  can  have  none  except  such  as  rests  on  personal  attain* 
ments. .  Thus  am  I  to  be  for  ever  one  of  the  wild  sfaruba  d  a 
wilderness."* 

We  suppose  that  learning  was  never  pursued  under 
greater  diHicuIties,  or  existence  endured  under  more 
miserable  conditions,  than  in  Ireland  by  a  Catholic,  wbeik 
these  affecting  words  were  written.  Burke,  in  his  l^ter  to 
Lord  Kenmare,  r^narks  on  the  laws  forbidding  education^ 
that  to  render  men  patient  under  the  depriyaticm  of  all  the 
rights  of  human  nature,  everything  that  could  gtve  them 
a  knowledge  or  feeling  of  those  rights  was  rational 
forbidden,  that  to  render  humanity  fit  to  be  insulted  it  waa 
necessary  that  it  should  be  degraded.  The  Oeitholic  was 
therefore  doomed  to  ignorance  by  law.  A  Protestant  was 
forbidden  to  teach  a  Catholie :  a  CathoKc  was  forbiddeo 
to  teach  another  Catholic.  But  though  robbed  of  knowledg<» 
at  home,  a  few  at  least  of  the  bated  race  and  creed  nu^it 
hope  to  obtain  in  the  schools  of  the  ContineBt  that  leammg^ 
which  in  days  of  old  their  kindred  had  carried  over  Eurc^ei 
It  was  therefore  enacted  that  any  person  who  went,  or  sent 
any  child  to  any  foreign  seminary,  university  or  college 
or  into  any  private  family,  for  the  purposes  of  educaticm^ 
riiould  be  disabled  from  prosecutmg  any  suit  at  law  or 

^The  FianciBcaB  Monasterj  ef  Bafffronrke  «r  Gtoefefingh  w* 
founded  in  1508  by  Owen  O^Baurke.  Prmoe  of  Breffnir^  at  the  instukea 
of  hia  wife,  Margaret,  daughter  of  O'Brien,  Kmg  of  iliomond.    For  a 
most  interestiDg  account  of  this  once  splenmd  House,  eee  Father 
Meehan'8  *^  Fianeiscan  Monasteries,''  5^  Edition,  p.  88,<t  Mf. 

3  Suppressed  Memoii  of  Ghanss  Q'Cenox,  hf  the  Bek.  Ghsdia 
CConor,  D  Jl« 


Charles  O' Conor  o/Btlinagare^  780 

being  an  execntor,  and  should  forfeit  all  real  and  personal 
estates  during  his  life.^  Yet  even  these  enactments,  all* 
reaching  as  they  seem,  proved  insufficient  entirely  to  uproot 
and  destroy  the  seeds  of  science,  civilization  and  religion, 
which  age  after  age  had  germinated  and  froctified  in  the 
Irish  intellect.  Hunted  schoolmasters  were  vermin  only 
less  difficult  to  exterminate  than  hunted  priests*  In  ancient 
times  and  in  the  most  famous  centre  of  ancient  learnings 
the  custom  was: — 

^  Inter  silvas  Academi  quaerere  verum." 

The  Irish  schoolmaster,  too,  though  it  must  be  confessed 
with  a  much  less  pleasant  and  peaceful  environment, 
delivered  his  lectures  beneath  the  open  sky,  under  the 
sheltering  hedge,  or  on  the  outskirts  of  the  harbouring 
wood, 

''  Still  crouchiDg  'neath  the  sh^tering  hedge  or  stretched  on 
mountain  fern, 
The  teadier  and  his  pupil  met  felcniiously  to  learn." 

The  seats  of  Irish  learning  now  were  the  bogs  and  moun* 
tains  of  Connaught  and  Munster.  It  was  soon  found  that 
the  ancient  and  characteristic  love  of  the  Irish  for  know« 
ledge  was  not  entirely  extin^ished  by  the  fine  of  five 
pounds  and  imprisonment  for  three  months,  with  the  other 
pdins  and  penalties  above  recited.  In  some  mysteriou9 
way  Irish  youths  were  still  taught  mathematics,  history  and 
geography,  Greek  and  Latin.  In  Munster,  especially, 
knowledge  in  ail  these  branches  was  still  obtainable. 
There,  we  are  informed,  even  in  those  days,  **  boys  were 
often  met  with,  conning  their  Homer  on  the  hill-side,  and 
runners  and  stable-boys  in  the  service  of  the  Protestant 
gentry  could  quote  you  a  verse  of  Horace  or  season  their 
remarks  with  a  line  from  VirgiL"  Dr.  Smith,  in  his  History 
of  Kerry,  tells  us  that  classical  reading  extended  itself  even 
to  a  fault  among  the  lower  orders  in  Ireland,  many  of 
whom  had  a  greater  knowledge  in  that  way  than  some  of 
the  better  soi-t  in  other  places.  Still  in  their  ruined 
convents  poor  friars  taught  bare-footed  scholars  to  translate 
into  Irish  the  poetry  of  Homer  and  Virgil,  and  the  eloquence 
of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero.  Still  the  sons  of  the  plundered 
and  persecuted  gentry,  despatched  as  it  were  on  com- 
mercial business  to  the  Continent  by  the  friendly  merchani» 
to  whom  they  were  supposed  to  be  apprenticed,  made  their 

^  7th  William,  <^ith. 


790  Charles  0^  Conor  of  BelinOgarS. 

way  to  Salamanca,  Lisbon,  Louvain,  or  Rome.  They  were 
smuggled  away  with  the  wool  and  woollens,  a  trade  which 
was  then  also  contraband  in  Ireland  ;  or  they  were  shipped 
off  with  the  **  wild  geese,"  and  the  students  preparing  for 
the  priesthood,  from  the  wild  coasts  of  Cork  and  Kerry  to 
return  when  their  studies  were  finished  by  similar  devicea^ 
This  survival  of  knowledge  in  the  doomed  raccfwas 
not  to  be  tolerated.  This  inextingmshable  love  of  science 
and  letters  kept  ahght  so  mysteriously  through  all  the 
gloom  of  the  House  of  Bondage,  should  be  trampled  out 
Accordingly  in  the  Explanatory  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  passed 
by  the  Parliament  of  1709,  under  the  instigation  of  the 
Earl  of  Wharton,  *'  immortalised  in  infamy  by  the  prose  of 
Swift  and  the  poetry  of  Pope,"  a  clause  was  inserted 
ordering  that  every  **  papist  schoolmaster,  usher,  or  private 
tutor,"  should  be  subject  to  the  same  penalties  as  the 
persecuted  dignitaries  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  a  reward 
of  £10  was  offered  for  the  discovery  of  any  "  papist  school- 
teacher or  usher."  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  young 
Charles  0'Conor*s  opportunities  of  acquiring  knowledge, 
were  scant  in  the  extreme,  and  that  if  he,  the  scion  of  a 
royal  Celtic  race,  of  as  ancient  a  .royal  house  as  any  in 
Europe,  did  not  grow  up  in  absolute  ignorance  of  letters, 
it  was  through  no  default  in  the  laws  in  that  behalf  made 
and  provided  by  the  Protestant  Colonial  Parliament  in 
Ireland,  under  the  great  Protestant  hero  and  deUverer 
King  William,  and  the  good  Queen  Anne.  The  instruction 
which  he  received  from  clergymen  was  intermittent  and 
very  irregular,  as  from  the  proclamations  then  in  force 
against  them,  and  the  rewards  offered  for  their  discovery, 
they  could  seldom  remain  more  than  one  night  in  the  same 
place.  And  there  was  a  natural  dread  to  send  children  to 
Buch  schools  as  those  spoken  of  by  Smith,  lest  they  should 
learn  the  facility  which  the  law  gave  them  to  rob  their 
parents  by  becoming  Protestants.  Charles  O'Conor  himself 
in  his  old  age  was  destined  to  feel  the  effects  of  these  laws 
outraging  all  the  instincts  of  nature;  lor  an  unworthy 
younger  brother  read  his  recantation  before  the  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  and  by  filing  a  bill  of  discovery,  sought  to  possess 
himself  of  the  property  of  Belinagare.  He  owed,  therefore, 
chiefly,  to  his  intensity  of  application,  natural  good  taste, 
correct  judgment  and  quick  capacity,  the  extensive  know- 
ledge which  he  acquired  of  ancient  and  modem  languageSi 

^  Life  of  Mary  Alkenhead :  Introduction^Fenal  Days. 


Charles  0^  Conor  of  Bdinagare*  791 

and  particularly  of  the  language,  history  and  antiquities  of 
Ireland. 

In  the  touching  words  already  quoted,  he  wrote: — 
"  In  my  native  country  every  property  I  could  have  is 
insecure."  Yes,  truly  ;  for  in  that  year  (1729),  the  2nd  of 
George  IL,  every  Catholic  Uved  an  outlaw  and  an  outcast 
in  his  own  land,  "  not  supposed  to  exist  save  for  repre- 
hension and  punishment,"  breathing  the  vital  air  "  only  by 
the  connivance  of  the  law,"  the  victim  and  slave  of  every 
Protestant  who  chose  to  rob  him  or  trample  on  him.  He 
was  by  law  deprived  of  arms  necessary  for  self-defence,  or 
for  the  chase,  disabled  from  being  apprentice  to  a  gunsmith 
or  gamekeeper,  lest  he  should  thus  learn  the  use  of  fire-arms.^ 
He  was  foroidden  to  purchase  any  of  the  lands  of  which 
he  or  his  fathers  had  been  robbed.  All  leases  made  to  him 
of  such  lands  were  annulled,  excepting  leases  to  day 
labourers,  or  cottagers  containing  not  more  than  two  acres,* 
a  law  which  finds  no  parallel  in  the  records  of  barbarism. 
He  was  incapable  of  purchasing  not  only  lands,  but  rents 
or  profits  from  lands,  or  taking  leases  for  any  term  exceeding 
thirty-one  years.  If  the  profits  of  his  farm  exceeded  one- 
third  of  the  rent,  he  forfeited  his  holding  which  vested  in 
the  Protestant  discoverer.*  He  was  bound  to  make 
reparation  for  all  damage  committed  on  Protestants  by 
tories  and  rapparees.  He  could  not  own  a  horse  above  the 
value  of  five  guineas.*  He  was  excluded  from  Parliament. 
He  was  not  even  allowed  to  listen  to  the  debates  in  Parlia- 
ment, for  on  the  10th  of  December,  1710,  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  was  ordered  "to  take  into  custody  all  papists  then  in  the 
gallery,  or  that  should  presume  in  future  to  come  into  it/'^ 
He  was  deprived  of  the  elective  franchise.*  He  was 
excluded  from  the  liberal  professions,  from  all  offices, 
civil  and  military,^  from  all  places  of  trust,  power 
and  emolument.  He  was  incapable  of  receiving  any 
annuiiy.  He  was  incapacitated  from  serving  on  any 
grand  jury.  He  was  subjected  to  a  fine  of  £20,  or  twelve 
months*  imprisonment,  if  he  did  not  acknowledge  when  and 
where  Mass  was  celebi'ated,  what  persons  were  present, 
where  a  priest  or  schoolma^ater  resided.  He  was  bound  to 
resort  every  Sunday  to  **  Divine  Service,"  under  pain  of 

17th  William,  ch.  4th.  'Eng.  Statutes,  Ist  Anne,  ch.  32. 

*  Act  to  prevent  the  farther  Growth  of  Popery,  2  Anne.  Explanatory 
Act,  5  Anne. 

*  7th  William,  ch.  4th.  »  Com.  Jour.  v.  8,  p.  975. 

*  L  George  U.,  cix.  '  Eng,  Stat.  3,  W.  &  M.,  C.  2. 


