THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
31 Jttnntljl Hatmtal,
UNDER EPISCOPAL SANCTION.
THIRD SERIES.
VOLUME VI L 1886
Ut Christian! ita et Romani sitis."
As you are children of Christ, so be you children of Rome."
Ex Dictis S. Patricii, Boole of Armagh, f ol. 9.
DUBLIN :
BROWNE & NOLAN, NASSAU-STREET.
1886.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Nihil Obstat.
GlRALDUS MOLLOY, S.T.D.,
CENSOR DEP.
Jmprimate.
GULIELMUS,
Archiep. Dublin., Hiberniae Pritnas.
JROWNK & NOLAN, STEAM PRINTERS, DUBLIN.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I'AGB
A Catholic Utopia ...... 742
A Manuscript Diary for 1762 . . . . . 69&
Absam, Our Lady of . . . . . . 1072
Alcala, The University of ..... 245
Among the Graves Clonmel ..... 529
Angueli, Liber . ... . . . . 845
Armagh, The Book of, and " its Irish Puzzles " . . . 325
Arran, The " Seven Romans " of ..... 727
Belgium, The Irish in . 350, 437, 641, 732, 1100
Book of Armagh and " its Irish Puzzles "... 325
Can a Priest say Mass privately for a deceased Protestant ? . 36
Canons Regular, The Origin of . . . . 545
Canons and Chapters ...... 193
Duties and Rights of ..... 673
Chapters ; How composed ..... 397
Christmas Lesson, The First . . . . . 44
CHURCH ABROAD, THE Monthly Notes. . 1033,1113
Clonmel ........ 529
Communion, Frequent . . . .16, 124, 229, 417, 520
Concursus for Vacant Parishes ..... 865
Conditions for gaming the present Jubilee . . . 263
Conferences, Roman . . . , . 916
CORRESPONDENCE :
Armagh, The Book of . . . . 456
Columbanus (St.) Relics of . . . . . 945
Denmark, Catholic Relics in / 657
Guardianship of Children and Recent Infants' Act . 1037
Livinus, St. ...... 457
Ordo, The Latin ...... 273
Pledge, Form of Total Abstinence . . . 944
Rosmini, Works of, before the Holy See . . C40, 1120
Council of Trent, Sketch of the History of . . 1057
Cummain (St.) The Tall ..... 1
Denmark, Catholic Relics in .... 537
Diary for 1762 . . . . ... 698
Dilatancy ....... 408
Dispensation of Grace I. The Unwritten Law . . 961
II. The Mosaic Law 1077
iv Contents.
PAGE
DOCUMENTS :
Absolution of cases reserved to the HoJy See . . 1125
Altar-stone, Material of a portable .... 1129
Baptism of a Child of Protestant Parents . . . 1127
Bemdictio in Articulo Mortis, Important Decree relating to
giving of ...... 567
Bismarck (Prince), Letter of Ploly Father to . . 568
Reply of .... 569
Brief in which Pope Leo XIII. proclaims St. John of God
and St. Camillas de Lellis Patrons of Hospitals . 752
Bull of the Holy Father arranging the Hierarchy of India . 1040
Congregation of Kites, Recent Decrees of . . 375
Various Decrees of . 1126, 1130
Cremation, Important Decree declaring the unlawfulness of 753
Denominational Schools, Letter of Leo XIII. to Bishops
of England on . . . . . . 181
De.votions for October, Decree of S.C.R. regarding . 948
(1885) ,, . 950
Dispensation, The Vicar- Capitular and the execution of a . 1128
Encyclical of Leo XIII. on the Constitution and Principles of
Civil Government ..... 72
Encyclical of Leo XIII. proclaiming the Jubilee . . 175
Pontijiccs Maxhni, Extract from . . 273
Francis (St.), The Third Order of . . . . 458
Heroic Act of Charity . . . . . 461
Hofbauer (Rev. Clement M.), Decree on the the Beatification
and Canonization of " . . . . . 374
Indult granted to the Bishop of Achonry regarding the
Consecration of Altars . . . . . 91
Indult Ad Decennium, Renewal of. for Ireland . . 1052
Indults asked for by Monsignor Mermiilod. . . 654
Instruction of the Holy Office regarding those who bring
Ecclesiastics before Secular Tribunals . . . 755
Jubilee, Fast for the ...... 563
Jubilee, Decisions of S.P. regarding . 281, 562, 1050, 1051
Literature in the Roman College, Apostolic Letter of the
Pope on the Study of ..... 856
Marriages, Decree of Sacred Congregation regarding Non-
Catholic; and Mixed ..... 564
Matrimonial Dispensations ..... 460
JMaynooth College, Indulgences granted to . . 656
New Prayers to be said after Low Mass . . . 1050
Privileged Altar, Indulgence of .... 754
Protestant Funeral, a Priest not allowed to attend a . 1127
Resolutions of the Irish Bishops on the Education and
Home Rule Questions ..... 1054
Contents. v
PAGE
DOCUMENTS continued.
Society of Jesus, Papal Brief to . . . 945
Sulpicians, Letter of the Pope to the Superior of . . 947
Suspensio ex Informata Conscientia, Instruction on . 371
Thomistic Theology, Brief of the {Pope to Monsignor Satolli
commending the Study of .... 756
Weekly Confession for gaining an Indulgence occurring during
the week . . . '. . . 655
Duties and Eights of Canons . . . . G73
Eternal Punishment ..... 97, 301, 481
Eucharist, The Blessed and " First Grace" , . . 777
" First Grace/' The Blessed Eucharist and . . . 777
" Forma Corporis Humani," The Council of Vienne and . 988
Frequent Communion . . . . 1, 124, 229, 417, 520
Future Punishment . . . . . 'f ,' ,' 481
Galileo . . . . . ,;iv ; . 808
German Universities . . . >; . 496, G17, G85
Grace, Dispensations of I. The Unwritten Law . ,_,... . 961
II. The Mosaic Law . -. . 1077
Greek Mythology Prometheus Vinctus . . . 339
Greek Philosophy Plato's Phaedo and Timaeus . . . 577
Holy Places of Ireland Mellifont .. . : .' . 802
Invalid Marriages, On Re validation of . . . 1008
Invocation of Saints in the Early Irish Church . . 1090
Ireland, Pre- Reformation Churches in . . . . 912
Ireland, Holy Places of Mellifont .-, . . . 802
Irish in Belgium, The . ,/ .... .350.437,641,732,1100
Irish Romanesque '. . . . . -< . /*';> 115
Irish Theologians IX. St. Cummain the Tall . . . ,. 1
Krakatao . . . . ( . . . ~ .. ,:,;/ 132
Liber Angueli . . ' . ; . . s > . c V 845
Livinus (St.) Bishop and Martyr .' ..; .: -v 289
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS :
Anointing the Renes of Men . . . . 173
Baptism, English or Latin Interrogations in adminis-
tration of . . . . . . . 750
Benedictio Loci before Mass in a Private House , . 172
Calendar and Ordo Divini Officii for January, 1887 . 934
February, 1887 . 1029
March and April, 1887. 1109
Candles at Low Mass, Number of . . . 69
Concede, When prescribed by Ordo ; what Oro.tio is meant . 69
Cross of the Sacristy, What Reverence is to be made to 68
Jubilee Fast 560,938
Heroic Act, Privileged Altar and the . . 562
Host and Chalice on The Altar Stone 174
-yi Contents.
T'AGK
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS continued
Lunette, Glass . . . . . .173
Nuns Serving at Benediction . . . .170
Nuns in Hospitals giving the Responses to the Celebrant
Administering Sacraments . . . 560
October Devotions, when and how performed . . 937
Ordo, Certain Directions in : are they correct ? . . 71
Privileged Altar and Heroic Act . . . 562
Pyxis, How to Keep, at a Station . . .561
Requiem Mass on Sunday .... 561
,, within Octave of all Saints . . 174
Louvain, The University of . ... 350
., Graduates of . . . . . . 437
Doctors and Professors at . . . .641
Manchan (St.) His Churon and Shrine . . . .203
Martin, Francis (S.T.D.; ...... 1100
Mass for a Deceased Protestant .... 36
Marriages, On Revalidation of Invalid .... 1008
Mellifout . . , . 802
Moyture of the Fomorians ...... 1097
Mythology, Greek . .... *.>39
Neri, St. Philip . . 823
NOTICES OF BOOKS
A Troubled Heart and how it was Comforted at last . 192
Addresses by the Most Rev. Dr. Walsh, Archbishop of Dublin 1133
Alleged Bull of Pope Adrian IV., The . . .764
Annales de Philosophic Chretienne . . . . 480
Augustine (St.) Bishop and Doctor . . . 957
Authority and Obedience .... 286
A ve Maria Magazine .... 467, 768
Birthday Book of our Dead, The . . 466
Catechism of the Christian Religion .... 186
Catholic Truth Society's Publications . . 465, 10r5
Catholic Controversial Letters .... 190
Catholic Soldier's Guide . . . . . 576
Chair of Peter, The . . . . . .187
Chemistry, A Manual for Beginners . . . 480
Christian's Guide to Heaven, The . . . 956
Christian Childhood . . . . 288
Christian Patience ...... 1140
Collections : Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin . . 92
Commentarius in-Librum Job .... 661
Commentarius in Prophetas minor^s .... 859
Cursus Scripturae Sacrae et critica Introductio in U. T.
libros Sancto^ ... 663
Cursus Sciipturae Sr.crae ..... 658
Contents. vii
PA^K
NOTICES OF BOOKS continued.
De Imitatione Christ! ..... 766
Decreta quatuor Conciliarum Provincialium Westmonas-
teriensium (1852-1873) . . . 573
Defender of the Faith, The : the Koyal Title . . 286
Discourses on the Divinity of Jesus Christ . . . 669
Dominican Manual, The . . . . . 574
Dupanloup (Mgr.) on Liberal Education . . . 760
Echoes from the Pines .... 761
Elements d'Archeologie Chretienne . , . 757
English Catholic Non- Jurors of 1715 . . . 672
Essay son Ireland . . . . . 1142
Examination of Conscience for the use of Priests who are
making a Retreat . . . . .479
Exiled from Erin . . , . . .96
Following of Christ, The . . . .768
Funeral Oration on Cardinal M'Closkey . . +. 286
Graces of Mary, The . . . . . , 576
Handbook of Greek Composition .... 183
Handicraft for Handy People . . -. , . 479
History of Interpretation of Scripture . . . 863
History of the Catholic Church . . . 7 v 463
Historical Introduction to the Study of New Testament , ., 663
Historical Notes on Adare . w -&' ^& f - ^^
How to write a Composition . !;' * m.- v 475
Imitation of Christ in Irish . . _> j. '"#'' 11^9
Impedimentum Matrimonii, Synopsis seu brevis Expositio 284, 1144
Institutiones Morales Alphonsianae R \^~ . . 282
Irish Tonic Sol-fa-ist, The . . . . 191
1794 : A Tale of the Terror . . .767
Joy and Laughter . . . . . 478
Joseph's (St.) Advocate ' '.. it .. . . 765
Keys of the Kingdom ,.,.* . . .. . 371
King Alfred : a Historical Drama . . . . 475
Lake-Dwellings of Ireland, The . . . .379
Lenten Sermons . . . . .762
Lepers of Molokai, The . . . . . 469
Life of Margaret Clitherow, The . . . 758
Life of St. Thomas Becket, The .... 189
Life of St. Norbert, The . . . . . 473
Life of Ven. Joseph Marchand, The . 473
Life of St. Patrick, The . . . . 382
Life of Mary Ward, The . \ . 184
Life of the Ven. Mary Crescentia Hoss . . . 1143
Little Month of May, The . ... 474
St. Joseph .... 474
viii Contents.
PAGE
NOTICES OF BOOKS continued
Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of
St. Francis . . ... 382
Luther's own Statements concerning his own teaching
and its results ..... 469
Mad Penitent of Todi, The . 469
Manual of the Seven Dolours . . . 474
Mary in the Gospels ..... 288
May Chaplet, A . .466
Meditations for every day in the year collected from
different Spiritual Writers . 766
M onth of the Sacred Heart . . . 478
Nature and Thought . . . . .762
NosEglises " . . 1143
O'Connell Press Popular Library, The . . 575, 767
Odile : a Tale of the Commune . . , . 478
On Dr. Maguire's Pamphlet .... 284
Our own Will and how to detect it in our actions , 472
Patrick (St.) Apostle of Ireland . . . 380
Pax Vobis ....... 570
Platelii (Jacobi) Synopsis Cursus Theolog. . . . 1137
Poet in May, TKe . ... 192
Protestant Missions in Southern India . . . 285
Practical Instruction for New Confessors ... 95
Praelectioms juris canonici quas tradebat in scholia
Seminarii Romani F. Santi . . . ' 657
Raccolta, The ..... 478
Records relating to Ardagh and Clonmacnoise . . 952
Robinson Crusoe ..... 671
Rule of our most Holy Father St. Benedict . e 762
Sancti Anselmi Mariale . . . . . 960
Sermons from the Flemish . . . . 759
Short Account of the Shrine of Genazzano, A . . 670
Snow White ...... 285
Sodality Manual, The . , . . . 670
Studies of Family Life .... 764
Treasure of the Abbey, The . . . . 471
Two Celebrated Sanctuaries of the Madonna in Italy . 469
Vagrant Verses . . . . 192
Valiant Woman, The . . . . 1056
Verses on Doctrinal and Devotional Subjects . . 575
Waifs of a Christmas Morning and other Tales . . 476
War with Antichrist, The ..... 467
Westminster Synods in English, The . . . 57
What is the Holy Cincture ? .... 671
What the Church has done for Science . . . 469
Words Spoken at the Month's Mind of Cardinal M'Closkev 191
Contents. ix
PAGE
Our Lady of Absam ...... 1072
Passion Play at Thiersee, Notes on the . . . 213
Pasteur, Louis ...... 23
Patrick (St.), Was he a Hymnographer ? . . 707
New Lights on . . . . 511
Penance, On The Telephone in relation to the Sacrament of . 54
Plato Phaedo and Timaeus . . . . 577
Prayer, The Philosophy of . . 632
Pre- Reformation Churches in Ireland .... 912
" Prometheus Vinctus "... . 339-
Punishment, Eternal. . . . . . 97,301,481
Purgatory . . . . . . . 481
Reformation in Scotland, The How account for it ? . . 385
Religious Examination of Schools, The . . . , 1014
Requiem Office and Mass Directions for Chanting . . 257
Resolutions of the Irish Bishops at their Meeting at Maynootb . 1054
Re validation of In valid" Marriages, On the . . . 1008
Romans of Arran, The Seven ..... 727
Rome in Ruins ....... 78&
Roman Conferences . . . . . . 916
Saints, invocation of, in the Early Irish Church . . . 1090
Sarsfield '. - . . . . . . 836, 874, 969
Saving our Youth when they leave School, On the best means of 14
Scientific Notices . . / .. / 408
Schools, The Religious Examination of .. . :. " vv 1014
Scotland, Reformation in How account for it ?. . ,'; ..I > v : - 385-
Septuagint, The . . .- . '..? . 890,999'
Shinnick, John, Rector Magnificus at Louvain . !;;.*' 1! ..' 732
Telephone in relation to the Sacrament of Penance, On the ' ;= i 54
Temperance Question, The . . . . 319,427
Thiersee, Notes on the Passion Play at . . , . 213
Theologians, Irish IX. St. Cummain the Tall . .-. ' - ; 1
Theological Studies by Correspondence . . . . 769
Trent, Sketch of the History of the Council of . . 1057
Tyrol ........ 742-
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS :
Administrators, the jurisdiction of . . . . 1107
Are Converts who have been conditionally Baptized on
entering the Church to mention sins committed after this
Baptism . . . . . . . 554
Baptism in LJtero ...... 359
Baptism, Conditional , 648
Blessed Lady, Certain Titles of Our . . . 928
Confession, Sacramental . . . . 169
Dispensations, How to ask for .... 556
Dispensation, How consent should be renewed after . 449-
x Contents.
PAGE
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS continued.
Dues, Divisible . 362
Fasting Days, regarding hour for dinner on . . 450
Fifth Precept of the Church, The . .160
Honorarium A case of doubt .... 272
Honoraria Can a Priest take three for the three Masses
on Christmas Day ..... 360
" Ignorantia Reservaticnis "on . . . . 165
Injustice in selling . . ... 854
Jurisdiction to hear Confession in a neighbouring parish of
a different diocese. ..... 368
Mass for a deceased Priest, Diocesan regulations in
reference to ...... 65, 269
Masses, Celebration of two in a strange diocese on same day 67
Masses to be said in united parishes . ' . . 169
Materia required for Absolution . . . 651
Matter for Confession . 447
Marriages, Mixed . . . . . 1023
Money given to say a Prayer . . . . 166
Peter and Paul (SS.\ A difficulty on the feast of . . 854
Presence of a Parish Priest in his own parish on Sundays,
Synod of Maynooth on . . . . 748
Reserved Cases, Jurisdiction for " Sede Vacante " . . 650
Servile Works on Sundays . . . . . 164
Secret Societies, Obligations of denouncing Heads of 167
Utopia, A Catholic . . . . . 742
Vacant Parishes, The Concursus for . . . 865
Vesting of the Priest, The ..... 445
Vienne, The Council of and " Forma Corporis Human!" . 988
Youth, On the best means of saving, when they leave School . 154
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THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
JULY, 1886.
GREEK PHILOSOPHY. PLATO'S "PHAEDO" AND
TIMAEUS."
TO assert that the ancient Greeks are the intellectual
aristocracy of the whole human race since the world began,
may appear an unwarrantable hyperbole to those who have
given little thought to the matter, but to the careful student
of history the statement conveys nothing novel or exaggerated.
Their incomparable works 011 philosophy and ethics, are the
great storehouses from which succeeding ages have been
constantly drawing, and which, as was stated in a previous
paper on a kindred subject, 1 contributed invaluable aid
towards the scientific exposition of certain Christian tenets ;
their language and ideas have been, to some extent, engrafted
and impressed on the literature and mind of every civilized
country ; in poetry and oratory, the best extant models are
Grecian. But the most signal tribute paid by posterity to
the towering genius of the Greeks, and, at the same time,
the most unequivocal acknowledgment of their intellectual
supremacy, is to be found in the revival of the arts, especially
architecture, and of literature in the beginning of the
sixteenth century. The study of Greek books, and the
contemplation of the great works of Grecian art, which had
survived the ravages of time, had been gradually awakening
in men's minds for over three centuries a desire and, unless
where controlled and purified by the influence of religion,
1 Prometheus Vinctus, I. E. RECORD, p. 339, present volume.
VOL. VII. 2
578 Greek Philosophy :
an unhealthy desire to emulate the grace and perfection of
the Periclean Greeks. This feeling became every day more
wide-spread and intensified, chiefly in Italy, but also, to a
more limited extent, in France and other countries, until
Itaving acquired a powerful impulse from the celebrated
Greek scholars, who were obliged to seek a home among the
Italians after the Turkish occupation of Constantinople in
1453, it received its ultimate development in the so-called
Renaissance.
But did not the Greece that won this proud pre-eminence
and undying fame, " the queen of letters and nurse of the
arts," suffer, on the plains of Chaeronea in 338 B.C., not
indeed total extinction,for Demosthenes and Aristotle survived,
but incurable injuries, which caused her to languish for a
time, and then , to sink down into mouldering decay ? By
that disastrous battle, her liberties were fettered, the patriotic
aspirations of her sons crushed irrecoverably, their brilliant
genius condemned to the obscurity of political servitude, and
her accomplished scholars and renowned artists subjected to
the withering influence of enforced dependence. Genius
flourishes only on a free soil, and a people's intellectual
greatness cannot long outlive its nationality. It would,
therefore, seem that though the Greeks are the acknowledged
authors of intellectual civilization in the natural order, they
were struck down in their spiritual barrenness, and could
have had no share in the more exalted mission of preparing
men's minds for the acceptance of the supernatural truths of
the New Law and the self-denying discipline of the Christian
code. History, however, points to a different conclusion.
What was to Greece an irretrievable loss, was to the rest of
the world a rich source of gain ; and with truth might she
have prophesied of herself " non omnis moriar." Her noble
and graceful language was not doomed to such an ignominious
end : it was preserved in the inscrutable designs of God, to
fulfil a more exalted destiny than pagan Greece, however
advanced in human culture, could assign it. Her far-famed
learning, too, had been laying for itself the solid foundations
of a prolonged existence and widely-extended power, by
captivating and hellenizing her future conquerors. In the
Plato s " Phaedo " and " Timaeus." 579
palmy days of the Attic schools, for close on two centuries
preceding the melancholy event of 338 B.C., the main and
practical element of education was not the soul-stirring epics
and lofty tragedy, though these too, exercised an abiding and
ennobling influence, but her sublime and deep philosophy,
some few important tenets of which we shall further on examine
in detail, illustrating its value as a pioneer of the Gospel. Its
scope is well defined by Cicero 1 : " Haec nos primum ad
illorum (deorum) cultum, deinde ad jus hominum quod situm
est in generis humani societate, turn ad modestiam magni-
tudinemque animi erudivit, eademque ab animo tanquam ab
oculis caliginem depulit, ut omnia supera, infera, prima. ultima,
media, videremus." Philip of Macedon, the victor of Chaeronea,
was himself a generous patron and a profound student of
Greek literature ; while his son, Alexander the Great, " the
greatest conqueror of the material world, received the instruc-
tions of him who has exercised the most extensive empire
over the human intellect," Plato's illustrious pupil, Aristotle.
Alexander's brilliant career of conquest in the east, opened up
barbarous and unexplored tracts of country, and spread the
light of Grecian civilization over the darkest regions of
ignorance and savagery, from the Caspian Sea to the Indian
Ocean and from the Punjab to the Soudan. Literary
adventurers and highly educated commercial speculators
followed in his train, many of whom settled down wherever
they saw a fair prospect of pursuing their respective avoca-
tions with security and profit. In this way, not merely were
the teachings of philosophy widely diffused, but channels of
communication were established between Greece and the
eastern barbarians, which wars, revolutions, and the over-
throw of dynasties, could but partially stop up, and which
materially facilitated the propagation of the Gospel, nearly
four centuries after, in these same benighted countries. 2
Plato is accorded by the unanimous verdict of the early
Fathers and of all scholars, ancient and modern, the foremost
place among heathen philosophers, for his sublime and
1 Tuscul. Quaest. I. 2tf.
2 See Gladstone. Place of Ancient Greece in ihz Providential Order.
note xvi.
580 Greek Philosophy :
fascinating' treatment of the highest questions of natural
religion and ethics, as far as the unaided light of human
reason could effect. Two things in particular combined to
secure for him an unfading popularity for the past two
thousand years, and unrivalled success in his own day.
His transcendent genius and his refined accomplishments
have, in the first place, given to his writings a richness of
expression and a fertility of illustration, far above the dull,
stereotyped diction and unpicturesque style of many of his
contemporary as well as of subsequent philosophers. It has
been often commented on as a strange contradiction that,
thoughpoetsare altogether excludedfromhis " Ideal Republic,"
the elevated grandeur of poetic feeling and imagery is one of
his own best and most strongly marked characteristics. The
second advantage he enjoyed was, that the opening of his
active life of teaching and writing exactly synchronised with
the strange reaction in public opinion at Athens, in favour of
the study of philosophy, brought about mainly by the unjust
death of his great master Socrates, in 399 B.C.
Classical antiquarians and fc learned modern philosophers
have supplied us with volumes of the most elaborate
disquisitions and contradictory theories on the unpractical
question of the " Platonic Ideaa " a problem as far from
being solved to-day as it was in the time of St. Augustine.
Some eminent writers maintain that Plato held Ideas to be
distinct entities and real existences, independent of the human
mind abstraction and generalization being mere auxiliaries
for conducting us to an apprehension of them and even of
the Divine Intelligence, having served as eternal patterns and
exemplars, according to which the Creator moulded the
universe and framed its laws ; while other very acute critics
interpret his language in quite a different and .rational sense.
If it be a less ambitious, it may also be a less profitless task,,
to endeavour to present a fair conspectus of the more
practical and unassailable teachings of Plato. Every school-
boy nowadays is aware that many of his doctrines were
untenable and absurd in the extreme degree ; for instance,
the star-soul system, and the doctrine of the pre-existence of
souls, on which the former is based errors subsequently
Plato s " Phaedo " rwd "Timawu".
unearthed and propagated by Philo 1 and the Neo-Platonists
the third and fourth centuries also, the extravagant theory
that the universe is an animal having body and soul, &c. But
after all these dreams have been cleared away, there remains
enough of sound, sober wisdom, clear judgment, and lofty
thought, to entitle him to be regarded as the uninspired
" Moses of Paganism."
(1). The Immortality of the Human Soul is of all true
doctrines the most closely associated, in classical literature,
with the illustrious name of Plato. Addison's famous
Soliloquy of Cato has made this fact familiar to all English
readers :
" It must be so ; Plato, thou reasons' t well.
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality ? "
It must however, be conceded that, here as elsewhere, it
were vain to look for solid, irrefutable arguments, in this
greatest of heathen philosophers ; it is the unshaken firmness
of belief, to which his superior intelligence enabled him to
attain, and the clearness with which his convictions are
reflected in his works, that stand out unexampled in the
whole range of Pagan literature. 2 On reading the Tusculan
Disputations, one cannot fail to observe that Cicero, just like
Cato, was less moved by the intrinsic force of Plato's reasoning,
than by the authority and enchantment of his name.
1 H Be ^v^r) dpa, TO aeoY9 TO et? TOIOVTOV TOTTOV oi^ofjuevov
<yevvatov ical KaOapov /col ae&), et? f ' AL&OV 009 ciK^Ow^, Trapa
TOP dyaObv teal ^povi/juov Oeov, OL av #eo? e6e\y avTi/ca Kal Trj
avTrj 8e $r) rnuv T) TOLavTij teal OVTCO Tre^VKVLa
TOV cr&)//,aT09 ev0v<$ Bt,a f 7re(j)vo"r]TaL teal asrro\w\.Vi
fo>9 (>ao~i 61 7ro\\bi, avOpwrroi ; TroXXoO ye Set.
" Can the soul, therefore, the invisible (part of man), which goes
to a place like itself, grand, pure, and invisible, to a veritable unseen
1 The C3lebrated Jewish philosopher who flourished at Alexandria
about the middle of the first century.
2 Seneca is of course, excluded, it being still a subject of controversy
whether Seneca was not instructed in the Christian religion. This question
is very well treated in Cruttwell's Hist, of Rom. Lit., pp. 386, sqq.
582 Greek Philosophy:
world, 1 to the presence of a good and wise God, whither if God will,
my soul too is soon to go ; can it, I say, being of such nature and
so constituted, be immediately dissolved and destroyed when severed
from the body ? Far from it."
There is a loftiness of thought, a courage and dignity of
soul, not unworthy of a Christian, discernible in many parts
of the solemn dying declarations of Socrates, as embodied
and embellished in the "Phaedo," from which the above is
an extract, that can be but very imperfectly reflected even in
the best English version. The dramatic surroundings, too,.
in which the scene is laid, invest this charming dialogue with
an additional interest and importance. Socrates has been
condemned by the state to drink the fatal hemlock ; the last
day of his earthly existence has arrived, but his execution is
deferred according to law, till after sunset ; this short interval
preceding the separation of his soul and body, is fittingly
devoted to a touching discourse on the subject of the nature
and destiny of the human soul. That there is a large
substratum of fact underlying the polished periods and fine-
spun arguments put in the mouth of the uncouth Socrates;
in other words, that he actually taught and professed his own
firm belief, that the soul is imperishable, even up to the
moment of his death, there can be no reasonable doubt. But it
is enough for our purpose to show that his greatest admirer and
most distinguished pupil, the author of the "Phaedo," distinctly
and repeatedly asserted this and other divine truths, although
he may have put them forward and advocated them fictitiously
under the aegis of his great master's name. The passage
already cited is an emphatic and clear proof of this ; but as
the main aim of the entire work is to establish the doctrine
in question, numberless other passages, equally strong and
definite in their meaning, might be quoted. The following-
will suffice :
fjiaXkov apa, ^v^r] aOdvarov teal avo\e0pov, /cal rq>
ovrt eaovTai ^JJLMV al vai ev f/ Ai>$ov'
" Above all, therefore, is the soul an immortal and imperishable
(substance), and our souls will really exist in Hades."
1 There is a play on the word^Ai^?. The author derives this word from
c (priv.) and Ideiv (to see). This etymology is rejected by many on account
of the breathing.
Plato s " Phaedo " and " Timaeus" 583
(2). Plato maintained that it followed as a corollary from
the preceding dogma, that the good are rewarded and the
wicked punished in the life to come, sentence being pronounced
on each immediately after death. Many other pagan authors,
no doubt, advocate this doctrine, but, as a rule, they either
affirm it with vacillation or hesitancy, or they surround it
with such an aggregation of fanciful myths and fables, that
it can hardly be recognised. Our author's teaching on this
point is lucidly expressed in several parts of the interesting
work, from which we have been quoting.
El aev >yap r)v 6 Odvaros rov iravros aTraXXo/y?;, epuauov av
r)v rot? /ca/cdis air 06 av oven, TOV re o-a)uaro<; apa
ical T?}? avTwv Ka/cias aera TT}? -xjru^?' vvv Se
<j)aiV6Tai ovaa ov^euia av el?7 avrfj
(TCOTTjpla 7r\r)V TOV co? ^e\TL(7T7]v re KOI
" For if death were a deliverance from everything, it would be an
unexpected gain for the wicked, when they die, to be released at the
same time from the body, and from their unrighteousness together
with the soul. But now, since the soul is evidently immortal, it can
have no other means of escape from evils, nor any safety, save by
becoming as good and wise as possible."
Greek mythology, as expounded by the poets, distinctly
recognises a judgment after death ; but our author's views on
that subject present the additional curious feature of a
mediating spirit or invisible guide conducting each soul to
the tribunal of the Deity to receive sentence. This mediator
is assigned each one at his birth, since direct intercourse
between man and the Supreme God is impossible ; but does
not cease to exist when his mortal charge is summoned out of
this world. He is superior to earthly men, but subordinate in
dignity to the departed souls of the Blessed. In the un-
varnished account of the Socratic teachings, furnished in the
" Memorabilia of Xenophon," we have no clear evidence that
the " Daimonion " had a separate existence, an exalted nature,
and distinct functions of this kind, assigned to him. The
spiritual guide, or genius, introduced here, would appear,
therefore to be of higher dignity and to discharge more
specific and positive duties; but in the Timaeus he is repre-
sented apparently as identical with one of the faculties of the
584 Greek Philosophy :
human soul. An ancient writer calls the opinion shadowed
forth in the following, TreBlov aK^Oeias or inception of truth :
Te\evT^cravTa e/cacrTOv o e/cdcrTov Bai/jiwv o$7rep ^wvra ei\rj-
%ei, OUT09 ayew eTTi^eipei et9 Stf nva TOTTOV ol Set, TOVS
<yei>ra$ SiaSi/cacra/Aevovs et? r/ AiBov TropevecrOai p^era
Ziceivov (j> Srj Trpocrrera/CTac TOU? evOevBe e/ceiae Tropevcrai'
" Each one's genius whom he had allotted to him when living,
conducts him after he dies to some place from which they that are
assembled together, after receiving sentence there, must proceed to
Hades with that guide on whom it has been enjoined to conduct them
thither."
(3). The eternity of punishment, as well as of bliss, is
clearly set forth in this same book, as is manifest from the
following passages :
Qi o'av $o%GM7W dviciTws eve/, . . TOVTOVS Be 77 Trpoo-rffcovcra
JJiolpa pL7TTL 6/9 TOV TdpTapOV 00V OV7TOT6 K/3atVOV(Tl,V'
" But whosoever shall appear to be incurable. . . these a just
destiny hurls into Tartarus whence they never come forth.''
Oi Se /) av Sof&xrt Siafyepovrtos irpos TO otrl&s ftiwvai,
OVTOL. . . avw Be et? rrjv KaOapav o$tci)(rw d$iicvovp,evoi. . . .
TO TrapaTrav et9 TOV eireiTa %povov, fca et9
TOVTCOV tca\\lovs dfyiKvovvTdi a9 oi/re paBcov Srj\&crcu,'
" But those who shall appear to have lived a life of eminent
sanctity, arriving at a pure habitation above, live for all remaining
time, and reach abodes vet more blessed than these, which it is not
easy to describe, &c."
(4.) Plato is unique among Pagan philosophers in assert-
ing the efficacy of penance in this life; and the existence of a
place of purgation in the next, is by no other writer of the old
pagan times so definitely set forth.
Ol B' av Idcrtfut fiev, jjieyd\a Be B6J;a)crii> ^
T^jjuaTa, . . . Kal /jieTajjiehov avTOis TOV a\\ov /3iov
KJBdivovcri re Kal \7J<yovtTL TWV Ka/cwv
" But those who shall be found to have committed curable, but
grave offences, and to have spent the remainder of their lives in
penance, . . . come forth and are freed from their sufferings."
The rich imagination of our author plants this germ of truth
in a close thicket of poetical fancies ; but it is undeniable
that he draws a clear distinction between those, who having
Plato's " Pliacdo " and " Timaeu*"
committed sins repent of them, and those who die impenitent.
No stress is laid on the meaning of uera^Xov, though to speak
of a person spending the remainder of his days in penitence,
sounds rather strange.
Kal ot uev av Sofwcrt fiecrw^ ft
re a^iKt]^aTWv StSovres oY/ca?,
" And those that have passed an average kind of life, . . . being
purified by suffering punishment for their transgressions, are released."
Up to the present, the passages quoted have been selected
exclusively from the Phaedo, which contains countless other
less striking truths. The four cardinal virtues are enumerated,
explained, and more than once insisted on ; the necessity of
curbing the passions is frequently and earnestly inculcated,
and so on.
In the Timaeus we are furnished with a detailed and
elaborate exposition of its author's theories regarding the
formation of the visible universe, and the composition and
organization of the human system. It was one of Plato's last
works, and contains his most matured views on the questions
discussed ; any passages cited below, will be selected entirely
from it.
(5). The visible universe and all its parts, are the work of
one, immutable, benevolent, eternal God, who created it out of
nothing.
In pondering over this great monument of Plato's gifted
mind, one would at times find it hard to convince oneself, that
it could possibly be the outcome of the reasonings and spec-
ulations of a pagan philosopher, and would feel more than
ever disposed to accept the theory, so powerfully supported
by intrinsic evidence and by authority, that Greek philosophy
owes its large and valuable fragments of true doctrine to the
divine philosophy of the ancient Jewish faith. Many of his
arguments are identical with those still used to establish the
same truths from reason, in Christian colleges. He commences
with the sound principle: iravrl jap a&vvarov %&)/n? alriov
ryevea-iv cr^eiv thus Latinized by Cicero : " Nulling, causa
remota, reperiri origo potest," but more accurately repro-
duced in our maxim : quidquid incipit existere, habet causam.
586 Greek Philosophy :
He designates the necessary cause and creator of the world
rbv TronjTrjv KOI Trarepa rovbe rbv iravros, " the Maker and
Father of the universe," and says he is
o SrjfJiiovpybs o/y<x009, KOI o apicrro? TWV alnoiv u a good
Artificer, and the best of causes." 'AyaOos r)v, dyaOw Se ov&hs
irepl ovbevos ovSeTrore eyyLyverai (f>66vo$' rovrov ' e'/cro? wv
irdvra on /jLcikio-ra yeveaOai /3ov\tj07j 7rapa7r\tfcria eavro}.
f3ov\r)0eis yap 6 $609 ayaOa fjLev Trdvra, ^>\avpov Be
elvai Kara &vva/jiiv, ovrw Srj TTCLV OGOV r\v oparov
ov% ricrv^Lav ayov d\\a Kivovjjievov 7rX7//>t^eXa)9 Kal
TCL^LV avTo tfyayev etc r/}? dra^Las'
" He was good, and iii the good envy never exists about anything
whatever; being without this (envious disposition) therefore, he
desired that all things should be as much as possible like himself.
The Deity, then, wishing that all things should be good and nothing
evil, having taken everything that was visible and not at rest but in a
state of utter disorder and confusion, reduced it to order from disorder."
All this reads like an attempted rehearsal of the first
chapter of Genesis :
" And He said : Let us make man to our own image and likeness.'*
"And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very
good." " And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved over the
waters," &c , &c.
The details of Plato's system of cosmogony are too
fanciful to be seriously studied as forming a connected,.
intelligible whole, and entirely too complicated to be fully
understood by any classical reader of ordinary intellect. The
main features in it, however, are strikingly illustrative of the
marvellous strides made by its inventor towards the divine
truth, shreds of which, no doubt, he had gathered directly or
indirectly, from the ancient Jewish religion.
(6). All things whatsoever, even the so-called deities of the
popular creed, are the creatures of the one God, and are, of
their own nature, mortal and entirely subordinate to the
Creator.
ovv Trdvres. . . 6eoi yevecriv ecryov, Xeyet TTOOS
' /^ \ ~ / /^ /) / / * > N
o Tooe TO TTdv yevvr)<ras raoe' ueoi uecov, MV eyoi
Trarrjp re epycov, . dOdvaroi fj,6v ov/c e'crre 01)8'
a\vroi, rb
" Accordingly when all the gods had been created, he who had
Plato s " PJiaedo ' ' and " Timaeus." 587
moulded this universe thus addressed them : ' Gods of gods of whom,.
produced as you are (e/oyoov), I am the creator and father. . . you
are not immortal nor wholly indissoluble."
If Plato thus flagrantly outraged the laws of his country
respecting religious teaching : if he thus openly impugned the-
orthodox faith and spoke in language of disparagement and
contempt regarding divination, &c., as we know he did, why
was he tolerated by that same government and community,
who had shortly before inflicted the extreme penalty of death
on Socrates, alleging against him charges of a similar nature ?
Well, as was observed before, the undeserved execution of
Socrates was followed by a strong reaction in the popular
feeling, and a pretty general conviction that the punishment
was out of proportion with the offence. Besides this, Plato
did his work quietly and unobtrusively, never throwing the
city into a ferment, and always respecting the religious
sentiments of his fellow-countrymen, even when he differed
from them. He did not totally discard the gods from his
system of religion ; he purged them of the unworthy passions
and vices attributed to them in the vulgar superstition, and
by way of compensation for improvement in their other
attributes, he denied them immortality as an essential prerog-
ative. The mysteries duly performed, and in certain cases,.
oracles and auguries, he retained, but he indignantly re-
pudiated the superstitious delusion that the deity could be
propitiated by drunken orgies and licentious indulgence of
the human passions.
It may, further, be worth while to observe here, that it is
in a diffident and apologetic tone, that he encourages belief
in the received traditions regarding the nature and origin of
the " generated gods."
JJepl Be TWV aXXcov Bai/jiovcov. . . Treiariov Be rot? elprjtcocriv
ev . . . Kaiirep avev re el/corajv KOI dvayfcaicov diroBei-
"Regarding the other deities. . . we must trust to those who
handed down the traditions from the beginning. . . even though they
speak without reasonable and convincing proofs."
He feels himself constrained by his rational nature and inner
consciousness to reject altogether these absurd superstitions;
588 Greek Philosophy : Plato's Phaedo " and " limaeus"
but, on the other hand, he is deterred by his respect for his
fellow citizens and their common ancestors, as well as the
absence of any sounder and more rational religious system, to
supersede the received faith.
(8) Man was not created for this world; his ultimate end
is not earthly enjoyment and the passing happiness of this
life ; he is destined for heaven, which he will gain by virtue and
wisdom.
Uepl rov Kvpicordrov Trap 1 rj/julv tyv^s el'Sof?
Set T^Se. . . TOVTO o $r) ^>a/jiev oliceiv jjuev rjfjiGov 7r J a/cp(d TOJ
G-ayfjuan, Trpos 8e TTJV ev ovpavay j;vyyeveiav CLTTO 7779 77^9 alpeir
J>9 6Vra? (pvrov ov/c eyyeiov aXX' ovpaviov
' ; Regarding the superior part (or faculty) of the human soul
within us, we ou;ht to conceive it thus. . . that, I mean, which we
say resides in the highest part of the body and raises us up from earth
to our destination in heaven, for we are plants, not of earth, but of
heaven."
Like other learned, and many of them much more recent,
authors, Plato held that the seat of the rational soul is in the
brain, while he placed the sensitive appetite in the lower
parts of the human system.
Our readers need hardly be assured that our object in
trespassing so far on their patience by quotations from the
Greek text, is to present them with a plain, uncoloured
account of the Platonic teachings. A mere statement of an
author's opinions, falls far short of producing the same vivid
impression as his own words in his original work, and is very
often largely tinged by the narrator's peculiar views and
conjectures.
Eusebius (Caesariensis) in his work commonly entitled
" Praeparatio Evangelica," in Greek and Latin, treats very
fully of the doctrines of Plato, whom he always mentions with
praise, and of whom he justly remarks that " he alone of all
the Greeks had arrived at the vestibule of truth and stood at
its very portals." St. Augustine speaks of him in the same
eulogistic tone, in his treatise " De Civitate Dei," and many
others of the early Fathers are equally emphatic in expressing
their admiration of his gigantic intellect. We could also
find among modern Greek scholars and philosophers, illustrious
The Book of Tobias. 580
names to add to the list of his admirers. There is one bright
name which we cannot omit and which is a host in itself that
of the present Prime Minister of England, who has thrown
much light on the subject of the preceding pages, and, to
borrow words used by himself in a different context and of
quite a different personage, " whose lengthening years have-
been but one growing splendour, and who at the last will
c Leave a lofty name,
A light, a landmark, on the cliffs of fame.' "
EDWARD MAGUTRE.
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS.
division of the books of Sacred Scripture into Proto-
canonical and Deutero-canonical denotes the distinction
of time at which both classes were received into the Canon of
inspired writing. The books which were inscribed from the
beginning on the catalogue or collection regarded by the
Church as sacred and divine, are called Proto-canbnical
these, which for a time were not received by particular
churches at least as inspired, and were inserted later on in
the Universal Canon, are called Deutero-canonical. The
distinction therefore has reference to time, not to authority.
Among the Deutero-canonicals of the Old Testament, of
which there are seven, the first in order is that of Tobias.
It belongs to the second epoch of Jewish history, and
records events which occurred during the captivity of the
ten tribes of Israel. This was before the destruction of the
kingdom of Juda, and the transportation of its inhabitants
to Babylon. The history it contains, of a father and son
both by name Tobias, and of the relations which the Angel
Raphael by divine direction held with them, is as charming
as it is interesting and singular. It is written in a simple,
unaffected style, and is filled with most useful and salutary
lessons, suited to every age, state, and condition of life.
.590 The Book of Tobias.
Man's duties to God in adversity and prosperity, in sorrow
and in joy, his duties to his fellow-man, both living and
dead, are clearly inculcated and practically illustrated. We
are taught to trust in the guardianship of God's holy angels,
the dispositions with which people should enter the marriage
-state are set before us by word and example and finally it
'Contains a prophecy about the Church. " Liber saiicti Patris
Tobiae," says the Venerable Bede, " ut in superficie literae
salubris patet legentibus, utpote qui maximis vitae moralis et
exemplis abundat et monitis."
Even the enemies of the Church, who reject the human
as well as divine authority of this bo ok, cannot withhold their
tribute of admiration for the beauty and sublimity of its
teaching and morality. Minister prefers it to all the other
books of the Old Testament.
"In quo," lie says, " biblico libro veteris instrument! invenies tarn
cfficaces ad opera pietatis monitiones, quae habent tarn vividissima
adjuncta exerapla, ut in hoc libro? Ubi usquam locorum invenies
tarn sinceras, paternas. et omni exceptioue dignas instruct! ones,
qualiter te geras erga Deum, erga parentes, erga pauperes praesertim
domesticos lidei, erga conjugem, denique erga cimctos mortales, atque
erga defunctos ipsos ut in Tobia '? "
And again :
" Libellus est vere aureus, et juventuti accommodatissimus.
Ediscendus esset a pueris, hand secus quain decalogus, et in imo
pectoris diligeutissime condendus," &c.
Luther himself, notwithstanding his final verdict that it
is a " poema quodpiam," and not true history, thus writes in
the preface to the German version of this book :
"Si Tobiae liber gestum quoddam est, praeclarum et sanctum
gestuin est ; si vere commentum est, vere est bonum, pulchrum,
salutare et utile commentum, ac lusus poetae cujusdam spiritu pleni."
Further on he adds :
" Hie liber nobis Cliristianis lectu est utilis et bonus, tanquam
boni cujusdam Hebraei poetae, qui leve nihil, ced bonas res tractat,
easdemqiie supra modum christiane urget ac describit."
And truly in vain would one seek in the pages of sacred
or profane history for a nobler example of faith and firm
.confidence in God and the divine promises, of detachment
The Book of Tobias. 591
from earthly goods, tender charity towards the neighbour,
patience in affliction, fearless intrepidity and prodigious
constancy in the face of unexampled trials than that of the
aged Tobias, who, when a captive and
" When all eat of the meats of the Gentiles, he kept his soul, and
never was defiled with their meats (Ch. i., 12); who went daily
among all his kinJred (in their captivity), and comforted them, and
distributed to everyone as he was able, out of his goods ;" who " fed
the hungry, and gave clothes to the naked, and was careful to bury
the dead, and theyj that were slain " (10, 20) ; who, when told
that one of the children of Israel lay slain in the street, " forthwith
leaped up from his place at the table, and left his dinner, and came
fasting to the body : And taking it up, carried it privately to his
house, that after the sun was down, he might bury him cautiously"
(Chap. ii. 3 and foil) .
He did all this, notwithstanding the admonitions and
reproaches of his friends, and the fact that he had already
nearly lost his life, sentence of death having been passed on
him, for these same works, simply because he " feared God
more than the king " (9). And when the evil of blindness
had fallen upon him by God's permission, " that an example
might be given to posterity of his patience, he still continued
immovable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the
days of his life ;" and when like holy Job, mocked and
insulted in his affliction by his kinsmen, like him, he
" rebuked them, saying, speak not so, for we are the children
of saints and look for that life which God will give to those
that never change their faith from him."
Where can we find a more affecting and charming
example of conjugal and paternal solicitude than in the
admonitions given to his son by the holy old patriarch when
he thought he was about to die 1
" Hear, my son," he said to him, " the words of my mouth, and
lay them as a foundation in thy heart. When God shall take my
soul, thou shalt bury my body ; and thou shalt honour thy mother all
the days of thy life; for thou must be mindful whut and how great
perils she suffered for thee in her womb. And when she also shall
have ended the time of her life, bury her by me. And all the days
of thy life have God in thy mind, and take heed that thou never
consent to sin, nor transgress the Commandments of the Lord our
God. Give alms out of thy substance, and turn not away thy face
592 The Bool of Tobias.
from any poor person, for so it shall come to pass that the face of the
Lord shall not be turned from thee. According to thy ability be
merciful. If them have much give abundantly : if them have little,
take care even so to bestow willingly a little. For thus thou storest
up to thyself a good reward for the day of necessity. For alms
deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to
go into darkness. Alms shall be a great confidence before the Most
High God to all them that give it. Take heed to keep thyself, my
son, from all fornication, and beside thy wife never endure to know a
crime. Never suffer pride to reign in thy mind or in thy words, for
from it all perdition took its beginning. Jf any man hath done any
work for thee, immediately pay him his hire, and let not the wages of
thy hired servant stay with thee at all. See thou never do to another
what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another. Eat thy
bread with the hungrv and the needy, and with thy garments cover
the naked. Lay out thy bread and thy wine upon the burial of the
just man, and do not eat and drink thereof with the wicked. Seek
counsel always of a wise man. Bless God at all times, and desire of
him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him . . .
Fear not, my son ; we lead indeed a poor life, but we shall have many
good things if we fear God and depart from all sin, and do that which
is good " (Chap. iv.).
And the young Tobias answered his father, and said :
u I will do all things, father, which thou hast commanded."
And most faithfully did he execute his promise. Well did
he remember the teaching of his father. Animated by his
example, he proved himself on all occasions his worthy son,
and became a model of piety, chastity and every virtue.
And of the youthful Sara what shall we say ? Where shall
we find such another illustration of solid piety, purity, and
innocence of heart, of lively faith and hope in the Divine
mercies, as breathe through that admirable and tender
prayer she poured forth in the face of a most terrible and
unheard of tribulation ?
When reproached by one of her servant-maids with being
the murderer of her seven husbands, who were in reality
killed by a devil called Asmodeus, about which extraordinary
fact, more later on
" She went [we are told] into an upper chamber of her house ;
and for three days and three nights did neither eat nor drink : but
continuing in prayer, with tears besought God that He would deliver
her from this reproach. And it came to pass on the third day, when
The Hook of Tobias. :>93
she was making an end of her prayer, blessing the Lord, she said :
[The beauty of the prayer must be my apology for giving it in full]
' Blessed is Thy name, O God of our fathers, who, when Thou hast
been angrv, wilt show mercy, and in the time of tribulation forgivest
the sins of them that call upon Thee. To Thee, O Lord, I turn my
face to Thee I direct my eyes. I beg, O Lord, that Thou loose me
from the bond of this reproach, or else take me away from the
earth. Thou knowest, Lord, that I never coveted a husband, and
have kept my soul clean from all lust. Never have I joined myself
with them that play: neither have I made myself partaker with them
that walk in lightness. But a husband I consented to take with Thy
fear, not with my lust. And either I was unworthy of them, or they
perhaps were not worthy of me : because perhaps Thou hast kept me
for another man. For Thy counsel is not in man's power. But this
everyone is sure of that worshippeth Thee, that his life, if it be under
trial, shall be crowned; audit' it be under tribulation, it shall be
delivered ; and if it be under correction, it shall be allowed to come
to Thy mercy. For Thou art not delighted in our being lost :
because after a storm there comes a calm, and after tears and weeping
Thou pourest in joyfulness. Be Thy Name, O God of Israel, blessed
for ever.' " (Chap. iii. 10 and foil )
Eegarcliiig the Book of Tobias, it is not doubted that it
was written originally either in Hebrew or Chaldee : most
probably in the latter language. St. Jerome having found
a Chaldee copy of it, engaged a man thoroughly conversant
with that language to render it into Hebrew, from which
version Jerome translated it into Latin " quid quid ille
mihi Hebraecis verbis expressit;" he wrote to Chro matins and
Heliodorus, " accito notario, sermonibus Latinis exposui."
This Latin translation of St. Jerome's is the one now in use,
which has been declared authentic by the Council of Trent.
The oldest of all existing versions of this book is in the
Greek, the author of which and his name are unknown. The
translation in the ancient Itala, which was in use before the
time of St. Jerome, was most probably from this Greek
version.
A question is discussed among commentators regarding
the relative merits of this ancient Greek version and
that of St. Jerome in the Vulgate. It is a question of
erudition of a speculative kind. Many, with Cahnet, main-
tain that the Vulgate version is the most natural, the most
perspicuous, the freest from foreign circumstances, and bears
VOL. vii. 2 P
594 The Book of Tobias.
the greatest tokens of truth. Enough for us to know that it
is "authentic," in the same sense, and to the same extent, as
all the other canonical books of Sacred Scripture. On the
other hand, its being declared authentic by the Council of
Trent, does not prove its superiority over the Greek version,
as the Council institutes no comparison, in its decree, between
the Vulgate and the original text, or versions in other
languages besides the Latin. This is quite manifest from
the words of the Decree of the Council (Sess. 4. De Canon.
Script.) :
" Insuper eadem sacrosancta Synodus considerans non parum
titilitatis acced ere posse ecclesiae Dei, si ex. omnibus Latinis editionibiis
quae eircumferimtur sacrorum librorum, quacnam pi*D authentica
habfiida sit inootescat, statuit ut haec ipsa vetus et V ulgata editio' . . .
pro authentica habeatur."
That the Book of Tobias contains Divine Revelation, and
was written " inspirarite Spiritu Sancto," the same as the other
sacred books, is guaranteed to us Catholics by the fact of its
being placed on the Canon by the Council of Trent. It is a
matter of faith. It possesses, therefore, Divine authority,
which cannot be conceived of a book destitute of human and
historic authority. We cannot consequently, even for a
moment, hesitate or doubt about the human and historic, as
well as Divine authority of this book. It may be well to
remind our readers that the Sacred Scripture has a twofold
character. It can be considered as a human record, an
historical monument, or as a work divinely inspired; and
from this distinction arises the twofold authority which it
enjoys. Now the modern enemies of the Christian religion,
all of whom we embrace under the name of Rationalists,
ridicule the idea of Divine inspiration, and, consequently, of
the Divine authority. They are quite prepared to discuss,
and to admit or reject according to the rules of historic
criticism its human authority. Here we Catholics are bound
to take up the challenge, and oppose to their false criticism, a
true and sound one, by the aid of which we can prove that the
canonical books are as worthy, aye, more worthy of credence,
than the most received and approved works of profane
authors, whose authority our adversaries do not question.
TJie Book of Tobias.
\Ve need have no fear of standing' for the nonce on the same
platform with them, and fighting them with their own
weapons. Our position is perfectly safe no scientific
progress, no new philological, geological, or biological dis-
coveries can dislodge us from it. But it is our duty to defend
that position, to save, if not the sacred books which eventually
can suffer nought from their impious attacks, at least the
faith of numbers which may be severely tested by such
well-planned, plausible and persistent onslaughts on their
earliest, most cherished, and most sacred beliefs.
Starting from this point, and with this conviction, we main-
tain that notwithstanding the extraordinary and apparently
incredible facts related in the book of Tobias, it is historically
true, and that the objections raised by its adversaries,
when examined and weighed in the balance of sound
criticism, do not impair its human and historic trust-
worthiness. We are acting, as is manifest, on the defensive,
and in doing so, we are logical, and within our rights.
The human authority of the book of Tobias is in possession :
it has been handed down to us from the earliest ages of
Christianity, to go no further back, invested with this
credential. Let the adversaries, if they can, prove the con-
trary the " onus probandi " rests with them. They revel
and delight in confusion of ideas, mixing up things which
are totally distinct, and to be carefully kept apart. In this
lies their strength. If we would refute them, we must
clearly define their and our position and surroundings. Here
lies our strength.
When is a book then said to enjoy human and historic
authority ? When it possesses the three following qualifica-
tions. First, when it is genuine that is, when it is
not spurious, supposititious, or written by an impostor under a
fictitious name. In the abstract, and metaphysically speaking,
a spurious work may be truthful; ordinarily speaking,
it is not so. The taint of illegitimacy of origin begets the
presumption of falsity. Secondly, when it reaches us in its
integrity, that is, free from corruption. It would be of littlo
avail to know the author of a work, and to know him to be
Ide diynus, unless we were certain that his work was not
596 The Jlook of ToUas.
corrupted in the course of transmission to us. This might
occur in three ways by interpolation, or the addition of
something to the text of the author, by mutilation, or the
subtraction of something which materially affects the sense
and meaning of the remaining parts, or by an alteration which
would amount to a perversion of the sense of the author.
The integrity of a work is therefore closely akin to its
genuineness ; it means in fact the extension of the latter to
the several parts of the book. It may not be out of place to
add that the utmost integrity required by the canons of the
strictest criticism is a substantial integrity. Short of a
miracle, we can scarcely conceive an absolute and mathe-
matical incorruption, or freedom from accidental defects, and
of a minor character. Such defects can no more affect the
critical integrity of the books of Sacred Scripture, than those
of profane authors, which, notwithstanding that they
frequently abound in them, are not on that account regarded
as corrupted, or destitute of integrity. Thirdly, the author
must be truthful and worthy of belief. This means, he must
have knowledge and sincerity. By knowledge, I do not mean
erudition or learning, but I mean that acquaintance with the
things which he relates, which is opposed to ignorance or error.
Even rude and uninstructed persons are capable of such
knowledge. By sincerity, I mean the will to tell the truth,
to relate things according to one's cognizance of them. As
is evident, a work though known to be genuine and free from
corruption, can lay no claim to historic authority, unless its
author be known to have these two qualities.
I have said, that we are in possession. We are called on
to do no more than to defend the position we occupy, that
our adversaries, on the other hand are the aggressors, they
have taken the offensive. If, therefore, they would succeed
in depriving the Book of Tobias of the human and historic
authority with which it has been transmitted to us, it behoves
them to prove that it is wanting in one or another of the
three essential elements above mentioned. They are bound
to prove, that the work is not genuine, or that it has
been substantially corrupted, or that its author was \\vifide
diynus. Unless they prove one or other of these three things,
The Book of Tobias. .V,)7
they labour in vain. So much for the conditions on which
tli' 1 battle has to be fought.
Again, before proceeding further, it maybe well to point
out in a general way the line of attack which our adver-
saries adopt against the human authority of the sacred books.
They concentrate all their zeal and erudition in endeavours
to discover some internal marks incompatible with the
authenticity of the work which they impugn. They make
light of the external arguments in its favour derived from
the testimony of antiquity and a constant tradition. Such
a course is in direct contravention of one of the most
fundamental canons of sound criticism.
That a book was written by a certain author, or at a
certain epoch, or was not supposititious in its inception; that
such a book has come down to us in its integrity, free from
substantial corruption ; that the author of the same had the
knowledge and sincerity which entitle him to credence;
these are all matters of fact, and facts, as we know, are to
be proved by witnesses. Hence, in questions of this kind,
external arguments are of their very nature the principal
ones, and of themselves conclusive. Internal arguments, to
be sure, are not to be despised, but they are of a secondary,
subsidiary and confirmatory value. If, therefore, per
hypothesim, we could conceive a conflict between external
and internal arguments, the latter must give way to the
former.
Having thus cleared the ground, defined our respective-
positions, and laid down the terms on which alone the contest
can be legitimately fought out, let us see what our adversaries
have to say against the authority of the book of Tobias.
First, they say the book is not genuine. It is a matter of
doubt and uncertainty, among Biblical scholars, who is the
author of the work. While Huetius, Sixtus Senensis and
many others, relying on ancient authorities, follow the com-
monly received opinion, that it is the work of the two
Tobiases, whose name it bears, and whose histories it relates ;
others, with Estius and Wette, maintain that it was written
by Esdra or Nehemia, after the Babylonish captivity. Jahn
Ackerman and Scholz hold an opinion differing from both
;V,'S The Book of Tobias.
and contend that it was composed most probably by some
prophet during the Macedonian empire.
Our reply is, admitting the premiss, we deny the con-
clusion. Doubt or uncertainty regarding the author of a
work, is no proof of a want of genuineness. Before explaining
how this can be, it may be well to state that though
the words "genuine" and "authentic" are often used
as synonymous terms in the use we make of them in
the course of our observations, we do not intend them to be
understood as such. Each has its own meaning. We use
the words " genuine " and " genuineness" when we speak of
the origin the authorship of the book. We use the words
" authentic " and " authenticity " in the sense of the Council
of Trent, which is more comprehensive, and embraces the
three elements of human authority, viz., genuineness,
integrity, and veracity. Authenticity, therefore, includes
genuineness, but not vice versa. A work may be genuine,
and yet not authentic; but an authentic work implies
genuineness in either of the senses which we now proceed to
explain. A book may be genuine in either of two ways : in
an absolute and negative sense, or in a relative and affirmative
one. It is genuine in the former sense, when its origin is
free from fraud or imposture, viz., when it has not been pub-
lished as the work of an author or age to which it did not in
reality appertain. This is, in fact, the primary signification
of the word " genuine." When we say a thing is genuine,
we mean, it is sincere, real, true, legitimate; there is no deceit
or imposition in connection with it. A book is genuine in a
relative sense, when it is referred to a certain author or age,
and really belongs to that author or age. From this it
appears that a work may be genuine, in an absolute and
negative sense, without being so in a relative and affirmative
one. We have an example of this in the Athanasian Creed,
which, very probably, is not genuine in a relative sense, or,
in other words, is not the work of St. Athanasius, whose
name it bears, and to whom it has been ascribed by many;
whilst, regarding its genuineness in an absolute sense, there
is no room for doubt, as it has been always received with the
greatest veneration, and held as a rule of faith in the Church
The /><>(>/, of Tolias. f>90
a clear proof that there Avas no fraud in its origin. Apply-
ing these remarks to the Book of Tobias, the objection and
reply may be thus summed up in scholastic form.
Obj. There is no certainty regarding the author or epoch
of the Book of Tobias. Reply. Transeat or concedo.
But a work whose author is not known, or at least tho
era in which it was written, is not genuine. Distinyuo. In
sensu relative concedo. In sensu absolute nego.
This distinction is one of great importance. It has to be
specially borne in mind, when treating of the Books of the
Old Testament, The authors of the Gospels and Epistles of
the New Testament are known, and can be proved with
certainty. This cannot be said regarding some of the Books
of the Old Testament. The same uncertainty exists about
the authors of the Books of Judges, Ruth, Esther, Judith, &c.,
as about that of Tobias, while no doubt can be entertained
of their genuineness.
We maybe permitted to add that the opinion which ascribes
the authorship of the book to the two Tobiases, seems the most
probable, for the following reasons: (a) The angel, before
leaving them, ordered them to bless God " and publish all
His wonderful works." (Ch. xii. 20.) In the Greek and
Hebrew versions the testimony is more explicit, and the
argument more conclusive, in which the angel is represented
as commanding them " to write in a book all the things that
had been done." In these same versions, Tobias is said to
have written what is there read (Ch. xiii.) : " And Tobias
wrote a prayer in exaltation," &c. Moreover, in the
Greek and Syriac copies of this book, in the three first
chapters, the elder Tobias speaks throughout in the first
person : " I, Tobias, walked in the ways of truth . . . when
/ was in my own land," &c. " When / was a young man,
. . ." &c. For these reasons, it seems most probable that
the book is the work of the father and son. Many of the
supporters of this opinion add, that the father very likely
composed the thirteen first chapters, and the son added in the
fourteenth, in which he narrates the circumstances of his
father's death. The concluding verses of this chapter, nar-
rating the death of the younger Tobias, are a complement to
000 The Bool: of Tobias.
the work, not unlikely from the pen of one of his own
children.
Our adversaries, the Rationalists, direct their attacks
principally against the third element of the historic authority
of this book, viz., its veracity.
In order to understand the force of their difficulties, as
well as of our replies, it will be useful to give a
summary of its whole argument. This I transcribe almost
verbatim from Calmet's Dictionary of the Holy Bible,
giving, however, the text where I deem it necessary or
important for a clearer understanding of the points to be
discussed later on. To avoid wearisome and confusing
repetitions, I shall call the father henceforward Tobit, and
the son Tobias.
Tobit lived about seven hundred years before Christ.
He was of the tribe of Nepthali, one of the ten that seceded
under Jeroboam, and formed the Kingdom of Israel. When
a young man, he did no childish thing ; he adored his God,
an,d fled the corruption of those who worshipped the golden
calves. He went secretly to the Temple of the Lord at
Jerusalem, on the solemn feasts, and there offered his tithes
and first fruits. He married Anna, a woman of his own
tribe, and had by her one son, whom he called after his own
name, and whom, from his infancy, he brought up in the fear
of the Lord. When Sam ;ria, the capital of the Kingdom of
Israel, was taken by Salmanasar, King of the Assyrians, he,
his wife, and son, and all his tribe, were led captives to
Nineveh. In the land of his captivity he abstained from the
meats of the Gentiles preserved himself pure from their
defilements. He comforted, encouraged, instructed, and
relieved his fellow-exiles. He found favour in the sight of
the king, who gave him liberty to go whithersoever he would,
and do as he liked. Going, on an occasion, to Rages, a city
of the Medes, he found one of his own tribe, by name
Gabelus, in want, and lent him ten talents of silver, which lie
had received from the king. He got, in return, a bond, or
note of hand, from Gabelus. In the course of years Salmanasar
died, and was succeeded by his son Sennacherib. This king
entertained a deep hatred for tho childeren of Israel
The Book of Tobia*. (501
a hatred that was intensified after the slaughter of his
hosts, by the angel of the Lord in Judea. In his anger,
he slow many of the Israelites, and Tobit buried their
bodies. For this he fell into disgrace with the king, was
turned out of his employment, his property was confiscated,
and he himself reduced to poverty. Finally, he was ordered
to be slain, and with his wife and son saved himself by flight
and concealment. Soon afterwards the king was killed by
his own sons, and Tobit returned to his house, and had his
goods restored to him. He continued as before in the
exercise of piety. One day having buried a dead body left
in the market-place, being wearied, and not daring to enter
his house because of the uncleanness he had contracted, he
went to sleep under the wall of his court. While he slept,
the warm dung of a sparrow or swallow, whose nest happened
to be above him, fell into his eyes, and deprived him o sight.
Tlris calamity was permitted by God to befall him as a trial.
He bore it with patience and resignation, and repined not,
notwithstanding the insults and reproaches of his relatives
and of his own wife, who tauntingly asked him, where were
now the fruits of all the works of charity he had done. It
was then he burst forth into that beautiful prayer, given in
full in the beginning of this paper. He begged of the Lord
to take him out of life, seeing that he could be of no further
use, but was become a burthen to himself and to others.
Thinking himself near death, he summoned to him his son,
and spoke to him those salutary instructions already referred
to. He then informed him of the ten talents lent to Gabelus.
He bade him go and fetch the amount, and for this purpose
advised him to hire some faithful man to act as his guide.
He gave him, moreover, the note of hand to show Gabelus,
who, he said, on seeing it would forthwith pay. And Tobias
went forth to seek a guide, and
" Found a beautiful young man, standing girded, and as it were
ready to walk. And not knowing that he was an Angel of God, he
saluted him, and said: From whence art thou, good young man?
But he answered : of the children of Israel. And Tobias said to him :
Knowest thou the way that leadeth to the country of the Medes ?
And he answered : 1 know it, and I have often walked through all the
ways thereof, and I have abode with Gabelus, our brother, &c. . . ."
02 The Bool of Tobias.
Tobias then introduced the young man to his father, who
asked him to what family and tribe he belonged, to whom he
made answer :
" T am Azarias, son of the great Ananias.' 1 ''
And Tobit answered :
"Thou art of a great family. . . ."
This young man was none other than the Archangel
Raphael, whom we shall name henceforward the angel,
though he did not reveal himself as such to Tobit and Tobias
until he had conducted the latter safe from Rages. They
started from Nineveh, and lodged the first night of their
journey at a place on the banks of the Tigris. Tobias went
into the river to wash his feet, when a great fish advanced
towards him, as if to devour him. Tobias, in terror, cried
out to his guide, who bade him seize it by the gill, draw the
fish out, cut it up, and take out the heart, gall and liver, which
would serve for useful medicines. Tobias asked, what
remedies these things would be good for. And the angel
answering, said to him :
" If thou put a little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke
thereof driveth away all kinds of devils either from man or from
woman. &c. . . . And the gall is good for anointing the eyes, Ac."
(Chap. 0.)
Being come near to Ecbatana, Tobias asked where they
should lodge, to whom the angel replied :
" There lives here a man named Raguel, who has an only
daughter, wiiose name is Sara. You are his nearest kinsman, and all
his estate ought come to you. Ask her, therefore, of her father, and
he will give her thee to wife."
And Tobias answered and said :
u I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all
died ; moreover, I nave heard, that a devil killed them. Now, I am
afraid, lest the same should happen to me also ; and, whereas, I am
the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with
sorrow to hell."
Then the angel said to him :
" Hear me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the
devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony,
The Book of Tobias. MM
as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to
give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which h;iv<>
not understanding, over them the devil hath power. But thou when
tliou shalt take her, go into thy chamber, and for three days keep
thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to
prayer with her. And on that night, lay the liver of the fish on the
fire, and the devil shall be driven away"
They went to Raguel's house, who received them with
joy. He observed in young Tobias a great resemblance to
his father, and on being informed who he was, he fell on his
neck and embraced him with tears. Having ordered refresh-
ments Tobias said, he would not sit down to his table before
he promised him his daughter Sara in marriage. Raguel
hesitated to give an answer, fearing lest the same misfortune
should happen to him as to the other husbands of Sara. The
angel interposed and said :
" Be not afraid to give her to this man, for to him who feareth
God is thy daughter due to be his wife, therefore another could not
have her."
Raguel then consented, and taking the right hand of his
<laughter he gave it into the right hand of Tobias, saying :
u The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob
be with you, and may he join you together, and fulfil his blessing in
you. And taking paper, they made a writing of the marriage."
(Chapt. vii.)
After supper Tobias was admitted into the nuptial
chamber, and
"Remembering the angel's words, took out of his bag part of the
liver, and laid it upon burning coals. Then the Angel Raphael took
the devil, and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt." (Chap, viii.)
Tobias and Sara passed the night in devotion and con-
tinence. The day following, very early, Raguel sent to see
whether Tobias were alive or -dead, fearing the worst he had
provided a grave for him. But when he heard that he was
living and safe, he filled up the grave, praised God, prepared
a great feast, to which he invited all his friends and
neighbours.
While the days of the marriage were celebrating, Tobias
gave the angel the bond, and requested him to go to Rages
himself to receive the money from Gab elus, which was the
604 The Book of Tobias.
occasion of their journey. This he did, and brought Gabelus
back with him to the wedding.
In the meantime the parents of Tobias were in great
trouble about their son. Fearing that some misfortune had
befallen him his mother was inconsolable. Each day she
went out in the direction by which he was to return, hoping
to meet him. Nor was Tobias himself less impatient to
return to his parents. Raguel would fain have detained him
longer or sent a messenger to his father to ease his anxiety
and apprise him of his good health. But Tobias would not
hearken to this proposal. He said :
" I know that my father and mother now count the days, and
their spirit is grievously afflicted within them." (Chap. x. 9.)
Raguel allowed him to depart. He delivered unto him
Sara and half his property. Their parting word to their
daughter was
" An admonition to honour her father and mother-in-law^ to love
her husband, to take care of her family, to govern the house, and
to behave, herself irreprehensibly." (Chap. x. 13.)
When they came to Charan, midway to Nineveh, on the
eleventh day, the angel said to Tobias, you know in what
condition you left your father, if you think well of it we will
go before, and let your servants and your wife come slowly
after with the cattle. This being determined on, they went
forward. Anna, his mother, perceiving him from the top of
the hill from which she daily looked out for his coming, and
recognising him, ran to carry the news to her husband.
That instant came in the dog that had followed Tobias, as it
were to tell that his master was approaching. Old Tobit,
blind as he was, rose up and taking a servant by the hand,
ran to meet his son, fell upon him, and embraced him. His
mother did the same, and both began to weep. Tobias then
taking the gall of the fish, rubbed his father's eyes with it,
and in about half-an-hour afterwards a thin white film or
skin, like the outward skin of an egg, began to fall from his
eyes. Tobias took hold of it and drew it forth, and
immediately his father recovered his sight. Sara, Tobias*
wife, with the servants and cattle, arrived seven days after-
The Book of Tobias. 005
wards. For seven clays they feasted and rejoiced with great
jy-
The father and son then addressed themselves to the angel,
whom they still took for a man, and desired that he would
accept of half their substance as a recompense for his great
services. But he" replied, that they must thank God, the
author of all their good.
' I discover then the truth unto you, and will not hide the secret
from yon. When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead,
and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house,
and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord. And
because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation
should prove thee. And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee,
and to deliver Sara, thy son's wife, from the devil. For I am the
Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord ....
It is time therefore, that I return to Him that sent me : but bless ye
God, and publish all his wonderful works. And when he had said
these things, he was taken from their sight, and they could see him
no more. Then they, lying prostrate for three hours upon their face,
blessed God, and rising up, they told ,all his wonderful works/'
(Chap. xii. 11.)
On this occasion Tobit composed a canticle of thanks-
giving, in which he extols the greatness, the power, and the
goodness of God. He foretells the end of the captivity, the
restoration of Jerusalem, the magnificence of the holy city,
and its temple, and the multitude of its inhabitants. After
Tobit had recovered his sight he lived forty-two years, and
saw the sons of his grandchildren. He was fifty-six years
old when he lost his sight, and sixty when he recovered it.
He was thus one hundred and two years old when he died.
When dying he called his son Tobias and his seven young
grandchildren, and said to them, the destruction of Nineveh
is near ; the land of Israel that has been forsaken shall be
peopled again, and the house of God that was burnt shall be
rebuilt. My children serve the Lord in truth. Endeavour to
do what is agreeable to him, Continue not long here, but as
soon as you have buried your mother near me in the same
sepulchre, think of leaving this place as soon as possible.
Tobias having paid the last duties to his parents, and buried
their bodies in Nineveh, left it with his wife and children,
and returned to his father and mother-in-law at Ecbatana.
606 The Book of Tobias.
He also closed their eyes, and lived to see his children's
children to the fifth generation. After having lived four
score and nineteen years, he died in peace and was buried by
his children.
This narrative, of which the above is a summary, however
interesting and instructive it may be for its moral teaching,
regarded from an historic point of view, is a tissue, say our
adversaries, of statements partly impious, partly fabulous, and
utterly incredible. For who can deny that it is (a) impiety
to represent an angel of God telling lies, as is related of
Raphael (chap. v. 7, 9, &c.) ? (I) or that it savours of
oriental fables to attribute to the smoke arising from the
heart of a fish placed on burning coals the power of expelling
demons, and to the gall thereof the power of curing blindness,
(chap. vi. 1, 9. &c.) ? (c) Again is it not absurd and
incredible that a devil killed the seven husbands of Sara
(chap. iii. 8), and that the angel bound him in the desert of
Upper ^Egypt (chap. viii. 2, 3) ? (d) Moreover we are told
that Tobias requested Raphael to go to " Rages, a city of the
Medes," to fetch the money from Gabelus, while both are
represented all through as already in that same city in the
house of Raguel. How explain this contradiction ? (e) Finally,
if the Book of Tobias contain true history, how account for
the silence of profane historians of the events of that empire
and period how in particular for that of Josephus, the
historian of the Jews ?
How these difficulties, grave though they appear, do not
affect the human and historic authority of the Book of
Tobias, we will endeavour to show in a future number of the
RECORD.
DENIS HALLIXAN.
SCIENTIFIC NOTICES.
Ox THE GROWTH OF TREES AND PROTOPLASMIC CONTINUITY".
A PAPER under this heading was the last work of Alfred
Tylor. The first portion of it was read before the Linnean
Society, in December, 1884 : for the paper was completed by
its thoughtful and observant author, only on his death-bed.
Had he been spared it was his intention, we are told, to
gather the rich stores of his observation and reading into a
little book : we must be content with what he has left us,
and thankful to his family for the care with which it has been
prepared for private circulation ; and if we venture, through
their kindness in sending us a copy, to extend the knowledge
of the paper beyond the circle for which it was more imme-
diately intended, we feel sure that our readers will be glad to
hear what close observation and well- devised experiments
have enabled Mr. Tylor to tell us about so interesting a
subject as the growth of trees : and not only so, but perhaps
we may be induced by what he had done, to follow in
his footsteps, and to observe for ourselves what wonderful
processes are going on daily and hourly around us, and so
gradually accustom ourselves to take a kind of personal
interest in our trees and plants and to regard them as some-
thing far beyond the mere material things we too generally
conceive them to be.
Our author was one of an estimable class, which is
fortunately extending on all sides, which turns the goods of
fortune to the best account, by scientifically observing the
living things which come within its reach, and so making
what is given to one a means of instruction to many.
Charles Warterton was an illustrious member of this class, in
the especial study of the Fauna. Darwin was another and
a still greater ; while Alfred Tylor devoted himself to as close
an attention to the Flora, and so we have this paper upon
the growth of trees, to w r hich we invite the attention of our
readers.
And first with respect to tree movements. What is implied
in its growth ? A tree, like an animal, consists of myriads
608 Scientific Notices :
of elemental parts, each of which must possess the possi-
bility of performing all or any of the processes that constitute
the life of the individual, and this led Darwin to assume that
each elemental fraction was endowed Avith germs which
might grow into any tissue within the individual economy.
To this our author objects, that a tree is more like a low than
a high type of animal, inasmuch as it can with facility be
reproduced by means of detached fragments or slips. So
well established is this, that many botanists look upon the
buds and leaves of a plant almost as separate beings, and a
tree as being built up, much as coral is, by multitudes of
polyps. This, our author says, is undoubtedly true, and
he points out that it was essential to emphasize this fact
before the true idea of vegetable economy could be grasped.
But, he adds, what is especially noticeable, that the plant is
something more than a mere assemblage of parts, and this he
feels has been in danger of being lost sight of, though it is
quite as important a fact as the former. What follows is the
key to the whole paper, and is certainly deserving of the
most careful consideration. If it is new to many minds, it
need be none the less true, and if the language sounds bold,
the more likely is it to invite attention and to repay it.
" There is a whole, an individual, an Ego, in plant-life as
there is in that of animals, and only by taking into consider-
ation the behaviour of a plant as a ivhole, can we adequately
appreciate its powers."
Leading up to this important conclusion, our author
reminds us that " a plant depends largely upon light and air,
and leaves are the organs designed to take hold of the light
and air, branches being the framework upon which the leaves
are fastened. That plant which can best obtain a supply of
light and air, that is, obtain it with the least expenditure of
labor, must in the long run, prevail in the struggle for
existence."
Then he briefly traces the development of plants from
the endogenous to the exogenous condition. Very interesting
is this outcome of patient investigation, and worthy at least
of a brief space in our notice.
The endogenous plants are practically only leaves, and
On the Growth of Trees and Protoplasmic Continuity. 609 1
so represent an old type previous to the introduction of true
stems : for even in such cases as palms, the stems can hardly
be called more than a mass of leaf stalks.
Then next come the conifers which first appear in the
Devonian rocks, and with them we have the first true woody
stems. This was a great advance in vegetable economy, and
gave the conifers a great chance in the battle of life. But
the highest art, so to speak, had not yet been reached. For
most conifers grow leaves all down their branches, and many
011 the stem itself. The leaf -stalks have developed into woody
stems, but with many of the old characteristics remaining.
It was not until the Chalk Era that the next great step in
advance was taken, and the endogenous developed into the
exogenous tree. What does this mean 1 The leaf-covered
woody stems pass into branches which are practically bare,
except at their extremities, and the leaves are placed upon
the exterior of the trees. Such a tree, our author says, may
be fitly compared to a parasol, in which the handle is the
stem, the ribs are the branches, and the silk the leaves, spread
in both cases, tree and parasol, to receive the solar beams.
One of the most obvious proofs of the power of a tree to
behave as an individual, is seen in the outline it possesses
and adheres to, giving rise to a symmetry which enables us
to discriminate different species at a distance. This symmetry
is not such a simple result of the laws of growth as at first
sight appears, for it is frequently produced by very irregular
elements, as may be well seen in many firs. Looking up
into such a tree from below, it will often be seen that the
branches are twisted and bent into every direction, but the
tree still preserves the integrity of its outline. Why is all
this complication of twist and bend ? What is the tree aiming
at that it seemingly struggles so hard, and gives itself so
much trouble to achieve that end ? Here we have a proof of
its action as an individual, a complete whole, an Ego 9 which
not only acts in its separate members, but acts just as if
directed by one, the tree itself.
What the tree requires, is that its leaves should be exposed
to the light and air : because it must receive by those leaves
the carbon which the air contains and which comes to its
VOL. VII. 2 Q
610 Scientific Notices :
many mouths mixed with oxygen. It requires also the
sunlight to chemically separate these two gases and to supply
it by the carbon with timber for its own enlargement. So,
as far as possible, each leaf must be brought to the surface,
the branch which bears it must twist and twine itself to effect
this end, and when we look upwards into the tree we see
often what complicated windings have been made by the
branches, with a twofold end, not only to advance themselves
but to keep clear of others, not as rivals struggling for
existence at any cost to the rest, but rather as the members
of one whole, the tree itself, which has a care for all. Is it
not as though the central intelligence were arranging all, as
seeing from its stand point what is best for the one whole,
and directing each accordingly ?
Hence we have, as we should expect, a contrast in the
outline of exogenous and endogenous trees. The former,
which we have seen is the latest development and which is
characterised by its comparatively bare trunk and branches,
with the leaves at their extremities and outside the tree, has
the peculiar rounded outline which affords the greatest
amount of light and air to its leaves with the least expendi-
ture of material ; while the more ancient endogenous trees,
like such conifers as the larch and spruce, which grow leaves
all over their branches, are conical in form, which is of course
their best shape for attaining the same end of exposing their
ubiquitous leaves to the nourishment which air and sun
provide : nay we have what may be regarded as a
state of transition, an endogenous tree passing into an
exogenous condition, and altering its outline accordingly.
" Scotch firs and Italian stone-pines, which keep their leaves
more on the outside, have already attained to the spheroidal
outline of true exogens." What follows accounts for a well-
known fact. " A tree, such as an oak, standing free, can and
does spread its branches pretty equally on all sides. A tree
with twin trunks, like many elms, possesses the same outline
as a tree with one trunk. So, too, with pairs of trees growing
close together ; and the same fact holds good with clumps. "
The pairs in the one case, and the clumps in the other, form
one rounded outline, and grow in this respect as one tree.
On the Growth of Trees and Protoplasmic Continuity. (511
How this is brought about we see by examining their
respective ramifications. " It will be seen that the middle of
the clumps have no spreading branches, but that all the trunks
have acted as if they were but one, and only sent spreading
branches out where they will help to form the external
spheroid of foliage," but what follows is new and worthy of
careful consideration. " This has always been said to be due
to the action of light that the shady interiors, receiving so
little light, have not been able to produce branches. This
does not seem to me, adds our author, to be a necessary
conclusion, for a voluntary abstention on the part of the tree,
will equally account for the fact ; and if the tree as a whole,
knows how to place its leaves peripherally, the same power
will enable the group to stop off the branches and leaves
where they could be of so little avail." So it is not the light
but the tree itself which directs the growth of its branches,
and in the group it is the combined action, concerted action
we might say of the several members of the group, which
determines its shape under these peculiar difficulties, and how
each is to conform itself to the one required end. Who has
not seen numberless instances of this, to the cause of which
perhaps their attention has not hitherto been directed. The
author illustrated the reading of his paper by drawings arid
photographs : but in the country we have illustrations on
every side. He takes the case of an ehxi and a beech growing
side by side, but the elm has overtopped the beech and grown
over it. Had the beech when overshaded by the elm
continued its upward growth it would have run in to the elm,
but before reaching it, it began to turn aside and practically
flattened itself out, and then he justly adds, " the small
difference of light at this place surely could not produce so
great a result."
So may we observe where quick and slow-growing trees,
like poplars and chestnuts, are planted side by side, when
the poplars overtop the chestnuts, the latter always modify
their growth.
Still more striking is the illustration another case afforded
of two trees, one younger than the other. The young tree
bent right away from the old one, but when the overhanging
612 Scientific Notices :
branch of the old tree was cut down it immediately began
to straighten itself, and in five years righted itself, as an
illustration shows, rising into the vertical through an. angle of
about sixty degrees !
This power of branch curvature is very curious, and our
author gives several interesting experiments of its action
under difficulties which he himself devised ; how it seems to
study each particular case and to meet it, or rather we might
say, how the superintending tree itself sees the need of
special action and sends to the point of attack its orders and
power to carry them into effect. But first let us consider
this branch curvature under ordinary and not under excep-
tional circumstances. As we cannot fail to have observed,,
the growing points of a tree-branch almost invariably curve
upwards. Ruskin, who has taught us so many things
incidentally, has not failed to point out this characteristic,
and when once observed it can scarcely be forgotten. Now
while the horse-chestnuts are in bloom, may we see the
stately candelabra-like aspect of its upturned blossoms which
this branch curvature brings about. But here arises a
difficulty. If this curvature continue, the branch as it grows
will curve more and more and will soon become circular in
its form. How does the tree meet and overcome this difficulty?
"The tree has the power to straighten out its once curved
parts, and it does so in the one and two year old wood."
What is the object the tree has in view in turning up the ends
of its branches ? Evidently to bring the new leaves and the
young wood on those ends under the immediate influence of
the light : but if the curvature was permanent, the new ends
with new curves upwards in succeeding years would in the
prolonged curve, bend in just the opposite direction, and the
purposed exposure would be completely frustrated. So year
by year the tree straightens out the older wood and leaves the
curving to the new growth which thereby seeks and finds the
light which is its life. And this shows us something more
perhaps than we first expected, for does it not prove that
"the so-called solid wood is capable of motion;" a proper
motion of its own by which it can uncurve itself when the
curvature is no longer wanted, when indeed it would do-
On the Growth of Trees and Protoplasmic Continuity. 613
harm instead of good ; and is not our author justified in
saying that "this motion often looks suspiciously like
voluntary motion." In illustration, he gives a picture of how
a chestnut branch which had been placed horizontally, righted
itself in three days, when the whole of the leaves had bent
themselves into the proper position by what looks like a great
and very intelligent movement. Another instance seems to
us to show still more intelligence ; for here the tree not only
makes the needful difficulty for itself but deals with it
precisely as an intelligent engineer would do. A plane tree
threw out a branch forty-five feet long, and its reason for
such an unusual stretch seemed to be to gain an extra amount
of light ; for all the little branches were stopped off, (of course
by its own action,) until the end only is loaded with foliage.
But the branch would not be able to support its own weight
when of so great a required length. What does the tree do ?
When it has grown thirty feet long and is reaching the
limit that it can sustain, it makes a remarkable bend, which,
acting like a trussed girder, enables it to sustain the needful
remaining fifteen feet and these give fifty per cent, more light
and air, and at the same time of course enable the tree to
extend its roots a corresponding fifteen feet.
And now let us note some of the author's illustrations of
what he calls " intelligent movements " which the tree makes
when he has himself interposed obstacles in the line of growth
of the branches or when obstacles naturally come in the way.
In both cases alike, the branches have to take a new
direction, and to contrive, may we not say skilfully, to avoid
the obstacle and to take care not to injure other shoots and
branches.
The result of his many and prolonged observations shows,
he says " that all plants endeavour, and a great many succeed
in avoiding obstacles, and that the action takes place before
the branch touches the obstacle." And this last fact is
especially worthy of note, because it shows that the obstacle
does not offer a physical impediment, as it of course would
do did it press against the growing branch and so force it
out of its path. No : the tree seems to be conscious of what
the growth is approaching, and keeps clear of the stumbling
614 Scientific Notices :
block, by changing its course in due time ; it resembles not
a blind but a far-seeing intelligent man.
Go under a horse-chestnut and look up into its branches,,
and you will be astonished, as we have been, in seeing the
evidence of design in that seeming confusion of interlacing^
branches and shoots, great and small. " Mark the power it
evidently possesses and exercises of altering the length of
its petioles and the angles at which they spring off, in order
to avoid contact either with their brother leaves of the same
bud or external obstacles." This has generally been
attributed to the action of light, but our author shows it is
not so, by various experiments, which are detailed too
minutely for our space to permit them to be given, but
without which details the value of the proof could not be
estimated. How the vigorous growing shoots avoided
boards and stumps, so placed in their way that they must
hit them in the ordinary course of events, the author gives
several illustrations. " In all cases," he says, " a strong
effort was made to avoid the obstacle, and in some cases the
branch died at the end before touching the obstacle, and
threw out lateral shoots which avoided it." Another set of
experiments were made by " tying down plants and trees in
different ways, but always in pairs, so that the growing
points would meet. In no case did they do so, but invariably
bent away from each other before touching."
The result of experiments on climbing plants was very
conclusive. " A number of tropasolums were trained up a
network in a greenhouse, and appeared to exercise a selection
in the character of their supports. It was found easy to
get them to climb on the wires or on other plants, but they
persistently refused to climb on each other."
Dr. Dallinger, the distinguished microscopist, in a recent
lecture in Dublin, drew attention to this fact as illustrated
by certain tropical plants, which not only refused to climb
up the same tree with one another, but would climb, each by
itself, only a particular kind of tree, and would traverse a
considerable distance along the ground, passing on the way
all other kinds of support, until the especial species was met
with, up which, and up which only it would climb, and
that singly.
On the Growth of Trees and Protoplasmic Continuity. 615
One more instance must be quoted from our author in
which a stephanotis gave some curious results of, shall we
say consideration for a weaker brother and thoughtful skill
in carrying its kind intention into effect.
Our author thus relates the charming narrative. " Two
shoots were trained along a wire in a greenhouse, and tied
with their growing points within half an inch and facing
each other. This was done in February, 1883. One shoot
was stronger than the other, but both were healthy and
steadily growing. The weaker shoot stopped growing up
till April 7th, but meanwhile the other had increased two
feet in length. It bent inwards towards the house away from
the light so as not to touch the weaker shoot, leaving the
wire and making an angle of forty-five degrees. It then
stretched upwards to an iron bar a foot above the wire,
clasping it and bent back again towards the light, being now
above the other shoot. As soon as it had got hold of the bar,
the weaker shoot started growing, and by May 21st, was
eighteen inches long. It, too, deserted the wire, and grew
downwards till it reached another support, and then throve
well."
With respect to the question of protoplasmic continuity,
which is briefly treated in the concluding portion of the paper,
it will suffice to say that our author finds in it an explanation
of his observations which he seems to be unable to find
elsewhere. He says "The above records of some of my
observations serve, 1 think, to establish the facts that plants
have an individuality, and work as individuals and not merely
as aggregates of cells ; and secondly, that many of their
movements are suspiciously like intelligence. Now for any
body, plant or animal, that acts by subordination of its parts
to the good of the whole, some controlling influence must
exist, or chaos instead of discipline must result. How this dis-
cipline is effected we do not know, but the researches of
Mr. G. Massee and others seem to my mind, to show us clearly
the mechanisim by which co-ordination is brought about I
allude to the discovery of the continuity of protoplasm
between cells/'
Mr. Massee assured him that this continuity was brought
616 Scientific Notices :
about in two ways in very fine and delicate tissues the cell-
wall is saturated with protoplasm, and only in the denser
tissues is the continuity maintained by means of threads as in
sieve plates: and upon which he remarks ; if this should prove
to be true, it emphasizes the importance of protoplasmic
continuity, by showing that in the development of plant-life
from soft to hard tissues, so essential is the maintenance of
the continuity that strength has to be sacrificed to allow of
the protoplasm to pass, otherwise the parts of the plant
would become, as it were, paralysed by being cut out of the
vital circuit.
The Editor in his preface to the Paper says, that this was
strongly objected to when the Paper was read in December,
1884 : but adds that " in less than six months this question (of
protoplasmic continuity) had passed from the stormy waters
of adverse criticism to the Pacific Ocean of accepted truth."
It is but fair to our author to give his summary of con-
clusions in his own words, lest any conclusions of our own
should be attributed to him.
The principles which underlie this paper are, the individ-
uality of plants, the necessity for some co-ordinating system
to enable the parts to act in concert, and the probability that
this also necessitates the admission that plants have a dim sort
of intelligence.
It is shown that a tree, for example, is something more
than an aggregation of tissues, but is a complex being per-
forming acts as a whole, and not merely responsive to the
direct influence of light, &c. The tree knows more than its
branches, as the species knows more than the individual, the
community is wiser than the unit in the multitude of
counsellors there is wisdom. Moreover, inasmuch as my
experiments show that many plants and trees possess the
power of adapting themselves to unfamiliar circumstances
such as, for instance, avoiding obstacles by bending aside
before touching, or by altering the leaf arrangement, it seems
probable that at least as much voluntary power must be
accorded to such plants as to certain lowly organized animals.
Finally, a connecting system, by means of which combined
movements take place, is found in the threads of protoplasm
The German Universities. 617
which unite the various cells, and which I have now shown
to exist even in the world of trees.
Here then we give an outline of our author's observations
and the conclusions he draws from them; and leave our readers
to judge for themselves how far the latter follow from the
former and are borne out by them.
HENRY BEDFORD.
THE GERMAN UNIVERSITIES. II.
IN the last number of the RECORD we pointed out, in
examination of Pere Didon's work, the one solitary
instance, in which his opinions on University training differ
from those of Cardinal Newman, and the majority of English
educational experts. In this paper it is our purpose to show
some broader lines of divergence between our author and
Cardinal Newman's contemporary the well-known Professor
of Hebrew in Oxford University. We single out his evidence
from a pile of literature on this important subject, because
he appears to be by far the ablest exponent of popular and
generally-received ideas about the condition of German
religious thought ; and singularly enough, the Anglican
professor writes of it in tones of despair, and the French
Dominican sees in it nothing alarming or disquieting, but
everything yielding bright hopes and promises for the future
of religion in that country.
Within thirty years two distinct Commissions for the
Universities both of England and Scotland have been held ;
and according to the Reports submitted by these Commissions
to Parliament, enactments have been made for the better
ordering and governing of these State institutions. The
first of these Commissions for England was held about the
year 1852 ; and a vast mass of evidence was accumulated
from various and important sources. A Report was duly
drawn up and presented to Government, containing a great
deal of thought, and an immense variety of suggestions from
618 The German Universities.
those whom public and University opinion marked as leading
men in their own departments, and best qualified by ex-
perience and intelligence to notice defects in University
organisation, and suggest the remedies to be applied.
Amongst these experts Dr. Pusey was probably the one
to whose opinions most deference was paid, partly owing to his
personal eminence, but principally from his wide acquaintance
with the history of Universities, both in his own country, and
on the Continent of Europe. His evidence, however, brought
him into a sharp controversy with Professor Vaughan, the
main issue being the advisability of substituting, as far as.
possible, tutorial or catechetical teaching for the professorial,
which partly obtained at Oxford, and was almost universal
in Scotland and Germany. By the professorial system
Dr. Pusey meant, " that in which the professor is himself in
fact the living book, and imparts knowledge, original and
instructive, but still wholly from without, to the mind of his
pupil." By the tutorial system is meant, " that by which the-
mind of the young man is brought into direct contact Avith
the mind of his instructor, intellectually by the catechetical
form of imparting knowledge, wherein the mind of the young
man having been previously employed upon some solid text-
book has its thoughts corrected, expanded, developed,
enlarged by one of maturer mind and thought, who also
brings to bear on the subject knowledge and reflection which
the pupil cannot be supposed to have." In other words, the
professorial is the system of lectures orally delivered, whilst
the students take notes, and the tutorial is the system of
question and answer. The whole thesis of Dr. Pusey, as for-
mulated by Professor Vaughan, and admitted with some very
important modifications, by his opponent, is summed up in
five propositions, as follows :
1st Professorial lectures do not communicate knowledge
well.
2nd Professorial lectures do not give a discipline to the-
faculties.
3rd Professors do'-noi^m_^fejadvancem.ent of truth.
4th Theological j^reMB^rsara^ie causes of heresy and
scepticism. Bf L I B R A R Y i
r l he German Universities. 619
5th Professors are the causes of immorality in the
Universities to which they are attached. 1
With one of these only have we to deal, because in the
attempt to maintain it, Dr. Pusey largely relies on his know-
ledge and experience of the German Universities, and his
evidence is almost in direct opposition to that of Pere Didon.
It is the fourth proposition, that " Theological Professors are
the causes of heresy arid scepticism." In support of this,.
Dr. Pusey offers many examples to show that in Germany
the Professors of Divinity have taught and produced
Rationalistic theology. There cannot be a doubt that
Dr. Pusey was very well qualified to write upon such a
subject. He had given to the study of it a great part of the
best years of his life. In 1827, nearly half a century before
the Commission was held which elicited the evidence to>
which we have referred, he had published a work entitled,
"An Enquiry into the causes of German Rationalism," a fair-
liberal inquisition into the state of religion in Germany, made
by a pious and patient mind, which went beneath the surface-
into the depths of those mystic philosophies from which he
thought Rationalism had taken its rise, and which was able
to distinguish what was good and hopeful from what was
evil and pernicious in those transcendental theories which
had taken such hold of the German mind. And whatever
other value attaches to his evidence, it has at least the merit
of consistency. His ideas in 1827 do not materially differ
from those of 1853, and they are the ideas that nave gone
abroad and filled the public mind for half a century, until
religiously minded people, when speaking of Germany, are
always tempted to apply the Scriptural question : " Can any
good come out of Nazareth ?"
Dr. Pusey takes it as proved then that Rationalism has
taken a firm hold of the mind of Germany ; and although in
1827 he concluded his inquiry with a hope, that the nation
would return to a belief in Revelation, and its central
doctrine of the Incarnation, he is forced to admit in 1854
1 Dr. Pusey's statement is very different from this. He says r
" Negatively, the professorial system is wholly destitute of any moral
training."
620 The German Universities.
that his hopes have not been realised. "It is true, 1 ' he says,
"that I have been disappointed. I watched with many a
heart ache over the struggles of the faith in Germany, and
came to see how hard a thing it is for the intellectual mind
of a country, which has once broken away from the faith, to
be again won to it in its integrity." But if his hopes are dis-
appointed, his opinions are unchanged as to the causes which
have led up to such a sad condition of things. They are
three : The traditional orthodoxy (1) which, transferred as to
its objects from the ancient Church to the doctrines of Luther,
maintained a rigid conservatism, without history, philology,
-or biblical criticism to sustain it. This gradually led to a
system of Pietism, (2) which furnished a " well-prepared soil
for the seeds of unbelief, under whatever immediate circum-
stances it might be planted." The sowers came, not, let it
be remembered, from Germany, but from England. Rational-
ism was not the product of German soil. Nay, at the very
time that the German Universities were seats of orthodoxy,
so far as the great mysteries of the Christian faith were
concerned, and the German households were pietistic and
puritanical to a degree never reached in England, this latter
country was the home of a school of Deistic philosophers, (3)
whose influence on the cultured minds of Germany was per-
nicious in the extreme. It was an age of metaphysical
theories. From the highest summits of Catholic thought
down to the dismalest abysses of materialism, every shade
of religious or psychological thought was represented. But
by far the most potent, dissolving factor was that English
Deism, of which Blount, Chubb, Collins, Lord Herbert of
Cherbury, Hobbes, Morgan, Tindal, Toland, were, if not the
originators, 1 at least, the abettors, which was afterwards so
successfully developed by the Encyclopedists of France, and
cloaked in light sarcasm, or panoplied in weighty argument,
was introduced into the Universities of Germany, and
fostered there into that rmtural religion which ushered in the
bald atheism of our century. Yet Deism, though it took its
rise in England, never got a firm foothold there. Why ?
1 Vide Kahnis' " History of German Protestantism," p. 32.
The German Universities. (521
Nowhere was scepticism so audacious. Compared with the
timidity of the Scottish and German schools, the English was
as positive and aggressive as the French. The disciples of
Locke, who, like those of Descartes, pushed his theories to
extremes from which he would have shrunk, either flatly
denied that anything was immortal or immaterial, thus
shadowing forth the ideas with which we are now so familiar,,
or preached a false spiritualism, which directed in safer and
narrower channels, became the basis of the moral theories of
the Scottish school. But Deism never took root in England,.
Dr. Pusey says, because of the independence of the English
intellect, particularly in the Universities, where schools of
philosophy formed on the teachings of individuals never
existed. He might, perhaps, have added, that there never
has been much taste for such subjects in England that the-
practical English mind is absolutely opposed to metaphysical
speculations of any kind that not only has there never been
a school of philosophy in England, but even very few-
thinkers who could be ranked as great philosophers ; and'
with regard to the Universities, their faith, such as it is, has--
been preserved not by its absolute firmness, established by
deep, protracted and enlightened study, but by the very
indifference to metaphysical speculations, which if sometimes
sublime in reach, and sweep, and magnitude, are not always
safe in their subtleties. Deism, then, took no root in England,
because the vast masses of the population neither knew nor
cared for such things ; and the lordlings of the two Univer-
sities thought more of the conflicts between town and gown,
than of the disputes between the Nominalists and the Realists.
And if Deism, taking its rise in England, had its reign in
Germany, we must not forget that religious and metaphysical
ideas were always subjects of supreme interest for the
German people, and that there were twenty Universities in
Germany, thronged with students, poor, like those of
Scotland, and cultivating science "tenui avena," but restless,
speculative, inquiring, piling Pelion upon Ossa to enter the
homes of the immortals. But we are anticipating. Deism,
sprung from Orthodoxism and Pietism, and introduced from
England, had its reign in Germany, because of the professorial
system in the Universities.
622 The German Universities.
" Now, long before the times of Rationalism, the profes-
sorial system in Germany had exercised a power, enslaving
the intellect. We are accustomed to think of the Germans
as powerful, original thinkers. I myself respect and love the
Germans. Yet intellectual writers of their own, Lessing and
Herder, upbraided them with their imitativeness. It often
showed itself in a strange submission to lawlessness of mind.
We are of the same stock. Yet the English mind has been
independent; the German has been imitative. We have had
no schools; among the Germans from the Reformation
downwards, there have been successive schools. These
schools existed in Philosophy, as well as Theology. Englishmen
have been proud of Locke, but Locke left no school. Wolf,
Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, exercised by turns an almost
undisputed sway. Everything for a time became Wolfian,
Kantian, Hegelian. Theology, as well as Philosophy, became
Wolfian. Sermons or catechisms bore the stamp of Wolfian
Philosophy. I spoke, not of the value of that philosophy,
but of its transient autocracy. Why had it so extensive and
absolute a sway, when yet, after a while, it was to resign its
sceptre to another monarch over the German intellect, as
absolute and as transient ? Systems of philosophy were
like fashions of dress ; first, absolute, then obsolete. Like
Jonah's gourd, ' the son of a night, perished in a night.' "
Is it not the irony of history after all we have beeD
listening to during all these years of Papal autocracy
centring in itself not only supreme authority that must be
obeyed, but supreme intelligence, which demands the fullest
submission of the intellect, that an English Protestant should
be found to complain that in Germany, the home of
Protestantism, there has been such slavish subjection to
individuals such indiscriminate adhesion to fashions of
thought that existed, but to pass away? But if these bold
Scriptural criticisms arid consequent weakening of faith
belonged only to the Universities, and never spread amongst
the people, whose pastors clung tenaciously to ancient
orthodoxies, it cannot be true that Rationalism obtained a
firm foothold in Germany. And if it be true that the
Universities showed such slavish submission to the professors
The Gentum Universities. 623
whose HUM tries were dominant in the schools, a simple remedy
might have been found, the appointment of orthodox
professors, whose righteous interpretations of Scripture, and
such dogmas as Protestantism maintains would be as blindly
followed as the teachings of those, who tried bolder nights
in those speculations of which the Protestant faith does not
wholly disapprove. In truth, Protestantism was put upon
its trial in Germany and found wanting ; and the professors
were not entirely to blame. The substitution of Luther for
the Vicar of Christ, of the Bible for a living authority, of
successive philosophers and their tenets for those who went
before them, reduced Christian dogma to such a minimum in
Germany, that the educated classes were forced to be sceptical,
and it is to the honour of that country that it has not com-
pletely drifted away from supernatural faith of every kind,
when we consider how relentlessly the German mind pursues
a course of reasoning, and does not shrink from its conclusions,
at least speculatively, when it finds them. Rigid Lutheran
orthodoxy, which commenced with the subversion of the
cardinal principles of Christianity, was itself put on trial;
and the Scriptures, to which the Protestant mind has always
attached a kind of talismanic effect upon the soul, were
brought under the severe tests of Science, without an
external authority to safeguard them by wholesome interpre-
tations of their meanings and mysteries. What can be
thought of a religion that, as Dr. Pusey says, fell to pieces
before criticism? Wolf made certain speculations about
Homer. " This introduced two wrong principles the
disregard of traditional evidence, and the theory that a
minute verbal criticism could suffice to dissect works, which
had descended to us as wholes, into various compound parts."
The criticism on Homer introduced criticism on the Old
Testament, and Protestantism collapsed.
Whilst, however, strongly maintaining the position he
had assumed, Dr. Pusey makes a singular admission, which
reflects a kind of qualified praise on the professors and
philosophers of Germany, and at least attributes to them the
singular merit of having preserved to their country some
broad beliefs and general reverence for religion at a time
624 The German Universities.
when the other countries of Europe were rapidly passing
from timid scepticism into aggressive infidelity. " Professor
Vaughan says of my former work : ' The transcendental
Professors, by demolishing the low popular philosophy to
which England had given birth in earnest error, and which
France soon cultivated in a spirit of satire and corrupt
mockery, were then thought to have at least shown, on its
promulgation, the necessity of faith, and to have assisted
directly to restore the sway of those fundamental truths of
conscience, which the mere understanding could never
demonstrate.' 1 think the same now. Of Kant's philosophy
I have lately said, ' it was on its positive side a gain, in that
it awoke the conscience and exposed the shallowness of a
system, more hopelessly irreligious and self-satisfied. But,
on its negative side, it strengthened Rationalism, and gave it
its definite form.' ' The Kantian avrovo/jiia of reason,' says
Twisten, ' left room for the Deity, but not for a Revelation,,
in the sense of the Christian believer.' " 1
Looking back, now, through the perspective of history,
at these systems of philosophical thought, which, considering
their ephemeral effect on contemporary religious beliefs, and
the rapid pace at which modern ideas are travelling, seem
to belong to a far remote period, we think there are very
few leaders of Christian thought, in our own age, who will
not acquit Germany of the sad reproach of having been
mother and mistress of all modern infidelity. We have
Dr. Pusey's admission that that country was saved from blank
atheism by the action of its philosophers. We admit that it
lapsed into temporary Rationalism through the action of its
1 Compare with this the following paragraph which appears in an
article on " George Eliot," written by Lord Acton in the Nineteenth
Century for March, 1885. " For some years her mind travelled in search of
rest, and like most students of German thought before the middle of the
century she paid a passing tribute to Pantheism. But from Jonathan
Edwards to JSpmoza she went over at one step. The abrupt transition
may be accounted for by the probable action of Kant, who had not then
become a buttress of Christianity. Out of ten Englishmen, if there were
ten, who read him in 1841, nine got no further than the Critique of Pure
Reason, and knew him as the dreaded assailant of popular evidences. Whtn
George Eliot stood before his statue at Berlin, she was seized with a burst
of gratitude, lut she hardly became familiar with his latest works."
The German Universities. G25
Scriptural professors. There has been a singular confusion
of thought about the teachings and doctrinal consequences
of the Transcendental philosophers on the one hand, and the
Biblical expositors on the other, in Germany. It has been
generally supposed that their teachings about Christianity
were identical, or that their systems so dovetailed into each
other, that the rejection of Revelation, which was openly
professed by Biblical scholars, was the inevitable outcome of
the metaphysical theories of the Transcendentalists. But
their systems of thought, the objects they proposed to them-
selves, and the deductions at which they arrived, are as
distinct as the philosophical teachings of Mill or Hamilton,
and the Scriptural exegesis that is taught in a Protestant
seminary. The work of the former was positive; of the latter,
consciously or unconsciously, negative, and, if you will,
destructive. The philosophers aimed at constructing a
philosophy of Christianity. Utterly dissatisfied with Christian
doctrine, as it was taught in their churches, and unwilling to
believe that the crude and uncouth form, in which its
sublimest doctrines were submitted to their congregations by
the pastors and theologians of the Lutheran Church, was the
only presentation that could be made of a religion which,
in the sublimity of its origin, and the perfect adaptation of
its moral code to the wants of men, was manifestly divine ;
and not being able to realise the idea of a living Church, with
a voice that interpreted unerringly the Revelation of God to
the world, they attempted to create a system of philosophy,
founded on pure reason, which eventually would embrace
the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. A similar
attempt was made by Coleridge in England. In a work, on
which he intended his fame should rest, but which he did not
live to perfect, he tried to prove that Christianity was not
only not opposed to reason, but was its highest embodiment
from a doctrinal and ethical point of view. His work, like
that of the German philosophers, has come to naught has
failed as utterly as that of the Gnostics in the early days of
Christianity. One after another, the greatest German
thinkers developed their ideas as to the meaning of the
universe, and the destiny of the human soul, only to find that
VOL. VII. 2 R
626 The German Universities.
they were moving in a circle in the end. But let it be said
that each commenced with a perfect faith in the existence of
God and of the soul, and the absolute necessity of religion.
And if, by the exercise of pure reason, they did not reach
these high truths which Eternal Wisdom alone could reveal,
at least it must be said that the spirit in which they
approached the consideration of such sacred problems, was
in no wise a spirit of hostility to Christianity, and that the
conclusions at which they arrived may have fallen far short
of our perfect Revelation, but did not absolutely reject or
deny it. We might safely put into their mouths the plaints
of the ancient philosophers in the first circle of the Inferno :
" Per tai difetti, e non per altro rio
Semo perdtiti, e sol di tanto offesi
Che senza speme vivemo in disio."
Nor would it be altogether unworthy of a Christian to feel as
the great poet felt :
" Gran duol mi prese al cor, quando lo'ntesi :
Perocche gente di molto valore
Conobbi, che'n quel Limbo eran sospesi."
