Chapter LXXIII: Summary.--Declaration of the Author (1)

Having reached the end of my difficult enterprise, let me be allowed to take a retrospective view of the vast space over which I have but just passed, like the traveller who rests after his labor. The fear of seeing religious schism introduced into my country; the sight of the efforts which were made to inculcate Protestant errors amongst us; the perusal of certain writings, wherein it was stated that the pretended Reformation had been favorable to the progress of nations,--such were the motives which inspired me with the idea of undertaking this work. My object was, to show that neither individuals nor society owe any thing to Protestantism, either in a religious, social, political, or literary point of view. I undertook to examine what history tells us, and what philosophy teaches us, on this point. I was not ignorant of the immense extent of the questions which I had to enter upon; I was far from flattering myself that I was able to clear them up in a becoming manner; nevertheless I set forth upon my journey, with that courage which is inspired by the love of truth, and the confidence that one is defending its cause.

When considering the birth of Protestantism, I have endeavored to take as lofty a view as possible. I have rendered to men that justice which is due to them; I have attributed a large portion of the evil to the wretched condition of mankind, to the weakness of our minds, and to that inheritance of perverseness and ignorance which has been transmitted to us by the fall of our first parent. Luther, Calvin, and Zuinglius have disappeared from my eyes; placed in the immense picture of events, they have been viewed by me as small imperceptible figures, whose individuality was far from deserving the importance which was given to them at other periods. Honest in my convictions, and unreserved in my words, I have acknowledged with candor, but with sorrow, that there existed certain abuses, and that these abuses were taken as pretexts when it was wished to break the unity of the faith. I have allowed that a portion of the blame shall also fall upon men; but I have also pointed out, that the more you here lay stress upon the weakness and wickedness of man, the more do you illustrate the providence of Him who has promised to be with His Church till the consummation of ages.

By the aid of reasoning and irrefragable experience, I have proved that the fundamental dogmas of Protestantism show little knowledge of the human mind, and were a fruitful source of errors and catastrophes. Then, turning my attention to the development of European civilization, I have made a continued comparison between Protestantism and Catholicity; and I believe that I may assert, that I have not hazarded any proposition of importance without having supported it by the evidence of historical facts. I have found it necessary to take a survey of all ages, dating from the commencement of Christianity, and to observe the different phases under which civilization has appeared; without this, it would have been impossible to give a complete vindication of the Catholic religion.

The reader may have observed that the prevailing idea of the work is this: "Before Protestantism European civilization had reached all the development which was possible for it; Protestantism perverted the course of civilization, and produced immense evils in modern society; the progress which has been made since Protestantism, has been made not by it, but in spite of it." I have only consulted history, and I have taken extreme care not to pervert it; I have borne in mind this passage of holy writ: "Has God, then, need of thy falsehood?" The documents to which I refer are there; they are to be found in all libraries, ready to answer; read them, and judge for yourselves.

I am not aware, in the multitude of questions which have presented themselves to me, and which it has been indispensable for me to examine, that I have resolved any in a manner not in conformity with the dogmas of the religion which I was desirous of defending. I am not aware that, in any passage of my book, I have laid down erroneous propositions, or expressed myself in ill-sounding terms. Before publishing my work, I submitted it to the examination of ecclesiastical authority; and without hesitation, I complied with the slightest hint on its part, purifying, correcting, and modifying what had been pointed out as worthy of purification, correction, or modification. Notwithstanding that, I submit my whole work to the judgment of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church; as soon as the Sovereign Pontiff, the Vicar of Jesus Christ upon earth, shall pronounce sentence against any one of my opinions, I will hasten to declare that I consider that opinion erroneous, and cease to profess it.

NOTES.

NOTE 1, p. 26.

The _History of the Variations_ is one of those works which exhaust their subject, and which do not admit of reply or addition. If this immortal _chef-d'œuvre_ be read with attention, the cause of Protestantism, with respect to faith, is forever decided: there is no middle way left between Catholicity and infidelity. Gibbon read it in his youth, and he became a Catholic, abandoning the Protestant religion in which he had been brought up. When, at a later period, he left the Catholic Church, he did not become a Protestant, but an unbeliever. My readers will perhaps like to learn from the mouth of this famous writer what he thought of the work of Bossuet, and the effect which was produced on him by its perusal. These are his words: "In the _History of the Variations_, an attack equally vigorous and well-directed," says he, "Bossuet shows, by a happy mixture of reasoning and narration, the errors, mistakes, uncertainties, and contradictions of our first reformers, whose variations, as he learnedly maintains, bear the marks of error; _while the uninterrupted unity of the Catholic Church is a sign and testimony of infallible truth_. I read, approved, and believed." (Gibbon's _Memoirs_.)

NOTE 2, p. 27.

