Chapter XXII: Explanations (9)

But the moral effect of the establishment of such small centres of intelligence would be incomparably greater. For the adults, it would at once be an attraction and a source of occupation, tending powerfully to withdraw them from those pursuits, not always edifying, in which unoccupied minds too often indulge, to the detriment of their health and morals. It would be the means of generating a taste for mental improvement, and of making them more confident among their companions, and more proficient and reflective in their various pursuits; for it is a well-recognized truth, that as a man, be he artisan, trader, or farmer, acquires those habits of thought which can only be derived from study, he becomes more skilful and methodical in his peculiar calling. The youth of both sexes, however, would reap the greatest advantages. There are hundreds of thousands of children of Catholic parents among us who can read, and, what is more, _will_ read. The young American mind, no matter of what parentage, is a hungry and an investigating mind, and must have some sort of food, do or say what we will. If it cannot have good literary food, it will have what is poisonous, and in this lies the secret of the success of the sensational story papers, and the no less deleterious tales that, in a few years, have made fortunes for their publishers. It is well known that one of the former class, published in this city, boasts of a weekly circulation of three hundred thousand copies, and another of nearly as great a number. If we go into the large workshops of the principal cities, or the factories of New England, where so many young persons are engaged, at the hour allotted for dinner we will see every second boy and girl devouring with more eagerness than their food the contents of some flashy journal or specimen of what is generally known as “yellow-covered literature,” in which vice is hidden under a thin veil of romance only to make it the more seductive. Now, the way to check this insidious and widespread evil is not by complaining of or railing at it, but by placing within easy reach, and in accessible 709 places sound and attractive Catholic works. The impetuous mind of youth may be compared to a rapid stream, which, dammed up or checked in its career, is sure sooner or later to overflow its boundaries to the destruction of its surroundings, but which, if its course is directed by skilful and experienced hands, not only ceases to be dangerous, but becomes a source of usefulness and power. To give this direction to the expanding intellect of the rising generation, and to turn to good use what might by neglect or repression become an evil and a curse, is one of the first and plainest duties of parents, for the proper performance of which they will be held to a strict accountability. It is not enough for them to see that their offspring attend church on Sundays and holy-days, that they go to Sunday-school regularly, and say their prayers night and morning, if they allow them afterwards to ponder from hour to hour over sickly romances; nor will it serve to send their children to school to learn to spell and read, if the knowledge thus gained be turned to the enervation of their minds and the corruption of their morals. Education is not in itself an end, it is only the means to an end, and that end is the knowledge of God’s law, and the best way of conforming one’s conduct to its requirements so as to secure our eternal salvation. There is no excuse for a Catholic parent for not putting into the hands of his children entertaining and moral books, nor is there any palliation for any one professing our holy faith, and who has arrived at the years of discretion, for encouraging or reading the thousand-and-one works of fiction which we see every day exposed on news-stands and in cheap book-stores, and which are not only immoral in tone and spirit, but in effect positively anti-Christian. Besides books of a serious and practical character, we have numerous works of fiction, published in this country and easily obtained, of the highest order of talent united to rare dramatic force and interest, which are detrimental neither to morals nor religion. The writings of Griffin, Banim, Huntington, Julia Kavanagh, Mrs. Sadlier, Mrs. Anna Dorsey, Lady Fullerton, Lady Herbert, and many others that we could name, are of this character, and are worthy to be read by the highest as well as the lowest in society. Of works treating on history, science in its various departments, biography, travels, etc., Catholic in tone, and elaborate or elementary in arrangement, we have a large and varied supply; and new productions under these heads are constantly appearing, more fascinating to the cultivated taste than even the productions of our best novelists. But it has been objected that these publications are too dear; that poor people cannot afford to spend ten or fifteen dollars on a few books. Granted; but, if they can have the use of four or five score for a couple of dollars by subscribing to a parochial library, is not the objection removed? This is what local libraries, and they alone, can do.

Now, what would be the effect of this system of libraries on the general tone of public opinion? Decidedly most salutary. In addition to driving from circulation many of the demoralizing newspapers, periodicals, and books which even non-Catholics denounce as immoral, and for the suppression of some of which the aid of legislative action has been invoked, it would create and foster a pure literary taste among no inconsiderable portion of our diverse population, and, apart from its direct moral effect, would render it more valuable and more 710 reproductive in a material point of view. Many of the most important political, social, and commercial problems of the day, on the true solution of which depends the future welfare of our republic, can only be properly comprehended by reference to the history of the past, and to the biographies of the great statesmen who succeeded or failed in founding or destroying nations and empires. And even in the discussion of minor questions affecting our interests or liberties, some acquaintance with the antecedents of our country is absolutely necessary to enable us to form proper opinions of their merits. In individual cases, one of the compensations for declining years and one of the highest claims to respect is experience; but to the reader of history, no matter what his age, the accumulated experience of at least thirty centuries is accessible, and not only controls his judgment and enlarges his knowledge, but vastly enhances his social and political status. But this experience, to be of any value, must be based on truth and undoubted facts. It must arise from the just appreciation of unbiassed statements and philosophical deductions, stripped of all that false assertion and unlimited prejudice which have characterized so many European and American writers for the last three centuries. Hence the need of Catholic books and Catholic readers--for, in this as in commercial matters, the demand regulates the supply--and the creation of new facilities for the spread of reliable information.