The commentators, on the other hand, whilst coquetting
with philosophy, and professing themselves disciples of one
or other master or system, directed all their attention to the
critical examination of the Sacred Books. Philology was
the science they brought to the study of Revelation, and,
finally, into conflict with it, just as geology, in later times,
and later still, biology, have been considered its antagonists.
Nothing narrows the human mind so much as exclusive
devotion to one science. Germany became hypercritical;
and, as usual, German savans, compressing their ideas within
the limits of one faculty, grew cramped and illiberal in the
pursuit of knowledge, " That sublime and devouring
curiosity," man's first passion the weakness on which the
fatal temptation fell even still leads men beyond their
depth. And so, by the morbid development of the critical
faculty, the Germans fell into this fatal, but, we are sure,
transient error. " They somehow lost faith in the Bible as a
supernatural product ; and it had become to them more a
great and transcendent classic, than a living Revelation."
Ilie German Universities. f)27
And there is one fact of pregnant meaning which Dr. Pusey
has not noticed, and which has had a most important bearing
011 the attitude of reverence which Germany has always held
towards religion. In Biblical criticisms, in controversies on
religious dogmas, in all the heat and passion of polemical strife,
there has ever been, with a few latter-day notorious excep-
tions, a total absence of that contempt and savage satire
which the French and English philosophers and scientists
have levelled against religion. Of the exalted tone which
the German philosophers assumed, in dealing with reli gious
mysteries, we have already spoken. It must be also admitted
that the German expositors set about the work of studying
and interpreting the Sacred Books, not with an a priori belief
in their inherent inconsistencies, but with a fully-formed and
acknowledged faith that their critical and conscientious
searchings into the meaning of Holy Writ would result in
decided advantages to the cause of religion and truth. It
was not with them, as with the French and English sceptics
a crusade against religion and against God. That con-
temptuous tone, with which modern materialists put
completely out of the domain of logic and common sense
metaphysical questions of any kind, as only fit for fetish
Avorshippers, is conspicuously absent in philosophical or
exegetical works produced by Germans. These works were,
for the most part, written as a kind of unconscious protest
against the Protestant doctrine that the Bible was the sole
rule of faith ; and the analyses of texts and their meanings
are what logicians would expect from too acute and too t
learned reasoning, unassisted by authoritative interpretation,
and losing the spirit of the Divine Word in too critical an
examination of the letter. But the handling of the Inspired
Text was never irreverent. When Lessiiig published the
famous " Wolfenbiittel Fragments," which had passed into
his hands from the daughter of Reimarus, their author, a
storm of indignation against him arose throughout Germany.
He explained :
" What has the Christian to do with the hypotheses, explanations,
and evidences of the theologian ? To him the Christianity he feels
to be so true, and wherein he feels himself so happy, is there once for
628 Ihe German Universities.
all. If the palsied individual experiences the beneficent shock of the
electric spark, what matters to him whether Nollet or Franklin, or
neither, be right ? In short, the letter is not the spirit, and the Bible
is not religion. Consequently, charges against the letter and the
Bible, do not also imply charges against the spirit and religion."
A very inconsequential conclusion, and, from a Catholic
standpoint, a heretical and condemnable opinion, inasmuch
as it altogether denies the dogmatic factor in religion ; but
who shall say it is a breach of Protestant orthodoxy? Such
opinions are held to-day, without ban of Church or clamour
of clergy, amongst the most highly-favoured Protestant
divines, who do not always express their opinions with the
reverence of Lessing. And Bahrdt, one of the first of the
representatives of Popular Rationalism in Germany, whilst
unhappily rejecting the whole doctrine of man's redemption,
can yet write of Our Divine Saviour :
" O, Thou great Godlike Soul ! no mortal can name Thy name
without bending the knee ; and in reverence and admiration, feeling
Thy unapproachable greatness ! Where is the people amongst whom
a man of this stamp has ever been born ? How I envy you, ye
descendants of Israel ! Alas ! that you do not feel the pride which
we, who call ourselves Christians, feel, on account of One so incom-
parable being sprung from your race ! That soul is most depraved
that knows Jesus, and does not love Him ! ' n
And what a contrast between that "progenies viperarum,"
the French Encyclopedists, and the German Transcendental
philosophers ! Voltaire's sneering admission, " Si Dieu
n'existait pas, il faudrait 1'inventer," and the more savage can-
dour of " Ecrasez 1'infame ;" Rousseau, advocating a return
to primitive barbarism ; Diderot's profane apologue to the
Deity, " Of Thee, Supreme Being, I demand nothing ;" the
sensual d'Alembert, excusing the ambiguity of the Ency-
clopedie, " Time will make people distinguish what we
have in our minds from what we have said ;" and, on the
other hand, Leibnitz, straining his mighty knowledge of
mathematics, and declaring that, behind the rules of geometry
and physics, he discerned the very nature and attributes of
God, and that the source of all philosophy lay for him, not in
his knowledge of things, but in the Divine attributes ; Hegel,
1 Bahrdt, " Moralische Religion," vol.i., p. 71.
The German Universities. (529
developing his mysterious philosophy of the spirit, until he
finds that the apogee of all moral sentiment is Christianity
or absolute religion ; Kant, called by his admirers " the
Christian philosopher of his century," drawing a most reverent
picture of Our Blessed Saviour, and declaring, even in his
earliest works, that the Bible is, in a certain and very high
sense, a Revelation ; Richter, in his divine fancies, as of the
soul that went wandering through the spheres, and that
terrible " Dream," which, it is said, did more to preserve
men's faith in God in Germany, than the arguments of its
countless theologians all these Transcendentalists have
been, in the end, decided, if unconscious, allies of Christian
faith in Germany, whose example and influence were all the
more powerful, because they had lost themselves in the mazes
of free thought, and reached such light and truth as were
vouchsafed them, not by the quick flight of faith, but by the
laborious and circuitous route of [patient investigation, and
the steady advance from principle to principle, guided by
the slender thread of inductive reasoning, and buoyed by
the consciousness that, somehow or other, the God of Truth
would not fail them in the end. They set out on their
toilsome journey, declining the guidance of religion, only to
find her majestic figure before them at the end. We might
reverse the saying of Cicero about the Roman augurs, and
say of them : " Verbis (inscii) tollunt, re ponunt Deos."
On what other theory can we explain the fact that to-day
Positivist and Materialistic opinions have no followers in
Germany ? That, although philosophy holds as high a place
in public esteem, and is considered quite as essential a branch
of education, as it was in the days of Kant or Hegel, infidelity
is making no headway amongst any class in Germany?
That reverence for the illustrious dead, and even philosophic
faith in the stupendous systems that were founded, is not
considered at all incompatible with the fullest adhesion to
what Protestants call the fundamental truths of Christianity ?
That, with the exception of four or five, 1 not a single German
professor has signed the broad schedules of scientific unbelief?
And that the most trusted leaders of German scientific
1 Buchner, Vogt, Moleschott, Fischer, Haeckel
(530 The German Universities.
thought, have neither abandoned metaphysical and religious
science for the more concrete studies of the museum and labo-
ratory, nor believed that the mighty questions of the soul and
its destinies can be resolved into problems which the chemist
can solve, nor even sought to reconcile the established
teachings of religion with the conjectural hypotheses of
physical science ; but, with decided predilections for the
former, have steadily aimed to keep the latter in its place as
" the younger child " babbling, hesitating, wilful, dreamy,
and erratic, if not controlled by the calm wisdom, and
discipline, and experience of her sister, who, with the halo
of sixty centuries around her, has yet the freshness of youth,
because of her promise of immortality. And if for a time
Rationalism did take a hold of the German mind, its reign
was transient and temporary. The very school which
originated it, that of Tubingen, was the very first to destroy it.
But all this time we are forgetting Pere Didon, whose
testimony, on these very disputed questions, is eminently
interesting.
He first then declares that although the professorial system
still obtains in Germany its influence in determining religious
opinion by creating schools of thought has passed away.
" The era of masters is over. None can now be said to have
opened a new school; none, as in the days of Kant, of Wolf, of
Hegel, of Fichte, or of Schelling, exercise sway over a whole
generation."
The professorial system, therefore, for full fifty years
(Schelling died in 1831) has not had that dominant and
pernicious influence which has been ascribed to it.
But is there still philosophical thought in Germany ? Yes :
" And it is still dominated, and its bearings directed by three
great geniuses Spinoza, Leibnitz, and Kant. Pantheistic tendencies
which seek results at all costs, and delight in erecting a system,
belong to Spinoza. The prevalence of vast erudition, and a
conciliating eclecticism is inspired by Leibnitz. As for psychological,
and critical problems, they originated with Kant, whose mighty works
ponderously weigh upon the intellects which they divide into two
contrary schools the idealists, who, scorning experience, consider,
like Hegel, their superb theories as the absolute measure of things :
the realists, who, subordinating the subjective to the objective,
The German Universities. 631
borrow from reality the rule of their speculations. I fancy that
to-day the University youth, which to-morrow will form the ruling
opinion of this country, inclines to realism, to a certain unconscious
pantheism, from which German minds scarcely ever liberate them-
selves ; and above all to a certain eclecticism, based upon serious
erudition."
One unacquainted with the strange paradoxes which are
to be met at every step in the history of this powerful nation
would now rush confidently to the conclusion that with such
determined proclivities to realism, the whole bent of modern
German thought would be directed in our age to the
positivism of Comte, or the blank materialism of Buchner
and Haeckel. Not at all.
" These misguided intellects (Buchner, Vogt, Moleschott, Fischer)
have succeeded less in leading German youth than in providing
learned French materialists 1 with weapons at a time when it was
fashionable with us to believe in the infallibility of German science.
In high University chairs, materialist or positive doctrines are left
unrepresented. The rash speculations of thought are not nowadays
viewed with high favour : philosophical tradition is, however, faithfully
preserved."
But at least this philosophical tradition must be unfavour-
able to religious science ? No.
i( Religious science holds a distinguished place in most Univer-
sities, not only because it occupies the leading place in programmes,
but also, and above all, because under the influence of esteemed, and
often famous teachers, it rallies a youth numerous and ardent. There
are 4,000 theological students in Germany, scattered among the
twenty-two Universities of the Empire, who in the mass ot students
form the most serious and diligent group."
This statement thus made by the most recent authority
on the subject, is the direct negative, both as to causes and
effects, of the ideas generally entertained on this subject.
P. A. SHEEHAN.
(To be continued.)
1 For example, Ernest Renan, who was fond of tracing that " esprit
critique" which led him into infidelity to the writings of Ewald and
Gesenius, although his contemporary at St. Sulpice is of opinion that he
was a freethinker long before he had acquired a knowledge of German or
Hebrew. " Or, a cette epoque (en recevant la tonsure) il ne savait ni
1'hebreu, ni 1'allemand ; il n'avait traverse ni Gesenius, ni Ewald, ni Fexegese
allemande ; sa critique historique etait a. naitre." li M. Renan, hier et
aujourd'huV par M. L'Abbe Cognat.
.[ f>
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAYER.
AS there never was a time when the world found itself
without a religion, so there never was a time when
prayer was unknown or when men did not practise it. For
prayer is an active element in the religious economy of the
world, whatever form religion may assume. Even Comte
finds a place for it in the machinery of that curious and
novel form of religion which he has the notoriety of having
devised, and in which his Positivist disciples worship
Humanity as the only object to which man owes homage.
Not less strange, it has even the approval of Professor Tyndall,
provided, however, that a form of it be devised " in which
the heart might express itself without putting the intellect
to shame," whatever that means. I suppose he means by it
that, Avhilst prayer considered as a power in the physical or
moral world is a superstition from which the intellect revolts,
it may nevertheless be useful as a kind of safety-valve by
which the feelings of the heart may be poured out, and that
this outpouring may have a reactionary influence whereby
the heart may be purified and the sentiments stirred up. In
other words, prayer may be tolerated on the principle on
which some mothers nowadays send their children to Sunday
school because although, of course, religion is only a fancy,
it does the " little ones " good, it keeps them together and
teaches them to be neat and tidy,
This admission of prayer as something worth retaining
in some sense or for some purpose, is but a feeble echo of
the voice of humanity coming down to us through all time.
It is a want of our nature, and therefore it is a craving that
comes out spontaneously from the soul. It is inborn in us
like religion, with which it is inseparably bound up. Religion
may appear aiidhas appeared under different forms; grotesque,
irrational, contradictory, these forms may be, but there never
yet has been a religion in which prayer of some kind has not
been given an important place and admitted as an essential
element. With Pagan and Christian, Jew and Gentile, it is
The Philosophy of Prayer. <}33
all the same. In one of his Notre Dame conferences,
Lacordaire says :
"All religions called sacrifices, ceremonies, and prayer, to the
help of the soul striving to tend towards God. Homer immolates
victims with the liturgy of Leviticus ; Delphos commands expiations
in the same language which Benares speaks ; the Etruscan augury
blesses the Roman hills as the Druid consecrated the forests of Gaul ;
and above all those living rites of invincible custom the sacrament of
prayer rises towards God to demand miracles of Him in the name of
all grief that hopes, and of all weakness that believes. Doubtless,
prayer has not always known God under the same name ; it has not
everywhere known His true and eternal history ; but the want was
everywhere the same, the aspiration similar, and when the heart was
sincere, prayer did not fail to be efficacious." 1
And the same author, speaking of the supernatural
intercourse between God and man, says :
" Those among the sages who, like Plato, have left a religious
memory were all penetrated with serious respect for the vestiges of
a tradition whose history they ignored. They avowed the infirmity
of human thought left to its own resources, and endeavoured to raise
themselves towards God by the irrational effort of prayer. They
belonged to the party of saints by desire, to the party of sages
by ignorance." "Mahomet," he says elsewhere, "made prayer the
practical foundation of his religious edifice." 2
Who that has read ever so little of Greek or Roman
literature, has not over and over again met with references
to libations and vows and prayers to the gods of paganism ?
Homer, speaking of propitiatory sacrifices to the offended
deities, thus expresses his own and the belief of his time :
" Offending man their high compassion wins
And daily prayers atone for daily sins."
Let Pythagoras give evidence for the philosophers.
He says :
" In all thou dost, first let thy prayers ascend,
And to the gods thy labours first commend ;
From them implore success, and hope a prosperous end,"
Plutarch, writing against the Epicureans, says that
nobody ever found a people who had not their gods to whom
1 " Two Objections against the Supernatural Intercourse between God
and Man."
2 u The Supernatural Intercourse between God and Man."
634 The Philosophy of Prayer.
they offered sacrifices and prayers, to obtain benefits and to
avert evils.
Here then we have prayer running unmistakably through
every form of religion and forming an important element in
each ; and there never has been a people without a religion
of some kind. A fact so universal, so constant, must be
accounted for. Whence comes it ? It cannot be attributed
to the choice or caprice of individuals or peoples ; and that
for the very reason of its universality and constant presence
in the history of every religion in every age. We must go
back further, then, and search for the reason of it in the
nature of man. We must see if it be not an office that
springs naturally and at once from his conscience, teaching
him the duty and necessity of prayer apart from and
independently of any positive law of Divine revelation.
It is necessary now to bear in mind that prayer implies
more than its ordinarily received meaning. Praying is
petitioning God, as we commonly understand it. But it
includes, moreover, adoration and thanksgiving; and a
petition to God may be either for the pardon of faults or the
granting of favours.
There is nothing more natural to us than to be enraptured
by the beautiful, to admire the sublime, to honour goodness
and wisdom, to reverence greatness and power. One
instinctively regards with reverence the genius of Aristotle,
St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, or other great intellects
that have arisen in the world's history from time to time,
however he may differ from their principles or teaching. So
it is with warriors, painters, poets, sculptors, &c. Alexander,
Napoleon, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Shakespeare, or Dante.
A man may dislike the men, but he must admire their genius.
Do we not, not merely feel, but give spontaneous expression
to our feelings in the presence of the sublime or the beautiful
in nature or in art ? Clearly, it was this that made men turn
to the sun and the moon, to rivers and to mountains, and
worship them, when dulled by sin and passion, they had
turned from and had forgotten the one true God. It is not
true, as it has been said, that by a law of indefinite progress,
monotheism was the outcome of polytheism. The reverse is
The Philosophy of Prayer. (535
true ; or rather it is true that polytheism stepped in where
monotheism had died out. Men should have some form of
religion, something to worship ; and having lost their primitive
faith in the one true God, they turned to other objects of
worship, each according to his fancy or choice. It is under
the same inborn influence that certain philosophers of the
present day who ignore a personal God, turn to humanity
and make it the object of their homage. All this unmistak-
ably points to an instinctive craving in us for something to
worship and to the creation of feelings in us corresponding
to the influence that objects are calculated to excite. Now,
we have our intellect, and it reasons back from effect to cause
and declares that there is a God. It cannot fathom the
nature of God. it cannot comprehend Him ; but it can and
must know that there must be a Personal God. It inquires
as far as it may into the nature and attributes of such a
Being, and finds that a Being existing of necessity must
be infinitely perfect and the principle of all perfection,
infinitely powerful and the principle of all power, infinitely
wise and beautiful and the principle of all wisdom and
beauty. It knows that itself, and everything we have, and
everything that is, has come from God. Under this con-
sciousness the intellect cannot remain unmoved; having
come to the knowledge of God and His attributes, it bows
down in homage before the power, wisdom, and beauty from
which all power, wisdom and beauty springs before the
creative power from which everything that is has come.
This is the prayer of adoration.
But as:ain there is the heart of man. The intellect knows
o
the goodness of God ; it sees it manifested in the creation,
and also in the Providence by which God preserves, governs
and guides everything, even the least that He has created.
" Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings "
says the nursery rhyme. Now there are no persons we more
despise than the ungrateful. This shows an innate persuasion
in us that ingratitude ought not find a place in the human
636 The Philosophy of Prayer.
heart ; that it is an exotic that ought not to be there ; that,
if there, it ought to be plucked up, and gratitude sown in its
stead. Man is by nature disposed to gratitude for benefits
received ; ingratitude is a contraband import that the law of
his nature prohibits him from admitting. And as the know-
ledge of God and of His attributes calls forth the prayer of
adoration, gratitude for the blessing of creation and for the
untold benefits administered and disposed by the Providence
of God in the natural and in the supernatural order, calls
forth jthe prayer of thanksgiving. Again, the intellect knows
that mercy is an attribute of God, and trusting to His
mercy we are most naturally moved to petition Him for the
pardon of our faults. We know that goodness is an attribute
of His, and we ask Him to manifest His Providence in our
behalf in the way of granting spiritual and temporal favours
that we need, or of averting spiritual or temporal evils that
we fear.
Looked at, then, in the light of natural religion, prayer is
both a duty and a necessity ; and the necessity enforces the
duty. Other considerations may be made use of, and the
argument we have used, if drawn out at greater length,
would show itself more forcible and convincing.
Enough has, however, been said for our purpose. Viewed
directly and with the light of sound philosophy the way
appears quite clear. But another philosophy throws another
light upon it and makes impediments appear, or rather casts
them in the^way ; and these it is our purpose to remove or
rather to show that they are not what they appear to be. We
have abstained too from strengthening our position by the
aid of Revealed Religion, because, with the exception of
some illogical persons, those who deny the use or the necessity
of prayer, deny also that there is a Revealed Religion. So
unmistakably does Revelation inculcate prayer, that one is
perforce driven into the admission or denial of both together.
Of course we at the same time claim the aid and evidence of
Holy Scripture as an historical witness to the belief of men
from the very beginning, that the need of prayer is involved
in our intercourse with God.
Although prayer, as we have seen, ought to hold and has
The Pliilosopliy of Prayer. 637
always held an important place in any system of religion
worthy the name, it does not constitute religion. That was
the error of the Messalinians, a sect partly pagan and partly
Christian, that flourished for a time in the East. They
taught that the disposition of Divine Providence is variable
and may be changed by prayer; also that every man has a
devil attached to him from his birth, and that only prayer
can banish him. These and other absurdities that they
taught are exceeded in absurdity by the practices of their
lives. On the other hand, there are those with whom prayer
of any kind would be illogical and meaningless, even the
prayer of adoration and thanksgiving. Such are atheists
and pantheists ; the former, because they admit no object
they might pray to, the latter because they themselves form
an essential part of a necessary whole, which, therefore, for
obvious reasons it would be folly for them to adore or praise,
and useless to petition for good or against evil. To those
must be added a large number of pseudo-philosophers of the
present day whose avowed principles, whatever be their pro-
fessions, logically merge into one or the other. Beyond this
the question turns exclusively on the prayer of petition ; and
those who ignore or repudiate it as a thing absurd or at least
useless, do so for various reasons. To allow it any efficacious
influence, and therefore any meaning, it is necessary to
recognise Divine Providence, to begin with. That is a pre-
liminary position, without which prayer would necessarily
be without effect and without a purpose. When one prays,
he prays for something to be obtained or averted, and this
implies a belief that the prayer may be heard and the desired
result produced. Prayer offered for no definite purpose, and
without a hope or any reason for hoping that any good may
come of it, would be irrational, unless one may set himself to
pray for pastime. But if God having created the universe,
stopped there and let it thenceforth take its course, like a
watchmaker, who having made a timepiece, set its mechanism
in motion and sold it, troubles himself no more about it ; in
other words if there be no Providence governing the world,
prayer becomes an impious mockery, or at best a purposeless
trifling. Hence, into that school of theism that would have
638 The Pldlosophy of Prayer.
God take no concern about the world, prayer can never
enter. To these, as to the last-mentioned class, we have
nothing now to say. The ground of their denial of prayer
is their denial of Providence ; and to prove the efficacy of
the former against them we should begin by establishing the
reality of the latter. But that is outside our purpose.
Besides, after we had asserted the Providence of God, the
difficulty may not, and likely would not end there. For,
granted that the universe is governed by Providence, what
are we to understand by Providence ? Different theorists
attach different meanings to it, and some of them seem as
utterly incompatible with the influence of prayer as no
Providence at all. Indeed Providence, in the sense in which
it is understood and explained by some, is really no
Providence at all.
We will take up then and consider a few of the leading
difficulties which unbelievers in the reasonableness of prayer
throw out to justify their position, according to their respec-
tive notions of Divine Providence. Other difficulties, such
as disbelief in any interference on the part of God with the
course and order of the world, lead the way to and ultimately
end in that one. The nucleus of the difficulty lies in show-
ing that the incompatibility of prayer with God's action on
secondary causes is only apparent, not real. When repulsed
from other positions they will fly to this ; and it is the last
battleground they can take up.
Now, then, they urge the untenableness of prayer because
of its incompatibility with the unchangeableness, knowledge
and goodness of God on the one hand, and with the system
of laws devised by Him for the government of the world on
the other. "Do what we can," says Jules Simon, "it is
impossible to take away from God His immutability and
eternity. Prayer brings us no other good than to draw us
nearer to God by meditation and love." 1 Moreover, is not
God all-seeing, and does He not know our desires and our
needs ? Is He not infinitely good, and will He not, knowing
them, satisfy the one if it be good for us, and provide for the
1 " Natural Keligion,'' chap. i.
The Philosophy of Prayer. 639
other if they be real ? But the theory of prayer implies
either that we may have wants and wishes that God may
not know, or that knowing them, His goodness may possibly
not provide for them without the importunity of our prayers.
We have, on the other hand, to deal with the alleged
incompatibility of prayer with the uniformity that science
has discovered in the laws of nature. Say that it has come
by design, by chance, or. from necessity, just as it pleases
you ; that it has been pre-arranged by a Personal God, or
that it is the outcome of nature existing always ; one thing is
certain, they say, namely, that the universe is governed by
an unvarying law which it would be vain to attempt to
break or disturb. This is a scientific certainty ; and any-
thing opposed to it must be unscientific and untrue. It
implies therefore the unreasonableness of prayer, because it
deprives it of an office and a purpose. It ignores it as a
thing silly and unsubstantial, leaving it no scientific basis on
which to rest. And this invariableness of the laws of nature
seems to confront prayer from every side to which its
influence is directed. For we pray either (a) for temporal
blessings, or the averting of temporal evils, such as rain, fine
weather, the cessation of a pestilence or the curing of a
fever ; (b) for spiritual blessings or the averting of spiritual
evils, such as, an increase of grace, protection from tempta-
tion, &c. ; or (c) for social blessings or the averting of social
evils, such as that sounder principles may govern the
political life of the nation, that principles opposed to public
morality and the public weal may be discountenanced and
checked. But there is this uniform law governing the
physical, the mental, and the social world, and frustrating
the assumed power of prayer, or rather denying that it has
any. In the first instance, prayer finds its opponents in a
certain class of physicists who are remarkable for arrogating
to themselves a monopoly of knowledge in physical science,
as if nobody else knew anything about it. " They ask for
fair weather and for rain," says Professor Tyndall, " but they
do not ask that water may run up a hill, while the man of
science clearly sees that the granting of one petition would
be just as much an infringement of the law of conservation
640 The Philosophy of Prayer.
as the granting of the other. Holding the law to be per-
manent he prays for neither." Perhaps it was a similar
belief that drew from Lord Palmerston his well-known reply
to a deputation that waited on him, on the occasion of an
outbreak of cholera in London, to ask him to have public
prayers said, that the pestilence may cease : " Don't mind
your prayers," said he, " but cleanse your drains." In the
second place, according to a certain school of psychologists,
mental phenomena are under laws quite as fixed as those
that govern the physical world; and hence it is no less
irrational to pray for grace or against temptation than for
fine weather or against a plague. From this the distance is
very short and easy to the third ground of opposition,
namely, that peoples no less than individuals are guided and
governed by an inflexible law. The philosophy of history
has been taught by many on this hypothesis. The theory as
held by Buckle is summarized in the following words by
Justin M'Carthy in his "History of our own Times" i 1
" All the movements of history, and indeed of human life
through all its processes are regulated by fixed physical laws
as certain as those which rule the motions of the waves and
the changes of the weather, and of which we could arrive at
a sound and trustworthy knowledge if we were content to
study their phenomena as we do the phenomena of the seas
and the skies." It is therefore useless, indeed in a certain
sense impious, to pray for, let us say, the extirpation of
socialism or the conversion of England. We may here
observe, that under the second class may logically bo
brought, Calvinists, Jansenists, Wickliffites, and all, in a
word, who must on principle address God in the words of
Burns :
<r Oh Thou, wha in the heavens dost dwell,
Wha, as it pleases best Thysel',
Sends one to heaven and ten to hell,
A* for Thy glory,
And no' for any ^ood or ill
They've done afore Thee !"
These difficulties we will consider in a future paper.
M. O'RlORDAN.
1 Vol. iv., page 300,
[ 641 J
THE IRISH IN BELGIUM. IV.
DOCTORS AND PROFESSORS AT LOUVAIN.
" I cannot but highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland, who,
with all the disadvantages of being exiles and strangers, have been
able to distinguish themselves in so many parts of Europe, I think,
above all other nations." SWIFT.
IN the Introduction to this series of Papers the state of
Ireland during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eight-
eenth centuries was briefly outlined. The resume showed
that learning and the practice of their religion were denied
the people ; and that exile amongst strangers was preferable
to fierce persecution at home. Touching those centuries,,
Charles O'Conor writes :
" It is not from the hunted remains of a conquered people, thus-
persecuted, that we are to form an idea of its genius, or its manners.
To have a fair view of the native Irish, * * * , we must follow
their nobility and gentry in their exile to those countries where they
were allowed to exercise their abilities. There we find them, whether
in an ecclesiastical, military, or mercantile capacity, triumphing over
indigence, and rivalling the most illustrious geniuses of France,
Spain, Italy and Germany, without riches to command notice, or
patronage to create esteem."
The glory won on Belgian soil at Ramillies and at
Fontenoy shall ever shine brightly over these battle-fields,
celebrated in fiery verses and in graceful songs by Davis and
Downing, who have made them familiar as household words,
but the glory won in the academic Halls of Louvain is unlike
that glory of the battle-field,
" Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself."
Few poets have immortalized this glory ; and no political
or military movement awakens the memories thereof in the
minds of the people. It is true scholars have written of it ;
and learned tomes, both in Ireland and on the Continent, tell
the bright story ; but the dust is often thick upon these
tomes, and many are wholly forgotten by or unknown to the
Irish of to-day. Yet these volumes and manuscripts hold
within them a glory brighter for our race, than the glory of
VOL. VH. '2 S
642 The Irish in Belgium.
the battle-field. So long ago as the year 1617, the learned
Bishop Rothe pointed to this hidden treasure ; " multa etiam
in antiquis bibliothecis recondita esse possunt quae, si lucem
aspiciant, mirum quantum illustrabunt Hiberniam." Many
do not care to search for this hidden light and ancient
glory ; and from the pen of Goethe we hear an echo,
" FAUST. To us my friend, the times that are gone by,
Are a mysterious book, sealed with seven seals :
* * *
Oh ! often what a toilsome thing it is
This study of thine, at the first glance we fly it.
A mass of things confusedly heaped together ;
A lumber room of dusty documents,
Furnished with all approved court precedents,
And old traditional maxims ! *
Are mouldy records, then, the holy springs,
Whose healing waters still the thirst within ?
WAGNER. Pardon rne but you will at least confess
That 'tis delightful to transfuse yourself
Into the spirit of the ages past :
To see how wise men thought in olden time
And how far we outstep their march in knowledge.
* * #
The search of knowledge is a weary one,
And life how short ! Ars longa, vita brevis!"
Amongst the alumni of Louvain, who, as successful searchers
in the weary path to knowledge, received the sanction of
the Doctor's cap and ring, the first in the order of time is,
I. Dermod 0' Hurley (Anno 1551) ; but an account of his
academic career can best be given in the paper dealing with
the alumni promoted to the episcopal dignity. The same
course will be followed with regard to the Doctors or
Professors who were similarly promoted.
Anno 1551. II. Richard Creagh, .Limericensis, Archbishop
of Armagh.
Anno 1575. III. Peter Lombard, Waterfordiensis, Arch-
bishop of Armagh.
Anno 1576. IV. Nicholas Queinerford, Waterfordiensis.
After this entry the Bax MS. has the following : " venit
Lovanium, Anno 1565. Remmciatus fuit Doctor Sacrae Theologiae,
23 Oct. 1575." From the Memoir of Most Rev. Peter Lombard,
prefixed by Cardinal Moran to his edition of De Regno Hiberniae,
The Irish in Belgium. 643
we learn further particulars. The Lord President of Munster,
Sir William Drury, wrote to Walsingham, from Waterford, in 1577,
ii vivid account of the desolate condition of Protestantism in that
city. * He then mentions James Archer of Kilkenny,
Dr. Quemerford of Waterford, and Chaunter Walshe, as the other
principal agents of the Holy See : and he adds that the Catholic
<cause was mainly supported by the students of Waterford educated
at Lou vain, by whom and by some others aforesaid, the proud and
uudutiful inhabitants of this town are so cankered in Popery,
uiidutiful to her Majesty, slandering the Gospel publicly. * *
Masses infinite they have in their several churches every morning,
without any fear. I have spied them, for I chanced to arrive last
Sunday at five of the clock in the morning, and saw them resort out
of the churches by heaps. This is shameful in a reformed city."
" Amongst his (Archbishop Lombard) companions in Louvain was
Dr. Quemerford (now written Comerford), whom Sir William Drury
honoured with special mention in the passage cited above. This
worthy priest had laboured for some years on the mission in Waterford ;
but, as Anthony a Wood narrates, ' was turned out of whatever pre-
ferments he had, because he would not conform himself to the
established religion.' He then proceeded to Louvain to perfect
himself still more in his theological studies, and, on the 23rd June,
1575, was promoted to the degree of Doctor of Divinity. On this
happy promotion of his friend and fellow-citizen, Peter Lombard
composed a Latin poem, which was printed with the title, ' Carmen
.heroicum in Doctoratum Nicolai Quern erf or di.' ' n
Circ. 1562. Y. Patrick Quemerford. The insertion of this
Doctor rests entirely upon the authority of Brenan (EccL Hist..
XVI. century, chap, iii.) It is possible that the learned
author meant Nicholas, and I make the supposition because
the Bax MS. has no mention of Patrick :
" Patrick Quemerford, a native of Waterford, and a distinguished
alumnus of the University of Oxford, was about the same time
pursued by the intolerant spirit of the laws, and obliged to take refuge
in a foreign land. Soon after his ordination, in 1562, he removed 10
Louvain, where he renewed his studies with such brilliant success,
that, after some time, he took out a degree of Doctor of Divinity, and
became one of the most eminent lecturers in the University. The
desire which he had always cherished of combining the religious with
the literary life, had at length induced him to become a member of
the Society of the Jesuits ; accordingly, he removed to Spain, where
he was honourably employed for many years, and obtained unbounded
applause in some of the most celebrated Colleges of that kingdom.
He is said to have written many learned tracts on philosophical and
1 De Reyno Hiberniae, pp. 6-8.
644 The Irish in Belgium.
theological subjects. During his residence in Ireland lie published a
treatise entitled, ' Answers to Certain Questions propounded by the
Citizens of Waterford ; together with a collection of Sermons ; like-
wise, ' Carmina in laudem Comitis Ormondiae.' "
1583. VI. Francis Levalle (Levallerius), was Professor
of Philosophy in the Paedagogium Falconis, in 1583. On
resigning his Chair he joined the Capuchin Order.
1622. VII. Mathew Theige, Imolacensis. Took out the
Bachelorship in Arts, anno 1622 ; and the Doctor's Degree
in Theology, on the 23rd November, 1638. Further
particulars regarding him will be given when treating of the
Presidents of the Irish Pastoral College.
1625. VIII. John Shinnick, Corcagiensis. As he rose to
the crowning honour of Rector Magnificus Academiae, his
memoir will be given later on.
1648. IX. Charles Breyn, Corcagiensis. He belonged to-
the Congregation of the Oratory, and taught Theology in
the House of his Order, at Brussels. The Bax MS. contains
no further information regarding him. Although it says he
taught at Brussels, it has his name under the heading
"Hiberni Doctores, vel Professores in Universitate Lovaniensi.''
1651). X. Thomas Stapleton, Casseliensis. As this dis-
tinguished man was Rector Magnificus, his memoir will be
given later on.
1670. XI John Barry, Corcagiensis. Mentioned in the-
list of Doctors and Professors (Bax MS.), but no reference is
made to his academic course, or Chair. The MS. has the
following notice :
u John Barry of Cork, son of Thomas and Johanna Shinnick,
Pastor of the Church of Our Lady at Deynse (in Donza), in the Diocese
of Ghent. He was Rural Dean, and died on the llth of December,
1710."
1682. XII. John O'Sullivan, Donkieranensis Hibernus*
He was one of the most distinguished alumni at Louvaiii.
He belonged to the branch of the O'Sullivan Bear, which is
represented in Belgium at present by the Princess de
Loos-Corswarem, and the O'Sullivans of Terdank, one of
whom is Colonel of the 1st Life Guards at Brussels ; and
another, Controller in the Travaux- Publics. As John O'Sullivan,
The Irish in Belgium. 645
S.T.D., was President of the Collegium Pastorale, his memoir
will be given in connection with that institution.
ir>!>4. XIII. Maurice Faber (Fabricius), Casseliensis. In
the list of graduates, anno 1671, there is mentioned Gulielmus
Fabricius, Fiderdiensis, who was pvobably related to Maurice.
Touching Maurice the Bax MS. has the following :
'' Maurice Faber, an Irishman, and a priest, juris utriusque
Licentiate, was appointed after the death of Doctor Thomas Stapleton,
President of the College of Luxembourg, at Louvain."
Maurice was not quite successful as an econome and
President which can be gathered from the Bax MS., and
.also from the Analectes of Reussene and Barbier (2nd series,
vol. iii.) The following is from the Analectes :
" Ob inhabilitatem et malam administrationem primum receptura
hujus collegii privatur, receptorque constituitur 10 Januarii, 1702,
domiuus Alardus van den Steen ; tune collegium, quin et Lovanium,
deserere coactus, se recepit in Helvetiam. Praesidentia simul et
receptura a 4 Aprilis concreditur praenominato Alardo van den
Steen."
On the 26th of February, 1703, Maurice resigned his
office to a fellow countryman, Martin Caddan, Kilkenniensis-,
who was a Licentiate of Theology, President of the Irish
College, Antwerp, and "anno 1678, in artibus e Lelio 50."
A memoir of Caddan will appear in connection Avith the Irish
College of Antwerp. The further history of Maurice is
commonplace. In 1724, he was chaplain in the neighbour-
hood of Antwerp. The full title of his chaplaincy, as given
in the MS., may be more curious than intelligible : " van de
capelrye van de Zuytkoor binnen Beveren." From Histoire
Chronologique of Hellin, we learn that he resigned his stall in
the Chapter of St. Bavo at Ghent, to which he had been
nominated in 1693.
1698. XIV. Florence O'Sullivan, DonJderanensis, S.T.D.
He was brother to John O'Sullivan, mentioned above, and as
he was President of the Irish Pastoral College, his memoir is
deferred.
1767. XV. Peter MacWaugh (Macve), Kilmoriensis. His
memoir will appear in connection with the Irish Pastoral
College, of which he was President.
646 The Irish in Belgium.
1778. XVI. John Kent, Waterfordiensis. He was Presi-
dent of the Pastoral College, and in his time had the unsought-
for honour of having his name current as an addition to the
Latin phrases used at Louvain. In fact, he was the pioneer
of the movement which added so many Irishmen's names to
various languages. His memoir will be given with the list of
Presidents.
1780. XVII. Peter MacWaugh (Macve), Kilmoriensis.
As he and the graduate following next were Presidents of the
Pastoral College, notices of them are deferred.
1793. XVIII. Francis O'Hearn, Lismorensis. The French
Invasion drove him out of Belgium. He died Parish Priest
of St. Thomas' Parish at Waterford in 1801.
1793. XIX. Thomas Flinn, Lismorensis. Touching him,,
the Bax MS. has the following :
" Thomas Flinn, of Lismore, an Irishman. In the year 1783 he
obtained the first place in Rhetoric in the College of the Holy Trinity
at Louvain. After taking his degree of Master in Arts he entered
for Theology. On the 16th of May, 1791, he was elected Professor
of Syntax in the aforesaid College, and put upon the Council of the
Faculty. Afterwards, on the resignation of Professor O'Hearn, he
was appointed Professor of Rhetoric. In the year 1793, on the
invasion of Belgium by the French troops, he withdrew to Ireland,,
where he was appointed Parish Priest of St. Thomas', at Waterford,.
on the death of his uncle, the Rev. Francis O'Hearn, which occurred
on the 21st October, 1801."
As Daniel O'Connell was a student of the College of the
Holy Trinity during the Professorship of Thomas Flinn, it is-
probable that he learned his Rhetoric, or at least his Syntax,
from the future Parish Priest of St. Thomas .
Versus 1706. XX. John O'Heyne, O.P. He graduated
S.T.D. ; was Prior, or Regens Primarius, of his Convent at
Louvain. He joined the Order in the Convent at Athenry,.
County Gal way, and is known to the Irish historical world by
his rare work, the Epilogus Chronologicus, which was printed
at Louvain. It may be necessary to remark that the distin-
guished men of the various religious orders will be noticed
when treating of the houses of their respective orders at
Louvain. A full memoir of O'Heyne, and a notice of his
works, will be given in connection with the Convent of the
The Irish in Belgium. 647
Holy Cross. As the Irish Augustinians had no house in con-
nection with the University at Louvain, the present paper
will close with a memoir of a distinguished graduate of that
Order.
Versus 1760. XXI. William Gahan, O.S.A. His name is
familiar to all Irish Catholics, through the medium of his
Volume of Sermons, which have done much service for the
Church in Ireland. To appreciate the volume we must
remember that the people were deprived of the ordinary
sources of information which we now enjoy, and that the
spirit of inquiry was aroused by the relaxing of the Penal
Code. He arose like a tower of strength, and his works
spread with his fame amongst the people. He was born in
the Parish of St. Nicholas, in Dublin, on the 5th June, 1730.
After joining the Order of St. Augustine, he proceeded to
Louvain, where he attended lectures during eleven years.
He took out his several degrees, and his Doctorate in 1760.
He returned to Ireland in 1761.
" In the metropolis the supply of parochial clergy was limited, a
circumstance which induced Doctor Gahan to accede to the wishes of
his Archbishop, the Most Rev. John Linegar, and undertake the
arduous duties of a Curate in the Parish of St. Paul, in the City of
Dublin. After three years spent in the discharge of these duties, he
retired to the Convent of his Order in St. John's-street, Dublin, where
he commenced a new career of labours, and completed those inimit-
able works which remain to this day as so many memorials of his
talents and piety." 1
The following is a list of his works :
(1) " Sermons on Various Subjects ;" (2) " A History of the
Christian Church;" (3) "A Short and Plain Exposition of the
Catechism;" (4) "The Christian Guide to Heaven;" (5) "Catholic
Devotion ;" (6; " A Short and Easy Method to Discern the True
Religion from all the Sects which undeservedly assume that Name;"
(7) u Youth Instructed in the Grounds of the True Religion;"
(8) "The Devout Communicant;" (9) "A Translation of the
* Spiritual Retreat,' from the French of Bourdaloue ;" (10) " An
Abridgment of the History of the Old and New Testament ;'' (11)
" A Tour through England, France, and Italy in 1786." This work
is in MS."
It was at this period he made the acquaintance of Doctor
John Butler, Bishop of Cork, and afterwards too famous as
1 Brenan's Eccl. Hist. XIX. Century, chap. iii.
648 Theological Questions.
Lord Dunboyne. In 1800 Lord Dunboyiie was dangerously
ill, and wrote to Dr. Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, to be
re-admitted into the Church. Dr. Gahan was directed to
proceed to Dunboyne Castle, and did so.
During his illness Lord Dunboyne bequeathed an estate
to the trustees of the College of Maynooth, and another to
his sister and heir-at-law, Catherine O'Brien Butler. It is
needless to enter into particulars of the bequests, or the law-
suits and proceedings which ensued. It suffices to say that
Lord Kilwarden committed Dr. Gahan to a week's imprison-
ment in Trim gaol for contempt of court, and that Dr. Gahan
assured his lordship " that, like Eleazar of old, he would
sooner lay his head on a block, and forfeit his life, than
reveal the secrets which had been disclosed to him in the
ministerial discharge of his duty."
Doctor Gahan died in his Convent on the 6th of December,
1804, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
JOSEPH P. SPELMAN.
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
CONDITIONAL BAPTISM.
" I have recently met a case in which an infant, qui partim
egressus est ab utero sed nondum natus est, was baptized by the
medical attendant, who is a conscientious man and a good practical
Catholic. When I interrogated him about the matter he stated
that, notwithstanding the circumstance above referred to, the infant's
head was quite within reach, and he poured the water thereon. He
was quite confident that the baptism was valid. Should I re-baptize
conditionally in this case ? Should I do so, had the child been born
at the time baptism was first administered ? A former alumnus of
Maynooth informs me that a distinguished professor there in his
time taught that every child baptized by a lay person should be re-
baptized conditionally by the priest. Kindly state in next number
of the RECORD if such an opinion is held, or has been held, by any
Theological Questions. 649
of the Maynooth professors. In a recent number of the RECORD you
speak of the ' medical attendant's possible unreliableness as a minister
of the sacrament.' Tin's seems to favour the teaching to which I
have referred, and which appears to me to be at variance with the
common teaching of theologians, who lay down that we are to re-
baptize conditionally ONLY when there is a reasonable doubt of the
validity of the former baptism. I am quite certain that I have heard
an ecclesiastic of very high position state, that the priest should
always re-baptize conditionally when the child has been already
baptized by the midwife, &c., because in oases of this kind the
anxiety, confusion, &c., under which such persons usually act, are
enough to cause a reasonable doubt about the validity of the baptism,
no matter how conscientious or well instructed such persons may
be. But it appears to me that there are no grounds for this
reasonable doubt when the medical attendant who baptizes, is a good
practical Catholic, and when he states positively that he has no doubt
whatever about the validity of the baptism which he has given. If
we must give conditional baptism in such a case, then we must hold
that no baptism given by a lay person is certain, and hence that a
child, baptized by any such lay person, must be re-baptized con-
ditionally; but as 1 have stated this appears to me to be contrary to
the teaching of theologians. If you would kindly enlighten me on
those points you would much oblige. A SUBSCRIBER."
We desire to say at once in reply to our respected
correspondent that we never heard of anyone who would
hold that Baptism should be repeated conditionally whenever.
it is found to have been administered in the first instance by
a layman. Assuredly it is not beyond the grasp of the lay
mind to understand all that is required for validity, nor
beyond a layman's power to carry out this little undoubtingly,
so as leave no reasonable ground for questioning the perfec-
tion of the essential duty. " Chirurgi " and " obstetrices "
there are, whose intelligence, care, conscientiousness, and self-
command leave nothing to be desired. Now in such cases no
one will think of re-baptizing conditionally. There is no dubium
prudens about validity, and when the doubt is for certain
only leve at most, it would be unfair to the sacraments and
inconsistent with sound principles of human conduct to
apply again in any way this medium of grace, despite the
terrible necessity of its valid reception at one time or other.
650 Theological Questions.
Such alone are the college traditions we have inherited or
heard of.
But the question of fact remains. Is private Baptism so
administered as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt?
This is a question which, whatever we may think of the
average result, must be separately answered for each case.
Hence the Synod of Maynooth (pp. 76-77) says "Baptizari
sub conditione volumus infantes expositos a parentibus,
atque etiam eos qui a nutricibus aut obstetricibus in domibus
privatis abluti sunt, nisi similiter fide dignis testimoniis
constet baptismum fuisse rite collatum."
In reference to the particular difficulty mentioned in our
correspondent's letter, it is well to remember that the case
decided by the Sacred Congregation, was one in which the
water duly reached the infant's head. Still, " quia in utero
delituit" the child was afterwards conditionally re-baptized.
The Roman Ritual seems to mention the one event, after
which baptism should not be conditionally repeated " Si
infans caput emiserit et periculum mortis immineat, baptizetur
in capite, nee postea, si vivus evaserit, erit iterum
baptizandus." Those, then, who question the validity of
baptism in utero, on the ground that one must be natus before
being renatus, should admit partial nativity to be sufficient
for receiving the sacrament.
JURISDICTION FOR RESERVED CASES "SEDE VACANTE."
" A confessor, who requires for a particular penitent faculties
which he does not generally possess, is sometimes at a loss to know
to whom he should apply, when the Bishop dies. How is he to act if
a Vicar Capitular has not yet been appointed ?"
If there be a Chapter in the diocese, the Bishop's ordinary
jurisdiction passes to it at his death, and may be exercised
through the immediate agency of any member it chooses to
commission for this purpose. From the person thus selected
a confessor may procure faculties for diocesan reserved
cases. But, for a reason that will soon appear, there is a
more ready way of attaining the end in view than by apply-
ing to the Chapter or to such a representative. Of course
Theological Questions. 651
the Vicar Capitular, as soon as lie is appointed, will absorb
the Chapter's jurisdiction.
it must not, however, be supposed that priests, who possess
extensive faculties during the Bishop's lifetime, are neces-
sarily deprived of them at his death. The Vicars General,,
whose jurisdiction is ordinary, no doubt die with the Bishop.
But delegated faculties for diocesan reservations, just like
the jurisdiction of curates to hear confessions, will continue
as before, if given absolutely.
Moreover, the faculties of the Formula Sexta, are preserved
by a special arrangement. For Bishops are expressly directed
to communicate these powers pro tempore mortis. Hence,.
by applying to the Dean, or any of the former Vicars, a
confessor can procure the faculties he requires, or at least
learn to whom he should apply for them, in the interval
before the appointment of a Vicar-Capitular or his receiving
a fresh copy of the " Formula Sexta " from Propaganda.
THE MATERIA REQUIRED FOR ABSOLUTION.
" May I trouble you for an answer on a matter that occasionally
is of practical importance in hearing confessions ? Not seldom one
meets cases among those who go often to confession where the-
materia is not sufficiens for absolution. Wishing to give absolution,
you ask for something a venun peccatum, of course from the past-
You get, ' I was in a passion,' or 4 1 was disobedient,' <&c. I would
ask, can you then, in all cases, give absolution right off ? Please
remark, I am alluding to the nature only of the materia supplied from
the past its sufficiency.
" I know there are priests who absolve right off. I also know
there are some who^hesitate. The former say the materia is sufficiens r
because, in the Sacrament of Penance, from its nature, much must
necessarily be presumed : a certitude moralis in lato sensu is all one
can look for, and this ' in lalo ' sensu is gathered ev communiter
contingentibus : therefore, when you get an accusation of passion,
disobedience, &c., you can assume, what no doubt happens in nine
cases out often, that there was with the passion, &c., tkealiqua adver-
tentia and the aliquis consensus necessary for a venial sin. On the
other side, they, who hesitate, say : you may assume too much not
to speak of the poorer "people, who so often mistakingly accuse them-
652 Theological Questions.
selves of Masses lost for which they were no way blamable and
you cannot even well think them to have had at the time a conscientia
erronea. Now, many penitents comprehend not the meaning of the
word ' wilful,' as applied to sin, confound temptation with consent,
and know no difference between motus primo-primi or natural human
infirmity, and sin. How many pious adult penitents also, late in life,
have their attention drawn, by sermons or reading, to early peccadillos,
which were not sins at the time, through want of advertence or
somehow, and then come to submit them, when asked, as vera peccata
from the past. I suppose, if the penitent confesses, from the past, 'a
habit of anger,' &c., one should not hesitate.
" I know some shirk the difficulty in this matter by not pronoun-
cing absolution, or, by acting on the opinion allowing monthly con-
ditional absolution. If the modern opinion, urging the sufficiency of
generic accusation of venial sins, and which Lehmkuhl says may be
acted on ' aliqHandoJ were of free use, the difficulty should be easily
got over.
" May I trouble you to supplement your reply by saying what one
may safely do for children who cannot give sufficient matter in con-
fession, or only ditbie sujficiens from all their life, i.e., how often may
one absolve them. For, here, too, I know there is not unanimity of
opinion. SACERDOS."
Our respected correspondent raises questions of much
practical interest. He will, however, find some of them fully
treated in the RECORD of past years. We refer him to
pp. 384-98, year 1882, for " confession of sin in genere" and
to pp. 288-90, year 1882, for " what one may safely do for
children who give only dubie sufficiens materia from
all their life."
But the point on which he lays most stress still remains.
May one take " I was in a passion," or " I was disobedient/
as confession of a verum peccatum, when he asks the penitent
for a sin of his past life, in order to be certain of the materia
circa quam ? Is this acknowledgment sufficient to justify the
confessor in absolving without further anxiety in regard to
sin and its proper declaration ?
Observe, there is no direct doubt about the contrition as
such. Of its presence the confessor has ordinary evidence.
His only ground for hesitancy is that the act, confessed as
sinful, may not be a sin at all. Now, notwithstanding the
Theological Questions. 653
very great probability that absolution is valid whenever true
sorrow for sin, with a purpose of amendment, is externated
by one who has no necessary matter to confess, there is no
doubt that in practice a confessor should endeavour to
obtain the confession of a particular sin or habit to which that
sorrow extends. Indeed otherwise contrition, even of the
generic kind, would remain very doubtful in several cases.
Our correspondent puts with much clearness the reasons
for and against receiving "I was in a passion," as a confession
of sin from the past. For our own part, prescinding from
special reasons to the contrary in a particular case, we
should, as a general rule, be content with this declaration.
From the very nature of the sacramental judgment, a priest
cannot require the same degree of certainty, even with regard
to the dispositions of his penitent, as he does in the matter of
the other sacraments, if the Sacred Tribunal is to remain an
inviting fountain of mercy to repentant sinners. A fortiori
this is so for the confession of individual sin.
What, then, is the probability of the " passion " having
been a sin. Alas ! it is very easy to commit a venial fault.
The smallest transgression of the dictates of right reason
with a scintilla of wilfulness in the act will tarnish its moral
character. If so, how few fits of passion are free from sin ?
Provided then the penitent, who has no certain matter since
last confession, shows ordinary signs of contrition, and con-
fesses "being in a passion," " disobedience to parents," " a
habit of anger," or something of a like kind from his past
life, we think that per se absolution may be given.
P. O'D.
[ 654 ]
DOCUMENTS.
EX S. COXGREGATIONE INDULGENTIARUM.
SUMMARY.
Decrees relating to certain General Indults which Mgr.
Mermillod asked for, when Bishop of Hebron and Apostolic
Administrator of Geneva.
LA.USANEN. ET GENEVEN.
QUOAD NONNULLA GENERAL! A. INDULTA PRO INDULGENTIARUM
CONSECUTIONE.
Illmus. ac Revmus. D. Gaspar Mermillod, Episcopus Lausanensis
et Genevensis, quum adhuc Episcopus erat Hebronensis et Genevae
Apostolicus Administrator, S. Cougregationi Indulgentiis Sacrisque
Reliquiis praepositae, pro obtinendis nonnullisgeneralibus Indultis ad
Inclulgentias lucrandas, sequentia Fostulata exhibebat :
I. Ut conditio visitandi EccUsiam pro lucrandis Indulgentiis^
generice saepe praescripta, adimpleri possit a personis utriusque sexus
in communitate et sub regula viventibus, visitando Oratorium domesticum.
II. Ut infirmi aut senio con/ecti in communitate et sub regula
viventes, qui Ecclesias aut Oratorio visitare aliave pro Indulgentiis
praescripta exequi non , possunt, Indulgentias nihilominus lucrari valeant
adimplendo alia pia opera Confessarii arbitrio praescribenda.
III. Ut in casu, quo morale aliquod impc.dimentum adsit, prudenti
Conjessarii arbitrio diiudicandum, visitandi aliquam Ecclesiam (ex. gr.
Regularium aut Parochialem), quae de iure visitanda foret ad aliquam
Indulgentiam lucrandam, haec visitatio designatae Ecclesiae arbitrio
Confessarii commutari possit in aliud pium opus (ex. gr. in visitationem
alter ius Ecclesiae).
IV. Ut 1 aliqua Indulgtntia concedatur Cliristijidelibus pie ac
devote recipientibus beuedictionem a Sacerdotibus, praesertini neomystis ;
et 2 vt aliqua pariter Indulgentia concedatur pie ac devote assistentibus
primae Missae Neosacerdotum.
Post Emorum. et Revmorum. Patrum Cardinalium respoosiones in
Congregatione diei IS Decembris, 1885, in Aedibus Vaticanis datas,
SSmus. D, N. Leo Papa XIII. in Audientia ab infrascripto Secretario
liabita die 10 lanuarii, 1886, ad Postulata supra exposita benigne
annuit modo sequenti :
Ad I m . Non expedire.
Ad Il ra . Affirmative.
Documents. 655
Ad IIP 1 . Negative.
Ad IV 1 ' 1 . Ad primam partem, Negative : ad secundam partem conce-
dere diynatus est, servatis de iure servandls, Indulgentiam Plenariam
Sacerdoti primum Sacrum facienti eiusque consanguineis ad tertium
usque gradum, inclusive, qui prinio eidem Sacro interfuerint ; ceteris
vero Christijidelibus adstantibus Indulgentiam septem annorum totidemque
quadragenarum.
Praesenti in perpetnum valituro absque ulla Brevis expeditione.
Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria S. Congregationis Indulgentiarum et
SS. Reliquiarum die 16 Januarii, 1886.
I. B. CARD. FRANZELIN, Praefectus.
FRANCISCUS DELL A VOLPE, Secretarius,
Ex S. CONGREGATIONS INDULGENTIARUM.
SUMMARY.
"What is meant by the habit of Weakly Confession which suffices
to gain the Indulgences occurring in the course of the week.
URBIS ET ORBIS.
QUOAD CONFESSIONEM FACIENDAM PER SINGULAS HEBDOMADAS ET
ACQUIRENDAS INDULGENIIAS PLENARIAS.
Ad dubia, quae proposuit R. D. D. Episcopus Leucensis et
Vicarius Capitularis Friburgensis, quod attinet ad sacramentalera
Confessionem, , quae necessaria est ad acquirendas Indulgentias
plenarias intra hebdoraadam, aut binas continuas hebdomadas
occurrentes, nimirum : I. Utrum Confessio praescripta per singulas
Hebdomadas peragi debeat infra septem, vel potius infra octo dies ?
II. An verba infra duas hebdomadas stricte interpretanda sint, ita ut
'Confessio peragi debeat infra quatuordecim dies, vel potius sufficiat
bina coufessio in mense ? Sacra Congregatio Indulgentiis Sacrisque
Reliquiis praeposita respondit die 2o Novembris, 1878 : Ad I. Affir-
mative ad primani partem, id est praescriptam Confessionem peragi
debere quolibet decurrente septem dierum spatio ; Negative ad
secundam partem. Ad II. Affirmative ad primam partem, id est
praescriptam Confessionem peragi debere quolibet decurrente quatuor-
decim dierum spatio; Negative ad secundam partem.
Ad majorem hujus rei declaratioriem quaeritur modo :
I. Utrum Christifidelis, qui singulis hebdomadis et stato die, ex.
gr. Sabbato, Confessionem peragere solet, satisfaciat oneri praescriptae
Oonfessionis ?
II. Utrum oneri praescriptae confessiouis satisfaciat Christifidelis,
656 Documents.
qui iis in locis pro quibus viget Indultum, altcrnis liebdomadis et
stato die, ex. gr. Sabbato, Corifessionem peragere solet ?
Sacra Congregatio Indulgentiis Sacrisque Reliquiis praeposita die
25 Februarii, 1886, ad supra relata dubia respondit :
Ad i m . Affirmative.
Ad II m . Affirmative.
Datura Romae ex secretaria ejusdem S. Congregatioois die
25 Februarii, 1886.
I. B. Card FRANZELIN, Praefectui.
F. DELLA VOLPE, Secretarius.
INDULGENCES GRANTED TO MAYNOOTH COLLEGE BY
POPE GREGORY XVI.
SUMMARY.
Privilege granted by Pope Gregory XVI. to the inmates of
St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, of gaining a plenary Indulgence on
certain Feasts on the usual conditions, except that the visit may be
made to the College Chapel or Oratory.
EX AUDIENTIA SS mi HABITA DIE 27 APRTLIS, 1834.
ggmns Dominus noster Gregorius divina Providentia P.P. XVI.,
referente me inf rascripto Sac. Congreg. de Propaganda fide Secretario,
omnibus et singulis fidelibus degentibus in Collegio de Maynooth
Diocesis Dubliniensis, qui vere penitentes, confessi, ac Sacra Com-
munione refecti, aliquam Ecclesiam, vel oratorium, aut capellam
devote visitaverint diebus festis sequentibus, scilicet, Nativitatis,
Circumcisionis, Epiphani, Resurrectionis, Ascensionis Domini nostri
Jesu Christi, Pentecostis, SS mi Corporis Christi, Omnium Sanctorum,,
Annuntiationis, Assnmptionis, Conceptionis, Nativitatis ac Purifica-
tionis Beatae Mariae Virginis, cum facilitate transferendi ad
Dominicas sequentes duas postremas festivitates, ibique per aliquod
temporis spatium pias ad Deum preces effuderint pro sanctae fidei
propagatione, Plenariam Indulgentiam, applicabilem quoqne per
modum suffragii animabus in Purgatorio detentis, benigne concedit,
atque in Domino misericorditer impertitur et in perpetuum valituram.
Datum Ilomae ex aedibus dictae Sac. Congreg. die et anno quibus
supra.
ANGELUS MAIUS, Secret.
[ 657 ]
CORRESPONDENCE.
CATHOLIC RELICS IN DENMARK.
IN a Lecture on Newfoundland, by the late Bishop of that place,
Dr. Mullock, which was published in one of the Annals of All Hallows'
College, a publication which it is to be regretted has long since ceased
to appear, the good Bishop dwells considerably on matters connected
with the above heading, and informs us, amongst other things, that
many of the songs of the Skalds, or Scandinavian poets, collected by
Professor Rafn, have been translated into English by Mr. Beamish,
of Cork. I feel sure that not only I, but many other readers of Mr.
O'Byrne's paper bearing the above title, in the June number of the
RECORD, would Jbe very glad if some of the Professors at All Hallows
could say where these translations were published. I am, Sir, yours
&c., J. COLEMAN, Southampton.
[I am indebted to the kindness of the Very Rev. the
President of All Hallows' College for the following reply to
the above inquiry. ED. I. E. R.]
'* The Discovery of America by the Northmen in the Tenth Century,
with Notices of the Early Settlement of the Irish in the Western
Hemisphere. By N. L. Beamish, Member of the Royal Danish Society*
of N. Antiquarians. London : Published by T. and W. Boone, New
Bond-street. Date, 1841. Price 10s. 8vo.
The Preface is dated from Cork.
It is not likely that this book has been reprinted. It purports to
be a cheap and compendious presentation of a large work of Professor
Rafn, and is designed to show that North America was discovered and
colonized by Northmen over 500 years before the time of Columbus
and Cabot."
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
PRAELECTIONES JURIS CANONICI QUAS JUXTA ORDINEM DE-
CRETALIUM GREGORII IX. TRADEBAT IN SCHOLIS PONT.
SEMINARII ROMANI Franciscus Santi, Professor. Romse, &c.
WE need new books on Canon Law for two reasons. In the
first place each fresh effort helps to push forward the scientific treat-
ment of ecclesiastical legislation beyond the old lines in one or more
VOL. VII. 2 T
658 Notices of Books.
directions. Secondly, the law itself, by reason of its daily expansions,
requires further explanation where additions have been made or
changes introduced, in order that \ve may know what it really
implies in our own times and surroundings. Anyone who gives
even slight thought to the complexity of the matter will admit
the vast importance of both these objects, and we bear willing
witness that Dr. Santi has attained considerable success in their
pursuit.
His book is a short treatise full of valuable information on
the usual questions and capable of receiving large development in
the lectures of a professor. It is studded over with recent decisions,
and written in a quiet becoming style. As regards method it
follows the order of Gregory IX. 's Decretals, which accordingly are
taken as a basis for the edifice of exposition. The Decretals, we
need hardly say, occupy the second volume of the Corpus Juris
Canonici, and unlike the Decretum Gratiani or first volume, possess
at least extrinsic authority. The fact that Gregory IX. ordered them
to be used in ecclesiastical trials makes this advantage clear.
Bat if the first volume lacks extrinsic confirmation, sufficient to
impart the character of Papal law, and contains several documents of
110 intrinsic weight, il may be fairly contended that its division into
"De Personis," " De Judiciis," and "De Rebus Sacris," is more
scientific in design and affords a better outline for methodic treat-
ment of Canon Law than the division of the Decretals into five
books, versified as u Judex, Judicium, Clerus, (Columbia, Crimen."
However this may be, the Decretals are the backbone of authentic
Church legislation, and the convenience of following their order is
enhanced by the fact that many subsequent decrees, such as those
contained in Boniface VTII.'s '* Textus Decretalium," are similarly
arranged.
The high official position of the author, will combine with its
intrinsic merits to secure for Professor Santi's book a wide circu-
lation in schools of Theology and Canon Law. P. O'D.
CURSUS SCRIPTURAE SACRAE. Auctoribus R. Comely,
T. Knabenbauer, Fr. de Hummelauer aliisque Societatis
Jesu Presbyteris. Historica et Critica Introductio in
U. T. Libros Sacros. Volumen I. Introductio Generalis.
Auctore R. Comely. Parisiis: 1885, Lethielleux.
THIS first instalment of a " Complete Course on Scripture," has
been followed by the Introduction to the New Testament by the same
Notices of Books. 659
author ; by the " Commentaries on the Book of Job and the Minor
Prophets," by Fr. Knabenbauer ; while a " Commentary on the Two
First Books of Kings " is in the press. The want of modern Com-
mentaries, especially on the Old Testament, and of a General
Introduction to the Sacred Books, has been long felt. The excellent
works of Bonfrerius, Lamy, Dixon, are incomplete, and in many
points antiquated ; even the more modern work of Herbst Welte is
not abreast to modern research ; while the more recent Introduction
of Ubaldo Ubaldi is faulty in its method, inaccurate in its statements,
and neglects modern writers. The " Einleitung in die heilige
Schrift," by Franz Kaulen, far surpasses its predecessors ; but is
unfortunately written in German, and adapted to the wants of
German students The work of Fr. Cornely is much fuller than that of
Kaulen, who treats the history of the Canon very shortly, and omits
hermeneutics and the history of interpretation altogether. Both
Introductions have, in common, an intimate knowledge of ancient
and modern literature, calmness of judgment, and strict orthodoxy of
teaching. The great praise that has been bestowed on the books
of both by reviewers in all Catholic periodicals, shows that they have
supplied a want long felt.
The first dissertation (p. 37-228), gives the history of the Canon
from Esdras down to the Council of Trent, and shows clearly that
the Tridentine Fathers, when fixing the Canon, did not act hastily
and define a question that ought to have remained an open one.
Even in England, where the Deuterocanonical books had been treated
with utter contempt, impartial judges, as W. Deane, in his " Com-
mentary on the Book of Wisdom," have confessed that these books
are a connecting link between the Old and New Testaments ; that
they have developed the theology of the Old Testament, and are in
full agreement with the New Testament. The second dissertation
treats of the Hebrew text and its alphabet, which is derived from
the hieroglyphics, and of its history, until the text was fixed by the
Masorethae. Protestants, like Delitzsch, Keil, attach too much impor-
tance to this text, which is far from being correct ; while they
depreciate the Greek Translation of the Septuagint and the Vulgate.
Others, like Thenius, Welhausen, go too far in correcting the
Hebrew text according to the Greek or Latin translation. The
Fathers have accused the Jews of having corrupted Messianic
texts ; Fr. Cornely shows that this is not the case, although they have
sometimes given preference to readings unfavourable to the Christians.
This chapter gives much valuable information not found elsewhere.
660 Notices of Books.
The most interesting chapter of the book is the History of the
Vulgate, and the discussion on the authority of it, which may be
summed up thus :
(1) By the Decree of the Council of Trent, the Vulgate has not
been preferred either to any other authorized translation, or to the
original text. (2) The Vulgate has not been declared free from every
fault in points not concerning faith and morals ; (3) but has been
declared to be a genuine source of revelation.
Fr. Comely is careful to point out, that only the Vulgate in genere,
not any specific edition, was approved by the Council of Trent, and
that not every reading of the Clementine, edition offers the genuine
text of the Vulgate. Instructive are also the rules on the use of the
Vulgate, which we shall quote :
1. A theologian can always safely employ the Vulgate as genuine
source of revelation, and draw an argument from all those dogmatic
texts that have been constantly employed to prove a dogma.
2. He may also base his argument on the original text, or an
ancient translation that has been in use in the Church ; and this
argument has I he same weight as an argument based on the Vulgate.
3. If the text of the Vulgate agrees with the original text, and is
clear and without ambiguity, then it is a full Scripture proof.
4. If the words of the Vulgate are ambiguous, they must be
explained by the original text ; if, on the other hand, the original
text is ambiguous, and the Vulgate is clear, the latter is a commentary
on the former.
5. A text of the Vulgate, found neither in the original nor in the
ancient versions, can only then be employed as Scripture proof, if it
has been constantly adduced as proof (p. 459).
It is well known how Sixtus V. published an edition of the
Vulgate, and how this edition had to be withdrawn on account of
faults that had crept in. Kaulen, in his " History of the Vulgate,"
maintains that the Pope exceeded his power, because he wished to
define and settle a point which was not within his power. Yet, if we
examine the words of Sixtus V., when he calls his edition ''optime
emeudatam, quantum fieri potuit," it is manifest that he does not
claim infallibility, and does not speak ex cathedra.
Our limited space does not allow us to say much on the herme-
neutical rules, and the history of the interpretation of Scripture.
We may only remark, that the reader of this dissertation will learn
that the age after the Reformation was the golden age of Scripture
interpretation, and that the secular clergy, as well as the religious
Notices of Books.
orders, produced great interpreters, far superior to the Protestants who
largely borrowed from them, mostly without acknowledging it.
Undoubtedly the work deserves high praise, being the mature fruit
of more than fifteen years spent in studying and teaching Scripture
first at Maria Laach, and then at the Gregorian University at Rome.
COMMENTARIUS IN LiBRUM JOB, auctore F. Knabenbauer.
Parisiis, Lethielleux, 1885.
THIS new Commentary on Job belongs to the same series as the
General Introduction of Fr. Cornely. The author of this book,
Professor of Scripture at Ditton Hall, is well known by his many
reviews and dissertations that have been published in Stimmen von
Maria Laach, and his German commentary on Isaias that has been
recommended by Fr. Delitzsch. A characteristic of this commentary
is, that the old Catholic authors are more extensively quoted than has
been done in modern commentaries, and that special care is bestowed
on showing the connection of ideas. Protestant writers are sadly
deficient in this respect, their notes give much curious information
on history and philology, but contribute little to the elucidation of
the text. Fr. Knabenbauer may have gone too far in explaining and
giving the opinions of ancient interpreters where no comment is
needed, but it is a fault on the good side, and makes his commentary
more clear and intelligible. No one who knows the value and
importance of the Vulgate will find fault with Father Knabenbauer
for using as his basis the Latin text, which is illustrated and explained
by continual reference to the Hebrew text and the ancient translations,
especially to that of the Septuagint.
The " Book of Job," which is deservedly praised by Catholic and
Protestant interpreters as a poetical work of the highest order, has
been assailed by Renan, Reuss and others, as repeating always the
same thoughts, as being wanting in evolution ; the prologue and the
speeches of Elihu have been rejected by others, or declared as
interpretations added to the original by the poet himself. Fr.
Knabenbauer shows that the prologue and the speeches of Elihu are
quite necessary, and that without them the poem would be unin-
telligible. The " Book of Job " is not strictly a drama, there is no
complicated plot, as we might find it in the tragedies of Sophocles,
there are not even a number of events, which vary the great drama
of Aeschylus, the Prometheus ; we see described the internal struggle
of a great sufferer, who is goaded on by his ill-advised friends, and
almost driven into despair, but who overcomes all difficulties and
deserves to be enlightened by God.
6(>2 Notices of Books.
Even Catholic interpreters, like Kschokze, have been very unfair to
Job, and charge him with impiety ; yet it is clear that such a charge
cannot be maintained, and rests only on false interpretation, for it is
in manifest contradiction to the prologue and the approval of Job's
conduct by God. In the agony of woes that almost overwhelm him,
exposed to the fiercest attacks of his former friends, the poet could
not exhibit Job as a meek and tame disputant, who balances all his
words and expressions, he had to show him struggling against the
thoughts and desires that were rising in his soul, and overcoming
them. The author of Job is not a didactic writer, but a true poet,
the great problem that at that time had occupied so many men is
fully treated in this poem. It is shown that misfortunes and
suffering are not only a punishment for our open or hidden sins, but are
sent by God for wise purposes. It is true the full light was thrown
on this question only by Jesus Christ, of whom Job himself is a type.
Having so far vindicated the character of Job, let us examine the
arguments against the genuineness of the prologue and the speeches
of Elihu. The argument that the Greek dramas have no prologues
proves nothing, and is besides untrue, for the dramas of Euripides,
who dwells so much on the description of internal struggles, have
prologues. If the author of Job wishes us to appreciate the conduct of
Job, to have compassion and sympathy with him in spite of the many
harsh expressions he utters, and the seeming despair which he manifests,
in spite of the grave accusations of ( his former friends, it was necessary
to show that this great sufferer was innocent and dear to God. How
could people with their undefined and obscure ideas about the divine
retribution listen to the speeches of Job, unless they knew that he
was innocent. Having the prologue they could judge the case of
Job fairly ; not so the friends who did not know the plan of God
with regard to Job. We find a similar instance in the Oedipus
Tyrannus, the great play of Sophocles ; we know that the pestilence
in Thebes is caused on account of the murder of Laius by
Oedipus, while Oedipus is more and more implicated in difficulties,
and utters harsh and unjust words against his true friends because of
his ignorance.
The reasons for rejecting the speeches of Elihu are well refuted
by Fr. Knabenbauer, who shows that these speeches, so far from
interrupting the connection, are presupposed in the speech of God,
that the speech of God illustrates and confirms the arguments of
Elihu, that if we regard these speeches as interpolated, no reasons
are given why man has to suffer. It is Elihu alone who shows that
Notices of Jjookm. 663
the just arc afflicted by God to preserve them from sin, and to lead
them on to progress in virtue. The objection that it was more
poetical, merely to suggest the solution of the question, and to leave
the rest to thoughtful meditation of the reader and humble submission
to the will of God, is simply ridiculous. Others find fault with the
poet, that in spite of the speeches of Elihu no full solution is given,
and show thereby that the poet has chosen the golden mean of
suggesting the true solution and directing the attention of the reader
to further consideration and meditation on this great problem of life
without saying too much. The " Book of Job " is one of the Libri
Sapientales that contains the fruitful germs of so many practical
truths to be developed by later writers, and well deserves a careful
study on the part of the priests, who will derive greater fruit for their
sermons from studying a commentary like that of Fr. Knabenbauer,
than from books of sermons. Scripture must ever be the mine where
the true sold is found.
o
A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT. By George Salmon. London : Murray,
1885.
CURSUS SCRIPTURAE SACRAE HlSTORICA ET CRITICA INTRO-
DUCTIO IN U. T. Libros Sacros. Volumen III. INTRO-
DUCTIO SPECIALIS IN SINGULOS Novi TESTAMENTI Libros.
Auctore R. Comely. Parisiis : Lethielleux.
A DEFENCE of the traditional belief in the authenticity and
integrity of the Sacred Books of the New Testament by a writer of
such ability as Dr. Salmon must be welcome. Though his work is
apologetic, he has fairly grappled with the difficulties, and refuted
the objections of his opponents. Dr. Salmon is acquainted with the
works of Protestant interpreters of Germany, but takes no notice of
Catholic interpreters, in whose books he might have found far better
arguments against the rationalistic views of the modern school of
criticism than are his own. Too much attention has been paid to Baur,
and the Neo-Tubingian school, since their theories have been given
up by most theologians, while critical remarks on the text and
analyses of the Sacred Books are wanting.
The book is divided into twenty-live lectures, of which the first
three are introductory. Lectures IV.- VII. discuss the reception of
the Gospels in the early Church ; Lectures V1II.-XI1. are devoted
to the Synoptical Gospels ; Lectures XIII.-XVII. to the Johannine
r> 64 Notices of Books.
Books ; Lectures XVIIL-XIX to the Acts of the Apostles ; and only
one Lecture to the Pauline Epistles ; while the remaining Lectures
deal with the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistles of SS. James,
Peter, and Jude. Dr. Salmon has included also the Apocryphal; Gospels,
Acts, and Epistles, but treated the controversial points so shortly
that this part of his book is of little value. We shall now point out
some parts which seem to us well done, and where he supplements the
Introduction of Cornely. Both authors show that Justinus was
acquainted with the Gospel of St. John (Salmon, p. 82 ; Cornely, p.
22 0) and that the ideas, and even some words, cannot be accounted
for unless he drew his information from the Gospel. Yet there are still
some varieties which may cause doubt. Here Dr. Salmon, referring
to Sanday, " Gospels in the Second Century," shows that no greater
exactness of quotation is found in the Fathers than in the Apostles
quoting the Old Testament that they looked much more to the
meaning than to the identical words ; moreover, that Justinus, in
every one of his variations from the text of the New Testament, has
several Fathers following him. Not only is Justinus' Logos Theory
entirely derived from St. John, but a similar coincidence is also
found in Justinus' Exposition of the Blessed Eucharist. Dr. Salmon
admits that the sixth chapter of St. John is a much more clear and
full statement of the Eucharistic doctrine than is found in any other
passage. Quoting Dr. Hobart, u The Medical Language of St. Luke,"
Dr. Salmon shows, p. 172, that the Gospel of St. Luke and the Acts
have in common the use of technical medical terms.
The great differences of style to be found in the Epistles of St.
Paul have ever been employed by rationalistic writers as proof against
the genuineness of some of liis writings. Dr. Salmon (p. 4TO) gives
a very good reason for this by comparing St. Paul to Xenophon, whose
vocabulary was so much modified by travelling. While the first and
second books of the "Hellenica" are written in pure Attic, and con-
tain few Doricisms and lonicisms, the latter books are full of un-Attic
words picked up from his changing surroundings. He also refers to
Dr. Stanley-Leathes, who shows that a different vocabulary is by no
means a proof of different authorship, as is seen by comparing the
vocabulary of Milton's Allegro to the Pensoroso and to Lycidas.
By applying these principles, he vindicates to St. Paul the Epistles of
the Ephesians, Collossians, and others, pointing out carefully the
similarity of style and argumentation. We cannot see why the
authorship of St. Paul might not be maintained with regard to the
Epistle to the Hebrews, and why Dr. Salmon should attribute this
Notices of Books. - (565
letter to Barnabas. The remarks of Dr. Salmon on the Epistles of St.
Peter are very much to the point, while granting great similarity with
the Epistles to the Ephesians and Romans, he proves that, " In spite
of his borrowings, this letter bears a distinct stamp of originality and
individuality. The second Epistle has met with more numerous and
fierce assailants, who try to prove that this Epistle is unworthy of St.
Peter, that the style is quite different, that it has only five quotations
from the Old Testament against thirty-one quotations of the First
Epistle, that the particle ws is used differently." These arguments
have little weight against the fact that many words which are not
found elsewhere in the JSew Testament are common to the two Epistles
of St. Peter and to his speeches in Acts. For instance, Aay^avco,
to obtain, in Acts i. 17 and 2 Peter i. 1 ; evo-efiia in Actsjii. 12 and
2 Peter i. 7 ; e75o-/??}s in Actsx. 27 and 2 Peter ii. 9." Having quoted
so much of what is good in Dr. Salmon's book, we may as well point out
some of the inaccuracies and deficiencies. The historical part of the
book is incomplete. We find no history of the lives of the writers, no
characteristics of the men and their styles, no analyses of their books ;
the reader is not furnished with sufficient details so as to be able td
judge for himself. The account of the origin of the Synoptic Gospels
is singularly defective. Dr. Salmon rejects the theory that the three
evangelists borrowed from the Aoyta, a primitive document containing
the speeches of Our Lord, because they would in that case have
adopted the same order and arrangement, and yet admits that one
sacred writer has borrowed from the other. He scarcely touches on
the most important point that the Gospels arose from catechetical
instructions. Thus he fails to account for the difference of their aim
and purpose, and hence for the difference of matter, together with
great similarity. The assertion that the brothers of Jesus were not
cousins of Our Lord, but sons of Joseph from a former marriage, is
unfounded. The Apostles, especially St. Peter on the Day of
Pentecost, did not preach in Greek, but as Neubauer, in the u Studia
Biblica" (Oxford, 1885), has pointed out, in Aramaic, the language
spoken in Galilee. Greek was little known in Palestine, as can be
clearly proved from history ; only very few of the educated Jews
were acquainted with this language, and did not speak a pure Greek.
Only in the Second Century the study of this language was more
cultivated,. This is also proved by the fact that so few Greek words
are found in the Midrash. The statement that St. Matthew wrote his
Gospel in Greek is not only contrary to common tradition, but also to
the fact that thus he would not have been understood by his country-
Notices of Books.
men. There are here and there some hard sayings against the
Catholics, some too great concessions to the rationalistic writers, but
the book will, no doubt, contribute to preserve among Protestants
reverence for the New Testament.
The Critical Introduction of Father Comely has, in common with
Dr. Salmon, the defence of the authority of the Sacred Book. The
arguments that the Church from early time has reckoned these books
as canonical, that the Fathers have quoted them as Sacred Scripture,
that on account of the care and vigilance of the Church it was
impossible that a spurious book should pass as an inspired writing, are
handled with great ability. Dr. Salmon naturally does not urge this
last argument, but insists more on the internal arguments for the
authenticity and integrity of the Sacred Books.
Father Comely divides the Sacred Books into Historical Books, the
Gospels, and Acts, which are treated in five chapters (pp. 3-348) ;
Individual Books the Epistles of St. Paul and the Catholic Epistles
(pp. 349-688) ; and into Prophetical Books the Apocalypse (pp.
689-755.)
Professor Schanz in his review of the first volume of this work,
"Tubinger Quartalschrift, 1886," the author of excellent commen-
taries on the Gospels, has given due praise to Fr. Comely for his
acquaintance with ancient and modem literature, for his mature judg-
ment for the way in which he arrives at his results. He has shown that
labour bestowed on the proof of truths, established already by the
definition of the Church, is not lost, but is of great importance for the
fuller understanding of the difficult problems, which are offered to us
in the Sacred Books of the New Testament. The attacks of the
enemies of the Church and of those who deny the divinity of Christ
were until lately far more directed against the New than against the
Old Testament. Not only infidels like Strauss, Eenan, but also
Protestant theologians of all shades and schools joined the fight, each
tried for himself to pull down and demolish some of the sacred
writings, or at least some chapters and verses. The New Testament
Dictionaries, the Concordance, the writings of Philo, Flavins Josephus,
were examined, the Apocryphal Books of the Old and New Testament
were studied in order to show that the authors of the New Testament
writings had borrowed their ideas, words and phrases from them.
Since the inventions and fictions of these men have been popularised,
and are constantly employed against the authority of Scripture, an
Introduction must answer at least the most important objections, and
furnish the proofs which will enable the readers to answer also other
Notices of Bool: : s. (5(57
arguments that might be brought forward. The way in which
Fr. Comely treats this point is very satisfactory. The objections are
generally given in the author's own words, and fairly answered, since
most of them arise from misinterpretation, or because the passage is
not considered in its context, very careful analyses of the Sacred
Book? are given, which we doubt not will be in more than one respect
welcome to the priests, and enlighten them about difficult points. The
" Harmony of the Gospels," 285-302, which is preceded by a very
complete list of Catholic writers on the same subject is also very
well done. The author agrees in many points with Grimm,
Coleridge, Tillion, Holzammer, Lohmann : " Many of the difficulties
brought forward by our opponents rest on the supposition that
different narrators must of necessity mention the same details, and
the same circumstances, that whenever there is a discrepancy the one
writer refutes the other, or we have some legendary account. By
this method Meyer in his commentary on the Gospels, which have
been translated into English, finds many contradictions, which in
his judgment cannot be explained away by the harmonists, who must
be unscientific, because they do not bow to the rules of the
critical school. However simple the solution may be, it is rejected,
if it is against the theory a writer has conceived in his mind. Thus, for
instance, it cannot be admitted that the Jews put off the eating of
the paschal lamb from Thursday to Friday, though this custom is
attested by the Talmud, because it removes some difficulty, and
because it is no more possible to attack the credibility either
of St. John or the Synoptics. Two quite different events that are
narrated in two Gospels, must be the same because it serves a
purpose. St. Luke cannot have followed the chronological order,
because, either Matthew or Mark are in the opinion of some author
strictlyihistorical. Fr. Cornely gives^many instances of such arbitrary
perversion of facts. To quote only one example of thoughtlessness
on the part of the objector. Dr. Ezra Abbot makes St. John write
his Gospel, " because it truthfully protests against the thaumaturgic
tendency of the Church by exhibiting Jesus principally as worker of
spiritual, not material miracles." If this be true, why does Abbot add
the word " principally " which modifies the meaning of the sentence ?
Did he look out for a subterfuge, if any one should mention the
raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the healing of the man born
blind?
Much has been written on the aim and purpose of the different
Gospels. On some points there is agreement, on many others the
668 Notices of Books.
opinions even of Catholic interpreters are divided. There can be no
doubt that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, and for the
Hebrews, to prove that Christ is the Messiah promised in the Old
Testament, and that the Christian religion is the fulfilment of
Judaism. This explains the omission of so many events and parables,
which are found in Luke, who wrote for the Gentiles, and who
dwelled especially on those events, which brought out the idea that
Christ was the Saviour of mankind. In order to account for the
similarity of the speeches of our Lord, for the way in which some
events are told by two Evangelists, in which they leave the historical
order, many interpreters have either supposed that the three Synoptics
borrowed from one common document, which they Aoym call, or
that Luke and Mark have borrowed from Matthew, or Matthew and
Luke from Mark. Both theories are insufficient, for if those Aoyta
had ever existed, we should learn some thing of them ; if one of the
Synoptics had known the Gospel of the others, it is simply inex-
plicable why he should have written a Gospel at all, and not have
been satisfied with making some additions. All the difficulties
disappear, if we admit the well-established tradition which tells us
that the Gospel of St. Mark contains the catechetical instructions of
St. Peter, and that of St. Luke those of St. Paul. Surely the Apostles
were able to retain the impressive speeches and doctrines of our Lord,
and by being continually repeating in their discourses, they acquired
an individuality and character of their own. They were moulded by
the preacher and adapted to their audience, and for that very reason
so similar in some points, and so divergent in others. The Gospel of
St. John had an aim distinct from that of the Synoptics, and was
meant to supply them. Since the sacred author wished to show how
Christ is the Eternal Son of God and the Word Incarnate, how he
is received by the pious and rejected by the wicked, how the people
of Israel have forfeited ihe Divine Grace, the arrangement of the
subject matter and the treatment were quite different from the
Synoptics. Our limited space does not allow us to enter more fully
on this and other points treated by F. Comely. His defence of the
disputed passages in the Gospels of St. Mark and St. John is very
successful, with regard to the First Epistle of St. John, 5, 7, he gives
the arguments pro et contra, with a strong leaning against the
genuiness of the passage.
The author is not only well acquainted with German and French
but also with English literature. Some books however have been
passed over, as the "Commentaries" of Dr. M'Carthy, "The
Notices of Books. 669
Harmony of the Holy Week," by Dr. Walsh, Archbishop of Dublin.
Dewilly, instead of M'Evilly, is manifestly a misprint. The second
volume, " Introduction to the Old Testament," is to follow soon, and
will contain a thorough examination of the theories of Wellhausen
and Reuss. We can only wish that the study of books, like that of
Fr. Cornely, should promote the study of Scripture and direct the
industry and talent of many among the clergy to the cultivation of
this branch of theology. F. ZIMMERMAN, S. J.
DISCOURSES ON THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. By the Abbe
Freppel, Professor of Sacred Eloquence at the Sorbonne,
now Bishop of Angers. London : James Masterson, 48,
South-street, Grosvenor-square.
THESE discourses were delivered by the present Bishop of Angers
to the students of the Sorbonne when Professor of Sacred Eloquence
in that University, and, as we might expect, they are distinguished by
a rare degree of excellence. Introducing his subject by a discourse
on the expectation of a Deliverer which was entertained by all the
nations of the earth, by Gentile and Jew alike, Dr. Freppel proceeds
to prove the Divinity of Our Lord from the following facts. First,
His birth had been anticipated for four thousand years, His coming
had been the object of the vows and prayers of the Patriarchs and
Prophets of the Old Law. Secondly, when the time appointed by the
Divine decree had elapsed, and the long-expected Messiah manifested
Himself to the world, His words. of heavenly wisdom, designed for the
instruction not alone of those who heard Him, but of the whole human
race, afford ample proof of his Divinity : the wonderful miraculous
power which He exercises over the physical world, and the not less
wonderful authority with which He swayed the hearts and minds of
men, prove the same truth. Thirdly, the sufferings of His Passion
endured with a silence and a dignity more than human, His Death
foretold long before, His glorious Resurrection unique in the world's
history, clearly demonstrate Our Lord's Divinity. Finally, Our
Saviour's Divinity is proved, even after His Death, by " the kingdom
of faith, mysterious and invincible, established in the minds of men ; "
by " the kingdom of charity, deep, widely extended, and never-failing^
established in the hearts of men ; " and by " the kingdom of worship,
of adoration, universal and unceasing, established in the souls of men.'*
The conclusion is evident. " Either then we must doubt every-
thing, we must despair of everything, we must deny everything, or
we must admit that, if there is on this earth one truth certain, evident,
incontestible, it is that Jesus Christ is God."
670 Notices of Books.
We have but outlined in the briefest possible way the proofs which
the very eloquent and distinguished author of these discourses has
treated in a most exhaustive and interesting style, showing that he
has a thorough and masterly knowledge of theology, philosophy, and
history. The discourses are well translated.
THE SODALITY MANUAL ; or a Collection of Prayers and
Spiritual Exercises for the Members of the Sodality of
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
THIS very complete little book, though intended primarily for
students, will be found extremely serviceable to the clergy and laity
generally. As a prayer-book, containing almost all the prayers and
devotions in familiar use by Catholics, arranged in an orderly and
intelligible manner, it deserves very high commendation. It is
however, we think, likely to prove more especially useful to persons
engaged in founding or directing Sodalities, as the rules of such
societies and the duties of the several officers, are clearly and dis-
tinctly stated. The adoption of these authorised rules and formulae
by Sodalities generally would conduce much to their uniformity
Amongst other matter of much interest we notice a history of the
Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary as it has existed for the last three
hundred years in Jesuit Colleges, brief explanations of the ceremonies
of the Mass, and of the principal Festivals, and a clear and concise
statement of the doctrine of Indulgences. The compiler is a well
known member of the illustrious Order of St. Ignatius, and is, we
may state, an eloquent and zealous advocate of total abstinence in
Ireland. The printing and general appearance of the work reflect
much credit on the publishers, Messrs. M. H. Gill & Son, of O'Connell-
street. A. B.
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE SHRINE OF GENAZZANO AND OF
THE DEVOTION TO THE MOTHER OF GOOD COUNSEL. By
Monsignor Gadd. London: Burns & Gates.
DEVOTION to our Lady of Good Counsel commends itself in a
special way to all who are entrusted with the care and instruction of
others ; to priests whose principal duty it is to direct and instruct the
faithful ; to parents who are the guardians and guides of the children
with whom God has blessed them. If all have not a full and accurate
knowledge of this devotion, it is certainly not due to the want of
excellent little pamphlets treating of the subject. The one before us
furnishes us with an admirable account, in a very short space, of the
Notices of Books.
Shrine of our Lady of Good Counsel at Genazzano, of the miraculous
transference of the Sacred Picture from Scutari, and of some of the
many miraculous cures wrought at this Sanctuary. In an Appendix,
the conditions of Membership of the Association known as the Pious
Union, with the Indulgences and privileges attached to it, are fully
explained. The little book is well suited for distribution amongst
the faithful.
WHAT is THE HOLY CINCTURE ? By the Compiler of " The
Augustinian Manual," &c. Dublin : Gill & Son.
UNDER this title the Compiler of the excellent " Augustinian
Manual " has published a neat little penny pamphlet containing a
brief but clear exposition of the Archconfraternity of the Sacred
Cincture of SS, Augustine and Monica, its rules and obligations, and
the almost innumerable indulgences and privileges with which it is
endowed.
ROBIXSON CRUSOE. Edited by Rosa Mulholland. Dublin :
Gill & Son.
ANOTHER is added to the many ties of gratitude which should
bind our children to Miss Mulholland. This gifted lady has placed
her extraordinary talents very largely at the service of our little
ones. She has not considered it a task unworthy of her eminent
abilities to endeavour to supply our Catholic children with an
amusing, harmless literature. She has written numerous stories, she
has composed many songs to enliven those little ones -almost from
their cradle hours, while she has carefully compiled an elegant little
prayer-book admirably adapted to their undeveloped minds. But we
are more nearly concerned with the book before us.
Of the literary merit of Defoe's " Robinson Crusoe " it is scarcely
necessary to speak. Its claim to be regarded as one of the standard
works in English literature has never been denied. In the latest,
and perhaps the best, criterion of such works it has found a prominent
place. Sir John Lubbock has put " Robinson Crusoe " in a
distinguished position on his list of " The Best Hundred Books,"
nor has any amongst his many critics questioned its right to be thus
honoured. AVith the youth of these countries " Robinson " has always
been an especial favourite ; 'there are in its pages a charm and a
fascination which they find irresistible, whilst the seeming truth and
feasibility of the occurrences give an intense interest to the narrative.
These youthful admirers will, no doubt, be increased a hundred fold
672 Notices of Books.
by the beautiful illustrated edition prepared by Miss Mulholland. In
the preface Miss Mulholland tells us in a few words her reasons for
publishing this edition : in " The Life and Adventures of Robinson
Crusoe," as told by Daniel Defoe, there are many passages which
render the book not quite desirable reading for little ones of a faith
different from that of the author. Under the careful supervision of
Miss Mulholland all such passages have been eliminated, and though
we might view any omissions with regret, the safety of our
children's faith being of paramount importance readily reconciles us
to them. After passing under the. censorship of Miss Mulholland, the
most careful parent, we are quite sure, will not question the propriety
of allowing his children the free use of this book
Externally the book is a model of chaste, artistic decoration, even
in those days of elegant bookbinding, and reflects great credit on the
well-known firm in O'Connell-street. J. M. H.
ENGLISH CATHOLIC NONJURORS OF 1715. Edited by tlie Very
Rev. Edgar Estcourt, M.A., F.S;A., and John Orlebar
Payne, M.A. London : Burns & Gates.
AFTER the unfortunate rebellion of 1715, George I. and his
government resolved that English Catholics and others, who were
disaffected towards the house of Hanover, should be compelled to
" contribute a large share to all such extraordinary expenses as are, :
or sh^ll fbe brought upon this kingdom by their treachery and instiga-
tion." An Act was passed to obligeJPapists who refused to take i.?\e
oaths, to register their names and real estates ; " to the end that their
estates may be certainly known and discovered for the purpose afore-
said, or for such other ends as Parliament shall think reasonable."
The book before us gives a summary of this register, with much
supplementary information derived from many interesting documents.
The book is~excellently brought out, and cannot fail to be highly
interesting to English Catholics. Indeed such a mass of information
about the best and noblest of English Catholics, who gave up so much
for the faith, might well excite feelings of warm interest in any breast.
A. M.
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
AUGUST, 1886.
DUTIES AND EIGHTS OF CANONS.
IT is a maxim of wise policy in government to make
privilege and responsibility go hand in hand. The
principle lies so close to the foundation of the public welfare
that neither Church nor State can safely overlook its impor-
tance. History tells how neglect of it has sapped the
structure of many powerful commonwealths. Its practical
application, albeit the middle ages from extrinsic causes offer
some sad exceptions to the general tendency, is one of the
human means through which the Church's indestructibility
is preserved. That distinction should be conferred for a
public rather than a private purpose is an axiom of her daily
life, which works like a general law through the vast system
of ecclesiastical government. Rights and duties, privileges-
and responsibilities, are carefully interlaced in the proportion
which is thought aptest to relieve and dignify the most
arduous employments without attempting to dispense with
their intrinsic laboriousness.
Of this we need no better illustration than Cathedral
Chapters afford. They held and still hold many special
privileges to sustain the heavy duties belonging to their
office ; and, if it be said that with them power and place have
made a long descent from their meridian greatness, it should
also be allowed that there has been a corresponding relief
from the incessant tasks of former times. Nor was the
change undesirable. Chapters had become too powerful and
too independent. Instead of forming a friendly senate to
VOL. VII. 2 U
674 Duties and Rights of Canons.
aid the Bishop in administration, Canons frequently contrived
to thwart the most useful measures of reform.
It is unnecessary to go into the details of this long
struggle. Faults there were on both sides. But in the end
it became plain that schism between the head and members
could be effectively prevented only by curtailing some of
the privileges which the latter had contrived to acquire.
The discontinuance of the Archdeacons' powers was the
first great blow to their influence; and whatever else
remained abnormal or injurious to the general good in their
privileges and independence was fully remedied by the
control assigned to bishops in various chapters of the
Council of Trent.
In this matter as in so many others the Tridentine fathers
laboured with success to heal the wounds that long ages of
conflict had left bleeding. For several centuries, especially
during the eleventh and twelfth, a constant struggle went
on between Bishops and Chapters, more particularly on the
question of common property and common canonical life.
Unfortunately for themselves and for the Church in those
unsettled times the canons very frequently succeeded in
resisting the wise discipline enacted by several councils on
this subject; and it was to punish this resistance and stop
further inroads on episcopal power that Bishops ceased to
ask for the advice or consent of their Chapters to the same
-extent as before, and began to appoint Vicars-General and
other representatives, ad nutum revocabiles, to the exclusion
of the Archdeacon and capitular officials. It was chiefly at
this stage, when the struggle threatened to become even
more acute than previously, that a wall of peace was erected
Toetween the conflicting parties by the grant to Chapters of
certain well-defined Immunities.
But immunity could prove no permanent settlement of a
question whose difficulties mainly arose from the excess of
existing privilege. Hence the Council of Trent completely
swept away such exemptions and immunities as seriously
interfered with bishops in discharge of their supreme duties
as pastors of their dioceses. Thus, in Sess. VI., C. IV., the
right of visitation and correction is amply asserted.
Duties and Rights of Canons. 675
By this provision and others of a like kind the natural
harmony between the Bishop and his seriate was restored.
Obviously, indeed, the Council placed Bishops in a stronger
position than they had occupied for centuries. But it would
be a grave mistake to suppose that Chapters were deprived
of any prerogative which Christian equity would allow them
to retain. It scarcely need be said that, speaking generally,
the right of visiting and correcting all his subjects in spiritual
matters should be actively inherent in a Bishop's office. Now
what the Tri dentine Fathers did was to declare and enforce
this salutary power. Many, no doubt, lament the decrease of
capitular influence in diocesan administration. But for this
the Council is not responsible. ' It did not set aside the
Bishop's obligation to consult his Canons in matters of great
moment 'and abide by their views on certain questions. If
this restriction on episcopal, authority has been in large
measure removed, the change is directly due, not to Triden-
tine legislation, but to post-Tridentine customs, for which, it
must be said, the unreasonable opposition of Chapters in
some countries to the reformatory decrees of the Council
should be chiefly held responsible.
Besides, no shortcoming of this kind can weigh down the
enormous advantage in peace and union which have been
steadily increasing since the sixteenth century. We can
measure the value of this harmony best by looking at the
-state of things in the Anglican Church where of course the
law of visitation and correction never took effect. For the
convenience of those who cannot spare time to examine the
proceedings of the Commissions that recently sat in England it
may be well to subjoin a note on the subject from the
Catholic Dictionary. 1
1 In England in consequence of the Elizabethan schism, the reforming
influence of the Council of Trent could not assert itself ; and hence though
the Chapters were left, no attempt was made to bring back their action
and authority into that harmony with those of the bishops which primitive
piety required. Thus the present singular state of things gradually arose.
The Dean and Chapter of an Anglican Cathedral have their own separate
property, the bishop of the same Cathedral has his, and neither side inter-
feres with the other. The Chapter, say of Worcester Cathedral, has
complete power over the church itself, with the exceptions presently to be
mentioned, but there its connection with the diocese ceases. It has no
676 Duties and Eights of Canons.
DUTIES.
The obligations of Canons might be conveniently divided
under certain heads if it were intended to go into minute
details ; but as our object is to present a general summary
of their duties, we shall attend to enumeration alone, and
follow a definite order only so far to begin with such as are
due to the Bishop :
1. He receives the first place in choir, chapter, processions,
&c., and the chief authority in whatever is done by him and
his Canons together. (Cone. Trid. Sess. XX V., c. 6).
2. The Canons are bound to attend him when celebrating
solemnly or pontificating, or" preaching in the Cathedral, and
even in other churches of his Episcopal City, but in smaller
numbers. (Cone. Trid. Sess. XXIV., c. 12).
3. Two of them may be constantly kept at the Bishop's
side to aid in diocesan management. But these are not
entitled to the daily distributions, if absent from choir.
4. The Chapter is obliged to meet him outside, and
conduct him processionally to the Cathedral when he comes
in cappa magna for a solemn function.
5. When duly convened by him, or his Vicar commissioned
for the purpose, the Chapter is bound to aid the Bishop by its
counsel in diocesan affairs.
6. Again, it supplies the place of a deceased Bishop until 1
a Vicar-Capitular is appointed, and helps the latter by proper
advice, when summoned to render this service.
7. Each Canon makes a profession of Faith before the
more to do with its government by the bishop than the Chapter of Munich
has. At a vacancy of the See, indeed, the Chapter meets to go through
the mockery of electing a new bishop ; but as every one knows, in the
conge d'elire sent down to them from London, the name of the Crown
nominee is specified and the Chapter is not at liberty to reject it. On the
other hand, the bishop has a legal right to a chair or throne in the Cathedral
and to hold confirmation in it, and here his powers end. He has no
authority to summon meetings of the Chapter for any purpose whatever,
nor to control the dean or the canons in any way, except so far as in their
merely clerical capacity they may become amenable to his jurisdiction. The
result is that an Anglican Chapter has entirely lost the primitive character
of the " Senatus Episcopi," and is generally regarded as a convenient
institution by which a Government can pension and reward its clerical
supporters. Art. Chapter, Cathedral.
Duties and Rights of Canons. (577
Bishop and in Chapter within two months after receiving
possession.
8. Residence is of obligation, except during the three
months which the common law allows for vacation. Local
statutes may assign a much shorter time of absence. But in
.these countries, since Canons are usually Parish Priests or
Pastors, the law of residence binds them, not to the Cathedral,
but to the district in which their charge is situate. This, of
-course, is parochial residence, the canonic obligation remaining
in necessary abeyance. Where, however, no like cause
interferes to prevent residence in the Cathedral City,
violations of the law involve proportionate forfeitures of the
fruits of the benefice. Plainly, too, it would not be allowable
ibr many members of a Chapter to be absent at the same
time on vacation.
9. The Canons are by common law bound to sing the
daily Conventual Mass in turn. It is always applied for the
benefactors. Nay, sometimes so many as three Masses are of
obligation in the day. Occasionally permission is given for
a Low Mass, except on Sundays and Holidays.
10. De jure communi there is an obligation of chanting, or
at least reciting, the whole Office in a distinct and audible
manner. A Canon may, however, provide a substitute from
within the Chapter, but not a stranger. There are several
reasons which justify absence. But absence will involve the
loss of daily distributions, unless it be due to " infirmitas,
rationabilis necessitas, vel ecclesiae utilitas." In many countries
only a portion of the Office is said each day. Here, in
Ireland, as in England, the Canons can meet for Choir
Service only on certain specified solemnities.
11. Canons are bound by common law to attend the
Lent and Advent sermons.
12. Finally, they are obliged to be present at Capitular
meetings when duly convened by either the principal or
numeral head.
It is almost needless to add that in these countries we are
to look to local arrangements if we wish to know what
proportion of the above duties are binding on non-residential
Canons.
678 Duties and Rights of Canons.
RIGHTS.
The privileges of Canons are both numerous and interesting 1 .
It may be well to begin with their meetings.
These are held in some part of the Cathedral selected as
suitable for the purpose, and not elsewhere, unless on the
strength of ancient custom or licence specially given. The
summons to attend issues from the first dignitary, when
purely capitular affairs are to be discussed. It cornes from
the Bishop or his Vicar-General if diocesan matters require
attention from the Chapter. In either case the right of
presiding goes with that of convocation. In assemblies of
the latter class the President takes the votes, but de jure
communi does not vote himself. Nay, he is supposed to
be absent when the Chapter is discussing questions affecting
his interests as Bishop.
Per se neither the Bishop nor his Vicar takes part in
meetings of the former kind. By special arrangement, how-
ever, the Bishop may enjoy even a cumulative vote in all
elections and nominations appertaining to the Chapter. The
Concordat with Spain furnishes a striking illustration of this
species of settlement.
AVhether episcopal permission is or is not required for
meetings in regard of purely capitular business, must depend
on local usage and statutes. At the same time, it is certain
that the Bishop may, from a very urgent motive, entirely
prohibit a particular assembly of the Canons.
For ordinary meetings on fixed days no special notice is
needed, unless something difficult and unexpected requires
consideration. But timely intimation of extraordinary gather-
ings, on days not fixed, is naturally enough of obligation in
respect of each member. In England there must be a regular
summons before all meetings. The Provost, too, must convene
the Canons if asked to do so by a majority of the members,.
But when they meet, on a day not fixed for the purpose, it
must be de consensu episcopi.
Those who are far away need not de jure communi be-
summoned to extraordinary meetings unless,
1 To elect a prelate.
Duties and Rights of Canons. 679
2 To take part in the collation of prebends and benefices.
3 To proclaim a cessatio a divinis.
4 To transact other difficult business of a like character.
Provision is frequently made for affording Canons, who
are unavoidably absent, means of voting either through a
procurator or in a sealed envelope, addressed to the person
who presides. In the assembly itself some form of suffrage
is the usual way for ascertaining the views of those present,
rather than the method of compromise or quasi \imperation.
But how far the voting may be public, and if private,
alone, what penalty is attached to a breach of secrecy, are
questions very differently solved in different chapters.
If all who have a right to attend are duly invited a bare
majority of votes suffices to carry a motion. Anyone
unfairly passed over may rescind the proceedings within a
term of six months, on the good principle that " plus in
talibus consuevit contemptus unius obesse quam plurium
contraclictio in praesenti." By this right of an action de
contemptu fraudulent dealing is effectively guarded against.
But here a further question suggests itself as to whether one
who has as a matter of fact been irregularly passed over,
may in every case allow the proceedings to stand. Bouix
says the transactions in such circumstances are void ab initio,
unless two-thirds of those who can attend are actually
present 1 , while Santi seems to insist on this proportion only,
when no one of those at the meeting has a right to convene
the Chapter.
An absolute majority of those present is required. Hence,
a Vicar Capitular is not elected until he has received
more votes than all the others. In capitular assemblies
no casting vote is allowed the president unless by special
statute.
Sometimes 2 unanimity is prescribed. This is so when a
considerable favour is granted by the Canons. It is likewise
needed to pass a motion which directly affects the Canons in
their individual interests. For Rule xxix. says " quod omnes
tan git, ab omnibus debet approbari." Their interests,
i Cf . Bouix, De Capitulis, p. 183. a De Angelis, Lib. iii., T. xi., p. 249.
680 Duties and Rights of Canons.
however, jure collegii, may be interfered with by a majority,
to meet the necessities of the cathedral or diocesan seminary.
Occasionally it is stated that, for resolutions to take
effect, they must be supported by the major et sanior pars.
But in secret voting, which is much the more common, this
distinction has at present no practical application. 1 If the
balloting be open, an appeal will have a suspensive effect
only when some flagrant irregularity is alleged ; and in
every case the sanior pars must make good its contention of
improper influence or corruption before the judge of appeal
in order to have the capitular proceedings annulled.
Where it is necessary to obtain the Bishop's permission
for holding a purely capitular meeting, it must not be
supposed that he can demand a copy of the agenda. His
power in this respect is limited to authoritative inspection of
the Chapter's acta. But these he can always supervise. He
can also enact decrees to bind the Chapter, provided he keeps
strictly within what the law allows and does not trench on
approved customs.
But each Chapter has its own statutes or constitutions
enacted very often by the Capitular body itself. 2 Is there
then a second diocesan power with law-giving capacity ?
Many answer by saying that to secure the ends for which
Chapters are intended they have competence to make and
modify laws binding on their members. But much the more
common opinion maintains the general necessity of episcopal
or papal approval before capitular ordinances can bind as laws.
No doubt in matters of little moment it will suffice if the
Bishop looks through the minutes and abstains from dis-
approval. Doubtless, too, a Canon on being inducted may
bind himself to observe all constitutions framed by the Chapter.
But, in the absence of episcopal sanction, the obligation
thence arising will in practice be one of fidelity or possibly
religion, not of obedience or legal justice.
This distinction is of some importance in a somewhat
different context. We have supposed such approval as would
give legal force to the various decrees. This form of
J Cf. Bouix, p. 184. 2 Cf. Icard, vol. ii. p. 1G5.
Duties and Eights of Canons. 081
confirmation is termed essential? There is, however, another
kind which amounts only to commendation of the ordinances
and receives accordingly the qualifying adjective accidental.
Now, approval of this sort, coming from a Bishop, or even
from the Pope, however it may enhance the dignity
or splendour of capitular decrees, adds no intrinsic force to
make them binding as laws. As a consequence, the Chapter
can change them afterwards at discretion. Obviously, too,
on the other hand, papal confirmation, if given in forma speciali^
will prevent any inferior power from making subsequent
alterations.
From the right to enact capitular decrees the transition is
natural to another right of equal public import. Bishops are
placed by the Holy Ghost to direct and control in the
^spiritual order the faithful committed to their charge. The
Divine Law insists on no association of others with them in
Church Government. But it was thoroughly in accordance
with the spirit of the Church's constitution that they should
receive aid and counsel from their clergy in the discharge
of so many onerous duties. From whom could such
assistance come but from the presbyterium of ancient times
or the capitulum of more recent, if still very remote,
development? It is almost surprising at what an early date
the consent of the presbyterium was required in certain
matters. But only when various points of disagreement
began to crop up between Bishops and Chapters did the Law
definitely settle how far the Bishop was bound to consult his
senate, and how far he was further under the necessity of
acting with its consent.
