BT 620 . P73 1867 /ri g>r]rr^ 0soa, r\ CPOGZ.vvqrr, tig robg a/uvag .— Lequien. Salve sis Dei mater, quae in saecula adoranda es.— Joannes Damascenes, Horn, in annuntiationem b. M. V., about the middle. ( 7 ) Petres Damiani, Sermo 1 . and Sermo iii. in nativitate b. Virginis Marice. In the edition of Cajetan they are the sermons No. xliy. and xlvi. (s) Et data est tibi omnis potestas in ccelo et in terra— nil tibi impossibile, cui possibile est desperatos in spem beatitudinis relevare. Quomodo enim ilia potestas tua? potentiae poterit obviare, quae de carne tua carnis suscepit originem ? Accedis enim ante illud aureum liumanse recon- cihationis altare, non solum rogans sed imperans, domina non ancilla.— Petres Damiani, Sermo 1 . in nativitate b. Virg. Marice , at the end. (9) ” AXXovg yap rrdXiv dtppaAovrag e/g rr,v vtt'sp rr t g aurr t g ayiag dsirrapQsvov vKofaffiv, avrs 0soD ravrr,v tfaPS/Gayziv sffvov- dazorag, zat Gnovda^ovrug, zai h sp(3povrr t ff:i nvi xa/ (pgzvo- MAR Y. 13 (SXafSslq, pspo/x'svovg. AtriyoZvrcu ydg dig ring yvvotTzsg sxsTffs sv rr, ’ Aoot(3icc d~'o ruv gosguv rijg Qgdxrjg, roZro ys rb xsvo- puivrgia svrjvdyaaiv, dig sig ovogvcc rr,g dsitfagflsvou xoXXvpdcc nvd smrsXsTv, xai Guvayscdat srri ravr'o , za i sic ovofia rr^g dyiag rraodivov vYsg rb gsrcov n gtsipuGiXzi ddsgirp zmi fiXuGpygjjw s~iyjsips7v rrpdygarg zmi sig bvogoa uZAg isgougys/v did yvvaizuiv. —Epiphanius, Opera , ed. Petavius, Colonise 1682, fol. i. 1054, 1055. (10) Ting yap yvvccTzsg xoug/xov rim zoGfiovGui, rjroi dippov rsrpocyaivov’ cigtXuiGugui kn avrbv odbvTjv, sv ri'Ysou rtvi pavspa roZ sroug, sv 7j/j/sPocig r/Giv uptov rrponO'saGi , zai avccp'spovGiv sig ovoya rz\g M ao'iag. Ai rruGai os d~b rod c/.ptgv gnraXay{3d- vovgiv. — Epiphanius, Opera , ed. Petavius, Colonise, i. 1058. (11) Nullius nativitas celebratur in mundo nisi Christi et ejus atque b. Joannis. Sic et b. virgo Maria, nisi in utero matris sanctificata esset, minime nativitas ejus co- lenda esset. Nunc autem quia ex auctoritate totius ec- clesice veneratur, constat earn ab omni originali peccato immunem fuisse.— Paschasius Radbertus, De partu Yiv- ginis , in D'Acliery, Spicilegium , ed. De la Barre, Parisiis 1723, fol. i. 46. CHAPTER II. THE FESTIVAL OF THE CONCEPTION. N the borders of Dauphiny, where the Saone pours her muddy waters into the pure green Rhone, lies Lyons, the second city of France. In the year 1139 it was neither so large nor so rich as now, and was not even under French rule ; but it was always an important place in Arelat, and was renowned in ecclesiastical history. On its epis¬ copal throne the martyr Pothonius and St. Irenasus had sat, and subsequently also, Agobard, the great opponent of picture-worship in the time of the Car- lovingians. Its canons were the elite of the Bur¬ gundian nobility, and its archbishops claimed a higher rank than those of Sens and Rouen. In May of the year of which we speak, the Archbishop Peter died at a distance from his home. 1 The Chapter of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist, the proudest in the kingdom, did not particularly hurry itself with the new election. Besides, most of its constituents were quite content with the opportunity of exchanging for a time the 1 Poullin de Lumina, Histoire de Veglise de Lyon , Lyon 1770, 4 to, s. 209. FESTIVAL OF THE CONCEPTION. 15 monarchical form of church government for the aristo¬ cratic ; so it employed a great part of the vacancy in order to let a new festival after its own heart, step quietly into life. 1 The birth of the holy Virgin had been celebrated with great zeal in the Lyonnais ever since the days of Louis the Good. The increasing ardour of Mariolatry in which, at that time, one church vied with another, 2 had suggested to a noble canon the idea of consecrating as a festival the anniversary of the conception of the Virgin ( 1 ). For was not the concep¬ tion the indispensable forerunner of her birth % And if the dav of her birth was annually celebrated, why not also the anniversary of her conception ? ( 2 ). Be¬ sides, was it not as good as settled, that Mary herself demanded such new honour? Truly it was to no Lvonese that she had vouchsafed this revelation, but */ * the writings which taught it were in everybody's hand ( 3 ). Now, in order to find the day for the new festival of the conception, the canons calculated back¬ wards nine months from the 8th of September, the birthday of Mary, and fixed upon the 8th of Decem¬ ber as the day when this event took place, taking for granted of course the correctness of the first date. Accordingly, on the 8th December 1139, the noble canon celebrated for the first time, in the Church of St. John the Baptist, on the Saone, the conception of Mary—not the immaculate conception, but simply the conception of Mary ( 4 ). This innovation came by the 1 Histoire cle Veglise Galliccine , Paris 1739, 4to, ix. 77. Hildeberti Turonensis, Opera , Paris 1708, fol. 537, 1015. 16 THE FESTIVAL OF same byepath, in following which the arbitrary and undisciplined devotion of the church of the middle ages departed ever more and more widely from the guidance of the word of God. Thus it is that each novelty, unlikely as it may have appeared, lias become a root of bitterness, which has overrun, with its luxu¬ riant shoots, and partly choked, the good seed of the kingdom of God. But God would not leave His church to fall into these snares without a warning. For this purpose, immediately after the appointment of the said festival, God moved the man who should be witness against it—a man whose voice at that time prevailed more than that of the Pope himself,—Ber¬ nard, Abbot of Clairvaux. Scarcely had the Lyonese story become generally known in France, when the last-named father of the church rose up, and wrote to the canons of St. John an energetic letter, wherein he censures their unbridled devotion, and warns them in the name of their fore¬ fathers. 1 He writes: AVe wonder with reason that any of you have deemed the time suitable for depart¬ ing from the discretion taught by your elders; yet you bring in a new festival which is unknown in the ritual of the church, and which lacks the reasonable founda¬ tion of support in tradition. Are we then more learned or more pious than our fathers ? But you say, Shall not the mother of our Lord be honoured ? Certainly; yet it needs judgment to honour a queen. The queenly Virgin needs no false honour ; she has truly sufficient 1 Bernardi Opera , ed. Mabillon, Paris 1719, fol. i. 169-172. THE CONCEPTION. i7 title to lion our and dignity. What I have specially received from the church, that I hold with trustful heart and teach to others; what I have not so received, I regard in others only with great apprehension. Thus I have learnt from the church to celebrate with espe¬ cial devotion the day on which the Virgin, released from this evil life, rose to the perfect joy of heaven. Even I heartily hold the birth of Mary to be holy, and worthy of a festival within the pale, and through the interposition, of the church; for I believe firmly, with the church, that she was sanctified when in the womb of her mother, so that she came to light sinless. What shall we do more ? Celebrate the conception which preceded the birth already celebrated, because, if it had not been for the former, that which we do honour would not have taken place? Why, if desired, we might upon the same grounds appoint' special festivals to the honour of both the parents of Mary; and any one who wished it could demand them in like manner for their grand-parents and great-grand-parents; and so on without end—festivals without number. At home one might dare to announce so many jubilees, but not here in foreign parts. Such a fill of jubilees may suit citizens, but not banished ones. But a document is set forth which, it is said, has been revealed from above. Just as if it is not easy to produce one in which the Virgin shall appear to say of herself and her parents, in accordance with the command of God, u Honour thy father and thy mother.’’ St. Bernard now shows, further, what dangerous errors lie concealed B 18 THE FESTIVAL OF under the first, shoots of this newly-invented festival. A solemn feast, says he, always involves the idea that the thing celebrated is holy. Is such the case with the conception of the Virgin % He who maintains that, must yield to the belief that Mary had been sanctified before she had existed. Or can a new holiness have forced itself into the midst of the union of Joachim and Anna? But those who are not satisfied with this explanation will be obliged to admit that Mary, like the God-man, was conceived of the Holy Ghost Him¬ self, without the co-operation of a man. All that is manifestly false. Jesus Christ alone had the prero¬ gative of immaculate conception ; every other, even the Virgin Mary herself, must confess, a Lo, I am shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” So then the holy Virgin would willingly dispense with such false honours. An innovation, such as this festival, cannot possibly be pleasing to her; indeed, every innovation is the mother of confusion, the sister of superstition, and the daughter of levity (e). Be¬ sides, if one has formed the design of establishing such a festival, he should first of all take the opinion of the / x Papal Chair upon the subject. The mode of procedure which you, the canons of St. John, have considered it suitable to adopt in this matter, is inconsiderate and foolish.’ One would have thought that such a letter, from the hand of a man whose word aroused Europe to the second Crusade, would have sufficed to effectually ex¬ tinguish the freshly-kindled fire of the new festival. THE CONCEPTION. l 9 And yet that was by no means the result. On the %J v contrary, one cloister after another, though they might be hesitating and shy, imitated the fashion of the Lyonese, and rejoiced in being able to do more honour to its goddess than others. The ground of this remarkable phenomenon lay in this, that the discovery of the noble canon harmonized with the ecclesiastical tendency of the time. Since the days of Gregory the Great, the Western Church, in its public worship, had forsaken the rock of the word of God, and followed the inspiration of its own passions. In particular, it had glorified the holy Virgin more and more, had ordered festival after festival in her honour, and had, lastly, got accustomed to admit no bounds to her praise. St. Bernard himself, though his meek yet mighty spirit stood in such close relation to the spirit of the apostles, was in a measure caught by this current of opinion. On that account, even he was not in a position to smite the indiscretion of his canon with the sword of the word of God. His arguments, in spite of the great truths which they contained, made, therefore, no clear and lively impression. All that he says amounted in principle to this, that the church was not authorized to establish a new festival for Mary,—namely, for the sake of the unheard-of doctrine, which, how¬ ever, she concealed in her bosom. Practically he left it, if not with full purpose, but still with tlfe possibility open, that the church might sanction such a novelty, as in fact it did in the case of the festival of the birth of Mary, which it had previously sanctioned 20 THE FESTIVAL OF upon principles that he recognised as well established. What wonder, then, that soon after the death of the Abbot of Clairvaux, an English abbot, Nicholas of St. Albans, started up and opposed these arguments with the remark, ‘ Have not the moderns the same spirit as the ancients? If the birth of the Virgin were not celebrated by the church from the commencement, but only by degrees as piety increased; why then should our zeal be restrained from adding to the festival of the birth of Mary, the festival of her conception also ?' ( 7 .) It was on the basis of such considerations that the Abbot of St. Albans had, in the year 1146, ordered in his own cloister the celebration of the new festival. 1 The example of this abbot was followed by many others in England, to such an extent that the Synod of Oxford, in 1222, found it desirable to insert in their list of the festivals of the church, the remark, that that of the conception of Mary was not reckoned amongst those which are commanded (s). It was otherwise in France. There the remembrance of St. Bernard, and the spirit of criticism which sprang forth from the University of Paris, maintained in life for some time the opposition against the opinion of the Lyonese. The Abbot of St. Josse, afterwards Bishop of Chartres, 2 supported that view; and John Beleth, a teacher of theology in Paris about 1162, did so still more decidedly. He declares, ‘ There are only five true 1 Annales ordinis S. Benedicti , auct. Mabillon et Martene, Paris 1739, fol. vi. 412. 2 Alva, 2125-2127. 21 THE CONCEPTION. and authentic festivals in honour of Mary. The first is that of her birth, for the festival of the conception » has been celebrated by a few here and there, and still continues to be, although it is not authentic, and can¬ not be recognised; on the contrary, it should be stopped, for. she was conceived in sin' ( 9 ). About ten years later, Peter of Troyes, the Chancellor of Notre Dame at Paris, announces himself as quite in accord with this ( 10 ). At the same time, Maurice de Sulli, the successor of Peter the Lombard to the bishopric of Paris, effectually prohibited the new festival with all the authority of his office. 1 This same Maurice de Sulli, in order to attest his firm conviction in the resur¬ rection of the body, as opposed to the rationalists of his time, copied the passage in Job xix. 25-27 upon a piece of parchment, and lies buried with this inscription upon his breast. 2 About 1220, William de Seignelai also followed in the steps of Bernard and Sulli. 3 Though the festival of the conception made great progress during the thirteenth century, propped up as it was by pretended revelations from Mary to a shipwrecked abbot; the Provencal William Durand, who had been sent on embassies to three popes, and was Bishop of Mende in the Cevennes, opposed it in the year 1286 with the decisions of the fathers ( 11 ). They were not the worst people who planted the fore 1 Torquemada, 117, B. 2 Crevier, Histoire de VUniversite de Paris , Paris 1761, 8vo, i. 216. 3 Torquemada, 118, B. 't o THE FESTIVAL OF foot in the way of the new festival: men elevated by piety, learning, and ecclesiastical offices, above any shadow of suspicion of evil intentions against the church. Yet the current against which they must swim was too strong for them. The innovation spreads from cloister to cloister; and the year 1300 witnesses already two-thirds of the clergy of England, and one- third of that of France, amongst its adherents. But even those who did homage most zealously were far from celebrating the 8th of December as the anniver¬ sary of the immaculate conception. They celebrated rather, as the canons of Lyons formerly did, the conception of Mary simply; for they said : As we celebrate the anniversaries of the death of martyrs, not because they are dead, hut because on these occasions they had gone to their eternal nuptials; so we cele¬ brate the festival of the conception, not because Mary was conceived on this day, for she was conceived in sin, but because it is the mother of God who -was then conceived ( 12 ). Certainly the question as to the new anniversary rested very closely upon the circumstances connected with the event. About 1150, Peter the Lom¬ bard, the patriarch of the schoolmen, taught plainly, in accordance with the ancients, that the Holy Ghost first purified Mary from all sin when He overshadowed her ( 13 ) ; and a few years later, Bishop Arnolph of Lisieux in Normandy, the nuncio of the Pope to Eng¬ land, preached exactly the same. 1 In the middle of the thirteenth century, Cardinal Bonaventura began, on 1 D'Achery, Spicilegium , Paris 1723, fol. iii. 507. THE CONCEPTION. tlie occasion of the festival, to argue with himself upon the nature of the conception; and whilst he agreed with the fathers in the opinion that Mary was conceived in sin, he let slip the remark, in his zeal for the opposi¬ tion, that though God had, as a matter of fact, not pre¬ served the holy Virgin in her conception from original sin, He had actually the power to do so. 1 St. Thomas, his friend and fellow-student, had also busied himself in a similar manner with the subject under discussion. The position which he took up has, however, become so important in its results, that we must enter into closer acquaintance with it. Thomas, Count of Aquinas, was born in 1224, at the Castle of Aquino, in the kingdom of Naples. When he was seventeen years old, he became a Dominican. His mother sought every conceivable means of winning him back again, but he remained firm : if she urged him, he repulsed her ; if she shut him in, he escaped by the window. At first he studied at home, then in Paris, and lastly at the feet of Albert the Great in Cologne. About 1248 he began to teach in Paris, at first privately, and adopted for his readings, as was the custom of those days, the writings of the Lombard. In the year 1256 he became, with his friend Bonaven- j tura, a doctor of theology; and then commenced a wandering life. He taught in Bologna, Rome, Pisa, and Naples, and was sent by the Pope to the second Council of Lyons ; but he died upon the journey. On his death-bed, before partaking of the 1 Bonaventura, Sent. iii. Dist. 3, Pars i. Art. 1, Qusest. 2, No. 6. 24 THE FESTIVAL OF holy sacrament, he begged with tears that his Saviour would graciously forgive him wherever he had not rightly taught God’s most holy secrets. The' Summa , the masterwork of this learned and energetic man, became the foundation of the theology of the next 200 years. In this work, just as the other scholastics did, he treated the Scriptures, as well as tradition and the custom of the church, only as the substratum upon which to erect the edifice of his theological specula¬ tions ; but, upon the ground of his want of experience, he guarded so carefully the treasure contained in the doctrine of salvation through the name of Jesus only, that it was said of him that the spirit of St. Augustine had passed over to him. His influence over the church was so great, that it imparted special point and autho¬ rity to his order for all time. There has scarcely been a Dominican since the thirteenth century who has not i/ held it as a religious duty to follow the footsteps of the English master, as he was called, and to swear by his words. Certainly the position which so distinguished a man took, upon the question of the conception of the holy Virgin, must at least influence its immediate future. Thomas saw that no inconsiderable number of cloisters and churches celebrated the new festival. Now, it was one of his favourite maxims, that every ecclesiastical solemnity acknowledges the sanctity of its object. The immaculate conception would, upon this basis, naturally flow out of the very existence of this festival of the 8th.December ( 14 ). That he did not draw this inference is remarkable, and it is for us THE CONCEPTION, 2s J to inquire into his reasons. There are two considera¬ tions which recur more frequently than others when he is considering this question, and in which he has sacrificed the necessary consequence of his specula¬ tion. The first he has learnt from Augustine : ‘ The intercourse of man and woman, which since the fall of Adam cannot take place without lust, transmits the original sin of the parent to the child. But the holy Virgin, as well as all others, was born of such inter¬ course. She was therefore conceived in original sin' ( 15 ). The other consideration is forced upon him by a passage of Scripture. Does not 1 Tim. iv. 10 speak of God the Son as c the Saviour of all menf Then He must be the Saviour of Mary also. But if hlarv were not conceived in original sin, she had no need of remission through Christ ( 16 ), Thus the mind of Augustine was stronger than the philosophic sequence in that of the Count of Aquinas ; and lie permitted his system to fall into the mire, rather than that he should tread too near to the truth which his conscience taught him. His whole order followed him with earnestness and with military precision : for 600 years have the Dominicans guarded the teachings of them saint as a precious inheritance, and defended them against a world in arms. The rest of the church was, for a time at least, preserved by the enlighten¬ ment of Thomas from the error which lay concealed t, in the adoration of the conception. Even had the first point of resistance been well founded, one person standing alone could not, for a continuance, have 26 THE FESTIVAL OF stopped the broad stream in which the ecclesiastical life of the middle ages, severed from the word of God, discharged itself into the abyss. Such were the obscure beginnings of the modern Romish doctrine of the immaculate conception. The canon of Lyons at first simply celebrated the concep¬ tion of Mary. The festival made way in consequence of the support given to it by the spirit of the age, in spite of the most manifold opposition ; and in the course of 160 years it was generally approved in Eng¬ land, and here and there also in France. It did not enter into the mind of any one to assert that the conception was immaculate ( 17 ) ; the masters of eccle¬ siastical learning asserted, on the contrary, in respect of this festival, that the blessed Virgin was conceived in sin, just as David and all other men. But the enemy of our race makes the church fall suddenly from the service of its own adopting into an error of its own contriving. Our common enemy was equally successful with the festival of the birth of Mary. For while the old order of divine worship contained not so much as a syllable relative to a holy or imma¬ culate birth, 1 it had already arrived at such a point, that St. Bernard declared in 1140, that he held, in accordance with the church, that the birth of the holy Virgin was sinless. The same history repeats itself in respect to the festival of the conception. One man alone erred, and the error did not stand still. 1 Gerbert, Monumenta veteris liturgise Alemannicee , S. Blasii 1777, 4to, i. 173, 174. THE CONCEPTION . NOTE S—C HAPTEE II. (1) { At honoranda yalde est mater Domini.’ First argu¬ ment of the canon in St. Bernard’s Epistles , 174.— Bernardi, Opera , ed. Mabillon, Paris 1719, fol. i. 169-172. (2) ‘ Ut honoretur et conceptus, qui honorandum prseivit partum. Quoniam, si ille non praecessisset, nec iste esset, qui honoratur.’ Second argument of the canon in St. Bernard’s Epistles , 174. ( 3 ) Profertur scriptum superna?, ut ajunt, revelationis, etc.— St. Bernard’s Epistles , 174. (■t) That it is so, follows from the 174th Epistle of St. Bernard. 'Whoever doubts it, we refer to the able exposi¬ tion in Etudes sur le nouveau clogme de Vimmaculee conception par les auteurs des essais sur la reforme Catholique , Paris 1857, 8yo 7 ss. 150-155, 163—171, 180. ( 5 ) Aliramur satis, quid visum fuerit hoc tempore quibus- dam vestrum voluisse mutare colorem optimum (sc. maturi- tatis consiliorum antique), novam inducendo celebritatem, quam ritus ecclesias nescit, non probat ratio, non commendat antiqua traditio. Numquid patribus doctiores aut devo- tiores sumus ? ... At honoranda valde est, inquis, mater Domini. Bene admones, sed honor reginae judicium diligit. A irgo regia falso non eget honore, veris cumulata honorum titulis, infulis dignitatum. . . . Ego vero, quod ab ilia (sc. ecclesia) accepi, securus et teneo et traclo, quod non, scrupulosius, fateor, admiserim. Accepi sane ab ecclesia ilium diem cum summa veneratione recolendum, quo ipsa 28 THE FESTIVAL OF virgo, assumta de saeculo nequam, coelis quoque intulit cele- berrimorum festa gaudiorum. Sed et ortum virginis didici nihilominus in ecclesia et ab ecclesia indnbitanter liabere festivum atque sanctum, firmissime cum ecclesia sentiens, in utero earn accepisse, ut sancta prodiret. . . . Quid adliuc addendum his putamus honoribus ? Ut honor- etur, inquiunt, et conceptus, qui honorandum praeivit par- turn ; quoniam, si ille non praecessisset, nec iste esset, qui honoratur. Quid? Si alius propter eandem causam etiam utrique parenti ejus festos honores asserat deferendos ? Sed et de avis et proavis id ipsum posset pro simili causa quilibet flagitare; et sic tenderetur in infinitum, et festorum non esset numerus. Patriae est non exilii frequentia ha?c gau- diorum, et numerositas festivitatum cives decet non exules. Sed profertur scriptum supernae, ut ajunt, revelationis. Quasi et quivis non queat scriptum aeque producere, in quo virgo videatur id ipsum mandare et de parentibus suis, juxta Domini mandatum dicentis : Honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam.— Bernard, a. a. Opera. (6) Praesumpta novitas mater temeritatis, soror supersti- tionis, filia levitatis. —Bernard, a.a. Opera. ( 7 ) Nonne eodem spiritu potantur moderni quo et antiqui? Non erat ab initio nativitas virginis in ecclesia solemnis, sed crescente fidelium devotione addita est praeclaris ecclesiae solemnitatibus. Quare igitur non similiter et diem concep- tionis obtineat sedulitas Christianae devotionis ? — Alva, Radii Solis , Lovanii 1666, fol. 2126. (8) Statuimus quod festa subscripta sub omni veneratione serventur . . . omnia festa beatae Mari® praster festum conceptionis, cujus celebrationi non imponitur necessitas.— Schmid, Prolusiones Mariance , Helmstadii 1714, 4to, vi. 4, 5. THE CONCEPTION. 29 ( 9 ) Not emus vero liic, quinque esse festa Marias virginis authentica ac comprobata, quorum primum est nativitas. Festum enim conceptionis aliqui interdum celebrarunt et adhuc fortassis celebrant, sed authenticum atque approba- tum non est: imo enimvero prohibendum potius esse videtur. In peccato namque concepta fuit.— Joannes Belethus, Rationale Divinorum officiommi , ed. Laurimanus, Lugduni 1605, 8vo (along with Durandus), s. 560. (10) Fuit ergo base virgo cum culpa et poena concepta, et ideo ejus conceptio non est celebranda.— Serin, cle nativ. b. virginis , in Jo. cle Turrecremata, Tractatus de veritate con¬ ceptionis b. virginis , Bom 1547, 4to, s. 117, A. This book of Torquemada, from, which I have made this and several other subsequent extracts of importance, is very rare. For the copy which I have used I have to thank his Excellency the Under-Secretary of State von Thile, who procured it for me out of the Mazarine Library through the influence of the Boyal Prussian Embassy at Paris. In the library catalogue it is numbered 12144.' (11) Quidam etiam faciunt quintum festum, scilicet de conceptione Marias . . . non est approbanclum, quum concepta fuerit in peccato.—G uil. Durandees, Rationale divinorum officiorum , vii. 7, 4. Lugduni 1605, 8vo. (12) Dicentes, quod, sicut celebratur de morte sanctorum, non propter mortem, sed quia tunc recepti sunt nuptiis aeternis, similiter potest celebrari festum de conceptione, non quia sit concepta, quia in peccato est concepta—sed quia mater Domini est concepta.— Durandus, vii. 7, 4. (is) Mariam totam Spiritus sanctus in earn veniens a 30 FESTIVAL OF THE CONCEPTION. peccato prosus nmndavit.— Petrus Lombardus, Sententice , Lib. iii. Dist. 3, Qugest. 1. (14) Non celebratur festnm nisi de aliquo sancto, sed quidam celebrant festnm conceptionis b. virginis. Ergo videtur, quod in ipsa sua conceptione fuerit sancta, et ita, quod ante animationem fuerit sanctificata.— Thomas, Summa , iii. 17, 2. ( 15 ) Comixtio sexus, quas sine libidine esse non potest, post peccatum primi parentis transmittit peccatum originale in prolem. Sic autem ab Adam processit b. virgo, quia nata fuit per commixtionem sexuum, sicut et ceteri. Et ideo concepta fuit in originali peccato. —r Thomas, Com¬ pendium theologio p, c. 224; Quodlibet vi. art. 7. (16) Si cum peccato originali concepta non fuisset, non indigeret per Christum redimi. Et sic non esset Christus universalis liominum redemtor. Est ergo tenendum, quod cum peccato originali concepta fuit.— Thomas, Compendium theologice , c. 224. (17) Bonaventura, Sent. iii. Dist. 3, Pars i. Art. 1, QuEest. 2 : Nullus invenitur dixisse de his, quos audivimus auribus nostris, virginem Mariam a peccato originali fuisse immunem. CHAPTER IIL JOHN DUNS. * UNS SCOTUS* tlie Franciscan, one of the most gifted of the scholastics, maintained from the Scriptures, in support of the fes¬ tival of the conception of Mary, that she was conceived without sin. His real name was neither Scotus nor Duns, hut John. He was born of well-to-do parents, at Dunston, in Northumberland, in the year 1265, and studied at Merton College, Oxford, which was founded just at that time. There he had for a teacher William de Warra, a zealous supporter of the festival of the 8th of December. It was not the Minorites’ garb which had bound the young student to this man, but much rather his quick understanding. He studied with him, according to the custom of that time, the SententicE of Peter the Lombard, and advanced so rapidly, that even while yet a youth, under the pro¬ tection of his master, he began to read upon the same subjects. But his aspiring will did not let him remain lono; at Oxford : it drove him forth to Paris, the only stage upon which at that time it was possible to obtain a European reputation. He remained seven years in JOHN D UNS. Paris, ever speculating and teaching, and became at last so absorbed in his speculations, that he forgot all about dress. He was often seen standing alone in the Rue des Cordeliers, or under the walls of St. Germain des Pres, completely rapt in thought, with bare feet and torn cowl, his eyes fixed upon the ground. The people used to say that he saw visions. When he read, the lecture-liall was filled to the very doors, more than was the case with Brother Reginald, his provincial and elder colleague. On that account Brother Reginald O O became ill disposed towards him, and excited the Gene¬ ral of the order to transfer John Duns to Cologne. It was said that he was wanted there, in order to con-, tend against the Regards. 1 The monk obeyed silently ; and immediately after the receipt of his instructions, he took his journey towards Cologne, though with a heavy heart. He died only a few weeks after his arrival there. So simple had the life-course of this man been, yet so important as a link in the chain of theologians, that we generally distinguish him with the name of a scholastic. Up to the middle of the eleventh century, the procedure of ecclesiastical theology was very simple. The learned studied the dogmas con¬ tained in the Scriptures and in the fathers, with few means of help, and restricted themselves to repeating and putting together what they found. Thus the writings of Bede, Hrabanus, and others, were but compilations drawn from the fathers. It was only 1 Baleens, Historia universitatis Parisiensis , Paris 1665, ff. iv. 970. JOHN DUNS. towards the middle of the eleventh century that the impulse after knowledge entered the region of eccle- siastical theology; and that the princes of the church, such as St. Anselm of Canterbury, troubled themselves with taking up a distinct doctrine from a speculative point of view, and placing it before their own eyes, and those of others, in its true light. Even in the twelfth century, Hugo of St. Victor, 1 and afterwards Peter the Lombard, sought to mass together the learning in¬ herited from their predecessors, and, during such pro¬ cess, to accommodate, by philosophical subtleties, the contradictions which here and there occurred. But when, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the writings of Aristotle, and of the Arabian Aristotelians, became known to Christian Europe, the so-called scholastics attained the height of their renown. In fact, the dialectics of Aristotle exercised at that time a greater spell than those of Hegel do in our days. It was now believed that the key had been found which was to unlock all knowledge; speculation was at the zenith of its popularity; and systems began to be built up, which surpass that of Richard Rothe not only in theological worth, but even in subtletv, and in the force of their deductions. One of the most celebrated of these systems of speculative theology is the Summa of Thomas. The Dominican regarded the church customs, tradition, and even the Holy Scripture also, as the substratum upon which to rear the bold vault¬ ings of his dome of thought. The words of the 1 Not Itildebert of Lavardin. C 34 JOHN D UNS. apostle, c we know in part/ appeared to be entirely forgotten. They wished something complete in itself ; and when the existing sources of knowledge did not flow freely, the ever fresh spring of speculation bubbled up with its helpful supplies. The most intricate ques¬ tions found explanation; indeed, they rejoiced to con¬ trive new questions, the more abstruse the better, in order to show, in answering them, the all-powerfulness and all-sufficiency of the philosophical system. If any passage out of the Bible, or of the fathers, came in the way of their reasoning, and was strong enough to rend the web they were spinning, they practised the refined art of making the truth ridiculous, by means of frivolous distinctions, and even did not hesitate for a moment to turn a disagreeable text, by this ingenious process, into its direct opposite. Apparently, they made philosophy the handmaid of theology; but, in fact, they so thoroughly corrupted it by this mis-alli- ance, that after 300 years the fundamental principles by which it had to be reformed could scarcely be re¬ cognised. This is true of Scotus in a still higher degree than of Thomas; for the spirit of the Fran¬ ciscan was more independent and daring than that of his predecessor. He sacrificed the interests of the results for those of the method of his philosophy. He was not afraid to apply the knife of his criticism to the deductions of Henry of Ghent and of Thomas, of Boger Bacon and Bonaventura, of St. Anselm and St. Augustine. He fought against the teaching of St. Anselm, as to satisfaction for sin by means of a sub- JOHN D UNS. 35 i stit Lite, as well as tlie Augustinian doctrine of original sin, in order to establish in tlieir place an interpreta¬ tion which brought back every difficulty, even the universe itself, upon the absolute free-will of God and man. Xot content with this, he delighted in drawing new and unheard-of conclusions from the fundamental principles which he laid down; indeed, the more un¬ heard-of the better, if only they flowed methodically out of his axioms. And why look back anxiously after the footprints of his predecessors ? Was he not man enough to tread new paths ? This trait of his charac¬ ter comes out prominently in his doctrine of the passive conception of the holy Virgin. When he studied at Oxford, the celebration of the 8th December was the common custom of the church. On the one side, his monkish piety found satisfaction in it; on the other, however, his propensity to indulge in intricate investigations urged him to examine for himself into the foundation of the festival. He was struck with the inconsequence of the form in which the old scholastics had put the proposition—That what the church cele¬ brates as to the birth of Mary is holy, but not as to her conception. He did not recognise the grounds which had led St. Thomas to this inconsequence; and the authority of the English teachers, and of the elders, pro¬ voked him to take up the opposition. The more he now considered the matter, the more obvious it appeared to him, that the blessed Virgin was not only born, but also conceived, without sin. In fact, not only did a true philosophical sequence appear to him to demand 36 JOHN DUNS. the acceptance of the latter, but even the fundamental ideas of his own system readily furnished their quota of support. He regarded the pure godly will as the source of everything connected with salvation, not as O / it reveals itself in the Holy Scriptures, but as it be¬ comes known by careful and earnest reflection. Why might not God bestow upon His own mother a privi¬ lege that added to her honour, and that in a prominent degree % Did not the whole catholic church acknow- ledge that she was sanctified when still in the womb ? Then it only remained to show that nothing stood in the way of the immaculate conception on the ground of impossibility,—that it comprehended within itself no contradiction. And this was certainlv by no means difficult. John Duns taught, in accordance with the church of his time, that the soul was not implanted simultaneously with the body through procreation, but that each formed a distinct creation at the hand of God. What, then, hindered him from assuming that the Lord of spirits had created the soul of Mary without sin ?—original sin ? No doubt; but Scotus knew quite well that original sin was not a positive thing, but only the absence of original righteousness. And just as God had created the soul of Adam fur¬ nished with this original righteousness, so could He equally well have endowed the soul of the Virgin with so much grace from the very first moment of its exist¬ ence, that she should have been equally pure as he. But what of Augustine, and Leo, and Bernard, and, above all, the Scriptures ? Do they not all testify JOHN D UNS. 37 against it as with one voice ? Certainly; but that only stimulated our Franciscan the more, instead of frightening him. For what purpose had he studied dialectics, if not to reconcile opposing texts to his own system ? One slight alteration, one inconsiderable addition, sufficed to make all the fathers, and the apostles also, express the very opposite of that which they had in view. The idea of the immaculate con¬ ception had so fixed itself in the subtle mind of Scotus, that when he issued his Oxford Commentary upon the Sentences , he ventured to place it before the savans of Europe as a part of his system. 1 The question which he puts forward for discussion is, ‘ Whether the blessed Virgin was conceived in sin ? ’ He places before his readers the general inclination to deny it, and then advances quickly to lay siege against the reasons which urged St. Thomas and most of his con- temporaries to teach what was contrary to their incli¬ nations. The first consideration of the Count of Aquinas had been : If Mary were conceived without original sin, she would not have stood in need of redemption through Christ.. Scotus replies : On the one hand, to be preserved altogether from contact with sin is a much higher and more precious kind of redemption ; on the other, Christ would not have been by any means a plenary Redeemer, had He not en¬ folded in absolute purity at least one of His sheep (l). Rut, says Thomas, she is begotten of sinful seed, and therefore sinful. The Franciscan does not even admit 1 Jo. Duns Scoti, Opera , Lugduni 1639, fol. vii. 1, 91-100. 3 « JOHN DUNS. this conclusion. For are not all sins, and especially original sin, blotted out by baptism in the case of every child of God ? What God now practically accom¬ plishes day by day in baptism, He could have wrought also without any difficulty in the first moment of the con- t/ ception (2). And then as to pain. Did not the blessed Virgin suffer pain like all others, and even death ? All pain is the punishment of sin. Yes, for all other people, is Scotus’ opinion, but not in the case of Mary. This temporal punishment was laid upon her, on no other ground than for the purpose of giving her the opportunity of acquiring merit before God (3). Thus did he readily dispose of the three arguments, which appeared to the fathers to be unanswerable. The question of the immaculate conception now becomes merely one of time with him; for that the mother of God was absolutely freed from oriffinal sin, would indeed be gainsaid by no one. It must have happened either in the first moment of conception, or a moment later, or some time subsequently. One of these three plans God certainly must have adopted, and any one of them was just as easy to Him as either of the others ; but now, which of these has actually taken place? God knows. If it be not contrary to the church or to Scripture, we may readily attribute to Mary whichever of these three is the most excellent (4). How discreet, and yet how skilful! For no sooner has the Franciscan so circumscribed himself, than he shows how to get over any passage of Scripture or of the fathers which may stand in his way. When, for JOHN D UNS. 39 instance, Anselm says, Mary was conceived in sin, Scotus adds, as regarded herself, but God’s grace has preserved her therefrom (5). Thus he evades, with¬ out any difficulty, all opposing witnesses. Still easier was it to slip the little word ‘ not ’ into the doubtful texts. After assuring himself and his readers, out of the fathers and out of the Bible, against all possible assaults in so ingenious a manner, he lays down his own positions with even more precision. In another portion of his Oxford writings, he teaches that the blessed Virgin has never been actually an enemy to God; certainly not in consequence of any actual sins, nor even through original sin. The latter, however, must have happened, had she not been preserved from it by grace (g). Of the doubts which were currently thrown upon his new ideas, both at Oxford and Paris, only one appeared to him worthy of closer investiga¬ tion. Theologians versed in dialectics, as well as St. Bernard, remarked upon this point, that it was impos¬ sible for any one to be personally holy before having any existence. Had she existed, first of all, only for one moment, and then been made holy, she would have been originally sinful. Duns Scotus meets this objection, in a very peculiar manner, in his Parisian commentary. In the very first moment of her exist- ence, Mary was neither evil nor good, but an abstract person; afterwards, this person disposed herself, through God's grace, to holiness, as others do to sin (7). In other respects, Scotus has not written more at large, nor more decidedly, upon these matters, in his Reports 40 JOHN D UNS. from Paris , than in his Oxford work. He has, even to the last, continued to insinuate his novelties in the most circumspect manner, just as if it were not in his nature to do otherwise. When Sixtus the Fourth, nearly 200 years afterwards, first brought this found¬ ling of the Franciscan to light, by his public recogni¬ tion of it, his own companions in the order began to conceal the simple fact by well-meant but awkward contrivances, and in process of time altogether to obscure it. Bernardino de Basti led the way, by giving to a devout audience in his cloister, with the greatest edification, the following narrative, amongst others, in the discharge of his office. There was at one time a great contention between the Dominicans and Francis- o cans at Paris, respecting the immaculate conception. In order to allay it, the Pope had allowed a solemn discussion to be held there. An almost innumerable host of doctors were assembled on the side of the Dominicans; but for the defence of the honour of His mother, God had summoned Scotus. He over¬ turned, with incomparable subtlety, all the reasons of his opponents, and won the hearts of all present in such a degree, that the University of Paris was, from that hour, converted from being an opponent of the immaculate conception, to one of its most zealous friends (s). This interesting history was not only readily heard and believed in by the Minorites, but also warmly supported by them. A few years later, Pelbart of Temeswar asserted that he knew the number of arguments which Scotus refuted in the course of 4i JOHN D UNS. his discussion to have been more than 200 , and that, notwithstanding their number, he relied upon his memory alone to recollect and refute them all (9). Still more slowing are the colours in which the noble Cavellus, an Irish Franciscan, has depicted this cele¬ brated disputation. When John Scotus was just com¬ mencing his contention in favour of the immaculate conception, he observed a picture of Mary hanging in the hall where he and his opponents were assembled for the discussion, and he humbly implored her help. As a sign of acquiescence, the picture bowed its head, and remained ever afterwards in that position . 1 This absurd story was so often repeated by the Spaniards in the seventeenth century, during the contentions over the immaculate conception, that Lucas Wadding did not hesitate to record it in his annals, as having been firmly believed (10). Subsequently, both Natalis Alex¬ ander and Muratori experienced much difficulty in extracting the kernel of truth from the thick integu¬ ment of nonsense (11). In the meantime, we turn back from the region of fable to the firm foundation of history. The sway of the Scotist novelties at Paris, which the fancy of the noble Irishman saw effected in a few hours, needed, in point of fact, a whole century for its development. It did not meet with approval at once by the Minorites ; and the majority of the immediate school of the master showed itself cold or inimical to him. Even 1 S. J. Baumgarten, Nacliricliten von merlcwurdigen Biichern , Halle 1757, 8vo, xi. 484, 485. 42 JOHN D UNS . the heads of the University either took no notice of them, or declared it to be foily to oppose the traditions of several centuries by means of snch phantasms. 1 There were only two men who found satisfaction at that time in the newly-taught doctrine. These were e/ CD Peter Oriol and Francis Mayron. Both were Francis- cans; both had sat at the feet of the subtle doctor at Paris; and both of them sought to defend, and ulti¬ mately to extend, the phantasies of their master, which they so faithfully adopted. Peter Oriol, who was the elder, came from Picardy. After he had completed his education at the metropolis, he went, at the call of a celebrated preacher, to Toulouse, in order to under¬ take the offices of teacher and preacher in the Minorite convent at that place. His oratory soon procured him so great a reputation, that other convents gladly invited him to preach their special sermons on fete days. Thus, in the winter of 1314, he had to promise the Dominicans in Toulouse, that he would preach in their church on the occasion of the festival of the concep¬ tion of Mary. The good Dominicans had scarcelv heard of the phantasms of Scotus, and it certainly never entered into their mind to consider whether the celebrated Minorite could participate in such strange ideas. But what happened? Peter Oriol mounted the pulpit, and developed, with the simplicity of a 1 About 1314, William de Clianac, doctor of civil law in Paris, brought forty authorities together, in his book entitled Of the Actual Purity of the Mother of God , in order to show the ab¬ surdity of the decisions of Scotus. Bulseus, iv. 958, 959 ; Alva. Radii Solis ad lectoi'em, 2 and 2056, 2057. JOHN D UNS. 43 child, the principles which he had learnt from his master. The true object of the festival was the im¬ maculate conception. God could, without doubt, pre¬ serve His mother from original sin. It was in the O highest degree suitable that He should do so. It therefore follows that, in all probability, such was the case. The Dominican brethren were as if thunder¬ struck. What ? Directly contrary to St. Thomas! And that this man dared to teach such doctrine here, in their own church, and with such a mien, as if it were the most natural thing; in all the world! One may picture to himself with what gestures they saw Oriol to the church door. Luckily, Sunday was near at hand: and so, after the lapse of a couple of days, one of the brethren mounted the pulpit, and undertook to root out of all the hearts which would listen to him, the mad thing’s they had heard. 1 Such was the be- ginning of the contention between the Dominicans and Franciscans respecting the immaculate conception,—a contention which has lasted nearly 500 years, and has terminated with the defeat of the former. The scandal arising from this affair at Toulouse aroused the minds of the order of St. Dominic, and served in that place to defend the doctrine which they had received from St. Thomas from frivolous attacks on the part of the Franciscans. Oriol sought to justify himself by a special publication on the subject; and the controversy maintained its character as merely a provincial quarrel 1 The statement given in the text rests solely upon the narra¬ tive of Oriol. Alva. 108. 44 JOHN D UNS. until the year 1318, when the Franciscan was appointed to the professorship of theology at Paris. 1 There he gave readings from the third hook of the Sentences , in the sense of the Scotists; and also wrote an extensive monograph upon the immaculate conception. 2 Although he proceeded therein from the point of view which Scotus held, he sought also to support the new edifice after his own fashion. Upon what grounds, he asked, does the church believe in the bodily resurrection of the Virgin, which is fully admitted ? Do not as many passages of Scripture and of the fathers tell against this, as against that of her sinless conception 1 3 It is undeniable that this objection was altogether fatal to the Dominicans. He who does not hesitate to believe six stories without any evidence, has no right to complain of another person, who with equal readiness admits a seventh into the bargain. But Oriol did not stand altogether alone in Paris. There fought at his side Francis Mayron, his companion in orders, a Provencal of indescribable readiness of speech, and of iron nerves. He could dispute alone against sixty opponents for fourteen hours in succession, without allowing himself any more refreshment during all this time than a breakfast of which he partook without ceremony in his professor’s chair. 4 The idea which his master had 1 Cave, Historic, liter aria, Genevse 1693, fol. ii. 15. - Alva. 1025. 3 Torquemada, 232 A. 4 Du Pin, Bibliotheque des auteurs ecclesiastiques , Paris 1702, 4to, xi. 70 A; Bulasus, a. a. 0. iv. 955, 172, 173; Crevier. Histoire de Vuniversite de Paris , Paris 1761, 8vo, ii. 212, 213 ; Alva. a. a. 0. 