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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FOR THE CLERGY
Cum Approhaiione Superiorum
Vol. XLVII
** Ut Ecclesia aedificationem accipiat.""
I Cor. 14 : 5.
O/xofi^
hf.Brf.
PHILADELPHIA
Bmerican jecclesiastlcal -Review.
Q;be Dolpbin press
1912
6 1955
Copyright, 1913
american ^Ecclesiastical IRcview
Zbc Dolpbin pread
CQNTENTS-VOL^XLVIL
July!
Flavian : A Clerical Portrait '*^*
Father Prout ' J
R. F. O'Connor, Cork, Ireland.
Over the Desert to Convent St. Catharine. Practical Hints to
SiNAiTic Tourists
Leopold Senfelder, M.D., Vienna, Austria.
Father Carlton's Offerings. A Clerical Story a^*
L. E. Dobree. . ^
Something More About the Tiresome Sermon 53
The Rev. Francis P. Donnelly, S.J., Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Reminiscences of Maynooth. III. A Student's Daily Day 63
The Rev. P. Sheridan, Dungloe, Ireland.
The Old Priest's Vespers— and Complin 60
A. Dease. » " *
Analecta :
Sacra Congregatio Consistorialis :
I. Erectionis Dioecesis Kearneyensis 76
II. Erectionis Dioecesis Corpus Christ! 77
III. Declarationis circa Dioecesis Fines Wa)me-Castrensis 77
Sacra Congregatio Concilii :
Litterae circa Dies Festos 77
Sacra Congregatio Rituum :
I. Urbis et Orbis (Continuaiur) : Mutationes in Breviario et
Missali Romano faciendae ad normam Constitutionis Apo-
stoHcae " Divino Afflatu " 79
II. Circa Doxologiam v. Primae, et Prefationem Propriam in
occurrentia Festorum B.M.V. ad instar simplicis redactorum. 97
III. Decretum de Festis Ritus Duplicis Maioris Octava conde-
coratis 97
IV. Decretum de Novi Psalterii edendi Facultate ab Episcopis
non concedenda 98
V. Monitum 99
Studies and Conferences :
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 100
Does the Virtue of Communion Last? (The Rev. F. M. de Zulueta,
SJ., Chesterfield, England) lOO
Quid Mihi et Tibi? Again.
1. The Rev. Thomas a K. Reilly, O.P., Immaculate Conception Col-
lege, Washington, D. C 105
2. The Rev. Walter Drum, SJ., Woodstock College, Maryland .. 109
Our Catholic Soldiers in China {The Rev. P. Grobel, C.F., Tientsin,
N. China) "0
The De Profundis Bell "0
Our Midsummer Number ^^'
Criticisms and Notes:
Benson : The Friendship of Christ "J
Otten : The Reason Why "5
Bonvin : Cantemus Domino 'J|
Mathias: Organum comitans ad Proprium de Tempore i»»
Huby: Christus : Manuel d'Histoire des Religions "|
Roussel : Le Bouddhisme Primitif ; \""ii" '
Murat: L'Idee de Dieu dans les Sciences contemporaines : Les Mer- ^^^
veilles du Corps Humain ^^^
Huizinga : Authority \ ^^^
Literary Chat J27
Books Received
iv Contents.
AUGUST.
FAGB
Pulpit Eloquence and the Supernatural 129
The Rev. John A. McClorey, S.J., Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
The Latest Proposal in Calendar Reform 141
The Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt.D., Overbrook Seminary, Pa.
Thomas a Kempis as a Hymn Writer iS5
W. H. Grattan Flood, Enniscorthy, Ireland.
Babylonian Legislation 4500 Years Ago 161
The Rev. W. D. Strappini, S.J., Bournemouth, England.
About Bells ^72
L. E. D.
Studies in American Philosophy. III. The Modern Schools: Kant-
ism IN America 185
The Rev. J. B. Ceulemans, Moline, Illinois.
Analecta :
Acta Pn PP. X:
Ad R. D. Philippum Fletcher, M.A., Sodalitatis Moderatorem
quae " of Our Lady of Ransom " nuncupatur, XXV Anniver-
sario adventante ex quo Sodalitas ipsa condita fuit 212
Sacra Congregatio Rituum:
I. Instructio super Privilegiis in Triduo vel Octiduo solemniter
celebrando intra annum a Beatificatione vel Canonizatione per
Rescriptum Sacrae ipsius Congregationis a Summo Pontifice
concedi solent 213
II. Societatis Missionariorum Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu : Dubia.. 215
III. Litterae Circulares ad Rev.mos locorum Ordinarios quoad
Propria Officiorum Dioecesana 216
S. Congregatio Indicis:
I. Decretum quo quaedam prohibentur Opera 218
II. Dubiura 218
S. Congregatio de Sacramentis:
Decretum circa Impedimentum ex adulterio cum attentatione Mat-
rimonii proveniens 219
Curia Romana:
Recent Pontifical Appointments 220
Studies and Conferences :
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 221
TI EMOI KAI 201, rYNAI;— Without Comment {The Rev. J. J.
Loughran, Seward, Nebraska) 221
The Prescribed Reverence in Pontifical Masses and Vespers 224
Indulgence and Communion at Forty Hours' Devotion 225
Where is the Diocese of Kempen ? 226
The Question of Mitigating the Eucharistic Fast 226
An Appeal for an Expression of Sentiment and Action {The Rev. A.
Van Sever, Route 2, Grand Rapids, Wisconsin) 228
Ecclesiastical Library Table :
Some Recent Apologetic Works 229
Two French Novels 231
An Introduction to the History of the Popes 232
" Manalive " 233
Criticisms and Notes:
Jorgensen-Sloane : St. Francis of Assisi 236
Walling : Socialism as It is 239
Boyle : What is Socialism ? 239
Benson : The Coward 241
Dawson : The Mirror of Oxford 249
Pustet : Breviarium Romanum continens Novum Psalterium 251
Thompson : Life and Times of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. 252
Aertnys : Compendium Liturgiae Sacrae 252
Literary Chat 253 Books Received 255
Contents.
SEPTEMBER.
Studies IN American Philosophy. IV. Modern Schools: Evolutionism '^S
The Rev. J. B. Ceulemans, Moline, Illinois. vulutionism. 258
Ecclesiastical Dress and Vestments o
John R. Fryar, Canterbury, England. ^^
The Temple of Jahu in Syene and Pentateuchal Criticism 2qt
The Rev. Hugh Pope, O.P., Collegio Angelico, Rome, Italy.
The Motu Proprio " Quanta vis Diligentia "
The Very Rev. H. A. Ayrinhac, S.S., D.D., LL.D:,' St Patrick''s* Semi-
nary, Menlo Park, California.
Reminiscences of Maynooth. IV. « Vacat ad deambulationem " ^16
The Rev. P. Sheridan, Dungloe, Ireland. • • • • jio
Analecta :
Acta Pii PP. X:
Epistola ad R. P. D. lacobum Duhig, Episcopum Rockhampton-
ensem, de quinquagenariis illius ecclesiae sacris solemnibus 329
S. Congregatio S. Officii :
I. Decretum de Dispensationibus super Impedimento Dispari-
tatis Cultus absque debitis Cautionibus nnnquam concedendis. 330
II. Decretum de Dispensatione super Impedimento Disparitatis
Cultus absque debitis Cautionibus impertita 331
III. Decretum de Parochi Adsistentia Matrimoniis Mixtis 331
S. Congregatio Indicis :
Decreto S. Congregationis diei 6 maii proximo elapsi laudabiliter
se subiecit E. Th. de Cauzons 332
S. Congregatio Rituum :
I. Decretum praefixum Volumini VI, seu Appendici I operis
cui titulus : " Decreta Authentica Congregationis Sacrorum
Rituum ex actis eiusdem coUecta eiusque auctoritate pro-
mulgata " 333
II. Decretum seu Declarationes circa novas Rubricas 333
III. De Dispositione Festorum juxta Novas Rubricas 334
Commissi© Pontificia de Re Biblica:
I. De Auctore, de Tempore Compositionis et de Historica Veri-
tate Evangeliorum secundum Marcum et secundum Lucam.. 336
II. De Quaesitione Synoptica sive de mutuis Relationibus inter
tria priora Evangelia 339
Studies and Conferences:
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 34'
De Vasectomia {The Very Rev. A. De Smet, S.T.L., Bruges, Belgium). 341
Clerics before the Civil Tribunal 357
The " Oratio " after the Litany of Loreto 359
The " Caeremoniale Episcoporum " and American Custom ^ 360
Private Exposition of Blessed Sacrament not permitted for Priest's
Personal Devotion • 3^2
Conclusion of the Prayer after distributing Communion outside Mass. 363
Dispensation in Mixed Marriage without the required " Cautiones ". 364
Advertisements in The Ecclesiastical Review 365
Criticisms and Notes:
Noll : For our non-Catholic Friends 3oo
Monin : De Curia Romana 3o7
Dubray : Introductory Philosophy 3^9
Perry : Present Philosophical Tendencies 3^
Coffey : The Science of Logic 309
Rosmini Serbati : Theodicy— Essays on Divine Providence 373
Stoeckl : Handbook of the History of Philosophy . .' 374
Hyde : The Five Great Philosophies of Life 374
vi Contents.
OCTOBEE.
PAGE
The Sixteenth Centenary of Constantine's Proclamation of Relig-
ious Liberty — 313-1913 3^5
The Rev. William T. Kane, S.J., St. Louis University, Missouri.
The Course of Studies and Discipline in Theological Seminaries . . 395
Roman Seminary Life 403
The Rev. Thomas F. Coakley, D.D., Pittsburgh, Penna.
St. Vincent de Paul and the Foundation of Seminaries 424
The Very Rev. Patrick McHale, CM., Philadelphia.
The Imagination in Saint Francis De Sales 434
The Rev. J. D. Folghera, O.P., Hawkesyard Priory, England.
Analecta :
Acta Pii PP. X :
L Litterae Encyclicae ad Archiepiscopos Americae Latinae de
misera Indorum conditione sublevanda 447
II. Motu Proprio de Catholicorum in exteras regiones Emigra-
tione 451
S. Congregatio Rituum :
I. De Conclusione Matutini et Inchoatione Laudum pro recita-
tione privata in Triduo Mortis Christi et in Officiis Defunct-
orum 453
II. Decretum circa Modulandas Monosyllabas vel Hebraicas
Voces in Lectionibus, Versiculis et Psalmis 454
S. Congregatio Consistorialis :
I. Litterae Circulares de Seminariis Italiae ad Reverendissi-
mos Ordinaries 455
II. Decretum de quibusdam Rei Biblicae Commentariis in Sacra
Seminaria non admittendis 463
III. De Decreto " Maxima Cura " 464
S. Congregatio Officii (Sectio de Indulgentiis) :
Decretum de Indulgentiis Pio Viae Crucis exercitio adnexis .... 465
S. Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro Negotiis Ritus Orientalis :
I. Epistolae Circulares ad locorum Ordinaries Latini Ritus, de
non permittendis Orientalibus eleemosynarum emendlcation-
ibus absque venia eiusdem S. Congregationis 466
II. Litterae Circulares ad Superiores Generales Institutorum Re-
ligiosorum Latini Ritus, de modo tenendo antequam Orien-
tales in eorum Sodalitates admittantur 468
Studies and Conferences :
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 470
Sixteenth Centenary of the Proclamation of Christian Liberty (313-
1913) 472
The New Decree on Mixed Marriages {The Rev. M. Martin, SJ., Si.
Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.) 477
A Plea for our Ageing Catholic Clergy (Senex) 488
The Official Catholic Directory for 1913 491
Defending the Policy of the Popes 492
Using a Crutch at Mass 494
Helping the Country School 494
Conclusion of the Prayer and the Form of Blessing after Distributing
Holy Communion (A Correction) 495
Criticisms and Notes :
Coffey : The Science of Logic 496
Colvin : The Learning Process 496
O'Connor : His Grey Eminence 501
Meyenberg — Brossart : Homiletic and Catechetic Studies 502
Koo : The Status of Aliens in China 504
: The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vols. XIII and XIV 505
Wuest : Collectio Rerum Liturgicarum 507
Contents. yii
NOVEMBER.
PAGE
The Traditional Idea of Sacerdotal Vocation cj.
The Rev. Edmund J. Wirth, D.D., St. Bernard's Seminary, Rochester,
New York.
The Biblical Commission and the Synoptic Gospels c27
The Very Rev. A. J. Maas, S.J., New York City.
The Cure of Intemperance c-j^
Austin O'Malley, M.D., Philadelphia. "^^
How Bishop Ketteler Corrected the Scandal Given by One of His
Priests ega
Jam Toto Subitus Vesper Eat Polo [[[ 557
The Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt.D., Overbrook Seminary, Penna.
The Story of St. Cecilia and its Value 564
Dom S. A. Parker, O.S.B., Oxford, England.
Analecta :
Acta Pii PP. X:
Litterae Apostolicae : Committitur Episcopo Ritus Rutheni Ad-
sistentia Spiritualis Ruthenorum in Canadensi Regione com-
morantium 583
S. CONGREGATIO DE ReLIGIOSIS :
Decretum de Postulatu in Monasteriis Votorum Solemnium .... 585
S. CONGREGATIO S. OFFICII :
I. Decreto S. Congregationis laudabiliter se subiecit Aloisius
Izsof 586
II. Decretum quo prohibentur Liber et Inscriptio quaedam 586
Studies and Conferences :
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 588
A League for Priests 589
The Value of Method in Teaching Children to hear Mass and receive
the Sacraments (The Rev. John L. Bedford, Brooklyn, New York). 591
Pere Lagrange, O.P., and the Sacred Congregation 597
The Pastoral Rights of a Convent Chaplain 600
The Maltese for "Quid Mihi et Tibi est, Mulier?" {The Rev. Walter
Drum, SJ., Woodstock College, Maryland) 601
Thomas a Kempis and the Brothers of the Common Life {The Rev.
Vincent Scully, C.R.L., St. Ives, Cornwall, England) 603
Mitigation of the Eucharistic Fast {The Rev. A. Van Sever, Grand
Rapids, Wisconsin) 604
Is Old Age Sufficient Reason for Breaking the Eucharistic Fast? 606
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Canadian Bill
against the " Ne Temere " 607
Professional Secrecy in Hospitals 610
Private Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 6x3
Buhver's " Friar Joseph " in the Light of History 613
The Bride and Groom kneeling in the Sanctuary 614
The Old Indult of Requiem Masses and the New Rubrics 615
Images of the Sacred Heart on the Altar 016
The Assistant Priest at a First Mass oi7
La Prise du Bon Dieu °^7
Criticisms and Notes : , ^
Amelli : Collectanea Biblica Latina • •• • • ••••'•• °^'
Henry: Eucharistica : Verse and Prose in Honor of the Hidden God. MO
Straub: De Ecclesia Christi ^^4
Ladd : The Teacher's Practical Philosophy 020
Bardenhewer: Geschichte der Altkirchenlichen Literatur o2»
Burton— Meyers : The New Psalter and Its Use o30
Meehan: A Practical Guide to the Divine Office • • ' VV ' "i'lv* *m ' '
Hetherington : Notes on the New Rubrics and the Use of the Wcw
Psalter •••.•••. S!
Heiner— Wynen : De Processu Criminali Ecclesiastico 031
Pierard : Cours Pratique de Psalmodie Vaticane '>3
viii Contents.
DECEMBER.
PAGE
The Growth of Christian Art in Germany (With Illustrations) 641
George Metlake, Cologne, Germany.
The Small Host " Extra Corporale "—A Bit of Casuistry 660
The Rev. Patrick Cummins, O.S.B., Conception Abbey, Missouri.
Sermons— Taste and Tolerance 674
The Right Rev. Mgr. F. D. Bickerstaffe Drevi^, Salisbury, England.
Cardinal Newman as a Hymn- Writer and Hymn-Composer 685
W. H. Grattan Flood, Enniscorthy, Ireland.
The Cure of Intemperance. II. The Alcoholic Insanities 691
Austin O'Malley, M.D., Philadelphia, Pa.
Reactions and By-Products of the Decree on Frequent Communion.. 702
The Rev. Joseph H. McMahon, Ph.D., New York, N. Y.
Analecta :
Acta Pii PP. X :
Constitutio Apostolica de Sanctissima Eucharistia promiscuo ritu
sumenda 7o8
S. CONGREGATIO S. OFFICII (SECTIO DE INDULGENTIIS) :
I. Conceditur Indulgentia Plenaria in honorem Beatae Mariae
. Virginis Immaculatae 7^6
II. Decretum circa Indulgentias Festis Beatorum adnexas 717
S. Congregatio de Religiosis:
I. Quoad Communionem Infirmarum in Monasteriis clausurae
papalis 718
II. Dubium quoad Indulta Abstinentiae et leiunii relate ad Re-
ligiosos 719
III. Dubium quoad Religiosos Votorum Solemnium degentes ad
tempus extra claustra 720
Studies and Conferences :
Our Analecta — Roman Documents for the Month 722
Metrical Translation of Ps. I, VII, XVIII, XXII (£. C. Donnelly). 723
Present Status of Calendar Reform {The Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt.D.). 728
The Proper Abbreviation of the Word " Monsignor " 734
Daily Communion and Priests' Retreats {The Rev. L, F.Schlathoelter). 734
Efficiency of Modem Seminary Education (Connatus) 735
The Essential Presence of the Matter for Consecration 736
Choice of a Diocesan Patron 73^
The Confiteor in the Case of the " Benedictio Apostolica " after Ex-
treme Unction 737
Anointing of the Feet 738
Ecclesiastical Library Table :
Sacred Scripture: i. The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate; 2. Archeology;
3. Interpretation; 4. Text (The Rev. Walter Drum, S.J., Wood-
stock College, Maryland) 739
Criticisms and Notes:
O. P. : The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas 749
: The Catholic Faith 749
Mullan : Sodality of Our Lady Studied in the Documents 750
Lester : Story of the Sodality of Our Lady 750
Husslein : The Church and Social Problems 752
Toke : The Housing Problem 752
Gerrard : The Church and Eugenics 752
Buchberger : Kirchliches Handlexikon 755
Bregy : The Poet's Chantry 756
De Smet : Betrothment and Marriage 757
Pohle-Preuss : God : The Author of Nature and the Supernatural 758
Augier : Apologie du Catholicisme par les Incredules 758
Gatterer : Annus Liturgicus 759
Janvier : Exposition de la Morale Catholique Speciale 760
Coube : Gloires et Bienfaits de I'Eucharistie 760
Page : Practical Guide for Servers at Low Mass and Benediction 761
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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series.— Vol. VII.— (XLVII).— July, 1912.— No. i
FLAVIAN : A OLEEIOAL PORTEAIT.
AT any given period of Flavian's too brief career, the first
thing to be said of him was that he was young, and
looked younger. His foes might always have added with
spite, and his friends with proud affection, that he could
never be much older. The calendar, at the last, almost com-
promised him, but nobody minded the calendar; and a pre-
monitory hint of baldness got no credit at all as against that
clear level glance, that virginal gayety, that unblunted cour-
age. His most winning and valuable asset was a sort of
aureole. Painters have always reported to us that some bodies
shine; modern science says they are right. Many have fire
in them, as we say ; and some shed it, as did this one. None
who watched him could fail, ever and anon, to catch him look-
ing as transparent as Cowley's lilies,
Clad but with the lawn of almost naked light.
Yet he was no angel, but " a man's man ", in all.
His policy was not what is commonly defined as asceticism.
He held that " holiness is not the emptying, but the filling of
life ". However, the positive trend of Flavian's boyish per-
sonality never for an instant obscured its dominant note, which
was a true priestly dash of other-worldliness, or Uranian wild-
ness. He somehow bore silent witness to himself as one bred
in the cloister, and fresh (as fresh in any imagined to-morrow
as at the moment) from the novitiate. If an observer were
quick at inferences, he saw at once that Flavian's had been
HO roundabout spiritual journey; that he had always been
2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
God's by an irresistible and visible religious vocation. There
is no assurance quite so fragrant as this. But his morning
consecration had not left him one whit less individual, and
it had certainly deepened, as nothing else couM have done so
fully, his singular tenderness. Those who appreciated winter
landscape, and knew the rare beauty of the desert, were glad
of certain austere moods in him, moods of silence and peace,
lying just beyond the borderlands of every bustling day.
These gave him reality. There was even some superior Puri-
tanism in him, of a dormant kind, though for all practical
purposes he rode with King Charles. Absolute fearlessness;
phosphoric energy, nay, wastefulness, physical and mental ; a
certain patrician quickness of brain, foot, lip and eye; a huge
capacity for painstaking, and for foil to that, instinctive im-
patience with bores and shirks, with sophisms and delays,
with another's emotions or his own; a way of dealing with
obstacles, when necessary, as horned lightning deals with the
cloud, and a general uppermost air of inspiration and "unpre-
meditated art" ; — these went far to commend him to persons
who like living organisms to seem alive.
Flavian's qualities were few, and happily adjusted. He
was notably fresh and robust, simple and wholesome, with no
least touch of the fantastic. He had " sweetness which cannot
be weak, and force which will not be rough ". His stern-
ness was pure Hebraic, of the best adamant, and exercised
only against himself. What a selfish consideration might be,
he never could have had the slightest occasion to discover at
first hand. Full of engaging humility, he boggled not at all
at displaying repentances and afterthoughts. In fact, his
course through life was marked, as Hop-o'-my-thumb's by
crumbs, by self-rectifications and little public penances,
enough to make the most captious love him. But he was coy
in the extreme of explanations. To match his flint and iron,
he had a golden laughter, candid and delightful; and to his
dying day, he kept up a rocket-like fun, with a distinct streak
in it of adventure and soaring mischief, such as would have
done credit to the most cherubic of choir-boys. His feeling,
like his fun, was exquisite, and went to the quick. The one
was defended, and the other fed, by a choice temperamental
irony, perhaps Flavian's most essential characteristic.
FLAVIAN: A CLERICAL PORTRAIT. -
He had the sort of truthfulness which does not always go
with a strong sense of humor: truthfulness not only concrete
and open, but unrelenting, indescribably pervasive. In all he
thought, said, or implied; did, or left undone; in his very
mien, voice and handwriting, was truth up to the hilt. You
were ever detecting in him a most blessed inability not only
for taking, but even for crediting, the petty or provincial
view of things. He was supremely tolerant, and could allow
for almost any attitude of mind, except the born minimizer's.
If he had a hobby, it was for largeness : for height, horizons,
and freedom of survey. Detail worried him. He always con-
founded attention to detail with fuss. It affected him like
midges along a river-bank in September. Clearly, his part
was — and well he knew it — that of a tireless orderly in the
field, and not that of a strategic commander-in-chief in a tent,
with charts spread before him, and pipes and conversation
thrown in. Meanwhile, he lived out his passion for " Thor-
ough ". A hater of sham, and a hero of work, he liked to see
mastery and manfulness, and could face their results un-
shaken. He endorsed de Tocqueville's arraignment of a
society ailing with " Taffaiblissement moral . . . J'aime les
passions quand elles sont bonnes, et je ne suis meme pas bien
sur de les detester quand elles sont mauvaises. . . . Ce qu'on
rencontre le moins de nos jours, ce sont des passions, vraies et
solides passions qui enchainent et conduisent la vie. Nous ne
savons plus ni vouloir, ni aimer, ni hair." It is remembered
(how disedifying!) that Flavian thought better of a burglar
for burgling well.
He dearly loved letters and art, and was an illuminating
critic of both. Musically, he was defective. It is much to be
feared that, with Elia, he would not stake a farthing candle
on Pergolesi, Gliick, or Handel, and that the devil with foot
so cloven, for aught he cared might take Beethoven! More
than letters or art, or anything else mundane, he loved open-
air exercise, Socratic parley with country-folk, and " the sleep
that is among the lonely hills ". All the fashionable world,
all babies, and all dogs, he welcomed without pretence of pan-
paternalism, but with a charming semi-benign astonishment.
Clerical unction was an ornament of which he knew nothing.
He was in no degree a professional philanthropist, though for
4 TffE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
any soul whatever which needed him, he carried his life in his
hand.
He nursed one pet rage. It was a rage against the smug
conscious goodness of good citizens. Any complacent stroking
of the fur which might be called your own (i. e., whether
personal or tribal), was sure to remind Flavian how the har-
lots and the publicans shall go into the Kingdom of Heaven
before you! In the pulpit, where he was wondered at and
hugely admired, he expounded little, but provided echoes and
flights of inspiration, crowding lovely vistas into the crevices
of Saxon speech, and was unaffected there as elsewhere, dis-
playing no shred of artifice or histrionics. Gesture, with him,
was improvised, telling, frankly rectangular. Even his
gentlest tones had a vibrancy all but unique. His concep-
tions of religion were splendidly masculine and objective, and
his ideals sufficiently exasperating, as it would appear, to a
temporizing and backsliding generation. He thought moping
a damaging heresy, and a bad odor. Ill would it have be-
come an officer enlisted, and busy for life, in the Light Ar-
tillery of the Catholic Church.
Both shy and bold, he never could be a reciprocal talker.
Words, to him, were symbols, not things. He had his own
science of shorthand expression, and could not be tied down
long enough to thresh out or expatiate. Controversy and dis-
cussion were for others; these required a traveling around,
and his was only a traveling up. It was his fashion to go
flashing in colors across the metaphysical dark, like a Roman
candle, spurting twice, thrice, and no more. One of his
finest and most racial, most recognizably English traits, was
that all which he said in the way of kindly human inter-
course was heightened in value by all which he did not say.
When he used the superlative, as he sometimes did, it could
be perceived that it was of malice prepense and propter
homines. For his natural style was built on under-statement
and homespun epigram: everything short, and everything
loaded. It was a genius intensely elliptical. As Mr. Lowell
said so clairvoyantly of Keats : " He knew that what he had to
do must be done quickly." Flavian communicated with his
kind as if by a line of little super-intelligent aeolian harps
hung in the roadside trees, rather than by afternoon calls and
FLAVIAN: A CLERICAL PORTRAIT, t
the parcels post. In any spiritually deforested district, he
was bound to fall dumb indeed. Or (to recur to military
metaphors, such as he was constantly provoking) one might
state that Flavian preferred to conduct all his operations by
signal code, and out-of-doors. If you were serving in his
battalion, you got signals, and gave them. If you were not,
why, you did not ! In the course of all the ages, could there
possibly be a simpler and more satisfactory arrangement than
that? As is the wont of poets and mystics, he went his way
alone. None the less was he almost pathetically dependent
for free play on the sympathy and furtherance of the few.
He was a prince of courtesy. Gratitude, in him, could be elo-
quent; officially, it was so. He could likewise, if you were
worth it, set a fairy crown upon a personal gift by taking it
lightly, imaginatively, without the oration and the brass band.
Despite its too small stock of nervous strength, his nature had
an inherent sunniness ; yet, he was as far as possible from the
popular ideal of the ** genial " man. Profoundly social, and
an incomparable friend, he was always silently proffering cor-
roboration, faith, chivalry, most lavishly and loyally from the
heart. But to have looked for a repetitive nod and grin as he
passed upon the street was misguided. One does well, after
all, to take the saints as they are : take them so, or leave them.
A certain truancy is the condition of some earthly lives, and
must be respected. "Whether in the body, I know not; or
whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth.*'
It is a thankless task, then or now, to attempt to analyze
Flavian. He defeated analysis because he was essentially
fugitive, and not confined to one element. You could really
grasp not much more of him than what had just ceased to
be he:
A moulted feather, an eagle's feather.
It is inartistic to wish to run to earth the heart of any
fellow-creature's mystery, even were one able to do so. Be-
sides, the most sacred and gracious guesses refuse to be put
on paper. In Flavian's case, if he went, for the most part,
uncomprehended and scot-free, it was because his habit was so
supernatural. He lived in the spirit; he had an almost un-
canny knowledge of the things of the spirit. Like a lesser
5 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Philip Neri in this, he could read and construe the never-
written. He had the art to interpret secret day-dreams, and
to forestall by a word, disarm by a look, or supplement by a
sign, another's thought. He was anything but diplomatic; he
stood clear of fear or favor; he never dealt for one moment
in wiles, subterfuges, and complexities; fancy at her drunken-
est could not picture Flavian in an intrigue ! and therefore all
this divination was sheer psychic power, and as miraculous in
its way as the three R's acquired by St. Catherine of Siena.
Certainly, it did not spring from chronic ordinary knowl-
edge— a man of the world's knowledge — of human nature
and motive, for in that he was eminently deficient. The phe-
nomenon proved fairly startling, time after time, to those who
heed such things. But he himself was quite unconscious of it.
He was unconscious, too, of the diffidence which it bred in
some men and women. They did not account it to him for
brotherliness. That shining presence seemed to know so much
of them that they feared to know more of him. Even so
might the unwise treat the Recording Angel.
One thing, however, we all knew, a very beautiful thing
to know of any adult: that he was always growing. As has
been said, he was young; as if to prove that, he kept on the
move. Development and progress are the law of youth, how-
ever long it lasts. " My youth is a fault, my Lord," said
Jeremy Taylor in his charming gentleness, " which will mend
every day." (The sentiment is more familiar yet to us, from
the mouth of Pitt.) Those who were impatient with Flavian
had no anticipative sense ; for to undo animadversions, he had
only to live. His growth had all the dimensions ; it was not a
mere length of line. That intense sensitiveness was meant to
be rolled wide, beaten out, by process after process, like gold-
leaf. You could never be quite as sorry as you would like to
be, when Flavian had trouble of any sort to bear, because
martyrdom was the very thing, and the only thing, to bring
out his inner beauty. Of course he was considered, by the
slave of convention, a budding anarchist. To the son of lux-
ury, he was a ruthless stoic. To the shortsightedly practical,
he was an enthusiast, an agitator, a mere visionary. Miscon-
ception saddened him, indeed; but it never soured him, or,
still less, deflected him. No misjudgment was ever committed
FLAVIAN: A CLERICAL PORTRAIT. j
by any trained psychologist, or by the poor, whose instinct
for genuine sympathy is the most expert instinct in the world.
These never found him abrupt, baffling, fugacious. Yet it
was natural, nay, inevitable, to make so grave a critical error
in relation to Flavian, while he had, as he had for long, a
touch of incompletion, and remained partly inoperative.
Anything elliptical, whether literary or sociological, is
bound to be set down as obscure and freakish : which it need
not be, and generally is not. The average mind is extremely
loath not only to establish, but to perceive connexions. Many
of us are acquainted with a perte de Rhone: with some
stream which fills its channel, then drops suddenly under-
ground, and, miles seaward, reappears on the surface, rush-
ing over sands and between rocky banks; a most fascinating
traveler to track and question, and none the less so because it
has not been continuously on exhibition. It will be called
three streams by the uninitiated. To " look before and after ",
to look on the level and under, is the only working rule with
it, and with persons like Flavian. There is nothing like
knowing your full context. Otherwise, confusion and mis-
reckoning untold, and lunacy settling down on your whole
topography. The covenanted need of his rich nature was a
freer play of its own powers. They asked not indeed for ac-
cretion, but for expression, for ductility, suppleness, wider
responsiveness, and intimate and intricate applications. Like
all broad, all wholly disinterested characters, Flavian came
across those whom he puzzled or infuriated. They could
neither fit him into their reckonings, nor even agree as to his
genus. To one, he was, let us say, seven pounds of sand ; and
to another, seven o'clock! He was like some delicate sound
racer, who, for all his sagacity and affectionateness, is a little
hard in the mouth. Temperaments of this sort, strongly ab-
stract and abstinent, are hidden springs; those who know
what change, sorrow, will, philosophy, and the grace of God
can do with such, await the sure gushing-forth of the clear
stream. Meanwhile, occur certain damna rerum, more notice-
able in a pastoral vocation than elsewhere. All the efficiency,
pluck, control, gusto, and aspiration which can be mutely
packed into the heart of a man go for little until they under-
stand and speak the dialect of city streets, where efficiency,
3 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
pluck, control, gusto, and aspiration also exist, turned to evil
uses. And so it was a bracing spectacle of late to see our
Flavian humanizing as fast as ever he knew how. Keeping
all his worth intact, he was ceasing to be a non-conductor,
and getting into touch with all that lay about him in the dim
world of men. He was learning victoriously the whole art of
dedicated fatherliness, and of " suffering fools gladly ", and
of giving forth without stint the flowing waters of considera-
tion and compassion which had sometimes seemed rockbound
within him. He was growing up on the heroic scale, and quite
as he had always lived, resolutely, brilliantly, and with joy.
Flavian's most touching circumstance was that he might
have been, and happily was not, a stray long-legged genius,
writing idiosyncratic verses in ivied bowers. In no ordinary
degree, his priesthood was his triumph; it was a wonderful
piece of good fortune for him, humanly speaking, that he
had chosen the sanctuary. As became the manliest of men,
he had a horror of rust. It was granted to him to be broken
while still clean and bright. They must have seen to it, above,
that he was offered not halo and harp (awkward properties
for him!) but stout black armor and a new sword. In the
camp of his final happiness, soldierly comrades, familiar to our
oldest legendry, must have claimed him : Michael, surely ;
and Gideon; and the sacred Maccabees; Sebastian; George
and Alban, long-loved in one isle; Martin too, not mitred
now, but re-helmeted; Joan the Maid, with her white ori-
flamme; and his own smiling sire, the great spirit wounded
at Pampeluna. All these, ranged like stars about the King
of Martyrs and Lord of Hosts, were prompt, we know, to
answer that humble and cheerful countersign of Alleluia!
shouted, last April, from the scaled battlements of eternity.
PATHER PROUT.
THERE are few better known or more kindly remembered
names in the history of the Anglo- Irish literature of the
nineteenth century than that of ** Father Prout ", though it
was only a pseudonym. Just as Gerald Griffin's Collegians
— that unsurpassed and unsurpassable of Irish novels — has im-
FATHER PROUT.
mortalized Garryowen, so the Reliques of Father Prout, by
the Rev. Francis Sylvester Mahony, has made famous for-
ever Watergrasshill, the " barren upland " near Cork which
acquired its name through its watercresses, but is still more
widely known on account of the fictitious fame with which the
sportive fancy of the witty priest has environed the memory
of its " lone incumbent ". The real Father Andrew Prout,
P.P., " in wit a man, in simplicity a child ", to whom Frank
Mahony ascribed the authorship of his own learned lucubra-
tions, was not at all a scholarly divine, but a good, kindly,
unpretentious country priest. The cream of the joke which
made the readers of Fraser's Magazine laugh so heartily in
the thirties of the last century, was in this comical associa-
tion of rural simplicity with erudition and wide knowledge
of the world and of books. It made them relish the fun of
crediting the parish priest of Watergrasshill with engrafting
on English literature the choicest productions of Gallic cul-
ture; with a familiarity only to be found among the lettered,
with the polished poetry of Horace and the modern songs of
Italy; with an elaborate defence of the Jesuits at a time when
the purchased pens of Sue and other hired libelers of the
Order were busily employed in aspersing the sons of Loyola;
and with a clever and amusing polyglot version of Millikin's
'* Groves of Blarney " — which he describes as a rare combin-
ation of the Teian lyre and the Tipperary bagpipe, of the
Ionian dialect blending harmoniously with the Cork brogue;
an Irish potato seasoned with Attic salt, the humors of Donny-
brook wed to the glories of Marathon.
Very scanty materials are accessible for a complete biog-
raphy of Father Mahony, though his memoirs, had he kept
a diary and written them therefrom at length, would be a very
interesting contribution to the literary history of the first half
of the nineteenth century. He has given us some glimpses of
himself and his erratic career in the Prout Papers; but as that
entertaining book is so much of an olla podrida, is tinged with
so much imaginative coloring, is so much more a product of
fancy than a record of facts, that which seems to be auto-
biographical therein has to be taken cum grano salts. A
member of a well-known Cork family, to whose successful
enterprise Ireland is indebted for one of its most prosperous
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
lO
manufacturing industries— the Blarney Woolen Mills — he was
born 31 December (feast of St. Sylvester), 1804, in Blackpool,
the northern suburb of the city once noted for its tanneries
and distilleries, described by a local poet, Thomas Condon,
as "tanned-brown-faced Blackpool". The house in which
he was born is not far from where another distinguished
Corkman, James Barry, the friend of Dr. Johnson and protege
of Edmund Burke, first saw the light. If not within sight, it
is certainly within hearing of those bells of Shandon
Whose sounds so wild would
In the days of childhood,
Fling round his cradle
Their magic spells.
On 23 February, 181 5, he entered the Jesuit College of Clon-
gowes Wood, near the village of Clare, County Kildare, of
which he says, " Even the sacred ' Groves of Blarney ' do not
so well deserve the honors of a pilgrimage as this haunt of
classic leisure and studious retirement." There he studied
for four years — ^years which left a lasting and indelible im-
pression upon his mind; for he never forgot what he intellec-
tually owed to his Jesuit teachers. The Jesuits not only ex-
cel as teachers or educationists, but seem to have a special
aptitude for impressing themselves and their particular views
upon the plastic minds of their pupils, who long retain the
impress of the mould in which their minds have been formed.
The Society was his ecclesiastical first love, and, yielding
to the attraction, he returned to Clongowes in 1825 as a Jesuit
novice. The attraction of the religious life, however, was su-
perficial and transient. After trying his " vocation " in Ire-
land and France, his Jesuit superiors, who understood him
better than he understood himself, decided against his suit-
ability to the clerical state, a decision which subsequent events
unfortunately proved correct. Nevertheless he persisted in
returning to Acheul and afterward to Rome for further trial.
After attending the Jesuit College at Freiburg for a time and
after a few months' hesitation as to the course he ought in
prudence to pursue, he proceeded once more to Rome. At
this time he continued with exemplary regularity to attend
theological lectures for two years. The Jesuits still held to
their opinion ; but, as Father Mahony frankly acknowledged to
FATHER PROUT. U
Monsignor Rogerson (who later had the privilege and happi-
ness of reconciling him to the Church and administering to
him the last Sacraments), he "was determined to enter the
Church ", that is, the ministry, " in spite of Jesuit opinion ".
Dimissory letters to that end were obtained from the Most
Rev. Dr. Murphy, Bishop of Cork, and he was ordained at
Lucca in 1832.
Mr. Charles Kent, who has compiled a biography of him,
rejects as erroneous the statement that he served on the mis-
sion in Cork City. But the late Mr. John Windele, the well
known Irish antiquary, who must have known him well, says
in his Historical and Descriptive Notices of Cork (1849)
that he officiated there " for many years and subsequently in
London ", and that he had then (at the date of writing) re-
<:eived a clerical appointment in Malta " within the reach of
scenes congenial to his tastes, which are eminently classical ".
Mr. Kent avers " as a simple matter of fact " that " he never
returned to Cork after the date of his ordination ". But this
is not correct ; he did return and officiate for a time as chaplain
in his native city. A story is told of his departure from
Cork, of which it may be said, " si non e vero, e bene trovato ".
It is related that before the Church of St. Patrick was built,
but whilst it was in contemplation, he located what he thought
would be a suitable site, and, without any authorization from
the Bishop, purchased it from the owner, a Quaker, with that
object in view. Dr. Murphy was not a prelate who would
tolerate any irregular proceeding or allow anyone to forestall
his decision or take the reins out of his hands. He declined
to ratify it. When the purchaser went to announce this to the
Quaker, the latter replied: 'That is thy affair, friend Mahony ;
thou hast bought it and thou must stand by thy bargain."
Mahony was in a quandary, but his ready wit got him out of
it. The Quaker had a terrace of houses overlooking the site.
Mahony had a board put up with the announcement, " This
site to be let for a cemetery''. The Quaker, fearing that
he would lose his tenants by such a transformation of the
plot of ground, soon released Father Mahony from his pre-
mature purchase.
When in London he more than once preached in the old
embassy chapel in Spanish Place. The father of the present
12 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
writer, who was intimate with him, met him about this time in
London, when the Padre gave him to understand that he was
then officiating at St. Patrick's, Soho. He is also said to
have assisted in his parochial work the well-known Dr. Magee,
facetiously dubbed by O'Connell " the Abbot of Westminster ".
One at least of the reasons that led to his relinquishment
of sacerdotal functions was that he soon realized that the
Jesuits were right and that he was wrong. " Fools rush in
where angels fear to tread." But though Mahony was no
fool, he was, it must be admitted, rash and self-willed, as
he frankly confessed. Still, he never lost his reverence for the
priesthood per se^ however freely he may have spoken or
written of men of his cloth. A scoffer at Christianity or a
depreciator of Catholicism he abhorred, and he always re-
sented any slight put upon him in his priestly character. His
book affords evidence of his lingering leaning toward the
Jesuits, notwithstanding their adverse judgment. Indeed, his
very voluntary retirement from the sanctuary and abandon-
ment of the clerical garb and clerical functions have been at-
tributed, at least in part, to his innate reverence for the sacred
office for which, too late, he realized that he had no vocation
in the strict sense of the word. He loved to read his breviary,,
which to the last remained his constant companion, and he as-
sumed a semi-ecclesiastic costume. He never lost the faith
and was never ecclesiastically censured. The Tablet, having
once referred to him as ** a suspended priest ", was summarily
challenged by him to prove its assertion in a court of law,.
Mahony laying his damages at $10,000; with the result
that an apology was instantly offered, and the charge uncondi-
tionally withdrawn. Nothing has transpired which leaves any
stain upon his moral character.
Dropping gradually out of association with ecclesiastics, he
found congenial companions among the editors and contribu-
tors to magazines and the leading newspapers — Thackeray,
Dickens, his brilliant fellow-countryman and fellow citizen
Maginn, and others of that school who used to foregather in
Eraser's bookshop in Regent Street, then one of the resorts of
London literati, and situate not far from the Chapel of the
Bavarian Legation in Warwick Street, where he had officiated
for a short time. He soon ranked among the best and bright-
FATHER PROUT. j^
est wits of the epoch and devoted himself wholly to a literary
life. He became the decus et tutamen of Eraser's Magazine
in which the Reliques — collected and published in book form
in 1836, and of which an enlarged edition was issued in i860
— first appeared. Archbishop McHale, the distinguished
Irish churchman — the " John of Tuam " whom Daniel O'Con-
nell was wont to call '' the lion of the fold of Judah " — once
rebuked a person whom he overheard reprehending Mahony.
The Archbishop observed that, after all, the Irishman who
wrote the Prout Papers was an honor to his country. Not
much read nowadays, the book was the talk of the town at a
time when the grandfathers of the present generation were
young men. It contains a curious mixture of fun and frivol-
ity, of sense and nonsense, of wit and wisdom, of literary
culture and keen criticism — gems of humor and gems of
scholarship scattered in sparkling profusion over pages seem-
ingly written, as it were, on the spur of the moment. The
writer's acquaintance with classic authors is rather pedanti-
cally paraded, but this may be pardoned for the admirable
rendering of some of Horace's neatly turned odes. He was an
ideal translator. He is at his best in his free translations
of the Songs of France^ particularly Beranger's, which are
very spirited. The Italian phrase, ** traduttore traditore ",
cannot be applied to him, nor can he be charged with what he
calls the clumsy servility of adhering to the letter whilst allow-
ing the spirit to evaporate. He never fails to interpret
faithfully the spirit and sense of the original, which is some-
times most felicitously conveyed; in fact he occasionally sur-
passes the original. He is equally skillful in his renderings of
the Songs of Italy] whether he is coining the pure gold of
Dante's matchless verse into the current coin of English un-
defiled by colloquial vulgarisms, or the limpid lines of
Petrarch, Tolomei, Filicia, or other sweet songsters of the
South.
The quaint conceit of the alleged plagiarisms of Moore,
the originals of some of whose " Irish Melodies " he pretends
to have discovered in French, Greek, Latin, or other authors,
of course deceived no one, but served to show his wonderful
versatility as a linguist. For this he makes amends to Moore
by incidentally observing that the same melodies made Cath-
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
oHc Emancipation palatable to the generous and thinking por-
tion of the English people and won the cause silently, imper-
ceptibly, and effectively.
Passing from gay to grave, he pays a debt of gratitude he
owed to the educators of his youth, the Irish Jesuits, en-
thusiastically extolling the large share which the intellectual
and highly-disciplined followers of the soldier-saint of Pam-
peluna had in the making of modern literature, and quoting
a long array of distinguished names in support of his thesis.
" There is not," he declares, " a more instructive and interest-
ing subject of inquiry in the history of the human mind than
the origin, progress, and workings of what are called monastic
institutions. It is a matter on which I have bestowed not a
little thought, and I may one day plunge into the depths
thereof in a special dissertation." That day never came, and
Mahony, to use his own words, suffered his wit and wisdom to
evaporate " in magazine squibs and desultory explosions ". It
will always be a matter of regret that he did not concentrate
his fine talents and extensive erudition on some sustained work
that would take a higher and more enduring place in literature
than the Reliques.
Besides his writings for Fraser'Sy he contributed to Bentley's
Magazine from 1837. The reprinted edition of The Bentley
Ballads is prefaced by a biographical sketch of Father Mahony
by his fellow countryman Mr. Sheehan, a London journalist.
At the request of Charles Dickens, the first editor of the Daily
NewSy he acted as Rome correspondent of that journal. At
that time (1843) D^"- Grant, the saintly Bishop of Southwark,
drew him in his own sweet way, as Mgr. Rogerson expresses
it, once more within the sanctuary, when for the last time he
stood vested before the altar. An affectionate mutual greet-
ing took place many years subsequently between the prelate
and the priest when they accidentally met in Paris. His let-
ters to the Daily News were republished in book form under
the title of Facts and Figures from Italy ^ by Dom Jeremy
Savonarola, Benedictine Monk. Years afterward his Italian
version of Millikin's " Groves of Blarney " was sung by Gari-
baldian soldiers, awakening echoes in the groves on the shores
of the Lake of Como. Journalism, during his later years, ab-
sorbed all his time and attention. The last twelve or fifteen
FATHER PROUT, j-
years of his life were spent as Paris correspondent of the
GlobCy a post he filled up to within a fortnight of his death.
He was a very traveled man and had roamed over Egypt,
Greece, Hungary, and Asia Minor. His life was, indeed,
erratic in that sense. " I have been a sojourner in many
lands," he says. " I early landed on the shores of Continen-
tal Europe and spent my best and freshest years in visiting
her cities, her collegiate halls, her historic ruins, her battle-
fields. But I have paused longest at Rome. I aspired to the
Christian priesthood in that city, which the Code of Justinian,
in the absence of mere Scriptural warrant, calls the fountain
of sacerdotal honor, fons sacerdotii" •
It was at Rome took place the accidental imaginary meet-
ing between " the lone incumbent of Watergrasshill " and
James Barry, the painter of the Adelphi cartoons, both Cork-
men. Standing in the Piazza del Popolo, musing on many
things, Prout had just alighted from the clumsy vehicle of his
Florentine vetturino. Barry's wonderment at discovering his
quondam acquaintance in a semi- ecclesiastical garb was not
the least amusing feature in the group presented under the
pedestal of Aurelian's obelisk, which flung its lengthy shadow
across the spacious piazza as the glorious Italian sun still
lingered on the verge of the horizon. After an adjournment
to the Osteria della Sybilla, where they drank from sparkling
Orvieto to the health of Edmund Burke, they parted at a late
hour. " Barry," relates Prout, " had but to cross the street to
his modest stanzina in the Vicolo del Greco; I tarried for the
night in the cave of * the sybil ', and dreamt over many a
frolic of bygone days, over many a deed of Roman heroism;
commingling the recollections of Tim Delaney with those of
Michael Angelo, and alternately perambulating in spirit the
Via Sacra and Blarney Lane."
He was a familiar figure to the cultured Parisians of his
day. Blanchard Jerrold describes him trudging along the
Boulevards with his arms clasped behind him, his nose in the
air, his hat worn as French caricaturists insist all Englishmen
wear hat or cap ; his quick, clear, deep-seeking eye wandering
sharply to the right or left, and sarcasm — not of the sourest
kind — playing like Jack-o'lantern in the corners 'of his mouth.
Apart from his threadbare black garb and shambling gait.
J 5 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
there were personal traits of character about him which caught
the attention almost at a glance, and piqued the curiosity of
even the least observant wayfarer. The '' roguish Hibernian
mouth," noted by Mr. Gruneisen, and the grey piercing eyes,
that looked up at you so keenly over his spectacles, won your
interest in him, even upon a first introduction. From the
mocking lip soon afterward — if you fell into conversation with
him — came the loud, snappish laugh with which, as Mr.
Blanchard remarks, the Father so frequently evidenced his ap-
preciation of a casual witticism — uproarious fits of merriment
signalizing at other moments one of his own ironical successes;
outbursts of fun, followed during his later years by the rack-
ing cough with which he was then tormented. His '' pipes ",
as he called his bronchial tubes, he mistakenly regarded as
the only weak point in his constitution, his physical strength
having been mainly undermined by diabetes. That disease,
in the midst of a complication of maladies and infirmities, first
showed its effect in the excessive depression it superinduced
in his naturally hilarious temperament.
His life in his closing years was that of a recluse. About
six weeks before his demise, his illness assumed an unmistak-
ably menacing character. He did then what he had done
three years previously when attacked by severe indisposition
— he sent round to St. Roch, his parish church, for the Abbe
Rogerson. Thenceforth, day after day, the latter was sedu-
lously in attendance upon him. The spiritual adviser of the
lonely wit became his friend, his guide, his consoler. He
fotind him at times testy and irascible. For instance, on one
occasion when the Abbe made his appearance at his door,
which generally stood open, Mahony called out with some as-
perity: "I'm busy." "All right," was the reply, "and not
rery civil to-day." That same evening the confessor received
a penciled note on the back of Mahony's card: " If you will
poke up a bear in his hours of digestion, you must expect him
to growl," On another occasion, when the confessor sug-
gested to his penitent a visit to the famous church of Notre
Dame des Victoires, as it was the centre of the Archcon-
fraternity for the Conversion of Sinners as well as a place of
pilgrimage to which people of all classes, including the Em-
press Eugenie, repaired to seek and to find solace in anguish,
FATHER PROUT.
Mahony, after listening silently and sullenly, broke out:
" Don't talk to me of localizing devotion. God is to be met
with in all places. The canopy of heaven is the roof of His
temple; its walls are not our horizon." " Excuse me," calmly
replied Mgr. Rogerson, " I am speaking to you under the im-
pression that you are a Catholic wishful to resume his duty.
Byron has given us his rhapsodies in some such fashion as this.
Pray let me speak as a priest and a believer. If you find me
limited and illiberal, seek some one else." Mgr. Rogerson
says he deemed it advisable at once to claim his position un-
hesitatingly. He did so effectually. Mahony never again
displayed any impatience of control or pride of intellect, but
became docile and tractable. His confessor had been prepared
for these characteristic sallies by overhearing the remark of an
Irish dignitary who, when conversing with another bishop on
the subject of Father Prout, said, " I should fear him even
dying ". The reply of the prelate addressed was : " I should
covet no greater grace than to see poor Frank prepared to die
well." When listening to those words the Abbe Rogerson little
expected, he says, that his were to be the privilege and the re-
sponsibility. It came to pass on the evening of Friday, i8 May,
1866, at Father Mahony 's apartment in the entresol of 19 Rue
des Moulins, under circumstances of great consolation both
to confessor and penitent. In a note dated " 6 o'clock even-
ing " he wrote as follows, with reference to his intended gen-
eral confession : *' Dear and Reverend Friend — I am utterly
unfit to accomplish the desired object this evening, having
felt a giddiness of head all the afternoon, and am now com-
pelled to seek sleep. It is my dearest wish to make a begin-
ning of this merciful work, but complete prostration of mind
renders it unattainable just now. I will call in the morning
and arrange for seeing you. Do pray for your penitent,
F. Mahony."
His remorseful sense of having obtruded himself into the
ministry was embodied by him in a document which Mgr.
Rogerson presented on his behalf to Rome, when first he
sought his aid toward reconciling him to the Church. This
was in 1865 when, through the intermediary of the Arch-
bishop of Paris, permission was obtained for him " to retire
for ever," as he expressed it, " from the sanctuary ", and to
1 3 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
resort to lay communion. Simultaneously he received a dis-
pensation enabling him, in consideration of his failing eye-
sight and advancing age, to substitute the rosary or the peni-
tential psalms for the Breviary Office. The petition was
drawn up by himself, its completeness and Latinity exciting
the surprise of the Roman ecclesiastical advocate charged with
its presentation. Commenting upon this document, Mgr.
Rogerson remarks that while Mahony's published specimens
of classical and canine Latin are no doubt the wonder and
amusement of scholars, his taking up his pen after years of
disuse and in a couple of hours throwing off an ecclesiastical
paper full of technical details and phraseology was, to say
the least of it, very remarkable. Three years before the end
came, the Abbe had the happiness of restoring his penitent
to practical life in the Church, though, greatly to the con-
fessor's regret, only in the degree of lay communion.
At the beginning of May, 1866, his state being very criti-
cal, the last Sacraments were administered to him by Mgr.
Rogerson. That he was well prepared is evidenced by the
following words in which the Abbe describes how he was
received by Father Mahony on the last occasion on which he
found him seated in his armchair, before he took to his bed :
" Thanking me for my patient and persevering attention to
him during his sickness, he asked pardon of me and of the
whole world for offences committed against God and to the
prejudice of his neighbor; and then, sinking down in front of
me, with his face buried in his two hands and resting them on
my knees, he received from me with convulsive sobs the words
of absolution. His genial Irish heart was full to overflowing
with gratitude to God, as a fountain released at this moment ;
and the sunshine of his early goodness had dispelled the dark-
ness of his after-life, and he was as a child wearied and worn
out after a day's wanderings, when it had been lost and was
found, when it had hungered and was fed again. I raised
him up, took him in my arms, and laid him on his bed as I
would have treated such a little wanderer of a child ; and left
him without leave-taking on his part, for his heart was too
full for words." He never rose from that bed again. He
would see no one but his confessor. At the Abbe Rogerson's
suggestion, however, he consented to see his former fellow-
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. ig
novice of old days, Pere Lefevre, his parting with whom is
described as wonderfully touching. Two days afterward he
received Extreme Unction at the hands of the Abbe Rogerson,
assisted by the Abbe Chartrain. From that moment no arti-
culate syllable passed his lips, and at about half-past nine
o'clock at night on Friday, i8 May, 1866, he tranquilly ex-
pired in the presence of his sister, Mrs. Woodlock, and his
confessor.
His remains were taken to Cork, and the obsequies, presided
over by Bishop Delany and attended by about twenty priests,
were celebrated in St. Patrick's Church, whence the funeral
proceeded to the family burialplace in Upper Shandon grave-
yard, where reposes the priest-poet who sang so sweetly of the
bells of Shandon. The first lines of the melodious metre in
which he proclaimed their musical merits are still to be seen
traced by his own hand on the wall of the room he once occu-
pied in the Irish College at Rome. He rests beneath the
steeple from which still, ever and anon, peal forth those same
bells which once made melody in the sleeper's ears, a memory,
to his thinking, surpassing that of the bell of Moscow, the
thunderous tones from '' old Adrian's mole ", or those which
the dome of Peter
Flings o'er the Tiber, pealing solemnly!
R. F. O'Connor.
Cork. Ireland.
OVER THE DESEET TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE.
Practical Hints to Sinaitic Tourists.
TWO years or so past, I made up my mind to top a course
of intensive preliminary studies with a vernal pilgrimage
to the foremost among the international maritime health and
quarantine stations of Egypt and Soudan. My plan duly ma-
tured in the spring of 191 1.
The largest and most important of those stations is Tor, on
the Sinaitic Peninsula, along the edge of the Desert El-Ka.
The busy season at this post coincides with the annual return
of pilgrims from Mecca; for the station can accommodate from
20 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
20,000 to 25,000 pilgrims, and aims to check the unwary
smuggling of pestilence, cholera, dysentery, into Egypt.
To get away from Tor is even a far more circumstantial
process than to land there, seeing that only once in a fortnight
does a steamer of the Khedivial Mail come to anchor about a
marine mile off shore, after touching at the charming Arabian
resorts of Djedda and Jambo, where the bubonic plague en-
joys freedom of the town. The traveler thus chancing must
serve his two days of quarantine detention when he reaches
Suez. But I took account of this knowledge in mapping out
my route, and accordingly resolved to journey overland from
Tor to Suez, with opportunity of visiting by the way the ven-
erable Convent of Saint Catharine, at the foot of the Djebel
Musa.
The like itinerary called for some perusal of works on
Mount Sinai, besides a digression into the domain of Old Tes-
tament exegesis. But neither with these matters nor with
quarantine data shall I trouble the reader: my sole object is
to offer a few practical suggestions to future Sinaitic tourists,
by the aid of my own marginal notes, as it were, while the
trip is in progress. They may then perceive just how to
initiate and compass a trip of the same kind : the very sort of
information which is withheld by the bibliography of the
subject.
In this connexion my thoughts gratefully recur to that
amiable, helpful and experienced Sinai traveler. Dr. Franz
Fellinger of Linz, who exerted himself in every way toward
inducting me a little beyond Aleph or Alpha in Old Testament
science.
Neither are very many tourists likely to share the good for-
tune of traveling, as was my lot, under the highly influential
protection of the President of the International Board in
Alexandria, Dr. M. Armand Ruffer.
A tour of the desert on any considerable scale, presupposes,
besides physical health, a degree of self-denial, strength of
will, and also trust in God ; for no human aid is to be expected
in the event of sickness or accidents.
Quite apart from the strictly scientific preparation, it is
worth while to read a few topical books of travel. An ex-
cellent book of this class is Szczepanski's Nach Petra zum
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. 2 1
Sinai.^ Suitable for the actual tour will be Baedecker's Pales-
tine and Syria, which contains both detailed itineraries and
a number of good maps; whilst Pere Barnabe Meistermann's
Guide du Nil au Jourdain par le Sinai et Petra^ is an. alto-
gether superior work, reinforced with copious illustrations
and maps, and showing an exceedingly exact report of dis-
tances. The author, then stationed in the Franciscans' Casa
Nuova in Jerusalem, is rumored to be preparing a German
issue of his volume.
The best season for travel begins midway in March and
closes about the last of May. Before that the weather is too
cold, with chances of rain or snow; later, too hot. By the
middle of March a fresh north wind is intermittent and serves
to keep down the already pretty high maximum of daily tem-
perature within a fair average. But even in the advanced
season the nights are apt to prove decidedly sharp and cold,
off and on.
In view of the great fluctuations of temperature, and seeing
that the route lies partly over high altitudes, woolen under-
clothing is indispensable in every article; and preferably
Jager's autumn weight. For outer garb a light tourist suit
made of stout English wool answers fairly; and the shoes,
for protection against snakes, ought to be of a very substantial
type: yellow, laced boots, for instance, with soft leather
gaiters. A long autumn-weight ulster is desirable for halts
and stops over night. For headgear I selected a soft, wide-
brimmed gray felt hat, capped by a second story, so to speak,,
and supplemented by a neck band. Hats of this pattern may
be purchased in Cairo and are preferable to the tropical hel-
mets; as being flexible, and better non-conductors of heat.
Then, too, they can be worn on the journey homeward. Hats
of similar fashion, but with single crown, and of thicker,
drugget material, are worn by the German Colonial troops.
The glaring Oriental heat is very liable to impart sunstroke,
unless the head be well protected. Let the double hat be
constantly worn while the heat is intense; whereas the upper
hat can be removed in the shade.
1 By Way of Petra to Sinai, Innsbruck, 1908.
2 Guide from the Nile to Jordan by way of Sinai and Petra. Paris, 1909^
22 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Like many other travelers, I was locally advised to journey
in Bedouin garb, which counsel I rationally declined. The
fact is, Europeans take far more advantageously in their
" Prankish " habit. Disguise affords no defence against at-
tacks, for the keen glance of the " child of the desert " sees
through such masquerading a long way off. But anyhow, the
tourist may as well buy one of those Bedouin cloaks, an ah aye,
in the Bazaar at Cairo, for protection against rain and cold
at night, as also to serve as a cushion with the camel saddle.
A sleeping bag is in order at night. My own came from
the Cologne firm of Ferdinand Jacob — Wagener style, water-
proof, padded, equipped with four air bolsters; in short, the
article suited me perfectly. But the air bolsters are wont to
play the trick (in spite of tight screwing) of losing buoyancy
just where one might most desire it. At first I would get
awake soon after falling asleep, to perceive that my sedentary
portion, bruised as it was the livelong day, rested very hard;
whereas, right and left thereof, was an irrelevant luxury of
elastic air cushions. Ultimately, even a stony bed ministers
to sound sleep. I may personally recommend the much
cheaper sleeping bag of grade I, with air pillows for the
head, plus a small bolster filled with wool, and therefore
useful for a saddle mat by day; considering the transit by
camel, no difficult feat of guessing is required to resolve the
bolster's use at night.
Whilst a tent enhances one's feeling of security and is posi-
tively necessary in the cooler season, it is not an easy matter
to manage the loan of a tent, or if managed at all, the cost
is generally high. Whoever plans a prolonged tour had bet-
ter buy a tent of medium size at home; and where conveni-
ence is a minor factor, an Austrian army tent will meet the
purpose, being easily put up and of compact volume when
folded. Thanks to the Governing Board, I secured a large
English army tent, over twelve feet in diameter, and a small
tent for my servant, a so-called cooking tent. The Bedouins
are wonderfully handy in setting up tents ; first clearing every
stone away and rearing a wall of sand between the floor and
wall of the tent, lest some reptile or other creeping intruder
slip in by night. In the desert a tent averts two disagreeable
ailments, rheumatism and toothache. For although one sees
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. 23
to revision and repairs of his teeth before the trip, all this is no
downright warrant against the toothache; and still stranger to
relate, that very tooth which seemed least capable of treachery,
will be sure to ache first.
Hardly had I gone ashore at Alexandria when the dele-
gated official who had been sent to meet me on board the Lloyd
steamer, advised me to buy a defensive weapon, either a long-
barreled pistol, or a large revolver, for the Sinai tour. This,
too, I declined, because the Sinaitic Bedouins are pretty good
people, save when irritated ; and furthermore, they know right
well that the strong hand of England bears rule in Egypt.
When Palmer, in his day, was murdered within two days'
march from Suez, along with two English officers, England
made short work of the trial, and fifteen Bedouins were hanged
in consequence. (The Bedouins give it out that Palmer had
voluntarily dashed himself over a precipice when confronted
with threats, but this tale seems hardly credible.) Our way
of elaborate antecedent investigations is not practicable in the
East; where the murderers are not discoverable, the simple
alternative is to noose the brother, brother-in-law, Mr. Uncle,
or any other convenient member of the tribe, his retinue to
boot. No Bedouin is nowadays so unsophisticated as to mur-
der a European on Sinai, except perhaps in the passion of
strife. Accordingly, firearms may be left quietly at home,
since in the desert this side the mountain range of Et-Tih
life and property are far safer than in the capitals of Europe.
Strange to say, there are not a few Europeans in Egypt,
persons of education among them, who seek to scare tourists
from visiting the Sinai Peninsula, by dint of holding before
them all conceivable dangers, especially the risk of being
murdered. Not to mention warnings of that sort, I had also
to listen in Cairo to a highly cultured gentleman's account of
the " swarms " of scorpions and venomous snakes to be en-
countered. To this I calmly responded that there might be
possibly a slight misunderstanding between us, — in fine, that
I was not a paleographer. These croakers are of two cate-
gories : either those who never visited the Sinai Peninsula at
all, or those who know the country very accurately, especially
the Convent of St. Catharine and its wo rid- renowned library,
so that for this very reason they are fain to keep other visitors
24 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
at a distance. Perhaps a third group should still be adduced,
the agents of certain tourist bureaus. In their case the aim
is to paint the dangers so black that the traveler will get
it into his head that he must by all means have an official
dragon-slayer, to wit, a dragoman. I would give sober warn-
ing against these people, who tenfold increase the costs of
travel ; often they are ignorant of the way itself ; whilst every
trifle sets them to quarreling with the Bedouins, whom they
render quite headstrong, to the tourist's aggravated discom-
fort. It is well, then, to listen tranquilly to the multitude of
croakings and trust only in God and oneself. He who suffers
himself to be scared away by such process is unworthy to
share the glory of beholding Sinai. But Sinai merits a
measure of sacrifice, together with a little personal courage
and strength of will as travel companions.
Provisioning for the journey can best be managed in Cairo,
where the latitude of selection is greater; although nowadays
there are also large food stores in Suez. A very responsible
warehouse in Cairo is that of the firm of Jules and Henri
Fleurent. English canned goods are of the best quality and
not expensive. Before actual purchase it is well to determine
how long the trip is to last and what is the size of the daily
requisition, because all the warehouses naturally strive to sell
the tourist a maximum bill of supplies. But in any event it
will be wise to procure something of a surplus to meet all con-
tingencies, for instance, a ration to cover two days beyond the
contemplated length of the trip. Moreover, make sure that
the Beldouins always modestly recede at the camping place,
without thought of sharing in the victuals. On the other
hand, if one gives them portion now and then (but not every
day), let it be some tea, coffee or macaroni; then they will
thank you in so friendly a style as is not elsewhere ex-
perienced in the East. Never offer them pork, which they,
being Mohammedans, abominate; nor hand them any spiritu-
ous drinks: for the cultivated European must esteem it an
affair of conscience to keep the children of nature at a safe
distance from poisons.
For my part, I was talked into gauging my supplies too
liberally, so that for the profit and weal of others, I will com-
municate my bill of fare. In the morning before marching.
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. 2"
a bowl of warm tea without sugar, and some biscuits. For
daily use I kept an aluminum flask, cased in felt; and at even-
ing this was filled with unsweetened weak tea, the best
quencher of thirst. Such flasks keep the contained beverage
properly cool, especially if the felt be moistened. I would
caution people against the so-called thermos or insulated
flasks, inasmuch as during the unavoidable jolts which ac-
company the lading and unlading of the camel, they are
liable to grow brittle, so as easily to burst when hot tea is
poured in. And though the flask stay intact, there still re-
mains the disadvantage that the contents take all of twenty-
four hours to cool off. But a hot drink in the scorching heat
of the desert is a torment.
It is out of the question to make a fire at the midday halt;
and then, too, the camels of burden are seldom at hand, being
frequently far ahead. For this reason and owing to the short-
ness of the halt, there are only cold cakes with noon lunch, and
these are stowed on one's immediate saddle camel that morn-
ing. My noon meal consisted of a piece of bread and a can
of sterilized Swiss condensed milk of a grade rarely found at
home. On this diet I fared remarkably well and incline to
credit it with the fact that I bore the afternoon heat so favor-
ably. But if the like fare appear too meagre, let a box of
sardines be tried. The principal meal occurs at evening, ter-
minating the day's ride. I then enjoyed a cup of Maggi soup
with macaroni and Parmesan cheese, followed by canned meat.
In this line much variety is afforded. The regulation can of
meat weighs one pound, and that abundantly suffices; com-
patibly too with the tourist's ideal, which, after eight to ten
hours on camel back, is to sleep aind sleep again, quite un-
disturbed on the score of scorpions and poisonous snakes,,
leopards, howling jackals, and hyenas. Among the canned
meats, all of which must be warmed up over a fire, I particu-
larly tried roast beef, corned beef, young hare with dumplings,
and small sausages.
In the way of beverages, whiskey and wine were urgently
recommended me. To begin with, I had two flasks of Scotch
whiskey, a flask of brandy, together with six pint bottles of
Medoc. But I was told in Suez that this was far from enough.
Then I bought another flask of whiskey. The fate of these
25 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
alcoholics will appear to the reader partly forthwith, partly
in sequel. Very soon I perceived that in the desert every
phase of alcohol, were it even only a few spoonfuls of whiskey
in water after sunset, decidedly depressed the bodily powers of
resistance. The day's individual ration would therefore com-
prise, besides tea or chocolate, Maggi soup extract, macaroni,
Parmesan cheese, a box of sardines or condensed milk, and a
can of meat, for the evening meal. English cakes are a con-
venient and freely digestible bite in the course of the day.
The food supply, together with appurtenances like spirit
boiler, spirits, corkscrews, and can-openers, is packed by the
dealers in secure boxes, and should be sent to Suez docks, in
warehouse. The storage fee amounts to a few cents a day.
A small family medicine chest is recommended for the
journey, both for personal use and because the Bedouins take
every European to be a physician, and beg for medicines.
In the latter article, the best shift is to furnish a ready purga-
tive, such as sagrada, or tamarind tablets. Such medicine is
much in request through the East, and easily wins for the
donor the name of a good physician. In the Convent on
Sinai, the steward showed me their medicine chest as well. In
the main it was a castor oil vault. It was in Palestine that
I made the acquaintance of a German physician who has a
large practice among the natives. And he disclosed to me the
secret of his success : castor oil in emulsion, tinted in the na-
tural color, as well as in blue, red, green. Internal remedies
of note are quinine in tablet form, tincture of opium, Hoff-
mann's drops. For inflammation of the eyes, collyrium ad-
stringens luteum, of which a few drops are dripped into the
eyes. For various injuries, keep in readiness a supply of
cotton, gauze, Byrolin ointment in tubes, and some skin
powder. For antidote to scorpion stings, use a few crystals
of permanganate of potash, rubbed in the wound. Better
first clench the teeth and enlarge the wound with a sharp
knife. The same treatment applies to snake bites. Some
European physicians long active in the East and commanding
large experience herein, advised me that in supplement to the
foregoing procedure one should swallow cognac to the point of
intoxication, a remedy of hoary age, and, as it seems, never
rejected.
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE o^
27
For that matter, there is no occasion for inordinate fear of
scorpions and snakes. These creatures prevalently lurk under
stones and in proximity to water. Neither Professor Fel-
linger nor I saw a single scorpion. Once I remarked a rather
large specimen of the snake family, but it fled as we ap-
proached.
Besides provisions and family medicines, a further list of
articles remains to be procured in Cairo. One good thing is
a camel sack, which may be had of the tent-makers, and
also a coarse woolen cover for the very hard saddle. To lov-
ers of nature I would especially recommend, if they visit the
Sinai Peninsula by way of Tor, that they utilize the shipping
card in the agency of the Khedivial Mail Line at Cairo. The
local agent, Mr. Munari, speaks German, and is a very obliging
man, very willing to assist tourists, and as far as possible he
places his negro servant at the traveler's disposal for shopping
in the Bazaar. The servant is fluent in German, which he
melts in the accent of Berlin. Even with the fee to the
servant, one buys cheaper than alone.
In Cairo two important documents must be secured — a card
of permit for visiting the Peninsula, from the Egyptian Min-
istry of War, which is to be presented for signature to the
English passport officer in Suez, Falconer Bey; and a letter
of recommendation to the Metropolitan of the Sinaitic monks.
Without this letter there is no admission to the Convent of
Saint Catharine. Both documents are provided by the resi-
dent Consul, but I preferred a personal introduction to the
Archbishop, which the Director of the Khedivial Library, Dr.
Moriz, was good enough to obtain for me. The recommenda-
tion must have been impressive, for I was allowed to handle
and turn over the leaves even of the most valuable manu-
scripts, which otherwise are shown merely at a distance,
behind a grating.
At this point a few words may be said concerning the only,
and unfortunately unavoidable, means of transport through
the desert, the camel. Before starting I went over once more
to Schonbrunn in order to inspect the " ship of the desert "
quite minutely, and I resolved that the camel has a very high
back, to be sure, but in other features is altogether a lovely
creation. To my regret we could not meet at short range,
28 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
for the reason that in Schonbrunn the visitors are strictly-
forbidden to feed the animals. In Egypt the creature be-
gan to attract me sensibly less, when I noticed that the camel
is a pacer, and that the rider must thereby endure very un-
pleasant oscillations. At Assuan I attempted a personal ap-
proach by holding out a crisp cake, but was repelled with a
snarl that suggested some snappish cur. Even then the
thought began to dawn on me that the camel, despite his
properly good qualities, is only a dumb animal; and this
thought grew into the texture of firm conviction during the
desert journey.
If, after a rough day's ride, the camel for undiscerned rea-
sons takes a notion to strike up a brief gallop, then, true
enough, the poor rider by no means hears the choir of all
angels, but feels rather so profound a pain in the spinal ex-
tremity that he could himself nearly sing in his anguish. Then
and there I resolved, in order to postpone any further sad dis-
illusions, never again to mount a camel unless grim necessity
thereto constrained me.
The observation that one cannot grow seasick on camel
back seems to me mistaken. I am rather convinced that those
incessant, somewhat pronounced pendulum swings are liable
to produce nausea and indisposition with sensitive constitutions.
When the long and agitated course of our steamer El-
Kahira through the deep blue Red Sea was at an end, and
we sighted the Sinai Peninsula, there drew near to me the
negro ship's commissary to solicit the drafting of a certificate;
for the authorities in Suez keep close watch on all passengers
who cross the Red Sea, and require to know the country and
ultimate site of one's destination. My goal. Tor, seemed to
startle the good negro, who looked at me quite aghast.
In Suez my first errand was to the freight warehouse, for
my supplies were there. The next step was to buy some to-
bacco, the Bedouins being great smokers and apt to stay in
good temper if they get a few packets every evening. I
bought fifty packages of smoking tobacco, three hundred
cigarettes, and fifty cigars for twenty piastres. Experience
showed that this quantity was not gauged too high.
Our Austrian Consul, whom I naturally acquainted with my
design, was one of the few people who declared my tour to be
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE or.
free from danger. More or less officially, too, I visited the
Director of Quarantine, Dr. Josef Batko, a Pole by birth; in
whose family I spent a most agreeable evening after my re-
turn from Sinai. The tourist v^ho chooses the overland route
to Suez v^^ill do well to pay his respects to Director Batko, so
as to preclude all manner of difficulties on arriving in the Chat.
But of this in its place. What here calls for remark is the
■circumstance that with the quarantine physicians infectious
diseases, even bubonic plague and tuberculosis, have lost every
sting. My good colleague explained to me, among other
points of interest, that probably some cases of smallpox would
soon be due by the Indian steamers. This prophesying
sounded not unlike a greengrocer's announcement to the cook
that this year's potatoes would be presently in the market.
In the afternoon I had a call from the Russian Vice-Consul,
Dr. Manolakis, who handed me the letter of credentials from
the Archbishop, by way of the Sinaitic Convent in Suez;
withal adding a note to Father Polykarpos, omnipotent stew-
ard of the Convent of St. Catharine. I found Dr. Manolakis
to be an extremely accommodating gentleman. Inasmuch as
the Czar is sovereign protector of the Sinaitic religious, his
official representative also counts very appreciably with the
monks ; for which reason I recommend every traveler to Sinai
to pay him a visit. Dr. Manolakis is a physician in vogue,
and speaks Italian, French, and English. His villa near the
Hotel Bel Air borders a lagoon with orange-red water.
It was in the evening hours of 6 March that the steamer
Missir left Suez. The fact that a passenger for Tor was on
TDoard had become known, and he was regarded with awe.
My qualifications as Hakim seemed popular warrant for curi-
osity of the sort, and one of the natives pointed to me, saying
to his neighbor with a twitch of the shoulders. Hakim (physi-
cian). The first cabin's company was rather mixed: a Turk-
ish First Lieutenant, son of the sheriff of Djedda, richly
attired ; item, two Bedouin sheiks ; the newly appointed French
Consul at Djedda, with his young wife and two serving maids.
The party seemed so hopeful that I trust they may experience
no disappointment in Djedda. There was also a Jewish pas-
senger, and Mr. N. W. de Courcy, chief architect of the Board
of Administration. This affable Englishman was the " only
^Q THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
sympathetic heart beneath so many masks " ; and with him
I exchanged the customary social glasses. We were the sole
passengers for Tor. The saloon on board the Missir measures
about eight feet in diameter; being surrounded by the cabins
containing three berths each. Having promptly apprehended
the merit of the baksheesh, I secured a cabin to myself.
By 7 o'clock of the next morning, our goal was reached.
As guest of the Board, I was spared the never very com-
fortable, though perfectly safe transit to the Sinaitic Convent
by sail boat; for the camp director. Dr. Zachariades Bey
came aboard and conveyed me to the station in a steam launch.
The process of embarking and disembarking in the East is.
altogether summary. Before one thinks of it, he is handled
simply like a bag of meal, and stowed away. Then follows
the baggage, over which the passenger is often more con-
cerned than for himself ; because the pieces are let down from
the hull. Thus, at Port Said, I noticed how the tropical hel-
met of a Reverend was attached by its chin straps to the boat
hooks, and so transferred to the small boat.
Tor (that is to say, the sanitary station Tor) is nowadays
a purely English colony, though during the season some Ger-
man, French, or Greek physicians are also active. President
Ruffer had already made complete arrangements by telegraph,,
and reserved for me a room in the President's house. Still
more, before his departure for Paris he sent his private cook
and rifle charger, Achmed Hamza, a guard of the Board's, to
Tor with instructions to attend me on the tour as factotum.
Achmed, a Berber of about 30 years, proved himself a very
handy, model valet, who even in the desert retained the habits
of a well-trained English servant, and every evening " laid
the table " by dint of my water chest no less punctiliously
than if it had stood in the drawing-room at Ramleh. When
we parted in Suez, I nominated him, free of charge, for Pasha.
Other travellers go by sail boat to the village of Tor, quite
remote from the camp, where they find shelter in the Sinaitic
Convent. For the most part the monks use only modern
Greek and Arabic ; although it might be possible to make out
with them tolerably in Italian. Just here a word on the lan-
guage question. Any one who speaks French, Italian, or
English can get along perfectly. The solitary traveller is.
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. ^^^
advantaged by a little Arabic; but a few terms will suffice,
and these one may learn from the really excellent Meyer's
Guides to Language. I had "A Little Meyers" in pocket:
Italian, English, Modern Greek, and Arabic; much to the
amusement of the Englishwomen in Tor. Conversation with
the Bedouins was managed by Achmed, who spoke English
and Arabic.
Where caravan business is forward, the Egyptian official
Nasir is always at hand; a right friendly man, who under-
stands French and English. My own concerns with the Arch-
imandrite and the Nasir were transacted that afternoon by
Mr. Director Zachariades Bey. Contrary to common report,
the procedure was quiet and smooth. Most tourists are sub-
ject to the tap rooted impression that they are going to be
overreached. But there is a fixed scale of rates in force, by
Government regulation ; and the same applies alike to Egyp-
tian officials, pilgrims, and tourists. The latter pay, by camel
reckoning, 120 piastres, or about six dollars, from Tor to
Convent St. Catharine. The money is taken over by the
steward, who seals it and conveys it to the sheik. I was per-
sonally present when Father Polykarpos opened the package
on Sinai and paid the Bedouins in full. I paid for four
camels, including two saddle camels: one for the tent and
baggage; in which connexion the Nasir assured me that he
would himself select the animals. The contract was drawn
up in duplicate, and signed by the Archimandrite and by
myself; then sealed by the sheik. The Nasir has a list of
authorized sheiks and appoints the one whose turn is instant.
Thus it happened that my guide was Sebeijjin Muse, although
the President had thought of Sheik Mudakhel for me. They
are all trustworthy and at home in their topography. Since
the sheik has charge of the camel drivers, the tourist has only
to indicate his wishes to the sheik alone: otherwise it may
chance that a Bedouin, especially if some servant or dragoman
assumes to dispense orders, will explain : " I mind none but
the sheik." With friendly treatment, these people are very
obliging, and never wax importunate.
Yonder transactions over, the warehouses were visited to
the end of completing my outfit. Only when well on my way,
did I fully learn to appreciate the thoughtfulness accorded me
^2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
in this regard by Mrs. Broadbent, the Directress of the estab-
lishment, in cooperation with the Director. For instance, I
found a small hearth, kitchen utensils, plates, cups, two large
lanterns with candles, a wash basin and bath towel, a barrel
of water and a folding camp chair with support for the back ;
which is quite an invaluable article of furniture when it
comes to resting. Achmed had bought a bag of charcoal at
my charge.
The journey began about a quarter to ten on the morning
of 8 March. After a hearty farewell and thanks for hospi-
tality, it was in order to mount camel back. The Nasir had
kept his word: six camels in prime condition lay camped
before the President's House. It was explained to me that
the number of camels need cause no mistake, since only four
were to be paid for. I had often read about the rider's ma-
noeuvring with reference to climbing the camel, so as not to
fall down as soon as mounted ; but a venerable thing is theory :
all this was forgotten. The sheik on my right, Achmed on
the left, held their arms on guard, and soon I sat safe and
sound on the ship of the desert. At the same instant, there
was a snapping of kodaks, another good-bye, a waving of the
hat, and off I was for the solitary desert with six Bedouins and
Achmed. Where man is inwardly stirred to depths of emo-
tion, but prefers not to give free course to such mood, then the
next moments can be conveniently tided by a pinch of snuff
or a cigarette. I chose the latter, and was agreeably diverted
to find how easy the lighting proved, in spite of the rocking
movement. One grows quickly at home to the camel's back;
and having both hands clear, one may eat, drink, read, and
even write. Only, the latter pastime is to be recommended
exclusively to very great scholars ; forasmuch as in their case
it is quite immaterial if they write illegibly.
I chose the route through the Wadi es-Sle, whose peculiar-
ities can be followed in Szczepanski's work. A grander moun-
tainous landscape will hardly be discovered. The first five
hours lead one through the flat, herbless desert El-Ka. But
I could descry nought in the way of those " yawning chasms
and gaping abysses " mentioned by Szczepanski, who rode by
night. Shortly before the entrance gorge of es-Sle, one must
dismount, as the road sinks abruptly downward. No new-
Chapel of Elias on Mount Musa
Two Sinai Inhabitants
(Greek Monks)
Author's Tent in Convent Grounds, Mount Sinai
First Stop in Waui es-Sle
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE.
comer finds fault with this necessity. After half an hour's
march, the sheik gives the word to mount again. This time
better progress is perceptible. One finds the process of getting
down a great deal more obnoxious, in that many camels drop
quite suddenly to their knees, thereby causing the rider to
cling tightly to the saddle plug. In es-Sle we encountered
the first Bedouins. They reach forth their hands to my guide,
and embrace amid whispered greetings. Whoever beholds
these grave Biblical figures for the first time in this attitude,
understands the Saviour's grief when He spoke: " Judas, dost
thou betray the son of man with a kiss?" None but good
friends embrace; others pass by with a brief salutation.
About 2.30 P. M. I got half an hour's rest; then, off again
till 5.30, when, after the matter of eight hours' ride for that
day (9.45 A. M. to 5.30 P. M.), the tents were set up. First
night in the desert ! Who is likely to sleep at once, where the
heart is filled with such magnified impressions. I again
stepped forth from my tent. At some distance crouched those
gaunt, sunburned figures, to whom for the impending transit
my life was intrusted; they were now illumined with the
ruddy glow, as they huddled about the camp fire, whilst beside
them in the fringe of darker background lay the camels like
black mounds, as they chewed their durra fodder. My
glances tended involuntarily skyward ; but the clouds con-
tinued stark motionless; not a glimmer of light is visible; no
voice resounds from above. The time has not yet come which
is to renew the glad tidings of the Gospel to these unfor-
tunates ; that Gospel which their forefathers forsook these long
centuries past in order to follow Islam.
The first night was rounded; but the unaccustomed camp-
ing, the strenuous ride of the day before, did not conspire to
beget quiet sleep. Strange noises roused me during the night.
Could this have been the howling of hyenas? I doubt it not
in the least that hyenas howl by night in the desert; only, I
think that many a tourist is deluded by his excited imagina-
tion, and that often the very loud snorting of the camels is mis-
taken for howling of hyenas. Prolonged sleepers in the desert
there are none; so I rose at daybreak; when behold, my man
Achmed was already brewing tea and preparing warm water
for washing. Since the preceding evening he had hired a
24 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
scullion, in the shape of a droll young Geheli Gimel, camel
driver; who struck my attention by the fact that he wore a
European overcoat, although nothing but the lining was now
left of it ! Gebeli ought to have been of compound construc-
tion, to be taken apart at will ; seeing that he was incessantly
in demand by all the company during the hours of evening
rest. When the tents went up, he pounded like one possessed,
with his wooden mallet on the tent pegs, and was always in
good humor. The camel that bore the tents was his unique
property, which supported his wife and child as well as him-
self. To the question, did this suffice him? ''Yes," he an-
swered seriously: '* God bestows His blessing therewith."
Although the Bedouins work very briskly, the marching
preliminaries take up at least an hour; forasmuch as the tents
must be struck, and the camels brought in from foraging
their scanty breakfast here and yonder, in order to be laden.
These curious animals make a frightful din in the operation :
a noise comparable to lamentation, growls, and bellowing, all
at once. Most unmannerly is the same beast when one mounts
him ; no sooner does he perceive such intention than he tries to
bite and career, so that the Bedouin presses the camel's head
with all his might to the ground, until the rider is firmly
seated. But once in motion, the creature behaves itself de-
corously. Thanks to the circumspection of my man Achmed,
who looked after the baggage and was loath to see me move
a hand, I could observe the lively exotic performance with the
freedom of a passive beholder. The Bedouin's first care was
to get the Chawadscha's, or master's camel, in readiness for
the march. Still in advance of the caravan, and accompanied
only by the aged proprietor of my mount, Gimar Taema, I
left the camping site. The landscape acts with such fascina-
tion over the gazer, the feeling of security controls one so
completely, that one loses all thought of those earlier warnings
about attacks and untoward surprises. After barely an hour's
march, Gimar pointed to the road, and made motions to dis-
mount. And since on that rocky ground the camel cannot lie
down, the rider must let himself down after the fashion of a
schoolboy over a lofty stile. But what of that? in the desert
one has many things to learn. After protracted clambering
over the rocks, the road improved for us again, making it
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. -^c
possible to ride. After four and three quarter hours of march,
I gained an hour's rest in Wadi Tarfa, about 12.30 P. M.
On the third day of the journey, Friday, 10 March, I left
camp about seven o'clock, on the Rahabe plateau. Only a few
hours now separate us from our goal, but this time there was
need of continual dismounting, inasmuch as the camels could
make their way along the partly impassable, steep and rocky
paths only with severe effort. But suddenly our destination
looms into view, the cloistered fortress in its world- forgotten
vale, flanked by its massive buttress of Djebel Musa and ed-
Der. The sight of the spot where, tradition has it, Jehovah
first revealed himself to Moses : " I am that I am," was so
overpowering that I stood with uncovered head, lost in medi-
tation.
About a quarter before noon, and after twenty-one and a
half hours' riding, the caravan reached the outer cloister gate,
which opened only after considerable delay. Neither does
anybody in the broad cloister court invite the strangers to
come in : like so many walls the camels continue standing, and
the men beside them. For weal or woe, I had to open my
trunk outside, and send my letters of recommendation into the
yard, where Brother Miltiades received them and vanished.
A good while afterward, he returned and silently motioned
to me to follow. Though fairly tall, I could easily stay up-
right while walking through the narrow passage in shape of
a Greek zeta. In the divan of the cloister, I was greeted offi-
cially, in the presence of the Archimandrite and the steward.
Father Polykarpos, who is fluent in Italian and French. When
the letters of credentials had been perused, mastic brandy,
black coffee and cigarettes were handed about; and then the
steward asked me where I would lodge. I might either so-
journ in the cloister, or set up my tent at liberty in the en-
vironment. I chose the latter privilege, and asked leave to
camp in the cloister garden. There, indeed, under olive trees
and blossoming apricots, with the antiquated cisterns of turban
design on the right; their precious water coming from Djebel
Musa ; and on the left, the monks' burial vault : one felt quite
in the mood, only the nights were like ice. Nevertheless, I
would select this very spot another time. But again, commu-
nication with the cloister is not unobstructed; for the small
36
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
gate is always barred, and the bell-handle happens to be one
story high, so that only practised climbers can reach it. This
being the situation, I once asked Achmed concerning the man's
wash-room; although nothing short of the Arabic Mustarah
revealed to him my want. A handy Bedouin then led me to a
pool, visible far below ; kept clapping his hands to disperse the
poultry, and thereupon, turning toward me, he made a gesture
to approach. Already versatile to new phenomena, I simply
uttered a resigned " all right ", and so descended to Tartarus.
In these times the cloister's guest rooms are very clean,
habitably ordered, furnished with soft carpets, and answerable
even to somewhat fastidious requirements.
Shortly after the formal introduction, began the medical
routine ; seeing that a Hakim is but rarely encountered in Con-
vent St. Catharine. I deem it worth while to state that from
the Archimandrite to the humblest monk, bodily cleanliness
and linen left nothing to censure. It is altogether singular,
how discreditably German tourists in particular, write about
people whose hospitality they previously enjoyed. Are there
then in our own cloisters no brethren in service whose hands
in the wake of coarse work are not so neat as may be presup-
posed of ladies who receive the manicure's visit every morn-
ing? The result of one's examination, and still more the
subsequent inspection of the tombstones, gave food for reflec-
tion. Except rheumatism, there appears to be no disease in
the cloister. Death gains admission only when at last ardently
welcomed by some weary brother of eighty or ninety years.
Here a physician were liable to starve. But in the same
cloister, two unsalaried physicians are always active, and they
never make a professional mistake: namely, the fresh moun-
tain air, and strict diet; especially during the main fasting
season. Flesh meat and wine are never to be seen on the
Sinaitic table. The frugal meal consists of bread, fish, vege-
tables, and fruit, set off with a small glass of mastic brandy,
their home product; which, however, is always drunk diluted
with water. In the capacity of examining physician, one gains
a closer insight into the mode of living and its reactive effects.
Among the many monks examined, I discovered no trace of
alcoholism. This fact is to be expressly brought out, because
on this point, again, descriptive tourists incur the fault of
downright want of tact.
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. 37
More than once, as I listened to the monks chanting their
Psalms in that archaic Basilica, I put to myself the question :
just what moved these men to quit their sunny Greek home,
in order to pass their lives here in harsh solitude? Sloth?
No, for they work their gardens. Epicureanism? Even the
poor Bedouin from time to time brings down an ibex or a bird,
and feasts himself with the dainty roast thereof. Avarice?
But even if the Convent is wealthy, the individual enjoys
nought of that wealth. Only living faith and profound sense
of religion (perhaps, indeed, clothed in too rigid forms) could
have induced these men to retire into Jethro's Valley.
On returning to the tent to drink my noonday milk, I found
myself in quite altered surroundings. By command of the
steward. Brother Miltiades had fitted up my tent with a straw
mat, a finely- covered table with glasses, knife and fork, and
some seats. What a treat is the like scale of convenience!
Travelling in the desert brings one properly to the conscious-
ness that contentment stands in direct relation to independence
of wants.
The following day was devoted to the ascent of Djebel
Musa. For nominal fee one may hire a monk and a Bedouin
as companions. It is not advisable to go alone, because one
may easily miss the path among the boulders, and fail to visit
the isolated, locked chapels. The ascent may be recommended
even to those who are not free from dizziness. The pilgrims'
stairway, a lucus a non lucendo, consists of so many medium-
sized rocks, over which one must climb as best he can. The
route occupies two hours ; yet my attendant. Brother Constan-
tine, who spoke Italian, kept telling me with reassurance, I
should only walk right slowly; that people who labored with
pen and ink were not used to mountain climbing. In three
hours I reached the summit, from which one can admire a
part of the imposing mass of Sinai, washed by the sea on both
sides of its promontory. On the way down. Biblical explorers
visit Ras es Safsaf, whence Moses is supposed to have an-
nounced the Ten Commandments to the congregation of Israel.
A chapel crowns the pinnacle of Musa, and opposite the same
is a ruinous mosque. I took advantage of the hour's rest to
eat my lunch : a few swallows of cold tea, with cakes. I also
offered a few morsels to the worthy Constantine; but he would
38
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
not partake until I solemnly assured him that there was no
fat contained : only flour, water, and sugar. Constantine pres-
ently withdrew to the chapel to chant his Psalms. Achmed
lay sleeping beside the ruined mosque. The scene might sug-
gest interesting reflections, but I contented myself with photo-
graphing the sleeping Moslem and his crumbling house of
worship. Archbishop Porphyrios II, a prelate still in his
prime, and of antecedent schooling in France and Germany,
is said to be planning to restore the chapel to its original form,
and to build a road to it. The latter project was already
begun. Likewise his work is the damming of the mountain
torrent near the cypress plain. Moreover, in the Convent
itself, the construction of a library with iron framework is
under serious consideration.
Sunday was reserved for rest and inspection of the Convent.
Nowadays the use of the library is allowed by the Arch-
bishop only to specially well recommended persons, in that
their experiences on Sinai with European scholars were none
too auspicious. I would counsel future visitors to forbear
questions in this regard, because they are not answered with
pleasure. Even at Cairo, I was reminded on the part of com-
petent authority not to utter the name of Tischendorf, discov-
erer of Codex Sinaiticus. As is known, this manuscript was
sold to the Czar of Russia ; which sequel still nowadays, and
that with good warrant, appears to cause bitterness of regret
in the Convent.
Since the contract rate of ten dollars had already been fixed
at Tor for each camel as far as Suez, all I had to do was to
turn over this amount to the steward. Again I paid for four
camels, though the caravan comprised six. This custom ob-
tains for the reason that the Bedouins spare their beasts, es-
pecially the younger ones, and reckon on lading a supply of
durra fodder for themselves at the Convent on the return
trip. By special ruling, the steward permitted the same car-
avan to continue to Suez ; whereas usually the camels and
drivers are relayed at the Convent. My bill from the steward
was moderate: a fee for attendance to Djebel Musa, a small
sum for the doorkeeper, and the domestics who had got the
baggage into the yard. The traveller who sojourns in the
Convent and thence draws his provisions, pays for the same
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. ^g
at a fixed rate, and adds an optional sum, say a dollar a day,
for his room. Tips to the servants are not customary. But
ancient usage approves the outlay of a stranger's gift, xenion,
for the Church or the poor. He who needs provisions for the
return journey, can obtain the same at moderate price in the
Convent. Its market supplies fresh eggs, sardines, macaroni,
cheese, and bread, which is baked in the cloister every Satur-
day. Good fuel alcohol may also be had. Do not forget to
fill any flasks with water. The quality is excellent.
My announcement that in five days I must make Suez was
received with dubious shaking of heads. An old Bedouin who
had been called in as expert would hear nothing of such pre-
cipitation. So I summoned my sheik, and informed him
through Achmed that I accounted him and his people capable
of achieving this feat, though admittedly a little arduous.
The sheik pointed to his head, as much as to signify : By my
pate, ere the fifth day is past, thou shalt be in Suez. A vigor-
ous grasp of hands, an " all right '* on my side, Marhaha on
his side, sealed the agreement. Next in order was to map off
the route, from the chart itself : Nakb el Hawa, Wadi Lebwe,
Barak, Suwik, etc. As the steward also allowed, Feran oasis,
which is visited by Biblical explorers, had to stay out.
Many travellers take ofi'ence at the fact that the Convent is
authorized to appoint the caravans ; and make all sorts of
ironical comments thereon. But they forget what a mortally
wearisome task it is to negotiate with Orientals, with whom
time counts not at all. Just plant a German professor with
his bookish Arabic over against a group of Bedouins, and let
him proceed. He will grow nervous, but reach no result; or
if he does, he will pay more than to the Convent. The
Bedouin has comparatively no right sense of the value of
money, for he stakes everything too high. When one of my
attendants was asked what he wanted for his sword, a kind of
bayonet blade, in woven leather sheath, he demanded ten dol-
lars, or about four times the real value.
Leave-taking was no less of a ceremony than the reception.
The steward conveyed gifts of hospitality, put on my hand St.
Catharine's pilgrimage ring, and presented one of the same
design for Dr. Manolakis. Before departure, he called the
Bedouins together, commended me to their protection, and
.Q THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
explained to them that after our arrival in Suez I would
tender an exact report of their behavior to the Russian Vice-
Consul.
I left the hospitable Convent on 13 March, at 7.45 A. M.
The sheik and Achmed discharged their rifles, and a monk
on the battlement returned the salute. Thus, amid crackling
of rifles and rumbling echoes I made my way into the silent
desert, endeared to me now. Whether the sun rises or sets in
a play of glorious colors, or the full moon and sparkling stars
illumine the night, one is constantly discovering new beauties
in the desert, and learns to understand why the Bedouin loves
his wilderness above all else.
The several daily stages were as follows: 13 March, 8j4
hours, night camp Wadi Barak; 14 March, 9^4 hours, Wadi
Suwik; iSth, 11 hours, 5 minutes, Wadi Uset; 16 March, 9j/$
hours, Wadi Werdan; 17 March, 9 hours, 10 minutes, Quar-
antine Chat, across from Suez.
The day's course on 15 March ended not without some up-
roar. So early as half-past five the Bedouins wished to halt
for the night's rest, but I declined with the remark that to-day
we must still make Wadi Uset. Then began a petty revolt,
and words of abuse were launched at the sheik, who muffled
himself in silence. The men explained that they were tired,
that the camels would find no fodder at Uset; and what not
of the sort. I remembered that ancient Xenophon, somewhat
farther back in Asia, was once in similar plight during the
retreat of the Ten Thousand; so I checked my camel, dis-
mounted, and gave word by the voice of Achmed : " Let him
who was weary, mount my beast, and I would walk." The
brawlers receded abashed, but when a little removed, they re-
sumed their grumbling. It was now Achmed's turn to step
forth with terribly glaring eyes, and threaten that whoever
refused obedience would be sternly imprisoned at Suez. When
Achmed interpreted to me his instantly effectual menace, I
could scarcely conceal my smiles. It was already growing
dark when we came to Uset. The most arrant clamorers now
proved also loudest with their Marhaba. So still to-day,
" Hosanna " may be heard in close contact with " Crucify
Him." That evening I dealt out tea with plenty of sugar,
thereby restoring the peace. My arrival in Suez on the fifth
Inside the Walls of Convent St. Catharine
'-miJiA
''l€()a Movi] TOv livd 541 {.i. X.
CHHaiicKiii MoHacTbipb 541 n. p. Xp.
The Convent at Sinai (A. D. 541).
Ras es-Safsaf
SAID TO BE THE MOUNT FROM WHICH MOSES ANNOUNCED THE TEN
Commandments
^i^-llte#f-'
Convent St. Catharine in the Sinai Desert
OVER THE DESERT TO CONVENT ST. CATHARINE. 41
day was now assured, to the joy of the sheik, who had de-
ported himself like a diplomat.
On 16 March, at 9 A. M., we reached Wadi Gharandel, the
first watering station for the camels after leaving the Convent.
Surrounded by rushes, appears a small spring, and there is a
fairly large pool of water, whence the camels drank in eager
draughts. After this, and the wholesome reaction from a foot
bath, my water barrel was filled. The soup and chocolate
boiled with this water next morning had a slight chemical
taste, but were drunk to the last drop. The traveller joyfully
greets the telegraph poles and the now visible Red Sea, whose
steamers are prompt harbingers of civilization. About 3.50
P. M. of 1 7 March we came to the springs of Moses for a brief
rest; and about 6.25 P. M. the march ceased at Chat, where
we were confronted by the black Quarantine soldier, posted
as sentinel. Many tourists imagine some evil spirit at this
station, ready to play them a trick even at the last moment.
Such is not the case. Every caravan must halt before Chat
pending telephone instructions from Suez, or until the Quar-
antine physician appears on his rounds of inspection, consum-
ing maybe half an hour. Only then are the tourists of the
desert permitted to enter Suez. We rode on to Chat, where
Master Zachariades, superintendent of the station, came to
meet me with felicitations. In a few moments the Director
sent word by telephone for my free transit. Now came the
hearty farewell to those good sons of the desert. We parted
amid mutual congratulations, and scarcely shall we see one an-
other again. I procured a room in Chat, and presently Ach-
med could announce that my fare was served in the dining-
room. Still at a late evening hour the Quarantine boat hove
in sight, which was to convey me to Suez ; but I was grateful
to adjourn the trip till next morning. After sound sleep and
a refreshing bath, I left the station on the morrow ; not without
first perusing the visitors' book of compliments and grievances.
But lo, there was no complaint, only praise on the part of the
guests here quarantined against their will. Hence it is evident
that with wise administration even the most unacceptable
passes can be rendered endurable; nay, positively agreeable.
Before departure I presented my provisions to Achmed, and
supposed I might be affording my friendly surveillant a treat
^2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
with wine and whisky. But when he declined them in aver-
sion for alcohol, I had nothing else to do but forget my flasks
and bottles. And if not broken, they may still be standing
there to-day.
Leopold Senfelder, M. D.
Vienna, Austria.
FATHEE OARLTON'S OPFEEINGS.
A Clerical Story.
IT was May in Italy — Italia mistica. John Carlton, an
English priest in traveling mufti, was journeying from
Assisi to Perugia, in a shabby little carriage drawn by a very
bony horse. He was rejoicing in his first sight of Umbria.
Verde Umbria was now spread all around him. Many of the
roads were bordered with white flowering acacia; the Judas
tree showed its purple-red bloom; he looked upon the pink
of the sainfoin, the rising green corn in the fields, the young
oaks in spring freshness, olive groves silvery and grey, the
small yellow flowers of the ilex peeping out of its sombre
leafage, and in the hedges the perfumed honeysuckle, called
by Italians " manine della Madonna ".^ The circling swal-
lows were seen against the Italian blue sky. Perugia, augusta
Perusiay one of the chief and most ancient of old Etruscan
cities, now capital of the Province, built on the edge of a
group of hills, russet-brown, grave, imposingly meritorious of
her chequered history, of her endless associations, was above
him.
It commands a magnificent prospect. On clear days one can
see the whole ring of Umbrian cities, the two great highways
to Rome, the extensive valley of the Tiber, with all Umbria
in its ever-varying aspects lying at its feet. To the East is
the holy city of Assisi, with Spello, Foligno, the dark ilex
woods of Spoleto just visible, for the hill above Bettoma hides
the town itself ; to the South is Todi, where the northern russet
hills rise in unequal height till they touch the Apennines.
Father Carlton reveled in it all as they drove slowly up,
recalling the well-known points in the vista gradually being
1 Little hands of Our Ladv.
FA THER CARL TON'S OFFERINGS. . ,
43
unfolded before him, feeling all its irresistible enchantment.
His room on arrival at the hotel had a like prospect, making
it hard to tear himself from the window of the exceptionally
comfortable bedroom and reflect that he must, when refreshed
by the hot water left in a covered can standing in the large
basin, go and have some tea.
It was in the days before motors came hooting, grunting,
and snorting noisily up from the valley station to the stately
medieval town. Then it was very silent, but for the everlast-
ing bells from some of the church towers, among the latter —
there are about forty-two — the singularly beautiful Campanile
of San Pietro. Even now there are not many carriages. The
few gardens are hidden behind the old houses, though on many
you notice hanging pots of flowers on iron sockets or rings so
fastened as to hold them — daisies, carnations. One catches
a glimpse of the fair faces of the women often bending over
them, or as they are arranging the white and many-colored
linen which Italian-fashion hangs from many windows.
There are magnificent town gates in Perugia, one with
Etruscan foundations; there are curious winding streets with
covered ways, through which the deadly winter winds blow
with keen force; there are endless picturesque bits in this irreg-
ularly built town, and as you tread the Via Vecchia with its
lovely view framed in its arch, you remember that it has been
used as a street for over two thousand years, and that in this
place you are forever in touch with the past.
Father John Carlton opened his mail as he took his tea
in the pretty hall with its palms and flowers, its easy chairs,
its rockers, and little cosy tables. There were a few letters
from friends — he had a good many and valued them, for he
had practically no relatives, being the only child of only chil-
dren; his two uncles were dead long ago.
Father Campbell, who was supplying during his absence
wrote about some practical matters; and a letter was here,
which he kept to the last, from the builder he had decided
to employ to throw out the study and add to the veranda.
The builder sent a plan and estimate, and off"ered to begin at
once, so that it would be nearly done by his return. He en-
larged on the fact that it would be a very great improve-
ment to the house, and his face, somewhat severe in expression,
^ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
took on a smile of content as in imagination he saw room for
so many of his books, for he was a great collector. It was a
capital idea of his, and perhaps next year he would enlarge
the spare room above it and put a balcony there. The view
over pretty Sussex country would be charming. Finishing
his tea, he pushed his letters into his pocket and went out,
walking down the flagged Corso which cleaves the tableland
of the town in half, until he reached the Piazza del Duomo,
where it was impossible for Father Carlton not to stop to ex-
amine with interest the Fonte Maggiore, a wonderful fountain
which stands near the Cathedral. Its triple basin is beauti-
fully sculptured, and dates from the thirteenth century. He
was intensely sentient to the atmosphere of place and time, for
he loved Italy with a passion that had increased as he came
to know her. Year after year he visited her to learn more of
her treasures, to revisit old and beloved shrines of art or piety,
congratulating himself always on his power to do so during
his holiday, for he was a man of independent means. At other
times he was quite content in his small Sussex country parish,
and he felt God was very good to him.
He stayed musing and recalling the events of long ago
which had taken place on that spot. There was the little
pulpit outside the Cathedral wall from which St. Bernardine
of Siena preached and watched the books of necromancy and
the piles of dyed hair burned ; it was on the steps of this foun-
tain that many nobles put the heads of their slaughtered ene-
mies; it was in this Cathedral square they fought, for it has
been truly said of the Perugians that " they always preferred
Mars to Muse ".
Turning from the square with its fascinating history, John
Carlton went round to the principal door of the Duomo and
entered. After his few moments of prayer before the Master
of the House, he went to kneel at the shrine of Our Lady of
Grace — a picture fastened against a pillar which on that May
evening, besides the nine ever-burning lamps, was framed in
glass drop chandeliers with lighted candles, giving the place
an air of jesta. Many girls and women crowded round, their
gay, many-hued silk handkerchiefs arranged gracefully on
their heads. Their dress, bodice, band, and apron were all of
different colors, yet all sincerely harmonious. Many of the
FATHER CARLTON'S OFFERINGS. .5
young girls, with their grave, refined, tender faces, recalled
the same childlike note so evident in the face of the Madonna
as seen in the much venerated picture. There she stands, with
her jewelled crown, a deep crimson curtain as background,
relieving the dull pink of her dress, over which is her blue
mantle lined with the fresh green of an Umbrian spring, her
face, youthful and smiling, with the touch of sweet gravity,
her hands lifted as if in wonderment at the infinite magnitude
of her vocation — Our Lady of Grace — how dear she is to the
heart of the many who, loving her picture, kneel in the
shadowy building which guards the ring which, tradition says,
was that of her betrothal.
There for a while he stayed, but, remembering a promised
visit, he rose and went away toward the presbytery of a church
some ten minutes off. He pulled the bell chain, and the old
sacristan let him in with jubilant recognition of the padre
inglesey whom he knew well, since every spring brought him
to see the Signor Curato, to whose parlor he was now shown.
The English priest went instinctively to the window where
away in the West the sun was reddening the sky, and in the
near foreground was one roof above another, every hue of
brown and grey lichen-stained tiles, with numbers of church
towers, and, away beyond, the Vale of Umbria on which the
evening shades were falling. The floor of the room was of
stone, and a piece of matting lay under the table, on which was
a lumen cristi from last Easter. Under a glass case was the
Divine Infant clothed in a black velveteen frock with pink
jacket, seated on some pine shavings, whilst tiny ducks dis-
ported and sheep among vivid green foliage. The wax taper
was twisted into various fanciful devices round about. There
were a few wooden chairs set against the distempered walls.
On the side of the room hung a large realistic crucifix and a
few cheap oleographs — Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Peter's of
Rome, as well as photographs, cheaply framed, of the Signor
Curato at various stages of his life, singly and in groups of
clerical friends, whilst his father and mother occupied places
of honor by themselves above the picture of Leo XIIL On
a small table by itself was Martina's translation of the Bible
into Italian, placed on a grey crochet woollen mat; above it
on nails hung the palms of last Palm Sunday.
^5 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The Signor Curato, Giuseppe Anacleto Rinari, had returned
from a retreat at Lucca that very afternoon, the Priore leav-
ing as he did so for a belated holiday to his peasant parents at
Gubbio. The Curato, still under the spell of the silent days,
went into the church, where as a rule some people could be
found. It was close to the Duomo and was a popular church
of a Religious Order. One old woman was asleep in a corner,
her dog curled at her feet; a man with a basket full of empty
rush-covered fiaschi knelt at Our Lady's shrine; his lips were
moving and his face was full of entreaty — he had a child at
home dying.
But Giuseppe Anacleto was bowed before the high altar, his
offering before his mind, his whole being shaken with the force
of his earnest prayer for courage to make it. Truly, what
God had asked in this retreat was a great thing! It meant
the giving of that which he prized to a degree little appre-
hended until he began to realize fearsomely what he was being
asked to do. He started — his mind was so far away from the
present — when Onofrio, very slow of movement entered from
the sacristy and told him that the padre inglese Wcis there.
He had forgotten to ask for his letters — he received very few
— since his return, or he would have found one couched in the
English priest's pedantic Italian, saying he hoped to be in
Perugia and would call that evening.
As Father Carlton stood, enjoying the marvellous view,
the latch was suddenly lifted and his friend entered, full of
gladness at seeing him again. The visitor was soon seated in
the one quasi-easy chair of which the room boasted.
The Signor Curato, a man of forty, though the fact that
his tall slight figure was somewhat bent, made him look older,
was usually quiet in manner and voice, exceptionally so for an
Italian; but his dark eyes flashed with pleasurable feeling at
the unexpected visit of the priest.
"You did not come last year — how was that?" asked the
Curato, after assuring himself that Father Carlton was well.
" I went to Sicily," said the English priest in somewhat la-
bored Italian, " and stayed on all my time. It was a disap-
pointment, I assure you, for Perugia always has to come into
my program."
" If you will stay and sup with me — the Signor Priore is
away — simple fare, but O you will be il henvenuto."
FATHER CARLTON'S OFFERINGS. a»,
47
For half a second the Englishman hesitated. He thought of
the meal in the well-appointed dining-room — those pleasant
Americans he had made acquaintance with last night at Assisi
arrived just as he had come out — the excellent dinner, the
iced Orvieto ascuitto ; and yet, he had but three days to give
to Perugia ; he knew how the Signor Curato valued his visits.
He assented, and his host went away hastily to tell Orlando's
old sister Agnese, who acted as housekeeper, of the guest stay-
ing for cena.
There was the yellow vino nostrale, which his host mixed
with sparkling water from the Nocera springs, whence Perugia
is supplied with drinking water. But Father Carlton, who
was somewhat particular about his food and drink, took it
plain, finding it, though a vino sincere^ not at all to his taste,
any more than the thin brodo di fagioli, guiltless of " eyes "
denoting oil or butter; or the greasy risotto, or the hard
lesso ; and the bread, which was casa linga,^ was sour and stale.
The heavy white plates, discolored by age, were of the com-
monest; many were chipped. Tooth-picks bristled between
the receptacles for salt and pepper. All, including the table-
cloth, was of the roughest. There was no roast, no dessert,
the Signor Curato, who loved hospitality, apologized suffi-
ciently, but not excessively, for his courtesy was too inborn.
And so the two men supped. All the while Father Carlton
was more than ever before struck with the poverty of the
place, — one chair badly needed mending; the window had a
broken pane; the piece of carpet under the table was thin and
worn ; old Agnese's dress was very much patched and in parts
almost ragged; while the Curato's shiny cassock was as ancient
as the shoes which his friend's sharp eyes had noticed as be-
ing sadly shabby and old.
The Curato was very fond of Father Carlton, who was some
fifteen years his senior. On the other hand Father Carlton
felt himself strangely attracted to the poor priest whose ac-
quaintance he had made years ago at Assisi, when, as an
Anglican clergyman, he had visited the place, with its atmos-
phere so charged with holy memories, and its very soil made
sacred by the worship of the millions whose feet have trodden
it on their way to the sanctuaries of the Poor Man of Assisi.
2 Home-made.
^g THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
St. Francis himself had walked about the streets of the little
town of red and brown houses, and his holy eyes had often
rested on the blue hills and the vineyards, the dear olive groves
of the beloved Vale of Umbria.
"And now you have come from Assisi?" asked the Curate,
as the Englishman leaned back in the uncomfortable chair
which he had resumed after supper.
" Drove over this afternoon. I was two nights at the
Subasio," said Father Carlton; " yesterday there was Exposi-
tion, and I remembered our first meeting, ah! — how many
years ago? "
" It must be fifteen," said the Curato. "And shortly after-
ward you became a Christian."
Father Carlton let pass without comment the expression
used to convey that he had become a Catholic, knowing that
argument was useless, and that the Italians — particularly
among the less educated — would always look on a convert to
Catholicism as upon a newly-made Christian — stato fatto
Cristiano. He shook his shaggy hair, which had been white
for the last ten years; he remembered that day well, the
quiet, reverent people all crowding to the great sanctuary,
the gloom of the entrance to the lower church contrasting with
the forest of candles round the monstrance. The brilliancy
of the lights had enabled him to see the marvellous frescoes of
Giotto which illuminate the low-groined roof and which record
the glories of St. Francis. He had been specially struck
then, as he had been on the day before, by their wonderful
and undying charm.
" I am particularly glad to see you. Father Carlton," said
the Curato, stumbling at the English name, which however he
was determined to master ; " for I have some news for you —
I am leaving Perugia — I — at least I hope so."
"Ah, really? A sudden decision?"
" Yes. I am going — even now at my age, to try my voca-
tion as a Franciscan — one of the Friars Minor. I think now,
as I look back, it is strange that, though I was born in
Perugia and have spent my life in the land of St. Francis,
the call did not come to me before — never in the remotest way
— ^but now — now — my Lady Poverty has called me." He
paused a moment, " I must go." There had been going on
FATHER CARLTON'S OFFERINGS, Ar.
49
in the heart of Father Carlton for some time past a sharp
struggle as to his own rightful attitude toward this virtue
of holy poverty. The words of his friend strangely affected
him, although his mind had been practically made up on the
subject; he only wondered how the words of the Curato could
have shaped themselves as an expression of his own silent
resolution, taken as he had left the chapel a little while ago.
He felt a kindred call, though it was not to take him from his
present charge in the cure of souls. Yes ! there was to be no
more looking back, no more hesitation — he would make the
offering to test the reality of this call.
" It is that then that attracts you — Poverty?" asked Father
Carlton, after a silence, for he was greatly surprised.
''Yes," said the Curato, ''more than anything; though of
course I could have it in any Order — it is that of St. Francis
to which I am drawn."
Father Carlton was silent. His eyes wandered round the
poor room, and came back to the shabbily dressed priest, with
his threadbare cassock — all eloquent of poverty, if not penury.
How much more could the Curato desire.
" It is poverty and the obedience together — the religious
life in fact. The poverty of Bethlehem, of Nazareth."
" One can live in that spirit surely as a Secular," said
Father Carlton. " There's a sitting loosely to the things of
this world. In my case I have had no severe financial trials
certainly, but many have, and to obey the inner leadings of the
Holy Spirit, in submitting to it in all things, is obedience —
one perhaps more hidden, really more precious, than the mere
resignation of external goods. So at least I take it, and so
more or less do those who go deeply into the obligations of
the priestly life."
" Yes, sictiro ; but Padre, I cannot argue — I cannot explain
it — you know all that the ascetical writers say about the
religious life. It is not for all, only for those who are called
— as I believe I am. Of course, to be a priest at all there are
sacrifices — the love of wife and child. It is but human to
desire these and to marry ; that is where the great crucifixion
of the ordinary priest's life lies. Not so however to me," he
added simply, speaking to his friend as man to man, unlike
the way in which, under the somewhat artificial conditions of
CQ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
life, people usually do. " To me, as to many, this involves no
renunciation, and the life and duties of a secular priest I love
all too well, but I love and have my liberty too, and poverty
truly taken includes taking the vow of obedience, the absolute
nakedness which can say with the holy Thomas a Kempis, ' I
am nothing, I have nothing, and can do nothing.' It is that,
Padre, that I desire and that I shall find in its perfection in
the life for which I pray I may be worthy."
" That means, I take it, that we have and are nothing, save
through the merits of Christ. Even the greatest saint must
say that," said the English priest as his shaggy white eye-
brows twitched and were drawn together — a habit of his when
much moved, as he was at the Curato's words, all the more
convincing for being spoken calmly.
" But of course they can be taken in another sense as
touching on the religious life. I hope you may attain to your
desire," he added in cold tones, which were untrue to the
fervent feelings now stirring within him and which were char-
acteristic of his temperament. In truth, he was in a white
heat of emotion, though his somewhat perfunctory farewell
to his old friend betrayed none of it.
The Signor Curato watched him go to the comer, and then
Father Carlton heard him close the heavy little door, and he
felt himself in the velvet softness of the May evening, wind-
less and calm. He walked mechanically along. In the bril-
liant moonlight showed the swept flags of the Corso, the Um-
brian Picadilly, where seemingly everybody in Perugia was
out walking. The tourists were promenading, and chatter-
ing, gesticulating natives were there too; the cafes were
brightly lit, and the magnificent Municipal Palace, with its
handsome windows and fine portal, above which are three
saints, were all discovered clearly in the silver light. But
he saw these things only as at a theatre. Though his strong
passionate temper was under the control won by years of labor
— for he had learnt travailler son charactere — that night he
was angered, as the voice, speaking to his inmost soul, im-
periously demanded a hearing.
His thoughts ran swiftly. After poignant spiritual and
mental suffering he had taken the step, in faith and courage,
leaving the known for the unknown, to become a Catholic.
FATHER CARLTON'S OFFERINGS. cj
Then he became a priest. And though the strength of spirit
seemed spent and he could only rejoice in a heart at rest, a
mind assuredly satisfied, it was done. But now — yes — a step
further, one which he had never for a moment anticipated,
but which he knew might be of sacramental worth to him be-
cause of the corresponding cost. It was not a call to the re-
ligious life. Had it been so, even at his age he would have
obeyed. It was in a sense something more difficult to his na-
ture to do ; it was to bring the spirit of poverty more insist-
ently to bear on his life. Facing his life as he had never done
before, he saw it as he had never thought possible. As in
crystal he viewed clearly his own easeful life illuminated and
tested by a searchlight; no great, excessive luxury certainly
— ^but a small well-appointed rectory, his excellent servants,
two elderly sisters, his small parish, little work, means to travel
— ah ! poverty had not stamped her hallmark on him !
Wrong ? No, he knew it was not ; and that his comfort and
prosperity did not free him from anxieties about his flock,
from the everyday vexations and worries which fall to the
lot of most, and that the life was one which could most truly
be lived to the greater glory of God. But not if called to
something higher — ah, here was the crux.
The evening was passing on ; and in those Perugian streets
which in their day have witnessed so much warfare, John
Carlton fought the worst of his battle. He " wrestled not
with flesh and blood," but with temptation to follow a path
of little resistance instead of one that was sorely against the
grain of a naturally ease-loving temperament.
The big hall with palms and rockers and easy chairs to-
night had pleasant people chatting and talking. A German
professor with whom he had travelled lately to Orvieto, re-
cognizing Father Carlton, came up warmly to greet him; and
the Americans begged him to share their iced drinks and little
cakes. But all the while he was with them he felt as in a
dream, and after a sleepless night he said his Mass in a neigh-
boring church, and went for a long walk through the beautiful
old town, attractive and picturesque at every turn. Several
of the doors of the ancient houses were most charmingly
adorned with sculptures in pietra serena or travertine of
flowers, ribbons, etc., as well as artistic and finely executed
-2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
friezes; and he noted some of the '' doors of the dead " now
bricked up and never used, which in some very old houses
are just wide enough to admit of the passing of a coffin.
These walled up openings are found alongside the house door.
The superstition existed in Etruscan times that Death must
never be allowed to pass a second time through the principal
door. Through the parte del mortuccio, only used by the
dead, the spirit of death passed out with the corpse, after
which the narrow door was closely locked and the safety of
the living thus ensured.
With his hands clasped behind his back he wandered about,
his brain working hard. Whatever might be right for others
— he would not judge them — he would in future spend less
on himself in many ways of which he alone knew. He would
make a stricter rule for himself and master himself to keep it.
He would strike courageously at the very root of many things
which conflicted with the higher line in his life than that he
had taken hitherto or had imagined it was necessary to fol-
low. His memory, which was exceptionally good, at that
moment, recalled the words of a few lines he had once read
of Saint Charles Borromeo, addressed to priests : " Live per-
sonally in such poverty that you may be able to give for your
churches, for the adornment of your altars, and for sacred
objects — not the overflow of superfluity, but the savings stolen
by self-denial from your necessary maintenance." It would
not be at all difficult to see what to do, but to do it. It would
be hard on the comparatively free but most difficult life of a
secular priest to say " no " where he had said " yes " to many
perfectly innocent pleasures, to some tastes good and whole-
some in themselves, but not for him to indulge in. Since their
renunciation had once been asked for by the voice which had
spoken to him individually, should he not put his offering,
made up of many and continued sacrifices, into the Sacred
Hand where they would, by its holy touch be transmuted into
everlasting riches? Nor for that motive only, though he
might begin with it ; but it might lead him on by the power
inherent in all sacrifice to being able to say that each action
was prompted by love.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE TIRESOME SERMON. ct^
Et amo, et amabo Te
Solum, quia Rex meus es :
Et solum, quia Deus es.
And it did.
John Carlton, as he made his way up the dusty road below
the Giardinetto, went with a lighter heart, and before doing
anything else he went to the Post Office to telegraph to the
builder that he would require nothing done to his presbytery.
On his return he wrote a kind letter to an old lady who had
offered to send him for a tour through Spain in the autumn
with her brother, to decline.
Just three years later, while Padre Leo — the ex-Curato —
was laboring in his Community, experiencing great joy at the
attainment of his desire. Father Carlton was to be found in
the same Sussex presbytery. But the church had been en-
larged; schools were about to be built; the parish seemed to
have new life in it; and there were great hopes that some
exiled poor Clares from France, now established in a small
house near, might some day have a Convent built for them;
the great fact of a religious house, a centre of penance and
reparation, bringing its blessing on the place.
Of how much Father Carlton had to do with all this, no one
was cognisant, for though he accounted simply for all gifts
received, only God knew how many were the multitudinous
acts of poverty included in his own personal offerings.
L. E. DOBREE.
SOMETHING MOEE ABOUT THE TIEESOME SEEMON.
Monotony of Style.
A FRENCH writer has defined eloquence as the art of say-
ing something to some one. A sermon is talked ; it has
a definite subject and a definite audience. A tiresome sermon
is often such because it is addressed to none in particular and
because it is writing, not speaking, although it may be de-
livered without paper or book. Many tiresome sermons are
things read from the tablets of the memory.- They are es-
says, not talks. They have the whole world for an audience,
- . THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
not any particular part of it. Unless one speaks extempoi
and there is some hesitation about advising that course— there
is every likelihood that the written sermon will not often rise
out of the style of print. It is somewhat incongruous to talk
to a sheet of paper through a fountain-pen or a typewriter.
The writer of a sermon may begin with, " my dear brethren ",
but that is the only sign that he is talking to any one. The
audience disappears from his sight in the process of the com-
position, and he is so engrossed in the work of formulating
his thoughts in his mind and casting them into suitable ex-
pression that there is no attempt made or no energy left to
direct the composition toward living ears rather than project it
upon dead paper.
Strange, too, as it may seem, the more care is given to a
sermon, the more likely is it to become an essay. Th©
preacher himself may have in view a volume of sermons, or
the occasion which has called for more careful composition,
will likely be one that will be honored with an account in the
press. In either case the sermon is written for the eye, rather
than for the ear, to be read rather than to be heard. The
audience is not a definite one, but the whole world. Instead
of saying something to some one, he writes something — more
usually anything — ^to anyone.
An Essay has no Definite Audience.
What is the effect upon a speech of an audience, either
actually present or distinctly imagined ? Fortunately it is not
hard to realize. Read the Congressional Record containing
the speeches given in regular debate and the issues given up
to the reproduction of memorial discourses. The debates, es-
pecially in those parts where the speaker is interrupted or
likely to be, are vigorous, direct, lively; whereas the me-
morials are wearisome biographical essays, vapid, exagger-
ated, even bombastic, and containing tasteless flowers of speech
which would shrivel in the faintest heat of conflict. It is true
indeed that panegyric belongs to a different type of oratory
from debate and cannot be as direct. So much the better for
our present purpose. The contrast in Congress may well il-
lustrate the difference between a talk in the pulpit and a
chapter of a new book read, or as good as read, in the same
place.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE TIRESOME SERMON. cc
Demosthenes has always been pointed to as more direct
than Cicero. Cicero has more commonplaces, more frequent
digressions to the general truth, the particular application of
which is under discussion. The difference, we believe, will
be found due in a large part to the audience. Demosthenes
spoke before the people in the Athenian assembly, with the
opposition watching intently every word. Demosthenes felt
their presence and stripped himself of the luxuriance of style.
" There is Phocion," he said, " the pruner of my periods."
Cicero, on the other hand, spoke most frequently in the senate,
or if he spoke in the court, he was usually chosen to sum up
the case and make the emotional appeal, because of his power
in moving juries. Is it not worthy too of note that Cicero
wrote books and no doubt looked toward publication, whereas
Demosthenes has left us only speeches? A like contrast, il-
lustrating the same difference between the essay and the
speech, between dissertations and debates, between writers and
speakers, is found in Burke and Fox. Burke was called the
dinner-bell of the house of Commons. He was writing books,
composing philosophy and emptying the benches, while Fox
spoke far into the night and even to the next morning and
prodded tired members into constant attention. A few years
ago the present writer had an experience which showed the
difference between talking and, what might be called, dis-
coursing. One of the most eloquent orators of our time was
addressing an audience in Faneuil Hall, Boston. His speech
was frequently interrupted with cheers and applause. When,
however, the speaker was somewhat advanced in his topic,
he entered upon a digression, consisting of lengthy descrip-
tions of an event not directly connected with the subject of
the meeting. The people who a minute or two before had
been applauding, began to rise and leave the hall. The orator
finally noted the exodus, dropped his historical essay, went
back to his talk and kept his audience attentive and enthusias-
tic to the end. The New York Times said recently in an
editorial : " The old style of declamatory speech died a natural
death. Its revival would be inconsistent with the spirit of
the age; it would savor of an anachronism; our- best speakers
have a colloquial manner. But they are too few." This
voices the modern demand for talks rather than disquisitions.
e5 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
A better way still to appreciate the effect of saying some-
thing to someone rather than of composing for the wide,
wide world, is found in letters, letters, be it understood, which
are real letters, not masquerading as such because of an
initial " Dear Sir ". In a letter the audience is a definite in-
dividual to whom everything is addressed with a directness
that is scarcely possible even in the best speeches. Imagine
a letter-writer forgetting the one he addresses and delivering
himself of learned discourses. It would be easier to imagine
a man transmitting over a telephone a chapter of Burke's
On the Sublime and Beautiful. How the thought in a letter
is pointed and epigrammatic, how it discards useless digres-
sions and delivers itself of no ponderous platitudes, how free
it is from all pretence at fine writing or elaborate theorizing!
How the sentences are light-footed, running on as a rule, but
stopping now and then to allow the insertion of a passing re-
mark, never stiffening into the self-conscious firmness which
would come upon them if they felt they were to make their
debut in print, nor dragging heavily along under the weight
of some philosophical profundity. But you will say letters
are trivial and chatty and deal with a series of unconnected
facts and are for one individual, while sermons are quite the
contrary. True enough! Nor is it intended to assert that
letters are sermons. Yet letters do however illustrate the
effect of an audience upon composition, and that fact would
be sufficient reason for mentioning them in this connexion.
Fortunately, however, we can go farther with the illustra-
tion. We have in existence and at hand letters on serious and
sacred subjects, treating of the highest truths of our faith,
letters addressed to a whole congregation, having all the
spontaneity, freshness, and directness of that style of composi-
tion without their ephemeral and trivial character. These let-
ters are the Epistles of St. Paul ; letters which are true ser-
mons. St. Augustine in the fourth book of his Doctrina
Christiana, which may be well styled the first Christian rhet-
oric, has enthusiastic studies in St. Paul's eloquence. The
great Doctor of the Church, who had himself been a teacher
of rhetoric, takes no exaggerated view of rhetorical precepts.
" Often," he sa5/s, " do we find speakers without precepts sur-
passing those who have mastered them, but no one has ever
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE TIRESOME SERMON. 57
been eloquent without hearing or reading speeches." He advo-
cates, in consequence, the reading and imitation of Scripture
and says, " I could, did leisure permit, point out in the Sacred
Scriptures all the good qualities and beauties of eloquence."
He declares too that the reader while engrossed with the
sense of the sacred text will insensibly be saturated with the
style. To enforce his teaching on the use of Scripture for
preachers, he does not disdain to subject an eloquent passage of
St. Paul to close analysis, pointing out in detail how clauses
and phrases vary in number and length and nature, how state-
ments are mingled with questions or interrupted with paren-
theses, which we may call the foot-notes of the spoken word.
The passage thus analyzed is II Cor. 9: 6-30, and surely there
cannot be found anywhere anything less tiresome, anything
more direct, more unlike a dogmatical disquisition and yet
anything better fitted to convey the truths of faith with de-
finiteness of audience and liveliness of the spoken word.
An Essay is Written to be Read.
An essay is written for the eye; a sermon is spoken for
the ear and is profoundly influenced by the consciousness in
the speaker of addressing an audience rather than of print-
ing his thoughts for the world in general. An eye looking
into your eye, an ear heeding your every word, a mind to be
affected now or never, these key a man up, make his thoughts
brisk and energetic and promote greater efforts to be clear
and direct. There is all the difference between composing a
sermon for readers and composing for listeners that there is
between working by the day or working by contract, between
laboring alone and under the eye of a master. The fertile
distinction between essay and talk deals a hard blow to tire-
some sermons and the distinction has not yet exhausted its
possibilities. In the spoken word there is an animation that
seems out of place in an essay. There are indeed essays which
are talks just as there are talks that are essays. Lamb's
chatty, vivacious essays are really bits of earnest conversa-
tion. Such essays, however, are exceptions. To write con-
versations looks like pretence or artificiality. What is natural
and inevitable in conversation seems forced and out of place
when writing-paper takes the place of a companion. So the
c3 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
whole Style of sermons when they are written, is likely to doff
all the animation of conversation.
What are all the so-called figures of words but the traits of
the spoken word classified and ticketed with technical names?
A recent writer on rhetoric has no difficulty in showing by a
cleverly imagined scene that all the figures of speech are daily
occurring around us. It would, no doubt, surprise many, as
it surprised Moliere's Upstart, to learn he was speaking prose,
to learn that they are indulging every day in such tremendous
things as conversion, complexion, conduplication, asyndeton
or dissolution, polysyndeton, anticipation, correction, doubt,
communication, apostrophe, hypotoposis and aposiopesis. The
list would send an ordinary man to the nearest doctor. Yet
what do all these terms do but formulate in scientific language
the differences between what is written and what is spoken?
In the light of this truth, is it remarkable to learn that St.
Paul abounds in these so-called figures of speech ? Some will
have it he must have derived all his rhetoric from Greek schol-
ars in Tarsus. However that may be St. Paul's Epistles fur-
nish us with endless examples of the most ornate figures of
speech. The strict climax, a combination of repetition of the
preceding thought with the ordinary climax, is rare enough
in literature, because its artifice is too evident. Cicero has
but few examples and Demosthenes still fewer, while St. Paul
has, besides others elsewhere, three examples in Romans.
" We glory also in tribulations, knowing that tribulation work-
eth patience, and patience trial, and trial hope, and hope con-
foundeth not ".^ Oxymoron, a seeming contradi|ct{ion in
terms, is another figure in which art is apparent. It is fre-
quently found in the poets and not uncommon among the
orators. It is a favorite beauty with St. Paul and takes no
small part in imparting vivacity to his style. A beautiful
example occurs in the middle of the eloquent sixth chapter
of the II Corinthians. "As deceivers, and yet true; as un-
known, and yet known; as dying and behold we live; as
chastised and not killed; as sorrowful and yet always rejoic-
ing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, and
possessing all things." Paronomasia, or play on words, is St.
Paul's most frequent figure. This is surely a most remark-
1 Rom. 5 : 3 ; cf. 8 : 29 ; lo : 14.
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE TIRESOME SERMON. t^
able fact that St. Paul should play on words, should indulge
in what are really puns, although serious ones. Most of these,
of course, are lost to us in the English translation. Twenty-
one instances are cited by authorities. The famous example
of paronomasia in Demosthenes' Speech on the Crown, No. ii,
is almost duplicated in Romans 12:3. Demosthenes says,
" With all your guile, Aschines, you were so guileless as to be
beguiled into thinking," etc., while St. Paul is rendered thus
by Farrar: " Not to be high-minded above what we ought to
be minded but to be minded so as to be sober-minded ". St.
Paul plays too on the name of Onesimus, profitable. " I be-
seech thee for my son whom I have begotten in my bands,
Onesimus, who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee, but
now is profitable both to thee and to me ".
Attention has been called to these more striking figures to
show how St. Paul made his language strain itself almost in
an effort to be varied and interesting and to avoid tedious
monotony. It is unnecessary to mention instances of the more
usual figures which abound in every letter of St. Paul. Even
in the use of ordinary figures such as repetition he strives for
point. The well-known passage, " one Lord, one faith, one
baptism," is still more striking in the original Greek, where
" one " is carried through the three genders of the nominative
case. Thirty different kinds of figures in all are pointed out
by Farrar.^ It is to these figures we may ascribe the extra-
ordinary energy of St. Paul's style, an energy which made St.
Jerome say : "As often as I read him, I seem to hear not words
but the rolling of thunder. They appear to be the words of
a simple and guileless rustic ; of one who could not lay snares
nor escape them ; yet look where you will they are lightning
flashes. He is persistent in his attempt; he captures anything
he attacks; he retreats in order to be victorious; he feigns
flight in order the better to slay his foe." *
An Essay is almost all Reasoning.
The sacred essay of the pulpit lacks point because its audi-
ence is vaguely visualized ; lacks life because it shuns the
emphasis of a lively style, which looms too prominently in
' The Life and Work of St. Paul, Excursus II, p. 693.
^ Ep. ad Pammacb. 68, 13.
6o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
print. Figures have an artificial sound to nimble critics who
can outstrip in their thoughts the speaker and, while they are
waiting for him to catch up, can leisurely and coldly dissect
his language. Figures have an artificial look on the written
page where the eye can see a dozen repetitions at a glance or
reread a passage until its art is manifest. But the inex-
perienced ear has not the power of the cold critic or the wide-
reaching eye. It takes in one thing at a time; it does not
anticipate and with difficulty reflects. Impression must be
had upon it while the words are setting its auditory nerves
tingling. If the style is direct and vigorous, the ear does not
analyze. It is too busy with the thought and does not, like
critic or reader, separate the thought from the expression.
As the true listener is more simple and unreflecting, the
true speaker is more likely to be expansive and emotional.
Emotion shrinks away abashed from the written page. There
are indeed earnest essays couched in burning words. As a
rule, however, essays are predominantly intellectual and not
emotional. They aim at conveying the truth clearly, not at
steeping it in fire and fervor that it may touch the heart. I
should be very glad to have every reader thrill with the con-
viction that it is necessary to talk and not to deliver essays
in the pulpit; but I hesitate to enforce the lesson with the
intense emotional appeal that one would naturally use before
an audience. I fear the cold print; I dread the inflexibility
of reason. Logic chills the heart. The truth is so insistent
that it be put fully and clearly and orderly with division and
subdivision and rigid proofs and irrefutable conclusions, that
emotion never has a chance at all. Dogmatic disquisitions
take the place of sermons. A thesis is put into an essay and
another tiresome half-hour is the result.
Say something to someone. If a few sparks of the fire
which rages sometimes in conversation, were thrown into a
thesis, trying to masquerade as a sermon, there would be less
tiresomeness in the pulpit. The essay is dull because it never
flames into feeling. Here again St. Paul's Epistles will be
the best school for unlearning tiresomeness. His great heart
beats volcanic at the depths of his thought and his style heaved
irregularly, tossed and broken by the pent-up heat and force.
He cries out and vehemently protests. He lifts his voice in
SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE TIRESOME SERMON. 6i
fear; he tenderly entreats; he is shocked; he is horrified; he is
aglow with love and aflame with anger. Never can such
emotion be tiresome. Mark the feeling surging to the surface
in the eleventh chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corin-
thians : " Would to God that you could bear with some little
of my folly: but do bear with me. For I am jealous of you
with the jealousy of God. . . . Although I be rude in speech,
yet not in knowledge. Or did I commit a fault, humbling
myself that you might be exalted ? Because I preached unto
you the Gospel of God freely? . . . The truth of Christ is in
me that this glorying shall not be broken off" in me in the
regions of Achaia. Wherefore? Because I love you not?
God knoweth it ... I say again, (let no man think me to be
foolish, otherwise take me as one foolish, that I also may
glory a little). ... I speak according to dishonor, as if we
had been weak in this part. Wherein if any man dare (I
speak foolishly). I dare also. They are Hebrews? So am
I. They are Israelites? So am I. They are the seed of
Abraham? So am I. They are the ministers of Christ? (I
speak as one less wise). I am more. In many more labors,
in prisons more frequently, in stripes above measure, in deaths
often. Of the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes save
one." And then, after a triumphant recounting of details,
" Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is scandalized and
I am not on fire? . . . The God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knoweth that I lie not."
What would become of the tiresome sermon if it felt the
earthquake shock of such talking and such stormy emotion?
Even the elocution would immensely profit by this process.
No one uses preachers' tones in conversation, and if the style
of our sermons had the directness of a letter and the traits of
talk which rhetoricians call figures, and above all if those ser-
mons melted their logic in the lava of feeling, all of which St.
Paul does, the sermon would cease to be an essay and would to
a large extent cease to be tiresome.
Francis P. Donnelly, S.J.
Poughkeepsie, New York.
52 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
EEMIHISOENOES OF MAYHOOTH,
III.
" A Student's Daily Day."
I HAVE read somewhere of a priest who, recounting his im-
pressions of collegiate life, with refreshing candor de-
clared that his most dreaded nightmare was one which
brought him back in spirit to his college days, and that the
climax of its hideousness was reached when in fancy the sound
of the morning 6 o'clock bell was wafted to his subconscious
dreaming faculties. Certainly the stroke of the first bell on a
cold, dark, winter's morning was not such as to awaken pleas-
urable or responsive feelings. It was what might be termed
the bete noire of a student's existence. Weird tales are told
by older priests of the days before the introduction of heating
apparatus, when the walls streamed with moisture and the
water- jugs in the student's rooms after a hard night's frost
were found to contain solid ice. Times have changed. On
the analogy of the different ages of advancing civilization,
that period might appropriately be likened to the stone age.
The iron age is now well advanced and when we shall see the
introduction of a daily newspaper into the college libraries
and one or two other social improvements which will readily
occur to every student's mind, we shall be well on toward the
golden age of what we might term college civilization. How-
ever, the conditions of a student's life are now quite different
from what they were twenty years ago. Wonderful changes
have been effected, and all for the benefit and advantage of
the students. What with the introduction of a perfect heating
system into every room, class-hall, and library, an equally
perfect installation of electric-lighting, swimming baths, etc.,
etc., the material comforts of the students leave little to be
desired. In other respects their lot may not appear quite so
roseate, at least to students of an older generation. Rules are
now more numerous and more rigidly enforced, while the
increasing number of subjects which of late years are being
added to the curriculum, entails a continuous mental and
physical effort which must prove a severe test of endurance to
any but really gifted students.
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH.
63
It will be generally admitted, I think, that of recent inno-
vations the General Vacation at Christmas represents to a
Maynooth student the Summum Bonum of material gratifica-
tion. Under the old system, while most of us had to remain
in the college during the Christmas recess, others of the stu-
dents were free to go out after their examinations were con-
cluded. This was an arrangement depending entirely on the
will of the Bishops, who legislated in the matter, each for
his respective diocese. A few of the Bishops had made it a
hard and fast rule that their students were not to be allowed
to go out. Others allowed more freedom to their students.
The departure of these latter did not tend to make more pleas-
ant the lot of their less fortunate brethren who were com-
pelled to remain behind. The greatest diversion we could
hope for or obtain was the President's permission to visit
Dublin for a day; but even that permission was not always
readily granted. Indeed it was sometimes impossible to get a
hearing from the latter; and even when we were fortunate
enough to obtain an interview, it frequently ended by our
being promptly ushered to the door, when the first inkling of
our business began to dawn in his venerable head. There
was one student of my acquaintance who, having exhausted
all orthodox and conventional methods, thought to effect a
coup d'etat by appealing to the old gentleman's vanity. The
fact that he had already been repulsed twice did not in any
way damp his ardor or abate his self-assurance, and with a
hope that the President would have forgotten all about the
previous interviews, he went up to his rooms with his plan of
operations very carefully thought out.
" My Lord,'' he began, " I understand, my Lord, that the
Bishops of Ireland have invested you with plentitude of juris-
diction in regard to the students of this college. May I have
your permission, my Lord, to go to-morrow to Dublin? "
" Most of the Bishops, and Archbishops (ahem!) too, have
been so gracious, I am flattered to say, but at the same time,
Mr. O'Connor, I must decline to grant you the permission you
ask."
" But, Monsignor "
" That will do now ; if you really have business in Dublin
and wish to go there, you must first (ahem!) have your
Bishop's permission in writing."
54 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
" But, Doctor Gargan, the Bishop leaves everything in your
hands."
'' Your Bishop, I regret to say, does not, and besides, even
if he did " (moving quickly toward the door) '* even if he
did — " but the remainder of the sentence was lost on O'Con-
nor. He probably felt he could supply it in his own mind,
and with a curt, unceremonious '' Good-day, Father Gargan",
he made his way down the stairs with all possible haste.
A group of students who were evidently bent on a similar
errand, were at the foot of the stairs eagerly awaiting the
result of this interview, but it did not take long to convince
them that when a finished tactician of O'Connor's status had
failed, it would be a hopeless waste of energy for them to try ;
and although O'Connor's method of diplomacy had warmly
commended itself to them, they seemed to be unanimously of
opinion that had he only persevered in his first and original
mode of address, the interview would doubtless have had a
much more pleasant and satisfactory termination; to all of
which O'Connor gloomily signified approval, attributing his
want of success to the fact that when he saw he was making
no impression he completely lost his temper.
The first official duty of a student's day was morning
prayer. It was read by the deans in their respective divi-
sions at 6.30, when all students were supposed to be in their
places in the oratory. The athletic prowess displayed by some
belated students, rushing down the stairs just on the stroke
of the clock, was marvelous to behold, and was such as might
turn a troupe of professional acrobats green with envy. There
was a story told of a student who once by way of experiment
made the descent by means of the bell rope. Having done so,
he evidently came to the conclusion that the stairs, if less
rapid, entailed less danger of breaking his neck. At all
events it is not recorded that he ever attempted the feat again.
Few of the students were ever late for prayers; apart from
other considerations, the consequences of habitual negligence
in this important duty might be found to be unpleasantly
serious at the end of the academic term.
After morning prayer half an hour was devoted to medita-
tion— on Sunday the dean delivered a lecture instead — and
then the students assisted at Holy Mass. There was one Very
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH. 5^
Venerable, a dear old man, who sometimes said the commu-
nity Mass for the Divinity students. He was one of the
spiritual directors of the college, and was among the holiest
and most conscientious priests it has ever been my fortune to
know. He has since gone to his happy reward. At Mass,
however, he was painfully slow, and at the consumption of
the Sacred Species he was particularly painstaking and exact.
Always careful to the point of scrupulosity, he never seemed
to be thoroughly satisfied that all the Sacred Fragments had
been collected from the corporal, and would return to it time
and again, holding the paten this way and that to allow the
light to fall on it with a view to detecting any minute frag-
ment that might remain.
Some of the fourth year's divines one day made bold to
mention the matter to him and to twit him about it in a jocose
way.
** Father C — *', they said, " do you know what the students
are saying? "
"What is it, child?"
" Well ! that you keep looking, and admiring yourself in the
paten."
"Do they say so, now. My ! oh, my ! Ungrateful boys,
how unkind ! "
After that, in our oratory at any rate, his Mass was always
finished within a reasonable time. Quite in contrast to him,
but no less conscientious, was another priest who used occa-
sionally to say Mass for us. It is related somewhere of a
Canon of Winchester that he could give any other of the
Canons to "Pontius Pilate" in the Creed, and beat him. With-
out wishing to be irreverent, I should say that this particular
priest could begin Mass when any other priest was at the
Gospel, and finish before him. He had a natural aptitude for
rapidity of movement and quickness of speech. Different
natures are differently constituted, and he doubtless felt that
the danger of distraction was in his case considerably lessened
by performing the sacred ceremony without avoidable delay.
The hour between Mass and breakfast was ostensibly set
apart for study, though it was not infrequently devoted to the
completion of a hasty and unfinished toilet and setting the
rooms in order ; the rest of the hour was passed with one eye
65 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
on the book and another on the clock, and an ear waiting for
the first sound of the breakfast bell as 8.30 approached. It
is only natural to suppose that no one was by any chance ever
late for this particular or any similar function. Although
in no sense a triumph of the culinary art or what the dilettanti
would term gastronomic metaphysics, the food, considering
the enormous crowd that had daily to be catered for, left little
to be desired either in the matter of quantity or quality. We
had few luxuries, it is true, but meals were all the more
wholesome because of that. Chronic indigestion and consti-
pation unhappily played havoc with the health of many stu-
dents, due, I believe, to the abnormal proportion of calcium
which the water contains, and which it would seem is de-
posited in the form of sediment in the alimentary tubes just
as carbon is deposited in the boilers of a locomotive or in an
ordinary kitchen kettle. At least such was the explanation
vouchsafed to me by a student who, from painful experience
and careful study of the malady, professed to speak with ex-
pert knowledge on the matter, and who could dilate on the
mysticism of gastronomic alchemy with far more fluency and
brilliancy than he could, say, on the essence of habitual grace
or the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. It was pitiable
to see the wreck which it made of the health of some poor
students, and at the time when the regular Christmas vacation
had not yet been instituted it was by no means uncommon for
students to be obliged to take an extended vacation in the
middle of the term, a proceeding which, whilst it no doubt
proved highly beneficial to their health, afterward entailed
considerable labor and trouble in making up lost ground in
class.
During meals strict silence was observed in the refectory —
I mean, of course, apart from the terrific din which is neces-
sarily occasioned by the frequent clashing of 500 knives and
forks with a corresponding number of plates, not to mention
the sonorous tones of the reader in the pulpit. " The har-
mony of the dinner table," Le Gallienne remarks, " is a music
first composed in the kitchen, transferred to notation on the
menu, and finally performed in a skilful melody of digestion."
Whether all these elements are essential to a successful and
satisfactory meal I do not profess to know, but I do know that
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH.
67
there was no time when the students seemed more in harmony
with themselves and with everything else than when the bell
summoned them to the refectory. A very worthy priest of
my acquaintance makes it a point to extend hospitality twice
a year to a number of young priests and students in the shape
of an invitation to dinner. There is a careful and rigid exclu-
sion of the elder brethren of the cloth, his idea being that,
after all, the young fellows are the only people worth giving
a dinner to, as they alone know how to appreciate and enjoy
it ; and the average Maynooth student, whether inside or out-
side the College, can be relied on to give a good account of
himself on these occasions.
I think it is Le Gallienne again who remarks that " the
kitchen is the power-house of the soul ". To pursue the meta-
phor, the only occasions on which there was any departure
from the ordinary routine supply of power, were Christmas,
Hallow-Eve, and St. Patrick's Day. On these days we were
treated to a right royal repast, more expressively termed by
the students a " Gaudeamus " or a ** Spread ". There were
occasions when the philosophically inclined might freely des-
cant on what somebody facetiously calls " the metaphysics of
roast duck " — ^yes, and for that matter, of ham and roast
beef and the various other appetizing delicacies which are
usually associated with a groaning and luxurious dinner table.
There was a fruit mess and a wine mess, at either of which
any students might sit, but he might not partake of both. The
wine mess was never largely patronized, and has since, I
understand, on that account been entirely discontinued. There
was no reading on these special days, but the reader by custom
was always entitled to a bottle of wine, and it was the subject
of frequent calculations for weeks before as to who was likely
to be the fortunate individual. On these occasions we were
generally left free to enjoy our dinner minus the supervision
of the ubiquitous dean, who was supposed to take an all-
absorbing interest in watching the various processes by which
the human animal fortified himself.
After dinner songs were sung, and in the evening a play or
variety entertainment much appreciated by the students wasi
always provided in the Aula Maxima. Mr. W. Ludwig, the
celebrated bass, once favored us with several songs, and an
^g THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
American priest from Kentucky who accompanied him created
no end of amusement by a jolly speech in which in truly
characteristic American fashion he proposed a vote of thanks
to his friend Mr. Ludwig, " from the ground right up ever
so high ".
Just now on glancing back it occurs to me that, having in-
troduced this chapter as " A Student's Daily Day ", I have
so far said little or nothing about it. Well, if the truth must
be told there is, dear reader, little or nothing to say.
" Cribbed, cabined, and confined," as the student is, the ordi-
nary routine of his life allows little room for variety. Strict
silence is enforced all day, and every day, except during the
two or three hours set apart for legitimate recreation. The
remainder of the time is divided between study and the lecture
halls. Once a month the professor of Irish delivered a lecture
in the McMahon Hall on Irish archeology, to which all the
students were invited. Occasionally we were privileged to
hear some distinguished lecturer or scholar from another Col-
lege or University who usually came on the invitation of the
President to lecture on some interesting and entertaining sub-
ject. On these special occasions there was always a dinner
given in the Professors' quarters to which many prominent
people from outside, both lay and clerical, were invited. It
was at one of these dinners, I believe, that a careless waiter
happened to let a plate of soup spill over a very venerable
and distinguished ecclesiastic. Somewhat aroused by the in-
cident, he turned on the offending waiter: " What the "
he began ; but, suddenly recollecting himself, he turned to the
table : " Ahem ! Perhaps some layman would kindly oblige
me by saying a few words appropriate to the occasion."
Sunday in Maynooth differed little from the other days of
the week. There were no lectures as a rule. A large academic
institution like Maynooth, with its trained ecclesiastics, its
beautiful chapels, and everything else conducive to devotion,
naturally owes to itself and to the Church that all liturgical
functions be carried out with that magnificence and accuracy
of detail to which the elaborate ritual of the Church so ob-
viously lends itself. And indeed it is only right to say that
the solemnity and impressiveness of the ceremonies were in
every way worthy of the venerable traditions which the
THE OLD PRIEST'S VESPERS— AND COMPLIN.
69
Roman Catholic Church in her history has left behind her.
With six hundred and fifty white-robed ecclesiastics chanting
the solemn strains of Gregorian music antiphonally, and with
one of the best choirs of trained voices in the world, the divine
service was always a function well worthy of the most cher-
ished traditions of the Eternal City. There are petty minds
who profess to sneer at Maynooth and the Maynooth training.
I have met them sometimes outside Ireland. They will always
be found to be men whose ideas are warped, and whose judg-
ments are prei,udiced from the narrow associations of diocesan
or provincial colleges, whose minds are tinged with a certain
national sectarianism; but facts if they regard them must
force even these to admit that, when hard work has to be
faced, the Irish priest is always at hand to do it; and that
neither in point of learning, nor sanctity, nor priestly equip-
ment has the Irish soggarth to yield the palm to any other
nation on this broad earth, or forgo the ancient, glorious, and
national traditions of the Island of Scholars and of Saints.
Maynooth to-day stands in the forefront of the great eccle-
siastical institutions of the world — Maynooth with its 650
university graduates, and its staff which includes thirty-five
professors and lecturers chosen from the best that Ireland can
produce; Maynooth whose venerable halls have sent forth
over 7,000 chosen ministers of God's Church, and whose
bishops and priests are to be found " in the remotest confines of
the earth and the farthest off islands of the sea ".
P. Sheridan.
Dungloe, Ireland. \
THE OLD PEIEST'S VESPEKS— AND OOMPLIN/
FATHER FLAVIN yawned long and loudly, and his chin
nodded down to where the snuff rested in little rills upon
his chest. But his head did not rest; it nodded again, up and
down, and the spectacles slipped to an impossible angle on his
nose. Unconsciously the knotted old hands had kept hold
of the thumb-worn office book, but after a time they too re-
laxed, and the breviary fell with sufficient force 'to arouse the
1 The following story is substantially true to fact.
-Q THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
dozer. He started then and opened his eyes, and stooping
gathered up the book and its scattered contents, and opened
the leaves at the office of the day.
Vespers had been said, of that he had no doubt; it was only
before beginning Complin that he had paused for a moment,
and the involuntary interlude of slumber was the result.
Certainly it was terribly hot. Even in the shade of the
garden trees where the old man sat it was unlike anything an
ordinary summer produces within reach of such Atlantic
breezes as usually kept the parish swept. The season was alto-
gether unprecedented; no summer within the memory of man
had produced such burning sun, so universal a drought.
There had been a good deal of sickness too, one way and an-
other. More than one young girl had gone out to the weary
task of water-drawing with hair only covered, as is the cus-
tom, with a loose handkerchief or the corner of a shawl, and
had come in, to rest a wildly aching head on a pillow from
which it was never to be raised again.
Then too the stagnant pools had been irresistible, where
the wells were dry, both to children and to workers in whom
common sense and self-control were equally wanting, and
the consequences had been not only frequent visits of the
Union cart, from the rumble of which along the dusty roads
even the children ran, but also several sudden inroads of the
fever, where the patient was swept away before doctor could
be summoned or van requisitioned. Only the priest had been
sent for, and his ministrations had been all that were needed
or obtained. Father Flavin decided that he would not at-
tempt the psalms for the closing of the day just yet. It was
early still, as the glaring heat in the garden testified. He
would wait and rest now, and when evening came he would
pray. So now with book laid in safety on the bench at his
side, again his head fell down in sleep.
The birds twittering about him — lazily, for they too felt
the heat — did not disturb him ; they were old friends all, and
their voices were a soothing lullaby. Biddy, calling to the
boy to " go for the love o' God an' fetch another taste o' water
from the chapel tank beyond, for them ducks that was fairly
perished with the drought ", Biddy disturbed him no more
than the birds. Indeed her requests for water had become
LIBRARY
THE OLD PRIESTS VESPERS— AND COMPLIN. 71
almost as incessant as the chirping of the birds, or the quack-
ing of the thirsty ducks.
But later another voice, not that of the boy, came to his
slumber-dulled ears, a voice that alternated from entreaty to
indignation, and the sleeper moved uneasily, feeling there was
something going on in which he ought to have his say. Then
he went back to dreaming, and he saw again in sleep a scene
that had been enacted under his waking eyes only a few weeks
before, and that had dwelt with him since, as something in-
finitely tender, infinitely consoling, a token of love that repaid
the weary service of many a dark ride through wet and storm
on winter nights.
He had been in the garden, then as now — indeed one of
Biddy's perennial grievances was the fact that, as she ex-
pressed it, " Every moment he's in the house, God help him,
he's in the garden " — resting too after a long and sad day's
work.
Three children had died of fever in the same house. True,
three little souls had gone to heaven, unafraid because Father
Flavin had reminded them that Jesus was waiting; yet three
little bodies lay still in a lonely house, where a lonely mother
sat and watched till daylight would bring the digger of three
little graves.
Then, as now, a voice had come to him, and through the
gathering dusk of a short summer's night a shadowy figure
had risen up beside him, a figure whose bare feet had made
no sound, falling on the softness of the turf, and a low husky
voice had asked him to hold his hands in absolution over a
head that Death had claimed for its own.
" Where was the dying man? " He had not been able to
keep the tone of utter weariness out of his voice as he ques-
tioned, but the answer came, huskily again but quickly, reas-
suring though amazing. It was no man who sought him, but
a woman, the woman who now fell on her knees a pace away
from him. Yes, she was dying. She knew it, felt it, and as
the shawl slipped onto her shoulders and the moon shone on
her gray-drawn face. Father Flavin could not say her nay.
She had " left the childer, God give them rest in glory! sure,
they didn't need her now " — and had come for the comfort of
which, a few hours earlier, when the priest had been in her
72 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
own house, she had not felt the need. The sickness this sum-
mer had been very quick and sure.
" Why had she not sent for him ? " The priest spoke almost
Sternly. Surely the fever had not made every man in the
parish a coward?
" Because " — the answer came simply, for the woman had
no thought that her act was anything but the most natural.
She had never heard, in modern Gaelic at all events, the word
" heroine ". Because " hadn't his reverence spent himself
entirely that day, an' weren't the childer, God rest them ! lyin'
round the kitchen these hours. The doctor had said to go
into such a house, an' you drunk or tired, was certain death."
And so when Death began to creep upon her, she unspan-
celled the ass and started, two miles and more of a rough bog
road, and here she was ; " the ass, savin' his honor's favor,
was standin' at the gate ".
She was quite peaceful. Wasn't she " goin' to God Al-
mighty to be with the childer an' himself who'd lost his life
three years ago at sea ? " Only she was very weary, and
when, in a voice more husky now than her own, the priest had
said the prayers, had anointed her there, in the garden, creep-
ing in for what was needed, like a thief in the night for fear
of Biddy, — when all was over she had insisted, nay she had
even spoken angrily to the priest, to let her go her own way.
So perforce she had her will, only unknown to her the old
man had followed even into the shadows of the hillside till
the doorway of her own house swallowed her up. Then the
tears that had hardened into a ball in his throat came to his
eyes, and flowed down the ruts and furrows of his cheeks.
And in his sleep, as he dreamt over again the story of the
woman whom he had buried with her children by her side, the
tears came as before and choked him, till, between them and
the voices which were still wrangling in the kitchen, he awoke.
It was the usual thing, an altercation between Biddy and
some one who, for all answer to a declaration that their sick-
call was urgent, was met with the information that the curate
was out, but would be in for dinner, and the messenger might
rely upon her, Biddy's, word that " Mrs. Costello wouldn't
go — God be good to her ! — till the turn o' the evening. That
was the time they went mostly, without they lasted to the dusk
before the dawn."
THE OLD PRIEST'S VESPERS— AND COMPLIN, ni>
But the voice of the messenger told the now fully-awakened
listener which of the many owners of the name of Costello
was seeking for his priestly ministrations.
Mary-from-Loughee, they called her. For fifty years ago
she had come over the mountains to marry one of the sea-
going Costellos. And from that same parish had come the
priest who, making an exception to the usual diocesan pro-
cedure, had long labored first as curate, then as pastor in the
home of Mary's husband.
Father Flavin had only lately had a curate himself; but
the habit of making use of younger bones was one he did not
seem able to acquire. In other parishes the curates seemed
fully occupied. Here, assistance was certainly welcome on
Sundays, and during the week the school attendance rose con-
siderably, for according as the speaker was only an irregular
attendant or a systematic " mitcher ", Father McMurrogh was
either *' a bit wicked " or " horrid mad *'. But except when
Biddy absolutely forbade it and refused to disclose where she
had hidden hat and stick. Father Flavin clung to his old
habits, and did his visiting and most of his sick-calls unaided.
Then the curate complained that there was nothing to do,
and so his bicycle carried him farther afield. Had he been
at home now, or had the sick-call come from anyone but Mary-
from-Loughee, Father Flavin would have willingly accepted
the offer of being replaced, which, when at home, the young
man eagerly made. But he was not at home, and it was Mary.
It was seldom, very seldom now that he was peremptory with
Biddy; but when he was, there was not a word to be said.
It was no use speaking of the heat, no use reminding him
that he was tired, no use even using the last and biting weapon
of a reference to his age. He was going. That was all.
The pony was away, being shod. This was a triumphant
fact. Very well, he would walk. Certainly it was not very
far and the road all the way was downhill. But the sun was
very, very hot and even the white dust seemed almost to burn
his feet as he dragged them along, for he was tired and he was
old, although before Biddy he would own to neither.
There was no coolness, even in the Costello's kitchen.
Here again it seemed that Biddy was right. The sick woman
certainly would not go before the turn of the night and, judg-
74 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ing by the strength of her voice, there was great probability
of her lasting till the dusk of the morning.
She received the Food for the journey on which she was
about to start, fully conscious, and followed the prayers that
the priest read slowly and clearly. Time was when he had
read them quickly enough, but now, with the tired aching of
his own head and limbs, he seemed to find ease and comfort
in the familiar words:
" Depart, ye Christian soul."
Ah well ! and why not? Another sentence came to his mind.
" The night cometh, when no man can work." What use
would he be if the night came upon him, — would it not be
easier to pass out into light everlasting? Somehow to-day
for the first time in all his life, the desire to go on living burnt
low within him.
" Well, Father James " — Mary-from-Loughee spoke thus to
him with a familiarity that none of his other parishioners
used — ** so after all 'tis me to go the first of us; but you have
a good six years more than I have to carry to the grave, an'
maybe it wont be long till God Almighty has a place ready
for you as well."
" Maybe not, Mary, maybe not. I believe you're right. I'm
getting an old man."
" Getting an old man ! " In all eyes but his own he had
been an old man for years, and yet he remained so active
that now, going out into the great heat not one of the Cos-
tellos thought it might be more than such an old man could
bear.
The road coming had been downhill. Therefore re-
turning it mounted, mounted wearily and all the while the
sun burned and burned, through the thin fringe of hair, and
the blood was pumped too violently through the old veins
for an old heart to bear.
At long, long last he regained the garden. Biddy had for
a moment forsaken her lookout, and so she missed him. His
lips were parched; he wanted a drink so badly, but — ^but — .
Involuntarily his limbs relaxed and he sank back on the seat
he had quitted not so long before.
He had said Vespers. Yes, that he remembered, but not
Complin, and — it was curious, for the sun had certainly been
shining a few moments ago — it was getting dark.
THE OLD PRIEST'S VESPERS— AND COMPLIN. 75
He began the familiar psalms, holding his book open from
long-continued habit, but praying from memory only.
The darkness was gathering. Still he went on with his
office. He was very, very tired; but God knew he meant no
inattention. Then there were voices. Biddy's again and
Father McMurrogh's.
" But he has come back. He is sitting there in the garden."
He knew the quick incisive young voice that had earned for
its owner the reputation of being " a bit wicked ". He saw
the short slight figure, the long black coat, gray now with
dust; and as his eyelids fell he caught the glimmer of the
sun on bicycle clips. Then it was dark. But again he opened
his eyes.
He saw a startled young face. The quick flash of a purple
ribbon from a dusty pocket. A figure kneeling beside him
with bared head. An upraised hand.
But his office. He was forgetting it.
" Salva nos, Domine, vigilantes, custodi nos dormientes."
Yes, he would soon be ready to sleep " ut vigilemus cum
Christo, et requiescamus in pace *'. His words must have
been audible, for a voice answered him, " Amen ".
Then again it was dark, quite, quite dark. But he had
«aid his Complin.
A. Dease.
Hnalecta*
SAOEA OONGREGATIO OONSISTOEIALIS.
I.
Erectionis Dioecesis Kearneyensis.
Ssmus Dominus Noster Pius PP. X decreto huius Sacrae
Consistorialis Congregationis diei 8 martii 19 12 peramplum
dioecesis Omahensis territorium bifariam divisit, in eiusque
occidentali parte novam et distinctam dioecesim, Kearneyen-
sem ab urbe vulgo Kearney denominandam, erexit.
Limites novae Kearneyensis dioecesis hi sunt, idest ad ori-
entem fines orientales comitatum civilium Keyapaha, Rock,
Garfield, Valley, Sherman et Buffalo; ad meridiem vero flu-
men Platte ac dein confinia civilia inter Status Nebraska et
Colorado; ad occidentem et ad septentrionem denique ipsa
confinia civilia Status Nebraska; ita ut nova haec dioecesis
comprehendat viginti sex comitatus civiles integros, videlicet
Keyapaha, Rock, Garfield, Valley, Sherman, Buffalo, Chey-
enne, Kimball, Banner, Scotts Bluff, Sioux, Dawes, Box
Butte, Morrill, Garden, Sheridan, Cherry, Grant, Hooker,
Thomas, McPherson, Logan, Custer, Blaine, Loup et Brown;
itemque partem comitatuum civilium Dawson, Lincoln, Keith
ac Deuel nuncupatorum.
ANALECTA. ^^
Insuper praedictam dioecesim suffraganeam constituit me-
tropolitanae ecclesiae Dubuquensis.
II.
Erectionis Dioecesis Corporis Christi.
Item eadem Sanctitas Sua decreto eiusdem Sacrae Congre-
gationis diei 23 martii 1 91 2 Brownsvillensem apostolicum
vicariatum, iisdem ut antea territorii finibus circumscriptum,
in dioecesim erexit ac instituit, quam a civitate ubi sedis episco-
palis statuta est Corpus Christi denominavit, eamque suffra-
ganeam metropolitanae ecclesiae Novae Aureliae constituit.
III.
Declarationis circa Dioecesis Fines Wayne- Castrensis.
Pariter decreto eiusdem Sacrae Congregationis died 29
martii 191 2 Ssmus Dominus Noster declarare dignatus est
Wayne- Castrensem dioecesim totum complecti septentrionale
territorium civilis Status Indiana, ita ut ipsa iisdem quoquo-
versus circumscribatur finibus quibus antea dioecesis Vincen-
nopolitana, modo autem Indianapolitana nuncupata, a qua
tamen ad meridiem discriminatur per australia confinia comi-
tatuum civilium vulgo Warren, Fountain, Montgomery,
Boone, Hamilton, Madison, Delaware et Randolph, quos et
comprehendit.
SAOEA OONGEEGATIO OONOILII.
LiTTERAE circa DiES FeSTOS.
Plurimus ex locis pervenerunt ad banc S. Congregationem
Concilii supplices libelli, quibus instantissime postulatur ut
omnes aut nonnulli dies festi de numero festivitatum sub prae-
cepto per litteras Apostolicas diei 2 iulii 191 1 expuncti, in
pristinum restituantur, tum ad satisfaciendum pietati fidelium
id enixe expetentium, tum ob alias peculiares cuiusque loci
rationes. Potissimum vero supplicatum fuit ut festum Ssmi
Corporis Christi celebrari possit cum solemni processione et
pompa, ut antea, feria V post Dominicam Ssmae Trinitatis,
earn praesertim ob causam quod huiusmodi processionis de-
fectum non sine animi moerore et spirituali iactura pati vi-
1^
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
deantur populi, qui earn diem specialiter solemnem habere et
miro splendore celebrare consueverunt.
Porro, Ssmus Dnus N. Pius PP. X, Cui relatio de prae-
missis facta fuit ab infrascripto Cardinali huius S. Congre-
gationis Praefecto, plane cupiens ne, ex praepostera aut non
recta interpretation e praedictarum litterarum, fidelium pietas
ac debitus Deo cultus imminuantur; volens imo ut, quoad fieri
possit, augeantur, haec quae sequuntur declarari, praecipi
atque indulgeri mandavit:
1° Quum, perpensis temporum rerumque novarum adiunctis,
Summus Pontifex nonnullos dies expunxit e numero festivi-
tatum sub praecepto, quemadmodum non semel a Suis De-
cessoribus factum fuit, minime sane intellexit ut eorum dierum
festivitas omnino supprimeretur ; vult immo Sanctitas Sua ut
iidem dies in sacris templis celebrentur non minori quam antea,
solemnitate, et, si fieri potest, eadem populi frequentia. Ea
vero fuit et est Sanctitatis Suae mens, ut relaxata maneat
tantummodo sanctio qua fideles tenebantur iis diebus audire
Sacrum et abstinere ab operibus servilibus; idque potissimum
ad evitandas frequentiores praecepti transgressiones et ne
forte contingeret ut, dum a multis Deus honorificatur, ab aliis
non sine gravi animarum detrimento offenderetur. Praecipit
itaque Eadem Sanctitas Sua omnibus et singulis animarum
curam gerentibus ut ipsi, dum haec commissis sibi gregibus
significant, ne cessent eos hortari vehementer ut, iis etiam
diebus, pergant suam in Deum pietatem et in Sanctos vene-
rationem, quantum maxime poterunt, testari, praesertim per
frequentiam in ecclesiis ad audienda sacra aliaque pia ex-
ercitia peragenda.
2° Quo autem Christifideles magis excitentur ad supra-
dictos dies festos pie sancteque excolendos, vigore praesentium
litterarum, conceditur omnibus locorum Ordinariis ampla
facultas dispensandi cum suis subditis super lege ieiunii et
abstinentiae, quoties dies abstinentiae vel ieiunio consecratus
incidat in festum quod, licet praecepto non subiectum, cum
debita populi frequentia devote celebratur.
3° Item, per praesentes litteras conceditur ut festum Ssmi
Corporis Cfiristi, ubi Sacrorum Antistites ita in Domino ex-
pedire censuerint, etsi praecepto non obstrictum, celebrari
possit cum solemni processione et pompa, prout antea, feria V
ANALECTA. ^
post Dominicam Ssmae Trinitatis; contrariis quibuscumque
non obstantibus.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria Sacrae Congregationis Con-
cilii, die 3 mail 191 2.
C. Card. Gennari, Praefectus,
L. * S.
O. GiORGi^ Secretarius.
S. OONGEEGATIO EITTJUM.
I.
Urbis et Orbis.
( Continuatur. )
MUTATIONES IN BREVIARIO ET MISSALI ROMANO FACIENDAS AD
NORMAM CONSTITUTIONIS APOSTOLICAE " DIVINO AFFLATU."
Expungatur integrum Psalterium, eique substituatur Ordi-
narium et Novum Psalterium.
In Propria de Tempore Breviarii.
Post Festum Ss. Innocentium, suppressis Rubricis quae)
nunc habentur, ponantur sequentes:
Si Festum Nativitatis Domini, S. Stephani, S. Joannis
Evang. et Ss. Innocentium venerit in Dominica, ipsa die nihil
fit de Dominica, sed die proxima post Festum S. Thomae
Mart, fit de ea, ut infra.
Si Festum Sancti Thomae venerit in Dominica, tunc in II.
Vesp. Ss. Innocentium fit comm. Dom. (Ant. Dum medium,
V. Verbum caro. Oratio Omnipotens ut infra), deinde S.
Thomae et trium Octavarum. Ipsa vero die Dominica fit Offi-
cium de ea, ritu semiduplici, ut infra ponitur, et ad Laudes
fit Comm. S. Thomae et quatuor Octavarum. In II. Vesp. fit
Officium de Nativitate, ritu semiduplici, a capitulo de Dom-
inica cum comm. sequentis diei infra Octavam Nativitatis
(Ant. Ho die. v. Notum. Oratio Concede), S. Thomae et trium
Octavarum. Die vero 30 Decembris fit Officium de die infra
Oct. Nativitatis, ritu semiduplici, ut infra, cum commemor-
atione trium Octavarum; et II. Vesperae dicuntur, ritu du-
plici, de Nativitate, a capitulo de S. Silvestro cum commem-
oratione quatuor Octavarum.
8o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Si vero Dominica venerit die 30 Decembris, in Sabbato
dicuntur Vesperae de Nativitate, ritu semiduplici, a capitulo
de Dominica cum commemoratione S. Thomae et quatuor
Octavarum. Ipsa vero die Dominica fit Officium de ea, ritu
semiduplici, et ad Laudes fit commemoratio quatuor Octa-
varum. In II. autem Vesperis fit Officium de Nativitate, ritu
semiduplici, a capitulo de Dominica cum commemoratione se-
quentis Festi S. Silvestri et quatuor Octavarum.
Si denique Dominica venerit in Festo S. Silvestri, in II.
Vesp. S. Thomae fit comm. seq. diei infra Oct. Nativitatis et
aliarum Octavarum. Die 30 Decembris fit Officium de die
infra Oct. Nativ., ut infra, et in II. Vesp. fit Officium de
Nativitate, ritu semiduplici, a capitulo de Dominica; deinde
fit comm. diei infra Octav. Nativitatis, S. Silvestri et aliarum
Octavarum. Die vero 31 Decembris fit Officium de Dominica,
ritu semiduplici, ut infra : ad Laudes fit comm. S. Silvestri et
quatuor Octavarum: et 11. Vesp. fiunt de Circumcisione
Domini cum comm. Dominicae tantum.
Deinde ponitur:
Dominica infra Octava Nativitatis.
In I. Vesperis: Capitulum Fratres, quanta tempore, etc.
Hymnus Jesu, Redemptor, ut supra, v. Verbum caroy etc.
Ad Magnificat Ant. Dum mediuniy etc. Oratio Omnipotens.
Postea fit comm. Octavarum.
Deinde omnia ut in Breviario usque ad II. Vesp. inclusive.
Postea ponitur:
Die 29 Decembris.
In Festo S. Thomae Episc. Mart. Duplex.
Oratio Deus pro cujus, etc.
In I Nocturno : Lectiones A Mileto.
In II. Nocturno: Thomas^ etc. (ut in Breviario) .
In III. Nocturno: Ut in Breviario.
Ad Laudes: Capitulum Beatus vir etc. Hymnus: Invicte
Martyr, unicum. v. lustus ut palma, etc. Ad Benedictus
Ant. Qui odit animam suam etc. Oratio Deus pro cujus ut
supra.
Postea fit comm. Octavarum.
ANALECTA.
8i
Ad Horas: Capitula et RR. sumuntur de Comm. unius
Martyris.
Ad Vesperas : Ant. et Psalmi de Nativitate, Capitulum, ut
supra ad Laudes. Hymnus : Deus tuorum milHum. v. Justus
ut palma etc. Ad Magnificat ant. Qui vult venire etc. Oratio
Deus pro cujus ut supra. Deinde fit com. sequentis diei infra
Oct. Nativitatis: Ant. Hodie etc. v. Notum etc. Oratio
Concede etc. Postea fit com. aliarum Octavarum.
Die 30 Decembris.
De VI. Die infra Oct. Nativitatis. Semiduplex.
Omnia dicuntur ut in Festo Nativitatis, praeter RR. quae
sumuntur de Dominica et Lectiones III. Nocturni, ut infra:
Lectio sancti Evangelii etc. {ut in Breviario) .
Ad Laudes fit commemoratio de aliis Octavis.
Ad Vesperas: Ant. et Psal. de Nativitate. Capitulum
Ecce Sacerdos etc. Hymnus Iste Confessor, v. Amavit.
Ad Magnificat Ant. Sacerdos et Pontifex. Oratio Da quae-
sumus. Deinde fit comm. praecedentis diei infra Octav.
Nativitatis. Ant. Hodie. v. Notum. Oratio Concede. Postea
fit comm. aliarum Octavarum.
Die 31 Decembris.
In Festo S. Silvestri I. Papae Confessoris. Duplex.
Oratio Da quaesumus. In I. Nocturno {ut in Breviario).
In II. Nocturno {ut in Breviario) .. In III. Nocturno Homilia
in Evang. Siitt lumbi de comm. Conf. non Pont, cum RR.
de Comm. Conf. Pont.
Ad Laudes : Capitulum Ecce sacerdos magnus etc. Hymnus
Jesu Redemptor omnium, v. Justus etc. Ad Benedictus Ant.
Euge, serve hone etc. Oratio Da quaesumus etc. Postea fit
comm. Octavarum.
Ad Horas : Capitula et RR. sumuntur de Comm. Conf. Pont.
Vesperae dicuntur de Circumcisione Domini, sine com-
memoratione S. Silvestri et Octavarum.
Post Festum Circumcisionis ponatur haec Rubrica: Si m
die Circumcisionis, aut in sequentibus, usque ad Epiphaniam
inclusive, Dominica occurrerit, de ea nihil fit..
32 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Dominica infra Octavam Epiphaniae.
In II. Vesperis, pro comm. Octavae loco Ant. Tribus mira-
culis, ponatur Ant. Magi videntes.
In die Octava Epiphaniae. Dupl. majus.
Ad Laudes Dominicae Sexagesimae, loco quintae Anti-
phonae In tympano, substituatur sequens: In excelsis * laudate
Deum.
Ad Laudes Dominicae tertiae Quadragesimae , loco Anti-
phonae tertiae Deus misereatur, substituatur sequens: Ad-
haesit anima mea * post te, Deus mens.
Ad Laudes Dominicae IV. Quadragesimae, loco Anti-
phonae tertiae Benedicat nos Deus, substituatur sequens: Me
suscepit * dextera tua, Domine.
Ad Laudes Feriae IV. Ma j oris Hebdomadae, loco Anti-
phonae tertiae Ipsi vero, substituatur sequens: Tu autem,
Domine, * scis omne consilium eorum adversum me in mortem.
Item loco Antiphonae quintae Alliga Domine, substituatur
sequens: Fac, Domine, * judicium injuriam patientibus : et
vias peccatorum disperde.
Ad Laudes Feriae V. in Coena Domini, Feriae VI. in
Parasceve et Sabbati Sancti ponantur Psalmi de Feria cur-
renti, retento pro Sabbato Cantico Ego dixi etc.
In fine Feriae V. in Coena Domini Rubrica Ad Completor-
ium etc. sic corrigatur : Ad Completorium non dicitur ... in-
cipitur a Psalmo Cum invocarem: et dicuntur Psalmi de
Dominica, ut in Psalterio. Dictis Psalmis etc.
Ad Completorium Sabbati Sancti verba Rubricae: Deinde
sine Antiphona dicuntur Psalmi consueti, sic corrigantur:
Deinde sine Antiphona dicuntur Psalmi de Dominica.
Post Laudes Dominicae Resurrectionis Rubrica Ad Primam
etc. sic corrigatur: Ad Primam, Tertiam, Sextam . . . dicuntur
Psalmi de Dominica, ad Primam tamen ut in Festis, quibus
finitis etc.
Ad Completorium Dominicae Resurrectionis, Rubrica Dicto
V. etc. sic corrigatur : Dicto v. dicuntur Psalmi de Dominica
. . . quibus finitis etc.
ANALECTA. g
Dominica in Albis in Octava Paschae. Duplex majus.
Ad Laudes suppressis Antiphonis et PscUmis usque ad Capi-
tulum, dicatur: Omnia ut in Psalterio.
Feria II. POST Dominicam in Albis.
Ad Laudes supprimatur Ruhrica, quae incipit: Postea fit
commemoratio, usque ad v. et O ratio, ut supra inclusive.
Dominica infra Octavam Ascensionis.
In fine addatur: Si vero in crastinum fiat Officium de Oc-
tava, Ant. et V. sumuntur e I. Vesperis festi.
In Octava Ascensionis. Duplex majus.
In Festo SS. Trinitatis addatur: Duplex I. classis.
In fine Feriae IV. post Oct. Pentecostes si corrigantur
Rubricae:
Feria V. celebratur Commemoratio solemnis Sanctissimi
Corporis D. N. J. C.
Infra Octavam non fit de Festo, nisi fuerit Duplex I. classis :
reliqua Festa vel transferuntur post Octavam, vel commemor-
antur juxta Rubricas, in Vesperis et Laudibus, sine IX.
lectione.
Die vero Octava non fit nisi de Festo SS. Apostolorum Petri
et Pauli, si occurrat, cum commemoratione ejusdem diei
Octavae.
In Commemoratione solemni Sanctissimi Corporis
D. N. J. C. Duplex I. classis cum Octava.
Dominica infra Octavam Corporis Christi.
In II. Vesperis, pro commemoratione Octavae ponantur
A ntiphona et v. e I. Vesp. Festi.
In fine Feriae IV. infra Octavam Corporis Christi sic
corrigatur Ruhrica:
Ad Vesperas, omnia ut in I. Vesperis Festi. Si sequenti die
aliud Festum occurrat, vel transferatur vel commemoretur
juxta Rubricas, nisi sit Festum SS. Apostolorum Petri et
Pauli, quod celebratur, cum commemoratione Octavae.
34 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Feria V.
Octava Corporis Christi. Duplex majus.
In fine ponatur haec Rubrica:
Sequent! die celebratur Festum Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu, de
quo nulla fit commemoratio in, II. Vesperis diei Octavae SS.
Corporis Christi.
Si autem hodie celebratum sit Festum Ss. Apostolorum Petri
et Pauli cum commemoratione Octavae SS. Corporis Christi,
in II. Vesperis Ss. Apostolorum fit tantum commemoratio de
sequenti Festo Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu.
In propria Sanctorum Breviarii.
Die 14 Decembris.
Ad Vesperas supprimatur Rubrica quae incipit: Si dies
Octava.
Die 15 Decembris.
In Octava Immaculatae Conceptionis B. M. V. Dupl. majus.
Die 19 Martii.
In Commemoratione solemni S. Joseph Sponsi B. M. V.
CONFESSORIS. Duplex I. classis.
In fine mensis Aprilis:
Dominica III. post Pascha.
In Solemnitate S. Joseph Sponsi B. M. V. et Ecclesiae
Universalis Patroni, Confessoris. Dupl. I. classis cum Octava.
In fine Officii supprimatur Rubrica Si hoc Festum celebretur
etc.
Feria II. infra Octavam Solemnitatis S. Joseph.
Omnia ut in Festo praeter sequential In I. Nocturno Lec-
tiones de Scriptura occurrente. In II. Nocturno De sermone
S. Bernardini Senensis etc. ( Ut in Octavario Romano pro Oc-
tava Patrocinii S. Joseph).
Et sic in sequentibus Feriis III. IV. V. VI. et Sabbato, ad-
hibitis pro Sabbato Lectionibus, quae in Octavario habentur
pro die Octava.
Lectiones III. Nocturni Sabbati ita dividantur:
ANALECTA. 3-
Lectio VII. Natalis ho die . . . filium protestatur.
Lectio VIII. Honor atior . . , et ipse faber.
Lectio IX. Ipse enim . . . deputetur.
Similiter in lectionibus IV. et VII. ejusdem Sabbati se-
quent es fiant correctiones:
In Lectione IV. pro verbis: pater ejus, utrumque mente, non
carne, ponatur: pater ejus, sicut conjux matris ejus, utrumque
mente, non carne.
In Lectione VII. pro verbis: in hac se Pater, qui credebatur,
insinuat, ponatur: in hac se Pater, qui non credebatur, insinuat
Post Sabbatum infra Octavam Solemnitatis S. Joseph,
ponatur sequens Rubrica:
Vesperae dicuntur de sequenti Dominica et in eis fit com-
memoratio praecedentis diei VII. infra Octavam, cum Ant.
et V. de II. Vesp. Festi : si autem in Sabbato factum fuerit
Officium de aliquo festo IX. Lectionum, fit com. diei Octavae
cum Ant. et v. e. I. Vesp. Festi.
Sequenti die fit de Dominica IV. post Pascha, nisi oc-
currat Festum Domini, aut Duplex I. aut II. classis, cum com-
memoratione diei Octavae in Laud, et II. Vesperis.
In Festo SS. Cordis Jesu.
Prima Rubrica sic corrigatur : Vesperae dicuntur de Octava
SSmi Corporis ChrLsti sine ulla commemoratione. Si autem
praecedenti Feria V. occurrerit Festum Ss. Apostolorum Petri
et Pauli, in II. Vesperis Ss. Apostolorum fit commemoratio
de Festo Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu: Ant. Improperium. v.
Ignem veni. O ratio. Concede^ quaesumus.
Sed si Officium, etc.
In eodem Festo Lectione s II. Nocturni, quae nunc inscri-
bufttur: Sermo S. Bernardi Abbatis, amodo inscribantur:
Sermo S. Bonaventurae Episcopi.
Post diem 21 J unit sequentia inserantur:
Sabbato ante Dom. IV. Junii.
In Vigilia S. Joannis Baptistae.
Hie inserantur quae posita sunt die 2j Junii, dempta ultima
Rubrica Si sequenti die, etc.y cujus loco ponatur sequens:
Si haec Vigilia occurrat eadem die cum Vigilia anticipata
Ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, totum Officium fit de Vigilia
35 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
S. Joannis sine commemoratione alterius Vigiliae, nisi in
Missa.
Dominica IV. Junii.
In Nativitate S. Joannis Baptistae. Dupl. I. class, cum.
Octava.
Hie inseratur Officium, ut habetur in Breviario die 24. Junii.
Post I. Vesperas addatur sequens Rubrica: Et fit commem-
oratio Dominicae occurrentis.
Supprimatur deinde Lectio IX., et ponatur haec Rubrica:
Lectio IX. de homilia Dominicae occurrentis.
In fine Laudum addatur: Et fit commemoratio Dominicae
occurrentis.
In II. Vesperis, in fine, supprimatur : Et fit commemoratio
sequentis., et ponatur: et fit commemoratio Dominicae oc-
currentis.
Prima die libera infra Octavam S. Joannis Baptistae.
Omnia ut in Festo praeter sequentia :
In I. Nocturno: Lectiones de Scriptura occurrente. In 11.
Nocturno Sermo S. Augustini Episcopi. Natalem ... {ut in
antiquis Breviariis die 25 Junii) .
In III. Nocturno: Lectio S. Evangeliiy etc. De Homilia S.
Ambrosii Episcopi. Joannes est... {ut in Breviario die i
Julii) .
Secunda die libera infra Octavam S. Joannis Baptistae.
Omnia ut in Festo, praeter sequentia :
In I. Nocturno: Lectiones de Scriptura occurrente.
In II. Nocturno: Sermo Sancti Basilii Magni. Vox Domini
. . . {ut in Breviario die 2y Junii).
In III. Nocturno: Lectio Sancti Evangeliiy etc. De Homilia
S. Ambrosii Episcopi. Et Zacharias . . . {ut in Breviario die
2y Junii).
Tertia die libera infra Octavam S. Joannis Baptistae.
Omnia ut in Festo, praeter sequentia :
In I. Nocturno : Lectiones de Scriptura occurrente.
In II. Nocturno: Sermo S. Maximi Episcopi. Festivitatem
. . . {ut in Breviario die i Julii).
In III. Nocturno:
ANALECTA. g^
Lectio S. Evangelii secundum Lucam.
Lectio VII. (Cap. I.)
Elisabeth impletum est tempus pariendi, et peperit filium.
Et audierunt vicini, et cognati ejus, quia magnificavit Dominus
misericordiam suam cum ilia, et congratulabantur ei. Et
reliqua.
Homilia Venerabilis Bedae Presbyteri.
(In Nativit. Sancti Joannis).
Praecursoris Domini nativitas, sicut sacratissima lectionis
evangelicae prodit historia, multa miraculorum sublimitate
refulget: quia nimirum decebat ut ille, quo major inter natos
mulierum nemo surrexit, majore prae ceteris Sanctis in ipso
mox ortu virtutum jubare claresceret. Senes ac diu infecundi
parentes dono nobilissimae prolis exultant, ipsi patri, quern
incredulitas mutum reddiderat, ad salutandum novae prae-
conem gratiae os et lingua reseratur. Nee solum facultas
Deum benedicendi restituitur, sed de eo etiam prophetandi
virtus augetur.
Lectio VIII.
Unde merito sancta per orbem Ecclesia, quae tot beatorum
mart y rum victorias, quibus ingressum regni coelestis meruere,
frequentat, hujus tantummodo post Dominum etiam nativitatis
diem celebrare consuevit. Quod nullatenus sine evangelica
auctoritate in consuetudinem venisse credendum est: sed at-
tentius animo recondendum quia sicut, nato Domino, pastori-
bus apparens angelus ait: Ecce evangelizo vobis gaudium
magnum, quod erit omni populo, quia natus est vobis hodie
Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus: ita etiam angelus nas-
citurum Zachariae praedicans Joannem: Et erit, inquit, gau-
dium tibi et exultatio, et multi in nativitate ejus guadebunt,
Erit enim magnus coram Domino.
Lectio IX.
Jure igitur utriusque nativitas festa devotione celebratur,
sed in illius tanquam, in Christi Domini, tanquam in Salvatoris
mundi, tanquam in Filii Dei omnipotentis, tanquam in solis
justitiae nativitate, omni populo gaudium evangelizatur. In
hujus autem tanquam in praecursoris Domini, in servi Dei
S8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
eximii, in lucernae ardentis et lucentis exortu multi gavisuri
memorantur. Hie in spiritu et virtute Eliae praecessit ante
ilium, ut plebent ejus aqua baptizans ad suscipiendum eum,
ubi appareret, doceret esse perjectam.
Si aliqua dies infra Octavam Nativitatis S. Joannis oc-
currat cum die infra Octavam Ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli,
fit Officium de prima cum commemoratione alterius.
In die Octava Nativitatis S. Joannis Baptistae fit Officium
de Dominica, nisi occurrat Festum Domini, aut Duplex I. vel
II. Classis cum commemoratione diei Octavae.
Si dies Octava Nativitatis S. Joannis occurrat cum Festo
Ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, de ea nihil fit.
Omnia, quae habentur in Breviario diebus 22 et 2^1. Junii,
supprimantur omnino.
Die 25 Junii.
Supprimatur Rubrica, quae incipit: In Laud, fit com-
memoratio.
In ultima Rubrica, quae incipit: Vesp. a Capit., suppriman-
tur verba: et Oct. S. Joannis.
Die 26 Junii.
In L Vesperis supprimatur Rubrica Deinde Oct. S. Joannis,
etc.
Ad Laudes supprimantur verba: et per horas.
In fine laudum supprimatur Rubrica Deinde fit comm., etc.
In II. Vesperis supprimatur Rubrica Deinde fit commem., etc.
Omnia quae habentur in Breviario die 2j lunii, suppri-
mantur omnino.
Die 28 Junii.
Supprimatur Rubrica Si hoc festum, etc. et ejus loco ponatur
sequens: Si hoc Festum venerit in Dominica, fit de Nativitate
S. Joannis Baptistae cum commemoratione Dominicae, et nihil
fit de S. Leone. In Sabbato praecedenti fit de Vigilia Nati-
vitatis S. Joannis, et nihil fit de Vigilia anticipata Ss. Apos-
tolorum Petri et Pauli, nisi in Missa.
Post Orationem supprimatur Rubrica Et fit comm., etc.
In Laudibus supprimatur Rubrica in Laud, fit comm., etc.
ANALECTA. g
Die 29 JuNii.
In I. Vesp. in Rubrica Et non fit, etc. supprimantur ultima
verba: nee Octavae S. Joannis.
In II. Vesp. in Rubrica Et non fit, etc. supprimantur ultima
verba: nee Oetavae S. Joannis.
In penultima Rubrica Deinde fit, etc., supprimantur verba:
Et non fit eomm. Oet. S. Joannis, neque in Laud.
Ultima Rubrica sic corrigatur : Si Commemoratio S. Pauli
alieubi alia die celebretur, to turn Officium fit ut in propria
Ecelesia.
Die 30 JUNii.
Ad Laudes supprimatur Rubrica Deinde Oetavae S. Joannis.
In II. Vesperis in Rubrica Vesperae integrae etc., suppri^
mantur ultima verba: et Oet. S. Joannis ut in I. Vesp. Festi.
In principio lulii supprimatur Rubrica Prima die etc.
In Festo Pretiosissimi Sanguinis supprimatur Rubrica, quae
incipit: Si hodie oeeurrat.
Post festum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis ponatur:
Infra Octavam Ss. Petri et Pauli.
Hie inserantur omnia quae habentur in Breviario post festum
Visitationis B. M. V.
Die i Julii.
Supprimantur omnino quae nunc habentur in Breviario, et
eorum loco ponatur:
Tertia die infra Octavam Ss. Petri et Pauli.
In I. Noeturno: Leetiones de Seriptura oeeurrente.
In II. Noeturno : Sermo S. Maximi Episcopi. Non sine causa
... {ut in antiquis Breviariis die 5 lulii).
In III. Noeturno: Homilia in Evang. Ecce nos reliquimus,
de Comm. Apost. i loeo.
Die 6 Julil
In Oetava Ss. Petri et Pauli. Duplex Majus.
Die 5 AuGUSTi.
Ultima Rubrica sic corrigatur: Vesp. de sequenti eum com-
mem. praeeedentis.
go THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Die 6 Augusti.
In Transfiguratione D. N. I. C. Duplex II. classis.
In I. Vesp. supprimatur Rubrica Deinde Ss Xysti II. Papae,
Felicissimi et Agapiti Mm. etc.
Die 22 Augusti.
In Octava Assumptionis B. M. V. Duplex Majus.
Dominica infra Oct. Nativitatis B. M. V. supprimantur
omnia quae habentur in Breviario.
Die ii Septembris.
In fine hujus diei addatur: Vesp. de sequent! Festo, sine
comm. Oct. Nativitatis B. M. V.
Die 12 Septembris.
Supprimantur omnia quae habentur in Breviario, et ponan-
tur sequentia:
SS. NoMiNis B. M. V. Duplex majus.
Omnia ut in Festis B. M. V. per annum, praeter sequentia :
Hie inserantur omnia quae in Breviario habentur Dominica
infra Octava Nativ., suppressa tamen in I. Vesp. Rubrica Et
fit Comm. Dom. occurrentis.
In fine VI. Lectionis supprimantur verba: Dominica infra
Octavam Nativitatis Beatae Virginis Mariae.
Post VIII. Lectionem addatur:
Lectio IX.
Beata quae (ut in Decreto S. R. C. lo Novembris ipog).
Supprimantur duae ultimae Rubricae et eorum loco ponatur
sequens: In II. Vesp. non fit comm. seq. diei infra Oct.
Die i Novembris.
Supprimantur duae ultimae Rubricae Dicto etc., et Si prima
dies etc.
Die 2 Novembris.
Supprimantur omnia quae habentur in Breviario, et eorum
loco ponantur quae hac die habentur in Appendice novi
Psalterii.
ANALECTA. gj
Die 8 Novembris.
In Octava omnium. Sanctorum Duplex majus.
Ultima Rubrica sic corrigatur: Vesp. de seq. cum Comm.
praec.
Die 9 Novembris.
In Dedicatione Archibasilicae SSmi Salvatoris.
Duplex II. classis. In Vesp. supprimatur Rubrica Deinde S.
Theodori Mart.
In Communi Sanctorum et sequentibus partibus Breviarii.
In Communi unius Martyris in III. Nocturno, in Lectione
VIII. circa medium, loco verbi Delectat, substituatur: Delectet.
In Communi unius Martyris, posita quarto loco Homilia in
Evang. Nihil est opertum, ponatur tertio loco Homilia in
Evang. Nolite arbitrari, quae incipit: Quae ista divisio est?
ut in Octavario Romano.
In Octava Dedicationis Ecclesiae. Duplex majus.
In Officio B. Mariae V. in Sabbato, in Vesperis, expungatur
Rubrica: Post Orationem fiunt etc. et ponatur sequens:
Post Orationem fit Suffragium, ut sequitur:
De omnibus Sanctis.
Ant. Sancti omnes intercedant pro nobis ad Dominum.
V. Mirificavit Dominus Sanctos suos.
R. Et exaudivit eos clamantes ad se.
Or emus. O ratio.
A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis de-
fende periculis: et intercedente beato loseph, cum beatis Apos-
iolis tuts etc.
Tempore autem Paschali, loco praecedentis Suffragii, fit
commemoratio de Cruce, ut in Ordinario.
Si autem occurrat Festum simplex, de eo fit comm. ante
ipsum Suffragium.
Ad Laudes, suppressis verbis Ad Laudes et per Horas:
Omnia ut in Festis B. M. V., praeter sequentia,' eorum loco
ponatur: Ad Laudes Antiphonae cum Psalmis de Sabbato, ut
Q2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
in Psalterio: Capitulum et Hymnus, ut in Festis B. M. V.
per annum.
In fine Laudum, suppressa Rubrica Deinde fiunt, ponatur:
Deinde fit Suffragium, ut supra ad Vesperas.
Post Ruhricam pro Tempore Paschali, supprimatur verba
Non fiunt commemorationes etc.
Deinde supprimitur Titulus Ad Vesperas, cum duabus sub-
sequentibus Rubricis.
In Officio parvo B. M. V. omittatur prima Rubrica. Ad
Laudes post primam Antiphonam dicatur: Ps. Dominus reg-
navit, cum reliquis de Dominica.
In Officio defunctorum omittatur prima Rubrica. Ad Laudes
tertius Psalmus Deus Deus meus, psalmo Deus misereatur
omisso. Quintus Psalmus Laudate Dominum in Sanctis ejus
etc., aliis duobus omissis.
In Psalmis Gradualibus supprimatur prima Rubrica.
In Septem Psalmis Poenitentialibus supprimantur duae
primae Rubricae.
Officia Votiva per annum supprimantur omnino.
In Missali.
In Principio Missalis.
Post Bullas Pii V, dementis VIII et Urbani VIII inseratur
Bulla Divino afHatu SSmi D. N. Pii Papae X.
Kalendarium Missalis.
Idem sit ac Kalendarium Breviarii, additis in singulis Festis
ritus duplicis II. classis, quoties occurrit comm. simplicis,
verbis: in missis privatis tantum.
Post Rubricas Generates inserantur Tit. X., XII. et XIII.
Novarum Rubricarum.
In proprio de Tempore Missalis.
In Festo Ss. Innocentium.
Post Missam ponatur sequens Rubrica:
Si Festum Nativitatis Domini, S. Stephani, S. Joannis
Evang. et Ss. Innocentium venerit in Dominica, ipsa die nihil
fit de Dominica, sed die proxima post Festum S. Thomae Mart,
dicitur Missa de Dominica ut infra.
ANALECTA, g-
Si Festum S. Thomae venerit in Dominica, Missa dicitur
de Dominica cum commemoratione S. Thomae et quatuor
Octavarum. Similiter si Festum S. Silvestri in Dominica oc-
currerit, Missa dicitur de Dominica cum commemoratione S.
Silvestri et quatuor Octavarum. Die vero 30 Decembris, si
occurrerit in Feria II. vel in Sabbato, dicitur Missa de die
infra Octavam Nativitatis, ut infra, cum commemoratione
aliarum Octavarum.
Dominica infra Octavam Nativitatis.
Ui in Missali, additis commemorationibus de Nativitate, S.
Stephana 5. Joanne et Ss. Innocentibus.
Die 29 Decembris.
Sancti Thomae Episc. Mart.
