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ALETHAURION.
(SHORT PAPERS FOR THE PEOPLE.)
BY
THOMAS C. MOORE,
A. M. T. S. D.
Sed quo sis, Africane, alacrior ad tutandam Rempublicam, sic habeto: omnibus qui
patriam (ecclesiam) conservarint.adiuverint, auxerint, certum esse in coelo definitum
locum ubi beati aevo sempiterno fruantur. Nihil est enim illi principi Deo, qui om-
nem hunc mundura regit, quod quidem in terris fiat, acceptius quam concilia coetus-
que hominum iure sociati, quae civitates appellantur : harum rectores et conservatores
hinc profecti hue revertuntur. Cicero. De rep. iv. 13.
GETHSEMANI ABBEY,
GETHSEMANI, P 0. KY.
LEAVENWORTH, KAN.:
KeTCHESON & HUBBELL, PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
1883.
fc<?q 2Lt.'>
TO THE MEMORY OF
Rt. Rev. GEORGE A. CARRELL, D. D.,
First Bishop of Covington,
This work is affectionately dedicated by
THE AUTHOR.
LOAN STACK
Copyrighted 1882
By THOMAS C. MOORE.
All rights reserved.
lo 9 :?
^TS.Zf^'M'^"^
CONTENTS
Chapter. Page.
I. The Church < . . . . 5
II. The Church more ancient than the New Testament 10
III. The Constitution of the Church 16
IV. The body of the Church 22
V. The body of the Church, how organized 28
VI. The Hierarchy 33
VII. The Seven Deacons 39
VIII. How to find the true Church 43
IX. Catholic unity— Sectarian divisions 47
X. All Catholics believe alike 51
XI. The true Church is holy .')5
XII. Holiness a mark of the true Church 59
XIII. Holiness a mark of the true Church 64
XIV. Catholicity a mark of the true Church 69
XV. Catholicity a mark of the true Church 73
XVI. About names " 78
XVII. About names 82
XVin. About names , 87
XIX. About names 02
XX. About names 96
XXI. Apostolicity 100
XXII, Simon Magus 103
XXni. The rise and fall of Simon Magus 107
XXIV. The errors of Simon Magus 112
XXV. The followers of Simon Magus 117
XXVI. Basilides 121
XXVII. Cerinthus 127
XXVIII. The Millennium 132
XXIX. The Millennium .♦ 136
XXX. Ebion and Necholaus HO-
XXXI. The Virgin Mary 144
XXXII. Simon Peter 148-
XXXIII. The public life of St. Peter 152
XXXIV. The public life of St. Peter 156
XXXV. The trial 160
XXXVI. Ananias and Saphira 164
XXXVII. Tabitha 168
XXXVIII. Cornelius ; .172
XXXIX. Herod * 176
XL. The triumphal entrj' of the Word into Babylon 180
XLI. The Scrimmage 183
XLII. Fossils 187
XLIII. Liberius 190
05C1
CONTENTS.
Chapter
XLIV.
XLV.
XLVI.
XLVII.
XLVIII.
XLIX.
L.
LI.
LII.
LIII.
LIV.
LV.
LVI.
LVII.
LVIII.
LIX.
LX.
LXI.
LXII.
LXIII.
LXIV.
LXV.
LXVI.
LXVII.
LXVIII.
LXIX.
LXX.
LXXI.
LXXII.
LXXIII.
LXXIV.
LXXV.
LXXVI.
LXXVII.
LXXVIII.
LXXIX.
LXXX.
LXXXI.
LXXXII.
LXXXIII.
LXXXIV.
LXXXV.
LXXXVI.
LXXXVII.
LXXXVIII.
LXXXIX.
XC.
XCI.
XCII.
XCIII.
XCIV.
. XCV.
XCVI.
XCVII.
Babylon
Babylon the mystic.
Hugo de Groot
Clement
Ignatius
Let loose the lions. .
Papias '•..•••''
Caius
Bacchus
Dionysius..
Ireneus
Footprints .
Tracks
Landmarks
Saul
Tnxr
St. Paul
Flight in a basket
The Wanderer :
Saul's ordination
Concerning magic
Necromancy
Charms
Enchantments ;
Miracles *
Miracles
Miracles
Miracles
Miracles
Apparitions
Theophany
The Angels
The Devil
Concerning Hell
Concerning Hell *.
Hell — its location
The punishment of the damned
Dante's poetical Hell ;
Dante's poetical Hell
Hell's torments are eternal
Answers to some of the objections against the eternity of punish-
ment
Where unbaptized infants go after death
Concerning Purgatory
The resurrection of the body
The character and qualities of the body after having arisen from
the dead
Divination, or Fortune telling
Oracles
On the subject of dreams "
Concerning those that are possessed or beseiged by the Devil
Animal magnetism
Paul and the Island of Cyprus
St. Paul preaches at Iconium and Derbe..
The Council of Jerusalem
Bird's eye view of the General Councils
Bird's eye view of 'the General Councils
Pagk.
19S
196
200
201
208
212
216
220
224
22.S
232
236
240
243
246
24ii
252
256
259
26:5
266
270
275
278
282
286
290
294
310
316
320
325
329
334
338
84;^
847
352
356
362
372
376
380
401
405
409
413
CONTENTS.
HI
Chapter
XCVIII.
XCIX.
C.
CI.
CII.
cm.
CIV.
cv.
. cvi.
CVII.
CVIII.
cix.
ex.
CXI.
CXII.
CXIII.
CXIV.
cxv.
CXVI.
CXVII.
CXVIII.
CXIX.
cxx.
CXXI.
CXXII.
CXXIII.
CXXIV.
cxxv.
CXXVI.
CXXVII.
CXXVIII.
CXXIX.
Page.
Bird's eye view of the General Councils 419
Bird's eye view of the General Councils 422
St. Paul visits the Churches of Syria and Cilieia— he carries the
good tidings into Macedonia 420
St. Paul at Thessalonica and Berea 430
St. Paul at Athens 434
St. Paul at Corinth 438
St. Paul at Ephesus 443
Diana of the Ephesians 447
Societies 451
St. Paul leaves Ephesus— the Church of the twelve farmers 456
More about the Church of the twelve farmers 460
Each Apostle preached a greater number of specific truths than he
committed to writing 464
The Written Word alone is not a sufflcient guide to lead one to
Heaven 467
Whether any one who has read the Bible and thinks he under-
stands it, can lawfully profess himself a minister of Christ and
a dispenser of the mysteries of God 437
Some speculations regarding the extent to which a layman is a
minister of Christ, and a dispenser of the mysteries of God 478
St. Paul at Jerusalem for the last time 482
Secret Societies and kindred subjects 486
St. Paul at Ccesarea 491
St. Paul enters Rome — his death 494
Synoptical view- of the lives of the Apostles 498
The prerogatives of the Church 503
Indefectibility of the Church 508
A changeable element in the Church 512
A changeable element in the Church 517
Some changes in the mode of public worship 522
The use of Latin in the public worship 527
The use of sacred vestments in the public worshi]) 531
Description of a Camp Meeting 535
The infallibility of the Church 540
Some objections proposed and answered 54')
The Church is the guardian of revelation 551
The infallibility of the Pope 560
PREFACE.
In presenting this volume to the public, it may be proper to state
the cause to which it mainly owes an existence. For half a dozen,
or more, of the earlier years of my life, I happened to live in a com-
munity that was almost exclusively non-Catholic. And, as religion
seemed to be a favorite topic for discussion, at all times, I had two
ways open before me. One, to remain silent, whenever a question
of the kind was introduced ; the other, to defend, to the best of my
ability, that system of belief with which I felt myself identified. I
usually chose the latter ; for it seemed to me the better course. But,
while searching for suitable arms, with which to fight those intellect-
ual, and, indeed, almost invariably, friendly battles, I experienced
some difficulty. I read works explanatory of the faith, and some
that were controversial. Yet, I was not entirely satisfied with either,
for the authors seemed to have addressed themselves to theologians,
rather than to such as myself. The consequence was that, after
having picked and shoveled my way through not a few of such books,
I felt weary of the subject; I was like David in Saul's armor,
incapable of quick action, and, indeed, scarcely able to move under
such a weight of erudition. It then occurred to me that, if I could
secure some lighter and sharper weapons, it would be well. I wished
for a book that would interest, to such a degree that it could be read
without a strain on the mind ; one whose narrative and arguments
would be strong, but not stilted; trenchant, but not murderous;
witty, but not uncharitable. With this object in view, I began, in
the year 1873, to publish, through the columns of the Catlwlic Advo-
cate^ the series of essays included in this volume. But as I advanced,
iv Preface.
I found my task not so easy as I had imagined. What to select,
and what to leave behind, in moth-eaten tomes, was not always clear
to my mind. The style of writing was also a source of an^fiety. It
occurred to me that some might find fault with the attempt to clothe
grave subjects in a light and airy dress. And, indeed, to do so, and
say nothing offensive to pious ears, was one of the main barriers I
had to surmount. But, with all this, thirough the encouragement of
some friends, on whose judgment and literary taste I placed a high
estimate, I persevered. And now, in January, 1883, ten years after
the first was written, these essays are given into the hands of the
publishers, to be put into book form, and sent forth into an arena,
where only what is fit can have the least hope to survive.
THOS. C. MOORE.
GETHSEMAN! ABBEY,
"GETHSEtViANK P'O. KY.
CHAPTER I.
THE CHURCH.
The word church is said to be a compound of the Greek,
kurios, a lord, and oikos, a house. By uniting these, and
making the changes required by the hiws of euphony, we
get kuriakon. The Scotchman took hold of this, and, ndt
being able to surmount the difficulty of pronunciation,
snapped it off at "kirk." The Englishman tried the same
feat, and, in the attempt to get over, let his tongue drop,
and flattened the word into "church." Hence, if we look
to its derivation, the expression means the House of God ;
any of those material edifices in which the faithful are
accustomed to meet, in order to pray, and assist at the
great sacrifice of the new law. The word, however, has
another signification, and it is to this we desire to draw
attention. It means the society, established on earth by
Christ, to preserve and propagate those doctrines He
wishes men to know and believe.
Now, there are persons Avho deny that Christ founded
any organized society. With these, to be a Christian,
means nothing more than to believe in Christ, read the
Bible, and practice its* teachings. To belong to any visible
organization, they say, is a matter of indifference. This
idea, or something akin to it, appears to be afloat in the
minds of most of the non-Catholics of this country. Even
amonor those who belong to the various sectarian conven-
tides, it will be found that the majority acknowledge a dis-
6 ALETHAURION.
tinction between the teaching of their church and Christi-
anity. They will sometimes say, we believe ours is the best
way, but we do not deny, we freely admit, that persons
belonging to other churches may also be saved. It requires
not deny, w^e freely admit that persons belonging to
other churches may also be saved. It requires only a little
reflection to see that such modes of thought and expression
come from the idea alluded to that all Churches are of men,
and none co-extensive w^ith Christianity. The idea seems to
be that a man may be a first-rate Christian gentleman and
not belong to any Church. To illustrate the conception that
many Protestants have of the Church, we may use the fol-
lowing example : There is attached to a certain parish Church
in Blank City a benevolent society, whose name we will not
mention. John Smith, a good and consistent Catholic of
the same parish, is asked to join. He persistently refuses
to do so, on the ground that it is enough for him to obey the
general laws of the Church, and that he can, on his own
hook, as the saying goes, perform acts of benevolence, with-
out being a member. The idea that Smith has of the be-
nevolent society, is that held by most Protestants of Church
organizations, i. e., it may be good to belong to one, but
not at all essential to man's happiness either here or here-
after. Hence the facility with which they transfer them-
selves from one Church to another. And in this they are
consistent, for, on the principle that no Church is co-exten-
sive with Christianity, and none essential, the right of
choosing looks rational ; and change from one to another
docs not differ from the action of a man at a menagerie, who,
instead of gazing the whole day at the lion or grizzly, takes
a peep at ail — including the baboon.
Let us now lay down one or two Catholic principles, and
meditate briefly on them, * if we would soar above such
vagaries.
ALETHAURION. 7
Firsts It is a truth that Christ established here, on earth,
a Church as a regularly organized society. This society is, so
to speak, a continuation of the incarnation, and does now
what the Saviour did while he was among men, i. e. teach the
way of salvation.
Second, It is a principle that the teaching of the Church
is co-extensive with that of Christ ; all He taught, she teach-
es, where He was silent, she is.
Let us see whether these assumptions correspond with
facts.
Did Christ establish a Church? That He did so, may be
shown in two ways :
First. Because a society exists at the present day, the
members of which claim Him as its founder. It will be
readily understood that allusion is made to the Catholic
Church, alongside of which, every other sinks into insignifi-
cance. It forms a network that surrounds the globe ; its
members are found in every zone ; and its influence extends
from pole to pole. Nor is it less worthy our consideration
from the magnitude of its proportions than from its perfect
organization. It has but one visible head on earth to whose
authority all submit. Its superior officers are found in every
land. Its subaltern, in almost every hamlet in the civilized
world. Its members are counted by millions of the most
enlightened and refined of the human race.
So wonderful is this great organization that, after meditat-
ing on its vast proportions and variety of action, athought-
ful infidel once exclaimed : **If there is such a beini]^ as the
devil his ingenuity must have been taxed to the utmost
when he planned the Catholic Church."
We, who are blessftd with the light of faith, see in all
this the finger and wisdom of God and we say that such or-
der could never have come from the father of lies. Such,
then, is the fact, patent to the eyes of all. We have in the
world a society, wonderful as a whole, equally no in all its
parts.
8 ALETHAURION.
Now there is no effect without a cause. When did this
society begin, and who was the prime mover? It certainly
came not into existence to-day nor yesterday. Its influence
has been felt and acknowledged in the world for eighteen
centuries, and if we wish to lay hand on its founder we will
search the pages of history in vain till we go back to Jesus
of Nazareth.
The same conclusion at which we arrive, from a consider-
ation of the Church as it stands at present, we will also be
forced to admit, after having examined the earliest records
of the rise and progress of Christianity. If we take the New.
Testament, merely as a history^ we will find ample proofs
therein, showing that the Saviour established a Church in
form of a regularly organized society.
We read in the sacred writings that He called twelve men
to aid Him in carrying out the great scheme of man's re-
demption. He charges these to go and teach all nations
what they had heard from Himself. We behold this little
society growing with marked rapidity till, within half a cen-
tury after the Saviour's ascension, His name became a house-
hold word through()ut the Roman Empire.
Now comes the question : Was there any subordination
between those original Disciples? or was each independent
or at liberty to follow such views as might have been most
pleasing to his individual self? A great English poet has
said, wisely and well, that
Order is Heaven's first law, and tliis confessed.
Some are and must be greater than the rest.
In all the works of God we have evidence of order. This
globe on which we live is proof enough without going fur-
ther ; there is not a particle of it but tends to a common
center. Even in the works of intelligent men we notice the
same principle. In each country there is always some one
person whose jurisdiction is admitted to be above all others.
If this were not so mankind would soon become a mere
ALETHAURION. 9
herd. Hence, from the nature of the case, and by compari-
son with the other works of God, we are naturally disposed
to look for the precedence of some one over the rest of the
Apostles and Disciples.
The scriptures bear testimony showing, that what each
rational man thinks ought to have been done, is what in re-
ality was done. Hence, wherever the Apostles are spoken
of Peter is mentioned first and Judas last. This is impor-
tant to be observed, for it shows the evangelists acknowl-
edged the supremacy of Peter, otherwise they would not upon
all occasions have put his name at the head of the list. Be-
sides we read in the xvi chapter of St. Matthew's gospel, words
addressed to the Apostle in question which clearly shows a
primacy : *'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, and
as the foundation is that which principally gives solidity to a
building, so Peter was chosen as the Apostle who was to
give strength to the future spiritual edifice.
So, also, in the xvi chapter of St. John's gospel, Peter
receives the commission to feed the sheep and lambs of the
flock. By feeding we may understand ruling and teaching,
for such is the force of the word in the original. From all
this it will be seen that, in the twelve Apostles, we have a
perfect image of the Church teaching, even as it is now.
We have a Pope in the person of Peter, and bishops in the
persons of the other Apostles. And, on the day of Pentecost,
when the three thousand were converted to the faith, we
have the Church teaching, and the Church taught, as at pres-
ent.
Hence, whether we begin with our times, and trace Chris-
tianity up the stream, or begin with Christ and sail down
the current, the conclusion must be that Christ established
a Church as a regularly organized society ; and, furthermore,
that the Church established by Him is identical with that
of which Pius IX is to-day the acknowledged visible head.
10 ALETHAURION.
Now, the sects claim Christ as the founder of their sev-
eral Churches just as we do. But, when asked for proofs,
they proceed by different ways to establish their claims ;
some of them, as for example the Episcopalians, pretend to
have apostolic succession through the Catholic Church, be-
fore the time of the reformation ; others, such as the Bap-
tists, i)retend to be able to trace themselves up to the time
of the Apostles through the various primitive and medieval
heretical sects ; others again, such as the Campbellites, care
nothing for apostolic succession, just as the fox that lost his
tail in a steel trap cared nothing for such an appendage ;
yet, they also claim Christ as the founder of their Church,
on the ground that they believe what He taught.
The claims of these various sects we will ventilate more
freely in future articles. But, from the tenacity with
which the members of each sect claim Christ as the found-
er of their society, we are warranted in saying that the be-
lief that He established a Church here upon earth, is one of
those points upon which nearly all agree ; though, as was
said at the beginning, the ideas of most non-Catholics in
this country, are misty and uncertain on the subject. In
the next we will show that the Church of Christ was organ-
ized and in full working order, before a word of the New
Testament was written.
CHAPTER n.
THE CHURCH MORE ANCIENT THAN THE NEW TESTA3IENT.
Whether the Church of Christ was organized and per-
fected before the scriptures of the New Testament were
written, is a question of fact, and must be treated like oth-
ers of its kind. Thus, when one wishes to know which is
the more ancient, as an historical personage, Julius C^sar
ALETHAURION. 11
or Alkxand*:r THE Great, all he has to do is to get a his-
tory and, if he knows how to read, he will soon find out. It
is nuu'h the same as regards the relative claims to antiquity
of the Church and the New Testament.
The Church, as was said in a previous article, began to
exist on the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the Saviour's
death ; though its teaching portion had already been organ-
ized, with the Apostle Peter as visible head. But, for
present purposes, it will be sufficient to go back only as far
as Pentecost. Now, that we have determined when the
Church began, let us next take up the New Testament, and
see what history says of it. This done, there will be no
further need of logic ; and all that remain will be a few
easy sophisms, partly from infidel and partly from heretical
sources.
On opening the New Testament, the first portion thereof
that meets the eye is the gospel of St. Matthew, so called
from the name of its author. Matthew, before having been
called to be an Apostle, was a publican, or collector of the
state revenues. This office was considered honorable among
the Romans ; but, to a Jew, the profession and looks of a
publican were detestable. The notorious infidel Renan, says,
with apparent satisfaction, in his *'Life of Jesus,'' that
Matthew was an officer of inferior grade. This observa-
tion was, no doubt, made to show that he did not resign
much, when he left his post and its duties, to follow Christ
and preach His gospel.
Matthew is the first of the Saviour's followers who com-
mitted any portion of His teachings to writings. Papias,
Origen and Irenius, writers of the first and second centu-
ries, as also EusEBius, the father of Church history, tell us
that he wrote in modern Hebrew, or Syro-Chaldaic,* the
language spoken at that time by the Jews. The original
text has been lost ; the oldest copy extant being in the an-
cient Greek. As regards the date of its first publication,
it is sufficient to observe that none of the Fathers make it
12 ALETHAURION.
earlier than the year 41, that is eight years after our Lord's
ascension.
Here, then, we have the Church in existence, and under
full sail, for eight years before one word of the New Tes-
tament had been written. The Apostles and its other bish-
ops preached the gospel, baptized, changed the bread and
wine into the body and blood of Christ, and annointed the
sick with oil before any one thought of taking up the pen.
Hundreds believed, confessed their sins, did penance, and
departed this life in peace without having had an oi)portuni-
ty of practicing that hobby doctrine of modern sectarians
— hible reading.
We might drop the question just here, for enough has been
said to establish all we undertook to prove. But the nature
of the subject tempts us to go farther and give a brief view
of other parts of the gospel along with some contemporary
facts.
Eight years after Matthew, and consequently sixteen af-
ter the Saviour's ascension, Mark wrote his gospel.
EusEBius, in the second book of his Church history, tells
us that he undertook it at the request of the faithful of
Rome. The Romans wished to have in writing a part at
least of what they had heard orally from Peter.
Mark was not an Apostle, nor is it certain that he was an
immediate disciple of the Saviour. The probability is that
he was converted to the faith after the ascension. Yet, the
fidelity of his writing has never been questioned, because af-
ter his gospel had l)ecn written it received the approval of
Peter, of whom Mark was a disciple and follower.
The Church of Alexandria, in Egypt, that remained for
centuries in so flourishing a condition, and gave us so many
eminent not only for sanctity but also for learning, was
founded by him. After a ministry of nineteen years he
suffered martyrdom and was buried in that city for whose
spiritual welfare he had so long and so earnestly labored.
In the beginning of the fourth century, a church was built
AtETHAUEION. 13
over the sp6t where he was buried and his relics placed un-
der the principal altar, where they remained till about the
middle of the eighth when they were taken to Venice.
The Venetians also claim they have the original manu-
script of Mark's gospel, but so injured by time that not even
a sinirle letter can be distinijuished.
The third of the gospels, in the order given, is that of
Luke. This evangelist was born in Antioch, and was, be-
fore his conversion, a physician. Having embraced Chris-
tianitjs he did not abandon the healing art but still practiced,
though in a higher s]3here, and agreeably to the teaching of
Christ, the great physician of our souls. He was the com-
panion of Paul in most of his voyages and labors ; but after
the death of the great Apostle, little is known with certainty,
of his subsequent career ; nor has the name of the place nor
the time and manner of his death been handed down. Luke
wrote his gospel in the year 53, twenty after the Saviour's
ascension, and the Acts of the Apostles ten years later.
Let us now advert to the fourth and last of the gospels,
which is that of John, the Disciple so beloved by the Saviour.
It was to him that He entrusted His Blessed Mother on the
summit of Calvary before He closed His eyes and slept . John
is the only one of the Apostles that lived to see the end of
the first century. All the others had, long before, fallen
victims to their zeal and gone to drink anew the fruit of the
vine with Christ in the Kingdom of His Father. It is be-
lieved that he lived at Ephesus and governed the Church in
that city till about the yesiv 104. He wrote his gospel in
the year 96, sixty-three after the ascension.
It would take us too far from the main question to go into
details regarding the periods at which other portions of
the New Testament were written. Let it suffice to say that
none save the book of Revelations, is of more recent date
than the gospel of St. John, and none earlier than that of
St. Matthew. Let it be remembered then, that it was not
14 ALETHAURION.
till the sixty-fourth year after our Lord's ascension, that
all the books of the New Testament had been written.
A little meditation on these facts and figures will not only
convince us that the Church is more ancient than the New
Testament, but also teach the important lesson that to it
was confided the task of keeping pure and of propagating
the religion of Christ. This lesson has never been rightly
studied nor learnt by the heretics of any age, and hence
their mouthings about reading the bible.
Furthermore, let it be observed, that though all the
books of the New Testament were completed within a pe-
riod of sixty-four years after the ascension, still, it was not
till some time later on, they were collected into one vol-
ume. Had there not been the Church during that period,
to teach men the way of salvation, how few would have
heard of the Babe of Bethlehem, or of the victim of Calva-
ry ; and how still fewer would have been able, in the multi-
tude of conflicting opinions, to determine exactly what the
Saviour wished men to believe.
Before dismissing these questions regarding the written
word, it may be asked, whether Christ wrote anything.
Almost any one, whose mind is not a blank, would readily
answer in the negative. They mean He wrote no part of
the New Testament ; and thus far the answer is correct.
Yet, though not generally known, there was quite a contro-
versy among the learned, regarding the genuinity of a cer-
tain letter, which He is said to have written, with His own
hand, to Abgarus, King of Edessa. The circumstances of
the case are about as follows :
Abgarus, having heard of Christ and of His great mira-
cles, sent one of his servants into Judea with a letter, in
which he requested to be delivered from an infirmity under
which he was laboring. The letter also contained a profes-
sion of faith in the divinity of Christ.
"When T heard of the gi-eat works performed by Thee," says the King,
"I thought that one of two things must he true ; either Thou art God
ALETHAURION. 15
descended on earth from the highest place in Heaven, or Thou art the Son
of God, because of the splendid miracles wliich Ttiou dost perform."
In another portion of this letter he invites the Saviour to
come and live in his dominions.
"I have heard," says he, "all Thou hast done and what Thou hast suf-
fered from the reprobate and ungrateful Jews ; come, therefore, hither
and make lliy home in our midst,"
EusEBius, the historian in book I, chapter XIII, gives us
this letter as an authentic document, and tells us, moreover,
that he found it in the archives of Edessa, and did himself
translate it from the Syraic into Greek. In the same book
and chapter he gives the Saviour's answer. Christ praises
the faith of Abgarus in these words :
*' O, Abgarus, blessed art thou, who without seeing, hast believed in me;
for of me it is written, that those who have seen did not believe; that
they who have not seen may believe and have eternal life."
Further on, He promises to send one of his Apostles to
Edessa, to preach the gospel and rectify whatever might be
amiss.
The genuinity of both of those letters has been among
learned men, a matter of contention. Those who deny their
authenticity say, that it is unreasonable to think that a docu-
ment written by the Saviour Himself, should have been for-
gotten till late in the fourth century.
The others reply that this is no more strange than that the
cross itself, on which He died, should have remained so
till the time of the Empress Helena ; and besides, that
after the death of Abgarus, to whom the letter was sent,
His successors had not the same faith in Christ, and took
not the same interest in His letter ; hence it remained for-
gotten in the archives.
Again, one party says, if the letter of Christ had been
genuine, it Avould have been put with the inspired writings ;
but, on the contrary, Pope Gelasius, when forming the
catalogue of inspired books, rejected it as not authentic.
The other answers, it is not certain that Pope Gelasius is
author of the catalogue that bears his name. Moreover, say
16 AT.ETHAUKION.
they, scripture is scripture, not so much because of its au-
thor, as by reason of the authority of the Church which
determines the question of its inspiration.
Then again says the first party, how does it happen that
both letters were found at Edessa ? One at least ought to
have been in Judea, where Christ lived.
This could very easily have happened, answers the other.
Christ could have given the king's letter to the courier,
along with His own answer, and thus both would naturally
have been found at Edessa.
We shall not pursue this question farther ; though several
other reasons are given for and against its authenticity.
Catholic theologians at the present day, regard the letters as
not genuine, and explain what Eusebius, St. Ephrem and
others of the ancient fathers have said on the subject, by
saying they were deceived by some scribe who counterfeited
both letters and wished to have them pass as genuine.
In the next chapter we will speak on the constitution of
the Church, and while so doing will attempt to define who
its members are, and what is to be thought of the prospects
in the next life of those who will not enter the true fold in
this.
CHAPTER III.
THE constitution OF THE CHURCH
In previous chapters we demonstrated the two important
principles ; that the Saviour established a Church ; and, that
this was done before the New Testament was written. We
also spoke, in general terms, of the progress of Christianity,
and of the vast proportions it had assumed, even before the
end of the first century.
There is surely a temptation to dwell on such thoughts ;
the same we experience on beholding, for the first time, a
ALETHAVRION. 17
magnificent palace, or the peaks of a lofty and majestic
momitain. The mind feels it has something worthy its con-
templation, and expands, to grasp the entire grandeur of
its object.
But there are few who can take in so much at a glance ;
and, ■when gazing at, or meditating on things colossal, either
in the physical or moral order, we instinctively feel the need
of more extended faculties. Hence, it is only by taking one
part at a time, and observing how perfectly it answers its
purposes, and how well it harmonizes with the whole, that
we can form anything like an adequate idea of the wisdom
displayed in the formation of the Church.
Let us meditate on its constitution, and determine who
its members are.
The Church has been compared to a city, situated on a
hill, that cannot be hidden ; it has been likened to a ship,
set afloat on the sea, tossed about by the winds and waves ;
but with its prow ever pointed towards the heavenly Jerusa-
lem, and in no danger of being submerged, till it shall have
passed to the golden gates of the celestial city, and laid its
caro'o before the throne of God..
It is not, however, under any of these appropriate but
highly poetical similitudes we wish to speak of it in the
present chapter, but rather as an organic society, or moral
person.
Now, it is a truth of the faith that we profess, a motive
which lies at the foundation of each religious act we per-
form, that, along with these bodies of ours that will soon
return to dust, each one has a soul that will never die. It
is thus, also, with the Church. It has a soul and body,
united in a mysterious w^ay, and acting, one upon the other,
in a manner similar to those two component parts of each
individual man.
Some theologians have gone so far as to call the Church a
contiimation of the incarnation ; by which is meant that
Christ wished to leave in it a perfect image of Himself ; so
18 ALETHAURION.
that He may be said to live and converse with us, even after
His visible ascension into heaven. This idea, properly
understood, is consistent with sound doctrine. But we must
not lose sight of the truth, that the individuality of Christ
is distinct from that of the moral person we call the Church.
With these observations, let us proceed a step farther, and
define what we mean by its soul and body ; for, on the
proper understanding of terms will depend, in a great meas-
ure, the gaining of a true conception of any question.
By the soul of the Church, we mean sanctifying grace ;
by which men are intimately united with God ; and by aid
of which they may bring forth fruit worthy of the Christian
name. Faith, hope, charity and those admirable gifts, be-
stowed upon men of heroic sanctity, may also be included.
Now, as the soul that is within us, enlivens the mortal por-
tion of our being, so does sanctifying grace, and the virtues
and gifts spoken of, vivify the body of the Church; and
hence, writers on theology have very appropriately called
them its soul.
This division of the Church into soul and body, is one
whose propriety most sectarians willingly admit. Some
even maintain, that the Church of Christ is all soul and no
body. The reason for such an opinion will become evident,
when we reflect on the difficulty met with in answering the
question : where was Protestantism before Luther ?
If he who attempts the solution, is a man of parts he
knows it will not do to admit it had no being. To say that
it existed in the sects, excommunicated before Luther's
time, would be going too low, and would not help, even if
one should descend so far. Hence the necessity of either
admitting that the Catholic Church represented Christianity
till the sixteenth century, or, of having recourse to the idea
of an inorganic and invisible Church, composed of all who
lived piously and justly from the days of the Apostles to the
date of the so-called Reformation.
We do not mean to say that this notion of an invisible
ALETHAURION. 19
Church is, held by all sectarians, for they have as many dif-
ferent theories as they have heads. It serves as a means of
escape when pressed by such questions as the one we have
given, and expresses well what ive understand by the soul of
the Church in the concrete^ of which all and only the just are
members.
By the just, we do not mean the predestined, but all who
are free from the guilt of mortal sin. We must carefully
distinguish between the two classes of persons ; for, if the
wovd predestined were substituted for just in the proposition
given above, it would be as unsound and heretical as any that
Luther ever wrote.
To illustrate our meaning more fully, let us take an ex-
ample. We have in this country, at the present day, two
sects : the one called the Presbyterian, and the other the
Hard-Shell Baptist Church. Now, these two are peculiar.
They hold what are called Calvinistic doctrines ; one of
which is, that the Church of Christ, on earth, is made up
entirely of the predestined ; and that, when a man becomes
once the friend of God, or, as they say, **get8 religion,"
and joins the Church, he is safe for all time, and for eter-
nity ; because he cannot sin any more.
But experience seems, often, to contradict the assumption.
Thus, it sometimes happens that a member of the Church
gets caught and convicted of theft, or gets into the State's
prison for illicit distilling. When his brethren are asked to
arise and explain how one of the elect got into such an in-
eligible place, they readily answer, that their fallen brother
was either never truly converted, or, if so, the crime of
theft is by no means imputed to him by the Saviour.
Secular judges do not always understand such nice and
subtile points of Calvinistic theology, and the consequence
is, that sometimes a Church member to whom the Lord has
imputed no sin goes to the gallows for what the unregene-
rate are pleased to term the crime of murder.
But it is not alone the secular judges that find difficulty
20 ALETHAURIOX.
in distinguishing between the elect and the reprobate. The
Presbyterians and Hard-Shells themselves freely admit that
it is no easy matter to tell when a man is really and truly
converted, or in other words '* gets religion for good."
The following, however, may be taken as a case about
which there can be no two ways of thinking :
Some few years ago, whilst a resident of the town of R.,
the court-house bell one evening began to chime forth with
a vehemence that left no doubt that something of import-
ance was then going on, or else about to be commenced.
The ringing we took to be a call for a proposed railroad
meeting, and curiosity directed our foot-steps to the scene
of action. We found on arriving not a railroad, but a religious
meeting in progress. A tall, extremely pious-looking 'man
dressed in black but having on a white neck-tie, stood where
the judge generally sits in court-houses. His eyes were
raised in jDrayer, and the whites were glassy from gazing so
long in one direction. It was mid-summer and the doors
stood wide open, so we thought we would wait t)utside and
see what was to come. After some prefatory remarks, the
preacher gave his hearers an account of the manner of his
conversion, as nearly as we can remember, in the following
words :
" I was" said he, " in my youth very wild and inconsiderate, resisting
like Saul, the grace of the Lord, and refusing to bend my stubborn neck
to the sweet yoke of Jesus. Finally one day at a camp -meeting I heard
a very powerful sermon on the wickedness and propensity to evil of the
human heart, which so convicted me of sin, that I fell down where I stood
with my face to the earth. I sank my lingers into the loose clay and
tore it up like an ox. I cried out in the presence of all that I was a filthy
sinner, I halloed to the Lord for mercy, I rolled over, I cried Hke an
infant and I kicked. When they raised me up" said he, "I felt I was a
changed man, and ever since then I have had no misgiving on the cer-
tainty of my calling and election to glory."
No doubt.
We have introduced this case in order to give some idea
of what a member of the Church is, or ought to be, according
ALETHAURION. ^ 21
to Calvinistic notions. He must be one of the elect, a man
whose salv^ation is a fixed and unalterable fact.
This doctrine may appear to the casual observer similar to
that held by us regarding the soul of the Church, but on
closer examination it will be found totally different. Not
all the elect beloug to the soul of the Church, for some,
though predestined to eternal life, may nowbe in sin ; so too,
not all who belong to the soul of the Church are predestined,
for some, though at present in a state of grace may fall into
sin and never rise therefrom.
To one who understands all that has been said respecting
the soul of the Church, the question naturally suggests it-
self : May not many Protestants be members of it, and thus
be in the way of salvation, even though they may not belong
to the body or visible portion ?
In reply, we say first of all, that we have no interest
whatever in trying to keep Protestants or any one else out
of heaven. We believe that in our Heavenly Father's
house there are mansions enough for us all. Yet, the in-
terest of truth obliges us to say, that, in our opinion, the
number of those who belong to the soul of the Church, and
are not members of its body, are few. Yet there may be
some, but God alone knows who they are.
We have heard persons say : **Well, Protestants believe
they are right, just as we do." Now, even granting that
such is the case, what follows? That they will be saved?
By no means . Catholics , one and all believe and know they
are right and yet, only those w^ho observe the moral law will
be saved. Protestants are bound to observe the moral law
just as Catholics are ; they are men subject to and sur-
rounded by the same temptations and dangers that we have
to guard against. But they have not the same means of
vanquishing the enemy. The Catholic, after having fallen,
being still a member of the body of the Church, has the ad-
vantage of the Sacraments, those medicines left by Christ
to cure the sickly soul. The other has only an undefined
22 ALETHAUEION.
and vague trust in the mercies of the Saviour. The Catho-
lic, on his death-bed, is visited by his spiritual physician
who exhorts him to repent and pronounces over him, by the
authority of Cheist, words of absolution. He is made par-
taker of that bread which came down from heaven, of
which, says the Saviour, he that eats shall live forever. He
is annointed with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer
of faith is said over him, which we are told will save the
sick man. The other has none of these advantages, though
during life, he has had the same temptations.
Let Catholics not undervalue the favors God has confer-
red upon them in making them members of His Church, nor
blaspheme the efficacy of the Sacraments instituted by
Chkist for man's salvation by saying that heaven may be
gained as easily without as with them.
Let them not stultify themselves by giving sectarians to
understand that they will be saved outside as well as inside
the visible Church. Foi*, if that be true, millions have
shed their blood in vain ; and the teachings of all the truly
good and wise for eighteen centuries are falsehoods. Above
all let Catholic parents show their appreciation of God's fa-
vors to themselves by giving their children a Christian edu-
cation. In the next chapter we will speak of the body of
tl^e Church
CHAPTER IV.
THE BODY OF THE CHURCH.
In our last, we considered what is to be understood by
the soul of the Church, and touched on the question regard-
ing the character of those who belong to it. In the present
we confine our remarks to what is taught, and ought to be
known of its body.
By the body is here meant the external or visible portion ;
ALETHAUBION. 23
which, for the better understanding of what follows, we may
define, in the words of the illustrious Bosuet, as *' a society
of men, sojourners in the world and professing the true
doctrine of Christ."
This definition was given in the conference with M. Claude,
and is one that cannot be objected to by any who admit a
visible Church. We accept it for the present, though a little
farther on we will take the liberty of giving another, more
specific.
With this idea, let us advance a step, and inquire who are
the members of the body of the Church. As hinted in a
previous chapter, there is under this heading much loose
thought and uncertainty among sectarians. The writer has
found even Catholics, living in out of the way places, who
spoke in strange and uncouth, not to say heretical terms-,
about church membership. Such a style of speaking,
whether from ignorance or affectation, is highly improper,
and should be avoided.
We shall not attempt to define the conditions required for
membership by the various sects, scattered over the country.
For, though it might amuse the reader to do so, it would be
tedious to a writer. Let it suffice to lay down what the
Catholic Church teaches on the subject, and this, rightly
understood, will be a criterion by which to judge of the
various grades of deformity in the teaching of the sects.
Should the question be asked : Who are members of the
Church in the Catholic acceptation of the phrase ? We reply
in general terms :
They are all persons who have received Christian baptism.
Now baptism may be validly conferred by any one, whether
believer or infidel, who has the proper intention, and uses the
prescribed form and matter in* the administration of it.
Hence, not only we, who admit the jurisdiction of the Pope,
are members of the Catholic Church, but all schismatics and
baptized heretics belong to it.
By keeping this view of the case before the eye, one
24 ALETHAURION.
catches the force and meaning of the words lately used by
the Holy Father, in his letter to the Emperor of Germany,
in which allusion is made to the fact that all baptized per-
sons belong, in a certain sense, to the Pope.
The writer has heard bishops use the same language with
regard to the Protestants wdthin their jurisdictions. But
to most Catholics such language sounds paradoxical. They
naturally ask : Does the bishop mean to say these Protest-
ants are members of his flock ?
We reply, that is what is meant. And, that we may not
be misunderstood, some principles need be laid down and
explained.
First of all, let it be remembered, that Heaven recognizes
only one Church on earth. All others are delusions, mir-
ages of Satan, that have no reality. The Church to which
we allude is the Catholic — the Kingdom of Christ upon
earth. Men become citizens of it being born again of water
and of the Holy Ghost ; and, when once their names are
registered, they can never more leave the kingdom, for it is
co-extensive with the world.
''■Ask of me," says lioly David, speaking in the person of the Eternal
Father, to His only begotten Son, ''and I will give Thee the nations as Thy
inheritance, and Thy possessions the limits of the earth." — [Ps. ii. v.
Neither is it possible for a citizen of this kingdom to
transfer his allegiance to any other sovereign ; for there is
no other to whom it can be lawfully given. Hence, he may
become rebellious, ])ut does not cease to be a subject.
Now, St. Paul tells us there is one baptism, and this is
the one and only entrance to the kingdom of Christ, and,
since this gate can be thrown open by any one, hence it hap-
pens that thousands enter the Catholic Church, without be-
ing aware of the fact.
The Methodist preacher baptizes a man, the Campbellite
dips a believer in the stream — the one believes he has initiated
his subject into the Methodist Church, the other thinks he
has made a Reformer of his. Both are mistaken, for their
ALETHAURION. 25
men, by baptism, enter the one and only Church to which
the sacrament gives initiation.
Baptism is the door that leads into the Catholic Church,
and, when one goes through it, he is in the Church, whether
he Jikes it or not. And, after he is once in, he can never
come out, for he cannot unbaptize himself, nor remove the
character impressed on his soul. This is why we do not re-
baptize the sectarians that join us. They are already in the
Church, and all we require of them is to admit the authority,
and be guided by the counsel of its rulers.
By keeping these facts in mind, it will be readily under-
stood how all schismatics and heretics belong to the Pope.
But, some one may say, if all such are members of the
Catholic Church, why are they not treated as brethren in the
faith?
The reason is, because they are in rebellion against the
lawfully constituted authority. Hence we do not admit their
fellowship, nor call them members, except in the sense al-
ready explained.
Before proceeding further, we may observe that, just here,
comes in the question of conscience and good faith.
There may be sectarians who are not aware that they are
in rebellion against Christ. Such persons, in good faith,
will be saved, if they observe the moral law, and act accord-
ing to the light that is given. The fact that they stand on the
side of the rebellious will not be imputed, for sin pre-sup-
poses a knowledge of its evil, and a will to commit it not-
withstanding.
"Without presuming to say whether the number of per-
sons who belong to the sects, and are in good faith, be great
or small, we take occasion to remark that their chances for sal-
vation are slender, for they have not the aid of the Sacra-
ments, and when the soul becomes sick by sin, they have
neither the physicians nor the medicines to help along
recovery.
Let us now proceed a step and define what we mean by
26 ALETHi^URION.
the Church in the limited and ordinary acceptation of the
term. The true Church may be defined in the following
words, or in others of similar import :
An assembly of men, sojourners in the world who believe
in Christ, participate of the Sacraments instituted by Him,
live subject to legitimate pastors, and. more especially to the
Bishop of Kome, Vicar of Christ upon earth.
By this definition we exclude at once all schismatics and
heretics of every grade. It will also now be seen how a
member of this body may be cut off or excommunicated.
Such persons do not cease being subject to legitimate pas-
tors but are separated from the flock, lest, by their evil in-
fluence, they may be led astray.
In chapter III, speaking of the soul of the Church, we said
that all and only the just belonged to it. Of the body on
the other hand, sinners as well as the saints are full and recog-
nized members.
This important truth was denied in ancient times by a
sect called the Novations, who maintained that as soon as a
man had sinned, he ceased to belono; even to the bodv of
the Church. John" Wickliffe, the English heresiarch,
taught pretty much the same doctrine. But we take occa-
sion to state, once for all, that, when speaking of heretics
we can rarely, if ever, say, without qualification, that one
taught as another did.
A heretic is a man that chooses for himself what he wishes
to believe ; and, as the wishes of no two men are alike, or,
if they are, will never remain long so, hence the differences
in the opinions of those who will not listen to authoritative
teaching. Revelation to a heretic is like a wax nose that be-
comes aquiline or pug as he pleases.
We have said that all the faithful, whether saints or sin-
ners, belong to the body of the Church. That such is the
case, may be seen by adverting to a few passages of scripture.
In Matthew iii, 12, the Church is compared to a thresh-
ing floor where the grain and chaff are mingled together. By
ALETHAURION. 27
the grain, the just are evidently meant, and by chaff, those
in mortal sin. In chapter xiii, 47, of the same gospel, the
kingdom of heaven, ^. e. the Church, is likened to a net cast
into the sea, gathering together all kinds of fishes, both bad
and good. Again, in chapter xxii, the Church is a nuptial
feast, to which good and bad sit down, and at which there
was found a man who had not on a weddins: srarment.
But it is useless to multiply texts since those given are so
clear and explicit. Let one other suffice :
In i Cor. v. 3, St. Paul commands the incestuous Corin-
thian to be expelled from the Church.
Now, up to the moment of his expulsion, this Corinthian,
though in sin, was a member.
Let us by way of conclusion, propose to ourselves a few
objections :
1. In the Apostles' Creed, the Church is called holy.
Could it be justly called so if a portion of its members were
sinners ?
2. If sinners belong to the Church, would not the king-
dom of Christ be made up in a great part of that of Satan ?
3. St. Paul, Ephesians v, 25, makes use of the following
words, which do not seem to favor the idea of a Church with
sinful members : ** Christ also loved the Church and de-
livered Himself up for it, that He might sanctify it, cleans-
ing it by the laver of water in the word of life, that He
might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having
spot or winnkle nor any such thing, but that it should be
holy and wWiout blemish.''^
Let us briefly reply to these objections .
First, The Church ought to be holy, and truly is so we
grant — to the exclusion of sinners, we deny. The Church is
called holi/ in the creed by reason of its soul, which as we
said in the previous chapter, is made up entirely of the just.
It is holy by reason of its head Jesus Christ, whose sanctity
will not be questioned here. It is so by reason of its docv
trines, and of the other means it employs to save mankind .
28 ALETHAURION.
In fine, it is holy, because of the heroic sanctity of so
many thousands of its members. We have here several
titles, on the strength of any of which the Church might
prove its right to' be called holy.
Second, If sinners belong to the Church, the kingdom of
Christ is made up in a great part of that of Satai^ . We re-
ply, sinners may in one respect belong to Satan, i. e. inas-
much as they sin, but they also belong to Christ, inasmuch
as they acknowledge Him as their head, and live subject to
legitimate pastors. In this there is no contradiction.
Third, As regards the words of St. Paul, we may
answer \Y\th. his most celebrated commentator, Estius, tha^
Christ cleanses and sanctifies His Church by the sacraments
in this world, that He may present it to Himself a glorious
Church hereafter in heaven.
In the next we will speak of how the body of the Church
is organized.
CHAPTER V.
the body of the church — HOW ORGANIZED.
In the last chapter we defined the body of the Church as
an assembly of men, sojourners in this world, who believe
in Christ, participate of the sacraments instituted by Him,
live subject to legitimate pastors, and especially to one, the
Bishop of Rome, Vicar "of Christ upon earth.
In this is contained the germ of all we propose saying in .
the present chapter. Let us meditate on how this visible
portion of the Church is organized.
We may define our position in the following words : The
body of the Church is made up of a divinely instituted hier-
archy, consisting of bishops, priests and deacons ; and of
the laity. Thus, it will be seen that the visible portion of
the Church is made up of two distinct parts — the one active,
ALETHAUKION . 2d
the Other passive ; the one ruling, the other governed ; the
one teaching, the other taught.
We have used the words divinely instituted hierarchy^ by
which we mean to convey the idea that it was organized by
Christ himself, and that those who compose it do not de-
rive their right to rule and teach from the governed, but
from the Saviour.
We have said, also, that the hierarchy is the teaciiing por-
tion, and the laity, the portion taught. By this we do not
mean that a lavman oua^ht never teach nor give relisjious in-
struction, but that it is the duty and privilege of the hier-
archy alone, to explain authoritatively the true sense of the
scriptures, to preserve pure the divine traditions, and, as
occasion requires, to take from the mass of revelation one
or more truths and formulate them into articles of faith.
This done, any one may teach it, w^ho knows whereof he
speaks.
In our definition, we make no mention of the Roman Pon-
tiif. Neither do we include patriarchs, primates, arch-
bishops, arch-priests, and cardinals ; because these latter are
of ecclesiastical, as distinct from divine origin. A patriarch,
or primate,, is not higher than a bishop, so far as orders are
concerned, but his jurisdiction may be, and often is, more
extensive.
With these observations, let us now see if Chkist made
the distinction we speak of. This is one of the points of
difference between us and the Protestants, who deny such a
distinction drawn by the Saviour. But, the scriptures are
so clearly in our favor, that all we have to do is appeal to
them and the question will be at once satisfactorily decided.
Let us take a few texts and briefly explain them.
Iii Matthew xviii, Christ gives to the Apostles alone the
power of loosing and binding, ^. e. the power of remitting or
retaining sin. **Amen. I say unto you, whatsoever you
shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and
30 ALETHAURION.
whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also
in heaven."
Now the Saviour, besides the twelve Apostles, had also
seventy-two Disciples, and yet this power of loosing and
binding is given only to the Apostles. Here is a distinction
made by the Saviour himself, the same that we Catholics
maintain there is to day between the clergy and laity.
Again, Matthew xxvi, the Saviour gives the Apostles
alone the power of consecrating the Eucharist. **Do this,"
says He, *'in commemoration of Me."
The Apostles alone were present with Him at the Last
Supper, when He instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Why, might we ask, was not His Blessed Mother, or some
one of His Disciples there, also, on so important an occa-
sion ?
The reason is clear enough ; because the Saviour, on that
occasion, was going to institute the priesthood of the new
law, and draw a line of demarkation that was to remain till
the end of time. Hence, only the Apostles were present,
and each and every one of them became a priest of the new
law, just as soon as Christ had pronounced the words, *'Do
this in Commemoration of Me."
Again, in Matthew xxviii., He commands the Apostles
to go and teach all nations, promising that He would be
with them, and their successors, till the end of time. *'Go
ye, therefore," says He, *' and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you ; and behold, I am with you always,
even to the consummation of the world."
Now, one must be necessarily very short-sighted not to
see in these several texts a broad line of distinction, drawn
between the Apostles and their successors in office, and the
rest of the faithful.
Protestants maintain that the Saviour established no
external priesthood, and, consequently, deny that the clergy
ALETHAURION. 31
and laity are, by divine idght, distinct bodies of men. They
assert that every one, by baptism, becomes a priest, and
that all Church authority is vested in the people. The
members being thus on a perfect equality, no one has the
right to assume authority, nor teach publicly, till duly
elected to office by his associates. When chosen, he
preaches and teaches by the authority of the Church that
chose him. This he may continue to do till another is
elected in his stead, in which case all the authority given to
him returns to those by whom it was originally granted,
and the pastor that ivas becomes a sim^jle sheep, in no
respect different from the other members of the flock.
Kow, though every Protestant may not be able to formu-
late this idea as we have, still, to an attentive observer, it
will appear evident that it lies at the foundation of their
thoughts, words and actions on Church affairs.
To its influence we may trace that disrespect with which
the members of Protestant churches treat those of their
preachers whom they conceive guilty of some misdemeanor.
The public prints are occasionally full of the det^ails of how
this, that, or the other minister, was chased off by the
members of his flock. The reason of all this is because
they do not regard their pastor as a man sent by God to
rule and direct them, but rather as a servant, of whom they
expect so much work in consideration of so much pay.
We may now bring forward some passages of Scripture, to
show that the authority of the pastors of the Church is not
derived from the people, but directly from Christ. In
Matthew xxxviii, the Saviour says : **A11 power is given to
-me in heaven and on earth, go ye, therefore, teach all na-
tions.'' I find no trace here of the Protestant doctrine,
that ministers receive their authority from the Church.
Agarin : John xx : *'As the Father hath sent me, so, also, I
send you."
Christ was sent directly by the Father : and He sends
His Apostles in the same way. Add to all this, that the
OZ ALETHAURION.
Church did not begin to exist, in a formal manner, until no
the day of Pentecost. How, then, could the Apostles have
received their authority from it ; when as yet it had no ex-
istence?
Now, if the power had been given to the Church, to be
transmitted to the minister, as the Protestant principle
reads, every one must see that the Apostles, before begin-
ning to preach and to administer the sacraments, ought to
have asked for, and waited until they had received, the per-
mission and authority of the Church. But they neither
did so, nor was such a thing thought of in those days.
The faithful looked to them for instruction and guidance,
instead of presuming to give it.
To these texts of scripture that we have given, many oth-
ers might be added, if necessary, in support of the Catholic
principle ; that the minister has his authority, not from
God, through the people, but from Him directly. We do
not mean, however, to assert that each one receives the
right to teach and administer the sacraments immediately
from GoD,^ as Quakers do ; who quake and dance only as
they are moved by the spirit.
By the word directly, we wish it understood that the power
is given by God to the individual, and by him to another in-
dividual and so on in direct line always through the individual.
It is not diffused among the members of the Church, and
concentrated in one man as occasion requires, by means of
an election.
In the next chapter we will state more fully how the body
of the Church is organized, and will answer the objections
that may be raised against all we have said in the present.
ALETHAURION. 33
CHAPTER VI.
THE HIERARCHY.
We have shown that the body of the Church is made up
of two parts, by divme right, distinct, viz : Of the hierarchy
consisting of bishops, priests and deacons, and of the laity.
A Tvord about these terms before proceeding any further.
By the hierarchy ^ most persons suppose the bishops only
are meant. This idea, which is incorrect, no doubt has its
origin in confounding the first two syllables of the term,
with the word higher. All Catholics understand that the
office of bishop is of more exalted grade than that of priest
or deacon ; hence the tendency, because of the sound, to call
the assembly of bishops the hierarchy. As to the priests
and deacons, the majority take as granted that there is no
word as yet invented for them ; though loiverarchy would
appear the most suitable, if it could only be brought into
general use.
Such popular notions of higher and lower archies rest on a
false assumption ; and, are not only inaccurate, but directly
contrary to an article of faith, defined in the Council of
Trent, Sess. xxiii, can. vi., in which the hierarchy is made
to consist of bishops, priests and deacons or ministers.
The word is a compound, and of Greek origin, being
made up of hieros, sacred, and archia, authority. Hence, it
expresses well that portion of the Church militant, whose
right to command is sacred, because of divine institution. It
will now be readily observed, that the antithesis lies, not
between the ideas of higher and lower, but between those of
sacred and profane.
The term bishop, as applied to an officer in the Church,
is one whose meaning all understand. It comes from the
Greek episJcopos, an overseer. Few would recognize the
34 ALETHAURION.
original in its English dress, for words, like battalions of
soldiers, are changed mightily by a long term of service.
So, at least, it has happened to that of which we are speak-
ing ; it has lost a third of its letters, and half of its syllables.
The word is employed once in the Old Testament, ii. Es-
dras, xi, 22. The officer spoken of there, though called a
bishop, is of course, different from one in our sense. In
the New Testament it occurs five times ; used in each case as
at present.
Priest, as the name of the officer, by divine appointment,
next to a bishop, is also of Helenic origin ; but, like Hec-
tor's ghost, so changed, that but few would recognize in it
now, the long and sonorous presbytey^os of the ancient Greek.
Yet such is the case. The Roman was first, this time, in
the work of mutilation. He took off the final syllable, and
made it presbyter. The Frenchman took away another, and
shuffled what was left into pretre. John Bull staggered
up, with too much brown stout in him to get more than one
syllable out, and so the word presbyteros, an elder, has
become shortened into priest. Presbyter, or priest, occurs
six times in the New Testament, and is in all cases, applied
to certain officers in the Church.
Some of the sectarians call their preachers elders y mean-
ing thereby to be exceedingly scriptural. We have all,
however, long since learned that a walnut cannot be changed
into an orange by calling it so. Neither will calling Pro-
testant preachers elders make them so, in the scriptural
meaning of that word. It is required that some one, who
has authority, should first impose hands on them, and grant
certain powers, before we can allow those preachers to take
seats among the old folks in the Church of God.
This same word, presbyter, or elder, has also afforded a
base of operations to those who deny that there is offered
in the mass a real and true sacrifice. The word 'iereus,
say they, which means a sacrificing priest, is nowhere
applied in the New Testament to the ministers of religion.
ALETHAURION. 35
If, as Catholics maintain, there is offered to God, in the
Mass, a real sacrifice, then the word 'iereis, and not pres-
huteroi, would have been used by the Evangelists.
We reply, the Apostles and Evangelists knew pretty well
what they were about, whether they spake or wrote ; neither
did they ask for, nor require, the aid of heretics to enable
them to make a proper selection of words. In fact, if we
look well into the circumstances of the case, we will see the
wisdom displayed in using the word elder or presbyter, for,
if the term ^iereus, or sacrificing priest, had been taken, the
oflacers of the new Church might, in the vulgar mind, be
confounded with the Jewish priests, who offered bloody
sacrifices in Jerusalem, or with the pagan, who were to be
found in all the principal cities thoughout the Roman
Empire.
Furthermore, it is false that the term Hereus is never
applied in the Scriptures to the officers of the Church of
Christ. In Chapter v. of Revelations, as may be seen by
consulting the original, that those four and twenty elders,
who, in verse 8th, are called preshuteorij in verse 10th
receive the appellation of '^ere^s, sacrificing priests.
Of deacons, mention is made only three times in the New
Testament. But, in Chapter vi. of Acts, we have a cir-
cumstantial account of their election, and of the duties they
were required to perform. These three grades of officers,
taken along with the laity, or people, constitute the body of
the Church. We have intentionally erased from our list all
cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, archpriests, archdeacons,
and such like, for these titles are of human origin.
Kow that we have taken a view of the body of the true
Church, and gained some idea of how it is organized, let us
pass beyond the walls, and pay a visit to the outsiders.
Dean Swift, and before him, Erasmus, said that when
the Pope weeds his garden, he throws what he has plucked
up over the fence. By outsiders we mean such weeds. We
36 ALETHAUEION .
may divide them into two principal classes, schismatics the
one, and heretics the other.
A schismatic is a man who, while retaining, in great part,
and believing what the Church teaches, resists, neverthe-
less, the authority of the chief bishop. In other words, he
is a man that aims at dividing the Church.
A heretic chooses for himself w^hat he wishes to believe
of all that God has revealed, and resists authority, along
with assuming, impiously, the liberty to discriminate.
Thus it will be seen that a heretic is much lower in grade
than a schismatic. But, as Shakspeare says of rotten
apples, there is small choice between them.
Of those called schismatics, we do not wish to speak at
any length in the present chapter, for, though they refuse to
acknowledge the Pope's jurisdiction, still, in other respects,
their Church organization does not differ from ours.
Of heretics, properly so called, we make exception of the
Anglicans also. They keep up, at least, the appearance of
Apostolic succession. Hence Dryden has said of the An-
glican Church, that it is ''the least deformed^ because the
least reformed. '
Our business is with the Lutherans and Calvinists, and
their imitators of lesser notoriety. Now, it is amusing to
read the cock and bull story, given us by Mosheim, of how
the ecclesiastical hierarchy began and progressed. In part
ii, chapter v, of his Church History, this great light of
Lutheranism says, that, in the first century, and from the
time of the Apostles, the government of the Church was
purely democratic, the entire authority having been in the
hands of the people ; there were, according to him, no
bishops, superior to the elders or priests, in each Church.
We refuted one part of this statement in the last chapter,
by showing that Christ gave the power directly to the pastors
and not to the people. As to there having been no bishops,
superior to the elders, in each Church : if our great light
ALETHAURION. 37
had read over carefully, i Timothy v, 19 he would never
have made so groundless an assertion.
In the scripture we allude to, St. Paul addressing' Timothy,
whom he had made bishop of Ephesus, says to him, **and
against a priest, receive not an accusation, but under two or
three witnesses."
If he who has the right to examine witnesses, and judge
the conduct of elders, be not the superior in office, then we
confess inability to imagine in what official superiority can
consist. Our great light goes on to say, in the same work,
i Gen. i part chapter 2, that, about the middle of the second
century, the councils changed entirely the face of the
Church ; diminished the privileges of the people, and
increased the authority of the bishops.
The latter, says Mosheim, now assumed the right to ma^e
laws without consulting the people. These pretensions
were greatly increased in the third century, when the bish-
ops took away a good deal of the power which the priests
or elders in the Churches had possessed. He regards St.
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, as the principal author of
these changes.
Now, if MosHEiM had brought forward proofs to sustain
his position, he might deserve some attention ; but when he
gives his word only, we can VQ^\y ^Hestimonium unius, tes-
timonium nuUius,'' the testimony of one, the testimony of
none.
We may ask, however, before dismissing him, what about
the promise made by Christ to the Apostles, and their suc-
cessors, that He would be with them even until the consum-
mation of ages ? We are inclined to think that promise
must have failed, if Mosheim's testimony be true.
We would like to know hovrthe bishops of Asia, of Syria,
of Egypt, of the coasts of Africa, of Italy, could all have
conspired to change the government established by the
Apostles? Let MosHEOi, or anyone who believes as he,
tell us how it happens that the government in all those
88 ALETHAURION.
ancient Churches is episcopal; in no essential manner dif-
ferent from what it is in the Catholic Church of these Uni-
ted States.
Certainly the bishops of one and all those different
Churches could not have been ambitious, nor is it reasona-
ble to think that the people everywhere would have suffered
with docility to be deprived of rights and powers inherited
from their ancestors in the faith.
When our friends, who so much dislike episcopal rule,
give us satisfactory answers to these few questions, we will
then bring up positive proofs from the writings of St.
Cleivient, St. Ignatius and others who lived before the end
of the first century, showing that in their day, the govern-
ment of the Church did not differ from what we find it in
ours.
The Presbyterians and Lutherans cannot bear the idea of
a hierarchy, and yet, in practice, they each have one.
Among the Presbyterians of Scotland, e. g.\ each minister
has under his control the elders of his Church. Twenty-
four ministers form a presbytery or synod, at whose head
there is a president. This president has a right to visit the
parishes, admit aspirants to the ministry, suspend ministers,
excommunicate, and decide upon all Church affairs.
It is about the same amonsj the Lutherans ; the onlv^ dif-
ference is that, instead of calling their chief man a presi-
dent, they dub him superintendent. In this country all the
Protestant Churches, with the exception of the Episcopal
and Methodist sects, follow the Lutheran and Calvinistic
system of Church government, sometimes modified in par-
ticular cases.
They elect their officers and pretend to have scriptural
precedent in the election of the seven deacons spoken of in
Acts vi. But they ought to know that, though the deacons
were elected by the people, they had to be ordained l)y the
Apostles. The people may render testimony to a man's
ALETHAUKION. 39
fitness ; but ouly those who are successors of the Apostles
can ordain him.
In the next chapter we will consider more fully the case
mentioned in Acts vi, of the election of the seven deacons,
and attempt to define what the rights of the people may be
on the subject under consideration.
CHAPTER VII.
THE SEVEN DEACONS.
We read in chap, vi of Acts, that when the number of the
faithful had greatly increased in Jerusalem, there arose at
the same time certain jealousies among them. The Apostles
were far from approving of such, but they sought to remedy
the evil by mild means, instead of rebuking the principal
actors. To understand the disagreement, it must be borne
in mind that, in those days all things were in common among
the faithful. When one, possessed of wealth, had embraced
Christianity, he sold his worldly goods and gave the proceeds
to be used in supplying the wants of all indiscriminately.
At the time, not only a multitude of Jews, but also many
Grecians had professed belief in Christ, and, it was from
the latter came the trouble that occasioned the election and
ordination of the seven deacons. The Grecians thought that
more attention had been paid to the wants of the Jewish or-
phans and widows than to their own.
So, when the Apostles became aware that there was mur-
muring, they sought to remedy the evil at once. The multi-
tude having been called together, they explained, that the
preaching of the word and the administration of the sacra-
ments, being of the first importance, they had not time to
give special attention to the public tables.
At their request, the assembly chose out seven, who were
to attend to this business, and see that an impartial use was
40 ALETHAURION.
made of the public money. Their names were Stephen,
Philip, Prochoras, Nicaxor, Timox, Parmexas and Nich-
OLAUS. These have Greek names, and we suspect that most
of them were of the same oris^in.
In this truly apostolic way was the danger of schism
averted, and peace again restored. Such is the account
given in Acts vi, of the election of the seven deacons.
Now, in previous chapters, we mentioned that in our own
country most of the sectarian Churches elect their officers,
and hold the principle that all power is vested in the people.
In support of these views, they point to the election spoken
of.
Before we are through, we hope to make it appear that
neither from this, nor any other portion of scripture, can it
be. proved that the right of electing Church officers is essen-
tially and by divine right vested in the people. And, fur-
thermore, that something else is required besides election,
before one can be rightly called a minister of the Church of
Christ.
As but few, if any, of the sects have a well defined system
of theology, we shall not waste time nor ink in attempting
to condense into a tantJ^ible form their vacrue theories and
practices in the election and inauguration of ministers.
When we have defined what the rights of the people are,
according to the scriptures and fathers of the Church, the
reader will then have a rule by which to measure the merits
of any particular case to which his attention may be called.
We may state our position* in the following words : From
the election of the seven deacons, it may be inferred that the
people have the right to nominate candidates for sacred orders,
and render testimony concerning their merits at ordination.
This is the first part. Its truth will become evident by
even a cursory glance at the scripture of which we are speak-
ing. But if any further proofs be needed, they may be
found in the writings of the Fathers, which show that the
ALETHAURION. 41
rights spoken of, on the part of the people, were freely ex-
ercised in the primitive ages ; as they also are at the present
day, though, in a manner to correspond with the diversity
of circumstances.
Clement, third Pope after St. Peter, in his letter to the
Corinthians, writes as follows :
•* The Apostles, through Jesus Christ, knew the contentions there
would be on the score of election to bishoprics. For this reason, being
possessed of perfect fore -knowledge, they ordained bishops, and then
gave form by wliich they (the bishops) being called away by death,
others of approved lives, might succeed to their ministry; the entire
Church testifying its pleasure." ,
From these words we gather, that it was by the judgment
and choice of the Apostles bishops were first constituted ;
and after them, only such were to be raised to the dignity
who had good testimony with the people.
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, epistle 69, uses the follow-
ing pointed language on the same subject :
••' For which reason the people, obeying the precepts of the Lord, and
fearing God, ought to separate themselves from a sinful prelate, and take
no part in the sacrifice of a sacrilegious priest ; since they have the power
of choosing u'orthy priests^ and of refusing umcorthy ones.''''
From these words we see the right of the people to re-
ject unworthy and select worthy ministers, was fully
acknowledged in the third century, and by the great saint
and martyr, Cyprian.
The Catholics of Germany have lately exercised the same
rights in the case of Dolinger, Reinkins, and others, who
proved themselves undeserving of confidence.
We have said that the voice of the people is taken into
consideration in ours, as in ancient times. This is truly the
case, but it is done in a manner to correspond with present
circumstances. Let us take a few examples.
The Pope is elected by the cardinals, who represent the
people of Eome, each cardinal being the titular head of one
of ancient parish Churches of the city. Hence, he votes for
the Pope in the name of the people, just as a member of the
legislature votes for United States Senator.
A2 ALETHAUEION.
Bishops, according to the canon law, are elected by the
cathedral chapter, composed, in great part, of the parish
priests of the diocese. These are presumed to know the
wishes of the people and vote accordingly. When a person
is about to be ordained priest, there is one present who an-
swers, in the name of the people, that the candidate is
worthy.
We have now stated the rights of the people, regarding
the election and ordination of ministers;
Secular princes, being at the head of the nation, sometimes
ambitiously claim the right of speaking in its name, and of
accepting or rejecting prelates appointed by the Holy See.
This is what Bis3IAECK and Victor Emmanuel are trying to
do. We shall not wait to discuss the question, whether the
wishes of these gentlemen can be said to represent those of
•the Catholic people over whom they rule. We go deeper,
and establish a principle that will at once draw the prop from
their pretensions.
The people themselves do not possess by divine right,
but only by apostolic concession, the privilege of proposing
candidates for orders, and of rejecting ministers whom they
do not like. The truth of this proposition will be evident
from the following considerations: **Letno man," says
St. Paul, speaking of ministers, **take to himself this
honor, but he who is called of God, as Aaron was." —
[Heb. v.
Now, Aaron was chosen by Moses alone, without the
counsel or assent of the people. Christ sent His Apostles
without consulting the people. Paul made bishops of both
Titu^ and Timothy, without having asked the consent of
the people. Hence, if the voice of the people be essential,
that is, of divine right, in the election of ministers, Paul
would have gone beyond his powers, which no sane Chris-
tian man will affirm.