Obviously no small restriction is implied in the obligation
to consult the Canons. Even their opinion expressed by a
strong majority a Bishop would not lightly disregard. A
consultative vote from such a body should be of the greatest
weight. A deliberative vote was of course final. Now, when we
speak of matters in which the Bishop acts de consilio capituli we
mean that he must consult the Canons without being obliged to
follow their advice. They enjoy a consultative vote. Where,
1 Cf. Icard, vol. ii.,.pp. 184-85.
682 Duties and Rights of Canons.
on the other hand, he is bound to act de consensu capituli, the-
Canons have each a deliberative or definitive vote.
The latter obligation is not so extensive as the former. 1
In general terms it extends to affairs of very great moment
in which the interests of the See, Cathedral, or Chapter might
be seriously prejudiced. This consent is required :
1. For alienating, pledging or incumbraiicing real
property, belonging to the Cathedral, or even its movable-
property if of considerable value :
2. For annexing a parish to a monastery:
3. In uniting, dismembering or suppressing benefices :
4. In demanding an extraordinary collection (subsidium
charitativum) :
5. To inflict perpetual suspensions and depositions :
C. In appointing prosynodal examiners.
If these provisions 2 were generally in force at present
we should delay to offer some brief explanation of what they
separately imply. But since custom has almost everywhere
removed or largely modified the necessity for capitular
consent in diocesan affairs, we may pass at once to another
department having a similar history.
Just as in business of very great moment, the Chapter's
consent was necessary, so in a far larger class of cases, in
everything, indeed, to which the word arduum would apply,,
its opinion was asked under pain of nullity. The chief
headings are : 3
1. Ordering and arranging processions and decreeing
solemn supplications :
2. Publishing statutes in a diocesan synod :
3. Severe sentences, condemnations, and privations im-
posed on clerics.
But here again custom has very generally left the Bishop
independent. For, though quite recently the Holy See has-
spoken of Chapters as true episcopal senates, with rights to give
necessary counsel as prescribed by law, it must be said that all
this is to be understood in the light of local custom, and that
1 Bouix, p. 387 ; Craissonj vol. ii., pp. 375-76.
2 Craisson ; ibid., &c., Bouix, ibid., &c. ; Icard, vol. ii., p. 161.
8 Cf. Craisson, vol. ii., p. 376.
Duties and Rights of Canons.
accordingly, in the absence of special provisions, it in most
places remains optional with the Bishop to say how far he
will consult his Chapter. At the same time it is plain the
Holy See does not contemplate such loss of ancient privileges
as would imply that the Chapter had ceased to be a true
senatus episcopi or the Canons his real advisers. 1
Perhaps it may be well to give the views of eminent
Canonists on this subject.
Cardinal Lambertini (afterwards Benedict XIV.) speaking
of the necessity of Capitular consent in his own day, states
" asseri posse hodie titulum DE HIS QUAE FIUNT A PRAELATIS
SINE CONSENSU CAPITULI, recessisse ab aula, si quidem hodie
Episcopi fere omnia'expediunt sine consensu capituli." 2
On the same question De Angelis says " Putarem pro-
inde hodie in hac re nos non vivere jure scripto sed jure
consuetudinario.' ' 3
Lastly Santi concludes his statement as follows :
Adnotant autem auctores titulum praesentem ferme recessisse a
moribus hodiernis cum episcopi fere ornnia negotia solent expedire
sine consensu Capituli. Verum haud facile adrnitterem consnetudinem
contra ea quae in materia tituli praesentis decernit Cone. Tridentinum.
Nam S Sedes, praesertim per organum S. Cong. Cone. Episcopis
jugiter inculcat observantiam leguin Tridentinarum. 4
The Canonists seem to suppose that the obligation of
consulting the Chapter has not suffered so much from
contrary customs as that of acting with their consent. But,
where the prebendaries are spread over a large diocese,
obviously it is very easy for the privilege even of exercising
a consultative vote to drop largely into disuse. Besides we
must remember that the Bishop could always act indepen-
dently when discharging any office as delegate of the Holy
See.
The English statutes suppose consultation with the
Chapter. But the administration of the Cathedral, which de
jure communi belongs conjointly to Bishop and Chapter is
assigned exclusively to the Bishop.
1 Bouix, pp. 380, &c. ; Santi, L. in. pp. 134, &c.
2 De tuenda- pace, Pars, iv., n. 215. 3 L. iii. T. V. P. 241.
4 Santi Lib. iii., pp. 135-36.
684 Duties and Rights of Canons.
Passing now from this department in which so much
depends on custom, we come to other privileges of less
importance, but much greater definiteness.
Chapters have a right to be represented at provincial
synods. Their procurators, however, enjoy on]y consultative
votes. But sede vacante, the Vicar Capitular has a definitive
voice. 1
Chapters are also represented by two members on Com-
missions for the management of seminaries. The Council
of Trent mentions three, or as some maintain only two such
Commissions. They are, 1 one for general direction of the
spiritual and intellectual work, 2 a second for temporalities,
and 3 a third for audits and accounts.
It is unnecessary to dwell on the rights of precedence
which Cathedral Canons enjoy. To claim it, they must be
present capitulariter, or as a deputation from their Chapter,
or in attendance on their bishop. Taken in any of these
ways they come before parish priests and Canons collegiate.
The Vicar- General, however, in vicarial apparel, takes pre-
cedence of the Canons and dignitaries, unless they are in
sacred vestments. In Canonic dress he retains his place as a
Canon. The Canonic dress is in itself another privilege.
From a very early period, perhaps from their origin,
Canons used a distinctive habit. But it is an established
maxim in this matter, that they cannot assume even
the usual insignia without special permission from Rome.
Most probably it was always deemed a privilege to be
allowed to wear the Roman dress, or any part of it. Hence
comes the pontifical reservation in regard to its use.
Besides, Canons are not allowed their special habit,
except in their own Church or when they are present else-
where capitulariter. Even in the Cathedral they must use
stole and surplice, when administering the Sacraments. In
England, by Papal indult, Canons wear their Canonical dress
in the Churches which belong to them as pastors. But apart
from such special concessions, the only custom, which the
Holy See seems to allow, is limited to the case of a Canon
preaching in another Church before his Bishop.
7 Craisson, vol. ii., p. 388,
The German Universities. 685
On the Continent of Europe some venerable Chapters
enjoy the use of pontificals. Their long history and
majestic splendour vividly remind one of the august body of
Cardinals in Rome. In truth, in external glory they have
followed the same order of progress, and their essential
functions have the same visible, palpable, unmistakable con-
nection and identity with those of ancient times.
Have the Milanese broken with St. Ambrose or do those
Canons but mimic his clergy ? When and where was the
cleavage or the change. Priests and people feel and live in
unbroken continuity with the Church of the Fathers, and
a stranger who will not see the fact either closes his eyes,
or has not read the past.
We began these papers with a quotation from Nardi.
We wish to conclude them with a prophecy of his. It is
that the institution of chapters, so ancient in its origin, so
useful in its character, and so naturally springing from the
Christian constitution, will remain to the end and share in
the Church's indestructibility.
PATRICK O'DONNELL.
GERMAN UNIVERSITIES. III.
TT/'E closed the last paper on this subject in the RECORD *
' ' by the statement, that the German people had main-
tained the main principles of Christian tradition and belief
against all adverse influences. It must have occurred to
anyone, particularly to a French priest, who had seen very
serious and terrible consequences in his own land arising
from much simpler and less potent causes, that there must be
something in the genius of this nation that thus preserved
faith and a passion for theological science amongst them.
Our author, from a careful study of the German people, soon
discovered a curious trait in their character, which we have
not seen attributed to any other race. He considers the
Germans what he calls a bicephalic nation thinking, dreaming,.
1 I. E. KECOED, July, 1886, p. 631.
686 The German Universities.
speculating with one mind, but always acting with another.
It is the combination of pure reason and practical reason on
which Kant built up his mighty philosophy ; and the principles
which he applied to religion, as deduced from the operations
of pure reason on the one hand, and practical reason on the
other, are the same principles with which educated German
thinkers theorize and speculate, and then abandon in real life
those creations of fancy, for the more positive wisdom of
practical good sense. For just as Kant in his Critique of
Pare Reason, taught nothing of absolute reality, but a purely
ideal speculative world, and in his later treatises laid down
laws subordinating man's mind and conscience to God and
the Divine and natural laws, so the ordinary German loves
wander in the broad fields of metaphysical thought, creating,
conjecturing, and poetising; but in every-day life he is as
shrewd and practical a thinker as the ancient Greek or the
modern American. This dualism of the mind enters into
every department of thought and life. It is the prevailing
national idiosyncrasy in education, religion, and political
science ; and the contrast between ancient and well-preserved
tradition, and the fullest acknowledgment and acceptance of
new and everchanging ideas and systems is very striking.
Up here in the cloudland is some mediaeval city, gray and
battlemented, the ivy wreathed around its fortifications long
since disused, and stretching its tendrils across the mouths of
cannon long since antiquated and useless; and strolling
through its streets in undress cap and jacket are dreamy,
metaphysical Teutons, pondering weighty mysteries of time
and space, and in the contemplation of the infinitude around
and above them, seemingly oblivious of the petty concerns
that agitate the multitude beneath them in the white villages
and towns that dot the landscape from the Weser to the
Rhine. BeloAv in the valley is a row of buildings, granite-
hewn, square-cut, uniform, and stern, and the quadrangles
are bristling with black guns, the latest invention of German
military science ; and through the barrack squares march
.grim bands of warriors, as gray and stiff as the granite of the
walls, and many of them a few months ago were, and many
a few months hence will be, gay, rollicking students, talking
The German Universities. 687
liigh science over pipe and glass away up in the cloudland.
It is a type of the education military and academical
through which the Fatherland insists all its children shall
pass, and of the liberty and discipline which prevail side by
side in all State institutions. Absolute freedom in specula-
tion obedience as absolute as that of a Carthusian in
practical life ; toleration of the wildest vagaries in academical
lialls unceasing vigilance over act or word that might be
inimical to the Fatherland ; freedom as glorious as that of
Rousseau's barbarian in the University, discipinle asunbending
as that of Sparta's soldiers in the barrack such is life in
Germany to the young. Hence there is no restriction on books,
OT programmes, or studies. Every field of thought is opened
up to the student, and he is encouraged to explore it. Every
invention of modern science is put before him to stimulate
his ambition to improve it, and make it obsolete. Whatever
the genius of other lands has effected he is at perfect liberty
to study, and turn to practical uses. But never is his cold
sluggish blood stirred into enthusiasm by victories of science
achieved by other nations ; nor will his home and college
prejudices yield for a moment to admiration of talents
which, with sublime pride and exclusiveness, he believes
to have been specially created for the benefit of his race.
If French scientific class-books are carefully noted and
.studied in Germany no one is very much the wiser. The
French with the interest and curiosity peculiar to their race,
study the habits of the English and Germans, and candidly
acknowledge their virtues and excellences whilst politely
laughing at their eccentricities. But no German is ever
troubled about his neighbours, except to draw maps of their
fortresses and sketches of their ironclads. No de Stael or
Didon will ever come from the German land. Wrapt
in sublime security, which in any other nation would
be sublime conceit, they believe that the world was
made for the Fatherland. Never a whisper of admiration
passes German lips for Milton, or Dante, or Racine for
Locke, or Descartes, or Mill. Goethe and Schiller are the
greatest poets that have yet appeared on this planet ; and
Kant and Spinoza are the intellectual giants of the
688 The German Universities.
modern world, as Plato and Aristotle were in times of old..
The same national peculiarity is observable in the religious'-
beliefs of the people. " Protesting strongly and repeatedly
against authoritative teaching, they are the slaves of synods
and consistories." In theory, the free-thinkers of the world,,
they are really as dogmatic and exclusive as Puritans. For-
ever soaring in the high empyrean of abstract thought, they
never lose touch of the solid earth. And, on the other hand,
however logical in thought and accurate in scholarship they
may be, they cannot descend into the abysses of that realism
where less dreamy and imaginative races fall and abide.
The strong tendency to idealism, which is such a peculiar
characteristic of the people, saves them from lapsing into
abject error. It was a noticeable feature in their philos-
ophers ; and even the masses of the people are so imbued
with it, that it seems a kind of impossibility that they should
ever adopt that crude, hard materialism which comes so easy
to the genius of other nations. The Frenchman con-
centrates all thought and feeling within one faculty the
reason, and the senses as its ministers ; and whatever refuses
to come within its domain is instantly rejected. Strangely
enthusiastic and impulsive, he has not a particle of imagination.
His poetry is little more than rhymed prose his fiction is-
never successful until it becomes realistic and morbid. Two
and two make four ; therefore, he argues, there is no God.
Here is the surgeon's scalpel find the soul if it exists. But
the faculties of the German mind are so well balanced, that
there is a perpetual protest between the two extremes of
thought excessive fancy and excessive logic idealism and
materialism, and the mind is kept in that happy mean where
each faculty has its full sweep of exercise without the peril
of losing itself in the abysses above, or the darker abysses
of vulgar materialism beneath. Hence, the free thought of
Germany is ridiculed by the more robust atheism of other
countries as yielding and puerile. " Quand un Allemand,"
says E. Renan, " se vante d'etre impie, il ne faut jamais le
croire sur parole. L'Allemand n'est pas capable d'etre
irreligieux. La religion, c'est a dire, 1'aspiration du
monde ideal, est le fond meme da sa nature. Quand il
The German Universities. (181)
veut etre athee, il Test devotement, et avec une sorte
d'onctioii." l
This taste for metaphysical studies is the safety valve, of
free-thought in Germany. No nation can long remain either
rationalistic or infidel so long as this fancy for abstract
thought is a national characteristic. And' whatever value
may be set by this too prosaic age on the works of positivists,
the lasting verdict of the world will be given in favour of
the authors to whom great ideas were more important than
the greatest facts or deeds accomplished in the history of our
little race. Nay, even those who spurned metaphysics as a
delusion have been forced either by the want of material
machinery, or by the free working of the intellect, into realms
of thought, to which they wished to remain for ever strangers.
Goethe, a sensualist and realist in a moral and literary sense,
could say of Jacobi, that " God afflicted him with metaphysics
as with a thorn in the flesh." Yet, what is the second part
of " Faust " and the greater part of the first, but an admission
that without supernatural elements even that strange jumble
of thought could not, with all the efforts of his own unquestion-
able genius, cohere in legitimate dramatic unity ? Whatever
philosophic system, therefore, prevails in the halls of German
Universities, the religious creed of the students is as definite
and dogmatic as Protestantism can permit. It could not be
otherwise if we consider the programmes that are issued by
the Minister of Public Instruction in Germany, and which
are obligatory on teachers and pupils alike. Here is the
programme for High Schools, issued March 17th, 1882 :
"Religious instruction shall comprise 1st, The History
of the Bible, but chiefly of the New Testament. 2nd, The
Catechism, with the Scriptural passages and traditions which
explain it. 3rd, The Ecclesiastical Y ear-Book, and complete
knowledge of the principal hymns. 4th, Knowledge of the
main facts contained in the Scriptures, chiefly in the New
Testament (reading of various passages selected from the
original text.) 5th, Fundamental points of dogma and morality.
(5th, Knowledge of the most important dates of the history
1 Etudes d'Histoire Religieuse, p. 417.
VOL. VII. 2 X
The German Universities.
of the Church, of eminent personages, and of the lives of the
principal saints."
And in the diploma which each student in the Gymnasia
receives, when he has passed his final examination, are found
the words :
" We hereby testify that the pupil of the Catholic or
Evangelic faith is efficient in religious knowledge." But
it is in the Universities that chief prominence is given to
religious science, and that it occupies the foremost place in
the activity of trained and matured intellects.
" The activity of theological science cannot be denied.
Every professor treats at least two different subjects. And
as the smallest faculty of theology does not possess fewer
than six professors, there are thus at least twelve lectures.
At Leipzig, where the faculty of theology numbered fourteen
professors, twenty-five subjects were being treated in the
same half-year. These are the titles of the various subjects
studied during the Summer vacation of 1882 :
History of the Church.
Epistle to the Hebrews.
Moral Theology.
Epistle of St. James.
The Prophet Isaiah.
The idea of the Covenant in the
New Testament.
The minor prophets before the
Compared Symbolics. exile.
The Psalms. Hebrew Poetry.
History of worship among the
Hebrews, and its bearings upon
the criticism of the Penta-
teuch.
History of Christian archi-
tecture compared with the
requirements of the present
time.
Gospel of St. John.
The Messianic Prophecies.
Epistle to the Romans.
Life and doctrine of Schleiermacher
Introduction to the Old Testament
System of Practical Theology.
Biblical Theology of the New
Testament.
Messianic prophecies of the Old,
and their fulfilment in the New
Testament.
"Add to this the practical labours accomplished in the
various associations of theological students, and some idea
may be formed of the prodigious intellectual movement of
which in Germany every faculty of theology is a centre.
The encyclopedia of religious science is thus approached from
on all sides ; and the students who are excited by an ardent
wish for study, live under the cross fire of the thousand rays
of the same science."
The German Universities. (]91
Lastly, in political science in Germany, similar
effects of the dualism of the national character are
observable. The most strenuous liberal and democrat
in France or America, whose life is one passionate
dream of a universal brotherhood of nations, " in the
parliament of man the federation of the world," is not so
enthusiastic as the German student, who is prepared to clasp
hands in cosmopolitan friendship with every other nationality.
So say their poets their philosophers. Yet we know that
they love their mountains and rivers and forests with a
partiality that seems narrow and illiberal, that the glory of
the Fatherland is the everpresent dream of every German,
no matter what his religion may be, and that Germany is a
huge barrack where every adult must pass through the
ordeal of a severe and rigid discipline to form part eventually
of a colossal and irresistible force that may crush the French
on the one hand, and the Slav on the other. This is all the
more wonderful, because there is no nation in the world
composed of such heterogeneous elements in origin, race and
religion.
Though for the most part descended from the Gothic
tribes that swept Europe at the dismemberment of the
Roman Empire, the Germans occupy such a central position
that a large Latin element from the south has entered into
the composition of their nationhood, and the Slavs from the
east and the Tartars from the north have added their
distinctive characteristics to the race. It is cut up also into
principalities and kingdoms as different in size and con-
figuration as if the poles were between them. And though
the Catholic and Lutheran religions predominate, there is a
. large variety of small sects differing from one another on
some point of religion which is only made .important by
controversy. Yet, notwithstanding these elements of dis-
ruption, the fact remains that the German Empire is to-day
consolidated into a whole more concrete and unified than
empires whose people kneel at the same altar, and whose
flag floats over one race claiming the same origin and
birthright. Still more strange is it that politics in the sense
of differences of opinion in reference to the common welfare,
692 The German Universities.
is an unknown science in Germany. The great central idea
of German unity pervades all classes; and to that idea
everything must be sacrificed. And the German Universities
are undoubtedly the places where that dominant idea is
engendered and developed. " In closely studying German
youth I soon came to the conclusion that the love of the
mother country, the consciousness of its doctrines, and the
ambition of its future glories have been chiefly developed in
its Universities." This national feeling is promoted by the
patriotic clubs of the Universities ."and, let us add, by the
spirit of the professors themselves. " This lecture," said
Fichte during the Napoleonic invasion, "will be deferred
until the issue of the campaign. We shall resume it when
our country has recovered its liberty or we shall have fallen
dead for the defence of her freedom."
So far, then, as we can see in two great departments of
human thought, academical education and political science,
the German Universities exercise the most wholesome
influences ; and even in religious science the spirit of these
valuable institutions is a main support of Christianity. What
conclusions, therefore, shall we draw, or how shall we apply
the practical lessons of this book of Pere Didon's to our own
country? We may, perhaps, state that the peculiarities of
the Teutonic and Celtic races are so utterly dissimilar that it
would be impossible to create or maintain a University
system in Ireland after the model which we have studied.
We have neither the traditions that consecrate to the minds
of German youth the ancient seats of learning in their land,
nor great names to whose memory is attached that national
reverence which is so freely given to those who have marked
some intellectual epoch in the history of their country, nor
governmental patronage such as that bestowed on Berlin,
nor even the universal homage to learning, which is the '
sweetest guerdon of the protracted vigil, and the laborious
task of unearthing dead centuries for their treasures.
Neither have we as yet that peculiar virtue of pursuing
knowledge for its own sake, which is the soul and inspiration
of a University. It is in this matter that the book we have
studied is specially valuable. With a firm hand our
The German Universities. 693
Dominican draws a decidedly unfavourable contrast between'
his own country and Germany, points out distinctly the
faults of the French educational system, and suggests a total
reconstruction of that system on German principles, adapted
of course to French ideas and temperament. And there is
such an affinity between the French and Irish nations that
we may safely apply all his strictures and suggestions to
ourselves. To understand them we must take his standpoint,
for it is not too much to say that his own nation and Germany
are half a century ahead of us in this matter of education,
and with them the whole system is not feebly tentative as
with us, but has been tried by the fullest tests of time and
experience.
The great central idea of the book is that Universities are
the brains of a nation, that whatever excellence has to be
obtained must be obtained through them, and that any kind
of prosperity, intellectual or other, that does not proceed from
them, is hollow and unstable, and must eventually collapse.
A favourite idea in the Church is, that men of prayer are
more powerful agents for good than men of action ; that the
cowled Carthusian whose earthly vision is bounded by the
white wall of his cell on the one hand, and the white wall of
his garden on the other, has more influence on the Church's
destinies than the girded apostle who goes forth " in fines
orbis terrae." Now, it is the creed of our author that it is by
great ideas a nation is created and strengthened, and that
Universities are the homes of such ideas. He thinks, there-
fore, the increase in the number and efficiency of Universities
a healthy proof of the vitality and energy of a people ; the
decline of Universities, and the increase of High Schools for
special subjects a certain sign of a nation's degeneracy.
Yet, he says, this is the universal tendency of the world at
the present time : " The fashion to-day is professional and
high schools. All nations, Germany excepted, seem to obey
that fashion. Everywhere in England, in America, in Italy,
in France, in Russia, high schools are founded and multiplied."
What is the result ? "If we observe this intellectual impulse
of contemporary society, we shall soon come to the conclusion
that it will eventually and fatally result in the breaking up
694 The German Universities.
of the vast unity of general knowledge ; and that in fostering
too energetically the practical application of science, it will
gradually dry up the inspiration of genius, to which theoretical
science alone can give wings and flight." What he condemns,
therefore, is the undue and forced exaltation of high schools
at the expense of Universities. In Germany the former are
never suffered to lose their preparatory character ; in France
they are permitted to encroach too much on the domain of
Universities, with the result that University teaching in France
is only the shadow of a great name, and the high schools
are " hotbeds of irreligion, positivism, and eighteen year old
philosophers." These latter are formed by the undue
development of the critical faculty. The natural powers of
the mind require the following sequence in the course of
education : gradual strengthening of the memory by filling
but not over-burthening it with facts or principles gradual
development of the intellect by the collation of such facts
and the application of such principles, as we see in the study
of mathematics finally, the training in just criticism, when
the judgment is matured, and the memory and intellect
combine to help it in forming correct ideas and practical
principles of action. Now, in France, this last branch of
education is usurped by the Lycees or public schools, where
the young pedant is instructed to sit in judgment on the
universe, like Browning's diner-out :
Who wants a doctrine for a chopping-block
To try the edge of his faculty upon,
Prove how much common-sense he'll hack and hew,
In the critical minute 'twixt the soup and fish.
With that prematurely developed critical faculty he roams
through the realms of thought, and nothing is too high or
sacred to escape him. Setting aside reverence of every kind
as a kind of exploded superstition, he flings the full searching
light of this wonderful faculty into every corner and cranny
of the universe of science, flashing it from the inaccessible
heights of heaven to the lowest depths of animal or vegetable
physiology. Whatever escapes this white light, or is unre-
vealed to it, is to him non-existent; and the budding philos-
opher through the medium of his language, which if useless
The German Universities. 695
as a vehicle of high thought or poetry, is splendidly adapted
for the more servile purposes of satire, annihilates to his own
fancy creeds as old as the world, and hopes that are stronger
than death. So it was with ancient Greece. The philosophers
were followed by rhetoricians and sophists, who inducted the
youth committed to their charge into all the secrets of
science, yet made eloquence of language and rhetorical display
their highest ambition in the end. But their appearance
marked the decline of Grecian learning. From that time we
date the transference to the Latin races of the wand of
intellectual superiority. And it is not altogether beyond our
own experience to find youth of our own age, who can sing
the litany of the kings and queens of England, and mark the
dates of battles with the mechanical uniformity of a chrono-
meter, deem themselves qualified to sit in high places, and
stare and wonder at teachings which are too simple or too
sublime for forced and weakened intellects.
For the same reason, our second conclusion shall be, that
the crown of all teaching in a Catholic University should be
the perfect grounding of the students in a system of mental
philosophy, strictly in accordance with the teachings of the
Church, but neither too restricted in its scope, nor too illiberal
in its applications. Theology is justly the queen of sciences
to the inmates of a Catholic Ecclesiastical College. Its place
in a University would be justly filled by Philosophy. The
whole course of modern literature, varied and complex as it
is, is for-ever touching the fringe of this latter science. The
finest poem of modern times, the " In Memoriam" of Tenny-
son, is purely philosophical from beginning to end ; and if
the perfect hope of the Christian's belief is clearly professed
in its splendid prologue, the doubts and difficulties that
beset it, are indicated in minor keys throughout the poem
and are silenced, but do not entirely vanish, in the " Higher
Pantheism." And v through the brilliant warp and woof of
George Eliot's works, is there not discernible the dark
thread of her negative and melancholy philosophy? So with
science. Whether looking for a universe of worlds through
the telescope, or through a microscope for a universe of atoms,
the mind of man is for ever tormented by metaphysical
696 The German Universities.
questionings. There is no use in trying to silence them.
Positivism may lay down peremptorily its dogmas, and warn
its disciples to waste no more time in futile searches after
that which can never be known. But the ceaseless curiosity
of the mind cannot be stilled, till the stars are quenched
and the mechanism of the universe loses its obedience to the
Divine Mind that controls it. To bring vigorous and active
intellects under a mental discipline so perfect, that the
chafing and irritation of such doubts and questionings are
soothed by a science, to which the highest intellects have
been consecrated, and which is as perfect and flawless in its
workings as the most scrupulous mechanic could desire,
this ought to be the ultimate aim of a University. And for
the same reason, the study of philosophy ought to be
deferred to the end of the University course, when the mind
is trained to understand its intricacies, and pass freely from
problem to problem, which would appear to it in a less
matured condition barren and empty formulae. " Eighteen-
year-old" classical scholars are intelligible ; " eighteen-year
old" mathematicians are not forced and unnatural creations ;
but " eighteen-year-old " philosophers imply a deordination
in the process of education, which is irrational and absurd.
We hasten from this point to say that it is evident that in a
University the science should be taught in the vernacular,
and that its history, as well as its doctrines, should be made
familiar. 1 For, after all, it is the history of human thought.
Physical science was practically unknown up to our own time.
What occupied the minds of men for twenty centuries ? The
mighty issues of the human soul, its capabilities, its destiny-
In porches and gardens under Grecian skies, in halls of
rhetoric in the days of Ambrose and Augustine, in academies
and Universities in mediaeval times, and in our own days
in that great arena of modern thought the press, the same
vital questions are discussed. The advocates of freethought
in every shape, and in every age, sit under the bust of
Plato ; and the statue of Aristotle is enshrined in Christian
1 Not to burthen our pages with quotations, we refer the reader to
Pere Didon's work, page 174, for the programme in the faculty of
philosophy for 1882.
The German Universities. 697
schools near that of the great apostle of intellect, Aquinas.
Yet, we do not speak of the former with horror, nay, many
of our best Christian scholars have thought it in no wise
heterodox to quote him. And surely, Kantism does not mean
unutterable things : nor is Spinoza quite a synonyme for Satan.
Thirdly, the professorial system should be maintained in
the most conservative manner in an Irish University, partly,
because no other provision can be made by us for great
specialists; principally, because, under any other system,
learning shall never become honourable amongst us. However
efficient a tutorial system may be in preparing youth for
professional examinations, it can never be successful in the
higher object of making them thoroughly educated men.
The instrument may answer its purpose well, but it never
becomes more than an instrument, to be cast aside when used.
It is clear that reverence for knowledge in the persons
of its possessors can never have for its cause or object those
who use it as a means to an end less noble than itself. These
only command respect for learning who are consecrated to
its service, and who win worship for their goddess by their
exclusive devotion to her service.
Finally, with all our indebtedness to Pere Didon, we
borrow from him one last idea : " No national life is
possible for a people, if, at the same time, it be not taken up
with the pursuit of some grand ideal." What ideal should be
put before a University of Irish students who hold their
country's destinies in their hands? We pass by political
aphorisms too menacing, too flattering, or too enthusiastic,
and say that the only true ideal for Ireland is to be once
more, what it was of old, a nation of saintly scholars. " To
the English," it was said, "was given the empire of the sea ;
to the French, the empire of the land ; to the Germans, the
empire of the air." What a sublime destiny it would be, if
with these latter, we could share the dominion over human
thought, if utilising to the utmost, the varied and inex-
haustible treasures of talent that lie hidden around us, we
could explore unknown fields of thought, and garner intel-
lectual wealth till the nations of the world cried out with
envy ; if we could open up our sanctuaries of science to
698 A Manuscript Diary for 1762.
strangers, and send apostles of intellect, as we send to-day
apostles of faith, to nations that hail the rising, or sadden
tinder the setting sun ! And all this intellectual glory, whilst
the deposit of faith remains intact, the past and eternal
glory of Ireland's fidelity to religion undimmed, whilst her
science is not the litter of dead philosophies dug from the
past as the members of a mutilated statue, but the perfection
of the fair and living figure that woke to music and immor-
tality when the sunlight of faith had dawned upon it. Let
us hope that this is not the dream of a sleeper before the
dawn, but a fair forecast of what may and shall be.
P. A. SHEEHAN.
A MANUSCRIPT DIARY FOR 1762.
SOME years ago the manuscript we have now to speak of
came into our hands, probably as an item in a mixed lot
at an auction. We have from time to time amused ourselves
"with reading its quaint entries, and puzzled over its cramped
hand and difficult contractions ; and, while it has given, us
no clue to the name of its author which, indeed, is to us, as
to our readers, of no consequence whatever it has afforded
us some insight into a character, not indeed particularly
interesting or edifying in itself, but fairly representing a
certain class, ever to be found in the world, but perhaps more
pronounced at one time than at another. Circumstances
which develop individuals, spread their influence by them,
and form classes which, severally weak, grow strong by
combination, and take a place in society to which otherwise
they could not attain.
The religious movement which grew out of small begin-
nings in the eighteenth century, and owed its life to the
Wesleys, to Whitfield, and to other remarkable men, spread
far and wide in England, as much through the apathy of the
Established Church, as by the fervent energy of these great
leaders. It was indeed a religious revival ; blundering, of
A Manuscript Diary for 1762. 699
course, and with its absurd as well as its serious aspects, as all
such movements must be when outside the Church and
unaided by its spirit and experience ; but yet very real was
the movement ardent, almost fierce, was the energy with
which it was worked and great, doubtless, in its irregular
way, was the good it wrought among those who were in a
state of almost pagan ignorance in all that concerned the
welfare of their souls. With the lowest classes its influence
made itself specially felt ; for they had been left seemingly
uncared for by those who were supposed to be in spiritual
charge of them. But the influence, if it began, did not end
there. It worked effectively in the lower middle classes,
and thence upwards to the professions, if not in its higher
branches, at least among those who are most mixed up with
the small shopkeepers. It is to this class of professionals
that the writer of our Diary seems to belong ; and if his
revelations of himself do not tend to place him high in our
estimation as perhaps few thoroughly honest un veilings are
likely to do they show us at least how the teachings
and doings of that period influenced the minds of those who
were brought under their power, even when they did not
succeed in making a man live up to his principles. To do
our author justice, we must bear in mind that he was noting
down from day to day his prayers as well as his actions, and
that these records of thoughts and aspirations, that grew out
of the moment, were recorded for his own eyes alone ; and
this will excuse much which otherwise would look like
hypocrisy, were they intended to be read by others. There
may be, and doubtless is, much that is mere form, and the
stringing together of familiar words and phrases much
perhaps that is but an attempt at self-deception, and a
throwing upon Providence the responsibility which is really
his own ; but with all this, there must needs be a certain
amount of true religion at the bottom of it all, which should
make us think not altogether unsympathetically of a poor
man struggling with many difficulties of soul and body, while
we derive some amusement from his trials and the way he
has recorded them.
Of the keeper of this Diary we know nothing beyond
700 A Manuscript Diary for 1762.
what he has recorded in the manuscript, which now lies
before us. He seems to have kept a regular series a separate
volume for each year; for at the latter end of this, for 1762,
he says : Dec. 27. Began ruling next year's pocket-book, and
composed and wrote a first prayer in it. Very neat and
careful is this ruling ; for every page is regularly divided by
red lines into columns and paragraph-spaces, and the whole
finishes with three horizontal red lines, when the year has
come to an end.
In our quotations, from which we have too long detained
the reader, we shall be careful to give no names ; the writer
having lived and practised little more than a century ago in
Dublin. Our only object in using his Diary being to give a
fair representation of a state of society prevailing in his day,
he and his surroundings are to us only as characters in a
play ; real in themselves, they are to us as puppets, with
whom, when the play is over, we have no more to do, and so
we ask, and wish to ask, no more about them.
We shall not follow any regular order in our quotations ;
enough, if we pick up a passage here and there, as chance
may lead us, and as pencil-marks which we formerly made
may suggest. Our readers will not need the minute accuracy
which contractions and quaint spelling would suggest : we
are not editing a Classic, but only skimming over an old
Diary.
The arrangement of the pages is peculiar, and strongly
characteristic of [the religious tone which Methodism
popularised, if it did not introduce ; and so especially is the
abrupt and seemingly irreverent jumble together of sacred
and profane things. The prayer and the ordinary note are
so mixed together that, in the contractions that are used,
were it not for the " Amen," it would be difficult to find
where the one ends and the other begins.
The two opposite pages correspond in the record of time
for a week, and are divided by vertical lines ; the left-hand
page into two columns, and the right into three. At the top
of the former runs a verse from the Bible ; the first column
contains, under the date of the day, a prayer fitted for the
occasion, and evidently extempore, followed abruptly by a
A Manuscript Diary for 1762. 701
note of where he took his meals, spent his evenings, and the
people he met, with sometimes a pious ejaculation with which
to wind up the day. The second column, on the same page,
he heads : Sundrys under which he records other events of
less regular occurrence, under its own date, from Monday, at
the top, to Sunday (evidently his Sabbath or seventh day),
at the bottom ; and, of course, the Sunday has a special
prayer, which is the only one in this business column.
The right page professes to be : An account of Monies
received and expended. In the first column, the particulars;
in the second, the receipts; and in the third, the expenditure :
the accounts being entered with the formal accuracy of the
period, so that when he spent a penny it stands recorded
thus : Bord of Miss C.'s young man (paid) OOOf , OOs., Old.
But, even here, we have the religion of the left page flowing
over ; and so we get a record of sermons that he read or
heard preached one almost every day with the text, and
sometimes remarks upon the same. Thus, for instance, we
read.: Dr. Hudson, proving the Divinity of Our Lord, said,
that as God was our Creator and' Preserver; so that, if He
had not been our Redeemer also, as the Mercy of Redemption
infinitely outweighs the Mercies of Creation and Preservation,
it would follow we were more obliged to a Creature than to
God our Creator, which would be absurd and blasphemous
to imagine. I think it a very pretty Argument, and I never
heard or met with it before.
When our Diarist gets to London, he records the sermons
of such men as : Revd. Mr. John Wesley, and tells us how he
considered one to be excellent, and another to be very good;
and it being a watch-night, stayed till half after ten. And,
in the very same paragraph, we are brought back abruptly
to the account of moneys, and find that he got from Aunt B.,
to pay for her knife-grinding, another penny, which is
entered under seven figures ; six cyphers, and the poor unit
at the end of the row. Day after day he goes to hear the
same famous preacher ; but once he records : He only read
letters. And another time : I was not there at the beginning ;
on which day he expended one half-penny. When at home
in Dublin, he goes to other preachers, who do not please him.
702 A. Manuscript Diary for 1762.
Dr. Lillo's discourse is pronounced as excessive poor, and
Mr. Jepson's, on the same day, as very poor. But these
sermons, he tells us, were : In the morning at the Parish
(church), and in the afternoon at St. Peter's; so perhaps it
was the flavour of the Establishment that made the orthodox
discourses but husks of swine.
Affairs do not seem to prosper with him in Dublin, and so
he sets out for London; and thus he records his long journey:
About half after twelve left the Chambers, and went down to
the Quay about two o'clock ; took boat and before four were
under sail, in the Prendergast Pacquet, for the Head. All day
at sea : what little wind we had was favourable ; but it was too
little. And then comes his Sunday prayer that he may have
the Holy Spirit, as a voice behind me, saying, This is the
way, walk thou therein. The next day he landed about
twelve o'clock, at noon, at Holyhead, and set forward for
Chester about three, and goes with Mr. S. to Llangefny, in
the Isle of Anglesea. On they ride on horseback by Bangor
Ferry, where one J. joined us to Conway ; and we lay at
Eidland (Rhuddlan ?). I was very much fatigued at night.
At Holy well we dropped Mr. J., and lay at Mrs. K/s at
Chester : lay in the old room. Mr. S. came to me, and we
took whey. Evidently both were poorly, and enjoyed the
old room in a quiet and sober manner, nursing themselves
for the fatigue yet to come. So they had an idle day there,
and took tea with the landlady, Mrs. K. Then he set out
once more ; but no more on horseback, for he has reached
civilization and comparatively good roads, and says, some-
what grandly : Took Mr. S. in the Chaise with me; though,
in truth, the grandeur is none of his own ; for he records, in
another paragraph: When I determined to go as far as
Whitchurch that night, to be taken up by the Machine in the
morning, Mr. G. was so kind as to compliment me with a
Post-Chaise. Glory be to God. And ere he goes to bed he
writes : Thanks be to God, who preserved me this day, that
none of my bones were broken ; so, after all, the Post-Chaise
was none of the easiest. The next day we find him
in the Coach, or Machine, as he calls it ; inside are : Mr. F.,
an officer's wife and her son, and a Whitchurch man,
A Manuscript Diary for 1762. 703
and I, Mr. S., was an outside passenger. Their journey is by
\\ 7 hit church, Stafford and Coventry, and even at the end of
the long day's journey he has no repose, for he briefly
records : not a bed, come in so late and to set off so soon ;
which seems to mean either that no bed is to be got so late
at night, or that the driver of the Machine will not trust his
passengers with the luxury of a night's rest, fearing, naturally
enough, that they will be loath to rise to set off in the early
morning. So without a comfortable sleep they are off again
by Foster's Booth at Northampton where they refresh them-
selves, and passing through St. Alban's, sup with Mr. D. in
Bishopsgate-street and lay in the Inn at Aldersgate Street
after this journey of six days. But here he gets no rest, and
just before his Sunday prayer he records feelingly : Being
terribly bit with Buggs in the Inn last night was con-
strained to remove to the lodging Mr. D. had fixed for me in
St. John's Street at the Widow W.'s, where I agreed for five
shillings English a week. Before he removed, however, he
entertained some friends at breakfast at the George Inn,
Aldersgate-street, where he lay but did not sleep, and dined
at the Crown in Bow-lane, and then : to my new lodgings in
St. John's Street. There was nothing else, it seems, done
though it was Sunday, and perhaps the excuse is contained
in the closing words of the entry : rained hard.
This long journey seems to have upset him. Every day
in the account of Monies is the entry repeated : kept no
account of my expenses ; however he is able to go to the
Tabernacle on Sunday, but : the sermon was almost done
when I got there. Bought a ticket for the Gallery : we know
not at what cost, for still the entry is, kept no account of
expenses. However, after a few days we read : Laid out
in all my journey, inclusive of 7s. Il^d. (for hymn and sermon
books) about the sum of 6 19s. 9d. Now Mr. Whitfielcl
as great and popular a preacher as John Wesley himself is
his hero at the Tabernacle, and his sermons are good. And
now comes one of the uses to which the ticket for the Gallery
at the Tabernacle is turned. The young man from Dublin
smartens himself up : agreed with a barber for one shilling
per week shaving and dressing, and gave my linen to wash
704 A Manuscript Diary JOT 1762.
to my old washwoman, Mrs. C. His pocket has something
more than usual in it, so : met Will R., the boy who once lived
with me and whom it was never in my power to pay, gave
him one shilling. And looking about him, the sly rogue
found : that the Lady I had often taken notice of is a niece of
Mr. G. of Tottenham Court Road. Lord make plain my way.
He grows proud and acknowledges his fault. Breakfasted
near the chapel, and found by not chuzing to mix with the
poor Christians there, the wofull and lamentable pride of my
heart, and prays to be humbled that in due time he may be
exalted.
Then the fair distraction comes again. Saw the Lady,
my Favorite, in the Gallery at Tottenham Chappel. Lord
give her to me to wife, if it be thy blessed Will. He prudently
makes inquiries and finds that : the young lady's name is I.,
niece of Messrs. G. (no fortune but what they please). Thy
Will be done.
His mind seems somewhat troubled about this time on his
matrimonial quest by the number of eligible persons he sees.
After mentioning two others in less than a week he lights upon
a Widow : whose name I do not know, looking very well,
and sitting near her I thought she might make me a good
wife, and so he prays to be directed in this important matter ;
and then another turns up and he prays, show me thy Will.
And now a distraction of another kind comes in his way.
One Mr. B. at Mr. D.'s observed that I had an extraordinary
good appearance and look for a Clergyman, as many of late
have said, and others taken me for such ; so he prays that if
it be Thy will I should speak publickly for Thee, make the
way plain before me. Somehow the opposite page here
records frequently : at no place of worship, God forgive me.
It seems that the old distractions are upon him, and so
between the two he gives himself up to the pleasanter.
Perhaps it is only fair to mention the reason he gives for his
absence : ashamed to go to the Tabernacle for the shilling I
owe for Magazines. However, he seems to have been sick ;
for he records that he drank camomile tea night and morning
for the greater part of the week : and then, was shaved all
over my head at night.
A Manuscript Diary for 1762. 705
He made another venture which turned out ill : supped in
Bishopsgate Street, smoked and was very sick, think to smoke
no more : and the next day he was very low in spirits, and
prays that his faith may be increased when he is low, and
that he may live on past experiences. But the next day he
rallied, bought a goose and a bottle of wine, and went with
Polly to the Tabernacle, and prays that they may be not only
hearers but doers of the word. Mr. Whitfield has returned,
and the old attraction draws him.
And now matters seem to prosper with him and we read :
paid my lodging in full 4 13s. Gd. English; paid for my new
hat one guinea, for my new wig 1 5s. ; bought new gloves
and stockings and gave my Polly half a guinea to buy the
things for herself; bought a bag for the wig. But with
prosperity comes carelessness in keeping the account of
monies, and moreover we find entries very unlike the old
sixpences and ninepences, for now we have : bought a gallon
of white wine at Took's wine vaults and nothing about the
price, and then a new gown (my gown, he says, and so it is*
not for his affianced bride) ; paid for my new gown, English
1 13s. 6c?., and then the enormous amount of 5 10s. to the
Taylor for my cloaths, all English he adds ; either in sorrow
for the cost or in exultation at his sudden change of fortune.
And thus his wind up in London is more brilliant than his
beginning. Perhaps we may venture to follow him home
before we withdraw him from the public gaze to which we
have submitted him. He closes his London items with a
gallon of wine and paid my barber ten shillings.
On November 9th he left London before five o'clock in
the morning, D. with me in the Machine that holds six, it was
full. The lady and her mother saw him off, and he thanks
God who has enabled him to leave London, and prays that
he may quickly return again, which under the circumstances
is natural enough. The Machine goes through St. Alban's
and Stony Stratford, and they lay at Dunchurch, safe, thanks
to God. The next day they go by Meriden and the Welsh
Harp and lay at the Four Crosses. Then occurred a small
incident thus recorded : Was grossly affronted at night by
the stage Coachman, and he prays that the man's heart may
VOL. VII. 2 Y
706 A Manuscript Diary for 1762.
be turned, and that he himself may forgive his enemies ;
nevertheless he remarks the next day : The Coachman lost
half-a-crown in the morning (which we gave to another
Coachman) by his abuse. And then he prays : grant it may
do him good. XJjj^it next morning he recommends his
friend Mrs. K.'s hotel to his fellow-travellers : influenced the
whole company of the stage to go to Mrs. K.'s ; on by Ivetsy
Bank, dined at Whitchurch and all the passengers with him,
lay at Chester. There they stayed a day and he started
after dinner the following day in company with Mr. C. for
Holy well and lay there. The following day they reach
Conway ; had a Harper for an hour. Much out of order in
the morning with the fatigue of riding ; having left the Coach
we suppose at Chester. On again ; by Bangor Ferry, 16 miles
from Conway, by Llangefni to Holyhead, Mr. C. in company.
Thus much of his journey is completed in five days. At
Holyhead took ship about ten o'clock. All the rest of the
day at sea, came to an anchor very sick. The next day he
says : all day on shipboard with a contrary wind, till seven
in the evening we landed at Skerries and lay there. Glory
be to God. So the next day he goes by Swords to Black-
horse Lane, and with my sisters tea at my aunts, and lay at
Chambers ; where we hope he got a good night's rest at the
end of these ten days of travel from London. The new clothes,
gown and wig were not long in their cases and boxes, for on
the next day he records, even before his usual prayer which
for once comes second in order : At Court in my Robes.
Clothe me, good Lord, with humility, and grant that I may
be found at last cloathed with the righteousness of my dear
Lord, that I may tread the Courts above and be for ever
giving praise and glory to redeeming Grace.
But we must bring our extracts from the old Diary to an
end. To decipher the curious contractions, to puzzle out the
obscure allusions, and to know more than anyone else of the
thoughts, sayings and doings of one who lived nearly a
century and a quarter ago, all these things combine to give
an adventitious interest to the manuscript, which, it is
impossible to convey to our readers; but altogether apart
from this we may hope that the Diarist reveals himself in a
" Was St. Patrick a Ilymnograplier T 707
manner to make even the few extracts we have given worth
reading; in that they show what the religious movement
under Wesley and Whitfield wrought in a class of minds not
generally subject to such influences ; how they drew a young
lawyer from the ordinary amusements of -London, led him to
a regular attendance, often day by day, at the sermons of
very earnest and awakening preachers, who certainly used
their very great gifts and powers to terrify, arouse, but
never to flatter their hearers ; how they led him away from
personal extravagances and to an excessive economy in the
use of his money, which, to say the least, we suspect would
contrast very favourably with most diaries of the present
day, if young students of any of the professions would record
their life in London as frankly as the unknown writer of 1762
has done. HENRY BEDFORD.
"WAS ST. PATRICK A ETHNOGRAPHER?"
IN a late issue of the RECORD, Father Hogan, S. J., treated
his readers to an essay brimful of interest and learning as
bearing on the life of St. Patrick. One of his many suggestive
bits of information, supplied from the Book of Armagh, in
connection with the Saint's Irish Hymn leads me to discuss
its authorship.
Several lives of our National Apostle make mention of
two Hymns of St. Patrick, but they are said to be his in quite
different senses. One of the Hymns is generally attributed
to St. Secundinus or Seachnall, his maternal nephew, as
alleged, and is written in Latin in praise of St. Patrick. It
has been called the Alphabetical Hymn, because each stanza
begins with a different letter of the alphabet.
The second Hymn was written in Irish, and has been
attributed to St. Patrick himself. The occasion of its com-
position was a sense of danger that beset our Apostle and
his companions on their way to Tara, in order to preach the
Faith to the princes and chieftains there assembled. The
learned O'Donovan gave a translation of this Hymn from the
708 " Was St. Patrick a Ilymnograplier T '
old Book of Hymns, which appeared in Petrie's Antiquities of
Tara. Translations of it have been given also by Messrs. Stokes
and O'Beirne Crowe, with some slight differences. Dr. Todd,
in his St. Patrick, follows the translation of Dr. Stokes. As
an intellectual exercise, as an illustration of the peculiarities
in the Celtic language prevalent in a certain age, it might
be worth while discussing even the slightest verbal differences
between the various translations ; but any of the translations
is substantially correct for our purpose, which is to consider
whether St. Patrick ever composed the alleged Irish Hymn.
If it were not his, it should not have been given by Dr. Todd
and others in their Lives of the Saint, however interesting it
may be as a specimen of the Irish of a particular period.
The following is a translation of the Hymn, as given in
Todd's St. Patrick:
1. "I bind to myself to-day
The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity,
The iaith of the Trinity in Unity,
The Creator of the elements.
2. " I bind to myself to-day
The power of the Incarnation of Christ with that of His Baptism,
The power of the Crucifixion, with that of His Burial,
The power of the Resurrection, with the Ascension,
The power cf the Coming to the Sentence of Judgment.
3. " I bind to myself to-rlay
The power of the Seraphim,
In the obedience ot Angels,
In the hope of Resurrection unto reward,
In the prayers of the Noble Fathers,
In the predictions of the Prophets,
In the preaching of Apostles,
In the faith of Confessors,
In the purity of Holy Virgins,
In the acts of Righteous Men.
4. " I bind to myself to-day
The power of Heaven,
The light of the Sun,
The whiteness of Snow,
The force of Fire.
The tiashing of Lightning,
The velocity of Wind,
The depth of the Sea,
The stability of the Earth,
The hardness of the Rocks.
" Was St. Patrick a ffymnographer? " 709
5. " I bind to myself to-day
The power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The word of God to give me speech,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to prevent me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The host of God to defend me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the temptations of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against every man who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
With few or with many.
6. "I have set around me all these powers,
Against every hostile savage power
Directed against my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against all knowledge which blinds the soul of man.
7. " Christ protect me to-day
k rrdino-f nrkicrvn arrainot Vm
unrist protect me to-aay
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
" Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot-seat,
Christ in the poop.
9. " Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks cf me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
10. "I bind to myself to-day
The strong power of the invocation of the Trinity,
The faith of the Trinity in the Unity,
The Creator of the elements.
710 * Was St. Patrick a HymnograplierT'
11. " Domini est galus,
Domini est salus,
Christi est salus,
Salus tua Domine sit semper nobiscum."
Was St. Patrick the author of this Hymn? Dr. Todd
judges "that internal evidence is in favour of its authenticity."
The learned author proceeds to give that evidence as it
appeared to him. It consists in this that there is clearly an
allusion there to pagan usages in the prayer against women,
smiths, and druids, and that St. Patrick " had not yet fully
shaken off pagan prejudices" (p. 430). And continuing in
the same strain down to the end of next page, he writes :
" A belief in the magical power of witches, blacksmiths, and
druids, would scarcely have been deemed inconsistent with
orthodoxy in the age when the lives were written, and not
even perhaps in the time of Colgan" (17th century). And
we are treated to this as genuine history. More than that,
some liberal self-constituted caterers of the present day would
recommend such writings as the first and choicest morsels to
the taste of Irish students !
Catholics cannot but take a different view. They cannot
admit that their National Apostle was pagan either in doctrine
or practice. I should rather judge that internal evidence is
against the authenticity of the Hymn. We can scarcely
suppose that St. Patrick, amid the care of herding on
Mount Mis and his hundred daily and nightly prayers, could
have had an opportunity, in his isolated captive home, of
predicating of the entire female sex what might be observable
in a few around him. And even though we were to suppose
that the Saint could truly have made the charge against the
sex, successful and prudent missioner as he was, he never
would have charged such foul practices without distinction
of birth or rank to the entire sex.
Having viewed Dr. Todd doctrinally in reference to the
Hymn, we may now consider him historically. He says
(p. 429), that " in the seventh century when Tirechan com-
posed his Annotations, it was certainly believed to be the
composition of St. Patrick." But was it really? Father Hogan,
who has exposed some of the errors of Dr. Todd, enables us
" Was St. Patrick a HymnograplierT' 711
by the publication of the Patrician Documents, which he has
very learnedly edited, to expose more of them. The Patrician
Documents (p. 90) inform us that, according to Tirechan,
St. Patrick should receive four honours : the third was that
during the celebration of his Feast in mid-spring for three
days, his Hymn should be sung the whole time ; the fourth
was to sing always his Irish Hymn :
III. Ymnum ejus per totum tempus cantare.
IV. Canticum ejus Scotticum semper canere.
Now, this gave no warrant to Dr. Todd for stating that
the Irish hymn was believed in Tirechan's time to have been
the composition of the Saint. Not even a conjecture is
hazarded- that St. Patrick was the author. The contrary
rather may be inferred. For both hymns are represented in
the same light as regards St. Patrick ; but we know that one
of them is admittedly that of Secundinus, and therefore we
should infer that the other hymn was St. Patrick's in like
manner that is, it was written in his praise but by another
person.
Moreover, as the four honours paid to St. Patrick through-
out Ireland were ordained to be paid to each founder of a
monastery by his successor and monastic brethren, this ordi-
nance, on the supposition that St. Patrick wrote the hymn in
question, would be nugatory unless the monastic founder
chanced to be a hymnologist.
Secondly, TheBook of Armagh, written by Maccumactheni,
gives no countenance to the composition of a hymn by
St. Patrick. Referring to his approach to Tara after dis-
embarking at the Boyne, it represents the Saint on seeing
the hosts of King Leogaire, who came to extinguish
St. Patrick's paschal light, as merely saying, "hi in curribus,
hi in equis, nos autem in nomine Dei nostri ambulabimus."
" These in chariots, those on horses, but we will walk in the
name of our God." And by-and-by when the king
meditated an attempt on the life of the Saint and his
companions the very occasion to which some of the Lives
refer the composition of the hymn the Book of Armagh
merely says that St. Patrick blessed his companions.
Thirdly, when the angel directed St. Patrick at the close
712 " Was St. Patrick a Hymnograplier -' ; '
of his life to go to Down and prepare for death, he told him
that his four petitions were granted. One of these was that
whoever recited the hymn written in his praise (de te) would
receive a favourable judgment from God. Now surely we
may infer from this that St. Patrick wrote no hymn, otherwise
it is only natural to suppose that this "would have been
indulgenced by the angel rather than a hymn by
Secundinus.
Fourthly, the annotations of Tirechaii in reference to the
approach of St. Patrick to Tara merely mention that
St. Patrick constantly repeated the antiphon " in the name
of the Lord, God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, of Jesus Christ the benign." (Documenta etc., p. 59.)
Fifthly, the preface to the hymn by Secundinus states that
it was the first hymn composed in Ireland. It was composed
after St. Patrick had been labouring many years in the Irish
mission. Now it could not be said with any truth to have
been the first hymn if the Irish hymn had been composed by
St. Patrick on his first approach to Tara. On this account
the alleged composition of the hymn by St. Patrick must be
rejected.
The most literal if not most correct translator of the Irish
hymn, Mr. O'Beirne Crowe, maintains that St. Patrick was not
the author of the Irish hymn. But while rejecting St.
Patrick, he claims for his disciple, Benignus, and successor in
the See of Armagh, the authorship of the hymn ; but his
arguments are no less unstable than those in favour of
St. Patrick. 1 Mr. O'Beirne Crowe puts his few supposed
facts in a very illogical mrnner. He states that Faeth Fiada
(the guardsman's cry) was the title of the Irish hymn, that
Benignus was called Fetho Fio, that the title of the hymn
(Faeth Fiada) came to be confounded with its author, Fetho
Fio, and that one superseded the use of the other. He
appeals to Colgan and the Book of Armagh for proof that the
Benignus of Armagh was called Fetho Fio.
The Patrician documents, as edited by the learned Father
Hogan, S. J., p. 96, tell us that when St. Patrick baptized
1 Vide Journal of the "Historical and Archaeological Association" for
April, 1869, p. 286.
< Was St. Patrick a ffymnographer?" 713
MacCartan and Caichan, they offered the fifth part of the
territory of Caichan to God and St. Patrick. After
enumerating the several parts of the district, the writer
informs us that St. Patrick built a monastic establishment in
a part of it, Drumlias, and left there his disciple Benignus who
was there for seventeen years ; and after him there was Lassar,
who took the veil from St. Patrick, of the race of Caichan,
for 60 years.
The next line and paragraph informs us that the will of
Fetho Fio was to this effect that some of the race of
Fetho Fio should, if fit and religious, preside over Drumlias,
that in their absence some person connected with the religious
foundation at Drumlias should preside, and that, failing a
representative of this house, a member from the religious
family or community of St. Patrick himself should preside at
Drumlias. Now we may safely infer that it was the donor
who laid down the conditions about Drumlias and not the
incumbent, Benignus, as stated by Mr. Crowe ; and therefore
Fetho Fio was the tribal name of MacCartan or Caichan, lord
and vassal of the territory bequeathed. Again, it was only
when representatives of the race of Fetho Fio failed that any
of St. Patrick's community could succeed : and therefore we
could not assert that Benignus, the pupil of St. Patrick, was
called on to preside unless we suppose that none of the race
of Caichan was forthcoming ; but Lassar, in point of fact,
who Avas of the race of Caichan, was living and received the
veil from St. Patrick.
And then Benignus in the Lives is represented as accom-
panying St. Patrick through Connaught, and participating
in some respect in his miraculous doings, yet the Benignus
of Drumlias is stated to have been left there seventeen years
by St. Patrick.
Furthermore, the Book of Armagh (Documenta etc., p. 52)
speaks only of one hymn of St. Patrick, therefore the Benignus
of Armagh could not be said to be the author of this hymn, as
Secundinus was admittedly the author of the hymn referred to.
Finally, Colgan, to whom Mr. Crowe appeals for identify-
ing Benignus of Armagh with the Benignus of Drumlias,
inclines to the opinion that they were different persons, in
714 Was St. Patrick a Hymnograplier ?"
one place, and in another passage 1 speaks absolutely of
Benigmis, Abbot of Drumlias, as being the brother of
Cethegus. If such be the case this Benignus must be
different from the Benignus of Armagh. For the Book of
Armagh (Documenta etc, p. 76) tells us that at a synod held by
St. Patrick on Mount Selga there were present Benignus
the heir of Patrick and Benignus brother of Cethecus of
the race of Ailioll. They were different persons and of
different races ; for the Book of Lecan tells us that Benignus
of Armagh was of the race of Cian. It was quite illogical
then to say that because " Colgan is not sure whether this
Benignus was our Benen of Armagh, it strikes him (Mr.
Crowe) he must have been our Benen." And even though Colgan
leant to this opinion rather than the opposite, as he does,
that Benignus of Drumlias was the same as Benignus of
Armagh, it would not prove at all that he was designated
Fetho Fio. Nor, though, we were to grant that he was called
Fetho Fio, would it follow that he composed a hymn in
honour of St. Patrick, called Faetha Fiada. For all these
reasons I have no hesitation in asserting that a shred of an
argument has not been supplied for connecting Benignus
with the Irish hymn of St. Patrick.
The learned editor of the " Patrician Documents " from
the Book of Armagh, told us in the June number of the
Record, p. 516, that on the margin of the folio referring to
the Irish hymn of St. Patrick there are the words Colman
alo. Now this marginal reference would suggest him as the
probable author of the hymn. If he be such, it explains
how there is mention only of one hymn in the Book of
Armagh, by Maccu-mactheni, before the seventh century,
while there is mention of the Irish or second hymn in the
annotations of Tirechan in the middle of the seventh century :
for Colman-Elo flourished in the beginning of the seventh
century. The mention, of Colman-Elo, then, in connection
with the Irish hymn of St. Patrick, as found in the annota-
tions of Tirechan, is an additional proof of Dr. Todd's mistake
in appealing to Tirechan as establishing the saint's authorship
of the Irish hymn. The practical devotion of Colman-Elo
to our national apostle is borne out by an account given by
1 Trias Thaum. p. 680.
" Was St. Patrick a Hymnograplier ? " 715
Colgan : " Blessed old Colman used sing the hymn of
St. Patrick, Archbishop of Ireland, with his brethren ; and
St. Patrick came from heaven and stood in the midst of the
brethren while singing the hymn. And blessed Colman
alone saw St. Patrick, and ordered it to be snng three times.
But a senior amongst the brethren remarked to blessed
Colman " we have many other spiritual canticles ; why
spend the whole day on one." " Very true, good senior,"
replied blessed Colman, " our most holy father St. Patrick
was standing in the midst of us, and blessing us, till he
heard your reproachful words and vanished from my sight ;
and on that account I directed it to be sung three times
(fav tri)." (Ex vita C. Elo, ch. 25.) Some persons may under-
stand a reference being made here to the hymn of Secun-
dinus which Colman-Elo loved to sing and never tired of
chanting; but even this countenances the statement that
the reference given by Tirechan connects as its author
Colman with the Scotic hymn of St. Patrick.
While then all the evidence at our disposal points to
Colman-Elo as the author of St. Patrick's Irish hymn, it
clearly upsets the theory of the Saint himself being its
author. We are under no temptation to deny our glorious
apostle any excellence, intellectual or otherwise, which
can -fairly be claimed for him; but we should be as
little disposed to exaggerate the natural and supernatural
gifts with which he was wondrously blessed. These
wondrous gifts have been so obscured in some Lives by
improbable stories as to have helped to a denial, on the part
of some, of what was real and undeniable in the Saint's life.
St. Patrick was an eminently holy and prudent Pontiff; his
was a zealous and successful apostleship whose fruit has
been remarkably abiding; he has acquired, through the
choice spiritual gifts with which he faithfully corresponded
during a long and laborious life, even an earthly renown
immeasurably greater than any which literary excellence
could confer, and he fills one of the most prominent and
glorious niches in the Calendar of Saints ; but there need
be no hesitation in asserting that he was not the writer
of the Irish hymn attributed to him.
SYLVESTER MALONE.
[ 716 ]
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAYER.
IN the last number of the RECORD we traced out the
different sources whence difficulties against prayer may
arise. They may come from the consideration of the attrib-
utes of God on the one hand, and on the other hand from
the consideration of the laws with which He intended the
universe to be governed. On the part of God, his unchange-
ableness presents a difficulty ; his knowledge and goodness
present another. On the part of the universe there is a triple
difficulty. For prayer is offered up to obtain temporal,
spiritual, and social blessings, or to avert the opposite evils ;
and that presupposes that it has an influence in the physical,
spiritual, and social world. But matter, mind, and society,
are, according to some, equally governed by certain fixed
laws. These laws will not suffer alteration or disturbance,
and therefore leave prayer 'no power to exercise, and no
office to fulfil.
The difficulty that may be raised against the efficacy of
prayer because of the immutability of God, and against
its reasonableness because of His omniscience and goodness,
is easily disposed of. The difficulty brought from the
immutability of God proves too much against prayer, and
therefore, as logicians say, proves nothing. It would, if it
had any force at all, militate against the creation quite as
well. The following words of Origen and St. Thomas will
be enough to dispel it. The former writing against Celsus
says :
" God, remaining the same, administers changeable things accord-
ing to their nature and as reason demands that they should be
administered."
The latter says :
l " It is one thing to change the will, it is another thing to will a
change in other things ; for anyone, his will remaining unchanged,
may will that one thing would happen now, and that the. contrary
would happen afterwards. The will would change only when one
would begin to will what before he did not will, or when one would
cease to Avill what he willed before." (1, 19, art. 7.)
The Philosophy of Prayer. Ill
When anything happens as the result of prayer, it does
not mean that, then and there, God has been influenced and
His will changed, but that He had willed from all eternity
that what happens should happen then, and happen through
prayer.
That prayer implies limited knowledge or limited good-
ness on the part of Gocl will appear equally false from
the following words of St. Thomas. He is showing how
prayer neither takes away human liberty nor implies a
changeableness in the dispositions of God. He says that
it belongs to Divine Providence not only to decree certain
things but also the causes whence they are to come, and
that amongst these causes are human acts ; and hence
that these acts are not intended to change what God
has disposed, but rather to take their place amongst other
causes intended by God to carry out His designs. And
applying this to prayer he says :
" We do not pray with a view to change the dispositions of God,
but that what God has disposed may come to pass through our
prayers." (2, 2, question 83, art 2.)
Prayer is not offered, then, as a reminder to God of our
needs, as though they could be unknown to Him, but as the
fulfilment of a condition through which His eternal disposi-
tions in our favour are executed. That which God has
decreed from eternity, becomes through prayer a reality in
time.
In his answer to the third doubt which he proposed to
himself, he thus speaks of prayer in reference to the goodness
of God :
" God gives us many things without our asking them. But it is
for our good that He requires us to ask for some things ; for we thus
acquire a confidence ia Him and at the same time acknowledge Him
as the Author of everything we have."
We are apt to forget gifts and benefactors unless we feel
that we may need them again. If every want of ours,
spiritual and temporal, were supplied by Gocl as a matter of
course and without our asking, we would soon forget to look
upon them as favours and would come to look upon them as
718 The Philosophy of Prayer.
our due. We would forget our dependence on God, for the
need of prayer is our best reminder of it, and absolution
from the duty of prayer would easily lead to neglect of
adoration.
Then again, belief in the power of prayer is dismissed
by a certain class of physicists as a superstition of the
credulous, but beneath the patronage of science, indeed
opposed to its progress arid destructive of its interests. That
there is a uniformity running through the laws of nature,
they say, can neither be disputed nor ignored. It is a fact.
It is not the offspring of the imagination but the conviction
of reason. It is not a law made to order to suit a purpose,
but has forced itself on the student of nature by the power
of its persuasiveness and the evidence of its truth. Physical
causes, then, always produce their natural effects. If all
the physical causes of rain be present rain will come, and as
long as these causes remain and all the circumstances to be
considered continue favourable, rain will continue. If these
causes considered with their circumstances cease, rain will
cease, and fine weather or frost or snow according to causes
and circumstances will ensue. If a certain disease, all
circumstances considered, be more than the vital power of
its patient can endure, it will be fatal ; if not, or if it be
properly diagnosed and treated by medical skill, the patient
will recover. But death or recovery, fair weather or rainy,
in either case prayer can have no place as a cause, and it
would be irrational to admit it. Strychnine will poison,
sugar will taste sweet, and fire will burn. What nonsense,
then, to believe that St. Benedict disinfected his poisoned
cup by prayer, or that certain martyrs passed unscathed
through the ordeal of fire ! If your friend be ill of a fever,
pray if you please, for your friend's recovery ; if you want
rain, pray if you please, that it may come ; but do not be
guilty of the folly of thinking that your prayer can have a
share in either result, though both should happen. In
general, what happens would happen though we never
prayed, what does not happen would turn out so though we
had.
The difficulty is specious, but it is nothing more. Although
The Philosophy of Prayer. 719
physical science lias made ns acquainted with the laws of
nature to a surprising extent, all of them, however, are not
known to us. Very likely, there are forces in nature which
we have yet to discover. There are many which we know,
but of which we do not know the full value. There may be
a thousand complications and circumstances that influence
the action of forces on one another that we are yet ignorant
of; but they are all within God's knowledge and under His
power. What right then has anyone to say that God does
not interfere in this or that instance in answer to prayer with
causes and circumstances which do not appear to us in
connection with the result prayed for, but which nevertheless
combined and pre-arranged, issue in causes which with their
attendant circumstances produce, it is true, their natural
effect, but an effect owing none the less to Divine interpo-
sition in answer to prayer ? God certainly may do so ; how
can anyone dare to say that He does not ? The physical
forces at work in the world form a complicated machinery,
the parts of which have been arranged and the whole
designed by the wisdom of God ; and when we can say that
we understand it all, if we find to a certainty that it leaves
no room for occasional Divine interposition, we might then
with some reason deny the power or use of prayer. But
until then it is but an irrational scepticism that would ask
men to reject as folly a belief that has been held from the
beginning.
But even granted, it may be said, that God may and
does interfere with the laws of nature, that does not help to
dislodge the difficulty. It is left exactly in the same position,
because the fact remains all the same that the laws of
nature are interfered with, and therefore their uniformity
destroyed. Now this brings us to a consideration which is
overlooked in the objection, and which ought not to be
overlooked. It is that prayer had a place in the original
design of the world in the conception of God. The objection
assumes that it had not ; it implies that prayer is something
which takes God as if by surprise, and importunes Him to
disturb the pre-arranged harmony of things. It implies too
720 The Philosophy of Prayer.
that Divine interposition does not enter into the governing
of the world, whereas it continually- does.
" It does not follow " says Dr. Ward, " that because the laws of
nature are fixed that they proceed independently of God's constant
and unremitting premovement." l
It is not in answer to prayer that this interposition
is constant, for God interposes always ; but He has decreed
that it would be sometimes in answer to prayer. He thus
made prayer enter into and become one of the laws that
govern the world. Therefore, St. Thomas says that
" We pray not to change what Divine Providence has disposed,
but to ask that what He has disposed would happen through our
prayers."
The writer of an article in the Contemporary Review some
time ago, whilst admitting prayer as an agency in the
spiritual world, would give it no place in the physical world.
One of the reasons that he gives is that
" There is no confusion of the spheres of physical and moral
agency. To put it otherwise, a spiritual antecedent will not produce
a physical consequent."
Now this seems strange logic. If he means that the spiritual
act of prayer will not bring down showers of rain from the
clouds or make the sun shine, it is of course quite true ; but
surely it was not necessary to tell us so. If he means that God,
in answer to prayer, cannot or will not produce physical
effects, he makes an assertion that he ought to prove but
does not. To say that God cannot do it is impious; to say
that He will not do it is exactly supposing the question,
Again he says :
" It is vain to reply that we are continually interfering with
seemingly fixed laws of the universe, and altering their destination by
our voluntary activities or scientific appliances ; for in all such cases
we simply make use of existing forces. We are ourselves a part of
the physical cosmos ; and in accordance with its laws we exert a
power which changes external nature. But we can never escape
from the domain of law."
1 Science, Prayer, Free-ivdl. and Miracles, page 16. In the following
pages he brings out the preceding argument very forcibly by an illustration
taken from an imaginary musical instrument which he calls the " poly-
chordon ;" but it would be too long to transcribe here.
The Philosophy of Prayer. 721
Quito so ; but all this is but a levelling down of the denial
he was labouring to build up. We do form part of the
universe and we take our share in executing the designs of
God in it ; but so does prayer. Or if not, why may it not ?
To admit the efficacy of prayer it is not at all necessary to
go outside the ' domain of law/ That God answers prayer
does not necessarily mean that He works a miracle, although
it is true that denial of prayer involves a denial of
miracles.
But if, let it be replied, prayer enters into the eternal
disposition of God, it follows that something happens as the
result of prayer, and because it has been prayed for. What
then if it had not been prayed for ? Would it have happened,
or would it not? If it would, it would have happened with-
out prayer and then prayer is useless, and if useless in one
case why not in every case? If it would not, then the
uniformity of the law of nature would have been destroyed,
not however as the effect of prayer, but by its absence. It
would not happen because prayer was not offered to obtain
it. Our free-will and the eternal disposition of God seem
here to be in direct antagonism, ready to destroy each other.
For if we may refuse to pray for a certain thing that is to be
obtained through prayer, we elude and frustrate the Divine
disposition ; if we may not refuse to pray on that particular
occasion and for that particular purpose, it must be because
God has taken away our liberty in order to make us an
instrument wherewith to have His disposition carried out.
What then shall we say ? We have already observed that
in the disposition of God some things will happen without
prayer, and some things will happen in answer to prayer;
and when these latter are to happen, prayer will infallibly be
offered to obtain them. We say infallibly, not necessarily;
for says St. Thomas :
" God has prepared necessary causes for certain effects that they
would necessarily follow; for others He has prepared contingent
causes that they would follow contingently, according to the nature
of the proximate causes " (1 quest. 22, art. 4) ; a for all things happen
according to His provision, whether necessarily or contingently "
(1 quest. 22, art. 4, ad. 2).
VOL. VII. 2 Z
722 The Philosophy of Prayer.
Again :
" If it be the provision of God that this or that is to happen it
will happen, and according to His provision. If He provides that it
will happen contingently it will indeed infallibly happen, but con-
tingently, not necessarily" (Contra Gentes, cap. 94).
These observations of St. Thomas seem to be enough to
dispel the seeming opposition between our liberty and the
Divine disposition in the difficulty we have drawn out. The
whole force of the argument rests 011 the distinction, that a
person may infallibly do a thing whilst he does not do it of
a necessity. We need not overdraw our imagination to
suppose two persons, one of whom has such an influence over
the other, that he has only to express his thoughts or make
his suggestions to have them blindly accepted by the latter.
So thoroughly does the latter rely oiihis authority both as to
will and judgment, that he can always count with moral
certainty on having his ideas accepted and his will obeyed.
Such a case is quite possible ; yet it is an instance of a finite
will influencing another weaker than itself, but without con-
straining it. This may in some measure help us to conceive
iiow God, who is infinite, who has designed and given us not
only our will but its freedom also, may lead it to act accord-
ing to His eternal decrees infallibly, whilst not necessarily.
God operates in all things according to their nature. Oranges
will not grow on an apple tree, nor will an irrational animal
perform a meritorious act ; it is not in the nature of things
that it would be so. God moves our will also according to
its nature, that is freely. Therefore is it said that prayer will
infallibly be offered ; the omnipotence of God requires it.
But it will be offered not necessarily, for our liberty requires it.
But we have not gone quite the whole way yet. It is not
for temporal blessings exclusively that prayer is offered. It is
offered also, and much more frequently, for spiritual blessings.
But the psychologist, for instance of the Herbert Spencer
type, steps in and reminds us that mind no less than matter
is governed by law, that there is a persistency in the con-
nection between the corresponding states of consciousness
as there is in the order of events that come under the
consideration of physical science. And setting out from this
The Philosophy of Prayer. 723
law, the philosopher just named traces the growth of the
human mind from instinct on through regular gradations of
development to reason and consciousness. " In all this," the
psychologist asks, " where is the place for prayer, or what
can its office be?" Of course we repudiate the system of
psychology on which the objection is based, to begin with.
But supposing it to be true, it shuts out prayer just for the
same reason as physical science does, for they both proceed on
analogous principles. What has been said, therefore, to
show the reasonableness of prayer notwithstanding the one,
holds equally good notwithstanding the other. Indeed, the
psychical difficulty is not so involved as the physical. We
have seen how the objection drawn from physical science
brings on indirectly the question of free-will; but in the
other case that cannot be, and for the very good reason that
the system of psychology that patronizes the objection cannot
.suppose such a thing as free-will, except perhaps in name.
But there is another consideration that deprives the
psychologist of any logical right to reject prayer, and it
flows from his own principles. It cannot be denied that
prayer has always and everywhere held a place in the belief
of men. The psychologist may deny its right to be there, but
he cannot deny the fact. Whence came it ? Either it was
inducted by man himself through superstition or from other
motives, or it is a natural growth in the mind. If the former,
then man may as he pleases regulate the action of his mind ;
and if man can, why not God ? If the latter, then the
psychologist in attempting to shut out prayer as a thing
irrational, stands self-convicted of a most irrational act.
Lastly, it is useless to pray for social blessings or the
averting of social evils, because if " the movements of
history are regulated by fixed physical laws," the philosophy
of history is quite as much a science as the philosophy of
nature. It will not be necessary to say more on this phase of
the difficulty than to bring it forward. It has been already
met in answering the last. For what is the material element in
society but the aggregate of individuals who compose it?
As the individual is, therefore, so will be the community which
he contributes an individual's mind, and an individual's
724 The Philosophy of Prayer.
morality to build up. The same rule applies in both cases ;,
if prayer be useless in one case, it is useless in the other ;
if useful in one, it is useful also in the other.
There are other difficulties of a particular nature that may
be brought up and examined with profit, but they are of
lesser importance and more easily explained. They rather
test the power of prayer by its effects; those that have
been considered deal with the rationale of prayer, and dispute
its reasonableness. It is not necessary to delay to consider
them ; the principles laid down in dealing with those already-
examined will, if applied to them, be sufficient to clear them
off; for they really do not rest on their own merits as reasons
for rejecting prayer, but are rather suggested by a disbelief
in it before it is tested at all. They seem to be brought up as a
plausible justification of disbelief in what is really disbelieved
already, and independently of them ; they all carry with them
a misconception of the meaning of prayer. Let us take an
instance. An eminent physicist, to whom we have already
referred, some years since proposed to try the power of
prayer by the following test :
He proposed that in a certain hospital the proportion of
patients who die to those who are attacked by a certain
malady should be noted; that a ward would then be set
apart for all cases of the same disease ; that they would be
treated with the same medical skill as before ; and in addition,
that public prayers would be offered up for their recovery.
After the experiment had got a fair chance, he would have
the percentage of deaths and recoveries ascertained, and thus
see whether the prayers had effected any good. The test
would remind one of a blasphemous challenge which a well-
known atheist is reported to have made. Whilst lecturing
once, he pulled out his watch and gave God five minutes to
strike him dead. If he was not struck dead in the given
time, the conclusion was to be that no such Being as God
exists.
Now, to omit other reflections that may be made with regard
to the prayer-test, it will be enough to observe : 1. It wants
the very first condition of prayer, namely, sincerity. When
we pray we are supposed to be in earnest ; but here there
The Philosophy of Prayer. 725
would be no earnestness, for the prayers would be offered
nominally indeed for the recovery of the patients, but really
to put the power of prayer to a test. That is simply
tempting God. Had the proposer of the test wished to know
the value of prayer he might try to satisfy himself by other
means without resorting to such Brahminical jugglery as
this. God will not be tempted ; Our Divine Lord said to the
Pharisees who asked him for a sign from heaven, " An evil
generation asketh a sign and a sign shall not be given it, but
the sign of Jonas." 2. The test is based on a false
supposition, namely, that God will always grant in answer
to prayer the specific favour that is asked. That is not at
all to be supposed. God may refuse the request for many
reasons inscrutable to us. It may be to try our confidence
in Him ; it may be that the favour we ask, although
apparently good, may be to the knowledge of God an evil
for us. " And which of you if he ask his father for bread will
he give him a stone ; or a fish will he give him a serpent ; or
if he shall ask an egg will he give him a scorpion." 3. How
could it be known that, in the test-case proposed, prayers
were not offered up also for the patients who were treated ia
the hospital before the special ward was set apart for the
experiment on prayer. The prayers offered up may not have
been so many, but they may have been more efficacious.
The power of prayer does not proceed on the principle of
mechanics, that a system of levers will do more work than
one. The humble prayer of one may avail more before God
than the united prayers of a thousand. Then, if the
percentage of recoveries turned out to be higher in the
special ward than on former occasions, it may not be useless
to ask ourselves, would the proposer of the test believe in
prayer on the strength of the evidence recommended by
himself? The light of science may happen in that event to
reveal some new physiological law which, coupled of course
with particular circumstances which may be imagined to any
extent, brought about the high percentage of cures. Our
intelligence is sometimes so blinded by excessive light that
we often fail to see when we may. The inevitable outcome
of the test would likely be this : If the percentage of cures
726 The Philosophy of Prayer.
in the special ward happened to be lower, prayer was
decidedly useless, if it happened to be higher, it was owing
perhaps to a complication of physiological laws and circum-
stances, but not to prayer. In the first case the result would
tell against prayer, in the second case it would not tell for
it. The answer made by Abraham to the rich man asking
him to send Lazarus to warn his brethren seems to be very
applicable here :
" Then Father I beseech thee, that them wouldst send him to my
father's house. For I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto
them lest they also come into this place of torments. And Abraham
said to him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.
But he said : No, Father Abraham, but if one went to them from the
dead they will do penance. And he said to him: If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if one rise again
from the dead."
Once the reasonableness and power of prayer are estab-
lished, once it is shown to be an influence included in the
Providence of God, a posteriori objections or difficulties,
constructed out of test-cases are worth little or nothing.
Prayers may, it is true, be offered for some special intention
without any apparent effect ; but nobody is justified for that
reason in saying that prayer is useless, nor even that it has
been without effect in that particular instance in which it
seems to have been offered in vain. The conditions required
for its efficacy may not have been present, or the object
sought may be a real evil although an apparent good, or
something more beneficial in the spiritual or temporal order
may have been given instead. We cannot say that it is so,,
but we can say that it may be so ; and that is enough. It is
not necessary to be able to 'give a definite reason why what
was sought by prayer has not been granted, nor, if some-
thing was given instead, to be able to specify it, because the
purpose of prayer is answered equally well in either case.
Having different suppositions to fall back on, a may be 'is
a sufficient answer to give, as we are not supposed to enter
into the counsels of God. On the other hand, the reasonable-
ness of prayer in general once established, a test-case must
be incontestably proved against it before it can be worth
anything; and that, it must be for evident reasons always-
impossible to do. M. O'EiORDAN.
[ 727 J
"THE SEVEN ROMANS" OF ARRAN.
IN a picturesque valley on the northern shore of Arranmore,
the famous " Arran of the Saints " of Irish History in
the midst of a most interesting group of ruins, known as the
" Seven Churches of Saint Brecan," is to be seen an upright,
sculptured stone, bearing, interlaced with a curiously-carved
cross, the inscription which heads this paper, vii. Romani,
or The Seven Romans.
During the month of August a few summers ago, I spent
a fortnight in Arran. Circumstances had previously made me
acquainted with the numerous objects of antiquarian interest
in which the islands abound.
This curious monument had, however, hitherto escaped
my attention. Robed in a mantle of sweet-brier and wild
roses, which twined themselves around it as if in loving-
embrace, it might well evade the notice of the uninitiated.
Naturally enough, I now found myself asking :
" Who were the Seven Romans, and what strange destiny
induced them to leave their own sunlit Italy to find a home
and a last resting-place in this desolate island?"
Neither history nor tradition has unfortunately left us-
any direct record of their existence. They belong to the
countless host of hidden saints whose names are known to
God alone. That they were Romans and seven in number is
all we know with certainty. Everything else regarding 1
them is more or less involved in mystery. Whether they
were obscure or distinguished in the world ; whether great
ascetics or great penitents ; whether plebeian born or
descended from a long line of patrician ancestors are
questions which must be left to the merest conjecture. Not
even Aengus the Culdee in his famous Litany makes any
allusion to these nameless strangers. This solitary monument
cast on the shore of time, a relic of the shipwreck of
ages is the only evidence possessed by posterity that such
persons ever lived. It is extremely meagre and provokingly
laconic. It serves to excite our curiosity without satisfying-
it. And yet it is the clue which helps to conduct us through
728 " The Seven Romans " of Arran.
the maze in which is involved the history of the " Seven
Romans."
The eminent scholar and antiquarian, Doctor Petrie, in
his admirable work on the " Early Ecclesiastical Architecture
of Ireland," refers to this stone, of which he gives a des-
cription and a drawing. From the intrinsic evidences
afforded by the slab itself, he believes it to have been erected
in the earliest Christian ages. The absence of any record
makes it impossible to determine the exact date. But from
a comparison of the style of the cross, and the form of the
letters on this stone, with the cross and inscription on the
tomb-stone of Saint Brecan, to be seen in the same group, it
is at least highly probable that the " Seven Romans " were
contemporary with that saint. So strikingly similar, indeed,
is the sculpture on both slabs, that the learned antiquarian
believes them to have been carved by the same person
probably one of those very Romans whose dust lies mouldering
beneath.
St. Brecan died early in the sixth century.
From the scanty accounts of his life which have been left
to us, we learn that he was no less kingly by descent than
he was by his virtues. A scion of the proud Dalcassian race,
he could boast of a line of ancestors in comparison with
which the oldest royal houses of Europe are but as yesterday.
Carthan Fionn, one of the monarchs of the race, and grand-
father of our saint, reigned in Munster about the year 439.
We read in the Tripartite life that he was baptized by St.
Patrick at Sangul, now Singland, near Limerick.
One of the sons of this king was named Eochu Balldearg
or Eochu of the "Red Spot." He was born hopelessly
disfigured and diseased. The Apostle performed a miracle
in his favour by completely restoring him to health. This
prince was father of Saint Brecan. Like many other Irish
saints, no details of this Saint's life have been handed down
to us. In Arran there still exist a few dim traditions con-
cerning him, one of which is here given for what it is worth.
About midway between the Seven Churches and the
village of Killeany (Kill Enda), was to be seen, until some
years ago covered over by a public road, a large limestone
" The Seven Romans " of ATT an. 729
slab, bearing distinct marks of human footprints. These
impressions are accounted for in the following manner :
St. Enda was established in the eastern, while St. Brecan
held spiritual sway over the western portion of the island.
A dispute arose among their disciples, who were numerous,
regarding the boundary line of the two divisions. The
Saints agreed to settle the matter amicably.
At day-break next day the two bodies were to start from
their respective monasteries and travel leisurely towards each
other until they met. The place of meeting was to be the
boundary. When the day dawned, the disciples of St. Brecan
saw to their astonishment that the followers of St. Enda, who
had commenced to travel before daylight, were already far
advanced on their journey. They went to their master and
complained of this breach of faith. The latter had recourse
to prayer, when lo ! the advancing party were rooted to the
rocks, and remained in that position until St. Brecan arrived
to release them.
A similar legend is related of St. Colman MacDuagh,
and, curiously enough, Colgan in his "Acta Sanctorum"
speaks of it with all the seriousness due to an authentic
miracle.
Without attributing any such importance to the legend
of St. Brecan, the writer could not but feel, as he heard it
related by a poor but very intelligent Arran man, in the
melodious accents of the dear old Gaelic, that it was redolent
of the place and its associations.
Local traditions have handed down the name of St.
Brecan as the founder of numerous churches and monasteries.
Among others, Ardbraccan in Meath ; Kilbreccan, in the
parish of Kilcummin, Co. Galway ; Kilbreccan of Thomond,
in the parish of Doora, Clara ; Kilbreccan, in Kilkenny ; and
two of the same name in Carlow claim him as their patron.
The " Seven Churches" of Arran were the most important
of his foundations. As their name indicates, they consisted
originally of a group of seven. The ruins of only two now
remain. The other five have fallen a prey to all-devouring
time, which : " Diruit, edificat, routat quadrata rotundis."
Besides the delris of churches, the sites of various other
730 " The Seven Romans " of Arran.
buildings can be distinctly traced. These consist of hermits'
cells, aharleahs, cashels, the remains of a monastery, and the-
numerous edifices which went to make up an ecclesiastical
town or Laura oi the Early Irish Church. Two beautifully-
carved crosses were discovered and restored by Dr. Wilde in
the year 1848. One of these is still preserved, although in
fragments, near the aharleah or sacred enclosure.
Of the Churches still remaining, Ternpuil Brecain is in a
good state of preservation. It is considered by archaeol-
ogists a beautiful specimen of early Irish architecture. The
roof has totally disappeared, but the walls and gables,
which do not appear to have been built at the same period,,
are still standing.
The interior of the edifice consists of a chancel and nave.
A semi-circular arch of exquisite proportions separates the
two divisions.
Immediately over the altar is a beautifully cut lintel
window that would do credit to any modern workman.
Near the Church are a blessed well, and an enclosure
which from time immemorial, each succeeding generation
of the Islanders have venerated as the burial-place of
St. Brecan.
This tradition was confirmed in a most convincing-
manner by a discovery which took place about ninety years
ago.
A learned and pious priest of the County Galway, made
a dying request to be buried in the grave of St. Brecan, for
whom he had a special devotion. His wish was complied
with. About six feet from the surface, the grave diggers
came upon a flat stone, in the form of an irregular square,,
and measuring four feet two inches diagonally. Within the
sepulchre itself was found a smaller slab circular in form,,
about three inches in diameter.
Both these stones were marked with crosses, and bore-
inscriptions. They lay neglected, and probably un deciphered,
until Dr. Petrie and Dr. O'Donovan visited the Islands about
forty years afterwards. These distinguished scholars
recognised in them valuable accessions to the treasury of
antiquarian relics.
" The Seven Romans " of Arran. 731
The inscription on the larger stone when written in full
is as follows :
CAPITI BRECANI.
The letters are in the Roman character of the early ages,
and are exactly similar in form to those found on the tomb of
the " Seven Romans."
On the smaller stone, now in the possession of the Royal
Irish Academy, is the following simple prayer in Irish :
OR AR BRAN NAILITHER,
which when translated, and written without the contractions,,
would obviously be,
OROIT AR BRECAN NAILITHER.
A PRAYER FOR BRECAN THE PILGRIM.
These inscriptions, while establishing beyond doubt the
burial place of Saint Brecan, also throw light on all that can
be known of the history of the " Seven Romans." They
prove at least the probable age in which the latter lived, and
from this fact we can form a reasonable conjecture of the-
object of their, no doubt, voluntary exile from their native
land. In the celebrated Litany of Aengus the Culdee, already
referred to, are invoked a vast number of foreign saints
buried in Ireland. Among these we find Egyptians, Gauls,.
Saxons, Britons, Italians and Romans. The " Seven Romans"
of Arran came with the tide. They came to drink in copious
draughts at the fountains of wisdom and holiness which
flowed in perennial streams in " Arran of the Saints." Here
they lived and died, and beneath this stone with its simple
inscription their bodies were laid to await a glorious
resurrection.
As one stands amidst the ruins of the Seven Churches
with the graves of St. Brecan and the " Seven Romans "
lying before him, he cannot but feel the hallowed associations
of the place crowd upon him. The spirit of the angelic life
practised there by our fore-fathers fourteen centuries ago
comes back upon him with all its beauty. He builds up, in
fancy, and peoples these edifices once again. He hears the
accents of the Celt and the Roman mingling with the rougher
732 The Irish in Belgium.
cadences of the Cimbri and the Saxon. He listens to the
voices of human adoration, mingling in chorus with the
mysterious sounds of the ocean ; and he feels that ocean and
temple, arch and altar, while echoing the praises of the great
'Creator, also become eloquent of Ireland's glory.
Alas ! these hallowed walls to-day echo the cry of a
famine stricken people, and "Arran of the Saints" once
the Queen of the West, now stands " crownless in her voice-
less woe."
WILLIAM GANLY, C.C.
THE IRISH IN BELGIUM. V.
JOHN SHINNICK, RECTOR MAGNIFICUS AT LOUVAIN.
" Antique Alma Mater, toi qui dans la poussiere
Dors, calme, sous la croix,
Reveille-toi ! Reveille, en leurs tombes de pierre,
Les Maitres d'autrefois !"
PROFESSOR DESCAMPS.
WERE the ancient Alma Mater, arisen from beneath the
cross, to summon from the grave
Les Maitres d'autrefois,
not the least distinguished among them, John Shinnick,
would awake before the High Altar in the Church of
St. Peter at Louvairi. His career was brilliant, and as
happens to every man who falls upon troubled times, many
exaggerated statements have been made against him by his
enemies, and in his favour by his friends. If we, who are so
far removed from that angry epoch, review his life and
actions in the calm spirit of historical inquiry, we will learn
how true is the statement in his epitaph, that he was,
*' Gentis suae grande decus."
1625. John Shinnick, Corcagiensis. He, who awaits the
resurrection before the Altar of St. Peter, was born at Cork,
in the year 1603. His father was Maurice Shinnick ; and his
mother, Eleanor Hogan ; both belonged to families remark-
The Irish in Belgium. 733
able amongst their equals for devotion to the Catholic faith.
The Bax MS. supplies us with details concerning the subject
of this memoir, and as it describes a state of society which no
longer exists, a close translation, may be necessary to gain
the credence of some readers :
" He began his classical studies in his native city of Cork. In a
short time he made such progress therein, that not only his masters,
and fellow-students, but also the magnates of the whole province of
Munster, turned their eyes towards him on account of his great
talents, and, according to the custom of the country, wished to take
possession of the boy, that he might live in their sight ; so that
three of the most ancient and illustrious families of Munster fought
with the sword for his residence amongst them ; which aforesaid
quarrel caused his parents to send him to Louvain, although otherwise
they could conveniently educate him at home. Thus, in his early
youth, for the sake of the Catholic faith, he was exiled from his
country and his kindred, and, inflamed with love for knowledge and
virtue, he came, as it were from the Ultima Thule, to the University
of Louvain." 1
He entered for Philosophy in the College de Standonck,,
whence, after two years he passed over to the then famous
Paedagogium Porci. On the occasion of the annual con-
cursus he obtained the honour of Primus from amongst
236 Masters of Arts who competed, and was declared with
the customary ceremonies on the third Sunday of October,
1625. 2 He next entered as a student in Theology at the
College du Roi ; but on account of a lingering fever he could
not carry on his studies. Thinking that native air would
restore his health he returned to Ireland, where he imme-
diately grew convalescent. The learned Bax employs very
forcible phraseology touching his recovery :
" In Hiberniam transfretavit et raox ut terram Hibernicam in
manu acceptam obfecit, et subito e febri sanatus est."
While at home he taught, probably as a tutor, in a place
called Ania by the compiler of his biography. He remained
there from the 1st of February 1628, up to the end of April
of the same year. Wouters states that he remained in
Ireland up to the 8th Oct. 1(538, but the statement is erroneous.
1 Bibliotheque royale, Brussels ; Bax MS. No. 22181.
2 Regarding the honour of Primus, vide Paper No. III., p. 439
current volume.
734 1 lie Irish in Belgium.
When restored to health he returned to Louvain and
entered at the Collegium Majus Tlieologorum (now the
College du Saint Esprit) under the Presidentship of Dr. Henry
Rampen. He made such excellent progress in his studies,
that while yet a student, he was appointed Lector of
Theology in the Abbey Bonae Spei of the Premonstratensian
Order. In 1635 he was recalled by the University, and
appointed Professor of Philosophy in the Paedagogium
Porci. On the 1st of April, 1637, Libertus Fromond was
appointed Eegius Professor of Sacred Scripture, and our
fellow-countryman was appointed Ordinary Professor of
Theology. During the same session he was installed as
Canon of St. Peter's, Louvain (2 ae fundationis). On the
27th September, 1639, he was promoted to the Doctorship in
Theology (S. Theologiae Magisterium). He then retired
from the Paedagogium Porci, where he was a Primarius
Professor, and went to reside in the College du Pape
{Collegium Adriani VI. Pont. Max.), where he remained
until 1641. On the occasion of the death of Doctor Rampen,
which occurred in this year, he was appointed President of
the College du Saint Esprit. In the year following (1642) he
was elected into the Body of Eight, who formed the
Regents of the Faculty of Theology. By virtue of the
privileges of the University he obtained a Canoiiry in the
Chapter of Bruges, in the month of April, 1640; and, on
the 2nd of May following, was canonically installed. His
Prebend was the XVIIIth in connection with the Chapter,
and remained in his possession until his death. He also was
& Canon of the Collegiate Church of Turnhout. But his
greatest honour came on the last day of February, 1643,
when he was elected RECTOR MAGNIFICUS of the University.
He was re-elected on the 31st of August, 1660.
The following document will show how our gifted fellow-
countryman was brought into the controversies and inquiries
touching Jansenius, and his too famous work Augustinus :
"RECTOR ET UNIVERSITAS.
" Studii Generalis oppidi Lovaniensis Mechliniensis Dioecesis."
Universis et singulis praesentes Litteras Nostras visuris, lecturis, seu
legi audituris, salutem in Domino sempiternam. Cum ob \ ; aria
The Irish in Belgium. 735
Negotia Nos, Nostramque Universitatem concernantia ad Sancti-
tatera, curiarnque Romanam nuper miserimus ac deputavimus Ex.
Dom. Joannein SINNIGII S. T. Doctorern et Professorem, ac Clar.
Dom. Cornelium De Paeps J. U. Doctorem et Sacrorum Canonum
Professorem, et jam aliqua hujusmodi negotia in ea causa sint, ut
speremus ea brevi ad optatum finera adductum iri ; alia vero moram
longiorem habere videntur, presertim ea quae concernunt librum et
Doctrinam Rmi. D. Jansenii Episcopi, dum viveret Iprensis in
Belgio ; idcirco et alias ob causas Nos moventes, ad ea omnia quae
Librum hujusmodi et Doctrinam, aliaque desuper subsecuta et
emanata concernunt, solurn et in solidum deputavimus, prout
deputamus per praesentes praefatum Exim. D. SINNIGH, dantes ei
plenam et omnimodam potestatem agendi, tractandi, et peragendi
totum id et quidquid conveniens esse judicaverit pro defensione
veritatis circa illud negotium. In quorum fidem praesentibus sigillum
Rectoratus duximus imprimendum. Anno a circumcisione Dni.
Millesimo Sexcentesimo quadragesimo quarto, Mensis Januarii die
Tigesima nona."
De mandato Dnorum. Meorum, Petrus Mintaet, Dtae.Univer-
sitatis Nots. 1644.
While acting as Agent at Rome, and pending the decision
of the Congregations, he wrote anonymous polemical works,
some of which were afterwards condemned. But as the
whole question has been obscured by angry controversy,
and rendered odious by the many errors and calamities
posthumously connected with the name of Jansenius, the
indulgence of the reader is claimed in order that the position
and opinions of Dr. Shinnick be raised out of the troubled
atmosphere inevitably arising when mention is made of the
Bishop of Ypres. A brief word must also be said as to what
Jansenism meant at that epoch, and under those circum-
stances. It is often remarked that the ordinary admirer of
Shakspeare seldom reads his works; and with the same
measure of truth, it may be said, that the ordinary orthodox
theologian, or historian seldom exhaustively inquires into
the history either of his orthodox beliefs, or their heterodox
correlatives. 1
I. Before touching on the causes that disturbed the epoch
in which Shinnick lived, a rapid glance must be given at the
historical position in the Theological Schools of the great
1 Vide IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD (current volume, pp. 335-6), for
an account of Jansenius, and college where he lived.
736 The Irish in Belgium.
question : De Gratiae Auxiliis. It occupied the greatest minds
of the age, and was the burthen of theses in every University
in Europe, which meant in those days, that it was
brought home to every student who frequented the Halls.
De Monte Major and Bannez discussed the question at
Salamanca ; Lessius and Hamelius disputed with Estius and
Baius in Belgium ; Molina taught his doctrines in the Halls
of Evora, while Anthony Padilla defended them at ValladolicL
In the year 1594, Pope Clement VIII. commanded that the
question be laid before the Chair of the Apostles :
" S. Pontifex Clemens VIII. , * * ut crescentibus in dies per
totam Hispaniam dissidiis occurreret, totius causae cognitionem sibi
reservavit eodem an. 1594: imperato primura utrique parti silentio;
posthac perrnissa disputatione prohibitis tamen acrioribus noti&
ac censuris : tandem postulatis acceptisque utriusque partis momentis,
Consultoribus designatis celebres praecepit inchoari congregationes
de Auxiliis" 1
These Congregations sat at different intervals until 1607,.
when Paul V., after consultation with the Cardinals, issued a
Rescript which contained these provisions :
" 1. Utrique parti permisit propriam defendere utrinque ac pro-
pugnare sententi^^m ; 2. prohibuit, ne quis partem suae oppositam
censura quapiam notaret, nee sibi invicem odiosa affingerent nomina ;
3. ab eodem Pontifice cautum paulo post, ne circa hanc materiam
ullus typis mandaretur liber absque Sanctae Sedis licentia."
II. In the year 1551, Kuardus Tapperus returned to
Louvain with Ravesthein, Rithovius, and Cunerus from the
Council of Trent, to learn that his old pupil Michael de Bay,,
or Baius, had broached errors touching the question DeAuxiliis.
These theologians at once attacked the innovations ; and one
of them, Tapperus, with especial zeal, for he had long ago
declared that he expected nothing but schisma from his pupil
De Bay. 2 The Faculty of Paris condemned the propositions
of Baius, in 1560 ; and in the year following Pius V. fulminated
against them in the Bull Ex omnibus afflictionibus. In 1579,
Gregory XIII. confirmed the Bull of his predecessor, and sent
another to Louvain, by Toletus, anno 1580. This Bull, entitled
Provisionis nostrae, was read in full session by order of
1 Apud Wirceburgen : De Gratia, cap. iv., art. v., et sqq.
2 Ib. cap. ii., art. iv.
The Irish in Belgium. 737
Toletus; who, turning to Bams, asked if he admitted and
and condemned his errors, as condemned by the Bull? Bains
replied: "Damno secundum Bullae ipsius intentionem et sicut
Sulla damnat" At the same time, the Doctors, Licentiates,
Bachelors, and Students of the University exclaimed with
one voice : " Articulos damnamus, Bullam reverenter suscipi-
mus, atque obedientiam pollicemur"
III. So ended Baiism at Louvain. But the great question
De Auxiliis continued to exercise the master minds of
the University. The doctrine should be expounded, and
more than one Professor was at work on its exposition.
Unfortunately for the peace of after ages, Cornelius Jansenius
worked at the question. He died in 1638 ; and in 1640
appeared from the Press at Louvain his most important
work: "Cornelii Jansenii Episcopi Iprensis Augustinus."
Such a work could not have appeared more inopportunely.
It treated of a question which was discussed, learnedly and
unlearnedly, wisely and unwisely, in every part of Europe.
The author was personally dear to many theologians; and
likewise personally detested. He had done well for his
University during his life, now in death he found in its
Halls grateful defenders. Rome had not spoken, and the
angry war of controversy grew hotter day by day. As
our learned countryman, Dr. Shinnick, took a leading
part in the struggle, as Rector Magnificus of the Uni-
versity, we must examine closely into the episode and its
origin.
Jansenius, who was born in 1585, at Leerdam, in Holland,
studied Humanity at Utrecht, and Philosophy and Theology
at Louvain. He went to Paris in 1604, and studied there and
elsewhere in France until 1617, when he returned to Louvain.
While in France he lived much at Bayonne with Duvergier,
who held a Canonry there, and is better known as the
Abbe de Saint-Cyraii. They studied the Fathers together,
and elaborated many of the errors which go to make up
Jansenism. It is well to remember that Jansenism, as it
concerns our inquiry, is purely speculative ; but Jansenism
as coupled with the name and disciples of Saint-Cyran is
practical, and quite a different question. In fact, the history
VOL. VH. 3 A
738 The Irish in Belgium.
of Jansenism tells us that it got its name from a Dutchman,
its first habitation, as a theory, at Louvain, but its develop-
ment and final consummation in France. The system was
annihilated in Belgium ; it ran into frightful excess in France ;
and exists to-day as a religion in the Jansenistical Churches
of Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Maestri cht. The question of
Jansenism as it was in France, is summed up by the Encyclo-
pedist D'Alembert :
"Le Janseniste, impitoyable de sa nature, Test egalement et dans
le dogme, et dans la morale, et il s'embarrasse peu que 1'une soit en
contradiction avec 1'autre."
The French Jansenists sought the destruction of the
Jesuits, and the same authority truly foretold :
" La ruine des Jesuites amenera sans doute celle des Jansenistes,
par une suite du mepris que cette secte inspire a tous les gens
senses." 1
But to return to Cornelius; he was appointed .Regius
Professor of Scripture by Philip III. of Spain. The. Com-
mentaries on the Pentateuch, and Tetrateuch or Gospels, as well
as his Analecta on select Books of Scripture, were the lectures
he delivered. These volumes were printed from the notes
of his students, and never were written out by himself. He
was elected Rector Magnificus, and sent to Salamanca and
Valladolid to represent his University. For further particulars
concerning him the reader is referred to the Elogium prefixed
to the Pentateuch, and to the Vita prefixed to the Tetrateuch.
The appointment which interests us most, was that of President
of the JDutch College of St. Pulcheria. As those familiar with
Louvain remember, this College is in the one square with the
Irish Franciscan Convent, from which it is only parted by a
narrow ruelle. Intimacy existed between the Irish and Dutch,
and our exiled brethren learned the wisdom of the Book oj
Proverbs : " Better is a neighbour that is near, than a brother
that is far off" (Prov. xvii. 10). In after years, while
yet the question was open, many of the Irish espoused the
1 La Destruction des Jesuites en France, pp. 64-204 ; vide, Le Coufesseur
de 1'Eiifance, etc., par Cros. passim.
The Irish in Belgium. 739
cause of Jansenius, mindful of the text : " Thy own friend
and thy father's friend forsake not."
That Jansenius was held in esteem by many is clear from
the following extracts :
" Vir certe fuit, ut de caeteris ejus virtutibus, de pietate ac
religione in Deum, de vitae modestia morumque disciplina, comitate
atque affabilitate nihil dicam, vel maxime prudentia conspicuus." 1
The following passage will contrast strongly with the fore-
going :
" Abbas autem a S. Germano familiariter Jansenio usus hanc illi
notam figit : Saucte dicere possum et coram Deo, me non vidisse
hominem majus superbum, qui se unnm ita aestimaret, reliquos omnes
contemneret." 2
III. The work Augustinus came from the press in 1640;
and thereupon arose hot controversies. Public Theses con-
demning it were held in the College of the Jesuits at Louvain.
This fact added fuel to an old feud existing between the Jesuit
Order at Louvain and the University, concerning the granting
of Academic Degrees. The University held that by right of
the Bull of Martin V. it alone could confer diplomas, while
the Jesuits held that in virtue of recent Briefs that its College
at Louvain could do so. The question was a vexed one, as
the reader may see in the Fasti Academici of Louvain. This
misunderstanding did not make the triumph of truth more
easy. In 1641, Urban VIII. 'condemned the Augustinus ; and
immediately the defenders of it said that the Bull was
surreptitious, and procured through the Jesuits. Hence the
mission to Rome of De Paeps and Shinnick in 1644, who
received a copy of the Bull which was to be received at
Louvain. The details and further progress of the movement
are recorded by the Wirceburgenses. In 1664, Pope Alexander
VIL issued the Formulary known by his name, which all had
to subscribe, and which is in use up to the present time.
Graduates at Louvain publicly accept this Formulary, and
its sanction, " Sic me Deus adjuvet, et haec Sancta Dei
Evangelia." 3
1 Biblioth, Belg. Val. Andreae. 2 Apud Wircebur; cap ii. Art V,
3 Vide Gxuy, Ballerini, vol. 1. p, xlix., or Bergier, Dictionary, art.
Jansenius.
740 The Irish in Belgium.
But let us return to Doctor Shinnick, he defended his
case at Rome with all the ardour of an Irishman. In a word
he fought for it, as the illustrious families are said to have
fought for himself in his boyhood ; and with a similar issue,
for the casus belli was taken into a domain where he could
not enter. While yet he was free to do so, he used his pen
with effect, as the following list of his works will testify.
Like most polemical works they lived their day, and
may be found in some old libraries outside Louvain but
rarely :
I. Augustini et Augustini Iprensis Homologia. This
work appeared in 1641, and was acknowledged by Shinnick.
It was condemned in 1641, and by decree in 1654.
II. Saul Ex-Rex. This was a work in folio, printed at
Louvain.
III. Confessionistarum Goliathismus profligatus. Louvain,
1657, folio.
IV. Vindiciae Decalogicae, Lov. 1672. It was an
Excerpt from the preceding works. The works which follow
he published either anonymously, or with a pseudomym.
V. SS. Patrum de Gratia Christi et Libero Arbitrio Dimi-
cantium Trias. It was over the name of Paulus Erynacus
Grationopolitanus Theologus. Anno 1648. By Papal Decree
of June 4th, 1661, it was suspended until the errors contained
in it should have been amended.
VI. Consonantiarum Dissonantia. Paris 1650. Prohibited
in 1663 by the Sacred Congregation.
VII. Notarum Molinomachiae. Anno 1652.
VIII. Peregrinus Hierosolymitanus. Paris 1652.
IX. Memorabilia per Deputatos Academiae Lovaniensis
exhibita Romae. Rome 1644. Prohibited by Decree in 1654.
X. S omnium Hipponense. This work is usually, though
wrongfully, attributed to Shinnick. Its author was Peter
Stockmans, J.U.D.
XL Joannis Matinez de Ripalda, S.J., vulpes capta per
Theologos Lovanienses. Louvain 1649 in fol. This work
is against an appendix added to one of his own works
by Father Ripalda. The fate of Shinnick's Vulpes was
proverbial, for it was condemned by the Congregation
The Irish in Belgium. 741
of the Index, on the 23rd of April, 1654. The student
of polemical literature, wishing to inquire further into
the works of Shinnick, can consult the Bibliotheca Belgica
of Toppens, p. 730.
The reader may doubt the orthodoxy of Shinnick, but he
never wavered in obedience to the See of Peter. When his
works were condemned, and his cause lost, he submitted, as
is testified by his biographers. Bax is most explicit on the
point, and recurs to it more than once in his biography.