Take the case of the _History of England_ by Lingard. Before the appearance of that excellent work, we venture to say that seven-eighths of the reading population in every part of the world believed more or less in the falsehoods and forgeries with which the pages of the English historians of the post-Reformation period were crowded. Many more such instances of recent successful vindication of the truth of history might be cited, not the least valuable and complete being the production of our own countrymen, such as that very able and learned refutation of D’Aubigné’s _History of the Reformation_[145] and the _Life of Mary, Queen of Scots_,[146] which has lately appeared, and in which the slanders and aspersions so repeatedly heaped on the memory and character of that beautiful but ill-starred sovereign are condemned, exposed, and, it is to be hoped, finally disposed of. The first of these works is the most elaborate and reliable book we have on that important epoch, when every throne in Europe was shaken to its base, and when men’s passions, let loose by the preaching of the heresiarchs of England and the Continent, threatened to destroy every vestige of temporal and spiritual authority. There is no period in the history of Christendom about which so many falsehoods and such mendacious calumnies have been invented and circulated by prejudiced writers; and it was only on the appearance of the book in question that we have had, at least in English, any comprehensive and truthful account of the origin and progress of that rebellion against God’s church and laws. This country, from its settlement to the present, the origin and growth of its institutions from their inception in the early part of the seventeenth century till their fruition in our present constitution, though full of incident and fraught with lessons of the highest political wisdom, is yet imperfectly known and but little understood. 711 Is it not, then, worth a little sacrifice on the part of parents to place before their children, who ere long are to become the rulers of the state, a correct and impartial account of the birth of religious liberty on this continent, of the dangers, trials, and struggles our forefathers endured in order to build up and transmit to posterity the blessings of a free government? Yet such knowledge can only be obtained through books, and books, so far as the majority of Catholics are concerned, are almost unattainable, except through co-operation. Then, again, we are often taunted by such hackneyed phrases as the darkness of the middle ages, the ignorance of the monks, the corruption of the Papacy, the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, and such other fabrications of Protestant authors. Are we to allow our children to go forth in the midst of a reading and, in a religious sense at least, a hostile people, unprepared to intelligently refute such calumnies, and unable to account for the various agencies by which the Catholic Church at all times sought to eliminate civilization from barbarism, light from darkness, and Christianity from paganism at first, and from heresy and infidelity subsequently? They must have great--too great, perhaps--confidence in the faith of their children thus to submit them to so severe a test; and yet how few reliable books dealing with those subjects do we find provided for young Catholics by those whose duty it is to direct their conduct and shield them from the temptations and snares of the world! How many parents, intent on rewarding their children by presents, ever think of presenting them with good books, which would not only gratify their tastes and improve their minds, but would be, at least to them, a perpetual source of consolation?

Far different are the tactics of our opponents, who are never tired of devising measures to instil into the minds of the youth of their own faith all the errors of Protestantism under the most attractive guise possible, and at the same time to weaken the faith and pervert the judgment of our children. It is perhaps not generally known that every school district in this state, outside the large cities, is supplied with a library of select works, under the charge of the school trustees, and every child in the district is allowed free access to it, with the privilege of borrowing one volume at a time. These libraries were originally supplied at the expense of the public, and are annually increased by new purchases, the funds being derived from the state library fund. When we state that those libraries were furnished by a publishing-house in this city the first success of which in business was due to the production of Maria Monk, the works of Eugene Sue, and others of a kindred character, and that the compilers and abridgers, who claim the authorship of them, have been remarkable for bigotry even in this age of Protestant intolerance, it is scarcely necessary to point out the danger to our young Catholics of the free circulation of such books among them. In country places, the absence of the noise, excitement, and attractions of city life naturally leads to a desire for reading and a remarkable tendency to discussion, and it is there that good Catholic books are most required. Our children must mix with those of the sects, and will be compelled to listen to a repetition of the fabrications and falsehoods against their religion which are weekly dealt out in the Protestant churches, daily commented on in the household, and which fill the pages of the books of the district libraries and local newspapers. This is the poison that is carrying off so many of our juvenile 712 co-religionists, more dangerous to their souls than the deadly upas would be to their bodies, and against which we must provide some antidote. If one of our boys is confronted with quotations from Hume or Macaulay, he must be prepared to answer them on the undoubted authority of Lingard; if he be taunted with the poverty or ignorance of the Catholics of Ireland, he can show whence came this penury and destitution by reference to McGee’s, Cusack’s, or any of the numerous histories of that country; he ought to be prepared to oppose Archbishop Spalding to D’Aubigné, Meline to Froude, the history of the Maryland settlers (the founders of religious liberty on this continent) to the eulogiums on the intolerant Puritans, the “Irish Settlers” to the Know-Nothing organs--in fact, truth and light wherever falsehood and darkness are to be found. The truth has nothing to lose, but everything to gain, by full and free discussion. It is only error that shrinks from thorough investigation. But we must take care that our sons and daughters are well supplied with plain and useful facts regarding their faith and religion before they are subjected to the ordeal through which all young Catholics must pass who mingle freely in Protestant society, lest through their ignorance the cause they espouse should be weakened by their imperfect advocacy.