Furthermore, in Acts vi. we see a concession, on the part
of the Apostles, not the " acknowledgment of a right.
ALETHAUKION. 43
"Therefore, brethren," said they, **look ye out among you
seven men of good reputation, whom we may appoint,'^
The Apostles did .the appointing and laying on of handSy
without which those elected by the people would have had
no powers.
From all this we may infer that the rights spoken of are
not inherent in the people, but are concessions of the
Church to avert schism. Let us, also, in conclusion, reflect
on the hollo wness of sectarian pretension.
They may, indeed, elect their officers, but have no one
with authority to ratify the election, and give the chosen
ones the power required for the office. This can only be
done where there is a line of bishops coming down from
the Apostles. If one link of the chain were broken, the
whole world could not mend it. How futile, then, are the
pretensions of sectarian ministers to pastoral authority, who
do not possess a link at all of that golden chain that con-
nects the Church of to-day with that of the Apostles, the
Church of the Apostles with Christ, and, through Him,
unites the whole to the throne of the living and eternal
God, from whom all righteous authority emanates.
In the next, we will tell how to find the Church that has
the Apostolic succession.
CHAPTER VIII.
HOW TO FH^D THE TRUE CHURCH.
We have at the present day, and have had from Apostolic
times, various Christian denominations. Each pretends to
be the true Church, and maintains that all the others are so
many synagogues of Satan. Such being the state of affairs,
all, we think, will see at a glance the necessity of certain
marks by which to distinguish the Church of Christ from
all others. Each farmer or trader has some particular
44 ALETHAURION.
brand by which he knows his stock among those of other
people. If he had not, in case one strayed, he would search
for it in vain.
It is thus, too, in regard to Church organizations. There
are so many that, before beginning search for the true one,
we must determine if it has any peculiar marks, and, in case
it has, what these are.
Now, God requires impossibilities of no man ; hence,
when He imposed the obligation of belonging to the true
fold. He also arranged things that any one who seriously
inquires may easily find it. He has impressed upon it cer-
tain characters or marks Which belong to it and to no other.
These are unity, holiness, universality and apostolicity .
At present, we will confine our remarks to the first on
the list. Unity is an essential feature of the Church of
Christ. The reader may wish to know what we mean by
the expression. An essential property is that by which a
thing is what it is, or that, which being taken away, the
thing can no longer be conceived.
Thus, it is essential to a circle, that each and every point
of the circumference be equally distant from the center.
Any figure, no matter how round it may appear to us, is not
a circle, unless it has the property we allude to.
So, when we say that unity is an essential feature of the
Church of Christ, we mean that, without it, you can no
more have a true Church than you can have a square circle.
The unity we speak of is of two kinds : Unity in subsisting,
and unity in teaching.
It will now be in order to show, from the Saviour's words,
that the Church is one in its mode of subsisting. Our scrip-
tural texts are ready and at hand. In Matthew xiii, 47, the
Church is called a kingdom. Luke xiv, 23, it is called, by
similitude, a house. John x, 16, it is styled a sheep/old.
The singular number is always employed in speaking of it.
Now, let us bear in mind that the Saviour came from
heaven, not only to redeem us, but also to teach the human
O
ALETHAURION. 45
race, by example and by word. No expression of His was
superfluous ; no similitude inappropriate. In fact, just as
the microscope reveals wonderful perfections, even in the
smallest works of God, so will a little reflection show the
great wisdom displayed by the Saviour in the similitudes He
employed.
Take the expressions, kingdom^ house, sheepfold. Why
use these in connection with the Church ? Was it by chance
that He took them from the scores of others? Verily not.
Our illustrations are sometimes badly chosen ; His never, for
He comprehended the present, and He knew all that was and
is to happen until the end of time.
Let us see then, what there is remarkable in a kingdom
that made him liken His Church to one. There is this, and
it is worthy of consideration, that only one king is admis-
sible at a time. '' Two stars keep not their motions in the
same orbit, nor can one England," says Shakspeare, "brook
the double rule of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales."
As far as we have read in history, we have never yet
learnt the name of a kingdom that was large enough for two
kings, at once. Ancient Sparta had something of the kind,
but, omitting to mention the animosities that always existed
between the reigning families, we must remember that
neither was king in the strict sense, for the sovereign power
was really in the hands of the senate, composed of twenty-
eight members, and of the ephori, five in number. Sparta
was a republic ; and the kings were nothing more than her-
editary consuls, with far less power than those of Kome.
Now, besides there being only one sovereign in every
kingdom, what else do we find peculiar in it? That all who
hold office in the realm, do so, either directly or indirectly,
by the king's authority. The general commands araiies,
the admiral steers fleets, the judge sits on the bench, and
administers justice, all in the name of the sovereign.
What we have said of a kingdom, may be repeated of a
house. In each well ordered family, there is one head.
46 ALETHAURION.
whose authority is above that of all others. As to a sheep-
fold, not to speak of the shepherd, it is a well known fact that
in each flock there is one leader, and where he goes the rest
follow. This has been noticed by almost every one, and
needs only to be alluded to.
From these similitudes, we see that the Church of Christ
must have unity, must have some one at the head, for other-
wise it would not be a kingdom, nor a house, nor a sheep-
fold.
The other kind of unity, which forms a mark of the true
Church, is that of belief. Christ taught one system of
truth. Hence, wherever His followers are, their belief is
the same. There will be found among them no jarring
opinions, at least, on the score of religion.
In conclusion we say : Should these lines fall into the
haiids of one who has not as yet embraced Christianity, but
desires to do so, yet is uncertain, in the multitude of con-
flicting sects, which is the right way ; to such a one, we
would in Christian charity suggest, to choose that Church
which has the mark of unity ^ which is a house, a kingdom, a
shee/pfold, for it alone bears upon it the divine seal, the
character impressed by the Saviour, by which He wishes you
to know it.
And should any member of an heretical sect see this, let
him reflect, and ask himself the question : Is there any one
in my Church, who holds a place analogous to that of a sov-
ereign in a kingdom, to that of a father in a family, to that
of a leader in a flock? If not, then let him know that he is
in the wrong fold.
It will not do to say that Christ is the head of the
Church, and that no other is necessary. True, He is its in-
visible head, but He is also the head of all earthly realms,
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. But who will on that
account, say that earthly sovereignty is an usurpation? The
Church of Christ on earth, being a visible body, must have
a visible head. It would be a monster if it had not.
ALETHAURION. 47
In the next we will show that the organization known as
the Catholic Church has the unity we speak of in its mode of
subsisting.
CHAPTER IX.
CATHOLIC UNITY — SECTARIAN DIVISIONS.
We saw, in the last chapter, that unity is one of the marks
by which the true Church may be distinguished. In the
present, our purpose is to show that the Catholic Church,
and no other, has impressed upon it, the mark in question.
Let us at once proceed to the work.
The Church of Christ is a kingdom ; and, in every king-
*dom there is one, and only one chief. In the Catholic
Church there is one, and only one visible head. Thus far
the analogy is perfect. In a kingdom, all who exercise au-
thority, are appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the
sovereign. In the Catholic Church all admit the Pope to be
the source of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Thus, for example, in the Western Church, all bishops,
whether elected, according to canon law, or appointed
by concession of the Holy See, must await the pope's con-
firmation before assuming direction of the affairs, whether
temporal or spiritual, within those dioceses to which they
have been elected or appointed.
As regards the Oriental countries, though the system is
somewhat different in practice, it is the same in theory. In
the East there are five patriarchs, each of whom has the
power to choose and consecrate bishops, without consulting
the Pope. Yet, those very patriarchs themselves must, be-
fore assuming authority, get the consent and receive the
confirmation of the Holy See.
We have now said enough to show that in the Catholic
Church there is one, and only one head. This is a point that
48 ALETHAURION.
needs no great marshaling of arguments to sustain it, for
almost every one knows that Catholics, every where, admit
the Pope's supremacy.
Let us now cast a glance over the way toward the camps
of **our separated brethren," as some good natured people
call the heretics of our times. Let us observe if all, or any
one of the sects, can be said to have that unity in subsisting,
which is so prominent a feature in the Church of which we
are members. To speak of the sects collectively would be
useless, for, it is well known, there is no man on earth w^hom
they acknowledge as head.
It is vain then to say that all, taken together, constitute
the Church of Christ. They do not convey to our minds the
idea of a kingdom, and very far are they from giving us
that of a house. Each sect is independent of all others,
each congregation perfectly free to follow its own fancies,
and each individual, as occasion requires, will let it be
known, that he too has a head of his own.
Taken collectively, the sects present a most deplorable
picture of confusion. One is pulling in this way, another in
that, and, like a gang of imperfectly broken oxen, yoked
together, they go in for cracking necks without mercy.
As we fail to distinguish anything like unity among
them, taken as a body, let us single out some one, and ex-
amine its claims. The organization known as the Episcopal
Church will best suit our purpose, because it is, compara-
tively speaking, the most perfect of them. Has the Epis-
copal that unity, which, as we have seen, is a mark of the
true Church of Christ ? Is it a kingdom? If so, who is
sovereign ?
We know who is its head in Kentucky, and in some of
the other States of this Union. But that is not enough to
give us the idea of a kingdom. Who is head of the Epis-
copal Church for the entire world ? The only answer to
this question will be — there is none. What follows? That
ALETHAUKION. 49
in the most perfect of all sects there is a palpable lack of
unity in its mode of subsisting.
Take another case, or, rather, a different view of the
same one. Consider the claims of the Church of England.
Do we find unity there? It must be confessed we do, if
not in the belief of its members, at least in its mode of
subsisting. The Queen is the head of it, and all Anglican
Bishops hold their places by her authority. Each sovereign
of England, from the days of Henry VIII., is the head of
the Church and of the State. During the reign of Eliza-
beth the pretensions of Henry were more fully carried out.
To such an extent was this the case, that each Bishop
within the realm who wished to retain his See was obliged
take the following oath :
*' I declare, in conscience, that the Queen is the sole, supreme govern-
ess of the Kingdom of England, not less in spiritual matters than in tem-
poral, and that no foreign prelate or prince has any ecclesiastical au-
thority in the kingdom. Hence, I altogether renounce all foreign
powers."
By this declaration, it will be observed, that the sovereign
of England is acknowledged the head of the Church.
Hence, to outward appearance, there is as much unity in
the Church as by law established in the British dominions
as there is in ours. But is this unity of the risrht kind? Is
it such as Christ established? We think not, and, in sup-
port of our opinion, we would call attention .to Matthew
xvi., where the Saviour says to one of His Apostles :
"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the
gates of hell £hall not prevail against it."
From this passage alone, not to speak of what is said in
John xxi., we see that Peter was made the earthly head of
the Church, and men, after having once sworn allegiance
to Christ, were bound in conscience not to break off com-
munion with His vicar
We would like to know if Victoria is the successor in
office of St. Peter. If so, we have never seen any proof
of the fact, nor any attempt at it.
50 AT.ETHAURION.
Does she pretend to be the head of Christ*s Church hi
such a manner that all who refuse to obey her in spiritual
things commit a sin? We think not ; it would be folly on
her part to make such iwetensions. For, who has given
her the right to command in the Church of God? Cer-
tainly it was not the Saviour, for the kings and queens
of England were not dreamt of when the Church was
first founded. She has, therefore, no divine right to com-
mand, and, by consequence, no one is bound in con-
science to obey her in spiritual things. For, when God
gives not the right to command, he does not impose the
obligation to obey. Moreover, Christ intended that His
Gospel should be preached over the entire world, and as
a consequence that His Church should have equal exten-
sion. Hence, if the Queen of England is the head of the
Church of Christ, at all, she must be so everywhere. But,
how heartily Bishop S^iith, of this State, would laugh if
Victoria should send him a letter informinsr him that he
o
was suspended from office, and that she had in her apostolic
solicitude, appointed another in his stead. The head of the
Church would be apt to get a back answer.
Thus, we have taken the most perfect of all the sects and
have searched it for unity in vain. We only found a coun-
terfeit, that even a child may detect. Of the small sects,
scattered throughout the country, we do not think it worth
while to speak. They are like fishing worms — the heads and
tails are all alike.
In our next we will take up the question of unity in belief,
and show that, in the Catholic Church, the faithful be-
lieve not only alike, but that it is impossible there should
be differences of opinion, on any question essential to man's
salvation, among them.
ALETHAURION. 51
CHAPTER X
ALL CATHOLICS BELIEVE ALIKE.
That unity of belief amongst its members is a mark of the
true Church few reflecting persons will deny. The Saviour
taught one, and only one, religious system, and wished his
followers to believe each and every article of it. All who
embrace this system believe alike, because truth is every-
where consistent with itself. If there were a di:fference, it
would result from the fact that ane or the other believed
less or more than the Saviour taught.
We may then say with truth, that even a general knowl-
edge of who Christ was, and what He came on earth to ac-
complish, would, of itself, convince us that the belief of His
followers must be one and the same. What right reason
may gather from the consideration of a few general princi-
ples, revelation renders yet more clear. Let one passage,
with a short explanation of it, suffice : Eph. iv. 5. Paul,
exhorting the faithJ^ul to continue in unity, makes use of
these expressive words :
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism."
To understand more fully the force of this saying of the
great Apostle, we must bear in mind that the word faith has
a triple meaning. By attending to this, we may avoid con-
fusion of thought, and set to right expressions we fre-
quently hear use made of by heretics. The latter speaking
of faith, often mean by it, nothing more than a certain con-
fidence in the Saviour's merits. This corresponds exactly
with what we mean by presumption ^ as used in the cate-
chism.
The writer has often heard the expression, ** he died with
great faith in Jesus,*' in connection with the name of some
hardened old sinner, who after having spent nearly his whole
life in the service of the Devil, and well feathered his
52 ALETHAURION.
earthly nest with illicit gain, at last joined some sectarian
conventicle, in order to ease his conscience, or else, may be,
to die in the fashion. By joining the Church, such old
hypocrites imagine that Jesus takes upon His own shoulders
all their iniquities, and squares their debt at a blow — so glad
is He to get hold of so much respectability. They die,
generally, ** with great faith in Jesus," which means in
simple terms, that they pass out of this world with a foolish
expectation of salvation, without making proper use of the
means to obtain it. That we call, not faith, but presumption
of God's mercy, which is a sin against the Holy Ghost.
In the second place, the word faith is used to express that
divine virtue infused into our souls, by which we believe all
that God has revealed, and the Church proposes for belief.
Finally, faith or the faith, means the aggregate of those
truths taught by Christ of the Apostles.
Now comes the question, to which we desire to invite
attention. When Paul says faith is one: In which of the
three senses does he use the word? A little reflection will
show, that it is in the last. He mentions it in connection
with Baptism, and God, which, to us, are objective ideas.
The conclusion we draw is, that, according to Paul, objec-
tive faith is one, a unit, cmd all who belong to the Church
of Christ must hold it as* such. It will not do to say, as
once did a sectarian deacon to the writer, when speaking on
the subject of the Real Presence. '* Well," says Mr.
Deacon, when argument had failed, *' it appears to me that
a great many of these things are merely matters of indiffer-
ence, and provided one has faith in the Lord, I think he will
be saved, no matter what denomination he may belong to."
We were not prepared to coincide with his liberal views,
considering what the Apostle says about being ** careful to
keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace
till we all meet in the unity of faith," Eph. iv. 3, 13. We
suspect that enough has been said to establish the fact that
unity of belief, among the members, is a mark of Christ's
ALETHAURION. 53
Church. We will next proceed to investigate which of the
various existing denominations has the unity we speak of.
Let us take, at first, the Catholic Church. Now, as we can-
not see men's thoughts, we must judge by such facts as are
patent to all, and by principles which are called a priori by
logicians.
We see in these United States, almost every day, occur-
rences that might well open the eyes of Protestants. When
a German, a Frenchman, Englishman, or Belgian, comes to
this country, he does not find the Catholic Church different
from what it is in his own. He finds here Catholics
believing just the same as there. It would not be different
were we of America to travel in Europe, Asia or Africa ; our
religious opinions would suffer no shock at hearing them
speak of the Church.
But, it is not alone of the fact, that we wish to speak,
but also of the principle on which it is based. Catholics,
as long as they wish to remain so, cannot help believing
alike, for, with us, it passes for a principle, that Christ
established in His Church a living teaching authority, ac-
cording to whose lessons must be squared the belief of each
individual.
This authority, of which the Pope is chief representative,
is neither dead nor dunib, but stands ever ready to admon-
ish and direct the faithful, and not alone that, but to
condemn whatever is contrary to faith and morals. Hence
it is that, in the Catholic Church, not only have w^e unity of
belief among its members but also the principal by which
it is maintained — authority. We will next briefly consider
the question of unity of belief outside of the true fold
Here also, a difficulty presents itsielf at the very threshold.
We cannot take a heretic in each hand, and, holding them
up between us and the light, say this one's liver is of a
different color from that one's. We can only judge
from eternal facts, and a priori principles, also, in this
case, as in that of Catholics. The facts, however, are of a
54 ALETHAURION.
nature quite satisfactory for our purpose. We need not
quote Scripture, nor the Fathers, to show that Presbyter-
ians do not beheve as Episcopalians. That Methodists and
Campbellites won't agree. That Hardshell and Missionary
Baptists won't pull together. That, though Quakers may
shake and Shakers may quake, yet, the shake of the Quaker
is not the shake of the Shaker nor the quake of the Shaker
that of the Quaker.
Now, as regards the belief of the members of some one
particular sect : In those cases where books on Theology
have not been published, it would be difficult to show how
the belief of one differed from the others. But, as far as
the old sects are concerned, the job has been done, in a
masterly manner, by the illustrious Bossuet, in his work
entitled Variations.
However, should any Catholic for amusement sake, desire
to find out the diversity of opinion among the members of
some of our modern sects, let him carry out the following
plan, and he will succeed to a miracle. Let him, in his
own mind, single out some ten or a dozen of the more in-
telligent members of some sect — let him then, without
exciting suspicion, ask each one separately, if he believes
all his preacher has said from the pulpit for the last six
months. We are greatly mistaken, if nine out of ten don't
answer in the negative.
The experiment is an amusing one, and ought to be tried.
Now the cause of this entire lack of unity in belief among
Protestants, is the want of the principle of authority. If
we were to remove that, even in the Catholic Church, the
passions and private interests of men would turn it, also, into
a babel, as confused as that of any of the heretical sects of our
day. According as each heresiarch broke off from the true
Church, he denied the principle of a teaching authority ;
and established, in its stead, that of private interpretation.
The consequence has been deplorable, for we have now,
ALETHAURION. 55
outside of the true fold almost as many religions as there
are heads.
In the next we will consider holiness as a mark of the
true Church.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TEUE CHURCH IS HOLY.
In Ephesians V, we read, that Christ suffered and died
that He might sanctify His Church ; and in the same epistle
chap. i,PAUL says, that Christ **chose us that we might
be holy and immaculate." Furthermore, in his epistle to
Titus, the same Apostle, speaking still of Christ, says:
'*He gave himself up for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and that He might cleanse for Himself a people acceptable, and follower
of good works, ii, 14."
From these texts, and from others which could be readily
brought forward, it will be seen that the Church must be
holy; that sanctity must form a peculiarity distinguishing
it from all spurious sects, that pretend to be, but are not
Churches of Christ. In fact, there is no man professing
Christianity so lost to all sense and reason that pretends to
say that the true Church of Christ can be otherwise than
holy.
The difficulty, if there be any at all, is in regard to the
manner in which this mark, inasmuch as it is a visible one,
distinguishes the true fold from all synagogues of Satax.
In the present, and also in a future article, we intend to
show that the mark of holiness belongs to the Catholic
Church and to no other.
Let us, in the first place, observe the distinction that must
be drawn between the holiness of an individual and that of
the Church. When speaking of any particular person living
at present in the world, we cannot say with absolute certain-
ty whether he is or is not holy in the sight of God. We
5 6 ALETHAURION .
may have what is termed moral certitude in his regard, but
to know absolutely that such or such a person is in a state
of grace at a given time, without a special revelation, is im-
possible. ''There are just and wise men," says the Scrip-
ture, Eccl. ix, 1, ''and yet no one knows whether he is wor-
thy of love or hatred." If a man, then, cannot tell, with
absolute certainty, whether he be the friend or the enemy
of God, for a much stronger reason he cannot say whether
his neighbor is or is not in the state of grace.
Why so? Because it is not necessary for a man's salva-
tion that he should know the spiritual condition of his
neighbor ; hence God has placed no external marks on any
person by which we can tell the state of his soul. But,
with the Chui-ch it is different. To belong to the true one
has an important bearing on our salvation ; therefore God
has given us connecting links, by which we may, with cer-
tainty tell whether the Church to which we belong is or is
not holy. What these means are we will now proceed to
investigate.
How, then, is the Catholic Church holy? It is so, pri-
marily, by reason of its founder Jesus Christ — by reason of
the doctrines which it teaches, and of the heroic sanctity of
so many thousands of its children. The Church is holy by
reason of its founder Jesus Christ. Let us pause here and
consider the force of these words. There are contained in
the sentence, two propositions. First, that Christ is the
founder of the Catholic Church ; and secondly, that He was
holy. Let us examine each separately. Christ is the
founder of the Catholic Church. How do we know this?
From history. Starting from our own day we have a con-
tinuous chain of writers until we go back to the earliest
times even to the birth of Christianity. These, as occasion
requires, make mention of a Catholic Church, founded by
Christ. Thus, at the present 'day, we have, among others,
the celebrated theologian, Perrone. Li his works he speaks
of a Church founded by the Saviour. Going back to the
ALETHAURION. 57
sixteenth century, we find Cardinal Bellarmixe bearing the
same testimony. Going still farther, we have for the tenth
century, a Bernard. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, gives
testimony for the fourth century ; Tertellian for the sec-
ond.
Thus, we get among the Apostolic Fathers. One of the
latter, Clemext, was the companion of Paul, and fourth
Pope of Ronxg. It is of him the Apostle speaks, Phillip iv,
in these words :
*• I pray thee also, thou faithful companion of my labors, to aid those
women who have labored with me in the gospel, along with Cle3IENt,
w^hose names are in the Book of Life/'
All these whose names we have mentioned, either directly
or indirectly, speak of a Church founded by Christ, identi-
cal with the Catholic Church of to-day.
Besides these, there are also scores of others, forming we
may say an unbroken chain of evidence, reaching from our
own day to the time when Christ lived here on earth.
Another way of showing that Christ is the founder of
the Catholic Church, is by taking the succession of the
Popes. It is an indisputable fact, that there have been
Popes in Rome since the time of the Apostles, and, each not
only declared himself successor of St. Peter, but was ac-
knowledged as such by the whole world. The Popes iden-
tify themselves w^ith the Catholic Church, and give it that
relation to Christ that effect has with cause, for one of his
Apostles, viz : Peter, stands first on the list of the Bishops of
Rome.
It will be seen, from these various considerations, that the
Catholic Church goes back as an organized society to the
time of Christ, and bears that relation to him to that an
effect does to its cause. The other proposition, of which we
spoke, viz : that Christ is holy, needs no proof here. We
believe that He is the Son of. God, the Second Person of
the Blessed Trinity, and, consequently, incapable of sin.
Having shown that the Catholic Church is holy by reason
58 ALETHAURION.
of its founder, let us next consider whether any other religious
denomination can claim sanctity on the same ground.
We have at the present day various sects, some of which,
such as J^estorians, go back to a very remote period — not
however, by some hundreds of years, to the time of Christ.
But those we have dealings with in America are quite mod-
ern. None of them go back as organized societies beyond
the sixteenth century. Not a few, such as the Meth-
odist, Campbellite and Mormon, do not go even that far.
Yet strange to say, nearly all claim the Saviour as thei^
founder. But how Christ could have founded a society fif-
teen or sixteen hundred years after his death is not easily
understood. To illustrate we will take an example.
Suppose some man in Ireland, should at the present day,
organize a society, whose aim was to free the country from
the tyranny of the English, and should, after having done so,
give out that George Washington was the originator of the
society in question. Do you suppose he would get many to
believe what he said ? We think not. The first question
asked, would be this : Can you prove from history that this
organization of yours goes back to the time Washington
lived? can you show that it has the relation to him that ef-
fect has to cause ? Unless you make clear these two points
you will succeed in persuading only the uninformed that your
society came from the brain of Washington.
Now, the members of the sects are in the same predica-
ment. Can any of them prove that their organization goes
back to the time of Christ ? Can they show connection with
him as effect w^ith cause ?
We have seen some attempts at it, but none which a can-
did man would not at once throw aside, as either unintelligi-
ble or dishonest. The sects may pretend that they teach the
doctrines of Christ, but they cannot in reason claim him as
a founder, unless they first make clear the two items to
which we have alluded. From all this we may gather, that
Christ is the' founder alone of the Catholic Church, and.
ALETHAURION. 59
consequently, that it alone has the mark of holiness because
of its founder.
In the next we will pursue, a little farther, this same
question.
CHAPTER XII.
HOLINESS A '^L\RK OF THE TEUE CHURCH.
In Chapter xi, after having shown from the Scriptures,
that holiness is a mark of the Church of Christ, we consid-
ered the claims of the Catholic Church to the mark in ques-
tion. We referred to the fact that, of all the denomina-
tions existing at present in the world, and claiming Christ
as their founder, it alone can fearlessly appeal to history.
It alone had an origin contemporary with the Apostles. We
can easily name the time when each and every one of the
others began, and can lay a finger on the men who first
ororanized them. Where was Protestantism in oreneral be-
fore Luther? Where was Episcopalianism before King
Henry ? Where was the Baptist society before the time of
Storck and Muncer? Where was Methodism before Wes-
ley? Where was Campbellism before Campbell? They
were all where Job's boils were, before Satan got permis-
sion to afiiict him. They were in the possibility of hell,
but no where else. Hence the Catholic Church is positively
the only one that goes back, as an organized body, to the
the time of Christ. It is the only Church that can, with
any sKow of reason, claim Him as its founder. This is a
fact that any one may find out who is ignorant of it, but will-
ing to make use of even a part of the diligence in searching
for truth, which men are accustomed to employ almost
every day in things of less importance.
There may be some men of limited education, who do not
know all we have said concerning the divine origin of the
Catholic Church ; but this ignorance will not excuse them j
€0 ALETHAURION.
because they can very easily find out, if they feel really in-
terested in the matter. We may then say, in all truth and
sincerity, without fear of contradiction, that the mark of
holiness, hy reason of its founder alone, is so clearly stamped
upon the Catholic Church that even he who runs may
see it.
Now as it would be clearly ridiculous in any of the sects
to claim Christ as immediate founder, and consequently
unreasonable that they should pretend to the character of
holiness, exactly on the same grounds that we do, hence
they get around the difficulty, in a manner that may be sat-
tisfactory to ignorant and unread people, but not so to him
^who is willing and able to investigate the truth, and equally
prepared to accept it, when discovered.
They say : we don't deny that the Catholic is the oldest
Church ; that it was founded by Christ, if you will ; but,
we maintain that, in the course of time, it fell away from
its original purity — it became corrupt. This being the case,
God raised up such men as Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII,
and others to reform it ; or, at least, to lead forth God's
people from it — pretty much in the same way that Moses
once rescued the people of Israel from the bondage of Pha-
raoh. This is, substantially, the plea they go on. They
make use of the Catholic Church as abridge, whenever they
want to establish a connection between themselves and
Christ, but, when that is not the question under considera-
tion, they speak of it as an institution altogether rotten and
unsafe.
We will now take up this idea, and, after having venti-
lated it somewhat, each candid man will see how exceedingly
false and fallacious it is. First, they say the Catholic
Ghurch became corrupt, second, that Luther, Calvin and
others were sent to reform it. Both the one and the other
of these assumptions are untrue ; the Church of Christ, can-
not by any possibility, lose its purity. ** You are the salt
of the earth,'' says the Saviour to the Apostles. Now it is
ALETHAURION. 61
a well known fact that you may take a handful of salt and
bury it in the ground for fifty — a hundred — a thousand
years, and at the end it will still be salt. It will not decom-
pose like other substances. It is thus with the teachings of
the Apostles and their successors in the ministry. The salt
will not lose its savor. But, as w^e w^ill have occasion to
speak on this subject, when treating of the indefectihility of
the Church of Christ, we merely for the present allude to it.
Christ made His Church to last till the end of time. He
was a good workman, and He has warranted His work.
"Behold," says He to the Apostles and their successors,
*' I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world." Hence there was no need at all that such botches
as Martin Luther, John Calvin and others should set about
remodeling what the Omniscient had fashioned. We would
say, further, that it was on their part an act of blasphemous
impudence. The Church of Christ can never need reforma-
tion in her doctrines touching faith and morals; for
reformation supposes previous deformation, and the spouse
of Christ cannot become deformed.
There is in the museum of the Capitol at Rome a celebrated
statue, known under the name of the Dying Gladiator^
about which Lord Byron wrote those beautiful lines found
in the IV Canto of Childe Harold, and familiar to almost
every school-boy. The statue is regarded by the best sculp-
tors as a master piece. As a work of art, humanly speaking,,
it is perfect. Any changes made on it would certainly be
for the worse. Now let us suppose that some third or fourth
class artist, on seeing this wonderful piece of workmanship,
should take it into his head, that, after all, it is not so per-
fect as people think it to be. Suppose he took the resolution
to remodel, according to his notions, the first opportunity
he got. Would not every one regard such an artist a fit
subject for bedlam ?
But, take for granted, that this same botch should carry
his folly to such an extent, as to come into the very room
62 AT,ETHAUKIOX.
Tvhere the statue is, and mallet and chisel in hand, should
hegm the wovk of toucliing off. What would the guardian
be likely to say, on finding such an individual at such work?
Let us now apply this to the case of which we have spoken.
The Church of Christ is a masterpiece, chiseled out and
made perfect by no less a personage than the Son of God.
What folly, then, that such men as Luther and Calvin
should have taken it into their heads to retouch what Christ
himself had modeled and finished. Hence, we find the Popes
of every age, the faithful guardians of that most noble piece
of workmanship, whip in hand, ready to scourge from the
sanctuary all who, through malice or culpable ignorance,
conceived, and sought to put into execution their designs of
changing it.
But, may be some one will say, that the reformers of the
sixteenth century, having had authority direct from God,
were not bound to pay attention to man's prohibition. Let
us examine a little into this case. Were Luther and Calvin
sent by the Almighty to remodel the Church ?
We may answer, that, at least, both were not sent. Why?
Because their testimony did not agree. If both had been
sent by God they would have told the same story.
But, was either of them sent? We hope, before con-
cluding, to show thtxt neither the one nor the other had a
divine mission to reform the Church. A mission to reform
or modify the Church is either extraordinary or it is ordin-
ary. An extraordinary mission is where one is sent directly
by God Himself. The Saviour, Moses, and the Jewish
prophets had extraordinary missions ; they proved it by
miracles, and by most holy lives, which are the signs that
accompany that kind of mission.
Any man who pretends to have a divine extraordinary
mission, without miracles and a saintly life, is an impostor.
As to an ordinary mission, it is one which comes directly
from God, through that authority which He has established
in His Church here on earth.
ALETIiAUEION. 63
Now, Luther had neither an extraordinary mission nor
an ordinary one to reform the Church. He worked no
miracles, besides his morals were very corrupt.
Calvix once took it into his head to perform a miracle.
He hired a man to play dead, that he might, at the proper
time, raise him to life. When all things were ready for the
miracle, and the crowd stood by, gaping at the dead man,
Calvix arrived on the ground, and, after some prelimina-
ries, he looked solemnly up to Heaven, then at the bogus
dead man and called out, **/7i the name of Jescs Christ,
of Nazareth, I say unto thee, arise,'^ But the wretch did
not arise ; the justice of God had overtaken him, just as his
accomplice had pronounced the words.
These are the miracles worked by the Reformers.
Christ and the Apostles restored men to life bodily and
spiritually. Our Geneva Apostle took away the life of the
body, at least in this case ; and destroyed the souls of many
by his pernicious doctrines.
Erasmus, in his own witty way, said of the Reformers
that, so far from raising men to life were they, not one of
them was known to have ever cured even a lame horse.
From all this it will appear that those men had not extra-
ordinary missions. But neither had they an ordinary one,
for both were excommunicated by the existing authority.
We shall not, at present, dwell further on this subject.
But, by a little reflection on all we have said, it will be seen
how fallacious is the idea, that lies at the bottom of secta-
rian thought on the Church, viz : that the Reformers of the
sixteenth century had their commissions from God. Let
us hence conclude, that each and every one of the Reformed
Churches, far from being able to connect themselves with
Christ through the Catholic Church, are nothing more nor
less than counterfeits, base impositions put in circulation
by unscrupulous agents of Satan, calculated to deceive, and
effectually doing so everyday. If we take this view of the
matter, which is, in fact, the only one that can with reason
64 ALETHAUPJON.
be taken of it, we will readily see that, instead of the mark
of holiness, each and every one of them has impressed upon
it the brand of imposture and deceit.
In our next we will consider the claims of the Catholic
Church to the mark of holiness by reason of the doctrines,
and the eminent sanctity of so many thousands of its chil-
dren.
CHAPTER XIII.
HOLINESS A 31xiEK OF THE TEUE CHURCH.
In the two previous chapters, our main object was to
throw into relief the fact that the Catholic Church was
founded by Christ, the Saviour. This point, once fairly
established, the rest follows as a natural consequence.
Were we writing for the instruction of Turks or heathens,
before undertaking to prove the holiness of Christ's Church,
order and right reason would require that we should first
establish on a firm basis the sanctity of Christ himself.
But, as our efforts are principally for the. benefit of those
who admit the Saviour's divine mission, we prove the holi-
ness of the Catholic Church by showing that it is His work.
Having done so, we might let the matter rest, and turn
our attention to some new questions. We are convinced,
however, that in a work like this it is better not to be too
brief, lest we at the same time become obscure. The pro-
position, Christ founded the Catholic Churchy and, there-
fore, it is holy, niay be clear enough and sufficient for a
theologian, but not so to others, whose pursuits in life may
be such as not to afford time to draw out truths to their
full extent.
We will, therefore, in the present chapter, bring forward
some other reasons that go to confirm all that we have said
about the Church being holy, because of its founder. ,
ALETHAURION. 65
The Catholic Church is holy by reason of its doctrines.
We cannot, as a matter of course, take up each point of our
holy faith and show its conformity with right reason and
revelation. This would be a lengthy task, and though an
attempt at it would be out of place here, it is well to know
that it has been done most effectually by scores of our the-
ologians. Let it suffice to say that not even our ablest and
bitterest enemies have ever succeeded in showing, in a satis-
factory manner, that the teachings of the Church is con-
trary to revelation and sound morals. When an attack
is made, recourse is had to misrepresentation. And to the
shame of many sectarians be it said that whereas they are
willing and read^^ to listen to, and even applaud, the monte-
bank who comes before them to vomit his abuse, they will
not, with the same readiness, come to hear a refutation of
the calumnies uttered.
But we lay no particular stress here on the doctrines of the
Church, taken separately, as a mark of holiness, because a
mark of the Church ought to be such as not to require much
investigation to discover it. There is one doctrine, however,
that may and ought to be spoken of in this connection. We
refer to that regarding the necessity of confessing one's
sins. This, in itself, cannot fail to impress any candid mind
with the idea that the Church, Avhich advocates and enforces
it, has no slight claims to sanctity. Besides it is a practice
that is well known to the most isrnorant heretics. We have
never yet met a Protestant that had not some idea, however
distorted, of the fact that in the Catholic Church people had
to confess their sins.
To illustrate more fully our meaning, and show how this
one doctrine is holy, and at the same time no small proof of
the sanctity of the Church which puts it in practice, let us
take an example :
John Smith, a nominal Catholic, has, we will say, for ten
years been in the service of William Brown, and during
that time, at different periods, has taken from his employer
66 ALETHAURION.
money to the amount of one thousand dollars. At the end
of the ten years Smith falls sick, and feeling that his last
day is approaching, he asks for the consolations of religion.
A priest is sent for, who hears his confession, and in the
progress of it inquires whether he has wronged any one in
money matters. Then he says: ** Unless you restore to
Brown the money you have taken from him, I cannot
absolve you, neither will God forgive your sins." The
consequence of this is the restoration of the money to its
lawful owner.
Where among other sects can we find a doctrine or prac-
tice like this? \yhere is the preacher, at the bedside of a
rich heretic, who would dare tell him, witti the knowledge
of his heirs, that unless he restored to the rightful owners
all ill-gotten goods, God would not receive him into his
friendship. We have never heard of a preacher that made
any great ado about such a matter. Neither have we known
a case of where one refused to preach a rich man into
heaven, simply from the fact that he had, at the time of his
death, some few thousands belonging to his neighbor, and
refused to part with them.
They tell a story of an old negro woman who had stolen
a goose from her preacher. On the following Sunday she
came up along with the others to receive the '^sacrament.''
**Aunt DixAH," said the preacher, **ain't you forgot 'bout
dat goose?" **0h, you jist git out," said Aunt Dixah,
*' think I's gwine to let an old goose stand twixt me'n de
Lord ! '
It is a good deal the way outside the Catholic Church. No
one thinks of refusing to fly to the arms of Jesus on account
of a few miserable dollars that stand between.
Straws show which way the wind blows, and tvhen thrown
on the water, they indicate the course of the stream. Let us
then take notice of a little fact whose truth will not be
questioned. It may be compared to the straw, unimportant
in itself, yet to the reflecting mind it tells a tale.
ALETHAURION. 67
The State of Kentucky is the happy possessor of a num-
ber of excellent turnpike roads, the property, in most cases,
of private companies. Along with being a convenience to
the pubUc, these roads are a source of emolument to the
stockholders, and, of course, they try to make as much out
of them as possible. Now what significant fact do we find
in connection with these same **pikes?"
Fully five-sixths, and probably a higher average, of the
toll-gate keepers are Catholics. Why is this? Are the
Catholics chosen because especially beloved by the stock-
holders? Not at all — but the companies find out, by experi-
ence, that more money is handed in at the end of the month
by the Catholic toll-gate keepers than by others. Hence,
they get the preference, for the children of this world are
wise in their generation. When there is a question of gain-
ing a few dollars, they have no trouble in recognizing the true
Cliurch by the honesty of its children ; but when there is a
question of saving their own souls, they become at once
short-sighted. Does not this fact alone tell a tale, and who
will, after consideration of it, dare aflSrm that the heretics
of this State are in ignorance invincible on the subject of the
true Church ?
Let us now consider, briefly, another striking proof of the
holiness of the Catholic Church. It will not be denied that
voluntary poverty^ perpetual chastity and entire obedience
are strongly recommended in the New Testament. Christ,
the Saviour, during his mortal life gave an example of each
of them. His Apostles followed in His footsteps, and
recommended to the faithful to strive in the same direction.
Now, in which of the existing forms of religion do we find
these counsels carried out in spirit and in truth? Where
have you ever seen a heretic that was poor from choice ?
Where have you met one that led a single life for greater
perfection's sake? We have seen plenty of heretical old
bachelors, and old heretical maids, too, that pretended to
68 ALETHAURION.
lead lives of celibacy from choice. But people generally
choose to doubt their sincerity.
As regards entire obedience, it would be difficult to ascer-
tain, with certainty, whether **our separated brethren " obey
the laws of the land, for conscience sake, or whether it is,
because the sheriff bears not the halter in vain. We may
say, however, of all heresies, from beginning to end, that
they are only so many rebellions against lawfully constituted
authority.
The bloodshed in Germany, during the war of the peas-
ants, and that which flowed on the feast of St. Barthole-
MEW, in France, w^ere both occasioned by that turbulent and
rebellious spirit, infused into their deluded followers by the
early Reformers.
Hence, when there is question of the practice of the Evan-
gelical counsels, we will seek for it in vain among the sects.
On the contrary, in the Catholic Church, there are thous-
ands of men and women, in religious orders, who live long
lives in the daily practice of them.
We have said nothinoj like this could be found amonor the
sects — a mistake — there are the Shakers. But, ye powers !
What a parody on the religious orders of the Catholic Church.
Take a Shaker and place him along side a Jesuit or a Bene-
dictine, and what have you? A Muscovy drake along side
of an eagle — Diogenes by the side of St. Paul.
Another proof of the holinesss of the Catholic Church is
the fact that, whatever nations have been converted to Chris-
tianity from Paganism, were so converted by her mission-
aries. The tree may be known by its fruit. And the fruit
of that old tree, which the Saviour planted, has been abun-
dant. But, what has Protestantism done for the spread of
Christianity? Nothing. The day is fast approaching when
it shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, for such will be
the fate of every tree that brings not forth good fruit.
In our next we will speak of universality as a mark of the
true fold.
ALETHAURION. 69
CHAPTER XIV.
CATHOLICITY A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH.
The English word catholic is a modification of the Greek
adjective katholikos, which means universal. The Catholic
Church then, in pkiin English, means the universal Church.
How it came to be so called we will explain in a future chap-
ter. Our present purpose is to show that universality is a
mark of the true Church. Let us examine the Scriptures
and take note of what they say on the subject. In chapter
xxii, verse 18, of the book of Genesis, we find a remarkable
promise, made by God to Abraham, in these words :
'•And in thy seed shall a ZH/ie nations of the eartWbQ blessed, because
thou hast obeyed my voice."
This promise was fulfilled in no other than the Saviour,
who was descended from Abraham, according to the flesh.
Now, the religion of Christ is the means by which men are
blest, and as all nations were to come in for apart of it,^^ e,
of the promised blessing, it follows that the means were to
be co-extensive with the nations. In other words, the re-
ligion of Christ was to be co-extensive with the earth.
Parallel to this, is what we find in the ii Psalm, where
holy David, speaking in the person of God, the Father, to
the only Begotten Son, saj^s :
*'A>k of me, and I mil give thee the nations as thy inheritance, and as
thy possession the confines of the earth.'"'
These, and similar texts of the Old Testament, have, as
all admit, reference to the future Messiah, and the kingdom
which He was to found. A kins^dom not confined within the
limits of Palestine, but taking in all nations, tribes and
tongues.
The New Testament also bears testimony to the fact that
the religion, or Church of Christ was to be universal. In
70 ALETHAURION.
Matthew xxvi, we read that, when ]VL\ry Magdalene had
poured the ointment on the Saviour's head, he declared that,
wherever this gospel is preached over the ivhole worlds that
also which she had done would be told as a memorial of her.
In chapter xxviii of the same gospel, we read that the
Saviour sent his Apostles to teach and baptize all nations.
That the Apostles carried out these commands ^vith fidelity
and success, we learn of St. Paul, (Coloss. i, 6,) where,
speaking of the gospel, he says : " It is in the whole vforldy
and bears fruit and grows, and among you."
All the ancient Fathers regarded universality as a mark of
the true Church, and made use of the fact, as an argument
to show that the heretical sects of their times were not
Churches of Christ, because they lacked the mark in ques-
tion. As we do not wish to burden these pages with long
quotations, let one, from the celebrated Origin, suffice :
"We are called Catholics^'" says he, *' because we believe
as the whole ivorld believes."
We have said enough to show that universality is a mark
of the true Church ; by the knowledge and aid of which any
one, really in earnest, may find it. So persuaded, in fact,
are men of the importance of universality, that there is not
a sect within the length and breadth of these United States
that does not spend yearly vast sums in order to gain it, and
at the end they are as far off as ever. Like the frog that
wished to swell himself up to the dimensions of a bull, and
burst, so the sects, in trying to rival the magnitude of the
Catholic Church, take in too much foul air, and explode.
But, as some of these sects retain the Apostle's creed, and
pretend to be portions of the '* Holy Catholic Church," it
is right that we should draw a clear line of distinction
between genuine catholicity, and ihut spurious article, which
is huckstered around by some of their leading men.
William Palmer, a clergyman of the Church of England,
and Fellow of the University of Oxford, in a woik on the
Church, published some years ago, regards catholicity as
ALETHAUEION. 71
one of the marks of the true faith, and then he goes on to
explain what he means. His theory seems to be, that the
Church of Cueist is composed of all who believe in Him.
This opiaion wc took occasion to refute, when speaking of
the mark of unity. The Lutherans and Methodists also re-
tain the Apostle's creed, and no doubt, give, substantially,
the same explanation to the word Catholic found therein.
It will now be in order to define the nature of the catho-
licity which forms a mark of the Saviour's Church. We
may state the case thus :
No religious organization can rightly lay claim to the
mark of catholicity that is not universal in point of time,
i. e., it must have existed as an organization from the days
of the Apostles to our own. It must be universal in point
of space, i. e., it must be, morally speaking, extended over
the world. It must be universal, in point of belief, i. e., its
members must all believe alike.
Let us now examine into the claims of some of the exist-
ing Christian denominations. We take first of all, the
Roman Church, by which we mean the organization of which
Pius IX is at present the acknowledged head. Is it catholic,
in point of time ?
We have been for many years past, under the impression
that it is, and our reading of history has greatly confirmed
us in the notion. We would, in fact, be charmed with the
acquaintance of any one who could name a period of ten
years from the time of St. Peter, within which it has not
had a living representative head.
The succession of the Popes of Eome, in direct line from
the Prince of the Apostles, proves the catholicity of the
Roman Church, so far as time is concerned. We are not
ignorant, however, of the fact, that, for the space of seventy
years, the Popes resided at Avingnon, in France; but we
know, at the same time, that they always retained the title
of Bishops of Rome.
But is the Roman Church catholic, in point of place?
72 ALETHAURION.
Let US begin with our own country. What State, or even
considerable town of this Union can you find, that has not
Catholics in it? In most of the large cities, the population
is nearly equally divided between Catholics and non-Catho-
lics. The Catholic Church in this country, as in the days
of the Apostles, begins with the large cities, and gradually
extends its civilizing influences to the small towns and
country places. Out of a population of thirty-eight mil-
lions, we have six, and it may be doubted whether all the
sects put together can marshal such a membership. It must
be rememl)ered that vast numbers of the American people
have' never been baptized. Even thousands who join the
various sectarian conventicles in the hurry and flurry of a
camp-meeting or revival, drop off again as soon as the
excitement is over. It would, on that account, be diflScult
to tell, with certainty, the number of sectarians in this
country at a given time,
From here let us pass over to Europe, that we may see
whether the Church of Kome is catholic there. We will
not introduce such countries as France, Ireland, Belgium,
Spain, Portugal, the Austrian Empire, Bavaria, and Italy,
where the population is Catholic, almost to a man. Take
England and Scotland. Now, there are in these countries
fifteen bishops and seventeen hundred and twenty-seven
priests. They, of course, represent a large Catholic popu-
lation. In Prussia, there are fifty-six Catholic Members of
Parliament. We take for granted that these fifty-six
members are elected by Catholic votes. Our experience
teaches that, however anxious non-Catholics may be to get
into office by means of the Catholic vote, they will not, save
in the rarest cases, support one for an office of trust, or
emolument, in this country. We presume it is the same,
and even worse, in Germany. The children of this world
are wise in their generation, and they know well the impor-
tance of having one of their own party in power. What
ALETHAURION. 73
a pity that Catholics do not learn a little of them in this
particular.
Now, as regards the other countries of Europe, and those
of Asia and Africa, we certainly have not government statis-
tics to go on. Nevertheless, we know that vast numbers of
Catholics can be found in them. Having been a student for
some time in the College of the Propaganda at Rome, we had
the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Catholic young
men from the following places : Albania, Georgia, Greece,
Armenia, Chaldea, Persia, Mount Libanus, Egypt, China,
Hindoostan,Cape Colony, Australia, Senegambia, Asia Minor.
But we have said enough to establish the fact that the Eoinan
Church is, in reality, what it pretends to be Catholic or Uni-
versal. Each of these students represented a large Catholic
jDopulation in his own country, for only one or so out of a
million can secure a place in the Propaganda.
In our next we will consider the universality of belief in
the Catholic Church, as well as other items connected there-
with.
CHAPTER XV
CATHOLICITY A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH.
In the last chapter, after having demonstrated, from the
scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, that the
Church of Christ was to be extended over the whole world,
we explained somewhat the nature of the universality it was
to have. We said that it was to be universal in point of
time, in point of place, and in the belief of its members.
The claims of the Roman Church were then taken up and
measured. It was found that, so far as time is concerned,
it may well claim the mark of universality, since, without
doubt it goes back as an organized society to the period
when the Saviour lived on earth.
74 ALETHAURION.
So far as place is concerned, we showed, to use a scriptural
phrase, that *^it is in the whole world." Before examining
into the question of the sameness of belief, let us compare its
numbers with those of the other religious societies that pro-
fess belief in Christ, but will not admit the authority of His
Vicar.
We have at the present day in the world a Eoman Catho-
lic population of about 200,000,000. Some say this num!)er
is too small, and maintain that there are fully 25 or 30 millions
more of Catholics. But, for the present, we will take the low-
est average, and then compare with the sects and schismatics.
Now, the Greek schismatics, taken along with those of the
Kussian Church, may be set down at about 30,000,000, so
that there are nearly seven times as many Catholics as there
are of Greek and Kussian schismatics put together. Add to
these 30,000,000, the Nestorians, Jacobites, Armenians,
Copts, Abysinians, and others, still found in the Oriental
countries, and you will have an aggregate of 41,000,000.
Hence, there are nearly five times as many Catholics as there
are schismatics of all classes. The Protestants of Europe
are said to number 46,000,000. In this country it would
be a fair estimate to say that the various sects taken togeth-
er could marshal a membership of 8,000,000. This is prob-
ably too high ; for it must be remembered that there are
thousands in the United States who do not belong to any
Church. They may be compared to abandoned cattle ; and
become the property of the Church that first succeeds in
laying hands on them.
By adding to the number of Protestants already spoken
of those that are to be found in Australia, and in the Brit-
ish possession of North America, we get an aggregate of
about 60,000,000. According to these figures we have
about three and a third times as many Catholics as there are
Protestants of all sects. Now, by adding to these 60,000,-
000 of heretics, the 41,000,000 of schismatics, spoken of
above, we get altogether 101,000,000. Thus we see that
ALETELVUKIOX. 75"
the Roman, or Catholic Church has a membership nearly
twice as large as all others — horse, foot and artillery put
together.
We have been induced to go into arithmetic in our pres-
ent chapter, from a knowledge of the fact that, in many of
the smaller towns of this State, you may find people who
really think there are only a few Catholics in the world.
We trust, should this article find its way into their hands,
it may serve a good purpose by opening their eyes to the
truth.
We will now proceed to lake into consideration the third
element required in the mark of universality, viz : Sameness
of belief. Do all Catholics believe alike? We answ^er,
most emphatically, they do. We have in the Church a liv-
ing, teaching authority ; a tribunal, whose decisions, on all
questions touching the eternal interests of the human race,
are infallible. Hence, if any one, knowingly, refuses to
admit its authority, or abide by its decisions, he ceases at
once to be a living member ; and only waits the pruner*s
hook, by which he is cut off as a withered, dry and fruitless
branch.
To become a member of the lifeguards of Queen Victoria^
a certain height is required in the applicant. He may be in
other respects a specimen ; but, unless the crown of his head
stands six feet above his heels, he will not do. We have
also in the Church a certain standard — a chalked line — and
he who falls under it, will not do. He may be a learned
man, may have written books, may have had his name in
print for years. But, if he will not say from his heart,
without reserve, **I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and
in all it teaches," we brand him, and bid him stand aside
with the condemued.
But, some one may say : Since the Catholic Church has a
membership of 200,000,000, and these scattered over the
whole world, may there not be scores of men and women
going on for years in the belief and practice of heresy, and
76 ALETHAURION.
the Pope and bishops be none the wiser? This supposition
is groundless. The organization of the Church is such as
to make it impossible. Take the example of a man who
treads on a thorn and wounds his foot. How long does it
take the head to become aware of the fact? Not long ; for
the nerves will almost in an instant, communicate a knowl-
edge of it to the brain. It is thus in the Church. It too has
a nervous system, and the evil that any member suffers is
speedily communicated to the head. Let us suppose that a
certain member of one of the parish Churches in Blank
City, should publicly deny his belief in the infallibility of
the Pope, or in the power of forgiving sins claimed by the
priests. What would be the consequence? He would excite
the indignation of his fellow Catholics, and the thing would
soon come to the rector's ears. If, after admonition, l.e
still continued in his ways, leaving on the people's mind a
wrong impression what Catholic doctrine is, the pastor
would, in all probability, request him to make a public re-
traction, and, in case he refused, excommunicate him, as a
punishment for his offences and a warning to others. He
might then talk as much and as stupidly as he pleased about
infallibility and confession also.
Should even a bishop, yielding to the temptation of Satan,
resist the teaching authority of the Church, it would not be
long before the fact became generally known, and the Pope,
who has the care of all the Churches, would force him either
to abandon heresy, or resign his charge. As to the Pope
himself, we know that, by the mercy of God, in matters ap-
pertaining to faith and morals, his teaching can never become
tainted with heresy.
Thus it is in the true Church. All who are capable of
€rring, can and will, in case of error, be easily detected.
Take the case of that unfortunate man, Hyacinthe. How
quickly his defection was discovered, and himself branded.
While yet high in favor, he made a speech in Paris, in which
he said, there are at present three religious systems in the
ALETHAURION. 77
tvorld, viz: the Catholic , the Protestant and Jewish, and
these three are equal in the sight of God. Scarcely had the
words been pronounced, when a man rose in the assembly
and said he spoke falsehood — that a priest of the Church
ought not to use such language. The matter did not end
there. Hyacixthe was commanded by his superiors to
retract. He refused, and was cut oft'.
What we have said of Hyacixthe may be repeated of Dol-
LixGER. While the Ecumenical Council was in session, he
was, though secretly, at the head of a party in Germany
opposed to the declaration of the Pope's infallibility. But
his scheming did not avail. The Fathers of the Council^
following the light of the Holy Ghost, declared that the
Pope's infallibility is a truth revealed by God, and hence-
forth to be believed by all Catholics as an article of faith.
It remained to be seen whether Dollixger would submit.
But the demon of pride got the better of him. He said '* I
will not believe," and he ceased to be a Catholic. He was,
nailed to the tree of heresy. From all this it will appear how
difficult, even impossible, it is for a man, who pretends to be
a Catholic, to remain in the Church and publicly profess^
doctrines which it condemns. There is always at hand an
authority that forces him either to one side or the other.
We have now seen that the Roman Church is Universal
in point of time and place, as well as in the belief of its
members : It remains that we examine the claims of some of
the sects and schismatics. This will not take long. On the
score of time, there is positively no sect nor schismatic
society, that goes back, as an organized body, to the time of
Christ. On the score of place, it is well known there are
no Protestants, we mean natives, nor Protestant Churches ^
in most countries of Asia. You might travel through Persia,
Armenia, Syria, in fact through the greater part of Turkey,
and not find a Protestant Church, and no Protestant, except
may be Brother Bibles, the English missionary, with his
78 ALETHAURION.
ivife and family of children. What we have said of Pro-
testants, in the Oriental countries, maybe said of the Greeks
and other schismatics in the West — none universal in point
of place. We deem it altogether unnecessary to mention
the name of any particular sect, for Protestantism in gene-
ral is more extended than any one of its sects. Hence,
when the whole does not fill the bill, a part cannot. As to
sameness of belief among sects, we know that a fundamen-
tal principle held by all,* destroys even the hope of such a
thing.
In our next we will consider how the true Church got the
name of Catholic.
CHAPTER XIV. .
ABOUT NAMES.
>
In the past chapter we considered the third mark of the
true Church, viz : umversaUty or catliolicity , We inquired
into its nature, and found that any Church laying claim to
it, must be catholic in point of time, in point of place, and
in the belief of its members.
We then took occasion to show that the Roman Church
goes back, as an organized society, to the days of Christ
and the Apostles. This proves it to be catholic, in point of
time. So far as place is concerned, we found it spread over
the whole world. As to the belief of its members, they
must agree or cease to be Catholics. There is in it a su-
preme, infallible tribunal commissioned by God to direct
men in the way of salvation, and to its decisions all must
bow who would be saved.
No other Church is thus universal. They all began to
exist at periods subsequent to the time of the Apostles.
Neither is any one of them spread over the whole world.
We have, in fact, some sects in this country that do not go
ALETHAURION. 79
a stone's throw beyond the length and breadth of the United
States. There are others that have members in the British
dominions ; in this country, and in parts of Germany ; but
no where else. But it is useless to repeat what every one
knows to be a fact. TJieye never was, there is not, and there
never luill he a universal heretical sect. Universality belongs,
alone, to that Church which Christ founded. It alone sub-
sists in all ages, teaches all nations, maintains all truth.
Now, before passing on to consider the fourth mark, viz :
Apostolicity , it may not be out of place nor uninteresting,
that we make a digression. We desire to ventihite certain
questions respecting the name of the true Church. These
are :
First, How does it happen that the Church, founded by
the Saviour, is called the Catltolic?
Second, When did it, for the first time, receive that
name, and who gave it?
Third, Is the name Catholic, an appropriate one?
Fourth, Could not another, and a more expressive one,
be chosen?
Let us take these points up, separately, and examine them
at our leisure.
First, How does it happen that the Saviour's Church is
called Catholic^ In order to understand this, it will be nec-
essary to take a glance at the history of Christianity, towards
the latter part of the first and the beginning of the second
centuries. Now, most persons, not read in history, are apt
to think, that, before Luther, the Catholic Church was the
only one in existence. We speak here of Christian organi-
zations. This idea is true in a general sense, but false, if
we wish to be accurate. That, before Luther's time, there
was no other but the Catholic Church is true, in the same
sense that we now say, France is a Catholic nation. We
mean, thereby, that the vast majority of its people profess
the Catholic faith, and that the influence of its government
goes to support principles advocated by the Catholic Church ;
80 ALETHAURION.
but we do not deny thereby, that in France there are many
infidels and heretics. It is in the same sense, we say the
Catholic was the only religion before the sixteenth century.
We do not at all deny there were, even then, heretical sects ;
but they w^ere obscure, and now scarcely deserve mention.
The truth is, that, even from the days of the Apostles, and
while they were yet living, side by side with the good grain,
and flourishing in patches here and there, could be found also
the cockle of heresy.
But, T^e can imagine some one in surprise, asking, What I
Is it possible that there were heretics even while the Apos-
tles were yet living? Well ; what foolish people they must
have been ! Why did they not go to Peter, Ja3IES or John,
and learn of them.
Yes. It was not only possible«for men to run into heresy
in the days of the Apostles, but it is a fact that several did.
But, what pretext did these men urge for differing with
the Apostles ?
The very same that every heretic from Simon Magus to
Dr. Dollinger, has found ready and at hand — the right to
think and decide for themselves on all religious questions ;
the right of setting up their own private judgment against
the authority of the Church.
Those heretics that lived in the days of the Apostles,
gave as reasons for differing with them, that the Apostles
being simple, ignorant men, did not understand thoroughly
what Christ taught. It so happened, however, that though
the Apostles, in the opinion of these wise heretics, were sim-
ple and ignorant, by far the greater number, •converted from
paganism as well as Judaism, stood with them, whereas our
heretical Solomons had but few followers.
Now, as difference in belief naturally gives rise to destinc-
tions in name, hence, even at this early period, there was call
for a term, to distinguish the assembly of the faithful from
those vain and conceited heretics. What name then was
best to be chosen? That of Christian would not do, for the
ALETHAURION . .81
f
heretics pretendQcl also to be Christians, and were so called
by their pagan neighbors. The name Disciple would not do,
for the same reason. The heretics contended they were,
themselves, the true Disciples of the Saviour, because they
understood the true meanins; of his doctrines.
Hence, there was need of a icord^ one that would, for all
time to come, distinguish the Saviour's Church from every
human institution. That loord should express a peculiarity
of the true fold, that no sect could lay claim to without a
manifest lie.
Now, what was there about the Church that acknowledged
the Apostles as teachers, which none of the sects of that day
could pretend to ? It was this. The Church of the Apostles
was spread over the civilized world, whereas, the heretical
sects were confined to particular kingdoms, or single cities.
Hence, from the very nature of the case, the Church that
held to the Apostles was called the Universal or Catholic
Churchy whereas each sectarian conventicle was called by
the name of its founder, or after the town or city where it
first started, or had the greatest number of members.
This was how it happened that the true Church received
the name of Catholic.
Now, we may wonder exceedingly how men, in the days
of the Apostles, could have been guilty of such folly as to
turn their backs on Sts. Peter and Paul, and others who
worked miracles and led most holy lives, to follow monte-
banks like Simon Magus, and other heresiarchs of primitive
times. Yet on reflection, this is no more strange than what
takes place at the present day, under our own eyes. Do
not men now become Free Masons, Mormons, Campbellities,
Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc., even though they
have had the experience of eighteen centuries before them,
and the most refulgent proofs of the divine origin of the
Catholic Church shining wherever the eye is turned ?
In the next chapter w^e will take up point No. 2, viz :
When and by whom the true Church was called Catholic.
82 ALETHAURION,
CHAPTER XVII.
ABOUT NAMES.
When, and by whom, was the true Church called Catho-
lic? We have already partly answered this in chapter xvi.
It was so called by the Apostles. But, have we any posi-
tive proof of the fact from history? We have. It is found
in the Creed, and, every time we repeat it, we come over
the words, "I believe in the holy Catholic Church.'''
Now, though all know the Apostle's creed, but few, prob-
ably, while repeating the words, reflect upon its historical
importance. The creed of the Apostles, is so called for two
reasons :
First, To distinguish it from that of St. Athanasius, as
also from the Nicene creed.
Second, Because the Apostles composed it.
Should we succeed in establishing this fact, we would
have no further need of proof to show that they gave the
name of Catholic to the true Church.
As to whether the Apostles were the authors of the creed,
or not, is a question of fact, and we may weigh it in the bal-
ance, as we would others of the same kind. The proofs for
or against the genuinity of any document, may be chissed
under two heads, viz : Intrinsic and extrinsic evidences.
Intrinsic evidence, is that found in the document itself.
Thus, if one should, at the present day, find an old manu-
script letter in bad Latin, with Cicero's name to it, the fact
of the Latin being faulty would be an intrinsic proof that
Cicero did not write it.
Extrinsic evidence of a fact is that which is gathered from
the writings of contemporary authors, or other public monu-
ments. Thus, that Lord Nelson fell at the battle of Tra-
falo^ar, we know from writers who lived at the time he died
ALETHAURION. 83
and from monuments erected to his me|;nory, that bear tes-
timony beyond all suspicion, to the fact.
So far as instrinsic evidence is concerned, we certainly can
not prove the Apostles wrote the creed, which goes by that
name. It could have been composed a century after their
death, by any one who knew what they taught. But, while
we willingly admit this, we, at the same time, maintain there
is nothing in the creed itself to show that they did not com-
pose it. On the contrary, its doctrines are the same as those
set forth in the Scriptures of the New Testament, of whose
authority there never has been a doubt.
What we may not be able, however, to effect by intrinsic
we may very readily accomplish by extrinsic evidence. To
this we now invite attention. The first whose testimony we
introduce is Irexeus. He was a disciple of Polycarp,
bishop of Smyrna, and consequently had abundant oppor-
tunities of knowing the exact truth of that whereof he spoke,
for Polycarp was the companion and disciple of the Apos-
tle JoHx. Irexeus suffered martydom in the year 202,
hence his testimony belongs to the latter half of the second
century. He wrote a treatise, in twenty-four books, against
the heresies of his day, and we quote his words found in
book 1, chapter 2, of this work :
'•The Church planted throughout the whole world, even to the ends of
the oiirtli, has received from the Apostles and their disciples, that belief,
which is in one God, Father Almighty, ^^ etc.
No one requires to be told that the words given in italics
are those of the creed. The next from w4iom we quote is
Tertulliax. He was a priest of Carthage, and died about
the year 245. He wrote treatises on a variety of subjects,
from one of which, de Prescrip Hoer, chapter 37, we take
the following :
"We walk by that rule, which the Church, from the Apostles, the Apos-
tles from Christ, Christ from God, has given."
Now, by the word rule^ regula, Tertullian means the
creeds as he explains in portions of his other works. See
84 ALETHAURION.
Chap. I, de Veland. Yirg. As we do not wish to multiply
quotations from the Fathers in short and elementary essays
like these, we must content ourselves with giving only one
more, which we clip from the works of Ambrose, Bishop of
Milan. In his seventh epistle, which is to Pope Siricius,
he says : '*The creed of the Ajjostles, which the Roman
Church always guards and preserves pure, is to be be-
lieved." This testimony belongs to the latter half of the
fourth century.
We could give scores of other quotations from the
Fathers, all going to show that the belief of the Church
from the beginning is, that the creed, of which we are
sjDcaking, was composed directly by the Apostles.
Since, then, the Apostles are the authors of the creed, it
follows that it was they, and no others, gave the name of
CatJwUc to the Church. Now, if any one should deny that
the creed was composed by the Apostles, historical fairness
would require that he should give a satisfactory explanation
of how it came to be universally believed in the Church,
from the earliest times, that they were its authors.
We have given the names of only a few of the more an-
cient waiters who mention it, and these merely allude to a
fact, that appeared to have been well understood, and
universally received in their day. We could give the testi-
mony of other writers, such as that of Ruffinus, much more
explicit, but we prefer the more ancient.
Now, some one may say : Do we not read in the scrip-
tures that the Disciples of our Lord were first called
Christians at Antioch? Consequently, the Church founded
by the Saviour must have been called the Christian Church.
Why, then go on saying it was called Catholic by the
Apostles, when there are such clear scriptural proofs to the
contrary ?
We trust, with a little patience on the part of the reader,
to make it clear that there is nothiiig, whatever, in the.
scripture that contradicts what we have said.
ALETHAURION. 85
The word Christian occurs three, and only three, times in
the New Testament. Let us take up these passages and
consider the circumstances of each case.
First — In Acts xi, 26, mention is made of the fact that
Paul and Barnabas, having remained a year at Antioch,
taught so great a multitude, that the Disciples were there, for
the first time, called CJunstiaiis, Now comes the question :
By whom vfQVQ ihey so called? Was it by the Apostles?
Evidently not. For, if they had given the name, it could not
have been said the Disciples were called, but they took the
name Christians. "Who then gave the name? It must have
come from either a Jewish or a Pagan source. The Jews
would never have given it, for it would have been a clear
acknowledgement that Jesus was the Christ. A fact which
they did not then admit, nor do they now.
It was no other than the Pagan Greeks of Antioch that
succeeded in fastening the excellent nickname, as they
thought, of Christians, on the followers of the Saviour.
The idea was to bring ridicule and disgrace by that name, on
the assembly of the faithful.
Crucifixion, in ancient times, was a punishment inflicted
only on the worst criminals and the meanest slaves. The
Pagans of Antioch knew that Christ had been crucified by
the Jews ; hence, as they heartily hated his followers, they
wished them to be generally known by the name of a public
malefactor.
Let it be borne in mind then, that it was not the Apostles
but the Pagans that first gave the name of Christians to the
Saviour's Disciples. It does not even appear, from this place
that the name was accepted by those to whom it was given.
The second ^Dassage of scripture in which the word Chris-
tian occurs is to be found in the same book of Acts, xxvi,
27. Paul there explains, in the presence of King Agrippa,
how he became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. Towards
the close of his discourse, the King said: "Thou almost
persuadest me to become a Christian.'' Let it be observed,
86 ALETHAURION.
also, that it is an unbeliever who here makes use of the
word. Neither have we any evidence going to show that
Paul accepts the name given, by this King, to himself and hi^
brethren in the faith. **Would to God," said he, "that in
little and in much not only thou, but also all that hear me
this day, should become as I also am, except these chains."