(MS. No. 22181. Bibl. Royale Brussels). If we seek further
evidence we have it in his last will and testament, to which
allusion was made in his panegyric :
" Conciliorum, SS. Patrumet totius antiquitatis sacrae archivium ;
Castitatis cultor usque ad sexus alterius fugam ; Liberalitatis usque
ad secretum multorum millium in miseros, suae gentis tarn ecclesias-
ticos quam nobiles exules profusionem ; submissions erga S. Sedem
usque ad expressam illius in ultimae voluntatis elogio professionem ;
justitiae, temperantiae, candoris ac caeterarum virtutum symbolum ;
ingenii, memoriae, Philosophiae Ohristianae, Theologtae orthodoxae
partus et conatus extremus." 1
Doctor Shinnick died on the 8th May, 1666, at Louvain,
in the College du S. Esprit, of which he was President during
twenty-five years. He left his private and paternal means to
his relations ; and the money derived from his canonries at
Louvain, Bruges, and Turnhout, he left for the establish-
ment of one bourse in the Standonck ; and for several in the
College du S. Esprit. He did not forget the cathedrals to
which he was attached. The Recipients of his bourses were
to be, in the first instance, students of his family ; and failing
kinsmen, they were to be (1) natives of the county of Cork,
(2) of the province of Munster, (3) distinguished Irish
students without reference to the locality of their birth ;
and lastly (4) distinguished students, with a preference to
1 The terms of his Will in which Dr. Shinnick accepts unreservedly
the judgment of the Holy See on his writings whether published or unpub-
lished are : " Omnia opera sua, sive manuscripta, sive hactenus edita vel
post haec edenda, Sanctae Romanae ecclesiae censurae ac judicio probanda
vel improbanda submittit : approbans quae ilia approbaverit et reprobans
quae ilia reprobaverit."
742 A Catholic Utopia.
those of Louvain, Bruges, and Turnhout. His Epitaph is as
follows :
R. ADM. EXIMIUS DOMINUS.
D. JOANNES SINNIGH,
CORCAGIENSIS HIBERNUS
S. TH. DOCTOR ET PROFESSOR.
COLLEGII MAJORIS PRAESES.
GENTIS SUAE GRANDE DECUS.
FACULTATIS THEOI.OGICAE,
ET ACADEMIAE LUMEN SINGULARE
PATRUM ET ANTIQUITATIS ARCHIVIUM,
SCRIPTIS URBI ET ORBI PROBATUS.
QUIBUS IMMORITUR
VIII MA1I MDCLXVI. MT. 63.
VIVENS ET MORIENS IN EGENOS PROFUSUS.
During life the Alma Mater gave unto him her highest
honours, and in death laid him to sleep before her altar.
He was faithful to the home of his adoption, ever mindful
of the land of his birth, and an obedient son of Holy
Church.
JOSEPH P. SPELMAN.
A CATHOLIC UTOPIA.
T)ERHAPS in no country not even Ireland are the beauty
J- and sanctity of the Church seen to better advantage
than in " The holy land Tyrol " as her children, with
affectionate pride, designate her ; for in no other land to-day
are Church and State wedded in such happy union as in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire ; and in the Empire itself, it may
be safely said, no other State has won such renown for its
sterling fealty to "Kaiser, Gott und Vaterland," as the
mountain-girdled home of the patriotic Hofer.
The loyalty of the Tyrolese peasant to the Church has
become proverbial ; his name, like that of his unfortunate
Irish brother, is but a synonym of Catholic ; his lively faith,
A Catholic Utopia. 743
untainted with the faintest suspicion of any modern heresy
or fashionable " philosophy ;" the almost primitive simplicity
of his manners ; the unquestionable honesty of all his dealings;
and the stainless purity of his morals, are the admiration and
delight of all who behold them ; while they serve not a little
to prove to the Protestant world that cleanliness of heart and
uprightness of character are not altogether incompatible with
the teaching of the " Priests of Rome."
To the readers of the KECORD, and to those of them
especially who live in parts, like America or Australia, where
the Church but yet in her lusty infancy is striving to beat
down the barriers of bigotry, prejudice and intolerance, a
short description of some of the religious customs of a land
where the Church has flourished for fifteen centuries and is
still loved, respected, and obeyed by her children, may not be
devoid of interest ; while the example of those privileged
ones, who enjoy in full the blessings of our Holy Mother, may
not be wanting, let us hope, in its salutary lesson to their
less fortunate brethren in distant lands.
At the outset of my paper it may be appropriate to
remark, that the people of the Tyrol always begin the day in
that most excellent Christian manner by assisting at the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If they failed in this it would
show them to be but very lax and careless Catholics indeed ;
for there is no village, howsoever small, in all the land, that
cannot boast of at least one beautiful little chapel where the
Saving Host is daily offered up to His Eternal Father. In
the towns and cities the opportunities of hearing Mass,
naturally, are ampler still, and as early as half-past four in
the morning the bells can be heard pealing through the
misty air from dome and spire of church arid convent, calling
upon mankind to lift his waking thoughts to his Creator.
From this hour, when even the birds are still sleeping in
their nests, until 9 or 10 o'clock, on week-days and Sundays
alike, it is easy to find some church in which a Mass is being
celebrated ; and the throngs of faithful worshippers that fill
the sacred temples at anytime between these hours is a sight
truly edifying.
Thrice a day, at the proper hours, the Angelus is rung,
744 A Catholic Utopia.
and as the first stroke of the bell is heard chiming on the air,
recalling to the Christian soul the wonderful mystery of the
Word made Flesh, the people, whether at home or in the
streets, in the shop or market-place, bow their heads and
with reverent lips softly recite,
" The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
And she conceived of the Holy Ghost."
This time-honoured devotion, so simple and yet so sublime,
did not fail to make a deep impression on the gentle heart of
the American poet Longfellow as he witnessed it in Spain,
and in his own beautiful way he thus describes it :
" Just as the evening twilight commences, the bell tolls to prayer.
In a moment throughout the crowded city the hum of business is
hushed, the thronged streets are still ; the gay multitudes that crowd
the public walks stand motionless ; the angry dispute ceases ; the
laugh of merriment dies away ; life seems for a moment to be arrested
in its career, and to stand still. The multitude uncover their heads,
and, with the sign of the cross, whisper their evening prayer to the
Virgin. Then the bells ring a merrier peal, the crowds move again
in the streets, and the rush and turmoil of business re-commence. I
have always listened with feelings of solemn pleasure to the bell that
sounded forth the Ave Maria. As it announced the close of day it
seemed also to call the soul from its worldly occupations to repose and
devotion. There is something beautiful in thus measuring the march
of time. The hour, too, brings the heart into unison with the feelipgs
and sentiments of devotion. ... It seems to me a beautiful and
appropriate solemnity, that at the close of each daily epoch of life . . .
the voice of the whole people and of the whole world should go up to
heaven in praise and supplication and thankfulness."
Every heart that is at all susceptible to the benign influ-
ence of religion must be thus impressed at the ringing of the
Angelus bell, and gladly ro-echo the Protestant poet's words,
for its mysterious effect is still the same, whether its chimes
be heard along the vine-clad slopes of Andalusia or amid the
snow-capped peaks of the Tyrolean Alps.
All through the Tyrol the tourist from Protestant lands is
surprised to find the quiet country lanes, the rugged mountain
passes, the very streets of the cities, adorned here and there
with shrines of Our Lady, Crucifixes, and statues of saints to
whom some special devotion is paid. Every bridge has its
modest effigy of St. John Nepomuk, the heroic priest who
A Catholic Utopia. 745
braved the anger of the tyrant, Wenceslaus IV., of Bohemia,
rather than violate the secrecy of the confessional, and
received in consequence the crown of martyrdom by being
thrown into the Moldau at the baffled king's command ; and
every house, almost, has a rude picture of St. Florian, the
guardian of dwellings against fire, painted on its walls. "
God, through the intercession of thy servant Florian, protect
us Thy children from the dangers of fire !" is an inscription
often seen over the main entrances of private houses.
This pious custom of giving honour to the Most High, and
seeking the patronage of His saints in a public manner, not
long ago, as the readers of the RECORD are aware, obtained
throughout the greater part of Europe ; but in many countries
still claiming to be Christian the portraits of the saints have
disappeared during the past years, and the Crucifix has gone
down before the impious arm of the modern Iconoclast. In
the Catholic Tyrol, however, the image of the Crucified
Eedeemer has not yet yielded its place to the effigy of
Apollo, nor the statue of the Virginal Mother to the figure
of Diana or the Cyprean Queen. Maria-Theresien Strasse,
in Innsbruck, has a beautiful specimen of Christian art,
consisting of a magnificent shaft of highly-polished granite,
crowned with a marble statue of the " Immaculate Con-
ception," and relieved at the base with life-sized figures
of SS. Joachim, Ann, Joseph and John. In passing
these pious representations, the peasant respectfully bares
his head and offers up a brief and silent prayer, Votive
lamps burn continually before many shrines, and in harvest-
time the first two ears of corn plucked in the field are
suspended from the arms of the nearest crucifix, in thanks-
giving to the Son of God for having removed, by His sacred
Passion and Death, the curse of old pronounced upon the
earth and all its fruits, and for having restored the world to
its primal grace and favour in the eyes of its Creator.
A mark of respect shown towards the Blessed Sacrament
by the Tyrolean farmers is worthy the imitation of all
Catholic men. Not unmindful of the Prisoner of Love
concealed within our tabernacles, they never fail to lift their
hats in passing a church, and, indeed, not unfrequently turn
746 A Catholic Utopia.
towards it and genuflect. When the priest carries the
Viaticnm through the streets the people on either side kneel,
with uncovered heads, until he has passed ; and in garrisoned
towns whenever the Sacred Host is borne past the barracks,
the guard is turned out to present arms to the King of Kings.
Little acts of piety like these, after all, are what serve to
keep the faith alive in our breasts in all its Apostolic fervour
and secure to our souls many special graces from the Most
High.
Early on summer mornings, when only the highest peaks
are flushing with the rosy light of dawn, the village girls,
pushing before them little carts, laden with vegetables and
fresh-laid eggs, come down from their mountain-height to
the market in the city. Having disposed of their tempting
stock, and made whatever purchases are necessary for their
humble life, they form into little companies and set out again
for their aerial homes. And how, think you, do they while
away the two or three weary hours of their difficult ascent up
the rugged Alpine slopes? Not with idle gossiping or
feminine small-talk ; not in discussing the gorgeous feathers
or shimmering silks exposed in the shop windows of the city.
Ah ! no ; foreign to the heart of the Tyrolese maiden are the
thoughts o.f such frivolity. Strange as it may seem to the
worldly-minded, it is nevertheless an interesting fact, that the
hours of their return are devoted to reciting in unison the
Rosary of our Blessed Lady; and only that bright Angel who
guards the heavenly exchequer may say how many fragrant
garlands of never-fading flowers have thus been woven by
those pure and simple village-girls, and laid, a grateful
offering, at the feet of the immaculate Queen of Virgins.
In the salutations that greet the pedestrian in his holiday
rambles through a Tyrolese village there is something sug-
gestive of the first days of Christianity. " Griiss' dich Gott !"
(God salute you) and " Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!" (Praised
be Jesus Christ) are among those most frequently heard.
" Praised be Jesus Christ !" is certainly a beautiful and
appropriate salutation for Christians, and when one hears it
for the first time one seems to be suddenly transported by
some magic agency back to the very days of the Apostles.
A Catholic Utopia. 747
I was in the hospital not long ago in a neighbouring city,
and I remember what a sweet awakening it was, morning
after morning, as the modest little sister entered with my
breakfast, and called me back u from dream-land unto day,"
with her softly murmured ejaculation, " Gelobt sei Jesus
Christus !" These were the first words that fell upon my ears
at the opening of each new day, and the last 1 heard when
day was over ; for as the gentle sister smoothed my pillow
for the night and sprinkled me with holy-water, her parting
words were ever, " Schlafen Sie wohl ; Gelobt sei Jesus
Christus !" Truly, a people in whose hearts and upon whose
lips the blessed name of our divine Saviour is thus with
reverence ever found, may turn from this poor world when
that Saviour calls them, with souls strengthened with all the
hope and love and confidence such faith as theirs must
necessarily inspire.
An American friend of mine lately received an invitation
to a Tyrolese wedding. As it is unique in its way and will
serve as a further specimen of the deep piety that pervades
these people, it may not be altogether inappropriate to give
it insertion. It was printed on common paper and read as
follows :
~ PRAISED BE JESUS CHRIST !
ESTEEMED AND BELOVED FRIEND, Having entered, through
God's will, into holy and honourable espousals with Maria G , I
hereby humbly invite you to be present at our marriage, which will
take place on the eighth day of the Spring month (i.e., March 8), in
the most worthy House of God at V . A breakfast will be served
at the house of our honoured pastor, and a dinner at the inn of our
excellent townsman, Joseph H . May everything tend to the
greater honour of God and the holy Sacrament of Matrimony,
Trusting you will honour us with your presence on this joyful occa-
sion, and recommending you to the protection of God and the Blessed
Virgin, I am, etc., etc. C. J.
Like unto this, methinks, might the invitation have been
that was issued for the marriage-feast given of old in the
little village of Cana in Galilee, and which of all marriage
feasts was blessed by Heaven; for, as we read, " The Mother of
Jesus was there and Jesus was also invited and his disciples."
Briefly and at random I have touched upon a few pious
748 Theological Questions.
customs that attract the attention of the stranger in this
happy land ; to describe in full the deep religious current
that sends its purifying waters through the daily life of the
Tyrolese; to speak of the thousand and one little acts of
devotion that distinguish them in the field, at the fire-side, or
in the shop ; to dwell upon the exterior pomp and interior
fervour with which they hail the oft-recurring festivals of
the Church, would require more space than I may ask of the
RECORD in a single number. But I may say in conclusion
that I never mingle with these simple-hearted peasants or
see them at their labours, their devotions, or their rustic
merry-makings, without thinking that in them is realized the
fervent aspiration of the prayer
"Actiones ncstras, quaesumus, Donrine, aspirando praeveni et
adjuvando prosequere ; ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatic a te semper
incipiat et per te coepta finiatur."
And with this sincere conviction I would give the Tyrol,
before all other lands, the title of honour which I have taken
as the subject of my paper "A Catholic Utopia."
RICHARD J. McHuGH.
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
THE SYNOD OF MAYNOOTH ON THE PRESENCE OF THE PARISH
PRIEST IN HIS PARISH ON SUNDAYS.
1 . " A parish priest has celebrated two Masses on a Sunday ; one
at seven o'clock in the morning ; the other at half -past eight. He
has, moreover, given a twenty minutes' sermon, and administered
Holy Communion to four hundred of his flock. He wishes to obey
an invitation to'dine with a friend say, a fellow priest some twenty
miles away, or to take the sea air for a few hours, and, after dinner,
to return to his parish in the evening say, at seven o'clock.
"In the Maynooth Statutes, " De Parocho," No. 185, are read
these words :
" i Statuimus, &c nee unquam sine simili licentia die
Theological Questions. 749
Dominica vel festo, ipsi abesse licet.' Then the question is : Does his
going by an excursion train at ten o'clock, forenoon in order to have
a few hours' outing, or to dine with his friend ; returning, mind, by
the seven (evening train) violate the statute in any way ?
" The parish priest has been present materially {propria persona) ;
and formally, because he discharged all the duties of his office that
day, and left the curates, according to arrangement, to discharge all
the other spiritual duties of the parish.
Q. "Is it lawful or not opposed to the same statute to have an
excursion with some of the flock say, with the members of a pious
Sodality from one o'clock to eight o'clock on Sundays.
" SACEKDOS."
1. We are of opinion that the Statute of the Maynooth
Synod is not violated in the case you make.
What the Synod forbids is, we think, the absence of the
Parish Priest from his pastoral work on Sunday or Holiday,
without having previously got the leave of the Bishop in
writing.
The Statute enjoins (1) that the Parish Priest is not to
absent himself from his parish for any three days without
previous notice to the Bishop (nisi prius Episcopum moneat) ;
(2) that he is not to be absent for any five days without the
Bishop's written permission ; (3) that he is not to absent
himself on Sunday or Holiday without similar written per-
mission, because on this day in particular he ought to be
present to say the Parochial Mass and preach to his people,
and perform whatever other pastoral duties are special to
Sunday or Holiday; and (4) finally, he is not to be absent
from his parish at all, unless he leaves behind him an approved
Priest to discharge any pastoral duties that may require to be
attended to in his absence.
2. For the same reason we do not think that the Statute
is violated in the second case made.
We do not, however, say that such a proceeding is wholly
without fault. It would be manifestly most desirable that
the Parish Priest should be always in attendance about his
church when his people are coming to the late Mass, and it is
an important part of his duty to see to the attendance of the
children at the Catechism classes which are usually held in
750 . Liturgical Questions.
the church after the last Mass. So, too, with the afternoon
devotions. No one would hesitate to say that the practice of
absenting himself from his parish from ten to seven o'clock on
Sunday, if habitual, would be very reprehensible in a Parish
Priest. But your case manifestly contemplates an isolated
instance, and is made to test the meaning of the particular
Statute of the Maynooth Synod.
LITURGY.
THE INTERROGATIONS LATIN OR ENGLISH IN ADMINISTERING
BAPTISM.
In the OrdoAdministrandi Sacramenta, " auctoritate Eminentissimi
Archiepiscopi et Episcoporum (Angliae) edita," we find that the Ordo
Baptismi parvulorum has certain portions printed both in Latin and in
English, e.g., at the very commencement :
" N. Quid petis ab Ecclesia Dei ?
N. What dost thou ask of the Church of God ?
Respondit Patrinus Fidem, Faith."
No direction is subjoined, and I find that the practice of priests
differs in this matter.
May I ask then :
1. Is the Latin alone to be used?
2. May the English alone be used ?
3. Is the use of both obligatory '?
4. Is the use of both permissible ?
5. In case the use of the Latin is obligatory, is it necessary to
insist on the Sponsor repeating the answer in Latin after the priest
even when (as is generally the case) the Sponsor is totally ignorant of
the Latin language ; or should the priest make the answer in Latin
himself ?
SACERDOS.
1. The Latin form is obligatory.
2. The English translation, as a substitute for the Latin,
is never lawful.
3. The English translation, as an addition to the Latin
Liturgical Questions. 751
form, is not obligatory, even when the Sponsors are ignorant
of the meaning of the Latin words.
4. The decrees of the S. Congregation of Rites seein to
forbid the use of the English translation even, as an addition
to the Latin. Here is the latest decree we can find on the
subject.
"An in administratione Baptismi interrogationes, quibusrespondere
debet patrinus infantis, fieri possint vernacula lingua quandocunque
dictus patrinus latinam ignorat ; an saltern interrogatio sermone
latino facta, ut fert rituale, illico in vulgarem transf erri possit ? "
S.R.C. resp. : "Negative ad utr unique juxta decrctum in Molinen.
diei 12 Sept. 1857, ad 17." 31 Aug., 1867. Ambianem (n. 5382).
It is, however, admitted that an authorized translation of
the Latin form may be used by way of explanation in those
places where an indult has been granted for this purpose,
and also wherever a legitimate custom exists of using it
as in England and America and Ireland. De Herdt (Praais
Liturgica, Tom. iii., n. 160) writes :
" Interrogationes tamen in lingua vulgari fieri possunt, 1, Si
habeatur indultum, quale aliquibus dioecesibus a S.R.C. concessura
legit ur 1 ; et 2, Si legitima adsit consuetude, prout Maurel testatur
Romae introductum esse usum, eas faciendi in lingua Italica." 2
And O'Kane (Notes on the Rubrics, n. 300) expresses this
practical decision in the following paragraph :
" But at least it is certain that the priest is never justified in
simply omitting the Latin, and substituting a translation, in any of
the interrogations or prayers of the ritual. The translation, when
used, must be merely added, ' explicationis causa.' "
The whole of this is well put in the following decree of
the first Provincial Synod of Baltimore :
" Statuimus juxta Ritualis Romaiii praescriptum, in sacra mentis
administrandis et in defunctorum Sepultura, sacerdotes omnino teneri
ad adhibendam linguam Latinam : et si cerisuerint expedire, expli-
cationis causa, eorum quae recitant adjungere versionem lingua
vernacula earn tautum versionem adhibendam esse, quae fuerit ab
Ordinario sancita. Ubicumque autem consuetude aliqua invaluerit
huic Decreto adversa, earn quam primum abrogandam statuimus."
5. The priest should get the Sponsors to say the answers
in Latin after him.
1 Revue des Sciences ecclesiast. Tom. 10, fol. 104.
2 Guide Pratique de Liturgie romaine, 2 p., 12 s., 2 ch., art. 8.
752
DOCUMENTS.
APOSTOLIC BRIEF IN WHICH OUR HOLY FATHER, LEO XIII.,
PROCLAIMS ST. CAMILLUS DE LELLIS AND ST. JOHN OP
GOD TO BE THE SPECIAL PATRONS OF HOSPITALS, INFIR-
MARIES AND ALL OTHER INSTITUTIONS FOR THE SlCK, AND
ORDERS THAT THEIR NAMES ARE TO BE INSERTED AFTER THE
NAME OF ST. FRANCIS IN THE LITANY FOR A SOUL
DEPARTING.
LITTER AE APOSTOLICAE IN FORMA BREVIS.
LEO PP. XIII.
Ad perpetuam rei memoriam. Dives in misericordia Deus, divini
Spiritus afflatu, Sanctissimos suscitavit in Ecclesia sna viros, qui
caritatis aestu flagrantes, posthabitis omnibus, nullisque periculis,
neque vitae ipsius discrimine deterriti, sibi quisque peculiarem
deposceret provinciam, variis, diversisque humani generis necessi-
tatibus et aeruranis opitulandi. In praeclarissimo horum virorum
numero enitent Confessores Christi Camillus de Lellis et loaunes de
Deo, qui pari in proximum caritate incensi nullis curis, laboribusque
parcere vitamque ipsam in discrimen dare pro aegrotantium vale-
tudine, aeternaque eorum salute non dubitarunt; alter enim animas
in extreme agone luctantium, aegris simul corporibus praestito
levamento, sacri minis terii ope roborat, solatur; alter infirmis
hospitium et niedelas praebens aeque sempiternam animarum curat
salutem. Uterque adiunctis sibi sociis, constitutisque legibus, dein
ab Apostolica Sede probatis, religiosam familiam suae caritatis
haeredem instituit, quae ad haec usque tempora viget, et unaquaeque
Auctoris sui illustria et egregia referens exempla, omni tempore ac
pruesertim contagiis et pestilitate saevientibus vitae quoque sodalium
sacrificio splendida edidit caritatis testimonia. lam vero quum
inimicus homo, ingeminatis viribus, Christi sponsam insectans reli-
giosas regularium ordinum familias, eiusdem ornamenta et praesidia
labefactare et omnino evertere adnitatur. in Christi fidelibus, ac
praecipue in sacrorum Antistitibus commune exarsit desiderium sup-
plicandi, ut ambo Confessores praedicti omnium valetudinariorum, et
ubique degentiurn infirmorum Coelestes Patroni Sanctae Sedis
Apostolicae auctoritate declarentur et renuntientur, atque in
agonizantium litaniis invocentur, ut eorum augeatur cultns et
aegrotantium in eorumdem patrocinio fiducia. Quae vota quum ad
Documents. 753
Consilium V enerabili um Fratrum Nostrorum S.R.E. Cardinaliura
sacris ritibus tuendis cognoscendis praepositorum in Nostris aedibus
Vaticanis die indieta, ut moris est, relata fuerint, idemque Venera-
bilium Fratrum Consilium accurate perpensis omnibus, auditoque hac
de re dilecto filio Praesule de Coelestium honoribus quaesitore
rescripsit, " pro gratia concessionis Sanctorum Camilli de Lellis et
loannis de Deo in Patronos pro omnibus hospitalibus, et pro infirmis-
ubique degentibus, et insertionis in Litaniis agonizantium nominum.
Sanctorum praedictorum post nomen S. Francisci."
Quam Venerabilium Fratrum Nostrorum Sententiam Nos ratam
habemus et sancimus, et Apostolica auctoritate Nostra Sancton
CAMILLUM DE LELLIS et 10ANNEM DE DEO Coelestes
hospitalium omnium, et ubique degentium infirmorum PATRONOS
constituimus et edicimus, iternque volumus, ut in agonizantium
litaniis post S. Francisci nomen praefatorum Sanctorum nomina
inserantur et invocentur. Proinde decernimus has litteras Nostras
firmas, validas et efficaces existere et fore, suosque plenarios et
integros effectus sortiri et obtinere iisque ad quos spectat pleuissime
suffragan. Contrariis licet speciali atque individua mentione ac
derogatione dignis non obstantibus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub Annulo Piscatoris die xxii-
lunii MDCCCLXXXVI. Pontificatus Nostri Anno Nono.
Loco ^f Si^ni.
M. Card. LEDOCHOWSKT.
IMPORTANT DECREE OF THE HOLY OFFICE DECLARING THE,
UNLAWFULNESS OF THE PRACTICE OF CREMATION.
Feria IV., die 19 Mail, 1886.
Non pauci Sacrorum Antistites cordatique Christifideles animad-
vertentes, ab hominibus vel dubiae fidei, vel masonicae sectae addictis
magno nisu hodie contendi, ut ethnicorum usus de hominum
cadaveribus comburendis instauretur, atque in hunc finem speciales
etiam societates ab iisdem institui : veriti, ne eorum artibus et
cavillationibus fidelium mentes capiantur, et sensim in eis imminuatur
existimatio et reverentia erga Christianam constantem et solemnibus
ritibus ab Ecclesia consecratam consuetudinem fidelium corpora
humandi : ut aliquia, certa norma iisdem fidelibus praesto sit, qua sibi
a memoratis insidiis caveant ; a Suprema S. Rom. et Univ. Inqui-
sitionis Congregatione declarari postularunt :
VOL. VH. 3 B
754 Documents.
1. An licitum sit nomen dare societatibus, quibus propositum est
promovere usuni comburendi homirium cadavera ?
2. An licitum sit mandare, ut sua aliorumve cadavera com-
burantur ?
Eminentissimi ac Reverendissimi Patres Cardinales in rebus tidei
Generales Inquisiiores, supra scriptis dubiis serio ac mature perpensis,
praehabitoque DD. Consultorum Voto. respondendum censuerunt :
Ad l m . Negative et si agatur de societatibus masonicae sectae
iilialibus, incurri poenas contra hanc latas.
Ad 9 m . Negative.
Factaque de his Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Leoni Papae XIII.
relatione, Sanctitas Sua resolutiones Eminentissimorum Patrum
adprobavit et confirmavit, et cum locorum Ordinariis communicandas
mandavit, ut opportune instruendos curent Christindeles circa detes-
tabilem abusum humana corpora cremandi, utque ab eo gregem sibi
concreditum totis viribus deterreant.
los. MANCINI,
S. Rom. et Univ. Inquis. Notarius.
THE INDULGENCE OF THE PRIVILEGED ALTAR CAN BE
APPLIED TO ONLY ONE AT A TIME.
VIENNEN. (IN AUSTRIA).
DE APPROBATIONE INDULGENTIAE Al/TARIS PRIVILEGIATf.
Yiennae in Austria canonice coustituta viget As-iociatio Perseve-
rantiae Sacerdotalis. Hujus finis est u ut sodales donum perseverantiae
aliasque gratias impetrent per cultum SS. Cordis Jesu, turn in se, turn
in aliis promovendum " et conditiones praecipuae, sub nullo tamen
peccato obligantes, sunt : 1 singulis diebus recitare Pater et Ave
cum oratiuncula " Jesu mitis et humilis corde, fac cor meum secundum
or tuurn :" 2 bis, vel saltern, semel in mense coufessionem sacra-
raentalem peragere ; 3 saltern quovis triennio exercitiis spiritualibus
vacare ; 4 quovis anno unam Missam pro sodalibus vivis, et imam
pro defunctis celebrare : quod si fieri nequeat, pro vivis Rosarium,
pro defunctis Omcium defunctorum recitare. Praeterea, morte
.alicujus Sodalis nunciata, pro eodem preces, bona opera et Indulgentias
quocumque die SS. Cordi Jesu offerre."
Hujus Sodalitatis sacerdotibus s. m. Pius Pp. IX. Litteris Apos-
tolicis in forma Brevis die 14 Maii 1869 datis, praeter plures
Plenarias Tndulgentias benigne etiam indulsit et Missae quae ad quod-
Documents. 755
libet altare pro sodalibus defunctis celebrabuntur, animae sen animabus
ex dictis sodalibus pro qua, vd pro quibus celeb ratae fuerint, aeqne
suffragentur ac si ad Altare privileyiatn.ni fuissent celebratae.
Porro ex his verbis Litterarum apostolicarum hodiernae Associa-
.tioni? Praesidi aliisque polligendum videtur, non uni tantum animae
sed etiam pluribus animabus sodalium defunctorum vi hujuscc Privi-
legii posse applicari in una Missa Indulgentiam Plenariam. Quare
ut plena hac de re certitudo habeatur, idem Praeses a S. Congrega-
tione Indulgentiis Sacrisque Reliquiis pra2posita quaerit.
Utram Sodales praedictae Associationis in una Missa : 1 uni
tantum sodali defuncto, Tel 2 pluribus sodalibus defunctis possint
Indulgentiam plenariam applicare ?
In plenaria Congregatione diei 18 Decembris 1885 in ^Edibus
Vaticanis habita, Patres Cardinales responderunt :
Affirmative ad primam partem ; Negative ad secunda*n. Die vero
insequeuti SSmns. D. N. Leo PP. XIII. in audientia habita ab infra-
scripto Secretario, Patrum Cardinalium sententiam confirmavit.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria ejusdem S. Congregationis die
19 Decembris 1885.
I. B. Card. FRAN ZE LIN, Praefectus.
F. DELL A VOLPE, Secretariats.
INSTRUCTION OF THE HOLY OFFICE REGARDING THOSE WHO
BRING ECCLESIASTICS BEFORE SECULAR TRIBUNALS IN
EXPLANATION OF THE EXCOMMUNICATION COGENTES IN THE
CONSTITUTION APOSTOLIC <AE Szvis.
In constitution Pii IX. s. m. quae incipit Apostolicae Sedis
moderations (iv. id Oct. 1869) cautumest/'excommunicationem Romano
Pontifici reservatam speciali modo incurrere Cogentcs sice directe
sive indlrecte judices laicos ad trahendum ad saum tribunal persona*
: ecclenasficas praeter canonicas dispositiones ; item edentes leges vel
decreta contra libertatem et jura JEcclesiae.""
Cum de vero sensu intelligentia hujus capitis saepe dubitatum
fuerit, haec suprema Congregatio S. Romanae et universalis Inquisi-
tionis non semel declaravit caput Cogentes non afficere nisi legis-
latores et alias auctoritates cogentes sive directe sive indirecte
judices laicos ad trahendum ad suum tribunal personas ecclesiasticas
praeter canonicas dispositiones. Hanc vero declarationem Sanctis-
simus D. N. Leo PP. XIII. probavit et confirmavit : ideoque Sacra haec
Congregatio illarn cum omnibus locorum ordinariis pro norma com-
municandam esse censuit.
756 Documents.
Ceterum in iis locis in quibus fori privilegio per SummosPontifices
derogatum non fuit, si in eis non datur jura sua persequi nisi apud
judices laicos, tenentur singuli prius a proprio ipsorum Ordinario
veniam petere ut clericos in forum laicorum convenire possint : eam-
que Ordinarii numquam denegabunt turn maxime, cum ipsi contro-
versiis inter partes conciliandis frustra operam dederint, Episcopos-
autem in id forum convenire absque venia Sedis Aposiolicae non licet.
Et si quis ausus iuerit trahere ad judicern sen judices laicos vel
clericum sine venia Ordinarii, vel episcopum sine venia S. Sedis, in
potestate eorumdem Ordinariorum erit in eum, praesertim si fuerit
clericus, animadvertere poenis et censuris ferendae sententiae uti
violaLorem privilegii fori, si id expedire in Domino judicaverint.
Interim impensos animi mei sensus testatos volo Eminentiae Tuae
cui manus Immillime deosculor.
Datum Romae, die 23 Januarii an. 1886.
Humill. et addict, servus verus,
R. Card. MONACO.
BRIEF OF LEO XIII. ADDRESSED TO MGR. FR. SATOLLI,
COMMENDING THE STUDY OF THOMISTIC THEOLOGY.
LEO PP. XIII.
Dilecte Fili, salutem et Apostolicam Benedictionem.
Qui te, dilecte Fili, addictissimum jam noveramus doctrinae-
S. Thomae, quum adhuc Perusinam Ecclesiam regeremus, eaque do
causa in almam hanc Urbem jussimus accedere, ubi a pluribus annis-
S. Theologiae tradendae operam navas, lubente gratoque animo-
accepimus a te praelectiones Theologicas, quas in discipulorum tuorum
commodum hactenus edidisti. In iis autem vehementer consilium
tuum laudamus quod commentaria exhibes in ipsam S. Thomae
Aquinatis Summam, ea mente ut auditores tui textum Angelici
Doctoris e suis manibus excidere non patiantur. Sic enim et non
aliter net ut genuina S. Thomae doctrina in scholis floreat, quod
Nobis maxime cordi est. Ilia enim docendi ratio quae in magistrorum
singulorum auctoritate arbitrioque nititur, mutabile habet
fundamentum, ex quo saepe sententiae diversae atque inter se-
pugnantes oriuntur, quae quum S. Doctoris mentem referre
nequcunt, turn dissensiones fovent et concertationes, quae diutius jam
catholicas scholas non sine magno scientiae christianae detriinento
agitarunt. Optandum autem est ut - praeceptores S. Theologiae,
Notices of Books. 757
Tridentinos Patres imitati, Summam S. Thomae super cathedris suis
patere velint, uncle consilium, rationes et Theologicas conclusiones
petant. Ab his enim palaestris merito Ecclesia exspectare poterit
fortissimos milites ad profligandos errores, ad rem catholicam
defendendam. Quod ut tibi Deus copiose concedat, auspicem divinae
gratiae Apostolicam benedictionem peramanter impertimus.
Datum Romae apnd S. Petrum die xix Junii an. MDCCCLXXXVI.
Pontificatus Nostri Nono.
LEO PP. XIII.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
ELEMENTS D'ARCHEOLOGIE CHRETIENNE. Par le Chanoiiie
Reusens, Professeur d'Archeologie a 1'Uiiiversite Catho-
lique de Louvain. 2nd Edition, 2 vols. Dublin :
M. H. Gill & Son. 1886.
STUDENTS of Christian Archeology and lovers of Ecclesiastical
Art will welcome this work. It comes from the pen of an accom-
plished antiquarian, Canon Reusens, Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Louvain, and gives us a resume of the course of lectures,
which for upwards of twenty years he has delivered to his class.
The Elements d'Archeologie Chretienne supplies a want in
furnishing a simple and interesting handbook to the study of a
hitherto neglected though useful branch of ecclesiastical studies. In its
widest sense the author treats the subject, and thoroughly informs
his readers not only on the growth of ecclesiastical architecture, but
also initiates them in every department of Christian Art, shewing
its commencement in the Catacombs and tracing its subsequent
development as displayed in Cloister and Cathedral.
The work is divided into six chapters. Of these, the first is
devoted to an exposition of the principles of classic architecture,
which so largely influenced the style of the early Christian monu-
ments, and the others deal successively with five periods covering the
history of Christian Archasology. Under the first period, that of the
Catacombs, we find a description of those at Rome, their origin,
history, and iconography. The section on the latter subject is well
illustrated and most interesting. A second article gives an account
758 Notices of Books.
of other Christian remains and monuments of the first three centuries
The Latino-Byzantine period, which is the subject of the following
chapter, embraces two styles, contemporaneous in origin, that
flourished each in its own part of the Roman Empire. In the
article on Latin style we have the origin of the Basilica and other
early Christian temples, and we learn how Pagan edifices were
converted to the purposes of Christianity. The characteristics of
this style, the mode of construction, monumental decoration, mural
painting, and mosaics of the first Western Churches are next
noticed. The succeeding section deals with altars, chancels, and the
various parts of sacred edifices. A description of cemeteries,,
sarcophagi, anl monuments follows, andj some notes on Frankish
sepulchres, numerous in Belgium, are especially interesting. Under
the head Molilier religieux we have an account of the earliest sacred
vessels, reliquaries, vestments, and other church furniture. A second
article treats, on the same lines, the Byzantine style. The Roman,
Gothic, and Renaissance periods are similarly dealt with in the
following chapters, thus affording a view, at successive epochs, of
every department of ecclesiastical art and letting in much light on
the ritual and rubrics of the times.
Canon Reusens' work embodies the successful result of a
lengthened and minute study of a many-sided subject. His thorough
acquaintance with the best specimens of mediaeval Art enables him
to appreciate the opinions of those who preceded him over the same
ground, and his criticisms are not wanting in taste and judgment.
The Professor has laid under contribution the best authors who
devoted themselves to illustrate special branches of Christian
Archaeology, and his quotations from them enhance the value of his
own views and serve to introduce the reader to those under whose
guidance he can obtain a more extensive knowledge of the Church's
great treasury of Art. Upwards of eleven-hundred excellent wood-
cuts add considerably to the value and attractiveness of the work,
and both paper and printing are up to the requirements of the subject,
We wish these volumes a large circulation and trust they may tempt
many of our readers to study the science of Christian Archaeology.
J. J. R.
LIFE OF MARGARET CLITHEROW. By L. 8. Oliver. London :
Burns & Gates.
BESIDES the intrinsic worth which a record of the cruel sufferings
and death of one of the foremost and best known of the many martyrs
Notices of Books. 759"
who suffered at York must necessarily possess, this religious biography-
has all the charm and attraction which a singularly graceful English
style can give, so interesting is the narrative that you almost forget
you are readiug an account of one of the most heartless and revolting
martyrdoms on record. Some might say that the style should be
adapted to the subject, bat we consider it an advantage to have the
story told in this interesting and attractive way. We all know how
easily in the busy turmoil of life, mid the many cares of this work-a-
uay world, people are turned away from the consideratiun of religious
subjects, especially if such subjects excite their loathing and disgust..
" Catholics," says Fr. Morris, S.J., in his preface to this book, " were
gradually coming to know as little of the sufferings of our martyrs as
Protestants themselves. It is but natural that other times should be
measured by our own, and as such things do not happen now, it is not
surprising that men could bring themselves to think that they never
could have happened."
Hence the publication of this book at the present time is singu-
larly opportune. The memory of the sufferings of the martyrs was-
fading even from the minds of those whom simple gratitude should
keep from such forgetfulness, whilst the Church, their loving but
prudent mother, is about rewarding their fidelity by giving them that
crown which they have earned so nobly and so well.
SERMONS FROM THE FLEMISH. Translated by a Catholic
Priest. Vol. I. ADVENT TO THIRD SUNDAY AFTER
EPIPHANY. Dublin : Duffy & Sons.
THIS book has no preface, and it needs none : it is briefly the
best volume of sermons we have yet seen. Though translated from
the Flemish, the English is so excellent throughout that if they were
to be delivered verbatim or read, even before an educated congrega-
tion, we doubt if a sentence would be detected which would mark
them as translations. In contrast to the usual characteristics of
written sermons, they are short, practical, and deeply devotional.
They are replete with quotations and illustrations from the Sacred
Scriptures, and the Saints and Fathers of the Church. The truths of
the Catholic religion are explained in simple language suited to the
intelligence of our ordinary congregations. For each Sunday there
are six, seven, and sometimes as many as ten sermons treating of two*
or three different subjects, so that the preacher has ample scope to
choose the subject of his instruction.
Consequently we should say that these sermons are calculated to
760 Notices of Books.
be of great practical utility to the hardworked priest on the Mission,
who sometimes finds the duty of instructing the faithful, though
strictly binding him, a most difficult one to fulfil. By reading over
with care and attention one or two of these sermons for as a rule
there are two or three treating of the same subject he may acquire
even in detail, in a comparatively short time, matter sufficient for an
instructive half-hour's sermon. Those also who from any cause are
unable to be present at sermons or instructions could scarcely supply
their place in a better way than by reading this book.
We need merely state that the book has passed under the
censorship of the learned Father Meehan, and bears the Imprimatur
of the Archbishop of Dublin, and we have said quite enough to
guarantee the soundness of the theological opinions it contains.
MOXSEIGNEUR DUPANLOUP ON LIBERAL EDUCATION. By Rev.
Edward Cuthbert Butler, O.S.B., M.A., Lond. Dublin :
Gill & Son.
THERE are few whose opinions on the question of education
should be listened to with more attention, and received with greater
respect than those of the late Bishop of Orleans. A man of eminent
abilities, he had almost a life-long experience in the education of
youth, and the system he framed for their instruction was crowned
with signal success. Monseigneur Dupanloup's views on education
liave been clearly put forward and ably supported by Fr. Butler in
'the " Downside Review " of last year, and we are glad to see his
interesting papers now collected in pamphlet form.
The theory of this experienced ecclesiastic is thus stated by
Fr. Butler in a few words : " That the essential element of a liberal
education in boyhood and youth is the thorough study of the
languages and literature of our native land and of Greece and Rome ;
And that mathematics, science, history, and a modern language are
accessory and subordinate subjects, yet most useful, and even
necessary." In these days when utilitarianism prevails to such an
extent in the education of youth, when the attainment of reward and
not the infusion of knowledge seems to be the chief object aimed at,
Monseigneur Dupanloup's thesis will scarcely pass unchallenged.
But it should be borne in mind that in thus " urging the claims
of the classics there is no intention of advocating an exclusive study
of them, or of implying that any other subject should be clipped for
their sake. Mgr. Dupanloup and the other writers quoted, all
advocate a union of classics with modern languages, mathematics,
Notices of Books. 761
history, and science." The advantages and disadvantages of public
competitive examinations, the evils resulting from forced preparation
for such examinations, from mere superficial culture, and from
aiming at utilitarianism alone in education are clearly set forth and
tellingly refuted. The pamphlet deserves the attention of all
engaged in the education of youth.
ECHOES FROM THE PINES. By Margaret E. Jordan. Portland,
Maine : M'Gowan & Young.
THESE are chiefly echoes of Miss Jordan's deep spirit of love and
devotion to God and His Holy Mother. It was the voice of God
whispering through the lofty pine woods that inspired her poetic soul
to tell us in verses so sweet and pleasing of His magnificence and
beauty, His mercy and His love. Naturally from such a source of
inspiration the best and most harmonious of Miss Jordan's verses are
those which treat of religious subjects, though the patriotic and
humorous poems in her collection are far above the average. " Amelie
Lautard," " Le Bon Dieu," " On a picture of St. Mary Magdalen,*
and " An evening visit to the Blessed Sacrament," are poems of great
merit. In the " Crowning Sacrifice," Miss Jordan tells in touching
lines the circumstances of the self-sacrificing, dying effort of Rev.
Thomas N. Burke O.P.,on behalf of the starving children of Donegal ;
she makes a noble and earnest protest against the heartless saying
that emigration is the only panacea for Ireland in "Leave their
Fair Fatherland." The following is the concluding stanza of this
poem :
" Courage, O Erin, dear Country !
Thy harp-strings shall vibrate again :
The sunburst dispel these dark shadows,
The shamrocks bloom free on the glen ;
Thy God-given rights be untrammeled ;
Thy shrines and thy hearthstones be free ;
And thy flag shall wave o'er thee in triumph __
O Erin, fair isle of the sea ! "
But it is for the stirring patriotic song " 'Tis no disgrace to be Irish"
that we should be especially grateful to Miss Jordan ; there is a
ringing melody in this poem which is very beautiful.
We do not, however, mean to claim extraordinary merit for Miss
Jordan's poems. Indeed there are in them many harsh and unmusical
lines, many with syllables in excess or wanting ; and many lines in
which poetic licence is freely used both as to grammatical and metrical
construction. They deserve praise rather from the promise which
they give of future excellence than because of their intrinsic Avorth.
D. J.
762 Notices of Books.
LENTEN SERMONS. By the Rev. P. Sabela. London :
Barns & Gates.
THIS is an excellent course of Sermons for the holy time of Lent.
Of the seven Sermons which the book contains, the first five and the-
seventh deal directly with the sacred events of the Passion of Our
Blessed Lord. The sixth treats of what is called the Compassion of
Mary. The Sermons are clear, simple, and earnest. They abound
with moving descriptions and striking practical reflections. A. M.
THE RULE OF OUR MOST HOLY FATHER ST. BENEDICT.
London : Burns & Oates.
THIS is a new English Translation of the rule which was drawn
up by St. Benedict about the year 35, for his followers, and which
became at a later date the common rule of all Western monachism.
The rule of St. Benedict, to which the consent of ages has given the
title of the Holy Rule, is remarkable both for its simplicity and
comprehensiveness. It possesses an interest that is unique in the
history of the rules of religious life on account of its venerable
antiquity and because it is the rule of an Order that has played such
an important part m the history of the Church and the civilization of
Europe for the last thirteen centuries. The work of translation is
well executed ; it is marked throughout by a simplicity of style which
brings it into harmony with the spirit of the rule which it interprets.
The Latin Text from which the translation is made appears on
alternate pages with the English version and was first printed about
the middle of the sixteenth century from the most ancient and
authentic MSS. preserved in the venerable monastery of Monte
Cassino. There are copious notes added in an Appendix which will
be found useful in explaining certain passages whose meaning is not
apparent from the mere verbal reading of the text. There is also
a complete In^ex alphabetically arranged to facilitate reference to
any portion of the book. It is sure to have a wide circulation not
only among the members of the Benedictine Order but also among
its many friends and admirers. T. G.
NATURE AND THOUGHT. By St. George Mivart. London:
Burns & Oates,
WE are glad to notice the appearance of a new edition of this
truly excellent little book. The fact of its having run through two
editions within a comparatively short period of time is an evidence of
Notices of Books. 763
how its worth is appreciated by the public. Its aim is to discuss the
great fundamental principles that underlie all physical science and to
express in terms as little technical as may be the course and outcome
of recent discussions on the relations between the external and visible
world and the human mind. The book may be divided into four
parts : the first treats of the certainty of human knowledge, its
criterion and motives ; the second of the knowledge which we can
acquire of the external world ; the third of the knowledge of universal
and necessary truths ; and the fourth shows that the human mind
created as it is with its powers of abstraction and deduction is
capable of rising from the knowledge of the creature to that of the
Creator, and of recognising in the works of creation the impress of
the Divine Intellect, which it can rationally infer to be the Great
First Cause of all things. The subject-matter which covers a wide
and interesting field of discussion is treated throughout in the form
of a dialogue between Maxwell and Frankland, the former of whom
is always sure to have in the end the best of the argument on each
of the many points discussed, and to lead his sceptical companion by
the force of acute and logical reading to the admission of the truth.
The following brief dialogue on the Darwinian theory will give
some idea of the style of reasoning pursued throughout the book :
F. Do you accept the Darwinian doctrine on that subject (the
origin of man) ?
M. To tell you the truth I think it is an absurd doctrine.
F. That is a strange thing to say considering the number of
eminent men who support it, and their full competence to judge in
all matters of physical science.
M. That is just it. They are competent in physical science, but
they are lamentably deficient in philosophy and not a few grasp it
as a polemical weapon. It is held with passion and propagated with
enthusiasm, for it has social and political consequences, the initial
stages of which are agreeable to some of its advocates.
F. But man's body is very like an ape's, and the process of his
development is similar to that of all beasts ....
M. Quite true .... But what of all that ? The mind of
man seems to differ not in degree but in kind from the psychical
faculty of other animals, and therefore I do not see how we could
ever have been evolved from them. We have seen the essential
differences between a moral judgment and any aggregate of feeling,,
and between an intellectual conception (such as ' truth,' ' number,"
* justice ') and any other aggregate of feelings .... T. G.
764 Notices of Books.
STUDIES OF FAMILY LIFE. By C. S. Devas. London :
Burns & Gates.
ON nothing perhaps does human happiness so largely depend as on
the laws that govern family life. These laws vary very much with
circumstances of time, place and religion. They form an important
part of the social history of every people ; and therefore they have
been discussed over and over again in periodicals, pamphlets and
books. They had not, however, until quite recently, been collected
in any convenient volume. The general reading public were thus
prevented from possessing a full and connected knowledge of the
many and strangely different systems of family life that have existed
at other times and in other countries. That want is no longer felt,
as it is supplied by one who has already done so much for social
science. Mr. Devas in his Studies of Family Life has collected,
arranged and set forth in his own words materials drawn from many
sources of reliable information. He discusses the chief features in
each system of Family Life, viz., the relations between men and
women, between parents and their children, between brothers and
sisters and other collaterals. The different systems of family life
are arranged in three principal groups, viz., the Fore-Christian,
Christian, and After-Christian. The treatment of this subject is
most orderly and pleasing throughout. There is one point that is
brought home with special force to the reader of this book, viz., the
superior excellence of the gospel law that forms the constitution of
the Christian family, and the aptitude of that law to foster and
promote concord, peace and happiness among its members. The
author pays a well-merited tribute to the social virtue of the Irish
people, while he draws a very sad picture indeed of the condition of
social life among the middle and lower classes in England. History
supplies a pretty exact parallel to the latter in the case of the Romans
shortly before the downfall of their empire. They paid the penalty
due to their general immolation of social virtue. Who can say that
another great empire will not soon pay a like penalty for a like
cause ?
THE ALLEGED BULL OF POPE ADRIAN iv. A Lecture
delivered by the Rev. P. A. Yorke., C.C. Dublin :
M. H. Gill & Son,
FEW documents ancient or modern have given rise to more con-
troversy than the so-called Bull of England's only Pope granting to
Henry II. the right to invade Ireland. While there never have been
Notices of Books. 765
wanting many able writers to deny the authenticity of the Bull, those
who have the opposite view are still more numerous. And among
the latter are to be found not a few who were forced by what they
considered the strength of evidence to admit what they would
otherwise fain deny. The opinion, however, of the former lias, \ve
are glad to observe, received strong confirmation from recent
researches made in the Vatican archives. The result of these
researches, together with the other arguments usually advanced
against the authenticity of the Bull, were fully developed by Fr. Yorke
in the interesting lecture recently delivered by him in the lecture hall
of the Catholic Commercial Club. The Lecture is published in
pamphlet form.
The following extract showing the view which the Irish people
have ever been inclined to take of the alleged Bull will serve as a
specimen of Father Yorke's instructive lecture. "The silence of all
our annalists during the twelfth century concerning any grant of this
country to King Henry is singularly striking. Indeed the Irish
nation, as if instinctively, shrunk from accepting the alleged Bull as
genuine, and unhesitatingly pronounced it a forgery. Quite recently
a document of the fourteenth century was found in the Roman archives
in connection with the Pontificate of Pope John XXII., which throws
a flood of light on this controversy. In the year 1325 William de
Nottingham, Lord Justiciary. Canon and Precentor of St. Patrick's
Cathedral, Dublin, forwarded to the Holy See a relatio, or an account
of religious affairs in Ireland. In this important document, as usual,
the Irish are accused of very many crimes, among which is insidiously
introduced the rejection of the alleged Bulls of Adrian and
Alexander. I give the very words : ' Asserentes etiam Doininum
Regem Angliae ex falsa suggestione et ex falsis bullis terram Hilerniae
in Dvminium impetrasse ac communiter hoc tenentes.'"
ST. JOSEPH'S ADVOCATE.
THIS American Quarterly, now in the fourth year of its existence,
is the organ of St. Joseph's Foreign Missionary Society, founded in
the interests, educational and religious, of the Catholic coloured
people throughout the world. For the negro population of America
in particular, the Catholic Church possesses special attractions : they
enjoy before her altars a liberty and an equality with their more
favoured fellow-man denied to them in the churches of the Protestant
sects. Naturally enough then, the reports issued by this Society are
of a most cheering character, and the movement has proved such a
766 Notices of Books.
thorough success that a similar one has been set on foot by the '
Methodists and Episcopalians in the United States.
This little organ of the Society is well printed, copiously
illustrated, and sold at a very low price. It does not confine itself
to forwarding Missionary work among the negroes, but also watches
jealously everything that may affect their temporal interests. Con-
sequently we find in its pages articles on the Soudan War and on the
Presidential elections viewed from a negro standpoint, as well as
interesting accounts of the spread of the faith among the heathens.
We should be glad to see " St. Joseph's Advocate " getting the wide
circulation it so well deserves.
DE IMITATIONE CHRISTI. Tornaci Nerviorum. Typ. Soc. S.
Joannis Evang. Desclec, Lefebvre et Soc.
THIS neat little Latin edition of the Imitation of Christ is specially
suited for the use of ecclesiastical students and priests. It is needless
to say that after the inspired word of God there is no book which we
ought to read so often and so carefully as the Imitation. It is only
by reflection and study that we can clearly understand, and fully
appreciate the wondrous depth of thought and beauty of expression
it contains. To estimate it at its full value we must put in practice
the monition of Cardinal Henrignez: " Lege, non cursive et festin-
anter, sed magna cum attentione, et nonnihil morae versiculis inter-
serendo : quaeque te magis respiciunt aut mo vent, relegere velim."
Consequently we should say that for those who can do so, it would
be an advantage to read the Imitation in Latin, for if we read it in
English we are inclined to pass on without giving due consideration
to what we read, and thus lose much of the spiritual profit we might
derive from its study.
MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR, COLLECTED FROM
DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL WRITERS AND SUITED FOR THE PRAC-
TICE CALLED " QUARTER OF AN HOUR'S SOLITUDE." This
book is modernized and revised by Rev. R. Baxter, S. J.,
and again revised and republished by Rev. P. Neale, S. J.
THESE Meditations were written more than two-hundred \ears
ago, at a time when Catholics were cruelly persecuted in these
kingdoms. They thus possess an historical interest for us, as we
know that they served to strengthen and encourage our forefathers
in their faith and in their desire to transmit to us that priceless
Notices of Books. 767
treasure. The intrinsic merit of the work is very great on account
of the number and variety of the meditations and the really solid
matter they contain. We have meditations on the principal events
in our Lord's life, on the chief points of his doctrine, and a really
fine series of well arranged meditations on His miracles and parable?.
We think the Rov, P. Neale has done a true service to religion by
republishing this work in so superior a manner. It is printed and
published by Messrs. Benziger Brothers, IX ew York, and we think it
does their publishing department great credit. A.B.
1794: A TALE OF THE TERROR. From the French of
M. Charles D'Hericault. By Mrs. Cashel Hoey.
THIS Tale of the Terror purposes, at least indirectly, to give an
outline of the condition of Paris during what we may regard as the
worst stage of the First Revolution. The writer, M. C. D'Hericault, is
a writer of repute among men of letters in France. His book is
interesting and lively, and presents a fairly vivid picture of Paris
during part of the Reign of Terror. It is written in a good spirit,
and is safe and instructive reading, but not heavy or dull as instructive
reading sometimes is. In our opinion it suffers by comparison with
a "Tale of Two Cities," a work chiefly on the same subject.
The translation is really so good that -it looks not at all like a
translation ; but still we may remark that the following construction
is a good type of what should not be found in any work, either original
or translated: "Whom the proprietor is nobody knows" (page 53);
"I know whom she is that he loves " (page 170).
The book is published by M. H. Gill & Son, and we regard the
type as particularly good, but we cannot say the same of the binding.
A. B.
THE O'CoNNELL PRESS POPULAR LIBRARY. Dublin :
M. H. Gill & Son,
ON IRISH AFFAIRS. By Edmund Burke.
POEMS BY GERALD GRIFFIN.
THE recent additions to the O'Connell Press greatly enhance the
worth and attractiveness of the collection.
What book can be more timely in these days, when every one is
interested in the study of the Irish political question, than a judicious
selection from the writings of the first and most eloquent of political
philosophers on Irish affairs ?
And who will not welcome a neat, well-printed handy collection
of the Poems of Gerald Griffin at the cost of the merest trifle ?
768 Notices of Books.
We are really amazed how these admirably printed books of about
150 pages can be sold for threepence each.
The O'Connell Press Library now comprises, in addition to these
we have noticed, Mangan's Poems, Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield,.
and Moore's Irish Melodies.
THE AVE MARIA MAGAZINE.
WE have received further numbers of the " Ave Maria," and we
need merely state that their contents varied, interesting, and
instructive fully verify the very high opinion we had already
formed and expressed concerning this excellent periodical.
THE FOLLOWING OF CHRIST. By John Tauler. Translated
by J. R. Morell. London : Burns & Gates.
AMONG the preachers and spiritual writers of the fourteenth
century, the famous German Dominican Tauler holds a high place.
He belongs to that well known school of mystical theology that
produced such men as Thomas a Kempis, Suss, Ruyshrock, Sense and
others. He is known to English readers chiefly through his " Life
and Times," translated by Susannah Wiukworth. One of his best
works is the " Following of Christ," which has been recently " done
into English" by J. R. Morell. It " teacheth how a man should
follow the poor life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and how a man should
live inwardly, and how he should come to true right perfection, and
teacheth sundry lovely differences of God's truth." Those who do
not understand the German language, which Tauler spoke and wrote,
will welcome this English version of a little treatise that is replete
with the gems of high spiritual life. The style of the translation is
antiquated and in some parts stiff. We cannot but think that it
would have been much improved had a more modern style been
adopted without using either the " dulcet style of Gibbon" or " the
polished propriety of Macaulay." T. G.
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
SEPTEMBER, 1886.
THEOLOGICAL STUDIES BY CORRESPONDENCE.
IN the Saturday Review some eighteen months ago
there appeared an account of a work then recently
published by the learned Benedictine, Cardinal Pitra. The
critic, while freely acknowledging the industry and learning
of the eminent author, in the weil-known style of that
Review's treatment of Catholic topics, warned his readers
that no such scholarship, nor indeed scholarship of any kind,
must be looked for among the rank and file of the Catholic
clergy. As a rule, he had found they were unconscious that
it was desirable or even expected that they should bo
students ; and in support of his thesis he proceeded to tell a
story to the following effect : An ecclesiastical student had
just completed his course, and taken his degrees by public
thesis with considerable distinction. Naturally feeling
interested in the future of a young man of such apparent
promise, a friend ventured to ask what particular branch
of ecclesiastical studies the young priest proposed to pursue
when he left College " Studies !" he replied with evident
astonishment. " Why should I study 1 Have I not passed
all my examinations ?"
Whatever may be the case with individuals, the reproach,
applied to the clergy as a body, is certainly undeserved. There
is no lack among them at least of good intentions, which it
ia of course the point of the story to deny. Indeed it may
be safely affirmed that few, if any, priests leave College
VOL. VII. 3 C
770 Theological Studies ly Correspondence.
without taking a definite resolution not to abandon the
studies in which the last years of preparation for their sacred
calling have been spent. The necessity of an accurate and
readily available acquaintance with the principles of theology,
for the due discharge of the duties of the priesthood, for
preaching, for instructions, for the administration of the
Sacraments ; the nature of this science itself, depending as
it does not only on a few first principles, easily known from
reason or revelation, but also, in some departments at least,
on a multiplicity of distinctions, enactments and decisions,
.and constantly needing to be readjusted to the varying
circumstances of every age; the deplorable waste of time
.and loss of ecclesiastical spirit almost necessarily resulting
from the neglect by a priest of the studies proper to his
order these and the like considerations have been so
frequently urged by superiors, by spiritual writers, and at
times of Retreat, that the newly ordained priest who can
resist their cumulative force must be singularly callous and
self-confident. We may take it, then, that as a rule the
young priest resolves to combine a certain amount of reading
with the active duties of his missionary career.
But what is the practical result of this almost universal
good purpose ? What in point of fact occurs ? The answer
to such an inquiry would be, it is to be feared, disappointing
and discouraging in many cases. What happens too often
would be found to be pretty much as follows: For the
first few years, perhaps, there is a fair amount of application
to subjects having an immediate bearing on the ordinary
duties of a priest. By the time that a practical knowledge
of the principal functions of the sacred ministry has been
acquired, such knowledge as is to be obtained from books,
appearing less necessary, is less anxiously sought after. By
the more steadfast, theological reading is still kept up to a
fair extent, but of an unsystematic and desultory kind, the
; student flitting from treatise to treatise, from author to
author, following the lead of the last new work appearing or
topic becoming current. But the last stage in the falling
away from good purposes has not yet been reached. In
course of time theological subjects begin to lose their
Theological Studies by Correspondence. 771
interest, and the mind its pOAver of fixing its attention on
and grasping problems which in College days were its daily
bread. And then it is not doubtful that in no long time they
will be practically discontinued, except perhaps so far as the
preparation of a sermon or a conference case may compel an
occasional reference to such sources of information.
The anxious and wearisome nature of a priest's daily
labours, in many instances no doubt, puts it out of the
question for him to give his mind to considerations largely
speculative and abstract. But even after making this admis-
sion in the most liberal way, and freely granting that it
accounts satisfactorily for the larger proportion of the
defaulters, it cannot be doubted that a considerable number
still remains to be accounted for. How comes it that
professional studies are not pursued by the latter with
that persevering earnestness and success that befit their
responsible office ? A prescription by a physician, an
operation by a surgeon, a deed by an attorney, an opinion
or pleading by counsel, a painting by an artist, a plan by an
architect these things differ not in degree only, but in kind,
from the same things by non-professional hands, A much
greater difference should be apparent between the handling
of a theological topic by an average preacher, and the
treatment which it might be expected to receive at the
hands of an intelligent Catholic layman ? When this is not
the case, is it not because the particular clergyman fails to
keep up his professional studies?
Assuming this neglect to be a fact, what is its cause ? In
a certain number of cases no doubt it is due to want of
time. But to what is it attributable in the instances for
which this plea cannot honestly be put in? Surely not
to want of good intentions, or of repeated efforts ? The
young priest started with a fixed determination to pursue his
studies ; and for some years perhaps he struggled manfully
to be true to his resolve. But he struggled in vain ; the
current of adverse circumstances was too strong for him ; he
had to give in at last, and allow himself to drift with the
.stream. But why, we may ask ? The belief which I venture
to express is this : he failed mainly because his resolution
772 Theological Studies l>y Correspondence.
was too vague and general. He meant to work at something*
at sometime, and naturally enough he never worked at any-
thing at any time. What he wanted was an urgent motive
determining him to study this, and not that ; and now, and
not then. In other words, he failed because he had no
definite subject to work at, and no definite object to work for.
A general desire of knowledge and of self-improvement was
insufficient to surmount a natural mutability of purpose, and
the many obstacles to study presented by an active life.
The purpose of this paper is to inquire whether this
defect could not, to some extent at least be remedied by the
establishment of a system of Theological Studies by Corres-
pondence, which will presently be described. The idea was
suggested by a system of secular studies, which has been
carried on in England for some years with marked success,
under the title of University Correspondence Classes. The
aim of this institution is thus described in its prospectus :
" The University Correspondence Classes were established with a
view to affording to those who are unable to attend College Lectures,
a means of obtaining by Correspondence Education from competent
men, mostly of high University position."
The staff by which this work is undertaken consists of
thirty-one Tutors, seven of whom, with their secretary, form
a Committee of Management. This tutorial body includes
men who hold severally the degrees of Bachelor and Master
of Arts, Bachelor of Common Law, Bachelor and Doctor of
Laws, Bachelor and Doctor of Medicine, Bachelor and Doctor
of Science, &c., degrees which are contributed by the various
Universities in something like the following proportion:
London, 17 ; Cambridge, 8 ; Oxford, 4 ; Dublin, 2.
The working of the system is thus described in the
prospectus :
" A paper is set once a fortnight by each Tutor on a course of
reading which has been previously specified for that period, and the
pupils' answers, which should be received not later than the third day
after the questions have been received by the pupil, are corrected by
the Tutor. Each paper takes not less than two hours to answer. A
course of papers in any subject embraces all that is necessary to pass
the Examination Every pupil on joining the Classes is
furnished with directions for study, and with a list of the books
recommended Pupils are encouraged within reasonable
limits to ask questions on difficult points that arise in their study."
Theological Studies l>y Correspondence. 773
This work is of course carried on entirely through the agency
of the post; and the secretary informs me that the classes
have students in all parts of the Three Kingdoms, and even
on the Continent, and in America, and the Colonies.
As a sample of the results obtained, the following figures
from last year's Report may be quoted. The students of
these classes secured in 1885 some 70 successful examinations
viz., at Cambridge Higher Local, 13 (all women) ; at the
London University, Intermediate Law, 3 ; Matriculation 6 ;
Intermediate Arts, 12 ; Bachelor of Arts, 24 ; Preliminary
'Science, 2 ; Intermediate Medicine, 2 ; Intermediate Science,
4 ; Bachelor of Science 4.
The question we have now to consider is, whether the
correspondence system is applicable to the study of Theology.
On the face of it, a plan which has succeeded so well with
secular subjects ought, to be equally successful with theo-
logical studies. But, before entering into the question .itself,
it is of the utmost importance to have it constantly borne in
mind, that what is sought is not a system of studies for
professed students, or for literary men, whose lives are spent
over their books. There will be abundant scope for their
learning and industry in the work of directing the studies
which the project seeks to promote. The question is raised
solely in the interest of the hard-worked missionary priest,
who cannot give more than a few hours a week to theological
studies, and who feels the want of something to give a
definite aim to his reading to make it regular and systematic,
to help him to persevere in it, and to provide him with an
independent and trustworthy test of its value. I believe that
the correspondence system would be found to confer these
advantages.
Obviously, the first element of success is to secure the
services of a staff of Tutors, whose theological attainments
shall be admittedly of a high order. No man cares to be
taught by, or expects to learn, from his equals in knowledge.
But how is such a staff to be obtained ? I venture to suggest
with the utmost diffidence, and with many apologies if the
suggestion is an unbecoming one, that this Review should
add to the many and valuable services in the cause of
774 Theological Studies ]>y Correspondence.
Ecclesiastical learning, for which the clergy of these king-
doms are indebted to it, the signal service, as I account it, of
undertaking the organisation and management of this system
of studies which I am advocating. At first sight, no doubt,,
the proposal seems unworkable enough ; but I am sanguine
that when it has been explained in detail, it will present a
more practicable appearance.
For the sake of illustration, let it be supposed that the
Editor and staff of the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD have
consented to inaugurate a course of theological studies by '
correspondence at the beginning of next year. What would
happen, I conceive, would be something of this sort. The
fact that such a project was in contemplation would be
announced as soon as possible ; and intending students would
be invited to send in their names, and the fees for the course
(about which more will be stated presently) to the Secretary.
In the December number it would be stated what treatise it
was proposed to take, and what author had been chosen as
the text book. A certain portion of the author would be
assigned as the work to be prepared for the first paper, care
being taken that the amount should not exceed what it
might reasonably be supposed a priest on the mission could
get through in the time, (a month), without prejudice to his
other duties. In the January number a series of questions
would be set, ranging over the whole of the work prepared,
and the students would be desired to send in their papers
within (say) a week of the time at which the questions were
received. These papers would be revised and annotated by
the Tutors, and returned to the writers. Appended to the
questions for each paper, there would be a notification of the
work to be done in preparation for the next ; and ten such
papers might be given in the course of the year, two months
being left free for vacation.
"An excellent scheme, no doubt," it maybe said, " if it
could be got to work." But assuming that the proposal
meets with wide acceptance, and that the students become
numerous, is it credible that the staff of this Review can
undertake the work of setting and revising perhaps many
hundreds of papers every month? The objection is a natural
Theological Studies ly Correspondence. 775-
one, and affords an opportunity for a fuller explanation.
The well-known intimate relations between the IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD and the most important seat of
Ecclesiastical learning in these Kingdoms suggested the idea
that an application to that Review in the first instance, was
the readiest means of obtaining a nucleus of the organisation
which will be required. But the co-operation of other learned
men need not be excluded. Indeed, the whole idea being,
that the work should be carried on through the agency of
the post, there is no reason why the services of any theologian
in the Three Kingdoms should not be enlisted; and I believe
that if the project were once announced, many men of solid
and matured learning, whose names would command respect,
having a certain amount of leisure, would be both willing
and glad to .devote it to such a work. A Committee of
organization and management would obviously be a matter
of prime necessity, and that is precisely the task which I
propose that this Review should undertake. It may be worth
while to mention that this proposal is not altogether without
precedent. The Avvisatore Ecclesiastico of Savona, which
appears once a fortnight, proposes in each issue three theo-
logical cases for discussion. In a subsequent number the
cases are reprinted, and to each is appended, with the name
of the writer, one of the solutions received, which to the
editor appears most satisfactory. The fact that the number
of the replies thus sent in is steadily on the increase (in
1885 about 95, in 1886 about 165), seems to indicate that the
practice commends itself to the judgments of subscribers.
Another point which appears to me essential to the
success of the scheme is this. Both the work done by the
tutors, and the benefit derived by the students should be paid
for. What costs little or nothing is commonly estimated at
its price. The chief aim of the correspondence scheme is to
make spasmodic and intermittent work steady and continuous.
How can it be expected that tutors will go on setting and
revising papers if they receive no acknowledgment of their
labours, beyond a few vague words of thanks ? The accept-
ance of a fee, however small, at once changes the nature
of a transaction. It becomes a matter of business and
776 Theological Studies by Correspondence.
of duty. Not that fees will in any appreciable degree
induce scholars to take up the work. But every man
likes to have tangible proof that his labours are valued.
I remember being told by one who had heard the remark,
that Mr. Gladstone expressed himself as feeling a particular
satisfaction in receiving a cheque for 5, for an article which
he had contributed to one of the periodicals and this at a
time when his salary as Prime Minister and Secretary for
Foreign Affairs was some 7,500 a-year. The same principle
will operate not less beneficially on the students. They are
anxious to work, but trifles are constantly cropping up to
frustrate their good intentions. A trifle thrown into the
other side of the scale will preserve the balance. In other
words, the probabilities are that a man who has paid his
money for a certain object is more likely to try and get his
money's worth out of that object, than he who got it for
nothing. That a fee of one guinea the amount is a matter
of detail be paid for such a course of papers as has been
described is what I venture to suggest. A sum rather less
than is spent ungrudgingly enough every year on a daily
paper ought not, one would suppose, to appear excessive for
such an object.
I have spoken of the correspondence system only in con-
nection with the study of theology ; but there is no reason
why it should not be applied to the whole cycle of Ecclesiastical
studies to Canon Law, Scripture, Church History, Patrology
or Liturgy ; or why by its aid the clergy should not cultivate
whatever branch of sacred knowledge they have need of or
taste for, and thus find in it an effectual instrument for the
promotion of solid and varied learning within their ranks.
JAMES CONNELLY.
[We beg to thank Father Connelly for his suggestive essay. The
project will have our best consideration. ED. I. E. It.]
< <
THE BLESSED EUCHARIST AND "FIRST GRACE."
NO Catholic has ever held that the primary and direct
intention of our Divine Lord in instituting the Blessed
Eucharist was to supply man with a means to which, in the
exercise of a choice between it and Penance, he might freely
have recourse in order to become freed from mortal sin.
This would involve the teaching of Luther, who maintained
" primarium hujus Coenae effectum esse, ut graviora quaeque
scelera remittat." Nor did Luther shrink from accepting the
logical deduction from this teaching ; for he also maintained
that the " Optima dispositio non nisi ea est, qua pessime es
dispositus ; et, e contrario, tune pessime es dispositus, quando
optime es dispositus." Turning away from those revolting
enormities, we know that the teaching of the Catholic Church
is briefly this : (1) The Blessed Eucharist is a Sacramentum
Vivorum specifically instituted for the spiritual nourishment
.and sustainment of a soul that is pure, or purified from,
mortal sin ; and (2) that anyone who, " conscientiam peccati
mortalis habens," dares to receive this sacrament, is, per se
and presumably, guilty of an enormous sin of sacrilege.
II. While this is the teaching of Catholic theologians
universally and is, indeed, a dogma of Catholic Faith
many of them maintain that there may be instances in which
this Sacrament can be received, not alone without sacrilege,
but with salutary effect, although, previously to its reception,
the mortal sin had not been de facto removed. In other
words they affirm that, in certain very possible contingencies,
this Sacrament may confer First Grace not indeed in the
accomplishment of its ordinary and established function, but
by the efficacy of its intrinsic virtue applied, though outside
its normal sphere, to a sufficiently receptive subject. Take
for example the case of a man in mortal sin who receives
Holy Communion, erroneously but invincibly believing that
he has been absolved, whereas, in point of fact, he has not
received absolution, solely owing to the want of jurisdiction
on the part of the confessor, or " ex confessoris malitia." For
finch, a man, they say, the Sacrament pro due QS prima gratia
778 The Blessed Eucharist and "First Graced
the sin having been, ex hypotliesi, retracted, and all affection
for it laid aside, in the act of supernatural attrition by which
he had disposed himself for Penance. It is on this case that
the thesis is usually discussed ; but those who claim for the
Sacrament the conferring of fir*t grace here, extend the con-
tention to other cases as well namely, when the mortal sin
has been inculpably and irrevocably forgotten when, from
any cause, the communicant is not technically ''conscious"
of it; and when the communicant, "peccati lethalis sibi
conscius, justa ad Communionem necessitate urgetur, neque
interim earn, qua sola peccatum deleri potest, contritionem
habet." In this last case, the " inopia confessoris " must be
invariably associated with the pressure of a truly grave and
urgent necessity.
III. Concilia, notwithstanding all his stern and impatient
rigour, adopts this view, adding that it is the " communis
seiitentia cum S. Thoma." " Nommlli," Collet writes,
" opinionem hanc adeo pro certa habent et indubitata, ut in
contrariam acriter iiivehantur ; sed minus recte, cum ex adverse
iiec improbabilibus de causis, pugnent viri graves." De
Lugo says that " tota haec controversianonexcedittermiiios
opinionis probabilis " which is obviously true, since Saint
Bonaventure, Vasquez, De Lugo, Tournely and many others,
" negant in universum Eucharistiam [posse] causare per se,
vel per accidens, primam gratiam in aliquo casu." Benedict
XIV. writes : " Controversia est, et res quae unice a divina
institutione pendet, nobis hactenus per Ecclesiam iion mani-
festata." The weight of extrinsic authority, however, and
apparently at least the weight of intrinsic evidence sustain
the affirmative and more merciful opinion ; for, amongst its
supporters are St. Thomas, St. Antoninus, Cardinal Bellarmine,
Suarez, St. Liguori, " aliique plures." It is fair to add that
Suarez, referring to the Sacramenta Vivorum generally,
closes his argument thus : " In. caeteris, praeter Extremam
Unctionem, id soluni habetur ex pia et probabili conjectura."
IV. In the absence of all formal and dogmatic teaching,
we naturally try to ascertain what may be the sensus
communis fidelium prepared to recognise in it the unmis-
takable, though undefined, sentiment and voice of the
The Blessed Encharixt and "First Grace." 779-
Church. Tliat voice is heard speaking -with no uncertain
sound, most especially in the authorized prayers of the
Sacred Liturgy : for such prayers, echoed without inter-
mission from end to end of the earth, bear testimony to the
universal belief, and give expression to the well-founded
hopes of the people of God. Manifestly, prayers so authorized
could not involve an error in divine faith; nor is it less:
manifest that the Church intended that these prayers should
be interpreted in the plain and obvious signification of their
words, for otherwise they could not fail to mislead the vast
majority of those who, by the counsel of the Church, daily
recite them. Now, amongst the prayers thus universally
adopted, and which we find inserted "with approbation" in
all our Missals and Breviaries, and also in very many Manuals
of Devotion for Lay use, the Faithful are instructed to
supplicate while preparing to receive the Blessed Sacra-
ment that the " Holy Communion may become for them the
' peccatorum remissio,' ' delictorum perfecta purgatio,'
' ablutio scelerum,' " c. and these words, borrowed from,
the terminology of theologians, designate no merely venial
offences. Besides : the remission of venial sin, of temporal
punishment, c., forms the object of other portions of the-
same prayers. The Faithful are also taught to express most
confident hope that, by Holy Communion, they shall "Corpori
Christi mystico incorporari, et inter ejus membra connumerari "
although they approach it " tanquam infirmi, immundi, coeci,
pauperes, egeni " all which indicate a spiritual condition
which those for whom the prayers were formulated would
most naturally, almost necessarily, interpret as implying, at
the very least, the possible presence of mortal sin. So alsa
in the Canon of the Mass, the " dimitte nobis " of the Lord'&
Prayer ; the nervous and anxious appeal to the " Agnus Dei
qui tollit peccata mundi ;" and, as a still more immediate
preparation for the Holy Communion, the tearful supplication
"Perceptio Corporis quod indignus sumere praesumo non
proveniat in judicium et condemnationem, sed . . . prosit ad.
tutamentum mentis et corporis, et ad medelam percipiendam"
The words of these thrice-consecrated prayers, read as.
the simple faithful read them, seem to give no doubtful
780 The Blessed Eucharist and "First Grace."
guarantee that such sins as either need not or can not be
" submitted to the keys," are remissible by the Sacrament of
the Blessed Eucharist. The very allusion in the last mentioned
prayer to that " perceptio " which, St. Paul tells us, draws
-down judgment and condemnation, unequivocally suggests
and justifies the inference that the " perceptio " of the Mass
may create what Bellarmine calls a " noii-indignitas " in the
communicant, and end by supplying a " tutamentum " for
soul and body, together with a " healing " of his spiritual
wounds. It would, indeed, seem unreasonable to doubt that
these liturgical prayers were composed and accepted under
the conviction that the receiving of the Blessed Eucharist may
release man from the bondage of mortal sin, in some not
impossible contingencies.
V. These contingencies, it must be remembered, are
(1) invincible forgetfulness of the sin ; (2) an unwavering
though false belief that the sin has been remitted; or (3) the
possession of mere attrition, with which alone, in the absence
of a " copia confessarii," some uncontrollable necessity con-
strains one to communicate. In such possible though rare
circumstances, the communicant would seem to have satisfied
all the conditions which St. Paul requires, in order that the
Blessed Sacrament may be received with its abundant fruit.
" Probet autem seipsum homo, et sic de pane illo edat.'
" Probet," says A. Lapide, " hoc est, se examinet num. aptus
sit et digne dispositus ad tanta mysteria . . . Non examinet
an habeat fidem (uti vult Calvinus) sed an sibi sit conscius
alicujus peccati, maxime mortalis, e. gr. ebrietatis ac superbiae,
ivfci dixit v. 21." " Haec probatio," writes Collet, " in eo sita
est, ut quis conscientiam suam diligenter examinet, ut
peccata quaecumque sua detestetur ; ut insuper ea, quorum
conscius est, Ecclesiae clavibus subjiciat." Both A. Lapide and
Collet merely paraphrase the words of the Holy Council of
Trent (Sess. xiii., c. vii.) : " Probet seipsum homo. Ecclesiastica
autem consuetude declarat earn probationem necessarian!
esse, ut nuUus sibi conscius peccati mortalis, quantumvis sibi
contritus videatur, absque praemissa Sacramentali Confessione
ad Sacram Eucharistiam accedere debeat : quod a Christianis
-omnibus, etiam ab iis sacerdotibus quibus ex officio incu
The Blessed Eucharist and " First Grace.' 781
biierit eelebrare, haec Sancta Synodus perpetuo servandum
esse decrevit, modo non desit illis copia confessoris." The
Holy Council thus determines for us the subject-matter of the
" probation " required by St. Paul, and thereby enables us to
decide that when a sufficiently diligent examination of con-
science discovers no mortal sin as then actually existing in
the soul, the intending communicant is qualified to accept
the invitation of the Apostle : " et sic de pane illo edere."
But all this is, ex hypothesi, verified in these cases at least in
which all consciousness of sin is lost, or the sin is reasonably
believed to have been remitted through Sacramental absolu-
tion or perfect contrition. In perfect concord with this is the
Canon in which the same Holy, Council pronounces anathema
011 the man who would hold " praecipuum fructum SS.
Eucharistiae esse remissionem peccatorum." The efficacy of
the Sacrament, in the present instance, is admittedly secondary
and abnormal a conjuncture which the Fathers of the
Council would seem to have had vividly before their minds,
when employing the otherwise redundant " praecipuum."
When we describe an effect as not being primary, we
distinctly and decidedly insinuate that it may come adventi-
tiously, and is, at the very least, possible.
VI. But the Council of Trent places in our hands a much
stronger and more direct argument when it defines (Sess. vii.,
c. v.) "Sacramenta novae legis continere gratiam quam
significant, et gratiam ipsam non ponentibus obicein conferred
At the first blush this Canon would seem to afford incontro-
vertible proof that the Blessed Sacrament, by the fact of
being one of the Sacraments of the New Law, confers
sanctifying grace on all who do not, by a positive act done at
the moment of the reception of the Sacrament, " place " some
obstacle calculated to frustrate its fruitfulness. That it
" contains," and is the very fountain-head of sanctifying
grace, is beyond question ; and the only controversy can
regard the possibility of its conferring that grace on certain
particular subjects, whose mortal sin has not been previously
removed, in the usual course, by Penance. Is then the actual
existence of mortal sin, in all circumstances, a bar and
hindrance to the reception of those graces which the Sacra-
782
ments contain ? Unquestionably it is not. On the contrary,
the Sacraments of Baptism, and Penance presuppose the
presence of sin, for the virtue of those Sacraments is directly
exercised in its removal. Nor does it alter the case that this
removal is effected by first grace, for De Lugo himself admits
with Suarez and it cannot be denied that " gratia prima
et augmentum gratiae suiit effectus ejusdem rationis quoad
entitatem" which means that, though the graces which
the Sacraments produce may differ as to quantity and volume,
they are, essentially, larger or smaller measures of the same
Divine gift. " Gratia sanctificaris," says Franzelin (p. 29(5),
~" quae confertur per Sacramenta, est quidem in iis omnibus
ejusdem rationis ontologicae." First grace and second grace
are not, like the "sufficient" and "efficacious" graces of
Thomism, two essentially distinct creations, neither of which
-can ever become the other : they are precisely the same
benefaction conveyed through different media. Obviously,
then, there is nothing in the intrinsic nature of this sanctify-
ing grace which repels it from the soul that has not yet been
liberated from mortal sin ; for otherwise the Sacraments of
Penance and Baptism could never produce fruit. Neither
does there seem to be anything on the part of the communi-
cant in question that should make the actual and operative
reception of the grace impossible. The mere presence of
mortal sin cannot do so, as we have seen; and, for the rest,
the man whose case we are considering has, as we assume,
dismissed from his soul all affection, for mortal sin : he is,
besides, either invincibly unconscious of its actual existence,
or has employed all his available efforts to become dutifully
repentant and reconciled with God. Fecit quod in se est, et
tali Deus non denegat gratiam. He cannot be counted
amongst the ponentibus obicem ; the only acts he now
" places " are acts supernaturally good, and such can never
be regarded as repellent of sanctifying grace. Assuredly it
was not without reflection that the Holy Council has said
""lion ponentibus" rather than " non a/erentibus obicem;"
and this is why the subject under consideration may be
legitimately said to have a receptivity for the sanctifying
grace, which the Sacrament conferred upon him undoubtedly
The Blessed Eucharist and "First Graced 783
" contains." The Council could not have meant less than it
said, for it must have seen that inadequate instruction on
this particular point might be disastrously misleading.
VII. No doubt, in all but exceptional instances, the Sacra-
ments confer no other species of grace than that which they
" signify ;" and in the Blessed Eucharist " second grace " is
emphatically symbolized in the forms of bread and wine.
But, in the first place, " si gratia habitualis quae perEuchar-
istiam dari consuevit, spectetur secundum se, tarn de se apta
est ad vivificandum quam ad nutriendum " (Collet) or, as
Suarez has it, " quod sit primus vel secundus gradus gratiae,
parum refert;" since " prima gratia et augmentum gratiae
suut effectus ejusdem rationis quoad entitatem " (De Lugo.)
It is the same sunbeam that enters the dark chamber and the
lightsome one. The truth is, that the distribution of grace
iuto prima and secunda does not arise from any quality in the
grace itself, but is a designation derived from the different
effects which the same grace produces in diversely conditioned
recipients. In the next place, that the Sacraments whose
original function it is to confer jpnma, sometimes confer
.secunda gratia, is a not unfrequent occurrence, as, for example,
when Penance is validly and fruitfully received by a man
who is already in possession of habitual grace. Who, then,
can affirm (especially in view of the indifference to either
effect on the part of grace itself) that the converse action is
impossible ? Again, no one can deny that the outward
symbols of bread and wine were selected by our Divine Lord
to signify the " spirituals animarum cibus, quo alantur et
conforteiitur viventes vita illius qui dixit ' Qui manducat me
et ipse vivit propter me ' " (Trent.) As natural food nourishes
and strengthens the body, so does the Bread of Life nourish
and strengthen the soul. Thus far the analogy is incontro-
vertibly exact, and the points of similarity between spiritual
and corporal life are manifest. But it would be an evident
overstraining of the analogy to insist on thorough parallelism
in all details, and to fancy that we find with De Lugo a
" ratio satis efficax " in the following argument, as given in
the Catechism of Pope St. Pius V. : " Constat quemadmodum
mortuis corporibus naturale alimentum nihil prodest, ita etiam
784 The Blessed Eucharist and "First Grace"
animac, quae spiritu 11011 vivit, sacra mysteria non prodesse."
The analogy on which this argument rests is wholly unwar-
ranted, for there is a broad and essential difference (1)
between spiritual and corporal food, and (2) between a man
who is spiritually dead and one dead corporally. Natural
food is itself dead, and becomes nutritive only by being con-
verted into the substance of him who eats it : Spiritual Food
is Life itself " Panis Vivus " and, instead of being assimil-
ated by us, transforms us into itself. (2) A dead body
retains no principle of life by which it could receive food and
convert it into nutritive matter ; but the man who is spiritually
dead by mortal sin may still be capable of many supernatural
vital acts ; he can elicit acts of Faith, and Hope, and Attrition,
through which his soul is rendered accessible to that spiritual
nourishment which has the intrinsic power of expelling all
the vestiges and germs of death, and of quickening the soul
with a new and perfect vitality.
VIII. De Lugo, and those who think with him, vehemently
protest that as long as the mortal sin remains, so long does
the " Obex Eucharistiae proprius " render the Sacrament
absolutely inoperative. Attrition, they remind us, cannot
remove that sin : neither can the Blessed Sacrament itself,
which can produce no effect whatsoever until, remoto obice, the
grace of the Sacrament has entered the soul. We may say
in reply (1) that as the case of Penance and Baptism estab-
lishes beyond controversy the status peccati does not, de se,
close the soul against the advent of sanctifying grace ; and
(2) that the only obex of the existence of which we have
theological evidence is the insufficiency or absence of a due
retractation of sin, as required by the Divine law. Ordinarily
speaking, the requisite retractation of mortal sin is effected
by Sacramental absolution or perfect contrition. When these
can be had, they are indispensable. But in the case before
us the only possible retractation is that involved in super-
natural attrition, qua posita, the mortal sin recedes before the
approaching Eucharistic grace, precisely as darkness recedes
before the approaching light. As Billuart says : " Sacra-
inentum prius, prioritate naturae ad effectum proprium, tollit
peccatum." By way of parenthesis it is fair to observe,
The Blessed Eucharist and " First Grace.'" 785
that when we see the Sacrament of Penance received
by a man supernaturally attrite banishing mortal sia,
wr are justified in demanding from our opponents positive
and unassailable demonstration that the Sacrament of the
Blessed Eucharist received by a man with like attrition is
le*y powerful than it in circumstances in which the positive
law requiring Penance ceases to bind, by the fact of ceasing
to be possible. The onus probandi rests with them ; and their
difficulty will be enhanced by the consideration that the
Blessed Eucharist contains all the other Sacraments eminenter
that, as theologians universally hold, all the other Sacra-
ments were instituted propter Eucltcvristiam deriving all their
efficacy from it, as radii of light derive their illuminating
power from the great central luminary. Cardinal Franzelin
summarizes the thoughts of the Fathers on this subject in the
following words :
" Eucharistia dicitur Sacramentum Sacramentorum, non solum
ad expriniendam hujus prae caeteris excellentem sanctitatem, sed
miilto inugirf ad declarandam caeterorum ad hoc iiniim relationem et
subordinationem." (De Euch. page 21)7.)
IX. The foregoing arguments, taken separately or
cumulatively, would seem to establish beyond reasonable
criticism that the Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist some-
times may, and does, confer First Grace, and therewith remit
mortal sin ex opere operato. There can be little difficulty in
imagining cases in which, if this doctrine be not true, mortal
sin would he practically irremissible, otherwise than by a
wholly gratuitous and quasi-miraculous communication of
the gift of perfect charity, which no one has a right to expect.
Either supposition would restrict within very narrow limits
the efficacy of the Sacraments as universally accessible
channels of grace, and would seem to divest the Law of
Grace itself of its noblest attribute. There are writers-,
however, of high reputation and not inconsiderable number,
who, notwithstanding the weight of internal evidence and of
external authority by which this opinion is sustained, still see
in the objections of Vasquez, De Lugo and Tournely enough
of force to make our view practically doubtful. They
cannot, on the other hand, admit that the Law of Grace
VOL. VII. 3 D
786 The Blessed Eucharist and " First Grace"
affords no further infallible remedy for mortal sin even in
the irremediable absence of a " copia confessoris " than the
eliciting of an act of perfect charity, shadowed, as the latter
generally is, by countless doubts and difficulties. They, there-
fore, look around amongst the resources by which Our Lord has
brought salvation, on relatively easy conditions, to His
people; and become satisfied that they find a manifest
remedy in the reception of the Blessed Eucharist, operating
with unfailing efficacy in cases like ours, not indeed ex opere
operate, but ex opere operantis. They affirm (as Collet states
it for them) " Sacramentum hoc non remittere mortalia per
se et immediate, sed mediante vera contritione quam impetrat
ejusdem Sacramenti susceptio." Amongst modern theologians
this view is spoken of with much consideration by Bouvier
and Lehmkuhl the latter stating that " praeter haiic
operationem . . . ex opere operato, pro Sacramento SS.
Eucharistiae specialis ratio probabilis habetur cur pie in
Domino confidere possumus, fore, ut Christus Dominus, si
minus ex opere .operato, tamen exoratus ab eo apud quern
personaliter sub speciebus Eucharisticis divertit, gratiam
perfectae charitatis et contritionis concedat, atque ita
hominem a statu peccati in statum justificationis transferat."
And when we recall the invariable absorbing anxiety of our
Lord, during his visible presence among men, to extend
rnercy and forgiveness to all who approached Him some of
them, no doiibt, with dispositions that had not reached
the dignity of perfect charity (as, for example, the mulier
in adulterio apprehensa), we can have little reason to
fear that He will send away without pardon men who
approach Him in this " Sacrament of Love," with souls
purified of all attachment to sin ; who are intensely sorry-
even with the sorrow of attrition, when they have failed to
compass a higher sorrow for their past transgressions ; who
believe that the Sacraments to which they have had dutiful
recourse had brought them pardon ; or who, reluctantly
yielding to an insurmountable necessity, co-operate as best
they can with such graces as He gives, and implore with all
becoming self-abasement, compunction and humility, that the
Sacrament which they are constrained to receive " non
Tin 1 . Blessed Eucharist and " First Grace" 787
proveniat iiijudiciumetcondemnationem, sed, pro suapietate,
prosit illis ad medelam." Very appropriately those writers
quote in their favour the emphatic words of St. Thomas :
"Forte primo uon fuit contritus, sed devote ac reverenter
accedens consequetur per hoc saorainentum gratiam charitatis,
quae contritionem perficiet et remissionem peccati."
X. It makes very little practical difference to the
comimuiicant whether the conferring of First Grace arises
from the direct or from an indirect operation of the
Sacrament ; for those who favour the latter theory describe
that effect as being of infallibly certain occurrence reminding
us that many results produced ex opere operantis are con-
fessedly fixed and unfailing. Nor can our adhering to one
or other opinion lead to any abatement of the homage and
reverence with which the Sacrament should be approached,
for precisely the same dispositions are required in either view.
Obviously, if the remission of his mortal sin and his restoration
to grace be one of the fruits of this Sacrament, the
communicant has no reason to concern himself with the
speculation whether that fruit be the immediate product of
the Sacrament, or come from it adventitiously. That the
fruit is indubitably produced, in one or other of these ways,
seems to be the teaching most commonly accepted by modern
theologians. St. Liguori (L. vi. n. 269) writes unqualifiedly :
" Effectus praecipuus Eucharistae est conferre augmentum
gratiae . . . et aliquando per accidens conferre etiam primam
gratiam, nempe si quis ignorans se esse in peccato mortali, vel
credens habere contritionem, accedit cum sola attritione :
tune de attrito jit contritus. Ita S. Thomas, Salmariticeiises,
cum Scoto, Suarez, et fere communi." It should be also
remembered that those theologians hold quite the same
doctrine regarding all the other Sacramenta Vivorum,
especially Extreme Unction, to which last that effect is
distinctly attributed by St James : " Si in* peccatis sit,
remittentur ei." Hence the wisdom and importance of the
counsel which all those writers give that, before conferring
any of the Sacramenta Vivorum, we should never fail to
require the recipient to make a fervent act of contrition as
the immediate preparation for the Sacrament, in order to
788 Rome in Ruins.
insure through it the blessing of First Grace, if perchance he
does not possess it already. " Etsi enim haec sacramenta
11011 sint instituta ad peccata mortalia remittenda, tamen
gratiam conferunt gratum facientem, et consequenter deleiit
peccata mortalia, si quae inveniant in eo qui non-indigne
accedit : gratia enim simul cum peccato maiiere nullo modo
potest." (Bellarmine.)
C. J. M.
HOME IN RUINS 1885.
E years' work upon the material changes, both con-
structive and destructive, to which the City of Rome,
is doomed, have produced great results ; and five years
absence from the centre of Christendom enables a traveller,
who may be only moderately well-acquainted with its topo-
graphy, to realize such changes more keenly than a resident
in Rome who has watched their progress from day to day.
During that period, plans which could have been scarcely
conceived by an imaginative Minister of Public Works, which
existed (if at all) only on paper, or which were too daring
and even visionary for positive avowal, have been, or are in
course of being, actually executed. On the one hand, partially
or entirely, wide districts of a new city have, as if by magic,
arisen. On the other, partially or entirely, considerable
portions of the .old city have suddenly disappeared. In
the latter case certainly, and perhaps in the former, the
architectural changes effected in the first half of a decade of
years, together with those contemplated in the second half,
are unparalleled in the story of any ancient town of importance
now inhabited by man. Several new quarters, in different
localities and of varied characteristics, have already sprung into
being ; whilst the residue of the city, or large areas of it,
present the appearance, at this moment, of a town either
just recovering from a sharp shock of earthquake, or being
hastily cleared and re-planned after a partial bombardment.
Rome in Ruins. 7S ( .)
Whatever may be a visitor's opinion of the newer districts of
the Eternal City, which are once again being rebuilt, and
rebuilt with surprising celerity, after long centuries of com-
parative desolation, it is hardly too much to say of the older,
as it is undeniably true of the oldest districts within the walls,
that Rome now lies in ruins.
Evidence of the assertion that Rome is in ruins, forces
itself on a stranger's attention in all parts of the town. If
the visitor be walking through the streets his convenience is
less than formerly respected, and even his personal safety is
more than even threatened. If he be driven in the light
" Victorias," which are the comfort of those who use them
(the cost of which, by the way, has risen 25 per cent, of
late), his progress is even more torpid than usual, and he will
be witness of far more than the former average of street
accidents. Both results ensue from one cause. The public
thoroughfares are in possession of the builder and contractor.
In every quarter of Rome, especially near the gates and the
streets leading to them, or in the neighbourhood of modern
improvements, long files of heavily laden carts obstruct all
other wheeled locomotion, and tend to spoil the pleasure of
the pedestrian. These carts are for the most part drawn-
though with honourable exceptions by miserable specimens
of animality, whether horses, mules, or donkeys. The quad-
rupeds are harnessed either three abreast but are not driven
by a postillion on one of them, like the picturesque country,
or hooded wine, carts or as an inverted unicorn, and follow
the leader after their own sweet will. ' The carts contain the
materials for new buildings timber in baulks or planks, or
wrought into window frames ; long noisy flapping iron
girders, a mischievous innovation in Italian building ; rough-
hewn red stone, brought to the gates by tram-lines; and
yellow bricks of apparently worse description than those to
which Englishmen are accustomed : or they are filled with
excavated soil, and the useless rubbish of demolished houses.
But the evidence of ruin is not confined to these endless
strings of carts. In certain lines of streets of the future the
evidence is more direct and positive. Not only are houses
visible in every stage of destruction, but almost districts of
Rome in Ruins.
the city are bare of houses. Great gaps in streets that are to
be rebuilt are left void for weeks together. Spaces large
enough for squares at least one such can be named have
been cleared for months past, and are left cleared. Entire
streets have been simply carted away, leaving only the left-
hand side houses of one street vis a vis with the right-hand
side houses of another thus doubling the width at the
disposal of the modern architect for the construction of a
new thoroughfare. Nothing but the outside wall of a street
of one or two storeys may be seen in one direction, with its
eyeless windows arid open door-ways. In another, a house or
palace may be examined which has been cleanly cut through,
leaving exposed on the walls the rectangular spaces of the
rooms, or the diamond-shaped spaces of the stairs, covered
with the hard tasteless blue, yellow, or green papers of their
last occupants. Here, maybe observed huge masses of stone
and brick, piled 20 or 30 feet high, on the ruins of an old
building, awaiting absorption into the Avails of a new and less
substantial habitation. There, one may peer down through
fissures double the depth into subterranean Rome, with its
sights and its smells, and see the rock-like brick work being
removed inch by inch for making drains; or the walls and
arches of former generations being re-ordered for foundations
of the houses of to-day. Nor, again, are these material
evidences the only proofs to a stranger that Rome is in course
of being rebuilt. Speculation in land for building purposes
and the speculative action of building societies, seem to have
taken possession of all who come within the sphere of either
influence. Every other person whom one meets is willing to
speak, or does speak, on the subject, favourably or fearfully.
Fabulous stories, though perfectly true, of prices having risen
not by commonplace per-centages, but by the fifty and
hundred fold, and of fortunes having being made at a stroke
of luck, reach a listener from every quarter. And in the shop
windows are exhibited endless maps and plans of Newer
Rome, either drawn to scale, or from a bird's-eye point of
of view. To such an extent has speculation run wild, that it
is hardly rash to predict a reaction which indeed has already
come and gone within the last fifteen years, and fortunes
Rome in Ruins. 791
have been marred as well as made both from over-building
and from reckless purchase of land. Meantime, it is, we
believe, only a matter of fact that building companies from
Milan, Genoa, and elsewhere, by a clever system of borrowing
on moderate terms, mortgaging, letting at rack-rents, and
building houses for sale rather than for habitation, are at
present clearing very high rates of interest upon capital
which is not their own. And as the result of speculation,
these figures are suggestive and trustworthy : land, in one
district within the walls, which ten years ago could hardly
fetch half a franc a metre, now sells freely for 50 francs;
land, in other districts of the town, has recently been bought
at from 100 to 200 francs a metre ; and in more central
situations, at least in one given spot and perhaps in others,
as much as 600 francs a metre have been refused by the
owners of land, in the hope, or in the certainty, that by
public competition a larger sum could be realised.
It is not easy, without the help of a map, to understand
clearly the nature and extent of the architectural changes
through which modern Rome is now passing. But an effort
to this end may be made. As every one knows who knows
anything of Rome, or will recall to mind a plan of the city,
the chief lines of streets run, at the present time, from the
North-West to South-East. Two main objects, then, must
dominate the designs of those who propose to develope the
existing means of transit from one part of the town to the
other. The old lines, where it is possible, must be extended ;
and cross lines of streets, through a labyrinth of lanes which
defy a description by the points of the compass, must be
made. And these two objects involve a third of hardly less
moment, and of hardly less difficulty in a city built upon
many more than seven inequalities (natural or artificial) if
not hills, viz., the convenient junction and intersection of the
old with the new streets at angles greater than an acute, or
even than a right angle. At present one set of three
principal arteries starts from the Piazza del Popolo the
Babuino, the Corso, and the Ripetta. These, with their pro-
posed continuations may be traced in their order. I. In the
future, the line of the Via Babuino will be lengthened, under
792 Rome in Ruins.
a new name, past the Piazza, di Spagna and the Due Macelli,
straight through intervening houses to the end of the Via
Rassella. An irregular piazzetta will probably be made here,
and the street line will be extended to one of the new
quartiers of the town south-east of the Quirinal, through
which has been already led the great thoroughfare of the
Via Nazionale. This proposed street w T ill run beneath the
gardens of the Quirinal palace, if the authorities overcome
present anxieties about dynamite, by means of a tunnel,
past the Exposition of the Belli Arti, to the new Scientific
Institute of Rome. It will end in the district of II Monte.
II. The Corso will be lengthened in a direct line to the base
of the hill on which has lately been laid the foundation stone
of the gigantic, costly and hideous monument to be erected
(probably in a dim future) to the memory of the royal maker
of United Italy. How much of the convent and how little
of the church of Ara Coeli is to be sacrificed to this ambitions,
and almost hopeless, scheme to honour Victor Emmanuel, is
not yet, we believe, finally decided ; but, both church and
convent will suffer. At this point, the Corso will be bifurcated,
and will wind round by opposite sides of Ara Coeli to the
Colosseum, or to its surrounding district. On the south-west
it will skirt the one-hundred and odd steps leading to the
great Franciscan temple till it reaches the Capitol. On the
south-west it will be prolonged to the Foro Romano. In its
new course, this main artery will eventually sweep away all
that is left of the Torlonia palace, as well as other inter veiling
habitations : but not yet awhile if, as report says, the great
banker's death must influence all further tampering with his
property. Whilst, if the average width and present lines of
the Corso be preserved, its prolongation must seriously lessen
the length of one of the wings of the fortress-like Palazzo
Venezia. The new Corso will then still hold the position, as
it does even now, of being at once the longest, straightest,
finest street in Rome. III. The old, second-rate Via di
Ripetta, and its continuation the Scrofa, will be prolonged
past the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (where it will
branch away to the east) to a point of junction with the
newer part of the Via Nazionale. It will cut across an
Rome in Ruins.
entirely new route, No. 3, to bo described below, from the
Piazza* di Trevi ; will be enlarged in the Piazza, di Sant'
Eustacchio ; and will eventually lose itself in an irregular
space near Sant' Andrea della Valle, if it be not continued
to the Piazza di San Carlo in Catanari. In the latter case it
will be taken through a maze of houses till it reaches the
river side, at the point at which it is proposed that a new
bridge shall span the Tiber, at the north-west angle of the
Isola Bartholomai. IV. Almost a fourth line in this system of
streets, in the direction above-named, and starting from
almost the same point on a map, but really at a higher
elevation, is the Pincian drive, which eventually becomes the
Via Quattro Fontane, after the Via Sistina has been traversed
and the Piazza Barberini has been crossed. This line of
thoroughfare will be extended, by various branches, in
several directions, to the walls of Rome. By one branch
you will reach the basilica (and now the conventual Bar-
racks) of Santa Croce. By a second, towards the east, you
will gain the Porta Maggiore. By a third you will drive
past the great Lateran Church, the Mother and Mistress of
all Churches, to the Porta San Giovanni.
Not less but more changes will be made in the line of
the streets of Rome which run mainly from east to west, or
which cannot be traced by geographical terms. These are
four in number, if we confine our attention to the chief of
the new routes proposed to be drawn across the old town.
1. A new street will be made connecting the Piazza di
Spagna with the other side of the river in the vicinity of the
Castle of Sant' Angelo. In the Prato of the Castello will
stand the new building for the Ministry of Justice, not yet
begun ; arid an entirely new quarter of Rome including some
villa residences partially built. It already contains a series
of large barracks lately completed. This district will
be approached, from " this side " of the river, by a new
street in continuation of the Via Condotti, which will run
near the Borghesi Palace to San Rocco and the Porta di
Ripetta, where it will cross the Tiber by another of the many
new bridges, in face of the future buildings of the Ministry.
'2. Another great transverse route will proceed from the
794 Rome in Ruins.
Piazza Barberini, by the Via Triton e, which seriously needs
widening, by the way of the Piazza Colonna to the Bridge
of Sant' Angelo. This street will join another wholly new
district with the centre of the town a quarter which, if it
be laid out judiciously, might be made one of the most
favourite in Rome, situated as it will be on portions of the
Orti di Sallustio and the Ludovisi Gardens, and possessing,
as it does, every advantage of position and planting. It
will reach the Barberini palace by the old street of St. Nicholas
of Tolentino. It will reach the Corso from the end of the
Angeli Custode, if present ideas be carried out, by a new
glass-covered arcade. It will leave the Piazza Colonna by
some new route over the artificially made Monte Cittorio.
And finding its way through a collection of tortuous lanes,
it will make use of the Via dell'Orso to reach a new quay
near the old bridge of Sant' Angelo. 3. It is proposed to
enlarge the Piazza di Trevi, the effect of which, architectur-
ally speaking, where all is now harmonious even if cramped,
will be doubtful. In any case, from the south-cast end of
this picturesque piazza a new street will be traced to the
Pantheon. The space also in front of this magnificent
temple now happily cleared of parasitical buildings and
relieved of its modern belfries will be enlarged with less
chance of existing harmony, or contrast, being spoiled. This
street will pass by, if not pass through, the property of the
Sciarra family ; and it is a sign of the times that on a plot
of land where of old would have stood a convent, hospital,
or church attached to the palace, have now been built a
theatre, caffc and newspaper office, with shops." It will be
led across that singular cluster of buildings opposite the
Church of St. Ignatius, which would seem to have a series
of a section of an arc for their ground plan ; but to what
extent these houses will suffer is still uncertain. From the
north-west angle of the open space in front of St. Ignatius,
the street will make its way to the Piazza Navona : and from
thence it will be traced to the bridge over the Tiber, which
will lead to the new Ministry of Justice. 4. Lastly, the
great trunk line of communication from one end of Rome
to the other, the Via Nazionale, has to be noticed. So far as
Home in Ruins. 79")
it has already been made, its characteristics are well known.
It can boast of a double line of tramways, and of an
ingenious and singular zigzag incline up the hill of Via
Magnanopoli, so steep as to require a four-horse team to draw
the cars. Its pavement, abnormally wide for a hot climate,
is un-arcaded, shadcless and dusty. Its shops are second-
rate ; and the crowds which frequent it would rival the
Brompton-road, or Kensington High-street, of an afternoon
or evening. This new thoroughfare, the pride of modern
Rome, divides itself into four main blocks. Of these, two
are in course of construction and demolition respectively ;
one is finished; one is hardly begun. Of course, the com-
pleted portion runs from near the present Railway Station to
the Corso, and ends for a while in some of the former apart-
ments of the Palazzo Torlonia and other abodes. Natur-
ally, the Corso end of this block presents an unfinished
appearance, the inside arrangements of many chambers,
where not veiled by gigantic wall-advertisments, being still
visible to all beholders. But the second and third blocks are
in an even more incomplete condition. The second, which
extends from the Corso to Sant' Andrea della Valle, is almost
entirely demolished, and is partially rebuilt. The third is
partially destroyed, but not at all re-constructed : and this
will extend from the last named church to the Chiesa Nuova
of St. Philip Neri. The last block will join the enlarged
piazza, in front of the now'secularised Oratory buildings to the
bridge of Sant' Angelo ; and at the present time has hardly
been seriously taken in hand. The Via Nazionale, under some
conditions, was contemplated by the government of Pio Nono,
directed in this department of it by Monsignor Merode. Even
in his day, the approach to the railway station proved to be
unequal to the demands of the then existing population. It
is said, regrets are now heard that the lines of the street were
not drawn on even wider proportions, the tramway being
found so inconvenient to the private traffic of the city. The
course of the earlier portion of the street needs no remark,
as it is well-known. The latter portion is as yet insufficiently
marked by modern ruins to make its future lines distinct.
But, of the two central blocks, it may be remarked that they
796 Rome in Ruins.
very successfully open out large tracts of the city ; allow
fine views to be obtained of more than one stately temple,
especially the Gesu and Valle churches ; greatly improve the
aspect and position of two historical palaces, the Massimo
and Cancellaria ; and avoiding (from no fault of the construc-
tors) any or many straight lines, supply a wide, commodious
means of circulation through the heart of the old town. It
may be affirmed that no important church will suffer in the
construction of this new street : its lines meander round the
sides and facades of all which they approach. The fate,
however, of some of the grand old palaces, besides those
already named, is far from certain. For instance, report
hints that the Altieri Palace, opposite the Gesu, may be
diminished in width, or its ground floor may be arcaded (if
such be possible) for public convenience. Meanwhile, those
who know Rome well and have studied its modern changes
give it as their opinion, that these three new blocks of the
Via Nazionale will materially add, not only to the advantage of
the city, which is undoubted, but also to its beauty and dignity.