Ut in Missali, demptis commemorationibus , et addita Ru-
brica: Et fit comm. de Nativitate, de S. Stephano, de S. Joanne
et de Ss. Innocentibus, ut in Missa praecedenti.
In fine Missae deleantur Rubricae, quae nunc habentur in
Missali.
Die 30 Decembris.
Ut in Missali, dempta Rubrica Si Festum S. Silvestri, etc.
In Commemoratione Solemni Sanctissimi Corporis
D. N. J. C.
In fine Missae prima Rubrica sic corrigatur: Infra Octavam
dicitur haec eadem Missa, et non fit de aliquo Festo, nisi fuerit
duplex I. classis occurrens, et tunc cum commemoratione Oc-
tavae. In die Octava non fit nisi de Festo Ss. Apostol. Petri
et Pauli, si occurrat, cum comm. Octavae.
In proprio Sanctorum Missalis.
Die 19 Martii.
In Commemoratione solemni S. Joseph, Sponsi B. M. V.,
Confessoris.
In fine mensis Aprilis:
94
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
Dominica III. post Pascha.
In Solemnitate S. Joseph Sponsi B. M. V. et Ecclesiae
Universalis Patroni Confessoris.
Ante Evangelium addantur sequentia:
In Missis Votivis post Pentecosten : Ps. 20. Domine prae-
venisti etc. (ut habetur in fine Missae).
In Missis Votivis post Septuagesimam Graduale dicitur ut
supra post Pentecosten, omissis Alleluia et V. seq. et dicitur
Tractus. Ps. III. Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum: in mandatis-
ejus cupit nimis.
V. Potens in terra erit semen ejus: generatio rectorum
henedicetur.
V. Gloriae et divitiae in domo ejus: et justitia ejus manet
in saeculum saeculi.
Supprimatur ultima Rubrica Si Festum etc. usque ad finem,
et ponatur sequens:
Infra Octavam dicitur Missa ut in Festo : post Orationem
diei dicitur secunda O ratio Concede noSy tertia Ecclesiae vel
Deus omnium fidelium.
In die Octava dicitur Missa de Dominica IV. post Pascha,
nisi occurrat Festum Domini, aut Duplex I. aut II. classis,
cum commemo ration e Octavae, ut in Festo.
Post diem 21 Junii sequentia inserantur :
Sabbato ante Dom. IV. Junii.
Hie inseratur Missa, quae habetur die 2^ Junii, et in fine
addatur haec Rubrica:
Si haec Vigilia occurrat eadem die cum Vigilia anticipata
Ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, dicitur Missa ut supra cum
secunda oratione ex Missa Vigiliae Ss. Apostolorum et tertia
de S. Maria; et in fine Missae dicitur Evang. S. Joannis:
In principio.
Dominica IV. Junii.
In Nativitate S. Joannis Baptistae.
Hie ponatur Missa, quae habetur die 2/j. Junii.
Post Orationem, et post Secretam addatur: Et fit com-
memoratio Dominicae occurrentis.
Post Evangelium addatur: Dicitur Credo ratione Dominicae..
ANALECTA. -
Post Postcommunionem addatur: Et fit commemoratio
Dominicae occurrentis et legitur ejus Evangelium in fine
Missae.
Suppressa ultima Rubrica, addatur: Infra Octavam dicitur
Missa ut in Festo cum secunda Oratione Concede y tertia Ec-
clesiae vel pro Papa; et non dicitur Credo, nisi in Ecclesia
propria, vel nisi venerit infra Oct. Ss. Apostolorum Petri et
Pauli.
Si dies Octava venerit in Festo Ss. Apostolorum Petri et
Pauli, nihil fit de Octava. Si autem occurrerit die 30 Junii,
Missa dicitur de Dominica, cum commemoratione diei Oc-
tavae; deinde fit commemoratio tum S. Pauli Ap. turn S.
Petri Ap. Si vero occurrerit Dominica I. Julii, Misga dicitur
de Pretiosissimo Sanguine D. N. J. C. vel de Visitatione
B. M. v., juxta Rubricas, cum com. Dom. et Octavae S.
Joannis.
Omnia quae habentur in Missali diebus 2j et 24 Junii sup-
primantur omnino.
Die 25 Junii.
Supprimatur Rubrica et fit com. Oct. etc.
Die 26 Junii.
Supprimantur Rubricae respicientes com. Oct. S. Joannis.
Ante Diem 28 Junii sic corrigenda Rubrica:
Si sequens Festum S. Leonis venerit in Dominica, Missa
dicitur de Festo Nativitatis S. Joannis Baptistae cum comm.
Dominicae, et nihil fit de S. Leone. In Sabbato praecedenti
fit de Vigilia Nativitatis S. Joannis cum comm. Vigiliae Ss.
Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et tertia oratione de S. Maria, et
in fine legitur Evang. S. Joannis In principio.
Die 28 Junii.
Supprimantur Rubricae respicientes com. Octavae S. Joannis.
In fine Missae Vigiliae Apostolorum addatur haec Rubrica:
Si haec Vigilia in Sabbato anticipanda sit, ideoque oc-
currat eodem die cum Vigilia Nativitatis S. Joannis Baptistae;
de hac secunda dicitur Missa, cum comm. Vigiliae Ss. Apostol.
et tertia Oratione de S. Maria et Evang. S. Joannis in fine.
^6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Die 30 JuNii.
Supprimantur Rubrica respicientes Oct. S. Joannis Baptistae.
Supprimantur omnia quae nunc habentur in Missali die i
Julii, et ponantur sequentia:
Die I. III. et IV. Julii.
Infra Octavam Ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli.
Hie ponatur Missa, quae habetur die j Julii.
Die J Julii supprimatur Missa quae nunc habetur in Missali.
Die 6 Augusti.
Post Orationem sic corrigatur Rubrica: In Missis privatis
tantum fit com. Ss. Mm. Xysti, Felicissimi et Agapiti.
Dominica infra Octav. Nativitatis B. M. V. supprimantur
omnia quae habentur in Missali.
Die 12 Septembris.
In Festo Sanctissimi Nominis B. M. V.
Hie ponatur Missa quae habetur Dom. infra Oct. Na-
tivitatis, demptis Rubricis respicientibus commemorationem
Dominicae.
Die 2 NovEMRBis.
Retenta prima Rubrica, loco secundae et tertiae ponatur
sequens: Si autem hac die 2 Novembris occurrat Duplex I.
classis aut Dominica, Commemoratio omnium Fidelium De-
functorum in diem immediate sequentem, similiter non im-
peditam, transfertur, seu reponitur.
Die 9 Novembris.
Rubrica respiciens com. S. Theodori sic corrigatur : Pro
com. S. Theodori, Mart, in Missis privatis tantum.
Missae Votivae per annum supprimantur omnino.
Quae omnia SSmo Domino Nostro Pio Papae X per in-
frascriptum Secretarium relata, Sanctitas Sua dignata est rata
habere et adprobare, simul iniungens, ut in Missalibus et
ANALECTA. gy
Breviariis iam editis, quae venalia apud typographos prostant,
adiiciatur fasciculus Rubricas adaptatas ut supra continens.
Die 23 lanuarii 1912.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praef.
L. *S.
■*■ Petrus La Fontaine, Ep. Charystien., Secret
II.
Circa Doxologiam v. Primae, et Praefationem Propriam
IN OCCURRENTIA FeSTORUM B. M. V. AD INSTAR SIMPLICIS
REDACTORUUM.
Quum ex Constitutione Apostolica " Divino afflatu " SSmi
Dni Nostri Pii Papae X, diei i Novembris 1911, Festum
B. M. V. ritus duplicis maioris, aut dies Octava eiusdem Dei-
parae, si in Dominicam occurrant, amodo simplificari debeant;
Sacrae Rituum Congregationi insequentia dubia proposita
fuerunt, nimirum :
I. An in praedictu casu conclusiones Hymnorum et versus
Responsorii brevis ad Primam esse debeant de ipsa Beata
Maria Virgine?
II. Quae Praefatio in casu dicenda sit in Missa?
Et Sacra eadem Congregatio, ad relationem subscripti Se-
cretarii, re mature perpensa, respondendum censuit :
Ad I. Affirmative, nisi dicenda sit propria Temporis, et
exceptis Dominicis Adventus.
Ad II. Praefatio Trinitatis, nisi occurrat Praefatio de
Tempore aut alicuius Octavae Domini, iuxta Novas Rubricas,
tit. X, n. 4.
Atque ita rescripsit die 30 Decembris 1911.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praef.
L. *S.
Hh Petrus La Fontaine, Ep. Charystien., Secret.
III.
Decretum de Festis Ritus Duplicis Maioris Octava
condecoratis.
Quaedam Festa, quamvis perpauca, ritus Duplicis Maioris,
pro aliqua particulari Ecclesia, transactis temporibus, Octava
decorata fuerunt. Quum autem harum Octavarum celebratio
98
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
novissimis Sanctae Sedis dispositionibus minime congruat,
Sacra Rituum Congregatio, ad relationem subscript! Secre-
tarii, audita sententia Commissionis Liturgicae, reque ac-
curate examine perpensa, statuit et decrevit: Festa ritus
duplicis maioris Octava gaudere nequeunt; et si quae huius-
modi Octavae iam concessae inveniantur, amodo declarantur
suppressae. Atque ita servari praecepit die 30 Decembris
1911.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praej.
L. * S.
•i* Petrus La Fontaine, Ep. Charystien., Secret.
IV.
Decretum de Novi Psalterii edendi Facultate ab Epis-
COPIS NON CONCEDENDA.
Cum nuper nonnulli Rmi loco rum Ordinarii Sacram Rituum
Congregationem interrogaverint utrum sibi liceat facultatem
concedere Typographis respectivae Dioecesis imprimendi
" Psalterium Breviarii Romani cum Ordinario Divini Officii
jussu SS. D. N. Pii PP. X novo ordine per hebdomadam
dispositum et editum " necne; Sacra ipsa Congregatio re-
spondit: " Detur Decretum diei 15 Novembris 191 1 in Edi-
tione typica Vaticana relatum ".
Tenor autem Decreti hie est:
" Praesentem Psalterii cum Ordinario Divini Officii edi-
tionem Vaticanam diligenter revisam et recognitam, ac juxta
recentes Rubricarum immutationes, ad normam Constitutionis
Apostolicae " Divino afflatu " SSmi D. N. Pii Pp. X, ac-
curatissime dispositam, Sacra Rituum Congregatio typicam
declaravit; statuitque, ut novae ejusdem Psalterii editiones
huic in omnibus sint conformes, et non imprimantur, nisi a
Typographis hujus Sacrae Congregationis, servatisque prae-
scriptionibus ab hac Secretaria tradendis ".
Quod, non obstante Decreto diei 17 Maii 191 1, ita servari
mandavit.
Die 15 lanuarii 1912.
L. *S.
"i* Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien.,
S. R. C. Secretarius.
ANALECTA. ^
99
V.
MONITUM.
Sax:rae Rituum Congregation! visum est Rmos locorum
Ordinarios certiores facere, eosque orare ut suis subditis notum
faciant, nullius roboris esse rescripta, responsa ad duhia, con-
cessiones, declarationes cuiusque generis, privilegia, com-
mentaria nomine ipsius S. Congregationis evulgata, nisi, prout
de iure, subsignata fuerint exclusive ab Emo Cardinali ipsi
S. Congregationi Praefecto una cum S. ipsius Congregationis
Secretario vel eius Substituto, aut, in casu necessitatis, saltem
ab Emo Praefecto, vel a Secretario aut eius Substituto: Item
nil esse commune inter S. Rituum Congregationem et cuius-
cumque generis ephemerides rem liturgicam pertractantes,
cum Sacra ipsa Congregatio, quoties promulgatione opus sit,
ea quae statuerit, in Commentario officiali Acta Apostolicae
Sedis ad tramitem Constitut. Ap. " Promulgandi pontificias "
inserenda curet.
Ex S. R. C. Secretaria, die 28 lanuarii 191 2.
HH Petrus La Fontaine, Epis. Charystien., Secretarius.
OUEIA EOMANA.
Pontifical Appointments.
24 April, ipi2: The Honorable Richard Preston, of the
Archdiocese of Liverpool, appointed Secret Chamberlain
Supernumerary of the Sword and Cape to His Holiness.
2p April, igi2: Mr. Edward L. Hearn, of New York, made
Commander of the Order of San Silvestro.
Stubtes anb Conferences.
OUE A5ALE0TA.
The Roman documents for the month are :
S. CONSISTORIAL CONGREGATION : I . Gives the boundaries
of the new Diocese of Kearney, Nebraska, formerly of the
Diocese of Omaha. The new See is in the Dubuque Province.
2. The Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville is made the Dio-
cese of Corpus Christi, in the New Orleans Province.
3. The boundaries of the Diocese of Fort Wayne are de-
fined.
S. Congregation of the Council publishes a letter re-
garding feast days.
S. Congregation of Rites : i . Continuation of the decree
containing the changes to be made in the Missal and the
Breviary.
2. Rescript concerning the conclusions of Hymns and the
verse of the Responsory at Prime; also the simplification of
Proper Preface of the Blessed Virgin.
3. Decree concerning feasts of Double Major Rite that have
octaves.
4. Permission to publish the New Psaltery is not to be
granted by Bishops.
5. Admonition not to accept as authentic documents pur-
porting to come from the S. Congregation unless they are
signed by the Cardinal Prefect and Secretary (or his substi-
tute) of the Congregation.
DOES THE YIETUE OP OOMMITHION LAST?
The question here proposed may be explained as follows.
Communion intensifies the soul's supernatural vitality: it in-
creases that sanctifying grace which is the vital principle of
the supernatural life. The Eucharist thus lessens our danger
of losing that divine life by the commission of mortal sin.
Amongst other ways, it does this by weakening the rebellion
of our natural concupiscences and irregular tendencies. But
now the question arises: Does this preserving and vivifying
action of a Communion last indefinitely, so that it is unneces-
sary to repeat the soul's refreshment for a long time? Need-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. iqj
less to say, we are not here discussing the continuance of
devout feelings and impressions after the time of Communion.
That some repetition of the spiritual meal is necessary
becomes plain from the ecclesiastical precept by which all
Catholics are enjoined to receive Holy Communion at least
once a year, as soon as they have reached the dawn of reason.
This precept is radically divine, since it is the authoritative
determination by the Church of Christ's command to " eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood." ^
But here it is important to note that our Lord does not re-
quire our obedience to this command merely as a point of re-
ligious discipline. He further makes our compliance a con-
dition for retaining the spiritual life of grace here, and gaining
eternal life hereafter. For He says : " Except you eat . . .
you shall not have life in you ... He that eateth . . . hath
eternal life/' etc.^
It is not merely a case, then, of Communion being necessary
because it is commanded, which is too often the view of the
" hardy annual ". Communion is commanded because, in the
actual dispensation of Christ, it is necessary for the soul's life.
But is one Communion a year any sort of guarantee that
we shall keep in God's grace? It cannot be such if the pre-
servative efficacy of the Eucharist be passing and exhaustible.
What grounds then have we for supposing that this is actually
the case?
This notion of the non-permanent virtue of a Communion
has at its back no less a theological authority than Cardinal
de Lugo, to whose opinions, even when unsupported by other
doctors, Saint Alphonsus Liguori attached so much weight.
In his treatise on the Eucharist we read : " Since this Sacra-
ment is meant to be received repeatedly, after the manner
of food, it is not to be thought that it produces the effects of
help and strength so powerfully over a long period as for the
time nearer to its reception." ^ Here the non-permanence of
the sacramental virtue is clearly indicated.
^ John 6 : 54.
2 Ibid. 54-5. " He does not say that eternal life is reserved for him in
the future {habebit), but that he has it already {habet), and holds the sure
pledge of it." Papal Address to French First Communicants,- Sistine Chapel,
Low Sunday, 14 April, 191 2.
' " Cum hoc Sacramentum saepius, instar cibi, accipiendum sit . . . non est
credendum quod aeque efficaciter influat auxilia et vires in longum tempus,
sicut in tempus proximum." De Euch. Disp. XIV, Sect. 3.
102 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Then we have the teaching of the Holy See contained in the
Decree on daily Communion. There we are told that our
Lord ''more than once and in no ambiguous terms pointed out
the necessity of eating His flesh and drinking His blood fre-
quently." * This necessity of partaking frequently cannot be
one of precept, or Christ would have guided His Church to
demand more than an annual Communion under pain of sin.
The necessity therefore of a more frequent reception must
arise from our own spiritual need of it. And yet, if the effect
of Communion did not gradually decline as the weeks and
months wear on, a Communion once a year would suffice for
realizing our Lord's promise of " life " and for meeting all
the soul's emergencies, as well as for satisfying our Lord's
precept.
Again, does not experience prove conclusively that, in the
case of very many souls, even a monthly Communion does not
suffice to ward off the spiritual death of mortal sin? With
exceptionally tempted souls even a weekly one may prove in-
adequate for this vital purpose.^ Nor will it do to urge that
the failure is attributable simply to the communicant's want
of care to avoid the occasions of sin, and that, failing such
precaution, no number of Communions will keep him safe.
For the promise of " life " must necessarily include efficacious
graces for observing all conditions that are essential for its
preservation. Otherwise the promise would seem to be to a
great extent illusory. Neither, putting aside exposure to the
occasions of sin, does it seem correct to attribute the slowing
down of the Eucharistic action to our daily faults. That
these offer a hindrance to the operations of grace is not denied.
Yet the known experience of Saints prevents our accepting
this as an adequate explanation. Thus St. John Berchmans,
for instance, in spite of the great perfection of his daily life,
bears witness to the sense of moral faintness which he ex-
perienced as the week drew to a close — an interval of a week
between one Communion and another being the usual thing
in his day. And when a feast day coincided with a Sunday
he would observe regretfully, " One Banquet the less! "
* " Crebro manducandi."
^ The reference here is to those who are able to practice more frequent
Communion. As for the unavoidably impeded, no doubt our Lord can and
will make the rarer Communions, alone possible to them, amply sufficient for
their spiritual needs, however extreme these may be.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. jq^
If we discard the theory as to the non-permanence of the
sacramental virtue, it will be difficult to defend the strong
and indiscriminate invitation of the Holy See to the practice
of daily Communion. " We should be forced," as Pere Lin-
telo remarks, " to fall back upon the Jansenistical theory that
one Communion made in perfect dispositions profits the soul
more than a number of Communions made in less perfect
ones. . . ." Whereas the true view, clearly underlying the
Decree of Pope Pius X, is that, given the two essential dispo-
sitions and no more, it is still more " salutary " in the long
run to receive frequently and even daily.
We need not be greatly surprised at the limited duration of
full Eucharistic efficacy, since traces of the same phenomenon
may be observed in some of the other Sacraments. This point
was worked out somewhat ingeniously, though perhaps not
at all points quite convincingly, in a paper read at the Cologne
Eucharistic Congress of 1909. Perhaps the least strained
analogy which the writer drew from the other Sacraments
was from the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. The Last
Anointing seems to have its virtue limited, not only to the one
illness, but even to the particular danger of death during
which it is administered, so that, should the first danger cease
and a fresh one supervene, the Sacrament is to be repeated.
Again, those theologians who maintain that a person who falls
sick during the day upon which he has received Communion
is bound to receive it again as Viaticum, evidently regard the
virtue of the morning's reception to be sufficient for the ordi-
nary purposes of life but not for the special ones of death.
But perhaps we ought not to attach too much weight to
these sacramental analogies. More stress should be laid upon
the special nature of the Eucharist and its analogy to bodily
nourishment. As De Lugo says, it is a Sacrament intended to
be received repeatedly after the manner of food. The Coun-
cil of Trent, whilst exhorting pastors to urge the frequent re-
ception of Communion, bids them explain to the people that
the Eucharistic food is necessary for their souls just as
material nourishment is for their bodies. We should repeat
our spiritual meals, just as we repeat our bodily ones, and
not consider that an occasional repast will suffice to maintain
our supernatural life in due vigor.
104
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The type of the Manna upon which our Lord insists so
pointedly in His discourse upon the Bread of Life once more
suggests the important lesson that, normally speaking, Com-
munion is designed to support the soul in full vitality for the
day. Jewish men, women, and children were bidden to collect
the same quantity of Manna. So we need the Eucharist for
our constant support, whether we be adults or only infants
in holiness.
A difficulty needing explanation yet remains, that is, if a
satisfactory one can be found. It is this. The Eucharist
increases sanctifying grace in the soul. How can it be sup-
posed that this grace suffers any deterioration in the course
of time? Surely nothing except mortal sin can destroy it or
even diminish it? Moreover, the sanctifying grace imparted
through Sacraments not only increases the soul's holiness, but
gives it besides a right to the bestowal of actual graces in due
season for the various emergencies of the spiritual life. The
sanctifying grace cannot deteriorate. How then can the sup-
ply of actual helps, or sacramental graces, based upon the
sanctifying grace, weaken either?
This is breaking difficult ground and no pretense is here
made of supplying a complete solution to the mystery. Yet
the answer may be hazarded that, whilst the sanctifying
grace suffers no diminution, the actual graces to which it en-
titles its possessors follow the particular nature of the Sacra-
ment in question. Accordingly, as in the case of bodily food,
their nourishing virtue grows less and less as the time since
the last reception lengthens.
To conclude. In discussing the above topic, no attempt,
of course, was contemplated to define precisely for how long
a Communion exerts its full efficacy. About that we can know
nothing. But just for this very reason those are certainly
wisest who, having the opportunity, receive the Bread of Life
as often as the Church allows, that is, every day. Our con-
fidence in our Lord's Providence over His Church justifies our
feeling certain that this maximum allowance of the Heavenly
Food at least will abundantly meet all our spiritual needs,
however pressing or desperate. A smaller allowance too will
no doubt satisfy the wants of people of good will whose neces-
sary duties thwart their sincere wish for a more frequent
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. jq-
approach to the Holy Table. Their very desire for Christ
will bring them the extra graces that accrue from the practice
of Spiritual Communion, and will dispose them to derive ad-
ditional profit from their next reception.
Chesterfield, England. p ^ ^^ Zulueta, S.J.
QUID MIHI ET TIBI? AGAIN.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
In the interests of sound criticism I beg leave to submit
the following observations on the position of Fr. Drum, S.J.,
as represented in the last number of the Review (pp. 737-
740). The key to the difficulties advanced by him is a dis-
tinction that must be insisted on before proceeding. My study
of the text, John 2 : 4,^ is one thing; and the Kurdistan story,
later on volunteered by Fr. Weigand ^ is another. These
two topics, the study and the story, must be kept apart. The
study will stand or fall on its own intrinsic merits; the story
will depend largely on the authority or methods of those who
endorse or reject it. The following division and arrangement
of the Father's objections are made in virtue of this neces-
sary distinction.
I. The Study. Objections, a. During the course of the
year, Fr. Drum has discovered that the study, which pur-
ported to furnish an " original solution " of John 2 : 4, is not
unlike another which was discussed in the Irish Ecclesiastical
Record of 1888. Dr. Dixon's and Fr. Kenny's rendition of
the moot passage is referred to. It reads : " What is there
between you and me? " or, " What cause of complaint is there
on your part as against me? "
b. Now the idiom, " Quid mihi et tibi?" of St. John, and
this other, "What is there between thee and me?" are pro-
nounced by Fr. Drum to be " entirely at variance one with the
other ". The former, he tells us, has " nothing in common "
with the latter; and whoever says that our Lord in using
the first, meant the second, is " altogether wrong ".
c. A certain Fr. O'Brien knew of an interpretation like
that which I prefer, viz., " The same mind to you and to me ",
but Fr. O'Brien characterized it as " silly ", for it makes ab-
1 EccL, Rev., Feb., 191 1, pp. 169-202. ^ ibid., April, p. 483-
I06 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
solute nonsense in every other passage ". This proves to Fr.
Drum's satisfaction that there is a '* clear difference " be-
tween the Biblical idiom and this peculiar construction.
Reply. — a. The interpretation of John 2 : 4, supported by
me is contained in the following equation : quid mihi et tibi=
quid mihi et quid tibi=quid meum et quid tuum. Less lacon-
ically, our Lord's words to His Mother at the marriage-feast
meant: "Why so soon distinguish between mine and thine,
since my hour, the hour when I shall act independently of
thee, is not yet come? Woman, command me." Christ, al-
though on the threshold of His public ministry, was still sub-
ject to Mary. — How different this view is from that of Fr.
Kenny, " What cause of complaint have you against me? "
needs not to be told.
b. Moreover, the rendering which Fr. Drum traces back to
the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 1888, viz., "What is there
between thee and me?" antedates the Record by many a
year. As indicated in my last paper, old French transla-
tions of the Vulgate, notably that preferred by the Oratorian,
de Carrieres, Paris, 1745, give as the ipsissima verba of
Christ: " Qu'y-a-t-il entre vous et moi?" Authorities who
do this would hardly agree to the assertions made by my
critic in the second objection.
c. In passing from this, my reputed opinion, back to the one
I really hold, it is strange that Fr. Drum detects no differ-
ence between the two. It is still stranger, if my interpretation
is so " nonsensical " in every other Biblical passage, that he
did not recognize it before. Now that he failed in this respect
seems evident from the fact that he pronounced my study of
John 2 : 4, and all related pasages, on its first appearance, a
model of " scholarly exegesis ".
II. The Story. The Kurdistan story, which appeared in
the Review in April, 191 1 (p. 483), has occasioned this ob-
scure procedure. Fr. Drum's first comment on it was that it
" should not be taken as scientifically correct ".^ The reasons
he urged against it were: i, its improbable dramatis personae;
ii, the language it involves, viz., Arabic; iii, its bad Arabic;
iv, its irrelevance in explaining John 2:4. In my reply to
these objections,* my purpose was, not so much to defend the
* EcCL. Rev.^ May, 191 1, pp. 598-9. "* June, 191 1, pp. 743-746.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ,Qy
story, as to call attention to the religious, political and social
background which belonged to it, if true, and to show, at the
same time, that " the reasons alleged against it " in Fr.
Drum's development, " did not seem to be well-founded ".
Subsequent difficulties recently voiced by the Orientalist sug-
gest the following reflections :
i. Fr. Drum at first did not think there were any Dominicans
in Kurdistan. Now, at the end of a year, he thinks that Domi-
nican missionaries were at least absent from the country up
until 1882, when they secured a permanent residence there.
Being a Dominican, I can assure him of the contrary. As
well might one argue, before knowing the fact, that the
Fathers of the Society were unknown in certain American
colonies before they obtained a fixed abode in them.
ii. My critic says : *' Any one who speaks with people from
Tunis, Egypt, Abyssinia, Syria, and Mesopotamia, will be
astounded at the uniformity and purity of their vulgar
Arabic ". This is very true, but it is misleading. Of itself,
the statement is pointless, except in so far as it implies : there-
fore, the vulgar Arabic of Kurdistan is equally pure. Now
Kurdistan is in none of the places enumerated, and of this
region, the Father correctly wrote a year ago : " Arabic is
not the language of Kurdistan ". Adding more definite in-
formation, I may quote from La Grande Encyclopedie (art.,
Kourdes), the following: "There exist among the Kurds,
especially along the frontier, numerous dialects containing an
abundance of Turkish, Arabic, Syriac, and other words ".
iii. Yet at least the clergy of Kurdistan speak Arabic, for
Fr. Drum says: " I have spoken with Chaldaic priests from
Kurdistan and their language was Arabic, and no jumble of
Arabic with Syriac and Kurd". Evidently, the clergy are
on a higher level than the uncultured mountaineers. That
was to be expected. Here we have another point of compari-
son with early American history. However, missionaries in
foreign lands usually familiarize themselves with the lan-
guage and dialects of the natives, and occasionally use them
instead of their own.
iv. It was the utter irrelevance of the story in illustrating
John 2 : 4, that disposed my critic to be surprised at my seem-
ing " defence " of it. Plainly, I made no pretence at defend-
I08 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ing the story. I approved of it only conditionally, and in
these words: '* // it can he verified , it possesses, at least for
the philologist, a value all its own, even though it jail short
in explaining the Cana narrative.'' The if, and the final clause
here italicized were inserted designedly. The same is true of
my appreciation of the idiom, " What is between me and
thee? " In short, I considered the idiom only to dismiss it as
being " open to a twofold exposition — the one favorable, the
other unfavorable." Conditionally, I was willing to accept it
in its favorable sense, as a " desirable parallel ", but not as an
exact equivalent, of the Biblical expression. My words were :
" If J in any country, the expression were habitually used in
the same circumstances as the Biblical idiom, and if its idiom-
atic force were such as to exclude the unfavorable sense from
the minds of those who used it naturally, I fail to see why
we should not then have a desirable parallel of St. John." I
might have repudiated the idiom unreservedly, but I pre-
ferred not to be dogmatic. The French translators and others
who had previously accepted the phrase as a reasonable
equivalent or parallel of St. John, were entitled to that much
deference.
Fr. Drum has therefore wrongly taken it for granted that I
had adopted the phrase as my own, and that the adoption had
been absolute. When he revised the Arabic reading of the
idiom a year ago, he assigned to it a meaning quite like that
I have preferred for John 2:4. He put it thus : " We are at
one, there is nothing that stands between us ". But now, in
the false supposition that I have adopted it, he excludes this
meaning apparently, and mistakenly identifies my position
with Fr. Kenny's : " What cause of complaint have you
against me?" After this, an unsound principle is given per-
emptory value in deciding the imaginary issue : The idioms of
one language should be translated literally into those of an-
other, for my critic argues : What is there between me and
thee, can have no other form in Greek but this : rt fxera^v kfiov koX
09V. Does the principle not involve a contradiction in terms?
The other issues raised will vanish, once they are viewed in
their proper perspective.
Thomas a'K. Reilly, O.P.
Immaculate Conception College, Washington, D. C.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. jqq
EEJOINDEB BY PATHBE DEUM.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
Having been asked whether I had any comment to make
on the above strictures by Father Reilly, I wish to say: In
the first place, I do not give Fr. Reilly's " reputed opinion ",
as he intimates in the above observations upon my criticism in
the June number, but I quote his very words and the page on
which they appear. Moreover, it is incorrect to write of me,
" he pronounced my study of John 2 : 4, and all related pas-
sages, on its first appearance, a model of scholarly exegesis ".
All this can not be fairly read in my words : " A propos of Fr.
Reilly's scholarly exegesis of John 2:4" (p. 598, vol. 44).
Though I disagree with that exegesis, I do not feel such
odium theologicum as to call it unscholarly. I have drawn
attention to one unscholarly element in Fr. Reilly's article, —
his grouping of Joel 3:4 with the other " Quid mihi et tibi "
texts (p. 739, vol. 46) ; this item he heeds not. Thirdly, I do
not say that his " interpretation is so nonsensical in every other
Biblical passage " ; but cite such words as Fr. O'Brien's in re-
gard to the Kurdistan story. Fourthly, Fr. Reilly garbles
my words in writing: " Now at the end of a year, he thinks
that the Dominican missionaries were at least absent from the
country up until 1882 ". I think no such thing. I only wrote
that " his summary of their residence therein since 1882 does
not make clear a story which appeared in 1877 " (p. 738, vol.
44). Fifthly, it is unfair to say that Fr. O'Brien's character-
ization of the story as silly is taken by me to prove to my
satisfaction anything save that this controversy went on in
1877. Lastly, I give no "peremptory value" to the "un-
sound principle " : " The idioms of one language should be
translated literally into those of another". I show that the Ara-
bic bain of the moot phrase has a meaning such as its Hebrew
cognate form; is used precisely in the same setting as utra^v,
its Greek equivalent, in the New Testament; must mean the
same ; should be translated by the same. Such " sound criti-
cism " of the text John 2 : 4 cannot be set aside by a rhetOiical
cry of " contradiction in terms ".
I may add here that I am glad to find that Fr. Reilly no
longer defends the Arabic phrase as " presumedly Kurd " ;
nor his statement of a year ago that " the exegetical bearing
no THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
oi the story, althbugh not convincing, is pertinent " (p. 746,,
vol. 44). The exegesis of the phrase shows it is not at all
pertinent to the interpretation of John 2 : 4 — n tfioi kqI «oi,
Walter Drum, S.J.
Woodstock College, Maryland.
OUB OATHOLIO SOLDIERS IN OHINA.
Dear Sir.
I have the pleasure of enclosing my subscription for the
current year and hope the Ecclesiastical Review will con-
tinue to be as interesting as in the past. Since the troubles
in China the American Army has also sent a regiment here,
the 15th Infantry. Amongst them are some 200 Catholics.
Unfortunately we have no English prayer-books nor publica-
tions for them. The British troops have theirs provided, and
I should think there must be some of your readers who could
send me a few hundred small prayer-books and a few bundles
of tracts published by the American Catholic Truth Society.
I should see to their distribution amongst the men of the
American contingent. p ^
British Military Chaplain.
THE DE PROFUNDIS BELL.
Qu. Could you give me some information regarding the De Pro-
f undis Bell ? It seems it is customary in some places to ring or strike
a bell in the evening to remind the parishioners of the dead, and to
elicit a De Prof undis from their pious charity. When is this bell to
be rung ? Must it be rung or struck, or both ? How many strokes ?
J. M. H.
Resp. The custom of ringing the bell in the evening to
invite the faithful to pray for the souls of the departed ap-
pears to antedate the institution of the Angelus bell, and to
have originated at the time of the Crusades. Pope Urban II
is credited with being the originator, when at the Council of
Clermont (1095) he ordained that a prayer bell be rung
mornings and evenings to invite the faithful to implore Al-
mighty God for victory of the Christian armies over the Sara-
cens, and to pray for the souls of the soldiers who were left
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. j j j
dead on the battlefield in the distant country.^ Subsequently
Clement XII issued a brief (ii August, 1736) proclaiming a
plenary indulgence, to be gained annually by those who regu-
larly observed the practice of reciting the De Profundis or
one Pater and Ave for the souls of the departed (one hundred
days for each time). This prayer was to be said kneeling,
about an hour after the Ave Maria (Angelus), at the sound
of the bell. Later on Pius VI ( 1 781 ) extended the indulgence
to all who performed the act at the time assigned, even where
the bell is not sounded. The precise hour of the De Profundis
Bell depends on the time of the Angelus, which it follows at
an interval of about an hour. In Catholic countries the Ave
Maria Bell is rung as a rule at sunset, and accordingly the
hour varies; elsewhere it coincides with the curfew bell. In
the United States, where the hour of the Angelus is six
o'clock, the De Profundis Bell is rung at seven o'clock.
As to the manner of ringing this bell, no definite rule is
laid down. Beringer with other writers holds that the bell is
to be sounded for the space of time which it takes to recite the
De Profundis psalm.
OUR MIDSUMMEE NUMBEE.
The month of July falls in midsummer, when everybody
claims some dispensation from the serious tasks of professional
life. The clerical reader too expects to find temporary relax-
ation from the mental strain which the discussion of theo-
logical problems, however practical in the result, involves.
Since the Review is not built on wholly conventional lines of
current theological periodicals, it takes the liberty to depart
to some extent from the traditional method in order to be
more useful to its readers. Accordingly we fill this issue
of the hottest month in the ecclesiastical as well as the civil
year, with clerical stories and travel experiences, or in other
words with the sort of Pastoralia which, whilst they appeal to
the priest, as is our exclusive purpose, do so through the more
convenient way of the heart and without making any particu-
lar demand on the mental energies. We feel sure the tem-
porary change is agreeable to most of our readers, and will
not lessen the appreciation of the practical and serious ques-
tions to be discussed in these pages during the rest of the year.
^ Dr. Heinrich Otte, Glockenkunde. Leipzig. 1884.
Criticisms anb Botes*
THE PBIENDSHIP OF OHBIST. By Bobert Hugh Benson. New Tork
and London: Longmans, Green & Oo. 1912. Pp. 167.
A priest must often ask himself why good people, being so good as
they are, fail to make that real progress in virtue and holiness of
which their consistent rectitude of life and avoidance of at least any-
thing like habitual sin would seem to give promise, and of which
they certainly afford the starting-point. Why, with sanctifying grace
habitually in their souls; why, considering all that this involves —
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, of the Blessed Trinity Itself, —
why are they not much more like the Saints than they are? Why
are they so timid, so apt to be discouraged, so prone to say, when
it is suggested to them that they should enter upon the " devout
life ", " Oh, such things are not for me " ? Mgr. Benson would say
that this comes about because they do not cultivate the friendship of
Christ; and of the friendship of Christ he discourses in this book
in a manner at once sympathetic with such souls as we speak of,
enlightening, encouraging, and revealing a true insight into the
thoughts, the needs, and the difficulties of the many who, but for
the obstacle the author sets out to remove, would do great things
in the spiritual life, or rather would open the way for God's Holy
Spirit to do great things in them.
When Mgr. Benson's book appeared, the reviewer happened to be
reading the wonderful Histoire d'une Ame, the spiritual autobiog-
raphy of that wonderfully simple soul. Sister Teresa of the Infant
Jesus, who died in 1897 in the odor of sanctity at the Carmelite Con-
vent of Lisieux. She walked by the spiritual way of most simple
child-like confidence in the love and goodness of Jesus Christ toward
all, and one was impressed with the similarity in spirit, though not
in the mode of treatment, between her appeal and Mgr. Benson's,
to timid souls to cast off their timidity and make friends with Christ,
who so constantly in the Gospels invites their friendship and offers
His. For this, amongst other reasons, He became Man. Yet Catho-
lics, says Mgr. Benson, " are prone ... to forget that His delights
are to be with the sons of men more than to rule the Seraphim, that,
while His Majesty held Him on the Throne of His Father, His Love
brought Him down on pilgrimage that He might transform His ser-
vants into His Friends. For example, devout souls often complain
of their loneliness on earth. They pray, they frequent the Sacra-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. j j ^
ments, they do their utmost to fulfil the Christian precepts; and,
when all is done, they find themselves solitary. There could scarcely
be a more evident proof of their failure to understand one, at least,
of the great motives of the Incarnation. They adore Christ as God,
they feed on Him in Communion, cleanse themselves in His precious
Blood, look to the time when they shall see Him as their Judge;
yet of that intimate knowledge of and companionship with Him in
which the Divine Friendship consists, they have experienced little
or nothing. They long, they say, for one who can stand by their
side and upon their own level, who cannot merely remove suffering,
but can himself suffer with them, one to whom they can express in
silence the thoughts which no speech can utter ; and they seem not to
understand that this is the very post which Jesus Christ Himself
desires to win^ that the supreme longing of His Sacred Heart is
that He should be admitted, not merely to the throne of the heart or
to the tribunal of conscience, but to that inner secret chamber of the
soul where a man is most himself, and therefore most utterly alone "
(pp. 6, 7).
Beautifully and persuasively Mgr. Benson draws from the Gospel
record the evidence of this desire of the Heart of Jesus. We would
direct attention especially to his brief, but very striking use of the
passage also from the Apocalypse — the words of Jesus risen and
ascended : " Behold, I stand at the gate and knock. If any man shall
hear My Voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him and he with Me " ( Apoc. 3 : 20) .
But Christ is God, as well as man. " A single individualistic
friendship with Him therefore does not exhaust His capacities. . . .
He approaches us, therefore, along countless avenues, although it is
the same Figure that advances down each. It is not enough to know
Him interiorly only: He must be known (if His relation with us
is to be that which He desires) in all those activities and manifesta-
tions in which He displays Himself."
Hence Mgr. Benson divides his book into two parts : ( 1 ) Christ in
the Interior Soul; (2) Christ in the Exterior. In the first part he
gives us a short treatise on the Purgative and Illuminative Ways,
up to the point at which Ordinary (not Extraordinary) Contempla-
tion is reached — a goal, he points out, perfectly attainable by any-
one with ordinary graces, something to be aimed at and prayed for.
In a modern way — modern in the sense of being practical and suited
to the difficulties and problems with which pious persons are faced
now; in the sense also of being couched in language which people
to-day can understand — the old and orthodox doctrine concerning
1 Italics are the reviewer's.
114 ' THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
these stages of the spiritual life are presented; doctrines which
often may fail to be understood when read in the archaic phraseology
of past days. This is what in a certain kind of religious parlance,
come to savor somewhat of cant, would be called very " helpful ".
Despite the associations of the hackneyed phrase, it is entirely true
in this case, and many souls will thank Mgr. Benson for what he has
done for them in this section of his little work.
The second part of the book, treating of Christ in the Exterior,
has not only a spiritual value for Catholics, but an apologetic value
also. It shows how interior religious experience must be judged as
to its validity by those external criteria which Christianity, as Christ
made it, afford. The Evil One clothes himself as an angel of light,
so as to deceive even the elect, and " notoriously, nothing is so dif-
ficult to discern as the difference between the inspirations of the
Holy Ghost and the aspirations or imaginations of self" (p. 41).
This confusion happens in Protestantism; it happened to the Mod-
ernists. So we must look to Christ in His exterior manifestations
of Himself. Nor can our friendship with Him be a true one if we
do not. Particularly we must know and love Christ in the Church,
" Christ-in- Catholicism ", as Mgr. Benson expresses it. Catholics,
even, need to be reminded of this. It is a disposition eminently
prominent in the lives of God's saints, and the greatest interior lovers
and friends of Jesus have also been the greatest lovers and most
loyal children of the Church. Readers of this Review will recall
the author's work, Christ in the Church, recently noticed here,^ in
which this aspect of the question is treated at length.
One by one, then, Mgr. Benson takes the external manifestations
of Christ, the various avenues down which the Divine-Human
Friend makes advance to us. Christ in the Eucharist, in the Church,
in the Priest, in the Saint, in the Sinner, in the Average Man, in the
Sufferer, and, lastly, in His historical life — crucified, and vindicated
— is presented to us in these illuminating pages. " Christ is the
Saviour " is a chapter that will bring new light to many souls, re-
vealing a view of sin, often missed, which must surely seize the
attention of the sinner himself with appealing force.
We cannot conceive of anyone, be he Catholic or Protestant, good
or bad, who will not be benefited by the careful study of this work,
which merits more than a cursory reading, and should find a place
amongst the few chosen works to which each, according to his needs,
goes for spiritual nourishment.
2 See the Ecclesiastical Review for June, 191 1.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. j j -
THE EEASON WHY. A Oommon-Sense Contribution to Christian
and Catholic Apologetics. By Bernard J. Otten, S.J., Professor of
Theology, St. Louis University. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. Pp. 347.
Father Otten's book is not a disappointment to the common-sense
reader, as many advertised contributions to Christian and Catholic
apologetics are, inasmuch as they are aggressive when they pre-
tend to be defensive, and they exaggerate and characterize as
malicious opposition to the truth what should be merely stated as
fact and explained as due to ignorance or misunderstanding. If
our Divine Master could say from the Cross that those who
maligned and crucified Him " knew not " what they did ; if His
attitude toward Judas down to the very last was one of a friend who
pities rather than blames even the wilful perversity of a disciple,
it hardly becomes the Catholic apologist to point in scorn and
malevolence to those who are in error or who conscientiously differ
from us and are therefore at least materially in the right.
Father Otten would rather persuade by reasoning and pre-
sentation of fact. He starts from the evidence of creation, and
makes it clear that religious service and worship of some kind is
a duty which is the outcome of man's evident dependence. The
quality of this service is determined by man's distinctly superior
nature, which imposes the obligation of religion as well as the
instinct of morality upon him. Thence we are led to examine
the claims of supernatural religion: the reasonableness of faith,
the possibility and need of revelation, the credentials of that
revelation, the verification of the truths of revelation in their ap-
plication to man's moral and spiritual aspirations. The third part
of the volume is devoted to a study of the person of Christ, by
which His divinity and as a consequence the divine authority of
the Church established by Him to perpetuate His teaching and
to lead to the fulfilment of His promises, are clearly demonstrated,
logically as well as historically. The conclusion is an appeal to
reason and honesty of purpose to acknowledge and embrace the
one true religion. The volume is well printed, a fact which is
not an altogether superfluous recommendation.
OANTEMUS DOMINO. Catholic Hymnal with English and Latin Words
for Two and Three Equal Voices. Edited by Ludwig Bonvin, S. J.,
Op. 104. (OEGAN ACCOMPANIMENT— same editor and publisher—
L. Bonyin, Op. 104 a). St. Louis : B. Herder. 1912.
The present hymnal adapts the author's previous Hosanna
hymnal " to the needs of those convents, academies and other in-
Il6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
stitutions where the custom exists of singing such hymns in 2- or
3-part chorus." The author has accordingly selected from the
Hosanna the hymns which seemed " to lend themselves most readily
to the desired arrangement and at the same time suffice for the va-
rious needs of the ecclesiastical year," and he has also included
" some polyphonic and more pretentious, though not difficult,
chants." Among these latter he calls special attention to Nos. 78
and 84, which were originally written for two mixed voices, and
which " may be counted among the most expressive and poetic com-
positions not only of Koenen, but also in the entire field of more
recent church music." The volume contains 91 numbers, of which
68 are in English text, and the remainder in Latin.
It is needless to comment on the scholarly musical abilities of Fr.
Bonvin or on his well-guided taste in selection from the work of
others, to whom he gives credit in the Preface to the Organ Accom-
paniment. Hearty commendation may, however, be bestowed on his
carefulness in acknowledging the various obligations he incurs to the
work of others. He has given indications of all this by the initials
placed at the end of the various accompaniments; but in order to
understand the meaning of the abbreviations we refer to, it is neces-
sary to have read the Preface. We venture to suggest that in a
future edition it might be desirable to give all such information in
an additional Index, which should also include indications of the
sources of the texts of the hymns. This hymnological apparatus is a
very acceptable feature of the compilations of our separated brethren
in the hymnal field, and while it demands much editorial labor,
nevertheless justifies the labor by the large amount of interesting
and helpful information it furnishes both to the organist and to the
singers. There are, for instance, in the present hjrmnal a nimiber of
translations into English from Latin originals: No. 2 (" O Come,
O Come, Emmanuel ") is a translation of the beautiful Latin hymn,
Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, which itself is based on the Great Anti-
phons (the " O's ") of Advent. The translation is a slight variation
of that of the accomplished and highly successful Anglican trans-
lator of oiir Latin hymns, the Rev. Dr. J. M. Neale. No. 3 (" O
Come, Redeemer of the Earth ") is a translation of the famous hymn
of St. Ambrose, Veni Redemptor Gentium (which is not found in
our Roman Breviary), and is but slightly different from the trans-
lation as found in the most recent edition of the Anglican hymnal.
Hymns Ancient and Modern. No. 4 ("On Jordan's Banks the
Baptist's Voice") is based on Chandler's version (found with va-
rious changes in many non-Catholic hymn-books) of G. Coffin's
hymn, Jordanis oras praevia, found in the Paris Breviary. These
CRITICISMS AND NOTES, j j ^
Latin originals are not so well known as the Jesu dulcis memoria,
ascribed by some hymnologists to St. Bernard (which appears in
translation as No. 12: ** Jesus, the Very Thought is Sweet") ; or
as the Ave Maris Stella (appearing as No. 54: "Star of Ocean
Fairest ") — and yet neither organist nor singer may know aught of
all this interesting hymnal history. It would be desirable to furnish
such information in an Index — and even to connect, in some wise, the
hymns Nos. 30 and 31 ("Humbly I Adore Thee", and "O Food
of Men Wayfaring") with the originals given later on in the vol-
ume, Nos. 77 and 80 ("Adoro Te Devote" and "O Esca Via-
torum"). The beautiful English version, hymn No. 1 ("Make
Broad the Path, Unbar the Gate") is from the German original
(" Macht hoch die Thiir, das Thor macht weit") of the Lutheran,
Georg Weissel (d. 1665), whose original is esteemed as one of the
finest Advent hymns.
An Index which should contain all similar hymnological informa-
tion for the texts used throughout the volume would be, we think,
desirable and helpful. Meanwhile, we must congratulate the editor
on the improved text of several of the hjnnus. It is indeed a pleas-
ure to find the " Holy God" (No. 28) given in an absolutely cor-
rect rhythmic version; for even at this late day the hymn is often
reprinted with many errors, such as " Everlasting is thy Name ", in-
stead of the proper " Everlasting is thy reign " (in the first stanza) ;
" Angel choirs above are singing ", instead of the proper " Angel
choirs above are raising ", etc. Especially are we gratified at the
careful emendation of the popular hymn, " To Jesus' Heart All-
burning ", in the interests of rhyme and rhythm, and even of pro-
nunciation. The editorial file was necessary here, and the result is
one that must please every careful hymnologist and singer. By some
oversight, the 6th stanza of hymn No. 6 has allowed an error ap-
parently (it is repeated in Nos. 7 and 8) to creep in:
" The love that is between us
Shall be a tie for aye,
And nought shall e'er estrange us,
As pledge accept my heart."
In the previous stanzas the 2nd and 4th line always rhyme.
In general, we commend also the work of printer and binder. We
have noticed the following misprints: polophonic (p. Ill), Ave
Maria gratis plena (p. V), "Make bread the path" (p. 3). As
they stand, the volumes must be cordially commended for the excel-
lence of both the music and the text; and the suggestions we have
made look merely to a possible betterment in future editions.
H. T. Henry.
1 1 8 THE E CCLESIA STICAL RE VIE W.
OEaANUM OOMITANS AD PEOPEIUM DE TEMPOEE a Septuagesima
usque ad Periam VI. post Octavam Ascensionis Gradualis Eomani quod
juxta editionem Vaticanam harmonice omavit Dr. Fr. X. Mathias, Ee-
gens SeminariiEpiscopalis Argentinensis. EditioEatisbonensis. (New
York and Oincinnati : Pustet. 1912). 354 pages Quarto.
Dr. Mathias has furnished organists with an ably conceived sys-
tem of accompaniment for plainsong. In the present installment
of his accompaniment to the Vatican edition of the Roman Gradual,
he has deemed it advisable to present certain of the chants in two
keys, as for example the Introit, Offertory, Communion of Septua-
gesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima Sundays, the first antiphon of
Ash Wednesday, etc. This is done by printing the chants, not in
a double signature (a device which, we conceive, must be confusing
to many organists), but in two fully printed sets for each chant
melody. This care for the convenience of organists involves a
double labor for the musical editor and an added expense for the
publisher; but both labor and expense are justified by the greater
convenience thus created for the organist, who is often sufficiently
tasked in his desire to render the accompaniment smooth and flow-
ing, even without the added botheration of two sets of signatures
placed before a single piece of music. Dr. Mathias has created his
own system of rhythmical interpretation, and embodies it in the
present installment of the Gradual melodies and accompaniments.
Singers must sing the melodies as the organist finds them in transcrip-
tion in the accompaniments; and it is obvious that either the sing-
ers must be well trained in the system adopted by Dr. Mathias, or
must have the use of rhythmized editions according to his system.
He has provided these in the case of the Kyriale chants, of those
of the Commune Sanctorum, and for the Epitome ex Editione Vati-
cana Gradualis Romani. Perhaps he has done this also for the full
Gradual; but if so, we have not come across it as yet. The system
is somewhat similar to, but not identical with, that of Solesmes.
H. T. Henry.
OHEISTUS: MANUEL D'HISTOIEE DES EELIGIONS. Par Joseph
Huby, avec la collaboration des plusieurs anteurs. Paris : Beauchesne
& Oie. 1912. Pp. 1046.
LE BOUDDHISME PEIMITIF. Par Alfred Eonssel. Paris : Pierre
Teqni. 1911, Pp. 440.
Much of the material which has already appeared in Father
Martindale's excellent collection History of Religions (5 Vols.,
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. ug
London: Catholic Truth Society), previously recommended in the
Review, has been utilized in the present Manuel. The volume
contains, besides an introduction on the general historical study of
religions, chapters dealing successively with the religions of savage
races, the religion of China, Japan, the Aryans, Brahmanism and
Buddhism, the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Germans, Egyptians, Baby-
lonians, Islam, Israel.
A special feature of the work is the elaborate chapter on the
Christian religion (pp. 681-1016), a study which justifies the title
of the volume and places Christianity in its proper position as the
unique and perfect expression of God's revelation and man's reli-
gious faith and duty. There are full bibliographies and excellent
indexes. The manual, while containing much matter, is compact
and convenient, though the binding might easily have been more
befitting.
M. Alfred Roussel's study is closed with an extract which
concludes a prior work on the same subject by Barthelemy St.
Hilaire. Coming as it does from an authority equally competent
and unbiased, the citation is worth requoting here. " Buddhism,"
says M. St.-Hilaire, " has nothing to teach us and its school would
be disastrous to us. Despite its appearances, which are sometimes
specious, it is simply a long tissue of contradictions ; and it is doing
it no injustice to say that on close acquaintance it proves to be a
spiritualism without a soul, a virtue without duty, a morality with-
out liberty, a charity without love, a world without nature and with-
out God. What then could we gain from such teachings? And how
much we should have to forget were we to become its blind disciples?
How many degrees we should have to descend in the scale of nations
and of civilization! The sole, though immense service, that Budd-
hism can render us is by its sad contrast to make us better appreciate
the inestimable value of our own beliefs by showing to us how much
it has cost these peoples who have no part with us therein."
But, it may be asked, if Buddhism is thus sterile in itself and if its
best lesson be negative, why multiply books to set forth " a long
tissue of contradictions " or a mere standard of negative value?
A sufficient answer to this query may perhaps be found in the fact
that uncounted millions — one-third of the human race according to
Professor Roussel — are enmeshed in this " long tissue of contradic-
tions ", which, having spread far beyond its Eastern beginnings, is
now enfolding new victims throughout the Western world. The
moral, if not religious, beliefs of so vast a multitude of human
beings cannot be without appeal to the interest of readers of this
Review; and consequently the recent monograph above introduced
120
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
may well merit their attention. Of course they already possess the
well-known work of Dr. Aiken, in which the Professor of Apolo-
getics in the Catholic University, Washington, examines the alleged
relation of Buddhism to primitive Christianity. It is an able piece
of scholarly criticism and contains the best bibliography on Budd-
hism up to the year 1900 — the date of its publication. There is
also the no less able work by M. de la Vallee Poussin, Professor in
the University of Ghent, much of which is devoted to the philo-
sophical aspects of Buddhism.
The book under review, by M. Roussel, Professor of Sanscrit in
the Freiburg University (Switzerland), is somewhat more descriptive
than the two just mentioned. About half the volume is devoted to
the life of the Buddha, the remaining half being divided between an
analysis of the Dhamma, the law of the Buddha, and a description
of Buddhistic monachism. The volume closes with an account of
the present condition of Buddhism in its fatherland. It will not be
necessary to enter here into further details. Suffice it to recommend
it not simply to professional students but to general readers to whom
its subject may appeal. The author has the happy art of making a
seemingly dry subject attractive. Although the work is the outcome
of much research, the erudition is not paraded; it blends smoothly
in a narrative that delights whilst it instructs.
L'IDEE DE DIEU DANB LES SOIEITOES OONTEMPOEAIMES : LES
MEEVEILLES DU OOKPS HUMAIN. Par le Dr. L. Murat, en col-
laboration aveo le Dr. P. Murat, Paris s Pierre Tequi. 1912. Pp.
890.
The volume here introduced is the third on the projected program,
though the second in turn to appear, of studies designed to
strengthen and illustrate the teleological argument for the exist-
ence of God. The first volume, treating of the anorganic and the
vegetable kingdoms, appeared about two years ago and is now in its
fourth edition. It was reviewed at the time in these pages. The
second volume, on the animal world, is still in course of prepara-
tion. The volume at hand opens with an elaborate examination of
the design argument, the objections against it drawn from Darwin-
ism and materialistic evolutionism generally being especially con-
sidered. The seven hundred pages which constitute the rest of the
book comprise studies in the anatomy and physiology of the brain,
the heart and circulatory system, the digestive organs, etc., the
sensory apparatus, eye, ear, etc. especially, as well as the protective
devices of the body. The aim of the author throughout has been
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 521
to secure scientific accuracy with the avoidance as far as possible
of unnecessary technicalities. The work is not therefore precisely
popular. It is scientific, and yet not beyond the capacity of the
average educated person to read with profit and satisfaction. The
French have a well recognized felicity of being clear and exact
without being tedious. The book will therefore serve the serious
student of science and philosophy as well as theology, while the
preacher of the word will find it a storehouse of facts and ideas
available in illustration of the nature and attributes of the Creator.
AUTHORITY. The runction of Authority in Life and its Eelation to
Legalism in Ethics and Religion, By A. v. 0. F. Huizinga. Boston:
Sherman, Prench & Oo. Pp. 270.
This book promises much but fulfills little. Authority is con-
sidered from a " psychological and sociological ", also from a
" metaphysical and theological aspect " — terms which designate the
main divisions of the volume — but nowhere is there a clear and ade-
quate definition of authority itself. Much is said about authority,
but there is no analysis of its various meanings and its nature or
essence in its religious application. The work evidences consider-
able reading. Indeed it is little more that a catena of excerpts from
authors who have said something more or less germane to the sub-
ject. Some of these extracts are misinterpreted by the compiler,
owing apparently to an imperfect knowledge of the general mind
of the author from whom the excerpt is taken. This is evident in
the extracts from " Tyrell ". The writer has manifestly not read,
or, if he has, has failed to understand " Tyrell's " mind on " author-
ity " as it is expressed in that beautiful and profound chapter, " The
Mystical Body," which forms a part of Hard Sayings.
The chain upon which the excerpts that make up the substance of
the book are strung is weak and ill-formed. There runs through it
a straining after philosophical effect which reveals a mind whose
ambition surpasses its powers of attainment or its stage of prepara-
tion. No one can do philosophical work who does not think at least
clearly. Very much of the thought for which the author himself is
responsible is hazy and confused. This is not because the thought is
profound, or the subject so very difficult, but because the writer has
not mastered his subject, though no doubt he honestly thinks he has.
He undertook a task for which he lacked philosophical and theologi-
cal ability or at least preparation. Consequently the product is im-
mature and of little or no value as a contribution to' the subject.
Xiterari2 Cbat
What impresses the student of social problems most intensely, and often
no less painfully, is the complexity of his undertakings. This is especially
the case with " the drink question ". The frightful ravages wrought by the
abuse of alcoholic stimulants are of course among the most sadly familiar of
facts. The difficulties spring up and becloud the mind as soon as the method
of stemming the flood is confronted. Here, as in every other phase and
ramification of " the social question ", the means and remedies centre in the
individual, the State, and the Church, and each of these agencies calls for
special study and prudent application. The priest dealing with individual
souls and applying to them the spiritual powers which the Church entrusts
to him, as her representative, holds within his hands the most effective safe-
guards and remedies. The functions, however, of the State, the rights and
the duties of government in the matter, are less determined and more uncer-
tain of execution.
The literature bearing on this department is fairly abundant. Neverthe-
less, there is plenty of room for such a treatment of the subject as is given
by Mr. Robert Bagnell in a neat little volume entitled Economic and Moral
Aspects of the Liquor Business (New York, Funk & Wagnalls ; pp. i86).
The opening chapter alone is devoted to the effects of the excessive use of
alcohol upon the individual. The rest of the book deals with the social influ-
ences of the saloon, and the economic and moral aspects of the subject, in
view of the pertinent rights and responsibilities of the State. The treatment
is calm and judicious, not rampant or subjective. The author's theory of the
basis of rights is sound — a praise that cannot always be accorded to writers
on the temperance question.
After recommending such a book it may seem somewhat out of place to
introduce forthwith the Year Book of the United States Brewers' Association.
Perhaps the insistence of the audi alteram partem might justify such a pro-
ceeding; for indeed in view of the complexity of the drink question, the
student who would be in every way just, dares leave no side thereof unex-
amined. It is rather however for the data furnished by the volume that atten-
tion is here drawn to the elaborate report of the proceedings of the Fifty-First
Annual Convention of the said association (Chicago, November, 191 1). The
data in point refer to the relative effects of prohibitory and permissive legis-
lation on the liquor traffic. The comparative failure of prohibition is of
course a well-known fact. However, the precise results of the measure are
summarized in graphic statistical tables in the Year Book.
Lest any one should suspect the impartiality of the reports (the case being
apparently one of pro domo sua), it should be noted that the statistics are all
taken from governmental, and therefore unbiased, documents.
Much has been heard lately of boy-saving, the Boys' Brigades, Scouts, and
so on. Saving the girl used to be thought a comparatively easier process,
though recently the difficulties and the urgency thereof are looming up
larger, and our educated Catholic women here and there are taking up the
work in earnest.
Sodalities are potent agencies in the girl-saving service, but there are large
numbers whom they do not and cannot reach. Working girls' clubs are
becoming more and more a necessity, especially in large centres of population.
We have previously called attention to Madame Cecilia's little volume, Girls'
Clubs and Mothers' Meetings (New York, Benziger), and we now want to
redeem our promise of returning to it.
LITERARY CHAT. J23
What impresses one most in perusing the book is its eminently practical,
workable character. Madame Cecilia has had wide experience in dealing with
girls, young and otherwise ; and she knows their dispositions, their ways, their
faults, little meannesses, as well as their good points. She understands thor-
oughly how to handle them, how to draw out their better qualities, how to
minimize their weaknesses and defects. Moreover, she has supplemented her
knowledge by the experience of many other workers in the same field, lay
and religious, Catholic as well as non-Catholic. The result is a compendium
of sound, sane, detailed, practical information covering every phase of the
large and intricate subject and presented with her wonted felicity of expres-
sion in this neat little volume.
The aims of Catholic working girls' clubs, how to start them, time-tables,
order, discipline, committees, competitions, libraries, leaders, finances, rules,
rewards, amusements, games, occupations, analyses of two hundred and fifty
plays — these are the principal topics treated ; and there will probably be no
conditions or occasions for advice on the side of workers in this most im-
portant and timely of woman's charities, that will not be foreseen and pro-
vided for in these richly-stored pages.
Hardly second if not first in ingeniousness of Christian charity is that
which is known as Mothers' Meetings. Municipalities and lay benevolent
organizations are actively engaged in the work of instructing mothers in their
maternal and domestic duties. Much good is thus being accomplished amongst
the poor. A still larger range of beneficence spreads out where all this is
inspired by and permeated with the heavenly graces of the Catholic spirit.
To this most fruitful and winsome of works in which spiritual interblends
with corporal mercy, Madame Cecilia devotes a special chapter, the perusal
of which may, it will be hoped, inspire our Catholic women in our American
cities to undertake the work described.
Over against the Socialist movement which is so ably presented by Mr.
Walling in his recent book. Socialism As It Is (to be reviewed in the August
number) , stands the Catholic Church. Herein the Socialist " finds opposed
to him ", as Mr. Hilaire Belloc says, " an organism whose principle of life is
opposed to his own, and an intelligence whose reasoning does not (as do the
vulgar capitalist arguments to which he is so dreadfully accustomed) take
for granted the very postulates of his own creed. He learns, the more he
comes across this Catholic opposition, that he cannot lay to avarice, stupidity,
or hypocrisy, the resistance which this unusual organism offers to his propa-
ganda."
It probably did not fall within the scope of Mr. Walling's undertaking to
mention this antagonism between the two greatest organized forces existing
in the world to-day. Or it may be that he desired to exclude the religious
element from his argumentation, and this for reasons more or less obvious.
Whatever be the case, the fact of this determined, unflinching opposition
between the Church and Socialism is one of the most universal and con-
spicuous of present social phenomena.
The bases and reasons of this conflict have been made clear in many books
and widely spread pamphlets. Nevertheless the media of enlightenment on
this point can hardly be too multiplied and too much disseminated. The
International Catholic Truth Society (Brooklyn, New York) has done a good
work therefore by reprinting in this country Mr. Belloc's brief paper, at a
price which makes it easy to spread broadcast. Needless to say, the little
essay is both bright and thoughtful.
Those who are interested in the study of the growth of sociological phe-
nomena will find in the last number of the Columbia University Studies (No.
124
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
117) an instructive type of a good method and its results. The title is A
Hoosier Village: A Sociological Study, by Newell Sims (New York, Long-
mans, Green & Co.)-
The identity of the actual Indiana village is concealed under the name
" Aton ". The author describes the locality, the people, their social organi-
zation, political, religious, etc., " the social mind ", and lastly the genesis of
all these factors and activities. The whole shows how much of the ever
interestingly human can be learned from the study of a back-country village
of some 2,600 souls.
The Quarterly Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica, which has recently put
on a bright new dress, continues to reflect the progress of philosophical studies
in Italy. The editor. Dr. Gemelli, being both an eminent physician and a
scholastic philosopher, knows how to combine the old metaphysics and the new-
science. With his eye on the unchanging principles he has an alert sense for
their progressive application to changing phases and conditions of thought
(Florence, Italy).
Bishop Hay's The Sincere Christian has its place amongst the permanent
books of religious instruction, a place from which the multitude of cognate
works that have appeared during the past hundred years will not remove it.
Solidity and clarity of doctrine, if not elegance of diction, are its claims to
endurance. The new edition, revised by Canon Stuart, gives the work a
worthy embodiment (St. Louis, Herder: London, Sands & Co.).
During the summer of 191 1 a series of investigations on the subject of
religious ignorance was carried on through the columns of the well-known
French daily. La Croix. The most eminent Catholics in France contributed
their thought, and the whole product has recently been edited by the Abbe
Terasse and published in a convenient volume by Lethielleux (Paris). The
facts, causes, consequences and remedies — under these headings a large amount
of instructive thought and suggestion relative to the growing ignorance of
religion is summed up. Though directly pertaining to conditions prevailing
in France the subject possesses a universal interest (pp. 173).
Bible et Science ^ Terre et del, by Ch. de Kirwan, is the title of a recent
addition to M. Blond's favorably known series of " Science et Religion ".
There are just three score pages, but these are well packed with pithily ex-
pressed thought on the interrelations of the Bible and science and on certain
fundamental problems centring in astronomy. Short studies, yet withal inter-
esting, on great subjects.
To the same series has recently been added Lettres choisies de St. Vincent
de Paul. The booklet contains some thirty letters, now printed for the first
time from the original MSS. and edited by M. Pierre Coste (Paris: Bloud
et Cie).
An oddity in ecclesiastical literature mentioned by Fr. W. Weth, S.J., in
Zeitschrift fur kath. Theologie (Innsbruck) is a Missal of pre- Reformation
times, belonging to the Patriarchate of Aquileja, printed in 15 19 at Venice.
In connexion with its regular Calendar of Saints and feasts it gives certain
rules of health and practical advice on right living.
The so-called " dog days " are marked out in the following couplet :
Octava Pe Pau canis incipit et finit Oc Lau.
Mar gar caniculas Assumptio terminat illas —
which means that the vacations began on the Octave of SS. Peter and Paul,
or on the feast of St. Margaret; and they ended with the Octave of St.
Laurence, or the feast of the Assumption of the B. V. Mary.
LITERARY CHAT. J25
The rules of healthy living are set forth in the Calendar as follows :
I. In Januario claris calidisque cibis potiaris
Atque decens potus post fercula sit tibi notus,
Ledit enim medo tunc potatus, ut bene credo.
Balnea tutus intres et venam scindere cures.
Nascitur occulta febris Februario multa (influenza)
Potibus et escis si caute minuere velis
Tunc cave frigora, de poUice funde cruorem,
Sugge mellis favum, pectoris morbos curabit.
Martins humores gignit variosque dolores.
Sume cibum pure, cocturas si placet ure.
Balnea sunt sana, sed quae superflua vana.
Vena nee abdenda ; nee potio sit tribuenda.
Hie probat in vere vires Aprilis habere.
Cuncta renascuntur : pori tunc aperiuntur.
In quo scalpescit corpus sanguis quoque crescit.
Ergo solvatur venter, cruorque minuatur.
Maio secure laxari sit tibi curae.
Scindatur vena : sed balnea dentur amena.
Cum calidis rebus sint fercula seu speciebus.
Potibus adstricta sit salvia cum benedicta.
In Junto gentes perturbat medo bibentes.
Atque novarum fuge potus cerevisiarum.
Ne noceat colera valet hec refectio vera.
Lactuce frondes ede jejunus, bibe fontes.
Qui vult solamen Julio hoc probat medicamen :
Venam non scindat nee ventrem potio ledat.
Somnum compescat, et balnea cuncta pavescat
Prodest recens unda, allium cum salvia munda.
Quisquis sub August o vivat medicamine justo
Raro dormitet, estum, coitum qu,oque ritet.
Balnea non curet nee multum comestio duret,
Nemo laxari debet vel phlebotomari.
Fructus maturi Septemhris sint valituri
Et pira cum vino, panis cum lacte caprino.
Aqua de urtica tibi potio fertur amica.
Tunc venam pandas, species cum semine mandas.
October vina praebet cum came farrina,
Necnon auccina caro valet et volucrina.
Quamvis sint sana, tamen est repletio vana.
Quantum vis comede, sed non praecordia laede.
Hoc tibi scire datur, quod rheuma Novembri curatur.
Quaeque nociva, vita: tua sint preciosa dicta.
Balnea cum venere tunc nullum constat habere.
Potio sit sana atque minutio bona.
Sane sunt membris res calide mense Decembris.
Frigus vitetur, capitalis vena scindatur.
Lotio sit vana, sed vasis potio cara.
Sit tepidus potus frigore contrario totus.
Father John Hedrick's The Office with the New Psalter, which appeared
in the Review (April) and which gave the General Ordo for the months of
126 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
April, May, June, and July, has now been published by Fr. Pustet & Co., in a
handy pamphlet and extended to include the new 19 12 Ordo for all the rest
of the year. This makes it unnecessary for us to continue the publication of
the Mutationes in Kalendario Anno.
Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska) seems to be doing exceptionally
good work in the professional courses of Law and Medicine and its allied
branches of Dentistry and Pharmacy. In these courses we note the admission
of women-graduates. In the May issue of the Creighton Chronicle, the Uni-
versity organ, an attractive account of the progress made by the institution
is given. Father Eugene Magevney, S.J., the President, is evidently bringing
his University to the front.
According to the Tablet (London) the official reports of France indicate a
continued decline of the birth rate there. The recorded deaths for the past
year exceeded the births by 34,869. There were 13,058 divorces. The evils
implied in these statistics are distinctly less in those parts of France, where,
as in Brittany, the Catholic religion is being maintained among the people.
Father Maurice Meschler's beautiful treatise on the Holy Ghost has been
translated into Spanish under the title of Pentecostes b las Danes del Espiritu
Santo. The translation is by the Jesuit Father Evaristo Gomez, and has ap-
parently retained all the charm which is a feature of the German original,
and which likewise characterizes the English version. The volume is an
excellent meditation book for all seasons, although especially designed for the
Pentecostal cycle (B. Herder).
In connexion with this work of Father Meschler we would direct attention
to two other treatises well known of old, but recently republished in attractive
form as part of the Bibliotheca ascetica mystica, designed by Cardinal Fischer
of Cologne and edited by Father Lehmkuhl. They are the mystical theology
of the Carmelite Father Joannes a Jesu Maria, together with his Epistola
Christi ad Hominem; likewise the Latin version by Masotto of Father
Scupoli's Spiritual Combat, which St. Francis de Sales seems to have valued
above all other printed aids to progress in the spiritual life, next to the in-
spired Word of God.
The old Venetian Luigi Comaro believed that all the spiritual doctrine
necessary to make a man become a better servant of God, was contained in
the principle of abstemiousness which he expounds in his fourfold treatise,
Delia Vita Sobria. That famous book has indeed done much not only for
the popularizing of the art of living long, but likewise for the promotion of
natural virtue and the spirit of public benevolence. Curiously enough it is
only within recent years that the work has become known in the United
States. The poet George Herbert had made an English version of it in
his day; rendered apparently from the Latin translation by Lessius (1613 and
1615), which seems to have been popular at the time. In the succeeding^
century a number of editions were issued in London, of which the best, ac-
cording to John Sinclair, is the one of 1779. An enterprising Parisian pub-
lisher had issued a critique of the work before that date under the name of
L'Anti-Cornaro (Paris, 1702).
A few years ago Mr. William Butler, of Milwaukee, printed an amended
translation, the result of original inquiry into Italian sources. Apart from
being probably the most complete version in English of the four original
tracts, with biographical notes and references, the volume contains a number
of appreciations by Addison, Bacon, and Sir William Temple, who were
fervent advocates of the Vita Sobria.
JSooks IRecelveb.
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
Das Zeugnis des fier Evangelisten fiir die Taufe, Eucharistie und Gcistes-
sendung. Mit Entwiirfen zu Predigten iiber die Eucharistie. Von Dr.
Johannes Evang. Belser, o. Professor der Theologie an der Universitat
Tiibingen. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. Pp. xii-294. Price, $1.30.
ViVRE, ou SE LAISSER viVRE? Conseils aux Jeunes Gens. Par Pierre Saint-
Quay. Avec une lettre de Mgr. Baudrillart, Recteur de I'lnstitut Catholique.
Paris : Pierre Tequi. 1912. Pp. xv-326. Prix, 3/r. 50.
Manuel Pratique de la Devotion au Sacre-Cceur de Jesus. Par I'Abbe
Vandepitte, D.H. Paris: Pierre Tequi. 1912. Pp. 345. Prix, 1 /r.
Pensees Choisies du R. p. de Ponlevoy de la Compagnie de Jesus. Ex-
traites de sa vie, de ses opuscules ascetiques et lettres. Par le P. Charles
Renard. Paris: Pierre Tequi. 19 12. Pp. viii-363. Prix, i fr.
Le Pain 6vangelique. ifexplication dialoguee des 6vangiles des Dimanches
et Fetes d'Obligation a I'usage des Catechismes, du Clerge et des Fideles.
Tome II : Du Careme a la St. Pierre. Paris : Pierre Tequi. 19 12. Pp. 248.
Prix, 2 fr.
Le Mystere d'Amour. Considerations sur la Sainte Eucharistie. Par le R.
P. Lecomu, Provicaire du Tonkin Occidental. Paris: Pierre Tequi. 1912.
Pp. viii-394. Prix, 3 fr. 50.
Manuel du Tiers- Ordre de Saint-Francois. D'apres le Directoire spir-
ituel. Par P. Eugene d'Oisy. Constitution " Misericors Dei Filius ". — Expli-
cation de la R^gle. — Ceremonial. — Catalogue des indulgences. — Conduite in-
terieure. — Recueil de prieres franciscaines. — Cantiques. — Office de la Sainte
Vierge. Deuxieme Edition. Paris : Librarie S. Frangois ; Couvin, Belgique :
Maison Saint-Roch. 1912. Pp. 558.
Theologia Mystica et Epistola Christi ad Hominem. Auctore Joanne
A Jesu Maria, Carmelita discalceato.
PuGNA Spiritualis secundam versionem Latinam ab Oljrmpio Masotto
factam. Auctore Lauren tio Scupoli, O.Cler.Reg. — Friburgi Brisg., St. Louis,
Mo.: B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 394. Price, $1.25.
Homilien und Predigten. Von Dr. Paul Wilh. von Keppler, Bischof von
Rottenburg.— Freiburg Brisg., St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 345.
Price, $1.10.
Pentecostes o Los Dones del Espiritu santo. Meditationes espirituales por
el Padre Mauricio Meschler, S.J. Traducidas por el Padre Evaristo Gomez,
S.J.— Friburgo Brisg., St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 505. Price,
$1.50.
Gott mit uns : Theologie und Ascese des AUerheiligsten Altars sakramentes
erklart von P. Justinus Albrecht, O.S.B. Den Eucharistischen Congressen
gewidmet. Approb. Ergb. Freiburg. Freiburg Brisg., St. Louis, Mo.: B.
Herder. 191 2. Pp. 122. Price, $0.55.
LITURGICAL.
The Office with the New Psalter. By Rev. John T. Hedrick, S.J.,
Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. Ratisbon, Rome, New York, Cin-
cinnati. Frederick Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 32. Price, $0.10.
Organ Accompaniment to the " Cantata ". By J. Singenberger. Ratis-
bon, Rome, New York, and Cincinnati. Fr. Pustet & Co. 191 2. Quarto. Pp.
128 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The Holy Mass according to the Greek Rite, Being the Liturgy of St.
John Chrysostom in Slavonic and English. By Andrew J. Shipman, LL.D.
New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. 19 12. Pp. 44.
PHILOSOPHICAL.
The Science of Logic. An Inquiry into the Principles of Accurate
Thought and Scientific Method. By P. Coffey, Ph.D. (Louvain), Professor
of Logic and Metaphysics, Maynooth College, Ireland. Two volumes. Vol.
I : Conception, Judgment, and Inference. New York, London, Bombay, Cal-
cutta: Longmans, Green & Co. 1912. Pp. xx-445. Price, $2.50 net.
Handbook of the History of Philosophy. By Dr. Albert Stockl. Vol.
I: Pre- Scholastic and Scholastic Philosophy. Second edition (1903). Trans-
lated by the Rev. T. A. Finlay, S.J., M.A., National University, Dublin. New
York, London, Bombay, Calcutta: Longmans, Green & Co, 1911. Pp. v-446.
Price, $3.75, net.
The Five Great Philosophies of Life, By William De Witt Hyde,
President of Bowdoin College, New York: The Macmillan Co. 191 1, Pp.
x-296. Price, $1.50, net.
The Learning Process. By Stephen Sheldon Colvin, Ph.D., Professor of
Psychology at the University of Illinois. New York : The Macmillan Co,
1912. Pp. xxv-336. Price, $1.25, net.
A Living Wage. Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. By John A, Ryan,
S,T.D., Professor of Ethics and Economics in the St, Paul Seminary, With
an Introduction by Richard T, Ely, Ph.D., LL.D. New York and London ;
The Macmillan Co. 1912. Pp. xvi-346. Price, $0.50, net.
Introductory Philosophy. A Text-Book for Colleges and High Schools.
By Charles A. Dubray, S.M., Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy at the Marist
College, Washington, D. C. New York, London, Bombay, and Calcutta:
Longmans, Green & Co. 19 12. Pp. xxi-624. Price, $2.60.
Socialism as It Is. A Survey of the World-Wide Revolutionary Move-
ment. By William English Walling. New York : The Macmillan Co. 1912.
Pp. xii-452. Price, $2.00, net.
Present Philosophical Tendencies. A Critical Survey of Naturalism,
Idealism, Pragmatism, and Realism together with a Synopsis of the Philoso-
phy of William James. By Ralph Barton Perry, Assistant Professor of Phil-
osophy in Harvard University. New York, London, Bombay, and Calcutta:
Longmans, Green & Co., 19 12. Pp. xv-383. Price, $a.6o, net.
HISTORICAL.
De Curia Romana: Ejus Historia ac hodierna disciplina juxta reforma-
tionem a Pio X inductam. Auctore Monin, J.C.L., in Universitate Cath,
Lovaniensi Juris Canonici prof, extraoid, — Lovanii : Josephus Van Linthout,
19 1 2. Pp. 394. Price, 5 fr.
St. Francois Xavier. Par A. Brou, Tome Premier: 1506- 1548. Tome Sec-
ond: 1548-1552. Paris: Gabriel Beauschesne & Cie, 1912, Pp, xvi-445 et 487,
Prix, 12 fr.
MISCELLANEOUS,
Vendeenne. Par Jean Charruau. Paris : Pierre Tequi. 1912. Pp. xiii-270.
Prix, 2 fr.
My Lady Poverty. A Drama in Five Acts. By the Rev. Francis de Sales
Gliebe, O.F.M. Fourth edition. Santa Barbara, Calif.: St. Anthony College.
1912. Pp. 78. Price, $0.35 ; 3 copies, $1.00 ; 12 copies, $3.00.
THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series.— Vol. VII.— (XLVII).— August, 1912.— No. 2.
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPEENATUEAL.
THE minister of a Protestant sect feels that he has to devote
himself assiduously to the composition and delivery of
sermons ; for they are, he thinks, the only means which he can
employ for the purpose of enriching the souls of his congre-
gation with grace.
But a Catholic priest is tempted to neglect sermons by the
very abundance of the means of grace at his disposal. Every
statue in its niche around the church preaches Faith. The
Crucifix speaks eloquently of the love of God. Stained-glass
representations of the mysteries send rays of sacred light into
the souls of worshippers. Flowers, altar-lights, stately can-
dlesticks, and vestments help to diffuse grace through the
congregation. But especially there are the Sacraments and
the Holy Sacrifice to promote the work of salvation and sancti-
fication. Yonder is the confessional, yonder the Tabernacle.
Is it too much to say that the Catholic priest in the midst of
this lavish abundance of grace is tempted to feel content?
Why should he endeavor to perfect himself in the art of
speaking, in general ; or in particular, why prepare overmuch
for a sermon here and now, which after all will be only a rill
in comparison with these floods ? And indeed he may be dis-
posed to consider it not only as a rill, but even as a dry chan-
nel, on the theory that natural eloquence like every other
natural thing is incapable of producing a single degree of
grace in the soul.
Again, in the midst of these holy surroundings he may
possibly feel his insignificance. The heretical minister has
130 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
not the same background or pomp of circumstance to awe him
into reverence. Four walls there are, a human audience and
music in the choir-loft. But the tremendous Sacrifice, the
rich sweet Sacraments, the company of imaged saints and
angels are not around him. The sense of their infinite super-
iority is not forced upon him to humble him. He stands
alone, as preacher the central figure, with a feeling of mastery
instead of insignificance. But the priest is overwhelmed b>^
glory. His eyes are blinded by heavenly rays. His im-
portance dwindles in his own opinion, and he feels what may
seem to him to be the inconsistency of mere man presuming
to speak in the house of God. Just as a man with a heart to
feel, realizes his littleness whilst he stands and looks around
him at nature; and bows his head in solemn reverence in the
presence of mountains, valleys, oceans, and skies, so the priest
bends his head and would refrain from speech, thinking of
the splendid supernatural world around him, walled and
roofed in by his church.
Maybe too the futility of nature in the supernatural order
will be invoked to justify neglect of eloquence. The Church
has been clear in her depreciation of nature in works super-
natural. She has taught us that there is no formal proportion
existing between merely human faculties and the world of
grace. The priest knows as a consequence that he could more
easily draw a battleship with a silken cord, or quarry Gibraltar
with a razor, or do any other deed ridiculously out of pro-
portion with his means, than acquire the least degree of grace
or glory for himself or for others with only natural energy.
The poetical beauties of the mind of Shakespeare, the passion-
ate strength of a Webster's soul, the keen intuitions of a
Newton, sink into insignificance by the side of a single act
of Faith in the soul of a child. For, after all, the accu-
mulated splendors of imagination, passion, and intelligence,
which beautify the mind of poet, orator, and scientist, could
not merit by their own worthiness the slightest bit of God's
love, a love which, however, he lavishes upon the faithful
mind. Hence if poet, orator, or scientist went forth to reno-
vate the world with his genius, he might succeed in imbuing
his hearers' souls with ennobling thoughts and with stirring
emotions, but he could not with all his gifts and energy sue-
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL. 131
ceed in inducing a single salutary act. Then why not dis-
pense with the accoutrement of nature in the warfare of God
and look only to the armor of God, the " breastplate of justice,"
the " shield of Faith," the " helmet of salvation," and " the
sword of the spirit, which is the word of God " ? Such thoughts
as these may perchance incline a priest k) become sceptical
about the utility of the art of oratory on the level of the
supernatural.
Why, he might continue, presume to throw light upon the
sun with a lantern? Why try " to gild refined gold, to paint
the lily," or daub the rainbow? Why try to increase the
attractiveness of heavenly Faith with the vulgar cosmetics of
an earth-grown art? Will keenness of mind, solidity of
judgment, wide information, facility of expression, and
melodiousness of voice help the orator in any degree to in-
crease the objective value of Faith, or his own appreciation
of it, or esteem for it in the hearts of his hearers? Can
sharpness of intellect enable him to cut away the rust of mis-
understanding and prejudice from the shining surface of
Faith and show its divine glory to the world, more effectively
than the simplest intellect, alive with Faith, could do the
same? Can the sudden intuitions of his literary mind, re-
fined by contact with the best of books, better fit a speaker to
mount to the level of mysticism himself and draw his hearers
after him, to partake in the intuitions of contemplatives, be
it ever so slightly, — can, I say, the natural intuitions of such
a mind do this work of prayer more successfully than it could
be done by a mind dull and untutored, but close to God?
Can a knowledge of history with a consequent insight into
the development of Faith through the centuries, help an ora-
tor to produce more and better salutary results in his au-
dience than he could hope for, had he never devoted himself
to the Muse of the past? Can the dialectical powers which
he employs in dissipating objections urged against the Faith
assist his flock in any wise in their preservation of the Faith?
Can his knowledge of natural sciences minister to the pro-
pagation of his supernatural trust? Can his smooth style
soften hearts? Can his voice be assured of an entrance to
the soul as well as to the ear? Can the warmth of his emo-
tions beget glowing grace in other men? Maybe, alas, the
132
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
stream of golden eloquence that flows down from him to the
people, instead of bearing upon its bosom galleons of heaven
freighted with treasures of grace, only gratifies eyes with its
glistening!
And if it be urged that eloquence can induce men at least
to fly in a natural atmosphere instead of groveling, and to
live like angels instead of indulging like swine; and can per-
suade them to adorn the walls of imagination with canvasses
of heavenly tints instead of debauching them with images
that pander to the lowest feelings, what profits such chasten-
ing, it may be answered, for life eternal? Even Crates, the
pagan, despised riches, to keep his spirit clear; but to what
advantage supernatu rally ? Even the highest principles of
honor only naturally instilled from the pulpit, will not receive
recognition at the eternal throne. Even sovereign contempt
for sensuality, only naturally learned, will not be rewarded
after death: and gentlemanly self-restraint, refined taste, and
delicate attentiveness to others are of themselves no pass-
port to heaven. No doubt many a man of nobler natural
virtue pleases God less than many another on a lower level of
the same kind of righteousness: because superior kindness,
openheartedness, and industry, even with the help of a good
motive behind them, many perchance be lacking in the ac-
companiment of grace; whilst natural accomplishments the
most meagre may, on the other hand, be blessed with it.
The fine spirit of enthusiasm which Demosthenes infused into
Athenian breasts, of what profit will it be to them in the final
reckoning? And " cui bono?" may be asked of the moral
fruit sprung of Cicero's planting in Roman souls.
But worse than the futility is the danger of this art. Grace
of speech has been so closely allied to worldly ways that it
is pressed into the service of religion not without a suspicion
of treacherous results in the end. The possibilities of good
in it are evident at a glance; but the chances of evil are
written on the very face of it. It labors of course under the
disadvantage of every other natural gift, — the disadvantage
of being open to easy perversion from wholesome ends. But
it has special drawbacks of its own. There is a touch of earth-
liness in it which tends to keep it close to earth. It is allied
to the senses, imagination, and passion, which are essentially
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL, 133
self-seeking. It depends a good deal for success on moods.
It requires a close study of mere "words, words, words," which
develop in many a speaker the habit of drawing " out the
thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument."
An enumeration of other possibilities of evil might be made.
But enough has been said to show how one might plausibly
oppose the study of oratory on the score of the dangers in
which it abounds. Many a man has rid himself of gold, honor,
and pleasure through fear of treachery in those honest things.
Why not for the same reason do the same thing to this art of
speech? And just as poverty and mortification have been
man's best auxiliaries in the spiritual fight, why ought not
the soul that is stripped of human graces in like manner, and
toughened in like manner by abstention from the delicate
draughts and toothsome morsels of a natural art, be less likely
to be thrown down itself in its contest with the powers of evil,
and better fitted also to lead other men to a successful issue.
Moreover, we know that if we gaze upon a landscape through
a stained-glass casement, the scene before us loses its native
hue and assumes the color of the medium through which we
gaze. In a similar manner, when, as artists, we look upon
Divine Truth through the glowing windows of passion;
through imagination.
All garlanded with carven imageries
And diamonded with panes of quaint device,
Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes;
and through the ruby of our heart and heart's emotions, — the
spectacle, far from appearing in its own proper light, is coated
with the pigments of sense. Why not dispense with these dis-
coloring casements, and have the people gaze upon Truth
through the open window of simple speech, under the white
light of Faith?
Such is the objection against oratory in its relation to the
supernatural. It is an objection worth stating at length; for
it contains, to say the least, the force of apparent truth ; and,
though on examination it loses this force, I believe that^ in
daily life it exerts a discouraging influence upon seminarists
and priests.
To this objection, in spite of its content of truth, real or
apparent, most decided exception must be taken. However,
134 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
before answering it, a clearing of the ground may perhaps
be necessary, to avoid possible misunderstanding.
And first the question here discussed is not engaged with
the production of personal sanctity in the preacher. The in-
fluence of nature upon individual holiness may or may not be
beneficial, as far as the present discussion is concerned. Does
natural refinement make for his own holiness in the refined
individual, or does it not, is a matter quite apart from our
consideration. The point at issue lies along the line of apos-
tolic effort. How does nature help the preacher in his work
from the pulpit? What has art to do with his influence upon
his audience? What sort of auxiliary is oratory for him in
his efforts to convert souls ?
Taking into consideration this limitation of the discussion,
I would say in the second place that the view is not entertained
by the writer that a preacher's natural superiority, either
inborn or acquired, insures superior supernatural effects in
his audience. Twenty-five degrees of natural ability in him,
working in union with five degrees of pulpit grace from
God, are not of more avail for the conversion or sanctification
of a congregation, ceteris paribus^ than only five degrees of
natural ability in union with five degrees of grace. Webster
with his wonderful genius, had he been a Catholic priest,
could not have preached salvation more successfully than
any of us with our mediocre talents, if (contrary to what I
am convinced would have happened in the event of his preach-
ing), he had been assisted in his efforts only by the same
mediocre graces as ours. A poor musician cannot get better
music out of a grand organ than out of a hand-organ, be-
cause, on account of his very limited powers, he cannot ex-
haust the full potency of the organ; he cannot toe its pedals
and finger its keys and operate its stops masterfully; and so
half of its music still sleeps in its bosom in spite of his frail
efforts to arouse the mighty thing. In like manner a poor
inconsiderable pulpit grace cannot elicit sweeter or mightier
spirit-music from a superb human instrument than from a
mean one, for the delight of listeners; because such a grace
cannot supernaturally stir up the full forces of the preaching
genius upon which it descends, but can waken only a fraction
of them. And as an audience in the first case would grieve
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL.
to think of so much instrumental power unused, so the Angels
of Heaven must often grieve, if they can, to think of the im-
mense natural preaching abilities lying dormant in the super-
natural life, because, for one reason or another, the better
graces of the Holy Spirit are not allowed to descend upon
those better natural abilities, to rouse them to their fullest life.
In the third place, neither is it maintained that superior
natural abilities or accomplishment have the power of draw-
ing to themselves from heaven superior graces with the aid
of which superior results could be expected in an audience.
Nature, even at its highest, has no attractive influence upon
grace. There is not in the natural any exigency of the super-
natural. A dunce is as worthy, as such, of God's best super-
natural gifts as a genius is. Mountain and mole-hill are
on the same level of insignificance in comparison with the
Infinite God; so too are height and littleness of ability in
comparison with grace. The soul in its native character
whether little or transcendent, is not magnetic with regard to
the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. It must be charged and
have ite surface coated with grace before the electric sparks
of new graces are forced to leap down from the sky to it.
You cannot contemplate the natural abilities of an apostle and
then tell a priori the measure of helping grace which will be
poured out on him for his work. His capabilities are no
index in themselves of the extent to which God will employ
them. God is free to make this human dynamo hum with
the electricity of grace, or to allow it to remain a lump of dead
cold iron, free to make the souls of a congregation glow and
shine with heat and light from the pulpit power-house like
lamps on a line or to allow them to remain unthrilled.
Moreover, even if God should help a preacher with graces
proportioned to his eminent natural abilities, no man could
have any certain assurance, even in that supposition, of ex-
traordinary results to follow. For, preaching-graces can
be conferred without being employed, and talents of nature
also can be given and then left by the recipient without being
duplicated. Every element of success can be in readiness for
operation without being operated. Graces can be lavished
without effect. How many a case could be cited of remark-
able inborn and acquired abilities, of an imagination kindling
136 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with fire, of a comprehensive and intuitive mind, of logical
powers, of a rare gift of speech and a fair style, all divinely
vitalized by precious graces from on high, being allowed by
their possessor " to rust unburnished, not to shine in use " ?
How many a human craft, with noble keel, and sails full from
heaven, is perversely turned by a free self-operating rudder
from sailing down the lake with its stores of heavenly food
for hungry mouths on yonder shore? Great natural abilities
in God's servants have almost come to be suspicious things.
Treachery to grace is often half-way expected. The pride of
power frequently shadows power. Humility is many a time
made sure of only through the medium of humble natural
gifts and accomplishments; and the sanctification of a con-
gregation often has to be procured by the heavenly Father
through the instrumentality of mediocre preachers of the
Word.
With these negative statements disposed of, the relation-
ship of oratory to grace can now be expressed without much
danger of being misunderstood. Oratory is a better disposi-
tion in a preacher for the reception of pulpit-graces from
heaven for his congregation than the lack of that art would be.
Secondly, God regards this disposition, and if the human
will does not place an obstacle to His bounty. He pours out
larger graces for the good of the people, proportioned to the
larger capacity of His well-disposed instrument. In the third
place, just as a superior musician can draw more and better
music from a better instrument than from a poorer one, so
these larger graces can effect better results through the cul-
tured soul of a holy priest than could be possible for them
if he remained uncouth. And lastly, passing on from what
can he to what does happen, though it be admitted that natural
perfections are too often the occasion of ruin to their possessor
through pride and vanity, instead of being a means of sal-
vation, yet in view of the greater good produced by a thor-
oughly refined and learned priesthood, it is considered best
to acquire these perfections, provided this can be done in the
spirit of prayer.
We should be inclined to believe all this a priori. For is
it not consonant with propriety for God to wish to honor His
own better natural gifts in His servants with better super-
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL. 137
natural complements? And since the supernatural is not the
destruction, but the elevation of the natural, far from ex-
pecting to find natural superiority shorn of its advantages on
being raised to the levels of grace, should we not rather sup-
pose that it would be allowed to retain those advantages for
the greater profit of souls?
But, a posteriori, we assent to the truth before us on the
authority of the Church, which has shown by Her attitude
toward profane arts and sciences that nature is of invaluable
aid in things of the spirit. She takes a boy and places him
in a curriculum of pagan classics. He is supposed to get a
delicacy of touch, a refinement of sentiment, an exquisite sense
of the proprieties of life,— all of which are purely natural
accomplishments. He is induced to form ideas, to combine
ideas into judgments, to proceed unswervingly along the logi-
cal groove from some general principle down to particular
consequences, or up from an accumulation of observed facts
to the establishment of some general principle. He is trained
into steadying his mental gaze, and widening it and sharpen-
ing it. He is told that abstract knowledge is to be applied
to present practical exigencies and that hoarded information
is to work itself out, in one way or another, into his daily
actions. He is made to toughen his will by downing difficul-
ties, to wisely choose a definite course of good deeds and then
to keep to his choice unflinchingly in spite of allurements all
around him. After this process, merely natural in itself, if
he has a call, he is ushered into the Seminary where again
natural culture is attended to for many years. To compre-
hend, to defend, and attractively to explain the Word — a
duty which is to be a great part of his lifework — all this
requires an intuitive quickness, a patience of research, a steadi-
ness of mental gaze, a solidity of judgment, an eloquence of
exposition, which again, in themselves, are natural and noth-
ing more.
Finally, her ideal minister is one that goes forth into the
world rich in grace, but just as rich in profane accomplish-
ments. I would that beauty should go beautifully, says the
poet; and the Church would have the beauty of Faith enter
the pulpit beautifully clad in the raiment of nature; so that
non-Catholics on the one hand who for one reason or another
138 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
have identified Catholicity with ignorance and have consid-
ered the Church to be the personification of esthetic mediocrity,
and Catholics on the other hand, who have either been alien-
ated from the right spirit of their faith or at least have not
arrived at the perfection of their state, may be drawn first to
love a preacher's natural gifts, and then his supernatural
treasury and finally the God of it. These human attributes
are the " cords of Adam " ; they are the bait with which the
Divine Fisherman catches men and draws them out of the
stagnant pools of earth to place them in the pellucid basins
of heaven.
For further light, we may turn back to the day-dawn of
Christianity. There stand the Fathers, those giants of the
early Church. I see St. Augustine, not better known for his
sanctity than for his knowledge and rhetorical skill. I see
St. Jerome, the most learned man of his day in his combined
knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; and St. John Chrys-
ostom, who spoke with his eyes as well as with lips, and ir-
radiated magnetism from his whole person; and St. Gregory
Nazianzen, who said : '' I have given up honor, riches, and
pleasure; one thing only I cleave to, — that is eloquence. I
have gone over land and sea to acquire it, and I am willing
to make every sacrifice to retain it." Finally we may turn to
the great Athanasius, who formulated the Creed for us. What
natural acuteness of mind he must have had, and how his
mind must have been sharpened still more by dialectical
studies, to have been able to state Divine truth so succinctly
and clearly and unerringly ! Now those men were taught by
the Church ; they were her ideal ministers and she encouraged
them to spend themselves not more in work purely super-
natural than in the acquisition of human refinement for
themselves and in its spread amongst others. Here is the
answer to the " cui bono?" of sceptics with regard to oratory.
For, since the Church, because of her supernatural mission,
could not and cannot encourage profane arts merely for the
sake of resulting natural advantages, it follows that she must
consider them closely allied to heaven.
In her estimate of the value of the natural she was ante-
ceded by a greater than she. For, the Creator Himself spread
out the glorious panorama of the visible universe, in order that
PULPIT ELOQUENCE AND THE SUPERNATURAL. 13Q
all this natural beauty might catch our eyes and hearts and
allure us to the knowledge and love of Himself. In the Scrip-
tures, He graced his Word with the enticing charms of liter-
ature, partially human, to win us to taste the sweetness of
that Word Divine. In the Incarnation, He took to Himself
a soul and body in order that we who shrink from His
heavenly majesty might be softened into love at the sight of
a heart connatural with our own. Finally, in the sanctuary,
far from relying exclusively on His sacramental magnetism,
He has surrounded Himself with every pleasant thing, — with
marble altar, with bronze tabernacle, with flowers, lights and
dreaming clouds of incense, with the cloth of gold of vest-
ments, and laces of acolytes : for. He knows that if there be
*' sermons in stones, and books in running brooks," there must
be much eloquence also in all the pomp and circumstance
with which the loving hand of nature banks the sanctuary of
the Most High.
Here then, in the course which the Church has uniformly
pursued in the education of her ministers in imitation of the
economy of God Himself, we have, I presume to say, a suffi-
cient answer to the objection against pulpit oratory. For, if
it be urged that a priest's eloquence, when added to the other
most abundant means of grace in his hands — particularly
sacramental means — is like the addition of a drop of water to
a lake, she denies the truth of the comparison and insists on
the importance of eloquence. If the insignificance of the
priest, standing in the midst of his grace-surroundings, is
urged, she admits his personal insignificance, but denies his
insignificance as ambassador of Christ and minister of the
Most High. If the futility of speech in supernatural work is
proposed for solution, she answers that natural gifts and ac-
complishments cannot merit grace nor efliciently produce it in
an audience; but that they are at least dispositions very favor-
able to the outpouring of the supernatural grace of speech
upon a preacher's soul for the benefit of listeners. If finally
the danger of pride and vanity, involved in the cultivation
of the art of speech, be placed before her as an objection,
she answers : ** Prayerfully incur the danger that the ad-
vantages of the art may not be lost to God." Here we may
stop a moment to observe how different is her view of riches
140
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
and art. She understands the innate value of both in the
economy of salvation; she understands the misuse to which
both can be and are put : and yet, whilst to avoid the chances
of misuse, she invites men in the name of Christian perfec-
tion to forgo the personal possession and use of riches, she
has, on the contrary, in the same high interests, systemati-
cally encouraged even her choicest children to acquire and
employ art.
These considerations, though speculative in flavor, are not
without their practical importance. For, just as worldings
overestimate the value of nature in comparison with grace, so
supernatural persons are inclined to underrate its helpfulness
in the work of God. The first set of men become so en-
grossed in creatures as to forget the Creator; the second set
grow so enamored of the beauty of the Most High that the
contemplation and the use of finite things becomes a task to
them. Devotees of the world employ the world as an end in
itself; devoted children of God often neglect to use it even
as a means to heaven. They wish to go straight to God;
but sometimes forget that the path to Him is through the
world. In their zeal they rightly repudiate the adoration of
nature and of art; in their imprudence, at times they wrongly
repudiate the employment of nature and of art in the adoration
of Another.
Now is not a seminarian or a priest whose gaze is being
constantly directed toward heaven, liable to forget earth ? Is
he not in his high appreciation of grace liable to disparage
art? "The children of the world are wiser in their gener-
ation than the children of light"; and they show their wis-
dom by setting high value on the use of creatures. Satan
wields his power among men to-day because he approaches
them in the silken garments and with all the graciousness of
worldliness. Is not sacerdotal influence at a lower ebb than
it would be if priests took more pains to array their holy
souls in winsome natural drapery? And would not the su-
pernatural Word they speak be doubly potent if it sprung from
golden tongues ?
John A. McClorey, S.J.
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. X41
THE LATEST PEOPOSAL IN OALENDAE EEFOEM.
IN the May issue of the Review some account was given ^
of the present status of the movement — an international
one — looking to a reform of the Gregorian Calendar, and some
slight appreciation was attempted of the various plans or
suggestions offered by students of the question. It may prove
of further interest to give attention to the newest proposal —
that of Professor Alexander Philip — and to add, by way of
complement to the former article, some details elicited by
its publication.
The newest proposal deals, not with the Religious, but only
with the Civil Calendar, although it is the hope and, indeed,
the expectation of its author, that its adoption will facilitate
a reform of the Religious Calendar as well.
The original proposal of Professor Philip dealt with both
the week and the month and led to the introduction of two
bills into the House of Commons in England; but the pro-
moters went further than the original author, and ^offended
religious sentiment. In a letter (dated 25 April, 191 2) to
the present writer, Mr. Philip remarks that it has been ap-
parent to him for some time, that the Churches " will not be
favorable to any interruption of the succession of week days,"
and he therefore proposes " to limit the reform at present to
the months." He thinks " the advantages of this are greater
than will at first sight appear." Accordingly he has had a
bill introduced in the House of Commons which concerns
itself solely with the months, avoids the pitfalls of the ** dies
non ", and nevertheless prepares the way, if religious senti-
ment should care to make a change at any future time, for
any desirable treatment of the question of Easter.^
1 See article on Easter and Calendar Reform.
2 "The object of the Bill is to establish a simple and symmetrical arrange-
ment of the months and quarters within the year.
"Any symmetrical arrangement of the months involves a slight alteration in
the calendar date of the vernal equinox, and would conveniently precede any
decision as to the adoption of a fixed Easter.
" It is not proposed to interfere in any way with the regular succession of
week days, but if subsequently found desirable, any such change would be in
no way hindered by the previous adoption of the provisions of the Bill.
Memorandum to the " Calendar Amendment Bill ", presented in the House of
Commons (and by it ordered to be printed, 13 March, 1912) 'by Mr. Robert
Harcourt and supported by Mr. John Deans Hope.
142 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Before considering in some detail the features of this new
proposal, we may note in passing some of the significant im-
plications of this departure from all the schemes outlined in
the May number of the Review. And first of all, there is
the relinquishment, by one of the most earnest students, for
many years, of the problem of Calendar Reform, and one of
the most persuasive protagonists of one of the proposed re-
forms,— the relinquishment (at least for the present) of the
attempt to standardize the relation of the days of the week
to those of the month. Mr. Philip early recognized the prob-
able opposition of the Churches to any scheme which should
contemplate the removal of Easter from its traditional situs
of Sunday, or which should withdraw one or two days from
the week-scheme of the year by making them dies non. In
an address at the Fourth International Congress of Chambers
of Commerce (London, 21-23 June, 1910), he argued that
while confusion is undoubtedly caused by the great variabil-
ity of the date of Easter, this fact was by no means the main
consideration, since " there is infinitely more trouble caused
by the ordinary working of the calendar than by the dis-
turbance of Easter " ; that this last is but one incident in the
year [although for Catholics it controls many others], and is
but a secondary one for the reason that Easter cannot be really
fixed before a perpetual calendar is adopted : " You can fix
it more nearly, but you cannot fix it finally, until you have a
perpetual calendar.'* He pointed to the fact that in the
question of the date of Easter, religious sentiments were
involved :
" I warn you that we must not disturb these sentiments. I
am sure that every one of us here would be the last in the
world to do anything to injure the feelings of anyone in
matters which they regard as sacred. We cannot be too care-
ful in this matter, and that is the reason why I have adopted
this particular plan which you see foreshadowed in these pam-
phlets which have been circulated. I mention that, not for
the purpose of discussing the different schemes, but for say-
ing one thing, and with that I shall conclude. The reform is
after all divisible into two halves. You can deal with the
month without touching the week. I have worked it out
very carefully. . . ."
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. j..
His regard for religious sentiment was well-advised. In
a letter to the present writer (dated 30 May, 191 2) he notes
that a Committee has been appointed by the Church of Eng-
land to consider calendar reform, and that its Report has
been submitted to Convocation, two of whose recommenda-
tions were unanimously adopted : first, '* that there shall be
no alteration in the week of seven days, and that Sunday shall
continue to be the first day of the week " ; and second, " that
there shall be no alteration in the date of Christmas ". With'
respect to the date of Easter, the third recommendation (de-
feated by two votes) was that, if Easter should be made a fixeH
date, it should be a Sunday in the first half of April. It is
needless to point out here ths correspondence of these recom-
mendations with the plan of reform which the Gaulois credited
to the Holy Father. But it is interesting to know that reli-
gious sentiment, whether Catholic or Anglican, still preserves
such a strong influence; and this leads to the second signi-
ficant implication in the argument of Mr. Philip.
This implication is that it is futile for scholars or business
men to advocate a reform in the calendar which will not com-
mend itself to the various religious bodies interested therein :
''Any reform in the calendar must be unanimous ", he argued
in the Address (1910). And in his recent letter (30 May,
1912) he still is of the same opinion: " My original plan pre-
served the Sunday as the first day of the week. I have, how-
ever, understood for a good while that the dies non would not
be acceptable to the Churches. That is why I drew the Bill
which Mr. Harcourt has introduced. The Church of England
have decided that they can not accept either of the others.
It would be very foolish to attempt to go in opposition to
the Churches in this matter, and accordingly I think attention
should be concentrated upon the Harcourt proposal. That
project deals exclusively with the secular calendar."
The proposal, therefore, of the new bill in Parliament con-
cerns itself not at all with the question of fixing Easter or
any other feast-day, nor does it attempt to relate the days of
the week with those of the month. It is designed purely for
secular purposes. Nevertheless, it would affect in some ways
the calendar uses of the Missal and Breviary, a-nd this fact
makes it of interest to priests, and worthy of study even by
144 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
those who have no special interest in the general question of
Calendar Reform.
The scheme of Professor Philip, embodied in the Harcourt
Bill, contemplates a business year consisting of four quarters,
each of which should contain exactly thirteen weeks, or ninety-
one days. This will account for 364 days. To these is added
New Year Day (January ist), which in the previous schemes
was to be a dies non, but is now to be a regular weekday,
although it will be considered a public holiday, and will not
figure in commercial computations, contracts, etc. (in which
relationships it will be practically a dies non^ while remaining
a weekday for religious purposes). In Leap Year, the extra
day will be called Leap Day, and will be transferred from
February 29th to the ist day of July. February, however,
will contain thirty days, the additional two days being ob-
tained by transferring them from the present 31st of August
and of October, thus giving to July and October 30 days each.
The purpose of these alterations will appear plainly by a
glance at the tabulated scheme of the number of days in
each month :
January, 31.
April, 30.
August, 30.
October, 30.
February, 30.
May, 30.
July, 30.
November, 30.
March, 31.
June, 31.
September, 31.
December, 31.
The year is thus portioned into quarters, each of which (omit-
ting for the first quarter the first day of January, or New
Year Day) will contain 91 days. In Leap Year, July would
contain 31 days, but the ist day (Leap Day) would be civilly
a dies non, and therefore this third quarter would also contain
(civilly) only 91 days.
Another feature of the arrangement will appear evident by
a brief study of the table — that there would be 91 days in any
period of three consecutive months. Thus, for instance, if
we begin with February we should have: February, 30;
March, 3 1 ; April, 30 ; if we begin with March, we should
have : March, 3 1 ; April, 30 ; May, 30, and so on — in every
case a period of three consecutive months would comprise the
stated 13 weeks or 91 days.
Again, in Leap Year, the calendar would be symmetrical
for the half-years; and in ordinary years the calendar, both
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. j.^
weekly and monthly, would be symmetrical for each of the
four quarters.
This proposal for a new calendar is practically the same as
that referred to in the Review (May issue), as the " Normal
Calendar ", from which it differs principally in allowing the
weekdays to run on consecutively without any dies nofi, while
in ordinary years one of the months will have a merely civil
dies non, and in Leap Year still another month will have a
merely civil dies non.
The advantages of the system are of commercial and statis-
tical importance : " The calculation of apportionable pay-
ments— wages, rents, interests, etc., would be standardized
and greatly simplified by means of tables. The work of
Governmental Departments, e. g. Old Pensions Act, National
Insurance Act, etc., would be greatly simplified. Statistical
returns would be simplified and made symmetrical. The
keeping and auditing of accounts would be simplified."
All of these gains will appear in stronger light by a com-
parison of this scheme with that of the present calendar, with
its apparently haphazard assignment of the number of days
to the various months.
A prominent feature of the proposed new calendar is the
division of the year, for civil purposes, into four exactly
equal quarters.
The four quarters of the year might be designated simply
as first, second, third, fourth, or as the Winter, Spring, Sum-
mer, Autumn quarters.
Finally, the Act of Parliament is meant to go into operation
on the first day of January, 191 3, and to apply '* to the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and to all the British
Dominions beyond the seas."
It is unnecessary to go into the details by which the Bill
undertakes to interpret existing or future contracts.^
It will be at once evident, that such a proposal simply leaves
out of consideration (while not in any wise menacing) the
ordinary traditions of the Religious Calendar of many de-
nominations or religious bodies. The Sundays are not inter-
3 Those who are interested in this phase of the question may obtain a copy
of the Bill, "published by His Majesty's Stationery Office", through any
bookseller in the United Kingdom.
146 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
fered with, Christmas day will fall as usual on the 25th
December, and Easter and Holy Week will recur annually in
exactly the same relationships as at present. But in the
Roman Calendar (used so very largely throughout Christen-
dom), in the calendars of local dioceses, and in those of
certain Religious Orders many changes would have to be
made. Most of these changes are not of a fundamental char-
acter, it is true. A few feasts now assigned to the beginning
of one month will, unless the religious calendars are changed
to agree with the proposed civil calendar, be celebrated at
the end of the preceding month, or vice versa. The interval
between March 25th (the Annunciation of Our Lad}, or the
Conception of Our Lord) and December 25th would, in the
new arrangement, be two days less than at present, but the
symbolism of the " nine months " would not be greatly af-
fected; and similarly the symbolism of the 8th of December
(the Conception of Our Lady) and the 8th of September
(the Nativity B. V. M.) would practically remain undis-
turbed. But the placing of Leap Day on the first of July, in-
stead of in February, as at present, would cause some embar-
rassment in the church calendar, in the Breviary Offices, etc.
What would happen if the Bill were to be enacted into law
in Great Britain and her possessions beyond seas? The
Catholic clergy in those regions would be living under two
quite distinct calendars; for it is hardly probable that the
Roman Calendar would be changed locally for their con-
venience. In civil and commercial affairs, England would
quite isolate herself, chronologically, from the rest of the
world, and especially from her American cousin, and the dis-
advantages under which the Catholic clergy would live in
England would seem to be, in some measure, duplicated for
merchants doing a trans-Atlantic business.
What is of special interest to the Catholic priest, however,
is the possibility of an international agreement based on
Professor Philip's scheme, whose adoption by England and
her possesions might lead the way (if it proved, in practice,
as advantageous as it appears in theory) for the other civil-
ized peoples of the world. In that case, the Roman Breviary
and Missal might perhaps be subjected to the chronological
or calendarial changes required to bring it into conformity
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. 147
with the civil calendar — a task of no great magnitude, if it
be deemed appropriate, and of special feasibility just at the
present time, when both Missal and Breviary are undergoing
so many quietly performed revisions and alterations.
It is not the purpose of the present paper to go into a min-
utely detailed investigation of the effect Professor Philip's pro-
posal would have, if it attained the success of an international
approval and were actually put in operation by international
agreement, on the Religious Calendar and the daily Mass and
Office. It is sufficient to have indicated briefly some of the
results that would follow. Those who are interested in the
practical details of the proposal would find matter for pleas-
ant study in the scheme of the " Perpetual Adjustable Calen-
dar " designed by Mr. Philip " to gain all the advantages of a
Perpetual Calendar without any interruption in the weekly
succession."
The remaining portion of the present paper will concern
itself with various matters related in one way or another to the
schemes outlined in the May number of the Review.
I. One correspondent has kindly furnished me with the text
of the Address delivered by M. Pitot at the International
Congress of Chambers of Commerce and Industrial and Com-
mercial Associations, held at Prague in 1908. M. Pitot spoke
on " La Reduction de la Variabilite de la Fete de Paques."
He presents the subject with Gallic clearness, acknowledging
indebtedness for very much of his material to the Abbe Th.
Moreux, the director of the Observatory of Bourges (France).
Some of this is of such interest and appropriateness to the
present discussion of reform, that it may be quoted (in trans-
lation) here:
'' The prescriptions of the Council of Nicaea exhibit another
preoccupation — the wish to avoid having the Pasch celebrated
on the same day by Jews as well as Christians. But the at-
tempt failed.
" In the year 360, the Jewish Calendar was newly arranged,
and the coincidence of feasts occurred several times.
" The, Gregorian reform of the calendar made the concur-
rence still more frequent.
"The Evangelical Church of Germany decreed in 1700
that thenceforth the astronomical tables should be the basis
148 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
for the calculation of the full paschal moon; and the result
was that in 1724 and 1744 there was a difference of a week
between the Catholic and the Protestant Easter. A new de-
cree issued in 1775 re-established the old rule. It had also
been noticed that the use of the astronomical moon would
have led, in 1778 and 1798, to a coincidence of the Jewish
Pasch and the evangelical Easter, against what was deemed
the desire of the Council of Nicaea."
According to M. Pitot, the Abbe Moreux was asked by a
number of astronomers interested in calendar reform to dis-
cover how Pope Leo XIII would be affected towards the move-
ment; and accordingly the Abbe requested the Director of the
Vatican Observatory to ask the Holy Father if he would ap-
prove of the desire of astronomers that Easter be always cele-
brated on the same Sunday; for example, that following the
equinox. "The reply of Leo XIII was most encouraging:
' I perceive nothing improper ', he said, * in such a desirable
change; but there should be one condition, that the Orthodox
Russians be willing to abandon the Old Style and adopt the
Gregorian Calendar.' This declaration is one of capital im-
portance and ought to facilitate very much the fixing of Easter
on a less variable date. The Evangelical Churches, simply
following the order established by the Roman Church, would
certainly not raise any objection to the principle of the reform
we are preaching; nor do we suppose that such a reform could
introduce any new divisions among Christians. As for the
Russians, inasmuch as their calendar does not now agree with
the Gregorian, it seems to me that we ought not much to care
whether they accept or refuse. We ask, then, with the Abbe
Th. Moreux, that Easter be fixed on the Sunday following the
spring equinox ... or, at the latest, on the Sunday following
the 4th of April."
2. Another correspondent quotes from Markham's The
Incas of Peru (N. Y., 1910, p. 117) some highly interesting
details of the Peruvian Calendar: The Peruvian year con-
tained 12 months of 30 days each; five days were added at the
end of the year, and every fourth year a day was added.
3. The Abbot of Farnborough contributed to the London
Tablet two illuminating articles (20 and 27 April) on ''The
Feast of Easter and the Reform of the Gregorian Calendar ",
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. j.g
of which the first (with excellent bibliography attached) dealt
with the past history of the question, while the second came
down to a consideration of one of the recent proposals, that
of M. Grosclaude, which is similar to the one of Professor
Philip, save that, as shown above, the dies non (New Year
Day and Leap Day) are not counted in the week, whereas they
do not interrupt the succession of days of the week in the
plan of Mr. Philip. The Abbot does not discuss the proposal,
but outlines it clearly, doubtless because it is the most feasible
and the most championed of all. He notes the fact that our
modern reformers of the calendar '' have had precursors since
the sixteenth century. Thus amongst the projects of reform
elaborated at the time of Gregory XIII there was one pro-
posing to celebrate Easter on a fixed date. A century later
Rene Ouvard, a Canon of Tours, proposed a similar system,
which was favorably considered by Cardinal Sluze, and was
on the point of being presented to Innocent XL Father Nau
a short time afterwards made the same attempt." He calls
special attention to the works of Father Tondini, whom he
had mentioned also in the previous paper (20 April).*
Dom Cabrol states the arguments pro and contra clearly
and effectively, and does not appear to lean strongly to either
side. He contends, however, that the State cannot act with-
* Apropos of this longtime Catholic interest in the question of calendar
reform, it is not amiss to quote here the editorial of the N. Y. Independent
(6 June, 19 12), which may be divided into paragraphs for the purpose of
brief comment.
" Six months ago we published the likelihood that the Pope would consider
the question of setting a fixed date for Easter instead of letting it wander
about for a full month, depending on the moon's changes." This is putting
the attitude of the Independent rather mildly ; for it assumed that the Gaulots
(see the May Review, page 513) had announced a fact in the assertion that
Pope Pius X was to fix Easter on the first Sunday of April, and there was no
intimation, in its comments on the assumed fact, that only a "likelihood"
of papal action was in question.
"A commission has now been appointed, and the Catholic journals are
beginning to discuss the matter." There seems to be here an intimation that
Catholics had not discussed the broad question before the appointment of
the commission. The bibliography in the papers of Dom Cabrol would be a
sufficient answer to this, as also would have been the much briefer one given
by Father Holweck in his article on Easter in the Catholic Encyclopedia
(V., 225, 2nd col.). The remainder of the editorial is phrased more pleas-
antly, and indicates a changed view of the Independent :
" Such a change is desirable ; and when decided on at Rome it will be
interesting to see whether it will be followed at Westminster and York, or
whether the Anglican Church will hold back, as has the Greek Church these
centuries, unwilling to accept from Rome the reform of the calendar."
I50 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
out the concurrence of the Church — a contention which, as has
been shown above, is put forward also by Professor Philip, and
was made prominent in the May issue of the Review.
We shall not presume to discuss the argumentation of the
distinguished Abbot of Farnborough, but may be permitted to
question the practicability of the contention that " before do-
ing away with our present calendar it would be well to wait
until the system which it is proposed to substitute has given
proof of its fitness." The theoretical proofs of the feasibility
and availability and advantages of the " Normal " calendar,
or of that proposed by Professor Philip, are many and of no
little weight. Practical proofs cannot, of course, be had until
the system advocated has been put in practice somewhere —
indeed, everywhere (for, as the Abbot remarks, the reform
" cannot be unilateral,'' but must be shared by both Church
and State).
4. The June issue of the Review contained (pp. 726-8)
a summary of a plan put forth several years ago in the
Catholic World by a Catholic Astronomer, Father Searle. His
scheme is ingenious and exact, and adds a new feature to the
age-long discussion. It is so easily accessible that it needs
not to be detailed here.
5. Mr. Charles Fisher, of San Francisco, permits me to re-
print here his calendar of thirteen months. It was designed
to go into effect last year. Although, in a letter to the pres-
ent writer, he declares that he had definitely renounced his
plan in favor of that presented by Professor Philip at the
International Congress (London, 1910), it is worthy of repro-
duction to illustrate vividly a plan much advocated in various
forms but now definitely relinquished, even by the author of
one of the variant forms, in favor of a Normal Calendar of
twelve months.
From the details furnished by the article in the Review for
May (pp. 513-529) and the supplementary matter contained
in the present paper, it is permissible to indicate some
reasonable
Conclusions
and, incidentally, to correct some misapprehensions which the
present writer has encountered both in printed form and in
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM.
151
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152 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
oral communications. The conclusions that may be grouped
here are :
1. The project of having a fixed date for Easter is not one
merely of recent discussion. It was advocated in the time
of Gregory XIII, and a century later by Rene Ouvard, a
Canon of Tours, and somewhat later by Father Nau. The
project was again renewed, in very recent years, in pamphlets
and periodical publications, until it was formally proposed,
four years ago, in the International Congress of Chambers
of Commerce at Prague.
2. Two things show that such a project is not, in its nature,
an embarrassing one to speculate upon, from the standpoint
of Catholic interests : first, the encouragement given by Leo
XIII to the proposed discussion of the subject by astronomers
and other interested parties, and his declaration that such a
reform contained nothing improper in itself, but should be
accompanied by a concession on the part of the Orthodox
Russian Church — the surrender, namely, of its adherence to
the Old Style and its adoption of the New Style of the
Gregorian Calendar; second, the establishment by Pius X
of a Commission to inquire into and report upon the feasibility
of the fixing of the date of Easter.
3. The sentiment of Catholics, as also of non- Catholic
religious bodies, appears to demand that Easter shall always
have Sunday for a situs, although there is some warrant in
Church history for such an absolutely fixed date as would
necessarily permit Easter to fall on any day of the week.
The reasons — liturgical, historical, devotional — for this de-
mand for Sunday as the only possible site for the Feast of the
Resurrection are simply overwhelming at the present day,
and need not be discussed or even detailed here.
4. It is very comforting to know that the vast majority (in-
deed, practically all) of the many proposals for fixing Easter
(whether absolutely, in a reformed calendar, or with less
variability, in the present '' unreformed " calendar) have re-
spected scrupulously this sentiment (that Easter must fall al-
ways on a Sunday) of Christian religious bodies. Thus the
International Congress at Prague (1908) selected a Sunday
for Easter in an unreformed calendar; and the various,
schemes for a Normal Calendar have, almost without excep--
tion, carefully provided for a similar site.
THE LATEST PROPOSAL IN CALENDAR REFORM. 153
5. Whether or not the inclusion in the year of a dies non
(and in leap years, of two such days) is such an essential in-
fringement on the symbolism of the week of seven days, as to
put all such proposals beyond the pale of Catholic discussion,
is a matter for liturgiologists to discuss and for the authori-
ties of the Church to pass upon. But here also it is comfort-
ing to feel that the proposals including dies non in the calendar
did not, in all probability, proceed either from a malicious
desire to embarrass Christian worship or from a negligent
contempt of Christian sentiment in the matter. Thus one
of the most earnest students and protagonists of the Normal
Calendar (Professor Alexander Philip), upon learning of
the opposition of Christian sentiment to the dies non, not
only promptly relinquished the point to the objecting party,
but earnestly contended, at the International Congress at
London (1910), that this sentiment should be scrupulously
respected. He there advocated the desirability of confining
the proposed reform to the months, leaving the weekly suc-
cession of days undisturbed; and after much study of the
problem, has at length had introduced in the British Parlia-
ment a bill limiting the reform to the months, and has made
such a proposed reform more feasible by the construction
of a " Perpetual Adjustable Calendar ".
6. The advantages of a Normal Calendar or Normal Year,
in which there would be a perpetual correspondence of days
of the month and days of the week, are nevertheless many
and weighty. For civil, statistical, commercial, and other
purposes, these advantages have been pointed out in detail;
and need not be repeated here. It might be fairly argued
that for liturgical purposes, such a Normal Calendar would
also be desirable (i. e. if the dies non feature could be
eliminated). In such a Normal Year, every ferial day, every
feast day, every Sunday, could have exact and unchanging rep-
resentation; no interference of feasts could cause a feast to
be absolutely eliminated (as at present) from the yearly
succession; the Divine Office could be devoutly recited — and
(unlike the present condition of things) with certainty of
correctness in the Ordo — and could be freed from the daily
recurring necessity of consulting intricate, complicated direc-
tions showing how the merely material business of the Divine
154 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Office shall be arranged; the simplicity of prayer would be
increased, with a not improbable increase of devotion (for,
naturally, where the mind is partly preoccupied with the
merely material business of hunting up the various parts of
the prayer in widely separated parts of the breviary, the at-
tention to the spiritual content of the recitation of the Office
may easily be embarrassed and handicapped).
Much humor has been expended by the clergy on the need
of *' fingers " in the daily recitation of the Office — much humor
and, we fancy, not a little occasional irritability; and yet it
may happen (for in many respects mankind is notoriously
illogical and inconsistent) that some clerical humor may even
be directed against the present argument that simplicity would
be gained by a Normal Year. We have indeed heard it argued
that the very complexity of the Divine Office is something
desirable. Undoubtedly it is, as the complexity of the pieces
of glass of kaleidoscopic shapes and colors is desirable in a
stained-glass window; for they contribute to the beauty and
splendor of the window. The question here is not one of the
complexity of the Office, but the complexity involved in hunt-
ing up the various components of the Office. The complexity
becomes thus translatable into perplexity, loss of time, dis-
traction of the attention from the content to the material
arrangement of it, occasional irritability, and the imposition
of a new and daily complication of duty where the world and
our sacred ministry already place inevitable complications
on their own account. Thus the plea that complexity — not
in the Office but in the material saying of it — is a good thing
is not unlike the plea that fleas are good for the dog: they
occupy his full attention and keep him from worse things.
Much more might be adduced in support of the argument
for simplicity in the saying of the Office, but the simple con-
crete fact that a priest will immediately prefer reciting his
breviary during Holy Week, from the separate small volumes
— one for each day — into which that Week is sometimes
divided by publishers of breviaries, rather than from the bound
volume of the Pars Verna, may be esteemed a sufficient an-
swer to objectors. Accordingly we may place, with some
confidence, conclusion number
THOMAS A KEMPIS AS A HYMN WRITER. j .
7. Father Searle's ingenious scheme makes it possible to
have a perpetual calendar identifying days of the week with
those of the month, and nevertheless avoiding the liturgical
pitfall of the dies non. His proposal would appear to meet
all objections, and to satisfy all needs.
H. T. Henry.
O verb rook Seminary, Pa.
THOMAS A KEMPIS AS A HYMN WEITEfi.
KEMPEN in the Diocese of Cologne can claim a most
illustrious son in the person of Thomas Haemerken, or
Haemerlein, better known as Thomas a Kempis (of Kempen),
the immortal author of the Imitation of Christ. Born about
the year 1380, Thomas studied at Deventer, and his youthful
ideas were molded by Florence Radewyn and Arnold van
Schoonhoven. From his earliest biographer we know that
his studies were Grammar, Latin, and Gregorian Chant. In
his twentieth year, in 1399, he entered, as a novice, the mon-
astery of Mount St. Agnes, near Zwolle, of which his brother
John was Prior. The Order was that of the Brothers of the
Common Life (founded in 1386 by Florence Radewyn at
Windesheim), and Thomas was formally enrolled as a mem-
ber in 1406, becoming a priest in 141 3, in his thirty-third year.
In 1425 he was elected Sub-Prior of Mount St. i\gnes and
was reelected to the same position in 1448. His death took
place, in the ninety-second year of his age, on I May,^ 147 1,
the Feast of St. James the Less.
It is not however with the life of Thomas a Kempis that
I am concerned, but with his powers as a hymn writer. Num-
erous biographers of the venerable writer have appeared, but
until recently no hint was given as to his remarkable gifts in
the matter of versifying. Probably the last word has been
said by Sir Francis R. Cruise as to the authorship of the
Imitation of Christ^ but it was not until 1 88 1 that Pastor
Spitzen published ten hymns by a Kempis, six of which had
previously been issued anonymously by Mone. These ten
were printed from a MS. of about the year 1480. In 1882
1 Some authors give 26 July, and others 8 August, as- the date, but Sir
Francis R. Cruise inclines to i May.
2 See Thomas a Kempis, published in 1887.
156 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
S. W. Kettlewell published in London a fine work, in two
volumes, dealing with the biography of a Kempis and giving
English translations in verse of his hymns by the Rev. S. J.
Stone, Protestant Rector of St. Paul's, Haggerston, who died
on 19 November, 1900. It was not, however, till 1905 that
the true merits of a Kempis as a hymn writer were made
public, by F. F. Dreves and Blume in the forty-eighth volume
of the monumental Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi (Nos.
458-493). Unfortunately, this work is not very accessible,
and so it may prove of interest to make known to the many
readers of the Ecclesiastical Review some of the con-
clusions arrived at by two such able delvers in the science of
hymnology.
It is now conclusively proved that Thomas a Kempis wrote
a large number of beautiful hymns, which he adapted to
existing plainsong melodies, as indicated in a most important
Carlsruhe MS. of the fifteenth century. Space would not per-
mit an account of all these, but the best known are " En dies
est dominica ", "Apparuit benignitas ", *' Veni, veni. Rex
gloriae ", " In domo Patris ", " Quisquis valet numerare ",
"Adversa mundi ", " O qualis quantaque laetitia ", " Nee quis-
quam oculis vidit ", and " Jerusalem luminosa ".
" En dies est dominica " was for long regarded as of doubt-
ful authenticity, but Dreves and Blume ^ leave no room for
further scepticism, as they prove that the cento, as found in
MS. 368 of the fifteenth century at Carlsruhe, can be traced
in the autograph MS. of Thomas a Kempis at Brussels, and
again in the MS. copy at Zwolle. As indicated by its title
it is a hymn to be sung on Sundays. In the original MS. it
is adapted to the music of the Easter hymn "Ad cenam Agni
providi ", the neumatic notation of which is to be found in
MSS. of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In all, the lines
of this hymn run to 116, and are printed in full by Mone,
No. 247, from the Carlsruhe MS. The cento was translated
by the Rev. J. M. Neale, and was published in 1854, but the
English version in general use is that as given by the compilers
of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1904, commencing "Again
the Lord's own day is here ". I here give the first and last
verses of the Latin text of this noble hymn :
^Analecta XLVIII, 475.
THOMAS A KEMPIS AS A HYMN WRITER. j^-
En dies est dominica
Summo cultu dignissima
Ob octavam dominicae
Resurrectionis sacrae.
Tibi factor! temporum
Qui vera quies mentium,
Sit laus, honor, et gloria
Hac die et in saecula.
"Apparuit benignitas " is better known as " O amor quam
ecstaticus ", being a cento from the longer poem, taken from
the Carlsruhe MS., and is unquestionably the work of Thomas
a Kempis. The cento comprises verses 2, 4, 9-12, and the
doxology. There is no mistaking the tune to which it was
sung, as a marginal note indicates the melody as "Agnoscat
omne saeculum ", or '' Deus creator omnium ". The English
translation of " O amor quam ecstaticus " is by B. Webb, in
The Hymnal Noted (1854). Appended are the first and last
verses of the original Latin text :
O Amor quam ecstaticus,
Quam effluens, quam nimius.
Qui Deum Dei filium
Unum fecit mortalium !
Deo Patri sit gloria
Per infinita saecula,
Cujus amore nimio
Salvi sumus in Filio.
" Veni, veni, Rex gloriae " is also an authentic hymn by
a Kempis, and is to be found, with the musical notation, in the
Carlsruhe MS. It was printed by Mone as No. 35, but with-
out any clue to the author. The hymn runs to twenty-three
stanzas, and was translated into English by Mr. T. G. Crippen
in his Ancient Hymns and Poems (1868).
" In domo Patris " is the fourth of the hymns by a Kempis
from the Carlsruhe MS. 368. Its authenticity is upheld by
Dreves and Blume. The text was printed by Mone, No. 302,
but no clue was furnished as to the author. A good English
translation was made by the Rev. J. M. Neale, which appears
as " My Father's Home Eternal " in his Hymns chiefly
Medieval on the Joys ajtd Glories of Paradise ( 1 865 ) . It is
158 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
considerably tinkered in The English Hymnal (1906), but
Neale's setting will be found in the Rev. G. R. Woodward'-s
Songs of Syon (1910).
" Ouisquis valet numerare " is another cento from a longer
poem by Thomas a Kempis, on the glory of the heavenly
Jerusalem, in sixteen stanzas. The current cento consists of
verses i, 2, 9, 10, 11, and 16. In the Carlsruhe MS. No. 368,
the music of the hymn is also given, a fine tune in the Fourth
Mode. I herewith subjoin the first and last stanzas of the
Latin text, as printed by Mone:
Quisquis valet numerare
Beatorum nmnerum,
Horum poterit pensare
Sempiternum gaudium,
Quod meruerunt intrare
Mundi post exilium.
Vitae dator, summe Parens,
Tibi benedictio;
Sit laus, decus semper clarens
Semper tuo Filio;
Sit et honor fine carens
Inclyto Paraclito.
"Adversa mundi tolera " is found with the name of Thomas
a Kempis in a MS. of the year 1480 at Zwolle, and is also to
be found in his Opera^^ entitled " Canticum de virtute pa-
tientiae ". It is in twenty-nine lines, arranged as eleven, but
the full text has been printed by Wackernagel's Das deutsche
Kirchenlied, Vol. I,. No. 377. Father Caswall translated five
stanzas, in his Masque of Mary, under the title of " For
Christ's dear sake with courage bear" (1858).
" O qualis quantaque laetitia " is to be found as the com-
position of Thomas a Kempis in a MS. of the year 1480 at
Zwolle, and also in his Opera (Niirnberg, 1494), under the
title of " Hymn on the Joys of Heaven and the Nine Angelic
Choirs ". Wackernagel prints the full text, but an excellent
English translation of the cento has been furnished by the
Rev. G. R. Woodward in his Songs of Syon (1910), under
the title of " Quires of Angels stand before Him ". I cannot
* Niirnberg, 1494.
THOMAS A KEMPIS AS A HYMN WRITER. j.g
resist the temptation of quoting the first and last stanzas of
this admirable translation, which faithfully reproduces the
spirit of the original text, and serves to show the poetic powers
of Mr. Woodward:
Quires of Angels stand before Him —
God their Maker aye adore Him,
See the King in all His beauty,
Worshipping in bounden duty;
While, in tune with holy voices,
Ev'ry loving heart rejoices.
There fair folk in white apparel
Love as brethren, seek no quarrel :
There is knowledge, no temptation,
No more toil and no vexation ;
There is health, but sickness never;
Fulness there of joy forever.
" Nee quisquam oculis vidit " is found in the oft-quoted
Carlsruhe MS., and also in the Zwolle MS. of 1480, belonging
to the Brethren of the Common Life, now in the library of
the Emmanuelshuizen. It was printed by Mone, and is the
third portion of a long poem on eternal life. It consists of
eighty-four lines, and is headed "On the glory of the Heavenly
Jerusalem ". A portion of it was translated into English by
J. M. Neale, in his Hymns chiefly Medieval on the Joys and
Glories of Paradise (1865).
''Jerusalem luminosa " is a cento consisting of Nos. i, 4,
5, 15-17, of seventeen stanzas, undoubtedly written by Thomas
a Kempis, and it is one of seven which are to be found in both
the Carlsruhe and the Zwolle MS. It was sung to the melody
of '' Urbs beata Jerusalem ", and was translated by J. M.
Neale, in 1854. I subjoin the original text of the first and
last verses:
Jerusalem luminosa,
Verae pacis visio,
Felix nimis ac formosa,
Summi regis mansio,
De te O quam gloriosa
Dicta sunt a saeculo!
l6o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
t
Aeterne glorijficata
Sit beata Trinitas,
A qua coelestis f undata
Jerusalem civitas,
In qua sibi frequentata
Sit laudis immensitas.
Neale's English translation of " Jerusalem luminosa " was
written in 1854, and published in The Hymnal Noted, but the
whole of the nine verses will be found in Songs of Syon
(1910). I append the first verse, which can be compared
with the Latin text.
Light's abode, celestial Salem,
Vision whence true peace doth spring,
Brighter than the heart can fancy,
Mansion of the highest King;
O how glorious are the praises
Which of thee the prophets sing !
It may not be amiss to devote a concluding paragraph to
the Brethren of the Common Life, the Congregation to which
Thomas a Kempis belonged, and to the probable date of the
hymns just mentioned. The community was founded by
Florentius Radewyn, on the initiative of Gerard Groot, in
1836, at Windesheim near ZwoUe. Within a quarter of a
century it absorbed over seventy houses of Augustinian Canons.
From reliable sources we are safe in assuming that a Kempis
wrote the Imitation of Christ between the years 1408 and
141 8. As before stated, he was ordained a priest in 141 3,
and his magnum opus was completed about the year 141 8.
Probably his hymns are from the same period, but they were
certainly written before the year 1425. It is significant that
Adrian de But, a Cistercian monk of Dunes Abbey, in 1459
(twelve years before the death of a Kempis) refers to the
Imitation as " a metrical or rhythmical volume ", and in some
old manuscripts the work bears the name of " Musica Ec-
clesiastica ". In fact the rhythm and rhyme of the Imita-
tion are among the internal evidences for a Kempis's author-
ship. It has been proved by Dr. Carl Hirsche, of Hamburg,
that in addition to the ordinary system of punctuation in the
Imitation a Kempis adopted the clivis as used in the musical
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. jgj
notation of the period, and he made use of musical signs to
insure a certain rhythmical cadence to charm the ears of the
listeners.
Perhaps at no far distant date some Catholic hymnologist
will bring out a handy edition of the hymns of Thomas a
Kempis, with music, and thus provide a feast for the thous-
ands of readers of the Imitation who as yet are unacquainted
with the great lyrical powers of the saintly Sub- Prior of
Mount St. Agnes, Zwolle.
W. H. Grattan Flood.
Enniscorthy, Ireland.
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4600 YEABS AGO.
SOME years ago Father Scheil was elected a member of
the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, by
thirty votes out of thirty-three. He was the first candidate
both of the College de France, and the Academie, the two
constituent bodies. Yet he was passed over by the Govern-
ment, against all precedent, in favor of one of the second
candidates. " Father Scheil," wrote the Editor of the Satur-
day Review by way of comment, " is the illustrious scholar
who has deciphered the Laws of Hammurabi, but he has the
fatal flaw, in the eyes of a French Republican Ministry, of
being a Christian." ^ And we may add that he labors under
a flaw still more fatal in the estimation of a Ministry whose
motto is " Liberty and Equality ", by being a member of the
great Order of St. Dominic.
But who was Hammurabi, and what about his laws? And
how have they come down to us, cryptic, yet decipherable?
It was as recently as the winter of 1901-2, that M. de
Morgan, the French explorer, was making excavations at
Susa, in Persia. By a very happy accident, he unearthed a
large block of black diorite (a kind of crystalline trap rock)
on which were engraved, in cuneiform characters, forty-nine
columns of writing, of which forty-four were sufficiently pre-
served to be legible. Legible that is, to the exceptionally
few scholars who, by talent and perseverance, had mastered
^ Saturday Review, 26 December, London, 1908.
1 62 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the very ancient written symbolism of that very ancient period.
The writing proved to be a complete Code of Laws, some 280
of them being readable. They relate to trade, agriculture,
building, marriage, and the many interests which make up
civilization. The writing occupies the lower part of the
stone; on the upper, there is a relievo, representing Ham-
murabi receiving a tablet, inscribed, from the Babylonian
Sun-god, Shamash. This stone is now in the Paris Museum.
No discovery up till now, has shed so much light on those
remote ages. It is as if a window had suddenly been opened,
through which we look out directly upon the living Babylon,
as it might have appeared to the eye of Abraham ; so it might
well be, since he was a contemporary with Hammurabi, and
like that illustrious man, a native of those cradle lands watered
by the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Though in our own day they are mere swamps, the alluvial
lands about the confluence of those two historic rivers, were
once the well-ordered dwelling-place of highly civilized com-
munities. The spade there has dug up some of the long-
buried remains of an almost unknown race, the Sumerians, to
whom we stand largely indebted, even though they loom but
dimly on the horizon of history. Dwelling beside the Tigris
and Euphrates, they do not seem to have been themselves the
original inhabitants, for they came to those fertile plains as
conquerors, bringing with them a quite advanced civilization.
From them it was that their Babylonian and Assyrian con-
querors gradually adopted most of their own later civilization.
From the Sumerians, the Babylonians learnt how to manu-
facture pottery, and some of the sculpture of the defeated
race still survives, to give us evidence of the high level of
their industrial art. The Sumerians had originated a system
of writing, of which traces remain to show us a gradual de-
velopment, from mere picture writing to conventional phonetic
symbols. From this remote ancestry, our own alphabet can
trace an irregular but distinct descent.
When or at what stage in the world's history did they live?
Certainly, they appear as a civilized people some 4000 years
before the birth of our Lord, quite 2000 years before Abra-
ham went out from Ur of the Chaldees, and 3000 before Moses
gave his Law to the children of Israel.
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. 15,
This preface is necessary to bring home to us the venerable
antiquity of customs which, in process of time, crystallized
into Law, and were still further solidified when they were
classified, arranged, and engraved on enduring stone by a
great man. A truly great man, not great in the conventional
phrase, by the wholesale slaughter of his fellow-man, and
the widespread devastation of hearths and homes, but great
because of his thought for the building up of peaceful social
order and civic well-being. Yet, till quite a few years ago,
his name was actually unknown. Unknown that is, by the
name of Hammurabi, though it is practically certain that
Hammurabi is the Amraphel of Genesis, the contemporary of
Abraham, which gives his date as about 2200 before the birth
of Christ.
Before the discovery of his Laws, many " letters " of Ham-
murabi had been found, and a great number of these are now
in the British Museum. Lest we be deluded by the familiar
sound of a word, we must remember that in his time a "letter"
was in the form of a tablet of baked clay, generally enclosed
within a thinner case of similar hard clay, forming an earthen
envelope on which were written names and addresses. This
outer case had to be broken by the recipient. Now among
the letters of this king, there is one of quite peculiar interest.
We know from the eleventh chapter of Genesis, that Abraham
was a native of the city of Ur, "And Thare took Abram
his son, . . . and Sarah . . . the wife of Abram his son, and
brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees."
This letter to which I am alluding was written to the gov-
ernor of a province, and in it Hammurabi gives orders con-
cerning some of his troops quartered in the city of Ur. It
was doubted at one time whether Ur was a city or a district,
so that this evidence is very much to the point in deciding the
uncertainty. While Abraham was a wanderer in the land of
Chanaan he was also the contemporary of a civilization al-
ready old, and as Hammurabi speaks of a provision of com
and wine and clothing, it proves that there was at the time a
settled government, besides the knowledge of the textile arts.
Most probably, Hammurabi and his people were Arabs,
certainly of Semitic race. The face sculptured on the stone,
shows a civilized, shrewd, thoughtful, and kindly expression
1 64 T^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with a pleasant half-smile on the finely cut lips. The upper
lip is close shaven, while the beard is just shaven free of the
lower lip, but leaving a full, long, flowing beard. It is a
face one would not find out of place as the portrait of a
modern man, charged with high employment.
Besides its positive legal enactments, Hammurabi's Code
opens out volumes of information, directly and indirectly, as
to the manner of life, the style of government (a paternal
despotism), the manner of social life, the grades and classes
into which society was at that time divided. From the laws,
we learn how houses were leased, how maps of boundaries
were drawn, how they assessed lands for taxation, how they
held courts of Law, how witnesses were heard and summoned
from distant localities to give evidence, and their just ex-
penses repaid to them; also on what terms agricultural land
was let, and bequeathed to posterity. In short, all the mul-
titudinous interests of a civilized community are made to live
again before us; all is explained to us, in the very words of
those who bought and sold, who borrowed, and forgot to pay
back, in those far-off days, very much as we ourselves do now.
When Hammurabi was King of Babylon, his population
was divided into three distinct classes. Lowest in the scale,
naturally, came the slaves; next the middle class, prosperous
for the most part, small landowners, merchants, professional
men, generally, and then the upper class, consisting of the
great officials, the large landowners, governors of provinces,
and ministers of State. The numerous slaves seem on the
whole to have been well treated. It is true that they were
bought and sold, yet they were not necessarily condemned to
remain slaves for ever and aye. Under certain conditions,
the slave could acquire property, and purchase his freedom.
Often enough the slave was a man of good position in his own
country, of allied race, sold into slavery by the fortune of war.
A man who was a slave could marry a free woman, and
their children were free. If such a slave died, his widow
could claim half his property for herself and her children.
A female slave who had borne children to her master could
not be sold for debt. In his master's house the lot of a slave
was not hard; it was, evidently, the owner's best policy to
keep his working household in good health. Any man who
stole a slave, male or female, was put to death.
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. 15.
The middle class was mainly commercial. Many of the
laws which have been deciphered concern debtors and credi-
tors, and tell us much about the business methods of those
ancient days. Yet ancient as they are, the more we know
about them the more we see that length of time makes but
little difference in all that is essentially human, and we differ
more from Esquimaux of to-day than we do from the Baby-
lonian almost at the dawn of history. The Babylonian mer-
chant of that time sent out agents to sell his corn, oil, wool,
and so on. The agent did his best, using his own judgment,
and on his return was paid a fixed proportion of the profits he
had realized. He had to give a written and legal receipt for
his trading transactions. Traveling was admittedly hazard-
ous and many disputes arose from the loss of goods looted
by wandering bandits. The agent made his statement, and
deposed on oath as to the amount of his loss, and he was then
held free from responsibility. But if he were found to have
deceived his employer, he was compelled to restore threefold
the value of his defalcations. In our museums there are
many clay tablets which give the terms of contract between
merchants and their foreign agents.
In the upper classes life was naturally more expensive.
This appears incidentally in the way the Law treats the
wealthy delinquent. One of the upper class who might be
found guilty of stealing was bound to pay the lawful owner
thirty times the value of the things stolen. For the same
offence one of the middle class was obliged to restore only
tenfold. The slave who was found stealing met with small
mercy, and having no property, he was summarily put to death.
The primitive law of " an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a
tooth," was enforced literally, when the aggressor and the
aggrieved were both of the first rank. When the aggrieved
was of inferior rank, his injuries were compensated by a fixed
money compensation.
If the upper class had social eminence, they had to pay for
it. Thus the upper class had to pay higher doctors' fees,
which sounds profitable for the doctor till we find another
law which enacts that any doctor who operated unskillfuUy,
and caused death, was punished by the amputation of both
hands. This law did not tend to encourage surgical oper-
l66 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ations; it certainly thinned out the number of unsuccessful
operators. But the surgeon was not wholly deprived of prac-
tice. The middle class appear to have been considered fair
game for the experimenting surgeon. No doubt they were
fairly numerous, and a few more or less would not matter much
to the nation. So if the unlucky patient who died under an
operation was only of the middle class, the doctor was free
from any penalty, just as he is amongst us, independently
of the rank of the patient. If, however, the doctor killed a
slave, the doctor had to give another slave to the owner, since
a slave had a recognized value.
The housing of the population received due attention.
Probably there had been defective building before the days
of Hammurabi, but the jerry -builder did not flourish in his
time; the great man saw to that. A Babylonian house was
solid, of one story only, with a flat roof, on which the in-
mates mostly slept. All houses were substantially built of
hard brick. The law put all responsibility for bad building
on the shoulders of the builder. If a badly built house fell,
and killed the owner, the jerry-builder was put to death. If
it chanced to be the owner's son who was killed, then was a
son of the builder also killed. If the slain were slaves, the
builder had to restore slave for slave. In addition, the
builder had to make good any damage to property, and
rebuild the house at his own cost. These laws may help to
account for the fact that some of the work done in the days of
Hammurabi has lasted down to our own times.
Agriculture and gardening were studied, and had their
full measure of legislation. Land for gardens and orchards
might be had free of rent for four years. After that period
the planter might retain one-half of the garden, while the
other half reverted to the original landlord. The tenant usu-
ally paid his landlord in kind, assessed at a third of the yearly
crop. Damage done by storm and flood was made good by
the owner, not by the tenant alone. The ingrained habit of
cattle to stray into pastures not their own was fully developed
in Babylonian herds, and gave occasion to many laws and
much wise legislation.
The owner of cattle which did damage was fined accord-
ing to the loss incurred, provided it could be proved that he
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. J57
had been careless and negligent in looking after his beasts;
on the other hand he was not held liable for damage which he
could not foresee and prevent.
Legislation shows us that there existed a well-organized
family life, and that the marriage tie was held in special
respect. The civilization of a nation is largely evidenced by
the position it accords to its women, and woman's place is
mainly fixed by the position held by her on her marriage,
as it is by marriage that woman, naturally speaking, enters
on her own peculiar empire. The Babylonians of that period
did not lightly contract marriages. The various claims that
hover about the matrimonial contract, were duly made sub-
jects of careful legislation. No marriage was a legal and
binding contract, unless it had been performed according to a
fixed ceremony, and legally attested by a written marriage
contract. Once this contract was signed, it was obligatory
and inviolable. A woman who was unfaithful to her mar-
riage oath, was punished by drowning, together with her guilty
partner. But a husband could save his guilty wife by a
special appeal to the king. Such merciful appeals must have
been made, or we should not have found any legislation on the
subject, as it would have been clearly useless to legislate for
what could never happen. If a husband brought an accusa-
tion against his wife, but could produce no sufficient evidence,
the wife could rebut the accusation by her own oath as to her
innocence.
All this legislation is testimony to the elevated position then
held by women; and these laws are numerous. A husband
was bound to support his wife, not in any way, but suitably
to his position in life, and if a husband deserted his wife, he
was still bound to maintain her in a suitable way. Under
certain conditions a wife whose husband deserted her of his
own accord, could become the wife of another man. The
clause '' of his own accord " was inserted in the law, as in
those warlike times husbands were not unfrequently made
prisoners of war. Sometimes they came back; often enough
they did not. The wife of a man taken prisoner was to
live on the property of her captive husband, if he possessed
property sufficient for her maintenance. In that case she
could not contract another marriage. If a wife thus sufficiently
1 68 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
provided for, nevertheless did contract a second marriage,
she was prosecuted at law, and drowned as an adulteress.
But the wife who was left destitute was allowed to marry
again, for it was argued that, as she was thrown on her own
resources, she could do nothing better. If the husband of
the remarried wife eventually came back from captivity, he
could claim his wife, but any children born remained with
their father. If we bear the times in mind, all these laws
show us woman in a position on the whole definite and in-
tended to be honorable.
While marriage was legally protected, divorce was also
the subject of many legal enactments. We are not surprised
to find that divorce was easier for the husband than for the
wife, still, if a wife was divorced, her quondam husband was
obliged to make proper provision for her, suitable maintenance.
If she had brought a marriage portion, it was returned, and
she had the custody of her own children. While the divorced
wife kept the children, the husband was to give sufficient both
for the support and the education of the children. If she had
not brought any marriage portion, the husband was bound to
provide for her in accordance with his, and consequently with
her, social position.
All this legislation quite favorable to the unappreciated wife,
seems based on natural justice, and did not tend to make
divorce too easy for those that way inclined. The woman who
was legally blameless had not to suffer materially for the
whims and fancies of her husband. The law allowed him to
indulge his whim, but it was a costly indulgence, so he was
made to feel where such a man is apt to feel most keenly,
in his pocket.
When the wife was blameworthy, the fault had to be legally
proved ; and if she had not observed her wifely duties, or was
extravagant, divorce was a punishment for positive guilt,
and the guilty wife might be divorced without compensation,
or reduced to slavery within the household. But it seems that
she could not be sold into slavery outside the family, taken in
its wide sense. Permanent ill health on the part of a wife
was not recognized as a ground for divorce. Under certain
conditions a woman could divorce her husband, and if she
could prove that her life had been blameless, she could re-
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. i^g
turn to her family, and take back her marriage portion with
her.
It is quite evident from these laws that Babylonian women
enjoyed a freedom and independence unusual amongst the
nations of antiquity. These marriage enactments also throw
light on a passage in the life of Abraham, narrated in the
1 6th chapter of Genesis. If not of Babylonian stock, at any
rate Abraham lived in touch with Babylonian civilization, and
the conduct of both himself and his family would not unnat-
urally be guided by Babylonian custom. When Sarah be-
came jealous of her handmaiden, and complained to her hus-
band about her, he answered : " Behold, thy handmaiden is
in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee.'' Now accord-
ing to the Code of Hammurabi, the handmaiden who had
borne offspring, still remained in subjection to the principal
wife, who had the right, if the handmaid became too forward,
of branding her as a slave. It is not too much to assume
that both Abraham and Sarah were well acquainted with
existing Babylonian laws and customs, and it was quite in
accordance with these laws that Abraham said to Sarah his
wife, when she complained of her handmaid. Agar, " Use her
as it pleaseth thee " ; as this was only the acknowledgment
of the power which a Babylonian lady of her time legally
possessed. We do not know whether Agar was branded;
probably she was not; but we are told that " Sarah afflicted
her,'' and that Agar ran away.
The relatively high position of women in Babylon is in-
cidentally brought out by the existence of a very peculiar
institution, which does not seem to have any parallel in any
Eastern country, ancient or modern. This was a sort of
order of unmarried women, who were vowed to perpetual
virginity. Many references have been found concerning them
in the brick documents which have come down to us, and their
position was at first quite misunderstood. They were thought
to be Priestesses, a title which conveyed a meaning similar to
that of Nautch girls in India, or Geishas in Japan. But
from the laws of Hammurabi we find that they were really a
sort of Vestal Virgin community. They were sometimes em-
ployed in the service of temples; but their position was
socially and morally most honorable; they had much inde-
I70 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
pendence, and great influence in social life. As a rule, they
dwelt in communities, but this residence does not seem to have
been essential. Near some of the greater temples, there were
buildings set apart for them. They were apparently free to
come and go, to engage in commerce, to own land and farms,
and might contract legal matrimony, on condition that when
legally married, their obligation to virginity always remained.
The law provided that, should the husband desire posterity,
while the Vestal herself might not undertake the duties of
motherhood, she could provide a handmaiden, exactly as we
find Sarah acting with respect to her Egyptian maiden Agar,
already alluded to. " Now Sarah, the wife of Abraham, hav-
ing a handmaid, an Egyptian named Agar, took the Egyptian
. . . and gave her to her husband to wife." Here again,
Sarah seems to be following the quite legal and recognized
custom of the Babylonian days in which she lived. And this
throws a favorable light on what seems to us a very abnormal,
and reprehensible proceeding. Yet in Sarah's day it was
quite correct and legally proper.
These Babylonian Vestals, if we may so call them for want
of a more distinctive name, had many legal rights. Though
unmarried, they had the legal status of a married woman.
Their good name was carefully guarded by law. The law
numbered 127 reads: " If any man has caused the fingers to
be pointed against a Vestal, and has not justified it, they shall
set that man before the judges, and mark his forehead."
However good a woman may be, she can not always escape
the scandalmonger, and the fact that such a law should exist
is a proof of the care taken to safeguard this order of women,
whilst it indicates the high standard of moral conduct ex-
pected of her. Her considerable personal freedom is inci-
dentally shown by the law numbered no, which reads : " If a
Vestal who dwells not in a cloister, should open a wine shop,
or enter a wine-house to drink, that female they shall burn."
A very drastic punishment for the offence, but it proves the
high status from which such a lapse was measured.
She had rights of property. Her father gave her the same
dowry as if she had married. This property remained ex-
clusively her own, and could not be appropriated by the
temple to which she might be attached. Her relatives man-
BABYLONIAN LEGISLATION 4500 YEARS AGO. 171
aged her property for her. It could be let to tenants if she
wished. She could inherit property ; yet she was free from
the property tax. Property which she herself bought, she
could bequeath at will on her demise; but all the property
she had received from her father had to revert to her family
when she died. A very wise law, and one evidently intended
to prevent lawsuits. We find that ladies of the royal family
were numbered amongst these Vestals, a sufficient proof that
their social standing was distinctly high.
These various laws concerning marriage, divorce, property
of widows and divorcees, as well as the social importance and
independence given to the Vestals, all combine to show that
a very honorable conception of womanhood existed in that
ancient civilization; and it is not a little remarkable that,
though the Babylonians treated women with such marked
social distinction, they do not seem to have had any female
divinity similar to the Assyrian ** Ishtar," held in such honor
close by at Nineve.
Invocations to all manner of gods, in all vicissitudes, abun-
dantly prove that the Babylonian was thoroughly religious.
The letters of Hammurabi show that he took a great interest
in the due worship of the gods; he saw to it that religious
ceremonies were carried out with becoming respect, and with
carefully observed ritual. No doubt, there was superstition
at the base of all this ; but it also shows that he realized that
all did not begin and end with man. In a dim way, an erron-
eous way, he perceived the existence of a super-human power.
Though his perception was distorted by the mists of polythe-
ism through which he gazed, he was nevertheless true to his
convictions, such as they were. He watched over the herds
and flocks, and over the revenues of the temples, and exacted
detailed reports from those in charge. We know that once,
when he had to decide in a lawsuit concerning the title to
some property, hearing that the plaintiff was the chief baker
of the temple, whose duty it was to supervize certain offer-
ings on an important feast day, he adjourned the trial, so
that the baker should not be absent from his post on such an
important occasion. He showed no less respect toward the
gods of other nations. We possess a letter of his in which
he gives orders for the safe return of some captured Elamite
172 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
goddess, directing that sheep should be given to the captive
priestesses, for the due performance of their own sacrifices,
on their return from the captivity from which he freed them.
Laws may be excellent as laws, yet remain practically dead
letters. As for the laws of Hammurabi, there have been
found large numbers of his dispatches, addressed to local
governors, instructions regarding the settlement of legal diffi-
culties, and a larger miscellaneous correspondence to prove
that his laws were not allowed to fall into desuetude.
Naturally, with altered types of civilization, the wording of
l^ws has changed, points of view have shifted, the ease and
frequency of international intercommunication have modified
very much the outward conditions of life. But the social
instincts of men, their tendency to overstep just limits, their
need of authoritative guidance are to-day still much the same
as they were of old in Babylon. The old laws of Hammurabi
come like a message to our distant age, to awaken us from
our self-sufficiency and to show us a model of sensible law
for mankind as yet in the making.
W. D. Strappini, S.J.
Bournemouth, England.
ABOUT BELLS.
IN the books of Exodus and Ecclesiasticus the ornaments
of the high priest's ephod include bells, so that *' their
sound might be heard whenever he goeth in or cometh out
of the sanctuary." Their use in the Eastern Church obtains
even to this day, bells being found, as they were of old, on the
fringe of priestly garments.
The oral law of the Jews, consisting of many traditions
touching the Mosaic law, tells that the ancient Hebrews em-
ployed also larger bells, which were called Megeruphita.
These were used on different occasions by the multitude of
temple officers, and caused frequently such noise in the streets
of Jerusalem that it was hard to catch the words of a speaker.
Their chief purpose was threefold. One was to call the
priests for services, the second to summon the Levites to come
and sing, and the third to apprize persons that the unclean
might be brought to the gate named Nicanor. The great
ABOUT BELLS.
sound of these bells, so says the Mishna, when sounded at
their fullest power, could be heard quite eighteen miles from
Jerusalem.
When the age of the Christian Church was but three or
four centuries, assemblage at divine service was necessarily
done as quietly as possible, as during heathen persecutions,
the use of bells or Semantrons would have dangerously ex-
cited public attention. It is well known that owing to the
necessity of safeguarding the lives of the Christians and above
all the priests, during the early ages of the persecutions, ex-
treme care was exercised that the " gatherings of the faithful
might be entirely private." They were assembled by some
secret signs known among themselves.
Semantrons, struck with a mallet of hard wood, are sound-
ing boards or clappers, still used in many Oriental churches,
particularly those within the Turkish dominions, since bells
were not known among them until the ninth century. These
contrivances are much like what we of the Latin rite use on
Good Friday.
During the last days of Holy Week — called in old days,
" The Still Week," and " The Week of the Suffering "—bells
are not used, out of reverence for the passion and death of the
Redeemer. Pope Benedict XIV alleges the mystic reason
for this suspension of the use of bells, that they typify " the
preachers of the Word of God, and all preaching ceased from
our Lord's apprehension until after He had risen from the
dead. The Apostles, too, when they saw His bitter torments,
and the indignities to which He was subjected by the Jews,
stole away from Him silently and left Him alone.
One Holy Week spent in one of the Castelli near Rome,
when health reasons prevented me from going on foot to the
Sepulchres at Albano, Aviccia, etc., the driver of our car-
riage had taken the bells off the horse's harness. The clap-
pers in those regions were of course used, called tavolette.
Many pious peasants there make what is called the Fast of
the Bells, i. e. they do not touch food between the Gloria of
the Holy Thursday Mass until that of the one on Holy Satur-
day. Those who have heard all Rome ring out her countless
bells, can remember the wonderful thrill felt which the joy
thus announced calls forth.
174 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
There are wooden and iron semantrons, the ancient Syrian
harking back to Noe as being the inventor of the former.
For it is supposed that God spoke to him as follows : " Make
for yourself a bell of boxwood, which is not liable to corrup-
tion, three cubits long and one and a hcdf wide, and also a
smaller one from the same wood. Strike this instrument three
separate times every day : once in the morning to summon the
hands to the ark, once at midday to call them to dinner, and
once in the evening to call them to rest." " The peculiar
symbolism," says O'Brien in his book on the Mass, " attached
to this ' holy wood ', as the semantron is often denominated,
is, to say the least, very significant. The sound of the wood,
for instance, recalls to mind the fact that it was the wood of
the Garden of Eden which caused Adam to fall when he
plucked its fruit contrary to the command of God; now the
same sound recalls another great event to mind, viz., the noise
made in nailing to the wood of the Cross the Saviour of the
world, who came to atone for Adam's transgression." This
idea is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Cross.
In monasteries after the time of their reunion under Con-
stantine, the hours of the Office, prayer, etc., were announced
by the blowing of a trumpet, or rapping with a hammer at the
cells of the monks. In a celebrated work by Strabo on the
Divine Offices, written about the ninth century, he speaks of
bells not having been long in use, and having been introduced
from Italy ; but as a fact, really little is known concerning the
date when they were introduced. St. Paulinus of Nola and
Pope Sabian in the seventh century are each credited with the
introduction of bells at Mass. From what I can gather it
seems probable that Pope Sabian first brought in the practice.
Onuphrius Panvinius says of him : " This Pontiff introduced
the use of the bells, and ordained that they be rung in the
church at the canonical hours and during the Sacrifice of
the Mass."
The history of St. Lupus of Sens contains the statement that
church bells were said to be known in France quite two
centuries before the time of Strabo.^ From the same source
we learn that the Maronites adopted the ringing of church
1 Fleury, Hist., xlviii, 42.
ABOUT BELLS. j^^
bells from the Latins on their reunion with the Catholic
Church in the twelfth century.
From the Campanian metal of which they are often made
is derived the word campana. The large bells are termed
campanae \ small ones nolae^ and very small ones tintinabulae.
Cloccae first occurs in Bonifacius, and comes from the French
word cloche, or possibly from the old German chlachan,
Frangi are the large bells of cast metal that appeared first in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The largest in actual use
in the world is the second Moscow bell, weighing 128 tons.
The Kaiserglocke of Cologne Cathedral weighs 25 tons; the
great bell of Pekin, 53 tons, the bell of Notre Dame, 17 tons;
Big Ben of Westminster, 14 tons, and Tom of Lincoln, 5 tons.
Solemn ceremonies precede the dedicating of bells for
sacred purposes, according to a form prescribed in the Pon-
tifical called " the blessing of a bell," though the popular
term, " the baptism of a bell " was used as early as the
eleventh century. Only a Bishop can bless or baptize a bell.
The oil used is the oleum infirmorum for the outside of
the bell, and the oil of chrism for the inside. The Bishop
prays repeatedly that the sound of the bell may avail to sum-
mon the faithful, that it may excite their devotion, drive
away storms, and terrify evil spirits. Bells, being conse-
crated, cannot be rung without the consent of the ecclesiastical
authorities. Each bell receives a special name, and has its
own sponsor.
We read that in England the ceremony of blessing a bell
was up to the Reformation carried out with great pomp. The
ecclesiastics followed all the ceremonies employed in the
christening of children. " Costly feasts were given, and even
in poor villages, a hundred gold crowns were sometimes spent
on the ceremony." In the churchwarden accounts of St.
Lawrence, Reading, 1499, occurs the following: "Payed for
halowing of the bell named Harry, vjs. viijd. And over that,
Sir William Symes, Richard Clech, and Mistress Smyth, being
godfaders and godmother at the consecratyon of the same
bell, and berying all other costs to the suffragon." ^
The object of ringing small bells at Mass is to arouse the
attention and devotion of the faithful. The custom of ring-
2 Quarterly Review, 1854.
176 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ing for the Elevation began in France during the twelfth
century, whence it was introduced into Germany in the thir-
teenth, by Cardinal Gui, legate of the Holy See. In England
we find it, about the same time, to be a practice enjoined by
several Councils, and the statutes of some monastic orders or-
dained the ringing of the large bell during the Mass. Ivo
of Chartres, whose death is recorded in 1 115, congratulated
Maud Queen of England on having presented the church of
Our Lady at Chartres with bells which were rung at the
consecration.
The ringing of a bell at the Elevation came into use when
the custom of elevating the Host had been generally adopted
in the Church. In English-speaking countries the bell is
also rung as the priest spreads his hands over the Host and
chalice before the Consecration, and at the " Domine, non
sum dignus,'' before the Communion of the priest. When
the Blessed Sacrament is exposed a bell is never rung, nor in
the private chapel of the Vatican when the Pope says or
hears Mass.*
According to Dr. Rock, at the celebration of Mass, " as the
priest said the Sanctus, etc., the custom formerly was to toll
three strokes on a bell which was hung in a bell cote between
the chancel and the nave, that the rope might fall at a short
distance from the spot where knelt the youth or person who
served at Mass." From the first part of its use this bell got
the name of the " Saints ", " Santys ", or '' Sanctus ", bell,
and many notices about it are to be met with in medieval
church accounts. From the same source we gather that in
many places there were two distinct bells, one for the Sanctus,
the other for the Elevation. The latter bell, made of silver,
was sometimes called the Sacring bell. On hearing the
Sacring bell's first tinkle, those in church who were not al-
ready on their knees, knelt down, and with upraised hands
worshipped their Maker lifted high before them.
An old man, who died in Wiltshire at the age of no,
remembered in the " time of the old law, eighteen little bells
that hung in the middle of the parish church, which, the
pulling one wheel, made them all ring." This was done at
the Elevation of the Host. Pairs of ornamental iron discs
s Benedict XIV. De Miss., ii. 11, 19; 15, 31.
ABOUT BELLS.
177
of medieval character, supposed remains of such wheels, still
exist at Yaxley in Suffolk, and at Long Stratton, Norfolk.
A " Wakerell '' or '' Wagerell " bell is entered in inventories
of 1552.
The Angelus bell, always rung thrice a day, obtains its
name from the first word of the prayer. In Tuscany a bell
is rung an hour before the evening Angelus or Ave bell,
which on enquiry I discovered to be intended to remind its
hearers to say the Creed, while the De Profundis bell sounds
one hour after the Ave.
In Italy, on Friday afternoon at three o'clock thirty-three
strokes are sounded in many churches and convents in memory
of our Lord's death at the age of thirty-three; and probably
the custom obtains elsewhere.
The power of a bell to drive away storms, etc., is due en-
tirely to the solemn blessings and prayers of the Church, no
superstitious efficacy being attributed to the bell itself, though
some Protestant writers persist in believing that the contrary
is intended. In old manuscripts as well as in many church-
wardens' accounts, payments are entered as having been made
for " ringing the hallowed bells in grete tempestes and lightn-
inges," for " ringing in the thundering ", for the ringers'
refreshments, for " ringing all the tyme of gret thunder ",
etc., etc. It was at one time customary at Malmesbury Abbey
during a thunder storm, to ring St. Adhelm's Bell ; and from
Wynken de Worde we learn of the ringing of bells in thunder-
storms '* to the end that fiends and wicked spirits should be
abashed and flee, and cease the moving of the tempest ".
An old custom is now kept up on the eve of Corpus Christi,
when the choir of Durham Cathedral go up the tower clad
in their surplices and sing the Te Deum. This is done in
commemoration of the miraculous extinguishing of a terrible
fire which took place on that night, A. D. 1429. The miracle
was attributed to the prayers of St. Cuthbert, whose body is
said by some to be enshrined in the cathedral.
Many tales of the supernatural are told concerning evil
spirits and the efficacy of bells in warding them off; likewise
regarding the power of consecrated bells for bringing bless-
ings. In an old chapel at Killin in Perthshire was a bell
called that of St. Fillan, which had the reputation of curing
I 78 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
lunacy. After the sufferer had been dipped in the pool of
St. Fillan and had spent a night in the chapel, he was in the
morning placed with great solemnity, under the bell ; and in
many cases recorded the act of faith was rewarded by cure.
There are numerous legends that such bells would, if stolen,
return to their own home, ringing all the way. Of an Irish
bell in Leinster it is related that when a chieftain of Wicklow
had obtained possession of it, he had to tie it up to prevent
its escaping to St. Fillan's church in Meath, where it usually
abode. A like tale is told of the bell of St. lUfyd which,
having been stolen by a king, " The king was destroyed, but
repenting before his death, he ordered the bell to be restored
to its place in Wales. Without waiting to be driven, the
horse with the bell about his neck set out for Wales, followed
by a whole drove of horses, drawn by the melodious sound
of the bell. The horse was even able to cross the River Severn
and make its entry into Wales, the other horses following.
Then, hastening along the shore, over the mountains and
through the woods, it finally reached the banks of the River
Taf, where a clergyman, hearing the sweet sound of the bell,
went out to meet the horse, and helped in carrying the bell to
the gate of St. Illfyd's church. As the horse lowered its
neck, the bell fell on a stone, from which fall a part of it was
broken." *
Among the records of other stolen bells is that of one from
Soissons in Burgundy, which Clothaire carried away. The
bell objected to the act by gradually becoming dumb on the
journey to Paris, where its voice was discovered to be gone;
but its voice returned in such full force when the bell was
sent home, that its tone could be heard seven miles distant.
Spelman in his History of Sacrilege gives some interesting
information about bells. " When I was a child I heard much
talk of the pulling down of bells in every part of my county,
the county of Norfolk, then common in memory ; and the sum
of the speech usually was, that in sending them oversea, some
were drowned in one haven, some in another, as at Lynn,
Wells, or Yarmouth. I dare not venture upon particulars,
for that, I then hearing it as a child, regarded it as a child.
But the truth of it was lately discovered by God himself, for
* Wirt Sikes, British Goblins,
ABOUT BELLS. j ^
that in the year. ... He sending such a dead neap (as they
call it) as no man living was known to have seen the like,
the sea fell so back from the land at Hunstanton that the peo-
ple, going much further to gather oysters than they had done
at any time before, they there found a bell with the mouth
upward, sunk into the ground to the very brim. They carried
the news thereof to Sir Hamon L' Estrange, lord of the town
and of wreck and searight there, who shortly after sought
to have weighed up and gain the bell ; but the sea, never since
going so far back as hitherto, they could not find the place
again.'' He also tells us of a clockier or bell-house which
in Henry VIIFs reign adjoined St. Paul's church in London,
with four great bells in it called Jesus bells. Sir Miles Par-
tridge, a courtier, once " played at dice with the king for these
bells, staking £ioo against them and won them, and then
melted and sold them, to a very great gain." But in the fifth
year of Edward VI, this gamester had worse fortune, when
he lost his life, being executed on Tower Hill, for matters
concerning the Duke of Somerest.
In the year 1541, Arthur Bulkley, Bishop of Bangor, sacri-
legiously sold the first five bells belonging to the Cathedral,
and went to the seaside to see them shipped away ; but at that
instant he was stricken blind, and so continued to the day
of his death.
Any sacrilege or profanation of bells, so sacredly blessed
and set apart for holy purposes, seems to have met with
punishment. Forrabury church in Cornwall has a tower,
often termed the Silent Tower of Bottreaux, because it has
no bells. The reason for the absence of bells, as given by
Hunt in his Popular Romances of the West of England, is as
follows : Some years ago the Forrabury parishioners wanted
to have a peal of bells which would equal those of the church
of Tintagel, not far off. The bells were cast, blessed with the
usual rites, then sent off to Forrabury ; but as the vessel, after
making a good voyage, neared the northern part of the
Cornish coast, the pilot heard the vesper bells of Tintagel, and
thanked God for his quick and safe journey. This act of
piety caused the captain to laugh and swear that the safe
voyage was due to his own skill as a captain as well as that
of his men, and not to what he termed the pilot's super-
l80 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
stitious prayer. While yet employed in swearing and cursing,
the ocean swelled suddenly, and rolling toward the land, over-
whelmed everything in its course. As the ship sank, muffled
bells were heard tolling ; and now when storms are coming, the
sound can be heard under the waves.
Of the twelve parish churches of the island of Jersey — each
possessed costly bells. One of these churches sold its bells to
defray the expenses of the troops in a long civil war. The
ship on which the alienated bells were being sent to France,
foundered and all was lost. Ever since then the bells ring
from the depth of the sea, the fishermen of St. Ouen's bay
always approaching the water's edge to listen for the sound
which, if heard, prevents them trusting themselves to set sail.
Similar traditions are connected with Tunstall in Norfolk,
Blackpool, and Echingham, Sussex.
Mr. Thisleton Dyer, to whose work on ecclesiastical folk-
lore I am much indebted, tells us: ^'At a place known as
Fishery Brow, near Kirby Lonsdale, there is a sort of na-
tural hollow scooped out, where, as the legend runs, a church,
parson, and congregation were swallowed up, and here the
bells may be heard ringing on a Sunday morning by anyone
who puts his ear to the ground. A similar fate is said to have
befallen the village of Raleigh, in Nottinghamshire, and it
was formerly customary for the inhabitants oir Christmas
morning to go out into the valley and listen to the mysterious
chimes of their lost parish church."
One of the abbeys suppressed in 1539, and subsequently
dismantled, was that of Whitby in Yorkshire. The bells,
which had been sold, were put on board a vessel destined to
take them to London, but the ship refused to move further
than a little distance out of the bay, and then sank into the
depths at a place within sight of the abbey ruins. The bells
stay where they sank, and are heard from time to time. Mr.
Phillips versifies the event thus :
Up from the heart of the ocean
The mellow music peals;
Where the sunlight makes the golden path,
And the seamew flits and wheels.
For many a chequered century,
Untired by flying time,
The bells no human fingers touch,
Have rung their hidden chime.
ABOUT BELLS. , « ,
lol
A legend of Trefethin tells of a very wonderful bell in the
church of St. Cadoc. A little child who had climbed to the
belfry was struck by the bell and killed— not through the
wickedness of the bell itself, but through a spell which had
been put upon it by an evil spirit. But though innocent of
murderous intent, the wretched bell became forfeit to the
demons on account of its fatal deed. They seized it, bore it
down through the earth to the shadowy realm of Annism, and
ever since that day, when a child is accidentally slain at Tre-
fethin, the bell of St. Cadoc is heard mournfully tolling un-
derneath the ground where it disappeared ages ago.*^
One often hears of the " passing bell," which in English
pre-Reformation times were rung for the dying, those in their
agony, and after death. This practice grew out of the belief
that devils and evil spirits not only troubled the dying but
lay in wait to torment the soul when it had left the body. One
writer thinks the passing bell " was originally intended to
drive away any demon that might seek to take possession of
the soul of the deceased '\ while Grose says it " was anciently
rung for two purposes, one to bespeak the prayers of all
Christians for a soul just departing, the other, to drive away
the evil spirits who stood at the bed's foot and about the house
ready to seize their prey, or at least to molest and terrify
the soul in its passage; but by the ringing of that bell they
were kept aloof, and the soul, like a hunted hare, gained a
start." A Huntingdonshire superstition, found in Notes
and Queries,^ tells of a neighbor who expressed great sorrow
for a mother whose child was buried unbaptized, because " no
bell had been rung over the corpse." The reason for the
grief was : " because when anyone died, the soul never left
the body until the church bell was rung."
After the Reformation the passing bell was discontinued.
By the beginning of the eighteenth century it was never heard,
though tolling the bell after a death continued as before.
In 1605, Mr. R. Dowe left £50 to the parish of St. Sepulchre's
on condition that some person should go in the still of the
night to Newgate before every execution day " and standing
as near as possible to the cells of the condemned, should with
5 Wirt Sikes, British Goblins.
^ 1st Series, v. 364.
l82 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
a hand-bell (which he also left) give twelve solemn tolls, with
double strokes, and then deliver this exhortation :
All you that in the condemned hole do lie,
Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die;
Watch, all, and pray, the hour is drawing near
That you before the Almighty must appear.
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,
That you may not to eternal flames be sent ;
And when St. Sepulchre's bell to-morrow tolls,
The Lord have mercy on your souls.
Past twelve o'clock.
Dowe ordered that the great church bell should toll in the
morning and that as the criminals passed the wall to Tyburn,
the bellman or sexton should look over, and say: "All good
people pray heartily unto God for these poor sinners who are
now going to their death."
Mr. Thistleton Dyer thus writes of the Curfew, or Couvre-
feUy rung in olden times as a signal for the extinguishing of
all fires: " Its object, as far as can be traced, was exclusively
political or social, and not religious. The most plausible
conjecture as to the origin of the introduction of the practice
into England is that it was to diminish the risk of conflagra-
tions at a period when houses were principally of wood.
Milton, it has been remarked, has described it in a quatrain,
sonorous and musical as the bell itself,
On a plot of rising ground,
I hear the far-off curfew sound.
Over some wide, watered shore.
Swinging low with solemn roar.
It is an instance, too, of the tenacity with which we cling
to a practice once established, that, though for centuries its
only use has been to " toll the knell of parting day ", it
continues to be rung wherever there are funds to pay the
ringer, for which purpose we find many curious bequests.
Thus, at Barton, Lincolnshire, the tradition goes that an
old lady, being accidentally benighted on the Wolds, was
directed in her course by the sound of the evening bell of
St. Peter's Church. When, after much alarm, she found
ABOUT BELLS. jg
herself in safety, out of gratitude she gave a certain piece of
land to the parish clerk on condition that he should ring one
of the church bells from seven to eight every evening except
Sundays, commencing on the day of the carrying of the first
load of barley in every year, till Shrove Tuesday next ensuing
inclusive. At Ringwould, Kent, half an acre of land, known
as " Curfew Land ", has always been held, says Edwards in
his Remarkable Charities, by the parish clerk, as a remunera-
tion for ringing the curfew bell every evening from the 2nd of
November to the 2nd of February. In the parish of St.
Margaret's in the same county, the story goes that, in 1696,
an order was passed to ensure the proper application of the
proceeds of five roods of pasture land, which had been given
by a shepherd who fell over the cliff, for ringing a curfew bell
at eight o'clock every night for the winter half year, which
ringing had fallen greatly into neglect. Many similar be-
quests occur in different parts of the country, and here and
there the old custom still lingers on.
A singular instance of the various use to which church bells
were put is given in Notes and Queries, as happening at Derby
on the arrival of the London coach which brought fish to the
town. The news was announced by the church bells, each
belfry, as the coach passed by, taking up the story thus
strangely made known. Close to the entrance of the town
was a church with six bells, and it was the first to announce:
*' Here's fresh fish come to town." All Saints, the next church,
rang its peal of ten, supposed to say : " Here's fine fresh fish
just come into the town." St. Michael's church had but three
bells, one of which being cracked, was credited with saying:
'' They stinkin', they stinkin ' ;" while a furlong off, the six
of St. Alkmund's replied : " Put more salt on 'em then, put
more salt on 'em then."
In many English parishes the " Shriving bell " used to be
rung in the morning of Shrove Tuesday so as to remind the
faithful to confess before Lent. This has now changed its
name to " Pancake bell." At Daventry, Northamptonshire,
the bell was muffled on one side with leather, or " buffed ", and
was known as the " Panburn bell ". The tradition that the
Northampton church bells were rung on that day is em-
phasized by this bell doggerel :
1 84 T^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Roast beef and marsh mallows,
Says the bells of All Hallows.
Pancakes and fritters,
Says the bells of St. Peter's.
Roast beef and boil'd,
Says the bells of St. Giles'.
Poker and tongs,
Says the bells of St. John's."'
Shovel, tongs, and poker,
Says the bells of St. Pulchre's.
At Norton, near Evesham, after a muffled peal had been rung
for the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, an unmuffled peal of
gladness was rung for the deliverance of the Infant Christ.
Instances are recorded of bells being tolled on Christmas Eve,
as at a funeral, or in the manner of a passing bell, and any-
one asking whose bell it was, would be told that it was the
Devil's knell. The moral of it is that the devil died when
Christ was bom.
Bells rung on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning are
often called "Virgin Chimes." The "Judas Bell" dates
from old Catholic days, doubtless in connexion with Holy
Week ceremonies, as are the " Judas Candles ".
Thomas Nash evidently was of opinion that joy-bells at a
wedding were not always suitable, and that, as a writer once
said, " there have been sequels to such a beginning with which
the knell had been more in unison !" So Mr. Nash in 1813 be-
queathed £13 a year to the bell-ringers of the Abbey church,
Bath, " on condition of their ringing on the whole peal of
bells, with clappers muffled, various solemn and doleful changes
on the 14th of May in every year, being the anniversary of
my wedding-day, and also the anniversary of my decease, to
ring a grand bob-major and merry mirthful peals unmuffled,
in joyful commemoration of my happy release from domestic
tyranny and wretchedness." In a Wiltshire village, when a
young person died unmarried, wedding-peals with muffled
bells were rung immediately after the burial. The custom of
the induction of a new Protestant Vicar is kept up by his
ringing the bell two or three times himself the number of
T St. John's Hospital.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. jge
strokes, so tradition says, regulates the number of years he
will stay in the parish.
There existed in the parishes of Rutland a custom of ring-
ing the gleaner's bell in every church at eight or nine a. m.
during harvest time, which meant that women and children
might go into the fields to glean. The bell was again sounded
at five or six, the hours when no more gleaning was to be done.
A church bell is usually rung after a Coroner's inquest. At
Goddington, Oxfordshire, there exists still, I believe, a custom
of ringing the church bell after a Coroner's inquest certify-
ing to the actual death of some person in the parish.
L. E. D.
STUDIES IN AMEEIOAN PHILOSOPHY.
III. The Modem Schools : Kantism in America.
UP to the middle of the last century Scotch realism con-
tinued to fight for a representative place in the field of
thought. It enjoyed the unstinted support of several brilliant
professors, such as Thomas Cogswell Upham (1799- 1867), o^
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. ; Francis Wayland ( 1 796-
1888),^ president of Brown University; Lawrence Perseus
Hickok (1798- 1 888), president of Union College, Schenec-
tady, N. Y. ; J. H. Seeley (1824- 1895), president of Amherst
College; John Bascom (1827), president of Wisconsin Uni-
versity; James McCosh ^ (1811-1894), a Scotchman by birth,
who became president of Princeton, reorganized the Univers-
ity on modern lines, and showed himself a vigorous opponent
of Kantism in his numerous writings, and also a staunch de-
fender of Christianity; Noah Porter^ ( 181 1 -1892), president
of Yale from 187 1 to 1887, who had familiarized himself
with Kantism in Germany in 1853 but remained faithful to
1 His Elements of Moral Science published in 1835 went through several
English editions, and was translated into Hawaiian, Modem Greek, Nestorian,
and Armenian for the use of missionaries.
^ The Method of Divine Government, 1850, ii editions; Intuitions of the
Mind, Inductively Considered, i860, 5 editions; An Examination of M. /.
Stuart Mill's Philosophy, i860; The Scottish Philosophy, 1874; The Realistic
Philosophy, 1887; besides numerous other books of lesser importance.
3 The Human Intellect, 1868 ; Elements of Moral Science, 1885 ; Science and
Sentiment, 1885 ; Kant's Ethics, 1886.
1 86 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Scotch realism; Francis Bowen (1811-1891)/ editor of the
North American Review from 1843 ^o 1^54 ^i^^ afterward
professor at Harvard, a sworn enemy of " the dirt philosophy
of materialism and fatalism " and a strong upholder of the be-
lief in *' one personal God and one Lord Jesus Christ in
whom dwells the fulness of divinity."
Others less known contributed their share in defending the
older ideals of religion and morality, but theirs was a losing
struggle. And it is to be regretted that they gave up the
fight, for their withdrawal from the field has given free
scope to the wild speculations whose pernicious excesses are
becoming more and more evident and are now so widely de-
plored in our institutions of higher learning.
But the day belonged to the all-conquering Kantism, — and
the term is here taken in its widest meaning, to include also
all post- Kantian systems.
Kant's Kritik der reinen Vernunft was published in 1781.
At this late day, when here as in Europe Kantism holds full
sway in the field of speculation outside the Catholic Church,
it is interesting to trace its first appearance across the Atlantic
at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
According to Prof. Creighton the very first reference to
Kant in this country is found in the American reimpression
of the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1797-99. The author of
the article, however, the Rev. Dr. George Gleig, was not an
American, but a Scotch clergyman. In 1 801 we find Dr.
Dwight, president of Yale College, as the first native Ameri-
can to make a brief and condemnatory reference to Kant in his
Century Discourse : " The present state of literature and
morals in Germany conspires to show that the principles of
the Illumines respecting morality and religion have an ex-
tensive prevalence in that country. From the philosophy of
Kant to the plays of Kotzebue their publications appear to be
formed to diffuse loose principles '\^
* Treatise on Logic, 1864 ; Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Schopen-
hauer and Hartmann. For a more complete account of their works see : Van
Becelaere, La Philosophie en Amerique, pp. 62 ff.
^ Dwight, Century Discourse, 1801, p. 50. Cf. Riley, American Philosophy,
p. 315, note.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. jg^
At about the same time Samuel Miller (1769- 1850) gives a
fuller account of the Kantian philosophy. He had never read
or even seen the works of the Konigsberg philosopher, but an
echo had come to him of the fame he enjoyed in Europe.
Finding a summary of his doctrines in Adelung's Elements
of Critical Philosophy ^ which had been translated into Eng-
lish and published in London, he proceeds to give us his own
views on this new system :
When inquiry is made among the followers of this singular man
respecting the general drift of his system, they answer chiefly in
negations. It is not atheism, for he affirms that practical reason is
entitled to infer the existence of a Supreme Intelligence. It is not
theism, for he denies that theoretical reason can demonstrate the
existence of an infinite, intelligent Being. It is not materialism, for
he maintains that time and space are only forms of our perception, and
not the attributes of extrinsic existences. It is not idealism, for he
maintains that noumena are independent of phenomena, that things
perceptible are prior to perception. It is not libertinism, for he al-
lows the will to be determined by regular laws. It is not fatalism,
for he defines this to be a system in which the connection of pur-
poses in the world is considered as accidental. It is not dogmatism,
for he favors every possible doubt. It is not scepticism, for he af-
fects to demonstrate what he teaches. Such are the indefinite
evasions of this school.
The complaint that all this is obscure and scarcely intelligible
will probably be made by every reader. An English philosopher
tells us that it would require more than ordinary industry and in-
genuity to make a just translation, or a satisfactory abstract of the
system in question, in our language; that for this purpose a new
nomenclature, more difficult than the Linnaean botany, must be in-
vented. This circumstance itself affords strong presumption against
the rationality and truth of the Kantian philosophy. Locke and
Newton found little difficulty in making themselves understood.
Every man of plain good sense who is used to inquiries of that
nature, readily comprehends their systems, in as little time as it re-
quires to peruse their volumes. Even Berkeley and Hume, with
all their delusive subtleties, found means to render themselves
easily intelligible. Is there not reason then to suspect either that
the system of Kant is made up of heterogeneous, inconsistent and
incomprehensible materials ; or that, in order to disguise the old and
well-known philosophy of certain English and French writers, and
to impose it on the world as a new system, he has done little more
1 88 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
than present it under a new technical vocabulary of his own? Or,
which is perhaps not the most improbable supposition, that, being
sensible of the tendency of his philosophy to undermine all religion
and morals, sis hitherto taught and prized in the world, he has
studied to envelope in an enigmatic language a system which he
wishes to be understood by the initiated alone; a system which has
been pronounced ' an attempt to teach the sceptical philosophy of
Hume in the disgusting dialect of scholasticism ' ? At any rate,
notwithstanding all the unwearied pains which some of the disciples
of this famous Prussian have taken, to rescue him from the im-
putation of being one of the sceptical philosophers of the age, the
most impartial judges will probably assign him a place among
those metaphysical empirics of modern times whose theoretical
jargon, instead of being calculated to advance science, or to for-
ward human improvement, has rather a tendency to delude, to be-
wilder, and to shed a baneful influence on the true interests of
man.®
In strong contrast with this inimical attitude of the
thorough-going Scotch realist, who aimed above all at " a
safe and sound philosophy ", was the position of the first
thoroughly sympathetic exponents of Kantism, the New Eng-
land Transcendentalists. Unrestrained inquiry had been anath-
ematized in the early American schools; foreign importa-
tions that betrayed a dangerous tendency, had been fought
tooth and nail, as the materialistic school had found to its
detriment. Every thinker was to be " orthodox " ; he was
imprisoned in custom, and bound to follow the lead of the
church of which he was a member. Never in the history of
thought was there a more complete parody of that highly ex-
tolled principle of " free inquiry ". But the thoroughly Pro-
testant mind had long since been straining at these artificial
barriers, was battering them down very fast, and preparing
the way for Kantism, the philosophy peculiarly adapted to
the Protestant state of mind.
For the very spirit of Kantian criticism was a spirit of free
inquiry ; it took nothing for granted, but imperiously claimed
the right to probe into the very fundamentals of the human
mind. Its adherents could not but make a clean sweep of all
other systems.
6 Miller, Retrospect of the i8th Century, pp. 26-27, vol. 2 ; Riley, op. cit.,
pp. 512-514-
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. igg
As developed at first in New England, it had a meteoric
career. Looked upon as a thoroughly original American edi-
tion of Kantism, it was not a coldly intellectual system, but
underlying it was a decidedly mystical tendency, and its ad-
herents manifested the fervor of religious zealots. As such
it was short-lived, but through it Kantism obtained a foothold
in the land; nay, it appeared shortly that it had completely
overmastered the thinking minds of the country from that to
this present day. And it shows no signs of losing ground.
The first impulse toward a better understanding of Kant was
given by young American scholars who went to complete their
studies at German Universities, and came back as ardent
champions of the new doctrines then already favorably known
and taught at those seats of higher learning. The pioneers in
this movement were Edward Everett (1794- 1865) and George
Ticknor (1791-1871), both of whom went in 181 5 to spend
two years at the University of Gottingen, and both of whom
were afterward to follow brilliant careers as professors and
writers. George Bancroft, the future historian, followed their
example in 181 8. This temporary " emigration to Germany "
has since grown to ever greater proportions; as a conse-
quence, American philosophy during the nineteenth century
has gone through all the metamorphoses of German idealism,
and Kantism has continued to reign supreme, either as a criti-
cal philosophy standing on its own merits, or in combination
with the evolutionary philosophy of Herbert Spencer.
Transcendentalism,'^ the name under which Kantism invaded
this country, did not find the way unprepared : other systems
had lost their vigor, and positive religious beliefs had de-
cayed. As the first philosophical systems in this country had
sprung from speculations on the accepted religious truths and
had been nourished by them, so did Transcendentalism origin-
ate in the negation of these same truths. What Calvinism
■^ It was the name which Kant himself had given to his system : '^ Ich nenne
alle Erkenntniss transcendental, die sich nicht sowohl mit Gegenstanden, son-
dern mit unserer Erkentnissart von Gegenstanden, sofern diese a priori
moglich sein soil, iiberhaupt beschaftigt. Ein System solcher Begriffe wiirde
Transcendental-Philosophie heissen ". Kritik der reinen Vernunft, Edit. J. H.
von Kirchmann, 7th. edit., Heidelberg, George Weiss, p. 65. " I term all
cognition transcendental which concerns itself not so much with objects as
with our mode of cognition of objects so far as this may be 'possible a priori.
A system of such conceptions would be called Transcendental Philosophy."
I go
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
had been to Mather and Edwards, Unitarianism became to
Channing, Emerson, and their followers.®
In the terminology of Kant *' transcendent *' was employed
to designate qualities that lie outside of all ** experience ",
that cannot be reached either by observation or reflection or
explained as the consequences of any discoverable antecedents.
The term " transcendental " designated the fundamental con-
ceptions, the universal and necessary judgments which trans-
cend the sphere of experience, and at the same time are the
conditions that make experience and scientific knowledge
pKJSsible.
It was about 1820, according to Emerson, that the new
ideas from which Transcendentalism developed, began to
take root in New England. It was only in 1836 however that
its followers had grown strong enough to band together, and
on 19 September of that year was founded in Boston the
Transcendental Club, at the house of William Ellery Chan-
ning (1780- 1 842). Channing himself, a Unitarian minister
of very liberal views and a fearless defender of the rights of
the individual conscience,^ was the leader of the Club, and
to him Emerson partly owed his education in the new doc-
trines. Besides Channing and Emerson, the other most in-
fluential members were Theodore Parker (1810-1860), a
radical Unitarian minister; George Ripley (1802- 1880) ; Wil-
liam Henry Channing (1810-1884); Henry D. Thoreau
(1817-1862) ; Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) ; Bronson Alcott
(1799-1888) ; Frederic H. Hedge (1805-1890), also a Uni-
tarian minister; George Bancroft (i 800-1 891), the historian;
James Freeman Clarke (i 810- 1 892), another Unitarian min-
ister. Closely allied with them until his conversion to the
Church in 1844, and even called " the coryphaeus of the sect ",
was Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803-1876), whose Boston
Quarterly Review was one of the greatest assets of the move-
ment.^^ " We called ourselves the club of the like-minded,"
^ See : O. B. Frothingham, Boston Unitarianism, G. Putnam's Sons, New
York, 1890 ; also : A History of the Unitarians in the U. S. ; Chas. Scribner's
Sons, New York, 1903, pp. 170-220.
® " We must start in religion from our own souls. In there is the foun-
dation of all divine truth." Barrett Wendell, Literary History of America,
Scribner's Sons, New York, 3d edit., 1901, p. 284.
1" Cf. Van Becelaere, op. cit., p. 85. In his sympathetic but keenly critical
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. igj
declares James Freeman Clarke, " probably because not two
of us professed the same doctrines."
For years this little coterie of enthusiasts succeeded in forc-
ing itself into the limelight; their eccentricities of living, to-
gether with their large literary output, focussed attention on
them. Amongst them were found men of vigorous mind,
schooled in using the written and spoken word to good ad-
vantage, and so original in their conceptions as often to pro-
voke sneers or pitiful smiles from the uninitiated. But all
this they heeded not, but went their own way serenely confid-
ing in the infallible intuitions of their own minds. Now
their literary achievements are hardly remembered, and even
the star of Ralph Waldo Emerson, once extolled as the very
embodiment of American genius, is undergoing a decided
eclipse. The factitious praise which the last generation heaped
upon him and his apocalyptic outpourings, is coming to be
looked upon as a mere '' fad ", the fact of a weak or blase
mind professing to admire what it cannot grasp because it is
unintelligible and without logical sequence or cohesion.
Emerson's " lack of artistic finish of rhythm and rhyme " was
noted even during his lifetime by one of his ardent admirers.^^
A writer with a brilliant style that expresses no thoughts is
scarcely destined to endure.
But whilst the transcendentalist movement lasted, Emer-
son was its towering figure. He contends for no doctrines,
whether God or the hereafter or the moral law. He neither
dogmatizes nor defines. On the contrary his chief anxiety
seems to be to avoid committing himself to positive assertions.
He gives no definition of God that will class him as an atheist,
a theist or a pantheist; no definition of immortality that jus-
tifies his readers in imputing to him any form of the popular
beliefs in regard to it. Does he believe in personal immortal-
ity? It is impertinent to ask: he will not be questioned; he
will be held to no definitions; he will be reduced to no final
statements. " Of immortality the soul, when well employed,
volume Transcendentalism in New England, New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1876, O. B. Frothingham calls Emerson " the seer " of the movement ; Alcott
"the mystic"; Margaret Fuller "the critic"; Theodore Parker "the
preacher " ; and George Ripley " the Man of Letters ".
^^ O. B. Frothingham, op. cit., p. 238.
192 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
is incurious ; ^^ it is so well it is sure it will be well ; it asks
no question of the supreme power . . . Immortality will come
to such as are fit for it and he who would be a great soul in
future must be a great soul now. It is a doctrine too great to
rest on any legend, that is on any man's experience but our
own. It must be proved, if at all, from our own activity and
designs which imply an interminable future for their play." ^'
It is evident that for the '' scientific method " Emerson
professes no deep respect, and for the " scientific assumptions "
none whatever. He begins at the opposite end : scientists start
with matter, he starts with mind : " science," he says, ** was
false by being unpoetical." ^*
If we seek for any fundamental principles in his elusive
pages, we might say that the first article of his creed is the
primacy of mind: mind is supreme, eternal, absolute, one,
manifold, subtle, living, immanent in all things, permanent,
flowing, self -manifesting. The universe is the result of mind ;
finite minds live and act through concurrence with infinite
mind : '' There is one mind common to all individual men.
Every man is an inlet to the same and to all of the same." ^^
" The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me.
I am part and parcel of God." ^®
And the second article of his creed is only a restatement of
the first: the individual intellect is so connected with the
primal mind that it draws thence wisdom, will, prudence,
^2 This supreme indifference toward all time-honored Christian dogmas
Emerson manifested for the first time in that historical sermon in which he
resigned his pastorate of the Second Unitarian Church in Boston, 9 Sept.,
1832, because he could no longer admit the distribution of the elements of
the Lord's Supper to the people as an ordinance instituted by Christ and in-
tended by Him to be perpetuated through the ages : " That is the end of my
opposition that I am not interested in it. I am content that it stand to the
end of the world, if it please men and please heaven, and I shall rejoice in
all the good it produces ". O. B. Frothingham, op. cit., p. 380.
1* R. W. Emerson, Complete Works, Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston and
New York, 1904; Conduct of Life: Worship, pp. 238-239. This edition is
always referred to in subsequent quotations.