79J  Charles  (/ Conor  of  Belinagare. 

forfeiting  twelve  pence  for  every  neglect.  If  he  harboured 
or  concealed  the  hunted  priestB  of  his  Faith,  he  waa 
punished  bv  a  fine  of  £20  for  the  first  ofience»  £40  for  the 
second,  and  forfeiture  of  goods  and  chattels  for  the  third.^ 
If  he  married  a  Protestant  she  lost  her  inheritance  which 
went  to  the  next  Protestant  relation,  as  if  such  Protestant 
female  were  absolutely  dead,*  The  sanctuary  of  his  home 
and  family  was  violated  Those  safeguards  with  which 
the  natural  virtues  and  instincts  protect  domestic  life, 
parental  authority,  and  filial  duty,  were  assailed.  If  the 
eldest  son  became  a  Protestant,  he  could  dispossess  his 
father  of  the  fee-simple  of  his  estate.  If  a  child  became 
a  Protestant,  his  guardianship  was  taken  from  the  father, 
and  vested  in  the  next  Protestcmt  relation,  and  he  waa 
compelled  to  discover  the  amoant  of  his  property,  that  the 
Court  of  Chancery  might  allot  a  portion  ana  maintenance 
for  such  child.  If  his  wife  became  a  Protestant^  she  had 
such  provision  as  the  Lord  Chancellor  thought  fit  to  adjudge. 
If  there  was  no  Protestant  heir,  the  estate  was  gavelled, 
that  is,  divided  eaually  among  all  the  children.  If  he 
became  the  heir  oi  a  Protestant  he  was  disinherited,  and 
the  estate  went  to  the  next  Protestant  relative.'  Pursued 
by  the  far-reaching  malignity  of  this  Satanic  Code  even 
beyond  this  life,  the  law  forbade  him  to  be  buried  in  any 
monastery,  abbey,  or  old  church,  not  used  for  the  Protestant 
service,^  thus  wounding  in  a  most  tender  part  the  pious 
susceptibility  of  a  religious  race,  without  any  gain  to  the 
merciless  persecutor  but  the  delight  of  inflicting  pain. 

We  have  seen  in  what  touching  words  young  O'Conor 
deplores  the  prospect  before  him,  at  the  opening  of  his 
life,  in  his  eighteenth  year.  There  are  on  record  words  no 
less  affecting,  uttered  towards  life's  close,  in  his  eightieth 
year,  and  somewhere  about  the  same  time,  by  the  celebrated 
Roderick  O'Flaherty,  the  author  of  Ogygia,  reduced  to 
absolute  poverty,  dwelling  in  a  ruined  house  in  Gtdway,  by 
the  shore  of  the  great  ocean.  <^  I  live,"  he  said,  ^  a  baniiBhea 
man  within  the  bounds  of  my  native  soil ;  a  spectator  oi 
others  enriched  by  my  birthright ;  an  objeet  of  condoling 
to  my  relations  and  fri^ads,  and  a  G<mdoler  of  iheic 
miseries." 

Every  avenue,  this  youth  mournfully  observes,  being 


1 9th  Willkm,  ch.  1.  »M;h  Wmtm,  ctea.  8. 

'  Act  to  prevent  the  farther  Growth  of  Popery,  and  BzpifliMitoi;^ 
Act,  Anne. 

«  9th  William,  eh.  1. 


ChaAes  Cf  Conor  of  Belinagare.  793 

closed  against  him  at  home,  in  a  foreign  country  there 
was  no  hope  of  success  save  what  rested  on  his  unaided 
exertion.  jBy  their  own  exertions  and  merit,  thousands  of 
Irish  youths,  through  those  terrible  years,  amongst  the 
most  illustrious  many  of  his  own  kinsmen,  poor  and 
friendless  in  strange  lands,  competing  with  the  highest 
native  intellect,  rose  to  eminence  in  every  walk  of  life,  in 
trade  and  commerce  as  in  diplomacy  and  war,  leaving 
behind  them  names  not  destined  soon  to  fade  from  the  annals 
of  nations.  At  home,  if  allowed  to  live  at  all,  they  would 
have  crept  their  lowly  rounds  in  fear  and  trembling,  "  beasts 
of  burden  or  of  chase."  Bearing  upon  this  siibject  the 
following  note  by  Dr.  Charles  0  Conor  seems  to  us 
xmknown  and  interesting : — 

"After  the  capitulation  of  lamerick,  19,000  disciplined  troops 
consigned  themselves  to  voluntary  exile,  as  did  the  brigade  of 
Mountcashel,  consisting  of  three  regiments,  each  composed  of  two 
battalions.  These  were  by  a  particular  agreement  to  be  allowed 
high  pay.  But  on  their  arrival  in  France  they  agreed  to  be  put 
on  French  pay,  in  consideration  of  the  pension  aJUowed  to  their 
exiled  prince,  when  the  finances  of  France  were  very  low.  Their 
allowance  was  thus  diminished  50,000  livres  a  month ;  and  James 
was  so  affected  by  this  instance  of  Hibernian  generosity,  that  by 
an  instrument  signed  by  himself,  he  charged  that  arrear  of  pay  as 
a  debt  on  himself  and  his  posterity.  The  leading  Irish  officers  at 
that  time  were  the  Lords  Mountcashel,  Tjrconnell,  Clare,  Lucan, 
Dillon,  The  CNeiUs,  O'Briens,  O'Conors,  O'Donnells,  McCarthys, 
Fitzgeralds,  O'Reillys,  Browns,  Lacys,  Nugents,  Booths,  Burkes, 
Lees,  Creaghs,  Cavanaghs,  Flunkets,  Nagles,  O'Mahonys, 
HacMahons,  MacGennises,  O'Hogans,  CDwyers,  O'Shaughnessys, 
CSuUivans,  O'KeUys,  OTerraUs,  CHaras,  O'Bymes,  O'Daes. 

'^  Of  these  Irish  families  the  celebrated  MacEnroe,  author  of 
the  Connubia  Florum,  and  of  a  Latin  poem  on  our  ancient  heroes, 
says  that  they  were 

*  GrenuB  acre  belle,  studiis  genus  acre  Minervae, 
Devotamque  mori  pro  rege  fideque  tuendis.' 

Abbe  MacGeoghegan  quotes  the  Chevalier  de  BeHerive's  Camp  ck 
Vendome,  page  124,  for  the  following  anecdote: — Monsieur  de 
Yendome,  qui  avait  une  estime  particuliere  pour  cette  bellique 
nation  a  la  tete  de  la  quelle  il  avait  livr^  tant  de  combats,  et 
xemport^  tant  de  victoires,  avoua  qu'il  etait  surpris  des  terribles 
expeditions  que  ces  bouchers  de  I'arm^e  (c^est  ainsi  qu'il  les 
eppellait)  feusaient  en  sa  pr^ence.  He  app^ds  to  all  France,  as 
the  Duke  de  Fitzjames  did  on  a  recent  occasion,  for  their  bravery 
and  signal  services  on  a  thousand  important  occasions ;  particularly 
at    Landen,  Marseilles,    Barcelona,   Cremona,    Luzzara,    Spire, 


794  Charles  O* Conor  of  Beliiwgare. 

Castiglione,  Almanza  and  Villaviciosa.  All  France,  says  lie, 
applauded,  and  the  greatest  and  moat  powerful  monarch  crowned 
the  eulogies  of  this  brave  and  gallant  nation,  by  his  styling  them 
^es  braves  Irlandais,  I  refer  to  Monsieur  d'Argenson's  letter  to 
Voltaire  from  Fontenoy,  in  the  Vie  Privee  de  J^ouis  XV.  Tom  L 
a  Paris,  1781 :  to  Doctor  Maty,  who  in  his  Life  of  Chesterfield, 
sect.  5,  attributes  the  success  of  the  French  at  that  battle  to  the 
Irish  Brigade  ;  to  Col.  Dromgold's  letters  exposing  the  fallacious 
accounts  given  of  that  battle;  to  Dr.  Campbells  Philosophical 
Survey,  Let  2^,  p.  279  :  and  to  my  note  where  a  genuine  account 
is  given  of  the  battle  of  Cremona. 

"  Nothing  appears  to  me  a  greater  desideratum^  in  the  History 
of  Ireland,  than  a  military  history  of  those  Iri^h  who  fought  at 
those  and  other  remarkable  engagements :  as  also  of  their 
successors,  the  later  Irish  officers,  who  served  in  the  armies  of  the 
Catholic  powers  of  Europe,  and  whose  courage  and  fidelity  on 
several  trying  emergencies  have  abundantly  proved  that  they  are 
not  forgetful  of  the  martial  enthusiasm  of  their  ancestors.  I  could 
mention  many  of  them  now^  in  this  kingdom,  but  true  courage, 
like  true  virtue,  is  united  with  modesty,  and  Marshal  Turenne 
referred  all  his  victories  to  the  Disposer  of  life  and  death.  On  my 
way  from  Italy  1  was  highly  pleased  by  the  accounts  which  French 
officers  gave  of  them  in  numerous  societies.  They  were  well- 
bought  eulogies ;  and  they  were  the  eulogies  of  the  brave— 
Laudari  a  laudato. — I  can  never  forget  the  day  when  Monsieur  de 
i\Iombre,  who  travelled  in  1787  with  Mr.  O'Naghten  of  Lisle, 
hearing  my  name  mentioned  in  a  long  company,  went  to  his  port- 
feuille,  and  after  exhibiting  to  every  person  present  a  beautiful 
engraving  in  which  the  Chevalier  O'Conor,  Captain  of  Chasseurs 
in  Walsh's  regiment,  is  represented  in  the  attitude  of  making 
Governor  Cockbiu'ne  prisoner,  politely  presented  it  to  me, 
saying,  *  Sir,  you  see  the  French  delight  in  paying  compliments  to 
every  brave  nation.' 

"  Of  the  present  state  of  the  Irish  Brigade,*  to  speak  without 
emotion  would  be  an  insult  to  the  brave. 

*)Exigua  ingentis  retinet  vestigia  famae, 
Et  magnum,  inf elix  !  nil  nisi  nomen  habet. 
Ilae  sunt  quas  merito  quondam  est  venerata  vetustas ; 
Magnarum  rerum  magna  sepulchra  vides.' 

"  Among  those  who  followed  the  fortunes  of  James  was 
Doctor  O'Moor,  Provost  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  by  whom 
Louis  XIV.  was  directed  in  restoring  and  new-modelling  the 
University  of  Paris.     He  established  a  chair  for  experimental 

1  This  desideratum  has  been  since  supplied  by  his  brother,  Matthew 
O'Conor,  in  his  "  Military  Memoirs  of  the  Irish  Nation,"  and  more 
recently  and  fully  b>  the  late  John  Cornelius  O'Callaghan. 
» 1796.  » 1796. 


Theological  Questions.  795 

philosophy,  and  it  was  principally  on  his  account  that  the  king 
founded  the  Royal  College,  until  lately  called  College  de  Cambray* 
His  pupils  soon  became  the  most  celebrated  in  Europe.  He  could 
number  among  them  Boileau,  Fontanelle,  Montesquieu,  Fleurj", 
Languet,  Poree,  and  with  many  others  the  celebrated  Monsieur 
Kollin,  his  immediate  successor." 

J.  J.  Kelly. 


THEOLOGICAL  QUESTIONS. 

I. 

A  Question  regarding  Mixed  Marriages. 

K.,  a  Catholic,  got  married  a  few  years  ago  to  M.,  who  belonged 
to  the  Established  Church.  There  was  some  doubt  at  the  time 
about  the  validity  of  M.*s  baptism,  or  indeed  whether  she  had 
received  any  form  of  baptism.  However,  having  made  due 
inquiries,  the  priest  who  was  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony 
satisfied  himself  that  she  was  baptized  validly  in  a  Protestant 
Church,  and  having  obtained  a  dispensation  in  matrimonio  mixto^ 
assisted  at  their  marriage.  Some  time  ago  M.  was  about  to  be 
received  into  the  Catholic  Church,  and  it  was  then  discovered 
that  her  former  baptism,  which  she  received  in  the  Protestant 
Church,  was  for  some  reason  or  other  invalid. 