These are by no means the only changes which
Government proposes to effect in Rome. Four other new
approaches to the river bank are designed ; and the construc-
tion of other streets is under consideration. For instance : from
the Esquiline Hill, on either side of a district which contains
the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and the church of
San Prassede, two new streets will be taken through inter-
vening obstacles, whether of brick and mortar, or of olive-
yard and vine-yard. They will meet in the Suburra. Thence
they will run in a single line to a new piazza to be made on
the south east of Ara Coeli ; and from this point onwards, by
a street carried past the ruined basilica of Constantine, they
will lead to the amphitheatre of the Colosseum. A branch
street will also join San Pietro in Vincoli with the same ruins.
Trastevere and the Leonine City will be less mauled by the
Municipality than the other portions of Rome. But both will
have to suffer in the common lot which is in store for the
future of the Eternal City. A new Railway Station (the third
which will have been built) on " the other side " of the Tiber,
and the River Embankment, will be two great features of
c
Rome in Ruin*. 797
liange in this part of Rome. But the chiefest destructive
alteration, at least from an architectural stand point, and if it
should ever be accomplished, will consist in the removal of
the existing blocks of houses which stand between the Borgo
Nuovo and the Borgo Vecchio at present the two main
approaches to St. Peter's. The result of this change will be
to throw into one long and ever widening piazza a space
which now includes these streets, the Piazza Pia, and other
unbuilt ground; to allow of a magnificent vista being obtained
from the Embankment near the bridge of Sant' Angelo,
to the foot of the great cathedral church of Christendom.
Much that is of an opposite character in the urban demolition
by the Municipality might be condoned to secure such a view
of JSt. Peter's as this promises to be. A cross street, again,
by the Palazzo Scossa Cavalli will join the new quartier on
the Prato di Castello, with the Borgo San Spirito and the
Lungara. The Lungara itself will be prolonged to the
church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. From thence, to the
east, a new street will lead to the Ponte Rotto ; and a cross
street will be made from the same bridge to Via di Michaeli
011 the south west. Moreover, there will be, presumably, a
thoroughfare along the Trastevere Embankment (indeed along
both sides of the river); and a new street will be built parallel
to the Lungara from the new Station and the curious little old
church of San Cosimato, to another proposed quarter and the
Botanical Gardens. Contemporaneously with these street im-
provements, are being built, or will be built, in every part of
the town, many public and private edifices for business or
pleasure, over and above the dwelling-houses, and in addition
to the Railway Station and Ministry of Justice already men-
tioned. We believe it to be a fact that, for the whole of the
unprecedeiitedly large additions to Rome which the twenty
years, from 1870 to 1890, will probably see completed, the
erection of no single church will have formed a portion of the
original designs for Newer Rome. It is nothing to urge that
the- 400 existing churches and chapels and oratories, will suffice
for the spiritual wants of a population which may be even
double the number of the old inhabitants. This may be
allowed. But it must not be forgotten, that much of the new
798 Rome in Ruins.
quarters of the city, lies entirely outside the range of the old
churches ; and that a considerable part of the new city will
stand far away from any existing church. Who may be to
blame for this want be it premeditated or an oversight is
not the question here now. We only draw attention to
the fact, as one indication of the dealings of the Italian
Government with the Catholic Church. Nor do we forget
the erection of the new Franciscan Convent between Santa
Maria Maggiore and St. John Lateran, nor the new church of
Dom Bosco, now in course of erection on the road to
San Lorenzo. 1 Two further changes only need be placed
on record in this article. It is said, that a recent determina-
tion of the Municipality has resolved on the removal and
rebuilding of the Ghetto. And it is hoped, that at the least
two new parks, or open spaces, may be given to the people,
one on either side "of Rome. The Pincian pleasure-grounds
will possibly be extended over some of the adjoining land
belonging to the Medici, Ludovisi, and other villas,
including the gardens of Sallust. And a circuitous walk
and drive will certainly be made on some of the hills
on the other side of the Tiber, indeed is actually in
process of formation. The increased and still increasing
cost of land on the Pincian and adjoining hills may, perhaps,
interfere with the first of these proposals. But, as regards
the second, the gardens, as well as the huge palace, valuable
library, and picture gallery of the Corsini family, have lately
been acquired for the city in part, it is said, by gift, and in
part by purchase. And the proposed plan for a pleasure-
ground for the people will include the whole of the uplying
space from the Leonine walls to the road by which one gains
Porta Saiij Pancrazzio and the Villa Doria-Pamnli. The
walks and drives here proposed will surround the Churches
of Sant' Onofrio and Sari Pietro in Montorio ; and will
intersect the grounds of the Borghesi, Barberini and other
villas, the gardens of the Corsini palace, and a portion of the
Botanical Gardens. When completed, the views of .Rome,
with its domes and campaniles, from their serpentine course
1 Since this article was written, the foundation of more than one new
church has been laid in Home.
Rome in Ruins. 799
(in the afternoon sun) will seriously rival those from a similar
road-way (in the morning lights) on the Pincio and neigh-
bouring hills, even including the celebrated vignette of
St. Peter's, by the side of the fountain and beneath the
ilexes in front of the French Academy.
It must not be supposed that all the proposed changes
indicated in this paper will be completed within a reasonable
amount of time, or indeed will ever be certainly completed.
There would seem to be no Dictator of Public Improvements
in Home. The plans of the municipality, or whatever may
be the authority (and we believe it is a divided authority)
in the last resort for city alterations, at any given date, are
neither final or consistent. Schemes are made, are abandoned,
are changed, are made afresh, without ahvays logical relation-
ship to what actually went before, or to what may probably
follow. The course of Roman changes above indicated
claims no absolute immunity from error. On the contrary,
it disclaims any descriptive infallibility. It pretends to
nothing more than to be a defensible opinion of certain
changes which will possibly, if not shortly be commenced,
and a rapid account of other changes which are in operation,
or have been lately completed in Rome. The last has been
written after examination and eye-witness. The first has
been described from existing maps, current opinion, and the
judgment of experts. Under such conditions it may be
interesting to .note the changes in course of being carried
out, at a given date, in the vast alterations now going on in
the Eternal City. This effort necessarily involves the danger
of mistake. Any false impressions, or inaccurate statements,
which may have been above made must be excused on a
double ground. Firstly, exact or definite information, which
shall also be trustworthy, is extremely difficult to obtain in
Rome on these city improvements. And then, it must be
remembered, that information which is correct at one date is
oftentimes, from a change of plan, inexact at another. One
thought may be incidentally touched in conclusion and in
brief. Whence was the cause of making Rome, at this
moment, a heap of stones ? In order to satisfy an unreal
and consequently a sentimental craving that Rome should
800 Home in Ruins.
become the legislative and administrative centre of United
Italy. On the political question of United Italy, no opinion
is offered in this place. The questions here discussed are
historical as regards the past and social as regards the future.
Whatever position Rome, in former ages, may have held
towards the ancient world, as the centre of influence and
government, she has never been, at any period of her story,
the mere capital of Italy only. It may safely be said that
no amount of alteration, be it destructive or constructive or
both combined, will ever suffice to transform the capital of
the old Roman Empire into a capital of a new kingdom of
Italy. The indispensible conditions on either hand are too
antagonistic to ensure the success of the endeavour. Ancient
Rome performed its functions, we may suppose, sufficiently
well towards classical antiquity and the Empire of the rulers of
the world. Medieval Rome certainly served its purpose
admirably well towards the States of the Church, and as
the centre of the religion of the civilized world. But modern
Rome does not, and in spite of all change never will,
effectively perform a duty for which it was not built and on
behalf of which it is impossible to adapt it. Rome, as it
stands or lately stood, was not intended to become the focus
of a modern government, at "once popular and centralised,
and all that these words imply. In the case of United Italy
in the nineteenth century they imply a great deal. These
are some of the political and social ingredients conveyed by
the phrase : a representative body of 700 members, and an
administration of many thousands of officials ; a confedera-
tion of near upon seventy rival and mutually jealous
provinces, princedoms, kingdoms, duchies, and grand duchies^
with their several courts and dependents, and each with their
separate and oftentimes conflicting claims to be sustained ;
a revenue and expenditure of between 60 and 70 millions a
year and a trade, with an average (exports and imports) of 50 ;
thirty odd millions of inhabitants, a sensible proportion of
whom, yearly or more frequently, have business to transact "
with, or pleasure to attract to, the capital city ; an army of
nominal strength of two millions of men in time of war, with
a centralised system of organization in Rome ; the Law Courts
Rome in Ruins. 01
of a nation, at a time when the Italian Government is at
issue on different pleas with many distinct classes, from the
collection of taxes from an overtaxed peasantry, to a defence
against claims from the owners, both private and corporate,
of confiscated property ; the results of steam and electricity,
of the telephone and half-penny post, of tramcars and excur-
sion trains and much besides. Nor can the role which
Rome was not built to play be forced upon the city by altera-
tion, or extension however radical, which preserves the yet
remaining distinctive features of the ancient and medieval
town. An old capital of a new State will always be an
anachronism and anomaly. The climate at certain times of
the year, the geographical position of the city, the river
which periodically invades it, and whatever may be spared,
of the buildings and ruins these will ever plead as eloquent
witnesses against the transformation of Rome. Raze it once
more to the ground and rebuild it afresh from the founda-
tions this might prove an efficacious plan. Transplant so
much of it as you can remove, in sentiment or reality, and
call the product Newer Rome this might be possible. But,,
to keep the classical remains and mediaeval structures, the
baths and amphitheatres and basilicas, together with the
palaces and churches and convents, all built without reference
either to each other, or to any general plan ; and to supple-
ment these with the edifices, arrangements, conveniences,
and necessities of modern civilization, is, so far as success
and homogeniety are concerned, impracticable. The result
is, the result will be, in-harmonious and non-efficient. The
beginning was a mistake ; the end must be a failure. And
the attempt, to the extent to which it has at present proceeded,
is comparable only to the patching an ancestor's coat with
new cloth of a different material, and expecting that it will
be developed into a fashionable garment for the use of his
descendant.
ORBY SHIPLEY.
VOL. VII. 3 E
[ 802 ]
THE HOLY PLACES OF IRELAND.
II. MELLIFONT.
ST. BENEDICT has been styled, with good reason, the
founder of Monasticism in the West. No doubt before
his time there were monks and monasteries spread throughout
almost every country of Europe that had been converted to
the faith. Lerins and Marmoutier, not to mention other
places, were famous as the homes of sanctity and learning
from a very early date. Even in our own island in the far
west, throughout its length and breadth, monasteries were
founded by St. Patrick and his first disciples, to which vast
numbers nocked, and which almost immediately after their
foundation attained to an extension and a splendour not
surpassed by them in later times. Enda in Aran, Kieraii at
Clonmacnoise, and Nessan at Mungret, gathered round them
a great number of disciples, many of whom, taking as their
motto " peregrinari pro Christo," went to other countries arid
spread there the doctrine of Christ. Somewhat later too
Bangor, we are told, " begat many thousands of monks, and
was the head of many monasteries." Indeed at one time the
rule of St. Columbanus seemed likely to rival if not to sur-
pass that of St. Benedict in common acceptance throughout
Europe. This is not the place to discuss the reasons of the
abandonment of that rule even in the mother-house of
Luxeuil. Yet we cannot allow to pass with a protest, the
wholly unfounded assertion, that the cause of that abandon-
ment there or elsewhere was the less close adhesion of its
author to Rome. The fundamental principle which he had
learned from his teachers and which he handed down to his
disciples was that they should cling as closely to Rome as to
Christianity itself : " Ut Christiani ita et Rornani sitis."
But in truth the whole system of Monasticism before
St. Benedict's time was far different from what it became
later through his influence. Each house could hardly be
called in the modern sense of the word a community. It was
little more than a'chance collection of individuals, who had
come together attracted by the repute for sanctity of some
The Holy Places of Ireland 303
holy man, not very much unlike those gatherings, though
with an entirely different object, which we know took place
in later times round the chair of St. Thomas and of Scotus.,
Each one came and went very much as he pleased. Not
that he thought himself quite at liberty to abandon a religious
manner of life wholly, and to return to worldly pursuits, but
that he could choose another place and another teacher when
and where he pleased. All this was changed by St. Benedict.
By his rule each religious house became one compact body,
in a word a community; the authority of the abbot was.
supreme, the obedience of the subjects complete and. life-long.
Yet as time went on and experience grew, even this rule
was proved to be in many respects defective. The Order
spread with amazing rapidity. The Benedictines have been
called by one who had little sympathy with them, "les
defricheurs de 1'Europe." Many a plain, once waste and
barren, has been rendered rich and luxuriant by their toil ;
many a proud city, where the name of monk is now unknown,
has had its beginning in the humble cells raised by their
hands ; and, as it spread, men of different nations and habits
of life were gathered within its fold. The hardy Northman
and the effeminate Southern, the nobleman and the serf, the
aged warrior who had fought many a fierce fight, and the
youth who, when little more than a child, had been given
over by his mother to the service of God and St. Benedict ;
to bring all these under one rule, to blend them into one
homogeneous body ; this was no easy task, and it was one
which perhaps the founder of the Order had not before his
eyes. That rule was brief and simple. It was admirably
suited for the management of a single monastery and its
immediate dependencies. But it made little or no provision
for a, large number of them. When a new house was
established it was practically independent. There was no
central authority, no head to direct and control the distant
members. The weakness, or the excessive severity of an
Abbot, not to mention other causes only too obvious, must
sooner or later lead to departures from the original rule.
Remedies were appointed for such evils; but at best they
were of necessity slow and hard to use. Reforms sprung up
804 The Holy Places of Ireland.
from time to time, each and all having for their object to
restore the strict observance of the primitive rule. Most of
these too ran their course, some shorter, some longer, and
finished most commonly by a relapse into the same condition
which they were instituted to put an end to.
Now this was a state of things which the Order of Citeaux,
itself a branch and reform of the great Benedictine Order,
was established to set right. The Abbot of Citeaux was the
head of the whole Order, not in name only, but in fact. His
authority was paramount. Yet he was not without check in
the government of the whole body and even of his own
house. Citeaux should be visited, and his conduct and that
of his inferiors inquired into, by the abbots of the four oldest
houses of the Order. A general Chapter assembled once each
year at the mother-house. It was attended by the abbots of
every monastery of the Order of France, Italy, and Spain.
Those from more remote countries attended every second or
third year, in proportion to the distance. Here all that
concerned the welfare of the whole Order and of each part
was discussed, and measures were taken to maintain the
perfect observance of the rule. To this perfect system of
government we must attribute, in great part at least, the
vapid and wide extension of the Cistercian reform, manifested
not only by the foundation of new houses, but by its
acceptance in a vast number of the older houses of the
Benedictine Order.
But there was another, and perhaps a more immediate
and potent cause for that rapid extension. Few even of the
great men raised up by God to defend the Church against
its enemies, were called on to play so important a part as
St. Bernard. He put an end to a schism which, humanly
speaking, threatened the very existence of the Church. He
crushed out one of the most dangerous of heresies. He
preached a crusade, and though his preaching did not effect
the winning back of the Holy Places from the infidels, yet it
infused a new religious life into the whole of Christendom.
One of our Irish annalists describes how in this country vast
crowds, not only of men but of women and even of children,
would have the sign of the cross seared on their arms in token
The Holy Places of Ireland. 805
of their desire to fight under the banner of the Cross. And
so the fame of the humble monk of Glair vatix and of the great
Order to which he belonged spread far and wide.
If we believe the statements of St. Bernard, religious dis-
cipline in Ireland, whether among the clergy or the laity,
was very lax at this time. It may be that these irregularities
were only local, confined to one diocese. But anyone who
takes even a cursory glance at the history of Ireland during
the ninth and tenth centuries, the period included within the
first appearance of the Danes on the Irish coast, and their
defeat at Clontarf, a part of our history too often lost sight of
in dealing with certain events of later date which are its
direct results, will wonder, not that discipline was relaxed in
any particular place, but that even a trace of religion remained
in the land. For the Danes were not mere plunderers and
marauders ; they were some of them the fiercest persecutors.
They sought out churches to profane and destroy them, and
they hunted down and slaughtered priests and monks.
There are those who think this fierce, unrelenting hatred of
Christians arose from their desire to avenge the defeats of
their countrymen by Christian princes elsewhere. It may be
so. But why go so far to seek for its cause ? What else is
it but the self-same war which the powers of this world are
ever waging against Christ, and which was carried on as well
by Turgis when he set up his queen to deliver oracular
responses from the high altar of the great church of
Clonmacnoise, as by the French Revolutionists when they
enthroned the Goddess of Reason in the cathedral of Notre
Dame.
St. Malachy was chosen to fill the primatial See of Armagh
in 1132. Four years later he resigned this See, and chose in
its place that of Connor. His one thought was to root out
the abuses which had sprung up during the time of persecu-
tion and to restore religion to its primitive purity. What
better means could he adopt than to introduce among his
flock the monks of Citeaux ? By the example of their virtues
they would leaven the whole nation, and teach them the
sublimest lessons of holiness. On his way to Rome he visited
Clairvaux, where St. Bernard was then abbot. At their very
805 The Holy Places of Ireland.
first meeting a most tender friendship sprung up between
them. Malachy desired much to remain at Clairvaux. He
besought Pope Innocent to grant him this favour. But his
native country could ill spare him, and his prayer was refused.
On his way home he again visited Clairvaux. He left four of
his companions under St. Bernard's care, " conjuring him to
retain those disciples and instruct them in all the duties and
observances of the religious life, that they might be able to
teach others afterwards." These, with others who came
later from Ireland for instruction, together with some of
the brethren of Clairvaux, St. Bernard sent, with Christian at
their head, to found the first house of the Order in Ireland.
The spot chosen for the new monastery was " a sweet
little valley," close by a stream called the Mattock, five miles
north of Drogheda. The monks, who always gave names to
their houses expressive of the holy peace, joy, and happiness
of the inmates, called it Mellifont, or the Fountain of Honey.
The site, with some lands adjoining, was the gift of O'Carroll,
prince of Oirgiallach. The English kings after the invasion
confirmed the grant by charter, and gave the monastery the
right of holding a weekly market in their town of Collon,
with freedom from tolls and customs throughout the kingdom.
By-and-by, the abbot grew to be a mighty lord, with exten-
sive lands and rights attaching thereto, such as infangthief,
outfangthief, and waif in all his fees, and the right to erect a
gallows and a pillory for the terror of evildoers. He was a
lord of parliament too, and first in rank not only of the abbots
of his own Order, but even of all the abbots and priors having
seats therein. Permission was given him to acquire a burgage
in the city of Drogheda, wherein to dwell during the meetings
of Parliament or of councils in the said city.
The Four Masters tell us that in 1157 a synod was con-
vened by the clergy of Ireland at the monastery of Drogheda,
so Mellifont is usually called in our Annals, " in the church
of the monks. There were present together with the legate
and the successor of Patrick seventeen bishops, and the
number of persons of every other degree was countless. After
the consecration, O'Loughlin presented seven score cows and
three score ounces of gold to the clergy as an offering for the
The Holy Places of Ireland. 807
health of his soul. O'Carroll gave three score ounces of gold.
And the wife of O'Rourke, the daughter of Melaghlin, gave
as much more, and a chalice of gold for the altar of Mary,
and cloth for each of the other nine altars that were in that
church." The last-mentioned of the above benefactors was
Devorgilla. She died here in her eighty-fifth year.
Cox states that in the beginning of the fourteenth century
no one was admitted here to profession unless he took an
oath that he was not of English descent. However, the
General Chapter of the Order condemned this practice and
ordained that all shoihld be admitted. Edward II. complained
to the Pope of the exclusion of his English subjects, and
Edward III. retaliated, and forbade many of the Irish
monasteries, some even outside the Pale, to receive Irishmen
to profession.
Sir Edward Moore, who was knighted by the Lord
Justice, Sir William Drury, in 1597, in recompense for his
many eminent services both at home and abroad, was
rewarded by Queen Elizabeth with a lease of this abbey and
its appurtenances. He made it his residence and fortified it
as a place of defence, as "it bordered immediately on the
Irish rebels." In February, 1642, a strong party of the Irish
appeared before it. The author of the War of Ireland says,
"the Irishmen were much exasperated against the Lord Moore,
who was very active against them." The garrison, which
consisted of only fifteen horse and twenty-two foot, made a
vigorous defence, and when their ammunition was nearly
exhausted, the horse forced their way through the besiegers
and were followed by the foot. Nearly all reached Drogheda
in safety.
It continued to be the dwelling of the Moore family until
the middle of last century, when the first Earl of Drogheda
removed to Monasterevan, to which he succeeded as the heir
of Lord Loftus of Ely.
Archdall, who wrote about a century ago, gives the
following description of the state of the monastic buildings
in his time. " Here yet remains in tolerable preservation a
beautiful little chapel, built of yellowish freestone interlaced
with red. The entrance to the chapel is through a superb Gothic
808 Galileo.
arch, which on the inside is exquisitely finished. The east
window is truly elegant, and on each side are three small
windows. The work of this arch, as well as that of the windows
and pillars, have still the remnants of gilding and painting of
variegated colours. Here also is to be seen a spacious octagon
erection, built of light grey freestone, on the top of which was a
large cistern from which water was conveyed by means of pipes
to the abbey." This octagonal building is the sole remnant of
this once famous abbey. Its uses must have been different
from those suggested by Archdall. Some have supposed it
to have been a baptistery, but such a building is no part of
a conventual establishment ; it rather belongs to parochial
churches and cathedrals. Whatever its object may have
been, Petrie says " it is the most beautiful remains of twelfth
century architecture that he had seen in Ireland."
Within the last year some traces f the ancient tiled
flooring have been discovered, but as yet nothing has been
found that gives any idea of the extent and character of the
other buildings. Let us hope that the search now being
made will have for its result something that may add to our
very inadequate knowledge of this ancient house of a great
Order.
D. MURPHY.
GALILEO.
(1) "II Processo Originate di Galileo Galilei." Publicato per la
prima volta da D^menico Berti. Roma, 1876.
(2) " Les Pieces du Proces de Galilee." Par Henri de 1'Epinois.
Paris, 1877.
(o) " Galileo Galilei." By Karl von Gebler. Translated from
the German by Mrs. Sturge.
(4) " The Pontifical Decrees against the Doctrine of the Earth's
Movement." By Rev. W. W. Roberts.
(5) "The Nineteenth Century," July 5, 1885; "The Church
Quarterly," January, 1886.
IN the year 1811, by order of Napoleon, the Records of the
Roman Congregation of the Inquisition were removed
from Rome to Paris. After the restoration of the Bourbons,
Galileo. 809
Pius VII. commissioned Monsignor Marini to claim the
Becords as Papal property. In 1816, Marini was informed by
Count Blacas that they were nowhere to be found, and that
it was not known what had become of them. Thirty years
later, however, at the request of Gregory XVI., and through
the influence of Pelegrino Rossi, the manuscripts were
returned. Among them was the record of the trial of
Galileo, drawn up, day after day, by the Secretary of the
Inquisition. Extracts from this document were published by
Marini in 1850 ; and, in 1867, by Henri de 1'Epinois in the
ftevue des Questions Historiques. Professor Berti published
the trial in full in 1876 ; and the same year it was also pub-
lished by Karl von Gebler. Since then, in the leading
reviews of England, France, and Germany, not a few writers
have attempted to refurbish old rusty charges against the
Catholic Church. Speaking of the trial, Tyndall calls her
the arch-enemy of science ; and a writer in a recent number
of the Church Quarterly, assures his readers that the
Rev. W. W. Roberts " shows beyond any reasonable doubt
that the Pope's Infallibility was at stake in the decrees
against heliocentricism." Though the published records of
the trial throw much light on the Galileo question, and give
a new interest to a well-worn theme, we hope to show that
they prove neither the hostility of the Church to science, nor
the hollowness of Papal Infallibility.
St. Thomas 1 was the first of whom we have any reliable
account, who held that the movements of the planets could
not be satisfactorily accounted for by the Ptolemaic Iheory. 2
Two centuries later, Nicholas Krebs, son of a poor fisherman
of Cues, on the Moselle, published his singular book,
Docta Ignorantia. In this work he holds that the earth
revolves round the sun, and that the orbits of the heavenly
bodies are not circular. He also points out the difference
between real and apparent motion. This distinguished man
was afterwards created cardinal by Nicholas V. 3 About
1490,^Girolamo Tagliavia the obscure Tennyson of Calabria
1 La Civilta Cattolica for May, 1872, p. 328.
! See ScMaparetti; also Dublin Review, 1838.
3 See Schiaparelli, I Precursor! del Copernico nell' Antichita.
810 Galileo.
also put forward the theory of the earth's motion ; and,
like Cusa, he was honoured by the reigning Pontiff. About
the same period, in the schools of Bologna, the question " an
terra moveatur," was frequently discussed. In 1510, Leonardo
da Vinci looks on heliocentricism as already proved. In
1533, Widmenstadt expounded the doctrine with applause
before Clement VII. and his court.
A few years later, Celio Calcagnini published his remark-
able book, Quod coelum stet, terra autem moveatur^ in which
he declares the Ptolemaic system repugnant to common sense.
Wurteis also gave public lectures on the new astronomy.
However, none of these writers gave solid reasons for the faith
that was in them. They had only that vision of truth which
genius not unfrequently has. At length an astronomer arose
who, by profound study and the closest observation, placed
(to use his own words) " the orb, which governs the planets
in their course, upon a royal throne, in the midst of the
Temple of Nature." In his De Revolutionibus Orbium Codes-
tium, Copernicus tells us that his thoughts were first turned
to the subject, which has written his name across the heavens,
by some remarks of Leo X. on the emendation of the
calendar. He began his great work about 1507, and did not
complete it till 1543. Its publication was promoted by
Cardinal Scomberg, and, after the Cardinal's death, by the
Bishop of Emerland. The book was dedicated to Paul III.
Thus, at least, till the middle of the sixteenth century, the
Catholic Church, far from being the arch-enemy of science,
did much to forward science and help its promoters. " At
that time," says Airy, 1 " it would appear that there was no
disinclination in the Romish Church to receive new
astronomical theories. But in no long time after, when
Galileo, a philosopher of Florence, taught the same theory,
he was brought to trial by the Romish Church, then in full
power, and was compelled to renounce the theory. How
these two different courses are to be reconciled, I do not
know." The history of Giordano Bruno, the growing belief
that heliocentricism was opposed to Scripture, the jealousy
1 Popular Astronomy, p. 89.
Galileo. 811
of the Aristotelians, and the imprudence of Galileo himself,
explain the two different courses of the Roman Church ; and
prove, too, that even in the case of the Florentine astronomer,
the Church was far from showing any hostility to science.
Bruno was born at Nola about the year 1560. At the age
of fifteen he became a Dominican novice. Ten years later
he threw off the garb of St. Dominic, and became a wander-
ing- philosopher. He lectured at Paris, Geneva, London,
Oxford, Wittenberg, Padua, Prague and Venice ; and
whenever he lectured his dreamy speculations startled and
scandalized many. In philosophy he may be looked upon as
the connecting link between Averroes and Spinoza. He
made God an anima mundi, and held that every existing thing
is an emanation from one eternal cause. In his teaching
there is no longer hope for the pure and clean of heart, no
vision of peace for the weary and heavy-laden, no new
Jerusalem where tears will be wiped away and the rooted
sorrow plucked from memory. He scoffed at every belief
that has ever cheered the ways of weary men, or soothed
their dying pillows. Most of his writings are full of
blasphemy and uncleanliness. In the " Spaccio della Bestia
Trionfante," he maintains that the Christian religion is more
monstrous than the wildest heathen mythology. 1 Speaking
of the Pope he asks : " Who is he whose name I have
hitherto passed over in silence ? The vicar of the tyrant of
hell, at once fox and lion, armed with keys and swords, with
fraud and force, hypocrisy and ferocity, infesting the universe
with a superstitious worship and an ignorance worse than
brutal." In his comedy, " II Candelaio," there are passages
fouler than the foulest in Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.
In a word, Bruno would again erect the idols of old and
make Aphrodite and Ashtaroth the divinities of his Valhalla.
And yet this erratic philosopher, who recognised neither
right nor wrong, purity nor foulness, was the most popular
and eloquent exponent of the Copernican theory. On the
banks of the Seine, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Isis, he
spoke of the new system, and described in language truly
1 See his" Panegyric on Luther."
812 Galileo.
sublime, its elevating effect on his mind. Nor is there in any
literature a nobler tribute than his to the memory of the
Thorn astronomer. But even in astronomy Bruno went
much further than Copernicus. He told the multitudes that
flocked to hear him thafc the stars were not dead cold worlds,
but worlds full of life and beauty, worlds where visions of
loveliness haunt the poet's mind, and trailing sunsets and
wandering scents from wood and meadow wake' buried
memories worlds, too, 'where hearts ache and friendship
scatters flowers on the graves of the dead. And he argued
that a new creed in harmony with the new philosophy was
necessary. The result was that in the minds of many a
change in astronomy meant a change in religion. Many
believed, moreover, that heliocentricism contradicted the
Scriptures. It certainly seemed opposed to the plain mean-
ing of not a few texts. This apparent opposition was
magnified by the Aristotelians. The disciples of the Stagyrite
were jealous of any rival system. The hoar of ages was on
their master's philosophy, and for centuries it was supreme in
the schools. Hence they opposed in every possible way the
new theory. At such a critical time Galileo appeared as its
advocate. In a letter 1 to Mazzoni in 1597, he considers the
opinions of Pythagoras and Copernicus on the position and
motion of the earth far more correct than those of Aristotle
and Ptolemy. In another, to Kepler, written the same year,
he says "I have been for many years an adherent 6f the
Copernican system, and it explains to me the causes of many
of the appearances of nature which are quite unintelligible
in the commonly received hypothesis." During a course of
lectures delivered in 1604 on the appearance of a new star
in the Constellation Serpentarius, he attacked some of the
fundamental Aristotelian doctrines. Six years later appeared
his " Siderius Nuncius," in which he announced his wonderful
telescopic discoveries. The following year he went to Rome,
and one who cannot be accused of any partiality to the
Catholic Church, thus describes his reception :
" Cardinals, patricians and others in authority," says Professor
Berti, " vied with each other to have him in their houses and hear
1 See Gebler, p. 12, v. xiii.
Galileo. 813
him on his discoveries. A select society of men eminent for learning
or in high positions were in the habit of assembling round Cardinal
Bandini in the Palace of the Quirinal. In the gardens of that
palace, which commanded a great part of the city of Rome, and the
view from which extended over a vast horizon, Galileo, in the fine
April evenings, exhibited through his telescope the Satellites of
Jupiter, and discussed his discoveries."
In a letter to Cosmo II., Cardinal del Monte speaks also
of this visit :
" Galileo has, during his stay at Rome, given great satisfaction,
and I think he must have felt it no less himself, for he had the
opportunity of showing his discoveries so well, that to all clever and
learned men in this city they seemed no less true and well-founded
than astonishing." 1
After this visit Galileo availed himself of every opportunity
to put forward his favourite theory. In 1613 he published his
work 011 the solar spots. "The publication of this work,"
says Karl von Gebler, 2 " was of special significance, because
it was the first in which Galileo decidedly took the side of
the Copernican system."
The treatise was well received at Rome. Cardinals
Barberini and Borromeo thank the author for sending them
copies, and express their sincere admiration for the researches
he describes.
Agucchia, 3 who held a high official position in the
Eternal City, expresses his belief that the opinions put
forward in the work would, after a time, be universally
acknowledged, though then they had many opponents.
Thus even in 1613 Rome was far from being the arch-enemy
of science.
The book met with a far different reception from the
Aristotelians. The publication of the Siderius Nuncius much
incensed them ; the appearance of the " Explanation of the
Solar Spots " incensed them still more. The extremists who
cried out in 1610 that the telescope was so constructed as to
show things that did not exist, raised a cry in 1613 that
heliocentric-ism was essentially evil, and Bruno 4 its legitimate
1 S-i- Gebler, p. 36, for this letter. 2 See p. 44. 3 Gebler, p. 44.
4 Galileo's name is first found in the records of the Inquisition with the
name of Cremonini, a follower of Bruno, and a notorious Atheist.
814 Galileo. .
fruit. Others of them appealed to the Scriptures. They
quoted Josue and Job, Isaias and the Psalmist, and contended
that interpreted in the ordinary way the words of these
inspired writers could not be reconciled with the new
astronomy. This was also the opinion of Christine. Duchess
of Tuscany and mother of Galileo's patron. To defend
himself the astronomer wrote the famous letter to his friend
Father Castelli.
This letter is a long theological defence of the Copernicau
doctrine. Thus a scientific controversy was turned into a
theological one. Soon after the appearance of this letter,
Dini and other ecclesiastical friends advised Galileo to treat
the heliocentric theory from a purely scientific point of view,
and avoid religious discussions. And we learn from the
letters of Dini and Campioli, that Cardinals Barberini and
Bellarmine assure him that so long as he did not go beyond
scientific questions and enter into theological interpretations
of Scripture, he had nothing to fear. Yet, despite such
friendly advice, he published the famous letter to the Duchess
Christine. This letter, like the one to Castelli (from which it
does not substantially differ) is a long theological apology.
He 1 speaks of his own discoveries, their far-reaching conse-
quences, and their opposition to Aristotelian principles. He
discusses the relation in which the Bible stands to science,
and contends that as Scripture not only admits, but requires
a different explanation fvom that which seems to be its literal
one, it ought to be reserved for the last place in mathematical
discussions. Nor should any effect of Nature which expe-
rience has placed before our eyes, or is the necessary conclusion
derived from evidence, be rendered doubtful by passages of
Scripture which contain thousands of words admitting of
various interpretations. " If," he says, " the Bible, in order
to make itself intelligible to uneducated people, has not
refrained from putting even its main doctrine in a distorted
light by attributing ..qualities to God which are unlike His
character, and even opposed to it, will anyone maintain that,
in speaking incidentally of the earth or the sun, it professes
1 See Salisbury's English Version.
Galileo. 815
to put its real meaning in words literally true?" In another
part of the letter he gives it as his opinion that the general
agreement of the Fathers in interpreting any passage of
Scripture of scientific import should only confer authority
when the Fathers have also discussed the scientific question.
He concludes this remarkable letter with a commentary on
the passage from the Book of Josue.
A short time before the appearance of this apology,
Foscarinus had also put forward his views of biblical inter-
pretation. The Roman tribunals, seeing how detrimental all
this was to the authority of Scripture, and seeing the faith
of many in danger, imposed silence on Galileo and prohibited
the work of Foscarinus. In acting thus, they loved not
science less, but souls more. Nor can anyone who honestly
studies the history of the Church, from the appearance of
Casa's "Docta Ignorantia " till the appearance of the letter to
the Duchess Christine, come to a different conclusion. Of
course it must be borne in mind that the Copernican theory
was then far from being proved. "It 1 is worthy of notice,"
says Procter, " that that theory could not be regarded as
demonstrated till the law of gravitation had been established.
This law carries with it the disproof of the cycles and epi-
cycles of the Ptolemaic theory, because, under the law of
gravity, bodies cannot move in such curves."
In a letter to Pieralisi, Cardinal Secchi says " Placing
ourselves in the condition of the times, the conduct of the
Pope and the tribunal could not be different." 2 And he gives
the following reason. " Because Galileo was occupied with a
theme forbidden because dangerous, not well demonstrated,
and vociferously rejected by Protestants themselves."
In truth, the really convincing proofs of the earth's annual
and diurnal motion were yet unknown. The velocity of light
was not discovered till 1675, nor the aberration of light till
17^7, nor was Foucault's pendulum experiment made till 1837.
Hence, as Hallam tells us, " in the middle of the 17th century,
and long afterwards, there were mathematicians of no small
reputation who struggled staunchly for the immobility of the
1 See Contemporary Review for June, 1882. Note, p. 995.
2 See La Civilta Cattolica, January, 1880, p. 220.
816 Galileo.
earth." " Even," says Macaulay, " such a great man as Bacon
rejected with scorn the theory of Galileo." Surely in such
circumstances, interpreters of the Sacred Scriptures were not
only justified, but bound, to adhere to its obvious sense. And
it appears rather foolish to call the Church an enemy of
science because she did not allow writers to adduce texts of
Scripture to support their views.
The second charge that the published records of
Galileo's trial prove the hollo wness of Papal Infallibility is
also groundless.
Galileo's case first came before the Roman authorities in
1615. A copy of a letter to his friend Father Castelli had
fallen into the hands of Lorini, a Dominican friar, who brought
it under the notice of Cardinal Melini. An inquiry was insti-
tuted, but as Lorini could not produce the original letter, the
accusation fell through. Galileo set out for Rome in December
of 1615, and on the 19th February, 1616, a decree was issued
bidding the Qualifiers of the Holy Office give their opinions
on the two following propositions, taken from his work on
"Solar Spots."
(1) The sun is the centre of the world, and immovable
from its place.
(2) The earth is not the centre of the world, and is not
immovable, but moves, and also with a diurnal
motion.
On the 25th Cardinal Melini reported to the Pope the
opinions of the theologians, and the Pope ordered Cardinal
Bellarmine to summon Galileo before him, and admonish him
to abandon the said opinion. On the 26th Bellarmine saw
the astronomer, and the latter submitted. Some days after,
the Congregation of the Index drew up its famous decree ;
and on the 3rd of March, "the Lord Cardinal Bellarmine
having reported that Galileo Galilei, mathematician, had in
terms of the order of the Holy Congregation, been admonished
to abandon the opinion he has hitherto held that the sun is
the centre of the spheres, and immovable, and that the earth
moves, and had acquiesced therein ; and the decree of the
Congregation of the Index having been presented, prohibit-
ing and suspending respectively the works of Nicholas
Galileo. 817
Copernicus, "De Rcvolutionibus Orbium Coelestium," of Diego-
di Zuniga on Job, and of Paolo Antonio Foscarini, Carmelite
Friar, His Holiness ordered this edict of prohibition and
suspension respectively to be published by the Master of the
Palace." 1
On the 5th of March the decree was published. The part
of it that concerns us runs as follows :
" And whereas it has also come to the knowledge of the said
Congregation that the Pythagorean doctrine which is false, and
altogether opposed to Holy Scripture of the motion of the earth and
the quiescence of the sun, which is taught by Nicholas Copernicus in
" De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium," and by Diego de Zuniga in
his book on Job, is now being spread abroad and accepted by many
as may be seen from a certain letter of a Carmelite Father, entitled
" Letter of the Rev. Father Paolo Antonio Foscarini, Carmelite, on
the opinion of the Pythagoreans and of Copernicus concerning the
Motion of the Earth and the Stability of the Sun, and the New
Pythagorean System of the World:" wherein the said leather attempts
to show that the aforesaid doctrine of the quiescence of the sun in the
centre of the world and of the earth's motion is consonant with truth,
and is not opposed to Holy Scripture. Therefore, in order that this
opinion may not insinuate itself any further to the prejudice of
Catholic truth, the Holy Congregation has decreed that the said
Nicholas Copernicus, ' ; De Revolutionibus Orbium," and Diego di
Zuniga on " Job,",be suspended until they be corrected ; but that the
book of the Carmelite Father, Paolo Antonio Foscarini, be altogether
prohibited and condemned, and that all other works likewise in which
the same is taught be prohibited, as by this present decree it prohibits,
condemns, and suspends them all respectively. In witness whereof
the present decree has been signed and sealed with the hands, and
with the seal of the most eminent and Reverend Lord Cardinal of St.
Cecilia, Bishop of Albano, on the 5th day of March, 1616."
Now, it is said that this decree of the Congregation of the
Index is infallible, because having been submitted to the Pope
it was published by his orders.
The question then arises :
When are decrees of Roman Congregations infallible ?
Surely Cardinal Franzelin is an authority on this subject.
The following are his words :
" Quod sententiam Congregationis ratam habet et sua suprema
auctoritate confinnat summus pontifex, id non eflicit dcfinitionem ex
Cathedra, nisi ipse suum faciat atque ex sese edut decrctum cum
1 Gherardi, quoted by Yon Gebler. p. 82.
VOL. VII. 3 F
818 Galileo.
necessariis signis intentionis defmiendi doctrinam ab universa ecclesia
tenendam, ita ut sententia non amplius sit congregationis tanquara
judicantis sed per modum dumtaxat consulentis." 1
Further on in the same treatise he says :
" Hujusmodi decreta quae ad proscribendam doctrinam eduntur,
non eo evadunt definitiones ex cathedra quod suprema pontificis
auctoritate confirmantur et publicari jubentur quemadrnodum in his
expresse notari solent." 2
In a note the Cardinal adds :
" Hac de re consului plures theologos urbis eosque tarn graves ut
sententiam non vereor Romanam appellare."
Thus, according to this very high authority, a decree of a
Roman Congregation relating to faith or morals, even confirmed
by the Pope's supreme authority and published by his orders, is
not binding as an infallible utterance unless the Pope (1) makes
such a decree his own ; and (2) publishes it with those notes or
marks which definitely and clearly express his intention of
defining a doctrine to be held by the whole Church.
Beyond doubt Paul V. in no way made the decree of the
Index his own. It was not an act of his mind. It was in
every sense the work of a Congregation ; and not the voice
from the chair of the Fisherman. Nor has it any marks or
notes that would show the Pope intended to define a doctrine
to be held by the whole church. It was, indeed, published
by his orders. This, however, we know not from the
decree itself, nor from any public official document of the
time, but from a manuscript brought to light more than two
hundred years afterwards. Surely this is not the way
infallible decrees are published.
(2) The above decree is disciplinary not doctrinal. A
Congregation orders that certain books are not to be read till
corrected, and altogether prohibits and condemns other books.
Three of the books do not treat of the doctrine of the earth's
motion in any way whatever.
Usher is author of one of these ; another is a book on civil
law. Nor is there any evidence to show that with the decree
1 See Franzelin, De Divina Traditione et Scriptura, p. Io3.
2 See p. U5.
Galileo. 819
-which has come down to us there was also issued a doctrinal
decree. Everything connected with the Galileo case has now
been brought to light. But neither in the Vatican manuscript,
nor in the documents published by Gherardi, nor in those
brought before the public by Berti and Pieralisi, is there a
trace of such a decree. The late Dr. Ward and others look
to the certificate of Bellarmine for proof. " Lastly," says
Dr. Ward, " comes the doctrinal decree of the Index, which
would seem to have been issued simultaneously with its
disciplinary decree. Of this, so far as we know, the fullest
extant account is to be found in Bellarmine's letter to
Galileo." This letter runs as follows :
" We, Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, having heard that it is
calumniously reported that Signer Galileo Galilei has in our hand
abjured, and has also been punished with salutary penance, and being
requested to state the truth as to this, declare that the said Signer
Galileo has not abjured either in our hand or the hand of any other
person here in Rome or anywhere else, so far as we know, any opinion
or doctrine held by him, neither has any salutary penance been imposed
upon him ; but only the declaration made by the Holy Father and
published by the Sacred Congregation of the Index has been intimated
to him, wherein it is set forth that the doctrine attributed to
Copernicus, that the earth moves round the sun, and that the sun is
stationary in the centre of the world, and does not move from east to
west is contrary to the Holy Scriptures and therefore cannot be
defended or held."
It should be borne in mind that this letter was given
about three months after the events to which it refers ; and
that it is written in a popular style. Hence it may well refer
to the decree above quoted. The words "but only the
declaration made by the Holy Father," are often used
according to the stylus curiae when the Pope orders a decree
of a Congregation to be published. 1 But another question
arises : Was Bellarmine's certificate tampered with ?
Wohlwill and Cantor point out the discrepancies between
this document and the report of the 26th of February, as
given in the Vatican manuscript. They, of course, conclude
that the Vatican manuscript was falsified. However, they
admit that if falsified, it must have been falsified in 1616.
1 See Franzelin, De Divina Traditione et Scriptura, p. 138.
820 Galileo.
But there is no reason whatever why a false entry should be
then made. On the other hand, there is an evident reason why
the certificate may have been interfered with. And the
certificate was in Galileo's possession from 1616 till 1633.
Hence this certificate is at least very doubtful evidence.
We think that these- few remarks sufficiently prove that
the Decree of 1616 can in no sense be looked upon as an
infallible utterance. We shall now come to the Decree of
1633.
In 1632, Galileo's Dialogues were prohibited ; and on the
16th April, the following year, he was summoned before the
tribunal of the Inquisition. The second hearing of his
case was on the 30th. Then he admitted that his book did
defend the Copernican theory. The exceedingly interesting
letter of the Commissary- General of the Inquisition explains
why he admitted, at the second hearing of the case, what he
had before denied. The letter also proves the leniency of
his judges, and throws a pleasing light on a much-abused
tribunal. The next hearing of the case was on the 10th of
May. Galileo then read his defence. On the 16th June
following, at a private meeting, presided over by the Pope,
it was resolved that Galileo be questioned as to his intentions
in writing the Dialogues, 1 " and under threat of torture, and if
he still stood to his previous statement, compelled to sign a
recantation before a full Assembly of the Holy Office, con-
demned to imprisonment according to the judgment of the
Holy Congregation, and ordered in future not to discuss in
writing or speaking the opinion that the earth moves
Further, the Dialogues were to be prohibited ; and, in order to
make this known everywhere, copies of the sentence were to
be sent to all Papal envoys and all inquisitors into heretical
crimes, and especially the inquisitor of Florence."
Two days after this sitting, Urban VIII., in reply to some
questions of Nicollini, the Tuscan ambassador at the Papal
court, said that he did not know precisely what the Holy
Congregation might decree ; but it was unanimously agreed
to impose a penance on Galileo.
Some days after, the sentence of the Congregation was.
1 See Von Gebler, p. 224.
Galileo. 821
read to the astronomer. The part of it that concerns us is
the following :
" AVe say. pronounce, sentence, declare, that you, the said Galileo,
by reason of the matter adduced in process, and by you confessed as
above, have rendered yourself, in the judgment of this Holy Office,
vehemently suspected of heresy, viz., of having believed and held the
doctrine which is false and contrary to the Sacred and Divine
Scriptures that the sun is the centre of the world, and does not
move from east to west, and that the earth moves, and is not the
centre of the world : and that an opinion may be held and defended,
as probable, after it has been declared and defined to the Holy
Scriptures."
From the beginning to the end of the Decree, from which
this extract is taken, the name of the Pope is not found.
The names of the ten cardinals, who acted as judges, are
given, and the signatures of seven of them appended (which
perhaps shows that all the judges did not agree to the
sentence) ; but the name of Urban VIII. is nowhere given.
Now, as we have shown, in dealing with the Decree of 1616,
since the prerogative of infallibility is one that cannot be
transferred to another or others, Decrees of Congregations are
not infallible, unless (1) the Pope makes them his own, and
(2) unless the Decrees have some mark to show that it was
the intention of the Pope to define a doctrine to be held by
the whole Church. The sentence of 1633, clearly wants
these conditions. But it is urged that because the cardinals
moulded their sentence on the mandate issued to them by
the Pope, that this suffices to ?nake it a Papal utterance. In
the first place, Urban VIII. most distinctly told the Tuscan
ambassador that he did not know what the sentence of the
cardinals was to be. And, secondly, it does not follow that
if A. orders B. to do a certain piece cf work, and if B. does
it according to orders, that the work is A.'s. .
We shall now give the opinions of the theologians of the
period on the Decrees.
Tim first whose opinion we shall give is Urban VIII.
himself. In 1624 (eight years after the Decree of the Index
had been issued) speaking to Cardinal Hohenzollern, Urban
says, " that the Church neither had condemned nor ever
would condemn the doctrine of the earth's motion as
822 Galileo.
heretical but only as rash." In a letter, dated June 7th r
1629, he says of Galileo that his fame will shine on earth as
long as Jupiter, and his satellites shine in heaven.
In 1625 Father Guevara, General of the Theatines, gave
Galileo a written statement in which he explained that if the
astronomer held in his works that the earth moves, it would
not be a reason for condemning them. Again, many cardinals
friendly to Galileo more than once sought permission from the
Pope to allow the astronomer to teach the heliocentric doctrine
as true. Surely in asking such permission they could not
look upon the Decree of 1616 as an infallible utterance. Nor
did Castelli, Riccardi, Visconti, nor any other distinguished
priest of the period whose letters or utterances have come
down to us. And Descartes, Galileo's great contemporary,
takes the same view of the matter. We have also at a later
period the opinions of Fabri, a French Jesuit ; Caramuel,
a Spanish Benedictine ; Talin, Grand Penitentiary at Rome ;
and of Cardinal Lobkowitz/a strong opponent of Copernicism,.
and these distinguished men look upon neither the Decree of
1616 nor the Decree of 1633 as infallible. From 1612 till his
death Galileo had many very able and very bitter opponents.
Yet none of them brought forward the infallibility of the
Decrees as an argument against the system he upheld. When
we remember that they and he were Catholics, we must con-
clude that they did not look on the Decrees as the unerring
voice of the Church.
We shall not here speak of the Bull of Alexander VII.
That document has been ably treated of in a recent number
of The Dublin Review, and also in Father Murphy's very
interesting article in The Nineteenth Century. It leaves the
Decrees as it found them, the fallible utterances of Roman
Congregations.
Perhaps the most painful thing in the Galileo controversy,,
is the way shallow writers speak of the Catholic Church. In
their eyes she is only a synonym for ignorance and intolerance.
They forget that Cusa and Copernicus, Castelli and Cavalieri,.
ministered at her altars. They forget too, that the religious
systems so much lauded by them, were far more intolerant
1 See Month for October, 1881, p. 194.
The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. 823
than she has ever been. The followers of Confucius, and the
disciples of Zoroaster showed little toleration to any who
differed from them. Men suffered for their opinions on the
banks of the Nile and on the banks of the Ganges. Plato
lays it down as the duty of a magistrate to punish unbelievers
in the national religion ; and Cicero 1 says, that the ceremonies
of religion are to be maintained by the arm of the law even
through the infliction of capital punishment. Saracenic
Spain, the boasted home of science, banished Averroes ; the
Synagogue expelled Mamonides, and cursed with an ancient
curse Spinoza ; Geneva burned Servetus ; Tubingen censured
Kepler ; Amsterdam reviled Descartes. Lecky tells us that
persecution was the doctrine of the palmiest days of Pro-
testantism. " Persecution," says Hallam, " is the deadly
original sin of the reformed Churches." The Churches of
the future where Matthew Arnold's hymns will be chanted,
and George Eliot's and Frederick Harrison's homilies read,
and the dark synagogue where men will offer incense to the
mummies of Tyndal and Haeckel, and frenzied women kiss
a faded volume of Swinburne, may be more perfect models
of toleration than the Catholic Church, but it is doubtful
whether they will do what she has done for science, and it is
certain that they will not bring the peace and good will to
men that she has brought.
TIMOTHY LEE.
THE LIFE OF ST. PHILIP NERI, APOSTLE OF
ROME. 2
rilHE translator, in his dedication to Cardinal Newman, says,
that this biography is written by one whose genius and
virtues are the consolation of the Oratory in Italy. Whoever
carefully reads this Life of St. Philip Neri, will go much
further and say, that the genius and virtues of its author are
1 Pro Sextio, No. 45.
"The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome:" By Alphonso
Capecelatro, sometime Superior of the Oratory of Naples, now Archbishop
of Capua and Cardinal. Translated by Thomas Alder Pope, M.A., of the
Oratory.
$24 The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome.
the consolation not only of the Oratory in Italy, but of the
Catholic Church in Italy, and we may add in Europe also.
Alfonso Capecelatro is himself an Oratorian, having joined
the Naples Oratory, in 1840, when he was just sixteen years
old. In 1864 he became Superior of the Oratory in Naples,
afterwards Archbishop of Capua, and in 1885 he was created
Cardinal. He may be called a voluminous author, having
written in addition to this " Life of St. Philip Neri," a " Life of
Christ," the " Lives of St. Peter Damian " and " St. Catherine
of Siena ;" also a work on " Newman and the Oratory in
England," and an " Explanation of Catholic Doctrine." All
these works have received high and wellmeritecl commendation,
especially his "Exposition of Catholic Doctrine." It is only
with St. Philip's Life that we are now concerned. It happens
"but too often that Lives of Saints are written by men whose
abilities and learning are not equal to their piety, or who, if
they do possess abilities, still lack that particular genius
which is requisite to constitute a successful biographer.
Many such writers are prolix, show great want of judgment
in their narrative, and give a confused and disjointed
account of the life and actions of the Saint. Sometimes
they describe, with tedious minuteness of detail, events of but
little importance, while they omit others really interesting
and instructive. Such a charge cannot be brought against
this biography of St. Philip. The author brought to his task
rare ability and learning, all the powers of a splendid intellect
well trained from earliest youth, and richly endowed with the
treasures of long and patient research. A member of the
Oratory from his boyhood he feels a great enthusiasm for its
founder, and a loyal devotion to the great Saint who wrought
such a benefit for Rome and Italy in the evil days of the
Reformation. The publication of this work is a renewal, in
some sort, of St. Philip's apostolate. In it we get a graphic
view of what Italy and Rome were in the sixteenth century,
when the Church was engaged in a fierce struggle with
heresy, and in a long and mighty effort to extirpate abuses
which produced a weakness in herself, and gave pro-
portionate strength to her enemies. Capecelatro glances at this
struggle and these abuses among Christians, not only in
* The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. 825
Germany where they were very general and grave, but also
in Italy and Rome. Discipline was relaxed, morals were cor-
rupted, and the ancient literature and arts just then revived
had almost transformed into elegant and refined pagans many
men in high places who were bound by the most solemn
obligations to be a light to the nations, and an example of all
the evangelical virtues. Side by side with those extravagant
admirers of pagan literature and art, were men enlightened by
the Spirit of Truth, who saw the evils of the times, and the
coming evils too, and who laboured eagerly and indefatigably
to combat these evils and minimise their unhappy results.
Capecelatro shows us how before Savonarola appeared on the
scene, eminent ecclesiastics denounced and deplored the
grave abuses that were then prevalent, and that deprived
the clergy of the esteem and veneration of the people, and
brought them into odium and contempt. Later on, great
Saints, loyal and earnest sons of the Church, dutiful and
obedient to her august Head, laboured to effect a real refor-
mation in the faith and morals of the people. Witness
St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Charles
Borromeo, and his devoted personal friend St. Philip Neri,
the new Apostle of Rome.
St. Philip was born in Florence in 1515, just seventeen
years after the tragical end of the truly zealous but indiscreet
friar, Savonarola, whom he ever dearly venerated and loved.
He spent the first eighteen years of his life in his native city
surrounded with the ancient glories of its monasteries,
churches and palaces, its libraries and galleries and museums
rich with the priceless treasures of painting and sculpture.
He was sent when young to a public school where he
received the first elements of his education, and in due time
he studied the Italian language and literature, and also the
ancient classics under the fostering care of the Dominican
Friars of St. Mark's. At that time the Dominican monastery
in Florence was celebrated no less for its holy and learned
inmates than for the rich art treasures of painting and
sculpture that it contained. For St. Mark's and the Dominicans
St. Philip always entertained sentiments of deep gratitude
and affection, and he often attributed to them whatever good
826 The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome.
there was in his life. About the age of eighteen he left his
father's house and native city never to return. He went to
live near Monte Cassino with a wealthy uncle who received
him with hearty friendship and made him heir to his great
wealth. For two years Philip lived with this kind-hearted
uncle, and during this time his visits to the famous monastery
of Monte Cassino were long and frequent. He placed himself
under the guidance of one of its most saintly inmates and
was almost a daily witness of the heroic virtues practised
within its walls. It does seem strange to us when he-
resolved to leave all and to follow Christ that he did not say
to his own soul in this hallowed spot " Haec requies mea, hie
habitabo quoniam elegi earn." But God's providence had
other designs on him and his services. He was wont to visit
a shrine near the monastery, and his biographies tell us that it
was at this shrine that he received the inspiration to devote
himself entirely to God and the service of religion. After
long and earnest prayer and mature deliberation he resolved
to act on this inspiration, resigned the promised wealth of
his affectionate uncle, and set out for the Eternal City where
he arrived early in 1535 without friends or money. Great
must have been his love of poverty and his confidence in
God, for he was not at all provident or solicitous about what
he should eat or what he should drink, or wherewith he
should be clothed, trusting in the providence of his Heavenly
Father who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of
the field. It was in the hidden designs of God that St. Philip
was thus mysteriously attracted to Home at this particular
period of her eventful history. The dread chastisements-
that had been inflicted on Italy and Rome a short time before,
had begun to make the Italians rouse themselves from their
lethargy, and the heavy losses the Church had sustained in
many countries in Europe caused profound alarm to those,
who held high office in her government. Men who grieved
in secret over abuses and evils that degraded the Christian
name could now no longer hold their peace when such sad
disasters were so rapidly multiplied. A cry went up to-
heaven for the reform of abuses and a return to the ancient
simplicity and holiness of the Catholic religion. The Council
The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. 827
of Trent was summoned and a beginning of reform was-
made, and St. Philip we believe helped on the work by the
prayer of the humble that pierced the clouds and did not
depart till the Most High beheld and granted the petition.
For sixteen years he lived as a layman in Rome. We ar&
told that some charitable person provided for him a small
roll of bread with some olives and herbs, and this served as-
his whole and sole daily food. To this modest refection he
did not add draughts of generous wine, but quenched his
thirst with limpid water drawn from a well near which he
took his solitary meal.
After he came to Rome we know that he devoted at least
four years to the study of Philosophy and Theology, having
previously, with no other master but God alone, studied the
philosophy of self knowledge and the theology that produces
directly and immediately the great theological virtues of
Faith, Hope and Love. During these four years it does not
appear that he had any 4> intention of becoming a priest, but
applied himself to this study we are told in the hope of
getting an increase of knowledge regarding the Divine
mysteries and the truths of our religion. N othing connected
with God or religion could be without interest to him. At
the end of this period, the love of evangelical poverty and
perfection got the better of his love of learning, he sold even
the few books he had gathered together, gave the proceeds
to the poor and then began, layman though he was, his great
apostleship of reform both of clergy and laity. This aposto-
late was to win success not by great learning, or the persuasive
words of human wisdom but by the irresistible charms of
Christian charity. At the age of twenty-four Philip began to-
visit the hospitals and render every attention to the corporal
wants of the poor patients, and having thus won his way to
their hearts he went still further and used the influence thus
obtained to secure the healing of their souls. In this sphere
of charity he never tired, and his example gradually drew
around him many to admire and happily also, to imitate the
winning ways and kind words, which coming straight from a
heart aflame with divine love went as straight to the heart
of the poor afflicted sufferers. Men of all ranks attached
828 TJie Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome.
themselves to Philip, and, as if by tacit consent, took him
for their guide and example, and thus the work of mercy
went bravely and prosperously on, blessing those who gave
and those who received. Capecelatro tells us what we can
easily believe, that the hearts now turned in mercy to the
poor soon became freed from guilty passions and inordinate
desires, and hearts long hardened against all other influences
were melted by the fire of love which Philip kindled within
them. His followers were now so numerous and skilful that
the hospitals of Home became the abodes of patient suffering
alleviated by Christian charity and sanctified by religion.
St. Philip had begun well and was now becoming known
and esteemed by many whose esteem was worth having.
His next step was a strange and a bold one. He commenced
to lecture and preach though a mere layman, having then
no intention of becoming a priest. His contemporaries tell us
that he was like the youthful David, pulcher aspectu
decoraque facie, He certainly must have possessed such
rare attractions and winning graces as to draw men
after him imperceptibly and irresistibly. His earnest
manner and simple language made a deep impression
on those who heard him speak, or heard others describe his
work, and, better still, God blessed his words because he was in
earnest about the reform of abuses and the return of men to
the untrodden paths of virtue. The seed sown by Philip in
these days yielded increase one hundred fold, because the
rains and dews from heaven fertilized it, because it was God's
own words spoken by the rnouth of his servant, and which
should not return tu him void, but should prosper in the
souls to which He sent it. Volumes might be written,
and, indeed, volumes have been written about the saint's
labours and success in bringing back souls to virtue at
this initial period of his missionary career. But we
must pass this over and cannot even glance at his life
in the Catacombs, his visits with large crowds of fol-
lowers to the Seven Churches, or his charity to the pilgrims
who visited Rome in the General Jubilee of 1550. In one
year after this date, when the Saint was about thirty-six
years old, he became a priest in obedience to the will of God
The Life of St. Philip Nen\ Apostle of Row<>. 829
calling him through the voice of his confessor. He was first
attached to St. Girolamo della Carita, and afterwards to
St. John of the Florentines. Soon after his ordination many
of his admirers would gather round him, to hear him preach
not only in the church but almost daily in his own private
room, and in this room was laid, we may say, the first
foundation of the Oratory. Soon this room became too small,,
and after some time he got permission to construct a chapel,
in connection with the Church of S. Girolamo della Carita.
This little chapel was called the Oratory, and hence the
name of the Congregation which St. Philip afterwards founded..
When this Oratory was completed, the devotional exercises
practised by St. Philip and his followers were arranged
according to well-defined and prudent plans, suitable to the
times. To the ordinary devotions of the Church were added
daily lectures, sermons, and conferences. Their sermons were
exceedingly plain and simple, but most effective, because
they preached not themselves but Christ crucified. Their
conferences were on spiritual subjects, the practice of Christian
charity to God and man, the way of perfection, and kindred
topics.
Among the preachers was the illustrious Baronius,
then a layman, and then as always a humble follower of
St. Philip. Baronius was about twenty years younger than
St. Philip, whom he joined in Rome, in 1556. We are told
that he used to say of Rome, what St. Gregory Nazianzen
said of Athens that though hurtful to some, to him it was a
blessing; as indeed it was, owing to the special grace that
brought him under St. Philip's guidance. The Saint listened
with eager attention to the sermons and lectures of Baronius,
and his keen perception soon discovered the rare intellectual
gifts of the young man. These gifts he resolved to utilize
for the service of the Church and of religion. He rejoiced
to observe that these rare intellectual gifts of Baronius were
fully developed by long and careful training at Naples and
Rome, and he soon saw a wide field for their exercise. But
before setting him to his great work of writing the Annals,
he t -i >ok care to train and exercise him in the virtue of humility.
The means adopted to gain this end would appear strange
830 The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle cf Rome.
and extravagant to a man not imbued with the spirit of the
Saint, for his ways were not as the ways of wordlings, nor
his thoughts as theirs. When Philip was satisfied that
Baronius was solidly grounded in humility, he commanded
Mm to undertake the compilation of the Annals. Up to this
time the Saint combatted heresy and error by the power of
prayer, and the practical use of the Christian virtues. The
enemies of the Church were propagating their errors by all
means in their power, and history became in their hands a
very fatal weapon, for they succeeded in making it a conspiracy
against truth. Hence, he deemed it prudent to oppose the
Magdeburg Centuriators, by the publication of a work that
would give a true and full history of the Church down to his
own days. He explained to Baronius the gigantic task he
wished him to undertake, and the careful student of ecclesi-
astical history knows how that task was performed. Baronius
spent nearly thirty years in preparing for this work, and
devoted to its accomplishment half as many more. When Philip
first conceived the notion of this great work in 1560, he
ordered Baronius to prepare and deliver a series of lecturesin the
Oratory which should treat exclusively of ecclesiastical history,
.and should reach from the foundation of the Church down to
Ids own time. This command Baronius obeyed. The series
was completed in something less than three years. On its
completion the Saint ordered him to begin it again, and
travel over the same ground. This self-same order was seven
times given, and seven times most cheerfully and con-
scientiously obeyed ; and the Saint rejoiced exceedingly at
the flood of light which was thrown on the life of the Church,
showing forth a divine origin, and a never-failing guidance
.and protectioa also divine. St. Philip's biographer tells us
what his notion of a great book was. A book, in the Saint's
view, is truly great : " when we see in it depth and vigour of
thought, fulness of learning, and wealth of illustration, all
bright with the light of divine truth, and clothed with the
beauty of holiness. All truly great books are the full and
adequate reflection of their writers' souls, and if they be wise
and saintly they leave on their works the impress of their
own excellence. For a work of such boundless range as that
The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Home. 831
sketched by Philip, there was needed not only genius, culture,
and learning, but, above all, a mental vision freed from human
passions, serene and humble, enlightened with an ardent love
of truth, and enamoured of the beauty of virtue. Philip's
first care was to form the man to write the book, and to form
him it took no less than thirty years" thirty years spent in
study, and in the practice of Christian perfection in St. Philip's
school.
For nearly forty years Baronius, in addition to his labour
of study and writing, had to discharge all the duties of a
father of the Oratory. For many years he acted as cook to
the Community, and we are told that he kept before his eyes
written on the walls of his kitchen the words, "Baronius
coquus perpetuus." We fear that while thus engaged, his
mind must sometimes have been, like the dying Gladiator's,
far away, not indeed on the banks of the Danube, but on
the banks of the Nile, in the deserts of Egypt, or in
these ancient eastern cities, so dear to the enthusiastic student
of ecclesiastical history. We believe, however, that scholars
will forgive any mishaps or culinary mistakes made under the
circumstances. As his work issued from the Press, volume
after volume was eagerly purchased and read by the learned
throughout Europe. Thus while Philip and his companions
were labouring indefatigably, and most successfully aiding
the Popes in changing the face of Rome, Baronius made
them famous throughout the world by his Annals, Martyr-
ologies, Biographies, and numberless other works. The Popes
were not slow to see the good he effected, and they showed
their appreciation of his genius and virtue, by offering him
the highest honours and dignity in their gift. These
Baronius invariably declined, and it was with the most
painful reluctance that he was constrained to accept the high
dignity of Cardinal from Clement VIII., whose confessor
St. Philip had made him. On the death of this Pontiff,
Baronius narrowly escaped being made Pope, as thirty of the
Cardinals recorded their votes for him, and but one vote
more was needed to make him Head of the Church.
The name of Cardinal Tarugi deserves a brief notice, side
by side with that of Baronius. Tarugi was the son of a Roman.
832 The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of 'Rome.
Senator, and nephew of two Popes Julius III. and MarcelhisII.
When lie was twenty-nine years of age his good angel guided
him to St. Philip, who trained him so efficiently for the
service of the Church, that he was employed by the Pope as
ambassador to Spain, Portugal and France. He was then
made Archbishop of Avignon, and created Cardinal, and
finally, by the grace of God, he was permitted to resign
office and dignity, and return to his brothers of the Oratory
in Vallicella, where he ended his days in peace. It would
be idle to describe the mental anguish and distress of
these two holy sons of St. Philip, when forced to accept
promotion and dignity at the hands of the Popes. Their
sincere and earnest opposition to this promotion would appear
to many in our days incredible and unintelligible.
Baronius and Tarugi were the two principal supporters of
St. Philip when he formally established the Congregation of
the Oratory in 1573. In that year he got a Bull from
Gregory XIII. enabling him to establish by Papal authority
a Congregation of secular priests, which has ever since been
called the Congregation of the Oratory. Besides the two
distinguished men just mentioned, St. Philip had around him
many others imbued with the same sentiments, trained in
the same school, breathing the same spirit, noiselessly and
unostentatiously working out his designs in Rome, by in-
structing the young, administering the Sacraments, reforming
abuses, winning back the citizens .to the practices of their
religion, and. making that religion respected, as well for its
own intrinsic worth as for the learning and virtues of its
ministers. Their labours were crowned with success, for God
showed their mission Avas divine by the great gift of miracles
Avhich he bestoAved on their head and ruler. Philip's
prophecies and miracles forcibly remind us of the Avonders
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; so that it seemed that
God wished to give for the reformation of the people the
same AA T onder-working power that Avas granted for the found-
ing of the Church in the Apostolic times. Sermons, lectures,
and conferences Avere continued daily by the ncAvly established
Congregation. People commenced to throng around their
confessional all day long, daily Mass and Vespers were
The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. 833
attended by great multitudes from all quarters of the city.
St. Philip knew how to make his Church attractive, and to
press into the service of religion all the charms of sacred
music. It may not be generally known that the musical
dramas called Oratorios owe their origin to his love of music.
His biographers tell us that he wished the members of his-
Congregation and all his faithful hearers "should rouse
themselves to the contemplation of heavenly things by
means of musical harmony." In all the exercises of the
Oratory, in the visits to the seven Churches, and amid the
Roman youths who everywhere followed him, he invariably
utilized the potent charms of music to stir the heart and raise
it from earth to heaven. The Oratory became famous in
Rome for its musical entertainments. Palestrina's name is
famous in the history of sacred music, and he it was who
perfected these musical entertainments. The account of his
work, and the history of sacred music in his day excite all the
enthusiasm of the Saint's biographer. He tells us that
Palestrina did for sacred music what Michael Angelo did for
sculpture, and Raphael for painting. There is no doubt but
St. Philip's enthusiastic love of music powerfully influenced
the genius of this his favourite disciple. Capecelatro says that
" His serene and majestic soul, his teeming mind, his
heart of trembling sensitiveness, his bright and sunny fancy
gave to his composition an endless variety, but all were alike
full of nature, charm and life, and each in its form expressed
in their fulness the majesty and beauty of religion. . . .
Even the great soul of Palestrina might have done little or
nothing on behalf of sacred music if he had not fallen under
the direction of one, who, like St. Philip, knew how to put to
the noblest use the genius and the sacred fire with which
God had endowed him." After the Council of Trent finished
its labours, Palestrina was commissioned to compose three
Masses, by way of ascertaining the best method of reforming
sacred music. The third of these Masses was very specially
commended for " sublimity, simplicity, and beauty, and the
cause of sacred music was won for all time." No wonder the
Oratory became famous for its music, when the genius of
Palestrina was its guiding star.
VOL vn. 3 a
#34 The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome.
Any notice of St. Philip Neri's life and labours
would be incomplete without some reference to Savonarola.
We know on the authority of Benedict XIV. that St. Philip,
like many other great servants of God, held in high
lionour the memory of the great Dominican Friar. The
memory of this singularly zealous and eloquent priest
was fresh in the minds of the Florentines in Philip's boyhood,
and he must have learned all the details of his' eventful and
active life, when going to school in the monastery of St.
Mark. While he deplored the tragical death of Savonarola
and its cause, he admired his genius and eloquence, his bold
and fearless courage, his successful labours, his stainless
life, and the lofty spirit that animated him. He had a high
esteem for the works of Savonarola, which he often read, and
in a small chapel near his own room he kept his pictures with
rays round his head as that of a saint. When the enemies of
Savonarola got his works examined with a view to their
being condemned for heresy, St. Philip prayed earnestly to
God that he would defend the name of his zealous servant.
On the day that was to decide the fate of these books,
St. Philip knelt long in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament,
and Benedict XIV. tells us that God revealed to the saint
that victory had been won for the cause he had at heart long
before tidings could be brought in the ordinary way that this
cause was gained. It was quite natural that Philip should
have a tender devotion to the great Dominican preacher on
.account of his personal sanctity, his learning, zeal, and
his heroic labours undergone in the service of religion. They
had both the same object in view, viz., to reconvert the semi-
paganised world, to stop the paganising influences that
followed the revival of ancient literature, to co-operate with
other saints in again setting up the Kingdom of Christ instead
of the kingdom of Jove. As Capecelatro says: "They
revived the worship of God, insisting on the frequent use of
the Sacraments; they subdued the minds of men with simple
.and earnest sermons, altogether different from those in vogue ;
they gathered the people together for public worship ; they
engaged music, singing, poetry, and the arts in the service
of religion."
The Life of St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome. 835
Such were the means St. Philip used to make religion
loved, respected and practised in Rome. God blessed his
labours in a wonderful manner Signis sequentibus et con-
firmantibus* No wonder he was held in high esteem by
Bishops, Cardinals, and Popes. To St. Charles Borroineo
and his cousin Cardinal Frederic Borromeo he was specially
dear, as he was also to St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St.
Pius V. His many virtues, enhanced by a never-failing
gaiety, endeared him to all who came within his influence,
and strengthened that influence for good with all classes
from the poorest penitent that frequented his confessional to
the highest dignitary in the civil or ecclesiastical government
of the city. Like many other great saints he knew the day
on which he was to die, and this is how he spent that
last day in the eightieth year of his age : He rose early as
was his wont, heard confessions up to the hour for Mass, said
Mass and gave Holy Communion. After Mass he again heard
confessions for a time. Then he received a visit from some
Bishops and Cardinals, and when they left he recited Vespers
and Complin, and had portions of the lives of the saints read
to him. After five o'clock some Cardinals and Bishops again
called to see him, and with them he said Matins for the
following day. The rest of that day's Office (as one of his
biographers says), he finished with the angels in Paradise,
for that same evening he was called to his great reward.
The Congregation of the Oratory fructified rapidly, and
established branches in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal,
England and America, the Old World and the New. Animated
with the spirit of St. Philip its sons continued the good
work begun so humbly in S. (jirolamo and the Vallecella, and
they have given to the service of the Church a long llae of
eminent men from Tarugi and Baronius, its first Cardinals, down
to Cardinals Newman and Capecelatro, its latest. We cannot
say too much for the English translation. It is all a trans-
lation should be. Father Pope's labour is evidently a labour
of love, and we hope it will bear fruit in all English-speaking
countries by spreading a knowledge of the life and virtues
of the modern Apostle of Rome.
ANDREW BOYLAN.
[ 836 ]
SARSFIELD.
ABOUT six miles from Maynooth College on the way to
Dublin, on a fine green hill overhanging the Liffey,
surrounded by ancient trees, stood the old Castle of Lucan.
It was beautifully situated, and in the days of its greatness
(it is now a ruin) commanded a splendid view of the rich
plains of Dublin, Meath, and Kildare. Here, about A.D. 1645,
was born Patrick Sarsfield, destined to be in after life the
hero of many a hard-fought field, and destined too, to live in
the affections of his countrymen as long as Irishmen have
hearts to feel. He belonged to one of the old Norman
families who came here with Strongbow, and we find members
of the family holding high official positions in each successive
reign. William Sarsfield was Mayor of Dublin in A.D. 1566,
and was knighted by Sir Henry Sydney for defending the
Pale against Shane O'Neil. The great grandson of this
Sir William was Patrick Sarsfield of Lucan, the father of our
hero. This Patrick Sarsfield seems to have been made of
sterner stuff than his booted ancestor. His political principles,
and his attachment to his faith brought upon him the ire of
Cromwell, who confiscated his estates, and sent him on the
world a pauper ; fortunate, however, in being allowed to live
till he was restored to his estates and position by Charles II.
The mother of our Sarsfield was a daughter of the celebrated
Irish Chieftain, Rory O'Moore, a man who ruled like a king
in a great part of Carlow, Queen's County, and Kildare ; who,
to avenge the slaughter of his relatives at Mullaghmast,
vowed perpetual war against Elizabeth and her soldiers, and
loyally kept his word till his dying day. From such parents,
we may take it as certain, that Sarsfield in early youth
imbibed that attachment to his faith, that love of Ireland,
which was the guiding principle of his eventful life. When
a mere boy he saw his father robbed of his estates ; he saw
the best and bravest of his countrymen outcasts, with a price
set upon their heads ; he saw the whitened bones of many of
them bleaching on the hill-sides : and having seen all this,
and remembering it, we can well understand that hatred of
Sars field. 837
Ireland's enemies which all his life long filled Sarsfield's soul.
Part at least of his early education he received in a French
military college a circumstance which very largely influenced
his subsequent career. He grew up to manhood a devoted
Catholic ; spoke the fine old language of his country ; mingled
freely with his countrymen ; felt for them ; and like them.
He was handsome, generous, brave, impulsive a regular
giant in stature and in strength ; and with all these qualities
became the idol of those who knew him.
It was in the service of England, and, strangely enough,
against a people " rightly struggling to be free " that Sarsfield
first drew his sword. Charles II., as the ally of Louis XIV.,
sent an English army to fight against the Dutch. It was as
an officer in that army, under the Duke of Monmouth,
that Sarsfield won his first military honours. By his bravery
he merited the special commendation of Monmouth ; while
his genial character, his anxiety for the safety and comfort
of his men, as well as his disregard of personal danger, made
him the idol of his soldiers. On his return to England
Sarsfield was made a Lieutenant in the Life Guards. Circum-
stances soon brought a sad change in the relations between
him and his brave, but unscrupulous and unfortunate
Commander. For years before his accession to the throne,
James II., as Duke of York, had been bitterly persecuted
because of his religion. Calumnies of the worst kind were
circulated about him. A number of so-called Popish Plots
were invented to create prejudice against him. With the
knowledge and connivance of Charles, an unscrupulous, lying,
and bigoted faction grew up at Court, sternly bent on
excluding James from the succession. Of this faction
Monmouth allowed himself to be made the tool, and on the
accession of James, he burst forth into open rebellion against
his lawful king. Monmouth soon saw that his rebellion was
a forlorn hope ; but as the die was cast, he resolved to stake
all on an attempt to surprise the royal camp at Sedgemoor by
night. Sarsfield was then within the camp with his Guards,
and when the attack was made he, among others, rushed
furiously upon the insurgents, and in one hour Monmouth's
followers were scattered in hopeless confusion, and the
838 Sarsfield*
would-be king was a fugitive for his life. In this encounter
Sarsfield was severely wounded, but his gallant conduct
raised him still higher in the estimation of the king. But
though Monmouth's rebellion was crushed, the spirit which
gave it life was not crushed. Hatred of Catholicity, and of
James as a Catholic was daily increasing in intensity, and
everything that bad men could devise was done to inflame
that hatred. A Catholic himself, James resolved to give to
all his subjects liberty of conscience a reasonable concession
one would think ; but liberty of conscience the English of
that day would not have no matter what the price to be paid
for its refusal. And accordingly they invited William of
Orange, a son-in-law and nephew of James, to come and rule
England according to English ideas. And this man of
" pious and immortal memory " did come, robbed his father-
in-law and uncle of his kingdom, and sent him to beg from
strangers that protection which his own subjects denied him.
William landed at Torbay, in November, A.D. 1688, and
marched direct on London. On his march his advanced
parties had several encounters with the Irish soldiers of
King James, under Sarsfield and Colonel Clifford. These
encounters are described by Macaulay in language that is
more poetical than true ; but even from his prejudiced pages
we can gather that the Irish under Sarsfield were regarded
by the Williamites as very inconvenient neighbours. Of the
fight at Wincanton, between " Mackay's regiment " and the
" Irish troops commanded by their gallant countryman
Sarsfield," he says, that the Irish " would have overpowered
the little band which was opposed to them, had not the
country people, who mortally hated the Irish, given a false
alarm that more of the Prince's troops were coming up."
Surrounded by such a population Sarsfield could merely
retard the Williamite advance. James, abandoned and
betrayed by his English subjects, fled to France, accompanied
or followed by the few who still remained faithful to him.
Sarsfield, faithful through every phase of fortune, was one of
the few ; and some few months later he accompanied James
back to Ireland, his heart big with hope, that now for the
first time, in the old laud of his birth, and of his love, he could
Sarsfield. 839
measure swords with the enemies of his country and the
persecutors of his creed. On the 12th March, A.D. 1689,
they landed at Kinsale, and from that day until the day of
his death, there is no more familiar, no more honoured or
cherished name in Irish history than that of Sarsfield. At
Kinsale Sarsfield was made a Brigadier-General, and at his
own expense he raised a body of horsemen, who soon proved
themselves in every way worthy of their brave Commander.
James and his English followers in coming to Ireland
entertained very different ideas from those that were upper-
most in the minds of Sarsfield and the native Irish. James
and his friends regarded the Irish as instruments to assist them
in regaining power in England. The Irish, on the other
hand, sought primarily the restoration of the old faith, and
the recovery from Cromwell's followers of their recently
confiscated estates. They regarded the King's cause in
England as lost hopelessly lost, and they aimed at making
Ireland an independent kingdom under a Catholic king
James. Of this there is evidence in the correspondence which
at that time passed between Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell, the
Lord Lieutenant, and the French Government. Tyrconnell
solicited aid for his Royal Master in Ireland, and it was
promised " for the maintenance of the Catholic religion in,
Ireland, and for the separation of that kingdom from England
in the ei r ent of a Protestant prince coming to the throne."
It was to forward this policy that Sarsfield came and fought.
He came to fight for " Ireland a Nation," for " Happy homes
and altars free." And the knowledge of this fact gives to
his heroic career an interest for Irishmen which no amount of
brave adventure could give it, had he come merely to advance
the interests of the stranger.
And the state of Ireland at this period was sad in the
extreme. For long, and long, diversity of religion and still
more conflicting interests had divided the inhabitants into
t\vo hostile camps, each party looking out anxiously for the
first favourable opportunity to strike a decisive blow against
the other. Then the " Curse of Cromwell " was still fresh
upon the land ; and already before the arrival of James, civil
war had broken out The English and Scotch settlers the
840 Sarsfield.
ancestors of our " loyal minority " to a man declared for
William, against the man to whose father and brother they
owed all their possessions and privileges. James found on
his arrival that Munster, Leinster, and Connaught were already
in the hands of his generals. The Williamites had all
retreated to Ulster, and there in great force occupied Ennis-
killen, Derry, and Coleraine. James proceeded to Dublin,
and set himself immediately to prosecute the war against his
rebel subjects. He had with him some brave generals
Tyrconnell, Hamilton, Justin M'Carthy, De Rosen, and
" Sarsfield the bravest of all." Brave soldiers too he had, but
unarmed and undisciplined, most of them. They were the
peasants who for years were the victims of most cruel wrong ;
who were not allowed to bear arms, receive education, or
learn any lucrative trade. The Williamites. on the contrary,
were " the hated yeomen, of every ill the omen ;" they were
the men who had for years enjoyed every privilege, they
were well supplied with arms, and were trained by long
practice to use them unscrupulously. Then they were
stationed within fortified places, were well supplied with
provisions and war material, and were within easy reach of
aid from England and Scotland. On his arrival in Dublin,
James held a council of war. Sarsfield and Justin M'Carthy
(Lord Mountcashel) advised the King to concentrate all
his forces for one grand attack on Derry and Ennis-
killen, before reinforcements could arrive from England.
Tyrconnell, who was jealous of Sarsfield's influence,
advised the King to divide the army, and to give to
each detachment some special work. Tyrconnell was the
King's favourite, and unfortunately his advice prevailed.
Sarsfield was sent to Coimaught, from which, in a few
months, he expelled every follower of the Dutchmen, and
this done he posted his army at Sligo, there like a sentinel to
watch the movements of the foe. James himself, with
De Rosen, went to Derry, did some mischief there during a
short stay, and returning to Dublin called together his first
and last Irish Parliament. It met on the 7th of May, A.D. 1689.
There were 46 Lords and about 230 Commoners returned.
Four Protestant Bishops were present and two others voted
Sarsfield. 841
by proxy and seven Protestant Peers sat. No Catholic Bishop
was summoned. To the Lower House only seven Protestants
were returned, all the rest were Catholics. Sarsfield was
returned for Dublin. James had set his heart on establishing
liberty of conscience, and on securing supplies for his army,
and with these measures he would have been content. But
the Irish party, led by Lord M.ountcashel, Sarsfield, and
Sir Richard Nagle, Member for Cork County, would have no
faltering measures : they would have " Ireland a Nation,"
and full justice done to their long suffering countrymen.
And accordingly they carried through Parliament, as its first
act, a resolution declaring that Parliament independent of
the Parliament of England, and thus was Poyning's hated
Act virtually repealed. By a second Act they established
full and perfect liberty of conscience, giving to each religious
body the right to profess and practise its religion in peace,
removing all civil disabilities from the members of each
creed, and authorizing the ministers of each creed to receive
support from the members of their own communion, and
from them only. Another Act was the repeal of the Act of
Settlement, by which repeal the old Irish families got back
the estates and properties of which they had been robbed
some thirty years before. There was an Act of Attainder of
all those who had taken up arms against the King ; and yet
another Act, the very title of which is instructive even in
our days " An Act for the Advance and Improvement of
Trade, and for the encouragement and increase of Shipping
and Navigation." There is perhaps no chapter of our
chequered history that has evoked so much unreasoning
passion and prejudice as the history of this Parliament.
Lord Macaulay says of it : " Of legislation such as this it is
impossible to speak too severely." And of the legislators he
says, " it would be absurd to expect mercy, justice, or
wisdom," from them. (Hist., v. 2, 342.) Macaulay is no
doubt a master of English style, but in those beautiful
periods that flow so gracefully from his pen, there is dis-
played a supreme disregard of fact, and truth and logic, and
nowhere is this more conspicuous than in his treatment of
the Irish History of King James's time. The legislation so
842 Sarsfield.
severely censured, established 1. Liberty of Ccmscience.
Surely such legislation needs no defence, no apology. And
some of Macaulay's best Parliamentary speeches were deliv-
ered in support of it. 2. It repealed the Act of Settlement.
But this repeal was merely an Act of Restitution. The
Irish had been robbed of their estates by Cromwell some
thirty years before, and this Parliament gave back the
estates to the rightful owners. What principle of justice is
violated here ? The Irish for all these years had been
striving to recover their estates, they had never for a moment
surrendered their rights, never acquiesced in. the robbery.
The planters on the other hand were well aware of the
character of their own title, knew well that they were
" enjoying " and " improving " for thirty years the property
of others ; that they had no right but the right of the
strongest, and this more than doubtful title they had now
lost. From first to last then, their possession was unlawful,
their tenure of the estates was simply public robbery, and
the public good does not require that such robbery should be
made perpetual. It was the spoliation of the many for the
advantage of the few, and justice and the public good
demanded restitution. 3. Macaulay complains that the
greater part of the tithes were transferred to Catholic from
Protestant clergymen, and that the latter were left without
any compensation. How well these gentlemen, at that time,
merited "tithes" and "compensation" let Lord Macaulay
himself tell. The Protestant Church in Ireland was, he says
"the most absurd Ecclesiastical establishment that the world
has ever seen Of the parochial clergy a large
proportion were pluralists, and resided at a distance from
their cures. There were some who drew from their benefices
incomes of little less than a thousand pounds a-year without
ever performing any spiritual function. (Hist. vol. I.,p. 381.)
And the Protestant Earl of Clarendon wrote as follows from
Dublin Castle to the Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury,.
May 25, A.D. 1686, three years before James's Irish Parlia-
ment :
" The ruinous state of the fabric of most churches is very melancholy ;
very few of the clergy reside in their cures but employ pitiful curates^
Sarsfield. S43<
which necessitates the people to look after a Romish Priest or Non-
Conformist Preacher; and there are plenty of both. I Jind it is an
ordinary thing here for a minister to have Jive or six or more cures of
souls and to get them supplied by those who will do it cheapest, and by
this means some hold 5, 6, nay 900 per annum in ecclesiastical
preferments, get them all served for j150jpw annum, and not preach
once a year themselves."
What a pity to break in on such a Paradise by any
legislation. The Irish Catholic Parliament left each religious
body to support its own ministers, and surely no system can
be more honourable to the labourer than payment by results.
The Irish Catholics in the day of their undisputed power
put the ministers of all other religious bodies on terms of
most perfect equality with the priests of their own Church :
they allowed each to receive support from those who accepted
and believed in their ministrations. Then Macaulay and
other writers of his class denounce in very forcible term&
the " bigotry " of the Irish because so few Protestants were
returned to this Parliament. Now at this time the greater
part of Ulster was in rebellion and thither most of the
Protestants had gone when the war broke out, therefore the
seven Protestant commoners who sat in this Parliament must
have been returned from Catholic districts, and by Catholics.
Now if the Irish of that time are to be denounced as
".bigoted Papists " because they elected only seven Protes-
tants to a Parliament of 230 members, what shall we say of
the English and Scotch who in Macaulay's time did not
return even one Catholic out of the 565 - members that
represent them ? What shall we say of the English and
Scotch of to-day who have not elected to the present
Parliament a number of Catholics equal to the number of
Protestants returned by Catholic Ireland two-hundred years
ago ? This, at least, we are safe in asserting : that the
English and Scotch of to-day, with all their boasted liberty
of conscience, may learn a very useful lesson in toleration
from the plundered and persecuted Irish Catholics of
A.D. 1689. The Catholics were supreme certainly in that
Parliament, but to those who had robbed them of their
estates they awarded compensation for their improvements.
They forged no fetters for the votaries of any creed, but
44 Sarsfield.
rather extended to all others the liberty of conscience which
they claimed for themselves. They voted liberal sums for
the encouragement of trade and of native industries ; as
Grattan says of them, " though Papists, they were not
-slaves," and they wrung from a worthless king, a Constitution
which would have made Ireland prosperous and her people
happy had it been preserved. This legislation, then, so far
from meriting the censure of fair-minded men, was conceived
in a spirit of genuine patriotism, and the wicked calumnies
now being circulated to prejudice the cause of Ireland find
their best and most complete refutation in the acts of the
Irish Catholic Parliament of James the Second. Sweetly, and
truly does Mr. De Vere sing :
" How fared it that season, our Lords and our Masters ?
In that spring of our freedom, how fared it with you ?
Did we trample your faith ? Did we mock your disasters ?
We restored but his own to the leal, and the true :
Ye had fallen ! 'Twas a season of tempest and troubles,
But against you we drew not the knife ye had drawn,
In the war-field, we met, but your prelates and nobles
Stood up mid the Senate in ermine and lawn !"
It is clear then, that the sweeping charges of Macaulay
and Froude against this Parliament, are but groundless
calumnies, and it is vain to expect wisdom from our rulers
as long as they permit their minds to be poisoned, and their
judgments warped by writers, and speakers of this class.
Such men, now, as then, are the worst enemies of England,
as well as of Ireland. They cloud with prejudice the minds
of well-meaning people. They have kept England and
Ireland perpetually at war; they have deferred, almost
rendered hopeless, that better understanding between the
two countries, which the best interests of both peremptorily
demand.
This Parliament was dissolved early in July, A.D. 1689,
and on the last day of that same month Derry was relieved
by provisions and men sent from England. On the same
day, the army under Lord Mountcashel met with a sad
disaster at Newtownbutler, owing to a fatal error in conveying
the word of command to one of the divisions engaged.
Had Sarsfield's advice been taken, Enniskillen and Derry
TAber Angueli. 845
would have long since fallen into the hands of James ; but
by following the advice of his pet generals, the King lost
Ulster, and later on lost Ireland. A fortnight after the relief
of Derry, Scomberg arrived in Ireland with 10,000 men, all
well disciplined soldiers, and well supplied with war material.
After a few minor skirmishes he withdrew to Belfast, there
to remain for the winter. And now that Ulster was in the
hands of William's generals, Sarsfield fearing that he may be
cut off from the main body of the Royal army, withdrew
from Sligo to Athlone ; and there he fixed his winter quarters,,
and set himself to organize his brave horsemen for that
struggle which was to immortalize his name. And that
struggle very soon came. J. MURPHY, C.C.
(To be continued.)
LIBER ANGUELI.
FROM THE BOOK OP ARMAGH.
THIS fragment was copied into the Book of Armagh before-
the Feast of St. Matthew, 1 807, by Ferdomnach, the
learned and excellent Scribe of the Church of Armagh, by
order of Torbach, successor or "heir of St. Patrick." 2
It informs us, that Auxilius, Patricius, Secundinus,.
and Benignus decreed that difficult questions were to be
referred to the Chair of Peter in Rome (lines 186-192). It
tells of St. Patrick and his labours, II. 1-40 ; 75-77 ; 138 ; 148;
195 ; 204-213 ; of St. Brigit //. 204-213 ; of the Relics of
SS. Peter and Paul, etc. II. 115-125; 190. It treats of the
boundaries and prerogatives of the See of Armagh, II. 40-50 ;
105-126-151-160; 173-186 et passim; of Religious Orders II.
55-65-82-92-105-142-145 ; of a Hospice or Guest-house II. 86-
92-156 ; it gives us iheearliest instance in which cumal
ancilla, I. 163.
As want of time and other circumstances prevent me from
adding copious notes, may I venture to ask others, who are
1 At fol. 52& we find, "Scriptum atque finitum in feria Mattei."
8 See proceedings of the R.I. Academy, vol. iii., p. 356-359, where the
learned Bishop Graves of Limerick fixes the date and names. Cf. Docu-
meiita de S. Fatricio, pp. 7 and 8.
846 Jailer Angueli.
better equipped than I am, to illustrate this important docu-
ment in the pages of the RECORD ?
In editing the text I give line for line, numbering the lines
for facility of reference ; I extend the contractions and print
the extensions in italics.
Fol. 20ba.
Patricio sancto episcopo summus domini
sacerdos 1 anguehis debitam reuer
entiam cathedrae sue 2 apostolicae ho
noremque proprium sui heredis ab omnibus sco
5 tis Traditum sapienter a deo sibi dictauit
LIBER ANGUELI incipit
Quodam itaqi^ 8 sanctus patricius de alti
mache urbe admultitudines utriusque
sexus humani generis baptizandas
10 doceridas atque sanandas iuxta fontem 4
in Orientali praedictse urbis parte pro
pe herentem pie perrexit
ET ibi ante lucem multas undique ad notitiam fidei
confluentes expectauit subito ergo eum
15 sopor prostrauit eo quod prius pro christo
uigiliis nocturnis fessus fuisset
ET Ecce tarn citojienit angelus ad eum
de cgelo et exCitauit eum leniter
de sompno et dixit sanctus patricius Ego adsum
20 num quid inique gessi nuper in conspec
tu altissimi si accidit ueiiiam peto a deo
Respondit anguelus non sed missit me summus om
nipotens ad te .I. 5 ad animi tui consolatioiiem
post Conuersionem hibernensium per te ad se
25 in fidem quos ei adquasssisti per duns
simum laborem et per tiiam ualde praedi
cationem Gratia spiritus sancti lucidissimam u
niuersis gentibus fructuossam cum
esses semper laboriossus multis tern
30 poribus In multis pericwlis a gentililws 6 per fri
gus et aestatem essuriens et sitiens
1 sacerdos is effaced by dots. 2 e is a litera caudata. 3 supple die.
4 i.e. Tiprad Cernai Vita Tripart. 5 = id est, vel pr'tmo.
6 fjenilib. in MS.
TALer Angueli. 847
Fol. 20bb.
deambulans impiger quo ti die de
gente in gentem ad utilitatera multamm gentium
scit ergo dominus deus tuum praesentem lo
35 cum quern praesto videmus in alto posi
turn cum parua celula an gust u in
ab aliquibus quoque regionis habitatoribus
coartatum et suburbana eius nori suffi
cient Cunctis adrefugium Id circo con
40 stituitur terminus a domino uastissimus urbi
altimache quam dilexisti prae omnibus
hibernensiurn telluribus id est a pinna montis
berbicis .usque ad montem mis 1 Amonte
miss usque ad bri erigi 2 A bri erigi usque
45 ad dorsos breg 3 certe si uolueris erit
1 Slemish, Co. Antrim ; mis is gen. sing, here and at pp. 30, 55, 57. It
is written miss here and at pp. 30, 31, 57, 86. Pinna montis Berbicis = P. M.
Vervecis. In MS. Annals of Ulster, an. 758, we find : " Aesias pluvialis,
Benn Muilt effudit amnem cum piscibus." It is now Benn-wilt, Par. ot
Drumgoou, Cavan. Norn, molt, gi. uernex (in Sgal. 68) a wether. Benn-
muilt = peak of the wether, as Bri-molt, Prymult, King's Co., = hill
of the wethers. Bri-gown was also called Cuil muiltt, according to
"L. Brecc," at pp. 100 and 66, of which we get gen. sg. and nom.
pi. muilt, ac. pi. multu. From Bishop O'Brien's Dictionary we learn that
the " Old French moulton and the modern mouton, come from molt.' 1 ' 1 In
Irish, Manx, and Welsh it is molt ; in Cornish, mols; in Breton, maout, meot,
meut ; in Medieval Latin, multo; in Italian, montone; in French, moton,
mouton; in English, motoun and mutton. Hence the Latin multonagium
(in French montonage and moutonaye), and, as I surmise, multeia (panni
species). Cf . D' Amis' Lexicon Med. Lat. ; Zeuss' Gram. Celt., pp. 154 and 1075.
This word mutton ' cuts up " very badly in Littrc, TheJmperial Dictionary, and
Dicz, who derives it from the Latin mutilus. It is curious to observe the
reverse action in the change of the Middle English mouten to moult, i.e. to
cast feathers. The Tripartite Life says " a tractu de Droma Breagh usque
ad montem Mis in septentrione et usque ad Briyraidlie versus occidentem."
2 The Synod of Kath-Breasail defines the boundaries of Armagh thus :
" Sedis ArdmachaiicB ditio a monte Bragho ad Cuaille-Kianachtam ; et a
Bioro ad Fluvium magnum extenditur." That is from Slieve Brey, Co. Louth,
to Coolkeenaght, Co. Tyrone ; and from the Foyle near Lifford, to the
Blackvvater. (See Dr. Kelly's Ed. of Cambr. Eversus, vol. ii., p. 785).
Where Bri-Erigi is I know not ; it would mean the Hill of Commandment
or Order : it is bri in Welsh, and brae in Scotch. At p. 31, we find Bri-dam,
the Hill of the Oxen; probably Bri-Erigi, is Slieve-Brey in Monaghan,'
or Brigh in Tyrone. Bri, is in the ace. and dative cases here.
3 Dromand Breg. Perhaps Slieve-Brey in Louth, near Ardee in Ath-
Fhirdiadh re taobh Sleibhe Bregh (Chron. Scotor. I., 564). It is called
Mons Bregarum, in Adamnan I., 3. But 1 think it is near Cullen and Slane ;
i.e. " f or druimnib Breg near Rath-Ochtair Cuilinn" (see L. nay-Ceart, p. 11).
The gen. pi. Breg, Bregg appears ten times in the Book of Armagh ; and
the ace pi. Brega, Bregi once each. In Windisch's Worterbuch breg is
given as gen. pi. of lii, a hill.
848 Liber Angueli.
huius magnitudinis. Ac deinde donauit
tibi dominus deus uniuersas scotorum gentes
In modum paruchiaa et huic urbi tuas
quae cognominatur scotorum lingua
50 arddmachas Dixit sanctus Patricius
prostrata facie deorsum in conspectu
angueli Gratias ago deo meo domino sem
piterno qui dignatus est tantam Gloriam
donare clementer famulo suo
55 Item sanctus dixit Quosdam tamen electos sancte
Domine mi per spiritum sanctum praeuideo in bac
Insola per inefiabilem tuse dementias
pietatem et per praedicationis tuse laborem
orituros mini caros quasi proprios corporis mei
60 editos tibi quoque amicos denote seruituros
Qui autem uidentur Indegere aliquid sibi propn'e-
diocessis ad utilitatem necessariae famu
lationis aeclessiis seu monosteriis
suis post me Idcirco perfecte et iuste
65 debeo a deo babundantiaa donationem mini
certe deditam dimittere commoniter
perfectis
Fol. 21aa.
perfectis biberniae relegiossis, ut
et ego et ipsi diuitiis bonitatis dei pacifi
ce perfruemur \\aec uniuersa mini concessa
70 caussa diuinas caritatis . . . Item ait
Nonne ergo mibi sufficit quicquid devote uo
uerunt ac uoluerunt christiani homines
offerre de regionibus atque oblationibus
suis per arbitrium sues libertatis . . *
75 Item, nonne utique conteiitus sum esse apos
tolicus doctor et dux principalis omnibus
biberionacum 2 gentibus praesertim cum pe
culiare c en sum retineo recte redden
dum et a summo mihi etiam illud est do
1 Sic. " Hib-Erionach, of the Irish ; from ib and Eriu*
Liber Angueli. 849
SO natum uere decenter debitum super liberas
protiinciarum huius Insolae aeclessias 1
et uniuersis cynubitarum similiter monas
teriis sine ulla dubitatione jus decre 2
turn erit rectori airddmacha3 in perpetuum
85 Receptio archiepiscopi heredis cathed
rae mese urbis cum comitibus suis
numero. L. exceptis perigrinis et infirmis
doloribus uariis atque improbis et cseteris . , 3
sit digna refectio aptaque unicuique
90 eodem numero tarn digne in die quam cer
te similiter in nocte
IN ista uero urbe altimachae homines christiani utriusque
sexus
religiossi ab initio fidei hue usque pe
ne inseparabiliter Commorari uidentur
95 cui uero praedictae. iii. ordines adherent
uirgines et poenitentes In matrimonio
legitimo aeclessise seruientes
ET his tribus ordinibus audire uerbum prae
dicationis in aeclessia aquilonalis pla
100 gae conoeditur semper diebus dominicis
IN Austral! uero bassilica aepiscopi et presbiteri
et anchoritae aecless^ et caeteri religiossi
Laudes sapidas offerunt
De speciali reuerantia airdd machse
105 et honore praesulis eiusdem urbis dicamus
ISta quippe Ciuitas summa et libera a deo
est Constitute et ab anguelo dei et ab a
postolico uiro sancto patricio episcopo
specialiter dedicata
110 Freest ergo quodam priuilegio omnibus aeclessiis ac
monasteriis
cunctorum hibernensium uel superna auc
toritate summi* pontificis illius fundatoris **
1 provincias was written, then deleted by dots, and aeclessias written
in the margin.
2 Z is put opposite this line for ^ret, to denote doubt in mind of the
transcriber.
3 sic. * ** An attempt has been made to efface these words.
VOL. VH. 3 H
850 Liber Angueli.
Nihil hominus 1 uenerari debet honor e
summorum martyrum petri et pauli
115 stefani laurendi et caeterorum
Fol 21ab.
Quanto magis quoque ualde ueneranda atque
dilegenter ab omnibus ueneranda 2 honoranda
Pro sancta ammiratione nobis beneficii pro 3 omnibus
inerrabilis quod in ea 4 secreta Constitutio
120 ne exstat sacratissimus sanguis iesu christi
redemptoris humani generis in sacro
lintiamine sirnul cum sanctorum reliquiis
in aeclessia austral! ubi requiescunt corpo
ra sanctorum perigrinorum de longue cum
125 Patricio transmarinorum caeterorumque iustorum
ID circo non licet Causa praedictae auctoritatis
contra illam mittere consortem ab ulla aeclessia
scotorum neque ab ullo praesule uel abbate
contra heredem illius sed a se recte supra iuratur
130 supra omnes aeclessias et illarum antestites
si uera necessitas poposcerit
I tern omnis aeclessia libera et ci vitas ab se
piscopali gradu uidetur esse fundata In
tota scotorum insola et omnis ubique
135 locus qui dominions 5 appellatur iuxta
clementiam almipotentis domini sancto doctor!
et iuxta uerburn angueli in speciali societa
te Patricii pontificis atque heredis
Fol nba.
Cathedrae eius aird machae esse debuerat
140 quia donauit ill! deus totam insolam ut supra diximus
I tern scire debemus Omnis monachus u
nius cuiusque aeclessiae si ad patricium reuerterit
non denegat proprium 6 monachi uotum maxime
si ex consensu abbatis sui PRIORIS deuouerit
145 I taque non uituperaodus neque excommoni
candus quicumque ad aeclessiam eius perrexe
1 for nihilo minus. 2 vencranda is deleted by dots. 3 or prae
4 in ea or mea. 5 i.e. domnach as Domnach-raor or Donoughmore
6 vel proprii.
Angueli. 851
rit caussa amoris illius quia ipse
iudicabit omnes kibernenses in die mag
no terribilis iudicii in praesentia cliristi
150 Item de honore praesulis airdd mache
episcopi praesedentis cathedram pasto
ris praefecti
Si ipse praedictus pontifex ad uesperum
peruenerit loco quo receptus fuerit prae
155 beatur ei uriiali nice reffectionis dignae
consolatio praedictorum hospitum numero.C.
cum pabulis suis illorum iumentis praeter
hospites et infirmos et eos qui iectant in
fantes super aeclessiam et caeteros seu reprobos
160 et alios Item qui non receperit praedictum
praesulem in hospitium eundem 1 et reclus
serit suam habitation em contra ilium
.uii. ancellas 2 siue .uii. annos poeniten
tiae similiter reddere 8 cogatur
165 ITem quicumque contempserit aut
uiolaverit insignia consecrata emsdem
agii 4 id est patricii duplicia soluet
Si uero de contemptu aliorum insignium
1 sic.
2 i.e., cumala, in Irish, or the value of seven times three cows ; ancella
= ancilla (D'Arnis' Lex. Med. Lat.) = cumal, which means a bond-maid
(Cormac and O'Davoren) and alsoHhe value of three cows in silver or gold.
In O'Curry's Lect., Vol. III., p. 4?9 " cumal is a mulct or fine, generally of
three cows." I find 7 or multiples of 7 in connection with this value or
fine. Thus tri. vii. cumal. vii. cumala, da vii. cumal., pp. 311, 479, 504, 514,
515, etc., of O'Curry, Vol. III.
In O'Curry's volume these appear as fines for sarugad, or a violation
of right or dignity ; in Windisch's Texte, pp. 120 ; 300, they are given as
a dowry and as a reward, secht cumala di ina tinnscra; secht cumala di
or ocus airgit do illuag etc.
In the Documenta p. 101, 11.. 8, 9, we find the nom. sg. fern, in chumal,
and the ac. sg. ar chumil n. arggit ; Dr. Windisch inadvertently calls this a
dative in his Vocabulary, p. 459; and Zeuss in his Gram. Celt., pp. 241
and 244, translates it " pro pretio argenti," it is too general, as is evident
from the passages quoted supra, and Ferdomnach " scriba ecclesise
Armachanae sapiens et eximius " would translate it " pro ancella argenti,"
or, perhaps, pro cumulo argenti.
At p. 98, Vol. III., of Brehon Laws, in a note, it is said that " Cumal
==bondmaid, that a bondmaid was transferred in liquidation of a debt, and
that her value was equal to that of three cows." The fine of 7 cumals is
often mentioned in these Laws.
3 reudere in MS. * i.e. sancti viri = dytov.
852 Liber Angueli.
reddita fuerit .ii. ancellas 1 deconse
170 secratis summi praedicti doctoris
patricii reddentur . , . , . 2
Fol 2165.
Item quicumque similiter per industriam
atque Iniuriam uel nequitiam malum quodcumque
opus contra familiam seu paruchiam eius per
175 ficerit aut praedicta eius insignia dispexe
rit ad libertatem examinis eiusdem airdd
machae praesulis recte iudicantis perueniet
caussa totius negotionis Caeteris alio
rum ludicibus praetermissis
180 IT em quaecumque caussa ualde difficilis
exorta fuerit atque ignota cunctis
scotorum gentium iudici bus ad cathedram
archiepiscopi hibernensium i.e. pat
ricii atque huius antestitis examinatio
185 iiem recte refFerenda
si uero in ilia cum suis sapientibus facile
sanari non poterit talis caussa praedictae
negotionis ad sedem apostolicam de
creuimus esse mitten dam i.e. ad petri apos
190 toli cathedram auctoritatem romae
urbis habentem
Hii sunt qui de hoc decreuerunt i.e. auxi
lius patricius secundinus benignus
Post uero exitum patricii sancti alumpni sui
195 ualde eiusdem libros conscripserunt
Fundamentum orationis in uiiaquaque die
dominica in alto machae adsargifa
gum 8 martyrum 4 adeundum ab eoque re
uertendurn i.e. Domine clamaui ad te usque in fin em
1 recte, ancellse. 2 sic.
3 a gloss is put in the margin here duferti martar ; now Tempul-Ferta
in Scotch-street, Armagh (Bishop Reeves in his " Churches of Armagh," p. 5).
In the Uocnmtnta, p. 45, we have the nom. sing. fern, ubi nunc est Fertae
Martyrum juxta Ardd-Machae, where Arrd is a misprint; gen. sg. fertae,
p. 73 ; dat. sg. hi ferti, duferti pp. 61 and 21bb ; ace. sg. adferti pp.32 ; 34,
and ad forte in Brussel's Codex. We get its form from the words "fossam
rotuiidain in simiJitudinein fertae^ p. 73, and its gender from ad fertij
q_uam f oderunt viri p. 32. This old word is not in Windisch or Zeuss or
iii Stokes' Glossarial Index to Felire.
4 written martyrem with an u over the e.
L/iber Angueli. 853
200 ut quid deus repulisti in finem
et beati immaculati usque in finem benedictionis
et XII ^almi graduum Flnit
INTer sanctum Patricium hibernensium Brigi
tamque columpnas 1 amicitia caritatis
205 inerat tanta ut unum cor corisiliumque
Fol. 22aa.
haberent unum Christus 2 per ilium illamque
uirtutes multas peregit
Uir ergo sanctus christianae uirgini ait
mea Brigita paruchia tua in
210 prouincia tua &pud reputabitur mo
narchiam 3 tuam in parte h&utem orien
tali et occidentali dominatu in mea 4 erit
I believe this is the oldest MS. in which St. Brigit is
mentioned. She is spoken of also at p. 65, 1. 21; p. 66, 1. 3.
Episcopus films Cairtin avunculus Brigtae sanctae ; Sancta
Brigita pallium cepit sub manibus filii. caille. The nom. Brigit
is written on the margin of fol. 125, and is given also in the
forms Brigit-a, cepit, mea Brigit-^, Brigit-&mqiie columpnas.