14 « -phe best read savant becomes unpoetic. But the best read naturalist
who lends an entire and devout attention to truth . . . will perceive that there
are far more excellent qualities in the student than preciseness and infallibility ;
that a guess is often more fruitful than an indisputable affirmation, and that
a dream may let us deeper into the secret of nature than a hundred concerted
experiments." Com. Works, Nature; Prospects, p. 66.
'^^ Com. Works, Essays, First Series: History, p. 3.
i« Com. Works, Nature, p. 10.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. jg^
virtue, heroism, all active and passive qualities : " The rela-
tions of the soul to the divine spirit are so pure that it is
profane to seek to interpose helps . . . Ineffable is the union
of man and God in every act of the soul ; the simplest person
who in his integrity worships God, becomes God."
Emerson was never concerned to defend himself against the
charge of pantheism, or the warning to beware lest he un-
settle the foundations of morality, annihilate the freedom
of the will, abolish the distinction between right and wrong,
and reduce personality to a mask. He makes no apology; he
never explains; he trusts to affirmation pure and simple.^^
And as the master thought and spoke, so did the lesser rep-
resentatives of the movement teach and speaft in their own way.
The transcendentalist philosophy of man was of the sim-
plest kind : it went back to the earliest Greek philosophers,
when Christianity did not exist, and to the Eastern thinkers
of India and China who had never caught a glimpse of the
Christian revelation, and whom Emerson quotes with great
satisfaction. It claimed for all men what Christianity
claimed for its followers, and only in an analogical way : the
words of St. Paul that " in God we live and move and have
our being ", were seized upon and reiterated in a thousand
different ways, especially in the pages of The Dial : ^® " Man
is a rudiment and embryo of God . . . the perception now
fast becoming a conscious fact, that there is one mind, and
that also all the powers and privileges which lie in one lie
in all . . . there is an infinity in the human soul which few
have yet believed and after which few have aspired; there
is a lofty power of moral principle in the depths of our nature
which is nearly allied to omnipotence."
It was not by accident therefore that the transcendental
philosophy addressed itself to the question of religion : it did
so from the very nature of the case and could not avoid the
issue. Kant had felt the necessity of reopening the problem
of God; Fichte followed; Schelling and Hegel moved on the
1^0. B. Frothingham, op. cit, pp. 241-242.
18 This "Quarterly Magazine for Literature, Philosophy and Religion",
under the editorship of Margaret Fuller and R. W. Emerson, appeared from
1840 to 1844, and is in itself a complete history of the movement for those
years.
194 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
same plane. They all insisted on the spiritual nature of man
in virtue of which he had an intuitive knowledge of God as
a being infinite and absolute in power, wisdom, and good-
ness. And as for the immortality of the soul, holding it to
be undemonstrable by the senses, it was made a postulate, a
first principle.
The transcendentalists rendered justice to all religions,^®
studied them, admired them, confessed their inspiration. Of
these faiths Christianity was cheerfully acknowledged to be
the queen. The supremacy of Jesus was granted with en-
thusiasm; his teachings accepted as the purest expression of
religious truth, His miracles regarded as the natural achieve-
ments of a soul endowed with originality and force.
Thus Theodore Parker believed in the miracles of the New
Testament and many others besides, more than the Christians
were willing to accept: " It may be said that these religious
teachers (Zoroaster, Buddha, etc.) pretended to work miracles.
I would not deny that they did work miracles. If a man is
obedient to the law of his mind, conscience and heart; since
his intellect, character and affections are in harmony with the
laws of God, I take it he can do works which are impossible to
others who have not been so faithful and are not ' one with
God ' as he is."
Transcendentalism denies the reality of supernatural pow-
ers and influences simply by regarding man himself as a
supernatural being; and Christianity, though dethroned and
disenchanted, is dignified as a supreme moment in the auto-
biography of God. The transcendentalist found in sacred
literature thoughts which he himself put there. Parker, dis-
coursing on inspiration, cites Paul and John as holding the
same doctrine with himself; "though," as a keen historian
^® Margaret Fuller was perhaps the only notable exception. In 1832, writ-
ing to a friend on the subject of religious faith, she expresses herself thus :
" I have not formed an opinion ; I have determined not to form settled opinions
at present. Loving or feeble natures need a positive religion — a visible refuge,
a protection — as much in the passionate season of youth as in those stages
nearer to the grave. But mine is not such. My pride is superior to any
feelings I have yet experienced . . . When disappointed I do not ask nor wish
consolation. I wish to know and feel my pain, to investigate its nature and
its source ; I will not not have my thoughts diverted or my feelings soothed.
... I believe in eternal progression ; I believe in a God, a beauty and per-
fection to which I am to strive all my life for assimilation." O. B. Frothing-
ham, op. cit., pp. 286-287.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY, jge
of the movement candidly observes, " it is plain to the sim-
plest mind that their doctrine was in no respect the same but
so different as to be in contradiction."
Paul and John, it is hardly too much to say, set up their doctrine
in precise opposition to the doctrine of transcendentalists. Paul de-
clared that the natural man could not discern divine things, that
they were foolishness to him; that they must be spiritually dis-
cerned; that the Christian was able to discern them spiritually
because he had " the mind of Christ ". The eighth chapter of the
Epistle to the Romans contains sentences that taken singly, apart
from their connection, comfort the cockles of the transcendental
heart; but the writer is glorifying Christ the inspirer, not the soul
of the inspired. He opens the chapter with the affirmation that "there
is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh but after the spirit " ; and follows it with the
saying that " if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none
of his ". This is the spirit that " quickens mortal bodies " ; that
makes believers to be " Sons of God ", giving them " the spirit of
adoption whereby they cry Abba, Father " ; bearing witness with
their spirit that they are " the children of God ". This is the
spirit " that helpeth our infirmities ", and " maketh intercession
with groanings that cannot be uttered ". Transcendentalism de-
liberately broke with Christianity. Paul said : " other foundation
can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ ". Trans-
cendentalism responded : ** Jesus Christ built on my foundation, the
soul ", and for thus answering was classed with those who use as
building materials " wood, hay, stubble ", which the fire would con-
sume. In the view of Transcendentalism, Christianity was an il-
lustrious form of natural religion; Jesus was a noble type of
human nature; revelation was disclosure of the soul's mystery; in-
spiration was the filling of the soul's lungs; salvation was spirit-
ual vitality. ^*^
What made Transcendentalism especially remarkable in
New England was that, whilst in Germany and France it was
held by cultivated men and taught in the schools; whilst in
England it influenced poetry and art, but all over left the
daily existence of men and women untouched, here it blos-
somed forth in every form of social life. Experiments in
thought and life of even audacious description were made,
2 0 O. B, Frothingham, op. cit., pp. 203-204.
196 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
not in defiance of precedent — for precedent was hardly re-
spected enough to be defied — but in innocent unconsciousness
of precedent. A feeling was abroad that all things must be
\ new in the New World. There was a call for immediate ap-
plication of ideas to life. There were no immovable pre-
judices, no fixed and unalterable traditions. The sentiment of
individual freedom was active; and the transcendentalist was
by nature a reformer. He could not be satisfied with men
as they were, and his perfervid appeals remind one of the
mystics of the Middle Ages. Emerson, in his lecture on
" Man the Reformer," does not dissemble his hope that each
person whom he addresses " has felt his own call to cast aside
all evil customs, timidities and limitations, and to be in his
place a free and helpful man, a reformer, a benefactor, not
content to slip through the world like a footman or a spy,
escaping by his nimbleness and apologies as many knocks as he
can, but a brave and upright man who must find or cut a
straight path to everything excellent in this earth; and not
only go honorably himself but make it easier for all who fol-
low him to go in honor and with benefit." ^^
Brook Farm therefore was projected on the purest trans-
cendentalist basis.^^ It was felt that in order to live a reli-
gious and moral life in sincerity, it was necessary to leave the
world of institutions and to reconstruct the social order from
new beginnings. But what the members needed most to make
their experiment a success, they lacked completely — religious
abnegation. Instead they built on tKe supreme dignity of
the individual man, a principle that expressed all too clearly
the hallucinations under which these intellectuals labored.
For visionaries the transcendentalists were, even to their
contemporaries. Lord Macaulay puts the case thus in his
article on Bacon : " To sum up the whole, we should say that
the aim of Platonic philosophy was to exalt man into God.
The aim of the Baconian philosophy was to provide man with
what he requires while he continues to be man. The aim of
Platonic philosophy was to raise us far above our wants; the
aim of Baconian philosophy was to supply our wants. The
former aim was noble, but the latter was attainable. The
21 Complete Works, Nature, Man the Reformer, p. 228.
22 See the Constitutions in O. B. Frothingham, op. cit., pp. 159-164.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY, jgy
philosophy of Plato began in words and ended in words,
noble words indeed, words such as were to be expected from
the finest of human intellects exercising boundless control
over the finest of human languages. The philosophy of
Bacon began in observations and ended in arts. The truth
is that in those very matters for the sake of which they ne-
glected all the vulgar interests of mankind, the ancient philoso-
phers did nothing or worse than nothing; they promised
what was impracticable, they despised what was practicable."
Substitute " idealism " for " Platonism," and " Transcenden-
talism " for " ancient philosophers ", and this expresses the
judgment of sensible men of the last generation on transcen-
dentalists.
And it expresses the judgment of posterity equally well.
Transcendentalism was but a transient phase in the develop-
ment of Kantian philosophy in the country. It opened the
way for a wider diffusion of idealism as it came to be studied
and understood in all its aspects.
The transcendentalists gave up their eccentricities of con-
duct and settled down to merely intellectual occupations that
gave a much broader scope to their work and drew new fol-
lowers to their doctrines.
In 1878 Emerson, together with Prof. Peirce of Harvard,
William Torrey Harris of St. Louis, Bronson Alcott, and F. B.
Sanborn, organized the Concord School of Philosophy.
Emerson remained at the head of it until his death in 1882.
The aim of the school was to hold conferences on philosophi-
cal subjects. These meetings attracted many thinkers who
were later on to make their influence felt in the field of
speculation. Emerson attended the opening of the school on
12 July, 1879, and in the month of August he gave his first
lecture before the school, speaking on " Memory." He lec-
tured there once more on 2 August, 1880, on "Aristocracy."
This was the extent of his work for the institution, which
however gave him much pleasure in his declining years, as
he saw in it an earnest of the perpetuation of his doctrines.
Plato and Aristotle were discussed, but Kantism in its various
aspects was the theme underlying the majority of lectures.^^
23 Van Becelaere, op. cit., p. 99.
198
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
One of the most active members of the school was William
Torrey Harris (1835-1909)^* than whom few have done more
to spread Hegelianism in this country. In 1866 he founded
the Kant Club of St. Louis, and he was superintendent of that
city's schools from 1868 to 1880, when he was appointed
U. S. Commissioner of Education. In 1867 he started his
Journal of Speculative Philosophy, which was published regu-
larly until 1888, and intermittently from that year until 1893,
when lack of support compelled it to cease publication. Harris-
loved philosophical speculation for its own sake as an intellec-
tual discipline. His restless mind was ever in search of the
ultimate reasons of things; he possessed the happy faculty of
infusing his own enthusiasm into others, drew many younger
minds toward his favorite studies and generously opened the
pages of his Journal to the results of their investigations.
Harris was broad-minded, and, when occasion offered, was
not slow to pay a sincere tribute to the Church and her great
teachers. " The great scholastic Fathers, commencing with
Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas, learned this in-
sight of Aristotle and were able to defend Christianity against
the Moslem pantheism which denied immortality to man. . . .
The great era of scholasticism, an era of profoundest thought
and clearest insight. . . . Christian thought had been almost
completed ; very little has been added or is likely to be added
to the ontological system of St. Thomas Aquinas." ^^
Harris was one of the first American exponents of Hegel's
spiritual monism, and as such deserves further notice. He
has himself told us how he came to champion Hegel's con-
ception of the universe. "As early as 1858 I obtained my first
insight into Hegel's philosophy in studying Kant's Critique
of Pure Reason. I saw that time and space presuppose rea-
son as their logical condition, and that they are themselves
the logical condition of what is in the world, — not essentially
but only in the expression or manifestation of his will, which
expression he may altogether withhold. I saw also the neces-
sity of the logical inference that the unity of time and space
24 Introduction to Philosophy, extracts from his writings, published by-
Marietta Kies, 1889 ; Exposition of Hegel's Logic, 1895 ; Psychological Foun-
dation of Edtication, 1898, besides numerous articles on philosophical subjects.
25 Hegel's Logic, by W. T. Harris, Chicago, S. C. Griggs & Co., 1895, pp. 34-36.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. jgg
presupposes one absolute Reason. God, freedom, immortal-
ity, seemed to me to be demonstrable ever since the December
evening in 1858 when I obtained my insight into the true in-
ference from Kant's Transcendental ^Esthetic ... In 1863 I
arrived at the insight which Hegel has expressed in his J^iir-
sich-seyn, or Being-for-itself, which I called and still call in-
dependent being ... I discovered afterward that it is the
most important insight of Plato, and that Aristotle uses it as
the foundation of his philosophy. It has in one form or
another furnished the light for all philosophy worthy of the
name since Plato first saw it. St. Thomas Aquinas presents
it in the beginning of his Summa Theological^ Leibniz states
it as the basis of his Monadolog^y . . . In 1873 I discovered
the substantial identity of all East Indian doctrines. I un-
dertook a thorough study of the Bagavad Gita in 1872, and
for the first time saw that the differences of systems were su-
perficial, and that the First Principle presupposed and even
explicitly stated by the Sanscrit writers was everywhere the
same, and that this is the Principle of Pure Being. It was
in 1879 that I came to my final and present standpoint in re-
gard to the true outcome of the Hegelian system, but it was
six years later that I began to see that Hegel himself has not
deduced theological consequences of his system in the matter
of the relation of nature to the absolute idea." ^^ It is a fact
worthy of notice that, following in the wake of Hegel and
Emerson, Kantian idealists have almost uniformly ** gone be-
yond " the Christian conception of God; and in search of au-
thorities to uphold and confirm their teachings, have returned
to Oriental speculation. Hence their vague notions of the
Absolute Being ; or, as Harris himself puts it : " The Abso-
lute is not an empty absolute, an indeterminate being, but it
is determined. It is not determined through another, but
through itself. If there is no independent being, there is no
dependent being. If there is not self-determined being, there
is no being whatsoever." ^*
28 It ought to be borne in mind here that Harris has failed to grasp the
teaching of Aristotle and especially of St. Thomas on this point. The aseitas
ascribed to God by the latter is not the Fur-sich-seyn of Hegel. The dis-
tinction is made apparent from the very beginning of the Summa. Cf. S.
Theol., la, Q. II, a. 3, and Q. Ill, a. 7-8.
^'^ Hegel's Logic, pp. viii-xiv. ^^ Ibid., p. x.
200 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But the nature and attributes of this being remain forever
shrouded in mystery and it is in vain that we look for a clean-
cut, sharply delimited conception of God such as the scholastic
Middle Ages have left us.
And the same must be said of Harris's doctrine of immortal-
ity. '* Let us note that science on teaching the doctrine of
evolution and that of the struggle for existence, favors the
doctrine that intelligence and will are the surviving and per-
manent substance. For intelligence and will triumph in the
struggle for existence and prove themselves the goal to which
the creation moves. An individuality that does not exist for
itself has no personal identity and hence is indifferent to im-
mortality. When the self-activity in reproducing the impres-
sion perceives at the same time its own freedom as energy,
then it becomes conscious of itself. This takes place in the
recognition of objects as belonging to classes or species. Here
begins the immortality of the individual. Not before this, be-
cause the individual is and can be only a self -activity, and
cannot know himself except as generic. With the recognition
of species and genera there is the recognition of self as per-
sistent." '*
It is true that, as medieval philosophy had already recog-
nized, the formation of abstract and universal concepts such
as those of species and genera, is an argument in favor of the
" simplicity " of the soul or its immateriality ; but Hegelian
monism has yet to prove that this immaterial soul continues to
endure as a self-subsistent being. Such was the philosophic
creed of the man who has been called " the profoundest stu-
dent of Hegel in this country." Around him and his
Journal several other names 'group themselves because, with
some shadings of thought, all defend the same fundamental
doctrines.
Strange to say, when the centenary of the publication of the
Critique of Pure Reason was celebrated in Saratoga, N. Y.,
in 1 88 1, it was publicly acknowledged that not a few amongst
the professors of philosophy in America had a very superficial
acquaintance with Kant, and Prof. Bowen of Harvard wrote
'* that it was doubtful whether there were in the United States
^^Introduction to Philosophy, pp. 280-283.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY, jOI
an even dozen who could understand Kant in the original."
This defect, however, Prof. George S. Morris (1840- 1889),
of Michigan University, tried to remedy. He himself had
studied at Halle and Berlin. He translated Ueberweg's stand-
ard History of Philosophy. He was in full sympathy with
German thought, and in an effort to make it better known in
this country and bring it within the reach even of those not
familiar with the German language, he started the publication
of Griggs's Philosophical Classics, " devoted to a critical ex-
position of the masterpieces of German thought." ^^ They
were not translations, but critical accounts, simple, brief and
to the point, giving the key to a better understanding of the
original. He himself wrote the volume on Kant's Critique
of Pure Reason. John Watson, of Queen's University, King-
ston, Canada, wrote Schelling's Transcendental Idealism;
Fichte's Transcendental Idealism was treated by Charles C.
Everett, of Harvard; Hegel's /Esthetics by J. S. Kedney, of
Seabury Divinity School, Faribault, Minn. ; Hegel's Philoso-
phy of the State and of History by George S. Morris ; Hegel's
Logic by W. T. Harris; Kant's Ethics by Noah Porter of Yale.
Together with several other volumes this series gave in an
English dress a fairly complete conspectus of German philo-
sophy ; and taken in connexion with the works of the English
exponents of German thought, prominent amongst whom were
Edward Caird and Thomas H. Green, they contributed much
toward popularizing Kantian and post-Kantian idealism.
The latter especially seems to have fascinated a host of
American philosophers besides Harris, and they have exploited
Hegel's doctrines in all their bearings. Amongst them must
be mentioned: Charles C. Everett (1829-1900),*^ Bussey, pro-
fessor of theology at Harvard and as thorough-going a monist
as Hegel ever was; and John Watson (1847),^^ who in common
with almost every member of the idealistic school in America
30 Published by S. S. Griggs & Co., Chicago.
51 The Science of Thought, 1869 and 1890; Fichie's Transcendental Idealism,
1884.
32 Kant and His English Critics, 1881 ; Schelling's Transcendental Idealism,
1882 ; The Philosophy of Kant, Extracts from his own Writings, 1888 ; Comte,
Mill, and Spencer, 1895; Christianity and Idealism, 1896; An Outline of
Philosophy, 1898 ; The Philosophical Basis of Religion, 1907 ; The Philosophy
of Kant Explained, 1908.
202 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
strives to bring about a conciliation between " Christianity
rightly understood " and idealism — his Christianity, it need
hardly be remarked is but a shadowy ghost of what is gener-
ally understood by it. William Caldwell (1863)^^ a sym-
pathetic exponent of Schopenhauer. James McBride Sterrett
(1847)^* of George Washington University; James Seth
(1860)^^ formerly of Brown and Cornell Universities, now
professor in Edinburgh University and co-editor of The
Philosophical Review. George Stuart FuUerton (1859) of
Columbia.^® If we are to judge from his latest work, this
author shows signs of returning to the realist camp : " It is
this truth which is recognized by the plain man, when he
maintains that in the last resort we can know things only in
so far as we see, touch, hear, taste, and smell them ; and by the
psychologist when he tells us that, in sensation the external
world is revealed as directly as it is possible that it could be
revealed. But it is a travesty on this truth to say that we do
not know things but know only our sensations of sight, touch,
taste, hearing, and the like." ^^ Frank Thilly (1865)^* of
Cornell University. James Hyslop (1854)^® of Columbia.
James E. Creighton (1861) of Cornell University, editor of
*8 Schopenhauer's System in its Philosophical Significance, 1896.
^^ Studies in Hegel's Philosophy of Religion, 1890; Reason and Authority
in Religion, 1891 ; The Ethics of Hegel, 1893; The Freedom of Authority,
1905.
^^ A Study of Ethical Principles, which had gone through ten editions in
1908.
3® The Conception of the Infinite, 1887; A Plain Argument for God, 1889;
On Sameness and Identity, 1890; The Philosophy of Spinoza, 1894; On
Spinozistic Immortality, 1899; A System of Philosophy, 1904.
^"^ An Introduction to Philosophy, p. 58. In connexion with this, the fol-
lowing sensible remark of his should not go unheeded : after pointing out the
contradictions in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and particularly in his ex-
position of Antinomies I and II, he writes : " When the student meets such
a tangle in the writings of any philosopher, I ask him to believe that it is not
the human reason that is at fault, at least let him not assume that it is. The
fault probably lies with a human reason." Ibid., p. 308.
*^ Introduction to Ethics, 1900 ; he also translated : Paulsen's Introduction
to Philosophy, 1895; Weber's History of Philosophy, 1896; Paulsen's System
of Ethics, 1899.
^^ Elements of Logic, 1892; Ethics of Hume, 1893; Logic and Argument,
1899 ; Syllabus of Psychology, 1899 ; The Problem of Philosophy, 1905 ;
Science and a Future Life, 1905; Enigmas of Psychical Research, 1906; Bor-
derland of Psychical Research, 1906.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 20^
The Philosophical Review.^^ Paul Carus (1852),*^ a con-
vinced monist, expounder of Oriental, especially Chinese
thought, and who aims, without any animosity to any of the
established creeds of the world, to stand for conservative pro-
gress based upon the most radical thought and fearless investi-
gation; and holds that it is highly desirable to raise the in-
tellectual level of the established churches to a higher plane
by letting the matured results of science enter into the fabric
of our religious convictions. George Trumbull Ladd
(1842),*^ Professor at Yale, although guarded in his state-
ments, admits that " the assumption of the immanence of Ab-
solute Mind in that world of Nature to which both the human
body and the human soul belong, is the only postulate which
will make valid the whole realm of psycho-physical science
. . . Out of this Universal Being, without seeming to be
wholly accounted for by it, does every stream of conscious-
ness arise. In the midst of the Universal Being — without
getting all its laws of development from it, but on the con-
trary showing plain signs of a certain unique, self-determined
development — does every stream of consciousness run its
course. Into ' It ' at the end, and so far as human observa-
tion can follow, every stream of consciousness merges itself.
. . . The Immortality of mind cannot be proved from its na-
ture regarded as that of a real, self-identical, and unitary
being; nor is its permanence, as known to itself, of an order
to allow the sure inference of its continued and permanent
existence after death."" Hugo Miinsterberg (1863),** pro-
fessor at Harvard, for whom the monistic Absolute is not Mind
but Will.
*oin collaboration with E. B. Titchener he translated Wilheltn Wundfs
Human and Animal Psychology, 1894; and in collaboration with A. Lefevre,
Paulsen's Kant, His Life and Philosophy, 1902.
*i His works, amongst which the subject of religion occupies a very large
place, are too numerous to be quoted here. A complete list of them may be
found in The Work of the Open Court Publishing Co., of Chicago, of which
publishing house he is the Director. Se3 pp. 26-75.
^^ Elements of Physiological Psychology, 1890; Psychology Descriptive and
Explanatory, 1894 ; The Philosophy of Mind, 1895 ; Philosophy of Knowledge,
1897; Theory of Reality, 1899; Philosophy of Conduct, 1902.
*8 Philosophy of Mind, pp. 319, 365, 398.
^^ Psychology and Life, 1899; Grundziige der Psychologie, 1900; The Eternal
Life, 190S ; Science and Idealism, 1906 ; The Eternal Values, 1909- For further
details about Miinsterberg's philosophy see Eccl. Review, January, 1909:
" The Newest Philosophy."
204
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But perhaps the most remarkable and one of the most widely
read and most influential of them all at the present time is
is Josiah Royce (1855).*^ No doubt this is greatly due to the
fact that, although dealing with the most abstract problems,
he possesses the happy faculty of bringing his philosophy with-
in the reach of the masses. The use of anecdote and story,
an easy fluent style, a broad toleration of others' views that
makes him quote with relish Thomas a Kempis on the vanity
of philosophy ; a reluctance on his part to impose his own but
to leave reader or hearer the widest liberty of choice, — all
contribute to make him a unique personality that can draw
around itself a host of admirers if it cannot make followers.
Prof. Royce would gladly class himself with those whose
doctrinal system is " an eternal interrogation " ; he is a per-
sonality in short such as modern philosophy delights to point
out as amongst its greatest representatives.
The philosophical tenets developed in his various works
are those of post-Kantian idealism and particularly of Hegel,
from whom he scarcely deviates, even if, according to his own
confession, he states " Hegel's thoughts in an utterly non-
Hegelian vocabulary." *^ It would be a sickening surfeit
to repeat here a statement of those doctrines. But they lead
into a wider field, that of religion, which Prof. Royce ever
and anon invades with dogged insistence, together with all
followers of idealism, as a glance at their published works,
listed here for that very purpose, will sufficiently show. All
through his career this particular subject seems to have oc-
cupied a prominent place in his thoughts. His first volume
took it up ex professo, and only recently he made an attempt
to show '' What is Vital in Christianity." *^ His ideas may
be taken as representative of the general attitude of his school
toward this engrossing subject.
He warns us at the outset about his position : " The writer
. . . has no visible connexion with any religious body, and
no sort of desire for any such connexion, and he cannot be ex-
45 The Religious Aspect of Philosophy, 1885 ; The Spirit of Modern Philo-
sophy, 1892; Studies of Good and Einl, 1898; The Conception of God, 1895;
The Conception of Immortality, 1899; The World and the Individual, 19OC-1901.
*^ The Spirit of Modern Philosophy, Preface, p. xii.
*' The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. II, No. 4, pp. 480 ff.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 205
pected to write an apology for a popular creed. This con-
fession is made frankly, but not for the sake of provoking a
quarrel, and with all due reverence for the faith of other men.
If the fox who had lost his tail was foolish to be proud of
his loss, he would have been yet more foolish to hide it by
wearing a false tail, stolen mayhap from a dead fox. The
full application of the moral of the fable to the present
case is moreover willingly accepted. Not as the fox invited
his friends to imitate his loss, would the present writer aim
to make other men loose their faiths. Rather is it his aim not
to arouse fruitless quarrels, but to come to some peaceful un-
derstanding with his fellows touching the ultimate meaning
and value and foundation of this noteworthy custom, so widely
prevalent among us, the custom of having a religion." *®
Yet he ends by stating for his own part a religious doc-
trine. Why ? In so far as philosophy suggests general rules
for conduct or discusses the theories about the world, philo-
sophy must have a religous aspect. Kant's fundamental prob-
lems : What do I know, and what ought I to do? are of re-
ligious interest no less than of philosophic interest. There is
no defence for one as sincere thinker, if, undertaking to pay
attention to philosophy as such, he wilfully or thoughtlessly
neglects such problems on the ground that he has no time for
them. Surely he has time to be not merely a student of
philosophy but also a man, and these things are amongst the
essentials of humanity.
By the help of what method shall this study be pursued?
By the rationalistic method. It is summarily taken for
granted that " revelation ", the imparting to the human mind
of any truth from without, is not even to be taken into con-
sideration; in the modern world we must both act and think
for ourselves. If the old solutions are to be considered at all,
they must be judged with reference to the conclusions of
philosophy. Only what the mind can evolve out of its own
consciousness and ground at least temporarily on plausible
proofs, shall be admitted as of any value. Now it is much
more important to know how we should live, than to know
what we should believe. The primacy of religious belief is
*8 The Religious Aspect of Philosophy, Preface, p. vi.
2o6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
indeed a feature of highly developed religions; but for the
mass of the faithful belief is relatively secondary to practice
and may considerably vary, while the practice remains the
unvarying and for them the vital feature. '' The appeal that
every religion makes to the masses of mankind, is most read-
ily interpreted in terms of practice." " The savage con-
verted to the Roman Catholic Church is regularly taught that
for his imperfect stage of insight it is enough if he is fully
ready to say, ' I believe what the Church believes, both as far
as I understand what the Church believes and also as far as I
do not understand what the Church believes.' And it is in
this spirit that he must repeat the creed of the church. But
his ideas about God and the world may meanwhile be as
crude as his ignorance determines. He is still viewed as a
Christian, if he is minded to accept the God of the Church of
the Christians, even though he still thinks of God as sometimes
a visible and ' magnified and non-natural man,' a corporeal
presence sitting in the heavens, while the scholastic theologian
who has converted him thinks of Grod as wholly incorporeal,
as not situated in loco at all, as not even existent in time,
but only in eternity, and as spiritual substance whose nature,
whose perfection, whose omniscience, and so on, are the topics
of most elaborate definition. The faithful convert and his
scholastic teacher agree much more in religious practices than
in conscious religious ideas." **
Over and above these merely knowable or believable truths,
religious philosophy seeks something else: it wants to know
what in this world is worthy of worship as the good ; it seeks
not merely the truth but the inspiring truth. It defines for
itself goodness, moral worth, and then it asks: What in this
world is worth anything? What in this world is worth most?
It seeks the ideal among the realities ; it seeks the moral law
in its application to this daily life. What is the real nature
of the distinction between right and wrong? What truth is
there in this distinction? What ideal of life results?
Greek thought did not give us a sufficient foundation for
morality. Neither does Christianity : the ultimate motive that
Jesus gives to men for doing right is the wish to be in har-
*» Harvard Theol. Review, ibid., p. 414.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 207
mony with God's love. And the doctrine that God loves us
is a foundation for duty only by virtue of the recognition of
one yet more fundamental principle: the doctrine that un-
earned love ought to be gratefully returned. And for this
principle theology as such gives no foundation: why is un-
earned love to be gratefully returned?
The whole ethical truth however is found in the " moral
insight," which is opposed to ethical dogmatism accepting one
separate end only, the salvation of the soul in Christianity.
The moral insight " involves the will to act henceforth with
strict regard to the total of the consequences of one's act for
all the moments and aims that are to be affected by this act."
Thus the separate men will not know or care whether they
separately are happy, for they shall have no longer individ-
ual wills, but the Universal Will shall work in and through
them.
This being the ethical norm which should guide us in our
actions, the one highest activity in which all human activities
are to join may be expressed as " the progressive realization
by men of the eternal life of an Infinite Spirit." Or to put
it in the form of a " categoric imperative " : " Devote your-
selves to losing your lives in the divine life." ^^ And since
our religious consciousness wants support for us in our poor
efforts to do right, it finds this support in the concluding
words of the 21st chapter of Mathew: " Inasmuch as ye did
it unto the least of these, ye did it unto me." That is, if we
may paraphrase the words of the judge: " I," he says, " rep-
resent all beings. Their good is mine. If they are hungry
or naked or sick or imprisoned, so am I. We are brethren;
ours is all one universal life. That I sit in this seat, arbiter
of heaven and hell, makes me no other than the representative
of universal life. Such reverence as ye now bear to me is
due, and always was due, to the least of these my brethren."
The infinite sacredness of all conscious life, that is the sense
of the story. Now the knowledge such as Job sought, the
knowledge that there is in the universe some consciousness that
sees and knows all reality, including ourselves, for which there-
fore all the good and evil of our lives is plain fact, — ^this
^^ Religious Aspect of Philosophy, pp. 441, 442.
2o8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
knowledge would be a religious support to the moral con-
sciousness. The knowledge that there is a being that is no
respecter of persons, that considers all lives as equal, and that
estimates our acts according to their true value, — this would
be a genuine support to the religious need in us, quite apart
from all notions about reward and punishment.^^
This is indeed a dreary teaching to serve as a foundation for
the morality of the masses. The Absolute of this Hegelian
philosophy, on which morality is ultimately to rest, has surely
nothing in common with the God of the Christians. '' It is
the night in which all cats are gray, and there appears to be
no reason why anyone should harbor toward it the least sen-
timent of awe or veneration." *^^
The most recent developments of Idealism in this country
have taken still another direction, and under the name of
Pragmatism or Humanism have called forth a flood of acri-
monious criticism and sharp retort.
Its exponents include F. C. S. Schiller (1864),*^^ formerly
of Cornell University, now at Oxford; and John Dewey
(1859)/* formerly of Chicago University and now at Colum-
bia. But the most noted of them all is William James, the
late Harvard professor (1842- 1 910).'*'' His philosophy has
many points of contact with that of Hegel, and when he gave
to his volume on Pragmatism the subtitle : 'A new Name for
Some Old Ways of Thinking ', he acknowledged this indebted-
ness. For both, scientific truths, religious truths, even moral
rules, are all provisional ; they are working truths rather than
finalities, the best to-date and yet liable to be superseded by
something that will work better. This is the essence of Prag-
matism. And the final conclusions of this philosophy, es-
51 Ibid., p. 220.
'^^G. S. Fullerton, Introduction to Philosophy, The Macmillan Co., New
York, 1906, p. 192.
^'^ Riddles of the Sphinxy 189 1 ; Axioms and Postulates, 1902; Humanism,
1903; Studies in Humanism, 1907.
^*^ Psychology, 1886; Leibniz, a Critical Exposition, 1888; Outlines of
Theory of Ethics, 189 1 ; Study of Ethics, 1893; Studies in Logical Theory,
1903.
5 5 The Principles of Psychology, 1890; The Will to Believe, 1897; Human
Immortality, 1898; Talks to Teachers on Psychology, 1899; The Varieties of
Religious Experience, 1902; Pragmatism, 1907; The Meaning of Truth,
1909 ; A Pluralistic Universe, 1909.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. jOQ
pecially as expressed in one of W. James's latest volumes, A
Pluralistic Universe, if divergent at first glance from those of
Hegel, are the same at bottom.
James writes : '' I am myself anything but a pantheist of the
monistic pattern." ^^ Already Prof. G. Howison (1834),'^^ of
the University of California had ki opposition to the monistic
doctrine of Hegel, given currency to the theory of " personal
idealism," admitting not one but a plurality of minds in the
universe. Prof. James, however, developed this conception
to its logical issue.
There are two very distinct types or stages in spiritualistic
philosophy. The generic term spiritualism is subdivided into
two species, the more intimate one of which is monistic, and
the less intimate dualistic. The dualistic species is the theism
that reached its elaboration in the scholastic philosophy, while
the monistic species is the pantheism spoken of sometimes sim-
ply as idealism and sometimes as *' post- Kantian " or " abso-
lute " idealism. Dualistic theism is professed as firmly as ever
at all Catholic seats of learning,^® whereas it has of late years
tended to disappear at our British and American universities,
and to be replaced by a monistic pantheism more or less open
or disguised. The theistic conception picturing God and His
creation as entities distinct from each other, still leaves the
human subject outside of the deepest reality in the Universe.
The theological machinery that spoke so livingly to our an-
cestors, with its finite age of the world, its creation out of noth-
ing, its juridical morality and eschatology, its relish for re-
wards and punishments, its treatment of God as an external
contriver, an intelligent and moral governor, sounds as odd to
us as if it were some outlandish savage religion.^®
On the other side, the only way to escape from the para-
doxes and perplexities that a consistently thought-out mon-
istic universe suffers from as from a species of auto-intoxica-
^^ Human Immortality, p. vi.
5^ The Conception of God, 1897; The Limits of Evolution and Other
Essays, 190 1.
ss Prof. James shows himself quite familiar with Catholic teaching, and
although not agreeing with its conclusions, proves that he has taken the
trouble to understand it and he exposes it without bias as found in Catholic
manuals. Cf. Varieties of Religious Experience, pp. 436, ff.
^^ A Pluralistic Universe, pp. 23, 24, 29.
210 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tion, — the mystery of the " fall " namely, of reality lapsing
into appearance, truth into error, perfection into imperfec-
tion, of evil in short, the mystery of universal determinism,
of the block-universe external and without a history — the only
way of escape from all this is to be frankly pluralistic and as-
sume that the superhuman consciousness, however vast it may
be, has itself an external environment and consequently is
finite. In other words, there is a God, but he is finite.** We
are internal parts of God, and not external creations. God
is not the absolute, but is himself a part when the system is
conceived pluralistically.*^
What is this " system conceived pluralistically" ? The prac-
tical needs and experiences of religion *^ seem to me suffi-
ciently met by the belief that beyond each man, and in a
fashion continuous with him there exists a larger power which
is friendly to him and to his ideal. Anything larger will do
if only it be large enough to trust for the next step. It need
not be infinite, it need not be solitary. It might conceivably
be only a larger and more godlike self, of which the present
self would be but the mutilated expression, and the Universe
might conceivably be a collection of such selves, of different
degrees of inclusiveness, with no absolute unity realized in it
at all. Thus would a sort of polytheism return upon us.**
We are glad for this outspoken confession.
If at the end of this study we try to pick some general ideas
from this seething mass of contradictory theories, what do
we find? In the first place, the postulates of God, human
liberty, and immortality which Kant tried so jealously to put
outside the pale of his destructive criticism, were, by the fatal
logic of his own system, swept away by his successors, and
American idealists have been in the front ranks of these ruth-
less destroyers. The purest spiritualistic monism has been
«o Ibid,, p. 311.
®i Ibid., p. 317.
®2 Or, as Prof. James puts it on another occasion : " ' The satisfaction through
philosophy ' of * Man's religious appetites '." Varieties of Rel. Experience,
Preface.
^* Ibid., pp. 525-526. To bear out a point adverted to on previous occasions
in this article, we register Prof. James's avowal that " notwithstanding my own
inability to accept either popular Christianity or scholastic theism, as I appre-
hend the Budhistic doctrine of Karma, I agree in principle with that."
Varieties of Rel. Exp., p. 522.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 211
the result. Even the " pluralism " of Prof. James is but an
ill-concealed monism, since he also admits that there is but
one " kind of things in the universe, namely minds." In the
second place, when the postulates of Kant were done away
with, and all truth confined to those verities evolved by the
human mind according to the categories of the understanding,
all revealed truth and all morality founded on it had to be
passed by as altogether irrelevant to a scientific conception of
the world. " Modem idealism has said good-by to theology
forever." ®* Dogmas are no longer attacked with the fiery
zeal of the old heretics; they are looked upon as not worth
attacking. And lastly, all American idealists who have ex-
pressed themselves on the subject, profess open allegiance to
the Oriental religions of India and China. Proclaiming on
the housetops that they are intent on " proving all things and
testing all things," they yet make their own the doctrines of
the most unscientific and most unprogressive amongst the
nations of the earth.
J. B. Ceulemans.
Moline, Ills.
«* Ibid., p. 448.
Hnalecta*
AOTA PII PP X.
Ad R. D. Philippum Fletcher, M.A., Sodalitatis Mode-
RATOREM QUAE "OF OUR LaDY OF RaNSOM" NUNCUPATUR,
XXV ANNIVERSARIO ADVENTANTE EX QUO SODALITAS IPSA
CONDITA FUIT.
Dilecte fill, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Solertiae
qua in moderanda ista of Our Lady of Ransom sodalitate ve-
rsaris, iampridem, dilecte fili, ad Nos fama manavit. Pro-
positum tamen Nostrum tibi bene locates labores, uti suadebat
caritas, gratulandi ad hanc distulimus diem, ut ab ipsa op-
portunitate subeuntis vigesimiquinti anniversarii ex quo ad
hanc ipsam condendam sodalitatem studia adiecisti, et uberior
et gratior accideret paternae significatio voluntatis. Optimam
sane, libet profiteri, tibi tuisque colendam elegisti christianae
caritatis partem: et ista quae te, quae sodales tuos sollicitat,
de iis cura qui a nobis dissident; preces quibus vel deviis ma-
turum reditum, vel periclitantibus in fide constantiam, vel igni
piaculari addictis gaudia superum imploratis, cum in vobis in-
telligens arguunt de fratermtatis caritatae indicium, quae illuc
promptior accurrit ubi opitulandi necessitas maior, tum Nostrae
curae ac cotidianis precibus plane congruunt. Atque utinam
communi prece exoratus, communibus Deus annuat votis !
ANALECTA. 2I2
Ad vos quod attinet, pergite hoc tarn sanctum, tarn frugi-
f erum deprecandi officium diligenter, ut f acitis, urgere. Verum
sinite ut ad illud vos hortemur quod decessor Noster f. r. Leo
XIII, in Epistola apostolica Amantissimae voluntatis Angliae
catholicos alloquens, commendatissimum esse volebat; nimirum
ut ne quid ipsi " de se desiderari ullo modo sinerent quod
impetrationis fructum officeret. Nam praeter virtutes animi,
quas ipsa precatio in primis postulat, earn comitentur necesse
est actiones et exempla christianae professioni consentanea.
Qui sancte colunt ac perficiunt praecepta Christi, eorum scilicet
votis divina liberalitas occurrit, secundum illud promissum:
Si manseritis in me et verba mea in vobis manserint, quod-
cumque volueritis petetis, et fiet vobis ".
Divinorum auspicem munerum Nostraeque testem bene-
volentiae, tibi, dilecte fili, et omnibus sodalibus tuis, apos-
tolicam benedictionem peramanter in Domino impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, die XXV aprilis anno
MCMXii, Pontificatus Nostri nono.
PIUS PP. X.
S. OONGREGATIO EITUTJM.
I.
Instructio super Privilegiis quae in Triduo vel Octiduo
SOLEMNITER CELEBRANDO INTRA ANNUM A BEATIFICATIONE
VEL Canonizatione PER Rescriptum Sacrae Ipsius Con-
GREGATIONIS A SUMMO PONTIFICE CONCEDI SOLENT.
I. In solemniis, sive triduanis sive octiduanis quae in honore
alicuius Sancti vel Beati celebrari permittuntur, Missae omnes
de ipsa festivitate ob peculiarem celebritatem dicantur cum
Gloria et Credoy et cum Evangelic S. loannis in fine, nisi
legendum fuerit ultimum Evangelium Dominicae aut feriae,
aut vigiliae, quoties de his facta fuerit commemoratio.
II. Missa solemnis seu cantata, ubi altera Missa saltem lecta
de Officio currenti celebretur, dicatur cum unica Oratione;
secus fiant illae tantummodo commemorationes quae in dupli-
cibus primae ciassis permittuntur. Missae vero lectae dican-
tur cum omnibus commemorationibus occurrentibus, sed ora-
214 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tionibus de tempore et collectis exclusis. Quoad Prefationem
serventur Rubricae ac Decreta.
III. Missam cantatam impediunt tantum Duplicia primae
classis, eiusdemque classis Dominicae, nee non feriae, vigiliae
et octavae privilegiatae quae praefata duplicia excludunt
Missas vero lectas impediunt etiam Duplicia secundae classis,
et eiusdem classis Dominicae, et feriae, vigiliae atque octavae
quae eiusmodi Duplicia primae et secundae classis item ex-
cludunt. In his autem casibus impediment!, Missae dicendae
sunt de occurrente Festo vel Dominica, aliisve diebus ut supra
privilegiatis, prouti ritus diei postulat, cum commemoratione
de Sancto vel Beato et quidem sub unica conclusione cum Ora-
tione diei in duplicibus primae et secundae classis ; aliis autem
diebus commemoratio de Sancto vel Beato fiat sub distincta
conclusione post orationem diei.
IV. In Ecclesiis ubi adest onus celebrandi Missam conven-
tualem, vel parochialem cum applicatione pro populo, eius-
modi Missa de occurrente Officio nunquam omittenda erit.
V. Si Pontificalia Missarum de Festivitate ad thronum fiant,
haud Tertia canenda erit, episcopo paramenta sumente, sed
Hora Nona : quae tamen Hora de ipso Sancto vel Beato semper
erit; substitui nihilominus eidem Horae de die pro satisfac-
tione non poterit.
VI. Quamvis Missae omnes vel privatae tantum impediri
possint, semper nihilominus secundas Vesperas de ipsa Festi-
vitate solemniores facere licebit absque uUa commemoratione;
quae Vesperae tamen de Festivitate pro satisfactione inservire
non poterunt.
VII. Aliae functiones ecclesiasticae praeter recensitas, de
Ordinarii consensu, semper habere locum poterunt, uti Homilia
inter Missarum solemnia, vel vespere O ratio panegyrica, ana-
logae in honorem Sancti vel Beati fundendae preces, et maxime
solemnis cum Venerabili Benedictio. Postremo vero Tridui
vel Octidui die Hymnus Te Denm cum versiculis B enedicamus
Patrem, Benedictus es, Domine exaudi, Dominus vobiscum et
oratione Deus cuius misericordiae cum sua conclusione nun-
quam omittetur ante Tantum ergo et orationem de Ssmo
Sacramento.
VIII. Ad venerationem autem et pietatem in novensiles
Sanctos vel Beatos impensius fovendam, Sanctitas Sua, the-
ANALECTA.. ^^
sauros Eccleslae aperiens, omnibus et singulis utriusque sexus
Christifidelibus qui vere poenitentes, confessi ac Sacra Synaxi
refecti, ecclesias vel oratoria publica, in quibus praedicta tri-
duana vel octiduana solemnia peragentur, visitaverint, ibique
iuxta mentem eiusdem Sanctitatis Suae per aliquod temporis
spatium pias ad Deum preces fuderint, indulgentiam plenariam
in forma Ecclesiae consueta, semel lucrandam, applicabilem
quoque animabus igne piaculari detentis benigne concedit : iis
vero qui corde saltern contrite, durante tempore enunciate,
ipsas ecclesias vel oratoria publica inviserint, atque in eis uti
supra oraverint, indulgentiam partial em centum dierum semel
unoquoque die acquirendam, applicabilem pari modo anima-
bus in purgatorio existentibus, indulget.
Die 22 maii 1912.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
■^ Petrus La Fontaine, Ep. Charystien, Secret.
11.
SOCIETATIS MiSSIONARIORUM SaCRATISSIMI CoRDIS IeSU.
DUBIA.
Hodiernus redactor calendarii Societatis Missionariorum
sacratissimi Cordis lesu de consensus sui Rmi Procuratoris
generalis, a sacra Rituum Congregatione humillime petiit solu-
tionem insequentium dubiorum, nimirum:
I. Lectiones II Nocturni in festo S. Agnetis V. M. suntne
historicae, ita ut legi possint et debeant tanquam IX lectio si
idem festum ob occurrentiam festi superioris ritus vel dignitatis
simplificetur?
II. In Completorio post II Vesperas Dominicae Palmarum
debentne dici preces, quando in Vesperis facta sit commemo-
ratio duplicis die sequenti occurrentis, proindeque simplificati ?
III. In locis in quibus festum Beati Gasparis del Bufalo,
Confessoris, recolitur sub ritu duplici maiori vel minori, di-
cendaene sunt lectiones I Nocturni propriae, an potius de
Scriptura occurrente?
IV. 1° Antiphonae et psalmi ad Matutinum Commemora-
tionis omnium Ss. Romanorum Pontificum, e communi Apos-
tolorum desumpta, itane censenda sunt propria ut recitari
2i6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
debeant etiam si eiusmodi festum celebretur sub ritu duplici
maiori vel minori; an potius, utpote de communi desumpta,
cedere debent antiphonis et psalmis de feria?
2° Idemque estne dicendum de responsoriis I Nocturni, ita
ut, omissis lectionibus de Scriptura occurrente, recitandae sint
lectiones " Laudemus viros " de communi?
V. Infra octavam Commemorationis solemnis sanctissimi
Corporis D. N. I. C, si fiat commemoratio duplicis simplificati,
debentne adiungi tertia oratio, an potius omitti?
VI. 1° In Missis de vigilia vel de feria propriam Praefa-
tionem non habente, dicendane est Praefatio propria festi vel
octavae cuius factum sit officium?
2° Itemque in eisdem Missis dicendumne est Credo ratione
festi vel octavae symbolum habentis?
VII. In Missis pro Sponsis, sicut in aliis Missis votivis ex
privilegio celebratis, in duplicibus adiungendane est tertia
oratio ?
Et sacra Rituum Congregatio, ad relationem subscript!
Secretarii, audito Commissionis Liturgicae suifrag^o, re se-
dulo perpensa, ita rescribendum censuit:
Ad I. Affirmative.
Ad II. Negative.
Ad III. Serventur propriae, si fuerint concessae, iuxta
novas Rubricas, tit. I, n. 4.
Ad IV. Quoad i^ affirmative ad primam partem, negative
ad secundam. Quoad 2"™ affirmative.
Ad V. Omittatur tertia Oratio.
Ad VI. Quoad i^™ affirmative. Quoad 2^*" negative.
Ad VII. Negative.
Atque ita rescripsit ac declaravit, die 24 maii 191 2.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli^ 5. R. C. Praejectus.
L. * S.
■^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien, Secretarius.
III.
Litterae Circulares ad rev.mos locorum Ordinarios
QUOAD Propria Officiorum Dioecesana.
Illme et Rme Domine, uti Frater,
Quum Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio Papae X magnae
curae sit, ut Breviarii Romani reformatio ad unguem per-
ANALECTA. 21 7
ficiatur; opere pretium erit, etiam lectiones historicas cuique
dioecesi proprias ad trutinam revocare. Quamobrem gratis-
simum Summo Pontifici fecerit Amplitudo Tua, si pro virili
curabit, ut in ista dioecesi Tibi commissa, viri periti eligantur
qui, conlatis consiliis, historicas lectiones quas supra dixi, dili-
genter examinent easque cum vetustis codicibus, si praesto sint,
aut cum probata traditione conferant. Quod, si repererint eas
historias contra fidem codicum et solidae traditionis in aliam
formam a nativa degenerasse, omni ope adlaborent ut vera
narratio restituatur.
Omnia vero maturius expendenda sunt, ne quid desit ex ea
diligentia, quae collocanda est in reperiendis codicibus, in
eorum variis lectionibus conferendis et in vera traditione ob-
servanda. Nee profecto opus est f estinatione : putamus enim
spatium ad minus triginta annorum necessarium, ut Breviarii
reformatio feliciter absolvatur.
Interea cum opus in ista dioecesi perfectum fuerit; Ampli-
tudo Tua ut illud ad banc Sacrorum Rituum Congregationem
mittatur, pro sua pietate sataget: ita tamen, ut si quid in
lectionibus historicis additum vel demptum aut mutatum fuerit,
rationes quae ad id impulerunt, brevi sed lucida oratione
afferantur.
Dum haec, de special! mandato Summi Pontificis, Ampli-
tudini Tuae significo, diuturnam ex animo felicitatem adprecor.
Romae, die 15 maii 191 2.
Amplitudinis Tuae
Uti Prater addictissimus
pR. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
•^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Chary sti en., Secretarius.
NoTA. Hisce similes litterae missae sunt ad Praepositos
generales Ordinum seu Congregationum Religiosorum, quoad
Propria Officiorum ipsis concessa.
2i8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
S. OONaEEQATIO INDIOIS.
I.
Decretum quo quaedam prohibentur Opera.
Feria II , die 6 mail igi2.
Sacra Congregatio Eminentissimorum ac Reverendissi-
morum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium a Sanctis-
simo Domino Nostro Pio Papa X Sanctaque Sede Apostolica
Indici librorum pravae doctrinae, eorumdemque proscriptioni,
expurgationi ac permissioni in universa Christiana republica
praepositorum et delegatorum, habita in Palatio Apostolico
Vaticano die 6 maii 1912, damnavit et damnat, proscripsit pro-
scribitque, atque in Indicem librorum prohibitorum referri
mandavit et mandat quae sequuntur opera :
Abbe Jules Claraz^ Le mariage des pretres. Paris igii.
IzsoF Ala JOS, A gyakori szent dldozds es az eletpszicho-
logia. Budapest igio.
Th. de Cauzons^ Histoire de ['inquisition en France.
Paris igog.
Itaque nemo cuiuscumque gradus et conditionis praedicta
opera damnata atque proscripta, quocumque loco et quocumque
idiomate, aut in posterum edere, aut edita legere vel retinere
audeat, sub poenis in Indice librorum vetitorum indictis.
Quibus Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio Papae X pOT me
infrascriptum Secretarium relatis, Sanctitas Sua Decretum
probavit, et promulgari praecepit. In quorum fidem etc.
Datum Romae, die 9 maii 191 2.
F. Card. Della Volpe, Praefectus.
L. *S.
Thomas Esser, O.P., Secretarius.
II.
DUBIUM.
Sacra Congregatio Eminentissimorum ac Reverendissi-
morum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium a Sanctissimo
Domino Nostro Pio Papa X Sanctaque Sede Apostolica Indici
librorum pravae doctrinae eorumdemque proscriptioni, ex-
purgationi ac permissioni in universa Christiana republica
ANALECTA.
219
praepositorum et delegatorum, habita in Palatio Apostolico
Vaticano die 6 maii 191 2, ad dubium :
" Utrum Episcopus loci, in quo aliquis auctor eidem non
subditus " librum, a proprio Ordinario iam examinatum et
praelo dignum iudicatum, publici iuris facere desiderat, istius
libri impressionem permittere possit, quin eum novae censurae
subiicere debeat "
respondendum censuit :
"Affirmative, apponendo iudicium * Nihil obstare ' censoris
alterius dioecesis, ab istius Ordinario sibi transmissum."
Quibus Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio Papae X per me
infrascriptum Secretarium relatis, Sanctitas Sua responsionem
Eminentissimorum Patrum confirmavit et promulgari prae-
cepit.
Datum Romae, die 9 maii 191 2.
F. Card. Della Volpe, Praefectus.
L. * S.
Thomas Esser, O.P., Secretarius.
S. OONGEEGATIO DE SAOEAMENTIS.
Decretum circa Impedimentum ex adulterio cum Atten-
TATiONE Matrimonii proveniens.
Non raro accidit, ut qui ab Apostolica Sede dispensationem
super matrimonio rato et non consummato, vel documentum
libertatis ob praesumptam mortem coniugis obtinuerunt, ad
consulendum suae animae saluti, novum matrimonium in facie
Ecclesiae cum iis celebrare velint cum quibus, priore vinculo
constante, connubium mere civile, adulterio commisso, con-
traxerunt.
Porro quum ab impedimento proveniente ex adulterio cum
attentatione matrimonii, quod obstat in casu, peti ut pluri-
mum haud soleat dispensatio, Ssmus D. N. Pius Papa X, ne
matrimonia periculo nullitatis exponantur, de consult©
Emorum Patrum sacrae huius Congregationis de disciplina
Sacramentorum, statuit ut in posterum dispensatio a dicto im-
pedimento in casu concessa censeatur per datam a S. Sede sive
dispensationem super matrimonio rato et non consummato,
sive permissionem transitus ad alias nuptias.
220 1'HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
Quoad praeteritum vero eadem Sanctitas Sua matrimonia
quae forte ex hoc capite invalide inita fuerint, revalidare et
sanare benigne dignata est.
Idque per praesens eiusdem sacrae Congregationis decretum
promulgari iussit, quibuslibet in contrarium non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus eiusdem sacrae Congregationis,
die 3 mensis iunii, anno 1912.
D. Card. Ferrata^ Praefectus.
L. * S.
Ph. Giustini, Secretarius.
OUKIA EOMANA.
Pontifical Appointments.
24 April, igi2: The Rev. John Biermans, of the Missionary
Society of St. Joseph, Mill Hill, is appointed Vicar Apostolic
of the Upper Nile, with the title of Bishop of Gargara
(Monzuradi).
J May J jgi2: The Rev. John Matthew Mahony, Vicar Gen-
eral of the Diocese of Hamilton, made Domestic Prelate.
Mr. Charles Conrad Shaw, of Leamington (England) re-
ceives the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester.
8 May, jpj2: The Rev. Canon Philip Choquette, Rector of
the Seminary of St. Hyacinth, made Domestic Prelate.
Monsignor John Meany, of the Diocese of Aberdeen, ap-
pointed Secret Chamberlain, supernumerary, of the Pope.
14 May, igi2: The Rev. Canon James Paul, of the Diocese
of Aberdeen, made Domestic Prelate.
75 May, IQ12: The Rev. Dr. John D. Biden, rector of St.
Joseph's Cathedral, Buffalo, made Domestic Prelate.
22 May, ipi2: The Holy Father appoints Cardinal Diomede
Falconio Protector of the Third Order of St. Francis, having
its Motherhouse at Glen Riddle, in the Archdiocese of Phila-
delphia.
I June, igi2: Mr. James Prendergast and Mr. Henry Cun-
ningham, both of the Archdiocese of Boston, made Knights
of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (civil class).
Stubtes anb Conferences*
OUR ANALEOTA.
The Roman documents for the month are:
Pontifical Letter to the Rev. Philip Fletcher, M.A.,
commending his work as director of the Guild of Our Lady
of Ransom for the Conversion of England, on the occasion of
the Society's twenty-fifth anniversary.
S. CONCHIEGATION OF RiTES : I. Instruction regarding the
privileges that are usually granted during a triduan or octo-
duan celebration, when held within the year of the beatifica-
tion or canonization of the person so honored.
2. Some liturgical questions referring to the calendar of the
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
3. Circular letter to all Archbishops and Bishops propos-
ing the revision of the historical lessons which are proper
to each diocese.
S. Congregation of the Index: i. Publishes a decree
condemning three books.
2. Decides that a book, which is written by a priest of a
diocese other than that in which it is to be published, need not
be submitted afresh to his censor by the Ordinary of the
diocese of publication, provided the volume gives the Nihil
obstat of the author's diocesan authorities.
S. Congregation of the Sacraments issues a decree con-
cerning the impediment that arises from adultery with at-
tempted marriage.
Roman Curia gives list of recent Pontifical appointments.
Tl EMOI KAriOrnrNAli— WITHOUT COMMENT.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
Allow me a word on the time-honored question " Quid mihi
et tibi." Every commentator claims that it is a very old
question, and that no satisfactory solution has been given,
except the one he may be writing. And the solution is not
yet.
Where did this harsh, Puritanical interpretation arise? It
goes back even beyond the days of the Puritans; it is almost
222 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
lost in history. Perhaps some old sour-visaged Rabbin, in
whose heart there never was a spark of human or divine love,
gave utterance to it. It is truly unworthy of Christian origin.
To say that this was a characteristic of the manner of speak-
ing, an idiom of the language of the people of Palestine, or
that the idiom is used to-day in Mesopotamia, or in the lands
of Abbe Hue, does not change the interpretation, or give us
any new light on the subject. It rather confounds. It also
confesses that there is something wrong with the sentence or,
properly, reply.
We have all been so taught that we hang our hat on this
peg — " It is an idiom of the language." This is the very
answer a professor gave us in class one day. We looked up
to our professors then as oracles in all abstruse subjects.
Many of us since have found those oracles to be about as re-
liable as the oracles of ancient Rome.
But back to the question. What did Christ really say?
You philologists turn to your Greek and tell us that St. John
wrote the Gospel in Greek ; he was not writing a play ; he gave
us no stage settings; he gave us no " asides"; he made no
marginal nor foot-notes. He left these latter for the com-
mentators, and they have spoiled the passage. They have
covered it, so to speak, with smoke. Who was Christ, and
what did He say on this occasion ? Christ was God, a Divine
Person, walking among, and speaking to men. He was all
love. Love itself. He was all amiability, all politeness. In
polite conduct, and correct manner of speaking. He was an
examplar for mankind for all time.
Christ was at the wedding by invitation. His mother was
there also, presumably by invitation. She may have been a
relative of one of the contracting parties; in which case she
was more than ordinarily solicitous about the preparations
and the banquet. There were also four of the Apostles pres-
ent. St. John does not say whether he was present or not.
If he were present, he afterward wrote down the words as he
heard them. If he were not present, he wrote the words he
was inspired to write. We do not know where Christ and
His Mother sat at the banquet. All we know about it is
that Mary saw that there was not a sufficient quantity of wine
for the feast. How and where she told Christ about it we do
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ooo
not know. Did she come and whisper, or speak in an " aside "
to Him, or did she call Him to the end of the room where the
viands were prepared? We do not know. But we do know
that she told Him of the small quantity of wine. We have
Christ's answer as St. John wrote it. " t/ hfioi koX aoi yhvac—
(Madam), (My Dear), Lady, what is this to me and to you?,
My hour (to work wonders) has not yet arrived?" "Lady,
this is no affair of ours, (we are only guests)." " Lady, we
did not prepare this feast," (the material part). Or, " Lady,
is it our affair?" (are we supposed to furnish wine?) Or
still further, " Is this a part of the program you have
arranged ?"
This was all said in a quiet manner. His inflection of voice
is not given. His expression of face is not mentioned. Mary
understood. She knew what He would do, as the resulting
miracle proved. Why try to read into it something not there?
As, " What is there between me and you ?"
Evidently all that was said was in a low tone of voice, or in
an aside, as the bridegroom, and chief steward, and guests
knew nothing about what was happening; "but the waiters
knew ".
Did Christ not thus hesitate before the servants to put to
test her importunity, to show her faith in what He could do,
and to show indirectly that He would grant her any favor even
inopportunely asked?
If we now examine the words closely, we will find that
there is not a harsh note in any of those words used by Christ.
The word " gunai " means something more than simply wo-
man. It is also a term of endearment, a term of polite address.
Used in such relations it was common among the Greeks.
Christ might have said, " Mother " ; but Christ was polite.
Christ used this same term while hanging on the cross. This
same St. John tells us in the nineteenth chapter of this same
Gospel, that Christ, while hanging on the cross, turned to
Mary and asked her to be a mother to St. John, His beloved
Apostle. He did not address her, " Mother," but Thvai, ide 6 viog gov
— Lady, behold thy son." He used a more endearing term
than Mother. Then He spoke to St. John, and said, '"i^J^ ^
wfjTvp ffov.~ Son, behold thy mother." There could be no mis-
take about what He meant here. Christ is careful in His
224 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
dying moments to address His mother by the endearing
term, Lady.
Read this passage just as it was written by a Greek scholar
for Greek readers. True he used an ellipsis; but the genius
of the language calls for, or rather permits, such.
Consider the time and place and all the settings, and then
ask, could Christ, who was so kind to the lepers, and the fallen,
be ungentlemanly, or seemingly rude, to His Mother? No.
" My dear. My Lady, O Mother, are we to furnish some
wine for this feast?" " My Dear, did you really arrange for
me to begin my work before time?" Such is what Christ said;
but St. John wrote it in Greek.
J. J. LOUGHRAN.
Seward J Neb.
THE PBESORIBED EEVEEENOE IN PONTIPIOAL MASSES AND
VESPEES.
Qu. In Pontifical Mass and in Pontifical Vespers, the Baltimore
Ceremonial provides that the ministers make their reverences to the
bishop by bowing, when passing before the altar, or going to and
from the throne. The Ceremoniale Episcoporum, however, provides
that they genuflect when so doing.
Will you please advise me whether there is any decree from Rome
authorizing the bows, instead of the genuflections provided for in
the Ceremoniale, or whether custom in the United States makes it
lawful to bow rather than genuflect?
Resp. The late P. Schober, C.SS.R., an authority on rubri-
cal interpretation, in his quasi-official commentary, Caere-
moniae Missarum Solemnium et Pontijicalium (edit. 1909),
referring to the above matter, has the following note, imply-
ing that the Baltimore Ceremonial overlooked a distinction
which, though not applicable to all places alike, requires due
consideration in a manual for general direction. The note
referred to occurs in the Chapter " De Missa Solemni Pon-
tifical! ab Episcopo in Ecclesia Cathedrali celebranda," and
reads as follows :
Qui non sunt de gremio Capituli semper genuflectere debent trans-
eundo tam ante altare quam ante Episcopum, sive pontificaliter sive
Cappa tantiun aut Mozetta indutum; et reprobatur usus, ut solum-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 221;
modo caput et humeros inclinent. (S. R. C, die 9 Maji, 1857, in
Din. n. 3046.) Canonici vero, quoties ante altare vel ante Episco-
pum transeunt, caput et humeros tantum profunde inclinant. Quare
Assistentes et Ministri Sacri, nisi sunt Canonici, et omnes Ministri
inferiores ante altare et Episcopum transeundo semper genuflectere
debent; quod in sequentibus bene notandum est, quamquam postea
dicetur : profunda facta inclinatione vel factis debitis reverentiis.
The distinction here made seems to settle the difficulty and
show that it does not suffice to make a simple reverence in-
stead of genuflecting at the Pontifical services, in cathedrals
where there are no regular Canons.
INDULGENOE AND COMMUNION AT EORTY HOUES' DEVOTION.
Qu. At the close of Forty Hours' Devotion in a neighboring par-
ish, several priests, my elders, firmly espoused the affirmative of the
following query: Is it possible for those who make a visit to the
Blessed Sacrament on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of the Forty
Hours' Devotion, to gain the Plenary Indulgence by receiving Holy
Communion on Wednesday morning, the Devotion having closed
with all solemnity the evening before? There was no particular
reason suggested why the reception of Holy Communion did not
take place on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. H. F. H.
Resp. The Indulgences specified in connexion with the
Forty Hours' Prayer appear to require that the reception of
the Sacraments take place on one or other of the days during
which the Devotion lasts. A distinct concession has been
granted, however, so as to extend the gaining of the Indul-
gences to those who receive on the day before or on the morn-
ing of the Exposition {Deer, authent. nn. 426 and 434.)
Behringer, however, in his great work on Indulgences
{Abldsse, XIII ed. p. 84), cites the Raccolta (p. xv), to the
effect that a Plenary Indulgence, issued in connexion with
devotions that last throughout a month or for a number of
days, may be gained if Holy Communion be received within
the eight days which immediately follow the closing of the
exercises. This concession would seem to apply to the Tri-
•duum of the Forty Hours Prayer, since " ubi lex non dis-
tinguit " and " favores ampliandi " are principles of general
application, although there be no mention of it in the regula-
tions for the Forty Hours' Adoration.
226 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
WHERE IS THE DIOOESE OP KEMPEN?
Qu. The July number of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record prints
among its documents a letter from Cardinal De Lai in which he
felicitates a bishop in the name of the Holy Father for founding a
preparatory and a theological seminary in his diocese of Kempen.
The Latin is Campinense ; but there is no Kempen diocese, the little
town of the famous Thomas being quite too insignificant a place for
such a distinction. From the context of the document it is not pos-
sible to make out to what locality it is addressed. Can the editor
of The Ecclesiastical Review throw light on the subject?
SCOTUS.
Resp. The name Kempen as mentioned above must be an
error. The document referred to is addressed to the Bishop
of Campinas, which city is located in Sao Paolo, Brazil, South
America.
THE QUESTION OF MITIGATING THE EUOHAEISTIO FAST.
Although the subject of the Eucharistic Fast and the ad-
visability of mitigating the present discipline have been dis-
cussed in the Ecclesiastical Review at intervals during
the last two years, by priests familiar with the conditions in
missionary countries, there has been no decided voice among
those to whom the Holy See must of necessity look for a
proper representation and for an authoritative statement of
facts on the subject. We understand that Bishop Gabriels of
Ogdensburg, whose maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline
and zeal for promoting Eucharistic devotion are attested
by his public administration, had placed the question of
the fast, among other difficulties likely to prevent the
practice of frequent and daily Holy Communion, before our
Holy Father, and that the latter, recognizing the reasonable-
ness of the plea, under certain local conditions which obtain
in the United States, had signified his readiness to modify the
existing legislation, if the matter were presented in the proper
manner as a request from the American Hierarchy.
That many thousands of our Catholic people, who would be
anxious to profit by the invitation to receive the Bread of Life
in their most dire need, are prevented from doing so by no
other obstacle than the impossibility of observing the tradi-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 227
tional fast, has been clearly demonstrated in these pages.
The writers were not only from among our zealous and
thoughtful priests, but also experienced and devout members
of the laity, who hoped through the Review to reach the ears
and hearts of the Clergy and the Hierarchy, with whom lay
the remedy for the untoward conditions against which they
pleaded. They pleaded in behalf of the laboring classes,
notably the poor girls employed in the shops of our factory
towns and in the department stores of our cities; the night-
workers, and the little children. What was asked was, that,
if the ancient discipline allowing those who could do so, to
approach the Holy Table daily, was to be restored, then also
the ancient mitigated discipline of the fast be restored where-
ever necessity called for it.
Father Pernin's article on the subject in the May number
of the Review convinced many that, if a Jesuit Father could
defend such a plea, there can be nothing irreverent or dan-
gerous about it from the standpoint of Holy Church, though
it need not follow that every member in the Society would at
once stand for the same plea. The Rev. A. Van Sever made
a good practical comment in our June number upon the article
by Father Perrin, S.J., and we are glad to accede to his and
Father Pernin's request to print the following communication,
in the hope that it may call forth expressions from other
thoughtful members of the Clergy who have not settled the
whole matter for themselves and for their congregations by
putting the problem out of their minds.
We might add here that at our suggestion the topic was
proposed as a subject for discussion at the last Eucharistic
Congress in Madrid. We had hoped that the proposal might
serve as a preparatory measure for later discussion at the
Eucharistic Congress to be held some time in the United
States. Among the Latin Bishops the principle " Nihil inno-
vetur " would be likely to rule the question out of court, for
they can hardly have any realization of the actual conditions
calling for a change of the time-honored practice of European
countries. But Pius X, who sees more of the American
Church's needs than any individual Bishop, realizes that both
our mode of living and our practice of religion are based not
on a theory of traditions but upon a theory of advance-
228 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ment, and that the Americans apply this theory to the
question of the salvation of souls as to all other ques-
tions. Of course we must have reverence and unity of
discipline and a conforming obedience arising from respect
for law and authority, but we must also have the liberty of
spirit which our Lord meant to teach the Pharisees when he
rejected their appeals to their Sabbath traditions and to their
ceremonial customs, where the law of charity was being ne-
glected. It is to be hoped that the matter will, under Divine
Providence, fashion itself into proper legislation to meet our
actual needs, through the next Eucharistic Congress, which
we trust may be held in the United States in the year 191 3.
In the meantime we hope that Fr. Van Sever's appeal,
which we here print at Fr. Pernin's request, may serve as a
means of bringing the question from the theoretical to the
practical stage.
AN APPEAL FOE AN EXPRESSION OF SENTIMENT AND ACTION.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
As many priests are interested in the movement which looks
toward securing from the Holy See some mitigation of the
Eucharistic Fast (as set forth in an article in the May issue
of the Review), I beg leave to make the following practical
suggestions.
1. It is evident that some concerted action should be taken
to show a widespread desire on the part of the priests to se-
cure this favor.
2. Hence I would respectfully ask that all priests interested
in this matter should write to the undersigned at once, pledg-
ing their support to this movement.
3. After a sufficient number of pledges have been secured,
a Committee may be formed which will draw up a petition
and forward it in the right way to the proper authorities.
4. As it is necessary to interest as many priests as possible
in this movement, I would earnestly request that every priest
anxious to secure this privilege should interest his friends
among the clergy and induce them to forward their names to
the undersigned.
5. If it is judged advisable to print circulars, etc., it will be
a pleasure for me to write a substantial check.
A. Van Sever.
Route 2, Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.
Ecclesiastical Xibrarig XTable*
SOME EEOENT APOLOGETIO WOEKS.
Monsignor Batiffol, whose Primitive Catholicism and History of
the Roman Breviary in their English translations have made his
name known to American readers, gave a series of lectures, the first
in a course of Higher Religious Instruction, at Versailles, under
episcopal sanction, during the early part of 1910. The subject he
had selected was : What are the critical proofs of the general history
of our Lord? The addresses were originally designed as an irenic
appeal to the understanding of educated Frenchmen, by presenting
the logical and historical evidence which attests the credibility of
the Gospels. Owing to the publication, at the time, of a volume en-
titled Orpheus by Salomon Reinach, which made a passionate on-
slaught upon the credibility of the Gospel narrative, and which,
because of its popular style, became the talk of the French public,
Monsignor Batiffol somewhat altered the form of his lectures and
turned them into a critical examination of Reinach' s statements.
These he proved to be a series of arbitrary assertions, partly true,
partly false, or resting on incomplete historical data and lacking the
essentials of honest and enlightened scholarship.
In their present perfected literary form the lectures are admir-
ably adapted for general argument in defence of evangelical truth.
They trace the current of rationalistic polemics, and offer a suc-
cinct and methodical series of proofs. The author prefers to draw
his weapons of defence from admissions by the recognized historical
authorities among the rationalist critics themselves. Thus he makes
Hamack, Jiilicher, Schiirer, J. Weiss, and Wernle answer Professor
Reinach, wherever they do not unite against the Catholic position,
a process by which the traditional credibility of the Gospels be-
comes clearer than by the simple appeal to patristic testimony.
Batiffol states the case of early non-Christian testimony to the work
of Christ, especially the testimony of Josephus and of the rabbis of
Apostolic times, in a clear and unbiased manner, which must appeal
to any unprejudiced reader who looks for historical accuracy.
Under the author's method of examination the statement made by
Reinach and others, that the historic Jesus is essentially intangible,
turns into vapor. With Christ, in the Gospels, established as the
Messiah and founder of a Church that was to rise upon the very
foundation of the destroyed Jewish Church, the truths of Catholicity
gain a new assertive strength, well calculated to dispel the popular
230 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
scepticism that delights in deifying self. The translation, which
is admirable, is by Father George Pollen, the English Jesuit, who
has wisely made the incident references conform to English editions
and versions of the works cited by the author.
An American Jesuit, Father T. W. Drum, through the Dubuque
Apostolate publishes Christ is God, a lecture in which he goes ex-
clusively to the New Testament for proofs. The value of the
pamphlet in connexion with the demonstrations of Monsignor Batif-
fol, is manifest. Father Drum brings together the evidence fur-
nished by the sacred text for the Divinity of Christ, from the testi-
mony of His enemies, His friends, His works, and from the fact
of His resurrection from the tomb.
To these proofs may be added the statements of Christ who Him-
self asserts His Divinity. These statements have been assumed by
the older exegetes to find their ultimate and complete embodiment in
the fourth Gospel ; and accordingly St. John has been referred to as
the chief witness for the Divinity of our Lord. In recent years
rationalistic criticism has sought to weaken the traditional confi-
dence in the historical value of the Gospel of St. John, and we are
referred to the Synoptics as the only acceptable source of historical
information. Here too we have some strong statements attesting
the Divinity of Christ in His own words, the most remarkable of
which is found in St. Matthew's Gospel (11 : 27) : "All things are
delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knoweth the Son but
the Father ; neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and
he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him." The passage
is substantially found in St. Luke 10:22, not however in St. Mark
(though St. Irenaeus seems to have seen a reading of it there — Haer.
IV, 6, 1). It coincides, however, with different expressions in St.
John (6 : 46 ; 7 : 28 ; 8 : 19 ; 10 : 15) . It is clear that in proportion
to the growth of the sentiment which refuses to accept St. John as
historical evidence for our Lord's Divinity, claimed by Himself and
proved by His acts, the importance of the testimony of Saints Mat-
thew and Luke grows apace.
In view of this fact the attempt of the rationalistic critics has
been in the direction of destroying or weakening the force of St.
Matthew's testimony as a later addition to the text. The answer to
this assertion comes in a recently published study by Dr. Heinrich
Schumacher (Freiburg: Herder) under the title Selbstoffenbarung
Jesu bei Matt. lo: 2y {Luc. 10:22). The author succeeds in
demonstrating by a process of critical exegesis that the passage re-
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 33 1
ferred to in the above Synoptics is unquestionably as genuine as the
remainder of the historical text. And if it be once established that
the Apostolic witnesses stood for the Divinity of Christ, then the
argument of a Christological development, attributed to the sup-
posed later composition of the Johannine Gospel, falls to the
ground, since it rests in large part on a petitio principii. Dr. Schu-
macher examines every detail of the problem in the most approved
fashion of higher criticism. His excursion into the literature of
the subject is singularly wide, from the Apostolic writers down to
the latest adept in philological critique. Popularized the work
would complete the apologetic argument which Professor Batiffol
makes in his defence of the Gospels.
TWO PEENOH NOVELS.
Davidee Birot, by Rene Bazin and recently translated into Eng-
lish (Scribner's Sons, New York), gives us a glimpse of the con-
ditions, social and moral, of the public lay teachers in the country
towns of Western France. The people have little or no religion;
many of them, especially the workmen, are quite godless and of the
rude socialist type. But there is a remnant of the faithful, and
there are Catholic traditions which still exercise a certain influence
upon those of the community who are well disposed. The lay teach-
ers are expected to eliminate these traditions from the young mind,
to teach the children that there is no God or that He is the Unknow-
able, and that the Catholic Church is merely a political institution,
a remnant of the old monarchical regime, opposed to the State.
Davidee Birot realizes the hopelessness of inculcating and preserv-
ing womanly and manly virtue without belief in God and the sanc-
tions of religion, and she exerts herself to vindicate the principle of
morality to which she holds by instinct and by reflection, among the
people with whom she lives. Romance runs of course into the story
and gives it life and attraction. There is something in its woof that
recalls De Toute son Ame (Redemption), which we regard as
Bazin' s best work, although it was not one of those crowned by the
French Academy.
Like most of the author's other novels, of which about half a
dozen or a third of his productions have been translated into Eng-
lish, Davidee Birofs chief worth lies in a certain realism with which
Bazin describes the religious thought and feeling of the peasants and
workmen of his country, chiefly of that district which, bordering on
the Atlantic coast, lies between the Loire and the Garonne. It is a
religious condition which has lost its sap and freshness, and which
explains to a large extent the apparent apathy with which a Catholic
232
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
people has allowed its churches and altars to be despoiled and its
schools to be laicized. The fact that for generations a State-aided
clergy has served the people, has left upon the latter the impression
that when a priest is condemned by the State it is because he is
inefficient for some reason or other; and the perfunctory ministry
itself of the priests, who had nothing to urge them to special zeal,
has in many cases no doubt confirmed the impression. Persecution
has lifted this apathy and there is promise of the old seed ripening to
bloom afresh.
Another French novel, the scene of which is set in the same dis-
trict of Western France as is that of Davidee Birot, and which has
the form of an autobiographical diary, is Vendeenne, by Jean Char-
ruau (Pierre Tequi, Paris). It describes the conflict between
the royal party and the revolutionists at the end of the eigh-
teenth century. It was a conflict too between the old conser-
vative principles of the Catholic faith and the assertion of
so-called human rights against constituted authority. The author
tells his story in the form of a diary written in 1852 by Madame
Henriette Chambrun (nee Vernon) of Chateau-Thebaud in the dis-
trict of the Loire. It is a pathetic account of a wife and mother
who was called upon to make heroic sacrifices for the love of God
and her country's honor, by seeing her nearest kinsfolk one after
another torn from her amid the ravages of the revolution. P. Char-
ruau has written many beautiful volumes, — ^biographies like those of
P. Henri Chambellan and of Madame Pittar, and educational essays
and romances, like Brother and Sister and Une Famille de Brigands.
The reader will recognize in Vendeenne familiar thoughts and ideals
of all the old stories reproduced in a new and fascinating form and
with the vividness of deeply religious conviction.
AN INTEODUOTION TO THE HISTOET OP THE POPES.
Bell and Sons of London (The Macmillan Company, New York)
publish A Chronicle of the Popes, from St. Peter to Pius X, which
will serve as an excellent introduction to a history of the Popes, or,
for that matter, to the study of ecclesiastical history in general.
" The history of the Papacy," writes the author, A. E. McKilliam,
is " almost synonomous with the history of the civilized world from
the early centuries of the Christian era." To the ordinary student
the popular works of Mann, Pastor, Grisar, or of Ranke, Milman,
Creighton, Montor, either deal only with isolated periods and aspects
of the Papacy, or are too voluminous to permit of a sufficiently com-
prehensive survey and a just judgment of an institution which is
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. o-.-*
not only based on the same fundamental principle, but whose con-
tinuous and progressive activity is informed by a single motive.
This is true, whatever the variety of forms may be which that
motive has assumed in the course of twenty centuries. Mr. Mc-
Killiam gives the names, dates, and chief facts concerning each
Pope in chronological order, thereby establishing a chain of con-
nexion which shows the record of the facts to be continuous, al-
though he makes no attempt to trace the causes or motives of the
events. There is not a vestige of theological prejudice in the vol-
ume, nor any effort to settle unproved positions against the Catholic
contention; indeed the author shows singular fairness both in his
statements, and in not suppressing certain facts which throw favor-
able light upon the policy and acts of the Popes. The sources to
which the author appeals, are, besides the Regesta Pontificum
Romanorum and other classic authorities, mentioned above, Bruys,
Bower, de Rossi, Balzani, Stephens, Bryce {Holy Roman Empire),
Gregorovius, Isaacson {Later Popes). Some of these might mislead
the historical student if their inferences were not balanced also by
reference to our best Catholic literature of recent date on the subject.
MANALIVE/
Manalive is a queer book, not unlike in this to The Ball and the
Cross. As the latter goes to show the ubiquity of insanity, the
former is an apology for craziness. Innocent Smith, the leading
character, who calls himself Roland Oliver Isiah Charlemagne
Arthur Hildebrand Homer Henry Danton Michael Angelo Shakes-
peare Brakespeare Manalive, plays all kinds of practical jokes upon
friend and foe alike. He is captured and subjected to a more or
less burlesque sort of a trial, and finally acquitted. An extract from
the plea for his defence presented by the inimitable advocate
Michael Moon, may serve to give some idea of Manalive, both the
character and the book. Innocent Smith, it is pleaded, behaves
throughout all his career of crazy capering upon a plain and per-
fectly blameless principle which, though " odd and extravagant in
the modern world," is not more so than " any other principle plainly
applied in the modern world would be." His principle is this: " He
refuses to die while he is still alive. He seeks to remind himself
by every electric shock to the intellect that he is still a man alive,
walking on two legs about the world. For this reason he fires bullets
at his best friends; for this reason he arranges ladders and col-
lapsible chimneys to steal his own property; for this reason he goes
iBy G. K. Chesterton. New York: John Lane Co. Pp. 311. 1912.
234
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
plodding round a whole planet to get back to his own home. And
for this reason he has been in the habit of taking the woman whom
he loved with a permanent loyalty and leaving her about (so to
speak) at schools, boarding-houses, and places of business, so that
he might recover her again and again with a raid and a romantic
elopement" (p. 298).
As there is some obvious method in Smith's craziness, one naturally
looks for its controlling idea. The idea is this : " Living in an en-
tangled civilization, we have come to think certain things wrong
which are not wrong at all. We have come to think outbreak and
exuberance, banging and barging, rotting and wrecking, wrong. In
themselves they are not merely pardonable, they are unimpeachable.
There is nothing wicked about firing off a pistol even at a friend,
so long as you do not mean to hit him and know you won't. . . .
There is nothing wrong in bashing down a chimney-pot and break-
ing through a roof, so long as you are not injuring the life or prop-
erty of other men. . . . There is nothing wicked about walking
roimd the world and coming back to your own house ; it is no more
wicked than walking round the garden and coming back to your own
house." And so on. " You associate such acts with blackguardism
by a mere snobbish association, as you think there is something
vaguely vile about going (or being seen going) into a pawnbroker's
or a public-house. You think there is something squalid and com-
monplace about such a connexion. You are mistaken." Now it was
Smith's peculiar " spiritual power " that he discerned " between cus-
tom and creed ". He broke the " conventions ", but kept the " com-
mandments". He is like a man found gambling wildly in a
gambling-hell, but you find he is only playing for " trouser but-
tons ".
But if you ask, " Why does Innocent Smith continue far into his
middle age a farcical existence that exposes him to so many false
charges? " the answer is " He does it because he really is happy, be-
cause he really is hilarious, because he really is a man and alive. He
is so young that climbing garden trees, and playing silly practical
jokes are still to him what they were once to us all. And if you ask
me yet again why he alone among men should be fed with such
inexhaustible follies," the answer is, whether you like it or not, " In-
nocent is happy because he is innocent. If he can defy the conven-
tions it is just because he can keep the commandments, it is just
because he does not want to kill, but to excite to life that a pistol
is still as exciting to him as it is to a school boy." And so on.
Mr. Chesterton has come to be known as a genius, to whom oddi-
ties and whimsicalities are pardonable, balanced as they are by
deeper intuitions. Paradoxes abound in Manalive as they do in
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 335
The Ball and the Cross. From the very fact that men disregard
the commandments while holding to the conventions — straining at
gnats and swallowing camels — he takes occasion to defend the ignor-
ing of conventions where commandments are obeyed. To effect this
he naturally minimizes the value of the former when set over against
the supremacy of the latter. But that happiness is determined by
innocence is doubtless his own conviction. " If one could keep as
happy as a child or a dog, it would be by being as innocent as a
child, or as sinless as a dog" (p. 303).
We can hardly of course suppose that Mr. Chesterton means to
despise or condemn all conventions; and it would be superfluous,
perhaps ridiculous, for a reviewer to suggest that the violation of,
say, the " convention " not to fire off a pistol at a friend, even though
" you do not mean to hit him and know you won't," is irrational, to
say the least, and therefore not " pardonable ", but decidedly
"wrong". Mr. Chesterton, no more than Innocent Smith (Mana-
live), means to be taken seriously. Both author and character have
set themselves to amuse, perhaps also to confirm a truism, and in
both these functions they have succeeded. Needless to say, the book
is not only burlesque, grotesque, and funny ; it is also in some places
vividly picturesque. Witness the wonderful painting of the freakish
wind, at the opening of the story. Not even Dickens's classic de-
scription in Martin Chuzzlewitt can equal it. Paradoxes and epi-
grams of course start up everywhere. For instance : " As for science
and religion, the known and admitted facts are few and plain
enough. All that the parsons say is unproved. All that the doctors
say is disproved. That's the only difference ..." (p. 146).
Criticisms anb IRotes^
SAINT PEANOIS OP ASSISI. A Biography. By Johannes Jorgensen.
Translated from the Danish with the author's sanction, by T. O'Oonor
Sloane, Ph.D. New York, London, Bombay, Oalontta: Longmans,
Green & Oo. 1912. Pp. xvi-428.
Jorgensen's biography of the Seraphic Saint has already been
widely praised as perhaps the best of the eminent Danish convert's
numerous descriptive works. As the author himself confesses, it
was the altogether new light of mystic asceticism, as it glows in the
Catholic Church, which attracted him in his search after noble
ideals, and which made him conscious that the highest poetry finds
its truest expression in the humble realism of monastic sanctity.
This conscious in-breathing of the atmosphere of truth and purity
that surrounds the remarkable group of which St. Francis was the
centre, gives a freshness and buoyancy to the northern artist, who,
captivated by the newness of his theme, throws into its presentation
an enthusiasm that reflects the unexpected beauty and marvel aroused
within his soul. It is this sense of novelty which characterizes Jor-
gensen's treatment of the old theme, pictured in such a variety of
forms by artists of the pen as well as of the brush, and which per-
mits him to keep the comprehensive viewpoint in his portraiture,
often lost by artists who enjoy habitual intimacy with the Franciscan
life.
Mr. Jorgensen pictures St. Francis in succession as the church
builder, the evangelist, God's singer, and the solitary. The church
builder is the youth who had dreamed at Gubbio of God's love for
men, and who had then suddenly taken up the task of restoring the
churches of S. Damiano, S. Pietro, and the Portiuncula. Then fol-
low the journeys in the course of which he gathers his first disciples,
writes his forma vitac, and elicits new forms of apostolic sanctity
in followers like Brother Giles, Brother Juniper, John the Simple,
and St. Clare.
The preaching of St. Francis is what our author styles his sing-
ing of God's songs. It is distinct from the " Song of Praise " in
gratitude for the wounds of Christ reproduced in his body, or the
famous Canticle of the Sun which the Saint composed later, when
blindness had overtaken him at San Damiano in the summer of 1225.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 2^7
Truly does Mr. Jorgensen seize the power of that preaching which
captured by the attraction of its melody the listening birds and the
beasts of the forest, no less than the " verse King ", Guglielmo Di-
vini, who on hearing the wondrous voice cried out, " Brother, take
me away from men and give me to God ! " And so it continued to
charm men like the Florentine Dante a century later and others
who, like Brother Pacificus, donned in time the grey clothes of the
Order. Viri literati, and the banditti of the mountains were equally
affected by the singular strains of the simple "poor little man"
in the tattered garb. Yet the secret charm of the music was neither
in the soft resonance of his voice nor in the persuasive plea of his
doctrine, but in the undisguised threat of God's judgments which
struck the hearts of men like well-aimed arrows shot by a master
hand to pierce them through. " Despise the world, and be con-
verted, so as to withstand the coming wrath " — this was his ordinary
theme, we are told, and its effect was wondrous quick and lasting.
Those who heard and followed the simple admonition gradually
formed the great body of men and women striving after perfection
to whom St. Francis found himself obliged to give a rule of life and
a permanent constitution for their government as a community.
This included the organized mission work which soon brought, as
its first fruits, martyrs whose memory gave the essential note of self-
sacrifice to the spirit of the Order. These were triumphs to offset
trials which threatened to disrupt the spirit of union from within.
Dissensions, laxity of discipline, depreciation of the labors of the
Saint, marked the tracks of the enemy in a field so rich in promise.
The incidents of Gregory of Naples and Matthew of Narni in their
attempt to change the rule by holding a chapter general in the ab-
sence of the Saint, the memorable conflicts between the Brothers of
Penance and the authorities, are chapters that allow us an insight
into the sorrows that must have afflicted the heart of the Saint, whose
one ideal was harmony and love.
As an offset to the thorns that hedged round about this freshly-
planted tree, we have the fairest flowering of sanctity in such Saints
as Anthony or Padua and Clare of Assisi.
The characteristic love of poverty in the latter is made the
especial theme of beautiful reflections in Mr. Jorgensen's biography.
No power on earth could minimize the estimate which she had of
this virtue as a means for preserving evangelical sanctity. When
Gregory IX, on the occasion of the canonization of St. Francis in
1228, came to Assisi and saw the severity of the life of the daugh-
ters of the Saint, he offered to modify the rule, so as to release the
nuns from their strict observance. " Holy Father," answered St.
238
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
Clare, " absolve me from my sins, if thou wilt, but never do I wish
to be released in any way from following Christ forever." It was a
rebuke which the Pope could never forget, for he himself, as Car-
dinal Hugolino, had arranged the -forma vivendi given to the Poor
Clares by St. Francis.
As to the Rule of St. Clare, the statement of our author (page
130) that " Innocent III gave his approval to this Rule even more
formally than he had approved the Brothers' Rule ", though it ap-
pears to rest on the authority of Gonzaga and Wadding, is, as
Father Paschal Robinson points out in his admirable sketch on the
subject {The Rule of St. Clare, pp. 18 and 19), erroneous. The
proofs for this are given in detail by Lemmens in Romische Quartal-
schrift (XVI, 97).
The fourth part of Mr. Jorgensen's book describes, under the title
of " Francis the Hermit ", the literary activity and the home life
of St. Francis. It shows forth especially his personal virtues, —
his truthfulness, his zeal, his obedience, his spirit of prayer, his
evangelic joy, his love of nature, intensified if anjrthing by his blind-
ness, and the reception of the Stigmata. Beautifully and touchingly
does the author dwell upon the last scenes of the Saint's life, how
he writes his Testament to the Brothers, sends his farewell to St.
Clare, makes peace between the Bishop of Assisi and the Podesta,
and then lets himself be carried down the olive-clad hill to his be-
loved Portiuncula, blessing Assisi on the way ; and how, a few days
later, he dies, amid the deep stillness and prayer of the Brothers
in the little cell. " Mortem cantando suscepit," wrote Celano, — for
the larks, his good friends, were twittering their last farewell
around the house. Like Magdalen of old weeping over the dead
body of her Master, " Brother Jacopa " fell weeping upon the life-
less body of St. Francis, and with burning tears coursing down her
cheeks, kissed over and over again the wounds in the feet and hands
of the dead Saint. It all reads charmingly from first to last.
In the Appendix are gathered the authorities for the biography of
the Saint — his own writings, prose and poetry, those of the various
groups that cluster around Thomas of Celano, Brother Leo, St.
Bonaventure, and the Speculum Perfectionis, the Legenda Antiqua
and the Fioretti; besides these, the historical sources include au-
thorities outside the Order and modern writers.
All lovers of St. Francis must be deeply grateful for this attrac-
tive presentation of the unique figure; as also for the excellent
translation of it into English by Dr. Sloane.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. j^Q
SOCIALISM AS IT IS. By William Walling. New York: The Mac-
millan Oo. 1912. Pp. 464.
WHAT IS SOCIALISM? An Exposition and a Oriticism with Special
Eeference to the Movement in America and England. By James
Boyle, Private Secretary to Governor William McKinley, former
Consul of the United States at Liverpool, England. New York: The
Shakespeare Press. Pp. 347. 1912.
There must needs be books that discuss Socialism as a philosophy
and as a theory, economic and political; nor indeed can Socialism
be properly imderstood unless these two distinct, if not entirely
separable, aspects be abstracted and analyzed. When all this has
been done, however, little more has been accomplished than an ana-
tomical dissection of the skeleton, more or less articulated perhaps, of
the system. The physiology, the account of the life processes, has
been left out, and the vital principle ignored. True it is, of course,
that the philosophical tenets underlying and permeating the system
constitute its vital principle, its *' form ". On the other hand, those
tenets are, to use a subtle distinction of the school, but the " meta-
physical form ", which gives the esse rei, only in the abstract. The
" physical form " that constitutes and determines the concrete es-
sence is all that aggregate of ideas, convictions, beliefs, theories,
tendencies, proposals which make the system live, move, act, work, —
all that complexus of forces and processes that bind Socialism into
the world-movement which it really is. But it is this whole com-
plexus, not isolated for abstract discussion, but immanent, vital, ef-
fective, urgent within the human movement itself, — this, at least,
is living Socialism, the Socialism with which we have to reckon. Of
course to understand this movement one must isolate, abstract, its
principles, theories, programs, proposals; but one must remember
that all these dwell together and are actually interfused, inextricably
interblended in the real movement.
It is this sense of actuality, of objective real vitality that gives to
Mr. Walling' s work an almost unique place in the superabounding
literature of Socialism. The book is, as its subtitle indicates, " a
survey of the world-wide revolutionary movement ". A " survey ",
indeed, yet something more. Not over, but beneath the surface,
from within not from without the current, does the vision run.
Socialism is seen first in its formative stage, its being shaped by its
present envirorunent — which is more and more tending from indi-
vidual to collective capitalism, " State Socialism ". Next, the in-
ternal processes, the political struggles within the movement, are
240
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
brought to the surface, the internal dissensions and factions not
being minimized in the interest of a theoretically unified outlook.
Lastly, the reaction of Socialism on its environment, its essentially
revolutionary outcome, is presented. These are the fundamental
lines on which the work is built. Needless to say, Mr. Walling, an
intensely convinced Socialist himself, is an advocate, not merely a
chronicler or narrator. At the same time he has produced a work
which neither friend nor foe should pass by unconsidered. It is the
priest's business, his duty, to understand, understand not simply
Socialistic party programs, Socialistic abstractions, definitions, views.
To be sure, all these are to be included. But Socialism in the souls
and the lives of human beings. Socialism in action, is that which
he must consciously realize whilst he withstands, or rather in order
that he may withstand and oppose its oncoming. Though therefore
he can and must differ from Mr. Walling in his whole attitude
toward Socialism, he none the less may have something to learn
from his opponent. Fas est et ab hoste docere.
After reading Mr. Walling' s survey of the Socialist movement, it
will be well to take up Mr. Boyle's answer to What is Socialism?
The scope of his answer is determined by the subtitle, " Exposition
and Criticism ". The former term covers the larger part of the
treatment. The general significance of Socialism, the word, the
thing, and the history of the movement in ancient days, and the var-
ious stages and phases of its modern development, indicate the out-
lines of some three hundred of the book's pages. Socialism in
America and Great Britain receives principal consideration, its
status in continental Europe being only briefly sketched. The criti-
cism, though occupying but comparatively few pages, is qualita-
tively good — just and objective. The impracticability of Socialism
both in its establishment and its administration, its contrariety to
himian nature, the enslavement of the individual which it would en-
tail,— these and other such, while not novel, points of argument are
clearly set forth and well illustrated. They are not likely to make
much impression on the mind of the Socialist, for Socialism is prim-
arily an emotional not a logical system, and only slightly pervious
to argumentation. However, Mr. Boyle has written a book which
the student of the world-wide movement should not fail to peruse.
The concluding paragraph may here be quoted as illustrating the
author's general temper of mind : " Socialism has its good side, al-
though with characteristic effrontery it appropriates to itself as its
peculiar possession attributes and forces which have been in benefi-
cent operation through the long centuries by men who never heard
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 24.1
of Socialism, and by agencies which have always had the scorn and
even hatred of the greatest of Socialists from Marx and Engels to
Bax and Bebel. Nevertheless, Socialism, extravagant and imprac-
ticable though it be, has played a great part and is entitled to its
share of credit in the ever onward and upward movement, limited to
no class, no creed, no nationality, no theory of government or eco-
nomics, for the amelioration of the lot of the sons of toil, the
righting of wrong wherever found, and the uplifting of the race to
higher places of life in all its aspects. But, as a universal condition
of society, as a panacea for present evils, as the hope of the prole-
tariat. Socialism in its complete conception is an absolute and a hid-
eous impossibility " (p. 332). It is hardly necessary to subjoin that
the author in the foregoing assignment of credit to Socialism for its
" uplifting " beneficence, has generously omitted to attribute that in-
fluence not to Socialism as such, but to the humanity of Socialists,
which is wiser and better than their creed.
THE OOWAED. By Kobert Hugh Benson, author of " The Oonvention-
alists ", " None other Gods ", " The Sentimentalists", etc. St, Lonis :
B. Herder; London : Hutchinson & Go. 1912. Pp. 392.
Monsignor Benson continues to follow his manifest vocation —
the presentation, namely, of Catholic truth to a non-Catholic public
under the guise of the interesting stories which he is an adept in
telling. He has the gift of writing novels that are sufficiently in
the fashionable manner to attract the general reader, who, by the
time he has finished one of the books, will have been not only enter-
tained in a perfectly innocent manner, but also enlightened and
instructed as to the true view to be taken of some of the problems of
modem life. Also, whether he recognize it or not — and he can
scarcely fail to do so — the attentive reader will have learnt that
Catholic doctrine and practice offer a solution to many questions of
which the insistence, we may safely say, is growing amongst
thoughtful people. Sometimes, indeed, and particularly in one or
two of his more recent novels, we have asked ourselves whether
Mgr. Benson has been quite satisfying, and the speed at which he
produces his books is such that the question is asked whether he is
doing as good work as he can. Remembering his historical novels,
we are tempted to wish for more of the same kind. But an author
must follow his bent and inclinations, and Mgr. Benson doubtless
feels he must strike while the iron is hot, or, to vary the metaphor,
say what is in him when he feels moved to utterance.
The Coward is altogether an entertaining book, notwithstanding
that it ends with the note of sadness. The hero, ii we may apply
242
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
that term to Valentine Medd, is a member of an old Commoner
family, in whose veins, as is sometimes the case with Commoners,
flows much bluer blood than many titled families can boast of. He
can trace his ancestry to times before the Norman Conquest. Mgr.
Benson admirably describes the peculiar and unique atmosphere in
which the children of such a family in England are brought up, and
in doing so, shows a thorough appreciation of the character en-
gendered by generations of such up-bringing. Of the stately Caro-
line house in which the Medds lived, and of the family history we
read :
" Altogether it is a tremendous place, utterly complete in
itself, with an immemorial air about it; the great oaks of the
park seem, and indeed are, nouveaiix riches, besides its splendid
and silent aristocracy; for Medhurst has stood here, built and
inhabited by Medds, pulled down and rebuilt by Medds again
and again, centuries before these oaks were acorns. For, as
Heralds' College knows very well, though the Medds never
speak of it, it is reasonably probable that a Medd lived here —
after what fashion archaeological historians only can relate —
long before Saxon blood became tainted and debased by Nor-
man.
" It is remarkable that they have never become peers (a
baronetcy has always, of course, been out of the question) ; but
the serious fact seems to be that they have consistently refused
this honor. It is not likely that they would have accepted
such a thing from the upstart Conqueror ; and after such a
refusal as this, any later acceptance was of course impossible.
In Henry VIIFs reign they remained faithful to the old re-
ligion, and consequently in Elizabeth's reign were one of the
few families in whose house that sovereign did not sleep at
least one night of her existence; in fact they went abroad at
that time and produced a priest or two, prudently handing over
their property to a Protestant second cousin, whose heir, very
honorably, handed it back when Charles I came to the throne.
And then, when danger seemed more or less over, Austin Medd,
about the time of the Gates Plot, in which he seems to have
believed, solemnly changed his religion with as much dignity
as that with which his grandfather had maintained it on a cer-
tain famous occasion which it would be irrelevant to describe.
"Now when a Medd has done a thing, deliberately and
strongly, it naturally becomes impious for later Medds to
question the propriety of his action ; and from thenceforth two
or three traditions — moral heirlooms, so to speak — have been
handed down at Medhurst. The objective reality of the Gates
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. o ^ ■>
243
Plot, the essential disloyalty of Catholicism, the sacrosanctity
of the National Church as a constitutional fact — these things
are not to be doubted by any who bears legitimately the name
of Medd" (pp. 4, 5).
Of two brothers, Austin, the elder, is of normal type, while Val-
entine, the younger, is afflicted with a nervous temperament which,
it turns out in the end, makes him physically, at least, a coward.
Early in the tale we are introducted to a priest. Father Maple, a
great pianist, who, before the story is done, has a great deal to do
with Valentine. Austin and his younger brother do not get on well
together, and there is a good deal of unpleasant bickering between
them.
Val's unfortunate disposition has already made itself manifest at
school. He had been openly called a "funk" at football, and had once
" avoided a fight with extreme dignity and self-restraint ". He is
introduced to us during a vacation at home, having just had a fall
off his horse, with the result that he finished his ride in real terror,
and was moved by this fact to a self-analysis which left him with
the uncomfortable feeling that he really was a coward. This, of
course, in such a family, would be simply an unpardonable sin.
Soon after this there comes an invitation to Switzerland. There
Valentine and his brother are initiated into the delights and perils
of mountain-climbing, about which Father Benson discourses elo-
quently. Val is really very much afraid of this sport. His fear
leads him first to re- act against it by rashness ; then, at a really bad
jump which becomes necessary in the ascent of Matterhorn, his
nerves give way entirely, and he collapses in the most pitiful man-
ner. Later on he puts the seal on his disgrace by avoiding, at the
last moment, a duel in Rome with a Roman prince who had insulted
his lady-love ; and on this occasion his brother has to take his place,
and is wounded. The disgrace is real, and this time final, and poor
Val (now a Cambridge undergraduate) is practically ostracized by
his family, and jilted by his sweetheart into the bargain.
The real motive of the story comes in when, in his despair, poor
Val, who is tempted to disbelieve alike in God and man, and has
found little comfort from placing his confidence in a materialistic
pseudo-scientist, opens his mind at last to Father Maple. This is
Monsignor Benson's opportunity, well prepared for by all that has
preceded, for introducing to his readers the methods of a Catholic
priest in ministering " to a mind diseased ". They were having tea in
the priest's garden. After much "shying" on the part of the boy, who
has been more than half won already by Father Maple's wonderful
playing on the pianoforte, the good priest gains his Confidence at
244
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
last, and Val unburdens his misery. He had resolved on suicide
shortly before, but had drawn back at the last minute — afraid. This
is what Father Maple says, after he has patiently listened to Val's
woeful tale:
" The first point is. Are you a coward really? To that I say,
Yes and No. It depends entirely upon what you mean by the
word. If it is to be a coward to have a highly strung nervous
system and an imagination, and further, in moment of danger
to be overwhelmed by this imagination, so that you do the weak
thing instead of the strong thing, against your real will, so to
speak, then — Yes. But if you mean by the word coward what
I mean by it — a man with a lax will who intends to put his
own physical safety first, who calculates on what will save him
pain or death and acts on that calculation, then certainly you
are not one. It's purely a question of words. Do you see? . . .
" Now it seems to me that what is the matter with you is the
same thing that's the matter with every decent person — only in
rather a vivid form. You've got violent temptations, and you
yield to them. But you don't will to yield to them. There's
the best part of you fighting all the time. That's entirely a dif-
ferent case from the man who has what we Catholics call
* malice ' — the man who plans temptations and calculates oa
them and means to yield to them. You've got a weak will, let us
say, a vivid imagination, and a good heart. . . . (Don't inter-
rupt. I'm not whitewashing you. ... I'm going to say some
'more unpleasant things presently.) . . .
" Well ... a really brave man doesn't allow himself to be
dominated by his imagination — a really brave man — the kind
of man who gets the V. C. His will rules him; or, rather,
he rules himself through his will. He may be terribly fright-
ened in his imagination all the while ; and the more frightened
his imagination is, the braver he is, if he dominates it. Mere
physical courage — the absence of feau: — simply is not worth
calling bravery. It's the bravery of the tiger, not the moral
bravery of the Man.
" And you aren't a brave man — in that sense. Nor are you a
coward in the real sense either. You're just ordinary. And
what we've got to see is how you're to get your will upper-
most.
" The first thing you've got to do is to understand yourself —
to see that you've got those two things pulling at you — imagina-
tion and will. And the second thing you've got to do is to try
to live by your will, and not by your imagination — in quite
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 2Ai,
small things I mean. Muscles become strong by doing small
things — using small dumb-bells — over and over again; not
by using huge dumb-bells once or twice. And the way the will
becomes strong is the same — doing small things you've made
up your mind to do, however much you don't want to do them
at the time — I mean really small things — getting up in the
morning, going to bed. . . . You simply can't lift big dumb-
bells merely by wanting to. And I don't suppose that it was
simply within your power to have done those other things
you've told me of. (By the way, we Catholics believe, you
know, that to fight a duel and to commit suicide are extremely
wrong : they're what we call mortal sins. . . . However, that's
not the point now. You didn't refrain from doing them be-
cause you thought them wrong, obviously. We're talking about
courage — the courage you hadn't got.)
"Now this sounds rather dreary advice, I expect. But you
know we can't change the whole of our character all at once.
To say that by willing it we can become strong, or ... or
good, all in a moment, is simply not true. It's as untrue as what
you tell me that Professor said — that we can't change at all.
That's a black lie, by the way. It's the kind of thing these
modern people say : it saves them a lot of trouble, you see. We
can change, slowly and steadily, if we set our will to it."
He paused. Val was sitting perfectly still now, listening.
Two or three times during the priest's little speech he had moved
as if to interrupt; but the other had stopped him by a word or
gesture. And the boy sat still, his white hat in his hands.
" Well, that's my diagnosis," said the priest, smiling. " And
that's my advice. Begin to exercise your will. Make a rule of
life (as we Catholics say) by which you live — a rule about how
you spend the day. And keep it ; and go on keeping it. Don't
dwell on what you would do if such and such a thing hap-
pened— as to whether you'd be brave or not. That's simply
fatal; because it's encouraging and exciting the imagination.
On the contrary, starve the imagination and feed the will. It's
for the want of that, in these days of nervous systems and rush
and excitement, that so many people break down. ..."
"And . . . and about religion?" asked Val shyly.
The priest waved his hands.
" Well," he said, " you know what my religion is. At least,
you almost certainly don't. And, naturally, I'm quite con-
vinced that mine is true. But that's not to the point now. If
you really want to know, you can come and talk some other
time. With regard to religion, I would only say to you now,
246 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Practise your own : do, in the way of prayers and so on, all
that you conscientiously can. . . . Yes, make a rule about that
too, and stick to it. Make it a part of your rule, in fact. If
you decide to say your prayers every day, say them, whatever
you feel like. Don't drop them suddenly one morning just
because you don't feel religious. That's fatal. It's letting your
imagination dominate your will. And that's exactly what you
want to avoid."
Poor Val makes up his mind to follow the priest's advice. He
has hoped and prayed that some day he may have an opportunity of
doing a brave act in some great danger — something that he can
throw himself into without having time to think ; something from
which, once he has acted, there can be no withdrawal. The oppor-
tunity comes. He is left at home in charge of the house. A fire
occurs, and he rushes to clear the muniment room of its family treas-
ures. There he is caught by the flames. A terrible scene occurs,
for he loses all control of himself, and raves madly and incoher-
ently at the barred windows till the floor falls, and he with it. This
dreadful scene deepens the opinion of his family that, all through,
he was a hopeless coward. Father Maple takes another view.
Physically, he was afraid; morally, he showed great courage. The
priest tries to persuade Val's mother that this was so, but she can-
not understand. The story conveys a lesson of charity — that one
must not always judge by external actions, but look deeper, into the
mind and soul, where we may discover unthought-of virtues.
Here and there in his book Mgr. Benson gives us amusing de-
scriptions of highly respectable Anglicanism, and delivers a well-
deserved hit at the behavior of English tourists in Roman churches.
The following passage is a delightfully real picture of the way in
which English people of the better class " do " Rome:
" And of real Rome, of course, they had seen nothing at
all. Figures had moved before them — the insolent light-blue
cloaks of soldiers who resembled French tram-conductors;
seedy-looking priests who went hurriedly and softly with down-
cast eyes; countrymen — real ones, not the sham ones of the
Trinita — asleep in little canopied carts that roared over the
cobblestones; endless companies of handsomely bearded bour-
geois clerks and tradesmen, pacing slowly up and down the
Corso and eyeing brutally every female figure in range. They
had seen crumbling ruins against the sky ; little churches, rather
dingy, looking squeezed and asleep, between new white houses
with balconies and uncountable windows; and they had under-
stood absolutely less than nothing (since they had miscon-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. ^ai
247
ceived the whole) of all that their eyes and ears had taken in.
They had believed themselves, for example, to be by nature on
the side of the Government and the new hotels and the trams
and the clean white squares ; they had not understood that that
which they dismissed as ecclesiasticism and intransigeance was
the only element with which they had anything in common,
and that this, and this only, had developed their aristocracy in
the past as well as being its only hope for the future. They had
not understood that all this, in terms of Italy, was a translation
of their own instincts and circumstances at home."
Finally, we cannot resist the temptation to quote one more passage,
which shows that at least one educated English gentleman, the
author himself, has learnt the inner meaning of the Eternal City.
Valentine and his friends were standing on the Pincian Hill :
" What they saw from that place was certainly remarkable
and beautiful, indeed ' very wonderful,' as Austin had most
correctly observed. They stood on the very edge of a terraced
precipice, their hands resting on a balustrade, looking out over
the whole of medieval Rome bathed in a dusty glory of blue
and gold ; the roofs, broken here and there by domes and spires,
stretched completely round the half -circle to right and left, in
a kind of flat amphitheatre of which the arena, crawling with
cabs and pedestrians, was the Piazza del Popolo, where Luther
walked after saying mass in the church on the right. All this
was lovely enough — the smoke went up straight, delicate as
lawn against the glorious evening sky; c)rpresses rose, tall and
sombre, beneath them, and barred the sky far away like blots of
black against an open furnace-door ; and sounds came up here,
mellow and gentle^ — the crack of whips, bells, cries, the roll of
wheels, across the cobbles of the Piazza. But that to which
both eye and thought returned again and again was the vast bell
of purple shadow, lit with rose, that dominated the whole,
straight in front, and is called the dome of St. Peter's. It
rested there, like a flower descending from heaven, and at this
very instant the sun, hidden behind it, shone through the win-
dows, clean through from side to side, making it as unsub-
stantial as a shell of foam. It hung there, itself the symbol of a-
benediction, as if held by an invisible thread from the very
throne of God, supported from below, it seemed, by earthly
buildings that had sprung up to meet it, and now pushed and
jostled that they might rest beneath its shadow. Beyond, again,
fine as lace work, trees stood up, minute and .delicate and dis-
248 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tant, like ragged feathers seen against firelight. Only, this fire-
light deepened to rose and crimson as they looked, filled the
whole sky with flame, satisfying the eye as water a thirsty
throat.
" This then was what they saw. They would be able to de-
scribe all this later, and even, after consulting Baedeker, to
name the domes and towers that helped to make up the whole —
the white dome of the Jewish synagogue, for instance, that
mocked and caricatured the gentle giant beyond, like a street-
boy imitating a king. They would be able to wave their hands,
for lack of description. . . . They would be able to rave
vaguely about Italy and its colors. Austin would be able to
draw striking contrasts between modern Rome and ancient
Athens (which he had conscientiously visited in the company
of Eton masters two years ago ) . And they both would be able
to show that they belonged to the elect company of the initiates,
in that they would say that what impressed them far more
than St. Peter's or St. John Lateran was the view of Rome at
sunset from the Pincian.
"Now of course there is a great deal more to see from the
Pincian at sunset than what has been set down here. It is the
history of the human race, and the love of God, and the story
of how One " came to His own and His own received Him
not," and the significance of the City of the World, and the
conjunction of small human affairs with Eternity, and their
reconciliation with it through the airy shell of foam which, as
a matter of realistic fact, consists of uncountable tons of
masonry — in fact, the reconciliation of all paradoxes, and the
solution of all doubts, and the incarnation of all mysteries, and
the final complete satisfaction of the Creator with the creature
and of the creature with the Creator — all these things, with
their correlatives, find voice and shape and color in the view
of Rome from the Pincian at sunset. For here, where the
watchers stand, is modern Italy, gross, fleshly, complacent, and
blind. There are white marble busts here, of bearded men and
decadent poets, and wholly unimportant celebrities, standing in
rows beneath the ilexes like self-conscious philosophers; and
chattering crowds surge to and fro ; and men eye women, and
women, with their noses in the air, lean back in rather shabby
carriages and pretend not to see the men; and the seminar-
ians go by, swift processions of boys, walking rapidly, as troops
on alien ground, with the sleeves of their sopranos flying behind
them, intent on getting back to their seminaries before Ave
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
249
Maria rings; and belated children scream and laugh— thin-
legged, frilled children, with peevish eyes, who call one another
Ercole and Louise and Tito and Elena; and bourgeois fami-
lies in silk and broadcloth, with the eyes of Augustus and
Poppaea and the souls of dirty shrimps, pace solemnly about,
arm in arm, and believe themselves fashionable and enlight-
ened and modern. All these things and persons are here, and it
is from this world and from this standpoint that one looks back
and forward through the centuries — back to the roots that
crept along the Catacombs, that pushed up stems in the little old
churches with white marble choirs, and that blossomed at last
into that astounding, full-orbed flower that hangs there, full of
gold and blue and orange and sunlight; and on, from that
flower to the seed it is shedding in every land, and to the Forest
of the Future. . . ."
Here we must take leave of Mgr. Benson and his latest novel,
which, if somewhat slight in structure, yet well repays perusal, and,
we may hope, will carry more than one lesson home to the minds
of those it is designed to reach.
THE MIEEOE OP OXPOED. By 0. B. Dawson, S.J., M.A. (Exeter Col-
lege). With forty illustrations and a map. London and Edinburgh:
Sands & Co.; St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 265.
There are proportionately fewer Catholic students at Oxford, at
the present time, than there are at any one of our leading American
non- Catholic imiversities, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn-
sylvania, Chicago, Berkeley. Nevertheless there is a decidedly
Catholic influence being exercised at Oxford by the gradual return
of the Religious Orders, whose members act as licensed masters for
undergraduate students. Among the houses of study opened by
them are those of Parker's Hall, belonging to the Benedictines of
Ampleforth Abbey, and Pope's Hall, established by the Jesuits,
who also have built St. Aloysius's Church, a beautiful edifice, in
which since 1875 upwards of a thousand converts have been recon-
ciled to the Catholic Church; and a new Jesuit church, dedicated
to SS. Edmund and Frideswide, has been opened at Oxford. The
Capuchin Fathers also have founded a house of studies for stu-
dents of their Order, although the institution still lacks the acad-
emical authorization required for the reception of undergraduate
students of the University. The University Catholic Board also
provides for regular religious services by a priest for the general
body of Catholic students, which does not exceed a hundred yet.
250
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Thus Oxford UBiversity is being reanimated with something of
its ancient vitality, after nearly four centuries of delirium, during
which it seems to have lost its true identity, retaining only the beau-
tiful forms created by its Catholic founders. The Reformers, so-
called, did their best to eliminate every vestige of the ancient faith
imprinted upon the brow of the venerable mistress of learning. But
the fashion of every cloister and the face of the old archways be-
trayed the ancient habits of her interior, and confronted the searcher
after truth in its halls with countless inconsistencies between the
affirmation of modern teachers within and the indelible testimony
of once taught truth written upon the noble walls.
What the Reformers proclaimed and pretended has been repeated
by the historians of the guide-book, and the New World visitor to
the ancient sites is informed about the past of Oxford in lines written
to harmonize with the prejudices created by Protestant tradition.
" Wherever questions arise regarding the religious storm which burst
over the University in the sixteenth century, statements are made,
and inferences drawn, which in the light of present knowledge can
no longer be sustained." To counteract this misrepresentation is the
author's chief reason for publishing his book.
The sources from which the present account of Oxford Univer-
sity is drawn, are uniformly authentic, and Father Dawson has been
helped not only by the widely-known literature on the subject, but
likewise by the critical researches of the Oxford Historical Society.
As a result he constructs a thoroughly reliable record of the origin,
development, religious and scientific activity of the old foundations,
together with the eliminations, modifications, changes, and additions
made since the ancient seat of learning was wrested from Catholic
control. There is a history of each of the twenty-one Colleges and
Halls, a brief sketch of the religious Orders whose members were
instrumental in developing the spirit of philosophical and theologi-
cal teaching to a degree which made the name of Oxford synony-
mous with all that is implied in the highest authority of human
learning.
To avoid misconception, we should add that the volume is not in
the least polemical, nor even didactic; it simply records facts, but
facts that carry with them an immense evidence of the power of
Catholic teaching and organization. The numerous illustrations
give a distinction to the volume which increases its practical utility
as a guide through Oxford or a reference book to its history.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 2; I
BREVIAKIUM EOMANUM ex Decreto SS. Ooncilii Tridentini etc. Editio
septima post alteram typicam continens Novum Psalterimn. Qnattuor
partes. Katisbonae, Komae, Neo-Eboraci et Oincinnati: Smnpt. et
typis Friderici Pnstet. 1912.
In view of the Papal Constitution Divino afflatu, which ordains
a different arrangement in the daily recitation of the Divine Office
from that to which priests of the Latin rite have heretofore been ac-
customed, it is a pleasure to have a new style Breviary. One of the
best editions of the new Office book is being supplied by Fr. Pustet
of Ratisbon, who takes first rank among the liturgical printers in
Europe, not only on account of the excellent work produced by him
in the past, but also by reason of the generosity with which the old
head of the firm, Chevalier Pustet, undertook the expense of the
various Medicean editions, at the time when Leo XIII, after reor-
ganizing the liturgical services, could find no other European pub-
lisher who was willing to run the financial risk involved in repro-
ducing the more expensive books used only in exceptional choir
services.
The Breviary before us, in flexible binding, about seven by four
inches, of light weight, printed on toned paper, is in form and
typography an ideal " priest's prayer book ". It is of course under-
stood that when one speaks of an ideal Breviary, it is only in a
relative sense. Some readers require large type; others want the
volume in the smallest possible format, so as to make of it a real
vest-pocket edition; and there are many other preferences due to the
habits or tastes of the individual.
Apart from the excellences of form which we have mentioned,
little is to be said about the volumes, as the matter is uniformly the
same in all editions and placed as conveniently as experience and the
requirements allow. We must note, however, since it may cause
some annoyance to those who prefer this edition on other grounds,
the faulty reference to the paging in the " Commune Sanctorum " ;
thus, throughout we have the reference of the Te Deum to page 13,
instead of page 7 ; the Antiphons at Lauds refer to Psalms on page
14 instead of 28. There are given also the old Votive Offices, al-
though they with their rubrics have been abolished by the new rules,
and are useless except as archeological information needlessly increas-
ing the bulk of the book. Evidently the entire portion printed in
bracketed numbers, that is, the " Commune Sanctorum " and the
" Officia Propria pro aliquibus locis ", wherever these refer to the
Ordinariinn, needs to be revised to make the references correct. In
some instances this error of reference extends to the Proper, as in the
Office of St. Elizabeth (8 July). The rubric ** et per horas " under
Lauds should also be eliminated.
252 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
LIFE AND TIMES OF THE FATBIAEOHS, ABEAHAM, ISAAC, AND
JAOOB. Being a supplement to "The Land and the Book". By
William Hamid Thompson, M.D., LL.D. Illustrated. Funk &
Wagnalls Oo. 1912. Pp. 285.
The fifteen chapters of this handsomely printed little volume are
lectures or talks on Biblical topics which group themselves in a
somewhat desultory fashion within the period of the patriarchs.
The writer, who traveled with his father, the author of the well-
known The Land and the Book, fills in certain recesses of the latter
work by descriptions of Scriptural personages, places, and charac-
teristics of patriarchal life, interspersed with reminiscences and ex-
pressions of opinion which offer instructive and interesting reading.
In the matter of criticism, though the book does not aim at scien-
tific form, the author is wholly conservative.
OOMPENDIUM LITUEGIAE SAOEAE, jnxta Eltum Eomannm in Missae
celebratione et Officii recitatione. Auctore Jos. Aertnys, O.SS.E.,
Theologiae Moralis et S. Liturgiae Professore emerito. Editio septima
Oonstitntioni novissimae Pii PP. X ac recentissimis S.E.O. Decretis
acoommodata. Tomaci: Libreria Oasterman (Galopiae: Firma M.
Alberts). 1912. Pp. 180.
The clergy everywhere are familiar with the title of the venerable
Father Aertnys' summary of liturgical rules and approved prac-
tices, for the book has been before the public for many years and
had been republished in six editions before the promulgation, last
November, of the Pontifical Constitution Divino afflatu. The pres-
ent edition of the Compendium incorporates the changes made neces-
sary by this document and thus becomes practically a new work. It
may be well to recall here that the author's purpose is to explain
briefly the rites of the Mass and of the general rubrics of the Mis-
sal, as well as the method of reciting the Breviary. It thus inter-
prets the offices of the ecclesiastical year and makes clear their
mutual relations. The method of exposition, to which the typo-
graphical arrangement also tends, makes the manual particularly
useful for classes in the final year of preparation for sacred orders.
Xtterar^ Cbat
The Histoire de I'Inquisition en France by T. de Cauzons, the second volume
of which has just been issued by the publishers of the Nouvelle Bibliotheque
Historique, has been censured by the S. Congregation of the Index. The con-
demnation is dated 6 May of the present year, and specifically refers to the
first volume issued in 1909. We printed an exhaustive and objective criticism
of the book at the time, pointing out the attitude of the author. That attitude,
whilst it was in no wise hostile to the disciplinary institutions, much less
to the faith of the Catholic Church, was one of occasional strong censure of
the churchmen who represented the Inquisition during the period of its
greatest severity. This, we assume, is the chief reason for placing the book
on the Index, albeit the S. Congregation does not assign any specific reasons
in such cases, unless they are asked for by the author; for it is to be under-
stood that the grounds of censure become patent when once indicated as
contained either in the spirit or statements of the work.
The second volume, although it is not mentioned in the Index censure,
since its appearance is simultaneous with the Decree, naturally shares in the
censure of the Introductory History which forms the subject of volume one.
In the second volume the author deals with the personnel, procedure, penalties
and their execution, adopted under the authority of the Inquisition. A third
and final volume was announced, to treat of the Inquisition within the borders
of France. The student of history who abstracts from any opinion expressed
by the author, and who takes the facts collated by him in the purely objective
manner of the historian, must recognize the wide range of learning shown
in the work. We trust the author may so modify his statements in a future
edition as to divest his erudition of any taint of exaggerated conclusions,
which must do harm to the uncritical reader and which offer weapons to the
malignant critics against the legitimate and salutary discipline of the Church
of Christ.
Professor Singenberger has published an English translation of Battlogg's
Catechism of Liturgy. It will prove a useful adjunct in the work of our
church choirs, inasmuch as it explains the Latin terms of the chant and of
the rubrics used in divine services. The Catechism is perhaps a little too
wordy, considering that the English tongue expresses thought more directly,
if not more forcibly, than German or Italian or French. A page or so at the
end of the volume by way of a brief epitome of definitions for quick refer-
ence would increase the usefulness of the brochure.
New and interesting issues in the Octavo Edition of Liturgical Catholic
Church Music published by Schirmer, of New York (Boston: Boston Music
Co.) are: Mass in A, by J. Rheinberger, Op. 126, which is edited and re-
vised by N. A. Montani, and can be sung by soprano and alto (with tenor
and bass ad lib.) or by tenor and bass (singing the parts of soprano and
alto) ; Mass in G in honor of Blessed Jeanne d'Arc, for four-part chorus
(S.T.B.B.), by Pietro A. Yon; a Tantum Ergo (S.A.T.B.) in A minor, by
G. J. S. White; a " Recordare, Virgo Mater Dei" by Abel A. Gabert, in-
structor in ecclesiastical music at the Catholic University, Washington (for
tenor and bass or soprano and mezzo soprano) ; and, in Schirmer's Collection
of Masses and Vespers, the Missa " Orbis Factor " for unison chorus with
organ, by Nicola A. Montani. The principal theme of this Mass (from
which it derives its title) is taken from the melody of the Kyrie " Orbis
Factor " of the Vatican Edition. It is so arranged that it can be sung by a
choir either of boys or of men, or of both combined, the division of the choir
into two sections providing a pleasing tonal variety in a unison melody which
254
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
is melodic and simple, while the organ supports effectively by a sufficiently
easy accompaniment.
August is not a time when the general reader looks around for books on
philosophy. Even the devotee of the queenly wisdom remits something of
his perfervidity during the dog-day season. However, at least the professional
student has one eye open toward the approaching school term and takes
enough actual interest in passing events in his line to keep in touch with
coming studies. Several highly important works have recently appeared, men-
tion of which should here and now be made in anticipation of more detailed
description reserved for September.
First and above all there is an Introductory Philosophy, by Charles A.
Dubray, S.M., Ph.D., professor at the Marist College, Washington, D. C. It
is a text-book intended for use in colleges and high-schools, as well as in private
instruction. It is not the highest praise to say that it stands easily in the first
place amongst the books of its class. It is more just to add that absolutely,
and not comparatively, it is a very excellent production, and that it were
easier to understate than to exaggerate its merits. This will be shown in
the next number of the Review. Suffice it here to recommend it in the
strongest possible terms to those who are interested in the study or teaching
of philosophy. (New York: Longmans, Green, & Co.)
Next there is The Science of Logic, in two large stately volumes, by Dr.
Coffey, professor at Maynooth. The author is well known through his pre-
vious contributions to philosophy — translations, namely, of De Wulf's History
of Medieval Philosophy, and Scholasticism, Old and New. Disciple as he
is of the Louvain school, he is endeavoring to do for English readers what
Professor (now Cardinal) Mercier and his colaborers have done for the
French, i. e. furnish them with thorough studies on the several parts of the
philosophical system. He has certainly laid a solid foundation in the present
two volumes, and professors and advanced students will applaud and profit
by his undertaking. (Longmans, Green, & Co.)
A third notable contribution to philosophy is Present Philosophical Ten-
dencies, by Ralph Perry, Ph. D., assistant professor of Philosophy at Harvard.
As the sub-title indicates, it is a critical survey of Naturalism, Idealism, Prag-
matism, and Realism. It contains also a synopsis of the philosophy of the
late William James. Dr. Perry is a realist. His criticism of the opposite
systems is frank and discriminating. (Longmans, Green, & Co.)
A translation of Rosmini's Theodicy has recently been issued by Longmans
in three neat volumes. The work is a series of essays setting forth manifold
aspects of God's providence. It is timely as well as solid. The translator has
modestly omitted his name, but he has done his work well.
The translation of Dr. Stockl's well-known History of Philosophy by Fr.
T. A. Finlay, S.J., now appears in one goodly volume, having previously been
issued in two sections. The book covers the pre-scholastic and the Scholastic
period. The second volume, to comprise modern philosophy, is in prepara-
tion. The value of the book is too well established to need any commendation
here. The translation is worthy of the text. (Longmans, Green, & Co.)
From Epicurus to Christ, a widely read book, by the President of Bowdoin
College, Dr. De Witt Hyde, has recently been reissued under a new title and
one that is more descriptive of the scope of the work. The Epicurean, the
Stoic, the Platonic, and the Aristotelian conceptions of life are set over
against the Christian spirit of love. The book is readable and stimulating.
(The Macmillan Co.).
BOOKS RECEIVED. 255
The Learning Process, by Stephen S. Colvin, Ph.D., professor of Psychology
at the University of Illinois, is a detailed psychological analysis of the funda-
mental conceptions and facts relative to the process of learning and its
application, especially in the elementary and the secondary school. The mature
mind and practical conduct are also considered. (The Macmillan Co.).
Those who are interested in the Negro problem will find some of its aspects
ably treated in a recent number of the Columbia " Studies in Economics "
(124), entitled The Negro at Work in New York City, by George Haynes,
Ph.D. Other issues in the same series are — British Radicalism, lygi-iygy ;
A Comparative Study of the Law of Corporations (the legal protection of
creditors and shareholders is principally considered) ; Provincial and Local
Taxation in Canada (a description of the tax systems of the Canadian Prov-
inces and their practical working) ; The Spirit of Chinese Philanthropy, by
Yu-Yue Tsu, Ph.D. The last is a study in mutual aid that enlarges one's
view of Chinese social conditions and makes one think much more kindly
of the manifold forms of beneficence at work amongst his antipodal brethren.
(Longmans, Green, & Co.)
Books TRecefveb.
BIBLICAL.
Christ's Teaching Concerning Divorce in the New Testament. An
Exegetical Study. By the Rev. Francis E. Gigot, D.D., Professor of Sacred
Scripture in St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers, N. Y., and Author of Several
Works Introductory to the Study of the Holy Scriptures. New York, Cin-
cinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 282. Price, $1.50 net.
The Ezra- Apocalypse. Being Chapters 3-14 of the Book commonly known
as 4 Ezra (or II Esdras) translated from a critically revised Text, with
Critical Introductions, Notes and Explanation,s ; with a General Introduction
to the Apocalypse, and an Appendix containing the Latin Text by G. H. Box,
M.A., formerly Scholar of St. John's College, Oxford ; Lecturer in Rabbinical
Hebrew, King's College, London ; together with a Prefatory Note by W.
Sanday, D.D., LL.D., Litt.D., Lady Margaret Professor and Canon of Christ
Church, Oxford ; Fellow of the British Academy. London : Sir Isaac Pitman
& Sons. 1912. Pp. i4-lxxvii-387. Price, los. td. net.
Where we got the Bible. A Catholic Contribution to the Tercentenary
Celebrations. By the Rev. Father Graham, M.A., Motherwell, sometime Parish
Minister. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder ; Edinburgh and London : Sands and
Co. Pp. 147. Price, $0.15.
The Scholastic View of Biblical Inspiration. By Hugh Pope, O.P.,
S.T.M., Doctor of S. Scripture, Prof. Collegio Angelico, Rome. Piccardo
Garroni. 191 2. Pp. 52.
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
Geist und Feuer. Pfingstgedanken. Von Dr. Ottokar Prohaszka, Bischof
von Stuhlweissenburg. Ins Deutsche iibertragen von Baronin Rosa von den
Wense. Kempten und Miinchen : Jos. Kosel. 1912. Seiten viii und 152.
Preis : gebunden in Leinwd., M. 1.20 ; in weichem, biegsamen Leder, M. 2.20.
Decreta Synodi Dioecesanae Kansanopolitanae Secundae die ix mensis
Aprilis 1912 in Ecclesia Cathedrali Kansanopoli habitae ab Illmo ac Revmo
Joanne Josepho Hogan, D.D., Episcopo Kansanopolitano, et ab Illmo ac Revmo
Thoma Francisco Lillis, D.D., Episcopo Coadjutore. Atchison, Kansas:
Abbey Student Press, St. Benedict's College. 1912. Pp. xxiii-121.
256 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Sancti BENEDrcTi Regula Monachorum. Editionem Critico-Practicam ad-
ornavit D. Cuthbertus Butler, Abbas Monasterii S. Gregorii M. de Downside.
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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series. — Vol. VII. — (XLVII). — September, 1912. — No. 3.
STUDIES IN AMERIOAN PHILOSOPHY.
IV. The Modern Schools : Evolutionism.
EVOLUTION ! The magical word thrilled the world two
generations ago as no scientific discovery or philosophical
system ever did before. Whilst the abstruse doctrines of
Kant and the neo-Kantians appealed only to the intellectual
elite, here was a theory that, reduced to its simplest expression,
appealed also to the man in the street, with only a smattering
of knowledge.
Its few and simple laws, easily intelligible; its all-embracing
claims,'including, as they did, an account not only of the world
and man, but of the far-away heavenly bodies, of the whole
cosmos in fact, opened such wide vistas before the human
mind, that, it was momentarily dazzled by the all-inclusive
sweep of its vision. Taking airily for granted its subjectively
evolved theories, it soon lost sight of the fact that in evolution
it was dealing with an hypothesis, plausible indeed for the
nonce, but one that needed to be objectively tested and estab-
lished. Too often its language became colored with emotion,
when admiring its deep insight, its now indisputable
omniscience.
Fully confident that they had at last discovered the philos-
opher's stone, the enthusiastic followers of Spencer and
Darwin flung out their challenges, as the bold knights-errant
of science, in the face of antiquated knowledge and religious
superstition.
258 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
For our nineteenth century it is just the change, the flow, the growth
of things, that is the most interesting feature of the universe. Old-
fashioned science used to go about classifying things. There were
live things and dead things; there were classes, orders, families,
genera, species, all permanent facts of nature. . . . And the dignity
of human nature lay in just this its permanence. . . . Valuable in-
deed was all this unhistorical analysis of the world and of man,
valuable as a preparation for the coming insight; but how unvital,
how unspiritual, how crude seem to us now all these eighteenth cen-
tury conceptions of the mathematically permanent, the essentially
unprogressive and stagnant himian nature, in the empty dignity of its
unborn rights, when compared with our modern conceptions of the
growing, struggling, historically continuous humamity, whose rights
are nothing until it wins them in the tragic process of civilization,
whose dignity is the dignity attained as the prize of untold ages of
suffering, whose institutions embody thousands of years of ardor
and of hard thinking, whose treasures even of emotion, are the be-
quests of a sacred antiquity of self -conquest ! ^
Thus was the new philosophy invested on all sides with a
dignity which was wholly factitious, and which appealed more
to the sentimental side of man than to his calmer intellectual
judgment.
Like all great systems, the doctrine of evolution must be
regarded, not as the special creation of some isolated thinker,
be he Spencer or Darwin, but as the product of a slow growth.
It had its rise in a twofold interest.
Idealism, losing itself in transcendental speculations about
our knowing faculties, was no longer in touch with the scien-
tific facts revealed by observation; it could neither point nor
lead to any valuable discoveries in the material universe,
when they pressed to the fore in rapid succession. Post-
Kantian idealists had inaugurated an age for which the pro-
cesses of the world were primarily spiritual processes, gradual
unfoldings and manifestations of the absolute, revealing and
integrating itself in and through them. But when the hey-
day of their dazzling a priori constructions had passed, there
manifested itself a strongly empirical interest, born of a dread
of the extravagances of the idealistic period, the product of
1 The Spirit of Modern Philosophy, Josiah Royce ; Houghton, Mifflin & Co.^
1897, pp. 274-275.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 25Q
a hard-learned lesson in caution, the embodiment of an un-
willingness to take phantom for truth.
Hence, on parallel lines with the current of idealism, there
started a current of speculation intent on studying not so much
the mind and the laws that govern its faculties, as the objec-
tive realities to which this knowledge is applied. Fragments
were contributed from different sources, and Spencer gave
them a common basis in the laws of Evolution which he
elaborated.
Sir Charles Lyell, the English geologist, had shown in 1830
how enormous effects are wrought by the cumulative action of
slight and unobtrusive causes. For the catastrophes which the
early geologists had conceived he substituted relatively uni-
form natural processes, whereby, as they worked through long
ages, the earth's crust had been slowly modified. On the basis
of this uniformitarian geology a doctrine of the transforma-
tion of species began to look more reasonable.
The credit for the complete theory of evolution, however,
belongs entirely to Herbert Spencer. Sometimes Spencer is
supposed to be chiefly a follower and expounder of Darwin.
No doubt this is because so many people mix up Darwinism
with the doctrine of evolution, and have rather vague and
hazy notions as to what it is all about. Darwin's great work
was the discovery of natural selection and the demonstration
of its agency in effecting specific changes in plants and ani-
mals. In that work Darwin is completely original : he
showed not so much that there is evolution in the world, but
how evolution is effected within the sphere of life. But
plants and animals are only part of the universe; and with
regard to universal evolution, or any universal formula for
evolution, Darwinism had little to say. The discovery of a
universal formula for evolution and the application of this
formula to many diverse groups of phenomena in the organic
as well as the inorganic world, have been the great work of
Herbert Spencer. Spencer did not even get his clue from
Darwin, for the Origm of Species was published only in
1859. True, toward the end of this volume Darwin looked
forward toward the distant future when the conception of
gradual development might be applied to the phenomena of
intelligence; but this was several years after Spencer had
26o ^I^E. ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
enunciated many of his own ideas in various magazines and
especially in his Principles, of Psychology, published in 1855.
Spencer got his clue from the great German embryolo-
gist Karl Ernst von Baer (1792- 1876), who published his
Entwicklungsgeschichte in 1829. His conclusion was that
the ovum is a structureless bit of organic matter. In acquir-
ing structure along with its growth in volume and mass, it
proceeds through a series of differentiations, and the result
is a change from homogeneity to heterogeneity.
Proceeding further, Spencer held that the change from
homogeneity to heterogeneity is accompanied by a change from
indefiniteness to definiteness. In other words, integration is
as much a feature of development as differentiation : the
change is not simply from a structureless whole into parts, but
is from a structureless whole into an organized whole. And
this is what we call an organism.
There remained however the yawning chasm between or-
ganic and inorganic matter. Spencer bridged" it without
hesitation : the growth of organization is essentially a particu-
lar kind of redistribution of matter and motion. This redis-
tribution of matter and motion is going on universally in the
inorganic world : from the simple elements of nature there is
a gradual and continuous ascent toward the complicated living
organism.
Finally, the psychical phenomena of instinct, memory, rea-
son, emotion, and will, are shown to have arisen by slow gra-
dation. Although mind is evolved from matter, Spencer re-
fuses to be called a materialist ; for he maintains that you could
not deduce mind from the primeval nebula unless the germs of
mind were present already. All he claims to show is that
mental philosophy can no longer confine itself to mere intro-
spection of the adult human consciousness : it must deal with
the whole range of psychical phenomena as manifestations of
organic life; it must deal with them genetically and show how
mind is constituted in connexion with the experiences of the
past. '
The universal inclusiveness of this system leaves no nook or
corner in the natural or speculative sciences that is not af-
fected by the doctrine, not even the field of religion.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY.
261
With regard to religious dogmas Spencer himself preserves,
he thinks, a respectful attitude. He grants that ** from the
beginning religion has had the all-essential office of prevent-
ing men from being wholly absorbed in the relative or imme-
diate, and of awakening them to a consciousness of something
beyond it." ^ There have of necessity been changes from a
lower creed to a higher; and, speaking generally, the religious
current in each age and among each people has been as near
an approximation to the truth as it was then and there possible
for men to receive.^ And if science is the enemy of super-
stitions that cloak themselves with the name of religion, it is
not the enemy of essential religion, which the superstitions
darken. Doubtless in the science of to-day there is an irreli-
gious spirit, but not in the true science, which, not stopping at
the surface, penetrates to the depths of nature. With regard
to human traditions and the authority that consecrated them,
true science maintains a lofty attitude; but before the im-
penetrable veil that hides the absolute, it humbles itself.' The
sincere philosopher alone can know how high, not only above
human knowledge, but above human conception, is the Uni-
versal Power whereof nature, life, thought, are manifestations.
The great vogue enjoyed by Spencer* and his followers in
this country was due very very largely to this, that their tenets
were seemingly based on tangible scientific facts, — and science
was the idol at whose altar everyone pretended to worship.
The early recognition by Emerson of evolution as the plan
of the universe in his first book and everywhere in his prose
and verse has often attracted notice. " The facts of as-
tronomy and the nebular hypothesis early delighted him.
The poetic teachings of the ancient philosophers, especially
' The Flowing of the Universe ' by Heraclitus and the ' Iden-
tity ' by Xenophanes, and others, prepared his mind. He had
undoubtedly early read of Leibniz's ' scale of being ' from
minerals through plants to animals, from monad to man ; and
from Coleridge he knew something of the speculations of
Schelling and Oken. When Lyell's book on Geology came out,
2 H. Spencer, First Principles, p. 92; Rand, McNally & Co. edition.
3 Ibid., p. 105.
* His American editors sold three times as many copies of his works as did
his British editors. Van Becelaere, op. cit., p. 121.
262 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
it was read by Emerson, and in it the ideas of Lamarck first
published in 1800 were mentioned. Emerson probably came
on them there." ^ Yet, he never took to Spencer's interpreta-
tion of the doctrine, based, as it claimed to be, on facts. He
preferred to adhere to the interpretations his own fancy sug-
gested, which gave him a freer scope to indulge his favorable
flights of poetic imagination. Nay, in a moment of temper
he once declared Spencer to be " nothing better than a mere
stock writer who writes equally well upon all subjects." *
John William Draper ( 181 1- 1882) was amongst the first
in America to profess allegiance to the doctrine of evolution.
Professor of Medicine in the University of New York, and
an authority on the then developing science of chemistry, he
has left no connected expose of his philosophical creed. But
he was a typical example of the narrow-minded scientific
*' specialist ", who cannot see beyond the confines of his own
particular branch. And in the case of Draper that defect of
an irretrievably warped mentality was emphasized by a blind
and stubborn opposition to Catholicism. What he wrote of
Luther may be applied to his own case : " The vilification
which he poured on Roman Catholics and their doings was so
bitter as to be ludicrous." "^
Already in his History of the Intellectual Development of
Europe ® he had freely given vent to these ideas ; but he ela-
borated them ex professo in a subsequent volume. History of
the Confiict between Religion and Science.^ He took for
granted that there must of necessity be opposition between the
two. He worshipped ''Science" with idolatrous fervor; he
saw " that a divine revelation must necessarily be intolerant
of contradiction," ^® but failed to see that any system of truths,
5 Emerson's Compl. Works, Edit. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1904; Nature,
Biogr. Sketch by E. W. Emerson, pp. xxv-xxvi.
« Outline of EvoL Philosophy, by Dr. M. E. Gazelles, translated by O. B.
Frothingham, Appendix by E. L. Youmans, M.D. ; New York, D. Appleton
& Co., 1875, p. 117.
''' " The vilification which was poured on Luther and his doings was so
bitter as to be ludicrous." J. Wm. Draper, History of the Conflict between
Religion and Science, 5th ed., New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1875, p. 296.
8 London, 1863, 2 vol.
^ One of the volumes of the International Scientific Series, D. Appleton &
Co., New York, 1875.
1^ Conflict between Religion and Science, op. cit., p. vi.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 26%
scientific as well as religious, must be intolerant if it is not to
degenerate into an Arabian Nights' tale. What would
the Copernican system amount to if it were not a scientific
dogma? What would evolutionism amount to if, speaking
from the viewpoint of its adepts, it were not scientifically un-
assailable? The author claims to have written his book in
an impartial spirit; but nowhere is there any reference to
historical sources, and now it has only the value of a literary
curiosity, showing how an otherwise keen mind, seemingly
without any interested motives, can become obsessed by fixed
ideas.^^
The influence of Draper does not seem to have been deep or
lasting. That of Edward Livingstone Youmans ( 182 1 -188 7)
was both.
One evening in i860 as Youmans was calling at a friend's
house in Brooklyn, the Rev. Samuel Johnson of Salem handed
him the famous prospectus of the great series of philosophical
works which Spencer proposed to issue by subscription. The
very next day Youmans wrote a letter to Spencer off'ering his
aid in procuring American subscriptions and otherwise facili-
tating the enterprise by every means in his power. With this
letter and Spencer's cordial reply began the lifelong friend-
ship between the two men. As long as he lived, Spencer had
upon this side of the Atlantic an alter ego ever on the alert
for the slightest chance to promote his interests and those of
his system of thought.^^
^1 A few extracts will suffice to give an idea of the author's state of mind :
" In the Vatican — we have only to recall the Inquisition — the hands that are
now raised in appeals to the Most Merciful, are crimsoned. They have been
steeped in blood" (p. xi). "When Halley's Comet came in 1456 it was neces-
sary for the Pope himself to interfere. He exorcised and expelled it from
the skies. It slunk away into the abysses of space, terror-stricken by the
maledictions of Callixtus III, and did not venture back for 75 years" (p. 269),
" Whenever, says the Bishop Alvara Pelayo, I entered the apartments of the
Roman Court clergy, I found them occupied in counting up the gold-coin,
which lay about the room in heaps" (p. 276). "The Protestants designed
to bring back Christianity to its primitive purity, and hence, while restoring
the ancient doctrines, they cast out of it all such practices as the adoration
of the Virgin Mary and the invocation of Saints. The Virgin Mary, we are
assured by the Evangelists, [note the pitiful cocksureness of the assertion]
had accepted the duties of married life and borne to her husband several
children. In the prevailing idolatry she had ceased to be regarded as the
carpenter's wife; she had become the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of
God" (p. 298).
12^ Century of Science, John Fiske ; Houghton Mifflin & Co., 1899, pp.
88, 92.
264 T^^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Youmans' only published volume of philosophical import is
a work on education, The Culture demanded by Modern Life^^
a series of addresses and arguments on the claims of scientific
education. His literary activity found an outlet especially on
the lecture platform. In 1868 he began his career as lecturer,
and' soon made a name for himself as one of the ablest ex-
pounders of Spencer's unified conception of nature. "As a
lecturer Youmans was absolutely unconscious of himself, sim-
ple, straightforward and vehement, wrapped up in his subject,
the very embodiment of faith and enthusiasm, of heartiness
and good cheer. In hundreds of little towns all over the land
did his strong personality appear, make its way, and leave its
effects in the shape of new thoughts, new questions and en-
larged hospitality of mind, among the inhabitants. The re-
sults of all his efforts are surely visible to-day, for in no part
of the English-speaking world has Spencer's philosophy met
with such a general and cordial reception as in the United
States." ^* Youmans was truly " the interpreter of science for
the people ".
In furtherance of this end he also set on foot the publication
of '* The International Scientific Series ",^^ a collection of
popular treatises by the foremost scientists of the day. And
finally in 1872 he established The Popular Science Monthly.
He believed that the mind of the people is not educated by
dumping into it a great unshapely mass of facts, but that it
needs to be stimulated rather than crammed. Hence he wanted
a scientific magazine which would present articles from all
quarters, and which should deal with the essential conceptions
of science in such a manner that they may be read and under-
stood " by him who runs ". That he gauged the popular at-
titude aright is shown by the fact that his magazine is still
doing the work he intended for it. All opinions of scientific,
philosophical, or religious interest have found expression in
its pages, the last named being always treated with the under-
standing that " in the world to which we are coming there
will neither be a place nor a use for orthodoxies ".
13 It was not an original work, but a compilation by Youmans of addresses
by Spencer, Tyndall, Huxley, etc. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1873.
^^ A Century of Science, John Fiske, op. cit., p. 86.
^^ Some fifty volumes were published, all by D. Appleton & Co., New York.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 265
Perhaps the greatest American expounder of the evolu-
tionary philosophy in all its aspects was John Fiske (1842-
1901)/® who, being the master of an extremely lucid and
attractive style, was also a thinker of great acuteness and
depth. He knew how to mould the doctrines of Spencer and
Darwin in a popular form. He surrounded them with fresh
and vivid illustrations, pointed out their bearings upon great
practical questions of the day ; and in his theory about the in-
fluence of prolonged infancy on the social development of man
made an original contribution to evolutionistic philosophy.
Fiske repeatedly disclaims that evolution is in any way
materialistic or atheistic, and he takes Prof, Hackel severely
to task for his blatant assumptions. He sums up Hackel's
doctrines in the following theses :
1. The general doctrine of evolution appears to be already unas-
sailably founded ; 2. thereby every supernatural creation is com-
pletely excluded ; 3. transformism and the theory of descent are in-
separable constituent parts of the doctrine of evolution ; 4. the
necessary consequence of this last conclusion is the descent of man
from a series of vertebrates ; 5. the belief in an immaterial soul and
in a personal God are herewith completely ununitable [vollig
imvereinbar) .
And then Fiske continues :
Now, if Prof. Hackel had contented himself with asserting that these
two last beliefs are not susceptible of scientific demonstration, if
he had simply said that they are beliefs concerning which a scientific
man in his scientific capacity ought to refrain from making assertions,
because science knows nothing whatever about the subject, he would
have occupied an impregnable position. ... To a materialist the
ultimate power is mechanical force, and psychical life is nothing but
the temporary and local result of fleeting collocations of material
elements in the shape of nervous systems.
Into the endless circuit of transformations of molecular motion,
says the materialist, there enter certain phases which we call feelings
and thoughts ; they are parts of the circuit : they arise out of motion
^^ Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vol., 1874; The Unseen World and
Other Essays, 1876; Darwinism and Other Essays, 1879; The Destiny of Man,
1884; Excursions of an Evolutionist, 1887; The Idea of God as Affected by
Modern Knowledge, 1887; E. L. Youmans, Interpreter of Science for the
People, 1894; A Century of Science and Other Essays, 1899; Through Nature
to God, 1899; Myths and Mythmakers, 1900.
266 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of material molecules and disappear by being transformed into such
motion. Hence, with the death of the organism in which such mo-
tions have been temporarily gathered into a kind of unity, all psychi-
cal activity and all personality are ipso facto abolished.^'
There are those that say in their hearts : " There is no God ",
and congratulate themselves they are going to die like beasts.
They lay hold of each new discovery of science that modifies our
views of the universe, and herald it as a crowning victory for ma-
terialism,— a victory which is ushering in the happy day when athe-
ism is to be the creed of all men. It is in view of such philoso-
phizers that the astronomer, the chemist, the anatomist, whose aim
is the dispassionate examination of evidence, and the unbiased study
of phenomena, may fitly utter the prayer: Lord, save me from my
friends. ^^
For Fiske does not believe that there can be any possible
conflict between religion and science. Is it not obvious, he
says, that since a philosophical system must regard divine
powers as the ultimate source of all phenomena alike, there-
fore science cannot properly explain any particular group of
phenomena by a direct reference to the action of the Deity?
Such a reference is not an explanation, since it adds nothing
to our previous knowledge either of the phenomena or of the
manner of divine action. The business of science is simply to
ascertain in what manner phenomena coexist with each other,
or follow each other, and the only kind of explanation with
which it can properly deal is that which refers one set of
phenomena to another set. In pursuing this its legitimate
business, science does not touch on the province of theology in
any way, and there is no conceivable occasion for any conflicr
between the two.^^
On the contrary, as Fiske sees it,
the result of the whole is to put evolution in harmony with religious
thought, — not necessarily in harmony with particular religious
dogmas or theories, but in harmony with the great religious drift, so
that the antagonism which used to appear to exist between religion
and science is likely to disappear. If you take the case of some
evolutionist like Prof. Hackel, who is perfectly sure that materialism
"^"^ A Century of Science, p. 55. Also, Darwinism and Other Essays, p. 49,
ff., and p. 62 fF.
18 The Idea of God, p. 43-44. ^^ Ibid., p. 101-102.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 267
accounts for everything (he has got it all cut and dried and settled,
he knows all about it so that there is really no need of discussing
the subject!), if you ask the question whether it was his scientific
study of evolution that really led him to such a dogmatic conclusion,
or whether it was that he started from some purely arbitrary as-
sumption, like the French materialists of the eighteenth century, I
have no doubt the latter would be the true explanation.^®
Fiske takes for granted the fundamental theories of Spencer
and Darwin. He considers them as solidly established as any
scientific theory can be : " There is no more reason for sup-
posing that their conclusions will ever be gainsaid, than for
supposing that the Copernican astronomy will some time be
overthrown and the concentric spheres of Dante's heaven re-
instated, in the minds of men.'' ^^ They form the basis of his
own philosophical system, in which his original contribution
about the influence of prolonged infancy is worth while
examining.
Darwin in his Descent of Man did not, so Fiske holds,
solve the question of the origin of man. In his work on The
Origin of Species he undertook to point out a vera causa of
their origin, and he did it In his Descent of Man he brought
together a great many minor generalizations which facili-
tated the understanding of man's origin. But he did not even
come near to solving the problem; nor did he anywhere
show clearly why natural selection might not have gone on
forever producing one set of beings after another, distin-
guishable chiefly by physical differences. But Darwin's co-
discoverer, Alfred Russell Wallace, at an early stage in his
researches, struck out a most brilliant and pregnant sugges-
tion : that in the course of the evolution of a very highly or-
ganized animal, if there came a point at which it is of more
advantage to that animal to have variations in his intelli-
gence seized upon and improved by natural selection, than to
have physical changes seized upon, then natural selection
would begin working almost exclusively upon that creature's
intelligence, and he would develop in intelligence to a great
extent, while his physical organism would change but slightly.
And this applies especially in the case of man, who physically
20^ Century of Science, pp. 115, 1 16.
21 Destiny of Man, p. 20.
268 ^'^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
is changed but little from the apes, whilst intellectually he is
separated from them by a stupendous chasm. Those accumu-
lations of slight variations have brought about, in the case of
man, a difference in kind, transcending all other differences.^^
Henceforth the dominant aspect of evolution was to be, not
the genesis of species, but the progress of civilization.^^
And if there is any one thing in which the human race is signally
distinguished from other mammals, it is in the enormous duration
of infancy. The infancy of the animal is in a very undeveloped
condition, with the larger part of its faculties in potentiality rather
than in actuality ; this is a direct result of the increase of intelli-
gence. First natural selection goes on increasing the intelligence,
and secondly, when the intelligence goes far enough, it makes a
longer infancy: a creature is born less developed, and therefore
comes this plastic period during which he is more teachable. The
capacity for progress begins to come in, and you begin to get at one
of the great points in which man is distinguished from the lower
animals ; for one of these great points undoubtedly is his progres-
siveness. And I think that anyone will say with very little hesitation
that if it were not for our period of infancy, we should not be
progressive.
Then looking around to see what are the other points that are
most important in which man differs from the lower animals, there
comes the matter of the family. The family has adumbrations and
f oreshadowings among the lower animals ; but in general it may be
said that while animals lower than man are gregarious, in man have
become established these peculiar relationships which constitute what
we know as the family. And it is easy to see how the existence
of helpless infants v,^ould bring about just that state of things. The
necessity of caring for the infant would prolong the period of
maternal affection, and would tend to keep the father and mother
and children to.gether. Real monogamy, real faithfulness of the
male parent belong to a comparatively advanced stage. But in the
early stages the knitting together of permanent relations between
mother and infant, and the approximation toward steady relations
on the part of the male parent came to bring about the family and
gradually to knit those organizations which we know as clans.
The instant society becomes organized in clans, natural selection
cannot let these clans be broken up and die out ; the clan becomes the
chief object or care of natural selection, because if you destroy it,
22 A Century of Science, p. 104.
23 Destiny of Man, p. 31.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 269
you retrograde again, you lose all you have gained. Consequently
these clans in which the primeval selfish instincts were so modified
that the individual conduct would be subordinated to some extent
to the needs of the clan, those are the ones which would prevail in
the struggle for life. In this way you gradually get an external
standard to which man has to conform his conduct, and you get the
germs of altruism and morality.^*
If such is man's origin, what is his nature, and his destiny?
Fiske is fond of repeating that, '' Darwinism replaces as much
teleology as it destroys " ; ^^ that " the process of evolution is
itself the working-out of a mighty teleology of which our
finite understandings can fathom but the scantiest rudi-
ments." ^® Hence he holds that the doctrine of evolution is
far from degrading man; but by exhibiting the development
of the highest spiritual human qualities as the goal toward
which God's creative work has from the outset been tending,
replaces man in the old position of headship in the universe as
in the days of Dante and Aquinas. " That which the pre-
Copernican astronomy tried to do by placing the home of
man in the centre of the physical universe, the Darwinian bio-
logy profoundly accomplishes by exhibiting man as the ter-
minal fact in that stupendous process of evolution whereby
things have come to be what they are. In the deepest sense it
is as true as it ever was held to be that the world was made
for man and that the bringing forth in him of those qualities
which we call highest and holiest is the final cause of crea-
tion." ^^ Man is the chief object of divine care, the crown
and glory of the universe; but loaded down with a brute in-
heritance of original sin, his ultimate salvation is slowly to be
achieved through ages of moral discipline; and herein we find
the strongest incentive to right living.^^
Whence came the soul of man ? We no more know than we
know whence came the universe. The primal origin of con-
sciousness is hidden in the depths of the bygone eternity.^*
24 Op. cit., p. 109-110.
-^ The Idea of God, p. 160.
"^^ Cosmic Philosophy, Vol. TI, p. 406.
"^"^ The Idea of God, p. xxi.
28 Ibid., p. 165.
29 Destiny of Man, p. 42.
270 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
That it cannot possibly be the product of any cunning arrange-
ment of material particles is demonstrated beyond peradven-
ture by what we know of the correlation of physical forces.
The Platonic view of the soul as a spiritual substance, an ef-
fluence from Godhood, which under certain conditions becomes
incarnated in perishable forms of matter, is doubtless the view
most consonant with the present state of our knowledge.^^
As for its destiny :
It is not likely that we shall ever succeed in making the immortality
of the soul a matter of scientific demonstration, for we lack the re-
quired data. It must ever remain an affair of religion, rather than
of experience. In the domain of cerebral physiology the question
might be debated forever without a result. The only thing which
cerebral physiology tells us when studied with the help of molecular
physics, is against the materialist so far as it goes. .It tells us that
during the present life, although thought and feeling are always
manifested in connexion with a peculiar form of matter, yet by no
possibility can thought and feeling be in any sense the products of
matter. Nothing could be more grossly unscientific than the famous
remark of Cabanis that the brain secretes thought as the liver
secretes bile. What goes on in the brain is an amazingly complex
series of molecular movements, with which thought and feeling are
in some unknown way correlated, not as effects or as causes, but as
concomitants. So much is clear ; but cerebral physiology says noth-
ing about another life. Indeed, why should it? The last place in
the world to which I should go for information about a state of
things in which thought and feeling can exist in the absence of a
cerebrum, would be cerebral physiology. The materialist assump-
tion that there is no such state of things and that the life of the
soul accordingly ends with the life of the body, is perhaps the most
colossal instance of baseless assumption that is known to the history
of philosophy. . . . When we desist from the futile attempt to in-
troduce scientific demonstration into a region which confessedly
transcends human experience, and when we consider the question
upon broad grounds of moral probability, I have no doubt that men
will continue in the future as in the past, to cherish the faith in a
life beyond the grave.^^
Closely related to this is Fiske's theory about the existence
of God. We have heard him repudiate atheism in the strong-
^^ Destiny of Man, p. 43.
81 Destiny of Man, pp. no, III.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 271
est terms; he admits a " cosmic theism." The idea of God
has of course undergone many changes in the course of its
evolution. From fetishism and polytheism it has finally de-
veloped into monotheism. *^ The theory of divine action im-
plied throughout the Gospels and the Epistles was the first
complete monotheism attained by mankind, or at least by that
portion of it from which our modern civilization has descended.
In its fundamental features this theism was so true that it
must endure as long as man endures." ^^
When we come to interpret this idea in the light of modern
science, we must confess that, in dealing with the infinite, we
are dealing with that which transcends our powers of concep-
tion. Our experience does not furnish the materials for the
idea of a personality which is without limits. But it does not
follow that there is no reality answering to what such an idea
would be if it could be conceived. And since the teleological
instinct in man cannot be suppressed or ignored, the human
soul shrinks from the thought that it is without kith or kin
in this vast universe. Our reason demands that there shall be
a reasonableness in the constitution of things. This demand
is a fact in our physical nature as positive and irrepressible as
our acceptance of geometrical axioms, and our rejection of
whatever controverts such axioms.
Does this belief answer to any outward reality? Is there
aught in the scheme of things that justifies man in claiming
kinship of any kind with the God that is immanent in the
world? For the conception of a God external to the world
and who created the same is only a remnant of barbaric ages
that can no longer be entertained. Yes ; but we can only con-
ceive it or him in a symbolical way.
The universe as a whole is thrilling in every fibre with life, not
indeed life in the usual restricted sense, but life in a general sense.
The distinction once deemed absolute between the living and the
not-living, is converted into a relative distinction, and the life as
manifested in the organism is seen to be only a specialized form of
the universal life.^^ . . . Nowhere in nature is inertness or quies-
cence to be found : all is quivering with energy ; all motions of rtiat-
ter are manifestations of force to which we can assign neither be-
32 The Idea of God, p. 78.
33 The Idea of God, p. 149.
2/2
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ginning nor end. Matter is indestructible, motion is indestructible ;
and beneath both these universal truths lies this fundamental truth
that force is persistent. All the phenomena of the universe are the
manifestations of a single animating principle that is both infinite
and eternal, a Power v^hich is always and everywhere manifested in
phenomena. This Power is the source of what we can see, hear and
touch; it is the source of what we call matter; but it cannot itself
be material. The only conclusion we can consistently hold is that
" this is the very same power which in ourselves wells up under the
form of consciousness." ^*
This is the conclusion of Herbert Spencer. And thus, al-
though he disclaims the appellation, Fiske's speculations end
in a thinly veiled pantheism.
We have dvi^elt at some length on Fiske's theories, because
his works form an encyclopedia of evolutionary philosophy in
America. Many of his contemporaries professed and still
profess adhesion to the theories he represented ; but often they
lack his insight and his grasp of the philosophical import of
the scientific doctrines on which evolution is based.
Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1889),^^ member of the U. S.
Academy of Sciences, was especially engaged in zoological
and paleontological work. In his chosen domain he is a pains-
taking investigator. He does not however seem to realize the
limits of scientific investigation ; whenever he invades the
speculative domain, he becomes diffuse and falls into a philo-
sophical logomachy. Feeling called upon, notwithstanding
his limitations, to account for absolutely everything on the
basis of evolution, he thus explains the state of innocence and
the fall of our first parents :
If physical evolution be a reality, we have reason to believe that the
infantile stage of human morals as well as of human intellect was
much firolonged in the history of our first parents. This constitutes
the period of human purity, when we are told by Moses that the first
pair dwelt- in Eden. But the, growth to maturity saw the develop-
ment of all the qualities inherited from the irresponsible denizens
of the forest. Man inherits from his predecessors in the creation
the buddings of reason ; he inherits propensities and appetites. His
a* The Idea of God, p. 154.
^^The Origin of Man, 188$; The Origin of the Fittest, 1887; Factors of
Organic Evolution, 1889.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 2T\
corruption is that of his animal progenitors, and his sin is the law
and bestial instinct of the brute creation. Thus only is the origin
of sin made clear. ^^
And to clinch his argument, he mentions the fact that, ac-
cording to some exegetical writer, the word *' serpent '' used
in Genesis should be translated by " ape," ** a conclusion," he
continues, "exactly coinciding with our induction on the basis
of evolution. The instigation to evil by an ape merely states
inheritance in another form." *^ Thus we are better prepared
for the author's final conclusion: ''After we reject from cus-
tomary religion cosmogony which belongs to science, and
theogony which belongs to the imagination, we have left an
art which has for its object the development and sustentation
of good works and morals amongst men. If the teachers and
professors of this art produce the results in this direction at
which they aim, their great utility must be conceded by all.
. . . Whether man possess the spontaneous power called ' free
will ', or not, the work of supplying inducements for good con-
duct is most useful to society." ^®
Joseph Leconte (1823-1901),^^ professor at the University
of California, concentrates his efforts on a conciliation of re-
ligion and evolutionary science, implicitly taking for granted
that they must be opposed to one another. And indeed, he
claims, they will remain so as long as we admit with the old
religious creeds, now fortunately on the wane, that God is a
being external to the world, interfering with it at times by
miraculous suspension of its laws. But evolution has taught
us to believe in a God immanent, resident in nature, at all
times and at all places directing every event and determining
every phenomenon; a God in whom, in the most literal sense
not only we, but all things have their being, in whom all things
consist, in whom all things exist. The phenomena of nature
are naught else than objectified modes of divine thought, the
forces of nature naught else than different forms of one omni-
3« Ed. D. Cope, The Origin of the Fittest; D. Appleton & Co., New York,
1887, p. 167.
»^ Ibid., p. 167, note.
38 Ibid., p. 238.
^^ Religion and Science, 1874; Evolution, its Nature, its Evidence, and its
Relation to Religious Thought, 1891.
274
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
present divine energy or will, the laws of nature naught else
than the regular modes of operation of that divine will, un-
variable because He is unchangeable.*^ The human soul is
derived from God, not directly created indeed, but only by
the natural process of evolution; it preexisted as embryo in
the womb of nature, slowly developed throughout all geologi-
cal times, finally coming to birth as a living soul in man. Thus
it attains immortality at a certain stage of development, viz.
at spirit birth.*^
Nathaniel Southgate Shaler (1841-1906),*^ professor at
Harvard and rightly looked upon as one of our greatest geo-
logists, hesitates to assert even that much. As a man accus-
tomed to deal with facts he feels his limitations when he is
about to state their philosophical implications. Anent that
thorny question in evolution, the origin of life, he wrote to-
ward the end of his long career :
In all the skilful and patient research which has been devoted to
the task of proving the possibility of spontaneous generation, there
has as yet been no instance found in which, from matter which was
not already living, any organic being has been brought forth. The
value of the evidence as to the separation of the living from the
not-living, which became evident a century ago, has been increased
by recent studies, with the result that naturalists have of late re-
garded the barrier between two states as one of great permanence,
— one seldom passed, and then only under very peculiar conditions,
the nature of which is not yet discovered.*^
The only conditions we could think of in the present state of
science are that life can have originally begun only in water,
e. g. in a hot spring coming from lavas where there might have
been a deposit of materials such as constitute organic bodies.
But, he goes on, this hypothesis by no means explains the
way in which these dissolved materials took on their organic
form; it only provides for the gathering-together of the ele-
ments necessary for the organization; in a word, it helps us
^^ Evolution, Its Nature, etc., D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1891, p. 301.
*i Ibid., p. 326.
^^ Nature and Man in America, 1891 ; The Interpretation of Nature, 1893;
The Individual, 1900, besides numerous purely scientific studies.
*8 The Individual, A Study of Life and Death, D. Appleton & Co., New
York, 1900, pp. 18-19.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 275
only a little way toward the critical point where the essentially
lifeless becomes truly alive.**
When facing the ultimate problems which every evolution-
ist must face sooner or later, unless he abdicate his power of
reasoning, Shaler does not even seek recourse to blind faith
or the demands of morality to establish the immortality of
the soul or the existence of God. " The materialist conten-
tion that mind is but a function of the body, and ceases when
all the other functions cease at death, raises but a presumption
against the continuance of mind after death." A presumption
in favor of this continuance, he proceeds to say, is found in
the fact that the rationality of the operations of nature cannot
be explained except by supposing that a mighty kinsman of
man is at work behind it all, who will also at the same time
take care of us human beings.*^ In what way? We know
not. But seeing a real, though impersonal immortality, in the
past of our life, as it has come up through the ages, men will
look forward with a perfect confidence to the future which
awaits them, sure in their belief, with a certainty denied to
their fathers, that the Power that has brought them here will
deal well with them in the hereafter.*^
David Jayne Hill (1850), who was professor at several uni-
versities, and our late ambassador to Germany, interprets the
world,*^ man, and all the manifestations of his intellectual life,
such as art, science, and religion, in accordance with evolu-
tionary principles.
H. Fairfield Osbom (1857), of Columbia University, has
always been the ardent champion of the same principles in
numerous scientific and educational papers, and has besides
given us a valuable outline of the development of the evolution
idea in the history of thought.*®
As an indication of how deeply evolution has taken root in
the scientific world, it is interesting to read Fifty Years of
DarTvinism : Modern Aspects of Evolution ; Centennial ad-
44 Ibid., p. 19, note. ^^ ibid., p. 313. *« Ibid., p. 333-
*7 Genetic Philosophy, 1893.
*8 From the Greeks to Darwin, Outline of the Development of the Evolution
Idea, 1894. The author's attempt to make St. Augustine one of the fathers
of modern evolutionism seems to spring not so much from misrepresentation
as from imperfect, second-hand acquaintance with Augustinian philosophy.
Pp. 71 ff. .
2/6
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
dresses in honor of Chas. Darwin before the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, Baltimore, Jan. i,
1909.*^ The volume contains papers by several American
University professors, and one by Prof. Edw. B. Poulton, of
Oxford, in which he pays high tribute to the part played by
American scientists in the diffusion of evolution.
In the domain of ethnography American evolutionism is
represented by Lewis Morgan (1818-1881),^® and Daniel G.
Brinton (1837-1900).^^ The mind of man being a develop-
ment of that of the brute, it becomes easy to find proofs of
this a priori doctrine in the racial characteristics, especially of
savage or little developed tribes, because these are supposed
to manifest the various phases of evolution in their simplest
forms.
It was but natural also that on account of its immediate
practical consequences the study of ethics should be eagerly
taken up by evolutionist philosophers. And this was done at
times with manifestations of prejudice and temper ill-befitting
so-called scientific treatises. A conspicuous example is found
in C. M. Williams,^^ who not only decries the hypothesis of
God as unscientific, but inveighs with great acrimony against
Old Testament morals. Yet, if they are a mere passing phase
in the evolutionary process, a lower stage which we have
happily long since outgrown, they scarcely call for con-
demnation.
P. Bixby ^^ and Sidney E. Mezes ^* are more moderate in
the expression of their views, while giving the traditional evo-
lutionistic theories on the foundations of morality.
If evolutionism enlisted illustrious names amongst its fol-
lowers in this country, it also met with determined opposition
49 Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1909.
^^ Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family, 1871, in
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. XVII. This work was con-
densed into : Ancient Society, 1873,
^1 The American Race, 189 1 ; The Myths of the New World, 1896; Races
and Peoples; The Basis of Social Relations.
"2 A Review of the Systems of Ethics founded on the Theory of Evolution,
1893.
^3 The Ethics of Evolution, 1900.
^* Ethics Descriptive and Explanatory, 1901.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 277
from others. Already Helmholtz (i 821 -1894), the great
German naturalist, had asserted that, " while natural selection
might have been competent to produce varieties within the
same species, and even many so-called species, the question of
the descent of species in general and of man in particular is at
present determined rather by the preconceptions of individual
investigators, than by the facts themselves. And Virchow
(182 1 -1902) with equal scientific authority wrote that "at
the present time there is no actual warrant for taking the step
from the theory of descent to the fact of descent." Even
Prof. Huxley (1825 -1895), Darwin's friend and defender,
reminds us that " our acceptance of the Darwinian theory
must be provisional, so long as one link in the chain of evidence
is missing ; and so long as all the animals and plants certainly
produced by selective breeding from a common stock are fer-
tile, and their progeny are fertile with one another, that link
will be wanting. For so long selective breeding will not be
proved to be competent to do all that is required of it to pro-
duce natural species." ^^
In the face of such opposition, and representing as it did
the most advanced opinions, while disturbing widely cherished
beliefs at many points, it was natural that the evolutionary
theories should be strenuously resisted and unsparingly criti-
cized. Thus Col. Higginson wrote as early as 1864: "Mr.
Spencer has what Talleyrand calls the weakness of omni-
science, and must write not alone on astronomy, metaphysics,
and banking, but also on music, dancing, and style. It seems
rather absurd to attribute to him as a scientific achievement
any vast enlargement or further generalization of the modern
scientific doctrine of evolution." ^^
But these rather personal criticisms could not have the
weight of a life-long opposition to the theory of a man like
Prof. Louis Agassiz (1807- 1873) of Harvard, one of the
greatest American naturalists of the nineteenth century. In
his teaching as well as in his numerous scientific memoirs he
consistently and relentlessly fought the Darwinian theory.
He found nothing in his extensive scientific observations that
55 Compare : Huxley; Lay Sermons; D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1872,
pp. 292-295.
56 Estimating Spencer; The Friend of Progress, 1864.
278
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
compelled him to accept Darwinism as the only scientific ex-
planation of biological phenomena; the personifications of
nature and of natural selection did not appeal to him as verae
causae \ and he was besides firmly convinced that Darwinism
led to atheism and materialism. Evolutionists never could
reconcile themselves to his hostile attitude, and certainly failed
to grasp the weight of his arguments.
George Ticknor Curtis (1812-1894) ^^ and S. W. Dawson
( 1 820- 1 899)/® one time president of McGill University, Mon-
treal, went deeper into the philosophical foundations of evo-
lutionism than did Agassiz. They were not carried away by
the brilliant novelties and the unreasoned enthusiasm born of
plausible but unverified suppositions. Curtis especially points
out with great acumen how, the theory of evolution having
once been admitted, proofs have been made to suit the theory,
whilst the latter is nothing more than an unstable aggregate
of hypotheses.
Another clear-sighted and relentless critic of the evolution-
ist position is Jacob Gould Schurman (1854),^^ president of
Cornell University. When, he writes, we look at the philoso-
phical significance of the doctrine of evolution, the main point
is to determine what it precisely is that natural selection
explains, as well as what is left unexplained by it in the origin
of species of organic beings. A scientific explanation consists
in the assignment of a phenomenon to its causes, which causes
themselves must be known natural agencies, for science takes
account only of secondary causes. Now Darwin asserts that
the manifestation of life on the globe was through a process
of evolution, of which natural selection was the proximate
cause. He came to this conclusion by observing the results
of man's purposive selection in breeding: ''As man can pro-
duce a great result with his domestic animals and plants by
adding in any given direction individual differences, so could
natural selection, but far more easily from having incompar-
ably longer time for action." ®^
^"^ Creation or Evolution, 1887.
58 The Earth and Man, 1886 ; Modern Ideas of Evolution as Related to
Religion and Science, 1890.
59 Kantian Ethics and the Ethics of Evolution, 1882 ; The Ethical Import
of Darwinism, 1887; Belief in God, Its Origin, Nature and Basis, 1895;
Agnosticism and Religion, 1896.
6 0 Chas. Darwin, The Origin of Species, Rand, McNally & Co. edit., Vol. I,
p. 62.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. ^nr^
279
But can the results attained by man also be attained by the
blind and purposeless operations of nature? Let us grant it
for the nonce.
But then we are still in presence of the fact that natural selection
or the survival of the fittest can accomplish nothing until it is sup-
plied with material for " selection ", until there has appeared upon
the field an antecedent "fittest", a fittest organ, function, habit,
instinct, constitution or entire organism.®^ Natural selection pro-
duces nothing ; it only culls from what is already in existence. The
survival of the fittest is an eliminative, not an originative process.
Darwin himself defines natural selection : " The preservation of
favorable individual diflPerences and variations and the destruction
of those which are injurious, I have called natural selection or the
survival of the fittest." ®^
Nature then originates the modifications, nature propagates
them and accumulates them through propagation ; but how all
this is done is a mystery on which science throws no light;
and the personification of nature, investing it with volitional
attributes, serves only to disguise our real ignorance. Darwin
writes : " It may metaphorically be said that natural selection
is daily and hourly scrutinizing throughout the world the
slightest variations, rejecting those that are bad, preserving
and adding up those that are good." ®^ And since natural
selection is the name of an event that follows from physical
causes, the reader gets the impression that the origin of species
has at last been referred to a system of purely natural causa-
tion. But the true state of the case is very different : no cause
has been discovered for the origin of those variations, which
through inheritance are accumulated into specific characters.
And this attribution of superior potency to natural selection,
in comparison with the purposive selection of man, involves
the conception of nature as an intelligent, active being; na-
ture seems to do so much only because you have personified
her. Drop the use of metaphorical language and of italics,
and you will never make it credible that blind natural processes
can ever attain the end realized by human design. When
81 The Ethical Import of Darwinism, Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York,
1887, p. 77.
«2 Chas. Darwin, The Origin of Species, op. cit., Vol. I, p. 61.
«3 Ibid., p. 63.
28o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
trying to account for the origin of fitter beings that natural
selection could seize upon to perpetuate, Darwin at first as-
cribed their origin to the environment, the circumstances in
which such beings live. But it was soon shown that similar
varieties were produced from the same species in different en-
vironments, and dissimilar varieties in the same environment.
Hence he felt himself compelled to resort in the end to " an
innate tendency to new variations " or to *' spontaneous vari-
ability." But this assumed, everything is assumed. And ii
is a frank admission that you return to the final cause, inherent
in each being, which Aristotle had already pointed out, and
the Scholastics had always defended.
If you pursue your questioning still further and ask,
Whence those germinal organisms with their wonderful capa-
bilities of differentiating into species? Darwin himself an-
swers that *' life has been originally breathed by the Creator
into a few forms or into one " ; ** so that ultimately the gradual
development of species is but a mode of conceiving the action
of supernatural causality.
Mere physical causality, by whatever name you may call
it, without any fixed and predetermined end in view, will never
account for the orderly phenomena of the cosmos. And it is
this jugglery with causality, as though in time everything
could be got almost out of nothing, which is the besetting sin
of those evolutionists who refuse even to admit Darwin's
" innate tendency ".
The masters of positive sciences cannot of course observe
the final cause under their microscope; neither can they pre-
cipitate or sublimate it in their testing tubes ; therefore their
refutation, they think, need only consist in characterizing it as
" metaphysical ".
It is in the same spirit that Spencer has made bold to re-
construct ethics on the law of universal physical causation.
Yet, though he postulates for ethics an immediate evolution
like that which in the course of centuries has transformed em-
pirical into rational astronomy, he fails to demonstrate the pos-
sibility of such a development; still less does he accomplish
it, or even make its accomplishment very credible to anyone
who can resist the contagion of the evolutionist's scientific
optimism.®^
«* Op. cit., Vol. II, p. i86. 65 j^ Q_ Schurman, op. cit., p. 19.
STUDIES IN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY. 281
The method of ethics generally employed by evolutionists
is as follows :
Eschewing every attempt to deduce moral rules for the guidance of
conduct, they institute an inquiry into the origin of that morality
by which human life is actually regulated. It is not their business
to tell men how they should act, or to supply them with motives
for originating, or principles for regulating their behavior; still
less to mete out esteem and affection or hatred and contempt upon
what may be considered the estimable or the blamable qualities of
men. On the contrary, their aim is purely theoretical. They seek
only the genesis of those moral notions, beliefs, and practices which
constitute an obvious phenomenon of the life of man. They dis-
sect complex moral phenomena into simple elements, and under the
guidance of evolution track these elements to their last hiding-place
in the physical constitution and environment of the lower animals. ^®
But the phases of morality which the scientific moralist thus
binds together in his theory of development, are, when not a
part of human history, purely imaginary. We know nothing
of the morals of. the first species that ceased to be non-moral;
for surely the shape and size of fossil remains, however useful
they may be in other regards, do not enlighten us on this
particular subject.
You may indeed study the psychical attributes of the dog
or the elephant; but however rich your harvest of observations,
you will be no whit nearer the origin of human morality, so
long at least as conscience continues the unique prerogative
of man, the only moral being we know. Even if you imagine
a moral sense in the higher brutes, descriptive ethics, though
acquiring thereby a comparative character, would be as far
as ever from that genesis of man's morality which evolutionary
moralists profess to explain in their theories of physical
ethics.*'
And the same must be said with regard to all evolutionary
theories about primitive society in general and conjugal rela-
tions in particular.
There is, for instance, not the slightest ground apart from the exi-
gencies of a theory, for the assumption of an aboriginal promiscuity
in sexual relations, which indeed both biology and archeology tend
6« Op. cit, p. 23. ®^ Op cit., p. 30.
282 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
to disprove. It is a gratuitous concession to our methodology when
the facts of the world are supposed to arrange themselves according
to our mode of apprehending them. We have no evidence whatever
that all the branches of the human family passed through precisely
the same stages of development either in general or still less in the
details of their social institutions.®^ Isolating the various conjugal
relations from their historical settings, in which alone an explanation
of each is to be found, the theorist generally puts them in an arbi-
trary row as one might string beads, and then asseverates that this
linear arrangement of contemporaneous phenomena in space cor-
responds to the successive order of their evolution in time. Mean-
while no one knows that there has been such a universal develop-
ment, or that there ever was a time when all the forms of the family
did not coexist as they do to-day.®®
In the hands of Darwin and his followers the historical
method in ethics was less an independent instrument of inves-
tigation in morals than an apt means of confirming a biological
hypothesis and a foregone conclusion upon the derivative
character of morality.*^® And no one acquainted with evolu-
tionary philosophy, its methods, and its teachings, will gain-
say this stringent conclusion.
To sum up. American evolutionism followed in the wake
of the European theorists, with this exception that it always
claimed to be frankly theistic, and in harmony with the reli-
gious spirit of the people at large. At bottom however this
theism differs only in name from pantheism, since all pheno-
mena, both physical and psychical, are but manifestations of
the Underlying Power, the Eternal Reality. Being wider in
its scope than idealism, and adapting itself to every depart-
ment of thought and action, evolutionism has rallied around
its standard an army of docile enthusiasts, who will* question
and deny anything but the fundamental principles of Spencer
and Darwin. It has indeed been well said that " the belief in
the ultimate perfectibility, if not the present perfection, of
the doctrine of evolution has become a part of the scientific
fanaticism with which our age matches the religious fanati-
cism of the sixteenth century." ^^
J. B. Ceulemans.
Moline, Ills.
«s Op. cit., p. 231. «9 Ibid., p. 241.
■^0 Ibid., p. 31. "^1 J. G. Schurman, op. cit, p. 72.
ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS AND VESTMENTS. 28^
EOOLESIASTIOAL DEESS AND VESTMENTS.
THE older the world grows, and the more complex becomes
the constitution of human society, the greater and more
necessary is the tendency to adopt some distinctive dress or
uniform to differentiate the various vocations.
The Church, the army, navy, diplomatic service, and the
law (in its higher branches) have long had costumes peculiar
to themselves. Medicine stands alone in possessing no dis-
tinctive garb. This is doubtless largely, if not wholly, ex-
plained by the fact that the doctor follows his profession un-
ostentatiously, practising his skill and treatment in private.
In the public services, both governmental and municipal,
we find the same rule exists. Postal and telegraph officials,
policemen and commissionaires, prison and asylum officials,
fire brigades and hospital nurses, railway employees of all
grades, mayors and civic corporations, chauffeurs and mes-
senger boys, these and others are recognizable by their pre-
scribed costume.
Even private undertakings and philanthropic societies, when
they have attained sufficient proportions to be of public im-
portance, have, within comparatively modern times, adopted
a uniform for their employees. We find instances of this
among the officials of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals; also among hotel and theatrical functionaries,
and the Masonic and Friendly societies.
Turning to the scholastic world, we meet with many ex-
amples. There is the quaint medieval costume still worn by
the scholars at Christ's Hospital, the distinctive dress of the
Eton boys; and the academic robes of the chancellors, vice-
chancellors, proctors, professors, graduates, and undergradu-
ates of the various universities.
The history of clerical dress claims, for many reasons, a pre-
eminence of interest. The dignity of the priestly office gives
an importance to all that concerns its ministrations. It is,
moreover, the oldest illustration of the tendency in human
society to adopt a distinctive class costume. In those far-
back times when the warrior fashioned his armor according
to his personal fancy, or the exigencies of the period — in
those days when navies had not yet been dreamed of, and
284 ^-^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
when medicine and law had no existence apart from the
Church — the vestments of ecclesiastics had long been regu-
lated both by custom and rule. For, if the divinely appointed
costume of the Levitical priesthood be not the first instance in
the world's history of the adoption of a distinctive dress for
one order of society, it certainly is the first authentic and
detailed record of such a practice.
Let us briefly glance at the sacred vestments of Judaism.
Amongst the Israelites the Levites were the lowest in priestly
rank. Until the time of Agrippa, they wore no distinguish-
ing dress. Nor were the higher orders among the Jewish
priesthood differently clad from the rest of the people, save
when engaged in their holy ministrations.
The priests wore while performing their sacred offices four
special garments: These were (i) the linen breeches, (2) the
tunic or coat, (3) the girdle, and (4) the bonnet. Like the
sacred robe worn by our Lord, the tunic was woven through-
out in one piece and fitted close to the body. The girdle was
worn round the back of the neck, then crossed upon the breast,
and lastly twisted round the body, with the ends hanging to
the ground. The girdle was the distinctive priestly vestment,
and is (in its use) very suggestive of the stole of the Christian
Church. It was worn only during the actual ministration of
the sacerdotal office. The inverted calyx of a flower best de-
scribes the form of the bonnet, which was a tall, peaked cap.
These four vestments were all of the snow-white " byssus "
(or cotton) of Egypt.
In addition to the above, the high priest wore four more,
known as the " Golden Vestments '\ because golden threads,
together with the four sacred colors (white, purple, blue, and
scarlet) consecrated to the use of the sanctuary, were woven
into them. These four high-priestly vestments were : ( i ) the
meil or robe, (2) the breastplate, (3) the mitre, and (4) the
ziz or frontlet.
The meil was of dark blue and reached to the knees, its
edge being adorned with pomegranates, worked in purple,
blue, and scarlet, alternating with golden bells. The breast-
plate was, according to the Rabbis, originally a kind of burse
or flat receptacle stiffened in front with gold and jewels, with-
in which were borne the mysterious Urim and Thummim.
ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS AND VESTMENTS. 2^^
It was about twelve inches square, and on the twelve gems
(set in front) were engraved the names of the twelve tribes
of Israel. Although in the later days of the Jewish dispen-
sation, not' only were the Urim and Thummim lost, but the
real import of their names was forgotten, the high priest
still continued to wear the jeweled breastplate, which was
attached by golden links to his shoulders and by woven bands
about his waist.
The ziz (or frontlet) was a golden plate, suspended from
the mitre by a web of blue lace. It was the length of the
forehead and the breadth of two fingers, and on it was en-
graved '* Holiness to the Lord ".
The mitre of the high priest was more splendid than the
bonnet of the priest, and of greater height. According to
rabbinical tradition (for the Rabbis seem to delight in exag-
gerating the size of their priests* vestments!) the mitre at-
tained eventually to the absurd height of eight yards ; and the
girdle to three fingers' breadth and sixteen yards in length.
Any sacerdotal function was regarded invalid by the Jews,
if the officiating priest was not fully vested in all the above
robes of his office. The high priest had a complete new set of
vestments for the great day of Atonement each year. When
the vestments had become soiled, they were not washed, but
used for making wicks for the lamps of the sanctuary.
Some similarity may be traced between most of the vest-
ments worn by the Jewish priests and those now in use by
the Catholic clergy. The Christian priest of the New Dis-
pensation bears, when vested in alb, girdle, and crossed stole,
some resemblance to the Jewish priest of the Old Dispensa-
tion, clad in his linen tunic. Again, any one of the more
ornate vestments of the Christian Church — the cope, the
chasuble, and (still more closely) the dalmatic — suggests the
splendid robe of the high priest of the Jewish Church; while
the episcopal mitre and the pectoral cross of to-day seem to
have been foreshadowed by the tall bonnet and the breast-
plate of Judaism.
But as mere likeness of sound has often proved erroneous
in tracing the derivation of words, so may the mere resem-
blance of form be as delusive a guide to the origin of vestments.
Hardly a single ecclesiologist of note to-day contends that
2S6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Christian ecclesiastical vestments owe their origin to those of
the Jewish Church. True that on comparison points of simi-
larity exist between them, but the weight of evidence leans
toward the theory that this likeness is either accidental, or has
possibly arisen, in one or two cases, from a medieval attempt
to make the ecclesiastical vestments then in use conform more
closely to those analogous of the older dispensation. Indeed,
it is now conceded by almost every ecclesiastical antiquary of
authority that the clerical dress of the primitive Church dif-
fered neither in shape nor material from that worn by the
laity; except that in their sacred ministrations the early
Christian clergy assumed garments that were usual to a Ro-
man gentleman on solemn or festive occasions.
The position in which the primitive Church found herself
during the first three centuries of the Christian era rendered
such a custom unavoidable. In those early days of the Chris-
tian Faith, when persecution was so bitter and imminent even
when not actually rife, it would have been a gross act of
folly for the bishops and priests to have moved abroad in a
garb which would at once have singled them out as leaders
of the despised and hated religion of the Nazarene. The
pulse of popular feeling, and the prerogatives of the powers,
of that period must have precluded the early Christians from
even hazarding an attempt at anything like a prescriptive at-
tire for their clergy. Therefore, if we would examine the
origin of clerical dress, we must seek it in that worn by per-
sons of position in the first century, especially the chiton and
the toga.
The chiton, or tunic, was the most commonly worn gar-
ment of those times, and fitted fairly closely to the body.
Its length varied, sometimes reaching to the ankles, at others
barely covering the knees. In color it would in ordinary
cases probably be of some serviceable dark tint. Not infre-
quently it was ornamented with two stripes which ran down
the front of the garment from either side of the neck. These
stripes differed in breadth, and perhaps also in color, ac-
cording to the dignity of the wearer ; a senator using a broad
clavus, as it was called, and a knight a narrower one. This
striped chiton is often met with in early frescoes, and sug-
gests a striking resemblance to the surplice and black stole of
ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS AND VESTMENTS.
287
a Protestant clergyman. This resemblance is, however, in no
sense historical. Such a garment appears in a fresco of one
of the catacombs in Rome : an aged man is seated on a chair,
while before him stand two youths clad in tunics adorned with
clavi. This has often been taken as a representation of an
early Confirmation, but there is sound reason for rejecting the
supposition. What here concerns us is to note the dresses
of the three persons, two of whom certainly represent laymen.
The toga was a long and ample robe which, on state occa-
sions, was worn by a Roman gentleman over his tunic. The
toga was at one time the characteristic dress of every adult
Roman citizen, and must, from its nature, have been almost
always laid aside when any exertion was required, as in toil
or travel. Furthermore, in the first century of the Christian
era, it had been wholly dropped by the lower orders of society.
However, it continued to hold its place as the recognized
" court dress " for all who had an audience of the Emperor;
as also the appropriate habit for religious or civil ceremonial.
The toga was worn by the advocate when pleading in the
Forum; it was seen at the public sacrifices; and in a white
toga the dead were borne to their last resting-place, while
the mourners followed in those of black. In the eyes of the
world, therefore, there was one form of dress which, though
not exclusively confined to the clergy, was regarded as spe-
cially suited for all solemn occasions; and it was by the use
of this (the toga) that the early Church was enabled to ex-
press her sense of the dignity of her sacred rites, without ex-
citing the notice or arousing the attacks of the heathen popu-
lace by which she was then so dangerously surrounded.
There is, moreover, reason to suppose that the principle un-
derlying the use of sacred vestments, i. e. the setting aside of
certain garments for exclusive employment in the Holy Mys-
teries, was from the first quite evident. The toga and tunic
used at the altar became sacred vestments to be worn hence-
forth for no other purpose. To this intent St. Jerome, writ-
ing in the fourth century, but evidently expressing the feel-
ing throughout the Church, says: " We ought not to go into
the sanctuary just as we please, and in our ordinary clothes,
defiled with the visage of common life; but with clear con-
science and clean garments handle the Sacraments of the
Lord."
288 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
In the vestments worn by the early Christian clergy during
their priestly functions, and perhaps in their secular dress, we
must note one point of distinction, namely that the color was
restricted to white, the stripes upon the tunic probably being
black. In this restriction and choice doubtless the Church
was influenced by the idea of purity and gladness which are
so naturally suggested by that color; and also probably by
a prevalent impression (with which the vestments of the Old
Dispensation coincide) that white was peculiarly appropriate
to the Deity. Proof of this is found in the writings of St.
Jerome, who, in his refutation of the Pelagians, says : " What
is there, I ask, off"ensive to God, if I wear a tunic more than
ordinarily handsome; or if a bishop, priest, or deacon, and
other ministers of the Church, in the administration of the
Sacrifice, come forth in white clothing?"
Hegessipus, a Jew, who became a convert to Christianity
about 1 80 A. D., tells us that St. James the Just, the first
Bishop of Jerusalem, when about " to offer supplication for the
people " was accustomed to " use garments, not of wool, but
of linen."
Two early authorities, Polycrates and Epiphanius, seem to
imply that at least some of the Apostles adopted part of the
distinctive vestments of the Jewish high priest, to emphasize
the analogous position to which they had been called in the
New Dispensation. Polycrates, writing at the close of the
second century, speaks of St. John the Divine " becoming a
priest, wearing the golden plate." His evidence is of special
value, because (i) according to the consensus of tradition,
the first Bishop of Ephesus was St. John, who died there early
in the second century; (2) Polycrates was all but a contem-
porary of St. John. Epiphanius was Bishop of Constantia, or
Salamis, in Crete, 367-403 A. D. He gives a similar testi-
mony concerning St. James : " It was permitted him to wear
the golden plate upon his head." Epiphanius refers also to
Eusebius and St. Clement as supporting this statement. As
Epiphanius was by birth a Jew of Palestine, he may be sup-
posed to have been familiar with the local tradition on the
subject; therefore his evidence is worthy of note.
Theodoret, who became Bishop of Syria in 420 A. D., has a
passage among his writings which has often been quoted as
ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS AND VESTMENTS. 380
proof of the early use of distinctive ecclesiastical vestments.
It is to the effect that the Emperor Constantine gave to Mar-
carius, Bishop of Jerusalem, a sacred robe, woven of golden
thread, to be worn by him when administering Baptism. But
too much importance should not be attached to this statement.
The passage does not necessarily imply that the robe was
specially suitable for its sacred purpose in any other respect
beyond its splendor; and, when Theodoret goes on to inform
us St. Cyril of Jerusalem was charged with having sold the
robe, and that a stage dancer had bought and used it, the
probability is that the said robe did not differ in fashion from
secular clothing.
There is still less evidence to support the contention that
there is proof of a primitive use of sacerdotal vestments in
St. Paul's message in II Timothy: "The cloak that I left at
Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and
the books, but especially the parchments." In fact the at-
tempt to make a chasuble of this cloak appears to be dis-
tinctly modern.
Tertullian, in his treatise on Prayer, refers to the custom
of removing the cloak during prayer; a practice which he
counts among " empty observances ", not to be insisted on as
if they were founded on Divine precept or Apostolic com-
mand, of which there is no evidence — "unless indeed," he
sarcastically adds, " anyone should think that it was in prayer
that St. Paul threw off his cloak and left it with Carpus."
Tertullian here regards the cloak as a garment which might
conceivably be put off for divine worship, and certainly not
as one to be specially donned for the purpose. St. Chry-
sostom too, in one of his homilies, speaks to the same ef-
fect; evidently regarding the cloak as an ordinary secular
garment only.
Two conclusions, deducible from evidence concerning ec-
clesiastical costume in the early Christian Church, force them-
selves upon us: I. In the primitive ages of Christendom, the
garments worn by the clergy in their public ministrations did
not differ in shape from those used on certain occasions by
the civil society around them; and that in everyday life their
garments differed in color and material no more than in form.
There would obviously be reason for this in the hostility and
290
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
persecution that continually raged around the Church in her
infancy. An exact and striking parallel was, centuries later,
presented by the Reformation in England, when the Catholic
clergy were, so far as their ordinary attire was concerned,
compelled to mix among their scattered flock, during the
reigns of the later Stuarts, in lay attire, because of the severe
penal laws enacted against them. But in the case of the
early Church, there would be an additional reason in the
extreme poverty of the primitive Christians; which did,
doubtless, make it well nigh impossible to provide costly ac-
cessories for the public services of the Church.
2. In spite of all this, " the principle underlying the use of
a special garb was, at least at the time of ministration, both
felt and acknowledged so far as circumstances allowed ".
While officiating, the clergy wore the dress which society
recognized as most befitting solemn ceremonial; and which
was in color esteemed especially appropriate for divine wor-
ship. Thus by reserving this garb exclusively for sacred
purposes they gave to it almost the character of an ecclesias-
tical vestment. There is also the evidence proving the use,
by at least some of the Apostles, of distinctly sacerdotal in-
signia ; and to this testimony due weight should be given.
It is then from this dignified costume of imperial Rome
that throughout the centuries has been evolved the priestly
vestments of the Catholic Church; as also, for the most part,
that fashion which is recognized as the distinctive dress of
the clergy in their everyday life, an attire in the use of which
the ministers of all denominations have almost universally
imitated the example of the ecclesiastics.
In this development, the controlling influence has been the
conservatism which naturally arises from that regard which
all devout persons must feel for the customs of their fore-
fathers in matters religious: a conservatism that is intensi-
fied in this case by a sense of the impropriety which would
be evinced by the Church were she to follow the frequent
changes in the fickle fashions of the world. Thus, while the
world has altered and re-altered the cut of its clothes from the
mere passion for novelty, the Church has, from a reverential
regard for antiquity, kept as near as possible to the older
forms, and only with great deliberation has modified eccles-
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE. ^QI
iastical dress, yielding slowly, as if by protest, to the in-
fluence of circumstances.
During periods of violent religious commotion and up-
heaval, when the reins of discipline have been lax, and in-
dividual caprice could venture to assert itself, changes have
sometimes been initiated which have left their mark when
regular and peaceful days have been restored. On the other
hand, we find long tracts of time which have been scarcely
marked by a change of any kind ; and this is yet another point
of view which lends interest and importance to the history
of clerical costume; for, comparatively unimportant as may
be the cut of a coat, or the color of a vestment, such things
have from time to time illustrated the drift of thought on
other and more vital questions.
John R. Fryar.
Canterbury, England.
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE AND PENTATEUOHAL
OEITIOISM.
THE revolution which has been effected in Biblical criticism
by the " science of the spade " during the last twenty
years is one of the marvels of the time. It would be as im-
possible to erect a Tubingen School of exegesis now as it would
be to hold the verbal inspiration of the Bible in the sense
in which it was understood by a generation but little removed
from our own. Studies which smell of the lamp rather than
of the desert are no longer in vogue, and a critic who would
be heard must take into full account what we may term the
genius loci as revealed by the excavator's spade. And the
amount of excavation which is being assiduously carried out
by fully equipped men at the present day is literally amazing.