Neither ought we to hesitate in learning lessons from our adversaries when it is possible to do so. If the children of darkness are wiser than the children of light in their generation, it is no reason why we should be guilty of folly. Apart from the falsity of their teachings, we have often had occasion to admire the systematic perseverance with which the Protestant sects have endeavored to disseminate their peculiar views throught the medium of cheap and attractive publications. All that art and skill can do has been done to render them pleasing to the eye and agreeable to the mind. The highest literary talent is employed and well rewarded, because the result of their labors is extensively circulated, and, even when persons are unable or unwilling to purchase, the purse of the wealthy is always open to enable them to obtain books free of cost, while our children are too often allowed to begin life but half-instructed, and to continue in it illiterate and untaught. Were our schools as efficient and as numerous as we wish and as we hope one day to see them, we might assure ourselves that all this might be taught in them; but they are not, nor can they be for some years, and we cannot ignore the fact or wait for the slow operation of time to perfect and extend their influence. We must endeavor by some means or other to supply the deficiency, so far, at least, as this generation is concerned. Besides, there will always be a large number of children of the working-classes who cannot remain long at any school, but must go into the world to earn their bread. With these the most critical period of their lives is from the time they pass from the control of the teacher till they reach manhood or womanhood, for then their characters for good or evil are formed. For this class of toilers, good books are not only a recreation and a solace, but an absolute necessity; but, being limited in means, we hold that it is only through the means of local libraries that they can gratify their wishes and find opportunities for mental improvement.

Literature itself would also gain much by the establishment of these libraries. How often has it been remarked that, out of the large number 713 of Catholic young men of brains and education which our colleges and academies turn out annually, there are so few writers. The explanation is that for them authorship is neither a remunerative nor an appreciated employment. The professions of law and medicine and the attractions of commerce and trade are constantly drawing into their vortices the best energies and talent of our young graduates, many of whom with proper encouragement and patronage might, as authors, render incalculable service to the cause of truth and morality. What is required to utilize this large amount of natural gifts and acquired knowledge is simply the more extensive circulation of works already published; the increase in the number of new books on subjects of general interest, in style and treatment more in accordance with modern forms than those published years ago; but, above all, the cultivation of a correct standard of literary excellence among the people, and the creation of a widespread class of readers and thinkers.

The objection to the dearness of Catholic publications would also be removed by this means. It is well known to those conversant with the publishing business that, in proportion to the increase of the circulation of a given book, the expense of its production per copy is diminished in an inverse ratio. A book of which three thousand copies are sold at two dollars each would be more remunerative to both publisher and author at even one dollar if twenty thousand copies were disposed of. The publisher, also, in his contract with the author and in view of the uncertainty of his sales, naturally adds to the cost of production and to his fair percentage of profit a certain amount for probable losses by having a portion of his edition left on his shelves unsold. The establishment of local libraries would obviate the necessity of this additional cost. With, say, twenty-five hundred of these institutions, each ready and willing to subscribe for one or more copies of any really meritorious book that might appear, its success would be assured beyond doubt, the outlay of the publisher would be nearly reimbursed, and his risk, for which all book-buyers have now to pay, would be sensibly and materially diminished if not altogether done away with. Thus even individual purchasers as well as subscribers to libraries would be benefited in the reduction of price; and, while the bookseller would not suffer in the profits of his sales, the general public as well as the author would be sensibly the gainers.

As to what ought to constitute the necleus of a small library, some difficulty may be experienced in diverse tastes and opinions. In view of the multiplicity of good books constantly being imported or published in this country, it is nearly impossible to make a list of such as would be most desirable and useful without leaving out others perhaps as equally deserving of attention. Of works of fiction we have enough and more than enough in the productions of the authors above named and others of a less pretentious order, but, as this sort of reading is simply a matter of choice, each one must judge for himself in the selection.

Devotional and controversial works are numerous, and a few at least, such as the writings of St. Liguori, Father Faber, Dr. Manning, and Cardinal Wiseman, the _Guide for Catholic Young Women_, _Following of Christ_, _Catholic Christian Instructed_, _Lenten Monitor_, as well as several others, should be always found in Catholic libraries. In history, as far as the English language is concerned, we are not so 714 rich. We have, it is true, four or five histories of Ireland, possessing peculiar merits, and exhibiting more or less defects, but all full of useful information. Lingard’s _England_, entire or abridged, is decidedly the best of that country. Shea’s _History of the Catholic Missions in the United States_, McSherry’s _Maryland_, Bishop Bayley’s _Church in New York_, McGee’s _Irish Letters_ and _Catholic History_, De Courcey’s and Shea’s _Catholic Church in America_, go far to supply the defect, at least in part. Then there are the _Works of Archbishop Hughes_, one of the great prelates of the church in America, and the writings of Dr. O. A. Brownson, particularly his _Essays_ and _American Republic_, than whom no man of our day, it is safe to say, writes with more vigor or with a clearer understanding of his subject. The works of Bishop England are, we regret to say, too little known, and, being for some time out of print, are now almost unattainable. Darras’s _Church History_, the only complete history of the church yet published in our language, should, if possible, be read by every Catholic, and find a conspicuous place in all our libraries. _The Lives of Deceased Prelates of the United States_, by Clarke, which has just been published, is a very valuable book, containing a great deal of remote and contemporary history; and if Mr. Shea could be induced by proper encouragement to further develop the subjects he has selected for his books, as we feel certain of his ability to do so, a great deal of additional matter connected with the struggles and sufferings of the early pioneers of religion, now almost forgotten or unknown, would be placed before the public. In biography, which maybe called history in detail, our resources are abundant. We have, besides numerous lives of Christ, a complete _Lives of the Popes_, Butler’s _Lives of the Saints_, several of St. Patrick, _St. Vincent de Paul, Curé of Ars_, and some two hundred separate lives of the holy men and women who in every age of the church were conspicuous for their sanctity, wisdom, and devotion to the faith, a list of which may be chosen from the catalogue of any of our principal publishers; and last, though not least, is Montalembert’s great work, _The Monks of the West_, an American edition of which is just published.