1026. JOHN DUNS. 45 developed with caution, he, in his own powerful manner, thrust in the face of his opponents as an established fact : 1 and the passages in the fathers which denied the immaculate conception he set aside with still more subtilty than even Scotus did, explain¬ ing that there exists a fourfold conception. The first originated in the connection of the man and woman, the second in the formation of the body, the third the infusion of the soul, and the fourth and last the pre¬ servation of the fruit in the womb of the mother. Now, whenever the conception of Mary is spoken of in the writings of the fathers, as contaminated, the first or second stage is alwavs intended . 2 Notwithstanding the boldness with which Mayron backed up the sweet eloquence of Oriol, their joint action was not sufficient to form a strong party for the Scotists. They had not even won over to their cause the order to which they */ belonged. Alvaro Pelayo, Bishop of the Algarves, and father confessor of Pope John the Twenty-second, furnished the most striking evidence of this; for although he had sat at the feet of Duns Scotus him- CD self in Paris , 3 he pronounced against the machinations of an Oriol and a Mayron : The Virgin Mary was con- ceived in sin; doubtless some modern theologians have departed from this old church creed, but their new and fantastic opinions are already as good as condemned 1 Fr. de Mayronis, in 4 libros sententicirum , Yenetia 1527. fol. 165 M. 2 Mayronis, a. a. 0. 166 H. I, K. 3 Bulseus, iv. 949. 4 6 JOHN D UNS. by the faithful ( 12 ). The University of Paris placed herself in a still less friendly attitude towards the opinion defended by her Castor and Pollux. Some, indeed, said that such nonsense must not be treated with arguments, but in a more summary manner. The Dominicans dealt with them most decisively, not only in their pulpits, but also in their literature. John of Naples wrote a celebrated treatise, in which, with great dexterity, he reduced to an absurdity the argu¬ ments of Scotus ( 13 ). It is 'evident that it was no easy matter for the new doctrine to secure a free course for itself: the old great authorities—God’s word, and the faith of the fathers—were not to be overturned with a single thrust. Whoever asserted the immacu- late conception became involved in the consequences of both the middle-age principles, as to the infallibility of the church, and as to her absolute authority in all matters of public worship. We shall now see how it gained for itself a solid foundation; not through the persuasive power or the cunning of literary monks, but because every error which is not annulled with peni¬ tence, becomes a capital stock which accumulates with compound interest, until the fulness of the lie has choked the last remnant of the truth. NOTES—CHAPTER III. (l) Christus est perfectissimus mediator, igitur Christus habuit perfectissimum gradum mediandi possibilem respectu JOHN DUNS . 47 alicujus—personae. Sed respectu nullius personas habnit excellentiorem gradnm, quam respectu Mariae: igitur, etc. Sed hoc non esset, nisi meruisset earn praeservari a peccato originali. . . . Quum Christus rnultis animabus meruerit gratiam et gloriam, quare nulla anima erit ei debitrix pro innocentia?— Scotus, vii. 1, 92, 93. ( 2 ) Infectio carnis manens post baptismum non est neces- saria causa, quare maneat peccatum originate in anima, sed ipsa manente peccatum originate delet-ur per gratiam (in baptismo) collatam. Ita (sc. infectionem carnis) posset Deus in primo instanti conceptionis virginis, dando tunc gratiam, delere, ne esset causa necessaria infectionis in anima.— Scotus, vii. 1, 93. ( 3 ) Originalis culpa non fuisset utilis Mariae, poenae tem- porales tamen fuerunt utiles, quia in eis meruit.— Scotus, vii. 1, 93. (4) Quod autem horum trium, quae ostensa sunt esse possibilia, factum sit, Deus novit. Si auctoritati ecclesiae vel auctoritati Scripturae non repugnet, videtur probabile, quod excellentius est, attribuere Maria?.— Scotus, vii. 1, 95. ( 5 ) Quantum est ex se, quilibet haberet peccatum origi¬ nate, nisi alius prseveniret merendo.— Scotus, vii. 1, 98. (6) Beata virgo mater Dei quae nunquam fuit inimica actualiter ratione peccati actualis nec ratione originalis ; fuisset tamen nisi fuisset praeservata.— Scotus, Opera , vii, 1, 397. (7) Non sequitur: gratia non inest, igitur culpa inest; 48 JOHN DUNS. quia in isto priore naturae, in quo susceptivum est prius habitu et privatione, non est natum habere unum nec alterum . . . Neque est lnec concedenda, in primo instanti naturae vere intelligitur non justa ; sed in primo instanti non intelligitur justa, hoc est, in primo instanti intelligitur illud quod est, ut animam esse animam tan turn. —Scotus, Opera , xi. 1, 434. (s) Quodam tempore religiosi quidam in tantam concep- tionis altercationem proruperunt, ut ordinis minorum fratres haereticos affirmarent, quod Dei genitricem sine originali macula conceptam suis in pnedicationibus protestantur. Ea de re apostolico jussu in Parisiensi studio publica disputatio peracta est. Ad quam dicti accusatores cum innumeris poene ordinis eorum doctoribus convenere. Doininus vero noster Jesus Christus ad protegendam dilectae matris dig¬ nitatem Scotum ordinis minorum doctorem eximium ad civitatem illam protinus destinavit, Qui adversariorum fundamentis argumentisque omnibus inconvincibili sermone confutatis ita conceptionis dominae innocentiam clarissime comprobavit, quod omnes illi fratres subtilitatem ejus pluri- mum admirati, obmutescentes in disputando defecere. Qua- propter opinio minorum a Parisiensi studio illico approbatur. —Bernardinus de Busti, Mariale , Nuernberg 1503, fol. sine paginis, officium lectio iv. sermo. This history combines in one harmonious whole, matters of the time of Scotus with others of Montesono, together with some of the writer’s own. (9) Joannes Scotus Parisiis proposita question e omnibus doctoribus conclusit et omnia eorum argumenta contraria, quum essent plus quam ducenta, memoria mirabili recitavit et solvit. Et innumerabiles superaddidit rationes probantes, quod virgo est concepta sine originali.— Pelbart de Temes- JOHN D UNS. 49 war, Stellarium , Lugduni 1514, fol. sine paginis, liber iv. pars 1, art. 3. (10) Wadding, Annales Minor urn, Roma 1733, fol. vi. 51, 52. With the addition, that Papal legates presided over this mucli-talked-of discussion. (11) Natalis Alexander, Ristoria ecclesiasticci, ed. Mansi, Bingii 1789, 4to, xv. 275-277 ; Muratori, Opere , Arezzo 1768, 4to, v. 210. (12) In originali peccato concepta fuit sicut et ceteri homines . . . hanc sententiam tenent omnes antiqui theo- logi . . . licet quidam novi theologi a sensu ecclesias rece- dentes communi, tenentes contra . . . ejus devoti apparere nitantur. . . . Quorum nova opinio et phantastica sit a fidelibus cancellata.-— Alvarus Pelagius, De planctu ecclesice , Ulm 1474, fol. lib. ii. art. 52 B. (13) Christ is the most perfect Saviour. But he who saves all is more perfect than he who only saves a small part. Therefore Christ has saved all, and consequently no one will be lost. Thus he parodies Scotus. Alva. 1905. D CHAPTER IV. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. P to tlie year 1387, tlie progress of the Scotist doctrine was still slow. Wind and weather had been, in fact, but little favour¬ able to it. Pope Clement the Sixth, who lived at Avignon, was attached to the Dominicans ; and the people of France had neither the inclination nor the time to concern themselves in theological speculations. Earl Derby had landed at Bayonne with an English army, and, under the orders of his royal master Edward the Third, had commenced a war, the end of which no one could foresee. The battle of Crecy was lost to France; King John was imprisoned by the Black Prince in the vineyards of Maupertuis; all civil authority was discontinued; town and country rose up against the nobility; there was conspiracy and murder everywhere. Even in Paris the devil was at large : Navarre was against Valois, and Valois against Navarre; Stephen Marcel and the Dauphin stirred up the populace against each other by turns; the marshals of the Dauphin were first stabbed to death by the people of Marcel before THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 5i the very eyes of tlieir master ; and then Marcel him- t/ V self suffered, in his turn, at the hands of John Mail- lard. Before the walls were the English, within them there was civil war. Eyen after the peace of Bre- tignv, France was not quiet; for many of the soldiers formed themselyes into robber gangs, and overran the country; and then followed the plundering raids of Kin o' Charles of Navarre. Afterwards, France made war against England. It was only with the death of OO fJ Edward and of Charles the Bad that the fire became gradually extinguished, and the riotous revolutionary tumult subsided : it passed over with Wat Tyler to London. Those were iron times—times of blood and tears—little suited for pulpit discussions and the imma¬ culate conception. After a repose of more than thirty years, in 1387 the teaching of Scotus once more resumed activity; this time under a more powerful escort—the pro¬ tection of the University of Paris. This Univer- sitv, important on account of her age and her wide- spreading influence, considered herself at that time, and not without reason, as the third ecclesiastical power. All ecclesiastical movements since the middle of the twelfth century had issued from her : she had indeed become the mother and the source of wisdom, 1 and even the very foundation Avails of the church. 2 T\ as she not, in fact, the Alma Mater of Otto von Freisingen, of the house of Austria; and of Pope 1 La mere et la source de la sagesse, Crevier, i. 304. - Le fondement de Veglise , Crevier, i. 408. 52 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. Coelestin, formerly Guy of Castello; and of Thomas a Becket the martyr ? Had not Nicholas Brekspeare, afterwards Pope Hadrian, sat upon her benches, and even Innocent the Third himself? This proud and mighty institution seized upon the idea of the imma¬ culate conception, without having at first any actual interest in the question, but merely as a matter of policy, in order that it might furnish a means of getting up an agitation whereby she might throw her enemies the Dominicans out of their saddle. Em¬ bittered feuds had prevailed between these two parties for the last century and a half. As early as the days of Gregory the Ninth, the Dominicans had availed themselves of a temporary interruption of the lectures, by appointing two of their own party as public pro¬ fessors of theology. 1 From that time forward they successfully competed with the University, and even threatened, since Innocent the Fourth had opened to them all the academical offices, 2 to make the appoint¬ ments for the secular professorships. 3 When the University decided, for her own defence, about the year 1252, that no order should have more than one public professor of theology in its convent, the Dominicans refused obedience to her. Just at this time, it happened that a student was killed, and some others were wounded, in a street brawl; and the Uni¬ versity thereupon demanded that those who did the 1 Crevier, i. 344. 2 By means of two Bulls in the years 1244 and 1249. 3 Crevier, i. 397. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 53 injury should be punished, and required all her tutors to take an oath to maintain the rights of the corpora¬ tion to the utmost. The two Dominican professors refused to take the oath, and the University deposed them in consequence. Their order then obtained an edict from Pope Innocent the Fourth that they should he reinstated at once. This produced no effect, and the tutors in a body were therefore suspended by the power of the Papal authority. Although they now remonstrated against this by means of a solemn depu¬ tation, Alexander the Fourth, the successor of Inno¬ cent, issued a Bull on the 14th of April 1255, wherein he not only requested the University once more to reinstate the two Dominicans in their offices, but also allowed their order to establish for the future just as many professorships of theology as ever it pleased them. The University still would not obey, but dis¬ solved herself instead. It is true that a council, which St. Louis himself gathered together at the capital, sought to bring about an adjustment of the difficulty ; only, its resolutions were cashiered by Alexander. A whole series of Papal Bulls were thereupon fulminated against the French rulers, and, in particular, against the Bishop of Paris and King Louis the Ninth. The Pope demanded obedience, and he obtained it—thanks to the spell of his tiara being unbroken at that time. The Dominicans had thus conquered, and the Uni¬ versity must bend herself to the circumstances ; but from that time forth she transmitted from generation to generation a deep and indissoluble hatred, which 54 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. only waited a suitable opportunity in order to repay her triumphant antagonists with interest, the blow which she had received from them. 1 During the period extending from 1255 to 1387, the University tricked the Dominicans, whenever at least she was able to do so, and often in a very mean manner (l). But the mendicant friars, on their side, spread themselves with so much activity, that, by the year 1334, thirteen out of the twenty-nine theo¬ logical professorships had already fallen into their hands. 2 The smouldering wrath of the Parisian doc¬ tors was constantly kept hot, and it needed nothing else than a favourable juncture in order to make it burst out into a bright flame. This opportunity seemed at last to have occurred about the close of the four¬ teenth century. Pope Gregory the Eleventh died on the 27th of March 1378. The sun of the Papacy, which in the person of Innocent the Third had filled the Christian world with its beams, was about to set. What all the pamphlets of the ready writer, William of Okkam, and even the sword of Louis of Bavaria him¬ self, had failed to do, viz. to tear from the forehead of the Papacy the diadem of infallibility, was wrought by God by means of a schism. Clement the Seventh was at Avignon, and Urban the Sixth at Pome—the one under the ban of the other. Which was to be believed % And yet the need of an authority was felt, 1 The statement in the text rests upon the authority of Crevier, i. 398-457. 2 Crevier, ii. 320. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 5 5 especially in matters of doctrine. Whence could one turn? Whence, if not to Paris? There the greatest theological luminaries—the master of the Sentences , and his commentators—had lived. And had not the University of Paris corrected Pope John the Twenty- 1/ I*. second himself, with justice, and we may add also, with effect? 1 Thus she became at once the first, instead of the third great power, in the church. Now or never, the opportunity occurred for her to avenge her old defeat upon the Dominicans, and to wipe the spots of 1255 from off her escutcheons. Neither the one successor of Peter nor the other could venture to hurl his thunders against her, without having them recoil upon his own head. King Charles the Sixth of France was still a minor; and though not yet declared to be crazy, he was, nevertheless, not so capable, nor so devoted to the monks, as his predecessor Louis the Ninth. The French clergy at last hated the Domini- cans almost as much as the University; and the privi¬ leges granted by Pope Gregory the Ninth to the regular clergy did them the greatest possible injury. It was under such favourable circumstances as these that the University commenced her warfare, not wildly and impetuously as in 1252, but, having gained wisdom by experience, circumspectly, and with a determined plan of action. In the year 1384, John of Montesono, a Spanish Dominican, stated, in the course of a sermon which he preached at Paris, that the belief in Mary having 1 Crevier, ii. 315-322. 56 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS . been free from original sin, runs directly counter to the faith. The University, which never let slip any opportunity of injuring the Dominicans, declared this statement to be scandalous and wrong. 1 The zeal with which both the clergy and the people derided the monk for making such a declaration, showed the Parisian professors how easy it would be to beat their enemies upon this ground. So much the more easy was it, indeed, as the conception of Mary was almost the only question by which they could hope to draw the Minorites from their allegiance to the Dominicans, to whom they had been pledged up to this time. The boldness with which Montesono openly re-asserted the objectionable opinion, about the year 1387, also served the purpose of the University; for, instead of merely repeating the censure of 1384, the dean extracted fourteen theses from the writings of Montesono, which had been already published, and exhibited them for refutation by the Faculty of Theology. These theses contained some very astonishing things. Thus, the Dominican affirms in the ninth thesis, that, ‘ to declare something to be true which is contrary to Holy Scrip¬ ture, is opposed to the faith’ ( 2 ). In the eleventh he says, ‘ The assertion that Mary was free from original sin is consequently contrary to the faith ( 3 ); ‘ for,’ adds he in the eleventh, ‘ it is equally opposed to Scrip- . ture, to pronounce one other person, in addition to Christ, exempt from original sin, as it is to declare that of ten men ’ ( 4 ). The Faculty declared with indigna- 1 Histoire de Veglise Gallicane , xiv. 347, 348. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 57 tion, that these theses were false and scandalous, and determined that their author must withdraw them. 1 As Montesono would not consent to this, it called the two other Faculties and the four nations to its assistance. The old hatred was actually so strong in them all, that they, together with the doctors of theology, begged the Bishop of Paris to interfere. Flow pleased was Peter d'Orgemont, to be able to strike at this order, if only for once, which had braved all episcopal jurisdiction ever since the time of Gregory the Ninth! After he had cited Montesono before himself in vain, he forbade his teaching the fourteen condemned articles for the future, under pain of excommunication, and ordered that the accused be arrested wherever he could be caught. 2 Whilst the Dominican now proceeded to Avignon and appealed to the Pope, the University raised the cry of alarm, and, by means of a circular letter of the 14th of February 1388, 3 called upon all the faithful, and the clergy of France in particular, to take part openly in the war which had already been commenced against him. Bespecting the immaculate conception itself, which had so far been the ostensible cause of the con¬ tention, the University did not care to utter so much as a single syllable of her opinion; on the contrary, she betrayed plainly enough the uniform purpose of her attack, by the manner in which she souojit to involve the whole Dominican order, as an order, in what was actually a special controversy with one of its members merely (o). The Dominicans could not 1 Bulseus, a. a. 0. 2 Alva. 1637. 3 Alten Stils, 1387. 58 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. preserve silence under such, provocation, the more especially as not only their power, hut their faith itself, which was the very source of it, was in danger; for the doctrine of Montesono, independently of its poli¬ tical setting, was that of no less a man than St. Thomas himself. They also believed themselves called upon, both by the statutes of their order and by the example of their founders, to watch over the purity of the doctrines within the pale of the whole church militant. And now these Parisian doctors ventured to oppose with such absurd censures their proper calling of protectors of the truth, which had been consecrated by the blood of martyrs. So they speedily collected 40,000 gold thalers, appointed ten of their doctors as counsel , 1 and arranged by their zealous application at Avignon that Pope Clement the Seventh should nominate a commission consisting of three car¬ dinals to hear Montesono’s complaint, and to give their decision on his appeal. The monk, strong in his proofs from Scripture, had moreover the boldness to cite the University of Paris herself, as the accused party, before the bar of this commission . 2 Before his eyes hung the portrait of Alexander the Fourth; and in his days God’s word might have had the same power before the forum of Pomish bishops as it had in those of St. Peter. But the times were changed: Clement the Seventh had only one care—that he should not fall from his throne. One powerful thrust dealt by the Parisians, and all his splendour would be at an end. It verily 1 Histoire de Veglise Gallicane , xiv. 356. 2 Crevier, iii. 81. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 59 did not last long; there came to him a deputation from the University, sufficiently excited to frighten a more fearless man than poor Clement. At their head was Peter d’Aillv, the French eagle; 1 and with him Peter d* Alain ville, well acquainted with canon law, and John C harder de Gerson. In their very first audience, the delegates of the University opposed the Pope with haughtiness, feeling conscious that the centre of gravity of the ecclesiastical power was no longer in Avignon, hut in Paris. The question of the immacu¬ late conception was touched upon, only very slightly; it was, in fact, taken for granted with naive boldness that Montesono was in the wrong upon certain funda¬ mental principles. His Holiness could not do otherwise than hasten to fulfil the sentence of the city of Paris, «/ ' and of the University also. If he did not do so quickly, he would have to take the consequences upon himself." Xo one had ever spoken to a successor of St. Peter in so haughty a tone, since William of Xogaret had raised his hand against Boniface the Eighth at Anagni. But o o o however deeply Clement the Seventh felt the humilia¬ tion which was thus forced upon him, he must either be silent, or, which was by no means agreeable, he must just deal with the matter in the way that Peter d* Aillv ordered him. The almost submissive manner «/ in which he expatiated at large in a second speech, formed a striking contrast with the proud and challeng- 1 Decolonia, Histoire litteraire de la Ville de Lyon , Lyon 1730, 4to, s. 262. 2 Bulseus, iv. 623-627. 6o THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. ing tone which characterized the first speech of the deputies; hut, in the meantime, the Pope had admitted almost everything which the University desired, so J O J 7 that the deputation could humbly, and at the same time confidently, commit the whole question in dispute to the arbitrament of the apostolical chair. 1 On the 27th January 1389, the Papal decision was actually given in the interest, and according to the request, of the Parisians. Montesono was therein ex¬ communicated ; and the clergy of all orders were commanded to proclaim the sentence with due solem¬ nity every Sunday, at the sound of the bell and the extinction of the candle. 2 The condemned one with¬ drew himself from the grip of his enemy by flight to his own home; hut the University followed up all the instructions so relentlessly and bitterly, that even the most indifferent cannot fail to perceive what was her incentive in the whole of this business. She shut out all members of the Dominican order from her corporation, excited the people as far as Normandy and the Garonne, until they rose against the monks, 3 and caused their chief leaders in different parts of France to be seized and thrust into prison (6). The pretext for such a course of action was always at hand, in the very fact that those who were arrested acknow- «/ ledged Montesono or his theses, whether in the pulpit or in the course of private conversation. But as this persecution increased the enmity of the Dominicans against the immaculate conception, so, on the other 1 Bulseus, iv. 627. 2 Alva. 1641. 3 Crevier, iii. 89. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 61 hand, it awakened the sentiment in the University more and more, that the truth, or at all events the honour of the Virgin, would avail to defend her against her adversaries. The Franciscans now used the very same steps which were continually and even more effectually adopted during the previous century by Oriol and Mayron, in order to create capital in favour of the immaculate conception. The enunciations of Scotus and Oriol had been discreet, and even cautious ; but their epigone, John Vital, under more favourable circumstances, adopted quite another tone. That Marv was conceived without sin, he held to have ts ' been certainly established by the decision at Avignon. He considered that his only task was to silence the opposition of the Dominicans. But as he possessed more imagination than understanding, and had besides a considerable share of audacity, he did not weary his readers with lengthy demonstrations, but narrated instead short and interesting stories. Thus, there was at Judenburg, in Styria, a Dominican who suddenly became mad and dumb when in the middle of deliver¬ ing a sermon against the immaculate conception; 1 another, far to the East, at Kracow, fell down dead in the pulpit while similarly engaged; 2 in the case of a third, the habit of polemically discussing the teaching of Scotus had practically grown into a vice, and what was the result ? In broad daylight a wolf came into the midst of the church and devoured him. 3 It even 1 Alva. 2086. In place of Idonensis, read Idunensis. 2 Alva. 2086. 3 Alva. 2087.’ 62 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. happened with a Minorite who declared that Mary was conceived in sin, that the holy Virgin herself took the host out of his hand during the celebration of the mass, and would not return it to him until he was converted from his error. 1 Such stories were read with avidity. They even raised him above the rank of other noble Christians in the favour of the mother of God. They were related from one to another, this or that little circumstance became lost, until the number of references to them, and the lapse of time, lent to the hold inventions of the Franciscan all the appear¬ ance of well-investigated matters of fact. Thus the old Trittenheim used to teach from such remarkable judgments of God with most serious nods of the head, whilst Spondanus did the same with the triumphant zeal of a new convert. What the argumentativeness of Francis Mayron and the eloquence of Peter Oriol had failed to achieve, —viz. to win over the book-proud Parisians to the Scotist doctrine,—a dull writer, who was neither more nor less than a common swindler, succeeded in effect¬ ing ( 7 ). His ship sailed readily with the wind. The intense burning hatred against the Dominicans caused the learned to associate with the unlearned in one common cause, which at that time was pre-eminent in men’s minds — that of opposing in the most direct manner the hereditary doctrine of the order. By degrees the University also was drawn into the same whirlpool. She had indeed already prescribed that 1 Pelbart, iv. 1, 3. THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. 63 all candidates for her degrees, offices, or benefices, must first of all declare themselves opposed to the fourteen condemned propositions of Montesono . 1 It was therefore not to be wondered at, that the young academicians soon accustomed themselves to hate from the innermost recesses of their hearts the doctrine pointed out by their own authorities as so pernicious. But with those who had not mixed in the battle against Montesono himself, a hearty hatred against his propo- sitions was only possible upon the standpoint of Oriol and Mavron. Thus the Scotist doctrine revenged itself on Peter d’Ailly and his Parisians. For whilst the University «/ —foolishly enough—availed herself at first of this expe¬ dient. merely as a means of agitation against the Domi- J t. OO nicans, that which was regarded with contempt as an innovation made itself, in retaliation, the mistress of the submissive and servile YTest within the course of fifty years. %J XJ X 0 T E S—C H A P T E It I V. (l) Thus she decided, by a decree of the 21st of February 1260, that the Dominicans should always take the lowest place amongst all the professors on any solemn occasion. On the 7th of March 1277, Stephen Tempier, Bishop of Paris, condemned, at her instigation, a whole list of pro¬ positions, among which may be found many of those of St. Thomas. Even in 1304, the brilliant Dominican professor 1 Crevier, iii. 89. 64 THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS. John Pungensasinus was forbidden to give readings, by order of the University, under cover of very insignificant pretexts. (2) Asserere aliquod verum, quod est contra s. scrip- turam, est expressissime contra fidem.—B ulceus, iv. 621. ( 3 ) B. Mariam virginem et Dei genitricem non con- traxisse peccatum originale est expresse contra fidem.— Bul^eus, a. a. 0. (4) Tantum est contra scripturam sacram unum hominem esse exemptum a peccato originali prseter Christum sicut si decern homines ponerentur exemti. —Buljsus, a. a. 0. ( 5 ) His omnibus accedit, quod non sine magna admira- tione nuper audivimus, majores nempe ordinis S. Dominici, au totus ordo nondum scimus, adjuncti sunt liuic veritatis contemtori. —Bul^eus, iv. 622. (6) Johannes Tliomae, Bichardus Maria, Johannes Nicolai, Johannes Adae, Ganfridus a S. Martino, Petrus de Cancheyo, Adam de Suessione. Alva. 1647-1657. ( 7 ) When one opposed to him the authority of St. Thomas, he asserted without hesitation that he had seen a document written by the saint, in which he retracted the doctrine which he had taught as to the conception in sin.— Wadding, Legatio , Lovanii 1624, fol. s. 282. CHAPTER V. THE COUNCIL WITHOUT A HEAD. HE immaculate conception must complete its course. Born of the parentage of an untrained devotion, it attained the faculty of speech in the person of John Scotus. It then waited Ions; ere it gained attention ; and it was only under the protecting wings of the University of Paris that it had secured, at first toleration, and after¬ wards the right of a home, on the banks of the Seine. Lastly, it even trod under its feet, her, who had been its selfish guardian. Whoever holds Paris, holds France herself ;—this was just as true then, as it is now. The metropolis sent forth apostles throughout Normandy and Provence, who taught the new gospel with all the more effect, as it harmonized so well with the old one as to the Festival of the Conception. It was only in this light that the 8th of December appeared to be¬ come truly important; and to those who had learnt to celebrate the anniversary, the new doctrine regarding it scarcely seemed to be novel or strange. Thus, in less than fifty years, the Scotist doctrine took posses¬ sion of the clergy of France. It is one of God’s Cj«/ 66 THE COUNCIL ordinances, that unless error be rooted up, it will grow and blossom. The immaculate conception fulfilled its course. France had become its own ; it now hastened to cross the Rhine, in order to bring the whole western world under its sceptre. No period appeared more favourable for such a bold undertaking than that of the great councils. There came together on these occasions, doctors and prelates out of all countries,— men not without understanding, but who were very prone nevertheless to accept, in such a whirlpool of schism, any new things as salutary, or at all events, good. The excitement created by the double Papacy had caused the old authorities to lose a great part of their charm ; every author had become a kind of re¬ former, at least in his own estimation ; and if it pro¬ duced a character to which one looked up with respect, it was that of the founder of councils, of bookmaking par excellence , of the University of Paris. One need not be surprised, then, that on such occasions, words flowed freely—now about the immaculate conception, now about the corruptions of the church—and that all should find open ears and hearts. How attentively the holy General Assembly of the Church, held at Kost- nitz, listened to the silvery tones of John Charlier de Gerson, as he expatiated upon the pure conception of Mary, and the sinless birth of her betrothed Joseph! 1 Certainly Antonius Tajal, the ambassador of King 1 Joseph post originale contractual sanctificatus est in ntero. Mariam vero ita prsevenit gratia, ut nequaquam illud contraheret. —Gerson, Opera , Basel 1489, 59 R. WITHOUT A HEAD. 67 Ferdinand of Aragon, was not the only one who took home with him a mild enthusiasm as the result of this pleasant embassy. 1 During the thirteen years which elapsed between the Council of Kostnitz and that of Basle, the Scotist, now the Parisian doctrine, had grown rapidly. Preachers full of fancies, who had no longer any occasion to fear the black Dominican inquisitors, seized upon it as a welcome spoil, with which to gratify the senses of their satiated hearers after a new fashion. 2 The increasing levity of the times was extremely fayourable for intro- ducing such new discoveries. The Chancellor of the University of Paris, the herald of the new era, had announced to the representatives of the visible church his serious adherence to the doctrine; and pious hearts might surely hold as true whatever every one else believed, whether they had God’s word for it or not. 3 In the meantime, the great ecclesiastical quasi- refor¬ mation proceeded on its way. The mountain Ivost- nitz had laboured, and brought forth a mouse—a new Pope. All the fine speeches as to the great necessity of a reformation of the church in its head and mem¬ bers, had died away without producing any fruit, be¬ cause no one had the disposition to take upon his own shoulders the burthen of originating the required con- 1 Xic. Antonius, Bibliotheca Hispana vetus , Rom 1696, fol. ii. 135. 2 A good specimen of this sort of preaching is to he found in Gerson, 47 L-Z. 3 Gerson, 59 N, R. I 68 THE COUNCIL version. Tlie powerful declamations against the un¬ natural despotism of the Popes left no other traces behind than the barren proposition, that a general council holds its plenary authority from God, and ranks above the Pope in all ecclesiastical questions. 1 This resolution was, however, only worth the skin upon which it was engrossed, so long as the power to bring it into effect did not exist. The aristocratic party, which the University of Paris always regarded as her spiritual centre, thoroughly understood this : it therefore strove zealously, in a second full assembly, to oppose the head of the church, and wanted to employ to more advantage the favourable circum¬ stances, and the authority which public opinion ac¬ corded to it. And God satisfied this ardent desire,— not in order to heal by its service the faults of Joseph, for so great a saint as he had no need of such; but in order to show each and every one, that it is not of the wise ones after the flesh, nor the mighty, nor the noble, that salvation comes. Pope Martin the Fifth died during the preparations for a new council in the year 1431. Gabriel Condol- mieri, who ascended the Papal Chair on the 3d of March of the same year, under the name of Eugene the Fourth, was not only bound by an oath to accom¬ plish the work begun by his predecessors, but was impelled to do so still more by the dangers with which the wild orientalism menaced the Western Church. 1 Carranza, Summa conciliorum Augusta? Vindelicorum , 1778, iii. 173. WITHOUT A HEAD. 6 9 Under tlie influence and on the instigation of the University of Paris, a number of prelates gathered themselves together at Basle in the latter part of the summer; many of them were from France, a few from Italy and Germany; none prepared to do penance, hut all, on the contrary, determined to bring the Papacy, this time, to the ground under their feet. At first, everything appeared to them successful: the wilful and violent Pope commanded them, without sufficient rea¬ son, to repair to Bologna; but they remained quietly at Basle, and agreed upon an adjournment for ninety days, for the purpose of coming to an understanding with the Pope. Had he not bowed to the authority of the Synod within that time, they would have adopted stronger measures with him. But Eugene the Fourth yielded under the pressure of the pikes of Francisco Sforza and of Lorenzo Attendolo, 1 and acknowledged the sovereignty of the Basle assembly by sending ambassadors, and by recalling his Bull for altering the place of meeting. In the meantime, the French party, which had the majority at Basle, was stirred to make use of its advantageous position in favour of the immaculate conception. After it had laboured hard with the portion of the Synod which was indifferent about this subject, by addressing pointed and earnest discourses, 2 it proposed a subject for discussion, the very form in which it was put indicating sufficiently 1 Leo, Geschichte von Itcilien , Hamburg 1829, 8vo, iii. 372, 373. 2 Torquemada, 67 B, 209 A, 265 A. 70 THE COUNCIL clearly tlie nature of the answer desired : ‘ Whether the belief that the soul of the mother of God was freed from original sin at the moment of its union with the body, or the belief that the Virgin was con- ceived in sin, indicates the greater piety’ (l). How cunning ! It was not intended that one should inves¬ tigate which of these had actually happened,—for then the burthen of the evidence would certainly have rested upon the shoulders of the Parisians,— but only to establish which of these two opinions would best deserve the appellation of pious. The council declared itself, though under certain limitations, in favour of the pet doctrine of the French ; so that it could be alleged, with some show of truth, that it was raised to a dogma. Nevertheless, the presidents, acting in accordance with the fashion of the time, commissioned certain theologians to argue the two sides of the question proposed, and to prove their ground by an exposition at large. Two Dominicans—John of Montenigro and John de Torquemada—were to repre¬ sent the old doctrine; John Aymerici and John of Segovia the new. 1 Montenigro was an Italian, who had been appointed Provincial of the Dominican cloisters of Lombardy shortly after the opening of the council. 2 He was of authority as a theologian, but wanting in the capacity of separating the word of man from the word of God. 1 Torquemada, 265 A, 209 A. 2 Quetif and Echard, Scriptores ordinis Pr asdic atorum, Paris 1719, fol. i. 799. WITHOUT A HEAD . 7 1 In disputation he was quick, and perhaps rather too vehement; and, like most of his companions in orders, he held on to the standards of Eugene for the sake of the position of his party. He appears, in the year 1434, to have given in his expose upon the doctrine of the immaculate conception, with the best effect. In such questions as the one under discussion, the council must unquestionably place more weight upon autho¬ rity than on philosophy. 1 Now, not only does the Bible, 2 but also the fathers as a body, testify against this doctrine. Consider, moreover, that the writings of these fathers are held by the fifth (Ecumenical Synod to be the test of pure doctrine, and it follows as the immediate consequence, that the Scotist inno¬ vation is condemned by the whole church. 3 The Cardinal of Arles gave the treatise of Montenigro into the hands of John of Segovia. John Contreras of Segovia, Archdeacon of Villa- viciosa in the Asturias, had come to Basle as deputy of the University of Salamanca. 4 He was a man of independent spirit, and of strong mental powers ; bold and subtle as Scotus, quick with his pen as William of Okkam. He had practised the art of disputation with the Moors, who are a people of great tenacity of purpose, so that he stood before the assembly at Basle 1 Torquemada, 3 B. 2 Rom. iii. and v. ; Gal. iii. ; Matt. ix. ; Luke xix. ; 1 Tim. i. and ii.; 2 Cor. v. Torquemada, 69 B. 3 Alva. 1787. 4 Nic. Antonius, Bibliotheca Hispana vetus , Roma 1696, fol. ii. 148, 149. Alva. 2182. 72 THE COUNCIL as a patient and almost invincible speaker. If any one interrupted him, lie proceeded just as if there were no disturbance, and continued all the more quietly the more vehement were the cries of the opposition. 1 The Conciliasts listened to him willingly, though he had devoted himself, with all the ardour of his southern temperament, to the ideas for which the banners of Giuliano Cesarini and Louis of Germany waved. 2 As his great endowments stimulated him to shake off from his neck the heavy yoke of authority, he readily be¬ friended the immaculate conception. To elaborate into a svstem the fundamental outlines which Scotus e/ had delineated, gratified his keen and independent spirit; and as the task of contending for it against Montenigro. fell to his lot, he rejoiced in the oppor¬ tunity of forcing his system, by means of the won¬ derful inferences of his dialectics, not only upon the council, but also (as he hoped) upon the whole church. His method was well chosen. The matter of fact, that God had altogether preserved His mother from sin, could neither be confirmed by theological authorities, nor could it, if extant, be set aside. The inward truth, i.e. the dialectic evidence, may reasonably be a matter for deeper consideration. But if Mary be the joint source of our redemption, and on this account exempt from all sins, she must be also free from ori¬ ginal sin. In support of this fundamental considera¬ tion, he brought together the Scriptures, the fathers, and 1 Fleury, Histoire eccle'siastique , Paris 1726. 4to, xxii. 275. 2 Nic. Antemius, a. a. 0. ii. 149. WITHOUT A HEAD. the feast of the 8tli December with its evident mean¬ ing ; but he used them only as auxiliary troops, which do not of themselves decide the battle. It was not until the year 1436 that the Spaniard was ready with his reply, by which time it had grown to such a length, that he occupied eight whole sittings with his dis¬ course. 1 He divided his treatise into seven sections or allegations. At the very outset he thus turns, with great adroitness, the question which the council had laid down : Whether it be a pious act to teach that the soul of the mother of God has enjoyed no advan¬ tage over that of Mohammed or of Judas IscaViot ? In his answer he first of all considers the festival, which surely would not have been established had the conception not been sinless. And is not the continual increase of its popularity a token of God’s approval, according to the passage in the fifth chapter of the Acts, ver. 38? 2 Then, after he has developed at large the grounds of fitness in the method of Scotus ( 2 ), he applies himself boldly to the demonstration that God has effectually, and as a matter of fact, preserved the soul of Mary from original sin. One must first of all be thoroughly clear upon the means of proof which will be called for in the establishing of this fact. It is, for instance, an error to suppose that one needs to find a passage of the Bible expressly 1 MS. Bill. Reg. Berolinensis Theolog. Lat. fol. 37. Jo. de Segovia, De S. Conceptione, s. 241 B. 2 Jo. de Segovia, Septem allegationes circa S. v. Maria? immci- culatcnn conceptionem. Studio et Icihore Petri de Alva et Astorga. Bruxellis 1664, fol. s. 24-27. 74 THE COUNCIL appointed to solve all doubts. Indeed the whole Catholic Church teaches, upon purely inward or philosophical grounds, that Mary was preserved from original sin, just as she does the well-recognised fact of her bodily resurrection,—both doctrines being not only without any foundation in Scripture, but also in opposition to certain sayings of Christ and His apostles. 1 But, the opponents may say, if the pri¬ vilege, by virtue of which she was freed from original sin, does not appear in the Bible, where then does it appear ? Not in one archive, nor in two, retorts John Contreras, either of which could easily be destroyed by fire or by other causes, but in all the churches of the earth. Indeed, it is so well known, that there is no one, not even a rustic, who does not know this. It is, in one word, the divine maternity of the holy Virgin. 2 From this precious prerogative the church has already deduced seven extraordinary graces ( 3 ) ; upon the same principles, I now add the eighth. In theology, it is not sufficient to prove that something be true, but one must also show that it be possible. 3 That, however, is not difficult. We were altogether purified by baptism from original sin; and does not the very slightest reflection suggest to the adoption of our minds, the idea, that God may have conferred upon Mary, at a somewhat earlier stage, that which He imparts to us at the time of baptism ? 4 There are, moreover, four ways in which the soul of the Virgin could be preserved 1 Segovia, 73 A, B. 3 Segovia, 96 A. 2 Segovia, 81 B, 82 A. 4 Segovia, 100 A. WITHOUT A HEAD. 75 from original sin. 1 We shall, however, be discreet, and pass at once to the simplest of all. Original sin is confessedly nothing else than the mere absence of original righteousness. Now God has given grace to the holy Virgin, which simply occupies in her case the place of original righteousness. 2 After the Spaniard had quoted thirteen passages of Scripture in favour of his views ( 4 ), he finally refutes Montenigro in a summary manner. 3 It is superfluous to trouble ourselves with his quotations; all his authorities have been overcome with the error. The church alone is infallible. Wliat she, in lawful assembly as at Basle, holds as true, that alone is the truth. 4 He for his part has nothing in view but the defence of the faithful, the honour of the mother of God, and of the womanly nature. 3 But perhaps the days of the purification of Mary are already at an end, according to the counsel of God. May the very reverend fathers, nevertheless, take the keys of divine wisdom, which are entrusted to them, and unlock all its treasures. 6 The very reverend fathers had, indeed, a very strong desire to put the said keys in motion. Unfortunately, John de Torquemada must nevertheless be heard first. John de Torquemada, son of the Superior Alvar Fernando, was born at Valladolid, in Old Castile, in the year 1388. When only a youth of fifteen, he was 1 Segovia, 107 B. 110 A. 2 Segovia, 99 B, 123 B. 3 Segovia, 364 B ff. 4 Quod ecclesiae legitime congregate verum videtur, id etiam Scriptui sancto. Segovia, 365 A. 5 Segovia, 381 B. 6 Segovia, 390 B. y6 THE COUNCIL received into the order of the Dominicans, whose work suited his excitable temperament, and his thirst after knowledge. His superiors, who recognised in him uncommon gifts, sent him to Paris, where he studied theology and jurisprudence. 1 On the recommendation of Traversari for his profound learning, he was called by Eugene the Fourth to Pome, received the appoint¬ ment of Master of the Apostolical Palace, and was sent as legate to Basle. 2 He was, both as to his natural dis¬ position and his training, the complete counterpart of John of Segovia. Authority was his Alpha and his Omega, both in his cloister life 3 and in his theology. Whilst the other considered himself and his companions as much, if not more, inspired than Augustine and St. Bernard, Torquemada was penetrated with such deep respect for the saints who had preceded him, that he would have deemed it an outrage to have determined any one theological question against, or even without, their authority. But God’s word stood in his eyes as superior to the utterances of all these saints, and he honoured it as the foundation of every ecclesiastical decision. 4 He even went so far, that he did not limit his regard to the Hebrew and Greek originals, but even adopted the Vulgate, and the so-called Glossa ordinaria , as an almost authentic exposition. He set a true value upon the logic of Aristotle; but, at the 1 Nic. Antonius, Bibliotheca Hispana vetus , ii. 187, 188. 2 Voigt, Enea Silvio de ’ Piccolomini , Berlin 1856, 8vo, i. 208. 3 Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores , Mediolani 1734, fol. iii. 2, 1034. 4 Torquemada, 2 A-4 A. Alva. 1793. WITHOUT A HEAD. 77 same time, lie took good care to make a better use of it, than what would be merely formal. His manner of speaking was very measured, and not without dignity; but he supported himself with such a mass of authori¬ ties, that it was very difficult for his auditory to main¬ tain their attention. With the same earnestness with which he had defended the primacy of the Pope against the pretensions of the Conciliasts, he now took up the question of the immaculate conception. But, under his hands, the proposition laid down by the Synod took another turn : What had really been the opinion of the elders, as to whether the doctrine of the conception in sin, or free from sin, was the more proper % 1 Now, in order to answer this question to the fullest extent, he searched through all the' ecclesiastical traditions, from the times of the apostles downwards, with un¬ heard-of zeal; he wandered through archive after archive ; he levied toll upon every celebrated library in Europe, either personally, or by letters, or special messengers; and thus accumulated at length a treatise against the immaculate conception, which is certainly the most remarkable that any man has ever produced. 2 The passages of Scripture which destroy the fanci¬ ful picture of the Parisians, he brought all together into one series; the texts of the fathers which testify against it are all so excellently arranged, that even had St. Vincent himself risen from his grave, he must have assented to them. Lastly, the frivolous distinc- 1 Alva. 1792. - First printed in the year 1547. See page 29, note 10. 