The English Palestine Exploration Society was founded in
1869. Till about ten years ago it was practically alone in the
field; now nearly every nation has its army of trained ex-
cavators at work, whether it be in Crete, Egypt, Babylonia,
the land of the Hittites, or the lands of the facile Greeks and
practical Romans. And the output from these scenes of ac-
tivity is enormous, so much so that it is well nigh impossible
to keep intelligent pace with the information which is being
292
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
thrust upon us. There is, too, at least in England, a certain
amount of apathy begotten perhaps of a spirit of scepticism
due to the hasty generalizations of some less prudent workers,
and also due, in part, to a sense of disappointment that the
excavations which were to do such great things — unearth for
instance the very cuneiform tablets on which Moses scratched
the Law of Sinai — have not fulfilled the expectations which
wild dreamers had formed.
But putting aside the many results of doubtful value and
the rash conclusions which have tended to throw discredit on
the whole science (for it is a science), many very solid results
have been obtained. It may be a convenience to the general
reader to have presented to him in brief form the results of
one of the most notable discoveries of the last two or three
years.
The Papyri of Assouan or Elephantine, eleven in number,
were discovered between the years 1 90 1-4, and ten of the
eleven were found in the original box in which they had been
placed by the owners. An accident, as is so often the case,
led to the discovery, for they were unearthed by some road-
menders. At the same time it is but just to remark that Prof.
Sayce, who had rescued one of these precious relics from the
hands of some sebakh diggers in 1901, urged that excavations
should be made on the spot in the hope of finding more.
This was done, but without result. Meanwhile the native
dealers were offering for sale the remaining ten, and these
were bought by Mr. Robert Mond and Lady William Cecil,
and published with notes, etc. by Sayce and Cowley in 1906.^
In that same year the Germans and the French divided the
site between them, and the former quickly published three
Papyri,^ of which two were duplicate copies of a petition from
the Jews in Elephantine to Bagoas, the Persian Governor of
Judah; the third we shall mention directly. The publication
of the more or less mutilated fragments which remained has
been deferred till this year, when Dr. Sachau ^ has published
1 Aramaic Papyri discovered at Assuan; edited by A. H. Sayce with the
assistance of A. E. Cowley and with Appendices by W. Spiegelberg and
Seymour de Ricci, London, 1906.
^Notice sur un Papyrus Egypto-Arameen de la Bibliotheque Imperiale de
Strasburg, par M. J. Euting. 1903.
3 Aramaische Papyrus und Ostraka aus einer Judischen Militar-Kolonie zu
Elephantine. Edited by Eduard Sachau. 2 Vols. Leipzig, 191 1.
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE. 20^
a number of official letters and also two priceless documents
one being the Story of Ahiqar, the Achiacharus of the Greek
text of Tobias i : 21/ and the other being nothing less than
an Aramaic version of the famous inscription of Darius I at
Behistun, which played so important a part in the decipher-
ment of the Babylonian cuneiform script.
It is easy to see how important this Aramaic version would
have been in the early days of cuneiform decipherment. The
discovery of the Story of Ahiqar or Achiacharus in an Aramaic
version of the fifth century B. C. is of great interest. Prob-
ably few legends have been more popular or more widely dif-
fused. Hitherto it has been found only in comparatively late
Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Greek, and Slavonic recensions;
but the recent discovery shows us that at least a portion of the
material woven into the Book of Tobias was very niuch older
than has hitherto been suspected.
Interest centers however chiefly round the Aramaic Papyri
which refer to the Jewish establishment at Syene or Assouan.
In a previous issue of the Review we have given a precis of
their contents and have drawn attention to the importance of
the data they furnish for students of the Pentateuch. As is
well known, modern critics are practically at one in maintain-
ing that the legislative portions of the Pentateuch, commonly
known as the Priestly Code, are to be referred to a period
posterior to the Exile, while the Book of Deuteronomy is said
to have been not merely discovered in 621 in the reign of
Josias but to have been actually composed at that time and
presented to the nation as the product of Moses's pen. These
two points may be regarded as the keystones of modern Pen-
tateuchal criticism and the religious history of Israel has been
re-written in accordance with this view. Practically no rap-
prochement between the traditional view and this revolution-
ary thesis has been possible, for the two Schools approached
the question from such widely differing standpoints that the
fundamental data of the one were met by a flat denial from
the other. It has always been felt that nothing but the logic
of the spade could ultimately decide the question. Hence the
dream of many enthusiasts that one day excavations at
*The name occurs also in ii : 18 (LXX), and in 14:10 (LXX & Itala),
The Vulgate has it only in 11 : 18, under the form Acior ; cf. Judith, 5, 6, 14: 6.
294 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Kiriath-Sopher, or " Book-Town ", would present us with the
actual tablets on which Moses wrote! But though this may
be an enthusiast's dream it was surely no dream that one day
there might turn up pre-Exilic tablets which would show us the
Pentateuch in existence at a date anterior to the Exile. This
has not occurred yet, though the recent excavations at Samaria
seemed at one time to bring us extraordinarily near its realiza-
tion. But though the pre-Exilic tablets are not yet forth-
coming, we have in these post-Exilic (but still fifth century)
Papyri some information which no Pentateuchal critic can af-
ford to disregard.
Briefly, then, the Papyrus published by Sayce and Cowley
in 1906 introduced us to the private life and affairs of a
Jewish family settled at Syene in the fifth century B. C. The
documents are all concerned with their legal affairs and may
be described as the title-deeds of the family. These Jews are
depicted as living in a garrison town, as being on intimate terms
with the Egyptians, as intermarrying with them, and above
all, as having a temple of their own which was dedicated to
Jahu or Jehovah. This temple is sometimes spoken of, in
Sayce and Cowley E. 14, and J. 6, as '' the chapel of Jahu,"
a rendering which is however not quite certain. Most of these
deeds are concerned with the marriage and property of one
Mibhtahyah, a daughter of Mahseiah, son of Yedoniah. The
family is sometimes spoken of as being " Jews in the fortress
of Jeb " (B), sometimes as "Aramaeans of Syene " (A).
This Mibhtahyah marries one As-hor, evidently an Egyp-
tian, and a most interesting account of the trousseau he pro-
vided for the occasion is given. It is surprising to find among
the " properties " given to himself on the occasion " one ivory
cosmetic box." Amongst the articles he bestows on his future
wife is " one garment of wool, new, embroidered on both sides
( ?), 8 cubits long by 5 ". He also gives her cups and bowls
of bronze, etc. In this deed of settlement full provision is
made in case either party divorces the other, or in case the
husband at any time repudiates his wife. It is somewhat re-
markable that the wife seems to be at perfect liberty to
divorce her husband, just as he is at liberty to divorce her;
but it seems a hard provision that in either case she has to re-
store the trousseau ! (G).
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE. jQi;
Later on we find legal enactments regarding Yedoniah and
Mahseiah, sons of this same Mibhtahyah by her husband As-
hor (H). It is of extreme interest to note that in a later
Papyrus (J) he is called by the Jewish name of Nathan.
Does this mean that he was converted to Judaism ? As an in-
dication of the freedom with which the Jewish religion was
practised in Elephantine we notice that the judges in the
courts allowed them, even when in litigation with Egyptians,
to " swear by Jahu the God in Jeb " (B). The inventory of
the trousseau furnished by As-hor on occasion of his marriage
with Mibhtahyah (G) shows that these Jewish families were
certainly well-to-do. In the deeds drawn up regarding the
property of Mibhtahyah's sons we find that this lady possessed
slaves, and we read of one of them, ** I have tattooed a yod on
his right hand, the writing being tattooed in Aramaic, like thac
of Mibhtahyah" (K).
But the chief point of interest for us is undoubtedly " the
temple of Jahu the God in the fortress of Jeb," and it is on
this temple and its fortunes that the newly published Papyri
found by the German explorers throw the most interesting
light.
We give the text of the Papyrus as published by Gunkel in
the Expositor for January, 191 1 ; but as we have been able to
glance only at the original publication by Sachau, we cannot
guarantee either its completeness or its absolute accuracy. We
divide it into paragraphs A. B., etc. for convenience of re-
ference.
A. — To our Lord Bagohi, ruler of Judah, thy servant — Jedonja,
with his colleagues — the priests in the fortress of Jeb [the Aramaic
form of the Egyptian " lb " i. e. ivory, whence Elephantine].
B. — May our God, the God of Heaven, bless thee richly, and for
all time. May He grant thee increase of grace a thousandfold, be-
fore King Darius,^ and before the Princes of the Royal House,*
with length of life. Be ever glad and of good health.
C. — Further, thy servants Jedonja, and his colleagues, speak thus :
" In the month Tammuz, in the 14th year of King Darius, when
Arsham had departed, and had gone to the King, the priest of the
God Chnub (Anubis), in the fortress of Jeb, made a conspiracy
5 Darius II, Nothus, 424-404 B. C.
« Cf. Dan. 1:3.
296 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with Widrang, who was then Governor, to destroy the temple of the
God Jahu in the fortress of Jeb.
D. — Thereupon this accursed Widrang sent a letter to his son,
Nephajan, who was colonel in the fortress of Sewen, saying that
the temple in the fortress of Jeb must be destroyed.
E. — Then Nephajan brought Egyptian and other troops; they,
having weapons, entered the fortress of Jeb, forced their way into
the temple, and razed it to the ground.
F. — They broke the stone pillars which were there; they also
destroyed the five gateways hewn out of stone which were in the
temple, and the doors with the bronze hinges; the roof, entirely
constructed of cedar beams, and the remaining furniture, they burned
with fire. The gold and silver ^ vessels for sprinkling,^ and the
utensils of the temple they carried away and appropriated.
G. — In the days of the kings of Egypt ® our fathers had built this
temple in the fortress of Jeb ; when Cambyses conquered Egypt,
he found the temple already built. He destroyed the temple of the
gods of the Egyptians ; but this temple was not injured.
H. — After the deeds of Widrang and the priests of Chnub, we,
with our wives and children, ^^ wore sackcloth, and we fasted and
prayed to Jahu, the Lord of Heaven.
I. — He granted us a spectacle of joy regarding Widrang; the dogs
tore the fetters from oif his feet; all the treasures which he had
amassed were lost, and all the men were slain who had wished evil
to the temple; this we beheld with joy.
J. — Also at the time that this misfortune happened to us, we sent
a writing to our lords, and also to Jehochanan,^^ the High Priest,
with his colleagues, the priests of Jerusalem, to Ostan, the brother
of Anani, and to the nobles of the Jews; but they returned no
letter to us.
K. — We have worn sackcloth and fasted since the " Tammuz "
day of the 14th year of King Darius unto this day; our wives have
become like unto widows ; we have not anointed ourselves with oil,
and we have drunk no wine.
L. — Also until the present day of the 17th year of King Darius
no meal-offering, no offering of frankincense, or burnt-offering, has
been brought to the temple.
M. — Thy servants now speak, Jedonja with his companions, and
the Jews, all citizens of Jeb. If it appear right unto my Lord, have
"^ For weight and value of these cf. Nbs : 7, 19, etc. Esdras 7, 25, 33.
* Lev. 8 : 30.
® This is previous to the Persian conquest in 525. The last Egyptian King
was Psammetichus III.
10 Joel 1:13; 2:16. 11 Neh. 12:22.
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE, ^qy
regard to this temple, to reluild it, for we are forbidden to rebuild
it. Behold us here in Egypt, who have received thy benefits and
favors. We pray thee to send a letter to thy servants concerning
the temple of the God Jahu, that it may be rebuilt in the fortress-
of Jeb, as it was before.
N. — Then will we offer meal-offerings, frankincense, and burnt-
offerings upon the altar of the God Jahu in thy name; and at every
time we, with our wives and children, and with all the Jews here
assembled, will offer prayer for thee if this be so, until the rebuild-
ing of this temple.
O. — If thou continue thine aid, until the temple be rebuilt, thy
deed will be acknowledged by Jahu, the God of Heaven, with the
gift offered unto Him of a whole-offering, or part-offering; thou
shalt receive a thousand talents of silver. As regards the gold,
we have sent our message and communication.
All these things we have notified in our letter to Delaja and
Shelemja, the sons of Sanballat, ruler of wSamaria.
Arsham has known nothing of all that we have suffered.
Dated 20 Marcheschvan, the 17th year of King Darius.
That this request was granted seems to follovir from a pro-
tocol on a leaf of papyrus subsequently discovered :
A protocol on the reports of Bagohi and of Delaja: It is for
thee to command in Egypt, before Arsham, concerning the Altar-
House of the God of Heaven, which was built in the fortress of Jeb,
before our days, and before Cambyses; and afterward destroyed by
the cursed Widrang, in the 14th year of King Darius, that it be
rebuilt on its own place, as it was before; meal-offering and
frankincense to be again offered on the altar, as in ancient days.
It is easy to see how this document affects Pentateuchal criti-
cism. For the critical argument has briefly been this : Deuter-
onomy, Chapters I2 and i6, insisted upon one place of wor-
ship as alone legitimate; but the subsequent history as given
us in the Books of Kings shows no knowledge of such legis-
lation, for we find sacrifice offered everywhere without ad-
verse comment, therefore the Book of Deuteronomy did not
exist during the reigns of the kings. Advantage is then taken
of the statement in IV Kgs. 22 : 3, that " the Book of the
Law " was discovered in the Temple, to assert that this was
nothing else than Deuteronomy and that its " discovery '*"
was but a polite way of saying that the ground was, so to say,.
298 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
" salted ", and the book which had been but just compiled in
the interest of the priesthood, conveniently found. The argu-
ment, it will be noted, is simply that from silence, — always a
precarious one. But see the irony of fate. At the time when
these Assouan Papyri were being written the Deuteronomic
Law was, according to the critics' own statement, in full pos-
session. Yet we find its provisions absolutely ignored by
these Jews of Assouan who, as we shall see presently, probably
knew the Book of Leviticus quite well. If the critical pro-
cedure was justified in the case of the silence of the Books of
Kings, it must logically maintain that in the face of the
silence of these same Papyri, or rather of their writers as
shown in their daily lives, Deuteronomy had not been written
in the fifth century B. C. For the facts concerning these
Jews in Egypt are these : they had erected a temple of Jehovah
in Syene; the priests of the Egyptian Anubis were jealous, and
on the departure of one Arsam (apparently the Persian Gov-
ernor of the district), had induced one Widrang, the then
Governor, to destroy the temple. This was in the year 411-
410 B. C. At the time this took place complaint was made by
these Jews of Syene to the Hierarchy in Jerusalem; but with
no result. They had also applied to their Persian suzerain;
but equally without result. They now, in the year 408-7,
appeal again to the Persian Governor.
Now these Jews either knew the Book of Deuteronomy or
they did not. If they did not know it, then the critics who
place the composition of that Book in the seventh century
B. C. because of the disregard of its precepts shown in the
Books of Kings — a silence from which critics argue the non-
existence of the Book — must, if they would be consistent,
apply the same principles and say that Deuteronomy was
non-existent in the fifth century. The fact that these Jews in
Egypt so readily communicated with those in Palestine will
not allow us to say that Deuteronomy may have been known
in Palestine but not in Egypt.^^ It is, then, practically certain
that Deuteronomy was as familiar to them as any other part
of the Bible. Yet according to the common interpretation
of Deut. 12 and 16, these Jews of Syene flagrantly violated
its precepts, for that law forbade the existence of more than
12 See Esther ii : i ; II Mace, i : i.
THE TEMPLE OF JAHU IN SYENE, 300
one sanctuary. Critics of the Wellhausen-Graf School mujt
of course logically conclude that Deuteronomy did not exist
at the time. But is it not much more likely that it is our
interpretation of Deuteronomy 12 and 16 which is at fault?
For, be it noted, we have absolutely no proof that the Jews
interpreted those passages in the rigorous sense which alone
it is generally assumed to bear. The Moabite Stone had al-
ready told us of an "altar-stone (?) of Yahve," II. 17-18,
in Nebo ; and this, too, would have been in contradiction to the
Deuteronomic Law as generally understood. But both com-
mon sense and the whole tenor of Deut. 12 and 16 demand
that, whatever restrictions that law put upon the multiplication
of the places of worship, they only applied to the Land of
Promise itself. How could they have been enforced for a Jew
or body of Jews who dwelt outside the limits of that land?
And the way in which these Egyptian Jews ask for help from
the Jerusalem hierarchy in the rebuilding of their temple is
in itself a proof that they had no idea that this very temple
constituted an infringement of the Mosaic Law. Are we to
suppose that the failure of the Jerusalem priesthood to reply
to their request was due to their indignant refusal to acknowl-
edge such a temple since it was schismatic ?
These Papyri, then, serve to correct our interpretation of a
passage of the Law which has been, according to its false in-
terpretation, made the pivot on which the whole vast structure
-of modern Pentateuchal criticism revolves.
Nor is this all. It would seem as though these same Papyri
bear witness to an acquaintance with the so-called Priestly
Code, or legislative portions of the Pentateuch, which critics
affirm was only compiled after the Restoration. For these
Jews write to Bagoas : "Also until the present day of the 17th
year of King Darius no meal-offering (nn:D Lev. 2:1),
no offering of frankincense ( nji:}^ Lev. 2:1), or burnt-
offering {r6^}^ Lev. i: i) has been brought to the temple."
They promise him, too, that if he comes to their aid, " then will
we offer meal-offerings, frankincense, and burnt-offerings
upon the altar of the God Jahu in thy name." Now it would
be unscientific to see in these words as Prof. Sayce apparently
does,^^ a quotation of Leviticus, and it would be perfectly
^^ Expositor, Nov., 191 1, p. 426.
300 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
justifiable to argue that these words only bear witness to the
legislative tradition as opposed to the literary tradition of the
Mosaic law. They show indeed that the thing existed, i. e.
the sacrifices of which we read in Leviticus; but they cannot
be made to show that the written account of them which is
preserved for us in Leviticus was actually known to the Jews
in Egypt. But we hardly need to be reminded that the criti-
cal theory regarding the date of the composition of the
Priestly Code is but a theory ; it has never been proved. The
traditional view, that namely of the Mosaic authorship of the
Code, remains in possession until disproved. When, then, a
fact like the above reference to sacrifices, which are expressly
named in Leviticus, is presented to us, it must be regarded as
confirmatory of the tradition. Nor does this reference stand
alone; the Marseilles Sacrificial Tablet, dating from the fourth
or even the fifth century B. C, reads like a chapter out of
Leviticus and we find there the very terms used in Leviticus
for some of the sacrifices, e. g. whole-offering, ( bSj Lev.
6: 15), and thank-offering, (nVsy Lev. 17: 5).
These discoveries do not prove to demonstration the falsity
of the critical hypothesis ; but they most certainly give us pause.
A few brief notes on the several sections of this appeal must
suffice us here:
A. This Bagohi is mentioned by Josephus (Ant. XI, vii, i),
as "the Genera] of another Artaxerxes army"; he polluted the
temple and forced the Jews to pay 50 shekels on every lamb
offered in sacrifice. He seems to have been a stern ruler,
for he inflicted condign punishment on the Jews for the
murder of Jesus by his brother John the High Priest.
Bagoses, as Josephus calls him, insisted, in spite of the pro-
tests of the Jews, on entering the temple, saying: "Am not I
purer than he who was slain in it?" i. e. Jesus, brother of the
High Priest.
F. The temple must have been exceedingly fine. It was
clearly not modeled on that at Jerusalem, as was the case
with the temple at Onion discovered by Flinders Petrie; ^*
for this Egyptian temple had five gates, as opposed to the
one gate of the Jerusalem temple. The cedar can only have
been brought from the Lebanon ; but the quarries of Syene are
1* Cf. Josephus, Ant. XIII, iii, 3; Wars, I, i, i ; VII, x, 3.
THE TEMPLE OF JAIIU IN SYENE. ^qj
famous, and Prof. Sayce has discovered in one of them the
very bases of the columns hewn out for this temple; for
the letters BI (an abbreviation in the Assouan Papyri for
"house" or "temple") are cut on the rocks apparently to
mark out the boundaries of the quarry which the Jews were
permitted to use. The bases still standing measure nearly
three feet in diameter and consequently the columns of this
Jewish temple must have compared favorably with those in
the great Egyptian temples. It is curious that its wealth
should have proved a temptation, just as did that of the
temple in Jerusalem.
G. This temple was then built before the Persian conquest
of Egypt, i. e. before 525 B. C. The petitioners state that it
was spared by Cambyses, though they do not here state the
reasons for this act of mercy. Fortunately the fragment of
Papyrus published by Euting comes to our assistance, for
there we read : " When the Egyptians rebelled, we did not
abandon our Lord, and no harm was found in us. In the
14th year of Darius after that our Lord Arsam fled ( ?) to
that wicked king ..." The Papyrus is here defective, but
it seems to imply that in addition to their act of loyalty when
Cambyses came into the country, the Jews were also loyal
when Arsam, if the text be correct, played the traitor. The
antiquity of this temple confirms the history as given in
Jeremias 43, where we are told that the Jews with Jeremias
went down into Egypt, and in 44:1, that they dwelt in Migdol,
Taphnes, Memphis and in the land of Phatures.^^ The too
often scouted Letter of Aristaeus to Philocrates also receives
singular confirmation, for Aristaeus says ^® that as many as
100,000 Jews were transplanted into Egypt to fight under
Psammetichus against the Ethiopians. Syene was the gar-
rison town established against the Ethiopians, hence the term
which recurs so frequently in these Papyri, " the fortress of
Jeb." The Papyrus published by Euting and unfortunately
so much mutilated seems to show that these Jews were actual
members of the garrison and that they were steadfast at a
time when Arsam, the Persian Governor, went over to the king
of ( ?) the Ethiopians, and when, too, the priests of the Sera-
is cf. also Ezechiel 29: 10, where Syene or Assouan is especially mentioned
i« See the Letter in Swete, Introd. to O. T. in Greek, p. 521, ist ed.
302 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
paeum had proved disloyal and had stopped up the well in-
tended for the use of the garrison.
I. The Jews hardly afford us an edifying spectacle in their
joy at Widrang's misfortunes; but we cannot judge them by
Christian standards any more than we can condemn the Jews
of Esther's day for their wholesale massacre of their enemies. ^^
O. The reference to Sanballat here is exceedingly inter-
esting. He is called " the Ruler of Samaria," i. e. he was
the Persian Governor there. He may well be identified with
the Sanballat who proved so hostile to the Jews in Nehemias's
days, Neh. 2 : 10, 19, 4: I, 7. For those events are expressly
dated by Nehemias 2 : I as taking place after ** the twentieth
year of Artaxerxes," i. e. in 445 B. C. The Jews of Syene
send an appeal not to Sanballat himself, but to his sons, and
we may .well suppose that in the year 408-7, when the appeal
was made, Sanballat was already dead. It is worth while
pointing out here a curious mistake on the part of Josephus.
He assigns Sanballat, the enemy of the Jews and the father-
in-law of Manasses, Neh. 12:28, to the reign of the last
Darius, i. e. Codomannus, 338-331, B. C, and declares that
he died after the siege of Gaza by Alexander the Great,^* thus
making him live a century after he really died!
But why did the Jews of Syene appeal to the sons of San-
ballat rather than to the Hierarchy at Jerusalem? We have
seen, J, that their first appeal was to these latter; but that they
had no answer. Their appeal, then, to Sanballat, the Ruler
of Samaria, can only have been because the events detailed in
Esdras- Nehemias were familiar to them and because they
divined rightly enough that they would stand more chance of a
favorable hearing from the anti-Judaistic hierarchy at Samaria
than from the Jerusalem priesthood. The protocol cited al-
ready shows that they were justified in their supposition. But
what an extraordinary state of things it portrays. The silence
of the Jerusalem priesthood may indicate that they regarded
the temple at Syene as schismatic ; but the action of those same
Jews in appealing to the schismatic temple authorities at
Samaria certainly placed them in the position of schismatics.
Such is the picture of Jewish life in Egypt in the fifth cen-
1'^ Cf. Esther 9: 13, 18-24.
18 See Ant. XI, viii, 2-4.
THE MOTU PROPRIO " QUANT AVIS DILIGENT! A:' ^Ol
tury B. C. It serves to throw a vivid light on the history of
the times, and incidentally it illumines and confirms the Bible
history. It only remains for the French excavators at Syene
to publish their " finds," when perhaps we shall have a further
chapter in the history set before us.
Hugh Pope, O.P.
Collegio Angelica, Rome.
THE MOTU PEOPRIO "QUANTA VIS DILIGENTIA".
^^ \ A/ HATEVER be the diligence used in framing laws, it
V V frequently proves impossible to obviate every doubt
which may subsequently arise from the interpretation of them.""
Of this the Motu Proprio Quantavis diligentia has been itself
an example. Without speaking of wilful misrepresentations
of its object for political ends, there has not been wantihg the
usual controversy as to its real bearing and the extent of
its application.^ As Pennacchi remarks, the law of the Church
is essentially traditional and any particular decree can be best
understood in the light of previous legislation on the matter.
The Motu Proprio Quantavis diligentia is not an isolated
act; it is one of a series of measures taken by the Church to
protect the honor of her clergy by securing for them, even in
civil and criminal matters, as far as circumstances permit, a
special tribunal before an ecclesiastical judge.
St. Paul considered it a shame for Christians to go and be
judged before the unjust and not before the saints (I Cor.
6 : I ) ; and likewise it seemed repugnant to Christian sense
that priests and bishops, the fathers and teachers of the faith-
ful, should have to appear before laymen to be judged by
them. There could be no question of exemption under the
pagan emperors. But soon after the end of the persecutions
synods commenced to ask that ecclesiastical causes be brought
before the episcopal court.^ It is only gradually that the
rights of the Church were recognized by the State, and not
1 The Motu Proprio " Quantavis diligentia " and its Critics, by the Arch-
bishop of Dublin; Canoniste contemporain, December, 191 1; De religiosis et
Missionariis supplementa et documenta Periodica, 15 December, 191 1; Monitore
Ecclesiastico, January, 19 12.
2 III Carthage, c. 9 (397) ; Chalcedon, c. 9 (450 ; Agde, c. 32 (506) ;
III Toledo, c. 3 (589).
304 ^^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
without occasional friction or struggle.^ At first it was the
purely ecclesiastical matters that were withdrawn from the
jurisdiction of secular courts, then the civil or lesser criminal
causes of clerics, until finally the principle of the exclusive
•competence of ecclesiastical judges over clerics, in any case
whatsoever, was admitted in the law of Christian nations, as
it was explicitly laid down in the canons of the Church. In
England this was only in the days of the Norman kings, but
much earlier in other countries. The Decretum Gratiani,
after quoting from synodal decrees and papal constitutions,
concludes: "From the above it is to be understood that a
clergyman is not to be brought before public courts either in
a civil or criminal case, unless, perhaps, the bishop would not
decide the civil case, or in a criminal one, would have de-
graded the cleric."
But if recognized in principle, the privilegium fori was
not always respected in practice. Even in the ages of faith
it met with great opposition on the part of kings, dukes, and
baronets, always so jealous of the power of bishops. It was
one of the main points in contest between St. Thomas a Becket
and Henry II. Against the encroachments of material force
the Church used her spiritual weapons, censures, excom-
munications, and interdicts. The Councils of Toledo and of
Chalcedon threaten with excommunication any cleric who
.should cite another cleric before a secular tribunal. The
Councils of Cologne (1266), of Exeter (1287), of Leyde
(1293), and others pronounce the same penalty against lay-
men guilty of the same offence. This was principally local
legislation. The constitution of Martin V, Ad reprunendas
insolentias (i February, 1428), emanating from the supreme
authority, is of more universal application. The Pope de-
plores therein the many violations of ecclesiastical immunity
reported to him from different countries: lay judges do not
Tiesitate to drag to their tribunal ecclesiastical persons and
institutions, even in causes spiritual in themselves; and what
is sadder still is that often this is done at the request of ec-
clesiastics. Therefore the pain of excommunication is de-
creed against those ecclesiastics, the judges and other officials,
their accomplices, even private persons who took a leading
* Baronius : Annates "Ecdesiastici, a. 387.
THE MOTU PROPRIO '' QUANTAVIS DILIGENTIAP 30-
part in the proceedings against clerics. " Omnes et singulae
personae seculares et regulares . . . omnes et singulos judices
et executores . . . eoi;um officiales et consiliarios et personas
privatas quae praemissorum principales perpetratores exis-
terent." *
These somewhat severe measures were rendered necessary
by abuses which called for energetic repression. Ordinarily
the censures were incurred only by the judges and public au-
thorities who presumed to exercise jurisdiction over clerics
in defiance of the prescriptions of the canons. The common
discipline of the Church for a long period of years was rep-
resented by the Bulla Coenae, which the Popes used to publish
annually on Holy Thursday (In Coena Domini), and parts of
which at least remained in force even when it ceased to be
thus published. In § 15 of that Constitution there is a sentence
of excommunication against legislators who enact laws cur-
tailing the liberty of the Church, and against public officials
who bring before their tribunal clerics entitled to the privi-
legium fori. " Quive ex eorum praetenso officio, vel ad in-
stantiam partis, aut aliorum quorumcumque, personas eccles-
iasticas . . . coram se ad suum tribunal Audientiam, Cancel-
lariam. Consilium vel Parlamentum, praeter Juris Canonici
dispositionem trahunt vel trahere faciunt, vel procurant di-
recte vel indirecte, quovis quaesito colore: — necnon qui
statuta, ordinationes ... ex quavis causa . . . ordinaverint et
publicaverint, vel factis et ordinatis usi fuerint, unde libertas
ecclesiastica tollitur, sen in aliquo laeditur vel deprimitur . . ."
Private persons are not mentioned here. At a time when ec-
clesiastical courts were organized everywhere and their au-
thority recognized by the civil power, it was a great abuse
on the part of secular judges thus publicly to disregard the
law of the Church. It was a sacrilegious invasion of her
domain which deserved to be visited with severe punishment.
The offence of plaintiffs who appealed for justice to lay
courts when they should go to the bishop's, was considered a
less grievous disorder, and, under ordinary circumstances,
it was not found necessary to deal with them with the same
rigor.
* Bullarium Magnum. Vol. IV, p. 729.
3o6 '^I^E- ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But in modern times the position of judges, in this matter,
has changed. Often they are not free to cite or not to crte
clerics to their tribunal; they have to do so or resign their
office. Besides the hardships it would entail for many of
them, this would tend to deprive society of the services of its
most conscientious members in the administration of justice.
The ancient law had to be adapted to present conditions.
This was done in the constitution Apostolicae Sedis. Chapter
VII retains the essential dispositions of § 15 of the Bulla
CoenaCj but with one modification. " Cogentes sive directe
sive indirecte judices laicos ad trahendum ad suum tribunal
personas ecclesiasticas praeter canonicas dispositiones ; — iien*
edentes leges vel decreta contra libertatem aut jura Ec-
clesiae." The censure strikes now those who compel the
judges to bring the clerics before their tribunals (" cogentes "),
outside the cases provided for by canon law. That it did
not strike the judges and other inferior officials was suffi-
ciently clear from the text and it was moreover declared
explicitly by the Holy Office on 15 June, 1870, and on i Feb-
ruary, 1 87 1. " Excommunicationem eos non attingere, qui
subordinati sint, etiamsi judices fuerint, sed in eos tantum esse
latam, qui a nemine coacti vel talia agunt vel alios ad agendum
compellunt, quos etiam indulgentiam nuUam mereri facile per-
spicies . . . ." ^
But who are the " cogentes " who incur now the excommuni-
cation ? Many thought that it must be the parties who refer
ecclesiastical suits to secular courts and thus oblige the judges
to proceed against clerics. The letter of the law favored that
interpretation. There seemed to be no one else to whom the
word ** cogentes " could apply, since the lawmakers were the
object of a special clause. Nor did there seem to be any other
effective way of obtaining the end intended by this decree.
Some of the best canonists (most of them, says D'Annibale),
favored this view at first. Others however objected that this
would be a considerable extension of the law, and an ex-
tension in odiosis ought not to be admitted unless clearly ex-
pressed. The parties, moreover, are not always without ex-
cuse ; they are not " a nemine coacti ", when there exist no
other but secular tribunals to obtain justice against clerics.
^Acta S. Sedis, 187X), Vol. VI, p. 433.
THE MOTU PROPRIO - QUANTAVIS DILIGENTIA^ 307
Whatever may have been the value of the arguments for the
first interpretation, the second prevailed, and it became offi-
cial by the decree of the Holy Office of 23 January, 1886,
which was approved by Leo XIII. " Suprema Congregatio
S. R. U. Inquisitionis non semel declaravit caput Cogentes
non afficere nisi legislatores et alias auctoritates cogentes sive
directe sive indirecte judices laicos ad trahendum ad suum tri-
bunal personas ecclesiasticas praeter canonicas dispositiones.
Hanc vero declarationem SSmus D. N. Leo Papa XIII pro-
bavit et confirmavit, ideoque S. haec Congregatio illam cum
omnibus locorum Ordinariis pro norma communicandam esse
censuit. Ceterum in iis locis, in quibus fori privilegio per
Summos Pontifices derogatum non fuit, si in eis non datur
jura sua prosequi nisi apud judices laicos, tenentur singuli
prius a proprio ipsorum Ordinario veniam petere ut clericos
in forum laicorum convenire possint, eamque Ordinarii nun-
quam denegabunt, tum maxime cum Ipsi controversiis inter
partes conciliandis f rustra operam dederint. Episcopos autem
in id forum convenire absque venia Sedis Apostolicae non
licet. Et si quis ausus fuerit trahere ad judices laicos vei
clericum sine venia Ordinarii, vel Episcopum sine venia S.
Sedis, in potestatem eorundem Ordinariorum erit in eum,
praesertim si fuerit clericus, animadvertere poenis et censuris
ferendae sententiae, uti violatorem privilegii fori, si id ex-
pedire in Domino judicaverint." ^ Here it was authorita-
tively declared that the Chapter Cogentes affects only law-
givers and other authorities who compel either directly or in-
directly lay judges to bring ecclesiastical persons before
judges of the civil courts.
But it was added, as if by way of corrective to the con-
cession thus made, that in places where the derogation of the
privilegium fori has not been obtained from the Holy See, if
there is no other way of defending one's rights except recourse
to the secular courts, the permission of the bishop has to be
obtained by any one who wishes to summon a cleric before a
civil judge, otherwise punitive measures may be taken against
the offender. From this decision we can see how the legisla-
tion of the Church concerning the privilegium fori had at this
stage of its development become adjusted to the new conditions
« Cf. Instructio S.C.P.F., 17 May, 1886.
3o8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of society in the various countries. In some the privilege has
been partially or totally abrogated by concordats or other pro-
visions sanctioned by the Holy See. These determine the
duties and rights of Catholics. In others,. episcopal courts are
organized and ecclesiastical jurisdiction is exercised: the pri-
vilegium fori is in full force and has to be respected by all
under pain of sin ; but excommunication, latae sententiae,
would be incurred by legislators only, and not by subordin-
ate officials or private persons. In others again no special
arrangements have been made with the State; but neither are
there ecclesiastical courts from which justice could be ob-
tained. Clerics may then be brought before the civil judges,
although permission must be obtained first, under pain of
sin and punishments to be determined by the bishop.
The Motu Proprio Quantavis diligentia refers to that legis-
lation, the controversies about the chapter Cogentes, and the
official interpretation of it given by the Holy Office. Then it
goes on : ^
But now in these evil times when there is so little regard shown
for ecclesiastical immunity that not only clerics and priests, but
also the bishops and cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, are
brought before lay tribunals, the situation imperatively demands of
us that those whom the gravity of the sin does not deter from such
sacrilegious crime be restrained within the bounds of duty by the
severity of the punishment. Therefore by this our Motu Proprio,
we enact and ordain that all private persons, whether of the laity or
of the clergy, male or female, who without permission of ecclesias-
tical authority cite before lay judges any ecclesiastical persons
whomsoever, either in criminal or civil cases, and publicly compel
them to be present thereat, incur also excommunication latae sen-
tentiae^ reserved in a special manner to the Roman Pontiff.
The occasion and purpose of this decree are sufficiently clear
from the text. Since existing sanctions were found inade-
quate to secure respect for the law of ecclesiastical immunity,
new ones had to be added. Nothing is said regarding legis-
lators or judges. For them therefore there is no change. The
new provision concerns only private persons. How far does
it extend? According to some the Motu PropHo would seem
"' Ecclesiastical Review, January, 1912, p. 83.
THE MOTU PROPRIO " QUANTAVIS DILIGENTIA "
to be nothing more than an interpretation of the Chapter
Cogentes. They would set aside the interpretation given by
the Holy Office, which includes private persons among those
who compel judges to bring clerics before their tribunals and
who thereby incur excommunication. It would have force
consequently under the same conditions and in the same places
as the Chapter Cogentes. Several reasons however tend to
prove that we have to do here with something more than a
mere declaration of a previous decision. The more solemn
form of the Motu Proprio, the motives assigned for its pub-
lication, the formula used (" statuimus atque edicimus"),
— all point to a formal and independent enactment. The dif-
ference may not be very great between the two opinions as
regards the practical results; still it may be of some import-
ance. If the second one is correct, the interpretation given
by the Holy Office of the seventh chapter of the Constitution
Apostolicae Sedis retains its full value, and it remains true
that the word cogentes in that chapter does not refer to private
persons ; only now a special measure is taken against them, a
new penal law is enacted whereby there is added to the obli-
gation already existing the sanction of a censure — *' that those
whom the gravity of the sin does not deter from such sacri-
legious crime be restrained by the severity of the punishment."
The Quantavis diligentia does not directly revoke the first
part of the decree of the Holy Office (1886), which interprets
the Chapter Cogentes, but it completes the second part, which
forbids the bringing of a cleric before a secular court without
permission of the bishop. This prohibition is henceforth
under pain of excommunication " latae sententiae." It is also
expressed, in the recent decree, in more absolute terms which
suggest that a more rigid application of the law is expected.^
Formerly the bishops were directed never to refuse this par-
ticular permission when asked for, and there was a tendency
to consider the asking rather as a formality to be complied
with, " only when it could be done conveniently, successfully
and without prejudice to one's rights." ^ Now it is simply
stated that any one who acts without proper permission is
excommunicated.
^ Canoniste, supra, p. 73.
^ Menghini : An opinion ... on the Carmont case, p. 28. •
3IO
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The questiion has even been asked whether under the present
discipline the excommunication is not incurred also by those
who cite clerics before civil courts simply as witnesses, not as
defendants/" The letter of the present decree does not ex-
clude that interpretation, and some of its expressions are gen-
eral enough to seem to favor it. Here again may be invoked
the principle that in penal matters extension of the law should
not be admitted until clearly expressed. But is it not ex-
pressed with sufficient clearness ?^^ On the same principle,
odiosa sunt restringenda, there might be acts of complainants
which would constitute violations of the privilegium fori and
which would not come under the censure. ^^ The penalty of
excommunication is incurred by those who cite clerics before
secular courts and compel them to appear there publicly, " ad
tribunal laicorum vocent ibique adesse publice compellant ".
This would seem to exclude the cases when only a denuncia-
tion is made to the public prosecutor that he may proceed ex
officio, or when the defendant has not to appear publicly be-
fore the court. This is another indication that, when fram-
ing the decree, the legislator had also in mind the calling of
clerics before civil judges as simple witnesses.
But the most vexed question of all has been that of the ap-
plication of the Motu Proprio. Is it meant to be obligatory
everywhere, even in those countries in which by concordats
the secular courts are permitted to adjudicate ecclesiastical
suits, or where the Chapter Cogentes and the prescriptions of
the Holy Office have fallen into desuetude? The affirmative
answer has staunch defenders who supported it by several
arguments. We have here, they said, a formal and indepen-
dent enactment; it was solemnly promulgated by the supreme
authority, to be valid " all things whatsoever to the contrary
notwithstanding." It is formulated in most general terms
and does not contain the restrictive clauses of preceding de-
crees : " Praeter canonicas dispositiones ... in iis locis ubi
privilegio fori per S. Pontifices derogatum non fuit." It is
intended to remedy evils which may exist anywhere, or at least
10 Cf. // Monitore Ecclesiastico, January, 19 12.
11 An answer of the Holy Office to the Bishop of Larino officially confirms
that interpretation. // Monitore, 31 March, 19 12. Cf. Canoniste contem-
porain, May, 19 12.
12 De Religiosis, 15 December, 1911, p. 108.
THE MOTU PROPRIO '' QUANTAVIS DILIGENTIAr ^n
there is no intimation that they are confined to a particular
place. In all likelihood, it will be embodied in the new Code,
one of the purposes of which is to establish as far as possible
uniformity of discipline. By requiring Catholics everywhere
to obtain the bishop's permission before using a privilege
granted them, perhaps by concordat or custom, it would not
impose upon them so very heavy a burden, nor would it
directly derogate from existing contracts. Would not the
decree on the other hand be rendered altogether nugatory if
the proposed exceptions were admitted? And would not
those very countries be exempted in which the reform is most
needed?
Much as there may be of real value in the above arguments,
they are not sufficient to prove that the intention of the legis-
lator was to preclude all exceptions to his law. It is true, the
restrictive clauses of preceding pronouncements are not repro-
duced here; but from the nature of the case, the connexion of
the questions, and the general principles of canon law, they
should be understood even if they are not implied in the words
" nullo ecclesiasticae potestatis permissu ". The penalty is
incurred by those who act without any permission of the ec-
clesiastical authority. Concordats entered into between the
Holy See and civil governments contain that permission; al-
though it is a general or indirect one, it suffices, and we have
no proof that it has been withdrawn or that any thing has been
changed even indirectly in those particular agreements by
the present general enactment.
May a well-established custom be considered as equivalent
to a general permission? Can there be a legitimate custom
against the law of ecclesiastical immunity ? Many good canon-
ists deny it, because such custom would be " irrationabilis,
contra bonum ecclesiae, corruptela juris," and consequently
without the necessary legal approbation of the legislator. ^^
Supposing such a custom be not repugnant in itself, will it
not in this matter be practically impossible to ascertain its
existence, i. e. to prove that it fulfills all requisite conditions,
particularly in regard to criminal cases? ^* Might is not right,
13 Cf. Reiffenstuel, Lib. II, Tit. II, n. 240; Santi, Praelectiones, Lib. II,
Tit. II, n. 28; A.A.S., 1910, p. 495.
1* De Religiosis, p. 109.
312 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
and silence does not always give consent. And granting that
such legitimate customs do exist, have they not been abolished
by the Motu Proprio, which is binding, " all things whatso-
ever to the contrary notwithstanding " ? To this last argu-
ment one may reply that a general disposition does not abolish
particular customs, especially immemorial customs; or, it
may be urged, when the legislator intends to abolish them it
is the practice of the Roman Chancery to use a formula more
explicit than the one used in the present decree. Moreover,
all these difficulties have been practically solved by the recent
answers of the Holy See. It has been officially declared that
the Motu Proprio does not affect Germany for the express
reason that there exists in that country a custom to the contrary,
and so it is safe to conclude that legitimate customs may
be established against the privilegium fori, that their validity
may be demonstrated with sufficient certainty, and that where-
ever they do exist they are not abolished by the Motu Proprio
Quantavis diligentia. The answer for Germany was not
given as an exemption but as a doctrinal interpretation of
the papal document by the application of the ordin-
ary principles of canon law. Even if, as has been surmised,^^
it was a concession made for the sake of peace, it would retain
its value and remain of universal application. And this all
the more, because a similar declaration was made shortly after-
ward for Belgium, and a little later for Holland. The reason
assigned again is the existence of a custom to the contrary.
Hence it is lawful to conclude that wherever the same cus-
tom exists the effect is the same; and without having recourse
to the Holy See for further decision, it will suffice in each
individual case to examine whether, in a given country, the
privilegium fori has been in force and whether violations of
it have been published or protested against. In this event,
ordinarily a consuetudinary right has been created and the
Motu Proprio does not apply to that place. It is on these
principles that canonists have felt justified in holding that it
does not apply to France,^^ Ireland,^'^ and English-speaking
countries generally. In the United States the episcopal court
15 De Religiosis, p. 109.
16 Canoniste, December, 191 1, p. 712.
1''' Archbishop Walsh: The Motu Proprio.
THE MOTU PROPRIO " QUANT AVIS DILIGENTIAr j .
•J o
never could be fully organized, and it has been the practice
of Catholics here from the beginning to have their contro-
versies with ecclesiastics decided by lay judges. How far this
practice has had the sanction of the Church, the Acts of Coun-
cils may help to determine.
In the Third Provincial Council of Baltimore (1837) a de-
cree was enacted " on the bringing of ecclesiastics before civil
courts ". This decree, when submitted to the Congregation
of the Propaganda for approbation, was found too severe.^^
"With regard to the sixth clause," the Congregation answers,
" in which there is mention of avoiding the bringing of eccle-
siastical causes before the civil courts, the Sacred Congregation
decides that the decree should be modified, and if a cleric sues
another cleric before a lay judge, upon a matter of strict
ecclesiastical right, the Council says truly that any one so act-
ing incurs the censures enacted in law. But in mixed cases
where the persons may be ecclesiastical but the object in dis-
pute may be temporal, the Council must deal a little more
leniently, especially in countries in which the civil govern-
ment is not in the hands of Catholics, and unless recourse is
had to civil courts there is not the means of defending one's
rights." Consequently the decree was amended and thus
worded: "Cum grave Fidelibus oriatur scandalum, et eccle-
siastico ordini dedecus, dum causae ecclesiasticae ad civilia
deducuntur tribunalia, hortamur omnes, quorum interest, ut
controversias inter eos forte orituras de rebus vel personis ec-
clesiasticis, amice componant, vel saltem judicio Episcopi sub-
mittant. Quod si ecclesiastica vel religiosa utriusque sexus
persona, aliam personam ecclesiasticam vel religiosam utrius-
que sexus, coram civili tribunali temere citaverit de re juris
stricte ecclesiastici, noverit se in censuras a jure latas incidere."
The Bishops of the Baltimore Province, in 1837, desired to
maintain intact the privilegium fori ; but prevailing conditions
rendered it impossible, and the Congregation not only allowed
but urged them to make the necessary concessions. What that
somewhat greater leniency recommended to them was, we may
judge from the decree as it stands after the correction.
isCollectio Lacensis, Vol. Ill, p. 56; Concilia provincialia, Baltimori.
habita, p. 139.
314
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Cathollos are exhorted not to bring ordinary ecclesiastical
suits before the civil courts. They are not forbidden to do so ;
nor is there any question of a permission or any other formal-
ity to be complied with. This is a toleration which amounts
to an indirect approval of the practice and was no doubt com-
monly understood in that sense.
The First Plenary Council of Baltimore (1852) endorsed
that discipline and extended it to all the States which then
formed part of the Union. The Second Plenary Council
(1866) urges priests to avoid appearing before the secular
•courts whenever their disputes can be settled otherwise,
severely condemns all persons who violate the laws of the
Church on ecclesiastical immunities, and quotes the above de-
cree of the Third Provincial Council/® There is therefore
:no new element introduced into the law by this Council, no
previously admitted practices are reproved, and the custom
existing now for many years against the privilegium fori
continues legitimate. It was thus in full force when a few
years later (1869) the Constitution Apostolicae Sedis was
published; and the Chapter Cogentes did not revoke it. But
it was one of those departures from the common law of which
the Congregation of the Propaganda had said, in approving
the decrees of the First Plenary Council, that " they were
permitted by the Holy See because of the difficulties of the
times, but only by way of toleration and provisionally, with
the understanding that they should not be given greater stabil-
ity or extension ; rather should measures be taken to endeavor
to return to the common discipline."
It was precisely one of the purposes of the Third Plenary
Council, as declared by Leo XIII in the letter ordering its
convocation, to hasten that return to the law of the universal
Ohurch, *' ut propius ad commune ecclesiae jus, quantum fieri
potest, accedat." On the subject under consideration, conse-
quently, a decision was taken which indicates the efforts made
in that direction. In the chapter '' De vita et honestate cleri-
corum," the Fathers of the Council again declare that it is a
19 " Ecclesiae honorem temnit et sacros canones conculcat, quicumque ec-
clesiasticae vel religiosae personae, de rebus quae ad forum ecclesiasticum per-
tinent, coram profano judice litem intenderit. Quo spectat decretum, quod
sequitur, a praedecessoribus nostris latum, Cum grave . . . ". N. 155.
THE MOTU PROPRIO '' QUANT AVIS DILIGENT I Ar 31 e
source of grave scandal to the faithful to bring ecclesiastics
before the civil courts; therefore priests are exhorted when-
ever there arises some difficulty even with laymen and about
temporal matters not to go before lay judges, either as plain-
tiffs or as defendants, if it can be avoided. They are strictly
forbidden to sue a layman before a civil court to recover
money due to the church for pew rent or for any other cause,
without the written permission of the bishop. They are re-
minded of the divine law by which purely ecclesiastical mat-
ters are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Church, and of
the censure which is incurred by all those who have recourse
to the secular power to prevent the exercise of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction. Then a disposition which was not found in the
acts of the preceding Councils is expressed in the following
words : *'Ad tuendam porro immunitatem ecclesiasticam, qua-
tenus inter nos fieri potest, districte iisdem prohibemus, ne
contra sacedotem vel clericum de rebus etiam temporalibus
coram judice civili litem intentent sine permissione scripto
expressa ipsius Episcopi." The law is intended to protect
ecclesiastical immunity, i. e. to enforce as much as is possible
of the law of the Church concerning immunity; it is for
priests ; not for laymen, for whom therefore the implicit per-
mission to sue clerics before lay judges remains valid or is
even indirectly confirmed. The custom remains intact; to
them consequently neither the decree of the Holy Office of
1886, nor the Motu Proprio Quantavis diligentia applies.
But for priests, whatever general, implicit authorization they
may have had before, in common with the faithful, to sue
other ecclesiastics before the civil courts, when the matter
was not in itself ecclesiastical, is now withdrawn. As no new
legitimate custom has been established since 1 884 a priest who
sues a cleric before lay judges without leave of the bishop, or
a bishop without leave of the Pope, falls under the censure
enacted in the Motu Proprio, " nullo potestatis ecclesiasticae
permissu ".
H. Ayrinhac, S.S.
St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, California.
3l6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
REMINISOENOES OP MAYNOOTH.
IV. " Vacat ad Deambulationem."
IN contrast to the " docetur " which in the college calendar
meets the eye with ever recurring regularity, and which
succintly sums up the scholastic program of each day, we find
on Wednesday : " feria IV, post meridiem vacat ad deambula-
tionem ". The weekly walk was an ever welcome relaxation
from the monotony and routine of the students' daily day.
The time ordinarily occupied by study and class was on Wed-
nesday devoted to this. Arrayed in their ordinary clerical
" shorts " and biretta, the students congregated after lunch
and awaited the leader of the walk, who was usually one of
the deans, but in the Junior House always a monitor. These
monitors, six in number, were appointed from the Fourth
Year's divines at the beginning of the academic year. They
had their rooms in the Junior House, and had their places in
the Junior refectory, but of course attended the daily lectures
on Theology and Scripture in St. Mary's, with the other stu-
dents of their year. Their duties were not onerous ; but they
were always available to read morning or evening prayer on
any occasion on which the dean was unavoidably absent.
The dean generally picked out two students to accompany
him. Every student was obliged to go on the public walks
save such as obtained express permission of the dean " to stay
in." Those to whom such exemption was extended were not
free to indulge in any other form of outdoor exercise or to
practise music during that time. Latterly, I believe, the rule
has been relaxed, so that now the Wednesday walk is entirely
optional. There was one dean — he has since gone to adorn
the episcopal bench — a very upright and strictly conscientious
man, whose bete-noir was chicanery or subterfuge or double-
dealing in any shape or form on the part of a student. As a
certain old Roman senator was accustomed to begin and end
all his forensic efforts with the fateful words " Delenda est
Carthago ", so the alpha and omega of all Dean X's discourses
to the students was : " Be men ; act as men ; be not eye-servers,
but obey exactly the rule of the college. If you do happen to
be detected in the violation of rule, then again I say be men,
REMINISCENCES OF MA YNOOTH. ^ j -
and don't try to hide your guilt by flimsy excuses which
nobody believes."
The principle, it must be admitted, is sound and I have no
doubt that in places where the violation of a rule entails less
serious consequences than in Maynooth, it might appeal to the
integrity and high sense of honor of those concerned; but stu-
dents, even ecclesiastical students, are not quite angels, and
violations of some rules there are bound to be from time to
time. The consequences of these violations do not tend to
enhance a student's reputation in the eyes of his superiors, and
who will blame a student who, having violated a petty rule,
tries by all fair and legitimate means to avoid detection or
escape punishment? Of course there is no excuse for a student
who violates serious or important rules. He deserves any
punishment which his fault may entail.
I remember one occasion when, during the public walk, two
students who had permission to remain in, prepared to have a
quiet game of handball in the corner of one of the ball-alleys.
The game had not proceeded far when Dean X. . . . was seen
approaching. He was at a respectful distance, but there could
be no doubt he had seen them. Whether however he was
sufficiently near to recognize them was a question about which
they were not very sure. One of them evidently concluded
that the safest course to pursue in the circumstances was to
make ofi". Accordingly he grabbed his soutane and biretta,
and disappeared as quickly as he could; the other, in pursu-
ance of the high and righteous principles which he had heard
so often inculcated, and considering this an admirable oppor-
tunity of putting them to the test, quietly remained where he
was till the Dean came up.
" You are aware, Mr. O'Byrne, that you have been openly
and deliberately violating the college rules. Have you any
explanation to offer?"
" No sir!" came the answer of O'Byrne who did not con-
sider his act a very serious violation of rule.
" Very well then. I must say I admire your manly and up-
right conduct in not running away, but of course I must take
a note of the offence all the same." And so it was done.
There were many students of sedentary habits, myself
amongst others, for whom these weekly walks had little fas-
3-1 8 iHE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
cination, and who went only when they could find no adequate
excuse for remaining behind. The country was flat, mono-
tonous, uninteresting, and very sparsely populated. More-
over the walks were frequently so very long and the pace so
unnecessarily fast that they ceased to be a recreation. The
students generally returned mud-bespattered, tired, and per-
spiring, and occasionally late for dinner. To enter a house on
the occasion of a public walk was looked on as a serious offence
and punishable with the severest penalties — expulsion, I think ;
whilst any student or students who got unattached and failed
to return with the main body were liable to be called up for
explanation and perhaps similarly dealt with. It was cus-
tomary to arrange an exceptionally long walk on Easter Mon-
day. This was a free day, and the walk generally started
about eleven o'clock. Sometimes it lead to Clongowes Wood
College, and sometimes to Wolfe Tone's grave or to Lucan,
where you might regale yourself with a draught of sulphur-
etted hydrogen for a nominal consideration. This Easter
Monday walk was the only occasion on which it was not con-
sidered unconventional and altogether outre for a junior to
carry a stick or umbrella, although amongst the divines such
a custom was the rule rather than the exception.
The time usually set apart for Spiritual Reading was on
Wednesday evenings regularly devoted to a sermon preached
by one of the divinity students. If not always a triumph in
elocutionary art, these sermons were at least generally master-
pieces of English prose. I have rarely heard or read finer
compositions than were those sermons delivered by the stu-
dents in Maynooth. From a rhetorical point of view, they
left little to be desired, any slip or imperfection being more
frequently due to extreme nervousness or to thoughtlessness
than to want of preparation or ability. These sermons were
always immediately after subjected to the public criticism of
the presiding dean.
Besides the public walk, many forms of recreation were pro-
vided for the students in the college, the principal being hand-
ball, football (both Rugger and Soccer), hurly, tennis, and
an open air gymnasium in each Division. In all of these
branches of sport there was much good, not to say, first rate
talent. Handball was the game most popularly indulged in,.
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH. ^^^
there being no less than eighteen first class ball-alleys, and
in this department at any time might be found a team which
would hold its own against any body of secular champions.
Indeed Maynooth some i6 or 17 years ago was proud to own
the champion handball player of the world in the person of
Tom Jones, now Father Jones, a worthy priest of the Diocese
of Kerry. In the ball-alley he was a marvel of speed, keen-
ness, and dexterity, a clever strategist, always sure, accurate
and alert, who when in form could be relied on to toss a prac-
tically unplayable ball, or butt a flying ball with the back
of his heel with greater accuracy than most players could da
it with their hands. In other branches of athletics the stu-
dents were almost equally prominent. Some of them, finding
they had no ecclesiastical vocation, having passed " ad vota
saecularia ", afterward figured as prominent international foot-
ballers. Maynooth could at all times boast of pedestrians
amongst its students, whose records for the mile, quarter mile,,
or 100 yards, compared favorably with the best international
championship performance. I wonder how many were aware
that the runner who, under the pseudonym of ** P. O'Rourke ",
won the international quarter mile at Celtic Park, Glasgow, in
1907, was a young Maynooth priest at the time just recently
ordained. He was only one of many who might have success-
fully aspired to championship honors.
In a vast institution like Maynooth where sickness and ac-
cident were naturally unavoidable, the infirmary was a neces-
sary and valuable equipment. Of such there were two, one
attached to the Junior House and another for the benefit of
St. Joseph's and St. Mary's. Each was under the care of a
matron, and the doctor attended officially once a day and as
often afterward as he was called in. Besides there was a visit-
ing physician, a surgeon, and a dentist, all of them men of
high standing in their professions.
An infirmary is an institution one does not generally as-
sociate with happiness or pleasure, yet there are many of us
who will feel that some of the happiest days of the students'
college life were spent in the Maynooth infirmary. I should
also add — some of the most miserable. Happiness — perhaps
contentment is a better word — being a relative quantity, is
entirely a matter of contrasts, reactions, and comparisons.
.3 20
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The Maynooth infirmary was to me, and I have no doubt to
many others, an oasis in the desert. After three or four
months of the grind and the monotony of collegiate life, a
week's respite is not only useful but sometimes necessary. A
relaxation of the high pressure, to which the semper et pro
semper cast-iron regulations of the Division subject one, is
helpful both from a spiritual and material point of view. In
my time the infirmary contained in the language of Susan
Nipper both " permanents " and " temporaries ". The former,
of whom there were only three or four, were delicate students
who had permission to live in the infirmary, " cum privilegio ",
and who consequently enjoyed all the advantages and preroga-
tives which such residence brought with it. The six o'clock
bell had no terrors for them, and they enjoyed other privileges
and immunities from rule which helped to make tolerable what
must have otherwise proved a very dreary existence. Apan
from these the Infirmary patients were divided into two classes,
the " Top List " and the " Low List ". The former embraced
those whose ailments were serious enough to make residence
in the infirmary a necessity, and while on the infirmary list
they were not permitted to attend class. The " Low List "
patients slept in their own rooms in the Division, were obliged
to attend class, but took their meals in the infirmary and were
permitted to sleep till 8 o'clock in the morning. A student
going to the infirmary was of course obliged to give notice
to the dean of the Division, otherwise complications might
;€asily arise, and marks of absence from duty be registered
against a student. I was not a habitue of the Infirmary, go-
ing there only when necessity compelled me, generally when
I succumbed to an attack of influenza. But having been in-
stalled there, I was equally reluctant to leave it, and it was
always with a feeling akin to homesickness that I did so. Yet
some of those days were dreary and lonesome enough, as when
lying on the narrow bed, feverish and sick, one was trying to
beguile the time by counting and mentally calculating all
manner of arithmetical problems which the objects in the room
suggested, from the number of spots on the opposite wall to
the most accurate measurements which would place the sus-
pended electric globe in the exact centre of the ceiling.
REMINISCENCES OF MA YNOOTH. .^ I
"A fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind ", and so the
students became more friendly and intimate and in a short
time got to know one another better in the infirmary than
was possible during years in the Division. There is a rather
conservative spirit in Maynooth. Each diocese keeps much
to itself. Those who are fond of games of course mix freely
in the ball courts and elsewhere, and become intimate friends ;
but there may be and are students who during the whole six
or seven years of their course never exchange even common
greetings. Amongst the students, and more so between the
students and professors, there is a surprising absence of free-
dom of communication and a rigidity of convention which to
one looking back on it seems hardly called for.
I have already said that in the infirmary the students got
to know one another more thoroughly, and many who perhaps
had previously never spoken to each other became intimate
and life-long friends. During this convalescent stage, when
the bed no longer claimed us by day, many kinds of harm-
less and informal entertainments were indulged in, and every
one who could contributed in his own fashion to the pleasure
and enjoyment of the rest. Harmless relaxation of this kind
was likely to be overlooked provided it did not develop into
unnecessary boisterousness and gaiete de ccsur, or tend to the
annoyance and inconvenience of a patient. There was always
to be found varied talent — orators, humorists, singers, and
musicians, in all of which departments considerable ability
was displayed. Indeed we were a perfectly happy family ex-
cept when we were disturbed by the unexpected apparition of
one of the deans who resided permanently in the infirmary,
while sometimes we were honored by a flying visit from the
President or Vice-President, who were naturally interested in
the general health of the institution.
This is the attractive side of the picture. But when — at
rare intervals though it might be — Death, that "Angel of
the darker Draught ", came to claim some young and promis-
ing life from among us, it was very different. I can still see
the procession of white- robed clerics slowly wending their
way to the little cemetery, and hear the plaintive Dies Irae
or the solemn strains of the Benedictus, mingled with the
heart-broken sobs of sorrowing and bereaved relatives, as we
322
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
carried to his grave some one from the halls of Maynooth
College.
In the Maynooth infirmary too the old order of things has
I believe, changed. Many time-honored traditions have
passed; innovations have been introduced and the change is
decidedly for the better. Confided to the matronly care of the
good Sisters of Mercy, the sick are now assured of that sym-
pathetic attention and considerate treatment which can hardly
be always expected from professional matrons or nurses.
V. Some Stray Reflections.
What strikes you on being suddenly brought into communi-
cation with the variety of types which constitute a great col-
lege like Maynooth, is what for want of a more appropriate
term one might call " provinciality ".
Some distinguished essayist has remarked that " all edu-
cated and thoughtful people are confronted at times with
modes of thought, with points of view, with systems of argu-
ment, or with habits of expression which for one reason or
another they call ' provincial ' ; it is equally certain that if
asked for some definition of the term which should include
all admitted instances of its application, and yet possess some
historical and logical propriety, they would be severely posed
for an answer." To the Londoner everything and everybody
outside the great Metropolis is provincial, and although mod-
ern conveniences of travelling and of communicating thought
have established a close alliance, the term still retains much
of its original significance, and to the dweller in the metropolis
denotes the same coordinate extension as the term '* bar-
barian " did to the ancient Greeks.
It is quite outside the scope of this paper to seek the vari-
ous shades of meaning which can be read into the word. As it
is sometimes taken to signify the antithesis of universal, it
comes in this connexion quite near enough to comprehend that
difference of tastes and habits, that variety of modes of speech
and expression, that peculiarity of manner and idea, that spirit
of rivalry shall we say which distinguish the Irishman of the
West from that of the East and the Northern from his vis-a-
vis of the South. It may seem strange that the rest of Ire-
land has been taught to regard the denizens of the Black North
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH. ,o^
as being almost outside the pale of Irish nationality and look
on him as a sort of hybrid product of Scotch and Irish an-
cestry, possessing but little of the Celtic temperament and be-
coming gradually nationalized only by long associations; but
the stiff frigidity of the Northern, although in striking con-
trast to the hot-blooded impetuosity of his brother Gael, will
be found to shelter a warm and generous heart, a courage and
unswerving devotion to his Faith, and an undying love for
his country which the Catholic Church abroad has long since
learned to appreciate at its proper value in the Celt.
There are of course the provincial peculiarities of which I
spoke. On a first acquaintance the accent and speech of Cork
or Kerry are as puzzling and unintelligible to the Northern as
the proverbial Greek is to the " man in the street " ; while I
have no doubt the flavor of the Doric of the " unspeakable
Scot " which is traced in the speech of Ulster, is quite as be-
wildering to him. The peculiarities of pronunciation and
of language which are characteristic of the various Provinces
are frequently the occasion of good-natured chaff and raillery
among the students themselves, — the short i of the Northern
in such words as " Wind " and " swim '', and the short " a "
and redundant " h " of the Western being the subject of much
comment. Professor Joyce in his book English as it is Spoken
remarks that no Irishman can correctly pronounce the " h "
in such words as " Three ", " thunder ", etc. This is an
exaggeration, although it may be true that in many parts of
Ireland the pronunciation " tree " and *' tunder " is quite
common.
It was not alone in the matter of idiom and pronunciation
that the North and West were wont occasionally to cross
swords. There were other little traditional differences. The
Westerns were accustomed occasionally to refer jocularly to
their brethren of the North as the " foal eaters ", while they
in turn would retort that some time away back in the twilight
of history the Connaught people killed and ate St. Patrick's
goat, an offence which must be deeply resented by all true
and patriotic Irishmen.
Other phases of local and what Matthew Arnold would
style " academic provinciality," such as are found in every
college or university, might be here mentioned as peculiar to
324 '^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Maynooth, if space permitted it. Many incidents, pleasant
and otherwise, come back to memory which at the time formed
the subject of much discussion or perhaps good-natured rail-
lery in the batches. Encounters with the dean, ridiculous and
sometimes embarrassing situations, bon mots in class, the
harmless fads and peculiarities of some of the students, natur-
ally supplied a fund of interest and topics of conversation
which in our restricted surroundings were always very
welcome.
Apropos of peculiarities of certain students, there was a
story current in Maynooth of one who had developed a mania
for knocking doors. In the early stages he was satisfied
with a gentle tap on the door of any empty room he might
chance to pass; but as the idiosyncracy developed it didn't
matter whose door it was. The violence of the impact varied
too in proportion as the inclination increased. There was one
venerable professor whose rooms were quite convenient to the
stair-landing where the students were accustomd to go up
and down. On one occasion this particular student happened
to be passing down, and, embracing a favorable opportunity,
he gave a loud sharp rap on the door, and disappeared down
the stairs as quickly and as noiselessly as he could. Just at
that particular moment another student happened to be com-
ing up, who, having reached the professor's door, met the
latter as he came out of his room to relieve his feelings by a
few pertinent remarks on the conduct of students in general
and the lamentable absence of ecclesiastical decorum in this
student in particular, with mutterings about this thing going
on too long, and threats (now that he had found the culprit)
of an appeal to the administrative Council and the subse-
quent pains and penalties which might be expected.
Many of the students in Maynooth devoted their leisure
hours to music, either vocal or instrumental. In the corri-
dors, the discordant and conflicting notes of nearly every
known musical instrument might be heard at one and the
same time. While some of the performers acquitted them-
selves with a high degree of proficiency, in the majority there
was a notable absence of that charm of " magic numbers and
persuasive sound " which the poets tell us ** soothes the savage
breast and softens rocks and moves the things inanimate with
living souls ".
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH. ^2^
In the vocal order, however, the college choir under the
tutorship of its distinguished professor was trained to a high
standard of artistic production, as any one who has heard it
will testify, the performances of the select choir in the college
chapel on Sundays and great feasts representing the last word
in musical harmony.
In this connexion there was a most impressive and informal
little function that those who ever heard it must have a most
pleasant recollection of. This was the singing of the Adeste
on Christmas morning. The college choir assembled on the
Square in the small hours of the morning when the rest of the
students were still fast asleep, and as the harmonious strains of
the beautiful hymn were borne to our slumbering senses on
the wings of the dawn, one could almost fancy he was listen-
ing to the " Gloria in Excelsis " of the angelic midnight
chorus which proclaimed that first " far off divine event "
that brought joy and happiness to the human race.
Most priests in glancing back over their student days will
probably recall the deep satisfaction with which on returning
from vacation they entered on the last term of their college
career. Their years of striving were nearly at an end. The
goal of their ambition was well within view ; the prize almost
within their grasp. It is because of that eagerness I suppose
that the last year seems to go by with the measured and pain-
ful slowness of an hour hand. It is in more senses than one
a year of preparation. Five or six years in an ecclesiastical
college like Maynooth leaves little to be done in the spiritual
and supernatural order. The ecclesiastic with a true vocation
who has pursued his course with due regard for rule leaves his
Alma Mater as well equipped for his task, spiritually and in-
tellectually, as mortal may hope to be. If he should after-
ward lapse from the path of virtue, it will be generally found
to be a fall of gradual growth, a case where self-assurance
and over-confidence override a due regard for that soundest
of moral principles " obsta principiis ". '' Nemo repente fit
turpissimus " is a principle which ascetics inform us recog-
nizes no exceptions. It would be well if students realized more
fully that the virtue they will require in the world is not of
the " fugitive and cloistered order, unexercised and un-
breathed ", but that after college days their lives, become a
326 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
" race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not
without dust and heat ".
There are always in Maynooth not a few students destined
temporarily for missions abroad, their own bishops not requir-
ing their services for four or five years or perhaps longer.
Most of the prospective young priests I think rather relished
the idea of going abroad, and their interview with the various
foreign bishops who called at Maynooth was always for them
an interesting function, although in many cases, I am afraid,
disappointing for the bishop, as the percentage that volun-
teered for foreign dioceses, like those of Australia, South
Africa, and the United States, was small in comparison with
the numbers that preferred to accept missions in England and
Scotland.
Whatever reluctance young priests may have to go abroad
(very often due to family consideration), perhaps the great-
est tribute that can be paid the Foreign Missions like America
and Australia is the fact that the young priests who go to these
countries manifest no desire to return again to the native heath,
unless by way of vacation; whereas few Irish priests choose
to remain permanently attached to a Scotch or English diocese
when they can get one equally suitable at home.
As the end of the year approached, it was customary for
many of the " fourth " divines to get a day in Dublin — not
collectively of course, but individually. There were so many
things in the way of clerical outfit that could not easily be
procured without a visit to the metropolis. There was a stu-
dent in my time who had a sort of carte blanche to go out as
often almost as he liked — at least until his business was satis-
factorily completed. He had been negotiating with, I think,
the Bishop of Cleveland (Ohio) for a mission in that Diocese,
which negotiations were to be finally determined after the
prospective candidate had submitted to his Lordship six ori-
ginal sermons and a photograph. The sermons were duly
despatched. The photo of course necessitated a visit to
Dublin, but whether the artist was unskilful or the lines of
the young levite's features did not lend themselves to satis-
factory reproduction, I know not ; at all events the photograph-
ing had to be repeated several times. Whatever the ultimate
result, it became known that negotiations with the American
REMINISCENCES OF MAYNOOTH ,^m
327
Bishop were eventually broken off, causing a good deal of
chaffing, whilst everybody realized that it was a privilege for
any young priest that his services should be required in his
own native diocese.
The intellectual tests were of the usual order. The or-
dination examination was the last fence. If a student stum-
bled, which indeed very rarely happened, it was usually rather
due to nervousness than to want of knowledge. An examin-
ation is deemed necessary, but the authorities no doubt take
consideration of the fact that a student who has come so far
successfully through his course and satisfied his various pro-
fessors, has acquired the necessary knowledge for the efficient
discharge of his professional duties, however indifferently he
may acquit himself at the examination for Orders.
In every ecclesiastical college ordination to Priesthood is
the most important event of the year. For the ordinandi it is
no doubt the most serious step of their lives, and one which
leaves a lasting impression that time can never dim, a recol-
lection which often amid the struggle and battles of after life
brings back to them most pleasant and happy memories. One
watching the ordinandi vesting in the cloister for the cere-
mony might notice many whose demeanor betrayed unmis-
takable signs of diffidence and anxiety almost approaching
timidity, and whose apparently sleepless and anxious vigil of
the night before showed how truly they realized the tremen-
dous responsibility which is not to be lightly undertaken.
Somebody has remarked that " there comes to every human
life a period when its cup of human happiness seems to be full
to overflowing. That period may be long or short, but every-
body drinks out of that cup once." Every true priest will
agree that the realization of that happiness comes to him on
that day when he hears pronounced upon him by the ordain-
ing prelate those solemn and mysterious words : ''Accipe potes-
tatem offerre sacrificium Deo, Missasque celebrare ... in
nomine Domini," — surely the highest trust that can be re-
posed in mortal man. Whilst it may be true of other kinds
of happiness, that
The distant object which we covet most
When once enjoyed is in possession lost,
328 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the poet here leaves out of count this crowning glory of a
student's life. Possession intensifies the happiness which was
only vaguely realized in anticipation. With what pleasur-
able memories every priest will call to mind the solemn and
majestic strains of the Veni Creator whilst the bishop in sacred
and imposing tones pronounced the form of unction " Con-
secrare et sanctificare digneris, Domine, manus istas per istam
unctionem et nostram benedictionem." And then the ceremony
proceeded while the ordinati celebrated the Holy Sacrifice
with the bishop, and seventy or eighty young priests were
added to the Church to spread the light of Christ's Gospel, to
carry His message of love and mercy, and minister to souls
committed to their zealous trust.
The two or three days which intervened between the or-
dinations and the final exodus from the college passed quickly.
One felt a joyous sense of freedom, a new feeling of inde-
pendence and emancipation such as could be appreciated only
after six or seven years of confinement and obedience to rule.
On the eve of our departure the Te Deum in the college
chapel was sung with all the power, effectiveness, and devo-
tion which we could impart to it. After supper we had a few
parting words of farewell with the companions of our studies,
and next morning the great gates closed behind us as silently
as they had before opened to receive us. The guardian sphinx
looked down from its pedestal with its mysterious and in-
scrutable gaze on the passing of another contingent of the
soldiers of Christ into the battlefield of an incredulous and
hostile world.
P. Sheridan.
Dungloe, Ireland.
-Hnalecta*
ACTA pn pp. X.
Epistola ad r. p. d. Iacobum Duhig, Episcopum Rock-
HAMPTONENSEM, DE QUINQUAGENARIIS ILLIUS ECCLESIAE
SACRIS SOLLEMNIBUS.
Venerabilis frater, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem.
Faustum catholicis hominibus istius regionis proximum men-
sem septembrem accepimus fore, exeunte anno quinquagesimo
ex quo ecclesiae Rockhamptonensis initia sunt posita: cum
quidem in id tempus festi soUemnes dies apparentur, atque in
huius laetitiae societatem episcopi omnes ex Australia, cum
magno praesertim sacerdotum comitatu, venturi sint. Scilicet
hoc Nos perlibenter intelleximus ; tibique ac ceteris rei auc-
toribus et ducibus prolixe, vestrum laudando et probando con-
silium, suffragamur. Novimus religionis christianaeque hu-
manitatis celeres istic progressiones factas; ut exiguam illam
Missionem Rockhamptonensem ampla dioecesis eaque satis
bene constituta, baud ita longo intervallo, exceperit: omni-
noque est aequum vos propterea, cum facti memoriam cele-
brare, turn debitas Deo persolvere gratias, atque ex com-
memoratione beneficiorum eius fidenter ad maiora niti. Cete-
330 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
rum, vestram prospicientes diligentiam, itemque tantam cleri
Australiani concordiam, quanta hie praeclare elucet, non solum
de ista dioecesi, sed de tota Australia catholica melius sperare
iure videmur. Itaque existimetis volumus, vestris Nos sacris
sollemnibus animo praesentes adfore; quae ut fructus optatos
pariant, tibi, venerabilis frater, et omnibus qui ea ipsa cele-
brabunt, apostolicam benedictionem, auspicem divinorum
munerum, amantissime impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, die ix mensis maii MCMXII,
Pontificatus Nostri anno nono.
PIUS PP. X.
S. OONGEEGATIO S. OFFIOII.
I.
Decretum de Dispensationibus super Impedimento Dis-
paritatis cultus absque debitis cautionibus nunquam
concedendis.
In plenario conventu supremae sacrae Congregationis sancti
Officii habito feria IV die i6 aprilis 1890, proposita quaes-
tione: "An in concedendis ab habente a Sancta Sede potesta-
tem dispensationibus super impedimento disparitatis cultus
praescriptae cautiones semper sint exigendae ", Emi ac Rmi
DD. Cardinales in rebus fidei et morum Inquisitores genera-
les, re perdiligenti examine discussa, respondendum decre-
verunt: " Dispensationem super impedimento disparitatis ciil-
tus nunquam concedi, nisi expressis omnibus conditionibus
seu cautionibus ".
Eademque die ac feria Ssmus D. Leo PP. XIII, in solita
audientia R. P. D. Adsessori eiusdem supremae sacrae Con-
gregationis impertita Emorum Patrum resolutionem benigne
adprobare et confirmare dignatus est.
Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus S. Officii, die 21 iunii 19 12.
L. *S.
Aloisius Castellano, 5. R. et U. L Notarius.
ANALECTA. ^-j
II.
Decretum de Dispensatione super Impedimento Dispari-
TATIS CULTUS ABSQUE DEBITIS CAUTIONIBUS IMPERTITA.
In plenario conventu supremae sacrae Congregationis sancti
Officii habito feria IV die 12 iunii 191 2, propositis dubiis :
I ° Utrum dispensatio super impedimento disparitatis cultus,
ab habente a Sancta Sede potestatem, non requisitis vel de-
negatis praescriptis cautionibus impertita, valida habenda sit
an non ? Et quatenus negative :
2° Utrum hisce in casibus, cum scilicet de dispensatione sic
invalide concessa evidenter constat, matrimonii ex hoc capite
nullitatem per se ipse Ordinarius declarare valeat, vel opus sit,
singulis vicibus, ad Sanctam Sedem pro sententia definitiva
recurrere?
Emi ac Rmi DD. Cardinales in rebus fidei et morum In-
quisitores generales, omnibus mature perpensis, respondendum
decreverunt :
Ad i.^ Dispensationem prout exponitur impertitam esse
nullam.
Ad 2.™ Affirmative ad primam; negative ad secundam
partem.
Et sequenti feria V die 13 eiusdem mensis Ssmus D. N. D.
Pius divina providentia PP. X in solita audientia R. P. D.
Adsessori eiusdem supremae sacrae Congregationis impertita
Emorum Patrum resolutionem benigne adprobare et con-
firmare dignatus est.
Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus S. Officii, die 21 iunii 191 2.
L. * S.
Aloisius Castellano, 5. R. et U. L Notarius.
III.
Decretum de Parochi Adsistentia Matrimoniis Mixtis
IN QUIBUS PRAESCRIPTAE CAUTIONES A CONTRAHENTIBUS
PERVICACITER DETRECTANTUR.
Cum per Decretum Ne temere diei 2 augusti 1907, n. IV,
expresse ac nulla facta distinctione edicatur parochos et lo-
co rum Ordinarios valide matrimonio adsistere, dummodo in-
vitati ac rogati . . . requirant excipiantque contrahentium con-
332 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
sensum; graves in praxi difficultates ortae sunt relate ad
mixtas nuptias in quibus, denegatis pervicaciter a partibus
debitis cautionibus, Sancta Sedes, attentis peculiaribus quo-
rumdam locorum circumstantiis, materialem tantum parochi
praesentiam, per modum exceptionis ac veluti ultimum tole-
rantiae limitem, antea aliquando permiserat.
Re delata ad supremam banc sacram Congregationem sancti
Officii, cui ex praescripto apostolicae Constitutionis " Sapienti
consilio " Integra manet . . . facultas ea cognoscendi quae circa
.. . . impedimenta disparitatis cultus et mixtae religionis ver-
santur, atque in plenario conventu habito feria III, loco IV,
die 21 maii 1912, praevio Rmorum DD. Consultorum voto,
perdiligenti examine discussa, Emi ac Rmi Dni Cardinales in
rebus fidei et morum Inquisitores generales, omnibus mature
perpensis, decreverunt :
" Praescriptionem Decreti Ne temerCy n. IV, § 3, de re-
quirendo per parochum excipiendoque, ad validitatem matri-
monii, nupturientium consensu, in matrimoniis mixtis in qui-
bus debitas cautiones exhibere pervicaciter partes renuant,
locum posthac non habere; sed standum taxative praecedenti-
bus Sanctae Sedis ac praesertim s. m. Gregorii PP. XVI (Litt.
app. diei 30 aprilis 1841 ad episcopos Hungariae) ad rem
concessionibus et instructionibus : facto verbo cum Ssmo ".
Et sequenti feria V die 23 eiusdem mensis Ssmus D. N. D.
Pius divina providentia PP. X, in solita audientia R. P. D.
Adsessori huius supremae sacrae Congregationis sancti Officii
impertita, relatam sibi Emorum Patrum resolutionem benigne
adprobare ac suprema sua auctoritate in omnibus ratam habere
dignatus est.
Contrariis quibuscumque, etiam speciali atque individua
mentione dignis, non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus S. Officii, die 21 iunii 191 2.
L. * S.
Aloisius Castellano, S. R. et U. I. Notarius.
S. OONGEEaATIO INDIOIS.
Decreto S. Congregationis diei 6 maii proxime elapsi lauda-
biliter se subiecit E. Th. de Cauzons.
Romae, die 15 iunii 1912.
Thomas Esser, O.P., Secretarius.
ANALECTA.
333
S. OONGEEGATIO EITUUM.
I.
Decretum praefixum Volumini VI, SEU AppENDici I (ab
ANNO 1900 NUM. 4052 AD ANNUM I911 NUM. 4284, CUM
SUO INDICE GENERALI) OPERIS GUI TITULUS : " D EGRET A
AUTHENTIGA CONGREGATIONIS SaGRORUM RiTUUM EX
AGTIS EIUSDEM GOLLEGTA EIUSQUE AUGTORITATE PRO-
MULGATA ".
URBIS ET ORBIS.
Decreta, quae in hoc Volumine sexto (Appendice I) Col-
lectionis Decretorum sacrae Rituum Congregationis continen-
tur, sanctissimus Dominus noster Pius Papa X, referente in-
frascripto Cardinali sacrorum Rituum Congregationi Prae-
fecto, apostolica Sua auctoritate approbavit, atque authentica
declaravit. Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscunque, etiam
speciali mentione dignis.
Die 24 aprilis anni 191 2.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
■^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien., Secretarius.
II.
Degretum seu Deglarationes girga novas Rubrigas.
Ad praecavendas dubitationes, quae super recta interpre-
tatione tituli X, n. 2 et 5 novarum rubricarum quae sequuntur
constitutionem Divino afflatu oriri possunt, R. Rituum Con-
gregatio, audito Commissionis Liturgicae suffragio, sequentes
declarationes evulgare censuit, nimirum :
I. Quandocumque in feriis maioribus Missam propriam
habentibus ceterisque diebus, de quibus tit. et num. supracitatis,
Missa de feria celebretur, dummodo reapse pro defunctis ap-
plicetur, addi potest oratio pro defunctis in quorum suffragium
celebratur, etiamsi in ea agenda sit commemoratio de occur-
rente festo duplici minori vel maiori.
II. Huiusmodi oratio pro defunctis non excludit in casu
orationes de tempore, nisi occurrat commemoratio duplicis.
III. Quando additur ista oratio pro defunctis, non est at-
tendendus numerus orationum utrum sit dispar an non.
334 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
IV. Haec eadem oratio pro defunctis, semper recitari debet
poenultimo loco inter orationes ea die a rubricis praescriptas
vel permissas, non computatis collectis ab Ordinario imperatis.
V. Oratio pro defunctis in quorum suffragium Missa de
feria applicatur, addi potest, etiamsi ea die a rubricis prae-
cipiatur oratio Omnipotens sempiterne Deus pro vivis et de-
functis, vel Fidelium pro omnibus defunctis.
VI. Ut rite legitimeque applicari possit pro defunctis in-
dulgentia altaris privilegiati, oportet ut, diebus in quibus a
novis rubricis permittitur, missa de feria omnino celebretur,
addita ut supra oratione pro defunctis pro quibus Missa ipsa
celebratur.
VII. Licet iuxta novas rubricas tit. VIII, n. 2, cessata sit
obligatio recitandi in choro officium defunctorum, nihilominus
adhuc servari debet rubrica missalis tit. V, n. i et 2, circa
Missam pro defunctis celebrandam, sive in cantu cum prae-
sentia choralium, si agatur de Missa conventuali, sive lectam
extra chorum iuxta novas rubricas tit. XII.
Die 12 iunii 1912.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
•^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien., Secretarius.
III.
De Dispositione Festorum juxta Novas Rubricas.
Sacrae Rituum Congregationi pro opportuna solutione se-
quentia dubia proposita f uerunt, nimirum :
I. Quando Dominica occurrit a die 25 ad diem 28 decem-
bris inclusive, Rubrica praescribit Officium huius Dominicae
die libera 30 decembris celebrandum. Nunc vero pluribus in
dioecesibus dies 30 decembris impedita est aliquo festo novem
Lectionum. Quaeritur: Quid agendum in casu?
II. Iuxta recentem Constitutionem " Divino afflatu ", tit
IV, n. 3, festum sanctissimi Nominis Mariae perpetuo as-
signatur diei duodecimae mensis septembris. Quaeritur ergo :
Num ecclesiae quae hoc festum tamquam Titulare usque ad
hodiernam diem coluerunt Dominica infra octavam Nativitatis
beatae Mariae Virginis sub ritu duplici I classis cum octava,
ipsum recolere in posterum debeant die duodecima Septembris
ANALECTA. ^
cum Ecclesia Universal!, servatis privilegiis quae Titularibus
competunt ?
III. Pluribus in locis festum sanctissimi Nominis Mariae
ritu duplici I classis cum octava recolitur. Quaeritur: An
istis in locis Octava Nativitatis B. Mariae Virginis cesset
omnino, adveniente festo sanctissimi Nominis; an potius sus-
pendatur tantum, ita ut die decimaquinta septembris agendum
sit de die Octava ipsius Nativitatis, omissa commemoratione
Octavae sanctissimi Nominis?
IV. Ex novis dispositionibus saepe accidit ut festa, sive
duplicia maiora, sive sanctorum Doctorum simplificanda sint
ob occursum alicuius festi translati ritus duplicis II classis.
Quaeritur ergo : Num symbolum addendum sit in Missa de isto
festo translate quod per se symbolum non admittat, si in ea
facta sit commemoratio alicuius festi occurrentis ritus duplicis
maioris aut minoris quod ius habeat ad symbolum in Missa ?
V. Collectae ab Ordinario imperatae, ex novis rubricis, tit.
XI, omittendae sunt, quandocumque in Missa dicendae sint
plusquam tres Orationes a rubrica eo die praescriptae. Quae-
ritur ergo : An Collectae omittendae sint, quando in Missis
privatis, post tres Orationes eo die praescriptas, addita est
oratio sanctissimi Sacramenti publice expositi, vel pro Papa
aut episcopo in respectivis anniversariis electionis, seu con-
secrationis aut coronationis ?
VI. Cum in tabella Occurrentiae perpetuae nuper ab ista
S. Congregatione edita, evidenter mendum irrepserit typo-
graphicum in quadrangulo in quo sibi invicem occurrunt Sim-
plex cum Simplici, ubi legendus est numerus 7, et non 8,
dubium oritur, an aliud pariter mendum sit in quadrangulis
in quibus sibi invicem obveniunt Duplex mains et minus, cum
Vigilia Epiphaniae, ubi loco numeri 3 videtur quod legi de-
beat numerus 6, eo quod Officium ipsius Vigiliae gaudeat
privilegiis Dominicae, ac proinde praevalere debeat, ex novis
Rubricis, Duplici minori et maiori quod non sit festum Domini.
Quaeritur: An revera in praedictis duobus quadrangulis le-
gendus sit numerus 6, ita ut in casu agi debeat de Vigilia
Epiphaniae, cum perpetua repositione Duplicis occurrentis?
Et sacra eadem Congregatio, ad relationem infrascripti Se-
cretarii, audita sententia Commissionis Liturgicae reque ac-
curate examine perpensa, rescribendum censuit:
336 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Ad I. Officium Dominicae infra Octavam Nativitatis trans-
ferendae ea die ponatur quae festum minus nobile in occur-
rentia, a die 29 usque ad 31 decembris, secus peragendum
foret, salvis Dominicae iuribus in concurrentia. Quod si
omnia festa a die 29 ad 31 decembris occurrentia ritum dup-
licem I aut II classis obtineant, commemoratio Dominicae fiat
in Festo ut supra minus nobili. In paritate nobilitatis Offi-
cium aut commemoratio Dominicae fiat in festo prius oc-
currente.
Ad 11. Affirmative.
Ad III. Negative ad primam partem; affirmative ad
secundam.
Ad IV. et V. Affirmative.
Ad VI. In tabella Occurrentiae perpetuae menda corrigan-
tur, ita ut in quadrangulo in quo sibi invicem occurrunt Sim-
plex cum Simplici, ponatur numerus 7, et in quadrangulis in
quibus occurrunt Duplex maius et minus cum Vigilia Epi-
phaniae, ponatur numerus 6: et Vigilia Epiphaniae, privi-
legiis Dominicae gaudens, tam in occurrentia quam in con-
currentia, Duplici etiam maiori semper praeferatur.
Atque ita rescripsit et servari mandavit, die 21 iunii 191 2.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
■^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien., Secretarius.
OOMMISSIO PONTIPIOIA DE EE BIBLIOA.
I.
De Auctore, de Tempore Compositionis et de Historica
Veritate Evangeliorum secundum Marcum et secun-
dum LUCAM.
Propositis sequentibus dubiis Pontificia Commissio " De Re
Biblica " ita respondendum decrevit:
I. Utrum luculentum traditionis suffragium inde ab Ec-
clesiae primordiis mire consentiens ac multiplici argument©
firmatum, nimirum disertis sanctorum Patrum et scriptorum
ecclesiasticorum testimoniis, citationibus et allusionibus in
eorumdem scriptis occurrentibus, veterum haereticorum usu,
versionibus librorum Novi Testamenti, codicibus manuscriptis
ANALECTA. .^
antiquissimis et pene universis, atque etiam internis rationibus
ex ipso sacrorum librorum textu desumptis, certo affirmare
cogat Marcum, Petri discipulum et interpretem, Lucam vero
medicum, Pauli adiutorem et comitem, revera Evangeliorum
quae ipsis respective attribuuntur esse auctores?
R. Affirmative.
II. Utrum rationes, quibus nonnulli critici demonstrare ni-
tuntur postremos duodecim versus Evangelii Marci (Marc,
XVI, 9-20) non esse ab ipso Marco conscriptos sed ab aliena
manu appositos, tales sint quae ius tribuant affirmandi eos non
esse ut inspiratos et canonicos recipiendos ; vel saltern demon-
strent versuum eorumdem Marcum non esse auctorem?
R. Negative ad utramque partem.
III. Utrum pariter dubitare liceat de inspiratione et canoni-
citate narrationum Lucae de infantia Christi (Luc, I-II),
aut de apparitione Angeli lesum confortantis et de sudore
sanguineo (Luc, XXII, 43-44) ; vel solidis saltem rationibus
ostendi possit — quod placuit antiquis haereticis et quibusdam
etiam recentioribus criticis arridet — easdem narrationes ad
genuinum Lucae Evangelium non pertinere?
R. Negative ad utramque partem.
IV. Utrum rarissima ilia et prorsus singularia documenta
in quibus Canticum Magnificat non beatae Virgini Mariae, sed
Elisabeth tribuitur, ullo modo praevalere possint ac debeant
contra testimonium concors omnium fere codicum tum graeci
textus originalis tum versionum, necnon contra interpreta-
tionem quam plane exigunt non minus contextus quam ipsius
Virginis animus et constans Ecclesiae traditio?
R. Negative.
V. Utrum, quoad ordinem chronologicum Evangeliorum,
ab ea sententia recedere fas sit, quae, antiquissimo aeque ac
constanti traditionis testimonio roborata, post Matthaeum, qui
omnium primus Evangelium suum patrio sermone conscripslt,
Marcum ordine secundum et Lucam tertium scripsisse testatur;
aut huic sententiae adversari vicissim censenda sit eorum opinio
quae asserit Evangelium secundum et tertium ante graecam
primi Evangelii versionem esse compositum?
R. Negative ad utramque partem.
VI. Utrum tempus compositionis Evangeliorum Marci et
Lucae usque ad urbem lerusalem eversam differre liceat; vel.
338 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
eo quod apud Lucam prophetia Domini circa huius urbis
eversionem magis determinata videatur, ipsius saltern Evan-
gelium obsidione iam inchoata fuisse conscriptum, sustineri
possit ?
R. Negative ad utramque partem.
VII. Utrum affirmari debeat Evangelium Lucae praeces-
sisse librum Actuum Apostolorum (Act.^ I, 1-2) ; et quum hie
liber, eodem Luca auctore, ad finem captivitatis Romanae
Apostoli fuerit absolutus (Act., XXVIII, 30-31), eiusdem
Evangelium non post hoc tempus fuisse compositum?
R. Affirmative.
VIII. Utrum, prae oculis habitis tum traditionis testimoniis,
turn argumentis internis, quoad fontes quibus uterque Evan-
gelista in conscribendo Evangelio usus est, in dubium vocari
prudenter queat sententia quae tenet Marcum iuxta praedica-
tionem Petri, Lucam autem iuxta praedicationem Pauli scrip-
sisse; simulque asserit iisdem Evangelistis praesto fuisse alios
quoque fontes fide dignos sive orales sive etiam iam scriptis
consignatos ?
R. Negative.
IX. Utrum dicta et gesta, quae a Marco iuxta Petri prae-
dicationem accurate et quasi graphice enarrantur, et a Luca,
assecuto omnia a principio diligenter per testes fide plane
dignos, quippe qui ah initio ipsi viderunt et ministri fuerunt
sermonis (Luc, I, 2-3), sincerissime exponuntur, plenam sibi
eam fidem historicam iure vindicent quam eisdem semper
praestitit Ecclesia; an e contrario eadem facta et gesta cen-
senda sint historica veritate, saltern ex parte, destituta, sive
quod scriptores non fuerint testes oculares, sive quod apud
utrumque Evangelistam defectus ordinis ac discrepantia in
successione factorum haud raro deprehendantur, sive quod,
cum tardius venerint et scripserint, necessario conceptiones
menti Christi et Apostolorum extraneas aut facta plus minusve
iam imaginatione populi inquinata referre debuerint, sive
demum quod dogmaticis ideis praeconceptis, quisque pro suo
scopo, indulserint?
R. Affirmative ad primam partem, negative ad alteram.
ANALECTA. ^^g
II.
De Quaestione Synoptica sive de Mutuis Relationibus
INTER TrIA PrIORA EvANGELIA.
Propositis pariter sequentibus dubiis Pontificia Commissio
" De Re Biblica " ita respondendum decrevit:
I. Utrum, servatis quae iuxta praecedenter statuta omnino
servanda sunt, praesertim de authenticitate et integritate trium
Evangeliorum Matthaei, Marci et Lucae, de identitate sub-
stantial! Evangelii graeci Matthaei cum eius originali primi-
tivo, necnon de ordine temporum quo eadem scripta fuerunt,
ad explicandum eorum ad invicem similitudines aut dissimili-
tudines, inter tot varias oppositasque auctorum sententias, liceat
exegetis libere disputare et ad hpotheses traditionis sive scrip-
tae sive oralis vel etiam dependentiae unius a praecedenti seu
a praecedentibus appellare?
R. Affirmative.
II. Utrum ea quae superius statuta sunt, ii servare censeri
debeant, qui, nullo fulti traditionis testimonio nee historico
argumento, facile amplectuntur hypothesim vulgo duorum
fontium nuncupatam, quae compositionem Evangelii graeci
Matthaei et Evangelii Lucae ex eorum potissimum depen-
dentia ab Evangelio Marci et a coUectione sic dicta sermonum
Domini contendit explicare; ac proinde earn libere propugnare
valeant?
R. Negative ad utramque partem.
Die autem 26 iunii anni 1912, in audientia utrique Rmo
Consultori ab Actis benigne concessa, Ssmus Dominus noster
Pius Papa X praedicta responsa rata habuit ac publici iuris
fieri mandavit.
Romae, diei 26 iunii 191 2.
L. * S.
FULCRANUS ViGOUROUX, Gr. S. Sulp.
Laurentius Janssens, O. S. B.
Consultores ab Actis.
340 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
OUEIA EOMANA.
Pontifical Appointments.
6 May: The Rev. Patrick Ryan, Vicar General of the
Diocese of Pembroke, appointed Titular Bishop of Clazomene.
J7 May : Mr. William Dooley, of the Archdiocese of Boston,
appointed Private Chamberlain of Cape and Sword.
II June: The Rev. Donald Aloysius Mackintosh, Vicar
General of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, appointed Titular
Archbishop of Chersoneso.
14 June: Monsignor Francis Bickerstaffe-Drew, of Salis-
bury, appointed Protonotary Apostolic ad instar partici-
pantium.
15 June: The Rev. Joseph Gabriel Pinter, V.G., Diocese of
Saulte Ste. Marie and Marquette, appointed Domestic Prelate.
22 June: His Eminence Cardinal Sebastian Martinelli ap-
pointed Protector of the Dominican Tertiaries, whose mother-
house is at Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.
24. June: The Rev. John Mclntyre, of the Archdiocese of
Birmingham, appointed Titular Bishop of Lamas and Bishop
Auxiliary of the Archbishop of Birmingham.
28 June: The Right Rev. John J. McCort, Vicar General of
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, appointed Titular Bishop of
Azota and Auxiliary to the Archbishop of Philadelphia.
J July: Mr. James J. Ryan, of Philadelphia, awarded the
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.
6 July: The Right Rev. Thomas F. Kennedy, Rector of the
American College, Rome, appointed Assistant at the Pontifical
Throne.
Stubies anb Conferences*
OUE ANALEOTA.
The Roman documents for the month are :
Letter of Pope Pius X to the Right Rev. James Duhig,
Bishop of Rockhampton, Australia, on the occasion of the
Golden Jubilee of the first mission of this now flourishing
diocese.
S. Congregation of the Holy Office decides : ( i ) that
the dispensation from the impediment of disparity of cult is
never to be granted unless the prescribed guarantees and safe-
guards are explicitly given; (2) a dispensation from the im-
pediment of disparity of cult is null, if the prescribed guaran-
tees have either not been asked for or have been refused; (3)
the prescription of the decree Ne temere on the presence of
the parish priest at mixed marriages in which the regular
guarantees are obstinately refused by the contracting parties
(No. IV, § 3), is revoked.
S. Congregation of the Index makes known the submis-
sion of E. Th. de Cauzons to its decree of 6 May last.
S. Congregation of Rites : i . The decrees contained in
Vol. VI (Appendix I) of the Collection of Decrees of the
S. Congregation of Rites are officially declared to be authentic.
2. Decree regarding the new Rubrics.
3. Arrangement of feasts according to the new Rubrics.
Pontifical Biblical Commission answers ( i ) nine ques-
tions regarding the authorship, date of composition, and his-
torical truth of the Gospels of SS. Mark and Luke; (2) and
two other questions on the mutual relations of the first three
Gospels, — the Synoptic Question.
Roman Curia gives the recent Pontifical appointments.
DE VASEOTOMIA.
Quaestio de vasectomia ej usque liceitate hisce ultimis tem-
poribus tantopere sollicitos habuit theologos, medicos, juris-
peritos et legislatores, in America praesertim Septentrionali,
estque quaestio tum practice turn theoretice adeo momentosa
ut, non obstantibus pluribus articulis (in hoc signanter perio-
342 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
dico) circa illam jam scriptis/ adhuc opportunum visum
fuerit hanc controversiam reassumere, principiis magis in-
sistendo, quae totam litem moderate videntur. Occasione
data, per decursum dissertationis, occurremus rationis mo-
mentis quae contra doctrinam alias a nobis propositam in-
ducenda censuerit doctissimus Dr. O'Malley.^
Ansam praebuit huic controversiae lex recenter inducta in
variis Statibus Foederatis Americae Septentrionalis, signan-
ter in Indiana, California, Utah et Connecticut, tenore cujus
legis vasectomia imponitur peragenda in variis viris de-
generibus, defectivis, alcoholicis et aliis hujusmodi, ex quibus
procreanda timetur adulterata ac degener progenies.^
Successive exponemus i. in quo consistat sic dicta Vasec-
tomia, 2. quinam sint ejusdem effectus et 3. quousque licite
peragi valeat tam publica quam privata auctoritate.
^ Hue spectant articuli de hac re script! sequentes :
Donovan (professor in coUegio Franciscano Universitati Washingtonensi
adnexo), Circa liceitatem cujusdam operationis chirurgicae, apud Ecclesias-
tical Review., torn. XLII (1910), p. 271 ss., coUatis ibidem, p. 599 ss., nec-
non torn. XLIV, p. 571 ss., ac torn. XLV, p. 313 ss. ; Laboure (professor
Seminarii in San Antonio), De Vasectomia, ibidem, torn. XLIII, p. 80 ss.,
collatis, p. 320 ss. et 552 ss., necnon torn. XLIV, p. 574 ss. et torn. XLV, p.
355 ss. ; Rigby (professor in collegio Dominicanorum, Romae), De liceitate
Vasectomiae, ibidem, p. 70 ss. ; Schmitt, Vasectomia, eine neue Operation und
ihre Erlaubtheit, apud Zeitschrift fur kath. Theologie, 191 1, p. 66 ss. et
759 ss. ; coll. Ecclesiastical Review, torn. XLIV, p. 679 ss. et torn. XLV, p.
86 ss. ; Ferreres, De Vasectomia duplici noviter inventa, apud Razon y Fe,
t. XXVII, p. 374 ss., torn. XXVIII, p. 224 ss., torn. XXXI, p. 495 ss. et torn.
XXXII, p. 222 ss., coll. EccLES. Rev., torn. XLVI (1912), p. 207 ss. ; Gemelli
(Dr. medicus et professor theol. pastoralis), De liceitate Vasectomiae, apud
La Scuola Cattolica, torn. XXI (1911), p. 396 ss. ; Stucchi, ibidem, p. 417 ss. ;
Eschbach, ibidem, torn. XXII, p. 243 ss. ; Capello, ibidem, p. 246 ss. ; De
Becker, The casus " de liceitate Vasectomiae ", apud Eccles. Review, torn.
XLII, p. 474 s. et torn. XLIII, p. 356 ss. ; Dr. medicus O'Malley, Vasectomy
in Defectives, apud Eccles. Review, torn. XLIV, p. 684 ss., coll., torn.
XLVI, p. 219 ss. ; idem, Inseminatio ad validum matrimonium requisita,
ibidem, torn. XLVI, p. 322 ss. ; Roderer, apud Eccles. Review, torn. XLIV,
p. 742 s. ; Wouters, De Vasectomia, apud Nederl. kath. Stemmen, 191 1, p.
19 ss. ; Nouv. Rev. theo., 1910, p. 417 ss. ; Revue eccl. de Liege, VI, p. 203 ss.
Addi possunt quaedam dissertationes seu adnotationes hue spectantes anony-
mice aut pseudonymice vulgatae in Eccles. Review, torn. XLII, p. 346 ss. ;
torn. XLIII, p. 310 ss. (sub pseudonomine Neo-Scholasticus) ; torn. XLIV,
p. 562 ss. ; torn. XLV, p. 71 ss. et p. 599 ss. (sub pseudonomine Philokanon) ;
accedit tandem Consultatio theologica RR. PP. Vermeersch, De Villers et
Salsmans, in Eccles. Review, torn. XLII, p. 475.
2 Eccles. Review, tom. XLVI, p. 332.
8 In Indiana, ut testatur Dr. O'Malley, apud Eccles. Review, tom. XLIV,
p. 684, peracta fuit vasectomia, inde ab anno 1907 ad finem anni 1910, in 800
circiter viris. Cf. etiam Eccles. Review, tom. XLII, p. 347 s.
/
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
343
I. In quo consistat Vasectomia.
A pud virum, consistit in sectione transversa peracta in
utroque canali (vase deferente nuncupate), quod viam sternit
a testiculis ad vesiculas seminales : incisione nempe facta per
scrotum, forcipe prehenditur funiculus spermaticus, atque ex
denudato vase deferente parvum fragmentum exsecatur,
sedulo servatis nervis, venis et arteriis, quae vas deferens cir-
cumcingunt et simul cum ipso funiculum spermaticum con-
stituunt.*
A pud foeminam, consistit in simili resectione utriusque
oviducti, i. e. canalis ab ovariis ad matricem ducentis et ova
matura deferentis. Vocatur haec operatio speciali nomine
oophorectomia seu fallectomia^ denominatione vasectomiae
peculiariter reservata operationi peractae in viro.
Vasectomia viri brevem ac omni periculo expertem importat
operationem chirurgicam, sola provocata anesthesia locali,
quin opus sit chloroformio aliove medicamento somnifero;
oophorectomia vero gravem et sat periculosam exigit laparo-
tomiam.
II. Effectus.
A. Inducitur apud virum et mulierem sterilitas. Via enim
^praecluditur omnimode elemento foecundanti virili ac respec-
tive elemento foemineo foecundando, adeo ut omnis foecundatio
sit physice impossibilis, tarn in congressu viri vasectomiaci
quam in copula habita cum muliere oophorectomiam passa.
Quod autem spectat sterilitatis perpetuitatem: equidem
physica praesto est possibilitas foecundandi potentiam resti-
tuendi, extremitates resuendo oviducti vel canalis resecti ; *
non desunt etiam experientiae quae, testibus medicis, felicem
in hunc sensum exitum sint nactae; ® sed non est negandum,
attenta exiguitate luminis seu interioris diametri canalis de-
ferentis,^ difficilem esse hujusmodi restaurationem, etiam in
* Intimiorem operationis descriptionem videsis apud Drem. O'Malley,
EccLES. Review, torn. XLIV, p. 687 ss. et apud Gemelli, La Scuola cattolica,
torn. XXI, p. 403 ss.
5 Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Rev., XLV, p. 720, suadet potius connectendam esse
superiorem partem resecti canalis cum epididymide.
« Cf. Eccles. Review, torn. XLV, p. 720 s. ; La Scuola Cattolica, t. XXI,
P- 415.
'^ Non excedit dimidium millimetri ; cf. Razon y Fe, torn. XXVIII, p. 230.
344 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
viro, eamque non modo expertam exquirere manum, sed et
raro succedere, signanter quando vasectomia non fuerit re-
centius peracta.®
B. Vehemens exsurgit controversia utrum oophorectomia et
praesertim vasectomia importet, ultra sterilitatem, etiam im-
potentiam, eamque perpetuarny matrimonium dirimentem.
Ad cujus controversiae solutionem haec duo praemittenda
volumus :
a. Litem coarctamus ad solam vasectomiam viri.^ Mulie-
rem fallectomiam passam facile concedimus non reddi im-
potentem, siquidem manet, non secus ac mulier excisa, apta ad
habendam copulam ex parte actus ad generationem de se
idoneam, juxta notionem datam apud Collat. Brug., t. XV,
p. 695-705.''
b. Sedulo notandum vasectomiam non sequi testiculorum
inertiam et atrophiam : horum quidem activitas minuitur, sed
non abrumpitur seminalis secretio, sicut etiam activitas serva-
tur in aliis glandulis ad seminis elaborationem cooperantibus,
et manet membrorum genitalium perfecta erectibilitas. Salvis
namque remanentibus nervis et sanguineis vasculis funiculi
spermatid, integra servatur nutritio testiculorum ac Integra
manet nervorum consociatio inter varias glandulas sexualis
organismi. In hoc erraverunt non pauci falso nitentes con-
ceptu vasectomiae, quasi consisteret in resectione integri funi-
culi spermatici.^^
Quibus praenotatis :
1° Inhaesitanter contendimus vasectomia induci impoten-
tiam, eamque non relativam, uti patet, sed absolutam, im-
potentiam intelligendo ad normam juris canonici.
Revera impotens est vir qui non est capax exercendi copulam
ad generationem per se idoneam; sufficit autem ut apta sit
copula ex parte ipsius actus, abstractione facta a reliquis or-
ganis, praeter copulae actum, ad foecundationem requisitis;
sufficit etiam, uti in notione dicitur, ut copula sit per se apta,
8 Cf. EccLES. Review^ t. XLIV, p. 690, et t. XLV, p. 720 s. ; La Scuola
Cattolica, t. XXI, p. 413 ss. ; Razon y Fe, t. XXVIII, p. 230 s. et t. XXXII,
p. 225 s.
® In sequentibus c"'e hac sola erit quaestio.
^^ Cf. etiam Tractatum de Sponsalibus et Matrimonio, ed. 2a, n. 276 ss.
^1 Cf. Schmitt, 11. cc. ; Ferreres, Razon y Fe, torn. XXIII, p. 224; Rigby^
1. c, p. 70 s.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^ .-
quin nempe attendantur ilia quae possent, in ipsis copulae ele-
mentis, procreationem impedire per accidens, i. e. prouti sunt
in tali vel tali individuo.^^
Jamvero ad illam copulae aptitudinem ex parte actus re-
quiritur et sufficit ut elementa praesto sint quae in ipso coeundi
actu ad generationem postulantur: penetratio scil. vaginae
cum emissione seminis natura sua et per se foecundi, i. e. non
liquoris cujuscumque, sed veri seminis ad foecundandum per
se idonei.
Quid autem est semen a vasectomiaco emissum nisi semen
natura sua et per se prorsus infoecundumf Solum et unicum
elementum foecundans est in spermatozoidis, et haec praecise
physico et ineluctabili impedimento prohibentur quominus
seminationi misceantur, cum via totaliter occludatur ipsis.
Neque invocetur paritas cum senihus qui censentur canonice
potentes.^^
Et sane, si sustineretur paritas, non dubitaremus ipsos senes
declarare impotentes. Ast neganda est undecumque paritas.
Nimirum senes, quos supponimus aliunde erectiones capaces et
organis sexualibus instructos, habent semen per se foecundum;
et si contingat illud esse infoecundum, hoc est per accidens.
Semen namque dici debet per se foecundum, quod derivatur
a glandulis ad semen foecundum secernendum natura sua des-
tinatis, quod, attenta provenientia sua, natum est foecunda-
tionis principium secum ferre.
Ulterius, siquidem non omnibus placet distinctio inter ea
quae sunt per se et quae sunt per accidens,^* alio modo arguere
liceat. Esto scil. plurimos senes non jam habere spermato-
zoida, aut ea habere adeo inertia ut foecundationi videantur
inepta,^'^ non est negandum plures etiam dari quibus praesto
sit foecundurn sperma, cum non desint exempla senum qui,
12 " Rectitude naturalis in humanis actibus non est secundum ea quae per
accidens contingunt in uno individuo, sed secundum ea quae totam speciem
consequuntur." S. Thomas, C. Gentes, 1. Ill, cap. 122.
13 Haec paritas potissimum invocatur a Gemelli, 1. c, p. 412 s., necnon a
Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Review, t. XLVI (1912), p. 332 ss., ubi referens doc-
trinam apud Collat. Brug., t. XV, p. 695 ss. propositam, nos inconsequentiae
arguit quod ex una parte senes uti potentes habeamus, et ax alia parte vasec-
tomiacos ut impotentes.
14 Cf. Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Rev., t. XLVI, p. 336 s.
15 Cf. Ferreres, apud Eccles. Review, t. XLVI, p. 210 ss., et Razon y Fe,
t. XXXI, p. 498 s.
346 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
aetate provecta, prolem procreaverint.^^ Porro quodnam,
quaeso, erit criterium quo secernantur senes foecundi ab aliis?
Aliud criterium quaeri nequit nisi analysis microscopica ; quod
sane criterium admitti nequit: requiritur norma observation!
de se pervia eo vel magis quod impotentia, positis ponendis,
constituat impedimentum matrimonii, de cujus praesentia vel
absentia obvie constare debeat/'^ Hujusmodi criterium de se
obvium et naturale est praesentia membrorum quae ad semen
foecundum elaborandum requiruntur et sufficiunt, non autem
praesentia spermatozoidorum aut horum energia, quae variis
in adjunctis individuis deficere potest ac regulariter sola micro-
scopica inspectione observari potest.
Ideo potentes censentur viri omnes, quantum vis senescentes,
qui obvie innotescunt erectionis capaces ac organis instructi
quae noscuntur ad semen foecundum secernendum et ejacu-
landum necessaria et de se sufficientia; impotentes autem re-
putantur quibus deficit omnis erectibilitas, vel qui organis
carere apparent quibus ineluctabiliter indiget vir ad seminis
foecundi elaborationem vel ejaculationem. Vasectomiaci
proinde inter impotentes sunt adnumerandi, cum ex peracta
operatione chirurgica obvie constet ipsos organo destitui ad
seminis foecundi, non quidem secretionem, sed ejaculationem
insupplebiliter necessario, canali scil. deferente pervio.
Neque dicatur: ad hoc ut quis aptus existat ad validum
matrimonium, sufficere ut matrimonium possit ipsi esse in
remedium concupiscentiae}^
Profecto si hujus finis consecutio sola esset attendenda,
sufiiceret ad validum conjugium potentia, in nupturientibus,
copulam exercendi cum seminatione qualicumque, etiam per
se infoecunda, adeoque vasectomiaci, etiamsi abruptae com-
municationis restitutio esset in perpetuum impossibilis ( de quo
1^ Cf. ffxta relata apud Brouardel, Le Mariage, Paris, 1900, p. 131 ss. ;
Topai, De Necessitate uteri in generatione et in Matrimonio, Pustet, 1903, p.
75 s., collate tamen Dre. O'Malley, Eccles. Rev., t. XLVI, p. 221 s.
1'^ Ipse Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Rev., t. XLVI, p. 324, scribit : " Nequaquam
opus est recursum habere ad observationes microscopicas vel chimicas ut norma
stabiliatur."
1^ " Ratio fundamentalis cur matrimonium . . . viri vasectomiam passi vali-
dum dicendum sit, quaerenda est neque in iis quae sunt per se, neque in iis
quae per accidens contingunt, sed in hoc quod potentia sexuali gaudet perfecte
apta ad remedium concupiscentiae habendum" Ita Dr. O'Malley, Eccles.
Review, t. XLVI, p. 336.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^ .7
mox infra), essent habendi uti potentes et ad matrimonium
contrahendum idonei. Ast illud suppositum falso nititur funda-
mento, quasi sedatio concupiscentiae esset finis operis proprius
et independens matrimonii, quod falsum esse ostendimus in
Tractatu de Sponsalihus et matrimonio, 2* edit., sub n. 54:
unicus finis proprius operis, cui finis medendi concupiscentiae
est obnoxius et subordinatus, dicendus est generatio prolis;
ac proinde nullum matrimonium, quantumvis concupiscentiae
sedativum, potest valide iniri, nisi salva ordinatione ad ilium
finem, supposita scil., in utroque contrahente, aptitudine ad
copulam de se idoneam generationi.
Caeterum si in matrimonio ej usque usu sola attendenda esset
concupiscentiae sedatio, absque ordine ad finem procreationis,
legitimari posset et pro valido haberi matrimonium ab eunucho
contrahendum, in casu nonnunquam, esto infrequenter, ob-
tinente, quo in illo eunucho salvatur erectibilitas et seminalis
liquoris emittendi potentia.
Ex ipsa igitur ins pe eta natura impotentiae eruendum est
eam vasectomia induci.
Quod confirmatur obvia analysi textus in hac re classici,
Constitutionis nempe Sixti V Cum frequenter, de die 27 Junii
1587, in qua eunuchi authentice declarantur impotentes."
Nimirum non arguimus ex eo quod vasectomiaci aequi-
parandi sint eunuchis, spadonibus seu castratis: in praeno-
tandis namque vidimus per vasectomiam rite peractam testi-
culos non reddi inertes nee atrophiam pati; manent vasec-
tomiaci ad erectionem et foeminei vasis penetrationem perapti,
necnon idonei ad seminalem liquorem emittendum, a prostata,
vesiculis seminalibus et glandulis Cowperianis elaboratum,
dum eunuchi plerique, ut videtur, etiam illi qui in adulta aetate
fuerunt evirati, amiserunt, saltem post aliquod temporis spa-
1® " Cum frequenter in istis regionibus eunuchi quidam et spadones, qui
utroque teste carent, et ideo certum ac manifestum est eos verum semen
emittere non posse ; quia impura carnis tentigine atque immundis complexibus
cum mulieribus se commiscent, et humorem forsan quemdam similem semini,
licet ad generationem et ad matrimonii causam minime aptum, effundunt, ma-
trimonia . . . contrahere praesumant . . . mandamus ut conjugia per dictos
et alios quoscumque eunuchos et spadones utroque teste carentes . . . contrahi
prohibeas, eosque ad matrimonia quocumque modo contrahenda inhabiles
auctoritate nostra declares . . . et matrimonia ipsa sic de facto contracta nulla,
irrita et invalida esse decernas."
348 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tium, potentiam copulam qualemcumque exercendi, deficiente
erectibilitate vel etiam seminalis liquoris secretione.^^
Unice nitimur in principio a Sixto V posito, vi cujus prin-
cipii impotentes declarantur eunuchi : quod idem principium
vasectomiacis applicando, ad eamdem conclusionem admitten-
dam urgemur. Et sane eunuchi non declarantur impotentes
quia incapaces sunt vas foemineum penetrandi aut seminalem
liquorem emittendi (S. Pontifex hypothetice supponit quod id
facere valeant) ; sed ideo quia " certum ac manifestum est eos
verum semen emittere non posse ", i. e., quemadmodum ex
oppositione ad alium seminalem humorem liquet, " ad gener-
ationem et ad ynatrimonii causam minime aptum ". Sunt
igitur impotentes quia semen de se foecundum emittere non
valent.
Ulterius autem progrediendo : undenam inepti sunt ad
semen foecundum emittendum?
Manifeste docet Sixtus V id ex eo provenire quod utroque
teste carent, siquidem explicite dicuntur ideo praecise verum
seu foecundum semen emittere non posse. Jamvero, in or dine
ad seminis foecunditatem, idem prorsus est quod testiculi de-
sint, et quod omnis inter ipsos et ejaculationis organon abrum-
pitur communicatio.
Caeterum conclusionem nostram circa effectum vasectomiae
impotentiam inducendi, tuentur plerique canonistae et theo-
logi qui partes habuerunt in praesenti controversia.^^
2° Si nobis indubium videtur impotentem esse virum vasec-
tomiam passum, non adeo liquet utrum hujusmodi impotentia
sit dicenda perpetua, adeoque utrum vel non impedimentum
inducat matrimonii dirimens. Id pendet a possibilitate restau-
randi abruptam communicationem inter testiculos et versiculas
seminales.
20 Cf. Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Review, t. XLIV, p. 695; t. XLV, p. 719; t.
XLVI, p. 334 s., et p. 22 s., quo ultimo loco arguit contra Ferreres (Eccles.
Rev., t. XLVI, p. 217 s.).
21 Ita De Becker, Eccles. Rev., t. XLIII, p. 357; Ferreres, Eccles. Rev.,
t. XLVI, p. 207 ss. ; Razon y Fe, t. XXVIII, p. 376 ss., et XXXI, p. 496 ss. ;
Rigby, 1. c, p. 76; Stucchi, 1. c. ; Eschbach, 1. c. ; Capello, 1. c. ; Ojetti, Syn-
opsis rerum moralium et juris Pontificii, 3ia ed., n. 2425.
Contrarium opinantur Donovan (licet haesitanter), Eccles. Rev., t. XLII,
p. 602 ; Laboure, ibidem, t, XLIII, p. 82, et praesertim Gemelli, 1. c, p. 410 ss.,
et Dr. O'Malley, t. XLIV, p. 691 s., ubi ait per vasectomiam non magis induci
impotentiam quam per tonsionem barbae, collatis torn. XLVI, p. 219 ss. et
332 ss.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^ .g
Probe tamen notetur non sufficere absolutam et physicam
restaurandi possibilitatem, quam caeteroquin admittendam
jam vidimus; manet impotentia in sensu canonum perpetua,
quamdiu nonnisi per media extraordinaria vel ope peculiaris
artificii sanari valet.
Quibus attentis, et spectatis supra notatis de reparationis
difficultate, potius inclinamur in asserenda impotentiae per-
petuitate, saltem si agatur de vasectomia parum recenti."
Cum tamen in hujusmodi negotio tanti momenti ac adeo intime
praxim spectante, singulari prudentia est opus, cumque solutio
multum pendeat ab artis chirurgicae perfectibilitate, nolumus
alteri sententiae, temporaneam dumtaxat impotentiam admit-
tenti, probabilitatem denegare, donee lis per decretum S. Se-
dis dirimatur.
Quousque igitur stare videatur concessa probabilitas, stricto
jure non posset vasectomiacus, nisi probe constiterit restaura-
tionem vasis resecti et abruptae communicationis in casu par-
ticulari esse impossibilem, a matrimonio prohiberi, siquidem,
juxta principia in citato Tractatu, n. 240 et n. 279, proposita,
non potest a matrimonio arceri ille cujus impotentia proba-
biliter non est perpetua. Ex alia autem parte, cum pro hujus-
modi persona, quousque mutilatio vasectomiaca fuerit sanata
et impotentia inde consequens ablata, usus matrimonii, salvo
meliori judicio, sit illicitus declarandus, practice foret matri-
monium passim interdicendum donee restauratio fuerit per-
acta: tale namque conjugium, absque eo utendi facultate, gra-
vissimis periculis esset plenum. ^^
C. Seposita sterilitate vel impotentia, refertur a medicis et
hujus rei peritis notabiles effectus eosque faustos et beneficos
ad vasectomiam consequi in viri organismo. Et quidem bonus
ille influxus observari videtur potissimum in illis qui ante ope-
rationem chirurgicam sexuali erethismo, quem vocant, labora-
bant, quatenus qui prius incorrigibiles masturbatores existe-
bant, aut quasi irresistibiliter ad venerem provocabantur,
22 Hanc impotentiae perpetuitatem, inter alios, urgent Ferreres, Wouters,
Stucchi, Capello ; impotentiam potius habet ut temporaneam Ojetti, 1. c.
28 Haec practica solutio convenit cum doctrina proposita apud Collat. Brug.,
t. XV, p. 698, licet haec doctrina, theoretice spectata, aliquatenus mitiganda
videatur ad normam dictorum.
350
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
sensim evadant minus erotici et ad venerem minus proclives,
ac magis normalem vitae rationem sequi videantur.^*
Descriptus influxus deberi videtur, in quantum conjicere
licet, tum imminutioni secretionis seminalis operationem con-
sequenti, qua secretionis imminutione removetur congestio ilia
cerebralis cum nervosa excitatione sexuali, per excessivam
secretionem producta; tum etiam absorptioni seminalis secre-
tionis a testiculis elaboratae, quae absorptio noscitur oeco-
nomiae corporali valde proficua.
III. LiCEITAS.
Attenta notione superius data de vasectomia ejusque ef-
fectibus, habenda est ut mutilatio gravis, cum ratio sit habenda
non tantum resectionis in se et materialiter spectatae, sed etiam
effectus immediati et ineluctabilis, abruptae nempe communi-
cationis urethri cum testiculis : quae abruptio indubie gravis
apparet, quod eam dicas sterilitatem dumtaxat vel et im-
potentiam inducere; in utraque hypothesi privatur vir notabili
functione physiologica foecundandi.
Nee levis efficitur mutilatio ex eo quod functio suppressa
restaurari queat, eo vel magis quod passim difficilis sit, uti
vidimus, ac dubii exitus hujusmodi redintegratio. Non
pendet proinde instituenda controversia ab ilia quae modo fuit
instituta sub II, ad B; severae tamen conclusiones quae pro-
ponentur magis stringunt respectu illorum qui censent vasec-
tomiam impotentiam inducere.^*^
Applicanda igitur sunt vasectomiae principia quae mode-
rantur moralitatem gravis mutilationis corporalis, quae prin-
cipia exposita videsis apud Auctores theologiae moralis, et
signanter apud 111. Waffelaert, Tractatus de Justitia,
Brugis, 1886, I, nn. 91-95 et II, nn. 100-106.
Nimirum.
A. Quod spectat vasectomiam privata auctoritate per-
agendam :
1° Vasectomia indirecta licet proportionata de causa.
24 Cf. prae caeteris O'Malley, apud Eccles. Rev., t. XLIV, p. 689 ss. ; t.
XLV, p. 717 ss. et t. XLVI, p. 325 s. ; Gemelli, 1. c, p. 400 s. et 408 ss. et 415,
ubi et varia testimonia referuntur.
2^- In sequentibus passim abstrahimus ab hac disputatione, vasectomiam pro-
ponendo ut actionem sterilizantem.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^^^
Vasectomia indirecta est quando ex operatione canalem re-
secante, quae est actio in se indifferens, duplex effectus se-
quitur aeque immediate, communicationis scil. abruptio steri-
lizans et alius effectus bonus, ac prior effectus malus non in-
tenditur. Ita si pars canalis deferentis esset gangrena in-
fecta, partis infectae exsectio constitueret vasectomiam in-
directam.
Talis vasectomia, si praesto est justa causa, i. e. si bonus
effectus est proportionatus malo effectui, ut in casu proposito,
declaranda est omnino licita; ratio est quia resectio, in se in-
differens, non potest dici mala ratione effectus pravi, cum ef-
fectus ille per alium effectum proportionatum et aeque imme-
diatum compensetur.
2° Vasectomia directa non licet nisi ad bonum corporis.
Vasectomia directa est quotiescumque solus effectus imme-
diatus resectionis chirurgicae est abruptio communicationis
inter vesiculas seminales et testiculos; ipsa namque violenta
ilia interruptio constituit ipsam actionem sterilizantem, non
secus ac ipsa expulsio foetus nondum viabilis constituit ipsam
actionem occisivam. Unde sicut non est abortus indirectus,
licet ex ipsa expulsione immediate sequatur salus matris, et
non ex morte prolis; pari modo vasectomia seu mutilatio ste-
rilizans directa est, licet bonus effectus seminalem secretionem
minuendi et organismum male affectum moderandi sequatur
potius ex ipsa communicationis interruptione quam ex sterili-
zatione.
Porro dicimus hujusmodi vasectomiam directam non licere,
excepto casu quo in bonum corporis ordinetur.
Quod generatim non liceat vasectomia directa, patet ex eo
quod gravem constituat mutilationem sterilizantem, quodque
omnis mutilatio directa, salva exceptione adducta, importet
inordinationem : laedit nempe dominium Dei, utpote qui sibi
reservavit proprietatem vitae humanae ejusque organorum.^^
Quemadmodum non possumus nobis auferre vitam, utpote in
quam Deus sibi retinuit dominium, sic non possumus nobis
membrum amputare vel functionem aliquam vitalem sup-
primere.
Exceptio habetur pro casu quo mutilatio membri vel organi
admittitur propter bonum totius corporis. Ratio est *' quod
26 111. Waffelaert, o. c, I, n. 91.
352 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
homo sit suipsius gubernator et membrorum administrator ad
bonum totius ; neque enim membra singula sunt propter se
sed propter totum, et ideo in bonum totius petunt dirigi, et
possunt abscindi vel incidi propter bonum totius." ^^
Quod autem bonum corporis sit sola causa directam muti-
lationem legitimans, inde est quod '* membra ex natura sua
immediate non subordinantur nisi toti naturali seu corporis
bono et conservationi." ^^
Directa proinde mutilatio, et in specie vasectomia, non
licet immediate ad bonum procurandum spirituale animae;
et ita non liceret manum amputare ne deinceps illicitos tactus
admittat, nee oculos eruere ne amplius videant vanitatem, nee
licet seipsum castrare ad hoc immediate ut continentia ser-
vetur. Non datur nempe immediata subordinatio et con-
nexio inter membra corporis et salutem animae ; et ideo etiam,
uti notat S. Thomas,^® '' saluti spirituali semper potest aliter
subveniri quam per membri praecisionem ", moderando scil.,
voluntatis imperio, usum membrorum, oculos avertendo,
manum cohibendo.
Dicitur: non licet vasectomia, eam ad bonum spirituale or-
dinando immediate ; quia, si immediate conducit ad bonum
corporis et requiritur ad boni corporalis conservationem,
simul mediate proficiendo saluti animae, profecto salvatur
debita ordinatio et nihil obstat quominus vasectomia legi-
timetur.
Jamvero, si confidere possumus testimoniis supra invocatis
et experientiis factis, non auderemus dicere nunquam licitam
esse posse vasectomiam directe provocatam auctoritate privata.
Pone scil. virum aliquem abnormi secretione seminali con-
tinuo laborare et inde continuum pati erethismum sexualem, ita
ut inde valetudo ejus male afficiatur. Nonne, in supposito
quod ejffectus supra descripti ad vasectomiam consequantur,
nonne, inquam, dici posset vasectomiam immediate conducere
ab bonum corporis, et mediate tantum ad bonum spirituale?
Posito hujusmodi abnormi corporis conditione vere patho-
logica, posito etiam quod frustra alia remedia fuerint ad-
hibita, non auderemus, donee S. Sedes aliter judicaverit, vel
27 Ibidem, II, n. lOl.
28 Ibidem, n. 103.
29 2a 2ae, qu. LXV, art. i, ad 3m.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ..^
donee circa effectus physiologicos et psychicos vasectomiae
accuratius instruct! fuerimus, damnare virum qui illam opera-
tionem sollicitaret nee medicum qui ad illam peragendam
operam suam praeberet.*^
Extra descripta omnino exeeptionalia adjuncta, plane as-
sentimur illis qui direetam vasectomiam, auctoritate privata
peraetam, reprobandam ducant. Vix notandum est, post ea
quae modo exposuimus, illam operationem privata auctoritate
nunquam adhiberi posse ad ipsam sterilitatem obtinendam, ad
vitandam prolis multitudinem, et ad alios fines istius generis.
B. Quod speetat vasectomiam auctoritate publica insti-
tuendam :
Princeps non habet directum dominium in vita vel membris
subditorum, nee cives sunt habendi quasi in bonum reipublicae
ordinati, cum contra respubliea sit in bonum et utilitatem
civium. Ideo non potest a Principe vita auferri civis inno-
centis et innocui, licet ejus mors in commune bonum cederet,
puta ilium oecidendo ad placandum tyrannum, qui civitatis
exeidium minitatur nisi caput illius innocentis tradatur.
Ex alia parte agnoscenda est Principi potestas jurisdictionis
in cives, quatenus, tanquam vindex suorum subditorum et
curam gerens boni communis ac reipublicae conservandae, po-
test et debet vitam et jura civium tueri contra invadentes, ac
media adhibere quae ad conservationem reipublicae et vitae
socialis integritatem exiguntur, etiam, si opus sit, oecidendo
aut mutilando illos qui vitam socialem in discrimen vocant.
Quo pacto jus habet Princeps, positis ponendis, mutilandi
aut etiam oceidendi, sive in punitionem criminum, quae punitio
necessaria est ad reliquos a sceleribus deterrendos, sive directe
ad societatis vel individuorum defensionem contra nocentes.
Porro juxta haec principia solvenda est quaestio nostra. Ex
illis autem liquido apparet Principi non esse agnoscendum
jus ut vasectomiam peragendam jubeat, nisi in quantum con-
stiterit illam mutilationem (in uno alterove individuo vel in
civium eategoria) esse necessariam vel i. ad tuendam vitam
seu jura individuorum, vel 2. ad conservandam ipsam reipub-
3 0 Conveniunt in hoc Schmitt, Zeitschr. /. k. TheoL, 191 1, P- 7^3 s., et
EccLES. Rev., t. XLV, p. 88 s. ; Donovan, Eccles. Rev., t. XLV, p. 318 s.;
Laboure, ibidem, p. 355 ; Stucchi, 1. c, p. 418 s. ; O'Malley, ibidem, t. XLIV,
p. 696; necnon Auctor sub pseudonomine (Perplexus), scribens apud Eccles.
Rev., t. XLII, p. 602 s., ac Auctor Anonymus, ibidem, t. XLV, p. 76.
354 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
licae vitam socialem, sive per modum punitionis, sive per mo-
dum directae defendonis contra el em en ta nociva ejus incolumi-
tatem in grave discrimen vocantia.
Quae conditio, pro legitimanda qualibet gravi mutilatione
necessaria, strictius hie est urgenda pro majori gravitate muti-
lationis vasectomiacae, signanter si censetur esse non modo
sterilizans, sed et impotentiam ac matrimonii impedimentum
inducens.
Jamvero opinamur hanc indispensabilem conditionem neutra
sub parte verificari. Et sane.
1° Quod spectat vitam et jura privata individuorum : re-
licta in viris defectivis foecundandi potentia, nuUius individui
jus laeditur quod a Principe vindicetur; vel, si locus sit juris
laesioni, alia praesto sunt in manu Principis media opportuna
et efficacia, quibus juris violationi occurrat eamve praeveniat,
quin opus sit ut ad vasectomiam recurrat.
Nimirum non est a Statu vindicandum jus prolis forsan
nascendae ex hujusmodi viro, in statu debiliori aut infirmiori,
cum proles ilia, utpote nondum existens, non sit subjectum
juris, cumque illi semper melius sit esse infirmam quam non
esse.
Nee regulariter tuendum assumere debet jus mulieris, cui
conjungi contingat talem virum, cum in hujusmodi unione
regulariter et per se dictae mulieris jus non laedatur.
Dicitur : regulariter, quia exceptionaliter potest esse locus
juris violationi e parte talis viri. Casus esset si contagiosa
lue esset infectus, puta lepra aut syphili in tali gradu ut proxi-
mum contagionis periculum inducat pro muliere cui copuletur;
vel si ageretur de viro qui tanto passionis aestu laboret ut
primam quasi occurrentem foeminam invadat et violento
stupro violandam aggrediatur.
In hisce exceptionalibus adjunctis, partes essent auctoritatis
socialis illos viros cohibere eosque impedire quominus morbo
inficiant alios eorumve pudicitiae et castitati attentent.
Ast non est integrum Statui qualecumque medium pro lubitu
in hunc finem adhibere, et ad occisionem aut mutilationem
non potest recurrere nisi deficiente alio medio efficaci. Patet
autem efficax remedium praesto esse in reclusione, quemad-
modum reclusione impediuntur ne noceant furiosi et rabidi,
quos etiam occidere et mutilare non liceret, quousque alio
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^ec
medio cohiberi valent. Imo non esset ad reclusionem deve-
niendum nisi cum viris alterius speciei, pudicitiae scil. violenter
attentantibus ; periculo contagionis sufficienter provideretur,
virum morbo contagioso affectum prohibendo, sub poena nul-
litatis, a matrimonio contrahendo : quae potestas hujusmodi
impedimentum inducendi auctoritati publicae non videtur
deneganda.
2° Quod spectat directe bonum commune societatis:
a. Vasectomia non est, pro reipublicae salute, infligenda
in poenam et punitionem criminis admissi. Attenta namque
natura operationis facilis et parum dolorosae, non habet vasec-
tomia rationem poenae; quod et experientia confirmatur, cum,
teste D^® O'Malley, pro 800 viris, in quibus, in Indiana, pera-
genda erat, vi legis, vasectomia, i "j^ eam ultro postulaverint.^^
Caeterum si vasectomia imponeretur ut punitio, restringenda
foret ejus applicatio solis delinquentibus et criminosis stricte
dictis, non autem defectivis, abnormibus et degeneribus, ea
latitudine qua applicatur in quibusdam Statibus Foederatis.
b. Vasectomia non est medium necessarium quo societas
sui incolumitatem directe protegat et defendat contra nocentes.
In hoc praeprimis insistunt liceitatis patroni, quatenus
timendum velint ne defectivi et abnormes, si servetur eorum
foecundandi potentia, proles generent defectivas et ad crimina
proclives, quarum multitudine ipsa societatis existentia in dis-
crimen vocetur. Jamvero.
a. Non admittimus ex procreatione prolium degenerum ex
illis viris periclitari societatis existentiam. Numerus namque
hujusmodi virorum et prolium inde nascentium, in Statu ali-
unde rite moderato, semper manebit relative exiguus, et so-
cietatis integritas stare potest cum existentia quorumdam
membrorum abnormium et degenerum. Exaggerationem
etiam sapit dicere ex patre vitioso non procreari nisi vitiosam
progeniem, nee desunt exempla in contrarium.
b. Etiamsi societas ex dicta causa periclitari videretur,
nondum legitima foret dicenda lex ad normam illius quam in
quibusdam Statibus Americae Septentrionalis vigere vidimus.
Equidem, juxta statuta principia, posset Status, in boni
communis tuitionem ac suae conservationis tutelam, quem-
31 EccLES. Rev., t. XLIV, p. 699 s., coll. p. 742 ; coll. etiam Schmitt, 1. c,
p. 76.
356 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
cumque cohibere a mortifero vulnere inferendo societati ; sed
rursus ordo esset servandus in electione remediorum, nee posset
ad mortis illationem et mutilationem procedi nisi exhaustis
aliis remediis; non posset ad functionis generativae suppres-
sionem deveniri quousque sufficere appareat usus interdictio.^^
Jamvero Status occurrere posset periculo ex hac parte mini-
tanti, descriptos viros a matrimonio arcendo, contra eos in-
ducto impedimento dirimente, vel, in quantum hoc remedium
non est satis efficax, eos recludendo et libertate privando.
Pravae etiam dispositiones et inclinationes quae saepe observ-
antur in prolibus ex defectivo et vitioso patre procreatis,
magna ex parte curari possunt per virilem et christianam
educationem qua in virtutibus exerceantur et habitus acquirant
bonos, malis dispositionibus contraries.
Multiplici igitur nomine denegandum est sociali auctori-
tati jus vasectomiam imponendi civibus suis degeneribus.
In quam conclusionem plerosque Auctores, qui banc quaes-
tionem tractaverunt, invenimus consentientes.^^
Caeterum obvie apparet quomodo juris hujusmodi exer-
citium facile ansam praeberet abusibus gravibus atque applica-
tioni in dies frequentiori, ac timendum est ne brevi assumatur
vasectomia quasi instrumentum selectionis ad normam eorum
quae fiunt inter bruta animalia.^* Quem abusum, dignitati
32 Pari modo potest qui vis homo particularis propriam vitam suam defen-
dere contra injustum agressorem (sive formaliter in Justus sit, sive materia-
liter, ut in casu insanientis) ; sed, in hac vitae suae defensione, servare tenetur
moderamen inculpatae tutelae, nee ilium agressorem occidere potest si valet
se salvare eum mutilando, nee mutilare potest si fuga sufficit ad vitae periculum
evitandum.
33 De Becker, Eccles. Reviev^^. t. XLII, p. 474 s. et t. XLIII, p. 355 ss. ;
Vermeersch, Salsmans, De Villers, ibidem, t. XLII, p. 475 ; Schmitt, Zeitschr.
f. k. TheoL, 1. c, et Eccles. Rev., t, XLIV, p. 679 ss. et t. XLV, p. 86 s.;
Ferreres, Razon y Fe, XXVII, p. 378 s. et XXVIII, p. 224, quo altero loco
adducit in eumdem sensum sententiam Lehmkuhl, privatis litteris ad ipsum
propositam; Rigby, 1. c. ; Roderer, 1. c. ; Dr. O'Malley, Eccles. Rev., t. XLIV,
p. 699 ss. ; Wouters, 1. c. ; N. R. th., 1. c. ; Stucchi, 1. c, p. 419 ; Capello, 1. c,
p. 247 s. ; Eschbach, 1. c, p. 243 ss.
Contradicunt Laboure, Eccles. Rev., t. XLIII, p. 80 ss., 320 ss., t. XLIV,
p. 574 ss., t. XLV, p. 88 ss. et p. 355 ss. ; item, salva restrictione facta, Dono-
van, Eccles. Rev., t. XLII, p. 271 ss., p. 599 ss., t. XLIV, p. 571 ss. et t.
XLV, p. 313 ss. Accedunt Auctores anonymice aut pseudonymice scribentes
respective apud Eccles. Rev., t. XLIII, p. 310 ss., t. XLV, p. 76 s. et t. XLV,
p. 599 ss.
34 Cf. O'Malley, apud Eccles. Rev., t. XLIV, p. 705 ; Schmitt, Zeitsch. f. k.
TheoL, 191 1, p. 66 s. et p. 77, cum nota ; Ferreres, Razon y Fe, t. XXVII, p.
374 s. ubi refert " quod etiam in Hispania non defuerint aliquae medicae ephe-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 3^7
humanae adeo contrarium, tarn vehementer timet Donovan ut,
postquam theoretice vindicaverit legitimitatem vasectomiae
ab auctoritate sociali imponendae, practice urgeat a juris ex-
ercitio esse abstinendum."
A. De Smet.
Brugis.
OLEKIOS BEFOBE THE OIVIL TEIBUNAL.
S. Congregation of the Holy Office.
TO THE BISHOP OF LARINO : ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE MOTU
PROPRIO " QUANTAVIS DILIGENTIA."
In answer to the esteemed letter of your Lordship, dated 11
December last, I hasten to inform you that on the 11th instant the
two questions proposed by your Lordship in regard to the Motu
Proprio Quantavis diligentia were submitted to the Holy Father
as follows:
( 1 ) Is it lawful, without permission of the ecclesiastical authority,
and therefore without incurring the censure enacted by the Motu
Proprio Quantavis diligentia, to bring a civil action against a
cleric prosecuted for crime by public authority?
(2) Is it permitted to summon ecclesiastics to appear as witnesses
before a lay tribunal, in civil or criminal causes?
His Holiness by a decision of the same day commanded to answer :
Ad utrumque — Negative.
M. Cardinal Rampolla.
The above is a translation of a Letter which appears in the
Monitore EcclesiasticOy and which is referred to in the article
on the Decree Quantavis diligentia in this number of the
Review. Thus far it has not been published in the Acta
Apostolicae Sedis, which is the official organ of the Roman
Congregations, and we are therefore inclined to assume that
it has a merely local bearing. Larino is one of the oldest
dioceses in Italy and has enjoyed certain canonical traditions
for nearly eight hundred years. Its inhabitants are presum-
ably all Catholics, who, whether good or bad, can get a hear-
merides quae hanc operationem laudibus extollant, veluti medium aptissimum
ad social em quamdam selectionem faciendam, vi cujus probis tantum et cor-
pore sanis generatio sit permittenda ".
3 5 Cf. EccLES. Rev., t. XLV, p. 317 s.
358 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ing against an ecclesiastic if need be in the ecclesiastical court,
and furthermore, the syndicos and avvocatos represent a mag-
istracy of an inferior order expected to check the criminal
and recalcitrant elements of the population distinct from the
clerical element. The prohibition to appear against a cleric
might well be in place under such circumstances. But for the
rest, the answer to the Bishop of Larino, whether it be lawful
to bring action against a cleric in the civil courts, or whether
it is permissible to summon an ecclesiastic to appear as a wit-
ness before a lay tribunal in civil or criminal cases, does not
possess the force of a general interpretation of the Motu
Proprio Quantavis diligentia.
Indeed we should deprecate any such interpretation in a
mixed population, such as we have in the United States.
Though we surely owe loyalty and respect to ecclesiastical
superiors, it is neither prudent nor just to appeal to the privi-
legium fori where such appeal is not likely to be understood
or heeded. Ecclesiastical privileges which are the result of
mutual agreement between the Church and the civil Common-
wealth, where both authorities profess and accept, the same
religion as a basis of public action and the same interpretation
of personal rights, cannot be asserted and claimed where such
mutual recognition does not exist, except to the detriment of
public peace and order. In the United States the Govern-
ment, of which the law courts are an essential part, assumes
to protect churchmen in the free exercise of their rights of con-
science, i. e. of their religion; and it expects, as a matter of
course, in return for the civil protection accorded them, that
the churchmen as citizens observe the common law and ab-
stain from criminal interference with the rights of their fellow
citizens, whether these be Catholic or not. If then a cleric
violates justice or perpetrates a crime against a fellow citizen,
or disturbs the public peace, the law may call him to account,
and in doing so it may require the testimony against the delin-
quent, as witness or juror or advocate, of any citizen who en-
joys the protection of our Commonwealth, whether he is a
Catholic or not. To refuse to testify, under plea that the
ecclesiastical authorities will deal with the case, is simply to
obstruct the order of the lawfully constituted civil order.
The same would be applicable to an ecclesiastic called into
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ^cn
court to testify to any violation of law. He is bound to present
himself sub poena, and no ecclesiastical law or privilege may
set aside this duty unless there be some sort of mutual under-
standing which would make it just to refuse obedience to the
civil authority, where that authority exercises its right to
punish criminals and enforce the observance of public morals.
The Holy Father could not mean anything else for us. And
as to the requisite permission of the ecclesiastical authority,
it can only signify that the Ordinary will give his consent to
a just suit against a cleric, unless it be a case where scandal
can be avoided by adjusting a compromise or keeping the
matter entirely out of court.
THE OEATIO AFTEK THE LITANY OP LOEETO.
Qu. Can you tell me what authority there is for saying after the
Litany of Loreto the Oremus beginning with " Concede " instead of
the " Gratiam tuam"? All our Office books have the latter. But
some years ago we saw a comment on this subject in The Eccles-
iastical Review. I have tried in vain to find it in the back num-
bers. If you can give me any light on the subject you will greatly
oblige.
S. S.
Resp. The Sacred Congregation of Rites decided that the
prayer after the Litany of Loreto might be varied in accord-
ance with the forms of the liturgical year. " Litaniae Lau-
retanae concludendae sunt uti in Appendice Ritualis Romani,
omissis Christe audi nos etc. Versiculus autem, Respon-
sorium et Oratio post dictas Litanias mutari possunt pro tem-
poris diversitate." ^ Whilst the prayer " Gratiam tuam " etc.
has been popularly added to the Litany (perhaps because it
is recited after the Angelus and also occurs in the Mass of the
Blessed Virgin during Advent), it is not the one which the
Roman Ritual as well as the Roman Breviary add to the text
of the Litany. Both of these have the prayer: " Concede nos
famulos tuos, quaesumus Domine Deus, perpetua mentis et
corporis sanitate gaudere: et gloriosa beatae Mariae semper
Virginis intercessione, a praesenti liberari tristitia, et aeterna
perfrui laetitia. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."
1 S. R. C. 7 Dec. 1900, apud Ephem. Liturg. May 1901, pag. 265.
360 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
This is likewise the prayer in the Mass of the Blessed Virgin
Mary during the greater part of the ecclesiastical year, namely
from the Feast of the Purification to Advent.
It may be opportune to state here that for the purpose of
gaining the indulgences attached to the Litany of Loreto it is
not necessary to add either versicle or prayer. The Litany
simply ends as given in the Raccolta, with the "Agnus
Dei " etc.
THE " OAEREMONIALE EPISOOPOEUM " AND AMERICAN CUSTOM.
In the August number of the Ecclesiastical Review (p.
224) appeared the following query, together with our answer:
In Pontifical Mass and in Pontifical Vespers, the Baltimore Cere-
monial provides that the ministers make their reverences to the bishop
by bowing, when passing before the altar, or going to and from the
throne. The Caeremoniale Episcoporum, however, provides that
they genuflect when so doing.
Will you please advise me whether there is any decree from Rome
authorizing the bow instead of the genuflection provided for in the
Caeremoniale, or whether custom in the United States makes it law-
ful to bow rather than to genuflect?
To this query we replied that " it does not suffice to make
the simple reverence instead of genuflecting at the Pontifical
services, in Cathedrals where there are no regular Canons,"
since there is no decree authorizing the reverence.
In this matter we now receive the following communications
from different dioceses the names of which it is not necessary
to give here.
From a Cathedral in the State of Pennsylvania :
The custom of bowing instead of genuflecting to the bishop during
Pontifical ceremonies has obtained in this diocese for more than
thirty years. It seems to be the practice generally in the United
States.
From a Cathedral in the State of New York :
Here we follow the usual custom of bowing in the United States.
We have a feeling that most of our faithful in this country have come
to connect the genuflection with the Altar and the Blessed Sacra-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
361
ment. There seems to be no doubt that custom makes it lawful for
us to continue the bowing.
From a Cathedral in New England :
I do not hesitate to have the bow used in this diocese, as it has
been the custom in New England for many years.
From a Cathedral in Ohio :
Here in the United States the inclination is the common usus,
brought about no doubt by the fact that a genuflection with us is
considered as an act of adoration simpliciter. Hence because of
our Protestant surroundings and consequent danger of misinterpreta-
tion of such ceremonial, I believe the American Bishops have been
loath to permit the genuflection.
From a Cathedral in Michigan :
The custom of substituting bows for genuflections seems to be
quite general in this country, but it is not absolutely imiversal. It
has hitherto been followed in this diocese.
It is quite evident from these communications that there exists
in the United States a custom contrary to rubrical authority,
and although there is no doubt that the present usage in many
dioceses of the United States is due to a faulty interpretation
of the Caeremoniale Episcoporum by the compilers of the
Baltimore Ceremonial, it appears suflficiently established to
make it lav^^ful. But it would hardly do to carry this same
custom into places where the Caeremoniale Episcoporum has
been the norm in the past, on the ground that the American
people associate genuflection with the idea of adoration, or
that we must defer to Protestant prejudice for fear of being
misinterpreted. Such an argument would do away with all
similar manifestations of reverence to the hierarchical repre-
sentatives, such as genuflecting in kissing the Ordinary's
ring, and other habitual genuflections prescribed in the Ritual,
and recognized in the Church as the mark of reverence to
Christ's representatives. Moreover it is not simply a question
touching manifestations of personal reverence, but of the
ceremonial of the Church, and it need hardly concern us what
Protestants may think of our form of worship or our rever-
362 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ence. The court ceremonial of the Old World is not less
exacting and requires genuflection in certain public or solemn
functions not only before the person of the sovereign but even
before the vacant throne. While we must recognize some
freedom regarding traditions which are the mere outcome of
local or temporary conditions, and when they concern only
outward ecclesiastical show, we ought to be tenacious in main-
taining the honor of the sanctuary. The merely temporal
honors shown to ecclesiastics outside the sanctuary, where they
are not only contrary to democratic traditions, but distinctly
a mark of foreign citizenship, rightly yield to public custom
in America, whatever their significance may be in Catholic
countries where they are properly understood and valued.
PRIVATE EXPOSITION OF BLESSED SAOEAMENT NOT PERMITTED
rOR PRIEST'S PERSONAL DEVOTION.
Qu. My assistant is a really edifying and zealous young priest
who is doing much good in the parish by his advocacy of greater
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. I was pleased to introduce at
his solicitation not only the practice of daily Communion, but also
more frequent devotions at night for our working people. At these
devotions we have " private " Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament,
in the manner explained in the Review some years ago; for the
bishop did not think it advisable to allow Benediction more than
once a week and on the principal feasts. But lately my young saint
has adopted the method of making his Hour of Adoration as a mem-
ber of the Eucharistic League in a way which I question whether it
has the approval of the Church. He lights two wax-candles, opens
the tabernacle, and makes his prayer vested in surplice, at the foot
of the altar. He tells me that private Exposition of this kind is
allowable for any cause whatever without permission from any-
body. Is it all right?
Resp. No. Private Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
is indeed permitted without special sanction of the Ordinary
for any good cause, and may be made at the request of any
person for a private intention, such as the recovery of the sick,
or in thanksgiving for some particular benefit ; but it may not
be made at the priest's private discretion. It requires in all
cases the pastor's explicit or tacit permission. The reason
for this is that the pastor is the regularly appointed guardian
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. ' 353
of the Tabernacle and he is responsible for the functions re-
lating to external worship in the church and the parish. He
dispenses the Treasure of the Blessed Sacrament either per-
sonally or through his assistants. He uses It rather as the
minister of others than for his own personal convenience.
That such is the sense of the Church is evident from a decision
of the Sacred Congregation, which by decree of 17 July,
1894, forbids Exposition for a priest's private devotion. "An
liceat sacerdoti pro sua privata devotione sacrum Taberna-
culum aperire pro adorando Sacramento, precibus ad libitum
fundendis ac postea illud claudere? Resp. Negative." ^
Where two or three, priests or others, combine in the hour's
adoration, the act would undoubtedly be lawful, as it like-
wise would be where a priest represents some public interest,
— a purpose which might enter into the objects of the
Holy Hour by members of the Eucharistic League. But in
any case the pastor's permission or consent is required for
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament whether private or public.
OONOLUSION OF THE PEAYER AFTER DISTRIBUTING
COMMUNION OUTSIDE MASS.
Qu. In distributing Holy Communion outside the Mass the priest
is to say the Antiphon " O sacrum convivium " and the Versicle
" Panem de coelo ", with the prayer " Deus qui nobis sub Sacra-
mento," etc. Does this prayer end with the ordinary conclusion,
" Per Christum Dominum nostrum ", or has it the longer ending,
" Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum qui tecimi ",
etc., as some contend? Some priests also kiss the altar before giving
the blessing, " Benedictio Dei omnipotentis ", etc., after the prayer.
Is this correct?
Resp. The prayer referred to has the long conclusion, ac-
cording to a decision of the S. Congregation (11 June, 1880,
No. 3915). It should be noted that the prescribed blessing
is not " Benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii etc. . . .
descendat super vos et maneat semper ", but the ordinary
blessing used in the Mass, " Benedicat vos Omnipotens Deus,
Pater" etc. (S. R. C. 23 May, 1835, No. 2704).
1 Decreta authent.. No. 3832.
364 ^^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
DISPENSATIONS IN MIXED MARRIAaES WITHOUT THE
EEQUIRED "OAUTIONES".
In the current number of the Review we publish a Decree
of the Holy Office on the assistance of pastors at " mixed
marriages " when the contracting parties have refused to
make the usual promise regarding perfect liberty in the exer-
cise of religion and education of the children in the Catholic
faith.
This Decree has been discussed by the secular press in a
way calculated to spread an altogether false impression;
and much harm has been done by the fact that some Catholic
journals have circulated the misinterpretation of the secular
papers, suggesting that the antenuptial promises formerly re-
quired in the case of mixed marriages are no longer necessary.
We wish to say that the announcement, that " the ante-
nuptial pact in mixed marriages has been removed by the
Pope, and that it is no longer necessary to make an agreement
to rear the children in the Catholic faith ", which has been
printed in various papers and which some priests have wel-
comed as a concession to the liberal spirit of our age and coun-
try, is entirely misleading. Indeed such concessions are or-
dinarily incompatible with the maintenance of Christian prin-
ciples and can obtain only a passive consent on the part of
the Holy See.
To remove all doubt on this subject we shall have in the
next issue of the Review a full exposition of the correct bear-
ing of the Decree, which as a matter of fact makes no practical
change in the application of the general law of the Church.
If in some European countries concessions have been made
so as to permit assistance of the pastor or delegate at mar-
riages in which the " cautiones " are not given, it is done only
to avoid greater evils. It is to these places that the Decree of
the Holy Office makes reference. But such forced concessions
are by no means necessary in the United States. Hence our
Bishops are not expected to alter the practice prescribed by
the Plenary Councils of Baltimore, of insisting upon the
" cautiones ", and of refusing dispensation as well as the as-
sistance of the priest at any marriage in which these " cau-
tiones " have not been duly made.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 355
ADVERTISEMENTS IN " THE EOOLESIASTIOAL REVIEW."
Subscribers to the Review cannot but be aware that the
advertisements which appear in our pages are of an excep-
tional and superior character, wholly in keeping with the aims
of the magazine and the special class of readers to whom it ap-
peals. This is because we exercise rigorous supervision in re-
gard to the firms that ask for our space. Certain classes of
advertisements are absolutely debarred from appearing in our
pages by reason either of the kind of goods which they offer
or of deficient guarantee which they give to the purchaser,
and no amount of money or influence could secure an inch
of our columns for concerns which deal in doubtful mer-
chandise or which employ questionable methods in obtaining
the confidence of the clergy. Whilst we cannot in every case
guarantee that purchasing from advertisers in the Review will
afford absolute satisfaction, we take every care to secure
only the most reliable of firms for our advertisers, irrespective
of the accidental prospect of profit which such announcements
hold out to a publication like ours.
Occasionally we have received inquiries from members of
the clergy which indicate that they have been prejudiced
against some reputable firm. Some years ago we were led to
make an investigation in the case of the altar wines advertised
by us. Recently charges have been circulated about the
Daprato Statuary Company, of New York and Chicago, to the
effect that the firm was a *' Jewish concern " doing business,
for Catholic churches. We are in position to state that the
rumor is absolutely false and apparently the invention of
trade jealousy. The firm has sent us a full account of its
personnel, certified by affidavit, and showing that their com-
pany is under entirely Catholic auspices and controlled by
well-known Catholic artists and business men, all members of
Catholic parishes in different parts of the United States.
Whilst religious conviction is not a qualification of good
workmanship or business ability, nor its profession always a
guarantee of honest dealing, yet in the matter of Christian
art and the use of ecclesiastical goods it is of great importance
that the product offered to Catholic devotion be under the
direction of men who are both competent and conscientious.
Criticisms anb Botes*
rOE OUE NON-OATHOLIO TEIENDS. The fairest Argument. By
the Eev. John F. Noll, Hantington, Indiana.
The plan of this volume is excellent. Its purpose is to bring
together a number of creditable witnesses in behalf of the doctrine
and practice of the Catholic Church, who themselves are not pro-
fessing Catholics, and who may not be supposed to be influenced
by partiality in speaking well of it. Thus we have in the first place
a number of Protestant divines like Dean Stanley, Dr. Schaff,
Charles Starbuck, and others, who praise the Church for its general
attitude on moral issues and for the principles of Unity, Catholicity
and Holiness, which characterize her activity. Next the author
adduces witnesses to attest the reasonableness and conformity to
Scriptural precept of her doctrines and practices. He brings into
strong relief the misstatements of the enemies of the Catholic
Church, against the actual facts of her teaching and discipline, as
seen and interpreted by men who are beyond the suspicion of bias
in her favor, and whose word may not be questioned in point of
knowledge or veracity. Finally he makes a brief examination of
the character and trustworthiness of those who array themselves
against the Church, among them the self-styled ex-priests and
ex-nuns who have been filling the ears of a credulous public with
their inventions and exaggerations of Catholic doings and beliefs.
All this is excellent and furnishes the reader with a weapon
of defence and with information by which to disarm the bigotry
and timidity of those who come under the influence of such organi-
zations as the so-called " Guardians of Liberty ", the latest form
of the old " Know-nothings " or the A. P. A., and a host of
secret and semi-secret agitators who, like Major-General Sickles,
have a grievance against Catholics in general or against the Irish
Brigade in particular, because these have borne witness against him
for unpatriotic conduct.
The usefulness of Father Noll's book is marred however by the
fact that he does not give in every case the precise and accurate
source of his information. To refer to the testimony of Renan,
for example, by saying " Renan writes from Rome ", without tell-
ing the reader, who may wish to verify the quotation, where he
can do so, is practically valueless, except for those who are already
convinced that Father Noll as a Catholic priest and as a con-
troversialist is to be trusted when citing the words of a dead man.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES,
367
What the reader to whom the author addresses his book wants, is an
accurate and precise reference to some accessible edition of book
or magazine or newspaper, to which the man or woman who chooses
to doubt the veracity of the collator of the arguments, can go or
at least appeal. Where such accurate legitimation is wanting the
passport is without the proper signature and were better not used
at all.
Perhaps the author can supply this defect in all cases in which
he proposes to rest his assertion on the testimony of non-Catholics ;
for this constitutes the main value of the collection. In that case
it would not be difficult to get a respectable non- Catholic publisher
to make propaganda for the work among those whom it is intended
to benefit in the first place. We notice that the author is also
his own publisher, which fact necessarily limits the sale of the
book. An experienced publisher would make such a volume some-
what lighter, bind it in flexible cover, change the title, and put the
price at the lowest possible figure. Such a book should sell in
great numbers.
DE OURIA EOMANA. Ejus Historia ac hodiema Disciplina jnxta Ee-
formationem a Pio X inductam. Auctore Arthur Monin, J.O.L., in
Universitate Oatholica Lovaniensi Juris Oanonici Professors Extra-
ordinario. Lovanii excudebat Josephus Van Linthout. 1912. Pp.
xx-394.
The author divides his historico-canonical dissertation upon the
Roman Curia into two main parts. In the first, which comprises
154 pages, he presents the history of the Roman Curia, tracing its
origin and subsequent development. In the early ages of the
Church the Sovereign Pontiff was accustomed to perform personally
the various duties of the Holy See, using however, occasionally, the
assistance of the clergy of Rome. Afterward, when the business of
the Church had much increased, the Consistory was established to aid
him in its government. In the sixteenth century when the ec-
clesiastical business was still more augmented, the Roman Congre-
gations were instituted. The author describes with considerable
detail (pp. 9-151) the various Congregations, Tribunals, and
Offices which were established, and likewise the numerous altera-
tions which these institutions have undergone during the more than
three centuries since the Constitution, Immensa, of Sixtus V, until
their reorganization in 1908 by Pius X. For this portion of the
volume he draws chiefly from eminent writers such as Cardinal De
Luca, Bangen, Bouix, and Philips, rather than from original docu-
ments of the Holy See.
368 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The second part of the work (pp. 155-377) deals with the
present status of the Roman Curia, as remodeled by the present
Pontiff according to the Constitution Sapienti consilio. The au-
thor has evidently made a thorough study of this branch of his
subject, and shows himself to be familiar with the numerous works
which have been published within recent years upon the Roman
Curia, among which may be mentioned chiefly the commentary on
the Sapienti consilio by Leitner issued in 1909. The next year,
Ojetti published a volume, De Romana Curia; while in 1911
Capello brought out his De Curia Romana '' Sede Plena^\ Other
volumes, as well as many series of articles in various languages,
dealt with the same subject-matter, the Roman Curia as reorganized
by Pius X.
While the author of the volume under review has made excellent
use of the commentators who preceded him, he does not hesitate
on occasions to differ from them. The question (p. 248), whether
the S. Congregation of the Sacraments possesses authority to decide
upon the validity or invalidity of Matrimony has been variously
viewed, some writers holding that cases of this kind demanded
judicial treatment and could not therefore be settled by a Congre-
gation which has no authority to decide questions judicially.
Others, insisting upon the text {Sapienti consilio')^ have maintained
that this Congregation possesses ordinary faculties for settling diffi-
culties concerning the validity of Matrimony whenever such settle-
ment would not involve judicial procedure. The author is in favor
of this view and declares that the practice of this Congregation
confirms it (p. 250).
One of the best handled topics in the volume is the chapter (pp.
191-194) "De ratione adeundi Sanctae Sedis Officia cum iisque
agendi generatim." It touches a very practical question. Indeed,
we wish that the writer had gone even farther and applied the
solidity of his treatment to certain details of the questions. Many
priests are acquainted with the special province of each of the Con-
gregations and Tribunals, but when the occasion arises for making
application to any of them, some experience difficulty in determin-
ing the form in which the petition should be expressed. If Dr.
Monin had added, as he might easily have done, some formulas of
petition to the Roman Congregations, the S. Penitentiary, and the
S. Rota, the practical advantages of his work would have been
much enhanced.
It would also be convenient for readers of this volume to have
the text of the Constitution, Sapienti consilio, and indeed other
Pontifical documents, such as the " Lex propria ", " Normae com-
munes ", and " Normae peculiares ", incorporated in it, so that the
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. ^5g
exact words of the legislator might be seen at once without the
need of consulting other commentators, such as Capello, Ojetti,
and Leitner, who supply their readers with these texts of the
Church's legislation upon the Roman Curia.
In the beginning of the volume the reader will find a useful
bibliographical index under the following headings " Jura citata ",
"Auctores citati ", and " Periodica citata ". At the end of the
volume there is appended a complete analytical index alphabetically
arranged. Dr. Monin's work is certainly an important accession
to the literature upon the Roman Curia, and many of the clergy
will find in it numerous items of information not easily procurable
elsewhere.
INTRODUOTOBY PHILOSOPHY. A Text-book for Colleges and High
Schools. By Oharles A. Dubray, S.M., Ph.D. New York: Long-
mans, G-reen & Oo.
PRESENT PHILOSOPHICAL TENDENCIES. By Ralph Barton Perry.
Same Publishers.
THE SCIENCE OF LOGIC. By P. Coffey, Ph.D. Same Publishers. Two
volumes.
Of books introductory to philosophy there are many types. Three
such are here presented. While only the first on the list is so in
name, the other two are likewise so in fact, though from variant
viewpoints.
Dr. Dubray's Introductory Philosophy guides the student through
the temple of philosophy, acquainting him with the edifice in all its
departments, and familiarizing him with its principal contents.
Whoso has mastered it will find himself at home therein and be
perfectly oriented and equipped for further exploration. The au-
thor conceives philosophy to be " the science of the higher prin-
ciples of things" (p. 8). But why "the higher" and not "the
highest " ?
Modestiae causa, just as good old Pythagoras, so the legend goes,
refused to be called sophos, contenting himself with the modest
appellative Philos-sophiae? We like still the old-time " scientia
causarum altissimarum," for there is no rest for philosophy, human
philosophy (of only such do we speak), until it has climbed the
highest peak and seen its territory from the upmost summit.
But what are those " things ", whose higher and highest principles
it is the ambition of philosophy to explain and establish? The
370
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
answer to this question may best be seen by the aid of the following
schematic outline :
{world = cosmology;
man = psychology;
God = theodicy.
Philosophical study of the \ transitional = epistemology.
{thought = logic;
expression = esthetics;
action = ethics.
The higher principles of the real, the ideal, and their inter-
relations in knowledge, these therefore form the subject-matter,
the field of philosophy, to which the student is introduced.
In the traditional program of the philosophical curriculimi logic
usually occupies the first place, epistemology being included therein
as material logic (critics, criteriology) . The student advances
thence through metaphysics general (ontology) and special (cos-
mology, psychology, theodicy) to the final goal, ethics. The basis
of this order is obvious and solid. There are however som« equally
obvious and solid objections against it, and many writers, especially
in France, have changed it considerably. Amongst these is the
author of the work at hand. His arrangement is outlined as follows :
I. The empirical study of the self = 1. psychology —
(a) Cognitive consciousness = knowledge
(b) Affective consciousness = feeling
(c) Conative consciousness = activity and will.
II. The normative science —
(a) of the intellect = 2. logic
(b) of the expression of ideals to arouse certain feelings =
3. ESTHETICS.
(c) of will and action = 4. ethics.
III. The study of the relations of cognitive processes to the real
world and hence a transition to the following = 5. epis-
temology.
IV. Philosophical study —
(a) of the world = 6. cosmology
(b) of man = 7. philosophy of mind
(c) of God = 8. theodicy.
V. (9) History of philosophy: 1. psychology, 2. logic, 3. esthe-
tics, 4. ethics, 5. epistemology, 6. cosmology, 7. rational psychology,
8. theodicy, 9. history of philosophy. Such is the order of the
program.
Its justification is manifest. While the mind does not ordinarily
begin with self-scrutiny, it must in the pursuit of philosophy be dis-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 37I
ciplined therein. Moreover, an examination of the mind's pro-
cedure in the quest of consistency and truth, in other words the
study of the ideal logical processes, supposes some familiarity with
the real phenomena, the actual workings, of the mind. Hence
the grounds for beginning philosophy with psychology instead of
logic. The study of ideal thought (logic) leads naturally to the
study of ideal expression (esthetics) and ideal conduct (ethics).
From investigation into the subjective phenomena of mind, into that
of the objective nature of the world, the soul, and God, the way
naturally passes across the bridge between thought and thing, mind
and object, a bridge which, if not laid, is secured, by epistemology,
the science of knowledge. Finally philosophy in act is exhibited
in its history. Rightly then should the study terminate with the
history of philosophy. So much for the author's program.
A few words now as to the execution. Supposing it to be compre-
hensive in its matter, a text-book of philosophy should be ( 1 ) logi-
cally coherent in its essential as well as its integral parts or details^
(2) lucid in its explanation and expression; (3) solid in its reason-
ing. These qualities stand out unmistakably in the book before us.
The work from start to finish is an organic whole, a totum per se.
It is in no sense a compilation, an aggregation, a totum per accidens.
Its members throughout articulate, move easily, naturally, gracefully
on their junctures. And this living coherence extends to every
tissue and cell of the organism, showing how well the author has
thought out and lived into his intelligence the system he has be-
gotten. Begotten, not created ; for, it need hardly be said, he has
not evoked it "ex nihilo sui et subjecti."
The book embodies the essential Catholic philosophy, not, however,
recast or ** adapted " from Latin manuals, but assimilated, vitalized,
issued through a soul and born anew. Developed too, " evolved ",
if you will, not into a new " species ", but a new " variety ", shaped
and perfected by contact with the recent scientific environment.
All that is permanent in " the old philosophy " is set forth in its
strength. Nothing vital or essential is passed by, though the anti-
quated and worn-out is of course eliminated. Moreover, the im-
portant developments resulting from the experimental sciences are
given their due place and influence in the philosophical system.
Lastly the style is a model of lucid expression. Never verbose or
diffuse, it is always clear. No student capable of studying philo-
sophy at all will fail to understand the author's meaning. If the
thought demand mental effort, this is as it ought to be; but it will
not be the fault of the style.
Primarily intended as a text-book for use in college, it will prove
a valuable instrument to form and strengthen the miiids of our
372
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Catholic young men and women, to help them to realize the solid
foundations of truth that underlie and support the rational and
therefore the theistic and consequently Catholic world-view, and the
reasonable bases of morality, faith, religion, life. It will also prove
a most desirable adjunct to collateral reading in the seminary course
of philosophy, not supplanting, but supplementing in this respect,
the excellent series of Stonyhurst Manuals. Moreover, the clergy
who may desire (and what intelligent priest does not do so from
time to time?) to review their philosophical studies will find in this
clean-cut, solid, up-to-date manual a most available auxiliary.
Students schooled in " the old philosophy " will miss from the
author's system the department of ontology. The material usually
assigned to this branch of metaphysics is divided amongst other
sections — psychology especially, and cosmology. This secures of
course to some extent the elucidation of these fundamental notions,
the groundwork of all science and philosophy. At the same time
their supreme importance and the fact that they are so generally
denied or ignored by non- Catholic systems would seem to make it
desirable if not essential that they should receive separate and
proportionate treatment. We might note that there appears to be
some slight confusion of " analytic " with " immediate " judg-
ments at pages 109 and 395.
One who has deepened and broadened his mental vision by the
study of such a work as the foregoing, will find the process still
further extended and perfected by perusing Dr. Perry's Present
Philosophical Tendencies. He will here see philosophy at work
in the minds of men to-day, in systems that differ toto coelo from his
own. And in this respect will it help him, showing him at once
his own strength as well as his limitations, and enabling him to
estimate the opposite ways in which many gifted minds have inter-
preted our world of experience — minds naturally more gifted than
his own, though devoid of the priceless heritage of the philosophic
perennis which accompanies, because it underlies, the still more price-
less heritage of Catholic theology.
Professor Perry's work cannot be called an " introduction to
philosophy " in the usual sense of the term. Some seven years ago
he wrote a book more aptly so entitled. The Approach to Philosophy^
a highly interesting and suggestive guide that points out the
avenues leading up to the temple and indicates the chief character-
istics of the interior. The standpoint and leading ideas embodied
in the latter book are on the whole theoretically sound and prac-
1 New York : Scribner's Sons. IQ05.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 07^
tically sane. The same can be said of the work at hand. Dr. Perry,
though (assistant) professor at Harvard, differs as widely from the
elusively idealistic Royce, as he does from the brilliantly wayward
pragmatist James. Professor Perry carries onward the saner real-
ism, the " common sense philosophy ", defended in a past genera-
tion by Porter and McCosh, and, substantially at least, still by Ladd
and Ormond. His present work is a critique of naturalism, prag-
matism, and idealism from the realistic standpoint. The student
who has not the time or opportunity to familiarize himself with
these contemporary tendencies of reflective thought by study of
their sources, will be helped to whatever acquaintance may be de-
sirable therewith by the clear analyses here presented. The author,
it need hardly be said, is eminently just to his opponents. His
positive statements are truly representative, whilst his criticism is
perfectly objective, though frank and incisive.
The volume contains also a succinct but clear outline of Professor
Jgimes's philosophy.
Though not caring to stand sponsor for every statement embodied
in the book, the reviewer is gratified to find so much with which a
student of Catholic philosophy can agree ; and it is still more inspir-
ing to him to meet in the defence of absolute truth against the in-
sidious attacks from the side of naturalism, monism, and pragma-
tism, so uncompromising a champion as Professor Perry.
So much space has been given to the foregoing works that we
must defer for another occasion Dr. Coffey's two splendid volumes
on Logic. Books on Logic are not usually " splendid ", but these
are; and that too in every respect, outwardly, inwardly, quantita-
tively, qualitatively, materially, formally, in every way. It is a
pleasure to recommend the two goodly tomes to professors and ad-
vanced students. They are not in style and method beyond the
capacity of an intelligent beginner, but they might prove a strain
on his courage. However, of this work more anon.
THEODIOY. Essays on Divine Providence. By Antonio Rosmini Serbati.
Translated from the "Milan edition of 1845. Three volumes. New
York and London: Longmans, G-reen & Co. 1912.
The essays here translated belong in part to Rosmini' s Opusculi
Filosofici, though they were subsequently collected under the title of
Theodicea. The term Theodicy is taken literally (Justice of God),
and indicates that the purpose of the book is "to vindicate the
Equity and Goodness of God in the distribution of good and evil in
the world ". The erroneous judgments that men form regarding the
374
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ways of Divine Providence are traced by the author to three prin-
cipal causes: first, to the lack of logical knowledge, that is to a
failure to measure the capacity of the finite mind for confronting
such an infinitely vast and complicated problem. To meet this
want the first volume at hand establishes the principles that must be
followed in order to avoid the pitfalls into which the unguided mind
inevitably stumbles. The second cause of error is the lack of physi-
cal knowledge regarding the working out of the cosmical order. The
aim therefore of the second book is to show that, since every created
nature is finite, he who would escape from certain evils should have
to change that order and thus run the risk of incurring greater
evils. The end of the cosmical system and its Author is not and
cannot be objectively perfect, but a maximum result of good from a
balance of good and evil — on the earth a broken arch, in the heavens
a perfect whole. Lastly, the third cause of error is the lack of theo-
logical knowledge, namely, that the constant miraculous interference
by God in the working out of natural law would contradict His wis-
dom and by consequence His absolute goodness. Against this erron-
eous conception of Providence the third book is directed.
That even these thousand pages, thought out by the brilliant in-
tellect and poured forth from the devout soul of the great Italian
philosopher, will suffice to solve the world-old mystery of pain and
sin one may not venture to assert. That they logically vindicate
God's ways with man and the universe, and that they will serve to
enlighten darkened minds and comfort troubled hearts can safely be
prophesied. And this surely suffices to justify their existence and
to warrant their being recommended to intelligent readers, cleric and
lay. The translation is modestly ascribed in a footnote to the
" patient labors of Father Fortunatus Signini." " Opus laudat arti-
ficem."
HANDBOOK OP THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY. By Dr. Albert
Stockl. Translated by the Eev. T. A. Finlay, S.J., M.A. Vol. I.
New York and London: Longmans, Green & Oo. 1911. Pp. 450.
HISTOIRE DE LA PHILOSOPHIE. Par Gaston Sortais. Vol. I. Paris:
P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp. 645.
THE PIVE GREAT PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE. By William de Witt
Hyde. New York: The Macmillan Oo. 1911. Pp. 306.
The history of ancient, including herein the early Christian and
medieval, philosophy possesses a distinctly intellectual or specu-
lative, as well as a distinctly ethical or practical, interest. The two
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 375
aspects are of course not mutually exclusive, but rather inclusive,
though withal sufficiently different to lend a character to individual
works. Accordingly Dr. Stockl's Handbook is dominantly, though
not solely, expository and didactic. The same is true of Fr. Sortais'
Histoire, while President Hyde's essays are primarily moral and
idealistic.
Comparing Fr. Finlay's translation of Stockl's well-known Lehr-
buck with Professor Morris's version of Ueberweg's equally, perhaps
better, known Grundriss, the relative merits of the two standard
works appear at a glance. For distinct apprehension of the essen-
tials of the pre-modern systems the former author is unsurpassed.
For critical erudition and bibliographical apparatus the second
writer should be given precedence. Both authors devote substan-
tially equal space to the same subjects on the whole, though on
special topics one is more comprehensive than the other. Compare
for instance Stockl on St. Thomas with Ueberweg on the same sub-
ject. Naturally of course the Catholic student will prefer the
former author, especially for his account of Scholasticism. For the
rest, the book is too well known to call for commendation here. Suf-
fice it to say that Fr. Finlay has accomplished the difficult task of
translating with singular success. The student will no doubt echo
the hope that the second volume, on modern Philosophy, may not
be long in coming.
Those who are familiar with P. Sortais' Traite de Philosophic
(Paris, Lethielleux) will find in his recent History of Ancient Phil-
osophy a worthy complement of that excellent manual. The method
pursued in both works is the same. Synthetic tables present the
leading outlines at a glance, and are followed by an analytical ex-
hibition of details in clear-cut divisions. The plan is a model of
didactic procedure that greatly facilitates the student's work, while
the luminous style in whigh the succinct paragraphs are written
" makes philosophy [almost] easy ". The most noteworthy feature
of the work, however, is its copious bibliography. In this respect it
surpasses even Ueberweg, at least in the English translation of that
author, the recent editions of the German original being much en-
larged in their apparatus. Besides the special bibliographies at-
tached to the individual sections there are supplementary lists cover-
ing some seventy-five pages. Another special feature deserving
notice is the unusually large space devoted to the Renaissance (pp.
282 to 459), while the bibliography appended to this alone occupies
some twenty-five pages. The student therefore finds himself almost
embarrassed by the wealth spread out before him.
376 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
A second volume in course of preparation will treat the history
of Modern Philosophy.
Dr. Hyde is concerned with illustrating certain dominant prin-
ciples working in the ancient systems of philosophy. " The five
centuries from the birth of Socrates to the death of Jesus produced
five such principles: the Epicurean pursuit of pleasure, genial but
ungenerous ; the Stoic law of self-control, strenuous but forbidding ;
the Platonic plan of subordination, sublime but ascetic ( !) ; the
Aristotelian sense of proportion, practical but uninspiring; and the
Christian spirit of Love, broadest and deepest of them all" (p. v).
These are the principles — principles of personality. Dr. Hyde lets
their " masters talk to us in their own words ; with just enough of
comment and interpretation to bring us to their point of view and
make us welcome their friendly assistance in the philosophical guid-
ance of life ". Study of our Lord's teaching viewed simply as " a
philosophy of life " shows that in its embodiment of love as the
supreme and universal law are found the only adequate solutions of
life's problems, the only secure norm for mind and heart and con-
duct. This of course is no new conclusion. However, it is attrac-
tively and suggestively drawn out and developed in the present
volume.
While love is indeed the fulfillment of the law, love itself is
tested only by obedience; and obedience involves subjection of the
intellect to Christ's positive teachings. The Creed as the formulation
of that teaching is the law of love as well as of faith. Dr. Hyde's
ideas on this subject are somewhat confused, to say the least (pp.
241 ff.), but they are those with which everybody is familiar and
they are not likely to do any harm.
It should be noted that the book is on the whole a reissue of an
edition which appeared about eight years ago under the title of
From Epicurus to Christ.
LOS 6EEMI0S. By Estanislao Segarra, Abogado. Barcelona; Imprenta
de P. Altes y Alabart. Pp. 395. Indice (tabulated contents).
A Spanish advocate's analytical review of medieval guilds
(gremios: corporations, Ziinfte). Some emphasis is also to be at-
tached to the author's expressed adjunct, Abogado ] because his
work not only presents a succinctly detailed study of guilds from
their early Hellenic and Roman antecedents forward, but is also
frankly a special pleading, or propagandist advocacy of " our
institution ", the medieval trade corporation. Its positive merits
are commended, as they deserve to be; and not, perhaps, with un-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 377
due bias, even in a declared " advocate " of his theme ; whilst furth-
ermore, the guild is upheld in challenge against all other economic
modes of production, whether individual, communistic, or " corpor-
ate " in the sense of modern trusts and exaggerated monopolies.
Dispassionate readers will probably concur with his general findings
in favor of the guilds, and share his aspirations for a salutary re-
action from our contemporary domination by monopolistic " in-
famies " : yet one may not forget that it is not possible at will to
reproduce this or that admired golden age of human affairs ; tempora
mutantur et nos mutamur in illis.
Catholics, indeed, might altogether gratefully welcome some
genuine and practical recovery of that common religious back-
ground of faith and Christian ideals which pervaded medieval so-
ciety, and ethically leavened its industrial exponent, the guild. In
its best estate, the medieval guild was but an elaborated Christian
family at work in shop or factory, whose conscientious " master "
bore much the same " patriarchal " relation to his foremen, officers,
craftsmen, and apprentices, as the father of an orderly household
to his children and faithful servants. There was no shadow of such
sullen or fermenting disaffection as too often mars the lot of modern
" bosses " and their subjects or dependents. Restrictions on ap-
prentices were hardly more stringent than those which everywhere
govern the conduct of minors and subordinates with a view to their
own good and public morality, in Christianized communities.
Neither, in turn, did a medieval guild " patriarch " draw the fabul-
ous emoluments nowadays proper to corporate magnates, trust presi-
dents, vice-presidents, treasurers, directors. Under patronage of
Our Lady and the Saints, observing the Calendar festivals and fast
days, providing for special Mass in honor of the guild patron, and
remembering the poor by particular bounties on such pious occasions,
the guild officers would have stood aghast and confounded at the
grade of salaries in vogue with modern corporation chiefs. The
very notion, too, of a medieval Catholic boss, counting his gains by
round hundreds of millions, while some passing depression in the
market forced his workmen to strike in behalf of bare hand-to-
mouth subsistence, would have moved the reflective conscience, for-
sooth, to deeds of signal penance, for in those days charity and
justice were twin postulates of action.
The author oi Los Gremios quite conclusively fixes the distinc-
tion that, whereas everything shaping the economy of a well regu-
lated medieval guild tended to protect the consumer and safeguard
the worth of the product, besides ministering to the welfare of the
craftsmen and relieving accidental misery among the poor and un-
fortunate, everything devisable in the economy of modern mono-
378 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
polies inexorably strives to fatten the producer, irrespective of
spurious quality in the product, or principles of equity in mani-
pulating the market. After a studious analysis of the guilds and
their development (more specifically in Spain, from the Visigoths
down to the nineteenth century), several chapters are applied to
a survey of modem industrial processes, both in Europe at large
and in the United States; and there is a lucid outline of the na-
tional differences which modify trusts and monopolies in various
countries.
Perhaps the most interesting chapter in the volume, despite the
array of technical terms in it, is Chapter V: El Arte. As here
considered, " art " broadly includes the entire domain of technical
craftsmanship; wherein, to be sure, the medieval guild, even apart
from Catholic conscience of execution, had a subjective advantage
over modern machinery labor. There was inmiensely richer in-
centive to pride of artistic excellence where each workman wrought
according to trained ideals of perfection, instead of mechanically,
or as mere feeder and attendant in connexion with automatic pro-
cesses, little or nothing dependent on his native bent and faculties.
As is naturally to be expected in a Spanish survey of the guilds, we
find large space reserved for wool and leather products, the silver-
smith's trade, and the multitude of ways and means employed in
maintaining the renown of Spanish markets, at home and abroad,
for articles in those branches of conomerce. For illustration of the
importance of wool and leather alone, we are told that the Spanish
flocks, in the sixteenth century, numbered 30,000,000 sheep, besides
7,000,000 migratory sheep (of nomadic habits for change of pasture,
winter and summer). Even where modern progress has hugely
distanced medieval rudiments, as in printing facilities, the author
justly notes the point that a select Elzevir still nowadays prompts
respectful attention; let alone the disastrous fate awaiting modem
wood pulp paper, which threatens to perish while antiquarian
Elzevirs remain freshly intact whole centuries hence. A vile heath-
enish sneer by apostate Renan, to the effect that your consistent
Christian despises beauty, out of homage to a macerated Culprit,
" suspended by four nails ", impels the author to eloquent defense
of " the first painter in the world, our Velasquez."
Those who depreciate the Middle Ages as landmark eras of
ignorance and corruption, ought to study the merely moral vir-
tues everywhere cultivated, prized and fruitful, in the guilds at
their best estate; since, notwithstanding the pretensions of ra-
tionalistic sociology, the guilds exhibited a high level of reverence
toward God, of charity and honesty toward man, putting modem
reformers to the blush for their feeble achievements in contrast
LITERARY CHAT. ^yg
with social conditions where the guilds normally flourished. If
there were few " colossal " fortunes, neither were there slums of
tenement squalor; and the scale of wages indicated a purchasing
value so much as twice to four times that of monopoly wages to-
day: this, in Spain, at least. The working hours were usually
twelve, but this included an allowance of three hours for meals,
leaving nine hours net; and holidays, of course, were far more
frequent. Medieval society knew little of nervous high pressure,
nor feverishly struggled for anxious to-morrow. Yet there was
ample solidity and stability of living; and which of our sky-
scraper American cities, peradventure, will survive so fairly secure
against the wear and tear of time, say by A. D. 2300, as Nurem-
berg, Gothic Toledo, Rouen, medieval remnants of Paris and
Brussels, from 1500 to 1900. For that matter, the old Spanish
mission structures, firmly surviving many shattered modem edifices
after Califomian earthquakes, are no mean apology for medieval
Catholic " traditionalism ". Pope Leo XIII endorsed a return to
the guild in solution for current labor troubles, inordinate mono-
polies, intermittent surfeit and famine of production ; only, one must
needs realize the appalling obstacles to Church corrections in modem
society, through breach of Catholic unity, waste and contempt of
Christian forces under the twofold assault of overt unbelievers and
quicksand relaxations consequent upon Protestant schisms never
ceasing.
Xitetari2 Cbat
The cheaper reissue by the Macmillan Co. of Dr. John Ryan's A Living
Wage places within the reach of even the most impecunious this thoughtful
and timely study of one of the most vital problems of present economic organi-
zation. The clergy interested in the wage question are doubtless familiar with
the work. The small price ($0.50) at which it is now republished (and in
style and material not inferior to the original issue) will enable them to spread
the book amongst intelligent laymen and women and thus help to disseminate
true ideas concerning the relations of ethics to economics.
Such hazy as well as erroneous conceptions of rights prevail these days that
there can be no solution of the wage question without a broader diffusion of
the truth concerning this fundamental idea. Not the least meritorious por-
tion of Dr. Ryan's little book is the chapter on the basis and justification of
rights. In a simple straightforward style he there lays down the philosophy
of the juridic claim, the " facultas moralis in rem suam," and thus establishes
an unshakable groundwork for the ethics of the wage question.
We have previously called attention to the Studies in Social Reform issued
by the Catholic Social Guild in London. They are well written, thoughtful,
and timely monographs, and can be had in their neat make-up through Herder
(St. Louis) at two dimes each. Of the two numbers published, the first deals
38o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with the difficult problems of destitution; the second with sweated labor. In
the latter, good use is made of Dr. Ryan's Living Wage.
Story books for children are hardly less serviceable allies to pastoral activity
than are brochures on economics. Perhaps, too, they are more difficult to
find, or at least to select. Told in the Twilight is a collection of some fifty
tales most of which are tellable as well as readable. When we have said that
they are made up (?), no, told, by Mother Salome, we have said enough to
assure the priest that he may spe jelicis exitus put the book into the hands of
small boys and girls (Benziger Brothers).
" Jinks " was just a little gutter waif, but somewhere near his middle there
was a spot that not even all the mud, physical and moral, of Paradise Alley
could keep from breaking out on the surface now and again ; and when Jinks
once came to recognize " the inside " of him, " the God-spark radiating into
his consciousness ", he held on to it, nourished it till it grew warm and bright,
— when it became a lamp to his feet that never faltered along whatever way,
howsoever rough and thorny, it led him. All this is charmingly told by
Harriet Hobson in a somewhat recent book entitled Jinks' Inside (Philadel-
phia, Jacobs & Co.). The characters of Jinks and Sis; Jinks's waking-up to
his " inside ", and Sis's pluck in fight and right are well drawn and sustained.
Peter Flanagan, the big and rich grocer, also finds his " inside " and it leads
him to deeds of beneficence both beautiful and enduring. Jinks' Inside is a
book that tells the story of the poverty and misery that stalk within the
shadow of princely mansions — tells it graphically, but naturally. There are
smiles and tears, vivid realism touched by noble idealism in this book, which
grips you tight and holds you so to the finish.
One always finds it worth while to glance over at least, but better still to
study, the pages of the Italian bi-monthly Rivista di Filosofia neo-Scolastica.
The neo- and the scolastica, the new and the old, are sure to be found blend-
ing harmoniously and supplementingly in its programs. One recognizes the
mind of an editor back of it, a mind for organic unities and not simply for
mechanical connexions. Happily, too, the Rivista is in the hands of a pub-
lisher who knows how to give good shape and neat appearance to worthy con-
tents (Florence, Editrice Florentina).
The Dark Beyond is a short treatise on the reality of hell and the paths
that lead thereto.
The first book to treat of politeness, good breeding, and good manners is
said to have been issued by the Bishop of Benevento in the sixteenth century,
and Lord Chesterfield is supposed to have made good use of the volume in
formulating his rules for polite society. Dean O'Brien, of Kalamazoo, has
induced the Sisters of St. Joseph, who are directed by the rule of their
Institute to teach their pupils politeness, to write a little brochure under the
title of Politeness. It is a part of pastoral care which it is wise to cultivate,
and it is this feature of the small booklet which strikes us as most important
in showing the interest of the priest who uses the adjuncts of social training
to perfect the work of religion.
Entreiiens Euckaristiques by the Abbe Jean Vaudon is now published in a
new and improved edition (Pierre Tequi, Paris). It is meant especially for
priests, and besides reflections on the sacerdotal life in reference to its central
interest, the Blessed Sacrament, the volume contains a number of discourses
suitable for the first Mass of a newly-ordained priest. The book has been
quite popular before and will be more so with the additions.
There are two volumes now published of the five contemplated for the
completion of The Beauty and Truth of the Catholic Church bv the Rev.
LITERARY CHAT.
38r
Edward Jones. The work is a translation from the German, but made with
due discretion so as to keep the English idiom free from the peculiarities of
expression and imagery to which the German language lends itself. It is
highly praised in the Introduction by Archbishop Ireland. The author does
not apparently follow any special line of catechetical development, but treats
of dogma, liturgy, and devotion, in a popular form. (Herder.)
The Dominican Mission Book is a practical manual of devotion, compiled,
as its name indicates, from sources chiefly Dominican, such as St. Thomas and
Blessed Henry Suso. It has several methods of devotion for the Holy Hour,
devotions to the Holy Ghost, etc., and gives particulars regarding the various
Dominican Confraternities. (Benziger Brothers).
With God, a book of prayers and reflections by the Rev. F. X. Lasance,
to whom we owe many good devotional manuals, prepares the way to habitual
meditation, and at the same time furnishes all sorts of practical directions for
spiritual and missionary work. It is a good vade-mecum for the parish
priest, and very useful in the sacristy, since it contains the various novenas,
litanies, hymns, blessings, the method of giving the " pledge," etc. A good
index adds to its usefulness. (Benziger Brothers.)
The volume of Meditations for Every Day in the Month by Fr. Francis
Nepveu, S.J., though a translation from the French, is thoroughly practical,
and, we may say, an exceptionally good setting forth of the traditional themes
for reflection. The volume is handy, the language concise, the print good,
— which is saying much for a meditation book.
Of handsome manuals that serve as aids to devotion before the Blessed
Sacrament, there is now no dearth. Come, Let Us Adore, a Eucharistic prayer
book compiled by the well-known Franciscan Father Bonaventure Hammer,
contains Instructions on the Blessed Sacrament, a Triduum of Meditations,
Prayers especially for Holy Communion, Indulgenced Devotions, and a series
of thirty visits to the Blessed Sacrament by St. Alphonsus. (Benziger Bros.)
Another manual, constructed on a somewhat diff"erent plan and consisting
chiefly of meditations under the title of Eucharistic Soul Elevations, is by
Father William F. Stadelman of the Holy Ghost Fathers. It deals also with
the motives for frequent Communion and dissipates the scruples which are
often experienced by devout souls in regard to the daily reception of the
Bread of Life. This is not a very recent publication ; though that does
not lessen its value. (Benziger Brothers.)
Communion Prayers of the Saints, compiled by the Redemptorist Father
Peter Geiermann, assembles within a handy compass the considerations and
affections that serve as preparation and thanksgiving for Holy Communion.
They are chiefly drawn from St. Alphonsus, with devout aspira'tions from the
writings of St. Francis de Sales. (B. Herder.)
A charming little Spanish manual, consisting of reflections upon the dignity,
duties, and the right manner of the clerical life, is Mision Sacerdotal by
Padre Eutimio Tamalet, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts
and of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The sublimity of the
priesthood, its need for the purifying and enlightening of the world to-day,
the requisite qualities for its right fulfilment, and the means, are set forth in
certain practical rules of life, mainly for seminarists. The second part,
" Directorio Pastoral," speaks of the priestly life in the parish, in the church,
in the world at large, and is full of thoughtful suggestions for pastoral
activity. (B. Herder.)
382 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Stay-at-homes who were able to make a 'round-the-world tour by the aid of
Fr. Roche's letters as they appeared serially " in a half-dozen Canadian and
American newspapers", can renew the pleasures of the journey by means of
the compact volume wherein those letters are now permanently collected
{Around the World. By the Rev. J. T. Roche, LL.D. New York, P. J.
Kenedy & Sons). The letters deal with the essentials — with human beings
more than with things and with vital problems, religious, social, economic,
not with the " canned " goods of the guide book ; hence their value and their
interest. A new edition will give opportunity to correct some " infelicities "
of the types, such for instance as " Pneumonic plague " for Bubonic (pp. 206
and 211); " moonsoon " for monsoon (p. 198); "ghastly" for beastly (p.
199), and others.
Lourdes is first and last a hallowed spot, a sanctuary. None the less, how-
ever, is it a scene redolent of beauty upon which the imagination may feed
forever, a centre of marvels from which fancy may take its flight in dreams
that can never be so strange as the reality. The charming story that has
recently been woven out of the material supplied by Dr. Boissarie's UCEuvre
de Lourdes, and entitled The Unbeliever, a Romance of Lourdes, blends all
the colors of a chaste literary art with the facts of the history of the Pyrenean
sanctuary. The facts are the restoration to health of a young girl suffering in
the last stage of consumption, the restoration to health and conversion of a
paralytic who had also been a blasphemer almost to the moment of his re-
ceiving the boon of health, and lastly the singular conversion of an infidel.
These facts, together with some others belonging to the history of Lourdes,
are gracefully woven into a romance whose interest wins and holds the
reader on to the end. The story is written by " a non-Catholic ", and with the
sole aim of giving an honest account of the impression Lourdes and its
miracles can make, even on an " unbeliever ". How the author could remain
a non-Catholic, after having once accepted the evidences and motives of faith
accumulated in the book, is not easy to understand, although the story itself
presents incidents that help to make the problem less perplexing (London,
Washbourne; New York, Benziger Brothers).
Books IRecefveb.
- BIBLICAL.
Das Evangelium nach Lukas. Uebersetzt, eingeleitet und erklart von E.
Dimmler. M. Gladbach : Volksvereins-Verlag. 1912. Pp. xiv-364. Preis,
M. 1.20.
Das Evangelium nach Markus. Uebersetzt, eingeleitet und erklart von E.
Dimmler. M. Gladbach: Volksvereins-Verlag. 1912. Pp. vii-217. Preis,
M. 1.20.
Die Ethik des Apostels Paulus. Von Dr. Karl Benz. (Biblische Stu-
dien) — Freiburg Brisg., St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 187. Price,
$1.35.
Searching the Scriptures. By the Rev. T. P. Gallagher, S.T.L., B.C.L.
Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. 1912. Pp. xx-431.
La Didascalie des Douze Apotres. Traduite du syriaque pour la premiere
fois. Par F. Nau, Professeur a I'Institut Catholique de Paris. {Ancienne
Litter ature Canonique Syriaque. Fascicule I.) Deuxieme edition. Revue
et augmentee de la traduction de la Didache des douze apotres, de la Didas-
calie de I'apotre Addai et des empechements de mariage (pseudo) apostoliques.
Paris: P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp. xxxii-264.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
383
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
God, the Author of Nature and the Supernatural (De Deo Creante et
Elevante). A Dogmatic Treatise by the Rev. Joseph Pohle, Ph.D., D.D.,
Formerly Prof, of Fundamental Theology in the Catholic University of
America, now Prof, of Dogma in the University of Breslau. Authorized trans-
lation, based on the fifth German edition ; with some abridgment and many
additional references by Arthur Preuss. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. 1912.
Pp. 365. Price, $1.75.
The Living Flame of Love. By St. John of the Cross. With his Letters,
Poems, and Minor Writings. Translated by David Lewis. With an Essay by
Cardinal Wiseman and additions and an Introduction by Benedict Zimmer-
man, O.C.D., Prior of St. Luke's, Wincanton. London : Thomas Baker. 1912.
Pp. iv-317. Price, 6s. 6d. net.
Sermon Notes. A Scheme for a Course of Three Years on the Chief
Points of Christian Doctrine with Synopses and References. By F. P. Hickey,
O.S.B., author of Short Sermons (Two Volumes). With a Preface by the
Right Rev. F. W. Keating, D.D., Bishop of Northampton. New York, Cin-
cinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. xiii-162. Price, $0.90 net.
How TO Get Married. By the Rev. John A. Schmitt, St. Andrew's Cathe-
dral, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids: F. H. McGough & Son.
Price, $0.10; postpaid, $0.12; 25 copies, $2.00; 50, $3.75; 100, $6.50.
GoD Made Man. By the Rev. P. M. Northcote, author of Thoughts of the
Heart, The Idea of Philosophy, etc. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Ben-
ziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 231. Price, $0.90 net.
La Predication contemporaine. Pensees et Conseils homiletiques. Par
Mgr. de Keppler, l&veque de Rottenburg. Traduit de I'allemand par I'abbe
Leon Douadicq. Paris: P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp. viii-139. Prix, 2 fr.