So far as materials are concerned, we have a plenitude of them of every variety and in all departments of literature, and we have endeavored to show that very little money is required to purchase them. What is wanted is organization and action. For these we must depend to a great extent on the local pastors, and on the half a dozen leading laymen who are most generally to be found in every congregation. There is a homely proverb, but nevertheless true, that “what is everybody’s business is nobody’s business.” Let one or two influential men in each parish think seriously over the matter, call their associates together, and explain to them the advantages to be derived by themselves and their children from cheap and good reading, collect the subscriptions, put themselves in communication with any of our Catholic booksellers, and the work is done. The first and most important step thus taken, the future welfare of the library is assured. It is unnecessary to say that such a movement ought to and would receive the warmest encouragement from their spiritual superiors. Apart from the benefits arising from the reading of moral books to the cause of religion, the spirit of mutual intercourse, interchange of thought, and friendly co-operation engendered by reading 715 the same book, and meeting at stated times for a common object, would lead insensibly to the formation of a compact and efficient organization, exceedingly useful when the interests of charity, education, or the church are to be subserved. Not only this, but, knowing how overtaxed are the attention and time of so many of our missionary priests in providing the means of building churches and schools, as well as attending to the spiritual wants of their scattered flocks, we consider that an intelligent body of young people, such as we would naturally expect to see connected with a library society, would form a valuable lay staff of workers whose pleasure it would be to aid their pastor in all his material transactions. The more intelligent Catholics become, the less trouble, in two ways, they entail on their spiritual guide. They become aware easily of his wants, or rather the wants of the church of which he is to them the representative, and need little inducement to contribute their means freely for the benefit of charity or religion, while, at the same time, they make the most efficient agents in influencing the actions of others with whom they are daily brought in contact.

Firmly believing that the spread of these societies throughout this country would have a most marked and beneficent effect, morally and mentally, on our rapidly growing Catholic population, we submit these remarks to the serious consideration of the reverend clergy, and of those laymen who have been favored with more wealth and a better education than the majority of their fellow-Catholics. We must not forget that we live in an age of great mental activity and progress, so-called. Let us keep pace with our neighbors in everything that leads to the acquisition of true knowledge, but let our progress be in the right direction, and worthy of the name we bear, and of the religion we profess.

[145] _History of the Protestant Reformation._ By the Most
Rev. M. J. Spalding, D.D. Baltimore.

[146] _Mary, Queen of Scots._ By James F. Meline. New York.
1871.

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NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THE LIFE OF PHILIP THOMAS HOWARD, O.P., CARDINAL OF NORFOLK, ETC. By
Father C. F. Raymond Palmer, O.P. London: Thomas Richardson & Son.
New York: The Catholic Publication Society.

It affords us sincere pleasure to be able to speak of this book in terms of unqualified praise, without in the least being subjected to the charge of flattery. The subject chosen by Father Palmer is the career of an ecclesiastic who not only filled a prominent part in the history of his times in his native country, England, but of the church throughout Europe; and whose private virtues were even more edifying than his mental capacity was remarkable. The scion of one of the noblest houses in Great Britain, and living at a time when every lure was held out to genius and rank to join the so-called Reformers, he not only remained true to the Catholic traditions of his family, but, forsaking the world altogether, he became, in spite of all opposition, an humble friar and a follower of the illustrious St. Dominic. His labors for the good of his order on the Continent as well as in England were incessant, and so successful that in a few years he was 716 raised to the dignity of a prince of the church. Several times he was entrusted with important diplomatic missions by his sovereign, Charles II., and for many years occupied the position of grand almoner to Catharine of Braganza, the queen-consort. In addition to the biography of Cardinal Howard, we have a very full and interesting sketch of the history of the Dominican order, that glorious corporation of friar-preachers, whose labors extended to every part of the known world, and whose blood may be said to have been shed in the cause of Christ wherever the foot of man has trod. Father Palmer’s treatment of the subject is in every way worthy of so great a theme. He does not, as too many biographers are apt to do, fall in love with his hero, and lose himself in senseless rhapsody and panegyric, but lets deeds and their results speak for themselves. Neither does he assume for the order, of which he himself is a worthy member, too much credit for its long-continued and extensive propagandism of the faith; but, keeping his praise within just bounds, makes the amplest acknowledgment to other missionaries when an opportunity offers. The author’s style, also, is admirable. It is plain, bold, and exceedingly clear, and reminds us a good deal of the old days of classic English, which, we are sometimes tempted to fear, have departed for ever.