It has been wished to represent Luther to us as a man of lofty ideas, of noble and generous feelings, and as a defender of the rights of the human race. Yet he himself has left us in his writings the most striking testimony of the violence of his character, of his disgusting rudeness, and his savage intolerance. Henry VIII., king of England, undertook to refute the book of Luther called _De Captivitate Babylonica_; and behold the latter, irritated by such boldness, writes to the king, and calls him _sacrilegious, mad, senseless, the grossest of all pigs and of all asses_. It is evident that Luther paid but little regard to royalty; he did the same with respect to literary merit. Erasmus, who was perhaps the most learned man of his age, or who at least surpassed all others in the variety of his knowledge, in the refinement and _éclat_ of his mind, was not better treated by the furious innovator, in spite of all the indulgence for which the latter was indebted to him. As soon as Luther saw that Erasmus did not think proper to be enrolled in the new sect, he attacked him with so much violence, that the latter complained of it, saying, "_that in his old age he was compelled to contend against a savage beast, a furious wild boar_." Luther did not confine himself to mere words; he proceeded to acts. It was at his instigation that Carlostad was exiled from the states of the Duke of Saxony, and was reduced to such misery, that he was compelled to carry wood, and do other similar things, to gain his livelihood. In his many disputes with the Zwinglians, Luther did not belie his character; he called them _damned_, _fools_, _blasphemers_. As he lavished such epithets on his dissenting companions, we cannot be astonished that he called the doctors of Louvain _beasts_, _pigs_, _Pagans_, _Epicureans_, _Atheists_; and that he makes use of other expressions which decency will not allow us to cite; and that, launching forth against the Pope, he says, "_He is a mad wolf, against whom every one ought to take arms, without waiting even for the order of the magistrates; in this matter there can be no room left for repentance, except for not having been able to bury the sword in his breast_;" adding, "that all those who followed the Pope ought to be pursued like bandit-chiefs, were they kings or emperors." Such was the spirit of tolerance which animated Luther. And let it not be imagined that this intolerance was confined to him; it extended to all the party of the innovators, and its effects were cruelly felt. We have an unexceptionable witness of this truth in Melancthon, the beloved disciple of Luther, and one of the most distinguished men that Protestantism has had. "I find myself under such oppression," wrote Melancthon to his friend Camerarius, "that I seem to be in the cave of the Cyclops; it is almost impossible for me to explain to you my troubles; and every moment I feel myself tempted to take flight." "These are," he says, in another letter, "ignorant men, who know neither piety nor discipline; behold what they are who command, and you will understand that I am like Daniel in the lions' den." How, then, can it be maintained that such an enterprise was guided by a generous idea, and that it was really attempted to free the human mind? The intolerance of Calvin, sufficiently shown by the single fact mentioned in the text, is manifested in his works at every page, by the manner in which he treats his adversaries. _Wicked men_, _rogues_, _drunkards_, _fools_, _madmen_, _furies_, _beasts_, _bulls_, _pigs_, _asses_, _dogs_, and _vile slaves of Satan_. Such are the polite terms which abound in the writings of the famous reformer. And how many wretched things of the same kind could I not relate, if I did not fear to disgust my readers!

NOTE 3, p. 27.

The Diet of Spires had made a decree concerning the change of religion and worship; fourteen towns of the empire refused to submit to it, and presented a Protest; hence men began to call the dissenters _Protestants_. As this name is a condemnation of the separated churches, they have several times attempted to assume others, but always in vain; the names which they took were false, and false names do not last. What was their meaning when they called themselves _Evangelicals_? That they adhered to the Gospel alone? In that case they ought rather to call themselves _Biblicals_; for it was not to the Gospel that they professed to adhere, but to the Bible. They are also sometimes called _Reformers_; and many people have been accustomed to call _Protestantism, reformation_; but it is enough to pronounce this word, to feel how inappropriate it is; _religious revolution_ would be much more proper.

NOTE 4, p. 27.

Count de Maistre, in his work _Du Pape_, has developed this question of names in an inimitable manner. Among his numerous observations, there is one very just one: it is, that the Catholic Church alone has a positive and proper name, which she gives to herself, and which is given to her by the whole world. The separated Churches have invented many, but without the power of appropriating them.--"Each one was free to take what name he pleased," says M. de Maistre; "_Lais_, in person, might be able to write upon her door, _Hôtel d'Artémise_. The great point is, to compel others to give us a particular name, which is not so easy as to take it of our own authority."

Moreover, it must not be imagined that Count de Maistre was the inventor of this argument; a long time before him St. Jerome and St. Augustin had used it. "If you," says St. Jerome, "hear them called Marcionites, Valentinians, Montanists, know that they are not the Church of Christ, but the synagogue of Antichrist.--Si audieris nuncupari Marcionitas, Valentinianos, Montanenses, scito, non Ecclesiam Christi, sed Antichristi esse synagogam." (Hieron. lib. _Adversus Luciferianos_.) "I am retained in the Church," says St. Augustin, "by her very name of Catholic; for it was not without a cause that she alone, amid so many heresies, obtained that name. All the heretics desire to be called Catholics; yet if a stranger asks them which is the church of the Catholics, none of them venture to point out their church or house.--Tenet me in Ecclesia ipsum Catholicæ nomen, quod non sine causa inter tam multas hæreses, sic ipsa sola obtinuit, ut cum omnes hæretici se Catholicos dici velint, quærenti tamen peregrino alicui, ubi ad Catholicam conveniatur, nullus hæreticorum, vel basilicam suam vel domum audeat ostendere." (St. Augustin.) What St. Augustin observed of his time is again realized with respect to the Protestants. I appeal to the testimony of those who have visited the countries where different communions exist. An illustrious Spaniard of the seventeenth century, who had lived a long time in Germany, tells us, "They all wish to be called Catholic and Apostolical; but notwithstanding this pretension, they are called Lutherans, or Calvinists.--Singuli volunt Catholici et Apostolici, sed volunt, et ab aliis non hoc prætenso illis nomine, sed Luterani potius aut Calviniani nominantur." (Caramuel.) "I have dwelt in the towns of heretics," continues the same writer, "and I have seen with my eyes and heard with my ears a thing on which the heterodox should reflect: _it is, that with the exception of the Protestant preacher, and a few others, who desire to know more of the thing than is necessary, all the crowd of heretics gave the name of Catholics to the Romans_.--Habitavi in hæreticorum civitatibus; et hoc propriis oculis vidi, propriis audivi auribus, quod deberet ab hæterodoxis ponderari, _præter prædicantem, et pauculos qui plus sapiunt quam oportet sapere, totum hæreticorum vulgus Catholicos vocat Romanos_." Such is the force of truth. The ideologists know well that these phenomena have deep causes, and that these arguments are something more than subtilties.