By  saying  if  her  marriage  was  invalid  by  reason  of  the 
impediment  disparitas  culfuSj  and  whether  it  was  certainly  so  or 
not ;  also,  whether  it  would  make  any  difference  if  the  marriage 
had  not  been  solemnized  coram  KccJesia,  and  not  having  obtained 
the  dispensation  in  matrimonio  mixto ;  and,  finally,  what  should 
be  thought  of  it  if  no  baptism  ceremony  had  been  performed  in 
her  case — you  will  greatly  oblige. 

Kindly  state  your  reasons  for  the  view  you  adopt,  and  say 
what  their  present  parish  priest  should  do  in  the  matter. 

J.  M.  G. 

The  questions  proposed  in  this  letter  present  no 
ordinary  diflSculty.  Writers  of  treatises  on  matrimony  have 
given  them  but  slight  attention,  and  the  Roman  decisions 
leave  several  important  issues  still  undecided.  What 
our  own  views  are,  we  stated  incidentally  in  a  paper  on 
Doubtful  Impediments^  in  the  July  number  of  the  RECORD, 
1884.  Three  important  replies  given  from  Rome  respect- 
ively in  1830, 1837,  and  1840,  were  then  printed  at  lengths 
These  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  repeat.  But  as  our 
treatment  of  the  subject  was  only  general  and  nnich  con- 


796  T/ieological  Questions. 

densed,  it  may  be  well  in  this  place,  by  way  of  snpplementi 
to  go  more  into  details,  as  is  indeed  required  by  the  particular 
case  now  placed  before  us.  The  main  difficulty  consists  in 
•ascertaining  whether  on  the  one  hand  a  dispensation,  or  on 
the  other  only  a  rule  for  practical  guidance,  \dien  doubts 
about  the  baptism  of  the  non-Catholic  arise  in  connection 
with  mixed  marriages,  is  contained  in  the  following 
sentence : — **  Quodsi  dubium  persistat  etiam  in  prime  casu, 
censendum  est  validum  baptisma  in  ordine  ad  validitatem 
matrimonii.** 

L — As  neither  in  the  Bishop  of  Annecy's  question,  nor 
in  any  of  the  replies  is  a  distinction  drawn  between 
contracta  and  contraheful-ay  the  decisions  of  1830  apply 
equally  to  both  classes  of  marriages.  This  is  a  matter  of 
considerable  importance  when,  after  procuring  a  diepen- 
eation  in  the  prohibent  impediment^  a  doubt  suddenly 
crops  up  about  baptism. 

II. — The  marriages  of  non-Catholics  among  themselves, 
or  with  unbaptizea  persone^  pagans  or  others,  are  ruled 
valid  or  invalid  by  applying  the  same  decisiona  A 
response  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Inquisition  in 
1872,  contained  in  a  long  instruction  dealing  with  doubtful 
marriages  in  pagan  countries,  makes  the  matter  clear : — 

*^  Ad  tertium  dubium  hujus  tenoris  : '  Utmra  baptismas  dabius 
consendus  sit  validus  in  ordine  ad  matrlmooium  etiam  in  eo  aensu 
quod  invalidum  sit  matrimonium  inter  haereticum  dubie  baptiza- 
tum    et    infidelem    propter    impedimentum    disparitatis  cultus.' 

"  Sancta  Congregatio  respondit,  affirmative.^ 

The  reply  in  1840,  is  even  more  explicit  and  pertinent 
as  it  deals  with  the  case  of  an  Anglican  who  fufit  married 
an  Anabaptist,  and  afterwards,  whilst  she  was  still  alive, 
became  united  to  a  Lutheran  wife.  The  Ansfican's 
baptism  was  doubtful,  and  that  of  the  Anabaptist  was 
alleged  to  have  been  invalid ;  hence  the  answer: — 

^  SanetisBimiis  .  .  .  rescribi  mandavit,  quod  dmmnodo 
constat  de  non  coUatione  baptism!  mulieris  Anabaptistae,  primnm 
matrimonium  fuisse  nullum ;  secundum  vero,  dummodo  nuDna 
aliud  obstet  impedimentum,  fuisse  validum.  Ad  dubium  autem 
▼aliditatis  baptism!  viri  standum  esse  decreto  fmae  IV,,  IT 
Novembris,  1880." 

III. — Anyone  reading  this  document,  would,  we  think, 
at  once  make  up  his  mind  that  the  decisions  of  1830  were 
no  more  than  practical  rules;  But  a  difficulty  may  present 
itself,    because    purely   non^Catholic,    and    not    mixed 


IheologiccU  Questions.  797 

marriages,  are  here  concerned.  At  any  rate,  the  matter  is 
clear  for  unions  of  the  former  class.  And  as  regards 
mixed  marriages,  it  may  be  well  to  distinguish  those 
contracted  wimout  a  dispensation  in  the  prohibent  impedi- 
ment from  all  others.  Where  no  dispensation  has  oeen 
procured,  the  Church  no  more  dispenses  in  a  probable 
diriment  impediment  than  she  does  for  purely  non-Catholic 
unions.  Why  so?  Let  us  recollect  the  words  quoted 
above,  **  Standum  esse  decreto  .  .  .  1830."  That  is  the 
latter  decree,  in  its  native  rigour,  without  change  of  sense 
or  construction,  ruled  the  case  in  question.  The  decree 
is  not  accommodated  with  novel  import  to  matters  pre- 
viously beyond  its  range,  but  a  typical  difficulty  is  most 
distinctly  construed  under  the  provisions  of  the  decree  in 
all  its  original  meaning.  Here  then  we  have  a  purely 
non-CathoUc  marriage  decided  according  to  the  precise 
import  of  that  document  for  mixed  marriages.  But 
judgment  in  the  case  went  on  the  supposition  that  the 
decree  implied  a  ruKng  and  not  a  dispensation.  Hence, 
for  mixed  marriages  also  it  is  a  practical  guide,  and 
nothing  further. 

Again,  in  1830,  we  have  it  laid  down : — **  Si  autem  certo 
cognoscatur  nullum  baptisma  ex  consuetudine  acluali 
illius  sectae,  est  nullum  matrimonium  f  and  a  remedy 
expressly  mentioned  in  1837  : — "  In  tertio  casu  praefati 
decreti,  respiciente  nullitatem  certam  baptismi  in  parte 
haeretica,  recurratur  in  casibus  particularibus." 

That  is,  when  the  baptism  of  the  non-Catholic  is  proved 
to  be  invalid,  the  proper  course,  unless  indeed  in  the  rare 
event  of  separation  being  deemed  preferable,  is  to  apply  to 
the  Holy  See  for  a  dispensation  in  tne  diriment  impediment. 
For  though  the  Church  is  ordinarily  averse  to  granting  this 
favour  in  Christian  countries,  she  relaxes  from  time  to  time, 
particularly  when  an  unbaptized  husband  or  wife  cannot  be 
induced  to  enter  the  fold.  But  assuredly  the  fact  of  a 
doubt  occurring,  some  years  before  invalidity  of  baptism 
becomes  certain,  cannot  render  recursus  unnecessaiy  or  the 
sacrament  of  Matrimony  vahd,  without  reference  to  any 
authority  in  the  Church.  Yet  the  decisions  of  1830  apply 
to  this  case.  Nor  is  there  any  foundation  for  excepting 
antecedent  doubts.  If  supervening  ones  do  not  make  the 
union  vahd,  why  should  those  which  arise  before  a  ceremony 
performed  in  defiance  of  ecclesiastical  law?  In  both 
cases  aUke,  when  baptism  is  shown  to  be  wanting,  there  is 
only  one  remedy — recurratur^ 

VOL.  T.  3  N 


798  Tluological  Questions. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  akeady  stated  another 
consideration  remains,  on  which  we  have  jnst  touched 
in  the  last  paragraph.  It  is  the  dislike  and  detestation 
with  which  the  Church  rightly  views  mixed  marriages. 
They  are  the  fruitful  sources  of  indifierentism  or  worse  in 
religion,  and  as  such  meet  with  nought  from  her  but 
unrelenting  opposition.  Even  when  she  grants  a  dispensa- 
tion, it  is  with  reluctance,  for  grave  reasons,  and  subject  to 
the  presence  of  well-defined  safeguards.  As  long  then  as 
she  does  not  make  a  holocaust  of  undetected  impediments^ 
on  what  theory  can  we  suppose  her  interfering  to  prevent 
possible  invalidity  in  favour  of  those  who  are  m  the  act  of 
braving  her  prohibition,  or  it  may  be,  neglecting  the 
conditions  which  the  Divine  law  imposes?  Indulgent  as 
the  Church  is  to  all  her  children,  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  here  cannot  warrant  us  in  presuming  anything  beyond 
her  positive  decisions.  How  those  decisions  are  to  be 
understood  has  been  already  stated.  They  will  not  prevent 
the  diriment  impediment,  should  it  exist,  from  rendering 
invalid  such  mixed  marriages  as  are  contracted  without  a 
dispensation. 

IV. — On  the  other  hand,  if  in  asking  for  a  dispensation 
the  Holy  See  is  expressly  informed  &at  a  doubt  exists 
about  the  baptism  of  the  non-Catholic  party,  it  seems 
reasonable  to  conclude  that,  if  the  application  be  granted, 
any  obstacle  interposed  hf  disparitas  cuUus  is  e£^ctually 
removed.     There  is  also,  we  tnink,  abundant  reason  for 
holding  the  same  of   dispensations    granted    in    similar 
circumstances  by  bishops  who,  as  may  happen,  recdve 
faculties  for  a  few  cases  of  mixed  marriages.     By  the 
decisions  of  1830,  matrimony  in  these  doubts  is  to  be  con- 
sidered valid,  and  obvious  reasons  justifv  us  in  supposing 
an  intention  in  the  Church  to  confer  the  blessing  of  actual 
validity  on  a  union  which  she  expresslypermits  after  being 
informed  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  non-Uatholic's  baptism. 
V. — A  more  difficult  point  remains.    It  arises  when  a 
dispensation  in  the  prohibent  inlpediment  has  been  pro- 
cured without  any  mention  of  a  doubt  about  baptism.  This 
may  happen  through  forgetfulness,  or  because  it  is  deemed 
unnecessary  to  allude  to  the  matter,  or   by  reason  of 
suspicion  being  excited  only  when  too  late  for  special 
notice  in  the  petition,  or  finally  because  the   doubt  is 
subsequent  to  marriage.    In  any,  or  all,  of  these  issues, 
what  are  we  to  think  and   do,   if  in  course  of  yeais 
baptism  should  be  proved  invalid,  and  more  particularly 


Theological  Qttestions.  799 

if  the  non-Catholic  came  to  receive  the  sacrament  of 
regeneration  and  enter  the  true  fold  ?  If  the  decision  of 
1830  about  doubtful  cases,  is  only  a  practical  ruling,  it 
would  seem  that  in  every  one  of  these  suppositions  the 
union  is  invalid,  just  as  if  any  other  diriment  impediment 
were  concerned.  But  something  can  be  fairly  said  on  the 
other  side.  Doubts  about  baptism  are  so  different  from 
others  as  to  have  a  special  ruling  for  themselves.  The 
Holy  See  imderstands  perfectly  well  how  they  may  be 
expected  to  occur,  in  connection  with  the  generality  of 
mixed  marriages.  Hence  in  dispensing  or  granting  power 
to  dispense  this  difficulty  may  be  looked  on  as  constantly 
present  to  the  dispensing  authority.  Accordingly  when 
a  mixed  marriage  is  permitted,  it  may  be  presumed  that 
provision  is  made  in  the  interest  of  the  Catholic  party  for 
an  occurrence  so  likely  and  so  unfortunate. 