The natural way of answering the King's remark, on this
occasion, would have been, to say ; *' I would to God that
not only thou, but all, etc., would become Christians.'^ But
Paul knew in what sense the King, and the pagans gener-
ally, used the word, hence he does not repeat it.
It must be admitted, however, that after this name of
Christian had got into general use among the pagans, the
Apostles accepted it, in what we may call its generic sense.
This will appear evident from a glance at chap, iv, 1st Ep.
of Peter. After exhorting the faithful to lead holy lives,
he says: *'Let none of you suffer as a homicide or as a
thief, but if as a Christian let him not blush, but let him
glorify God in that name."
Here also plain allusion is made to the pagan use of the
word. From all this it must appear evident that there is
nothing whatever in the scriptures that, in the least, contra-
dicts what we have said about the true Church having been
called Catholic by the Apostles. The truth is, that, from
the very commencement, the true Church has had two names ;
the one Christian, given by the pagans, it enjoys in common
with the heretical sects ; the other, Catholic^ given by the
Apostles, it never has, and never will share with any other.
In our next we will consider the question : Is the name
Catholic an appropriate one for the true fold.
ALETHAURION. 87
CHAPTER XVIII.
ABOUT NAMES.
Is the name Catholic an appropriate one for the true
Church? We took occasion to show, in the chaiDterxvii, that
it was the Apostles who first gave it. From this alone, we
may, with the utmost confidence, conclude that it must be a
good one. We, Catholics, do not seek for any better authority
than that of the Apostles. What they did and said, is law
and gospel to us. We might, then, after having shown that
the Apostles gave the name, let the matter rest.
But, that the reader may catch a glimpse of the wisdom
displayed in the selection of this peculiar word, we will state
a few facts and principles connected with the system of
nomenclature in general.
About the first example in history, of the giving of names,
is to be found in the second chapter of Genesis. It is there
said that God caused all the animals, which He had created,
to pass before Adam, and that he gave each a name. Now,
though not stated for fact, it is probable that Adam did not
give names that were arbitrary. It is more than likely that
the term chosen by him, as the name of each animal respect-
ively, expressed a peculiarity or distinguishing trait thereof.
Thus, we should suppose he gave the lion a name expressive
of courage and strength ; the fox one expressive of cunning.
That this w^as the system adopted, may be gathered from
the fact, that, a short time after, he gave the name of Eva
to the woman that God had created as his helper and
companion.
Now the word Eva^ in the Hebrew and Chaldaic languages,
signifies living, and, it is stated, in express words, verse 20,
chapter iii, of Genesis, that she was so called, ** because she
was the mother of all the living.'*
88 ALETHAURIOX.
Moreover, we know that most of the names given to men,
in the Old Testament, especially in the primitive ages, are
not arbitrary, but rather expressive of some circumstance of
their birth, or destiny they were to fulfill. Thus, the great
Jewish lawgiver, Moses, was so called, because saved from
the waters of the Nile. The word Moses signifies saved froin
water. Isaac, which means laughter, was the name given
the son of Abraham, because his mother laughed, on hear-
in": from the ans^el that she should brins: forth a son in her
old age. Jacob, which means supplanter, was the title given
the second son of Isaac, because he supplanted his brother
Esau.
Omitting scores of the other names found in the Old Tes-
tament, which are expressive of facts past, or future des-
tinies, we know from the New Testament, that the venerable
name of Jesus, meaning a saviour, was given to our Lord,
because He was, by his death and passion, to redeem and
save mankind.
Not only among the people of God was this system of no-
menclature followed ; wo find it also greatly in vogue among
the pagans. The celebrated Ronnin dictator, Cincinnatus,
was so called because he was a curly head. The great epic
poet of Greece, who was at one time called Hermogexes,
had his name changed to Homeros, by his countrymen, after
he had grow^n old and ran blind. O Meros, in Greek, sig-
nifies the blind mail.
This system of name -giving, which is in fact the most
perfect, arising as it does from the nature and circumstan-
ces of each case, has never been totally abandoned.
Yet, in modern times, a more arbitrary system has generally
been adopted. Nevertheless, even now, the old svstem of
nomenclature is carried out in what are called nicknames.
These are, in many cases, very expressive and truly amus-
ing.
Some years ago, while the writer of this was a student at
a certain college in this country, there was in the institution
ALETHAURION. • 89
at the same time, a young man who wont by the name of
jS7U2)e. It was impossible to look at him and not laugh.
His nose, which was by far the most conspicuous of his fea-
tures, was long, thin, and pointed. His eyes, head, and
neck also looked snipish. After a time, we learned that his
real name was Smith, which same bit of knowledge was a
great relief, considering the fact, that we could never look
the fellow straight in the face, and sny Mr. Sxipe, without
bursting. Now, this young man. Smith, struggled manfully
for from five to six months against the name. But all to no
purpose ; like the fly in the spider's web, the more he
•struggled against it, the closer it stuck to him. He finally
had to yield, so that, in our time, he would answer to no
other name than Snipe.
As it happened to this young man, so has it to most of
the sects of our times. Nearly all of them wear nicknames.
They go by titles which the malice of their enemies first im-
posed on them, and which they were themselves, in the
coarse of time,- by the logic of facts, obliged to accept.
Let us take a few examples. The members of the Church
of England are, at the present day, called Episcopalians.
Now, in the beginning, they greatly desired to be called
(Jatholics, and were opposed to any other name. When
Hexry Vni quarrelled with the Pope, he did not wish to
change his own religion, nor that of his subjects. All he
aimed at was to cut off the Pope, and become head of the
Church in England. But Hexry attempted an impossibility.
No one can be a Catholic who does not admit the Pope's
jurisdiction.
Hence, as there arose a difference in faith, a different
name came also into existence. At what exact time the
Church of England got the name of Episcopal, we are not
now prepared to say. It was probably not until there arose
dissenters, who denied the authority of the bishops, and
modeled their Chui^h government according to the Presby-
terian plan.
90 ALETHAURION.
As to the word preshyterian, applied to one of the hereti-
cal sects of our time, it comes from the Latin word presbi/-
ter, a priest. The members of the sect in question main-
tain that a priest is the highest officer in the Church, and,
because they made such a noise about it, they were nick-
named Presbyterians, a title which stuck to them, as Snipe
did to Smith.
The Methodists are so called, on account of the methodi-
cal life, said to have been led by the founder of the sect,
John Wesley. In 1729 Mr. Wesley, who was then one of
the Fellows in Lincohi College, Oxford, took it into his
head that, so far as religion w^as concerned, the whole world
had gone, and was going wrong. So, in company with
fourteen others, he began to lengthen his face, turn up the
whites of his eyes, and give other indications of religious
plethory. Their strict deportment soon attracted the atten-
tion of the students, and this little squad of fourteen was
christened ^'the godly dub.'' This name, however, did not
cling, for they soon got that of Methodists ; the one by which
their followers are known at the present day.
There is, also, a sect that counts a good many members
in the State of Kentucky, in the mountains of Virginia, and
in Missouri, that does not, as yet, appear to have a fixed
name to go by. The one we allude to, is called by some,
the Reformed Church ; by others the members are dubbed
Campbellites ; others, again, call them disciples ; they, them-
selves, prefer to be called Christians.
This sect, as an organization, dates back as far as the
year 1827. An Irishman, named Alexander Campbell,
with his father, Tho^sias Campbell, Walter Scott, W. B.
Stone, and some others, appear to have been the founders.
Campbell was first a Presbyterian ; but after having
immigrated to this country, he joined the Baptists, with
whom he did not long remain. But, whether the Baptists
excommunicated him, or he the Baptists ^are questions, that.
ALETHAURION. 91
up to the present time, we have not had the leisure to in-
vestii>:ate.
The followers of Mr. Campbell object to being called
Campbellites. Yet, we give it as our opinion, that if the
sect should exist for any considerable time, say from fifty
to seventy-five years, that is, in all probability, the name by
which it will be known.
Most of the members of the other sects appear to have
taken a fancy to that name, and, as in the case of the boy
Snipe, they will in the end succeed in fastening it where it
belongs. With these general observations, on the philoso-
phy of naming, we return to the original question :
Is Catholic a good appellation for the Saviour's Church?
We reply, a more appropriate one could not possibly have
been selected. It is in accordance with the oldest and most
perfect system of nomenclature. It expresses a destiny
which the true Church was, and is, to fulfill, viz : To teach
all nations, and to remain in existence until the end of time.
*'Going forth," says the Saviour to its first bishops, *'teach
all nations, * * * I am with you all days, even to the con-
summation of the world." — Matthew xviii, 20.
The name Catholic, moreover, is such that no existing
sect can lay claim to it, and have even the shadow of reason
on its side. They all began at various periods subsequent
to the time of the Apostles. We speak of the sects now in
existence; Hence there is a want of universality, in point
of time, and no possibility of remedying the defect. As to
universality in point of place, judging from the past, sooner
will we hear Gabriel's trump than the news of a universal
sect.
In our next we will consider the question, Could not a
name more appropriate than Catholic, be found for the true
Church?
92 ALETHAURION
CHAPTER XIX,
ABOUT NAMES.
Could not some other name more appropriate than Cath-
olic^ be found, as an appellation for the true Church? Let
us examii^e the scriptures of the New Testament and see if
we cannot find a better. Now, in the xv chap, of St. John's
gospel, we read that the Saviour called the Apostles Friends:
"I will not call you servants," says He, '*for the servant
knows not what his master doth, but I have called you
friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my
Father, I have made known to you." Here then we have
a name, given by the highest authority that was ever on
earth, to the assembly of the faithful ; composed at that
time of the Apostles. Would it not be proper, then, that
we should drop the word Catholic and call ourselves the
Society of Friends. There is, in fact, a sect, the members
of which desire to be called by that name. But the malice
of their enemies has fastened on them that other one of
QuaJcers, by which they are most generally known.
A slight examination, however, of the text in question,
will convince us that the Saviour, on that occasion, had no
intention of giving such a name to His Church. I. call you
friends, says He to the Apostles, because all things 1 have
heard of my Father I have made known to you. The words
were evidently addressed to the Apostles exclusively. Be-
sides, we know that He called Judas His friend, even after
the wretch had betrayed Him. Now, as a name ought to be
such as to include all, and as the word friends is applied
only to a few, via : those to whom the Saviour had in a spe-
cial manner revealed the will of His Father, it is evident
that He did not intend it as the word by which His follow-
ers, one and all, were to be known.
ALETHAURION. 93
Moreover, the name is too indefinite. All who believe in
Christ pretend to be his friends.
There is another word, also frequently used in the scrip-
tures, especially in the writings of Paul, to designate the
assembly of the faithful. It is that of Saints. In Philip-
pians iv, the Apostle says: ** All the saints salute you."
Why not follow the example of Paul and call ourselves
Saints, instead of Catholics? There are others of our day
who are far ahead of us in this particular. We refer to the
Mormons, who call themselves Saints of these latter days.
Before deciding on a change, however, we should bear in
mind that the name of any society ought to be such as to
exclude none who really belong to it ? Now, are all the mem-
bers of the true Church saints? We think not. All, are
indeed called to be saints. But there is a vast difference
between being called to be saints, and being saints. Neither
the Saviour Himself, nor any of his Apostles, has given us^
to understand that all the members of His Church militant
would be entirely sinless. "The kingdom of heaven is lik-
ened to a net cast into the sea gathering together all man-
ner of fishes." Matt, xiii, 47. As in that net there were
bad and good fishes, so in the Church, there will be saints
and sinners until the end of time. Daily experience shows
us how liable to fall are even men of the best intentions.
They may be compared to old garments — one rent is scarcely
patched up when a new one calls for attention. And blessed is
the man who, like the publican in the Gospel, calls himself
a sinner, and asks God to be merciful to him, whilst ac-
cursed is he, who, like the proud pharisee, esteems himself
a saint, when God at the same time may have rendered
quite a different judgment.
We pass by many other names mentioned iu the scriptures,
such as Church q/GoD, Church of the living God, doers of
the word^ <&c. Let us consider briefly the name Disciples^
or Disciples of Christ. The word Disciples occurs 259
times in the New Testament, and is used to desi<niate, either
94 ALETHAURION.
the followers of John the Baptist, or those of the Saviour.
Would it not then, be meet, just, and proper, that we should
lay aside the name of Catholic, and take unto ourselves the
unctious appellation of Disciples of Christ?
In order to give a right answer to this question it will be
necessary to take into consideration the meaning of the
w^ord Disciple, in connection with certain facts mentioned
in the New Testament. The English word Disciples is from
the Latin discipulus, and that from the verb discere which
means to learn. A Disciple then means nothing more nor
less than one who is learning, and is correlative to magister,
a master or teacher.
The same distinction may be observed in the Greek, the
language in which all the books 6i the New Testament, if
we except Matthew's gospel, were originally written. The
word mathetes, is used, in the language we speak of for dis-
ciple, and it means exactly what discipilus does in Latin
a learner. Its correlative is didaskalos, a master or teacher.
Now, a man may be said to remain a Disciple, or learner,
until such time as he knows all his master is able to impart,
in the way of information. When he has got that far, he
can then no longer be called a learner, but maybe considered
learned. Furthermore, if his master should send him to
teach others, he has then clearly the right, not only to cast
aside the title of mathetes, or Disciple, but to assume that
of didaskalos or teacher.
Now arises the question : Did there come a period in the
life-time of the Apostles, when they ceased to be learners,
or in other words. Disciples, and began to be masters and
teachers themselves? A slight examination of some few pas-
sages of scripture will convince us that such was the case.
In John XV, Christ says to the Apostles, ** All things
whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known
to you." The Saviour had then, evidently, communicated
to them all that knowledge which He had received from the
Father. We speak here, of course, only of those truths
ALETHAURION. 95
which the Eternal Father had commissioned His Son to
teach mankind. Christ did not communicate all His knowl-
edge to the Apostles ; that would have been impossible.
Along with this we read in the same gospel, xx chap., the
words : "As the Father hath sent me, so also I send you."
Now the Eternal Father had sent our Lord with a full and
complete knowledge of all the truths which it is expedient
for man to know, in order to be saved. The Apostles
learned all these from Him.
In chap, xiv, of the same book, we read.
"The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your recollection what-
soever I shall have said to you."
From these various scriptures it is clear that the Apostles,
at least after the Holy Ghost had descended upon them,
had ceased to be Disciples^ or learners, and had become, in
a word, learned. But, not only did they cease to be Disci-
ples, they became masters, or teachers. "Go forth," says
the Saviour to them, "and teach all nations." Matt, xviii,
19.
In fact St. Paul, though not one of the twelve, yet
an Apostle, calls himself, ii Tim. i chap., "a teacher of the
nations."
We have not an example, out of the 259 cases spoken of,
where an Apostle, after the day of Pentecost, styles him-
self, or is styled by others*, a Disci])le. Whenever they are
so called, allusion is made to circumstances in their lives,
anterior to the descent of the Holy Ghost. It would be
as contrary to the ordinary use of language among men, to
style them Disciples, after they had learned all their master
could teach, as it would be to call Rev. Ichabod Skeggs,
Professor at the Academy of Tadpoleville, a school boy.
Since these things are so — it is plain that the term Disci-
ples will not do as a name for the assembly of the faith-
ful. We can take no appellation that would exclude the
96 ALETHAURION.
Apostles. They, too, were members of the true Church — its
first doctors.
In our next we will take up the word "Christian.''
CHAPTER XX.
ABOUT NA3IES.
Could not a name more appropriate than Catholic, be
chosen for the true Church? In the last chapter we took up
some titles, that, at first sight, appeared to have scriptural
support, Imt which, on closer examination we found defective.
In the present, we purpose weighing the claims of the word
Christian. Now, as Christ is confessedly the founder of
the true Church, is it not right and just that it should be called
after him ? Let us then put the question fairly : Which is
the better name for the Church, that of Catholic^ or that of
Christian? In reply, we pursue the method said to have
been much practiced by that celebrated Athenian philoso-
pher, Socrates, ancl which is called after him the Socratic
method. We will answer the question by asking another.
Take a man whose name is John Smith ; which is the better
name for the individual in question, John, or Smith?
You reply, there is no better or worse about it ; there is
no opposition in the case ; the man's full name is John
Smith, and he is sometimes called John, and sometimes
Smith. We reply, after the same fashion, when asked to
render judgment on the relative merits of the appellations.
Catholic and Christian^ there is no opposition. The
name, in full, reads, Catholic Christian Church. It is
sometimes called by one, sometimes by the other of these
titles.
But let iis examine a little further, and take John Smith
as an illustrating medium. When is our friend called John,
and when does he go by the euphonious name of Smith?
ALETHAURION. 97
These are the questions now. At home, where all are called
Smiths, he is simply called John, S^iith being miderstood,
but rarely expressed. When abroad, in company with
Brown, Jones, Robinson and Snooks, he is called Smith,
without the John. Why is this the case? The distinction
is founded on one of the general laws of language. In every
civilized tongue, and for aught we know in barbarous ones
also, there are two classes of words, the one called generic^
the other specific. A generic word is one applied to the ag-
cjresate of individuals or thing's, containinoj two or more
species. A specific word is one used to distinguish an indi-
vidual belonirinsr to a class.
The word man is generic, because applied to a class com-
posed of various species. European, African, Asiatic are, in
this connection, specific words. Now the general laws that
regulate the use of language, forbid the application of the
generic word to any of the species, except in two cases, of
which we shall speak hereafter.
With these observations, we scarcely need say why it is,
that the man spoken of, is called John at home, and Smith
abroad. Smith is generic, where all are Smiths, and conse-
quently ought not to be used ; whereas, outside of the family,
it becomes specific, and may then be employed. From all
we have said, it will not be difficult for a member of the true
Church to tell when he ous^ht to call himself a Catholic and
when a Christian, If amons: Pairans, such as Chinese or
Japanese, he may, if asked concerning his belief, reply — I am
a Christian. The word is specific and entirely proper, under
the circumstances. If in a land where heresy prevails, he
must say — I am a Catholic.
Thus, we see, that the name Catholic given originally by
the Apostles, to distinguish the true fold from heretical con-
venticles, has ever since stood at its post, and done faithful
service ; whereas the title of Christian , given at first by the
Pagans, has continued, even to our times, to distinguish all
98 ALETHAURION.
who believe in Christ from those who have not heard of
His name, or will not admit His divine mission.
But, it may be asked, is it ever lawful to use the generic
term instead of the specific. In other words, can any one
of the existing sects, take the name of Christian to its indi-
vidual self? We reply : The use of language among men does
not permit such an appropriation. Some fifty years ago,
there sprang into existence in Virginia, and in portions of
the Carolinas, a sect, the members of which called them-
selves simply "Christians." They would be satisfied with
no other name, and would have been highly insulted if it
had been denied them. This organization was different
from what is popularly known as the Reformed, or Camp-
bellite Church of the present day ; the members of which
also desire to be called Christians.
Now, the Virginia sect alluded to, served as an occasion
for coining a new word. People seeing how touchy they
were on the question, wished, for peace sake, to comply
with their whims, as far as good sense and the proper use of
words would permit. But, as the word Christian had long
since become generic, in fact had been so from the first ages
of Christianity, there arose a feeling in the minds of many
that it was wrong, in a rhetorical and logical sense, to apply
it to any one sect as a specific name. A compromise was
at length effected ; and this rampant sect, that wanted to
monopolize Christianity, was called, by public consent, the
Christ'iaw Church. The generic word. Christian, was made
specific by a change of pronunciation. Custom regulates all
such things, and the wisdom of the many will not have long
to wait for the wit of some one to give it definite shape.
The sect of which we speak, like so many others, is now
among the things that were. Its light has gone out ; yet,
strange to say, total darkness has not succeeded. One thing
surprises us very much about the sects, especially the
more recent. It is the energy and enthusiasm they manifest
for a time, and then, the sudden collapse they experience.
ALETHAURION. 99
They may be compared to weeds, what they really are.
They grow fast and without much attention ; but like weeds,
they only flourish for a season. They, have not in them
the stuff of that grand old tree that has braved the storms
of eighteen centuries.
But, to return again to our question : We said there were
two, and only two, cases in which we can with propriety
apply the generic term to one of the species it comprises.
The first is, when an individual possesses, in a pre-emi-
nent manner, all, or many of the great and good qualities
that are peculiar to the genus. Thus, we may, with justice,
call the present illustrious successor of Peter, Pius IX, a
Christian man, because he illustrates so well, in his daily
life, those lofty virtues taught by the Christian faith.
The other case, in which we may apply the generic term
to one of the species, is, where the individual in question has
so few good qualities that he may be regarded as a disgrace
to the genus.
It is in this sense that newspaper editors, speaking of
females of easy virtue, call them womenoi the period, mean-
ing thereby that the parties have little or none of that virtue
that should ever adorn the female character.
It is the same with the term deist. The word is generic,
and means one who believes in the existence of a Supreme
Being. Every Catholic is really a deist. But, when the
term is applied to an individual, it has usually a bad sense
attached to it. It is then taken to mean one who does not
believe in Christ, nor in any system of revealed religion.
Now, should a man, when speaking with those who believe
in the Saviour's mission, call himself a Christian, his words,
according to the present use of the language, must be taken
in one or other of the senses given above. He either means
that he faithfully practices all the duties required by the
Christian faith — and it is much better for no man to say
that of himself, but so live that others will — or he means
that he has so little Christianity that the mere name is all he
100 ALETHAUBION.
can rightly claim. We see no objection to one calling him-
self a Christian, in this latter sense. But we would recom-
mend the following of Christ, not alone in name, but in
word and in deed.
In .our next we will begin the discussion of the fourth
mark, viz : Apostolicity.
CHAPTER XXI.
APOSTOLICITY.
Apostolicity is the fourth mark of the true Church, and
means relationship with the Apostles. No one, whose mind
is not a blank, religiously speaking, needs to be told who
they were. There may be a few however, who may not
know the exact meaning of the word apostle, and for the
benefit of these, we will state that it means one who is sent.
Outside of the Catholic Church there can be no apostles, in
the Scriptural sense of the word, for it alone has, from the
Saviour, authority to send.
We have said that apostolicity imports relationship with
the Apostles. But, it is by no means a vague nor general
one. That of which we speak is well defined in the Scrip-
tures. First of all, we may lay it down as a principle, that
any Church claiming it, must, to make the claim good, show
that it comes down as a visible organized society from the
Apostles. The reason of this is clear. The Church of the
Apostles was a visible one, and was so to continue until the
end of the time. ** Behold ! " says the Saviour, ** I am with
you all days, even to the consummation of the world." —
Matt, xxviii, 20. Hence, nothing less than continuity of
existence, from our own day to the time of the Apostles,
can succeed in establishing the relationship spoken of. Any
Church pretending to apostolicity, and not able to show that
it descends in regular line from the original twelve, denies
ALETHAURIOX . 101
the Scriptures, and like the Tichborne claimant, perjures
itself- to gain a title, and what belongs thereunto.
The second requisite of apostolicity is, that the society
laying claim to it, should hold the doctrines taught by the
Apostles. Not alone those written in the New Testament,
but also the other truths which they preached, but did not
commit to writing. One of the great sectarian errors of our
day, is the maintaining that the Apostles left in writing all
that they wished us to know in order to be saved. The
Scriptures bear testimony to the falsity of the assumption.
The Church, then, that holds less than they taught, has only,
at best, a one-sided and bastard pedigree with which to es-
tablish relationship with the Apostles.
The third and last element of genuine apostolicity requires
that the members of the teaching Church should have been
commissioned, either mediately or directly, by the Apostles.
We learn from the Scriptures that Christ sent them ; that
they in turn sent others. We read of how.they gave in-
structions to their immediate followers, respecting the kind
of men to be ordained as ministers. They not only sent
worthy men, but commanded the latter to choose out, and
in turn commission others, and worthy ones.
Now, we freely confess that it appears to us, that this
third element of apostolicity bears pretty stiffly on our Evan-
gelical cotemporaries of preaching proclivities. You may
ask how? Well, we will, the better to elucidate take an
example :
There is Brother Grasshopper, who preaches for the Meth-
odists, in that newly painted meeting-house at the corner of
Main and Madison avenue. Suppose you take a stroll on
some fine afternoon to his residence, and manifesting great
anxiety for scriptural and general religious knowledge, ask
him: ''Brother Grasshopper, who sent you to preach the
Gospel?" His answer would be, that under the Lord, his
much esteemed and beloved co-laborer, the venerable Bishop
Beetle, had done so. '* But who sent Bishop Beetle,
102 ALETHAURION.
and who gave him authority to send you? " He answers,
*' It was the learned Dr. Bulfinch." '* And who sent Dr.
BuLFiNCH ? " "It was the saintly Bishop Scraggs , " is the le-
ply of Brother Grasshopper. *'Who sent Scraggs?" "Oh,
he was ordained and sent by Wesley himself." " Now, veil
me, who was it sent Wesley? "
Brother Grasshopper has got to the end of his rope. His
tether will not permit him to reach out his snout and nip the
succulent herbage beyond. Poor fellow ! He can gei to
John Wesley, but not to Jesus Christ.
We may well apply to Brother Grasshopper, what a s.ol-
dier said to a preacher, dressed in uniform, during the late
civil war, ** Halt ! and give the countersign," says Hector.
" Bless my ears," says Habacuk, " If I have not got among
the pickets." '* What army do you belong to," roared the
man of arms. "The army of the Lord," muttered the
bible-monger. " Well, you're a long distance from head-
quarters," again thundered out Hector, "and you are not
likely to get there by the way you're going."
You are a long distance from head-quarters. Brother
Grasshopper, even after you have got to Wesley, and no
likelihood of your getting there by that route.
What we say here of the minister of one sect, may be
applied to those of all others. They hold their commis-
sions from men who had no authority to give them. But,
as regards the Greek and Oriental schismatics, the case is a
little different. Though they have not what theologians
call formal apostolicity, it cannot be denied, they have
something that approaches to it. Certain it is that, though
the Greek schismatic Church does not, as an organization,
come down from thfe Apostles, though its doctrines are not
the same, in all things, as those the Apostles taught ; though
it has no lawful authority to send out missionaries, yet
its bishops and priests are validly ordained, and with the
exception of penance, can validly, though not licitly, ad-
minister all the sacraments.
ALETHAUKION. 103
With this explanation of the fourth and last mark, let us
briefly consider the question whether the Roman, or Catho-
lic, Church can be said to possess it.
Does the Roman Church come down, by perpetual suc-
cession, from the Apostles of Christ? We answer in the
affirmative. The well-known and uninterrupted succession
of the Bishops of Rome, from St. Peter, Prince of the
Apostles, to Pius IX, gloriously reigning, proves it to a
demonstration.
Are its doctrines apostolic? They are most assuredly so.
Are its orders and missions apostolic? Never yet, for
over eighteen centuries, has one been sent to teach and
administer the sacraments, who had not had hands laid on
him, and powers granted by the Apostles, or by one of their
successors in direct line. The laws, customs and usages of
the Catholic Church make it impossible for the people to be
deceived by mountebanks, who shout pious cant from their
pulpits, but have venom in their hearts. In a half a dozen
or so of the chapters succeeding this, we will give short
sketches of the heretics and heresies of the first century of
our era, thus enabling the reader to see that no religious
organization, at variance with the Catholic Church, is
apostolic.
CHAPTER XXII.
SIMOX MAGUS.
In the last chapter we proposed to give the reader a short
history of the various heresies that appeared in the world
during the first century of the Christian era. Our object in
doing so is, mainly, to show that none of them is of apos-
tolic origin. We begin with the father and head of heresi-
archs, Simon Magus.
Simon was born in a village of Samaria, called Getthis.
104 ALETHAURION.
Little, if anything, isktiown about the character of his par-
ents. But, if we may judge the tree by its fruit, they must
have been of bad stock. After having studied philosophy,
at Alexandria, he returned to his native country, and devo-
ted his time and labor to magic, or the hlach art; for which
reason he was called Magus, or the magician.
Judging from the noise he made in the world in his day,
one is justified in taking it for granted that he knew his
trade pretty well. The Samaritans seeing the miracles he
performed, were wrapt in amazement, and called him "the
power of God, which is called great." — Acts viii, 10. He
continued thus to excite the wonder and win the applause of
his fellow citizens, until Philip, one of the seven deacons,
came there to preach the gospel.
Philip, also, performed miracles, but they were real, and
consequently made a greater impression on the minds of the
■people than did the magical tricks of Simon. To be out-
done was more than the magician could bear, and yet it was
too clear he would have to yield. That low cunning, of
which he had an abundance, soon cut the gordian knot and
obviated the necessity of hiding his diminished head.
He joined Philip, and wMth a nod and a wink to those
behind, consented to the deacon's teaching, and was bap-
tized. Did Simon Magus live in our day, and in this coun-
try, what a capital politician, even candidate for Congress,
he would make ! But, above all, what a love of a preacher
he would be, in a fashionable New York or Brooklvn Church !
Though as hollow as a sycamore log, and as slippery as a
decaying cabbage stalk, he had to a rare degree, the assur-
ance and the swagger that win the applause of the
rajbble ; and the cunning to turn it to his own personal ad-
vantage and aggrandizement. After baptism he continued
to profess Christianity with the mouth, though, in his
heart, he wished the cause no success.
Things went on in this way for some time, until Peter
ALETHAURION. 106
and John came to Samaria from Jerusalem, to confirm those
whom Philip had baptized.
In those days various gifts, such as the power of speaking
in many languages, the knowledge of future events, etc.,
were miraculously conferred, by the imposition of the Apos-
tles' hands. Simox, who thought himself an important
character, a leading man, was not content with being mere-
ly piissive, as the others were. He came up to Peter and
offered him money, not to purchase* gifts like those he saw
the Apostles had conferred, but the power of conferring
them upon whomsoever he pleased.
Peter, seeing the spirit by which he was actuated, and
knowing, probably by divine revelation, the wickedness of
the man's heart, said to him :
•* May th}' money perish with thee." * * * "Thou hast no part nor
lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God; do pen-
ance therefore, for this thy wickedness." * * * "-I see thou art in the
gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity." — Acts ^iii, 20, 23.
When he had uttered these words, the heart of the magi-
cian failed him ; he drew . in his pretentious horns, and
assumed a deprecatory demeanor, and said :
"Pray you to the Lord, for me, that none of these things which you
have said may come upon me." — Acts viii, 24.
But, the rebuke of Peter did not cure the magician ;
neither was his repentance sincere. From a secret enemy
to Christianity, he now became an open foe. He traveled
through several countries, and, everywhere, to the extent
of his power, opposed the spread of the gospel.
We have called Simon Magus an heresiarch, yet, rigor-
ously speaking, he was not one. He is rather to be classed
with those impostors, or false Messiahs, that appeared in
Judea, after the ascension of our Lord. Having renounced
Christianity, he taught his disciples that he was, himself,
God, the Father, among the Samaritans ; God, the Son,
among the Jews ; and God, the Holy Ghost, among the
other nations of the earth.
106 ALETHAURION. *
About this time he took, as an associate, a woman of
loose character, named Helen, of the city of Tyre, in
Phenicia. Still pretending to be God, he called her the
first conception of his mind — the mother of all things. It
was through her that he first conceived the design of creat-
ing angels, and afterwards of creating the world, and the
human race. This Helen, according to Simon, was the
very same person on account of whom Troy was taken and
burned. He caused a statue of himself, and another of this
base woman, to be made ; both of which he proposed to his
disciples for adoration — his own under the title of Jupiter,
and the other under that of Minerva.
Such monstrous doctrines and practices seems more like
the raving of a maniac than the works of a man, like Simon
Magus, who pretended to lead others.
They are, nevertheless, well authenticated, mention being
made of them by Ireneus, Heer. v, 20. After having wan-
dered for some years through the Oriental countries, Simon
came to Rome, where, as might be expected, he met, for a
time, with great success. Nero, who hated Christ so
thoroughly, was the magician's particular friend. So
pleased, in fact, were the Romans with him, that they
erected a statue to his honor. This fact is vouched for by
Justin Martyr, who, in his second apology, addressing the
Pagans, says :
''In your royal city, Simon Magus is regarded as a God, and as such
is honored by you with a statue, which same, has been erected in the
island of the Tiber, between the two bridges, having on it this Roman
inscription : Simoni Deo Sancto — to Simon the blessed God.
But villians will often get their deserts, even in this world.
The man who abandons the ways of justice and truth, and
seeks notoriety by pandering to the follies or vices of the
age in which he lives, must, in order to retain his popularity,
make each succeeding act more sensational than that which
went before.
Simon had well nigh gone through with all his magical
tricks and still the people were not satisfied. They craved
• ALETHAURION. 107
some thing more, and on a grander scale. The magician
gave out that on a certain day he would, in their presence,
fly up into heaven, whence he would for evermore shower
down ])lessings upon them.
The facts and circumstances of this celebrated flight we
will lay before the reader in a future chapter.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE RISE AND FALL OF sniON MAGUS.
In the last chapter we gave a sketch of the early career of
Simon Magus. He was the first of heresiarchs, and on that
account, we honor him with an extended notice.
We promised, also, to give the principal facts and circum-
stances connected with his celebrated flight to heaven. Now,
before beginning to quote the more ancient authorities that
go to prove the truth of this extraordinary fact, it is no
more than just to tell the reader, that there are not wanting
grave Catholic writers, of modern times, who treat the affair
as a myth. Among them may be mentioned Calmet,
Maffei, Bergier, the author of the Venetian Ecclesiastical
Encyclopedia, Father Pateitzi, and some others.
In support of the fact, we have an equal, and, probably »
more imposing array of names, all men of great learning and
sound doctrine. Among them we may mention Baronius :
Annals year QS ; Tillemont : Life of St. Peter, vol. i ;
Cardinal Orsi : History of Church, ist book, chapter ii ;
Feller : Biog. Dictionary ; Ber Castel : History of Church,
ist book ;^ Moroni : Universal Dictionary ; along with many
others.
Hence, we may, with all propriety, on a question like this
introduce anew the old adage: *'When doctors disagree,
disciples are free." Did we venture to give an opinion.
108 ALETHAURION.
shaped by what we have read on the subject, it would be
decidedly that Snions Jlew.
Before proceeding to substantiate this, by quotations from
the ancients, let us lay before the reader what two very emi-
nent modern authors have had to say on the subject. Bar-
ONius, Annals, year 68, No. 21, after having given what the
Fathers of the Church, and other early writers have said
about the flight of Simon Magus, concludes in these words :
" Whereas, we have the testimony of so many, both Greek and Latin
WTiters concerning the fall of Simon, we need not care if they differ in
unimportant matters, since they all agree about the fact itself."
Such are the words of Baronius, as learned and trust-
worthy a man as ever took a pen in hand to write history.
TiLLEMONT, another grave and respectable modern author,
makes use of the following language :
" We prefer, until refuted by certain and evident reasons, to err, in this
matter, with Aknobius, Cyril of Jerusalem, the Legates of Pope Libe-
Kius, with St. Augustine, St. Isidore Pelusiota, with Theodoret,
and many others, than to accuse of too much credulity so many and
such illustrious doctors, both of the Greek and Latin Churches. Hence,
we contend that the fact (that Simon flew) is to be believed.'* — Life of
St. Peter, tome i.
Having given the opinion of these two learned men, who
examined into the merits of the case, as far as they could
go by the light of ancient history, we will, in the next place,
introduce the original documents, and leave each one to draw
his own conclusions therefrom, as did Baronius and
TiLLEMONT.
Now, the first notice of Simon's flight is to be found in a
work entitled, **TAe Constitutions of the Apostles.'' It
consists, principally, of certain rules and regulations, said.
to have been made by them. The work itself claims St.
Clement, third Pope and companion of the Apostles, as its
author, or rather compiler. But, it is certain, from intrin-
sic evidence, that he had nothing to do with it. Who its
real author was, no one knows.
The precise date of its first publication, is also a matter
ALETHAURION. 109
of doubt. The best theory we have seen on the subject is
this : That it was first begun by some unknown person,
about the end of the second century. At this time it con-
tained nothing reprehensible. Then succeeded a period of
corruption and interpolation ; during which, good, bad, and
indifferent things were added to and inserted in its text by
several scribblers whose names are unknown.
Thus it happened that, at the end of the fifth century,
the work had become such a jumble of truth and falsehood,
that, like a perjured witness in one of our courts of justice,
its evidence was no longer heeded, but was thrown, as the
lawyers say, out of court.
Such, then, is the work from which we take our first quo-
tation. What importance is to be given to the testimony it
bears, we will take into consideration a little further on.
The author of the work, or at least of that portion we are
about to quote, introduces Peter, and makes him responsi-
ble for what follows :
"When Simon came to Rome he greatly annoyed the Church, and ex-
cited the Gentiles by his magical arts. On a certain day, at noon, he
proceeded to the amphitheater * * * having promised that he would lly
into the air. When all present were in deep suspense and expectation
about the fulfillment of this promise I praj'ed, by myself apart. Then
he, being raised by the demons, flew aloft, telling the people that he was
assending to heaven, whence he would shower down blessings upon
them. The people raised a shout of applause, honoring him as a god.
At the same time, I raised my hands to heaven, implored the Almighty
that, through Jesus Christ, He would deign to break the impious
wretch. * * * Then, gazing intently on Simon, I said, if I am a man
of God, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, a true teacher of piety, and not of
error, such as you are, Simon, I command the wicked powers, by which
Simon Magus is sustained in the air, to loose their strength, that he may
fall down, and be made an object of contempt to those whom he has de-
ceived. When I had finished these words, Simon, deserted by the e^il
powers, fell with a mighty crash, and, having struck the earth, broke
both his shins and the lower extremity of his backbone.'' — Book vi, chap-
ter 9.
The testimony is certainly as explicit as one could desire.
But, as hinted above, it is that of a perjured witness. Yet,
granting all that, it by no means follows that it is false. One
110 AT.ETHAURION.
evident lie is enough to perjure a witness in court, even
though he may have given truthful testimony in. everything
else. We have a few specimen lies in the work we quote
from, but it does not follow that we must regard as false
everything it contains.
Now arises the question, what are we to think of the ex-
tract above given ? Is it to be regarded as a portion of the
original uncompleted work, or as an interpolation? We
have no means of deciding wnth certainty, the latter ques-
tion. So far as the flight of Simox is concerned, there is
nothing impossible, nor even improbal)le in it. We learn
from the scriptures that the devil once took our Lord Him-
self up into a high mountain — set him on the pinnacle of the.
temple, etc. From this, and other facts, w^e may conclude
that, by God's permission, he has to some extent, and in
certain cases, a discretionary power over matter, even men's
bodies.
If then, as the scriptures inform us, one devil had power
to transfer the sacred person of our Lord to the summit of
a mountain, and take him from there, in an instant, to the
top of one of the pinnacles of the temple in elerusalem, what
impossibility, or even improbability, can there be in saying
that a legion of devils had power to elevate a few hundred
feet into the air and let fall a worthless cur like Simon
Magus ?
There are other reasons that go to show that the extract
is not an interpolation, but a portion of the original work,
before having been corrupted. There are many writers of
ancient times, besides the author of The Constitutions of the
Apostles^ who bear testimony to the truth of the fact.
Arnobius, an author of the third century, a man of learn-
ing and genius, professor of rhetoric, at Sicca in Africa,
thus speaks, in a work written against Paganism, of Simon's
fall :
" The Romans saw the course of Simon Magus, and the fierj^ chariots,
blown away by the breath of Peter. * * ♦ They saw him, who
ALETHAURION. Ill
conficlod in false gorls, precipitated from on high, by his own weight,
and lying helpless with broken limbs.''
Now, Arnobius wrote against the Pagans, and would
never have introduced such a fact, had it not been known
and admitted by them. Besides Arnobius, we have the
testimony of Cyril, of Jerusalem, Eusebius, St. Augus-
TixE, Eusebus, of Alexandria, and a host of others. We
give qnotations from the few above named. Cyril, of Jer-
usalem, says :
•*S\lien Simon publicly declared that he would ascend to heaven, and
was raised aloft in the chariot of demons, the servants of God, Peter
and Paul, on bended knees, cast him to the earth." — Catech. vi.
EusEBUS, ii book, chapter 14, History of tiie Church, thus
speaks of the fact :
•'When the divine word had reached the Romans, the insane power of
Simon was extinguished, and that .vilest of men was completely demol-
ished."
St. Augustine, epistle 86, alluding to the fast observed
in Rome on Saturdays, gives as a reason that, on that day
of the week, the Christians fasted that St. Peter might
gain a victory over Simon Magus.
Eusebius of Alexandria, in a sermon against astrologers,
found in the new collection of Cardinal Mai, skives us a
spicy moral :
'•Simo7i etiam Magus voluit ascendere in coelum sed cadenscrepuiV — SiMON
Magus also wished to ascend to heaven, but, falling, burst.
Besides these, many others ftf the ancient Fathers of the
Church bear testimony to Simon's rise and fall. An objec-
tion may be raised here, however, to their evidence. Some
one may say, probably they got their knowledge of the fact
from The Constitutions of the Apostles; as that work is not
worthy of credit, neither is their testimony.
We reply, such a theory is not at all likely. Neither
ought we to accuse such men, as those whose names we have
given, of too much credulity. We ought rather to presume
they had good grounds for what they wTote. One thing is
certain, that the Pagan authors of those times did not copy
112 ALETHAUEION.
from The Constitutions of the Apostles^ yet, we have enough
in their writings to render not only highly probable,
but morally certain, what is said of Simon, in the work
alluded to.
SpuTOXius, a Pagan, m his Life of Nero, vi book, 12 chap.,
speaks -of a man who attempted to fly in the presence of the
Emperor, but fell, and was killed. The circumstances of
time and place will fit Simon to a nicety.
Dio Chrysostom, another Pagan, speaking of the same
Nero, Sei*m. 12, says : He was of a most tyrannical disposi-
tion, and so positive in his ways that no one dared contra-
dict him, nor even call impossible what he had ordered to
be done, so that if he commanded one to fly, and the- man
had promised to do so, he was fed and taken care of in the
royal palace by way of preparation for the feat.
Juvenal, Satire iii., 77, also speaks of a man who took
wings, but credits him, along with many other abominations,
to Greece.
There appears to have been in fact, an ancient tradition
that Simon came originally from Athens ; though most his-
torians say he was born in Samaria. These, several allus-
ions of even Pagan authors, go far in demonstrating that
some attempt of the kind must have been made. Add to
these the explicit testimonies from Christian authors, and
our opinion is, that, all taken together, forms a strong chain
of evidence to show that Simon ^ew.
CHAPTEB XXIV.
errors of SIMON MAGUS.
Our course, for the seven coming chapters, will be through
graveyards, wherein moulder the bones of defunct heresi-
archs. Our intention, in choosing such a path, is to play,
on a small scale, the part of Walter Scott's Old Mortality;
ALETHAURION. 113
to clear away the rank weeds, to scrape off the moss from
the monuments of forgotten fools, to learn what they did,
what they aimed to do, and what they failed to accomplish.
The reader who accompanies us through this sad and de-
voted city of the dead, will find proofs in abundance of man's
littleness when he undertakes to make war on God and on
His works. He will have fresh evidences of the fore-
knowledge of Him who said :
" Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the
gcCtes of hell shall not prevail against it.'''' — Matt, xvi, 18.
Before commencing an examination of the tombstones
aforesaid, we here caution the reader not to be surprised at
the follies, nor wonder at the contradiction of heresiarchs.
They were all led on by the spirit of the Evil One, and, when
a man has succeeded in making the Father of Lies truthful,
then, and not until then, may he reasonably hope to find
consistency in the acts of his principal agents here on earth.
Heresiarchs are to be blamed, but as men we should rather
pity and deplore their w^eakness, in suffering themselves to
be made the tools of the demon, losing thereby their own
souls, and by their bad influence, dragging thousands, weak
like themselves, into the abyss.
They relate an interview, which is said to have taken
place doiv7i below, between Emanuel Sw^edenborg, the
founder of the New eTerusalem Church, and Martin Luther,
the father of Protestantism. It is to the following effect :
Swedenborg reproaches Martin with his many follies and
inconsistencies, and also, with having been the cause of the
loss of scores of others.
"Very true,"" replied Luther, "while on earth, I was a fool. The
sentence of a merciful but just God condemning me to this place, has
long since convinced me of it. But what surprises me most of all is,
that one fool, such as I was, should have turned heads of so many
thousands of others, and yours along with the rest."
Thus it is that heresiarchs discover their folly when it is
too late. But as they are themselves, in the end, the prin- '
cipal losers, while we loathe and condemn their errors, let
114 ALETHAURION .
US pity their present sad lot, and rejoice that through the
mercy of God, we have been permitted to walk in the right
way, having thereby a well grounded hope that, when we
have trodden it to the end, we will be rewarded by being
allowed to gaze on the splendid portals of the heavenly
Jerusalem, and participate in the beautitude of the just within
its walls.
But let us continue our story about Simon jVIagus. His
errors, which we have collected, are written down here for
present inspection as well as future reference. They may
be regarded as good specimens of what a man, under the
inspiration of the Devil, is capable of saying and doing.
Simon's first and greatest error consisted in maintaining
that he was God Almighty. Luther certainly, to give him
his due, did not pretend to so much. He said of himself
only, that he was not far off from being a god. Simon
took his straight ; IVIartin, with a little nutmeg.
Now, at the first sight, it may appear to us passing strange
that the magician should have made such pretensions, they
look so outrageously absurd. Yet, if we take into considera-
tion the peculiar circumstances of time and place, it will not
seem at all wonderful that a cunning mountebank, juggler,
and liar, like Simon Magus, should have gone even so far as
to pretend to be God.
Simon knew that Christ, Saviour, had laid claims to
divinity, and what was more, had brought people to believe
that He was divine. Hence, the idea naturally occurred to
him that he could not be a successful rival of Christ without
advancing the same pretensions.
Whether Simon's disciples really believed in his godhead
or not, we are unable to say. Most likely it was with
them as with the soldiers of Alexander. They thought it
best not to ask too many questions, nor seek for proofs
higher than their master's word.
. We find evidence of this same blasphemous spirit in all
the heresiarchs that have succeeded the magician, even to
ALETHAURION. 115
our own times. Though none have gone as far as he did,
nevertheless they all have laid claim to a direct communion
with the Divinity, or to a species of inspiration.
The doctrine of the private interpretation of the scrip-
tures is built on this arrogant assumption. We have not
vspace to mention all the errors of the wretched man of
whom we write, but we cannot forbear giving those that are
most prominent. A favorite doctrine of his was, that all
who believed in himself need not trouble themselves in
trying to observe either the laws of Moses, or any other.
Their own wills were law, and whatever each chose to do,
was just, right and proper.
Simon also invented the doctrine of ''Free Love," pretty
much as taught at the present day by Woodhull and
others. In this particular, also, Simon was far ahead of the
greater part of our modern heretics. Obscenity was one of
the essential features of his religion. So much so, that,
according to him, no one could be saved who had not
learned and practiced certain lewd rites and ceremonies,
which respect for ourselves and our readers forbids us to
mention.
Some miiirht resfard us as extravaojant were we to call
Simon Magus a Protestant. They would, no doubt, put us
down in the same category with that brilliant editor of a
sectarian newspaper, who, some time ago, told his patrons
that Joan of Arc, w^as burned at the stake by the Jesuites.
Yet, we could, by the very same line of argument that
Baptists use to prove their apostolicity, show that Simon
Magus was a Protestant ; nay more, that he was the
founder of Protestantism.
Let us come to an understanding. Anabaptists find from
reading history, that long before Luther, there were some
sects that denied the utility of infant baptism. They jump
at conclusions. These believed, say they, just as we do,
therefore, they and we form the same body organic. Just
116 * ALETHAURION.
SO. We will prove in the same way that Simon Magus was
a Protestant.
Ieeneus, Hger. v, 20; Theodoret, Hasr. Fab. i, i; tell
us that one of Simon's favorite doctrines was, that men
were saved by grace, without good works. Luther taught
the inutility, even sinfulness, of good works. Hence, we
feel warranted in saying, according to Baptist logic, that
Simon Magus was just as good a Protestant as Luther.
We will conclude our notice of Simon by showing that he
was a practical man, taking-good care of himself, and not
bringing his disciples into danger, on account of their belief.
In those days it was unsafe to be a Christian, even to have
been thought one ; and the Pagans did not always distin-
guish true from false Christianity. Hence, Simon's men
were sometimes taken up for being Christians, along with
others who were really such. Now, the magician was en-
tirely too tender-hearted to see his followers roasted alive,
or hehesided y fornotking at all. So he instructed them, in
case of arrest, to deny they were Christians, and, if neces-
sary, to sacrifice to Jupiter, in proof of their sincerity.
Christ taught His disciples not to fear death, ^when truth
was to be maintained. He died for the truth, and all true
believers are ever ready to shed their blood rather than for-
sake it. The maintenance of truth, even to blood is one of
the characteristics of a Catholic.
The heretic will flinch, and always has done so. He may
die for his crimes, or his passions, never for his faith ; be-
cause he has not the divine gift. We leave Simon Magus
for the present. His followers were called Simonians.
After their leader's death, they split up into an endless num-
ber of sects ; and finally, toward the middle of the third
century, they were either converted to the true Church, or,
under new names, formed part and parcel of new heresies.
If the Baptists, who are^anxious to trace themselves up to
the Apostles, choose to acknowledge Simon and his boys as
their ancestors in 4he faith, we have no objection. One
ALETHAURION. 117
thing is certain that, should they stretch their lines, they
will connect either with Simon Peter or Simon Magus.
They will not succeed in hitching on to the former ; but we
see nothing impossible in the attempt to establish, by his-
tory, an unbroken line of heresies, extending from our times
to those of Simon the magician. What the Baptists have
to prove is the identity, as an organization, of their sect with
the primitive and medieval heresies. Not alone that", they
must establish identity of doctrine. This cannot be done ;
neither by the Baptists nor Wy any other sect of modern
times.
In our next we will treat of the followers of Simon
Magus.
CHAPTER XXV.
FOLLOWERS OF SIMON MAGUS.
We now leave Simon, for the present, in a corner of the Ro-
man amphitheater, with broken shins and backbone out of
joint, an object of contempt to those whom he had sought to
deceive. Our business, in the present chapter, will be with
his followers.
And a nasty brood they are to contemplate. Like those
monsters, half human, half beast, that are, at intervals,
born into the world, their appearance shock us. They
humble human pride and teach us how low unregenerate man
may sink. It is thus with heresy. It is a forced union of
the divine and the diabolical. When we see painted, the
image of a foul dragon, we may conceive within our breasts
feelings of loathing or of fright, as the case may be. But
when we look on the form of a man with the head of a dog ;
or on a woman's fair face united with and terminating in
the slimy folds of a serpent, our feelings are those of dis-
gust and humiliation.
118 ALETHAURION .
A Catholic of tender conscience may look on paganism
with the feelings of hatred due the demon, of whom it is the
legitimate offspring. But heresy he must ever regard with
a revulsion of spirit, because it is bastard and monstrous.
EusEBius, the Father of Church history, tells that the
Simonian heresy continued in existence until about the be-
ginning of the fourth century. This observation of the his-
torian may tend to make us Catholics cease wondering at
the length of time the Protestant heresy has stood its ground.
It is probable, however, that at the period mentioned, there
were only an insignificantfewof them, and these so changed,
that they bore but little resemblance to their ancestors.
That such was the case, will appear probable, from a pas-
sage of Origen : **The Simonians are nowhere to be found
at the present day, although Simon, to gain Disciples, did
away with such doctrines as exposed his followers to danger
of death, saying that idolatry was a matterof in differ-
ence." Cont. Cels. vi.
These words show that, some time previous to the middl
of the third century, there were so few Simonians that even
Origen did not know that there were any in existence. Be-
fore the Simonian heresy became entirely extinct, it devel-
oped a feature noticeable in all that have come after it. It
split up into a countless number of smaller sects.
Menander, a Disciple of Simon, and like him a Samari-
tan, was the first who took it into his head that he had just
as good a right to make a new religion and become the head
center of a new sect as Simon himself. He did so. About
the year 74, during the reign of Vespasian, our hero began
to work miracles; for he was also a magician. While he
did not entirely condemn the doctrines of his master, he
told the people that, he was, himself, a greater man tlian
Simon ever was or dared to be. This was evidently a kick
at the dead lion. But, as the magician's Disciples were not
overburdened with affection for his memory, they went over
and shouted for Menander. We have noticed the same
ALETHAURION. 119
fickleness of character, the same gaping after novelties in
religion, among the heretics in the rural districts of this
State. Almost any preacher, provided he come big-mouthed
and swaggering, can raise the dust without effort. A new
heresiarch, like a new broom, sweeps clean for a time. But
it is only the vicious he takes along with him. Menander
taught his Disciples that he was the Saviour of mankind, and
that no one could obtain entire freedom from those bad an-
gels, who, according to him, created the world, unless he
first learned magic and had the happiness of being baptized
in his own name. To those so christened he promises en-
tire freedom from old age and death, even in this life.
Menaxder, no doubt, found it easy to persuade the
women that they always looked young and handsome ;
but how he succeeded in showing men, that wrinkles, gray
hairs, and toothless jaws were not signs of old age, this is
what puzzles us to know.
Maybe he accounted for these phenomena in the same
way that Calvinists and Hard-Shell Baptists do for the fall-
ing away from grace of a Church member. According to
one of the decisions of the Calvinistic Synod of Dordrecht,
it was proclaimed, as a truth taught in the Scriptures, that
when a man is once justified by faith in Jesus Christ he
can never movQ fall from grace. But examples occur, even
among Calvinists and Hard-Shells, of such indiscretions as
theft, adultery, drunkenness, ewYy^ ^y^^^^ &c. When these
are so palpable that disguise is impossible, they explain by
saying, that the sin is either not imputed, or, that the au-
thor of them was never truly converted to the Lord. In all
probability, Mexander had recourse to a similar subterfuge
when one of his members got a call to report at head-
quarters.
Menaxder is said to have ended his life by falling head-
long into a pit. There he perished miserably with his heels
in the air, vainly trying to extricate himself from the mire
that surrounded him.
120 AT.ETH AUEION .
' He had a successor, on the heresiarchal chair, Saturxixus,
who was also one of Sniox's boys. Saturxixus was of An-
tioch, a city of Syria. This wretch, though laying no claims
to divinity, as did his predecessors, nevertheless taught many
of their errors, and added thereunto others of his own. Ac-
cording to Saturxixus, there was one heavenly Father, un-
known to men. This unknown God created anijels and
other heavenly powers. Seven of the former created this
world, and also man, and then made an equal division. It
was a joint stock company. But the way these seven angels
created man is amusing and may interest the reader. One
day, a bright apparition from heaven presented itself, and in-
flamed them with a desire of making man. They set about
the business forthwith, and got him into pretty good shape.
Then came the difficulty, for they could not make him stand
erect, and he could only crawl like a worm. The angels
were about to give up in despair, when the divine virtue came
to their aid, and blew the spark of life in the creature which
they had formed. This having been done he stood up and
acted like a man.
Besides these follies, Saturxixus taught his Disciples that
the God, whom the Jews worshipped, was one of the angels
created by the great unknown God, and that the Saviour was
sent into the world by the Father to set to rights the God of
the Jews, and at the same time to save all those who be-
lieved in him.
He taught, moreover, that the angels created two races of
men ; the one bad, the other good. Why these never got
mixed by intermarriage, Saturxixus did not explain. But,
as the bad people were all helped along by the devil, the
Saviour came on earth to exterminate both. This error of
Saturxixus must not be confounded with another, which had
its rise in the seventeenth century, that of the Pre-adamites
and Co-adamites. By this is meant the conceit of those who
maintained that, either along with, or before Adam, there
ALETHAURION. 121
was created, here on earth, another race of men, altogether
distinct from him.
Saturninus taught that the person of Christ was not real,
and that all he did and suffered was only in appearance.
This error, at a subsequent period, assumed considerable
proportions, to such an extent that it became a distinguish-
ing mark, and gave name to a sect called the Phantasiasts.
Our hero was the first heretic who taught that marriage
was the work of the Demon. The Shakers, therefore,
ought to claim him as the founder of their sect. This was
certainly a strange idea, and not in keeping with the exam-
ple of the two that went before him, and certainly not with
the conduct of those who came after. Heresiarchs, as a
general rule, have been rather indulgent, especially to them-
selves, in the matter we speak of.
We presume, however, that his sermons against marriage
were equally as sincere as those of the Good Templars of our
day against old Bourbon, just about.
Satcrnixus met a fate in keeping with the life he had led.
On a certain day, while uttering his blasphemies to an ad-
miring crowd, his tongue became paralyzed, and continued to
grow in thickness until it had filled his mouth. The wretched
man, unable to take food, after six days of intense suffering,
shuffled off the coil, and his unwilling spirit wended its way
to the Stygian pool and the dark Cocytus, on whose rueful
banks it still laments the follies done in the flesh.
CHAPTER XXVI.
BASILIDES.
Having spoken of Mexaxder and Saturxixus in the pre-
vious chapter, the current of time brings us to Basilides.
Though not an immediate Disciple of Simox Magus, he was
the next worst thing to it, a Disciple of Mexaxder. Hence,
122 ALETHAUKION.
Basilides bears the same relation to the first heresiarch,
that John Wesley and Alexander Cazupbell do to Luther.
He was a chip of the same block, a sprout from the parent
stock, a tempest in a tea-pot, in his day and generation.
Basilides was a native of Alexandria, in Egypt ; a city no
less celebrated for its extensive commerce and great wealth
in those days, than for its men of learning and genius.
Among the latter we cannot reckon the subject of our sketch.
No heresiarch was ever a man of true genuis. Like the
eagle, in its sunward flight, genius soars beyond all mean
trickery. It draws to itself and retains the admiration of
good men. Its possessor approaches, in a manner, to the
angelic intelligence. Heresiarchs, on the other hand, acquire
notoriety principally by their obstinate attachment to error ;
and, so far as we can gain a knowledge of them by the light
of history, they all appear to have been men incapable of
distinguishing what truth is. We may say, too, without
fear of contradiction, that the names of but few indeed of
them would have survived the decade succeeding their de-
mise, had they chosen to run a fair race with their contem-
poraries on that course marked out by the glorious founder
of our holy faith.
Heresiarchs appear to lack all that is grand in our human
nature, and to posses, after a singular manner, those qualities
that are reputed vile and ignoble among men. They draw
to their aid and support only the vicious, because they pander
to the passions, to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes^
and the pride of life.
This done, they think out hollow systems of belief, in
which, as in a labyrinth, they loose themselves and their
followers.
Basilides had his system, and a strange one. We give
it, as found in the writings of the ancient Fathers. Portions
of it sound like the ravins^s of some of our modern infidel
philosophers, when they undertake to tell what they know
about religion. But we have already cautioned the reader
ALETHAURION. 123^
not to wonder at the doings and sayings of heresiarchs.
Even the Puritans, of New England, had, at one time, such
an absurd idea of their own piety that they confidently
expected no less a recompense than that the Saviour would
leave heaven and take up, for good company's sake, his
abode in Boston. Thus it has been, and will be, with those
who leave the way of truth — blown about by every wind of
doctrine.
But, let us return toBASiLiDEs' celebrated system. First
of all, he laid it down as a principle, that there was one
supreme power. This* he called Abrasax, a word never
known nor heard of before. Abrasax created mind, from
mind came the word, from the word, prudence, from pru-
dence, virtue and wisdom. From virtue and ^\:isdom came
forth principalities, powers and angels. The angels, inturn^
created the hi oiliest heaven, and other inferior anirels. These
created another heaven, and another race of angels, and so
on, until 365 heavens were formed, and as many different
choirs of angels, rising in grade one above the other, like
steps in a flight of stairs. The last bevy, having been toa
weak to attempt a new heaven, showed their industry by
creating this earth. The captain-general of this last choir ^
according to Basilides, was no other than the God of the
Jews. He audaciously sought to place his chosen people
above all other nations. It was by his ingenuity that the
Jews were liberated from Egyptian bondage.
This idea of the world having been created by angels, ap-
pears to have been held by most of the heretics of the first
century. Yet, a little attention to a couple of principles
would have saved them and us from all their vas^aries on
the subject. It requires an infinite power to create. No
finite being can become the recipient of what is infinite.
Basilides taught his Disciples that Christ did not take a
real human body and soul ; and that he was not crucified.
But, as this was contrary to the general belief, and in op-
position to the testimony, written and traditional, of the
124 ALETHAURION.
Apostles, he felt that some explanation ought to be given.
It was as follows : When the Jews led the Saviour up Mount
Calvary, he feigned fatigue, whereupon they forced Simon
of Cyene to carry his cross. After all had arrived at the
top of the Mount, in the confusion of the moment, the
Saviour took the form and appearance of Sniox, while he
was made to assume that of Christ, and was, in conse- •
quence crucified ; while Christ stood by and laughed. Such
SL story is well worthy of the depravity of a heretic.
Basilides condemned martyrdom, affirming, that such as
died for the faith received no reward in the next life. He
taught his Disciples, in times of persecution, to deny
Christ, and that in so doing they committed no sin. But
when some one urged the well known text, ** He that denies
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who
is in heaven," Matt. x. 33, the heresiarch answered :
'-'Trouble not thy soul -svlth this saying; knowest thou not that the
Disciples of Basilides are alone worthy of the name of men, and that
all others are but swine and dogs. You must not, therefore, by openly
professing your belief, in the presence of such, give what is holy to the
dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine."
Our hero was not content with the scriptures WTitten by
the Apostles and Evangelists, so he undertook to write a
gospel of his own. But, as the ancient prophets had the
misfortune to differ wdth him, in some essential respects,
he set them aside, as Luther, at later period, did the
epistle of St. James, and invented two others whose writ-
ings were orthodox. These he called, respectively, Barcoha
and Barcop. The writings of these tv7o prophets, we
presume, had been hid in the ground, somewhere, until
Basilides, directed by the light of the spirit, discovered
them, much in the same way that Joe Smith discovered the
Book of Mormon. By the aid of these ancient w^orks, he
found no difficulty in getting up a gospel suitable to his
taste. Clement of Alexandria tells us, Strom, iv, that he
iilso wrote a commentary on the scriptures in twenty-three
books. What a pity that the tooth of time, and the mice,
ALETHAURION. 125
have destroyed these precious works. But, for some rea-
son, the works of the ancient heretics, on religious matters,
have never, been able to stand the test of time ; we have
only fragments of them preserved in the writings of the
Fathers of the Church, like motes within a piece of amber.
In imitation of the pagan philosopher,, Pythagoras, our
hero commanded all his Disciples to observe a strict silence
for the first five years of their novitiate. They had thus
sufiicient time to meditate on the greatness of their master^
and on their own nothingness. At the end, as Eusebius
testifies, they were ceremoniously treated to one of their
master's crumbs of wisdom. It was in these words : '* Take
heed that you know all things, and that no one know&
you." Indeed, this was appropriate advice, if what
Irexeus,Epiphanius and Theodoret tell of their corrupt
morals be true
Besides the errors and follies already noticed, Basilides-
denied the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. It
is the opinion of learned men, that it is of him and his fol-
lowers Igxatius, martyr, speaks in his epistle to the faithful
of Smyrna, where he uses these words :
" They do not admit the Eucharist, nor oblations, because they do not
confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of his benignity,,
raised again to life."
When modern sectarians, who deny the real presence >
come across such words, from a man like Ignatius, who
lived in apostolic times, we are curious to know what direc-
tion their thoughts take. They cannot advance the same
reasons for denying the real presence as did Basilides and
his followers. Those ancient heretics did not admit the mys-
tery of the Incarnation, and hence, their refusal to admit
the real presence was logical. Whereas, our modern here-
tics, though admitting the Incarnation, still deny the real
presence of our Lord's flesh and blood in the Sacrament.
i We conclude, with a brief notice of the personal appear-
ance of our hero. In stature, Balilides was considerably
126 ALETHAURION.
above the middle hight. His head, which appeared to rest
immediately on a pair of broad shoulders, was small and
round, well protected from cold in winter, and the sun's
heat in the summer season, by a matting of red hair that
grew down almost to his eyebrows. His eyes were placed
far apart, and under ordinary circumstances, looked dull
and meaningless. When excited, however by any want of
respect on the part of his disciples, they assumed a savage
and truculent glare. His nose was short and elevated at the
point, but his mouth was enormous, and drawn down at the
corners.
The Pagan inhabitants of Alexandria, like those of An-
tioch, were remarkable at giving nicknames. Hence, it was
not likely that a surly, ill-favored clown, like Basilides,
could have long escaped the notice of his countrymen. Ac-
cordingly, after he had brought himself into public notor-
iety, partly from the fact that he was continually calling all
who did not belong to his sect, dogs and swine, but more
especially, on account of his personal appearance, he received
the name of Dioskyon; which translated into good English,
would mean Jupiter's hull pup.
The errors of Basilides were refuted by Ignatius mar-
tyr, partly in his epistle to the faithful of Tralles, and partly
in that addressed to the faithful of Smyrna. Besides Igna-
tius, Castor Agrippa, Irencus, Clement of Alexandria,
and Epiphanius, each in turn, applied the scourge until
there was nothing left of the heretic but a name and an
odor.
In the next we treat of Cerinthus.
ALETHAUKION. 127
CHAPTER XXVII.
CERINTHUS.
According to promise, we come to speak now of Cerin-
THUs." He is the fifth in order from Simon Magus. Many
of our readers, in all probability, have never before seen his
name in print. Yet he was a sturdy dog in his day, and
made some noise in the world. Few, indeed, of those prim-
itive heresiarchs are now spoken of, or even thought about,
by the average student of history. As soon as the sects
which they originated ceased to exist, their names sank, in
a manner, into oblivion, descended to the vile earth from
which they sprung, unwept, unhonored and unsung.
The names of the Apostles, on the other hand, and of
many of the early martyrs of our holy faith, whose lives
the Pagans and heretics esteemed a madness, are still in
benediction among men, and will remain so to the end of
time. It ought to be thus. The notoriety that heresiarchs
gain is purchased at a cheap price, and does not wear well.
They ascend withcut labor, and descend without honor.
Cerinthus, the subject of this chapter, studied philosophy
at Alexandria, in Egypt. By philosophy, may be here
understood, learning in general. How long he thumbed his
books, we are not informed. Most probably, long enough
to have acquired a little learning^ which the poet tells us is
a dangerous thing. It proved so in his case. Scarcely had
he declared his independence of the ferrule, when he began
to think himself wiser than the Apostles. He got so bold
as, frequently, to resist them face to face at Antioch,
Csesarea, and Jerusalem.
This conduct reminds us of a young stripling nam^ed
Smith, who, a couple of years ago, on finishing his course at
a sectarian seminary in this State, delivered himself of an
128 ALETHAURION.
oration, in which he informed the assembled lawyers, doc-
tors and grangers, that, after having studied the bible
thoroughly, and moreover, having convinced himself that
there was nothing more for him to learn in regard to it, he
had, nevertheless, come to .the settled conclusion, that it was
all nonsense. A murmur of the old women arose when he
had spoken (Jiat word, because they all thought him "smart,"
and it was currently reported in the town, of which he was
the hero, that he was going to become a preacher. The
lawyers and rustics were-also amazed, and the doctors thought
he needed pills. Yet, notwithstanding all this, the earth did
not stop turning on its axis, and the sun arose next morning
at the usual time, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred.
A little science often leads astray, whereas, deep research
draws men to the truth, if their hearts are not bad, and
their morals not corrupt.
It was no other than our hero Ceeixthus who raised the
commotion at Antioch, of which mention is made in Acts
XV. He asserted that Christians were bound to observe the
ceremonies instituted by Moses along with those of Christ.