The genitive is given in avunculus Brigtae, and the nom.
dual, di Brigte, the two Brigits, p. 114, 1. 6. In an inscription
at Clonmacnoise, said to be of the eighth century, we have
gen. " Oioit do Mael-Brigte ; we find also gen. Mael-Brigtae
in the St. Gall MS. ; and in Marianus : gen. Moel-Brigte,
and Mel-Brigte, and voc. a Brigit, anoeb-chaillech ! Brigit
holy nun ! Would it not be well to encourage the primitive
spelling, and to discourage such corruptions as Bridget,
Biddy, Bidelia, Delia, and Lia ?
The name of our Apostle is, in the Book of Armagh,
written Patrice twenty-three times, and Patric once; the
accent is over a eight times ; and the contraction is Pat.
passim. The word is unchanged in gen. dot. or ace. Perhaps
at the present day it would be better to write Patric, which
is the spelling of the MSS. of Armagh and St. Gall, or Patrice,
which is that of the Book of Armagh, of the Book of Burrow,
and a MS. of the sixth century. EDMUND HOGAN, S.J.
1 inversion for Patricium Briyitamque, Hibernensium Columpnas.
2 XRC in MS. 3 i.e. apud monarchiam. 4 sic.
C 854 ]
'THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
INJUSTICE IN SELLING.
u I. A tea merchant who is in the habit of supplying a certain
district by means of his tea-cars, before retiring from business or
closing, sells very inferior teas to his customers at usual prices.
Almost at once they protest, but find he is no longer in the trade.
Is he bound to restitution ? "
II. u Suppose the tea-carman appears for the first time in a
neighbourhood and knowingly sells a bad article at the price of good
tea, telling those who buy from him that it is first-class ?"
III. " What about pedlars who sell showy shoddy to countryfolk
at the price of good cloth ? "
I. & II. The chief point of difference between the first
and second question is that the first supposes not a passing
but a standing contract in regard to quality, as the customers
wish to pay for such tea as they previously received. But to
both the same plain answer must be given. The people did
not intend making presents of money. They merely wanted
to part with the price of what they received. But in each
case the purchaser exacted more than the pretium summum
of his goods. He holds money beyond the value of what he
gave money which is not price money at all. This he is
obviously bound to restore.
III. The pedlar in the same way has money beyond the
value of his wares, and this he cannot retain on a contract of
buying and selling. He may retain only so much money as
he has given value for.
A DIFFICULTY ON THE FEAST OF SS. PETER AND PAUL.
< k I wonder do others feel the difficulty that occurs to me on the
Feast of SS. Peter and Paul. Very likely some do. In preaching on
that day I constantly dread a danger of acting against the spirit of
the Church by explaining the greatness of St. Paul more fully than
that of St. Peter. This, I need not say, is not from any want of
reverence for the Prince of the Apostles, but arises from the fact that
I have always had a special devotion to St. Paul and liking for his
lofty character. How am I to act ? A reply in the RECORD might
benefit others besides. SACERDOS."
Our correspondent's letter has nothing whatever in
Theological Questions. 855
common with the factious predilection of Protestants for
St. Paul. On any of St. Peter's feasts he could and would
gladly speak the praises of the Prince of the Apostles with as
much justice to the subject as he would deal out to his loved
St. Paul on the feast of his commemoration. Nay, when both
sermons had been heard, we venture to think his words could
scarcely fail to leave on the minds of his hearers a pretty
accurate notion of that relative greatness which somehow
troubles our correspondent on the 29th of June. Perhaps he
himself feels this. And why should he not ? Sacerdos ' and
every other priest knows very well that a principal object
with the Church in establishing festivals of the saints is that
the lesson of their lives may be forcibly but truthfully put-
before the people for their example and encouragement. If
this be faithfully done, comparisons will take care of them-
selves, whether the saints, whose glories and triumphs we
commemorate, are honoured on the same or on different days.
See how beautifully the Church blends " Beate pastor Petre"
with " Egregie Doctor Paule " in her hymn at Lauds.
But we fancy our correspondent may be inclined to reply
that both Office and Mass speak chiefly of St. Peter, while
St. Paul's glories are left over for his commemoration next
day. Is it not clear, therefore, that the Church desires that
the former Saint, almost exclusively, should receive our
homage on the 29th ?
To such a question two replies at once present themselves.
In the first place, the life of St. Peter alone affords abundant
material for several instructions and sermons. But secondly
should a preacher be anxious, as many are, owing to the day
being dedicated to both Saints, to take in briefly the Liturgy
of the 30th, as well as that of the 29th, in his sermon, we can
see^iio serious obstacle to prevent his doing so. Assuredly
no more glorious subject need be desired for the best powers
of Christian oratory or instruction than the great natural
parts of "both princes," how reliance on these natural
powers made the one a denier of Our Lord, the other a
persecutor of His followers, what extraordinary graces each
received for his personal sanctification, and what wonderful
jurisdiction and Apostleship were conferred on them for the
good of others.
856 Documents.
But this much should be carefully remembered when
comparisons are made. If the great St. Paul be lauded for
those wonderful missions, which " God's grace with him"
enabled him to accomplish, as well as for the inspired
writing which the Holy Ghost moved him to put together,
still more should the faithful be told of the superior dignity
and authority over all Christendom of him who was made by
Christ the Rock on which the Church was built and from
which it derives its unique indefectibility. Indeed a simple
explanation of the jurisdiction of St. Peter and his position as
First Pope should never be denied to the willing ears of the
people in a sermon on this festival.
What the Church desires is that the exact truth about both
Apostles should be known, and it was because their relative
positions were being mistated or perverted that in 1H47
Innocent X. condemned as heretical a proposition asserting
the equality of SS. Peter and Paul " Ita explication ut
ponat omnimodam aequalitatem inter S. Petrum et S. Paulurn
sine subordinatione et subjectione S. Pauli ad S. Petrum in
potestate suprema et regimine universalis Ecclesiae
haereticum censuit et declaravit."
In conjunction with this Primacy of St. Peter our corres-
pondent need have no hesitation about speaking of St. Paul's
glorious praises to his heart's content.
P. O'D.
DOCUMENT.
i POSTOLIC Letter of Pope Leo XIII., in which the Holy
J\^ Father makes it obligatory on the students of the
Roman Seminary and Seminario Pio, after they have com-
pleted their Philosophical and Theological course, to apply
themselves for an additional year to the exclusive study of the
Italian, Latin and Greek languages and literature.
His Holiness wishes that the students attending the Law
classes should also attend the Literature classes in the first
year.
Documents. 857
He reserves to himself the authority to dispense a student
of those colleges from the obligation of devoting the special
year mentioned in this Apostolic letter to the study of the
three languages.
LlTTERAE APOSTOLIC AE LfiONIS PP. XIII. PER QUAS IIS QCAE A
PlO IX. P. M. CONSTITUTA SUNT DE RATIONE STUDIORUM IN
SEMINARIO ROMANO NONNULLA ADIICIUNTUR AD DISCIPLINAM
LlTTERARIAM IN CLERICIS PttOMOVENDAM.
LEO PP. XIII.
AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM.
Validis firmisque doctrinae praesidiis Cleri institution! iuvandae
inclitus Decessor Noster fel. rec. Pius IX., Apostolicis litteris sub
plumbo datis IY. calendas lulii anno MDCCCLIII. sacrum
Seminarium de suo nomine Pium appellatum, delectis Clericis
excipiendis ex omnibus Dioecesibus Provinciarum Pontificiae ditionis
ad S. Apollinaris in urbe excitavit, aliisque litteris sub annuloPiscatoris
die III. Octobris eodem anno editis, rationem studiorum constituit,
quae in scholis Pontificii utriusque Seminarii, Eomani et Pii, in
perpetumn servaretur.
In hoc magno ac salutari opere perficiendo augustus Conditor id
potissimum spectans, ut iuvenes Cleri ci ad pietatis graviorumque
doctrinariim laudem solide accurateque informarentur, quo in Dominico
agro excolendo christiani populi utilitati et bono naviter inservire
possent, suis Apostolicis litteris sanxit, ut qui Seminarii Pii locum
peterent, ii emensis in suis quisque Dioecesibus Rhetoricae studiis
suaque in humanioribus litteris peritia legitimo experimento probata,
ad peragendum in Urbe integrum Philosophiae ac Theologiae curri-
culum in Seminarium adlegerentur, in eoque iurisprudentiae etiam
studiis ita vacarent ut ad integrum eorum cursum explendum baud
quaquam obstricti, iuris tamen Pontificii, civilis et criminalis institu-
tionibus operam dare omnino adigerentur.
Has illnstris Decessoris Nostri de accurata Cleri institutione curas
Nos omni studio prosequentes, ac praecipua voluntate adducti
humaniorum litterarum fortunae consulendi. quas a veteri dignitate
collapsas ternporum conditione moleste ferebamus, eorum studiorum
rationi instaurandae, et ad pristinum revocandae decus, animum
adiiciendum putavimus ; ac propterea, superiore anno, litteris die XX.
Mail datis ad dilectum Filium Nostrum Lucidum Mariam S. R. E.
Presbyterum Cardinalem Parocchi vicaria Nostra potestate in Urbe
fungentem, novas in Seminarii Romani aedibus scholas italicis*
858 Documents.
latinis ct graecis litteris tradendis constituimus, opportunitatem
praebentes utriusque Seminarii aluinnis aliisque clericis Philosophiae
Theologiae et lurisprudentiae cursu perfunctis, ut oblata a Nobis ope,
ad penitiorem et cumulatiorem in litteraria palaestra et disciplina
eruditionem ac laudera eniti atque assurgere possent. Nobiscum
enim reputavimus quantopere disciplina, usus et facultas litterarum
necessaria sit iis, qui pietatis ac veritatis catholicae tuendae ac
propagandae munere funguntur, et quantum ornamenti ac praesidii
ad doctrinae laudem accedat, ubi ea cum litterarum laude apte
coniuncta reperiatur. Magisteriis itaque litterarum, quae diximus,
iam Deo favente f eliciter cura Nostra constitutis, illud Nobis agendum
esse intelligimus, ut quam fieri potest ad plurimos, eorum utilitates ac
fructus manare curemus.
Quamobrern hisce Nostris litteris, firmis atque integris permanen-
tibus ceteris omnibus, quae ab inclito Decessore Nostro in iin, quas
memoravirnus, Apostolicis litteris deutroque Seminario sancita fuere,
Nos decernimus ac statuimus eos omnes qui inter alumnos Seminarii
Pii cooptari cupiunt, in iis experimentis, quae ab ipsis edenda sunt
ad Seminarii locum obtinendum, praeter ea quae in Apostalicis
Decessoris Nostri litteris decreta fuere, suam quoque peritiam in
litterarum graecarum rudimentis probare debere ; itemque decernimus
ac mandamus ab utriusque Seminarii Romani et Pii alumnis, Philo-
sophiae ac Theologiae studiis peractis, italicarum, latinarum et graeca-
rum litterarum disciplinis a Nobis in Seminarii Romani sede con-
stitutis, in annum integrum, omni aliorum studiorum cura interrnissa,
operam esse navandam, earumdemque litterarum scholas ab iis
celebrari volumus primo etiam iurisprudentiae anno, quo sacri, civilis,
et criminalis iuris Institutionum Magistros audient ; atque ad Nostram
Nostrorumque Successorum auctoritatem revocamus de alumnis
decernere si quando aliquem hac legi solvi graves iustaeque caussae
postulaverint.
Haec uti a Nobis praescriptae sunt, firmiter servari iubemus,
praecipimus et mandamus decernentes has Litteras esse perpetuo
valituras, contrariis non obstantibus, individua etiam et peculiari
mentione dignis, quibuscumque.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub annulo Piscatoris, die
xxx. Julii MDCCCLXXXVI, Pontificatus Nostri anno nono.
M. CARD. LEDOCHOWSKI.
[ 859 ]
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
COMMENTARIUS IN PKOPHETAS MiNORES. Auctore F. Knaben-
bauer, S.J. Parisiis: Lethielleux, 1886. Vols. I., IV., p. 96>
II., VIII., p. 485.
THE Commentary on the Book of Job, which we have reviewed
in the July number of this periodical, has been followed by two further
volumes on the '' Prophetae Minores." The method and the principles
.of interpretation which have met with the approval of the German
reviewers, Drs. Bickell, Br. Schafer and Holzammer, are to be found
in these volumes also. The great advantage modern interpreters
have over their predecessors is the advance made in philology and
history, and especially in criticism. Long experience has taught this
lesson, that in interpreting the bible, it is not sufficient to take one
edition or version to explain the original Hebrew or the Vulgate
without paying regard to the other translations ; but that in doubtful
passages we must have recourse to the other translations also in order
to find the true reading. Some Protestant interpreters have gone too far
and have attempted to reconstruct the texts of Scripture on these
principles, ejecting and inserting whole verses, and among Catholics
even Dr. Bickell, one of the best critics, has sometimes been carried
too far. Knabenbauer is very judicious in proposing changes, or
supposing interpretations; in most cases he has supplied the reader
with the reasons pro and cow., and thus enabled him to judge'for him-
self. Protestants have done so much for the elucidation of grammatical
difficulties for fixing the meanings of difficult words and constructions
that a modern interpreter must confine himself to the judicious
adoption of the results of their researches. In strictly philological
points where they are not clouded by prejudices, the Protestants are
generally trustworthy guides, but altogether shallow and disappointing
in theological and philosophical subjects. Messianic passages are
rejected by them without giving any proof, the arguments of Catholic
theologians are either misrepresented or answered by a sneer. Thus,
Kuenen in his book " The Religion of Israel," III., p. 28, says.
referring to Malachy L, 11, "The prophet must have believed that the
heathens worshipped Jahve and offered sacrifice to him ; this was the
standpoint upon which the wise stood formerly ; upon which the
Sopherim (the learned in the law) were able to place themselves now."
Such a startling proposition, that the Hebrews acknowledged the
heathens as true worshippers of Jehova, requires further proof than
the reference to Malachy L, 11., which has been constantly explained
860 Notices of Books.
of the Holy Sacrifice. Reuss, another corypheus of the critical school,
sneers at the idea of explaining this passage of the Popish Mass, but
gives no argument. Many more instances might be given of the
flippancy of Protestant interpreters, and of their sophistical argu-
mentation which would convince even the most enthusiastic admirer
that the results of their researches on the theology of the Old Testa-
ment are merely negative, a refurbishing of errors long refuted. Thus,
Kueuen, in his " The Prophecy and the Prophets of Israel," maintains
in the preface, p. 27, that there are nowhere found " special prediction*
with regard to contingent events, that prophecy keeps to generalities,"
and yet, all through the book, he endeavours to show that the pre-
dictions of the prophets are fallible anticipations of the future, because
all the threats on Damascus, Tyre, were not fulfilled. To meet the
objections, that if the prophecies were not fulfilled, the prophets must
have been deluded, or have deluded, because they state so often " God
speaks," "these are the words of God." Kuenen answers apodeicticallv
" The dilemma, prophet or impostor, exists no longer." Neither
Kuenen, nor Hermann Schultz, who has likewise written a history
of Old Testament Theology, nor any of the numerous workers on the
same field are safe guides, and it is very doubtful whether a Catholic
interpreter would be justified to point out the peculiar and charac-
teristic tenets of every sacred writer, and convey the false notion,
that any truth not proposed in his book was not believed by him.
Whilst granting that there is a development of doctrine in the
Hebrew writers, we must claim for them a belief in all those truths
which the whole people of Israel had in common, that is, in the law of
Moses. Protestant writers, who consider every prophet in himself
and in his book, and represent him as independent of every one else,
are able to draw a very vivid and characteristic picture of their
author, but is unfortunately too subjective and fanciful. For this
very reason, we cannot find fault with this commentary for paying
less regard to the peculiar tenets of each prophet as long as his agree-
ment with the doctrine of the Church is shown. More reasonable seems
another objection against this work, that the introductions are too
short, and do not sufficiently enter into the modern theories. The
author ought at least have explained the reason for this omission,
viz., that all those questions will be treated in the Special Introduction,
where a full statement of all modern theories and a full refutation of
Protestant errors will be given. To the buyer, and in most cases to
the student it is more convenient to find those questions discussed in
the Special Introduction to the Old Testament than before every book.
What we require in a modern commentary, and wherein the old
Notices of Books. 861
interpreters are very deficient, is the illustration and confirmation of
events mentioned in the bible by the historical documents of neigh-
bouring nations. The cuneiform inscriptions, the recent discoveries
in Egypt, have thrown a flood of light on the history of Israel, and
also on the interpretation of difficult words and passages. Fr.
Knabenbaner deserves great credit for having gleaned some very
useful information from these inscriptions. The passages which he
has been able to explain better by this means are mentioned in the
prefaces to the two volumes. Special care has been bestowed on the
analyses and the summaries prefixed to each division. The orde
and arrangement of the thoughts has always been pointed out, and
if there is any fault to be found it is that of over-doing it rather than
of omission. Having said so much of the general principles of inter-
pretations, we shall mention some few passages. The Prophet Joel
has been considered by some as the most ancient prophet, even older
than Osee, on the other hand, Merse and Scholz maintain that Joel
was one of the exiles who returned to Jerusalem with Esdras. The
reason alleged by Merse are so very peculiar, that we shall give the
substance of some of them. l,The state is supposed to be so small,
that when the trumpet blows all people in Sion hear it (Joel ii., 15,)
and are called to a meeting to keep the fast. 2, The book supposes that
the laws and Mosaic rites are strictly observed, and that there exists
no idolatry among the people. 3, The prophet does not insist on
contrition of heart, but on fasting and rites : everything is carnal.
4, The whole prophecy is a compilation from more ancient prophecies.
I trust my readers do not require the refutation of so vague, unfounded
assertions, and have no desire of hearing the arguments of Scholz.
Not less unreasonably, the learned professors maintain that the
locusts and their devastations of the country, so graphically described
by the prophet, cannot be explained of actual locusts and actual
devastations, but must be understood metaphorically of various
calamities. Joel has been admired for the beauty of his images, for
the excellence of his style ; to Merse he is a wretched compiler and
plagiarist. Fr. Knabenbauer supposes, with most ancient commen-
tators, that the order in which the minor prophets are placed in our
bible is chronological, and that unless there are very strong reasons
to the contrary, we are not entitled to place any one of the old
prophets much later. Thus, Abdias cannot have lived after the
exile. That he was the contemporary of Amos is proved by pointing
out that his words (xii., 13), cannot be understood of the destruction of
Jerusalem but the mere sacking of the town, that he does not suppose
that Judea was deserted, that he does not speak of a return from
862 Notices of Books.
exile, lastly, that not Abdias borrowed from Jcremias, but Jeremias,
who is so very fond of borrowing from his predecessors, knew the
prophecy of Abdias. The book of Jonas is, in more than one respect,
remarkable ; it contains no prophecy but the narrative of some
miraculous events in the life of this prophet. Jonas is a type of
the risen Christ. The narrative .exhibits perhaps more clearly than
any other book of the Old Testament, how God extends his mercy
over the heathens as well as the Jews ; then, as St. Augustine has
pointed out, it shows how very different a preacher Jonas was from
Christ and the Apostles. The character of Jonas is well drawn, so
true and life-like, that no critic should have conceived the idea of
seeing in Jonas, an allegory or a Greek myth. Protestant interpreters
are only too inclined to consider historical persons as mythical heroes,
or as personifications of natural phenomena. The way in which
difficult passages are explained by reference to heathenish feasts and
rites is often most unscientific. In Zacharias xii., 11, we read : " In
that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem, like the
lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon. The morning
is clear, the memory of the sufferings of our Lord is as sad and bitter
as was the lamentation over Josias who fell at Mageddon." Merse,
Reuss, Wellhausen, the great luminaries of the critic school, give a
quite different interpretation. Hadadremmon is the sun-god, the
author of the fertility of the soil, the feast of whom was celebrated
by great wailing and self-inflicted pains by the Syrians. But Wolf
Baudissin, in Herzog's Real Encyklopaedie, rightly remarks, that the
prophet could not have compared the wailing over the Messias with
the wailing over an idol. Further, Hadadremmon cannot be com-
pared to the Greek Adonis, he is not the God of fertility, but of
storms, as Knabenbauer proves from Schrader Keilinschriften, p. 454.
St. Jerome mentions a town, Hadadremmon, in the plain of
Jezrahel. This is confirmed by modern travellers who discovered in
the neighbourhood a village Rummaneh ; hence, we learn that the
prophet gives the very place where King Josias fell, the Book of Kings
the town. None will find fault with Fr. Knabenbauer for defending
the text of the Vulgate, or for showing, that where it errs, it is often
much nearer the truth than even other modern interpreters. He
deserves our special thanks for the way in which he shows that many
interpretations which are attributed to Protestants were first given by
Catholics. Protestants have borrowed so much from us, and in
order not to be found oat, declare that the Catholic interpreters are
useless, and not worth quoting. A critic has found fault with the
Notices of Books. . 863
Latin language which he thinks is not suited for expressing the finer
shades of the meanings of words and construction. This sweeping
condemnation of Latin, on the part of the critic, shows to us that he
cannot be acquainted with Nagelsbach, the author of the Latin
Stilistik, who judges quite differently. I do not say that Fr.
Knabenbauer's Latin style is perfect, that it could not be more simple
and concise, but I maintain that the Latin language has this great
advantage, that the meaning of the words are fixed and not in a
continual change, and undetermined as in modern languages ; that the
regularity and the strict logic of the Latin language, the fewness of
metaphors and poetical expressions, forces an author who writes
Latin to prune down the luxuriance of modern style. Often when
reading modern authors, I said to myself : How much I do wish this
man had translated these sentences into Latin, how more logical and
concise would he be ! Having examined the two volumes carefully,
we may recommend them as safe guides which embody the most
modern researches in history and grammar, and lead us to the full
understanding of the meaning of the prophets. The commentary
would gain by omitting quota' ions of authorities for notes and
explanations which every one could give. In many cases, especially
in difficult passages, the author should state his own opinion, and give
shortly his reasons, the more explicit proofs, and the refutation of
adversaries ought to be given in a note. Interpreters of Scripture
have still much to learn from classical philologists. A. ZIMMERMAN.
HISTORY OP INTERPRET ATON OF SCRIPTURE. BAMPTON
LECTURES. By Frederick Farrar. London : Macmillan,
1886.
CANON FARUAR is an able writer, who knows how to put to good
use the researches of others and to popularize them. Unfortunately his
facility in writing has made him careless. As in this book he goes
partly over well-known ground, we should have expected a careful
revision of the materials collected in his Life of Christ, and his Life
and Writings of St. Paul. The book is no improvement on its pre-
decessors, but a sensational work seemingly written to vilify the
Catholic Church and Catholic interpretation. . This may seem a very
harsh assertion to those who have read the favourable reviews in
other journals ; but a few quotations will bear me out. The life of
the Renaissance, infused into religion, made the influence of the grave
and earnest Teutonic race, a return to nature which was not a
rebellion against God, an appeal to reason which left room for loyal
allegiance to the bible and to Christ. "The Christian Rome of
864 Notices of Books.
Borgia (Alexander VI.) has deserved every one of the denunciations
which have been hurled at the Pagan Eome of Nero by the Apocalyptic
Seer. There was mental coercion and moral disorder." We may well
ask : and what have these fierce denunciations of the Church of Rome
to do with the history of interpretation of Scripture ? And yet ever
so many pages are devoted to a description of the vices of Popes and
clergy, and to the praise of Luther and Calvin. Many 'of Canon
Farrar' s expressions reminds us of the infamous Bale or Knox, or
any of the writers paid by Thomas Cromwell. To conceal his utter
ignorance of Catholic interpreters, he says in his preface : There
have been many eminent commentators whose names do not occur in
the following pasfes because their writings produced no change in the
dominant opinions. But, even following this rule, mention ought to
have been made of Richard Simon, not to speak of elder commentators,
who, in the judgment of Reuss, a (far higher authority than Farrar)
have far surpassed their Protestant contemporaries. A careful perusal
of the works of Reuss, Diestel, Siegfried, Merx, whom he quotes from
time to time, might have made him avoid many mistakes ; he would
have been enabled to judge the characters of the leading interpreters
of every period, their aims, the means employed, their shortcomings.
Of all this we find no trace. The account of modern Protestant
literature is very meagre ; of Catholic interpreters Farrar knows
absolutely nothing. To illustrate the character of the author, we
quote one of his hermeneutical rules : " Have we not the spirit of God
to guide us, or has he abdicated his office since the days of St. John ?
Is it not enough that, to us, the test of God's word is the teaching of
Him who is the word of God ? Is it not an absolutely plain and
simple rule, that everything in the bible which teaches, or seems to
teach anything which is not in accordance with the love, the gentleness,
the truthfulness, the purity of Christ's gospel, is not God's word to
us, however clearly it stands on the bible page ?" We may ask, who
is then the judge ? if neither the authority of the Church nor the tes-
timony of the bible is accepted. How do we know what is in
accordance with the gentleness of Christ, and what not? Some
disprove the existence of hell from the gentleness of Christ's gospel,
yet from the same gentleness the existence of hell might be proved.
Farrar is not aware that by this principle, all religious enthusiasts
are justified, that every extravagant conceit of fancv maybe defended
by an appeal to the spirit of God who guides every student of
Scripture. We Catholics have certainly no reason to grudge the
Protestants their spiritual freedom which leads them to such absurdities,
A. Z.
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
OCTOBER, 1886.
THE CONCURSUS FOR VACANT PARISHES.
THE common law of the Church, since the time of the
Council of Trent, requires that, as a rule, vacant
parochial benefices shall be conferred only after a legitimate
Concursus, and in each case on that candidate who shall be
deemed by the Bishop the most worthy of those declared to
be qualified by the Examiners. As some misunderstanding
seems to exist regarding the real nature of this Concursus,
we think it may be useful to point out exactly what the law
requires for a legitimate Concursus. We do not propose in
this short paper to enter into minute details, nor to discuss
debated questions, but simply to lay down the provisions of
the law, calling special attention to those points most likely to
be misunderstood.
The law regarding the Concursus is contained primarily in
the Decree of the Council of Trent, Sess. 24, c. 18. Expedit.
But this Decree has been supplemented and explained (a) in
the Constitution of Pius V. (18th March, 1566), (b) then by
an Encyclical Letter of Clement XI. (10th January, 1721),
prescribing the form of the Concursus, and (c) finally by the
well-known Constitution, Cum Illud, of Benedict XIV. (u. 78
in Bullar.), in which that most learned Pontiff sums up and
determines all the provisions of the law with his usual clear-
ness and accuracy.
It will be more convenient for us, however, to adopt the
scientific rather than the historical method of treating the
question.
VOL. VH. 3 I
866 The Concursus for Vacant Parishes.
I. THE EXAMINERS.
There can be 110 legal Concursus where Synodal
Examiners have not been first duly constituted in accordance
with the Decree of the Council of Trent. This Decree is
explained with great fulness by Benedict XIV. in his invalu-
able work, "De Syn. Dioeces." Lib. iv., c. 7. Six Examiners
at least, but not more than twenty, must be " proposed " in
the Synod by the Bishop or Vicar-General, and must
" satisfy " the Synod and be " approved " by it. It is safer
to take a vote on each name, but the vote may be open or
secret, as the Bishop wishes. 1 If no objection is offered
when the name is read, I dare say that would be a vote of
approbation, but if any objection is offered, then a vote must
be taken or the name must be withdrawn. A majority of the
Synodales will decide the question. In selecting the Examiners
a preference should be given, if they be otherwise qualified,
to masters, doctors, and licentiates in Theology or Canon
Law ; but any other clerics, even regulars, may, if qualified,
be selected, and all those so selected in Synod must then and
there, if present or, if not, afterwards before the Bishop or
his Vicar take an oath on the Holy Gospels or the relics of
the Saints that they will faithfully discharge their duty
uninfluenced by any human affection whatsoever. Neither
oan they accept "occasioiie hujus examinis nee ante nee
post," anything whatsoever, without incurring the guilt of
simony and all its consequences. The Council itself implies
elsewhere that the vacant benefice should bear the expenses
of the Concursus, so that although it is certain the Examiners
cannot even dine at the expense of the candidates, or any of
them, still we might venture to hope that this stringent
clause does not prevent them from dining at the expense of
the vacant benefice.
Of the Synodal Examiners, the Bishop selects at each
vacancy three or more- to hold the Concursus, but there must
be three at least besides the Bishop or his Vicar-General.
The office of the Synodal Examiners only holds until the
next annual Synod. If the number is reduced to less than
1 Sacra Congr. Concilii, llth July, 1592.
The Concursus for Vacant Parishes. 807
six during the year, the Bishop may fill up the vacancies to
complete the minimum number of six. If the annual Synod
is not regularly held, those named in the last Synod continue
competent Examiners even beyond the year, so long as six of
them survive, but no longer. If in these circumstances the
requisite number cannot be had, then recourse must be had to
the Holy See for authority to appoint pro-Synodal Examiners,
or a new Synod must be convened where they can be
appointed in the ordinary way. The Holy See will readily
grant permission in these cases to appoint pro-Synodal
Examiners.
II. NOTICE OF THE COXCURSUS AND NOMINATION OF
CANDIDATES.
When the vacancy actually occurs, the first duty of the
Bishop is to appoint at once statim if necessary, an admin-
istrator to take charge of the parish until a rector shall have
been duly selected.
The next duty of the Bishop or Vicar-General is to give
clue notice of the Concursus. For parishes of which the
Bishop has free collation this notice must be given within six
months 1 of the vacancy, by public edict setting forth the
date of the Concursus, which must be held at a time not less
than ten nor more than twenty days from the date of the
edict itself. If held infra decem dies from the publication of
the edict, the Concursus would not, it seems, be invalid : but
if any intending candidate complained that due notice had
not been given, then, if the Examiners had not yet reported,
he might and ought to be examined, otherwise the proceed-
ings would be invalid. 2 It is likely, but I do not find it
expressly stated, that affixing the Latin edict to the doors of
the Cathedral Church would bo deemed sufficient publication
in the sense of the law.
The Council of Trent says that the Bishop (where he has
free collation) should himself nominate worthy clerics to
be examined by the appointed Examiners, but at the same
time it permits others to nominate suitable candidates for
1 See Ferraris, sub voce, Art. iii., n. 4. 2 Ferraris, No. 12.
868 The Concur sus for Vacant Parishes.
examination, and adds that if the Bishop or Provincial Synod
thinks it judicious, all comers may be invited by public edict
to the examination. Benedict XIV. seems to require this
public edict in every case, and, per se loquendo, no fit candidate,,
whether parish priest or curate, diocesan or stranger, can be
repelled from the examination. In practice, however, it
would probably be found that only those candidates nomi-
nated by the Bishop or by some dignitary of the Diocese as
fit and proper persons would have any chance of succeeding
at the Concursus.
The episcopal edict should also require the candidates to
send in to the Secretary before the day of examination proofs
of their qualifications, services, and offices, as well as testi-
monial letters, both judicial and extra-judicial, and other
documents of a similar character, which may aid the
Examiners in forming a judgment on the relative merits of
the various candidates. These documents are to be all kept
in the custody of the Episcopal Secretary, who is to form an
abstract of same, setting forth the substance of these docu-
ments in each case for the information of the Examiners.
Copies of this abstract are to be furnished on the day of the
examination to the Bishop, aoid to each of the Examiners, and
the originals are to be at hand when required.
III. THE FORM OF CONCURSUS.
The mode of conducting the Concursus is fully set forth
by the Congregation of the Council in the Encyclical of
Clement XI. This special form, in all its details, is not
necessary sub poena nullitatis; but, if adopted, it throws the
onus probandi gravamen on the appellant in case of appeal,,
and, moreover, commends itself to all men as the simplest and
fairest method of procedure. First, then, the same questions-
should be set to all ; the same time should be allowed to all
for answering ; and all the candidates should be in the same
room, working under the strictest supervision, so that there
should be no means of using notes or of communicating with
each other, or with outsiders. The answers, except the
exposition of the Gospel text, are to be written in Latin,
signed by the candidate, and countersigned by the Secretary,
The Concursus for Vacant Parishes. 869
Examiners, and Ordinary. This is necessary to guard
against fraud, especially in cases of appeal.
The questions set to the candidates should include in
Dogmatic Theology the exposition and proof of some points
of doctrine, a certain number of questions in Moral Theology,
including cases, and a text from the Gospels, on which the
candidate is to write a plain homily in the vernacular suited to
the capacity of the people. The choice of the questions, and of
the subject-matter, is, to a great extent, left to the discretion
of the Examiners.
In estimating the literary and theological knowledge of
the candidates, Benedict XIV. says that the Examiners
should test the facility and skill of each of the candidates in
the oral exposition of some doctrinal question, taken from
the Holy Fathers, or the Council of Trent, or the Roman
Catechism in other words, their facility in giving cate-
chetical instruction. Moreover, they must weigh carefully
the relative merit of the answers given to each of the written
-questions, and especially the solidity (gravitas\ and the
literary skill (elegantia), displayed by the candidates in the
written homily on the Gospel text.
But learning (doctrina) is only one of the things which
the Examiners are to take into account informing their judg-
ment. The Council of Trent expressly requires fitness in
point of " age, morals, learning, prudence, and other
qualities" requisite for the pastors of souls and these
qualities are cumulatively required; so that a notable deficiency
in any of the four mentioned, would render the candidate
unfit for the office which he seeks. This is a very important
point which is frequently overlooked. Learning is necessary,
but by no means sufficient. Age, character, and prudence
must also be taken into account; and the most learned
candidate may be disqualified, if he is deficient notably defi-
oient in any of these respects. Furthermore, Benedict XIV.
expressly says that, in addition to these fundamental
qualifications, services [already rendered to the Church, the
laudable discharge of duties in the past, and other things,
too, the ornaments and fruits of virtue, should also be taken
into account by the Examiners. And why not ? If a man
870 Tke Concursus for Vacant Parishes .
has spent the best years of his life, with much fruit, in a>
laborious mission ; if he has built churches, and schools, and
parochial houses ; if he has risked his life for his flock
during years of pestilence and famine ; if he has wearied,
heart and brain in trying to keep his classes in the Seminary
in something like a decent state of proficiency ; if he has
spent 1he leisure, that others sometimes give to profitless
amusements, in literary labours that instruct and edify the'
faithful and adorn the Church : why should not these things
speciabilium virtutum ornamenta, as the great Pontiff calls
them be taken into account by the Examiners in pro-
nouncing on the merits of the candidates ?
It must be also carefully borne in mind that the duty of
the Examiners, in pronouncing their vote, is simply to deter-
mine the fitness or unfitness of each candidate, in these
respects, for the benefice in question. " Peracto deinde
examine, renuntientur quotcumque ab his idonei judicati
fueririt aetate, moribus, doctrina, prudentia, ex hisque
episcopus eum eligat quern caeteris magis idoneum
judicaverit." So the Council of Trent carefully words its-
Decree.
It is the duty of the Examiners, therefore, or a majority
of them, to return the names of all who are " fit ;" but it is
the Bishop alone who has the right of choosing the fittest
prae caeteris magis idoneus from amongst those declared by
the Examiners to be idonei. Some writers held the Bishop
was free to make his own choice amongst the idonei, without
any obligation of choosing the fittest ; but Innocent XL
expressly condemned that opinion, which is therefore no
longer tenable. However, of that superior fitness, which he is
bound to seek for, the Bishop is sole judge, and he may form
his decision, not only from information obtained from the
Concursus, but from any other source of information he may
possess even though private and confidential. He may
consult the Examiners, arid ask what candidate, in their
opinion, possesses superior merit ; but he is not bound to do
so, and, even if he does consult them, he need not follow their
judgment in that point, much less still if they merely
volunteer their opinion on the superior merit of any candidate*
The Concursus for Vacant Parishes. 871
This is very clearly and emphatically stated by Benedict XIV. 1
who quotes from his own Encyclical these words : " Absoluto
examine, ut cuique satis compertum est, sit tantummodo
potestas Examinatoribus remmtiandi quotquot regendae
ecclesiaeidoueos judicaverunt,reservatauniepiscopo electione
dignioris." " We do not," he adds, " however, deny that the
Bishop may, if he likes, before making his own decision, ask
the opinion of the Examiners on this point also, in order to
proceed with greater security in making his own choice."
The Board of Examiners is to consist of the Bishop himself,
or his Vicar-General, and at least three of the Synodal
Examiners. They are to frame the questions, preside at the
Examinations, sign the papers, consider the answers, and,
moreover, examine carefully, not only the literary merit of
the competitors, but also all the other qualities to which we
have already referred otherwise the proceedings would be
null and void.
They may also confer together on the merits of the candi-
dates before recording their votes. They are then and there,
before leaving, to record their votes for or against the fitness of
each candidate. The voting may be open or secret. The
Bishop or Vicar-General who presides at the examination, has
no vote in the first scrutiny, but if the votes are pares aut
singulares, that is, if the number of votes for and against any
candidate is equal, or if each Examiner, suppose, of the three,
records his vote in favour of a different candidate, then
the Chairman of the Board has a casting vote for or against,
as the case may be. In other words, when the votes are
paria, his vote will qualify or disqualify any candidate ; when
the votes are singularia, his vote will, it seems, qualify that
candidate in whose favour it is .given. Of course the Secre-
tary will keep not only the papers of the candidates, but also
a record of the voting, to be produced, if necessary, on
appeal.
IV. THE RIGHT OF APPEAL.
An appeal lies against the final decision on any of three
grounds : (a) that the examination was " contra formam
Tridentini," (b) or that there was a " mala relatio examinat-
i Lib. iv., c. viii., Xo. t>, De Synodo.
872 The Concur sus for Vacant Parishes.
orum," (c) or an " irrationabile judicium " in the final selection
made by the Bishop. This appeal must, however, be lodged
within ten days of the final announcement by the Bishop,
and may be made either to the Metropolitan or directly to
Rome. Heretofore it was unnecessary to prove a gravamen
before holding a new Concursus, but now where the form
prescribed by Clement XL for holding the examination is
observed, the papers must be sent to the judex ad quern, and
except it appears from the written documents and testimonies
that there is a prima facie gravamen, the appeal will be no
farther entertained, nor will a new Concursus be granted.
It is very difficult to establish such a gravamen, and hence
where the Concursus is properly conducted there is little
danger of a successful appeal. This appeal, too, is only
in devolutivo, and hence cannot prevent the candidate whom
the Bishop elects from taking and keeping possession of his
benefice pending the final decision. If the sentence is against
the incumbent he can appeal to Rome, and that candidate
finally conquers in whose favour two out of the three
decisions concur. Except the Concursus therefore should be
plainly invalid ratione formae, it is very rarely a can-
didate will venture to appeal with any chance of success
against the " mala relatio " of the Examiners, or the " irra-
tionabile judicium" of the Bishop. Moreover, the Bishop
may sometimes have in his own conscience a satisfactory
reason for electing one of the candidates which he can
explain to the Metropolitan or to the Pope in a confidential
communication, and which, if well-founded, will cause his
decision to be upheld by the Court of Appeal.
V. WHEN THE LAW REQUIRES A CONCURSUS.
The Council of Trent has itself excepted certain cases in
which parochial churches may be conferred without a
Concursus : first, where the revenues of the benefice are so
small as not to be able to bear the expenses of such an
examination ; secondly, where no candidate is found to pre-
sent himself for the Concursus ; and thirdly, where on
account of special circumstances, such as factions and dissen-
sions, the holding of the Concursus might give rise to grave
The Concursus for Vacant Parishes. 873
popular tumults or quarrels. In these cases the Ordinary, if
in his conscience he judge it expedient, may, after taking
council with the Examiners, hold merely a private examina-
tion without observing the form prescribed by the Council.
But in all other cases the common law requires that the
Concursus be held when the collator is a Bishop or other
ecclesiastical person ; and Pius V. expressly declares to be
null and void : " Omnes et singulas collationes, provisiones,
institutiones, et quasvis dispositiones parochialium ecclesiarum
praeter et contra formam ab eodem concilio Tridentino prae-
sertim in examine per concursum faciendo praescriptam,
factas aut in futurum faciendas."
(a) The Bishop then, or Ordinary collator, in all parishes,
is to make the collation, praevio concursu, within the space of
six months from the vacancy, otherwise the collation is ipso
facto reserved to the Apostolic See.
(b) In the case of parochial benefices generally or specially
reserved to the Pope, the Bishop is to hold the Concursus,
and either announce the dignior, or in certain cases send the
results of the examination to the Dataria within the space
of four months from the vacancy.
(c) When the benefice is of ecclesiastical patronage but
the institution belongs to the Bishop, then it is the right of the
patron to select the dignior after Concursus, to whom the
Bishop is bound to give institution. But if the institution
does not belong to the Bishop, but to some one else, then it
is the right of the Bishop to select the dignior, and of the
patron to present him for institution. Hence even when the
Pope institutes, the Bishop holds the Concursus, and at least,
as a rule, selects the dignior. 1
(d) But when the parish is one of lay or mixed patronage,
then no Concursus is required, but the candidate presented
by the patron must be examined by the Synodal Examiners,
and if found worthy be accepted by the Bishop.
The object which the Church has in view in instituting
the Concursus is to secure in the interest of the salvation of
souls that none but fit and worthy pastors shall be appointed
1 See De Synodo Dioecesana, Lib. iv., c. viii.
874 Sarsfield.
to the government of parishes. No doubt the Bishop has in
most cases ample opportunities of becoming acquainted with
the various qualifications of the priests of his diocese, and it
may be assumed that he will select only the most worthy for
the government of parishes. It is, however, of very great
importance that the younger clergy should be inspired with
a spirit of labour and of study from the beginning of their
missionary career, and for that purpose no other means so
efficacious as the Concursus can. possibly be devised. The
thought of it is before the mind of the young priest from
the day he is ordained. He knows that his learning, his
labours, his conduct, his services to the Church, will be
thoroughly and impartially investigated not only by the
Bishop, but, what is more important still, by three or four of
his fellow-priests the men who see him closest and know
him best. He knows that he must not only be good, but
even better than others of the same standing before he can
hope to become rector of a parish. So long as human
nature remains what it is, the knowledge that the Concursus
is before him will always be for the generality of priests the
very strongest possible motive to avoid evil and do good.
JOHN HEALY.
SARSFIELD. II.
EARLY in June, A.D. 1690, William, Prince of Orange,
came to Ireland, determined to conduct in person the
war against King James. From Belfast he led his army
southward to Newry. James on the other hand proceeded
northward from Dublin to Dundalk, but on learning there the
great superiority of William's army, he retreated across the
Boyne and took up his position on a ridge of hills on the
southern bank of that river, about two miles west of Drogheda.
The Prince of Orange was anxious to bring the war to a crisis
as soon as possible. He knew how ill-prepared his rival was,
and he resolved to lose no time in pressing on a decisive
Sarsfield. 875
battle, and on the 30th of June he came in sight of the Boyne.
The scenery around tbeBoyne,for its whole course is singularly
beautiful, butwearenowconcerned withit only from the village
of Oldbridgeto the sea. For that distance the river runs through
fine green pasture land, unencumbered by any trees. On the
southern bank the land rises gradually by gentle slopes from the
water's edge, andculmiuates in a ridge of hills about a mile from
the river. On the summit of this ridge in a little cluster of old
ash trees, are the ruined church and graveyard of Donore.
On this hillside James posted his army, and his own quarters
were within the old church of Donore which was even then a
ruin. On the northern bank of the river the hill, though not
so high as Donore, rises much more abruptly from the water
and reaches its greatest height about a few hundred yards
from the river. The land then inclines gradually to the north
and east into a fine valley running nearly parallel to the river.
In this valley William's army encamped on the 30th of June,
1690. From a hill beside his camp William obtained a view of
James's army and of the Boyne, and it was a sight to quicken
the pulse of the cold phlegmatic Dutchman. To the south-
east he saw the towers of Drogheda, the Irish flag floating
proudly from them, bearing the motto u Noiv or never, now, and
for ever" indicating the Irish resolve to tolerate no longer
the rule of the stranger. Across the river, south and south-
west he saw a double line of white camps and waving banners,
indicating the position of James's army. His experienced eye
saw clearly that all the advantages were on his side. He
could see how small, how ill-equipped was his rival's army as
compared with his own, even one of his attendants, General
Scravemore, remarked that the Irish army was small, and it is
clear from Story that this was the impression of William also
and of his principal generals. William then was certain of
victory. At all events the die was cast, and to-morrow's battle
would decide not merely the personal claims^of the rival kings
but would influence the fate of Ireland and the fortunes of
her people for generations yet to come.
The history of this battle, and of the entire period, has
been told from very conflicting points of view. Writers
hostile to Ireland point to it as a proof of the inferiority of
876 Sarsfield.
Irish soldiers. The sneering Voltaire says that the "Irish
never fought well at home," and he quotes this battle as a
proof. But the history of Ireland is not the only thing of which
Voltaire was ignorant. Macaulay, Froude, and others of their
school repeat the calumny. Our national historians, on the
other hand, say that the Irish soldiers at the Boyne had to
fight against overwhelming odds, and that the issue was more
creditable to the vanquished than to the victors. Now, how
stand the facts? The Rev. George Story, a Protestant
chaplain to one of the regiments that fought for William at
the Boyne, is the standard authority with writers on the anti-
Irish side. He was an eye-witness of what he states, and, to
do him justice, he is much more free from prejudice than his
copyists in our day. Story says that William's army con-
sisted of 36,000 men, "but," he adds, "though the world
called us at least a third part more " (Part ii., p. 19.) Now,
in this particular instance, "the world" was right, and the
chaplain was wrong. Nicholas Chevalier, in a very fulsome
history of King William, written in French, published at
Amsterdam in A.D. 1692, and dedicated, by permission, to William
himself, states that William's army at the Boyne was between
40,000 and 50,000 men. A Huguenot history of the period,
equally friendly to William, and published in Holland about
the same time, makes the same statement. And Mr. J. C.
O'Callaghaii states that " from the best military papers he
could get at in Trinity College, the State Paper Office, and.
British Museum, there must have been about 51,000 men and
officers on the rolls of those regiments " that fought for
William at the Boyne. It is clear, therefore, that the number
of William's army was altogether in excess of that given by
Story, and copied blindly by anti-Irish writers up to our
own day. This army was a strange medley of men of many
lands : they were all well-trained soldiers. The foreigners
among them were men who had distinguished themselves in
many continental wars, and they were led by some of the
best generals of the time. King William, their leader, was a
soldier from his childhood, was no doubt a brave man,
regardless of personal danger ambitious, unscrupulous a
man who merited neither the damning praise of the Orange-
Sarafield. 877
men nor all the censure cast on him by writers on the Irish
side. He is extolled as a champion of Protestantism, but the
real fact is, that he was not disposed to champion any
religion. He was, if anything, a Presbyterian. He cared
just as little for Protestantism as for Catholicity. He cared
much more for a kingdom, and his kingdom was emphatically
of this world. He had with him Schomberg, Count Solmes,
Caillemot, and many other experienced generals. He had
sixty pieces of cannon, with other arms, and military stores
in abundance. Story says : " In this respect they were as
well provided as any kingdom ever had been " (Part i., p. 70.)
Opposed to this army James had, on the southern bank of
the Boyne, only 23,000 men, with only twelve cannon, and
only six of those available for the fight. Thirteen thousand
of these men were trained soldiers, and the bravest of the
brave, as they proved themselves that day ; but they were
ill-supplied with arms and war-materials. The remaining
ten thousand were raw recruits, collected within the previous
three weeks undisciplined, unarmed men who, up to that
time, had been engaged in manual labour. These men were
armed merely with pikes and scythes ; not one in ten of them
had a gun, or knew how to use it. Story says (p. 73), that
on his way from Dundalk to the Boyne, William found in a
farm-house two hundred scythes abandoned by the Irish
soldiers, and, looking at one of them, he smiled, and said it
"was a desperate weapon." No wonder that William awaited
the issue of the battle with confidence. James had some
brave generals, no doubt, such as Sarsfield, Hamilton, the
Duke of Berwick, O'Neill, and Tyrconnell. The French
contingent was under the command of Count Lauzun, a sort
of military dandy, who was much more at home in courts and
drawing-rooms than on the battle-field. James himself had the
supreme command, and most unfortunately, for the soldiers
had completely lost confidence in him. They knew that his
sympathies were all with his English subjects, and that he
paid little heed to the wants or wishes of the brave men
who were risking their lives in his service. .They saw that
to gratify the jealousy of his pet generals, Sarsfield, the idol
of the whole army, was kept in an inferior command. They
878 Sarsfield.
knew that on the very eve of the battle James had despatched
a special messenger to Waterford, to have ships in readiness
to convey him to France if he were defeated at the Boyne.
And surely it was sufficient to break the spirit of the bravest
men to know that they were fighting under, and, still worse,
fighting for, such a man. And it must have been worse than
death to the Irish soldiers to feel that all their dearest
interests, those of their country and their creed, were identi-
fied with the cause of this miserable poltroon. At a council
of Avar, on the night before the battle, Sarsfield and the best
of his generals advised James not to risk a battle just then.
They represented to him the superiority of William's army in
numbers, arms, discipline ; they advised him to adopt defen-
sive tactics, to retreat beyond the Shannon, and make that
river his line of defence, and thus to borrow time until the
promised aid would have arrived from France. But James
was filled with the delusion that the fancied, innate
loyalty of his English subjects would assert itself, and that
they would abandon William once that they saw the standard
of their lawful king. James, therefore, resolved to fight, or
rather to let his followers fight for him ; for so strong in
him was the instinct of self-preservation, that he riot only
kept out of harm's way himself, but also kept Sarsfield and
the flower of the Irish army to act as his bodyguard at
Don ore. It is not necessary to go into the details of this
battle. Had it resulted otherwise than in the defeat of James,
it would have been little short of a miracle. When 50,000
men and 60 cannon are opposed to 23,000 men and 6 cannon,
it is easy to foresee the result. And from the nature of the
ground on the northern bank, William was enabled to plant
his guns within a few hundred yards of the river. And as
James had practically no cannon to reply, the Williamite
artillery swept the southern bank with so galling and deadly
a fire, as made it impossible for the Irish soldiers seriously to
dispute the passage of the river, which was then fordable at
all points. The river thus was crossed without much danger
or difficulty ; but a warm reception awaited the Williamites
on the southern side indeed, so warm that, according to
.Story, " a great many old soldiers, who were present, said
Sarsfidd. 879
they never saw brisker work " (p. 82). And so furious was
the onslaught of the Irish soldiers, that even Story admits
that, of all William's splendid army, only one regiment, the
Dutch Blues, held its ground unbroken on the southern bank
of the river. And for eleven hours this dreadful hand to
hand fight continued, during which time many of William's
regiments were driven back in confusion to the river, and
.across it ;. while some of his best generals, Schomberg among
thorn, were left dead upon the field. And for all this time,
Sarsfield arid his splendid regiment, so sadly needed on the
field, were kept to guard the worthless James ; and thus were
hindered from striking that blow for Ireland which their
souls longed to strike, and which, in all probability, would
have completely changed the fortunes of the day. At
length numbers began to prevail, and the ten thousand
Williamites who, in the morning, had crossed at Slane, were
already threatening the Irish rere. James, seeing this, left
the field and fled to Dublin ; and on the next day left Ireland,
never to return. The Irish army defeated, but not dis-
heartened, and certainly not dishonoured, retreated, not
hurriedly nor in confusion, but slowly and in such perfect
order as to elicit the admiration of Story, who says : " I
inquired of several, who they were that managed the retreat
the Irish made that day, so much to their advantage ; for
(riot to say worse of them than they deserve) it was in. good
order" (p. 89). The retreat was conducted by Sarsfield.
Arid William was so little disposed to follow up the fight,
that he did not pursue the Irish beyond Duleek, little more
than a mile from the field of battle ; thus, even from the
admissions of the Williamite historian Story, it is easy to see
how false and groundless are the charges of cowardice
brought by ignorant or prejudiced writers against the Irish
soldiers who fought at the Battle of the Boyne.
And now that Jarnes was gone, the Irish resolved to
continue the war, and to follow their own counsels in the
conduct of it. The advice given by Sarsfield before the
Battle of the Boyne was now adopted as a matter of necessity.
They retreated to Limerick and Athlone, resolved to make
the Shannon their line of defence. William followed, and
880 Sarsfield.
divided his army into two sections. He himself, with about
38,000 men, proceeded to Limerick; General Douglas, with
about 12,000 men, proceeded to Athlone. On his arrival,
Douglas summoned the garrison to surrender, but was
answered with stern defiance by the brave old commander,
Colonel Grace ; and so the siege began. After five days*
ineffectual cannonading, Douglas was startled by the intelli-
gence that Sarsfield was coming, with 1,500 horsemen, and
was already within twenty miles of Athlone. Unwelcome
news this was to the cautious Scotchman. Robbing and
killing defenceless peasants, was to him and to his me:i easy
work and pleasant Story's words are : " They were clever
at that sport" (p. 99) but a meeting with Sarsfield and his
horsemen may be less enjoyable ; and, to avoid such a
meeting, Douglas abandoned A.thlone. His retreat was
marked by the same atrocities as his advance. Story says of
this army : " During our stay here, the country people of all
persuasions began to think us troublesome " (p. 103). And
no wonder ; for they robbed and outraged, with the most
admirable impartiality, Protestants and Catholics alike.
Story adds: " All the poor Protestants thereabouts were now
in a worse condition than before. For they had enjoyed the
benefit of the Irish protection till our coming thither ; and
then showing themselves friendly to us, put them under a
necessity of retreating with us ... and yet they were badly
used by our men" (p. 104). We often hear this army des-
cribed as "our brave defenders," " the champions of Gospel
liberty and truth ;" and yet such is the character given
them by their own chaplain, who related what his own
eyes witnessed. A very common pastime with those
" brave defenders " was . stripping and plundering the
dead. Story tells us (p. 82) that when Walker, the Pro-
testant Bishop of Derry, was killed at the Boyne, he
was " stripped immediately," by his own followers, and
left in more than apostolic poverty, bleaching on the battle
field. Dr. George, secretary to Schornberg, gives a descrip-
tion of this army, which would be dismissed as incredible if
it had not been given by an interested friend. Mr. Lesly,
also a Protestant, said of them that : " he was himself a w T it-
Sarsfield. 881
ness that atheism, contempt of all religion, debauchery, and
violence WCT<J more notorious and universal in the Protestant
army in Ireland from the year 1688 to 1692, .and more
publicly owned, than since he knew the world'' (Answer, p. 36).
And even Mr. Froude admits of them that : " in their camp
religion was but canting," that the vilest vices were their
natural amusement. He describes them as " loose companies-
of swearing ruffians " (English in Ireland, vol. i., p. 193).
These statements, all of Protestant and interested writers,
will enable us to estimate at its proper value the praise
lavished on those " swearing ruffians " by the lying h'ps of
"Archbishop " King.
And now those " swearing ruffians " directed their steps'
towards Limerick no doubt diffusing blessings on their
way and before that city, on the 8th of August, 1690,
King William and Douglas united their forces, in all about
45,000. The Irish army within the city numbered about
14,000. The Irish leaders held a council of war. The
French officers, with Tyrconnell, and the Anglo-Irish were
for surrender. They represented how small was the Irish
army as compared with William's ; how utterly unfit the
fortifications were to endure a siege. Sarsfield, on the other
hand, with the old Irish and the soldiers, were for holding
out to the last ; and Sarsfield's well-known devotion to his
country, his popularity with the army enabled him to have
his way in the council. Tyrconnell and Lauzun basely left
the city, taking with them to Gal way the French troops,
and a large quantity of provisions and military stores.
Sarsfield and Boisseleau divided the command between them.
Boisseleau was to command the men within the city, and
Sarsfield with the cavalry was to guard the passes of the
Shannon. William immediately opened the siege of the city.
As yet however his full siege-train had not arrived. Nor
indeed was it destined to arrive. For on the night of Sunday
the 10th of August, Sarsfield, with 500 horsemen, left Limerick,
and proceeded along the Clare bank of the river to Killaloe.
He heard that William's splendid siege-train was on its way
from Cash el, and he resolved to see for himself. Above
Killaloe he crossed the Shannon unobserved, dashed across
VOL vn. 3 K
82 Sarsfield.
the country, and as Monday morning dawned he and his
gallant band had secreted themselves among the Keeper
Mountains. On Monday, Sarsfield learned from trusted
guides the exact position of the siege-train, and early on
Monday night he was led to the exact spot where his victims
lay. On a green hill-side near the ruined Castle of Ballyneety,
some ten miles west of the present Limerick Junction, the
conductors of William's siege-train had encamped for the
night. Their own camp at Limerick was only a few miles
off; the whole country around was in their hands, and
in perfect security (so thought they) they unharnessed their
horses, arid let them out to feed for the night. The sentry-
and guards were set, and the body of the men lay down to
sleep, little thinking that doom was so near them. Shortly
after midnight Sarsfield reached within a few hundred
yards of the sentries, and here he halted to give his men
the final instructions. By a fortunate accident he had dis-
covered the Williamite pass- word for the night. It was his
own name " Sarsfield" He ordered his men to preserve
the silence of death, until they had surprised the sentries,
and this done they were to dash furiously on the guards.
They advanced cautiously, were noticed by the sentry who
demanded the pass-word. He got it from Sarsfield himself,
who cried out : " Sarsfield is the word, and Sarsfield is the
man." The sentry was cut down, and Sarsfield and his men
rushed upon the guards of the convoy. Right and left
they deal destruction around them. Many of the men rushed
to seize their arms, in vain, for the keen swords of Sarsfield's
men cut them down. Story says that " many of them woke
in the next world." In a few minutes William's splendid
train was in Sarsfield's hands, and its guards lay dead on the
hill side, with the exception of a few, who escaped in the
darkness to tell their master in his camp at Limerick the
unwelcome news. Sarsfield filled the guns with powder,
stuck their muzzles into the earth, piled above them baggage
waggons, boats, &c., set fire to the pile, and in a few seconds
William's splendid siege train was blasted into air. The
red glare that lit up the heavens, the thunder roar that
shook the earth, and rent the air, proclaimed to William in
Sarsfield. 883
his camp, arid to the gallant defenders of Limerick that
Sarsfield had done his work. And that work done he
recrossed the Shannon leisurely and re-entered Limerick
amidst shouts of joy and welcome from its citizens and
salvos of artillery from the walls.
William, enraged at the destruction of his guns and
stores, vowed vengeance against Sarsfield and against
Limerick. Other guns were hurried up from Waterford,
this time more carefully guarded. The siege was re-opened
with redoubled fury, and was met with redoubled bravery.
William became impatient of delay. He was accustomed to
more of his own way than Sarsfield and his companions were
disposed to give him. Accordingly he directed all the fire
of 36 cannon against one point in the walls, determined to
effect a breach whereby he may, by sheer weight of numbers,
enter, and overpower the brave defendfirs of the city. The
point attacked was close to the present Catholic Cathedral.
On the 27th of August tAvelve yards of the city wall at
that point were broken down and William resolved to make
the assault on which he staked all. The Irish expected the
assault, and stood behind their walls resolved to sell their
lives dearly. At 3 o'clock at a given signal 5,000 chosen men
of William's army rushed from their trenches to the breach, and
then began as desperate a struggle as was ever yet witnessed
in war. Story, an eye-witness says : " In less than two minutes
the noise was so terrific that one would have thought the
O
very skies ready to be rent asunder. This was seconded with
dust, smoke, and all the terrors that the art of man could
invent to ruin and undo one another " (p. 129.) From walls
and trenches, and forts, a raging fire of musket and cannon
burst forth. Pike and bayonet, sword and musket, even sticks
and stones, dealt destruction around. The foremost ranks
both of assailants and defenders were cut down, and others
rushed to the post of honour and danger. And for two
hours did this struggle .continue at the breach until the
ammunition of the Irish began to fail, and then those
brave men had to fall back, and the Williamites followed
them into the city. Down along the present John-
street did the fight rage, 011 towards the river, the Irish
884 Sarsfield.
soldiers disputing every inch of ground, but still borne down
by numbers. At this point the women seeing their husbands,
sons, and brothers, so sorely pressed, rushed from their
houses, and animated with the courage of despair, seized
upon every available weapon sticks, stones, broken bottles,
and rushed like furies into the thick of the fight. They were,
of course mercilessly shot down. But this so maddened the
Irish soldiers, that life was no longer any consideration to
them. They rallied with desperate fury, the townspeople
of every class joined in the fight, armed with such weapons
as chance put in their way, and thus all Limerick, men,
women and children, turned on the detested foe. At this
moment Sarsfield with a fresh detachment of his horse-
men crossed Thomond bridge, and rode furiously in the
direction of the fight. At Ball's bridge they dismounted,
let their horses loose, and on foot, sword in hand, they
rushed up the narrow street into the midst of the
death struggle. Here the combatants were enveloped in
a cloud of smoke and dust, from which every second
flashed forth the fire of musket and pistol shot, and the
bright gleam of shining swords. Mingled with the din of
battle were the cheers of men resolved to conquer or die,
the wild shrieks of women, regardless of their own danger,
as they saw their loved ones fall, the cries and groans of
wounded and dying all these mingled with the roar of
cannon, darkened the horrors of a scene probably unequalled
in war. And for hours did this carnage continue, till
at length the strangers, like their countrymen elsewhere,
"paused, rallied, staggered, fled." On to the breach and
through it on to their trenches outside the walls did
the heroic men and women of Limerick drive the
hated foe, while William, from Cromwell's fort looked
on enraged at his retreating columns. But just one hope was
left. The Brandenburg regiment, William's own countrymen
had in the confusion seized on the Black battery, and held it
still, and William resolved to send on fresh troops who, aided
by the men at the Black battery, would perhaps re-enter and
take the city. But Sarsfi eld's plans were too well laid. The
Black battery was undermined, and just as Sarsfield had
Sarsfield. 885
cleared the breach, he turned to the battery, fired the mine,
-and instantly a column of smoke and dust, thickened by the
mangled bodies of William's countrymen, burst up high in the
air with a roar like thunder which sent a pang of grief to
William's heart, and woke the echoes in the distant hills of
Clare. Now was the cup of William's bitterness filled up.
He, of " pious and immortal memory," foamed, and raged,
.and cursed, as even profane people do ; so terribly indeed
did he do so, that according to Story none of his officers would
venture near him. He denounced them as cowards, told them
that if he had the handful of men who were within the city,
and they all defending it, he would take it from them in a few
hours. Useless railing now, for Limerick is lost. Night came,-
and William removed his guns from this position, put his army
in marching order, and as next day dawned he turned his
back on Limerick, defeated he said for the first time in his
life. And thus was the last stronghold of Irish freedom left
in the hands of its brave defenders, with the old flag of their
country floating proudly and defiantly from its ramparts still.
This heroic defence of Limerick marked out Sarsfield
as the one man most competent and most certain to lead
the Irish soldiers to victory. But the jealous intriguers
who surrounded King James hated Sarsfield, and used
^,11 their influence to keep him in an inferior position.
Unfortunately for Ireland they were successful. St. Ruth,
-a Frenchman, was sent over as commander-in-chief of the
Irish army. He had the character of a brave, experienced
general. But he was vain and passionate, one of those
pompous, important, self-sufficient individuals, who, when
they get authority, invariably abuse it. From the outset he
was jealous of Sarsfield, and always kept his plans concealed
from him. No doubt the brave Irish soldier felt such treatment
keenly, but for his country's sake he resolved to suppress his
feelings, and to try and serve her in the lowest, as cheerfully
-as in the most exalted station.
Shortly after the raising of the siege of Limerick, Tyre onnell
went to France, and was, no doubt, the principal agent in the
intrigues against Sarsfield. In Tyrconnell's absence the
supreme authority was entrusted to the Duke of Berwick,
886 Sarsfield.
assisted by a. select council of officers. Sarsfield was one of
this council, but the last named, and probably would not be
named among them at all, had not the viceroy feared that
the army would resent so great a slight to him who was their
idol. Sarsfield returned to his former post, the defence of the
line of the Shannon, and early in November, while stationed
near Athlone, he discovered a secret correspondence between
some of the Irish council in Limerick and the Williamite
generals. The correspondence revealed a plan for the
surrender of Limerick and Galway to the Williamites.
Sarsfield immediately posted to Limerick, laid the treachery
bare before the Duke of Berwick who, it appears, had himself
confirmatory evidence of it, and yet he allowed the traitors,,
with two exceptions, to retain their positions. Lord Riverston
was dismissed from the Secretaryship of State, and M'Donnell
was dismissed from the Governorship of Galway. To this
last post, as well as to the Governorship of the entire province
of Con naught, Sarsfield was appointed. With his usual
earnestness he set himself to re-organize the forces at his
command, and during the winter he foiled every attempt
made by the English to cross the Shannon.
As summer opened in 1691, the two armies were again
preparing to meet in deadly conflict. The English, this time
under General Ginkell, were as usual numerous and well
equipped. The Irish, under St. Ruth and Sarsfield, recently
created Earl of Lucan, were inferior in numbers and in arms,
but their innate bravery, stimulated by their success at
Limerick, compensated for many disadvantages. On the
18th of June, 1691, Ginkell, with 25,000 men and 50 cannon,
appeared before Athlone, this time defended by Colonel
Fitzgerald with 500 men. St. Ruth and Sarsfield, with 15,000
men, were on their way from Limerick, and Fitzgerald's plan
was to dispute every inch of ground, and thus borrow time
till all the Irish troops would have come up. The defence of
Athlone this time is one of the most daring recorded in the
history of any country. The first breaking down of the
bridge of Athlone by Colonel Fitzgerald's men the second
breaking down of it by Serjeant Cussen and his ten heroic
companions, are events that have scarcely a parallel in human
Sarsfield. 887
history. But as they do not enter into Sarsfield's history,
we shall pass them over. It reads more like fiction than like
real history, yet real history it most unquestionably is, and
told even by Story who was looking on. When we read
" how well Horatius kept the bridge in the brave days of
old," when we read of the heroes who held the pass of
Thermopylae, we may reflect with legitimate pride on the
fact that a few of our own countrymen in circumstances of
greater difficulty, displayed a like heroic bravery, that in
Grecian or Roman history we find nothing to surpass the
heroism of the Irish defenders of Athlone.
About the 21st of June the Irish army under St. Ruth
and Sarsfield arrived at Athlone, and measures were imme-
diately adopted to repel the assault of the English. Ginkell
had made several attempts on a large scale to cross the river,,
but each time failed as he would have failed for all time had
not the curse of divided councils paralysed the efforts
of those who loved Ireland most truly, and served her
most faithfully. On the 30th of June an attempt on
a gigantic scale was made to cross the river, but so
thorough was the defeat sustained by Ginkell that he
contemplated abandoning the siege. And so confident was
St. Ruth that the attempt would not be repeated, that he
withdrew all the old soldiers to the camp three miles west of
Athlone, and, against the strong protest of Sarsfield, left
merely a regiment * of recruits to defend the town. And
here treachery did for Ginkell what his army had so many
times failed to do. On the night of the 30th of June a traitor
arrived from the Irish camp, and informed Ginkell that St.
Ruth was just then, with most of his officers, enjoying them-
selves at a ball to celebrate the victory of the morning,
that only recruits were in the town, and that Sarsfield
had been sent off in charge of the reserves, and was over two
miles from the town. Ginkell immediately set his army in
motion, and by a bridge of boats, as well as by planking over
the twice broken bridge, he poured his troops into the Irish
town almost unopposed. The Irish commander sent to St.
Ruth for aid, and was answered with a sneer as to what he
was afraid of. Sarsfield, in breathless haste, rushed up to
888 Sarsfield.
him, asking him, even at the eleventh hour, to send on
reinforcements, but even the hero of Limerick was ordered
contemptuously to retire to his quarters. Later on some aid
was sent, but only to find Athlone lost, 20,000 Williamites
liolding possession of it, and most of its defenders dead
beneath its walls. And thus was Athlone, so bravely
defended by its Irish soldiers, lost by the negligence of a
self-sufficient, an incompetent stranger, to whom, in an
evil hour for Ireland, the supreme command of the Irish
army was entrusted. Had Sarsfield held supreme
command at Athlone, Ginkell would never have crossed the
Shannon.
St. Ruth retreated westward by Ballinasloe, and posted
his army on Kilcomedan Hill, near the village of Aughrim.
The position of the Irish army here was well chosen, but
St. Ruth, by his action, seemed to invite defeat. It was well
known that Sarsfield held him responsible for the loss of
Athlone, and accordingly he hated Sarsfield bitterly, though
that brave soldier did not permit his private feelings to influ-
ence him in the discharge of his military duties. Not so
St. Ruth. He kept Sarsfield, who was second in command,
in complete ignorance of his plans, and, still worse,
sent him a mile from the battlefield in command of the
reserves, with strict injunctions not to move until ordered
to do so.
On Sunday, July 12th, the battle of Aughrim began.
For the greater part of the day it raged with terrible fury.
The English had the advantage of numbers and arms ; the
Irish had the advantage of position. On either side the
struggle was maintained with desperate determination. At
one time Ginkell was about to abandon the field, and St.
Ruth was so certain of victory that he put himself at the
head of a detachment of cavalry, and rushed into the thick
of the fight crying out, " I will beat them back to the
gates of Dublin." The next moment he was a corpse his
head carried off by a cannon ball. The fight was raging all
around.
St. Ruth's death was at first noticed only by those who
immediately surrounded him, and they wisely sought to
Sarsfield. 889
conceal it, in order to prevent a panic among the Irish ranks.
But the sad news soon spread, and was noticed by the enemy,
who ordered up the whole strength of their army to the
attack. This movement on the part of Ginkell required a
change in the disposition of the Irish troops ; but there was
no one to give the required order. Sarsfield was a mile
away, ignorant alike of the plan of battle and of his com-
mander's death. As a result, the Irish soldiers became
confused, fought in detached bodies wherever they found a
foe, were soon overpowered by numbers, and slaughtered
without mercy by the advancing Williamites. It was only
from the flying Irish squadrons that Sarsfield learned
St. Ruth's death and the disaster that followed it ; and
nothing now remained for him but to cast in his brave horse-
men between his countrymen and Gink ell's soldiers, and thus
to cover the retreat. Ginkell seems to have had plenty of
fighting for that day ; and so did not pursue the Irish, but
encamped on the field he had so dearly and indeed so
bravely won. His soldiers betook themselves to their usual
practice of stripping and plundering the dying and dead.
Story says that their naked bodies remained, " like a great
flock of sheep, scattered up and down the country for about
four miles around." And for many years afterwards, the
bones of those brave men remained unburied on the scene of
their bravery, so terrible, so complete, was the devastation
wrought by Ginkell and his savage soldiery. From Aughrim
Sarsfield, with the remnant of the Irish army, retreated to
Limerick, determined to make, within its historic walls, a
final struggle for " happy homes and altars free."
J. MURPHY, C.C.
(To be continued.)
[ 890 ]
THE SEPTUAGINT.
THE political decadence of Greece consequent on her
disastrous overthrow by Philip of Macedon clouded the
brilliancy of her intellectual dominion. Unlike the gods of
Hellenic mythology, however, her philosophy, her science, her
literature, and her arts, contained elements of truth and per-
manency, and could therefore bear to be transplanted to wider
fields. The Macedonian supremacy, though it rose on the ruins
of Grecian independence, extended, almost immeasurably, the
hitherto circumscribed sphere of the beneficent influence
exercised by the cultured Greeks, as the authors and pro-
moters of intellectual progress. For within the space of
two short years after the inglorious defeat of Greece, her
conqueror fell by the dagger of an assassin, in 336 B.C.,
leaving to his illustrious son, Alexander the Great, the
realization of the project he had long entertained of subju-
gating the eastern nations to the Macedonian yoke, and of
uniting, politically and socially, the two vast continents of
Europe and Asia. The language and culture of the Greeks
followed in the wake of Alexander's triumphal march through
the East, and produced widespread and enduring results,
shedding everywhere the light of incipient civilization among
the Gentiles, and ushering in that long period of twilight
that was to precede the dawn of Christianity.
Of all the colossal monuments of Alexander's greatness,
the noblest and most long-lived was the gorgeous city
planned by himself, and called after his name, at the mouth
of the Nile, it soon succeeded Athens as the great centre of
intellectual life, and became, moreover, the commercial
capital of the world. However, the boasted divine paternity
of its founder did not save him from the universal fate, and
in the partition of his dismembered empire among his generals,
on his death in 323 B.C., the sceptre of Egypt fell to the lot
of Ptolemy Soter. The son and successor of Soter was
Philadelphus, a generous patron of art arid literature ; and it
was in the reign of the latter, that mankind became indebted
to the Greek language, and to tastes and desires inspired by
The Septuagint. 891
Greece, for a carefully prepared version of the Jewish-
Scriptures in a garb familiar to the great mass of the semi-
civilized world. The Septuagint was the first step towards
arching over the huge chasm that separated Jew and Gentile ;
it gave the Greek philosophers a glimpse of the hidden
wisdom of God's revealed word; it was a valuable precursor
of the Gospel, and marks an important epoch in the history
of civilization.
The besetting sin of modern historians and commentators
is scepticism, and an iiidiscriminating iconoclasm of ancient
and revered traditions. Hence, if we set out by explaining
that the Septuagint is so called because there were, in round
numbers, seventy engaged in the work of translation, we are
arrested on the very threshold by the rationalising critic who
demands our proof of that statement. In order, therefore, to
find common and undisputed ground, we shall narrate what
all will admit was universally received as a truthful account,
during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian Era.
Ptolemy Philadelphus, wishing to secure for his great library
at Alexandria a Greek translation of the Jewish law, sent
two of his officers, Aristaeus and Andreas, with costly
presents 1 to the temple of Jerusalem, to solicit from Eleazar,
the high-priest, a genuine copy of the Hebrew Bible, and
competent Jewish scholars to translate it. These messengers
were also the bearers of the welcome tidings that Philadelphus
had released from slavery, and admitted to the full enjoyment
of civil and religious liberty, all the Jews whom his father had
led captive into Egypt in 312 B.C., after the battle of Gaza.
Thus entitled to the gratitude and esteem of the whole Jewish
people, the king had little difficulty in obtaining from the
Sanhedrim and high-priest the requested favour, unparalleled
though it was, and opposed to their sacred traditions. Eleazar
appointed seventy-two learned elders six from each tribe to
accompany the two distinguished ambassadors to Alexandria,
where every mark of honour and distinction was shown them by
Ptolemy and his courtiers. The story of their having held
their first session, in furtherance of their arduous and important
1 Jos. Ant. xii., 2.
892 The Septuagint.
undertaking, at the king's table, and of their having readily
and satisfactorily solved, in the royal presence, deep philo-
sophical difficulties proposed by the king and by Menedemus,
the celebrated pupil of Plato, though it is based on the
authority of Josephus and Diogenes Laertius, is rejected on
chronological and other grounds, as a spurious excrescence on
the original tradition. They were conducted to retired and
commodious lodgings in the island of Pharos, about an
English mile distant from the seaboard of the Delta, and con-
nected with the city by a massive breakwater constructed by
Alexander. Here they were unstintingly furnished with
everything that could contribute to their comfort, or assist
them in their difficult task. Incessantly and zealously did
they labour, so that the short space of seventy-two days
enabled them to bring their invaluable work to a happy
termination. Having carefully collated their respective
contributions, and revised the whole before a meeting of their
entire body, they read it in the presence of the king, who
listened with surprise and delight; and they finally pre-
sented it to him, with an express stipulation that facilities
should be afforded them for executing accurate copies of it.
Such is the sigular history of the Septuagint, or Greek ver-
sion of the Old Testament /cara rovs efiSofirfKovra.
Many objections, some specious, some frivolous, are urged
against the credibility of this venerable and well-authen-
ticated tradition. But, before proceeding to examine their
force, we shall briefly review the causes which, humanly
speaking, led up to this wonderful translation, and the
historic evidence by which the above long and universally
received account of its execution is supported. And, first of
all, does it not strike one as a strange anomaly that
Alexandria, then the home of the pagan sophists, the very
atmosphere of which was impregnated with heathenish
superstitions and false philosophy, should have been
appointed, in the designs of Providence, as the place where
the heaven-born philosophy of the inspired writings was to be
directed into the new and wider channel of the Greek lan-
guage, without losing any of its original purity and unction?
When the scholarly St. Jerome, long ages after, was about
The Septuacjint. 893
to outer on the anxious and laborious work of translating
into Latin the same inspired Hebrew books, he adopted the
apparently more natural course of settling down for a
lengthened period in Bethlehem, in the very midst of Biblical
scenes, where the work of interpretation was further facilitated
by the assistance of Jewish traditions and of consultations
with learned Rabbinical doctors.
Four things chiefly concurred in determining the selection
of the Egyptian capital in preference to any of the cities of
the Holy Land. (1) The disturbed and depopulated state
of Palestine. (2) The vast numbers of the more cultivated
class of Hebrews then resident in and about Alexandria.
(3) The encouragement, moral and material, which was
promised by the king, and which could not be so conveniently
or effectually placed at the acceptance of the translators
elsewhere. (4) Just as the ancient Hebrew had been for-
gotten and disused by their forefathers during the Babylonish
captivity, so was the kindred Semitic dialect, which many of
the Alexandrian Jews had brought with them from Palestine,
thirty or forty years ago, already superseded by the Greek
in ordinary colloquial intercourse. To the rising generation
and to their future descendants, Syro-Chaldaic would be
perfectly foreign ; the Hebrew much more so : Greek would
be their vernacular. And, as these local exigencies suggested
and demanded the rendering of the Scriptures into Greek, it
was fitting that the translation should be executed where it
was most needed and would be most used.
The following vivid description of the unsettled state of
things in the Holy Land, shortly before the period of which
we write, is taken from a learned and acute historian, 1 and
is by no means overdrawn :
" In the wars between Egypt and Asia Minor, in which Palestine
had the misfortune to be the prize struggled for, and the debatable
ground on which the battles were fought, the Jews were often made
to smart under the stern pride of Antigonus, and to rejoice at the
milder temper of Ptolemy [Soter]. The Egyptians of the Delta and
the Jews had always been friends; and, hence, when Ptolemy
promised to treat the Jews with the same kindness as the Greeks, and
1 Sharpe, History of Egypt, chap. v.
894 The Septuagint.
more than the Egyptians, and held out all the rights of Macedonian
citizenship to those who would settle in his rising city of Alexandria,
he was followed by crowds of industrious traders, manufacturers, and
men of letters. They chose to live in Egypt in peace and wealth,
rather than to stay in Palestine in the daily fear of having their
.houses sacked aud burned at every fresh quarrel between Ptolemy and
Antigonus."
Nor did this multitude of colonists find the land of the
Pharaohs unpeopled by any of their brethren of Judaea to
welcome them. For when about 590 B.C., Nabuchodoiiozar
had dismantled their proud capital, and spread havoc and
desolation throughout Judaea, which he had subjected to the
Chaldean yoke, some twenty years before, and which was
now making a feeble effort to regain its independence,
thousands 2 of the inhabitants quitted the home of their fore-
fathers for ever, and settled down in the thriving cities and
fertile plains of Egypt. Jeremias, the Prophet, who had
accompanied his countrymen to keep the lamp of religion
burning in their midst, had frequently and vehemently con-
demned their determination thus to expose themselves to all
the dangers of association with idolatrous G entiles : but they
persisted in disobeying his commands and despising his
threats. Sweet but mournful are his strains, as he sings 3 in
his exile's home on the banks of the Nile :
" Judah hath removed her dwelling-place because of her affliction,
and the greatness of her bondage ; she hath dwelt among the nations.
.... The ways of Sion mourn, because there are none that come
to the solemn feast ; all her gates are broken down ; her priests sigh ;
her virgins are in affliction, and she is oppressed with bitterness."
This great immigration of the Jews, whose numbers were
afterwards augmented by occasional adventurers and fugi-
tives, 'abandoned all prospect of returning to Palestine,
accommodated themselves to the customs and rule of life
of the Egyptians, as far as was permitted them, and very
soon adopted the Greek language, even then commonly used
by all strangers. Thus we see there were three very con-
siderable strata, so to speak, in the Jewish population of
Egypt, at the time of which we write, belonging to three
2 Jeremias, chap, xliii. 3 Lamentations, chap. i.
The Septuagint. 895
distinct eras in their political history. Of these, the posterity
of those daring colonists whom the Prophet had accompanied
three hundred years before, formed, perhaps, the largest and
most influential section ; next, the vast multitude that had
accepted the generous offer of Ptolemy Soter in 306 B.C. ;
and, lastly, the not inconsiderable body of 120,000 men, who
had just been purchased from slavery by the reigning monarch
at the cost of about 3 per head. These last-mentioned
had been made the bondsmen of his Egyptian subjects,
some by conquest and some by purchase, but the royal
favour and civil liberty were now extended to every
individual of that persecuted race within the king's wide
dominions.
Such was their numerical strength at Alexandria, and such
their recognised political status, that, while enjoying all
the privileges of the Macedonians, they occupied a separate
and important part of the city, which was fortified with strong
walls to secure it against any assault whether of foreigners
or of natives. They were governed by their own Ethnarch
or Arabarches, and, what is of more special importance in
the present connection, they had their Sanhedrim, and their
own national laws. The Sanhedrim was their supreme
Council or Senate, consisting of seventy, seventy-one, or
seventy-two members, and the existence in Alexandria of
the only such High Court of Judicature besides that of
Jerusalem, is at once an evidence and a consequence of the
acknowledged importance of the Jews in the former city.
All these potent influences, directed by an all-wise Pro-
vidence, resulted in giving to the Hellenistic Jews the long
wished-for translation of the sacred writings, at the time,
and in the place where the Septuagirit first saw the light.
There are few events of antiquity regarding which we
possess such minute and consistent documentary evidence,
as the origin and completion of this "Alexandrian Version of
the Old Testament," as some modern censors would have us
call it. A Greek book purporting to be a letter addressed
by the same Aristaeus, who went on the embassy to Jerusalem,
to his brother Philocrates, is still extant, in which the story
given in substance above, is narrated in fullest detail. This
896 The Septuagint.
work is rejected, however, by many critics as the probable
fabrication of some Alexandrian Jew not long before the
Christian era ; and though their objections to its authenticity
are by no means conclusive, we prefer waiving all arguments
from sources the genuineness of which is not above all doubt
and suspicion. But it may not be inopportune to observe
here, that seeming improbabilities, which at first glance appear
to make unwarrantable demands on our credulity, are often
not merely intelligible but perfectly natural facts, when
viewed in the light of local, racial, or religious peculiarities.
Thus the constant recurrence of the numbers seven, seven times
seven, seventy, &c., in the narration of Jewish history, would
appear odd to one unacquainted with the sacred books of
the Old Testament.
The authority of Aristobulus, then, is the earliest on which
we rely. The value of his testimony is very much enhanced
by the fact that he lived within 100 years after the work of
the Seventy was completed, and that, being a tutor to an
Egyptian king, he had every opportunity of inspecting it in
the world-famed library, where the original translation was
preserved up to the time of Julius Caesar. Demetrius
Phalereus, he tells us, was the energetic librarian of
Philadelphus, and, in the zealous discharge of the unlimited
commission he had received from that monarch to collect all
the valuable and ancient volumes he could procure, he
suggested to the king what an important addition to their
library a Greek translation of this famous work, containing the
history and the laws of the Jewish people, would form. This
is the same Aristotelic philosopher, of whom Cicero writes :
De Legibus, Lib. III., cap. vi. " Phalereus ille Demetrius,
de quo feci supra mentionem, mirabiliter doctrinam ex umbra-
culis eruditorum otioque, non modo in solem atque pulverem,
sed in ipsum discrimen aciemque produxit."
The next clear testimony we have corresponding in the
most minute details with the account given above, is that of
Philo. He also was an Alexandrian philosopher, but a Jew,
and nourished about the time of our Divine Lord. Finally,
the learned Jewish histerian, Flavius Josephus, who was
born in Jerusalem in the 37th year of the Christian era, four
The Septuagint. 897
years after our Lord's ascension, accepts and transmits as
unquestioned and unquestionable the commonly received
tradition of the truth of which he possessed the most convincing'
evidence, written as well as unwritten. In fact, his account 1
is almost a verbal transcript of the second chapter of Aristaeus.
He omits, however, the names of the seventy-two interpreters,
which the latter author recounts at full length.
Now, we may ask how do our adversaries, who reject as
spurious this long-received and well-authenticated tradition,
account for the origin of the name Septuagint or seventy?
Well, some (Jo not offer any alternative explanation ; while
others affirm that it originated in the approbation and sanction
accorded to this translation by the Supreme Council of
seventy, in other words by the Sanhedrim whether of
Alexandria or of Jerusalem. Let us test the force and value
of this assumption, which is purely speculative and gratuitous,
by a parallel case. King James the First, of England, had
the Sacred Text rendered into theEnglish language, employing
fifty-four translators, and this version was subsequently
sanctioned and authorised for the general use of the people
by Parliament. Strange it has never occurred to the most
imaginative mind to call this translation the " Parliament ! "
But were it designated the " Version of the Fifty-four," such
a title would neither shock our intelligence nor involve any
intolerable distortion of language.
A second, more ingenious, but equally baseless, explana-
tion is borrowed from Jhe well-known Oriental custom of
substituting concrete for abstract terms, a practice not
unfamiliar to classical readers. Now, the original Hebrew
text was called the Law; the Sanhedrim, or Council of
Seventy, interpreted authoritatively that Law, and were for
the mass of the people its embodiment, so to speak. The
new Greek Version was in future to discharge this function,
of interpreting the old inaccessible Hebrew, and so far, at all
events, to supersede the Sanhedrim or Seventy. What
more natural, then, it is asked, than that it should take its
name from this latter venerable institution 1 We confess our
1 Antiquities of the Jcics. Book xii., chap. ii. Translated by Wliiston.
VOL. vn. 3 L
898 The Book of Tobias.
limited comprehension does not enable us to regard the
sequence as natural, or even justifiable.
It is also important to keep in view the fact that many of
the inconsistent or improbable circumstances, which, accord-
ing to our adversaries' contention, render the whole story
incredible and inadmissible on intrinsic grounds, do not
belong at all to the original and authentic tradition, but are
mere aftergrowths. Thus we do not undertake to defend
the statement, supported though it is by the high authority
of many of, the early Fathers, that the seventy translators
were confined each in a separate cell, and that when they
emerged from their imprisonment on the completion of their
work, it was found that the seventy copies differed not even
in a word. This is what St. Augustine has before his mind
when he says (De Civit. Dei, Lib. 18), " Septuaginta inter-
pretum excellit auctoritas qui jam per peritiores ecclesias
tanta praesentia Spiritus Sancti interpretati esse dicuntur ut
cs unum tot hominum fuerit." Certain it is that there existed
near Alexandria, three or four centuries after the Christian
Era, scattered ruins which were pointed out to visitors as the
remains of the seventy cells. Numerous and veracious, how-
ever, as are the writers of antiquity who maintain that such
vestiges were genuine, we prefer to follow the opinion of
St. Jerome.
E. MAGUIRE.
(To be continued.)
THE BOOK OF TOBIAS. II.
IN replying to the difficulties against the veracity of the
Book of Tobias, as outlined in our last, 1 we will take up,
in the first place, the one derived from the silence of profane
history, especially that of Assyria, and of Josephus, the
Idstorian of the Jews, regarding the events contained in this
"book.
1 IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD, July, 1886, p. 589.
The Book of Tobias. 899
It is a well recognised canon of historic criticism that
silence, at most, is a negative argument, and of little or no
force against the positive testimony of trustworthy witnesses.
This is specially true when the authors, whose silence has to
be accounted for, were not called on to speak, or other valid
reasons can be assigned for their not having done so. Now,
on the one hand, besides the author of the book himself, who
writes in a simple, candid, and historic style, and whose
veracity cannot be directly impugned, we have St. Polycarp,
St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, the author of the
Apostolic Constitutions, St. Basil, St. Ambrose, St. Cyprian,
St. Augustine, appealing to its authority, and drawing quo-
tations from it, as from the other inspired writings. 1 It is
contained in the Catalogue of the Council of Hippo and the
Third Council of Carthage, and mention of it is made in the
letter of Innocent I. to Xuperius. In a word, all the argu-
ments from tradition which can be adduced for its inspiration,
a fortiori avail for its human authority. But what is of
greater importance is, that even these Fathers who, like
St. Jerome, wavered about its divinity for reasons not
necessary to be given here, are almost unanimous in declaring
that it was read by the Jews, regarded as true history, and
received by them with great veneration. Against this array
of positive proof, the silence of Assyrian historians is urged.
Who can say if they were silent ? With the exception of a
few fragments, their writings have all perished. Even if we
were to concede their silence, what then ? The history of
Tobias, charming and interesting as it was, was still that of
only a few private individuals, and hence its non-appearance
in the public records of a mighty empire is quite compatible
with its entire veracity.
Nor does the silence of Josephus count for more. His
scope was to write, not a complete history of the Jews, but
only of those events contained in the Books of the Esdrine
Canon, among which we have stated Tobias was not
enumerated ; and even of these his history is defective, as he
1 In St. Patrick's Confession there is a quotation from the Book of
Tobias, ch. xii. 7. "It is honourable to reveal and confess the works of
God."
900 The Book of Tobias.
makes no allusion whatsoever to the Book of Job, notwith-
standing its existence in this catalogue.
But, say our adversaries, the narrative which represents
God's angel as guilty of lying, can lay no claim to true history.
Such is the Book of Tobias. For when interrogated by the
younger Tobias, whence he was, and if he knew the way to
the country of the Medes, the Angel Raphael is said to have
replied that he was " of the children of Israel," and that he
often " walked through all the ways " (to that country).
Again, when asked to what family and tribe he belonged, he
made answer, " I am Azarias, son of the great Ananias."
We deny the minor proposition of this difficulty. We
must bear in mind the well known distinction between telling
a lie and concealing the truth. The one is intrinsically bad,,
and never lawful ; the other, when there is a justifying cause,
is lawful. I say, when there is & justifying cause; because
the indiscriminate use of such reservation would be opposed
to the public good, and subversive of human intercourse.
But, on the other hand, circumstances arise when it is not
only expedient, but may be a matter of obligation to conceal
the truth. When other means of attaining this end are
wanting, all persons admit the liceity of an ambiguous phrase,
capable of two interpretations, one of which at least is true,
though perhaps less obvious than the other. The error, if
any follows on the part of the listener, is not directly
intended, but merely permitted by the speaker for a just
cause. This distinction, and the principles on which it rests,
are admitted by all moralists, and have the sanction of
unquestioned legitimate usage in human society.
Keeping this before our minds, it will be seen how the
charge of falsehood against the angel, based on the narrative,,
cannot be sustained. The charge rests, in the first place, on.
the fact of his having concealed his real nature under a
human form. If on this ground the angel be convicted of
lying, so may Christ, who for a time concealed Himself from
the Magdalen under the appearance of a gardener (John xx.>
14, 15) ; and from the Disciples, on the road to Emmaus,
under that of a pilgrim. (Luke xxiv., 15.) Surely Whittaker,
our Calvinist and principal adversary in urging this objection,
The Book of Tobias. 901
will not accuse Christ of falsehood and sin in thus acting. If
it was lawful for Christ, why not for the Angel ?
Again, if the narration of angelic apparitions in human
guise were enough to discredit the veracity of an author,
then away at once with Genesis and the other books of
Sacred Scripture, in which like narrations are contained, and
which, notwithstanding, are not rejected by our adversary.
In truth, when the angels are deputed by God to treat with
men in a human fashion, being of quite a different nature,
they have to assume a sensible human form. The Angel
Raphael was sent by God to act as a guide to the younger
Tobias, to and from the land of the Medes. If from the
beginning he had manifested himself, they would have been
both filled with reverential awe, as they really were when,
after his return from Rages, he made himself known : " And
being seized with fear, they fell upon the ground on their face
. . . and lay there for three hours prostrate." (Chap, xii., 14.)
Hence he assumed the appearance of a specific young man,
Azarias, one to whom the elder Tobias would not fear to entrust
the safe guidance of his son, and with whom at the same time
he could converse familiarly and act without restraint as
with a companion. And if in doing this for the purpose of
concealing himself there was nothing unlawful, neither was
there in predicating Jof himself thus veiled for the same
reason the characteristics and deeds of him whose appearance
he bore. Hence the words of the angel are perfectly true,
if we refer them to the young man under whose guise ho
appeared : that is, he to all appearance, and as far as human
intercourse was concerned, was "Azarias, son of the great
Ananias " and in the same sense was of the " children of
Israel," and "often walked through all the. ways to the
land of the Medes " and " abode with Gabelus."
Or, again, the replies of the angel may be well understood
of his own person, though in a sense somewhat broader and
adapted to the angelic nature and functions. He was, " of
the children of Israel " not by origin, but by reason of his
office, having by divine deputation been constituted their
guardian, he in a certain sense belonged to them : "he often
walked through all the ways thereof/' not on foot, horse or
902 The Book of Tobias.
chariot, but by being present now in one province or city,
now in another, in the discharge of his angelic ministrations,
wherever the children of Israel were dispersed. Finally,
having regard to the etymology of the words, well may he
call himself "Azarias," which means "help from God," and
such Raphael truly was to Tobias ; " son of Ananias," that is,
"son of the hidden God," or " of God dwelling in the
clouds," for we know that in Scriptural language the angels
are frequently styled the " sons of God/'
But the writer who contradicts himself is unworthy of
credit. Now, in chap, iii., 7. and again chap, vi., 6,,
Eaguel is represented as living in " Rages, a city of the
Medes," and yet in chap, ix., 3, we are told that the
younger Tobias while staying in the house of Raguel
requested the angel to go to " Rages, the city of the Medes,"
to fetch the money from Gabelus, and invite him to the-
wedding. How explain this contradiction ?
If we had to reply from a Catholic or Christian standpoint,
presupposing the divine authorship of the Book of Tobias,,
the answers to this and such like difficulties should be in
general, that as no falsehood can be admitted in the inspired
writings, neither can any real contradiction. Such a con-
tradiction would be equivalent to God contradicting Himself.
That there are apparent contradictions, and these rather
numerous we do riot deny. It would be nothing less than a
miracle if there were not, considering the different authors
by whom, and the different epochs at which they were
composed, as well as the difficulty of the subjects of which
they treat. The causes of such seeming contradictions as
well as a key to the solution of them are summed up by
St. Augustine in these words " aut codex mendosus, aut
interpres erravit, aut tu non intelligis."
In the present case, prescinding altogether from the
canonicity of the Book of Tobias, as according to the terms
of our thesis we are bound to do, our reply is : The authority
of the book is in possession, the presumption is in its favour ;
consequently if we can give even one probable solution of
the contradiction, our adversaries are bound to accept it, or
disprove its probability, rather than reject the veracity of
the author.
The Book of Tobias. 903
May we not then suppose, as many do, that there were
two cities by name of Rages, as there were two Bethlehems
in Palestine, or as now there are two Viennas in Europe,
in one of which dwelt Raguel with his daughter, and in the
other Gabelus, to whom Tobias sent the angel? This
supposition has a foundation in the text. In speaking of
Rages, in which Gabelus dwelt, the author adds, " which is
situate in the Mount of Ecbatana" (chap, v.,^8), thereby,
perhaps, distinguishing it from the other Rages in which
Sara lived.
Or again, may we not adopt the explanation of others,
who allege, that in the time of Tobias, Rages was the name
not only of a city, but likewise of a country or province,
just as we have Dublin the name of a county as well as of a
city. If this hypothesis be true, the difficulty vanishes. As
with perfect truth one may say of two persons that they
reside in Dublin, one of whom lives in the county, the other
in the city of Dublin, so Raguel and Gabelus may both live
in Rages, and yet be far asunder, one living in the province
of that name, the other in the city. The Chaldaic words
" mediua " or " medintha," as well as the Latin " civitas "
are sometimes used to designate a province as well as a city.
Or may we not adopt the somewhat kindred and more
probable solution given by Bellarmine (L. 1, de Verbo Dei,
cap. 11) and now received with greatest accord by com-
mentators, viz., that Rages was not only the name of a city,
but was used in a broader sense to designate suburban
residences or villas, as a person residing at Blackrock may
be said to be in Dublin ? Raguel being a rich man, in all
probability had not only a city residence but likewise a
suburban villa, near enough to Rages to be said to be in
it in common parlance, and distant enough to warrant the
writer in saying that Raphael was sent to the city of Rages.
If then we suppose with the supporters of this opinion, that
Raguel and Sara at the time of the marriage ceremony or
immediately after it, lived in some suburban residence, the
journey of the angel to the city at the request of Tobias,
and his return with Gabelus to partake in the nuptial festivals
are all easily understood and quite in harmony with the text.
904 Hie Book of Tobias.
Finally, there are some, who with Medina (De Recta fide
lib. vi., ch. xiv.) and Marchini (DeLibro Tobiae) suspect that
in chap, iii., 7, an error has crept into the text of the vulgate,
so that for Rages Medomm, the reading should be Ecbatane
Medorum. The foundationfor this opinion is thatinthe Hebrew
versions of Munster and Fagii, as well as in the Syriac and
ancient Greek ones, this reading is found.
These are the principal solutions of this difficulty given
by biblical scholars. They are all more or less probable,
and any one of them is sufficient to explain the apparent
contradiction, which, as I have said, is enough for our
purpose.
The history of the demon Asmodeus furnishes matter for
the gravest difficulties which can be urged against the
authority of the Book of Tobias. In chap iii., 8, it is re-
lated that Sara " had been given to seven husbands, and that
a devil named Asmodeus had killed them at their first going
into her." In the Greek version, vi. 15, it is added that
the " devil loved her."
Again chap viii., 1 &c., we are told that when Tobias
was admitted into the nuptial chamber " remembering
the angel's words he took out of his bag part of the liver (of
the fish) and laid it upon burning coals. Then the angel
Raphael took the devil, and bound him in the desert of upper
Egypt." In this history three things appear to our adver-
saries utterly incredible and absurd. First, that the demon
killed the seven husbands of Sara. Secondly, that the
demon was put to flight by the odour or smoke from
the liver of a fish laid on burning coals. And thirdly,
that the angel took and bound him in the desert of upper
Egypt, as if a spirit could be taken and bound within
certain limits.
Before approaching the solution of these difficulties, we
will make a few preliminary observations which may help to
throw light on the issue to be discussed. We must repeat,
even at the risk of wearying our readers by the repetition,
that the authority of the Book is in possession the voice of
tradition has borne it down to us as trustworthy history.
The adversaries do not even attempt to impugn this argu-
The Book of Tobias. 905
ment. The most they can dare is try to disprove its veracity
by pointing out contradictions as in the case of the
difficulty last treated, or absurdities and impossibilities as in
the present one.
Now if any history relate as a faot what is known to be
impossible, or things that are clearly incompatible, so far it
must be untrue : and if such impossibilities and inconsisten-
cies be frequent, it forfeits altogether a claim to be regarded
-a truthful narrative. This nobody can deny. But we must
not regard nor reject as impossible what we are unable to
explain. Many things happen of which we are perfectly
certain, though we do not know how they happen. That the
body and soul act and react on each other we know, how this
happens we know not. When a fact is established by indis-
putable proof, we must accept that fact even though we may
not be able to point out the means by which it was brought
about.
Again, we must not reject as impossible what is only
improbable. History furnishes many examples in proof of
the old saying it is very probable that a great many im-
probable things will take place. What was less probable a
few weeks ago, than what is to-day a matter of history, viz.,
the mysterious abduction of Prince Alexander of Bulgaria,
his speedy restoration to the throne of his devoted subjects,
and then his immediate abdication ; or again ten years ago
what was more improbable than that Dublin Castle, Irish
Landlordism and all the kindred factors of what was
then an apparently impregnable institution would be to-day
crumbling to pieces before the assault of a united Irish
democracy. And are these facts to be rejected by future
generations in the face of convincing testimony because of
their antecedent improbability ?
Finally, we must not imagine, as modern unbelievers
would have us do, that because a thing is extraordinary,
outside the common ordinary course of things, therefore it is
false, and ought to be relegated to the regions of romance.
This deep-rooted dislike for the extraordinary is considered
a necessary passport now-a-days in order to be ranked
amongst philosophers of schools of " modern thought." Let
906 The Book of Tobias.
us hear the scathing exposure of such an assumption by the
learned Balmez. In letter xxv. he writes :
" First of all allow me to remark that the want of belief in ex-
traordinary things, is not always a sure sign of much philosophy ; for
this incredulity can spring from ignorance, in which case it is stubborn,
tenacious, and little less than invincible. Vie meet this phenomenon
in a striking manner when we converse with ill-instructed and proud
people. As the lower orders have often heard that there are many
deceits in the world and big lies are told, they take that vulgarity for
criterion, and mercilessly apply it to everything out of the common
order Paschal has said with much truth, that there are two
classes of ignorant people, those who are completely so, and those
who having attained the highest degree of wisdom, have a clear
knowledge of their own ignorance. The saying is in some manner
applicable to incredulity in extraordinary things. Truly wise men
have an incredulity on this head, tempered by reason, and ever
subject to the conditions of possibility which observation or the li^ht
of science has taught them. In general, we might say, these men
are incredulists, with some timidity, and not unfrequeiitly inclined ta
believe the extraordinary. When one penetrates into the abysses as
well of the physical as of the intellectual and moral world, the pro-
fundities he discovers are such, the mysteries he sees flitting among
the shades, pierced with some rays of light, so numerous, that great
thinkers those who have approached the edge of these abysses, con-
templating their unfathomable depths- scarcely meet anything of
which they presume to say, this has been, this will not be, this is
impossible. Such men do not start at the word extraordinary, because
they discover in what appears the most ordinary phenomena, a
multitude of extraordinary things ; or, to speak with more exactness,
a multitude of things more incomprehensible, the more ordinary they
are What is all nature but an immense mystery ? Have we
ever meditated on life ? Has any philosopher ever comprehended in
what that magic power consists, which walks by ways unknown ;
which acts by incomprehensible means, which moves, and agitates
and beautifies ; which produces sweetest pleasures, and causes insup-
portable torments, which is within us and without us ; which is not
found when sought, and presents itself when unthought of; which
propagates in the midst of corruption, which incessantly becomes
inflamed and extinguished in innumerable individuals, which flits as an
imperceptible flame in the atmospheric regions, on the face and in the
bowels of the earth, in the currents of rivers, on the
surface and in the depths of the ocean ? Is there not a mystery, and
an incomprehensible mystery here ? Do you not see here do you
not palpably feel a something which does not come under that
or dinar >i ihi-nrj you would confound with philosophy?
u Electricity, galvanism, magnetism, certainly present extra-
ordinary phenomena. Shall we deny because we do not comprehend
The Book of Tobias. 907
them ? And shall we delude ourselves into the belief that we com-
prehend them, simply because some of their effects are visible?
When you lix your attention on those secrets of nature, do
you not feel possessed by a profound feeling cf astonishment ? Have
you never asked yourself what is there behind that veil with which
nature covers her secrets ? Have you not felt that small philosophy
which cries the ordinary, the ordinary disappear, and discovered the
necessity of replacing it with the sublime idea that all is extra-
ordinary ? Instead of that little sentiment, which confounds the
philosopher into the vulgar, and communicates to him a miserable
incredulity with regard to extraordinary things, have you not
experienced a secret inclination to see in all parts the stamp of the
extraordinary ? . . . Oh ! then that philosophy which talks of the
ordinary of the common and has a ridiculous horror of everything
extraordinary or mysterious, appears little indeed."
It is needless to apologise for giving at such length this
powerful exposure of the inconsistency of the enemies of the
extraordinary, or for prefacing our direct reply to the difficulty
by these few obvious principles, which are often overlooked
by our adversaries.
Whether the word Asmodeus meaning " exterminans " is
a generic name applicable to any of the evil spirits, or a
specific one proper and peculiar to one demon because of
his office, or whether he was the prince of demons, or, as
Calmet opines, the demon of impurity, these and similar
questions on which nothing can be asserted with certainty
do not concern us ; it is our business to show that the things
related of the demon in the book of Tobias are neither absurd,
nor impossible.
That the devil should kill the seven husbands of a woman
is an unusual and singular event, all will admit; that his doing
so is absurd or impossible we utterly deny. On the
contrary, pre-supposing, as we here do by the right of
discussion, the existence of bad angels and their malignant
hatred of the human race, it is no matter of surprise to find
him carrying into effect, when God permits, his evil desires
against man. The Book of Holy Job, as well as the pages of
ecclesiastical history, bear ample testimony to the fact that
God does so permit him. Why he does so it is not for us too
curiously to inquire. That he should do so in an individual
case for the punishment of crime and the fulfilment of His-
908 The Book of Tobias.
own Providence will not seem strange to many. Now it is
the common opinion of scriptural interpreters founded on the
words of the angel, that the devil killed these men, with
God's permission, because of their unbridled lust. For when
Tobias alluded to their death, the angel said to him.
Chap, vi., 16 :
" Hear me, and I will show thee who they are, over whom the
devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony,
as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and give
themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not under-
standing, over them the devil hath power . . ."
In which he clearly suggests the reason of the devil's
power over these men. Sara too had evidently strong
suspicions of the same, for in her beautiful prayer,
chap, iii., 18, she says :
" But a husband I consented to take with thy fear, not with my
lust. And either 1 was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were
unworthy of me."
And thus the devil was used by God not only as the
avenger of His offended majesty, but likewise as the
instrument of His special providence in regard to Sara. For
while he punished them for their lust, the chaste Sara he
dared not touch, but rather preserved her undefiled for one
who was worthy of her, as the angel manifested to her father,
Raguel, chap, vii., 12 :
" Be not afraid to give her to this man, for to him who feareth
God is thy daughter due to be his wife, therefore another could not
have her."
In the Greek version, we have said, it is stated that the
devil loved her, thus insinuating that jealousy was the
motive of the devil's action. But there is grave reason for
doubting if these words, which are found only in the Greek,
belonged to the original text. They are not in the Vulgate
nor consequently in the Chaldaic manuscript used by
St. Jerome. But granting that they belong to the text, what
then ? Tobias merely said that he heard it that is, there was
a rumour, and possibly even a popular belief to that effect
the truthfulness of which neither Tobias nor the author
guarantees. Even if we were to go farther, and concede
The Book of Tobias. 90S)
that the younger Tobias himself believed this rumour still
the author of the book is absolutely free from any respon-
sibility regarding it he simply narrates the words spoken
by Tobias, without becoming sponsor for their conformity to
the real state of things. In a word, the author of the book
does not say that the devil loved Sara he tells us that
Tobias said so, which is quite a different thing.
But who can believe that the demon was expelled by the
smoke from the liver of a fish laid on burning coals ? There is
nothing absurd or incredible in it whichever of the three
explanations of interpreters we may choose to adopt. Some
with Tirimis attribute the expulsion solely and exclusively to
the action of the angel, the smoke contributing no thing directly
or indirectly to his banishment, being merely a sign to denote
the moment of the exercise of the angelic power and the
departure of the demon. The Vulgate text is not opposed to
such an explanation. In chap viii., 2 and 3, the reading is:
"Tobias, remembering the Angel's words, took out of his bag
part of the liver (of the fish), and laid it upon burning coals.
Ihen the Angel Raphael took the devil, fyc. ;" which words seem
to refer the expulsion altogether to the angel. The words
of the Greek Version, which indicate a closer connection
between the smoke and the expulsion, may be explained
without any violence in a metaphorical sense, the concur-
rence of the two events being a mere simultaneity without a
dependence on one another as cause and effect, "post hoc
sed non propter hoc."
There are others who ascribe, if not a direct, at least an
indirect influence to the smoke. This opinion appears more
in conformity with the whole context, for not only, as in
chap, viii., 2 and 3, is the concurrence of the two events
noted, but in chap, vi., 8, it is clearly affirmed by the
angel that " the smoke thereof driveth away all kinds of
devils either from man or from woman." The action of
smoke on a pure spirit like Asmodeus could not be direct,
but it may be indirect, in the sense that it possessed the pro-
perty of allaying lust, which, as has been said, was the cause
of the demon's influence over the seven husbands of Sara,
and of thus inducing dispositions unfavourable to his presence.
910 The Book of Tobias.
It is not necessary, say the advocates of this interpretation,
to appeal to a miracle or any extraordinary intervention of
Providence in attributing such a property to smoke, for the
pages of profane writers (Pliny, Book xxiv., Chap. 9 ; Ovid,
Book i. ; and Plutarch, as well as Josephus, Antiq., Book
viii., Chap. 2) ascribe to certain roots, plants, metals, and
perfumes, properties which had an indirect influence over
demons.