SERMONS BY THE FATHERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE.
New York: The Catholic Publication Society. 1872. 12mo, pp. 331.

This, the sixth volume of sermons, twenty-two in number, delivered by the Paulist Fathers of this city, has just been published, and in point of variety, ability, and adaptability to the everyday wants of Catholic congregations, may fairly be said to be equal, at least, to any of the preceding volumes from the same source. On first reading this valuable collection of sermons, the impression most likely to be produced on a layman is surprise at the remarkable simplicity of style, earnestness of argument, and, above all, the practical application to the present condition of society, of the inspired texts upon which the sermons are based. Men of the most ordinary comprehension can understand them, and we can imagine few minds so contracted or hearts so callous as to be proof against their unadorned logic and impressive appeals. It has sometimes been our good fortune to have heard, as we have often read, exhortations of more brilliancy, pathos, and even intellectual power, but we are not aware that, compressed within the limits of an ordinary-sized book, there is to be found in the English language a greater amount of wholesome truths, well and clearly stated, or better calculated to go directly to the heart and conscience of the reader. Of this character pre-eminently are the sermons on “How to Pass a Good Lent,” “Humility in Prayer,” and “The Sins and Miseries of the Dram-Seller.” In some respects the latter differs from all others in the collection--in its forcibleness of rhetoric, and vividness, almost painful, of description. Reading it in the silence of our library, we almost shudder at the, alas! too truthful picture drawn therein of the drunkard’s fate in this world, and the not less certain retribution which awaits his mercenary tempter, here or hereafter. It is one of the most powerful arguments against the use and sale of intoxicating liquors we have read since the days of Father Mathew, and ought to be in the hands of every advocate of temperance, clerical and lay, in the land. The three sermons treating of the temporal and spiritual authority of the Sovereign Pontiff are clear, distinct, and well-timed, and, besides being historically accurate, are replete with logical deductions, one following and hinging on the other so harmoniously that conviction, 717 even to a biassed mind, seems to follow as a matter of course.

But on a second and more critical perusal of this book, we are certain to discover new and equally commendable features. We feel as if we were in the presence of Catholic priests speaking to their spiritual children. There is an absence of all harshness or terrorism, and of that bitterness which too often accompanies the discussion of controversial subjects. While our errors are reproved and our sins denounced, hope and mercy are not denied us; the path of duty is plainly pointed out, but we are encouraged to tread its thorny ways, and we rise from the study of the _Sermons_ conscious of our faults and weaknesses, without despairing, and with a renewed purpose of amendment. No one can read attentively the first and last of this series, on “Remembrance of Mercies” and “Fraternal Charity,” without feeling softened and chastened in spirit. It is not, however, the mere contents of the sermons that we most admire. It is their suggestiveness. To a reflective mind there is matter enough in them to form the groundwork of a hundred discourses, and still the subjects would not be exhausted. This feature alone will extend their good influence far beyond the limits of one book or one pulpit. As we have come to a grand truth boldly stated, or a deduction logically and lucidly drawn, we have frequently found ourselves closing the book, and, following the drift of the reverend preacher’s argument, preaching sermons to ourselves. If such be its effects on ordinary minds, how much more valuable will be the uses of this book to the younger members of the priesthood in the performance of the duties of their holy calling? And it is for them especially, we presume, it is intended.

Besides, as we are all aware, there are many persons with the best dispositions who, from family or other reasons, are frequently unable to hear a sermon on every Sunday and holyday of obligation, not only in country parishes, but even in our crowded cities. To this class the present volume ought to be of great value, affording them, as it does, an opportunity of reading in the seclusion of their homes, what they are debarred from hearing delivered orally. It is one of the rules of the faithful to consecrate a portion of each Sunday to hearing sermons, but, when this cannot be done, the reading of pious books is substituted, and we know of none recently published better calculated to edify and instruct a devout Catholic, or one so practical in its application to the wants and necessities of the present generation, as this collection of sermons; and it is for this reason that we heartily commend it to the laity of the United States.

MACARONIC POETRY. Collected, with an Introduction, by James Appleton
Morgan, A.M. New York: Hurd & Houghton. 1872.

Of the many excellent specimens of the typography of the Riverside Press, the above-named work is one of the handsomest; and this merit is enhanced by the fact that the great variety of languages and characters, ancient and modern, used in its pages called for the best efforts of typographical skill and resources.

The title of the work gives but a modest idea of the wealth and diversity of its contents, which are creditable to the taste and industry of the author. We find in it not only all the most celebrated macaronic masterpieces, from the “Pugna Porcorum,” of about three hundred lines, every word of which begins with the letter P, thus:

“Plaudite, Porcelli, Porcorum pigra propago
Progreditur, plures Porci pinguedine pleni.
Pugnantes pergunt, pecudum pars prodigiosa,” etc., etc.,

down to Dr. Maginn’s “Second Ode to Horace,” commencing,

“Blest man, who far from busy hum, 718
Ut prisca gens mortalium.”

Then there are the literary trifles of the dipogrammatists and the pangrammatists, and curiosities in acrostics, telestics, anagrams, palindromes, sidonians, rhymed bagatelles, cento verses, chain verses, alliterative verses, and epitaphs. There are also some specimens of queer prescriptions, the whole family of which are but imitations of the celebrated recipe pasted on the door of the pharmacy in the Convent of the Capuchin Friars at Messina:

“Pro presenti corporis et æterna animæ salute.