Paul and Barnabas, w^ho were in Antioch at the same time,
expostulated with him on the errors of his ways. But, when
was a heretic ever known to care a whit for St. Paul, or
any other saint, when their teaching ran counter to his
theories ? The question at issue was finally referred to the
Apostles in Jerusalem ; and Cerinthus was invited to go
thither and defend his opinions.
Ever since, it has been customary to invite heresiarchs to
be present at councils, that they may state their view^s be-
fore the assembled fathers, and defend if they choose. But
the errors of Cerinthus could not stand the scrutiny.
Hence, when. Peter, the first Pope, arose in the assembly
and cast a withering glance toward the heretics, saying at
the same time :
''"V^Thy tempt yoii God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the Disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we were able to hear?"— Acts xv, 10.
ALETHAURION. 129
They held their peace. Cerinthus and his men had not a
word to say ; they were calmed down, mute as mice — sub-
dued. No doubt that case of Ananias and Saphira was yet
fresh in their memories, and they thought it best not to
arouse the lion's wrath, lest there might be another funeral.
But Cerinthus, on having been allowed to retire, re-
gained his former contumacy as well as hypocrisy, which
latter comes as natural to a here^iarch, as the art of swim-
mins to a goslino^. He continued to teach his errors, and to
infuse a hatred of the Apostles into the minds of his gang of
apostates. This same spirit of hatred toward those who, at
the present day, hold the places of the Apostles in the
Church, is a noticeable feature amonj? sectarians. Having:
little or nothing to offer capable of giving peace and true
consolation to the souls of men, the ministers of heretical
sects, not unfrequently vent their impotent rage in frothy,
often filthy declamations against the Pope, the bishops and
priesthood of the Catholic Church. Even as we write, there
is here in Newport, a driveling, straggling, nincompoop
preacher, telling people what he says he knows about the
confessional.
The errors of Cerinthus, as given by Ireneus, book i,
chap. XXV, of Heresies ; Theodoret, book ii, chap. 5, Haeretic
Fab. ; St. Augustine, Treatise on Heresies ; Eusebius,
book iii. Church history, may be summed up as follows :
He taught there was but one God ; and, so far, he was
right. But men of his class can never stop at the exact
truth. They go beyond it, and get themselves entangled in
false notions and theories of their own. According to Cer-
inthus, the supreme God did not create the heavens and
the earth. This was done by other inferior, yet independ-
ent powers.
He also taught that the Saviour, before His baptism
in the Jordan, was but a mere man, the son of Joseph and
Mary. He remained so, until the time spoken of, when the
Holy Ghost descended upon Him, and thenceforth, until
130 ALETHAURION.
immediately before His passion and death, He was, in truth,
a divine personage. At the commencement of His passion,
the divinity again left Him, so that it was Jesus, a mere man,
and not Christ, the son of God, whom the Jews crucified.
This error contradicts the mystery of the Redemption. If
He who was crucified was only a man, the infinite debt, con-
tracted by Adam, remains still unpaid to the Divine Justice.
How much more consoling to us, children of Adam, is the
truth on this point. We admit the debt was, in a manner,
infinite ; but, we maintain it was cancelled by a sacrifice
infinite in value; because the victim offered was no other
than God himself. A favorite practice with heretics in all
ages, has been to deny the authority of certain portions of
the Scripture, and change those retained to suit their notions.
Cerixthus was not at all backward in taking that liberty
with the written word, which men of his ilk have, from time
immemorial, regarded as a birthright.
He mutilated the gospel of Matthew, rejected all the
epistles of Paul, and condemned, outright, the Acts of the
Apostles.
We are not surprised at his condemnation of Acts. Cer-
ixthus, no doubt, had a good opinion of his own abilities.
All heresiarchs have. Now, in the book we speak of, his
name does not occur once, whereas, that of Paul, his great
opponent, is frequently to be found. What more natural,
then, than that he should have condemned so one-sided a
history as the book of Acts must have appeared to him.
Cerixthus had not only his own natural ability to help
him along, but also frequent and important revelations from
an angel. This was, in all probability, the very same one,
at whom Luther threw the ink bottle. He differs from the
others we read about, inasmuch as he has the wings of a bat
instead of a bird
Along with the errors and follies spoken of, Cerixthus
taught his Disciples that, after the last judgment, Christ
would not ascend with the just to heaven, but would change
ALETHAURION. 131
this earth into a paradise for their benefit. The capitol was
to be Jerusalem, where the Saviour was to take up his abode
with the elect for a thousand years. During this period,
feasting, revelling and promiscuous gaiety was to be the
order of the day. But, whither the revellers were to betake
themselves after the time was up, he did not explain.
The manner in which Cerixtiius took leave of this world
and its vanities is peculiar. After having traveled through
several of the oriental countries, in youth, he turned his
face westward, in the evening of life, and landed like his
great prototype Simox, in the city of the C.^sars. As he
was one day gyrating through the streets of the great capitol,
he met St. John, the beloved Disciple of our Lord. '' Do
you know me?" said Cerixthus to him. *'Yery well,"
rejoined the Apostle. '*You are, if I mistake not, the oldest
living son of the devil.''' This was rather unkind language on
the part of St. JoHX. One of our modern liberal Catholics
could have taught him to be more polite to a gentleman
like Cerixthus. But then, the Apostles were a rough kind
of men, and did not understand the good service they might
have got out of heretics, by treating them with lofty con-
sideration. The conference ended abruptly. St. Johx
went away in another direction. He wished to teach by ex-
ample what St. Paul had done by word, to ^' avoid an
heretical many Tit. iii, 10. Cerixthus was cut to the quick,
and followed the Apostle and his companions into one of
the public baths, intending to offer insult and personal vio-
lence to the Evangelist. But God had numbered his days
and finished them. On seeing him, St. Johx said to those
with him : *'Let us fly from this house that holds Cerix-
thus, lest falling, it may oppress us." Scarcely had they
passed the threshold, when an earthquake reduced the edifice
to a heap of ruins. The unfortunate man, on finding that
his day had come, gave one fiendish shriek, in which rage
tspair strove for the mastery. Then his soul, polluted
132 ALETHAURION.
with many crimes, sped on its way to Pluto's realms of
sorrow, where we leave him.
Our next, will treat of the Millennium,
CHAPTER XXYIII.
THE MILLENNIUM.
In the last chapter we spoke of the heresiarchCERiNTHus.
Among the other errors and the follies taught by him, was
that concerning the Millennium. The reader, no doubt,
wishes to learn something about this word, and the idea it is
intended to express. Millennimn is a compound, made up
of two Latin words, mille, which means a thousand, and
annus, which signifies a year. Hence, taken by itself,
apart from historical connection. Millennium means nothing
more nor less than a period of a thousand years.
Many, who have heard, and maybe used the expression,
have, without doubt, connected with it ideas of a state of
happiness and security, similar to that enjoyed by our first
parents before the fall. The word certainly, by reason of
its historical associations, has acquired the latter significa-
tion. How it happens to be thus, we now hasten to tell.
Among the greater portion of the heretics of the first cen-
tury, drunkenness, gluttony, and the indulgence of lustful
desires were carried to a shocking excess. Having had no
well-grounded hope of a felicity beyond the tomb, they
sought it here, by giving loose reins to those propensities
that are reputed vile and beastly.
But, as the free indulgence in such pleasures failed to
give that happiness they had expected ; as, on the contrary,
after years of dissipation and debauchery, they found them-
selves the victims of loathsome diseases, and of despair ;
they fondly imagined that, hereafter, there would be a
blessed period, within which they could indulge their wicked
ALETHAURION. 133
desires, without any of the sad consequences that follow the
continued infringment of those physical laws that govern
man in his present state.
Such ideas were, at the commencement, vague and unde-
fined in the minds of those wretched heretics. It is proba-
ble that the impostor Mohammed, at a later period, bor-
rowed from them the conceptions of the future state of bliss
which he promised as a reward to all his faithful followers.
We have said that such ideas were, at first, somewhat
undefined. Hence, some ingenious inventor of lies was
required, to give definite shape and a name to that vain
thought.
Cerinthus was the man, being adapted by nature, and
by years of self -training for the work. Though miserable
and haggard in his appearance, with club feet and a with-
ered left hand, he had qualities of mind that insure success,
and even admiration to their possessor, among heretics.
Without apparent preparation, he could, at any time,
entertain his hearers, for an hour or more, with a tissue of
circumstantial falsehood, that appeared, at first hearing, to
possess the coherence of truth itself. It was he first fossi-
lized the folly of the multitude in the word, millennium.
The following is the manner in which things were to be
arranged. After the last judgment, the wicked, viz : All
those who did not belong to his sect, were to be chased by
the demons with thunder and lio:htninor into the lake burn-
ing with fire and brimstone. Then Christ would change
this earth into a paradise, of which the New Jerusalem was
to be the capitol city. Here, for the period of a thousand
years, the time would pass gaily in nuptial feasting, and in
the unrestrained indulgence in all the animal passions.
Such ideas of future felicity are so repugnant and foreign
to our notions of the pure enjoyments of heaven, and so
contradictory to all we know of the life and teachings of
our Divine Redeemer, that they scarcely deserve a refuta-
tion.
134 ALETHAURION.
Nevertheless, we may bring forward here a few texts of
scripture that plainly contradict the millennial theory, as
advocated by Cerinthus. In Matthew xxii, 30, we read
these words of the Saviour, addressed to the Sadducees,
who had been questioning him on the subject of marriage,
in the next life :
"In the resurrection," said he, "they shall neither marry, nor be given
in marriage, but shall be like unto the angels of God."
This text sets aside all notions of those £:ross and carnal
pleasures dreamed of by the heresiarch, as peculiar to the
Millennial period.
Secondly, the Millennium, according to Cerinthus, was to
come after the last judgment, and was to continue only for
a thousand years. Now these two notions are clearly at var-
iance with plain and well understood passages of the sacred
writings. In Luke i, 32, 33, the angel, when addressing
the Blessed Virgin, and speaking of the son which she was
to bring forth, says :
" He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there shall be no end^^
From these words we may rightly infer that the future
kingdom of Christ is to last, not alone for a thousand
years, but for all eternity.
A terrestrial paradise, after the last judgment, is also very
clearly set aside by what we read in Matt, xxv, 34, where
are given the words with which Christ will receive the elect
on the day of final retribution :
" Come ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world.''''
Hence, the good, after judgment day, will possess a king-
dom, prepared not then, but one created from the founda-
tion of the world.
Now, that we have given the reader a statement of the
Millennium, as planned by Cerinthus, and adduced passages
of the scriptures that at once pulverize such a monstrous air-
castle, we do not think it would be just to withhold the
ALETHAURION. 135
knowledge of the fact that even many of the more ancient
Fathers were also believers in an earthly paradise, to last a
thousand years. After which the blessed would be trans-
lated to heaven, there to enjoy the beatific vision and be
happy for eternity in the possession of God. It must be
borne in mind, however, that they did not knowingly borrow
the idea of Cerixthus.
The Fathers of the Church, in ancient times, were aware
of the fact that they had nothing to learn from heretics.
They knew that in the scriptures and the divine traditions
of the Church were contained all the truths necessary for
man to know, in order to be saved. Hence, unlij^e some of
our modern chivalrous doctors, they did not in their writings
pull the sting out of the truth, lest it might wound the feel-
ings of the heterodox. They did not spare the lash, because
they did not value the praises of those whose backs required
it. They did not squint after puffs from heretics, because
they knew that ''the approbation of fools is ignominy." —
Prov. Ill, 35.
The writer willingly confesses that he has not read all that
the Fathers have written. But, of those portions that he
has read, he can safely say that he has found nothing in
them that might lead him to suppose that their authors had
even the remotest idea of attempting the difficult feat of
catching two hares at once, in an open field — of stating the
truth, and giving satisfaction to the enemies of the Church
at the same time.
When an heretical man, who is not a simpleton, praises
the writings of a Catholic divine on a controverted point, it
is a clear proof that the said writings are worthless. A wild
goose can never be taught to admire the flap of the eagle's
wing, and a man has an instinctive dislike to what he feels
is really damaging to a cause with which he is indentified.
Luther hated the 8umma TJieologica of Thomas Aquixas.
We doubt very much whether any one of our readers has
ever seen in a Protestant newspaper, or heard from the lips
136 ALETHAUKION.
of a Protestant preacher, a single word in praise of an allocu-
tion or encyclical letter of Pius IX,
But we have read extravagant encomiums from Protestant
pens of a couple of works of these latter days, which we
believe have been of about as much service to the cause of
truth and the Church, as a jDainted wooden sword would
have been to the cause of Grecian liberty at the battle of
Marathon.
We have been led to these digressionary remarks with
the view of showing that the Fathers of the Church, in prim-
itive times, were not the men to copy or imitate the follies
of heretics. Hence, if we find some of them entertaining
notions about a Millennium, we are not to suppose for a
moment that they were borrowed from Cerinthus, but that
they had an origin altogether distinct. What this origin
w^as, we will explain in a future chapter.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE MILLENNIUM.
In our last chajJter we spoke of the Millennium, as advo-
cated by Cerixtiius. We saw that the ideas entertained by
him of this ble^ssed, but imaginary period, were inconsistent
with certain plain pat^sages of the inspired writings. Hence,
we rejected the entire story as an heretical fable.
There is, however, another very ancient belief on this
subject, w^iich, though likewise false, is yet deserving of
more respect, on account of the good names connected
with it.
Certain it is that several of the most ancient Fathers, such
as Justin Martyr, Ireneus, Tertullian and others, were
believers in a Millennium. Theirs, however, was different
from that dreamt of by Cerinthus. In the opinion of the
Fathers, of whom we have spoken, the jMillennium would
ALETHAURION. 137
be the one thousand years immediately preceding the day of
general judgment. At the beginning of that period Christ,
the Saviour, was to come on earth again, and live among men
in a visible manner.
All wars would cease, and justice, peace and happiness be
the lot of man. Thus the good would have a foretaste, on
earth, of the things that were in store for them beyond the
skies.
This idea of a Millennium is certainly a pleasing thought
to dwell on, nor should we tread otherwise than lightly on
the graves of those venerable men, our ancestors in the faith,
who fondly looked for such an epoch of peace and blessed-
ness on earth.
Yet the interest of truth requires us to state that such an
expectation, on their part, was indeed a vain one. The life
of man will always be, as it was in the days of holy Job, a
warfare upon this earth. Job. viii, 1.
It is only after the Archangel shall have stood, with one
font upon the sea and one foot upon the land, and shall have
sworn, by the authority of God, that time shall be no more,
that the children of Adam will enjoy that peace and happi-
ness of body and soul so fondly hoped for by the millennial
Fathers.
Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis, appears to have been the
first of the ancient Fathers who believed in a Millennium.
He was the Disciple of Joiix the Elder ( not the Apos-
tle), and like the vast majority of those bishops of the
l^rimitive days, was a man of rare and solid piety, united
with a zeal that death alone could extinguish. He had,
however, a propensity, which, though innocent in itself, is
apt to lead its professor estray, if not regulated by good
judgment.
He was untiring in his efforts to learn all about the Apos-
tles. Old men who had seen and conversed with them were
always welcome visitors at his house. They were invited to
tell all they knew, and our good bishop took down carefully
138 AI.ETHAUEION.
the substance of what he had heard, without ever questioning
the veracity of the author.
His own goodness of heart and truthfulness, united with a
proclivity for listening to marvelous stories, seemed to have
prevented the idea from once entering his mind that people
will sometimes exaggerate, and even descend to falsehood.
The upshot of all this misplaced confidence was that in
the book written by him, and entitled : ''An Exposition of
the Words of our Lord," he got bad, good and indifferent
things hopelessly mixed. One of these items was that
reffardinsr a Millennium.
We remarked in the previous chapter that those of the
early Fathers, who were believers in the Millennium, did not
get the idea from heretics. That is true of all those who
came after Papias. They appear to have been led into the
mistake by his book. But, so far as Papias himself is con-
cerned, the matter is not as clear.
We know that heretics are very uncertain quantities.
Hence, it is just possible that some old gray-headed follower
of Cerixthus might have palmed himself off as a good
Catholic on such an innocent and unsuspecting man, and told
him a long tale about the Millennium, as something he had
heard from the Apostles.
Papias was always open to conviction, especially when
loud sounding stories were told him. We can easily imagine
we see the good man, all eyes and ears, with his parchment
extended before him on the table, taking down all the facts
and circumstances of the wonderful tale, as they came from
the lips of his oily, but unscrupulous guest. Eusebius, the
Father of Church history, while praising the simple piety
and zeal of Papias, confesses, nevertheless, that he was a
man of very slender intellectual powers {ingenii quidem
pertenuis). We can well admit that there must have been
a deficiency, somewhere or other, in the mental faculties of
a man who was so unreasonably credulous.
Though Papias is justly blamed by the historian for too
ALETHAURION. 139
much credulity, yet we do not wish to conceal a circum-
stance that may be urged in his favor. His surmises about
the Millennium may not have been based altogether on the
mere heresay of persons whose authority was questionable.
There is, in fact, a very obscure passage in the Book of
Revelation that could easily have been twisted by himself, or
by others for him, into a prophecy of a future Millennium.
We give the entire passage, and an explanation of it, which
we have taken, substantially, from St. Augustine, De Civi-
tate Bei, book xx, ch. 7, 8, 9. The passage reads as
follows :
" Aud I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of
the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on
the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him
for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomjess pit and shut
him up, and set a seal on him, that he should no more*educe the nations,
till the thousand j^ears be finished : and after that he must be loosed a
little time." (Rev. xx.)
The thousand years spoken of, during which Christ is to
reign with the saints, mean, according to St. Augustine, not
the Millennium of Papias, but the entire period from the
Saviour's death to the coming of Antichrist.
The word, a thousand, is often taken in the scriptures to
signify a very large, but indefinite number. Pss. 104, 89 ;
Job 9. The angel that descended from heaven and bound
Satan, is no other than the Saviour, who by His death and
passion broke the power of Satan. '* And he cast him into
a bottomless pit." By the bottomless pit we may undei-
stand the hearts of impious men, such as that of Bismarck.
He is said to be cast into the bottomless pit, not because he
did not exist there already, but, being forbidden from taking
possession of true believers, he takes, on that account, more
formal possession of the wicked. In other words, being cast
OMt oi the man, he takes control of the sicine, and urges
them on to the precipice. Bismarck, for example, may be
said to be now more perfectly possessed by the devil than
he was before he began to persecute the followers of the
140 ALETHAURION.
Saviour. <*And set a seal upon him that he should no more
seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished."
That is, the Saviour restricted the power of Satan, and pre-
vented him from any longer seducing the predestined. The
seal was set that it might not be known in this world who
those are that appertain to Satax, and who do not. *'And
after that he must be loosed for a little while." That is,
when the tliousand years are finished, in other words, when
the end of the world is about to come, or about three and a
half years before the day of general judgment, Satan will
again be let loose, and by means of Antichrist, will raise
such a persecution and commotion in the world, as shall not
have been seen since time began. Now, though this passage
of scripture, rightly understood, is far from proving that
there will be a Millennium, yet it must be confessed there
is enough in it to have strengthened in his belief such a man
as Papias.
In our next we will treat of Ebion and the N'icJiolaites,
CHAPTER XXX.
EBION AND NICIIOLAUS.
We now approach the close of the first century of the
Christian era, and have to notice only two more heresiarchs.
The one was called Ebion, and the other rejoiced in the cog-
nomen of NiCHOLAUS. Ebion comes first, in order of time,
and we give him the same place in this notice.
The origin of this wretch is involved in obscurity. The
following facts, however, regarding him, are gleaned from
ancient writings. He was by race a Jew, and appears to have
been a man of little or no education. Whether this hap-
pened by reason of neglect, or because his intellect was such
as not to admit of polish from books, we are unable to state
with accuracy sufficient to make a record of it here.
ALETHAUEION. 141
His name, Ebion, signifies in Hebrew a beggar. But,
whether he got the title on account of extreme poverty, or
because of his naturally low and sordid nature, it would be
hard to tell at this late day. In person, Ebion was rather
below the middle size, but he had an iron constitution. His
hair, which he allowed to flow down on his shoulders, was
gray from early youth. Yet there was nothing venerable in
his countenance, nothing that called forth the respect of
those who happened to come into contact with him. Quite
the contrary. His face lacked every manly trait. His chin
was short, and so shaped as to give the mouth a form like
that of a half opened clam. The forehead was receding and
narrow, the eyes dull and bloodshot, looking as if they had
been taken out and boiled, at some period of his»life, and
then carelessly reset.
How such a man, deformed in features, with intelligence
scarcely superior to a baboon, could have succeeded in
becoming the author of a sect, may well excite wonder.
The heart of man is certainly a mystery. Yet if we look
into the matter, it will not appear more strange that Ebiox
should have had followers, than that men, otherwise intelli-
gent, among the Pagans, should have adored idols of wood
and stone. Heresy and all false religions are species of
idolatry. They spring from human pride, and are so many
rebellions against God, and the order which He has estab-
lished here on earth.
Without going all the way to the dominions of Beelzebub
to find a reason for their existence, we may discover one
nearer home. It may be found, in germ, in the heart of
every man whom vice has depraved.
Take any one, whose pride and self-conceit are inordinate,
and he will with great difficulty give due honor to his equals.
Not only will such a one refuse to recognize the merits of an
equal, he will try to diminish the glory of a superior, because
in every one that is exalted above him, he sees an obstacle
to the recognition of his own supposed merits.
142 ALETHAURION.
What more natural, then, than that the Pagans of old,
inflated as they were with pride, should, in the words of St.
Paul:
'^ Have changed the glorj' of the incorruptible God into the likeness of
the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts,
and of creeping things." Komans I, 23.
By doing so, they placed themselves above what they
worshipped. Every time Julius Caesar took a censer into
his hands before the statue of Hercules, his pride, instead
of being diminished, was greatly increased, because he felt
his own superiority to the statue that he affected to adore.
Man, by idolatry, places himself above God, and this is
why the worship of an idol is the greatest sin a man can
commit. There is more genuine malice in it than in- any
other crime.
The heretic, too, offers incense to a statue, and thinks he
glorifies himself. But he glories in his shame.
DoLLixGER, Reinkins, tt ill. II, could iiot bear the mild
and heavenly authority of Pius IX, and yet they lick the
dust before Dagon Bismarck. We have seen heretics won-
dering, more than once, at the respect and love shown by
Catholics toward the bishop and priests of the Church.
We have heard them making light of it. Yet if such
persons had only enough of intelligence, they would see at
once that the Catholic, in honoring the priest or bishop, does
so because he recognizes in them the representatives of
God.
But how is it with the heretics. They get on that pedes-
tal, which they call the pulpit, some idol of a preacher; they
offer him incense, but never the respect nor submission that
Catholics entertain for their prelates ; but just as soon as
their idol begins to be anything else but an idol, they break
and pitch him out of doors.
These observations may throw some light on Ebion's case.
The driveller got followers from among men imbued with
the spirit of heresy, on the same principle that dogs and cats
had worshippers at Memphis.
ALETHAURION. 143
Let us now consider some of his errors. Ebiox taught
his followers that Christ was only a mere man. Yet not
all his Disciples believed this. Some of them admitted that
Christ w^as indeed conceived by the Holy Ghost, yet
denied that He had a being prior to His conception. St.
Jerome, m catal script eccles^.says it was to refute this error
that St. Johx w^rote his gospel. Hence, at the beginning,
the Evangelist lays down the doctrine that the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
Ebiox also taught that the Mosaic rites and sacraments
were to be observed, along with those instituted by Christ.
He appears to have copied this, along with some other bright
ideas, from his predecessor or cotemporary, Cerinthus.
He rejected all the gospels, except that of Matthew,
which he called the gospel according to the Hebrews.
Our hero could not bear to hear the name of Paul men-
tioned. He rejected all the letters of the great Apostle, and
called him an apostate. This reminds us of an Episcopal
minister we once met, who called the Pope a heretic.
St. Paul appears to have been particularly hateful to most
■of those primitive heretics, and we may presume he often
gave them cause. Modern heretics affect to be very fond of
him and his teachings. But, were he to return to earth, he
would make their ears tingle in such a manner that they
would stand aside and despise him.
Heresiarchs have always been notorious liars. Hence, we
must not wonder at learning that our hero was also a good
hand at the business. He put a report in circulation that
both the father and mother of St. Paul were Gentiles. This
he did to raise prejudice against him among the Jews. He
further stated that St. Paul, having come to Jerusalem, had
stayed there a long time before embracing Judaism, and
might never have done so, if he had not fallen in love with
the daughter of the high priest.
According to Ebiox, it was in hope of receiving her hand
in marriage that Saul or St. Paul gave up idolatry. But,
144 ALETHAUEION.
on being refused by the high priest, he got angry, and
undertook to demolish him and his reh^ion. Ebion is said
to have died in a drunken fit.
He was succeeded in the heretical primacy by one Nich-
OLAUS. Whether he is the same who w^as elected one of the
seven deacons, is a question not yet decided among histori-
ans. The probability is that he was a different man.
NiCHOLAUS taught nearly all the errors and follies of those
who had preceeded him. The morals of his followers were
most corrupt. Hence, in Revelation, chap, ii, the angel of
the Church of Ephesus, i. e., the bishop, is praised, because,
says the Holy Ghost: "Thou hast hated the deeds of • the
Nicholaites, which I also hate."
This was the last heresy of the first century. The reader
must not suppose that those of which we have been speaking
all ended Avith their founders; such is, by no means, the
ease. Many lasted until late in the third century, and even
to the beginning of* the fourth. But, like the sects of
our day, they were continually changing from one belief
to another.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE VIRGIN MARY.
We now willingly turn away from the heretical labyrinths
of the first century, and invite the reader to a stroll, not
through the bone-yard of outcasts, but along paths made
sacred by the footprints of the incarnate Word, and of those
chosen by Him to co-operate in the work of saving mankind.
We intend, in a word, to hold up the mirror to the first
century of our era, and give a reflection of the men and
women who then lived, and of the deeds done, in days long
ago, by our ancestors in the faith.
In so doing, we desire to present a picture, which may be
ALETHAURION. 145
hung up alongside of that other already given, of those
heretics and fantastic errors, which, like brandy blossoms on
a boy's, face, have excited our disgust by their precocious
depravity.
Let us bejjin with a notice of her, "above whom there is
nothing but God, and beneath whom is ^\\ else that is not
God," — the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We shall, however, confine our remarks to what is simply
historical, in regard to her earthly pilgrimage, and refer the
reader, for further edification, to iier "Glories" written \)y
that latest of the doctors of the Church — St. Alphoxsus
LiGUORi. We may observe in passing, however, that in the
work alluded to there are many things which the infidel and
the scoffer wrest to their own perdition, as they do the best
gifts of even the Creator.
The Blessed Virgin was of the tribe of Juda, lineally
descended from David, King of Israel, as we are taught by
Matthew and Luke, in their respective gospels.
The writer has read, somewhere, a sermon in her praise,
in which considerable ado was made over the fact that she
was of royal stock, insinuating thereby that it was honor-
able to the Saviour to have been the descendant of an
earthly king.
Such a style of speaking or writing does but little good,
and the attempt to make our Saviour eminently respectabUy
by reason of his earthly lineage, betokens the court lackey
rather than the Apostle.
From what we read in the scriptures, it does not appear
that either St. Joseph or the Blessed Virgin were held in any
special esteem among their neighbors, because of their
descent from King David. There were, no doubt, many
others living in their day, w^ho could have made good their
claims to such an honor, did they esteem it worth contend-
ing for. The veneration justly due the Blessed Virgin, is
(founded on a far higher title.
146 ALETHAURION.
Men are great only so far as they are chosen by God for
the accomplishment of exalted purposes. She was chosen
for the highest of which a creature is capable.
A patent of nobility, thus gained, out-weighs and dims all
others. From the moment the angel had said to her, ** Be-
hold thou shalt conceive," the glory borrowed of King David
was lost in superior' effulgence, reflected from the face of
the Most High.
The parents of the Blessed Virgin were Joachim and Anna,
whose names signify, respectively, "The Preparation," and
'*The Grace of the Lord." Of their history we know but
little that rests on a solid basis. So excellent an opportu-
nity, however, of giving play to the imagination could not
have escaped the keen vision of the versatile and romantic
Greek. Hence the existence of the hook, ^^ De ortu Vir-
giniSf'' in which miracles and other things extraordinary
abound, and in which there is contained a vast amount of
information, that might be valuable if true, or at least in-
teresting, if probable.
St. John, in chap, xix of his gospel, speaks of a !Mary of
Cleophas, the sister of the Virgin. With this exception, we
have no evidence going to show that the mother of our Lord
had, according to the flesh, any other sister or brother.
It is uncertain how long she lived on this earth ; neither
do we know the place of her death. Some say she accom-
panied St. John to Ephesus ; others maintain that she con-
tinued to reside in Jerusalem, where, about twelve years
after the Saviour's ascension, surrounded by the Apostles,
drawn from distant lands miraculously together by her bed-
side, she surrendered her pure soul into the hands of God.
Her body was laid in a tomb in Gethsemane, where it rested
for three days ; but before it had seen corruption, it was
reunited with her soul, and both were gloriously assumed
into heaven, accompanied by the choirs of blessed spirits,
who sang her praises, until, kneeling at the foot of the
ALETHAURION. 147
throne, she was crowned queen of angels and of men, with
the brightest diadem that even heaven could afford.
Respect for the Virgin Mother of the Saviour is one of
those marks by which we may easily distinguish the true
believer from heretics.
The persistency of the latter in trying to depreciate the
Virgin has often elicited our surprise, not to say enkindled
our wrath. Though no admirers of what is called muscular
Christianity, we may smile, at least, at the burning zeal of
that Hibernian, who, during Know-Nothing times in Cin-
cinnati, held a man by the seat of his pantaloons, from a
third story window, until he had duly repented of his im-
pertinence, and at Mike's suggestion, piously and piteously
invoked the protection of the Virgin, three distinct times.
All this agrees with what Ned O'Hara, the blacksmith,
told the Methodist preacher, years ago, in Kanturk, Ireland.
Ned was, at the time, shoeing a mule that had a stiff neck,
but was limber about the legs.
" Now, Mr. O'Hara," said the sivaddler, '* I can prove to
you by a half dozen texts of scripture that the Virgin Mary
was no better than your mother or mine." Ned dropt his
hammer and bounced some ten feet aw^y from the mule.
*' While you are talking," said he to the swaddler, <* let's
keep at a safe distance from the business end of that animal.
I have noticed that when any one begins to blaspheme near
him, he always begins to kick." When the preacher had
finished, he waited for Vulcan's reply. ** Well," said Ned,
as he picked up his hammer, '*you may have proved, to
your own satisfaction, that the Virgin is no better than your
mother ; yet, of one thing I am very certain ; there is a vast
difference between their children — between her son and your
mother's."
Ned struck the nail on the head that time, and clinched it
by recommending the preacher never to set foot in his shop
again, while that mule was around. <'He has," said Ned,
148 ALETHAURION.
*«a strange habit of shaking the dust of his heels off against
bhisphemers."
It has often been a puzzle to us why heretics hate the
blessed Virgin. They admit the Saviour's divine mission,
and place all reliance on His merits, as we do, yet, they can-
not endure His mother I
After much reflection on this subject, we have come to
the settled conclusion that the old serpent, which is the
devil and Satan, is at the bottom of it all. This view of
the case will appear reasonable after considering what
we read in Genesis iii, 15. Jehovah, addressing the ser-
pent, says :
"I will place enmities between thee and the woman, between thy seed
and her seed ; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for
her heel."
This is evidently a prophecy. The ^^woman'' here
spoken of can be no other than the Blessed Virgin. Eve
certainly is not meant, for she was crushed by the serpent.
It is stated that there shall be enmity between the woman
and the serpent ; that the serpent shall lie in wait for her
heel, etc. Now, as the power of the Devil does not, and
never did, extend to the person of the Blessed Virgin, hence
he tries, by his agents, the heretics and unbelievers, to
diminish her earthly glory. This appears to us the only
true solution of that blind hatred which heretics manifest
towards the ever blessed and venerable mother of our
Saviour.
Our next will be about St. Peter.
CHAPTER XXXII.
SIMON PETER.
Almost nineteen hundred years have now been unwrapt
from the spool of time since there lived in a small house
on the shore of the sea of Gallilee, a veteran fisherman,
ALETHAURION. 149
Jonah. He is not identical, however, with that other, who
had the misunderstanding with the whale. The Jonah of
whom we speak, was a fisherman, but not a whaler.
He was a Jew of strict observance, and the grunting of
swine was as odious to his ears as the aroma of Cincinnati
ham is agreeable to the olfactories of the modern degenerate
sons of Abraham.
Though, on account of poverty, he was not a burning
and shining light in the synagogue of his native town, yet
he deserved, and retained until death, the esteem of his
countrymen. Jonah was an unsophisticated Jew ; a man
without guile, who readily overlooked the short-comings of
those who represented Judaism in his day, and prayerfully
awaited the coming of the Messiah, who would make straight
the crooked paths of the Lord.
It was not granted him to see in the flesh, the Desired of
all nations; for he was gathered to his fathers before the
fame of Jesus had passed beyond the confines of Nazareth.
Jonah left behind him two sons, sole heirs to his fishing
bark and nets, us well as to his many virtues. The first
received the name of Andrew, and the other was called
Simon.
After having deposited, along with many tears, the re-
mains of their aged father in the tomb, they followed the
profession to which they had been raised — that of fisher-
men.
At this laborious, and sometimes dangerous occupation,
they spent several years of their early youth and manhood.
Tliough obliged, by their calling, to often steer many
leagues from home, yet on no Sabbath was either found absent
from the synagogue ; for propitious winds or good muscle
brought them in sight of their native Bethsaida invariably
on the day previous.
One might suppose that such simple piety and fidelity to
the call of duty would have gained them the esteem, even
the admiration of the Pharisee who read the law and
150 ALETHAURION.
conducted the public worship of Sabbath days in the syna-
gogue.
It was just the reverse. The two sons of Jonah were
not favorites with the proud and ostentatious Rabbi. An
incautious expression of Simon's had greatly tended to
widen the breach.
When asked one day, why he did not, like others, go
frequently to pay his respects and offer his homage to their
good and holy Rabbi, he replied : ** The God of our father
is better honored by pure love of heart, and by righteous
works, than by that feigned zeal for the law which idolizes
those who have seated themselves on the chair of Moses."
This saying was reported to the Pharisee, who construed
it, at once, into an impertinent attack upon his own dignity.
The others felt it to be a most withering rebuke of their own
subserviency and smallness. Yet it did not keep them from
vicing with one another in offering the Rabbi incense, to
gain their personal ends.
Our good Rabbi went off into a towering rage, at the
thought that an ignorant fisherman should have presumed to
find fault ; should have even gone so far as to express an
opinion about what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord.
He was somewhat calmed down by an expression of his first
scribe, who said that the ** contamination arising from con-
tact with Gentilism would soon destroy the hedge around the
law, and all legitimate authority would be overwhelmed by
a deluge of Gentile liberalism, unless strong measures were
taken, and opposition put down.'' ** My opinion," said
another scribe, older and of a more serious turn, ** is, that
we can best sustain our authority by first beginning to re-
form our own lives, and — " ** Stop, at once, and leave my
presence forthwith," said the irate Rabbi ; **I see thou art
also tainted."
After these things Simon held his peace, though inter-
nally he wished for authority to say to that pompous Phar-
isee, *' Now, why tempt you God to put a yoke on our
ALETHAURION. 151
necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Why seek to put yourself in the place (jOD alone should
hold in man's heart? Why seek to be idolized? "
Being, however, a truly conscientious man, he doubted
whether he would be justified in showing any disapproval of
the acts of those who stood above him for fear that he misrht
lessen their authority and power of doing good among the
people.
He referred the whole matter to God, satisfied that He
would in His own good time, provide a remedy for the evils
that appeared almost incurable.
Not many years after his doubts were dissipated, when he
had heard from the lips of Him who spoke, as did man
never before nor since, the most scathing denunciations
against those same Pharisees. It was with a satisfaction,
mingled with pity, that he saw their hypocrisy laid bare —
that he heard them called " blind and leaders of the blind ;
a generation of vipers and whited sepulchres."
Some time after these events, news came to Bethsaida,
and the surrounding country, that agreat Prophet had arisen
in Israel, and that God had visited His people. This extra-
ordinary man was called John. Thousands flocked from all
quarters to hear his preaching ; and being moved to repent-
ance, were baptized by him in the Jordan.
As the scepter had passed from the hands of Juda, and
the seventy weeks of the prophet Daniel were nearly or
quite at an end, many thought this extraordinary man might
possibly be the Messiah. The innocence of his life coupled
with his great zeal and eloquence, procured him many dis-
ciples. Among the latter was Andrew, son of Jonah.
Simon, having married a wife, remained at Bethsaida. On
the return oi his brother from the banks of the Jordan, he
was noticeably affected by the recital of all that Andrew
had seen and heard. Simon felt persuaded that the Messiah
had come, and that he was no other than this wonderful
152 ALETHAURIOX.
man. *'No," said Andrew — *'He said 'I am not the Mes-
siah — There will tome a man after me, the latchet of whose
shoes I am not worthy to loose; him you shall hear."
John 1, 27.
From this time forward, these two good men anxiously
awaited the developement of events.
But one thing forced itself upon their observation, viz :
That JoHN^sought no intimacy with the Scribes or Phar-
isees ; on the contrary, he reproved their vices, and bade
them beware of the wrath to come.
Thus the time passed on, until one day, as they were
preparing to cast their nets into the sea, they saw a man on
the shore, not far off from where they stood. He appeared
the very perfection of humanity in form and feature,
dressed in a crimson toga that swept the ground ; his rich
auburn locks descended in rinirlets far down his azure man-
tie. His beard parted naturally and gracefully at the point
of his chin. The expression of his face was extremely
mild; some might call it sad and thoughtful. But a fire
darted from his eyes, that inspired the beholder with un-
dying love and veneration, or else moi'tal dread and hate.
This man was Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son
of God.
He had come to call that poor unknown fisherman to fill
an ojffice that is the most exalted on earth — to be the founder
of a dynasty that is to last forever.
Our next will be about the public life of St. Petek.
CHAPTER XXXHI.
the public life of ST. PETER.
Having, in the last chapter, spoken of the hidden life of
Simon Peter, we think it opportune, in the present, to give
a synopsis of his public career.
ALETIIAURION. 153
The writer will not attempt to portray, in his own words,
that' portion of the life of the PiHnce of the Ajyostles, which
was spent in company with the Saviour of mankind.
The narration of all that was done and said during that
eventful period, he believes it best to leave with the Evan-
gelists, inspired by the Holy Ghost, and with such impious
Frenchmen as Ernest Rexan.
All that was necessary of the life of Christ arfd His deal-
ings with the Apostles was written once by the Evangelists,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and we see no necessity
of attempting to improve on what the Holy Ghost inspired
them to say.
An ancient philosopher was once asked to give a definition
of God. He requested one day to prepare hn answer.
When the day was up, he wanted a week. When the week
had passed, he declared that a year would scarcely suffice
to formulate a proper reply.
The philosopher was no ordinary man ; his hesitation
proved it — though a super.cilious editor of one of our daily
newspapers would have got through the work with one
scratch of his pencil.
Those who attempt to write the life of Christ ought to
learn a lesson from the philosopher.
Written by an uninspired man, the life of the Saviour is
either i7npious or Jlat . Even men of ability misunderstand
altogether, very frequently, the character of those they at-
tempt to describe. How much greater will the failure not
be, when pygmies attempt to measure the '* uncreated wis-
dom of the Father."
Hence, we forbear going farther back into the public life
of Peter, than to the period of the Saviour's ascension into
heaven.
This, however, shall not prevent us from taking up, in
future articles, some plain texts of scripture and. showing
therefrom that Christ gave to him an authority and jurisdic-
tion over His entire church.
154 ALETHAURION.
After the bloody tragedy on Mount Calvary, and the glori-
ous resurrection of our Lord from the tomb, the gospel in-
forms us that he appeared to His Apostles and Disciples, at
various times, for forty days. During that period he gave
them instructions concerning all they should do and say,
after He had ascended to the Father.
When the mystic days had passed. He gathered them to-
gether, and in their company, proceeded to the top of
Mount Olivet, not far outside the city of Jerusalem. There,
with His face turned toward the setting sun, He bade them
adieu
Then, raising His eyes and his arms at the same time to
heaven, he was wafted by an unseen force into the domin-
ion of the stars.
The Apostles and Disciples remained, as it were, in a
dream for some time. Almost the whole truth had flashed
upon their minds. That mysterious being, with whom they
had walked and conversed for upwards of three years, had
vanished from their o^aze — had ^eft them to the ordinarv^
course of providence.
The Italian poet, Daxte, many centuries after, expressed
well what we may presume to have been their feelings on the
occasion :
Nessun Maggior dolore
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nella Miseria .
While they were thus overwhelmed with sadness, tw^o-
angels stood beside them and said: "Ye men of Galilee,
why stand you looking up into heaven? This Jesus who is
taken up from you into heaven, so shall He come, as you
have seen Him going up to heaven." Acts 1, ii.
They were thus awakened from their dream, and slowly
and sadly descended from the mount, to take up their abode
in an upper chamber of a house in the city.
Simon Peter was now looked upon by all as foremost
man of the band. Mysterious words, spoken months be-
ALETHAUKION. 155
fore by Him who had just left them, now came back to
their minds. They remembered that it had been said, on
one occasion, to Simon :
•'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
shallbe bound also in heaven." Matt. xvi.
Knowing these things, all lent him a willing ear.
Hence, when he spoke of the necessity of electing
anotlier, in the place of Judas, all listened, and proceeded
to the work, by which Mathias was numbered an Apostle,
with the eleven who had remained faithful.
Those were days of doubt and perplexity. But, after
the Holy Ghost had descended upon them, on the day of
Pentecost, doubt gave way to certainty, and prayerful in-
activity, to much energy in the Lord.
There were many at that time, in Jerusalem, Jews, de-
vout men of every nation under heaven, and though using
different tongues, yet each and every one of them under-
stood the Apostles, who spoke only in the Syro-Chaldaic
language. Some of the most hardened, on perceiving this
wonderful fact, were loath to believe their own ears, and
began to say that the Apostles were drunk with new wine.
But Peter, with that courage and lofty bearing, for which
we shall henceforth see him distinguished, refuted the silly
assertion by reminding those who had made it that it was
too soon in the day.
He preached to the multitude on the divinity of Jesus
of Nazareth. Nor did he preach in vain.
That same day no fewer than three thousand persons
were converted to the faith and baptized. Let the Baptists
and Campbellites, who believe in ducking ^ arise and explain
how so many persons could have been immersed in so short
a time.
Our next will be a continuation.
156 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER XXXIV,
THE PUBLIC LIFE OF ST. PETER.
There was in the temple at Jerusalem, a certain gate,
which, by reason of its architectural grandeur and elaborate
finish was called, by excellence, The Beautiful.
That portion of the hill of Zion which lay in front of it
had become, at the time we speak of, the favorite resort
of all those who felt piously inclined, or had nothing else
to do.
Strangers visiting the holy places, would no more have
thought of returning home before having seen that beautiful
srate, than a modern Bels^ian would dream of settinir out
from Lourdes until he had tasted of the holy waters, and
filled a bottle or two, to comfort and protect him on the
way back
Along with troops of native and foreign idlers, there were
also to be found, almost at any hour of the day, not a few
beggars near the beautiful gate. Some of these were blind
of an eye, others in both, many were paralytic, and several
club-footed from infancy.
On great feast days these wretched creatures reaped an
abundant harvest. Mostly all who went into the temple,
first sought the favor of God by contributing a little to alle-
viate the miseries of His suffering children.
The Scribes, and more especially the Pharisees, were
liberal contributors on such occasions, and the larojer the
gathering the more did they disburse.
There was this difference, however, between their way of
giving and that of others. A Pharisee or Scribe never
contributed anything as he passed into the temple. He was
always in a hurry. His anxiety to gci into the presence of
the Lord was such that he could not think of stopping on
ALETHAURION. 157
the way to look at beggars. But, on coming out, the most
approved system was to pass some distance beyond, as if
wrapt in profound meditation, and then sling back over the
left shoulder what each wished to give. The distance ^as
also reguhited by custom. ^
A common Scribe of the lowest grade, was not allowed
to pass more than one rod beyond the object of his pity ;
whereas a Pharisee, by reason of superior dignity, could
cover five rods and three quarters.
There was, as a matter of course, a scramble among the
idlers for the money thus thrown. The pushing and kick-
ing that resulted, and the fights that sometimes arose, are
said to have been highly refreshing to the vanity of the
Pharisees. They did not care whether the right one got the
money or the wrong one took possession of it. They wished
the assembly to know that they were charitable to the poor^
and that sufficed.
The writer of this has heard some one say that the de-
scendants of the Pharisees are numerous, even in our own
day and generation ! It may be so. And it may further
account for facts that we sometimes read of in the newspa-
pers. We hear of men giving large sums to found or en-
dow charitable or educational institutions, and then taking
no further care or thought upon themselves of how mat-
ters are managed. They throw their money back over
the left shoulder, and let the strongest and most rapacious
get it.
These facts and observations bring us to a circumstance
in the life of the Prince of the Apostles, which we now
hasten to lay before the reader. Not long after the events,
related in the last chapter, Peter and John went up to the
temple to pray. It was three o'clock in the afternoon as
they entered by the Beautiful Gate^ where sat a man who
had been lame from his birth.
He had not a regular stall inside the porch, because his
friends were too poor to get him one. The reader must
158 ALETHAURION.
know that a beggar's stall, in a good location near the tem-
ple, was equivalent to a small fortune. This wretched man,
who had a seat outside the porch, was scarcely accounted
worthy to sit even that close to the aristocrats within ; for
there are more grades of distii^ction among beggars than
among kings.
Peter looked at him, and having observed that he did not
belong to that sturdy class who begin to curse after they
are refused, said, "look upon us." The man was surprised
that any one should have spoken kindly to him or taken an
interest in his welfare. He gazed earnestly into their faces,
** hoping he should receive something from them." Then
Peter said to him, " I have neither gold nor silver to bestow,
but I will give you what I have."
By this time the painful expression on the man's face had
changed. The memory of miirhty works, said to have been
done by Jesus of Nazareth, had flashed across his mind.
Hence, when Peter held out his hand and said : "In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk ;" his
faith received the finishing touch, and he leaped to his
feet.
When those who stood near saw this wonderful miracle
there w^as much confusion, and rushing to and fro. Many
rejoiced. But there were some of the Sadduces present
who had seen Peter and John along with the Saviour.
These were not pleased. " That Gallilean is not yet dead !"
said Rabbi Kinchi. " I am afraid," said Rabbi Ben-Ezra,
"that this will become known to every one in Jerusalem."
" The case is too plain, and we can't deny it," said the
Scribe Habakuk — " we must use our authority to put the
actors in this matter down at once — that unfortunate crip-
ple has been the cause of it all ; he too must be put out of
the way."
"I do not esteem him as worthy of a moment's consider-
ation," replied Rabbi Ben-Ezra. "He is but a short
horse, and it will not take long to curry him. But there
ALETHAURION. 159
is that curly-headed fisherman, from Galilee, who, in these
past few days appears to have changed entirely. He seems
to have taken on himself a degree of authority that makes
me nervous."
** We must find some means to set limits to his annoy-
ance."
*' There is no further use," he added after a pause, *' in
threatening them with expulsion from the synagogue. They
don't appear to regard our menaces. We must become
yet more friendly with the governor, and through him, we
may get the thumb-screws fairly on them." '* These Gen-
tiles, after all," said the good Eabbi, *'are great fellows.
If we keep at the right side of them, we can get them to
do almost any thing we want done."
'*I doubt," said Rabbi Kinchi, *« whether the governor
himself can frighten them. That deceiver, whom we lately
put out of the way, appears to have succeeded to a miracle
in infusing his own ungovernable spirit into all he came in
contact with. Moreover these fanatical men are dangerous
on another account. Did they simply refuse to obey us
and go quietly to perdition, it would not matter — the
Gentiles do not heed us, and we get along without them.
But these madmen not only do not listen to our instruc-
tions, they even go so far as to assume authority over
ourselves, and our good, simple, obedient people.
" The worst feature of all," said Rabbi Kixchi, '* is that
their lives seem to be entirely blameless, yet they resist
our authority with the precision of destiny, and the people
.appear inclined to go with them. Before taking ex-
treme measures, we must threaten them. Legal proceed-
ings have a terror for men of rustic mold which the refined
can scarcely appreciate. Yet, with all this something tells
me we are undone. It is true, we have concentrated all
power in our own hands, but the people, and even the in-
ferior officers, appear more and more ready, every day, for
revolution. They have no confidence in us."
160 ALETHAURION .
While the foregoing conversation was passing between
those limbs of Beelzebub, a great crowd had followed the
two Apostles to that part of the temple called Solomon's
porch.
There Peter again addressed the multitude, and con-
verted five thousand. No doubt they were also baptized,
then and there, as the three thousand had been, on the
previous day. But they were not permitted to continue
the good work unmolested. Our three zealous friends had
matured their plans, and the consequence was the arrest of
the Apostles.
The man who had been lame got orders to scamper off
home, and not come back until called for.
The result of the trial, and also the subsequent course of
St. Peter, we will see in a future chapter.
CHAPTER XXXV,
THE TRIAL.
In the last chapter we related how Peter and John cured
the cripple of forty years' standing, whom they had found at
the gate of the temple, called The Beautiful.
The people who saw this were greatly moved thereby ; and
the idea that they who could work such miracles were really
and truly ministers of God, began rapidly forming in the
minds of all. There is no argument against a miracle. It is
a clean, and should be a convincing proof, that he who
works it is an authorized agent of the Divinity.
The Scribes, Pharisees and other officers of the temple,
knew this. Hence, instead of attempting to refute the
Apostles, they wanted to cloak the matter up, and frighten
Peter and John by having them arrested. The case is
similar to that which happened years ago, in this same land
in which we live. While the Blue laws were in force in the
ALETHAUEION. 161
States of Connecticut and Massachusetts, priests were for-
bidden, under pain of death, to teach or publicly exercise
their ministry. The Puritans, a name synonymous with all
that is small and pusillanimous in human nature, thus ac-
knowledged the weakness of their cause, wiaich could not
bear the light of day nor ventilation at the hands of those
harbingers of truth. The disposition to persecute is one of
the marks of heresy. When manifested by a true believer,
it is a sign that duty has been neglected and vice indulged.
This spirit of persecution, inherent to religious error, is
manifested, even at the present day, in the public school
system.
Years ago it became apparent to the more acute and far
seeing of the sectarians, that it would be useless to attempt
to compete, either single-handed or combined, with the
Catholic Church, in the matter of education. They saw
Catholic schools and colleges springing up over the land, as
by the touch of the magician's wand. Heretical youths and
maidens were received on equal terms with the children of
those who had borne the burden of the day and the heat.
Many having, under good training, gained a knowledge of
the truth, abjured their errors, and pushed forward with an
energy equal to that of Catholics to the manor born. Having
been made free by the truth, they looked back with con-
tempt on the flesh-pots, the onions and the garlic of Pro-
testantism.
Such good and holy results could not long have escaped
the observation of the ministers of false religions ; and
knowing that in a fair fight on the educational question,
they stood little chance against the trained battalions of
the Church, they sought, as heretics always do, an alliance
with the State. Thus has the system of public schools been
put as a yoke on the necks of the people. It was intended
to fetter the action of the Church in the matter of sound
Christian education. It was a new attempt to arrest Peter
and John ; to keep them from preaching the truth. The
I
162 ALETHAURION.
system is becoming, however, daily more and more op-
pressive, even in the estimation of Protestants ; nor can
incense, much longer, counteract its offensive odor.
But let us return to our Apostles. They were arrested
late in the afternoon, and spent the night in prison, which
for a wonder, inclosed no others but themselves.
The Scribes and Pharisees were, as a rule, great patrons
of the jail. The poorer and more defenceless of the inhab-
itants knew well that any little act of disrespect to a Rabbi
would entitle them to free lodgings in quarters, where, for
the time, they would be safe from mad dogs. That Pres-
byterian minister, who hung his cat for killing a rat on
the Sabbath day, was not near so fervid as the Pharisees.
The Lord was to be honored in and through them, and
insult to them was the same as impiety towards God.
Peter and John, finding themselves within walls, were
not disheartened. They even felt happy that they had
been thought worthy to suffer for Christ. Neither were
they solicitous in regard to what the decision might be.
For not to speak of the fact that they were prepared to die,
they knew that justice could not be so outraged as to con-
demn them without a shadow of reason.
Early in the morning there was much activity among the
Scribes and Pharisees. Moses Hadder-Scan, surnamed
the mouse, on account of his prying and furtive habits, was
making himself quite busy hunting up evidence against the
Apostles.
He went to the high priest to make inquiries about a
certain Malchus, who was reported to have had an ear am-
putated by a cut from a sabre in the hand of Simon Peter,
not many weeks previous. **He is just my man," chuckled
the mouse to himself ; "having lost one of his ears, he will
try to be avenged by bearing testimony against them."
Hadder-Scan, however, did not care, in his heart, whether
the Apostles were punished or let go. He had, with all
this show of zeal, quite another object in view.
ALETHAURION. 163
There was at that time an important vacancy in the city
which the high priest had the right to fill. Our friend
Hadder thought that, to go and look for Malchus would
form an excellent pretext to get better acquainted with the
high priest, and thus advance his suit.
When he had told his story, the high priest drew his
brows tofi^ether, until the skin on the back of his head be-
came tight. "My advice to you, sir," said he, ** is to let
Malchus alone and mind your own business. It was such
other shallow creatures as you ordered the arrest of those
men on yesterday ; now the case is worse than ever, for we
cannot punish them, and to let them off is to acknowledge
a fault. The governor himself is in the city," said the high
priest in soliloquy; *' he looks melancholic, as if he fore-
boded evil. At present, to attempt their conviction by our
own witnesses would be dans^erous."
'* Go," said he to the mouse^ "and tell Caiphas and
JoHX, and Alexander with the others of the priestly race,
that at the third hour the trial will begin." Hadder-Scan
bowed himself out, backward, and departed. "I see,"
said he to himself, "that I made a mistake. I should have
waited until after dinner when he is mellow and in good
humor — but 1 may succeed yet."
At the third hour, the officers, with Annas and Caiphas
at their head, were assembled in the judgment hall. The
heavy clanking of chains soon announced that the prisoners
were also on hand. They were told to be seated, in the
center of the semi-circle formed by their judges. As there
were no witnesses to be examined, and, it being now fur-
thermore evident that nothing could be made out of the
case, the High Priest, Annas, for mere formality, asked by
whose authority they did these things.
This gave Peter an opportunity to preach about the
Saviour, whom they had crucified. But they wondered ex-
ceedingly that a man, whom they had hitherto regarded as
164 ALETHAURION.
uncultured, should now speak so learnedly and with such
eloquence.
In the meantime the cripple came into the hall of judg-
ment, and this filled them with fresh rage.
**You may go," said the high priest to them, **this
time, but on the next occasion we will not be so indul-
gent."
** We make no promises," answered Peter, '*to desist
from what we have been doing, for it is expedient that we
should obey God rather than you."
In our next we will speak about Ananias and Saphira,
and make some observations on their conduct.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
ANANIAS AND SAPHIR/. .
Among the shining qualities possessed by the Pharisees
and Scribes, about the period when Christianity made its
appearance in the world was the following : They were
complacent, to even a painful degree, toward the rich,
and harsh in proportion to those who were not the favorites
of fortune.
In recognition of this flattery, they received the backing
and support which wealth is able to give, and to neutralize
the feelings of meanness which the consciousness of subser-
viency produces in the soul of a man, who is not born a serf,
they assumed lofty and insolent airs towards the poor.
It is true, by far the greater portion of their revenues
came from the rank and file, yet^ as the amount contributed
by each was but small, no thanks were expected, and none
given by the Pharisees.
This line of policy, which had been at work for years,
produced a disaffected class. The members thereof felt
that they had no one to take an interest in their welfare.
•^ ALETHAURION. 165
Hence, they were prepared to enlist under the banner of
any one who had the force of character necessary to be a
leader.
There are certain rights, to the loss of which men will
become reconciled for a while, the re-acquisition of which
they will rarely, if ever, abandon in hope. When those
whose duty it is to lead and direct popular aspirations act
as mill-dams, the current will finally either pass over them
all tosrether, or seek some new channel.
The Saviour was the beau-ideal with the class of Jews
most despised by the Pharisees. His teachings pleased the
people, and they recognized in him what they had sought
for in vain among the rulers of the synagogue — a leader
worthy of their respect.
They followed him in crowds, and it was only by an
aberration, altogether human, seconded by the cunning of
His enemies, that they were goaded on to call for his cruci-
fixion.
He upraided the rich because of their pride, and declared
that sooner would a camel pass through the eye of a needle,
than one of them should enter the kingdom of heaven. The
poor appeared to have been his special favorites, and to
them he willingly preached his gospel.
The Apostles also, following in his footsteps, sought to
elevate the masses ; and it so happened that the greater
number of those who lent them a willing ear were from the
more humble walks of life.
There were, however, many, who though possessed of
wealth, were yet clean of heart, and these, too, became
associated with the faithful.
Now, as tyranny and bitterness of spirit were elements
that entered largely into the composition of the Pharisees,
and as they exercised an extensive patronage, it happened
that many, after having embraced Christianity, lost posi-
tions from which they had gained a meager yet sufficient
livelihood.
166 ALETHAURION.
Such a state of affairs brought about the necessity of
providing for these indigent members. But the zeal and
true Christian charity of those possessed of wealth soon
settled the difficulty.
They sold their lands and whatever else they had, and
having returned, laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apos-
tles, to be used for the benefit of the entire community.
Now there are a few sects in this State that have no rule
of faith to direct their belief and practice but the *« Bible,
and the Bible alone." We should very much like to know
why these do not carry into execution a custom so evidently
apostolic in its origin. Why does not Deacon BuLLFRpa
sell his thousand acres of land and divide with Brother
Barebones? ^' Aye, there's the rub."
Taking the New Testament, without an infallible judge
to interpret its sense and meaning, can the sects show that
a community of goods is not one of the essentials of Chris-
tianity? We think not.
Besides the zeal of the first Christians, there was another
cause that contributed to the effect spoken of. There was a
somewhat vague and undefined belief in the minds of many,
that the end of the world was then near at hand. Hence
there may have bsen a little of the human commingled with
what otherwise mi^jht be res^arded as a heroic act. Under
the impression that all things would soon be reduced to
nonentity, it probably was not more difficult to resign the
goods of this world, than it would have been to a Georgia
planter, towards the close of the war, to have sold his cot-
ton pickers at half price.
This idea of the world's coming to an end, has, more than
once, exercised a marked influence over the actions of men.
It is related by some writers of the eleventh century, that
towards the close of the preceding one, many gave up the
active pursuits of life for the seclusion of the monasteries.
The thousand years spoken of in the book of Revelation,
were evidently about to expire, and a little eloquence,
ALETHAURION. 167
coupled with some leaning after pelf, was siiflScient to con-
vince the imaginative and timorous that themselves and what
they possessed would be safer within the sacred enclosure of
a monastery.
Even in our day there is not wanting a race of croakers,
who speak as confidently on the proximity of the great catas-
trophe, as if specially sent of God to announce the fact to
men. Not long ago, in a city *' Out West," the members
of a sect, known as the Second-Adventists, remained all
night in one of their conventicles to receive the Saviour,
who, according to a prophet, powerful in word and deed
among them, was to make his second appearance that very
night, at exactly nineteen minutes past two a. m. It was in
the month of August ; and as there were no earthquakes nor
roarings of the sea nor flashes of lightning, instead of with-
ering away through fear and expectation, the party went
into a nap, each on his own responsibility. Nor did they
awake until morning put her rosy fingers through the chinks
in the walls of the building wherein they slept.
That sow that meant to get into the clover-field by creep-
ing through a hollow log, and landed in the mule-lot, on ac-
count of the log being crooked, was not more surprised at
her mistake than were our friends at theirs when morning
dawned.
But it is not alone fanatical heretics that indulge in such
speculations ; their follies we may attribute to the nature of
the beast, and pass on.
When, however, a Catholic author steps out of the ranks,
and gets, like Saul, mixed up with the prophets, the case
assumes a different complexion.
Not many weeks ago we read a book called ** The Chris-
tian Trumpet," the author of which was either too modest
or too wise to favor us with his name. We found it there
stated, with the utmost gravity, that Antichrist is already
born, and at this present writing, must be quite a likely lad.
Some old woman over in Italy is said to have got a peep at
.168 ALETHAURION.
Mm. But, by what means she identified the monster, is not
stated. The author further remarks, tliat many of us
now living, will, ere we die, see things not pleasant to
look at.
Such assertions can come only from a disordered brain,
and they strongly remind us of the presumption of that old
English woman, who in a fit of piety, attempted to fly like
an eagle from a second story windts^ but landed head fore-
most ill a pile of ashes — ^^spraining ooth ankles by the con-
cussion. She has since come to the conclusion that flying
is either one of the lost arts, or that the Church of England
is not of a character to encourage such exercise.
Ananias and Saphira were also under the impression that
the world would soon have come to an end ; but they did
not feel quite as sure of it as the English hag did of her ca-
pacity to navigate in air. Hence, they did not like to risk
too much on the event.
Having sold their possession Ananias brought a part of
the proceeds to Peter, and gave the rest to Saphira, to
keep. Peter knew, by divine relation, the agreement they
bad made, and as an example to all future generatiotv.s, he
slew them for lying to the Holy Ghost.
Our next will embrace the public acts of St. Peter, from
the death of Saphira to the raisino^ of Tabitha to life.
CHAPTEE XXX Vn.
tabitha.
In our last we saw how Ananias and Saphira were
snuffed out by St. Peter for having lied to the Holy Spirit.
Their's was a case of simple pusillanimity. They wished
the cause success, but on account of the littleness of their
souls, they were afraid to risk what they had in the move-
ment.
ALETHAURION. 169
The Fathers of the Church are of opinion, that the trans-
gression did not amount to more than a venial sin, at most.
Hence, having come to an untimely end here, we may pre-
sume that, with a little scorching for good measure sake in
the other world, both escaped that eternal punishment due
only to mortal sin. Heretics, of course, will not agree with
us in this lenient interpretation. As they do not admit the
existence of a Purgatory, they must hold that the soul of
AxAXiAS sped on its way, like a bomb from a Krupp gun, to
the bosom of Beelzebub.
But let us try to find out a reason why the hand of the
Lord was laid so heavily on these two unfortunate people.
Judas betrayed the Saviour, and yet was allowed to live
until he put an end to his own wretched life with a rope.
Annas and Caiphas suborned false witnesses against the
Just One, and their envy was not quenched in g*)re. The
city of Jerusalem failed to rejoice in the day of its visita-
tion, yet many years had passed ere the Roman soldier
wr-eathed its temple with flames. Why were Ananias and
Saphira struck down at once, when others, far more guilty,
were allowed to escape?
The providence of God in the government of this world,
is certainly a great mystery. But, may we not say that He
often strikes the less guiljty in the eyes of men, and then
saves them before the angels, in order to warn the 'more
hardened that they may repent and have life ?
Ananias and Saphira have been regarded by spiritual
writers as types of those who conceal their mortal sins in
confession. By telling a lie to the Holy Ghost, the latter
also bring upon themselves a spiritual death, which is that
of the soul.
Not long after the events related above, news came to the
Apostles in Jerusalem, that many of the inhabitants of Sa-
maria had, through the preaching of Philip the deacon, em-
braced Christianity, and Peter and John were sent by the
1 70 ALETHAURION .
other Apostles to lay hands upon, that is to confirm, those
whom Philip had baptized.
Those who deny that St. Peter received from the Saviour
a jurisdiction over the entire Church, make capital of the
fact, stated in chapter viii, 14, Acts, viz : that the Apostles
sen^ Peter and John. He who has the right to 5en(7 an-
other on an errand of , any kind, say they, is superior in,
authority to the one sent. The Apostles sent Peter and
John, therefore, etc.
We will endeavor to knock the loo^ic out of the foresoinoj
syllogism, when w^e come to speak of the primacy of Peter.
Let it suffice for the present, to have called attention to the
fact. The next glimpse we get at the Prince of the Apos-
tles, through the earliest records on these subjects, repre-
sents him to us at Lydda, in the house of one Eneas, whom
he raised, miraculously, from a bed to which he had been
confined for eight years with the palsy.
Just here while speaking of these miracles performed by
the Apostles, we may ask ourselves the question, whether
the power of working them was given in such a manner that
it could be exercised at any time, and under all circum-
stances ; or was there a special illumination required for
each particular case. No doubt a great deal may be said on
one §ide and on the other of this question.
The very fact that their shadows in passing were known
to have cured the infirm, would seem to indicate the pres-
ence of a power of that kind permanently abiding with
them. Such also appears to have been the belief of the
faithful who lived in the days of the Apostles. They ap-
pealed to them for relief from their infirmities, with what
appears to have been an entire and perfect confidence.
This is very strikingly illustrated by the following cir-
cumstances : At Joppe, a town of considerable size, situated
on the seacoast of Palestine, there lived, in the days of the
Apostles, a certain woman, a believer, named Tabitha.
ALETHAURION. 171
This woman was wealthy and she freely expended no incon-
siderable portion of her revenues in works of charity. She
did not, however, go around like some of our modern Dor-
cases, seeking audiences of St. Peter, and then get some
slippery Dick to publish abroad the fact, to let the world
know how important she was. The praises of Tabitha were
principally in the mouths of the widows and orphans whom
she had clothed and supported.
The poor did not find out from the Apostles what a good
woman she was, because in doing charity she sought only
the glory of God, and carefully avoided all worldly noto-
riety. But even the just and holy must, after a time, go the
way of all flesh. Tabitha, or Dorcas as she was sometimes
called, having ran her godly race, was numbered with the
dead.
A crowd of weeping friends lingered at her bedside ; one
closed her sightless eyes, another prayed for her eternal re-
pose, a third laid the cross upon her breast. Sadness had
taken possession of all, until some one announced that
Peter was in Lydda, and that he had cured Eneas of the
palsy.
A messenger was at once dispatched, with the request
that he would come to Joppe. On his arrival many poor
and helpless widows brought to him the coats and garments
which Dorcas had made them, with the request, that he
would again raise her to life.
He yielded to their entreaties, and having ordered all to
retire from the room, knelt down and prayed that God, for
His own greater glory and for the exaltation of His Son's
name, would send back the spirit to repossess its earthly
casket. His prayer was answered and Tabitha restored to
weeping friends, who now for joy wept all the more.
The circumstance of Peter's requesting the others to
withdraw, and of his praying before proceeding to work the
miracle, may tend to make us believe that even the Apostles
did not feel within themselves an abiding power to perform
172 ALETHAURION.
miracles ; but that in each particular case they awaited a
special permission and inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
Yet, of one thing we are quite certain, that there is no
case on record where an Apostle willed to do a miraculous
work without having had his wish granted. ** Whatever
you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you/'
John XV, 16.
The conversion of Cornelius will be our next subject.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CORNELIUS.
There are few things so flattering to man's pride as
dominion over others. It pleases corrupt human nature
to have it to say to one's self, I am above such and such
persons ; and no matter what they may do that is good or
glorious, still the law recognizes me as their superior in
social life, or at least their equal. Such reflections have,
no doubt upheld the courage of many a princely dunce ;
may be, lessened his envy.