78 THE COUNCIL tions by means of which Segovia escaped the clearest of all the declarations of the fathers, are refuted in such a striking manner, and often with so much humour, that they sometimes reach the very height of absurdity ( 5 ). The French party had, indeed, every reason to dread the day when the greatest theologian of his time should plant his great battery against it, with the object of making breaches in its walls. Any one who had not lost all his respect for the grey hairs of the fathers, in the excitement caused at Basle upon the question of in¬ fallibility, must inevitably have become thoughtful, when the loim row of witnesses against the Parisian doctrine pe Alexander the Seventh; but the vic¬ tory which they had thereby obtained over the opposition was so complete,, that there was practi¬ cally only one more step forward which they could take. Alexander the Seventh had shut the mouths of their opponents; but the Romish Church still per¬ mitted people to hold the contrary opinion, upon the distinct understanding that they had not the indis¬ cretion to let it out. In order, therefore, to fill up the measure even to overflowing, it was necessary to pro¬ nounce all those to be liable to damnation, who were not also inwardly in accord with the doctrine which had obtained the protection of the Pope. The imma¬ culate conception had become an official doctrine, but the declaration that it was necessary for salvation was not yet made. Nearly two hundred years more elapsed ere this summit was attained—a summit to whose dizzy %j height the discoverer of the immaculate conception had not even struggled in his dreams. L FOR AND AGAINST. 162 During the first century after the time of Pope Alexander, the favoured opinion did not make rapid advances. It was disputed, for and against, without apparent result; yea, it even appeared at times as if it would handle its new opponents with more forbear¬ ance than it showed formerly to the Dominicans. Thus, whilst the Bull of 1661 conferred new honours on the worship of Mary, the voices which rose from the graves of Michael de Bay and Cornelius Jansen told against it. The great circulation which an anony- mous brochure, entitled Wholesale Admonitions of the Blessed Virgin to her indiscreet Worshippers , attained in the years 1673 and 1674, shows plainly how many consciences there were in the Romish Church which clung to the Jansenist warnings, in order to shelter themselves from the overwhelming idolatry which was then rapidly advancing. 1 ‘ Worship me not/ says Mary therein to her over-zealous friends, i as if there were no way to God but through me. For there is a God, and a Mediator between Him and man, even Christ Jesus, and there is no salvation in anv other; and there is no other name given among men whereby they shall be saved, except that of my son Jesus Christ. Worship me not, even as a kind of inferior deity (1). Was I indeed crucified for you, or were you baptized in my name? Therefore do not call me either preserver or even joint saviour (2). Above all, be on your guard, that your reverence for 1 Bordas-Demoulin, Les pouvoirs Constitutifs de Teglise , Paris 1855, 8vo, s. 100-106. FOR AND AGAINST. 163 me does not pass into idolatry; for it is written, Thou shaft worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve ( 3 ). Contend not about words, and quarrel not respecting my prerogative. That serves no pur¬ pose but that of creating confusion amongst the hearers. And why is it that you seek to know things which God has not revealed ? ’ ( 4 ) On such a fruitful soil, and under the rule of a pope who was nothing less than a fanatic worshipper of the immaculate conception, there issued a work which has done more damage, in France at least, to the Scotist doctrine, than even the Dominicans themselves did in former times. It was called the Prescriptions , by Launoy. John de Launoy was born at Valogne, a village of Normandy, in the year 1603. He studied theology and history at Paris. At the age of thirty he became a licentiate, and three years later took the degree of doctor. 1 He made over to his sisters his O paternal inheritance, and divided his income between his library and the poor. The pleasures of youth allured him as little as those of riper age : sensuality was as foreign to him as intemperance and ambition. All his recreation consisted in his extensive scientific correspondence, and in a reunion of his learned friends, which he used to hold in his house every Monday even¬ ing. 2 His intellect was sharp, analytic, and caustic. The interest which he took in theological studies prin¬ cipally centred in their literature and criticism. It used to afford him great pleasure to expose, by means of his 1 Dupin, xviii. 34. 2 Ibid. 164 FOR AND AGAINST. profound learning, the frauds of the monks, and to pierce them through with the sword of his penetrating intellect. 1 In the multifarious struggles of the French episcopacy against the cloisters, he willingly lent the aid of his pen to the bishops, and demolished many of the pretended privileges of the other party, by his unsparing and well-founded deductions. 2 Upon the Koman saints he was very severe. Three of them he excluded from heaven altogether, and he either puri¬ fied or tore to pieces the legends of others. 3 He also touched upon the question of then’ relics more sharply than was agreeable to the speculative priests. For instance, he neither acknowledged the tooth of Christ which the Sammedard monks possessed, nor the bones of St. Lupus, nor the duplicate body of the so-called Bishop Eugenius. 4 His treatise upon the immaculate conception appeared in the year 1676. The Domini¬ cans had already gathered together, as advocates are accustomed to do, all the witnesses that they could find in favour of then opinion; and had the satisfaction of wresting theirs out of the hands of their opponents. Launoy had therefore the opportunity of studying the whole question with the coolness of a physician who probes a wound, and of exposing to view the process of the development of the Scotist doctrine; which he did with so much knowledge of the question, and with such simplicity, that its novelty and nothingness became manifest to every one who had not determined, in 1 Launoii, Opera , iv. 2, s. 849. s Ibid. iv. 2, s. 363. 2 Ibid. iv. 2, s. 350. 4 Ibid. iv. 2, s. 371. FOR AND AGAINST. 165 anticipation, to disown everything which did not serve the purpose. 1 The silly fables with which the Poles and Spaniards had systematically cloked the real facts for the last hundred years, were dissipated by the clear statements of the truth thus brought forth. The spell which had hound all France, since the davs of Monte- sono, to the triumphal car of the Scotists, appeared at once to be broken. The University of Paris herself, which was bound to this doctrine by a thousand ties, allowed this champion to do whatever he pleased without interruption. No decree of the faculty was obtained ao-ainst him, no officer raised his staff against him, no prison opened its door to him. 2 Even the monks could not stir up the bishops (at least the Poman ones) to bring their fulminations down upon his head. A few books was all that they could array against him; and such books ! He certainly had little occasion to trouble himself about them. But the pamphlet of one single man does not suffice to bring about a revolution : for, under such circumstances, the popular will is against such an one; and it travels from house to house, from the palace of the rich to the thatched roof of the poor. We regret to say that it was so at this time. The light of the truth so dazzled their eyes, that those who were most zealous forgot to thrust it out of its own candlestick. The majority of the faithful took little notice of him, and even the more intelligent of them gave themselves up again to sleep as soon as John Launoy was dead. When such 1 Launoii, Opera, i. 1, s. 9-43. 2 Muratori, Opere, v. 69. FOR AND AGAINST. 166 a man as the young Cardinal Albani mounted the chair of St. Peter at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the immaculate conception began to grow again vigorously, since there was not a man like Launoy, or a book like his Prescriptions , to contend against it. John Francis Albani was no great theologian; but from his early youth he had learnt from his master, the Cardinal Sfondrati, that not only was the sinless con¬ ception of the holy Virgin confessed throughout the whole circuit of the earth, but also by the entire body of the fathers, and by St. Thomas himself ( 5 ). It was not to be wondered at, that when he assumed the name of Clement the Eleventh, he should hasten to afford public testimony of his devotion to the mother of God, and at the same time show his respect for his old teacher. At that time, such a course was almost the only one which proved itself agreeable, severally and collectively, to the Papal powers,—Louis of France, Philip Bourbon, and the House of Austria,—who were at that time quarrelling over the Spanish succession. Accordingly, he issued a constitution, in the month of December 1708, in which he enjoined, with all the power of his apostolical authority, the celebration of the festival of the Conception, which had hitherto been left free (g). Bearing in mind that Pope Alexander the Seventh had, forty-seven years previously, ex¬ pressly forbidden, under pain of punishment, the cele¬ bration of the festival in any other sense than that of the immaculate conception, it is nevertheless quite FOR AND AGAINST. 167 clear tliat the Bull of Clement the Eleventh, unpreju¬ dicial as it might at first sight appear, was really the first attempt to bury freedom of conscience by the side of freedom of speech, under the heap of rubbish com¬ posed of Scotist errors and Bomish despotism. How soon a formal declaration that the belief in the immacu¬ late conception was necessary for salvation would fol¬ low, could only be a question of time. The Spaniards were of opinion that it would be for the best, if Pope Clement should deliver himself at once of the decision in question ( 7 ). It did not take place at this time ; and meanwhile, the snare in which the constitution of 1708 held the conscience captive, was strong enough to check all movement. It was distinctly so in the case of Muratori. Ludovico Antonio Muratori was born at Vignola, in the Modenese, on the 21st of October 1672. He studied history, jurisprudence, and theology, at Mo¬ dena, and even in his 26th year he was a prodigy of learning. In 1694 he became conservator of the cele- brated Ambrosian library, and as such he received priestly ordination at Milan. Six years later he was called to Modena by the Duke to be his librarian, which post he retained permanently. He never accepted any other office, not even at the University itself : amongst his dear books he wished to live and die. His literary activity was truly astonishing : four volumes of anecdotes collected out of the Ambrosian library, twenty-nine folios of Italian history, six of Italian antiquities, an equal number of collections of 168 FOR AND AGAINST. ancient inscriptions, and twelve quarto volumes of the annals of Italy, are the result of his labours. All these original works testify equally as to his iron in¬ dustry and his sober judgment; yea, scarcely in the writings of any Italian, whether of ancient or modern times, do so much learning and so much brilliancy of thought meet together. Muratori was modest, almost bashful, and the enemy of all ostentation in matters of religion. In 1714 he wrote a paper for the special purpose of warning all his theological contemporaries against grieving the church with unnecessary and un¬ edifying contentions. 1 A literary war which succeeded upon this, forced him to go deeply into the question of the immaculate conception of Mary. 2 Accordingly, he brought out a treatise i Against superstition’ in the year 1741, which he published under a nom de plume I In this publication he did not venture to dispute openly the opinion of Alexander the Seventh, but he directed himself first of all to those who had decided on devot¬ ing their lives to the defence of the immaculate con¬ ception : he exposed clearly enough the practices by means of which fanatical monks had, during the last 200 years, sought to stamp the wonderful discovery of one of their number as a universally binding article of faith. 4 Against the arguments of Scotus, based 1 Lamindus Pritanius, De ingeniorum moderatione in religionis negotio , Paris 1714, 4to. 2 J. G. Walch, Bibliotheca theologica , Jena 1758, 8vo, ii. 1005. 3 Antonius Lampridius, De Superstitione vitanda , Mediolani 1741, 4to. 4 Muratori, Opere , Arezzo 1768, 4to, v. 8, 11, 75-80, 84-86. FOR AND AGAINST. 169 upon the fitness of things, he places the word of God in the 55th chapter of Isaiah and the 8th verse, ‘My thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor my ways as your ways.’ 1 Against the appeal of the immaculatists to public opinion, which was the refuge of Vincent of Lerins, he brings the unanimous testimony of the fathers. 2 Throughout the whole work one discovers a quiet tone of complaint that the church has forsaken her old foundations, and has no longer the power of defending herself against her enemies. In fact, one cannot read it without feeling a sensation of distress at O a true heart striving in vain to free itself from the snares with which the Bulls of Alexander the Seventh and Clement the Eleventh had entangled it. 3 All this was not said openly, but under an assumed name. But neither his excessive foresight, nor even the timorous care with which he avoided every direct attack at the officially recognised doctrine, sufficed to shelter him from Papal condemnation. He was at once denounced, and the sword of the Inquisition was suspended over his defenceless head. The only thing that saved him was the happy circumstance that Pope Benedict the Fourteenth valued learned people even more than the immaculate conception. That his writings found literary opponents, will surprise no one. And in one respect at least, such men as Father Luca had no diffi¬ culty in driving them out of the field; for, in point of fact, there was no such thing as freedom of opinion 1 Muratori, v. 58. 2 Ibid. v. 214, 215, 430. 3 Ibid. v. 271, 306, 307, 414, 415, 426. 170 FOR AND AGAINST. about the conception of tlie Virgin since the issue of the ordinances of Alexander and Clement. 1 What Muratori had brought forward out of the Bible and the writings of the fathers, remained, of course, indis¬ putable; but how difficult it was, even at that time, to eradicate such deeply rooted errors from the heart, was plainly shown in the case of the blind Anglerill, Professor of Theology at Barcelona in Spain. ‘ I am mad/ says he, in his dissertation upon the immaculate conception, 4 if any one is able to deny this wonder of all wonders, that a doctrine without foundation in Scrip¬ ture, and unknown even by the fathers, should, out of an imperceptible origin, have become so indescrib¬ ably mighty (s). If Mary were not conceived without sin, the whole of Spain lies in error, and we university men are to be especially pitied, as we are obliged to swear to it; and the Holy Spirit must have forsaken the church, at least in this particular.’ The blind man trembles as he contemplates such a possibility as this. 2 But in order not to leave the people in a dilemma of so threatening an aspect, Alphonso de Liguori sought to furnish a material basis for this opinion. And could anything be adopted more appropriately than the old foundation which Scotus had raised from its cradle— the fitness of things ? This argument he brought again on the tapis , somewhat modernized and polished up, in his book Upon the Glory of Mary. For if Mary 1 Joannis de Luca, De immaculata b. Virginis conceptione dis¬ sertation Neapoli 1742, 8vo. 2 Anglerill, xxx. xxxi. FOR AND AGAINST. i/i should stand as a mediator between God and man, both reason and fairness will demand that she should appear before Him in a character other than that of a sinner—an enemy of God. 1 He furnished, in addi¬ tion, a number of citations which indicate more power of imagination than accuracy; 2 but that is no matter. He, moreover, adopts the persuasive tone, wherein he drags in everything which would give to each of his arguments the appearance of truth, at least in the eyes of the Redemptorists. Thus matters stood when the eighteenth century came to an end. The darkness of night succeeded to the lightnings of Launoy and the thunder of Muratori. And if one attempted to rub the dust of sleep out of one’s eyes, and to look about him, Anglerill’s voice and the lullaby of the Bishop of St. Acratha would soothe him to rest attain. The cords of the Homan Delilah were double, and new, and not so easy to break. NOTES—CHAPTER NIL (l) Nolite me colere ac si non daretur aditus ad Deum per Christum sine me. Unus enim est Deus, unus et mediator Dei et hominum, Christus Jesus. Non est in alio aliquo salus, nec enim aliud nomen est sub coelo datum hominibus, in quo oportet vos salvos fieri, quam nomen Jesu Christi filii mei. Noli me colere quasi deam subalternam .—Monita 1 Alplions de Liguori, Die Herrlichkeiten Maria aus dem Italien- ischen von Rigel , Augsburg 1810, 8vo, ii. 6. 2 Liguori, ii. 29, 33. 172 FOR AND AGAINST. Salutaria b. v. Maries ad cultores suos indiscretos , Gandavi 1673, 4to, No. 8. The edition from which this is taken was edited in France in the year 1674, without stating the place of publication. I believe that it was published at Lille by Gerberon. The extract occurs on page 7. ( 2 ) Numquid ego crucifixa sum pro vobis, aut in nomine meo baptizati estis? Ne itaque dixeris, me esse omnipo- tentern, ne me vocaveris salvatricem aut corredemtricem.— Monita , Nos. 9 and 10, s. 8. ( 3 ) Attende, ne dulia tua degeneret in adulterinam latriam et impingas in preceptum divinum : Dominum Deum tuum adorabis et illi soli servies.— Monita , No. 15, s. 12. ( 4 ) Nolite contendere verbis et invicem mordere circa meas dotes et prerogativas. Ad nihil enim illud utile est, nisi ad subversionem audientium. Ut quid enim presu- mitis decernere, quod Deus non revelavit.— Monita , No. 18, s. 14. ( 5 ) Coelestin Sfondrati Innocentia vindicata, in qua gra- vissimis argumentis ex s. Thoma petitis ostenditur, angeli- cum doctorem pro immaculato conceptu deiparse sensisse et scripsisse.— Typis. mon. S. Galli , 1695, folio. (6) Sincera itaque nostra erga eandem augustissimam coeli reginam, patronam et advocatam nostram devotione incitati, festum conceptionis ipsius beatse Marise vii’ginis immaculate ubique terrarum in posterum ab omnibus et singulis utriusque sexus Christi fidelibus sicut aha festa de precepto servari et celebrari ac sub precepto observationis festorum comprehendi, auctoritate apostohea tenore pre- FOR AND AGAINST. 173 sentinm decernimus, prgecipimus, et mandamus.— Magnum Bullarium Bomanum , viii. 69. (7) Pareri <7e/Z’ episcopate) cattolico sulla definizione dog- matica delV immacolato concepimento della b. v. Maria , Roma 1851, 8vo, viii. 489—559. (8) Insaniam ego, si grande illud et miraculum maximum vere mihi quispiam inficietur, quo, sine ullo e coelo excepto signo, religio mysterii ejus, per te in divinis scripturis adeo obscuri et ab omnibus pcene patribus ignorati, sic propagari, sic in universe Cliristiano orbe augeri potuit, quod e parvis initiis in immensum crevit.— Magixus Axgleeill, Dissertatio in immciculatam virginis conceptionem , sumto argumento ex ecclesicepropensione acl ipscim , Barcinone 1767, 4to, s. xxix. CHAPTER XIII. PIUS THE NINTH. HE immaculate conception was a question which was now given up, just as much as lettres de cachet are, or the holy oil at Rheims. The Romish Church preserved it, with no less circumspection than it did celibacy or the mass. How happy they were in the Papal countries ! They wanted no reformation; they had thoroughly set on one side every attempt thereat, and even enjoyed all those glories which were both so noble and so very ancient, though, in the opinion of the opponents of this doctrine, they certainly did not agree with the word of God, But God allowed a storm to descend upon them, which both overthrew their houses and broke up their churches. It is true that the gospel had not been actually trodden under the feet of the French dragoons,—no prostitute goddess of reason had defded the high altar of Notre Dame at Paris,— no procession with an ass laden with the relics of St. Germain des Pres was led through the convent hall. Then came Bonaparte, who with his soldiers trod the deeply cut furrows of the west with a firm step. When, PIUS THE NINTH. i /5 at last, after the days of Leipsic and the Belle Alliance, the affairs of Europe began again to fortify themselves, we reach the time of the Restoration. But it appears that Rome would not learn common sense from God's judgments. Instead, therefore, of holding God’s word in true honour, and of promoting its spread, Pope Leo the Twelfth condemned the Bible societies on the 3d of Mav 1824. When even the fanatical monk Alberto Capellari exchanged the convent of the Camaldoli for the throne of St. Peter, they did not follow up the old Papal track with more determination. But through the influence of Cardinal Lambruschini, who was then Secretary of State, the immaculate conception did not by any means occupy the lowest place amongst the various relics which his zeal for the Restoration had encouraged him to hunt up out of the Papal store¬ rooms. In order to restore it again to honour, the original and simple order of service for the 8th of December, which did not suit the views of the Alexan¬ drian immaculatists, was altered in a great number of dioceses. 1 Then followed the astonishing effects of the so-called miraculous medal. Had not Sister M. at Paris seen a vision of Mary in an erect position with outstretched hands; and all around the inscrip¬ tion, in letters of gold, ‘ O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who take refuge in thee P A voice announced to her that a medal must be struck in remembrance of this exhibition; and that whoever wore it should receive great grace from the mother of 1 Pareri delV episcopato ccittolico , vi. 346, 372, etc. 176 PIUS THE NINTH God. 1 Tlie medal was actually struck in the summer of 1832, under the approbation of the Archbishop of Paris; 2 and it proved itself to be of extraordinary healing powers not only for consumption and insanity, hut also for hydrophobia and Protestantism! 3 Is it to be wondered at, that forty-eight French bishops urged Gregory the Sixteenth to convert so wholesome a doctrine into a dogma? 4 The Cardinal Secretary of State was fully resolved to add this new wreath to the laurels of his Pope, 5 and he succeeded in bringing the General of the Dominicans to admit the new mass. 6 The great bell of the Capitol tolled—the same bell which rings in the Carnival: Antonio Capellari was dead! Luigi Lambruschini did not leave the conclave of the 16tli of June 1846 as Pope, but in his stead Count Mastai Ferretti, a man of sugar instead of the man of war. It was, however, the hour of the imma¬ culate conception; and it must equally fulfil its course, whether the Cardinal of Sabina or that of Imola were the Pope. Pius the Ninth was a man of quick perception and of generous spirit, but he was little qualified for such stormy times. In the first year of his reign he lived 1 Gescliichtliclier Bericht fiber den Unsprung und die Wirkungen der neuen Medaille , Munster 1839, 12mo, s. 21, 22. 2 GescTiichtlicher Bericlit , s. 22, 23. 3 Ibid. s. 41, etc., 36, etc., 27, and 156, etc. 4 Pareri delV episcopato cattnlico , ix. 15-17. 5 Lambruschini, SulV immacolato concepimento di Maria disser- tazione polemica, Roma 1843, 8vo, s. 122-124. 6 Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , vi. 592-597. PIUS THE NINTH. 1 77 under the belief that the storm clouds which surrounded the horizon of his country could be dispelled by the charm of liberalism. The gay populace of Rome rejoiced; the painter Reinliard wrote well-sounding verses; Father Ventura preached well; the clergy would turn towards the new democracy, would conse- crate and proclaim it master; but the blood which issued from the neck of the minister Rossi, under the dagger of Zambianehi, afforded him only a tottering support. From this time forth the good Pope turned away from the liberal movement altogether; and the more his people urged him, the more persistently did he maintain his own course. For that purpose he clave with all the strength of his devotion, not to the God of David and Asaph, not to the God of St. Peter and Leo, but to the Virgin Mary. Upon her he placed all his trust (l) ; from her, and from her alone, he looked for grace and salvation ( 2 ). When, in the month of November 1848, he fled for protection to King Ferdinand of Naples, the plan was matured under the walls of Gaeta, of securing for himself the especial help of Mary by means of the solemn declara¬ tion of her immaculate conception. 