Le Pain ^vangelique. Explication Dialoguee des :6vangiles des Dimanches
et Fetes d'Obligation a I'Usage des Catechismes, du Clerge et des Fideles.
Par I'Abbe E. Duplessy. Tome III : De la St.-Pierre a I'Avent. Paris : Pierre
Tequi. 1912. Pp. 240. Prix, 2 fr.
Practical Marriage Laws. Some Aids in the Application of the Marriage
Laws of the Church. For the Use of Priests and Laity in Arkansas. By the
Right Rev. J. M. Lucey, V.G., Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Pine Bluff,
Arkansas. Pp. 59. Price, $0.10; 25 copies, $0.08 apiece; 100, $0.07, all post-
paid.
The Darkness Beyond. By John Haw, of Treves, Germany. Transl. by
the Rev. James Walcher. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. Pp. 102. Price, $0.15.
La Vocation au Mariage, au Celibat, a la Vie Religieuse. Par le R. P.
J. Coppin, Redemptoriste. Troisieme edition, onzieme mille. Paris : Pierre
T^qui. 1912. Pp. vii-389. Prix, 3 fr. 50.
La Vraie Politesse. Petit Traite sous forme de Lettres a des Religieuses.
Par I'Abbe Francois Demore. Nouvelle edition. Paris: Pierre Tequi. 1912.
Pp. xi-226. Prix, 2 frs.
A Practical Guide to the Divine Office. By Andrew B. Meehan, St.
Bernard's Seminary, Rochester, New York. 1912. Pp. 132. Price, $0.60.
The Reign of Jesus. Being an Abridgment of the Work of the Blessed
Jean Eudes. By the Abbe Granger, Honorary Canon of Bayeaux, Formerly
Missioner of Notre Dame de la Delivrande. Translated from the second
French edition by K. M. L. Harding. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Ben-
ziger Bros. 1912. Pp. xxxvi-370. Price, $1.25 net.
Peronne Marie. A Spiritual Daughter of Saint Francis of Sales, 1586-
1637. By a Religious of the Visitation. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago :
Benziger Bros., London: Burns & Oates. 1912. Pp. 256. Price, $1.25 net.
384
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
PHILOSOPHY.
HiSTOiRE DE LA Philosophie Ancienne. Antiquite Classique. ^poque
Patristique. Philosophie Medievale. Renaissance, Par Gaston Sortais, An-
cien Professeur de Philosophie. Paris: P. Letheilleux. 1912. Pp. xviii-627.
Prix, d fr.
Catholic Studies in Social Reform. A series of Manuals edited by the
Catholic Social Guild — I. Destitution and Suggested Remedies. With a Pre-
face by the Right Rev. Monsignor Henry Parkinson, D.D., President of
Oscott College, Birmingham. — II. Sweated Labour and the Trade Boards Act.
Edited by the Rev. Thomas Wright, President of the Hull Branch of the
Catholic Social Guild. London: King and Son; St. Louis, Mo.: B. Herder.
Pp. 69 and 58. Price, $0.20 each.
HISTORICAL.
The History of the Royal Family of England. By Frederic C. Bag-
shawe, Barrister at Law. In two volumes. London : Sands & Co. ; St. Louis,
Mo.: B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 704. Price, $6.00.
Lettres de Louis Veuillot a Mademoiselle Charlotte de Grammont.
Suivies d'un Appendice contenant le Preface des Lettres d'Espagne et un
Choix de Lettres de Mile. Ch. de Grammont a Louis Veuillot. Publics avec
une Introduction et des Notes. Par J. Calvet, Professeur Agrege des Lettres
au College Stanislas. Paris: P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp. xxiv-260. Prix,
3 fr- 50.
Early History of the Christian Church from its Foundation to the
End of the Fifth Century. By Monsignor Louis Duchesne, de 1' Academic
Frangaise, Hon. D. Litt. Oxford, and Litt. D. Cambridge, Membre de I'ln-
stitut de France. Rendered into English from the Fourth Edition. Volume
II. New York and London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1912. Pp. xix-544.
Price, $2.50 net.
The Pilgrim's Guide to Lourdes and the Chief Places en route. By the
Rev. G. H. Cobb. With a Preface by the Cardinal Archbishop of West-
minster. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder ; Edinburgh and London : Sands and
Co. Pp. 74. Price, $0.40.
Prosperity, Catholic and Protestant. By Rev. Father Graham, M.A.,
Motherwell, author of Where we got the Bih'e. With an Introduction by the
Right Rev. John Vaughan, D.D., Bishop of Sebastopolis. St. Louis. Mo. :
B. Herder; Edinburgh and London: Sands and Co. Pp. 116. Price, $0.15.
The Life and the Religion of Mahommed, the Prophet of Arabia. Com-
piled from the best and most trustworthy authors. By the Rev. Fr. J. L.
Menezes, Priest of the diocese of Mangalore, India. With a familiar and
friendly talk at the end as an appeal to candour and common sense. London :
Sands and Co. ; St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 194. Price, $0.60.
A Chronicle of the Popes from St. Peter to Pius X. By A. E. Mc-
Killiam, M.A. New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: G. Bell & Sons.
1912. Pp. xiii-487. Price, $2.50, net\ Ts. dd.
The Mirror of Oxford. By C. B. Dawson, S.J., M.A. (Exeter College).
With 40 Illustrations and a Map. London and Edinburgh : Sands and Co. ;
St. Louis Mo. : B. Herder. Pp. 265. Price, $1.50.
The Sodality of Our Lady studied in the Documents. By Father Elder
Mullan, S.J. Third edition (first in English). Revised and enlarged by
the author. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. 1912. Pp. xxv-180-326.
Une Petite Sainte. Visite au Carmel de Lisieux aux Reliques a la
Tombe de Sceur Therese de 1' Enfant Jesus. Par Jean Saint- Yves. Dfeuxieriie
edition. Paris: P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp. 85. Prix, i fr.
THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series. — Vol. VII.— (XLVI I). —October, 19 12.— No. 4.
THE SIXTEENTH OENTENAEY OF OONSTANTINE'S PEOOLAMATION
OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
WE American Catholics naturally look upon our religious
liberty as a thing to be taken for granted. Some few
of us possibly recall the bigotries, great and small, of " Know-
nothing " days. More of us are aware of trifling, sporadic,
local, anti-Catholic opposition. But most of us have never
been really touched at all by violent public antipathy in the
matter of our religion. As we know it is but just and reason-
able, so we may think it is but ordinary and commonplace
that the Church of God should be free and untrammeled. We
may forget that it was once far otherwise indeed; that we
trace our history back through a succession of fierce local and
national persecutions to a time of universal persecution; and
that in the beginning the Church of Christ, like the mustard-
seed to which its Founder had compared it, was quite literally
buried in the earth. In this month of October we commem-
orate the sixteen-hundredth anniversary of the first great
change from persecution to liberty, when the mustard-seed
that had been developing and sending out roots in the dark
earth, suddenly and miraculously burst forth into a great tree,
to shelter all nations and peoples.
For nearly three hundred years persecution after persecu-
tion, with little breathing-spells between, had raged against
the Church. In all that time, to be a Christian was to be
little better than a hunted animal. Nero, Domitian, Trajan,
Decius, Valerian, are names that almost sum up -for us the
terrible yet glorious history of the " gens lucifuga ", the heroes
386 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of the Catacombs, of the waste places of earth, of the savage
amphitheatre. Through it all the gospel teachings marched
steadily across the world, spread amongst the lowly and the
exalted, in obscure villages, in great Rome, in the army, the
senate, the households of the emperors.
Then came the last, and in some ways the most dreadful,
of assaults. On 23 February, 303, Diocletian published at
Nicomedia new edicts against the Christians. Again the fires
of torture blazed and the sands of the arena were reddened
with the blood of martyrs. But the end was already in sight.
Only nine years were to elapse before imperial Rome itself
should be subdued to Christ. The 28 October of this year
191 2 marks the sixteenth centenary of the battle of the Mil-
vian Bridge, the turning-point in the external history of
Christianity; a battle which gave to Constantine the empire^
and to the Church peace and protection under the power which
had so long persecuted it.
On I May, 305, Diocletian, in pursuance of his unselfish
broad policy for the empire, abdicated the purple and in-
duced his colleague, Maximian, to follow his example. Con-
stantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine, and Galerius, the
Caesar of the East, succeeded as Augusti. But the following
year Constantius died, and his army proclaimed Constantine.
Galerius unwillingly acknowledged Constantine, not indeed as
Augustus, but as Caesar, raising to the higher rank his friend,
Licinius.
For six years Constantine ruled his provinces of Gaul and
Britain with great skill and humanity. He built up a formid-
able army, and by his courage and brilliant generalship won
its steadfast devotion. Meanwhile, Maxentius, the son of the
ex-emperor Maximian, claimed the empire. With the aid of
the Pretorians he seized Rome and became master of Italy.
Campaigns made against him by Severus and Licinius were
defeated or fell short. But in 312 Maxentius declared war
upon Constantine, and thereupon affairs took quite a different
turn. Although he had only some 40,000 men to oppose to-
Maxentius's 180,000, Constantine came down from the north
with masterly rapidity, in sixty days took Susa, Turin, Milan,.
Verona, and driving in the outposts of Maxentius, advanced
upon Rome.
PROCLAMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
387
Three miles to the north of Rome the Flaminian Way
crosses the Tiber over the Milvian Bridge, then swings north-
east and up through the plains of Italy. Maxentius, with
profound ignorance of strategic principles, drew up his forces
north of the bridge, with the Tiber in their rear. He was
not a soldier, nor was he distinguished for courage, but under
the taunts of the Romans and in the misleading hopes of the
oracle which prophesied that " that day would fall the enemy
of the Romans ", he went forth himself with his troops. Con-
stantine, still outnumbered more than three to one, met the
enemy at Saxa Rubra, five miles north-east of the Milvian
Bridge. The battle was fiercely contested ; the Pretorians, as
a contemporary orator says, " dying where they stood ". But
the seasoned veterans of Constantine, lead by the young gen-
eral in person, charged irresistibly, broke and routed the vast
army of Maxentius, and drove them into the Tiber, where
Maxentius himself perished ignobly in the mud.
Constantine gave the credit for his victory to the God of
the Christians, and in March of the year following issued the
famous edict of Milan, guaranteeing absolute civil and reli-
gious freedom to Christians and assuring the Church of im-
perial protection and favor. Although Constantine was not
baptized until he was on his death-bed, twenty-five years later,
he identified himself from that time forth with the Christian
cause and interests.
A tradition, which for over 1300 years was received every-
where without question, which Godefroy first attacked in
1643, ascribes the conversion of Constantine and his victory
over Maxentius to the miraculous intervention of Providence.
Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Life of Constantine written in
338, a year after the emperor's death, is the only con-
temporary who gives a complete and detailed account of this
miracle. After recounting Constantine's misgivings before
his campaign against Maxentius, and his realization of the
need of other than natural help, his recalling how, whilst
those who had worshipped a multitude of gods perished miser-
ably, his own father Constantius had been blessed in the wor-
ship of the one God, Eusebius goes on to tell us, in Bk. I,
cc. 28, 29 :
388 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Therefore he [Constantine] began to implore the aid of this God,
with earnest prayer and supplication that He would reveal to him
who He was and that He would reach forth a helping hand in the
present difficulties. And whilst the emperor was thus praying with
fervent entreaty, there appeared to him a wonderful sign sent from
God. And this indeed, if it had been related by any other, could not
easily be believed. But since the victorious emperor himself told it
long afterward to the writer of this history, when he was received
into his familiar acquaintance, and confirmed his account with an
oath, who shall hesitate henceforth to accredit the relation, especially
since the testimony of after-time has established its truth?
He said that at midday, when the sun was beginning to decline,
he had seen with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the
sky, just above the sun, and bearing the inscription, " Conquer by
this " ; and that at this sight he himself was utterly astounded, as
were all the soldiers who were following him on some expedition
or other and who were witnesses of the miracle.
He said, moreover, that he marvelled what this vision might
mean. And whilst he continued to ponder and reason greatly upon
the matter, night imperceptibly drew on. Then as he slept, the
Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had
seen in the sky, and commanded him to fashion a standard in the
likeness of that sign and to use it as a safeguard in his battles.
Naturally, this account of Eusebius has been fair game for
the rationalists, to v^hom all miracles are as a red rag to a
bull. Naturally also, much of rationalistic opposition to the
tradition has taken the form of mere sneering charges of men-
dacity, with little or no attempt at argumentation. Gibbon,
for instance, in his discussion of what he calls " the secret
vision of Constantine ", says : '' The philosopher, who with
calm suspicion examines the dreams and omens, the miracles
and prodigies, of profane or even of ecclesiastical history, will
probably conclude that if the eyes of the spectators have some-
times been deceived by fraud, the understanding of the readers
has much more frequently been insulted by fiction." ^
As applied to Eusebius, such an accusation scarcely merits
s'erious consideration. His reputation for veracity is uni-
versally accredited. He is far from being an over-zealous de-
fender of the miraculous ; even omitting from his pages many
events, the miraculous character of which is asserted, and not
1 Decline and Fall, c. xx.
PROCLAMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. ^gg
without good reason, by other grave historians. The plea
that he was influenced by a desire to praise at any cost his
imperial friend must be disallowed both on intrinsic and ex-
trinsic grounds.^
So obviously futile is this attack that most opponents of the
miracle abandon it, and shift the burden of falsehood rather
upon Constantine himself. Gibbon bluntly declares : " The
Protestant and philosophic readers of the present age " — the
two adjectives being, as all the world knows, inseparable —
" will incline to believe that, in the account of his own con-
version, Constantine attested a wilful falsehood by a solemn
and deliberate perjury." Yet even Gibbon, a little later, is
compelled to add: "A conclusion so harsh and so absolute is
not, however, warranted by our knowledge of human nature,
of Constantine, or of Christianity." *
When we consider the contemporary evidence supporting
the testimony of Constantine, we shall see that Gibbon's re-
luctant admission is well within the limits of truth and honesty.
The author of the book '' De Morte Persecutorum," who is
rather generally assumed to be Lactantius, touches upon the
miracle in his forty-fourth chapter. '' Constantine," he says,
" was warned in sleep to mark upon his shields the heavenly
sign of God, and so to begin the battle."
This was written about a year after the battle of the Milvian
Bridge, and of course is entirely independent of Eusebius's
account. It is true, the writer speaks only of a vision in a
dream, and makes no mention of a cross appearing at noon-
day in the sky. But to what do the words " coeleste signum "
refer, if not to some such portent? Moreover, the whole
treatise is very brief and condensed, and hence we should not
look for any but a summary mention of the miracle.
Other testimonies are found in the written speeches of two
pagan orators. The first of these, supposed by many to be
2 Marion briefly dismisses it thus : " His [Eusebius's] narrative is given after
the account of the motives for Constantine's conversion. These motives are
portrayed as by no means lofty, as of the earth earthy. Eusebius does not
flatter his hero. The emperor was dead when the '' Life of Constantine " was
published. The historical probity of Eusebius is well known. The Father of
Church History could exaggerate in his appreciations, he could also sin by
omission; but he never gives as true mere facts of his own inventing and of
which he knew the falsity." Hist, de I'Eglise, Vol. I, p. I59-
3 Decline and Fall, Vol. II, p. 200.
390 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Eumenius, speaking at Treves in the presence of Constantine,
and less than three months after the battle, addresses the
emperor thus : '' What God, what Divine Presence encour-
aged thee, that when nearly all thy companions in arms and
commanders not only had secret misgivings but had open fears
of the omen, yet against the counsels of men, against the warn-
ings of the diviners, thou didst by thyself perceive that the
time of delivering the city was come? Thou hast surely, O
Constantine, some secret pact with that Divine Intelligence,
which, leaving to lesser gods the care of us, deigns to manifest
itself to you alone."
He speaks of an omen, which he seems studiously to avoid
specifying; an omen which was a public fact; which Con-
stantine's soldiers and officers were cognizant of; and from
which, not all indeed, but nearly all, shrank in fear and
horror. Now, of all omens of bad augury amongst the Ro-
mans the most dreaded was the cross. What more reasonable
then, than to conclude that the orator is speaking of a cross
seen by Constantine and all his army, and disturbing the minds
of that great majority of the beholders who were not Chris-
tians? Moreover, it is quite evident from his words that this
omen was not some obviously natural phenomenon, but some-
thing which all at once considered a distinctive manifestation
of Divinity and of a special Providence in Constantine's
regard.
The second pagan witness is Nazarius, an orator of high re-
pute in his day, who on I March, 321, nine years after the
battle and seventeen years before Eusebius wrote his account,
recalls the great victory and says with rhetorical flourish :
It is the talk of all the Gallic provinces that hosts were seen who
bore on them the character of divine messengers. And though
heavenly things use not to come to sight of man, in that the simple
and uncompounded substance of their subtile nature escapes his
heavy and dim perception, yet those, thy auxiliaries, bore to be seen
and to be heard ; and when they had testified to thy high merit, they
fled from the contagion of mortal eyes. And what accounts are given
of that vision, of the vigor of their frames, the size of their limbs,
the eagerness of their zeal ! Their flaming bosses shot an awful
radiance, and their heavenly arms burned with a fearful light ; such
did they come, that they might .be understood to be thine. And
PROCLAMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 3Q1
thus they spoke, thus they were heard to say, " We seek Constantine ;
we go to aid Constantine ".
In these three accounts, of Lactantius, Eumenius, and
Nazarius, there are both vagueness and wide diversity. In the
last there is a hint also of the pagan myth of Castor and
Pollux. But still there is in all three confident reference to
some heaven-sent sign, some token not of this earth, of vic-
tory for Constantine. And the vagueness and diversity are
not hard to explain. In the speech of Nazarius, note the
statement, '' It is the talk of all the Gallic provinces " and the
exclamation, " What accounts are given of that vision !" Evi-
dently, this speaker is no eye-witness of the events he speaks
of. He has only heard from others. And from whom? His
very words indicate clearly that he is repeating a current or
popular version of the facts now some nine years past; facts
received originally from an army which was here to-day and
gone to-morrow; spread, by word of mouth only, amongst a
pagan people, who had no written account to check their own
imaginings, who embroidered the truth with popular super-
stitutions as they passed it on, one to another. No wonder
it has come to him in such strange guise ! But all its strange-
ness does not lessen the moral certainty that it rested pri-
marily upon an historic happening of a marvelous nature.
This method of propagation of the story accounts in a very
obvious way for the vagueness and discrepancies in Lactantius
and Eumenius as well ; and cannot be too strongly taken into
consideration. We are apt to forget in this twentieth cen-
tury the crude conditions of sixteen hundred years ago and
the awkward inefficiency of preserving truths by popular re-
petition alone.
Finally, as testimony to the striking occurrences that sur-
round the victory of Constantine, we have the Labarum itself,
the standard which Constantine declared upon oath was fash-
ioned in the likeness of the cross seen in the vision, and which
became the acknowledged imperial emblem; we have the
statue of Constantine, which he had erected in Rome almost
immediately after the event, with the Labarum in its hand,
and bearing on the pedestal this inscription, *' By the aid of
this salutary token of strength I have freed my city from the
yoke of tyranny and restored to the Roman Senate and People
392 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
their ancient splendor and glory " ; we have the triumphal
arch which he erected also in Rome, less than three years after
the battle, and which still remains, with an inscription testi-
fying that he had gained the victory " instinctu divinitatis " ;
we have medals struck by Constantine, stamped with the figure
of the Labarum and with the words of the vision, " By this
sign thou shalt conquer ".
What motive could have urged Constantine, still a pagan,
under no obligations to Christianity save such as the Divine
vision itself might have put upon him, to expose himself to
ridicule in the eyes of his pagan army by monuments and
medals commemorating with solemn falsehood a Christian
miracle which never occurred? Constantine's attesting oath
may be lightly dismissed by " Protestant and philosophic
readers " as a gratuitous perjury: but Constantine's public ap-
peal to a merely pretended Divine aid demands in explanation
the charge of frank idiocy; and that charge has not yet been
made.
In these contemporary accounts of the miraculous vision,
it is to be observed that the time and place of the vision are
not given explicitly. Nor do their implicit indications agree.
Some lead us to believe that it occurred near Rome and im-
mediately before the battle of the Milvian Bridge. Eusebius
gives the impression, more probably the correct one, that it
took place earlier in the campaign and, in all likelihood, be-
fore Constantine and his army had entered Italy. There are
no contradictions in the matter, because there simply are no
assertions.
As to objections to the truth of the vision, outside of a
priori rejection of all miracles and sheer prejudice, there are
a few genuine arguments. In the first place, it is urged that
Eusebius does not mention the miracle in his Ecclesiastical
History. In reply we must note two things : first, that al-
though Eusebius in his History does not speak expressly of the
vision, he does say that Constantine invoked '* the God of
Heaven, and His Son and Word, our Lord Jesus Christ ",
and that the emperor was " stimulated by the divine assist-
ance " ; second, that his Ecclesiastical History was written at
least thirteen years before his Life of Constantine, at a time
when Eusebius's knowledge of the vision was probably no
PROCLAMATION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. 303.
more than the popular versions, which he, as is abundantly-
evident throughout his History, in general regards with mis-
trust and scepticism. So that his silence in regard to the
vision, offset as it is by his plain reference to some *' divine
assistance " granted to Constantine, and easily explained by
his severely critical attitude toward all popular traditions of
the marvelous, by no means proves either that no such miracle
occurred or that Eusebius was unaware of it.
Another objection is based on the fact that in the writings
of the Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries not a single
testimony is found in favor of the visions. But this again is
easily accounted for. As Newman has pointed out, " the only
writer of note extant during the first fifty years of the
(fourth) century, besides Eusebius, is Athanasius; and his
writings are taken up with later transactions and a far differ-
ent subject " — namely, with the rise of Arianism and the de-
fence of Catholic dogma. And Gibbon himself who ad-
vances the objection, also supplies the explanation; on the
ground that the Fathers of the succeeding century simply did
not know of the Life of Constantine by Eusebius. '' This
tract," says Gibbon, " was recovered by the diligence of those
who translated or continued his Ecclesiastical History."
Attempts have been made, with the persistent inanity char-
acteristic of rationalists, to explain the cross seen by Con-
stantine as a natural phenomenon, a halo about the sun. The
first of these attempts Gibbon, in a curt note, ridicules thus :
" Fabricius, who is abused by both parties, vainly tries to in-
troduce the celestial cross of Constantine among the solar
Halos." Nor have those who followed him succeeded any
better. No solar halo can account for the words, rovTL> viKa,
which accompanied the cross in the sky, or for the apparition
and command of Christ in the night following.
In conclusion, we may sum up the discussion thus. Con-
stantine, engaged in a perilous campaign against vastly su-
perior forces, implores aid of the God of the Christians, and
thereupon wins a remarkable victory. He publicly makes
acknowledgment of divine assistance in his victory, by monu-
ments erected and medals struck immediately after the battle.
The tradition of a miraculous intervention spreads every-
where, with great rapidity, and evidently disseminated by the
394 ^^^-^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
testimony of his own soldiers. Contemporary pagan orators
and Christian writers refer with easy confidence to some such
miracle, though with a vagueness entirely natural in view of
the circumstances and the news-mongering limitations of the
age. Eusebius, a cann}^, critical man, makes only cursory
mention of the divine interference in his History, written thir-
teen or fourteen years after the event. Later, having in the
meantime become intimate with Constantine and learned from
his own sworn testimony the details of the vision, he embodies
these details fully and circumstantially in his Life of Con-
stantine. This Life is published after the emperor's death,
but whilst thousands were still living of those whom he cites
as eye-witnesses of the miracle. The narrative is lost for a
time, and recovered only a century or more later, so that
ecclesiastical writers immediately succeeding make no men-
tion of his account. After the recovery of the Life of Euse-
bius, the miraculous vision is universally accepted. Even the
Centuriators of Magdeburgh uphold it strongly. It is only
after more than a century of Protestantism that it is first
denied, and neither then nor since then upon any arguments
not known to all the world during the thirteen centuries in
which no voice was raised against it.
Hence, that some marvelous sign occurred, witnessed by
Constantine and his army, is as certain as any fact in history.
That this sign was of a miraculous character is equally certain.
For these truths are decided by a variety and weight of testi-
mony which leave no room for doubt. But that all the details
narrated by Constantine to Eusebius are exactly correct, is
not equally certain, since it rests finally upon the sole word and
oath of one man, Constantine. And whilst that word and
oath, taken in all the accompanying circumstances, is amply
sufficient evidence to the present writer, still he does not
venture to damn incontinently those who- may demand more
convincing proof, or who may agree with Father Funk when
he says that some undeniably " real phenomenon — may have
been enlarged upon and explained in the light of subsequent
events." *
William T. Kane, S.J.
St. Louis University.
* Manual of Ch. Hist., Vol. I, p. 48.
STUDIES AND DISCIPLINE IN SEMINARIES. 39;
THE OOUESE OP STUDIES AND DISCIPLINE IN THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARIES.
THE Sacred Congregation of Consistory ^ through its offi-
cial secretary, Cardinal De Lai, addresses to the Or-
dinaries of Italy a circular letter in which the subject of the
general discipline and the course of studies in the diocesan
seminaries is brought to the attention of the Bishops. What
the prevailing custom in this regard has been in the Roman
Seminaries is made plain in an article on the subject which
appears in this number of the Review^ and which comes from
one who has gained his knowledge by actual experience dur-
ing years of study and residence in one of the chief and
typical institutions of the Roman Propaganda.
Whilst the Instruction of the Sacred Congregation is ad-
dressed directly to the Italian Bishops, its lessons are by no
means confined to the provinces of Italy. It has a message
for outside countries, as it indicates certain fundamental re-
quirements in the proper management of institutions for the
training of ecclesiastics. The lessons it contains have indeed
been anticipated in some instances by the zeal and forethought
of our American Bishops ; but there is still room for improve-
ment in many respects, and the present document gives a good
opportunity to direct attention to the fact. The first point
of which the Roman instruction speaks is
The Lack of Vocations.
In Italy as elsewhere there is an evident decrease of voca-
tions to the ecclesiastical state. The Sacred Congregation
finds the reason for this defection partly in the hostile atti-
tude toward the Clergy on the part of an infidel and anti-
religious society, which attitude discourages parents from
urging their sons to enter a state of life that promises only
persecution and hardships. On the other hand, the youth
find opened to their aspiration and ambition a large and ever-
increasing number of avocations which promise success and
prosperity. The clerical calling, now that the State has ap-
propriated to itself most of the endowments, holds out at most
the prospect of a modest livelihood, with continuous respon-
1 See below, under Analecta, or the Acta Apostolicae Sedis,.Vo\. IV, num.
14 for the Italian text of the document.
396 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
sibilities amid a constant demand for sacrifice. These rea-
sons may be found everywhere, and the fact that they are
advanced indicates that the former system of endowments
(which caused the Church to prosper in temporals), whilst it
multiplied the number of priests, did by no means always in-
crease their efficiency, a thing which the generous impulses
of the princes who furnished the endowments did not foresee.
To counteract the apparent lack of vocations the Bishops are
admonished to encourage the youth by preaching and example
to assume the yoke of Christ, to labor for the conversion of
souls in a generous spirit of self-denial, and, by emphasizing
the great merit and the eternal reward of such noble devotion
as the priesthood imposes, to draw the young to the sanctuary.
The Preparatory Seminary to be separated from the
Theological Seminary.
The next step to be taken to secure the permanency of voca-
tions to the priesthood is to have the junior students of the
Preparatory Seminary separated entirely from the candidates
of the theological department, in order that each may receive
that special training which their mental condition and dis-
position of heart demand. For the lessons of discipline and
piety, the exhortations and readings in common, the lectures
and classes, and even the recreations which befit the senior semi-
narists are not always suited to the younger students, whose
minds and habits are not as yet fully developed and who need
special supervision and direction. On the other hand young
students require a greater amount of freedom so that they may
manifest their dispositions and allow the early correction of
their faults. The training of the younger boys in the rudi-
ments of spirituality, likewise, aims less at details of conduct
than does the training of the students who approach more
closely to the sanctuary. The daily exercises of piety to which
the juniors are bound need to be less exacting than in the
case of those who are no longer fed with the milk of babes
but receive the stronger food of men for the warfare in which
they are soon to engage. The same professors moreover are
not suited for both departments, since those who devote them-
selves to the teaching of the higher branches are rarely pre-
pared to give that attention and time to the details of ele-
STUDIES AND DISCIPLINE IN SEMINARIES. 397
mentary classes which are absolutely necessary for the proper
instruction of the young. A point not to be lost sight of is
likewise the fact that there exists also in most institutions of
a conservative character a spirit unconsciously aiming at the
perpetuation of certain traditions. Sometimes these traditions
stand in the way of needed reforms. The combination of
Preparatory School with the Higher Seminary makes it often
impossible to eliminate abuses in the form of long-standing
traditions.
Continuous Residence in the Seminary and Vacations.
It has long been the custom in European, and especially in
the Italian, seminaries to transfer the seminarists during the
hot season to some country house, where they may enjoy not
only rest and recreation, but also that freedom from academic
restraint and scholastic associations without which it is diffi-
cult to relax the mind after the tense application to the regu-
lar curriculum during the greater part of the year.
The long vacations are therefore to be spent in the country,
but under the supervision of the directors of the Seminary.
A brief furlough of ten or fifteen days is allowed the student
during the year to visit his parents or guardians,' and to pro-
vide himself with the required means for carrying on his
studies uninterruptedly during the remainder of the scholastic
year.
There are evident advantages in this method of keeping
the seminarist under the discipline which in a certain sense
is to become his life habit even after ordination. In this way
he is not exposed to the necessity and danger of conforming
for three months to the spirit of the world, against which he
does not yet possess those safeguards which priestly life in
some recognized field of pastoral labor provides for the or-
dained cleric. The home circle too is in many cases relieved
from embarrassments caused by having to entertain a mem-
ber of the family who, however much beloved and attached
to the home, finds there neither the occupation nor the as-
sociations quite suited to his present and future sphere of
life. Furthermore there are advantages in remaining in touch
with the teachers and fellows of one's seminary, life during
the period of a vacation which, without lessening the fullest
398 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
enjoyment of liberty and recreation, helps the student to sup-
plement the scholastic work of the year by that liberal culture
which comes from spontaneous exchange of views and opinions
with others, from the easy method of familiar repetitions, and
from the coaching and reading without scholastic restraint
for which this kind of vacation offers every opportunity.
Some of our Bishops, following the Roman method, have
introduced this system of vacation in the seminary, no doubt
with good results. The S. Congregation wishes that it be
observed for all the Italian seminaries, both preparatory and
theological.
Of course there is something to be said for the custom
which permits the student to go out into the world for some
months each year, to recreate after the confinement and routine
life of the seminary, and to exercise his moral strength in
maintaining a stand as cleric which proves him to be the chosen
material for the pastoral service no less than for the seclusion
of the sanctuary. The young oak takes a firmer hold upon
the soil by means of its roots in proportion as its slender trunk
is swayed by the buffeting of the storm, and its exposure to the
winds becomes an advantage rather than a danger to its sturdi-
ness of growth. Hence there may be good reason why many
of the ecclesiastical educators in Germany prefer to maintain
the system of the university freedom for theological students,
assuming that the candidate who elects to apply for sacred
orders after years of deliberate and persevering study, and
without supervision or moral coercion of any kind, is much
more to be trusted as a man of convictions and principles than
the youth who, once having entered the seminary, is prac-
tically coached along the lines of perseverance until his ordin-
ation without having given any proof that he could endure the
test of temptations that are sure to beset him in the actual life
of the ministry.
To our mind it is a question of individual temperament, in
which probably nationality plays some part. The German is
by nature more sturdy, less impulsive, rather given to reason-
ing than to feeling his way. His habits remain with him, and
he lacks on the whole that sensitiveness which keeps asking
itself what others think of his actions — an element which
largely controls the Celtic temperament. The difference in
STUDIES AND DISCIPLINE IN SEMINARIES. 390
this respect may be noticed even in our American institutions
among students who are the sons of German parents when
compared with students of Italian, Irish, French, or Sla\
descent. The latter are often brighter and quicker to appre-
hend, perhaps also more docile, because more impressionable
and sensitive. But they lack the sturdiness, the capacity for
continuous work, the reasoned consistency, which steady the
course of the Teutonic student and make him reach results
which he holds and exploits. All this would justify the
German method of training under certain conditions, not to
be found in Italian or French seminaries, and which exist
only to a limited extent among ecclesiastical students in the
United States.
Young Priests as Prefects.
The S. Congregation advocates likewise the employment of
the newly-ordained priests as assistant masters of discipline
in the seminary, before they are permanently appointed to
parish work. The advantage of this method of securing dis-
ciplinary supervision and in a measure of supplying a body of
assistant tutors, especially in the preparatory seminary, is
obvious. The young priest is thus given an opportunity of
exercising a useful function in the diocese, while gradually
reaching out and preparing himself for the practical ministry.
He is given a breathing-spell during which he may gather
his mental and moral forces, between his leaving the class-
room and his going into the service of preaching, hearing
confessions, and the other responsible work of the public
ministr}^ For whilst he remains a resident in the seminary
as prefect, he may yet from time to time be called on to assist
in parish work wherever there is a demand.
There can hardly be any doubt about the beneficial influence
both on the seminar}^ and the young priests themselves under
this system, if carried out consistently in our large diocesan
institutions. The objection that will leap up against the
suggestion would be of course that the need of priests on the
mission with us is, as a rule, so great and imperative as to
allow no delay in placing the newly-ordained in active parish
service. But the difficulty is only apparent, not real, since the
priests who act as prefects during an intermediate year would
be available in the regular course, just as they were when
400
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
first ordained. Indeed there is a distinct advantage in hav-
ing a number of young priests who may be called on to sup-
ply temporarily a certain amount of mission service. In
many of our smaller parishes there are at present assistants
who are insufficiently employed. They are required merely
for a certain number of Masses and in the confessional on
Saturdays and Sundays. Beyond this they are free during
the week. In all such places one priest could easily attend
the sick and make other pastoral calls if he had some priest
to assist him on Saturdays and Sundays. Here the prefects
of the seminary could do occasional or regular service with-
out detriment to discipline and with profit to themselves. It
might mean, too, considerable saving in expense for the
poorer parishes throughout the diocese.
By this means the young priest would be introduced gradu-
ally to missionary service; would get an opportunity not only
to observe, consult, and reflect upon his future pastoral duties,
but would also be enabled to cultivate a habit of pastoral ac-
tivity on perfect lines, alike beneficial to himself and to the
flock over which he may be appointed.
Obviously the plan means simply the adding of a post-
graduate year, in which the young priest will find opportun-
ity for the exercise of direction and instruction in the office of
prefect, and for the exercise of pastoral work by degrees in
the cure of souls.
It would be necessary, of course, that the newly-ordained
priest be assigned for a given time as prefect of some division
in the seminary, and likewise for a definite service at some
parish church as supernumerary, with the understanding that
a fixed (not voluntary) compensation be made for such ser-
vices. The reason for this latter condition is the necessity
of preventing local and personal preferences, which could
only harm the candidates and give rise to scheming and
nepotism.
Recreation and Studies.
Among the subjects which appertain to the training of ec-
clesiastical students is that of inculcating in them the spirit
of devoutly observing the liturgical feasts with such conform-
ity to ceremonial and ritual interpretation as is apt to foster
piety and edification. Hence these feasts are to be observed
STUDIES AND DISCIPLINE IN SEMINARIES. ^qI
without taking account of the time which they draw from the
routine work of studies or classes. Nor are the holidays spent
in observance of the ceremonial of the Church to cause a les-
sening of the requisite recreation of the students. They shall
have one full day of every week, besides Sundays and holi-
days, to rest from class-work and from the course of studies
assigned for the other days of the week.
As to the order of classes, the S. Congregation ordains that
the hours be so arranged as not to make the lectures conse-
cutive, nor to allow them to extend over more than four (or
at most four and a half) hours each day.
A certain conformity to the standard and demands of public
-education is likewise to be kept in mind in the matter of
secular and classical teaching. This is important. If the
clergy are to direct and influence public opinion it is neces-
sary that they possess a well-rounded education so as to en-
able them to meet on equal ground the men of culture around
them who are the natural leaders of the less educated. Be-
yond this, however, special attention is to be given to Latin,
not only as a medium of exact thinking during the study of
philosophy and the scholastic branches of theology, but also
because it is the liturgical language and the mother tongue
of the Catholic priesthood throughout the Western world.
But apart from the classes of philosophy, or dogmatic and
moral theology, Latin need not be made the medium of the
teaching, and even in these classes some liberty must be al-
lowed so as to render the study of practical service.
Another point, mentioned in the Instruction of the Sacred
Congregation, which may serve us in the improvement and
perfecting of our seminary education is the method of teach-
ing the philosophical and theological braitches. The prevail-
ing system of imparting knowledge in the higher studies by
means of lectures, which is the vogue in most of our universi-
ties, needs to be supplemented by oral examinations and by
discussions, whether in the form of the German seminars or
in that of scholastic " disputations." According to the Roman
program, one hour of the five given to the study of philosophy
each week is to be devoted to " repetition," and one hour each
fortnight to debate, in the form of a defence of a thesis. The
customary branch of " propaedeutics," which covers one year's
course, is entirelv abolished.
402 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The Course for the Students of Theology.
The course of theology prescribed for the students of the
higher seminary comprises the dogmatic and moral disciplines,
Sacred Scripture, and ecclesiastical history.
To the study of dogma is assigned one hour daily during the
entire four years' course. But this includes the apologetic
branches of theology, which are to supplement the scholastic
matter as hitherto taught from such texts as the Summa of
St. Thomas, etc.
In like manner Moral Theology is to be supplemented by
the study of Fundamental Sociology and Canon Law.
Four hours a week are to be given in the theological depart-
ment to the study of Sacred Scripture; the first two years to
be devoted to Introduction, the last two years to Exegesis, —
in particular of the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles.
For the study of ecclesiastical history the special recom-
mendation is made that it consist not merely of a retailing of
historical facts, but that the supernatural character of the life
of the Church be duly considered in connexion with the events,
so that the student be led to a due consideration of the philoso-
phy of history^ as it was regarded by the Christian Fathers
of old and by men like Cardinal Newman of our own times.
For the Church is not merely a human institution but rather
one that bridges the human and the divine, a semblance of the
Incarnation of the Son of God.
Adequate time is to be allowed for the mastery of sub-
sidiary studies, such as that of the Biblical languages, homi-
letics, liturgy, sacred art, and music. The rector and prefect
of studies are directed to see that the professors cover the
entire matter of the prescribed program during the allotted
years of the course. Hence the teachers are cautioned to
avoid disproportionate discussions of special topics at the
expense of the full course.
These regulations seem well calculated to improve the dis-
cipline and teaching in ecclesiastical seminaries ; and that there
is room for improvement, not only in Italian seminaries but
amongst ourselves as well, must be allowed by all who are
familiar with the instruction and the methods in use, the de-
fects of which have been pointed out from time time by men
of unquestioned authority in such matters.
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .q^
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE.
THE following remarks on Roman seminary life are based
upon the experience of a student who spent five years in
a Roman college. With but few, if any modifications, none
of them essential, they will apply to any of the numerous na-
tional colleges in the Eternal City, for these are all under the
same method of management. This article does not regard
any particular institution, since the system is contemplated as
a whole. The Propaganda is the only University mentioned.
The purpose of the remarks is to present the main features of
student life in Rome in a general way and in an objective
manner, without any personal reference to individual super-
iors, or students; to state existing conditions with candor and
sincerity, and with a due and reverent regard for the authority
entrusted with the actual status of affairs then and now pre-
vailing. A broad classification will throw what follows under
four heads, each with a number of subdivisions, — A. Dis-
cipline; B. Intellectual Life; C. Recreations; D. General
Observations.
A. Discipline.
CAMERATA SYSTEM.
Each Roman seminary has a rector and vice-rector, who
exercise a general supervision over its government. The dis-
cipline, however, is to a large extent in the hands of the stu-
dents themselves, and forms a striking and characteristic fea-
ture of Roman seminary management. All the students in
the college are divided into camerate. Each camerata has a
prefect and an assistant prefect, both appointed by the rector,
who are in charge of from eight to fourteen men, more or
less, there being no fixed number. The prefect is the respon-
sible person, and only in his absence has the assistant prefect
any authority. The prefect is ordinarily, although not al-
ways, of a higher class, and theologians are always placed in
charge of philosophers. Under no circumstances may a stu-
dent leave his own camerata and go to another camerata for
any purpose whatsoever, except with the permission of the
rector. Each man must keep to his own room during the time
the rule requires him to be there. Not even during recreation
404
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
may he go to his own room, but is required to take recreation
in common with the members of his own camerata. Every
exercise must be attended by the entire camerata in a body,
all its members waiting for the signal of the prefect before
starting for chapel, meals, class, or walks. No man may en-
ter another's room. Even to leave chapel during a religious
exercise requires the previous permission of tlie prefect of the
camerata to which the student belongs, and the granting of such
permission must afterward be reported to the rector. To be
late for any common exercise requires similar report, as does
sickness, whilst absence from class requires the previous con-
sent of the rector. Since the students are so largely occupied
in maintaining the discipline of the seminary, it comes to
pass that in a great measure they take care of themselves, as
the prefects are also students, and they too must study, and
cannot be about watching the members of their camerata con-
tinually. A man feels that he is not watched, nor subjected
to petty surveillance, and is left largely to his own honor.
Even when an infraction of the rule does occur, unless it be a
grave offence, it is usually, though not always, settled directly
between the prefect and the man himself, without bringing
the affair to the attention of the rector at all. In grave mat-
ters, where the intervention of the superior is deemed neces-
sary, the offender himself is sent to the rector, \to whom he
presents his own case, making his own accusation and his own
defence. The rector sometimes, though not always, sends for
the prefect to hear the other side, but in the majority of cases
the prefect does not find it necessary to go to the rector at
all to report a man. This saves the prefect from the accusa-
tion of tale-bearing, and insures a first-hand report of the
infraction of the rule by the offender himself.
The camerata system by its very nature imposes the neces-
sity of constantly associating during one's entire course with
practically the same group of from eight to fourteen men.
The camerata always moves as a; unit, and always preserves its
individuality. The men composing it go in a body to chapel ;
they are so grouped there, as well as in the refectory, and on
the walks; and with but few exceptions they rarely meet
members of other camerate. It does not take long to exhaust
the information that one man can impart to another, and after
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .qh
the first two or three months it is probable that the conversa-
tion will be confined to trivialities, and the little round of
each day's duties. Newspapers are forbidden, and as a result
there is a temptation to talk of nothing except the day's work.
That, however, could be made a source of great profit, should
the students avail themselves of the opportunity. But it is
only in exceptional cases that any great intellectual advant-
ages are derived from camerata life. Recreation is just as
obligatory as any. other duty, and to be forced by the rule to
take exercise with students who are clever, splendid, virtuous
men, but, nevertheless, with whom one may have little in com-
mon, and whose intellectual tastes run along different lines,
thus being deprived of the opportunity to choose congenial
and stimulating companions, is no small trial to a man's char-
acter. He may complain, or he may comport himself with
Christian resignation, and practise patience often in an heroic
degree. But after a course of four years or more, if he makes
the most of the situation, he will leave the seminary a trained
man, able to adapt himself to, and rise above, almost any en-
vironment.
The camerata system contemplates having a prefect with
his students continuously. They do not go out alone until
they are in major orders, although this rule admits of some
few and occasional exceptions. To go out jn the city to
purchase a book or to consult a physician, or to attend to any
business, even the most trifling, requires that the student be
accompanied by his prefect. In some colleges in order to
economize the time of the prefect, or for other reasons, the
students are sent out with the servants of the college, a
practice deplored by the entire student body.
RECTOR AND STUDENTS.
Even though the students are the subordinate disciplinarians,
the rector is the animating and controlling spirit, and it is
his personality that gives a character to the college. The
rector has regular office hours when he may be consulted by
any of the students, whilst the prefects interview him weekly
and even oftener. Without unduly intruding himself, or play-
ing the part of an ecclesiastical gendarme, or scrutinizing the
minutiae of daily life, the rector knows what is going on, and
406 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
he is able, if he desires, to test the intellectual, moral and
spiritual fibre of every man under his control, so that at the
end of four, five, or six years, living under the same roof with
the students, observing them under various conditions, at
work and at recreation, studying, playing, and praying, he can
measure their fitness for Holy Orders. The man who after
such a period of trial can succeed in deceiving the rector of a
Roman seminary would deceive the rector and combined
faculty of any seminary in the world.
The relations between the rector and the students, however,
can scarcely be called intimate or familiar. It is possible
(although indeed it would be a very exceptional case) for
a man to live within a few feet of the rector's apartments for
weeks at a time and yet not find it necessary to exchange a
dozen words with him, the rector exercising his' authority
meanwhile through the prefects. The rector and students
neither associate with one another, nor do they recreate in
common; and whilst it is done in some few cases, it is not
a general rule for the rector to be accompanied on his after-
noon walk by one or two of his students. Such a practice
would, however, lead to more friendly relations between the
rector and his men. The rector judges of the intellectual
ability of the students from the notes furnished by the Pro-
paganda. If the rector never sees nor hears of a man break-
ing a rule, or getting into difficulty with his prefect, or with
other students, and there is no unfavorable testimony from the
Propaganda, he is justified in arriving at the conclusion that
the man must be a good student, because he gives no cause for
complaint. There is no vote of a faculty of professors or
other superiors when the time arrives for receiving minor or
major orders: the decision in this momentous step rests with
the rector.
SMOKING.
In some colleges the use of tobacco is absolutely prohibited;
in others snuff is allowed, but smoking is put under the ban.
Other seminaries, however, are to be found where smoking,
while not encouraged, is tolerated. The vast majority of
students learn to smoke before entering the seminary, and
they will continue to smoke in spite of all regulations to the
contrary. Breaking the smoking rule paves the way for the
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .qT
violation of other regulations, and there is a belief gaining
ground that the moral force of college discipline will be
strengthened by lifting the interdict on smoking.
VISITORS.
Paradoxical as it may seem, it is very often quite as difficult
to visit a Roman seminarian as it is to see the Pope. " Visi-
tors not welcome " is substantially, if not actually, written
over the entrance to every national college in Rome. Receiv-
ing callers is discouraged; and whilst an hour, more or less,
on Thursdays and Sundays is set apart for the purpose of re-
ceiving visitors at the college, unless callers conform to this
regulation, they and the students will be disappointed. For
men 5,000 miles from home, suffering now and then from
homesickness, scarcely any self-denial can be compared to the
inability to have a few brief words with relatives or friends
who bring news of their families across the broad Atlantic.
Many a student returns to his native land after a residence
of four, five, or six years in the Eternal City, to learn for the
first time that several friends called upon him at his college in
Rome, but were denied the privilege of seeing him because
they failed to come on the regular visiting day or hour. This
creates the false impression on the part of outsiders that the
superiors are tyrannical, and that Roman seminary life is in
a prison. Grave reasons are put forward by seminary au-
thorities for this procedure, although the arguments are not
conclusive to the vast majority of students. From the rec-
tor's point of view, visitors are a distraction ; they wish to- in-
vite the students out for lunch, or to take them for a holiday
in the city or country, when they really desire them to be the
party conductor through the wonders of Rome. Valuable
time is thereby lost, and an opinion is created in Rome that
there is no discipline at all in that college whose students
are frequently seen on the streets in the company of tourists.
B. Intellectual Life.
LECTURE SYSTEM.
The lecture system is employed. Few classes have an offi-
cial text-book that is used to such an extent that a student can
afford to dispense with taking notes in class. In the majority
40 8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of classes notes are relied upon to the exclusion of any text-
book whatsoever, thus developing an absolute dependence on
class notes, an author being consulted but rarely. There is^
therefore, too frequently no work upon which a student can
rely if he be compelled by sickness, retreat, or other cause ta
be abse»t from class. To acquire the matter covered during
his absence, he must either study from another student's notes,
or copy the notes himself. Those who have experienced the
tedious labor of transcribing back notes have had ample reason
to wish for a text-book to which they could refer in such a
necessity. The very drudgery of supplying lost lectures has
tempted many students to omit them altogether, taking a risk
on the matter at the examination. Each class has its own
instructor, a specialist in that department. There are ordin-
arily five scheduled class days each week, Thursdays and Sun-
days being free. The actual number of class days for the
scholastic year, after making all deductions for vacations, holi-
days, and examinations, will not reach much beyond 130.
There are four hours of class every day, Iwo in the morning
and two in the afternoon; but with intermissions and delays
between classes, incident to the assembling of the various,
national colleges for the lectures, it is rare that any professor
lectures longer than 50 minutes.
The professors come to class at the appointed time, de-
liver their lectures and leave, and except for those students
who speak Italian or Latin easily and who can talk to the:
professors in the corridors while waiting for class, there is but
scant opportunity for the students to meet them or consult
them either before or after the lecture; and even should the
occasion offer, it is so brief as to be scarcely sufficient for in-
structors and students to become well acquainted. The pro-
fessors do not seek out the students to learn the mental
strength and weakness of each individual. They do not live
in the same college with them, much less visit them, and the
seminary regulations forbid the students making calls in the
city. In this way it is possible for a backward student to
spend half a dozen years in Rome and, except for a formal
salutation occasionally, only speak to his professors whilst he
is being examined. The professors are ordinarily unaware
of the capabilities of the students, for repetitions in class,,
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .rM^
dissertations, and disputations are usually not given by the
same man twice in succession, and they are thus unable to give
direction or stimulus to their studies. This is another char-
acteristic phase of Roman seminary training. It leaves men
largely to themselves, and what they make of themselves is
due in great measure to their own unaided efforts. Develop-
ment comes from the inside. This may have its disadvantages,
but it has its good features, and not the least of its results is
that it tends to make men self-reliant, self-supporting, able
to stand alone on their own merits, and to make their way
themselves without constant external assistance and stimulus.
LATIN LANGUAGE.
Latin is the language used by the professors in their lec-
tures. It is so, not only because Latin is the official language
of the Roman Church, but also from the very nature of the
complex student body attending the classes. To teach simul-'
taneously the representatives of nearly half a hundred nations
requires a universal medium of intercourse. To these might
be added a further reason, the voluntary choice of both pro-
fessors and students. The immense literature of Scholastic
Philosophy and Theology is so intimately bound up with Latin,
its terminology is so precise and well-defined, its expressions
so direct and forceful, that the vernacular is scarcely adequate
to express its full meaning. Four hours a day of Latin
lectures for four, five, or six years, ought to give a man a fair
command of the language, so that at the completion of his
course he should be able to think in it, to write it, and speak
it easily and correctly. As may be expected, the language
of the professors lecturing on a technical subject is not always
classical, but often in bursts of eloquence one may catch phrases
and sei^ences having all the warmth and terseness and all the
energy and sonorousness of the finest Latin prose.
Latin, however, has its disadvantages. The professors do
not talk slowly for beginners, nor do they wait on laggards.
They enunciate with the rapidity of an ordinary lecturer in the
vernacular, with a speed varying from 125 to 250 words a
minute, and as a result there are many students who lose in
whole or in part the first two months or more of class while
their ears become accustomed to what is for them a new Ian-
410
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
guage. Shorthand is gaining favor as a means of economiz-
ing labor and increasing the efficiency and quantity of notes.
From six to ten per cent of the students now use with great
satisfaction some of the many standard systems of phono-
graphy. Class notes are mimeographed and multigraphed,
and typewriters are being introduced. A more formidable
obstacle, which is never really overcome, arises from the in-
ability or impracticability of conversing freely with the pro-
fessors in order to solve a difficulty, or to clarify a point in
study. Not every student can speak Italian with fluency and
the fear of making grammatical blunders in Latin prevents
many from approaching their instructors to secure additional
information. This difficulty is increased in the oral examin-
ations. Students who lack the " facultas dicendi " sometimes
obtain a lower mark than their actual knowledge of the matter
justifies. Professors, however, reply to this by saying that
the ability to speak Latin is in itself a matter for examination.
The Italian pronunciation of Latin is also a source of some
annoyance, but it soon disappears. At the end of from four
to eight weeks, even though the student has been previously
unaccustomed to Latin lectures, he should be able to take
full and reliable notes.
TIME AVAILABLE FOR STUDY.
The great majority of Roman students bitterly lament the
deplorable lack of time available for study. The very fact
of being required to assemble daily at the Propaganda for
lectures is in itself a loss of many valuable minutes. The
journey to and from the various national colleges and the
Propaganda, the waits and delays incident to the camerata
system of discipline, dressing and undressing, going to and
returning from class, all this consumes much valuable time,
greater or less according to the distance of the respective col-
leges from the Propaganda. A concrete case will illustrate
this. Suppose a college is seven minutes distant from the
Propaganda (and there are very few colleges so close as that
to it), its students must leave their college at 7.53 A. M. to
be in time for the first class at 8 A. M. Allowing but four
minutes for emptying the class rooms at ten o'clock and assem-
bling the camerata groups, it will be 10. 11 before the stu-
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. . j I
dents reach their college after the morning session. They
have been absent 138 minutes, during which time they have
had two lectures of perhaps 50 minutes each, or 100 minutes.
There is, therefore, a difference of 38 minutes to be accounted
for. Repeat this for the afternoon session, and the result is
jG minutes, or an hour and a quarter each day spent in going
to and from class. This time would be available for study
were it not cut up into such brief periods as to practically
preclude the possibility of utilizing it. These figures are very
conservative, and any one who has spent several years in Rome
could easily augment them. There are some students who do
manage to utilize some of these odd minutes by studying while
walking to and from class, or while waiting on the bell at the
Propaganda, but to do so requires an extraordinary force of
will, a vast quantity of patience and concentration, and con-
genial walking companions, a combination not always to be
found.
The time available for study never exceeds four hours a
day, and the interruptions incident to the ceaseless round of
each day's duties, such as letters, confessions, barber, inter-
viewing superiors, etc., often diminish this. To attend class
practically four hours every day at the Propaganda, and per-
haps an hour or two at home, as the National College may be
called, and then to have less than four hours a day to as-
similate and digest the matter there treated is scarcely suffi-
cient for the intellectual requirements of the average student.
It has a tendency to create weak nerves, since students who
are conscientious are always in distress about their studies,
and they begin to neglect necessary recreation and sleep in
order to keep pace with the advancing tide of matter for the
examination.
The time available for study is further diminished by the
various classes in the respective colleges or elsewhere, in-
dependent of the course at the Propaganda. Italian, Music,
Liturgy, Moral Theology, Canon Law, and Philosophy con-
sume from one to three hours a week, and often more. And
as if this were not enough to swallow up what little time is
left, in some of the colleges, and for some of the classes, there
is what is called a " Repeater " who reviews the matter
treated in the Propaganda. The purpose is to make it easy
412 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
for the students ; but what the students need is not more pro-
fessors, but more leisure to study and absorb and make their
own the vast mass of material given them day by day at the
Propaganda.
SPIRIT OF STUDY.
This condition so lamentable in theory, and a constant source
of complaint in practice, produces in earnest students such a
thorough aversion to idleness that they scarcely waste a mo-
ment. Every possible opportunity for study is utilized, often
to the utter neglect of necessary physical exercise. How to
keep students from applying themselves too closely is one of
the problems of a rector of a Roman seminary. Men are not
ashamed to study hard and long, and they do so at all times,
in all places, and under the most varied circumstances. The
shady walks on the Pincio, the broad avenues in the Villa
Borghese, the open sunny square on the Janiculum, or the en-
closed gardens of the Villa Mattel, become so many open air
study halls, especially as the time for examination approaches.
Incessant activity and patient industry become the order of
the day, by reason of the constant effort to make the most of
every moment of time, and while there is a penalty of an hour
and a quarter or more exacted every day for attending the
lectures at the Propaganda, the very fact of having so little
time to study makes the student appreciate what a really
precious thing time is, and the constant hunting for minutes
for four or five years forms habits of industry and concen-
tration that should last through life.
The fact that so many different colleges attend the lectures
affords a stimulus for a man to study. Legitimate pride in
his own college and his native country leads him to prepare
himself well for a repetition or a dissertation, in order to
reflect credit upon both the one and the other. There are
frequent opportunities during the year for the display of talent
by appearing in one of the many disputations held in all the
classes at the Propaganda. Occasionally the professors ap-
point at random a man from some college, but as a rule the
first prefect of each college chooses the student to represent
his college. In some classes matter not of prime importance
is left to the diligence of the students, a man from one of the
colleges being appointed to treat it in class in concise form.
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. . j ^
Such dissertations often occupy the time of two classes, and are
usually delivered from memory. They greatly develop
fluency in Latin and cogency in the grouping of arguments,
results which more than repay the great amount of extra work
that the student is required to expend upon them.
This spirit of study naturally has its reflection in all of the
national colleges. No college cares to be eclipsed, and as a
consequence there is a constant striving for points and places
and the rewards of intellectual supremacy. The inter-
collegiate written examination at the end of the scholastic year
affords field for individual and collective effort, and the an-
nouncement of the prize winners is awaited with interest both
by rectors and students of the different colleges.
CHANGE, IN STUDY HOURS.
Another difficulty which disturbs new students and some
old ones, for it sometimes requires many months to become
accustomed to it, is the obligatory change in the hours de-
voted to study. The afternoon life of a Roman student is
regulated by the Angelus, called the Ave Maria, which rings
half an hour after sunset. At that time all students must be
home in their respective colleges. As there are no recreation
grounds surrounding the colleges of Rome, the students are
obliged to take walks every day as their exercise. These
walks last one hour and a half, and the time of walk depends
upon the Ave Maria, ending at that time every night. Two
hours of class must be attended every afternoon, which, if
added to the hour and a half for walk, make three hours and a
half of fixed employment every afternoon. By deducting
three hours and a half from the time of the Ave Maria, the
time for reporting at the Propaganda for the first lecture in
the afternoon is obtained. For example, when the Ave Maria
rings at 5 P. M., the earliest it ever rings, the first class at
the Propaganda commences at 1.30 P. M., and the second at
2.30, ending at 3.30. The walk begins immediately after class,
lasts one hour and a half, ending precisely at the Ave Maria,
at the college of the students, and brings them home for the
night. But as the Angelus does not ring at the same hour
always, since it depends upon the changing time of the setting
sun, the Ave Maria drops fifteen minutes every ten days or two
414 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
weeks, and instead of going to class every day at 1.30 during
the autumn, and studying from five o'clock until 7.30 in the
long winter evenings, the whole thing becomes reversed about
the middle of June, when the Ave Maria rings at 8.15 P. M.,
the latest it reaches. At that time the students must go to
class at 4.45 P. M., start on their walk at 6.45 P. M., and ar-
rive home for the night at 8. 15. As a consequence of this all
study must be done in the heat of the afternoon before class,
and at this time the customary siesta of an hour cuts down
the time available for study. Thus in the winter there is a
stretch of two and a half hours in the evening after class to
study. At other times in the year half the afternoon's study
is before class, and half after class. In June, however, there
is absolutely no time for study after class, the students return-
ing from their walk just in time to partake of the evening
meal. Consequently to adapt oneself to do effective study in
the morning, afternoon, or evening, or at any other time, and
not to wait until evening exclusively, is in itself a distinct
advantage, making a man independent of local conditions,
and fitting him for study at all times.
EXAMINATIONS.
The examinations are held about Easter time and at the end
of the scholastic year. Both are oral, and to obtain permis-
sion to pass to the next higher class, six points are required,
notes being given on a scale of ten. At the end of the oral
examinations in July, there is held a written Concursus, par-
ticipated in by nearly all the colleges and religious orders
attending the Propaganda. A theme is proposed; five hours
are given to write the paper, and the results are announced
six months later, upon publication of the official catalogue of
the Propaganda.
Each candidate for Holy Orders must previously pass an
examination at the Vicariate of Rome. One examination suf-
fices for Tonsure and Minor Orders, but a separate test is
required for each of the three Major Orders. One tract is
required for Subdiaconate, two for Diaconate, and three for
Priesthood, making six different tracts chosen at the option
of the student from a list of about a dozen prepared by the
Vicariate. The personal equation enters largely into these
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .jc
examinations. For Priesthood some men are detained an
hour or more, whilst others are rushed through in from seven
to ten minutes. It depends upon who you are, where you are
from, and what examiner you draw. A retreat of ten days for
each major order is required, the retreats being ordinarily
made in the house of some religious order or congregation.
There are from twelve to fourteen ordinations held every year,
St. John Lateran and Sant'Apollinare being the places most
frequently selected. The ordinations at Trinity and Easter
are the largest, at which time it is not rare to see lOO candi-
dates for Major Orders in the prostration at St. John's, a
truly solemn spectacle.
DEGREES.
The Degree of Bachelor of Theology is obtained at the
end of the first year of Theology, and embraces the entire
year's work. The Licentiate is obtained at the end of the
third year ,and likewise embraces one entire year's work, while
the Doctorate is awarded at the end of the fourth year, and
embraces the work of the entire four years' course. All the
degrees are obtained only after examinations, oral for all
three, and a written one in addition for the Doctorate. The
Doctorate embraces lOO theses taken from Scripture, Dogma,
Sacraments, Apologetics, Moral Theology, Canon Law, His-
tory, and Liturgy. This is not the place to dwell upon the
relative merits of the Roman Doctorate. The least that can
be said of it is that, being the diploma awarded at the com-
pletion of a four years' course of studies, and having been
obtained after both written and oral examinations before the
entire board of professors, it is a certificate of application, and
those who attain that diploma are able to produce documentary
evidence that they have finished their course.
The proportion of doctors to the total number of yearly
graduates at the Propaganda is not very large; only from
thirty to forty per cent of the total number of graduates ob-
tain the degree. In 1904 but seventeen doctors were created,
and the figures are almost the same every year, notwithstand-
ing the fact that about sixty men are annually graduated from
the Propaganda.
At the Propaganda the Philosophy course embraces two
years, including Mental Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics,
41 6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
and Chemistry. Philosophy is taught in Latin, but the science
classes are taught in Italian. The Bachelor degree is obtained
after an oral examination at the end of the first year. The
Licentiate can be obtained after an oral exarnination at the
end of the second year, while to secure the Doctorate an
examination, both written and oral, is required covering the
two years' matter, the written examination embracing 80
theses.
ITALIAN LANGUAGE
It is not easy^ although it is possible, for a Roman student
to acquire proficiency in the Italian language, one or two
hours' class a week being devoted to it. The vernacular of
each country is spoken in the respective national colleges, and
as the seminary rule forbids speaking not only to persons
outside the college, but also to the Italian servants in the
house, it is an uphill struggle to get such practice in Italian
conversation as will fit a man for preaching in Italian upon
the completion of his course.
C. Recreation.
WALKS.
There is a walk of an hour and a half every day, weather
permitting. On free days the walk is an hour and a half in
the morning, and three hours in the afternoon. Very often
the morning and afternoon walks are extended to visit some
distant point of interest, or to visit a gallery or museum. Not
all the time is spent in walking. The chief exercise of a
Roman student consists in these walks about the city. The
walks may be taken to a different place every day, being
under the control of the prefect of each camerata. They fur-
nish untold capabilities for independent study outside class,
unless those opportunities be thwarted and nullified. To con-
crete one's idea of history by standing in the theatre of great
events, to tread the ground sanctified by saints and heroes, to
visit repeatedly for years, churches, galleries, museums, and
monuments, with their stupendous treasures, is to acquire
leisurely and without much effort a liberal education. The
very richness of the possibilities for private study simply be-
wilder the observer. Paintings, sculpture, architecture, their
birth, gradual development, culmination, and decline, for more
R OMA N SEMINA R Y LIFE. a j y
than twenty centuries, can be traced in Rome. In perhaps no
other gallery in Europe can some features of the history of
Italian Renaissance art be studied so well as in the Sistine
Chapel. Archeology, pagan and Christian, has its home pre-
eminently in the ruins and excavations of ancient Rome, and
nowhere else on earth can life and color be given to some
periods of the vanished past so clearly and so distinctly as
in the Eternal City. History, ecclesiastical and profane, can
be learned from the very stones, as they call out to us across
twenty centuries of time from the ruins and existing monu-
ments of popes, emperors and kings. All this can be drunk
in and absorbed almost unconsciously, and with but ordinary
powers of observation. The only difficulty is in choosing
when there is such an overwhelming mass to attract and en-
chant the beholder. In this way it comes to pass that an ob-
servant student, and one who is intellectually curious, may in
a few years acquire a vast amount of information at first hand
concerning many objects altogether extraneous to his studies
at the Propaganda.
The enforced walks are, however, a great source of annoy-
ance. The system of discipline makes it obligatory for every
man to go out on the walk at the appointed time, and to be ex-
cused from that duty requires the permission of the rector. It
is sometimes not expedient to see the rector, because repeated
requests to make exceptions to the general rule may engender
the suspicion in the minds of superiors that the student is dis-
satisfied, or desires special treatment, and other inconveniences
or prejudices may arise. The consequence is that many times
students who are of a retiring backward disposition will go
out on long walks of three hours or more when they ought to
be in bed or resting, and the disinclination of such students
to ask for permissions and special privileges will prompt them
to put up with such inconveniences, even if they be required
to rest from their exertions when they should be studying. In
this way the enforced walks become a great burden, and de-
feat the very end for which they were designed.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE CAMERATA SYSTEM.
While the daily walks open up many advantages to a serious
student, those very possibilities for education may be mini-
41 8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
mized or almost nullified owing to circumstances over which
the student himself has no control. For instance, the walks
are under the control of the prefect. The entire camerata
must go where he directs. In this way it is possible, and,
alas how many regret it! to see a prefect send his whole
camerata to the Pincio or the Villa Borghese day after day
for years at a time, so that after a residence of four or five
years in Rome a man may actually forget all he ever learned
during his first year, when it was in a limited degree prac-
tically obligatory for the prefect to take the men, who are all
new students, to the various points of interest during their
walks. Under such conditions a studious man may desire and
thirst for knowledge, without even a chance to quench his
thirst. There are many students who have a taste for archeo-
logy, but as the Catacombs are a long distance outside the
walls, and an extension of time is required to visit them, his
prefect may, or his fellow students may influence his prefect to,
deny him this privilege. In this way it is possible for a man
to spend several years in Rome and never visit the Catacombs
at all ; and although the case is very rare, it has actually hap-
pened, to the personal knowledge of the writer.
The conditions of the camerata system of discipline obliging
each camerata to maintain its individuality, and precluding
the possibility of different groups of students associating to-
gether for the purpose of visiting libraries, museums, galleries,
or historic ruins, make it impossible for serious students of
different camerate with a special aptitude for painting, sculp-
ture, architecture, music, archeology, history. Christian or
pagan antiquities, to go out together, even in charge of a
prefect, for the purpose of studying at first hand the immense
treasures drawing them with an irresistible impulse and at-
traction. It must be confessed, however, that many students
desire to study nothing but the bare class work assigned at the
Propaganda. They do that and do it well, but think it suffi-
cient. Such men might just as well be in Timbuctoo or
Zanzibar as in Rome, for they could study their class matter
as hard elsewhere. Hence those who wish to profit to the
utmost by their residence, all too brief, in the Eternal City,
are penalized by reason of being denied permission to develop
whatever special talent they may have or desire to cultivate
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE, .jg
in the realms of knowledge lying altogether outside their
work at the Propaganda.
VACATIONS.
Classes cease about 21 June, the time between that date and
15 July being spent in preparing for examinations. Immedi-
ately after the last written examination the students leave
Rome for the extremely long summer vacation, which lasts un-
til about 5 November. This vacation period of more than
three months and a half is spent in the mountains, the delight-
ful woody slopes of the Sabine and Alban Hills being the
favored places for the summer villas. The routine of villa
life is but slightly different from that of the life in the City,
if the attendance at classes be excepted, although even dur-
ing the vacation there are classes in Italian, Music, Homiletics,
etc. With but few exceptions, there is the same system of
camerata discipline; the same rules must be observed; there
are the same companions, the same food, the same mode of
life. It would be a welcome change to a large number of
students if the long vacation were shortened a full month.
SUMMER TRAVEL.
All students desire to travel during the summer vacation
and they are often disappointed at being denied this privilege.
The refusal may arise from a multitude of causes. The per-
mission of the Ordinary is required, and in almost every case
the bishops grant such permission subject to the decision of
the rector. Consequently in a last analysis it resolves itself
into the pleasure of the rector. There is much to be said in
favor of students traveling. Travel is unquestionably a great
educator, provided a man is capable of receiving all the edu-
cation that traveling is capable of imparting, and there are
few persons indeed to whom even the most hurried trip
through Europe will not teach something. From the point
of view of the individual student, and apart from his mem-
bership in a community whose general good he is bound to
regard and promote, there can be no doubt that travel in
vacation is a magnificent opportunity to study. After a year's
residence in Italy a man ought to have acquired sufficient of
the Italian language to enable him to make his way with
ease. Not only this, but while he is a student, the vigor and
420 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
enthusiasm and buoyancy of youth are still upon him, his
receptive capacity is larger, his powers of locomotion are
greater, and he can put up with the inconveniences of travel
better than at any other period of his life. For many men
it is well-nigh impossible to return to Europe until after the
lapse of many years, if even then, when they are past the
age of enjoying things so intensely as they would have done
in their youth or early manhood.
If a student has any interest at all in art, architecture, or
history, if he desires to visit famous places, if he wishes to
know the great galleries of Italy and Europe, if he longs to
see the glorious buildings which are the envy and the admir-
ation of the world, then certainly to deprive him of that pleas-
ure and that profit is simply to stifle his intellectual progress.
Who, for instance, standing in the vast sunny square of St.
Mark's at Venice, and looking at that ecstasy of sculptured
spray has not experienced a tonic and ennobling efl'ect akin to
that produced by classical music? Or who, from the Via del
Proconsolo, in Florence, gazing on Brunelleschi's Dome, has
not felt tingling in every fibre the unique beauty of that
wondrous curve?
And yet there are students who have traveled in their vaca-
tions when they have had every opportunity that leisure could
present to study, and who after returning from Venice will
look with a blank stare if they are asked the style of archi-
tecture of St. Mark's. The writer has known men who, after
seeing and visiting the Church of Santa Teresa in Rome re-
peatedly for years, have actually argued that it is a Gothic
structure. Upon such men travel is no educator at all, and
they might just as well stay at home, if we contemplate only
their artistic education.
There are multitudes of serious students who feel no thrill
as they gaze on the Pitti Palace, and who experience no in-
crease of devotion at the deep religious atmosphere of San
Zeno in Verona. If nature has not so constituted them, they
should not on that account be denied the opportunity to travel
in vacation. Art is not the only thing for which one travels.
The routine of seminary life, with one day the same as an-
other, year after year, is, to say the least, monotonous, even
with the best intentions to submit to it with the highest spirit-
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. .3 1
ual motives. Therefore to have a complete change of air,
scene, food, companions, and of occupation for several weeks
cannot but be beneficial physically and intellectually.
The intellectual profit to be derived from a trip in the
summer will of course depend upon the student himself.
Travel is able to inipart just what the traveler is capable of
receiving. " Quidquid recipitur, ad modum recipientis re-
cipitur." The almost fabulous treasures of Italy and con-
tinental Europe cannot be studied in one visit. To put off
seeing them until one is leaving for his native country after
completing his course is simply to neglect them. How many
men with the very best intentions have been compelled by
circumstances over which they had no control to devote a
scant hour or two to the Louvre, and never see the Bargello
at all, simply because they were denied the opportunity of
traveling during their course when they had the leisure to
study what they desired.
All the numerous advantages of travel are not unknown to
the rectors of the various colleges. They are themselves stu-
dents and men of culture and experience, and they are anxious
to educate their students in the fullest sense of the word.
No rector would willingly stifle a man's intellectual growth.
The prohibition to travel, therefore, often arises from the
abuses to which the practice may easily give rise. If the
students would guarantee their rectors that they were always
the same, in college or in Munich, Milan or Paris ; that their
recreations while traveling were always legitimate; that they
conducted themselves always like seminarians; that the care-
less habits acquired in the brief vacation would not throw out
of balance the whole spiritual edifice built up during a semi-
nary course, — there is little doubt but that summer travel
would be encouraged rather than prohibited.
D. General Observations.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION.
Every Roman seminary has a resident spiritual director,
who has nothing whatever to do with the discipline of the
college. He is always at the disposal of the students for
consultation, advice, and counsel. He hears confessions at any
time, and regularly throughout the year he holds conferences,
422 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
gives retreats, preaches sermons, and largely directs the medi-
tations. The methods employed are the same fundamentally
in all colleges. In addition to the resident spiritual director,
there are other confessors called in every week and before
feast days. Hence the most ample opportunity is afforded for
spiritual development. Whenever possible, the feasts of the
numerous illustrious Roman saints are celebrated by all or
nearly all of the students going to the shrine of the saint,
whether in basilica, church, chapel, or the Catacombs, and
there receiving Holy Communion in a body, an event that will
be indelibly impressed upon the memory. Who that has once
enjoyed this privilege can ever forget the feast of St. Thomas
Aquinas, of St. Aloysius, St. Stanislaus, St. John Berchmans,
St. Philip Neri, St. Agnes, St. Cecilia, or St. Catharine?
CLIMATE.
The inconveniences occasioned by the climate are a factor
to be reckoned with. It must be said with truth that for the
greater part of the school year mere existence in Rome is a
delight. The days in autumn and early winter and spring
are incomparable; but strong lights have their dark shadows,
and it often happens that the winters are very trying. The
rooms of the students are not heated at all, and the thick walls
and the stone, tile or brick floors produce a chilly atmosphere
but little conducive to effective study during the winter, more
especially as these cold days come at a time when the students
must be in their rooms from 5 P. M. until 7.30 P. M. As a
contrast to the chilly winters, another difficulty is met with in
the heat of the summer. While it is not extremely warm in
the shade and in the cool rooms of the houses not exposed to
the sun, the enforced walks are very trying, and after a walk
on a hot day it is almost a necessity for a student to change his
clothes for dry ones.
HEALTH.
From a medical standpoint the climate of Rome should not
present any inconvenience to a healthy student endowed with
the most elementary prudence. If he obeys the rule of the
college by sleeping the required number of hours every night,
if he takes a reasonable amount of recreation and observes
the simplest maxims of hygiene, he should be as healthy in
ROMAN SEMINARY LIFE. ^33
Rome as anywhere else in the world. It is not at all necessary
to drink wine in Rome to be healthy. A respectable percent-
age of Roman students never taste wine during their entire
course, and their number is increasing. Some men are obliged
by their physicians to abstain from wine altogether in Rome,
and many would not drink wine at all were tea, coffee, or
chocolate served at meals.
UNIQUE FEATURES.
In spite of the camerata system of discipline, men do man-
age by connivance and without permission, at the Propaganda,
at public functions, and in the parks to rub elbows with their
companions from every corner of the world and occasionally
for brief intervals to steal a word, and to glean ecclesiastical
chit-chat from the ends of the earth.
Within the narrow limits of a single class-room at the
Propaganda, for instance, containing less than 250 men, more
than 40 languages are spoken, by students from every quarter
of the globe. They come from the frozen steppes of Russia
and the burning sands of the Sahara; from China, Egypt,
Australia, and the Islands of the Pacific; from pagan India
and infidel Turkey; from Catholic Spain and Protestant Eng-
land. One meets newly converted Jews from the United
States, as well as Syrians, speaking the same language as
Christ himself, and who were Catholics at a time when history
seems all but lost in the twilight of fable. The white race,
of course, predominates, but here and there one may see
ebony-hued negroes from the very interior of Africa, red-
skinned North American Indians, yellow Mongolians from
Japan, and brown-skinned Filipinos from the remotest verge
of the outer world.
Hence an observant student should soon learn that whereas
he had been originally unable to see beyond the narrow con-
fines of his own country or his own diocese, his horizon has
become widened; he realizes more thoroughly that he is a
member of the universal Church ; and without becoming a par-
ticle less loyal to his own country, he will begin to view
things in their just proportions, acquiring an interest and a
sympathy in the vast world-wide organizations- of which he
is a member.
424
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
A Special advantage growing out of Roman seminary train-
ing is the opportunity it affords of occasionally seeing the
Holy Father, and of attending some of the many great reli-
gious functions of the Eternal City. Students of the national
colleges are frequently invited out to assist the Pontifical
Masters of Ceremonies on these occasions. To attend a Papal
Mass in St. Peter's or in the Sistine Chapel, to be present at
the functions in the great Basilicas of Rome, to see and have
an occasional word with the Cardinals and other prelates
composing the Roman Curia, the men who as the instruments
of the Holy Ghost are ruling the Church of Christ, is in itself
an education that no amount of reading can supply.
Thomas F. Coakley.
Pittsburg, Pa.
ST. VINOENT DE PAUL AND THE FOUNDATION OF SEMINARIES.
THE old order was rapidly changing when in the first half
^ of the sixteenth century an apostate Friar flung into the
dry wood of European society the torch which set the Old
World aflame and cut off from the Rock of Peter nearly two-
thirds of its Catholic peoples. It was a master-stroke, al-
though the chief actor did not realize all its significance. He
was successful because the material was ready. The mass was
fit for the blaze. For two centuries and more forces had been
at work, tending to disrupt the divine constitution of the
Church. Schism, heresies, dangerous opinions, abuse of poli-
tical power, exaggerated nationalism, corruption in high
places, simony, concubinage, all had weakened the bond of
union with Rome. The gold had become dim, the finest color
changed ; the stones of the Sanctuary were scattered.
Those evils might have been offset by a well-trained clergy,
who would have thrown themselves into the breach, and beaten
back the onslaught; but the clergy and even the monastic or-
ders had lost their primitive fervor. Those earlier nurseries
of ecclesiastical training, the episcopal and the monastic schools
were in decadence, and the universities, while still centres of
intellectual life, had become in many instances hot-beds of
false doctrine and of renascent paganism. There remained
indeed, even amid the grossest corruption, a leaven of sanctity
.-^
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL AND SEMINARIES. a 2c
in the Church. A light kept burning, which the flood of
many waters could not quench. Saints raised their voices
against the prevailing corruption, and cried out for reform
of the Church in its head and in its members.
It was high time then for change, when Paul III convoked
the great Council which was to mark the beginning of a new
era and impart an impulse to reform which has never since
been lost. But, even at the outset, there was danger that the
work of the Council would be nullified by the interference of
the most powerful ruler in Europe at that time ; for Charles V
sought to control its order and its decisions in the interest of
his political problems. The Holy Spirit was, however, with
the Council. The Church's doctrine was restated, and placed
beyond cavil on all controverted points. Above all, the clergy
were to be reformed from top to bottom.
In their zeal for this reform the Fathers of Trent decided
that no better means could be adopted than the training of
candidates for the priesthood in strictly ecclesiastical semi-
naries. The needs of the time imperatively cried out for a
stemming of the tide of ignorance and indiscipline. Keenly
alive to those needs, the Fathers of that Holy Synod drew up
the Decree (Sess. 23, C. 18) which, with the changes sug-
gested by time and place, set up a standard of priestly science
and sanctity that has ever since been followed. Paul IV
is reported to have said that the Decree was enacted " by
Divine Inspiration ", and the prelates assembled declared that
that alone would have repaid all their labors. Saint Charles
Borromeo, who had been the controlling spirit of the last ses-
sions of the Council, at once set about the establishing of a
seminary in his diocese. And the Venerable Bartholomew of
the Martyrs did the like in Braga in Portugal. But their ex-
ample was not successfully copied elsewhere until nearly a
century later. Several obstacles stood in the way: relics of
older systems, decay of piety among the people, an indifferent
and often vicious clergy, and the inertia to be overcome in
every effort at reform.
Serious attempts were made in France toward the close of
the sixteenth century to comply with the Tridentine Decree.
The Councils of Rouen, Bordeaux, Tours, Bourges-, Aix, Tou-
louse, all held between 1581 and 1586, ordered the institution
426 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of seminaries without delay. But although seminaries were
opened in many dioceses, they either failed altogether or be-
came lay colleges. An assembly of the French clergy in
1529 decreed that four national seminaries should be opened,
but the project was never realized.
When the efforts of so many and so zealous bishops proved
abortive, the cause of the seminaries seemed to be hopeless.
Providence, however, was just then raising up holy priests
whose labors in that field were to be crowned with remarkable
success.
Adrian Bourdoise, while yet a student in the College of
Rheims, formed a small society of Bachelors in Theology, who
should lead a common life in the practice of ecclesiastical vir-
tues. After his ordination to the priesthood his home became
the centre of a choice band of students, who were joined by a
few priests and doctors of theology. His community began
the work of reform by wearing the cassock in public. But
they attracted attention chiefly by their modest and virtuous
lives. As Rheims proved too narrow a field for his burning
zeal, Bourdoise transferred his society to Paris, near thie
Church of St. Nicholas-du-Chardonnet. There he undertook
the education of young clerics, with the approval of the Arch-
bishop. Funds were furnished by pious friends and by the
Assembly of the French clergy.
Bourdoise's zeal for the reformation of the clergy, and his
blunt straightforward character prompted him to use rather
bold language on his favorite subject, even to such a Bishop as
St. Francis de Sales. On one of the Saint's visits to Paris,
Bourdoise wrote him a long letter in reference to the com-
paratively slight results of St. Francis's preaching and writ-
ing, while his clergy and people remained so ill-instructed.
The Saint read the letter twice with close attention, and then
discussed it with his zealous friend. In the course of the
conversation, Bourdoise made the pointed remark : ** I am
surprised that a Bishop whom the Lord has so richly endowed
does not use his gifts in forming good priests, and that he
devotes so much time to the direction of pious women ". With
charming modesty and humility, St. Francis replied : " I agree,
and am firmly convinced that nothing is more necessary in
the Church than the formation of good priests; but that is a
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL ANB SEMINARIES. 427
ministry too high for my weakness. I leave it in more skilful
hands. De Berulle has taken it up; and he has greater ability
and more leisure than I have, burdened as I am with the care
of a vast diocese. I leave to the goldsmith the handling of
gold and silver. A potter must be content to handle clay.
Besides, I look upon the sanctification of women as a matter
of great importance. When saintly and virtuous they can do
great things for the Church, and spread abroad the perfume
of piety. While their sex deserves great compassion, their
fortitude merits great interest. They followed our Lord to
the foot of the Cross, where there was but one Apostle to
stand by Him."
Bourdoise's aim was not only the training of clerics; he
strongly insisted also on community life for priests, in which
mutual support and example would materially aid them in
leading more priestly lives and in the performance of Church
ceremonies. While in this latter respect he achieved a large
measure of success, his efforts toward the permanent institu-
tion of seminaries were but the prelude to the lasting achieve-
ment of others. His failure was due in part, no doubt, to
his rather domineering character, as well as to the spirit of
worldliness and the mercenary aims of parents who entrusted
their boys to his care.
Blessed John Eudes, a contemporary of Bourdoise, adopted
milder and more successful methods. He too was devoured
by holy zeal for the reformation of the clergy, and proceeded
to carry out his designs by founding seminaries in the pro-
vinces. He had been trained in the Oratory School under De
Berulle and enjoyed that great man's friendship and favor.
His Society, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, was
modelled upon the French Oratory, and is still carrying on
its work with marked success.
De Berulle himself originally intended to establish semi-
naries only; but, through a providential change made at
Rome in his constitutions, his intentions were not carried out.
The Oratorian schools became lay colleges. This was most
fortunate; for if the Oratorians had control of the French
seminaries, many more of the French clergy would have be-
come tainted with Jansenism, as a considerable number of De
Berulle's followers fell into the net of that pernicious sect.
428 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
In their early essays to institute seminaries after the model
proposed by Trent, the French Bishops sought to educate to-
gether young boys in the humanities, and students of theology.
But experience soon proved that that plan would not work.
It became necessary therefore to establish separate institutions
for each class. The first attempt at this separation resulted
only in retreats for ordinands. Augustine Potier, Bishop of
Beauvais, seems to have been the first French prelate to take
up this phase of the subject. He was delighted and consoled
at the success of the missions and the foundation of Con-
fraternities of Charity by Saint Vincent de Paul and his com-
panions in his diocese; but he deplored the ignorance and
irregularities of his clergy. The zealous Bishop took St.
Vincent into his confidence and asked him what could be
done to remedy the disorders existing among his priests. The
Saint answered : " My Lord, we must go to the root of the
matter. It is impossible to do anything with priests hardened
in vicious habits; for a bad priest is hardly ever converted.
The work of reform must begin with those who are aspiring
to the priesthood. Admit to Sacred Orders only those who
show signs of a true vocation, and are endowed with the re-
quisite knowledge for the discharge of the duties of the sacred
ministry." This statement of St. Vincent fell in with the
Bishop's own views; but how carry them out? Some time
after, in 1628, while on a journey with the Saint, the Bishop
outlined a scheme as the best that he could then devise. His
idea was to bring together candidates for Holy Orders and
give them conferences for about ten days on their duties and
virtues. On hearing the plan thus briefly stated, St. Vincent
exclaimed: " My Lord, this thought comes from God." The
Bishop replied : " You must help me to realize it. I will have
everything ready, but I depend upon you to draw up the order
of exercises. Then come to Beauvais, fifteen or twenty days
before the next ordination." St. Vincent was on hand in
good time, accompanied by two doctors of the University of
Paris, who were to give instructions in theology to the or-
dinands. The Bishop himself examined the candidates, and
opened the retreat. St. Vincent gave the conferences on the
Decalogue with such clearness, force, and unction that all
chose him for their confessor. Even Duchesne, one of the doc-
Sr. VINCENT DE PAUL AND SEMINARIES. 429
tors, at once fell on his knees to the Saint to make a con-
fession of his whole life.
Such was the immediate result of the first regularly or-
ganized retreat for ordinands in France. The Bishop of
Beauvais was not slow in acquainting the Archbishop of Paris
with his remarkable success; and the Archbishop promptly
instituted like retreats for his own ordinands. St. Vincent
was at first reluctant to undertake the work, deeming it in-
consistent with the primary end of his Congregation, and
believing that others were far better fitted for the task. But
at length, urged by his friend Bourdoise and by the Arch-
bishop, he opened his College of the Bons Enfants for retreats
for ordinands. Later on, when Saint Vincent took possession
of St. Lazare, the retreats were continued with manifest
blessings. There Bossuet made his retreat for ordination in
the Lent of 1652. There too De Ranee, the reformer of La
Trappe, prepared to receive the priesthood. He afterward
bore testimony that " St. Lazare was truly a House of God ;
that nowhere else was the like to be found."
It was not brilliant learning in St. Vincent and in his priests
that attracted such men. It was the solid virtue, unobtrusive
piety, innocence of life, candor, disinterestedness, and humility,
together with the clear and practical character of their instruc-
tions, which recommended the Priests of the Mission to the
bishops and clergy of France. In subsequent years Bossuet
was invited to preach those retreats, and his appreciation of
the honor does credit to his priestly soul. His relations with
the sons of his saintly friend, M. Vincent, were always most
cordial. It was one of them, Herbert, who received the great
prelate's last will and testament; and the same Herbert, as
Bishop of Agen, pontificated at Bossuet's funeral.
But obviously a retreat of ten days prior to ordination was
not an adequate preparation for the work of the sacred min-
istry. It was only a makeshift, excellent as far as it went, but
falling far short of the long and regular discipline of a semi-
nary. The failure of almost all previous efforts, due to causes
already indicated as well as to the fact that the intentions of
founders of seminaries were in great measure frustrated by
wealthy families who wished to give their sons a good educa-
tion at the expense of the Church, thus excluding poor boys
430 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of pious families, induced St. Vincent in 1635, conformably
to the Tridentine Decree, to open a preparatory college for
poor boys of from twelve to fourteen years of age. The Saint
took a step forward when in 1637 he established the internal
seminary, as he called it, for his own Congregation. He
placed over it as director one of his earliest companions, John
de la Salle. But the Saint, always eager to learn of others,
first sent De la Salle to a Jesuit novitiate, where he should
follow all the exercises, and become thoroughly imbued with
the apostolic zeal which so distinguished the Jesuits in their
foreign missions. The superior of St. Lazare had, however,
no intention of changing the character of his Congregation.
He insisted upon its being made up of secular priests living
in community under perpetual vows. The course of studies
introduced by St. Vincent into his seminary was almost exactly
that which is now followed in all grand seminaries. It con-
sisted of philosophy and theology with their kindred branches,
pursued with a view to mission work, to the giving of retreats
to ordinands, and to the direction of ecclesiastical seminaries.
Aware of the danger of novelty, and of too great eagerness
to acquire knowledge, St. Vincent put his students on their
guard against these pitfalls. *' Desire to know is good," he
wrote to one of his superiors, " provided it be moderated.
Bear in mind the warning of St. Paul ' Be wise unto sobriety.'
Knowledge puffeth up, and is disposed to shun simple, humble,
familiar occupations. Learned and humble priests are the
treasure of the Mission, as good and zealous doctors are the
treasure of the Church."
An incident in which one of his best professors, James de
la Fosse, played a prominent part, brought forth a sharp re-
buke from St. Vincent to his too conspicuous son. At a
dramatic performance in the Jesuit College of Clermont, De
la Fosse took a seat destined for some distinguished person-
age. No sooner was he seated than the rector sent a mes-
senger to bid the missionary take a lower place. De la Fosse
answered in Latin that the place suited him very well. The
rector, taking him for an Irishman or a Pole, sent a scholastic
to repeat the message in Latin. De la Fosse replied this time
in Greek. The professor of rhetoric was next despatched with
the rector's message, to which De la Fosse answered in
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL AND SEMINARIES. 431
Hebrew. Presently a friend of the missionary who enjoyed
the joke, introduced De la Fosse, who was accordingly as-
signed to an honorable place. On his return home, De la
Fosse regaled his companions with the story of his experience;
but his superior reprimanded him for conduct unbecoming a
humble missionary, and promptly ordered him to go back and
apologize to the rector. De la Fosse proved his virtue by
instant obedience.
Saint Vincent's internal seminary was, after all, equivalent
to a novitiate and scholasticate for his own Congregation.
But the time was now ripe for the founding of regular semi-
naries for the diocesan clergy. The first important step
toward this end was taken in 1640, when through the bene-
factions of friends, and the influence of St. Jane Frances de
Chantal, Justus Guerin, Bishop of Geneva, invited Saint Vin-
cent to found a grand seminary in Annecy. From a letter of
the Saint to Codoing, superior of that house, we gather that
as early as 1640 instruction had already begun. Another let-
ter to the same in 1 64 1 shows clearly that the seminary was
in working order before 7 September of that year. " It was
expedient," writes the Saint, " that you let me know, how you
intend to conduct the seminary which you have opened."
At almost the same time, the Venerable J. J. Olier, a special
friend of St. Vincent, and formerly his penitent, who however
abandoned the Saint's direction, because he wished to have
him made a bishop, was laying the foundation of Saint
Sulpice, the parent seminary of that numerous progeny to
which the clergy of France and of America owe so much.
Olier, under the direction of De Condren, superior of the
Oratory, joined a society of priests in the rue Vaugirard, over
which he was soon made superior. His purpose was precisely
that of St. Vincent — the reform of the clergy by regular semi-
nary training. In 1642 Olier transferred his Society to Saint
Sulpice, of which parish he had been made cure. In 1645 ^^
obtained letters patent from the king for the erection of his
seminary, and in 1654 it was approved by the Holy See.
A doubt exists as to the priority of the foundation at Annecy
to that of the seminary established by the Venerable Olier.
Opinions are divided. But no unworthy rivalry ever actu-
432 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ated those saintly priests, whose sole aim was the infusion
of a true priestly spirit into the clergy of France.
The rule which Saint Vincent drew up for the seminaries
under the direction of his community is in all essential features
the same as that which is in vogue to-day. The Saint began
by stating that the seminary is instituted to honor the priest-
hood of Jesus Christ, and to form ecclesiastics to the virtue and
science befitting their state. To this end seminarists are taught
theology, the manner of administering the Sacraments, plain
chant, church ceremonies, the method of catechizing, preach-
ing, and hearing confessions.
But Saint Vincent could never be content with the dry bones
of sacerdotal science. Students were above all to learn the
science of the Saints, to become other Christs. Meditation,
conferences, constant good example, frequent reception of the
Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist were the prin-
cipal means by which solid virtue was to be acquired. St.
Vincent demanded that applicants for admission to the semi-
nary should manifest a good will and a strong resolution to
make progress in virtue and science ; that they should learn to
be humble and obedient to their superiors ; that they should
acquire fortitude and confidence to overcome obstacles, par-
ticularly in the beginning. Seminarists should make special
profession of honoring the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar,
and they should confess and communicate at least once a
week. Once a month each seminarist was required to consult
his director for advice as to his difficulties and progress.
Worldliness in dress and manner was particularly to be
shunned; and purity should be cherished as the crown of
priestly sanctity. At the end of the school year, as at the
beginning, all should make a spiritual retreat, so as to be forti-
fied against relaxation and against the engrossing nature of
their studies.
An important question arose about the method of teaching
to be employed in seminaries, — whether by lecture or by the
use of approved text-books supplemented by explanations of
the professors. With his customary caution, and after con-
sulting the best professors of his Congregation, Saint Vincent
decided that the latter method is the more useful and prac-
tical for seminary courses. His reasons were that the teach-
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL AND SEMINARIES. 433
ing would thus be more reliable, the Bishops more conftdent,
and that the students would labor with greater diligence, if
required to learn and frequently repeat a text. Saint Vincent
did not deny the efficacy of the lecture system for students in
universities, where the courses are given by specialists in their
respective faculties, to picked students. His contention was
that ordinary students would profit more by the method which
he adopted. It is worth noting that Cardinal Richelieu ap-
proved of the Saint's plan. And in our own day Pius X has
recommended that method for the Italian seminaries. The
demand for Priests of the Mission to conduct seminaries be-
came so great that Saint Vincent was hard pressed to meet it.
But Providence came to his aid and supplied the needed sub-
jects. After his death the demands increased, so that when
the Revolution broke out in France fifty-three grand semi-
naries and nine preparatory seminaries were in charge of the
Congregation of the Mission. This was nearly one-half of all
the ecclesiastical institutions in that country.
When the Concordat restored the regular organization of
the Church, the number of dioceses was considerably de-
creased ; but the sons of St. Vincent were requested to reopen
many of their seminaries. When the Concordat was so ini-
quitously dissolved by the French Government in 1904 twenty-
six Lazarist seminaries were closed.
The present canonical standing of the Congregation of the
Mission in regard to the conducting of seminaries rests upon
a Brief of Pius IX, 28 February, 1873, in which the Pope
authorizes that Congregation to accept from Ordinaries of
dioceses invitations to take charge of their seminaries, with-
out the need of recurring in each case to the Holy See.
The character of the discipline and instruction prevailing
in French seminaries and in those modeled upon them has at
times been severely criticized as being inadequate to the needs
of the time. Students, it has been said, are prepared rather
for the sacristy than for the active care of souls. It may,
perhaps, be sufficient to say in answer that a system of eccles-
iastical discipline and education which has produced the best
of missionaries in the world ; which has prepared men to under-
go hardships and sacrifices for the love of their Master, and
for the salvation of souls, should be awarded its one meed of
434 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
praise. Moreover, it has yet to be proved that priests who
draw inspiration from the Tabernacle are not the best dis-
pensers of the mysteries of Christ among the faithful.
Patrick McHale, CM.
St. Vincent's Semmary, Germantown, Philadelphia.
THE IMAGINATION IN SAINT PBANOIS DE SALES.
NO reader of the works of St. Francis de Sales can fail to
notice how plentifully comparisons and images fall from
the pen of the holy writer. By them the driest subject, the
highest form of theological speculation, the loftiest flight of
mystical contemplation become interesting, clear, and glitter-
ing; just as, after a summer's rain, the rays of the sun make
the grass, the leaves, and the flowers brighter and more
lustrous. Take, for instance, the very first words of the Pre-
face of the Saint's immortal masterpiece. Introduction to a
Devout Life : " Glycera, the nosegay-maker, knew so well
how to diversify and arrange her flowers, that with the same
flowers she could make a great variety of nosegays ... In
like manner the Holy Ghost disposes and orders, with so much
variety, the instruction of devotion which He gives us by the
tongues and pens of His servants." Or, go now to the very
end of the Treatise on the Love of God. The title of the
last chapter runs thus : " That Mount Calvary is the Academy
of Love." It may be said that it is well-nigh impossible to
open at random any of the volumes of the lovable Saint, with-
out meeting one or more images coloring the page as the rain-
bow colors the skies.
Why did St. Francis make use of Comparisons ?
From its very nature, a comparison obviously implies two
terms coupled together by a relation. We might say that a
comparison is a species of the genus sign, the characteristic
of which, to quote St. Augustine's words, consists in this,
that besides the thing itself which is presented to the senses,
the mind is led to the knowledge of something else. This
notion teaches us further that the two terms implied in a com-
parison belong to two diflferent orders, — to the sensitive and
to the intellectual. The senses are, as it were, the messengers
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. ^^e
through which the mind is addressed; a picture is formed by
the imagination in order that an idea may be formed by the
mind. Hence the law of universal art, — through the senses
to the mind. This is the standard or the criterion according
to which an artist must be judged. He must be thoroughly
acquainted with the material and technique of his art; he
must be a master of color, sound, words, as the case may be;
but above all he must have an idea to express, a message to
deliver. The same principle applies to the scientist who
studies facts and phenomena, not merely in order to register
them, but in order to discover through them the hidden laws
of nature; and these are the message he has to deliver.
To restrict our attention to the poet (who stands in closer
relation to our present subject), he must have eyes to see and
words to describe. But shall we say that his work ends with
describing what he sees? There is indeed a kind of poetry
termed descriptive, which may bear witness to real skill and
ingenuity, but such poetry is not of the highest order, because
it lacks the inner meaning. Man may be interested in nature,
but his chief interest is man. A descriptive poet may interest
us; but if he is at the same time a psychologist, he will add
interest to interest, — he will present to us the interior as well
as the exterior world; he will combine the outer with the
inner; above all he will please us by the subtle link he dis-
closes between the two.
When the Word became Incarnate, He united His Divinity
to our human nature, and when He began to preach the king-
dom of God, something of the same kind took place in His
teaching: the heavenly truths became, as it were, incarnate,
uniting themselves to earthly and human things in the
parables. So it was with St. Francis de Sales, to whom the
text of St. Paul perfectly applies, that " his conversation was
in Heaven ". God and divine things filled his mind, and
formed, as it were, a background ever present, ever the same,
against which the things of this world stand out clearly; or
rather, these truths were for him the only truly real things,
earthly things only their shadows and representations. His
friend, Bishop Camus of Belley, says of him : " When they
spoke to him of buildings, pictures, music, hunting, birds,
plants, gardens, flowers, he did not blame them for occupying
436 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
their minds with such things, but he would have preferred
that they should use them as a means, or mystical ladder
whereby they might rise up to God; and he showed them by
his own example how to practise this elevation of the mind." ^
No wonder that he did the same in his treatises, sermons,
letters, controversies, always seeking and making others seek
the kingdom of God, endeavoring to lead them toward, and
interest them in, things divine, using his vivid imagination to
express and picture those things which his great mind under-
stood so well and his burning heart loved so ardently. Truly,
the things of the soul and the things of God are spiritual ; they
are of those things which the eye of man hath not seen, nor his
ear heard ; but man naturally desires and feels the need of
seeing and hearing as far as he can. If then immaterial
things are more adequately expressed in immaterial or ab-
stract terms, they lose none of their truth but rather acquire
greater clearness if they are likened unto material things,
which are after all the first source of human knowledge and
human speech. St. Francis knew this, and he acted accord-
ingly. When explaining in his treatises the most intimate
relations between the soul and God, or when expounding
in his sermons the mysteries of the Christian religion, he
multiplied comparisons without number, feeling that such a
mode of treating spiritual truth was at the same time more
satisfactory to himself and more beneficial to those whom he
addressed. In him the saint and the artist complemented and
helped each other.
Where did St. Francis get His Comparisons?
Where did he obtain those similitudes which, as he says,
in his letter (on preaching) to Andre Fremiot, Archbishop
of Bourges, '' possess an incredible efficacy for enlightening
the mind and for moving the heart " ? His first source was
the Holy Scriptures. The literal sense is of course to be
made use of first and foremost; but there is also the allegorical
sense: it is this which at present concerns us. So familiar
was St. Francis with the Scriptures that their pages con-
stituted for him, as it were, a world of their own, at once
historical and divine. The personages and scenes contained
1 Esfrit de S. Francois de Sales. Paris. 1840. t. I, p. 302.
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. .^y
therein stand before his mind as so many types which can be
applied to other things in order to illustrate them. Rightly
did he distinguish between the allegorical sense proper, —
that is, passages which are in the strict sense types, — and pass-
ages which lend themelves for comparison according to the
humor of the reader. He himself explains this when he says,
in the same letter: "The juniper tree under which Elias
fell asleep in his distress, is said by several writers to repre-
sent the Cross; but, for me, I should rather say: as Elias
went to sleep under the juniper tree, so must we also rest
under the Cross of our Lord in the sleep of holy meditation;
but I say this, not as though Elias was a type of the Christian,
and the tree a type of the Cross; I would not affirm that the
one represents the other, but I would compare the one with
the other."
On the strength of this distinction, St. Francis makes a
free use of the Holy Scriptures to draw many comparisons,
some of which are most ingenious, whilst others are exceed-
ingly impressive. For instance, the soul of man is compared
to a paradise wherein the river of natural reason, made by
God, flows. The water divides itself into four streams.
Mortal sin is compared to the Dead Sea with its lifeless
waters and barren shores. The divisions among Protestants
are likened to a punishment sent by God to the builders of a
new tower of Babel. Rebecca and her two children, Jacob
and his two wives, illustrate the ways of divine love; in like
manner does the Spouse of the Canticles. The angels on
Jacob's ladder represent devout souls either ascending to
union with God or descending to the help and support of their
neighbors. And it would be a pity not to quote the following
beautiful comparison taken from the same Biblical scene:
" The ladder of Jacob reached from earth to heaven ; so also
the soul of our Divine Master, whose higher part rested in the
bosom of the Father, while the lower remained on earth, be-
cause He had chosen to partake of our troubles, miseries and
sorrows."
Not only did St. Francis draw comparisons from the Holy
Scriptures, but he found in them an example of using what
he himself quaintly calls "natural stories." He asks: Is it
expedient for a preacher to use them ? " Certainly," he re-
438 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
plies; "for the world created by the Word of God mani-
fests that Word in all its parts. Each and all sing the praise
of their Maker. It is a book which contains the Word of
God, but in a language that all do not understand. Those
who understand it by meditation, are right in using it, as did
St. Antony, who had no other book. St. Paul says : * Invisi-
bilia Dei,' etc. ; David also : * Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei.'
It is a book that contains much useful matter for similitudes,
comparisons a viinori ad majus, and a thousand other things.
The ancient Fathers are full of them, and the Holy Scriptures
abound in them : * Vade ad formicam ; sicut gallina congregat
pullos suos,' etc., . . . and a thousand others."
St. Francis himself has an abundance of these figures; in-
deed they are to be found almost upon every page of his writ-
ings. Let us inquire into their source. Where did he get
them from? In this as in other matters two means present
themselves, — personal experience, and the experience of
others. To begin with the latter, St. Francis relied upon the
authority of men whose knowledge of nature was then un-
questioned, but which nowadays is shown to have been de-
ficient and very often incorrect. If we peruse the new and
well-nigh perfect edition of his writings, in which the authors
and books he quotes are noted in the margin, we shall fre-
quently meet with Pliny's Natural History, and amongst
others, we shall find Aristotle; and in nearly all cases we
shall read the most extraordinary stories about animals and
plants. From them, for instance, St. Francis cites the fabu-
lous phoenix rising to a renewed life from its ashes ; the king
of bees, which we now know to be really a queen ; the elephant
whose anger is appeased by the sight of a lamb, and which,
although being only une grosse bete, gives a good example to
married people; the salamander which extinguishes fire; the
serpent which stings with its tongue ; the partridges of Paph-
lagonia which have two hearts ; the pearls which spring from
the finest heavenly dew, and perish if one drop of salt water
penetrates into their shells ; the small fish which is able to stop
a ship, but is unable to set her in motion ; the herb dodecathos
which cures all ailments, etc.
Although there can be nowadays no acceptance of these un-
natural stories, St. Francis made good use of them, and prob-
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. .^q
ably they were never turned to better account. In spite of
their falsity, they were clear, full of meaning, and, under
skilful handling, most apt for illustration. How delightfully
he treats some of them ! Listen, for instance, to this : " The
halcyons form their nests like an apple, and leave only a little
opening at the top. They build them on the sea shore, and
make them so firm and impenetrable that, although the waves
may come suddenly upon them, the water can never enter
within. Keeping always uppermost, they remain in the midst
of the sea, upon the sea, and masters of the sea. Your heart,
dear Philothea, ought to be in this manner open only to
heaven ..."
If we now turn from nature, as seen through the o-yoSy or
rather the imagination, of others, to nature as seen through
his own eyes, we find St. Francis and ourselves on more solid
ground. In the thirteenth chapter of the second book of his
Introduction to a Devout Life, entitled: On Aspirations,
Ejaculatory Prayers, and Good Thoughts, he repeats the les-
son he had learned from St. Paul, to see the invisible things
through the visible, when he says : '* Such as truly love God
can never cease to think of Him, breathe for Him, aspire to
Him. To this all things invite them, as there is no creature
that does not declare to them the praises of their Beloved."
And he quotes the following examples. When walking on the
seashore and beholding the waves dashing upon the sands and
swallowing up shells and little periwinkles, stalks of weed
and such little medley, while the adjoining rocks continued
firm and immovable, St. Gregory Nazianzen thought of the
souls of men, some feeble and faint-hearted, the others firm
and courageous. Again, St. Fulgentius, when present at a
general assembly of the Roman nobility, thought how glorious
and beautiful must be the heavenly Jerusalem. St. Anselm
while proceeding on a journey saw a hare, hard pressed by
the hounds, run under his horse as a place of refuge, and
thought of the soul pursued by her enemies.
Needless to say, this was also the practice of St. Francis,
who always kept the eyes of his soul fixed upon God and the
things of God, and at the same time those of his body open to
things of nature, quite spontaneously adapting -the latter to
the former. Of these natural things many were, we might
440 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
say, objects of common experience, and likely to be used by
other writers: the sun, the stars, the planets and comets, the
seas and rivers, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
the beasts of the field, the proud and fiery steed, the humble
and patient ass; men also, parents and children, soldiers and
laborers. All these and many others suggested to the holy
writer comparisons without number. Let us open the Intro-
duction to a Devout Life and glance at a few examples : "As
ostriches never fly, as hens fly low, heavily and but seldom,
and as eagles, doves and swallows fly aloft, swiftly and fre-
quently;" so is it with sinners, good people, and devout souls.
'* Consider the bees upon the thyme ; they find there very bitter
juice; yet, in sucking it, they turn it into honey;" so the de-
vout soul converts her exercises of mortification into sweet-
ness. " If charity be milk, devotion is the cream ; if charity
be a plant, devotion is its flower; if charity be a precious
stone, devotion is its lustre; if charity be a rich balm, de-
votion is its odor." " The diseases of the soul, as well as
those of the body, come posting on horseback, but depart
leisurely on foot." The weak and faint-hearted penitents
" abstain from sin, as sick men do from melons ; but it is
troublesome to them to refrain; they would at least smell
them; and they account those happy who may eat them." "As
the daylight increases, we see more clearly in the glass the
spots and blemishes of our face;" so does the light of the Holy
Ghost manifest the imperfections of our soul. " Blind men,
who see not the prince, behave themselves nevertheless with
respect when they are told of his presence; but the fact is,
because they see him not, they easily forget;" so is it with
ourselves and God. " Such as have been walking in a beauti-
ful garden, depart not willingly thence without gathering
four or five flowers to smell during the whole day after;" so
must we do after meditation.
If we now open the Love of God, we find the following
subjects used as comparisons: the plumage of the dove, the
plant called Angelica, the emerald, the doctoring of a child,
the managing of a horse, the emperor and the electors, the
wife assuming the condition of her husband, the bees, the
lodestone and the iron, the water distilled from flowers.
These and several others are to be read in the first fifty pages
of a volume which contains five hundred pages more.
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. a.^
Furthermore, we sometimes surprise St. Francis, as it were,
in the very act of finding new comparisons. For instance, in
a letter, he relates the following experience, which he at once
applies to spiritual matters : '' Some time ago, I saw a girl
carrying on her head a pail of water in the midst of which
she had placed a piece of wood. I asked her the reason of
this, and she told me that it was to prevent the water from
being spilled. Then, henceforth, I said, must we place the
Cross in the midst of our hearts ..." In another letter,
he writes : " Not long ago I was standing near some beehives,
and a number of bees settled upon my face. I was about
to remove them with my hand, when a peasant said to me:
* Be not afraid ; do not touch them and they will not sting
you; but if you do, they will.' I believed him, and not a
single one harmed me. Believe me, be not afraid of tempta-
tions ; let them alone and they will not harm you."
In the Love of God, in order to show the excellence of the
praise given to God by Our Blessed Lady, whose voice, as
it were, rises above those of all other creatures, St. Francis
relates from his own personal experience, how " two years ago
at Milan we heard in different churches many sorts of music,
but in a monastery of women we heard a religious whose voice
was so delightful that she alone created an impression more
agreeable, beyond comparison, than all the rest together,
which, although otherwise excellent, seemed to serve only to
bring out and raise the perfection and grace of this unique
voice."
It is evident that St. Francis, just as he wished to make use
of comparisons, so also he knew where to find them; and he
found so many that the late editor of the CEuvres Completes,
Canon Mackay, O.S.B., wrote in his Preface to the third
volume of Sermons : " It seems that all things offer to the
amiable preacher the opportunity of making delightful com-
parisons, and of drawing practical applications as ingenious
as they are unexpected."
How St. Francis Worked out His Comparisons.
If the subject in hand is vast and many-sided, he imme-
diately distinguishes its many aspects, and illustrates each by
comparisons, an abundance of which is always at his dis-
442 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
posal. Let us take two instances. The first: Heaven, con-
cerning which he speaks so profusely and so well in his Love
of God. " In this mortal life the soul is truly espoused and
betrothed to the Immaculate Lamb, but not as yet married to
Him. But in Heaven the marriage of this divine union will
be celebrated." — " Who would ever equal the pleasure, if there
be any, of living amidst the perils, the continual tempests,
the perpetual agitations and vicissitudes which have to be
gone through on sea, with the contentment there is of being
in a royal palace, where all things are at every wish, yea
where delights incomparably surpass every wish?" — The holy
and ardent desire of uniting oneself to God is compared by
the Saint to the " hart, which, hard set by the hounds, greedily
plunges into the waters which he panted after, rolling and
burying himself therein." And we shall see God as we see
the sun, but with this difference, " that the sun's rays do not
fortify our corporal eyes when they are weak and unable to
see, but rather blind them ; whereas this sacred light of glory
strengthens and perfects our understanding." — There are
however different degrees of union with God, just as " amongst
many who hear excellent music, though all of them hear it,
yet some hear it not so well, nor with so much delight, accord-
ing as their ears are more or less delicate." — Nor shall any
blessed or all the blessed together ever be able "to equalize
their fruition to the infinity of God, no more than any fish
or all the fishes ever saw all the shores of the sea, or any bird
or all the flocks of birds together did ever beat all the regions
of the air, or arrive at the supreme region of the same." — Sin
will no longer be possible, on account of the fulness of divine
love, just as " when a very full barrel is broached, the wine
will not run unless it have air given above;" and also on ac-
count of the purity acquired through our union with the in-
finite God, as " the wine well purified and separated from the
lees is easily kept from turning and getting thick." — Lastly,
the soul aspiring to such blessedness is likened to " a heavenly
nightingale shut up in the cage of his body : 'Alas ! O Lord
of my life,' he cries, ' ah by Thy sweet goodness deliver poor
me from the cage of my body, free me from this little prison,
to the end that, released from this bondage, I may fly to my
dear companions who expect me there above in Heaven '."
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. .. ^
We find the same plentifulness of figures applied to a prac-
tical subject of spiritual direction; to wit, our desires. ** Do
not fight with the monsters of Africa in imagination, and in
the meantime, from want of attention, suffer yourself to be
killed by every insignificant reptile that lies in your way." —
" It is a good sign of health to have a keen appetite, but yoii
must consider whether you can well digest all that you would
eat." — **A variety of food, taken in any considerable quantity,
overloads the stomach, and if the stomach be weak, destroys
it." — " It is a disease of the mind not uncommon in persons
ill in body, to desire physicians other than those at hand." —
" The vine and fruit trees require pruning to enable the sap
to produce more fruit." — "A traveller succeeds better, pro-
vided he begins his journey well, instead of troubling at once
about the end." — " We cannot go to our destination without
touching the ground; but we must not sprawl, nor can we
think of flying." — " Do not send your oxen and plough to the
field of your neighbor, but work in your own; . . . and what
is the good of building castles in Spain, since you must live
in France."
Not only does St. Francis know how to multiply compari-
sons about the same subject, but he knows — and he seems to
take a special delight in this — how to use the same object for
a great many comparisons. The bee is an example of this;
children another. It is related in his life how much he loved
children, whom he called " his little people," and how he was
in return loved by them ; and it may be said that he was well
inspired by his love. He uses them to represent the union
of the soul with God. He says : '' We must not drop the
comparison of the love of little children toward their mothers,
because of its innocence and purity." But he alludes to them
in connexion with many other subjects, and many are the pic-
tures he draws from them — children awakened before they
have slept enough; children unwilling to be put to bed;
children holding their father's hand with one hand and gath-
ering flowers with the other ; children running after butterflies ;
children building their little doll's houses ; children licking off
the honey and throwing away the bread ; children anxious to
show their little companions a pretty feather they 'have found;
children to whom their mother gives or refuses sweets; chil-
444 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
dren who, by dint of stammering with their mother, learn
how to speak; children who, when afraid, run to their father
or mother, etc.
The reader may have already noticed the freshness and
originality of not a few amongst the comparisons above quoted.
Even those which are, as it were, the common property of all
writers, become St. Francis's own by a certain felicity, gentle-
ness, and even quaintness which they assume in his hands.
But we find also a good many comparisons, quite original,
some of which are truly grand and majestic; the invention of
the latter as well as the treatment of the former betoken a
literary artist of no ordinary standard.
Does not the following comparison echo our Lord's descrip-
tion of death coming as a thief in the night? " Death comes
with woollen feet, and thus it comes unheard and takes us by
!5urprise." Another example on preparation for death : " One
must quietly bid farewell to this world and withdraw little by
little one's affections from creatures. The trees uprooted by
the wind are not fit to be transplanted, as they leave their
roots in the ground; but he who wishes to transplant them
must skilfully little by little disengage their roots one after
the other." One more instance, of a different character:
"As the hungry hawk, seeing the fair prey and wishing to
take flight to seize and feed upon it, instinctively dashes for-
ward, but feeling itself bound down, in a fit of anger flaps
its wings and struggles in such a way as to break its bonds;
so the soul, having arrived on the green and gay hill of Hope,
looks up toward Paradise as her prey, and endeavors to soar
up, but feels herself bound down by sin."
This last comparison is not only original, but very beauti-
ful, and many similar ones do we find, as though the imagin-
ation of the writer grew with the grandeur of the subject.
In one of his first sermons he feels himself quite inspired by
the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and, thinking of the wrath
of God which was hitherto threatening mankind and which
was transformed into an abundance of blessings and graces,
his imagination conjures up a dry land under a stormy sky,
pictures peasants panic-stricken, lifting up to heaven their
grimy hands, and behold! the clouds break and send down a
much-desired and fruitful rain. In another sermon, the
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES. ^^^
awful idea of the end of the world suggests the image of
a public and solemn meeting, at the end of which servants go
about extinguishing the torches, as God will extinguish the
luminaries in Heaven ; or, as when a king comes to live in a
palace, the tapestries are hung, the furniture is arranged, and
when he departs, all breaks up. We may here note that
sometimes the simile is extended into a kind of apologue,
several of which are to be found in the Love of Gody as : the
king's bride, the statue, the physician's daughter, etc.
Now, it must not be supposed that St. Francis was always
hunting after comparisons. Because he thought they were
an excellent means of clearly proposing spiritual things, and
most adapted to human psychology, he wanted them, but they
came quite naturally to him. A first proof of this is their
abundance; another is their spontaneity. The proof of the
latter lies in the fact that, while hurrying through his cor-
respondence, which was a considerably heavy one, especially
considering the many cares entailed by his position, sometimes
in the course of a visitation in his diocese, or late at night
after a day of uninterrupted or rather much-interrupted
labor, or while the messenger was waiting who was to take
his letters away, — then images come freely to him and flow
gracefully from his pen. Let us choose a few short ones, as
instances, from amongst very many. ''As long as the great
seal of the Heavenly Court is on your heart, there is nothing
to fear." " Our body is no longer ours, as the ivory of
Solomon's temple belonged no longer to the elephants that
bore it in their mouths." — " I feel particularly rejoiced at
the promotion of that worthy friend, whose merit, like the
brightness of the sun, will shine forth more and more as
he rises."
Who would not think the following to be an extract from
an elaborate funeral oration carefully and leisurely composed,
instead of being simply, as it is, the spontaneous outpouring
of his soul in a letter to a friend, soon after the murder of
King Henry IV of France: '* Here he is dead, struck down
by the hand of an unknown youth, in the middle of a street,
with a contemptible stab of a knife! Who would have said
that the river of a royal life, swollen by the affluence of so
many streams of honor, victory, and triumph, on whose waters
446 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
SO many people had embarked, should have perished and van-
ished in this way, leaving them on the dry sands? Was it
not rather to be expected that this river should have emptied
itself into Death, as into a sea and an ocean, through more
triumphs than the Nile has mouths ?"
The same spontaneity, naturally enough, showed itself in
St. Francis's conversation. In the Spirit of St. Francis, his
friend Bishop Camus has recorded many instances, and if
some belong rather to his own invention (since he also had
a fanciful and somewhat wild imagination), still the French
proverb holds good : People lend only to the rich. Thus the
Saint would say pleasantly, alluding to himself and his two
brothers : " We three would make a good salad : John Francis
would be the good vinegar, so strong is he; Lewis would be
the salt, so wise is he; — and poor Francis is a good big fellow
who would serve as oil, so much does he like meekness." Of
those people who become conceited at a word of praise, he
would say : " Weak is the head which aches at the smell of a
rose;" and those who bustle about, attempting to do several
things at once, he would compare to " one that tries to thread
several needles at the same time." One day, toward the end
of his life, when visiting the Priory of Talloires where he
hoped to pass his last days, standing at a window which over-
looked the wonderful mountain scenery, he exclaimed : " What
a delightful situation! Great and beautiful thoughts will
descend upon us thick and fast, as the snowflakes fall here
in winter."
The conclusion now appears evident that inventiveness,
fancifulness, gracefulness, and strength of imagination are
among the features of St. Francis's writings; and, coupled
with the learning of the theologian, the zeal of the apostle,
the wisdom of the director, they contributed not a little to
make him the man whom all Catholics admired, and whom, if
many Protestants had learned to hate, many also had learned
to love.
J. D. FOLGHERA, O.P.
Hawkesyard Priory, England.
Hnalecta.
AOTA PII PP. X.
I.
LiTTERAE EnCYCLICAE AD ArCHIEPISCOPOS ET EpISCOPOS
Americae Latinae de misera Indorum conditione sub-
LEVANDA.
Pius pp. X.
VENERABILES FRATRES SALUTEM ET APOSTOLICAM BENEDIC-
TIONEM.
Lacrimabili statu Indorum ex inferiori America vehementer
commotus, decessor Noster illustris, Benedictus XIV gravis-
sime eorum causam egit, ut nostis, in Litteris Immensa Pas-
torum, die XXII mensis decembris anno MDCCXLI datis ; et quia,
quae ille deploravit scribendo, ea fere sunt etiam Nobis multis
locis deploranda, idcirco ad earum Litterarum memoriam sol-
licite Nos animos vestros revocamus. Ibi enim cum alia, turn
haec conqueritur Benedictus, etsi diu multumque apostolica
Sedes relevandae horum afflictae fortunae studuisset, esse
tamen etiamtum " homines orthodoxae Fidei cultores, qui
veluti caritatis in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum dif-
fusae sensuum penitus obliti, miseros Indos non solum Fidei
448 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
luce carentes, verum etiam sacro regenerationis lavacro ablutos,
aut in servitutem redigere, aut veluti mancipia aliis vendere,
aut eos bonis privare, eaque inhumanitate cum iisdem agere
praesumant, ut ab amplectenda Christi fide potissimum aver-
tantur, et ad odio habendam maximopere obfirmentur ". —
Harum quidem indignitatum ea quae est pessima, id est ser-
vitus proprii nominis, paullatim postea, Dei miserentis mu-
nere, de medio pulsa est: ad eamque in Brasilia aliisque
regionibus publice abolendam multum contulit materna Ec-
clesiae instantia apud egregios viros qui eas Respublicas
gubernabant. Ac libenter fatemur, nisi multa et magna
rerum et locorum impedimenta obstitissent, eorum consilia
longe meliores exitus habitura fuisse. Tametsi igitur pro
Indis aliquid est actum, tamen multo plus est quod super-
est. Equidem cum scelera et maleficia reputamus, quae in
eos adhuc admitti solent, sane horremus animo summaque
calamitosi generis miseratione afficimur. Nam quid tarn
crudele tamque barbarum, quam levissimas saepe ob causas
nee raro ex mera libidine saeviendi, aut flagris homines la-
minisque ardentibus caedere; aut repentina oppresses vi, ad
centenos, ad millenos, una occidione perimere; aut pagos vicos-
que vastare ad internecionem indigenarum : quorum quidem
nonnullas tribus aocepimus his paucis annis .prope esse
deletas? Ad animos adeo efferandos plurimum sane valet
cupiditas lucri ; sed non paullum quoque valet caeli natura
regionumque situs. Etenim, cum subiecta ea loca sint austro
aestuoso, qui, languore quodam venis immisso, nervos virtutis
tamquam elidit; cumque a consuetudine Religionis, a vigi-
lantia Reipublicae, ab ipsa propemodum civili consortione pro -
cul absint, facile fit, ut, si qui non perditis moribus illuc ad-
venerint, brevi tamen depravari incipiant, ac deinceps, ef-
fractis officii iurisque repagulis, ad omnes immanitates
vitiorum delabantur. Nee vero ab istis sexus aetatisve im-
becillitati parcitur: quin imo pudet referre eorum in con-
quirendis mercandisque feminis et pueris flagitia atque faci-
nora; quibus postrema ethnicae turpitudinis exempla vinci
verissime dixeris.^Nos equidem aliquandiu, cum de his rebus
rumores afferrentur, dubitavimus tantae atrocitati factorum
adiungere fidem : adeo incredibilia videbantur. Sed postquam
a locupletissimis testibus, hoc est, a plerisque vestrum, vene-
ANALECTA. ^^g
rabiles Fratres, a Delegatis Sedis apostolicae, a missionalibus
aliisque viris fide prorsus dignis certiores facti sumus, iam
non licet Nobis hie de rerum veritate ullum habere dubium. —
lam dudum igitur in ea cogitatione defixi, ut, quantum est in
Nobis, nitamur tantis mederi malis, prece humili ac supplici
petimus a Deo, velit benignus opportunam aliquam demon-
strare Nobis viam medendi. Ipse autem, qui Conditor Re-
demptorque amantissimus est omnium hominum, cum mentem
Nobis iniecerit elaborandi pro salute Indorum, turn certo dabit
quae proposito conducant. Interim vero illud Nos valde con-
solatur, quod qui istas Respublicas gerunt, omni ope student
insignem banc ignominiam et maculam a suis Civitatibus
depellere: de quo quidem studio laudare eos et probare haud
satis possumus. Quamquam in iis regionibus, ut sunt procul
ab imperii sedibus remotae ac plerumque inviae, haec, plena
humanitatis, conata civilium potestatum, sive ob calliditatem
maleficorum qui tempori confinia transeunt, sive ob inertiam
atque perfidiam administrorum, saepe parum proficiunt, non
raro etiam in irritum cadunt. Quod si ad Reipublicae operam
opera Ecclesiae accesserit, tum demum qui optantur fructus,
multo exsistent uberiores. — Itaque vos ante alios appellamus,
venerabiles Fratres, ut peculiares quasdam curas cogitatio-
nesque conferatis in hanc causam, quae vestro dignissima est
pastorali officio et munere. Ac cetera permittentes sollici-
tudini industriaeque vestrae, hoc primum omnium vos im-
pense hortamur, ut quaecumque in vestris dioecesibus instituta
sunt Indorum bono, ea perstudiose promoveatis, itemque
curetis instituenda quae ad eamdem rem utilia fore videantur.
Deinde admonebitis populos vestros diligenter de proprio ip-
sorum sanctissimo officio adiuvandi sacras expeditiones ad
indigenas, qui Americanum istud solum primi incoluerint.
Sciant igitur duplici praesertm ratione se huic rei debere pro-
desse: collatione stipis et suffragio precum; idque ut faciant
non solum Religionem a se, sed Patriam ipsam postulare.
Vos autem, ubicumque datur opera conformandis rite mo-
ribus, id est, in Seminariis, in ephebeis, in domibus puellaribus
maximeque in sacris aedibus efficite, ne unquam commendatio
praedicatioque cesset caritatis christianae, quae omnes homi-
nes, sine ullo nationis aut coloris discrimine, germanorum fra-
trum loco habet; quaeque non tam verbis, quam rebus factis-
450 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
que probanda est. Pariter nulla praetermitti debet, quae of-
feratur, occasio demonstrandi quantum nomini christiano de-
decus aspergant hae rerum indignitates, quas hie denunciamus.
— Ad Nos quod attinet, bonam habentes non sine causa spem
de assensu et favore potestatum publicarum, earn praecipue
suscepimus curam, ut, in ista tanta latitudine regionum, apos-
tolicae actionis amplificemus campum, aliis disponendis mis-
sionalium stationibus, in quibus Indi perfugium et praesidium
salutis inveniant. Ecclesia enim catholica numquam sterilis
fuit hominum apostolicorum, qui, urgente lesu Christi caritate,
prompti paratique essent vel vitam ipsam pro f ratribus ponere.
Hodieque, cum tam multi a Fide vel abhorrent, vel deficiunt,
ardor tamen disseminandi apud barbaros Evangelii non modo
non inter viros utriusque cleri sacrasque virgines remittitur,
sed crescit etiam lateque diffunditur, virtute nimirum Spiritus
Sancti, qui Ecclesiae, sponsae suae, pro temporibus subvenit.
Quare his praesidiis quae, divino beneficio. Nobis praesto sunt,
oportere putamus eo copiosius uti ad Indos e Satanae homi-
numque perversorum servitute liberandos, quo maior eos
necessitas premit. Ceterum, cum istam terrarum partem prae-
cones Evangelii suo non solum sudore, sed ipso nonnumquam
cruore imbuerint, futurum confidimus, ut ex tantis laboribus
aliquando christianae humanitatis laeta messis efflorescat in
optimos fructus. — lam, ut ad ea quae vos vel vestra sponte
vel hortatu Nostro acturi estis in utilitatem Indorum, quanta
maxima potest, efficacitatis accessio ex apostolica Nostra auc-
toritate fiat, Nos, memorati Decessoris exemplo, immanis cri-
minis damnamus declaramusque reos, quicumque, ut idem
ait, " praedictos Indos in servitutem redigere, vendere, emere,
commutare vel donare, ab uxoribus et filiis separare, rebus et
bonis suis spoliare, ad alia loca deducere et transmittere, aut
quoquo modo libertate privare, in servitute retinere; nee non
praedicta agentibus consilium, auxilium, favorem et operam
quocumque praetextu et quaesito colore praestare, aut id lici-
tum praedicare seu docere, atque alias quomodolibet prae-
missis cooperari audeant seu praesumant." Itaque potestatem
absolvendi ab his criminibus poenitentes in foro sacramentali%
Ordinariis locorum reservatam volumus.
Haec Nobis, cum paternae voluntati Nostrae obsequentibus,
turn etiam vestigia persequentibus complurium e decessoribus
ANALECTA. ^^ I
Nostris, in quibus commemorandus quoque est nominatim Leo
XIII fel. rec, visum est ad vos, venerabiles Fratres, Indorum
causa, scribere. Vestrum autem erit contendere pro viribus,
ut votis Nostris cumulate satisfiat. Fauturi certe hac in re
vobis sunt, qui Respublicas istas administrant ; non deerunt
sane, operam studiumque navando, qui de clero sunt, in primis-
que addicti sacris missionibus; denique aderunt sine dubio
omnes boni, ac sive opibus, qui possunt, sive aliis caritatis
officiis causam iuvabunt, in qua rationes simul versantur Re-
ligionis et humanae dignitatis. Quod vero caput est, aderit
Dei omnipotentis gratia; cuius Nos auspicem, itemque bene-
volentiae Nostrae testem, vobis, venerabiles Fratres, gregi-
busque vestris apostolicam benedictionem peramanter im-
pertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, die VII mensis iunii
MCMXII, Pontificatus Nostri anno nono.
PIUS PP. X.
II.
MoTu Proprio de Catholicorum in exteras regiones
Emigratione.
Cum omnes catholicos Ecclesia materno studio complecta-
tur, tum peculiari quadam sollicitudine caritatis eos prose-
quitur, qui, ut victum labore quaerant, aut meliorem sibi for-
tunam comparent, relicto natali solo in longinqua migrant,
ubi saepius eis timendum est, ne, dum mortalis vitae rationibus
prospiciunt, lamentabilem sempiternae iacturam faciant.
Plura enim et illustris Nostri Decessoris et Nostra testantur
acta, quanto opere Apostolica Sedes bonorum societates foveat
in salutem emigrantium institutas, quantamque praesertim ad-
hibeat curam, ne Antistites sacrorum patiantur in re tam
gravi pastoralem industriam suam desiderari. lam vero, cum
ob aucta populorum commercia et expeditiores commeatus
aliasque causas plurimas, quotidie in immensum crescat emi-
grantium numerus, intelligimus Nostri muneris esse idoneum
aliquod reperire providentiae genus, quo quidem horum om-
nium filiorum temporibus succurramus. Equidem valde com-
movemur maximis periculis, in quibus religio moresque ver-
santur tot hominum, qui, ut plurimum, ignafi regionis et
452 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
linguae, atque ope sacerdotum suorum destituti, spiritualis
vitae adiumenta nee ipsi sibi parare possunt, nee, quantum
satis est, exspectare ab Ordinariis locorum aut a consociationi-
bus iis, quae in id sunt institutae. Quae vero ad medendum
his tantis incommodis excogitata sunt, optatum non solent
habere exitum, propterea quod eorum, qui in hac gravissima
causa elaborant, laudabiles conatus aut operis magnitudine
superantur aut consensum et unitatem saepe non assequuntur.
— Nos igitur, tempus esse iudicantes necessitatibus tarn
magnae multitudinis stabili quadam ratione in perpetuum
subveniendi, cum S. R. E. Cardinales e Sacra Congregatione
Consistoriali in consilium adhibuerimus, Motu Proprio ac de
Apostolicae potestatis plenitudine, apud eam ipsam Congre-
gationem novum Officium, seu Sectionem ut aiunt, de spiri-
iuali emigrantium cura constituimus. Huius Officii partes
erunt, quaerere et parare omnia, quaecumque opus sint, ut in
iis quae ad salutem animarum pertinent, emigrantium latini
ritus melior conditio fiat, salvo tamen iure Sacrae Congre-
gationis Fidei Propagandae in emigrantes ritus orientalis,
quibus eadem Congregatio pro suo instituto opportune con-
sulat. Ac de sacerdotibus ipsis emigrantibus hoc idem unice
cavebit Officium; ad quod propterea praescriptiones ea de
re, decretis Sacrae Congregationis Concilii datas, avocamus.
— Itaque Sacra Congregatio Consistorialis, accedente Ordina-
riorum studio, quorum quidem ipsa confirmabit fovebitque
in advenas auctoritatem, suffragante etiam opera consocia-
tionum emigrantibus adiutandis, quarum beneficam actionem,
quocumque res postulaverit, diriget, divino munere poterit et
quae sint, pro varietate regionum, necessitates emigrantium
cognoscere, et quae peropportuna visa fuerint malorum re-
media decernere. Confidimus autem fore, ut quicumque
catholicam rite colunt fidem, opus tam sanctum in salutem
fratrum institutum precibus atque etiam opibus, pro sua quis-
que facultate, promovere velint, praesertim cum pro certo
habere debeant summum Pastorem et Episcopum animarum
nostrarum sua ipsorum caritatis officia amplissimo in caelis
praemio remuneraturum.
Datum Romae apud Sanctum Petrum die xv mensis au-
gusti MCMXII, Pontificatus Nostri anno decimo.
PIUS PP. X.
ANALECTA. ^^^
S. OONGEEGATIO BITUUM.
I.
De Conclusione Matutini et Inchoatione Laudum pro
Recitatione privata in Triduo Mortis Christi et in
Officiis Defunctorum.
Novo edito Psalterio cum Ordinario divini Officii per apos-
tolicam Constitutionem Divino afflatu, pluribus e dioecesibus
sacrae Rituum Congregationi sequens dubium pro opportuna
solutione propositum fuit, nimirum :
Quum in Ordinario divini Officii praescribatur modus Ma-
tutinum concludendi et Laudes incipiendi quoties in privata
recitatione istae ab illo separantur; quaeritur: Quid in casu
agendum est sive in triduo Mortis Christi, sive in Officiis de-
functorum ?
Et sacra eadem Congregatio, ad relationem infrascripti
Secretarii, re accurate examine perpensa, respondendum cen-
suit:
Ad omnem dubitationem tollendam, in futuris editionibus
Breviarii Romani, singulis diebus tridui Mortis Christi, post
IX responsorium, sequens rubrica inseratur:
Si Matutinum in privata recitatione a Laudibus separetur,
subjungitur oratio Respice quaesumus Domine, etc.: Laudes
verOj dictis secreto Pater noster et Ave Maria, absolute a prima
antiphona incipiuntur.
Item in Commemoratione omnium Fidelium defunctorum,
post IX responsorium, sequens addatur rubrica:
Si Matutinum in privata recitatione a Laudibus separetur,
subjungitur:
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Oratio.
Fidelium Deus, etc.
V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
Tandem in Officio defunctorum, tam in Breviario quam in
Rituali Romano, ante Laudes sequens rubrica inseratur :
454 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Si Matutinunij cum unico vel cum tribus Nocturnis, in pri-
vata recitatione a Laudibus separetur, post ultimum respon-
sorium subjungitur:
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Deinde dicitur oratio {seu oraiiones) ut ad Laudes, additis
sequentibus:
V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
Laudes vero, dictis secreto Pater noster et Ave Maria, ab-
solute inchoantur ab antiphona Exsultabunt Domino.
Atque ita rescripsit et servari mandavit, die 24 iulii 191 2.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, Praefectus.
L. * S.
■^ Petrus La Fontaine, Ep. Charystien, Secret,
II.
Decretum circa modulandas Monosyllabas vel He-
BRAicAS Voces in Lectionibus, Versiculis et Psalmis.
A quibusdam cantus gregoriani magistris sacrae Rituum
Congregationi sequens dubium pro opportuna solutione ex-
positum f uit ; nimirum :
An in cantandis Lectionibus et Versiculis, praesertim vero
in Psalmorum mediantibus ad asteriscum, quando vel dictio
monosyllaba Vel hebraica vox occurrit, immutari possit clau-
sula, vel cantilena proferri sub modulatione consueta?
Et sacra eadem Congregatio, approbante sanctissimo Do-
mino nostro Pio Papa X, rescribere statuit: Affirmative ad
utrumque.
Die 8 iulii 1912.
Fr. S. Card. Martinelli, S. R. C. Praefectus.
L. * S.
^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien. Secretarius.
ANALECTA, ^^e
III.
Instructio seu Responsum Sacrae Rituum Congrega-
TiONis Rmis locorum Ordinariis vel Superioribus or-
DiNUM SEU sodalitatum postulantibus Kalendarii
Proprii Reformationem, vel Expunctionem Festorum
AUT Reductionem Ritus.
Mens sacrae Rituum Congregationis est, ut, rite postulante
rmo Ordinario loci, seu Superiore Ordinis vel Sodalitatis, in
posterum, de apostolica venia, relicto proprio kalendario, ad-
hiberi valeat kalendarium Ecclesiae universalis, additis tan-
tummodo Festis quae stricto sensu propria dici possunt, ad
normam Constitutionis apostolicae Divino afflatu et recentium
rubricarum, tit. II, num. 2, litt. e. Quo in casu elenchus Fes-
torum, adductis rationibus de eorum proprietate, ad sacram
Rituum Congregationem cum supplici libello transmittatur.
Ex Secretaria S. R. C. die 25 iulii 191 2.
•^ Petrus La Fontaine, Episc. Charystien. Secretarius.
S. OONaEEGATIO OONSISTOBIALIS.
I.
Litterae Circulares de Seminariis Italiae ad Reveren-
DISSIMOS OrDINARIOS.
Le Visite apostoliche fatte lo scorso anno nei Seminar!
d' Italia hanno rilevato che per la premurosa e vigile cura
degli Ordinari, la condizione di questi istituti, grazie a Dio, si
e universalmente tanto avvantaggiata da far concepire le
migliori speranze per I'avvenire.
E ben vero che alcuni Seminari si sono trovati cosi stremati
di numero da ingenerare non lieve preoccupazione : e si e
anche da taluni pensato, che questa diminuzione di alunni e
di perseveranza nelle primitive aspirazioni alio stato eccles-
iastico si debba attribuire sia ai nuovi sistemi di studi medi,
ginnasiali e liceali, sia al concentramento per gli studi superiori.
Ma se si considera che questo fenomeno si e verificato anche
in diocesi dove di concentramenti non vi fu mai pensiero; e
viceversa in altre diocesi, dove gli studi medi erano in plena
conformita alle norme pontificie, e dove avvenne il concen-
tramento per la teologia, gli aspiranti alio stato ecclesiastico
456 2"^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
,non hanno fatto punto difetto; si deve necessariamente con-
cludere che non sono queste le ragloni adeguate e sufficienti
per spiegare il fatto, ma che esse debbono ricercarsi altrove.
E certamente le ostilita, cui da tante parti ed in tanti modi e
fatto segno il clero, le poche attrattive umane dello stato
ecclesiastico nei nostri giorni, i maggiori vantaggi terreni che
oifrono altri stati ed offici, talora anche con minori anni di
studio e minori spese, non possono non stornare molti dal
mettersi per la via del Santuario, e non tentare altri dal per-
severare in essa, specialmente se durante gli studi medi non
siasi avuta molta cura di fortificare le deboli volonta degli
alunni del Seminario e di custodirle dai pericoli della sedu-
zione.
Ed appunto in questo si deve riporre la causa ultima e vera
della diminuzione degli alunni nei Seminari e della mancanza
di perseveranza di molti nelle primitive aspirazioni.
Ma checche ne sia di cio, poiche per le divine promesse e
certo che mai si inaridira in Israele la stirpe levitica, e che
Tassistenza divina e le vocazioni alio stato ecclesiastico non
mancheranno nella Chiesa usque ad consummationem saeculi,
ne faranno giammai difetto anime generose che rispondano alia
voce del Signore, anche quando le chiama alle privazioni od
al sacrifizio ; non vi e da cadere di animo pel disagio presente
di cui soffrono molte diocesi.
Ben piuttosto conviene pensare al riparo. Ed a tale effetto
e necessario che gli Ordinari eccitino lo zelo dei parrochi e
di zelanti sacerdoti, affinche cerchino nelle loro parrocchie
giovinetti di buona indole, di sufficiente ingegno, inclinati
alle cose di chiesa ; e trovatili, ne abbiano una cura speciale e
li coltivino nella pieta e negli studi con pazienza, con amore,
con ogni industria ed anche con qualche aiuto temporale, af-
finche, se la voce di Dio li chiamasse, possano esser atti e
preparati a rispondervi e ad entrare a suo tempo nei Seminari.
In questa guisa in piu diocesi si e procurato alia Chiesa del
Signore un drappello di eletti chierici e sacerdoti.
Ma cio che interessa piu ancora del numero e la santa e
perfetta formazione dei futuri ministri di Dio. Ed e a questa
che conviene sopratutto e con ogni studio mirare, non con-
tentandosi dei miglioramenti sin ora ottenuti, ma cercando e
di mantenerli e di accrescerli ognor piu.
ANALECTA. ^c;
A tale effetto il S. Padre, mentre in generale ed a tutti
raccomanda Tosservanza delle norme pontificie e dei principi
su cui si basa il Programma di studi pubblicato dalla S. C.
dei Vescovi e Regolari, nonche delle disposizioni sia generali
sia speciali susseguentemente emanate dalla S. Sede, com-
patibilmente con cio che appresso si dira ; richiama I'attenzione
dei Rmi Ordinari sui seguenti punti speciali, che, in seguito
ai risultati delle Visite apostoliche, secondo il desiderio es-
presso da molti Vescovi, e col voto degli Emi Padri di questa
S. C, ha creduto necessario segnalare e stabilire.
1. In primo luogo, ottimo, per non dire necessario, consiglio
sarebbe di separare nei Seminar! gli alunni grandi dai piccoli,
e, dove fosse possibile, formarne due istituti. Cio e gia in
uso da gran tempo in alcune grandi diocesi, come Torino.
Milano, ecc, e si e recentemente attuato dove pei concentra-
menti avvenuti gli alunni di teologia e talora anche di filosofia,
di piu diocesi furono riuniti in un solo istituto interdiocesano,
rimanendo nel Seminario diocesano gli altri.
La ragione di questo consiglio e data da cio, che non si pub
convenevolmente ed utilmente appropriare la stessa disciplina,
le stesse prediche, le stesse istruzioni, le stesse pratiche di
pieta, le stesse comuni letture ai giovanetti di 12 o 15 anni,
di limitata intelligenza, incerti ancora del loro avvenire, ed ai
maggiori di eta, nel pieno sviluppo della mente e con propositi
gia formati. Una disciplina poi media, atta a formare con-
venientemente gli uni e gli altri, e cosa impossibile.
2. Non si ammettano mai nel Seminario, sia pure per le
prime classi di studio, giovanetti che chiaramente professino
di non volersi far sacerdoti; ma si esiga almeno che mani-
festino un' iniziale inclinazione alio stato ecclesiastico. Coloro
che positivamente aspirano alio stato secolaresco si trovano e
debbono trovarsi necessariamente a disagio nel Seminario,
dove tutto tende e deve tendere non a mire mondane, ma alia
pieta, al raccoglimento, alia formazione ecclesiastica. Inoltre
la promiscuita di alunni non chiamati e di altri chiamati alio
stato ecclesiastico riesce sempre fatale a questi ultimi, e,
secondo che I'esperienza ha dimostrato, causa la perdita di
molte vocazioni.
Se quindi i Rmi Ordinari credono utile o necessario aprire
a giovanetti laici un luogo di educazione sotto la tutela della
458
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
Chiesa, formino un coUegio separate, interamente diviso dal
Seminario. In questo caso pero ben si guardino, come di
dovere, da cio, che le rendite destinate dalla pieta dei fedeli
o per speciale grazia della S. Sede alia formazione dei chierici,
siano devolute anche in piccola parte a vantaggio del collegio
secolare.
3. fe di somma importanza che si abbia tanto per i piccoli
quanto pei grandi Seminari un luogo di villeggiatura, e che
siano accorciate al possibile le vacanze in famiglia. In altri
tempi, con vacanze scolastiche autunnali ben piu limitate, il
ritorno in famiglia poteva riuscire meno pericoloso. Oggi
con tre mesi ed oltre di vacanze scolastiche, con la grande
liberta di usi e costumi introdotta nella societa e nelle famiglie,
e con la grande diffusione di libri e giornali perniciosi, la libera
e lunga permanenza degli alunni nei loro paesi non pub non
essere dannosa e spesso fatal e.
Dati quindi, secondo la prudente discrezione dei Rmi Or-
dinari, un 10 o 15 giorni agli alunni affinche riveggano i loro
parenti, e possano un poco conoscere che cosa sia il mondo, si
richiamino nel Seminario o nella villeggiatura, ed ivi si dia
loro il mezzo di ricrearsi onestamente per riprendere con mag-
gior animo gli studi nel susseguente anno, in guisa pero che
non abbandonino interamente i libri, e coltivino sempre collo
stesso amore le pratiche di pieta.
4. Divisi i Seminari grandi dai piccoli, sorge il problema
del come provvedere di prefetti le camerate del ginnasio. A
questa difficolta si e in non una diocesi ottimamente ovviato
colFapprovazione della S. Sede, affidando quest'officio ai gio-
vani sacerdoti usciti dai Seminari teologici, compito gia il loro
corso di studi.
Questa misura, mentre provvede al bisogno dei piccoli Semi-
nari, ha anche il vantaggio di preparare meglio i nuovi sacer-
doti alia vita pubblica, con un graduale passaggio dalla vita
ritirata del Seminario a quella di una limitata liberta, quale
essi possono avere come prefetti del piccolo Seminario.
Inoltre con tal mezzo essi potranno meglio coltivare gli
studi supplementari tanto utili per la pratica del sacro minis-
tero, come la teologia pastorale ed altro, secondo il prudente
giudizio dei rispettivi Ordinari. Questi poi, avendo presso
di se per uno o due anni i giovani sacerdoti, potranno meglio
ANALECTA. .^g
conoscerli, ed a suo tempo piu utilmente collocarli secondo le
loro attitudini ; senza dire che intanto avrebbero sotto mano un
piccolo drappello di sacerdoti pieno di forza e di vergini as-
pirazioni, che potrebbero adibire per qualche opera o bisogno
straordinario delle parrocchie di citta, o non lontane da essa.
L'unica difficolta che si e opposta e puo opporsi a questa
misura e la necessita di provvedere subito a qualche chiesa, e
di soddisfare quei fedeli che reclamano un parroco proprio
od un coadiutore che risieda. Ma se si considera che e
molto meglio dare un sacerdote perfettamente formato e
sicuro col ritardo di un anno o due, piuttosto che lanciarlo
ancor fresco dell'ordinazione in mezzo ai pericoli del mondo;
e che i vantaggi che si hanno col ritenere uno o due anni i
sacerdoti in questo stato di formazione transitoria sono im-
mensamente maggiori del bene di provvedere subito a luoghi
ed offici vacanti, non vi ha dubbio che, per quanto e possibile,
conviene tener fermo all'accennato consiglio: tanto piu che
il disagio dell'attendere non sara che per uno o due anni ; ed
introdotto una volta il sistema, non riuscira piu sensibile. Si
raccomanda quindi ai Rmi Ordinari di adottarlo con quei modi
e temperamenti che riputeranno opportuni o necessari.
5. Quanto alle scuole si curera che esse siano interne e per
i soli seminaristi od aspiranti alio stato ecclesiastico ; e cio sia
per preservare gli alunni da dissipazione e da quelle pericolose
relazioni che sono si facili in scuole frequentate da secolari, sia
perche le scuole del Seminario, anche se ginnasiali e liceali e
sostanzialmente conformi ai programmi di Stato, debbono
avere un carattere ed un indirizzo loro proprio, quale si
richiede per gli aspiranti al sacerdozio secondo le norme che si
determinano qui appresso.
Potranno tuttavia gli Ordinari che hanno un collegio se-
colare annesso al Seminario, permettere che gli alunni del
medesimo frequentino le scuole ginnasiali del Seminario. Ma
in tal caso e necessario che vi siano in queste scuole maestri
civilmente patentati, e che si seguano in esse totalmente i pro-
grammi dello Stato. Inoltre gli Ordinari dovranno curare con
ogni studio che niun nocumento ne venga alio spirito ed alia
disciplina dei seminaristi; e provvedere che questi ultimi in
ore proprie distinte dalla scuola abbiano quella istruzione sup-
plementare che si richiede sin dai primi anni per chi aspira al
sacerdozio.
460 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
6. Dovendo i giorni festivi di precetto essere dai semi-
naristi in special modo dedicati al culto e servizio divino, e non
potendosi quindi considerare come giorni di intera vacanza, e
necessario dare agli alunni un altro giorno per settimana di
riposo; non cosi pero che non si possa nel medesimo stabilire
un'ora d'insegnamento per materie meno gravose o secondarie,
secondo il prudente giudizio degli Ordinari, sentiti i depu-
tati e superiori del Seminario. E quest'ora d'insegnamento
dovra esser fatta dai maestri ordinari, e potra rientrare
nell'ambito delle materie di esame e di premiazione.
7. Nei giorni di scuola le ore d'insegnamento saranno quat-
tro (o tutto al piu quattro e mezzo, se si fara un giorno per
settimana di intera vacanza), non consecutive, ma divise op-
portunamente secondo il giudizio degli Ordinari, sentito il
consiglio dei deputati e dei superiori del Seminario.
Un maggior numero di ore di scuola non sembra possibile,
attesa la necessita di dare un tempo sufficiente alio studio pri-
vato ed alle pratiche di pieta doverose in un Seminario, e di
non recare nocumento al riposo e sollievo necessario per il
benessere fisico degli alunni. D'altronde la vita di raccogli-
mento durante Tanno, e lo studio non del tutto sospeso durante
le vacanze autunnali, algono a ben compensare questa limita-
zione.
8. Nel ginnasio, pur attenendosi in linea generale ai pro-
grammi d'insegnamento civili, si dark speciale impulso alio
studio della lingua latina: di piu in ogni settimana nelle ore
di scuola vi sara un'ora di catechismo ed un'ora di storia del
Vecchio e Nuovo Testamento.
9. Nel liceo vi sara in tutti e tre gli anni ed in ciascun giorno
di scuola un'ora d'insegnamento di filosfia secondo il metodo
scolastico, e di piu per questa stessa materia un'ora di ripeti-
zione ogni settimana ed un'altr'ora di disputa ogni quindici
giorni. Nel primo anno di liceo s'insegnera la logica e la
filosofia del linguaggio : nel secondo la ontologia, la psicologia
e la cosmologia: nel terzo la teodicea, I'etica e la storia della
filosofia. In ciascuna settimana inoltre si fara un'ora di cate-
chismo superiore e di apologia della religione.
Le residue ore di scuola saranno equamente divise secondo
il prudente giudizio degli Ordinari, sentito il consiglio dei
maestri, dei deputati e dei superiori del Seminario, cosi da dar
ANALECTA.
461
luogo in giuste proporzioni alio studio delle matematiche, delle
scienze naturali, delle scienze fisiche, della letteratura italiana,
latina e greca e della storia civile. Neirinsegnamento letter-
ario non si trascurera di far condscere i migliori fra i Padri e
scrittori cristiani, latini e greci : e piu che all'analisi filologica
si cerchera con la lettura e con le traduzioni e composizioni di
formare gli alunni al buon gusto ed all'esercizio della lingua
che studiano.
Applicandosi questo nuovo programma di liceo-filosofico,
non sara piu necessario Tanno di propedeutica, il quale percio
viene gradatamente ad essere abolito.
10. Per regola generale tutti gli alunni di ginnasio dovranno
concorrere alia licenza di Stato, e conseguirla prima di essere
ammessi alle scuole liceali. Le eccezioni al riguardo non dov-
ranno essere che in casi rarissimi di eta inoltrata, pieta distinta
e sicurezza di vocazione : dovendosi considerare la capacita di
conseguire la licenza ginnasiale come prova di quella suffi-
cienza di ingegno che si richiede per un ecclesiastico.
La licenza liceale di Stato non sara obbligatoria per tutti;
ma bensi :
{a) per quel pochi che gli Ordinari crederanno utile o
necessario avviare agli studi universitari di Stato, onde ivi
conseguano una laurea in qualche f acolta ;
{^) per quelli della cui vocazione non fossero interamente
sicuri.
Per tutti poi onde essere ammessi in teologia si richiede
I'approvazione di passaggio nell'esame interno del terzo anno
di liceo. Per coloro pero che avessero conseguita la licenza
liceale di Stato questo esame potra essere limitato alia filosofia,
catechismo ed apologia della religione.
11. Nella teologia si abbiano per materie principali la dom-
matica nei vari suoi rami o trattati, la morale, la S. Scrittura,
la storia ecclesiastica.
{a) Alia dommatica si assegnera un'ora In ciascun giorno di
scuola e per tutti e quattro gli anni ; e nell'insegnamento di
essa si seguira il metodo scolastico completato coi sani sussidi
delFerudizione moderna di storia e Sacra Scrittura. All'ora
di scuola giornaliera sara poi aggiunta per ciascuna settimana
un'ora di disputa ed un'altra ora di ripetizione.
462 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
(^) Nella scuola di morale, si avra cura di dare anche le
nozioni fondamentali di sociologia, e si aggiungeranno le isti-
tuzioni di diritto canonico.
(y) Per lo studio della Sacra Scrittura si assegneranno
quattro ore di scuola per settimana, dedicandole tutte, nei due
primi anni airinsegnamento detto di introdu^ioney e nei due
ultimi anni all'esegesi. Nella esegesi poi quanto al Vecchio
Testamento non si ometta mai lo studio di alcuni salmi prin-
cipali, e quanto al Nuovo degli Evangeli e di alcune lettere
apostoliche.
(^) Nella storia ecclesiastica si curi che neH'insegnamento
orale e nei testi non sia trascurata od omessa la parte sopran-
naturale, che e vero, essenziale, indispensabile element© nei
fasti della Chiesa, senza di cui la Chiesa stessa riesce incom-
prensibile: e si faccia si che la narrazione dei fatti non sia
disgiunta da quelle alte e filosofiche considerazioni di cui
furono maestri S. Agostino, Dante, Bossuet, che fanno vedere
la giustizia e la provvidenza di Dio in mezzo agli uomini, e
la continua assistenza dal Signore data alia Chiesa.
12. Alle materie second.arie, quali sono il greco biblico,
Tebraico, la sacra eloquenza, la patristica, la liturgia, Tarcheo-
logia ed arte sacra ed il canto gregoriano, si assegni nei quat-
tro anni di teologia un tempo sufficiente, affinche gli alunni
possano averne una giusta nozione, senza troppo distrarli dalle
materie principali.
13. Cureranno gli Ordinari che almeno Tinsegnamento della
teologia si dommatica che morale e, per quanto sara possibile,
anche quello della filosofia, almeno in generale, sia impartito
in latino.
Vigileranno inoltre, sia direttamente, sia per mezzo del ret-
tore del Seminario o del prefetto degli studi, affinche i maestri
nei tempo loro assegnato svolgano tutta la materia del pro-
gramma, e che non si fermino a lunghe discussioni su qualche
punto loro beneviso, sia pure importante, con detriment© del
resto : considerando come inadatti alia scuola coloro che non
si attenessero a queste norme.
14. Nei testi scolastici si abbia somma cura di scegliere i
pill adatti e di sicura dottrina; escludendo nei ginnasio e liceo
quelli che, benche civilmente approvati, fossero meno rispettosi
della religione e della moralita : e nella teologia quelli che
ANALECTA,
463
non avessero il comune suffragio e specialmente quello della
Santa Sede per la sicurezza dei principi; ma andassero ac-
carezzando idee peregrine o pericolose, contrarie alle sante e
venerate tradizioni dei Padri, dei teologi, della Chiesa in gen-
erale. I maestri poi curino di istillare con la scienza non solo
la pieta, ma anche il rispetto e I'amore alle verita e all'au-
torita della Chiesa e del Sommo Pontefice.
Ordinati con queste nuove norme la disciplina e gli studi
nei Seminari, e da ritenere che si andra formando con la divina
grazia un clero sempre piu degno della santa e sublime mis-
sione sua, a santificazione delle anime ed a maggior gloria di
Dio.
Confida il S. Padre che i Rmi Ordinari, e con essi quanti
hanno cura di questi istituti, che sono tanta parte nella speranza
della Chiesa, metteranno tutto il loro impegno perche queste
norme siano nel miglior modo e nel piu breve tempo tradotte
in atto.
Roma, dalla Segreteria della sacra Congregazione Concis-
toriale, 16 luglio 191 2.
■^ G. Card. De Lai, Vescovo di Sabina, Segretorio.
II.
Decretum de Quibusdam Rei Biblicae Commentariis in
SACRA SeMINARIA NON ADMITTENDIS.
Cum semper et ubique cavendum sit ne quis Scripturas
Sanctas contra eum sensum interpretetur, quem tenuit ac tenet
sancta Mater Ecclesia (S. Trid. Syn., Sessio IV^) ; id maxime
necessarium est in Seminariis inter alumnos qui in spem Ec-
clesiae adolescunt. Hos enim prae ceteris oportet sanis doc-
trinis imbui, quae venerandae Patrum traditioni sint conformes
et a legitima Ecclesiae auctoritate probatae; arceri autem a
novitatibus, quas in dies audax quisque molitur, quaeque
quaestiones praestant magis quam edificationem Dei, quae est
in fide (I^ ad Tim., cap. IV) ; si vero insolitae legitimeque
damnatae, in destructionem sunt et non in edificationem.
lam vero evulgatum nuper est Paderbornae opus quod in-
scribitur ** Kurzgefasstes Lehrbuch der speziellen Einleitung
in das Alte Testament " auctore D. Carolo doct. Holzhey, in
quo iuxta neotericas rationalismi et hypercriticae theorias de
464
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
libris Veteris Testamenti fere omnibus, ac potissimum de
Pentateucho, de libris Paralipomenon, Tobiae, ludith, Esther,
lonae, Isaiae et Danielis, sententiae audacissimae propugnan-
tur, quae antiquissimae traditioni Ecclesiae, venerabili Ss.
Patrum doctrinae et recentibus pontificiae Commissionis
Biblicae responsis adversantur, et authentiam atque historicum
valorem sacrorum Librorum nedum in dubium revocant, sed
pene subvertunt.
Hunc itaque lib rum S. haec C. de mandate Ssmi D. N.
Papae prohibet omnino, quominus in Seminaria introducatur,
ne ad consultationem quidem.
Cum vero alia habeantur similis spiritus commentaria in
Scripturas Sanctas tum Veteris tum Novi Testamenti, ceu
scripta plura P. Lagrange et recentissimum opus, cui titulus:
Die Heilige Schrift des Neuen Testaments, editum Berolini
an. 191 2, auctoreZ^r. Fritz Tillmann^ haec quoque expungenda
omnino esse ab institutione clericorum Ssmus D. mandat et
praescribit, salvo ampliore de iis iudicio ab ilia auctoritate
ferendo ad quam de iure pertinet.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus sacrae Congregationis Consis-
torialis, die 29 iunii 1912.
C. Card. De Lai, Episcopus Sabinen., Secretarius.
III.
De Decreto " Maxima Cura ".
In generali conventu sacrae Congregationis Consistorialis,
habito die 27 iunii 1 91 2, proposito dubio " An vigeat in Aus-
tralia novissimum de amotione administrativa ab officio et
beneficio curato Decretum Maxima Cura ", Emi PP., requisite
Consultorum voto aliisque perpensis, respondendum censue-
runt: "Affirmative '\
Facta autem relatione Ssmo D. N. Pio PP. X ab infrascripto
Cardinal! Secretario In audientia diei 28 iunii 191 2, Ssmus re-
solutionem ratam habuit et confirmavit.
Romae, die 12 augusti 191 2.
C. Card. De Lai^ Secretarius.
SciPiO Tecchi, Adsessor.
ANALECTA. 46^
S. OONGEEGATIO S. OFFIOn
(Seotio De Indulgentiis)
Decretum de Indulgentiis pio viae crucis exercitio
ADNEXIS.
Pium Viae Crucis, ut aiunt, exercitium, ad salutiferam sanc-
tissimi D. N. lesu Christi Passionem recolendam, a Romanis
Pontificibus enixe commendatum ac pluribus indulgentiis dita-
tum fuisse neminem latet. Et quoniam non semper nee ab
omnibus, erectas regulariter Stationes obeundo, peragi illud
poterat; non defuit apostolica Sedes, pro iis qui aut infirma
valetudine aut alia iusta causa impedirentur, brevioribus
precibus, ante simulacrum Ssmi Crucifix! per Fratres Minores
— queis ex privilegio apostolico pii eiusdem exercitii modera-
men spectat — ad hoc benedictum recitandis, easdem indul-
gentias adnectere.
Cum igitur per huiusmodi concessionem omnium fidelium
utilitati satis consultum fuerit; Emi ac Rmi DD. Cardinales
Inquisijtores generales, in plenario conventu habito feria IV
die 8 maii currentis anni, omnibus mature perpensis, con-
sulendum Ssmo decreverunt, ut quascumque alias, praeter mox
memoratam, hac super re concessiones, nominatim vero quae
Coronas, quas vocant, Viae Crucis respiciunt revocare, abro-
gare ac penitus abolere dignaretur: insimul declarando, facul-
tates omnes Coronas supradictas hunc in effectum benedicendi,
sacerdotibus quibuslibet, tam saecularibus quam regularibus,
in praestantioribus etiam dignitatibus constitutis, hucusque
quomodocumque impertitas, statim ab huius Decreti promulga-
tione, nullius amplius esse roboris.
Et sequenti feria V die 9 eiusdem mensis et anni, sanctis-
simus D. N. Pius divina providentia Pp. X, in solita audientia
R. P. D. Adsessori S. Officii impertita, Emorum Patrum votis
annuens, propositam ab eis resolutionem, suprema Sua auctori-
tate, in omnibus et singulis adprobare et confirmare dignatus
est.
Contrariis quibuscumque, etiam specialissima mentione
dignis, non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus S. Officii, die 24 iulii 1912.
M. Card. Rampolla.
L. * S.
■^ D. Archiep. Seleucien., Ads. S. O.
^^^ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
S. OONGEEGATIO DE PROPAGANDA FIDE
Pro Negotiis Ritus Orientalis
I.
Epistolae Circulares ad locorum Ordinarios Latini
RlTUS^ DE NON PERMITTENDIS OrIENTALIBUS ELEEMOSY-
NARUM EMENDICATIONIBUS ABSQUE VeNIA EIUSDEM S.
CONGREGATIONIS.
Illme ac Rme Domine,
Sacrae huic Congregationi de Propaganda Fide pro Nego-
tiis Rituum Orientalium persaepe recursum habent clarissimi
Viri in ecclesiastica dignitate et iurisdictione constituti, sive
Ordinarii, sive apostolicae Sedis Delegati, sive alii, a suprema
Auctoritate remedium flagitantes contra impro'bandam agendi
rationem quorumdam ad ritum Orientalem pertinentium, qui
hac et iliac, per Europae et Americae praesertim regiones,
cursitant ad eleemosynas colligendas, quaesito colore vel prae-
textu propriae missionis necessitates sublevandi.
Huiusmodi viri pecuniam colligentes, qui fere semper ad
clerum orientalem catholicum se pertinere dictitant, et quan-
doque etiam vestium ornamenta et titulos ecclesiasticarum
praeseferunt dignitatum, exhibent documenta Unguis et cha-
racteribus in Occidente parum cognitis conscripta, et sigillis
variis munita, quae ipsi asserunt a Praelatis, vel etiam a
Patriarchis orientalibus prodire, et fidem facere de viri ea ex-
hibentis honestate, et de necessitate eleemosynarum ad con-
struendas vel reparandas ecclesias, ad scholas vel nosocomia
aedificanda et sustentanda, ad orphanos alendos, aut populos
clade vel fame perculsos adiuvandos, vel ad aliud pium opus
promovendum.
Persaepe autem accidit documenta allata apocrypha esse,
virum ipsum sic emendicantem fraudulenter dignitatem et in-
signia ecclesiastica iactare et gerere (quae etiamsi constarent
vere concessa a suis Patriarchis, tamen gestari non possent nisi
intra limites territorialis iurisdictionis concedentis) ; quando-
que etiam nee sacerdotio insignitum nee ad Ordines Sacros
promotum esse: quinimo compertum est aliquando mendi-
cantem non solum schismaticum sed et infidelem esse.
ANALECTA.
467
Saepe etiam scopus ad eleemosynas captandas allatus fictus
omnino deprehenditur; et generatim pecunia collecta in bonum
privatum personale ipsius cedit, absque ullo beneficio vel leva-
mine orientalium fidelium aut praedictorum operum.
Quam perniciosa sit et turpis haec agendi ratio, nemo est
qui non videat ; nam bona fides et pietas catholicorum decipitur
et fraudatur, Orientis gentibus et ecclesiis dedecus affertur,
laeditur iustitia, et catholicum nomen non levem iacturam
patitur.
Quapropter sacra haec Congregatio et ipsi summi Romani
Pontifices semper conati sunt ut hi graves abusus fraudulentae
emendicationis amoverentur, uti constat ex litteris Innocentii
XI datis mense ianuario 1677, Clementis XII diei 26 martii
1736, et ceteris omissis, ex monitione ad apostolicae Sedis
Nuntios anni 1875.
Cum autem temporis decursu, dispositiones et monita a su-
prema Auctoritate lata in oblivionem decidisse videantur,
Sedes apostolica etiam nuperrime rogata fuit, ut denuo supra
memoratos abusus compesceret.
Attenta itaque hodierna itinerum facilitate, visum est non
solum praeteritas de hac re dispositiones confirmare, sed etiam
haec quae sequuntur statuere :
I. Ordinarii in sua dioecesi nullum Orientalem admittant
pecuniae collectorem cuiusvis Ordinis vel dignitatis ecclesias-
ticae, etiamsi exhibeat authentica documenta quolibet idiomate
exarata et sigillis munita, nisi authenticum ac recens praebeat
Rescriptum sacrae huius Congregationis, quo facultas eidem
fit, tum a propria dioecesi discedendi, tum eleemosynos colli-
gendi.
II. Quod si, neglectis hisce apostolicae Sedis mandatis, ali-
quis Ori en talis ecclesiasticus vir, etiamsi commendatitiis Prae*
lati sui literis munitus, Europam, Americam vel alias peragret
regiones ad eleemosynas coUigendas; Ordinarius loci in quo
versatur, eumdem moneat de vetita emendicatione, eumque
non admittat ad Missae celebrationem nee ad aliorum eccle-
siasticorum munerum exercitium.
III. Si autem pervicacem se prodat, Ordinarius, etiam per
publicas ephemerides, clerum et fideles moneat huiusmodi
pecuniae quaestus ut illicitos et reprobatos habendos esse.
468
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
IV. Demum, si aliquod dubium oriatur, Ordinarii ad hanc
sacram Congregationem referant, quae opportune providebit.
Contrariis quibuscumque minime obstantibus.
Datum Romae ex aedibus S. Congregationis de Propaganda
Fide pro Negotiis Ritus Orientalis, die i ianuarii anni 191 2.
Fr. H. M. Card. Gotti, Praefectus.
HiERONYMUS Roller:, a Secretis.
II.
LiTTERAE CiRCULARES AD SUPERIORES GeNERALES InSTITU-
TORUM Religiosorum Latini Ritus, de modo tenendo
ANTEQUAM OrIENTALES IN EORUM SODALITATES
admittantur.
Reverendissime Pater,
Per apostolicas Litteras Orientalium dignitas Ecclesiarum,
datas pridie calendas decembres anni 1894, Leo f. r. PP. XIII
quoad ingressum Orientalium in religiosas latinas Sodali-
tates praecepit: " NuUi utriusvis sexus, Ordini vel Instituto
religioso latini ritus, quempiam Oriental em inter sodales suos
fas erit recipere qui proprii Ordinarii testimoniales litteras
non ante exhibuerit."
Sapientissime quidem id cautum est, ut hac in re, et auctori-
tati Episcoporum, uti par est, deferetur, et una simul prae-
dictorum Ordinum bono prospiceretur, eisdem fide dignum
documentum suppeditando de postulantium vita et moribus.
Ast per memoratam praescriptionem derogatum non fuit
dispositionibus iampridem statutis, ac praesertim in generali
Conventu sacrae huius Congregationis habito die la lunii anni
1885, quibus praecipitur in singulis casibus recursus ad apo-
stolicam Sedem, seu ad S. Congregationem de Propaganda
Fide pro Negotiis Ritus Orientalis, ad quam etiam pertinet
facultatem tribuere ritum mutandi vel ad tempus, vel in per-
petuum.
lamvero, cum postremis hisce temporibus compertum sit,
non semel Orientales in religiosa Instituta latini ritus receptos
fuisse cum testimonialibus quidem litteris Ordinarii orientalis,
sed inconsulta prorsus apostolica Sede; sacra haec Congregatio
opportunum ducit Superiorum omnium, Institutis religiosis
latini ritus, cuiuscumque formae ac utriusvis sexus, praeposi-
ANALECTA.
469
torum, in mentem revocare obligationem qua tenentur, consu-
lendi nempe in scriptis sacram hanc Congregationem antequam
inter sodales suos aliquis Orientalis cooptetur.
Porro in supplici libello casus perspicue proponendus est
cum omnibus suis adiunctis; et exprimi non solum debent
nomen, agnomen, aetas, ritus et dioecesis postulantis, sed, si
de viro agatur, praecipue explicandum est utrum admitti pos-
tulet in Institutum votorum solemnium vel simplicium, et an
pro statu clericali vel laicali; nam pontificium Rescriptum, si
favorabile sit, diversimode conceditur pro diversitate casuum.
Interim Deum precor ut te diutissime sospitet
Romae, die 15 iunii 191 2.
Tuus, Reverendissime Pater,
Addictissimus
Fr. H. M. Card. Gotti^ Praefectus,
HiERONYMUS ROLLERI, Secretarius.
EOMAN OUEIA.
PONTIFICAL APPOINTMENTS.
A Pontifical Brief issued through the S. Congregation " de
Propaganda Fide " nominates :
/ July, igi2: The Right Rev. Daniel Mannix, president of
Maynooth College, has been made Coadjutor cum jure succes-
sionis of the Archbishop of Melbourne (Australia), with the
title of Archbishop of Pharsala.
75 July, ipi2: The Very Rev. D. Niceta Budka, Prefect of
Studies in the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Lemberg (Leo-
poli) in Galizia, of the Ruthenian Rite, Bishop for the Ruth-
enian Catholics in Canada, with the title of Bishop of Patara
(Furnas).
8 August, ipi2: The Holy Father appoints Mgr. John
Dunne, Bishop of Wilcannia, in Australia, assistant to the
Pontifical throne.
Stubies anb Conferences*
OUK ANALEOTA.
The Roman Documents of the month are:
1. Pontifical Letter addressed to the Hierarchy of South
America regarding the condition of the Indian tribes. The
Holy Father adverts to the inhuman treatment accorded to the
Indians in South America and bids the bishops cooperate in
every way with the civil government for the amelioration of
existing conditions. He solicits the prayers of the faithful
and other charitable aid to the same end ; he directs the estab-
lishment of new mission centres or stations, whither the Indians
may resort for protection. He brands as a heinous crime the
sale, purchase, or exchange of slaves or in any way holding
them in abject servitude. He prohibits likewise the forced
separation of the Indians from their wives and children; the
despoiling them of their goods; transporting them to other
localities as slaves; or in any way depriving them of their
God-given liberty. The same condemnation extends to those
who, under whatsoever pretext, counsel, abet or favor the
aforesaid practices, or who teach that they are permissible
under any circumstances. The violation of the above injunc-
tions involves ecclesiastical censure reserved to the Ordinaries.
2. " Motu Proprio " concerning Catholic immigrants. On
account of the increasing emigration of Catholics to foreign
lands, entailing frequently danger to their faith and morals,
a new department has been established in the Congregation of
the Consistory to direct the spiritual care of immigrants. It
will be the duty of this section to ascertain and provide for
immigrants of the Latin Rite whatever may be necessary to
better conditions, in matters that relate to the salvation of
souls. The jurisdiction of the Propaganda over Oriental im-
migrants remains as heretofore. Immigrant priests will be
under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Propaganda. Accord-
ingly the rulings of the Sacred Congregation of the Council
in this matter are revoked.
S. Congregation of Rites: i. Determines the manner of
concluding Matins and beginning Lauds in the Offices of the
Triduum of Holy Week and of the Dead.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
471
2. Decides that, in chanting the Lessons, Versicles, and the
portions of Psalm verses marked by an asterisk, whenever a
monosyllable or a Hebrew word occurs at the end, it is per-
missible to alter the cadence, or to retain the customary mode
of chanting.
3. Instructs Ordinaries and Superiors of Religious Orders
and Communities that for the future, when asking permission
to give up their special calendars and to use the general cal-
endar of the Church, adding to it only those Feasts which can
be called proper in the strict sense as laid down in the Apo-
stolic Constitution " Divino Afflatu " and in the New Rubrics
(Tit. II, num. 2, litt. e.), they will send with their requests
the list of added Feasts, stating why they are proper.
S. Congregation of Consistory: i. Publishes a circular
letter instructing the Bishops of Italy regarding the course of
studies and discipline in theological seminaries.
2. Decree on the exclusion of a number of Biblical works
from seminaries.
3. Decides that the decree " Maxima cura " applies in Aus-
tralia.
Holy Office (Section of Indulgences) nullifies all con-
cessions which permit the attaching of the indulgences of the
Stations of the Cross to devotions other than the prayers to
be said before a crucifix blessed by a member of the Fran-
ciscan Order for that purpose.
S. Congregation of Propaganda issues two circular let-
ters: I. The first is addressed to the Ordinaries of the Latin
Rite and adds the following regulations to those already in
force regarding Orientals who shall make collecting tours :
a. Ordinaries are not to admit them into their dioceses with-
out a rescript from this Congregation authorizing them to
leave their own countries for the purpose of collecting alms,
no matter what other documents they present.
b. If it happen that a collector of this kind has overlooked
the present order and visits Europe, America, or elsewhere,
for contributions, the bishop of the place in which he happens
to be will warn him that his collecting is forbidden and will
not allow him to say Mass, nor admit him to the exercise of
any ecclesiastical function.
472 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
c. Should the person thus warned fail to heed the admoni-
tion, the Ordinary will duly notify his clergy and people that
the canvass for funds in the case is illicit.
d. In cases of doubt the bishop, before giving his approval,
will consult the S. Congregation for direction.
2. To Superior Generals of Religious Orders and Commu-
nities of the Latin Rite, reminding them of their strict obli-
gation to consult the Propaganda in writing before admitting
any one of the Oriental Rite to membership. Testimonial
letters from the Ordinary of the applicant will not suffice.
Further, in having this recourse, each case is to be set forth
clearly and in all its circumstances. The name, surname, age,
rite, and diocese of the candidate must be given. In case the
candidate is a man, it is to be stated whether the community
he desires to enter is one of solemn or of simple vows, and
whether he aspires to be a priest or a lay brother.
Roman Curia gives list of recent pontifical appointments.
SIXTEENTH OENTENAET OF THE PEOOLAMATION OP OHEISTIAN
LIBERTY. (313-1913.)
In connexion with the article, in the earlier pages of this
number, on Constantine's Proclamation of Religious Liberty,
it is pertinent to publish the following documents :
I.
Rome, Palazzo Altemps, 8 Via S. Apollinare,
3 May^ 191 2.
Sir,
The President of the Supreme Council appointed by His
Holiness Pius X, in a letter of His Eminence the Cardinal
Secretary of State, dated 24 January, 191 2, for the celebration
of the Centenary Festival of the proclamation of the peace of
the Church, has sent to all the Bishops, Vicars and Prefects
Apostolic of the Catholic world a circular and a program of
the festivities which the Supreme Council proposes to carry
out in the year 191 3, in which the sixteenth Centenary of the
Edict of Constantine occurs.
The undersigned has, therefore, the honour of sending you
herewith this program, so that you may publish it in your
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 473
paper or periodical, and give it the widest possible diffusion
among Catholics, to invite them to take part in this solemn
centennial celebration, wliich, according to the express desire
of the Holy Father, should prove a world-wide manifestation
of faith.
At the same time you are earnestly requested to report in
your publication from the Osservatore Romano the communi-
cations made to it by this Supreme Council, to make known
the progress of the work.
Yours, etc.
MARIO Prince CHIGI,
President.
Prof. Orazio Marucchi,
General Secretary.
II.
Letter of H. E. Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val, Sec-
retary OF State to His Holiness, to H. E. Cardinal
F. Di Paola Cassetta, Bishop of Frascati.
Most Eminent and Most Rev. Lord,
It was to be expected that the Head Association of the Holy
Cross and the Society for rendering Honour to the Christian
Martyrs should take the initiative in a solemn and universal
commemoration of the Sixteenth Centenary of the Edict of
Constantine, by which the Church at last obtained official re-
cognition and that liberty and peace of which the price was the
Cross of Christ and the blood of the Christian Martyrs. The
Holy Father has learnt of this initiative with lively satisfac-
tion, and is much pleased that on the eve of such a memor-
able date the happy idea has arisen of inviting all the Catho-
lics of the world to celebrate a fact which, preceded by the
glorious victory of Constantine over Maxentius, marked for
the Church the first of those triumphs, numerous as its per-
secutions, that have accompanied it in its career and will ac-
company it till the end of time.
In order that these festivities may be worthy of the great
event which it is proposed to commemorate after a lapse of
sixteen centuries. His Holiness desires to entrust the program
and its execution to a Supreme Council, of which He calls to
474
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
form part, excellent Catholics, well known for their sincere
faith, their zeal and activity, and assigns to them the different
offices as follow :
Honorary President: H. Exc. Prince D. Marcantonio
COLONNA.
President: H. Exc. Prince D. Mario Chigi.
Vice-Presidents: Count ViNCENZO Macchi, Mgr. LoHN-
INGER, Mgr. Anthony De Waal.
Ecclesiastical Assistant: Mgr. Vincenzo Bianchi-
Cagliesi.
Treasurer: Cav. Camillo Serafini.
General Secretary: Comm. Prof. Orazio Marucchi.
Secretaries: AuGUSTO Bevignani, for the Italian language;
Cav. Dr. Pio Pagliucchi, for the Italian language; The V.
Rev. Emmanuel Bailly, for the French language; Mgr.
John Prior, for the English language; The Rev. Dr. John
Jedin, for the German language; The V. Rev. Joachim
ViVES Y TUTO^ O.M.C., for the Spanish language.
The August Pontiff entrusts the high protection of this
Council to Your Eminence, well knowing that if the activity
of its members is displayed under the wise guidance of Y. E..
the solemn commemoration of the Victory of the Cross will
prove what His Holiness desires it to be a solemn manifesta-
tion of faith and a warm appeal to all Catholics to draw nearer
to this August Sign, in which is salvation for all, life and the
hope of a glorious resurrection.
Lastly, while I beg Y. E. to make known to the aforesaid
persons this gracious act of the Pontifical consideration, I
communicate to you the Apostolic Penediction which the Holy
Father gives them from His heart, and above all to Y. E..
in token of His fatherly benevolence.
With feelings of profound veneration, I most humbly kiss
Your Eminence's hands and have much pleasure in signing
myself
Your Eminence's most humble and most devoted servant,
R. Card. Merry del Val.
Rome, 24 January, 1912.
H. E. Cardinal Francis di Paola Cassetta,
Bishop of Frascati.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 47c
III.
Centenary Festival of the Proclamation of the Peace
OF THE Church (313-1913).
the supreme council.
Program.
The year 191 3 brings the sixteenth centenary of the grant-
ing of freedom and peace to the Church, through the official
recognition of Christianity and of the essential rights of
Christian society, proclaimed by the Emperor Constantine in
the Edict of Milan in the spring of the year 313.
This great fact, which followed closely the glorious victory
won by Constantine over Maxentius under the walls of Rome
on the 28 October, 312, has a weight and a meaning of the
highest import in history and calls for a special commemora-
tion in our own days. It changed the fortunes of the world,
and in its centennial celebration all the nations should rejoice,
for to Christianity they owe their highest glories, their chief
progress in material and moral welfare, and generally their
advance in civilization. Catholic nations have special reasons
for joy in this commemoration, and above all Italy, which
more than all the others felt the beneficent influence of the
new civilization in religion, manners and customs, sciences,
literature and the fine arts. And among all the cities of Italy,
Rome has its own peculiar grounds for exultation, as this seat
of the Successors of St. Peter shone with a new glory, and
shed the light of its supremacy, of faith, of justice, and of
charity over the whole civilized world.
Under the inspiration of these lofty ideas and noble sen-
timents, two Roman Associations — the Head Association of
the Holy Cross and the Society for rendering Honour to the
Christian Martyrs — have initiated a movement to make a
solemn commemoration in the year 191 3 of the great event
of the year 313, which in its importance reaches far beyond
the bounds of individual nations and belongs to the world's
history.
The chief lines of the program which the Supreme Council
appointed by the Pope intends, with the aid of local Com-
mittees, to carry out, are the following :
476
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
1. The erection of a sacred monument near the Milvian
Bridge, where the Emperor Constantine defeated Maxentius,
which will serve as a memorial of glorious deeds to future
generations, and at the same time minister to the spiritual
needs of the population in that new quarter.
2. The promotion in Italy and elsewhere of solemn acts
of thanksgiving to God, and of special festivities, together
with publications, learned as well as popular, so that all may
know the importance of the great religious and historical
fact that is being commemorated.
All Catholics, therefore, are invited to take part in this
celebration, through the constitution of local Committees
under the direction of their own Bishops, and in touch with
the Supreme Council of Rome, so that everywhere there may
be a common commemoration of so great an event in the
manner best suited to each individual place.
A remembrance of this first triumph of the Church and of
the liberty and true peace brought by Jesus Christ to the
world with the conquering sign of the Cross, is all the more
opportune in the times in which we live, that the powers of
darkness are waging fierce war on all sides against the Chris-
tian Religion, with tendencies and insinuations of a return to
paganism.
The Cross of Christ was the banner under which were pro-
claimed those principles that freed mankind from the shame-
ful yoke of idolatry and from the barbarism of slavery, taught
the true equality and brotherhood of men, raised woman to
her noble mission in life, and gave rise to the marvelous for-
mation of the nations, which, by virtue of the supernatural
principles of Christianity they embraced, have for so many
centuries been the safeguard of human society and the bul-
wark of true civilization.
This solemn commemoration of the victory of the Cross
should also be the expression of our heartfelt prayer that
under this glorious sign all men may join with us in the pro-
fession of the true faith, of sincere and ardent love toward
the Divine Redeemer of souls, and that all may be united as
brothers in that Christian charity which is the best pledge of
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 477
enduring peace and the source of moral and material well-
being.
The President
MARIO Prince CHIGI.
The General Secretary
ORAZIO MARUCCHI.
Rome, 1st of March, 191 2.
THE NEW DEOEEE ON MIXED MAERIAGES.
Quite recently sensational reports were published in the
secular journals to the effect that the ante-nuptial promises or
cautiones required for the marriages between Catholics and
non- Catholics were abolished by a decree of the Church. It
does not enter into the purpose of the present article to refer
to the grave guilt of causing or of immediately cooperating in
the publication of such a false and mischievous statement.
We are concerned rather with ascertaining the true interpre-
tation of a decree which has been so grossly misunderstood
as to produce the impression that the obligation of the ante-
nuptial promises has been in any respect relaxed.
The decree to which reference is here made was issued by
the Congregation of the Holy Office, 21 June of the present
year. On the same date two other decrees were issued by this
Congregation on the subject of marriage; but of these we shall
have occasion to speak incidentally later on in the course of
this paper. The decree whose scope and meaning we propose
now to examine is entitled — " De Parochi Adsistentia Matri-
moniis Mixtis in quibus praescriptae Cautiones a Contra-
hentibus pervicaciter detrectantur." The Decree itself, like
many other decrees of the Holy See, consists of two portions.
One is expository in which is set forth the occasion for issuing
the decree ; the other is statutory, expressing what the S. Con-
gregation prescribes. It is obvious that the statutory portion
of a decree is of greater import since it contains the legisla-
tion enacted by the Congregation, although the expository or
explanatory portion is not without utility. For the sake of
brevity we shall quote only the statutory or legislative por-
tion: " Praescriptionem Decreti Ne temere, n. IV,. 3, de requi-
rendo per parochum excipiendoque, ad validitatem matrimonii,
478
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
nupturientium consensu, in matrimoniis mixtis in quibus de-
bitas cautiones exhibere pervicaciter partes renuant, locum
posthac non habere; sed standum taxative praecedentibus
Sanctae Sedis ac praesertim s. m. Gregorii PP. XVI (Litt.
app. diei 30 Aprilis 1841 ad Episcopos Hungariae) ad rem
concessionibus et instructionibus : facto verbo cum Ssmo."
This quotation may be with substantial correctness translated
as follows: The prescriptive clause in art. 4, n. 3 of the Ne
temere Decree requiring that the pastor should for the validity
of the marriage ask and receive the matrimonial consent of
the contracting parties, does not hold henceforth for mixed
marriages in which the parties obstinately refuse to present
the necessary cautiones; but we are to stand strictly by the
previous concessions and instructions given in the matter by
the Holy See, and in particular by those of Gregory XVI in
his Apostolic Letter to the Bishops of Hungary, 30 April,
1841.
There are two statements made in the words quoted, one
of which is a modification of a particular clause of the Ne
temere; the other expresses a rule of action to be followed
henceforward. Each may be considered separately.
What is the modification introduced? Previous to the de-
cree Ne temere it was sufficient, so far as the impediment of
clandestinity was concerned, that the parish priest and two
witnesses be present when the contracting parties expressed
matrimonial consent. Let us suppose, for example, that a man
and a woman went before their pastor and two others who
could give testimony of the expression of matrimonial con-
sent; and suppose that those parties wishing to contract mar-
riage and having no impediment which would render their
marriage invalid, expressed or manifested their matrimonial
consent in the presence of the parish priest and two witnesses.
As soon as this expression of consent was thus given, a valid
marriage was contracted, even though the parish priest did
not say a word or even though he declared most positively
his unwillingness for the marriage to be contracted. These
marriages (surprise marriages, as they were called) did some-
times occur in Europe and were valid, since the law of clan-
destinity only required that the contracting parties, otherwise
free from matrimonial impediment, express consent to become
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 479
husband and wife in the presence of the parish priest and wit-
nesses. It is not difficult to understand how such surprise
marriages, even though valid, might lead to abuses. Now to
obviate this evil, the Holy See in the Ne temere introduced a
clause whereby for the validity of a marriage it became nec-
essary for the parish priest or his delegate to ask and accept
the matrimonial consent of the parties wishing to contract
marriage ; otherwise the marriage would be invalid. Accord-
ing to this legislation it would be useless for parties to come
before the pastor and witnesses to express matrimonial con-
sent ; for if they did so without the pastor asking and accept-
ing this consent, there would be no real marriage at all.
Now the new decree of the Holy Office quoted above pro-
duces a certain modification, so that it is now possible to have
a marriage valid without the pastor demanding and accepting
the matrimonial consent of the contracting parties. The only
case in which this could arise is mentioned in the decree itself.
When a mixed marriage is contracted, in which the parties
maliciously refuse to make the required cautiones or promises,
the omission on the part of the pastor in asking and accepting
the matrimonial consent of the contracting parties will not
invalidate the marriage. When we say a mixed marriage we
use the term in the sense in which mixtum matrimonium is
used in the decree of the Holy Office, viz., to signify solely a
marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic.
When the Holy Office has occasion to treat of marriages be-
tween Catholics and unbaptized persons, it does not employ
the expression, mixtum matrimonium, as may be seen from
the two decrees on marriage issued by that Congregation on
the same date as the decree under discussion.^ When then a
marriage is attempted to be contracted between a Catholic and
a baptized non-Catholic, the cautiones being obstinately re-
fused, the omission on the part of the pastor to demand and
accept the matrimonial consent of the intending contracting
parties will not render the marriage invalid. There is no
reference, as has been said, in this decree to a marriage be-
tween a Catholic and unbaptized person. Hence if these
parties after procuring the necessary dispensation in disparitas
1 Cf. EccLES. Review, Sept., 1912, pp. 330-1.
48o
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
cultus were to contract marriage without the pastor requiring
and accepting the matrimonial consent, the marriage would
be null and void. Similarly, of course, if two Catholics were
to contract marriage without this action of the officiating pas-
tor, the marriage would be invalid. The reason in both cases
is that it is only when there is question of a mixtum matri-
monium, in which one of the parties is a Catholic, and the
other is a baptized non-Catholic, that the decree modifies the
Ne temere. This is evident from the very words in which the
modification is expressed in the decree, and no comment is
needed.
A question of some importance may here be considered.
What application has this modifying clause of the decree to
the United States? Speculatively, it applies to this country
as it does to the whole Latin Church; practically it effects
here no change whatever. Notice the distinction. The omis-
sion of the pastor to ask and accept the matrimonial consent
does not now invalidate the marriage which is attempted to
be contracted between a Catholic and a baptized non- Catholic,
refusing the cautiones, just as that omission would not have
invalidated such a marriage or indeed any marriage eight
years ago, before the Ne temere was introduced. In other
words, so far as a mixed marriage is concerned, we return to
the condition of things existing before the Ne temere from
the time of the Council of Trent.
In order to judge how far the modification above referred
to will have any appreciable application in the United States,
let us take a concrete case. Let us suppose that two persons,
a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic refusing to present the
cautiones, want to get married by a priest. In the various
States of the Union civil licenses are required for the cele-
bration of marriage, and the officiating minister, priest or
any other officer recognized by the State, is required to sign a
certificate of the marriage at which he officiated. Now if such
parties come before a priest to get married and refuse to make
the cautiones, the priest will refuse to marry them, as he is
strictly bound to refuse, and as he has been always in this
country bound to do so. When the priest refuses to perform
the marriage ceremony, he will also of course refuse to give
any certificate of marriage, and the parties will have con-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
481
tracted no legal marriage by appearing before him. When it
is known that they contract no legal marriage before the
priest without his consent, they will surely not ask him to
officiate, aware of the answer they must receive. It is there-
fore evident that the first clause of the decree has no practical
application to mixed marriages in the United States. Still
the point will become, if possible, still clearer when we come
to examine the second clause of the decree, which we now pro-
ceed to do.
The second clause prescribes the regulation to be followed
in mixed marriages when the contracting parties obstinately
refuse to make the required promises. This regulation de-
mands strict conformity with previous concessions and in-
structions of the Holy See, in particular of Gregory XVI to
the Bishops of Hungary in 1 841 : " Standum taxative prae-
cedentibus Sanctae Sedis ac praesertim s. m. Gregorii PP.
XVI Litt. app. diei 30 Aprilis — ad rem concessionibus et in-
structionibus." We have carefully examined the Apostolic
Letter of Gregory XVI referred to in the decree. It may be
found in the Collectanea de Prop. Fide, n. 1428. It is clear
from this document that the Roman Pontiff gave permission
to the Bishops of Hungary for what is called material pres-
ence of the pastor at a mixed marriage under certain circum-
stances. In this Letter the Sovereign Pontiff mentions that
through the dioceses of the kingdom of Hungary an abuse
had commonly existed under which without any dispensation
of the Church or previous cautiones marriages were performed
with blessing and sacred rites by Catholic pastors. Then,
after bewailing such a condition in which the most lamentable
indifferentism in religion had prevailed through Hungary,
His Holiness testifies to the consolation he received from the
knowledge that the Bishops were striving to correct these
abuses and that the rest of the clergy were carrying out the
admonitions of their Bishops for that purpose. In the same
letter His Holiness tells the Bishops that He could not avoid
considering the exposition of the very grave difficulties indi-
cated in their Letter to Him, difficulties on account of which
they deemed themselves almost compelled to tolerate the
practice, viz., that when a Catholic persists in the .attempt to
contract a mixed marriage without the necessary cautiones
482
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
and when the matter cannot be prevented without greater evil
to religion, the pastor might assist passively, abstaining from
all religious rite and from every sign of approval. The Pope
then declares that on account of the calamitous circumstances
of the country he permits the Bishops of Hungary to follow
that course, and gives them the following direction : '* Siqui-
dem igitur, Venerabiles Fratres, in Regni istius dioecesibus ex
temporum, locorum, ac personarum conditione quandoque con-
tingat, ut matrimonium acatholici viri cum Catholica muliere
et vicissim, deficientibus licet Cautionibus ab Ecclesia prae-
scriptis, absque majoris mali scandalique periculo, in reli-
gionis perniciem interverti omnino non possit, simulque (ver-
bis utimir gloriosae memoriae Pii VII in supranunciata epis-
tola ad Archiep. Maguntinum) in Ecclesiae utilitatem et com-
mune bonum vergere posse dignoscatur, si hujusmodi nuptiae
quantumlibet vetitae et illicitae, coram Catholico parocho
potius quam coram ministro haeretico, ad quem partes facile
confugerent, celebrentur: tunc parochus Catholicus aliusve
sacerdos ejus vice fungens poterit iisdem nuptiis materiali tan-
tum praesentia, excluso quovis ecclesiastico ritu, adesse," etc.
Now it should be carefully noticed that Gregory XVI
granted this permission to the Bishops of Hungary only in
those circumstances in which the conditions expressed in the
words quoted are found to be fulfilled. It should be also
noted that the decree of the Holy Office we are examining
does not give authority to the Bishops of other countries to
permit the material presence of the pastor, when the circum-
stances of such countries do not demand it. The word taxa-
tive limits the faculties of the Ordinaries of those places to
which it was formerly granted under most grave circum-
stances ; or at least this faculty is not extended to any country
not situated in the same sad conditions as Hungary in 1841.
Some light may be thrown upon the concession made by
Gregory XVI to the Hungarian Bishops and upon the proper
interpretation of the decree of the Holy Office referring to
that concession, if we consult canonists and theologians who
treat the question of that concession. Thus Gasparri, now a
Cardinal, in his work De Matrimonio, Vol. i, n. 447, lays
down the following practical regulation : " Caeterum etiam in
his locis pro quibus istiusmodi declarationes a S. Sede datae
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 483
sunt, parochus in praedictis casibus, antequam matrimonio
mere passive assistat, consulat Ordinarium. Quod si prae-
dicti casus occurrant in locis pro quibus S. Sedes declarationem
non edidit, Ordinarius parocho assistentiam mere passivam
non permittat, sed si tempus est, recurrat ad S. Sedem." Ac-
cordingly, in those places from which passive assistance was
permitted, the pastor was bound to consult the Ordinary ; while
in places for which no concession of this kind was made by
the Holy See, the Ordinary was not to permit passive assist-
ance, but refer the case, if there was time, to the Holy See.
There is another writer, whose authority, especially in ques-
tions relating to the United States, is of great weight, the late
Fr. Putzer. In his commentary upon the Apostolic Faculties
this author holds the same view as Cardinal Gasparri : "Si
praedicti casus occurrant in locis, pro quibus S. Sedes dec-
larationem non edidit, Ordinarius priusquam parocho assisten-
tiam permittat, si tempus est, recurrat ad S. Sedem " (n. 219).
Any one who takes the trouble will find other standard canon-
ists and theologians holding the same opinion.
What then is to be held regarding the second clause of the
decree quoted above? I. It is quite certain that a pastor could
not render passive assistance at a marriage in which the cau-
tiones are refused, without consulting his Ordinary. 2. It is
beyond doubt that the Bishops of the United States have never
asked for their dioceses any such concession as the one made
to the Bishops of Hungary; it is equally beyond doubt that
the Holy See has never made this concession to the United
States; nor has the situation in the United States ever been
such as moved Gregory XVI to grant to the Bishops of Hun-
gary a toleration for passive assistance of the pastor without
the required cautiones. 3. There is nothing in the new decree
of the Holy Office which affords any grounds for the notion
circulated in secular papers, viz., that by that decree the cau-
tiones previously required for marriages between Catholics
and non- Catholics were set aside.
Relative to this last point it must be maintained that the
obligation of the cautiones or ante-nuptial promises is as grave
now as it ever was; nay more, that it rests upon the natural
and divine law, in which the Church herself cannot dispense.
This latter statement, besides being the common opinion of
484
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
theologians and canonists, is proved from various documents
of the Roman Pontiffs. We may take, for example, the Apo-
stolic Letter of Gregory XVI, in which he says : " Quae certe
cautiones in ipsa divina et naturali lege fundantur, in quam
procul dubio gravissime peccat quisquis se vel futuram sobolem
perversionis periculo temere committit." The celebrated In-
struction of the Holy See, 15 November, 1858, addressed to
all the Bishops of the Church, referring to mixta matrimonia
and the cautiones absolutely required to obtain a dispensation
for such marriages, says: "Quae quidem cautiones remitti, seu
dispensari nunquam possunt, cum ipsa naturali ac divina lege
fundentur." We may here add what the Third Plenary Coun-
cil of Baltimore (n. 120) declares: " Hinc fit ut quando de
impedimento mixtae religionis agitur, Ecclesia sine gravi
causa et absque promissione adhibendi Cautiones, quibus peri-
culum pro parte Catholica et prole fiat remotum, nunquam
dispenset." Hence there is no foundation for the statement
that the ante-nuptial promises or cautiones are abolished;
indeed this proposition is deserving of theological censure;
it is at least temerarious ; and the S. Congregation of the In-
dex would have no hesitation in condemning the newspaper
or other publication defending it.
At the close of the paragraph containing the statutory part
of the decree upon which we have been commenting, there are
four words added, " Facto verbo cum Ssmo." These words
are not found in every decree issued by a Roman Congrega-
tion. In fact comparatively few decrees have this adjunct.
The clause indicates that, if the Congregation should not
have authority for issuing a decree upon a particular matter
which might be outside its proper province, the Sovereign
Pontiff confers by special act the requisite authority. The
clause is employed whenever the decree certainly derogates
from some law still existing, or exceeds the faculty habitually
possessed by the Congregation; it is likewise used whenever
it is doubtful whether the decree is opposed to some law or
exceeds the faculty of the Congregation issuing it. The de-
cree Ne temere had been enacted by another S. Congregation,
that of the Council ; and before attempting to modify even in
the slightest particular that decree, the S. Congregation of
the Holy Office consulted the Roman Pontiff.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 485
From the exposition of the decree given above it is not diffi-
cult to understand its purport and to perceive that it produces
no practical change in the United States. What effects it
may produce in some European dioceses is outside our pres-
ent discussion.