The tenacity with which the slave-holder in the South
clung to Sambo is evidence enough of the truth we have
laid down. It was not so much because the black was
valuable as a farm hand that he was prized ; no, it was
because it flattered his master's pride to see creatures like
himself tremble when he whistled. The average revival
nigger, before the war, stole more in bacon and chickens
than his wages now would suffice to buy.
We speak here of course of those bhicks who are not in
"Con.irress, nor appointed to agencies by the Government.
The persistency with which men seek authority over
others, and the tenacity with which they hold on to it, is
often mysterious, sometimes ridiculous.
There lives in the town of , in this State, a dry goods
ALETHAUBION. 173^
merchant, who, on a certain day during the past summer,
desired to have cut, for cooking stove purposes, a few
cords of wood that lay in the alley behind his residence.
He procured the services of an African gentleman of the
purest blood, with large white eyes, and lips that might
lead the casual observer to suspect that he had passed the
previous night in a bee-hive. Sam agreed to cut and split
the wood for a certain consideration, part in money, and
the rest in calico for his wife, Dinah.
Now there lived in that same town, at the time we are
speaking of, a good, industrious Englishman, who went by
the name of John Bull. Bull was a jack of all trades,
and did choring around hotels, saloons and barber shops,
to the great pleasure and entire satisfaction of his employ-
ers. John was, in fact, a reliable draughthorse, and had
none of that skittishness and uncertainty peculiar to the
racer, about him. He came across the black, and made a
trade, by which Sam was to give him twenty-five cents more
for cutting the wood than he had himself agreed to do it
for.
Cliff Sutherland, another African, overheard the
trade, and reproached Sam with being such a fool. Sam
thought he had done a wise thing nevertheless. *'You
nappy-headed nigger," said he to Cliff, <'you don't know
nothin' ; ain't it worth more'n a quarter to sit in the shade
and boss a white man."
This principle, expressed by the darkey in such forcible
terms, has been taken advantage of by the witty and the
wise of every age.
Romulus, the founder of Rome, with that intuitive know-
ledge of human nature peculiar to all great men, was not
slow in turning it to account. When the gang of robbers,
of which he was chief, had, to some extent, laid aside their
predatory habits and began a more settled mode of life, in
order to strengthen his own authority, and give greater
174 ALEtHA URION .
stability to his government, he divided the people into two
distinct classes.
A difficulty met him at the very threshold, shortly after
having conceived this idea.
As all taken together were nothing but a lot of thieves
and cut -throats, he found it not an easy task to discover
where to draw the line of demarkation. His genius, how-
ever was equal to the occasion ; and he chose out the biggest
rascals and most rapacious scoundrels, and called them
patricians. Only those who were thought incapable of
giving annoyance were left among the plebians.
Romulus thought of governing the State through the
patricians or privileged class, and in this he succeeded well
for a time ; but, in the end, it proved detrimental to the
peace and happiness of the republic. He had vast power
of organization, and, if his moderation had been on a par
with his general ability, he would not have come to a violent
death.
But we are drifting from our subject ; let us, therefore,
return once more.
Among those selected to be patricians there was one
family, or geMS, as it is called in the Latin language, that
from the very beginning, appeared to have been above most,
if not all, others. It was the Cornelian gens. To write its
history would be the same as to go over again the palmiest
days of the Roman republic. It was a member of this
celebrated family that set limits to the pretensions of Car-
thage, and defeated Hannibal, her best and bravest
general, on the plains of Zama. But, at the time of which
we are now speaking, a great deal of the ancient glory of
the Cornelian gens had departed. Many who bore that
proud name were willing to accept the position of even
centurion in the Roman armies. The higher offices were,
as a matter of course, filled by the members of the Julian
family, and by their friends or favorites.
Cornelius, the subject of our present paper, gladly left
ALETHAURION. 175
the capital, where all was vice and venality, to take com-
mand of one of the Roman garrisons in Palestine. He was
one of the gens Cornelia, which fact was, at this time,
rather prejudicial than otherwise to his advancement. But
he sought not worldly renown.
After a residence of some years in Palestine, he gained a
knowledge of the true God, whose will he greatly desired
to know more perfectly, in order that he might worship Him
in spirit and in truth. His prayers were at length heard
and his good deeds rewarded. As he sat in his house, there
appeared to him one afternoon at three o'clock, an angel of
the Lord, who bade him send for one Simon Peter, who
lived in Joppe, and that from him he should learn what to
do in order to be saved.
Peter, in the meantime, had been admonished by the
vision of clean and unclean beasts, that the Gentiles were
made co-partners with the Jews in the redepiption purchased
by the Saviour, and consequently might be received into
the Church.
In this conversion of Cornelius, we have an answer
given to a question that is sometimes asked by the unrea-
soning and unreflecting, viz :
What is the use for Protestants to do any good works in
this life? They will all be lost any how, for they have not
faith, without which it is impossible to please God.
We may reply : True, if they remain in heresy they will
be lost, but by their good works God may be moved to
open their eyes to their errors, and bring them, in His
mercy, to the knowledge of the entire truth, as He did
Cornelius, who was probably not nearly so well instructed
in regard to the things of the next world as the majority of
heretics appear to be.
Hence, though heretics should obstinately refuse t© em-
brace the truth when presented to them, it is still right and
proper to exhort them to the practice of good works. And
many, no doubt, of those who yearly enter the true fold
176 ALETHAURION.
are brought around more on account of some good deeds
they have performed than by the eloquence or logic of those
who preach to them.
In our next we will go as far as St. Peter's journey to
the City of the Seven Hills.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
HEROD.
In our last we spoke of the conversion of Cornelius.
He was the first of the Gentiles who had the happiness of
being received into the true Church. With all the preju-
dices of early training resting on his shoulders, he had never-
theless, the courage and the manhood to throw aside the
vain trumpery of paganism and embrace the truth when pre-
sented to him.
Cornelius paved the way to his conversion by a good life.
And it is highly probable that he was the friend of God,
that is, free from mortal sin, even before he had seen Peter.
His conversion to the true faith appears to have been easily
brought about. Though, no doubt, a man of considerable
learning for those times, with a just appreciation of the
ancient glory of his ancestors, and of his own standing in
society, yet we do not read that he had any considerable dis-
cussion with Peter, on the relative merits of Paganism and
Christianity. An heretical village cobbler would give an
archbishop more trouble at the present day, to convince him
of the truth of the Catholic religion, than Cornelius gave
Peter.
When we consider the fact, that at the time of which we
are speaking, the Komans had, by their valor in war and
wisdom in peace, become masters of the whole world, or at
least of all that was worth possessing of it, we can hardly
over-rate the nobility of Cornelius' character. For, by
ALETHAURION. 177
this one act, he cut himself off from past and glorious tra-
ditions, and from all hope of future promotion.
The Romans despised the Jews, more probably than they
did any of the nations that had ever succumbed to their arms.
And as the distinction between the early followers of the
Saviour and the Jews was not very clearly defined, the fact
of a man of patrician rank becoming a Christian was tanta-
mount to a voluntaiT degradation of himself in the eyes of
his countrymen. But what Corj^elius lost in the estima-
tion of his cotemporaries has been abundantly restored by
the common consent of the good and wise for the past
eighteen centuries.
What a contrast have we not presented to our eyes, be-
tween his lif'e and heroism, and that of the cowardly sneak
and lackey, whose name stands at the head of this chapter.
Herod was in every way the opposite of Cornelius. Base
of instinct, and a swine in gluttony, his elevation to power,
if not a freak of fortune, may be taken as an evidence of
political corruption. He was neither a Roman nor a Jew,
but he had the arrogance of the one and the sordid avarice
and bitterness of the other. He had, besides, a species of
low vulpine cunning, which those flatterers that he kept
about him, called genius, and in which he did himself take
great delight.
The fact that God sometimes permits wretches, like
Herod, to appear in His name here on earth, and exercise
power which is from Him, may have a tendency to make
thos€ that have not the faith, disbelievers in a direct pro-
vidence. Bad or incompetent rulers will, no doubt, have a
meaning in our eyes, when, in another life they are opened
more fully, and are permitted to see more cleai-ly the de-
signs of God here below ; but at present it would be a vain
task, and full of risk to attempt to state, in express terms,
the whys and wherefores of their being.
Whether it is the wish of the Supreme Being that men
should endure a worthless ruler, is also a question that
178 ALETHAURION .
might challenge inspection. When the Tarquins of Rome
proved themselves unfit for their position, the people arose
and drove them out, and posterity has regarded this act as
not only justifiable, but even glorious. When Louis XVI
and the nobility of France, had carried their empty pride
and conceit to such an extent that the peasantry were, in
some cases, not allowed to manure their lands lest it might
interfere with the flavor of the quails and partridges, on
which the nobility feasted, they experienced a fall ; and
others more worthy to rule took their places.
We have no hesitancy in saying, that when a ruler has
clearly demonstrated his incompetence, it is not only a
privilege, but may sometimes become even a duty, that the
people over whom he rules should require his abdication.
The divine right of a king, or of anyone else, to do wrong,
is very justly regarded as a silly assumption ; and that for-
bearance that stands, with folded arms, while a tyrant or
a fool is making havoc with what men do, and ought to
regard as dear in this world, may be esteemed as one of the
virtues of a slave. When a king, like the present ruler of
Italy, proves himself to be first a robber, and second, the
friend and protector of error in some of its most malignant
forms, we do not esteem it a paradox to say, that the good
and true among his subjects could lawfully unite, and bring
to bear upon him a moral pressure that would force him to
resio:n a throne that he has disijraced. But, as it has been
in the past, so it is likely to be in the future — lazy pol-
troons will still put off until the day of judgment the
settlement of grievances that ought to be choked on this
side of the tomb.
The facts of history, which are the footprints of the
Almighty, show that God does not often come, in a direct
manner, to the aid of 'those who receive upon their necks,
without a struggle, the yoke of injustice. If the millions
of India had arisen years ago, and had driven Warren,
Hastings, Clive, and their followers into the sea, or had
ALETHAURION. 179
smothered them in the Ganges, they would not have had to
witness the dissrustins: sio^ht of seeins: their w^omen draofsed
by the hair of their heads through the streets of Calcutta,
by the red-faced and thick-necked minions of the nation of
shop-keepers. But, may be wicked rulers are given to
worthless people ; and it is only on this hypothesis that we
can explain the fact that our Herod, the lineal descendant
of his grandfather, who killed all the children in Bethle-
hem, -got astride of a throne.
He was, in a manner, worthy of the degenerate race of
Jews that lived in his day. Having had in himself nothing
magnanimous, nor capable of winning the respect of the
people, he sought their forbearance by making war on the
Apostles, and other early followers of the Saviour.
Th^re appears, under certain circumstances, to bo a kind
of sympathy between thieves, that we cannot easily explain,
but it is a fact nevertheless. Herod and the Pharisees got
as thick as pick-pockets, and apparently, as sincere in their
friendship as two retired merchants, who had both been
recognized college dunces in their youth. Herod's first
act, by which he hoped to please the Pharisees, was the
murder of James the Apostle, and seeing that he had suc-
ceeded well, he next arrested Peter and cast him into
prison, intending, when the proper time came, to treat him
as he had James. But Peter's day had not come ; he had
yet great labors to perform, great enemies to subdue ; he
had yet to visit that mighty city which had sent its conquer-
ing legions to the ends of the earth, and preach the name
of Jesus of Nazareth where the capitol raised its proud
head, crowned with the laurels of centuries.
In our next we will accompany him to the city of the
Caesars.
GETHSEMANI ABBEY,
6ETHSEMAN1.P.0, KY.
180 ALETHAURIONc
CHAPTEKXL.
THE TBIUMPHANT ENTRY OF THE WORD INTO BABYLON.
When, in 1870, Generals Cadorna, Bixo, and other small
heroes of young Italy led a portion of Victor Emanuel's
army through the breach at Porta Pi a, they brought with
them, or there followed soon after, a number of those who
had been exiled for their wickedness by the government of
Pius IX. Along with these came also many others, who
regarded Rome, under the Pope, as not a safe place to ped-
dle around their infidel nonsense, or make a display of their
immorality.
Among the latter was that incorrigible apostate, the noto-
rious Father Gavazzi. He also came through the breach
at Porta Pia, but in a manner altogether novel and peculiar.
He lead over the ruins with a halter at a slow pace, a huge,
ungainly jack, laden with bibles in panniers, one on each
side.
Some heretical ministers followed the donkey on foot
singing psalm^. At the interludes they turned up the
whites of their eyes and spoke of this as the triumphal entry
of the Word into Babylon. A large concourse of half
grown boys and some roughs brought up the rear. The
children had tin pans which they beat with dexterity and
the roughs had small bugles which they sounded at inter-
vals.
As soon as this noisy crew had passed within the gates of
the city, the police, as a matter of course, dispersed the
rabble. They threatened the children with stripes and the
jail and took their bugles away from some of the others,
whose ears they boxed as mementoes of the occasion.
Gavazzi, the donkey and the preachers were allowed to
ALETHAURION 181
continue their march without further molestation, by way
of Monte Cavallo, as far as the Piazza Navona.
Piazza Navona is the largest market place in the city and
enjoys a reputation for chaste and temperate language, sim-
ilar to that of Billingsgate, in London. Here the donkey
bucked his panniers and began to grow obstinate. One
fishmonger accused another of having poked the animals in
the ribs as he passed by the stall.
The bibles were picked up and distributed gratuituously
to all who showed the least anxiety to receive them. By
far the greater part was taken immediately, or afterwards
bought up from children, for a copper or two, by those who
sold maccaroni, ciambelle, or soap in small quantities.
We may observe here, in passing, that the Romans have
a great respect for the scriptures ; but they do not, any
more than we, regard it as a desecration to turn to profane
uses, those corrupt versions of the bible, which heretics
scatter around, in order to deceive the unwary. A garbled
copy of the scriptures, such as heretics use, is not the word
of God.
Gavazzi, seeing that he had failed in creating, by his
bible demonstration, even a respectable ripple on the placid
surface of Roman society, looked around for some new
rsource of excitement. He could not take up the doctrine
of indulgences, for Luther had exhausted the subject ; and
the world had become as tired of his mouthings as an old
circus man of the extravagant pranks and stale jokes of the
clown.
The doctrine of the temporal power of the Popes was not
in the programme just then ^ for those in authority, whom
Gavazzi greatly respected, wished for no discussion on the
subject. He shied around for a time, waiting for some-
t thing to turn up. Finally a bright idea presented itself.
" I will deny," said he, " that St. Peter was ever in Rome
and that will arouse them if anything under the moon is
Sipable of doing it."
182 ALETHAURION.
The next day, in some of the most frequented places in
the city, there was to be found a challenge, in large letters,
to the cardinals, bishops and priests, of the city of Rome.
It was to the effect that, Gavazzi was ready to discuss pub-
licly, with any. one of the aforesaid, the historical question
as to whether the Apostle Peter was ever in the city of
Rome or not. Our Holy Father, Prus IX, soon after the
discussion, refuted, by one sentence, the assumptions of
Gavazzi, more effectively than his opponents had done with
all their weight of learning. ** I am," said Pius IX, *' the
successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles." His pre-
decessors, for eighteen centuries, past, had made the same
declaration ; and the writer of this confesses that, never
before, did the importance of asserting a great truth strike
him with such force ,
As bur efforts, in these papers, are for the benefit of the
rank and file, it may not be out of place; to state wherein
consists the importance of this question. The coming of
Peter to Rome, and* his death there, as bishop of the cit|^-
are what theologians call dogmatic facts; that is, they are
not simple historical facts, such as that Brutus killed Caesar,
Napoleon died in exile, or that Grant owned a pair of bull-
dogs. A (iogmatic.fact., is one so intimately connected with
a doctrine of the Church, that, if one should succeed in prov-
ing the assumed fact untrue, the doctrine or doctrines
founded on it would also become untenable.
Now, the Pope of Rome claims a primacy, not only of
honor but also of jurisdiction, in matters appertaining to
faith and morals, over the entire Church. That is, he as-
sumes the right to make laws for the government, in spirit-
ual matters, of all baptized persons throughout the whole
world. This he claims on the ground that he, as bishop of
Rome,, is the successor of ' Peter, to whom our Saviour
gave the powers alluded to,^to be used by him, and by his
successors in office, for all time.
Now it is evident, that, if Peter never came to Rom^
ALETHAURION ^ 183
Pius IX would have no more right to call himself Petee's
successor than the King of the Cannibal Isle^ to pretend
that he is the successor of General Washington, first Presi-
dent of the tFnited States.
Consequently with the disproval of the fact, all the
-claims and pretensions of the Pope of Rome would vanish,
at once , into the air. It would be like breaking the main pipe
just at the water- works ; like a Turkish bath to a collier ; or
a swim in the surf at Long Branch to a white-washed
African.
The reader may now see more clearly what Gavazzi was
aiming at. In order to add greater importance to the dis-
cussion, he procured the services of two straggling preachers,
named Sciarelli and Cipolla.
Gavazzi 'knew, as a matter of course, from the start, that
he had no chance of succeeding ; especially in a city like
Rome, where there are men who have explored every nook
and corner of history and theology. But, he thought it im-
probable that any one would even mke the pains to demol-
ish him. Then he could boast that he had challenged Rome,
and Rome was afraid to pick up the gauntlets. In case of
acceptance, he hoped by swagger and effrontery, to save
appearances, in one or two speeches, and then wriggle out
of the difficulty.
In our next we will see more about the interesting
§cri*nmage.
* <•,. '■
CHAPTER XLI.
THE SCRI3«OIAGE.
As soon as the fact had become generally known that
Gavazzi had challenged the clergy of Rome to dispute on the
subject of the coming of Peter to the city, the number of
those who showed a willingness to buckle on the sword was
simply immense.
184 AT.ETHAURION.
These were, however, principally from the younger por-
tion of the ciergy ; each of whom, no doubt, thought that
this would be an easy way of gaining an honorable promi-
nence among his cotemporaries. There was an evident itch-
ing among the young folks to knock the horns off an old
stag like Gavazzi.
But there was another question also to be taken in con-
sideration. Would it be the proper thing to give such a
man the honor of even demolishing him, under the circum-
stances. Cardinal Axtoxelli and others, distinguished no
less for learning than piety, were of the opinion that Gavazzi
should be treated with silent contempt.
All that he could say on the subject had been answered
dozens of times already ; and Gavazzi knew it. Hence, it
appeared to some, that it would be giving him undue promi-
nence to take any notice whatever of him.
On the other hand, as above stated, there were not a few,
of the more youthful of the clergy, who were actually
spoiling for a clip at the old buck. They looked on it as
a piece of degeneracy, to let a donkey beard the lion in his
den, without leaving him, for future reference, some me-
mento of his foolhardiness.
Thus a pressure was brought to bear on the Holy Father,
by which he consented to let the dispute take place.
Father Fabiaxi, a distinguished Roman priest, with two
others, represented the Catholic side ; and Gavazzi, with
his brace of preachers, stood up for the opposition ; Scia-
RELLi opened the discussion, with a series of what logicians
call negative arguments. That is he attempted to show
various data that Peter could not have been in Rome at the
time Catholics maintain he was.
These arguments were all taken, substantially at least,
from a work published at Turin, in the year 1861, by an
anonymous author — no doubt an apostate, or one on the
road to apostacy. Shortly after the work spoken of, had
seen the lisjht, it was taken up paire by page and refuted in
- . ■ .
ALETHAURION. 185
a most learned and satisfactory manner, by tke celebrated
Jesuit theoloofian, Father Perkoxe.
Hence Sciarelli, who had read both the works and its
refutation, knew very well from the start, how the discus-
sion was going to end.
Fabiaxi replied to the heretic, by bringing to bear on him
some facts of history, that were unanswerable ; and finished
his discourse by brushing away, as if they had been col)webs,
those little chronological difficulties that constituted his
stock and trade.
The whole affair might remind one of two amateur chess-
players, going through again, for amusement sake, one of
Morphy's celebrated continental games ; where each move
and reply are already known to both players ; because writ-
ten on the book before them.
The discussion ended where it had begun. There was no
additional light thrown on the subject. The question, in
fact, is one about which there can really, among men of
learning, be no dispute at the present day. It has long
since been settled for good.
However, for the instruction or amusement of the reader,
we propose to go over it again ; and give the reasons, taken
from sacred and profane history, which go to show that
Peter not only came to Rome, but that he died there, as
bishop of the city.
The first man who ever denied it was Marsilius Menan-
DRiNUS, a native of Padua, in Italy. He lived in the begin-
ning of the fourteenth century ; and was condemned, for
this and other errors, by Pope John XII, in the year 1327.
About the same time Johx Janduxus, also an Italian, and
a native of Perugia, fell into the same errors, and was like-
wise condemned.
These two men were politicians rather than theologians,
and more attached to the philosophy of Aristotle than to
the teachings of the Saviour. It was not out of love for
truth they wrote, but rather with the view of gaining favor
%
186 ALETHAUEION.
with Louis, the Duke of Bavaria, who was, at the time^
head of a schism and at war with the Pope. From the death
of these two lights to the time of Luther, there was no
other person found reckless enough to deny this truth.
From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century many
Protestant writers labored strenuously to prove Peter was
never in Rome. The most celebrated of these was Fred-
erick Spanler, a German, who showed considerable
research in a dissertation, entitled, " About rashly believing
that the Apostle Peter came to Rome."
Towards the beginning of the eighteenth century, the
face of things became entirely changed. Protestant authors
of any name, not only ceased to contend against the truth,
but willingly confessed that it was useless to impugn it.
Amono^ those who have made the foreo^oins: admission, we
may mention Pearson, in his book on the succession of
Roman Pontiffs, chap. 6 ; Willia31 Cave, George Vale-
sius. Hist, of the Church, first century ; Samuel Basxage,
Ecclesiastical Annals, year 64. Let it suffice to srive from
these heretical authors a single quotation, which is from
the one last mentioned.
Basnage says : "Neither has there ever been a tradition
supported by a greater number of witnesses than that Peter
came to Rome ; the fact cannot be denied without tearing
up the very foundations of history."
We do not, of course, take at par, what heretics have to
say on questions of history and theology ; we know how
their brilliant imaginations run far ahead of the order of
events, and how they are disposed to mistake future contin-
gents for past facts. All these things are well kno\vn to
us.
But when one of their number, like Basxage, shows
some research, we may be permitted to give what little he
has grubbed up, by way of confirming what we already
know from orthodox writers.
CHAPTER XLII.
ALETHAURION. 187
In our next we will take up and examine the earliest
records on this interesting subject.
FOSSILS. ^^ "Cin^r
After having spoken in the last chapter of how the
apostate Gavazzi was picked off his high trotting horse, in
the passage at arms between him and Father Fabiani, we
deem it expedient before descending into the pits of ancient
history and tradition, to make a few observations on what
has already been said.
First of all, let it be observed that fully thirteen centuries
had passed into the ocean of years, before any one thought
of questioning the fact that Peter came to Rome, and was
crucified there. During all that time, the Popes, one after
another, had declared themselves his successors, and Chris-
tendom nodded the head in acknowledment of the fact.
Is it likely that such a declaration would have passed
unchallenged for so many ages, if it had not had upon its
forehead the mark of truth? Is it conceivable that the
Greeks and other Oriental schismatics would have passed
by unnoticed, a point in theology that would have served
their purpose to a nicety ?
Yet, though the Greek schismatics have had among them
such men as Photius, Michael Cerularius, and others,
distinguished no less for their hatred of Rome than for
their general depravity, still the fact stands out in bold
relief, that not one of them ever thought of opposing the
Pope, on the plea that he had usurped the title of the
''successor of the Prince of the Apostles."
It is a circumstance worthy of consideration that Marsi-
lius Paduanus and Johx Jaxdunus, who were the first to
denv that Peter came to Rome, were both tainted with
188 ALETHAURION.
schism. Moreover, all they have to say on the subject when
taken apart and examined critically, does not appear to have
much solidity in it. Neither Marsilius nor John brought
forward any public document^ nor other monuments from
antiquity, in support of their views. Hence we may treat
them as we do Gavazzi and others of his ilk, at the present
day.
Possession is nine points in law ; and the Eoman Church
is to-day, and has been for eighteen centuries, in possession
of the fact that St. Peter was the first bishop of the city.
Whoever should desire to invalidate her claims must brin2:
forward reasons that will bear to be examined by sun-light.
This has never been done, and until some new and hitherto
unheard of documents are discovered, it cannot be. As
well might one attempt to pulvei-ize the rock of Gibraltar,
by pitching nutmegs at it, as try to disprove, in the light of
such historical evidence to the contrary, that St. Peter came
to Rome. But let us begin with our positive proofs taken
from traditions and from authentic history. Those of our
readers who have visited the Eternal City may remember to
have seen the Church of St. Paul, outside the walls, on the
Ostian Way.
After having admired the altar, built of alabaster, mal-
achite and other rare stones, as also the forest of marble
columns that so much attract the eye of the tourist, they
may remember to have noticed about half way between the
floor and ceiling, a number of portraits, all in mosaic.
The first of these has under it the inscription St. Petrus,
and the last, Pius IX. These are, in fact, the portraits of
all the Roman Pontiffs from St. Peter to Pius IX.
Whether good ones or not, does not interfere with our pres-
ent argument. The writer could judge of the correctness
of one only, and he feels justified in saying that it is cer-
tainly capital.
Now, this series of portraits we know, as a matter of au-
thentic history, was begun during the pontificate of Pope
ALETHAURION. 18f^
Leo I, suriiamed the Great, who was born in Rome about
the year 390,. and died in the same city, April 11, 461.
Here we have, at once, a pretty respectable antiquity es-
tablished for the belief that Peter came to Rome. We are
not ignorant of the fact, however, that a few days before
the death of Pope Pius VII, which happened in the year
1823, the above named church was burned to the ground, in
consequence of the carelessness of some workmen employed
in repairing its roof ; yet we know also that the portraits
were again restored, as nearly as possible, as they had been
before the conflagration.
Here then we have, in these portraits alone, an historical
monument that fixes and makes certain the fact that, in the
city of Rome in the year 490, there was a firm belief that
Peter was the first Pope. But did the belief in this com-
mence at that time? It is quite evident to any one, not an
idiot, that if the Popes had begun so late to pretend they
were the successors of Peter, some one would have been
found who would have exploded the whole thing as an inno-
vation.
Suppose that General Grant should declare publicly that
he is the successor in office of NapOleon ; would not the
people come to the conclusion, at once, that too much old rye
had made him cracked ? It would have been just so in the
days of Leo I, if there had not been a belief among the peo-
ple, to the effect that he was the successor of Peter.
As the existence of the round towers, in Ireland, is proof
of an advanced state of civilization in that island at a period
more remote than that to which our present histories go, so
the presence of a series of portraits of the Popes, with
Peter at the head, in one of the Roman Churches, indicates
a belief in the public mind that he was there at a time pre-
vious to the commencement of said series.
We finish the present chapter with a quotation from the
catalogue of Roman Pontiffs, published during the pontifi-
cate of Pope LiBERius. In this we read the following
words :
190 ' ALETHAURION.
" Peter reigned 25 years. 1 month and 9 days. He lived in the time
of Tiberius C^sar, and of Caius Caligula, and of Tiberius Clau-
dius, and of Xero. He suffered martyrdom, along Avith Paul, on the
third day before the kalends of July (29th June,) under the consuls afore-
said, Xero being emperor.*'
In our next we will explain the entire significance of this
quotation.
CHAPTEE XLIII
LIBEKIUS.
Pope LiBERius began his pontificate on the 22d of May,
in the year 352, and continued to steer the bark of Peter
until the 24th day of September, A. D. 366. He then
took leave of the things of this world, and went to receive
what he deserved in that other state of existence, to which
popes, kings, emperors, and all of us, are marching with
solemn and certain tread.
LiBERius was held up by those who denied papal infallibil-
ity, as an example of a Pope who fell into error, by ap-
proving of the Arian heresy. The learned and profound
BossuET tried, in his day, to make as much out of the case
as he possibly could, in favor of Gallicanism.
But that great and good man was, in this particular in-
stance, laboring under a delusion. He confessed, however,
to his secretary, towards the end of his life, that, notwith-
standing he had studied the question thoroughly, still, he
did not find any thing in the case of Pope Liberius that
was entirely satisfactory, or a convincing proof to his own
mind, that the Pope in question had really endorsed the
Arian heresy.
What we desire to call particular attention to, is the cata-
logue of the Popes, published during the reign of the in-
dividual of whom we are speaking. This catalogue is noth-
ing more nor less than a list of all the Popes up to that
ALETHAURION. • 191
time, with a short account of what each did, or had done to
him.
In this document we find it stated that Peter, the first
on the list, was Bishop of Rome 25 years, 1 month and 9
days ; that he was put to death on the same day with Paul,
during the reign of the emperor Neeo ; and in it Liberius,
whose name occurs last on the list, declares himself succes-
sor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles.
This testimony is more ancient, by fifty years, than that
of which we spoke in the last chapter, viz : the series of
portraits in the Ostian basilica. But, we have not yet, by
any means, got to the end of those testimonies that ancient
writers have seen fit to leave us on this interesting subject,
^^either will we have finished until we shall have heard from
the mouth of Peter himself a full confession of the fact.
Our next argument we take from a tradition, altogether
special from the city of Rome. There has been among the
Romans, from the very earliest times, a tradition, to the
effect that the Evangelist Mark wrote his gospel in their
city ; and having been the interpreter of Peter, put on
parchment simply what he had heard from the Apostle. We
give as vouchers for the existence of such a tradition, the
following names, Irexeus, Against Heresies, book ii, chap-
ter 8. He w^as bishop of Lyons, and, having suffered mar-
tyrdom at quite an advanced* age, in the year 202, we may
regard what he has said as almost coming from the mouths
of the Apostles themselves. He was, in fact, the disciple
of PoLYCARP, who was the disciple of St. John, the Evan-
gelist ; hence, he had a good opportunity of knowing some-
thing about the labors and voyages of St. Peter, and the
talk of the town concerning him.
Tertullian, who lived for a long time at Rome, in book
iv, chapter 5, Against Marcion^ bears testimony to the exis-
tence of the same belief, among the people.
EusEBius, the Church Historian, in book iii, chapter 39,
is another witness to the existence of the aforesaid tradition.
192 ALETHAURION.
Now, admitting that the Saviour lived here on earth, as is
generally supposed, about thirty-three years, and that St.
Peter, before coming to Eome, was bishop of Antioch fur
a period of seven years ; taking the testimonies of Irexeus
and Tertulliax as belonging to about the middle of the
second century, we have the duration of this oral tradition
narrowed down to little more than a hundred years. Is it,
then, anything wonderful that the Christians of Rome
should have kept alive, by oral tradition, for so short a
period, the knowledge of so important a fact as the coming
of St. Peter among them, and of his labors as first bishop
of the city ?
Let us suppose that some grand duke, or earl, should
visit the United States this centennial year, and, in the
course of his peregrinations through the buildings at Phila-
delphia, should happen to ask the average Yankee lad, who
the first President of the United States was. The boy
would most likely " guess" and '' calculate" that this tassel
of royalty did not know much anyhow. Then he would
say to him : '* My dear fellow, here, in America, we are
taught by our mothers these primary facts of history, while
we are yet nothing but pug-nosed babies."
The Roman matron, also, told her boy of how the first
and greatest of the Apostles came to the city, and, how,
after twenty-five years of labors and dangers, he was at last
so narrowly pressed by the spies of the emperor, that he
sought safety by flying at night from the city. She took
him outside the walls to the spot where that same Apostle,
in his flight saw, by the uncertain light of the moon, the
shadowy figure of a man bearing on his shoulders a heavy
cross, and explained to him, that here words were spoken
which convinced Peter that the time had come, when he
was to seal with his blood as a testimony for all coming gene-
rations, the truth of what he himself had taught the Ro-
mans, and of what, in the persons of his successors, he was to
teach the entire world.
ALEXHAURION. 193
Tradition on doctrinal points is not always reliable, unless,
as in the case of the Catholic Church, there be a living
teaching, infallible authority, to keep it pure. But, on ques-
tions of fact, of public importance, and for a comparatively
short time, the testimony of an entire city may be regarded
as satisfactory.
We conclude this chapter with an extract from the writ-
ings of St. Jerome, who died, at an extreme old age, in the
year 420. He was reputed the most learned man of his day,
and was consulted by even one of the Popes. In his work,
On illustrious Men, chapter 8, we read the following:
" Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, having been asked by
the bretliren at Rome, wrote a short gospel, putting on record those
things which he had heard from Peter. On hearing which, Peter tip-
proved his gospel and gave it, on his authorty, to be read in the
Churches."
This quotation goes to establish more firmly all we have
said on the subject of the special tradition among the Ro-
mans, that Peter came to their city. We could give other
testimonies from the ancient Fathers, but let those we have
selected suffice for the present.
In our next we will prove from the scriptures themselves
what we have in this chapter established by tradition only.
CHAPTER XLIV.
BABYLON,
Take down your bible and look at verse 13, chap, v, of
Peter's first epistle. There you will read the following
words !
' " The Church which is in Babylon, elected together, saluteth you ; and
so does my son Mark."
This is the passage of scripture to which we alluded to in
the last chapter. By it is established, beyond all^cavil, the
fact that the Prince of the Apostles not only came to Rome
194 ALETH AURION .
but that he gave his first instruction in writing to the faith-
ful from that renowned metropolis, then of paganism, now of
true Christianity. But let us proceed slowly, and speak
first of Babylon, in the literal sense, and then we will better
understand the full drift of our text.
Babylon is the name of a city renowned in sacred and
profane history ; it was situated on both sides of the
Euplirates, about three hundred miles above its junction
with the Tigris.
Its founder was Nimrod, the great-grand-son of Noah,
who, as the scripture informs us, was a *' mighty hunter
before the Lord," and no doubt, a man of barbarous
and wicked instincts. He began by measuring strength
with the wild beasts that infested the country, and
having succeeded well, he turned his hand against his own
species, founding his empire in blood. Babylon was pro-
bably the greatest city ever built by man.
It stood in the center of an exceedingly fertile tract of
country, and was watered by the Euphrates, which divided
it into two equal parts. Its walls, which formed a perfect
square, were three hundred feet high, eighty-seven feet
thick at the base, and wide enough on top to allow four
chariots to run abreast. It had one hundred brazen gates,
and according to some writers, two hundred and fifty
towers rising still higher than the walls, as means of defence
against its foes. These dimensions appear to us almost
incredible, yet they are vouched for by some of the greatest
historians of antiquity. Babylon having been the first city
built after the deluge, and being so strongly fortified, soon
became the home of all the great and powerful of the
surrounding country.
For the Babylonian millionaire had as much confidence in
his walls, as a means of protection to himself and his
money, as any modern banker, in his wrought-iron and
burglar-proof safe. The consequence of all this wealth,
and feeling of security in the enjoyment of it, was, that the
ALETHAURION. 195
kings and people of Babylon became exceedingly proud and
puffed up with their own consequence.
Hence it became, and remained for ages, the home of
luxury and iniquity, and the nest of many an unclean bird,
until finally, the vices and wickedness of its people drew
down upon it the wrath of Him, against whose powerful
arm no walls of brick nor gates of brass afford protection.
Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Persians, marched
against it, at the head of a mighty army, took the city by
a strategem, killed its monarch, and relieved its people of
much of their surplus wealth as well as conceit.
This event happened in the year 538 before Christ,
and, from that time the great city began to decline. Two
hundred years later, Alexander, the son of Philip, having,
in the three great battles of the Granicus, Arbela and
Issus^ dashed the Persian monarchy to the earth, desired to
restore Babylon to its ancient splendor. But great and con-
tinued success had now demented the hero and conqueror,
who, despising the humble lot of man, sought the honors of
a god. His officers, while admitting, what posterity has
fully endorsed, that no such a warrior had ever before ap-
peared in the world, were loth, notwithstanding to believe
him an immortal being. And he who, so ambitiously
aspired to pass for a god, is said to have died a death unbe-
coming a man.
After the death of Alexander, the city of Babylon
went fast to decay, until now its desolation is so complete
that the place where it once stood is a matter of specula-
tion.
Thus far we have spoken of Babylon in the literal
sense. The name of that proud city has become a synonym
for worldly pomp and moral depravity. It was by excel-
lence the city of Satan, as distinguished from Jerusalem,
the city of God.
No other city of ancient times approached the power
and magnificence of Babylon, except pagan Rome, and if
196 * ALETHAUBION.
the scriptures were silent, we might doubt to which the
palm of temporal greatness and wickedness ought to be
awarded. But, inasmuch as the head of gold, in Daniel's
vision, was superior to the legs of iron, so we may conclude
that no greater, certainly no more wicked than the Babylo-
nian empire ever existed.
We now come to speak of that mystic Babylon, which
is no other than pagan Eome. Rome, situated on the river
Tiber, in Italy, about sixteen miles from its mouth, was
founded by a notorious robber, named Romulus, about TSS-
years B. C. Unlike Nimkod who made war on wild beasts,
and was in consequence dreaded by them, Romulus received
his first nourishment from the dugs of a she wolf, that
found him exposed on the banks of the Tiber.
After having founded the city, one of his first exploits
was to murder his own twin brother, for having leaped over
the walls. And in two thousand five hundred years, few,
if any, have accomplished the feat and failed to experience
the same fate.
The conqueror of CanncB, who sent to Carthage three
bushels of golden rings, taken from the fingers of the
Roman knights, slaughtered in that battle, thought it best
not to attempt to enter the city. And it were better for a
military Falstatf not to rush in where Hannibal feared
to tread.
We shall in our next, resume our musings on these inter-
esting subjects.
CHAPTER XLV.
BABYLON THE MYSTIC.
Romulus, as stated in the last chapter, was the founder
of the city of Rome. He also gave it a .name, and was
recognized as its first king. By the word, little else need
ALETHAURION. 197
V^e understood, beyond the fact that he was simply a ring-
leader among a lot of rough, half -civilized brigands. If
Tom Allen, Jem Mace, John Morrissey or the O' Baldwin
had lived in the days of Romulus, either of them might
have easily become his competitor, and, may be, outshone
him.
Physical strength and CQurage were admired in ancient
times ; and, among savage tribes, are still held in as much
esteem as intelligence and refinement are among civilized
people. Even now we all admire a fine specimen of the
physical man ; and it is just that we do so, for, whatever
oomes near perfection in nature, God has intended for our
instruction. Moreover, look for noble qualities of mind in
the athlete rather than in the dwarf or cross-eyed sphinx.
There is, however, a higher type than either. Physical per-
fection, united with mental endowment, tempered with a
moral sense, makes the highest type of manhood. The
Saviour, the center figure of creation, is the only human
being that was absolutely perfect. He possessed all of
good, physically, intellectually and morally that human
nature, as at present constituted, is capable of receiving.
Hence, men become great or mean in proportion, as they
approach to or recede from the model.
Romulus, after having engaged in many encounters with
neighboring tribes, finally succeeded in putting down all
opposition in his immediate vicinity.
Then his heart was exalted, and he became somewhat of
a tyrant. Those who had fought by his side, and knew
what he was, and where he had sprung from, did not wish
to yield up all their rights and become simply his servants.
The consequence of all this was, that, one day at a great
celebration held in Campus Martins, some conspirators set
upon him during a thunder storm, killed him, and in all
probability, threw his body into the Tiber.
These, in order to cover up their guilt and shield them-
selves from the punishment it deserved, hired a man named
198 ALETHAUEION.
PuocuLus Julius, to swear in public assembly that the late
king had appeai-ed to him in a vision and declared that he
had been taken up by the gods into heaven. No further
inquires were made about Ro^hulus ; for few troubled
themselves about a dead king, or temporal ruler of any
kind when cashiered.
He was succeeded by Nu^ia Pompilius, who, though not
pugnacious and violent of temper, was not near so reliable a
man as Ro3HULus.
Pompilius was, in fact, a consummate hypocrite, and,
like all others of his kind, succeeded well in his day ; but
left after him the seeds of rottenness and sin.
He knew from the beginning that he had to deal with a
rough and dangerous set of people. Hence, he tried to
gain, by cunning and trickery, the inliuence that he felt it
would be impossible for him to have acquired by manly arts.
Nu^iA gave out that he was favored with visits of a super-
natural kind, from a nymph called Egekia, who taught him
all that he should do in the way of introducing religion
among the people. Up to this time those half civilized
tribes of Italy were mostly, if not entirely, believers in one
Supreme Being.
NuMA, whose soul was as tortuous. as a labyrinth, for his
own ao^orrandizement introduced an interminable number of
gods and goddesses, all of whom were to be worshipped.
But, the king himself was to be high priest. He thus suc-
ceeded in making idolators of the people, rendering them,
with all this show of religion, more blind, spiritually, than
they had been before.
After the death of Numa Pompilius, some five other kings,,
one after another, succeeded to the throne. The last of
these was Tarquin, suruamed the proud. He had only
reigned a short time, when the people rose up in arms and
sent him off, because of his arrogance and general worth-
lessness.
They then took the management of affairs into their own
ALETHAUKION. 199
hands, and succeeded so well, that they made Rome mistress
of the world.
Shortly after the expulsion of King Tarquin, an idea
appears to have grown up in the minds of the people, that
the city itself was eternal; and that it was among the de-
crees of fate that Rome wo*uld make laws for the world.
We have not been able to discover the origin of this strange
belief. Yet, the facts of history for the past two thousand
^ye hundred years, vrould seem to show that it was not all
guess work ; or, at least, that there was a good deal of
method in their guessing. Rome ruled the ancient world by
arms, and, in modern times, she leads mankind by the gentle
influence of religion.
To the kingly period succeeded the republican era. During
this time, which lasted from about the year 250 to the year
43 before Christ, Rome made most of her conquests in
different quarters of the world. Her victorious soldiery,
along with the spoils and captives of conquered provinces,
brought back with them also their vices and superstitions.
The gods of all nations were naturalized on the banks of the
Tiber, and the vices of the conquered taking fresh root in
the city, flourished like briars on a grass- widow's farm.
The number of slaves had so increased that one could be
bought for a trifle. Indeed, such men as Lucullus are said
to have killed a dozen or so, occasionally, and thro^vn their
bodies into artificial lakes to feed his eels. It was believed
that fish fed on the flesh of slaves were more tender and
palatable than if they had been brought up on common
worms. With the acquisition of wealth and the removal of
all fear of enemies from without, vice and immorality held
high carnival in Rome, until finally a change of some kind
had to come.
This was brought about by Julius Cj.sar, a Roman by
birth, a man of great natural ability, eloquent in the senate
and courageous in the field. By way of preparation for
upsetting the government of his native city, he led an army
200 ALETHAURION.
into Gaul, and is said to have destroyed one million of the
inhabitants.
CiESAR succeeded in putting himself at the head of affairs
in Rome, but his great merits as a commander and states-
man, as well as the oppressiveness of genius triumphant,
excited the envy and hatred of 'those who were his pretended
friends, but, in reality, political rivals ; each one of v;hom
would be a Caesar if he could. But it is a great deal easier
to kill a man of genius, than to act as one ; a lesson which
Brutus learned to his cost at Philippi.
Shortly after the death of C^sar, his nephew, Augustus,
became emperor. During his mild and peaceful reign,
Rome grew apace. But he was succeeded by fcui* others of
his blood, of whom it may be said, if history speaks aright,
that they were little less than incarnations of the Devil.
WTiile these reigned, Rome, already bad, became diabolical,
until the Christains who lived there, called it, in the mystic
sense, Babylon.
In our next we will show from parallel passages of scrip-
ture, and from the testimony of co-temporary, or almost
co-temporary, writers that the Babylon spoken of by St.
Peter is no other than Pagan Rome.
CHAPTER XLYI.
HUGO DE GROOT.
In the last two chapters we spoke of Babylon in the literal
as well as mystic sense of the word ; it remains that we see
to which of these Peter alludes, in his first epistle. The
question is altogether one of fact, and must be decided by
extrinsic evidence. Let us see, then, what reasons have we
for supposing that Peter had reference to Babylon on the
Tiber, and not to that other on the Euphrates.
Along with those arguments given already in previous
ALETHAURION. 201
chapters, we may mention, that, at the time Peter wrote
his epistle, and for many years after, it was customary
among the Christians living in Rome, to call the city Baby-
lon. In support of this assertion we would refer the reader
to chapters xvii and xviii, of the book of Revelation ; where
St. John, the Apostle, speaks, according to the opinion of
the best commentators of Pagan Rome^ under the name of
Babylon.
Heretics freely admit this. But, like every thing else
that comes from them, truth and error are hopelessly
mixed. They do not deny that St. John, in the chapters
alluded to, speaks of Rome ; but, by Rome, they do not
mean as we do, and as the sense and facts of history require,
that Pagan Empire which put to death millions of Catholics,
our ancestors in the faith.
The Mystic Babylon spoken of in chapters x\ii and xviii
of Revelation, means, according to them, the Catholic
Church itself. The idea is, of course, in perfect conformity
with the character of their minds. It bears the imas^e and
the superscription of Lucifer, whose system of atacking
mankind consists in being entirely unsystematic. Satan
does not care whether he gains his point logically or by a
fallacy. He does not argue in regular form with mankind,
when he desires to draw them on to destruction. He asserts,
contradicts, distorts facts ; and, on those who tamper with
him, he usually succeeds in producing a bewilderment of
intellect that leads to infidelity ; and, once that he has drawn
his victim into disbelief, he puts the finishing touch to his
work by suggesting immorality.
It is thus, also, but in a far less perfect manner, that men
tainted with infidelity or heresy, write -{ind speak about
religious matters. They do not study consistency, nor do
they care about it. They choose rather to misrepresent the
existing religion than attempt to give us any thing better
instead of it. But, as religion is not so open to sarcasm as
those who make profession of it, and may be said to r«pre-
202 ALETHAURION.
sent, hence, it happens that men tainted with the spirit of
heresy, expend their witticisms on the ministers themselves,
instead of attacking what they preach. In dealing with such
characters, the most effective weapon appears to be the
sword of the flesh, which is the knuckles.
Luther, at the beginning of the Protestant reformation,
abused and ridiculed monks, and religious orders generally,,
with such persistency, that many, by the mere force of hear-
ing the same lie repeated so often, believed it at last. He
was the j^erfection ; the ne plus ultra of an heresiarch and
balked at nothing. Drunkenness, profanity and adultery
were his pastimes. Consequently, it may be said that such
a man as he, was impervious to any other than physical
arguments.
It was he who first called Christian Rorae^ or rather the
Catholic Church, by the name of Babylon. But to attempt
to define by what line of argument he arrived at such a con-
clusion, would be the same as trying to fathom Satan, whose
leadership Luther followed on all occasions, after his apos-
tacy ; may be without being aware of the dreadful depth
and designs of that arch enemy of the human race. The
common run of preachers nowadays only repeat, on this sub-
ject, those ideas which Luther got from Lucifer. The
only difference in the case is this, that Satan, by his arts,
had evidently produced a bewilderment in the mind of the
heresiarch, just as hawks do, by flapping their wings in the
eyes of those rabbits they desire to catch ; whereas he sim-
ply drives along in a quiet way, the heterodox pf our times,,
just as a man would a drove of cattle to tlie shambles.
When we reflect on the fact that, of all those who have
believed in Christ, from the days of the Apostles to our
own, fully five-sixths, and probably a higher average, have
been Catholics ; when we take into consideration that all the
nations converted from Paganism, had the light of the gos-
pel first pomted out to them by Catholic missionaries ; when
we find that, in the Church of Rome alone, the three
ALETHAUBIQN. 203
evangelical counsels, of voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity
and entire obedience, are practiced, we certainly must con-
clude that there must be a bewilderment of intellect in the
man who calls Christian Rome by the name of Babylon.
But, let us return again to the point. That Peter, in his
epistle, means Pagan Mome^ receives further confirmation
from what we read in the writings of Tertullian. In book
iii, chapter 13, Against Marcion, and in chapter ix, of his
tract Against the Jews, he bears testimony to the fact that
in his time it was a very common practice among Christians,
to speak of Pagan Rome under the title of Babylon.
St. Jerome, also, in chapter viii, of his work on Illustri-
ous Men, uses the following words :
" Peter, in his first epistle, under the name of Babylon, figuratively
means Kome."
There have been many conjectures offered by learned men
as the reason why Peter used the word Babylon instead of
Rome. It is foreign to our purpose to take up and weigh
these different opinions. But, we may by allowed to offer
one of our own. We regard it as entirely probable that
Peter had no other motive, when he put on parchment the
word Babylon, beyond the desire to express his dissatisfac-
tion with a city that represented an idea that he was com-
missioned to combat.
We have frequently, in this work, made use of the word
heretic simply and solely to express our contempt and dis-
like of religious error ; though, in our daily relations with
heresy, in the concrete, it can scarcely be said that we have
ever knowingly slighted any one on account of his belief.
The Apostles, and, in fact, most, if not all the ancient
Fathers of the Church, were very select in their words.
That is, if a man was a heretic they called him so. There
was no **separated brethren" in those days. So, when the
Prince of the Apostles had occasion to speak of the city of
the Ceesars, he fossilized his detestation of its vices and
wickedness in the word '* Babylon."
204 ALETHAURION. ,
We bring the present chapter to a close with a quotation
from a Dutchman, named Hugo de Groot. In Latin he
is called Grotius, and, among men of ability in" his day, he
held no mean place. De Groot was a Protestant, but
wrote with a fairness that deserves commendation. His
works are numerous, and on a variety of subjects. In his
commentary on the first epistle of Peter, this wise Dutch-
man thus sagely remarks :
" Concerning Babylon, the ancient and modern commentators disa-
gree. The ancients understand Rome, where no true Christian will deny
that Peter lived. The modern Interpreters think that Babylon, in
Chaldea, is meant. I am on the side of the ancients."
In our next we will see what Cleihent has had to say on
the subject.
CHAPTER XLVIL
clement.
The name of Clement is a celebrated one in the annals
of the Catholic Church. No fewer than fourteen popes
have, up to the present time, been known by that title. It
is of the first of these w^e intend to speak in the present
chapter. He was born in Rome about the j^ear thirty of
our era, lived to the ripe old age of seventy, and died e
martyr for the faith. .
This Clement of whom we are speaking, was for some
time a companion of St. Paul ; and, it is of him the Apos-
tle speaks in his epistle to the Philippians in the following
words :
** I pray thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have
labored with me in the gospel with Clement, * ♦ * whose names are
in the book of life."
Let the reader, then, bear in mind what were the relations
of Clement with St. Paul. He was the Apostle's compan-
ion, and consequently had an excellent opportunity of know-
ALETHAUKION. 205
inff somethino: about him. Primitive traditions assure us
that this same Clement was ordained priest by St. Peter,
whom he succeeded as fourth pope of Rome.
These matters being well understood, we come to a fact
in his life which has a bearing on that question of which we
have been treating, viz : the coming of Peter to Rome.
Towards the close of Clement's pontificate, or about the
year 96, there rose quite a contention, about something or
another, among the faithful of Corinth, in Greece. As is
usual, in all Church disputes the contending factions han-
dled one another without gloves. Finally, the wise counsels
of some peace-makers prevailed, and the whole matter in
dispute was referred for settlement to the Pope. Ancient
writers do not tell us what the trouble among those Co-
rinthians was about ; and, in all probability, it was not very
clear to themselves. We know that there was a schism or a
split in the Church, but the causes that gave rise to it, we
have no means of discovering.
However, it may not be uninteresting that we give vent ta
some speculations on the subject. We have only to bear in
mind that, at the period.of which we are speaking, that is,
about one hundred years after the birth of Christ, Corinth
was a very large and powerful city, its position being fa-
vorable from a commercial point of view.
Hence, its population was of that nondescript, which is
found in all large cities of recent growth. We say recent,
for though Corinth was one of the most ancient cities of
Greece, yet, that of which we are now speaking only went
back to the time of Julius C^sar, some fifty years before
Christ.
The Roman Consul, Mu3niius, had, about one hundred
years before, entirely wiped out the historic Corinth, by
butchering its adult male inhabitants and selling its women
and children into slavery. The place remained desolate for
the period of one hundred years, when it was again colonized
by JLT.IUS Cesar. Its population, therefore, was made up
206 ALETHAURION.
of the descendants of those old Romans, of Greeks who had
ijeen drawn from the surroundingcountry,and of a medley
of Western barbarians and Oriental slaves.
The descendants of the Romans assumed an air of supe-
riority over the others, and were fond of throwing into
relief the relations their ancestors bore to so great a man as
C^SAR. Nor would it have served any good purpose, at so
late a day, to have intimated that C^sar got recruits for his
band of colonists, principally from the prisons and work-
houses of the great city.
At the time of which we are speaking these different races
had not as yet merged into one people. Each retained, in a
great measure, its own peculiarities, and, as far as practic-
able, a dislike and hatred of all who were not of their party.
The very same may be observed even to-day, in many of the
Oriental cities where Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Syrians,
&c., live for years together, even for centuries, and still re-
tain within. the same city walls, all their national peculiari-
ties and antipathies. And the spirit may be found to some
extent even here in America.
With this explanation, it will not be difficult to make at
least a prudent guess as to what the trouble was. St. Peter,
St. Paul, and others of the early Evangelists, had made
proselytes to Christianity from the various classes of which
we have been speaking.
But, though all these might have agreed in their belief,
yet it is but fair to suppose that many still retained their
national prejudices, and that each clan had its favorite pres-
byters and ministers. Indeed we have some pretty strong
evidence of this in Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians,
where he finds fault with them because some were for one
minister and some for another.
Those from Alexander, originally, who had settled in
Corinth, lauded their own man, Apollo, most likely because
he was their countryman. Though it must be said of
ALETHAURION. • 207
Apollo, that he certainly deserved all the praise he got,
having been a very learned and eloquent man.
Those who came from the neighborhood of TIrsus, were
of course, proud of the wisdom and genius of Paul him-
self ; and in this their judgment succeeding generations have
with singular unanimity concurred.
Others again who might have come from Galilee, stood up
for Cephas, because he was a Galilean. Such indeed, was
the spirit in Corinth. Neither party would give in to the
other.
The Apostles, of course, disapproved of such doings. Yet
like wise men, they did not undertake to uproot that feeling
of partiality which each of these classes had for its own
country and countrymen. They knew that the Saviour had
sent them to uproot vice and not patriotism.
They made presbyters in almost all the large towns they
had passed through, and took these from the people in each
place, giving Greek priests to Greek people, Syrian priests
to Syrian people, &c. The Apostles were, themselves, as a
matter of course, entirely unprejudiced on matters apper-
taining to race and nationality ; but they knew at the same
time that the various people they had to deal with were
not so.
Hence, when an Athenian gloried in the eloquence of
DexMOSTHexes, the versatillity of Themistocles or the
bravery of Miltiades, they did not snub him for his patriot-
ism ; but showed him that there was one more deserving of
his esteem and his love than any hero Greece had ever pro-
duced.
Such was the condition of affairs at Corinth in the days
of St. Paul ; and that it was not much improved some forty
or fifty years later, we learn from the letter of Pope
Cle3iext to those same Corinthians.
In the opening chapters he speaks of the evils of emula-
tion and contention among brethren, and introduces various
examples from the Old Testament. Then in chapter v, he
208 . ALETHAURION.
tells of what the Apostles, especially Peter and Paul had
suffered on account of envy and jealousy ; and in chapter vi,
still speaking of those two Apostles, he used these words :
*' They were in our midst ^ a most beautiful example."
Here, then, we have Clement, the companion of St.
Paul, the intimate friend of St. Peter, wTitingfrom Rome,
only about thirty years after their death ; and declaring
that both of them were examples among us, i. e., evidently
among us Romans. Who then, after such testimony, can
deny that Peter came to Rome ?
In our next text we will see what Ignatius has to say on
the subject.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
IGNATIUS.
There are three of this name, celebrated in Church his-
tory. The first was bishop of Antioch, and was devoured
by wild beasts in the Flavian amphitheater at Rome, in the
year 107 of our era.
The second was patriarch of Constantinople at the time
Photius drew the Greeks from the Latin Church. He died
A. D. 8Y8.
The third was Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the
Jesuits ; born in Spain in 1491, died in Rome in 1556.
It is of the first of these we mean to speak.
Ignatius was, after the Apostles, one of the most cele-
brated bishops of antiquity. The first mention of him
occurs in verse 2d, chapter xviii of Matthew's gospel. It is
there stated that, when the Disciples had quarreled among
themselves, as to which of them should be the greatest,
the Saviour called a little child, and, placing him in the
midst of them, said :
" Unless you be converted and become as little children you shall not
enter the kingdom of Heaven/'
ALEIHAUKION. 209
This was to teach them not to be looking for the honors
of this world, but rather to cultivate that simplicity of heart,
by which one becomes truly great in the kingdom of Cheist
here, and that of His Father hereafter.
There is a sect somewhere *' down East," the members of
which interpret in the literal sense the text we have given.
Instead of going to the expense of putting up churches,
paying preachers, sextons, singers, &c., as is done among
other denominations, these primitive Christians buy a level
lot, at a convenient distance from town, put up a high board
fence around it, being careful to strip the joinings and
other apertures. Here they meet on Sundays. The old
men appear in knickerbockers and take exercise on broom-
sticks, which they call horses, the women wear short dresses
like children , and devote great attention to dolls and other
infantile playthings.
Little pools of water are made, here and there, through-
out the inclosure, and the services are generally brought to
an end by some one falling, either by accident or design,
into one of these puddles. Word is then passed around
that ** Billy Brown fell in the mud," and all rush to the
spot and set up a laugh. Finally his little sister gets excit-
ed and says . **I am going to tell on you !" Then Billy
gets up, and, makes a race for home, to tell his own story
tirst.
This is one of the most interesting parts of the service,
as only a corpulent brother, and a two hundred pound sister
are considered fit to lead in it. Each must fall down, at
least twice, before getting to the house. The rest follow,
clapping their hands ; some shouting, *' run Billy" — others,
" go it Sally — stick to it old lassy — go for him !"
For the coming few days little else is talked of among
those deluded people but Billy Brown's eloquent sermon.
And thus the world wags. Into these and kindred vagaries
do men run who have not the light of faith to direct their
steps.
210 AT.ETHAUR ION .
But let us return to Ignatius. Ancient tradition assures
us that the little child placed in the midst of the Apostles
was no other than he, of whom we are speaking. After
having arrived at the years of discretion, he became the
disciple of St. John the Evangelist, and was ordained by
St. Peter ; to whom, after the death of EvoDius, he suc-
ceeded as bishop of Antioch.
So great had been his success in gaining souls to Christ
that he excited the envy of the Pagans and Jews of Antioch ;
who only awaited a favorable opportunity to call for his
death, or banishment from the city. This was afforded
them by a visit from the emperor, as he was on his way to
make war on the Partheans and Armenians.
The venerable old man was dragged before the Pagan
tribunal, commanded to sacrifice to the gods, which he, of
course, refused to do. Trajan, who was of a humane
disposition of mind, desired to spare the life of his vener-
ble prisoner, but the Pagan populace clamored for his blood,
and he at length yielded. This was as might have been
expected. For when was a Roman emperor ever known to
sacrifice his popularity, or even risk it, for a Christian,
however innocent. That standing up for right, and not
allowing the innocent to suffer, is a characteristic of Chris-
tian, not of Pagan Rome.
Ignatius was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts in
the Coliseum. Trajan, having thus quieted the Pagans of
Antioch and gained their good will, thought no more of this
old man.
After sentence has been passed, Ignatius was taken in
charge of by the authorities, and preparations made for
sending him to the great city. A company, made up of the
most abandoned and immoral troopers to be found in the
whole army, was organized for this special purpose. It
was feared that if ordinary soldiers were taken, Ignatius
would convert them before they had reached Rome. The
ALETHAURION. 211
consequence was that things were made as unpleasant as
possible for him on his way to death.
When he had arrived at Smyrna, where Polycaep, the
disciple of St. John, was bishop, he wrote four letters:
one to the faithful of Ephesus, another to the Chruch at
Magnesia, a third to the Christians of Tralles, and a fourth
to the Romans. After having left Smyrna, he wrote a let-
ter to the faithful there ; another to the Philadelphians, and
one to Polycaep himself. The genuinity of these epistles
has always been admitted by Catholic writers, and by
Protestants of any name ; nor was it until the seventeenth
century that some scribblers began to question, even to
deny they are his.
St. Ignatius, in those epistles, speaks in a very clear and
distinct way of the real presence; of the sacrament of
matrimony ; of the divine institution of the ecclesiastical
hierarchy, and of other matters which, to heretics, are diffi-
cult of digestion. Hence, they thought it much easier to
say the letters were spurious than to contend against the
authority of such a man as Ignatius.
We need not trouble ourselves to refute these, since the
Anglican bishop, Pearson, has done it for us. When
heretics contend with one another, we stand aside and enjoy
the sport, as we would an encounter of rams. It must be
said of Pearson, that he certainly succeeded in butting his
adversaries outside the ropes, for which we give him credit
and thanks.
Isaac Voss, a Holland Dutchman, and for-a time profes-
sor in the University of Oxford, was of opinion that there
is sufficient intrinsic evidence to prove they are genuine.
The best work, however, on the subject is that of Profes-
sor Ne^t:, of the University of Louvain. In this, the
learned doctor establishes, beyond all cavil, the genuinity
of the letters.
Since these things are so, let us bring all we have said to
bear upon the point at which we are aiming, viz : that Peter
212 ALETHAURION.
came to Rome. Towards the end of chapter iv, of his
epistle to the Romans, Ignatius uses these words :
^'I do not give you precepts, as did Sts. Peter and Paul; they were
Apostles of Jesus Christ. I am the least of all."
From this it will be seen that, not only St. Paul, but
also St. Peter taught the Romans, and we may justly infer
that they came on the spot to do it.
In our next we will continue about Ignatius, and give
some facts about the Coliseum, where he was martyred, and
of the Church of St. Clement, where his remains now are.
CHAPTER XLIX.
LET LOOSE THE LIONS.
In the last chapter we spoke of the letter of Ignatius to
the Romans, in which he refers to the fact that they had
been instructed in the faith by the Apostles Peter and
Paul. But he only alludes to it, just as any Catholic
bishop of the present day, in writing a letter of congratula-
tion, or of thanks for some favor received, to the faithful
of Baltimore, for example, might speak of the circumstance
that they had been blessed by the preaching and example of
the sainted Archbishop Carroll.
Ignatius refers to a fact that was well known to the
Romans, but does not undertake to prove it, for it would
have been as needless in him to have done so, as it would
be in the writer to set to work and prove that U. S. Grant
was elected President of the United States some eight years
ago, and that when his term of office had expired, he was
again returned to the White House.
Cotemporary writers who are not professed chroniclers,
scarcely ever more than allude to a fact which all are pre-
sumed to know.
Now, before passing on to give the testimony of Papias,
ALETHAURION. 213
and of others, it may not be altogether devoid of interest,
nor unacceptable, that we continue the history of that holy
old soldier of the faith, of whom we have been speaking.
On the way from Antioch to Rome, he complains in his
letter, of the rough treatment he experienced at the hands
of the soldiers who composed his guard. *'The more kindly
I treat them," says he, *'the worse they get."
This gloating over the sufferings of bishops, priests and
other confessors of the faith, which is often observable in
Pagans and heretics, cannot well be accounted for on any
other hypothesis than by admitting the secret influence of
the devil, who hates Christ, and, consequently his servants
also. We, Catholics, do not abuse and malign heretics and
infidels, in those places where we are in the majority. On
the contrary, we accord them every liberty we claim for
ourselves. We respect conscience, even in those cases
where we may have good reason to suppose that it is simply
seared, and does not act at all. We leave the judgment of
our fellow-beings to God, to whom it rightly belongs. In
Austria, where Catholics are vastly in the majority, the her-
etics have their own schools, supported by the government,
just as those of the faithful are. In France, the same way.
Even in the Catholic parts of Canada the- heretics enjoy the
same privileges that the others do. When a Catholic gentle-
man has a servant who is a heretic, he does not abuse him,
nor attempt to be witty by saying that only Infidels, Protest-
ants and dogs eat meat on Friday.
This charity of Catholics towards unbelievers is, to the
mind of the writer, one of the best proofs that the spirit of
Christ is in His Church. Now, take a brief view of the
other side of the question.
Look at Prussia, an Infidel, or Protestant government, it
would be hard to say which, persecuting Catholics in every
way that the spirit of the age can permit. Look at Russia
whose career for the past one hundred and fifty years has
been one of persecution.
214 ALETHAUBION.
To come down to individuals : is there a Catholic, who has
lived for a time among heretics, that does not know that
they are continually harping on the Pope, on bishops,
priests, nuns, etc.
Moreover, it is a well known fact that, when a Catholic
runs for office, the heterodox will not vote for him, simply
and solely because he is a Catholic.
We may look upon these facts as demonstrating that the
spirit of the devil, which is that of hate, directs the head
and heart of the unbeliever, when he has the true Church
under consideration. This spirit burned in the breasts of
the Pagans of old, and it bums in the breasts of the heretics
now. **You shall be hated by all men, for my name
sake," (Matt, x, 22), said the Saviour to His Apostles.
After a long and painful voyage, Ignatius at last ar-
rived at the mouth of the Tiber, where there was then a
town called Ostia. He was not permitted to rest there
long, but was hurried on to the city that very day. It was
the 20th of December.
News of his -arrival at the port had gone before him to
Rome, and great numbers of the faithful came out to meet
him, and get his blessing. This greeting is said to have
taken place on, or near, the spot where the Church of St.
Paul now stands. Ignatius besought those good people not
to pray for his deliverance, but rather allow him to receive
that crown of martyrdom for which he had sighed and
prayed for years.
As soon as he had passed within the walls, the Coliseum
met his gaze, and the confused shouts of the multitude,
mingled with the roaring of wild beasts, might have terrified
any other than the true Catholic hero that he was. The
last, but one, of a batch of gladiators had just fallen in the
arena, and the shouts which he heard were the praises of
the spectators given to the conqueror.
A dead silence came over the multitude as the captain of
the military company that had him in charge, led Ignatius
ALETHAUEION. 215
through the eastern gate to the center of the arena, and
thence, at right angles, to the imiDerial pavilion. The em-
peror was absent ; but the prefect of the city held his place.
Blood-thirsty monster as he was, the prefect was yet moved
with pity on beholding so aged and venerable a man about
to be made the food of ferocious beasts. He invited Igna-
tius to sacrifice to the gods and save his life. But the old
soldier of the cross answered with the independence and
freedom that became a Catholic, insomuch that his frank-
ness displeased the servant of his majesty, the emperor.
The Pagan horde, accustomed to fawn upon those in
power, seeing not only the prefect, but the gods of Rome
set at defiance, cried out as with one voice, ** Let loose the
lions !^^
Ignatius was again conducted to the center of the arena
where he knelt in prayer. The grating of the heavy iron
gates was heard, and two Numidian lions bounded from
their den. A few moments more, and the soul of Ignatius
had sped on its way to the realms of eternal bliss.
With a sign from the prefect, the games were declared
closed, and the multitude dispersed. That night, Tvhat re-
mained of the martyr's bones were collected by a few faith-
ful brethren and taken to the house of Cleiment, not far
from the Coliseum. From thence thev were brouorht to
o
Antioch, and buried outside of Porta Daphnitica, or gate of
Daphne.
In the' days of the Emperor Heraclius they were again
transferred back to Rome and placed in the Church of St.
Clement.
During the incursions of the barbarians this Church had
gone to ruin, and remained so until the twelfth century,
when a new one, which remains to this day, was erected on
the site.