If the sound of David's harp banished the evil spirit from
Saul (1 Kings, chap, xvi.), doubtless by the influence it exer-
cised on the melancholy mood and passions of the king, why
regard it as absurd or incredible that a like result in the
.same way should follow from the smoke of the liver of the
fish?
Finally, may we not, as the erudite Ubaldi 1 suggests, com-
bine both explanations, and attribute the expulsion directe et
formaliter to the angel, indirecte seu dispositive to the smoke c l
The words used to express the action of the angel over
the devil are clearly to be understood in a metaphorical
sense suited to the angelic nature. What is more common
than such a use of these words'? Individuals and parties are
said to be bound hand and foot, not in a physical sense, but
by moral or legal obligations, or by a restriction of their
freedom of action. Hence the angel's taking and binding the
demon means simply that he overcame him, and hindered
him from exercising his power, in the same sense as the
angel is said in the Apocalypse (chap, xx., 2), to have
" laid hold on the dragon, and bound him," or as in Jude, chap.
1, 6, that the " angels who kept not their principality ....
1 Monsignore Ubaldo Ubaldi, Professor of Sacred Scripture in the
College of the Propaganda and the Roman Seminary, was Cardinal in petto
at the time of his lamented death nearly two years ago. He was then a
comparatively young man, but of world wide fame for his vast erudition
and especially his biblical lore. By the command of the reigning Pontiff
he undertook and wrote learned defences of the Book of Ecclesiastes,
Wisdom, &c,, against the impious attacks of the infidel Kenan. His
Introduction to Sacred Scripture, in three volumes, is a work of singular
merit, well known to students of Sacred Scripture. To an admirable
order and lucidity of treatment it adds a solid and varied erudition, and is
altogether, to use the words of the Roman Theological Censor, "a full
and illustrious defence of Catholic doctrine," and especially useful in
defending Sacred Scripture against the cavillings of modem scientists.
The Book of Tobias. 911
He hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains."
" The binding of the devil," says St. Augustine, " means his
not being permitted the full exercise of his power of tempt-
ing and seducing man by force or fraud."
The " desert of upper Egypt," where Asmodeus is said
to be bound by the angel, may be understood in a
metaphorical sense to express the utter discomfiture of the
demon by his banishment to some very remote region where
he would be powerless to do harm ; or, if it be taken in the
strict and literal sense, of having his operations confined to
this particular region, surely no place could be found more
suited for him, who, when he goeth forth from a man, " walks
through dry places without water " :(Mark, chap, xii., 43,
Luke, chap, xi., 24), than upper Egypt, the sterile, sandy,
uncultivated Thebaid of roaring cataracts and inaccessible
ways, once the home of serpents arid poisonous beasts,
according to St. Jerome, later on, the famous retreat of holy
hermits, where, according to ecclesiastical history, the
demons, as if in defence of a prized citadel, entered into
many a fierce and visible conflict with a St. Anthony,
a Macarius, and a Paphnutius !
These are the principal difficulties urged against the
authority of the Book of Tobias. We do not pretend to have
treated the subject as fully and exhaustively as it might oe
done, and as it deserved ; our aim has been to suggest and
illustrate the general principles which should guide us in
refuting the arguments and unravelling the sophistries of
modern enemies of the Bible. We are sensible of having
done but little, because we have had but little to offer from
our scanty means. But in the temple of truth each may be
allowed to make an offering, and while others bring their
gold and their silver, and their precious stones, we may
humbly venture to make our simple offering at least of hair
and skin ! (St. Jerome, Prologus Galeatus.)
DENIS HALLINAN/!
[ 912 ]
PRE-REFORMATION CHURCHES IN IRELAND.
A LTHOUGH there is scarcely a town or even village in
11L England which does not possess, at the present time, one
or more churches built by Catholics, but now devoted to a
form of worship alien to that for which they were first
erected, the total number of pre-Reformation ecclesiastical
edifices still in use in Ireland is comparatively small.
But, whilst in England there is only one of these buildings,
St. Etheldreda's, London, now served by the Fathers of
Charity, which has come back once more into Catholic hands
to which, perhaps, should be added the recently opened
Benedictine Abbey at Buckfastleigh, Devon there are in
Ireland, so far as the present writer knows, at least four such
structures happily restored to their original purposes. These
are :
1. The Black Abbey at Kilkenny, once more in possession
of the Dominicans.
2. The Franciscan Abbey, Clonmel, whose history was
related by Father Murphy, in the June Number of the
RECORD.
3. The Parish Church at Carrickbeg, Carrick-on-Suir.
4. The Parish Church at Adare, County Limerick.
The history of the latter two restorations is so interesting
as to be, I trust, found worth reproducing in the pages of
the RECORD.
I. According to ArchdaWs Monasticon Hibernicum, a
Monastery for Conventual Franciscans was founded at
Carrickbeg in 1336, by James, Earl of Ormond, and the first
Friar was admitted therein on the Feast of Saints Peter and
Paul, the 29th of June, which in that year fell on a Saturday,
at which time Stephen De Barry was appointed Minister-
Friar ; AVilliam Naisse, Keeper ; Friar Clynne, of Kilkenny,
Warden. This latter Friar is better known as the author of
the Annals of Ireland, a Latin work of great historical
merit. Clynne soon returned to his Convent at Kilkenny,
where he wrote his Annals and died there of the plague,
of which he wrote a frightful account, in 1350. The Carrick-
Pre- Reformation C Lurches in Ireland.
beg Convent fell into ruin, and was re-founded in 1447, by
Edmund Macllichard, grandson of Jamep, third Earl of
Ormond, and grandfather of Pierce, eighth Earl of Ormond.
Carrickbeg Convent was suppressed in 1540, its then guardian
being William Cormac, and was granted to Thomas, tenth
Earl of Ormond.
In 1827, a case relative to this Convent was stated for
O'Connell, as follows : The querists proved that by mesne
assignments thin Monastery, with the Abbey lands, became
vested in Henry Straggan, Esq., and were purchased from
his successors by Richard Sausse, Esq., of Carrick, in whose
possession they were at the time.
The Abbey aforesaid was in the Parish of Kilmolleran, in
the County of Waterford, and since its surrender by the last
Prior was suffered to fall into decay.
The Roman Catholic Clergyman and his parishioners were
then re-building it for the purpose of Divine worship, but the
Protestant Rector, who had 110 church, threatened to possess
himself of it when repaired. The Parish was vicarial
and rectorial ; and the Vicar was in possession of the Parish
Church, where he and his curate regularly officiated. The
Rector had a sinecure, as there was never more than one
Church in the Parish.
Under those circumstances Counsellor O'Connell was asked,
to say, if the Roman Catholic Clergyman and his flock could
be prevented from using this Abbey (which was private
property), when rebuilt as a place of worship ; or could the
Protestant Rector of the Parish then, or at any future time,
take possession of it.
O'Connell advised the querists to be under no apprehen-
sion from the threats of the Protestant Rector, who had
clearly no right either to obstruct them in the repairing of
the Monastery, or to take possession of it when those repairs
were completed. On this assurance the Abbey was re-built,
and has ever since been used as the Parish Church ; the
Rector not deeming it wise to put forward his claim for
possession.
The steeple of this Abbey, which was dedicated to
St. Michael, is a very curious structure, about sixty feet in
VOL. VII. 3 M
1)14 Pre-Re formation Churches in Ireland.
height, and rising from a single stone. It resembles an
inverted pyramid, the point of which rises from a sculptured
head of the saint several feet above the ground, towards the
middle of the side- wall of the Church.
II. The Parish Church at Adare was formerly the White
Abbey of the Trinitarians, the Order founded for the
Redemption of Captives by St. John of Matha, and St. Felix
of Valois, in 1198.
"At the beginning of this century," we learn from
Father Bridgett's Historical Notes on Adare, a little work
which we trust will find many imitators in Ireland, " the
ruined Church of the Trinitarian Abbey was used as a ball-
court, and subsequently the intention was to fit it up as a
market-house."
The story goes that the first Earl of Dunraven, who was
.a Protestant, and had converted the remains of the old
Augustinian Abbey at Adare into a Protestant Parish Church,
in 1807, went one day into the old Trinitarian ruin, and, as
he stood looking up at the ceiling of the tower, was heard
to say : " I will never allow it to be a den of thieves."
He immediately sent for the Rev. M. Lee, the venerable
Parish Priest, and announced his intention of giving it to
the people for their Church, which was soon after carried into
effect. This was in 1811.
The grandson of this restorer of the Catholic Church at
Adare, Edwin, the third Earl of Dunraven, became a Catholic,
.and enlarged and re-built it, and, prior to his lamented death
in 1871, planned further improvements which have since
been carried out by his trustees. These additions were
solemnly blessed by the late Most Rev. Dr. Butler in 18S-4.
The splendid wrought-metal screen behind the high altar
of this Church is the gift of the fourth Earl, who is a
Protestant.
III. Buttevant Parish Church is built quite close to the old
Abbey of Buttevant, a tower belonging to which is incor-
porated with it ; the Catholic Church at Cong, Gal way, stands
almost back to back with the famous old Abbey tliere ; the
Pre- Reformation CJiurclies in Ireland. 1)15
Carmelite Church at Kinsale stands on ground which has
always been in Carmelite hands; and this, too, is the case, I
believe, in Ennis : but these cannot properly be added to
the above list.
The following comprises the chief pre-Reformation Irish
churches now held and used by Protestants :
1. St. Patrick's, Dublin.
2. Christchurch, Dublin.
3. St. Canice's, Kilkenny.
4. St. Colman's, Cloyne.
5. St. Nicholas', Galway.
6. St. Mul those, Kinsale.
7. St. Mary's, Limerick.
8. The Cathedral, Lismore.
9. The Cathedral, Armagh.
10. The Abbey Church, Youghal.
11. The Protestant Church at Adare, formerly an Augus-
tinian Abbey.
12. The Protestant Church at Kilmallock.
The Protestant Church at Athenry occupies part of the
site of a Catholic building, the wall and transepts of which
are still standing.
A third, though less interesting list, which it is to be
hoped the present paper will induce others with better
opportunities to complete, is that of the churches which the
so-called Irish Church has let fall into ruins since its
disestablishment, or else has totally removed from the face
of the earth. Of these there are
1. Einly, the spire of which still remains.
'2. Mungret, Limerick, .left a "new ruin."
o. The Protestant Church at Carrigclrohid, in the County
of Cork, every stone of which was carted away.
4. Temple Brigicl, Crosshaven, Cork Harbour. The ruins
of this church form a prominent landmark for vessels entering
the harbour, and this church was said to be nearer the sea
than any other in all Ireland. I am not sure, however, that
it owes its abandonment to the Disestablishment Act.
Whilst willingly bearing witness to the splendid services
done by the Board of Works under the National Monument
916 Roman Conferences.
Preservation Act, in preserving from the ravages of time and
the destructive hands of heedless men the numerous beautiful
ruined Abbeys and Churches which still stud the land, we
regret that they have left unrestored the grandest group of
our ancient ecclesiastical monuments, namely, those clustered
on the famous Rock of Cashel. J. COLEMAN.
ROMAN CONFERENCES.
[We believe that many of our readers will take a very practical interest
in reading the Programme of the Clerical Conferences held in Rome within
the past year, 1885-86. With this view we print the Programme in
full. ED. I.E.R.]
QUAESTIONES MORALES.
DE TERTIO, QUARTO, ET QUINTO DECALOGI PRAECEPTO.
JJe quibus deliberabitur in conventions quos, auspice viro eminen-
tissimo Lucido M. Parocchi, S.R.E. Presbytero Cardinali et
sanctissimi D. N. PP. Leonis XIII. Vicario Generally Romae
ad S. Apollinaris habebunt sacerdotes ex coetu S. Pauli
Apostoli diebus qui singulis quaestionibus inscripti sunt, a
mense Novembri anni 1885, ad Augustum 1886.
MONITIDI.
Qui propositas quaestiones enodare. aut enodatas magis
magisque illustrare, vel piam habere collationem debeant,
meminerii)t illud, quod nostro in coetu semper solemiie i'uit,.
haec omnia uriius horae spatio continenda.
Initium vero coetus toto anno erit hora vicesima secunda.
I.
Die 2o Norembrls 1885, hora 3 pom.
Titius, dives mercator et innumeris implicitus negotiis r
paschali tempore ad poeniteiitiae sacramentuin accedens,
interrogatus praeter alia a confessario, qua ratione dies festos
sanctificaverit, respondet se in more habuisse, singulis
dominicis et festis, unam dumtaxat missam audire, et quidem
studiose quaerens presbyterum, qui earn quam citissime
absolveret ; quiri alio quovis modo per illos dies vel mente,
Roman Conferences. 917
vel opere Detim praeterea coleret. Sciscitante rursus con-
fessario an saltern attente missac interfuerit, reponit se, cum
sacro adesset, flexis quidem genibus semper mansisse, nulla-
tenus tamen orasse ; saepe etiam voluntarie ad sua negotia
divertentem, supputationes de datis et acceptis per integmm
fere sacrum mente instituisse; imo et quandoque, dum sacerdos
in altari operabatur, tarn acri et assidua pugna, ob protractam
in sabbato vigiliam, cum somno decertasse, ut incerta sibi
visa sit victoria. Tandem concludit, se, si forte aliquando
diebus festis ad communionem accederet, ad temporis lucrum
faciendum, intra missam discussisse conscientiam et peccata
fuisse confessum, quin aliam missam sive antea, sive postea
audierit.
His a Titio declaratis, ut confessarius eum corn gat, et
quid in posterum ab eo sit agendum opportune praecipiat,
secum quaerit :
1. An ad dies festos sanctiftcandos, praeter missae auditionem,
aliquid aliud a fidelibus ex praecepto positive praestandum sit?
'2. Quaenam attentio requiratur, ut praecepto de missae audi-
tione satisfiat ?
3. An Titius in singulis, de quibus in casu, requisitam
attentionem habuerit ?
II.
Die 14 Decembris 1885, hora 3 pom.
Die dominica in quoddam oppidulum, nundinarum causa,
in gens concurrit alienigenarum multitude. Umi.n, nee
admodum amplum, in eo templum habetur, una parochi
.missa. Dato signo ecclesiae fores panduntur; et subito
sacra aedes redundat populo, ut maxima turba in sacristiam,
in vestibulum, in plateam, in contigua loca sese effundat.
Est qui scandit in cancellatam templi fenestram (italice
coretto), ibique manet ; quin tamen quidquam de missa vel
videat, vel audiat, parocho remissa voce celebrante. Titius
qui versatur in sua officina contra eamdem sacram aedem
posita, cum videat paruin abesse, quin hominum frequentia
in officinam ipsam irrumpat : Hodie, iuquit, domi meae sacro
interesse mihi liceat. Famuli, qui sunt in cella officinae
contigua, nihil praeter dominum conversum ad templum et in
I 1 IS Roman Conferences.
geima provolutum videntes, quin hide pedem efFerant,
idem faciunt. Uxor Titii autem aliaeque mulieres, in
cubiculo commorantes, quod officinae imminet, ad pergulam
se confemnt, ex qua commode et templi fores spectant, et
populum undequaque difFusum.
Quaerittir :
1. Qualis requiratur praesentia ad missam die festo rite
audiendam f
2. Quaenam distantia a loco celelrationis impediat, quoniinus
sacro valide quis adsistat ?
3. Nmn M omnes, qui memorantur in casu, satisfecerint
praecepto auditionis missae ?
III.
Die 11 Januarii 1886, liora 3^ pom.
Titius clericus, ecclesiam parochialem forte ingressus, dum
catechesis ad populum habetur, audit doctrinam de festorum
observantia fidelibus propoji, quae a theologorum communi-
ter receptis principiis abhorrere sibi videtur. Concionator
enim disserens de abstinentia ab operibus servilibus in primis
docet, ad haec a non servilibus discernenda attendi potissi-
mum oportere ad laboris gratuitatem, ad laborantis
intentionem et ad defatigationem corporis. Hinc infert, non
exercere opus servile eum, qui sine ulla spe lucri, recreationis
causa, die festo laboret ; vel qui id faciat animo otium vitandi ;
vel demum si ea praestet, quae levissimam defatigationem
important, ut esset tibialia manu texere, rosaria et scapularia
conficere, imagines acu pingere, typos componere, artem
photographicam exercere aliaque his similia. Praeterea
definiens, quaenam sit materia gravis in opere-servili diebus
festis peracto, docet eum graviter non peccare, qui per tres
vel quatuor horas hujusmodi operibus vacet ; imo vel eo rem
.deducit, ut excuset a mortali dominum, qui plures famulos
jubeat per decem et amplius horas successive laborare, sedulo
cavens ne tempus a singulis impensum materiam gravem
attingat.
Titius de veritate hujus doctrinae sollicitus theologum
amicum adit, a quo quaerit:
1 Quonam criterio dignosci valeant opera servilia a non
servililus ?
Roman Conferences. 919
2 Quaenam materia habenda sit ut gravis in opere servili
diebus festis peracto ?
3 Quid sentiendum de singulis doctrinae capitibus a concio-
natore traditis ?
IV.
Die 25 Januarii 1886, hora, 3|- pom.
Recitatur oratio de laudibus S. Pauli Apostoli, quern
coetus noster sibi patronum adlegit.
V.
Die 8 Februarii 1886, Jwra 3J pom.
Casia, adolescentula nubilis et honestis orta natalibus, quae
caeteros hebdomadae dies in aliorum servitium impendere ex
rei familiaris angustia cogitur, ut sibi matrique viduae victum
et decentem vivendi rationem comparet, saepe festis diebus
dat operam propriis vestibus consuendis, sudariolis et indusiis
tergendis ferroque complanandis, atque aliis hujus generis
domesticis operibus. Accidit etiam aliquando, ut si forte
careat iis ornamentis, quae se decere existimat, et sine quibus,
ne nimis pauper esse videatur, nollet conspici a quodam
juvene, qui earn cupit in uxorem ducere, sacro non intersit ;
nee enim ante lucem id sibi licitum putat ob suae pudicitiae
timorem, cum nempe sola sine matre, senectute et infirmitati-
bus impedita, ad templum deberet accedere. Tandem,
oblata occasione notabiliter lucrandi, si novam vestem quam
citissime assueret, festum diem in opere perficiendo integrum
traducit, et vel a missa audienda abstinet.
De his omnibus, quae bona fide se peregisse dicit, con-
fessarium tempore paschali consulit, a quo petit, an ea licita
sibi revera fuerint, et qua ratione se in posterum gerere
debeat. Hinc confessarius secum quaerit :
1 Quaenam causae excusent a lege, quae jubet diebus festis
missae auditionem, et abstinentiam ab operibus servilibus ?
2 An causa legitime excusans sit etiam occasio notabilis
lucri faciendi ?
3 Quid respondendum Caiae turn quoad praeteritum, turn
quoad futurum ?
020 Roman Conferences.
VI.
Die 22 Felruarii 1886, Jwra ^ pom.
Titius, negotiator ditissimus, duos habet filios, quorum
natu minorem, elegantiori forma mentisque alacritate
praeditum, special! prosequitur dilectione ; licet major natu
nee ingenio omnino careat, nee pravis sit moribus, nee in
patrem ullo modo reus. Itaque dum adolescentior litteris et
scientiis addicitur, atque ad negotia gerenda sub patris
instruitur directione, alter ab omni fere civili ac politiori
cultura arcetur, et a quavis commercii addiscendi ratione a
patre ipso prohibitus, laboribus domesticis dumtaxat operam
dare cogitur. Titius, qui cum eo semper dure agit, saepe
eum monet, ut religiose alicui ordini det nomen, asserens id
solum esse suo ingenio accommodatum. At films semper
renuit, negans se ad hujusmodi vitae genus a Deo vocari, imo
potius matrimonii statum adamare. Paulo post patri signi-
ficat velle se puellam, pauperem quidem et deterioris
conditionis, sed honestam, in uxorem ducere ; cumque nullo
modo patris veniam impetrare valeat, ipso inscio et invito,
clam nuptias init. Quo cognito, Titius ira excandescens eum
domo expellit, et testamento condito adolescentiorem
haeredem constituit, et solam legitimam priori relinquit.
Verum paullo post morbo correptus confessario mentem
suam aperit, turn de praeterita cum filiis agendi ratione, turn
de ultima sua voluntate jam tabulis consignata. Haeret
animo confessarius et apud se quaerit :
1 Quaenam defeat eve parentum erga filios temporalis cura?
2 Utrum praeterita r l \tii qyendi ratio cum filiis sit graviter
culpabilis ?
3 Quid censenduin de condito testamento, et quid mine Titio
consulendum injungendumvq ?
VII.
Die 15 Martii 1886, liora 4| pom.
Titius, causidicus, magna distractus litium et negotioruin
copia, cum prolis education! per se vacare impediatur,
filiarum curam pientissimae uxori penitus relinquit. E duo-
bus vero filiis, majorem, qui bellicarum rerum percupidus
videtur, in militari collegio educandum curat. Et quidem
Roman Conferences. 921
11x01* 110:1 semel cum viro conqueritur de hiijiismodi collegio,
taniquam minime tuto ratione fidei et morum, et in quod
etiam juvenes sectae heterodoxae cooptentur. Cui vir non
sine reprehensione respondet: mulieres semper malum
cogitare, et caeteroquin in eo proprii cultus exercitium
unicuiqiie permitti, religiosis controversiis severe interdictis.
Natu minorem Titius cuidam praeceptori concredit, his tamen
appositis conditionibus : nempe lit magister filium non
corrigat, sed illius defectus ad patrem referat ; deinde ut eum
catholicae religionis praeceptis imbuat, attamen quoniam ad
saecularem statum destinatur, iiimiae pietati eum non addicat ;
tandem ut nunquam de ecclesiastico vel religioso statu cum
eo loquatur, imo, capta occasione, utriusque status incommoda
potius exaggeret. Institutor, qui datas conditiones se sancte
servaturum promittit, subinde patri refert, filium esse iracun-
dum, superbum et studia fastidientem. Cui pater subridens
dandum hoc esse aetati respondet.
Expleto tandem educationis curriculo evenit, ut ambo
Titii filii ad vitia proclives gravem parentibus angustiam
afferant.
Quaeritur :
1 Quaenam esse debeat spiritualis parentwn cura erga filios ?
'2 Num a Tltio in familiae educatione adhibita ratio sit gra-
viter culpabilis ?
3 An intstitutor licite potuerit appositcts conditiones acceptare
et servare?
VIII.
Die 29 Maitii, 1886, Jiora 4| pom.
Titius ob patris et novercae saevitiem domum relinquit,
ac propria industria sibi vie turn comparat. Sed ne de hoc
quidem contentus pater, ut alterius uxoris filiis, quos prae-
diligit, provideat, Titium urget ut, modica pecunia accepta,
cuivis renuntiet haereditatis juri. Pro bono pacis huic
renuntiationi acquiescit Titius, simul tamen declarans, se ab
hoc die et patrem et familiam abdicare. Inde ad exteram
region em profectus, lapsu temporis mediocrem consequitur
fortunam, uxorem ducit, liberos ex ea suscipit et commode
juxta suum statum vivit. Post decem annos, quibus nullam
de patre notitiam habuerat, ejusdem litteras recipit, quibus
922 Roman Conferences.
hie significat, se ad extremam redactum esse miseriam, et
apoplexia correptum graviter decumbere ; filios vero siios
absque ulla arte et educatione miserrimos vagari. Sibi igitur
filiisque suis subveniat, nisi maledictionem suam incurrere
velit. Titius, praeteritorum memor et suae familiae onere
gravatus, cui vix satisfacere potest, epistolam lacerat. Verum
post sex menses nuntius ei affertur de patris raorte, quo
vehement er perterritus et simnl conscientiae stirmilis actus,
confessario totam rem exponit et quaerit:
1. Quaenam sint obligationes filiorum erga parentes ?
2. Quid ex justitia vel saltern ex charitate sibi agendum erat
post acceptam patris epistolam ?
3. A d quid modo teneatur erga fratres ?
IX.
Die 12 Aprilis 1886, hora 5 pom.
Titius, nobilis generis et alacris ingenii juvenis, valde
lucrosum munus exercens, turpibus vitiis aliquandiu indulsit.
Gravi morbo correptus, instante morte, judicia divina perti-
mescens religion em Carthusianorum ingredi vovet, si con-
valuerit. Sanitate recepta, votum suum patri manifestat,
qui licet antea apprime dives, patrimonio tamen ex oscitantia
dilapidate, ad inopiam vergebat, omnemque spem familiae
in Titio habebat repositam. Totis viribus conatur pater a
suscepto proposito filium abducere, eique inter cetera ob
oculos ponit miseram fratris natu majoris conditionem, qui
jam emancipatus et conjugatus, ob ingenii tarditatem rem
domesticam tarn imperite gerit, ut ad prolem haud exiguam
alendam Titii auxilio indigeat. Titius tamen his rationibus
minime permotus, ut animae saluti prospiciat, invito patre,
religionem ingreditur, ac, tempore tirocinii emenso, solemnem
profession em emittit. Interim pater senex, reliquis bonis
consumptis, ad vitam aliqua ratione sustentandam, advocati
cujusdam scripturas, pacta mercede, exscribere cogitur : frater
vero ad suos alendos cum familiae dedecore viro diviti
famulum se addicit.
His cognitis, Titius, qui magno ardore Deo inserviebat,
scrupulis pressus confessarium adit, eidem rem omnem exponit
ac quaerit :
Roman Conferences. 923-
1. An et ol> quam parentum vel consanguineorum necessitatem
teneatur filins ab ingressu religionis abstinere, vel ab ea egredi ?
2. An bene ipse se gesserit religionem ingrediendo et vota
solemniter profitendo ?
3. Ad quid inpraesens teneatur ?
X.
Die 10 Maii 1886, Jwra 5^ pom.
Titius novensilis parochus Caio amico presbytero dolens
enarrat duos rniserrimos casus, qui eadem die intra fines suae
paroeciae acciderant. Summo scilicet mane honestissimamulier
ex alta fenestra se praecipitem dedit, et brevi mortua est ; adeo
lit vix declarare valtierit, se id egisse, ut e manibus impuri
violatoris eriperetur, potius mori quam foedari cupiens.
Insuper vir catholicus et in religionis exercitio satis diligens,
quern primis matutinis horis in parochiali templo sacrum qui-
dam viderant audientem et ad communionem accedentem,
domum re versus, clauso ostio, violentas manus sibi intulit.
In epistola autem a se antea conscripta, post petitam a suis
veniam et commendatam eorum precibus animam suam de-
claravit, se ingenti aere alieno gravari, suaque negotia
nonnisi cum infamia et familiae pernicie componi posse ;
addiditque, spem se fovere, fore ut familia, se defuncto, ma-
jorem a creditoribus commiserationem inveniat. His relatis
Titius anceps haeret, quid judicandum sit de utriusque morte,
et quomodo se gerere debeat circa eorumdem funus et sepul-
turam. Huic Caius respondet, mulierem illam non. solum
damnandam non esse ut suicidam, sed potius ut martyrem
castitatis colendam; pro altero vero, utpote viro catholico,
stare praesumptionem, eum a statu mentis dejectum violentas
manus sibi intulisse ; quapropter ambigendum non sit, quin
illius etiam funus et sepultura secundum catholicum ritum
peragi possit.
Huic 4 sententiae non acquiescens Titius rem cum eximio
theologo confert, a quo quaerit :
1. An unquam liceat sibi mortem inferre ?
2. An ambo, de quibus in casu, Jiabendi sint ut rei suicidii?
3 d . Quid de Caii sententia judicandum ?
924 Roman Conferences.
XL
Die 24 Maii, 1886, Aom 6 pom.
Inter Titium et Sempronium militiae officiales gravis
exoritur zelotypia ratione Bertae puellae, quam uterque per-
ditissime deperit. Quare Sempronius ad singulare certameii
Titium provocat. Cum civili etiam jure in iliorum regno
duellum proscribatur, poenas contra duellantes sancitas veri-
tus Titius reponit, se illud recusare ; paratum tarn en semper
esse, si aggressionem patiatur, vim vi repellere. Paullo post
e suburbano praedio in urbem Titius rediens comperit, quos-
dam sicarios in via ex mandato Sempronii suae vitae insidiari.
Et quidem alia potuisset commode urbem petere, sed pro-
brosum sibi judicans hanc pugnandi occasionem fuga vitare,
Caium sodalem rogat, ut auxilium sibi in hoc certamine prae-
beat. Renuit primum Caius, qui cum familiam suo labore
sustentet, absque ulla necessitate discrimen vitae subire
pertimescit : at postea Titii precibus victus, se ad ejus
latus futurum spondet. Cum igitur districto gladio iter
prosequuntur, subito ab insidiis prosiliunt quatuor sicarii, in
eosque impetum faciunt. Strenue se defendunt Titius et
Caius duosque ex aggressoribus humi posternunt, alios duos
fugant. Nee tamen victores incolumes discedunt : nam Caius
e vulnere in pugna accepto aliquot post dies cum gravi
familiae damno moritur.
Quaeritur :
1. Qaibus limitilus c ircumscfibatur jus privatae sui ipsius
defensionis contra injustum aggressorem f
2. An turn Titius^ turn Caius peccaverint in hac sui ipsorum
defensione ?
3. An ad aliquid erga Ca'd familiam Titius teneatur?
XII.
Die 7 Janii 1886, hora 6 pom.
Titius, sacerdos, praeter multas proprias opes et vasa
argentea, depositam etiam apud se habebat magnam peciiniae
vim Caii pupilli, cujus erat tutor. Quadam nocte duo, simtilato
amicorum nomine, illius cubiculuni ingressi, armata ilianu
mortem minitantes pecuniam exigunt. Perterritus Titius, ut
Roman Conferences. 925
suis rebus parcat, pupilli pecimiam ex integro latronibus
oflferf, qui ea arrepta aufugiimt. Turn Titius clausa porta
ad fenestram accurrit, magnisque voeibus fures inclamat.
Qui, cum eo ipso mornento e domo se proriperent, Titius
arripit uimni ex vasibus, quibus ad fenestrae latera flores
alebantur, et ita ad perpendiculum in eos jactat, ut prior,
qui egressus est, ictu perculsus, illico exanimis in terram cor-
ruerit, dum alter, qui pupilli pecuniam secum ferebat, longe
aufugit incolumis.
Die sequeuti Titius missam celebraturus anxius dubitat,
an peccaverit et irregularitatem incurrerit. Hinc ad con-
fessarium aecedit, quaerens :
1. An, quando et quousque liceat occidere invasorem lonorum,
sive ea sint propria, sive proximi ?
2. Utrum ipse sit reus homicidii et irregularis evaserit '!
3. An licite potuerit furibus pro re sua pupilli pecuniam
offerre ; vel, si secus, an ad aliquid erga ilium modo teneatur ?
XIII.
Die 5 Julii 1686, hora 6^- pom.
Inter Titium et Caium paroehos exorta fuerat coutroversia
(nou sine animorum aestu postremis hisce temporibus inter
theologos agitata) de liceitate operationis chirurgicae, quae
craniotomia, seu embryotomia audit. Post plura acriter inter
eos disputata, cum compertum habuissent, hujusmodi quaes-
tionem ab Emo. Archiepiscopo Lugdunensi nuper propositam
fuisse S. Congregation] Inquisitioiiis, satius duxerunt hujus
responsionem expectare. Et revera sub die 28 Maii anni 1884
ad dubium ab eodem Archiepiscopo propositum : " An tuto
doceri possit in scholis catholicis, licitam esse operationem
cHirurgicam, quam craniotomiam appellant, quando scilicet, ea
oinissa, mater et filius perituri sint, ea e contra admissa,
sal valid a sit mater infante pereunte ?" ita responsum ftiit :
" Emi. Patres Inquisitores generales, omnibus diu et mature
perpensis, habita quoque ratione eorum, quae bac in re a
peritis catholicis viris conscripta, ac ab Eminentia Tua huic
Congregation! transmissa sunt, respondendurn esse duxerunt :
Tuto doceri non possit" Quae responsio ipsa eadem die a
Simmio Pontifice plene confinnata fuit. Audito S. Congre-
<)26 Roman Conferences.
gationis response, nova inter parochos succedit controversia
circa vim. censurae, qua sententia craniotomiae liceitatem
affirmans mulctata est ; an scilicet post datam responsionem
sententia ilia possit adlmc haberi ut probabilis, et an in
probato verae necessitatis casu ad matris vitam servandam in
praxim deduci queat ?
Cum porro quaestionis inter eos agitatae exitum non
invenirent,communi consilio ad eximium theologum accedunt,
quern rogant, ut, revocato prius breviter totius controversiae
statu, ei placeat respondere ad sequentia dubia :
1. An post responsionem, de qua in casu, sententiae
craniotomiae liceitatem affirmanti adliuc adscribi possit vera
probabilitas ?
2. Quomodo se gerere debeat parochus, si in particular*
necessitatis casu consulatur, an praedicta operatio licite fieri
queat ?
XIV.
Die 19 Julii 1886, hora, 6 pom.
Titia graviter aegrotans audit a Berta famula sua, earn
facile pristinae sanitati posse restitui, si ope medicatae
cujusdam potionis foetum expellat, quo a sex mensibus
gravatur. Titia hujusmodi consilium medico aperit, qui illud
xeprobat tamquam facinus ab Ecclesia sub poena excom-
municationis damnatum. Berta, quae id ignorabat, his
.auditis ammo horret; at Titia sanitatem exoptans, medico
vix egresso, mandat famulae, lit alium advocet, sperans
opportunam se medicinam ab illo fore nacturam. Et initio
quidem excommunicationis metu renuit Berta ; verum deinde
dominae precibus victa jussum exequitur. Accedit medicus
et ratus foetum, licet non expellatur, omnino moriturum
potionem ad ejiciendum dari posse declarat. Verum siibdit,
se alia methodo uti, qua nempe habetur abortus per uteri, seu
potius membranae, qua foetus clauditur, scissionem ; atque
hoc in casu poenas non incurri ab Ecclesia sancitas, turn quia
hujusmodi operatio foetum per se et directe non occidit, turn
quia leges comminantes poenas de venenis, medicamentis et
potionibus agunt.
His auditis Titia in operationem libenter consentit, qua
Roman Conferences. 927
peracta, foetus expulsus post rcceptum baptismum statim
moritur, et mater sanitati restituitur.
Quaeritur :
1 An aliquando liceat abortum procurare ?
2 Quid de singulis in casu sentiendum ?
3 An aliquis ex memoratis in casu inciderit in excommuni-
cationem contra procurantes abortum sancitam ?
Die 9 Augustii 1886, hora 5J pom.
Titius, post gravem injuriam a Caio sibi illatam, quadam
die it obviam illi inermi, ipsumque incusso metu et intentatis
minis ad duelhim provocat, animo tamen reputans, fore ut
illud recuset. At e contra Cains, minis perterritus, duellum
acceptat. Itaque seliguntur testes et arma, simulque tempus
et locus determinaritur. Data hora Titius cum suis patrinis
ad conventum locum se confert : sed loco Caii reperit
expectantem filium ejus Semproriium. Admirans ab eo
quaerit, cur Caius non advenerit ; quia morbo laborat,
respondet Sempronius. Quo audito, ira percitus Titius ipsum
ad pugnam loco patris provocat. Testibus praesentibus
.ambo gladiurn extrahunt et inter se dimicant, fitque brevi ut
Sempronius dexteram auriculam Titio abscindat.
1 Qaae necessario requirantur, ut singulare certamen veri
nominis duellum did possit ?
2 An Titius sub spe non acceptationis potuerit Caium ad
.duellum provocare ; et an Caius deluerit non acceptare f
3 An certamen Titium inter et Sempronium fuerit vvrum
duellum %
4 An aliquis ex memoratis in casu inciderit in poenas centra
dilettantes sancitas ?
L 9.28 ]
THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
CERTAIN TITLES OF OUR BLESSED LADY.
I.
" In what sense is the Blessed Virgin styled ' Mother of Divine
Grace ? ' "
II.
" Is it theologically correct to speak of her as our Mediatrix, or the
Cause of our Salvation ? "
III.
"What is the full meaning of calling her 'our Mother also' in
conjunction with the title, * Mother of the Word Incarnate ? ' "
"As the various expressions referred to occur in prayers sanctioned
by the Church, as well as in our Manuals of Devotion, an explanation
of them in the RECORD would be welcomed by yours, "W."
In the preface to his long and beautiful treatise, " De
My sterns Vitae Chris ti," Suarez, speaking of the graces and
dignity of the Blessed Virgin, gives his estimate of the sub-
ject's importance in this pithy sentence "Ego eriim post
ipsius Dei ac Christ! cognitionem, nullam, aut utiliorem aut
viro Theoiogo digniorem esse existimo." We desire to
express our humble adhesion to the truth of this state-
ment before proceeding to discuss our correspondent's inter-
esting questions.
M
Our Blessed Lady is Mother of Divine Grace in more
senses than one.
1. She deserves the title because she is the Mother of
Him from whom Divine Grace comes Mother of the Author
of Grace. For, in the present order, all grace comes from
Christ.
2. She is "Mother of Divine Grace," as meaning Mother
through ivliom we have Divine Grace. Grace comes to us from
the Redeemer, and we have the Redeemer through Mary. She
co-operated in a degree possible to no other human person in
the work of Redemption, and she helps in an equally special
manner to secure our actual sanctification and salvation.
Hence the Fathers, and ecclesiastical writers generally, predi-
cate of the Blessed Virgin, in an analogical sense, many glorious
Theological Questions. 929
attributes -which, in their strictest signification, belong to God
alone. Through Christ, the one truly efficient and indepen-
dent cause of Redemption, she too, because of her wonderful
co-operation, is the " Gate of Heaven," and the " Cause of
our Salvation."
Moreover, her merits de congruo in regard to the Divine
Maternity, must not be forgotten. What, however, we should
make special account of in this connection is the wonderful
power of her advocacy in securing actual salvation for men,
particularly when we remember that, in the opinion of many
saintly writers of great learning, every grace given by God
comes through the hands of her from whom we have Jesus,
the Author of Grace. Whether, then, we look to Redemption
itself, or to the application of its fruits in our souls, Mary is
"Mother of Divine Grace " in the sense that she is a Mother
by whose means we have the graces of redemption, actual sanctifica-
tion, and actual salvation.
3. In a third signification the title is due, because our
Blessed Lady is Mother full of Grace, Divine Grace being
specially predicated of her, owing to the fact that its pleni-
tude filled her spotless soul. To prepare a fitting mother for the
King of Kings, Divine Grace and the gifts of the Holy Ghost
came to adorn that soul in brightest splendour. Other saints
were remarkable for particular virtues. She was, in truth, the
" Mirror of Justice," for every grace the just man possesses, she
received in-richest abundance, and every virtue God's chosen,
friends can strive to practise had its model and exemplar
mirrored in her perfect life. Hence Pius IX., in the Bull,
" Ineffabilis Deus," declares :
" Hac singular! solemnique salutatione nunquam alias audita
ostendi, Deiparam fuisse omnium divinarum gratiarum sedem, omni-
busque divini Spiritus charismatibus exornatam, imo eorundem charis-
niatum infinitum prope thesaurum abyssumque inexhaustum."
Again, he gives as the unanimous opinion of the Fathers
that :
" Gloriosissimam Virginem, cui fecit magna qui potens cst ca
Coelestiurn omnium donorum vi, ea plenitudine gratis, eaque inno-
centia emicuisse qua veluti ineffabile Dei tniraculum, imo omnium,
miraculorum apex et digna Dei Mater extiterit, et ad Deum ipsum
pro ratioue creatae naturae quam proxime accedens qua humanis,
qua angelicis praecouiis celsior evaserit."
VOL. VII. 3 N
D30 Theological Questions.
4. Lastly, there is a literal sense in which Mary is Mother
of Divine Grace. She is Mother of " Uncreated Grace." The
Second Person, as well as the Father and Holy Ghost, takes
Tip his abode in the soul of the just man. He is given to the
just man gratis, and under this aspect is Divine Grace ; not,
of course, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, but still
in a true acceptation. Now Mary, being Mother of the Son,
is His Mother when reigning in the soul of one of the just.
She is, therefore, Mother of Divine Grace.
But under another aspect, the Word is Divine Grace, and
this is personal to Himself. His Divine Personality was com-
municated gratis to the human nature. Hence the Word
united to human nature is truly Divine Grace. Thus, in a
wonderful, yet obvious way, Mary is Mother of Divine Grace
because Mother of the Word.
II.
The titles mentioned are rightly bestowed on the Blessed
Virgin on account of her co-operation in the work of redemp-
tion and the assistance she gives in saving our souls.
Assuredly one who had a part in procuring the satisfaction
due to the justice of God for sin, and in reconciling mankind
with the Creator, may claim the title of mediator between God
-and man. Not to more than mention her whole-souled obla-
tion at the foot of the cross, she co-operated both morally and
physically with her Divine Son in the work of Regeneration.
She, on behalf of the race of Adam consented to the spiritual
espousals of the Word with the human nature. It was from
her most holy blood the flesh was formed which the Second
Person assumed to redeem and save us. Thus, on account
of Christ, Mary is our Mediatress.
She is also u Causa nostrae salutis " with reference to the
actual salvation of men. Her bright example has raised
womanhood from a state of degradation and filled the cloister
with sainted souls. Her intercession is so powerful, and her
influence in the distribution ot graces so queenly, that the
sacred writers find it difficult to express their full convictions
and usually take refuge in the " Memorare " of St. Bernard, or
in the beautiful act of homage " Qui Mariam non habet Matreni
nee Deum habet Patrem."
Theological Questions. 931
But, as our correspondent plainly expects us to use terms
in their theological sense, it is right to explain that, when we
speak of the Blessed Virgin as our Media tress we do not mean
to convey that her mediation is in the same order as that of
Christ, or strictly comparable to it at all. He alone redeemed
us from the slavery of the devil, sin and hell. From His
merits alone, as from their proper fountain, flow all grace
and all glory. He is the One Primary, Necessary, Universal,
All-sufficient, Independent Mediator between God and man.
The Blessed Virgin's mediation supposes that of her Divine
Son, and entirely depends upon it. She is a Mediatress by
being privileged to co-operate in a most special manner with
" The Mediator," in view of whose merits her glorious preroga-
tives were all conferred. In a word, because of Christ the
title " Mediatrix " is rightly applied to the Mother of God,
and from the nature of the case, so far from implying
any depreciation of Christ's mediation, it only serves to explain
how we have, and need, absolutely speaking, but One Mediator.
Thus the language of our prayers is the true expression of our
harmonious Catholic belief. Let us leave to those, who try to
put the Blessed Virgin out of her natural place in the Economy
of Redemption and Sanctification, and who are not counted
among those who fulfil the prophecy " All generations shall
call me blessed" the unholy task of paring down her titles
and denying her every name that'cannot be predicated of her
in its highest sense. For her devoted children it will be
ever enough that a name of praise can be given their Blessed
Mother truly and deservedly.
III.
It is unnecessary to state a proof for the Divine Maternity
at any length. To say the least of it, our Blessed Lady has
the same claim to the title " Mother of God " that any other
mother has to be called mother of her son. It would be as
rational in the one case to deny the name because a woman
is not mother of her child's soul, as in the other because
Mary is not Mother of the Divinity.
Through the operation of the Holy Ghost, the body of
our Divine Lord was formed in her womb and in the same
instant animated by a * glorious human soul and both
932 Theological Questions.
hypostatically united to the Person of the Word. The Child,
the Person, who was nurtured by her substance, and to whom
she gave birth, was God Almighty. For this Person she had
done every office that brings the title of Mother. But the
name is given with reference to the Person born. Mary then
is Mother of God.
But our correspondent asks rather why she is styled our
Mother, and we should have at once come to the point, were
it not that we considered a few sentences about the Divine
Maternity a useful introduction. She is our Mother, because
Mother of the Redeemer. It was to prepare her for this
dignity that her soul was kept free from sin, original and
actual, and filled with the plenitude of grace. Her exemption
from concupiscence,her perfect virginity, and corporal assump-
tion flow from the Divine Maternity, as water from a fountain.
While inferior to the hypostatic union, bestowed on our
Lord's sacred humanity, there is no other dignity that can
; compare with it. Taken in the abstract, the sonship of God
by adoption, involved in sanctifying grace, is thought to be
its superior; but in the concrete, from the nature of the
case and according to the order of Divine Wisdom, the
Divine Maternity so far excels adoptive filiation as to contain
the latter privilege in an eminent degree (modo eminentiori).
In its own order, the order of maternity, it is the greatest
dignity that even God could confer, and to this high
prerogative, as its proper adornment, in God's wisdom, is
attached an almost boundless treasure of grace and gifts.
Although the way in which Mary is our Mother is far
different from that in which she is Mother of God, yet her
claim rests on other grounds than a mother's care, and it was
with a view to these other reasons for the name that we
dwelt on the Divine Maternity.
1. This, however, is the first reason. Her anxiety for our
salvation and her power to make it sure, if we co-operate with
God's grace, far exceeds our highest conceptions of multiplied
maternal interest and influence. " The Glories of Mary," by
St. Liguori, need only be mentioned as the great spiritual
repertory in this connection.
2. By the solemn appointment of Christ on the cross, the
Theological Questions. 933
offices of mother to children, and children to mother, were
established betweeji Mary and the Christian family represented -
by St. John.
3. She is our mother because her Divine Son is our
Brother. Through Divine Grace we are the sons of God by
adoption, while He is by nature the Only Begotten of the
Father. By taking human nature, He also became our
Brother according to the flesh.
4. She consented, on behalf of the human race, to
the accomplishment of the hypostatic union of the Second
Person with a body and soul in her womb. Through
that consent man was redeemed from sin and made
the child of God. Through Mary, then, we have Divine
grace, and with it the Sonship of God. Now, assuredly, a
mother by whose co-operation we are regenerated, made
partakers of the nature of God, and therefore His children,
has a strong claim to maternity in our regard We are born
spiritually through Mary's concurrence. We are therefore
her children, and she is our Mother.
5. The Blessed Virgin holds a place in the order of
regeneration wonderfully similar to that of our first mother,
Eve, in the course of our fall. " The one," says St. Ephrem,
" became the cause of our death; the other, of our salvation."
St. Irenaeus uses almost the same words, contrasting the
obedience of Mary with the disobedience of Eve. St. Augus*
tine points the same antithesis : " Auctrix peccati Eva,
auctrix meriti Maria." In the same way Innocent III. says :
" Quod damnavit Eva, salvavit Maria."
Just as through Eve, Adam caused the ruin of the human
family, so, through Mary, Christ effected its salvation. And
if in Genesis, Eve, ever after the fall, is styled mother of the
living, with much higher reason may Mary be called by the
same name, since through her concurrence we have attained
a far nobler life than that derived from Eve. In giving us
Our Redeemer, she helped towards accomplishing the
redemption of mankind, and the regeneration of each one of
us. By her prayers to God, she again and again procures the
recovery of sonship for her clients, when they have lost it
through sin. If we want an advocate with the Father, we have
934 Liturgical Questions.
the Saviour ; and if we want an advocate with Him, we have-
Mary, whom the most abandoned will not fear to approach.
Her life, the very antithesis of Eve's, is wonderfully parallel
to that of her Divine Son, whose light she reflected, as the
moon does the light of the sun. By reason of her maternal
relation with Christ, the Head of angels and of men, she is
Sovereign Queen of both. She is the Mother of God, the
Mother of Fair Love, the Mother of Divine Grace, the Mother
of Mercy, and our Mother also. P. O'D.
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS.
THE CALENDAR OF IRISH SAINTS FOR THE IRISH CHURCH AS
IT is NOW ARRANGED, AND THE ORDO DIVINI OFFICII.
/CONSIDERING that we have come to a period of the year
\J when in a few months we shall be anxiously looking out
for the Directory of 1887, a few pages devoted to this subject
can hardly fail to be of interest to the priests generally. The
work of preparing a Directory seems at first sight to be most
confusing and puzzling, although in reality, when put in its
proper light, it is entirely easy and plain. The Directory or
Or do for one year differs very little from that of any other
year. There is underlying the slight changes, that take
place on account of the introduction of the Movable Feasts,
the great body itself which may in a certain sense be con-
sidered immovable and unchangeable. To obtain this great
body of unchangeable matter which composes the fixed
Calendar of the Irish Church is the first and most important
step to be made. Having found this groundwork, or rather
material for the building of the Ordo, it will be necessary also
to get the list of Movable Feasts, which by its insertion
causes the differences of the Ordo from year to year.
De Herdt tells us, in answer to the question : " Quodnam
Officium est recitandum ? Recitandum est a clericis diocesis
juxta Calendarium diocesanum si habeatur tale et legitime
Liturgical Questions.
935
approbatum." There is such a Calendar for each of the
dioceses in Ireland.
The following is the Calendar for the month of January
irrespective of any changes which may be made in it by the
movable Feasts, which can be considered immediately after:
Litt.
Dom.
Dies
men sis
A
1
b
2
c
3
d
4
e
b
f
6
8
7
A
S
b
9
c
10
d
11
e
12
f
13
g
14
A
15
b
16
c
17
d
18
e
19
f
20
g
21
A
22
b
23
c
24
d
25
e
26
f
27
g
28
A
29
b
80
c
31
JANUARIUS
CIRCUMCISIO DOMINI, duplex 2 cl.
Octava S. Stephani, duplex
In Dioc. Limericen., S. Munchini, Epis. Conf. Patroni,
duplex 1 cl. Sine Oct. Com. Oct. S. Stephani
Octava S. Joannis, Apost., duplex
Octava SS. Innocentium, duplex
Vigilia Epiphanise, Semid. Com. S. Telesphori, Mart.
EPIPHANIA DOMINI, duplex 1 cl.
De Octava Epiphanise
De Oct. ,,
In Dioc. Cassilien., S. Alberti, Epis. et Conf. Patroni,
duplex 1 cl. cum Octava
De Oct.
In Dioc. Cassilien., fit Com. Oct. S. Patroni, usque ad
14 inclusive
De Oct.
De Oct. Com. S. Hygini, Papae et Mart.
De Oct.
Octava Epiphanise, duplex
Dom. II, post. Epiph. SS. NOMINIS JESU, duplex 2 cl.
Hilani Ep. Conf. et Doct., duplex, Com. S. Felicis, et Mart.
Itse, Virg., duplex, Com. S. Mauri, Abb.
In Dioc. Limericen., Officium Proprium S. Itse
In Dioc, Cassilien, Octava S. Patroni, Alberti, duplex
Fursasi, Abb., duplex
Antonii, Abb., duplex
Cathedra S. Petri, Roma), duplex maj. Com. S. Priscse,
Virg. et Mart.
Canuti, Regis et Mart, semid. ad lib. Com. SS. Marii et Mart.
Fabiani et Sebastiani, Mart., duplex
Agnetis, Virg. et Mart., duplex
Vincentii et Anastasii, Mart., semiduplex
Desponsatio B.V.M., duplex maj. Com. S. Joseph et
Emerentianse, Virg. et Mart.
Timothei, Epis. et Mart., duplex
Conversio S. Pauli, duplex maj.
Polycarpi, Epis. et Mart., duplex
Joannis Chrysostom, Epis., Conf. et Doct., duplex
Agnetis Secundo
Francisci Salesii, Epis., Conf. et Doct., duplex
Martmse, Virg, and Mart., semiduplex
Edani, Epis. and Conf., duplex maj.
In Dioc. Fernen., Edani, Episc. et Conf., Patroni, duplex
1 cl. cum. Octava
D36 Liturgical Questions.
In looking through the list of Feasts for the month of
January, it must be remarked that the Calendar for the Irish
Church in this month is very nearly the same as that given
in the Breviary. This is so. De Herdt says that the
" Kalendaria particularia diocesium in eo tantum differant ab
illo (Kalendarium Romanum), quia retentis officiis quae
omnibus praeceptiva communia sunt, alia his adduntur quae
peculiariter pertinent ad dioceses." The additions are the
Feast of St. Munchin, on the 2nd of January, which can be;
celebrated on that day only in the diocese of Limerick. This ;
Feast is celebrated without an octave. The Rubricae
fireviarii state : " De aliis octavis," (the Feasts of the
Patron Saints of Ireland are of this class) "quae non
sunt in Calendario, nihil fit . . . a die 17 Dec. usque ad
Epiphaniam."
The Feast of St. Albert, Patron of the diocese of Cash el,
is for that diocese celebrated on the 9th. But neither of these
Saints can, as they are of a lower rite than doubles of the
first class, be celebrated in the other dioceses of Ireland on
these days. The introduction of the Feast of St. Ita displaces,
011 the 15th, the Feast of St. Paul. St. Fursey replaces.
Marcellus on the 16th. On the 23rd, the Feast of the!
Pesponsatio B.V.M. puts off St. Raymund 6f Pennafort to
another day; and St. Peter of Nolasco, on the 31st,:
has to make room for St. Edan, Patron of the diocese of
Ferns.
The only change to which these Feasts are now liable
can arise from the introduction of the Movable Feasts
which are to be each year specially arranged.
This brings us to the question, what are the Movable
Feasts which will be celebrated in the month of January?
The Sundays such as those of Epiphany and the Feast of
the Sacred Name, which, unless in very exceptional circum-
stances, is fixed for the second Sunday of Epiphany.
THE MOVABLE FEASTS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 1887.
The Dominical letter will be of great assistance in finding
out the dates on which the Sundays fall. The Dominical
Liturgical Questions. 937
letter for 1887 is I. All the dates in the Calendar which
have the Dominical letter &, are Sundays. Thus the :
2nd Jan. Dom. Vacat.
9th ,, Dom. infra Oct. Epiph.
16th Dom. II. Epiph. SS. Nominis Jesu, D. 2 cl.
23rd .., Dom. III. Epiph.
30th Dom. IV. Epiph.
The insertion of these Movable Feasts causes no transfers
in the order of the Calendar as given.
Thus on the 16th January, the Office is of the SS. Nominis,
with a commemoration of St. Fursey, and of the Sunday with
its 9 1. of the horn.
On the 23rd, the Feast of the Desponsatio is held, a com-
memoration is made of St, Joseph, the Sunday with its 9 L.
and of the holy Martyr.
On the 30th, the Office is of the Sunday, and a com-
memoration of St. Martina.
There is one vacant day in the Calendar for January, the
28th, which is neither a double nor a semidouble Feast. In the
arrangement of the Calendar, this day cannot have a per-
petually transferred Feast fixed on it, as it is the propria dies
for the Feast of the Sacred Name when it happens to be
transferred in occursu Dom. Septuagesimae.
On this 28th, which is a simple Feast, one of the votive
Offices, ad libitum cleri, can be said.
PETER J. M'PHILPIN, C.C.
THE OCTOBER DEVOTIONS, WHEN AND HOW PERFORMED.
" In the instructions from the Holy Father, which reached the
Bishops of Ireland on the 24th of October last, with reference to the
usual devotions in the month of October, His Holiness ordains that
everything appointed in the past two years should be observed in
succeeding years so long as the sad conditions of affairs for the
Church and public affairs last. The Rosary and Litany of the
Blessed Virgin are commanded to be recited either during the celebra-
tion of Mass in the morning, or if the prayers be recited in the
afternoon, the Holy Sacrament shall be exposed for the adoration of
the faithful."
"It is clear that in several Churches there cannot be Mass,
938 Liturgical Questions.
nor Exposition, but where there can be either one or the other,
I wish to know (a) at what time during Mass the prayers are recited ;
and (b) with regard to the Exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament will it
be sufficient to leave the Ciborium on the Altar where there is no
Remonstrance, and is it inquired that Benediction should follow the
exposition ? I wish to know the essentials, and then, if you please,
what would be generally the most perfect manner of performing the
devotions ? Yours truly, " PAROCHUS."
Answer to first question: According to the strict inter-
pretation of the words of the Encyclical of the Pope (30th
August, 1884), " sacrum inter preces peragatur" the Rosary
and Litany are supposed to be said during Mass. But where
this practice would lead to confusion and inconvenience, as
it would be likely to do in many churches in Ireland, we
should substantially correspond with what is ordered, by
having the prayers in immediate connection with the Mass
that is, immediately before or after it.
If the prayers are recited during Mass, the beginning and
end of Mass should, we think, be selected for them, silent
prayer being more suitable at the more solemn parts from
the Elevation to the Communion.
Ansiver to the second question : In the instructions which
the Congregation of Rites has published for the October
devotions of this year, provision has been made for this case.
The Pyxis or Ciborium is to be exposed in the open
Tabernacle during the prayers, and Benediction with the
Ciborium is to be given at the termination of the devotions.
The Blessed Sacrament is to be exposed during devotions,
Benediction being given at the close.
THE JUBILEE FAST.
" It is more than probable that the faithful will avail themselves
during the coming three months of the benefits of the Holy Jubilee.
An impression widely prevails through the country that a black fast
is necessary for the two days on which the fast is performed. Many,
however, say that the black fast is necessary only when the fast is
done on a day of obligatory fast, such as Qnatuor Tempora. I would
be extremely anxious to have an answer to this query, and if the
Liturgical Questions. 939
latter opinion be correct, can butter, milk, and eggs be eaten at the
principal meal of the Jubilee fast ? and in like manner can milk be
used in tea at the collation as in ordinary fast days ? and, thirdly,
can labouring men partake of as full a meal at their collation as on
other fast days, and will it be sufficient for them to abstain from
meat. Yours,
" PAROCHUS."
Answer to first question : A black fast for two days is
necessary, unless where the Bishop has made use of the
privilege granted in the Bull proclaiming the Jubilee, of
allowing at the principal meal Lacticinia, or whitemeats
(butter, cheese, milk, &c.) in places where it is difficult to
provide a reasonably good and substantial meal with the
fare allowed on black fasting days.
The Confessor can commute the fasting into some other
good work in the case of penitents who are legitimately
hindered from observing it.
Ansiver to second question: The Bishop has no authority
to allow Lacticinia at the collation for the Jubilee fast.
Hence it is only on the principle of parvumpro nihilo reputatur
that milk in tea at the collation is allowed, when there is
question of the Jubilee fast.
Ansiver to third question : Labourers and others excused
from the ordinary fasts of the Church, ratione laboris, valetu-
dinis, aetatis, are not, as such, excused from the strict fast, if
they wish to gain the Jubilee. Fasting is for all a condition
for gaining the Jubilee, which must be observed, unless the
Confessor has commuted it. Labourers are, then, in the
same condition in this respect as others, and cannot make a
full meal at collation, unless vi commutations.
I 940 ]
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE WORKS OF ROSMINI BEFORE THE HOLY SEE.
It happens that being known to many as Procurator in Rome of
the Institute, or Order of Charity founded by Father Rosmini, the
writer of these lines is often asked : " What is the actual position of
Rosmini, and especially of his Philosophy before the Holy See?"
Many have heard of the long controversy between the Rosminians
#.nd a certain School of learned Doctors, but few know anything
accurately on the subject. Some have heard that Rosmini's works-.
" have been condemned," more have been told that they " were just
going to be condemned;" and this prophecy has been repeated in one
form or another nearly every fortnight for the last thirty years in a
certain well-known periodical. But " threatened folk live long."
The facts of the case which I am going to give, I am obliged to
repeat so often to those who ask, that I have begged and obtained
the kind permission of the Editor, to tell them in print, to any who .
care to know, in the pages of the IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
Many accusations having been laid before the Holy See against
Rosmini as a theologian and philosopher, Pius IX. in 1851 appointed a
special commission of the Congregation of the Index to report on
his Works. A most searching examination was instituted of more
than three years' duration, made by twenty Consultors of the
Index, all bound under oath to study thoroughly all the inculpated
works and independently, without consultation with others, and in
relation to the special charges, about three hundred in number,
that had been brought by the School or party opposed to his Works.
In the month of June, 1854, Piux IX. presiding personally over the
Congregation of the Cardinals, and Consultors of the Index, and
having heard the unanimous verdict of acquittal, pronounced the
following Decree : " All the Works of Antonio Rosmini Serbati, con-
cerning which investigation has been made, must be dismissed
(omnia opera dimittenda) ; nor has this examination resulted in any-
thing derogatory to the good name of the author, or to the praise-
worthiness of life and singular merits before the Church of the
Religious Society founded by him."
To the Decree was added at the same time the following Precept
of Silence : " That no new accusations and discords should arise and
be disseminated in future, silence is now for the third time enjoined on
both parties by command of his Holiness."
Correspondence. 941
Two and twenty years after this, some periodicals and journals
in Italy having frequently renewed the attack on Eosmiui's orthodoxy,
the Congregation of the Index republished the Decree and Precept of
Silence, of June, 1854, adding: "that the seeds of accusations and
discord are sown by traducing the Works of Rosmini, either as not
having been sufficiently examined ; or as suspected of errors
which were not seen either before or after so extraordinary an
examination ; or as if those works were dangerous ; or by using
expressions which take away all the value or diminish excessively
the force and authority of a judgment pronounced with so much
maturity and solemnity by the Supreme Pastor of the Church."
The document goes on to require " a retractation " by the editors
of those journals 1 of all ihey had said in disparagement of the
doctrines of Rosmini, and of the sentence of acquittal. It concludes
with saying u by this it is not meant that it would be unlawful
to dissent from the philosophical system of Rosmini ; or from the
manner in which he tries to explain certain truths ; and even to
offer a confutation of them in the Schools or in books, but it is not
lawful to conclude that Rosmini has denied those truths ; nor is it
lawful to inflict any theological censure on the doctrines maintained by
him in the Works which the Sacred Congregation has examined and
dismissed, and which the Holy Father has intended to protect from
further accusations in future" This document was issued by the
Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of the Index, on the 10th
June, 1876.
Notwithstanding these admonitions from the authorities in Rome, the
adverse party have never ceased in their periodicals arid journals to
circulate the most unfavourable charges against the doctrines of
Rosmini, denouncing them as heretical and pantheistic ? so that at
last Leo XIII. himself, seeing that " accusations and discords " resulted
from the treating of these subtle theological and philosophical matters
by the adverse party, in a bitter and calumnious spirit, in some of the
clerical journals of Italy, issued a Letter in January, 1882, to the
Archbishops of Lombardy and Piedmont, desiring them to do their
best to prevent Catholic journals from discussing " questions which
endanger peace among Catholics, concerning the doctrines of an
illustrious philosopher (Rosmini), one of the most renowned among
modern writers." The Holy Father continues " as regards philo-
sophical studies, We have already declared in Our Encyclical
1 The Osservatore Romano published in Rome, and the Osservatore
Cattolico of Milan.
942 Correspondence.
JEterni Patris of August, 1879, directed to all Bishops, our desire
that youth should be instructed in the doctrine of S. Thomas Aquinas 1
which has always been found of the greatest use in the wise cultiva-
tion of human minds and is admirably adapted for confuting false
opinions.
" The suggestions of our Encyclical were sufficient to have easily
kept all minds together in harmony, had not too great subtlety been
used in its interpretation, and if that moderation had been observed
in the investigation of truth, without any sacrifice of faith and charity,
which learned men on both sides of the question have been accustomed
to use in their controversies.
" But since we have observed, not without anxiety, that too much
party spirit has been stirred up, it is a matter of public interest that
some restraint should be placed on this excitement of minds ; hence,
seeing that for the treating of these subjects, much study and
tranquility for the forming of judgments is required, it is to be desired
that Catholic Journalists should abstain from discussing these
questions in the daily press."
The Pope then goes on to remind those busy Journalists that
" The Apostolic See is ever solicitous to perform its duty, and
especially in such grave matters as regard the soundness of doctrine.
It does not omit to direct its watchful and prudent care to contro-
versies, whether old or new, when they arise, making use of such
prudent counsels as should satisfy every Catholic with the decision
arrived at."
The Pope continues : " We would not, however, on this account
that any injury should be done to a Society of Religious men who take
their name from Charity, and which, as it has hitherto according to
its Institute, usefully devoted itself to the service of its neighbour,
so we hope it will continue in future to flourish and bring forth every
day more abundant fruit."
The Holy Father exhorts the Bishops " to do all they can to second
Our counsels, and to promote concord among Catholics; and this all the
more, since the enemies of religion increase in their number and in
their bitterness every day ; so that it is necessary for our whole
strength to be directed against them, and not weakened by disunion,
but augmented by union among Catholics."
1 The small work St. Thomas Aquinas and Ideology is a sample of
Monsignor Ferre r s larger work in 10 octavo volumes, the object of which is
to show the perfect accordance between Rosmini and St. Thomas ; in fact
-that Kosmini gives the Key to the doctrines of St. Thomas, on the nature of
the innate light of reason and on the origin of ideas.
Correspondence. 943
The case of Kosmini, to judge from the evidence of Roman
documents up to 1882, would seem therefore to stand thus : The Holy
See has acted with manifest consistency throughout the controversy.
It has submitted Rosmini's works to the tribunal of public opinion,
in the Schools and in the press during a period of fifty years. It has
uniformly defended them by its authoritative tribunal of the Index
from unjust censures. It has not, however, endorsed his philosophy
with it own authority this it will never do for any system of
philosophy as suck it is not in its province to do so. It has not
given to his works an authority like that of St. Thomas, which enjoys
the prestige of six centuries. Therefore, the Holy Father has
frequently declared, as he said to me in an audience some years ago :
" I wisli St. Thomas to be the text book in seminaries." His Holiness
added, ' Rosmini may be read like any other author, to throw light
on questions. It has been said that I intended to condemn Rosmini
in my Encyclical JEterni Patris. This is untrue. In that Encyclical,
every word of which I weighed, there is not a word that applies to
Rosmini." Thus while St. Thomas is the text book, Rosmini is left
free to be used by those who approve his principles, or to be rejected
by those who do not; only those who reject them are "forbidden to
affix any theological censure upon Works that have been examined
and acquitted," seeing that nothing has been found after stringent
examination censurable in any of his writings.
It has been objected that one of Rosmini's works, the Cinque
piaghe, was placed on the Index in the time of Pius IX. To this the
Rosmiuians reply that no sentence was pronounced censuring any
proposition in this Work, but that it was placed on the Index for
prudential reasons, because it had a political aspect. For, they add,
that the author offered to retract any errors in the Work if they
should be pointed out to him. He was not, however, asked to do this,
but only that he should submit to the disciplinary Decree. This he did,
withdrawing the book from circulation. To the Decree of the Index was
added at the time of publication the honourable testimony : " Auctor
laud abi liter se submisit," " The author has laudably submitted."
We know from trustworthy Roman information that, as well
since as before 1882, the Holy See has again and again been im-
portuned by the adverse party to review the sentence of acquittal, or
to allow the posthumous works of Rosmini to be examined officially.
More than one non-official examination by Consultors of the Index has
been instituted, to see whether any new points had been made, con-
cerning any alleged errors, not contained in the Works that had been
examined and acquitted. The result is that no new accusations have
944 Correspondence.
been made good, since none of these later charges contain anything
that was not involved in the original 300 charges that were rejected
after examination, 30 years ago, The rejection of these reiterated
charges has therefore added to the force of the sentence of dimittantur
or acquittal, of 1854. This has been emphasised by the last
declaration issued by the Congregation of the Index in answer to
inquiries as ^to the state of the question : li Standum est in decisis,"
"what has been decided stands good."
An objection, we are told, has been raised that the Sacred
Congregation of the Index made a declaration a few years since, in
answer to some inquiries, that " the sentence dimittantur was
equivalent to non prohibentur" This, however, is certainly all
that the Rosminians claim ; only they say; " When works so inculpated,
after fifty years of trial before public opinion, and after rigorous
examination by the authority of the Holy See, are declared not to
deserve any of the censures brought against them by private authors,
this is very nearly equivalent to the Decree nil censurae dignum,
the highest sentence ever given by the Sacred Congregation of Rites
on the writings of Saints. It is important to note the following facts,
which anyone can verify, that the Congregation of the Index,
according to the Constitution given it by Benedict XIV. (see the Bull,
Sollicita etprovida) is empowered to pronounce sentence, only pro merito,
according to deserts, in one of three forms, on books submitted to its
examination ; viz. : prohibeantur, corrigantur, dimittantur, so that the
sentence of dimittantur is the most favourable sentence ever given,
and means that nothing has been found in the works that deserves pro-
hibition or correction, but that the works are acquitted after having
been thoroughly sifted, pro merito, and therefore are declared free
to be read by the faithful. WILLIAM LOCKIIAKT.
St. Etheldredas, London, Oct., 1886.
FORM OF TOTAL ABSTINENCE PLEDGE.
A correspondent writes to us :
" At this season many young priests are administering for the first
time the pledge of total abstinence. Some of them may like to have
a suitable form of words ready for use. Is the following formulary
too solemn or too long ? There is not the slightest fear of its being
considered too binding by the poor people themselves.
" 1 'promise to abstain from all intoxicating drink ; and may Almighty
God give me the grace to keep this promise, from the fear of hell and the
hope of heaven, through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
for the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who died for me on the Cross*
Documents. 945
1 Hud it convenient to settle beforehand the prosaic details about
length of time, allowances, etc., especially when several are taking the
pledge together. To all of them at the same time I then administer
the above forma verborum in homeopathic doses, two or three words a
a breath."
THE RELICS OF ST. COLUMBANUS.
SIK, In his " Letter to Lord John Manners, in answer to the
question, ' Did the Early Church in Ireland acknowledge the Pope's
Supremacy?" (London: Dolman, 1884), the Rev. Daniel Rock, D.D.,.
the learned author of " Hierurgia," asks in a footnote, page 67,
"Why is it that the Irish Church has never bestirred herself in trying
to get a portion, at least, of the relics of such illustrious native saints
as St. Columbanus and St. Cuuimianus, both of whom still lie
enshrined in the crypts of the Church at Bobbio ? The Pope's leave,
through the proper authorities, would easily translate these holy sons
of Ireland to the land of their birth."
On page 54, Dr. Rock writes: "At Bobbio there is a tradition
that St. Gregory the Great sent a present of saints' relics to St.
Columbanus (Mabillon, Iter Italicum, tome 1, page 215). An
engraving of the curious ivory casket, or rather box. in which they
were enclosed to the Irish Saint by the Roman Pontiff, is given by
Botazzi, in his learned work, ' Emblemi o Simboli del tiarcofago di
Fortona.' Mabillon, in his description of the large, stone chest within
which the body of St. Columbauus lies in the crypt of the Church at
Bobbio, takes notice of the front sculptured with the saint kneeling
at the foot of a Pontiff, from whom he is receiving a small box
exactly like the relic-case. If this stone coffin be about the period of
the saint's death, we have another illustration of his reverence, fresh
in the minds of his monks, toward St. Gregory as Bishop of Rome."
J. C.
DOCUMENTS.
PAPAL BRIEF TO THE SOCIETY OF JESUS.
SUMMARY
Our Holy Father, Leo XIII. confirms all the Apostolic Letters
which record the erection and confirmation of the Society of Jesus,
and all privileges, immunities, exemptions and indults granted at any
VOL. VIL 3
<)4<> Documents.
time to the Society. He repeals the Brief, Domimis ac Redemptor* of
Clement XIV. and all other ducuments which were directed against
the Society or its privileges.
LEO PP. XIIL
AD FDTUBAM REI MEMOKIAM.
Dolemns inter alia, quibus cor nostrum in tanta rerum perturba-
tione angitur, iniurias et damna illata religiosis Regularium Ordinum
familiis, quae a sanctissimis institutae viris, magtio usui ct ornamentu
turn catholicae Ecclesiae. turn civili etiam societati commodo et
utilitati suiit, quaeque omni tempore de religione ac bonis artibus,
deque animarum salute optime merueruut. Propterea Nobis est
gratum, oblata occasione, laudem quae iisdem religiosis familiis iure
meritoque debetur, tribuere, et beuevolentiam qua eas, uti et
Praedecessores Nostri, complectirnur, publice et palam testari.
lamvero, quum uoverimus pluribus abhinc annis novam in-
choatam esse editiouem operis, cui titulus " Institutum Societatis
lesu" eamque a dilecto tilio Antonio Maria Anderledy Vicario
generali eiusdem Societatis lesu assiduo studio absolvendam curari,
eiusdemque operis adhuc desiderari librum, in quo Apostolicae litterae
praefatae Societati, eiusque institutori sancto Ignatio de Loyola
aliisque Praepositis generalibus datae habentur, hauc arripiendam
censuimus occasionem exhibendi Nostrae erga Societatem lesu,
egregie de re catholica et civili meritam, voluntatis testimonium.
Quare incoeptam operis praedicti editionem in decus utilitatemque
eiusdem Societatis cessuram probamus, laudamus, eamque continuari
et ad finem perduci cupimus. Utque vel magis Nostra in JSocietatein
lesu voluntas perspecta sit, omnes et singulas litteras Apostolicas,
quae respiciimt erectionem ct contirmationem Societatis Jcsu, per
Praedecessores Nostros Romanos Pontifices a felicis recordationis
Paulo III., ad haec usque tempora datas, tarn sub plumbo quam in
forma B re vis confectas, et in iis coutenta atque iude sequuta quac-
cumque, necuon omnia et singula vel directe vel per communicationcm
cum aliis Ordinibus Regularibus eidem Societati impertita, quae
tamen dictae Societati lion adversentur, neque a Tridentina Synodo
aut ab aliis Apostolicae Sedis Constitutiouibus in parte vel in toto
abrogata sint et revocata, privilegia, immunitates, exempt-ones,
indulta hisce litteris counrmamus et Apostolicae auctoritatis robore
muuimus, iter unique concedirnus.
Idcirco decernimus has litteras Nostras firrnas, validas et e flic; ices
existere et fore, suosque plenarios et integros effectus sortiri at([ue
obtinere, et iis ad quos spectat et spectare poterit plenissirne
Documents. ( .)47
suffragan. Non obstantibus Apostolicis litteris dementis PP., XIV.,
iucipicntibtts "Domiuua ac Redemptor," in forma Brevis die XXI.
lulii, anno MDCCLIII. expeditis, aliisque quibuscumque, licet
speciali et individua mcutione ac derogatione dignis, in contrarium
facicn'.ibus ; quibus omnibus ac singulis ad praemissorum effectual
tantum specialiter et expresse derogarnus.
Sint hae litterae Nostrae testes amoris, quo iugitur prosecuti sumus
et prosequhnur inclytam Societatem lesu Praedecessoribus Nostris ac
Nobis ipsis devotissimain, fecundam, turn sanctimoniae turn sapientiae
lavule praestantium virorum nutricem, solidae sanaeque altriceiti
doctrinae ; quae graves licet propter iustitiam perseeutiones perpessa,
nunquarn in excolenda vinea Domini alacri invictoque aninio
adlaborare desistit. Pergat igitur bene merita Societas lesu, ab ipso
Concilio Trideutino commendata et a Praedecessoribus JXosiris
praeconio laudum cumulata, pergat in tanta homiuum perversitate
contra lesu Christi Ecclesiam suum persequi institutum ad maioreni
Dei gloriam sempiternamque animarum salutem; pergat suo minlsterio
in sacris expeditionibus infideles et haereticos ad veritatis lucem
traducere et revocare, iuventutem christianis virtutibus bonisque
artibus imbuere, philosophicas ac theologicas disciplinas ad men tern
Angelici Doctoris tradere. Interea dilectissirnam Nobis hocietateui
lesu peramanter complectentes, S^cietatio eiusdem Praeposito Generali
et eius Vicario singulisque alumnis Apostolicam iinpertimus
benedictionem.
Datum Romae apud S. Pctrurn, sub annulo Piscatoris, die
xxx. Julii 31DCCCLXXXVI, Pontificatus Nostri anno nono. .
M. CARD. LEDOCHOWSKI.
LETTER OF LEO XIII. TO THE SUPERIOR OF THE
SULPICIANS AT PARIS.
SUMMARY.
The Pope writes to express the high esteem in which he, in
common with the Bishops of France, holds the Sulpicians, and to
encourage them by this assurance to bear up under the misrepresentation
of their Society by the continuator of the History of M. Darras.
DILECTO FILIO, RELIGIOSO vino II. P. ICAUD, PUAKPOSITO SOCIETATIS
SANCTI SULPJTII. PAUISIIS.
LEO PP. XIII.
Dilecte Fili, Religiose Vir, Salutem et Apostolicam Benedictionem.
Tui obsequii significationes excepimus, cum eo libcllo ^conjunctas,
<48 Documents.
quern in lucem edidisti, lit ea, qtiae adversus tuam sodalitatem seripta
stint, eo auctore qui Darrasii ecclesiasticam historian) provehendam
suseepit, dilueres, tuumqne religiosum ordinem ab illatis ccusuris
vindicares. Grata habuimus, Dilecte Fili, tua devoti animi officia, et
cum probe noscamus non modo quam praeclaram gerant de vobis
opinionem illustres Galliae antistites, qui earn Nobis suis erga vos
pracconiis deelararunt, sed etiam quantum tribuant institution! et
operae vestrae, qua in suorum seminariorum alumnis excolendis
constanter utuntur, now potuimus non moleste ferre invidiam in
societatem vestram conflari, et ea in ipsam indigne proferri, quae
famam ejus et existimationem publice obscurent. Tu vero, Dilecte
Fili, in hac doloris causa babes cur tuum animum erigas, babes cur
obtrectatorum oppugnationes contemnas, dum gravia et honestissirna
sodalitati tuae honorum judicia suffragan tur. Perge itaque cum tuis
jilacriter virtutis ac religionis ope, bonorurn laudem rnereri, ac minim e
dubites de paterna dilectione Nostra, quam non modo, tibi tuisque
sodalibus his litteris declaramus, sed reipsa praestabimus etiam, ea
agentes quae dec us et existimationem vestram Nobis cordi esse
demonstrent. Interea Tibi, Dilecte Fili, cunctisque queis praesides
coelestium omnium ubertatein munernm adprecamur, ut in dies magis
divinae gloriae, et Ecclesiae bono inservire valeatis, ac in eorum
auspicitim Apostolicam Benedictionem singulis universis peramanter
in Domino impertimus.
Datum Komae apud S. Petruni die x Julii, Anno MDCCCLXXXVI,
PontiHcatus Nostri Nono.
LKO, PP. Xlll.
DECREE OF THE SACRED CONGREGATION OF KITES REGARDING
THE DEA T OTIONS PRESCRIBED FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
OF THIS YEAR.
SUMMARY.
The Devotions are the same as those prescribed for October of
the years 1884 and 1885, namely : the Rosary and Litany of the
Blessed Virgin to be said publicly every day from the 1st of October
to the 2nd of November, in all Cathedral and Parochial Churches, in
public Oratories dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and in any other
Church or Oratory appointed by the Ordinary. When these devotions
are held in the forenoon, they are to be during or in immediate con-
nection Avith Mass ; when in the evening, the prayers are to be recited
before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and the usual Benediction with
the Blessed Sacrament follows. In Churches, which are so poor as not
Documents. 949
to be able to provide a Monstrance, Benediction with the Ciborium
may, with the leave of the Ordinary, take the place of the solemn
Benediction for which a Monstrance is necessary.
The Indulgences are the same as in former years, namely ; An
Indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines every time one joins
in the public devotions and prays for the intentions of the Pope ; and
the same indulgences are extended to those who, being unable to
attend in the Church, recite those prayers privately.
A Plenary Indulgence is also granted to those who, being unable
to attend the public devotions, say the prayers privately at least teu
times, and confess and communicate.
A Plenary Indulgence is granted to those who confess and com-
municate on the solemnity of the Holy Rosary (October the 3rd) or
within its octave, and pray in Church for the intentions of the Pope*
The Ordinary is 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,
(Litterae Encyc., 30th Aug., 1884. Decretum, S.R.C., 20th Aug., 1885.)
DECRETUM URBIS ET ORBIS.
Post editas a Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Leone Papa XIII.
Encyclicas Litteras Supremi Apostolatus^ I Septembris MDCCCLXXXIII,
et Superiors a/mo, xxx Augusti MDCCCLXXXIV, de propaganda et
celebrando Beatissimae Dei Genitricis Mariae Rosario, Sacra Rituum
Congregatio per Decretum diei xx Augusti praeteriti anni
MDCCCLXXXV. ipso Summo Pontifice annuente et imperante, statuit,
ut quoadusque tristissima perdurent adiuncta, in quibus versatur
Catholica Ecclesia, ac de restituta Pontifici Maximo plena libertate
Deo referre gratias datum non sit, in omnibus Catholici Orbis
Cathedralibus et Parochialibns templis, et in cunctis templis a pub-
licis Oratoriis Beatae Mariae Virgini dicatis, ant in aliis etiam arbitrio
Ordinariorum designandis, Mariale Rosarium cum Litaniis Lauretanis
per totum mensem Octobrem quotidie recitetur. lamvero praescnti
anno, qui lubilaei thesauro ditatur, idem Sauctissimus Dominus
Noster exoptans, ut quo magis ingruunt publicae et privatae calami-
tates, eo firmiori fiducia et proposito auxilium ac remedium quaeratur,
et per Mariam quaeratur a Divina Misericordia, quae totum nos
habere voluit per Mariam ; per hoc Sacrae eiusdem Congregation is
Decretum Reverendissimos locorum Ordinaries adhortatur, ut juxta
memoratas Apostolicas Litteras et Decreta, eorumque tenore in
omnibus servato, Christifideles ad huiusmodi pietatis exercitium,
Deiparae maxime acceptum, atque gratiarum equidem foecundum, nee-
Documents.
non ad Sacramentorum aliorumque salntarium operum frcquentiam,
omni sollicitndine advocare et alicere studeant.
Confirm andd iterum Sanctitas Sna in omnibus sacras indulgentias
ac priVilegia quae in praecitato Decreto concessa snnt indulgere
insuper dignata est, ut in iis templis, sen Oratoriis, ubi ob eorum
paupcrtatem, Expositio cum Sanctissimo Eucharistiae Sacramento, ad
tramitcm Decreti ipsius, solemni modo, nempe per Ostensorium, fieri
hand valeat, eadem per modum exceptionis peragi possit, prudent!
iudicio Ordinarii, cum Sacra Pyxide ; aperiendo scilicet ab initio
ostiolum ciborii, et tcurn ea populnm in tine benedicendo. Die 20
Angusti 1886.
D. Card. BAUTOLTNIUS, S. R. C., PrceJ cctus.
L. * S.
LAURENTIUS SALA~ATT, S. R. C., Secrctarius.
I)ECREE RELATING TO THE DEVOTIOXS FOR OCTOBER, 1885. *
DECKETUM UKBIS ET ORBIS.
Inter plurimos Apostolicae vigilantiae actus, quibus Sanctissimus
Dominus Noster LEO PP. XIII., ab inito Summi Pontificatus
munere, Ecclesiae a,c universae societati, Deo adjuvante, optatae
tranquillitati restitnendis consulere satagit: luce clarior nitet Encyclica
Epistola Snpremi Apostolatus, I Septembris MDCCCLXXXII., do
celebrando toto mcnse Octobri ejns anni gloriosae Dei Matris Mariae
sacratissimo Piosano. Quod sane speciali Dei providentia praecipue
institutum est ad potentissimum caeli Reginae praesens auxilium
adversus christiani nominis liostes exorandum, ad tuendam fidei
integritatem in dominico grege, animasque divini sanguinis pretio
redemptas e sempiternae perditionis tramite eripiendas. Turn vero
laetissimi christianae pietatis et fiduciae in caelesti Mariae Virginis
patrocinio fructus in omni loco catholici orbis ex tarn salutari opere
eo mense collecti turn adhnc insidentes calamitates causa fuerunt, ut
subsequente anno MDCCCLXXXIV., die XXX Augusti, aliae
accesserint Apostolicae litterae Superiore anno, cum iisdem horta-
tionibus et praeceptionibus pro adventante eo mense Octobri pari
solemnitate ritus ac pietatis fervore in beatissirnae Virginis Mariae a
Rosario lionorem dedicando ; eo quod praecipuus fructus boni operis
et arrha consequuturae victoriae sit in inceptis perseverantia. Hisce
autem inliaereus idem Sanctissimus Dominus, cum liinc nos liactenus
1 We publish this Document for convenience of reference.
Documents. 951
imila mnlta undique pcrturbent, iude vcro permancat et florescat in
christiano populo ea fides, quae per caritatem operatnr, et veneratioac
fidiujia in ainantissimam Dei Genitricem propemodum immensa ; eo
impcnsiori studio et alacritate mine ubique perse verandum vult
uimnimitcr in orationc cum Maria Matre Jesn. Certam enim in
spein erigitur fore ut ipsa, quae sola cunctas haereses interemit in
iiniverso mundo, nostris accedentibus dignis poenitentiae fructibus,
fleetat denique iram vindicem divinae justitiae incolumitatemque
addueat et pacem.
Quapropter Sanctitas Sna quaecumque dnobus praeteritis annis
constituit de mense quo solemnia celetrantur beatae Virginia Mariae
a Rosario, hoc pariter anno, et annis porro sequentibus praecipit et
statuit, quoadusque rerum Ecclesiae rerumque publicarum tristissima
haec perdurent adjuncta, ac de restituta Pontifici Maximo plena
libertate Deo referre gratias Ecclesiae datum non sit. Decernit itaque
et mandat, ut quolibet anno a prima die Octobris ad secundam
sequentis Novembris, in omnibus catholici orbis parochialibus templis r
et in cunctis publicis oratoriis Deiparae dicatis, ant in aliis etiam
arbitrio Ordinarii eligendis, quinque saltern Mariani Rosarii decades
c'.im Litaniis Lauretanis quotidie recitentur : quod si mane fiat, Missa
inter preces celebretur, si a meridie sacrosanctum Eucharistiae
Sacra men turn adoration! proponatur, deinde fideles rite lustrentur.
Optat qnoque ut a Sodalitatibus sacratissimi Rosarii religiosae pompae,
ubi id per civiles leges licet, publice ducantur.
Indulgentias singulas, alias concessas, renovando, omnibus qui
statis diebus publicae Rosarii recitationi interfuerint, et ad mentem
ejusdem Sanctitatis Suae oraverint, et his pariter qui legitima causa
impediti pri^atim haec egerint, septem annorum ac septem quad-
ragenarum apud Deum Jndulgentiam singulis vicibus concedit. Eis
autem qui supradicto tempore decies saltern vel publice in templis, vel
legitime impediti, privatim eadem peregerint, sacramentali confessione
expiatis et sacra synaxi refectis, plenariam admissorum Indulgentiam
de Ecclesiae thesauro impertit. Plenissimam hanc culparum veniam
et poenarum remissionem his omnibus pariter largitur, qui vel ipso
die festo beatae Virginis a Rosario, vel quolibet ex octo insequentibus
diebus. sacramenta, ut supra, perceperint, et in aliqua sacra aede
juxta Suam mentem Deo ejusque Sanctissimae Matri supplicaverint.
Qua de re et illis consulens fidelibus qui ruri viventes agri cultione
praecipue Octobri mense distinentur, Sanctitas Sua concedit ut
singula superius disposita, cum sacris etiam Indulgentiis, eorum in
locis, ad insequentes vel Novembris vel| Decembris menses, prudenti
Ordinariorum arbitrio, differri valeant.
D52 A'otices of l>ookx.
De hisce vero omnibus ct singulis Sanctissiinus Domimis Xostur
per Sacram Eituum Congregatiouem praescns edi decretum, et ad
omnes locorum Ordinaries pro fideli executione trausmitti mandavit.
Die 20 Augusti, 1885.
D. CARDINALIS BARTOI.INIUS, S. R. C. Praefcctti*.
L. ^S.
LAURENTIUS SALVATI, S. R. C. S
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
KECORDS RELATING TO ARDAGH AND CLONMACNOISE. By
the Very Rev. John Canon Monahan, D.D., V.F. Dublin :
M. H. Gill & Son
UNDER the unpretending title of Records, Canon Monahan has
given us not only a history of his native diocese, but a picture of the
state of the Irish Church from its beginning even unto our own day.
We have the old Celtic college, the monastic element, the scarcely
perceptible growth into a secular clergy, the records of saints and
scholars brought as vividly before us as if they were portrayed. This
is done without any effort at fine writing, but with the diligent
accuracy of a faithful annalist. To the casual reader the work may
seem the skeleton of a history ; but, to the reflecting student, the
labour of compiling each page will seem a marvel. How the author
must have searched for and dug up old musty documents how he
must have strung them together how he has made unreadable things
readable is not the least part of the credit which is due to him.
The ancient diocese of Ardagh dates from the time of St. Patrick.
He consecrated its first prelate, St. Mel, who was his nephew. A
controverted point is touched on and examined by Canon Monahan.
Who professed the first Irish nun, St. Brigid ? From what we can
gather, the real truth seems to be, that St. Macaille gave her the veil
on the hill of Bri-eile or Croghan, and that St. Mel professed her and
several companions in Ardagh. The bog which flourished under
their feet and never returned to its pristine barrenness, as well as the
altar-pillar which was touched by her hand and never could be burned
are alluded to in the discussion.
A light is thrown upon the formation of the boundaries of Irish
dioceses. The ecclesiastical map of Ireland, by the late Dr. Kelly of
Notices of Books.
Maynooth, discloses some surprising territorial arrangements. The
county boundaries have no respect whatever paid to them, and even
provinces are bounded over by some half-forgotten parishes. Ardagh
is the most erratic; of Irish dioceses. It begins near Sligo and proceeds
to the confines of Athlone. " At the present time the diocese of
Ardagh includes nearly all Longford, the greater part of Leitrim, and
portions of King's county, Wcstmeath, Roscommon, Cavan and
Sligo," p. 0.
The theory which accounts for this formation of ecclesiastical
territories is that the Church followed the fortunes of the chieftains
who sometimes enlarged their possessions by raids upon their neigh-
bours, and were not over-scrupulous about the duties of annexation.
Diocese preceded county in process of formation, and clerical
disputes sometimes transposed parishes from the sway of the existing
bishops.
The record of the bishops of this See is not complete ; and even
the persevering search of Canon Monaban was not able to pick up
the lost links of the episcopal chain. Some interesting pieces, however,
are recovered. One is that of St. Erard. He left Ireland, with several
companions, in the eighth century, and died in Ratisbon. He was
canonised by Leo IX. He was bishop of Ardagh ; but the historians
are not of accord with regard to his having been ihe bishop of Ratisbon.
His remains are venerated in that ancient city as one of the great
Celtic saints who drifted out in the period of apostolic fervour to bear
fruit in a foreign soil, and whose fruit still remains.
The period of the Danish dominion in Ireland is a blank as far
as Ardagh is concerned, but a sad story when we advert to Clonmac-
noise. The latter old monastic place was worth pillaging, but the
former was not.
The Norman period brings us to the ugly history of Englishmen
being intruded into Irish Sees. Ardagh was not exempt. A few
foreigners wielded its crozier, enjoyed its emoluments and passed into
space and oblivion. It is a pity the Canon thinks their names worthy
of being printed.
About the beginning of the sixteenth century a warlike prelate
held the See of Ardagh. He was dynast of the O'Farrells, tried to
be chieftain and bishop at the same time, was opposed in his designs,
and reduced Ardagh and its cathedral to dust. His history is briefly
told on page 10. This was the last bishop before Henry VIII. had
the nomination. He asked Pope Leo X. for the appointment of
Dr. Malone in 1517, and a year elapsed.before the request was granted.
9 54 Notices of Books.
The Reformation brought its period of martyrs, and the O'Farrell
family supplied several. When the Protestant prelacy began, it did
not work its way victoriously in Ardagh. The sad blight of heresy
did not uproot the old faith and customs, but it curtailed the efficiency
of their action. From 1587 to 1647 a period of sixty years the
diocese was widowed and ruled by vicars or administrators. These
were the days of the penal laws. "We see a sad state of things. One
or two bishops and some vicars-apostolic had to govern vacant Sees, and
to get priests to administer sacraments by stealth. The old cathedrals
and churches were in the hands of heretics and apostate friars, who seized
the revenues and left the people in danger of their lives, ruling the
shadow of a church. The plantation of Ulster and the confiscations
of property brought some Protestants into the country ; and these,
with their pastors, were supposed to represent Ireland. Religion
reached its lowest ebb, and poverty was the prevalent epidemic.
Still, efforts were made, even in those troubled times, to preserve eccle-
siastical discipline, as we see from several quasi-synodal enactments,
A provincial Synod of Armagh, holden in ] CO", gives curious
specimens of enactments for the direction of the clergy : "A priest
who did not preach or give an exhortation on Sundays and holidays
was to be fined five shillings of English money, and if he persevered
in his laziness of speech for seven weeks, he was to be deprived of his
benefice," p. 28. Stealing five shillings was made a reserved case.
A document appears in pages 32 and 33, to which we find appended
the signature: " Thadaeus O'Clenj. S.T.D., Vic. -Gen. Rapoiemis,
Protonotarius Apostolicus, et Prior purgatorii S. Patricii" We have
specimens of the method of electing bishops in the troublous times
taken from authentic sources. The custom of canons drawing up
diocesan regulations and getting the bishop to sign them has fallen
into desuetude. In 1666 there were only two Catholic bishops in all
Ireland ! The others were in exile or in prison. This was the year
of the great fire in London. In 1729, Clonmacnoise was permanently
united to Ardagh.
Clonmacnoise, though not so old as Ardagh, is far more celebrated.
It began its career as a purely monastic establishment. The monks,
in those days, were not conventual in the sense of St. Benedict's rule.
They could go from monastery to monastery and submit them-
selves to any abbot they chose. This is why we find traces of Irish
monks in various and diverse parts of the country. We find
St. Ciaran, successively, in Clonard, in Lough Erne, in the Isle of
Arran, in one of the islands of Lough Ree, and finally settling down
Notices of Book 's. l>f)r>
in Clonraacnoise, wlicrc he went to his reward in the thirty- third
year of his age, A.D. 549. His sanctity drew many to Cionmacnoise
for their studies ; and kings willed that their remains should be laid to
rest under the shadow of the monastery which St. Ciaran began to build,
but did not finish. Its school became celebrated amongst the dis-
tinguished seats of learning at that time in Ireland. Alcuin studied
there, under the direction of St. Colgan, several of the histories of
ancient Ireland were written there, and are still preserved in our
great libraries.
The succession of abbots and bishops, or both, is pretty well pre-
served, thanks to the annalists, who were generally monks. Many
Franciscans and Dominicans were numbered amongst the bishops of
Cionmacnoise. This See was for seventy-nine years, from 1568 to
1647. without a bishop, and governed during that period by vicars
or administrators. Throughout the period which included Cromwell's
wars, and the Restoration down to the beginning of the eighteenth
century, plentiful documents are printed in this volume which gives
ample information regarding the condition of the Catholic Church in
Jreland. Several meetings of bishops and dignitaries were held in Clon-
macnoise, whilst Dr. O'Geoghegan was its bishop, from 1647 to 1657.
Dr. Stephen MacEgan, a Dominican, was the last bishop of Clonmac-
noise, before its union with Ardagh. He founded the Sienna Convent
in Drogheda, and the first house of what is now the Convent of
the Sisters of St. Dominic in Galway.
Documents of great importance fill up the pages of this book until
we come to the end of the eighteenth century. They throw light
upon our relations with Rome, with England, and with the Irish
Parliament. These negociations culminated in the establishment of
Maynooth College in 1795. The correspondence on the subject of
education shows the bishops to have been recovering from the old
subserviency of a persecuted religion, and possessing the courage of
martyrs when asked for a compromise. There is a fine evidence of
this in pp. 157-8.
From the commencement of this century the Records are confined
to the history of the united diocese, as it oscillates around Ballymahon
and Longford. The account of the various prelates who ruled
there, down to the present occupant of the See, is given very fully
and copiously perhaps even too copiously. Of course more is known
about modern saints and ecclesiastics than could have been known in
ancient times. News spreads rapidly, by aid of newspapers, and whets
the appetites which need to be satiated.
956 Notices of Books.
Canon Monahan then gives an account of those children of
Ardagh who distinguished themselves in the ranks of the hierarchy
and on the foreign missions. All this possesses a special interest for
those concerned, and for their friends and relations. Il is a new
feature in Records of this description and gains value from its fresh-
ness and novelty. A great deal of information is given regarding
Grauard and the Shrine of St. Manchan. There is H list of the
monastic foundations which once beautified the diocese, an interesting
appendix, and a copious index. In the appendix we have, at page
384, a suggestive letter written from Tivoli by Dr. Cullen in 1844, to
Dr. O'Hiirgins, then Bishop of Ardagh.
The history of a diocese is a very important work. It rescues
from oblivion what would soon die out in the traditions of the people
or be lost by the carelessness which seems to beset records of the past
in every country.
Canon Monahan has done a great work and has done it con-
scientiously. There is not an unkind, harsh or sarcastic line in the
whole volume. The very Rev. Author has a good word for every one
whose name he mentions, and the unction of charity for which he is
remarkable perfumes the pages of his work. Ardagh ought to be
proud of its Records, and the Recorder of them. Jt is to be hoped
that other dioceses will find amongst their clergy votaries with abilities
and industry to do a similar work. We have many as it is, but more
are wanted.
THE CHRISTIAN'S GUIDE TO HEAVEN. Dublin:
Browne & Nolan.
The Christian's Guide fo Heaven, compiled by the Rev. William
Gahan, O.S.A., has been one of the best known prayer-books
in the hands of Irish Catholics for two generations. The call
for a new edition, with its improved type and form, shows that,
notwithstanding the many prayer-books recently published, the Guide
retains its hold on the affection and esteem of the public.
The Guide to Heaven contains, of course, prayers and devotional
exercises for almost every want and occasion, and it is no small
recommendation that they are for the most part prayers and practices
used or recommended by saints. It is particularly rich in helps to
prepare for the reception of the Sacraments, in indulgenced prayers,
Litanies and Novenas.
It bears the imprimatur of the Archbishop of Dublin.
Notices of jBenfo. 957
ST. Au< JUSTINE, Bishop and Doctor. A Historical Study. By
a Priest of the Congregation of the Mission, a Pilgrim
to Hippo. Dublin : M. H. Gill & Sou.
A WANT in religious biography, distinctly felt, has at length been
supplied. The Life of the great Bishop of Hippo is presented to the
reading public for the first time in an English dress. Perhaps it will
come as a surprise to many, who think the materials for religious
literature have long since been exhausted, to find that the life of one
of the most interesting figures in human history the clever, passionate,
eloquent rhetorician of Carthage and Milan the meek Doctor,
philosopher, and Saint of Hippo, has hitherto been a sealed book to
the majority of English readers. And now that at length the
valuable record of such a life is in our hands, we can only hope that
it may be welcomed by the reading public as warmly as it is by
ourselves.
The learned and pious author, after many years spent in missionary
and professional work, was obliged through ill-health to make a
sojourn of two years in Algiers. He found himself in the vicinity
of the places where the dusky African bishop had sinned and
sorrowed, and repented and laboured, and loved. He stood on the
site of what is now known to have been Tagaste, and on the ruins of
Hippo and Madaura. A splendid library was at his disposal.
He accumulated a mass of valuable materials, kept them nine years
iu reserve, and at last with a deprecating timidity, for which we
assure him there is no reason whatsoever, submits the results of his
labours to the public.
The special merit of this book in our eyes is, that it contains in
the most condensed form, and in the narrowest possible space, all that
is known, or worthy of being known, about St. Augustine. If the
author had been a professional bookmaker, he could very easily have
extended the matter at his disposal over two substantial volumes.
He has condensed that matter into one, and hence there is hardly
a useless line in the book. We have compared it chapter by chapter
with larger works, principally with the standard work of Poujoulat,
Histoirie de S. Angustin, sa vie, ses teuvres, son Mecle, influence de son,
genie : and so far at least as the life and labours of the Saint are
concerned, the latter volume contains very little that we have cot in
a much more compact form in the book we are noticing. The first
seven chapters are taken from the Confessions of the Saint, with
notes and explanations, geographical and otherwise, which will be
found very useful. The ninth is a chapter on the African Church,
958 Notices of Books.
and in this and subsequent chapters the author seems anxious to
take up and sift thoroughly the interesting controversy which existed
in the time of St. Augustine (and indeed was the origin of his may num.
opus, De Civifate Dei) and which imputed to the introduction of the
faith into Africa most of the temporal evils which afflicted that land
of destiny, and made such names as Hippo and Carthage historical
terms, and no more. From the tenth chapter to the fifteenth, there
is a detailed account of the heresies (Donatist, Mauichean, and
Pelagian), which afflicted the Church of Africa at this time, and of
the learning, zeal, and charity of St. Augustine in dealing with
unscrupulous men and deadly doctrines. These chapters will be the
most useful to the historian and controversialist, as they contain large
extracts from St. Augustine's letters to Houoratus, Parmenian, &c.,
and texts in defence of the unity of the Church, which have become
household words in the schools. We were a little curious to see if
our author had penetrated the mist that hangs around the history of
the ex-slave, mystic, and artist, Manes, and the connection between
his explanation of the origin of evil and the doctrines that are still
current in the Eastern mythologies ; but the subject is not only one
that is wrapt in much mystery, but is clearly beyond the scope of this
history. But'our author does not fail to mark a distinction between
the conduct of the Manicheans and the fanatical Donatists, and the
singular fascination which the doctrines of the former exercised over
the untutored mind of the Saint. He gives also some excellent
reasons for the singular fact that a keen and critical mind like
St. Augustine's remained so long under the influence of teachings
which were absurd, as well as impious.
Passing from the public to the private life of the Saint, we have
quite a series of interesting pictures, mostly in the Saint's own words,
of the relations that subsisted between him and his priests, and the
high standard of perfection, particularly in the spirit of detachment
from riches, to which the Cathedral clergy of Hippo had attained.
The fact alone that a priest, named Januarius, had made a will,
became such a grievous public scandal that it was necessary for the
Bishop to make explanations to the people in two splendid discourses
which are given almost in extenso. One history of the Saint closes
with an account of the Vandal invasion in which St. Augustine, and
indeed all Christian historians, have seen the direct chastisement of
Heaven for the unutterable crimes of Rome, and as Salvian testifies,
the more than successful rivalry in guilt of the Roman dependencies
in Africa. The main controversial issue of the book, to which we
Notices of Books. ( . f ;"> >
have already referred, is here again introduced. The saying that
history repeats itself was never so verified as it is in the nineteenth
chapter. To us. who believe that all our social and political com-
plications at present can be traced to economic changes which had no
existence farther back than our century, it will be surprising to find
that the terms " landlord/' " tenant," " rack-rent," &c.. are to be found
in the writings of St. Augustine ; and that one of the strongest
Epistles that ever issued from his pen was directed against two
landlords, Paoarius and Romulus, Catholics, and baptised by his own
hand. The whole story bears such an astonishing resemblance to
events happening in our own time, that the chapter is certain to be
extensively read and quoted.
The few notes on the " Works of the Saint " will be found useful
as an indox to his dissertations on Philosophy and Scripture, and very
large interesting quotations from his sermons are given. The work
is also furnished with a map, in the construction of which the author
lias spent as much time and made as many researches as a less careful
writer in the compilation of a book. The map is not taken from
atlases, but drawn partly on the spot, and partly from ancient
itineraries, reputed for accuracy. The last chapter, which is partly
apologetic, is the chapter which will be studied most carefully. The
author explains why, in the course -of the treatise, he did not allude
to the ue Calvin and other heretics have made of isolated passages
in the writings of St. Augustine. He then explains the rules of
context and parallelism, and gives a striking example of the necessity
of careful study of the Augustinian works in their entirety. The
constant recurrence of the objection against confession, drawn from
the Saint's works and his oft-repeated simile from the resurrection of
Lazarus, led the writer to study closely all the writings of the Saint.
The extract from the Public Lecture on St. John disposes of the
objection for ever.
The general excellence of the book encourages us to make one or
two minor suggestions which may be found useful when future
editions are demanded. We would recommend that a uniform spelling
of the Saint's name be adopted. The book will pass into the hands
of many, who may be inexpert or unlearned, and they may be puzzle 1
to find the names Austin and Augustine indiscriminately applied.
The latter form we should certainly prefer. When reading, too, the
very copious and select passages quoted from the Saint's writings, we
unconsciously looked for footnotes containing these passages in the
classic, antithetical language of the Saint. A moment's glance
Notices of Books.
sufficed to convince us that it would have been impossible to insert
such notes in such a space. Shall we venture to suggest to our
author, then, that he add a supplementary volume to the Life of
St. Augustine, containing extracts and translations from the
voluminous writings of the Saint, and append to it a critical
dissertation on his works. From our knowledge of the author, this
would be quite within his province and his power , and as he has
devoted some years of his life to the study of the Saint's writings, it
would hardly be an excessive demand either on time or thought.
Already an English lady has given to the world " Leaves from
St. Augustine," a series of extracts translated by herself from the
writings of the Saint. But we think that priests would welcome his
very words, selected from his sermons, letters and philosophy, and
such an introduction to them that their bearing on questions even
now-a-days controverted, might be seen at a glance. For, although,
as this book states, St. Augustine never wrote professedly on
philosophical subjects, he is, and will for ever be. " the Philosopher "
of the Church, holding the same relations to her as those that existed
between Plato and the Greeks. We know that he wns a disciple of
the latter, but far outstripped his master, when he passed from
philosophy to Christianity. And the neo-Platonists of our age, who
are sincere seekers after Divine truth, whilst declaring Quicqwd
dicilur in Platoiie, vivit in Augustino, protest that the object of their
lives is to reconcile the Greek sage and the Christian Saint.
To return, this book is a first great step in the right direction.
The duty of writing the lives of our saints, hitherto usurped by
Protestants, who could but barely understand, and badly interpret
their spirit and their work, must now be vigorously taken up by those
whose calling and education qualify them for the task. The words
of St. Augustine : " The cricket chirps, while the swan is mute,''
were hitherto more than applicable to us. And this pioneer book is
a distinct encouragement, not only to the author himself, but to others
situated like him, to develop further the science of hagiography, and
make it fruitful amongst us. P. A. S.
SANCTI ANSELMI MARIALE. Tornaci : Desclee, Lefebre et Soc.
THIS is a little pocket book from which ecclesiastics will derive
much pleasure and profit. It is St. Anselrni's Mariale or Hymn
Book in honour of the Blessed Virgin. Cardinal Manning in his
letter of approbation speaks of it as an " opus vere aureum."
As a specimen of printer's work we have rarely seen anything
superior, whether we consider the paper, or clear black type, or
fioreated border.
THE IRISH
ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD
NOVEMBER, 1886.
DISPENSATIONS OF GRACE.
No. I. THE UNWRITTEN LAW.
WE know from the Council of Trent (Sess. vi. c. 7) that
the " unica formalis causa Justificationis [hominis] est
Justitia Dei, non qua Ipse Justus est, sed qua nos justos facit ; "
from the same Holy Council (Sess. vii.) we also know that
" per Sacramenta omnis vera justitia vel incipit, vel coepta
augetur, vel amissa reparatur " and we should at all times
gratefully acknowledge our infinite and enduring indebted-
ness to God, whose mercy has placed that " unica formalis
causa" within our easy reach, and under many forms. But>
whilst, we thus exultingly rejoice in the possession of such
abundant spiritual wealth bestowed upon us with such
gratuitous and undeserved preference our possessing it must
cause us sometimes to pause and reflect, how fared it with
men, in the matter of this " unica formalis causa," before the
institution of the Sacraments? By what channels, for ex-
ample, was that " vera justitia " rendered attainable to the
immediate descendants of Adam ? How, to those who " filled
the earth " during the dark and dismal ages that came to a
close when the Deluge avenged the sins of mankind, whose
sinning involved the voluntary rejection of that grace ? How
during the centuries from Noah to Abraham, when, as in the
antecedent period, there existed amongst men generally no
distinctive and defined ritualism or external form of prescribed
worship ? How, even in the after ages from Abraham to
VOL. vii. 3 P
962 Dispensations of Grace.
Moses, and from Moses to our Divine Lord ? But how, above
all, fared it, during all these " immemorial tracts of time," with
personally unoffending infants, who were born into the world
" children of wrath," and for whom no second birth of Baptism
removed original sin, and thereby restored to them, through
the "unica formalis causa," their forfeited inheritance as
children of God " ?
A general reply to all these questions is easily given ; but,
in the absence of almost all knowledge derivable from Sacred
Scripture or historical monuments, even that reply rests
rather upon inference than upon positive information. On
the one hand we know that the Wish and Will the " voluntas
salvifica" which the Creator entertained towards men before
all prevision of Adam's fall, was not recalled but only modi-
fied in consequence of that disastrous event ; but, on the other
hand, we know that this divine benevolence was largely, nay
generally, frustrated by human depravity, which frequently
culminated in an almost entire estrangement between God and
man. This unhappy result is perhaps chiefly attributable to
the condition of affairs as described by Suarez : "Ante Moysein
non fuerunt homines specialiter instituti a Deo sub peculiar-
ibus signis seu sacramentis, in ordine ad divinum cultum, nee
in unum corpus mysticum congregati . . . Ante illud tempus
non dabatur specialis lex Divina, in serisu juris cujusdam in-
tegri." (De Leg. L. ix., c. I., n. 4). Nor were matters very
much better from the time of Moses to the coming of the
Redeemer, as St. Paul makes abundantly manifest in his
Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews. Theologians, after
him, bring the defects and infirmities of the Mosaic dispensa-
tion into striking prominence, when (as Suarez in the
last chapter of the work just quoted) they contrast those in-
firmities with the perfections of the Law of Christ.