RECIPE.

“Radicum fidei
Florum spei
Rosarum charitatis
Liliorum puritatis
Absynthé contritionis
Violarum humilitatis
Agarici satisfactionis
Ano quantum potes:
Misceatur omnia cum syrupe confessionis;
Terentur in mortario conscientiæ;
Solvantur in aqua lacrymarum;
Coquantur in igne tribulationis, et fiat potus.
Recipe de hoc mane et sera.”

Any one may find much literary amusement in the volume, and to the Latin scholar in particular it affords material for many an hour of pleasant relaxation.

THE TAKING OF ROME BY THE ITALIAN ARMY, considered in its Causes and
Effects. By C. M. Curci, S.J. Translated from the Italian by the
Duke Della Torre. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1871.

It is a matter of congratulation that we have among us at least one Italian gentleman of high rank, character, and education, who is a thoroughly loyal and devoted adherent of the Holy See. We are greatly indebted to the Duke Della Torre for translating F. Curci’s _brochure_, prefixing to it a most sensible and excellent preface, and getting it published by our most eminent New York firm. The pamphlet itself is an able production of an able and celebrated writer. The only great fault in it is the discouraging tone it takes regarding the prospects of the temporal sovereignty of the Pope in the future--a point which has been strongly animadverted upon already in Europe. In so far as past facts are concerned, it is a thorough and unanswerable exposure of the fraud, violence, and perfidy of the Sub-Alpine government, and of the treachery and timidity of the policy of other European cabinets in their relations with the Pontifical States.

FLORENCE O’NEIL; or, The Siege of Limerick. By Agnes M. Stewart.
Baltimore: Kelly, Piet & Co.

The eventful life and troublous times of James II. of England must always be a period of history mournfully interesting to every Catholic heart--those days of persecution, when throughout England a price was set upon the head of any priest who dared labor for the salvation of souls, all the penal laws against Catholics (some of them but lately repealed) being in full force.

The touching story of Florence O’Neil, who is represented as living in very constant intimacy with the royal exiles, carries us through those dark days, and gives us pictures of the court of the reprobate, hard-hearted daughter of James, where Florence was kept an unwilling captive for many months. Her journal during that time is written with charming simplicity, and the whole story has sufficient mingling of truth with the narrative to fill us with pity even for those crowned heads who lived harassed with anxious fears lest the sceptre so hastily and unjustly assumed should be as hastily snatched from their grasp; trusting nobody, never at rest from plottings and replottings even in their own household. In contrast with this, we have the devoted domestic life at the Château St. Germaine, sketched with a delicate and refined touch, giving us a lovely picture of wedded bliss in the union of James with his beautiful and tenderly attached wife--more perfect than usually falls to the lot of common mortals, 719 not to speak of royalty. It is cheering to know that these good hearts, to whom life brought so much disappointment and trouble, found rest and peace and hope in the bosom of the church, which offers to her faithful children the kingdom of heaven and an imperishable crown. _Florence O’Neil_ appears in a beautiful dress, and is well worthy of careful perusal.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE IRISH FRANCISCAN MONASTERIES, AND MEMOIRS
OF THE IRISH HIERARCHY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. By the Rev. C.
P. Meehan, M.R.I.A.

A MEMOIR OF IRELAND, NATIVE AND SAXON. By Daniel O’Connell, M.P.
Dublin: James Duffy. New York: The Catholic Publication Society.

The second edition of these two small works, which have attained a well-deserved popularity in Ireland and England, will doubtless be equally appreciated in this country, particularly by our adopted citizens, who, claiming the former nation as their birthplace, love to look back on her past glories and her continuous struggles for civil and religious freedom. Father Meehan’s book, though ostensibly confined to the history of the Franciscan establishments and the Irish hierarchy, contains also a brief but lucid and well-arranged account of the principal events of the seventeenth century in Ireland, embracing the wars of the Parliamentarians and Cromwell against the Nationalists, and the inception of the contest between the partisans of William and James. On such subjects Mr. Meehan is a reliable and judicious authority, for he has made them the study of a life-time. We remember him fully a quarter of a century ago, when curate of SS. Michael and John’s Church, Dublin, and when every moment that he could spare legitimately from the duties of his calling was devoted to his loved studies--the history and archæology of his native land; and we are happy to find that time has neither quenched the fire of his patriotism nor weakened that mental activity which characterized his earlier works.

O’Connell’s memoir, like everything that fell from the pen or lips of that great agitator, is full of vigor and sound logic. A portion of the book is devoted to a general summary of the wrongs and struggles of the Irish race from the invasion in 1172 down to our day, but the greater part is occupied by historical quotations and running commentaries, illustrating that long, dreary period of war, desolation, and persecution. Though in fact contained in a comparatively small compass, it is a masterly indictment against England, prepared with all the system and acumen of an able jurist, and is invaluable as a historical document from the number of references it contains. It was only issued towards the close of the great author’s career, and may be supposed to be an epitome of his varied readings and long personal experience.

THE PEARL OF ANTIOCH: A Picture of the East at the End of the Fourth
Century. By the Abbé Bayle. Baltimore: Kelly, Piet & Co. 1871.