NOTE 5, p. 38.

So much has been said of abuses, the influence which they may have had on the disasters which the Church suffered during the last centuries has been so much exaggerated, and at the same time so much care has been taken, by hypocritical praise, to exalt the purity of manners and strictness of discipline in the primitive Church, that some people have at last imagined a line of division between ancient and modern times. These persons see in the early times only truth and sanctity; they attribute to the others only corruption and falsehood; as if, in the early ages of the Church, all the faithful were angels--as if the Church, at all times, had not errors to correct and passions to control. With history in our hands, it would be easy to reduce these exaggerated ideas to their just value, to which Erasmus himself, certainly little disposed to exculpate his contemporaries, does justice. He clearly shows us, in a parallel between his own times and those of the early ages of the Church, how puerile and ill-founded was the desire, then so widely diffused, of exalting antiquity at the expense of the present time. We find a fragment of this parallel in the works of Marchetti, among his observations on Fleury's history.

It would not be less curious to pass in review the regulations made by the Church to check all kinds of abuses. The collections of councils would furnish us with so many materials thereupon, that many volumes would not suffice to make them known; or rather, these collections themselves, with alarming bulk, from one end to the other, are nothing but an evident proof of these two truths: 1st, that there have been at all times many abuses to be corrected, an effect, in some measure necessary, of the weakness and corruption of human nature; 2dly, that at all periods the Church has labored to correct these abuses, so that it may be affirmed without hesitation, that you cannot point out one without immediately finding a canonical regulation by its side to check or punish it. These observations clearly show that Protestantism was not caused by abuses, but that it was a great calamity, as it were, rendered unavoidable by the fickleness of the human mind, and the condition in which society was placed. In the same sense Jesus Christ has said, _that it was necessary that there should be scandal_; not that any one in particular is forced to give it, but because such is the corruption of the human heart, that the natural course of things must necessarily bring it.

NOTE 6, p. 42.

This concert and unity, which are found in Catholicity, are things which ought to fill every sensible man with admiration and astonishment, whatever his religious ideas may be. If we do not suppose that _the finger of God is here_, how can we explain or understand the continuance of the centre of unity in the see of Rome? So much has been said of the supremacy of the Pope, that it is very difficult to add any thing new; but perhaps our readers will not be displeased to see a passage of St. Francis de Sales, where the various remarkable titles given to the Sovereign Pontiff and to his see, by the Church in ancient times, are collected. This work of the holy Bishop is worthy of being introduced, not only because it interests the curiosity, but also because it furnishes matter for grave reflection, which we leave to the reader.

TITLES OF THE POPE.

Most Holy Bishop of the Catholic Church--Council of Soissons, of 300 Bishops.

Most Holy and Blessed Patriarch--Ibid., t. vii., Council.

Most Blessed Lord--St. Augustine, Ep. 95.

Universal Patriarch--St. Leo, P., Ep. 62.

Chief of the Church in the World--Innoc. ad P. P. Concil. Milevit.

The Bishop elevated to the Apostolic eminence--St. Cyprian, Ep. 3, 12.

Father of Fathers--Council of Chalcedon, Sess. iii.

Sovereign Pontiff of Bishops--Id., in præf.

Sovereign Priest--Council of Chalcedon, Sess. xvi.

Prince of Priests--Stephen, Bishop of Carthage.

Prefect of the House of God and Guardian of the Lord's Vineyard--Council of Carthage, Ep. to Damasus.

Vicar of Jesus Christ, Confirmer of the Faith of Christians--St. Jerome, præf. in Evang. ad Damasum.

High-Priest--Valentinian, and all antiquity with him.

The Sovereign Pontiff--Council of Chalcedon, in Epist. ad Theodos. Imper.

The Prince of Bishops--Ibid.

The Heir of the Apostles--St. Bern., lib. de Consid.

Abraham by the Patriarchate--St. Ambrose, in 1 Tim. iii.

Melchisedech by ordination--Council of Chalcedon, Epist. ad Leonem.

Moses by authority--St. Bernard, Epist. 190.

Samuel by jurisdiction--Id. ib., et in lib. de Consider.

Peter by power--Ibid.

Christ by unction--Ibid.

The Shepherd of the Fold of Jesus Christ--Id. lib ii. de Consider.

Key-Bearer of the House of God--Id. ibid. c. viii.

The Shepherd of all Shepherds--Ibid.

The Pontiff called to the plentitude of power--Ibid.

St. Peter was the Mouth of Jesus Christ--St. Chrysost., Hom. ii., in Div. Serm.

The Mouth and Head of the Apostleship--Orig., Hom. lv. in Matth.

The Cathedra and Principal Church--St. Cypr., Ep. lv. ad Cornel.

The Source of Sacerdotal Unity--Id., Epist. iii. 2.