It is, however, indisputably true that, during the long
epoch described by scholastic writers as the Lex Naturae, or
the Period of the Unwritten Law, men, dispersed as they were
and without any visible bond of cohesion, nevertheless, held in
sacred trust the divinely communicated Promise of a future life
and of supernatural gifts. It is equally true that, even sometimes
in not inconsiderable numbers, they were animated by Faith
Dispensations of Grace. 963
and Hope explicit faith in God as the " inquirentibus se
Remunerator," and at least implicit faith in the coming of
the Messiah. These promises were transmitted from genera-
tion to generation, not in any divinely authorised formulas of
faith, but by oral tradition ; and in such fulness were they
handed down through all this time that the Written Law, as
delivered by Moses, merely collected the disjecta membra and
classified them. " Lex ergo nullam promissionem spiritualem
huic antiquae addidit " (ibid.) The communication of these
promises dates, as we know, from God's interview with
Adam, immediately after the Fall (Gen. iii.), on which most
momentous occasion the " first Adam" was stripped of almost
all the prerogatives of his high estate, and was thenceforth to.
be little more than a father secundum carnem. A " Second
Adam" was promised, through whose mediation and merits the
evil destiny inherited from the "first" should be effectually
reversed : the fruits of this future Reparation were to be
made available by anticipation, so that whosoever by super-
natural acts should become children of the " Second Adam,"
would thereby also become members of the Ecclesia dispersa
Dei, as then and there founded (Franzelin), and sharers in
such spiritual gifts as God would be pleased to confer upon
that Church. This implied, at the very least, a promise of con-
ferring " sufficient grace " upon all men without exception ; it
implied still further that, ex parte Dei, all men were to be at all
times supplied with such remedies as should be necessary and
adequate to effect their liberation from sin, and should pre-
pare them to receive the " uoica formalis causa justificationis"
sanctifying grace. In other words, a promise was given
that the divine "voluiitas salvifica " should over-canopy
the entire human race, even in the days of its vilest degen-
eracy ; and God declared Jiimself willing to fore-draw upon
the merits of our Redeemer, in order that man might have,
through his own co-operation, a means of escape from the
death of original and actual SID, and become eligible for res
toration to the friendship of his Creator. This is the argument
which St. Paul expands at such length in his Epistle to the
Romans (c. iii.), in which he proves that as "all have sinned and
need the glory of God," so all might be "justified freely by
964 Dispensations of Grace.
His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus/'
It is the same argument that the Apostle pursues in his first
Epistle to Timothy (c. ii., 4, 5), where he also establishes
(as Cardinal Franzelin paraphrases it) that " voluntas ilia mis-
ericors refertur ad omnes, quorum ipse unus Deus est Deus ac
Creator, et quorum caput per naturam assumptam vel assu-
mendam est Christus."
It is reasonable to assume that, in the case of adults, the
supernatural acts which constituted the pre-disposing con-
ditions to justification, should be personally performed ; and
it is equally manifest that a vicarious performance of such
acts as were necessary for the attainment of the same pur-
pose, was sufficient for the justification of infants. That
some infallible " remedium peccati originalis " was provided
for the latter, cannot be for a moment doubted : it is inex-
tricably involved in the primeval " voluntas salvifica " which ?
St. Paul tells us, was of universal comprehensiveness. " Ipse
unus Deus est [eoruin] Deus et Creator." That such a remedy
existed by divine institution is, in the words of Suarez (De
Sac. Disp. iv.,) a "dogma cer turn e tin dubitatum: Ita docent
omnes theologi absque ulla controversia aut opinionum var-
ietate " ; and the same theologian repeats (Disp. .x) " tarn
in lege Naturas quam Moysis omnes infantes fuisse relictos
sine remedio peccati originalis . . . impium est sentire et
contra communem Ecclesia3 sensum." Vasquez, it may be
well to add, affirms the same doctrine with equal emphasis,,
although he and a few others hold a singular opinion regard-
ing its nature and the method of applying it.
Beyond what establishes these fundamental truths, we
glean from Sacred Scripture and Tradition very little informa-
tion bearing on the "instrumental causes " of grace, to which
men had recourse in the period of the Unwritten Law. Over
and above the "lex scrip ta in cordibus," God gave mankind
no "jus integrum continens statum religiosum," with, most
probably, the single exception of the precept " utendi aliquo
sacramento, seu signo necessario ad impetrandum a Deo,
mediante fide Christi, remissionem peccati originalis" (Suarez:
L. ix., c. i.,n. 4). Even regarding what may be called the matter
and form of this remedium, nothing is positively revealed
Dispensations of Grace. 965
except that it was in some way a protestation of faith in the
existence of God and in the coming of a Redeemer. Vasquez
asserts that this protestation did not, of any intrinsic or extrinsic
necessity, receive any external expression " soli fidei internal
majonim tribnendam esse justificationem infantium in lege
Naturse " and that seems to have been the opinion of some few
of the Fathers. But the contrary doctrine is pronounced by
De Lugo to be the "sententia communis et verier, quam decent
communiter scholastici" a doctrine in support of which the
student will find, in De Lugo's treatise on the Sacraments,
many more or less convincing arguments. The principal are
briefly these : ( 1 ) It was a consecration of the child to God
which, ex natura rci, requires an external act. (2) It was
the initiation of the child into a visible and external, aggre-
gation of men : such affiliation should necessarily be cognizable
in the interests of both parties, and should therefore involve
some kind of official procedure. (3) It should be external,
and, moreover, independent of the faith of him who should
administer it, for otherwise there would be no hope for that
large number of children who might unhappily fall into the
hands of men devoid of supernatural faith. Finally and (in
the judgment of De Lugo) chiefly because, "si sufficeret fides
interna," any one man possessing faith could by one compre-
hensive act liberate from original sin all the children existing
at that moment on the earth, and even those " adhuc in utero
matrum" for faith acts upon distant and unseen objects
" quae omnia videntur manifeste absurda, nee ab auctoribus
contraria3 sententise conceduntur."
Assuming then, with almost all theologians, that the
"remedium peccati originalis" was a protestation of faith
made manifest in some external ceremony, we are again at
fault when we try to determine the method and specific
character of that rite; and neither Sacred Scripture nor
authentic tradition appreciably assists us in the inquiry.
Berti makes reference to some writers who held that, long
before the time of Abraham, circumcision was a sacred
ceremony in Arabia, Egypt, and some other eastern countries ;
from which they infer that it was the traditional form of the
u remedium " as first prescribed by God. But this statement
966 Dispensations of Grace.
of fact is universally rejected, and Calmet assures us that
" all Protestant and Catholic writers, without exception, now
teach that circumcision was instituted by God Himself, and
was first applied by Abraham." Whether or not circumcision
was at any subsequent period the " remedium peccati origin-
alis" is a most interesting question which may be discussed
in a future paper ; but, for the present, we may take it as
beyond controversy that it was unknown under the Unwritten
Law. The common opinion of theologians is, according to
De Lugo and most writers, that no determinate form of
ceremonial was prescribed, "sed hoc fuisse relictum arbitrio
singulorum, ut late probat Suarez." In singular corroboration
of this view, they appeal to the various observances by which
Roman and Grecian children, some days after their birth,
were formally admitted into citizenship not unreasonably
Inferring that these observances were so many vestiges,
"footprints in the sands of time," left by the primal rite of
justification and enrolment in the Church of the Lex Naturas.
Thus Festus relates that the ancient Romans were accustomed
to confer on male and female children, on the eighth and ninth
days respectively, the names they should bear through life ;
and that the imposition of those names was solemnly ratified
" cum lustration e et emundatione." In like manner, the heads
of families at Athens were scrupulously careful to call together
their friends, on the evening of the tenth day after the child's
birth, when sacrifices were solemnly offered for his welfare,
and a name given to him with much formal ceremony.
Similar rites were usual amongst many other nations of the
east; and it is by no unwarrantable inference we conclude
that those traditional forms of initiation had their origin in
the olden sacred rites by which the " remedium Naturae " was
celebrated, and that the modes of celebrating it were, like
their pagan travesties, of no uniform fashion.
Theologians also discuss with much vigorous display of
scholastic "thrust and parry," whether and in what sense
this " remedium " may be called a sacrament ; whether it was
the cause of sanctifying grace, in any proper interpretation of
that word ; or was merely a sign and symbol of the promise
which God had made to Adam, in some such way as the
.Dispensations of Grace. 967
rainbow is the sign but not the cause of God's preserving
the world from a second deluge. This question will, however,
be most conveniently considered when, in some other paper,
the opinions of theologians as to the efficacy of the sacraments
of the Mosaic Law shall be reviewed. But there remains
another inquiry which need not be deferred, and on which
our most eminent theologians expend "immense considera-
tion:" whether, for the valid application of the "remedium, "
the act " protestative of faith " should of necessity be morally
good. Omitting all reference to the multifarious difficulties
and objections which are to be found in the works of Suarez
and De Lugo, as they defend and impugn the rival theories,
it will be enough to quote the concluding words of the
latter: "Infero potuisse valere illud sacramentum, etiamsi
actio ilia hie et nunc non solum non esset meritoria, sed esset.
demeritoria, et mala in genere moris, sicut Baptismus valet
et justificat parvulum " and for the same most valid reason,
namely, that no other provision would be in keeping with the
all-embracing " voluntas salvifica Dei." Hence, too, St. Thomas
expressly states that even " infirmitas fidei in parente
[ministrante] non impedit effectum salutis in filio,"
It is only by endeavouring to give a legitimate and duly
circumscribed interpretation to this same " voluntas salvifica,"
that we can form some remotely definite idea of the nature
and efficacy of the remedia supplied to the Lex Naturse for
the justification of adults who had sinned grievously. So far
at least as giving positive information on this subject, Sacred
Scripture and authoritative tradition may be said to be silent.
The only truth which they establish with strict and indubi-
table precision is that the condition of sinners under
the Law of Nature, when contrasted with that of sinful
men under the Gospel, was most painfully and dolefully
calamitous.
It may be that sacraments were instituted " ut infirmitas
humana per exteriora signa juvaretur," as Gonet, Tournely,
and Collet " cum aliis non paucis " think probable ; but those
same writers claim for such sacraments no higher efficacy
than that which arises ex opere operantis. When some of
them attribute to those Sacraments an efficacy which
"968 Dispensations of Grace.
they describe as ex opere quasi-operato, their arguments
are purely conjectural. It is true, no doubt, that sacrifices
" pro peccato " were not unfrequent ; for we have on
record the offering of such in times so widely separated
as were those of Abel, Job, and Melchisedech : "atqui
idem ritus," argue those theologians, " et Sacrificium
esse pot-ait, prout ad Dei cultum ordinabatur, et simul habere
rationem sacramenti, prout, media fide,adsanctitatem conduce-
bat." Manifestly this method of reasoning and it is the only
one insinuated, leads to nothing more tangible and substantial
than a tennis tantum probabilitas, and much of even this is lost
by the fact that Suarez and De Lugo contend, in the words
of the latter, " non esse fundamentum ad dicendum ilia fuisse
vera sacramenta, non enim constat fuisse ordinata ad sancti-
.tatem aliquam communicandam, quare solum sistent ictra
rationem Sacrificii." The theory is still further discredited
by the conclusions to which exhaustive investigation led
St. Thomas, Suarez, &c. that, for the 2,513 years which lie
between the Fall of Adam and the giving of the Law on
Mount Sinai, "Lex ideo dilata fuit ut homines lapsi fragilita-
tem naturse suas et indigentiam sui status magis agnoscerent
. . . ut agnoscerent rationem naturalem sibi non posse
sufficere" even with the aid of "sufficient grace." The
deplorable condition of mankind towards the close of this
epoch points unmistakably to the same inference ; for we
know from Sacred Scripture, and not by mere conjecture,
that (in the words of Suarez) "tune fere omnes homines
idolatriee dediti erant." It would therefore seem that Perfect
Contrition, with its manifold liability to failure, was, during
that long range of centuries, the unicum remedium peecati
gravis the only one, at all events, of which we have
defensible evidence ; that there was no contrivance of divine
mercy " quo attritus fit contritus;" that, if sacraments did
then exist, they were in all truth "infirma et egena
elementa," of the names and number of which we know
absolutely nothing.
C. J. M.
[ 969 ]
SARSFIELD. III.
ANTI-IRISH writers, as a rule, represent the Irish army
as hopelessly demoralized by the defeat at Aughrim.
Story says " what of the army was left made the best of
their way towards Limerick, but they were so shattered and
frightened, that very few of their force would be got thither
.... whither they went in no kind of order, but rather like
people going to a fair" (pp. 147-148). And with the passages
evidently before him Macaulay says " the beaten army had
now lost all the appearance of an army, and resembled a
rabble, crowding home from a fair after a faction fight "
(Hist., vol. 3., p. 277). Froude makes a similar statement.
No doubt the Irish loss at Aughrim was very great, but there
is abundant evidence that Ginkell did not entertain the view
of the Irish army so recklessly expressed by Macaulay and
Froude. From Aughrim Ginkell proceeded to Galway, to
besiege that city, and on his way he was told that Sarsfield
was coming to its relief. And so startled was the Williamite
general by this rumour, that he determined not to proceed to
Galway, and Story adds that it was only " upon repeated
assurances of several Protestants .... that he resolved to
approach the town of Galway the following day" (p. 159).
Then the terms allowed to the garrison of Galway were such
as no demoralized army could expect. They were allowed
to depart with all the honours of war, " with their arms, six
pieces of cannon, drums beating, colours flying," with stores
and provisions, and horses to convey them to Limerick
(Story, p. 167). The like terms were granted to the other
smaller garrisons; and the brave Sir Tigue O'Regan was
allowed to bring his gallant band with all military honour,
and parade all the way from Sligo, to join their friends at
Limerick. And Story tells that when, subsequently, a
breach was made in the walls of Limerick, Ginkell would
not allow his men to attempt an entrance though the Irish
were anxious to meet them hand to hand. These facts and
they are facts show that the Irish army, if defeated, was
not demoralized, and certainly not disheartened, that these
970 Sarsfield.
brave men were a source of salutary fear to the enemies of
their country still.
When Sarsfield arrived in Limerick he found that
Tyrconnell, who had been there since the fall of Athlone, had
done much to repair the defences of the city. To this work
Sarsfield now applied himself with all the earnest energy of
his nature. Every moment was precious as Ginkell's army
was approaching, and Sarsfield resolved to give him as warm
a reception as William got on the same ground a year
before. He accordingly attended to every detail of the
defensive work. He sought to infuse into his men the same
spirit that fired his own heroic soul. He went from one post
to another, exhorting his soldiers for their country's sake, to
expedite the works, to set all things in the best order for
that final struggle on which all depended. He collected in
from the surrounding districts as much provision and stores
as could be procured. And fortunately Ginkell's advance
was so slow, that Sarsfield had six weeks to prepare for
resistance, and well and diligently was every moment
employed. Froude censures Ginkell for giving the Irish so
much time to organize, and maintains that the war would
have been speedily ended if Ginkell had followed Sarsfield
direct from the field of Aughrim. But while Mr. Froude deals
largely in fictions, Ginkell had to confront stubborn facts.
Froude could have learned from Story that Ginkell was not
anxious just then to come to close quarters with Sarsfield
and his brave horsemen who were never yet defeated. Ginkell
expected rough work at Limerick, and was careful not to
enter on it too hastily. Story says, " the general being assured
that the Irish were using their utmost skill and industry to
rally, and reinforce their shattered army, and not knowing
how far despair might carry men that were come now to
their last stake, and considering also that we had a strong
town before us which would be the work of some time to
reduce if the enemy made what resistance might justly be
expected .... these and other considerations prevailed with
the General to send for all the regiments that had been left
in Minister and other places" (Story, pp. 178-179). And Story
adds (p. 191), " to give the Irish their due they can defend
Sarsfield. 971
stone walls very handsomely." These reasons abundantly
sufficient determined Ginkell not to adopt the headlong
course of Mr. Froude.
On the 14th August, 1691, Tyrconnell died, and the loss
to Ireland was small indeed. For he was the one man whose
jealousy had all along pursued Sarsfield, and kept that brave
soldier in secondary positions, though on every just and
reasonable title he should have been among the first. Were
it not for him Sarsfield would have had supreme command
of the Irish Army, and the saddest pages of Ireland's history
would never have been written. Now, however, there was no
motive for intriguing. The post of honour was now a post
of extreme hardship and danger. The enemy in full formid-
able force was nearing the city, and James's drawing-room
generals were not particularly anxious to expose themselves
to shot and shell within the beleaguered city, or to the
alternative of starvation if they escaped the cannon ball.
Moreover, the Irish soldiers had completely lost confidence
in their foreign leaders. It was clear that the French officers
had not their hearts in the Irish cause. They regarded their
service in Ireland as an exile to be brought to a close as
speedily as possible. And the Irish soldiers saw, with bitter,
angry feelings, that such half-hearted leaders were promoted
while Sarsfield was kept in inferior command, with no other
reward for his heroic defence of Limerick than the empty
title of " Lord Lucan," a poor placeat for the hardships he had
endured, the ill-treatment he had received. To Sarsfield
then inevitably fell the forlorn hope of defending the last
stronghold of Irish independence. D'Usson, as senior officer,,
assumed the nominal command, but the real leader, indeed
the one possible leader, as he was the life and soul of the
Irish cause, was Sarsfield.
When all the out-lying garrisons had arrived in Limerick,
the Irish army numbered about 20,000 men. As a result of
their recent losses they were badly supplied with arms and
ammunition. But succours were promised, and were hourly
expected from France, and Sarsfield thought that he could
well hold out till the promised aid arrived, or that failing its
arrival he could protract the struggle until the winter would
972 Sarsfield.
force the Williamites to abandon the campaign. He saw
that many of his brother officers were anxious to come to
terms with the enemy, and he resolved at any cost to
frustrate that cowardly policy. Worse still, he knew that
there were among them traitors who were supplying secret
information to the enemy, and who, on the first favourable
opportunity, would betray any trust reposed in them. And
now face to face with a powerful, and unscrupulous foe, and
with traitors in his own camp, Sarsfield's resolution remained
unshaken, to hold out as long as a vestige of hope remained.
Ginkell's advanced posts appeared before Limerick on the
15th day of August. He had learned from deserters of
Tyrconnell's * death, and also of the confusion, and divided
councils within the city. He issued a proclamation offering
most liberal terms to such as surrendered, and found means
of distributing several copies within the city. His army
consisted of about 40,000 men, with 80 cannon. It was not
till the 25th that the main body of the army arrived, and
occupied nearly the same position as that previously taken up
by William. About the same time a squadron of eighteen ships
under Captain Cole arrived in the Shannon, and anchored
within a mile of the city. Thus was Limerick completely
invested on three sides, and was free only on the western
-side which communicated with Clare by Thomond Bridge.
On the 30th of August the siege opened with a furious
cannonade. Shot and blazing shells were poured into the
city with relentless fury. Houses were set ablaze : women
and children who had followed their armed relatives into the
city were thus mercilessly slaughtered. Day after day, did
this murderous fire continue, till the city was one mass of
ruins. The churches, the hospitals, even the cellars in which
women and children had sought refuge were made targets
of by the Williamite gunners. Story says complacently,
" all last night, and that morning our bombs and cannon
played upon the town, setting it on fire in some places,
which was no small trouble to those within " (p. 204). And
again " we threw bombs, fire balls, and carcasses all day long,
and our guns were discharged almost without ceasing, by
which there appeared a considerable breach in the wall, and
Sarsfield 973
had a like effect upon the houses in town " (p. 210). The
Irish from the castle, and from their batteries returned the
fire with determination and effect. Ginkell, and his soldiers
may thirst for Irish blood, may shed it copiously, they may
shower their shot and shell on the brave defenders of Limerick,,
but, unmoved by the terrors of war, undismayed by famine
staring them in the face, there they stood amidst the smoking
ruins of their city unshaken in their resolve never to submit to
the hated foe. Story laments how slight was the impression
made on. the Irish soldiers by Gink ell's barbarous cannonade.
He says " the soldiers lying continually in the works, our
bombs did not do that execution that was hoped for " (p.*207).
The wall on the eastern side of the English to\vn was broken
down for a considerable length, and the Irish soldiers expected
that Ginkell would seek to enter by that breach and storm
the city. They longed to meet in a hand to hand fight the
cowardly murderers of their women and children. But
Ginkell's men had too vivid a recollection of St. John's Gate,
and the Black Battery to risk a repetition of the treatment
they received at the breach the previous year. Ginkell would
not attempt to carry this breach though a hundred men
could walk abreast through it. Story says, " indeed we could
not do the enemy a greater pleasure nor ourselves a greater
prejudice in all probability, than in seeking to carry the town
by a breach before those within were more humbled, either
by sword or sickness " (p. 213). This persistent bravery of the
Irish so impressed Ginkell that he feared he would have to
raise the siege, and he despatched a message to William
to that effect. But just then treachery did for him what his
army could not do. On the night of the 16th September,
Colonel Clifford whom Sarsfield had set to guard the ford of
the Shannon a short distance above the city, betrayed his
trust, permitted the English to cross the river and effect a
lodgment on the Clare side, and from that moment the fate
of Limerick was sealed. Story says " by which time Brigadier
Clifford had got the alarm, who was not far off with four
regiments of .dragoons ; he seemed not very forward in the
matter, though his dragoons came down on foot, and pretended
to make some opposition." Harris repeats Story's words and
974 Sarsfield.
adds " he (Clifford) was of the moderate party, who were
inclined to put an end to the war, and it appears before that
the rulers of Limerick were jealous of him, so that probably
he had embarked in a scheme for obliging the garrisons to
a submission on beneficial terms. " (Life of Will. III., p. 346).
And King James in his "Memoirs " says, that " by Clifford's
neglect, not to say worse, the enemy made a bridge of boats and
passed their horses and dragoons over the Shannon, and so
out between the Irish horse and the town .... and instead
of giving either opposition or so much as notice of what was
doing he suffered the enemy to make this bridge under
his nose." And the Earl of Westmeath's letter to Harris
contains the same statement. Clifford was not taken by
surprise, he saw the enemy coming, and yet he neither gave
serious opposition himself, nor gave any notice to his superior
officers. Sarsfield was in the city within easy call, Sheldon
was at the horse camp, within two miles of the ford, and to
neither did Clifford give one word of notice till all was over.
And if evidence were wanting of Clifford's treason, it is
-supplied by the fact that he was one of the first to join the
Williamites after the capitulation, one of the most energetic
in securing recruits for GinkelPs army.
But base as Clifford's part was in the betrayal of Limerick,
he seems to have been in reality a subordinate, a tool in the
hands of Colonel Henry Luttrell. This man was suspected
of treachery even at Aughrim, but at Limerick the charge
was brought home to him in a way that was quite conclusive.
Sarsfield discovered a correspondence between him and
Ginkell's secretary, and accordingly had him arrested, and
tried by court-martial. Some say he was sentenced to be shot,
and was spared because of a threat from^Ginkell that he would
execute the Irish prisoners if Luttrell were punished. Others
say that he was merely kept in prison to await the king's
decision. Story says, " Colonel Henry Luttrell was not only
suspected to hold correspondence with our army, but was
taken into custody, and tried for his life, in that he and others
consulted for the surrender of the town . . . but the
occasion of Colonel Luttrell' s confinement was upon account
of a letter brought him by aj:rumpeter from some great
Sarsfield. 975
officer in our army when the garrison of Galway was con-
veyed to Limerick, for the trumpeter having given on3 to
Sarsfield. denied his having any more letters, but being
threatened with hanging if, being searched, any more letters
were found with him, he producecl another to Colonel Luttrell,
upon which the said Colonel and Lieut-Colonel Burke that
came from Galway were both confined." (p. 189.) Captain
Parker, one of the Williamite officers who crossed the
{Shannon on that night, and who therefore may be taken as
an authority on the facilities afforded by the traitors, says,
"At this time General Ginkell found means of holding a
correspondence with Colonel Henry Luttrell then in Limerick,
who being heir to the large estate of Simon Luttrell was
willing to preserve his pretensions by forwarding the
surrender of the town . . . and he had promised the General
when he had guard of the river to give his army an oppor-
tunity of laying bridges over it, to whom he gave notice
when his turn came for holding the guard, and ordered his
patrols a different way from the part where the bridge was
to be laid, so that the detachments sent for that purpose
passed part of the army over before day."
A Williamite diary of this siege preserved in the Harleian
Collection (vol. 7, p. 481) states under date, the 18th of
August, 1691: "We had an account this day that Henry
Luttrell had been lately seized at Limerick for having made
some proposals for a surrender of the place, and that he was
sentenced by court-martial to be shot, upon which our
general sent them word by a trumpeter that if they would
put any man to death for having a mind to come over to us
he would revenge it on the Irish." Harris (Life of William
III., p. 345) quotes Captain Parker's statement as to Luttrell's
treason, but in a long note he endeavours to exculpate the
traitor. He quotes a letter received from Lord Westmeath,
who commanded a cavalry regiment in the Irish army at
Limerick. Lord Westmeath says : t: I read in a printed book
a false allegation against Colonel Luttrell, as if he had given
an opportunity to Ginkell to have a bridge laid over the
Shannon. Colonel Luttrell was then confined in the Castle
of Limerick, and Brigadier Clifford commanded where the
976 Sarsfield.
bridge Avas laid over, and by a very great neglect made no
opposition to it." Now, it is clear that the Williamite
historian had an interest in concealing the treachery of
Luttrell, for to admit it would be a severe blow to that
system of dark treachery and intrigue which secured and has
maintained England's hold upon Ireland. The letter was
written at the request of Harris, and written, too, at a time,
when Lord Westmeath had fully atoned for the patriotism of
his early days by fifty years of loyal allegiance to the enemies
of his country. And for several of these years he must have
been an intimate friend and companion of the traitor whose
memory he sought to vindicate. These considerations cast
considerable doubt on the value of Lord Westmeath's testi-
mony, notwithstanding the character for " worth, honour,
and veracity" given him by Harris and Lodge. But, in
reality, the letter seems to be a clever equivocation. It
merely states that Luttrell was not present when the pass
of the Shannon was betrayed by Clifford. But surely he
may be a principal actor in the treason, without being
present in person. Clifford had regular access to him in
the castle, and that they fully understood one another previous
to the capitulation is clear from their joint action in going
over to William with their men after the surrender. His
brother officers in the Irish camp believed Luttrell to be a
traitor. Story shows that it was the belief in both armies.
Captain Parker, who was on the spot, states it distinctly, and
the subsequent history of the man fully bears out Parker's
assertion. According to Parker, Luttrell stipulated to betray
the ford on condition of getting the estates of his elder
brother Simon, who was attainted for his loyalty to James,
and the miserable traitor did get the estates, and with them
a pension of 500 a year. Lodge (Vol. III., 410), quotes a
decree in Chancery, confirmed by William, giving his brother's
estates to Henry Luttrell, in accordance with a promise made
to him by Ginkell. Harris gives LuttrelPs application for the
pension, and in an official MS., in the Stowe Library, dated
A.D. 1701, Dr. Charles O'Connor saw an authentic record of
its concession. The rest of his life Luttrell gave to his pur-
chasers. He served in William's army till that monarch's
Sarsfield. 977
death, when he retired to Dublin to enjoy in easy luxury the
reward of his treason. But the memory of that treason lived
on. He was detested by the people whom he had betrayed,
and was assassinated in Dublin 011 the night of October 22nd,
1717. In the early days of the siege Sarsfield had to deal
with traitors of another class. He discovered that the
Protestant inhabitants of Limerick were regularly supplying
Ginkell with secret information from the city. All these ho
had removed to St. Thomas's island, where they were placed
under guard, but in all other respects they were treated like
the Catholic people within the city. When the island was-
taken by Ginkell, Major Stroud, with a company of the
County Cork Militia, was sent to bring off the prisoners, and
Story says : " but what can be a greater testimony of a
rapacious humour than this : for some of the militia stripped
their fellow-Protestants of what the Irish had left them, as
they conducted them from the island to our camp, which I
would not have said, but that I had it from the mouths of
those very people that were so served " (p. 195;. A very
fitting reward for the Protestant spies of Limerick.
The passage of the Shannon, as a result of treachery,
filled the Irish with dismay, but still they held out bravely.
On both sides the cannonade was continued ( with undiminished
vigour. On the 22nd Ginkell ordered several regiments to
cross the river under cover of the position already occupied
on the Clare bank, and this done the Williamites in very
strong force proceeded to attack the defences of Thomond
Bridge, in order to separate the garrison from the camp on
the Clare side. After desperate fighting the 800 men who
defended the Bridge against more than ten times their
number, were forced back with the result thus given by
Story : " A French major who commanded at Thomond Gate,
fearing our men's entering the town with their own, ordered
the drawbridge to be plucked up, and left the whole party
to the mercy of our soldiers ; those that were behind pressing
others forward, and throwing them down over the fall of the
drawbridge : then the rest cried out for quarter, holding up their
handkerchiefs and what else they could get, but before killing-
was over they were laid in heaps upon the bridge, higher
VOL VH. 3 Q
978 Sarsfield.
than the ledges of it" (p. 224). This was the crowning
disaster of the war. The Irish soldiers complained bitterly
of their French officers and allies, and clamoured for the
blood of him whose cowardice or treachery had led to the
carnage on Thomond Bridge. Sarsfield now saw himself
surrounded by traitors ; he saw the enemy in full force
established on the Clare side, and his horse-camp cut off from
the city ; he had only a few barrels of powder in his magazine,
only ten days' provision in his stores ; the city defences were
a mass of ruins, a powerful hostile fleet anchored under the
walls, and as yet no account of the long-promised aid from
France. And yet King James in his "Memoirs" tells us
that Sarsfield was for holding out to the last. But clearly
the responsibility of carrying out such a resolution was too
much for one man among the Irish leaders. Sarsfield
accordingly held a council with his officers, and with the
Archbishops of Armagh and Cash el (Dr. M'Guire and Dr.
Brennan) who were in the Clare camp. Were they to
protract the struggle now, till starvation would compel them
to surrender unconditionally, or until Giukell's army would
carry the city by storm? In either case the people of
Limerick indeed of the entire province of Munster would
be at the mercy of Ginkell's soldiers, and the Irish leaders
knew well what that mercy would be. If they made peace
with arms in their hands they would secure terms favourable
to religion and country, but if they held out there was
extreme danger of the absolute extirpation of their religion,
and of the wholesale extermination of the Irish race. Never-
theless Sarsfield would hold out, and the native troops were
with him to a man, for they had no estates to secure, they
had everything to lose by surrender and nothing to gain.
But the voice of the vast majority of the council was, for the
above reason, for coming to terms, while yet terms could be
secured, and to this voice Sarsfield reluctantly yielded. On
the night of September 23rd, a parley was sounded from the
walls, and Sarsfield and Wauchop proceeded to Ginkell's
quarters, and arranged a truce for the night. A sad night
this was for Sarsfield and his brave companions. The hope of
rescuing their country from a debasing tyranny, the hope of
Sarsjield. 97 ( J
securing for their countrymen liberty to profess and practise
the faith of their fathers in the land of their birth, had nerved
them for the hardships of two successive campaigns. But
now all was lost, their fair fields were desolate, their
churches, their cities in ruins, their religion proscribed, "their
priesthood hunted down like wolves," the whole people at
the mercy of a brutal soldiery : such were the thoughts
that filled with grief the minds of the brave defenders of
Limerick on that fatal night.
' Oh ! who can tell what heroes feel, when all but life and honour's
lost!"
On the following morning Sarsfield secured an extension
of the truce for three days, and then steps were taken on both
sides to arrange the terms of capitulation. After some days'
negotiation the terms were finally agreed on, and on the 3rd
of October, 1691, the Generals of both armies, and the -Lords
Justices on behalf of William signed the celebrated Treaty of
Limerick :
" The Treaty broken ere the ink wherewith 'twas writ could dry."
And in a few days it was confirmed by William and Mary
under the great seal of England. The terms were such as no
defeated army could expect. But Limerick was not defeated,
it was betrayed. And William sorely pressed on the Continent,
and hourly apprehensive of a French descent on Ireland, had
given private instructions to Ginkell to make peace on any
terms. The terms are fairly summarized by Harris as
follows : " By these articles many of the Irish were, under
certain qualifications, restored to all they had enjoyed in
King Charles's reign, and admitted to the privileges of
subjects, upon taking the oath of allegiance without being
bound ' to take that of supremacy, and had granted to them
such privileges in the exercise of their religion, as were
consistent with the laws of Ireland, or as they enjoyed in
the reign of the said King. By the military articles, as many
Irish as pleased had liberty to pass into any country they
thought fit (except England or Scotland) with their families
and effects " (p. 350). The garrison was to march out with
all the honours of % war, to be conveyed to their adopted
980 Sarsfield.
country, or gladly accepted into William's army if they
so willed it. Attainders were to be annulled, outlawries
reversed, the free exercise of their religion was secured
for the Catholics of Ireland, and a general pardon granted
to all who bore arms for James. And all these terms were
solemnly ratified by letters patent of William and Mary.
Ginkell was most anxious to secure the Irish soldiers for
William's army, and sought by promises and proclamations
to gain them. To Sarsfield himself most liberal terms were
offered. But to no purpose. When the day appointed for
the final decision arrived, about a thousand men passed to
the standard of William, and these principally from the
regiments of Luttrell and Clifford, and some northern Irish,
while over nineteen thousand passed into the service of
France ; wiser and happier in embracing voluntary exile
with all its hardships, than, in remaining at home, to expe-
rience the Punica fides of William, and his unprincipled
advisers. Sarsfield proceeded to Cork to make arrangements
for the embarkation of his men. Large numbers sailed from
Limerick with D'Usson and Wauchop. In describing the
departure of the Irish,! soldiers for France, the Williamite
historians bring against Sarsfield and Wauchop, a charge un-
paralleled even in their mendacious writings, for its malicious
baseness and falsehood. Story says, " a great many of
them (the Irish soldiers) having wives and children, they
made what shift they could to desert, rather than leave their
families behind them to starve, which my Lord Lucan and
Major-General Wauchop perceiving, they publish a declara-
tion, that as many of the Irish as had a mind to it should have
liberty to transport their families along with themselves. And
accordingly a vast rabble of all sorts were brought to the
water-side, when the Major-General pretending to ship the
soldiers in order according to their lists, they first carried all
the men on board ; and many of the women, at the second
return of the boat for the officers, catching hold to be carried
on board, were dragged off, and, through fearfulness losing
their hold, were drowned, but others who held faster, had
their fingers cut off, and so perished in the sight of their
husbands and relations " (p. 2i)2). Harris gives this incident
Sarsfield. 981
in the same words as Story, and the Dublin Intelligence, a
Williamite newspaper of that date repeats the story, but
states that it occurred among those "which lately were
shipped from Kerry." Macaulay (vol. 3, p. 286) attributes
this barbarous conduct to Sarsfield himself, and states that
it occurred at Cork harbour. It would be impossible to find
even in Macaulay's History an assertion more recklessly
false than this. He quotes the authority of Story, of the
"Macariae Excidium," and of Mr. O'Callaghan's note thereto,
and also of the London Gazette of January 4th, 1692. But
neither of these authorities attributes this brutal act to
Sarsfield. Story attributes it to Wauchop. The "Macariae
Excidium " says nothing of it. O'Callaghan attributes it to
nobody, rather seems to think that nothing of the kind occurred.
And the London Gazette says nothing of it, but rather
seems to contradict it in stating, " that on the 23rd of this
month Sarsfield with the remainder of the Irish designed for
France, set sail from Cork being in all about 2,600 including
women and children.'" Then Sarsfield himself released Ginkell
from any further obligation in this matter of transport,
stating that " the Lieutenant-General has provided ships for
as many of the rest as are willing to go" (Story p. 293). The
character of Sarsfield, the sacrifices he made for his country-
men, ought to be a protection to him against so atrocious a
charge a sufficient refutation of it when advanced. But
Macaulay could have learned from Harris the baseness of his
charge against Sarsfield. In speaking of some very question-
able acts of the Williamite authorities, Harris says, " another
less justifiable step was taken to discourage the embarkation
of such numbers of soldiers to France, as the General saw
with regret was about to be done; but in this the Lords
Justices were in no way concerned, the same being attempted
either solely by direction from the General, or by the
officiousness of Count Nassau, who would not suffer the
wives and children of the soldiers intended for France to be
shipped with the men, not doubting that it would hinder a
a great many from going" (p. 351). Harris admits, that
" this was certainly an infraction of the first of the military
articles, which provides for the passages of all persons willing
982 Sarsfield.
to go to France, together with their families." Against this
" infraction," Sarsfield protested " in a very polite letter " to
General Ginkell, demanding the sufficient transport in
accordance with the Treaty, and demanding also that <c the
obstacle might be removed without delay." And Harris adds
" yet the General took time to consult the Lords Justices
upon the point, who were of opinion without hesitation, that
the articles obliged them to comply with Sarsfield's demand."
Surely the man who fought so persistently and so successfully
to secure sufficient shipping for the wives and children of his
soldiers would not then refuse them a passage, much less
drown and mutilate them in the very act of embarking. The
admission of Harris then makes it certain, that if this
barbarous act were perpetrated on the shores of Cork Harbour,
it was done "either solely by direction from the General
(Ginkell), or by the officiousness of Count Nassau, who would
not suffer the wives and children of the soldiers intended for
France to be shipped with the men, not doubting but that it
would hinder a great many from going."
But, if Harris and Story be correct, this drowning and
mutilation of defenceless women, must have occurred in the
the Shannon. And Story himself states that the embarkation
there was carried out under the supreme authority not of
Wauchop but of the Williamite General Talmash. Story's
words are, " November 9th Major General Talmash who had
full power and authority to transact all .things necessary for
the transporting the Irish, and now having seen them all from
Limerick .... he left the place and went to Dublin "
(p. 284). And therefore if this act of wanton brutality
occurred at all, it must have been perpetrated by some one
of those AVilliamite officials, who during all their career in
Ireland had shown the most reckless disregard for human life.
It was a melancholy, a heart-rending spectacle, the
departure of these brave exiles. Who can picture their
feelings as they sailed away, and the green hills of their
native land vanished gradually, and for ever from their view ?
The wild wail that arose as friends separated never to meet
on earth again, "the women's parting cry," brought bitter
tears to the eyes, heavy sighs of grief from the hearts of men
Sarsfield. 98
who looked death undaunted at the Bridge of Athlone, and
from Limerick's walls. And that cry steeled those Irish
exiles' hearts with vengeance and nerved their arms to deal
as they did, many a deadly blow to the power and prestige
of England in her foreign wars. The " Macariae Excidium,"
paints the parting scene in these pathetic words: "And
now alas the saddest day is come that ever appeared above
the horizon of Cyprus (Ireland), the sun was darkened and
covered over with a black cloud as if unwilling to behold
such a wofull spectacle, there needed not Rain to bedew the
Earth, for the tears of the disconsolate Cyprians did abun-
dantly moisten their native Soile to which they were that
day to bid the last farewell. Those who resolved to leave it
never hoped to see it again, and those who made the unfor-
tunate choice to continue therein, could at the same time have
nothing in Prospect but Contempt, and Poverty, Chains, and
Imprisonment; and in a word all the Miserys that a conquered
Nation could rationally expect from the powers and Malice of
implacable Enemyes. Here might be seen the aged Father
(whom years and Infirmitys rendred unfit to travail) giving
the last embraces to his onely Son, Brothers parting in Tears
and the dearest comerades forcibly divorced by a cruell
destiny which they could not avoid."
In the midst of such a scene, Sarsfield left for ever the
land for which he had so bravely fought. Much as he loved
his native land he could not now remain to witness her ruin,
to see the sufferings, the degradation of her people. He felt :
" No land to me can native be,"
" That strangers trample, and tyrants stain."
He had shared with his soldiers the hardships of war ; he
would now share with them the bitterness of exile. He hoped,
too, that at no distant day he may return with his brave
companions, and with the aid of France renew the struggle
on more favourable terms. A dream destined never to be
realized ! He arrived in France, was welcomed by James and
Louis, was made commander of the second troop of the Irish
Horse Guards, and lieutenant-general in the French army by
Louis. Already James had prevailed on the French king to
aid him in an attempt to invade England, and with this object
984 Sarsfield.
in view a camp was formed near Cherbourg, and there were
assembled all the Irish regiments then in France, with
Sarsfield as their commander. Ten thousand French troops
were added ; a large transport fleet was in readiness, and a
splendid fleet of war-ships under Tourville was to accompany
the expedition to England. Against his own better judgment,
but in obedience to positive orders from King Louis, Tourville
risked battle with the united English and Dutch fleets under
Admiral Russell. The French fleet was defeated, dispersed,
almost annihilated ; and thus the last hope of James to
recover the crown of his ancestors, the last hope of Sarsfield
to raise his fallen country, was blighted by this disastrous
defeat at La Hogue. The Irish camp was immediately
broken up, and the Irish regiments ordered to their various
destinations to enter on that career that has immortalised the
" Irish Brigade." Sarsfield was sent to join the French army
in the Low Countries, under Luxemburg. At Steinkirk, on
the 24th of July, 1692, Sarsfield held an important command.
Here he met again many of his old acquaintances of the
Irish wars many of the old inveterate enemies of his
country and creed. William was there as commander of the
allied army ; Count Solmes, whom he had met at the Boyne ;
Mackay, whom he had met at Athlon e and Aughrim ; Douglas,
who had fled from Athlone at the rumour of Sarsfield's
coming, and Lanier, who contrived to be too late to meet
Sarsfield at Ballyneety. No doubt the presence of so many
old enemies whetted Sai.sfield's sword on that day. That he
more than sustained his high reputation, that he contributed
largely to the defeat of William at Steinkirk, we know from
the despatch of Luxemburg, who said that he earned by his
gallant conduct the esteem and gratitude of the entire French
army. Sarsfield was now raised by Louis to the rank of
major-general. Already there had been many infractions of
the Treaty of Limerick, and it was well known that William
and his unprincipled advisers would violate all its provisions.
Sarsfield wrote to Ginkell repeatedly calling on him to fulfil
his solemn pledge given to Irish soldiers while yet they had
arms in their hands. But to no purpose. The Williamite
general had attained his end, had already received estates
Sarsfield. 985
and titles as his reward, and did not now trouble himself
with the conditions involved in the surrender of Limerick.
The summer of 1693 found Luxemburg again face to face
with William and his allies at Landen. Though the battle
fought on the 19th of July 1693, is called that of Landen, in
reality the fight raged at the village of Neerwinden, where
Luxemburg's left wing rested, under Montchevreiul, Berwick
and Sarsfield. Here the battle raged fiercely for the greater
part of the day. William was finally defeated with terrible
slaughter. And at the very moment of victory, when he
already saw the hated foe in full retreat, Sarsfield fell,
mortally wounded, and was borne away from the battle-field
to die. On seeing the blood gushing from his wound he is
said to have exclaimed " would that this were for Ireland."
The sentiment was worthy of him, and Ireland accepts the
wish for the deed. He was carried to the picturesque little
town of Huy on the Meuse, and there on the fourth day after
the battle he died of fever resulting from his wound. And
thus, far away from the land of his birth and of his heart,
one of the bravest, purest, of Irish patriots passed away " and
by the stranger's careless hand his lonely grave was made."
Where that grave is, whether any monument marked it we
know not. It is of course more than probable that he was
buried at Huy, but no trace of his grave remains. The
present writer has to express his grateful thanks to Rev.
Joseph Spelman of Gal way, for information on this precise
point that appears quite conclusive. Father Spelman, already
favourably known to the readers of the RECORD for his
valuable researches into the history of our countrymen in the
Netherlands, has investigated on the spot, every source
whence any information may be found as to Sarsfield's last
resting place. He has sought out for some local tradition from
families well known to take an interest in the Irish exiles, he
examined the archives at Liege, the chief city of the province
in which Huy is situated, he sought information k from a
distinguished member of the Archaeological Society of Huy,
but from neither source could any information be derived as
to Sarsfield's last resting place. Nor is there any evidence
that the epitaph given by Mr. O'Callaghan in his excellent
History of the Irish Brigade was ever inscribed. And Mr.
986 Sarsfield.
O'Callaghan does not say that it was. But though his grave
be unknown, his epitaph unwritten, as long as fearless
bravery, high honour, and pure patriotism, are cherished,
Sarsfield's glorious career will be to him a monument more
lasting than brass, an epitaph, trump et-tongued, to tell his
claims on the love and admiration for his countrymen.
O'Conor (Hist, of Irish Brigade) says of him " Arminius was
never more popular among the Germans, than Sarsfield
among the Irish, to this day his name is venerated, canitur
adhuc. No man was ever more attached to his country or
more devoted to his king and religion (p. 121). The same
eloquent writer adds, " he was brave, patient, vigilant, rapid,
indefatigable, ardent, adventurous, enterprising ; the foremost
in the encounter, and the last to retreat ; he harassed the
enemy by sudden, unexpected, and generally irresistible
attacks, inspiring his troops with the same ardour and
contempt for danger with which his own soul was animated "
(p. 223). Another writer says of him, " There are few
names more worthy to be inscribed on the roll of honour,
than that of Patrick Sarsfield ... In his public actions fair
and consistent, in his private character amiable and unblem-
ished. Attached by religious connection to the fallen house
of Stuart, he drew a sharp sword in the cause of the monarch
he had been brought up to believe as his lawful sovereign,
and he voluntarily followed him into exile when he could
wield it no longer. He gave up everything when he could
have retained all, and he secured indemnities for others which
he scorned to take advantage of himself " (Dub. Univ. Mag.
Nov., 1853). Harris says : " Sarsfield embarked to seek a
fortune in a strange country, when he might have remained
an ornament to his own," (p. 354). William held out most
tempting offers to him to induce him to remain at home, and
had he accepted them no doubt high promotion awaited him,
but promotion on terms which Sarsfield could not accept
" Unprized are her sons till they 've learned to betray,
Undistinguished they live if they shauie not their sires."
was a well recognised principle in Anglo-Irish policy long
before the sentiment was immortalised by Moore. And hence
had Sarsfield remained at home he might like so many other
brave and faithful Irishmen have " ornamented " a scaffold,
Sarsfield. 987
for ho loved Ireland too well to submit to the yoke of her
oppressors, and
"Tis treason to love her, and death to defend."
Rather than sacrifice principle, rather than prove false to a
cause to which from a sense of duty he was attached,
Sarsfield abandoned the land of his love, the rich estates of
his fathers, and he declined to avail of the advantage which
his own bravery had secured for others. Pure, unselfish
patriotism of this sort, fidelity to a righteous, if a lost cause,
the time-serving Harris did not understand. But if the hero
of his History William had been honourable as Sarsfield
was, he would have cast away from him with contempt, with
scorn, the crown which he could not continue to wear, with-
out disgrace, without the perfidious violation, of his most
solemn and sacred pledges. Even Lord Macaulay says of
Sarsfield : " he was indeed a gentleman of eminent merit?
brave, upright, honourable, careful of his men in quarters,
and certain to be always found at their head in the day of
battle. His intrepidity, his frankness, his boundless good
nature, his stature which exceeded that of ordinary men, and
the strength which he exerted in personal conflict, gained
him the affectionate admiration of the populace. It is
remarkable that the, English generally respected him as a
valiant, a skilful and generous enemy, arid that even in the
most ribald farces which were performed by the mountebanks
in Smithfield, he was always excepted from the disgraceful
imputations, which it was then the fashion to throw at the
Irish (Hist. vol. ii. p. 339-40). This " fashion " so very fruitful
of mischief to England as well as to Ireland, is not yet
quite antiquated, and unfortunately it has made its way
into more select circles than " the mountebanks of Smith-
field." Two centuries have all but elapsed since Sarsfield
closed his heroic career, and his memory is still green,
his name cherished with enthusiastic affection. The story of
his life, though a sad, is a .glorious chapter of Ireland's history ;
and the more closely it is studied, the more clearly will it
appear that had his merit been duly recognized, his policy
adopted before the surrender of Limerick, the " Irish Ques-
tion " had been finally settled two hundred years ago.
J. MURPHY, C.C.
[ 988 ]
THE COUNCIL OF VIENNE AND THE "FORMA
CORPORIS HUMAN!."
THE intrepid heart of Boniface VIII., sank under the insults
and outrages heaped upon him by Philip the Fair, on
October llth, 1303. The election, unanimously, of Benedict
XL, gave but a short respite to the suffering Church, for he
died suddenly, under circumstances which strongly suggested
poisoning, July 6th, 1304. As he died at Perugia, the
Cardinals assembled there, and so active were the dissensions
by which the conclave was torn, that it was not till it had
been ten months in session that the votes were concentrated
on one who was not a member of its body, Bernard d'Agout,
Archbishop of Bordeaux, who took the title of Clement V.
Most modern historians, led by the authority of Clement's
prejudiced contemporary, Villani, have agreed to malign his
name, but it is quite certain that his vindication of his great
predecessor, Boniface, in the Council of Vienne, is sufficient
to refute the unmeasured assertions of writers like the late
John Stuart Mill, that " in Clement V. the Church sank into
the abject tool of secular tyranny." 1 Clement, seeing from
his interview with Philip at Poitiers, that the vindication of
Boniface was so important as to require the joint wisdom of
the Church, resolved on convoking a general council, which
he accordingly did, by the bull " Regnans in coelo " of August
12th, 1308. The council, which was convoked for 1st
October, 1310, at Vienne, in Dauphiny, did not assemble
until a year later, when the vindication of Boniface, the
suppression of the Templars, the project of a crusade, the
reform of morals, and the extirpation of heresy occupied its
at tention. 2
Amongst the errors condemned were those of Peter Oliva,
a celebrated Franciscan, founder of the sect of spirituals of
Narbonne, who, to his mystic rigorism, added the doctrine
1 Discuss., vol. ii., p. 162 .
2 Amongst those present were some Irish bishops, of whom five were
summoned those of Cashel, Lismore, Emly, Killaloe, and Cloyne. In
the same year, but before the assembling of the council, the writ was issued
for the establishment of the University of Dublin ; and in the previous year,
1310, Havering, who had been appointed Archbishop of Dublin, but never
consecrated, resigned his See and received a chaplaincy from the Pope.
The Council of Vienne and the "Forma Corporis Humani." 989
borrowed from the philosophy of Averroes of a distinction
between the rational and sensitive " anima."
The decree " Fidei Catholicae fundamento " l condemns
four propositions of his concerning the humanity of Christ,
the union of soul and body, and the efficacy of infant baptism.
It is to the second of the condemned theses one which has
gained considerable attention in late years that I shall
direct my remarks in this paper.
The council decreed that "Whosoever should thence-
forward pertinaciously presume to assert, defend, or maintain
that the rational or intellectual soul is not the " forma " of the
human body "per se et essentialiter," should be deemed a
heretic." 2
This decree was confirmed in the Fourth Council of Lateran,
and concerning its interpretation many questions have arisen,
of which the principal may be reduced to three. 1 Is the
soul one ? 2 Is the relation of the soul to the body that of
forma substantial ? 3 Does this relation extend to ipsum
esse corporis?
The affirmative response to the first question, implicitly
contained in this decree, was explicitly enunciated in
IV. Cone. Constant. (A.D. 869), 3 and the same doctrine
Pius IX. in his condemnation of the errors of Dr. Baltzer,
declares to be " in e'cclesia Dei communissima." i
1 Lib. i., Clementin.
2 " Porro doctrina'momnem. . . temereasserentem,'. . . quod substantia
animae rationalis seu intellectivae, vere ac per se human! ^ corporis non sit
forma, velut erroneam ac veritati Catholicae inimicam fidei, praedicto sacro
approbante concilio reprobamus ; definientes, ut cunctis nota sit fidei
sincerae veritas ac praecludatur universis erroribus aditus, ne subintrent ;
quod quisquis deinceps asserere, defendere seu tenere pertinaciter prae-
sumpserit quod anima rationalis seu intellectiva non sit forma corporis
human! per se et essentialiter tanquam hereticus sit censendus."
8 " Yeteri etNovo Testamento unam animam rationalem et intellectu-
alem habere hominem docente. . . in tantum impietatis quidam. . . devene-
runt, ut duas eum habere animas imputentur dogmatizare et. . . propriam
haeresim confirmare pertentent."
4 " Considerantes hanc sententiam quae unum in homine ponit vitae
principium, animam, scilicet rationalem, a qua corpus quoque et motum et
vitain oinnem et sensum accipiat, in Dei Ecclesia esse communissimam atque
Doctoribus plerisque et probatissimis quidem maxime, cum Ecclesiae dog-
mate ita videri conjunctarn, ut hujus sit legitima solaque vera interpretatio
nee proinde sine errore in fide possit negari." Pius IX., Lit. Apost. to the
Bishop of Breslau, 30th April, 1860.
990 The Council of Vienne and the " Forma Corporis Humani"
Another modern form of the error here condemned arises
from the system of Descartes, who, starting from a principle
apparently opposite, but in effect identical that sensation
is an operation of the anima intellectiva sola felt the
necessity of admitting some principle of vitality in sensitive
nature. He avoided, however, the immediate danger, by
reducing the lower animals to automata, " and the extension
to man in an exaggerated form, of Descartes' doctrine of
animal automatism, marks perhaps the lowest point to which
the falling barometer of philosophy has reached." 1 And a
sensitive u anima," independent of the rational soul, once
established, the transition is easy to the identity of the
" sensitiva anima," with the matter it acts upon. Hence the
doctrine of Photius, who had revived the Tricothomia 2 of
Apollinaris, condemned by the Council of Constantinople,
and the analogous doctrine of Gunther and Baltzer condemned
by Pius IX., is such, that he who holds " eum (hominem) duas
habere animas, est a fide et cultura christianorum alienus."
The arguments which prove the unity (unicitas) of the
soul are taken first, from, the Holy Scriptures which con-
tinually speak of the soul indiscriminately as " spiraculum
vitae " 4 "spiritus," 5 as opposed respectively to " limns terrae "
and " pulvis," and, on the other hand, endowed with immor-
tality. 6 And " anima " by which the Trichothomists signified
the sensitive principle, as independent of the intellectual or
" spirit," 7 divides Avith " corpus " the entire human nature. 8
Secondly, the Fathers are universally Dicothomists, whether
before the the Apollinarist heresy, for instance, Irenaeus, who
writes, " substantia nostra i.e. animae et carnis adunatio ;" 9
or still more clearly when it had arisen, " homo non est corpus
solum vel anima sola, sed qui constat ex anima et corpore." 10
1 Martineau. Contemporary Review, March, 1876.
2 " Tricothomia," the doctrine which distinguishes in man three
elements: corpus, mentem seu spiritam and animam. The orthodox doctrine
was called " Dicothomia."
3 Cone. Constant. IV. 4 Gen. ii. 7, Eccles. xii. 1-7.
6 Spiritus redeat ad Deum (ibidem).
7 " Anima ex eo vocatur quod ad vivendum animet corpus." Gen-
nadias de Dogma t.
8 " Qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam " (Matt. x. 8),
9 Lib. v., cap. 8. 10 Aug. de Civ. Dei, xiii. 24.
The Council of Vienne and the "Forma Corporis Ilumaui" 991
The reasoning "of the Fathers is based on the same
principles as that of the Scholastics, viz., the unity of nature
and personality in man. For, unity of operation demands
unity of the principle of operation, viz., nature. Thus the
operations of the human " compositum " known as sensations,
must proceed from one principle, one nature. But on the
other hand, sensations are the joint operation of soul and
body. Therefore soul and body are united in one nature.
Besides, personality is the subject of attribution of qualities
and operations " actiones sunt suppositorum." Consequently,
when such diverse operations, affecting soul and body, as
thought and nutrition, intelligence and sight, are attributed to
the one human subject, this subject must be the " suppositum,
the person." And thus with solid reason, the Pontiff declares
in his condemnation of Baltzer, " that the opinion which
places in man one vital principle, the rational soul, is the
only true and legitimate interpretation of the Church's dogma,
and cannot b3 denied without an error in faith."
The second proposition deduced from the definition of
Vienne is that dealing with the manner of the union between
soul and body, and the formula, by which the second question
proposed above is answered, viz., " animahumana est corporis
forma substantial " is that of Aristotle and the Scholastic
philosophy.
For philosophy is the " vassal of theology," 1 and " as
sacred truth is founded upon the light of faith, so philosophy
is founded upon the natural light of reason, whence it is
impossible that the truths of philosophy should be opposed to
the truths of faith. 2
Thus it is not only within the Church's scope, but
it is her bound en duty to preserve by her authority, the
handmaiden and vassal of her sacred science from the
consequences of unbridled and baseless speculation. Hence,
although the Church can never overstep the insuperable
barrier, which divides all human speculation from the
" depositum fidei," yet, having found the philosophy of
1 St. Thomas, in I. sent Prolog., a. 1.
2 St. Thomas in Boeth. Trin. Proem, q. II., art 3, vide " Syllabus,"
props. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
992 The Council of Vienne and the " Forma Corporis Humani."
Aristotle to her hand, she has taken it to her heart, and
transformed it into the " golden wisdom " 1 of St. Thomas
which is " to be studied unto the safety and glory of the
Catholic faith." And Pope Leo tells us again that the
doctrine of St. Thomas is "preeminently conformed to the
Christian faith," 2 as five centuries before, Pope Innocent
"VI. declared that " everyone who differs from St. Thomas
may be suspected to be wrong." Hence, when Pius IX. in
his letter to Dr. Travaglini, 3 founder of the periodical
La Scienza Italiana, commends in particular the principles
of the Angelic Doctor concerning the union of the
intellectual soul with the body of man, it is evident that
the omission of the^ qualification " substantialis " from the
decree of Vienne, does not weaken the certainty of the
Scholastic doctrine. For, seeing that the human soul is the
" forma informans " of the body, 4 and, considering that the
notion of accidental form is, as we shall see, repugnant to the
nature of the soul, it will easily be inferred that the proposi-
tion " anima rationalis est corporis humani forma sub-
tantialis " is one which cannot be impugned with due respect
to the universality of Catholic teaching.
By "form," the Scholastics understood " actus" as distin-
guished from "potentia"; by "matter," (materia prima) they
understood, that passive and indeterminate principle, which
existing only in " potentia," is, of itself, indifferent to every
form, but which receives from the determining principle, or
form, its actual esse and specification. Thus, " materia and
forma " in the physical order are equivalent to " potentia and
actus," in the metaphysical. Hence, form is called "actus
primus," 5 because its effect is to place in actu the " materia"
which hitherto existed but in potential This form can be
accidental or substantial.
" Forma substantialis " is the efficient principle of existence
1 Leo XIII., Encyc. " Aeterni Patris."
2 Leo XIII., Brief to Cardinal de Luca, October 15th, 1879.
8 23rd July, 1874. 4 " De Fide." Suarez, De Anima, lib. i., L. 1.
5 St. Thomas, quest, disp. q. 1 : " Forma substantialis est actus
primus sive prima potentia activa," Leibnitz, System Theol, cap. xiv.
6 " Per seipsam facit rem esse in actu, cum per essentiam suam sit
actus." St. Th., 1. q. 76 a 7.
The Cuinicil of Vienne and the "Forma Corporis Ifumani." 993-
" quae dat primum esse." " Forma accidentalis," that which
causes esse secundum quid; thus " esse album " is to have the
accidental form of whiteness, which necessarily pre-supposes
existence, "prius est esse, quam esse tale."
Hence to " forma substantialis " it appertains (a) to com-
municate " esse substantial," 1 (b) since " ens " and " unum 5>
are convertible, " forma substantialis " renders the subject
" unum simpliciter." 2
The insufficiency of every other system of philosophy*
to account for the union of soul and body, is in itself a strong
argument of exclusion, in favour of the doctrine of St. Thomas.
The system of occasional causes introduced by Descartes,
and expanded by Malebranche, simply destroys the essence of
the soul by destroying its causal power ; the ancient " motor
and mobile " of Plato requires a third element intervenient
between soul and body: 3 and the harmony of Leibnitz destroys
every real union between the two presumably joined principles*
And it is so of the modern Naturalistic systems.
Starting with the dual element of matter and force, the
naturalist camp rapidly broke up into two sections. For
duality, if admitted at all, must be inefficient, since " a single
cerebral atom cannot be moved by thought." 4 The faintest
approach to subjective co-operation must bring us back to
Plato, Leibnitz, or Descartes. " And so the plurality of forces
disappears from the ultimate background, and comes to the
front as a mere semblance." 5 Thus we are left with a monism
in nature, which gives matter (ultimate inorganic atoms) as the
" mysterious thing by which this (the whole series of phenom-
ena, from the evaporation of water to self-conscious life of
man) has been accomplished." 6 Of these atoms Mr. Spencer
1 Qq. de anima, c. 9.
2 " Ad hoc ut aliquid sit forma substantialis alterius, duo requiruntur,
quorum unum est ut forma sit principium essendi substantialiter ei cujus
est forma ; principium autem dico non effectivum sed formale quo aliquid
est et denouiinatur ens. Unde sequitur aliud, scilicet, quod forma et
materia conveniant in uno esse, quod non contingit de principio effectivo,
cum eo cui dat esse ; et hoc est esse in quo subsistit substantia composita,
quae est una secundum esse, ex materia et forma constans." (Cont. Gent
1, II., c. 68).
1-2, q. 76, a. 6. 4 Lange. " History of Materialism," II., p. 135.
5 Martineau. Contemporary Review, March, 1876.
e u Fragments of Science," " Materialism and its Opponents."
VOL. VIL 3 R
D94 The Council of Vienne and the "Forma Corporis Humani"
declares 1 that they are homogeneous, whilst Professor Tyndall
repudiates the homogeneity. 2 Nor are these elementary
atoms, so vast a locus of the scientists, to be left undisturbed,
for Mr. Spencer again declares that " what chemists call ele-
mentary substances are merely substances which they have
thus far failed to decompose." 3 And with such data, what
can they teach us of the soul ? Professor Huxley declares
"consciousness a function of nervous matter." 4 Mr. Spencer
.makes the soul "identical with physiological activity." 5
Professor Clifford tells us that " a moving molecule of inor-
ganic matter does not possess mind or consciousness, but it
possesses a small piece of mind-stuff. When molecules are so
combined together as to form the film on the under side of a
jelly-fish, the elements of mind-stuff which go along withlthem
are so combined as to form the faint beginnings of sentience.
When matter takes the complex form of a living human
brain, the corresponding mind-stuff takes the form of a human
consciousness having intelligence and volition." 6
None of these definitions meets the views of Professor Du
Bois Raymond, of Berlin, who, before he allows a Psychical
principle to the universe, would ask to be shown, somewhere
within it, " a convolution of ganglionic globules and nerve
tubes, proportioned in sizes to the faculties of such a mind." 7
Thus we may reasonably infer that the mental substance, on
the one hand in the philosophy of naturalism, materialist or
dynamic, shall find its vanishing point through the elemental
{or non-elemental) atom in the un extended centres of
Boscovitch; -or, should it on the other hand follow the
Idealistic path, in that ultimate resultant of the teaching of
the otherwise great mind of Kant, the dreary, all absorbing
TO Ego of Fichte.
And so, modern philosophy is confessedly unequal to the
analysis of the human compositum, ("the chasm between the
two classes of phenomena physical facts, and facts of con-
1 Contemporary Review, June, 1872. z Ibidem ut supra,
3 Loc. supra, cit. 4 Contemporary Review, November, 1871.
5 " Psychology," vol. I., part III.
6 Vide " Before Birth," in Nineteenth Century, Sept. 1886.
7 Vide "Materialism," Contemporary Review, March, 1876.
The Council of Vienne and the " Forma Corporis Humani." 995
sciousness remains intellectually impassable)," 1 and can but
degrade the noble human nature, stamped with the image of
God, and created as medium between lower nature and the
angelic spirits, 2 to the same level in the universe as the in-
ferior animals. " In the dog there can be no doubt that the
nervous matter which lies between the retina and the muscles,
undergoes a series of changes analogous to those, which in
the man give rise to sensation, a train of thought, and
volition," 3 and the impossibility of establishing any line of
demarcation between the two (reason and instinct) may be
clearly demonstrated. 4
But contrast with the ineptitude of those vaunted
"systems," the simple completeness of the doctrine of St.
Thomas. The soul spiritual and simple, surveying the
physical world through the senses, (sensation, thus the joint
operation of the soul and the body, " quod informat,") and
from the physical universe reaching by abstraction the world
of universal ideas, of spirit of the eternal dwelling-place
of the great first cause. The body, perfected by the forma
substantialis the soul with which it forms one substance,
one nature, so that the actions of the " compositum " proceed
from the one principium quod of operation, the one person
who lives and dies, who thinks and feels. The sensitive life
communicated and perfected by the soul, which, though one in
essence, is manifold in operation, and which thus does not des-
troy the materiality of the body, whilst vitalizing it " contactu
virtutis suae." And thus the wondrous nervous organization,
such a stumbling block to the positivist, is placed in its true
light. The one rational source of life pervading its every
nerve and muscle, neither concentrated in the brain, as seemed
to Descartes, nor in the heart, as seemed to the ancient Stoics,
gives to the heart and brain the power and energy which
befit their noble functions, whilst proportioning its virtus to
exigencies, with marvellous economy, it stretches away to
the most distant structures of the organism, and thrills their
every fibre with vitality. And above and ruling all, the
1 Tyndall, loc. supra dl. 2 Cone. Lat. IV. et Vatic.
3 Huxley. Contemporary Review, November, 1871.
4 Spencer. " Psychology," Part IV., 203.
996 The Council of Vienne and the " Forma Corporis Humani"
beautiful scholastic doctrine places that noblest of endow-
ments by which man is left " in the hands of his own
counsel," that dynamic centre which alone makes virtue
possible, and fills the heart with hope, the power of election,
necessarily ignored by naturalism, the faculty of free will.
Thus whilst on the one hand the nexus between body and
soul is admittedly " a land cf darkness " to Atheistic philo-
sophy, and on the other the scholastic doctrine fits in admir-
ably with the whole range of mental and bodily phenomena,
we are justified in declaringthat on pure metaphysical grounds,
the system of forma and materia is alone admissible ; or to put
it differently, admitting the spirituality of the soul, which here
we can assume as proved, the scholastic system alone renders
possible the unity of the human personality, eliminating
neither th$ material nor the spiritual principle, but binding
both in the one substance, nature, esse, as form and matter.
Secondly from a theological point of view we find a
" locus " in the decree of Vienne, and the declaration of
Pius IX. wherein the anima is said to be the " forma immediata
corporis." Now this " immediata" signifies that the soul is
united nullo mediante to the body ; whence the causal power
which is the essence of forma, and which consists in the
immediate communication of the entitas formae to its subject,
is exercised by the soul on the body ; and therefore as the
entitas thus communicated is substantial the union effected is
substantial.
But this argument becomes still more forcible when we
remember that the council of Vienne, although it does not
use the phrase " forma substantialis " yet declares that
substantia anima est corporis forma, therefore since it communi-
cates its own esse to the body, it must be forma substantialis.
Thus the doctrine which is on metaphysical grounds philo-
sophically certain, is from a theological point of view, intim-
ately bound up with Catholic faith.
Hitherto, I have purposely avoided the use of the terms
" Thomist " and " Thomistic ", lest I should seem to confound
those philosophical dogmas, on which all Catholics are agreed
1 Aniina est sulstantia spirituals.
The Council of Vienne and the "Forma Corporis Humani." 907
with the one point, touching the union of soul and body,
which still continues to find Catholic exponents ranged on
opposite sides.
It refers to the third question proposed above, viz., what
is the extension of the formula " anirna est corporis forma
substantialis 1 "
The opinion of St. Thomas is very clearly expressed, as
he repeatedly asserts, that the body receives from the soul
suum esse ; that the body " et est corpus et animatum corpus
et humanum corpus per animam. J>1 " In hoc homine non
est alia forma substantialis quam anima rationalis, et per earn
homo non solum est homo sed animal, et vivum, et corpus, et
substantia, et ens." 2 Moreover, he frequently argues (a)
that the " esse substantiate " is " primum esse" (b) that what-
ever is added to an entity already " completum in ratione
substantise " is accidental. Hence, if the body is considered
" completum in ratione substantiae, " before the accession of
the soul, the latter will be but an accidens. 3 Finally (c) he
argues that the soul is united immediately to materia prima.
" Non est aliqua alia forma substantialis media, inter animam
et materiam primam." 4
The great leader of the opposition to this view was
Scotus, who finding it difficult to conceive how the soul
a spirit can give corporal " esse," introduced a mediate
form " corporeitatis, " so that the immediate subject of the
soul is not materia prima, but the corpus organicum. This
system has found many adherents in recent times, and
is upheld by Fr. Bottalla S.J., in two pamphlets written after
the letter of Pius IX. to Travaglini. 5
Fr. Palmieri argues at length in favour of this view, and
quotes many authorities to show that at the time of the
Council of Vienne, the general sense of the Schools was not
in favour of the Thomistic View, and he attributes the modern
defence of it to a species " novi cujusdam exaggerati peripat-
eticismi. " 6 Fr. Tongiorgi S.J. and Fr. Ramiere, interpret in
1 De Anima, II., i. 2 De Spirit. Great., a. 3.
8 DC Spirit. Great., a. 3. 4 Contra Gentes, lib. II., c. 58. 5 Supra.
Palmieri, Instit. Philos. Cosm. Th. XIV., et de Deo Creante, Th.
XXVI.
998 The Council of Vienne and the " Forma Corporis Humanl"
the same sense the doctrine " formae substantialis. " The
historical question raised by Fr. Palmieri, as to the usus
loquendi of the Schools, is answered at length by Cardinal
Zigliara, 1 who shows conclusively that in the fourteenth
century, as always, the Scholastic rendering of " forma vera,
per se, et essentialis," was forma which gives to its subject
" esse specificum."
With regard to this discussion, it is difficult to see how
the modern Scotists can reconcile their view with the words
of Pius IX. to the Bishop of Breslau, that the body receives
from the soul " et motum et vitam omnem et sensum, " which
doctrine the Pontiff there declares to be communissima in the
Church of God. Moreover, as we have seen, when we con-
sider the nature of " forma substantialis," we find little
difficulty in accepting the Thomistic teaching.
The fundamental difficulty of Scotus was the change
which death effects in the human compositum. But this
difficulty vanishes, when we remember the axiom of the
Schools, that " corruptio unius formae est generatio altering,"
and, therefore, (i recedente anima, succedit alia forma sub-
stantialis. " 2 Nor is a substantial change (mutatio formae
substantialis) unknown in nature. The wine which chemical
influence changes to vinegar, the fuel converted into fire, the
aliment into food, are all examples of substantial change. 8
And hence when we realize that the " corpus mortuum non est
idem numero, quod primo fait dum viveret, propter diver-
sitatem formae quae est anima " 4 we can have no difficulty
in understanding the perfect harmony of the doctrine of St.
Thomas. The other difficulty so frequently urged, that if the
soul gives " esse corporeum " it must itself be material, is
answered by St. Thomas, 5 and by Suarez " ex quo etiam
intelligitur quomodo anima rationalis, licet sit incorporea,
possit esse forma corporeitatis ; nam esse actum aut formam
corporeitatis 720?^ est esse ipsam corpoream seu extensam sed
esse formam constituentem cum materia, unam substantiam
compositam capacem quantitatis. " (
1 De mente Cone. Vien. in def. &c. 2 St. Th., lib. II. de anima, 1. I.
8 St. Th., p. I., q. 66. 4 P. III., q, 25, art 6. 5 De Spirit. Great, a. 2.
6 Metaphys. disp. XV. sect. 10. Those who wish to study this question
more fully should consult Mazella " De Deo Creante," Disp. III., a. 5 and 6.
The Septuagint. 999
But although this question is still an open one, yet the
opinion of Catholic schools is rapidly gravitating towards the
universal acceptance of that doctrine, which, taught by the
Angel of the schools, and commended by so many Pontiffs, is
so consistent with the dignity of human nature. But what-
ever be said of this domestic and friendly discussion, which,
like so many others, will but serve to bring into clearer light
the true wisdom of the Church's philosophy, there can be no
doubt as to the greater question which asserts the soul to be
the substantial form of the body. For whether we look to the
harmony and excellence of our nature, to which it is so
conformable ; or to the lustre of the names by which it is
endorsed ; or again, to the sad benighted state of those
" systems " which are opposed to it, we can have no hesitation
in saying that in this docrine is contained one of the strongest
outworks of the great fortress of Catholic belief.
PATRICK DILLON.
THE SEPTUAGINT. II.
THE story of the seventy-two cells is of so poetical and
picturesque a cast, and so contradicts our modern ideas
of probability, that we are liable to reject it with undue pre-
cipitation. Nothing could be more detrimental to the ends
of well-meaning criticism, than to discard, arbitrarily and
promiscuously, all the ancient traditions and records that
may fall short of the standard of probability, by which
individual censors may choose to measure a particular fact,
isolated and detached from its local and historical sur-
roundings. Against our main contention, for instance, that
seventy-two interpreters or translators were engaged in ex-
ecuting the celebrated version of the Old Testament, known
as the Septuagint, it is frequently alleged as a fatal objection,
that it is so unlikely that the services of such a host of experts
should have been brought into requisition. Six, our opponents
say, or at most twelve, would be likely to perform the task
1000 The Septuagint.
with greater expedition and efficiency. This difficulty is
disposed of by reminding our adversaries that we are not
investigating what was most expedient in the circumstances
described, but what historical research shows to have actually
taken place. We are not concerned with the wisdom or
raison d'etre of the selection of that particular number. But
in order to illustrate the influence of national sentiments and
traditions, it may be well to repeat that seventy was a mystic
number among the Jews; their Sanhedrim consisted of
seventy members, exclusive of the president (Nasi) and the
vice-president (Ab Beth Din) ; they distributed the Gentiles
into seventy nations, &c. Could our adversaries offer as
rational an explanation for the employment of fifty-four
interpreters by James the First, to produce the Authorised
Version ? It may be of interest to observe here, that before
the latter work was undertaken, Broughton actually sug-
gested in a letter to Cecil, that there ought to be seventy-two
employed to execute an English Septuagint.
Divesting ourselves, therefore, of these misleading notions
regarding probabilities, let us investigate the character and
extent of the testimony, on which the marvellous story about
the cells is supported. St. Justin Martyr, who flourished
towards the middle of the second century of the Christian era,
not merely testifies undoubtingly to the fact that the seventy
translators were confined in so many separate cells, but adds
in emphatic corroboration of his statement, that he himself
visited Pharos and inspected the remains of the cells with his
own eyes. The next authority quoted in support of the
historic truth of this story, furnishes such a different version
of it, that on reading his account our belief in the critical
acumen of St. Justin is very much shaken. St. Epiphanius
is the author referred to, a contemporary oi St. Jerome, but,
unlike the latter, imbued with the most profound admiration
for the Septuagint version, and easily persuaded of the truth
of any story calculated to intensify the veneration in which
it was held. He relates that there were but thirty-six cells,
and that two interpreters were enclosed in each cell. This
substantial discrepancy proves that the fabulous account
furnished by St. Justin did not obtain universal currency, that
The Septuagint. 1001
it was not faithfully preserved and but vaguely believed, and
that, in all probability, it was a pure fabrication of some Jews
at Alexandria, invented for the purpose of making the work of
the Seventy appear more distinctly miraculous. It is perfectly
incredible that Aristobulus, Philo, Josephus and Eusebius, while
they narrate other unimportant circumstances connected with
this great event, should pass over in silence a fact so momen-
tous and interesting. We are told, 011 undoubted authority,
that the annual festival instituted to commemorate the com-
pletion of the Septuagint, was celebrated each year at
Alexandria, by the Hellenistic Jews with the greatest solem-
nity, pomp, and enthusiasm. It is not to be wondered at
then, that the history of this great event, should, in course of
time, be embellished with fabulous adornments. St Jerome
reprobates this tradition regarding the cells with unwonted
vehemence. " Nescio quis " he says " primus auctor
septuaginta cellulas Alexandriae mendacio suo extruxerit."
A seemingly trifling but memorable incident is recorded by
Josephus as having been enacted at the royal table, when the
seventy sat down to partake of the refreshments prepared for
them on their arrival from Jerusalem. Eleazar, a priest
belonging to their body, was called upon to give grace before
meat the first occasion on record, when such a ceremony was
performed. Here our adversaries detect a palpable inconsist-
ency, which, they say, condemns the entire narrative. Eleazar
was high-priest (291-276 B.C.) ; he is represented as com-
missioning, in virtue of his high authority in matters temporal
as well as spiritual, the Seventy to proceed to Alexandria
agreeably to the king's request, furnishing them with a letter,
in which he thanks the king for his munificent presents, and
authorises the bearers to proceed with their responsible task of
translating the Word of God. How, then, could he have been a
member of the delegation himself ? It has never been asserted,
or even implied, that he was; but the individual referred to
happened to be of the same name, Eleazar, a name which is
frequently encountered in connection with members of the
priestly families among the Jews.
We now come to the chief and only formidable difficulty,
which is based on the dialectic peculiarities of the Septuagint.
1002 The Septuagint.
Our adversaries contend with a great show of justice, that it
contains many grammatical forms and idioms, which distinctly
belong to the Alexandrian branch of the Macedonian dialect,
and are altogether foreign to the Greek of Palestine. They
further allege that there are several words found in it, which
would be quite unintelligible to those for whom the New
Testament, for example, was written.
We are but too apt to regard the ancient Greek as an
aggregation of heterogeneous elements, called dialects, differ-
ing essentially from each other; a language which had a
brilliant but brief existence of a few centuries, after which
time it was split up into a number of degenerate branches ;
a language, in fine, which has been for long hundreds of years
dead, and which is only known to us, because it has been
embalmed in the greatest literary works the world has ever
seen. This is quite the reverse of the facts ; for the genius
and structural basis of the Greek tongue did not vary with
dialects, which merely affected the inflectional terminations
of a definite class of words according to unvarying rules, or
changed the quantities of the vowels in a few unimportant
particles. No doubt, many teachers in explaining Homeric
forms, would give a student the idea that the dialectic varia-
tions were so many and so great, that it is next to impossible
either to enumerate or comprehend them, and that the
instructor, who undertakes to account for them, must have
accumulated a phenomenal amount of classic lore. Any
standard Greek grammar will, however, disabuse him of this
erroneous notion, on a very slight acquaintance, for he will
find there the whole doctrine of the modifications effected by
the dialects, clearly set forth in a few brief, well-defined rules.
Latin is a dead language ; the Romance dialects rose over
its grave. But, though there were in the Greek language,
both spoken and written, local peculiarities, or dialects, these
dialects never differed substantially from each other so as to
blossom into new and distinct languages. Hence Cruttwell
assures us that " an educated Greek at the present day would
find little difficulty in understanding Xenophon or Menander."
"The language," he says, "though shaken byrude convulsions,
has changed according to its own laws, and shown that
The Septuagint. 1003
natural vitality that belongs to a genuinely popular speech."
The same idea is eloquently expressed by a modern writer in
the following language :
" It is a strange and unparalleled fact that one of the oldest known
languages in the world, a language in which the loftiest and deepest
thoughts of the greatest poets, the wisest thinkers, the noblest, holiest,
and best of teachers, have, directly or indirectly, found their utterance
in the far-off ages of a hoar antiquity, should at this day be the living
speech of millions throughout the east of Europe, and various parts
of Asia Minor and Africa ; that it should have survived the fall of
empires, and risen again and again from the ruins of beleaguered
cities, deluged but never drowned, by floods of invading barbarians,
Romans, Celts, Slavs, Goths and Vandals, Avars, Huns, Franks, and
Turks ; often the language of the vanquished, but never of the dead ;
with features seared by years and service, yet still essentially the same,
instinct with the fire of life, and beautiful with the memory of the past."
If, then, the language of ancient Greece has survived the
ravages, revolutions, and social and political upheavings, of
3,000 years, without losing anything of its substance, or vi-
tality ; if Homer can be more easily analysed and interpreted
by a modern Greek, than can Chaucer by an English scholar
of the present day ; surely that long-lived tongue could not
have undergone such abnormal changes, or have become so
markedly tinged by local influences, within the comparatively
brief period of 40 or 50 years, as the argument of our adver-
saries would lead us to believe.
Long before the time of Alexander, the Attic dialect had
become the language of the court and of the higher classes
of society in Macedonia ; and, moreover, the generous en-
couragement extended by Philip to the cultivation of the
arts, sciences, and literature of Greece, had resulted in elim-
inating any barbarous or foreign words that had been
gradually engrafted on it, and in reducing it to the same
purity and perfection which it had attained in Attica. Occa-
sionally the Thessalic, Macedonian, and other such dialects
are referred to in grammars, but such references are ex-
ceedingly rare, and, when they occur, we are usually cau-
tioned against regarding the particular words or inflexional
forms in question, as anything more than mere localisms,
from which no language is entirely free.
The vastness of Alexander's conquests, the mighty cities
1004 The Septuagint.
founded, and the numerous colonies planted by him, in places
widely removed from each other, had extended the use of the
Greek tongue over such a boundless area, that it was impos-
sible that it should not undergo some changes in its word-
formation and syntax. Hence, the Attic was superseded, in
process of time, by the Hellenistic or common dialect j] KOLVJ]
Si,d\KTos the earliest extant specimen of which we possesses
the Septuagint. In the old grammarians we find the epithet
Kowf) or common, applied to the style of Pindar as well as to
that of Polybius, for example, but in a widely different sense.
The sweet lyric bard is said to use the KOIVIJ dialect, because he
sedulously avoids all dialectic peculiarities, and employs, as a
rule, only those words and forms that were universally
adopted and common to all the dialects. Polybius, on the
other hand, like the Septuagint, represents the post- Attic
literature of his country, and approximates more closely to
the language of modern Greece. To affirm that there was a
substantial and easily detected discrepancy between the
Hellenistic of the Jews of Alexandria and that of their
brethren of Palestine, at the period we write of, is a purely
gratuitous assumption, against which we have a powerful a
priori argument in the fact that the Greek language never
underwent any rapid transition with time or place.
Since the New Testament was written three and a half
centuries afterwards, we are quite prepared to find in it forms,
words, and'phrases and indeed the whole texture more or less,
different from the style of the Septuagint. But in these
innovations, whether of syntax, of inflexion, or of vocabulary,
the student of classical literature will recognise the gradual
workings of time, which effects appreciable changes in the
most settled and stationary language. It must be at once
conceded, that the diction employed by the inspired writers
of the New Testament, presents many marked features of
difference from that used by the Seventy. In fact, looking
to the concurrent testimony of reliable and well-informed
writers, one can hardly suspect Timayenis of much exagger-
ation, when he says :
" The New Testament is written in the language, in which the
newspapers are to-day printed in Greece. Everything about it is
The Septuagint. 1005
decidedly modern. The language of the New Testament needs no
translation with us ; it is as natural for a Greek of fair education to
understand the New Testament ' in the original Greek ' as it is for an
American to understand the language of an English paper."
But the inference that this is a fair type of the language,
which the most educated of the Palestine Jews would have
employed in a careful and elaborate translation, three or four
centuries before, is altogether unwarranted.
Besides, the fact that some few words of Koptic or of
African origin have found their way into the text of the
Septuagint, as it stands at present, does not necessitate the
conclusion that the Seventy or even a portion of them, were
Alexandrians. Some of these words may not have appeared
in the original translation at all, but have been substituted for
others more difficult to understand, from marginal glosses, as
occurred but too frequently in the case of the plays of Aeschylus
and Aristophanes, for instance. Others may have been quite
as well understood in Palestine, as in Egypt, owing to the
constant intercourse and long friendship subsisting between
these two countries.
In the list of such words extracted by Hody, TraTrvpos finds
an early and a prominent place. In its original acceptation,
this word is used to designate a well-known plant, which grew
in great abundance on the banks of the Nile, and from the
outer bark, or pellicle, of which writing-paper was procured by
an easy process. It occurs in Job viii., 11, and is very illogically
adduced in proof of the contention that the interpreters we
speak of were Alexandrians, by those who maintain that their
labours were restricted to the translation of the Pentateuch,
or Law of Moses. The whole verse runs thus : Mrj 0a\\i
TrdTrvpos avev i;So.T09, 77 vtywdrjcreTcu, ftovro/jiov avev TTOTOV ;
" Can the rush be green without moisture, or a sedge-bush
grow without water ? " No doubt, the ordinary Greek
equivalent for rush is 0-^0^09, and it is possible that some
such word may have been used by the Seventy, and that
TraTTvpos was substituted for it by some Alexandrian copyist,
in order to convey a more vivid impression to the minds of his
countrymen. Moreover, the fame of the papyrus had extended
far beyond the limits of Egypt. It is worth mentioning that
1006 The Septuagint.
Liddell and Scott describe it as "a kind of rush with triangular
stalks &c. " The Seventy use ayolvos elsewhere to designate
the stylus or so-called pen of the ancients.
That the Septuagint was not exempt from the fate of other
works in manuscript form, many long centuries before the
art of printing was invented, the statement of Philo and of
other trustworthy authors leaves no room for doubt. They
assure us, that so closely and perfectly was the full meaning
and spirit of the old Hebrew text reproduced in the Greek
version of the Seventy, that there was not one idea or one
word added or omitted. Unfortunately, such was not the
condition in which Origen or St. Jerome found it ; nor, of
course, has it ever been restored to anything like its original
accuracy. Few scholars, for instance, will accept as the
correct and genuine reading the word rpafafc " reared," and
will not prefer ra</>et? " buried," in Gen. xv., 15. The
Vatican edition of the Septuagint, now before the writer,
gives the verse as follows : ^u Se aireKevay Trpbs rou9
iraTepas (Tov evelprfvT), T panels ev ytfpa tca\q)' But the Vulgate
which was translated from the Hebrew also, has clearly hit
off the correct meaning, which shows that it is ra^et? we
should have in the Greek. " Tu autem ibis ad patres tuos in
pace, sepultus in senectute bona." Here the variant arises
from the insertion of a single letter; and, similarly, the
omission or interpolation of a particle may make a notable
change in the meaning. In Gen. xxvi., 32. the Septuagint
lhas KCLL irapa^evofjuevoi ol Trcu&e? 'Icraa/c a,7r7Jy<yei\av avrq) nrepl
rov (j>pearo<; ov wpv!;av, icau eljrov, ov% evpo/juev vBcop' "The
servants of Isaac coming, told him of a well which they had
dug, and said that we have not found water." Whereas the
Vulgate makes the announcement in the affirmative, " inveni-
mus aquam," and continues " unde apellavit eum abundan-
tiam." Here again the Septuagint text is clearly at fault;
though we cannot rely too much on the force of the word
" abundantiam," for it entirely depends on the vowel-points
to be supplied, whether the Hebrew is to be rendered by
" abuudantia " or by " juramentum." A serious obstacle, also,
to the attainment of perfect accuracy in transcribing and
editing ancient uncial manuscripts, arises from the fact that
The Septuagint. 1007
they are written continuously, and no vacant space is left to
separate the consecutive words.
The marked superiority of style and closer accuracy of
rendering, which, in the Septuagint version, characterize the
Pentateuch as compared with the Book of Isaias, for ex-
ample, have given rise to some doubt as to whether the Law
and the Prophets were translated at the same time. After
the Babylonish Captivity, the Pentateuch was explained to
the people in Palestine, who had forgotten the ancient He-
brew, in Targums, or Paraphrases in their newly-acquired
Chaldaic dialect, long before the other books of the Old
Testament were similarly rendered into the popular tongue.
However, precisely the same motive that would influence
Philadelphus in employing the services of the Seventy to
translate the Law, would likewise induce him to secure a
Greek copy of the Prophets. The variety of style and the
different degrees of accuracy are sufficiently accounted for by
supposing, as is most natural, that in the distribution of the
work, the earliest books were allotted to the most distinguished
and competent scholars. ,
Regarding the question of the supernatural assistance
accorded to the Seventy in the execution of their work,
Bellarmine expresses the view more generally held by
Catholic writers at all times. " Certissimum esse debet," he
says, " LXX interpretes optime traiistulisse et peculiari modo
Spiritum Sanctum assistentem habuisse ne qua in re er-
rarent." 1 Comely, however, is not alone even among
orthodox Catholic commentators, when he declares with such
emphatic earnestness : "Sine ulla haesitatione cum modernis
interpretibus omnibus Alexandrinae versionis inspirationem
negamus."
The original Septuagint was carefully preserved in the
famous Alexandrian Library up to the time of Caesar, 48 B.C.,
when it perished in the conflagration alluded to before.
Copies of varying degrees of merit had been made out, and
were then in the hands of Jews, but each successive crop of
such transcripts was becoming more imperfect, down to the
1 De Yerbo Dei. Lib. ii., cap. vi.
1008 On the Hevalidation of an Invalid Marriage.
time of Origen, A.D. 230. This illustrious and indefatigable
scholar undertook to execute. a copy, in which the interpola-
tions would be distinguished by a mark, and in which the
lacunae would be, as far as possible, filled up. The result of
his labours was the Hexapla, a voluminous work, on each page
of which were six columns, containing, in order, the Hebrew
Text in the old characters; the same in Greek characters; a
version executed by Aquila, a Jew, in the beginning of the
second century ; one translated by Symmachus, an Ebionite,
at a somewhat later date; the Septuagint, with Origen's
emendations ; and, lastly, a Greek translation by Theodosion.
The Hexapla was too cumbrous to be transcribed in its en-
tirety, but before the original manuscript had been destroyed
by the burning of the library at Caesarea, in G53 A.D., a copy
had been made of the Septuagint column. Soon, however,
the various marks appended by Origen were confounded, and
the fruits of his labours, to a large extent, perished. It may
be of interest to remark that Origen distinguished the words
or clauses of the Septuagint not found in the Hebrew by an
obelus (-i-), and those which appeared in the Hebrew but
were omitted in the Septuagint by an asterisk (*).
The edition of the Septuagint, now universally accepted
by both Protestants and Catholics as the best, is that known
as the Yaticaii or Roman, published with the sanction of
Pope Sixtus V. in 1587. It is taken from an ancient manu-
script preserved in the Vatican, and represents exactly the
state of the text, as it stood before the time of Origen.
E. MAGUIRE.
ON THE RE VALIDATION OF AN INVALID MARRIAGE
THE pastor or confessor should not pronounce a marriage
invalid without giving the question the most serious
deliberation. Hasty conclusions must be avoided in a matter
of this kind, which involves the breaking, up of family ties,
the* giving of scandals, and other issues prejudicial both to
spritual and temporal welfare. It is a matter, therefore, which
On the Revcdidatioii of an Invalid Marriage. 1009
requires grave consideration, and if it be not necessary almost
in every case, it will be at least well on the part of the pastor
or confessor to consult the Ordinary, or some one in whose
judgment and discretion reliance may be placed, before
pronouncing the momentous decision that a marriage is
invalid.
In all doubtful cases the validity of marriage must
be maintained. "Post factum standum estpro valore actus."
If, therefore, one or both parties be doubtful about the
validity of their marriage the doubt can be removed, and
their consciences set at rest by the application of this principle.
But if the parties who are in the same state of doubt seek
advice under the circumstances from the confessor, and if
the confessor discover or perceive that the marriage is really
invalid, a case which requires a different solution arises. In
such circumstances the confessor will have to consider
whether a manifestation of the truth will produce good fruit
or not. If he is morally convinced that " partes sine scandalo
posse separari vel sine separatione tanquam fratrem et sororem
habitaturas, donee matrimonium rite convalidatum fuerit," he
may inform them of the invalidity of their marriage, and then
obtain a dispensation as soon as possible. When this course
cannot be pursued the confessor or pastor may ask the-
parties the reasons they have for doubting the validity of the
marriage. If they assign reasons which are not opposed to
its validity, the confessor may under the circumstances inform
them that the reasons they give do not form adequate
grounds for doubting, and do not show that the marriage is
invalid.
It will be his duty after this to procure a dispensation
without delay. If the parties assign reasons which go to show
that the marriage is invalid, without doubt a difficult question
arises. It is supposed the parties cannot be separated, and
that their present condition exposes them to the most imminent
danger of falling into sin. This can be especially the case
when the impediment that intervenes arises from a crime of
which only one of the parties is guilty, and which cannot
be made known to the other party. What is the confessor
to do under these circumstances ? Is he to leave the parties
VOL. VII. 3 s
1010 On the Revalidation of an Invalid Marriage.
as they are, in a doubtful state of mind, or must he tell them
that their marriage is invalid, and expose them to the risks
involved in the adopting of this course ? It seems that in
this case the confessor may declare that the impediment
ceases to exist. There is certainly an analogy between this
case and what is called the " casus perplexus," in which
eminent theologians maintain that the impediment ceases.
Lehmkuhl (p. 587), holds this opinion. He says :
" Si neque tarn cito dispensatio obtineri potest, neque evitari
debitum conjugate sine urgente periculo gravissimi mali, ut
diffamationis, scandali, etc. : videtur lex ccclesiastica irritans cessare
ita ut mine putativi conjuges habiles evadant ad efficiendum matri-
iiionium validum : quamquam obligatio manet recurrendi statim ad
legitiimim Superiorem, turn ut pro cautela certior fiat dispensatio. turn,
ut crimine adrnisso suscipiatur justa poena, et Superioris mandate
obedientia praestetur."
In reference to this case it need scarcely be added, that
there is only question of an occult impediment, and one with
which the Holy See is accustomed to dispense. If the pastor
or confessor discover an impediment of which the parties are
ignorant, it will be almost always better to leave them in
possession of good faith until a dispensation is procured.
After these remarks which have extended to great length,
I shall enter into the question of "Revalidation of an Invalid
Marriage.' 5
A marriage can be invalid for two principal reasons ;
1. Because the consent of the parties has been defective ;
and 2. because an impediment existed when the contract
was being entered into.
1. With regard to the consent it can be absent on the part
of one or on the part of both. If there be absence of consent
on the part of both, it is necessary for the invalidation of
marriage, that both parties renew their consent. If it should
be absent only on one side, the party alone who did not give
consent is bound to renew it. The other party need
not renew it, provided he did not absolutely withdraw the
consent already given. And that he may be said to withdraw
it, there must be present direct evidence of the fact. It should
not be taken, or assumed as a sign of withdrawal, if there
be reasons for believing that the party would not renew the
On the Revalidation of an Invalid Marriage. 1011
consent in case he was made aware of the invalidity of his
marriage. When both parties can be got to renew their
consent, and when this course presents no inconvenience, it
should be adopted, as it is the safest. This is the common
teaching with regard to the renewal of the consent.
How is the consent to be renewed, whether publicly or
privately ? If the marriage had been celebrated coram
Ecclesia, and if it be still recognised as valid, the parties
are at liberty to renew their consent privately. If the
consent of only one party be wanting, he or she may renew
the consent in this mariner either by word or act. If the
marriage be publicly recognised as invalid, the consent must
be renewed coram Ecclesia. Thus, for example, if the consent
be defective through the impediment of error or vis, the
parties should renew it before their pastor and witnesses,
if it be publicly known that marriage was at first contracted
under error or fear.
2 In the second, place, marriage can be invalid by reason
of an impediment standing in the way. If the impediment
be of the natural or divine law, as ligamen, marriage can be
made valid after the impediment ceasing, by a renewal of
consent. Impediments of the natural or divine law vitiate
or totally destroy the consent, so that the parties who
contracted marriage under them must, in order to re validate
the marriage, first learn that the previous ceremony was
invalid, and, in the next place, give an independent renewal
of the consent. This is the common doctrine on this point.
If the marriage is invalid on account of an impediment which
needs no dispensation, as vis, error, it can be re validated by a
renewal of consent, either publicly or privately given, accord-
ing as the marriage is publicly known to be invalid or not.
If the marriage is invalid on account of clandestinity, the
remedy is the celebration of marriage, subsequently, by
observing the decree of the Council of Trent, " Tametsi."
The impediment of clandestinity is scarcely ever dispensed
with. If the parties refuse to go to the church, they may be
prevailed on to go through the ceremony in their own house,
privately, before the pastor and witnesses. When one of the
parties consents to celebrate marriage coram Ecclesia, and the
1012 On the Revalidation of an Invalid Marriage.
other refuses, Caillaud (p. 370) says, it is probable it would
suffice, if the latter appointed a representative to act on his
behalf, or expressed his consent by letter.
If the parties who entered into marriage clandestinely,
should remove to a place where the decree " Tametsi " was
not in force, and if they, being aware of the invalidity of
their marriage, should form the intention of living there in
the married state, as true husband and wife, this intention,
which is equivalent to a renewal of consent, would suffice to
revalidate the marriage. But if the parties thought their
marriage was valid from the beginning, or if they only intended
to live in a state of concubinage, in these cases the marriage
would not become valid by changing from a place where the
impediment of clandestinity was in force, to a place where it
was not in force. The reason for this is, that the Church does
not recognise the first consent as valid, and therefore, to
revalidate marriage there must be a renewal of the consent.
With regard to a marriage invalid on account of some
other ecclesiastical impediment, the first step to be taken
before revalidation is to remove the impediment. It can be
removed either by an ordinary dispensation, or a dispensation
in radice.
As the bishop, either by virtue of quasi-ordinary power
or the extensive delegated faculties with which he is invested
in respect to this matter, can in most cases grant a dispen-
sation, the application for it will, accordingly, be addressed
to him. When the dispensation has been obtained, how are the
parties to renew their consent or revalidate their marriage ?
An ordinary dispensation only renders them capable of
contracting marriage. If the marriage should be invalid in
public estimation the consent must be renewed coram Ecclesia.
When the impediment is of a public nature, but by some
accident occult, it will be necessary to renew the consent
before the pastor and witnesses if it be at all likely that the
impediment would at some future time become public.
If the marriage should be considered publicly valid, that
is, if the impediment which interfered should be occult, either
both parties are conscious of the invalidity of the marriage,
or only one of them. If both parties are conscious both must
On the Revalidation of an Invalid Marriage. 1013
renew the consent. If only one be conscious, and if, through
fear of scandal and other grave inconveniences, a knowledge
of the fact cannot be communicated to the other party, a
difficulty at once arises. The difficulty proceeds from this,
that the Penitentiary inserts the following clause in the
rescript granting the dispensation : " Dicto viro de nullitate
prioris consensus certiorate, sed ita caute ut delinquentis
delictum nusquam detegatur." Some authors say this clause
only conveys an instruction which may be complied with or
not, according to convenience. But Benedict XIV., whose
authority in this matter is exceptionally high, maintains that
the clause in question expresses a condition sine qua non,
He, besides, points out that it rests on a common
law of the Church. All modern authors are of the same
opinion, and it is it the Church reduces to practice. Accord-
ingly, it is the only opinion which can be safely followed
in practice. If there should be no need of telling the
party ignorant of the nullity of marriage, and of getting him
or her to renew the consent, the distinction between an
ordinary dispensation and a dispensation in radice, is a fiction.
When the bishop dispenses vi indulti, or by virtue of quasi-
ordinary power, he is bound to observe the clause under
notice (Feije p. 769).
How then is this clause to be observed ? Benedict XIV,,
writing as a private doctor, without condemning the rules
laid down by other authors, is of opinion it can only be
observed in this manner : " Conjux impediment! conscius
libere declaret haud rite matrimonio consensisse, cum prius
celebratum fuit ; ideoque oportere, consilio confessarii atque
internae tranquillitatis causa, ut ambo consensum renovent,
seque id libenter facturum ostendat. Quod si alter conjux
earn demvoluntat em pat efaciat, id satis erit . . . . Nam conjux
ignarus matrimonium irritum cognoscit, non tamen crimen
notum efficitur, ex quo consecutum est impedimentum,
neque ullum mendacium admiscetur." It is evident that
this method cannot be always followed on account of the
suspicions, and the other evil consequences, it is calculated
to create. It may indeed be said that it is but rarely this
course can be pursued. Benedict consequently advises that
1014 Religious Examination of ScJwols.
recourse should be had a second time to the Penitentiary
which, he says : " Magnis illis clifficultatibus fortasse
adductus, aut aliquid de severitate remittet, aut facultates a
Pontifice necessarias postulabit." In cases of necessity the
Penitentiary is lately accustomed to modify the clause in
this way : " et quatenus haec certioratio absque gravi peri-
culo fieri nequeat, renovato consensu juxta regulas a probatis
auctoribus traditas."
If, therefore, the circumstances of the case permit it,
a second appeal should be made to the Penitentiary for the
modification of the clause in question, or for a dispensation
in radice. If the case should not permit delay, then the
consent may be renewed according to the three other rules
laid down by theologians, and sanctioned by the Church in
case of necessity. Care will be taken lest the crime of one
party should be discovered to the other. The application of
any one of those rules in practice, to my mind presents very
little difficulty. The very simplest person can be got to
understand them, and consequently, can be got to act in
accordance with that which may suit the circumstances of
his case.
W. O'HALLORAN.
THE RELIGIOUS EXAMINATION OF SCHOOLS.
A CLERICAL Inspector favours us with the following
statement as to some of the beneficial results of the
system of religious examination of schools by deanery
inspectors as established in some dioceses of Ireland :
The results are two-fold, direct and indirect.
The indirect results are:
1. An increase and a more regular attendance of children
at Mass on Sundays. This happy result arises from the desire
children have to be present at the catechetical instruction
given by the priest after^Mass for the purpose of learning
the doctrinal subjects prescribed by the programme for
the various classes.
2. An increase and a more regular attendance of children
Religious Examination of Schools. 1015
at school. This result is due (a) partly to the rule that
renders ineligible for a prize, a child that has not made one
hundred attendances during previous results' year, and (I)
partly to another reason, which requires a little more extended
explanation. Before the introduction of the system of
regular examination, teachers were exposed to the temptation,
if not of discouraging, at least of not encouraging the attendance
of children whom they might foresee would not make one
hundred attendances in the year. For such children would
earn for them no results' fees, and very rarely do they pay
school fees, while on the other hand, much time would be
necessary for their advancement, which, from the teachers'
stand-point, would be more profitably spent on children who
would be eligible for the results' examination.
The religious examination acts to a great extent as a
counterpoise to this temptation, as all children on rolls are
eligible for, and are required to attend the examination. Hence
it is that owing to these two causes acting concurrently, the
difference between the daily average attendance and the
number on rolls is fast disappearing. In this way too, may be
explained the statement of secular Inspectors that the addi-
tional stimulus given recently to religious knowledge does
not in any way interfere with the progress of schools from a
secular point of view.
Before entering on the direct advantages of the system,
a word may not be out of place on the enormous advantage
of having a printed programme in each school. The advan-
tages of such a programme carefully drawn up, and graduated
to suit the capacity of children in the respective classes, will
be manifest to anyone who has experience in the management
of Christian Doctrine Societies. In such Societies the great
difficulty of the person in charge is to prevent what may be
called desultory teaching. This difficulty a programme
entirely obviates. Nuns, of great experience in the training
of the young, have been heard to say that even in convent
schools such programmes have been of the greatest possible
utility; and if this be so in convent schools, what must be the
advantage of them in schools with less skilful and devoted
teachers ?
1016 Religious Examination of Schools.
The direct results or the stimulus given to the desire for
religious knowledge, and the consequent attainment of the
same, may be traced to the enthusiastic spirit of emulation
which the competition for prizes has excited.
1. In the children themselves. This spirit of emulation is
so great that in some cases children study into the small
hours of the morning some time previous to the examination.
They sometimes go to the houses of their respective priests for
the solution of their difficulties, and the spirit in many cases is
caught up by their friends at home, to their own advantage and
that of the children. The result of all this is that very often
the inspector is perfectly unable to find out the best of five
or six of the most advanced in a class, so well prepared do
they present themselves in the subjects marked out for
them.
2. In the Teachers. The prizes given to the two best
Teachers in each parish are very much coveted, especially as
the winners are announced from the altars on Sundays by the
priests of the parish, with any comments they may think
useful. Such a course has a very healthy influence in en-
couraging the industrious. Another thing which has a very
good effect on teachers who will not be influenced by the
hope of carrying off the coveted prize, is the presence during
the examination of one of the priests of the parish, usually
the manager, whose presence is a matter of duty. For,
immediately after the close of the examination, the inspector,
in presence of the manager and teacher, states his opinion, as
to the satisfactory condition, or the reverse, of the school. These
incentives have in several cases proved so effective that
schools which failed the first year of examination, carried
off in the following year the prize for excellence in the
parish.
For the last place has been reserved notice of that part of
the system which in the near future will be productive of the
most signal and abiding results, viz., the Examination for
Parish and Deanery Prizes. The best boy or girl in 4th, 5th,
and 6th Classes from each school in the parish are competitors
for the Parish Prizes ; the best in the same three classes from
each parish in the Deanery for the Deanery Prizes. The
Religious Examination of Schools. 1017
amount of time and labour devoted by the candidates to the
study of the subject matter for examination is marvellous,
and the amount of knowledge they acquire is almost incredible
to anyone who has not had actual experience of such exam-
inations. The great advantage of such preparation is that
some of the competitors at the Parish Competitive Examin-
ations will be the future teachers of the parish, while others,
as well as those at the Deanery Examination, will work their
way into the Civil Service, and in these positions, it is clear
that such an amount of religious knowledge as they bring
with them will be of incalculable good to themselves and
others.
It is needless to observe that the credit of the happy
results above referred to, is chiefly due to the parochial clergy
to their regular visitation of the schools, to their simple im-
pressive explanation of the catechism to the children, to. the
zeal with which they encourage and assist both teachers and
pupils to prepare for the religious examination, and to their
cordial co-operation with the examiners.
The following are the printed Regulations made with
Episcopal sanction for the School Examinations :
L PRESCRIBED COURSE OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION..
INFANT CLASSES. Under Six Years.
PRAYERS - Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Creed,
Prayer to Guardian Angel, Morning Offering
(short form).
DOCTRINE - instruction on God, Jesus Christ, Blessed Virgin,
Heaven.
Above Six Years.
PRAYERS - Act of Contrition, Confiteor, Glory be to the Father.
DOCTRINE - instruction on the Trinity, Our Lord's Birth and
Death, Guardian Angel, Death, Judgment, Hell,
Heaven.
CLASS I.
PRAYERS - Grace at Meals, Morning Offering (long form), Hail,
Holy Queen.
CATECHISM - Short Catechism (to end of the fourth chapter.)
DOCTRINE - ^Instruction on Original Sin, Baptism, Incarnation,
Passion, Sundays, Holidays, Fridays.
1018
Religious Examination of Schools.
PRAYERS
CATECHISM
DOCTRINE
CLASS II.
Act of Charity, Angelus, Prayer to St. Joseph.
Short Catechism (Chapters V., VI., VII., X.)
^Instruction on Sin, Sacraments in general, Baptism,
Penance, the Mass, Preparation for and Method of
Confession.
CLASS III.
PRAYERS - Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Rosary of Blessed
Virgin.
CATECHISM - The whole of the Short Catechism.
DOCTRINE - ^Instruction on Prayer, Blessed Eucharist, Holy Com-
munion, Benediction, the use of a Prayer Book.
SACRED HISTORY - Catholic Child's Bible History New Testament (from
p. 9 to p. 27.)
CLASS IV.
PRAYERS - Stations of the Cross, Memorare, Seven Dolours.
CATECHISM - Large Catechism (first eleven chapters).
DOCTRINE - ^Instruction on Extreme Unction, Confirmation, Our
Father, Hail Mary, Creed.
SACRED HISTORY - Bible History New Testament (from p. 27 to p. 40.)
- Old Testament (from p. 1 to p. 30.)
Manner of Serving at Mass (for Boys only.)
CLASS V. 1st Stage.
PRAYERS - Manner of Hearing Mass, the Ends of Mass.
CATECHISM - Large Catechism (from Chap. XII. to Chap. XXI.)
DOCTRINE - ^Instruction on Indulgences, Purgatory, Invocation of
Saints, Sacramentals, Feasts and Fasts.
SACRED HISTORY - Bible History New Testament (from p. 40 to p. 87.)
- Old Testament (from p. 30 to p. 40.)
CLASS V. 2nd Stage.
PRAYERS - Litany of Blessed Virgin, Indulgenced Aspirations
to Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin.
CATECHISM - Larg 