When the popular excitement was at its highest regarding
the meaning of the new enactment, the Archbishop of St.
Louis was interviewed by some newspaper. The published
reply was : " There are no changes whatever in the Ne temere
decree concerning mixed marriages. Ante-nuptial promises
will continue to be made. All announcements to the contrary
are misleading and untrue, and particularly unfortunate, as
they render even more difficult the enforcement of the law."
His Grace's reply, it is superfluous to say, was entirely correct.
He was speaking of the meaning and application of the decree
in regard to the United States. Indeed the first part of the
reply was the only one that could have been safely given to
the public, since it would have been worse than useless — it
would have been pernicious — to draw attention to a slight
modification of the Ne temere which had no practical relation
to this country, and which would have been misinterpreted to
signify some relaxation of the cautiones. The other part of
his answer was not only accurate like the preceding, but it
was of immense importance for arresting the publication of
false interpretations of the decree.
Here it may not be devoid of interest or utility to notice
an objection which perhaps might be made to a statement
given above, viz. that the cautiones for mixed marriages are
strictly obligatory by natural law and that the Church has no
power to dispense in these cautiones. It is to be remembered,
although already familiar to most of the clergy, that this strict
obligation regards a marriage to be contracted, matrimonium
contrahendum, not a marriage already contracted, though in-
validly. For instance, a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic
were married three or four years ago before a Protestant min-
ister or a civil magistrate, and therefore invalidly, since the
Ne temere decree, which came into effect in 1908, required for
the validity of the marriage the presence of the pastor or his
delegate. Let us suppose that the unfortunate Catholic con-
sort, realizing his or her condition of concubinage, begins to
486
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
repent and has recourse to the pastor. The non-Catholic
agrees to renew matrimonial consent before the pastor and
witnesses, but refuses to make any engagement regarding the
Catholic training of the children already born or to be born.
The grave circumstances of the case, e. g. the difficulty or im-
possibility of separating the Catholic from the non- Catholic
party, the impossibility of procuring subsistence for the chil-
dren in the event of separation, etc., may form a sufficient
reason justifying the revalidation of the marriage, even though
the cautiones be not made. It is not that the Church attempts
to dispense in the natural law, but the natural law which always
prescribes the cautiones in a matrimonium contrahendum does
not on account of altered circumstances always prescribe them
in a matrimonium contractum. Hence the possibility of reval-
idation without the cautiones of the non- Catholic party in no
manner conflicts with the universal obligation sub gravi of
securing the cautiones when there is question of a matrimonium
contrahendum.
Enough perhaps has been said in this article to show that
the new decree of the Holy Office neither expresses nor insinu-
ates anything which would make mixed marriages to be more
easily contracted henceforth than heretofore. The Church
has always detested mixed marriages, as we know on the best
authority, and must always detest them ; and there is no reason
to fear that our Bishops will yield one iota in the law demand-
ing the cautiones for mixed marriages. It would be an evil
day for the Catholic Church in America to have that law
weakened by non-observance. Although the law be now ob-
served in this country, as it has always been, there is reason
to fear that through the pagan notions about marriage preva-
lent among non- Catholics, the cautiones are not always ser-
iously made by the non- Catholic contracting party. To-day,
as everyone knows, the civil courts all over the land attempt
to dissolve the matrimonial bond so that the non- Catholic
usually thinks that the bond of matrimony can be really
broken. He makes the ante-nuptial promises in order to
eff"ect a union with a Catholic, having the appearance of a
marriage; and he intends to make a contract which he wishes
to last just until circumstances render it convenient for him
to procure a civil divorce. It belongs to the essence of matri-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
487
mony that there be a consensus matrimonialis such as God or-
dained to be requisite for the validity of the contract. One
of the essential properties of marriage as divinely instituted
is that the bond cannot be dissolved. Hence if the non- Cath-
olic party intended to make a contract whose bond he would
hold himself free to determine, there would be no real mar-
riage at all — only concubinage. Accordingly to secure a valid
marriage between a Catholic and a non- Catholic, the latter
should understand that there is no true marriage without in-
terior consent to an indissoluble union, since this consent is di-
vinely required for a valid marriage. There is much ground
for fearing that a large proportion of the marriages between
Catholics and non- Catholics are invalid from a defect of the
essential consent. It is on this account chiefly that some
Bishops have made regulations prescribing that before dis-
pensations can be granted for the marriage of Catholics with
non- Catholics, the latter should previously undergo a course
of instruction. Whenever such a method is feasible, it seems
to be an excellent means of securing the validity of the mar-
riage. Some months ago there was an able article in the
pages of this Review, showing the good results of requir-
ing an interval for the instruction of the non- Catholic before
contracting marriage with a Catholic. Apart from the consid-
eration of procuring converts, which of itself alone is a matter
of the highest moment, there is the other reason that an op-
portunity is given to instruct the non- Catholic in the essentials
of marriage so as to guard against its invalidity through a
defect in the necessary consent.
In the foregoing article we have given what we consider
the true meaning of the decree, and we can find no ground for
the interpretation given to it by a certain Catholic journal
edited by a priest. Let the reader judge for himself from the
following extracts : " By this latest decree the requirements of
the Ne temere regarding the ante-nuptial promises are abro-
gated. Now in cases where the Protestant party stubbornly
refuses to sign the promises the priest may go on and marry
the parties to avoid the greater evil of an invalid marriage
or a marriage before a heretical minister. This is a sweep-
ing enactment, and in the given cases practically does away
with the ante-nuptial engagements in mixed marriages." By
488
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the way, the author of the above statement does not appear ta
have ever read the Ne temere decree, which makes no mention
explicitly or implicitly of ante-nuptial promises. The poison
of his statement is not, however, in the error of fact, which
might be overlooked, but in the dogmatic falsehood that ante-
nuptial promises are or could be abrogated. Another extract
is as follows : " If the Bishops were to make the proper repre-
sentations to Rome we feel sure that the provision of the Ne
temere regarding the prenuptial promises would be abrogated
in all marriages where one of the parties is a non- Catholic.
In fact many of the Bishops would gladly see the impediment
of disparity of cult abolished altogether, and we join in that
sentiment." There is no comment needed for either of these
statements; they are plain enough, un-Catholic enough, as
well as calumnious. Quite a lengthy syllabus of errors could
be easily drawn up from the articles on the decree by the same
writer. But cui bono? The author of these errors may have
intended no harm, and I can readily believe he did not; but
harm is done by these errors independently of his intention "^
and the Church in condemning false and dangerous opinions
regards the objective, not the subjective sense of the writer's
words. This writer poses as the champion of Catholic doc-
trine and repeatedly carps at a trifling and accidental lapsus
calami of another, thinking thus to succeed in blinding the
public to the most flagrant errors of his own, alike scandalous
to the faithful, and disrespectful to the Hierarchy.
M. Martin, S.J.
St. Louis University.
A PLEA POR OUE AGEING OLERGY.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
It has long been lamented among the Protestant clergy that
a man past middle age is not wanted in the ministry ; but it is
only of late, when, thanks to improved conditions, there is an
interim in some priests' lives between full strength and death,
that we see an increasing number of retired; and this even
while hundreds of small places are without Mass on Sun-
days, and hardly a parish that would not profit by fuller
pastoral care.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
489
No sensible man likes to be or to see a " dog in the man-
ger " ; and so when it is said : " Father So-and-so is growing^:
old, and unable to do his work as formerly ", the conclusion is :
" It would be well if he would retire ".
An old man has not the grip to hold the reins as tight as-
before; the trouble is partly mental. " Cui bono?" he says,
" to try and make water run up hill, to endeavor to make:-
people good in your way." It is a thought from the devil,,
but physical weakening is at the base of it.
He has at times the old enthusiasm to begin undertakings,
but not the continued strength to carry them through. He
becomes so tender-hearted that to oppose the sinner causes
him pain. On the other hand, to shut his eyes to the evil,
troubles his conscience. He has an exaggerated idea of his
own responsibility for what goes wrong in the parish ; and this;
may render him overcritical or cranky. Yes, he ought to
retire.
And yet a priest is of all men the least fitted to carry the
burden of life when he gives up his work. His education has
not qualified him for anything else; his cloth almost forbids
his taking up other occupation; few have even cultivated a
hobby which they might continue to ride.
Nor has he the asylum of home to fly to ; the " art d'etre
grandpere " which cheers the lives of so many aged men, is
not for him. Retiring, he must either have laid by something
or be a beggar for diocesan support; he has not even the hon-
orary " half pay " of an army officer. It is not as if old ag^
made him " emeritus " : it comes almost as a disgrace.
If he is not past all capacity for work (for I am not speak-
ing of those ready for the hospital and death), he must feel
that he should still add the " one talent over and above ",
since he is not equal to the five; that he should be allowed at
least to glean in the field wherein he cannot any longer cut
the larger sheaf. He feels that his retirement is an injustice
to himself and a loss to souls. In some ways he could do more
good than before, because he is not obliged to look far ahead
to provide against the rainy days, and accordingly he need
not be insistent for his salary; or he could even help the-
parish by the savings from his past income.
490 T^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Must he be forced into the dilemma of either trying to
keep up working beyond his strength or resigning himself to
inglorious ease? I think not; and my reasons will appear in
the following suggestions, which are along two lines: i. de-
ferring the resigning age; 2. utilizing the retired priest.
1. The obvious thought is: (a) take an easier parish. This
may be all right in some cases; but in most, where a priest
has been in a parish twenty or thirty years, it breaks his heart
to leave those he has loved and worked for ; and he is too old
to make new friends, (b) Have an assistant. This is better.
And though there are often raised objections that the parish
cannot support two, that only exceptional priests can agree
together, etc., I wish to say that this latter is a bogy which in
most instances will be found non-existent, and is a slander on
the good judgment of the old as well as on the submissiveness
of the young, and on the charity of both.
(c) The third remedy will be indicated in reviewing the
causes of too early retirement. A great deal is expected of an
aged priest that should not be. While the parish was poor
and he himself young he was willing to spend himself as fac-
totum, architect, lawyer, purveyor of amusement, social
leader, messenger, janitor, substitute teacher, and hardest of
all — tax collector. A great deal of this should be taken off
his shoulders, and it is not. Note the circumstances which
caused the Apostles to abandon " ministering at the tables ".
So a priest may still be fit for the real priestly work if lay-
men could be got to do their part.
Again, the diocese could help a priest to lengthened use-
fulness by a well-thought-out system of finance, and of paro-
chial schools, etc., and by providing competent teachers would
not compel each priest to make his own experience and his
own mistakes, and fear the odium of enforcing diocesan rules
which perhaps are not kept in the adjoining parish.
(d) A few months' rest when near nervous prostration from
overwork would postpone a retirement of which the ageing
priest might repent after he had regained his health.
2. When the time comes for the old man to give up his pas-
torate, he must be willing to drop the command and not " in-
terfere " in the young pastor's work. He must forgo money
compensation for work which he cannot perform. But it
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
491
should not be expected that he will drop interest in the saving
of souls. Accordingly he should be able, without seeming to
interfere in the work of the new pastor, to have his time for
Mass, his hour for hearing confessions, an occasional sermon,
etc. Circumstances would show other fields where he could
be supplementary to the pastor. All that is necessary in both
is good will and good sense. I trust that these hints may
serve to keep some pastors longer as '' ben emeriti " among
their people; they might then end their days as " emeriti ".
Senex.
THE OFFIOIAL OATHOLIO DIEEOTORY FOE 1913.
The difference between the official figures of the Religious
Census Bureau of the United States and the Official Catholic
Directory (Kenedy's), in computing the Catholic population
of the United States, is sufficiently wide and important to
elicit careful inquiry into the actual facts. The most reliable
way of ascertaining the facts is without doubt the obtaining
of authenticated statements from individual pastors of
churches and from supveriors of religious communities.
We have before us this year's blanks which Messrs. Kenedy,
the compilers and publishers of the Directory, are now send-
ing out to the clergy, that is, to the pastors of churches, rec-
tors of seminaries and colleges, superiors of religious com-
munities. There are seven such blanks, each made to meet
the particular requirements for information within easy reach
of the parties to whom they are addressed. A polite note
asking that the form be filled out and sent to the episcopal
chancellor accompanies the blank. Thus the reports, if duly
entered, would in every case have the approval of the diocesan
authority. From the chancery they are sent to the publishers
of the Directory who are thus assured of the correctness of
the items, since the chancellor tias independent means of
verifying the reports from the rectors. We can imagine no
system more complete or reliable for ascertaining the true
strength of our Catholic population. If the results are not
satisfactory, the fault lies with those who are asked to make
the reports, or with the chancery officials who fail to verify
them. We feel quite sure that the publishers of the Directory
4C)2 T'HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
are shirking neither labor nor expense to make the statistics
thoroughly trustworthy and complete. It should be a matter
of just pride for the clergy to do their part by supplying ac-
curate and prompt information.
DEFENDING THE POLICY OF THE POPES.
Qu. Would you kindly shed some light on the following rather
obscure question — How can we as Catholics defend the policy of
the last three Popes expressed in the well-known prohibition " ne
eletti ne elettori " ? In all other countries Catholics are urged to
do their duty at the polls. It is owing to a sad neglect of this duty
that we see poor France where it is. Is not this prohibition the un-
doing of Italy? I confess I am at my wit's end in defending this
policy and answering, as a priest ought, the criticisms of well-mean-
ing people.
Resp. To defend the papal policy that prohibits participa-
tion of Catholics in parliamentary elections requires full and
accurate knowledge of the manner in which the so-called ple-
biscite was organized by the provisional government in con-
trol of the first popular vote in 1870, after the Piedmontese
seizure of Rome. The facts connected with this vote are dis-
cussed in such works as The Making of Italy by The O'Clery,^
who bases his statements upon information derived from Ital-
ian government sources, such as official documents, despatches,
and reports. The facts published by him show that the voting
in Italy, under conditions as then existing, did not and could
not record the suffrages of the people, though the rulers of
the ballot would claim that they did. To prevent fictitious
election returns, made ostensibly by the Catholic party, there
was but one way to show that Catholics did not cast the vote.
This is the chief reason for the original papal veto. What has
transpired since then to direct the papal policy is of course
best known to the Popes and their immediate advisers, and
it is rather venturesome for any one not thoroughly familiar
with their real motives to pass judgment upon the wisdom of
their action.
That the last three Popes have measured properly the loss
of Catholic influence due to abstention from the right of vot-
ing needs hardly to be stated. Besides, it is not true that the
1 London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. 1892.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 493
prohibition to vote in Italian elections is general and undis-
criminating, as some suppose. Participation in the communal
elections has not been interdicted. The communal elections
are in fact the only open test of the will of the people; and
through them a gradual awakening to duty on the part of the
Italian Catholic elector is hoped for by the organizers of
social action among Catholics who have been prepared to as-
sert their rights. The Constitution Cerium consilium^ issued
by Pius X on 1 1 July, 1905, shows that the veto is by no means
an absolute one, for the Pope expressly permits parliamentary
elections (and these have actually been held in certain dis-
tricts) where the bishops had declared their conviction that
fair play would be allowed to Catholic voters. The charge
therefore of unreasonable restriction in the matter of voting
is not borne out by the facts, but rests upon partial state-
ments.
But even if these facts were not at hand, there appears no
particular reason why we should feel bound to defend the
policy, political or domestic, of the Popes. We might justly
and reasonably say that we do not know, and that our ob-
jectors know still less. The men who have to deal with politi-
cal difficulties of that kind are apt to be best informed as to
what they can and ought to do. It is wise to give them the
benefit of the doubt until we know all the facts of the case.
But assuming that they were unreasonable or less intelli-
gent than those who undertake to criticize their policy, how
does that affect our religious convictions or our priestly mis-
sion? A few Popes indeed have made mistakes, and prob-
ably there will be others who will do the same, just as kings
and priests and angels have taken wrong steps in policy. God
^ends us His necessary and infallible truth through some
agency which can reach us, and that agency may be or may
not be corruptible in other ways. If the policy of the last
• three Popes were utterly wrong, it need not concern us any
more than if a bishop were to insist on mending his own
clothes badly, instead of employing a reputable tailor of his
flock, who is bound to make his living by such work, and who
pays his church dues in the fair hope that the bishop will re-
spect his trade.
People who complain about the Pope and his acts as a rule
know too little about them to be just. The gossipy evidence
AQ^ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
that we got from those who seek a pretext for condemning
Catholic principle does not entitle us to sit in judgment here
any more than in Purgatory. Italian Catholics are likely to
ask for their rights, if they have a mind to exercise them ; and
no one is more anxious to bring about such an event than the
Pope, as is .plain from the above-mentioned Constitution ad-
dressed to the Bishops of Italy and freely acted upon by them
wherever they have found it possible or beneficial to do so.
USING A ORUTOH AT MASS.
Qu. May a priest who is afflicted with partial paralysis celebrate
Mass if he is obliged to use a cane and to sit down during the reci-
tation of the Canon? Or would it be necessary to get a dispensation
from the bishop or from the Holy See?
Resp. To use a crutch or a chair in celebrating private
Mass for parishioners who have no other means of satisfying
the precept of the Church, would be permissible if it were
necessitated by an accident, and if it were only a temporary
expedient. In such case no special dispensation is needed, as
it is supposed that the reason for the extraordinary mode of
saying Mass is known and is not likely to give place to scandal
or disedification. But if the celebrant's affliction, as appears
to be the case here in question, be permanent, it would produce
a quasi-irregularity and require dispensation from the Holy
See, as creating a condition (not merely an act) which is con-
trary to the decorum of the sanctuary.
HELPING THE OOUNTEY SCHOOL.
Father J. F. Noll, to whose volume " For Our non-Catholic
Friends " we recently called attention, publishes a Parish
Monthly and a weekly. Our Sunday Visitor, and further di-
rects a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana.
A short time ago he suggested through one of these publica-
tions the organization of an institute for preparing Catholic
teachers to help the poor country parishes which cannot af-
ford to employ nuns, since these need to live in community.
He wrote:
Many priests in small town parishes, and in rural districts would
like to have parochial schools, but are unable for one of two reasons,
or both. Either it would be impossible to procure members of a
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
495
Sisterhood, because of a rule prohibiting fewer than three or four
to go to one place ; or the parish could not afford to build, furnish,
and maintain a home for the Sisters.
But such priests would like to have a good Catholic young lady-
teacher, capable of teaching the common grades thoroughly. She
could also be the parish organist and give music lessons in the parish.
By this extra service she could earn sufficient to make her trouble
worth while, and besides enjoy the consolation of lending herself to
a grand work.
If we were sure that we could elicit ample interest, we would
start a boarding school where good Catholic girls would be thor-
oughly prepared for teaching the eight grades and a business course,
and in addition receive a good training in music, on terms as reason-
able as they could possibly be made. One of the best teaching
Sisterhoods in the country would be employed for the prosecution
of the work. . . .
Immediately there came to him a large number of appeals to
carry out his project, from young Catholic women offering to
demonstrate their ability and go heart and soul into the work.
Some of them were teachers in public schools, anxious to take
up work under Catholic auspices and from religious motives.
The idea is ripe with promise, since the religious teach-
ing communities have their hands full, and are in demand
beyond the possibility of supplying all our parochial needs.
A Catholic school would be possible, in many places where it
is wanting now to the great disadvantage of religion, if
Father Noll's idea were supported.
OONOLUSION or THE PKAYER AND THE POEM OP BLESSING APTER
DISTRIBUTING HOLY COMMUNION. (A OORREOTION.)
The Review, owing to a misplaced reference in the Septem-
ber number, answered erroneously a very simple query, and
thereby brought upon its Editor a deluge of letters calling at-
tention to the error. Here is what we should have said : ( i )
The prayer " Deus qui nobis," etc., which the priest recites
when he replaces the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle,
ends with the long conclusion : " Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo
Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula sae-
culorum. Amen." (2) The blessing at the end of the cere-
mony is " Benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris et Filii et Spi-
ritus Sancti descendat super vos, et man eat semper. Amen."
All this is in the Roman Ritual and there ought to be no doubt
about it. We regret having misled anybody.
Criticisms anb Botes,
THE SOIENOE OE LOGIO. An Inquiry into the Principles of Accurate
Thought and Scientific Method. By P. Oof fey, Ph.D. New York:
Longmans, Green & Oo. 1912. Vol. I, pp. 465; Vol. II,p p. 366.
THE LEARNING PKOOESS. By Stephen S. Oolvin, Ph.D. New Yorks
The Macmillan Oo. 1912. Pp. 355.
Some mention of the former of these two books has already been
•made in these pages. The importance and merits of the work claim
for it a more extended account, and this may be conveniently given
it in connexion with the second work above. The two books deal,
at least in part, with the same subject, the mind's attainment of
truth; and though that subject is viewed from widely different
standpoints and approached by no less separate paths, they are
mutually supplementary.
Dr. Coffey, it may be remembered, has previously enriched our
English philosophical literature by translations of Professor de
Wulf's Introduction to Scholastic Philosophy (Old and New) and
the same author's History of Medieval Philosophy. He moreover
belongs to the Louvain school of Neo-Scholasticism and the impress
-of this authorship and discipleship is stamped upon his present
work. The influence and thought of the founder of the school just
mentioned are everywhere apparent. At the same time, the Science
of Logic is in no sense a translation or adaptation of Mercier's well-
known Logique, even when supplemented by the more profound
Criteriologie Generate. It is, in so far as the attribute is applicable
io such an undertaking, an original work, and its relation of indebt-
edness to Louvain is alluded to here simply because it reflects the
same design of showing the harmony subsisting between Scholasti-
cism and whatever is best in modern mental science. Dr. Coffey has
built into the edifice of the traditional logic the best materials that
have been discovered or invented by recent logicians.
It is sometimes said that Aristotle was not only the founder but
the completer of Logic. " Totum opus perf ecit ; nihil posteris absol-
vendum reliquit." This of course is an exaggeration. More mod-
derate and more exact is the estimate passed by Dr. Coffey in the
(book before us.
*Tn Aristotle's theory of logic, Demonstration, as the ideally per-
fect means of reaching Science, is his supreme concern. His view
of logic is therefore not the narrower, but the wider view. He
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. aqj
paid more attention however to the application of the syllogism
to the necessary matter of metaphysics and mathematics than to
the contingent matter of physical phenomena and the concrete
facts of social life. His theory therefore as developed in after
times, especially by the scholastic philosophers of the Middle
Ages, tended toward a predominantly deductive and formal
treatment of our thought processes. The advances made by the
physical sciences in the seventeenth and subsequent centuries led
men to concentrate their attention more carefully on the mental
processes by which we gradually bring to light, from isolated ob-
servation and experience of individual facts, a knowledge of gen-
eral truths. Hence the prominence universally accorded to In-
duction in the numerous logical treatises which saw the light dur-
ing the course of the last century. Nor have the results of the
analysis of those processes which lead to the discovery and estab-
lishment of the general truths of the positive sciences been yet
moulded into any one definite or generally accepted theory.
" Naturally, too, the excessive development of the purely formal
side of Aristotle's treatment of logical processes led to a diminu-
tion of the great esteem in which the Organon has been tradition-
ally held. But the soundness of his logical theory as a whole has
stood the test of centuries. His title as Founder of Logic has
never been disputed. A careful and impartial study of the Or-
ganon in our own times is convincing many that a great deal of
fruitful and suggestive doctrine may still be learned from the
Stagirite" (p. 41).
The foregoing passage embodies not simply a just estimate of the
Aristotelian logic; it likewise reflects the character of the author's
own logic and shows whereon its claim upon the attention of stu-
dents may be said to rest. The work aptly combines the Aristotelian
and hence the Scholastic logic with a discussion of those theories
and hypotheses that have been the outgrowth of modern inductive
sciences. Accordingly the first of the two volumes into which the
work is divided is taken up entirely with the more or less familiar
doctrine relating to the three mental operations — conception, judg-
ment, and reasoning; whilst all the second volume is devoted to
Methodology, Science, and Certitude. The subject of method in-
volves of course a detailed study of induction and allied processes —
hypothesis, analogy, observation, experiment, and so on; also sci-
ence, which embraces the exposition of such difficult problems as
those relating to certitude, probability, error, and fallacy. As re-
gards the latter of these topics, fallacies, it may be noted that the
author has supplemented the time-honored Aristotelian grouping by
498
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
a modern classification based on the primary mental operations.
Aristotle's well-known division of sophisms '* in dictione " and
sophisms " extra dictionem " were admirably suited for the forensic
purposes which he had in view. The recent classification has a more
philosophical basis, and is a welcome addition. At the same time,
one could wish that the author had set his mind to expunge once and
for all the quibbles, absurdities, puerilities, that disfigure and belittle
almost every treatment of the subject by text-book writers. The
crafty Protagoras may possibly have felt his knees quake or his
middle shrink quite away when he had to face such an awful dia-
lectical monstrosity as the following : " What thou boughtest in the
shambles yesterday thou didst eat to-day. But, thou wily man,
thou didst buy raw meat in the shambles yesterday. Therefore, thou
sly villain, thou didst eat raw meat for thy breakfast." Now while
this miserable quibble may do duty as an illustration of the fallacy
of " accident ", it is hardly likely to lead any sane mind into error.
It is but just to say that the example is not used by the author
before us, though not a few hardly less puerile illustrations of falla-
cies ( ?) appear in his pages — illustrations for which the merit at
least may be claimed of some humorous enlivenment.
If we consider the work before us from the point of view of " the
learning process ", its philosophical comprehensiveness stands in the
foreground and in this wise it distinguishes itself from the com-
panion volume in the title above. Logic with the author is, as it is
with St. Thomas and Scholastics generally, " the practical science
which directs our mental operations in the discovery and proof of
truth" (p. 38). As such it is a distinct branch of knowledge, but
nevertheless inseparable from the other parts of the philosophical
organism. As a thinker's metaphysics and psychology, so will be his
logic. If he possesses a sound ontology, a clear vision that the bases
of mental laws are rooted in the concept of being, his logic will be
seen to rest on the objective order of things. If likewise he have a
distinct perception of the differences between the intellect and sense,
and consequently between the soul and the brain of man, his logic
will be universal and immutable. It is this possession of a distinct
ontology and a sound psychology which makes the system of logic
before us the solidly and comprehensively philosophical work that
it is and which differentiates it entirely from the a priori, subjective
system of Kant and his older and newer followers on the one hand,
and the empiricist school of Mill and Bain on the other. " The
learning process" is thus studied from its distinctly logical and
consequently philosophical aspects. The immaterial functions of
the intellect are seen under the control of immaterial and absolutely
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
499
universal laws. These the mind must obey not only to secure con-
sistency but to reach, to learn, truth. Hence the correctness of
thinking rests ultimately on principles that ground its truth.
But even as the study of the formal elements involved in the pur-
suit of truth needs to be supplemented by attention to the concrete
and material factors, so a work on logic may profitably be considered
in connexion with a book dealing with the subject from a more
empirical approach. Such a work is given us by Professor Colvin in
The Learning Process introduced above.
The learning process may be briefly described, he says (p. 1), in
its most general terms as the modification of the reactions of an or-
ganism through experience (individual as distinguished from racial).
This description, which by the way may seem more remarkable for
succinctness than for clarity, obviously restricts the subject-matter
to a relatively small portion of the learning process, as the latter
term embraces the functions of logic. However, this very restricted-
ness of area conditions the chief perfection of the book and makes it
useful as either an introductioa or a supplement to the study of
logic. Besides, the place of logic in the learning process has not
been quite omitted by the author, the three concluding chapters of
the volume being devoted thereto. These chapters, however, do not
constitute the most valuable portions of the book, though they con-
tain some useful suggestions. Much more replete with serviceable
matter are the chapters on instinct and habits, the child's percep-
tions, imagination and its pedagogical significance, memory and as-
sociation with their applications, the transfer of training and atten-
tion. These and some other kindred themes are studied from the
viewpoint of empirical psychology. Many interesting details re-
garding the working of the child's mind are brought forth and
some wise practical suggestions of pedagogical importance are
given. The author's ideas in the latter connexion are as sound as
his analysis of mental phenomena is keen. By way of illustration
we may instance his remark on the pedagogical significance of in-
terest in securing the child's attention. After mentioning the
recently growing emphasis on this factor, he adds : " Yet its benefits
have been accompanied by certain disadvantages and many miscon-
ceptions. The whole doctrine of interest has been misunderstood
and perverted in many quarters. It has given rise to the * soft peda-
gogy ' of recent days, which is as disastrous as it is futile and psy-
chologically unsound. We have been told that we must interest the
child if we wish to secure his attention, and to this we must assent ;
but to interest him does not mean simply to amuse him, or to demand
^OO THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
from him in his learning only those things which suit his immediate
desires . . . genuine interest is by no means incompatible with ser-
ious work when it is necessary ... the teacher should demand the
pupil's attention to those parts of the school work that have in them
elements of drudgery and routine. It is more valuable that the
child should learti the lesson of controlling and directing his atten-
tion, than that he should master in the easiest manner the materials
immediately at hand" (p. 284). The italics are the author's. With
such and kindred precepts of a sound pedagogy the book abounds.
Of course it is obvious to ask, what motives does the author pro-
pose in order to secure the execution of such precepts as entail self-
denial? Motives, of course, that lie close to the learning process
in its immediate results for good or ill on character and its more
remote consequences for life. Moral and religious motives receive
explicitly but a passing notice. This limitation may be obviously
warranted by the scope of the work, which is principally psychologi-
cal. At the same time no less obviously its educational applications
lose much of their effectiveness through this curtailment.
The student who approaches " the learning process ", the mind's
procedure in the acquisition of truth, from the purely logical side,
finds himself somewhat at sea, somewhat astray in getting his bear-
ing. To help him orient himself properly recent authors of books
on logic are wont to start with a summary of psychological prolego-
mena. Thus Dr. Coffey, following in this the example set by his
master. Cardinal Mercier, begins in this work before noticed with a
psychological survey of the human faculties. And indeed, as was
said in the review (in the September number) of Professor Dubray's
Introductory Philosophy, the latter author in common with French
writers generally gives Psychology (empirical) the first place in the
philosophical curriculum. Whatever may be said for or against this
arrangement there can be no doubt that at least an elementary knowl-
edge of Psychology is indispensable as an introduction to Logic.
Though we would hesitate to say that such an introduction can best
be obtained from a book such as the one before us, especially since
it is very brief in its analysis of the immaterial functioning of the
intellect, we venture to add that the reflective energy and attention
to psychical processes which the reading of such a book demands,
will go far to prepare the student to inspect for logical purposes the
workings of his own mind. Or perhaps better still, having some-
what mastered a treatise on Logic, especially such a treatise as that
embodied in the work above, he might with still greater profit study
a book like the present one on " the learning process ". Thus the
more abstract contents of his mind would receive a fuller concrete
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. eg I
enrichment, whilst he would be able to notice in how far the work
falls short of the logical ideal. Either, then, for preparatory or
for supplementary study Professor Colvin's book, within the limits
of its scope, should prove a highly serviceable instrument.
HIS GEEY EMINENCE. The True '' Friar Joseph" of Bulwer Lytton's
" Eichelieu ". A Historical Study of the Oapuchin Priar Pere Joseph
Prancois Le Oleic du Tremblay. With a true portrait of Priar
Joseph. By E. P. O'Connor. Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press.
1912. Pp. 112.
Whatever difference of opinion there may be among literary critics
about the merits of Lord Edward Lytton as a novelist, it is certain
that he is still widely read and that his style has a certain fascina-
tion for the youthful mind. But where his masterful art in the do-
main of fiction is most widely felt, is in what are supposed to be his
historical dramas, chief among which is the play of Richelieu. It
holds its place on the dramatic stage, alongside of Shakespeare, with
the masterpieces of our great classical playwrights, of whom Lytton
is considered the greatest representative during the nineteenth cen-
tury.
Catholics share this estimate to the extent that they are attracted
to his Richelieu, in which a powerful churchman is represented with
a magnificence of stage setting and character that flatters our vanity
through its suggestion of priestly influence in its broadest estate.
Our dramatic societies are pleased to reproduce the play for charitable
and religious objects, where the young are invited to obtain often
their first impression of the historical figure which gives the play its
title. That impression, though partly true, is largely false, and the
harm done thereby to our Catholic youth, not to speak of the larger
number of theatre-goers and readers who have imbibed quite erron-
eous notions about the Catholic priesthood from what they suppose
to be a respectable source of literary history, is simply incalculable.
The erroneous notions to which I refer arise not so much from a
misrepresentation of the person of the Cardinal himself, as rather
from the false picture of " Friar Joseph ", who is made to serve as a
contrast to the great minister of state, and to typify a less reputable
class of the priesthood. Friar Joseph leaves the impression of being
a servile and ambitious tool, half knave and half imbecile, whom the
great Cardinal " uses " for his projects. Catholics are apt to re-
gard the character of Friar Joseph on the stage as a harmless cari-
cature, or at most as a possible but not normal figure in religious life.
Now the fact is that there was a real Pere Joseph who stood in
the closest relations to the great Cardinal. But it is likewise true
502
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
that Lord Bulwer Lytton, under cover of dramatic exigency, gave
vent to the religious -bigotry which the times in England suggested
as most favorable to the success of his play. The dramatist was not
any worse in this respect than his contemporaries of equal literary
fame. But the point that we Catholics are bound to look to is, not
to lend ourselves to perpetuate wrong historical portraits in certain
popular forms of literature, by the encouragement, for instance, of
such representations as Richelieu in theatres frequented by respect-
able and intelligent people.
The true Capuchin Pere Joseph was a man of high distinction in
the social, political, and ecclesiastical life of his time. His was a
truly monumental figure that would have left its mark upon the his-
tory of France, even if Richelieu had never existed; and in some
respects he may be said to have been superior to the great Cardinal,
and the inspirer of his noblest projects for the reform of political
and religious life. This is brought out according to unquestion-
ably trustworthy sources in Mr. O'Connor's historical sketch of
Father Joseph, known in contemporary history as " Son Eminence
Grise " — His Grey Eminence.
The same Father Joseph whom Lytton pictures to the world of
literary students and to the better class of theatre-goers as a half-
imbecile, was a member of one of the first families of France, the
founder of a religious community of nuns, an eminent writer of
theological and ascetical works, a poet and a saintly priest, whose
deep insight into human nature and whose thorough religious disin-
terestedness made him, like St. Bruno before him, a wise counselor
to the great. It was he, as much as Richelieu, who saved France
from ruin and gave her a name which is still her best asset in the
history of nations to-day.
These things should be at least known to the students in our col-
leges and academies, so that they may take intelligent part in any
criticism that arises with reference to a drama so frequently pro-
duced on our stages and considered a classic.
HOMILETIO AND OATEOHETIO STUDIES. According to the Spirit of
Holy Scripture and of the Ecclesiastical Year. By A. Meyenberg,
Oanon and Professor of Theology, Luzerne. Translated by the Very
Eev. Perdinand Brossart, V.Q-., Covington, Kentucky. Eatisbon,
Borne, New York, Cincinnati : Pr. Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 845.
Meyenberg's Homiletische und Katechetische Studien was first
published ten years ago. Despite its bulky form, covering nearly a
thousand pages, it became immediately popular so that seven edi-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
503
tions have already been exhausted. In its scope it may be said to
take in the entire field of sermon writing and delivery, as well as the
form, methods, and contents of catechetical instruction and the study
of Bible history. Apart from this, the volume contains the phil-
osophy and history of the two disciplines which it teaches and ex-
emplifies. One hardly knows whether to admire more the minute
and accurate analytical power of the author's mind in presenting all
the possible phases of treatment of his subject, or the wide erudition
which enables him to illustrate his principles and precepts. Hence
the work may be said to be a text-book of pedagogics as well as a
source of practical instructions for the preacher and catechist. A
professor of homiletics and catechetics in the seminary may prefer
to have a manual that summarizes the sources, laws, and rules of
application within a brief compass. He will find it in this volume,
though combined with what makes for practice in the life of the
preacher and teacher. The author wrote for both students and pas-
tors. His undeviating method as teacher for many years in the theo-
logical seminary was to inculcate upon his hearers the principle
sentire cum ecclesia; this led him to gather freely from Patristic as
well as from Scriptural sources, and the work loses nothing of its
modem aspect and serviceableness by the close observance of the
principle.
A word should be said here about the use of the book for the two
classes of readers and students for whom it is intended. The reading
of the didactic portions for seminarists may be set aside by the pas-
toral preacher and catechist, while the practical lessons contained
in the exposition of the ecclesiastical cycle do not necessarily form
part of a homiletic course in the seminary. In this respect the
voliune is more of a repertory than a text-book.
Father Brossart, the learned Vicar General of Covington, apolo-
gizes for his lack of English idiom. That is of course a matter of
importance, and the lack of adaptation to the genius of the language
into which a work is translated is always a serious drawback. But
the reader will have little to complain of in this respect, especially
as the matter is largely didactic, and one does not look for style in
a hand-book of practical science. At all events, it must have been a
difficult task to put into English a work of this kind, and our stu-
dents and parish clergy will be grateful to the translator for having
made accessible to them so admirable a tool in the workshop of the
holy ministry. The printing and binding of the volume are in keep-
ing with its excellent contents.
504
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
THE STATUS OP ALIENS IN OHINA. By Vi Kyuin Wellington Koo,
Ph.D. New York, Oolumbia University: Longmans, Green & Oo.
1912. Pp. 359.
In view of the constitutional changes recently effected and now
progressing in China, changes that are likely to have an increas-
ingly important international significance, a special interest attaches
to the present monograph. The fact moreover that it emanates
from an accomplished scholar, native to the country, who is also
English Secretary to the President of China, may be presumed to
lend to the work the authority of first-hand information, an au-
thority further confirmed by the supervision which the book enjoyed
at the hands of the Law Faculty of Columbia in its preparation and
publication.
In an interesting way the writer traces the history of the entrance
of foreigners into China from the earliest known date (probably
about A. D. 120, though legend carries it much further back) down
to 1842 ; and shows what was the varying policy of the govermnent
during that, the pre- Conventional, period. With the Treaty of
Nanking, in 1842, the first outcome of the Opium War, a new policy
began. Prior thereto the foreigner enjoyed no legal status in China.
He resided there under sufferance. But gradually the alien traders,
" particularly the British began to withdraw themselves by open de-
fiance from the operation of the local laws ", and succeeded " in pur-
suing their course of sheer contumacy ". Thereupon followed a
more or less stable extra-territorial immunity, which finally was
wrung from the govermnent and officially recognized by the above-
mentioned treaty. The progress of this policy, the various phases
of extension, limitation, definition, and so on, of the privileges ac-
corded from 1842 onward to the present day, are presented by the
author in detail. Endless complications and conflicts have occurred,
especially as regards foreign missions (Catholic and Protestant)
and commerce. The origin and consequences of these are also indi-
cated.
Of greatest interest to Catholics are the facts bearing on the his-
tory of the Church in China and on that of the French Protector-
ate. The indications of the author's impartiality in these delicate
matters are manifest. " Church cases, as they are called by the
Chinese, have occurred with a discomforting frequency; chapels
have been burned, missionaries killed or injured, and Chinese Chris-
tians have fallen victims to popular wrath. Many of these cases
ended with disastrous consequences to China. Over a billion dol-
lars have been paid, a number of strategic points of territory have
been relinquished, the prestige of the nation has been seriously im-
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
50s
paired, hundreds of officials, high and low, have been humiliated
and thousands of lives of a humbler order have been sacrificed."
On the other hand, the author asserts that " hardly a single one of
these has ever arisen out of a strictly religious controversy based on
differences of the Chinese and foreign creeds. One and all they
appear to have taken birth in those defects of personal under-
standing and conduct, on one side or the other, accentuated by racial
discrepancies, which would give rise to misgivings and conflicts
everywhere as between individuals, or groups of individuals, of
diverse races." More precisely, Dr. Koo declares that " church cases
are all traceable to the ignorance of the masses which led them to-
lend a credulous ear even to the most fantastic stories about the
doings of the foreign ecclesiastics, or to the excess of zeal or want
of prudence on the part of the Christian missionary." Whether the-
causes here assigned be adequate to explain the numerous religious
persecutions to which Christians in China have been subjected, we
must leave to those more familiar with the actual local conditions
to determine. At all events. The Status of Aliens in China is a.
book which no one seeking to be informed on the subject should fail
to read.
THE OATHOLIO ENOYOLOPEDIA. An International Work of Keference
on the Oonstitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic
Ohurcli. Edited by Charles Gr. Herbermann, Ph.D., LL.D., Edward
A. Pace, Ph.D., LL.D., Oonde B. Pallen, Ph.D., LL.D., Thomas
Shahan, D.D., John J. "Wynne, S.J., assisted by numerous collaborators.
In fifteen volumes. Vol. XIII; "Eevelation — Simon Stock" — pp..
800; and Vol. XIV: " Simony— Toumely"— pp. 800. New Tork:.
Kobert Appleton Company.
Our interest in The Catholic Encyclopedia grows as the work,
comes to its conclusion. A number of the articles in these two vol-
umes supply information that may have been looked for under re-
lated titles in earlier portions of the work. The extraordinary care-
of the editors is apparent from the numerous articles which deal
with local ecclesiastical topics, not to be found in any other work of
reference accessible to readers of English. This includes many geo-
graphical sketches, as well as the histories of distinctly Catholic^
institutions in all parts of the world. The writers of these articles
are uniformly such as may be relied upon for accurate information
on the special themes which they treat.
The subject of theology as a special topic takes up -over eighty
columns, and is treated not only in an exhaustive, historical way, but
5o6
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
also with such discriminating conciseness as to satisfy the student on
all the main points of scholastic controversy. Dr. Pohle, who
writes on dogmatic theology in its doctrinal and historical aspects,
is particularly satisfying. His article is supplemented by one on
Christology, chiefly in its Scriptural interpretation, by Father Maas
of Woodstock, whose studies for many years give to his conclusions
the flavor of ripe scholarship. The article on Moral Theology
comes from the veteran authority, P. Augustin Lehmkuhl, S.J., and
is in its turn supplemented by one on Pastoral Theology from the
pen of Father Walter Drum, S.J. Ascetical and Mystical Theology
follow, the latter by the author of Grdces d'Oraison, recently trans-
lated into English, who also writes the article on Private Revela-
tions. Here the article on the Sacraments by Father Daniel Ken-
nedy, O.P., deserves special mention for the clarity of its exposition.
These theses suggest others in Bible studies by approved scholars
like Gigot, Durand, James Driscoll, Merk, and Sauvay. In the
studies on the Papacy the articles of Father Horace Mann, the
author of the History of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, are
models of concise and judicious historical writing. Similar commen-
dation is merited by articles on the Liturgies, the Greek and the
Ruthenian Rite,! by Andrew Shipman, and also those on the Ritual
and the Syrian Rite by the Rev. Adrian Fortescue.
Among the ethical papers we would single out the one on Social-
ism by Leslie L. Toke and William Edward Campbell, with a notably
good bibliography; and its complement by Dr. John A. Ryan on
Socialistic Communities. The article on Secret Societies by Father
W. Fanning, S.J., might be deemed incomplete if there were not one
in a previous volume on Masonry, much of which article fits in with
the present matter. Father Cathrein's article on Right and Dr.
James Fox's on the Ethics of Slavery present their subjects in a
clear and uncompromising way.
There are several articles dealing with Rosmini and his school
of philosophy which we are glad to see give a just estimate of the
saintly founder's character, despite the prejudices that have been
aroused by his misleading system of philosophy and his outspoken
attitude on the subject of the Temporal Power.
The various liturgical and canonical subjects within the scope
of these two volimies receive the accurate and informing attention
which names like that of Father Thurston, Benigni, Ojetti, Boud-
inhon, Braun, and Andrew Meehan assure us.
Other articles of note are those that deal with psychology — ^the
soul, spirit, spiritualism, by Father Bolland of Stonyhurst, and by
Father Maher, S.J. ; the article on the Sulpicians in the United
LITERARY CHAT. ^O;
States, by Father John Fenlon; the various articles on our Cath-
olic hymns, by Dr. Hugh T. Henry, than whom there is no better au-
thority in America on the subject. Speaking of hymns we must not
pass over the article on Syrian Hymnody by Dr. Chabot. Other
names recur, on subjects like the Indian Tribes, Religious Com-
munities, etc., to which we have referred on former occasions.
OOLLEOTIO KEKUM LITUEaiOARUM ad Normam Oonstitutionnm
Novissimarum Apostolicae Sedis et Eecentiorum S.E.O.Decretorum,
concinnata a P. Jos. Wuest, O.SS.R. Ilchester, Maryland: Typis
Oongregationis Ssmi. Eedemptoris. 1912. Pp. xvi-270.
This manual brings within small compass, and under readily
recognized topical sections, the numerous and involved liturgical
precepts and decisions of the Holy See which the cleric is ordinarily
obliged to gather from extended commentaries like those of Van der
Stappen, Wapplehorst, Schober, De Herdt, etc., and from the official
collections of decrees not always within reach of students and priests.
It covers the entire liturgy of the Mass, Breviary, Sacraments, and
other ritual observances. The pertinent decisions of more recent
date about the liturgical Chant, Marriage, the Divine Office, etc., are
brought together under brief heads. There is an excellent and de-
tailed index. The little volume will be very useful in the hands of
pastors as well as of students in theology, especially those preparing
for sacred orders.
Xiterarie (That
A little brochure that ought to have a wide circulation, is entitled The
Gospel in Africa. It is the translation of an address, on behalf of the Society
de Propaganda Fide, delivered in Lyons, 3 May, 191 1, on the eighty-eighth
anniversary of its foundation. It tells an inspiring story of splendid heroism.
The figures have their eloquence. From 1812 to 191 1 the Society for the Pro-
pagation of the Faith has distributed to missions in Africa the sum of $12,-
495,263. (How much, or how little, of this came from the United States is
not mentioned.) The result? In 1822 there were eight centres of missionary
work on the African shores and seven on the neighboring islands. Outside
Egypt there were probably less than two hundred Catholic priests on the whole
Continent. Now, in 191 1, there are in Africa eighty-five dioceses, vicariates,
or apostolic prefectures, and 3,391 missionary priests. Besides the secular
clergy, twenty-three religious orders or societies are represented. The total
number of Catholics is given at 3,742,067. " Sed haec quid sunt inter tantos?"
the approximate African population being 165,000,000. When we add that the
address was delivered by the eminent African missionary, Bishop le Roy,
C.S.Sp., author of the well-known work Les Religions des Primitifs, enough
has been said in commendation of the pamphlet. (Issued by the Society for
the Propagation of the Faith, 627 Lexington Avenue, New York City.)
The Parochial School. Why? is the title of a bright little booklet by the
Rev. John F. Noll. Amongst the abounding and telling arguments in favor
5o8
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
of Catholic schools not the least effective are those drawn from alien sources.
The pity is that more explicit references are not given. It is no doubt inter-
esting to read what President Taft or even ex-President Roosevelt has said
in our favor. What Senator Tillman thinks of the moral education of " the
nigger " is also inspiring, while the opinion of the Chinese Representative at
Washington, of Judge Grosscup, the Presidents of Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
Chicago, and the rest, are worth knowing ; at the same time one would like to
be able to just tie down all these utterances to time and place. Unfortunately
this the pamphlet does not help one to do. But this is a negative fault in a
booklet that is otherwise very useful. (The Parish Monthly Press, Hunting-
don, Indiana.)
A brief account was given in the September number of the Review of a
recent Romance of Lourdes. The miraculous events which form the ground-
work of the story are taken from Dr. Boissarie's well-known books on the
medical aspects of Lourdes. A recent book by an eminent Parisian physician,
M. de Grandmaison de Bruno, embodies a critical study of certain typical
cures duly authenticated to have been wrought at the favored shrine in the
Pyrenees. The book is entitled Vingt Guerisons a Lourdes discutees medicale-
ment. (Paris, Beauchesne & Cie.) The cures are thoroughly examined in
their antecedents, progress, methods, and consequents, and the conclusion is
drawn that " at the sanctuary of Lourdes and even outside the usual pilgrim-
ages, on occasion of a novena or a visit paid to one of the numerous chapels
consecrated to Our Lady, cures are effected which human science recognizes
itself unable to explain." Their only rational interpretation lies in the super-
natural. The conclusion is of course distasteful to unbelief, and many an
objection has been urged against it. These are each in turn taken up by Dr.
de Bruno and candidly discussed. Those who are interested in the medical
phenomena manifested at Lourdes will find in the neat little volume (pp. 313,
price 3^ frs.) a summary well arranged and critically sifted.
A small brochure that should be welcome alike to the priest and the lambs
of his fold is entitled A Prayer Book for Sunday-Schools (by the Clergy of the
Diocese of Brooklyn). It contains daily and special prayers suited to children,
and a good selection of hymns. The chief point of merit is its method of
conducting the Children's Mass. This is sound and practical and can hardly
fail to foster piety and reverence (New York, P. J, Kenedy & Sons; price,
$5.00 per hundred).
If one may judge by the work being accomplished thereby, L' Action Popu-
laire de Rheims, a movement toward compact unity of action in religious and
social matters must be going on in France that bids fair to rival the work of
Catholic organization in Germany. The French organization is both an intel-
lectual centre and an active propaganda. Its methods are association — re-
ligious, family, professional — study circles, conventions, oral instruction and
especially the dissemination of literature relating to social, industrial, and
economic subjects. Amongst its publications there is in the first place Le
Mouvement Social — a splendid Catholic international review (monthly) con-
taining solid articles and surveys of matters social at home and abroad. Next
comes the Revue de V Action Populaire, appearing every ten days and forming
a kind of bulletin of intercommunication amongst the circles and other asso-
ciations. The Brochures Jaunes is a library of monographs, studies, biog-
raphies, etc. Over 260 of these pamphlets have been issued. Besides these
there are " social guides ", almanacs, retreat manuals, and numerous other
forms of propaganda literature — all betokening an intensely Catholic and
social energy and, what is most important, an earnest striving for harmonious
cooperation along social lines laid down and directed by Catholic principles.
Surely these are amongst the motifs d'esperer. Detailed information concern-
ing the movement can be had from the central bureau, 5 Rue des Trois
Raisinets, Rheims, France.
LITERARY CHAT.
509
Those who have read the pamphlet entitled Revised Darwinism or Father
Wassmann on Evolution, by the Rev. Simon FitzSimons will be interested in
the rejoinder by the eminent entomologist which is now reprinted from the
Catholic Fortnightly Review and published in pamphlet form by Herder (St.
Louis, Mo.). The pamphlet is worth reading for various reasons.
The House and Table of God, a Book for His Children, Young and Old,
by the Rev. W. Roche, S.J. (Longmans, Green & Co.), is a handsome little
volume of considerations on the soul, God, the Church, the BleSsed Eucharist,
Death, Grace, and kindred topics, told in a simple but very attractive fashion
and prettily illustrated. It is dedicated to each of the ten thousand children
who have been " in Retreat " with the author, and will help mothers and
teachers to give their little wards an adequate and pleasing knowledge of
those more difficult truths of religion of which the catechism gives them only
barren outlines to be filled in by the experience and preaching of later life.
The Idea of Mary's Meadow by Violet O'Connor, with a Foreword by Vin-
cent Armel O'Connor (Alston Rivers, London), is a sort of educational reverie
in which the author sets forth her ideal of the surroundings, occupations and
efforts likely to cultivate in her adopted child those lofty religious aspirations
which she herself has learnt to value as the greatest boon of the present life
and as the securest promise of future happiness. There is a strong personal
note running through the " story of the cottage and garden of Mary's meadow,"
designed for " Betty's " spiritual development ; and the fact that it is ad-
dressed, as a kind of epistolary series, to the husband of the author, adds to
the impression that the sketches were meant only for the use of intimate friends
of Betty and her guardians. Nevertheless, the volume is full of lofty thought
and suggestions not unmixed with humor such as spiritual camaraderie invites
among Catholic souls of a certain culture.
St. Anthony's Almanac for igi3, published by the Franciscan Fathers of the
Eastern American Province for the benefit of deserving young students pre-
paring for the priesthood at St. Joseph's College, Callicoon, New York, con-
tains among other useful and entertaining matter some excellent biographical
sketches of disciples of St. Francis. We note that of the late General of the
Order, now Archbishop, Denis Schuler, and a delightful centenary appreciation
of Brother Pacifico, the minstrel companion of St. Francis, by Father Paschal
Robinson, O.F.M. The worthy object of the publication, apart from its good,
readable contents and fine illustrations, commends it in an especial manner to
the clergy. (St. Bonaventure P. O., New York.)
Great churchmen are rarely without the fnft that makes the man of letters.
If their sayings are not always recorded as literature, it is probably because
of set purpose they were not given that particular form which the reading
world appreciates as literature ; or maybe it was because the other activities
of their authors absorbed the attention which the printed word demands.
If Cardinal Bourne is to be judged by some of his more important ad-
dresses, he possesses in a marked degree the art of writing. But his special
task, which must have kept him from indulging his literary tastes, has been
the administering of important ecclesiastical affairs. This work began early
for him, for he was made bishop at the age of thirty-five, when he had been
but twelve years a priest. "If you want to get anything out of the devil,"
quotes his biographer, " call him a Monsignore." In the case of Monsignore
Bourne it became a matter of driving out devils. This he did by the energy
with which he took up " rescue work " in London, aside of the late Cardinal,
his devoted predecessor.
The foregoing remarks are suggested by a book by the author of Faith
Found in London. The new volume is entitled Cardinal Bourne and gives a
Record of the Sayings and Doings of Francis, Fourth Archbishop of West-
5IO
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
minster. It is prettily illustrated with photographs. (Burns and Oates, Lon-
don.)
Languid folk who were not as yet biases experienced possibly a new, even
though slight, thrill when they read in their morning paper a few weeks ago
that " the secret of life " was on the verge of being discovered. Life was
found to be nothing but the outcome of physico-chemical processes. It is just
crystallization, only a little more complex. We have learned how to fertilize
eggs by means of chemical reagents, and it is simply a question of time when
life can be mechanically produced. All this and much more was asserted upon
no less an authority than the President of the British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, Professor Schaeffer, of Edinburgh. But these are very
old assertions, as every one knows who is at all conversant with the subject-
matter. They may be found stated as objections against neo- vitalism — and
answered — in almost any elementary manual of natural philosophy (cosmol-
ogy). Nevertheless, since the assertions made by Professor Schaeffer are very
bold (no proof is alleged) and perhaps disconcerting to some, and since the
answers hidden away in the elementary manual are not widely known to the
general public, it were desirable that some competent Catholic authority in
science developed the whole subject at length. The matter is technical and
calls for specialized knowledge of facts — as to what, namely, science has been
able to do in the matter of fertilization. The interpretations and solutions
proposed by philosophers need to be supplemented by the experience of the
biological chemist. Driesch in his well-known The Science and Philosophy of
the Organism dl.-uisses the subject with a passing allusion (Vol. I, p. 32).
One may well hesitate before recommending a new book on the Spiritual
Life, especially when the book in mind is written in French. There seems to
be already a superabounding spiritual literature in English, while that made
familiar to us directly or indirectly through the French labors, perhaps too
often, under the suspicion of lacking in robustness and solidity. Nevertheless
we venture to bespeak. the claims of a recent work entitled La Vie Spirituelle
ou I'ltineraire de I'Ame a Dieu. It is written by a quondam superior of the
Seminary of Rouen, Pere Malige of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart
(Picpus), and is evidently the fruit of much study and experience in the guid-
ance of souls. The work has the merit of solidity, since it is based on the
Masters, St. Augustine, St. Thomas, St. Francis de Sales, and Bossuet. It
follows on the whole the Exercises of St. Ignatius and treats almost exclu-
sively of the via purgativa and the via illuminativa. It is a model of orderly
method and clarity of expression. Since it has good analytical tables of con-
tents, the work will be found easily available for priests who have to give
retreats or spiritual conferences to religious communities. It contains three
volumes, averaging each about 350 pages, and is published by P. Lethielleux,
Paris (price, 10 francs).
With the constantly growing claims of the Spanish missions upon priests
from the United States the need of Spanish religious literature amongst us
becomes more and more apparent. B. Herder's publishing house has for a
considerable time been supplying our clergy with catechetical material for
this purpose. The latest work of the kind is a small volume (219 pp.),
Los Siete Pecados Capitales by Don Antolin Lopez Pelaez, Bishop of Jaca in
the Province of Saragossa. The treatise lends itself readily to the preacher as
material for sermons on the prevailing sins of the day, especially among the
so-called cultured classes, to which nearly every Spaniard aspires.
The editor of The Independent (New York), speaking in a recent issue of
that magazine on " the length of a sermon ", remarks that the modern
preacher " often thinks that he must dilute his sermon as well as give short
measure in order to satisfy his patrons, and for such half-pints of milk-and-
water mixtures as are now sometimes served to us we have no use whatever."
Boohs IReceiveb.
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
Florilegium Hebraicum. Locos selectos Librorum Veteris Testamenti in
usum scholarum et disciplinae domesticae, adjuncta appendice quinquepartita,
edidit Dr. Hub. Lindemann, Professor in Gymnasio Trium Regum Coloniensi.
Pp. xii-2i6. B. Herder: St. Louis. Pretium, $0.90.
The Idea of Mary's Meadow. By Violet O'Connor. With a Foreword by
Vincent Armel O'Connor. London: Alston Rivers, Ltd. 1912*. Pp. viii-168.
Price, 5/ net.
Educating to Purity. Thoughts on Sexual Teaching and Education pro-
posed to Clergymen, Parents, and other Educators. By Dr. Michael Gat-
terer, S.J., Professor of Theology, Innsbruck, and Dr. Francis Krus, S.J.,
Professor of Theology, Innsbruck. Translated by the Rev. C. Van der Donckt.
Ecclesiastical approbation. New York, Cincinnati, Ratisbon, and Rome : Fr.
Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 318. Price, $1.25.
On Union with God. By the Blessed Albert the Great, O.P. With Notes
by the Rev. P. J. Berthier, O.P. Translated by a Benedictine of Princethorpe
Priory. {The Angelus Series.) New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger
Bros. 1912. Pp. III. Price, $0.50 net.
Communion Verses for Little Children. By a Sister of Notre Dame.
Illustrated by M. G. Cooksey. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Benziger
Bros.; London: R. & T. Washbourne. 1912. Pp. 31. Price, $0.05 net.
A Book of the Love of Mary. Compiled and edited by Freda Mary Groves.
With Preface by His Eminence Cardinal Bourne. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder ;
London : Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. Pp. 109. Price, $0.75.
La Vie Spirituelle ou L'ltineraire de I'Ame a Dieu. Par le P. Pr. Malige,
des Sacres-Coeurs (Picpus), Ancien Superieur du Grand Seminaire de Rouen.
3 volumes. Paris: P. Lethielleux; Rome: Fr. Pustet. 1912. Pp. xv-356, 420
et 327. Prix, 10 fr.
The House and Table of God. A Book for His Children, Young and Old.
By the Rev. W. Roche, S.J. With 24 illustrations from drawings by T.
Baines. New York, London, Bombay, Calcutta : Longmans, Green & Co.
191 2. Pp. X-150. Price, $1.00 net.
Los SiETE Pec ados Capitales. Por Don Antolin Lopez Pelaez, Obispo de
Jaca. Con la aprobacion del Exemo Senor Arzobispo de Friburgo. St. Louis,
Mo., y Friburg, Brisg. : B. Herder. 1912. Pp. 219. Price, $0.70.
La Journee Sanctifiee. Par I'Abbe Louis Rouzic, Aumonier " Rue des
Postes." Lettre-Preface du R. P. Janvier, Conferencier de Notre-Dame.
(Bibliotheque de la "Revue de la Jeunesse".) Troisieme edition. Paris: P.
Lethielleux. 1911. Pp. xix-404. Prix, 3 fr. 50.
HoMiLETic and CatechetiC Studies. According to the Spirit of Holy
Scripture and of the Ecclesiastical Year. By A. Meyenberg, Canon and Pro-
fessor of Theology, Luzerne. Translated by the Very Rev. Ferdinand Bross-
art, V.G., Covington, Kentucky. New York, Cincinnati, Rome, and Ratisbon :
Fr. Pustet & Co. 19 12. Pp. 845. Price, $3.50.
Reasonable Service, or Why I Believe. By D. L. Lanslots, O.S.B., Prefect
Apostolic of North Transvaal. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder ; London and Edin-
burgh: Sands & Co. Pp. 177. Price, $1.00.
Retreats for the People. A Sketch for a Great Revival. By Charles
Plater, S.J. With a Preface by the Bishop of Salford. St. Loruis, Mo.: B.
Herder; London and Edinburgh: Sands & Co. 1912. Pp. 293. Price, $1.50.
ii2
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
MONISTISCHE EiNHEITSBESTREBUNGEN UND KATHOLISCHE WELTANSCHAUUNG.
^t. Louis, Mo., und Freiburg, Brisg. : B. Herder. 1912, Pp. 27. Preis, $0.15.
LITURGICAL.
CoLLECTio Rerum Liturgicarum ad normam Novissimarum Constitutionum
Apostolicae Sedis et recentiorum S. R. C. Decretorum concinnata a Josepho
Wuest, C.SS.R. Ilchester, Maryland : Typis Congreg. SS. Redemptoris. 1912.
Pp. 283.
Messe fur dreistimmigen Chor (Sopran I, II und Alt) mit Begleitung der
'Orgel nach Motiven der Missa Brevis von Palestrina. Bearbeitet von Michael
Haller. Op. 108. Partitur. Regensburg, Rom, New York und Cincinnati :
Fr. Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 23. Price, $0.35.
Das Totenofficium mix Messe und Begrabnisritus nach der Editio
Vaticana. Ausgabe mit Violinschliissel, geeigneter Transposition, Ueberset-
zung der Rubriken und ausgesetzten Psalmen. Herausgegeben von Dr. Karl
Weinmann, Direktor der Kirchenmusikschule Regensburg. Mit oberhirtlicher
Druckgenehmigung. Regensburg, Rom, New York und Cincinnati : Fr. Pustet
& Co. 1912. Pp. 126. Price, $0.45.
25 kurze und einfache Orgelpraludien fur den Gottesdienst. Kom-
poniert von Johannes Diebold. Op. 106. Regensburg, Rom, New York und
■Cincinnati: Fr. Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 27. Price, $0.60.
The New Psalter and its Use. By the Rev. Edwin Burton, D.D., Vice-
Rector and Professor of Liturgy at St. Edmund's College, Old Hall ; and the
Rev. Edward Myers, M.A., Professor of Dogmatic Theology and Patrology
at St. Edmund's College, Old Hall. {The Westminster Library.) New York,
London, Bombay, Calcutta : Longmans, Green & Co. 1912. Pp. xii-258.
HISTORICAL.
ViNGT Guerisons A LouRDEs discutees medicalement. Par le Docteur de
•Grandmaison de Bruno, Ancien Interne en Medecine des Hopitaux de Paris.
Paris: Gabriel Beauchesne & Cie. 1912. Pp. 313. Prix, 3 fr. 50; franco 3
ir. 75.
Faith and Suggestion. Including an account of the remarkable experiences
of Dorothy Kerin. By Edwin Lancelot Ash, author of Mind and Health,
Nerves and the Nervous. Philadelphia : Peter Reilly ; London : Herbert &
Daniel. 1912. Pp. xvi-153. Price, $1.25.
Abbot Wallingford. An Inquiry into the charges made against him and
his monks. By Abbot Gasquet, D.D. St. Louis, Mo. : B. Herder ; London and
Edinburgh: Sands & Co. Pp. 79. Price, $0.60.
Geschichte der Altkirchlichen Literatur. Von Otto Bardenhewer, Dok-
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MISCELLANEOUS.
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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series. — Vol. VII. — (XLVII). — November, 1912. — No. 5.
THE TRADITIONAL IDEA OP SAOEEDOTAL VOOATION.
CANON LAHITTON, professor of Dogmatic Theology in
the Seminary of Poyanne in the diocese of Aire and
Dax, published in 1909 a book on Sacerdotal Vocation/ which
soon became the subject of a widespread controversy. To
many his doctrine seemed new and dangerous, calculated to
undermine what so many learned and pious men had built
up, a high idea of the priestly vocation. Canon Lahitton, on
the contrary, contended that his was the traditional view of
the Church, and that the opinion now current did not go back
any further than the seventeenth century, and consequently
was really new in the Church. The question is one that has
not merely speculative interest, but must exercise the deepest
influence upon the selection of candidates for the holy priest-
hood.
THE QUESTION.
Canon Lahitton does not raise the question of the necessity
of a vocation to the priesthood. All grant this, and it is too
clearly expressed by St. Paul : '' Nee quisquam sumit sibi hon-
orem sed qui vocatur a Deo tamquam Aaron," as to admit of
any controversy. Neither is there question of the gratuity of
the call to the priesthood; this is also universally admitted.
Father Bacuez ^ well expresses the universal doctrine on this
1 Lahitton, La vocation sacerdotale ; Lethielleux, Paris, 1909. Deux concep-
tions diver gent es de la vocation sacerd. Paris, 19 10.
2 Bacuez, Instructions et meditations a I'usage des ordinands. Paris, 1906,
PP- 37.
514
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
point when he says: " If one had all virtues and all talents,
the purity of an angel, the zeal of Elias, the austerity of John
the Baptist, were one a genius or a worker of miracles, nothing
could take the place of the character of the priesthood or give
one a right to it. All theologians and spiritual writers teach
that the vocation to the priesthood is a free gift of God, not
depending on our own merits, and that no sanctity can give
us a right to it. A vocation from God is, therefore, necessary
that one be legitimately ordained to the holy priesthood."
Naturally the question arises : How are we to know that God
calls us to this high dignity? And it is here that Canon La-
hitton differs from the opinion generally accepted.
The current teaching is that God places this vocation in the
soul of the child, and that it will manifest itself in time by
certain indications, called signs of vocation. The vocation is
there, in germ as it were, and will by its own strength show
itself sooner or later, provided it be not stifled by evil influ-
ences and sin. The principal sign, according to these writers,,
is a certain subjective feeling or inclination, an attrait, as the
French call it, for the priesthood. One who has a true voca-
tion feels himself, as it were, born to be a priest. The eccle-
siastical superiors who are the judges of vocation attest merely
its presence, and the official call to orders is but a sanction
and approbation of a previously existing call from God.
Canon Lahitton differs radically from this view. Before the
official call to orders we cannot properly speak of a vocation ;
we can only speak of fitness, idoneity, or, if we be permitted,
to use the word, vocability. It is the ministers of the Church
who give the vocation in calling to orders. The recruiting of
the priesthood belongs to the administration of the Church,
and consequently to the forum externum. The signs of voca-
tion may be signs of fitness or vocability, but without the actual
external call there is no vocation in the proper sense of the
word. If an unworthy candidate be called by the bishop, the
vocation may be illicit but it is valid, as is also the ordination.
ST. THOMAS AND ST. ALPHONSUS.
St. Thomas (Suppl. q. 36) treating de qualitate suscipien-
tium hoc sacramentum i^sc. ordinis) knows nothing of the-
necessity of a vocation previous to the official call of the
SACERDOTAL VOCATION. 515
bishop; all that is demanded by him is " bonitas vitae " and
" scientia competens S. Scripturae " ; nothing further. " Idon-
eitas " sums up all his demands on the candidate for orders.
And this is true of all the earlier theologians. Beginning with
the seventeenth century we find the demand for a vocation,
but it is used in the sense of fitness for a vocation ; it is voca-
tion " in potentia '\ That it is used in this sense is evident
from the fact that these writers demand no more than St.
Thomas did.
St. Alphonsus speaks of vocation and signs of vocation, but
an attentive consideration of his doctrine will show that he has
in mind only vocability. He demands of the candidate for
orders " probitas vitae, scientia competens et recta intentio ".
These constitute merely fitness and not a vocation for the
priesthood. There is, then, between St. Thomas and St.
Alphonsus a difference of terminology, not of doctrine. Those
whom St. Alphonsus calls " vocatos " St. Thomas calls " dig-
nos ". But this is not the case with some later writers ; they
demand in addition a vocation in the candidate, and reduce
the office of the bishop to recognizing and approving this
previously existing vocation. They expect the candidate to
have an attrait for the priesthood, that he should feel himself
called for it.
The question, then, in a few words resolves itself to this :
How does God make known to the candidate that He calls him
to the priesthood? Is it by subjective means acting directly
on his faculties or is it by an objective call that comes to him
through the legitimate ministers of the Church? Is the call
of the bishop the essential element of a vocation, so that the
others are but '* praerequisita ut legitime vocetur " ? This
latter view we believe to be the traditional doctrine of the
Church.
THE ARGUMENT.
St. Paul makes the call of Aaron the pattern and exemplar
of the call to the priesthood of the New Law. " Nee quis-
quam sumit sibi honorem sed qui vocatur a Deo tamquam
Aaron." How was Aaron called? Was it by subjective feel-
ing or even the inspiration of the Holy Ghost? .Did he feel
himself, as it were, born to the priesthood, or was he called
5i6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
in an objective, visible, manner by his superiors? Let us read
Exodus 28:1: " Applica quoque ad te Aaron fratrem tuum
cum filiis suis de medio Israel ut sacerdotio fungantur mihi."
The call came to him from God through Moses, his chief. In
like manner the Apostles were called by Christ in an external
way : ''Veni, sequere me." *'Non vos me elegistis," you did not
come to Me led by your own inclination, " sed ego elegi vos ".
There was no subjectivism in their call to be fishers of men;
they had not even an idea of it, much less a strong, persever-
ing inclination.
St. Paul in his Epistles to Timothy and Titus describes min-
utely the qualities of the men to be chosen to the priesthood.
Everywhere we find enumerated again and again marks of
fitness : " probitas vitae et scientia competens mysteriorum
Dei ". Nowhere is there the slightest hint as to the need of
a vocation manifesting itself through subjective media.^ Like-
wise deacons are chosen on account of fitness : ^ " Diaconos
similiter pudicos, non bilingues, non multo vino deditos, non
turpe lucrum sectantes [probitas vitae], habentes mysterium
fidei in conscientia pura [scientia competens]". Not a word
about vocation.
If we turn to the Acts of the Apostles to learn the practice
of the apostolic Church, we find the same thing, namely an
insistence on idoneity, silence on the question of vocation.
Take the sixth chapter in which we have an account of the
ordination of the first deacons : '' Considerate ergo, f ratres,
viros ex vobis boni testimonii septem, plenos Spiritu Sancto
[probitas vitae] et sapientia " [scientia competens]. Once
this testimony is received, they are forthwith ordained : " oran-
tes imposuerunt eis manus ". St. Paul did the same in regard
to Timothy; he accepted the testimony of the faithful con-
cerning his fitness and ordained him (Acts 16). It is this
idea that fitness is sufficient for one to be called by the bishop
to the priesthood that explains the custom of the early cen-
turies, when men were compelled to receive Holy Orders,
whilst others fled to escape the dignity ; and this was ac-
counted in them as praiseworthy. We can well understand that
3 I Tim. 3 :i-7 ; Tit. 2:5; II Tim. 2 : 2.
* I Tim. 3 : 8-10.
SA CERDOTAL VOCA TION.
517
a saint should out of humility refuse the priesthood, and even
that he should sacrifice to humility an inclination for the
priesthood ; but we cannot account it a sign of sanctity to con-
tradict the will of God in his regard, had he felt himself
called to the ministry by God. Evidently these saints had
not that idea of vocation.
An examination of the teaching of the Church as expressed
in her Ritual will lead us to the same conclusion. It may be
taken for granted that no one will deny the authority of the
Roman Pontifical in giving us the mind of the Church on Holy
Orders. The Rite of Ordination is full of instruction con-
cerning the requisites and duties demanded by the various
orders. Now, if the Church required an internal vocation in
the candidate presenting himself for orders, we have every
reason to expect that such a requirement should be mentioned
in the Pontifical. And yet we may read it ever so carefully,
and not a word nor even an allusion that could be construed in
this sense can be found in the whole Pontifical. On the con-
trary, after the ordinands have been presented to the bishop
together with the demand of the Church that he ordain them,
the bishop hesitates and first makes inquiry concerning the
candidates. The solemnity of the occasion makes it appear
that a satisfactory answer to his question is the conditio sine
qua non of his complying with the request put to him. Read-
ing modern books on vocation we would expect that the ques-
tion he is about to ask is concerning their vocation : ** Scisne
illos vocatos esse?" It is not; he seems to know nothing of
such a requirement. "Scisne illos dignos esse?" Are they
fit, " idonei " ? that is the question asked concerning the can-
didates.
It will be well to recall also the insistence of the Church
upon the freedom of the candidate to accept or to refuse the
call of the bishop. The candidates for sub-deaconship are
told : " Hactenus liberi estis, licetque pro arbitrio ad saecularia
vota transire." This freedom to accept or not is difficult of
reconciliation with a divine call. Modern writers who insist
on the difficulty of salvation for one who neglects his voca-
tion to the priesthood are more logical; yet the Pontifical
knows no such doctrine; licet vohis pro arbitrio;' whichever
they do, licet. No one has a right to demand ordination on
5i8
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the strength of a supposed call, and no one, be he ever so fit,
is obliged to accept the call of the bishop, at least " de lege
ordinaria ".
The Council of Trent gives us the same doctrine. Section
23, t/^ rejormatione, describes the qualities and conditions that
should be found in men to be promoted to orders. Here again
where we have every right to expect an insistence upon the
necessity of a divine call before the selection of the bishop,
we meet with absolute silence on the question. Nor can all
these arguments be put aside by the objection that they are
negative arguments; since all the passages both from Scrip-
ture and ecclesiastical documents are such that silence is in-
conceivable, except on the supposition of the non-existence of
the subject in question. All the instructions of this session of
the Council can be summed up in the *' Scisne illos dignos
esse? " of the Pontifical. '' Ordinandorum genus, personam,
aetatem, institutionem, mores, doctrinam et fidem diligenter
investiget et examinet ", is the injunction put upon the bishop.
Chapter 18 urges the bishops to found seminaries, to which
are to be admitted only those '' quorum indoles et voluntas
spem afferat eos ecclesiasticis ministeriis perpetuo inservi-
turos ". It is a question of good character and good will, of
idoneity, in a word. The Catechism of the Council of Trent
may be considered the best commentary as regards the mind
of the Council ; it certainly enjoys the highest authority.
This tells us in plain words : " li autem vocati sunt qui a legi-
timis ecclesiae ministris vocantur." Not they who feel them-
selves called, nor yet they who have a strong inclination to
the priesthood, nor even they who are '' idonei ", but they who
are called by the legitimate ministers of the Church, have a
vocation for the priesthood. The others may have the pre-
requisites for a call, and thus in a wide sense and according
to the usage of good authors may be said to have a vocation,
meaning thereby " in potentia " ; much in the same sense as
we refer to boys just beginning the study of Theology as
theologians.
It would be too long to transcribe from the Council of
Trent all the wise regulations laid down in this session which
bear out our contention; one more will suffice. The Council
enjoins that the bishop be guided in his choice by his re-
SACERDOTAL VOCATION. .519
sources and the needs of the diocese, and this prescription has
been often repeated by the Popes, lately by Pius X : " Let
bishops promote to orders guided not by the desire or preten-
tions of the aspirants, but, as the Council of Trent prescribes,
by the needs of their diocese." ^ By what right does the
bishop close the doors of the sanctuary to one who comes to
him called there by God? Evidently the viewpoint of the
Council and that of the Popes on sacerdotal vocation is not
that of certain modern writers. If God calls, why should man
interfere and forbid the following of that call ?
THE DECISION.
The Acta Apostolicae Sedis of 15 July, 1912, contains a
decree on this subject, the text of which is being published, I
understand, in this issue of the Review. I translate it here
for the greater convenience of the reader.
To the Rt. Rev. Charles M. A. De Cormont, Bishop of Aire, con-
cerning the book entitled La vocation sacerdotale, written by the
Very Rev. Canon Joseph Lahitton, of the same Diocese.
Monseigneur,
On account of the controversies that have arisen by reason of the
two works of Canon Joseph Lahitton on sacerdotal vocation, and on
account of the importance of the doctrinal questions connected there-
with, our Holy Father, Pope Pius X has deigned to nominate a
special commission of Cardinals.
This commission after mature examination of the arguments for
both sides, in its plenary session of 20 June last, pronounced the
following judgment:
" Opus praestantis viri Josephi Lahitton, cui titulus La Vocation
Sacerdotale, nullo modo reprobandum esse; imo, qua parte adstruit:
1° Neminem habere unquam jus ulliun ad ordinationem antecedenter
ad liberam electionem episcopi. 2° Conditionem, quae ex parte ordi-
nandi debet attendi, quaeque vocatio sacerdotalis appellatur, ne-
quaquam consistere, saltem necessario et de lege ordinaria, in interna
quadam adspiratione subjecti, sen incitamentis Spiritus Sancti, ad
sacerdotium ineundum. 3° Sed e contra, nihil plus in ordinando, ut
rite vocetur ab episcopo, requiri quam rectam intentionem simul cum
idoneitate in iis gratiae et naturae dotibus reposita, et per earn vitae
probitatem ac doctrinae sufficientiam comprobata, quae spem fun-
5 Encyc. Pieno I'animo, 28 July, 1906.
520
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
datam faciant fore ut sacerdotii munera recte obire ejusdemque obli-
gationes sancte servare queat : esse egregie laudandum."
In an audience of 26 June, His Holiness Pius X fully approved
of the decision of their Eminences the Cardinals, and he charges me
to notify your Lordship that you may kindly communicate this to
your subject, the Canon Joseph Lahitton, and insert it in full in the
Semaine Religieuse of your diocese.
I beg you, Monseigneur, to accept the assurance of my devotion,
in our Lord.
R. Card. Merry Del Val.
Rome, 2 July, 1912.
I call attention to the fact that this decree is issued by
a special commission appointed to examine this question, and
that^ it is approved by the Holy Father, which facts guar-
antee its doctrinal importance. The decree insists on the
gratuity of the call to the priesthood, brought into question,
though not verbally denied, by the theory of a subjective call.
It rejects the opinion that vocation consists in a subjective
aspiration or inclination, even though v^e conceive this to be
the work of the Holy Ghost, and insists that nothing further
should be demanded in the candidate for a legitimate call
from the bishop than idoneity, expressed in the three con-
ditions of St. Alphonsus: '' probitas vitae, Fcientia competens
et recta intentio ". Thus the controversy has been definitely
settled in favor of Canon Lahitton's thesis.
THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES.
The decree just quoted outlines clearly the duties of the
seminary authorities who are the ordinary delegates of the
bishop in the selection of candidates and in the giving of the
call to orders. They are instructed to judge of the fitness of
the candidate for the priesthood according to his knowledge,
probity of life, and right intention. Of the knowledge re-
quired they have continual proof in the various examinations
held in the seminary. Of the probity of life they can easily
judge, provided no evidence to which they have a right is
withheld from them. Every Catholic Has an interest in the
proper selection of candidates for the priesthood; and conse-
quently has an obligation in conscience to make known any
SACERDOTAL VOCATION. 52 I
important fact that may have a bearing on it. What is true
of the simple faithful is doubly true of the ecclesiastic, espec-
ially the pastor ; the latter's letter of recommendation is an im-
portant item in forming a judgment of the fitness of the can-
didate, and must consequently give a true picture of him. The
Apostles, as we saw, decided entirely according to the *' bonum
testimonium " of the brethren. We do not hesitate to say that
the revealing of important facts binds sub gravi.
These means of information, together with several years of
continual contact with the student in the seminary, should
make the decision of the superiors " de probitate vitae " fairly
easy and correct. The right intention is closely bound up with
character and piety ; where there are natural honesty and solid
virtue we have no reason to suspect" worldly and unworthy
motives.
The confessor is not to decide the vocation of his penitent.
His role is to advise him to accept or to refuse the vocation he
has received or is about to receive. He has no functions in
foro externo, and has no right to vote on his penitent, nor has
he a right to take any steps to obtain for him a call to orders
or to prevent such a call being given ; in the matter of vocation
he is one moral person with the penitent.
The candidate for orders has no reason to be anxious about
his vocation ; all that is required of him is to show himself as
he is, to deal openly and honestly with his superiors and to
leave the judgment of his fitness to them. He need not enter
into subjective, psychological analyses, by their very nature
elusive and illusive. " Saepe sibi de se mens ipsa mentitur,"
says St. Gregory.^ The whole question is to be decided by his
superiors on objective grounds upon which they can have the
necessary evidence to form a correct judgment. One who has
been honest and open with his superiors, avoiding all hypoc-
risy, can accept the call to orders when it comes to him with
good conscience, knowing that it comes from God through the
bishop whom the Holy Ghost appointed to rule the Church.
Such a consciousness of a true and legitimate vocation, not
subject to doubt, will be for him a great consolation through
life. He has no suspicion lest he deceived himself into think-
® Pastoral, c. g.
522
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ing that he had a vocation, but he knows that he received it
honestly.
The priest on the mission is by his very office a recruiting
officer for the priesthood. A true priest will be anxious to
send good boys to the seminary, so that when his course is run
he may say: " Non omnis moriar " : I have left others to take
up my work in the vineyard of the Lord. When he finds a boy
who is intelligent, docile, and pious, who gives hope that he
will be a good priest, he will direct his mind and steps to the
seminary. He does not seek a boy who has a vocation, but he
seeks a candidate for a vocation. Fitness alone will decide
the matter. He will not wait for the boy himself to speak
first on the subject, for some of the best might be lost for the
priesthood by this method. A boy of twelve cannot be ex-
pected to have that knowledge of the priesthood that would
enable him to form a rational judgment about his taking upon
himself the obligations of the priesthood. Let him go to the
seminary, where he will learn more about it and be better able
to judge. Many a boy with a strong inclination to the priest-
hood owed it to ambition, vanity, or other worldly motive,
even unknown to himself. We should therefore not exag-
gerate its importance. It should not be a matter of feeling or
sentiment, but of rational decision. In the past the decision of
entering the priesthood has often been allowed to hinge on
childish fancy; not that we underestimate the importance of
an inclination for the priesthood, but that its importance has
been overestimated, especially when it was made the deciding
factor.
If the priest be guided in his choice by the consideration of
fitness only, he will no doubt find many candidates in his
parish; the increase of students in the seminary will enable
the bishop to make a more judicious selection and thus raise
the standard of requirements. In this manner the right un-
derstanding of the doctrine defended in the foregoing pages
will work for the greater good of the Church, improving the
priesthood both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Edmund J. Wirth.
St. Bernard's Seminary, Rochester, N. Y.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS. 523
THE BIBLIOAL COMMISSION AND THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS.
THE three recent decrees of the Biblical Commission empha-
size for Catholics the importance of studying the ques-
tions connected with our Synoptic Gospels. The first decree was
issued 19 June, 191 1, and deals with the author, the time of
composition, and the historicity of St. Matthew's Gospel. The
second decree is dated 26 June, 191 2, and determines the au-
thorship, the time of composition, and the historical character
of our second and third Synoptic Gospels. The third decree
was published on the same day, and serves as a guide to the
student of the Synoptic Problem.
According to the Biblical Commission, our first Gospel has
the Apostle St. Matthew for its author; it was written before
the other Gospels, in the language of the Palestinian Jews;
it was not written after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the
words of St. Irenaeus ^ do not force us to place its composition
after St. Paul's arrival in Rome; St. Matthew did not write a
mere source of our present first Gospel, consisting of sayings
and discourses of Christ, but the original Gospel of St.
Matthew is substantially identical with our Greek Gospel ac-
cording to St. Matthew; we cannot consider the contents of
the first Gospel as untrue or at variance with historical real-
ity; and there is no solid foundation for the opinion which
throws doubt on the authenticity of the first two chapters of
the first Gospel, or on Mt. 14: 33 ; 16: 17-19; 28 : 19-20.
The second decree of the Biblical Commission insists on the
following tenets : our second and third Gospels were written
by St. Mark and St. Luke respectively; this authorship of St.
Mark and St. Luke extends to Mk. 16:9-20 and Lk. 1-2;
22 : 43-44; the canticle usually called Magnificat is not to be
attributed to St. Elizabeth, but to Our Blessed Lady; as to
the chronological order of the Synoptic Gospels, St. Matthew
wrote first, St. Mark second, and St. Luke third, though St.
Matthew's Palestinian Gospel may have been translated into
Greek after the second and third Gospels had been written;
the second and third Gospels were not written after the de-
struction of Jerusalem; nor was the third Gospel composed
after the siege of Jerusalem had begun; St. Luke's Gospel was
1 Adv. hser., Ill, i, 2.
524
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
written before the Book of Acts, and therefore before the end
of St. Paul's Roman captivity; St. Mark wrote according to
the preaching of St. Peter, and St. Luke according to the
preaching of St. Paul, though both evangelists had access to
other sources either oral or written; the contents of both the
second and the third Gospel are historically true.
In its third decree the Biblical Commission touches upon
the Synoptic Problem. The resemblances and discrepancies
found in the Synoptic Gospels may be explained by the hy-
pothesis of dependence of a later Gospel on an earlier, or by
the hypothesis of tradition whether written or oral. But the
so-called hypothesis of two sources does not harmonize with
the foregoing statutes of the Biblical Commission and cannot
be freely defended.
We shall draw attention to a few points in which the late
decisions of the Biblical Commission have a practical bearing
on the study of the Synoptic Gospels. Until last year the
student of these Gospels was not bound to assume any de-
finite order of succession. In our former contributions on the
Synoptic Problem we have shown that scholars have tried
every possible combination of the first three Gospels in order
to find a satisfactory solution. The decree of 19 June, 191 1,
limits this freedom in so far as to assign the first place to St.
Matthew's Palestinian Gospel, insisting however that this Pal-
estinian Gospel is substantially identical with our Greek Gos-
pel of St. Matthew. Even with this limitation, H. Pasquier,
Superior of the Grand Seminary in Tours, was still free to
publish his work La solution du prohleme synoptiqiie^ in
which he partially revived the views of Clement of Alexan-
dria and Griesbach. According to Pasquier, St. Matthew
wrote his Palestinian Gospel A. D. 41, and St. Luke com-
posed his "former treatise" between A. D. 50 and 54; St.
Mark harmonized the two, after A. D. 55, during St. Peter's
second journey to Rome. St. Luke did not know St. Mat-
thew's Gospel, and does not depend on it for his facts; but in
his report of our Lord's words he depends on the first Gospel
indirectly, in as far as he utilizes written- extracts from St.
Matthew which were circulating among the early Christians.
2 Tours, 191 1, Mame.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS. 525
The Abbe advances eight proofs for the fact that St. Mark
wrote after St. Matthew and St. Luke; he considers each of
the eight as convincing even when taken singly, and believes
that they are simply unanswerable, when taken together.
But the Abbe's arguments are not as impregnable as he
thinks they are; even the principal proof for his theory is un-
sound. It consists of the consideration that the second Gospel
contains nothing, if we except a few minor details, that is not
contained in either of the other two Synoptic Gospels. Hence
Pasquier argues: either St. Matthew and St. Luke, writing
after St. Mark, divided the material of the second Gospel be-
tween them so as to omit nothing excepting a few details of
secondary importance, or St. Mark, writing after the other
two evangelists, took his material from the first and third
Gospels, adding a few minutiae not found in those Gospels.
As the former of these two alternatives is practically impos-
sible, we must admit the latter. The learned writer does not
remember that this argument is advanced by those who solve
the Synoptic Problem by the theory of tradition either written
or oral. They maintain that St. Mark and St. Luke committed
to writing the preaching of St. Peter and St. Paul respectively,
and that St. Matthew adapted and enlarged the Jerusalem
catechism for his Jewish readers. Now, St. Peter must have
adapted the original Jerusalem catechism to his Roman audi-
ence, adding for this purpose some parts from St. Paul's
preaching; thus St. Peter's teaching, and consequently the sec-
ond Gospel, present only material substantially contained in
the first Gospel and the third. If it be considered improb-
able that St. Peter himself should have adopted portions from
St. Paul's preaching, we may suppose that St. Mark, who had
been St. Paul's companion on part of his first missionary jour-
ney, added portions from his former master's teaching to St.
Peter's preaching. At any rate, it is quite certain that the
Abbe Pasquier would not have expressed such unlimited con-
fidence in the solidity of his arguments, if he had written
after 26 June, 191 2, the date on which the Biblical Commis-
sion published its last two decrees.
Before the decrees of the Biblical Commission, Catholics
were free to discuss within certain limits the date'of composi-
tion of the three Synoptic Gospels. Catholic critics were not
526
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
wanting who placed the origin of St. Luke's Gospel and the
Greek rendering of St. Matthew's after the beginning of the
siege of Jerusalem, A. D. 70. Now it has been decided that
the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke, and therefore also the
Palestinian Gospel of St. Matthew, were written before the
destruction of Jerusalem, and even before the beginning of
its siege. The opinions of the critics as to the date of the
Gospels (and of the other books of the New Testament) may
be studied in Moffatt's Introduction to the Literature of the
New Testament.^ The work belongs to the International
Theological Library, and forms a counterpart to Driver's ex-
cellent work on the literature of the Old Testament. The
bibliography is quite good, extending even to Catholic works,
and the survey of the literary problems concerning the New
Testament is fairly satisfactory. It is, therefore, to be re-
gretted that the tone of the writer is not more conservative
in a book intended for students. For instance, Hebr., Ephes.,
and the Pastoral Epistles are said not to be written by St.
Paul ; St. John is said to have suffered martyrdom rather early,
so that he cannot be the author of the Johannine literature;
among the Catholic Epistles, only I. Pt. is assigned to the
first century. Mr. Moffatt assigns also to the Synoptic Gos-
pels a rather late origin : the first Gospel he places between
A. D. 70 and no; the second, between A. D. 60 and 70; the
third, about A. D. 90.
When Mr. Moffatt wrote his work, he was not acquainted
with the results reached by Harnack in his recent publication
entitled Neue Untersuchungen zur Apostelgeschichte und zur
Abfassung der synoptischen Evangelien.* Prof. Harnack
maintains that the author of the so-called We-portions of
Acts is the author of the whole Book of Acts ; there is no con-
tradiction between the Paul of Acts and the Paul of the Epis-
tles. Now, the Book of Acts was certainly written before the
destruction of Jerusalem; hence the Gospel of St. Luke, and
therefore also the second Gospel and the Logia, or Q, must
have been written before Jerusalem's fall. Possibly even
the first Gospel belongs to that early date. In fact, the Pro-
3 Edinburgh, 191 1: Clark.
* Beitrage zur Einleitung in das Neue Testament, Leipzig 19 lo, Hinrichs.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS.
527
fessor places the Book of Acts before the death of St. Paul,
A. D. 62] the third Gospel, about A. D. 60; the second Gos-
pel, still earlier; the first, about A. D. 70. This is at first
sight a long step back to tradition. To prevent any illusion,
the writer warns his reader that the antiquity of a writing is
no guarantee of its historicity; though he approaches the
tenets of ecclesiastical tradition as to the dates of the Synoptic
Gospels, he does not grant them any historical reliability. He
compares the Gospels to shaking girders which do not be-
come more solid because they are proved to be more ancient
than had been believed. The legendary elements discovered
by critics in the Synoptic Gospels do not demand that their
composition be placed at the end of the first century. These
legends could easily be developed at an early hour among the
Jewish Christians of Palestine; even the first chapters of the
Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke do not require any Hel-
lenistic influence. The Gospel story of the infancy contains
an historical foundation which has been covered by legendary
developments. But it must be remembered that Harnack's
historical foundation is void of any miraculous element.
It may here be added that W. C. Allen has contributed to
the Expository Times (XXII, 349-352) an article entitled
" Harnack and Mofl'att on the Date of the First Gospel ".
The writer shows from internal evidence that the first Gospel
must have been written earlier than the date assigned to it by
either Harnark or Mofl'att. The character of the Gospel shows
that it was intended for Jewish Christian readers, and such a
work would hardly have been composed after, or about, 70
A. D.
A third point important for Catholic students is the attitude
of the Biblical Commission toward the so-called hypothesis of
two-sources adopted by most modern non-Catholic critics as
the best solution of the Synoptic Problem. Among its main
adherents we may mention H. J. Holtzmann, Harnack, and
Bernhard Weiss; even such Catholic scholars as Camerlynck,
Coppieters, Ermoni, Lagrange, Barnes, Gigot, and Sicken-
berger are not averse to it. But the hypothesis cannot be said
to have been generally adopted by Protestant writers; Baur
and his school, Th. Keim, Hilgenfeld, BoUiger, and Th. Zahn
are not found among its patrons. And what are the two
528
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
sources the use of which is said to solve substantially the
Synoptic Problem, or explain the resemblances and discrep-
ancies found in the first three Gospels? The first source is
the Gospel of St. Mark, which is supposed to have been util-
ized not only by St. Luke but also by the author of our Greek
St. Matthew. The second source is the document called Logia
and technically denoted by Q, written by St. Matthew in
Aramaic, and utilized by St. Luke and the author of the Greek
St. Matthew for the material common to these two evange-
lists but not found in the second Gospel. These are the main
outlines of the hypothesis of two sources; whether the first
source was exactly identical with our present second Gospel,
and whether the second source was utilized only by the first
and third evangelists, or also by the second, these and similar
questions indicate merely accidental variations of the theory
of two sources.
How is this hypothesis affected by the decisions of the Bib-
lical Commission? Three paragraphs of the decree issued 19
June, 191 1, appear to oppose it: St. Matthew is said to have
written before the second and third evangelists ; the work thus
written by St. Matthew was not a bare collection of sayings
and discourses of Jesus Christ; furthermore, this work of St.
Matthew is quoad substantiam identical with our present Gos-
pel according to St. Matthew. At first sight, these decisions
destroy the hypothesis of two sources; but Prof. Sickenberger,
of Breslau, has tried to show how the hypothesis might be
combined with the prescriptions of the Biblical Commission :
St. Matthew, he tells us, wrote his Palestinian Gospel before
the other Synoptists, so that St. Mark may still be regarded
as prior to, and the source of, the third Gospel and the Greek
St. Matthew; again, the moderate adherents of the hypothesis
of two sources consider the Aramaic work of St. Matthew as
a real Gospel, not as a mere collection of sayings and dis-
courses of our Lord; finally, the substantial identity between
the Aramaic and the Greek Gospel of St. Matthew may be ex-
plained in a wider sense, so that the Greek Gospel may have
received non-substantial additions taken from St. Mark.^ In
fact, the Professor appears to believe that the Biblical Com-
^ Cf. Biblische Zeitschrift, 191 1, pp. 391-396.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS.
529
mission ought to have denied the existence of a common
source of the Greek Matthew and the third Gospel, if it had
intended to oppose the hypothesis of two sources.
Prof. Sickenberger is not the only Catholic writer who
maintained this opinion; L. Venard, for instance, harmonizes
the hypothesis of two sources with the first decree of the Bib-
lical Commission in the same way : ® St. Matthew wrote his
Aramaic Gospel before the other synoptists published their
Gospels; the Aramaic Gospel is identical with the Logia of
Papias, and with Q of the critics, so that it is not a collection
of mere sayings and discourses; its substantial identity with
the Greek Gospel of St. Matthew must be understood in a
wider sense.
Such is the harmony which certain Catholic writers have
endeavored to establish between the decision issued by the
Biblical Commission on 19 June, 191 1, and the hypothesis of
two sources. M. Venard proposed it before he was acquainted
with the decision of the Commission issued on 26 June, 1912.
He proposed it, moreover, in order to reconcile with the teach-
ing of the Biblical Commission the tenet of Fr. Lagrange ex-
pressed in the author's recent commentary on the second Gos-
pel : ^ "It is considered as settled," Fr. Lagrange writes,
" that the second Gospel — or a gospel more like the second
than any other — is the common source of the first Gospel and
the third." Karl Kastner in his review of Fr. Lagrange's
work ^ gives us perhaps a more satisfactory explanation of the
author's attitude. Fr. Lagrange, we are told, does not wish
to say the last word as to the value of the hypothesis of two
sources, but in his discussion with the critics who are adher-
ents of the hypothesis he must stand on a common basis with
them. As far as the hypothesis of two sources is concerned,
Fr. Lagrange argues with the critics just as a scholastic phil-
osopher may argue with his opponent on a dato et non concesso
basis.
In a Post-scriptum to his article, M. Venard tells us ^ that
the Biblical Commission in last year's decree implicitly pro-
^ Revue du Clerge franfais, 15 July, 1912, p. 167, note.
''^ L'&vangile selon saint Marc, Paris, 1911, Lecoffre.
^ Biblische Zeitschrift, 1911, pp. 400 f.
9 Revue du Clerge franfais, 15 Aug., 1912, pp. 473 f.
^^O ^^^ii^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
nounced against the hypothesis of two sources by the very
fact that it insisted on the substantial identity of St. Matthew's
Greek Gospel with his Palestinian Gospel. Such a view of
the substantial identity had been advocated by Fr. V. Murillo
in his article contributed to the Civilta Cattolica; ^^ the writer
maintains that the identity in question extends to both con^
tents and arrangement of material. Accidental differences
between the Palestinian and the Greek Gospel of St. Matthew
may be admitted to exist. If the differences were to extend
to contents or arrangement, St. Matthew would be the author
of the Greek Gospel in an indirect way, and such an indirect
authorship is not a sufficient reason, according to Fr. Murillo,
for calling the apostle simply the author of the Gospel pub-
lished under his name. To return to M. Venard's Post-scrip-
tum, the writer grants that in this year's decree the Biblical
Commission formally declares that a main common depend-
ence of our first and third Gospels on the Gospel of St. Mark
and the collection called Logia cannot be admitted.
Did the Catholic student lose much or anything by this
decision of the Biblical Commission? If any of the certain
results reached by the adherents of the hypothesis of two
sources are based on true principles of criticism, they will re-
main true for the Catholic student too; but it is to be feared
that many of the so-called critical results are in the last in-
stance based on the principles of syncretism or of historical
development. In this respect the criticism of the Synoptic
Gospels resembles the Pentateuchal criticism; we must con-
stantly distinguish between facts and inferences drawn from
mere critical assumptions. By way of illustration, we may
call to mind Prof. Harnack's four stages of early Christian de-
velopment: first, Jesus preaches the kingdom of God; sec-
ondly. He claims to be the Messias, and sets forth the doctrine
of the atoning value of His death ; thirdly, there is the gospel
of the early Christian community concerning the death of
Christ; fourthly, St. Paul's theology completes the Christian
system. Naturally, the sacred text will have to be adapted
in one way or another so as to correspond to these a priori
stages. ;
10 LXIII, I, 62-69; cf. LXII, I, 443
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS.
53
What has been said about Harnack is eminently true of
Loisy/^ Up to about ten years ago, the critics usually agreed
that the Gospel of St. Mark was homogeneous, and was not
composed of any other written documents. But M. Loisy,
after examining its peculiarities of language and style, its in-
consistencies of composition, and the main drift of its various
parts, distinguishes four groups of documents in the Gospel :
the first group contained only a simple account of Jesus of
Nazareth with the essential facts of His Galilean ministry, of
His Messianic manifestation in Jerusalem, and His death on
Golgotha; the second group contained additions of miracles
and prophecies; the third, sayings and parables illustrative
of the teaching of Jesus; fourthly, the final redactor of the
Gospel made a few additions, gave the second Gospel its
actual form, and introduced its general point of view.
If M. Loisy's work had stopped here, it would be little else
than an exhibition of critical acumen. But now begins his
a priori work, and this poisons the whole process. The first
document is said to correspond with the Christianity of St.
Peter and the Galilean apostles for whom Jesus was only the
Jewish Messias circumscribed by the horizon of Judaism. The
second document is held to represent the legendary develop-
ment of a few extraordinary cures of sick people whom Jesus
had healed, together with a pious application of Old Testa-
ment prophecies to Jesus. The third document too is sup-
posed to be an enlargement of what the apostles remembered
of our Lord's sayings and discourses. Lastly, the fourth ele-
ment added by the final redactor, is regarded as derived from
St. Paul's Christianity.
St. Paul's doctrine is said to be a poem of redemption de-
termined as to place and time by the historical existence of
Jesus Christ. The earthly career of Jesus has no meaning for
the apostle ; his whole interest is centered in Christ's death and
resurrection, for herein lies the principle of salvation which
every believer must appropriate to himself by the mysterious
rites of Baptism and the Eucharist. According to St. Paul,
Jesus is no longer the king of a regenerate Israel, but He is a
Divine Saviour of the world after the manner of Osiris,
'^^ Jesus et la tradition evangelique, Paris, Nourry ; L'&vangile selon Marc,
Paris, Nourry.
^32 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Adonis, Attis, and Mithra. Thus St. Paul universalizes the
national Jewish hope, and creates a Christianity that can be
propagated in the pagan world.
Loisy's views are dealt with in a special way by Fr. La-
grange in his commentary on St. Mark. Fr. Lagrange differs
from M. Loisy in the use of the sacred text; Loisy treats his
texts as prisoners at the bar: Lagrange treats them as wit-
nesses. Fr. Lagrange differs from Loisy also in his view of
the so-called Paulinism of the second Gospel ; Lagrange does
not find, any literary Paulinism in St. Mark, i. e. no influence
of the Pauline Epistles on the vocabulary and the style of St.
Mark; he does not find any doctrinal Paulinism in the second
Gospel, i. e. the second Gospel does not contain any particular
teaching that was truly originated, and not merely developed,
by St. Paul; he does not find any partisan Paulinism in the
second Gospel,. i. e. the second evangelist does not belittle the
Twelve in order to emphasize the importance of St. Paul.
Thirdly, Fr. Lagrange differs from Loisy as to the sources of
the second Gospel; Loisy admits among* the sources documents
different in age and tendency of doctrine, while Lagrange
points out the relation of the second Gospel to the preaching
of St. Peter, and insists on the unity of authorship of the
Gospel.
If the sources of the second Gospel are uniform in their
teaching, and if there be no Paulinism in the Gospel, the
whole theory constructed by Loisy falls to the ground. The
purely literary arguments advanced by Loisy for the exist-
ence of four strata of documents in the second Gospel are not
strong enough to prove such a tenet; Loisy himself would be
the first to proclaim their inconclusiveness, if his a priori
theories of syncretism and historical development of Chris-
tianity did not agree with a composite Gospel of Mark.
While the decrees of the Biblical Commission safeguard
Catholic students against such extravagances as those of Har-
nack and Loisy, they also point out the direction, less spec-
tacular but more solid than the critical hypothesis of two
sources, in which the solution of the Synoptic Problem may be
found.
A. J. Maas, S.J.
New York City.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
THE OUEE OP INTEMPERANOE.
533
If weakness may excuse,
What murderer, what traitor, parricide.
Incestuous, sacrilegious, but may plead it?
All wickedness is weakness : that plea, therefore,
With God or man will gain thee no remission.
Milton : Samson Agonistes.
AMONG the questions that have recently engaged the
serious attention of national charity conferences, civic
reform clubs and medical science is the modern treatment
of inebriety. The clergy must claim undoubtedly the largest
share in the responsibility of undertaking and furthering a
reform which must rest chiefly on a moral basis. The vice of
intemperance, with its integral parts, gluttony, drunkenness,
and unchastity, brings to the priest for healing more sin and
misery than any other form of revolt against the law of God.
The concupiscence of the flesh is the predominant sin of the
vast majority of the human family, and is the cause of at least
one-third of all the pauperism and crime in civilized nations.
There is good reason for the opinion that this vice also is the
main source of insanity and other diseases directly or indi-
rectly. Gluttony alone (overeating is the euphemism) fills a
thousand graves whilst war and pestilence together fill ten.
An amazing number of " martyrs to pain ", who pass through
life in an incense cloud of sympathy, are martyrs to their
bellies ; and most of those eminent citizens that have " broken
down from overwork ", and are constrained to take long vaca-
tions and distant voyages, are broken down from overwork,
with the knife and fork. Work, when honest, is a cure for dis-
ease, not a force to break one down ; worry, which is a vicious
lack of confidence in God and of other virtues, and intemper-
ance, break men down.
Drunkenness, the second part of intemperance, in all north-
ern nations is found in every caste of society; and that form
of the vice wherein the offender is a tippler rather than an
evident drunkard, and shows symptoms of all the physical
and moral lesions of the drunkard, is commonest where it
should be least known. Over ninety per cent of the Bright's
disease, rheumatism (whatever that is), neurasthenia, unfit-
ness for duty, brought to the medical man for cure by mer-
chants, lawyers, physicians, and clergymen, is caused by over-
534 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
eating and more or less whiskey for the stomach's sake. The
theories in medicine on whiskey as a panacea for all the ills of
middle life, inflicted upon suffering physicians by gentlemen
(otherwise intelligent) are infinite. No person has ever yet
taken habitually two or three drinks of whiskey daily, or a
pint of claret, and escaped chronic alcoholism ; and when such
a patient comes to a physician and prates about " breakdown
from overwork ", or " the will of God ", and the like, he is a
hypocrite or a fool — usually both.
These tipplers are often almost as resistant to treatment as
the public drunkard, but the real drunkard is more important
to the readers of this Review; he is more helpless, and his
reformation depends largely on the charity of the priest. A
drunkard will listen to his pastor when the advice of a layman
would be deemed intolerable meddlesomeness. Despite, how-
ever, the zeal of the priest, who strives honestly to cure the
soul of the drunkard, the results are discouraging. The chief
reason for this failure is that the efforts commonly made in
opposition to alcoholism are too specialized. They try to plant
sobriety in a soil not fitted for it. Sobriety is only a part of
temperance, and temperance itself is but one indivisible phase
of that spiritual unity called the cardinal virtues. The drunk-
ard must aim at the acquisition in the natural order of all the
cardinal virtues, or their reception in the supernatural order,
since he is lacking in each of these almost as much as he fails
in temperance, and temperance will never come to anyone un-
accompanied by the other virtues. When the drunkard, striv-
ing toward a new life, acquires these virtues, sobriety is added
as a matter of course.
Again, it is impossible, short of a miracle of grace, to cure
a drunkard whilst the physical effects of the drug he is tak-
ing are present. Therefore before applying moral treatment,
physical elimination of the poison must be accomplished. In
this series of articles, therefore, the physical side of alcoholism
will be first given, and a sufficient untechnical explanation of
its pathological effects to show the gravity of this evil, and
thereafter the methods of physical and moral treatment to
bring about a cure. The physical treatment will be given in
detail, because even physicians are not yet conversant with the
late successful methods, since they are not in the text-books.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
535
This first paper, on the Physiology and Pathology of Alco-
holism, describes the various alcohols, alcoholic beverages,
and alcoholic patent medicines; the action of ethylic alcohols
on the circulation, respiration, digestion, muscular and mental
energy, and the thoracic organs; alcoholism in the infectious
diseases ; the alcoholic insanities ; the marks of insanity ; de-
lirium tremens, alcoholic mania, melancholia, persecutory in-
sanity, amnesia, dipsomania, and Korsakow's psychosis.
The second part, on Heredity and the Medical Treatment
of Alcoholism, will discuss alcoholism and heredity; the ex-
aggeration of the influence of heredity in morality ; parental
alcoholism and physical degeneracy in offspring; alcoholism
and general insanity; racial alcoholic insanity; idiocy, imbe-
cility, crime, pauperism, occupation, in their connexion with
alcoholism ; legislative opposition to alcoholism ; the treatment
of alcoholism in English and American institutions ; the physi-
cal or medical treatment of alcoholism.
The third article, the Ethics of Intemperance and its Op-
posing Virtues, will treat of intemperance and free will, the
nature of intemperance; the notion of morality; the ethics of
drunkenness, general anesthesia, and chronic alcoholism from
recent physical data; the passions and thfeir control; the car-
dinal virtues, their inseparability, their allied virtues, and op-
posing vices.
The fourth article, the Natural and Supernatural Cure of
Drunkenness, will present the natural moral means for curing
drunkenness in the man that is not a Christian ; the classifica-
tion of drunkards; and it will show that after the physical
craving for alcohol has been removed by medical means the
patient must aim at the acquisition of the four cardinal vir-
tues to secure sobriety, and it will point out the error of con-
centrating on sobriety alone; it will suggest also the super-
natural moral means for curing drunkenness; discuss briefly
the fundamental notions of the supernatural life, grace, sin,
redemption, the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the supernatural vir-
tues, the sacraments, and describe the use of these means by
the person striving toward sobriety.
The Physiology and Pathology of Alcoholism.
In a person given up to chronic alcoholism, all physical
organs and tissues, and every spiritual faculty, show symp-
536
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
toms of absolute or relative deterioration. He has physio-
logical and extramental faculties, as sensation, imagination,
and the conservation of sensible experience; he has intellectual
cognition, and spiritual memory; and in appetitive, or con-
ative, activity he has sensuous desires and organic appetite,
spiritual desires and volition, intellect, memory, and will.
All these undergo degenerative changes as effects of his phy-
sico-moral disease. As the disease is both physical and moral
its treatment is physical and moral. Therefore in the first
part of this study of alcoholism the physical lesions caused
thereby, and that medical treatment of the drunkard which
is an essential preparation for the moral treatment, are con-
sidered. In the second part of the treatise the method for
attempting a cure of the moral degeneracy incident to chronic
alcoholism is developed.
In the production of the physical symptoms grouped under
the title Alcoholism the chief intoxicants are ethylic and
methylic alcohols. Propyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols, and
certain aldehydes also have influence, but ethylic alcohol is
the most important toxic agent.
Methylic, or wood, alcohol (called also Columbian, Colonial,
Union, Eagle, and 'Green-Wood Spirit) is used to adulterate
cheap whiskey. The characteristic odor of the " dive ", and
sometimes of the breath of the common sot, is like that of
methylic alcohol, but is usually from amylic alcohol in cheap
new whiskey. E. Harnack ^ found that methyl alcohol in
itself is not very toxic (not nearly so much as the other alco-
hols that contain more carbon), but it becomes very toxic in
tlie body tissues by gradual oxidation into formic acid.
Methyl alcohol selects the nervous elements, and the oxida-
tion affects especially the nervous system.
This alcohol is, then, in its final results very poisonous;
and more so to some individuals than to others — two teaspoon-
fuls have caused full and permanent blindness. In one series
of 275 cases of methylic alcohol poisoning there were 122
deaths, and 153 instances of complete and incurable blindness.^
In New York City, in the winter of 1904- 1 905, there were 25.
1 Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift. Berlin. Vol. 38, n. 8.
^ Osier: Modern Medicine. Philadelphia. 1907. Vol. i, p. 161.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
537
known deaths from methylic alcohol used in cheap whiskey.
In all poisoning by this drug there is a fatty degeneration of
the liver.
Propyl, butyl, and amyl alcohols, and an aldehyde, fur-
furol, in combination make fusel oil. In England amylic al-
cohol is sometimes called fusel oil. This oil may be present
in new whiskey and cause evil effects, but the group of alcohols
in old whiskey are oxidized into various flavors.
Ethylic alcohol, as has been said, is the chief cause of the
group of symptoms called alcoholism. The distilled liquors,
whiskey, brandy, gin, rum, contain from about 25 to 80 per
cent alcohol; fortified wines, like Sherry, Madeira, and Port,
from 15 to 22 per cent; champagne and clarets, about 9 per
cent; Rhine wines, 7 to 12 per cent; malt liquors, from 5 to 8
per cent; and beer, 2.5 to 5 per cent.
The table complied for the Committee of Fifty, and pub-
lished in their report on The Liquor Problem is as follows,
with variants added in the last column from Wood's Thera-
peutics:
Percentage of Alcohol.
AVERAGE. RANGE. WOOD's TABLE.
French claret 8 6—12 9.10—17.1
French white wines 10.3 9 — 12
Burgundy . 10.1 —14.5
Rhine wines 8.7 . 7—12
Sherry 17.5 16—20
Madeira 15.4 15—16 19—24
Sauterne ■ 14.2
Champagne 10 8—11 12.6—14.8
Port 16.8 —25.8
American champagne 8 6 — 10
American lager beer 3.8 1 — 7
Vienna and Munich beer 4.8 3 — 5
English ale and porter 5 3 — 7
Hard cider . 5 4—8 5.2 — 9.8
Brandy 47 40—50 53.9
Whiskey, American, best 43 41 — 48
Whiskey, American, common .... 35 25 — 43
Whiskey, Scotch, Irish 40 36—43 53.9 —54.3
Rum 60 40—80
Gin 30 20—40 ' 51—60
538
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
In the table in Wood's Therapeutics ^ the averages made by
Brande, Julia-Fontenelle, Christison, and Bence-Jones, are
somewhat higher than those in the table compiled for the
Committee of Fifty.
Alcohol is used in all medicinal tinctures, and it is the chief
ingredient in most of the popular proprietary tonics. The
chemist of the Massachusetts State Board of Health * analyzed
about sixty of the American proprietary tonics, and found that
the weakest is twice as strong in alcohol as beer, most of
them stronger than the heaviest wines, and a number as
strong as whiskey.
Percentage of
alcohol by volume.
" Best " Tonic 7.6
Carter's Physical Extract 22
Hooker's Wigwam Tonic 20.7
Hoofland's German Tonic 29.3
Hop Tonic 7
Howe's Arabian Tonic, " not a rum drink " 13.2
Jackson's Golden Seal Tonic 19.6
Liebig Company Coca Beef Tonic 23.2
Mensman's Peptonised Beef Tonic 16.5
Parker's Tonic, " recommended for inebriates " 41.6
Schenck's Sea Weed Tonic, " entirely harmless " 19.5
Atwood's Quinine Tonic Bitters 29.2
L. T. Atwood's Jaundice Bitters .' 22.3
Moses Atwood's Jaundice Bitters 17.1
Baxter's Mandrake Bitters 16.5
Boker's Stomach Bitters 42.6
Brown's Iron Bitters 19.7
Burdock's Blood Bitters 25.2
Carter's Scotch Bitters 17.6
Colton's Bitters 27.1
Copp's White Mountain Bitters, " not alcoholic " 6
Drake's Plantation Bitters 33.2
Flint's Quaker Bitters ^ 21.4
Goodhue's Bitters 16.1
Green's Nervura 17,2
Hartshorn's Bitters 22.2
3 Eleventh edition. Philadelphia. 1900. P. 828.
* Docuntient No. 34.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. 539
Hoofland's German Bitters, ** free from alcoholic stimulants" 25.6
Hop Bitters 12
Hostetter's Stomach Bitters 44.3
Kaufmann's Sulphur Bitters, " no alcohol " 20.5
Kingsley's Iron Tonic 14.9
Langley's Bitters 18. 1
Liverpool's Mexican Tonic Bitters 22.4
Paine's Celery Compound 21
Pierce's Indian Restorative Bitters 6.1
Puritana 22
Porter's Stomach Bitters 27
Pulmonine 16
Rush's Bitters 35
Richardson's Concentrated Sherry Wine Bitters 47.5
Secor's Cinchona Bitters 13.1
Shonyo's German Bitters 21.5
Job Sweet's Strengthening Bitters 29
Thurston's Old Continental Bitters 1 1.4
Walker's Vinegar Bitters, " contains no spirit " 6.1
Warner's Safe Tonic Bitters 35.7
Warner's Bilious Bitters 21.5
Wheeler's Tonic Sherry Wine Bitters 18.8
Wheat Bitters 13.6
Faith Whitcomb's Nerve Bitters 20.3
Dr. William's Vegetable Jaundice Bitters 18.5
Whiskol, " a non-intoxicant stimulant, whiskey without its
sting " 28.2
Colden's Liqufd Beef Tonic, " recommended for the treatment
of the alcoholic habit " 26.5
Ayer's Sarsaparilla 26.2
Thayer's Compound Extract of Sarsaparilla 21.5
Hood's Sarsaparilla 18.8
Allen's Sarsaparilla 13.5
Dana's Sarsaparilla 13.5
Brown's Sarsaparilla 13.5
Corbett's Shaker Sarsaparilla 8.8
Radway's Resolvent 7.9
These tonics are a source of alcoholism ; but now the United
States government obliges their makers to indicate on the label
the alcoholic content. This trick of making tonics popular
by putting alcohol in them is old. The Philadelphia Medical
Society in 1 82 1 protested against the use of certain' tinctures
^40 T^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
because they led to alcoholism, and in 185 1 popular alcoholic
patent medicines were Bateman's Pectoral Drops, Jesuit's
Drops, Huxham's Compound Tincture of Bark, Duffy's
Elixir, Squier's Elixir, Friar's Balsam, and many others; all
of which contained much alcohol and caused drunkenness.
Many of the elixirs used to-day in medicine have a high
alcoholic content. The official Aromatic Elixir has about 25
per cent; the official Elixir of Calisaya and the Digestive
Elixir, also official, are strongly alcoholic. The official Beef,
Wine, and Iron is a popular beverage in prohibition districts.
The action upon man of spiritous drinks is in ratio to their
alcoholic content, but ingredients other than alcohol also have
marked intoxicant influence: malt liquors, for example, irri-
tate far beyond their alcoholic strength. Beer contains, be-
sides alcohol, extractives, salts, sugar, dextrose, lactic acid,
and lupulin, which is the active principle of hops. Lupulin
depresses the nervous system. Lager beer has less alcohol and
less sugar than other beers; stout and porter more sugar.
Sweet cider contains sugar, and after this ferments rough or
hard cider is formed. Sour cider is an intestinal irritant.
This liquid dissolves lead, and may cause lead poisoning if
run through lead pipes. Malt liquors tend to store fat in the
body. They are a common source of gout. Sweet cider causes
gout; hard cider does not. The ordinary adulterants of beer
are picric acid, strychnia, quassia, chiretta, and Cocculus In-
dicus — all as substitutes for hops.
In the fermentation of wine, when all the sugar has been
changed into alcohol the wine is said to be " dry " ; if some
sugar remains, the wine is " sweet ". The " body " of a wine
is the amount "and blending of the sugar and extractives. The
" bouquet " is the perfume; when this bouquet is perceived in
the mouth it is called the " aroma ". The bouquet comes from
ethers formed in the process of maturing. Roughness is due
to tannic acid. Only red wines have tannic acid, and this acid
and the red color come from the skins of the grapes which are
left in the fermenting juice or must. Sparkling wines con-
tain free carbonic acid. Champagne has less alcohol than is
found in the heavy wines, but more sugar.
The acrid taste of new and cheap whiskey is caused by
amylic alcohol, and this alcohol causes headache, and a pecu-
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. 541
liar smell of the drunkard's breath. Ethylic alcohol has not
these effects.
Gin is obtained by the distillation of unmalted grain. It
has from 20-40 per cent alcohol (sometimes much more) and
a little sugar. Oil of juniper is used to flavor it, and this oil
acts as a diuretic. Unlike other spirit, gin does not improve
by keeping.
Rum is obtained from molasses; it is flavored with butylic
ether, and it contains from 40-80 per cent alcohol. The best
brandy is distilled from wine; but some is obtained from malt.
Arrack is the fermented juice of the coco-nut tree, palmyra,
and other palms ; sometimes it is made from rice. It contains
52 per cent alcohol. Koumiss is from fermented mare's milk.
Liqueurs are strong spirits, sweetened with sugar and flav-
ored with aromatic substances, as orange peel and cherries.
Absinthe, a drug introduced into France from Algiers about
1848, contains 50 per cent absolute alcohol, 45.65 per cent
water, a trace of chlophyl, which gives it its green color, a
little sugar and essential oils, and 0.33 per cent of oil of worm-
wood. This oil of wormwood is the chief poison in absinthe.
It has a convulsive action, attacks the brain and causes epi-
lepsy, and it injures the nervous motor centres. In chronic
absinthism there are digestive disturbances, thirst, emacia-
tion, loss of hair, tremor, vertigo, a tendency to melancholy or
to epilepsy, and sometimes to dementia. The absintheur is
liable to auditory and visual hallucinations, and degenerates
physically and morally to a very low grade. In 191 1, 53 per
cent of the French murderers were absintheurs. Belgium,
Holland, and Switzerland have prohibited the sale of absinthe
and France is trying to do so.
Ethylic alcohol in moderate doses modifies the circulation
of the blood, and in large doses it paralyzes the control of
the vessels and the heart-action. It dilates the skin capillaries,
and gives a deceptive sensation of warmth; nevertheless it
really reduces the body-temperature by radiation from the
blood driven to the surface of the body. The ordinary reduc-
tion is only a degree or two, but a large dose of alcohol re-
duces it from five to nine degrees. Reductions of twelve to
eighteen degrees are on record where drunkards have been
exposed to cold; and a fall of twenty-six degrees has been ob-
542
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
served. A hot alcoholic drink warms by the heat from the
water much more than by the alcohol. Arctic and antarctic
explorers avoid the use of alcohol altogether; they will not
even carry it with them for fear they might be tempted to
use it.
Small doses of alcohol stimulate respiration; large doses
paralyze the respiratory centres, and the breathing becomes
stertorous and slow. This is the cause of death in some cases
of poisoning by rattlesnake venom in the United States, where
overwhelming doses of whiskey are ignorantly given.
A moderate quantity of alcohol, when taken unfrequently,
aids digestion ; frequent use, especially of an acid wine, tends
to disturb digestion. A large quantity of alcohol prevents
the assimilation of food, and it retards or fully inhibits diges-
tion. It partly restores the power of fatigued muscles, but
the reaction depresses them below the original degree of
fatigue. It lessens endurance, and when given to marching
troops it diminishes the total amount of work done.
There has been much discussion of the question whether
alcohol is a food or not.^ The chief differences between food
and alcohol are :
1. The same quantity of food will always produce the same
effect in a healthy body ; the quantity of alcohol must be stead-
ily increased to produce the first given effect.
2. The habitual use of food does not induce a desire for an
ever-increasing amount; such use of alcohol induces this de-
sire.
3. After habitual use of a food a sudden abstinence causes
no derangement of the central nervous system ; such abstinence
from alcohol after habitual use causes this disturbance.
4. Foods oxidize slowly in the body; alcohol oxidizes
rapidly.
5. Foods are stored in the body; alcohol is not stored.
6. Food increases the activity of the muscular and cerebral
cells; alcohol diminishes this activity.
7. Food increases the excretion of carbonic acid; alcohol
lessens it.
8. Food strengthens and steadies the muscles ; alcohol weak-
ens and unsteadies the muscles.
5 Vid. Wood's Therafciitics, Eleventh edition, pp. 279 fF.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
543
There are other minor differences.
Wholesome foods are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen : so is alcohol ; but so also are strychnia, morphine, and
other poisons. In a hundred parts of ethylic alcohol there are
52.17 parts carbon, 13.03 hydrogen, and 34.79 oxygen. The
formula is C2H6O. Alcohol is derived from starches or
sugars by fermentation. Glucose is CgHiaOc, and by fermen-
tation two atoms of carbon and four of oxygen are set free,
making two molecules of carbon dioxid, CO2, and leaving
two molecules of ethylic alcohol.
Alcohol is not a practical source of energy in physical work.
Schnyder ^ made a series of twelve experiments, carried over
some space of time, in which he tested with Mosso's Ergograph
the muscular work of a normal index finger, one of the best-
trained muscular organs, (i) after no food had been given;
(2) after a readily digestible nitrogenous food had been eaten ;
(3) after a, glass of Burgundy wine containing 14.7 grammes
of alcohol had been drunk. He found the food increased the
total muscular energy 6 per cent above the result obtained
when no food had been given, and that alcohol finally re-
duced it 4.6 per cent below the average reached when no food
had been given. By combining a meal of soup, meat, vege-
tables, and a glass of Bordeaux wine, he found as a final re-
sult that the quantity of alcohol (29.4 grammes) in that glass
of wine caused a loss of 8 per cent of energy, as compared
with the work done after the same meal without the wine.
Destree some years ago arrived at results similar to those
reached by Schnyder. Frey said ^ he found that alcohol
markedly restored exhausted muscles; but this is contrary to
the experience of all athletic trainers.
Schnyder, and Hellsten of Helsingfors, found that half an
ounce of alcohol raises the muscular activity for from 12 to 40
minutes after ingestion, but that then a depression follows,
which lasts for two hours, and which is below the normal
standard. Professor Hodge, of Clarke University, discov-
ered that dogs to which alcohol had been given have only
two-thirds the resistance to fatigue a dog without alcohol has.
^ Archiv fur die gesammte Physiologic, xciii, pp. 457-484.
"^ Annates Suisses, Sciences med. i8g6.
544 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
A dog to which alcohol had been given with its food recov-
ered its strength gradually after the use of alcohol had been
discontinued, but a year passed before the animal returned to
its normal strength. He found also that dogs to which alco-
hol had been given become timid. The sound of whistles and
bells that caused normal dogs to bark, threw the alcoholized
dogs into panic. One of the alcoholized dogs had fits of
causeless fear with some evidence of hallucination. Timidity
became a characteristic of these dogs afterward, when the
use of alcohol had been discontinued. Fear is a chief quality
in all human alcoholic mental derangements. The " Dutch
courage " from alcohol is merely an effect of stupidity : the
drinker does not know enough to be afraid in real danger; his
intellectual appreciation of the circumstances in which he may
be is blunted. As Professor James said, " The reason for
craving alcohol is that it is an anesthetic even in moderate
quantities. It obliterates a part of the field of consciousness
and abolishes collateral trains of thought."
It is not a cerebral stimulant in the sense that it enables
one to do better intellectual work, but the contrary. Von
Helmholz, the physicist, said that the smallest quantity of
alcohol checked in himself all creative mental activity. Exner
of Vienna, Dietl, Vintschgau, Kraepelin, Ach, and Maljar-
ewski, and more recently (1907) Dr. Frederick Peterson,
found that alcohol in minute quantity quickened mental action
for a short time, but then slowed it below the normal stand-
ard. In larger quantities it retarded the activity primarily.
The more complicated the mental process the greater the con-
fusion when alcohol was given to the operator. When tested
by exact instruments, an operator showed marked decrease
in accuracy after drinking even one glass of beer. The physi-
cal part of the action was, on the average, quickened after
small doses of alcohol, but the mental part was slowed or con-
fused.
If alcohol is used for some time there is a cumulative action.
Kiirz and Kraepelin found ® that after giving 80 grammes of
alcohol (a pint and a half of ordinary wine) daily for twelve
successive days the working capacity of men was lessened
^ Psychologische Arheiten, Vol. III.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
545
from 25 to 40 per cent. Kraepelin in 1900 experimented upon
a normal man, giving him 80 grammes of alcohol daily. The
first series of experiments was in adding columns of figures.
One man went through a period of thirteen days without al-
cohol, and later through a like period using the alcohol. When
he used alcohol his work decreased 3.1 per cent in the first
eight days. In a final period of thirteen days, although the
quantity of alcohol had been reduced 50 per cent, the loss in
energy was 15.3 per cent.
In a second experiment a more complicated mental action
was tested. The men were given nouns arbitrarily, and were
obliged to write down as rapidly as possible all the associated
words that these given nouns suggested to them. It was a
test in association of ideas. For example, if the word horse
were given the man was supposed to write words like bay,
black, roan, pony, saddle, etc. In thirteen days' use of alco-
hol this kind of work fell 27 per cent below the non-alcoholic
average.
The third series of experiments was in memorizing. The
persons tested were set at memorizing groups of twelve-place
numbers, say, 315,784,231,675. Without alcohol they im-
proved as the experience developed; with alcohol they fell
back 6.2 per cent daily. That decrease would be much more
marked, at the least doubled, as time went on, as is evident
from a calculation of the mean in a series of experience-
factors. In any increasing series (accumulation effect of al-
cohol) of four numbers the arithmetical mean of the first and
third (say, the first and thirteenth day — ^the actual time used
by Kraepelin) would be less than the mean of the second and
fourth (say, the tenth and twenty-sixth day). This is true
no matter how variable the increase due to the experience-
factor.
Professor Gustav Aschaffenburg ® made an experiment on
four typesetters, which is often mentioned. He used experi-
enced workmen, and gave them the same printed copy to work
from. The first day they worked without alcohol ; the second
day each man drank one ounce of alcohol in the form of a
Greek wine; the third day no alcohol was taken; the fourth
® Psychologischen Arbeiten. Leipzig, 1906. Vol. I, p. 608.
546
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
day they received the ounce. The reduction of the final result
on the days they received alcohol amounted to 14 per cent m
all. One man did 10 per cent less work on the days he took
the ounce of alcohol. The loss was markedly cumulative in
all the men.
It is now an established medical fact that chronic alcoholic
intoxication can, except in rare cases, be induced by the daily
consumption at one sitting of from 40 to 100 grammes of
alcohol (one and a quarter to three and a half fluid ounces).
There are about 50 grammes of alcohol in 1.430 litres of
Pilsen beer, 1.35 1 litres of Munich Hofbraii, 1.564 litres of
Spatenbraii, 1.020 litres of English porter. A litre is practi-
cally a quart; and about three pints of German beer, or a
quart of English porter taken at one sitting, say at dinner,
induces chronic alcoholism. A pint of champagne, French
claret, or of mediumly strong Rhine wine, about a tumbler
and a half of sherry, and about half a tumbler of brandy or
whiskey contain the 50 grammes.
Persons drinking these quantities habitually may show no
noticeable symptoms of drunkenness in speech or action for
some time, but most of the various lesions of the body de-
scribed in these pages hereafter can be induced by the quan-
tities given here. A man that takes a pint of claret at dinner
habitually is a chronic alcoholic and is certainly injuring his
health. The old Roman saying was true : " When you fill
your cup the third time you are a drunkard." I have fre-
quently seen marked symptoms of chronic alcoholism in men
that take three drinks of whiskey daily at different times, not
at once. The test in these cases is to shut off the alcohol en-
tirely, and if within a week or two there is no craving for
alcohol the person is not a chronic alcoholic — ^but there always
is a craving.
Wood's summary ^^ of the psychological effects of alcohol
is as follows : " Alcohol in small doses acts as a stimulant to
the ganglionic cells of the cerebrum, and perhaps also to the
motor tract of the spinal cord. In large amounts it certainly
is a depressent to the cerebral and spinal ganglionic cells, as
well as the nerve-trunks. The action of small doses upon the
10 Loc. cit., p. 287.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. 547
respiratory centres is not thoroughly established, but is prob-
ably stimulant; large doses depress the respiratory centres,
and finally they cause death by centric paralytic asphyxia.
Upon the heart a small dose of alcohol acts as a direct stimu-
lant, the large dose as a depressent or paralyzant. The influ-
ence of minute doses on the vasomotor system is not thor-
oughly worked out, but there appears to be a widening of the
blood-paths at a time when the heart is still stimulated, so
that there is a marked quickening of the blood-movement.
The toxic dose of alcohol paralyzes the blood vessels, probably
both centrally and peripherally. The peripheral temperature
is often increased by small amounts of alcohol, and there may
be even a slight increase in the central temperature, probably
caused by quickening of the circulation; the large dose of
alcohol lowers the animal temperature, probably by causing
vasomotor paralysis, and thereby increasing heat-dissipation.
In regard to the effect of alcohol upon the nutrition there is
much contradictory evidence, but the present probabilities are
that the drug has no specific influence upon the production of
heat or of carbonic acid, or upon nitrogenous elimination, and
that therefore it has little or no direct effect upon the nutri-
tion, unless it be in poisonous doses, when it certainly disturbs
all nutritive processes. After absorption into the blood, alco-
hol is in part eliminated through the lungs, the skin, and th€
kidneys unchanged, but is largel^^ burnt up in the system,
probably yielding force to the working needs of the organism.
Whether as a food it is in health of as much or more value
than other hydrocarbons is not at present positively known."
In the early stage of chronic alcoholism there is a general
lack of energy, a disinclination to work; even routine work is
done carelessly. After that stage there is headache, mental
depression, and a feeling of impending misfortune. The men-
tal processes are weakened. The drug appears to act most
strongly, even in very small quantities, on the most elevated
mental processes, those spiritual activities that have been built
up through education and experience — the power of self-con-
trol, the appreciation of responsibility. The patient can not
make up his mind even in trivial affairs; he grows irritable,
peevish, irascible; he sleeps badly or not at all; tremors show
in the hands, lips, and tongue. Sometimes the- tremor ap-
548
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
pears first in the feet, and may be worse in the morning in
cases where there is insomnia. The tremor is " fine ", a
quivering rather than a shaking, and made worse by exertion
or by an attempt at manipulative skill. To stop this tremor
the patient commonly has recourse to a morning drink of alco-
holic liquor: food, however, will stop it. Any sudden noise
makes an alcoholic in this stage jump and sweat.
Later the features grow flabby; acne rosacea (the red nose
and cheeks of the drunkard) may occur; the skin is pale and
smooth, the tongue may be furred, flabby, tremulous, marked
by the teeth; the breath is foul; the mouth and throat dry;
the throat catarrhal. There may be fits of wheezy coughing,
a loss of appetite for food, especially in the morning; morn-
ing nausea ; alternate constipation and diarrhoea.
In chronic alcoholism the bodily lesions vary ; in one patient
the brain is chiefly afl"ected ; in another, the heart and arteries ;
in a third, the kidneys; in a fourth, the liver; and all or sev-
eral of these organs may be attacked at once in the same per-
son. Fatty degeneration and other diseases of the heart are
common. In young drunkards sudden death from a fatty
heart is a common occurrence. Probably an inflammation of
the vagus nerve is also a cause of sudden death. When the
lungs are involved, oedema (dropsy), pneumonia, and tuber-
culosis are the forms of attack. The spleen and pancreas
sufl'er from chronic congestion and consequent degeneration.
The liver is probably never normal in a confirmed drunk-
ard. One of the chief functions of the liver is to neutralize
poisons coming from the gastrointestinal tract, and the poison
from alcohol may inhibit this function. Fatty liver can be
brought about by alcoholism among several possible causes,
especially by the use of malt liquor. The liver in this disease
is enlarged; sometimes to twice or thrice its normal size, and
if the source of irritation is not removed the disease is fatal.
After the disease has been well established even abstinence
from alcohol will not save life. Acute congestion of the liver
is a common effect of alcoholism. This condition in itself is
important, because its frequent recurrence can result in cir-
rhosis, which, if unchecked, is fatal in about three years.
In the group of hepatic diseases called the cirrhoses, the
liver degenerates, and scar-tissue forms which obstructs the
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
549
passage of blood. Distilled alcoholic liquors are the chief
cause of portal cirrhosis. The liver may be found very small,
but usually it is enlarged; it may be " hobnailed " in appear-
ance, covered with small bosses like the top of a fruit-cake.
The liver-cells are destroyed. The spleen is enlarged and
congested in most cases of hepatic cirrhosis. The gastrointes-
tinal tract is also congested, and may bleed; the kidneys and
heart are congested. Fatal tuberculosis of the belly is a com-
mon complication. The ordinary symptoms of cirrhosis are
those of gastrointestinal inflammation, nausea, and vomiting;
later there is vomiting of blood, and bleeding from other parts
of the body. There may be apathy, stupor, and coma, or active
delirium, convulsions, paralyses, and contractures. Dropsy
of the belly is common in the last stages of this disease.
Alcohol is one of the common causes of the inflammation
of the kidneys called acute or chronic Bright's disease. The
most typical form is chronic interstitial nephritis, with chronic
inflammation throughout the organ. The onset is insidious,
and the disease is commonly far advanced when first discov-
ered. The heart is exhausted through the increased blood
pressure. Uraemic conditions are observed toward the end —
drowsiness, neurasthenia, dizziness, apoplectic hemorrhages
into the brain, vomiting, diarrhoea, coma, and death. The
prognosis depends upon the condition of the heart and blood
vessels, and the habits of the patient. Careful treatment may
prolong life in a tractable patient for many years; active al-
coholism, of course, makes short work of the death.
A curious symptom of perverted judgment in alcoholics is
that if the physician shows them that the kidneys are dan-
gerously afi*ected, that even dropsy is setting in, or that the
liver is cirrhotic, they are likely not to pay the slightest heed
to this information ; they are not even interested in it as a bit
of news. If an insurance-examiner refuses the alcoholic as
a risk because of his kidneys, the patient, instead of becom-
ing frightened, is likely to accuse the examiner of ignorance
or fraud.
Neuritis, an inflammation and degeneration of the nerve-
fibres, is a not infrequent disease, and alcohol is its commonest
cause. In most cases it begins in the muscles of the legs.
The muscles along the shin grow weak, the foot drops, and
550 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
this forces a high step. The muscles waste, and walking be-
comes impossible. The arms also may be involved. The optic
nerve sometimes is attacked, and the diaphragm may be para-
lyzed, causing death by suffocation. Loss of memory, halluci-
nations, and delirium, not seldom occur. There is a possibility
of full or partial recovery, or the disease may be fatal. Dr.
H. Eichorst ^^ in a series of 67 cases of alcoholic neuritis found
that all the patients were over twenty years of age except
one boy eight years old, who for two years previously (from
his sixth year) had complained of pain in his loins, and in-
creasing weakness in the muscles of his legs and back. The
child was finally caught stealing out of his bed at night to
drink the alcohol in lamps, and when treated for alcoholic
neuritis he recovered health.
Alcoholism lessens the power of resistance to infectious dis-
eases. The mortality from pneumonia in non-alcoholics is
about 23.9 per cent, in alcoholics it is 50 per cent. All severe
systemic diseases are much more fatal in alcoholics than in
others. Diabetes is frequently associated with alcoholism, but
it is also common in persons that are not given to alcoholism
in any degree. The lack of resistance to infection makes a
trivial wound very dangerous in an alcoholic. A cut in the
scalp that can be closed with two or three stitches, a broken
kneecap, or similar accident, in alcoholics very frequently re-
sults in death.
Delearde of Lille proved that alcoholized rabbits are not
protected against rabies by the Pasteur serum as normal rab-
bits are. Laitenau found that alcohol increases the suscepti-
bility of animals to splenic fever (anthrax), tuberculosis, and
diphtheria. The proportion of alcohol used in these animals
was equivalent to what a man would be obtaining by drinking
a half-pint of beer daily. Professor Abbott of the University
of Pennsylvania found that the erysipelas coccus acted on alco-
holized rabbits as it does on human alcoholics. Alcohol keeps
the protecting leucocytes out of the circulation. Fillinger "
examined the blood of two healthy young men before and
after drinking champagne, and he found the resistance-quo-
^1 Correspondenz-Blatt /. Schweizer Aertze, Vol. 401, No. 29.
^^ Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, Berlin, 38:21. ;
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE,
551
tient of the red corpuscles dropped from ^^ to 43 in one hour
in one of the men.
Tuberculosis patients that use alcohol resist much less than
non-alcoholics. Baudron found that in those districts of
France where the annual per capita consumption of alcoholic
liquors was 12.5 litres, the mortality from tuberculosis was
32.8 per 1,000; when the per capita consumption of alcoholic
liquors was 34.6 litres the mortality was 107.8 per 1,000. In
Prussia, Guttstadt found the mortality from tuberculosis per
1,000 in gymnasium teachers 126, in physicians 113, in Prot-
estant clergymen ']6, in hotel keepers 237, in brewers 344, in
waiters 556. In the Sixth Annual Report of the Phipps In-
stitute for Tuberculosis in Philadelphia (1911) of one group
of 442 tuberculous patients that gave a history of alcoholism,
20.81 per cent died; of a second group of 1,900 cases that
did not use alcohol, 10.10 per cent died. According to this re-
port alcoholism in tuberculous patients raises the mortality of
the disease. Of a group of 483 tuberculous patients that had
alcoholic parents, 15.31 per cent died; of a second group of
1,835 patients whose parents were not alcoholics, 10.78 per
cent died. In these two particular groups the difference is
less marked than in other groups examined.
The statistics of the United Kingdom Temperance and Gen-
eral Provident Institute of Great Britain covering forty years
(1866- 1 905) show that among total abstainers the deaths
actually amounted to 71.54 per cent of the calculated probable
deaths, whereas among the moderate drinkers the deaths
were 94 per cent of the calculated probabilities. Other life
insurance companies get about the same results. Nearly 40
per cent of the " bad risks " rejected by the insurance com-
panies are alcoholics. In confirmed alcoholics the insurance
mortality runs 25.5 per cent over the calculated probability,
and now no reputable insurance company will insure any alco-
holic. The best insurance actuaries calculate that a man of
twenty years of age who is a total abstainer will live 42.2
years longer, but that a drinking man will live only 15 years
longer. C. P. Huntington, of the New York Life Insurance
Company, says that the mortality of liquor manufacturers
(workmen, brewers, and the like) between fifty, and sixty
years of age is three times higher than ordinary. The Con-
^^2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
necticut Mutual Life Insurance Company's tables of mor-
tality in <^^,']^^ policies that came up for adjustment was^
among professors and teachers 6i per cent of the expected;
lawyers 79 per cent, manufacturers 81 per cent, liquor dealers
142 per cent. The liquor dealers came next below seamen.
Alcohol tends to cause sterility. In five among twelve au-
topsies on alcoholic women between 20 and 30 years of age,
the ovaries were markedly atrophic, and in women between 31
and 40 they were atrophic in five among eight. Simonds ^*
observed that 60 per cent of male chronic alcoholics on post-
mortem examination show azoospermia — inert sterile sperma-
tozoa.
Austin O'M alley.
Philadelphia, Pa.
HOW BISHOP KETTELEE OOKEEOTED THE SCANDAL GIVEN BY
ONE OP HIS PEIESTS.
MUCH attention has been given of late to the interesting
figure of the Bishop of Mayence, Baron von Ketteler,
who fifty years ago began a systematic warfare upon the un-
christian teaching of Socialism in Germany. There is another
side to his character, not less interesting to the clerical reader,
which shows forth his courage as a shepherd of souls and as
a leader among his pastoral clergy. An incident of his life
chosen almost at random will indicate alike the prudence that
guided him in his episcopal office and the whole-souled zeal
which made him shirk no labor for the good of his flock.
It was not his custom, as it is with us, to combine his regu-
lar pastoral visitation, in which he was engaged for about
six months at a time, with the periodical administration of the
Sacrament of Confirmation. For this latter function he se-
lected other times, when he would also frequently take part
in the celebration of local church festivals, pilgrimages, and
missions. Nor was his participation in these exercises of popu-
lar devotion limited to the celebration of pontifical Mass, or
preaching. His purpose of studying the religious and social
conditions of the community in which he happened to be at
the time, was manifested by his going into the confessional,
18 Osier's Modern Medicine, Vol. I, p. 173. Philadelphia. 1907.
BISHOP KETTELER AS PASTOR.
553
visiting the working people and the sick as well as the local
clergy of the neighborhood, and by his making himself felt
everywhere as an active participant in all that interested the
community.
We get a glimpse of how he deported himself on such occa-
sions from some of his letters. Thus on one of his Confirma-
tion journeys, under date of 14 September, 1875, he writes:
Since your departure from here last July I have been continually
away administering Confirmation. I returned for the Congress in
Freiburg, and after that went to Dieburg for the feast of Our
Lady's Nativity. There was a great concourse of people there on a
pilgrimage. I heard confessions from half -past one in the after-
noon until half-past nine at night, and was up again at half-past
two in the morning to hear the people who were waiting. They kept
us in the confessional until twelve at noon, excepting the time for
Mass and sermon. We had five Capuchin Fathers helping, besides
twelve of our own priests.
In another letter, dated 31 July, 1872, he writes :
Since Easter I have been on the go all the time, and just now am
in the midst of a group of merry children. Apart from the fatigue
and the great heat at this season, I find much to give me joy in the
different parishes so far as conditions admit of such a thing as joy.
. . . Since I left you I have spent most of the time in the Odenforest
district, where the churches and the parish schools lie widely apart
from one another, so that I have difficulty in getting to them. But I
like the country here and am fond of its people, and I know pretty
well every nook and corner of the region, so that so long as the
weather is good I enjoy life here in the mountains.
It was in this way that Bishop Ketteler came to know his
flock and to enjoy their fullest confidence. But there were
trials also with which he had to cope single-handed.
Toward the end of the year 1875 the Bishop was suddenly
notified that one of his priests, a pastor in a country district,
had been accused of a dastardly crime and arrested by the
civil authorities. Immediately, the Bishop repaired to the
presbytery, took charge of the parish, and on the following
Sunday appeared in the pulpit of the bereaved church. The
priest's arrest and the Bishop's sudden arrival had brought
everybody to the late Mass. The Bishop preached on the text
554
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of St. Matthew i8: 7, ** Woe to the world because of scan-
dals." He had carefully thought out what he wished to say
and there is a record of the notes he had sketched for the
occasion among his papers collected by his Jesuit biographer,
Father Pfulf.
My coming to you at this time [he said] is caused by an occur-
rence that affects me with bitterness of heart, and I have made the
journey at a great sacrifice. But I have been urged by the thought
that my visit to you might be of profit to your souls and at the
same time prove a consolation to you. And in this I feel that I am
fulfilling my duty to you as your Bishop. It would be futile to pass
unnoticed the sad incident which has taken place among you, and I
shall speak of it with perfect frankness. May God grant that my
words enter your hearts unto salvation.
First of all, let me say that the time is not yet ripe for passing
judgment as to whether your pastor is guilty of the crime which
is laid to his charge or not. That is a matter still to be proved by
the authority which has taken in hand his trial. When the com-
petent tribunal has pronounced its judgment, I as your Bishop shall
have to deal with the matter, and I shall do so as I am bound by my
responsibility to God.
But whatever may be the measure of his guilt, he unquestionably
deserves to be reprehended in this that his conduct permitted the
bringing against him of a charge, the very suspicion of which is
a crime in a priest. The minister of God is bound to avoid not only
foul crime but even the appearance of it, so far as that is possible.
The conduct of a priest must be such as to contradict the very sus-
picion of evil in him. Such is the wish and intention of the
Church. In this your pastor has failed; his action was calculated
to arouse suspicion against his integrity. That itself is a crime, inas-
much as it involves the sin of scandal.
How great a calamity this sin of scandal is you may realize if you
will reflect with me upon the words of our text, " Woe to you be-
cause of scandals ". . . . Although scandal is the subject of Christ's
awful malediction, we must guard against the error of making
the Church responsible for such a calamity, when its cause is the
bad conduct of a priest.
Yet this is what the enemies of the Church will do when they
point the finger of scorn at the unfortunate minister of Christ who
has brought about the scandal. How unjust it is to fix the stigma
of this evil upon the Church you will readily see if you will follow
me attentively.
BISHOP KETTELER AS PASTOR. 555
1. God has appointed men in all conditions of life to be His
representatives among their fellows. Such representatives are, in
the first instance, parents with reference to their children ; like-
wise in all Christian society the civil magistrates and other officials
of the secular order; finally, such representatives in the communi-
cation of things spiritual are the clergy.
2. To all men God gives sufficient grace, natural and super-
natural, to overcome sin and to fulfil the duties of their state of
life. This grace is accorded in a special manner to parents and to
priests. To the former God imparts grace in the Sacrament of
Matrimony, and to the latter in the holy Sacrament of Orders.
3. Those who cooperate with this special grace in the exercise of
the sacred priesthood are faithful and good priests. But since God
does not take away from the priest his freedom of will, it may hap-
pen that a priest fails to correspond with the divine gift of the Sac-
rament of Holy Orders, and thereby becomes a bad priest.
4. You see then how unjust it is to lay the blame for the actions
of an unworthy priest to the charge of the Church. The Church
takes her priests from among the people. They are not sent to her
from heaven, but are called from among your own children. She
warns us at all times,' lest anyone enter the priesthood who has not
an earnest conviction that he is really called to her service. Those
who have shown signs of a vocation she reminds of the dangers and
difficulties which encompass the priest in the midst of the world.
She is utterly adverse to a spirit of false or feigned virtue, and she
exhorts the priest, as she does each of you, to be faithful ministers
and to practise constant vigilance in the exercise of the sacred obli-
gations imposed upon him. She does not gloss over his sins, but
bids him remember that in him sin is a more grievous fault than in
those of less exalted dignity.
6. What then are we to do under the present circumstances?
(a) In the first place remember the warning of Christ not to
judge too hastily. Refrain then from much needless gossiping about
the sad matter which has occurred in the parish.
(b) Above all things do not discuss it in the presence of your
children.
(c) But silently recommend the matter to God in earnest prayer.
(d) Take warning to be more than ever faithful in the fulfilment
of your own duties.
(e) All the more as I, your Bishop, am helpless in the matter,
however much I desire to heal your wounds.
556
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Such were the thoughts which the zealous Bishop placed
before his deeply humiliated flock with all the burning elo-
quence of which he was capable. But he was not satisfied to
have spoken to them. He would act for them. For the time
being the duties of his extensive diocese called him home,
where he remained until the functions of Lent and Holy-
Week were over. Then he returned to the parish which had
suffered from its shepherd's disgrace. He announced to the
people that love toward their children had drawn him back,
and that he wanted to perform himself the task of preparing
them for their approaching first Communion. " For twenty-
six years," he said, " I have not had an opportunity of leading
the lambs of my flock to the Holy Table, since this duty does
not properly belong to the Bishop ; but a special tenderness for
your children has awakened in my heart the desire to prepare
them for this sacred step."
The preparation of the children, however, was merely the
occasion of the much more important work which he had in
mind for the reawakening of Catholic zeal in that same con-
gregation. In fact he opened a mission for the parish, which
he himself directed, preaching, instructing, hearing confes-
sions, and meeting each individually, that he might remove
the impression which their priest's conduct had left in their
minds.
In other words, the entire community was engaged to take
active part in the preparation of the children for their first
Communion. Confessions were heard from very early morn-
ing, for the people, seeing their Bishop so willing to labor for
them, responded promptly to the call. Besides the instruc-
tions given to the younger children, there were separate in-
structions for the older school children, and devotions to suit
the condition of the parents and other adults. The Bishop
himself undertook to bring Holy Communion to the sick in
the parish, in order that they too might participate in the re-
newal of spirit which he hoped to effect in the congregation.
He left the people enamored of their chief pastor, only to re-
turn a few months later to administer Confirmation and exhort
them to perseverance. Once more, the following year, he
found his way back to them, when again he prepared the-
little children for first Communion and assured himself that
JAM TOTO SUBITUS VESPER EAT POLO.
557
the scandal given by an unworthy priest had yielded to the
zeal of their Bishop and had been turned into a blessing.
Such was the interest which he took in the spiritual welfare
of his flock; and this at a time when his mind was engrossed
with cares requiring ceaseless activity in a wide field of eccle-
siastical and national affairs. Among his published works
there are some two hundred Pastoral Letters and other im-
portant appeals touching the educational and social as well
as religious necessities of his people. To hear him in the
pulpit of his cathedral or in the tribune of the national par-
liament one would have thought that he was absorbed in
public affairs to such an extent as neither to allow nor to in-
cline him to take the place of his humblest curate among the
poor and the workmen of the factory towns and farming dis-
tricts of his diocese. But his power of adaptation was mar-
velous, undoubtedly for the simple reason that it was fed by
the love of his priestly heart for the salvation of souls.
Innumerable instances might be recounted in his life of
this humble zeal in a man born amidst the aristocratic sur-
roundings of an ancient nobility, with the spirit of the soldier
in his veins, yet endowed with a simplicity and meekness that
must have come from frequent communings, amidst all his
labors, with the Sacred Heart of the great Shepherd of souls.
JAM TOTO SUBITUS VESPER EAT POLO.
HOW should this, the first line of the Matins Hymn of
the Seven Dolors (third Sunday of September), be
translated? Two English renderings give diametrically oppo-
site interpretations. Father Caswall was the first translator.
In his Lyra Catholica (1849) we read:
Come, darkness, spread o'er heaven thy pall.
The line appears unaltered in his Hymns and Poems (1873)
and in the posthumous (1884) edition of the Lyra. It may
be that Wallace, the next translator (1874), had not seen Cas-
wall's version. At all events, he differs from Caswall toto
coelo (or polo) :
Let darkness vanish from the heavens now.
558
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Caswall invokes darkness. Wallace invokes daylight. Which
is correct?
It is not unlikely that the assignment of the hymn to
Matins led Wallace to his conception of the meaning, for in
olden times that canonical hour was recited before dawn ; and
the poet's indirect invocation of light would then seem appro-
priate, while any invocation of darkness would indeed have
been superfluous. The hymn, however, is quite modern — a
product, apparently, of the eighteenth century.^ Whoever
was its author, it is likely that he took advantage of the mod-
ern permission to anticipate the Matins of the following day.
In his afternoon prayer, the appeal to the vesper-darkness (so
near at hand) to overshadow the heavens, would be wholly
appropriate.
Recalling the words of St. Matthew (28 : 45) describing the
Divine Tragedy : " Now from the sixth hour there was dark-
ness over the whole earth until the ninth hour," shall we
lightly dismiss the view of Wallace as simply a mistaken one?
and the whole question of the Matins hour in relation to the
hymn as a futile one? We should then encounter the notable
figure of J. F. Schlosser, the able translator of the Breviary
Hymns into German verse, who gives his support to the in-
vocation of daylight : ^
Die nacht'ge Dunkel fliehe fern aus des Himmels Hohen,
Schnell fiihr' heran die Sonne den Tag der herben Wehen, etc.
If the question could be settled by a majority vote, Wallace
and Schlosser would appear to be hopelessly in the wrong.
With Caswall are ranged all the other translators that have
come under the notice of the present writer : *
(a) The Marquess of Bute* translates:
1 It has been attributed with probability to the Servite Callisto Palumbella.
^ Die Kirche in ihren Liedern, etc., I. p. 319.
3 Including Caswall, Wallace, and Schlosser, there are ten translators.
Eight of these invoke " darkness " ; two invoke " daylight ". It is curious that
not one of the ten seems to be aware of the existence of an opposite interpre-
tation to his own, or feels called on to discuss the possibility of another view,
or to justify his own rendering.
* The Roman Breviary, etc., 1879.
JAM TOTO SUBITUS VESPER EAT POLO. 559
Come, let us stand to pray when now
The darkness of the night
Recalls the awful gloom that wrapt
Golgotha's fatal height.
He gives his vote for " darkness ", but meanwhile omits the
invocation implied in the words eat and praecipitet:
Jam toto subitus vesper eat polo
Et sol attonitiun praecipitet diem,
Dum saevae recolo ludibrium necis
Divinamque catastrophen.
And he voices an appeal, not to " darkness " or to " daylight ",
but to those who are to recite the Office (for during the sing-
ing of a hymn they must "stand to pray"). He seems to
imply that the poet's muse was not very clear in her ideas (as,
indeed, she may not have been).
(b) Archbishop Bagshawe '^ translates:
Let evening's gloomy dusk pervade the sky,
And let the astonished sun remove the day,
While I the scorn and mortal suffering
Recount, which from God's Son took life away.
This very literal rendering throws light on Bute's version,
and appears to exhibit the involved character of the muee's
thought and imagery. For does the poet really hope that
Nature will repeat her tremendous miracle of the darkening
of the sky at his mere meditation on the mystery of Calvary?
The sun might well be astonished at the Great Tragedy itself,
but hardly at its annual commemoration in the Divine Office.
(c) Judge Donahoe * translates:
Swift from the heavens the stricken daylight flies.
The gloom of midnight overpowers the skies,
The God of life, 'mid infamy and shame,
A culprit on the cross forsaken dies.
He avoids the " recolo " of the original, paints a picture of
Calvary, and gives a coherent, but scarcely faithful, rendering.
^Breviary Hymns and Missal Sequences, 1900, p. 112.
« Early Christian Hymns, 1908, p. 260.
56o
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
(d) As the view of Wallace is opposed to that of Caswall,
Bagshawe, and Donahoe, so is the concurrent view of Schlos-
ser opposed to that of Dr. Schulte/ who gives a version in
German prose: "Now let evening come suddenly upon the
whole heaven, and the sun, benumbed with sorrow, dispatch
the day." ® Schulte endeavors to clarify the poet's thought
in a further explanation : '' As the earth quaked and the sun
was darkened at the death of the God-Man, the poet now calls
for the sympathy of inanimate nature at the recollection of
that tragedy on Golgotha."
(e) The Abbe Portanier '^ invokes darkness:
Dans les cieux consternes que Tombre se condense!
Precipitant son char de feu,
Dans la nuit, eperdu, que le soleil s'elance:
Je vais chanter la mort d'un Dieu !
(f) Thus, too, Albin:'''
Retirez-vous du ciel, astres des nuits ;
Soleil epouvante, precipitez votre course, etc.
(g) To end quotations with an Italian rendering, G. Belli ^^
gives his suffrage to darkness :
Ratta s'avanzi per lo ciel la sera,
E stupefatto ne rifugga 11 sole, etc.
The weight of numbers (or of "authority") is thus seen
to be against the view of Wallace and Schlosser. Against that
view there is also the obvious poetical appropriateness of in-
voking darkness rather than daylight as a background for an
imaginative contemplation of the Divine Catastrophe at which
the sun was obscured and " there was darkness over the whole
earth."
Will Virgilian usage help us to a decision? The " vesper
eat polo " of the hymn is like the " ruit oceano nox " of the
■^ Die Hymnen des Breviers, etc., 1898, p. 311.
® " Moge nun am ganzen Himmel plotzlich der Abend eintreten und die
Sonne vor Schmerz betaubt den Tag beschleunigen. . . ."
* Chants Sacres au Hymnes du Brev. Rom., etc., 1866, p. 109.
^® La Poesie du Brev. Rom., etc., p. 333.
11 Inni Ecdesiastici . . . del Brev. Rom., 1856, p. 298.
JAM TOTO SUBITUS VESPER EAT POLO, 561
yEneid (II. 250). Are polo and oceano datives or ablatives?
Is the vesper to go to or from the heavens? Is the night to
rush to, or from, the ocean? The learned commentator who
edited the Delphini Virgil votes for the dative, interpreting
the phrase by " nox cadit in oceanum ", and is directly con-
tradicted by Henry (^neidea, II, p. 137) : " Inasmuch as the
ancients always represented night as following the course of
the sun, i. e. as rising in the east, traversing the sky, and de-
scending or setting in the west, . . . the words ruit oceano
nox, applied to the commencement of night, are to be under-
stood, not as presenting us with the ordinary English image,
of night falling on the ocean, but as presenting us with the
directly reverse image, of personified night rising (rushing)
from the ocean'' He quotes Dante, Shelley, Schiller, in illus-
tration of the classical imagery, and Leopardi in illustration of
the " vulgar error "/^ Now, if nox ruit oceano means rising
from the ocean, the eat polo might well be interpreted (be-
cause of its closeness of phrase to Virgil's) as " going from
the heavens " ; and Wallace and Schlosser could therefore say
something for their solitary view.
The Virgilian suggestiveness is heightened by the figure
in the second line of the hymn :
Et sol attonitum praecipitet diem,
which finds its counterpart in the iEneid (II. 8, 9) : "... .
nox humida coelo praecipitat " — the (personified) night has
passed the zenith and is now rushing down to the (western)
ocean. In the hymn, however, praecipitet is transitive : the
sun is asked to urge on the day {up ^^ from the east, or down
to the west — which?), or, doubtless more properly, to cast it
headlong down. But, if this latter be correct, then the eat
polo must mean that darkness {vesper or nox^ is invoked to
12 Henry seems to have been the first commentator to advance (in his Notes
of a Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the First Six Books of the Eneis,
published in Dresden in 1853) t^e view that Night is pictured as rising from
the ocean, rather than falling upon the ocean. The extract from his /Eneidea
(published in 1878) given above represents an unchanged view, as it adds
merely the reference to Leopardi ; and the view is, we believe, the one uni-
versally adopted at the present time.
13 Schlosser translates in this sense of "bringing on the day":
" Schnell fuhr' he ran die Sonne den Tag der herben Wehen ".
562 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
cover the sky, and the perplexed eommentator will cry out
with Macbeth : " Then comes my fit again ! "
However much the commentator may be perplexed, a trans-
lator is free to choose either extreme, and may properly leave
the original author to solve his own riddles. In the following
translation, the Asclepiads are broken in two, in order to
bring in more rhyme than a four-line stanza permits ; but the
number of syllables is exactly equal in the Latin and English
stanzas.
Jam Toto Subitus Vesper Eat Polo.**
Now let the darkling eve
Mount suddenly on high,
The sun affrighted reave
His splendors from the sky,
While I in silence grieve
O'er the mocked agony
And the divine catastrophe.
^* AD MATUTINUM.
Jam toto subitus vesper eat polo,
Et sol attonitum prsecipitet diem,
Dum saevge recolo ludibrium necis,
Divinamque catastrophen.
Spectatrix aderas supplicio Parens,
Malis uda, gerens cor adamantinum:
Natus funerea pendulus in cpuce
Altos dum gemitus dabat.
Pendens ante oculos Natus, atrocibus
Sectus verberibus, Natus hiantibus
Fossus vulneribus, quot penetrantibus
Te confixit aculeis !
Heu ! sputa, alapse, verbera, vulnera,
Clavi, fel, aloe, spongia, lancea,
Sitis, spina, cruor, quam varia pium
Cor pressere tyrannide !
Cunctis interea stat generosior
Virgo Martyribus : prodigio novo.
In tantis moriens non moreris Parens,
Diris fixa doloribus.
Sit summae Triadi gloria, laus, honor,
A qua suppHciter, sollicita prece,
Posco virginei roboris aemulas
Vires rebus in asperis.
Amen.
JAM TOTO SUBITUS VESPER EAT POLO.
Grief -drenched, thou dost appear
With heart of adamant,
O Mother ; and dost hear
The Great Hierophant,
Upon His wooden bier
Locked in the arms of Death,
Utter in groans His parting breath.
What lookest thou upon,
Mangled and bruised and torn?
Ah, 'tis the very Son
Thy yearning breast hath borne !
Surely, each breaking moan '
And each deep-mouthed wound
Its fellow in thy heart hath found!
Surely, the taunts and woes,
The scourge, the dripping thorn,
The spitting and the blows.
The gall, the lance, the scorn —
Surely, each torment throws
A poison-dart at thee.
Crushed by their manifold tyranny.
Yet thou with patient mien
Beneath His cross dost stand.
Nobler in this, I ween.
Than all the martyr-band :
A thousand deaths, O Queen,
Upon thy spirit lie,
Yet thou, O marvel ! dost not die.
O Holy Trinity,
Let earth and heaven raise
Their song of laud to Thee
The while my spirit prays: —
When evil comes to me,
The strength do Thou impart
That erst upheld Thy Mother's heart !
H. T. Henry.
Overbrook Seminary, Pa.
563
^54 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
THE STOfiY OF ST. OEOILIA AND ITS VALUE.
THE visitor to the Eternal City is almost overwhelmed
with the memories of an immortal past, prehistoric, an-
cient, medieval, modem, pagan and religious. Let us accom-
pany him on a well-known route from the centre of the great
metropolis across the high-banked Tiber, the same yellow
flood yet in surroundings completely transformed from the
days when, at a spot a little further down, " Horatius defended
the bridge in the brave days of old ", across the little island,
where rest the bones of St. Bartholomew recalling a later
Rome, on to the Trastevere, the city-beyond-the-river. It is
a district bringing to memory Benedict the boy, soon to be
known as Patriarch of the West, and Francis, Spouse of Lady
Poverty, and again later still Frances, model of motherhood
and widowhood. Passing down a narrow street he enters a
large square courtyard not unlike that on the Coelian Hill
before the church whence Gregory sent his prior and forty
monks to evangelize the English people. He notes perhaps
as he passes through it a large cantharus or vase on the right-
hand side. It is the relic of a house, pagan at first and Chris-
tian afterward, of which we shall speak soon. He enters an
old Roman basilica. Near the door he sees a tomb, unpre-
tentious but interesting, if he comes from the West, as being
that of Adam of Hertford, faithful administrator of the Lon-
don Diocese toward the close of the fourteenth century. But
his attention is arrested by the beautiful statue of a recumbent
figure lying conspicuously before the high altar, some thirty
of forty paces off. Who is this so honored? It is a thing
of such great beauty. Who is the artist, and what may be the
meaning?
He is in the Church of Saint Cecilia. This is a picture of
the Virgin Martyr, one who with Saints Agnes, Agatha, and
Lucy has appealed in an especial way to every heart through-
out the Christian centuries and who is remembered again each
day by priest and faithful in the Canon of every Mass. It
is the purpose of these pages to give her story ; not to discuss
its value with scientific arguments but rather to present the
results arrived at to-day of criticism and archeological dis-
coveries. And first will be given a summary of her history,
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE. 565
as we may gather it from the full " Acts of St. Cecilia "
(which are some io,cmdo words in length), partly because these
are generally less accessible than the popular story as found
in Chaucer or the Golden Legend/
First it must be stated briefly, what will be remarked more
fully later on, that these Acts, though founded on undoubted
facts, and true also, we think, in many details, are largely
the work of a pious rhetorician of a later century.
Cecilia was a Roman maiden born of noble blood. Very
exact is the description of her lineage in the more authentic
copies of the Acts; the Saint is described as ingenua, nobilisj
clarissima, showing the senatorial rank of her family. She is
made to tell us in the Acts that she had received the Christian
doctrine from her childhood, from which we may infer that
her mother was a Christian; though we may gather that her
father was a pagan, from the fact that she was given in mar-
riage to a pagan. Richly clad as became her rank, secretly
she wore the hair-shirt and fasted rigorously, two or three
days a week taking no food at all. Grown up to womanhood,
she was forced to marry Valerian, noble of birth and noble
also in character, as we shall presently see. This entirely
against her will, for secretly she was espoused to Jesus Christ,
bound by the sacred ties of a vow of perpetual virginity. The
day of her nuptials arrived and while all the company were
rejoicing, with the harmony of music (" cantantibus organis ")
she sang in her heart to God alone, renewing her vows in
David's words (Psalm 118) : " Fiat cor meum immaculatum,
ut non confundar — May my heart and my body be undefiled,
that I may not be confounded." Her prayer was heard and
as she and her spouse entered the secrecy of their bedchamber,
she thus addressed him : " O sweet and loving youth, I have
a secret to confide. I wish thee to know that I have an angel
of God for my lover, who guards me with exceeding zeal.
Wherefore if thou drawest nigh with an unholy love, his anger
will be enkindled and thou wilt lose the flower of thy fair
youth. But respect my firm purpose and he will love thee as
he loves me." Then Valerian was struck with fear: "Show
i Yale Studies in English: Life of St. Cecilia, by B. E. Lovewell (Boston,
1898), gives various versions of the medieval story. The volume contains
also an excellent introduction.
t66 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
me this angel. If truly angel of God he be, I will do as you
ask, but if you love another man, I will slay both you and
him." " If you will become purified in the everlasting foun-
tain of regeneration and believe in the one living and true
God, then shall you see the angel." The consent of the noble
youth was given and he was directed to an aged man in hiding
at the third milestone along the Appian Way. As an indica-
tion of the spot he would find some poor people asking an alms
•from passers-by. — " These have I always cared for and they
know my secret. Give them my blessing and say, Cecilia has
sent me to you that you may show me the holy man Urban.
Then come back and you shall see the angel and whatsoever
you ask of him you shall obtain."
He found St. Urban, the Bishop, called in the Acts Pope,
already twice confessor of the faith, lying hid amongst the
tombs, who rejoiced with exceeding joy and raising his hands
to heaven prayed: "O Lord Jesus Christ, sower of chaste
counsel, receive the fruit of the seed which Thou hast sown in
Cecilia, for the spouse whom she received as a fierce lion, she
has sent as a gentle lamb." Then there appeared a venerable
old man white as snow with a tablet written in letters of gold
which he read : *' One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
and Father of all, above all and in us all." " Believest thou
this? say yes or nay." Valerian confessed, the old man disap-
peared; baptized by Urban, clad still in the white robes of a
neophyte, he returned to Cecilia and saw the angel standing
beside her " in glorious plumes with wings and shining as
fire ". Two crowns he held and gave one to each, crowns of
red roses and white lilies, a significance which Valerian did
not yet perhaps realize. " These flowers will not fade nor
their sweetness diminish ; nor will they be visible save to those
who delight in chastity." Asked to choose what favor he
would, Valerian replied : " To me the sweetest thing in life is
to be in company with my brother Tiburtius," He must be
brought out of darkness. As the angel disappeared Tiburtius
happened to arrive. The scent of the roses and lilies, the
offer of an incorruptible crown if he would believe seemed to
him but a dream. Not so, he is told. But rather hitherto his
life had been a dream, worshipping statues of plaster which
spiders cover with their webs and birds with their dung, on
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE.
567
whose heads storks build their nests, — gods receiving their
being from criminals quarrying marbles. The Bishop Urban,
in aspect angelic and venerable in age, would baptize him.
Tiburtius has heard of him, condemned a second time to
death, and this thought leads Cecilia to contrast the evils of
this short life with another life, an eternal one. Tiburtius still
an unbeliever, with the practical sense of a man of the world,
demands : " But who has returned from this other life to tell
us?" Cecilia enters into a somewhat lengthy exposition of
the doctrines of creation and redemption, and the Trinity
which she exemplifies by the curious psychology of the age
in which the Acts were written : Just as a man has wisdom
but that wisdom we divide into capacity, memory, and intel-
lect; by capacity we discover what we have not learnt, by
memory we retain what we are taught, by intellect advert to
matters we have seen and heard; the gift of wisdom is the
possession of these three faculties. But Tiburtius, impatient,
returns to his former question. Who has returned to tell us?
Cecilia then explains the coming of Jesus Christ, in a graphic
account, a loose and exaggerated paraphrase of the Gospel
scenes. For instance: Jesus said, " If I show you the dead
come back to life will ye not belie\e? " Then He went to the
sepulchres and called forth those who had been dead three or
four days, even those who were already in corruption and
gave them back life. And so other miracles are told and in an
account of the Passion she shows how He by dying had sub-
dued and fettered death and " this is why we glory in perse-
cution ". Tiburtius is completely converted and finds life in-
supportable, unless he is baptized by Urban, and remains
seven days with him until, casting aside the white garments,
he is consecrated a soldier of Christ. Henceforth he sees
angels daily and whatsoever he asks he instantly obtains.
Then say the Acts : It is too long to describe all the marvels
that happened, so we will return to their glorious martyrdom.
Turcius Almachius the Prefect slew the Saints. Tiburtius
and Valerian buried them and gave alms. They were de-
nounced and arrested. Almachius is treated to a discourse on
the fleeting nature of worldly goods and the conversation is
variously elaborated in different texts of the Acts, but they
usually contain a very beautiful parable, some forty lines in
568
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
length, in answer to Almachius's conviction that the Chris-
tians are mad to despise the pleasures of life. In a garden
in spring-time a group of peasants were toiling hard when a
band of pleasure-seekers stopped and jeered and clapped their
hands in derision. " Throw aside all this useless work and
amuse yourselves with laughter." But spring with its cold
and rain quickly passed, and roses, grapes, and honeyed fruits .
in beauty and abundance were the reward of toil. Then in-
deed were heard the rejoicings of those who had seemed to
work in vain, and the loud lamentations of those who had
boasted wisdom, a repentance then too late. The moral was
pointed : " After this shall we reap a thousandfold." The
two heroes are called upon to sacrifice, but instead they con-
trast Jupiter with God, whom Almachius cannot discover even
if he had wings. " It comes to this then," says the judge, with
an apparent show of reason, " all the world is wrong, and
you two alone are right." " Not so in truth," exclaim the
brothers. '' Countless are the multitudes of Christians who
have embraced holiness and few indeed are ye, who are like
the planks left from a shipwreck, fit for nothing but to be cast
into the flames." They are scourged with rods and a herald
standing near proclaims aloud in rivalry with the sufferers :
" Beware of blaspheming the gods and goddesses ; " but they :
" Grind to powder those gods of wood and stone, worshipped
by Almachius."
Valerian and Tiburtius, condemned to instant death, are
handed over to Maximus, the notary of the Prefect. He weeps
with pity and, persuaded that man's body, an earthly seed,
must be reduced to dust that it may rise again as the phoenix,
is converted. All his household, too, are afterward baptized
by many priests, brought by St. Cecilia. The noble maid
then sends forth the two Christian warriors to their crown.
At Pagus, the fourth milestone from the city, they pass
through the gate of the Temple and refuse to burn incense,
the declaration of apostasy, before the image of great Jove.
Maximus bewails their fate and is beaten with scourges loaded
with lead until he gives up the spirit. St. Cecilia buries him
in a new tomb near Valerian and Tiburtius (in the Catacomb
of St. Praetextatus) and orders a phoenix to be carved upon it.
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE,
509
Officers are next despatched to the house of the wealthy-
widow but are far from inducing her to offer incense.
Mounted on a stone she persuades these " Citizens and
brothers ", who weep that such a beautiful damsel so noble
and discreet should of her own accord be put to death, that
she is but exchanging copper coins for gold, pebbles for a
jewel, a place strait indeed for a vast palace. Then Saint
Urban came and baptized within her house more than 400 of
every age, sex, and condition, and amongst them Gordianus^
who took the house of Cecilia under his protection that it
might be a church.
The next scene in the Acts is a graphic and precise dialogue
between Almachius and his prey. In the sparring St. Cecilia
always gets the better of her adversary. To quote one idea as
given in Chaucer's " The second nonnes tale " :
" Your might," quod she, " ful litel is to drede ;
For every mortal mannes power nis
But lyk a bladdre, ful of wind, y-wis.
For with a nedles poynt, whan it is blowe
May all the boost of it be leyd ful lowe ".
He has not the power of life and death, as he proudly as-
serts. " Thou canst, 'tis true, take away life from the living;
thou canst not bestow it upon the dead. Therefore art thou
but ' dethes lord '." But fencing of words is cut short. The
humble prefect can overlook all insults against himself but
cannot brook those against the gods, whom Cecilia declares
are stone, and wood, and lead. Besides being unjust and fool-
ish he has in this shown himself to be blind. " Put out your
hand and touch if you cannot see that it is but stone. It is
disgraceful that the whole population should laugh at you,
Almachius, since they are all aware that God is in heaven."
In a violent rage, yet in order to avoid too much publicity,,
he commands the maiden to be closely shut up in the bath-
room in her house and sevenfold quantities of wood are heaped
on the furnaces beneath. But for a whole day and night she
remains marvelously protected from on high, as in a cold
place, so that no member of her body shows the slightest trace
of discomfort. Foiled again, Almachius orders a cruel and
barbarous lictor to smite off her head. Whether overcome
with fear to do so pitiful a deed or held back by ah Angel as
570
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Abraham of old, we do not know ; but thrice he smites her on
the neck. The law allowed no further stroke, so that she lies
half alive, half dead, bathed in her own blood. For three
days she strengthens all the devout in the faith, some of whom
gather up her blood " with linens as though with sponges ".
At last St. Urban comes. " I have sought yet this delay of
three days," she says, " that I might give into thy charge both
these people and this my house to be consecrated as a church
for ever." Then the holy Urban and his deacons bury her
among his colleagues the bishops, where all the confessors
and martyrs are laid [that is, in the catacomb of St. Callixtus] .
" He hallowed her house into a church, in which unto this
day is said the service unto our Lord."
We may conclude in the words of Caxton's Golden Legend :
" She suffered hir pasyon about the year of our Lord two
hundred and xxiii in the time of Alexander the Emperour
and it is redde in another place that she suffred in the time
of marcii aurelii which reygned the yere of our Lord two
hondred and twenty."
Concerning the authenticity of these Acts let a few words
suffice. Unlike the Acts of St. Polycarp, the Martyrs of
Lyons, of Scillium, or the forty of Sebaste, of Saints Perpetua
and Felicity, and others which can be proved undoubtedly, at
least for the greater part, most authentic, those of St. Cecilia
are a late compilation, evidently " written up " by the editor.
As Alban Butler says, " The Acts of St. Cecily are generally
considered of very small authority." But as in the case of St.
Agnes, whose Acts are spurious, but the chief facts of whose
story we have in the writings of St. Ambrose, Pope Damasus,
and the poet Prudentius, so too the chief facts of St. Cecilia's
life given in her Acts are confirmed beyond doubt by the
ancient martyrologies and archeological discoveries. It is pos-
sible to disengage from the pious rhetoric of the " discourses "
the true facts of her story. We may conclude that they took
their present form in the fifth century, an age of rhetoricians
who composed romances, beautiful and most Catholic, at a
time when the rhetorical writing of history was accepted. If
so, they represent the devotion of the Roman Church, perhaps
at the time of St. Leo, to one of her greatest martyrs. More-
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE.
571
over it is not difficult to think that they are accurate in many
details. The Church was careful to gather up records of the
martyrs as we know from the division of the city into seven
districts with a notary for each, by Clement I in 93. Antheros
(235-236), we also know, sought for the Acts of the martyrs
and laid them in a church, for which reason he suffered mar-
tyrdom. Perhaps the writer had access to documents, or at
least drew from a vivid tradition. The interrogatory, in
which we note, besides its precise and legal form, the men-
tion of the Emperors (in the plural) and the citation of the
exact words of the imperial rescript addressed to Lyons in
177, bears marks of authenticity. And we shall presently see
what archeological discoveries have to tell us in confirmation.
About the date of her martyrdom we may notice that many
modern writers, departing from the generally accepted state-
ment of the medieval legends, are inclined to place it about
the year 177, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus,
a time of persecution. The mention of Pope Urban would fix
it fifty years later, in the reign of Alexander Severus, when
the Christians were unmolested. This anachronism has given
the Acts a bad name. It is easier to think that the early men-
tion of Bishop Urban — a Bishop in the city of Rome — became
by a natural process of exaggeration Pope Urban, especially
as the pope confessor was buried close to St. Cecilia in the
catacomb of St. Callixtus. The St. Urban, who we know was
martyred about 180 and who was buried in St. Praetextatus,
may well have been a coadjutor of the reigning Pope, and
the friend of St. Cecilia.
So far the Saint's story has been given as it has come
down to us in the Acts and, in the main features, in the medie-
val legends. But there is an interesting sequel which bears
more clearly the stamp of historical fact.
The modern pilgrim, or sightseer, may go along the Ap-
pian Way leaving behind the gaunt ruins of the palaces of
the Caesars on the Palatine, past St. Xystos's on the left where
St. Dominic lived, and leave the city by the Gate of St. Sebas-
tian. He is on the road by which St. Paul first entered Rome
with his companions. He passes beyond the " Quo Vadis "
Church which now stands to mark the spot where St. Peter,
as the beautiful legend given in St. Ambrose's Sermons tells
572 ■ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
US, met his Divine Master going into the city to be crucified
anew, and beyond that small earlier chapel built or rebuilt by
Cardinal Pole. At a spot a little more than a mile from the
City Gate a door in a high vineyard wall marks the present
entrance to what was once the property of the Cecilian gens.
We know that many members of this noble family became
Christians in the early days of Christianity and we have reason
to think that they gave this vineyard to Pope Zephyrinus for
the use of the Church, as one of the places of Christian burial.
From the Apostolic times to the persecution of Domitian the
faithful were buried without secrecy in private tombs, which
besides having all the immunity of private property were^
though Christian, regarded as " religious places " and held
as inviolable as the temples and tombs of the pagan dead.
But, as the second century grew older, underground cata-
combs were built or burrowed in the beds of soft volcanic
stone or granular tufa which is found in irregular formations
in the neighborhood of Rome. In the course of three hundred
years no less than fifty such cemeteries, great or small, were
formed and it has been estimated that no less than 587 miles
of galleries have already been discovered. The cemetery to
which we refer receives its name from St. Callixtus, who as
deacon to Pope Zephyrinus (+ 223) was made superintendent
of this burial place, which he considerably enlarged and beau-
tified. As the pilgrim passes on beyond a grove of cypress
trees he observes a surrounding district of little interest,
slightly undulating, marked by a few low buildings. He is
given a taper by the kind Trappist monk who becomes his
guide and descends by a broad stairway a long flight of steps,
not indeed the narrow way by which Valerian was led to
Urban, but a more commodious one to admit the throng of pil-
grims of later centuries. Yet another flight to the right and
he is in the catacombs. It is an Egyptian darkness. There
is a mysterious silence too, broken only by the dull sound of
human voice or tread. It is not terrible as the " fauces
Averni ", and very mistaken are those who avoid what they
think may be found too gruesome. This is sacred ground, and
very difi'erent are the emotions stirred in the true Christian
heart as he draws near the former resting place of our fore-
fathers in the faith, those heroes who by being Christians
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE.
573
carried daily their lives in their hands, who with a joyful fear
laid to rest their brethren, some in the narrow loculi which
tier upon tier line the narrow passages, and others in more
honored tombs with arched roofs under which the Holy Sac-
rifice might be offered; for they were saints, bearing their
palm branches before the throne of the Lamb. Their mangled
remains, as the custom was, had been thrown out in heaps out-
side the Coliseum, while the fierce beasts lay sleeping in the
dens below gorged with Christian blood. Rescued by faith-
ful hands, laid to rest in triumph, these hallowed remains
were here honored by a score of generations of pious pilgrims,
as we may see from the two itineraries or guide books which
have come down to us from the seventh century. Here many
Popes lay buried in the chapel we enter first, known as the
Papal Crypt, where the good St. Xystos was murdered in his
chair. Here heroic souls listened to the burning words of
confessors; here they assembled for the sacred Liturgy and
received the Bread of Life; here the sinews of the faith grew
strong — all scenes so graphically described in the pages of
Fabiola. But our Trappist guide would have us keep our
reflections for some other time, for he has much to show in
this vast city of the dead, gallery after gallery, in places
three stories high or deep, frescoes of the Good Shepherd, of
countless saints, of symbolic or sacramental representations of
the mysteries of the Christian faith, inscriptions without num-
ber in Latin or in Greek, speaking to those who passed be-
fore, the triumph gained, from those who had yet to fight.
" Live in peace and pray for us " ; — " Sabbatius, sweet soul,
pray and entreat for thy brethren and comrades " ; — " Ana-
tolinus, may thy spirit rest well in God, and do thou pray for
thy sister ".
From the papal crypt, by a narrow doorway we come upon
a more spacious room, irregular, twenty feet square. It has
a long and interesting history, which must be told in brief.
It is now ascertained beyond any doubt that this is the chapel
in which the relics of St. Cecilia were laid.
In the ninth century the catacombs were fast falling into
decay. Goths, Vandals, and Lombards had wrought destruc-
tion and carried off many treasures and as far .back as the
"days of Constantine, who built the Basilica over the catacombs
574
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of SS. Peter and Paul, it had become the practice to inter no
longer in subterranean burial places. In January, 817, one
zealous for the honor of the martyrs had become pope under
the name of Paschal. In the following July he translated
with great ceremony the relics of 2,300 martyrs from various
catacombs to churches within the walls, for Saracens were
even then threatening Italy. He was most eager to find the
relics of St. Cecilia, especially as he was rebuilding her church
in the Trastevere. He was however baffled in his efforts and
gave up the search. He acquiesced perhaps in the belief that
the precious remains had been carried off by Astulfus the Lom-
bard King in 755. But four years later, according to the
account he has left and his biographer Anastasius who con-
tinued the Liber Pontificalis, he had a vision or dream. St.
Cecilia encouraged him to continue the search, for at one
time, she told him, they were so near that they might have
conversed together. He had already transferred the bodies
of the former popes from the papal crypt, and from the itin-
eraries of the seventh century, in which she is mentioned
'either immediately before or immediately after the popes, it
is clear that pilgrims visited her tomb near this spot. By
some it has been thought that his investigations came to a
successful end in the crypt we have referred to, now known
by her name, and that in the large recess toward one corner,
near what is now the main entrance, to the right of the posi-
tion where a temporary altar is placed that priests may offer
the Holy Sacrifice to-day, her relics were found. This was
the opinion of De Rossi and Dr. Northcote, and Dom Leclercq
is still inclined to uphold this. On the other hand, Mgr.
Duchesne and Dom Quentin, arguing from a corruption in
the text of the Liber Pontificalis, think that the relics were
translated, previous to PaschaPs time, for fear of desecration,
to the catacomb of St. Praetextatus, where the bodies of the
other three saints lay. We are disposed to agree with this
latter suggestion; but, be this as it may, St. Paschal found,
either in the recess already mentioned in St. Callixtus, or with
the other bodies in St. Praetextatus, a large sarcophagus.
Within a cypress coffin, clad in rich garments interwoven with
gold, with blood-stained linen cloths at the feet, lay the beau-
tiful form of the Virgin-Martyr, to their wonder and joy
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE.
575
fresh and perfect as when more than six hundred years before
she gave up her pure soul to God lying on the floor of her
bath-room. He tells us that he lined the coffin with fringed
silk, spread over the body a cover of silk gauze and carried it
with reverence in a sarcophagus of white marble and placed it
together with the other bodies under the high altar of her
church in the Trastevere. This church, which we have al-
ready mentioned, was consecrated, as we know by reliable
authority, under Pope Sixtus III (432-440), and occupies the
site of St. Cecilia's house. We find it first mentioned in refer-
ence to a council held by Pope Symmachus in 499, and later
on by the Venerable Bede in his History as the church where
the English Wilbrord was consecrated. We can well believe
that it was held sacred from the day of the martyr's death in
accordance with the wish she is said in the Acts to have made
known, and that the large room recently discovered ten feet
below the central part of the nave was a place of rendezvous
for the faithful to attend the Holy Mass. It is interesting to
wander from room to room of the ancient house below the
church, beneath our feet in many places the tessellated pave-
ment still intact, to see the small statue of Minerva with the
altar before it as in the days of the pagan Valerii, to look
down upon the seven great amphorae set in the floor for stor-
ing grain, wine, and oil, such as we frequently see in the little
shops surrounding the old Roman palaces in Pompeii, now
brought to light by excavation after nearly two thousand
years. Above the ground-floor of the ancient house, in what
was once the second story of the building, now a side-chapel
in the church beautified with a variety of marbles, there has
been shown from time immemorable that caldarium or bath-
room where St. Cecilia breathed her last attended by Urban
and her household. This room Paschal I preserved when he
demolished or covered up the other parts of the house. There
we may see the leaden pipes coming up from below and run-
ning round the room once " sevenfold heated " to suffocate
the martyr, and the slab, now the altar-stone, upon which she
was struck down by the executioner. Guido Reni has left a
beautiful picture of her martyrdom which is hung above the
altar, and on the opposite wall we see a representation by
Domenichino of the angel bestowing the crowns on the youth-
576
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
ful Spouses. In the church itself, on the wall of the apse,
appear with their ancient freshness some gigantic mosaics, in
the Byzantine style of the period, of our Lord, Saints Peter
and Paul, Cecilia, Agatha, and Valerian. Our Saint stands
clad in rich garments, as patroness of Pope Paschal, about
whose head is the square nimbus in place of the round one
which marks a saint. This signifies that he was still alive and
makes clear to us the date of the mosaic.
We must now return to her crypt in the catacomb of St.
Callixtus. By the eleventh or twelfth century, no longer the
resting places of the saints' relics, it had fallen into decay
and even its memory was forgotten. Not until 1848 was the
catacomb rediscovered. Encouraged by significant signs,
Signor de Rossi petitioned Pio Nono to buy the vineyard
under which it was found to be. The story is too long to tell,
but it may be mentioned concerning St. Cecilia's crypt that it
was necessary for him to begin to dig from the level ground
above, the very top of a wide luminare or air-shaft formed at
a comparatively late period, and so gradually to unearth the
crypt. First a figure of a woman praying, next a Latin cross
between two sheep, and in the crypt itself, three later saints,
and then on the wall close to the entrance from the papal
chapel, facing the priest as he offers Mass to-day, a painting,
perhaps of the seventh century, of a woman saint richly attired
with bracelets and necklaces, and below on the same wall a
niche, as is common in the catacombs, to receive a large shal-
low vessel of oil. Here too is a figure in full pontifical dress
with name attached of St. Urban — the Pope and confessor,
be it noted, and not the martyr — and a scroll added '' Decori
Sepulcri S. Caecilias Martyris." None of these are the original
ornaments of this place. St. Cecilia is painted on the surface
of a ruined mosaic, and another fresco, our Lord's head, in
Byzantine type with rays of glory in the form of a Greek
cross, is on a niche once encased with marble. This and St.
Urban are probably not older than the tenth or eleventh cen-
tury. Such continued decorations, especially when prolonged
beyond the eighth and ninth centuries, are a sure mark of
great religious and historical interest. De Rossi next discov-
ered the recess where once stood the large sarcophagus which,
as we have seen, had been transferred to the Trastevere, and a
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE.
S77
grave stone which lies there to-day, bearing the name of
Septimus Prsetextatus Caecilianus pointing perhaps to some
connexion between the family of Valerian (buried, as we learn
from the Acts and the seventh century guide-books, in the
cemetery of St. Praetextatus) and that of Cecilia laid to rest
on the property of the gens Caeciliana, on the other side of the
Appian Way.
Lastly it is interesting to note what seems to be a confirma-
tion from archeology of the translation of the relics by Pope
Paschal. The walls of the catacombs are frequently marked
with graffiti or the scribblings of pious pilgrims. Those on
the picture of St. Cecilia in her crypt De Rossi found to be of
two classes. The first kind he says are irregular in place and
time, several being those of strangers, e. g. Spaniards. The
second class, regular, in four lines, and almost exclusively the
names of priests, the last one being a secretary. This sug-
gests some official act. Several of these names appear on the
painting of St. Cornelius in the same catacomb, translated in
the time of Paschal ; and also on a painting discovered in the
subterranean church of San Clemente, and in the decrees of
the Roman Council held in 826. Most names, it is true, are
common and signify but little, but stranger names appear, as
George and Mercury, written too with the same peculiarity of
writing, some letters square, others in a running hand. Such
perhaps may not be held as substantial proof, yet they help
to carry our minds back to the reality of Paschal's connexion
with our Virgin Martyr Saint.
The next scene in the story of St. Cecilia is seven and a
half centuries later. Her church had grown. The bell-tower
we now see dates from 11 20; but in the year 1599 Cardinal
Sfondrati of the " title " of St. Cecilia made very considerable
alterations for the beautification of the building. During
these he came across a large vault under the high altar and
in this he found two large sarcophagi. Trustworthy wit-
nesses were summoned and the tomb was opened. First was
seen the cypress coffin, next the linen cloths stained with blood,
and through the transparent gauze, faded in color, in which
Paschal had wrapped the relics, could be seen the rich gold-
threaded robes, with blood-stains visible, and the beautiful
form of the young Virgin Martyr, in all its grace and mod-
^^8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
esty, incorrupt after 1400 years. It is not difficult to imagine
the enthusiasm of the ardent Roman people who came in
crowds during the space of four or five weeks to renew their
devotion to one who had been amongst the most popular of
saints from very early times. Clement VIII, who lay sick at
Frascati in the hills beyond the flat Campagna, deputed
Baronius, the well-known annalist, with Bosio his friend, to
draw up faithful accounts of all they saw for us in later cen-
turies. The tomb was closed on St. Cecilia's day, 22 Novem-
ber, amidst jubilant celebrations, Clement himself singing the
High Mass. The body had been laid in a heavy silver casket.
The high altar as it stands to-day was erected, and the Pope
ordered Moderna, a leading sculptor of the day, to execute
with scrupulous fidelity a statue of the Saint as he saw her
in the tomb, in the position in which once she lay expiring on
the bath-room floor, and later in the catacomb on the Appian
Way, and later still in her church in the Trastevere in the
time of Paschal I. The inscription left for future generations,
written in Latin, may now be read : " Behold the image of the
most holy Virgin Cecilia whom I myself saw lying incorrupt
in her tomb. I have in this marble modeled for thee the same
Saint in the very same posture of body."
A most beautiful work of art. The maiden lies on her side,
with limbs a little drawn up, her arms stretched out by her
side, her hands, delicate and fine, lying before her, not locked
but crossed at the wrists, the drapery beautifully modelled
and modestly covering her limbs — a statue perfect in form,
and the whiteness of the marble reflecting in some distant way
the purity of her soul. It does not seem to be the body of one
who is dead but rather asleep. Her head is bound with a
cloth, the face turned to the ground where her forehead rests,
and upward, the back of her neck is adorned, not marred, by
the hideous gashes of the axeman, the trophies of her triumph..
Miniature replicas of this statue we are glad to find in increas-
ing numbers on the prie-Dieu of the devout, or sometimes life-
size copies, as we may see in the Oratorian Church in London.
It is of interest also to note that in the other sarcophagus
opened at the same time were found the bodies of three men,
two apparently of the same age and size, who had manifestly
been decapitated; but of the third, the skull was broken, and.
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE. 579
the abundant hair was thickly matted with blood. It seems
that he had been done to death by those plumhatce or leaden
scourges, of which a specimen has been found in the cata-
combs. Precisely in this way, we are told in the Acts, St.
Maximus the notary was martyred. Of the three sarcophagi
now seen in the Trastevere, that which contains the remains of
Lucius and the martyred Urban, held those of Maximus be-
fore the ninth century, and it is decorated with a phoenix.
If the mention of the phoenix belonged to the original Acts,
and is not a later addition, it points once more to the accuracy
of their details.
In the year 1900 the saintly Cardinal Rampolla, of this
" title ", greatly enlarged and adorned the crypt. It is indeed
a beautiful chapel, supported by 34 columns of oriental gran-
ite, containing a full-sized statue of St. Cecilia and frescoes of
the saints; on the one side, if we remember rightly, the
three saints together, on the other the angel bestowing the
crowns on the faithful spouses. Two other virgin saints,
Agnes and Agatha, are fittingly represented, and somewhere
the inscription in mosaics " Erunt sicut angeli Dei '\ In the
centre of the large adjoining room of the subterranean house
of Valerian and Cecilia, now a museum of early Christian re-
mains found during excavations, may be seen the large marble
front of one of the tombs from the catacombs, the centre in-
laid with a rich mosaic cross.
It remains to say a few words of our Virgin Martyr as the
patroness of music. In the early mural painting in the cata-
comb of San Lorenzo (sixth or seventh century), in the
fresco of her crypt already mentioned in St. Callixtus, in the
colossal mosaic in her church in the Trastevere of the time
of St. Paschal, and in the tryptich of Cimabue at Florence and
the decorations of Fra Angelico, we find no emblems beyond
a palm branch and a book. Yet in poems and panegyrics, in
pictures since the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and al-
most universally to-day, she is represented as a musician with
reeds or an organ. In Romanelli's picture of the middle of
the seventeenth century, she even has a violin.
What is the origin and how may we account for the growth
of this, now accepted, tradition? We can but, conjecture.
Perhaps it arose from a misunderstanding of the words of
58o T^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the Acts : '' Cantantibus organis Cecilia Virgo in corde suo
soli Domino decantabat." That whilst on her nuptial day all
were making melody with mouth and minstrelsy Cecilia sang
in her heart to the Lord alone, renewing her vows of virginity.
As Chaucer puts it in the *' second nonnes tale " :
And whyl the organs maden melodye
To God alone in herte thus sang she.
Or in Caxton's English version of the Golden Legend of
Jacopo di Voragine :
And she heerying the organes making melodye,
She sang in hir herte onelye tu god.
The connexion between the Latin organis and the general
word denoting the precise instrument called an organ gives a
plausibility to the above suggestion. Baillet in his Vie des
Saintes prefers to connect the tradition with the celebrations
at the time of her translation by Paschal.
It would seem preferable to connect it with the monastery
which we know this Pope founded when rebuilding hef
church in the Trastevere for the perpetual celebration of the
divine Liturgy. The School of Music thus associated with her
church and name might easily have become associated with
the Saint herself. May we not think that she, who ever
guarded the interests of the church founded in her house
where her relics lay, frequented by the poor she especially
loved and the monks gathered to celebrate the praises of their
Patroness — she who was but thinly veiled from mortal eye —
appeared, if not in reality, at least in the imagination of those
who devoutly celebrated the praises of God in union with the
heavenly court. And in the days of fervor and, we must add,
of pious credulity, when the marvelous was not only possible,
but probable — and often an undeniable fact — stories of her
apparition, in the place of honor or more likely of direction,
would soon gain ground and her reputation as a musician be-
come a fixed tradition.
Yet that this alone is not the explanation, we have a proof
in the mention, as early as the end of the seventh century, of
her musical powers by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne. What-
ever the origin, a growth is certain and perhaps the famous
THE STORY OF ST. CECILIA AND ITS VALUE. 581
picture of Raphael in the gallery at Bologna, representing her
with an organ, encouraged the tradition.
In 1502 we find mention of a musical society at Louvain
bearing her name, and when the Royal Academy of Music
was founded in Rome in 1584, St. Cecilia was chosen as
patroness. In 15 71 we find the first authenticated occasion
when her feast was celebrated with musical performances, and
toward the end of the seventeenth century musical festivals
on her natal day were widespread through England, Scot-
land, Ireland, France, Germany, and Italy — a tradition which
is becoming more stable and with more direct reference to the
Virgin Martyr by the setting to music of poems in her honor
such as Dryden's well known " Ode to St. Cecily's Day " or
Pope's " Ode to St. Cecilia ".
S. A. Parker, O.S.B.
A mple forth House of Studies, Oxford, England.
Hnalecta*
ACTA PII PP. X.
I.
LiTTERAE Apostolicae: Committitur Episcopo Ritus Ru-
THENi Adsistentia Spiritualis Ruthenorum in
Canadensi Regione Commorantium.
Pius pp. X.
Ad perpetuam rei memoriam. — Officium supremi Aposto-
latus Nobis divinitus commissi, id ante omnia postulat, ut ea
sedulo studio decernamus quae catholico nomini provehendo,
aeternaeque fidelium saluti in universo terrarum orbe pro-
curandae, bene, prospere ac feliciter eveniant. Quare in omnes
ipsius orbis partes, Nos ex hac Principis Apostolorum Cathe-
dra, tamquam e sublimi specula, mentis Nostrae oculos con-
vertimus, et quae Fidei propagationi vel rei Sacrae procura-
tioni magis opportuna videantur, nulla interposita mora, ad
exitum perducere maturamus. Hoc moti consilio, cum, per-
crescentibus in dies Rutheni ritus fidelibus in regione Cana-
densi, venerabiles fratres Archiepiscopi et Episcopi illius re-
gionis, admirabili zelo de eorum salute soUiciti, eorumdem
spirituali adsistentiae propter ritus et disciplinae diversitatem,
sufficienter et adaequate providere non possint, quumque prop-
terea Nos enixis precibus rogaverint ut huic iacturae oppor-
ANALECTA.