Not many years ago, Father Mulooly, prior of the Irish
Dominicans, who have charge of it, made excavations, and
laid open to the eyes of men of the nineteenth century sotne
216 ALETHAUBION.
of the practices of the Church in the fourth. The frescoes,
or paintings on the old walls, show priests and deacons
dressed as they are to-day when sa}ing mass. The inscrip-
tions are also in accordance with our present belief. Many
of the more intelligent Protestants have been converted by
those painted sermons on the walls.
During the excavations, the relics of Ignatius were also
discovered, and were borne in solemn procession to the arena
of the Coliseum, and placed, for a short time, on the spot
where, nearly eighteen centuries ago, he gave testimony, and
shed his blood for the faith.
The writer had the honor of taking part in that procession.
But time had wrought changes — the Coliseum in ruins — the
cross in the center of its arena — C^sar only a name — the
Galilean has conquered — and thus it will ever be.
Our next will be about Papias.
CHAPTER L.
PAPIAS.
In chapter xxix we had occasion to speak of Papias, and
of the millennium, with which his name has become insepa-
rably connected. We introduce him here again, as one of
those cotemporary writers, who speak of the coming of St.
Peter to Rome.
Paplvs was bishop of Hierapolis, a city of Phrgyia, in
Asia Minor, and having died at an advanced age, in the year
118, he may be regarded as coeval with the Apostles. It is
highly probable, however, that he did not, himself, see nor
converse with any of them.
EusEBius, bishop of Cesarea, in Palestine, surnamed the
Father of Church History , speaks, in a part of his works,
in terms by no means flattering of the mental capacity of
Papias. He calls him a man of very little head.
ALETHAURION. 217
Such au expressiou does not comport very well with our
ideas of a bishop, especiaUy in those primitive times, when
the h)est and most intelligent were usually raised to that
office. There was but little earthly fame or gain attached to
the mitre in those days, and the unworthy, who, under more
favorable circumstances, might have aspired to it, were will-
ing then, that good apostolic little men, like Papias, should
have all the glory as well as the troubles and dangers con-
nected with it.
Hence, the vast majority of the bishops of the early
Church were, not only of great sanctity, but also of intel-
lectual endowments far above the average.
The system of electing bishops by the presbyters and
people prevailed in those days ; and that also may account
for the fact that the best that could be found were taken to
preside over the Church. When we speak here of the
election of bishops by the people, we must not be under-
stood as using the word in the sense that the Campbellites
and Baptists of the present day employ it.
They elect their preachers it is true, but, in the Church
of Christ something else must come after the election to
office, in order that a man may be really a minister, in the
apostolic sense of the word ; and, it is precisely this some-
thing else, viz : orders and jurisdiction^ which neither the
Baptists, Campbellites, nor any other heretical sect, is able
to give. Seeing then that great care and vigilance were
made use of, in the early days of the Church, in the matter
of promoting men to bishoprics, we may well wonder, if the
testimony of Eusebius be true, how such a man aS Papias
got into a mitre.
The writer is disposed to think, that the words of the
historian, {ingenii quidem pertenuis) spoken of Papias,
must not be taken in the strict and literal sense. In fact,
EusEBius, in another part of his history, speaks of Papias
in terms of the greatest praise. He calls him a very learned
218 ALETHAURION.
man, and most skillful in the scriptures. (Book III,
c. 36.)
St. Jerome also, in his 71st Epistle, which is to Licixius,
excuses himself for not translatinsr the works of Papias
into Latin, by saying that he had not the time nor the
ability to do justice, in a translation, to the original.
Seeing then that our friend is .called, in one place, an
imbecile, almost, and in another, a learned man and an ele-
gant writer, that the reader may not conceive a wrong idea
of St. elERO^iE, and Eusebius too, we propose giving our
own opinion about Papias, and lettiiig it stand for what it
is worth.
To begin : let it be remembered that, to render a true
judgment on the merits of another, is a most difficult under-
taking. Most of the judgments that men make about each
other are entirely wrong ; and if , in some cases, they turn
out correct it is only after the fact that the judges become
thoroughly persuaded of their own sharpness and foresight.
Hence the highest Wisdom has said ^^ judge not.'''
Not alone an intimate knowledge of a man's daily life is
required when he is put in the balance, but also freedom
from prejudice, and genius of the highest kind, in him who
makes the estimate.
Alexander Pope, the poet, said, that Shakspeare's
writings were the finest specimens of the bombastic. If he
had seen Haivilet, as punctuated by Barry Sullivan, or
Edwin Booth, probably he would have changed his mind.
Some of the writings of Goldsmith were frightfully cut
up by critics, who could not have done as well.
Byron was very roughly handled by Jeffrey, a man who
U^ver wrote a line of poetry in his life, fit for any one to
read.
After the battle of Wagram, a former professor in a
French military academy, a friend of the Bourbon dynasty,
wrote a book in which he proved, to his own satisfaction,
that Napoleon did not know much about the real science of
ALETHAUBION. 219
war ; and that his victories were principally owing to chance.
The pedagogue sent a copy of this book to the Archduke
Charles, who was next to Bonaparte, one of the best gen-
erals of those times. The Archduke read it with much sat-
isfaction, and remarked to a friend, when through :
" I can find no fault in the logic of this book, everthing appears well
thought out, and the observations of the author seem to be entirely just
and proper. Yet," said his grace, in conclusion. '' of one thing I am
certain, that if the writer of this book had to lead an army against Xapo-
LEOx as I did at Aspern, Esling and Wagram, he would very soon dis-
cover a flaw in his logic, and confusion in his ranks."
Thus are the judgments of men warped, sometimes by
ignorance of those they have under consideration, oftener
by the hatred, envy, jealousy or incapacity of the judge
himself.
With these 'observations, let us again return to Papias.
He collected all the oral traditions that were afloat in his^
day concerning the Saviour and his Apostles. These he put
in book form and called it '* An exposition of the discourses
of our Lord." It is to be regretted that only a few frag-
ments of this work remain, preserved in the writings of
EUSEBIUS.
Now, as Papias was, confessedly, a learned, pious and
zealous bishop, a firm believer in the divinity of Christ,
which he, no doubt, put forward in a very clear way in his
book, does it not look natural enough that Eusebius, wha
was tainted with Arianissm, should in his history, have at-
tempted to set aside the testimony of such a man, by calling
him a credulous blockhead. This looks natural. For men
of schismatical or heretical proclivities have a great talent
for covering up the truth ; or inserting in its stead, their
own imaginings.
Let us now listen to what our friend has to say. Eusebius,
book II, chap. 15, thus introduces him :
'•To whom also we may add Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis. He
affirms that mention is made of Mark by Peter, in his first epistle,
which epistle he contends was written in Rome, and that Peter himself
insinuates as much by calling Rome, in a figurative sense, Babylon."
220 . ALETHAURION.
Thus for Papias — and in justice to truth, it must be said
that he is the only cotemporary writer that mentions, in ex-
press words, that Peter was in Rome. Clemext and Igna-
tius merely allude to the fact without stating it in so many
words.
Our next will contain the testimony of Caius.
CHAPTER LI.
CAIUS.
Caius or. Guy, was one of the commonest names among
the ancient Romans. It comports most nearly to Sandy
among the Scotch, or Hans among the Dutch at the present
day.
As an illustration of this fact we may mention that, after
the marriage ceremony in those times, it was customary for
the lady, who then as well as now, is presumed to have the
last word to say to her husband, ** ubi tu Caius, ego Caia."
That is, where you are Caius, I will be Caia — where you
are a good husband, I will be a good wife — where you are
Hans, I will be Barbara.
It must be confessed that, in a country like this we live
in, where the young ladies are, generally speaking, all that
ought to be expected, and the young men a trifling set, as a
general rule, it would not be a bad idea, after the marriage
contract, for the party of the feminine gender to say to her
lord, ** now show yourself a man. a husband, and I will
show myself a womauy a wife." The great trouble in our
day, especially in the cities, is that men do not show them-
selves husbands. They are in the saloons when they ought
to be at home, and they spend for grog the money that
ought to be used to buy clothes and shoes for their brats.
But we started out to speak of things that occurred long
AJLETHAURION. 221
ago, and here we are moralizing about the present. Let us
begin anew.
Caius, whose name stands at the head of this chapter,
was an ancient Koman presbyter, or priest. As regards his
personal history, we know but little, beyond the fact that
he was a man of great zeal and a champion of the faith in
his day and generation. Had it not been for the Church
historian, Eusebius, in all probability, the memory of the
good that he did, would long since have been interred with
his bones. We may judge, however, from the notices of
him that have came down to us, that he was considerable
of a factor in the Church, and that he gave the heretics of
his time many a vigorous blow.
Caius was the father of To3i Maguire of Rome. He ap-
pears to have been by nature a soldier, and the learning
that he possessed was not in his library, but in his head.
** I fear a man of one book," is an old Spanish proverb,
and it contains a great deal of wisdom ; but the man who
has genuine individuality of character is a customer more
difficult to handle. There are men, who if asked even a rea-
sonably plain question, on a scientific subject, will tell you
what this author, that one, and the other have said, but
when requested to give their own judgment, they lack the
ability to do so. Such men are like truncated cones ; they
never come to the point, and consequently do, most gener-
ally, fail in whatever they undertake.
Of quite a contrary character was our friend Caius. He
could, with great rapidity, look through a complicated mass
of facts and theories, brush aside what was unimportant,
and concentrate all the powers of his mind on the main
issue. This faculty for sifting things, on short notice, is
really a gift, and when possessed in an eminent degree,
makes its owner approximate, in a manner, to the angelic
nature.
' Now, at the time of which we are speaking, A. D. 200-
217, during the pontificate of Pope Zepherinus, there was
222 ALETHAURION.
a set of heretics in Rome that went by the name of Cata-
phrigians. They formed one of the branches of the Monta-
nist heresy, and bore the same relation to Montanus, the
founder of the sect, that the Baptists, Campbellites, Metho-
dists or Mormons of the present day, dotoIMARXixLuTHEK,
the founder of Protestantism.
To this sect belonged Proculus, a person who had all
the obstinacy of a heresiarch, along with the cunning,
trickery, audacity and immorality peculiar to the same.
He had, however, a ready tongue, and some learning. By
gping around challenging, and disputing with other heretics,
he had become quite notorious, and raised as much dust and
noise as a playful pup in a poultry-yard.
The Catholics of those times, as of our own, were not
much given to such contentions. They were satisfied to
learn, from the proper authorities, the truths of the faith,
practice them, and bring up their children in the hope of
immortality. Such mountebanks as Proculus, were not
heeded, for they well knew that notoriety was what he
mostly desired ; and it would only be adding fuel to the
flame, to have noticed him. He kept on, until finally, he
ran against our friend Caius, and that was just where he
made his greatest mistake. Caius disputed with the heretic,
and so thoroughly demolished him, that he took the gallop-
ing consumption and shied off, in obscurity, to the Lethean
shores.
Though, as a general rule, the spirit of contention with
heretics and infidels should not be introduced into, nor en-
couraged in the Church ; yet, under proper auspices, good
may, and frequently does, result from such passages at arms ;
provided Christian charity is observed by the contending
parties, and there be, on the side of error, good faith in him
who champions it.
Many of the ancient Fathers of the Church, such as Ori-
GEN, Tertulliax, Augustine, and others, were controver-
sialists, and, in modeni times, we have such men as Bossuet,
ALETHAURION. 223
MiLNEK, Doyle, Hughes, und Purcell, who, both orally
iind in writing, have drawn the sword of the spirit with
success.
As to the laity, in a country like this, where, like the
rank and file of soldiers, on the field of battle, they have to
go into the thick of the fight, their duty is clear enough,
and may be expressed as follows :
First of all, take in a supply of ammunition — by the
word, we mean here a knowledge of the truths of the faith,
history of the Church, etc. Fire and throw shells right and
left into the enemy's ranks — keep cool — all must be done
in Christian charity — we conquer but to save. Some of
your balls will miss the mark, some of the shells will not
explode at once, but they will after a time ; keep on using
your ammunition ; it only costs you a trifle, and the supply
at headquarters is immense. It may never, on earth, be
granted you to see the amount of damage you have done
the cause of error, nor the service you have rendered the
cause of truth. This knowledge will come only after you
have fought your last battle.
The writer of this has had the pleasure of introducing
into the true fold upwards of twenty persons, adults, and
he can state it as his firm belief and conviction, that each
and every one of these was first brought into the way of
investigation by the words, or by the example, of a member
of the laity.
We have been led into the foregoing reflections by the
character of the man under consideration. Now, in conclu-
sion, we will see how he bears testimony to the fact that St.
Peter came to Rome. Eusebius tells us, in book vi, chap-
ter 20, that he had, himself, read the dispute between Caius
and Proculus ; and in book ii, chapter 25, he makes use
of the following words :
"Caius, a certain Catholic man who lived at the time that Zepheri-
Kus was bishop of Rome, in that book, which he \\Tote against Pro-
culus, the patron of the sect called Cataphrigians, in disputing about
the place where the bodies of the aforesaid Apostles, Peter and Paul
#
224 ALETHAURION.
are buried, says : 'I can, indeed, show you trophies, for whether you
should be pleased to go to the Vatican hill, or along the re ad to Ostii,
you will tind the trophies of them who founded that Chnich/ viz : tie
Boman Ch.u-ch."
The trophies spoken of in the quotation, mean the tombs
of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. St. Peter was cruci-
fied on the Janiculum, and St. Paul beheaded at a place
called the Three Fountains. But their bodies were not
interred where they had suffered. The one was taken to
the foot of the Vatican, and buried w^here the Church of St.
Peter now stands. The remains of the other were bi'ought
from the Three Fountains, to a point about four miles closer
to the city, and buried where St. Paul's may be seen at the
present day This testimony of Caius is as explicit on the
subject as need be desired. In disputing with an heretic he
points to public monuments, and to facts that the heretics
could not deny.
DiONYSiUS will be our next.
CHAPTER LIl.
BACCHUS.
Before the coming of Christ, idolatry was practiced by
all the nations of the earth, except the Jews. This often
took the shape of hero worship. Men, who had distin-
guished themselves in war, or by the invention of some
useful art, after having received the praises of their co-
temporai-ies during life, came to be regarded, after some
generations, as entirely superior beings, and worthy of di-
vine homage. Had the coming of the Saviour been delayed
by, say two thousand years, who knows but some of us
might now be engaged in worshiping Ollam, Fodlah, or
FuAN MacOuil, instead of the one true and living God.
He, whose name stands at the head of this chapter, in
all probability, belongs to the class of men of whom we
ALETHAURION. 225
are speaking. As regards his real history, little or nothing
is known.
Some think he was the same as Sesostrius, (Rh^iasas II,)
the celebrated Egvtian king, who flourished about thirteen
hundred years before Christ, and conquered India, with a
great part of the then known world. There are even not
wanting those who think that the original Bacchus was no
other than Noah himself. As to who Bacchus really was,
is one of those deep questions, to the solution of which no
one outside of an Indian Brahmin, or a Dutch philosopher,
need approach.
To conKne ourselves to probabilities, we would say that
he was some man who lived about the beginning of the
heroic age of Greece, and, having acquired skill in agricul-
ture, and in. the treatment of the vine, he disclosed to his
semi-barbarous countrymen what a power of fun and jollity
there is in the juice of the grape. He thus rendered his
name immortal, and in the estimation of his fellow barba-
rians, secured a place among the gods. Bacchus was wor-
shiped among the ancients with a devotion fully equal to the
honor*^ he receives in modern times.
His feasts, celebrated at Mounts Citharon, and Parnassus,
in Greece, were for the women alone, who, on such occa-
sions, ran wild through the mountains, dressed as they had
come from the hands of their maker. Should any man
attempt to intrude, his life paid the forfeit of his foolhardi-
ness, or curiosity, as the case might be. This is, probably,
the first example we have in history of a woman's rights
party.
The place, however, at which the rites of Bacchus were
carried out fulh^ with all their developments and ramifica-
tions, was the town of Nyssa, in Asia Minor, and, from
this circumstance he received the name of Dionysius, or
god of Nyssa.
The excesses indulged in, during these Bacchanalia, are
I
226 ALETHAUKION.
said to have been ridiculous, even immoral beyond descrip-
tion. People may talk, nowadays, of the irregularities of
a Methodist camp-meeting, but Christianity, even in its
lowest phases, has nothing to account f(5r, in comparison
with the depravity of ancient Paganism. Kot only the
slaves and debased portion of the community took part in
these orgies, but even men, otherwise possessed of enlight-
ened views, thought it no disgrace to throw themselves com-
pletely away on such occasions.
The historian of Alexander the great, relates how that
renowned warrior, on his march back from India, had built
an immense chariot, or rather platform on wheels, on top
of which, in imitation of Bacchus, he caroused and drank,
until many of his officers thought he had completely lost his
senses.
If some of those infidels of the present day, who affect
to admire Paganism, could only get it back in its simon
l^urity, for a time, may be we would hear no more of their
whining about Christianity interfering with the progress and
development of the race.
In due time the rites of Bacchus were introduced into
Rome ; and, of course, readily adopted. Like the Brook-
lyn and Chicago sinners, who flocked to hear Moody and
Sankey, and affected, hypocritically, a conversion from their
evil w^ays, the Pagan Roman did not require much forcing
to make him believe that Bacchus w^as a god deserving of
honor. But like the preaching and singing of the two
worthies alluded to, results did not justify expectations,
and, consequently, in the year 146 B. C, the Roman sen-
ate, by a solemn decree, which remains extant to this day,
abolished the Bacchanalian rites and orgies.
The Saturnalia;, or capers, in honor of the god Saturx,
took their place ; and these, stripped of every objectionable
feature by Christianity, remain, strange to say, even until
now. They go under the name of the Carnival, during
which, every one in Rome, who has a spark of life in him.
ALETHAURION 227
is supposed to forget dull care, and enjoy himself hugely
for a few days — within the precepts of the gospel, however.
In the year 1724, an Englishman, named Middleton,
visited Rome during the Carnival ; and while passing along
the Corso, was pelted, like all the others, with confetti,
until he looked like a miller's boy. Having had on at the
time, a beaver hat and a black cut-away coat, and having
had, moreover, some aspirations for the mitre, among the
Anglicans, he did not relish such work at all. By way of
reprisal, and to vindicate outraged dignity, he conceived the
idea of writing a book against such abominations, and he
wrote it. This he called a Letter from Rome. In it he
proved, to his own satisfation, that the religion of Rome, in
his day, was derived from Paganism. What a mystery
human nature is, and how veiy few there are who speak or
act from pure principle? Had we the means of examining
the motives of men, which the Omniscient has, how often
would we not find a dirty blotch where the uninitiated can
see naught but the color of the rose ! If Middletox had
not been pelted with the confetti, may be he would have seen
Rome, and its religion, through differently colored glasses.
We are all ruined by cheap Chinese labor, as the Califor-
nia gambler said, when he was outwitted, and desired to
recover, by main force, what he was unable to retain by
his skill. No doubt, the animosity that men sometimes
manifest towards those who differ with them, whether in
politics or religion, may often, if not always, be traced up
to considerations that are entirely personal.
We knew a Scotchman who hated all Welshmen gener-
ally — on principle — because they w^ere so mean. But the
true reason for his dislike to the class alluded to, was the
fact that, in an encounter with one, he had come out minus
a thumb. On the same principle you will sometimes find
lazy drones of men, tramps, complaining that they can get
nothing to do because of their religion or nationality, when
228 ALETHAURION.
it is their own lack of energy, or may be their disposition
to be tricky and unreliable, that makes them failures.
God surrounds virtue in the next life with glory ; energy
with purple in this, and sloth with rags in both.
Thus far we have spoken of Bacchus. In our next we
will take his other name of Dionysius, make some com-
ments on the theory of Mr. Middletox, and show how a
Dionysius bears testimony to the fact that St. Peter came
to Eome.
CHAPTER LIII.
DIONYSIUS.
In the last chapter we spoke, incidentally, of a cockney
preacher named Middleton, who visited Rome in 1724, and
discovered that the Romans of that day had got their reli-
gion from their pagan ancestors. Before giving the testi-
mony of Dionysius to the fact that Peter came to the city
of the Seven Hills, a word or two about this cockney. His
book is leveled against the honor and veneration given to
the saints by the Catholic Church.
Hence, to get at him, we must clear away the weeds, then
we can seize him and decapitate, at our leisure. Let us
first consider what worship is.
Worship may be defined as the honor which is given to
God, or to a creature, with an eye to and out of respect for
God. It is of two kinds, the first and hi<2:he.st called by
writers on theology, Latvia, is that given to God alone.
The second and inferior, is called Dulia, and is precisely
that worship which, in the Catholic Church, is given to the
saints and angels, this distinction is, or ought to be, clear
enough for any one who is not a registered lunatic or born
idiot. Yet, there are preachers, like Middleton, who get
this matter, even to this day, hopelessly mixed. They will
ALETHAURION. 229
have it that we honor the saints with the same worship we
give the Almighty.
We Catholics are sometimes astonished that heretics are
so slow in comprehending things that are so plain to us. No
doubt some of them speak and write in bad faith. That is,
they make assertions they know to be untrue. But when
we speak of the bulk of heretics, it would scarcely do to put
them all under the heading of liars. There are many who
though not professing the true faith, have yet some good
qualities who are, according to our way of speaking, good
citizens and acceptable acquaintances.
A study of the cause of the religious obtuseness of such,
requires that we go a little beyond the surface into what
is called human nature. In the first place, let it be under-
stood, that he who is the slave of any particular vice, has
his intellect clouded to a corresponding degree, as regards
the contrary virtue.
The avaricious man can, with difficulty, find an object,
worthy of his liberality ; and the miseries of the poor he
attributes to their own laziness, lack of energy, or improvi-
dence. His intellect is clouded, and his will is not moved
to charitable deeds when the widow and the orphan hold
forth their hands. The libertine hates priests, monks and
nuns, because his intellect is befogged by sensual indul-
gence.
Thus, also, it is with heretics, as regards the truths of our
holy faith. Though, in mere temporal matters they may
be, and frequently are very acute ; in spiritual things, the
profession or error to which they are accustomed, obnubi-
lates the intellect and they become veritable blockheads.
Hence, it happens, when we endeavor to explain things
that are so clear to ourselves, we are surprised at their
obtuseness.
As regards the first kind of worship, which is given to
God alone there can be no difference between us. But on
the second, we are considerably at variance. The question
230 ALETHAURION.
resolves itself into this : Is it lawful or useful to honor
and invoke the saints ?
ViGiLANTius, a heretic of the fifth century, was the first
to deny it, and he was handsomely snuffed out by St. Je-
rome. Faustus, another of the same breed, got his dose
from the hands of Dr. Austin, bishop of Hippo.
And our modern theologians have been doctoring Luther,
Beausobore, Middleton, Gibbon and others, for some
years past, with fair prospects of an early, and a splendid
funeral.
It is not wTong for men to honor the saints, because God
himself has done and does so. John xiv, 23. It is useful
to invoke their intercession, because St. Paul did so, even
in the case of saints not yet confirmed in glory. Roman
XV, 30.
Our friend Middleton discovered durinsr his stav in the
Eternal City, that the Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa,
as a receptacle for all the gods, has lost its statues of
Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mars, Venus, Priapus, and, in
their stead, are those of our Lord, his blessed Mother, and
the saints.
Hence, he came to the conclusion that the Blessed Virgin
and the saints are now worshipped in Rome, as Juno, Mars,
Apollo, etc., were then honored and adored. Now there
is some truth, if not in the theory, at least in the facts of
Mr. Middleton. It is true that the Pantheon, which w^as
formerly a pagan temple, is now a Christian Church. The
niches where once stood the statues of the gods of Rome,
are nov/ filled with those of Christian* heroes.
On the spot where stood the temple of Minerva, in pagan
times, there is now a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin.
The Coliseum, where gladiators fought with wild beasts
and stabbed one another for the amusement of the heathen,
is now sacred to the memory of the Christian martyrs.
On top of Monte Cavo where stood the celebrated temiDle
of Jupiter, there is now a Passionist monastery.
ALETHAURION. 231
The Catholic religion is not destructive except of evil.
We storm the strongholds of Satan, drive him out, purify
what he has defiled, and hold it as a trophy. It is in such
ways, that Rome honors error.
The house yet stands on Sycamore street, Cincinnati,
where the illustrious Archbishop disputed with and van-
quished the heresiarch Campbell. It was then a Camp-
bellite meeting house, now it is a Christian Church. When
the din of battle ceases, and the smoke is blown away, the
Catholic Church is invariably found mistress of the situa-
tion. Thus it ought to be, and it is thus.
The Romans of the present day do certainly imitate their
pagan ancestors in some particulars. For example : when
Romulus, the founder of the city, was pressed in a battle,
on the Palatine, he prayed to the unknown God for
strength to overcome his foes. Pius IX, also prays that
iniquity may not flourish and that the enemies of religion
may not succeed.
The ancient pagan Roman had a dread to call any of his
gods to witness a lie ; and the modern Catholic Roman has
the same awe of a false oath. Thus it will be found that,
in some things, the religion of the modern Roman is de-
rived from his pagan ancestors. Or rather let us put it in
a clearer way for you, friend Middleton.
The religion of the modern Roman, is the development
Christ gave to that natural law inscribed upon the heart of
man from the beginning. Another strong evidence of the
fact that the Catholic religion is derived from paganism
consists in this, that many saints in the calendar have
names that originally belonged to the gods and goddesses,
demigods, and the heroes of heathenism. Logic again.
We have an illustration of this in the case of him whose
name stands at the head of this chapter — Dionysius. Not-
withstanding his bad name, however, he became a bishop,
and a good one. We may now introduce him more fully,
232 ALETH AURION .
as one of those ancient writers who bear testimony to the
fact that Peter came to Rome.
DiONYSius was made bishop of Corinth about the year
170, and he had the. reputation of being one of the most
learned men of his day. He wrote eight epistles to differ-
ent churches, all of which, with the exception of a few
fragments, have been lost. The fragments we quote is
found in book ii, c. 25, of Eusebius' Church History. It
is from his letter to the Romans, and runs thus :
"For both of them, SS. Peter and Paul, having entered our city of
Corinth, and having scattered liere the seed of the gospel, tanght us.
Then they ^vent togetlier to Italy, and having likewise instructed you,
(Romans), both suffered martyrdom at the same time. These things
have I mentioned, that the memory of the fact may become better and
better established."
This quotation expkiins itself. Dioxysius, who had an
excellent opportunity of knowing the facts in the case,
states that Peter and Paul, having passed through Corinth,
went to Rome, where both were put to death.
What Irexeus says will form the groundwork for our
next.
CHAPTER LIV
irexeus.
Irexeus was bishop of Lyons, and suffered martyrdom
for the faith in the year 202. In youth, he was a disciple
of PoLYCARP, who was a disciple of St. Joux the Evange-
list. He was one of those grand old heroes of the early
Church, worthy successor of the Apostles in zeal ; a sentinel
on the watch towers of Zion, whose light still shines
through the dim vista of ages, and whose written word is
still a solace to the heart, even though the hand that penned
it has Ions: sinc'c moldered to dust.
Great was his reputation for piety and learning, among
his cotemporaries ; but it is to be regretted that of his works
ALETHAUKION. 233
only the treatise Against Heresies^ has come down to us.
The rest of his writings did not keep up with Time, and are
now undiscoverable in the mazes of the past. That good-
natured Rotterdammer, Erasmus, who is said to have laid
the Qgg out of which Luther hatched the reformation, in
his preface to the works of Ireneus, says :
'• They breathe the primitive vigor of the gospel. * The phases show
a heart prepared for martyrdom, for the martyrs liave a certain strong,
masculine and fearless way of speaking.'*
Our Rotterdam friend expresses here an idea which he
certainly did not carry out himself, for he had only the
heart of a sparrow.
All those who have ever done the Christian cause a real
service, from the time of the Saviour to our own., have car-
ried in their breasts hearts prepared for martyrdom. He
who is ready to die for the faith is generally thinking about
something else besides w^hat he shall eat, or wherewith he
shall be clothed ; which is, unfortunately, getting to be one
of the great problems of our day, and one of the main draw-
backs to the spread of the gospel. It is true, as Erasmus
say<, that the martyrs have a way of speaking, peculiar to
themselves.
liic Roman emperors often felt this, and their wrath was
mure and more enkindled thereby. When the pagan gladia-
tors appeared in the ampitheater, they marched before the
emperor, waved their swords in the air, and saluted him
with the words, Ave C^sar : Morituri te Salutamus. They
hoped by this piece of flattery to gain his good will, even
though they were not long to enjoy it.
The Christian martyrs gave his majesty another kind of
salutation , calculated to make him feel he was not as great a
being as he imagined : . Tu quidem scelestissime in Presenti
vita nosperdis: Sed Rex mundi, Cristus, defunctos nospro
suis legihus in ceternce vitoe resurrectione suscitabit.
It is thus, also, that the great men of every age of the
Church spoke and acted towards those who opposed Christ
234 ALETHAURION.
and His gospel. They expected no quarter from the world,
and they asked for none. They did not flatter the powerful
in order to gain their protection .
There are few things more unbecomins^, and as fruitless
withal, as to see a man who professes the true faith hob-
nobbing with some infidel or heretical person in power, under
pretence of benefiting the Church. The Church never has
been benefited and never will be by men of that brand. The
writer, some years ago, came across one of the kind.
On being asked why he did not go to church regularly on
Sundays, and above all, why he did not go to confession
and communion, it being the paschal time, he replied : ''I
believe the course 1 am pursuing is more advantageous to
the Church in this place than if I should become a practical
Catholic. For being half and half I gain the good will of
the Protestants, by showing them we are not prejudiced ;
and I shall continue to believe, of course, that the old way
is the right one and the only one."
*' Mr. Blaxk," we replied, "if you have spoken out your
mind, you are laboring under a delusion, and you are moreover
'an enemy to every Protestant that gets acquainted with you."
" How so," said he.
"It is thus : As you circulate among unbelievers, they have
an opportunity of studying you, and in doing so, they no
doubt imagine they are gaining true notions concerning the
Catholic Church. Now the truth is, you poison the atmos-
phere in which you move, for you show yourself insincere.
You make them believe that Catholics are like themselves,
unsettled in their opinions. The laborer, who, though he has
to work hard, will yet abstain from meat one day out of each
week, and will ride several miles over bad roads to hear mass
on Sundays in winter, is by that alone, giving a proof of
his sincerity, and one word from him would weigh more
with a dying heretic than a peck of sermons from such as
you. Don't try to excuse the practices of the Catholic
Church, for they need none. Explain them as far as you
ALETHAUEION. 235
can, but do not for a moment imagine that you could
remodel the Saviour's handiwork with any degree of profit
to the human race. Moreover, even though you should
succeed in converting all the heretics in creation, of what
utility would that be to you, if you became a reprobate
yourself.'*
It cannot be said that we have in the Catholic Church,
even at the present day, a great many of the class of men
of which we are speaking, but, the few we have, do an
injury to the cause they pretend to advocate.
There is to be no compromise with error. Truth and
falsehood will not form a chemical compound. It will be
at best only a mechanical mixture.
The success of some politicians, that are Catholics only
in name, also hinders the propagation of sound principles
among the youth of the rising generation. When one of
the latter sees Mr. Brown falling down before the Beast,
and getting office, on account of his liberal views, or apos-
tacy, as you may please to call it, he thinks he must do the
same thing in order to have the like success. ** All these
things will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me,"
said Satan to the Saviour. He does not promise the major-
ity of politicians much, and even that little they do not
always get.
It is refreshing to turn away from such people to contem-
plate a truly sincere man — Ireneus, who, as our Dutch
friend says, spoke like a man who did not fear death. Let
us see what he has had to say about the coming of Peter
to Rome. In book iii, Against Heresies, he uses the follow-
insr words :
''Since it would be very tedious, in a volume of this kind, to enumerate
the successions in all the Church, we may contine ourselves to that of the
Church of Rome, which is the most ancient and best known; it having
been founded and constituted by the most glorious Apostles, Peter and
Paul. That Church, by its succession of bishops to cur own times, pre-
serves the tradition received from the Apostles, and the faith which thej^
announced to men. Through her we confound all our enemies."
236 AT.ETHAURION.
Let it be observed here that Ireneus not only bears wit-
ness to the fact that Peter and Paul founded the Church
in Rome, and consequently came there ; but he also makes
use of the very same argument that we do, even at this day,
against the heretics.
When we show them a line of Bishops going up without
interruption from Pius IX to Peter, the conclusion is irri-
sistibly forced on them that the Catholic Church of the
present day is the one which Christ founded. This argu-
ment is a clincher. It is an elephant that walks through all
their spider-webs.
In our next we will take a stroll about the city of Rome
itself and examine the foot-prints that Peter has left there.
CHAPTER LV.
FOOTPRINTS.
We are now approaching the close of that question we
have been discussing for a time past — the coming of Peter
to Rome. Let none of our readers imaghie we have given
all, or even any considerable part, of what writers have said
on the subject. Our oV)ject has not been to exhibit a chain of
authors from the days of the Apostles to our own, which
we could readily do, if there were any occasion or necessity.
We desired rather to confine ourselves to the most ancient
and reliable. Consequently, we do not deem it expedient
to bring to notice the testimony of any who lived at a later
period than the close of the second century. The Fathers
of the Church, and others who flourished after, did nothing
more than copy from those whose names we have given.
Let the reader feel assured then, that on the coming of
Peter to Rome he has received nothing at second hand,
and that nothing else in the way of coeval, or quasi-coeval
authority, can be produced on the subject.
ALETHAURION. 237
Let us now turn attention to another line of argument :
Footprints we may call them. Longfellow once said :
<' Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."
Wherever there has been a real genius, you will find evi-
dences of his existence. One cannot live long in Paris and
remain ignorant that, at some former period, a man named
Bonaparte honored the city with his presence.
It would be difficult for a foreigner to live in this country
for a great while, and not learn something about Wash-
ington. He could not but notice the pictures on furniture
wagons, and on postage stamps, before and after licking
them. Thus it is that great men leave after them those
footprints and head-marks of w^hich the poet speaks.
With these observations let us proceed. Peter was not
what one might call a born genius ; and had he not been
called by the Saviour, it is not . likely we would know any
more about him now, than we do of the grand-mother-in-
law of Tecumseh. But from the time he got orders to feed
the lambs and sheep of the flock, he also received those
mental endowments that constitute srenius of the hischest
order., After that, when he spoke, people listened, and
when he put down his foot, he left a mark. One of the«e
is visible in the liturgy of the Roman Church, where belief
is expressed in the fact that he came to the city, in accord-
ance with the maxim of St. Augustine, ''forma orandi est
forma credendiy'' the manner of praying is the manner of
believing.
Let us see more particularly in what these proofs from
the liturgy consist. First of all let it be remembered that
we celebrate in the universal Church a feast in honor of the
Chair of St. Peter. This is of very ancient date, so much
so that no one knows when it began. Of its antiquity we
have an excellent proof in the immense number of bowls
238 ALETHAURION.
and vases found in the catacombs and bearing the images
of Sts. Peter and Paul. The renowned archaeologist, De
Rossi, says that the immense number of such vessels can-
not be explained otherwise than by admitting that the
Christians, while yet in the catacombs, instituted festiv^al
days in honor of the Prince of the Apostles. As we keep
the Fourth of July in honor of our deliverance from British
tyranny, so did the Romans observe the twenty-ninth of
June, as the day on which occurred the death of their great
Apostle, who first preached to them the glad tidings of
redemption, and of deliverance from the tyranny of Sa-
tan.
This theory receives further support from w^hat we read
In epistle xxxi of St. Jerome, which is to Eustachius. It
appears that abuses had crept into these celebrations, and
St. Jerome, finds fault with the people for imagining they
were honoring a martyr by gluttony, who did himself honor
God by prayer and fa^^ting.
St. Augustine, in his narrative on the 59th psalm, speaks
of those same abuses on the feast day of St. Peter, in the
followinoj words :
'^ Drunkards now persecute the martyrs with flowing bowls as the
furious Pagans and Jews furmerly did with stones.'"
The other two feast days that prove St. Peter came to
Rome, are those observed on the eighteenth of January and
on the first of August.
The festival of the Pasch, among the Jews, is not a more
convincing proof of the truth of what we read in Exodus,
than are those feast days, in honor of Peter, of the truth
of all the Romans say about his visit and stay in their city.
We will now take some proofs from archaeology. On the
Aventine, one of the seven hills of Rome, there is a Church
in honor of St. Prisca, Virgin Martyr, said to have been
the first after St. Stephen.
St. Peter baptized her, and the very urn in "which this
was done is still kept in the crypt of the Church, and may
ALETHAURION. 239
be seen to this day. What do you, Baptists and Campbell-
ites, think of that? AVill you still continue to wade the
creeks and horse ponds? Will you persist in endangering
the lives of boys and old women, by cutting the ice and
sticking them in ?
If from the Aventine we go to the Viminal, we will find
another of the fisherman's imprints. We speak of the
Church of St. Prudextiaxa. When Peter came to Rome,
about the year 44 of our era, he first remained in the Jew-
ish quarter. But, having converted Pudexs, a senator, with
his mother, two sons and two daughters, one of whom was
called Prudextiaxa, he was invited after that to live with
the senator himself, which he did.
The Church we are speaking of stands now where stood
the senatorial mansion in question. Kot only did Pudexs
receive the Apostle into his house ; he went so far as to
give up to him his own citrule, or senatorial chair — which
identical chair has been preserved to this day, and is now
kept in the bronze case back of the high altar in St. Peter's
Church. Some few years ago it was taken out and exposed
to the veneration of the faithful : on which occasion the
•writer had the pleasure of gazing upon the interesting relic,
an heirloom from Pudexs to Peter, and from Peter to
Pius.
The chair has about it all the marks of authenticity. It
is of solid oak, light brown in color ; is an arm-chair, with
a straight sfothic back. It mav have been at one time
regarded as a fine piece of workmanship, but it would
scarcely take the prize now. Around the sides are repre-
sented, in gold and ivory, the twelve labors of Hercules,
and these engravings are said by judges to be most excel-
lent of their kind. All which show that the chair belongs
to a period prior to the decline of art in the city.
In our next we will pursue this same subject a little
farther.
240 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LVI.
TRACKS.
Chapter Iv found us examining some of the footprints left
after him by St. Peter, in the city of the Csesars, which
length of time is not likely to efface.
Great and good men leave after them marks of their ex-
istence that posterity hold dear, because they are flattering
to our race. Fools and knaves make prints in the mud that
succeeding generations do not try to preserve, for they
are reminders of the lower and baser elements of human
nature.
It is for this reason that even the prison of an Apostle
survives, while the palace of a Cfesar is allowed to crumble.
Let us proceed. As one passes down the Capoline Hill
to the Roman Forum, he sees at his left, v/here the first
street intersects the one he is on, a two story house that,
taken externally, does not appear to differ much from others
in the noiijhborhood.
But that corner lot has a history of its own ; the recital of
which would make Captain Jack shudder, or Sitting Bull
stand up and bellow.
At this point, in fact, is to be found the far-famed Mamer-
tine prison. It was the first ever built in Rome, and one
might add, the best, if the object of a jail be to render the
prisoners miserable, and cut off all hope of slipping out un-
awares. The portion above ground is used as a chapel, but
no stretch of the imagination can ever make out of the sub-
terranean part anything other than what it is, and was in-
tended to be — a dismal dungeon.
It appears to be about twenty feet square at the bottom.
The side walls are of massive stones, well dressed and bedded
in cement. It has an arched ceiling also of cut rock. And
ALETHAUKION. 241
it is said that, in ancient times, the only entrance to it vv-as
by a round hole at the top, some three feet in diameter.
Through this opening the prisoners were let down, some
times with a rope ; more frequently by the force of gravity.
Their food was also lowered through the aperture in ques-
tion. Once that a prisoner was ii"! this dismal abode he was
there for good, until his dead body was taken out to be
thrown into the Tiber, or igiiominiously buried.
There is now a stairway al(mu^ the side, by which one may
enter. The Mamertine prison, during the palmy days of
Rome, was a place of considerable importance, politically
speaking. No mere co:ninon thieves nor cut-throats were
allowed to experience its amenities, but only captive kings,
princes and satraps. Prefects, also, of distant provinces who
had abused their power, and through avarice or folly, had
plundered, or allowed others to plunder, the people over
whom they ruled, got their dose in the M.imertine.
Those governors, accused of lesser offenses, on being
called to Rome to answer for their conduct, were allowed to
go at large through the city, and to even give entertainments
to senators and other leading men whose intercession might
be valuable. Their accusers also, sometimes sub-prefects
or other small fry, had the run of the great metropolis ;
though the officials kept an eye on the latter, and reported
how they conducted themselves. The Mamertine was not
for this class of offenders. Yet neither was their stay in
the Eternal City one of delights. For the victim and his
accusers awaited the trial day, with fear and trembling.
And when, at last, it came, the usual result was that the
prefect, after having received a solemn clouting, figuratively
speaking, was warned to do better for the future, and sent
back to his province. The accusers were also, in most cases,
reinstated. But instead of cuffs they got kicks ; and, hav-
ing been informed that obedience to authority was one of
the fundamental laws of the Republic, were dismissed with
some words of advice and contempt.
242 ALETHAURION.
Thus did Pagan Rome teach its officials, not to quarrel
with one another about trifles, but to govern according to
justice and the law.
It is true when a prefect, or governor, was found entire-
ly incompetent to fill his position, or evidently avaricious
and unjust, he was at once deposed, without further ado, and
lodged in the Mamertine ; this the more readily, if his
accuser was found to have had a clean record.
The occasion when the Mamertine figured most conspicu-
ously was on a triumphal day. The victorious general, his
face painted with vermillion, and a crown of laurel on his
brow, was borne in a chariot at the head of his soldiers, along
the sacred way, which leads to the capitol. The kings and
princes whom he had ov^ercome were dragged along in
chains at his chariot wheels ; their wailings and sobs ren-
dered inaudible by the shouts of the soldiery and the jeers
of the rabble.
'*' When the cavalcade had got to the foot of the hill, the
captives were detached from the car and taken to the prison
only a few paces distant to the right. Here they remained
uncertain of their fate until the conquerer had ascended the
hill and stood within the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
Then, at his word, the wretches were either at once dis-
patched or left to perish more miserably by starvation in
the darkness and filth of the Mamertine.
JuGURTHA, the valiant king of Numidia, who to gain a
crown, murdered both his nephews, and to retain it warred
.many years with the Romans, at last shuffled off the coil in
this dreary prison, after a fast of six days duration, imposed
not by himself, but by his merciless conquorers.
'Here, also, Lentulus and Cethegus, the accomplices of
Cataline, were permanently cured of their ambition by the
hansrman's knot.
It was in this same Mamertine dungeon that both Peter
and Paul were destined some time before their martyrdom
for the faith. By their preaching and saintly lives they had
ALETIIAURIOX. 243
drawn thousands from the worship of Vexus, of Merctey,
and of Mars to venerate Christianity and to adore the Cru-
cified. Hence, they were not looked upon as common mal-
efactors, but rather as enemies of Rome, whose gods they
had set at naught ; so that a little experience in the Mamer-
tine was thought aftlvisable, in order to soften what the
Pagans took for obstinancy, before proceeding to extreme
measures.
Here Peter converted the centurion or jailer, and that he
might have water with which to baptize him, caused the ele-
ment to spring up through the prison floor, and there the
spring remains to this day. We have seen it, and drank of
its waters. The marble column, to which the Apostles was
chained, is also there, bridging over the gap of ages.
Lonjr aofo the Mamertine w^ould have shared the fate of
most of the other proud monuments of Pagan Rome, but
the footprint of Peter has preserved it. And it, too, will
remain a monument, to attest to future generations, as it
does to us, the fact that he visited the great city.
In our next we will continue the same subject.
CHAPTER LVn.
LANDMARKS.
On the outskirts of Rome, to the southwest, stands the
Janiculum. It is not one of the original seven hills, so
famed in history, though it is higher than they ever were.
The tourist who visits modern Rome, finds it a little diflacult
to locate the latter, for the debris of ages has filled up the
valleys. Even the Tarpeian Rock is now covered with
houses, and a fall from it would be no more poetical than
a drop from any garret window. But the Janiculum now,
^s in days gone by, still lifts its head above the grey old
xiity. Virgil tells us that Jaxus, the first king of Italy,
244 ALETHAUEION.
lived on top of it, and dying, left there his name and his
bones.
As it appears now, the hill has but little of its pristine
severity. No trees nor undergrowth bar the way to its
summit. On the contrary ; a beautiful road, due to the
munificence of the present pontiff, gives easy access to
where Janus formerly had his den, and a Church, in honor
of St. Peter, now crowns the spot, and monks keep vigil
where robbers made night hideous with their revelry.
A few paces to the right is a small chapel, which the fin-
ger of tradition points out as built over the spot where
Peter, the Prince of the Apostles and first Pope, ended by
a most glorious martyrdom, a life spent in the service of
his Master. Like the Saviour, who was taken to the sum-
mit of Calvary, in order that all might witness His
sufferings, so the chief of His Apostles was made to ascend
the rugged bights of the Janiculum, that Rome entire might
see him die — the prelude, as was vainly thought, to the
total extirpation of the Christian name.
There, surrounded by his executioners, and by a chosen
band of those warriors who had made the Roman eagles a
terror to mankind, the J^ed Apostle had no favors to ask,
and no tears to shed for the life he was soon to lose. The
circumstances, however, recalled memories of other days.
His own infidelity, in the house of Pilate, came to mind,
with a vividness that caused the tears to flow in abundance.
Even the stony hearts of those legionaries were moved to
pity, and the opportunity was gladly embraced of asking
him again to renounce Christ, and sacrifice to the gods of
Rome.
But his thoughts were on other things, and his silence
only intensified expectation, for he did not heed the prof-
fered clemency. It was not until he had professed his
un worthiness to die, as his Master, with head ak)ft, that all
hopes of release were abandoned. Then the spirit of the
demon took possession of his executioners, and having
ALETHAURION. 245
nailed his hands and feet to the cross, they raised him in
the air with his head to the earth.
A few more hours had passed — the labors of the fisher-
man were ended, and his tears forever dried. His chair on
earth became vacant, as he took his place with Stephen
and others who had washed their robes white in the blood
of the Lamb.
With the present we bring to a conclusion the question
of the coming of St. Peter to Rome. There are only a
few, and indeed, as they appear to the writer, exceedingly
weak objections that can be urged against what has be6n
said. Thus, e. g., persons have attempted to show, from
the Acts of the Apostles, that Peter could not have been
in Rome, because it is stated that he was at Lydda, Joppa,
Jerusalem, and some other places in Asia, at certain times,
probably some six or eight altogether.
Now, by the same kind of logic, it would be the easiest
matter imaginable to prove that Archbishop Purcell was
never in Cincinnati, or that Archbishop Spalding was never
in Louisville.
Another objection is found in the fact that Paul in his
letter to the Romans, makes no mention of Peter. This
is, at best, only a negative argument, and proves nothing.
Many excellent reasons might be given why Paul made no
mention of him ; one of which is that Peter might have
been absent from the city at that particular time that Paul
wrote to the Romans. Certainly, the fact that a man is
bishop of a city does not oblige him to never stir
outside of it.
St. Paul will be our subject in the next chapter.
246 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LVIII.
SAUL.
Saul, or St. Paul, as he is now called, was born of Jew-
ish parents, in the city of Tarsus, in Cilicia, a province in
the southeastern part of Asia Minor.
■ The exact date of his bii'th has not been handed down ;
but, from the fact thathe/v^a^ a youth (adolescens) at the
time of Stephen's death, in which he had a hand, we may
conclude that his advent into the world must have been
some ten or a dozen years after that of the Saviour.
He was of the tribe of Bexjamin, and to him commenta-
tors refer the prophecy of Jacob, where he says, when
about to die ; ** Benjamin, a ravenous wolf in the morn-
ing shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the
spoil."
His mind, from early youth, took a religious turn, nor
was he content with being a simple believer ; he sought
after the highest perfection.
There was at that time amono^ the Jews, a relis^ious order,
the members of which were famous far and near for their
learning and piety.
They were called Pharisees ; and, what there was of sol-
emn godliness not to be found among them, was thought
scarcely worth looking after.
The origin of this blessed sect is vailed in obscurity. Some
authors date its beginning from the time of Esdras, others
bring it down even to the time of Schammai and Hillel^
two celebrated doctors of the law, who lived in the days of
Herod.
But, if credit is to be given to Josephus, and we see no
reason for refusing it, in a matter of this kind, certain it is
that the origin of the Pharisees dates further back than the
time of Herod.
%
ALETHAURION. 247
They were called Pharisees, frqm the Hebrew word
pharez^ which signifies separation, because in dignity, in
sanctity, in manners and customs they held themselves aloof
from the common herd.
They also affected to lead lives of celibacy, fasted twice
in the week, gave tithes beyond what the law prescribed,
prayed at the corners of the streets, helped the poor under
circumstances where public attention would be called to the
act, and were continually harping on unimportant observan-
ces, and at the same time neglecting the weightier works of
the law.
These same Pharisees we know, from the New Testament,
to have been a set of consummate scoundrels, rendered for-
midable by their perfect organization, as well as secrecy in
dealing with outsiders.
We must not imagine, however, that every one who
joined them, was bad or viciously inclined. On the con-
trary, so far as outward looks were concerned, they were
pinks of perfection ; and it may have been that they had
more applicants for admission than they chose to receive.
A learned and fiery zealot, however, like Saul of Tarsus,
could readily gain admittance into a society managed by a
pack of unscrupulous and ambitious men, such as were the
leaders among the Pharisees.
They could put him at whatever required tact and courage
to execute, advance him if it suited their purposes ; and, in
case he turned out honest and conscientious, they could ex-
pel him from the society, as one not possessed of the spirit
of mortification and obedience.
On reaching Jerusalem, there was added to Saul's natural
impetuosity of character a new ingredient.
The Christian religion was then beginning to take root in
the Holy City, and those veteran enemies of the Saviour,
the Scribes and Pharisees, found no difficulty in turning to
account Saul's restless energy.
The effects were at once apparent. Stephen, one of the
248 ALETHAUPJON.
seven deacons, innocent of soul, and of angelic appearance,
was dragged outside of the walls and brutally murdered with
stones.
Saul was not yet satisfied ; he still ravaged the Church,
and entering houses hauled away men and women and put
them in prison.
Not content with making things red hot in Jerusalem, he
went to the high priest and asked for letters to the rulers of
the synagogues in Damascus ; in order to capture as many
there as possible and bring them back, bound hand and foot,
to the holy Zion.
The High Priest and Pharisees willingly gave the letters ;
as much out of a desire to get rid of Saul himself as through
hatred of the *' Nazarenes."
They feared that his too great zeal might lead to mischief ;
to an investigation by the civil authorities, and that their
own rascalities might thereby be brought to the surface.
Hence, they sent him off, with an open blessing, and a se-
cret wish that he might break his neck or get drowned be-
fore returning.
On the way, near Damascus, the Saviour appeared to him
and changed his heart ; from a persecutor he became an
Apostle, and a great one — as we shall see in a future chapter.
CHAPTER LTX.
ST. PAUL.
We saw, in the last chapter, how Saul, the Pharisee, the
Jewish zealot and persecutor, was miraculously converted
to the Catholic Church ; of which he became such a shining
light. The spot where this change took place is stili pointed
out to the wayfarer, as he approaches Damascus.
The house of Judas, where he was visited by Ananias, is
still to be seen in the same city ; though the apartment once
ALETHAURION. 249
occupied by the Apostle, is now some ten or a dozen feet
below the street. How wonderful, that a house, remark-
able only for the fact, that it was the one in which Paul
was baptized, should have been preserved to our day ;
whereas, hundreds of others, then in the city, have, one
after another, gone to ruin. *' The just man shall be in
eternal remembrance," say the scriptures; and facts, like
this, show that the prophecy is, to some extent, fulfilled
even in this world.
Damascus has, at the present day, a population of about
one hundred and thirty thousand, and we may presume that
it was equally as large, may be more so, in the days of St.
Paul ; for where the Sultan's horse treads there grows no
grass.
There are no Protestants, of native growth, in it; nor,
in fact, in any of the oriental cities.
Missionary societies, both in this country and in England,
send preachers out there, but they make no impression on
the native Catholic population ; and as to the conversion of
a Turk, the average English speaking preacher has too much
sense to risk his life in such an undertaking:.
Is it not astonishing, that heretics are not converted to
the true faith, on visiting a city like Damascus? They read
in the Acts of the Apostles, of how St. Paul, after his
baptism, in the house of Judas, preached the gospel in the
city, and, no doiibt, converted many ; they know, or ought
to, that, in the early ages, the faith grew and increased
there, as elsewhere throughout the east ; and that the pres-
■ent Christian inhabitants are the lineal descendants of those
to whom the Apostles preached.
Now, when a heretic goes there, and finds no difference
in belief, between the native Catholics of Damascus and
those he has met at home, does it not require the quintes-
sence of stupidity not to see the point?
How comes it that those Catholics of Damascus believe
exactly as we do here in America? Did we teach them?
250 ALETHAURION.
No ; but they and we have received the faith from the same
truthful source — from the Apostles ; and they, as well as
ourselves, have kept pure and undefiled, what was first
taught ; therefore we believe alike.
It is true, there are some of the natives in those ancient
cities where the Apostles preached, who do not believe as
we do, and still bear the name of Christians. Such are the
Greek and Armenian schismatics, and others of kindred ilk.
But we can tell the exact time when each took the " new
departure ;" and we can name the men who were leaders in
the movement.
They have changed ; we still adhere to the old way
pointed out by the Apostles and by apostolic men.
These ideas have been suggested by the very name of
that old city of which we are speaking.
Let us return to our subject. We are told that, after he
had seen our Saviour, he became physically blind, inso-
much that he had to be led to the house already spoken of.
There he remained three days, fasting and praying, but
yet deprived of sight. At length Ananias, a disciple who
lived in the city, having been forewarned in a vision, came,,
and having placed his hands on the head of Paul the scales
dropped from his eyes and he saw, and standing up was
baptized.
Here it may be well to observe that the baptism given
must have been either by aspersion or effusion. All the cir-
cumstances lead to the conclusion. Let us go there in imag-
ination. Here we are in a room, some sixteen or eighteen
feet square ; St. Paul lies on a bed, unable to see ; Ananl^s
enters, lays his hands on Paul, tells him that Christ had
sent him there ; the scales drop from Paul's eyes ; he sees,
stands upon the floor and is baptized.
We must remember that in the houses of the Jews there
were at the doors one or more water vessels for purposes of
purification, and it was out of these in all probability
that Ananias took the water with which he administered
ALETHAURION. 251
the sacrament. It does not appear that St. Paul left the
house, and it would be stretching the imagination too far
to suppose that this poor Jew kept a hogshead of water
always ready for his guests to practice swimming in.
Yet, this is not a question of great importance, because,
in the true Church the three methods of conferring baptism,
viz : by sprinkling or aspersion, by pouring or effusion, and
by dipping or immersion, are all recognized as valid and
have been in use from the earliest ages. If we compare
baptism to the death of the "Old Man" in us, one can see
that it makes little difference in w^hat way such a death is
brought about as the effect is all the same.
When a man is dead, it is af no further importance to
him nor to the community whether it was by arsenic, strych-
nine, or by prussic acid, or from the fang of a rattler he was
taken off.
Let it suffice for the present to say, that so far as those
three methods are concerned the question hinges on the
meaning to be given to the Greek word haptizo. By Pagan
writers it is used to signify : I dip, I wash, I dye or color.
Let us see in which of these senses the Saviour and the
Apostles used it. Take the words of the great commission
and make the proper substitutions. Christ says to the
Apostles :
"Going forth, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."— [Matt, xxviii, 19.
Now, put the word dipping instead of baptizing and see
whether there be any connection between the external act
and the chanofe that is wrouo^ht in the soul. None what-
ever.
In the next place substitute for baptizing, the word wash-
ing, and then the text reads thus : < 'Going forth, teach all
nations, washing them (of their sins), in the name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Here
there is a connection between the external ablution and the
internal washing of the soul from the filth of s-in.
252 ALETHAURIOX.
It would appear, then, that the Saviour and the Apostles
used the ^^ovdhaptizo in the sense of to wash, and as washing
can be done in any of the three ways, they are admitted as
valid by the Catholic Church, provided no mistake is made
in the/br?7z, and the minister has the proper intention.
After Saul had thus got washed himself, he undertook,
with his usual impetuosity and energy, to recommend the
same to others. With what success we will see in a future
chapter.
CHAPTER LX.
FLIGHT IX A BASKET.
" The man that is in battle slain,
Will never live to fight again ;
But he that fights and runs away,
May live to fight another day.''
Thus spoke some great poet of the past ; and it will be
readily admitted there is a deal of truth in his verse.
A man who has had his head taken off by a bomb-shell
will certainly not do much fighting after that event. In the
second place, it is no less clear that when one has succeeded
in legging it off, safe, from a battle-field, he may at some
future time get over his fright, and be induced to try the
foe once more.
The great moral lesson, however, which the poet teaches
us is this : That when we happen to be in a house that is fall-
ing, and the owner will not allow us to "prop it up, and
make it wind proof for the future, it is better to leave, than
stay and be crushed in the ruins.
Such, also, must have been the sentiments of Paul, not
many weeks after his baptism at Damascus. Having be-
come convinced that Judaism had ceased to be the true re-
ligion ; that its commission from above had expired ; and
ALETHAURION. 253
that a new order of things had begun, he withdrew from the
falling house, and devoted his energies to the spread of the
gospel of CHFasT, and the building up of the Catholic
Church.
Just as soon as he had recovered strength enough, he ap-
peared in the synagogues and openly maintained that Christ,
whom the Jews had crucified, was the Son of God.
Many at first, thought he had lost his reason ; but when
these came to dispute with him on the subject they found
their mistake — hatred took the place of pity ; and they re-
solved to put out of the way, by foul means, a man, whose
eloquence and genius they had despaired of being able to
withstand. A conspiracy was formed, and some got orders
to watch the gates of the city, lest they might escape.
Matters were now becoming as warm for Saul himself as
he, so short a time before had made them for others.
But his day had not come ; he had yet to go before the
Gentiles, and before kings, to suffer great things for the
name of Christ. Hence, while the Jews kept watch, with
bludgeons, at the gates, some faithful few had planned his
escape. His flight from Damascus had not the pomp and
circumstance of hi^ approach to the city, and but few of
those who had known him previously would have even once
thought, on seeing a basket descend from the wall at mid-
night, that Saul was in it.
But he was a changed man. That natural virtue of cour-
age which he possessed in such an eminent degree, was now
tempered with Christian prudence, and he felt he would not
be justified in exposing to danger, from private malice, a
life that might be of much public utility.
** When they persecute you in one city, fly ye into another,"
was the counsel of the Saviour to the Apostles, and we find
them following the advice, whenever it was convenient to
do so. It is true they had courage in the highest degree ;
but they did not seek the danger, as the heroes of this world
sometimes do, out of a spirit of vain-glory. They suffered
254 ■ ALETHAURION.
with fortitude, where pain was unavoidable, but they did
not seek death, except when it stood in the path to duty.
What cahn and solemn grandeur do we not find in the
sufferings of the Apostles, and the other martyrs and con-
fessors of the Catholic Church, and how forcibly does it
not contrast with the sullen impenitence of heretics when
expiating their crimes.
The life of Paul, after his conversion to the Catholic
faith, may be likened to a beautiful heroic poem ; the first
line of which is the key-note to what follows. His entire
subsequent life was only a repetition of his first experience
in Damascus. Great energy in advocating the gospel cause
was met with corresponding obstinancy on the part of the
Jews, and with lofty disdain by those who stood foremost
amongst the Gentiles. Flight and apparent defeat gener-
ally marked the close of his career, in those cities in which
he labored. The enemies of the gospel sought to take his
life wherever he went, because they felt the vigor of his
blows, and knew there was not a white feather in his
plumage. If Paul had been a putty-faced sort of a man,
he \vould never have had so much opposition to encounter.
He might, in that case, have settled downi quietly in Damas-
cus, and dying, much thought of by Pagans, have left after
him a little knot of timorous, pigeon-livered Catholics,
thankful for being allowed to live, and afraid to say they
had souls of their own.
Those men whom we call the Apostles, were giants ; and
they left as their immediate successors, a race of giants.
By word, and especially by example, they taught men not
only to love justice, but to hate iniquity. They infused
into the parent the spirit of love for truth, and fe^ir of con-
tamination from error. Thus, according to the order
established by God, the pastor influenced the parent, and
the parent influenced the child. Some good people of
modern times, write, speak and act with a blindness and a
ALETHAURION. 255
-subversion of first principles that is amazing. They at-
tempt to reverse the order — to make Jack a good boy, and
then firet him to convert his daddv. Instead of takins^ the
bull by the horns, they get hold of him by the tail.
The simplest lessons are sometimes the hardest to be
learned ; and as we ought not to close our eyes to facts, so
neither ought we refuse to have recourse to first principles,
where facts are against an existing idea or system.
As a rule, no authority on earth can, with success, take"
the place of the parent's. Any tampering with it upsets
the order established by God, and the results will not be,
generally speaking, satisfactory.
We have greater facilities now for the spread of knowl-
edge than were in the days of the Apostles, and yet it may
be doubted whether, taken by the average, the Catholics
are any better instructed now, in matters appertaining to
faith and morals, than they were at the end of the first
century, when the Apostles had passed away.
Preaching, and from a solid type, was then practiced ;
and we can see from the homilies of some of the early
Fathers that they addressed congregations that must have
stood high in theological knowledge. We mean no disre-
spect. But how is it now? It's all about the fair, and the
pic-nic, and the promenade concert ; ending with an exhor-
tation to be good people, and not fail to be on the grounds
at the proper time. God is not honored by means that are
questionable.
Thus we do not save our bacon, because it is not salted
with the word of life. After the sacrifice and the sacra-
ments, next comes preaching, or a clear and easy exposition
of some dogma or truth of our faith. Where this practice
ends indifference begins ; and the schoolmaster, though
a good man in his place, will not be able to supply the
deficiency.
Following up this line of thought, on the first principles,
we would say that no Catholic family should be without a
256 AT.ETHAURION.
Catholic newspaper, and no Catholic newspaper without hav-
ing, at least, one column a week given to an explanation of
some doctrine of the Church. The field is large, and there
are abundance of flowers to make the nosegay.
Thus we have rambled off a good ways from Damascus ;
but, in our next we will return to the point.
CHAPTER LXI.
THE WANDERER.
Having been compelled, by the force of circumstances, to
leave Damascus, Paul next passed into Arabia. But we
have no certain knowledge of what happened to him there,
nor is it stated in the scriptures that he went to preach to
the Arabs.
Hence, we may at this point, give expression to some
speculations, as to how he may have employed his time.
Arabia is a country that then, as now, abounded in vast
sandy solitudes, fit places where one might give himself up
entirely to prayer and contemplation.
What more natural, therefore, than that Paul, after his
late experience at Damascus, should have felt more keenly,
the magnitude, and the dangerous character of the work
that lay before him ; and that he should have retired to the
desert to give himself up for a time to prayer, as a prepara-
tion, before commencing anew the work of an evangelist.
To retire to the desert was a favorite practice with some
of the holy men among the Jews, from Moses and Elias,
down ; and Paul could not, at that time, have been ignor-
ant of the fact that the Saviour himself, before having be-
gun his public career, fasted and prayed forty days in the
desert. Hence, it is at least highly probable that his life
in Arabia was not that of an evangelist but rather of a
hermit.
ALETHAUKIOy. 257
After having remained away about three years, he again
returned to Damascus, and from there proceeded to Jeru-
salem.
Before following him to his other fields of labor, we will
touch on a question that may interest the reader. It is gen-
erally believed that Paul received a knowledge of the truths
and mysteries of the faith, not from any of the Apostles or
disciples, but from the Saviour directly.
Indeed he tells us himself, Galatians, i, 12, that he did
not receive the gospel from man, nor did he even learn it,
but had it by revelation of Jesus Christ.
It becomes interesting to inquire at what period in his life
this knowledge was communicated to him, in the extraordin-
ary manner spoken of.
Most persons imagine that it at once came with the Sav-
iour's appearance to him on approaching Damascus. Yet a
careful perusal of the narrative, as given in Acts ix, will
convince any one that it was not then the mind of Saul
was illuminated.
When he asked what he should do on that occasion, he
was told, that it w^ould be made known to him in the city.
But we must not think that the instructions given by
Ananias were complete, or, that a fuller revelation was not
necessary ; taking into consideration the work that, in the
designs of God, he was to perform.
Paul, himself, tells us (ii Corinthians, xii,) that, above
fourteen years previous, he was taken up to heaven, and
that he heard secret words, which it is not granted to man
to utter.
It was on this occasion, we presume, that he received that
plentitude of knowledge, w^hich fitted him for an Apostle.
But, some one may ask : At what period of his life was
he thus favored with the vision of the celestial kingdom ?
We may say, first of all, that in regard to these apostolic
rosebushes, the very best chronologists are not entirely reli-
able, nor able to steer us clear of all thorns of uncertainty.
258 ALETHAURION.
The epistle above named, in which mention is made of
the vision, is said to have been written twenty-four years
after the Saviour's death; and, as the conversion of St.
Paul is said to have taken place about one year after that
event, consequently it would not have been until the ninth
year after his conversion that he was taken up to heaven.
The writer does not wish to pass for an innovator in these
pages, which are principally for the instruction of those who
may not have time nor patience to wade through the original
authorities.
But there is a temptation here offered to propose a theory,
on the subject, that certainly has souie probability about it
and one that will differ with the generally accepted chro-
nology in a matter of only six years. The assumptions
may, it is true, be regarded as gratuitous, but what they
lack in authority they will gain in symmetry.
May we not say, that after Saul had left his basket, out-
side the walls of Damascus, he was led by the spirit into
the deserts of Arabia, and that he there, for the space of
three years, gave himself up to fasting, to prayer, and to
contemplation ; until, at the end of that time, when he had
done penance for his sins, he was taken up to heaven, where,
at the foot of the throne, he received from Christ himself,
a knowledge of all those sublime truths of the Catholic
faith, which he was, in after time, to preach to the Jew
first, and then to the Greek and to the barbarian.
That he was taught by the Saviour himself is a matter of
certainty, and, that this instruction was given before he was
commissioned to teach others, is certainly in consonance
.with the ways of Divine Providence.
That Paul, after having left Damascus, went into some
place if retirement, receives further contirmation from the
fact that when he returned to Jerusalem, the rest of the
faithful, or a high percentage of them, w^ere still afraid of
him, not being certain of his conversion.
Had he, during those three years that elapsed between his
ALETHAURION. 259
departure from Damascus and his return for the second
time to that place, been engaged in preaching the gospel,
there would have been no doubt in the minds of the brethren
that he was a safe man to trust.
But, as the matter stood, it required some explanations
from Barnabas to quiet their nerves, and convince them
that all was right. Scarcely had he rested in Jerusalem,
after his journey, when the zeal, the same old mania for dis-
putation took possession of him. This time it was with the
Grecians that were in Jerusalem, and the result was the
same as before.
Unable to resist his loo:ic, thev sous^ht to kill him. So,
in order to save his life, the brethren took him out of the
city, first to Cesarea, and then to Tarsus, his native town.
His deeds after leavinsr Tarsus will form the orround work
of our next.
CHAPTER LXn.
SAUL S ORDINATION.