The Bond of Unity--Id. ibid. iv. 2.

The Church where resides the chief power (_potentior principalitas_)--Id. ibid. iii. 8.

The Church the Root and Mother of all the others--St. Anaclet. Papa, Epist. ad omnes Episc. et Fideles.

The See on which our Lord has built the Universal Church--St. Damasus, Epist. ad Univ. Episcop.

The Cardinal Point and Head of all the Churches--St. Marcellinus, R. Epist. ad Episc. Antioch.

The Refuge of Bishops--Conc. Alex., Epist. ad Felic. P.

The Supreme Apostolic See--St. Athanasius.

The Presiding Church--Emperor Justin., in lib. viii., Cod. de Sum. Trinit.

The Supreme See which cannot be judged by any other--St. Leo, in Nat. SS. Apost.

The Church set over and preferred to all the others--Victor d'Utiq., in lib. de Perfect.

The first of all the Sees--St. Prosper, in lib. de Ingrat.

The Apostolic Fountain--St. Ignatius, Epist. ad Rom. in Subscript.

The most secure Citadel of all Catholic Communion--Council of Rome under St. Gelasius.

NOTE 7, p. 45.

I have said that the most distinguished Protestants have felt the void which is found in all sects separated from the Catholic Church. I am about to give proofs of this assertion, which perhaps some persons may consider hazardous. Luther, writing to Zwinglius, said, "If the world lasts for a long time, it will be again necessary, on account of the different interpretations which are now given to the Scriptures, to receive the decrees of Councils, and take refuge in them, in order to preserve the unity of the faith.--Si diutius steterit mundus, iterum erit necessarium, propter diversas Scripturæ interpretationes quæ nunc sunt, ad conservandam fidei unitatem, ut conciliorum decreta recipiamus, atque ad ea confugiamus."

Melancthon, deploring the fatal results of the want of spiritual jurisdiction, said, "There will result from it a liberty useless to the world;" and in another place he utters these remarkable words: "There are required in the Church inspectors, to maintain order, to observe attentively those who are called to the ecclesiastical ministry, to watch over the doctrine of priests, and pronounce ecclesiastical judgments; so that if bishops did not exist, it would be necessary to create them. The _monarchy of the Pope would be of great utility to preserve among such various nations uniformity of doctrine_."

Let us hear Calvin: "God has placed the seat of his worship in the centre of the earth, and has placed there only one Pontiff, whom all may regard, the better to preserve unity.--Cultus sui sedem in medio terræ collocavit, illi _unum_ Antisticem præfecit, quem omnes respicerent, quo melius in unitate continerentur."--(Calvin, _Inst._ 6, § 11.)

"I have also," says Beza, "been long and greatly tormented by the same thoughts which you describe to me. I see our people wander at the mercy of every wind of doctrine, and after having been raised up, fall sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other. What they think of religion to-day you may know; what they will think of it to-morrow you cannot affirm. _On what point of religion are the Churches which have declared war against the Pope agreed? Examine all, from beginning to end, you will hardly find one thing affirmed by the one which the other does not directly cry out against as impiety._--Exercuerunt me diu et multum illæ ipsæ quas describis cogitationes. Video nostros palantes omni doctrinæ vento, et in altum sublatos, modo ad hanc, modo ad illam partem deferri. Horum, quæ sit hodie de religione sententia scire fortasse possis; sed quæ cras de eadem futura sit opinio, neque tu certo affirmare queas. In quo tandem religionis capite congruunt inter se Ecclesiæ, quæ Romano Pontifici bellum indixerunt? A capite ad calcem si percurras omnia, nihil propemodum reperias ab uno affirmari, quod alter statim non impium esse clamitet." (Th. Bez. _Epist. ad Andream Dudit_.)

Grotius, one of the most learned of Protestants, also felt the weakness of the foundation on which the separated sects repose. Many people have believed that he died a Catholic. The Protestants accused him of having the intention of embracing the Roman faith; and the Catholics, who had relations with him at Paris, thought the same thing. It is said that the celebrated Petau, the friend of Grotius, at the news of his death, said mass for him; an anecdote the truth of which I do not guarantee. It is certain that Grotius, in his work entitled _De Antichristo_, does not think, with other Protestants, that the Pope is Antichrist. It is certain that, in his work entitled _Votum pro Pace Ecclesiæ_, he says, without circumlocution, "that without the supremacy of the Pope, it is impossible to put an end to disputes;" and he alleges the example of the Protestants: "as it happens," says he, "among the Protestants." It is certain that, in his posthumous work, _Rivetiani Apologetici Discussio_, he openly lays down the fundamental principle of Catholicity, namely, that "the dogmas of faith should be decided by tradition and the authority of the Church, and not by the holy Scriptures only."

The conversion of the celebrated Protestant Papin, which made so much noise, is another proof of what we are endeavoring to show. Papin reflected on the fundamental principle of Protestantism, and on the contradiction which exists between this principle and the intolerance of Protestants, who, relying only on private judgment, yet have recourse to authority for self-preservation. He reasoned as follows: "If the principle of authority, which they attempt to adopt, is innocent and legitimate, it condemns their origin, wherein they refused to submit to the authority of the Catholic Church; but if the principle of private judgment, which they embraced in the beginning, was right and just, this is enough to condemn the principle of authority invented by them for the purpose of avoiding its excesses; for this principle opens and smooths the way to the greatest disorders of impiety."