1 Perrone, the Jesuit, at once set aside the scruples which suggested themselves to the soul of the Papal fugitive against such a fabrication of a dogma without the support of scriptural authority or the testimony of the fathers. Dogma, said he, is what God has revealed. But that God has revealed any particular doctrine, will be most 1 Pio N0110, a. a. 0 . 1 , 5 . i;8 PIUS THE NINTH. safely determined by the opinion of the majority. Wliat the majority, and especially that of the priests, recognise as true, must as a matter of fact be true. The assembly of the living has at all times as much authority as that of the dead; and public opinion is upon this matter a much better, because a more intelli¬ gible, rule of faith, than that of St. Vincent of Lerins. 1 These newest of all metamorphoses of the Tridentine principles of tradition blinded the otherwise not over sharp eyes of the Pope all the more readily, as they sounded in unison with the liberal dreams of his youth. A declaration of the immaculate conception appeared as if it would practically blend in wholesome harmony all conceivable and even apparently incongruous dis¬ tinctions. In particular, it would unquestionably drive the holy Virgin herself to more active and motherly intervention ; it was also in accordance with the public opinion of all countries; and lastly, it fulfilled the desire of his predecessor in office, Pope Gregory the Sixteenth, of happy memory, as well as that of his own heart. Accordingly the good Pope issued an encyclical letter on the 2d of February 1819, to all the bishops of the Roman world, in which he summoned them to settle the question immediately, as to how soon the immaculate conception might be accepted by then’ flocks and their clergy, and with what longing such a Oi/ 7 Cj dD solemn proclamation might be desired (s). They were particularly requested to add their personal views on 1 Perrone, in Cliemnicii examen , ed. Preuss, Berlin 1861, 4to, s. 1021, 1022. PIUS THE NINTH. 1 79 the subject, with, their special desires in reference to the same ( 4 ). More than 500 bishops returned answer to this circular letter: of these the greater part were Italians, a good many Spaniards, a fair number of Frenchmen, a few Austrians, and only just a sprinkling from other countries. The majority of the Italians and Spaniards not only gave their hearty assent to the undertaking of the Pope, but also thanked him for having fulfilled their hearty desires. The opinion of the immaculate conception is indeed no new thing in Spain, as the Bishop of Barbastro certifies; for the whole country has cherished it ever since the days of the apostles ( 5 ). One is indeed surprised that this was not dogmatically settled a long time ago (6). The ground of such a submission w’as a servile tendency, 1 in consequence of which the assent of the majority was secured quite as much by zeal for Mary-worship as by the enlighten¬ ment of the mind. The Archbishop of Trani urges, that first of all it should be clearly established by the solemn sanction given to the immaculate conception, that the holy Virgin is in no sense inferior to our Redeemer—that she is, in fact, the complement of the Holy Trinity itself ( 7 ). It was well that, at a time when the episcopacy were holding a jubilee in honour of their devotion to Mary, other voices should make themselves heard—voices of a very different metal; voices of men, who have not yet yielded up their knowledge in favour of phantasies. 1 Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , i, 55, 56. i8o PIUS THEfNINTH. Will not our enemies across the Channel say of us, in the spirit of gentle coip$laint, that we have made new additions to God’s word? (s) Will not men rise np ont of the ranks of our own clergy against the new dogma, especially where one denies the infallibility of the Pope? ( 9 ) Thus it was that voices made them¬ selves heard, from the hanks of the Danube and the Rhine, out of Westphalia and Bavaria, even out of the ancestral city of Peter the Hermit, from Angers and Versailles. 1 There were a couple of bishops who had the boldness to circulate extensively the questions which were opposed to the plans of the Pope. ( In my diocese, at all events,’ wrote the Bishop of Ermland, 6 there are people who understand and recognise by the immaculate conception, that of Christ Himself ( 10 ). But not only such people, but also the populace in general, will be rather confounded than rejoiced by such a Papal decree as that now in prospect’ (ll). The Administrator of Limburg deals still more pointedly with the matter in question. He simply brings to¬ gether the several arguments for and against, and leaves it to the Pope to decide which are the more weighty. Five are against: 1st, From the very be¬ ginning the whole debate upon the immaculate con¬ ception has been little profitable to the soul. 2d, Each doctrine numbers amongst its champions sundry pious men, and even saints. 3d, Both parties pay equal reverence to the Virgin Mary. 4th, The whole con- troversv, at least in the province of Limburg, is already 1 Chemnicii examen , ed. Preuss, s. 985, 986. PIUS THE NINTH. 181 forgotten. 5th and last, Believers have either a wrong notion about it, or else they have no opinion at all ( 12 ). Similar answers were returned from Bamberg and Constance, from Beauvais and Bourges. 1 The Arch¬ bishop of Gbrz in Friuli gave warning in still plainer, almost indeed in threatening language : ‘ Looking upon the position of Germany, it appears to me that the course of the scholastic dispute, about the immacu¬ late conception is fraught with danger: we are indeed called upon to determine the question in the very presence of the Protestants. Does not one hear day by day their exclamation (and would to God it were confined to them), that Borne places the faithful under a yoke which they cannot bear, that she fabricates new dogmas, invents formal articles of faith out of the poetic figures of speech of one and another father of the church, and requires something to be believed to¬ day as a saving truth, which any one might have held yesterday as a doubtful question without incurring any blame ? And what will happen if this pious belief (as it is called in our catechism) is raised into a dogma? An increase of faith, or a favourable change in the position of the Catholic Church ? Or perhaps a relief from the difficulties in which the affairs of Borne are entangled ? I, for my part, fear quite the contrary, and I tremble at the thought. The undertaking is, I am bound to confess it, full of danger. On a former occasion, under Gregory the Sixteenth, a similar pro¬ position was made; and at that time I received letters 1 Cliemnicii examen , ed. Preuss, 986. I§2 PIUS THE NINTH. from Catholic bishops in distant countries, 'with the wondering question: Is Borne, then, about to prepare a new article of faith? Mv counsel therefore is, to refrain from establishing and requiring belief in any , new propositions’ ( 13 ). With no less boldness of speech did Archbishop Louis of Bouen declare that c this article of faith is not clearly contained in Holy Scripture. Tradition fails in respect of clearness and unanimity. Were it not so, St. Anselm, St. Bonaven- tura, St. Bernard, St. Thomas, Bellarmin, and so many others, would not have remained in ignorance of it. In fact, the belief in the immaculate conception does not go hack much further than the eleventh century. Under «/ present circumstances, the dogmatic declaration of it is altogether superfluous and dangerous. Superfluous,— because no one at the present day disputes the pure conception of the holy Virgin; and it has never been the custom of the church to establish dogmatically an article which no one disputes. Dangerous,—for such a definition as this would in all probability call forth, under present circumstances, both lively discussion and sharp attacks. For instance, what will the theo¬ logians of the Anglican Church,—people who are so versed in ecclesiastical antiquities,—what will they say to it, when they see the Holy Chair stamping as an article of faith, an opinion, the very name of which was scarcely known for so many centuries, and which so many saints and great ecclesiastical authorities have either denied or ignored ? Will they not find that the church of to-day has neglected the principle of St. PIUS THE NINTH. 183 Vincent of Lerins, which is so safe and worthy of attention : quod ubique , quod semper , quod ab omnibus ? I fear for the peace of the church; I fear that, in consequence of the opportunity afforded by this new dogma, most serious passions may he excited against her, and perhaps even in her own bosom. I fear for the good reputation of the Popes, who, it will be said, have been engaged for 300 years in stifling free dis- cussion upon the matter in question: on the one hand forbidding, under severe penalties, to lay hands on the privilege of the immaculate conception; and on the other, favouring by all possible means the extension of this pious belief. Yea, I fear for your own person. Will it not be said that Pius the Ninth has exposed the bark of St. Peter to severe storms, for the sake of a question which is of no importance as a matter of faith, and which has nothing whatever to do with our conduct before God? Upon all these considerations, I vote that there is no ground for raising the pious belief in the immaculate conception of the holy Virgin into a dogma. Such a decree I hold to be altogether undesirable: yea, I even regard it as a dangerous J J O O thing, a two-edged sword, which may readily wound the hand which wields it ? (it). The vote of the Pomish Archbishop of Dublin was equally important. He admits that, in his diocese, there are those who hold that the immaculate concep¬ tion is not plainly enough revealed ( 15 ) ; and he also gives a direct warning (in which he is supported by the vote of the Dublin Jesuits and the professors of 184 PIUS THE NINTH. Mavnooth) against such a dogmatic declaration as the Pope had intended. For, firstly, such is contrary to the practice of the church, which has heretofore only allowed such decisions to be promulgated in times when heresy has dared to attack the pure doctrines. On this occasion there is no ground for departing from this custom, and of burdening one’s self thereby with the reproach of an innovation. Whereas the immaculate conception is almost generally believed, and that peace¬ ably, and is nowhere publicly impugned by any one; it is much better to let the matter rest as it is, than un¬ necessarily to throw amongst the people the apple of discord, in the shape of a new dogma, especially at a time like the present, when the great minds of Italy itself are only too much inclined to test the limits of ecclesiastical authority, quite regardless of the conse¬ quences that may result. Above all, it is scarcely to be expected that the devotion of the faithful to the most blessed Virgin will be much increased by a solemn declaration of her immaculate conception. And even if such a climax were to be the result of the new attacks of the embittered and ever watchful enemies of the church, would not such a decree only add to the dangers to which she is exposed ? Behold ! (one would say,) the Catholic Church has, after all these centimes, discovered a new article of faith,—a dogma, which nevertheless is not generally, nor has been always believed. She has indeed set up a beautiful and new light, which was refused by the Council of Trent. Lastly, we may fear that those Protestants who now PIUS THE NINTH. 185 incline to the Catholic Church as a refuge from their protean errors, will again he driven further away from us, by this new, and in their opinion, freshly invented article of faith ( 16 ). The Cardinal Archbishop of Salzburg expressed his opinion also to the same effect . 1 The late Bishop Diepenbrock also possessed suffi¬ cient intelligence and independent courage to stand out against this unecclesiastical and dangerous under- taking. Under date the 24th December 1849, he O J writes : ‘ Even Germany must not be left out of sight in this important question; especially that portion of Catholic Germany which is exposed to the daily atttacks of the Protestant camp. I cannot, however, fail to recognise how Providence makes use of the events of our days in order to make the truth of the Catholic Church acceptable to those who reflect upon it. The firmness of her hierarchical constitution with¬ stands all concussions, whilst the surrounding thrones tremble; and by means of her influence over the faithful, she supports even the ordinances of states. She recognises the firm and correct deportment of the clergy, who exhort the faithful to obedience and fidelity towards their Protestant sovereigns, whilst Protestant pastors either remain dumb or make common cause with the democrats. She has, lastly, the personality of the Pope before her eyes, who has proved to be a model of all virtue, even under the severest tests. All this,—and especially the power and firmness of Catho¬ licism, which makes the more mighty strides the more 1 Pareri delV episcopato cattolico, i. 326, 327. PIUS THE NINTH. 186 room for play is allowed, whilst Protestantism, which is based entirely upon the protection of princes, decom¬ poses like a disinterred corpse when exposed to the action of the air,—all this, I say, has made, and daily continues to make, a deep impression on thoughtful minds : the scales fall by degrees from the opened eyes, the light pours in, and a movement is made towards it which would probably lead to the desired end, unless a new disturbance should intervene ! Even the wandering planets of the last three centuries might return again to their courses, perhaps ere the next century has passed away! Such a disturbance will, however, infallibly happen, if such a dogmatic decree as that now proposed be promulgated from the apos¬ tolic chair. Such a decree would indeed supply ample refreshment for the lean and hungry prejudices of the Protestants. The Protestant preachers and authors who are now striving for possession of the altars and the hearths, would fortify themselves with this as in a stronghold, and would deafen their poor people anew with their shoutings against the Papacy and its manu¬ facture of dogmas. The unbelievers would join in chorus with the pious, and drown this holy mystery with the filth of their scoffs and blasphemy. ... So much from without. Within, the old discussion, which has been quelled with so much difficulty, will burst out afresh in our theological schools. In parti¬ cular, the nice question as to the infallibility of the Pope, is sure to be involved; and this will add fresh fuel to the flames. The opposition of that part of the PIUS THE NINTH. 187 clergy which is imbued with neology, and which pre¬ vails in the Rhine district, Baden, and Bohemia, will thereby he nourished and strengthened; and the result in the long run will be, that instead of the progress of piety in the Catholic populations, we shall experience nothing but serious scandals and annoyances both from within and without—things which are a thousand O times more serious now-a-days than they were in past centuries. I speak to your Eminence as the organ of the Pope, and I beg you to make what use you like of my letter. Dixi et salvavi animam mearn ( 17 ). The Archbishop of Paris was, however, the one who opposed the Pope in the most remarkable manner. On the 26th of July 1860 he wrote as follows: ‘The immaculate conception of the holy Virgin cannot be received as an article of faith, according to the prin¬ ciples of theology; still less can one require belief in this doctrine as universally binding under pain of ever¬ lasting damnation. But even if the Holv Chair believed it were able to carry such a dogmatic definition, it would certainly not be desirable at the present time ; for it would not increase the glory of the holy Virgin, while, on the other hand, it would be dangerous to the peace of the church and to the salvation of souls’ (is). A few months later, the report from Rome reached the ears of the Archbishop, that it was seriously in¬ tended to issue the dreaded decree in spite of his opposition, and of that of others who sided with him. Accordingly he once more aroused himself, and in the month of December he sent Pope Pius the Ninth a 188 PIUS THE NINTH. second and urgent letter, containing a full detail of his views, in order if possible, even at the eleventh hour, to warn him and the whole Romish Church of the danger of such a step. He wrote : c I have taken into my counsel the most influential men and the most renowned theologians of my diocese; and they all think as I do, that the Church will suffer serious damage and the greatest calamities by the promulgation of the decree in question. And I myself assert, in common with them, that neither the church nor the Holy Chair has the right to make the doctrine of the immaculate conception into an article of faith. Yea, I go even further, and say that the church cannot declare this doctrine to be unquestionable, so as to be binding upon the faithful under pain of damnation’ (l9). After having forced his thirty-eight considerations upon the conscience of the Pope in the most persuasive manner, he summed them all up as follows: ‘It is (therefore) at least a doubtful point, whether the church be en¬ titled to pronounce a decree upon the doctrine of the immaculate conception. But if her competence can be brought into question, she must be silent; and with all the more reason, as there is at present no actual necessity for her to speak. There are many theolo¬ gians who have written upon the power to determine this question, and amongst them those who are most loyal to your Holiness, who have gone much further than I do. They have not only doubted the com¬ petence of the church to decide such questions, but have even flatly denied it. I, most blessed father, PIUS THE NINTH. 189 hold the question simply as a doubtful one, and counsel you not to mix yourself up in it. Besides, seeing that the immaculate conception cannot be demonstrated to unbelieyers and heretics either out of the Scriptures or tradition; and since reason and science have also raised difficulties in connection with it which cannot be solved; the Catholic Church will stand in a weak and defenceless position in the struggle which will be excited, if she makes this opinion into a dogma. One blow of this kind will strike her authority down to the •j dust, cause faith in her decrees to waver, and place the truthfulness of her decisions in matters of doctrine in a doubtful position. But let the case be granted, that a decree like the one in question does not shake her holy and infallible authority, that it does not ex- pose to unbelieyers and heretics the treasures of her old, long defined, and established propositions,—the church, nevertheless, should not dare to issue such a decree. Why ? It has not the least utility. It will neither do any good to the faithful, nor to itself, nor to the Virgin. And is not that sufficient, quite independently of the danger to which souls may thereby be exposed, to urge your Holiness to a different resolution?’ (20) But it was now too late. If any outspoken words disturbed the Pope with uncomfortable dreams, the serpent-wise Perrone knew how to lull him again to slumber. For this purpose he does not consider any¬ thing so suitable as this—theological research upon the subject of the immaculate conception. Whilst his honourable predecessors had exerted themselves with 190 PIUS THE NINTH astonishing perseverance in collecting passages from the Bible, and testimony from the fathers, in favour of their beloved doctrine, he readily and even thought¬ lessly admitted, that all the passages gathered out of God' s word, and all the texts selected from the fathers of the church during the last five centimes, prove actually nothing. He is even almost too proud to refer to the highly valued Arguments founded upon Reason , which has been circulated with so much zeal ever since the days of Scotus. After he has done all this, and every reader is expecting that the learned author will draw the simple conclusion that the immaculate con¬ ception is not true, he turns round and asserts with smiling countenance, that the Pope can nevertheless establish it, and that very readily. So far as the Holy Scriptures, as our rule of faith, are concerned, it does not exist: moreover, it is not in accordance with the common voice of the fathers, and certainly not with that of reason. The Pope remains, who with God and the church is all-sufficient. The church is the truth, the Pope is the church, therefore the Pope is truth. These general principles, propounded by Jesuits like Silvester Prierias with such touching simplicity, exer¬ cised an irresistible spell over the weak resolution of the Pope. Everything that could now keep him upon the straight path was set aside. How could the mists of doubt with which the Archbishops of Rouen and Paris sought to becloud his soul avail against this victorious sun ? It was perfectly clear : Vincent of Lerins and six dozen other fathers could weigh less than nothing PIUS THE NINTH. 191 against one solitary utterance of liis most holy lips. If he, the mouthpiece of truth, declare that the immaculate conception is taught in God’s word, then it is so taught, even though all the heretics of Ger¬ many, together with some twenty evil-disposed bishops, should take their stand upon the contrary. In the commission which, at the recommendation of the Pope, deliberated upon the question of the immaculate con¬ ception in the years 1852 and 1853 , the brilliant spirit of Perrone took the lead (21). It decided that, ‘in order to make a certain opinion into a dogma, there is no need of any testimony out of Holy Scripture. Tradition alone, without any written witness, is suffi¬ cient of itself (22). In order to constitute tradition, it is necessary to have an unbroken line of witnesses reaching back to the apostles; but the Catholic tradi¬ tion is established, if it can be proved that the general opinion of the church has at any time publicly declared itself upon the thesis in question’ (23). Thus the last shadow of a doubt was removed from the mind of the Pope. What could now hinder him % The old banner of St. Vincent lay in tatters at his feet; the new standard of Perrone fluttered gaily in the wind,—a standard under which one could triumphantly march away from the long dreaded Bible texts, and over the grey hairs of the fathers. The good Pius accordingly undertook the simple and agreeable business of creating by an ordinance a new and most mighty truth, and of adorning the queen of his heart with fresh laurels at the same 192 PIUS THE NINTH. time. 1 In order to lend greater splendour to the solemn declaration of the dogma, he invited the foreign cardinals, and about forty foreign bishops, to the holy city in the autumn of 1854. 2 About one hundred others also came of their own accord. 3 All these, the uninvited included, were furnished with a printed copy of the Bull which had been already prepared, a short report upon the previous discussions, and the ten volumes of Pareri ( 24 ). They were all likewise in¬ vited to the four assemblies which were held in the great hall of the Vatican on the 20th, 21st, 23d, and 24th of November. 4 At the foot of a magnificent ivory crucifix, the three cardinal presidents—Brunelli, Caterini, and Santucci—sat in chairs of state, sur¬ rounded on both sides by the prelates, and the five counsellors in the midst. It was altogether so stately, that it reminded one of the celebrated councils which used to assemble there in olden times, and issue such important manifestoes. Cardinal Brunelli rose, hold¬ ing a Latin treatise in his hand. The Holy Father has invited the bishops on this occasion, in order that they might have the opportunity of assisting at the defini¬ tion of the immaculate conception. At the same time, he wished to hear their opinion upon the expressions in which the Bull should be couched ( 25 ). Neverthe¬ less, it was not his purpose to regard the present assembly as a council; and therefore he must decline dealing with the question of the dogma itself, and of 1 Malou, ii. 356. 2 Ibid. ii. 357, 358. 3 Ibid. ii. 358, 370. 4 Ibid. ii. 358, 370. PIUS THE NINTH. 193 the seasonableness or otherwise of a direct definition. These two points were for his own consideration (20). One of the secretaries then read the Bull sentence by sentence, and the honourable dignitaries had the pleasure of making their remarks thereupon . 1 Some of them considered the affirmation that the Holy Scrip¬ tures taught the immaculate conception to be too strong, and that such was foreign to their purpose; others took offence because texts had been taken from the Proverbs of Solomon and the Book of Wisdom, without distinction from those taken from Genesis and the Gospels, just as if they occupied an equal rank in respect of strength of evidence (27). As to the testi¬ mony of the fathers, it must be remembered that such was to be found in the printed copy of the Bull Citate, drawn from the supposititious writings of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine . 2 The tone of the whole farce was in its character more lively than dignified. They would have done better in simply defining the doctrine under discussion, and avoiding any commentary there¬ on . 3 At length two bishops, one French and the other Italian, stood forth and presented the very dutiful petition, that his Holiness should mention the vote, or rather the verdict, of the Catholic episcopate in the Bull which was about to be issued (28). A moderate request certainly ! Moderate pretensions are never advanced in favour of an assembly of bishops by any of their number, since the time when the anathema of the sixth general council was poured forth upon Pope 1 Malou, ii. 360. 2 Ibid. n. 364. 3 Ibid. ii. 364, 365. N 194 PIUS THE NINTH. Honorius.. But so modest a request as this, was even too arrogant for this Romish synod. The request of these two bishops found no echo within the walls of the Vatican, and accordingly the satellites of the Pope experienced no difficulty in bringing them to silence. 6 What object could there be in setting up again anti¬ quated and even forgotten Gallican fancies, especially at such a time as the present, which is so wanting in its respect for authority? On the other hand, the simple fact of the Pope issuing so important a dog¬ matic decision upon his own authority would exercise a most salutary effect. For would not such be in itself a manifest and sufficient evidence as to his sove¬ reign authority over Christian doctrine, and of the infallibility with which Jesus Christ has invested His vicar upon earth?’ (29) Considerations, so in har¬ mony with the time, experienced general approval in this illustrious assembly: they were adopted, and fur¬ nished a most remarkable conclusion to the delibera¬ tions of these four days (30). On the 1 st of December the Pope gathered together his cardinals, and asked them for their opinion upon the subject,of the result of which he was already certain (31). After having gone through this formality, he finally pre¬ pared himself for the celebration of the most pleasing of all days, to which he had been looking forward for so long a time (32). And it came round. On the 8 th of December, the festival of the Conception of Mary, the foreign bishops assembled^! eight o’clock in the morning in their hall of session in the Vatican, put on PIUS THE NINTH. T 95 their robes of office, and proceeded to the Sistine Chapel. From thence, after a short service, they pro¬ ceeded with the Pope to St. Peter’s. Here they now kissed his ring, made the customary obeisance, and awaited the events which were about to take place . 1 Cardinal Macchi, with some select companions, stepped in front of the throne of his Holiness, and, addressing him in the Latin language, begged him to declare the o o y oo immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary by power of his infallible authority, and so to fill all heaven and earth with a new jubilee . 2 Pio Nono arose, and read : 3 ‘ Having put up our prayers, together with those of the church, without intermission, and in humiliation and fasting, to God the Father through His Son, that He should direct and strengthen our purpose by the aid of His Holy Spirit; having obtained by our en¬ treaties the help of the whole heavenly hierarchy, and especially of the Holy Spirit the Comforter; we, by His grace conferred upon us, declare, pronounce, and define, to the honour of the holy and indivisible Trinity, to the glory and praise of the Virgin Mother of God, to the strengthening of the Catholic faith, and to the increase of the Christian religion,—in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the names of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and in our own,—as follows’ (33) : Here, all on a sudden, the Pope’s voice failed him, and he began to weep. But the eyes of all were centred upon him, and with an effort he recovered himself and 1 Malou, ii. 373, 375. 2 Ibid. ii. 375, 376. 3 Ibid. ii. 376, 377, and i. 16, 17. 196 PIUS THE NINTH. proceeded : 1 ‘The doctrine, that the most blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from all original sin in the very first moments of her conception by a special grace of Almighty God, conferred upon her in view of the services to be rendered by our Redeemer Christ Jesus, is revealed by God, and must therefore be firmly and certainly believed by all the faithful. Henceforth, whoever dares (which God forbid) to think in his heart otherwise than is defined by us, is, as we hereby notify publicly, condemned by his own judgment, has made shipwreck of faith, and is fallen from the unity of the church. Whoever, amongst such, dares to publish by word of mouth, or in writing, or in any other way, what he thinks in his heart, subjects him¬ self to the penalties provided in such cases’ (34). Scarcely had the last words dropped from the lips of the Pope when the cannon of the Castle of St. Angelo thundered a salute, and all the bells of Rome simul¬ taneously began to ring. The Cardinal Dean threw himself at the feet of the Pope, his lips overflowing with thanks, and, in the name of his colleagues, he requested that his Holiness would proclaim the defini¬ tion just given to the whole Christian world by an authentic Bull. Then followed the 6 Te Deum laada- mus /’ and lastly the apostolical benediction . 2 The foreign bishops now journeyed homewards with abun¬ dant absolutions, and bearing medals in commemora¬ tion of the immaculate conception struck in Australian gold ; 3 the Pope also caused a memorial to be erected 1 Malou, ii. 377. 2 Ibid. ii. 377, 378. 3 Ibid. ii. 379, 380. PIUS THE NINTH. 19 7 in the Piazza cli Spagna, facing the palace of the Pro¬ paganda, in order to tell of his great deed to future ages. On the top of a high antique column made of greenish marble stands a bronze figure of the Virgin, with her hand stretched over the eternal city in the attitude of blessing. At the foot of the column are Moses, David, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, as prophetic public witnesses of her conception, represented in white marble statues somewhat larger than life size. 1 The figure of Mary was cast in Pome. But there they cast very badly, in consequence of which the statue came out of the mould with a hideous crack in it, which has been patched up very clumsily. 2 The statue faithfully represents the dogma. In order to make the form of public worship in harmony with the new article of faith, the Pope had a new mass and a new office for the festival of the Con¬ ception prepared by the Congregation of Bites, which were published on the 25tli of September 1863. From this time forward no one within the Bomish Church dares to use any other office, or any other mass,—not even the interim mass and interim office which Pius himself recommended to all his bishops on the 2d of February 1819, with the purpose of supplanting there¬ by the order of public worship which had been handed down from ancient times. The interim liturgy was 1 Hase, Handbuch der protestantischen Polemik , Leipzig 1862, 8vo, s. 360. 2 Description given by a Protestant of influence who was in Piome at that time. 198 PIUS THE NINTH. tinged with immaculatism (35) ; but this last model far exceeded all that had preceded it, in this particular. Thus, for instance, this introductory prayer occurs in the mass for the 7 tli of December: ‘ O God, who hast miraculously preserved the mother of Thy only Son from original sin from the very time of her conception, guard us, we pray Thee, through her intercession, and purify us to celebrate her festival ’ ( 36 ). On the 8 th of December the priest prays after the following manner: c O God, who hast, by the immaculate con¬ ception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, we pray Thee that Thou wilt grant us to appear purified before Thy presence, for the sake of the intercession of her whom Thou hast preserved from every stain in anticipation of the death of Thy Son’ (37). This prayer the Congregation of Rites have considered suitable for adoption, out of the remarkable office of Pope Sixtus the Fourth ( 38 ). The sixth section in the Breviary runs word for word as follows: ‘ The word of God, a reliable tradition, the invariable consent of the church, the unanimous assent of bishops and believers, the celebrated decisions and Bulls of the Popes, have already placed in the clearest light the victory of the Virgin Mother of God over the dreadful enemy of the human race. This victory Pope Pius the Ninth, in concert with the wishes of the whole church, desired to proclaim solemnly by the power of his supreme and infallible authority. And therefore, on the 8 th of December, he did proclaim and define, in the basilica of the Vatican, with the assistance of an PIUS THE NINTH. 199 extraordinary multitude of cardinals of the holy Roman Church, and of bishops from even the most distant lands, and with the universal approval of the whole circle of the earth, as follows’ (39). Whilst the new office contains fifteen lections of this historic charac¬ ter, which are extracted from the Bull itself, the one already quoted represents neither more nor less than their whole substance (40). The soul of the poor Pope can now rest, seeing that the order of service is con¬ formable to the rule of faith. Shall we further tell of the books, which have been composed, not without much of the midnight oil and of the sweat of Papists, both official and officious, in order to support the new dogma ? Shall we tell of the store of fables of Ballerini, of his enchanted palace at Cremona, of his Immaculata-statue of wood or marble— both, alas! no more extant—outside of the prophetic writings of his Ugo of Summo % (41) Or shall we tell of the great Passaglia, and of his almost ridiculous collection of wretched extracts,—a collection imposing only to those who judge of books merely by their ex¬ tent ? Indeed, according to the poor Charles Passaglia, the whole Bible has little more than the immaculate conception for its object; and the fathers also occupied themselves with nothing else. He had, however, a less innocent mania; that of taking modern texts, and of attributing them to old and illustrious men, without any scruple (42). But it might be only to produce a chaos, as much opposed perhaps by the author himself as it is even to the teaching of the Pope. Or shall we 200 PIUS THE NINTH. let the learned Gousset pass under review,—a man of pre-eminently great talents ? That talent, in parti¬ cular, of changing old texts into their opposites by small innocent interpolations, to the greater honour of God ! 1 Or shall we tell of the venerable Malou, the most reverend Bishop of Bruges, who heard the angels sing at the reading of the Bull of Definition ? 2 Truly, if the oracle speaks at Borne, the echoes reverberate from the very borders of Europe. We have reached the goal. Before us lies the Bull Ineffabilis, and the Liturgy of 1863; two bitter fruits. Their history has passed before us. We have seen how Satan sowed the seed, how the germ sprang from the seed, and the plant from the germ. Then the plant became great and strong; and at length it grew into a tree whose branches stretched over the west. Then we have seen how the tree began to bloom, and the blossoms produced fruit, with self-existent, almost unavoidable, necessity. The seed was undisciplined devotion,—the germ, the festival of the Conception. The plant was the teaching of Scotus. It grew into a tree at the Quartier Latin at Paris; but it spread its branches over Basle, over Madrid and Agreda, and lastly, also over Borne. And here in Borne it put forth blossoms,—Alexandrian blossoms of so strong a scent that Thomistic Dominicans and other worthy 1 Gousset, La Croyance de VEglise touchant Timmaculee con¬ ception de la vierge Marie , Paris 1855, 8vo ; Etudes , 109, 110. 2 L'immaculee Conception de la b. vierge Marie consideree comme dogme de foi , par J. B. Malou, eveque de Bruges, Bruxelles 1857, 2 vols. 8vo, ii. 377. PIUS THE NINTH. 201 people were almost suffocated thereby. Then came the summer heat, the white leaves of the flowers fell off, and the fruits ripened. It is in accordance with God’s ordinance. What¬ ever a man sows, that he must reap. Here is a church which disowns the daily purification through the blood of Christ, the living power; but which nevertheless thanks God in her heart. If she does not wish to do penance, then she shall not do penance. But she shall draw the error, above which she in her pride seems to be raised, into her own circle, until at last it becomes so serious that the very stones cry out. Undoubtedly, there dwell within her. walls many thousand children of God; and one might well weep at the thought of how heavily the Alps of the Papacy weigh upon them. Will not the Lord loose them ? Shall the hand of the Philistines always rest heavily upon the necks of Israel? They have indeed put out their Samson’s eyes, and now he treads the mill and causes sport. But if he prays, God’s Spirit vyill come upon him, and the cathedral of St. Peter will not stand any more firmly than the pillars of Gaza. NOTES—CHAPTER XIII. (1) Optime enim nostis, omnem fiducise nostra? rationem in sanctissima virgine esse collocatam.—Pio Nono, in Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , i. 5. ( 2 ) Ut proinde, si quid spei in nobis est, si quid gratia?, 202 PIUS THE NINTH. si quid salutis, ab ea (sc. Maria) noverimus rednndare.— Pio Nono, a. a. 0. i. 5. ( 3 ) Optamus autem vebementer, ut majore, qua fieri potest, celeritate nobis significare velitis, qua devotione vester clerus populusque fidelis erga immaculate virgin is conceptionem sit animatus, et quo desiderio flagret, ut ejusmodi res ab apostolica sede decernatur.— Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , i. 6 . ( 4 ) Atque imprimis noscere vel maxime cupimus, quid vos ipsi venerabiles fratres pro eximia vestra sapientia de re ipsa sentiatis, quidque exoptetis.—a. a. 0. i. G. ( 5 ) Est enim pientissima liec opinio non recens ac nova in Hispania, nec desiderium, quo nunc ardent Hispanii populi, tanquam felicioris illustrationis fructus est putan- dum, quum vestram minime lateat beatitudinem, universos sensisse Hispanos per omnia secula ab ipsis ecclesie incuna- bulis usque in hodiernam diem.— Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , in. 101. (6) Mii’um nobis visum fuit, ejusmodi mysterium adliuc indefinitum manere.—The Bishop of Coria, in Pareri clelV episcopato cattolico , i. 82. ( 7 ) Enim vero per illud clarius et abundantius elucent veritates, quomodo ipsa Dei filia nobilissima et singularis sponsa Dei eterna et immaculata, nec non trinitatis com- plementum evaserit, insuperque corredemtricis nomen et gloriam promeruerit.— Pareri, i. 9, 10. (8) Pauci quidem timidi verentur, ne fidei hostes veteres PIUS THE NINTH. 203 et infensi, apud quod versamur, sanctam Christ! ecclesiam iterum insimulent, quasi Dei verbo nova additamenta faceret, si novus fidei articulus credendus proponatur.—P areri, ii. 85. ( 9 ) Ne in regionibus, in quibus theologi reperirentur, qui sedi Romanas in definiendis fidei dogmatibus infallibilitatem immerito negarent, aliqui ex ipso clero decretum apostolicum palam oppugnaturi.—According to the Cardinal Archbishop of Mechlin. Pareri, ii. 447, 448. (10) Quamvis non desint, qui minus instructi in fide sub immaculata conceptione non ortum ejusdem virginis sed conceptum dei-hominis in utero virginali, operante Spiritu Sancto, apprehendant et credant. —Pareri, i. 27. (11) Sunt vero cle clero Varmiensi, qui timeant, quod, si quid novi circa conceptionem b, v. apostolica auctoritate decernatur, id rudis populi, qui nescit discernere inter dogma et id, quod pie tantum credendum est, fidem circa immaculatam conceptionem prout nunc universaliter exsistit, possit in aliquod discrimen adducere. —Pareri, i. 27. (12) 1. Quasstio hasc olim nimium et absque ullo animarum fructu exagitata fuit. 2. Utraque sententia defensores habuit viros omni quidem exceptione majores, imo sanctos. 3. Ipsimet negantes seu opponentes tantopere addicti erant beatae virginis Marias ipsamque venerabantur, quantum defendentes. 4. Hodie quaestio haec saltern in liacce regione exstincta est omnino. 5. Fideles hanc quaestionem aut ignorant aut male capiunt.— Pareri, iii. 308. (13) Si ad Germanise universes conditionem, qualis in prassens est, attente, sicuti oportet, reflectatur, propositio de 204 PIUS THE NINTH. decidenda qusstione scholastica circa immaculatam beats Maris virginis conceptionem eo sensu, nt pia fides in arti- culurn fidei et dogma catholicum transformetur, in facie vel potins ex adverso protestantium, . . . uti res plena periculi mihi comparet. Nam prsterlapsis jam annis percipiebantur, et usque audiuntur protestantium et catholicorum indifferen- timn assersiones : ‘ Eomam jugum intolerable fidelibus imponere dogmata nova cudendo et ex flosculis oratoriis unius alteriusve patris articidos fidei formando, prscipien- doque, ut ab omnibus firina fide teneatur adinstar dogmatis, quod pauca ante sscula, imo fere decennia, in dubium vocare licitum, ac assertores contraris sententis condemnare prohibitum a summis pontificibus erat.’ Quid rebus sic stantibus, si pientissima fides (vel pia opinio uti in catecliis- mis liucusque legitur) de immaculata beatissims virginis Maris conceptione, reapse uti dogma sancts fidei declaretur eventurum esset? Num fidei augmentum ? Num ecclesis catholics conditio felicior? Num rerum Romanarum re- stauratio ob hoc speranda ? Ego, quantum mihi videre a Deo datum est, recte contraria valde timeo, et contremisco. Res est, repetere oportet, plena periculi. Quum ahquot ante annos, Gregorio xvi. regnante, eadem qusstio episcopis proponeretur, ex terris longe hinc distantibus episcoporum catholicorum hters ad me pervenerunt, in quibus auctores mirabundi exclamaverunt numquid Roma novos fidei arti- culos condere intendit? Itaque his in rebus, quantum mihi videre est ... a novis articulis fidei condendis, in prssens saltern, prorsus abstinendum.— Pareri delV episco¬ pate) cattolico , i. 178, 179. (14) Je regarde que cette croyance n’est pas clairement contenue dans le depot des saintes ecritures. Je regarde que la tradition manque sur ce point de precision et d’unani- PIUS THE NINTH. 205 mite. Si la tradition etait constante, Saint Anselme, Saint Bonaventure, Saint Bernard, Saint Thomas, Bellarmin et tant d’autres l’auraient-ils ignoree ? Je regarde qu’une definition dogmatique, en la circonstance presente, serait tout ensemble snrabondante et perilleuse. Surabondante, parceqne nul aujourd’hui ne dispute a la sainte Yierge le privilege de sa conception tres pure, et que ce n’est guere l’usage de l'eglise d’eriger en article de foi ce qui n’est conteste par personne. Perilleuse, parceque, vu l’etat, 011 se trouvent aujourd’hui les esprits, il est a craindre qu’une telle definition ne serve de signal aux discussions les plus vives, aux imputations les plus blessantes. Que feront, par exemple, et que diront les theologiens Anglicans, si verses dans 1’etude des antiquites ecclesiastiques, lorsqu’ils verront le saint siege definir, comme point de foi, une chose que tant de siecles ont a peine entrevue, que tant de saints per- sonnag:es et de grands docteurs ont ou niee ou ignoree. Ne trouveront-ils pas que l’eglise fait aujourd’hui bon marche du principe si sure et si respectable de Saint Vincent de Lerins : quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus ? Je crains pour la paix de l’eglise, qui peut, a l’occasion de ce nouveau dogme, voir s’agiter contre elle et dans son sein des passions funestes. Je crains pour l’honneur des Papes, qu’on representera comme occupes, pendant trois cent ans, a etouffer la libre discussion sur la matiere dont il s’agit, defendant d’un cote, sous des peines graves, d’attaquer d’une matiere quelconque, le privilege de l’immaculee con¬ ception et favorisant de l’autre, par tous les moyens possibles, l’expansion de cette pieuse croyance. Je crains meme pour v r ous. Ne dira-t-on pas que Pie ix. a expose la barque de Pierre a de facheuses tempetes, pour une chose ou la foi n’est pas interessee, et qui, dans la conduite des homines, n’est susceptible d’aucune application ? Par toutes ces con- 20 6 PIUS THE NINTH. siderations j'estime qu’il n’y a pas lieu d’eriger en dogme de foi la pieuse croyance de l’immaculee conception de la sainte Vierge. Loin de desirer un tel decret, je le regarderais comme une cbose dangereuse, comme un glaive a deux trancbants, capable de blesser la main, qui en ferait usage.— Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , i. 357—359. (15) Fateri oportet, quod sunt inter nos aliqui, perpauci quidem ut credo, qui putant, baud satis perspicue revelatum esse, quod s. Virgo Maria non debuit, sicut ceterae Adami filiae clamare: in peccatis concepit me mater mea.— Pareri delV episcopato cattolico , ii. 142. (16) Sed pars baud spernenda gravium piorum ac erudi- torum tarn sacerdotum quam laicorum abter sentiunt; et quaravis indubie credunt, s. salvatoris matrem ab omni macula peccati originalis fuisse semper immunem, minime credunt expedire, ut doctrina ilia fidelibus proponatur tan- quam fide divina credenda, idque propter bas prascipue rationes:—1. Decisio dogmatica super bac re videretur ecclesise praxi contraria, quoniam bactenus decisiones bujus- modi tunc tantummodo editse sunt, cum li^retici sanani doctrinam impetere sunt ausi; et nulla satis gravis causa ilbs innotescit cur, in pr^senti casu, ab antiqua consuetu- dine discedere oporteret et in novitatis notam incurrere. 2. Conceptio immaculata b. Marias virginis ubique fere pacifice creditur, et a ne'mine publice impugnatur, et multo tutius pro religionis pace opinantur quieta non movere, quam nulla urgente necessitate, quasstionem de novo articulo fidei agitare, in praesenti animorum statu, cum mentes bominum etiam catbolicorum, tarn in regionibus exteris quam in ipsa Italia nimis proli dolor! propensae sunt ad limites ecclesiastics potestatis sine debita reverentia ad FI US THE NINTH. 20 7 trutinam revocandos. o. Vix anderent sperare fore ut devotio erga beatissimam virginem, quse jam in cor dibus fidelium ubique viget, mnlto angeri posset per solemnen decisionem, earn fuisse semper immaculatam: dum ex altera parte ecclesia jam late oppugnata novis assaltibus expone- retnr ab exacerbatis et semper vigilantibus hostibus, qui occasionem procul dnbio inde arriperent garriendi; 4 In ecclesia catholicornm novum post s®cula excogitavit fidei articulum, nec ubique patet nec semper nec ab omnibus creditum.’ Quasnam igitur lux nova ecclesia illi nunc affulget, quse concilio suo Tridentino negata fuit ? 4. Timent denique ne protestlntes plurimi, qui vergunt nunc versus ecclesiam catholicam desiderantes refugium a semper variantibus erroribus suis ibi invenire, a nobis longius arceantur propter hunc novum articulum fidei, recenter, ut illis forte videbitur, excogitatum. Inter eos qui ita sentiunt sunt patres Jesuitce, qui Dublinii degunt, omnes fere pro- fessores collegii nostri nationalis apud Maynooth et alii multi tarn sacerdotes quam laici, qui religionis zelo sunt conspicui. Et sciens eorum piissimum affectum erga bene- dictam dei matrem, eorum sententiam nequeo parvi pendere, ideoque non audeo suadere, ut decisio dogmatica a sancta sede exeat, declarans de fide credendum esse, sanctam virginem fuisse sine labe peccati originalis conceptam.— Paeepj delV episcopato cattolico , ii. 142—144. (17) Je crois, qui e’est surtout l’Allemagne, qu’on ne devrait pas perdre de vue dans une affaire aussi grave, et avant tout cette partie de l’Allemagne catfiolique, qui se voit en face du camp protestant et expose a ses attaques jour- nalieres. . . . D’abord l’on ne peut meconnaitre que la main de la providence se sert des evenements de nos jours pour faire ressortir aux yeux des gens, qui reflechissent, la 208 PIUS THE NINTH. verite de 1’eglise catholique; la fermete de son organisation hierarchique, resistant a toutes les secousses qni font trembler les trones, et consolidant meme, par son influence sur les fideles, l’ordre politique; la tenue ferine et correcte des pasteurs exbortant les fideles a l’obeissance et a la fidelite dues meme a des souverains protestants, tandis que les ministres protestants restent muets, s’ils ne font cause com¬ mune avec les democrates. . . . Enfin la personnalite du souverain pontife, modele de toutes les vertus au milieu des plus grandes epreuves:—tout cela, et surtout la force et la fermete du catholicisme, qui prospere a mesure que plus de liberte lui est accordee, tandis que le protestantisme soutenu uniquement par 1a. tutele des gouvernements, se dissout comme un cadavre deterre au contact de l’air libre: tout cela, dis-je, a fait et fait encore cliaque jour une profonde impression sur les esprits pensants; les ecailles tombent peu a peu des ) T eux desilles, la lumiere penetre, et un premier mouvement se fait vers la lumiere, qui peut con- duire loin, jusqu’ au but desire meme (les clioses marcbant vite par le temps qui court), les etoiles egarees depuis plus de trois siecles peuvent rentrer dans leur orbite, peut-etre avant que le quatrieme siecle soit ecoule—s’il ne survient une nouvelle perturbation! Or, selon 1'avis des catboliques les plus zeles et les plus eclaires, une telle perturbation aurait infailliblement lieu, s’il arrivait, que le decret dog- matique mentionne ci-dessus fut porte par le saint siege. Ce serait vraiment une pature revivificante jetee aux prejuges extenues et fameliques. Les ministres et les ecrivains pro¬ testants luttant pro aris et focis s'en empareraient comme d’une proie bienvenue pour assourdir de nouveau leur pauvre peuple par leurs cris contre c le papisme et sa manufacture de dogmes controuves apres 18 siecles;’ les incredules feraient chorus avec les pietistes, et verseraient sur ce saint PIUS THE NINTH. 