After a stay of fifteen days, Saul was compelled to beat
a hasty retreat from Jerusalem. He next went to Tarsus,
his native city, but of his missionary life there we have no
special mention. No doubt he displayed the -same zeal in
the place of his birth, as elsewhere, though he possibly may
not have made many converts to the Catholic faith, for no
one is a prophet in his own country.
Now, It so happened, that while Paul was at Damascus, *
and in Arabia, apersecution raged in Jerusalem, and through-
out Judea, against the Catholics. Many were compelled to
fly from the province, and seek refuge in distant cities.
Not a few found shelter in Antioch, the capital of Syria, and
at the time, a place of great commerce and importance.
Those fugitives were not idle, while in Antioch, but sought
260 ALETHAUEION.
to advance the gospel cause in every way possible and
legitimate.
Hence, Avithin a short time, a good many of the citizens
had either embraced, or were well disposed toward the new
religion. When news of these things came to the Church in
Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to take observations.
Having arrived in Antioch, he found that many had
indeed embraced the faith, and that there was a splendid
field open and ready for the sickle. Those who believed
were principally from that class that usually goes under the
name of the ''common people." Others, who pretended to
be very learned, could not, of course, see any sense at all in
the new doctrines. They were too full of conceit to think
there was anything more for them to learn, and were more
disposed to give than to take instruction of any kind.
These self-styled philosophers played the part of the dog
in the manger. They would not enter the Church them-
selves, and their refusal to do so kept many others from even
examining the grounds of Catholic doctrine.
Barnabas saw at a glance that, in order to have good suc-
cess in Antioch, the first thing necessary was to lessen the
conceit of- those Pagan philosophers, who set themselves up
as authorities on all manner of subjects, and were, in truth,
a keen set of rascals. He had seen enough of Saul to know
that he was precisely the man most needed at the front, to
take the dust out of Paganism, and show how thread-bare,
even moth-eaten, a ofarment it was. So he started at once
to Tarsus, and having found Saul, they both returned to
Antioch, where they spent one whole year teaching Catholic
doctrine. Such was their success, that by reason of the
multitude that believed, the disciples were there first called
Christians.
They did not, however, go into a committee of the whole
and agree to call themselves Christians, as some of our
neighbors do at the present day, but they '' were called
ALETHAURION. 261
Christians " by the Pagan inhabitants of the city, and, most
likely, the word was first used as a term of reproach.
Up to this time Saul had not been ordained to the priest-
hood of the new law. He had, indeed, done the Church
valuable service as a teacher, but he had not the power to
offer sacrifice to the Lord, nor to remit sin, nor to anoint
the sick with oil, nor to ordain others to the ministry. He
was, in fact, one of the laity. And his example shows us
what services, in the matter of teaching, a learned and zeal-
ous member of the laity may render in the Church. It is
certainly not customary, at the present day, that laymen
should preach publicly in the Churches, on matters apper-
taining to faith and morals, nor is it necessary, since that,
in a special rnanner, belongs to the ordained ministers.
But there are many other questions, akin to the faith,
that members of the laity might ventilate from the rostrum,
or through the columns of a Catholic weekly, with much
profit to the cause. In this way we would, to some extent,
bring back again that fervor of apostolic times, when all had
but one heart and one mind, and one idea uppermost, which
was the propagation of the truth among men.
In chapter xiii of Acts, we have an account given of the
ordination of Saul and Barnabas. This was done, as it
also now is, by tlie imposition of hands, and by prayer, of
those in the Church who have power and authority to con-
fer sacred orders. Some of our sectarian friends have, also,
in their Churches, what they call ordination, or laying on of
hands. Such ordination is, of course, null and void, where
there is not real apostolic succession. Let us explain, briefly
what we mean by this :
Apostolic succession, in the matter of sacred orders, con-
sists in the transmission, from one man to another, and from
age to age, of the ordinary powers given by Christ to the
Apostles.
Foremost among these is the power to offer sacrifice, to
2Q2 ALETHAURION.
remit sin, and in general, to dispense the mysteries of God ;
in other words, to administer the sacrament.
That such powers were given by Christ to them, is some-
thing clearly taught in the scriptures, and also held by the
Catholic Church from the time that Christ lived until now.
That the Apostles had the power and authority of sending
others, as they had themselves been sent, is equally clear.
'* As the Father has sent Me," said Christ, *' so, also, I
send you."
Hence, the powers spoken of above, were given to indi-
vidual men, and by them again, to individual men, and so
on. Now, as the power to ordain is only in those who have
the complement of the priesthood or eldership in the Church
hence it follows, that, where hands are not laid on by a
bishop, there is no ordination. Christ did not give the
powers, spoken of, to all the members of his Church i)i
globo, as the saying is. He gave them only to the Apostles,
although he had, at the same time, seventy-two disciples.
The Apostles in turn, did not ordain every one a bishop
whom they had received into the Church ; they picked out
faithful men, who would be fit to teach and transmit to
others what they had themselves received ; and thus the suc-
cession has been kept up to our own day. The election of
a man to be a deacon or an elder in the Church amounts to
nothing, unless some one lays hands on hhii who has had
hands laid upon himself already, because no man can give
what he does not possess. The citizens of Frogtown may
)inanimously elect Major McMuddle postmaster, but,
though the major may be a very good man, and may have
dodged many a bullet, in his country's service, yet, without
power and authority from the President, his election does
not orive him the risrht to handle the United States mails at
Frogtown, nor any where else. The frogs may bear testi-
mony to his fitness for the office, but they cannot make him
postmaster, unless they first succeed in making Frogtown a
fr^e and independent republic or monarchy, bidding defiance
ALETHAURION. 263
thereby, to the constitution and laws of the United States,
It is thus, also, in the Church.
After Saul's ordination be left Antioch, and entered new
fields of labor, where we will meet him in a future chapter.
CHAPTER LXIII.
CONCEENING MAGIC.
We read in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apos-
tles, that when Paul and Barnabas, directed by the Holy
Ghost, had begun to preach the gospel in the island of Cy-
prus, they were opposed by a Jewish magician named
Elymas.
This man had, by false miracles, and great pretensions,
acquired considerable influence with the pro-consul, or gover-
nor. When the latter, whose name was Sergius Paulus,
wished to hear the gospel preached, the magician made use
of all his craftiness to dissuade him from listening to the
Word, or believing in it. Then Paul, full of the Holy
Ghost, and knowing by what spirit the magician was moved,
looking upon him, said :
'• O, thou, full of all guile and of all deceit, son of the devil, enemy of
all justice, thou dost not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord.
And now behold the hand of the Lord upon thee, and thou shalt beblmd,
not seeing the sun for a time."
After Paul had spoken these words, the magician was
at once struck blind, and he went about seeking some one to
lead him by the hand. This miracle was the occasion of
converting the governor, and also affords the writer a pre-
text for branching off into an episode on magic. Variety is
the spice of life.
Magic is the art of performing feats that appear superna-
tural, without the divine agency, and a magician is a man
who performs them. Frequent mention is made of this art
264 ALETHAURION.
in the scriptures, and those given to the practice of it are
represented as odious in the sight of God. The Catholic
Church has also pronounced anathemas against them, and
in times past they were, not unfrequently, punished by the
civil law.
It is well known that during the reign of Puritanism, in
New England, scores of people were put to death for having
been real or supposed witches. And if an old woman had
a spite against a neighbor, which she could not in other
ways gratify, a charge of witchcraft, with moderate proof,
would do more towards gaining the desired end than a
month's tongue-lashing.
Infidels, who do not admit supernatural agencies, attempt
to hold up to ridicule what has been handed down from
remote ages on this subject. But facts are stubborn argu-
ments Ev^en in our times, many things happen, which can
scarcely be referred to the Supreme Being, and which yet
transcend human power.
Before dividing the subject into appropriate headings, we
will examine, in general terms, into the origin of magic,
and then give some of those things that the inspired writers
and the Fathers of the Church, have had to say concerning
it.
There can scarcely be any doubt that magic is an offshoot
of Polytheism, or the worship of many false gods. The
passions attributed to those deities, the likes and dislikes
which they were supposed to manifest, the influence un-
regulated by the perfections of the true God, as known to
us, which they were thought to exercise over the things of
this world, naturally produced on weak human nature a
pusillanimity, akin to that which the spaniel manifests on
cominor in contact with a full-blown bull-doo^. There were
among the Pagans, not only many superior gods, but also a
variety of secondary spirits, capa])le of rendering service,
if well disposed, or of afflicting pain, if angered.
ALETHAURION. 265
The feeble-minded and superstitious dreaded their dis-
pleasure, and were, as a consequence, desirous to know
how their good will might be procured and retained. Hence,
by the law of supply and demand, there were not wanting
other crafty mortals, who, taking advantage of this general
feeling, professed themselves on intimate terms with one or
more of these malignant spirits.
There can be no reasonable grounds for doubt, but that
the enemy also took advantage of this state of affairs,
and that many, who in the beginning, out of motives of
gain or vain glory, falsely pretended to superior knowledge,
found, in course of time, that there was indeed some super-
natural agency working with them, and thus became
magicians in the full sense of that word.
Celsus, a Pagan philosopher, who wrote about the year
170 A. D., and who was himself a firm believer in magic,
gives us another theory on the subject. He maintained
that the inferior order of animals not only have souls, but
that their's are of a nature far superior to man's, and that
they have more intimate relations with the spirit world. It
was from these, accordins^ to our philosopher, that man
first learned the interesting science of magic. See Origen,
Cont. Cels. lib. 4, 79,
From this one, and others of the liagan writers, we learn
that it was firmly believed among the people that a man
might have intercourse with the demons of spirits, and that
he might obtain of them superior knowledge, and by their
aid, perform supernatural acts.
The means employed to draw the attention and gain the
good will of those spirits, gave names to the different species
of magic. Sometimes it was by a short formula, called in
Latin a carmen, in English a charm ; sometimes it was by
singing and the sounds of musical instruments, and hence,
called an enchantment. When the souls of the dead were
called up by means of the spirits, it was called necromancy.
Future events, foretold by means of the spirits, were called
266 ALETHAURION.
divinations. When the spirits were invoked to afflict others
with sickness, or a misfortune of any kind, it was iimalejice.
Children were kej^t from growing by what was known as
fascination, or the influence of the spirit's evil eye through
his agent. The agency of the spirit, in the casting of lots,
was called sorcery. To excite unlawful love in one of the
opposite sex, by means of the spirits, was called ^ pJiiUrum.
These are the different species of magic, about some of
which we will have a word or two before having reached
the end of this episode. It is quite probable that many oc-
currences have, in times passed, been attributed to the in-
fluence of the demon, which might have been explained on
natural principles. But it is no less true that there are
many other facts that are entirely above scientific analysis,
and must be referred to where they belong — to the Old
Serpent.
As to our man Elyznias, the scriptures do not tell us in
which of these different species he was most expert. But
it is highly probable that he had graduated in them all.
In our next we will take up and discuss some well known
cases found in scripture.
CgAPTEE LXIV.
NECKOMANCY.
This is a word of Greek origin, composed of nekros, a
man, and manteia^ a prophecy. Taken altogether it means,
first, a revelation made by a departed soul ; and secondly,
the art of getting the dead to make such manifestations.
Some twenty years ago, this art was quite extensively
practiced here in the United States, under the name of
** Spiritualism." Many had almost lost their senses with
joy at the thought that now, at least, a sure telegraphic com-
munication had been established between this vale of tears
ALETHAURION. 267
and the Elysian fields, the abode of the blessed. Those
persons did not know, and were too wise in their own con-
ceit to learn from authorized teachers, that spiritualism is
an old trick, and that the Father of Lies is the patentee.
The matter had to run its course, before its adherents
could be persuaded that they were engaged in picking Dead
Sea apples, and that they would have nothing in the end,
but dust and worms for their pains.
This sombre art goes back to quite a remote period in the
world's history, and appears to have been practiced among
very many peoples, tribes and tongues.
It is well known that among the ancients, it was custom-
ary to make great outward show of grief, when a member
of a family was called off by death. The friends and neigh-
bors of the deceased were called in to speak of his good
qualities, and show their sorrow by tears and lamentations.
In order that prostration might not follow, plenty of good
cheer was provided by the dead man's relatives, and, no
doubt, some beverages, akin to that which kept the faith
alive in the Highlands, during the persecutions, was freely
handed around by the chief mourners, and complimented
by the sympathizing neighbors. This was, in all probability,
the beginning of it ; but not the end.
Under circumstances like these, it will not be wondered
at, that some should see, or imagined they saw, the dead
man's ghost, and learned from it many curious details of
the spirit world.
A sanctimonious old lady, " Down East," a firm believer
in spiritualism, and a medium, while keeping watch by the
bier of a departed son, a few years ago, saw her beloved
boy enter the room, go through a series of antics, grin at
his mother, look at his own dead body, and remark that he
should never have thought that so beautiful a boy would
have made such an ugly corpse. Whether her imagination
was. rendered vivid on that occasion by a Highland stimulant,
or whether it was a oroblin damned that took the form of
C3
268 ALETHAURION.
her child, is a very deep question, and ought not to be
decided without a critical examination into ail the circum-
stances of the case.
Supposing the narrative true, we must admit the old kidy
was favored in an extraordinary manner ; for the spirits do
not generally deign to manifest themselves so openly.
It happened otherwise in the case of an acquaintance of
ours. He was a Catholic, and a pious one. Finding him-
self , one evening, in company with some heretics, one of
whom was a medium, it was agreed to have a spiritual
seance. Our friend took no active part in the matter, but
remained an observer. When all had seated themselves
around the table, the spirit of a man who had been hanged
for murder was called, and requested to tell where he was,
and how he fared.
He replied, through the medium, that there was one in the
party w^hose presence w^as displeasing to himself, and to the
other spirits, and that no answer would be given, as long as
the obnoxious person remained in the room. As the spirit
did not make known the name of the objectionable indi-
vidual, it was agraed that, one at a time, should go into an
adjoining room. When it had come to our friend's turn,
the spirit got the use of his knuckles, and rapped a response,
to the effect that he was then in the Elysian Fields, and had
for companions and associates there, such men as Benjamin
Fraxklix, George Washixgtox, Alexaxder Hamiltox,
AxDREW Jacksox, and many others, distinguished in the
history of this country.-
This case, which is from a reliable source, recalls to mind
what some of the ancient Fathers have handed down, con-
cerning the refusal of the Pagan oracles to give responses,
because the bones of some Christian martyrs were buried
close by. And, it may be that the young man, to whom we
refer, had, at the time, some devotional object about his
person.
Necromancy was strictly forbidden by the law of ^Ioses :
ALFTHAURION. 269
•'Neither let there be found among j'ou/' said he addressing the
people of Israel, '* any one that cousulteth the pythonic spirits, or for-
tune-tellers, or that seeketh the tnith from the dead.''— [Deut. xviii.
The prophet Isaias, also, condemns those who seek ta
know of the dead what may be of advantage to the living.
(Chapter viii. ) Indeed, all those kings of Israel, who were
pious and feared God, were careful to proscribe necromancy,
and punish all who practiced it.
We learn, also, from the Theodocian code of laws. Lib. 9,
tit. 38, leg. 3, that Coxstantixe, after having professed
Christianity, was severe on necromancers ; and his son and
successor, CoxsTAxcE, condemned them to death, as persons
in league with the devil.
In the Councils of Laodicea, and of IV Carthage, it was
decreed that this crime should be punished by excommuni-
cation.
From these various evidences it is clear that both by Jews
and Christians, spiritualism or necromancy, has ever been
regarded as the work of the demon.
We may now introduce the celebrated case of King Saul
and the Witch of Endor ; it being the best authenticated ex-
ample df necromancy to be found in either ancient or
modern history. The circumstances are related in the
first book of Kings, chapter xxviii, and are substantially as
follows :
Saul, when on the point of engaging in battle with the
Philistines, was anxious to know what the result would be.
Having, by his crimes, lost favor with God, he now sought
information of a pythoness, or witch. Just as some Catho-
lics, who do not wish to confess their sins nor really amend
their lives, go seeking the means of sanctification outside
the Church, when they have them within in such abundance.
Saul desired the Witch to call up from the dead the soul of
Samuel, and he having arisen, informed the king that his
army would be defeated, and himself killed.
270 ALETHAURION.
Here, then, we have a sure case of necromancy — a proph-
ecy made by a dead man, and fulfilled soon after
This fact suggests two other questions :
First, Did Samuel really appear, or was it a piece of
deception — ventriloquism — on the part of the pythoness?
Second, Is the appearance of Samuel to be attributed to
the demon, or to divine agency?
Tertullian, Basil and Gregory, of Nyssa, were of
opinion that it was an Evil Spirit that took the prophet's
form on that occasion, and spoke in his name.
EusTACHius of Antioch, Cyril of Alexandria, and others,
maintained that the sorceress only pretended to have seen
him, but spoke for him.
The Jewish Rabbi, Levi-Bex-Gersox, referred the whole
matter to Saul's disordered imagination.
Those who contend that the apparition was real, may be
divided into two classes. Justix, Origex, Axastasius of
Antioch, Augustixe, and others, attribute the apparition to
the power of the demon ; whereas St. Ambrose, Zexo of
Verona, Thomas Aquixas, and more recent commentators,
maintain that neither the Witch nor the Evil Spirit had
power to evoke Samuel from the tomb, and hence, they
attribute his appearance on that occasion to God. This last
opinion appears more in conformity with reason, and the
only one worthy of consideration.
The next chapter will treat of charms.
CHAPTER LXV,
charms.
Charms are subdivisions of the magical art, and though,
as in common use, the word is interchangeable with en-
chantment, yet strictly speaking, there is a difference.
A charm consists in a set form of words, conveying to
ALETHAURION. 271
the hearer sometimes a definite idea, and sometimes expres-
sinor none at all intelliirible to man. Those that are the
least intelligible are said to be the best, because of a nature
more confidential between the spirit and the worshiper.
In some charms, the words of the- formula must be
accompanied by certain acts, and unless all the circum-
stances of time, place, person and manner are strictly, even
minutely observed, it will not work.
Not only human beings may be affected in this way, but
also, irrational creatures. Indian jugglers are said to have,
by means of charms, a power over even the most venomous
serpents to be found in that benighted land. So that,
under magic influence, the deadly cobra becomes, for the
time being, harmless, and even playful. But from such
playthings, deliver us, O Lord.
No doubt those jugglers know their business well, and
have besides, the right kind of charms. It was not so with
an adventurer who attempted to astonish the natives at a
place some dozen or fifteen miles above Mt. Sterling, in
this State. He gave out that he was a practical snake
charmer, and as a consequence, was for some time held
in high consideration among that class of people who have
a gaping for the marvelous. His powers were tested on
water snakes of different kinds, to the entire satisfaction of
all concerned — the snakes included.
Finally a wagoner brought to the place one day, from
the mountains, a stalwart specimen of another breed, with
twelve rattles and a button. The string that tied him to
the coupling pole was not cut, until the charmer was sent
for. He was to be manager, and show all who wished to
learn, how a rattler might be ** coaxed," as he called the
process of charming.
A ring was soon formed, and the juggler began to mutter
the sacred words, approaching the snake at the same time,
with a steady eye, and motions of the hands, resembling
those made by a poodle in the water.
272 AI.ETHAUEION.
After having moved forward and backward several times »
it became manifest to all that the charm had begun to work ;
for the snake coiled himself, and showed evident sisfns of
irritation ; the prelude to final victory. At length, before
the charm had produced its full effect, the juggler ap-
proached a little too close, increasing thereby, too suddenly
the magical influence ; which became so strong that it burst
those invisible tubes that led from his eye to the snake's.
In this way the current was, for an instant, broken ; and
before it could be re-established, the snake made a spring
and bit the juggler's arm, below the elbow. He soon be-
gan to swell ; and though plenty of that stuff that has kept
alive the spirit of chivalry in the Kentucky mountains, was
applied to the wound, inside and out, it w^as to no purpose
— the juggler died within twenty-four hours.
Any one that is at all acquainted with even the rudiments
of magic, will readily see and admit, that the want of suc-
cess in this case must not be ascribed to the charm itself,
but to the fact that the conditions were not observed in
making the application.
Now, according to the best authorities, when there is ques-
tion of charming a rattle-snake, or copper-head, the juggler
ought not to go inside of a circle, having a radius of five
feet from the serpent's head, without a hickory wand. Then,
when he observes that the tubes, spoken of above, by which
the magic influence is conveyed from his eyes to those of the
serpent, are becoming irregular in their action, a few judi-
cious taps of the wand on the snake's head will again restore
the circulation and insure success.
It was by the omission of this important feature that our
magician lost his life.
It is a mooted question whether charms are man's inven-
tion or whether they were first taught him by the spirits of
the nether world. So me Pagan writers, such as Porphy-
Kius and other theurgists, maintain that the spirits first
taught them to mankind. But a thoughtful consideration
ALETHAURION. 273
of the following fact, would load us to suppose that they
are of human invention, though afterwards endorsed and
made negotiable by his Sable Majesty.
A little upwards of a hundred years ago there lived in a
small house, on the out-skirts of Dublin, an old hag who
had the reputation of being in league with the devil ; and
she lived by selling whisky on the sly. One day a couple
of Trinity college students came to her to get some patent
eye-water on *'tick," for they were broken, flat. The
crone refused to listen to their pleadings unless they put
down their silver first, which neither was able to do. When
about to leave, in disgust at their want of success, one of
them noticed that she had a sore eye, and a bright thought
struck him at once. He pretended to be a young doctor,
and told her that, if she would oblige them this time, he
would cure her ; and, on the coming week, return and settle
all back accounts. To this, the dame replied with a '* get
out o' me house," and a motion toward the opposite corner,
where there was a stout broom-handle.
Seeing that an appeal to science did no good, the other
now remembered that he had a charm to cure sore eyes, and
that his own grand-father, and lately his step-mother, had
been saved from total blindness by the use of it. The old
hag was mollified by this piece of information, and she
finally agreed to give the whisky for the charm, and the
instructions how to use it. It was written in Latin, to the
following effect :
" May the Old Harry gouge out your eye, and put it in his museum, to
scare away the rats. May every tooth in your head ache until your toes
turn up. May you get the yellow jaundice and the measles again, and
may you have the mumps along with them. You old witch, you.
Amen.'*
Twenty years after this event, the prodigal boy had be-
come a judge ; and, while pronouncing sentence, according
to law, against others, he remembered his own juvenile
pranks, only to regret them.
274 ALETHAURION.
One day there was brought before him an old woman,
l)ent almost double with the miseries incident to poverty
and old age. She had been accused of witchcraft, and the
jury had found her guilty. Her crime consisted in curing
sore eyes by magic, and there was the charm as evidence of
it. The judge requested to see the document ; when, lo I
and behold ! there was the identical paper he had* given her
twenty years before. He explained the circumstances to the
jury, the witch was discharged, and with her toes now turned
up for joy, made good time home from the court-house,
thanking God for her deliverance, and fully bent on having
nothinsf more to do with charms in the future.
It would appear from this case, that the demon sometimes
takes advantage of things that are in themselves harmless,
or at most jocose to spread abroad his venom and sap the
faith of true believers.
To say that charms have any power in themselves would,
of course, be simple folly, for there is, evidently, none of
the relationship of cause and effect between reading or wear-
ing around the neck a piece of paper, and the cure of sore
eyes.
But, to affirm that the evil Spirit cannot take advantage of
such things, would be equally silly. From Revelation we
learn that the demons have an intelligence far superior to
ours. The laws of nature, the relations of cause and effect,
and many other matters are known to them in a manner far
superior to any knowledge we can have. We learn, also,
that with God's permission, the devil has power to afflict
men with sickness. Witness Job, and many other cases in
our Lord's time. If we admit he has power to afflict, why
not also a curative power when it suits his designs ? The
devil is the prince of gamblers, and he will risk a minnow
at any time to catch a sturgeon. He only desires that men
be drawn to put their confidence in him, instead of God,
and charms are nothing more nor less than the prayers of
ALETHAURION. 275
those who worship him. Some times the prayers are heard
but oftenerthey are not.
Our next will be about enchantments, especially those of
the magicians of Egypt.
CHAPTER LXVI.
EXCHAXTMEXTS.
Enchantments are parts of the magical art, and bear
about the same relation to charms that music does to poetry.
Were it not for the light which Revelation sheds upon the
future state, our notions concerning what belongs to it
would indeed be very gross and materialistic. Clear evi-
dence of this is to be found among unchristianized nations,
even at the present day. The North American Indian
has no higher idea of the bliss of heaven than that it is a
country beyond the setting sun, with a never fajling stock
of game, and an everlasting summer. Hence, his bow and
a well filled quiver, are placed by his side in the grave, and
the life of a favorite dog is forfeited, that he may accompany
the spirit of his master through shady valleys, and along the
banks of dark, rolling streams in the happy hunting grounds.
The Turk, though more civilized than the Indian, figures
to himself a paradise in keeping with his swinish proclivities
here on earth ; and the lords of Ashantee cannot imagine
how a chief can rest in the other life, until his wives, and a
percentage of his servants are dispatched straight to him.
Thus, it was supposed also, among the Pagans of ancient
time, that whatever gave pleasure here, would not be unac-
ceptable hereafter.
And as all men are more «r less susceptible to the charms
of music, it was thought that spirits could not be insensible
to melody or enchantment. Kow, as to Beelzebub realb^
taking delight in the sound of the banjo or flute is indeed
276 ALETUAURION.
very questionable. But, if a man believes he does, and
takes that means to secure his presence and aid, the writer
would not ffo so far as to say that it is out of the demon's
power to make the enchanter think he likes the music well.
We are told in the book of Exodus, that when Aaron, the
brother of Moses, came before Pharaoh, to request that the
children of Israel be allowed to leave Egypt, the king de-
manded a sign iu proof of his divine mission. Then Aaron
threw down the rod which he held in his hand, and it
instantly changed into a serpent. This was evidently a mira-
cle, and ought to have been sufficient. But Pharoah had
seen so many tricks done by the magicians of Egypt, that
the foregoing did not move his heart, nor lessen his pride.
By way of answer to what Aaron had done he sent for
his own magicians, and true to his expectations, they by
"Egyptian enchantments, and certain secrets, did in like
manner ; they every one cast down their rods and they were
turned into serpents, but Aaron's rod devoured their rods."
We have here a pretty clear case of a Wonderful act done
by the power of enchantment. But this was not the only
specimen of their skill ; for they also turned water into
blood, and brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt, as
Moses and Aaron had done.
The question naturally arises here, as to whether they per-
formed these false miracles by sleight of hand, or by the
power of the Evil One.
Those who may have witnessed the performances of
Heller, Anderson, and others of our times, will not lie
disposed to quarrel with us should we refer the miracles on
this occasion to the same source. Though, we do not all
deny that the great magician himself may have been there,
ready to put the finishing touch, and, as far as lay in his
power, give expression to the picture.
The circumstances were indeed quite * favorable to the
magicians, for, it is not to be presumed that King Pharaoh
was in any way anxious to detect them in the fraud. He
ALETHAURION. 277
was open to conviction from that side, while he would will-
ingly close his eyes to the real miracles of Moses and
Aaron.
Now, Jannes and Mambees, (the names of those two
worthies) no doubt had a great deal of influence and author-
ity ; mountebanks and thieves like them always have, where
vice and incompetence reign at headquarters.
Hence, on learning what Aaron had done, in the presence
of Pharaoh and his court, they might easily have given
orders to some of their confederates to catch and bring them
a couple of serpents ; and by skillful manipulation', a feat
much similar to that performed by Aaron might have been
executed.
As regards the other two miracles, viz : the changing of
the waters of the Nile, and other streams of Egypt, into
blood, as also the plague of the frogs, both of which were
imitated by the magicians, we may say of the iirst, that if
they really changed the waters of the river, and of the other
streams and pools, as Moses had done, such a feat cannot
be attributed to mere lesrerdemain. But it is not at all
probable that those tricksters did more than give the color
of blood to a small portion of water, tdfken from pits dug
near the Nile, during those seven daj^s through which the
miracle lasted. As regards the frogs we may say in like
manner. A tubful or two for Pharaoh to look at, was, in
all probability, the extent of the damage on that occasion.
• But Avhether we hold that it was mere sleight of hand, or
maintain, as some do, that the demon aided them, we still
fail to see that the king and his people had any good reason
for denvins: the divine mission of Moses and Aaron.
When a magician performs a false miracle, there is always
sotnething connected with it by which it may be distinguished
from the genuine.
Thus, when Heller picks' a silver dollar out of a black
man's eye, it is evident that he performs a mere piece of
legerdemain. For, if each and every negro has in his optic
278 ALETHAURION.
a Mexican, and Heller has the power of getting it out, why
does he not go to Timbuctoo at once and get rich, instead
of trying to replenish his purse by giving exhibitions here ?
We may say the same of Pharaoh and his court. They
need not have been deceived. The fact that Aaron's rod,
when turned into a serpent, eat up those of the magicians,
was proof of something unreal in their acts.
Thus also, when Moses and Aaron produced the cimfs,
the magicians were unable to do likewise. And when the
land of Egypt was tried with boils^ the magicians and Pha-
raoh himself, waxed wroth, but had to bear them.
Our next will be about real miracles.
CHAPTER LXVn.
MIRACLES.
A miracle may be defined as an event or occurrence, the
production of which surpasses all created power. Hence,
God alone can perform a real one.
As such an event4s above the laws of nature, in so far as
known to man, it excites astonishment, and is in consequence
called a miracle^ or wonder-pile.
Miracles may be divided into three grades or classes ; not
as regards God, for one is as easy to him as another, but as
respects our way of viewing them.
Indeed, so far as the Creator is concerned, there is not,
neither can there be, any such thing as a miracle. His
knowledge is infinite and the cause of each event, no matter
how surprising it may appear to us, is known to Him from
eternity. Consequently, nothing can occasion wonder to the
Omniscient ; except, may be, the stolid conceit of some men
who take pleasure in being known among their fellow-worms
as infidels or atheists.
ALETH AURION . 279
An event which surpasses, in the highest degree, the pow-
ers of nature, we call a miracle of the first class. Such
would be that John Smith should be present in New York
and San Francisco at one and the same time ; that the sun
should stand still in the heavens ; that the human body
should be glorified, as was that of the Saviour on Mount
Tabor.
A miracle of the second class is that which exceeds the
powers of nature, not so much in the. thing done, as in the
subject in which it is accomplished. Thus, nature has the
power of giving life to man, at some period before his birth,
most probably at the moment of his conception. But when
life, given under the above circumstances, has been lost,
nature has not the power to restore it. So, also, nature
gives a man eyes, by which he may see, but if an optic is
once knocked out, then art may indeed furnish a glass one ;
but nature will not act in the premises a second time. Hence,
to give life to a dead man, or sight to the blind, would cer-
tainly be a miracle, because it would be an event transcend-
ing the powers of nature under those particular circumstan-
ces. But it would only be a miracle of the second class ;
for nature, under other well-known -conditions, has the
power of giving to man both sight and life.
A miracle of the third class is had in the case of an event
that surpasses the powers of nature, yet only in the order
and mode of its accomplishment. Thus, if a child happens
to catch the measles, nature will cure the brat, in due time,
if he is properly cared for. Yet, if some holy man should
restore him to health in an instant, it would be a real and
true miracle, because nature does not work an instantaneous
cure in the case of measles.
It will, also, be readily understood that under each of
these three heads there may be different grades of miracles,
according as they approach to, or recede from the limits of
all created power.
We have said that God alone is able to perform a real
280 ALETHAURION.
miracle. By this, however, we do not mean to exclude the
agency of angels and of men. It is well known that, l)oth
in the Old and New Dispensations, God has made use of
men, and of material objects, to execute His wonders in the
world. These are instruments in His hand, lil^e a pen in
that of a scribe. Now, there arises here very naturally a
question, to the solution of which we shall briefly turn our
attention.
Since we do not know what limits God has set to the
powers of all created nature, how are we to distinguish a
real miracle from a false one?
How are we to know whether we must attribute a given
wonderful event, say the restoration of sight to a blind man,
to God, to an angel, or to some occult force of nature, or
even to one of the fallen spirits or demons?
In reply to this question, which is certainly a very deep
one, we may observe, first of all, that it is the very same,
in substance, that the Pharisees i)ut to our Lord himself,
when they accused Him of working miracles, and casting out
devils, by the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. —
[Matt. xii.
Jewish malice could not conceive a more specious or
subtle argument against the Saviour's miracles. Hence,
we may also conclude that He, then, gave the best answer
possible :
•' Knowing their thoughts," says the Scripture, he said to them:
*' Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate, and
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if I, by
Satan, cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall
his kingdom stand? "
The Saviour does not deny that it is within the .power of
Satan to do wonderful things, through his agents here on
earth. And, in effect, we know that, toward the end of the
world, he will, by means of Antichrist, work miracles
capable of deceiving, if it were possible, even the elect.
Yet, by the Saviour's answer, we are given to understand
that the devil's miracles will be such as to never lead men
ALETHAURION. 281
to glorify God, nor to seek their own sanctification. For,
in that case, his kingdom would be divided.
The Pharisees saw and knew that the miracles of Christ
were true ones, and yet, because of their abominable sins of
pride and lust, they shut their eyes against the light, and
died in their obstinacy and blindness. By the fruit you
may know the tree, and a bad tree, such as Satan is, will
not yield w^holesome fruit.
The foregoing is about the very best means one can have
by which to distinguish between true and false miracles —
though the writer is not unaware that theologians gave also
other marks. Hence, fifrantins^ that we cannot define the
exact limit of Satan's power, yet, there is no danger that a
good and righteous man will ever be deceived by false mir-
acles. It is onlv those whose hearts are wrons^ that will be
drawn into the vortex.
To illustrate this, take an example. A sound, upright
Catholic may be living for years, surrounded by heretics
and secret societies of every kind, and he will never be
drawn away from the Faith. But let one of your hickory
kind, who is a liar from habit and choice, and a fraud, be
placed in similar circumstances, and you will see how quickly
he will recognize the folly of praying, fasting, going to con-
fession, and the like practices. Such a person will easily
fall away, because his heart is not right in the sight of God.
It will be thus, also, with the miracles of Satan, only those
who love deception will be deceived.
As regards the miracles performed by the good angels,
w^e may say that, inasmuch as their wills are in harmony
with that of the Almighty, good alone can result from
them. In general terms we may state it as a solid and un-
deniable principle, that any supernatural event which, either
directly or indirectly, contradicts the teaching of the Catho-
lic Church, has for its author no other than the devil, or
one of his imps.
Now, with respect to the third class, in which miracles
2S2 ALETHAURION.
are referred to unknown powers of nature, we may say, that
an experience of six thousand years has given us a sufficient
knowledge of nature's hiws to be certain that it does not re-
store a dead man to life, nor give sight to a blind man, nor
feed five thousand with five loaves of bread.
Infidels who are always snatching at straws, make use of
the foregoing argument, in order to destroy, if possible, the
motives for believing the Saviour's divine mission.
He ai>i)ealed to the miracles which he performed, as a
proof that he was sent to teach mankind. Infidels attribute
them to the occult powers of nature, and attempt to make
a liar of the Saviour, who referred those wonderful work&
to the Eternal Father.
Our next will be a continuation.
CHAPTER LXVIII.
MIRACLES.
In the last chapter we spoke of the three different orders
of miracles. We also took into consideration the means by
which one may distinguish the wonders of which the powers
of darkness are capable, from those of the blessed spirits,
or of the Almighty.
Satan has a power, whose limits we cannot, with any de-
gree of accuracy, define. But we may state, with full
confidence, that if he could only get full play at us, we
would find ourselves checkmated by him in short order.
Yet Ave must remember that there is a wiser and a more
powerful Being than Satan — our Creator — who takes pity
on our weakness and will not allow the demon to triumph,
unless we first prove ourselves rebellious, and desert our
colors.
United to God, we are strong and we are wise. But
separated from Him, the most intellectual man in existence
ALETHAUEION. 283
is but a miserable, blind and helpless shoat, a prey easily
captured aud devoured by the infernal wolves.
Granting then, as may be done, that Satan has a discre-
tionary power far more vast than that conceded to any
tyrant in human shape, past, present, or to come, we need
not dread his might nor his miracles, as long as we are in
the House of God. For the Master of that house must
first be bound before His servants can be injured, or His
cjoods rifled.
Let us now proceed a step farther, and briefly consider
the possibility of miracles.
Some modern infidels, making use of the objections
proposed to themselves, and solved by the scholastic theo-
logians of the Catholic Church, have sought notoriety by
giving to these same objections a new setting, and then
passing them off as gems of thought of their own discov-
ery.
These infidel gentlemen give the difficulties they find in
Catholic theology against points of faith, but not the solu-
tions, though, side by side on the same page.
Now it is a well-known fact, that even a common simple-
ton can ask a question th:it might take several weeks of
very hard study from a brilliant scholar to answer — and for
that matter, he might never answ^er it. There are some
mysteries of our faith that are entirely beyond human
understanding. Possibly the angels themselves do not
comprehend the mysteries of creation, the Trinity, predesti-
■ nation, the providence of God in the government of this
world, etc.
But as the simpleton ought not to plume himself on his
smartness, for asking a question which no one is capable of
answering, so neither should our infidel friends glorv in
their wit, when they do nothing more than plagiarize.
One of the keenest objections to the possibity of miracles
that the writer has ever come across, is the following :
284 ALETHAURION.
God, in the beginning, with infinite knowledge and wis-
dom, established the laws by which the universe is gov-
erned. These are expressions of His will. Now, any change
or suspension of such ordinances must come either from
God Himself or from some other being. The change can-
not be from a source independent of God, for His will is
irresistible and almighty. The change or suspension of a
law of nature, even in one particular case, cannot come
from the Almighty, for that would imply a change in His
will which cannot be, for his will is immutable. Hence, no
•change or suspension of a law of nature, even in a particu-
lar case, can happen, and in consequence such a thing as a
miracle is impossible.
Before proceeding to examine into the merits of this ob-
jection we may observe that it would imply to many other
things besides miracles. If true it would prove that God is
not a free being ; it would upset the Catholic doctrine
regarding the utility of prayer and reduce everything to a
dead fatalism. But, to point out these consequences does
not destroy the force of the objection. It is in the study of
such questions as this that one must take the liberty of dif-
fering with the poet, when he said,
"The proper study of maGkind is man."
To be entirely true the line should read thus :
The proper study of mankind is GOD.
Now, speaking about the Divine attributes unless care be
taken, one is apt to get beyond his depth — up to both ears
in difficulties. We shall attempt to avoid that, at present,
by keeping close to tli^ shore.
By way of answer, then, we may say : I grant that God,
in the beginning, made laws for the government of the uni-
verse and that no created power can change them. But,
by that very act in which He willed the law. He willed also
the exception. So that the exception is as much a part of
God's act as the law itself and of equal date with it.
Taking this view of the case it docs not appear to differ
ALETHAURION. 285
much, as to species, from that of the late Widow Muggins.
She made a law and had it properly promulgated in the
family that the children should all l)e in bed, and covered
up, precisely at eight o'clock at night — except when their
Aunt Rickey came to see them, then they could stay up
until nine. Now, the widow Muggins did not change hier
mind in allowing the children to remain up an hour longer
than usual under the circumstances, because this excep-
tion was included in the first act by which the law was
made.
So, also, when God in the beginning established order in
the universe. He determined that the earth should make a
complete revolution on its axis once in every twenty -four
hours, and should continue to do so up to a certain period,
when, for once, it was to make the same revolution in
thirty-six hours. This change in the earth's motion implies
no change in the will of God, for it was included in the
original act.
This answer appears to meet the difficulty pretty well,
says our friend Snipe. Not at all, not at all, says Nosey —
Mr. Nosey is a metaphysician and knows what he is talking
about — says he, when God, in the beginning, made the law
that governs the universe, He also, at the same instant,
made some exceptions, I grant, but as the act w£^s perfected
in past time the number of exceptions to the law w\as also
determined, and God cannot work a miracle except under
circumstances already pre-determined. Thus the solution
that you have given, says Nosey, is only a change from one
difficulty into another. God's liberty is still im[)ugned.
It must be confessed that Nosey is somewhat of a philoso-
pher, very like a whale, so to speak. Hence, to give him
chase, we must risk ourselves out some distance from the
shore.
The fallacy on which the objection is founded consists in
saying that God in past time made a law. With God there
is no pa^t and no future. All that we can say of Him, in
286 ALETHAUEION.
this regard, inav be expressed in the words, He is. The
act by which He created the universe, and regulates every-
thing in it, was not one perfected in past time, but is the
one same, abiding, eternal act. Hence, as regards us, it is
correct to say, God created the universe but, as regards God,
it is not correct, for the act of oreation was not a transient,
but an abiding one.
With this idea of God, as a being entirely of the pres-
ent, it will not be difficult to see how exemption from the
action of a law of nature, in a particular case, does not in-
terfere with a pre-existing law. God lives in the ever pres-
ent now, and His ever present act creates, conserv^es,
changes and regulates existences.
And since in the Divine Essence there is an infinitude of
possibilities, the Divine will, can, when it chooses, reduce
any of these to act, wliich plainly means that God can per-
form a miracle when He pleases. Hence, also, when a man
prays God to forgive him his sins, he does not change the
will of God, but, by changing his own heart, with the aid
of Divine ijrace, he fulfills a condition required by the eter-
nal act for his justification. »
Our next will be a continuation.
CHAPTER LXIX.
MIRACLES.
David Hume, the infidel, in a certain part of his writings,
says, in substance, that he never, in all his life, saw a mira-
cle, but he saw and knew a great many men who were given
to exaggeration and to lies.
David was, no doubt, correct, when speaking of the great
number of liars in his day. Their descendants, in our
times, are neither few nor hard to find.
But, the fact that there were, and still are, such people in
ALETHAUBION. 287
the world, does not prove that miracles have not been,
though Hume intended that it should.
There were many, also, who told the truth, who shed
their blood for it, and there are plenty who would mount
the rack again, should circumstances call for that sort of
evidence.
It is by the testimony of such as these, and by none other,
that miracles are proved.
That the infidel, of whom we are speaking, never saw a
miracle, is quite possible. But, there were many other
facts that he never saw, and truths that he never dreamt of,
that are held as undeniable, notwithstanding, by men far
more profound than he.
If Hume had seen a miracle, in all probability, he would
not have believed it. By the profession of infidelity men
become paralyzed in error, and no matter under what aspect
truth is presented, the magnetic current of a depraved will,
swings them around to unbelief.
The only cure for infidelity is humiliation, and affliction
in the flesh.
God humbles the infidel here, by giving him over to his
lusts ; and in eternity, by making him a thrall of Beelze-
bub.
If we are to put faith in the newspaper reports, it would
appear that as late as the second of this month, (Febru-
ary, 1878,) and no farther away than Mauch Chunk,
Pennsylvania, a real and true miracle was made manifest
hi the person of Amelia Greth. The authorities will, no
doubt thoroughly investigate the matter, and if there be no
imposition found, this case will, or ought to be, a suflicient
answer to those unbelievers who ask wliy it is that miracles
always take place in some foreign country, or in days long
since passed.
Should the Church authorities discover an imposition, it
should be at once publicly exposed, and the actors in it
punished to the utmost limits of the law.
288 AT-ETHAURION.
We have no need in the Catholic Church, of fraudulent
miracles, since we have those of Christ, its author and
finisher, and of the Apostles, its first Bishops, to refer to.
Not to go back so far, we have in our own times, the mir-
acles of Lourdes and Knock. No sane man now pretends to
question the fact that supernatural cures have been affected
at both those places.
The circumstances, as given in the daily papers, are cer-
tainly such as to induce one to believe that a miracle took
place at Mauch Chunk.
. The woman announced several days before hand, that
she would die on the Feast of the Purification, and that
she would remain dead one hour ; that then she would be
recalled, not only to life, but to perfect health — cured
completely of that consumption which had caused her
death.
Here, then, we have a case similar to that which Renan,
the Infidel, requires. Hundreds flocked to the house to see
her die, and they saw her give up the ghost. They waited
an hour and saw her rise again, at the command of the
priest who had anointed her. And not alone that, but
they beheld her restored to health and vigor of body.
Since this is an extraordinary case, even in the line of mir-
acles, it is to be hoped that the Ecclesiastical authorities of
the diocese, in which Mauch Chunk is, will not suffer it to
pass without the closest scrutiny.
Miracles are principally for the unbeliever, and as each
and every one of these could not have been present at the
time and place, it is eminently proper that the local Church
authorities should investigate and publicly acknowledge, or
deny, the miracle, without fear and without favor, as its
truth or falsity may require.
We Catholics do not need miracles to make us believe.
Our faith is not only the substance of things we hope for,
but also an argument to each one, of things that do not ap-
pear to his ^senses. We believe without seeing.
ALETHAURION. 289
When some one came running, in great haste, to Louis
IX, usually called St. Louis, king of France, and told him
that, in one of the churches in the city, Christ stood forth
in His human form from the consecrated Host, he expressed
no wonder, and even refused to go and see.
He said that for himself, there "was no need of a miracle
to make him believe the doctrine of the real presence.
"God has not intended this manifestation for me," said
the King, '' but for some others who do not believe."
Let us again return to our friend Hu.me, and divesting his
argument of all unnecessary flourishes, put it in as simple
and clean a way as possible. We may state the case thus :
A miracle is a fact, real or supposed. Its truth or falsity
is proved by the evidence of one's own senses or by the
testimony of others. If the weight of evidence is on the
side of the miracle, then it is only reasonable that it should
be admitted. If, on the contrary, the most credible wit-
nesses give testimony in opposition to such a thing, common
sense would teach us to reject it*.
The case is parallel to that which happened yesterday a
week ago, in Judge Bullhead's court, at Lawyerville.
Ephren Evans, a colored gentleman of probity, swore he
saw Abe Jones strike Jeff Anderson, in the melee, over
the creek, at Wiggins' distillery. Whereas, Polk Hustin,
another African swore it was not «Iones, but Tom Nelson
that did the striking. Hence, his honor. Judge Bullhead,
bad to decide which witness was the more worthy of belief.
And, as a matter of course, their previous characters for
truth entered largely into the case.
So it must be done also in regard to miracles ; we must
weigh well the character of the witnesses on both sides.
We must decide, says the infidel, whether it is more rea-
sonable to admit that one or even a dozen men have lied, or
were deceived by their senses, as regards a supernatural oc-
currence ; or that the laws governing the world have been
suspended in a particular instance.
We shall endeavor to answer this in the next chapter.
290 . ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LXX.
MIRACLES.
Which is it more reasonable to believe : that nature has
deviated from a known law, in a given instance, or that the
man, who pretends to have seen such deviation, has not been
deluded, or has not lied about it?
To this question, coming as it does, so soon after the
Mauch Chunk fiasco^ one would be disposed to answer at
once, that it was rather to be expected that the man had
been deceived, or had sought to deceive others.
The burden of proof lies with him who pretends to have
performed, to have seen, or to believe in a miracle.
In the Catholic Church great care is taken, and, in fact,
great care is needed, that nothing fraudulent, of a super-
natural character, be allowed to pass current. The prompt
action of Archbishop Wood, in that Mauch Chunk affair, is
proof of it. ^
Catholics have sometimes been accused of too much cre-
dulity in religious matters. It is true we believe, without
doubting, all that God has revealed, and the Church propo-
ses for our acceptance. For this we have motives of cred-
ibility that are excellent beyond all comparison.
But, outside of that, we are most incredulous. More so
than Tom Paixe and Bob Ingersoll welded together. We
cannot, and w^e obstinately refuse even to try to believe, that
the man who sees the wonderful order displayed in the
material universe, and yet says there is no God, is anything
else but a very insipid fool.
" The Heavens show forth the glory of God ; and the firmament is the
work of His hands.*' — Ps. xviii, 2. "The fool said in his heart there is
no Gou."'— Ps. xiii, 1.
Christ having affirmed that he was the Son of God, and
having proved the same by rising from the dead ; we can-
not believe that the man who disputes it deserves a higher
title than that of ignoramus or knave.
ALETHAURION. 291
Seeing a Catholic Church with members and not a few of
them, in every country throughout the known world, with a
line of Bishops from Pius IX, recently departed, to St.
Peter, Prince of the Apostles, we cannot believe that the
man who denies it to be the Church that Christ built, has
ever read history with an eye to discover truth.
We are very incredulous — we Catholics are. We even
suspect a delusion or something worse, when one of our
members goes around peddling strange stories about mir-
acles ; and if filthy lucre happens to be connected, then our
incredulity shoots up like a balloon on a rampage, and we
demand an inquest.
In spiritual things. Catholics believe precisely what they
ought and no more. We maintain that miracles have been
performed, and when the Supreme Being sees proper, we
know He can at any time derogate from the general law.
But as He is all-powerful, we believe that a close scrutiny
into each reputed case, far from detracting from the good
effect of a miracle, will only serve to place it in a clearer
light, and make it redound the more to the glory of Him
who can alone perform one.
But, since miracles are of rare occurrence, the burden of
proof lies with him who affirms. We can, however, charge
ourselves with it, and run no risk of fainting by the way-
side.
That the reader may see how one may have the highest
certitude attainable, in regard to miracles, we will take, at
random, an example from the scriptures, and discuss the
merits of the case. We will come to close quarters by pass-
ing from abstract discussion to concrete analysis.
The example is found in St. John's gospel, chapter v.
It is stated that, in Jerusalem, there was a pond called Pro-
batica. and that once a year an anael descended and moved
its waters. After the movement, the first man that touched
the element was cured of whatever infirmity he might have
been laboring under. But the first was the only one served.
292 ALETHAURION.
In the porches around the pond were persons afflicted
with all manner of diseases. Each anxious to get the start
of his neighbor and leap in after the movement of the
waters. Among them was a wretched creature who had
been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. During that time he
had been waiting to see if he could not, by some lucky
chance, take lead of all others. But he was ever and always
distanced in the race, for he had not the use of himself —
poor cripple.
Finally, after nearly forty years of expectation the Saviour
came along, and by His Almighty power cured him of the
paralysis instantaneously.
Such is the case in point. Now let us lay the matter
before our Infidel friends in the form of a question.
Which wasit more reasonable : for that paralytic to have
believed jthat there was a suspension of a law of nature in
his case, or to suppose that he was laboring under a delu-
sion ; that he was still unable to walk, and that he was only
dreaming? What proofs had he that he had ever ])een
sick? He had the exjjerience of 38 years, the testimony of
his senses, and especially of the sensus intimus^ which con-
vinced him that his limbs during all that time would not
obey the behests of his will. He had, moreover, the testi-
mony of scores of others who daily visited the place and
commiserated his pitiable condition. He had every proof
that a man can have, that he was first sick, and after he was
told to rise, take up his bed and walk, he had the same
proofs that he got instantaneously well, and remained so.
He might have as reasonably doubted his own existence as
that a miracle had been wrought on him.
In the second place, what proofs had this man that nature
permits no exemption from the action of its laws? Had he
the testimony of his senses? Just the contrary. The senses
taught him that he was himself an exemption. Had he the
testimony of others? By no means. On the contrary, for
38 years he had been accustomed to hear people speak of
ALETHAURION. 293
how this one was cured of leprosy, that one of dropsy,
another of the palsy, and possibly, a half dozen or more invet-
erate lunatics related to him how they had been restored to
sense. The weight of evidence in the case, as stated, was
certainly on the side of the miracle.
Let us now pass on a step, and take into consideration
whether it was more reasonable for the by-standers to have
believed that a miracle had been wrought, or to have still
maintained that no exemption can take place.
What proofs had they of the latter? Their own life-long
observations, snarls out the Infidel. Very well, are we to
believe nothing more than what our life-long observations
have taught us ?
If so, the writer of this may deny everything that hap-
pened previous to the 12th of April, 1840. On the other
hand, what proof had they that there was an exemption
from nature's law? They had the testimony of their sen-
ses — actual observation. They could not have been deceived
in this matter any more than the paralytic himself. A de-
lusion could not have taken place under the circumstances,
as narrated in the Scriptures.
The Pharisees, who would have been most exceedingly
well pleased to have caught the Saviour in a fraud, did not
deny its truth ; but found fault because the miracle was
performed on the Sabbath.
We may now consider this fact from a third stand
point.
Which is more reasonable, that we, of 'the present day,
should deny what is said in the Scriptures about this mira-
cle, or believe that nature jiermitted an exemption in that
particular case?
To answer this question fully, would require that we
should discuss the motives of credibility for the authenticity
and veracity of the Scriptures. To do so, at length, does
not full within the limits of our present plan, but we may
ply, in general terms, as follows :
294 ALETHAURION.
Since the Gospel of St. John, in which mention is made
of the miracle, has, from the time it was first written, been
regarded as authentic and true by the best and wisest men
that have lived on earth ; since the Catholic Church, which
goes back, as an organized society to the day of Pente-
cost, has ever borne testimony to the truth of what the same
Gospel relates ; since, in a word, the civilized world, for
upwards of eighteen centuries, has been of the same belief,
let the Infidels bring forward real substantial motives for
denying the truth of what is therein related.
When there is question of a new miracle, the burden of
proof lies with him who affirms ; but, when speaking of one
that has been admitted for ages, then he w4io denies must
furnish reasons for his mibelief .
This is what Infidelity has never been able to do, and there
is no likelihood that future efforts will be crowned with better
success.
In our next we will take up and discuss some well authen-
ticated cases not found in scripture.
CHAPTER LXXI.
MIRACLES.
In the last chapter, we took one of the many miracles per-
formed by the Saviour, to show that a person may have the
same certainty, as regards such a fact, that he has of his
own existence.
The reasons there given are also applicable to those super-
natural works executed by the Apostles. The lame man
that St. Peter cured at the gate of the temple, which was
called "the beautiful," knew, by the testimony of his senses,
that he had been a cripple for a number of years, and was
equally sure that, with the words '*arise and walk," he got
his footing instantaneously.
ALETHAURION. 295
He had what philosophers call metaphysical certainty of a
miracle. Those who stood by at the time Peter said the
words, and saw the cripple straighten his limbs and walk,
were physically certain that a supernatiin;] work had been
done. We, of the present day, supported by the authority
of the Roman Church, strengthened by the testimony of the
millions of Martyrs, who shed their blood in attestation of
the truth of all that is related in the scripture — we have
moral certitude respecting the miracles of Christ and of the
Apostles.
The Infidel, who does not wish to admit the doctrine of
miracles, must in order to be consistent, deny the authenti-
city and veracity of the New Testament. To do so comes
easy to him, but to sustain that denial, by solid arguments,
is another thing.
Thus far, in every encounter, the Christian philosopher
Has sent the Infidel to the hospital for repairs.
But, where so much remains to be done, we ought not to
glory in what has been achieved. If Catholics devoted half
as much time to the study of their religion as they do to
reading lascivious stories, in some of the weekly papers, we
would have fewer avowed Infidels in the land. Each well-
instructed believer would be like a strong fortress, not only
impregnable himself, but radiating a salutary influence for
miles around, over-aw^ing error and its champions. But, un-
fortunately, such is not the case, to any great extent. And
w^hy is it not thus?
We have many excellent colleges, in which first-class liter-
ary, scientifical and classical courses are taught. There is,
probably, a yearly average of 200 young men sent out from
them into the great world, with their parchments signed,
sealed and delivered. Do these young bachelors of art, ex-
ercise, in religious matters, an influence commensurate with
the money expended on them by their parents?
Some, no doubt, do so, but the vast majority do not.
296 ' ALETHAURION.
And the reason is plain. Theology is not taught, as a regu-
lar study, in our colleges, and why it is not, has been a mys-
tery to the writer ever since he was a boy. The average
graduate, on exhibition day, sings off his speech and receives
his diploma amidst the clapping of hands and general re-
joicing of friends.
The rector of the the college, without a smile on his face,
or even a twinkle in his eye, gravely tells the assembled
spectators that, not for years past, have they had a more
promising class of graduates. Then, turning to the young
hopefuls, he conjures them to make a judicious use of that
great power which learning gives.
Our bachelor of arts next leaves his alma mater, as full
of conceit as an egg is of meat, lie is too much afraid of
making an injudicious U!?e of his great learning to ever think
of fooling with so dangerous an agent. People's heads
might get turned, you know ! And thus inflated, he treads
the streets of his native village, until he runs across the
town blacksmith, who has, for a time past, been devoting
his leisure hours to the study of Infidel tracts ; and the
graduate «:ets floored. He then begins to tell his friends
that the blacksmith is nothing but a shallow mechanic at best,
and that he disdains to have another word with so
ignorant a fellow. There ought to be in each and every one
of our chartered colleges a chair of theology, taught in
English.
There is no need that we should here attempt to show
wljat good results would follow from such a course. They
are evident at a glance.
In our seminaries, the science is taught reasonably well,
though, in some places, none too well to boast of. If the
same w^ere done in colleges, the graduate would become a
powerful ally of the pastor in the dissemination of religious
knowledge, whereas, he is now of little or no advantage, be-
cause he has only been taught the shorter catechism, and
that in a flimsy way.
ALETIIAUEION. ' 297
At the suggestion of Archbishop Hughes, there was, at
one time, added to the regular course,. in some of our con-
vent schools, a branch of learning called domestic economy.
The girls were taught to cook without burning their fingers,
and to know by experience the difference between a griddle
and a flat-iron. He judged well and wisely that young
ladies would have need of that sort of knowledge in after
life, and his suggestions were well received and acted upon.
Should not boys also be taught in colleges a science they
will, in after life, have so much need of, unless they wish
to crawl through life as apostates or poltroons?
Let us now again return to ourselves. We started out
with the intention of showing that miracles have been per-
formed since the time of the Apostles, and here we are
moralizing on other matters.
Such is the character of the human mind, full of wander-
ings and vagaries. Yet the best stvle of writing may be
that which most nearly corresponds to the unsystematic
working of each individual mind. We like to hear others
speak on the plan of our own thoughts. And the man or
woman who thinks systematically, without effort, is as
much of a rarity as an Indian brave who loves work.
Protestantism, which borders on Infidelity, is willing to
admit that Christ and the Apostles worked miracles. But
since their time, our separated brethren maintain that such
direct manifestations of the providence of God have ceased
entirely.
It is the same old case of the fox and the wild grapes.
Neither Protestantism, nor any other false religion, has
ever been able to produce a miracle, and for obvious rea-
sons. Only God can work one, and He will not contradict
His word by putting the seal of His aproval upon a false
system.
But in the true Church miracles have taken place, off
and on, from the days of the Apostles. Let us take a few
•^'ell attested examples.
298 ALETHAURION.
St. Justin, martyr, Apol. 2 n. 6, Dial, with Tryph. n. 2^
bears witness to the fact that, by the name of Christ, evil
spirits were expelled, and that the prophetic spirit has
passed from the Jews to the Christians. Irexeus, Hceers,
ii, 56-57, says that by the imposition of hands many infirm
persons were cured in his day, and some dead restored to
life.
Origen, Cont. Cels. iii, n. 24, says he saw many sick
persons cured by the invocation of the name of Christ, and
by the sign of the Cross. St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan,
fifth century, tells us he was an eye witness of the miracles-
at the tombs of the martyrs, Sts. Gervase and Protase.
St. Augustine, City of God, xxii, c. 8, speaks of the mir-
acles performed in his day by the relics of St. Stephen.
These are enough for the early ages.
As regards our own times, we may state that the miracles
of Lourdes and Knock are too well-known and too well
authenticated, to need insertion in this place. Finally,,
what can the heretics of our times say about the liquifaction
of the blood of St. tlANARius ; that perpetual miracle, that
no one can deny nor call in doubt.
We leave these crumbs for our separated brethren to pick
at for the present, and in our next, we will introduce the
reader to a chapter on apparitions.
CHAPTER LXXII
APPARITIONS.
Of spirits there are two kinds, the created and the uncre-
ated. The latter, which is identical with Gou, is not sub-
divisible ; but, of the former, we have three principal classes —
the good angels,, the demons, and the souls of men separa-
ted from their bodies. Besides these, there may also be
others, but no knowled2:e of them has been revealed to us.
ALETHAUEIOX. 299^
It is possible God may have peopled the moon and the plan-
ets that belong to the solar system, with rational creatures,
having souls, more or less like ours ; but we have no proofs
that he has done so ; and we may never be permitted ta
know whether or not he has.
The range of human knowledge is very far from being
infinite, and, no doubt, there are many truths regarding the
spirit world that will never be dreamt of in our philosophy
as long as we are in the flesh.
But, though our knowledge of the supernatural is limited,
still, what we do possess, is true knowledge, never to be con-
tradicted by any revelations that may be made in the future
life. Our mental vision will then, in all probability, be ren-
dered more telescopic, and truths we now see, as it were,
by starlight, will appear under the full blaze of a noonday
sun ; but the same truths still.
There is the same stability in the moral that we find in
the physical order ; and we may be very certain that no
future event will ever contradict what God has once revealed.
The subject of apparitions has, within the past twenty
years, called forth some attention in these United States,
on account of its connection with what its votaries take to
be an entirely new system of religion — spiritualism. This
is nothing more nor less than the theurgy of heathen nations,
practiced both before and after the Saviour's coming.
The gross ignorance in some cases, and the vicious lives
led by its professors in others, prevent them from seeing
and acknowledofino^ this fact.
In the third and fourth centuries of our era, the science
falsely so called, of theurgy, or spiritualism, was carried to a
high state of perfection, more so than now. The apostates
Julian, Poephyrius, Jamblicus, Maximus, and others, not
only believed in it, but wrote books to show that, by certain
observances and invocations, one misfht conciliate the ffood
will of the spirits, and by their aid do wonderful works.
It is needless to say that such teachings were condemned
300 ALETHAURIOX.
by the Church. Porphyrius, indeed, maintained that it
was not necessary to worship the Supreme God at all ; and
that honor and veneration were to be given, in preference,
to those lesser spirits, because they alone appeared to inter-
est themselves in human affairs. It will not be difficult for
a prudent man to see the cloven foot and several joints of
the dragon's tail in all this.
Such also appears to be the principle that animates, and
gives a sombre interest to modern spiritualism.
God, the Creator, is kept out of sight, and what are sup-
posed to be the souls of departed friends come on the stage,
and speak and act in a manner to leave the impression that
what Christ and the Apostles have taught us respecting the
future life, is all a mistake.
According as Christianity progressed, in the early ages,
theurgy declined ; a sure proof that the two principles were
antagonistic. As stated before, theurgy has, within our
own times, taken out a new lease for these United States.
And were it not for the fact that the civil war called men's
attention from the elysian fields, in the realm of shades, to
tented fields beneath the moon, it is prol)al)le that many now
professing a bastard Christianity, such as all heresy is,
would be, at the present writing, full blown spiritualists.
As happened in the first ages, spiritualism has also had
among us a certain development of parts. The devil is too
wary a captain to tell everything he knows all at once. He
understands that the pleasures of hope are sometimes more
savory than those from thiiigs actually possessed. Like the
managers among the Freemasons, he makes his dupes be-
lieve there is something greater yet behind the curtain ; and
indeed, there is — it is himself.
At the start, spiritualism in America consisted in little
else besides mysterious rapping on the doors and furniture
of rooms occupied by persons who. were, from that fact,
supposed to be favorites of the spirits. Tables and other
movables were next made to waltz ai'ound the floor, and this
ALETHAURION. 301
was attributed to animal magnetism. The phrase was a
convenient one to give name to» a force which no one then
understood, nor understands now.
The next step was to establish, by the rappings, a com-
munication between the medium and the spirits, so that
there might be an exchange of ideas. This was effected,
and gave satisfaction for a while. After this, came for the
medium, the states of coma and clairvoyance. In the for-
mer, he or she, generally she, remained as if dead, utterly
unconscious of all that was going on around her. But, in
the latter state, her eyes were opened to things happening
hundreds of miles away, which were described to those near
by with fidelity and accuracy.
The following narrative, as apropos to the matter in hand,
will not be considered out of place in this connection. We
suppress the names of persons for obvious reasons :
Some twenty years ago there lived in, or near, the town
of E , Maryland, a man who owned a negro girl that
was a medium or pythoness. This girl had the reputation
of being, moreover, a clairvoyant. But, unlike that other
mentioned in the Scriptures, she was a source of bothera-
tion lather than gain to her master. There were, as a mat-
ter of course, persons who would not believe. So in or-
der to have the case fairly tested, it was agreed to hold,
on a certain day, a spiritual seance in town. Many were
invited, and among others, according to my informant
a certain Catholic gentleman who lives, at present, in the
South, and on the left bank of the Father of Waters.
W^hen the day came, the slavcsholder was on hand with his
pythoness, an unmistakble African, presenting a rare con-
trast of ebony and ivory, and somewhat elated withal, at her
importance, in the estimation of white folks.
The pythoness, having gone into the state of clairvoyance,
was asked divers questions, concerning persons and things at
a distance, to all of which she returned correct answers.
She described places and public buildings in Baltimore,
302 ALETHAURION.
where she was known to have never been, and gave a ver-
batim report of part of a speech that was then being deliv-
ered at a political meeting in the same city. She accurately
described the interior of the Catholic Church, in the town,
though she had never been inside of it. She spoke of the
candlesticks on the altar, and the light burning before it.
When asked what that light was for, she said it was to
honor something kept on the altar, inside of a little door
that was there. But, when requested to tell what that
something really was, she became speechless, and, with
foam on her lips, she went into a spasm, and heaved and
kicked, like the Sibyl of Cupise, which brought the confer-
ence to an abrupt end.
After clairvoyance, in the spiritualistic order, came direct
manifestations, that is, the forms and features of departed
friends appeared to the mediums, and to other favored per-
sons. The best example of this kind that now occurs to the
writer, is that which happened in Virginia City, Nevada,
some four years ago, which the reader, in all probability,
recollects.
The latest development consists in the materialization of
the spirit. The departed friend not only appears, niitural
as in life, but converses of old times, and makes himself
quite agreeable and at home, in the company of his former
associates. The spiritualists look forward to a still brighter
era, when our departed kinsfolk will return and reside with
us in a yet more permanent and satisfactory way.
Thus developments will go on, until the delusion is dis-
pelled by the rays of that Faith which alone sheds a true
light on man's future destiny.
In our next we will speak of the apparitions of God.
ALETHAURION. 303
CHAPTER LXXIII.
THEOPHAXIE.
This word signifies the Divine apparition — the manifesta-
tion to mortal eyes of no less a being than the Almighty.
Theologians disagree as regards its reality, and the question
is one not easily solved. Those who deny the theophanie,
entrench themselves behind what we read in the book of Ex-
odus, xxxii, 20.
It is stated, that Moses, having asked God to show Him-
self, received this answer :
'"Thou canst not see my face, for man shall not see me and live.*'
They who believe in the theophanie also bring forward
texts of Scripture, in support of their position.
It is evident, say they, from the Old Testament, that God
appeared and spoke to Adam, under some sensible form, in
the Garden of Eden. It is no less sure that he manifested
himself to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, to Moses, and to
many of the prophets.
Neither is it likely that a me.re angel would have said to a
Jewish law giver, ** I am the God of thy father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob," Exodus,
iii, 6. Nor to the children of Israel, assembled at the foot
of Mount Sinai, *' I am the Lord your God, who brought
you out of the hind of Egypt."
From these texts it would appear that it was not an angel,
but God himself, that spoke on those occasions.
Yet, we are told, on the other hand, Acts vii, 37, that it
was an angel spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in the
same chapter verse 53, St. Stephen says to the Jews, <*You
have received the law by the disposition of angels."