583
tunam medelam afferre dignemur, Nos, auditis VV. FF. NN.
S. R. E. Cardd. Congregatloni praepositis de Fide Propa-
ganda pro negotiis Rituum Orientalium, omnibusque rei mo-
mentis diligentissime perpensis, spiritualem fidelium Ruthe-
norum in Canadensi regione degentium adsistentiam, Epis-
copo Rutheni ritus demandandam esse existimavimus. Quae
cum ita sint, apostolica Nostra auctoritate, praesentium vi, per-
petuumque in modum, Motu proprio deque certa scientia et
matura deliberatione Nostris, fidelium Ruthenorum in Cana-
densi regione nunc et in posterum degentium spiritualem ad-
sistentiam, Rutheni ritus Episcopo committimus; ea tamen
servata lege: I. Ut Episcopus Ruthenus plenam iurisdictionem
personalem exerceat in omnes fideles Rutheni ritus in prae-
dicta regione commorantes, sub dependentia dumtaxat vene-
rabilis fratris Apostolici Delegati. II. Ut ipse Episcopus Ru-
thenus residentiam suam ordinariam in urbe " Winnipeg "
sibi constituat. Haec concedimus decernentes praesentes Lit-
eras firmas, validas, atque efficaces iugiter extare ac manere,
suosque plenos atque integros effectus sortiri atque obtinere,
et Rutheni ritus fidelibus nunc et in posterum in Canadensi
regione degentibus plenissime suffragari; sicque rite iudican-
dum esse ac definiendum, irritumque et inane fieri, si secus
super his a quovis, auctoritate qualibet, scienter sive ignoranter
attentari contigerit. Non obstantibus Nostra et Cancellariae
apostolicae regula de iure quaesito non tollendo, aliisque Con-
stitutionibus et Ordinationibus apostolicis, etiam speciali atque
individua mentione ac derogatione dignis, ceterisque omnibus
in contrarium facientibus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae apud sanctum Petrum, sub annulo Piscatoris,
die XV iulii MCMXII^ Pontificatus Nostri anno nono.
R. Card. Merry del Val, a Secretis Status.
XL
Epistola ad R. p. Leopoldum Fonck, S.J., Pontificii In-
STITUTI BiBLICI PrAESIDEM, DE DiPLOMATIS FORMULA
DiSCIPULIS OPTIME MERITIS AB EODEM InSTITUTO ApOSTO-
LiCA Auctoritate tribuendi.
Dilecte fili, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. — Ad Pon-
tificium Institutum Biblicum, operi feliciter inchoato fastigium
quodammodo imponentes, cogitationes iterum curasque conver-
584
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
timus. Cum enim sit in exitu primum triennium quo studiorum
ibidem curriculum absolvitur, neque desint qui periclitata,
superioribus annis, laudabiliter doctrina se pares sentiant ul-
timo eique maximo subeundo experimento, tempus iam postu-
lat ut diploma, cuius impertiendi fecimus Instituto facultatem
per litteras lucunda sane die xxil martii mcmxi^ qua sit per-
scribendum formula decernamus. Eam igitur hisce verbis
conceptam volumus :
" Cum Reverendus Dominus . . . condicionibus omnibus a
legibus Pontificii Instituti Biblici requisitis satisfecerit et legi-
timis Doctorum suffragiis in triplici doctrinae experimento
. . . probatus fuerit, vi facultatum ab Apostolica Sede Nobis
concessarum, ipsum lectorem seu professorem Sacrae Scrip-
turae declaramus et pronunciamus, eidemque authenticum do-
cumentum hisce concedimus testimonialibus litteris, sigillo In-
stituti ac Praesidis subscriptione munitis."
Visa quidem haec est formula Academiae proposito congru-
ere eique opinionem conciliare maiorem ; cum eorum qui facto
periculo statuta retulerint suffragia, non doctrinam tantum
commendet, sed ius quoque iisdem tribuat ad rei biblicae ma-
gisterium, suffragantibus Ordinariis, gerendum. Inde autem
hoc etiam sequetur commodi ut qui diplomate aucti sint, do-
cendo, scribendo sibi viam muniant ad academicos gradus,
quos conferendi uni pontificiae Commissioni Biblicae ius po-
testatemque reservamus.
Auspex divinorum munerum Nostraeque testis benevolentiae
apostolica sit benedictio, quam tibi, dilecte fili, ceterisque In-
stituti doctoribus peramanter in Domino impertimus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, die ii iunii MCMXII, Ponti-
ficatus Nostri anno nono.
PIUS PP. X.
III.
Epistola ad R. p. D. Carolum M. A. de Cormont, Episco-
PUM Aturensem, de Libro qui inscribitur " La Voca-
tion SaCERDOTALE " EDITO A REVMO CANONICO lOSEPHO
LaHITTON, EIUSDEM DIOECESEOS.
Monseigneur,
En raison des dissensions qui se sont produites a Toccasion
du double ouvrage du chanoine Joseph Lahitton sur La voca-
ANALECTA.
585
tion sacerdotale, et de rimportance de la question doctrinale
y soulevee, Notre Tres Saint-Pere le Pape Pie X a daigne
nommer une Commission speciale d'Emes Cardinaux.
Cette Commission, apres avoir murement examine les ar-
guments en faveur de Tune et de Tautre these, a prononce,
dans sa reunion pleniere du 20 juin dernier, le jugement sui-
vant:
*' Opus praestantis viri losephi canonici Lahitton, cui titulus
La vocation sacerdotale, nullo modo reprobandum esse; imo,
qua parte ads-truit: 1° Neminem habere unquam ius ullum ad
ordinationem antecedenter ad liberam electionem episcopi. —
2° Conditionem, quae ex parte ordinandi debet attendi, quae-
que vocatio sacerdotalis appellatur, nequaquam consistere, sal-
tem necessario et de lege ordinaria, in interna quadam ad-
spiratione subiecti, seu invitamentis Spifitus Sancti, ad sacer-
dotium ineundum. — 3° Sed e contra, nihil plus in ordinando,
ut rite vocetur ab episcopo, requiri quam rectam intentionem
simul cum idoneitate in iis gratiae et naturae dotibus reposita,
et per eam vitae probitatem ac doctrinae sufficientiam compro-
bata, quae spem fundatam faciant fore ut sacerdotii munera
recte obire eiusdemque obligationes sancte servare queat : esse
egregie laudandum/'
Sa Saintete Pie X a pleinement approuve, dans I'audience
du 26 juin, la decision des fiminentissimes Peres, et Elle me
charge d'en donner avis a Votre Grandeur qui voudra bien la
communiquer a son sujet M. le chanoine Joseph Lahitton, et la
faire inserer ex integro dans la Semaine Religieuse du Dio-
cese.
Je prie Votre Grandeur, Monseigneur, d'agreer Tassurance
de mes sentiments tres devoues en Notre-Seigneur.
Rome, 2 juillet 191 2.
R. Card. Merry del Val.
S. OONGREaATIO DE EELIGIOSIS.
Decretum de Postulatu in Monasteriis Votorum
SOLEMNIUM.
Quo propositum vitae religiosae perpetuo profitendae melius
exploretur, et dignitati status religiosi uberius consulatur, im-
minutis, in quantum fieri possit, defectionibus, Emi ac Rmi
586
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Patres Cardinales sacrae Congregationis de Religiosis, in ple-
nariis comitiis ad Vaticanum habitis die 2 augusti 1902, se-
quentia statuerunt, nempe :
1. Quaelibet Postulans in Monasteriis votorum solemnium
et clausurae papalis poterit admitti, sine praevia S. Sedis
venia, servatis tamen aliis de iure servandis.
2. Quaelibet Postulans, antequam Novitiatum ingrediatur,
probanda erit per tempus, et iuxta modum, in propriis cuiusvis
Monasterii Constitutionibus praescriptum.
3. Si nihil in istis quoad haec statuatur, tunc probatio fa-
cienda est saltern per sex menses, ita tamen, ut Postulantes,
intra septa Monasterii, probationis causa, admissae, utantur
veste modesti colons, diversa ab habitu Ordinis, quem non in-
duant, nisi quando Novitiatum proprie dictum inchoaturae
sint.
Facta autem de his omnibus fideli relatione sanctissimo Do-
mino nostro Pio Papae X per infrascriptum sacrae Congrega-
tionis Secretarium die 5 augusti 191 2, Sanctitas Sua eadem
approbare et confirmare dignata est. Contrariis non obstanti-
bus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae, ex Secretaria sacrae Congregationis de Re-
ligiosis, die 15 augusti 191 2.
Fr. I. C. Card. Vives, Praefectus.
L. * S.
•^ DoNATUS^ Archiep. Ephesinus, Secretarius.
S. OONGEEGATIO S. OPFIOII.
I.
Decreto S. Congregationis diei 6 maii proxime elapsi lauda-
biliter se subiecit Aloisius Izsof.
Romae, die 8 iulii 191 2.
Thomas Esser^ O.P., Secretarius.
II.
Decretum quo prohibentur Liber et Inscriptio quaedam.
Feria IV, die 28 augusti 191 2.
In general! Consessu habito in aedibus sancti Officii emi-
nentissimi ac reverendissimi DD. Cardinales Inquisitores ge-
ANALECTA 587
nerales damnarunt ac proscripserunt, et in Indicem librorum
prohibitorum referri mandarunt opus cui titulus: Cenni bio-
grafici delta Serva di Dio Paolo Mandatori-Sacchetti per Val-
eriano Abb. Ferracci parroco m Vallecorsa, Roma, Tipografia
Sociale Polizzi e Valentini, 1905. Insuper vero reprobarunt
ac proscripserunt inscriptionem : Un portrait merveilleux, ap-
positam imagini Ss. Cordis lesu, editae a Petro Brion (26,
Rue Auguste Merillon, Bordeaux) ; eamque ita prohibuere ut
nulli liceat ipsam imaginem in posterum imprimere aut edere,
nisi ex ea penitus deleatur quaevis mentio assertae portentosae
originis.
Et insequenti feria V, die 29 eiusdem mensis et anni, sanc-
tissimus D. N. D. Pius divina Providentia Papa X, in audi-
entia R. P. D. Adsessori sancti Officii impertita decretum emi-
nentissimorum ac reverendissimorum Patrum adprobavit et
confirmavit.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus sancti Officii, die 7 septembris
1912.
L. * S.
Aloisius Castellano, S. R. et U. I. Notarius.
OUEIA EOMANA.
PONTIFICAL APPOINTMENTS.
2 September: The Very Rev. Pietro Pisani appointed Sec-
retary of the new department of the S. Congregation of Con-
sistory for the spiritual care of immigrants.
J September: The Rev. Bernard Richter, parish priest in
the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, nominated Domestic Pre-
late of His Holiness.
Stubies anb Conferences^
OUR ANALEOTA.
The Roman documents for the month are :
Pontifical Letter placing the spiritual interests of the
Ruthenian Catholics in Canada under the special care of a
Ruthenian Bishop, who is subject to the Apostolic Delegate
directly. The official residence of the Bishop is at Winnipeg.
Letter of the Holy Father to the Rev. Leopold Fonck,
S.J., regarding the diploma to be conferred upon graduates
of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome.
Letter of the Cardinal Secretary, in which the Holy
Father commends Canon Joseph Lahitton's book on priestly
vocations. (See pp. 513-22 of this number.)
S. Congregation of Religious publishes the following
regulations touching admission to religious communities of
solemn vows :
1. Other requirements being fulfilled, postulants may be
admitted to the " clausura papalis " in religious communities
of solemn vows, without special permission of the Holy See.
2. Before entering the novitiate they are invariably to un-
dergo a probation, for the time and in the manner prescribed
by the Constitutions of the Order.
3. Unless otherwise determined by the Constitutions, the
aforesaid probation is to last at least six months. In the
meantime postulants may live in the monastery and wear a
suitable habit, different however, from the habit of the Order;
they are not to receive that habit until they enter the novitiate.
Congregation of the Holy Office publishes Aloysius
Izsof's withdrawal of his work, previously placed on the Index
of Forbidden Books.
The same Congregation censures a book by Valerian Fer-
racci, published, under the title Cenni biografici della Serva
di Dio Paola Mandatori Sacchetti, by the Tipografia Sociale
Polizzi e Valentini, Rome; likewise a picture of the Sacred
Heart styled " Un portrait merveilleux '*, published by Peter
Brion, Bordeaux.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 589
A LEAGUE rOR PRIESTS.
Some French papers are publishing the following docu-
ments in which all priests doubtless will be interested.
A League for Priests
PRO PONTIFICE ET ECCLESIA.
I earnestly recommend the institution of this international work
the object of which is entire devotedness to the Holy See amongst
priests. I have examined the work in compliance with the desire
of the Holy Father and I consider it most providential in our times.
F. V. Card. Dubillard,
Arch, de Chambery.
OBJECT OF THE LEAGUE.
The object of the sacerdotal league " Pro Pontifice et Ec-
clesia " is completely expressed by the recommendation of
his Eminence Card. Dubillard. It aims at promoting amongst
the clergy and by them amongst the faithful a generous de-
votedness to the Holy Apostolic See in moving the minds to
be willing to undertake everything and to suffer everything
if needs be for its cause and the cause of Holy Church.
MOTIVE OF THE LEAGUE.
The principal motive of the sacerdotal League '' Pro Pon-
tifice et Ecclesia " may be expressed with marvelous force in
one energetic word which His Holiness Pius X recently ad-
dressed to the Right Reverend Archbishop of Como : *' De
Gentibus non est vir mecum." The Holy Father complains,
with mingled affection and sadness, of a certain abandonment
and isolation in which priests and faithful through human
respect or indifference too often leave him in regard to de-
fending the doctrines, interests, and rights of the Holy Roman
Church. Is it not, as it were, asking the courageous and gen-
erous ones, chiefly in the priesthood, to re-act by a holy league
against this abandonment and isolation ?
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP.
I. Every priest who desires to become a member of the
League *' Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia " obliges himself by vow
to give annually twenty francs ($5.00) for Peter's-pence.
Those who are able to give more without obliging themselves
590
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
by vow should be glad to give more generously in propor-
tion to their means.
2. The priest member of the League is to recite every day
the following liturgical prayer :
Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam.
V. Constituit eum Dominum domus suae.
R. Et Principem omnis possessionis suae.
Oremus. Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, etc.
3. He promises to celebrate every year at least one Mass for
the Pope. If he has charge of souls, he will invite the faith-
ful to attend this Mass and will take up a collection for Peter's-
pence.
4. In the confessional he will exhort the penitent to receive
daily Communion if possible or at least frequent Communion,
and to offer up at least one Communion every week for the
Holy Father.
5. He will himself or by a substitute preach at least once
every year on the Holy Father or on current pontifical docu-
ments— for example, on daily Communion, or professed Cath-
olic action in public life, " sub vexillo crucis," etc.
6. He explicitly obliges himself not to read, except for
grave reasons, such as the necessity of refutation requires, any
newspaper or magazine that is more or less tainted with
Catholic liberalism or modernism, also to discourage by all
possible means such reading amongst others.
7. He will use his best efforts to get readers for Catholic
and papal newspapers and magazines.
8. He will make every endeavor to diffuse the acts of the
Holy See which condemn modern errors, especially the Syl-
labus of Pius IX, the encyclicals against Liberalism, Mod-
ernism, and false Christian democracy.
9. He will earnestly strive on all suitable occasions for the
reestablishment of the union of States with the Church, for
religious teaching in schools, and also for the official recogni-
tion and for the advancement of all religious orders.
10. He will persistently oppose the conspiracy of silence on
the Roman question, and will make known, whenever occasion
offers, the intolerable condition of the Roman Pontiff, " sub
hostili potestate constitutus ".
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 50 1
11. He will further pledge himself to speak of the Holy
Father, of his official acts, and of his directions, as often as
opportunity presents itself, in meetings, congresses, and in the
assemblage of Catholic unions.
12. And lastly, in order to conform himself to the urgent
and reiterated declarations of the Holy See on the necessity
of sound training, scholastic philosophy and theology accord-
ing to the doctrine of St. Thomas, he will apply himself to
these studies as much as time allows, and he will defend
amongst his confreres and flock the directions of the Holy See
regarding this subject as well as all other instructions.
Read and approved at Chambery (France), this 20th day
of July, 1912.
F. ViRG. Cardinal Dubillard,
Archbishop of Chambery.
I hereby agree to become a member of the League '* Pro
Pontifice et Ecclesia ", and I promise with God's grace to fulfil
its obligations.
Christian name in full
Address
Date of obligation
THE VALUE OP METHOD IN TEACHING OHILDKEN TO HEAE
MASS AND KEOEIVE THE SAOEAMENTS.
The problem of the age is the child. The world knows
that the condition of the State and of society depends on its
children. The Church is wiser than the world. She knows
what the world ignores, that the happiness of both this life
and the future life depends upon the training of children.
Her doctrine on education shows her conviction, and her prac-
tice proves her consistency.
Now, our children need training not merely in doctrine:
they need it in what we may call practice. By practice is
meant here prayer, whether public or private, and the use of
the Sacraments.
It may be worth while to describe the methods employed in
one of our city parishes and to relate the efl'orts and results.
In this parish, like most others, there is a children's Mass
on Sunday at nine o'clock. All the children of the parish
^^2 ^^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
must attend this Mass. At first we found it hard to secure at-
tendance. Some parents chose to bring their children with
them to the other Masses. Some found the hour inconvenient.
At the beginning, in 1906, we had an average attendance of
about 100 out of the 600 children of school age resident in the
parish.
Those children behaved rather badly. They did not know
the service. They had no prayer-book, or, if they had, they
did not know how to use it.
We prepared a method of hearing Mass for the children.
The prayers were as near as possible a translation of the
prayers of the sacred liturgy. They were short and simple.
We tried to use monosyllables as far as possible. Those
prayers and a few hymns were printed on tough cardboard,
and placed in racks in the pews. We trained the children in
Sunday school to sing the hymns and read the prayers aloud.
Then we began our public rendering or following of the ser-
vice. When the priest appears in the sanctuary, the children
stand and recite this prayer aloud:
Prayer before Mass.
This church is the house of God. I have come here to worship
Him by offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass. I offer this holy
sacrifice, O Lord, to adore Thee,' to praise Thee, to thank Thee,
to atone for my sins and to obtain from Thee virtue, health, and
happiness for myself and for all my friends.
This prayer reminds them where they are, " in the house
of God." It brings to their minds the purpose of their pres-
ence : " I have come here to worship Him." It tells them
how they are to perform that act of worship, — " by offering
the holy sacrifice of the Mass." It directs their intention : '' I
offer this sacrifice to adore Thee, to praise Thee, to thank
Thee, to atone for my sins and to obtain from Thee virtue,
health, and happiness for myself and for all my friends."
By the time they have said this, the celebrant is ready to
begin Mass. With him they make the sign of the cross, say-
ing:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 593
I kneel before Thy altar, Lord. Thou seest my body and my
soul. Thou knowest all my thoughts. My sins make me unworthy
to appear before Thee. I confess my guilt and beg Thy pardon.
This prayer contains something of the thought there is in the
Psalm " Judica me Deus ". It tells the child that he is face
to face with God, who knows the most hidden things and be-
fore whom the best of us should tremble at the thought of our
guilt. It leads to the Confiteor, which is recited with the
priest.
A hymn follows and occupies the time until the Gospel,
when all stand, make the sign of the cross on forehead, lips,
and breast, and listen to the sacred words read in English
while the celebrant reads them in Latin.
In our church the announcements and the instruction fol-
low the Gospel. The instruction is for the children. We try
to be plain, simple, and interesting.
At the Credo, they stand and recite the Apostles' Creed.
At the Offertory, they say this prayer :
Thy priest offers bread and wine to Thee, Lord. Soon they shall
be changed into the body and blood of Thy Divine Son, who will
offer Himself here on this altar as He once offered Himself on
Mount Calvary.
At the offering of the bread they say :
Receive, Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, this spotless
host which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer to Thee. I offer it to
atone for my sins. I offer it, too, for all good Christians, present
and absent, living and dead. May it bring me and them to ever-
lasting life.
At the offering of the wine:
We offer this holy chalice to Thee, Lord. Accept it, we pray,
for our salvation and for the salvation of the whole world.
Come, Holy Ghost, and bless this sacrifice which we have pre-
pared for the honor and glory of God.
A hymn keeps us busy until the consecration, during which,
of course, there is silence. As soon as the elevation is over,
we say these prayers :
594
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Lord Jesus Christ, I believe Thou art now really and truly present
on this altar under the appearance of bread and wine. I adore
Thee, for Thou art the Son of God. I thank Thee, for Thou hasi
died to save my soul. Enable me always to love Thee and serve
Thee.
Receive, Holy Trinity, this sacrifice which we offer in memory
of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and in honor of our Blessed Mother, Mary, and of all the
saints. May it add to their glory and bring salvation to us, and
may they pray for us in all our necessities.
Look down. Heavenly Father, upon Thy Divine Son. He is now
present on this altar. Remember His wounds. His prayers. His
death. He offers Himself for us now as He once offered Himself
on the Cross. For His sake have mercy on us.
Remember, Lord, the souls of the faithful departed. Have mercy
on my deceased relatives and friends, and on all the souls in Purga-
tory, particularly on those who have no one to pray for them.
We are careful to proceed slowly. While we pray aloud,
we are reverent and we follow the celebrant.
We recite the Lord's Prayer when he says the Pater Noster,
the Agnus Dei, in the vernacular of course, with him, and we
have time for only one of the three prayers before the
" Domine non sum dignus," the prayer for peace. Three times
we protest, " Lord, I am not worthy,'* etc., and say the follow-
ing prayer before Holy Communion :
Dear Jesus, I desire to receive Thee. Thou art really and truly
present in the Blessed Sacrament. Come to me, I pray, and fill my
soul with Thy holy grace. Give me light to know my duty and
strength to do it. Enable me to love Thee and serve Thee all the
days of my life. Amen.
While the priest is distributing Holy Communion, we sing
an appropriate hymn.
During the ablutions and closing prayers we recite the acts
of faitti, hope, charity, and contrition.
We kneel for the blessing, and during the last Gospel we
stand and recite the closing prayer :
May this holy sacrifice which I have offered please Thee, Lord.
May it bring Thy blessing upon me, and upon all for whom I have
offered it, through the merits of Christ, our Lord. Amen.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 595
While the adults are passing out, we sing the final hymn
and then dismiss the children. All genuflect together, and
then pass out pew by pew, the public school children proceed-
ing to the class-rooms for Catechism, the rest going home.
They have religious instruction every day in school.
Now, as to the results. It was not long before the hundred
children we started with had grown to five hundred. Dis-
order was absolutely at an end. The children were kept oc-
cupied all the time. They knew what they were doing. They
got to love their own Mass. In fact, it became so attractive
to adults that we no longer have room for all those who wish
to be present.
For the past five years we have had practically all our chil-
dren at this Mass, and the church is left to the grown people
at all the other services.
It was not of course long before we observed the need of a
book for the children. First of all, we had several cards to
provide a variety of hymns. These cards are somewhat ex-
pensive. They are easily soiled and therefore not sanitary.
They are soon damaged, so as to be unfit for use. Then, if
men and women should always use a prayer book at Mass, we
must teach the habit to the children. For these reasons we
got out a little book containing the various prayers for morn-
ing, night. Mass, Confession, and Communion, with a collec-
tion of some 70 hymns. By ordering a quantity at a time, we
can sell these books for five cents each. We urged every child
to procure a book. If a child could not afford it, we gave him
one. Then on Sunday morning we stand in the aisle and mark
those who are not provided with a book. Of course, many
children forget their books, but the fact that their forgetful-
ness is recorded soon breaks up the habit.
Surely, every priest has seen that many grown people and
naturally many more children receive the Sacraments of Pen-
ance and of Holy Eucharist without due preparation or thanks-
giving. We can talk to the adults and perhaps secure some
improvement, but children need to be shown how.
We began in April of 1906 to have a Children's Com-
munion once a month. We explained our plan at all the
Masses. The children come to the church on Friday after-
noon at 3 130. There is an instruction, a careful examination
596
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of conscience, and an exhortation to contrition, — all conducted
by one of the priests. The children then go to confession, and
after it, go before the Blessed Sacrament for a short thanks-
giving and the recitation of at least a part of their penance.
In this they have the supervision of one of the nuns.
Next morning at eight they have their Mass, at which pews
are reserved for them. They hear Mass according to the
method given above, and go to Holy Communion in order and
with proper reverence. After Communion and Mass we re-
cite the prayers of thanksgiving, about ten minutes, and dis-
miss in an orderly manner. As the children leave the church,
we give each one a neat card :
Church of the Nativity
The bearer received
Holy Communion
Saturday, September 28, 1912.
This card is to be taken home for the satisfaction or edifi-
cation of parents. Next day that card with the child's name
written on the back is returned to the pastor, who stands at
the head of the aisle as the children pass out after their Mass.
With these cards we check our list, and by the aid of some
twenty young ladies of the Blessed Virgin's Sodality call at
the home of the absentees, inquiring why the child did not
receive Communion " last Saturday ".
Now for the results. The figures for 1906 are:
April 15 boys 20 girls
May 45 " 65 "
June 20 " 45 "
No figures kept in vacation.
Sept 55 boys 85 girls
Oct 85 " 130 "
Nov 95 " 125 "
Dec ^(i " 130 "
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 597
From Oct., 191 1 to Oct., 191 2, the figures are:
Oct 161 boys 263 girls
Nov 200 " 270 "
Dec 186 " 272 "
Jan 178 " 253 "
Feb 191 " 275 "
Mar 190 " 285 "
Apr 170 " 237 "
May 165 " 215 " :i
June. 225 " 295 "
No figures kept in vacation.
Sept 215 boys 287 girls
Oct 225 " 290 "
Of course the little children who are now receiving Holy
Communion have swollen these figures. But even allowing
for that feature it is apparent that system and " keeping ever-
lastingly at it " are needed not merely to prepare children for
Communion but to keep them regular in their attendance.
Fully 100 of our children still miss their monthly Com-
munion in spite of all our efforts. They attend the public
school. I know no argument more damning than this of the
system that seeks to educate children without religious train-
ing.
Finally, if we miss so many from Communion, what must it
be in parishes where the children go to Communion when they
please and as they please.
John L. Belford.
Rector J Church of the Nativity, Brooklyn, N. Y.
PERE LAGRANGE, O.P., AND THE SAOEED OONGEEGATION.
Considerable difference of opinion has been expressed dur-
ing the past month touching the censure passed by the S.
Congregation of Consistory upon some writings of the emi-
nent Dominican scholar, Pere Lagrange. His own letter ad-
dressed to the Holy Father must have cleared him of any
suspicion of disloyalty to the Holy See. But there remains
some doubt as to the character of the works which he has
written during the past decade on the subject of Biblical inter-
pretation. The association of his name with writers charged
598
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with rationalistic prepossessions appears to have caused a
misapprehension in the public mind, as if Pere Lagrange were
guilty of having advanced " rationalistic " theories opposed to
the declared decisions of the Pontifical Biblical Commission,
an attitude which would place the erudite Dominican in the
position of slighting or opposing the disciplinary decrees
which determine for the Catholic teacher the limits of what
is sound doctrine in the Church. The wording of the decree
rightly indicates the condemnation of " neotericas rationalismi
et hypercriticae theorias " and specifies '* sententiae auda-
cissimae . . . quae antiquissimae traditioni Ecclesiae, vene-
rabili SS. Patrum doctrinae et recentibus pontificiae Commis-
sionis Biblicae responsis adversantur, et authentiam atque his-
toricum valorem Sacrorum Librorum nedum in dubium revo-
cant, sed pene subvertunt." This is aimed against the re-
cently-published volume of the Schoningh Theolog. Lehr-
hucher by Professor Holzhey, whose views of inspiration as
well as of the historicity of some of the Old Testament books
are undoubtedly of a nature to trouble the Catholic mind.
And when in the same connexion the S. Congregation adds
that " alia habentur similis spiritus commentaria in Scrip-
turas Sanctas turn Veteris tum Novi Testamenti, ceu com-
menta plura P. Lagrange," it may easily seem that the author
thus designated is charged with rationalism and contumacy
against the decisions of the Biblical Commission as a disci-
plinary authority in the Church. But such has not been the
attitude of the Dominican scholar.
Pere Lagrange's dignified yet truly humble remonstrance
against any implication that the grounds for the judgment con-
demning the erroneous views expressed in his book are to be
found in rationalistic theories maintained in defiance of pro-
nouncements of the Biblical Commission, places him beyond
the suspicion of the determined liberalism attached to K.
Holzhey's bold utterances in his text-book. The position of
the humble son of St. Dominic is, we take it, that of a defender
of the integrity and authenticity of the inspired Text as set
forth by the unquestionable authority of the Church. If,
as a Catholic scholar, he is disposed to make any concessions
which do not harmonize with the accepted traditional teach-
ing of the Fathers, it is not that he yields to the rationalistic
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. egg
Spirit of the ultra critics, but rather because he aims at find-
ing in what he considers non-essential elements of Biblical
criticism a basis for refuting the objections and alleged con-
clusions of the rationalists. In this Pere Lagrange, Battifol,
and other scholars of avowed orthodoxy differ entirely from
men like Loisy, who declare their absolute independence of
the Church, and who make their private judgment supersede
any doctrinal declaration of the Holy See.
That such books, however, should not be put in the hands
of tyros who need to study the positive element of Scriptural
science before they can appreciate and use without danger the
critical investigations of expert exegetes, is plain enough.
We do not allow youths, however intelligent and studious
they may be, to handle drugs before they have mastered a full
course of positive physical science. In the matter of Biblical
criticism, too, it is to be remembered that the spirit of scepti-
cism and doubt which marks the attitude of minds of to-day,
renders a premature examination of the hypothetical phases
of historical criticism, when applied to the inspired writings,
particularly dangerous to the young and the partially edu-
cated. Hence the S. Congregation very properly proscribes
such works for our seminaries, not only as text-books, but
even when used for the purpose merely of consultation.
They can only serve to unsettle the immature judgment of the
students.
We append Father Lagrange's letter addressed to the Holy
Father. The translations which have been made of the same
hardly do justice to some of the discriminating expressions it
contains :
Tres Saint Pere,
Prosterne aux pieds de Votre Saintete je viens Lui protester de
ma douleur de ravoir contristee, et mon entiere obeissance. Men
premier mouvement a ete, et mon dernier mouvement sera tou jours
de me soumettre d'esprit et de coeur, sans reserve, aux ordres du
Vicaire de Jesus Christ. Mais precisement parceque je me sens le
coeur du fils le plus soumis, qu'il me soit permis de dire a un Pere,
le plus auguste des Peres, mais a un Pere, ma douleur des con-
siderants, qui paraissent attaches a la reprobation de plusieurs de
mes ouvrages d'ailleurs indetermines, et qui seraient entaches de
rationalisme. Que ces ouvrages contiennent des erreurs, je suis
6oO THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
pret a le connaitre, mais qu'ils aient ecrits dans un esprit de de-
sobeissance a la tradition ecclesiastique ou aux decisions de la Com-
mission Biblique pontificale, daignez, tres Saint Pere, m'autorizer a
Vous declarer, que rien n'etait plus loin de ma pensee. Je demeure
a genoux devant Votre Saintete pour implorer la benediction.
De Votre Saintete,
Le plus humble fils,
Fr, J. M. Lagrange,
des Peres Precheurs.
None of the works of Pere Lagrange has thus far beea
placed on the Index ; but their circulation, especially as hand-
books used in seminaries, has been wisely restricted. Further-
more, the note of warning is given that the tendency of such
writings is full of danger. The fact that in his admissions to-
the demands of so-called Higher Criticism, the author has
gone at times so far as to place him in conflict with the Patristic
traditions generally accepted in the Church, cannot be doubted ;
but in what measure this fact places his teaching outside the
pale of orthodoxy is still to be decided, and it is no proof of
Catholic loyalty to anticipate the judgment of the Sacred Con-
gregation by publishing the erroneous statement that " Father
Lagrange's works have been put on the Index ".
THE PASTOEAL EIGHTS OP A CONVENT OHAPLAIN.
Qu. In the September issue of the Review at page 362, I read
the excellent solution of the difficulty proposed by a certain honor-
able Reverend Pastor, as regards Private Exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament during the Hour of Adoration as prescribed for the
members of the Eucharistic League, to which evidently his " young
saint " belongs. In the praiseworthy reply your definite decision was
in favor of continuing this practice, providing there be a sufficient
reason and the consent of the local pastor have been previously
secured.
Now I will go further: I was at the moment of reading struck by
the idea as to whether a chaplain of any institution, such as a con-
vent or an academy, stationed there permanently and exercising
there his duties, is also invested with the power of a pastor, concern-
ing the practice of the Exposition. In a word, can he make use of
(and grant permission to others as he may desire) such a privilege in,
the chapel in which he exercises his duties?
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 60 1
Resp. The chaplain of a convent or similar institution is
not subject to the local parish priest, but receives his jurisdic-
tion directly from the Ordinary to whom he is accountable for
the performance of the ecclesiastical duties belonging to his
office. Hence he enjoys, independently of the local pastor, the
right of giving Private Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
In the exercise of this right he is limited however by the
canonical rule of the religious community to whose spiritual
necessities he ministers. This rule, usually explicitly ap-
proved by the Holy See, gives to the community a certain
autonomy, with which the chaplain or the confessor or even
the bishop may not interfere. Ordinarily the chaplain is
bound to conform in the exercise of his community services to
the conditions of time and place marked by the convent hor-
arium. There is a decision of the S. Congregation of Bishops
and Regulars to the effect that, " chaplains who meddle be-
yond the affairs of their office are to be removed "} Accord-
ingly a chaplain must use his right to give Private Benediction
conformably to the discretion of the local administrator or
superior of the community to whom it belongs to preserve the
order of the house.
The chaplain of a religious community is not at liberty to
delegate another priest to perform his duties, without the con-
sent of the Ordinary; though this consent may be presumed in
the case of a substitute who has the ordinary diocesan facul-
ties.
THE MALTESE POK "QUID MIHI ET TIBI EST, MULIER?"
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
Dr. Alfonso M. Galea, the translator of Father Zahm's
works into Italian, has written me from Malta : " A propos of
a correspondence in the June and July numbers of the Eccle-
siastical Review ... we Maltese would perhaps translate
the 'Quid mihi et tibi, mulier,' into: ' schem (quid est)
bijni u bijnec, mara,' — which is similar to man bain anta u
ana. This we could very well read thus: ' min (who) bijn
(between) inti (you) u (and) iiena (I). The / is pro-
nounced like the Italian /.' "
1$. C. E. R., 15 June, 1604. Cf. Taunton, Law of the Church.
602 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Maltese is most likely a Semitic language that has under-
gone transformation according to each change in the history
of the little island. The oldest elements of the language are
probably Phenician; a later Semitic influence was that of
Arabic. However, as the Romans, Arabs, Normans, and other
successive conquerors of Malta were never numerous in the
island and kept pretty much to the port, the inhabitants of
the interior have ever been such as Diodorus Siculus described
in the first century — a Phenician colony ; and the language of
the Maltese has been Phenician. Hence the Maltese equiva-
lent of a New Testament phrase is of much worth exegetically.
Have we here a Maltese equivalent of a New Testament
phrase? There is the rub. That the Maltese phrase is the
equivalent of the Arabic for " What is between thee and me?"
there is no doubt: schem is the modern Arabic shu, what, —
and this is cognate very likely to the Hebrew and Aramaic
she and the Assyrian sha; bijni is the Maltese for baini; hijnec
is bainak. Hence the Maltese schem bijni u bijnec is the
Arabic shu baini we bainak, " What is between me and thee? "
In like manner, the Maltese mtn bijn inti u jiena is the Arabic
7nan bain enta we ana, " Who is between thee and me? " But
have these two Maltese and Arabic idioms anything at all in
common with the Greek original of " Quid mihi et tibi est? "
That remains to be proved. The Maltese idioms are no new
light unto our darkness.
New light seems really to have been shed upon our exegeti-
cal problem by F. C. Burkitt, in the Journal of Theological
Studies, July, 191 2, page 594. He says that the phrase
Ti inoX Koi aoi is common enough in Greek and Aramaic and
gives us three things : " something " (n), the speaker (^fioi),
and the person spoken tav((ToO, and asserts that there is a gap
or a disagreement. But the phrase does not tell us between
whom the gap is. It may be between me and thee; it may be
between us and the thing. Here the gap is between us and
the thing. The phrase ri kfiol koX aoi means precisely the same as
Tt ijfuv^ that is, " What have I and thou to do with that?"
This interpretation fits in well with Corluy's, that the phrase
in both the Old and the New Testament, always means sur-
prise at some one's importunity, either praiseworthy or blame-
worthy. Here the Blessed Mother's request is an importunity.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
603
— " My hour is not yet come," — but a holy importunity. The
context shows that our Lord's words either were toned down
by voice and expression or in themselves implied no rebuke.
They were probably like to the modern Arabic phrase, ma
'alesh, — which literally means, " the thing is not unto me ",
" it is none of my business " ; and yet idiomatically means :
" Do not worry ", '' Beg pardon ".
Walter Drum, SJ.
Woodstock College, Maryland.
THOMAS A KEMPIS AND THE BROTHEES OF THE COMMON LIFE.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
In the interests of historical accuracy allow me to correct
some misstatements, arising from the confusing of two distinct
bodies, which occur in the otherwise instructive article of W.
H. Grattan Flood on Thomas a Kempis as a Hymn Writer in
the August number of the Review. The contributor states
that Thomas became a novice in a monastery of the Order of
the Brothers of the Common Life, in which his brother John
was Prior. As a matter of fact the Brothers of the Common
Life had no monasteries, no novices, no priors, and they were
not an Order or even a Congregation; they were not Religious
at all. The Brothers (and Sisters) of the Common Life, other-
wise the Devout Brothers and Sisters, were a confraternity of
clerics and layfolk, who under the spiritual direction of Gerard
Groote and Florentius Radewyn were emulous of the perfect
life of the primitive Christians ; at first they did not even live
in community, and they never took vows. For the more per-
manent guidance and protection of this pious association a
Congregation of Canons Regular was founded, the members
of which at first were chiefly recruited from among the De-
vout Brethren. This was the Institute founded mainly
through the instrumentality of Florentius Radewyn at Winde-
sheim in 1386. John a Kempis was one of its first professed
members, and Thomas its most shining light. The early years
of both John and Thomas were passed with Radewyn and the
Brothers at Deventer. It was this Institute also which " ab-
sorbed over seventy houses of Augustinian Canons ", and not
the association of the Devout Brethren, who, as such, had no
604 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
more chance of " absorbing " houses of the Canonical Order
than, say, the Sodality of Mary is likely to " absorb " the
Society of Jesus to-day! All this will be found treated at
large in Criuse & Kettlewell, cited by your contributor, and
other works, not a few, which treat of a Kempis, the
Brothers of the Common Life and the Canons Regular of
Windesheim.
Vincent Scully, C.R.L.
St. Ives, Cornwall, England.
MITIGATION OF THE EUOHAEISTIO FAST.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
Quite a number of letters favorable to a mitigation of the
Eucharistic fast have been received by me in answer to the request
for an expression of sentiment from priests. They come from many
States, from California to Florida, from Texas to New York.
Among the writers are regulars, representing eight religious orders,
and secular priests of all ranks and belonging to twelve dioceses.
One correspondent writes: " Whatever I can do for the furtherance
of this most timely movement will be cheerfully done." Another:
" I hope that you will succeed in obtaining a modification for the
spiritual benefit of thousands of souls and the temporal health of
the poor missionary pastors." Another pledges his name " in sup-
port of this great movement." Another says : " I gladly pledge
my support to the movement. I shall try to interest all I can in
the matter."
• There are other letters to the same effect as the above. Some
priests add explanations or make practical suggestions. The fol-
lowing extracts from their letters will be read with interest.
" I have had under my charge for nearly twenty years a parish
and from six to ten missions. Nearly all the people have to come
from three to ten miles to church in all these places. Their teams
are slow work-horses and the roads generally rough. When they
receive Communion they have to fast till from one to three o'clock
P. M. unless they bring a cold lunch and eat it on the wagons outside.
A dispensation from the fast would, in my opinion, greatly increase
the number of Communions and thereby strengthen faith and virtue
in these outposts. Nor do I think it would lessen reverence for the
Blessed Sacrament, because they firmly believe in the Real Presence
and also in the power of the Keys. They know the Church can
make and unmake disciplinary laws, and those who do not fully
understand this can easily be taught."
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
605
" I attend to nine missions and as a rule circumstances over which
I have no control do not permit me to begin Mass earlier than nine
or ten o'clock. Furthermore many of my parishioners must drive
from ten to seventeen miles. Consequently it is extremely difficult
for them to receive Holy Communion and I know that some of
them would communicate oftener if the fast were mitigated.
Though myself I' am young and robust, nevertheless it is not a
pleasant task to board a train at 2.15 A. M. and ride as far as
seventy-two miles and then only take breakfast at 11 or 12.30."
" I showed one of the articles on the mitigation of the Eucharistic
fast to a priest who was simply horrified. But when I made him
understand that 'breakfast' was far less opposed to the reception
of the Holy Eucharist than any amount of deliberate venial sin, he
opened great eyes and seemed to wake up from a dream."
" My sentiment in favor of this mitigation is of a number of
years' standing, as I became interested in this view not from read-
ing but from experience in mission work . . . My experience in
this line is so urgent that I would consider it a sin to neglect doing
my part to help the cause along . . . The longer I see this pitiful
state of affairs, the more it hurts me to think that there has been
so far no hope of relief in sight ... I have talked the matter over
with a number of friends, but got little or no satisfaction, several
of them not having had any of my sort of experience on the missions."
" I have spoken to my neighbor priests, and they suggest that if
a petition were sent through the diocese, it would be signed by all
. . . People here have to drive sixteen or more miles to church. . . .
If Mass could be said as late as one P. M., the places could be
more often attended, to the great advantage of the people."
" Many people, especially sick people and workingmen, are prac-
tically barred from daily Communion .... Daily Communion
works miracles."
" I suggest that the Holy See be petitioned to the effect: First,
that priests for their celebration and others for their Holy Com-
munion may have the choice of a fast from midnight or of five
hours, no matter how substantial the previous meal may have been ;
second, that all confessors be empowered to let their penitents go
to Holy Communion after having taken not more than two deciliters
of any kind of non-alcoholic liquor."
" I willingly subscribe to any petition to the Archbishops of the
country or to the Holy See for a modification of the law of fasting
with a view to promote frequent and daily Communion. A good
number of my poor mountaineers can receive only every two weeks,
because they must take turns to come to the High Mass at ten
o'clock. I w^ould never approve of the use of intoxicants before
6o6 '^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Communion ... If one of the Archbishops would take up our
petition and urge a request to the Holy See at the next meeting
of the Archbishops, great good might be done."
A very interesting letter came from a doctor in theology. It is
to be hoped that he will communicate the benefit of his experi-
ences in an article written for publication. Another priest offers
to help the movement along not only by financial support, but also
by the work of the commercial department of his school, in sending
circulars and the like.
The Right Rev. Albert Pascal, Bishop of Prince Albert, Canada,
writes : " Les raisons que vous donnez au sujet du jeune eucharis-
tique sont bien convaincantes. Je m'y associe pleinement. II ap-
partient au S. Siege de voir si les raisons apportees en faveur de la
mitigation du jeune eucharistique sont suffisantes pour nous accorder
cette faveur." ^
A. Van Sever.
Route 2, Grand Rapids, Wisconsin.
IS OLD AGE SUPFIOIENT KEASON POR BREAKING THE EUOHA-
EISTIO PAST?
Qu. Three years ago I received into the Church a man 7 1 years
old. This person came to me of his own free will to seek entrance
into the true Church ; that is the way he stated his case.
His sincerity is proved to this day by his very devout manner
of life.
But now he earnestly asks to be allowed to receive Holy Com-
munion daily. Of course I gladly gave the permission.
Yesterday he came to the sacristy and told me he suffered great
thirst during the night, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth,
so that he had to get up after midnight to take a drink of water.
He knows, he told me, the law of the Church in regard to fasting.
But his grief is that in view of this law he will be unable to receive
Holy Communion frequently. It has made him very downhearted,
for the reception of Holy Communion is his one great consolation
in his old age. He came to me for advice to find out if it was per-
mitted to him to take only a few drops of water to loosen hib
tongue. I advised him that he should try to wet his tongue with-
out swallowing the water, and not to receive on those days when
he felt especially thirsty. He is a strict temperance man.
1 The reasons which you give concerning the Eucharistic fast are quite
convincing. I approve of them fully. It belongs to the Holy See to decide
whether the reasons brought forth in favor of the mitigation of the Eucharistic
fast be sufficient to grant us this favor.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
607
May I ask you for enlightment on this point of fasting in the
case of a man of such advanced years? e. f. s.
Resp. Under the existing legislation the aged convert will
have to abstain from Holy Communion whenever he finds it
necessary to break his fast. There is a concession that allows
habitual invalids who are unable to fast, although they may
not be confined to bed, the reception of Holy Communion
twice a month, even after they have taken some light food.
Likewise, the administration of Extreme Unction in some
dangerous spell of sickness may be made the occasion for ad-
ministering Holy Communion without fasting to those with
whom old age is a continuous sickness and implies danger of
death.
THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY OOUUOIL AND THE
OANADIAK BILL AGAINST THE "NE TEMERE."
In The Ecclesiastical Review for April, 191 2 (pp.
422 ff.) we discussed the course of Mr. Lancaster's proposed
bill in the Dominion Parliament. This Bill to amend the
Marriage Act provided as follows : '' Every ceremony or form
of ceremony heretofore or hereafter performed by any per-
son authorized to perform any ceremony of marriage by the
laws of the place where it is performed, and duly performed
according to such laws, shall everywhere within Canada be
deemed to be a valid marriage, notwithstanding any differ-
ences in the religious faith of the persons so married and with-
out regard to the religion of the person performing the cere-
mony.
" (2) The rights and duties, as married people, of the re-
spective persons married as aforesaid, and of the children of
such marriage, shall be absolute and complete, and no law or
canonical decree or custom of or in any province of Canada
shall have any force or effect to invalidate or qualify any such
marriage or any of the rights of the said persons or their chil-
dren in any manner whatsoever."
In answering questions submitted to it by the Dominion
Government of Canada, the Canadian Supreme Court had
held it to be beyond the power of the Dominion Parliament
to enact the proposed legislation. The Government there-
6o8 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
upon was given special leave to appeal to the Judicial Com-
mittee of the Privy Council, and Viscount Haldane, the
newly-appointed Lord Chancellor, together with the Earl of
Halsbury, Lord Macnaghten, Lord Atkinson, Lord Shaw, and
Chief Baron Palles, heard the argument/
It was agreed between counsel during the course of the oral
argument that this Bill was intended to enable any person
who was licensed to perform the ceremony to perform it
validly, no matter what might be the religious faith of those
married by him.
The argument in favor of the validity of the proposed Act
was that the Dominion Parliament had the sole power of deal-
ing with what should form the essential thing to a contract
of marriage. The word " marriage " could not be taken as
necessarily including any ceremonial as part of its validity.
Lord Shaw argued that there must be something attaching
to the ceremony of marriage which must be performed by
solemn words. He said, however, that a public ceremony was
not necessary. But Lord Halsbury maintained that it was im-
portant for society that there should be some public record
of what had taken place, namely, the agreement between the
parties.
It was urged, in favor of upholding the decision of the Su-
preme Court of the Dominion, that all that the Federal Gov-
ernment was competent to legislate for was marriage minus
solemnization. This Bill purported to say that an officer
who was given by Quebec law a limited authority to perform
the marriage ceremony should have a universal authority to
do so.
The Judicial Committee finally held (29 July last) that
the Bill was ultra vires of the Canadian Parliament. In one
of the first opinions delivered by the Lord Chancellor since he
ascended the wool-sack he said : ^ '* The decision of these ques-
tions turns on the construction to be placed on sections 91 and
92 of the British North America Act, 1867. Sec. 91 enacts
that the Parliament of the Dominion may make laws for the
1 The decision is reported under " In the Matter of a Reference by H. R. H.
the Governor-General of Canada in Council to the Supreme Court of Canada
of Certain Questions Concerning Marriage," 28, The Times Law Reports 580
(No. 35, 9 August, 1912),
2 P. 582, above.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
609
peace, order and government of Canada in relation to all
matters not coming within the classes of subjects by the Act
assigned exclusively to the legislatures of the Provinces, and,
for greater certainty^ but not so as to restrict the generality
of the foregoing terms of the section, it declares that, notwith-
standing anything in the act, the exclusive legislative au-
thority of the Parliament of the Dominion extends to all
matters coming within the classes of the subjects enumerated.
One of these is marriage and divorce. The section concludes
with a declaration that any matter coming within any of the
enumerated classes shall not be deemed to come within the
class of matters of a local or private nature comprised in the
enumeration of the classes of subjects by the Act assigned ex-
clusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces.
"Section 92 enacts that in each Province the Legislature may
exclusively make laws in relation to matters coming within the
classes of subjects enumerated in this section. Among these
is the solemnization of marriage in the Province. . . .
" Their Lordships consider that the provision in section 92
conferring on the Provincial Legislature the exclusive powei
to make laws relating to the solemnization of marriage in the
Province, operates by way of exception to the powers con-
ferred as regards marriage by section 91, and enables the
Provincial Legislature to enact conditions as to solemnization
which may affect the validity of the contract. There have
doubtless been periods, as there have been and are countries,
where the validity of the marriage depends on the bare con-
tract of the parties without reference to any solemnity. But
there are at least as many instances where the contrary doc-
trine has prevailed. The common law of England and the law
of Quebec before confederation are conspicuous examples
which would naturally have been in the minds of those who
inserted the words about solemnization into the statute. Prima
facie these words appear to their Lordships to import that the
whole system of what solemnity ordinarily meant in the
systems of law of the Provinces of Canada at the time of
Confederation is intended to come within them, including
conditions which affect validity."
The decision had been foreshadowed in the debates in Par-
liament. The temper of the advocates of the Bill may be
6lo THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
judged from the peroration of counsel. He said, in closing
for the appellants, that the question was a vital one, which
many persons were keenly watching, anxious to know whether
the design of the Federation of one great growing nation
should be set aside and a question affecting the whole basis
of society should be governed by merely local, isolated, and
factional differences. It is to be noted that this advocate
comes from Protestant Ontario, which was trying to force its
local view on Catholic Quebec, and that Ontario, unaffected
though it is by Quebec's local laws, wants to say that Quebec
shall not pass such local laws respecting the solemnization of
marriage, for instance, as are not pleasing to Protestant Con-
servatives. It is expected that this authoritative pronounce-
ment of the highest court of the British Empire, appealed to
especially by the Conservatives, will prevent the introduction,
at least in the Dominion Parliament, of the vicious bills con-
cerning all the phases of the marriage question now so com-
mon in many legislatures.
Immediately after the official pronouncement of the above,
decision some extremists talked of amending the British
North America Act. But no general power is expressly con-
ferred upon the Dominion Parliament to alter the Federal
Constitution.^ j^j^^s M. Dohan.
PROFESSIONAL SEOEEOT IN HOSPITALS.
Qu. Allow me to submit the following difficulties, which are
actual.
1. The superintendent (Religious) of a Catholic hospital knows
officially or professionally that a youth who had been in the hospital
is gravely afflicted with a contagious disease. He is engaged to a
young woman whom the superintendent befriends. May the latter
warn the young girl of the danger, knowing that the young man
is not likely to reveal his infirmity, because he is very eager to marry
the girl.
2. The same superintendent is repeatedly requested by the chief
physician of the hospital to prevent the local chaplain from visits
to certain of his patients, intimating an accusation which is plainly
detrimental to the priest's reputation. The superintendent has no
authority over the chaplain. Is she obliged to inform the bishop
of the situation?
8 Sec Clement's Canadian Constitution, Second Edition (1904), p. 250.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 6ll
Resp. I. It would be an act of charity to warn the young
girl of her danger, since the youth is disposed to inflict an in-
jury upon her against which she has a just right to be pro-
tected by those who are interested in her welfare.
But in order to justify such an act of friendship or charity
it is required that —
(a) there be no doubt about the fact of the youth being
presently afflicted with the supposed disease;
(b) the assumed marriage to be a definitely known contin-
gency ;
(c) there be no other way of preventing the prospective
marriage under existing conditions.
A mere professional rumor about a former patient's condi-
tion of health, or a mere conjecture about a probable marriage
(with such "engagements" as are customary in America),
would not justify a warning that would injure the otherwise
legitimate prospects of the youth, all the more since the evil
that afflicts him may not be attributable to his own fault. The
same charity that is invoked in favor of the young girl, is
due also to the youth, unless he himself interposes an ob-
stacle to its exercise. In like manner the reason for manifest-
ing the defect would cease if there be at command other legiti-
mate means of preventing the proposed marriage.
2. As for the second case, the superior of the hospital may
justly avail herself of the counsel of her ecclesiastical superior,
the bishop, or any other prudent priest to direct her action in
such a matter. Hence she violates no confidence if she speaks
to the bishop. But she is not obliged to assume the odium of
either correcting the action of the chaplain or of letting him
know that she communicated the matter to the bishop. If
the doctor has charges to make against the chaplain, it is his
place to make them to the latter's superior, who is the Ordinary
who appointed him to the position. The priest might justly
resent any attempt to discipline him if it came from one
under his own charge, though in a different sphere of action,
unless it were a case of plain interference on his part with
the established order of the hospital over which the superin-
tendent has immediate charge. Any other action which con-
cerns the private conduct of the chaplain is no more her re-
sponsibility than would be the private conduct of the doctor
himself, if it does not openly reflect on his practice.
6l2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
PBIVATE BENEDICTION OF THE BLESSED SAOEAMENT.
Qu. In the last issue of the Review you mention " Private
Benediction " of the Blessed Sacrament. This, I understand, was
recommended by the late Pope for the month of October. Though
the Review may have given the method of this religious exercise,
I cannot find it mentioned anywhere. Would you for the good of
others as ignorant as myself give the process to be observed in
such cases?
Resp. Private Benediction with the ciborium or pyx is
given as follows :
1. Six candles are lighted on the altar.
2. The priest, vested in surplice and stole (white), and ac-
companied by two servers bearing candles, goes to the altar,
prays a short while kneeling on the lowest step ; then ascends
to the predella and opening the tabernacle door draws the
ciborium covered with its veil to the front, without taking it
out of the tabernacle.
3. Having genuflected on one knee, he descends to the low-
est step; (where he is free to incense the Blessed Sacrament,
although this is not necessary). He then recites such prayers
as may be deemed appropriate, and ends with the Tantum
ergo (which may be either recited or chanted), followed by
the V. " Panem de coelo " and the prayer " Deus qui nobis,"
etc.
4. He then ascends to the top step, genuflects on one knee,
and closes the tabernacle.
It will be observed from the foregoing form that the priest
does not take the ciborium from the tabernacle to give Bene-
diction.
In the Encyclical on the Rosary in which Leo XIII recom-
mends the October devotions with Private Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament, in churches which cannot have the more
solemn Exposition with chant, etc., as prescribed by the ordi-
nary rubrics, the special faculty of giving Benediction with
the ciborium is included. In this case the priest, after reciting
the prayer " Deus qui nobis ", receives the humeral veil, goes
up to the tabernacle, genuflects, takes out the ciborium and,
having covered it with the extremities of the veil, turns to
bless the people with the usual form of the cross. He then
replaces the ciborium. in the tabernacle.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
613
This latter Benediction is not always a part of the Private
Benediction and, outside the month of October, it supposes
a custom or the special approval of the Ordinary.
Incense may likewise be used before giving the actual bless-
ing with the pyx.
BULWER'S "PEUR JOSEPH" IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY.
Qu. I have read " Father Joseph " by O'Connor and was glad
to see the Bulwer Lytton caricature of Cardinal Richelieu's intimate
friend and adviser set in its proper light. But as Mr. O'Connor
does not cite any documents for his version of the life of Joseph
Francis le Clerc du Tremblay, a literary critic of my acquaintance
refuses to accept it as true. What can I say in refutation?
Resp. If Mr. O'Connor does not give the documents on
which his biography of Monsignor Fran9ois le Clerc du Trem-
blay rests, it is because that personage is as well known a fig-
ure in the contemporary history of Richelieu as is that of
Louis XIII or the Queen Mother, who are interwoven in the
drama of the Cardinal's career. The general outline of that
life, as our author gives it, requires no documentary evidence.
Any good biographical dictionary, such as the Biographie
Universelle (Vol. XXI), will vouch for the facts. There was
indeed some controversy about the quality of influence which
the Cardinal's confidant, commonly known as Pere Joseph,
exercised in shaping the political issues of France; and Lord
Lytton, we have no doubt, got from this the suggestion which
made him caricature Monsignor du Tremblay in order that he
might bring the character into harmony with his dramatic
purpose, which happened to meet also the anti-Catholic pre-
judice of the time. But Lytton must have known that he was
falsifying history, though improving the dramatic effect of
his play.
Hyppolite de la Porte mentions the controversy in referring
to the Histoire de la vie du Rev. Pere Joseph le Clerc du
Tremblay, Capucin, instituteur des filles du Calvaire (by
I'abbe Richard). That life was published in two volumes in
1702. St. Jean de Maurienne and other critics attacked the
accuracy of the Abbe Richard in regard to certain statements,
which appeared to be rather the exaggerations of a panegyrist
than the sober conclusions of an historian. But these differ-
6i4
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ences do not affect the chief facts as they stand in Mr. O'Con-
nor's narrative, the object of which is to inform the popular
mind that takes its knowledge of history from certain stand-
ard novels and dramas, and to warn the reader of Richelieu
that Lytton's " Father Joseph " is not the Pere Joseph of fact,
as associated with the great Cardinal.
For the rest, Mr. O'Connor does give, in footnotes through-
out his volume, such references to the biographical sources of
Pere Joseph as should enable any unprejudiced critic to verify
the facts and to prove that Richelieu's associate as pictured by
Lytton is the very opposite of the true Pere Joseph of history.
THE BEIDE AND GEOOM KNEELING IN THE SANOTUAEY.
Qu. Will you kindly let me know through the Ecclesiastical
Review whether there is any authority for the bride and groom
kneeling within the sanctuary at the Nuptial Mass?
Resp. The question has been discussed frequently in these
pages. We repeat: Custom, sanctioned by the practice of
Rome and Catholic countries generally, has extended to the
entire ceremony of the Mass the rubric that after the Pater
noster of the Nuptial Mass the marriage parties are to stand
or kneel " ante altare " ; for, although the phrase " versus
sponsum et sponsam ante altare genuflexos " may be inter-
preted to mean that the couple to be married stand " at the
communion-rail outside the sanctuary ", it may also mean " at
the foot of the altar within the sanctuary ". Indeed the latter
would under the circumstances seem to be the more ordinary
interpretation, since the priest is not supposed to leave the
altar when he gives the wedding ring to the bride, etc. But
if the bridegroom and bride may enter the sanctuary to re-
ceive the ring and blessing, there appears to be no reason why
they should not remain there during the Mass. Since the
" witnesses " are directed to stand " near " the bride and
groom during the ceremony, the presence of the former in
the sanctuary may likewise be deemed permissible. It would
seem to be part of the wisdom of the Church that she allows
pastors a certain amount of freedom in this matter of inter-
preting the rubric; for there are occasions when he may deem
it advisable to vary the degree of solemnity in imparting the
blessing of the Church. Thus, pastors who would ordinarily
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
6lS
have the marriages in their fold celebrated with a Nuptial
Mass, giving the newly-married Holy Communion and the
marriage blessing within the sanctuary, may nevertheless be
called on for some legitimate reason to celebrate the marriage
without Mass or in the evening, and in that case to perform
the ceremony at the communion-rail. Such a distinction need
have nothing odious about it; for just as we admit some
friends to the inner family circle, which we deny to others,
so also may a closer approach to the altar of God be allowed
to those who deal more reverently with the graces received in
His sanctuary.
THE OLD INDULT OP EEQUIEM MASSES AND THE NEW EUBEIOS.
Qu. At our last Clerical Conference the following question came
under discussion : By a special indult we have had the privilege since
1880 of celebrating each week two Requiem Masses on Doubles
which are not of a first or second class nor fall during privileged
Octaves. Does the Divino afflatu affect this indult; and if so,
how far?
Resp. It would seem from the new Rubrics on the cele-
bration of Mass that, while the reform is not final, it is in-
tended to do away with the existing privileges, in so far at
least as these are contrary to the new provisions. Of these
provisions the Constitution Divino afflatu says : " Jam in
praesenti instauranda censuimus . . . ut in sacra liturgia
Missae antiquissimae de . . . Feriis, praesertim quadrage-
simalibus locum suum recuperarent " (n. 6).
This aim to restore the celebration of ferial Masses causes
of course the elimination of votive and private requiem
Masses. An exception is made with regard to private Masses
for the dead during Lent, when it is permissible to say such
Mass on the first free day of each week (according to the
calendar of the church in which the Mass is said).
There are moreover several decrees of the S. Congregation
of Rites, issued since the publication of the Constitution Di-
vino afflatu and intended to interpret it, which indicate that
private Masses for the dead, hitherto allowed by special indult
to different dioceses or churches, would cease with the intro-
duction of the new rubrics in 191 3. Thus a declaration of 22
March, 191 2, states : " Particular offices that have been granted
(5 1 6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
by indult of the Holy See to certain dioceses, orders or re-
ligious congregations . . . are declared by the new rubrics
to be suppressed." And under decree of 19 April, 191 2, it
is stated : " The provision of the new Rubrics with regard to
requiem Masses is general and . . . includes not only private
Masses, but those," etc.
According to the above, existing privileges that are in the
way of the general purpose of the reform are to be considered
as abrogated. The privilege of celebrating a low Mass in-
stead of a Missa cantata when, for lack of chanters, etc., it is
impossible to celebrate solemnly, would not seem to be touched
by the new regulations, inasmuch as the purpose of the latter
is in no wise interfered with thereby.
IMAGES OP THE SAORED HEART ON THE ALTAR.
Qu. Is there any decree forbidding the placing on the altar of
images of the Sacred Heart, or of the two Hearts of Jesus and
Mary — I mean the hearts separate from the figures — to serve as a
suitable background for the baldachin or throne on which the
Blessed Sacrament is usually exposed? I am told there is. If so,
would it be forbidden to have such emblems painted in the panels
of the sanctuary, back of the altar?
Resp. The use of pictures or carvings of the Sacred Heart
is contrary to liturgical regulation if the emblem is placed on
the altar as if it were meant to represent the figure of Christ.
As a symbol it is out of place on the altar, in the centre be-
hind the throne, or directly over the tabernacle. The pro-
hibition (31 March, 1887, n. 3673) is manifestly designed
to preclude misapprehension, as though any mere symbol
could claim the prominent attention of the worshipper where
the reality of the Blessed Sacrament is to be the centre of all
devotion. The crucifix indeed is not only permitted, but is
prescribed to be there; for it marks the spot as the sacrificial
altar and as such has a distinct and supplementary purpose,
although even the crucifix is removed whenever the Real Pres-
ence is actually exposed for the veneration of the faithful.
Other pictures or statues, directly behind the altar, of figures
of saints or representations of the mysteries of religion are
understood likewise to be supplementary, as indicating the
titular or patron of the altar or church.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 617
But the prohibition to place on the altar designs of the
Sacred Heart as a symbol of the Divine Love extends only to
the altar proper, and not to the decorations on the wall, nor to
the ornamental antependium, nor the secondar}^ furnishings
of the sanctuary, because here there can be no misapprehension
about the decorative purpose of the emblem.
THE ASSISTANT PRIEST AT A PIEST MASS.
Qu. It is customary to have an assistant priest vested in cope on
occasion of the newly-ordained priest's first Mass, when the Mass
is celebrated solemnly. I presume this is in harmony with the
rubrics, or at least not contrary to them. But is it proper to have
such an assistant priest when the Mass is only a low Mass?
Resp. The practice of having an assistant priest to attend
the celebrant of a first Mass has the explicit sanction of the
Sacred Congregation of Rites, for both solemn and private
Masses. The only distinction is that at solemn Mass the as-
sistant wears stole and cope, whereas at private Mass he
wears only the stole over the surplice. (Cf. Deer. S. R. C,
I Dec, 1882, n. 3564; and 11 June, 1888, n. 3515.)
LA PRISE DU BON DIEU.
UEucharistie, a monthly of a half -hundred pages (pub-
lished at Paris, 5 Rue Bayard, 4 fr. 50, for the United States),
is an admirably conducted periodical which discusses the doc-
trinal, liturgical, historical, biographical, and practical phases
of the worship of the Blessed Sacrament. There is a depart-
ment of " Chronicles " and another of " Customs ". From a
late issue (16 July, 1912, p. 230) we take the following item:
Among the old customs which we should like to see pre-
served is one which greatly puzzles visitors to the parish
church of Lucs-sur-Boulogne (Vendee), at the high Mass on
Sundays. They are not a little surprised when, after the
Gospel, they see approach the portly figure of the beadle ("un
grave marguillier ") who in his right-hand holds a plate
("sebille") and with his left holds wide open a gigantic
and well-filled snuff-box. Every one of the faithful who gives
a sou has the right to take a pinch of snuff.
The writer says that he has not been able to trace the
origin of the custom of " cette prise du bon Dieu ", but avers
" qu'il existe depuis un temps immemorial dans la paroisse des
Lues, ainsi que dans presque toutes les paroisses du voisinage."
Critfcfsms anb flotes^
OOLLEOTANEA BIBLIOA LATINA Oura et Studio Monacliorum S.
Benedicti. Vol. I. Liber Psalmorum juxta Antiquissimam Latinam
Versionem nunc primum ex Oasinensi Kod. 557, curante D. Ambrosio
M. Amelli, O.S.B., Abbate S. M. Plorentinae, in lucem profertur.
Eomae, Eatisbonae, Neo-Eboraci, Oincinnati: Pridericus Pustet Biblio-
pola. 1912. Pp. xxxiv— 175.
In their labors to restore the original reading of the Latin Vulgate,
as it was given to the Church by St. Jerome, the Benedictine Fathers
intrusted with the revision have had to examine numerous codices
and MS. ' recensions containing the changes gradually made during
fourteen centuries by the copyists of the earlier texts. The result
of this examination led in the first instance to the setting apart of a
number of critical versions and commentaries to aid them in making
the proper selection of the text containing the best reading. What
Paul de Lagarde attempted to do in order to secure a critical edition
of the Septuagint, is now being done with much better success, owing
to modem facilities of investigation, by the monks of St. Benedict
under the leadership of PP. Gasquet, Amelli, Manser, Quentin,
de Bru5me, Comey, Cottineau, Belasis, and other scholars of the same
Order. The publication of these " adjuncts ", which furnish a
standing testimony to the care and intelligence with which the re-
search in the restoration of the Hieronymian text is being pursued,
constitutes the chief purpose of the Collectanea Bihlica. Abbot
Amelli's edition of the Book of Psalms in a reading contained in
the so-called Codex Casinensis, is the first instalment of this col-
lection to come from the press. In immediate preparation there
are also a subsidiary edition of the Psalter, and the Gospel Codex
of Sarezzano, to be edited also by Amelli ; a glossary of the Vercelli
Gospels, by the Abbot Gasquet ; the Vatican edition of the Codices
Claramontanus and Palatinus, by De Bruyne; and the Psalteriurn
Sanger manense^ by Quentin; besides these there are in preparation
a number of MS. " Fragmenta " of interest to Bible students.
The above-mentioned Codex Casinensis is a MS. of 650 pages
bound together in 42 fasciculi (quaterniones). The greater part of
it is written in double column in Longobard and Gothic script,
with ornamental initials. The first 573 pages contain the proto-
canonical books of the Old Testament and the New Testament, to-
gether with a Latin version of the Book of Esther according to the
Septuagint. The Codex contains also four separate versions of the
Psalter. The remaining 74 pages are devoted to a transcription of
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
619
St. Jerome's De Interpretatione Nominum Hebraicorum, and of the
Prologus et Liber Hebraicarum Quaestionum tarn in V. quam in
N. Testamento; likewise the Liber Locorum in Latin after the Greek
copy of Eusebius. Thereupon follows an anonymous treatise De
decern Temptationibus, together with several tracts already known to
scholars through the Bibliotheca Casinensis.
The Codex dates back to the twelfth century, and comes from
the hands of two amanuenses. One of these was a certain monk
named Ferro, as is proved by a comparison with other MSS. from the
same hand preserved at Monte Casino, and dedicated to Abbot
Theodinus, who presided over the monastery in 1166.
Of the four copies of the Psalter contained in the Codex the first
is St. Jerome's translation from the Hebrew, made by him after he
had prepared two separate revisions of the old Latin version of his
day. These two revisions, known as the Gallic and the Roman
Psalters respectively, occupy the second and fourth places in the
Monte Casino Codex.
The third place is occupied by a version hitherto quite un-
known. Dom Amelli attributes the same conjecturally to Rufinus
of Aquileja, the contemporary of St. Jerome. The reasons which
he brings forward to support his conjecture are creditable to his
critical judgment and merit the impartial consideration of all
scholars. Indeed his conclusions are much more logical and scien-
tific than most of the hypothetical assumptions which the Higher
Criticism as a rule is accustomed to assign to its sources. That
the MS. antedates the sixth century is apparent not only from the
vocabulary and literary style of the version, which indicate the use
of an early African translation, but likewise from the corrections,
which show that the reviser made his emendation after the Hebrew
and the Hexaplar; and these have no parallel in any other known
version to which they might be referred. The translator's aim was
apparently much more conservative than that of either St. Jerome
or those who followed him. The reviser's efforts to preserve the
African text in its primitive form, so far as agreement with the
pre-Masoretic text and with Origen's Hexaplar permitted it, are
quite marked. This fact separates the present version from all other
known Latin translations.
In assigning the probable authorship of the translation to Rufinus,
Dom Amelli is not unmindful of the objections that may be drawn
from the assertions of Isidore, Bede, and Rhabanus Maurus, who
state that Jerome's translation was the first recognized attempt at
a Latin Bible, a statement which might easily be understood to
mean that they knew of no other version or that St. Jerome's version
was the only one recognized in their time. Dom Amelli rests his
620 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
conjecture on more positive reasons. Among these must in the first
place be reckoned the striking similarity in the use of words peculiar
to the present version and used also by Rufinus. These are not
merely what may be called the hapaxlcgomena in the writings of
Rufinus, such as profectio for profectus and deliciare for delectare,
but also the almost constant preference of words like sentire and
sensus for intelligere and intellectus, copiosus esse for abundare, and
such words as commanere, maliloquium, spretio, interanea, etc.
Moreover St. Jerome himself appears to bear witness to the oddi-
ties of his quondam friend Rufinus as an interpreter of the Sacred
Text when he writes (Epist. 106, n. 57) "nisi forte k^ovthvucaq
non putatis transferendum despexisti, sed secundum dissertissimum
istius temporis interpretem, annichilasti vel annuUasti, vel nulli-
ficasti, et si qua alia possunt inveniri apud imperitos portenta ver-
borum ". This fits in well with the peculiarities in the present
Codex of the Psalter and the literary habits of Rufinus. The
charge that according to St. Jerome himself Rufinus was ignorant
of Hebrew, rests on too vague an expression of the saint, and
Rufinus was not necessarily hindered from using the assistance of
an interpreter in correcting the African version. At all events P.
Amelli supports his theory not only with good reasons but with the
modesty becoming the seasoned critic.
Students, alike of the Sacred Scriptures and of philology, will
find abundant material to interest them in this hitherto unfamiliar
version, and we may congratulate the Fathers of Monte Casino in
having found such excellent interpreters as the editors of the
Collectanea Biblica to give us the first fruits of the new revision of
the Hieronymian Vulgate. The Appendix adds some notable criti-
cal apparatus to the interpretation of the new text, such as specimens
of the Psalterium Casinense critice juxta fontes examinatum, and
of the other versions represented in the Hebrew and in the Hexaplar ;
also the testimony of Tertullian, Cyprian, Arnobius the African,
Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome. There are several exquisite pho-
totype reproductions of specimen pages from the Codex. We under-
stand that the edition is restricted to five hundred copies, which, it
would seem, will hardly suffice to fill the demand, considering the
character of the volume. H. H.
EUOHARISTIOA. Verse and Prose in Honor of the Hidden God. By the
Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt.D. Philadelphia: The Dolphin Press. 1912.
Pp. x-252.
The desire has often been expressed that Dr. Henry would put
together in book form the many poems which he has contributed to
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 531
various periodicals and especially to the present Review. The
volume at hand contains the answer, at least in part, to this request
— in part, for, as the title indicates, the collection is limited to poems
pertaining explicitly or implicitly to the Blessed Sacrament: they
are all " in honor of the Hidden God ". The author's " occasional
poems " that relate to other themes will, it may be hoped, be given
a place in a future volume.
The book comprises seventeen original poems and one hundred
translations (the original text is printed parallel with the English),
including herein antiphons and psalms of Corpus Christi, hymns in
honor of the Sacred Heart and the Holy Name. There are also
translations in prose of the " Oratio Sti. Augustini ", found in the
Missal post Missam, and of the Blessing of the Vestments, from the
Ritual. A scholarly as well as a highly interesting commentary
supplements the collection.
So much for the gross anatomy of the volume. The reader will
want to be told rather of its life, of the soul which the poet, its
maker, has given to his work. If beauty is the splendor formae
as well as the splendor vert, then are these poems a most vivid ex-
pression of the beautiful. The essential, ** the substantial ", form,
which is their theme, gives them of course the objective unity which
is the first constituent of beauty; but it is that "form" as caught
by the poet's mind and moulded into manifold " accidental forms "
which constitutes the variety that is the other no less essential
element of beauty. Father Faber somewhere observes that to the
non-musical the musician is a never-ceasing wonder. The same is
true of the poet in the eyes of the unpoetical. That the intellect
should seize the various forms and relations of a single thought is
not the wonder; but that the imagination should create both the
sensible symbols and the apt expression and at the same time catch
the multiform varieties of the metrical movement that are best
adapted to all the elements as well as most pleasing to the rhythmical
feeling — herein lies the marvel.
Let us dwell for a moment on just this latter element, the metre,
as furnishing some of that variety to which the charm of these
poems is due. That the translations should be rich in this respect
is less remarkable, when it is remembered that the originals have
emanated from many singers. But take the author's own produc-
tions. There are in all seventeen original poems and barely two
move to the same measure. By way of illustration, two stanzas
from "A Christmas Carol " may be quoted here as exemplifying at
once the variant movements and their adaptation to the thought and
feeling. Notice how the opening lines of each stanza reflect the
sense of joy and exaltation, while the following verses drop the
522 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
soul quietly into the restfulness of the twofold mystery of
Bethlehem :
Nowel ! Nowel ! Angels bring
Tidings of the wondrous thing —
Whom the heavens and earth obey,
Christ is born for us to-day !
Angel forms and music fill
All the spaces of the sky :
" Glory be to God on high,
Peace to men of perfect will !"
Nowel ! Nowel ! Come and see.
While your hearts make melody.
Where the Holy Infant lies :
Feast your hearts and feast your eyes.
For the King is come again
To the longing sons of men.
But behold, the altar-stone
Is His manger, is His throne !
But beauty is not simply the splendor of form — inward and out-
ward form, unity in variety — it is likewise the splendor of truth —
truth, the harmony between mind and thing; between thing and
mind — truth made resplendent by the colors and expression with
which the poet's imagination and literary skill clothe his true ideals.
That there should be exact conformity between the thoughts and the
truths — whether of faith or of reason — embodied in these poems goes
of course without saying. We refer here rather to the resplendence
of that truth as increasing by its delicate conformance to its own
ideal standard, that very substantial truth which it is meant to pro-
mote by rendering it beautiful. Take as an illustration ** Love's
Folly," and notice how " the fact truth " is uplifted to the ideal —
the foolishness of God is shown to be wiser than men — while the
symbolism employed, the allusions, the language, the movement
add their own resplendence to both.
I.
The Light of Light, the King of kings,
His message of Salvation brings ;
But in His Manhood none may trace
The hidden glory of His Face.
So, in the Fool's robe of white.
Doth Herod clothe the Light of Light :
In answering jest, the soldiers fling
A robe of red about their King.
Such is the fact truth, though idealized. See it now made resplen-
dent through the symbol created by imagination :
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 623
II.
Behold, the God-Man comes again
Each day to be the food of men :
Love's folly stands again revealed,
For lo, His Manhood is concealed!
But now He clothes Himself instead
'Neath the white robe of wheaten bread ;
And of His Precious Blood the sign
Is the red robe of chaliced wine.
The reviewer is sorely tempted to illustrate more fully this re-
splendency of truth by further quotations; but his space forbids.
Besides, it is not fitting to anticipate the reader's own pleasure in
this connexion. Rarely does one meet with a collection of poems
each of which is so uniformly pleasing. There is none over which
one does not want to linger, finding therein food alike for the
intellect, the imagination, and the feelings. In this do these poems
prove themselves works of genuine art that they meet with just pro-
portion the demands of all the higher faculties. Head and heart,
both are contented in them.
The foregoing remarks concern Dr. Henry's original poems.
When we pass to his translations, almost all of which are of litur-
gical hymns and psalms, we are struck at once by the skill that has
been able to bring out the thought and imagery of the original while
retaining the metrical movement unchanged. Rightly the Angelic
Doctor's majestic Lauda Sion is given the place of honor ; and from
it we take a parallel illustration:
Lauda, Sion, Salvatorem, Praise, O Sion, praise thy Saviour,
Lauda ducem et pastorem Shepherd, Prince, with glad behaviour,
In hymnis et canticis. Praise in hymn and canticle :
Quantum potes, tantum aude : Sing His glory without measure.
Quia major omni laude. For the merit of your Treasure
Nee laudare sufficis. Never shall your praises fill.
And so on throughout, — idea, sentiment, and measure move onward
identically parallel. Or to borrow another example, from the trans-
lations of the Corpus Christi psalms, notice how perfectly the
English measure reflects the symbolism of the " panting hart " in the
" Quemadmodum desiderat cervus " (Ps. 41) :
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad As a thirsty hart pants for the waters
fontes aquarum : ita desiderat anima That leap from the sod,
mea ad te Deus. So is my spirit athirst
Unto Thee, O my God !
Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem My soul is anhungered for God,
vivum : quando veniam, et apparebo The Living and Strong :
ante faciem Dei? O when shall I see Him, girt round
With His heavenly throng?
624 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But this must suffice ; though we must not omit to express our grati-
fication at the fair setting which the bookmaker's art has given to the
volume. The casket befits the gems ; and one may feel that in pre-
senting such a book to a friend the giver is equally honored with
the recipient. F. P. S.
DE EOOLESIA OHRISTL Antonins Straub, S.J., Theologiae in 0. E.
Universit. Oenipontana Professor. Duo volumina. — Oeniponte:
Felicianus Eauoh. (L. Pustet.) 1912. Pp. xcli— 500 et 916.
There has been no dearth within recent times of scholastic treatises
on the subject " De Ecclesia " ; we need mention only Franzelin,
Mazella, and Wilmers, all three, like our present author, members
of the Society of Jesus. If there be a new call for the publication,
at this time, of such ponderous treatments, it must be on the score
of some new development of doctrine, or some novel exposition of
the traditional teaching by the older theologians, who occasionally
drew their conclusions from limited scientific material, apparently
assuming that science had been exhausted by reason of revelation.
Apart from the subject's intrinsic importance, which demands that
the student of theology obtain a clear and full view of the great
institution which is man's chief exponent and medium toward his
final end, P. Straub believes that there are not a few matters which
might receive additional clearness from scholastic treatment — " non
solimi ab adversariis impugnatae, sed maxime in ecclesia addubi-
tatae, sive documentis hactenus parum observatis sive usu rationis
theologicae opportuno luce nova illustrantur ". Among the topics
thus enhanced by fresh illustration and further documentary evidence
are: the question of infallibility of the Apostles, independently of
their call to the episcopate, and without prejudice to the primacy
of jurisdiction of St. Peter (pp. 136, thes. VII) ; the subject of the
St. Peter's Roman episcopate, which is to be considered as of a
monarchical character excluding the jurisdictional power of St.
Paul as Apostle of the gentiles. Our author holds strenuously to
the proposition that " Sedi Romanae unitus est primatus ita, ut hinc
avelli et alio transferri nunquam valeat " (vol. I, p. 447). In the
matter of corporal punishment for the extermination of heresies
the author vindicates the right of the Church to avail herself of
the civil power ; that is to say, he interprets the " potestas ligandi
universalis " as comprehending the right to administer temporal and
corporal punishment (vol. II, p. 9). In this connexion we may
mention that he defends the Leonine genuineness of the famous
" Epistula ad Turribium ", which some writers have denied. In the
chapter " De Magisterio infallibili Ecclesiae ", when discussing the
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 625
infallibility of the Pope apart from an ecumenical council, the au-
thor vindicates as " ex cathedra " pronouncements the Syllabus of
Pius IX, the Encyclicals of Leo XIII on the invalidity of Anglican
Orders, and the recent " Motu Proprio " on Modernism by Pius X
(vol. II, pp. 396-402). The writer's uncompromising attitude
regarding the doctrine of the " temporal power " is in accord with
his general views on the subject of the authority of the Pope. He
maintains the necessity of the " temporal power " to the extent that
it could not be relinquished by the Sovereign Pontiffs without violat-
ing the prerogatives of Papal Infallibility as defined by the Vatican
Council : " ideoque nee licite nee valide dimittendus ". This seems
to us to state the case in a somewhat extreme form as a theological
proposition. Allowing that the " temporal power " of the Popes
is not only an expedient for the safeguarding of their spiritual in-
dependence, but even a necessity under given circumstances, would
not the Pope, as interpreter of the Catholic mind at large, be at
liberty, without violating any right, to relinquish the patrimony of
St. Peter? For, just as the Popes received that patrimony origin-
ally, for the conservation of the interests of Christ's Church, for
reasons either of expediency or necessity, might they not relinquish
it, since the " temporal power " is not essential to the existence of
the Church, but only necessary for the perfect fulfilment of her
functions as mistress of the Catholic body?
There are other important and interesting questions in the field
of theological discussion in which our author takes a decided position
as compared with the attitude of others, who ar«e accustomed to put
their propositions in less absolute terms. There are also some
exegetical difficulties, such as the interpretation of I Cor. 15: 51, in
connexion with the question of the authenticity of the Vulgate, which
the author solves in a way that appears to him more or less final.
But the points we have singled out will suffice to indicate the trend
of the work and those in which it, we would not say takes issue
with other scholastic theologians, because that would not be quite
true, but in which the author seeks to establish a definite line of
orthodox reasoning for theological schools of to-day. To many of
our theological teachers such a course may seem necessary as the
only method to counteract effectually the tendency to minimize
Catholic doctrine and conciliate the spirit of Modernism. On the
other hand it seems to us that, whilst we should be very positive
in regard to what is undoubtedly revealed and infallible doctrine,
and whilst we should likewise lay great stress on that " pietas fidei "
which accepts with reverence and an open mind whatever is implied
as closely interwoven with the deposit of faith, it is not v^ise to strain,
by converting into dogmatic statements, all that commends itself d^
626 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
a corollary of a dogmatic proposition. Father Straub's method
leaves the student in a quandary when he is confronted with the
alternative of pronouncing a person a heretic or admitting him
to the Sacraments, because of his opinions on topics on which a large
number of theologians, including bishops and popes, might be
found to differ from him, or would at all events allow a certain
latitude to others, whatever opinion they might think the more safe.
Whilst we might differ in our judgment from that of Father
Straub as to what is expedient for the teacher of Dogma, no one
will be inclined to question the erudition of our author. Every
page bears witness to his wide reading and indefatigable industry
in recording the dicta of the learned, where he wishes to enforce the
logic of his theses. As a text-book for theological schools the work
is somewhat lacking in that didactic division which would enable
the student to survey his matter at short notice and relieve him of
the necessity of analyzing the lengthy pages which confront him
without a break in his reading of a naturally trying Latin text. But
few teachers will want to be without such a work as a reference
book on the tract " De Ecclesia," though it be a type that defends
orthodoxy in rather rigorous fashion. There is an excellent topical
index covering eighty pages, at the beginning of the first volume,
which will allow the student to refer to the author's views. One
likes to fathom the limitations of orthodox teaching, especially in
these days of uncertain and shifting pronouncements, when a new
type of liberalism has invaded the field of theological teaching.
The letterpress and general make-up of the two volumes are ex-
cellent.
THE TEAOHEE'S PEAOTIOAL PHILOSOPHY. By George Tmmbull
Ladd, D.D., LL.D. New York: Punk & Wagnalls. Pp. 339.
A book by ex- Professor Ladd on the application of philosophical
principles to professional teaching can hardly fail to be both in-
structive and interesting. The author is a veteran in the field of
philosophy. For many years he taught philosophy at Yale, and has
enriched our language with a goodly number of works on that sub-
ject as well as on psychology as such. The fact that his studies
carried him into the domain of experimental and physiological psy-
chology (upon which branch indeed he was the first to produce a
noteworthy treatise in English) added an empiric note to his specu-
lation which kept it from any excessive tendency to apriorism and
subjective metaphysics. Although by no means " scholastic ", his
philosophy is on the whole sane, in close contact with common sense,
and contains much which a Catholic philosopher can both endorse
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
62^
and utilize, as one may see in Father Maher's Psychology (Stony-
hurst Series).
The book before us embodies lectures which the author delivered
in Japan, Korea, and Hawaii during the year 1906-1907, modified,
of course, and adapted to meet educational conditions in this coun-
try. A passage from the preface will serve to indicate the mental
attitude that motivizes and characterizes the work. "In this coun-
try there has been slowly gathering the conviction that our system
of education, from the public schools of primary grade to the Grad-
uate and Professional Schools connected with our Universities, has
not been productive, as it should be, of the right sort of men and
women to conduct safely and wisely and righteously the aifairs of
Church and State. And there has been of late, and there still is,
much discussion — some of it faultfinding and criminating — over
questions of causes and remedies, and over the general problem of
whether our recent movements have been progressive or retrograde."
Dr. Ladd declines to discuss this question, declaring it to be his
purpose rather to emphasize " the personal and moral elements " as
indispensable requirements for any lasting success or progress, and ex-
pressing his belief " that the lack of discipline, through moral and
religious motives and in accordance with moral and religious ideals,
in the home-life,' in school and in college, and in society at large, is
the prime source of all our national evils as far as they are con-
nected with the educative processes as now in vogue. He also be-
lieves that these evils are very deep and large at the present time
and will be most difficult to cure or even greatly to abate under ex-
isting conditions such as those with which the individual teacher
cannot readily cope." This is surely an obviously sane profession of
faith and it, together with its implications, dominates the author's
thought throughout. While the moral and religious elements of
education are but lightly touched upon, where they do come to the
front they are soundly if not thoroughly exhibited. The function,
the equipment, the chief ideals of the teacher, and his relation to
society and the State, these are the leading subjects developed; and
into them the author has woven a large amount of solid truth and
practical suggestion.
From what has been already quoted the reader may surmise that
Dr. Ladd is no adulator of the " new pedagogy ". As an illustration
of independent judgment the following passage may be worth not-
ing : " We have upset, or thrown into the melting-pot, many, many
old things: we are discoverers and doers of a few things. But we
have not really settled many important problems; much of our
so-called pedagogy is painfully poor stuff, and is coming to be so
regarded by the most sensible part of the public interested in edu-
528 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
cation. And just now one of the most hopeful tendencies in edu-
cational circles is to go backward, at least by a process of reflective
examination, and consider anew in what respects we have been wise,
and in what respects we have been foolish, in departing so far and
so rapidly from the old-time system of education" (p. 271).
Thoughts equally sensible as this abound everywhere. In this lie
the force and value of the book, — its sane estimate of actual condi-
tions, and, within the limits of its scope, its practical suggestions.
What especially is insisted upon is that the cure for the ills that
afflict society — educational, political, what not — lies in the individual
first curing himself. Mediae cura teipsum, may apply equally to the
teacher and the taught, as certainly does the attende tibi et doctrinae.
GESOHIOHTE DER ALTKIEOHLIOHEN LITEEATUE. Von Otto
Bardenhewer, Doct. Theol., Prof. TJnivers. Muenclien. Drei Baendes
I nnd II — Vom Ausgange des ersten bis zum Beginne des vierten
Jahrhunderts ; III — Von Beginn des vierten bis gegen Ende des
fuenften Jahrhunderts. Preiburg, Brisg. ; St. Louis, Mo.s B. Herder.
1912.
The first two volumes of this monumental work by the veteran
scholar and editor of Biblical and old Christian literature, Dr.
Bardenhewer, were published in 1902 and 1903, and in recalling the
item here we want to indicate that the work has lost nothing of its
worth from the fact that the present volume is issued after a lapse
of ten years. The student of Patrology will remember that a took
on the subject was published by the same author in 1894, and trans-
lated into English by Monsignor Shahan, of the Catholic University.
The latter volumey whilst giving the student a full survey of the
field of old Christian literature, with the modern critical apparatus
needed for present-day apologetics, does not include many inter-
esting details helpful to a proper estimate of those early eventful
periods when Christian doctrine and discipline developed into the
lasting forms on which Catholic theology bases its precepts and
teaching. Fessler and Nirschl had done excellent work in this
field of Church history, but they have proved insufficient, in view
of, during the last decade, the criticisms of rationalistic Protestant-
ism by scholars of the type of Harnack, Krueger, and Loisy, not to
speak of their nimierous followers in England and America who,
with perhaps less erudition but also less reverence for antiquity,
have succeeded in forcing their opinions upon the present gener-
ation of religious-minded readers.
The scope of Monsignor Bardenhewer's work is of course readily
understood. It differs from the author's Patrologie only inasmuch
CRITICISMS AND NOTES.
629
as it enters on questions of greater detail. Considering the im-
portance which the study of early Christianity plays in the apolo-
getics of to-day, such a treatment of the Church's beginnings is
of immense value to the theologians. Beginning with Jerome, who,
in his De viris illustribus, lays as it were the foundation of patristic
history, the author gives in the first place a full repertory of the
literary sources and commentaries on the subject. This intro-
ductory portion, intended merely for orientation, is followed by an
examination of the ecclesiastical literature itself, from the Apos-
tolic writings down to the end of the fifth century, including both
Eastern and Western authors, with the exception of the Syrian
Church, to which Dr. Bardenhewer expects to devote special atten-
tion in the next volume.
The earlier part of the history of Christian literature, from
about A. D. 120, is divided into groups dealing with apologetic,
polemic, and domestic Church literature respectively. The third
century opens with what is styled the theological science period of
the patristic age, in which the schools of Alexandria, of Syro-
Palestine, and of Asia Minor, exercise their distinct and mutual
influence on the formulating of doctrinal discipline. These are
followed by the so-called Africans of the West, Tertullian, Cyprian,
Arnobius, and Lactantius. Next come the Roman and other
Western writings, among which are included the acts of the martyrs
from the middle of the second to the opening of the fourth century ;
likewise the Jewish writings which were subsequently incorpor-
ated in the distinctly Christian literature.
The third volume, with which we are at present more especially
concerned, opens with a period when the external relations of the
Church began to admit of a new development of ecclesiastical and
theological science. The East had, indeed, hitherto been in ad-
vance of the West. A close study of the Alexandrine and Egyptian
writers reveals an independence of all Latin influence, whilst the
apologists of Rome and those of Spain and Gaul constantly avail
themselves of Greek sources. The same is true of Asiatic writers,
such as Basil, and the two Gregorys, Nazianzen and Nyssa, and
Amphilichius of Iconium. It is also true of the schools of
Antioch and Syria. Whilst the Greek writers of this period were
nearly all translated into Latin, none of the Latin authors, with
the exception of Jerome and Rufinus, was turned into Greek. But
if Eusebius of Vercelli, Paulinus, Hilary, Ambrose, and Prudentius
were zealous in interpreting the fruits of Oriental Christian genius
to the Latin scholars that flocked to the academies of Christian teach-
ers, after the edict of Constantine and Licinius had. opened a way
to the new culture, they also added valuable treasures of distinctly
630 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Christian genius to the inheritance bequeathed them from the East.
This is particularly noticeable in poetry. Herein the Latin far
surpass the Greek writers of the fourth century. From Spain and
Gaul the fairest fruits of Christian letters are furnished by
Juvencus, Ausonius, and Prudentius, names with which those of
Pope Damasus, Paulinus of Nola, and the Illyrian Niceta of Re-
misiana, readily associate themselves in the mind of the student of
Christian hymnody. The volume ends with St. John Chrysostom
in the Oriental Church and with St. Jerome in the West. It leaves
the great figures of Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, Augustine, Leo
the Great, John Damascene, and the two Gregorys of Tours and
Rome, as well as the Syrian writers above referred to, for the fourth
and last volume. We trust the venerable author will be enabled
to complete the work at an early date, thus filling a gap not other-
wise supplied in Herder's admirable Theologische Bibliothek.
H. H.
THE NEW PSALTEE AND ITS USE. By the Kev. Edwin Burton, D.D..
and the Eev. Edward Myers, M.A., of St. Edmund's College, Old Hall.
Longmans, Green, and Company: New York, London, Bombay and
Calcutta. 1912. Pp. 259.
A book on the new Psalter comes opportunely in the series of
manuals comprising the " Westminster Library " for priests. In
it we find not only a terse and satisfactory explanation of the rubrics
which accompany the recent Apostolic Constitution " Divino af-
flatu " and which change the old form of reciting the Breviary,
but likewise a practical exposition of how the new legislation adapts
itself to the traditional rubrics. This latter feature has the ad-
vantage of showing both the method of priestly prayer in the Church,
and also the rationale thereof.
The chief purpose of the volume is of course, as is pointed out in
the preface, to set forth the manner of following the new rubrics.
Although these are very explicit and in themselves " a good specimen
of careful legal draughtsmanship, terse, yet clear, and with not a
word to spare ", these very qualities, whilst recommending them
from the technical point of view, are apt to render the due apprecia-
tion of their contents somewhat difficult to those whose active duties
make a careful study of their technicalities impossible. At the same
time the young cleric who takes up the Breviary for the first time
finds here the necessary indications how to go about reciting the
Divine Office. In short we have here a brief history of the Breviary,
of its gradual development as a canonical prayer, of the methods
adopted from time to time to keep it within the lines of its original
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 631
purpose as a rule of worship and spiritual discipline, and finally a
succinct interpretation of the rubrics which direct the manner of
its recital in private and in public.
The arrangement of the contents follows the logical order, giving
first the text of the Constitution " Divino afflatu ", with a brief
analytical introduction; next, a short history of the chief reforms
that have been undertaken since the formation of the Breviary down
to the latest ordering of the Plan Psalter of 1911. A separate
chapter deals with the distribution of the Psalms and the order of
the various parts of the Canonical Office. The latter half of the
first section explains the peculiarities of the calendar and the in-
cidental variations in the hymns, lessons, and prayers. Part two
teaches the use of the Roman Breviary, giving first the framework
of the Office and then a detailed series of directions for each of
the Hours. The volimie has a good alphabetical index for practical
reference.
A PEAOTIOAL GUIDE TO THE DIVINE OPPIOE. By Andrew B. Mee-
haii, St. Bernard's Seminary, Eochester, N. Y. John P. Smith Printing
Company: Kochester, N. Y. 1912. Pp. 182 with Supplement.
NOTES ON THE NEW KUBKIOS AND THE USE OF THE NEW
PSALTEE. By the Eev. Arthnr J. Hetherington. Bums & Oates:
London. 1912. Pp. 56.
These two manuals are much alike in purpose, scope, and structure.
They explain the new Office in a clear and concise manner. They
are printed in good readable type. The American version has the
advantage of entering more fully into certain details that are likely
to help those who say the Office for the first time. In addition it has
a helpful index, which is an aid to the priest in case of practical
doubts as to the bearing of certain rubrics. Even those who are
quite familiar with the Breviary will derive much profit from the
historical and liturgical indications touching certain portions of the
canonical prayer which are to be found in both of these books.
DE PEOOESSU OEIMINALI EOOLESIASTIOO. Usui scholarum et jndi-
cum in cnriis ecclesiasticis acoommodavit Dr. Franciscus Heiner,
auditor S. E. Eotae. Latins vertit ac denuo edidit Dr. Arthurus
Wynen saoerd. Inst, a Van. Vine. Pallotti fundati. — Fridericns
Pustet, Pont. Bibliop. : Eomae, Eatisbonae, Oinoinnati, Neo-Eboraci.
1912. Pp. 227.
A work of this kind from the hands of a member of the Rota gives
assurance of being not only accurate in its statements, but also prac-
632
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
tical in its application of the rules laid down for ecclesiastical trials,
so as to avoid those interminable digressions that are commonly
found in books of legal interpretation. Accordingly we have here a
succinct exposition of the functions of the various officers employed
to test the merits of charges brought against a priest on criminal or
on administrative grounds; the methods to be observed in trials of
this kind; the rights of appeal; and the process of executing the
sentence. There is of course an introductory chapter which briefly
outlines the scope and effect of legal or criminal procedure against
clerics, indicates the necessary qualifications of the personnel, and
the value of documentary evidence in such cases. The third part of
the book treats of extraordinary procedures in cases of heresy, solici-
tation, suspicion, and dismissal from religious institutes. The sub-
ject of Amotio administrativa, though hardly implied in the title of
the book, is nevertheless dealt with together with the exposition of
the Decree Maxima cura. An appendix gives the required for-
mulas for instituting a trial and there is a good alphabetical index.
Since the present work is not merely an addition to Droste's
Canonical Procedure edited in English by the present Archbishop of
Milwaukee while professor of Canon Law, in 1887, but in large
measure supplants the legislation of the Instructio S. E. et Reg. of
1880, on which Dr. Droste commented, it would be desirable to have
an English translation of the present volume.
OOUES PKATIQUE DE PSALYODIE VATIOANE d'apres les donnees du
Oantorinus Eomain. Semiographie S 4 6 * 4X2, complete et unique
pour toutes les formulas. Par I'Abbe Jos. Ant. Pierard. Eome,
Tonmai: Desclee & Oie. 1912. Pp. 68.
The author, who is Cure de Sommerain (Houffalize-Belgique),
signalized his long and deep study of the art of chanting the Psalms
by issuing, four years ago, a Psautier-Vesperal, with a new and in-
genious method of indicating the places of the mediation and clos-
ing cadences, etc., of the Psalms in the various tones and endings
in which they are to be sung. This work he is developing into a
complete " Psautier Paroissial," but finds it desirable, because of
a recently published imitation of his system of signs, to precede the
publication of the larger work by the present practical course in
psalmody. The semeiography (S46*4X2) looks cabalistic, but
is a simple series of signs constituting a unique and sufficient formula
for the desirable indications, in chanting, of the notes of preparation
of cadences, and of the cadences themselves, for all the tones and
for the different ways in which the tones are to be sung (solemn,
ferial, paschal, etc.). A very interesting part of the pamphlet is
LITERARY CHAT.
633
the historical review of the systems adopted to popularize, by facili-
tating the method of singing aright, the psalmody of the Church,
and the genesis of the author's own system (pp. 49-67).
H. T. Henry.
Xiterar^ Cbat
The Pustets are announcing the new Missal, in various sizes, to harmonize
with the recent decrees reforming the canonical Offices. It contains, of course,
all the proper feasts.
The Church and Social Problems by Father Joseph Husslein, S.J. deserves
more than a passing recommendation to priests. No pastor in any of our
" laborers' districts " can, without gross neglect of his duty to instruct and
warn his people, pass over the exposition of the insidious doctrines which go
under the name of Socialism, and which foster discontent in the home and
disruption in society.
The learned Franciscan, Augustinus Gemelli, has published a fourth and
newly revised edition of Non Moechaberis, reviewed by us last year. It is
the first volume of his projected work " Quaestiones Medico-pastorales." The
author, who has the gift of treating a delicate subject with the skill of an
experienced physician, and with the discretion of a devout priest, announces
the solution of some intricate moral problems in his forthcoming volume,
De psycho-pathologia pastorali. (Florentiae: Libreria Editrice Fiorentina —
Fr. Pustet.)
The Rev. Joseph McSorley, of the Paulist Fathers in New York, who has
been much interested in the Italian mission of that city, is about to publish
an Italian Grammar and Exercise Book, especially designed for the use of
priests in their care of souls. The purpose is to condense the needed informa-
tion for a priest who wishes to hear confessions, instruct in their religious duties,
and console in sickness the Italian immigrants who have no priests of their
own nationality to attend them or supply their spiritual needs.
Some years ago, in discussing in The Ecclesiastical Review the question
of the proper pronunciation of Latin, we pointed out that Latin is for Catholics
not only a scholastic and liturgical tongue, but also a living language uni-
versally used as the recognized medium of current legislation and of com-
munication between the official heads of the Church and their subjects. Hence
the usage of the Roman See should be the determining factor in Latin
pronunciation, just as much as the French Academy or the standard usage of
literary centres in England, Germany, and Italy, determines the pronunciation
of their respective tongues. Now the Holy Father in a Letter addressed to
the Archbishop of Bourges in France emphasizes the same fact and expresses
the desire that the present Roman pronunciation be adopted throughout
France. The reasons given apply equally to other countries.
Helene Stummel, whose successful efforts in bringing about a widespread
reform in church vestments are recognized throughout Germany, has edited
a much improved form of Toennissen's Fingerzeige fur Paramenten-V ereine.
The manual of sixty pages treats briefly of the altar furnishings and the
making of altar linens and vestments for the use of the ministers of the sanc-
tuary. There is also a section on the method of preserving the sacred vest-
ments and vessels. The book has numerous illustrations for the correction
of the unecclesiastical and in many respects tasteless forms- of our sacred
vesture. (Fredebeul und Koenen : Essen-Ruhr, Germany.)
634 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
In connexion with the subject of Christian art in Germany we would direct
the attention of students in that field to the publication of a new version of
Albrecht Duerer's Writings under the title of Duerer's Schriftlicher Nachlass,
edited by G. A. Weber, the author of a Life of the artist. The book contains
chronicles, letters, verses, diary notes of Duerer's journeys, and his observations
on religion and art. (Fr. Pustet and Co.)
Father Reginald Buckler's Studies in Religious Life, which have been pub-
lished within the last few years, show that the author's aim is to popularize
the scholastic teaching of the Angel of the Schools. Although he takes his
illustrations from the wide range of Patristic as well as Scriptural lore,
everywhere he emphasizes the principles that underlie the aim at perfection.
In charity we get the motive principle which rules all the powers of the soul
and thus shapes all the other virtues. Spiritual Perfection through Charity,
the latest of Father Buckler's books, offers an antidote as well as a contrast
study to the spirit of mere philanthropy or altruism, which absorbs the
qualities of the spiritual life that should make for the love of God as the
first and last end of man (Benziger Bros.).
The Rev. G. C. H. Pollen, S.J., who translated Mgr. Batiffol's Credibility
of the Gospels (see EccL. Review, August, 1912), has published an Appendix
to the volume, in view of the recent decisions of the Biblical Commission
with reference to the authorship and authenticity of the Synoptic Gospels.
Father Pollen explains the author's attitude, which was to vindicate the his-
toricity and authority of the Gospels, without deciding the question of priority
or of sources (Longmans, Green, & Co.).
An interesting study of the relation of Tatian's Diatessaron to the Western
text of the Gospels, which Von Soden and Vogels have attempted to connect,
thereby hoping to solve definitely the " complex phenomenon which remains
the only true riddle in the history of the text ", is "published in the July
number of the Revue Benedictine. The writer, Dom Chapman, O.S.B., shows
conclusively that the labored demonstration of the German scholars rests on
the assumption of the existence of an early Greek version of the Diatessaron,
for which there is not the slightest proof. The first suggestion of the existence
of such a version was given by Victor of Capua (540-546), who appears to
have used some such codex when writing his Codex Fuldensis, although it is
by no means certain that his copy was not a Latin version. It is quite in-
credible that for 350 years nothing should have been heard of such a version,
especially when it is claimed that it exercised an extraordinary influence upon
the actual correction of the Gospels. In truth Dom Chapman shows from
the harmonistic reading of Marcion, who antedates Tatian, that the Western
text of the Gospels was in existence before either Marcion or Tatian. The
learned Benedictine's own conclusion regarding the Western text is that it
does not actually present a harmonious reading and that the attempts to
harmonize it have simply failed.
A work of much value in connexion with a subject which fortunately,
though not without occasional abuses of course, is enlisting more and more
the attention of legislators, philanthropists, and charity-workers, has recently
been published under the title of Progress and Uniformity in Child-Labor
Legislation by William F. Ogburn, Ph. D. It is a remarkably thorough statis-
tical study of legislation enacted by the various States of the Union, covering
a period of about thirty-one years ; and shows by exact measurement what ap-
proach is being effected toward uniformity. It brings together data drawn
from some 800 to 1000 volumes of statistics, each volume containing an
average of 500 to 600 pages. The data thus gathered represent about 500
enactments. The monograph contains information of moment for the clergy,
who are often obliged to know just what statute law has to say about the
limitations of child labor. The volume is No. 121 of the Columbia University
Studies (Longmans, Green, & Co., New York).
LITERARY CHAT.
635
Although the coal bins of Mother Earth are still well stored with the
precious fuel (Europe alone possessing some 700 billion tons and America
about as much, to say nothing of other parts of the globe), the supply is not
inexhaustible, seeing indeed that not far from a billion tons are being annually
consumed and with the growing consumption the extraction becomes more
difficult and consequently more expensive. None of us need feel chilled at
the prospect of the coal scuttle being forever unfillable. All the same the
problem does confront the mind of man, what he is going to do, not so
much to keep warm, as to keep his machinery, his wheels and things, a-
spinning. To the newish science of photo-chemistry the problem appears to
admit of a fairly easy solution. Get your heat out of plants where the
sun's rays are being stored up all the time, just as they were ages ago in
the carboniferous days when the coal measures were forming. The possi-
bilities of this process and somewhat of its methods are developed in a highly
interesting way by Prof. Giacomo Ciamican of Bologna in a lecture delivered
before the International Congress of Applied Chemistry, held in New York,
II September. The paper may be found in the issue of Science for 27 Sep-
tember. The matter is too technical to be discussed here ; but it is extremely
alluring to the imagination. Even the sober scientist indulges his readers
with a glimpse of the possible future. The tropics will then be the favored
places where cunning human devices will draw from the luxuriant vegetation
a vast supply of solar energy. But even " on the arid lands there will spring
up industrial colonies without smoke and without smoke stacks ; forests of
glass tubes will extend over the plains and glass buildings will rise every-
where ; inside of these will take place the photochemical processes that hither-
to have been the guarded secret of the plants, but that will have been mas-
tered by human industry, which will know how to make them bear even
more abundant fruit than nature, for nature is not in a hurry and mankind is.
And if in a distant future the supply of coal becomes completely exhausted,
civilization will not be checked by that, for life and civilization will continue
as long as the sun shines! If our black and nervous civilization, based on
coal, shall be followed by a quieter civilization based on the utilization of
solar energy, that will not be harmful to progress and to human happiness."
The prospect will encourage those who shiver for their shivering posterity.
The Hibbert Journal is always full of suggestions — good sometimes, often-
times otherwise. It rarely contains such definite statements of truths favor-
able to the Catholic Church as it does in the article in its current issue, on
French Catholics and Social Work. The writer, Mr. Henry V. Arkell, *' who
has passed the last twenty years in Paris as a newspaper correspondent,"
and may therefore be presumed to speak from personal experience, states
some facts that are both interesting and hope-inspiring. He describes im-
partially the governmental persecution that left the French Church in 1906
" absolutely denuded of everything. No congregations, no schools, no funds,
no salaries, no church buildings, no church treasuries, no seminaries, no
residences for the clergy, no rank, no position. In exchange, however, there
was the gift of Liberty."
What efficient use French Catholics have made of this "gift" he shows by
means of eloquent figures. For instance, he says that about 400,000 French
fathers belong to the associations of Peres de Families, organized to protect
the faith of their children frequenting the State schools. Again, "in the
past few years 450,000 Parisians have been won over to the Church, who
before lived without any kind of religion."
Once more, " it was confidently anticipated by the adversaries of the Roman
Catholic Church that few young men would be found disposed to become
candidates for Orders once the Separation was a fait accompli. Undoubtedly
there was reason for this conjecture, for vocations had fallen to a very low
ebb in the two or three years that preceded the abolition of the Concordat.
636
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But here again there was a great surprise. Last year, for example, the
candidates for the priesthood seeking admission into the Paris Grand
Seminary more than doubled the contingents of previous years. Strange
to say, these vocations are not confined to youths, but include those of already-
formed men, men of culture, who, whether from disappointments or from
disgust of the world ( !) prefer to devote themselves to the ecclesiastical
career. As far as may be judged, there is no longer any real disquietude in
episcopal minds on the point of priestly recruits" (p. 89). Mr. Arkell notes
many other signs of vigorous activity in France.
How well that activity is being organized is indicated by the multiform
movements of the Action Populaire, of whose social and literary energy some
mention was made in our last issue. The September number of Le Mouve-
ment Social, an international Catholic review, reflects the highest order of
thought and sense (Reims, Action Populaire; Paris, Lecoffre).
But while the literature on topics social grows apace, that on theology shows
no signs of falling off. New works are constantly dropping from the press
and the older are being reedited. Thus we have quite recently Le Mystere
de la Tr^s Ste. Trinite by the well-known theological and philosophical Domi-
nican, Pere Hugon — a solid, but a characteristically luminous treatment of the
theology of the Church's doctrine on the Blessed Trinity. It follows the same
method as the author's previous work on the Redemption.
Au dela du Tombeau is a very clear treatise on Heaven by a French-
Canadian priest, Pere Hamon, S.J. " The book is addressed especially to
working people, to the poor, to all those who have but a very modest share in
the joys and pleasures of earth." It has just appeared in a third edition.
The Chevalier de Beauterne's well-known monograph on Napoleon's re-
ligious beliefs {Sentiment de Napoleon 7^^ sur le Christianisme) has recently
been revised for the second time and is now reedited by M. Ph. Laborie. The
fact that this is the fourteenth edition argues well for the merits of the work.
Jeunesse et I'Ideal by the Abbe Henri Morice is an inspiriting book for
youth. Le Salut assurS par la Devotion a Marie is a small booklet that will
help to piety; and Les Apprets du Beau Jour de la Vie by the Abbe Fliche
consists of " conversations ", which contain instructions and exhortations,
illustrated by stories, for first Holy Communion. All the foregoing books in
French are published by Pierre Tequi, Paris (Benziger Bros.: N. Y.).
Father Kress knows what is needed by the people in the line of practical
literature and he knows how to produce it. Amongst our continually multi-
plying books on Socialism his Questions of Socialists still holds its place of
distinction. The Red Peril is another more recent booklet of his, and con-
tains five lectures on the economic and moral aspects of Socialism. Thy
Kingdom Come is another pamphlet, the aim of which is " to demonstrate the
Catholic rule of faith and at the same time to remove the objections that
hinder most Protestants from accepting the faith". Both are useful little
brochures, time-savers alike for. priest and people. (Each sells at $5-00 per
hundred copies at the Ohio Apostolate, Cleveland.)
Amongst other brief practical books of instruction mention should be made
of Father Frasinetti's Short Treatise on Confession and Communion, prepared
especially for the Laity — a clear, solid little treatment of an ever important
subject, published by the Sentinel Press, New York. From the same Press
we have The Eucharistic Way of the Cross; also Special Devotions for the
Pupils of Catholic Schools, a neat little manual of sensible prayer for every-
day use.
LITERARY CHAT. 537
Little Mass Book by the Right Rev. Mgr. J. S. Lynch, D.D., will be found
to help children to assist devoutly at the Holy Sacrifice. It is published by
Benziger Brothers, who also reprint the well-known brief The Way of the
Cross by a Jesuit Father.
Dogmatic Canons and Decrees (Devin-Adair Co., New York) is a collection
of the principal Decrees of the Council of Trent bearing on the subject of
faith, the Scriptures, sin and justification, the Sacraments, Purgatory, the
invocation of Saints, and Indulgences. To these are added the Definition of
the Immaculate Conception, the Syllabus of Pius IX, and the two dogmatic
Constitutions of the Vatican Council on the Catholic Faith and the Church
of Christ. The English translations of these documents are those of Canon
Waterworth (Trent), Cardinal Manning (Vatican), and Cardinal McCabe
(Syllabus). The print is large and clear and there is an index to the
contents of the volume.
On Union with God is the title of a handsome little volume of the Angelus
Series. (Benziger Brothers.) It is a translation of a treatise by the great
Dominican teacher of the Angel of the Schools, Blessed Albert the Great;
with notes by Fr. Berthier, of the same Order. The excellent translation is
made by a Benedictine of Princethorpe Priory.
Reference has repeatedly been made in these pages to the Rivista di Filo-
sofia Neo-Scolastica, a splendid quarterly review in Italian answering to the
Revue Neo-Scolastique of Louvain. Following the example of its French com-
panion it likewise is publishing an extension " library " (Piccola biblioteca
scientifica delta Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica), three recent numbers of
which are before us : i. " Recenti scoperte e recente teorie nello studio dell'ori-
gine dell'uomo " ; 2. " Le Leggi dell'Eredita " ; 3. " II Psicomonismo ". They
are brief studies, neatly made and well printed, and sell at 0.75 lire (fifteen
cents). When we say that they are written or edited by P. Agostino Gemelli,
O.F.M., the indefatigable and up-to-date scientist, apologist, and philosopher,
ample assurance is given of the solidity and timeliness of these little volumes
(Florence, Libreria Edit. Fiorentina).
The current issue of the bi-monthly La Ciencia Tomista, edited by the
Spanish Dominicans, contains the concluding article of a series on the cele-
brated Salamantican theologian, Victoria. The article is devoted to the
bibliography of his works, printed and manuscript, and will be useful for stu-
dents of Thomistic theology (Madrid, Santo Domingo et Real).
Progress — What it means, by Mrs. Randolph Mordecai, is a remarkable
book in this that it condenses the gatherings from a wide field of reading and
observation into something like epigrammatical lessons for the purpose of cor-
recting current but false views on the subject of religion, education, and social
activity. Practically the author demonstrates the truth of the paradox that
success is not the gauge of progress. Her defence of the principle that Chris-
tian culture is a process of evolution toward true freedom, and her apology
for the emancipation of womanhood, are full of suggestive thought. Here
and there we find statements which, if they are to be taken literally, would
need modification, if not correction. Thus, it is hardly historically true that
" virginity and celibacy was the ruling practice of the early Christians to such
an extent that it had almost threatened their extinction." If some writers have
used phrases that give this impression, it was an exaggeration intended to em-
phasize the appreciation of celibacy as a fruit of Christian asceticism. No
doubt the evidences of virginal sacrifice in the days of Christian martyrdom
account for, without however justifying, the impression. In like manner
■expressions like " woman was the first creature in all the creation to fall "
would lose nothing of their force by being more accurately stated, since the
fall of the angelic creation prior to man's fall is a doctrine of Christianity.
638 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
But withal, this is a volume to supply food for thought and material for in-
struction (B. Herder).
Of Eucharistic publications we commend from amid a large number of
recent books the new edition in two volumes of Father Dalgaim's The Holy
Communion, edited by the Oratorian Father Allan Ross. He writes a very
instructive preface to the new edition, in which he explains the position of
the author toward frequent Communion in the light of the recent Decree on
the subject. Another excellent book on the subject is Im Zeichen der Zeit,
written as a festal offering on occasion of the Vienna Eucharistic Congress, by
the Jesuit Father Alois Schweykart (Pustet, Innsbruck). It consists of thirty-
two Conferences dealing with the devotional, educational, and social aspects
of the Blessed Eucharist and devotion to the Sacred Heart.
The American Catholic Historical Society (Philadelphia) has combined
with its quarterly Records the publication of the "American Catholic Historical
Researches," which the late Mr. Martin I. J. Griffin conducted with remark-
able editorial skill and industry for many years. Dr. William L. Griffin, like
his father, is a devoted member of the American Catholic Historical Society
and one of its Board of Managers. This, as well as the fact that Mr. Oliver
Hough, of the Committee on Historical Research, and the Rev. Edward J.
Curran, a member of the same Committee, are actively responsible for the
publication, give prospect of the Records becoming in its new series one of the
most valued publications for priests and the educated laity.
Pastor Bonus, a monthly publication for the clergy of Germany, ably edited
by Dr. C. Willems, Professor of Theology in the Ecclesiastical Seminary of
Treves, has just entered upon its twenty-fifth year of useful propaganda in
pastoral and ecclesiastical science. Founded by the late Prof. Einig, whose
theological writings bear witness to his wide erudition and stainless orthodoxy,
the magazine has maintained its high reputation up to the present under the
management of Dr. Willems, to whom as a brother laborer in the field of
ecclesiastical letters " ut ecclesia aedificationem accipiat " we extend our hearty
congratulations.
The Librairie S. Francois (Rue Cassette, 4, Paris) is making commendable
efforts through its publication of the Bibliotheque de Propagande Franciscaine
to extend the spirit of Franciscan devotion, and enlarge the activity of the
Tertians in every sphere of religious and domestic life. We have before us
half-a-dozen Manuels by P. Eugene d'Oisy, all serving in different ways as
incentives to devotion and as attraction to the Order. Translations of these
booklets would no doubt disseminate the virtues for which the Seraphic
Founder laid very deep foundations in his Rule, virtues never needed more
than now.
Boohs 1Receiveb»
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
EucHARiSTiCA. Verse and Prose in Honour of the Hidden God. By the
Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt.D., Overbrook Seminary. Philadelphia: The Dolphin
Press. 1912. Pp. x-252. Price, $1.25, net.
Jesus Christus. Sein Leben, sein Leiden, seine Verherrlichung. Von R. P.
Berthe, C.SS.R. Uebersetzt von Dr. Wilhelm Scherer. Regensburg, Rom,
New York und Cincinnati. Fr. Pustet & Co. 1912. Pp. 558. Price, $1.75.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
639
The Eucharistic Way of the Cross. By the Venerable Pierre J. Eymard,
Founder of the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament. From the sev-
enth French edition. New York : Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament, 184 E.
76th St. Pp. 24. Price, $0.05; $3.00 per hundred.
Special Devotions. Compiled for the Pupils of Catholic Schools. New
York: The Sentinel Press. 1912. Pp. 180. Price, $0.15; $10.00 per hundred.
Short Treatise on Confession and Communion. Prepared especially for
the Laity by Joseph Frassinetti, Prior of St. Sabine, Genoa. New York : The
Sentinel Press. Pp. 77. Price, $0.05 ; $4.00 per hundred.
Le Mystere de la Tres Sainte Trinite. Par le R. P. :i£douard Hugon,
des Freres Precheurs, Maitre en Theologie, Professor de Dogme, au College
Pontifical " Angelique " de Rome. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Benziger
Bros. ; Paris : Pierre Tequi. 19 12. Pp. viii-374. Prix, 3 /r. 50.
The Catholic Faith. A Compendium authorized by His Holiness Pope
Pius X. Translated by permission of the Holy See. New York, Cincinnati,
Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 128. Price, $0.40 net.
Looking on Jesus, the Lamb of God. By Madame Cecilia, Religious of
St. Andrew's Convent, Streatham, London, S. W. New York, Cincinnati, Chi-
cago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. xiii-431. Price, $1.75 «^''
Love, Peace, and Joy. A Month of the Sacred Heart according to St.
Gertrude. From the French of the Very Rev. Andre Prevot, of the Society
of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by a Benedictine of Princethorpe
Priory. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers. 1912. Pp. viii-
203. Price, $0.75 net.
Dogmatic Canons and Decrees. Authorized translations of the Dogmatic
Decrees of the Council of Trent, the Decree on the Immaculate Conception,
the Syllabus of Pope Pius IX, and the Decrees of the Vatican Council. New
York: The Devin-Adair Co. 1912. Pp. 261.
Thy Kingdom Come. By William Stephens Kress, Priest of the Ohio
Apostolate. Twentieth thousand. Cleveland : The Ohio Apostolate. 1912.
Pp. 64. Price, $5.00 per hundred copies.
Le Salut assure par la Devotion a Marie. Temoignages et Exemples.
Troisieme edition. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Benziger Bros. ; Paris :
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THE
ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW
Fifth Series. — Vol. VII.— (XLVII). — December, 1912.— No. 6.
THE GEOWTH OF OHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY.
THE history of Christian art in Germany begins practically
with Charlemagne. Some churches were erected be-
fore his time, but they were small and unimportant. The
buildings left by the Romans sufficed for the early wants of
the people. Some of these, like the churches of Treves and
Cologne, were built for Christian purposes; others were chris-
tianized pagan temples and basilicas. In the smaller towns
the churches were probably of wood, and every trace of them
has perished.
The most important ecclesiastical structure erected by
Charlemagne is the Palace Church at Aix-la-Chapelle (796-
'804), which is strongly colored by Byzantine elements, the in-
fluence of St. Vitale of Ravenna being unmistakable. But
much as the great emperor's court church was admired at the
time, it did not serve as the basis for the development of
Germanic architecture; the early Christian basilica was found
to be far better adapted than the circular and domical struc-
ture of the East to Catholic ritual, giving as it does greater
prominence to the altar and the clergy. The real progress
made during the Carlovingian period consisted essentially in
the further development of the basilica style, with the aid of
Oriental technical skill and artistic forms.
A fresh impulse was given to ecclesiastical art under the
Othos (936-1002); and under the Hohenstaufen (1138-
1268) the old round-arched style reached its highest point of
perfection. " If any style deserves the name of German," says
642 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Fergusson, "it is this, as it was elaborated in the valley of
the Rhine, with very little assistance from any other nation
beyond the hints obtained from the close connexion that then
existed between the Germans and the inhabitants of the valley
of the Po." Unfortunately this real German, or, as it is
usually called (since Arcisse de Caumont misnamed it in
1838), Romanesque style was never fully developed, and
never reached the perfection of finish and completeness of
the Gothic. Notwithstanding this, says a competent English
critic, it contained as noble elements as the other, and was
capable of as successful cultivation, and, had its simpler forms
and grander dimensions been elaborated with the same care
and taste, Europe might have possessed a higher style of
medieval architecture than she has yet seen.
The leading characteristics of the German style are the
double apsidal arrangement of the plan, the heaping of small
circular or octangular towers, combined with polygonal domes,
at the intersections of the transepts with the nave, and the
extended use of galleries under the eaves of the roofs both of
the apses and of the straight sides. The most ornamented
parts are the doorways and the capitals of the columns. " The
latter," says Fergusson, " surpass in beauty and richness any-
thing of their kind executed during the Middle Ages, and
though sometimes rude in execution, they equal in design any
capitals ever invented. These only required the experience
and the refinement of another century of labor to qualify
them to compete successfully with any part of the pointed
style of architecture which succeeded their own."
The oldest specimen of German Romanesque is the mon-
astery church at Gernrode at the foot of the Harz Mountains,
erected in 958; but the real home and nursery of the round-
arched style is the valley of the Rhine, where those majestic
" Kaiserdome " of Speyer, Mainz, and Worms arose which are
to this day the admiration of the tourist and the delight of the
lover of art.
Much later than England, Germany took over the French
pointed-arch, called by the Italians, who had the classic
models daily before their eyes, the Gothic or barbarian style.
The German master-builders — Gerhard von Rile, Erwin,
Ulrich von Enzingen, Hiiltz, Prachatitz — simplified the
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY.
^43
French cathedral style, laying less stress on picturesqueness of
effect than on mathematical exactness of design and execution.
The square and triangle reign supreme, as Boisseree observes ;
every part of the Cologne cathedral, for example, is designed
with a mathematical precision perfectly astonishing. The re-
sult is that the French and English cathedrals are more ele-
gant, fanciful, poetical, and the German domes and minsters
more subdued, solemn, awe-inspiring. The noblest features
of the latter are the giant steeples; with their open-work
spires and their organic development out of the square into the
octagon and out of the octagon into the spire.
The first important Gothic structures in Germany are the
church of Our Lady in Treves (122 7- 1245) and of St. Eli-
zabeth in Marburg (1235-1283). Before long the whole
country was dotted with them. In the cities stately parish
churches were built by the rich burghers, all in the prevailing
style, but with endless variations. The Friars, too, had their
churches and chapels, contrasting strongly in their simplicity
with their more pretentious sisters. In the forefront of the
Gothic monuments of Germany and of the world stand the five
largest cathedrals, three (Cologne, Strassburg and Freiburg)
on the Rhine, and two (Ulm and Vienna) on the Danube.
Though some excellent churches were designed after 1300,
they show in many of their parts only too clearly the signs
of " decline and fall ", especially a pronounced fondness for
technical tricks and tours de force and an excessive use of
merely decorative elements.
The Gothic structures of the thirteenth and fourteenth cen-
turies afforded but very indifferent surfaces for painting;
glass-painting made up for this to a certain extent. Perhaps
it was better so ; for, if mural painting had been more gener-
ally practised, the art of glass-painting might never have
reached the degree of perfection that it did, and few I presume
would care to exchange " the brilliant effect and parti-colored
glories of the windows of a perfect Gothic cathedral, where
the whole history of the Bible is written in the hues of the
rainbow by the earnest hand of faith ", for the painted slabs
of the Assyrian palaces, the painted temples of the Greeks,
or the mosaics and frescoes of the Italian churches. The best
examples of German glass-painting are found in the Church
544, ^^-^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
of St. Victor at Xanten on the lower Rhine and in the
Cathedrals of Cologne, Strassburg, Freiburg, and Ratisbon.
The fifteenth century marks a turning point in the history
of German art. A new spirit is abroad, not indeed as yet the
free spirit of the Italian Renaissance, for Gothic ideals and
Gothic forms are still dominant; but everywhere a more real-
istic conception of art is observable. About the same time
that Masaccio was creating his glorious frescoes in Italy, the
altar painting of the brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck
at Ghent revolutionized the art of the North. More than
the great masters themselves, the works of their pupils, Roger
von der Weyden and Hans Memling, influenced the German
painters of the fifteenth century. In Cologne Stephen
Lochner and Meister Wilhelm produced madonnas of trans-
cendent loveliness, and in Colmar Martin Schongauer, the first
great painter on German soil, painted altar-pieces and made
copper-engravings that enjoyed a world-wide reputation. In
Augsburg and Niirnberg Hans Holbein the Elder and Michael
Wohlgemut were busy imparting the rudiments of their art
to Hans Holbein the Younger and Albrecht Diirer. In
Bavaria Mathias Griinewald was earning the reputation,
which he still enjoys, of being Germany's greatest colorist.
The plastic arts could boast of such masters as Adam Krafft,
Riemenschneider, and Peter Vischer, the last named of whom,
in his Tomb of St. Sebaldus, had so felicitously wedded the
old order with the new. Into architecture, too, though the
beginnings of German Renaissance may be justly said to lack
system and logic, new life and vigor were being infused that
promised a glorious development when the restless, eager
striving after new forms, new means of expression should
have taken definite shape.
Looking back at the art movement that began in Germany
during the latter half of the fifteenth, and its magnificent
development at the beginning of the sixteenth century, we
must admit that all the signs pointed to a German Cinque-
cento. But no summer was to follow on this hopeful spring,
no fulfilment on all this promise.
During the second decade of the sixteenth century an event
occurred that drew all minds and hearts away from art and
its pursuit and directed them into other channels. This event,
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY.
645
or rather catastrophe, was the so-called Reformation. " Diirer
writes his dark forebodings on the back of his last work,
the wonderful panels of the four Apostles, and gives it away,
because he cannot find a purchaser. Holbein leaves his native
land, because it gives him nothing to do, and gains a livelihood
in foreign parts by portrait-painting." ^
Although Luther himself was not an enemy of art, it is an
historical fact that " the Reformation darkened the morning
of the German Renaissance," as Kuhn so aptly remarks, or,
as Erasmus expresses it: "The arts began to freeze." Prot-
estantism as a form of religious belief has produced no art;
for its place of worship it requires nothing but a spacious
room, bare and cold, with a table and a pulpit, but no altar,
no tabernacle, no sacred vessels, no statues, nor paintings.
Most of the Reformers waged relentless war on all forms of
sacred art: the much-maligned Vandals were connoisseurs
compared with Calvin, Zwingli, and their followers. Many a
Maecenas of yesterday was overnight transformed into a rabid
iconoclast by the nrew doctrines. After having sworn alle-
giance to the gospel according to Bugenhagen, the citizens
of Brunswick refused to finish the steeple of their beautiful
St. Andrew's Church.
The devastations of the iconoclasts were followed by the
terrible Peasants' War and the long and bloody conflicts be-
tween the Catholic and Protestant princes and cities. When
peace was at last restored, the Catholics began to turn their
thoughts to art once more. The Jesuits, encouraged by the
Catholic Electors, began the erection of their superb churches
in Cologne, Munich, Salzburg, and other cities of Southern
Germany. Everywhere unfinished works were taken up
again. It is idle to speculate what might have come of this
new movement, for it was crushed in its infancy by a second
catastrophe, the result of the first, viz. the Thirty Years' War.
When it was over, Germany had lost her wealth, her national
well-being, her power, her independence, her honor, and more
than half of her population. Art could not thrive in such an
atmosphere.
Austria and Southern Germany were the first to recover
1 Kuhn, Baukunst, p. 724.
^46 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
to a certain degree from the all but deadly blow. But as
all art traditions had been completely broken with, new con-
necting links had to be sought. The Catholic South found
these in Italy. From Lombardy Italian artists — architects,
stuccoers, decorators, painters, sculptors — found their way in
great numbers into the Austrian Crownlands, Switzerland,
Bavaria, to the courts of the princes, to the episcopal resi-
dences, and the great monasteries. They brought with them
the bright, fantastic, color-sparkling Baroco. Exiled Hugue-
nots introduced a cold imitation of French Baroco into North-
ern Germany. The Italian masters and their German pupils
have left us some very noteworthy monuments of their skill,
among others the Theatine church in Munich, the Karlskirche
in Vienna, the cathedral of Salzburg, and the Hofkirche in
Dresden.
The reign of Baroco and Rococo came to an end about the
year 1 750. They had run wild and a reaction was inevitable.
In their epoch-making works Winckelmann and Lessing con-
trasted the eccentricities of the prevailing style with the simple
elegance of the classical antique. " Back to Hellas !" became
the watchword of the new school, and before long there arose
on all sides theatres, museums, academies, churches, in the
various styles of ancient Greece. It was evident that no works
with the true spirit of Christianity in them could be born of
this movement, and it was just as well that the pseudo-classi-
cists treated religious art in a rather stepmotherly fashion.
One creation, however, of this period gained the glory of a
kind of omnipresence such as the madonnas of Raphael and
Leonardo's Last Supper had alone enjoyed till then : Thor-
waldsen's statue of Christ.
With the fall of Napoleon Romanticism began its triumphal
march through Europe. The Catholic reaction against the
rationalism and religious indifference of the eighteenth cen-
tury turned men's thoughts back to the ages of faith. The
artists took the lead in the movement, which may be said
to have begun with Overbeck's pilgrimage to Rome in 1810.
Romanticism means in the last analysis Catholicism. Over-
beck and his friends — the Nazarenes, as they were called be-
cause they cut themselves off from the world of art around
them, from the academies and professors of art — recognized
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY.
647
this and returned to the bosom of the old Mother Church.
Their works, noble, dignified, pure in conception as suited
their subjects, soon gained an almost unexampled popularity.
To the Nazarenes, with all their faults, belongs the imperish-
able honor of having laid the foundation for the splendid
development of modern German painting. They brought
German painting back to life again after it had been dead
for well-nigh three hundred years. Historians of art try to
forget this. The greatest of the Romantic painters, Peter
Cornelius, the creator of the Last Judgment in the Ludwigs-
kirche of Munich, is only now beginning to receive the re-
cognition which his genius deserves.
In many respects the architects of Romanticism were not
so fortunate as the painters. The Western world had ceased
to have a style of its own. Eclecticism is perhaps the word
that best characterizes the architecture of this period. Artists
as well as patrons of art contented themselves with making a
selection from the styles of the past according to their per-
sonal tastes. Louis I of Bavaria, the great Maecenas of the
nineteenth century, made a veritable architectural chart of
his capital. At his bidding Ziebland built the Basilica of
St. Boniface, a vast pile with five naves and sixty-six marble
columns. Klenze had to furnish a Byzantine Romanesque
design for the church of All Saints. Ohlmiiller was told to
try early Gothic for Our Lady Help of Christians; and
Gartner, Italian Romanesque for the Ludwigskirche.
The completion of the Cologne cathedral under the direc-
tion of Frederick Zwirner gave a mighty impulse to the study
of Gothic, which resulted in the erection of a number of very
correct medieval churches in various parts of Germany. But
neither the new buildings nor the numerous restorations in
the medieval styles were really medieval churches : they were
merely structures which showed how the nineteenth century
interpreted and imitated the art-language of the ages of
Faith. In a few cases rare architectural geniuses like Hein-
rich von Ferstel and Friedrich von Schmidt succeeded in
giving to their works something of the picturesqueness and
charm that distinguish the monuments of the thirteenth
century. The Votivkirche at Vienna, Ferstel's masterpiece
{erected 185 6- 18 79), is undoubtedly the most satisf actor)',
648 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
and pleasing of all the works attempted by the modern Goths
of Germany. It is far more than an imitation : there is char-
acter, individuality about it. The same can be said of
Schmidt's Vienna churches. These masters felt that mere
copying was deadening work, satisfying neither the people
nor the artist; so they boldly introduced new elements into
the old styles, retaining, for example, the Gothic or Roman-
esque architectural forms, but mixing the construction with
Renaissance ideas. Other architects went a step farther
and took up the long tabooed Renaissance and Baroque styles
once more.
Though Gothic and Romanesque, especially Romanesque,
churches are still being everywhere erected, the tendency of
religious architecture in recent times is to create large, un-
broken spaces, which afford all present a full view of the altar
and the pulpit. No style, it is claimed, is better calculated
to create such spaces than what is known as the new renais-
sance, a harmonious combination of Renaissance and Baroco.
Just a word about the very latest tendency in architecture,
the " Modern " — die Moderne, as the Germans call it. Its
distinguishing characteristic is its aversion to all historical
styles, or at any rate to all unity of style. Simplicity, in-
dividuality, picturesqueness, and above all serviceableness are
the watchwords of its votaries; whatever is thought suitable
for the attainment of these ends is welcomed, no matter how
" uncorrect " it may be. All the modern means of construc-
tion and vaulting, such as steel and reinforced concrete, are
freely used, as are also the modern decorative ideas. The
moderns flatter themselves that a new style will be evolved
in this way. " Modern " Protestant churches can be seen in
most of the larger cities of Germany : the Catholics have as a
rule clung to the medieval styles, though the younger Catholic
architects are by no means averse to trying their hand at
modern building, and have done so with considerable success.
The sculptors have followed in the footsteps of the archi-
tects. Some work to this day in the spirit and manner of the
Renaissance ; others keep as closely as possible to Romanesque
and Gothic models ; others again have been swept along by the
current of the Modern. The tendency of the moderns may be
summed up, according to Kuhn, in these three phrases — real-
Asm, truth instead of beauty, artistic form.
St. Boniface's CiruRcii, Karlsruhe
A good example of (German Romanesque. Stone trimmings, with plaster on brick-woi
INTEBIOB OF THE SAME OhUECH
Showing beautiful furnishings and decorations.
W 6
If
« a
c
K §
P o
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. g^g.
Civilized men have always believed that the proper object,
the highest aim of art, is the production of the beautiful, and
artists have al>vays tried to realize in their works the Good, the
True, and — the Beautiful. The " modern " artist is not of
this opinion: he claims that art is not concerned with the
production of the beautiful, but of the true; and by the true
he means the true to nature, the realistic, not the true in the
proper sense of the word, not the truth. Old-fashioned
esthetics never separates truth from beauty, but demands that
in art the true and the good become the beautiful. Esthetics
is an abomination to our Moderns, who sneer at the poor mis-
guided artist who still strives after the beautiful in his works
and lacks the courage to sacrifice beauty to reality. They
themselves have no scruple whatever about making the physi-
cally and morally ugly the subject of their representations.
The form is all in the eyes of such artists; the idea, the
thought is nothing. They do not want " the beautiful iorvci
with the beautiful soul ", but merely the form. And they
want the whole form. Not even a vestige of drapery is al-
lowed to cover their representation of the human body.
" L'Art pour I' Art/" is the cry which went up in Paris some
thirty years ago and which found a mighty echo in the whole
civilized world. "Art is its own law. Art and artists are
free, free from every moral consideration, free from all reli-
gious reverence. Everything is permitted to art and the-
artist !'*
The result is that countless so-called works of art are any-
thing but art: they are satires on religion and good morals.
They do not represent nude forms (the subject often calls for
these), but undressed, disrobed forms, contrary to all good
taste and moral sense, to all truth and probability. Not even
the churches — I mean Protestant churches — are safe fromr-
the invasion of this flood of indecency, of this " emancipated "
art.
The generation of Christian sculptors has, however, by no^
means died out. In Munich, Miinster, Ravensburg, Cologne,
excellent talent is to be found, but first-class or even second-
class productions are not at all too numerous. The artists
themselves are not alone to blame for this. A good piece of
sculpture is the result of long, painstaking labor, and com-
<550 T^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
mands a respectable price. The orders for such works should
naturally come from the ecclesiastical authorities, from the
secular and religious clergy. But the churches are for the
most part poor and the old endowed monasteries have dis-
appeared. Yet every church, no matter how small or poor,
wants statuary, wants carved altar-pieces, holy water stoups,
etc. To meet the demand so-called Christian Art Companies
sprang up on all sides like mushrooms, offering cheap works
of art for sale. No real artist condescends to work for such
a concern; or, if he does, his originality, his enthusiasm, is
soon stamped out by commercialism. This is one reason for
the scarcity of good Catholic art. Another is the intolerable
dictatorship only too often exercised by those who give orders.
They dictate the " style," the cut of the features, the expres-
sion of the eyes, the length of the hair. It is impossible to
say how many hopeful young artists have turned their backs
on religious art altogether on account of unreasonable med-
dling of this kind. We shall see hereafter what is being done
to encourage the men who, in the face of derision from the
" Moderns ", ingratitude and indifference from those of the
fold, and, worst of all, heartless commercial competition, have
ventured on the thorny road of religious art.
What has been said of sculpture applies also to painting.
About the middle of last century the influence of the Munich
and Diisseldorf Nazarenes began to decline. Men like
Fiihrich, Steinle, Schwind, Deger, Ittenbach — the last of the
Nazarenes — could not indeed complain of lack of work, but
they had no successors, and it was not till toward the end of
the century that new life began to pulsate in religious paint-
ing, though the number of really talented artists in the reli-
gious field is by no means too great even now. The Kultur-
kampf, the materialistic Zeitgeist, and the rapid rise of com-
mercialism are the chief factors that conspired to bring re-
ligious art to the verge of extinction.
" Inter arma silent Musae." After the Franco- German
War the German Catholics were forced to bring all their
strength, all their enthusiasm, and all their material resources
to bear on the struggle for liberty of conscience and the rights
of the Church. The Muse of Christian art, seeing herself
forsaken, fled away. The Kulturkampf, however, was more
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. 651
than a vehement outburst of the furor Protestanticus against
Rome: it was at the same time the first great onslaught of
modern science and philosophy on Christianity. Bismarck
was unconsciously playing into the hands of the evolutionists,
materialists, pessimists, and socialists.
The political, social, philosophical, and religious ideas and
aspirations of a given epoch are invariably reflected in its art
productions. The Nazarenes had gone to Rome for inspira-
tion : the young painters of the 'seventies and 'eighties went
to Paris, and so Zolaism and Renanism made their entry into
German art together with Pleinairism, Impressionism, and
Pointillism. If the new generation had let sacred subjects
alone, it would not have added blasphemy to its immorality.
But just here we see one of the most deplorable signs of the
times : for the first time in the history of the world art was
used to combat religion. The modern artists choose sacred,
religious subjects, but divest them of their higher, supernatural
consecration, of their superhuman, supernatural relations, and
drag them down into the sphere of the merely natural, the
purely human. The Apostles assembled around the Master
at the Last Supper are made to look like hotel-porters put
into hair-shirts for the occasion; Christ Himself is not the
Christ of Revelation, of Christian tradition, but the Christ of
Renan or Strauss, a Christ who has passed through the
•ordeal of modern scientific ostracism. A " modern " Annun-
ciation reminds one for all the world of an illustration in a
love-story; a Birth of Christ looks like a scene in an emi-
grant camp, and a Flight into Egypt like a gipsy idyll. So-
cialism has not only invaded our schools and parliaments, but
possessed itself of our art too.
When the storm of the religious conflict began to abate, the
German Catholics were confronted by new tasks of the great-
est moment. The Catholic working classes had to be organ-
ized to stem the tide of Socialism; Catholic scientific so-
cieties had to be founded to parry the blows of an infidel and
blasphemous science ; vast sums of money had to be raised for
the rapid recruiting of the depleted ranks of the clergy; the
increase, by leaps and bounds, of the population called for the
erection of hundreds of new churches, and German mission-
aries from all parts of the world were stretching out their
652 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
hands for assistance. No wonder that bitter complaints were
repeatedly heard at the Catholic Congresses to the effect that
next to nothing was being done to counteract the pernicious
influence of immoral, anti-Christian productions of art spread
broadcast over the land by the aid of the most modern means
of reproduction; that churches were too hurriedly built to be
really worthy of their builders and of the religion to which
they were dedicated; that the works of Catholic artists were
seldom, if at all, to be seen at the public art exhibitions ; that
there were no first-class Catholic art reviews to awaken and
foster interest in Christian art and to bring the artists and the
public in touch with each other; that Catholic homes were sup-
plied wih prints and chromos — mostly importations — whose
sweetishness was only surpassed by their want of character.
In this case also, as in so many others, salvation was to come
from the Catholic Congresses themselves.
From the very first the Catholics had given their attention
to the question of Christian art at their annual meetings.
Authorities on art such as August Reichensperger, P. Ilde-
phons Lehner, and Professor Kreuser, had developed the prin-
ciples of genuine Christian art and pointed to the supreme
necessity of encouraging Christian artists. Creditable Chris-
tian art exhibits became features of the Katholikentage. Be-
sides a number of diocesan art societies, a " Christian Art
Society " for Germany, with an organ of its own, was founded
at Cologne in 1852. But all these laudable efi'orts were
doomed to bear but little practical fruit.
In 1892 the Congress of Mainz, on the motion of Prof.
SchniJrer, of Freiburg, recommended the founding of a Ger-
man Society of Christian Art, and commissioned the Rev. F.
Festing, the sculptor George Busch and the painter Gebhard
Fugel to take the necessary steps to this end. These men
went at their task with a will, and on 4 January, 1893, the
Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Christliche Kunst was organized,
with Freiherr von Hertling as first President and Canon
Staudhamer as first Secretary. The membership list, which
included eleven bishops and archbishops, hundreds of priests
and prominent laymen, and all the well-known Catholic artists
of the day, was headed by His Royal Highness, the Prince-
Regent Luitpold of Bavaria. Before the end of August the
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Shrine and Altar of St. Barbara
Church of the Sacred Heart, Graz.
St.
Scholastica's Body Being Brought to St, Benedict's Monastery
A good example of the Beuron School of Decoration.
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1-5 2i
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. 653
new society issued its first Kunstmappe (annual art-portfolio)
and held its first convention during the session of the Catholic
Congress at Wurzburg. A few extracts from the Statutes ap-
proved by the convention will give a clear idea of the aims
and organization of the Society:
The Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir christliche Kunst aims to be a
rallying-point for all artists and patrons of art who are prepared to
foster creative Christian art and to awaken intelligent interest in
it among all classes of the people.
Any person can become a member of the Society * who identifies
himself with its aims and pays the annual dues of 10 marks ($2.50).
Payment of 250 marks in cash entitles to life-membership.
Whoever abuses his privilege of membership for commercial or
advertising purposes can be excluded from the Society by the Board
of Directors.
Every year a general meeting of the Society is held at which all
the members are entitled to a vote, in addition to this the Board of
Directors can call an extraordinary meeting at any time. The
general meeting alone has the right to alter the Statutes of the
Society.
The affairs of the Society are managed by a Board of Directors
composed of eighteen members elected by the general assembly.
One-third of the Board consists of artists, two-thirds of patrons,
three of whom at least should be priests. . . . The members of the
Board are elected for a term of three years; each year six members
— four patrons and six artists — retire from the Board. . . . The two
Presidents (only the second can be an artist) are elected for a term
of three years by the Board of Directors from among their own
members. The two secretaries and treasurers are elected in the
same way.
The duties of the Board of Directors are: 1. to promote the aims
of the Society by sedulously consulting its interests; 2. to carry on
the current business of the Society; 3. to arrange art exhibitions;
4. to administer the property of the Society.
Each year the Society issues an art-portfolio {Kunstmappe) con-
taining on an average 35 reproductions of original works by the
members of the Society with a brief explanatory text. The Kunst-
mappe is sent gratis to the members.
A Jury of 8 members is annually elected, six by the artists (2
architects, 2 sculptors, 2 painters) and two by the other members
'Of the Society.
2 The Headquarters of the G. f. c. K. are located at Munich, Karlstrasse 6.
654 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The Jury decides on the works to be admitted into the Jahres-
mappe and for exhibitions held under the auspices of the Society.
Its decisions are final in all purely artistic questions touching the
Society. If the President objects to the admission of a work of
art into the Jahresmappe on other than artistic grounds, he can
enter a provisional veto and refer the matter to the Board of
Directors.
Artists in the sense of § § 1, 6 and 12 are such as have given proof
of their ability by the production of original works of art. After
presentation by one of its artist members, the Jury decides whether
a candidate is to be admitted into the Society as an artist or not.
The property of the Society is used: 1. to meet current expenses;
2. to publish the art-portfolio ; 3. to promote monumental works of
Christian art; 4. for exhibitions.
Thanks to the whole-souled cooperation of prominent ec-
clesiastics and laymen, thanks especially to constant encour-
agement in high places, the Christian Art Society has suc-
ceeded in bringing together an unexpectedly large number of
talented artists who are ready to place their best efforts in the
service of Christian art. The results thus far achieved bear
out the claim made at the last Catholic Congress, that a glori-
ous revival of religious art is in progress. At the end of
1 910 the Society counted 5950 members recruited mainly
from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, — the other coun-
tries of Europe and the Americas having but few representa-
tives. Of the artists of the Society Kuhn says in his monu-
mental Allgemeine Kunstgeschichte:^ "The ablest of the
religious painters [elsewhere he says the same of the architects
and sculptors] are in every way the equals of the secular
artists, but strange to say their names are seldom found in the
popular art dictionaries." It is also strange that reproduc-
tions of religious paintings by German Protestant artists, such
as Hofmann and Plockhorst, are met with in hundreds of our
American Catholic educational institutions, but seldom, if
ever, the far superior works of Catholic painters; such as
Feuerstein, Schiestl, Kunz, Fugel, Seitz, Wante, or Schleibner.
In 1900 the Board of Directors of the Gesellschaft fiir
christliche Kunst took a step which, though it led to serious
misunderstandings, has resulted in much good to the cause of
^ Die Malerei, II, p. 1351.
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. 655
Christian art. On the motion of Prof. Busch i't advised the-
founding of a " Christian Art Company, Ltd." ( Gesellschaft
fiir christliche Kunst, G. m. b. H.). This company, which
is closely allied to, though quite distinct from the German
Society of Christian Art, has for its object the bringing of
works of Christian art before the buying public. All its stock-
holders are members of the Society, and the Society as such
holds stock to the amount of 8000 marks. The net profits are
not divided among the stockholders (these merely draw 4%
interest on their investment), but are used exclusively for
the promotion of Christian art.
In 1904 the Art Company began the publication of the il-
lustrated monthly magazine, Die christliche Kunst. Toward
its support the Art Society pays a yearly subvention of two-
marks for each of its members, who in return receive the
magazine for the nominal yearly subscription price of M.4.80
($1.20). During the seven years of its existence it has
steadily improved and ranks to-day with the best art periodi-
cals of the world. By the variety of the subjects treated (it
covers the whole field of genuine art, both sacred and pro-
fane), the good repute of the contributors, and the number
and beauty of its illustrations, it has won the praises even
of the most critical and exacting of its readers.
Since 1908 the Art Company has been publishing an il-
lustrated supplement to Die christliche Kunst under the title
Der Pionier.'^ The " Pioneer ", as its name implies, aims to
prepare the way for Christian art, to remove obstacles, bridge
over difficulties, give advice and encouragement; it appeals
especially to the priest, the teacher and the student, treating
as it does in a most lucid manner all the practical questions
touching Christian art in the church, the school, and the home.
It fully deserves all the patronage, and more than, it has
thus far received.
Die christliche Kunst is not the official organ of the Deutsche
Gesellschaft fiir christliche Kunst, though four-fifths of its
members subscribe for it. The only official organ of the So-
ciety is the Jahresmappe. Every member of the society, how-
ever, has the right to enter protest with the Board of Direc-
* Price, 3M. — 75 cents per year.
^56 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tors or at the annual convention, if he thinks that the review
^r the Pionier is not true to the principles and interests of
the Society.
The Jahresmappe, for the contents of which the Society is
responsible, is an admirable means of making known the
works of Christian artists and of enabling the members to
form their own opinion of the religious art-life of our day
and of serving them as reliable guides in the selection of
artists for any orders they may have to place. The high
artistic character of the Jahresmappe has been repeatedly ac-
knowledged both by the public press and the organs of the
various non-Catholic art societies. Even a casual study of
the eighteen portfolios thus far issued will elicit the con-
fession that here is the story of German Christian art en-
deavor during the past twenty years. The fruits displayed
are not all of equal beauty and delight, but for this very
reason they present a truer picture of the searching and
wrestling of individual talents for the same ideals.
By means of its annual raffles, which are arranged in such
a way that each member of the Society, without any addi-
tional pecuniary obligation, must win at least once in five
years, valuable productions of sacred art are introduced into
the Christian home. Only original works of art and ex-
ceptionally good reproductions of famous works by old and
new masters are raffled.
One of the most important duties of the Society is the ar-
ranging of Christian Art Exhibitions. In spite of many and
great difficulties very satisfactory results have been achieved
in this line. The first exhibition was held in Munich in the
summer of 1895 at the same time as the Forty-Second Catholic
Congress. Another could be arranged for the following year
in Dortmund. In 1899 the Christian artists took part as a
separate group in the Munich Artists' Exhibition, which at-
tracted so much attention at the time. In 1905 they exhibited
in Vienna and in 1907 at Aix-la-Chapelle. The Munich Ex-
position of 1908 had a special department for Christian Art,
consisting of a church and a number of adjoining chapels for
applied religious art. By far the greater number of the ex-
hibitors in this department belonged to the Society of Chris-
tian Art and represented its ideas in a most creditable man-
Carved Tympanum Over Doorway, St. Paul's Church, Munich,
St. John Chrysostom
St. Athanasius
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THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. 657
ner. From 15 May to 30 September, 1909, an International
Christian Art Exposition was held in Dusseldorf. Three
halls had been placed at the disposal of the Society, which
was represented by no less than sixty artists. A number of
its non- Bavarian artists affiliated themselves with local groups
of exhibitors. Twenty years ago the Dusseldorf Exposition
would have been an impossibility.
Two new features have been recently introduced into the
exhibition work of the Society : the Exhibitions for Students
and the Wanderausstellungeny or Travelling- Exhibitions.
The former are arranged in various parts of the country for
the Christmas or summer holidays, and are left as far as
possible to the management of the students themselves. The
first exhibition of this kind was held in Kevelaer in Septem-
ber last under the auspices of Fritz Stummel's Lower Rhenish
Art School. The Wanderausstellungen are an excellent
means for educating the people up to an intelligent apprecia-
tion of true religious art. During the past two years such
unpretentious and inexpensive exhibitions have made the
rounds of Bavaria, everywhere enthusiastically welcomed by
the clergy, the press and, above all, by the people themselves.
If these exhibitions are supplemented by a popular lecture on
art, illustrated if possible, they are always sure to be a success.
Perhaps it will interest the tourist to know that the Society
maintains, at its headquarters in Munich, a permanent Chris-
tian art exhibit which is well worth a visit. The writer has
spent some pleasant and instructive hours there himself. The
space available is, however, too limited, and steps are being
taken to provide for better accommodations. The advisability
of establishing a school of Christian art in connexion with an
exposition hall was seriously discussed at the last annual con-
vention.
The advertising of competitions for monumental works of
art, though it has its drawbacks, is a most effective means of
stimulating interest both among the artists and the public
Since it took up this kind of work some ten years ago, the
Society of Christian Art has conducted sixteen successful com-
petitions, including plans for churches, monuments, stained-
glass windows, altars, frescoes, and cover-designs for books
and magazines. All competitions are advertised' and the re-
658
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
suits published in Die christliche Kunst and the Yearly Report-
issued by the Society.
At the Fifteenth General Meeting of the Society of Chris-
tian Art, which was held in Munich, 4 July, 191 2, a number
of amendments to the original statutes were unanimously
adopted. The most important ones may be summed up under
the following heads: i. membership; 2. organs of the society,*:
3. the formation of groups within the Society.
1. Membership. All persons professing the Christian re-
ligion can become ordinary members of the Society. Corpor-
ations, associations, foundations and institutions whose aims
are not incompatible with those of the Society can be admitted
into the Society as extraordinary members. Extraordinary
members have the right to be represented at the General
Meetings of the Society. University students can be admitted
into the Society as participants. Participants are entitled to
the annual art gift of the society : other rights they have none.
Their yearly contribution is six marks.
2. Organs of the Society. To the already existing organs
— the Board of Directors, the Jury, and the General Meeting
of the Members — a fourth, an Honorary Board of Directors,
has been added. It consists of the bishops who are members
of the Society. The members of the Honorary Board have,
the right to assist at all the meetings of the Board of Direc-
tors, either in person or by their representatives. The de-
cisions of the Board of Directors are null and void if the
Honorary Board declares them to be opposed to Catholic prin-
ciples. Writings and works of art intended for general dis-
tribution among the people must be submitted to the Honorary
Board before they are published.
At least one-third of the members of the Board of Direc-
tors must be ecclesiastics.
3. The formation of groups within the Society. In larger
districts local groups, or branches, of the Society of Christian
Art can be organized. Each group must be composed of at
least twenty members. No district can have more than one
group.
The district groups must pursue the same ends as the So-
ciety of Christian Art. The decisions of the Board of Direc-
tors of the Society are binding on all the groups. The
THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIAN ART IN GERMANY. ^cg
statutes of the district groups must be approved by the Board
of Directors of the Society. No district group can acquire
the rights of a body corporate. Properly constituted district
groups have the right to representation at the General Meet-
ings of the Society. Each group is entitled to one vote for
every twenty of its members not present at the General Meet-
ing, but in no case to more than ten votes.
Such is a brief sketch of the work being done by the German
Society of Christian Art. In other parts of the world similar
societies are doing similar work, and, though their methods of
doing it may be different, all are spurred on by the same noble
enthusiasm for the ultimate triumph of Christian ideas and
ideals over the idols of materialism on the modern battlefield
of art.
Some months ago, from his bed of sickness, the aged Car-
dinal Capecelatro wrote to the organizers of an Italian So-
ciety of Christian Art : " My heart is sorely distressed when
I contemplate the sad state into which Christian art has been
allowed to fall. It has long been my ardent wish that a so-
ciety for the promotion of modern Christian art should be
founded, because I know how powerful the warm light of
sacred art is to enlighten the mind and to inflame the heart
with faith and love. O ! if Christian art could but flourish
again as it did of old in the ages of faith, how much good
might not be done? And if we all strove to convince our
Catholic people that the light of celestial beauty streaming
forth from the master-works of Christian art ennobles and
sanctifies our religious feelings, how great would be the gain
for the salvation of souls! With mind and heart we should
draw nearer to the Eternal Beauty."
George Metlake.
Cologne, Germany.
66o
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
THE SMALL HOST "EXTRA OOEPOKALE"— A BIT OP OASUISTEY.
The following list (including only commonly accessible authors)
will enable the reader to control the references found in the present
article. The tract referred to under an author's name is taken from
his Moral Theology, unless explicit mention is made of another
work. It will readily appear that the writer finds himself in full
accord with the opinion represented by Father Columba in the
present discussion.
St. Alphonsus, (a) De Euchar., No. 217.
(b) Homo Apostolicus, Examen Ordinandorimi,
No. 99.
Ballerini, De Euchar.,- Nos. 59, 60, 61, 62.
Bouquillon, Theol. Mor. Fund., Nos. 65-71. (Authojity of
St. Alphonsus.)
The Casuist, Case LXVI, p. 279 (taken verbatim, without ac-
knowledgment, from Dr. Koeberl in the Theologisch-
praktische Quart ah chrift, 1906, pp. 576-583).
Genicot, De Euchar., No. 174, 4°.
Goepfert, Das allerh. Sak., § 126, 2.
Gury, De Euchar., No. 94,' 1°.
Konings, De Euchar., No. 1283.
Lambertini (Benedict XIV), De Sacrificio Missae, III, 18, 4°
and 6°.
Lehmkuhl, Cath. Encyc, XIV, 601-611.
De Euchar., No. 125.
Casus (37), No. 128 etc.
Marc, De Euchar., No. 1527, 1°.
Sabetti, De Euchar., No. 682, 1°.
Slater, The Holy Eucharist, C. XIX, 3.
Noldin, De Euchar., Nos. 113, 114, 4.
Tanquerey, De Euchar., No. 135.
I. The Case.
^ ^ T T wasn't consecrated at all. You should have taken it
1 yourself after the purification." — " No, it was probably
consecrated, — so you should have taken it just after the
Precious Blood, before the ablutions." — " No, it was more
probably not consecrated, — so you should have taken it after
the first, and before the second, ablution."
Sympathize with me, dear fellow-sufferer. My server
wished to communicate during my Mass. I placed a small
host on the paten. On rising from the genuflection after
THE SMALL HOST ''EXTRA CORPORALE." 561
elevating the Sacred Host I caught sight of the small host
lying outside the corporal, touching, or all but touching, the
right edge of the purificator. It had evidently fallen there
when I uncovered the chalice at the Offertory. What was to
be done? Instinctively I placed the small host on the cor-
poral at the foot of the chalice and went on with the Mass. A
solution flashed upon me, as I thought, unbidden. " In the
sacristy I had the intention to consecrate that host in this
Mass. I haven't revoked that intention, and the host was
cons ec ratable. Therefore it is certainly consecrated, and I
shall give it to the server." So I did. It is true, I felt some
trepidation. I listened for objections, but none seemed to
obscure that first clear impression. About the intention I
had no doubt at all. The physical presence troubled me most.
The host was three inches outside the corporal. But I could
find no solid reason to doubt my logic, and hence I gave the
server Communion as usual.
For the general edification I narrated the incident to my
confreres at the general recreation of our community. Quite
generally my solution was condemned. And when I inquired
what then I should have done, I received the mutually con-
tradictory answers that stand at the opening of this article.
It was some consolation to find my adversaries divided among
themselves. So I felt emboldened to say that I still held that
I had acted correctly, and would not feel myself justified in
doing otherwise if the accident should happen again.
"What's that? Father Columba, you're a heretic!" —
" No, a schismatic !" — " Verging on Modernism !" — "All au-
thors agree that you simply cannot treat the host under such
circumstances as consecrated!"
"Why not?" said I. " No one has any doubt about the
matter or the form. And I'm sure I had the intention, and
did not revoke it. 'Atqui,' says the Ritual, ' his tribus exis-
tentibus Veritas adest Sacramenti '."
"There! I thought so." The patriarch among the fath-
ers was speaking. " That is the result of reading novels, and
neglecting theology. Come, confess — you are simply stand-
ing in the shoes of Father Irwin, the flippant young priest in
Chapter XXIII of Father Sheehan's My New Curater
(" Oh, ho !"— "Ah, ha !"— " So, so !")
^52 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
" Call him flippant if you will : I have yet to meet an ef-
fective answer to his argument. Here is the book. I brought
it along purposely. Will you allow me to read the passage?"
" Just a moment," said Father Prior. " Two of the younger
fathers will please bring authorities from the library, that we
may have wherewith to make straight the crooked ways in
good Father Irwin's theological garden."
" Bring Sabetti ! Gury ! Ballerini ! Noldin ! Konings !
Marc ! Tanquerey !" — such are the cries that pursue the mes-
sengers.
II. A Theological Battle.^
*' Now, Father Irwin," said the chairman, addressing a
smart, keen-looking young priest who sat at the end of the
table, ''you have just come back to us from Australia; of
course, everything is perfect there. What do you think — Are
the particles in a ciborium, left by inadvertence outside the
corporal during consecration, consecrated? Now, just reflect
for a moment, for it is an important matter."
" Unquestionably they are," said the young priest con-
fidently.
" They are not," replied the chairman. " The whole con-
sensus of theologians is against you."
" For example?" said Father Irwin coolly.
" Wha-at?" said the chairman, taken quite aback.
" I doubt if all theologians are on your side," said Father
Irwin. " Would you be pleased to name a few?"
" Certainly," said the chairman, with a pitying smile at this
young man's presumption. " What do you think of Benedict
XIV, Suarez, and St. Alphonsus?"
The young man didn't seem to be much crushed under the
avalanche.
" They held that there should be reconsecration ?"
" Certainly."
" Let me see. Do I understand you aright? The celebrant
intends from the beginning to consecrate those particles ?"
" Yes."
" The intention perseveres to the moment of consecration?'*
" Yes."
* Cf. Ecclesiastical Review, 1899, Vol. 20, pp. 477 S.
THE SMALL HOST "EXTRA CORPORALE."
663
"And the materia being quite right, he intends to conse-
crate that objective, that just lies inadvertently outside the
corporal ?"
" Quite so."
"And you say that Benedict XIV, Suarez, and St. Alphonsus
maintain the necessity of reconsecration ?"
" Yes."
" Then I pity Benedict XIV, Suarez, and St. Alphonsus."
There was consternation. The bishop looked grave. The
•old man gaped in surprise and horror. The young men held
down their heads and smiled.
" I consider that a highly improper remark, as applied to
the very leading lights of theological science," said the chair-
man, with a frown. And when the chairman frowned it was
not pleasant. The bishop's face, too, was growing tight and
•stern.
" Perhaps I should modify it," said the young priest airily.
" Perhaps I should have rather said that modern theologians
and right reason are dead against such an opinion."
" Quote one modern theologian that is opposed to the com-
mon and universal teaching of theologians on the matter!"
" Well, Ballerini, for example, and the Salmanticenses — "
" Pshaw ! Ballerini. Ballerini is to upset everything, I
rsuppose?"
" Ballerini has the Missal and common sense on his side."
"The Missal?"
"Yes. Read this — or shall I read it? — ' Quidquid horum
deficit, scilicet materia debita, forma cum intentione, et ordo
sacerdotalis, non conficitur Sacramentum ; et his existentibus,
quibuscunque aliis deficientibus, Veritas adest Sacramenti '."
" Quite so. The whole point turns on the words ' cum in-
tentione '. The Church forbids, under pain of mortal sin, to
consecrate outside the corporal. Now the priest cannot be
presumed to have the intention of committing a peccatum
grave just at the moment of consecration; and, therefore, he
cannot be supposed to have the intention of consecrating."
" Pardon me if I say, sir," replied the young priest, " that
that is the weakest and most fallacious argument I ever heard
advanced. That reasoning supposes the totally inadmissible
principle that there never is a valid consecration when, in-
664
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
advertently, the priest forgets some Rubric that is binding
under pain of mortal sin. If, for example, the priest used
fermented bread, if the corporal weren't blessed, in which
case the chalice and paten would be outside the corporal, as
well as the ciborium ; if the chalice itself weren't consecrated,
— there would be no sacrifice and no consecration. Besides.
if you once commence interpreting intention in this manner,
you should hold that if the ciborium were covered on the
corporal, there would be no consecration — "
*' That's only a venial sin," said the chairman.
"A priest, when celebrating," said Father Irwin, sweetly^
" is no more supposed to commit a venial than a mortal sin.
Besides — "
" I'm afraid our time is running short," said the bishop \
" I'll remember your arguments, which are very ingenious,
Father Irwin. But as the chairman says, the consensus is
aga-inst you. Now, for the main Conference, de textibus
Sacrae Scripturae."
III. The Intention to consecrate Illicit Matter as-
sumed BY THE Church.
" Father Irwin is right."—'' No, the bishop is right."—" It's
a different case from the one under discussion." — " Granted
that Fr. Irwin's reasoning is evident, you cannot follow it in
praxi." — " St. Alphonsus is against it, and that settles the
case."
This volley of comment was interrupted by Father Prior:
" To avoid confusion let one at a time attack Father Columba»
who has intrenched himself behind Father Irwin. Let Father
Dunstan begin."
Fr. D. — " No priest can treat a host which during conse-
cration lies outside the corporal as certainly consecrated, un-
less he has the intention to consecrate it, even though it should,
at the moment of consecration, lie outside the corporal. But
such an intention is a mortal sin. Therefore no conscientious
priest can ever treat such a host as certainly consecrated."
C. — "O Shade of Socrates, be near me now! Fr. D., I
understand you to affirm that the intention must reach the
matter just as the matter will be at the moment of consecra-
tion. As, then, a host outside the corporal is illicit matter,
it cannot be reached by a licit intention."
THE SMALL HOST ''EXTRA CORPORALE." 55 1
Fr. D. — " That's my position — better worded I must say,,
than I left myself."
C. — " Grammercy. Wine with which not even a drop of
water has been mingled (by error of a weak-sighted priest,,
for instance) is illicit matter?"
D.— " Yes."
C. — " The intention to consecrate that illicit matter is like-
wise illicit?"
D.— "Y-yes. No!"
C— "Why not?"
D. — " I see your trap. The rubric says that such wine is-
to be considered certainly consecrated. The rubric therefore
presupposes that the priest had a valid intention. It is the
duty of the priest to have a valid intention. It is monstrous
to hold that the Church makes it a duty for the priest to have-
an illicit intention. Therefore though the matter is illicit, the
intention is licit. The intention would be illicit only when-
accompanied by advertence to the fact that the matter is-
illicit."
C. — " So an intention to be valid does not need to be ac-
companied by the condition : provided that the matter at the
moment of consecration will be licit."
D. — " It need not be, and should not be. Such a condition
would render invalid the consecration of the wine without the
water. Now the Church requires you to have a valid inten-
tion in such cases. You are not then allowed to make your
intention dependent on a condition that will not be realized."
C. — " So the intention need not include that condition.
Further, it should not. What do you say of the man who>
affirms that the intention must include that condition, and that
the consecration in such a case is uncertain, because the priest
cannot be presupposed to have included in his intention a con-
dition that would make it illicit?"
D. — " Such a man does not think with the Church, on that
point. Rather, the practice of the Church in the case of the
unmixed wine, in those cases mentioned by Father Irwin (or
rather Ballerini), shows that the priest is required by the
Church to have, at least implicitly, just the contrary condition,
viz, I intend to consecrate that chalice, even if, inadvertently,
I shall fail to put into it the drop of water demanded by the-
:^^^ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Church under pain of mortal sin. Without this condition,
made at least implicitly, the wine without water could not
be reached by the intention at all, and thus could not be
consecrated at all."
C. — " So the Church requires me to have an intention to
•consecrate validly matter forbidden by her rubrics?"
D.— " Yes."
C. — "And the Church cannot require me to commit sin?"
D.—" God forbid!"
C— " My intention then to consecrate the small host, though
:it will be outside the corporal, is not thereby a sin."
D. — " I am forced to say it is not. And that admission of
^course destroys the argument with which I began. The in-
tention to consecrate a host outside the corporal cannot be
more sinful than the intention to consecrate wine without
water admixed. Nor can I plead that the Church requires
the intention to cover illicit matter only when the essential
matter of the sacrifice is in question. For a ciborium which
'Contains no essential matter would be validly consecrated
though the priest should find out that the hosts it contains,
while valid, are yet illicit. So, Father Prior, I strike my
flag. I know no reason for doubting the validity of this morn-
ing's consecration, or that would hinder Father Columba from
acting again as he did this morning." — ( " Oh, ho!" — " Fes-
tina lente!" — " You're too easy. Father Dunstan.")
IV. Must the Intention be made (or renewed) during
Mass?
" Father Mark is anxious to continue the battle," — thus
Father Prior.
Fr. M. — " With Father Lehmkuhl I urge that secondary
matter can never be held to be certainly consecrated when
the priest has merely had the intention in the sacristy and has
not renewed that intention during Mass itself. By his in-
tention in the sacristy he wills, not to consecrate, but to add,
during Mass itself, secondary matter to the essential matter."
C. — " So, if the sacristan during the Gospel puts on the
corporal a ciborium which the priest before Mass had ordered
him to prepare, such a ciborium is not certainly consecrated,
if the priest, excited by his sermon, does not think of that
THE SMALL HOST ''EXTRA CORPORALE/
667
<:iborium from the moment he gave the order till after the
Elevation ?"
M. — " On the contrary, it is most certainly consecrated."
C. — " But the priest has not renewed the intention."
M. — " Yes, he has. He cannot go on with Mass, turn the
last fold of the corporal, etc. without adverting, if not re-
ilexly at least directly, to the ciborium."
C. — " So, although the priest is not aware of attention in
either case, the ciborium upon the corporal will certainly draw
his attention sufficiently to be surely consecrated; while if
it is just outside, it will never do so?"
M.— " So I hold."
C. — " Surely that is a very precarious position in dealing
-with the validity of a sacrament. To be sure of a valid con-
secration we must be certain, you say, that the intention was
renewed during Mass. If now the ciborium stand outside the
<:orporal there are many cases where, though the ciborium
be ever so near the corporal, we cannot be certain the in-
tention was renewed. How can it be so absolutely certain
that a ciborium on the corporal must have drawn the priest's
attention, while we can never be sure that the ciborium just
outside the corporal has done so? Is it not probable that a
ciborium on the corporal may sometimes not draw the priest's
attention more than it would were it lying outside the cor-
poral? If so, your principle that the secondary matter of
the sacrifice cannot be held to be certainly consecrated unless
the intention to consecrate it be made, or at least renewed,
during Mass itself, — that principle is at least dubious, that
means, unallowed in dealing with the Sacraments.
" But the position is not only dubious, it is clearly false.
A priest can be reflexly sure he did not notice the ciborium
at all until after consecration. In that case the only re-
newal of the intention conceivable is that included in the fact
that he has been saying Mass in virtue of an intention made
before Mass to consecrate that ciborium during Mass. And
thus the intention had in the sacristy reaches forward to the
consecration of the secondary matter itself, and not merely
to the addition during Mass of matter to be consecrated. If
the virtual intention made in the sacristy does not guarantee
the consecration of secondary matter during Mass, the ciborium
668 TH^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ought to be reconsecrated, at least conditionally, whether
it stand on the corporal or off. If it does guarantee the
ciborium on the corporal, it guarantees equally the ciborium
outside the corporal — unless you make the intention never to
consecrate outside the corporal, and that intention you are
not allowed to make."
V. May the Priest positively exclude Validity ?
Father Bruno. — "Not allowed? I've made that intention;
once for all, and I renew it often. In this fierce controversy
it is the only safe passage between Scylla and Charybdis.
That intention made, I know that the ciborium outside is
certainly not consecrated."
C. — " Even when, just before consecration, you had un-
covered the ciborium and drawn it nearer, but still failed to
get it on the corporal, or perhaps pushed its base under the
corporal ?"
B. — " Even then it would not be consecrated."
C. — " I am glad you are consequent. I know a priest who
had your practice and still said he would consider the con-
secration in the above case valid. But see. There is a con-
sensus theologorum modernorum that such a consecration is
valid. I think I may safely defy you to bring me a single
recent author to the ' contrary . Now that consensus presup-
poses that it is the practice of the Church to treat such a con-
secration as valid. Where does the Church authorize you to-
depart from this practice? Certainly her general principle
is against you. In doubtful cases she never makes the valid-
ity depend on the observance of the rubrics; she simply asks,
were the elements essential to validity present? She pre-
supposes that her rubrics are not essential to validity. How
dare you destroy that presupposition? You would not dare-
to do it in Baptism, — ' provided e. g. this water is really
baptismal water '. A conscientious bishop would not dare to^
ordain under this condition — ' provided those to be ordained
are not irregular '. To avoid venial sin you would not say
— ' provided the ciborium shall be uncovered at the moment
of consecration,' etc. Why, then, do you make an exception'
with the ciborium outside the corporal ?"
THE SMALL HOST "EXTRA CORPORALE/
669
B. — '* Just because so many theologians hold that the in-
tention in the sacristy would be illicit, and the consecration
therefore doubtful."
C. — '* But please be consequent. The consecration, they
say, would be doubtful. It is not sure the intention was there :
it is not sure the intention was not there. Thus you con-
tradict the theologians whom you have invoked. With your
practice the consecration can never be doubtful. You are
sure the intention was not there."
B. — " But surely it is a torture not to be able, in a fre-
quently returning case, to make an intention that will be
either certainly valid or certainly invalid."
C. — " I agree with you. Therefore I make the intention
in this case that I do everywhere else in the sacraments : It
shall be valid even though, inadvertently, I shall violate the
Rubrics by leaving the ciborium outside the corporal.'*
VI. The Intention should be absolute.
B. — " There you fall from Scylla into Charybdis. The
theologians say it is doubtful. You contradict them as I did,
by making it sure."
C. — " Will you kindly mention just one modern theologian
^ho sticks to the principle that consecration outside the cor-
poral is always doubtful?"
B. — " One! Here's Sabetti and Marc, and Lehmkuhl, and
Konings and Slater, and the Casuist, and — "
C. — " One word, please, before I disappear beneath your
avalanche. Is there one amongst these mighty names who
says that the consecration is doubtful when the priest adverted
to the ciborium just before consecration and renewed his in-
tention to consecrate, but failed to notice that it stood outside
the corporal?"
B. — " N-no. Not all of them treat the case expressly.
But all who do, agree that the ciborium is consecrated beyond
doubt."
C. — "And yet it stands outside the corporal! So all who
admit validity in this case do not stick to the principle that
consecration outside the corporal is always doubtful. And a
principle that fails even once is no principle at all. Now
listen. In this case the priest's intention, made' just before
670 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
consecration, included implicitly the condition : even though
the cihorium is lying, inadvertently, outside the ciborium.
That condition, therefore, is not sinful, just before conse-
cration. Is it, then, sinful three minutes before? Or seven?'
Or ten? Or fifteen? Or before Mass altogether? Further,
why, in any case, would the absolute intention to consecrate-
be sinful when made in the sacristy? Because the ciborium,
which is the object of that intention, will as a matter of fact
be lying outside the corporal at the moment of consecration.
Not so? Well, in the name of goodness, isn't the ciborium,
as a matter of fact, outside the corporal when the priest makes
the intention during Mass just before the consecration? Sa
if you say that the intention just before consecration is sub-
jectively lawful, because the priest does not notice that the
ciborium is objectively forbidden and is disposed to put it on
the corporal if he did notice it, then I can assure you that
every conscientious priest who makes in the sacristy an in-
tention to consecrate a ciborium which will be objectively un-
lawful during consecration is likewise disposed to put it on the
corporal if he were to notice it, and that he will not do so in
fact only because he will not notice that it is objectively for-
bidden. And thus I still maintain that my intention, made
in the sacristy and not revoked, was lawful, and that therefore
there can be no reasonable doubt about this morning's
consecration."
VII. Does St. Alphonsus leave the Consecration doubt-
ful IN PRAXI ?
Father Bruno. — " But granting that the validity of the-
consecration is certain, speculatively, it still remains true that,,
practically, it is uncertain. In dealing with the sacraments,
every real reason to doubt validity must be excluded. Now
St. Alphonsus holds it more probable that the ciborium outside
the corporal is not consecrated. And this express opinion of
St. Alphonsus to the contrary is a real reason to doubt, in
praxi, the validity of your consecration."
C. — " You do not act on that last statement yourself."
B. — " How so, please?"
C. — " Recall the case discussed above. At some time dur-
ing Mass, perhaps even just before consecration, you catch.
THE SMALL HOST "EXTRA CORPORALE." ^ji
sight of the ciborium, and, not noticing that it is outside the-
corporal, renew your intention made in the sacristy to conse-
crate it. Presupposed that you have not laid down for your-
self the absolute rule on no condition to consecrate outside the-
corporal, have you any real reason to doubt the validity ?"
B. — " None. Father Marc, whose title-page restricts him
to the teachings of St. Alphonsus, says it is surely conse-
crated. Ballerini, notably opposed on many points to St.
Alphonsus, says the same. Lehmkuhl is agreed. Slater also..
Elbel, contemporary of St. Alphonsus, and referred to ap-
provingly by Marc, is another. Noldin and Tanquerey con-
sent. I believe there is no theologian of approved standing;
who thinks there is real reason to doubt."
C. — " Yes, there is at least one — St. Alphonsus."
B. — " Impossible ! St. Alphonsus doubts the validity only
when the intention made in the sacristy was not renewed
during Mass."
C. — " That impression you would be warranted in gather-
ing from some of our modern theologians. They refer to^
St. Alphonsus when they condemn this last case (the sacristy
intention unrenewed), and keep silent about him when they
defend the former (the intention renewed during Mass).
Yet, in fact, what St. Alphonsus expressly doubts is the valid-
ity even when the priest has the intention during Mass. The.
ciborium to be consecrated is placed on the corporal by a
cleric. You notice it and intend to consecrate. Though you
do not again advert to it, the consecration is certain. But
suppose it is placed outside the corporal. You notice it and'
intend to consecrate. You have not noticed that it is outside,,
and do not notice that circumstance till after consecration.
The consecration is doubtful. That is clearly the situation-
supposed by St. Alphonsus in the famous No. 217. If you
have any doubt, go to Homo Apostolicus. There he says^
generally : ' If however the ciborium at the time of consecra-
tion has remained outside the altar (i. e. corporal), there is
doubt whether consecration has taken place '."
So my contention stands. St. Alphonsus condemns your
renewed-before-consecration case. He is consequent. His;
principle is not justifiable; but he sticks to it He does not
<>']2
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tell me that my sacristy intention would be illicit because
its object, fifteen minutes from now, will be illicit, while four-
teen and one-half minutes from now, my intention will be licit
in spite of the fact that its object, one-half minute later,
will be illicit. He does not allow me at the consecration an
intention that is mortally sinful and forbid me the same in-
tention in the sacristy. St. Alphonsus, of course, implies
that he is against my practice. Further, he refers to Pope
Benedict XIV, who treats expressly only the unrenewed
sacristy intention. But the point is this. If the express
opinion of St. Alphonsus does not hinder you and your sup-
porters from treating the renewed-during-Mass-intention as
valid, how is his, not express but merely implied, opinion
about the sacristy intention to be a real reason for always
doubting its validity? For myself I can find no standing
:ground between Ballerini and Noldin on the one hand and St.
Alphonsus on the other. The position of St. Alphonsus leads
to consequences that are inadmissible. So I put myself un-
der the wings of the Sacred Penitentiary, which while re-
plying (5 July, 183 1 ) that a professor of theology may safely
follow and teach the opinions laid down by St. Alphonsus in
his Moral Theology, nevertheless goes on to say that this per-
mission is not to be construed into a reason for censuring
those who follow opinions upheld by other reliable {probatis)
authors. This approval of St. Alphonsus on the part of the
Sacred Penitentiary cannot be taken as guarantee that his
teachings are unquestionably correct. The Church cannot
guarantee an author's work to be unquestionably correct and
•simultaneously forbid me to construe such guarantee into a
reason for condemning those who contradict the author in
question. And if, notwithstanding this warning, I were to
put that construction on her approval of St. Alphonsus, what
will I do when I find myself in consequence at war with the
^opinions on the efficacy of grace laid down by St. Thomas?
The approval given by the Church to the entire theological
teaching of St. Thomas, moral as well as dogmatic, is just as
emphatic as that bestowed on the moral doctrines of St.
Alphonsus. When I consider, finally, that two of the keen-
est moral theologians in modern times, Ballerini and Palmieri,
maintained in Rome itself that St. Alphonsus's argument on
THE SMALL HOST "EXTRA CORPORALE."
673
this point is a sophism ; when I reflect that Noldin, also used
as text-book in Rome, at least on the Aventine, is likewise
point-blank opposed to St. Alphonsus; when I find Marc,
Lehmkuhl, and Slater upholding the renewed-during-Mass
case which the Saint expressly condemns as doubtful; when
I think of hundreds of priests who depend on these great
names for guidance; when I see the Church keep silence in
the face of all this, — it seems to me impossible to maintain
that she agrees with you when you say that the authority
of St. Alphonsus renders unsafe in praxi any opinion that
he considers doubtful.
Do not fear, however, that I am going to the opposite ex-
treme of condemning the Saint's advice as unsafe in praxi.
A confessor who reads St. Alphonsus to learn his opinions
only, not to weigh his reasons; who follows the Saint's de-
cisions unswervingly, is but doing what is permissible.^ And
just the thorny question now torturing us has been for me at
times a temptation to make personal use of this privilege. I
can well conceive circumstances where I would recommend
its adoption by others. But if adopted it must be abided by
consistently, even if it forces you to deprive an entire congre-
gation of its Easter Communion ; as in the case of Fr. Matthew,
who in saying Mass on Trinity Sunday for a Texas congre-
gation which he visited once a year, put the ciborium on the
altar before Mass only to find it outside the corporal after
consecration. As, then, that privilege would lead me, in my
present state of mind, to condemn cases where validity could
be rendered doubtful only by an express and special decision
of the Church herself, I feel sure the Saint himself, if placed
in this condition, would desert his own authority. I am con-
firmed in this feeling when I find him recommending (in a
Note to the Reader) his Moral Theology on the ground that,
in choosing opinions he had been immensely careful (in gens
€ura) to make reason supersede authority. Do we honor the
Saint by reversing his practice? Is not imitation the highest
form of reverence?
Let me conclude. Only if the intention made in the sacristy
to consecrate absolutely were sinful, or if it were necessary to
renew the intention during Mass, or if the authority of St.
2 Sacred Penitentiary, 5 July, 183 1.
674 '^HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Alphonsus rendered the validity doubtful in practice, only
then would there be real reason for doubting this morning's
consecration, or for adopting a different method of procedure
in future. But I think it is clear, first, that the Church has
given no such absolute authority to St. Alphonsus; secondly,
that very few theologians follow the Saint unswervingly;
thirdly, that the insistence upon renewal begs the question,,
since the final condition of renewal or non- renewal is the
physical presence, respectively non-presence, of the ciborium
upon the corporal; fourthly, that the virtual intention made
in the sacristy cannot be more sinful than the actual intention
just before consecration, i. e. is valid and licit because the host
lies outside the corporal only by inadvertence. As long then
as this conviction stands firm beneath the searching shafts of
its rival, so long shall stand my resolution to render again un-
der similar circumstances the same decision I rendered this
morning.
Patrick Cummins, O.S.B.
Conception Abbey , Mo.
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLEEANOE.
IS not the simple truth this — that there may profitably be as
many different sorts of sermons as there are different sorts
of people? And is not the frank recognition of this very
simple truth a legitimate encouragement to different sorts of
preachers? Some who are bound to preach are thoroughly
aware that they are not what is called good preachers; for
the sake of those who are their listeners they wish they were;
and for their own sake too, since it is human nature to desire
that any work we have to do should not be of an inferior
quality. Nevertheless it does not follow that the defect of
preaching power they admit in themselves, and regret, even
when others would agree with their self-criticism, is in actual
reality so serious a drawback as it would superficially appear.
A priest may be, as he humbly conceives, a " bad preacher '\
and it is likely enough that there will be critics to remark it:
but there is more in a man than anything he says, and that
superiority of the man himself to his words is not lost in the
pulpit. Indeed, it is often to the man we listen rather than
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLERANCE.
675
to any special things he may enunciate in speech. His con-
gregation knows him for a good man, and it matters more to
them than his phrases or epithets. The phrases may lack
much; they may be somewhat flat, somewhat outworn; they
may be very inadequate to the nobility of his theme, poorly
inexpressive of sublime ideas, miserably weak for the weight
of the message intended : his use of epithets may be even
tedious; he chooses them awkwardly, and they may be, and
often are, calculated rather to dull the force of what he means
than to sharpen and illustrate it. But none of this matters
so much as he, meekly aware of it all, though helpless to
better it, imagines : because the force is in himself that he,
and others too, miss in his words.
He may dutifully spend all the hours available in prepara-
tion, and the result almost disheartens him : but the real pre-
paration has been in his life, and the result does not depend
on his present, conscious eff"ort.
Of course a congregation likes ** good sermons " : enjoys
them, and perhaps may remember them better than " bad
sermons " ; it may grumble at the " bad " sermons : neverthe-
less it profits by them, by reason of the man himself. For the
only really bad sermons would be such as were insincere. A
platitude in the pulpit is not a stale saying, but a saying which
is only words and has no conviction at the back of it.
Say a sermon was " stupid ". It does not follow it is bad.
It may be thoroughly earnest, but the thoughts are, perhaps,
dull and pedestrian. A congregation is, as our old grammars
would say, a noun of multitude, and in a multitude there are
many people : some are neither dull, nor stupid, their thoughts
are not precisely pedestrian : well, they are bored. They are
disposed to think the sermon beneath them. Let them practise
patience and humility. But in the congregation are some dull
folk too, honest creatures, and the honest stupid sermon suits
them. It is their turn to be satisfied. The finer discourses,
though just as honest and sincere, are over their heads, and
they would be bored too if they dared.
A sermon which is insincere expresses nothing, however
big the words : it is the only bad sort, and is worst of all for
the preacher.
616
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
The fact, not a recondite one, of there being so many dif-
ferent kinds of people in even an average congregation of
no uncommon size, makes part of the preacher's difficulty.
He would wish to be of use to all, but he cannot even know
what all need, even if, knowing, he were able to give each
what was specially useful to each. But some difficulties are
so great that they answer themselves : God asks none of us to
do impossibilities, and He asks no one to do two things at
once. It is we ourselves, who try, if we be over-solicitous,
and unconsciously fussed by expecting too much of ourselves.
It is very right we should do our best, and not let ourselves
off with less: but our best is not always equally good, and if
somebody else's worst is better than our best it is not his fault,
and need not be our misfortune. It is a lucky stone that kills
two birds at one throw; we need not worry ourselves if in one
sermon we cannot take direct aim at two or three hundred
birds at once. After all, the plain truth, if we stick to it,
hits everybody, and if it hits many who have been hit before,
it is all right: the truest truths are not the newest.
Though nine-tenths of a congregation should go away and
think we had made no great figure, they do not know all
about it, God does, and He does not specially care for ma-
jorities. Even if only one person has got any good of us^
and we cannot know of even that one, God is not necessarily
dissatisfied. We do not read of flocks of converts after the
Sermon on the Mount, and it was the Sermon on the Mount,
and God preached it. After the Crucifixion itself, after the
Resurrection, the number of those He had converted, in three
and thirty years, appears to have been about a hundred and
twenty. What do we expect?
To return to the variousness of hearers : surely it leaves us
ground for hoping that all sorts of sermons may appeal to
some.
It may well be that a greater number will prefer the style
that is called popular. It may well be admitted, too, that
there is more than mere preference : that the " popular " ser-
snon not only pleases, but profits them best. They cannot
attend without interest, and only this sort awakes their inter-
est. Their emotions want stirring: without emotion they are
dead, and nothing arouses their emotion but the downright
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLERANCE. 677
*' popular" sermon. It would be affectation to ignore that
emotion is a large part of us, and it is utterly unfair to pre-
tend that there is anything inferior in appeal to emotion in
preaching. No other road is open to the interior of immense
numbers of people : why should we leave the devil the key of
the gate? If we occupy the path there is the less room for
the three concupiscences to lodge in it.
Let us be plain-spoken : there are huge numbers who can
hardly be awaked from spiritual somnolence and lethargy ex-
cept by a method of preaching that is, not to put too fine a
point upon it, ranting. Then let those who can rant. It is
not the highest style of preaching? Never mind, if it catches
lower-class souls. A silken net never caught a whale — his
blubber weighs too much. To tell the truth it is not a net that
does catch him, but harpoons, and there is blood about while
the harpooning is going forward.
St. Paul, we may be reminded, never ranted. For my part
I do not know, for I never heard. But of one thing we may
feel quite sure, he would have used any sort of sermon that
his unfailing spiritual instinct showed him was called for by
the quality of his audience. If there be listeners who in
spiritual matters are semi-deaf, and you can shout, then shout.
If others can hear only partly with their ears, and have to
listen with their eyes as well; then jump about. Only shout
the truth : no yelling will make two and two more than four :
and do not lash yourself into an excitement that you do not
feel; if a genuine fervor jumps you, never mind how high;
but, for shame's sake, do not try and skip yourself above
yourself or your sincere emotion. Even that might bring
you popularity, but there is One among your audience who
will not away with it. Anything else He will suffer; slips of
grammar, faults of " taste ", indifferent arguments, two-legged
syllogisms, lapses of memory, historical blunders, controversial
insecurity, argumenta ad homines etiam iinbecilles, but not
that : nor stage violence ; the stage-hero, denouncing the stage-
villain does not, for all his rage, think a penny the worse of
him : they are the best of friends and will sup together pres-
ently. Though he foam with rage at the mouth, no one sup-
poses him to be in the* least angry ; no one wants him to be.
His voice may crack with the fury of his tirade against the
678 T'HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
monster opposite, but it would not scandalize us to hear of
his borrowing ten shillings from the monster before they part
for the night. On the stage neither hero nor villain speaks
his own feelings, for himself, but the feelings of his part : the
villain may be the hero in to-morrow's play : and no one will
think he has morally degenerated : the villain takes the char-
acter of persecuted merit and he is not pretending to be a jot
better than he was yesterday. He is deceiving nobody, and
trying to deceive nobody. Stage acting is not pretence. But
I should be pretending were I in the pulpit to assume a fire
that had not set me alight, in hopes that it might enkindle me.
The actor is guilty of no insincerity : he is only trying to ex-
press another man's sentiment with all the force he can sum-
mon : I should be guilty of the worst sort of insincerity trying
to deceive myself first that others might be deceived the more
defencelessly. Non sic ad astra.
This is not saying that a preacher is not to be warmed by his
theme : the more it heats him the more likelihood that others
will be set on fire. By all means let his theme warm him:
only let it be that: let the theme do it, not himself. It can
only be from sincere enthusiasm that a man is genuinely
carried away. But there may be a pulpit excitement which is
not the irresistible effect of genuine enthusiasm. It may be
" effective ", but it effects nothing for God. Not by making
folk stare can we force the Spirit of God to come down into
them. I dare say there were many on Carmel who thought it
a fine thing when Baal's priests cried out and cut themselves
with knives after their manner, but it brought no fire down
from heaven.
It is supercilious and pharisaic to decry preaching because
it is emotional. Is it pretended that our emotions were all
given us by Satan? He certainly aims at getting hold of
them : why should not we pre-occupy them for God ? Only
let the emotion be honest, and genuine; nothing real is use-
less. It is not to the point to urge that emotion is transient.
Life itself is transient. Any emotion we feel may be our
last; it must be better that it should be an emotion on God's
side. The chances are, as we say in common speech, it will
not be our last. Admit it dies down : still it has grooved a mark
on our soul, and a good one. Say it is a fire gone out : it may
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLERANCE. f^jg
well leave a smouldering spark capable of re-kindling : when a
fire is gone out, all is not instantly cold. Put it at its worst .
the flame is extinguished, the heat is chilled: still there was
fire and good fire. It is better to have been hot on God's
side for a time than to have been cold throughout. A thing
which is not the very best must be far better than the worst
■of all : and the worst thing of all is complacent, unmoved
spiritual lethargy : it is the beginning of a habit and tends to
be a fixed one : once fixed, not sermons but miracles are needed
to break up that ever-thickening ice.
If I labor this it is lest any reader should think me against
preaching of the popular, vehement kind : there are many who
need it: let us confess it again, many who need downright
" ranting ", in which there may be more sentiment than
thought, for many have much less capacity for thinking than
they have for feeling : and no preaching can confer a capacity
that is wanting: a preacher, indeed, may be capable of edu-
cating dormant capacity, but hardly in one sermon, and he
may have only the opportunity of one: he does what he can
with the material on which he has to work that once.
An audience may be thoroughly unintellectual and not in
the least vulgar. But it may even be vulgar. Yet vulgar
men and women have souls, and they are not a bit more easy
to save on that account. They also need preaching, and if any
will sink himself to them it is a great work. It may be to
the preacher a great mortification too : one from which some-
thing within him shrinks as something in a saint shrank when
he put his lips to a sore. Not all of us could do what St.
Catherine did at Siena, what St. Ignatius did : we are not
saints. But if a man will do even that for Christ, it 7nust
bear fruit: it was only when Catherine drank her awful cup
that the nearly lost soul of Andrea was won. And our Lord
made the ghastly drink sweet.
If a preacher should bend his head to catch souls even
through the vulgarity of their ears, let us be content to con-
fess that we could not do it ourselves, and stand aside for him.
God knows : and He does not ask us to do what we cannot do.
When we know He asks us to do something, then we know
that we can do it, though we have thought it a moral impossi-
bility, or a physical : it is a physical impossibility for a man
68o THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
with a withered hand to stretch it out; but He bade the man>
stretch it out and he did, else would he have carried it with-
ered to the grave.
What we cannot do ourselves let us not refuse leave to others
to do, in preaching also. There is room for all sorts.
But just as in a congregation there may be some whom,
humanly speaking, a preacher can reach only by rhetoric, fine
rhetoric; or by a rhetoric less fine, if more fiery; or by
vehemence; or even by a rough wit, and banter (as one ma)-
often hear in a Catholic country) ; so there are others to whom
even fine rhetoric in a pulpit is almost repugnant; to whom
a rhetoric that fails of being fine, and is only fierce, is utterly
repugnant; to whom any extreme vehemence is repellent and
physically disagreeable, and well-nigh intolerable; whom the
heat of some preachers does not warm but chill, with a quite
involuntary sense of shrinking, almost of aversion, almost of
protest. They are as unafifected in disliking violent action,
noisy declamation, passionate appeal to emotion, as those wha
like it are sincere in admiration. It does not carry them off
their legs, but stiflFens their backs. It does not engage their
sympathy, but arouses a perfectly genuine remonstrance, and
goes far to awaken an antipathy that they can no more help
than they can help preferring argument to assertion, and proof
to argument. It is no more conceited in them to have one sort
of taste than it is beggarly and mean in others to have a dif-
ferent taste, or no taste at all. In the one case the popular
preacher appeals to a natural quality of mind ; in the other the
natural quality of mind is all against such an appeal as his.
They are not to condemn him; but neither are they bound in
sincerity to condemn themselves. If they should belittle him,
and deny him sincerity, they misbehave: but it is not mis-
behavior in them not to like what the tone of their mind dis-
likes. If they are wishing it was a different sort of preacher's
turn to hold the pulpit, they are only yielding to the same
spontaneous feeling as the man in the next pew who is re-
joicing that he came to-night instead of to-morrow — to-
morrow when the vault will resound with no loud echoes^
and a very quiet voice will lay down, in measured cadence,
positions from which there is no logical escape : when un-
faith will be beaten with a cold rod of iron, and unbelief be
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLERANCE. ggF
made to show itself as not only cruel and unhappy but silly
too: when humanistic excuses for lax morals will be forced
to appear no better than vapid sentimentality, scrambling on
one knock-kneed leg. The man who loves the popular
preacher, and is only capable of him, is hardly to be accused
of resisting the Holy Ghost because he merely suffers from
distraction while those calm, though really irresistible, things,
are being said. It is not malice, but incapacity, that makes
him think the theologian dull. If he finds the preacher's
huge nose queer, he does not mean to be flippant : he is only
what he is, and he cannot help it. But neither is the other
man resisting the Holy Ghost because he cannot, for the life
of him, understand why rivers of sweat should accompany
allusion to the river of life and grace. He does not want to be
bored : he is not assuring himself that it is superior to remain
quite cool while the preacher is so frightfully hot. Never-
theless his mind wanders : the preacher sets it off : the preacher
starts down an alley and the listener goes down to the end of
it, while the preacher has dashed eagerly off into another.
The preacher gives a smack at one objection to faith, but by
no means knocks it down ; another has leapt into his mind and
he must punch at it; the listener lingers to consider how the
first ought to have been flattened ; before he had made up his
mind, he sees the preacher sparring with indomitable pluck at
a third objection, with glorious pluck, but with lamentable
want of science. Such agility makes the hearer blink, but it
is quite as fatiguing to try and follow as it is dazzling.
" Come along," cries the preacher, with amazing spirit. "Any
amount of you. The more the merrier. I've a black eye in^
my fist for each of you." The courage, the activity, the
readiness to duck, and hit, and lunge out in another direction,
are all marvellous : but a black eye blinds no one permanently :
science will give it against the hitter for all his popularity:
and this unfortunate spectator is on the side of science, he-
cares more for victory than for a fine show.
Well, well ! What metaphors have we been slipping into !'
Misfortune brings us strange bedfellows, says the proverb,
and metaphor leads us into odd company. I apologize, and
resume.