209 mystere des dots immondes de sarcasmes et de blasphemes; la jeunesse juive litteraire y excellerait surtout. Yoila pour l’exterieur. Dans l’interieur, dans les ecoles de theologie la guerre seculaire appaisee avec tant de peine s’enflam- merait de nouveau ; le point si delicat de l'infaillibilite du pape lui donnerait un surcroit de matiere combustible; l'opposition d’une partie du clerge, imbue de neologisme, dans les provinces rhenanes, en Bade et en Boh erne, y trouverait aussi sa nourriture, et pour resultat defmitif, au lieu d’edification, et d’un nouvel elan de piete et de devotion dans le peuple catholique on ne verrait que troubles, scissions, scandales et perturbations au dehors et au dedans! Choses mille-fois plus dangereuses aujourd'hui qu’elles n’etaient aux siecles passes! . . . J’ai parle a vous comme a l’organe du souverain pontife. Je repete encore une fois, que dans ce que je viens d’exposer, je me trouve d’accord avec tout ce qu’il y a de catholiques zeles et eclaires dans nos pays. Veuillez done, monseigneur, fair usage de cette lettre comme bon vous semblera. Dixi et salvavi animam meam.— Paeepj cleW episcopate cattolico , ii. 465-467. (18) 1. Que d’apres les principes de la theologie, l’imma- culee conception de la t. s. ■vuerge n’est pas definissable, comme verite de foi catholique, et, dans aucun cas, ne peut etre imposee comme croyance obligatoire sous peine de damnation eternelle. 2. Qu’une definition quelconque, alors meme que heglise ou le saint siege croiraient pouvoir la porter, ne serait point opportune; car elle n’ajouterait rien a la gloire de la vierge immaculee, et elle pourrait etre nuisible a la paix de l’eglise et au bien des ames, surtout dans mon diocese.— Pareri delT episcopate cattolico , iii. 310. ( 19 ) Prima mihi cura fuit gravissimos diocesis mese viros O 210 PIUS THE NINTH. et doctissimos theologos in consilium advocare. Et ego o O ipse, ut theologi consnltores, arbitror ex hujusmodi decreti promulgatione gravissima incommoda et magnas forsitan eccleshe calamitates orituras esse. Et ego ipse cum eis censeo nec ecclesise nec sanctss sedi licere in rdlo casu doc- trinam de immaculata conceptione inter articulos fidei sen fidei catholicas veritates annumerare. Imo, sanctissime pater, longius quam dicti theologi progrediens, dubito an possit ecclesia vel sancta sedes solemni decreto statuere, doctrinam hanc esse certain et ab omnibus sub peccati mortalis et seternae damnationis poena amplectendam.— PaPwERI delV episcopato cattolico , ii. 26, 27. ( 20 ) Saltern (igitur) dubium est, ecclesiam posse ut cer¬ tain et obligatoriam declarare doctrinam de immaculata conceptione. Si dubia sit ejus potestas, tacere debet, quum nulla sit hodie loquendi necessitas. Non latet sanctitatem vestram, plures ex theologis, qui de definibilitate, ut ajunt, quaestionis scripserunt, etiam inter eos qui gravi apud sanc- tam sedem auctoritate pollent, longius adliuc quam nos ipsi progressos fuisse ; non dubiam dicunt in hujusmodi quaes- tionibus definiendis, sed negant prorsus ecclesia auctori- tatem. Nos vero, beatissime pater, rem dubiam esse credimus, et in dubio abstinendum. 2. Quum immacu¬ lata conceptio incredulis aut hasreticis nec per scripturam sacram, nec per traditionem possit demonstrari ; quum aliunde et ratio et scientia adversus hanc sententiam vel insolubiles in se vel saltern inextricabiles difficultates susci- tent, si decreto solemni opinionem hanc obligatoriam declaret ecclesia, eo ipso catholica, circa hoc punctum, controversia inermis ac impotens fiet (Romish text). Ast eodem ictu vilior fit ecclesise auctoritas, in dubium revocatur decre- torum ejus gravitas, temerariusque doctrinalium decisionum PIUS THE NINTH. 21 I negatin’ veritas. 3. Etiamsi hujusmodi decreto nec sacram et infallibilem auctoritatem suam, nec revelatorum dogma- turn, quas jam definita sunt, depositum coram incredulis et hgereticis labefactaret ecclesia ; propter ipsam decreti inu- tilitatem ab illo sanciendo abstinere deberet. Ut enim demonstrare conati sumus, inutile, si non nocivum foret decretum de quo agitur ; inutile fidelibus, inutile ecclesia;, inutile respectu glorise beatse virginis, triplex ilia inutilitas, semotis etiam animarum periculis, abunde sufficit, ut illegi- tima censeatur via, quam aggredi summum ponteficem quidam hortantur.— Pareri delV episcopate) cattolico , ii. 44, 45. (21) It consisted of Caterini, Audisio, Perrone, Passaglia, Clemens Schrader, Spada, and Tonini. On the death of Tonini, Trullet took his place.— Malou, eveque de Bruges, Eimmaculee conception de la bienheureuse Vierge Marie con- sideree comme dogme de foi, Bruxelles 1857, 8vo, ii. 350, 351. (22) No. 3. II n’est point necessaire, qu’on puisse alleguer en faveur de cette doctrine des temoignages explicites ou implicites de l’ecriture sainte. Une doctrine pent etre definie sur l’autorite de la tradition seule, sans le temoign- age de l’ecriture.— Die Considtoren , Malou, ii. 352. (23) No. 4. II n’est pas necessaire, pour constater la tradition, qu’on produise une serie non interrompue de temoignages des peres, serie qui remonterait aux apotres pour descendre jusq’a nous. And in the sequel: II faut avouer, que la tradition catholique est prouvee, lorsqu’on peut constater l’assentiment general de l’eglise, a une epoque quelconque, ou produire un certain nornbre de temoign- 212 PIUS THE NINTH. ages decisifs qui le supposent.— Die Consultoren , Malou, ii. 352, 353. (24) Malou, ii. 358. The ten volumes of Pareri contain the resolutions passed by the bishops, interspersed with a number of dissertations upon the immaculate conception which had appeared during the last twenty years, and which had met with the approval of the Pope. (25) Ensuite il lut un discours latin, dans lequel il de- clara, que ]e saint pere eprouvait la joie la plus vive de voir qu’un nombre aussi considerable d'eveques etaient accourus de toutes les parties du monde pour assister a la definition du privilege de la tres-sainte vierge, et qu'il desirait en¬ tendre leur avis sur le projet de bulle qu’il avait fait pre¬ parer, mais qui ne repondait pas encore tout a fait a sa pensee.— Malou, ii. 359. Bishop Malou, the precise words of whose narrative we borrow, as being the best exposition of the Pomish occurrences of these times, was present at all four of these assemblies. (26) Que le souverain pontife n’avait point eu l’intention de reunir les eveques en concile, ni d’autoriser une discus¬ sion sur le fond de la question ou sur l’opportunite de la definition, deux points dont il se reservait le jugement, mais qu'il desirait connaitre les observations que leur sug- gereraient les terrnes du projet_de bulle qu’ils avaient en mains.— Malou, ii. 359, 360. (27) Que l’on aifirinait d'une maniere trop absolue que la victoire de Marie sur le peche est consignee dans nos livres saints; que les ecritures expliquent d'une maniere admirable la purete de son ame, que les prophetes ont celebres son PIUS THE NINTH. 213 integrite originelle: ces expressions leur paraissent nn peu outrees. Ils yoyaient aussi un inconvenient a placer les passages des liyres sapientiaux entre la celebre prophetie de la Genese et la salutation angelique, entre le proto- evansfile et l’evangile, comme si la valeur des uns etait eorale a celle des autres.— Malou, ii. 361. u • ( 28 ) S’il lie convenait point de faire mention dans la bulle du voeu et meme du jugement de l’episcopat. Ils esperaient pouvoir resoudre ainsi plus aisement quelques objections specieuses que l’incredulite ne manquerait pas de faire, et ajouter a la definition une plus grande autorite extrinseque.— Malou, ii. 367. ( 29 ) Si le s. Pontife prononce seul la definition de l'iin- maculee conception, son jugement fournira une demonstra¬ tion pratique de l’autorite souveraine de l’eglise en matiere de doctrine, et de rinfaillibilite dont Jesus Christ a investi son vicaire sur la terre. Au contraire, si le jugement des eveques intervient dans la definition, le saint siege semblera flatter des opinions surannees et depuis longtemps fletries.— Malou, ii. 369. (30) Ce fut a la suite de ce discours qu’une manifestation generate, anim.ee, presqu’ enthousiastique de respect et d’attachement au saint sieo:e eut lieu et devint un des episodes les plus touchants de ces assemblees. II est im¬ possible de decrire le spectacle qu’offrit a ce moment Til- lustre assemblee.— Malou, ii. 370. (31) The mysterious contradiction in Malou, ii. 372, 373, seems to oive its origin to no other circumstance than to the wish of showing conspicuously the very strange freedom 214 PIUS THE NINTH of speech which prevailed in Rome at that time. The affair with the Abbe Laborde, which Hase mentions ( Pole- mile , 358), throws a very peculiar light upon it. (32) Jam enim prope esse videtur optatissimus ille aeque ac jucundissimus dies, quo immaculatus sanctissimae Dei genitricis virginis Marine conceptus suprema nostra auctori- tate decernatur.—Pio Nono, in Preuss’ edition of the Excimen von Chemnitz , s. 989. (33) Postquam nunquam intermisimus, in humilitate et jejunio privitas nostras et publicas ecclesiae preces Deo patri per fihum ejus offerre, ut Sphitus sancti virtute mentem nostram dirigere et confirmare dignaretur, implorata uni- versae ccelestis curiae presidio, et advocato cum gemitibus paracleto spiritu, eoque sic adspirante, ad honoram sanctae et individuae Trinitatis, ad decus et ornamentum virginis deiparae, ad exaltationem fidei Catholics et Christian 2 d rehgionis augmentum, auctoritate domini nostri Jesu Cliristi, beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli, ac nostra, declaramus pronunciamus et definimus ; Doctrinam— (34) Doctrinam, quae tenet, beatissimam Yirginem Mariam in primo instanti suae conceptionis fuisse singulari omnipo- tentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum Christi Jesu salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis culpae labe praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque iccirco ab omnibus fidelibus firmiter constanterque creden- dam. Quapropter si qui secus ac a nobis definitum est, quod Deus avertat, praesumpserint corde sentire, ii noverint ac porro sciant, se proprio judicio condemnatos, naufragium circa fidem passos esse, et ab unitate ecclesiae defecisse: ac praeterea facto ipso suo semet poenis a jure statutis subjicere, PIUS THE NINTH. 215 si, quod corde sentiunt, verbo aut scripto vel alio quovis externo modo signiiicare ansi fuerint. The Bull Ineffabilis, out of which the Pope read on this occasion the principal paragraph only, is thirteen times longer. Its text is set out in extenso in Preuss’ edition of the Examen von Chemnitz , s. 990-995. ( 80 ) Missel , Orcitio : Deiis qui per immaculatam virginis conceptionem dignum filio tuo habitaculum praparasti, ejus nobis intercessione concede ut cor et corpus nostrum imma- culatum tibi, qui earn ab omni praservasti, fideliter cus- todiamus. Secreta: Fac nos clementissime Deus, puris mentibus prasens tibi munus offerre, qui in corde b. Marias virginis puram ab omni labe mansionem praparasti Jesu Christo fiho tuo. Officium , Besponsorinm post lect. 5: Nihil inquinatuzn in earn incurrit. Candor est lucis aterna, speculum sine macula. A cl cliem X Dec. lectio VI. : Tu pidchra ut luna diceris . . . tu ergo pulchra es ut luna, imo et pidchrior luna, quia tota pulchra es, et macula neque originahs neque actualis umbra non est in te ... an non horruerunt principes tenebrarum, quando viderunt prater morera immaculate conceptam feminam ? Quin et in ani- matione tua acies validas spiritualium virtutum et innume- rabihum beatorum spirituum militiam delegatam fuisse, nullatenus ambigimus, utpote qui custodirent lectulum Salomonis purissimum, ne praparatum aterno regi hospi- tium alienus hospes invaderet. (36) Missa diei VII Dec. Orcitio: Deus qui unigeniti tui matrem ab originali culpa in sua conceptione mirabiliter praservasti, da quasumus ut sua nos intercessione munitos, corde mundos facias sua interesse festivitati. ( 37 ) Missa diei VIII Dec. Orcitio: Deus, qui per immacu- 216 PIUS THE NINTH. latam virginis conceptionem dignum filio tuo habitaculum prseparasti quaesumus, ut qui ex morte ejnsdem filii tui prsevisa earn ab omni labe prseservasti, nos qnoque mundos ejus intercessione ad te pervenire concedas. Tlie correspond¬ ing prayer in the interim mass of the 2d of February 1849 reads similarly, except that it has not the passage, ex morte ejnsdem filii tui prsevisa. (38) Deus qui per immaculatam virginis conceptionem dignum filio tuo habitaculum prseparasti, concede quaesumus, ut sicut ex morte ejusdem filii tui preevisa earn ab omni labe praeservasti, ita nos quoque mundos ejus intercessione ad te pervenire concedas.— Breviarium Bomanum , ed. Petrus Arivabenus, Venetiis 1500, 8vo, s. 202, A. (39) Officium die VIII Dec. In II Nocturne, lectio VI. : Deiparag autem virginis in sua conceptione de teterrimo humani generis hoste victoriam, quam divina eloquia, vene- randa traditio, perpetuus ecclesias sensus, singularis episco- porum ac fidelium conspiratio, insignia quoque summorum pontificum acta atque constitutiones mirifice jam illustra- bant; Pius nonus pontifex maximus totius ecclesiae votis annuens statuit supremo suo atque infallibili oraculo solem- niter proclamare. Itaque sexto idus Decembris anni millesimi octingentesimi quinquagesimi quarti in basihea Yaticana ingenti sanctse Romange ecclesi^ patrum cardina- liurn et episcoporum ex dissitis etiarn regionibus adstante ceetu, universoque plaudente orbe solemniter pronuntiavit ac definivit. (40) Officium d. IX Dec. in secundo nocturno , lectio IV. V. VI.; d. X Dec. in secundo nocturno , lectio IV. V. VI.; d. XII Dec. in secundo nocturno , lectio IV. V. VI.; d. XIV PIUS THE NINTH. 217 Dec. in secundo nocturno , lectio IV. V. VI.; cl. XV Dec. in secundo nocturno , lectio IV. V. VI. (41) Ballerini has published a collection of so-called memorials for tlie history of the immaculate conception. The most remarkable of them all is the 4 Charta donationis Ugonis de Summo.’ According to this, a certain Ugo de Summo devised a certain piece of land about the year 1047, for the purpose of building thereon a chapel to the imma¬ culate conception; which land, unfortunately, is no longer recognisable, having probably been swallowed up by the Po. By means of this, the said Ugo developed the doctrine of the immaculate conception, apparently with prophetic foresight, according to the words of Pope Alexander the Seventh. He even wrote a hymn to the immaculate con¬ ception. —Pareri del! episcopato cattolico , x. 10—25. (42) De immaculato Deiparce semper virginis conceptu , Caroli Passaglia Commentcirius , Romaa 1854, 1855, 3 vols. folio. Etudes sur le nouveau dogme de Vimmaculee conception , Paris 1857, 8 vo, s. 106, 107. CONCLUSION. HEEEFOEE have I written this? I have clone it for the sake of my brethren, whose ardent desire is towards Eome; children of the same Father ; children who are wearied of being driven hither and thither with every wind of doctrine, who seek some anchorage which will shelter them in these stormy times. Is the Papacy such an anchorage as they need,—the poor Papacy which at first was intimidated by the flapping of the wings of the French eagle, then sold to the Franciscans, then bewitched by bigoted women, and lastly followed the banner of public opinion ? Poor successor of Honorius the First, the infallible hem of an infallible Pope, the duty has devolved upon thee of branding with heresy the noble church which triumphed from the time of St. Paul to that of St. Bernard. And shall we believe him? Shall we believe him rather than the Scriptures, or the church above which is before the throne of the Lamb ? I have written this also for you, ye 7000 who are within the pale of the Church of Eome, but who have not bowed your knee to the image of Baal; children CON CL US ION 219 of God in like manner with, ourselves. Even now the smallest event might cause a war to break out between you and your oppressors. Already they have cut the threads which have hitherto bound them to the Scrip- times and to the fathers. And when your Pope (as he soon must) shall have publicly declared his own infalli¬ bility before the face of the Christian world, then will the last chain be sprung which bound the followers of Veronius and Bossuet to the Papal Chair. And who can give us a guarantee of unshakeable firmness, when the oldest throne in Europe is seen to totter? The living God. Our foundation is in His word. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away. THE END. MURRAY AND GIBB, EDINBURGH, PRINTERS TO HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. Iftorks IJttMisfpb hg rntb C. Claris ^bmburglj. A COLLECTION OF ALL THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, PRIOR TO THE COUNCIL 0F 6 NICRA, EDITED BY THE REV. ALEXANDER ROBERTS, D.D., AUTHOR OF 1 DISCUSSIONS ON THE GOSPELS,’ ETC.; AND JAMES DONALDSON, LL.D,, AUTHOR OF ‘ A CRITICAL HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND DOCTRINE, FROM THE DEATH OF THE APOSTLES TO THE NICENE COUNCIL,’ AND RECTOR OF THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL, EDINBURGH. The First Four Volumes :—The Apostolic Fathers, in One Volume ; Justin Martyr and Athenagoras, in One Volume ; Tatian, Theophilus, and the Clementine Recognitions, in One Volume; and Clement of Alexandria, Volume First, are now ready. FuH Prospectuses on Application. 2 he Subscription to the Series is at the rate of 21 s. for Four Volumes when paid in advance (or 24s. when not so paid), and 10s. 6d. each Volume to Non-Subscribers. ‘We give this series every recommendation in our power. The translation, so far as we have tested it, and that is pretty widely, appears to he thoroughly faithful and honest; the books are handsomely printed on good paper, and wonderfully cheap.The work being done so well, can any one wonder at our hoping that the Messrs. Clark will find a large body of supporters ?’—Literary Churchman. ‘ The work of the different translators has been done with skill and spirit. To all students of Church histoiy and of theology these books (SEorks Jtokttsbxh kg €. ank Clark, (Bkwkurgk. will be of great value."We must add, also, that good print and good paper help to make these fit volumes for the library.’— Church and State Review. ‘We promise our readers, those hitherto unaccustomed to the task, a most healthy exercise for mind and heart, if they procure these volumes and study them.’— Clerical Journal. ‘ For the critical care with which the translations have been prepared, the fulness of the introductory notices, the completeness of the collection, the beauty and clearness of the type, the accuracy of the indexes, they are incomparably the most satisfactory English edition of the Fathers we know.’— Freeman. ‘ It will be a reproach to the age if this scheme should break down for want of encouragement from the public.’— Watchman. ‘ The translations in these two volumes, as far as we have had oppor¬ tunity of judging, are fairly executed.’— Westminster Review. 1 There is everything about these volumes to recommend them, and we hope they will find a place in the libraries of all our ministers and students.’— English Independent. ‘ The translation is at once good and faithful.’— Ecclesiastic. ‘ The translations are, in our opinion, and in respect of all places that we have carefully examined, thoroughly satisfactory for exact truth and happy expressiveness: and the whole business of the editing has been done to perfection.’— Nonconformist. ‘ The entire undertaking, as revealed in this instalment, is nobly con¬ ceived.We can most heartily congratulate the editors on this noble commencement of their voluminous responsible Tindertaking, and on the highly attractive appearance of these volumes; and we most heartily commend them to the notice of all theological students who have neither time nor opportunity to consult the original authorities.’— British Quarterly Review. ‘ The whole getting up of the work deserves warm commendation, and we conclude by again recommending it to notice, and expressing the hope that it will attain the wide circulation that it well deserves.’— Record. 1 This series ought to have a place in every ministerial, and in every congregational library, as well as in the collections of those laymen, happily an increasing number, interested in theological studies.’— Chris¬ tian Spectator. ®rrfes |hiMt$Ijeb bg Z. anb Z. dark, (Bbutburgl). ‘ If the succeeding volumes are executed in the same manner as the two now before us, the series will he one of the most useful and valuable that can adorn the library of the theological student, whether lay or cleric. ’— Scotsman. ' The editing is all that it should be. The translation is well executed, perspicuously and faithfully, so far as we have examined.There is nothing in English to compete with it. Hot only all ministers, but all intelligent laymen who take an interest in theological subjects, should enrich them libraries with this series of volumes .'—Daily Review. MESSRS. CLARK have the honour to include in the Subscrip¬ tion List, amongst other distinguished names, both of Clergy and Laity— His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. His Grace the Archbishop of York. His Grace the Archbishop of Armagh. The Plight Piev. the Bishop of Winchester. The Plight Eev. the Bishop of London. The Blight Bev. the Bishop of Oxford. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of Ely. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of St. David's. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of Kilmore. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of Meath. The Bight Bev. the Bishop of Barbadoes. The Bight Bev. Bishop Eden of Moray. The Bight Bev. Bishop Wordsworth of St. Andrews. The Bev. Principal, Cuddesdon College. The Bev. President, Trinity College, Oxford. The Bev. Canon Mansel, Christ Church. The Bev. Canon Bobinson, Bolton Abbey. His Grace the Duke of Argyll. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. The Bight Hon. the Marquis of Bute. The Bight Hon. the Earl of Strathmore. The Bight Hon. the Lord Justice Clerk. SEorks ^hklisljib kg anb ®. Clark, Cbinlntrgk. Just published, in demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d., THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION. An Outline of its History in the Church, and of its Exposition from Scripture, with Special Reference to Recent Attacks on the Theology of the Reformation. By JAMES BUCHANAN, D.D., Professor of Divinity, New College, Edinburgh; Author of ‘Analogy as a Guide to Truth and an Aid to Faith.’ In crown 8vo, price 4s., REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSIBILITY: A Law of the Divine Procedure in Providence and Redemption. By Rev. HENRY WALLACE, Londonderry. ‘ The author showfe a mind practised in philosophical analysis, and is fully abreast of all our recent literature on both sides of this difficult question .'—Daily Review. In crown 8vo, price 5s., THE CHURCH: Its Origin, its History, its Present Position. From the German of Drs. LUTHARDT, KAHNIS, and BRUCKNER, Professors of Theology, Leipsic. ‘ A finer theme for popular and instructive discourse it is not easy to have ; and in the illustration of this theme there is much in this volume of suggestive truth, finely and impressively described.'— Freeman. In demy 8vo, price 10s. 6d., ECCE DEUS: Essays on the Life and Doctrine of Jesus Christ. ‘ The production of a clever, sincere, religious mind.The style is decidedly scholarlike, forcible, and pithy .’—London Review. ‘ Finer sentences than those we have quoted, we make bold to say, are not found even in Jeremy Taylor .'—Daily Review. Now ready, in demy 8vo, price 9s., AN EXPOSITION on the EPISTLE OF JAMES, In a Series of Discourses. By the Rev. JOHN ADAM. In crown 8vo, price 5s. 6d., THE DIVINE FATHERHOOD. By Rev. C. W. WRIGHT, Chaplain to the British Embassy at Dresden. -