Puffendorf, who will certainly not be accused of coldness when attacking Catholicity, could not help paying his tribute also to the truth, when, in a confession for which all Catholics ought to thank him, he says, "The suppression of the authority of the Pope has sowed endless germs of discord in the world: as there is no longer any sovereign authority to terminate the disputes which arise on all sides, we have seen the Protestants split among themselves, and tear their bowels with their own hands." (Puffendorf, _de Monarch. Pont. Roman_.)

Leibnitz, that great man, who, according to the expression of Fontenelle, advanced all sciences, also acknowledged the weakness of Protestantism, and the organizing power which belongs to the Catholic Church. We know that, far from participating in the anger of Protestants against the Pope, he regarded the religious supremacy of Rome with the most lively sympathy. He openly avows the superiority of the Catholic over the Protestant missions; the religious communities themselves, the objects of so much aversion to so many people, were to him highly respectable. These anticipations with respect to the religious ideas of this great man have been more and more confirmed by one of his posthumous works, published for the first time at Paris in 1819. _The Exposition of the Doctrine of Leibnitz on Religion, followed by Thoughts extracted from the writings of the same Author, by M. Emery, formerly General Superior of St. Sulpice_, contains the posthumous work of Leibnitz, whereof the title, in the original manuscript, is, _Theological System_. The commencement of this work, remarkable for its seriousness and simplicity, is certainly worthy of the great soul of this distinguished thinker. It is this: "After having long and profoundly studied religious controversies, after having implored the divine assistance, and laid aside, as far as it is possible for man, all spirit of party, I have considered myself as a neophyte come from the new world, and one who had not yet embraced an opinion; behold, therefore, the conclusions at which I have arrived, and what appeared to me, out of all that I have examined, worthy to be received by all unprejudiced men, as what is most conformable to the holy Scriptures and respectable antiquity; I will even say, to right reason and the most certain historical facts."

Leibnitz afterwards lays down the existence of God, the Incarnation, the Trinity, and the other dogmas of Christianity; he adopts with candor, and defends with much learning, the doctrine of the Catholic Church on tradition, the sacraments, the sacrifice of the Mass, the respect paid to relics and holy images, the Church hierarchy, and the supremacy of the Pope. He adds, "In all cases which do not admit the delay of the convocation of a general Council, or which do not deserve to be considered therein, it must be admitted that the first of the Bishops, or the Sovereign Pontiff, has the same power as the whole Church."

NOTE 8, p. 49.

Some persons may suppose that what we have said with respect to the emptiness of human knowledge and the weakness of our intellect, has been said only for the purpose of making the necessity of a rule in matters of faith more sensibly felt. It is not so. It would be easy for me to insert here a long list of texts, drawn from the writings of the most illustrious men of ancient and modern times, who have insisted upon this very point. I will only quote here an excellent passage from an illustrious Spaniard, one of the greatest men of the sixteenth century, Louis Vives. "_Jam mens ipsa, suprema animi et celsissima pars, videbit quantopere sit tum natura sua tarda ac præpedita, tum tenebris peccati cæca, et a doctrina, usu, ac solertia imperita et rudis, ut ne ea quidem quæ videt, quæque manibus contrectat, cujusmodi sint, aut quid fiant assequatur, nedum ut in abdito illa naturæ, arcana possit penetrare; sapienterque ab Aristotele illa est posita sententia: Mentem nostram ad manifestissima naturæ non aliter habere se, quam noctuæ oculum ad lumen solis._ Ea omnia, quæ universum hominum genus novit, quota sunt pars eorum quæ ignoramus? Nec solum id in universitate artium est verum, sed in singulis earum, in quarum nulla tantum est humanum ingenium progressum, ut ad medium pervenerit, etiam in infimis illis ac villissimis; ut nihil existimetur verius esse dictum ab Academicis quam Scire nihil." (Ludovic. Vives, _de Concordia et Discordia_, lib. iv. c. iii.) So thought this great man, who, to vast erudition in sacred and profane things, added profound meditation on the human intellect itself; who followed the progress of the sciences with an observant eye, and undertook to regenerate them, as his writings prove. I regret that I cannot copy his words at length, as well those in the passage which I have just cited, as those of his immortal work on the causes of the decline of the arts and sciences, and on the manner of teaching them. If any one complain that I have told some truths as to the weakness of our minds, and fear lest this should impede the progress of knowledge by checking its flights, I will remind him that the best way of promoting the progress of our minds is, to give them a knowledge of themselves. On this point, the profound sentence of Seneca may be quoted: "I know that many persons would have attained to wisdom, if they had not presumed that they already possessed it." "Puto multos ad sapientiam protuisse pervenire, nisi se jam crederent pervenisse."

NOTE 9, p. 53.

Dense clouds surround the intellect as soon as it approaches the first principles of the sciences. I have said that even the mathematics, the clearness and certainty of which have become proverbial, are not exempted from this universal rule. The infinitesimal calculation, which, in the present state of science, may be said to play the leading part, nevertheless depends on a few ideas which, up to this time, have not been well explained by any one--ideas with respect to _limits_. I do not wish to throw any doubt on the certainty of this calculation: I only wish to show, that, if it were attempted to examine the ideas which are as it were the elements of it, before the tribunal of metaphysical philosophy, the consequence would be, that shades would be cast upon their certainty. Without going further than the elementary part of science, we might discover some points which would not bear a continued metaphysical and ideological analysis without injury: a thing which it would be very easy to prove by example, if the nature of this work allowed it. We may recommend to the reader on this subject, the valuable letter addressed by the Spanish Jesuit, Eximeno, a distinguished philosopher and mathematician, to his friend, Juan Andres; he will there find some appropriate observations made by a man who certainly will not be rejected on the ground of incompetency. It is in Latin, and is called _Epistola ad clarissimum virum Joannem Andresium_.