Either  view  seems  probable.  Lehmkuhl, in  his  admirable 
work,  holds  that  marriage  is  certainly  vahd  whenever 
a  dispensation  in  the  prohibent  impediment  has  been 
procured.  But  we  cannot  determine  whether  he  supposes 
the  doubt  about  baptism  to  be  mentioned  to  the  dispensing 
authority  or  not,  as  he  draws  no  distinction  between  the 
cases  under  this  and  under  our  last  number.  Hence  it  is 
difficult  to  say  for  certain  whether  he  has  recorded  an 
opinion,  at  least  in  this  context,  on  the  point  at  issue. 

As  inquiry  is  always  made  about  baptism,  it  would 
appear  unreasonable  to  place  on  a  worse  footing  the  cases 
where  it  is  judged  valid  than  those  in  which  it  is  considered 
doubtful.  Hence  the  discovery  of  an  invalid  rite  creates 
the  same  difficulty  in  either  event.  How  is  it  to  be  met  ? 
When  the  non-Catholic  will  not  consent  to  receive 
baptism,  the  remedy,  if  any  need  be  sought,  is  a  dispensa- 
tion. Is  a  dispensation  required!  Looking  to  the 
probability  of  the  marriage  being  valid,  at  least  in  foro 
intemoj  we  should  not  venture  to  say  that  there  is  an 
obligation  of  procuring  one ;  but  we  think  it  advisable  to 
do  so,  as  the  S.  Cong,  very  likely  may  yet  declare  that 
**  recurratur  in  caaihus  particularibus  **  is  the  only  remedy  for 
any  case  in  which  the  doubt  was  not  conveyed  expressly 
to  the  dispensing  power. 

Where  the  non-Catholic  consents  to  receive  baptism, 
the  remedial  process,  if  any,  is  renewal  of  consent.  Need 
it  be  resorted  to  ?  Plainly  if  there  be  any  considerable 
danger  of  unsettling  their  consciences,  the  parish  priest 
ougnt  not  allude  to  the  matter.    As  the  marriage  was 


800  Theological  Questions. 

celebrated  with  a  dispensation,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
Church  wished  to  make  the  union  vaUdfrom  the  beginning. 
Moreover,  even  if  it  had  been  null  up  to  the  time  of  second 
baptism,  according* to  much  the  more  probable  opinion, 
no  renewal  was  then  necessary  ex  natura  rei  to  cause 
validity.  No  doubt  the  Church,  adhering  to  the  safer 
view,  expects  married  Catholics  to  renew  consent  after 
unconditional  baptism.^  But  the  way,  in  which  dispensations 
in  radice  are  given,  shows  that  she  might  not  urge  this 
point,  and  in  the  case  we  are  making  it  does  not  seem 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  she  leaves  the  original 
consent  free,  as  far  as  she  can,  to  have  full  sacramental 
effect  at  least  at  baptism.  Still,  if  no  evil  consequence  be 
appreliended,  we  consider  the  better  course  would  be  to 
renew  the  consent  conditionally,  just  after  the  baptismal 
rite. 

VL — We  owe  an  apology  to  our  respected  corre- 
spondent  for  putting  him  to  the  trouble  of  reading  so 
much  for  an  answer  to  his  questions.  It  is  inconvenient 
in  many  ways  to  condense  the  reasons  on  which  one 
grounds  his  opinion  on  a  subject  like  the  present. 
Now,  however,  that  they  are  explained,  what  we  hold, 
on « the  various  issues  placed  before  us  by  this  particular 
case,  has  been  sufficiently  stated.  It  only  remains  to  add 
that,  as  second  baptism  is  over,  and  the  parties  settled 
down  in  the  bosom  of  the  CathoUc  Church,  it  would  not 
be  prudent  to  disturb  their  repose  by  any  further 
lerence. 

P.  O'D. 
II. 

Case   of   Matrimonial  Domicile. 

TO  THE    EDITOR   OF  THE   IBISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  BECORD. 

Very  Rev.  dear  Sir,— You  will  very  much  obb'ge  by  giving, 
either  privately  or  in  the  Becord,  your  decision  in  the  following 
case :  — 

About  three  weeks  since,  two  persons  left  New  York,  intending 
to  return  to  their  respective  homes  in  Ireland.  For  some  time  before 
leaving  America,  they  intended  getting  married  after  they  had 
spent  some  time  at  home.  Their  object  in  deferring  the  marriage 
till  after  they  had  been  settled  down  for  a  week  or  two  at  home, 
was  to  secure  the  fortune  which  the  father  of  the  sponsa  had  for  her. 

When  they  landed  at  Queenstown,  they  learned  that  a  rumour 
had  preceded  them  to  the  effect  that  they  were  actuaUy  married. 
They  did  not  contradict  the  rumour,  but  went  to  the  house  of  the 

2  Cf.  Gury,  No.  831. 


Theological  Questions.  801 

sponsuSj  intending  immediately  to  appear  before  the  clergyman  of 
the  place. 

When  leaving  home,  some  two  years  since,  the  girl  intended 
returning  to  her  father's  residence.  She  saya  she  never  relinquished 
that  intention,  and  that  she  would  have  carried  it  out  but  for  the 
rumour  referred  to.  She  moreover  adds,  that  if  obliged  to  separate 
before  marriage,  she  would  return  to  it. 

Can  she,  therefore,  during  her  absence,  be  regarded  as  a  perc" 
grinaf  Or  can  the  parish  priest  of  the  parish,  in  which  her 
father  resides  (they  belong  originally  to  two  different  adjoining 
parishes),  validly  assist  at  the  marriage  ? 

A  reply  by  early  post  will  oblige, — Yours  respectfully, 

Sacerdos. 

The  following  reply  was  sent  by  post  to  our  respected 
correspondent : — 

The  whole  question  turns  on  whether  the  sponsa  had 
given  up  her  paternal  domicile  before  she  got  married. 
Whilst  m  America  she  intended  returning  to  it,  and  after- 
wards, the  only  reason  for  supposing  a  change  of  mind  is 
that,  previous  to  the  ceremony,  she  lived  at  the  house  of 
the  sponsus.  But  this,  of  itself,  is  not  suflScient  to  cause  sur- 
render of  her  former  domicile.  For  such  a  result  she 
should  abandon  all  intention  of  going  back  to  live  at  her 
father's  dwelling.  And  plainly  nothing  of  the  kind  occurred, 
since,  as  expressly  acknowledged  by  her,  "  if  obliged  to 
separate  before  marriage,  she  would  return  to  it."  This  is 
the  real  test  in  such  cases.  As  a  rule,  although  the  sponsa 
may  happen  to  put  up  at  the  residence  of  the  sponsus  before 
marriage  takes  place,  she  still,  at  least  implicitly,  looks  to 
the  actual  occurrence  of  that  event  as  alone  determining 
that  she  is  to  remain  there  permanently  and  break  connec- 
tion with  her  father's  domicile.  Certainly  it  was  thus 
matters  stood  in  the  case  as  stated,  and  hence  the  parish 
priest  of  the  parish  in  which  her  father  resides,  could  assist 
validly  at  the  marriage.  P.  O'D. 

III. 

Questions  regarding  Honoraria. 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OP  THE  IBISH  ECCLESIASTICAL  RECORD. 

Very  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — A  correspondent,  in  answer  to 
a  question  regarding  the  Honoraria  given  on  the  occasion  of  the 
celehration  of  Corpse  Masses,  makes,  in  the  last  issue  of  the  Record, 
one  or  two  statements  which,  in  my  humhle  opinion,  need 
explanation. 

The  querist  says  that,  in  the  parish  in  which  he  is  stationed, 
^^  there  is  a  custom  of  making  all  the  stipends  received  for  Corpse 


802  Theological  Questions* 

Masses  diyisible  dues."    He  explains  the  parochial  arrangemeot 

which  regulates  their  celebration  thus  :  **  The  curates  say  them  in 

torn,  and  the  several  stipends  are  thrown  «nto  the  common  fund,  to 

be  divided  pro  rata,  like  the  rest  of  the  parochial  revenue,  between 

the  curates  and  the  parish  priest,  who,"  we  are  informed^  '*  says 

none  of  these  Masses.       He  quotes  a  decree  of  the  Sacred  Council, 

and  refers  to  a  proposition  condemned  by  Alexander  YH.,  with 

both  of  which,  he  seems  to  think,  such  practice  is  irrreconcilable ; 

and  then  formulates  his  question  ;  **  Is  it  lawful  for  those  priests 

(his  fellow-curates  and  the  parish  priest)  to  take,  even  in  virtue  of 

their  mutual  agreement,  a  part  of  the  stipend  given  for  the  Mass  ?^ 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  neither 

the  decree  quoted,  nor  the  proposition  alluded  to,  has  any  bearing 

on  the  practice  referred  to.     And  why  a  direct  answer  to  the 

question  should  not  be  given,  I  see  no  reason.    What  is  there  to 

prevent  such  an  agreement  binding  in  strict  justice  ?     I  bind  myself 

to  divide,  in  certain  fixed  proportion,  the  stipend  I  receive  with 

others,  who  bind  themselves  in  turn  to  act  similarly  by  me.     The 

materia  is  licita,  and  the  compact,  as  between  the  curates  at  least, 

can  have  no  injustice  in  it ;  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages 

are  divided  equally  all  rotmd.    It  docs  not  appear,  it  is  true,  what 

the  parbh  priest,  who  never  says  such  Masses,  contributes  in  return 

for  the  advantages  which  this  agreement  secures  him ;  but,  as  he 

is  classed  with  the  fellow-curates  of  the  celebrant  of  the  Mass,  it  is 

to  be  assumed  that  he,  as  they,  gives  valuable  consideration  for 

such  advantages.    Not  only,  then,  are  the  others  free  to  take  from 

the  celebrant  a  portion  of  the  stipend  received,  but  he  is  strictly 

bound  to  give  it  to  them.     And  this,  even  when,  for  pnrely 

personal  reasons,  a  larger  stipend  is  given  him  than  would  have 

been  given,  on  the  same  occasion,  to  any  of  his  fellow-curates ;  for 

it  is  still  the  Honorarium  which,  by  mutual  agreement,  is  divisible. 

The  others,  in  turn,  will  have,  or  at  least  may  have,  to  yield  like 

personal  favours.     So  far  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  intention  of 

the  donor  can  affect  the  disposition  of  the  gift  when  made. 

Whether  a  purely  personal  gift,  made  on  the  same  occasicHi, 
and  expressly  stated  to  be  such  (which,  of  course,  cannot  be  called 
the  Honorariuvi,  nor  a  part  of  it),  must  be  disposed  of  as  the 
Honorarium  itself,  depends  on  whether  the  agreement  or  diocesan 
regulation  extends  to  such  offerings  made  on  these  occasions*  If 
it  does,  it  must ;  if  not,  not.  A.  B.  C. 

A.B.C.  *' assumes"  that  parish  priests  ^ve  a  "valuable 
consideration  "  for  the  money  they  put  m  their  ^ockei^, 
though  they  never  say  any  of  the  Masses  in  question.  It 
will  be  difiScult  to  show  that  this  is  not  assuming  too  mudi 
except  on  the  lines  we  have  laid  down. 