.^32 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Talking of metaphor; there may be hundreds of profiting
listeners to a rough-and-ready preacher who have no objection
in life to a mixed metaphor. But it tries the other sort of
listener. He has nothing to urge against the metaphor of
shipwreck: like the young lady in Pride and Prejudice who
said, " The idea of the olive-branch perhaps is not wholly
new ", he confesses to himself that the shipwreck simile is
rather venerable than original ; but it is none the less true for
being time-worn. He listens with respect; but when the
preacher, hastily remembering what is the symbol of Hope,
•adjures his hearers to cling to the sheet anchor of Hope, when
all is storm and darkness, and all seem sinking, he cannot help
considering the buoyancy of anchors. He recognizes that the
tangled mazes of a forest brake, with thorny undergrowth,
and light obscured overhead, not inaptly illustrate muddled
doubt; and faith is doubt's contrary and cure; but is " faith's
golden key" suggested? Are keys, even of gold, of much
•service to lost and benighted wayfarers?
There are, we have said, many in a given audience who can
1)6 reached by the way of feeling, and very little by appeal to
thought: the avenue to their spiritual sense is the heart, and
not the head. Why should we not own it, and act upon it?
But it is mainly by way of the head others are taken. Must
we not acknowledge that also? No one wants to compare
them or weigh their values. But facts are facts : and one of
these facts is as real and legitimate as the other. Some ser-
mons are little theological treatises, and some hearers find
them heavy of digestion : not every one can assimilate the solid-
est food. But to some they are the most welcome kind of
sermon, and not to priests only. They would as lief have
their bread without sweetening or plums in it.
I heard a couple of country folk discuss a sermon once.
" 'Twere fine!" declared one. "As full of flav'rin' and fruit
as a Simnel cake."
" Eh, but I've no stomach for cake," confessed the other.
" I like them bready." Much more accomplished judges like
them bready too.
It is objected to some preachers that they can only preach
essays, and yet some people like essays, and can remember
what is in them better than a more " appealing " sermon. I
SERMONS— TASTE AND TOLERANCE.
683
cannot help suspecting that some of the finest sermons we
have are liable to this reproach: St. Gregory's, for example;
though Cardinal Newman's are more undeniable instances.
They are better printed than spoken, it may be urged. We,
who only read them, and could not have heard them, cannot
disprove the assertion. But it is certain that they were heard
eagerly, that they drew willing throngs, and were powerfully
effective: they could not have been condemned as ineffective
though they had not survived their original utterance and come
to be printed. Nor it is fair to urge that they were essays by
essayists of extraordinary power, and therefore cannot be in-
stanced to make a rule, as preachers of extraordinary power
can never be of ordinary occurrence. Preachers of exceptional
force in the other class, the class most unlike essay preachers,
are of exceptional occurrence too. We do not daily fall in
with the best of any sort.
What is pleaded here is that there should be no attempt to
form a rule at all. That we should recognize the enormous
variety of hearers, the huge divergence of taste: and frankly
confess that every kind of preaching is legitimate because
every kind will find some to whom it appeals — even essay
preachers.
The answer is not that a preacher must try so to modify
himself as to appeal to all : he never can. He can only be
himself, and the effort to be several people will not give him
three heads : it was only Cerberus who, as Mrs. Malaprop said,
was " three gentlemen at once ".
Every preacher may not exactly suit every congregation:
but it does not follow that it is the preacher's fault, any more
than it is the fault of the congregation : it is nobody's fault.
But I suspect that every genuine preacher, and we have con-
cern with no other, suits some part of his congregation — even
the essay preacher. If the part of the congregation that does
not like essays is the larger part, it is certainly their misfor-
tune; but, majorities do so well for themselves in most ways,
that, if the minority has the best of it in this instance, no
frightful injustice is done. Even majorities may learn pa-
tience and be none the worse for it. If they also learned
humility it would be a valuable illustration of the truth that
".the age of miracles is not past.
684 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
In England the finest preacher we have reads his sermons
from a manuscript, and I dare say many would say they were
homilies or essays. It is possible that many preachers are
preferred to him by many hearers. No one wants to compel
these many to hear him instead of those they prefer. But
those who prefer to hear him never forget what they have
heard: may they also not have their taste? It is certainly a
strong measure to read a sermon from writing : it is not sug-
gested that every preacher, or many preachers, should do it
But it might be suggested that if some preachers were to com-
mit their sermons to writing they would never be preached —
and that would be a pity, for they are excellent in their sort:
only there are other sorts.
A certain Scotch minister, departing from this life, be-
queathed his sermons, the sermons of forty years, to his parisli.
After the funeral it was debated in full sederunt what should
be done with them. Some Elders proposed printing, othero
concurred, but advised selection. Finally one Elder arose and
pawkily suggested that the Kirk Session should " reeverently
burn them ". I know one preacher, at all events, who if he
should be forced to write his sermons (and read them after-
ward) would undoubtedly burn them — but I am not sure
about " reeverently ".
It is urged against the essay preachers that they are think-
ing of how the sermons would print. The force of the in-
sinuation, and a real force too where the insinuation is justi-
fied, is that they are thinking not of their congregation but
of the public. " Every woman writer," said Heine, " writes
with one eye on herself, and one eye on some man, except
Countess Hahn-Hahn, who has only one eye." If an essay
preacher composes his sermons with one eye on the public and
one eye on himself, he degrades the office of preaching: but he
may, as well as the " popular " preacher, have both eyes on
God. And truth, logic, and dogma will always *' print ".
Francis Bickerstaffe-Drew.
Salisbury Plains, England.
I
CARDINAL NEWMAN AS HYMN-WRITER, 685
OAEDIU AL NEWMAN AS EYMN-WKITER AND HIMN-COMPOSEK.
IT was the present writer's good fortune to spend a very
pleasant afternoon with Cardinal Newman in 1880, and
to have had the privilege of playing over some sacred music
for the great Oratorian. In the course of a delightful con-
versation I became acquainted with the hitherto unsuspected
gift of the author of The Dream of Gerontius as a highly
skilled musician. And yet, with the exception of an interest-
ing article by the Rev. Edward Bellasis in The Month (Sep-
tember, 1891 ), very little attention has been paid to the powers
of Newman both as a hymn-writer and a hymn-composer.
It is universally admitted that the author of " Lead Kindly
Light '• deserves a niche among the brilliant hymn-writers of
the nineteenth century. But it is not so generally known that
Newman also composed several hymn tunes and thereby en-
riched the hymnals of all Christian denominations. On this
account it may be well to exhibit in a short sketch the genius
of the great English Cardinal in both directions. It will be
more convenient to treat of these phases of his genius separ-
ately. And first as to his powers as a hymn- writer.
As early as 1829 Newman wrote verses, as he tells us in his
Apologia : " Never man had kinder or more indulgent friends
than I have had : but I expressed my own feeling as to the
mode in which I gained them in this very year 1829, in the
course of a copy of verses. Speaking of my blessings, I said.
' Blessings of friends, which to my door, unasked, unhoped»
have come'". Between the years 1832-4 Newman contri-
buted many beautiful hymns to the British Magasijte, under
the title of Lyra Apostolica, and these, together with other
lyrical productions by Keble and other writers, were published
under the same title in 1836. A clue to Newman's poetical
pieces is furnished by the Greek letter ^. Among these charm-
ing lyrics are " Lead Kindly Light " and " Two Brothers
Freely Cast Their Lot ". The former hymn, which has had
a world-wide circulation, was written 16 June, 1833, while
Newman was becalmed in an orange boat in the Straits of
Bonifacio, and was published in the British Magazine for
March, 1834. It was at the very time that the future Prince
of the Church was revolving those thoughts that, as he him-
self writes in his Apologia, subsequently " led him on his
QS6 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
journey to where his mind felt its ultimate rest ". Origin-
ally it was prefixed by a motto : " Faith — Heavenly Lead-
ings " ; on its publication in Lyra Apostolica the motto was
changed to : " Unto the godly there ariseth up light in the
darkness"; and finally, in the Occasional Verses (1868) an-
other change was made to : " The Pillar of the Cloud ". New-
man's lyric consists of three verses, but, in 1876, a Protestant
Bishop, Dr. Bickersteth had the hardihood to add a fourth
stanza, which however did not obtain much favor. Other
persons have presumed to tinker the verses, but the correct
version will be found in most modern Catholic and Anglican
hymnals.
" Two Brothers Freely Cast Their Lot " is No. 28 of Lyra.
Apostolica commencing:
Two brothers freely cast their lot
With David's Royal Son;
The cost of conquest counting not,
They deem the battle won.
In Tract for the Times No. y^, " On the Roman Breviary '\
there are translations of fourteen Latin hymns, the best known
of which is " Come Holy Ghost, Who Ever One" (St. Am-
brose's "Nunc Sancte nobis Spiritus"), the first verse of
which is :
Come Holy Ghost, who ever One
And with the Father and the Son,
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With Thy full flood of holiness.
In the year 1838 Newman published Hymni Ecclesiae and
these were reissued in 1865, being translations from the
Breviary. As is generally known, the sometime Fellow of
Oriel, and select University Preacher at Oxford, was received
into the Catholic Church 8 October, 1845, and was subse-
quently appointed first Rector of the Catholic University,
Dublin. Meantime, " The Angel Lights of Christmas Morn "
was written in 1 849, and was published in the Rambler, in the
year 1850, as was also " In the Far North Our Lot is Cast ",
the title of which was changed in 1857, to " On Northern
Coasts Our Lot is Cast ". The former hymn is headed
" Candlemas " and commences thus:
CARDINAL NEWMAN AS HYMN-WRITER. 687
The Angel lights of Christmas morn,
Which shot across the sky,
Away they pass at Candlemas,
They sparkle and they die.
The latter hymn was written for the feast of the Oratorians^
and is designated " St. Philip Neri, in His Mission ", com-
mencing :
In the far North our lot is cast.
Where faithful hearts are few :
Still are we Philip's children dear,
And Peter's soldiers true.
A third lyrical contribution to the Rambler of 1850 is a.
hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, " There Sat a Lady All on
the Ground ".
In 1853 was published Verses on Religious Subjects, which
contained a number of original hymns, as well as ten trans-
lations from the Breviary hymns. " Green are the Leaves
and Sweet the Flowers " achieved a great popularity for the
devotions of the month of May, and is included in the recent
Westminster Hymnal (No. 118). Equally popular is "My
Oldest Friend, Mine from the Hour " headed " Guardian
Angels ", also to be found in the Arundel Hymns (No. 242),.
and in the Westminster Hymnal (No. 165). "The Holy
Monks concealed from Men " (headed " St. Philip in Him-
self ") was written in 1850, and published in 1853. It is in-
cluded in Arundel Hymns (No. 228), edited by the Duke of
Norfolk and Mr. C. T. Gatty, in 1902. "All is Divine which
the Highest has made" was also written in 1850, and was
followed by "The One True Faith the Ancient Creed",
headed, " St. Philip Neri ", which, in its revised form, as
" This is the Saint of Gentleness and Kindness " (as written
for the Birmingham Oratory Hymn Book, in 1857), is in-
cluded in the Arundel Hymns (No. 226). The metre is
based on that of the Latin hymn " Iste Confessor ", as will be
seen from the first verse :
This is the saint of gentleness and kindness,
Cheerful in penance and in precept winning :
Patiently healing of their pride and blindness,
Souls that are sinning.
^^SS 'fl^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
It was quite in the fitness of things that the Binningham
Oratory Hymn Book of 1857 and 1862 should contain a num-
ber of Newman's hymns. The most popular of these were:
" Help, Lord, the Souls which Thou hast made ", " I ask not
for Fortune ", and " Thou Champion High ". The first of
these, " Help, Lord, the Souls ", was headed " The Faithful
Departed '*, and it is to be met with in almost all Catholic
hymn books, including Arundel Hynuis and the Westminster
Hymnal. " I ask not for Fortune, for Silken Attire " was
written for the feast of St. Philip Neri, and was for years
a favorite at Birmingham. " Thou Champion High " was
written for the feast of St. Michael, and is included in Arundel
Hymns (No. 209). Its rhythm is peculiar, as will be seen
from the opening verse :
Thou champion high
Of Heaven's imperial bride,
For ever waiting on his eye.
Before her onward path, and at her side,
In war her guard secure, by night her ready guide.
As for the Dream of Gerontius, numerous essays have been
-devoted to its exposition, and therefore it concerns us only
to note that it has supplied two popular hymns, namely,
" Firmly I Believe and Truly ", and " Praise to the Holiest
in the Height ". Both of these hymns have found their way
into most hymn-books, including the Westminster Hymnal.
It may however be added that the Dream of Gerontius first
appeared in the pages of The Month for May and June, 1865,
and was published in separate form in 1866, the separate
edition being now extremely scarce.
Other popular hymns of Newman's are: "Light of the
Anxious Heart" (Lux alme, Jesus, mentium), "Oh! Say
Thou Art not Left of God ", " Unveil, O Lord, and on Us
Shine ", and ** When I Sink Down to Gloom or Fear ".
And now as to Newman as a hymn-composer. It will prob-
ably come as a surprise to those who associate the name of the
illustrious Cardinal with magnificent prose writings and deep
theological views, to learn that his first attempt as an author
was the writing of a comic opera ! This astonishing fact is
authenticated duly in a letter of the year 181 5, at which date
CARDINAL NEWMAN AS HYMN-WRITER. 689
the future Cardinal was in his sixteenth year. Even at that
early period he was an accomplished violinist, and — what was
very unusual in those days — took to the study of chamber
music. He graduated at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1820,
and in the February of the same year he writes : " Our Music
Club has been offered and has accepted the Music Room for
our weekly private concert." Incidentally I may observe that
the Oxford Music Room is the oldest in Europe, and a mono-
graph dealing with its attractive history from 1748- 1840,
from the pen of the Rev. Dn J. H. Mee, was issued in 191 1.
From Neivman's Correspondence (edited by Mrs. Mozley) we
learn how untiring he was in regard to the success of the
** private concert" from 1820 to 1823, especially reveling
in the works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. His violin
masters were Joseph Reinagle and his son A. R. Reinagle, the
latter of whom is known as the composer of the hymn tune
" St. Peter's ". He frequently played trios with the un-
fortunate Blanco White, and Reinagle.
In 1833-4, as has been seen, Newman wrote a number of
hymns, and to some of these he composed original tunes, but
the others he set to existing airs, notably, " The Angel Lights
of Christmas Morn ", for the feast of Candlemas, which he
adapted to a tune by Reinagle.
In 1849 Newman composed the "Pilgrim Queen" to his
own words: and in 1850 his musical gifts were seen in two
charming hymns to the Blessed Virgin : " Month of Mary "
and " Queen of Seasons " both entitled " Rosa Mystica ". To
Father Faber's beautiful hymn " Eternity " — also known as
" Eternal Years " — he adapted an air from Beethoven's 6th
Trio for flute, voice, and violincello. In fact, so ravished
was Newman with Beethoven's lovely melody that he ex-
pressed the wish that he would like to have it sung to him
when he came to die. The words of the first verse may be
•quoted :
How shalt thou bear the Cross, that now
So dread a weight appears?
Keep quietly to God, and think
Upon the Eternal Years.
Other hymns composed by Newman are ".Watchman ",
^'The Two Worlds", "Regulars and St. Philip", and
690 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
" Night ". He adapted " Death " to a theme from one of
Beethoven's quartets. However, one of his most popular
melodies is the hearty, vigorous tune he composed to " I was
Wandering and Weary ", which was published in Oratory
Hymns in 1854 under the title of "The True Shepherd" —
set to Father Faber's words.
Many incorrect versions are current as to Newman's reply
to the polemical challenge of Canon McNeill, a noted Liver-
pool bigot. It is not true, as frequently stated, that Newman
offered to play in a fiddle competition against McNeill for
£500. The real fact is that Newman in his dignified reply
suggested that after the Liverpool divine had unburthened
himself of his harangue, he (Newman) would play the violin,
and " left it to the public to judge which was the better man ".
Newman's musical tastes were inherited from his father who
occasionally attended Warwick Street Chapel (the Bavarian
Embassy Chapel), London, opened 12 March, 1790. In his
Apologia he tells of a visit to this chapel with his father,.
" who, I believe, wanted to hear some piece of music ". As
before stated, he reveled in the old classical masters, but his
delight was in Beethoven, " the master of them all ". He was
a familiar figure at the periodical Birmingham Festival, but
was not in love with the Wagner school. Although admiring
Plain Chant he preferred figured music, and was much at-
tracted by the luscious strains of Gounod's Masses and Motets,
but more particularly by Cherubini's Masses, especially the
1st Requiem in C minor. He could find no real beauty in
the " modern " masters, such as Schubert, Schumann, Wagner,
or Brahms, or even Mendelssohn. Beethoven's Mass in C
was one of his favorites, much to the dismay of the younger
Oratorians.
To the last Cardinal Newman cultivated his love for music,
and when no longer able to play the violin he delighted to
have someone come to his room and discourse sweet sounds
on a harmonium. I cannot more fittingly end this paper
than by quoting the following sentence from Newman's Idea
of a University : " Music is the expression of ideas greater
and more profound than any in the visible world, ideas which
centre, indeed, in Him whom Catholicism manifests, who is the
seat of all beauty, order, and perfection whatever ".
W. H. Grattan Flood.
Enniscorthy, Ireland.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. 6gi
THE CURE or INTEMPERANCE.
II. The Alcoholic Insanities.
THE mental deteriorations, which are unmistakably such,
brought about by alcoholism, are classified thus: I. ordi-
nary drunkenness; 2. acute alcoholic insanity or delirium tre-
mens; 3. chronic alcoholic insanity.
The subdivisions of chronic alcoholic insanity are: I. melan-
cholia; 2. mania; 3. persecutory delirium; 4. amnesic forms;
5. alcoholic mental confusion; 6. pseudoparanoiac forms; 7.
alcoholic pseudoparalysis; 8. alcoholic progressive paralysis;
9. alcoholic epileptic insanity.
Seneca said, " Ebrietas est voluntaria insania ". But while
technically ordinary drunkenness is not classed as insanity,
chronic alcoholism leads to true dementia. The mental
changes in alcoholism are usually gradual. The intellect is
blunted; the judgment becomes imprudent; the moral con-
science is dulled, before real insanity is apparent. A chronic
drunkard has a foolish laugh, even when he is sober; he is
addicted to thin childish humor and faint puns. A neuro-
pathic diathesis tends toward alcoholism, and conversely alco-
holism begets a neuropathic disposition. He is therefore irri-
table. Unreasonable irritability, storms of rage without suf-
ficient provocation, are characteristics of the condition. Wife-
beating, cruelty to children, to inferior animals, attacks upon
associates, are of frequent occurrence.
A brutal selfishness is a chief symptom of advanced chronic
alcoholism. When the chronic alcoholic spends money on
anything but his own decaying carcass he is gratifying vanity,
avoiding a scolding, or he is already demented. A chronic
alcoholic almost as a rule will not pay his bills, even when he
has a plenty of money, through a sense of justice or honesty.
He is like a confirmed neurasthenic in this respect: that a
neurasthenic pays all bills promptly is a good prognostic sign.
This concentration on self makes the alcoholic stubborn, im-
polite, shameless, regardless of his appearance in public, in-
solent, a carping critic of political and ecclesiastical authority.
There are exceptions, but this is the rule.
One of the frequent mental derangements incurred by the
married alcoholic is a vicious jealousy of a wife or husband,
692
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
which gives rise to groundless suspicion of marital infidelity.
When the condition becomes fixed it commonly remains per-
manent, and it may lead to homicide. The cause of this pecu-
liar mental obliquity is that alcohol irritates and excites the
genital centres, but decreases the power of sexual satisfaction ;
there is a constant irritation of the genital tract, which the
weakened mind elaborates into delusions. A drunkard will
swear in court positively that he has caught his wife in adul-
tery, mentioning all the circumstances, and the whole story is
the outcome of a delusion. It should be a rule of legal evi-
dence that a drunkard's testimony in trials of this nature is
not to be admitted. The groundless suspicion of marital infi-
delity is a symptom also of chronic cocaine intoxication.
Acute alcoholic insanity is called delirium tremens. There
is also an abortive form of this psychosis, which is less severe
than the typical delirium. Delirium tremens, the trembling
delirium, is often incorrectly called mania a potu. Delirium
tremens is not a mania, but an acute hallucinatory confusion,
in which consciousness is more impaired than in a typical
mania. Mania a potu is a genuine mania, and it will be de-
scribed with the chronic alcoholic insanities.
Delirium tremens is the commonest of the alcoholic insani-
ties, and not many persistent drunkards escape it. It may
come after a few debauches, when the quantity of alcohol in-
gested is large, and the time for its excretion is insufficient.
It requires about two days to get even a moderate dose of
alcohol out of the body, and accumulation of the poison over-
powers the nervous system. This system yields more rapidly
to the intoxications than the other less finely-organized tissues
of the body. It also responds to stimulation more promptly
than the other somatic organs. When alcohol is suddenly
withdrawn from the chronic drunkard, there is a neurotic
lowering of blood-tension and collapse, as if a large dose of
a poison had been administered.
Before the onset of delirium tremens the patient has usually
morning nausea, and he is unable to take nourishment; he sus-
tains himself by alcoholic stimulation, and this ends in col-
lapse. There is a period of unquiet sleep, restlessness with
precordial anxiety, fright at sudden noises and lights. There
is a roaring in the head, fiery stars appear, the patient grows
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE,
695
more and more anxious and irritable, until finally, within
from three or four to about twenty-four hours, the delirium
sets in, with muscular tremor.
The hallucinations take the forms of animals usually, and
the phantasms are always in motion. Snakes, rats, beetles,
crawl over the bed or upon his body. Dogs jump at him; bats
flap about his head; gargoyle-like tigers, elephants, lions,
circle around him. In some cases the hallucinations take the
shapes of men, devils, or witches; or bestial orgies are enacted
before the diseased imagination. Auditory hallucinations are
frequent, but not so common as the visual; hallucinations of
smell and taste are met with, but they are less frequent. Cries
for help, clangor of bells, shrilling of steam whistles, threat-
ening voices, fill the air about tliose that have auditory hallu-
cinations. Erotic erethism and pain referred to the geni-
talia may be mixed with the phantasms. Some patients feel
ants or worms crawling under their skin. Regular patterns
on the room furniture turn into lines or piles of coins. Actual
sights or sounds are distorted into hallucinations.
The disturbance of consciousness is sufficient usually to
prevent the patient from recognizing his surroundings. He
mistakes hospital attendants for friends or enemies; he takes
journeys; repeats old quarrels. Sometimes he is joyous for
a few moments, then suddenly in terror for his life; he alter-
nates between foolish laughter and the agony of death. Most
delirium tremens patients despite all these mental disturbances
can give direct and intelligent answers to questions, describe
their present sensations, and the like; but the narration is in-
terrupted by sudden passing accesses of the hallucination; and
although the answers are congruous and true, the sufferer ap-
parently is answering absentmindedly ; he does not clearly
understand what he is saying.
In delirium tremens the hallucinations at times pass over
into delusions which are more or less fixed. This happens
especially after repeated attacks of the delirium. Usually
there is intelligence enough left to recognize for a short time
that an hallucination is such, but this degree of control may be
lost. The delusions are morally painful : the drunkard sup-
poses that his friends are treacherous, his wife unfaithful, his
children are dead (he sees them dead), he is to be hung for
694
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
his own crimes, and so on. The intense selfishness of alcohol-
ism in general is carried over into its insane moods. Per-
sistent delusions make the prognosis bad for recovery of
mental health : it supposes serious nervous lesions. Delusions
that begin in the final stage of an attack of delirium tremens
may disappear after some weeks.
The patient is always restless and anxious; he cannot keep
still for more than a few seconds. He wanders about, picking
up imaginary objects, driving away insects, answering fancied
calls to him, seeking protection from those near him. Such
patients rarely commit suicide, but that is a possible outcome.
Murder in delirium tremens is rare, but always possible, and
such a patient must be regarded as extremely dangerous if he
has hallucinations of impending death or injury.
There is insomnia in the early stages of the attack, and after
exhaustion a stuporous condition, and finally true sleep. The
tremor is a fine muscular trembling, most marked in the mus-
cles of the face and hands, but present also in all the voluntary
muscles. The tremor stops for a moment under mental ex-
citement. It obliges the patient to do any action precipi-
tately, if he will do it at all : he must lift a drink to his lips
quickly or he will spill the liquid. Where there is muscular
spasm the attack is severe, and such spasms occur often est in
the muscles about the eyes and on the forehead.
At times a rise in temperature is observed ; and in groups
of delirium tremens patients albumen in the urine during the
early stage of the attack is found in from 40 to 80 per cent of
the cases. When the delirium is marked the albumen disap-
pears, and it reappears as the delirium lessens.
The average duration of an attack of delirium tremens is
from a week to ten days; some cases recover consciousness in
four days, others not for eighteen days. When there is star-
vation, owing to gastritis, death may result. The mortality
depends largely on the medical treatment: some physicians
save nearly every case, others lose as many as 20 per cent by
death. Where oedema of the brain, called also " wet brain "
or serous meningitis, appears in delirium tremens (and it
happens in about 15 per cent of the cases), the mortality is
very high under ordinary treatment — nearly 65 per cent.
Here again skill in the physician is very important. If
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
695
pneumonia complicates delirium tremens, apart from wet
brain, the mortality is close to 48 per cent.
The abortive form of delirium tremens is like the typical
disease in the course of the attack, except that it stops short
of hallucinations during the waking state. There is, after an
alcoholic debauch, the same atonic dyspepsia, tremor, mental
anxiety, precordial distress, insomnia, sweating, and hideous
dreams; but the disease does not reach the stage of halluci-
nation.
The prognosis of recovery in delirium tremens is affected by
the presence or absence of wounds and infectious diseases.
Bonhoeffer ^ found a mortality of ii per cent in 1,077 cases,
and of these 57 per cent were caused by pulmonary diseases.
In uncomplicated cases he had a mortality of less than one per
cent. Lambert in 709 cases at Bellevue Hospital, New York,
found a mortality of about 20 per cent; the pneumonia cases
in Bellevue had a mortality of 48.8 per cent. In cases where
the delirium and the motor symptoms are severe, the prog-
nosis is grave. When delirium tremens comes on in conse-
quence of wounds, about 50 per cent of the cases die. The
medical treatment of delirium tremens will be given below.
Alcoholic melancholia differs from melancholia arising from
other causes by its sudden onset. There may be only head-
ache and insomnia as prodromal symptoms; then suddenly
the patient is overwhelmed with dreadful hallucinations of
death, torture, murder, threatening voices, as in delirium
tremens. More rarely there are hallucinations of animals, as
in the acute delirium. In the alcoholic melancholia very in-
tense neuralgic pain occurs in the peripheral nerves. Albu-
minuria is often present. The attack seldom lasts beyond ten
days. Often there are permanent delusions as a consequence
of the disease, and these tend to develop into a permanent de-
lirium of persecution.
Alcoholic mania is as unexpected in its outbreak as the mel-
ancholia just described. It often comes on at night after a
desperate oppression of fear. At this period an alcoholic
maniac is very dangerous : he is likely to brain anyone in his
neighborhood, and he does this in absolute unconsciousness.
As almost any chronic alcoholic with a neuropathic inheri-
^ Osier, loc. cit, p. 187.
696
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
tance is liable to an outbreak of this kind, such persons are a
constant menace to society.
The premonitory symptoms of this mania are increasing ir-
ritability, sexual excitement, general change in the facial
expression and the manners of the patient, and an enormous
desire for spirits. There is tremor, sometimes facial paraly-
sis, contracted or unequal pupils, thick or hesitating speech,.
and exaggerated m.uscle- reflexes.
The blind, reckless fury of the maniacal outburst itself re-
sembles that of the paretic; but in the alcoholic mania there
is no temporary remission. The alcoholic mania resembles
paresis somewhat in the delusions of self-importance. The
maniac says he is God, a king, or the like; and if his claims
are questioned he breaks out into a screaming frenzy in which
he tears clothing and destroys furniture. The angels of
heaven crowd about him in untold multitudes to do him honor.
He is sleepless. He must be kept in a padded room or he is
likely to dash his brains out, or break his bones. There are
abortive remissions, and renewed outbursts, until the patient
is exhausted. At the end sleep comes, but on awakening the
sufferer almost always shows permanent mental deterioration.
Many cases go on from violence to a muttering delirium ;
then there is collapse, and death. Some take on a chronic
course. Dementia follows the mania ; the delusions grow con-
fused ; the nutrition sinks ; the pulse is weak ; the temperature
subnormal. This dementia grows worse, and after some
months death results from pneumonia, diarrhoea, or progres-
sive decline. Not more than 40 per cent of alcoholic maniacs
recover as far as partial sanity.
In cases that have been sectioned post mortem there was
intense congestion of the membranes and substance of the
brain, general oedema, atrophy of the convolutions, and es-
pecially widespread damage of the blood-vessels.
Alcoholic persecutory insanity is a suspicious or perse-
cutory delirium, the onset of which may be rapid or gradual.
A rapid development is the more common form. The symp-
toms resemble true paranoia so closely that the disease is often
called alcoholic pseudoparanoia.
After the usual abuse of alcoholic liquor, insomnia and ir-
regularity of the blood-circulation show. Then hallucina-
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE,
697-
tions, especially auditory, are complained of. Voices mock
or threaten the patient, and these voices speak especially of
his reproductive organs. They tell him he is a sexual per-
vert, and so on. The voices speak obscenely; they tell him
he is hypnotized, destroyed by electric currents. He has
enemies that are trying to poison him. Sometimes there are
hallucinations of smell and taste, and delusions. Tubes are
run into his room to send in poisonous gases, and the like.
The common delusions are sexual. After these come de-
lusions in which life is supposed to be endangered. The ene-
mies are usually invisible; they act from a distance by elec-
tricity or other machinery. The sufferer is in great fear, and.
he seeks protection from the police or in asylums. At times
there are notions of grandeur mixed with the persecutory
symptoms. The patient thinks he is president of the United
States, a king, or is in some high position, and that secret
enemies are trying to destroy him.
When the onset of the disease is rapid, in a few cases there
may be recovery of mental health. Other cases go on into^
progressive dementia. Some recover partly after several
years of insanity. When the disease comes on gradually,
every hope of cure is lost, as a rule. All the symptoms of
persecution already mentioned occur, but the patient is very
dangerous. In fact there is no insane person more dangerous
than one laboring under chronic alcoholic persecutory insan-
ity. He is irritable, furious, and murderous, and he should
always be kept in an asylum. The memory finally fails, and
dementia ends the state.
Alcoholic amnesia (forgetfulness) is an insanity in which
derangement of the memory is especially conspicuous. All
alcoholics are forgetful; but the loss of memory can be so
marked as to make it the chief symptom of the disease. Am-
nesic alcoholics commonly drink in the morning; they have
the morning nausea, tremor, spots of anesthesia ; but they sel-
dom show the extreme irritability of the alcoholic, probably
because the neurons are more deeply injured than in other
conditions. Hallucinations and delusions are not pronounced
in this form of disease, and they may be entirely absent.
Fere produced monsters in chickens by exposing eggs to the
fumes of alcohol, and I have seen one case where a man that
'698
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
never drank alcohol, but who worked constantly in its fumes,
lost his memory while in the fumes, and recovered it after he
had kept out of these for a few days.
The typical symptom of alcoholic amnesia is instantaneous
forgetfulness of what happens or is said in the presence of the
-patient. If one with a severe form of amnesia is told a man's
•name he loses all memory of it within a few seconds, and no
'effort will bring it back. He cannot repeat a simple sentence
after a dictation. Lighter conditions of amnesia can remem-
ber part of a conversation for a little while. In fully devel-
'Oped amnesia the patient cannot recall names; he loses the
■"Order of his work; he may be hungry at meal times, but he
forgets to eat. If he is sent across a room to bring an object,
he will forget what he is sent for before he reaches the object.
This process may be repeated for an hour if the experimenter
so wishes, and the patient will not even notice the repetition.
Knowledge gained in childhood often remains, hence the pos-
sibility of speech. He may tell correctly of a fact that hap-
pened thirty years ago, but he cannot tell you anything of a
fact that happened thirty minutes since. The patient usually
recognizes that he has lost his memory. Recovery is pos-
sible in many of these cases by withdrawing all alcohol,
building up the patient's health, then gradually teaching him
over again all that he has forgotten. The older the patient the
more difficult the cure.
There is a form of alcoholic amnesia in which the patient
is in a condition of waking trance or automatism. He may
carry out complicated professional actions, transfer property,
commit crime, take long journeys, and so act that no one
notices any disorders in his mental faculties. Then he sud-
denly grows conscious, and has slight or no recollection what-
ever of what he did during the trance. There is no question
of the total lack of memory in many of these cases. Transient
alcoholic automatism is related to alcoholic epilepsy. In-
stances of this trance lasting for days and weeks are very
rare; but Professor Henry J. Berkley,^ of Johns Hopkins
University, has seen it last for five months.
Epilepsy is made worse by alcoholism, and it can be caused
'by alcoholism. The children of alcoholics who take to drink-
^ A Treatise on Mental Disease. New York. 1900.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE.
699
ing frequently became epileptics. Eight or ten per cent of
^11 alcoholics have epileptic seizures, ordinarily after a severe
debauch. In some cases the attacks are incomplete; there
may be spasms of single muscles, or of half the body, and
the consciousness may not be totally lost, but there is severe
cerebral congestion. Other patients have complete epileptic
convulsions. Epilepsy, instead of delirium tremens, may be
the result of an alcoholic debauch ; or an epileptic convulsion
may precede the delirium tremens. The prognosis of alco-
holic epilepsy is bad even if alcohol is withheld. Repeated
seizures commonly cause death in a short time by cerebral
congestion and oedema.
Periodic alcoholic insanity, strictly so called, is relatively
rare. In a patient that has an hereditary disposition to in-
sanity repeated attacks of delirium tremens may bring about
a periodically recurring insanity instead of persecutory in-
sanity or dementia. These periodic attacks are like delirium
tremens, except that the tremor is absent. They recur at in-
tervals of a few weeks or months, with prodromal irritability,
long after all alcohol has been withheld. As the attacks are
repeated, the lucid intervals lessen. The final dementia is of
slow approach. Some patients have stages of persecutory
mania before dementia sets in.
It must be remembered that some periodic alcoholic de-
bauches are a symptom of recurrent mania from other causes :
the patient is primarily a maniac, and symptomatically only
an alcoholic. Many insane persons called dypsomaniacs are
not such at all.
Dypsomania is a form of insanity, and it is a very rare dis-
ease. The dypsomaniac is usually the child of alcoholics, and
is at intervals overwhelmed by an irresistible desire for alco-
hol to quiet his distress. There is a prodromal period of in-
tense irritability, with insomnia, headache, and great mental
anguish. These symptoms are somewhat relieved by alcohol,
and when the patient once starts to drink, he will take any
form of the drug he can get. When whiskey is out of reach,
he will swallow Cologne water, bay rum, the alcohol in lamps,
sometimes even the preserving alcohol on pathological speci-
mens in a medical museum. The condition may persist for
days, until the patient falls into a deep sleep, from which he
^OO T^H^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
awakens weak but quiet; and with no inclination for alcohol
until the next attack comes on. The debauch may end in de-
lirium tremens, and then the recovery is slower.
It is very difficult, practically impossible, to prove that such
a patient is morally responsible for what he does in one of
these attacks. All neurologists hold that genuine dypsomania
is insanity while the attack is present. As a matter of fact,
physical restraint is usually the only means of averting an
outbreak. A person that tipples steadily, and has occasional
outbreaks into a spree, is not a dypsomaniac; the spree is an
effect of the cumulation of toxine, and the patient is an ordi-
nary drunkard.
Cyclothymia is another periodic emotional disorder in
some drunkards, in which they are alternately depressed (dys-
thymic), and then excited (hyperthymic). Sometimes this
cyclothymia is apparently independent of the alcoholism, and
the alcoholism is a consequence of the cyclic psychosis.
Dementia is a terminal stage in all forms of chronic alco-
holism ; but if the patient starts out with a feeble nervous or-
ganism the dementia is likely to begin early and to be pro-
gressive. Not infrequently in persons between i8 and 25
years of age that are the children of alcoholics, alcoholic de-
mentia sets in and soon becomes absolute. The patient is ever
afterward like a mere brute; he has nothing left but the ani-
mal instincts, and the bodily functions.
Some chronic alcoholics fall into a pseudoparesis, which can
resemble true paresis very closely. In one form are observed
mental debility and dullness, with tremor, hallucinations, and
delusions, especially of marital infidelity and neuromuscular
weakness; but to these symptoms are added the slapping,
staggering gait of the paralytic, defects in speech, headache,
and apoplectic or epileptic convulsions. Partial recovery is
possible in such cases.
A second form resembles true paresis so closely that it is
difficult to make a clear differential diagnosis. To the symp-
toms already described are added an expansive delirium, de-
lusions of grandeur, of great wealth, and the like. Sexual
delusions also occur. This expansive mania Is followed in a
few weeks by dementia, which goes down to total mental an-
nihilation. Neuritis is common in pseudoparesis.
THE CURE OF INTEMPERANCE. 70 1
Korsakow's psychosis is a condition of delirium in chronic
alcoholism combined with a polyneuritis, that is, an inflamma-
tion of the nerves with the effects of such an inflammation.
There is a loss of one's orientation and appreciation of time,
also loss of memory, especially memory of recent events. A
tendency to garrulousness and to hallucinations is noticeable.
The disease occurs in middle life or earlier, and is about as
frequent in women as in men. At first it sometimes is con-
fused with delirium tremens, but the critical sleep with which
•delirium tremens characteristically ends is lacking, and the
delirium continues.
After a while the hallucinations become less prominent, but
the lack of memory, the foolish babbling, and the defective
orientation become more evident. Sometimes the first stages
are made up of memory lapses with a tendency to fabricate
stories to fill the gaps.
The patient does not recognize friends and his attention
wanders. In the early stages hallucinations of sight occur at
night; but these may extend in intensity, and be present also
in the day. Optic and tactile hallucinations are the common-
est, and they may be like those of delirium tremens. Some
patients are excited, others melancholic; they are frequently
anxious and irritable; some are merely silly, others childish.
They retain considerable power of reasoning.
The polyneuritis shows the various anesthesias and hyper-
esthesias of other polyneuritides. An ataxic gait is the rule;
the pains, sensitiveness to touch, and the muscular weakness
of polyneuritis are present. The neuritis is more marked in
the legs; and when it is established, atrophy follows. There
may be contractions and permanent deformity. In very se-
vere cases the arms are involved, and even several head mus-
<:les may be implicated.
The course of the disease is long, and months or years may
pass before recovery of health. It is doubtful that complete
recovery ever takes place in grave cases, especially as regards
the mind. A marked tendency to die of intercurrent diseases
is noticeable.
[to bb continued.]
Austin O'Malley.
Philadelphia, Penna.
702 7-^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
EEAOTIONS AND BY-PEODUOTS OF THE DEOEEE ON FKEQUENT'
COMMUNION.
IT is not always easy to determine definitely influences in
morals. They are subtle and elusive and may be the re-
sult of so many causes other than the assigned that certainty
is not to be looked for. But, fortunately, we can trace clearly
the reactions on clerical life of the recent papal decisions on
Frequent and Daily Communion and can indicate what may
fairly be styled some of the by-products in clerical procedure
of those decrees, as a consequence of the practice of the faith-
ful. The inquiry is not without interest, nor is it devoid of
profit, at least in suggestion.
The Daily Mass.
And, first, the preaching of these decrees and the observed
result now evident in the increased Communions among the
laity have necessarily reacted on the attitude of numerous^
priests toward daily Mass. At the outset let us admit that as
a rule the English-speaking priest is not as keen in the matter
of saying Mass daily as is his Latin or Teutonic brother. It
may be well to reflect on the fact. For purposes of clearness
and completeness let us take the priest at work, as it were,
and the priest at play, that is, the priest in his ordinary life at
home in his parish, and the priest en vacanceSy whether travel-
ing about or resting at some resort. Those who have had the-
opportunity of observing during travel the ecclesiastical life
not only in well-known European cities and towns, but in small
and obscure out-of-the-way places, will have noticed rare,
if any, instances in which a parish church is left without the
daily Mass. In the United States it is not at all uncommon
to find parish churches in which Mass is omitted from Sunday
to Sunday unless there is some special occasion which induces;
the pastor to celebrate. In large city parishes there is a
curious custom by which assistants are left " free " for Mass
on certain days; and frequently such freedom results in failure
to celebrate at all on these days. Nor is such failure unknown
in Ireland or in England, although perhaps not as frequent
as here.
Again, one cannot but note the general eagerness which
priests of the continental countries show .to say Mass daily ;
BY-PRODUCTS OF DECREE ON DAILY COMMUNION. 703:
whereas there are always to be seen a goodly number of priests,
from America, garbed in civilian's dress (and sometimes how
extraordinary that dress is when the sacerdotal character of
the wearer is considered!) who appear quite satisfied, even on
Sundays, to hear Mass rather than celebrate it in a near-by
church. But one need not cross the ocean to observe the fact.
The hotels of any of our great American cities on any day of
the year would furnish a considerable number of priests who-^
leave the impression that they are anxious to remove every
external evidence of the charisma that, in spite of them, fre-
quently betrays itself in countenances and manner. What is.
most to be regretted is the fact that many priests of irreproach-
able character and undoubted piety succumb to the habit of
omitting the daily celebration of Mass on the ground that
they do not want to give their parochial brethren trouble;:
do not want to burthen sacristans with extra work; they feel
that they will upset arrangements, etc. There may, indeed,,
at times be among the parochial clergy those who seem to re-
gard the request of a stranger to celebrate Mass in their church
as an intrusion. Even the sacristan may at times, by vigor-
ous or exaggerated laying out of vestments, and scowling;
looks, indicate that the visitor is not welcome. In other places
there is perhaps a lack of proper equipment needed for several
Masses celebrated simultaneously ; or a Mass out of the regu-
lar time may interfere with the results of the collection at the
parochial Mass, which the pastor regards chiefly as a revenue-
producer, its spiritual aspect being utterly lost sight of. These
are doubtless difficulties, and doubtless, too, the considerate-
ness of a timid priest under such circumstances is in itself
something to be admired. But when the people learn, as-
they are fast learning, that the standard to be reached by the
ordinary Christian is nothing short of daily Communion, what
will be their opinion of the priest who evidently has not
reached that standard? When the people grasp, as they are
doing, the plain fact that practically the sole obex to daily
Communion for the laity is mortal sin, what will they think of
the priest who does not celebrate daily? The adrniratio
populi with regard to the non-celebration of priests hitherta
has to a great extent been restrained by confused and confus-
ing notions of obligation and of needed perfection. But the
704 ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
ruthless bluntness of these papal decrees, putting an end to
all subtle distinctions, leaves the faithful in no doubt as to
what is expected of them, and surely they can no longer be
doubtful of what is expected of their spiritual guides. When
therefore from parish after parish throughout the country the
consoling and encouraging reports come in of marvelous in-
creases in attendance at daily Mass and reception of daily
Communion, such glorious news is bound to react upon clerical
life where there has been any sluggishness. And since no
priest can long afford to offend public opinion, we may look
for the practical elimination of any neglect to celebrate dail)
Mass.
Punctuality in Celebrating at a Fixed Hour.
The same causes will lead to other reforms. For example,
it is likely to eliminate the lack of punctuality in saying Mass
at the hours announced, for any disregard of such punctuality
may easily become a source of public disedification. Punc-
tuality is the courtesy of kings, and priests may be nothing
less among men. Every director of souls experiences the diffi-
culty arising, especially for the laboring classes, from a disre-
gard of punctuality. It causes not only inconvenience, but
also lessens the fervor of devotion. Though often only a
question of five, ten, or fifteen minutes, it is time wasted in
weary waiting for the sluggard who ignores the eager desire
of many panting for daily Communion as the hart for the
water brooks. What a mockery becomes the stately pile
reared for the worship of God when the lowly who come seek-
ing their daily supersubstantial bread have to depart hungry-
and sorrowful to their toil, because of the thoughtless want of
punctuality on the part of a self-indulgent priest who ought
to remember that he derives his support mostly by the alms of
-such poor. The increased number of daily Communions
brings with it likewise an increase in the number of parochial
Masses to be said at hours suitable for the people. It were
strange perversity in our parochial clergy if they sought to
suit their own convenience rather than that of their people
in fixing the hours for daily Mass. We need to remember
that sacerdos pro populo, not populus pro sacerdote. The
l)eneficent effects to which I have alluded are already notice-
BY-PRODUCTS OF DECREE ON DAILY COMMUNION. 705
able in many parishes, and are bound to become more so.
Some churches during Lent, for example, have a Mass at one
o'clock on weekdays, and wherever people are likely to heed
the invitation efforts are thus being made to provide for their
devotion. In many parishes daily Mass is said as early as
five and as late as nine o'clock; and at some of these daily
Masses two priests and more are required to give Communion,
so that the congregation may not be unduly delayed.
Incidentally another excrescence may be done away with
by the growing assistance of the faithful at daily Mass and the
anticipated prolonging of the hours during which for their ac-
commodation Masses may be said. Where an ordinary daily
Mass is said at nine and at noon or at one o'clock, those pastors
who have devised a carefully graduated scale of honoraria for
requiem Masses according to the hour at which they are cele-
brated, a scale based presumably upon the damage done to
the sacerdotal stomach's integument by prolonged fasting, will
see a light and remove a secret but growing source of com-
plaint.
Daily Communion at Clerical Retreats.
Curiously enough (from the same reaction) a change may
be anticipated in the procedure at clerical retreats. It was
significant that no sooner had the decrees been promulgated
than in the ecclesiastical journals of France discussion at
once arose as to how priests on retreat would conform to their
spirit, whether by celebrating or by simply communicating.
As in our conditions it would be obviously impracticable for
the retreatants to celebrate, doubtless even in our larger clergy
retreats the example already set in the retreats of many
smaller dioceses will be followed and all will be invited to
communicate. The satire afforded by a preacher thundering
out the duty of the clergy to enforce ad unguem these decrees,
while during four or five days they themselves are led by tra-
ditional usage to violate them, will surely appeal to the epis-
copal sense of humor. As to the practical difficulties it will
be felt that the bishops will be as quick to overcome them in
time of retreat as the priests concerned are alert in meeting
similar practical obstacles in their own charges.
7o6
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Churches at the Health-resorts.
Similarly on the principle qui vult finem vult media, we look
for increased opportunities of celebrating to be given to priests
on vacation or traveling. It is somewhat of a shock to find so
many churches in this country possessing minor altars that are
evidently intended for ornament only or to fill up architectural
vacant spaces, as they are not equipped for saying Mass, either
being unconsecrated or without altar-stone. Chalices are fre-
quently wanting, as well as duplicate sets of vestments. These
deficiencies are sometimes, but not frequently, met with in city
churches, but they become particularly irritating in churches
at popular resorts. If three or five priests could celebrate
simultaneously it would be possible to have a large number
of Masses every morning within a reasonable period ; but where
they have to celebrate one after another, the delay necessarily
becomes an insuperable obstacle, taking into consideration the
curious customs governing breakfasting at American hotels.
Priests and bishops celebrating at such resorts since the pro-
mulgation of these decrees have observed a remarkable in-
crease not only in the assistance at Mass but also in the re-
ception of Holy Communion ; and wise pastors in such places
will find it to their advantage to foster the devotional desires
both of visiting priests and people. The difficulties created
by overtaxed sacristans can easily be overcome; and the visit-
ing clergy, who are usually open-handed as well as pious, will
observe this particular difficulty solve itself.
Open Churches.
Through the increased devotion toward the Blessed Sacra-
ment churches which were hitherto kept closed from Sunday
to Sunday, have thus been opened during the entire day and
quite far into the evening for private devotions. Frequently
pastors have thus been induced, when opportunities offer, to
give Benediction. The numbers that avail themselves of such
privileges are considerable and ever increasing; and the re-
sults as far as the parish is concerned are not confined to
.spiritual benefits alone.
The " Celebret."
A further by-product of the practice of frequent Communion
in this country will be a definite regulation of the celebret.
BY-PRODUCTS OF DECREE ON DAILY COMMUNION. jqj
Until quite recently American priests traveling in their own
country affected to ignore such a document. The underlying
reasons were greatly to our credit and spoke much for our
simplicity. But the multiplication of impostors, undesirables
and unfit, has caused bishops in several of the larger dioceses
at least to issue stringent regulations in this respect. These
regulations are much like those that are in force in foreign
countries, without however providing the same formal admin-
istrative organization to cope with the necessary ensuing for-
malities. Unpleasant consequences often arise from this lack,
which can be avoided only if the priests whose business it is
to enforce these diocesan regulations would remember that
Epieikeia is an important factor in dealing with visiting
priests, especially when it is remembered that in dioceses not
a few in this broad land of liberty the request for a celebret
by a priest intending to take a trip would be fruitless, possibly
because such documents were unknown at the chancery or
would be considered a reflection upon our native honesty. No
doubt we shall come eventually to some system such as obtains
abroad ; but the point is that it must be uniform and general.
At present the visiting card is sufficient in most cases; yet
many a high-minded priest has been mortified to find himself
without papers in the presence of some clerical autocrat who
insists upon the letter of his particular diocesan law. It ought
to be widely recognized that churches are meant for use and
that the greater number of Masses said in them, the greater
the happiness of priest and people; that sacristans are paid
employes, and their convenience must not stand in the way
of a priest desirous of celebrating; that reasonable provision
must be made in every church for the adventitious stranger;
that such hospitality is a blessed thing and can even be ex-
tended advantageously in the sense of the axiom Ubi missa
ibi mensa; that consequently it is desirable that some uniform
and general regulation be made by which priests traveling in
this country will be able to celebrate without unnecessary for-
malities and restrictions.
Joseph H. McMahon.
New York City.
I (i t'i i lij'i 1-
' >iij ill U,c\\ b^i
AOTA PII PP. X.
I.
fCoNstiTUTio Apostolic A de sanctissima Eucharistia
orlw ii.v..vUf£ J^ -i,Riyjvrtscuo Ritu sumenda.
in£-3rrt r I*i^s Episcopns.
Servus Servo rum Dei.
Ad perpetuam rei meinoridm.
Tradita ab antlquis, haec diu in Ecclesia consuetudo tenuit,
mt ad varies, pro diversis locis, mores ritusque sacrorum,
«nodo superstitionis et idololatriae suspicio omnis eis abesset,
iideles peregrini nullo negotio sese accommodarent. Quod
^quidem usu veniebat, pads et coniunctionis gratia, inter multi-
plicia unius Ecclesiae Catholicae membra, seu particulares
^cclesias, confovendae, secundum illud sancti Leonis IX,
*' nihil obsunt saluti credentium diversae pro loco et tempore
coftsuetudines, quando una fides per dilectionem operans bona
quae potest, uni Deo commendat omnes "/
•* Epist ad Michaelem Constantinopolitanum Patriarcham.
ANALECTA. 709
Hue accedebat necessitatis causa, cum, qui in exteras regiorf
nes advenissent, iis plerumque nee sacrae ibi aedes, nee sacer-
dotes ritus proprii suppeterent. Id autem cum in ceteris rebus-
fiebat, quae ad divinum cultum pertinent, turn in ministrandist
suscipiendisque sacramentis maximeque Sanctissima Euchari-
stia. Itaque clericis et laicis, qui formatas, quae dicebantur,
litteras peregre afferrent, patens erat aditus ad eucharisticun^
ministerium aut epulum in templis alieni ritus; et Episcopi,
presbyteri ac diaconi latini cum graecis hie Romae, graeci
cum latinis in Oriente divina concelebrabant mysteria : quod
usque adeo evasit sollemne, ut si secus factum esset, res posset
argumento esse discissae vel unitatis fidei vel concordiae ani-
morum.
At vero, postquam magnam Orientis christiani partem a
centro catholicae unitatis lamentabile schisma divellerat, con-
suetudinem tam laudabilem retinere iam diutius non licuitw
Quum enim Michael Caerularius non solum mores caerimoni-
asque latinorum maledico dente carperet, verum etiam edi-
ceret aperte consecrationem panis azymi illicitam irritamque
esse, Romahi Pontifices, Apostolici officii memores, latinis qui-
dem, ad avertendum ab eis periculum erroris, interdixerunt,,
ne in pane fermentato sacramentum conficerent neu sumerent;
graecis vero, ad catholicam fidem unitatemque redeuntibus,
veniam fecerunt communicandi in azymo apud latinos: id
quod pro iis temporibus et locis opportunum sane erat, imo
necessarium. Quum enim nee saepe graeci tunc invenirentur
episcopi huic beati Petri cathedrae coniuncti, nee ubique ad-
essent catholica orientalium templa, timendum valde erat, ne
orientales catholici ad schismaticorum ecclesias ac pastores
cum certo fidei periculo accederent, nisi apud latinos commu-
nicare ipsis licuisset.
lamvero felix quaedam rerum commutatio, quae postea visa
est fieri, cum in Coneilio Florentino pax Ecclesiae graecae
cum latina convenit, veterem disciplinam paulisper revocavit.
— Nam statuerunt quidem eius Concilii Patres : " in azymo
sive fermentato pane triticeo Corpus Christi veraciter confici,.
sacerdotesque in alterutro ipsum Domini Corpus conficere de-
bere, unumquemque scilicet iuxta suae Ecclesiae sive occiden^
talis sive orientalis consuetudinem ",^ sed hoc decreto vo-
* Ex Bulla Eugenii IV, Laetentur Coeli.
jlQ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
luerunt sane catholicam veritatem de valida utriusque panis
consecratione in tuto collocare, minime vero promiscuam com-
munionem interdicere fidelibus; quibus contra, quin earn con-
firmandae pads causa concesserint, non est dubium. Exstat
Isidori, metropolitae Kloviensis et totius Russiae, luculentis-
sima epistola, quam, absoluta Florentina Synodo, cuius pars
magna fuerat et in qua Dorothei patriarchae Antiocheni per-
sonam gesserat, Legatus a Latere in Lithuania, Livonia et
universa Russia dedit anno mccccxl Budae ad omnes qui sub
ditione essent Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae : qua in epistola,
de reconciliata feliciter graecorum cum latinis concordia prae-
fatus, haec habet : " Adiuro vos in D. N. L C. ne qua divisio
vos inter et latinos amplius subsistat, cum omnes sitis D. N. L
C. servi, in nomine eius baptizati. . . . Itaque graeci qui in
latinorum regione degant aut in sua regione habeant latinam
ecclesiam, omnes divinam liturgiam adeant et corpus D. N. L
C. adorent, ac corde contrito venerentur, non secus ac id in
propria ecclesia quisque faceret, nee non et confitendi gratia
latinos sacerdotes adeant, et corpus Domini Nostri ab eisdem
accipiant. Similiter et latini debent ecclesias graecorum adire
et divinam liturgiam auscultare, fide firma corpus lesu Christi
ibidem adorare. Utpote quod sit verum L C. corpus, sive illud
a graeco sacerdote in fermentato, sive a latino sacerdote in
azymo consecratum fuerit; utcumque enim aequa veneratione
dignum est, sive azymum, sive fermentatum. Latini quoque
confiteantur apud sacerdotes graecos et divinam commu-
nionem ab eisdem accipiant, cum idem sit utrumque. Ita
nempe statuit Cone. Florentinum in publica Sessione die vi
lunii a. MCCCCXXXix ".
Etsi autem Isidori testimonio evincitur factam esse a Flo-
rentina Synodo facultatem fidelibus promiscuo ritu communi-
candi, tamen facultas huiusmodi subsecutis temporibus nee
ubique nee semper f uit in usu ; ideo praesertim quia, cum male
sartam unitatem mature Graeci rescidissent, iam non crat,
cur Pontifices Romani quod Isidorus a Florentina Synodo in-
dultum refert, curarent observandum. Pluribus nihilominus
in locis promiscuae Communionis consuetudo mansit usque
ad Benedicti XIV Decessoris aetatem, qui primus Constitu-
tione Etsi pastoralis pro Italo-Graecis die XXVI maii anni
MDCCXLii graves ob causas vetuit, ne laici latini Communi-
ANALECTA. 7II
onem a graecis presbyteris sub fermentati specie acciperent;
graecis autem propria paroecia destitutis facultatem reliquit,
ut in azymo apud latinos communicarent. Ubi vero, graecis
et latinis una simul commorantibus suasque habentibus eccle-
sias, usus invaluisset Communionis promiscuae, commisit Or-
dinariis, ut, si huiusmodi consuetude removeri sine populi
offensione animorumve commotione non posset, omni cum
lenitate curam operamque in id impenderent, ut semper latini
in azymo communicarent, graeci in fermentato. Quae autem
pro Italo- Graecis Decessor Noster statuit, eadem ipse postea
ad Melchitas quoque et ad Coptos pertinere iussit: eaque
paullatim ad omnes transierunt Orientales, consuetudine po-
tius quam legis alicuius praescripto ; non ita tamen, ut quando-
^que Apostolica Sedes idem non indulserit latinis, quae etiam
orientales non destituti ecclesia propria, neque uUa urgente
necessitate, ut communicarent in azymo, pluries passa est,
immo permisit.
Quod praecipue factum est, posteaquam, animarum studio
flagrantes, nonnullae religiosae Familiae tum virorum turn
mulierum ex variis Europae regionibus ad Orientis oras ad-
vectae, auxilium catholicis diversorum rituum, multiplicatis
apud ipsos christianae caritatis operibus collegiisque ad in-
stitutionem iuventutis ubique apertis, praebuerunt. Cum
autem hae Familiae ob frequentem Eucharistiae usum quie-
tam et tranquillam inter difficultates et aerumnas vitam age-
rent, ex orientalibus, quod genus valde ad pietatem proclivi
est, facile ad imitationem sui multos excitarunt : qui cum aegre
apud suos vel ob distantiam locorum vel ob penuriam sacer-
dotum et templorum, vel etiam ob diversas rituum rationes
huic desiderio possent satisfacere, ab Apostolica Sede instan-
ter gratiam postularunt accipiendae Eucharistiae, more lati-
norum. Hisce postulationibus Apostolica Sedes aliquando
concessit: atque ephebis, qui in latinorum collegiis educa-
rentur, item ceteris fidelibus, qui eorum templa celebrarent ac
piis consociationibus essent adscripti, permisit, salvis quidem
iuribus parochorum, potissime quoad paschalem Communi-
onem et Viaticum, ut pietatis causa intra annum in templis
latinorum eucharistico pane a latinis presbyteris consecrato
reficerentur. Quin etiam in ipso Concilio Vaticano Cofumissio
peculiaris negotiis Rituum Orientalium praeposita hoc inter
712 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
alia sibi proposuit dubium, an expediret relaxare aliquantu-
lum legum ecclesiasticarum severitatem de non permiscendis
ritibus maxime in Communione Eucharistica, veniamque tri-
buere fidelibus communicandi utrovis ritu : cumque eius Com-
missionis Patres adnuendum censuissent, decretum confece-
runt in earn sententiam; quod tamen, abrupto temporum ini-
quitate Concilio, Patribus universis probandum subiicere non
licuit. — Post id temporis S. Congregatio Fidei Propagandae
pro negotiis Rituum Orientalium, ut solatio consuleret eorum,
qui ob inopiam ecclesiarum vel sacerdotum proprii ritus a
Communione saepius abstinere cogebantur, decretum die xviil
augusti anni MDCCCXCIII edidit, quo, ad promovendam Sacra-
mentorum frequentiam, omnibus fidelibus ritus sive latini sive
orientalis, habitantibus ubi ecclesia aut sacerdos proprii ritus
non adsit, facultas in posterum tribuitur communicandi, non
modo in articulo mortis et in Paschate ad observandum prae-
ceptum, sed quovis tempore, suadente pietate, iuxta ritum ec-
clesiae loci, dummodo sit catholica.
Decessor autem Noster, Leo XIII fel. rec. in Constitutione
Orientalium dignitas Ecclesiarum, eiusdem gratiae participes
fecit, quicumque propter longinquitatem ecclesiae suae, nisi
gravi cum incommodo, eam adire non possent. Simul vero
prohibuit, ne in collegiis latinis, in quibus plures alumni ori-
ental es numerarentur, latino more hi communicarent; prae-
cepitque ut accirentur eiusdem ritus sacerdotes qui sacrum
facerent et sacratissimam Eucharistiam illis distribuerent,
saltem diebus dominicis ceterisque de praecepto occurrentibus
festis, quovis sublato privilegio. Sed tamen experiendo est
cognitum, non ubique facile inveniri sacerdotes orientales,
qui, cum alibi occupati sint in ministerio animarum, diebus
dominicis et festis, atque adeo ipsis profestis diebus queant
collegia adire latinorum, ut pueris puellisque esurientibus
panem angelicum ministrent.
Quamobrem non raro supplicatum est huic Apostolicae
Sedi, ut disciplinam Ecclesiae tanta in re indulgentius tempe-
raret. Quae preces supplices, post editum die xx Decembris
MCMV per S. Congregationem Concilii decretum Nostrum
Sacra Tridentina Synodus de quotidiana Communione Eu-
charistica, multo frequentiores fuerunt ab orientalibus, qui
veniam pejtebant transeundi ad ritum latinum, quo facilius
ANALECTA. 71^
possent caelesti dape recreari; in eisque non pauci numera-
bantur pueri ac puellae, qui hoc ipsum beneficium participare
percuperent.
Itaque, considerantibus Nobis fidem catholicam de valida
consecratione utriusque panis, az3^mi et fermentati, tutam esse
apud omnes; insuper compertum habentibus complures esse,
turn latinos turn orientales, quibus ilia promiscui ritus inter-
dictio et fastidio et offensioni sit, exquisita sententia sacri
Consilii christiano nomini propagando pro negotiis Orienta-
Hum Rituum, re mature perpensa, visum est omnia ilia anti-
quare decreta, quae ritum promiscuum in usu Sanctissimae
Eucharistiae prohibent vel coangustant; atque omnibus et
latinis et orientalibus facultatem facere sive in azymo sive in
fermentato apud sacerdotes catholicos, in ecclesiis cuiusvis
ritus catholicis, secundum pristinam Ecclesiae consuetudinem,
augusto Corporis Domini Sacramento sese reficiendi, ut
" omnes et singuli qui christiano nomine censentur, in hoc
concordiae symbolo iam tandem aliquando conveniant et con-
cordent *'.*
Equidem confidimus, quae hie praescribuntur a Nobis, ea
dilectis filiis, quot habemus in Oriente, ex quovis ritu, ad-
modum fore utilia non solum ad inflammandum in eis pietatis
ardorem, sed etiam ad mutuam eorum concordiam confirman-
dam. — Etenim quod ad pietatem attinet, nemo non videt divi-
nam Eucharistiam, a Patribus Ecclesiae latinis graecisque
quotidianum christiani hominis panem solitam appellari, ut-
pote qua sustentetur et alatur tamquam valetudo animae,
multo magis frequentandam eis esse, quorum caritas vel fides,
seu ipsa supernaturalis vitae principia, maiore in discrimine^
versentur. Quare catholici orientales, quibus est in media
multitudine schismaticorum habitandum, non ex periculoso
eorum convictu aliquod fidei caritatisque detrimentum capi-
ent, si hoc se cibo caelesti roborare consueverint, sed magnum-
et perpetuum in se vitae spiritualis sentient incrementum. —
Quod spectat alterum, patet proclive factu usque adhuc fuisse,
ut inter homines unius fidei sed diversorum rituum, ex eo-
quod alii aliis facilius possent Corporis Christi esse participes,
causae aemulationum et discordiarum exsisterent. Nunc
3 Cone. Trident. Sess. XIII.
-ri4 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
autem, cum huius mensae, quae symbolum, radix atque prin-
eipium est catholicae unitatis, promiscuam esse omnibus fide-
libus communicationem volumus, pronum est debere inter
ipsos increscere animorum concordiam, " quoniam unus panis,
•ait Apostolus, unum corpus multi sumus, omnes qui de uno
pane participamus ".*
Haec I^os igitur de Apostolicae potestatis plenitudine sta-
tuimus et sancimus :
I. Sacris promiscuo ritu operari sacerdotibus ne liceat: pro-
pterea suae quisque Ecclesiae ritu Sacramentum Corporis
Domini conficiant et ministrent.
II. Ubi necessitas urgeat, nee sacerdos diversi ritus adsit,
licebit sacerdoti orientali, qui fermentato utitur, ministrare
Eucharistiam consecratam in azymo, vicissim latino aut ori-
entali qui utitur azymo, ministrare in fermentato; at suum
•quisque ritum ministrandi servabit.
III. Omnibus fidelibus cuiusvis ritus datur facultas, ut, pie-
tatis causa, Sacramentum Eucharisticum quolibet ritu con-
fectum suscipiant.
IV. Quisque fidelium praecepto Communionis paschalis ita
satisfaciet, si eam suo ritu accipiat et quidem a parocho suo :
cui sane in ceteris obeundis religionis officiis addictus mane-
bit.
V. Sanctum Viaticum moribundis ritu proprio de manibus
proprii parochi accipiendum est: sed, urgente necessitate, fas
esto a sacerdote quolibet illud accipere; qui tamen ritu suo
^ministrabit.
VI. Unusquisque in nativo ritu permanebit, etiamsi con-
suetudinem diu tenuerit communicandi ritu alieno; neque ulli
detur facultas mutandi ritus, nisi cui iustae et legitimae suf-
fragentur causae, de quibus Sacrum Consilium Fidei Propa-
gandae pro negotiis Orientalium iudicabit. In his vero causis
numeranda non erit consuetudo quamvis diuturna ritu alieno
communicandi.
Quaecumque autem his litteris decernimus, constituimus,
declaramus, ab omnibus ad quos pertinet inviolabiliter servari
volumus et mandamus, nee ea notari, in controversiam vo-
cari, infringi posse, ex quavis, licet privilegiata causa, colore
** I Corinth. lo: 17.
ANALECTA. 715
et nomine; sed plenarios et integros effectus suos habere, non
■obstantibus Apostolicis, etiam in generalibus ac provincialibus
conciliis editis, constitutionibus, nee non quibusvis etiam con-
firmatione Apostolica vel quavis alia firmitate roboratis, sta-
tutis consuetudinibus ac praescriptionibus; quibus omnibus,
perinde ac si de verbo ad verbum hisce litteris inserta essent,
ad praemissorum effectum, specialiter et expresse derogamus
et derogatum esse volumus, ceterisque in contrarium facienti-
bus quibuslibet. — Volumus autem ut harum litterarum ex-
emplis etiam impressis, manuque Notarii subscriptis et per
constitutum in ecclesiastica dignitate virum suo sigillo muni-
tis, eadem habeatur fides, quae praesentibus hisce litteris os-
tensis haberetur.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, anno Incarnationis Domi-
nicae millesimo nongentesimo duodecimo, in festo Exalta-
tionis S. Crucis, xviii Kalendas octobres, Pontificatus Nostri
;anno decimo.
Fr, H. M. Cardinalis GOTTL
S. C. de Propaganda Fide Praefectus.
A. Cardinalis AGLIARDI.
5. R. E. Cancellarius.
VISA
M. RiGGi, C. A. Not
II.
-Ad R. p. D. Ioannem Cuthbertum Hedley, Neoporten-
siUM Episcopum, quinquagesimo Sacerdotii eius anno
feliciter recurrente, gratulationis ergo.
Venerabilis frater, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem.
— Te propediem celebraturum annum sacerdotii quinquagesi-
mum et sanctae laetitiae socios non Benedictinos tantum habi-
turum sodales, sed et omnes Angliae Antistites ac prope uni-
versos Angliae catholicos, iucunde Nos scito accepisse. Tanta
enim voluntatum significatio baud dubie ostendit in excelso
loco sitam esse laudem tuam, eamque ita omnes percellere, ut
omnium egregium sit de te, de tua vita, virtute indicium.
Rectum quidem indicium; cum, et rebus et perpolitae orati-
onis elegantia praeclara, edita a te scripta recte noverimus^
'Cumque probe compertum habeamus quo monasticae perfectly
7i6
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
onis studio, qua consilii gravitate, qua pastorali florueris ac
floreas sollicitudine. Quare non absimili Nos opinione pa-
ternaque affecti caritate, tuum, venerabilis frater, omniumque
tecum laetantium gaudium libenter communicamus ac de mu-
tuo studio gratulamur utrisque. Benevolae caritatis Nostrae
testimonium addat, volumus etiam calix sacrificalis, quern
libet ad te dono mittere una cum apostolica benedictione,
quam caelestium auspicem donorum tibi, venerabilis frater,.
dioecesis tuae clero populoque peramanter in Domino imper-
timus.
Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, die xii septembris MCMXII,,
Pontificatus Nostri anno decimo.
PIUS PP. X.
S. OONGREGATIO S. OFFIOII.
(Sectio de Indulgentiis.)
I.
CONCEDITUR INDULGENTIA PlENARIA IN HONOREM BeATAE
Mariae Virginis Immaculatae, primo sabbato cuius -
libet mensis lucranda.
i^Ex audientia Sanctissimi, die ij iunii ipi2.)
Sanctissimus D. N. D. Pius div. Prov. Pp. X, ad augendam
fidelium devotionem erga gloriosissimam Dei Matrem Imma-
culatam, et ad fovendum pium reparationis desiderium, quo
fideles ipsi cupiunt quandam exhibere satisfactionem pro exe-
crabilibus blasphemiis quibus Nomen augustissimum et ex-
celsae praerogativae eiusdem beatae Virginis a scelestis ho-
minibus impetuntur, ultro concedere dignatus est, ut universi
qui primo quolibet sabbato cuiusvis mensis, confessi ac sacra
Synaxi refecti, peculiaria devotionis exercitia in honorem
beatae Virginis Immaculatae in spiritu reparationis ut supra,
peregerint, et ad mentem summi Pontificis oraverint, Indul-
gentiam plenariam, defunctis quoque applicabilem, lucrari
valeant Praesenti in perpetuum valituro absque ulla Brevis
expeditione. Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus.
M. Card. Rampolla.
L. * S.
•i* D. Archiep. Seleucien., Ads. S. O^
ANALECTA. 717
II.
Decretum circa Indulgentias Festis Beatorum
Adnexas.
Supremae sacrae Congregationi S. Officii sequentia pro-
posita sunt dubia, quae versantur circa indulgentias in festis
Beatorum concessas, quando haec transferuntur, nimirum:
I. An, translate in perpetuum festo alicuius Beati quod
externa solemnitate non gaudet, transferatur quoque indul-
gentia concessa ecclesiis Ordinis regularis in casu tantum quo
huiusmodi indulgentia concessa sit intuitu Beati eiusque ex-
presso nomine, an ctiam in casu quo non fuerit concessa in-
tuitu Beati, id est eius expresso nomine, sed tantum affixa diei
qua eius festum celebratur?
II. Et quatenus affirmative ad primam partem: Num
translatio locum habere debeat, tam si festum pro universo
Ordine, quam si pro aliqua tantum regulari provincia vel
singulari conventu peragatur?
III. Num translatio indulgentiae locum habeat, si reposito
in aliam diem fixe festo Beatorum, eorum solemnitas externa
in antiquo die, ut ante officii repositionem perpetuam, affixa
perseveret in populo?
IV. An quando festum Beatorum ordinis S. Francisci cele-
bratur a variis familiis franciscalibus, non tamen eodem die
sed diverso, Tertiarii saeculares lucrari valeant indulgentiam
eidem festo adnexam, die quo festum illud celebratur ab ea
familia cui ipsi subsunt, etiam si in proprio indulgentiarum
summario alio die adquirenda design etur?
V. An Tertiarii, si eorum sodalitas erecta est in ecclesiis
franciscanis quae festa Beatorum impedita in aliam perpetuo
die translatam celebrant, in die tantum translationis indul-
gentiam plenariam consequi valeant?
VI. An Tertiarii, qui ecclesiam ubi sodalitas erecta sit non
habere possunt, ideoque valent indulgentiam eiusmodi in qua-
libet ecclesia franciscali promereri, possint pluries eandem in-
dulgentiam adquirere, si festa in diversis ecclesiis diverso die
fixe recolantur?
Quibus dubiis mature perpensis, Emi Patres una mecum
general es Inquisitores, feria IV, die 12 iunii 191 2, dixerunt:
Ad I. Affirmative ad primam partem; negative ad secun-
dam.
7*18
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Ad II. Servetur Decretum S. C. Indulgentiarum, lanuen.y
12 ianuarii 1878.
Ad III. Negative, iuxta Decretum S. C. Indulgentiarum,,
Urbis et Orbis, 9 augusti 1852.
Ad IV. Poterunt Tertiarii, pro lubito, eam lucrari die in
summario designate, vel die quo festum recolitur ab ea familia.
cui ipsi subsunt : ita tamen, ut semel tantum a singulis indul-
gentia adquiri possit.
Ad V. Provisum in praecedenti.
Ad VI. Negative.
Et feria V, die 13 iisdem mense et anno, Ssmus D. N. D..
Pius divina providentia Pp. X, in solita audientia R. P. D.
Adsessori S. Officii impertita, supra relatas resolutiones Emo-
rum Patrum benigne approbare dignatus est.
M. Card. Rampolla.
L. * S.
■^^ D. Archiep. Seleucien., Ads. S. O.
S. OONGEEGATIO DE EELIGIOSIS.
I.
Quoad Communionem Infirmarum in Monasteriis Clau-
SURAE PaPALIS.
Edito a S. C. Concilii, die 20 decembris 1905, Decreto-
Sacra Tridentina Synodus, quo inter alia praescribitur ut
Communio frequens et quotidiaita praesertim in religiosis In-
stitutis cuiusvis generis promoveatur, earum consulendum
quoque erat sorti infirmarum quae intra septa monasteriorum
clausurae Papalis decumbunt; quum ipsa clausura, prout de-
terminatur in iure canonico vigenti, aliquod in praxi videretur
parere incommodum ad frequentiorem earum aegrotantium
Communionem, praesertim ex eo quod regulariter nonnisi
confessarius et in eius defectu capellanus, et, si sacerdos sit
regularis, a socio comitatus, monasterii claustra ingredi valeat
ad Sacramenta infirmis ministranda.
Ouare Emi ac Rmi Patres Cardinales S. C. de Religiosis,,
occasione arrepta quorumdam dubiorum quae ad rem propo-
sita fuerant, die 30 augusti 191 2, in plenario coetu ad Vati-
canum habito, quoad Communionem infirmis deferendam in
ANALECTA. 7IQ,
monasteriis clausurae Papalis, sequentia decernere existima-
runt, nempe: In defectu confessarii vel capellani tertius sa-
cerdos, etiam regularis, licet sine socio, legitime vocatus de
licentia episcopi, qui pro hac licentia nomine ipsius episcopi
concedenda etiam abbatissam seu superiorissam habitualiter
designare poterit, sacram Communionem infirmis valeat de-
ferre Religiosis, quae ad ecclesiae crates descendere nequeunt.
Oportet autem ut quatuor religiosae maturae aetatis, si fieri
possit, ab ingressu in clausuram usque ad egressum, sacerdo-
tem comitentur, qui sacram pyxidem aliquas consecratas par-
ticulas continentem deferre, sacram Communionem adminis-
trare, reverti ad ecclesiam, eamdemque sacram pyxidem re-
ponere debet, servatis rubricis a Rituali Romano pro Com-
munione infirmorum statutis.
Et hanc Emorum Patrum sententiam et resolutionem Ssmus
Dominus noster Pius Papa Decimus, ad relationem subscripti
Secretarii, die I septembris 191 2 ratam habere "et confirmare
dignatus est. Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria sacrae Congregationis de Re-
ligiosis, die I septembris 191 2.
Fr. I. C. Card. Vives, Praefectus.
L. * S.
*i' Donatus, Archiep. Ephesinus, Secretarius.
II.
DUBIUM QUOAD InDULTA AbSTINENTIAE ET IeIUNII RELATE
AD ReLIGIOSOS.
Rmus D. Antonius Fiat, Superior generalis Congregationis
Missionis et Filiarum a Caritate, a S. C. de Religiosis sequen-
tis dubii solutionem expostulavit, nimirum :
Utrum in indultis apostolicis, quibus mitigationes vel dis-
pensationes conceduntur ab abstinentia et ieiunio in regioni-
bus intra et extra Europam, praesertim in America Latina,,
comprehendantur Familiae religiosae ibi degentes.
Emi autem ac Rmi Patres Cardinales sacrae eiusdem Con-
gregationis, in aedibus Vaticanis adunati die 30 augusti 1912^
re maturo examine perpensa, responderunt :
I. Affirmative quoad abstinentiam et ieiunium a lege Eccle-
siae generali praescripta, nisi ab indulto exclud'antur religiosis
^20 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
II. Negative quoad abstinentiam et ieiunium a propriis Re-
gulis et Constitutionibus statuta, nisi in indulto expresse de
hac dispensatione mentio habeatur. Non servantes igitur
huiusmodi abstinentiam et ieiunium, transgrediuntur quidem
Regulam et Constitutionem, non autem legem Ecclesiae; ideo-
que culpam tantum et poenam incurrunt a Constitutionibus
vel Regulis statutam.
III. Quoad vero Religiosos in America Latina degentes,
standum novissimo Indulto per Secretariam Status concesso,
die I ianuarii an. 1910.
Quas Emorum DD. Cardinalium responsiones Ssmus Do-
minus noster Pius Papa X, ad relationem infrascripti Secre-
tarii, die I septembris 1 91 2 adprobare et confirmare dignatus
€St.
Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria sacrae Congregationis de Re-
ligiosis, die i septembris 191 2.
Fr. I. C. Card. Vives, Praefectus.
L. * S.
■i* Donatus, Archiep. Ephesinus, Secretarius.
III.
T)UBiUM QUOAD Religiosos Votorum Solemnium degentes
AD TEMPUS EXTRA ClAUSTRA.
Quaesitum est ab hac sacra Congregatione negotiis religi-
osorum Sodalium praeposita, utrum Religiosus, habitu regu-
lari dimisso, extra claustra ad tempus degens indulto aposto-
lico, cum facultate ab episcopo obtenta celebrandi Missam et
alia opera sacerdotis propria peragendi, subsit eidem Ordi-
nario, ita ut episcopus habeat in eum iurisdictionem et auctori-
tativam et dominativam potestatem, quamvis in Rescripto de-
sit consueta formula: Ordinario loci subsit in vim quoque
solemnis obedientiae voti.
Emi autem ac Rmi Patres Cardinales sacrae eiusdem Con-
:gregationis, in plenariis Comitiis ad Vaticanum adunatis die
30 augusti 1 91 2, praehabito duorum ex officio Consultorum
^voto, et re mature perpensa, responderunt :
Affirmative, facto verbo cum Sanctissimo.
ANALECTA. ^21
Sanctitas porro Sua, ad relationem infrascripti Secretarii,
die I septembris 191 2 responsionem Emorum Patrum adpro-
bare et confirmare dignata est. Contrariis non obstantibus
quibuscumque.
Datum Romae ex Secretaria sacrae Congregationis de Re-
ligiosis, die I septembris 191 2.
Fr. I. C. Card. Vives, Praefectus.
L. * S.
+ Donatus, Archiep. Ephesinus, Secretarius.
EOMAN OUEIA.
PONTIFICAL APPOINTMENTS.
10 April, igi2: The Most Rev. Neil McNeil, Archbishop
of Vancouver, appointed to the Archiepiscopal See of To-
ronto.
75 May, igi2: The Very Rev. James Morrison, of the par-
ish of Vernon River in the Diocese of Charlottetown, ap-
pointed to the Episcopal See of Antigonish.
J/ July, igi2: The Right Rev. Timothy Casey, Bishop of
St. John, appointed to the Archiepiscopal See of Vancouver.
2 August, igi2: The Rev. Edward Le Blanc, of the parish
of St. Bernard in the Diocese of Halifax, appointed to the
Episcopal See of St. John.
2 August, ipi2: The Rev. John Pereira Barros, of the
Archdiocese of San Pablo in Brazil, made Private Chamber-
lain supernumerary.
7/ Atigust, igi2: The Rev. Anselm Poock, of the Diocese
of Salford (England), made Private Chamberlain super-
numerary.
ig August, igi2: The Very Rev. Joseph Shiel appointed
Bishop of Rockhampton in Australia.
18 September, igi2: Mr. Joseph Prey, of New York, made
Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (civil rank).
28 September, igi2: The Rev. John J. Tierney, of the Dio-
cese of Wilmington, made Domestic Prelate.
2 October, igi2: Mr. James Dunn, of Jamaica, made
Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (civil rank).
Stubfes anb Conferences.
OUE ANALEOTA.
The Roman documents for the month are:
1. Apostolic Constitution, ordaining that hereafter the,
faithful of the various rites (Latin and Greek Uniates) may
receive Communion in either leavened or unleavened bread,,
according as they have opportunity, in churches (or from the
hands of priests) of different rite.
Priests of either rite are authorized to administer Com-
munion in leavened or unleavened bread, as necessity may
dictate. These priests are nevertheless obliged to celebrate
Mass and consecrate according to their own rite; they are
likewise to administer Communion, whether it be under the
species of leavened or unleavened bread, as necessity dictates,
in the form prescribed by their own rite.
The faithful, in whatsoever form they receive Communion,
are not thereby authorized to relinquish their allegiance to
their own rite (Latin or Greek). Such change can be made
only by permission of the Sacred Congregation of Propa-
ganda (for Oriental Affairs).
2. Pontifical Letter addressed to the Right Rev. John
Cuthbert Hedley, O.S.B., Bishop of Newport, congratulating
the latter on the occasion of the golden jubilee of his priest-
hood.
Congregation of the Holy Office (Section of Indul-
gences) : I. Grants a plenary indulgence (applicable to the
souls of the departed) in honor of Our Blessed Lady on the
first Saturday of each month to all those who, after having
confessed and received Holy Communion, spend some time
in devotion in honor of the Immaculate Virgin, in the spirit
of reparation; the usual prayer according to the intentions
of the Sovereign Pontiff is also prescribed.
2. Decides that the transfer of the feast of a " Beatus "
carries with it also the transfer of the indulgences attached
to the same — to be gained however but once.
S. Congregation of Religious: i. Grants that, in the ab-
sence of the confessor or chaplain of a cloistered community,.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 723
any other priest, secular or regular, who has the approval of
the bishop (which approval may be regularly given to him,
with the bishop's consent, by the superioress of the commu-
nity), may distribute Holy Communion to the sick members
unable to come to the crates. The priest who administers
Holy Communion is to be accompanied, if possible, by four
religious, from and back to the altar, in the manner prescribed
by the Roman Ritual.
2. Answers affirmatively the doubt whether the Sisters of
Charity (Vincentian) are at liberty to avail themselves of the
Apostolic indults regarding fast and abstinence granted to
different countries, especially Latin America, so far as these
indults dispense from the general law, but do not affect
the special laws of fast and abstinence prescribed by the Rules
and Constitutions of this Order. These the members are
obliged to observe, unless there is special exemption given.
3. Decides that priests of solemn religious vows who by
Apostolic indult are permitted to serve on the secular mission
and to doff for the time being their religious habit, are under
the jurisdiction (" auctoritative et dominative") of the local
bishop, as though they had pledged their obedience to him
absolutely.
Roman Curia gives the list of recent pontifical appoint-
ments.
METEIOAL TEANSLATION OP PSALMS.
Psalm I.
Blessed the man who hath not walked the way
Of wicked counselors with willing feet ;
Nor stood in sinners' paths : nor gone astray
To sit him in the scoffer's scornful seat.
His joy is in the Lord's most holy Law :
And in His word divine, his true delight;
He shall consider it with love and awe,
Shall meditate upon it day and night.
And he shall flourish as a fecund tree
The brooks and running waters planted near,
That yields its grateful fruit abundantly,
And in its season glorifies the year.
724
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
Its leaf shall fall not ; even so, the days
Of God's elect shall fadeless, changeless be;
And whatSG he shall do, in all his ways
He shall be gladdened by prosperity.
Not thus shall fare the wicked. No, ah! no,
(Unlike the happy portion of the just),
They shall be driven by the blasts of woe
As from the earth is swept the wind-blown dust.
Therefore, they shall not in the judgment stand,
Nor rise to meet the righteous, face to face ;
In councils where the just and wise command,
Sinners, alas ! shall have no part or place.
For lo! our God looks with approving eyes
Upon the way wherein His faithful tread ;
He shall the wicked in their sins surprise :
Shall make their course to perish with the dead.
E. C. D.
Psalm VIII.
O Lord, our Lord, in all this earth we tread
How glorious is Thy majestic Name!
Thou o'er the heavens hast Thy glory spread.
And Thy magnificence above the same.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings weak
Hast Thou perfected praise before Thy foes,
That Thou Thine enemies might'st hold in check,
•And vengeful adversaries all depose.
Considering Thy heav'ns — Thy handiwork, —
When I therein the moon and stars behold,
(Which in their sparkling splendor Thou hast set
And firm established in the skies of old) —
Oh ! what is man that Thouy Almighty Lord,
Art mindful of him? What, the son of man
That Thou the Eternal, in Thy mercy broad,
Should'st visit him whose life is but a span ?
A little less than angels Thou hast made
And fashioned him — hast formed him to abound
In gifts scarce lower than the heavenly hosts' ;
With glory and with honor hast him crown'd.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 72 S
Thou makest him a ruler o'er the works
Of Thy blest hands : hast put all things revealed
Under his feet; hast sheep and oxen made
His subjects — with the cattle of the field.
Thou givest him a power, a control
Over the birds, creatures of sky and air;
The fishes of the sea, all things that pass
Thro' ocean's paths are given to his care.
O Lord, our Lord! forevermore the same,
In all the earth how wondrous is Thy Name.
E. C. D,
Psalm XVIIL
The heavens, abroad.
Tell the glory of God :
The brilliant expanse where His living lights shine.
With tongues as of flame,
Doth, ceaseless, proclaim
The work of His hands — His creation divine.
The day and the night,
The darkness, the light.
Like the flow of a stream, gushing forth without cease.
Discover always
His knowledge and praise.
The glory of God which shall never decrease.
Their language is heard
To earth's ends — in each word
Of creation's grand chorus. Their speech manifold
Is well understood
By the wise and the good
Who in all His fair works their Creator behold.
The sun is His tent
In the broad firmament,
And He, like a bridegroom, in beauty and force,
From His bridechamber goes,
From His sacred repose.
As a giant rejoicing to run His brave course.
726
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Rising up, all alight,
In the orient bright,
He circles the heavens from end unto end ;
From the furthermost parts.
Through His circuit He darts,
His heat none may hide from, — His fires naught fend.
The law of the Lord
Is in perfect accord
With man's glorious destiny. Spotless, sublime,
It giveth relief
To the children of grief:
Consoling, in sorrow, the creatures of Time.
The word of the Lord,
(Be it ever adored!)
Is constant and sure — making little ones wise;
His precepts are right.
His commands clear and bright.
Refreshing the soul, and enlight'ning the eyes.
Eternal, all clean,
Is His worship serene:
(The heathen's foul rites are of blood and of lust,)
God's judgments are true —
Ever old, ever new —
They are strictly, divinely, eternally just.
More should these be desired
Than treasures admired
Of gold or of jewels. His statutes, decrees.
More than honey are sweet.
More with dulcor replete,
Than droppings of honeycombs, fresh from the bees.
Thy servant with care,
With praise and with prayer,
Observeth Thy laws and Thy precepts, O Lord !
For,' in keeping them fast.
From the first to the last.
Is fullness of recompense, plenteous reward.
Oh ! who can discern
How oft in his turn,
He hath thoughtless, transgressed — wander'd heedless, astray?
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 727
From each hidden offence •
My secret soul cleanse,
And purge all unrecognized failings away.
Thy servant, Lord, spare
From the stranger's false snare:
From the sway of idolaters, godless and proud,
For, free from their stain,
I shall blameless remain,
No grievous transgression my spirit shall cloud.
Even thus, shall each word
Of my mouth, gracious Lord,
And my heart's meditation before Thee appear
Ever pleasing and meet.
Everlastingly sweet
To Thee, my Redeemer, my Helper most dear !
E. C. D.
Psalm XXIL
The Lord God is my Shepherd,
With gentle rule He leads
To pastures naught can jeopard,'
Where me He guards and feeds.
Supplying all my needs.
'Mid green and tender grasses
He wills me to abide ;
In restful, watered places,
He nurtures me beside
The pure refreshing tide.
He hath, restoring, fed me,
Revived my soul's dull flame ;
In righteous ways hath led me
With high and holy aim.
For sake of His blest Name.
Yea, tho', 'mid gloom constraining,
I walk Death's valley drear,
If Thou my steps sustaining,
Beside me dost appear —
No evils will I fear.
728
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
With Thee, my Shepherd, near me
To nerve my trembling feet,
Thy rod, Thy staff shall cheer me
With comfort sure and sweet.
Until the shades retreat.
Thou hast for me appointed
A feast my foes may see ;
My head Thou hast anointed:
My cup, o'erflowing free.
How goodly 'tis to me !
Thy mercies ever yearning
Shall follow me always;
And to Thy house returning,
I there shall dwell with praise —
Dwell there for endless days.
E. C. D.
THE PRESENT STATUS OF OALENDAE EEIORM.
The Fifth International Congress of Chambers of Com-
merce held its sessions this year in Boston, Mass., 24-28 Sep-
tember. First amongst its agenda was a Communication by
the President of the Congress, M. Louis Canon-Legrand, on
" Fixing the date of Easter, and the Reform of the Calendar".
As the chambers of commerce have formally taken hold of
the subject (at Prague in 1908) and seem determined not
to let go of it, the action of the latest Congress is of interest.
The President distributed his detailed communication in the
form of a pamphlet. It appears in an English translation,
however, in the Boston Chamber of Commerce News (Spec-
ial Edition, 25 September). From it we quote:
In 1907, the German delegates on the permanent committee at-
tending the meeting at Ostend proposed to enter on the order of
the day of our Congress the question of the reduction of the varia-
bility of Easter. . . .
The question was raised at the Prague Congress in 1908. . . The
two years which elapsed between 1908 (Prague) and 1910 (Lon-
don) allowed all our associations to study this question, and at the
London Congress we had a number of papers. . . .
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 729
The original question, as proposed at Ostend, to reduce the varia-
bility of the date of Easter, became transformed into that of fixing
the date of Easter, and to this was added the reform of the cal-
endar. ...
The President sketches various suggested reforms, and re-
marks : " We welcome all these suggestions without favoring
any one to the detriment of the others." He then notes the
resolutions of the London Congress (1910) favoring (a) the
establishment of a fixed international calendar and (b) an in-
ternational agreement establishing a fixed date for Easter..
That London Congress further instructed its Permanent Com-
mittee " to obtain an initiative on the part of some govern-
ment to convoke for this twofold purpose an official diplo-
matic conference ". The Swiss government undertook this in-
itiative, which contemplated inviting the various govern-
ments of Europe to send representatives to an international
conference, so that expressions of opinion and discussions
thereon might be had, without any binding result. The Amer-
ican governments have not as yet been sounded upon this
question of an international conference.
At this point the matter becomes of great interest to Cath-
olics— the President remarking:
It is necessary to say a few words regarding the Holy See. The
Swiss government, having no official representation at the Vatican,,
was unable to act directly, but is of the opinion, with the majority
of those interested in this question, that the reform of the calendar
is not practically realizable except with the assent of the Holy See,
since the question was largely that of fixing the dates of religious^
holidays.
We have therefore sounded officially the attitude of the Holy See.
We know, from a reliable source, that the Holy See has submitted
the question of the reform of the calendar for the consideration of
the Congregation of Rites. It is stated further that this considera-
tion would probably be quite lengthy, since it would give rise to an
investigation throughout all Christian countries. We have, of course,
never expected that so large a question could be solved quickly. Wfr
can utilize most advantageously the considerable time which will
still be occupied with diplomatic delays; we must arouse public
opinion. No innovation can be imposed on the public if the public
does not accept it. We must prepare the public for the problem;.
.^^O ^^^ ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
we must arouse and create public opinion. For this reason the
Bureau has suggested to the delegates to the Permanent Committee
to work in their respective countries in support of the principle of
•calendar reform, either by petitions of considerable magnitude, or
by means of replies to interpretations on the subject.
The propaganda is a slow one, but appears to be a steady
■one. The brief historical review given above shows the gene-
sis and spread of the idea; but the most significant recent illus-
tration of the result of the propaganda is the action of the
Seventh Congress of Chambers of Congress of the British
Empire (ii June, 1912), which '' passed unanimously a favor-
able resolve ". The President attaches great importance to
this action, " because it emanates from countries spread over
the entire globe and representing a great variety of peoples,
habits and customs ".
The President's communication would fill four pages, but
enough has been extracted to show the status of the move-
ment when the Boston Congress opened its sessions, 24 vSep-
tember. Among the speeches made there, was one by the
chairman of the London Chamber of Congress, wholly in ap-
proval ; another by the representative of the Vienna Chamber
of Commerce, who declared that " all important factors in
Germany have agreed that the Easter holidays should be set
for a definite date and that a uniform calendar should be in-
troduced for the entire world ", etc. A letter from the Chinese
delegates was read, approving the reform.
From the remarks of the President at this session, it would
appear that Switzerland had not made much progress in its
proposed calling of an international conference — for the
President uses the future tense (the Swiss government " will
call for an international political conference").
So far there is nothing said or done which should make a
Catholic feel uneasy. Indeed, the Swiss government appears
to be properly careful of all the proprieties in respect of con-
sulting the Holy See, without whose concurrence the scheme
is, it considers, hopeless and impracticable.
The President, who had noted this fact in his communica-
tion to the Congress, has meanwhile heard something which
lieads him to say :
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. 73 1
Now, as regards the religious question I have a few words to say.
It is obvious that what we are doing does not go against any re-
ligious conviction; we respect all convictions; but we hold that all
religions are interested to have a uniform calendar and can so ar-
range it. This is what we think, we merchants and business men,
while respecting at the same time all religions.
Furthermore I have just received from one of my German col-
leagues a notice which is supposed to have come from the German
Embassy at Rome to the Chancellory at Berlin, saying that it would
appear that the Roman Curia, as well as the Greek Orthodox
Church, would not be disposed to consider the question.
It would seem then — we simply have a notification coming from
Germany — that at Rome, as in Greece, there is not a present dispo-
sition to consider the matter. That does not prevent us, however,
from confirming it with our vote. We do not wish to be disagree-
able to anyone, we respect all convictions, bu* we insist on saying,
between business men and merchants, that it is desirable to have a
fixed Easter and a uniform calendar.
He then requested the delegates who were favorable to this
view to raise their hands. The Report says : " General rais-
ing of hands ", and the President thinks that " in these condi-
tions we may consider that the Fifth Congress held in Boston
unanimously confirms what has been decided at the London
Congress ".
The last paragraph quoted from the address of the Presi-
dent is the first " disagreeable " note we have heard in respect
of the religious side of the question of calendar reform. Is
M. Louis Canon- Legrand a mere doctrinaire, or is he really
one of those " merchants and business men " he several times
refers to? Besides being president of the International Con-
gress, he is president of its Permanent Committee; he is also
president of the Federation of the Commercial and Industrial
Associations of Belgium; he is president of the Chamber of
Commerce of Mons ; and, lastly, be is president of the Provin-
cial Council of Hainaut. Apparently, he is intensely inter-
ested in the question of calendar reform because of his com-
mercial relationships, and not because of any religious, or
anti-religious, bias. If the attitude of the Holy See be that
which the German Embassy is credited with publishing, those
who are interested in sustaining the negative position of the
Holy See might champion appropriately the non-religious
y^2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
calendar suggested by Professor Alexander Philip, which in
no wise affects the question of Easter, but confines itself
merely to a civil regulation of the lengths of the months. If
the agitation or propaganda of the Chambers of Commerce
should gain great headway, so as to menace the status desired
by the Holy Father, possibly the month-reform of the pro-
posed civil calendar might offer a satisfactory compromise.
This, at all events, is the thought of Mr. Philip, in a letter
(dated 7 August, 191 2) to the present writer:
The President of the Swiss Confederation has intimated that
his government will not proceed with the proposed Convention un-
less it is to be attended by representatives of the Pope and the Rus-
sian government. I attach little seriousness to the latter because
Russia has not our calendar at present, but obviously a Conference
affecting the Gregorian calendar wanting some representative from
the successor of Gregory XIII would be incomplete. That cuts both
ways. I hope nothing will be proposed [in the Boston Congress]
which would incur the censure of the Pope. On the other hand, I
trust the Holy Father will not unnecessarily stand aside. . . .
Now, the reorganization of the monthly calendar is the first and
necessary step. It would not require to be retraced, whichever of
the various suggestions were adopted for further advance later. It
is complete in itself and it, by itself, would enable many simplifica-
tions not only in the departments indicated by me, of Accountancy,
Banking, etc., but in all departments of human activity where future
and recurring arrangements require to be pre-arranged. Hence I
think the clergy have a real and genuine interest in promoting this
reform, quite apart from the consideration that if this change ( which
is embodied in the Harcourt Bill) were carried, the risk of any
further step involving an attack on the Church would be removed.
Let the Churches help in the realization of a normal secular cal-
endar. Then the remainder will be so clearly within their domain
that none will venture to act against or without them. Such, I am
certain, is the wise course, and as no unfriend of Ecclesiastical
rights, I hope the Church will realize the position in good time. For
the Church, the Calendar has always, even in pre-Christian times,
been a vital matter. ...
Altogether, the agitation does appear to be one made, not
against any religious traditions or convictions, but in favor of
a civil or commercial reform of the calendar. Throughout
the discussions of the subject, the commercial and civil better-
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. jxx
ments sought have been exclusively emphasized; and the re-
ligious side of the question — one which could not be ignored
—came into the discussion, not as its prime motive, but rather
as a circumstance demanding most careful consideration.
Into the hidden motives of men it is not easy, at all times, to
pierce. But the outward, superficial activities appear to be,
in this matter of calendar reform, sufficiently innocent of
malicious purpose.
H. T. Henry.
THE PEOPER ABBKEVIATION OP THE WOED " MONSIGNOE,"
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
Every now and then we are called to account for the abbreviation
of the word " Monsignor ". Sometimes the contraction " Mgr."
is complained of as stupid or silly. Other times we are advised that
" Msgr." is incorrect and ought not to appear in a book called offi-
cial. Several times during the past few months it has been sug-
gested that we place the matter before the Reverend Editor of the
Ecclesiastical Review and ask him to give his opinion on the
subject. To the Editor of the Directory the abbreviation " Mgr."
has always seemed somewhat odd, standing as it does for manager.
We can not however take it upon ourselves to alter the abbreviation.
If some light were thrown on the subject by an authority, it might
lead the Right Reverend Bishops and Chancellors, who surely read
the Review, to agree on some suggestions and changes.
In the Anmiario Pontificio for 1912 or the Gerarchia Cattolica
the abbreviation for Monsignor is " Monsig.", whilst in other Roman
publications it is sometimes " Mons." Which, in your opinion, is
the correct abbreviation, and which ought to be used in this country?
Jos. H. Meier,
Editor, Kenedy's Catholic Directory.
Resp. Recognized English custom uses the abbreviation
Mgr, for Monsignor. There is nothing incongruous in this
custom. The fact that " Mgr." stands likewise for " man-
ager " in our system of literal abbreviation, makes it no more
objectionable than the use of " A. M." for Master of Arts
(artium magister) because "A. M." also stands for forenoon
(ante meridiem). We can not imagine the reader of the
abbreviation " Rt. Rev. Mgr." mistaking it for any thing else
734 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
than what it is intended for, since such a phrase as Right Rev-
erend Manager is hardly conventional.
The Italian form of abbreviation is no criterion for Eng-
lish readers, since we do not ordinarily use the Italian form
of the word " Monsignore " (with the final e). Moreover,
in Italian brachygraphy the form " Mgr." stands for " Ma-
gister", and its use for " monsignore " might therefore easily
mislead, since both ecclesiastical titles are applicable to-
priests in Latin countries. Italian writers use three forms of
abbreviation in documents for " Monsignore ", viz. MonS,.
Mos, and M — S.^
For English-speaking countries " Mgr." is the most ap-
approved form, and the one adopted in the English and Irish
Ecclesiastical Directories, in Sir Francis Burnand's Catholic-
Who's Who, and in such authorities as the Century Diction-
ary, Standard Dictionary, A uthor and Printer, etc.
DAILY COMMUNION AND PKIESTS' BETEEATS.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
The yearly retreat of priests, made by order of the Ordi-
naries in many dioceses, is for the purpose of renewing and
strengthening the priest's spirit. He is, according to the
Apostle, " the dispenser of the mysteries of God ". If our
Catholic people knew that the priests during their retreats
not only abstain from saying Mass, but through a firmly es-
tablished custom of Jansenistic origin also refrain from going
to Holy Communion, they would be greatly surprised and
puzzled.
But such are the facts. The priests, who are commanded
by Mother Church to exhort the faithful " often and with
great zeal " to daily Communion, are compelled to go through
a week of spiritual starvation, the personal and universal
harm of which can not be offset by any series of sublime lec-
tures and meditations. Any gentleman will offer his visitor,
especially when he has called him from a long distance, some
kind of food. The priest is called to the retreat, but his daily
spiritual food is not even offered to him. Such is the case in
most, if not all, retreats of priests in this country. Mgr. A. de
^ See Dizionario di Abbreviature latine ed italiane, Cappelli.
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES. n^e
Waal of Rome wrote me some time ago: " The Sisters to^
whom I give retreats go to Holy Communion every morning,
and our priests say Mass every day during their retreats."
The Action Eticharistique (October, 191 2) speaking of this
matter says: " I regret that during our ecclesiasticar retreatsr
the priests are expected to abstain from Holy Communion.
At no time is the need of graces greater, nor the disposition-
better in those who are of good will. Is it not in place here to-
remind the director of such retreats, who practically forbids
Holy Communion to all, that he oversteps his rights? He
arrogates to himself an advice which only the confessor has a
right to give to his individual penitent. He sins in a double
way against article 5 of the Decree of 1905 : confessors, how-
ever, are to be careful not to dissuade anyone from frequent
and daily Communion, provided that he is in the state of
grace and approaches with a right intention. In a good num-
ber of dioceses in France — in Belgium in all dioceses — the-
priests communicate freely.
Would it be out of place or asking the impossible, if our
bishops were asked to provide that Holy Communion be dis-
tributed at the community Mass every morning during the-
priests' retreats, so that all who are willing may feel that they
are welcome at the railing? Let us also hope that the time-
may not be far off, when ways and means may be found, so-
that priests may say Mass every morning during their re-
treats. Where there is a will, surely there will be found a way.
L. F. SCHLATHOELTER.
Troy, Missouri.
EFnOIENOY OP MODEEN SEMINAEY EDUOATION.
To the Editor, The Ecclesiastical Review.
What seems to me an important question, suggested by some re-
cent articles in the Review^ is this: Is the American young priest,,
the product of the latest improvement in seminary education, equal'
or in any respect superior to his brother in the sacred ministry of
fifteen or of twenty years ago? We hear the assertion on every side-
that he is not so well equipped in the essentials of his work, that his.
zeal is of the superficial kind or of that quality which looks to pro-
motion chiefly, whilst he is much more exacting in his demands for-
material comforts and rights than were his predecessors. If this be-
736
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
true it is a serious matter, the cause of which ought to be inquired
into not only by the directors of our seminaries but by the pastors
who are expected to support ecclesiastical institutions at considerable
sacrifice and expense. Would it not be advisable to invite discus-
sion of the question in order to see what truth there is in the vaunted
progress in methods of ecclesiastical education on the one hand,
and in the common report on the other, that our young clergy are
lacking considerably in the missionary and apostolic spirit, from
which neither the regular nor secular priest can dispense himself
justly? I do not sign my name to this communication, for the
reason that, if it were known to my neighbors, I might seem to criti-
cize local conditions.
CONNATUS.
THE ESSENTIAL PEESENOE OF THE MATTER TOE OONSEOEATION.
The discussion in this number of the Review regarding the
valid consecration of a host that is placed outside the corporal
is typically suggestive of the cavilling scrupulosity to which
an exaggerated importance given to theological pronounce-
ments at times leads, where common sense or reason should be
the guide. We have no hesitation in the present case in ex-
pressing our sympathy with the view taken by Father Patrick
Cummins. Setting aside for the moment the otherwise useful
refinements of scientific or systematic theology, and taking
the stand of the Patristic teachers who had neither St. Ray-
mund nor St. Alphonsus, nor Lehmkuhl nor Marc, to formu-
late their scruples, we would say that the essential require-
ment in the case of consecration, namely that of the materia
certa, praesens, prope posita, is verified whenever the host is
on the altar within sight and knowledge of the celebrant. The
latter intends to consecrate the host which he assumes to be
on the corporal. Whether it lies on the corporal (as normally
it should) or within ten (or, as D'Annibale thinks, even within
twenty) feet, matters little if these conditions are verified.
OHOIOE OP A DIOOESAN PATEON.
Qu. Is the Ordinary at liberty to select as " Patronus Dioecesis "
or " loci " a saint distinct from the titular of his cathedral? In the
case about which I am inquiring the latter is an Irish saint whose
feast-day does not particularly appeal to the German, Slav, and
STUDIES AND CONFERENCES.
m
•^^other nationalities which are represented in large proportion in
these parts. My idea would be to designate as a separate " Patronus
loci " or " dioecesis " an American saint, since we have a number of
;such in our Office recited by all the clergy. Would it be allowable
to choose the Venerable John Nepomucene Neumann,' whose claim
to heroic sanctity appears to have been well established, although
the process of his canonization has not yet been completed? His
having been a bishop in the United States, and his being both an
American citizen and an immigrant from the Austrian country
whence come so many of our Catholic people at the present time,
would have a good effect in unifying the different nationalities with
which a bishop in this country has to deal. After all, religion and
the worship of the Church to which all these people belong is the
best way to bring about that unity which we all desire.
Resp. The election of a " Patronus loci " or " dioecesis ",
to be liturgically recognized, is not within the power or facul-
ties of a bishop, but requires the ratification of the entire dio-
"cese in a synod.^ The choice must moreover be reported to
the Sacred Congregation and be approved by the same.
A similar decree forbids the choice of any but canonized
saints as " Patroni ", save for localities in which for special
reasons the Church permits a limited cultus of certain " beati-
fied " saints closely connected with the localities. The reason
for this restriction is that the Church exercises a final or de-
finitive judgment of her '* magisterium infallibile " only in
the last act of canonization.^
THE OONPITEOK IN THE OASE OF THE "BENEDIOTIO
APOSTOLIOA" AFTER EXTEEME UNOTION.
Qu. Must the Confiteor always be repeated before giving the
final indulgence after Extreme Unction? I was taught so; but it
is very awkward in case the priest has to administer the last Sacra-
ments to a number of patients in a hospital ward. I should think
the rubrics do not oblige under such circumstances, especially when
time urges.
Resp. In the first place the Confiteor and Prayers pre-
scribed for the administration of Extreme Unction need be
1 See Decretum pro Patronis in posterum eligendis, S. R. C, 23 March, 1630.
2 Conf. Deer, super Cultu Beatis praestando, S. R. C, 27 Sept., 1659.
73^
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
said but once for a number of patients in the same room.
Only the formula of anointing is repeated for each individu-
ally. Then, " si immineat necessitas conferendi unum post
aliud immediate, licere semel in casu." Hence in the above
case the " Absolutio Apostolica " may be given without re-
peating the Confiteor (S. C. O., in Quebec, i September,
1851).
ANOINTING or THE PEET.
Qu, In anointing the feet at Extreme Unction, a priest of a Re-
ligious Order, whom I saw administering the Sacrament lately,
anointed the sole of the foot first and then the upper part near the
instep. I had never seen this before, as the custom with us as incul-
cated in the seminary has been to anoint merely the upper side of
each foot. Is there any warrant in the rubrics for the double anoint-
ing?
Resp. The common rule taught by Baruffaldi, Billuart and
others, and approved by general practice, is to anoint the
upper part of the instep, " ad pedes, in parte superiore ". St.
Alphonsus, following the prescription of St. Charles laid
down in the Acts of the Church of Milan, would have the
unction applied to the soles of the feet, in plantis. Many
priests, in order to reconcile both views, anoint the sole and
then the instep. The Sacred Congregation, when asked which
was the proper way, answered Nihil innovandum (S. R. C,
27 August, 1836). This means that where there is a defi-
nite custom it is to be observed ; otherwise one is free to choose
without scruple.
]6ccle8fa8tical Xfbrar^ XTable*
EEOENT BIBLE STUDY.
1. The Sixto- Clementine Vulgate. Was the Sixtine Vulgate
really intended and issued as an authentic or authoritative
edition of Sacred Scripture? The errors of this edition were
many. Did Sixtus V promulgate the Bull whereby such an
edition, despite its mistakes, should become the authentic
Bible of the Latin rite? In 1907, Monsignor Baumgarten ^
insisted that the fact of the promulgation was beyond the
shadow of a doubt. Sixtus V had not only published the
Sixtine Bible, but had authoritatively imposed it upon the
faithful as a final and authentic edition of the Vulgate.
There had been no idea of a later and more accurate edition.
The errors of the 1590 edition were not avowed, as Cardinal
Bellarmin, in his famous preface to the Clementine Vulgate,
would lead us to suppose. And how did Monsignor Baum-
garten make good his opinion? He had actually found the
identical Bull of promulgation "Eternus ille". It was stowed
away in the Vatican archives of Sant Angelo. The very
text of this original Bull of Sixtus V on his edition of the
Vulgate was now printed in Biblische Zeitschrift.'^ The evi-
dence seemed overwhelming. On the reverse side of the last
page of the Bull was the written testimony of the Magister
Cursorum, Pompeius Euerra, to the fact that, on 10 April,
the Bull had been posted upon the doors of the Lateran
basilica. Such posting was then the form of promulgation.
If this written testimony were true, the denial of the promul-
gation would be gratuitous and useless.
The worth of the witness of Euerra does not seem to be
such as Monsignor Baumgarten deems it to be. Fr. Xavier
Marie Le Bachelet, Professor of Theology in the Jesuit Scho-
lasticate of the Provinces of France and Lyons at Ore Place in
England, unhesitatingly threw that witness out of court. ^ As
1 " Die VerofTentlichung der Bulle * Eternus ille coelestium ' vom i Marz,
1590," in Biblische Zeitschrift, v. 189-191.
2 " Das Original der Konstitution * Eternus ille coelestium ' vom i Marz,
1590," Bibl. Zeit., v. 337-351-
3 Bellarmin et la Bible Sixto-CUmentine, etude et documents inedits. Beau-
chesne, Paris, 1911; and Etudes, 20 March, 1911.
y^o 1'HE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the most thorough and intensive student of Bellarmin now
living/ Le Bachelet deserves a hearing. Of course, he is
bent on freeing the great cardinal from the charge of false-
hood. This charge is commonplace in Protestant writings on
the Vulgate, was made by those opposed to the beatification
of the Venerable Servant of God, and is now and again put
forth by Catholics. Recently the Abbe Turmel ^ scored Bel-
larmin as at any rate insincere when he wrote, in the preface
to the now extant Clementine Vulgate: " Quod cum jam
csset excusum, et ut in lucem emitteretur idem Pontifex [Six-
tus V] operam daret, animadvertens non pauca in sacra biblia
praeli vitio irrepsisse, quae iterata diligentia indigere vide-
rentur, totum opus sub incudem revocandum censuit atque
decrevit." These statements Le Bachelet defends as sincere
and truthful. The single witness of Euerra does not decide
the dispute against Bellarmin.
Monsignor Baumgarten again took issue with the defenders
of the Cardinal.^ He traced forty copies now known of the
Sixtine Vulgate — eight in Rome, seven elsewhere in Italy,
rseven in Germany, four in Austria, eight in England, three
in Paris, one in St. Petersburg, one in Madrid, one in New
Tork. Le Bachelet admits that the Sixtine Vulgate was pub-
lished. The issue is not over the publication of the book, but
the promulgation of the Bull whereby that book was authori-
tatively decreed to be the authentic edition of the Latin Vul-
gate. Monsignor Baumgarten cites the periodical Avvisi di
Roma for 1590, as it follows the current history of the Bull
and the Bible of Sixtus. The data are most interesting. On
2 May are announced the publication of the Sixtine Vulgate
and its distribution to the Cardinals and chief members of
the Pontifical Court. On 3 June we learn that twenty-five
briefs and Bibles were sent to the princes and sovereigns of
Catholic countries the 29th of May ; and that, in the brief to
tthe emperor, Sixtus spoke of his constitution as already issued
* See his Votum Bellarmini de Immaculata B. V. M. Conceptione, Paris,
'igoS; Bellarmin avant son Cardinhlat, Paris, 1911; the article on Bellarmin
'in Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique, Paris, 1903 ; together with many
;^articles in Etudes.
^ Revue du Clerge Fran^ais, I Dec, 1904, 15 Jan., 1907.
^ Die Vulgata Sixtina von isgo und ihre Einfilhrungsbulle. Aktenstiicke
cind Untersuchungen, Miinchen, 191 1. 1
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 74 r
{iam edita not promulgata) whereby the Sixtine edition?
was made authoritative. On 22 August the Bull " Eternus-
ille coelestium " is announced as published ; a resume of its
contents is given. On 27 August the death of Sixtus is re-
corded and the sale of the Bible and of the Bull is suspended-
This is all most useful in our study ; but it is not the last word-
There can be no doubt but the Bible was printed and dis-
tributed and sold. It is just as clear that the Bull " Eternus-
ille coelestium" was actually printed. Was it promulgated?
Before 25 August, the day on which Sixtus died, was the Bull
affixed to the doors of the Lateran or did the Pope withhold:
the promulgation because he intended a later and more cor-
rect edition? We have a witness for each side — Euerra for
promulgation, Bellarmin for non-promulgation of the Bull.
Other witnesses to the promulgation there are not. As to-
the two copies of the Bull that are in Rome, they only prove
the admitted fact of the printing and sale of the Bull. One
of these copies, that in the Vatican archives, has the signature
of the prodatary and of the secretary. This formality would
be important were both signatures authentic ; but Le Bachelet
shows that the Cardinal Prodatary has not signed, the sec-
retary, M. Vestrius Barbianus, has written both signatures.''
The absence of an authentic signature of the Cardinal Pro-
datary is significant. More significant still is the absence of
the usual formalities from this Bull as it stands in the collec-
tion of the Vatican archives entitled Lettere ai Principi, t.
xxii. The two documents that precede and the two that fol-
low are all signed by more witnesses than the secretary, and
all contain testimony of registration " apud Marcellum Secre-
tarium " and of promulgation. Why are these usual formali-
ties absent only from the Bull " Eternus ille " ? No other
reason can be supposed save that of Bellarmin — the Bull wa;?
never promulgated.
The data provided by the A vvisi throw no new light upon our
question. Le Bachelet had already ^ published the despatches;
of Olivares to Philip II, which contained all that the Avvisi
announce and more, to wit, the intention of Sixtus V, before
■^ J^tudes, 5 Oct., 1912, page 71.
8 Bellarmin et la Bible Sixio-Clementine, pp. 79 ff-. 188 ff.
742 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
the 28 May, to make the Sixtine Bible the authoritative and
final edition of the Vulgate. For Olivares writes: " Que no
avia de aver otra biblia de aqui adelante " (p. 194). Indeed,
in the process of beatification of the Venerable Servant of
God {Positio, 1 712), everything was admitted which Mon-
signor Baumgarten has so assiduously striven to make good :
*' Licet daremus permissum fuisse a Sixto, ut sua editio pub-
lice prostaret ac venderetur, non ex hoc sequitur quod Bulla
Sixti praefixa solemniter sit publicata, quia solemnitas quae
de more adhibetur, in publicatione Bullarum, non consistit in
solo permissu superiorum, ut illae jam impressae vendantur,
vel seorsim, vel simul cum opere ad quod referuntur et cum
quo conjunctae sunt." Moreover, in examining the witness
of the A wist, Le Bachelet scores a good point. Monsignor
Baumgarten had cited the periodical as saying on the 22 and
25 August, 1590, " finalmente h uscita la BoUa," " at last the
Bull has appeared ". There might be reference to promulga-
tion, did not the Avvisi in each number add two very im-
portant words omitted by Monsignor Baumgarten, " final-
mente e uscita la BoUa in istampa,*' " at last the Bull has ap-
peared in print ".
When all the evidence in favor of promulgation has been
sifted there remains only the witness of Euerra, the Magister
Cursorum. Against this sole witness, Fr. Le Bachelet sets:
I. the authority of Bellarmin in the preface to the Clementine
Vulgate; 2. the authority of the cardinals who agreed to his
explanation of the intention of Sixtus; 3. a letter of Fr. Alber,
Assistant of Germany, who in 1610, stated that the Bull had
never been promulgated because it had never been registered
in chancery; 4. the word of many cardinals given to Bellar-
min in 1591 ; 5- the witness of Fr. Azor, who was of the time
of Sixtus V and, in a public disputation in the Roman Col-
lege, denied the value of Euerra's certificate of promulga-
tion, explaining that this certification was done in anticipa-
tion so as to expedite the printing of the Bull ; 6. the anony-
mous " Particula praefationi Sacrorum Bibliorum inserenda."
Herein we read of Sixtus V : " Biblicos ipse libros quasi pri-
vatim excudendos curavit . . . ut postea maturius de toto ne-
gotio deliberare, atque Vulgatam editionem prout debebat
publicare possit." Monsignor Baumgarten deems this state-
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 743
ment of Fr. Azor to be mere gossip ; and throws out the wit-
ness of the anonymous " Particula " as the work of Toledo
and consequently prejudiced. This is a gratuitous assump-
tion. Fr. Le Bachelet shows that the witness is that of An-
gelo Rocca, the chief collaborator of Sixtus V in the publica-
tion of his Bible. This opinion had already been expressed
by Prat ^ and Nisius.^^ The reasoning of Le Bachelet does
not convince the author of the Bulletin in Rivue Biblique,
April, 1912; and may be equally ineffective with others; it
will, at any rate, show that the charge of insincerity in his
preface to the Clementine Vulgate has not been clearly made
good against Bellarmin.
2. Archeology, a. New Hittite Inscriptions. The Cornell
Expedition to Asia Minor has published the second part of
the first volume of its Travels and Studies in the Nearer East
(Ithaca, 191 1 ). Among the Hittite inscriptions which it
contains are two that Dr. Sayce, Professor of Assyriology in
the University of Oxford, considers to be most important.
These are Gurun inscriptions which show that Khattu-kanis,
King of Carchemish, extended his power so far North as
Gurun. The Cornell photograph of the Beacon Stone, Nishan
Tash, at Boghaz-Keui, convinces Dr. Sayce ^^ that it was once
covered with Hittite inscriptions. These cannot be deciphered
now, because of the weathered condition of the monument.
b. Excavations at 'Ain Shems. The Palestine Exploration
Fund, after its most successful excavations at Gezer, has been
at work, since April last, at 'Ain Shems, the almost certain
5ite of the Biblical Beth Shemesh. Mr. Macalister has ac-
cepted the chair of archeology in Trinity College, Dublin;
his leadership will be missed by the Fund. Dr. Duncan Mac-
kenzie, co-worker with Sir Arthur Evans in the excavations
of Knossos in Crete, will conduct the new campaign. The
outlook is encouraging. No nearby villages nor insurmount-
able cemeteries will obstruct the pick and shovel ; nor will the
inevitable wely, a sanctuary in honor of the dead, cry out
harivi, " Keep off ", as the most interesting finds come within
» " La Bible de Sixte Quint," ttudes, Sept., 1890.
10 " Zur Geschichte der Vulgata," Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie, 191a.
^1 Expository Times, Nov., 19 12.
744 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
reach. The excavations at Lachis, Tell es-Safy and Gezer
brought to light much that had to do with other than Israel-
itish antiquities. These strongholds were ever able to with-
stand the onslaught of Israel, and probably held out against:
her domination until the era of the Macchabees. Not so Beth
Shemesh. Here was a frontier outpost of Israel from earliest
times, a protection against Philistine intrusion. In place of
the quarterly statement which had hitherto been published,
merely a current account of the work appeared last year in the
Palestine Exploration Fund's Quarterly Statement. The
policy will hereafter be to issue an annual statement of the
results of the excavations at 'Ain Shems. In this wise will
there be less danger of hurry and hazard in the conjectures of
the explorers. Thus far the fortified town has been pretty ac-
curately located and limited, a general idea has been formed
as to the chronological layers to be looked for in the ruins,,
and considerable booty has been got out of the nearby ne-
cropolis. In its most ancient portion, the town's walls are-
now seen to have been massive and megalithic; they belongs
Mr. Mackenzie thinks, to the age of bronze. The tombs af-
ford evidence of ante-Semitic life as early as the troglodytes.
These cave-dwellers can be traced in the neolithic and earliest
bronze implements found in situ — records, the excavators say,..
of the third millenium before Christ. A hypogeum, or under-
ground tomb, of the neolithic period shows such signs of
funeral sacrifices as does the Crematorium of Gezer; it was
later used in the days of Egyptian rule, as is clear from the
scarabs and statues picked up therein ; and yet shows no sign
either of Babylonian or of Aegean influence.
c. Writing in the time of Moses. They that defend the tra-
ditional position of Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch-
sometimes go into the side-question of the script employed"
by the scribes of the great lawgiver. Was it alphabetic or
ideogrammatic ? Phenician, Assyrian or Egyptian? Pro-
fessor A. S. Zerbe ^^ attempts to prove that the Phenician
alphabet was known as early as the time of Moses and was
used in the composition of the Pentateuch. The last redac-
tion of the five books he assigns to an age not much later than-
^2 The Antiquity of Hebrew Writing and Literature, or Problems in Penia-
teuchal Criticism. Cleveland, igil.
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 745;
that of Josue. Dr. Sayce holds that all archeological evidence
is against the use of Phenician script in Palestine before the-
time of David. If this be true, then cuneiform writing was
most likely employed by the scribes of Moses. At times we
might clear up difficulties of our Massoretic text by this work-
ing hypothesis of the use of an ideogrammatic or a syllabic:
script. Take for instance the names of the kings whom Abra-
ham defeated about 2100 B. C, as they are preserved to us
in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis. These names may have
been preserved in a cuneiform clay cylinder. Later on the Jew-
ish scribe, who transliterated the chapter in Phenician script,,
may have handed down to us mutilated forms of the names.
In this way, Ellasar was written for al Larsa. Ammu-rapi,
the Amorite name of the Babylonian Khammu-rabi, was mis-
written Amraphel. How this? Because we know that the
same cuneiform sign stood for both pil and pi. The scribe
may have read Am-rapll for Am-rapi or Ammu-rapi.
d. The Sinking of Philae. By next January the work of the
great dam at the first cataract of the Nile will be completed.
The enlargement of this Assuan dam will hold back such an
amount of water as to submerge almost all of the splendid
temple of Isis upon the lovely island of Philae. We shall
regret the loss of the Hall of Columns, the ruin of its massive
shafts and their beautiful painted capitals, and the ultimate
tumbling down of the restored temple. The Egyptian gov-
ernment has underpinned and braced the buildings, but they
are set up with very porous stone. The water will gradually
soak in and crumble the lower portions of the stone-work; it
will soak up above the surface-level and bring down the huge-
blocks that make the roof. The need of the people is imper-
ative; the interests of archeology must yield to that need.
Fortunately the buildings on Philae are of a later period and
can be duplicated elsewhere in Egypt. They contain a relief
of Cleopatra and her son Caesarion by Julius Caesar.
3. Interpretation. Fr. Juan G. Arintero, O.P., has issued
his second volume of " Desenvolvimiento y vitalidad de la
Iglesia"." A preliminary sketch of the book had appeared in
La Ciencia Tomista, July and August, 191 1, and was taken to^
"^^ Evolucion Doctrinal, Salamanca, 1911.
746
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
task by L. Murillo, SJ/'^ An objective evolution of the de-
posit of faith had been defended, like to that of the develop-
ment of the acorn into the oak tree. " At first many truths,
and these the most important, were not recognized nor ex-
plicitly believed. ... To prove this fact, it were enough to
recall all that it cost, even after the Council of Nicea, fittingly
to formulate the fundamental dogmas of the Trinity and the
Incarnation." ^^ The mistake here made is a dangerous one.
We cannot admit that before the fitting definition of the
[great dogmas, there was no faith in such dogmas. Such an
admission would be tantamount to the admission that during
the first few centuries the Incarnation was not in the con-
sciousness of the Church. The consciousness of the Church
was always clear in the matter of the divinity ol Christ; the
consciousness of theologians was not always so clear. The
definitions of Nicea, Ephesus and Chalcedon were not to clear
up the consciousness of the Church — quite the reverse, these
definitions would never have been, had not the consciousness
'of the Church been clear upon the dogma defined and cleared
up. The definitions of the great councils in this matter of the
Incarnation purposed merely to share with theologians some of
the Church's clearness about the divinity of the Saviour.
This clearing up of the theologians about a dogma is not an
^objective evolution of that dogma. All such evolution is sub-
jective; it is as the clearing away of a mist which has pre-
vented the theologians from seeing clearly. The dogma re-
mains in the consciousness of the Church just what it was
before the mist was cleared away, just what it was when
Christ or His Holy Spirit entrusted it to the Church to have
and to hold and to hand down from generation unto genera-
tion. In view of the points scored by Fr. Murillo, Fr. Arin-
tero has very much modified his opinion in the volume that
has just appeared. However, he still holds that all the preach-
ing of the New Testament preachers no more than laid the
"Seed in the consciousness of the Church; and that that seed
and its consequent seedling are ever evolving and evolving
in the consciousness of the Church by means of religious ex-
'^* Razon y Fe, vol. 31, pp. 141, 277.
^^ Ciencia Tomista, 191 1, p. 380.
ECCLESIASTICAL LIBRARY TABLE. 'ja'j
perience. It is a dangerous theory, even though the learned
Dominican protest that he is far from denying the existence
of any dogma in the consciousness of the Church from its
infancy/®
4. Text. The J. P. Morgan collection of Coptic Manuscripts
has been listed by Dr. H. Hyvernat/^ There are fifty vol-
umes chiefly in Sahidic, the Coptic of Upper Egypt, a dia-
lect in which our Coptic manuscripts were singularly scarce;
the collection contains also Bohairic or Lower Egypt and
Fayumic or Middle Egypt MSS. Of the Old Testament
books, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, i and 2 Samuel
^nd Isaiah, are represented by complete MSS.; of the New
Testament books, Matthew, Mark, John, the 14 letters of
Paul, I and 2 Peter, 1-3 John, are complete and Luke h in-
complete. Despite the fact that these MSS. are not later
than the ninth or tenth century, they will be of service in
the reconstruction of the sacred text — especially so will the
Sahidic MSS. be. Hitherto we have had only the Apocalypse
of the books of the New Testament represented by a complete
Sahidic MS. The Bohairic finds may help to solve the
question of the age of the Bohairic text. Guidi and Leipoldt
and others will not allow that this North Egyptian Coptic
version was made earlier than the seventh century. H. C.
Hoskier ^^ tries to make good the existence of the Bohairic
version in the third century, its use by some of the fourth-
century Egyptian writers, and the influence exercised upon
Codex Sinaiticus (fourth century) by the Bohairic, Old
Latin and Old Syriac versions. The kinship of Codex Sinai-
ticus with the Bohairic version is commonly enough held.
Hoskier's theory of polyglot exemplars is peculiar to him-
self. He deems that the scribes copied from polyglots, either
trilingual (Greek-Latin-Syriac) or quadrilingual (Greek-
Latin-Syriac-Coptic) ; in fact, he would have it that by the
close of the first century " they were using Greek and Syriac
together ". An interesting, though rather peculiar text-study
i« Cf. Murillo, in Razon y Fe, Oct., 1912.
^■^ Journal of Biblical Literature, xxxi, 54-67.
'^^ Concerning the Date of the Bohairic Version: Covering a detailed exami-
fiation of the text of the Apocalypse and a review of some of the writings of
the Egyptian Monks. London, Quaritch, 1911, pp. viii-203.
748
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW,
is that of John S. Mcintosh, A Study of Augustine's Versions-
of Genesis}^ Its use will be that of a contribution to the
study of St. Augustine's witness to the text of the Old Latin
version of the Bible; and of an offset to the recklessness of
Zycha's edition of Augustine in the Vienna Corpus Script-
orum Ecclesiastic or um Latinorum. This latter editor starts
out with the wrong idea, namely that Augustine used one-
recension of the Old Latin version and no other version nor
any text of the Bible. The result is that we are often given
an edited text and not St. Augustine's original. We say that
the starting-point of Zycha is wrong, because St. Augustine
himself implicitly tells us that he did not keep to one recen-
sion of the Old Latin ; he refers to variant versions, good and
bad readings in Greek codices, and even Hebrew readings.
Walter Drum, S.J.
Woodstock Collage, Maryland.
i^"A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of
Art and Literature in candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, De-
partment of Latin." University of Chicago Press, 191 2, pp. x-130.
Criticisms anb Botes.
THE SUMMA THEOLOGIOA OP ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Part I.
Literally translated by Pathers of the English Dominican Province
Vol. II. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912.
Pp. 564.
THE CATHOLIC PAITH. A Compendium authorized by His Holiness
Pius X. Translated by permission of the Holy See. New York,
Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 128.
To connect in one review the Summa Theologica with an almost
elementary Catechism may seem like paralleling the well-worn story
•of the sermon on confession preached on St. Joseph's day because the
Saint, being a carpenter, would have built confessionals were he still
working at his trade. And yet not so. The Summa is the logical
outcome of the Catechism and St. Thomas had novices in view when
he constructed his wonderful synthesis : " consideravimus hujus
doctrinae novitios," as he says. Perhaps, too, the priest at the present
day could not do very much better than to take the above com-
pendium of Faith and develop it for his people in the light of the
truths found in parallel parts of the Summa. To the receptive
3nind there are few, if any, more suggestive sermon books than the
Summa, and the preacher of the Word who will make it his con-
stant companion need never be lacking in solid, nutritious food for
his flock. Of course, to preach the abstract truths as they are found
in St. Thomas would be worse than pedantic. They must be assimi-
lated to the preacher's individuality and illustrated by story and ex-
ample. Nevertheless they are truths that are readily assimilatable
because they reach the depths of the spirit through the avenue of
** common sense ", — the universal possession of sound minds.
It will be noticed that the volume above is the second in course to
appear. The first volume, which was published a year or more ago,
and which was reviewed at the time in these pages, embodied a trans-
lation of the Quaestiones de Deo Uno (I-XXVI inclusive). The
volume at hand contains those de Deo Trino, de Creatione, de An-
gelis, and de Operihus sex Dierum (XXVII-LXXIV). The trans-
lators here, as in the preceding volume, have performed their very
difficult task with uniform success. They aimed primarily at fidelity
to the text and this they have on the whole attained. Here and
there indeed the critical eye might look for even greater exactness:
for instance, in Q. XXVII, Art. 5, in c. a., it is doubtful whether
^CQ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
St. Thomas meant by " sentire " the act of " feeling ". He prob-
ably means, as he usually (always?) does by "sentire", the act of
sense perception; again, in the next Question, Art. 1, in the closing
sentence of the corpus articuli: " in the identity of the same nature "
seems to be a redundancy, which is not in the original. These blem-
ishes, however, and other such, resulting from an excess of the
virtue of fidelity, are of secondary, if of any, importance.
The translators have resolutely set their face against adding a.
single annotation. From their own point of view they have of
course in this acted wisely, though the reader, at least if unfamiliar
with scholasticism, may think otherwise.
The compendium of Catholic Faith in title above is a translation,
" made by special permission of the Holy See, of the Catechistno
Maggiore which Pius X has prescribed for use in all the higher
classes of schools in the Province of Rome." The doctrine there-
fore which that catechism contains " is published with the highest
authority any compendium of Catholic teaching can possess ". The
translator has departed from the catechetical form, partly because
the original in that form has previously been rendered into English,
and partly because the positive form is more acceptable to adults.
Besides, there is already an abundance of Catechisms in English.
Although the same may no doubt be said of doctrinal manuals, the
present compendium (which is also so worthily executed) will like-
wise be welcome not only to Catholics, but, it is to be hoped, to non-
Catholics, who may wish to have in a succinct form the belief and
practice of the Church.
THE SODALITY OP OUR LADY STUDIED IN THE DOCUMENTS.
By Father Elder Mnllan, S.J. Third edition (first in English) revised
and enlarged by the author. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons.
1912. Pp. X2V.-180 and 328.
STOEY OP THE SODALITY OP OUR LADY (PRIMA PBIMARIA).
By the Rev. Edmund Lester, S.J. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago:
Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 74.
The Sodality of Our Lady has, during its existence of over three
hundred years, proved itself one of the most effective means of har-
nessing to the serv'ice of God the youth who are passing from the
age of childhood to that period of maturity when the sense of respon-
sibility and independence begins to assert itself as part of our social
existence. To-day it flourishes best among young women. Origi-
nally it was designed for boys at that critical age when character
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 751
is beginning to develop, and when conscience is awakening to the
sense of duty. It was on the eve of the Annunciation, 1563, that
the young Belgian Jesuit John Leunis, in the class-room of the
Roman College, conceived the idea of drawing into a circle of
specially devoted clients of the Immaculate Virgin Mother of Christ
the young students of his class. They were to be " Knights of Our
Lady ", whose duty it would be to carry out, first, in their own daily
conduct, the sublime virtues of purity, of honor, and of chivalrous
charity. Next they were to defend and propagate the honor of Our
Lady as pattern of every noble virtue, and as Queen and Protectress
of the student body. The fire enkindled in the hearts of the young
boys quickly spread. Soon every Jesuit college throughout Chris-
tendom had its battalion of " Knights of Our Lady ". In time the
ranks of the Sodality were opened to youths and men not under
Jesuit direction. Not until two hundred years later, in 1751, were
affiliated branches of the Sodality for girls and women recognized
by the Society. Under Leo XII in 1825 a great impetus was given
to women's Sodalities of Children of Mary affiliated to the Prima
Primaria of Rome.
The further development of the Sodality, its wonderful fruits
shown in the long array of illustrious saints that have come from
its ranks, the methods which were evolved gradually for preserving
its spirit, and the favorite devotions adopted by the Children of
Mary and enriched with spiritual graces from the treasury of the
Church, are the subject of Father Lester's brief comment in the
little Story of the Sodality of Our Lady.
Much broader in scope and with a distinctly scientific purpose is
Father Elder Mullan's volume of over five hundred pages. It is of
course a historical record, but one that deals with sources. In thfr
first place we have a detailed Introduction containing the acts of
the Holy See regarding the establishment of the Sodality, its spe-
cific purpose, the means adopted for its propagation, its statutes and
rules, conditions of aggregation, government, obligations of mem-
bership, etc. Apart from these features and of distinctly valuable
consideration is the study of the workings of the Sodality as an in-
strument of education, social uplift, and moral reform. Whilst the
author does not enter upon these topics in the fashion of an essayist,
his volume contains all the elements for a minute study of the ques-
tions connected with efforts at social reformation.
The second part of the work is purely documentary. It contains
the texts of Pontifical Bulls and Briefs, Rescripts of the Sacred Con-
gregations, Rules and Regulations contained in letters of the super-
iors of the Jesuit Order, in the Ratio Studiorum, Among the in-
structions given to the Society on the subject of Sodalities is one by
^-2 THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Father General Aquaviva in which he declares that women are not
to be admitted to the Sodalities, and another in which he urges that
priests be encouraged to form Sodalities among themselves. Both
measures were wisely suggested by the conditions of the times, that
is at the end of the sixteenth century, when the Church looked to
the clergy and to educated laymen for counteracting by a healthy
spirit of renewed devotion to the Mother of Christ the false maxims
•of the so-called reformers. The work leads up to the present day,
including the pertinent documents for the year 1910. The latter
are printed in the original form and language, but they are accom-
panied by explanatory headings and rubrics in the vernacular.
They are separately catalogued, and there is a very full index at the
end of the volume.
THE OHUROH AND SOCIAL PEOBLEMS. By the Eev. Joseph Huss-
lein, SJ. New York: The America Press. 1912. Pp. 211.
OATHOLIO STUDIES IN SOCIAL EEPOEM: III. The Housing Problem.
Edited by Leslie A. St. L. Toke, B.A. Pp. 67. IV. The Church
and Eugenics. By the Rev. Thomas Gerrard. Pp. 60. St. Louis,
Mo.: B. Herder. 1912.
One can hardly escape the suggestion — is it a temptation — that
we are being somewhat surfeited with discussions on Socialism.
Socialism is undoubtedly growing and Socialists are untiring in their
work of disseminating their theories and proposals. The antidote
'Should no doubt be furnished proportionately to the far-spreading
evil. If the protagonists of error multiply their books and pamph-
lets and papers by the million, the disciples of truth should mani-
fest no less energy in spreading the light. Surely, surely; and so
let us all join in scattering broadcast the half -million sixteen-page
pamphlets that Mr. Goldstein has published, and then let us read
and hand around the other brochures and more stately volumes
which have been recently provided for us. Nothing better, too,
than that alert little weekly sheet The Live Issue can be recom-
mended for universal dissemination among the masses; and be sure
to get into the hands of every thoughtful reader that up-to-date
wideawake sentinel. The Common Cause. It is the very best thing
for the classes. And so on.
Of course, gentle reader, if you are perfectly familiar with
all this prolific book-world and you recognize that just a few ideas
are forever recurring in it, the circle widening but little, bear it in
mind that most people are not so well informed, and forget it not
that repetita juvant.
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. jr-.
However all this may be, what is certainly calculated to do good
is, in the first place, a clear statement both of the Church's attitude
toward Socialism and of Catholic social ideals — generally. Next
to this, and no less important, comes the presentation of practical
methods of social reform. A book in which the former of these two
desiderata is provided is the first of the works listed above. The
author is well and favorably known to the clergy, not only through
his contributions to America but also through his inspiring little
pamphlet The Pastor and Socialism, which has been so widely cir-
culated. The book before us embodies and develops the ideas
briefly outlined in that pamphlet. It contains therefore not only a
study of Socialism (including herein especially so-called " Christian
Socialism") but also an outline, though brief, of Catholic social
ideals. Under the title Socialism and the Church many aspects of
Socialist theory and practice are weighed in the balance of Catholic
principles. To say that all these topics " are fully dealt with ", as
has been claimed for the book, is overstating the truth very much.
Economic determinism, for instance, a universally recognized foun-
-dation of Marxian or so-called scientific Socialism, is by no means
" fully dealt with ". Nevertheless, for the forming of a proper
estimate of the general teachings and methods of Socialists, as gath-
-ered from their more authoritative writers, the summary and criti-
cism are adequate. In the chapter on Christian Socialism a very
good exposition of this hybrid kind of movement is given. Occa-
sion is there taken to set forth the New Testament and the Patristic
teachings on social life, and to show how far removed were the doc-
trines and social ideals of the early Church from those advocated
by Socialists at the present time. The concluding chapter, on Cath-
olic Social Ideals, presents the attitude of the Church toward labor
and labor organization; the Christian social system called Solidar-
ism — wherein the elements of truth contained in Individualism as
well as Socialism are harmoniously correlated, while their falsities
and excesses are avoided — is succinctly set forth. The layman is
shown his ideal in the life of Windthorst, and the priest his ideal in
the life of Von Ketteler. The social mission of Catholic women is
also well described. " The divine remedy " for the ills afflicting the
body social and politic is seen to lie primarily in the moral order,
and that in the Catholic Church. Specifically it is the Blessed
Sacrament which is the soul that binds the individual human units
into one living organism wherein each is for all and all is for each.
Taking the book as a whole, it is solid and relatively thorough.
It is throughout stimulating both to thought and to action. While
rscholarly in matter, it is pleasing and popular, in the best sense, in
yt^ THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
Style — a book that will be relished more by readers within the fold
than by those without. In view of a second edition, it may be
noted that " attention " at page 33, line 6, should read " attend-
ance ", and that the rhetorical figure at the head of page 8 might
be slightly altered. The dome of St. Peter's may soar : it can hardly
be said to " sweep ".
Books like the foregoing are necessary to establish the true prin-
ciples upon which alone the social question can be solved. Books,,
however, that show how such principles should be applied, books
that deal with methods of social reform in regard to special sub-
jects, are no less demanded. Such are the Catholic Studies, the
series of manuals edited by the Catholic Social Guild in England.
Some notice of the first two numbers of the series, those namely^
treating of destitution and sweated labor respectively, has pre-
viously appeared in these pages. Of the two recent numbers at
hand one deals with the housing problem, the other with eugenics.
The housing problem in large cities as well as in small towns and
rural districts is of course discussed mainly in view of conditions
prevailing in England. The opening chapter, however, on guiding
principles is a small treasury of practical wisdom and experience-
from which all who are interested in this at present very insistent
problem, whether in England or America or elsewhere, can draw
useful ideas and suggestions. The pamphlet contains likewise an
interesting paper by Mgr. Benson entitled A Catholic Colony, re-
printed from the Dublin Review (April, 1910). There is also a-
good bibliography.
Father Gerrard's pamphlet on The Church and Eugenics is a
sound, scholarly and highly interesting discussion of a subject that
is to-day engrossing the minds of multitudes of thoughtful men and
women outside the Church. It is quite the easiest thing in the world
to pass the movement by unheeded; or next to this to deride it as a
fad. There is of course not a little in the movement that is opposed
to Catholic principles. But at the same time, as Father Gerrard ob-
serves, there is much in it that is in harmony with Catholic prin-
ciples and indeed highly conducive to the end for which the Church
exists; and the object of the present manual is to sift the true from
the false elements in the movement by the light of Catholic truth.
So far as we know this is the first attempt by a Catholic writer to
undertake this not inconsiderable task. The work has been accom-
plished thoroughly and interestingly. The subject is treated from-
every side, historically, scientifically, philosophically, socially, mor-
ally. It is not necessary to enter into any details here. The small
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. ycc
price for which the pamphlet can be had places it within reach of
all, and no priest who wishes to form a judicious, all-around esti-
mate of the recent schemes for racial betterment can afford to leave
this monograph unread.
KIROHLIOHES HANDLEXIKON. Ein ITaclisclilagebiicli ueber das
Gesamtgebiet der Theologie und ibrer Hilfswisseaschaften. Unter
Mitwirkung zablreicber Facbgelebrten, in VerbinduDg mit dem
Professoren Karl Higenreiner, Jobann Bapt. Nisius, S.J., Joseph
Scblecbt und Andreas Seider, berausgegeben von Prof. Miobael Bucb-
berger. Zwei Baende. Muencben: AUgemeine Verlagsgesellscbaft.
1907-1912. Pp. xvi— 2072-2831.
Those who are familiar with Wetzer und Welte's Kirchenlexikon,
particularly in its second edition by Cardinal Hergenroether and
Dr. Kaulen, and likewise with Herder's unsurpassed Konversations-
lexikon, both of which works are written by Catholic scholars and
cover respectively the entire field of ecclesiastical and general knowl-
edge, will no doubt ask at once what can be the purpose of a new
ecclesiastical dictionary for German Catholics. The answer is that
the present work fills a gap between the two great encyclopedias
mentioned.
The Kirchenlexikon gives us a more or less exhaustive account of
subjects that come under the rubrics of Church history, apologetics,
dogmatic and moral theology, Scripture, canon law, Catholic biog-
raphy, and Christian art. The Konversationslexikon on the other
hand goes out of the domain of church topics and theology, and
treats of all sorts of subjects, but from the Catholic viewpoint,
thus counteracting the influence of reference books which misrepre-
sent or neglect principles and facts in history or in science that are
favorable to the Catholic Church. It covers indeed nearly all the
subjects treated in Wetzer and Welte, but in more didactic and suc-
cinct fashion, leaving the student to enlarge his information on such
topics by reference to the larger source.
Professor Buchberger's Kirchliches Handlexikon confines itself
to matters of ecclesiastical and theological science, and in this
respect covers the same ground as the Kirchenlexikon, but it does
so in the brief and didactic manner of the Konversationslexikon.
Being a specialist reference book it devotes much more attention
to subdivisions of theological science and to details in the choice of
ecclesiastical matter than the more discursive theological encyclo-
pedia on the one hand and the lay encyclopedia on the other. The
scholarship of the compilers is guarantee for the -accuracy of the
756
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
statements made in the Handlexikon; and whilst the circle of col-
laborators is of a very wide range, the doctrinal topics indicate
rigorous orthodoxy and a tone of conservative moderation in matters
of philosophical and theological speculation. The clergy, for whom
the work has chiefly been written, will find it a thoroughly service-
able book of reference, and both a complement and a corrective of
much that is to be found in our secular encyclopedias. The more
than twenty-five thousand articles are all signed and indicate the
breadth of specialist scholarship engaging some three hundred or
more prominent writers in the theological and other schools of Ger-
many. Type and bookmaking of the two volumes are excellent.
THE POET'S OHANTKY. By Katherine Bregy. B. Herder: St. Louis,
Mo. Herbert and Daniel: London. 1912. Pp. 181.
There is much to recommend to the clerical reader this exquisitely
ordered symposium of biographical sketches. It is a singularly
truthful delineator whose hand guides the delicate pencilings which
characterize for us the group of highminded souls to whom we are
introduced through this handsome volume. If all of the nine poets
whose miniatures we have here, were not actually ordained priests,
they all possessed, without exception, a special priestly grace. Two
of them — Robert Southwell and Gerard Hopkins — ^belonged to the
Society of Jesus. Richard Crashaw, of whom Cowley wrote :
Poet and Saint ! to thee alone are given
The two most sacred names of earth and heaven,
and to whom we owe that perfect compendium in rhythmic language
of the miracle of Cana, sometimes attributed to Dryden :
Nympha pudica Deum vidit et erubuit,
after his renunciation of Anglican orders, led the life of an eccle-
siastic in the service of Cardinal Palotta and later in the solitude
of the Loreto sanctuary. William Habington, the author of Castara,
" seemed at one time claimed for the priesthood ", and the chaste
grace of his heavenward inspirations attests that he never wholly
lost the sense of association with the sanctuary. Indeed Miss
Bregy seems to touch the true note of interpretation when she as-
signs as the motif of his later verses " dreams of a lost vocation
haunting the soul of the poet ". Of Lionel Johnson, Miss Bregy
speaks in the poet's own words of Walter Pater, as one
. . . who toHed so well
Secrets of grace to tell
Graciously. . . .
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. yn
and therein gives us a perfect image of the "mystical apostle of the
inward life " who died all too early and sadly. Although Coventry
Patmore and Francis Thompson have been more popular in the lit-
erary sense of the word than any of the foregoing poets, their dis-
tinctly spiritual nature, such as colors the missionary zeal of the
true priest, is no less marked in them. We need only to refer to
Patmore's Wedding Sermon in his Angel of the House, his Religio
Poetae, and his preference of St. Bernard's " Amor Dei ". About
Francis Thompson we know that " he was early sent to the vener-
able Ushaw school, in half-anticipation of a priestly career ",
though he lost the trail, and the sad echoes of that loss seem to
come back in his wonderful The Hound of Heaven. Can we at-
tribute any such or kindred qualities to the soul of Alice Meynell?
" More than one meditation of her final volume (of poems)," says
Miss Bregy, " suggests the influence of that immemorial treasure
house of poetry and vision, the Roman Breviary."
The Poet's Chantry, for these and other reasons that counsel the
cultivation of heart and mind, claims a place in the priest's library.
BETEOTHMENT AND MARRIAGE. A Canonical and Theological
Treatise, with Notes on History and Civil Law. By Canon de Smet,
S.T.L., Professor of Theology in the Grand SIniinaire de Binges.
Eevised and greatly enlarged by the anthor. Vol. I. Translated
from the French edition of 1912 by the Rev. W. Dobell. St. Louis,
Mo.: B. Herder; Bruges: Charles Beyaert. 1912,
In the September number of last year we gave an exhaustive re-
view of Canon de Smet's De Sponsalibus et Matrimonio. Since
then the work has been translated into French, and in publishing
the French edition the author claimed that it was more than a mere
translation. The work was thoroughly revised and amended. The
same process of improving the original has been applied to the Eng-
lish translation, which thus becomes the author's latest word on
the subject. It embodies the more recent decisions of the S. Con-
gregation regarding the validity of the marriage contract, and also
the conclusions of canonists on topics of recent discussion, such as
the right of the State to sterilize its subjects, civil divorce in its
relation to the Sacraments, legitimizing of offspring from natural
marriages, etc. The author writes in the first place for Belgian
students; hence the predominant references are to European con-
ditions. The English and American legislation it to be treated separ-
ately, in an Appendix to the second volume. Since the work addresses
itself specially to the clergy of America and England, the English
758
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
reader will wish that the conditions of these two countries had been
considered in the body of the work, so as to take the place of the
discussion of the marriage laws of Belgium. That would have in-
volved new labor, of course, but it seemed to be called for, consid-
ering the particular purpose of the English version, which is not
monumental but practical. The value of the book as a reference
work remains, however. The present first volume covers the sub-
ject of Betrothment, the Nature of the Marriage Contract, its
effects, properties, and conditions or regulations.
The second volume, which may be expected at an early date, will
deal chiefly with the subject of matrimonial impediments and dis-
pensations.
GOD: THE AUTHOR OF NATUEE AND THE SUPERNATURAL (DE
DEO OREANTE ET ELEVANTE). A Dogmatic Treatise by the
Rev. Joseph Pohle, Ph.D., D.D., Professor at the University of
Breslau. Authorized English version based on the fifth German
edition, with some abridgment and many additional references, by
Arthur Preuss. B. Herder: St. Louis, Mo.: London, England, and
Freiburg. 1912. Pp. 365.
This, the third volume of Dr. Pohle's Dogmatic Theology in the
English version, deals with God as Creator. In the first two vol-
umes the author considered God as He is in Himself. We have
here the proof and explanation of the dogma of creation out of
nothing; the act in its relation to the Divine Trinity; in its nature
as a free act ; and the inconmiunicability of the creative power.
This includes the idea of preservation as a continuous act of crea-
tion, and leads to the consideration of Divine Providence. The
second part of the volume treats of creation in its passive sense,
dogmatic cosmology, the hexsemeron in its relation to science and
exegesis, the Mosaic account of creation and physical science; an-
thropology and the supernatural order through original sin. The
third and last section is devoted to Angeology, the nature and en-
dowments of the angelic world, the demons, and the relation of
both to the human race. Dr. Preuss supplies excellent references
and a good index to his translation.
APOLOGIE DU OATHOLIOISME PAR LES INOREDULES. Expose du
Dogme de la Morale et du Oulte Oatholiques. Par 1' Abbe E. Angler.
Paris: P. Lethielleux. 1912. Pp.317.
The French, with their subtle intuitions quickened by love that is
being tried in the furnace of persecution, find reasons for faith and
CRITICISMS AND NOTES. 7 eg
'hope in the most unlooked-for places. Therefore are we getting
from them apologies drawn from all sorts of sources: history, the
arts, the sciences, philosophy. The volume before us adds another,
based on infidelity. Unbelief is made to testify against itself.
Others indeed have attempted similar feats, and in our own language
we have some bouquets of fair Catholic flowers culled from Protes-
tant gardens. But the book at hand is, we believe, the first en-
•deavor to summon testimonies from the non-Catholic world in favor
of not only the Catholic system as a whole but of every department
thereof. Beginning with fundamental religion, and passing onward
through theism; embracing the soul, the Bible, our Lord, the
Church, worship in all its objects and instruments; our duties
toward God, neighbor, and self; and including each of the seven
Sacraments ; terminating with the four Novissima — to each and all
these truths of faith and spiritual life witnesses from outside the
pale are summoned in testimony. The witnesses number about 350
and, though not all are of equal merit, most of them are valuable
and their aggregate force is striking. As someone has said of the
author, he not only mounts the pulpit himself but he forces the most
inveterate enemies of religion to ascend with him and give glory to
God, His Christ, and His Church. The volume is unusually well
indexed, and the general sources whence the individual testimonies
are drawn are given as footnotes. The latter is a good feature, but
it would have been still better had chapter and verse been cited.
The omission of the precise sources detracts somewhat from a work
that is invaluable, especially for speakers and writers.
ANK"US LITUEG-IOUS cum Introdnctione in disciplinam liturgioam.
Anctore Michaele Gatterer, S.J. Editio tertia juxta novissimas
rubricas emendata. Oeniponte: Pelicianus Eanch (L. Pustet). 1912.
Pp. 424.
If we comment on this new edition of a volume noticed in these
pages only a short time ago, it is because there is no better manual,
to our knowledge, to introduce the student of liturgy in the seminary
to a proper appreciation of the most practical discipline of his entire
•course. It is not a book of reference so much as a text-book, and in
this respect satisfies the chief demands of brevity, conciseness of ter-
minology and definition, analytical grouping, and survey of the
whole field of Catholic worship. Beginning with the Notiones litur-
gicae, in which the principles of liturgical study are laid down, the
author proceeds to give a brief history of the development of litur-
gical rule, the sources of it, and the value of its obligation. Next
76o
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
we have the divisions of the ecclesiastical year, with its feasts, its
calendar regulations, its separate offices and rites. The new ar-
rangement «f the Breviary receives due consideration.
EXPOSITION DE LA MOKALE OATHOLIQUE SPEOIALE. Conferences
de Notre-Dame de Paris. Par le E. P. M. Janvier, 0. P. Vol. I:
LaPoi. Oareme 1911. Vol. II, Oareme 1912. Paris: P. LetMel-
leux. 1912.
GLOIRES ET BIEUFAITS DE L'EUOHARISTIE. Par I'Abbe 8. Oonb6.
Paris! P. Lethielleux. Pp. 402. 1911.
We have here two collections embodying two types of sermons
both of which have their place and importance beyond the country
and the language in which they were preached and are now printed.
Pere Janvier's Exposition of Catholic Morals began with the Lenten
conferences of Notre Dame, Paris, as far back as 1903. The emi-
nent orator, aiming at doing for moral truths what his illustrious
predecessor Monsabre in his Exposition of Catholic Dogma had
done for dogmatic truth, laid down a deep and broad foundation
embracing the whole moral constitution of man. The ultimate end,
liberty, the passions, vice and virtue, law, grace — each of these sub-
jects has formed the theme of successive Lents at the great Parisian
Cathedral. Faith was the theme for 1911 and 1912. Accordingly
we have in these two volumes a thorough exposition of the theology
of Faith — the object, acts and habit, as well as the vices opposed to
faith. These conferences are not of course ordinary sermons. They
are rather theological treatises, wherein ideas of the great masters
are elaborated and presented in that luminous and eloquent style
for which the orators of Notre Dame are justly famed. Such con-
ferences are seldom heard, and doubtless rightly, from our pulpits.
Nevertheless they have a place even with us, at least as occasional
discourses or lectures. In this connexion the prospective preacher
will find them store-houses of available material. Thoroughly anal-
yzed as they are, they can easily be divided up each into two or
more average instructions. Each volume contains six conferences
and six instructions for retreats; also an excellent analytical index
of each discourse which enables the eye to take in an easy survey of
the matter.
The Glories and Benefits of the Blessed Sacrament comprises a
series of instructions on the Blessed Sacrament originally given at
various places on various occasions. They differ therefore somewhat
in length and style. They are all, however, clear-cut, thoughtful,
LITERARY CHAT. ^gj
and practical. Suggestive for one who has to preach without much
preparation they will be found particularly useful as furnishin<r
thoughts applicable to the devotion of the Holy Hour. **
A PEAOTIOAL GUIDE FOR SERVERS AT LOW MASS A19D BENE-
DIOTION. ' Oompiled by Bernard F. Page, S.J. New York, Cin-
cinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. 42.
Father Page's manual is in truth a "practical guide" for servers
at Mass; and whilst there are quite a number of similar books, it is
evident that this one has been prepared with a distinct regard for
the actual need and benefit of little boys who are called to minister
at the altar. Not only are the instructions explicit and clear, but
they are set forth in such typographical form as to appeal simul-
taneously to the intelligence and eye. Besides this the intervals in
which the server is not actually engaged in ministering to the priest
are filled out with suggestive little prayers concentrating and direct-
ing the attention of the seiver to a proper aim during the sacred
worship at Mass or Benediction. The book is handsomely made
and will prove a suitable gift for school boys aspiring to serve in
the sanctuary.
Xfterane Cbat
One need not be a single-taxer in order to recognize the strength of the
arguments put forward by its advocates in favor of their theory. Nor need
one assent to all the statements made by Mr. Fillebrown in his well-known
defence of the theory in The A B C of Taxation (Doubleday, Page & Co.,
New York). Those who have not read this book, but who may desire to
have the theory in a nutshell, can get what they want from the same author's
Single Tax Catechism (C. B. Fillebrown, 77 Summer St., Boston, Mass.). The
wee little brochure (just ten pages, and only five cents for them all) appears
in its tenth edition to anticipate 19 13. Of course all its meat is very much
boiled down, but if you desire an ampler supply you can find it in the ABC.
Those who used to think that the Single Tax meant the nationalization of
land will be told by the Catechism: "No; it means, rather ( !) the socializa-
tion of economic rent." Then, " does it not mean the abolition of private prop-
erty in land? No; it simply proposes to divert an increasing share of ground
rent into the public treasury " — a procedure that does " not in the least involve
common ownership of land."
Mgr. Benson has made many people his debtors by his numerous books.
Grown-up folk will never be able to meet the obligation, and now the tiny tots
are running up an account. The Alphabet of the Saints, previously on their
list, has just been followed by A Child's Rule of Life:
" A Rule for big children and small "
he arranges in " rhymes ", that though " rather feeble sometimes,
Are better than no rhymes at all."
762
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
■ The " Rule " is designed te guide the child through the day, from rising in the
morning to retiring at night, and thus includes prayer and play and meals;
Mass, Confession, and Holy Communion. It is printed in large black letters,
-€ach page capped by an appropriate illustration and framed in a quaint and
decidedly funny fringe of pink picturettes that include quite a menagerie and
a curiosity-shop which will delight any one with a sense of drollery. The
*' subjects " of the rule chosen as types are two " mildly medieval " tots, with
whom should a critic find fault he would probably have missed the clever
idealism of the artist. The book in quarto format, red paper or cloth binding,
makes an appropriate Christmas gift for a small child (Longmans, Green
& Co.).
Communion Verses for Little Children, by a Sister of Notre Dame, can
hardly fail to help little ones who like to speak to our Lord in the language
of rhyme, which after all seems most natural to the child. There are four-
teen short rhythmical prayers, two for each day, before and after Communion.
The sentiments are varied to suit the varying disposings of grace and moods
of nature (Benziger Bros.).
The latest issue of the Classified Catalogue of the Carnegie Library in Pitts-
burgh contains the accessions from 1907-1911 relating to General Works,
Philosophy, and Religion. It is a pity that the two preceding sections of the
complete catalogue devoted to the same subjects are out of print ; so that one
cannot, save through the card catalogue, know the institution's full treasures
relating to these fundamental topics. However, judging from what is before
us, Catholics have no cause for complaint as regards the additions represent-
ing their faith. These cover some seven pages of the catalogue and amongst
them we find the Catholic Encyclopedia, Allies's Formation of Christendom,
Pastor's History of the Popes, McCaffrey's History of the Catholic Church in
the Nineteenth Century, Wolferstan's Catholic Church in China, Bardenhewer-
Shahan's Patrology, and a goodly number of volumes of lesser importance,
together with Joseph McCabe's Decay of Rome, and George Tyrrell's Medi-
evalism. That the list is not even longer, especially that it is not fuller in our
Philosophy, is not improbably due to the apathy of Catholics themselves.
The Catalogue is thoroughly indexed (pp. 368).
Faith and Reason in Relation to Conversion is a very thoughtful treatment
of a difficult subject. It is a pamphlet of forty-five pages embodying two
articles from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record (March and April, 1912; Dublin,
Browne & Nolan).
The Romance of a Jesuit (translated from the French of G. de Beugny
d'Haguerne by Francesca Glazier) is the story of a miseducated young man
who, under the stress of poverty occasioned by his spendthrift and suicide
father, accepts a position with the French government to spy upon the domestic
life of the Jesuits. The youth enters a Jesuit novitiate whence he writes to
his employers letters that contain, however, nothing but vague suspicions of
no use to the government. The strain of his double life becomes unbearable
after a time and his conscience forces him to reveal his whole career of du-
plicity to the novice master. The latter treats him with Christlike kindness
and compassion and assists him to obtain a situation in the world whereby
lie is enabled to help support his younger sister, solicitude for whose care had
led him to his career of hypocrisy. The story is well told and well translated.
The interest is heightened by some incidents of love and a duel (Benziger
Bros.).
To those who have at heart the cause of Catholic education — and what priest
lias not? — the history of The Growth and Development of the Catholic School
System in the United States must be full of interest. And when the story
<bearing the title just quoted) is told with the fullness of exact informa-tion
LITERARY CHAT. 75^
-and the smooth flow of narrative which characterize Father Burns's prior
study of the beginnings of that system, the interest will be assured. We must
^efer to our next issue a fuller account of this volume in which the splendid
story of educational growth is narrated. In the meanwhile we recommend it
most warmly, to the clergy especially and religious teachers. Its record of
heroic struggle should be to them an inspiration and a support (Benziger
In a recently published volume (Sands-Herder) on Retreats for the People by
Father Charles Plater, S.J., there is a chapter on the literature of retreats,
in which attention is directed to the admirable work of the Spiritual Exercises
by St. Ignatius. The author also adverts to a series of books entitled Collec-
tion des Retraites Spirituelles, which deals with the practice of Retreats
(Lethielleux). We have some excellent helps in this direction in English,
such as Bishop Ullathome's, Father Buckler's, and Bishop Hedley's books,
and others, which, whilst they do not speak of the organizing of retreats for
the laity, are in their very material suggestive of what our laity need in the
way of spiritual renewal.
Speaking of literature for retreats for the laity, it may be said that there is
no class of books so effective as an incentive to the exercise of virtue in the
world, as the reading of biographies of eminent Catholic laymen. One of
the latest publications of this kind, although it appeals chiefly to the educated
laity, is the Life of John Hunger ford Pollen, by his daughter Anne Pollen
(Murray — Herder). An Oxford graduate, a convert, a man of the world, an
-artist, a lover of poetry and of music, he also represents the militant, the
social, and the spiritual-minded Catholic in an eminent degree.
The. spirit of the centenary festivities in honor of St. Clare of Assisi (1212-
igi2), recently celebrated in the Umbrian cradle of the Franciscan virtues,
is gracefully embodied in a beautiful Ricordo published from S. Damiano,
The dedication itself is characteristic of the peculiar charm that attaches to
the annals of the Institute of the Poverello : "A Chiara di Assisi, discepola
fervente del Poverello Umbro, queste pagine storico-letterarie in ricordo del
Settimo Centenario dalla Fondazione dell' Ordine delle Povere Dame I Minori
<Ji S. Damiano con animo riverente e devoto umilmente consecrano." The nuns
of Santa Chiara are very poor, but they wish to see the hallowed church and
the spot in which the Saint prayed, and in which she is laid to await the
Resurrection, restored to something of its ancient beauty; and for this the
alms of the lovers of the poor and of the glory of God's House are humbly
-solicited.
Students who are endeavoring to keep informed about the philosophical
movements of the present day will be helped by Professor Saulze's Le
Monisme Materialiste en France. Materialistic monism, together with a par-
allel monism of a more or less spiritual character, comprises practically what-
ever philosophy exists outside the Church. M. SauIze confines himself in the
volume just mentioned to a few typical writers, principally MM. le Dantec,
B. Conta, and Mile. C. L. Royer. These he studies analytically and critically.
What is especially useful in his work is the very full bibliography (comprising
some five hundred authors). The volume forms part of a larger whole, in
preparation, on Materialistic Monism in general ; the other part, which will
deal with the movement in Germany, is in press. When the second part, which
is really logically first, modern Materialistic Monism being of German par-
entage, is received, we shall give a fuller estimate of the entire work (Paris,
Beauchesne et Cie).
Notwithstanding the copious literature that has grown up, especially during
the past century, around the Pastor of Hermas, the ethical teachings oi the
famous work have never been excised, critically examined* and systematically
764
THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW.
exposed for the modern student of the early Christian literature. The work
that has been done hitherto has centred mainly in the historico-dogmatic
aspects or the general moral teachings of the Pastor, An attempt has been
made (and a very successful attempt it seems to be) to educe from the book
and systematically construct a unified body of Hermasian ethics by Dr. Ansgar
Baumeister. The Christian Ideal of Life and Faith, with the other precepts,
forms the groundplan of the work. Under the former heading the aim and
end of Christian life and the conditions of its attainment, under the second
the ethical doctrines regarding faith, and the relation of faith to the other
commandments, are considered. It is a brochure of i6o pages and is the
ninth in the well-known Freiburger Theologische Studien. The title is DU
Ethik des Pastor Hermae. (Herder, St. Louis, Mo.)
Books TReceiveb.
BIBLICAL.
Searching the Scriptures. By the Rev. T. P. F. Gallagher, S.T.L., B.C.L.
New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Bros.; Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son,
19 1 2. Pp. XX-431. Price, $1.75 net.
COMMENTARII IN S. PAULI EpISTOLAS AD EPHESIOS, PhILIPPENSES ET CoLO-
SENSES. Auctore losepho Knabenbauer, S.I. (Cursus Scrip turae Sacrae. Auc-
toribus R. Comely, I. Knabenbauer, Fr. de Hummelauer aliisque Soc. lesu
presbyteris. S. P. Pius X, ut Sanctitati Suae Opus Hoc dedicaretur, benigne
concessit.) Parisiis : Sumptibus P. Lethielleux. Pp. xi-368. Prix, 7 fr.
The Deciding Voice of the Monuments in Biblical Criticism. By Melvin
Grove Kyle, D.D., LL.D., Lecturer on Biblical Archaeology, Xenia Theologi-
cal Seminary. Oberlin, Ohio: Bibliotheca Sacra Co. 1912. Pp. xvii-320.
The First Twelve Chapters of Isaiah. A New Translation and Commen-
tary. By the Rev. George S. Hitchcock, D.D., Doctor of Sacred Scripture,.
Rome. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Benziger Bros. ; London : Burns &
Gates. 1912. Pp. ix-2io. $1.25 net.
The Holy Bible. Translated from the Latin Vulgate. Diligently com-
pared with the Hebrew, Greek, and Other Editions in Divers Languages..
The Old Testament was first published by the English College at Douay, A. D.
1609; and the New Testament was first published by the English College at
Rheims, A. D. 1582. This edition contains Annotations, References, an His-
torical and Chronological Index, many maps and illustrations. Published with
the Imprimatur and Approbation of His Eminence John Cardinal Farley,
Archbishop of New York. New York: The C. Wildermann Co. 1912. Pp.
1066 and 310-17 maps.
Pentateuchal Studies. By Harold M. Wiener, M.A., LL.B., of Lincoln
Inn, Barrister-at-Law, author of The Origin of the Pentateuch, Essays in
Pentateuchal Criticism, etc. Oberlin, Ohio: Bibliotheca Sacra Co.; London:
Elliot Stock. 1912. Pp. xvi-353. Price, $2.15 postpaid.
Ueber das Gleichnis vom ungerechten Verwalter (Lk. 16:1-13). Von
Dr. Adolf Riicker, Privatdozent an der Universitat Breslau. {Biblische Stu-
dien, XVII. Band, 5. Heft.) St. Louis, Mo. und Freiburg, Brisg. : B. Herder.
Pp. vi-66. Price, $0.55.
THEOLOGICAL AND DEVOTIONAL.
Theologiae Dogmaticae Elementa ex Probatis Auctoribus collegit P. B.
Prevel, SS.CC, S. Theol. Licent. et in Sem. Rothom. Theol. Dogm. Professor.
Edit:o tertia, aucta et recognita secundum documenta ab Apost. Sede novi-
ter promulgata opera et studio P. M. J. Miquel, SS.CC, S. Theol. Doct. et
BOOKS RECEIVED.
765
Theol. Dogmaticae Prof. Tomus I: Tractatus de Vera Religione, de Eccle-
sia, de Traditione et Scriptura, de Fide, de Deo Uno et Trino, de Deo Crea-
tore. Pp. 712. Tomus II: Tractatus de Incarnatione, de Beata Virgine Maria,
de Gratia, de Sacramentis in Genere, de Sacramentis in Specie. Pp. 696.
Parisiis: Sumptibus P. Lethielleux. 1912. Prix, 3 vols., 16 fr.
The Holy Hour. By the Rev. T. W. Drum, of the Dubuque Apostolate,
Dubuque, Iowa. 1912. Pp. 26.
L'Heure des Ames. Par le P^re Mainage, Dominicain. Premiere sirie.
Albert de Ruville. Miss Baker. Johannes Joergensen. Paris : P. Lethielleux.
19 12. Pp. 199. Prix, 2 fr.
Gloires et Bienfaits de l'Eucharistie. Par I'Abb^ Stephen Coub^, Cha-
noine Honoraire d'Orleans et de Cambrai. Troisi^me edition. (CEuvres Ora-
toires.) Paris: P. Lethielleux. 191 1. Pp. 402. Prix, 3 fr. 50.
The Living Flame of Love. By St. John of the Cross. With His Letters,
Poems, and Minor Writings. Translated by David Lewis. With an Essay
by Cardinal Wiseman and additions and an Introduction by Benedict Zim-
merman, O.C.D., Prior of St. Luke's, Wincanton. New York, Cincinnati,
Chicago: Benziger Bros. 1912. Pp. lv-317. Price, $1.95, net.
Predigten und Ansprachen zunachst fur die Jugend gebildeter Stande.
Von Mgr. Dr. Paul Baron de Mathies (Ansgar Albing). Vierter Band: Ad-
vents- und Fastenpredigten, akademische Ansprachen und Gelegenheitsraden.
St. Louis, Mo. und Freiburg, Brisg. : B. Herder. Pp. x-478. Prels, geb. in
Leinwand, $1.65.
L'aimable petite Sainte Agnes. Par Florian Jubaru, S.J. Paris: P. Le-
theilleux. 19 12. Pp. 160. Prix, i fr. 50.
Our Reasonable Service. An Essay in the Understanding of the Deep
Things of God. By Vincent J. McNabb, O.P. New York, Cincinnati, Chi-
cago: Benziger Bros.; London: Burns & Gates. 1912. Pp. viii-138. Price,
1$i.io net.
Hospital Addresses. By Henry Sebastian Bowden, of the Oratory. {Sa-
tiety for Visiting Hospitals.) New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger
Bros.; London: Burns & Gates. 1912. Pp. xi-197. Price, $0.70 net.
The Ways of Mental Prayer. By the Right Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey,
Abbot of Briquebec, O.C.R. Translated from the French by a Monk of Mount
Melleray. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : Benziger Bros. ; Dublin : M. H.
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INDEX TO VOLUME XLVII.
PAGE
Abstinence on Feast Days. Faculty to dispense from Fast and — 78
Adoration. Private Exposition of Blessed Sacrament at Hour of — . . 362, 612
Adultery with Attempted Marriage. Impediment arising from — 219
Advertisements in The Ecclesiastical Review. The Character of the — . 365
Agassiz, Determined Opponent of Evolution 277
Ageing Clergy. A Plea for our — 488
Alcohol and Their Effects. Different Kinds of — 536
Alcoholic Insanities. An Account of the — 691
Alcoholism. The Physiology and Pathology of — 535, 693
Altar. Images of the Sacred Heart on the — 616
American College, Rome. Student Life in the — 403
American Philosophy. Studies in — 185, 257
Apologetic Works. Some Recent — 229
Art in Germany. Growth of Christian — 641
Arts and Science. Attitude of Church toward the — 137
Assouan and the Pentateuch. The Temple in — 291
Australia. The Maxima Cura applies in — 464
Ave Maria or Angelus Bell. The Ringing of the — ill
Ayrinhac, S.S., D.D., LL.D. The Very Rev. H. A.— 303
Babylonian Legislation 4500 Years Ago l6l
" Beatus ". Indulgences in Case of Transfer of Feast of — 716
Belford. The Rev. John L.— 591
Bell. The De Profundis— iii
Bells. About the Ecclesiastical Uses of — 172
" Benedictio Apostolica ". Repeating the Confiteor in Case of — 737
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Private — 362, 600, 612
Biblical Commission and the Synoptic Gospels 523
Biblical Institute in Rome. Diploma of — 583
Bickerstaffe Drew. The Right Rev. Mgr. Francis D. — 674
Bishop's Jurisdiction over Religious who serve on Secular Mission 720
Bourdoise and the Foundation of Seminaries. Adrian — 426
Breviary. The Changes in the Missal and — 79
Bride and Groom Kneeling in the Sanctuary 614
Brook Farm, a Transcendentalist Movement 196
Brothers of the Common Life. Thomas a Kempis and the — 603
Brownsville Vicariate made Diocese of Corpus Christi 77
" Caeremoniale Episcoporum " and American Custom 224, 360
Calendar of the Church. Special and General — 471
Calendar Reform. The Latest Proposal in — 141
Calendar Reform. The Present Status of— 728
Camerata System in Roman Seminary Life 4^3
Canada. A Bishop for the Ruthenians in — 582
Canadian Bill against the Ne temere. The — 607
Catholic Directory for 1913. The Official — 49^
" Cautiones ". Dispensation in Mixed Marriages without the — . . 330, 364, 477
" Celebret ". Uniform Practice of issuing the — 706
Ceulemans. The Rev. J. B.— 185. 257
Chanting Monosyllable or Hebrew Word. Manner of — 471
Chaplain of Hospital. Jurisdiction over — 610
Chaplain. Pastoral Rights of a Convent— 600
Children to hear Mass. Value of Method in Teaching— 591
China. Our Catholic Soldiers in — "O
Christian Art in Germany. Growth of— 641
Church open all Day, The Custom of keeping the— 700
Churches at Health-Resorts. Daily Masses in— 700
Civil Courts. The Motu Proprio on Clerics and the — 303. 357
Clerical Portrait. Flavian : A — ^
Clerics before the Secular Courts. The Motu Proprio on— .... 303. 357
Cloistered Community. Faculty to distribute Communion to Sick Mem-
bers in— 718
Coakley, D.D. The Rev. Thomas F.— 403
Collection Tours. Rules for Orientals making— 471
Communion. Some Reactions of the Decree on Daily— 702
Communion and Indulgence at Forty Hours' Devotion 225
770 Index to Volume XLVII.
PAGE
Communion and Priests' Retreats. Daily — 734
Communion in either Leavened or Unleavened Bread. Permission to ad-
minister— 708
Communion last ? Does the Virtue of — 100
Communion outside Mass. Prayer after distributing — 363, 495
Communion to Sick Members of Cloistered Community. Faculty to dis-
tribute— 718
Concord School of Philosophy, 1878. Beginning of the — 197
" Confiteor " after Extreme Unction. Repeating the — 737
Consecration of Small Host outside the Corporal 660, 736
Constantine's Proclamation of Religious Liberty. Celebration of — . . 385, 472
Convent of St. Catharine, Sinai 19
Coptic Manuscripts. The J. P. Morgan Collection of — 747
Corporal. The Small Host outside the — 660
Corpus Christi. Erection of Diocese of — 77
Country School. Helping the — 494
Crutch at Mass. A Priest using a — 494
Cummins, O.S.B. The Rev. Patrick— 660
Cure of Intemperance. The — 535, 6gi
Custom in America. The " Caeremoniale Episcoporum " and — 224, 360
Dease. A. — 69
Defending the Policy of the Popes 492
Degrees of the Propaganda, Rome. Academic — 415
Delirium Tremens an Acute Alcoholic Insanity 692
De Prof undis Bell. The— ill
Desert to Convent St. Catharine. Over the — 19
De Smet, S.T.L. The Very Rev. A.— 341
Diocesan Patron. Choice of a — 736
Diploma of Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome. Form of — 583
Discipline in Theological Seminaries. Studies and — 395, 455
Dispensation " Disparitatis Cultus " if the Guarantees are refused. 330, 364, 477
Dispensation from Fast and Abstinence on Feast Days 78
Divino afflatu on the Rubrics. The Text of the — 79
Dobree. L. E. — 42, 1 72
Donnelly. Eleanor C. — 723
Donnelly, S.J. The Rev. Francis P. — 53
Doxology on Feasts of the Blessed Virgin 97
Drum, S.J. The Rev. Walter — 105, 601, 739
Drunkenness. The Reform of — 533, 691
Dubillard recommends League for Priests. Cardinal — 589
Easter. Fixing the Date of — 141, 728
Ecclesiastical Dress and Vestments 283
Eloquence and the Supernatural. Pulpit — 129
Emerson and the Evolution Theory 261
Emerson, the Leader of the Transcendental School 189
Emigration of Catholics. Pope Pius X on — 451
Emotional in Sermons. Place for the — 677
" En Dies est Dominica " 156
Essay Style for Sermons. The Value of 57, 674
Eucharistic Fast. The Question of mitigating the — 226, 604
Eudes and the Reformation of the Clergy. Blessed John — 426
Eusebius. Constantine's Miraculous Vision as related by — 388
Evolutionism in American Philosophy 257
Examinations in the Roman Seminaries 414
Exposition of Blessed Sacrament. Private — 362, 612
Extreme Unction. Anointing the Feet in — 738
Extreme Unction. Repeating the Confiteor after — 737
Fast? Does Old Age dispense from Eucharistic — 606
Fast. Question of mitigating the Eucharistic — 226, 604
Fast and Abstinence in Latin America. Exemption of Sisters of Charity
from — 719
Fast and Abstinence on Feast Days. Faculty to dispense from — 78
Father Carlton's Oflferings : A Story 42
Feast Days. Letter of S. Congregation of Council on — 77
Index to Volume XLVII. 771
PAGE
Feet at Extreme Unction. Anointing the — 738
Figures and Comparisons by St. Francis de Sales. The Use of — 434
Figures of Speech in Sermons. The Use of — 58
Fiske, the Greatest American Expounder of Evolution 265
Flavian : A Clerical Portrait i
Flavin's Vespers and Complin. Father — 69
Flood. W. H. Grattan— 155
Folghera, O.P. The Rev. J. D.— ! ! . ! ! 446
Fort Wayne. Boundaries of Diocese of — 77
Forty Hours' Devotion. Indulgences and Communion at — 225
Franciscans and Indulgences of the Stations of the Cross 471
Fryar. John R. — 283
Germany. Growth of Christian Art in — 641
Gospels. The Biblical Commission and the Synoptic — 523
Gospels. The Mutual Relations of the First Three — 341
Gospels of SS. Mark and Luke. Biblical Commission and the — 341
Gothic Structures in Germany. Leading — 643
Greek Monks at Mount Sinai 32'
Greek Uniates. Rite of Administering Communion to Latins or — 708
Grobel, C.F. The Rev. P.— no
Gaild of Our Lady of Ransom, England 212
Hammurabi, 4500 Years Ago. The Laws of — 161
Harris on the Church. William Torrey — 198
Hedley, O.S.B. Letter of Holy Father to the Right Rev. J. C— 715
Henry, Litt.D. The Rev. H. T.— 141, 557, 728
Historical Lessons in the Office. Revision of — 216
Hittite Inscriptions. Two Important — 743
Holy Week. Matins and Lauds in — 453
Hospitals. Professional Secrecy in — 610
Hour of Adoration. Private Exposition of Blessed Sacrament at — . . 362, 612
Hymn-Writer and Hymn-Composer. Cardinal Newman as — 685
Hymn-Writer. Thomas a Kempis as a — I55
Hyvernat and the Morgan Coptic MSS. Dr. H. — 747
Images of the Sacred Heart on the Altar 616
Imagination in St. Francis de Sales 434
Immaculate Conception. Indulgence on First Saturday in Honor of — . . 716
Impediment arising from Adultery with attempted Marriage 219
Indians in South America. Encyclical on the Condition of — 447
Indulgence on First Saturday in Honor of Immaculate Conception 716
Indulgences and Communion at Forty Hours' Devotion 225
Indulgences in Case of Transfer of Feast of " Beatus " 716
Indulgences of the Stations of the Cross. Franciscans and the — 471
"In hoc signo vinces " in the Light of History 3^7
Insanities induced by Alcoholism. Account of the — 6gi
Intemperance. The Reform of — 533. 6qi
Intention to consecrate be made during Mass? Must — 666
Intention to consecrate Illicit Matter. The — 664
Italy on their Seminaries. Letter to Bishops of — 395. 455
Jam Toto subitus Vesper eat Polo 557
Kane, S.J. The Rev. William T.— 385
Kantism in American Philosophy '85
Kearney, Nebraska. Erection of New Diocese of — 7"
Kempen ? Where is the Diocese of — 226
Ketteler. A Glimpse into the Pastoral Life of Bishop Von— 552
Labarum : " In hoc signo vinces ". Constantine's-— 39^
Lagrange, O.P., and the Sacred Congregation. Pere— 597
Labitton's Books on Sacerdotal Vocat-'on. Canon— 5^3. 5^4
Latin. The Proper Pronunciation of — 633
Latin Language in Classes in Seminary. Use of— 409
League for Priests, " Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia " ' 589
Lecture System in the Classes in Seminaries 407
Lessons in the Office. Revision of H'storical — 216
Litany of Loreto. The Oration after the— 359
Loughran. The Rev. J. J.— 221
772 Index to Volume XLVII.
PAGE
Lytton's Portrayal of " Friar Joseph " 613
Maas, SJ. The Very Rev. A. J.— 523
Mahony. Father Prout : Frank — 8
Maltese for " Quid mihi et tibi est ? " 601
Marriage. Impediment arising from Adultery with attempted — 219
Marriage without the required " Cautiones ". Dispensation in Mixed —
330, 364. 477
Martin, S.J. The Rev. M.— 477
Mass. The Assistant Priest at a First — 617
Mass. The Celebration of Daily — 702
Mass. Prayer after distributing Communion outside — 363, 495
Mass. A Priest using a Crutch or Chair at — 494
Mass. Value of Method in Teaching Children to hear — 591
Mass at a fixed Hour. Punctuality in Celebrating — 704
Mass at Health-Resorts. Provision for Daily — 706
Masses and the New Rubrics. The Old Indult of Requiem — 615
Matins and Lauds in Holy Week 453
Matrimonial Impediment arising from Adultery 219
Maynooth. Reminiscences of — 62, 316
McClorey, S.J. The Rev. John A. — 129
McHale, CM. The Very Rev. Patrick— 424
McMahon, Ph.D. The Rev. Joseph H.— 702
Metlake. George — 641
Metrical Translations of Psalms i, 8, 18, 22 723
Miller's Account of Kantian Philosophy. Samuel — 187
Milvian Bridge. The Miraculous Sign at the Battle of — 387
Missal and Breviary. The Changes in the — 79
Mixed Marriages without the Guarantees. Dispensations in — .. 330,364,477
Monosyllable or Hebrew Word. Manner of Chanting — 471
Monotony of Style in Tiresome Sermons 53
" Monsignor ". The Proper Abbreviation of the Word — 733
Moore's " Irish Melodies ". Father Prout and — 13
Moses. Writing in the Time of — 744
" Nee quisquam oculis vidit " 159
Ne temere. The Canadian Bill against the — 607
Newman as Hymn-Writer and Hymn-Composer 685
Nihil obstat of his own Ordinary. Priest Author should have — 218
Noll and the Country School. The Rev. J. F.— 494
Normal Schools for Catholic Teachers 494
" Now Let the Darkling Eve " 562
Nuptial Mass. Place of Bride and Groom at — 614
" O Amor quam Ecstaticus " 157
O'Connor, Esq. R. F.— 8
Octaves. Feasts of Double Major Rite that have — 97
Office of Dead. Matins and Lauds in — 453
Old Age dispense from Eucharistic Fast? Does — 606
Old Pr'est's Vespers — and Complin : A Story. The — 69
Olier and the Foundation of S. Sulpice. Venerable J. J. — 431
O'Malley, M.D. Austin — 533, 691
Oration after the Litany of Loreto. The — 359
Oratory to Grace. The Relationship of — 136
Ordinary. Priest Author should have Nihil obstat of his own — 218
Ordinary's Jurisdiction over Religious who serve on Secular Mission 720
O'Reilly, O.P. The Rev. Thomas a Kempis— 105
Orientals making Collection Tours. Rules for — 471
Parker, O S.B. The Rev. S. A.— 564
Pastoral Rights of a Convent Chaplain 600
Pastor's Permission. Private Exposition of Blessed Sacrament needs — . . 362, 612
Patron. Choice of a Diocesan — 736
Pentateuchal Criticism. The Temple of Jahu and — 291
Philip and Calendar Reform. Professor Alexander — 141
Philosophy. Studies in American — 185, 257
Plea for our Ageing Clergy. A — 488
Index to Volume XLVII. 773
Policy of the Popes. Defending the — ^ga
Pontifical Mass and Vespers. The Prescribed Reverence in— ...... 224.' ^60
Pope, O.P., S.S.D. The Rev. Hugh— ,291
Pope. Defending the Policy of the — ..*.!!'..!..'.*..'..... . . 493
Popular Sermons. Essay Sermons and so-called — 676
Postulants in Monasteries of Simple Vows 585
Prayer after distributing Communion outside Mass 363* 495
Preacher. Personal Sanctity and Natural Abilities of the— . ..'.*. .' 134
Preachers. An Apology for Sundry — 674
Preachers. The Difference between Catholic and non-Catholic — 129
Priests during Retreats. Daily Communion of— [ 705
Priests' League " Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia " ,,, 589
Priests serving as Seminary Prefects. Newly-ordained — 399
Prise du Bon Dieu. La — 517
Private Benediction in Convents. The Right to permit — 600
Private Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 612
Private Exposition of Blessed Sacrament 362* 612
Privilegium Fori. The Respect shown to the — 304, 357
Professional Secrecy in Hospitals 610
Promises. The New Decree on ante-nuptial — 330, 364, 477
Pronunciation of Latin. The Proper — 633
Propaganda, Rome. Theological Studies at the — 415
Prout : Frank Mahony. Father — 8
Psalms I, 8, 18, 22. Metrical Translation of — 723
Psaltery. Permission to print the New — 98
Pulpit Eloquence and the Supernatural 129
Punctuality in celebrating Mass at fixed Hours 704
Quantavis diligentia and the Privilege of the Court 303, 357
" Quid mihi et tibi ? " again 105, 221, 601
" Quisquis valet numerare ? " 158
Reactions of the Decree on Daily Communion. Some — 702
Realism in America. The Influence of Scotch — 185
Recreation in the Seminary. The Regulation of — 400
Reformation on Art in Germany. Effect of the — 645
Religious Liberty. Constantine's Proclamation of — 385, 472
Religious who serve on the Secular Mission. Jurisdiction of Ordinary
over — 720
Requiem Mass under the New Rubrics. The Old Indult of — 615
Retreats. Daily Communion at Clerical — 705, 734
Reverence in Pontifical Mass and Vespers. The Prescribed — 224, 360
Revision of the Vulgate. The Work of the— 618
Richelieu. The Relationship of Pere Joseph to — 613
Roman Seminary Life. An Account of — 403
Romanesque Architecture in Germany 643
Romanticism in Art. The Reign of — 646
Ruthenians in Canada. A Bishop for the — 582
Sacraments. Value of Method in Teaching Children to receive the — .... 591
Sacred Heart. So-called " Miraculous Portrait " of — 587
Sacred Heart on the Altar. Images of the — 616
St. Alphonsus on Vocation to Priesthood. St. Thomas and — 514
St. Catherine at Mount Sinai. The Convent of — 19
St. Cecilia and its Value. The Story of— 564
St. Francis de Sales. The Imagination in the Writings of — 434
St. Paul's Sermons. Use of Figures of Speech in — 59
St. Sulpice. Venerable J. J. Olier and the Foundation of — 431
St. Thomas and St. Alphonsus on Vocation to Priesthood 514
St. Vincent de Paul and the Foundation of Seminaries 424
Sanctuary. Bride and Groom kneeling in the — 614
Saturday Devotions in honor of the Immaculate Conception. First — . . 716
Schlathoelter. The Rev. L. F.— : 735
Schurman, a Relentless Critic of Evolution 278
Scully, C.R.L. The Rev. Vincent— 603
Secrecy in Hospitals. Professional — 610
Seminary Education. Efficiency of Modern — 735
774 Index to Volume XLVII.
PAGE
Seminary Life in Rome. An Account of — 403
Seminary Prefects. Newly-ordained Priests serving as — 399
Seminary to be separate. The Preparatory and the Theological — 396
Seminaries. The Course of Studies and Discipline in — 395, 455
Seminaries. St. Vincent de Paul and the Foundation of — 424
Senfelder, M.D. Leopold — 19
Sermon. Something more about the Tiresome — 53
Sermons by Catholic and non-Catholic Preachers. Difference between — . . 129
Sermons — Taste and Tolerance 674
Sheridan, C.C. The Rev. P.— 62, 316
Sinaitic Tourists. Practical Hints to — 19
Sisters of Charity from Fast and Abstinence in Latin America. Exemp-
tion of — 719
Sixtus V promulgate the " Eternus ille " ? Did — 739
Small Host outside the Corporal. Consecration of — 660
Smoking in the Seminary 406
SnufT-Box at the Offertory. Passing of — 617
South America. Encyclical on the Condition of Indians in — 447
Spencer and the Theory of Evolution 259
Spiritual Direction in Roman Seminaries 421
Stations of the Cross. Franciscans and Indulgences of the — 471
Story of St. Cecilia and its Value. The — 564
Strappini, S.J. The Rev. W. D.— l6i
Studies and Discipline in Theological Seminaries. Course of — .... 395, 455
Supernatural. Pulpit Eloquence and the — 129
Synoptic Gospels. The Biblical Commission and the — 523
Syene and Pentateuchal Criticism. The Temple in — 291
Taste and Tolerance in Sermons C74
Temple of Jahu and Pentateuchal Criticism. The — 291
Theology in Seminaries. The Course for Students of — 402
Thomas a Kempis and Brothers of the Common Life 603
Thomas a Kempis as a Hymn-Writer 155
Transcendentalism or Kantism in America 189
Transfer of Feast of *' Beatus ". Indulgences in Case of — 716
Travel during Vacations. Roman Students and — 419
Trent and the Foundation of Seminaries. The Council of — 425
Trent on Vocation to Priesthood. Teaching of Council of — 518
Vacations. Continuous Residence in the Seminary and — 397
Valerian and St. Cecilia. The Story of — 564
Van Sever. The Rev. A. — 228, 604
Vasectomy. A Survey of the Controversy on — 341
" Veni, Veni, Rex Gloriae " 157
Vestments. Ecclesiastical Dress and — 283
Vestments of the Jewish Priests and of Catholic Clergy. Similarity be-
tween— 283
Vincentians in French Seminaries. The Work of the— 431
Vocation. The Traditional Idea of Sacerdotal — 513, 584
Vocations to the Priesthood. Lack of — 395, 455
Vulgate. The Sixto-Clementine — 739 '
Vulgate. The Work of the Revision of the— 618
Wirth, D.D. The Rev. Edmund J.— 513
Zulueta, S.J. The Rev. F. M. de— loi
BOOK REVIEWS
Aertnys : Compendium Liturgiae Sacrae 252
Amelli : Collectanea Biblica Latina 618
Annus Liturgicus. Gatterer : — 759
Augier : Apologie du Catholicisme par les Incredules 758
Authority. Huizinga : — 121
Bardenhewer : Geschichte der Altkirchlichen Literatur 628
Bazin : Davidee Birot 231
Benson : Friendship of Christ 113
Benson : The Coward .....]................ 241
Index to Volume XLVII. 775
PAGE
Betrothment and Marriage. De Smet : — 757
Biblica Latina. Collectanea — Araelli : — 618
Bon vin : Cantemus Domino 115
Bouddhisnie Primitif. Roussel : — 118
Boyle : What is Socialism ? 239
Bregy : Poet's Chantry 755
Breviarium Romanum 251
Brossart-Meyenberg: Homiletic and Catechetic Studies 503
Cantemus Domino. Bonvin : — ne
Catechetic Studies. Homiletic and — Meyenberg-Brossart : — 503
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vols. Xlll and XIV 505
Catholic Faith. The — 749
Cauvons : Histoire de I'Inquisition en France 253
Cecilia: Girls' Clubs and Mothers' Meetings 123
Charruau : Vendeenne 232
Chesterton : Manalive 233
Christ is God. Drum : — 230
Christus. Huby:- — n8
Chronicle of the Popes. McKilliam : — 232
Church and Eugenics. Gerrard : — 752
Church and Social Problems. Husslein : — 633, 752
ColTey : The Science of Logic 254, 369, 496
Collectio Rerum Liturgicarum. Wuest : — 507
Colvin : The Learning Process 496
Compendium Liturgiae Sacrae. Aertnys : — 252
Coube : Gloires et Bienfaits de I'Eucharistie 760
Coward. The — Benson : — 241
Davidee Birot. Bazin : — 231
Dawson. The Mirror of Oxford 249
De Curia Romana. Monin : — 367
De Processu Criminali Ecclesiastico. Heiner-Wynen : — 631
De Smet: Betrothment and Marriage 757
Drum : Christ is God 230
Dubray : Introductory Philosophy 369
Ecclesia Christi. De — Straub: — 624
Epicurus to Christ. Hyde : — 254
Eucharistica. Henry : — 620
Exposition de la Morale Catholique Speciale. Janvier : — 760
Finlay : Plandbook of the History of Philosophy 374
Five Great Philosophies of Life. Hyde : — 374
Friendship of Christ. Benson : — 1 13
Gatterer : Annus Liturgicus 759
Gerrard : The Church and Eugenics 752
Geschichte der Altkirchlichen Literatur. Bardenhewer : — 628
Girls' Clubs and Mothers' Meetings. Cecilia: — 123
Gloires et Bienfaits de I'Eucharistie. Coube : — 760
God : The Author of Nature and the Supernatural. Pohle : — 758
Heiner-Wynen : De Processu Crimnali Ecclesiastico 631
Henry : Eucharistica 620
Hetherington : Notes on the Rubrics and the Use of New Psalter. 631
His Grey Eminence. O'Connor : — 5°!
Homiletic and Catechetic Studies. Meyenberg-Brossart : — 503
Housing Problem. The— Toke :-— 752
Huby: Christus Ii8
Huizinga : Authority ' I2i
Husslein : The Church and Social Problems 633, 752
Hyde : The Five Great Philosophies of Life 374
Idee de Dieu. Murat : — 120
Inquisition en France. Histoire de 1' — Cauzons : — 253
Janvier : Exposition de la Morale Catholique Speciale 760
Jesu bei Matt. 10:27. Selbstoffenbarung — Schumacher? — 230
Jorgensen : St. Francis of Assisi 236
kirchliches Handlexicon. Herder : — 755
•^^e Index to Volume XLVII.
PAGE
Koo : The Status of Aliens in China 504
Ladd : Teacher's Practical Philosophy 626
Learning Process. The — Colvin : — 496
Lester : The Story of the Sodality of Our Lady 750
Life and Times of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thompson : — . 253
Living Wage. A — Ryan : — 379
Liturgicarum. Collectio Rerum — Wuest : — 507
Liturgy. Catechism of the — Singenberger : — 253
Logic, The Science of — Coffey : — 254, 369, 496
Los Gremios. Segarra : — 376
Lourdes. The Unbeliever : A Romance of — 379
Manalive. Chesterton : — 233
Marriage. Betrothment and — De Smet : — 757
Mathias : Organum comitans ad Propriura de Tempore 118
McKilliam : Chronicle of the Popes 232
Meehan : Practical Guide to the Divine Office 631
Mirror of Oxford. Dawson : — 249
Monin : De Curia Romana 367
Mullan : Sodality of Our Lady Studied in the Documents 750
Murat : L'Idee de Dieu 120
Myers : The New Psalter and its Use 630
Non-Catholic Friends. For our — Noll : — 366
O'Connor : His Grey Eminence 501
Organum comitans ad Proprium de Tempore. Mathias : — 118
Otten : The Reason Why 115
Parochial School. Why ? — Noll : — 507
Philosophical Tendencies. Present — Perry : — 254, 369
Philosophie. Histoire de la — Sortais : — 374
Philosophies of Life. Five Great — Hyde : — 374
Philosophy. Handbook of the History of — Finlay: — 254, 374
Philosophy. Introductory — Dubray : — 254, 369
Philosophy. Teacher's Practical — 626
Pierard : Cours Pratique de Psalmodie Vaticane 632
Poet's Chantry. Bregy : — 756
Pohle : God : the Author of Nature and the Supernatural 758
Practical Guide to the Divine Office. Meehan : — 631
Practical Guide for Servers at Low Mass and Benediction. Page : — 761
Psalter and its Use. The New — Myers : — 630
Reason Why. The — Otten : — 115
Rosmini : Theodicy 254, 373
Roussel : Bouddhisme Primitif 1 18
Rubrics and the Use of the New Psalter. Notes on the — Hetherington : — 631
Ryan : A Living Wage 379
St. Francis of Assisi. Jorgensen : — 236
Schumacher : Selbstoffenbarung Jesu bei Matt. 10 : 27 230
Science of Logic. The — Coffey : — 254, 369, 496
Segarra : Los Gremios 376
Socialism as it is. Walling : — 123, 239
Socialism ? What is — Boyle : — 239
Social Problems. The Church and — Husslein : — 752
Social Reform. Studies in — 379, 752
Sodality of Our Lady Studied in the Documents. Mullan : — 750
Sodality of Our Lady. The Story of the — Lester : — 750
Sortais : Histoire de la Philosophie 374
Status of Aliens in China. Koo : — 504
Straub : De Ecclesia Christi 624
Summa Theologica of St. Thomas 749
Teacher's Practical Philosophy. Ladd : — 626
Theodicy. Rosmini : — 254, 373
Thompson : Life and Times of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 252 . .>
Toke : The Housing Problem 752 / ^
Vendeenne. Charruau : — 232
Walling : Socialism as it is 123, 239
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