As to the other sciences, it is not necessary to say much to prove that their first principles are surrounded with darkness; and it may be said that the brilliant reveries of the most illustrious men have had no other source than this very obscurity. Led away by the feeling of their own strength, these men pursued truth even to the abyss; there, to use the expression of an illustrious contemporary poet, _the torch was extinguished in their hands_; lost in an obscure labyrinth, they were then abandoned to the mercy of their fancies and inspirations; it was thus that reality gave place to the beautiful dreams of their genius.

NOTE 10, p. 54.

Nothing is better for understanding and explaining the innate weakness of the human mind, than to survey the history of heresies; a history which we owe to the Church, to the extreme care which she has taken to define and classify errors. From Simon Magus, who called himself the legislator of the Jews, the renovator of the world, and the paraclete, while paying a worship of latria to his mistress Helena, under the name of Minerva, down to Hermann, preaching the massacre of all the priests and all the magistrates of the world, and affirming that he was the real son of God; a vast picture, very unpleasant to behold, I acknowledge, if it were only on account of the extravagances with which it abounds, presents itself to the observer, and suggests to him very grave and profound reflections on the real character of the human mind; there it is easy to see the wisdom of Catholicity, in attempting, in certain cases, to subject this inconstant spirit to rule.

NOTE 11, p. 57.

If any persons find difficulty in persuading themselves that illusion and fanaticism are, as it were, in their proper element among Protestants, behold the irresistible testimony of facts in aid of our assertion. This subject would furnish large volumes; but I must be content with a rapid glance. I begin with Luther. Is it possible to carry raving further than to pretend to have been taught by the devil, to boast of it, and to found new doctrines on so powerful an authority? Yet this was the raving of Luther himself, the founder of Protestantism, who has left us in his works the evidence of his interview with Satan.--Whether the apparition was real, or produced by the dreams of a night agitated by fever, it is impossible to carry fanaticism further than to boast of having had such a master. Luther tells us himself that he had many colloquies with the devil; but what is above all worthy of attention is, the vision in which, as he relates in the most serious manner, Satan, by his arguments, compelled him to proscribe private masses. He gives us a lively description of this adventure. He wakes in the middle of the night; Satan appears to him.--Luther is seized with horror; he sweats, he trembles; his heart beats in a fearful manner. Nevertheless the discussion begins, and the devil, like a good disputant, presses him so hard with his arguments, that he leaves him without reply. Luther is conquered; which ought not to astonish us, since he tells us that the logic of the devil was accompanied by a voice so alarming, that the blood froze in his veins. "I then understood," says this wretched being, "how it often happens that people die _at the break of day_; it is because the devil is able to kill or suffocate men; and without going so far as that, when he disputes with them, he places them in such embarrassment, that he can thus occasion their death. I have often experienced this myself." This passage is certainly curious.

The phantom which appeared to Zwinglius, the founder of Protestantism in Switzerland, affords us another example of extravagance no less absurd. This heresiarch wished to deny the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; he pretended that what exists under the consecrated species is only a sign. As the authority of the sacred text, which clearly expresses the contrary, embarrassed him, behold, suddenly, at the moment when he imagined that he was disputing with the secretary of the town, a white or black phantom, so he tells us himself, appeared to him, and showed him a means. This pleasant anecdote we have from Zwinglius himself.

Who does not regret to see such a man as Melancthon also given up to the prejudices and manias of the most ridiculous superstition, stupidly credulous with respect to dreams, extraordinary phenomena, and astrological prognostics? Read his letters, which are filled with such pitiful things. At the time when the diet of Augsburg was held, Melancthon regarded as favourable presages for the new gospel an inundation of the Tiber, the birth at Rome of a monstrous mule with a crane's foot, and that of a calf with two heads in the territory of Augsburg,--events which to him were the undoubted announcements of a change in the universe, and particularly of the approaching ruin of Rome by the power of schism. He himself makes the horoscope of his daughter, and he trembles for her because Mars presents an alarming aspect; he is not the less alarmed at the tail of a comet appearing within the limits of the north. The astrologers had predicted that in autumn the stars would be more favorable to ecclesiastical disputes; this prognostic sufficed to console him for the slowness of the conferences of Augsburg on the subject of religion: we see, moreover, that his friends--that is, the leaders of the party--allowed themselves to be ruled by the same powerful reasons. As if he had not troubles enough, it is predicted that Melancthon will be shipwrecked in the Baltic; he avoids sailing on those fatal waters. Certain Franciscans had prophesied that the power of the Pope was about to decline, and then to fall for ever; also that, in the year 1600, the Turks were to become masters of Italy and Germany; Melancthon boasts of having the original prophecy in his possession; moreover, the earthquakes which occur confirm him in his belief.