Besides,  the  writer  supposes  that  it  is  all  a  matter  of 
**  mutual  agreement ;"  that,  when  a  parish  priest  who  nevtt* 


Liturgical  Questions.  803 

eajs  a  Corpse  MasSy  or  a  Mass  of  the  week,  jet  appropriates 
the  greater  portion  of  the  Honorarict^  his  curates  are  quite 
pleased,  since  it  is  all  their  own  doing.  It  may  be  so  in  the 
writer's  diocese ;  but  in  other  places  curates  are  not  in  the 
habit  of  making  presents  to  the  paroehi.  The  priest  whose 
question  we  answered  certainly  thought  himself  aggrieved; 
perhaps  he  will  now  be  glad  to  hear  that  it  is  all  a  pleasur- 
able matter  of  arrangement. 

In  his  last  paragraph  A.  B.  C.  opens  up  a  new 
question.  We  doubt  very  much  whether  he  will  get  the 
curates  of  the  country  to  agree  with  him,  that  diocesan 
regulations  may  compel  priests  to  throw  into  the  common 
fund  what  is  given  them  as  a  purely  personal  donation. 

W.  McD. 


LITURGY. 
I. 

Crudjix  Indulgenced  for  the  Stations  of  the  Cross. 

1.  Who  has  the  power  to  attach  this  Indulgence  to  a 
Crucifix  ? 

2.  Is  it  included  in  the  document  which  priests  commonly 
receive  from  liome  authorizing  them  to  impart  the  Apostolic 
Indulgences  to  pious  objects  ? 

8.  Is  it  certainly  attached  to  all  the  crucifixes  blessed  by  the 
Pope  at  an  audience  ? 

Answer  to  tlie  first  question : — The  Pope  and  those  whom 
he  deputes.     He  has  delegated  this  Faculty ,  with  the 

?ower  of  subdelegation,  to  the  General  of  the  Franciscans. 
*he  guardians  of  Franciscan  convents  receive  this  power 
from  their  General,  but  they  cannot  sub-delegate. 

Whether  a  bishop  can  impart  this  blessing  depends  on 
his  special  faculties. 

Answer  to  the  second : — No.  In  virtue  of  this  faculty,  a 
priest  can  bless  certain  objects,  such  as  beads,  crosses, 
crucifixes,  little  statues  and  medals ;  so  that  a  person  per- 
forming certain  specified  ^ood  works  or  devotions,  wnile 
he  has  with  him  or  near  him  any  of  those  blessed  objects, 
can  gain  certain  indulgences  which  are  enumerated  in  the 
document  referred  to.  This  document  has  no  reference 
to  the  question  you  raise. 

Answer  to  the  t/itrd ;— It  is  not.  The  Pope  ordinarily 
imparts    to    the    objects   presented    to    him    on     those 


804  Liturgical  Questions. 

occasionfl  the  eame  blessing  which  you,  as  his  delegate, 
give  in  virtue  of  the  Faculty  you  have  just  mentioned. 
The  opening  words  of  that  Faculty  remind  us  of 
this — "Indulgentiae  quas  Summus  Pontifex,  vel  ab  eo 
delegatus  benedicendo  Coronas,  Rosaria,  Cruces,  se  imper- 
titur  ChristifideUbus,  &c/'  The  Pope  does  not  indulgence 
a  crucifix  for  the  Stations  of  the  Cross,  unless  he  expressly 
intends  to  do  so,  and  we  cannot  suppose  this  intention 
unless  it  is  clearly  manifested,  for  instaiice,  by  his  mention- 
ing the  fact,  or  by  his  assenting  to  a  request  made  to  this 
eflfect. 

4,  Would  a  priest  who,  on  account  of  the  number  of  people  to 
be  found  generally  praying  in  a  public  church  of  a  town,  did  not 
Ciire  to  go  round  the  Stations  in  their  presence,  have  a  sufficient 
cause  to  gain  the  Indulgence  before  his  crucifix  in  private  ? 

I  should  think  not.  The  request  to  bless  crucifixes  with 
which  one  might  gain  the  Indulgences  of  Via  Crucis,  when 
presented  to  Clement  XIV.,  specially  mentioned  persons  in 
prison,  on  sea,  those  living  where  there  were  no  Stations  of 
the  Cross,  and  the  sick,  as  instances  of  the  claas  for  whom 
the  favour  was  asked.  The  grant  was  made  in  this  spirit  for 
all  who  were  "  legitime  impediti,"  from  visiting  the  Stations 
themselves.  This  does  not  sewn  to  be  the  case  of  the 
priest  you  mention.  Why,  it  would  only  give  edification 
to  the  people,  if  they  saw  the  priest  making  the  round  of 
the  Stations.  And  why  should  he  hesitate  to  practise 
before  them  so  beautiful  a  devotion  which  he  strongly 
encourages  the  people  themselves  to  cultivate. 

11. 

The  Seven  Dolour  Beads. 

Dear  Rev.  Sm, — Some  priests  having  power  to  bless  beads, 
&c.,  from  the  Papal  formula,  **  Indulgentiae  quaa  SS.PontifeXydc^^ 
bless  the  Seven  Doloiu*  Beads  as  they  would  the  ordinary  five 
decade  Rosary,  viz.,  merely  with  the  sign  of  the  cross. 

Now  from  the  decrees  quoted  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Recobd, 
December,  1882,  page  752,  I  infer  that  such  blessing  is  invalid, 
inasmuch  as  the  said  formula  gives  no  faculties  except  for  what  can 
be  blessed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  whereas  the  Dolours'  Beads 
require  a  form  of  blessing.  Maurel  says  special  faculties  are.  also 
required. 

Kindly  answer  in  an  early  number  of  the  Record — 

1^.  Is  power  given  for  the  Seven  Dolour  Beads  by  the 
formula? 

2^  If  not,  how  can  it  be  obtained  ? 
And  you  will  oblige  many  friends  on  the  Mission. — ^Yours,  &c, 

A  Meath  Priest. 


lAturgical  Questions.  805 

Answer  to  L — No ;  power  to  bless  the  Seven  Dolour 
Beads  is  not  given  by  the  Papal  formula:  Indulgentiae 
quas  SS,  Pontifex^  ^c. 

Moreover  a  form  of  blessing  is  necessary  for  the  Dolour 
Beads.  This  form  may  be  foimd  in  the  Katisbon  Edition 
of  the  Ritual  in  the  Appendix,  page  166, 

Answer  to  IL — The  blessing  of  the  Dolour  Beads  is 
specially  entrusted  to  the  Servites  of  Mary,  and  the 
necessary  delegation  can  be  obtained  from  a  Superior  of 
that  Order,  or  directly  from  the  Holy  Father. 

The  following  decree  refers  to  this  matter : — 

29  Feb.,  1864. 

An  per  praefatas  declarationes  (11  Aprilis,  1840,  et  7  Jan., 
1843),  comprehendatur  etiam  benedictio  turn  coronarum  sen 
rosariorum  b.  Dominici  quae  a  PP.  Ordinis  Praedicatorum,  turn 
coronarum  Septem  Dolorum  quae  a  PP.  Ordinis  Servonim  Mariae 
benedicuntur ;  ita  ut  sacerdotes  qui  a  superioribus  praefatorum 
Ordinum,  vel  immediate  ab  Apostolica  sede,  facultatem  impetrant 
praememoratas  coronas  benediceudi,  in  solo  crucis  signo  perficere 
possint,  an  vero  pro  actus  valore  formula  benedictionis  simulque 
aspersio  cum  aqua  benedieta  omnino  sit  adhibenda  ? 

Eesp.  S.  Ind.  Cong.;  **  Pro  Coronis  Kosarii  et  Septem 
Dolorum  servandam  esse  formulam,  cum  responsa  Sacrae  Congre- 
gationis  dierum  11  Aprilis,  1840,  et  7  Januarii,  1843,  non 
comprehendant  casus,  de  quibus  agitur  in  proposito  dubio." 

m. 

Newly  Indulgenced  Prayers  for  Priests, 

Leo  XIII.  has  just  granted  an  indulgence  of  300  days 
to  ecclesiastics  in  Holy  Orders,  who  say  devoutly  and  with 
contrite  heart  the  [following  Uttle  prayer  for  penseverance 
in  the  true  spirit  of  their  holy  state.  He  has  also  granted 
on  the  same  conditions  in  their  favour  100  days'  indulgence 
to  the  following  ejaculatory  prayer  to  the  Mother  of  God. 
Both  indulgences  can  be  gained  only  once  in  the  day. 
Many  priests  may  wish  to  add  these  to  their  morning 
prayers : — 

Petrus  Bugarini,  Sacerdos  Romanus,  ad  pedes  sanctitatis 
vestrae  humiliter  provolutus,  enixe  rogat  ut  sacerdotibus  et  in 
sacris  constitutis  devote  recitantibus  sequentem  orationem  : 

•'Jesu  dilectissime,  qui  ex  singulari  benevolentia  me  prae 
millenis  hominibus  ad  tui  sequelam  et  ad  eximiam  sacerdotii  digm- 
tatem  vocasti,  largire  mihi,  precor,  opem  tuara  divinam  ad  officia 
mea  rite  abeunda.     Oro  te,  Domine  Jesu,  ut  ressuscites  hodie  et 


8l)6  Liturgical  Questiofis* 

semper  in  me  gratiam  tnam,  quae  fait  in  me  per  impositiooem 
manuum  e^iscopalium.  O  potentissime  animarum  medice,  sana 
me  taliter  ne  revolvar  in  vitia,  et  cuncta  peccata  fugiam^  Tibique 
usque  ad  mortem  ita  placere  possem.     Amen.^' 

Indulgentiam  tercentum  dierum  benigne  concedere  dignetur, 
necnoa  eisdem  indulgentiam  dieruni  centum  qui  devote  recitaverint 
jaculatoriam  precum  uti  sequitur  : 

"  Bone  Jesu,  rogo  te  per  dilectionem  qua  diligis  matrem  tuam,  et 
sicut  vere  eam  diligis  et  diligi  vis,  ita  mihi  des  ut  vere  earn  diligam/* 

SSmus.  D.  N.  Leo  Papa  XIII,  omnibus  de  quibus  in  precibus, 
qui  corde  saltem  contrito  ac  devote  praedictas  preces  recitaverint, 
petitas  indulgentias  semel  in  die  lucrandas  benigne  concessit. 

Praesenti  in  perpetuum  valituro  absque  ulla  brevis  ezpeditione» 
Contrariis  quibuscumque  non  obstantibus. 

Datum  Romae  ex  ea  secretaria  ejusdem  Sacrae  Congregationis^ 
die  14  Augusti,  188  i. 

L.  Cardinal  Bonapabte. 

IV. 

Indtdt  regarding  the  Scapulars. 

B7  this  Indult,  the  Pope  revalidates  the  reception  of 
the  various  Scapulars  in  the  case  of  those  who  had  received 
them  invalidly,  but  not  from  any  conscious  fault  of  theira 

Beatissimb  Patkb, 

Fr.  P.  Hyacinthus  Durachio,  Provinciae  Capucinorum  Pennsil- 
vanicae  Moderator,  ad  pedes  Sanctitatis  vestrae  humillime  pro- 
volutus,  quum  saepe  invalide  fiant  receptiones  ad  Scapularia,  prout 
satis  experientia  et  ex  Decreto  S.  C.  Indulg.  diei  18  Sept.  1862, 
constare  videtur,  humillime  supplicat,  ut  Sanctitas  vestra  omnes 
receptiones  invalidas  ad  Sodalitatem  vel  Unionem  Scapularis 
cujuscumque,  bona  taraen  fide  peractas  sanare  dignetur. 

Ex  Audientia  SSmi  diei  20  Jblii  1884,  SSmus  Dominus  Noster 
Leo  Providentia  PP.  XIII.,  referenle  me  infrascripto  S.  Congre- 
■gationis  de  Propaganda  Fide  Secretario,  benigne  concedere 
dignatAS  est  ut  adscnpti  cum  aliquo  defectu  ut  in  precibus,  ab 
hinc  indulgentias  singulis  Scapularibus  proprias  lucrari  valeant. 