In the preface to this interesting story of the early times, we have a bright and truthful comment on the different claims of works of fiction that have been written to make religion attractive: giving to Cardinal Wiseman (what rightfully belongs to him) the glory of having been the author of the truly Christian romance in the fascinating narrative of _Fabiola_. The writer of _The Pearl of Antioch_ professes to follow at a modest distance that illustrious dignitary of the church. He gives us in the story of Pelagia a graphic description of life in Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople at the close of the fourth century, when the church, resting from the fierce persecutions that had marked her earlier years, was surrounded with master-minds who committed themselves to no religion, condemning none formally, 720 endeavoring to possess at the same time the esteem of both Christians and pagans. The delineation of the vacillating spirit of many of the finest intellects among the Greeks, their proud, patronizing ways towards God’s church, cannot but remind the careful reader of the position of many of the so-called _intellectual giants_ of to-day.

The multiplicity of characters introduced, and the demand for mythological research which is necessary to make the story clear in all its parts, are rather detrimental to the unity of the tale; nevertheless, the story of Pelagia herself, and Nicephorus her lover, with their remarkable conversion and subsequent abandonment of the world, is very touching, and wrought out with simplicity and earnestness--the wonderful faith of Pelagia contrasting with the criticisms and doubts, and the ingenious hypotheses of Hypatia, whose strange life and fearful death have been the comment of historian and novelist.

The book contains many pages full of interest concerning Simon Stylites and the wonders of his life, besides several chapters devoted to charming descriptions of the monks who flocked in those times to monasteries in the deserts of Nitria and Tabenna, along the borders of the Nile, and even to Mount Sinai. One of the most attractive features of the volume will be found in the delightful conversations of these monks, enlivened with legends of those olden times, and pervaded throughout with a lovely, Christ-like spirit, which makes their religion an object of admiration even to the wise pagans around them.

JAPAN IN OUR DAY. Compiled and arranged by Bayard Taylor. New York:
Charles Scribner & Co. 1872. 1 vol. 12mo.

This is the first volume of the _Illustrated Library of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure_, now in course of publication by Messrs. Scribner, & Co. and edited by Bayard Taylor. To those who take an interest in Japanese affairs the volume will prove interesting, as containing the latest information with regard to that country so long almost unknown.

SADLIERS’ CATHOLIC DIRECTORY, ALMANAC, AND ORDO FOR THE YEAR OF OUR
LORD 1872. With full Report of the various Dioceses in the United
States and British North America, and a List of the Archbishops,
Bishops, and Priests in Ireland. New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co.,
31 Barclay Street.

The _Almanac_ for this year has appeared. The sewing, type, and paper are much better than in former years. There are not so many mistakes in this as we noticed in the previous volume. We are aware there are many difficulties connected with the publication of a statistical work which nothing but the utmost patience and perseverance will overcome, and are therefore pleased to notice even slight improvements.

THE AMERICAN HOME BOOK OF IN-DOOR GAMES, AMUSEMENTS, AND OCCUPATIONS.
By Mrs. Caroline L. Smith (Aunt Carrie). Illustrated. Boston: Lee &
Shepard. New York: Lee, Shepard & Dillingham. 1872.

This book is one of the best of its kind. The selection of games, amusements, etc., is very good, and the directions given in regard to them are short, simple, and clear. It cannot fail to add to the happiness of any home it may enter.

THE WONDERS OF WATER. From the French of Gaston Tissandier. Edited,
with numerous Additions, by Schele De Vere, D.D., LL.D. New York:
Charles Scribner & Co. 1872. 1 vol. 12mo.

A most interesting and useful little volume, containing valuable information in regard to the uses of water, the history of artesian wells, ancient and modern water-works, etc., etc. The book is elegantly got up and well illustrated.

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THE 721

CATHOLIC WORLD.

VOL. XIV., No. 84.--MARCH, 1872.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
REV. I. T. HECKER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at
Washington, D. C.

AN UNCIVIL JOURNAL.

The activity and universality of the American press are proverbial. Leaving out of sight the innumerable political organs which dabble in everything, there is not a department of human knowledge, not a recognized theological creed, not a leading foreign nationality, not a prominent _ism_ of the day, that has not its daily or weekly to represent it. And they all speak and investigate with unlimited freedom. The race of Robert Burns’s “chiel” who was “takin’ notes” has been multiplied until they here outnumber the sands on the sea-shore. Nothing escapes them. All shortcomings of whatever origin are certain of detection by some of them, and they are not restrained by any false modesty from instant proclamation thereof. Everybody is held accountable to everybody else. Republicans and Democrats keep up permanent mutual inquisition, Protection and Free-trade spy out each other’s defects, and rival sects seem firmly to believe in the chastening influence of announcement of their neighbors’ faults.