The human mind had but just set itself up as the only judge of faith, when the atrocities of the most furious fanaticism already inundated Germany with blood. Mathias Harlem, the Anabaptist, at the head of a ferocious troop, orders the churches to be sacked, the sacred ornaments to be broken in pieces, and all books, except the Bible, to be burnt, as impious or useless. Established at Munster, which he calls Mont Sion, he causes all the gold, silver, and precious stones possessed by the inhabitants to be brought to him, and places them in a common treasury, and names deacons to distribute them. All his disciples are compelled to eat in common, to live in perfect equality, and to prepare for the war which they would have to undertake, _quitting Mount Sion_, as he himself said, _to subject all the nations of the earth to his power_. He at length dies in a rash attempt, wherein, like another Gideon, he undertook nothing less than to exterminate the army of the impious with a handful of men. Mathias immediately found an heir to his fanaticism in Becold, perhaps better known under the name of John of Leyden. This fanatic, a tailor by trade, ran naked through the streets of Munster, crying out, "_Behold, the king of Sion comes_." He returned to his house, shut himself up there for three days; and when the people came to inquire for him, he pretended that he could not speak; like another Zachary, he made signs that he wanted writing materials, and wrote that it had been revealed to him by God, that the people should be governed by judges, in imitation of the people of Israel. He named twelve judges, choosing the men who were the most attached to himself; and until the authority of the new magistrates had been acknowledged, he took the precaution not to allow himself to be seen by any body. Already was the authority of the new prophet secured in a certain manner; but not content with the real command, he desired to surround himself with pomp and majesty; he proposed nothing less than to have himself proclaimed king. Now the blindness of the sectarian fanatics was so great, that it was not difficult for him to complete his mad enterprise; it was enough for him to play off a gross farce. A goldsmith who had an understanding with the aspirant to royalty, and was also initiated in the art of prophecy, presented himself before the judges of Israel, and spoke to them thus: "Behold, this is the will of the Lord God, the Eternal: as in other times I established Saul over Israel, and after him David, who was only a simple shepherd, so I now establish my prophet Becold king of Sion." The judges would not resolve on abdication; but Becold assured them that he also had had the same vision, that he had concealed it from humility, but that God having spoken by another prophet, it was necessary for him to resign himself to mount the throne, and _accomplish the orders of the Most High_. The judges persisted in wishing to call the people together; they assembled in the market-place; there a _prophet_, on the part of God, presented to Becold a drawn sword, as a sign of the _power of justice, which was conferred on him over all the earth, to extend to the four quarters of the world the empire of Sion_; he was proclaimed king with the most boisterous joy, and solemnly crowned on the 24th of June, 1534. As he had espoused the wife of his predecessor, he raised her to the royal dignity; but while reserving to her the exclusive privilege of being queen, he continued to have seventeen wives, in conformity with the _holy_ liberty which he had proclaimed in this matter. The orgies, assassinations, atrocities, and ravings of all kinds which followed cannot be related; it may be affirmed that the sixteen months of the reign of this madman were only a series of crimes. The Catholics cried out against such horrible excesses. The Protestants cried out also; but who was to blame? Was it not they who, after having proclaimed resistance to the authority of the Church, had thrown the Bible into the midst of these wretched men, at the risk of their heads being turned by the ravings of individual interpretation, and of precipitating them into projects as criminal as they were senseless? The Anabaptists were well aware of this; and they were exceedingly indignant with Luther, who condemned them in his writings; and indeed, what right had he, who had established the principle, to desire to check its consequences? If Luther found in the Bible that the Pope was Antichrist, if he arrogated to himself, of his own authority, the mission of destroying the reign of the Pope, by exhorting all the world to conspire against him, why could not the Anabaptists say, in their turn, _that they had intercourse with God, and had received the order to exterminate all the wicked, and to establish a new kingdom, in which were to be seen only wise, pious, and innocent men, having become the masters of all things_.

Hermann preaching the massacre of all the priests and all the magistrates of the world; David George proclaiming that his doctrine alone was perfect, that that of the _Old and New Testaments was imperfect, and that he was the true Son of God_; Nicholas rejecting faith and worship as useless, treading under foot the fundamental precepts of morality, and teaching _that it was good to continue in sin, that grace might abound_; Hacket pretending that the spirit of the Messiah had descended upon him, and sending two of his disciples to cry out in the streets of London, "_Behold Christ coming here with a vase in his hand!_" Hacket himself crying out, at the sight of the gibbet, and in the agony of punishment, "Jehovah! Jehovah! do you not see that the heavens open, and that Jesus Christ comes to deliver me?" are not all these deplorable spectacles, and a hundred others that I might mention, proofs sufficiently evident that the Protestant system nourishes and inflames a fearful fanaticism? Venner, Fox, William Simpson, J. Naylor, Count Zinzendorf, Wesley, Baron Swedenborg, and other similar names, are sufficient to remind us of an assemblage of sects so extravagant, and a series of crimes such as would fill volumes, which would afford us the most ridiculous and the most odious pictures, the greatest miseries and the most deplorable errors of the human mind. I have not invented or exaggerated. Open history, consult authors--I do not mean Catholics, but Protestants, or whatever they may be--and you will every where find a multitude of witnesses who depose to the truth of these facts; notorious facts, which have taken place in the light of day, in great capitals, and in times bordering on our own; and let it not be supposed that this abundant source of illusion and fanaticism has been exhausted in the course of ages; it does not seem that it is yet near being dried up, and Europe appears condemned to hear the recital of visions, such as those of Baron Swedenborg in the inn in London; and we shall still see passports for heaven with three seals given out, like those of Johanna Southcote.

NOTE 12, p. 60.