Datum  Romae  ex  aedibus  dictae  Congnis.  die  et  anno  praedictis. 

Pro  R.  P.  D.  Secretario, 

Ant.  A  guard],  Off. 

V. 

The  Credo  on  St  M.  Magdalen's  Feast. 

Why  is  it  that  the  Credo  is  said  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Maij 
Magdalen  contrary  to  the  general  principle — Virgineset  viduae  non 
habent  Credo  ? 

The  Credo  is  said  on  the  Feast  of  St  Maiy  Magdalen 


Correspondeiue.  807 

becaiiBe  she  was  bonoured  by  oar  Lord  witb  a  kind  of 
apostolate,  namely,  to  omiomice  the  joyful  tiding  of  His 
reBorrection  to  the  ApoBtlca  themselves — "  Quia  in  Cbristi 
resorrectione,  ea  fuit  Apostolornm  Apostola."^ 

VII. 

The  Colour  on  the  Festum  Prodiffiorum  B.V.M.     The  Credo 

on  Ute  FeaH  of  S.  Leo. 

V.  White  Testmentfl  are  used  on  the  feasts  of  the  B.  Vii^. 

Why  then  were  red  vestments  used  on  the  Festwn  Prodigiorum 

'B.V.M.  f    (See  Latin  Ordo). 

2°.  Why  was  the  Credo  not  to  be  said  on  the  traDsfeired  feast 
of  S.  Leo.  DoctOT  (S4th  JtUy)  in  the  diocese  of  Dublin  7  (See 
Latin  Ordo.) 

1".  Wbite  was  tbe  colour  for  tbe  Festum  Prodigiormn 
B.Y.M.  aa  on  the  other  feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 

2".  Tbe  Credo  should  hare  been  said  on  the  transferred 
feast  of  S.  Leo. 

R.  BsowifE. 


COREESPONDENCE. 
The  Deaf  and  Duub. 
to  the  editob  of  the  irish  ecclesiasticai.  kecobd, 
Vert  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — Would  you  kindly  aDow  me  s] 
in  the  pages  of  the  Rbcord  for  some  few  thoughts  I  wist 
nnbnrdeD  myself  of  respecting  an  afflicted  portion  of  our  fell 
mortals,  of  whom  we  may  well  say  in  the  words  of 
great  Roman  orator,  "  dutn  tacent,  clamant .' "  I  will  he  un 
Stood,  at  once,  to  refer  to  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  Amongst 
various  institutions  of  religion  and  charity,  which  the  pre 
generation  has  seen  spring  up  in  Ireland,  we  have  to  thank  ' 
with  special  gratitude,  for  the  establishment  of  the  much-nei 
Catholic  Institution  for  these  poor  objects,  who  so  particul 
engaged  the  sympathy  of  our  Divine  Lord,  that,  whilst  daring 
public  ministry  "  He  went  about  doing  good,"  it  is  particul 
noticed  how  "  ffe  hath  made  the  Deaf  to  hear,  and  the  Dum 
tpeak."  Although  undertaken  at  a  period  of  general  distress, 
great  work  of  charity  enlisted  immediately  the  earnest  encour 
ment  of  the  Catholic  public  throughout  the  length  and  breadt 
the  land,  and  became,  in  a  few  years,  the  largest  institntioD  of 
kind  in  the  whole  world.  Nevertheless,  it  is  yet  inadequate  to 
nnmberd  in  need  of  the  blessings  it  affords,  and  ffe  are  to 
>  lonocent  III.,  lib.  ii,  c.  61. 


808  Correspondence, 

forward  in  hope,  "being  confident"  to  speak  in  the  words  of 
St.  Paul,  *'  of  this  very  things  that  He  who  hath  begun  the  good  work 
mil  perfect  it  J'  (PhtL  1,  6.) 

But  my  concern,  at  present,  is  not  for  the  institution,  either  as 
to  its  actual  state  or  future  prospects,  but  rather  for  the  numerous 
objects,  who  have  not  had,  and,  sad  to  say,  who  are  not  to  have, 
the  happiness  of  being  admitted  within  its  walls  ;  and  it  is  not  so 
much  their  temporal  misery,  afflicting  though  it  is,  but  still  more 
their  spiritual  privations,  that  induce  me  to  speak  in  their  behalf. 

According  to  the  Reports  given  to  the  public,  from  time  to 
time,  by  the  respected  and  zealous  Committee  of  the  Institution, 
these  poor  creatures  number  over  three  thousand.  The  spiritual 
state  of  these  thousands  is  sad  in  the  extreme ;  and  it  must  be  a 
question  deeply  affecting  every  benevolent  mind,  that  reflects  upon 
them,  what  can  be  done  for  their  relief  ?  Does  theology  take  any 
special  account  of  them?  and  is  the  ordinary  ministry  of  the 
Church  capable  of  dealing  with  their  miserable  state  ? 

As  these  questions  occur  to  me,  I  must  confess,  that  I  regret 
how  scantily  our  authors  treat  of  them,  doing  little  more  than 
allude  to  them  incidentally,  and  lay  down  some  general  principles 
for  our  guidance.  This  is  by  no  means  sufficient.  In  the  ordi- 
nary work  of  the  ministry,  our  acquaintance  with  the  manners  of 
mankind  in  their  various  classes  and  categories  enables  us  to 
make  practical  application  of  the  principles  of  our  moral  teaching. 
But  we  do  not  meet  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  in  numbers  to  form 
acquaintance  with  them  in  the  same  manner  ;  and  hence,  when  an 
individual  case  comes  in  our  way,  we  are  embarrassed  as  to  how  wc 
are  to  deal  with  it.  Surely  we  have  reason  to  regret  that  the 
authors  do  not  treat  a  subject  of  such  practical  importance  more 
fully,  and  point  out  to  us  the  precise  mode  of  action  we  are  to 
pursue  in  giving  the  henefits  of  our  ministry,  so  far  as  they  are  to 
be  given,  to  these  poor  creatures.  But  are  there  no  means  left  for 
making  good  this  deficiency  ?  I  think  there  are,  and  permit  me 
to  say,  that  I  consider  the  Beoord  may  be  weU  expected  to 
furnish  a  medium  for  light  to  be  cast  upon  the  matter.  My 
object,  therefore,  in  venturing  to  bring  the  subject  under  your 
attention  is,  that  you  would  bestow  upon  it  your  benevolent  con- 
sideration according  to  the  special  advantages  you  possess  in  the 
enlightened  circle  you  have  around  you,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
invite  correspondents  to  contribute  the  result  of  their  reflections 
and  experience  towards  the  clearing  up  of  a  subject  which  involves 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  thousands  of  poor  souls  in  a  state  of  such 
dire  destitution. 

I  have  the  honour  to  remain.  Very  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir,  very 
respectfully  yours, 

A  Friend  of  the  Deaf  and  Duicb. 

In  reference  to  the  suggestion  of  our  esteemed  corre- 
spondent, we  unite  with  him  unreservedly  in  sympathy  for 


J 


Documents.  809 

the  afflicted  class,  whom  he  is  so  desirous  to  serve,  and  we 
shall,  therefore,  most  gladly  lend  our  pages  to  whatever 
communications  may  be  addressed  to  us  on  a  subject, 
which  should  interest  every  benevolent  mind.  In  the 
meantime,  we  are  happy  to  state,  that  the  cause  of  the 
-uneducated  Deaf  and  Dumb  was  veiy  amply  pleaded, 
some  few  years  ago,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "  Claims  of  the 
Uninstructed  Deaf-Mute  to  be  admitted  to  the  Sacraments,^*^ 
The  writer  did  not  give  his  name,  but  he  is  well  known  to 
be  tne  author  of  Programmes  of  Sermons^  and  other  most 
useful  works  for  ecclesiastics,  and  his  production  was 
received  most  approvingly  by  the  bishops,  who,  as  occasion 
occurred,  recommended  it  to  their  clerg5\  It  was  only  to 
be  expected,  that  exception  would  be  taken  to  some  of  the 
statements  and  conclusions  set  forth  on  a  subject  so  special, 
and  accordingly  a  counter-publication  appeared,  imder  the 
title  of  "  The  Spiritual  Condition  of  the  Uneducated  Deaf 
and  Dumb,  Dublin.'*  This  eUcited  a  viadication,  in  whicn 
the  author  of  the  "  Claims "  reasserted  all  his  positions, 
addressing  it  to  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Ireland. 
We  hope  to  give  to  our  readers,  in  the  next  number  of  the 
Record,  some  analysis  of  both  "  Claims^*  and  "  Vindication^* 
with  whatever  observations  may  occur  to  ourselves  on  a 
subject,  which  interests  very  particularly  the  ecclesiastical 
ministry  on  behalf  of  so  numerous  a  class  of  our  fellow- 
beings,  who  claim  our  most  profound  commiseration. — Ed. 


DOCUMENT. 

Circular  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites  to  the 
Most  Reverend  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Italy. 

Most  Illustrious  and  Most  Rev.  Lord, — 

With  a  view  to  providing  some  effectual  remedy  for  the  serious 
abuses  which  have  crept  into  the  sacred  music  in  various  churches 
throughout  Italy,  Regulations  have  been  drawn  up,  a  copy  of 
which  accompanies  this  present  Circular,  and  which,  through  the 
action  of  the  Society  of  St.  Cecilia,  working  in  unison  with  the 
Ecclesiastical  authorities,  have  already  begun  to  be  carried  into  effect 
in  the  Archdioceses  of  Milan,  Naples,  and  elsewhere.  These 
Regulations  have  received  the  full  approval  of  the  reigning  Sovereign 
Pontiff. 

The  undersigned,  therefore,  in  bringing  them  under  the  notice  of 
your  Illustrious  and  Most  Rev.  Lordship,  begs  that  you  will  take  the 

'  Browne  &  Nolan,  Nassau-street,  Dubh'n. 


810  JJoeumente. 

necessary  steps,  that  in  your  Diocese  also  the  directions  given  in 
these  Regulations  may  be  observed,  as  conducing  to  maintain  the 
dignity  and  sanctity  of  so  important  a  part  of  the  Sacred  Liturgy, 
and  to  keep  it  free  from  inappropriate  and  profane  melodies. 

In  the  firm  hope  that  your  Lordship,  in  your  prudent  and 
pastoral  solicitude,  will  adopt  the  measures  necessary  to  give 
practical  effect  in  the  Diocese  entrusted  to  your  care  to  all  the 
Regulations  thus  set  forth,  I  am  happy  to  subscribe  myself  with 
every  mark  of  esteem  and  veneration  for 

Your  Illustrious  and  Most  Rev.  Lordship, 
Your  most  humble  and  devoted  servant, 

Lorenzo  Salviati, 
Secretary  of  the  S.C.  of  RiU$. 

From  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  S.  C.  of  Rites, 
this  24th  day  of  September,  1884. 


KEGULATIONS  for  S AC5RED  MUSIO  APRPOVED  BY  HiS  HOLINESS 

Pope  Leo  XIIL,  and  Published  by  the  Sacred 
Congregation  of  Rites,  together  with  the  Circular 
.OF  the  24th  of  September,  1884. 

To  THE  Most  Reverend  the  Abchbishops  and  Bishops  of  Italy 

§  L — General  Rules  as  to  the  ^^  figured"  sacred  music — whether 
Vocal  or  Insti^umental—permiited  or  prohibited  in  Church. 

Art.  1. — ^The  only /T^wrerf  music  permitted  in  Church  is  that 
whose  grave  and  pious  strains  are  suited  to  the  House  of  the  Lord 
and  to  the  singing  of  the  Divine  Praises,  and  which,  by  following 
the  meaning  of  the  Sacred  Text,  helps  to  excite  the  faithful  to 
devotion. 