More than any of these, more than all put together, is Catholicity in the United States subjected to the most ceaseless and penetrating surveillance. The curiosity prompting this surveillance is sometimes friendly, but generally the reverse. English literature, essentially anti-Catholic and bigoted, has made its mark upon American education, and with many people the intolerant falsehood of much English history still passes for truth. So-called religious (Protestant) papers are never at a loss for a leader topic--“Abuse the Catholics.” Protestant ministers find heads of discourse always ready in anti-Popery admonitions. We personally know many excellent men among them who conscientiously strive to do their duty as they understand it, and are above such wrong; but there are large numbers of Poundtexts and Brandlighters, obscure in position, of uncertain education and wretchedly paid, who make of “Popery” a stalking-horse, and seek to fill their empty pews and depleted pockets with the fruits of anti-Popery excitement. Added to such editors and such preachers as we describe, there is a small army of literary and theological stragglers, 722 bummers, and disgraced deserters hovering on the rear of these regular forces, always in the field with lectures, pamphlets, keys to Popery, horrible disclosures, and all the pestilent riff-raff of anti-Catholic literature. One would think the Protestant army of observation on such a footing sufficiently well-organized, active, and effective to guard the walls of the American Zion and sound a timely alarm.

But the publishing firm of Messrs. Harper & Brothers is not of that opinion, and they appear to have discovered that it is their duty to take under their special protection and keeping the public schools, the Bible, the Protestant religion, and the liberties of America;--thus demonstrating the wretched incapacity and utter failure of our civil authorities, our religious press, and the Protestant ministry to do their plainest duty. The gentlemen in question publish, here in New York, _Harper’s Monthly Magazine_, and a hebdomadal called _Harper’s Weekly: A Journal of Civilization_. These periodicals contain a variety of light literature, papers on current topics, poetry, anecdotes, and highly-flavored anti-Popery articles. Besides these last, the _Weekly_ generally has one or more caricatures calculated to disseminate the worst falsehoods, and to excite hatred towards Catholics and contempt for their religion.

For years past, a constantly recurring subject of its most offensive form of caricature has been the person of the venerable Pontiff Pius IX. It is difficult to conceive how any man of even ordinary instincts of propriety--we care not what his religious prejudices might be--could have for this revered personage any feeling but one of profound respect. An aged bishop, fourscore years of age, whose purity of character is without speck or stain, whose long life has been one of labor and usefulness, piety and virtue, beginning his sacerdotal career as a missionary in a foreign land, then serving faithfully as the director of charitable institutions and hospitals, whose first acts of power were those of benevolence and universal amnesty, toward whom, on the part of the tens of thousands of Protestants who have seen and spoken with him, no sentiments but those of profound admiration and veneration are ever expressed--such a character as this is selected by the _Journal of Civilization_ as the favorite butt of its indecent ribaldry.

We here leave entirely out of sight all consideration of the question of outrage upon the religious sensibilities of millions of Catholics in the United States, and place the judgment of the offence upon the broad ground of civilized propriety. The men who perpetrate this outrage seek to justify themselves on the plea that it is as king or temporal sovereign of Rome they caricature him. Their offence is aggravated by so flimsy and paltry a pretext. The merits of the disputes among the monarchs of Europe do not concern us here in America to that extent, and if they did, as a question of monarchical right and precedence of seniority, the kings and emperors of Europe are all new-comers and upstarts by the side of the Roman Pontiff.

While these caricatures are essentially addressed to a sentiment of religious bigotry, their authors seek, by the false association of some political idea, not only to excuse them on that ground, but to reinforce that bigotry with all the strength of political hatred. Take, for instance, the filthy crocodile picture. There is an appeal whose falsity is only exceeded by its beastliness. Then the “Roman 723 Catholic mission from England to the heathens of America” (_Weekly_, Dec. 30, 1871), in which the pure Christian, the devoted philanthropist, the perfect gentleman--Most Rev. Archbishop Manning--is portrayed with iron shackles in his hand, which he holds concealed behind him, striving to entice the negroes to come to him; to whom a negro replies (so naturally!): “No, thank you. We have just been emancipated, and, if England is responsible for slavery in the United States, I don’t care to jump from the English frying-pan into the English fire.”

The favorite device of the _Weekly_ gentlemen is to represent the perpetrators of offences against law and order, and the participators in municipal robbery and corruption, as Catholics, and, in their persons, to hold the Catholic Church responsible for such offences. It is not necessary to dwell on the absurdity of such a charge, nor on the hardship and injustice of such a responsibility.

There are thousands of men in this city, supposed to be Catholics--nay, who, if asked the question, will say that they are--who have not been inside of a Catholic Church nor spoken to a priest for long years, men whose lives are scandalous in their irregularities and crimes. Such as these bring disgrace upon the church whose precepts they trample under foot. If arrested for violation of the laws of the land, we sincerely trust they may have legally meted out to them the fullest measure of punishment. The properly constituted authorities will have our thanks for so doing. The _Weekly_ writers are ignorant of much that touches Catholic faith and practice, but they are not ignorant of the fact that the custom among Protestant churches of considering as members those only who make avowed profession, and live up to the requirements of strict church membership, does not prevail in the Catholic Church. The difference with us is between _practical_ Catholics and those who, neglecting their religious duties, live in sin; and we state with profound regret that the number of this latter class is very much larger than any one who loves his church cares to see.

But it is all the same thing to the Harper scribes, and the indifferent Catholic, the bad Catholic, the Catholic who is a scandal to his church, is a “good enough Morgan” for our _Weekly_, which constantly represents him as an active and devout member of the church, in direct communication with the Holy See. How if a similar rule were to be applied generally, and we should in every case of moral dereliction seek out the sect with which the sinner has some real or supposed affiliation, and charge the crime upon the religious teachings of that sect?