Nothing is more palpable than the difference which exists on this point between Protestants and Catholics. On both sides there are persons who consider themselves to be favored with heavenly visions; but these visions render Protestants proud, turbulent, and raving mad, while among Catholics they increase the spirit of humility, peace, and love. Even in that very sixteenth century, in which the fanaticism of the Protestants agitated and stained Europe with blood, there lived in Spain a woman who, in the judgment of unbelievers and Protestants, is certainly one of those who have been the most deeply infected with illusion and fanaticism; but has the supposed fanaticism of this woman ever caused the spilling of a drop of blood, or the shedding of a tear? Were her visions, like those of Protestants, orders from heaven for the extermination of men? After the desolate and horrible picture which I have given in the preceding note, perhaps the reader will be glad to let his eyes rest upon a spectacle as peaceful as it is beautiful. It is St. Theresa writing her own life out of pure obedience, and relating to us her visions with angelic candor and ineffable sweetness. "The Lord (she says) willed that I should once have this vision: I saw near to me, on the left hand, an angel in a corporeal form; this is what I do not usually see, except by a prodigy; although angels often present themselves to me without my seeing them, as I have said in the preceding vision. In this the Lord willed that I should see him in the following manner: he was not tall, but small and very beautiful, his face all in a flame, and he seemed to be one of the angels very high in the hierarchy, who apparently are all on fire. Without doubt, he was one of those who are called seraphim.--These angels do not tell me their names; but I clearly see that there is so great a difference among the angels, between some and others, that I do not know how to express it. I saw in his hands a long dart of gold, which appeared to me to have some fire at the end of the point. It seemed to me that the angel buried this dart from time to time in my heart, and made it penetrate to my bowels, and that when withdrawing it, he carried them away, leaving me all inflamed with a great love of God." (_Vie de St. Thérèse_, c. xxix. no. 11.) Another example: "At this moment I see on my head a dove very different from those of earth; for this one had no feathers, but wings as it were of the shell of mother of pearl, which shone brightly. It was larger than a dove; it seemed to me that I heard the noise of its wings. It moved them almost for the time of an Ave Maria. The soul was already in such a condition that, herself swooning away, she also lost sight of this divine dove. The mind grew tranquil with the presence of such a guest, although it seemed to me that so wonderful a favor ought to fill it with perturbation and alarm; but as the soul began to enjoy it, fear departed, repose came with enjoyment, and the mind remained in ecstacy." (_Vie_, c. xxviii. no. 7.) It would be difficult to find any thing more beautiful, expressed in more lively colors, and with a more amiable simplicity. It will not be out of place to copy here two other passages of a different kind, which, while they enforce what we wish to show, may contribute to awaken the taste of our nation for a certain class of Spanish writers, who are every day falling into oblivion with us, while foreigners seek for them with eagerness, and publish handsome editions of them. "I was once at office with all the rest; my soul was suddenly fixed in attention, and it seemed to me to be entirely as a clear mirror without reverse or side, neither high nor low, but shining every where. In the midst of it, Christ our Saviour presented himself to me, as I am accustomed to see Him. He appeared to me to be at once in all parts of my soul. I saw Him as in a clear mirror, and this mirror also (I cannot say how) was entirely imprinted on our Lord himself, by a communication which I cannot describe--a communication full of love. I know that this vision has been of great advantage to me every time that I recollect it, principally when I have just received communion. I was given to understand that when a soul is in a state of mortal sin, this mirror is covered with great darkness, and is extremely obscure, so that our Lord cannot appear or be seen therein, although He is always present as giving being; as to heretics, it is as if the mirror were broken, which is much worse than if it were obscured. There is a great difference between seeing this and telling it; it is difficult to make such a thing understood. I repeat, that this has been very profitable to me, and also very afflicting, on account of the view of the various offences by which I have obscured my soul, and have been deprived of seeing my Lord." (_Vie_, c. xi. no. 4.)

In another place she explains a manner of seeing things in God; she represents the idea by an image so brilliant and sublime, that we appear to be reading Malebranche, when developing his famous system.

"We say that the Divinity is like a bright diamond, infinitely larger than the world; or rather like a mirror, as I have said of the soul in another vision; except that here it is in a manner so sublime, that I know not how to exalt it sufficiently. All that we do is seen in this diamond, which contains all in itself; for there is nothing which is not comprised in so great a magnitude. It was alarming to me to see in so short a time so many things assembled in this bright diamond; and I am profoundly afflicted every time that I think that things so shocking as my sins appeared to me in this most pure brightness." (_Vie_, c. xl. no. 7.)

Let us now suppose, with Protestants, that all these visions were only pure illusions: at least it is evident that they do not pervert ideas, corrupt morals, or disturb public order; and assuredly, had they served only to inspire these beautiful pages, we should not know how to regret the illusion. This is a confirmation of what I have said of the salutary effects which the Catholic principle produces in souls, by preventing them from being blinded by pride, or throwing themselves into dangerous courses. This principle confines them to a sphere where it is impossible for them to injure any one; but it does not deprive them of any of their force or energy to do good, supposing that the inspiration is real. Although it would have been easy for me to cite a thousand examples, I was compelled, for the sake of brevity, to confine myself to one, when selecting St. Theresa as one of those who are the most distinguished in this respect, and because she was contemporary with the great aberrations of Protestantism. In fine, as she was a daughter of Spain, I seized the opportunity of recalling her to the memories of Spaniards, who begin too much to forget her.

NOTE 13, p. 64.