Art.  2. — ^The  "figured  music'*  for  the  organ  must  be  in  keeping 
with  the  legato  (flowing),  harmonious,  and  grave  character  of  this 
instrument.  Instrumental  music  in  general  should  modestly 
support  the  voice  and  not  overpower  it  with  its  loudness ;  and  the 
interludes  on  the  organ  or  other  instruments,  when  original,  should 
always  correspond  with  the  solemn  tone  of  the  Sacred  liturgy. 

Art.  8. — The  language  proper  to  the  Church  being  Latin,  that 
language  only  should  be  employed  in  the  composition  of  figured 
sacred  music.  All  motetts  are  to  be  composed  to  words  taken 
from  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  from  the  Breviary  and  Roman  Missal, 
from  the  Hymns  of  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin,  or  of  some  other  holy 
Doctor,  or  from  other  hynms  and  prayers,  approved  and  used  by 
the  Church. 

Art.  4. — The  vocal  and  instrumental  music  which  is  forb»lden 
by  the  Church  is  that  which  by  its  character,  or  by  the  form  whidi 
it  takes,  tends  to  distract  ihe  faithful  in  the  house  of  prayer. 


Documentt.  81 1 

S  W.—Spteial prohibitions  regarding  Vocal  Muaic  in  Church. 

Art.  6. — All  kinds  of  Tocal  muaic  composed  upon  theatrical 
or  profaoe  theraea  or  reminiBcences  are  atrictly  forbidden  in 
Church  ;  as  well  as  music  of  too  light  or  sensuouB  a  style,  such  as 
Cabalette^  and  C'avatijie,'  Recitatives,  too  long  drawn  out  and  dressed 
np  in  tbeatrical  form,  &c.  ;  solos,  however,  duets,  and  trios,  are 
aUoned  t«  be  sung,  proyided  they  have  the  character  of  Sacred 
music  and  form  part  of  the  consecutive  whole  of  the  composition, 

Art.  6. — All  music  is  forbidden  in  which  the  words  of  the  Sacred 
Text  are  omitted,  even  to  the  smallest  extent,  or  transposed,  cut  up 
into  fragments,  unduly  repeated,  or  so  arranged  as  to  be  intelligible 
only  with  difficulty. 

Art  7. — It  is  forbidden  to  divide  into  altogether  detached 
portions  the  several  phrases  of  the  sacred  text  in  the  Kt/rie,  Gloria, 
Credo,  Saaetus,  &C.,  to  the  injury  of  the  unity  of  the  whole  ;  as 
also  to  omit  or  to  hurry  on  the  chant  of  any  portions  of  the  liturgy, 
such  as^  at  Mass,  the  Besponses  to  the  Celebrant,  the  Introit,  the 
Sequence,  the  Sanctus,  the  Benedictus,  tlie  Agnus  Dei :  and  the 
Psalms,  Antiphons,  Hymns,  or  Magnificat,  in  Vespers.  The 
omission,  however,  of  the  Gradual,  Tract,  Offertory,  and  Com- 
munion, in  special  cases,  as  when,  for  instance,  there  is  a  deficiency 
of  voices,  is  tolerated,  the  omission  being  supplied  by  the  organ. 

Art.  8,— a  disorderly  mixture  of  figured  music  and  plain 
chant  is  forbidden ;  hence  it  is  forbidden  to  make  what  are  called 
"musical  poials"  in  the  Passion,  in  the  singing  of  which  the 
chant  given  in  the  Directorium  Chori  must  be  scrupulously  adhered 
to.  The  sole  exception  is  'with  regard  to  the  Kesponses  of  the 
2^rba  when  set  to  polyphonal  muaic,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Soman  school,  especially  Faleatrina. 

Abt.  9. — All  singingjis  forbidden  which  would  unduly  prolong 
the  DivineOffices,  beyond  the  prescribed  limits  of  noon  for  Mass,  and 
of  the  Angelus  for  Vespers  and  Benediction,  except  in  those  Churches 
where  there  are  privileges  or  tolerated  customs,  in  which  the 
offices  may  extend  beyond  these  limits,  subject  to  the  authority  of 
the  Ordinary. 

Art.  10. — It  is  forbidden  to  make  use  of  over-affected 
inflections  of  the  voice,  to  make  too  much  noise  in  beating  time 
and  giving  orders  to  the  perforraera,  to  turn  one's  back  on  the 
altar,  to  chatter,  or  to  do  anything  else  whatever  which  is  unbe- 
coming in  the  holy  place.     Subject,  then,  to  the  prudent  re?u- 

1  "  Cabaletta  (Sp.)  a  little  horse,  a  melody  in  Rondo  fann, 
Bang  simply,  afterwards  with  variations,  probably  ao  called 
accompanimenta  to  Cabalettm  were  in  triplet  form  like  the  noie 
by  a  horae  cantering."     Stainer  &  Barrett,  IHcttonary  of  Musical 

*  "  CavaHna  (It.)  A  melody  of  a  more  simple  form  than  the 
song  without  a  second  part  and  a  '  Da  Capo.'  The  term  is,  h 
applied  with  leas  strictness  to  airs  of  other  kinds.  See  '  Salve  ( 
of  Gounod's  Fauat."    Ibid. 


812  jDoouments. 

* 

lation  of  the  Ordinary,  it  is  to  be  desired  that  the  choir-loft  should 
not  be  over  the  main  entrance  to  the  Church,  and  that  the  per- 
formers should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  unseen. 

3.  Special  Prohibitions  regarding  Instrumental  Music  in  Church, 

Art.  11.  It  is  strictly  forbidden  to  play  in  Church  any  portion 
even  the  smallest,  or  any  reminiscence,  of  theatrical  works; 
or  of  dance -music  of  any  description,  st^ch  as  polkas,  waltzes, 
mazurkas,  minuets,  rondos,  schottisches,  varsoviennes,  quadrilles, 
galops,  country  dances,  polonaises,  etc. ;  or  of  any  secular  pieces, 
such  as  National  hymns,  popular  songs,  love  songs,  comic  songs^ 
ballads,  &c. 

Art.  12. — Instruments  are  prohibited  which  are  too  noisy, 
such  as  side  and  big-drums,  cymbals,  etc,  the  instruments  used  by 
street  musicians  [such  as  iiuxndolines,  concertinas,  ^'c],  and  also  the 
pianoforte.  Nevertheless,  trumpets,  flutes,  kettle-drums  and  the 
like,  which  were  used  among  the  people  of  Israel  to  accoxnpaay  the 
praises  of  God,  and  the  Canticles  and  Psalms  of  Dawid,  are 
allowed,  on  condition  that  they  be  skilfully  used,  and  only  in 
moderation,  especially  at  the  Tantum  Ergo  at  Benediction. 

Art.  13. — ^The  improvisation  of  **  voluntaries''  on  the  organ 
is  forbidden  to  those  who  cannot  do  it  fittingly,  that  is,  in  a  manner 
which  is  in  accord,  not  only  with  the  rules  of  art,  but  also  with 
those  that  prohibit  whatever  may  interfere  with  the  piety  and 
recollection  of  the  faithfuL 

§  4. — Provisions  against  future  abuses  in  Church  Music, 

Art.  14. — ^In  composition  the  following  rules  are  to  be 
observed : — The  Gloria  must  not  be  divided  into  several  separate 
movements  with  dramatic  solos  thrown  in  between.  The  Credo^ 
too,  should  be  scored  continuously,  and  if  concerted  passages  are 
introduced,  they  should  be  such  as  to  form  one  well-connected 
whole.  Solos  and  duets  after  the  manner  of  theatrical  compositions 
with  very  high  notes  for  the  voice  (not  to  call  them  shrieks),  should 
be  avoided  as  much  as  possible,  for  they  distract  the  devotion  of 
the  faithful.  And  above  all,  cai*e  must  be  taken  that  the  words 
occupy  the  exact  place  in  which  they  stand  in  the  text,  without  any 
transpositions* 

Art,  16. — Every  church  should  be  provided,  as  far  as  possible, 
with  its  own  repertoire  of  music,  both  for  voice  and  organ,  suitable 
to  the  requirements  of  the.  sacred  functions  and  to^  the  capacity  of 
those  who  form  the  choir,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  "  Bepertorio 
Parochiale  delV  Organista^  and  the  "  Hepertorio  Economico  di 
Musica  Sacraj"  published  by  the  Society  of  St.  Cecilia,  in  Milan. 
These  and  other  similar  publications  are  only  suggested,  not 
imposed  as  of  obligation  to  the  exclusion  of  any  others  that  may 
be  arranged  or  published  by  other  editors,  with  the  approval  of  their 
respective  Most  Reverend  Ordinaries,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  present  Regulation. 


Documents,  813 

Art.  16. — ^Every  church  which  desires  to  make  a  suitable 
selection  from  the  several  publications,  good  and  bad,  of  Sacred 
Music  which  are  being  continually  issued  by  various  editors,  should 
procure  a  copy  of  the  '*  Greneral  Catalogue  of  Sacred  Music  "  which 
will  be  published  by  the  aforementioned  Society,  in  conformity 
with  the  statutes  approved  by  the  Holy  See,  or  a  Catalogue  of 
some  other  publisher  obedient  to  the  rule  laid  down.  The 
^'  General  Catalogue,"  then,  as  in  the  case  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  Article,  is  only  suggested,  and  not  imposed  as  of  obli- 
gation. 

Art.  17. — Besides  the  repertory  of  published  Sacred  Musks 
the  use  is  permitted  also  of  manuscript  music,  such  as  is  preserved 
in  various  churches,  chapels,  and  other  ecclesiastical  ^stitutions, 
provided  the  choice  is  made  by  a  special  commission,  under  the 
title  of  St.  Cecilia,  which  shall  be  founded  in  every  Dioce  se,  having 
at  its  head  the  Diocesan  Inspector  of  Sacred  Music,  under  the 
immediate  control  of  the  respective  Ordinaries. 

Art.  18. — ^The  only  pieces  of  music,  published  or  unpublished, 
which  shall  be  allowed  to  be  performed  in  Church  will  be  those 
which  are  catalogued  in  the  Diocesan  Repertory  Index,  and  which 
bear  the  countersign  with  the  stamp  and  visa  of  the  Commission 
of  St.  Cecilia  and  of  its  Inspector  President  who,  in  union  with 
the  Commission,  and  always  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction 
of  the  Ordinary,  without  prejudice  to  the  authority  of  local 
superiors,  may  even  supervise  the  performance  on  the  spot,  and  may 
send  for  to  the  sacristy  any  music  that  has  been  performed,  or  that 
is  to  be  performed,  and  examine  whether  it  complies  with  the  regu- 
lations and  with  the  copies  authenticated  by  the  countersign, 
stamp,  and  visa.  He  may  also  report  to  the  Ordinary,  and  obtain, 
if  necessary,  the  application  of  energetic  measures  against  those 
who  transgress. 

Art.  19. — Organists  and  choir  masters  will  devote  all 
their  efforts  and  their  talents  to  the  best  possible  execu- 
tion of  the  music  catalogued  in  their  respective  Repertories. 
They  may  also  employ  their  musical  skill  in  enriching  it  with  new 
compositions,  provided  always  that  these  are  in  conformity  with 
the  aforesaid  regulations  from  which  no  one  can  be  dispensed. 
Even  the  Members  of  the  Commission  shall  be  subject  to  the 
revision  of  their  works  by  their  fellow-members. 

Art.  20.— To  all  Parish  Priests  and  Rectors  of  Churches  is 
entrusted  the  execution  of  the  catalogued  Repertory  of  Sacred  Music, 
compiled  by  the  Commission  of  St.  Cecilia,  and  approved  by  the 
Most  Reverend  Ordinary,  also  under  a  penalty  to  be  imposed  by  the 
Ordinary  in  case  of  transgression.  This  list  may  from  time  to 
time  be  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  new  musical  works. 

Art.  21. — The  above-named  Commissions  shall  be  formed  of 
ecclesiastics*  and  also  of   laymen  skilled  in  musical  science  and 
animated  by  a  true  Catholic  spirit.     The  Diocesan  Inspector  must 
VOL.  V.  3  O 


814  Notices  of  Books. 

in  every  case  be  an  ecclesiastic.  The  nomination  and  appointment 
of  each  and  all  appertains  by  rigl^t  to  the  Ordinary. 

Abt.  2^2. — To  prepare  a  better  future  for  sacred  nrasic  in  Italy, 
it  is  desirable  that  the  Ordinaries  should  take  steps  to  found  8cbo<^ 
for  teaching  figured  music  on  the  most  perfect  and  best  authorised 
methods,  or  to  improve  those  already  existing  in  the  ecclesiastical 
instituticHis  of  their  respective  dioceses,  especially  in  the  seminaries. 
To  this  end  it  would  be  advisable  idso  to  cmen  special  schools 
for  Sacred  Music  in  the  principal  cen^^s  of  the  Peninsula,  in 
order  to  train  up  good  singers,  organists,  and  choir  masters,  as  has 
already  been  so  laudably  done  in  Milan. 

Art.  23. — These  Regulations  are  to  be  forwarded  to  all  tkb 
Most  Reverend  Bishops,  who  will  communicate  them  to  the 
clergy,  organists,  and  choir  masters  of  their  respective  dioceses, 
and  they  shall  be  in  iorce  in  one  r/wnth  after  such  communication 
by  the  Ordinary.  These  regulations,  moreover,  shall  be  affixed 
to  a  board  in  the  church  placed  near  the  organist's  seat,  so  that 
they  may  not  on  any  excuse  be  transgressed. 


a^33 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Compendium  Theologiae  Moralis^  cfc,  A.  P.  AlotSIO  Sabetti,  S.-Jt 
in  Collegio  SS.  Cordis  ad  Woodstock  Theol.  Moral  ProlcBSore. 
Neo.  Eboraci,  Cincinnati,  S.  Ludovici ;  apud  Beaager 
Fratres. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  a  certain  Professor  of  Mond  Theolo^ 
in  Ireland,  who  intended  printing  short  notes  to  serve  as  additions 
to  Gury.  He  spoke  of  his  design  to  a  very  practical  and  prudent 
P. P.,  who  agreed  that  something  was  very  much  nee^bd,  bat 
startled  the  professor  by  adding:  *'what  we  want  is  a  good 
Compendium  of  Gury."     That  priest  has  his  wish  at  last. 

Fr.  Sabetti  tells  in  his  preface  what  his  book  is  intended  lor. 
He  has  long  admired  the  many  good  points  in  Fr.  Gury's  work, 
especially  since  Fr.  Ballerini  took  it  in  hands.  Fr.  Sabetti, 
nevertheless  thinks  that  things  have  got  somewhat  mixed  in  ti»  lalis 
editions;  and  many  will  agree  with  him  in  this.  Beades,  in 
Gury*s  text  there  are  many  references  to  peculiar  French  and 
German  customs,  whilst  nmny  things  of  practical  importanoe  to 
English-speaking  peoples  are  not  touched  on.  Fr.  Sabetti  purpoaM 
to  condense  all  the  notes  and  embody  them  in  the  text,  to  omit  all 
passages  which  treat  of  customs  peculiarly  fweign,  ifid  to  sobrti- 
tute  from  the  best  sources  practical  directions  for  sucti  qoestioiis 
as  specially  concern  residents  in  the  United  States,  l^e  reffoH  is 
a  volume  of  956  pages,  beautifully  printed,  somewhat  after  the 
style  of  Fr.  Mazzella^s  Tract  on  Grace. 

As  to  Fr.  Sabetti^s  opinions,  it  will  be  fairest  to  let  him  epiak 
for  himself  as  far  as  possible.  His  defence  of  Probabilism  goes  on 
the  same  lines  as  Gury's,  the  thesis  being :  "  licet  sequi  opinJancam 


Notices  of  Boob.  815 

vere  et  solide  probabilem,  relicta  tntiore  quae  sit  simtil  probabilior 
obi  de  solo  licito  vel  ilHcito  agitur."  (p.  88).  A  little  further  on 
he  asks:  **Si  dubites  utram  alicui  obligationi  jam  satisfecerid, 
tenensne  adhuc  satisf acere  ?"  He  replies  in  the  affirmative,  of 
com^e,  if  the  doubt  be  positive ;  but  in  case  of  negative  doubts 
*'  controvertitur."  He  is  evidently  in  sympathy  with  those  who 
hold  the  more  liberal  opinion,  for  he  sums  up  :  **  NegM^  non  potest 
banc  sententiam  [negantem]  quam  Card,  de  Lugo  eommunem  vocat 
gaudere  magna  probabilitate  extrinseca.  Aliunde  rationes,  quibus 
innititur  efl&caces.mint  atque  illam  vere  probabilera  efficiunt" 
(p.  50).  He  makes  no  exception,  but  seems  to  think  the  n^ative 
opinion  sufficiently  probable  to  act  on  in  every  case. 

On  the  question  of  craniotomy  he  is  very  definite  (p.  216) : 
"  Hujusmodi  operatio  est  verum  homicidium  et  proinde  semper  et 
intrinsece  malum."  So  also  with  regard  to  the  ejectio  foetus 
immaiuH ;  ''  dicendum  est  talem  accelerationem  vix,  aut  ne  nix 
quidem  a  craniotomia  differre,  ideoque  omnino  esse  damnandam." 

There  is  this  question  about  wills  (p.  864) :  "  An  valida  sint 
testamenta  sive  ad  oausas  profanas  sive  ad  causas  pias,  si  formis 
legalibus  careant  ?  Resp.  Si  de  causis  profams  agatur,  acriter 
eontrovertitur,  et  triplex  habetur  sententia  probabilis.  .  .  Verum 
si  sermo  sit  de  testamentis  in  favorem  causarum  piarum,  sententia 
certa,  communissima,  et  omnino  tenenda  docet  hujusmodi  testa- 
menta esse  validia." 

As  to  the  source  of  a  confessor's  jurisdiction  over  pertgrim^ 
Fr.  Sabetti  holds  St.  Alphonsus^  opinion  to  be  "communior  et 
longe  probabilior."  He  gives  the  two  methods  of  treating 
occasionarii  et  recidivi^  but  appears  to  be  rather  against  Father 
Ballerini.  These  points  will  tell  something  of  the  author's  mind. 
The  book  is  very  useful  as  another  testimony  to  American  customs ; 
we  are  very  much  pleased  to  see  in  the  treatise  on  justice  and 
contracts  so  many  references  to  standard  works  on  American  law, 

W.  MoD. 

Notes  on  IngersolL  By  Rev.  A. Lambert.  London  :  Hodges  &  Soic. 

This  book,  whose  contents  appeared  as  a  series  of  articles  in  an 

.  American  journal,  is  intended  as  an  answer  to  the  objections  raised 

by  Colonel  IngersoU  against  the  divinity  of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  objections  are  rather  varied  and  numerous,  and,  although 
they  belong  to  that  stereotyped  class,  with  which  every  student  of 
theology  is  so  familiar,  still  they  are  ''  varnished,  and  re-vamped 
into  modem  parlance.**  The  Colonel  commences  by  denying  the 
existence  of  God,  though,  in  his  lecture  on  ^^  Skulls,"  he  con^sses 
that  he  is  at  a  loss  to  know  '^  whether  God  exists  or  not.'*  He 
then  endeavours  to  show  the  contradictory  character  of  Sacred 
Scripture,  and  to  throw  discredit  on  almost  every  institution  of  the 
Jewish  and  of  the  Christian  religion,  ios  the  purpose,  no  doubt^  of 
showing  that  they,  at  least,  can  have  no  claun  to  Divine  origin. 

In  the  little  volume  that  lies  before  ns,  we  have  his  different 
statements    analysed  and  shown    to    be,  what  himself    stylf 


816  Notice9  of  Books. 

^  sptirioas  coins  ;**  we  have  his  arguments  met,  one  hj  one,  witb  a 
force  and  conclusiveness  such  as  we  have  rarely  seen,  and  we  huve-  it 
clearly  brought  home  to  the  American  Coryphaeus  of  infidehty  that 
he  is  quite  ignorant,  not  only  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  reasoning,  but 
also  of  the  meaning  of  the  most  common  words  in  our  language. 

We  should  advise  anyone,  who  wishes  to  see  the  views  of  a 
modem  infidel,  as  stated  in  his  own  words,  briefly  but  at  the 
same  time  clearly  and  satisfactorily  refuted,  to  read  the  Notes  un 
IngersolL  T.  G. 

Life  of  St.  Clare  of  Montefalco,  Translated,  from  the  Italian. 
By  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Locke,  O.S.A.  New  York :  Benziger 
Brothers. 

The  Life  of  St.  Clare  of  Montefalco  is  remarkable  even  amon£r 
the  lives  of  the  saints.     She  died^more  than  500  years  ago,  in  the 
year  1308,  and  so  clearly  and  in  so  many  ways  was  her  extraordinary 
sanctity  manifested  during  lifetime,  that  within  eighteen  years  after 
her  death,  the  entire  process  of  her  canonization  was  completed, 
and  nothing  remained  to  be  done  but  for  the  Pope  to  issue  his 
authoritative  decree  enrolling  her  in  the  catalogue  of  the  saints. 
This  the  Holy  Father   was  prepared  to  do,  but  circumstances 
wholly  foreign  to  the  cause  of  Clare,  whose  heroic  sanctity  had 
been  satisfactorily  proved,  occurred  to  prevent  it.     Not  for  400 
years  after  this  interruption  was  a  serious  attempt  made  to  resume 
the  cause  of  her  canonization.  Li  1742  the  process  had  again  advanced 
almost  to  completion,  and  again  it  was  interrupted  for  more  than 
another  100  years.     In  the  inscrutable  ways  of  Providence  the 
glory  of  declaring  Clare  to  be  one  of  the  Saints  of  Grod*s  Church 
was  reserved  for  our  days-     She  was  canonized  on  the  11th  of 
September,  1881,  on  the  Feast  of  the  holy  name  of  Mary,  by  our 
present  Holy  Father,  Leo  XUI. 

St.   Clare  was  a  professed  nun  of  the  Order  of  Hermits  of 
St.  Augustine.     She  was  a  highly  favoured  soul  even  among  the 
Saints.      The   perfection   of  her  humility,   obedience,   spirit  of 
penance  and  prayer,  would  be  calculated  almost  to  dishearten 
ordinary  good  Religious,  if  Clare  was  less  than  a  canonized  Saint. 
Li  her  life-time  she  wrought  many  miracles,  received  the  gifts  of 
prophecy  and  infused  knowledge,  and  was  honoured  in  an  extra- 
ordinary way  by  our  Blessed  Lord  in  recognition  of  her  special 
devotion  to  His  Passion.     She  used  to  say  frequently  and  in  a  sort 
of  mysterious  way  to  her  religious  sisters,  that  she  carried  her 
crucified  Saviour  about  with  her ;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was 
discovered  after  her  death  that  a  representation  of  the  Crucifixion 
with  all  the  emblems  of  the  Passion  was  impressed  in  the  interior 
of  her  heai't.     Her  whole  life  is  highly  interesting  and  instructive, 
and  few  can  doubt  that  God  has  kept  back  the  canonization  of 
St.  Clare  for  these  our  times,  in  order  that,  as  the  decree  of  the 
Canonization  says,  through  her  example  and  prayers  the  love  of 
the  Cross  and  a  zeal  for  it  might  be  rem^  in  the  hearts  and 
habits  and  daily  life  of  Christians.         /^^^^  ^^* 


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