Let us see if we cannot reconcile these belligerents. Some
of the Fathers have maintained that the second person of
the Blessed Trinity, viz : the Word of God, appeared at
304 AT-ETHAURIOX.
I
least on some occasions, to the patriarchs and prophets of
the Old Law. This apparition of the Son of God to man,
before having been born of the Virgin Mary, is precisely
vvhat theologians understand by the theophanie. There are
not wanting those who have even hazarded the opinion that
the high priest Melchisedec, to whom Abraham paid
tithes , was no other than the Word, who, before His incar-
nation, had taken human form and lived here for a time
among men, though His body was by no means real, but
only such to outward appearance.
St. Paul, Hebrews, vii, speakingof this mysterious man,
who figures only once in sacred history, calls him the king
of justice, the king of peace, titles which the ancient prophets
gave to the future Messiah.
He also says that Melchisedec w^as '' without father,
without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning
of days nor end of life, but likened into the Son of God,
continueth a priest forever."
Commentators explain away the force of this very singu-
lar text by saying, that he is reputed to have had neither
father nor mother, beginning of days nor end of life, be-
cause mention is not made of these facts in Scripture. More-
over, say those who are not willing to admit that sort of a
theophanie, if Melchisedec and the Divine Word had been
one and the same person, St. Paul could not have said that
he was likened to the Son of God. A person who is likened
to another is evidently not that other.
We do not here wish to either affirm or deny in the case
as stated, for one side looks as reasonable as the other.
Since it is certain that God can manifest himself to man
under whatever shape he pleases, it is likewise true, that he
can, at pleasure, prolong such, for days, months or years.
Let us return to that objection against the theophanie
founded on what is said in Acts vii, that it was an angel
spoke to Moses ; that the law was given by the disposition
of angels, etc. There is really no difficulty here presented.
ALETHAUBION. 305
if we remember that the word angel expresses, not the na-
ture, but the office of those spirits.
The expression means a messei^er, and is sometimes
applied even to man in the Scriptures.
The prophet Isaias, according to the Septuagint, ix, 6,
calls the future Messiah the angel of the great council.
Hence, the employment of that word in Acts is no proof
against thet theophanie. The Second Person could, with
propriety, have been called an angel, while making known
to mankind what had been' decided in the great council —
viz : by the most Holy Trinity.
As regards what is said in Exodus, that man cannot see
God and live, we may answer that the words evidently refer
to the beatific vision which the just enjoy in the future life.
As long as we live here, we cannot see God as he appears
to the saints in heaven, because of the grossness of our in-
tellects. Our entire being would have to undergo a trans-
formation preparatory to such an event. With our present
faculties we could not take in so much ; for, if we some-
times find a difficulty in understanding earthly things, how
much more those heavenly scenes.
A teacher may instruct his pupils in sciences, because they
are rational, and have minds capable of grasping and retain-
ing such truths ; but it requires no argument to convince us
that it would be a loss of time, should one attempt to teach
poetry to a sow and pigs, or metaphysics to a cage of wild
asses.
Poetry is not farther above the comprehension of swine
than are many heavenly truths beyond ours ; though Infidels
would have us believe that men are now so wise as to be
nearly on a level with the Deity.
But the greatest theophanie of all was that which took
place at the birth of the Son of God. As he is the center
figure of creation, so his appearance in human shape, true
God and true man, is the event, excellent beyond all others,
306 ALETHAUKION.
in this world's history. It is a mysterious fact, that, some-
thing upwards of eighteen centuries ago, there lived, on
this earth, a man, who was the Almighty God, Father, Son
and Holy Ghost, the creator and conserver of all things,
visible and invisible.
A being, who could, by one simple act of His will, anni-
hilate time and space by putting a period to all co-existing
and successive things, of which time and space are but the
relations.
Our next will be about the angels.
CHAPTER LXXIV.
THE ANGELS.
All we know from scripture and tradition concerning
angels, whether good or bad, may be placed under some
one of the following heads : Their existence, their nature,
their duties, their grace, the fall of many of them, their
punishment, their attempts to lead men from the paths of
rectitude.
St. Thomas Aquinas, sometimes called the angelic doc-
tor, on account of the clearness of his perceptions, has, in
his Summa Theologica, many interesting speculations in
their regard.
SuAREZ, another renowned theologian, wrote an entire
volume in folio about them. But, as big books are not
much in vogue now, we shall endeavor to condense, putting
on the stage only what may please and instruct.
The existence of angels is so clearly taught in scripture
that, to quote particular passages, would seem a superfluity.
Not only the Jews, but even Pagan nations believed in them.
The Sadducees, an unimportant sect, existing in our Saviour's
time, along with denying the immortality of the soul, refused
also to believe there were in existence any such being.
ALETHAUKION. 307
But, as those sectarians were comparatively few and ex-
tremely ignorant, their refusal to believe does not interfere
with the chain of traditional evidence in proof of angelic
existence, any more than the ravings of a few Infidels of
our times can be said to contradict the universal belief of
mankind in the existence of a Supreme Being.
Concerning the nature of angels it may be said that they
are complete immaterial substances. We say complete
because not created for union with any other. Our souls,
on the contrary, though spiritual, are not complete, because
of a nature to inhabit and be united with our bodies.
Hence, the resurrection of the body and its reunion with
the spirit, may be regarded as necessary to the soul's entire
perfection.
Here, also, we may take notice of an error which we
sometime find among the people. The fond mother who
has lost her little infant tries to console herself by imagining
that he is now metamorphosed into a cherub. She is mis-
taken ; yet, it would not be prudent to tell her so, for fear
of being thought invidious, and recorded an enemy of the
family.
Some of the ancient fathers of the Church, such as Ter-
TULLIAN, Origen and Clement, of Alexandria, were of the
opinion that the angels had bodies, but of a very subtle
nature, such as that of our Saviour after His resurrection.
This opinion, which, though not heretical, yet approaches
thereto, is no longer tenable, as will appear from a decision
of the fourth Council of Lateran, Cap. Firmiter.
According to the common opinion of theologians, the
angels are divided into three hierarchies, and each of
these into three orders or choirs. The first comprises Ser-
aphs, Cherubs and Thrones ; the second, Denominations,
Virtues and Powers ; the third, Principalities, Archangels
and Angels.
As regards the duties of those blessed spirits, we can
have but little to say since but little has been revealed to
308 ALETHAURION.
US on the subject. We may presume that their primary
duty is to praise God, and in general to execute His com-
mands, according to the words of St. Paul, Heb. i, 14 :
'•'■ They are all ministering spirits, sent to minister, on account of those
who receive the inheritance of salvation."
Catholics believe that each individual, born into this
world, has, at the hour of his birth, appointed to him a
guardian angel, w^io is his companion through life, and
never abandons him until the soul is separated from the
body by death. It is well, however, to bear in mind that^
though it is not of faith that the angels keep guard over
mankind in general, yet, it is not of faith that each man and
woman has a s^uardian ano:el of his own.
Some very ancient writers, such as Hekmas, Methodius,
Origen, Athenagoras, Epiphanius and Theodoret, were
indeed more prodigal of angelic service. They spoke as if
those blessed spirits guarded not only individual men, but
also cattle, trees and plants.
Such an opinion was never approved by the Church, and,
in fact, it has the appearance of stretching matters to the
snapping point.
That angels are entrusted with the care of men, may
easily be gathered from Matthew, xviii, 10. .
'' See that you do not condemn one of these little ones; for I say to
you, that their angels in Heaven always see the face of my father."
Possibly some of our readers may now ask us to tell at
what time were the angels first created, and how long
Lucifer and his followers remained faithful, also the num-
ber of those that fell, as compared with the others that did
not.
We answer according to the light given us. The period
of their creation is unknown. If we descend to probabili-
ties, it would appear reasonable to say their creation was
coeval with that of the material universe. Neither would
there be any great extravagance in holding that some of
ALETHAURION. 309
those we now regard as angels, may have been the inhabi-
tants of this earth before the creation of the present race
of Adam.
"When the day of final judgment shall have come for us,
the Supreme Being may again people this orb with a dif-
ferently shaped race of mortals, as profoundly ignorant of
us as we now are of any other that may have existed here
before us.
As regards the length of time that passed from the
creation of the angels to the fall of Lucifer, we have no
means of arriving at a certain knowledge. Aquinas is of
opinion, that the moment of his creation was that of his
rebellion, which may be regarded as the most probable.
For angels being by nature, simple intelligences, do not
require length of time to arrive at full intellectual per-
fection.
The angels were all created in the grace and friendship of
God, but in a state of probation. One act was to have
brought them never ending glory or irretrievable ruin.
The sin of those who fell was pride. We do not know,
however, what was given them by the Almighty as a test of
their love and obedience. Some say He proposed for their
adoration the future sacred humanity of our Lord. But
Lucifer, seeing his own great superiority to man, refused,
and with a third of the heavenly host, who had looked up
to him as a leader, was expelled from the presence of God
and condemned to eternal misery.
Since the angels are pure spirits, it troubles some of our
Infidel friends to know how they can take bodies not subject
to the ordinary laws of matter. Others persist in regarding
all such apparitions as entirely subjective, that is, as having
no reality outside the brain of him who pretends to have
seen them — like the snakes seen by one who is in the hor-
rors.
But it will scarcely do to put the patriarchs and other
310 ALETHAURION.
holy men, both of the Old and New Law, in the same
category with confirmed drunkards.
Moreover, how do we know that the toads and snakes
seen by the inebriate have not an objective reality ? Why
does he see dragons and horrible forms instead of things
more pleasing to contemplate? Arise ye Infidels, and
explain.
Our next will be about the fallen angels and their deeds
of darkness.
CHAPTEK LXXV.
• THE DEVIL.
This distinguished character needs no lengthy introduction
at our hands. He is well, though not favorably, known to
all men. Some modern wretches have tried to lecture him
out of office and existence. But he yet lives, and will get
even some day with his mercenary persecutors.
The subject of our remarks first saw light in heaven, and
was such a beauty that he got the name of Lucifer. He
was the most favored of all the angelic host, but proved
ungrateful, as, from a creature and a subject, he sought to
elevate himself to an equality with the Omnipotent.
Men sometimes imitate Lucifer in this particular.
Raised to positions, to which merit does not entitle them,
they make war on their benefactors.
Since man has not betimes the power to undo what he has
done, nor to cast down the unworthy, whom he has elevated,
it becomes of importance to him, when in power, to put
forward only the virtuous and the just. Rulers suffer more
through the short-comings of favorites than by the malice
of their enemies.
God can allow the wicked to rise and prosper for a time,
because He has the power to set bounds to the evil they may
ALETHAURION. 311
do. The impious He can permit to succeed, that their final
discomforture mav be the more si<i^nal — tolluntur in altum
ut lapsii graviori ruant^ says the Latin proverb.
But the providence of man must discriminate, in order to
be conformed, in the first phice, in the eternal fitness of
things, and in the second,' to Avard off ruin which will surely
come whenever a great principle is disregarded.
By that in which a man has sinned most, by the same shall
he be most bitterly punished. The unworthy creature be-
comes the torment of his creator.
After having raised the standard of revolt, Lucifer ceased
to shine in the heavens, and was exiled to a kingdom made
expressly for himself and his followers for all time. There
he now reigns, as ugly as he was once beautiful.
Some of our readers may have asked themselves the ques-
tion, why such a difference was made between the sin of our
first parents and that of the fallen angels. Lucifer sinned
but once, and, on the instant, he was condemned without
hope for the future. Adam sinned, but though he, too, was
punished by expulsion from Eden, yet the hope of a future
Redeemer was not withheld.
Men, at the present day, often sin mortally, and are
rarely struck dead on the instant, but given time for repent-
ance. Why such discrimination in our favor? We reply,
first of all, that on questions of this sort, we do not wish to
put on our opinions any other label than a may he so.
Yet, there is reason, and a most excellent one, for each
act of God, though man, in his shortness ot vision, may not
be able to see it. In the present instance, we may possibly
find a cause why justice was exercised in the case of Lucifer,
and mercy in that of Adam, by taking note of the difference
between the hiiman and the an2:elic nature.
Angels are simple intelligences. Whatever they are ca-
pable of understanding at all is perfectly comprehended in
all its bearings in one instant. No portion of their knowl-
edge lies dormant. It is all present to them at one and the
same time, but without confusion of parts.
312 ALETHAURION.
When a man writes a speech, and then learns it off, for
the purpose of declamation, he may be said to know that
speech. But his knowledge is only consecutive, not simul-
taneous. It is thus, also, with most, if not all, his other
acts.
The memory is defective, the understanding more so, and
consequently the act of the will is rarely perfect, either for
good or for evil.
With an angel, the case is different. The very first acjt
of the angelic will was perfect. Hence, eternal union with
God was the result among the good and eternal hatred
among the others.
The redemption of the bad angels became impossible, be-
cause their entire being had become adverse to God, and de-
praved. Any attempt to convert Lucifer may, therefore,
be given up as a fruitless undertaking. If Adam had be-
come totally depraved, as some of the sects maintain, his
redemption would also have been out of the question.
Kotwithstandino^ the condition of man is such, during his
probationary term here on earth, that he never need des-
pair, even though his sins may be as red as scarlet, still he
also, during his mortal life, may become totally depraved.
This deplorable condition is brought about by the sin
against the Holy Ghost. The will thus becomes polarized
in iniquity, and the man who has committed it will never be
forgiven, because he will never repent.
After having been expelled from heaven, and the gates
closed behind him, Lucifzr next turned his attention to-
Avards Father Ada3i and his youthful, vain, and unsuspect-
ing bride. As by the fall he had lost none of his brilliant
talents, but only his beauty, the seduction of the pair was
easily accomplished. , '
And, so satisfactory was the first attempt, that he and his
imps have kept up the business ever since, with good suc-
cess, so far.
The belief in the existence of Lucifer and other evil
ALETHAURION. 313
spirits, no matter by what names they may b? known, is as
old as crcMtion, and as wide spread as the human family.
All which shows a primitive revelation on the su))ject, the
truth of which has been confirmed by the observation of
ages, and even by the Saviour himself.
The principal and best authenticated apparition of Luci-
TER, is that mentioned in the Gospel, where it is stated he
took our Lord up into a very high mountain and showed
Hini all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them ;
promising at the same time to give Him all these things, if
falling down He would. adore.
It would appear from this that he did not know at the
time the real character of the person he was addressing.
From which fact we may gather that, though knowing, there
are yet some things beyond his ken.
In subsequent ages we find, in some writers, frequent men-
tion of diabolical apparitions. And it must be said that
many of the stories told of his sable majesty are fine yarns,
lacking only proof and good sense, to make them blood
curdling. Gorres, a Bavarian Avriter of the last century,
has collected into his work. Mystique Diaholique, many
such curious and shadowy legends.
Luther tells of how Satax appeared to himself, and
argued him out of the custom of saying mass, which he had
kept up until then.
Many are the stories written down in books, especially in
the lives of the Saints, detailing the weird deeds of Satan.
But we pass by all such, and will only give the following,
the facts of which were communicated to the writer some
years ago by an intimate friend, who had them from his
own father, and he from a gyrovag bag-piper.
There was, toward the close of the last century, yet stand-
ing, in the south of Ireland, an old castle that had the repu-
tation of being haunted. No record could be found to show
by whom it had been built, or Avhen. It had, moreover,
314 ALETHAURION.
been tenantless for a period reaching beyond the recollec-
tion of the oldest inhabitant ; and many were the legends
afloat among the country people in regard to what had been
seen and heard within its walls.
Few, if any, would venture near the place by night ; and
the school children blessed themselves, said their prayers
and ran by it in the day time. «
The mortar used in its construction was said to have been
a composition of lime, sand and human blood — a reason why
it was so hard. But most terrible of all were the dungeons
underground, where the skeletons of murdered women and
children added horror to the darkness and the gloom.
Moans also had been heard there more than once on All
Souls' night, mingled with the sighing of the autumnal blasts ;
and belated travelers told of how they had listened to un-
earthly screams and cries of murder, wafted on the mid-
night gale, from the direction of the haunted castle.
There were some who did not believe these things, and of
the number was Jack O'Disxey, the bell-wether of all the
scapegraces in the neighborhood.
Jack said he did not believe in ghosts, and that if he
could only get company, he would go some night and chal-
lenge Bokaugli Dhuv to a single or four-hand rubber.
Two others, almost as hardened, volunteered to accom-
pany Jack ; and a third, picked up on the way, was dragged
along, much against his will, into the main hall of the evil-
omened castle.
Having lighted a fire, they took seats and a drink each as
the prelude to a social game, as they called it. Time passed
rapidly on until the hour of midnight came. Then a sound
like the passing wing of an eagle was heard at a window to
the left, and the next instant a whirlwind swept down the
chimney, filling the hall with smoke, dust and soot.
When these had cleared away, on looking toward the
hearth, O, horril)le to relate ! There stood the Bokaugh
Dhuv, with his hands locked behind, gazing intently at the
ALETIIAURIOX. 315
party. That look ' that look I It had in it all the venom
of hell. An enormous head, shaped like that of a bull,
with horns and shaggy hair, almost touched the ceiling. A
body of human form, but black as the outer darkness,
rested, like an immense puncheon, on a pair of crooked legs,
oU'j of which ended in a club, and the other in a cloven foot.
This deformity, coupled with his ebon hue, caused him to
be known among the peasantry as the Bokaugh DJiuv, or
'* Black Cripple." He had been seen time out of mind,
at stated periods, to enter his castle, about dusk in the
evening. But he had never appeared on the place to any
one after cock-crow.
»
As the appearance of a comet was to the ancients ai^indi-
cation of war, so each open visit of the Bokaugh to the
castle foreboded calamity of some kind.
The last time he had been seen was the day before the
Balleyea races, when eleven joeelers were clubbed to death,
and ^YQ others, who had attempted to escape, in a canoe,
were capsized and drowned. Thus his name had become a
terror.
Jack dropped from his stool in a swoon ; and a mastiff,
that had followed one of the others, an animal that had
never shown fear before, now crouched at his master's feet
and shook. The Bokaugh next advanced on Jack, and,
seizing him by the ear, lifted him off the floor, to the ceil-
ing, and let him drop, with a thud. Then said he, w^ith a
diabolical laugh, ^'FU hang you without a rope, because you
deserve it, and then attend to these other presumptous
wretches . '
Three charred dead bodies were found next day ; and a
fourth, beaten black and blue, from his heels up, first told
this horrible story of the Bokaugh Dhuv,
The bodies of the slain w^ere buried at Balinorig, near
where the road crosses the stream, at low water, and the
castle was levelled on the following year.
In our next we treat of future punishment.
316 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LXXVI
COXCEENING HELL.
Hell is that state or place where all who die in mortal sin
are punished, in proportion to their guilt. It is opposed to
heaven, where those who have lived justly here receive a
reward, corresponding to their merits.
Almost everything that can be said on this subject may
be placed under some one of the following heads : Is hell a
reali%? Where is it located? What is the character of the
punishments endured there by the reprobate? Will those
torments last forever?
In papers like these, we have not space to more than skim
those questions. But inasmuch as they are of long stand-
ing, we have the satisfaction of knowing that, by this time,
the cream has pretty much all got to the surface. Those
who love lighter diet, may go deeper and drink to satiety.
But, for our part, we have no taste for skimmed milk, and
shall offer none to the reader.
Is it a reality? The human race, in past ages, believed so,
at least. And with comparatively few exceptions, the same
view of the case is held now by all nations, tribes and
tongues..
Hence, the burden of proof lies with those who wish to
be regarded as exceptions to the general rule, a burden
which they cannot bear.
The most ancient nations, of which history gives us a
knowledge, were the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks
and Romans.
That the Chaldeans believed in a hell, even Infidels ad-
mit, and they attempt to explain the existence of the same
belief among the Jews, by saying they got it from their con-
querors, during the Babylonian capativity. The ancient
ALETHAURION. 317
Egyptians not only believed in the immortality of the soul,
and the doctrine of rewards and punishments, but also in the
resurrection of the body.
The practice of miimifying their dead had its origin in
the desire to preserve the body, until the day of resurrection.
It was also the custom among them, when one died, to
hold a trial over his remains. Witnesses were sworn, and
required to state what kind of a life he had led.
If the judge discovered, from the evidence, that he had
been satisfactorily moral, the body was given over to his
relatives, to be embalmed, but, if the life led had been a
vicious one, then the carcass was allowed to return to dust.
This trial was an emblem of that other, which the Egyptians
believed took place in the spiritual and invisible order.
So far as the Greeks and Romans are concerned, we have
in their classic writings, the most abundant proofs of their
belief in the doctrine of rewards and punishments. There
were some amongst them, as there are in our day, who
questioned, and affected to know better than go with the
common herd. But these were the few and the exceptions.
The stories of Tantalus, condemned to everlasting hun-
ger and thirst, of Sisyphus, compelled to roll a huge stone
up a hill, whose summit he could never reach, of Ixiox and
his wheel, and many other myths, are nothing more nor less
than allegorical expressions of the common belief in a pun-
ishment hereafter.
So far as the Jews are concerned, the case is yet clearer.
The Hebre%vs of our day not only believe in hell, but also in
purgatory. Certainly, they have not invented those doc-
trines, but have received them from their ancestors. And,
in order to put this yet more clearly before the reader, we
may quote here the words of Josephus Flavius, a learned
Jew w^ho flourished during the reign of the Emperor Ves-
pasian, about sixty years after our Saviour.
In his dissertation of Hades, Josephus uses the following
words :
318
" In this region there is a
able tire, wherein we siippo
prepared for a day afore -d<
sentence shall deservedly b(
those that have been disobe
idols as have been the vain
liimself, shall be judged to
shall obtain an ineorruptibl
indeed oontined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the just are
contined."
The passage needs no explanation, for it expresses well
enough the belief of not only Flavius himself, but also of
the Israelites of his day.
We pass now from Josephus' writings to the New
Testament, which, for the present, we regard simply in a
historical light. It will not be necessary to quote particu-
lar passages, for no one will deny that frequent allusions to
hell are to be found in it.
It may, however, interest the reader to call attention to
the word for hell most frequently used. It is Gehenna, or
Gehinnon. This is a compound, made up of Ge, the
Hebrew for valley, and Hinnon, possibly a man's name.
This valley of Hinnon is near Jerusalem, and travelers
may pass into and out of it, at the present day, without
risking even their clothes. The bad associations connected
with it had their origin as follows :
There was In this valley an immense furnace called Tophet,
through the fires of which, children were passed, in honor
of the false God, Moloch. King Josias destroyed the fur-
nace but the valley was used as a receptacle for the inflam-
mable rubbish of the city. Thus, Hinnon' s Valley, where
the filth of Jerusalem was burned, became synonymous with
that other scheol, where the rubbish of this earth, viz: the
wicked, will be cremated with fire inextingtiishable.
Let now pass up the stream of Jewish history, to a period
before the Babylonian captivity. Th*p prophet Isaias, who
lived lone: before the destruction of Jerusalem bv Nabucho-
DONOSOR, in chap. Ixvi, v. 24, thus speaks ;
ALETHAURION. 319
" A*nd they shall go out, and shall see the carcases of the men that have
transgressed against me ; tlieir worm shall not die. and their fire shall
not be quenched, and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh."
This propheoy, which has relation, first, to the reproba-
tion of the Jews, and, secondly, to the final and everhisting
reprobation of the wicked, was fulfilled in type at the time
.the Romans, under Titus, took Jerusalem and sacked it.
But it yet remains to be fully verified in the destruction of
the wicked on the last day.
It is worth of remark that our Lord, speaking of the rep-
robate, makes use of a part of this prophecy — Mark vii, v.
43.
From IsAiAS we proceed to Job, who was, in all proba-
bility, a contemporary of Moses. Examine chap, ii, from
T-erse 16 to the end, and see if you can make sense out of
what is said without admitting a heaven and a hell. Like-
wise consult chap, xxiv, verses 18-21.
It must be confessed that, in the five books of Moses,
very little is said about the rewards or punishments of tlie
next life. Yet in Deut. xxxii, verse 22, we find something
bearing on our subject :
** A fire is kindled in my wrath, and it shall burn even to the lowest
hell, scheol, and shall devour the earth with her increase, and shall burn
|he foundations of the mountains."
It would be ridiculous to suppose -that the word hell,
^cheol, in the original, means here only the grave. Though
must be admitted that, like Hades in Greek, it sometimes
las that signification. .
We have now demonstrated that the most ancient nations
)elieved in hell. Of the moderns, it is needless to speak.
'hen of late, Beecher, Farrar, et al., struck orthodox
Protestantism a whack in the face with their doubts and
lenials, the wail that was raised showed how deej^ly the
popular heart was wounded.
Now when we find a permanent and universal belief
long men, which cannot be traced to any of the sources
320 ALETHAURION.
of error, the natural conclusion we come to is, that Such
belief had its origin in a primitive revelation, and is per-
petuated in the world because conformable to the natural-
and eternal law inscribed upon the heart of man from the
beginning.
Neither passion nor worldly interest, which are the two
main sources of error, could have invented a hell ; for the
doctrine of future and eternal retribution -is opposed to them
both.
In our next we will continue this exceedingly pleasant
subject.
CHAPTER LXXYII.
CONCERNING HELL.
In the present chapter we examine some other reasons
that go to show the reality of that painfully interesting
place called hell. For this purpose we take for granted- the
immortality of the soul, the existence of a natural law, with
its sanction, and free will upon' the part of man to observe
or violate it.
These truths are susceptible of demonstration, but we
shall not prove them now. In the first place,, let us have a
word or two about what is meant by the sanction.
By it, is to be understood the motives that cause us to
obey the \sew itself. These are of two kinds ; first, the
authority of the legislature, and secondly, the rewards
attached to the observance, and the punishments belonging
to the violation of it.
Without the sanction, a law would be nothing more than
a mere lesson, council or exhortation.
With these things properly understood, let us proceed a
step, and take 'an example to illustrate the point we are
aiming at.
ALETHAURION. ' 321
Here is a wealthy lord, who owns an immense tract of
country, which he divides into farms, and leases out for
<hort periods to a tenantry. He moreover, gives them to
understand that whatever improvements are made will all
he their own advantage. They go to work, and by their
industry and energy, mate even the barren and waste places
of the estate to l)loom like a ijarden.
Now, about the time that the leases expire, this great lord
conceives the idea of turning so many thousand acres of this
improved land into a grazing farm for blooded stock. He
breaks faith with these poor, industrious, hard working
people, sends out his minions, in the depth of winter, and
levels their cottages with the ground ; and, to add insult to
injury, after clearing them off his place, tells them they may
now go '* to hell or to America."
By this sudden and unexpected change, they lose the
little they have got together by years of toil, are exposed to
the inclemency of the seasons, have to emigrate to strange
lands, or, may be, perish on the way. Heie a fiend in
human shape violates the great natural law of God, and also
positive enactments. But, where is the sanction? Where
is the adequate punishment meted out to the offender in
this life?
The civil law cannot reach such cases, and human judges
have nothing left but to close their eyes to the tyrant's du-
plicity and barl)arity.
Those who will not admit a retributive justice in the future
state, come forward and say, that such a man is punished
here, either by bodily suffering, or by the reproaches of his
conscience.
But, how does such a theory agree with our observation,
generally speaking? Do the oppressors of mankind expe-
rience here, in all cases, the suffering they cause others to
endure? Our experience does not, by any means, confirm
such a theory.
The oppressor, when wealthy and powerful, lives well,
322 ^ ALETHAURION.
and has not only the pleasures, but also the honors of this
life. Some cases do occur from time to time, wherein we
see great misfortunes following the commission of great
crimes. Kapoleon died in exile, and Cesar was assassin-
ated — punished for their evil deeds here on earth, so say the
Universalists. Very well, so it may have been, and, it may
not have been so.
There was Scroggix's little five year-old boy. Jacket,
who recently had a period put to his days, by a kick from
his father's mule. Was he also punished for his sins?
Until the breath left him, the little fellow suffered more
than Cesar ; consequently his crimes must have been more
atrocious.
The Great Captain died in exile, and so did Pope Greg-
ory VII, who has been canonized. If exile is to be regarded
as retribution in Napoleon's case, why not also in that of
Gregory ?
We do not deny that there is a connection, and a very
close one, between the moral and the physical orders. All
those crimes that have a tendency to cause the race to dete-
riorate, or become extinct, are partially punished here ; and
for this reason, because the sin is not only an infraction of
the moral, but also of the physical laws governing health.
But, for the sins of idolatry, apostacy, heresy, and such
like, what punishments do we see meted out here? None.
Such persons flourish, in many cases, like trees planted by
the running water.
When, lately, that tyrant, the Earl of Leitrim, was taken
off by an assassin, even persons who by no means approve
of such work, drew a long breath, and felt that the injustice
of years, to the poor and helpless, had been at last avenged.
Yet, the connection, between the tyrant's crimes and his fate
is at best only problematical. Do not innocent people fre-
quently get killed at some of our riots and street brawls?
Do not soldiers get shot on the battle field? Death, under
such circumstances, we do not regard as vengeauce from
ALETHAURION. 323
above, for the individuars crime, and why should we in the
other case?
We do not pretend to deny that the providence of God
sometimes does, for wise purposes, permit one bad man to
destroy another of the same sort. But, it would be contrary
to experience to say that evil deeds are always adequately
punished on earth. Neither should we confound man's
malice with God's justice.
And, if one case could be found in a million, where a man
had certainly committed a ci-imc, and as certainly had suf-
fered nothing for it here, that alone would be sufficient to
establish the reality of a retribution hereafter. Now multi-
tudes of such cases can be found. An apoi)lectic man, for
example, or one who has the heart disease, slips out some
night and sets fire to his neighbor's barn, and burns a lot of
grain and farming implements, but just as soon as the deed
is done, he gets a stroke and dies instantly, as he would
have done, if he had stayed at home in bed.
In this case the criminal has suffered no bodily pain on
account of his crime ; his conscience did not torture him,
because the gratification of his hatred and revens^e counter-*
acted for the time being, and, all every reproach from
that quarter. Moreover, it is well known that conscience
sometimes become seared, blunted, and will, while in such
a state, cause but little annoyance to its possessor.
Where, then, is the punishment in this life for the crime
of arson that has been committed? Where is the sanction
of the law that has been violated? There is none here;
there must be hereafter.
We may now pass on to consider the greatest proof of
all for the reality of a hell. It is found in the authority of
the Catholic Church. We know that the Church continues
to do what Christ himself did, while here on earth — i. e.,
teach mankind the way of salvation. We know that she
cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and morals.
When, therefore, the Catholic Church solemnly declares
324 ALETHAURION.
that hell is a reality, notwithstanding it be so terrible a one,
the question is forever set at rest. It is a truth, and no
amount of rhetoric can make it otherwise. Men cannot
vote it out of existence nor diminish its torments, -by affect-
ing to despise or deny them.
But has the Church formally declared there is such a
place or state? She has, and most emphatically. The
fathers of the Fifth General Council, held at Constanti-
nople. A. D., 553, during the pontificate of Pope Vigilius,
condemned the following proposition, taken from a work of
the celerated Origen (de Principiis) :
" The torments of the damned will end some day, and Jesus Christ,
who was crucified to redeem mankind, will die again to redeem and save
the devils."
The contradictory of this is, therefore, part and parcel
of the Catholic faith, *'wiiich, unless one faithfully and
firmly believes he cannot be saved." Creed of Athana-
sius.
This doctrine is also clearly taught in the New Testa-
ment.
"When the Son of Man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels
Arith Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all na-
tions shall be gathered before Him ; and he shall separate them one from
another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats. And He
shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ♦
Then shall He say to them also that shall be on His left hand : Depart
from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the
Devil and his angels. * * And these shall go into everlasting fire.'*
—Matt. XXV, 31-46.
Finally, if there be no hell, to what purpose was the
passion and death of the Son of God?
Hell is therefore a reality, and cannot be either lectured
or voted out of existence. Heaven and earth may pass
away, but the word of Christ will not. This eternity of
torment is a terrible thing, but men may avoid it if they
have a mind to do so.
Our next will be about its location.
ALETHAURION. 325
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
HELL — ITS LOCATION.
Having seen in past chapters, that hell is a reality, we now
proceed to examine into its location. One of the surest
methods a man can take to arrive at certain and practical
knowledge on this subject, is so to live, that his earthly
career will be, as far as possible, in direct contradiction to
the precepts of the Gospel. He may then rest assured that
in the future life he will have more information on this point
than he will be likely to relish.
Various theories have been set afloat in regard to where
hell is, and some have gone so far as to give its exact dimen-
sions.
The opinion held by the vulgar, and it may be the true
one, is that in the center of our earth, the reprobate receive
a just recompense for the iniquities done in the flesh.
This idea had its origin, most likely, in the fact that we
associate with subterranean places, things that are gloomy
and depressing to the soul of man. Dungeons of the most
approved pattern are those built underground, and going
down has, amongst all men, the meaning of going to ruin.
The volcanoes found on the face of the earth, would also
seem to indicate a molten mass within.
This theory is, moreover, conformable to the letter of the
inspired writings. Hell is frequently called the *< bottom-
less pit," in the Bible ; and, if we admit a lake of fire oc-
cupying the entire center of our planet, it is plain that such
a lake would be without bottom.
The writer can see no reason for not admittini? that the
souls of the damned may be in reality confined within the
bowels of the earth. And this opinion is very much
strengthened by what we read in the book of Numbers, Ivi,
326 ALETHAURION.
33. It is there stated, that the earth opened and swallowed
down Core, Dathax and Abikon, alive into hell, for having
resisted and rebelled against Moses.
True it is, that the bodies of the reprobate do not descend
into hell, neither will the3^-until after the day of general
judgment. Yet, as the soul of man is confined to his body
here on the surface of the earth, and does not go beyond its
tenement, during the period of his mortal life, so, after
separation from the body, God can give to the soul within
the bowels of the earth, a local habitation, outside of which
it cannot move ; and also relations with its immediate
surroundings, analogous to those it has with the body in
this life.
Other theories have also been advanced, but they are
mere speculations ; such as that hell is in the sun, or in one
or more of those comets that from time to time appear
within range of our earth.
Considering the heat we get from our luminary, in the
dog-days, and bearing in mind that it is ninety-five millions
of miles away, and that heat diminishes or increases, in the
ratio of the square of the distance, we may readily concede
that the warmth there ought to be sufficient for all ordinary
reprobates.
We do not condemn any of those speculations, not hav-
ing a warrant to do so. But, while conceding to others the
greatest latitude, in questions on the merits of which the
Church has not given a formal decision, we may also, at the
same time, have and maintain special opinions.
To the writer it would appear, as the most probable
opinion, that hell is not a place, but rather a state of exist-
ence, in the next life. What we mean by the phrase state
of existence, as distinct from place or special location, is
not easily put into words, so as to become intelligible. The
point may be best illustrated by an example.
Take the case of two brothers, both living in the same
ALETJiArinoN. 327
town or city. The one enjoys excellent health, is of a cheer-
ful turn of mind, inclined to look on the bright side of
things, has his affairs in a flourishing condition, is respected
and beloved by his neighbors, lives at peace with himself
and the world generally, and is, moreover, his mother's pet
boy, and the special pride of the old man.
The other is sickly, quarrelsome, despondent, borrowing
trouble wherever he can, and purchasing the same, at high
prices, where it cannot be had gratis, is continually at war
with his neighbors, who wish him all sorts of evil, a particu-
lar thorn to the authors of his existence, and a scurvy cur
in the sight of all.
Now these two, though living in the same place, may be
said to have different states of existence. And so it may be
with the just and the reprobate, but in a manner presenting
a far more perfect contrast.
We do not necessarily exclude the idea of location, yet it
is not the place that makes the hell, nor will one have to
soar beyond the moon in order to get to heaven.
It would appear, from what we read in Scripture, that
the devil has the power of moving from one place to another
and it is certain that he and some of his imps have appeared
more than once, on the surface of our globe. Are we to
presume that they left hell in order to do so?
Whether lost souls have also the power of locomotion,
such as the demons are known to possess, is one of those
questions that we now set aside for further consideration.
It is certain however, that there is only one hell for both,
with torments varying in intensity, according to the malice
of the crimes committed. This fact of itself goes far in
showing that hell is not a place, but a state of existence.
Wv have seen that the theory which places it within the
bowels of the earth is the one most conformable to the let-
ter of our sacred writings, as it certainly is most consonant
to the belief of the vulgar.
328 ALETHAURION.
Now, 'admitting that the interior of our globe is the iden-
tical spot, would it not seem strange that the Almighty, out
of the multiplied millions of worlds which he has created,
should have chosen this orb of ours to be the habitation of
two different races of beings, one in a state of probation,
and the other of reprobation? Would it not seem also
strange that the entire pack of demons should have been
sent' here to this miserable footstool?
If we adopt the views of those doctors of the Church who
maintain that the angels were created long before the mate-
rial universe, we have, indeed, strong reasons for believing
that hell is a state of existence and not a place. For, as we
said in a previous chapter, the moment of creation was that
of the rebellion of the wricked angels ; and, no sooner had
the sin been committed than hell was called into existence.
Consequently hell cannot l)e a special place, in some part of
the universe, since it existed before matter was creat'jd.
But, it is notcertain the angels were created before matter;
on the contrary, it is most probable that both matter and
spirit were created at one and the same time, in accordance
with the words of Genesis : *'In the beginning God created
the heavens and • the earth." Hence, that part of our argu-
ment which rests for support on a supposed priority, may be
regarded as a trifle lame in the other foot, as Cicero used
to say.
Finally, and in conclusion, we may add, that, though it
is a certain fact there is a hell, yet, no one living knows
where it is. So far, nothing has been revealed on the sub-
ject ; and there is no likelihood that future ages will be any
wiser than we,
St. Augustine, St. Thomas and St. Gregory Naziaxzen,
while admitting that nothing is known for certain, still cling
to the belief of a hell within our earth. And that old
Pagan philosopher, Pythagoras, in giving his ''ipse dixit"
on the subject, said that Jove's prison was a fiery globe,
deep down in the ground.
ALKTIIAUniON. 329
If the old sophist could now return, he would, after au
-experience of two thousand four hundred years, be able to
tell us all about that globe, its latitude and longitude, as
well as average temperature.
In our next we will speak of the pains of the damned.
CHAPTER LXXIX.
THE PUNISHMENT OF THE DA3INED.
Speaking of the joys of heaven, St. Paul says — 1 Cor.
ii, 9:
'' The eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into
the heart of man, what things GoD hath prepared for them that
love llim."
He had been taken up to the third heaven, and, in all
probability, would have attempted a description of what he
had seen there, if it were possible to convey such knowledge
to living men.
We may, in speaking of the torments of the reprobate,
also use St. Paul's words, and repeat : It hath never
entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has pre-
pared for those who violate His law, and depart this life at
enmity with Him.
To say that human language cannot express the anguish
of perdition, would be putting it very mildly. We cannot,
in our present state of existence, even imagine what it really
is ; for hell is exactly the reverse of heaven, and the joys of
the latter, we know by revelation, cannot be expressed in
words.
We might talk all day to a man, blind from his birth,
about the beauties of a landscape, and descant upon the
pleasing effects produced in us by light and shade, diversity
of colors, and so forth ; but, it would be simply impossible
330 ALETHAURION.
for him to gain, from any descriptions that might be given
of nature, such ideas as we get by the use of our eyes.
Th© preacher who undertakes to tell people all about the
exact nature of the punishments meted out to the reprobate,
has also a very large contract on hand.
He may bo likened to a blind man teaching the blind how
to paint portraits, or to a Yankee notion peddler undertaking
to give lessons in Sanskrit.
Does the writer, then, find fault with sermons on hell,
and with the vivid pictures that are sometimes presented by
skilled pulpit orators?
Just the other way ; he says, let the good work go on.
By far too little is said about it in our day ; and more
especially is this the case outside of Catholic pulpits ; inso-
much that Protestantism appears to be coming to the belief
that the fire has ijone out loni^: aixo, and nothinc: remains but
a few lifeless embers. But it burns yet.
No fire company is strong enough to master it ; and all
the waters of the mighty deep, would there be only as the
dew drop on a red hot griddle.
Once every six months would not be too often to bring
this matter up formally in the pulpit ; and, lest people-
should forget, brief allusions to the sort of entertainment
given there to sinners might be made, with profit, between
times. Besides, there is no danger of exaggeration ; for,
after one has said of the pains of hell all that the most bril-
liant imagination can conceive, the truth would still not be
told.
Hell is worse than any description that can be given of it.
But, one thing should be guarded against. The preacher
must not send people there for trivial reasons.
Spiritual writers generally place the pains of the repro-
bate under three headings, viz : The pain of sense, the
pain of loss, and the Avorm of conscience.
Those who are of opinion that hell has a particular
location, as for example within the bowels of the earth, hold
ALETHAURION. 33 L
that the tire is a material one, in no way different froni
ours, except in intensity.
The tires of earth are for our use and benefit, but hell fire
was created expressly for punishment. And when God
calls a thing into being for a certain purpose, we may rest
assured it fulfills the purpose well.
Now, as by death, the soul becomes entirely separated
from the body, and will remain so until reunited at the
resurrection, some persons ask how it can be* that a
material fire, such as ours, could affect an object entirely^
spiritual, such as the human soul. We can no more explain
this than we can so many other facts that happen every day
under our eyes, whose truth we are still not at liberty to
doubt.
It is quite evident that the soul may be made to suffer in
this life, through the body, to which it is united, in a mys-
terious manner. When a man drops into a kettle of boiling
syrup, his soul is in anguish, though the syrup, which
produces the pain, and the body, by which it is communi-
cated, are both material.
We might ask in the same way, how it is that matter acts
upon spirit. in this life, and spirit upon matter? We know
by experience that such is the case ; but by what process the
nerves of the body conmiunicate the pain to the soul, still
remains, what it always has been, one of those things that
doctors can't find out.
Now God, after having severed the connection in this
life, can give to the soul new relations with fire, or any
other material similar to those which we know it has
here with the body. Hence the writer does not see that
any inconvenience would arise from saying the fire of hell
is a material one ; more intense indeed, than ours, be-
cause made especially for the punishment of the wicked.
Such is also thci opinion of St. Thomas, and one certainly
most conformable to the word of sacred Scripture.
But punishment by fii'e is not the only one the reprobate
332 ALETHAURION. *
endures. They shall be made to pass from the greatest
extremes of heat to extreme cold, and vice versa, without
experiencing any alleviation, but rather greater misery by
the change. Job xxiv, 19.
"He shall rain snares upon sinners," says the psalmist, "ftre and
brimstone, and storms of wind must be the portion of their cup." — Ps.
X, 7.
Hence we may excuse that Methodist preacher *'out
west" who told his people, on a chilly, cheerless Sunday eve-
ning, in the depth of winter, that hell was a phice of
perpetual ice and snow, with storm following storm, and
cold intense enough to freeze the eyes out of a polar bear.
When called to task by some of his deacons, for the new
departure, the preacher replied :
*'What! man, w^ould you have me tell the people, on
such a night as this, that hell is a warm place? My object
was to keep them from going there, and I did not suppose I
would be likely to succeed by giving a homily on fireworks,
such weather as this."
For the satisfaction of those bitter natures, who think a
material fire would not sufficiently punish the reprobate, we
may here state that they may, without incurring any note of
heresy, take the word fire, not in its literal, but metaphori-
cal sense, as meaning intense pain of any kind. The Church
has not defined that the fire of hell is corporeal. And if
there be anything else that a man is more in terror of than
fire, he may figure to himself a hell plentifully provided
with such an article ; and he, in all probability, will encoun-
ter whatever is to him most terrific, in case it is his misfor-
tune to be condemned to the City of Sorrow.
Along with the pain of sense, of which we hare spoken,
the reprobate also experiences in hell the pain of loss, and
the gnawing of that worm which never dies.
All who have ever experienced grave disappointments,
either in ambition, love or some other consuming passion,
ALETHAUKION. 333
know in what consists the i)ain of losj?. It is great in pro-
portion to the strength of the passion aroused, and the ex-
cellence, real or fancied, of the object sought. But no mere
earthly disappointment can compare with that feeling of
hopeless ruin felt by the damned.
Man's soul was created to know God, to love Him here,
and to enjoy His presence and love hereafter. In his pres-
ent state, however, this love for the beautiful., the true and
the rjood, may, and very frequently does, stop short of the
summum bonum, and takes to an inferior and even to a for-
bidden object. And, separated from the body and from the
dross of earth, with increased knowledge, the soul seeing
clearly there is no other object worthy of its love but God,
flies to Him ; but being repelled on account of sin, the feel-
ing of loss is such that it would be impossible to now con-
ceive its poignancy.
The reprobate see and understand how easily they could
have saved their souls. The vanity of all things earthly lies
open to their eyes, the glory of heaven they know now is
worth all else, and then comes the dreadful thought, we
could have. gained it, and at a cheap price, but we have lost
it, and lost it forever.
Remorse of conscience, the worm that never dies, is an-
other of the pains of hell. This becomes, even here, so un-
bearable to the wicked, sometimes, that they lay violent
hands on themselves. But in hell it attains its full growth
and perfection.
Repentance, by which the sinner may liberate himself
here from its gnawing, will there be no longer possible ; for
the worm dieth not and the fire is not extinguished.
The poetical hell of Dante will be the subject of our next.
GETHSEMANl ABBEY,
6ETHSEMANI. P.O. KY.
334 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LXXX.
DAXTE S POETICAL HELL.
Daxte Alighieri, the father of Italian poetry, was born in
Florence, A. D., 1265, anddied at Ravenna, in the year 1321.
He was the author of the Divina Commedia, a poem of such
excellence as to have merited the praises of all men in every
age, and one of the few that is destined to go down in
admiration to the remotest generation.
The Divine Comedy is composed of three principal parts :
The Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso. We shall here speak
of the Hrst only.
Before descending into Daxte's poetical hell, it may
interest the reader that we give a short description of the
poet's personal appearance and habits.
Daxte was of medium size, with a long face and aquiline
nose. His jaws were heavy, and the under lip such that it
sometimes went beyond the upper. This is one of the signs
of eloquence, but it does not follow that all those whose
under lips protrude are eloquent men. Habits of thought
made him round-shouldered, because, while in deep medi-
tation, the head is thrown forward, and hangs. Most great
men become similarly affected, on account of the same cogi-
tatory proclivities.
His eyes were medium sized, and brown in color, his
beard iind hair thick, curly and black. The face, which
bore the stamp of genius, was thoughtful and grave, ap-
proaching to the melancholic.
One day, as he in company with a friend, was passing by
one of the gates in the city of Verona, they overheard the
following conversation between some old women, who sat
there gossiping, knitting and enjoying the sun :
<*Do you see that low-sized, curly-headed man over
ALETIIAUHION. 335
there?" said one old hag to her neiglibor ; *' he Ij? the one
that goes down to hell, and comes back whenever he pleases.
And he has written a book about all he has seen and heard
there." To which one of the others made reply: *' Indeed
it must be so — don't you see how curly his hair and buard is
and how tanned his face and hands from the smoke?"
At hearing this, Dante's under lip began to stretch, and
a frigid smile passed over his countenance.
He was solitary in his disposition, gave much of his time
to study, and had but few intimate friends. His dress was
such as became a grave and consequential personage, and he
was exceedingly temperate at table. Although eloquent he
never soucrht the occasion to air his vocabulurv, and did not
orate until strongly requested. Let us now pass from his
person to his works.
The Inferno is generally regarded as the most interesting
part of the Divine Comedy. He opens by saying that, hav-
ing lost his way at one time in a dark and lonely forest,
some wild beasts he there saw, and of which he was afraid,
kept him from going on high ground to see his way out of
the labyrinth. While in this state of uncertainty, as well as
terror of the beasts, he saw before him the figure of a man,
to whom he called for aid out of his difficulty.
This person was Virgil, the Latin poet, who told him not
to be alarmed, but to follow, and that he would show him
through the infernal regions, then through* purgatory, and
finally, assured him that he would also be shown through
heaven, by Beatrice, a friend of Dante, who had died
sometime previous. The poet hesitated to undertake so
long and dangerous a journey, but on being encouraged by
his spirit friend, he finally consented. Following his guide
they came to the gates of hell. And on these he found
written the following terril)le words :
** This is the passway to the City of Sorrow. ' This is the
gate to eternal woe. Through me you enter the abode of
the damned. Justice moved my creator. The Divine
336 ALETHAURION.
Power, the Wisdom, by excellence, and the first Love made
me. Before me nothing was created, and I continue for-
ever. You who enter leave all hope behind."
No soc>ner hud.DAXTE passed the gate, through which
Virgil led him by the hand, than he heard the confused
sounds of many voices. He was now in the vestibule of
hell, where those who in life had been poltroons were pun-
ished. And their condition was so wretched that they en-
vied the lot of every one else.
These poltroons, who were never alive, says the poet, and
who, while on earth, were displeasing to God and to his
enemies, appeared naked, and were continuously stung by
horseflies and wasps that were there.
Blood, and tears, and loathsome maggots streamed down
their faces to the ground, and their weeping and cries made
the darkness horrible. After this, the poet saw a vast con-
course of people hurrying on pell-mell towards the banks of
a gloomy river, at some distance off, and he asked his guide
what all this meant. Virgil told him those were souls that
had recently left their bodies, and, having been condemned,
were on their way to Charon's boat to be ferried over the
river Acheron. While Ciiarox was slashing away with his
oar at those who were slow about getting into his boat,
Dante and his guide approached the bank. But no sooner
had the old ferryman set his eye on the poet than he recog-
nized him at onfe as a person who had no right to be in his
dominions, nor in such company.
*' You must go back," said he, *' and try it over again —
this is no way for you to come and attempt to smuggle
yourself across. My boat is not of the requisite tonnage for
such as you."
While the old Commodore was thus trying to work himself
up into a passion, Virgil gave him a nod, and told him not
to take on so, that the affair was all right, and if not, that it
would be made so. This calmed the old man's wrath, and
the wrinkles between his eyebrows began to relax. Still
ALKlllAl HION. 337
he did not say whether ho would or not, but Virgil, know-
ing his customer, l(U)ked at the poet and bade hini cheer up.
In the meantime, Daxtk, overcome by weariness of l)ody,
and depressed in mind, on account of all he had seen,
dropped down, exhausted, on the shores of Acheron and
slept until awakened by a ruml)ling sound like thunder. He
then discovered that, while asleep, he had been taken across
the i'iver into Liml)o, which is the first and outermost of the
nine circles of hell.
Here were to be found the souls of infants who had died
without baptism, and of those who, before the coming of
Chkist, did not worship God in a proper manner. *'0f
whom I am one myself," says Virgil to our poet.
*' But tell me," ** I beseech you," said Dante, ** has any
one ever escaped out of here within your time? " ** Yes,"
said Virgil, *' not long after my own arrival, there came
one day an all powerful Being, wearing on His bi*ow the
crown of victory, who took away with Him the spiiitof our
first parent Adam, and those of Abel, Noah, Moses, Abra-
ham, Jacob and many others. These he took with Him to
paradise." Dante then goes on to state, that, having passed
through a forest of these spirits, they entered a place of
light, where they were met by Homer, Horace, Ovid and
LucAN, all poets, who went with them to a castle, sur-
rounded by seven walls, beyond which were the EI3 sian
fields. Here all the great poets, orators, philosophers and
warriors, of Paganism, cr)mmuned with one another. There
were Hector and ^Eneas, the great Jllius Cesar, and
Brutus, who expelled the Tarfjuins from Rome. Socrates,
Plato and Aristotle were also of the numlier, enjoying
the refreshing zephyrs of the Elysian fields ; and many
others too numerous to mention.
Dante, like a sensible man and a good poet, while not
conceding to those heroes and sages, a place in heaven, yet
avoids representing them as punished with the reprobate.
Because those men had, in life, many noble qualities, which
338 AI.ETHAURION.
we must admire ; and, rigorously speaking, we do not know
whether they are in hell or not. Hence, in poetry, they
may get the benefit of the doubt.
In our next we will tell of the things Dante saw in the
second and third circles.
CHAPTER LXXXI.
DANTE S POETICAL HELL THE ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN TO
THE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF SINNERS.
•
After having explored the Elysian fields, where all the
better sort of Pagans who lived before Christ, were allowed
to run together and pass their da^^s in happiness, chatting
about old times, Dante was next taken to the second circle.
Here the music bes^an in earnest. «Just at the j^ate stood
Minos, one of the infernal judges, who frowned and
snapped at all who came there to be judged, and have
their places assigned below.
Turning aside, for a moment, from the vast throng of
wretches that stood awaiting sentence, each in his turn,
Minos cast a cold and contemptuous glance at the poet ; and
simply bade him to mind himself-, that he was now on dan-
gerous ground, and that he would have done better to have
stayed away.
"And could you not have said so, without growling at him
in such a churlish way, said Virgil," as they passed inside
the gate.
In this circle the luxurious got what they deserved. Their
punishment consisted in being exposed to bleak and cruel
winds, by which they were eternally swept around, and
dashed against the place and one another, like fence rails in
a cyclone.
Amongst these he recognizes Queen Semiramis, Dido,
ALETIIALUION. 339
Cleopatra, and the beautiful Helen, on accouut of whom
Troy was taken and sacked.
The shade of the great Achilles, with that of Paris, and
more than a thousand others, were borne on the wind before
him.
It is worthy of remark that Dante, whilst according to
Hector a place in the Elysian fields, among the favored of
the Pagan world, thinks fit to put his conqueror in company
with the reprobrate, and a sharer of their woes.
This will not surpj-ise any one who has read the Iliad.
Hector is always the magnanimous and patriotic hero ;
brave as a lion, encountering danger, not thi^)ugh personal
motives, but for his country's sake, and for a cause that is
to him just and righteous.
Achilles, fearless and terrible in the fiirht, earrvinsr
everything before him, by valor and prowess, not seeking to
gain his point by trickery, is yet vindictive, bloodthirsty
and lustful. A savage in his instincts, he would give no
quarter in war ; still by nature a hero, he could never de-
scend so low, as to attempt to advance himself by working
on the sectional or religious prejudices of his countrymen.
Achilles would have always left such a job to Thersites
and to such as our own Des Moines orator, Ulysses.
Here also, in the second circle, Dante recognizes Frax-
CESCA DA RniANO, a celebrated belle in her day, who tells
him, her greatest sorrow is the recollection of former joys,
in her present misery.
The poet then passes into the third circle, where gluttons
are punished. These he found condemned to trudjje alon<r
in deep mud, while rain and liail poured down on them from
above. Nor was this their only aftliction. Cerberus, the
triple-headed watch-dog of Hell, kept them in continual
alarm by his barking, and quickened their pace through the
mire by an occasional nip.
After pitying their miserable condition, he arrives at the
entrance of the fourth circle, where he finds Pluto actin""
340 ALETHAURION.
as doorkeeper. Virgil having gained permission to pass^
they enter, and find the prodigals and the avaricious engaged
in pelting stones at one another. But, as he saw no good
would come from an attempt to reconcile them, they pro-
ceed to the fifth circle.
There, in the stygian morass, they found all who in this
life had been lazy, likewise the peevish and hot tempered,
busy at work, fisting, clouting and kicking each other.
Virgil next introduces Dante into the city of Dis, where
heretics get their deserts. They were punished by fire, and
stabled within furnaces, like those used now-a-days for
cremating. *
After having peeped into and passed by several of these
summer-houses, our poet was taken to the seventh circle,
presided over by the Minotaur.
On approaching the center, they came in sight of a river
of blood, with high and slippery banks. In this stream
were all who had died with the guilt of murder on their
souls. .They swam about like rats in a tub of water, trying
hard to escape. But as soon as one got to the bank, and
attempted to leave the horrible stream, an arrow from the
bow of a centaur sent him reelins^ back into the current.
In another part of the seventh circle suicides, and those
who had destroyed their own possessions received the re-
ward of merit — the former by being changed into rough and
knotty trunks, on which the harpies or buzzards roosted ;
and the latter by being chased forever, and without rest, by
troops of hungry black dogs.
Three other species of violent characters, viz : the un-
godly, the violent against nature, and the violent against art,
here also repented of their follies. They were compelled to
foot it through a desert of burning sand, while fire and brim-
stone showered down without ceasing on their heads.
When they had examined all the curiosities of the seventh
circle, Virgil and our poet then slid down along the back
of the triple-bodied Geryon into the eighth ; which they
ALETIIAUniOX. 341
louiul to consist of ten dens, each tenanted by sinners of a
different brand from the rest.
In the first were all those who, in life, had beguiled young
women, or had lent aid to others for that end. Being
naked, these dirty fellows were flogged unceasingly by furies,
specially deputed for the purpose. In the second den were
the flatterers of the great and powerful of this world. Their
punishment consisted in being obliged to stand, or swim
around in liquid of high smelling odor.
The third den had a floor with many holes, and sticking
out of these our poet noticed a forest of shins from the
knee. They belonged to those, who had been guilty of
simony ; and to keep them warm, each had a fire kindled on
the soles of his feet.
The fortune tellers hold the fourth den, and as their
heads were turned completely about, their punishment con-
sisted in being obliged to walk lobster fashion ; amongst
them, Dante recognizes Manto Tebana, the reputed foun-
der of the city of Mantua.
Swindlers and those who had embezzled the public money,
or sold their country, were quartered in the fifth den, where
there w^as a lake of boiling pitch, in which to slake their in-
fernal thirst.
In the sixth den, all together in a squad, were the hypo-
crites, and their punishment consisted in being compelled to
wear heavy capes and cowles of lead, gilt on the outside.
Along with this, they were obliged to walk continually
around the den, with heads cast down, and clasped hands
resting on their paunches. Amongst them our poet saw
Catalano and Loderixgo, two monks of Bologna, who ap-
pear, in Dante's opinion, to have put too many extras on
their piety, for which he rewards them with a place in the
Inferno.
Highwaymen and serpents possess the seventh den ; and
those who gave false counsel are punished with flames in the
eiirhth.
342 ALETHAURION.
In the ninth were those who used their endeavors to
spread heresy ; and also gossiping old women and scandal
mongers. They were punished by having their members
divided.
In the tenth and last den were counterfeiters of all kinds.
These were punished by sickness, pestilence, hunger and
thirst, bit one another, or were piled up like cord-wood in a
shed.
Finally Dante and his guide pass on to the ninth and last
circle, which he finds divided into four spheres, the prisons
of as many different kinds of traitors, all punished in a
way corresponding to their merits.
In the fourth sphere he finds the inmates covered with ice,
through which they shone like motes in a piece of amber.
Some of them stood on their feet, others on their heads,
and not a few were bent double, like boys playing leap-
frog.
Judas Iscariot, with Brutus and Cassius, were among
the ornaments of this place, and nearest Old Lucifer him-
self, who appeared in the very center of hell, covered in ice
up to the third rib.
The monster had three faces — one red, one mulatto, and
one black — from beneath each of which grew wings like
those of a bat, but larger than the sails of any vessel.
From his six eyes poured floods of tears ; and his mouths,
like hempbreaks, mashed the sinners, making their blood
and other humors of the body to run down his neck and
breast.
The eternity of punishment will be our next subject.
ALETHAURION. 34^
CHAPTER LXXXII.
HELL S TORMENTS ARE ETERNAL.
We now leave the poets, and return to shake hands, once
more, with the philosophers and theologians. Our subject,
the eternity of punishment in the next life, is not pleasant
food for contemplation. But, it is said, by good judges, to
be healthy, if taken in moderation.
Eternity has four different meanings. Sometimes it is
used to express a very long period of time. And, in this
sense, the possession of the promised land by the Jews was
called eternal. In the second place, that is called eternal
which had a beginning but will have no end ; as, for example,
the angels and souls of men.
Thirdly, that is called eternal, but improperly so, which
is indeed without beginning and without end, but not abso-
lutely necessary ; such as the free acts of the Divine will or
intellect.
Finally, and in the strict sense, eternity may be defined
as absolute and necessary duration, without beginning and
without end. In this sense God alone is eternal. The
definition of eternity most generally accepted is that of
BoETius, who calls it ** the entire and perfect possession, at
one and the same time, of an endless life."
This suits our purposes well enough, and we may now
proceed to show that the torments of the wicked are eternal,
in the sense that they will not have an end.
We must here rely altogether on what God has chosen to
reveal on the subject. Human reason, directed by the light
of the natural law, might indeed lead to thebelief that there
ought to be a hereafter, with rewards for the good and pun-
ishments for the wicked. But that those torments should
344 ALETHAURION.
be eternal, is something of which man could never be
absolutely certain without the revelation of God.
The existence of a purgatory falls, to some extent, within
the domain of reason ; the existence of a hell, with endless
misery, is as mysterious as it is terrible.
Therefore, since God is truth and cannot deceive, the
whole question comes to this : Has he at any time declared
the punishments of hell to be endless? We answer in the
affirmative ; and if they are not so, then revelation and
Christianity are only a myth and a dream. God's veracity
is at stake.
In ancient times He revealed His wall to man through the
prophets. Let us see what their testimony is on the sub-
ject. Daniel xii, 2, says:
" And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always.''
IsAiAS, the prophet, Ixvi, 24, speaking of the damned,
uses these words :
" Their worm dieth not, and their fire is not extinguhished."
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, exhorting
his people to repent, and make peace with God, while time
is given, says :
" If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in what place soever it
shall fall, there shall it be!'*
The tree here spoken of is the human soul. At the
period of its separation from the body it falls, either to the
north or south, that is, it goes to heaven or to hell. And
just as God allows the dead tree to remain where it has
fallen, so does he also permit the soul to lie forever in that
bed which in life it had prepared for itself.
Heretics who deny the existence of a purgatory, some-
times bring forward this text as a proof that there is no
intermediate state in the future life.
Two backwoodsmen, one a Catholic and the other a here-
tic, had a discussion on this point, some time ago. They
ALETHAURIOX. , 345
were neighbors, out cuttuig cord-wood, one on this and the
other on that side of the fence.
** Look here, BoGGS," said Murphy, ** they tell me you
had a strange preacher down at the Forks, last Sunday.**
**Yes,*' answered the other, *'and he's a !)uster, I tell you
he is. The way lie laid down the hiw, slapped the Bible
and kicked the pulpit, was a caution." ** Well, what did
he say, anyhow?" *' Oh, I couldn't tell you a tenth of it.
lie's a man just out of college, and uses the biggest kind of
words. You'd have to keep a dictionary open beside you
all the time, in order to understand him. Nearly every
woman at the meeting was excited : and you never heard
such talk as there was about him, among the people going
home." **But," said Murphy, '* don't you remember
anything at all that he said?" ** The only thing I can now
call to mind is, that towards the end of the sermon he gave
you Catholics a terrible rating." **AVhyso?" said Mur-
phy. ** Don't you believe in purgatory?" asked Boggs.
'' We do," said the other. ** Well, that's the first time I
ever heard the word mentioned, and the preacher proved,
out of the Bible, that there is no such place. Whichever
way the tree falls it stays there." *' That's all true
enough," said Murphy, *' provided it falls ; but you know
the tree sometimes lodges. " ** I never thousht of that,*'
>aid Boggs, ** and the next time the preacher comes out
here, I'll tell him so. Anyhow, he appears to me to be
trying to make too big a man of himself , and somebody
ought to take him down."
Thus far those rustics. Let us return to ourselves and to
this subject.
The Saviour has told us, in express terms, that the tor-
ments of the reprobate will never end. ** Depart from me
into everlasting fire," Matt, xxv, 41, is the sentence he will
pronounce on them at the last day. ** And these shall go
into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlast-
r."v, 46.
346 t ALETHAURION.
It is worthy of remark, that the torments of the wickecJ
are here pronounced everlasthig, in the same sense that the
joys of the elect are declared eternal. The text alone ought
to be sufficient to put to rest forever any controversy on the
subject. But we will add a few more in confirmation of
what it expresses :
" If thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter
into life, maimed, than, having two hands, to go into hell, into the lire
that cannot be quenched.'' — Mark, ix, 42.
"Amen. I say to you that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of
men, and the blasphemic where with the}' shall blaspheme, Init he that
shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but
shall be guilty of an everlasting sin.'" — Mark, iii, 28-29.
These are the words of Christ Hhnself , as they are found
in the writings of men inspired by the Holy Ghost.
Not long ago, the writer saw, in one of the daily papers,
a sermon or essay, in which the speaker alluding to those
texts, had the assurance to tell his hearers that the Apostles
and evangelists did not accurately report what the Saviour
had said on this subject. And no doubt, if Christ Himself
were to appear and say to the orator or preacher that they
had given His words correctly, he would even then con-
tradict.
Such is the awful blasphemous stupidity of some men^
who have faith only in themselves, and in their own puny
reason. They would argue with the Omnipotent, chide
Him for allowing such a relic of barbarism to exist, in this
enliiifhtened a^e.
The Catholic Church bears testimony to the eternity of
punishment, and in doing so, she only repeats, from age to
age, what she had heard from the lips of her Divine
Founder.
When, centuries ago, the celebrated Origin, a man of im-
mense intellect, began to surmise, out of the goodness of his
heart, that the torments of the demons and of the reprobate
might some time have an end, the Church in the general
council, came to the front, and solemnly declared such a
ALETHAURION. 347
t
doctrine heretical, and in contradiction to the truth, as
taught by Christ and the Apostles.
Should any of our readers desire to see what the most an-
cient Fathers have had to say on the eternity of punishment,
they will find many and appropriate extracts from their
works, in Petavius, concerning the angels, bookiii, chap. 8.
Finally, let us conclude, by saying that eternal torment is
a mystery. One that we are bound to believe, because the
supreme Truth has revealed it. A punishment that is just,
because inflicted by infinite justice. Let us not, however,
tell our neighbors they do not reason, because unable ta
under stand it.
Eternal misery is above reason, altogether within the do-
main of revelation. For its truth, we have only that faith
which is the argument of things that appear not.
Human reason and human justice might be content with
giving a warm corner in purgatory for a century or so. But
the justice of God is infinite.
In our next we will take up and sift some popular objec-
tions.
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
ANS^^'ERS TO SOME OF THE OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE ETER-
NITY OF PUNISHMENT.
The good as well as the wicked have very serious objec-
tions to being tormented forever in the next life. And, of
the two, the saints appear more opposed to it than the sin-
ners. ^
But the former seek to destroy the effect by attacking
the cause, which is sin ; whereas the latter wish to abolish
the effect without attempting to remove that, for the pun-
ishment of which hell was called into existence.
The saints are here decidedly the wiser and better logicians.
348 ALETHAURION.
But the entire depth of their wisdom will not appear
until death shall have exposed all the fallacies that the
world, the flesh and the devil have woven.
Let us see what reasons are sometimes broufifht forward
against the doctrine of eternal punishment.
" God," said an acquaintance to the waiter, a few days
ago, '* placed me in this world, without my knowledge or
consent; He gave me a propensity to evil, almost from my
birth, and, as I increased in years, my inclination to sin
grew stronger. Now, as I made no contract with the Lord
to keep His commandments, in consideration of happiness
hereafter, is it not unjust that He should punish me eter-
nally for not observing a law that I never accepted, and one,
moreover, that I am continually tempted to violate, on
account of a disposition and propensities that He has given
me?"
Our philosopher spoke this with such an air of assurance
and earnestness as to leave no doubt that he imagined the
Almighty entirely in the wTong, and he a much persecuted
man indeed.
Let us take up his case and examine his grounds of com-
plaint ; because, though fallacious, they would appear
specious enough to a man with some desperate project in
<5ontemplation.
Fii'st, oi all, we ask: Had God a right to create our
philosophical wise-acre? This will not be denied by any
one who admits that a potter is at liberty to make a crock
out of clay that belongs entirely to himself.
Second, Had God the right to impose upon him the ob-
servance of a law without his consent? Right reason can
give but one answer. Even human society claims the privi-
lege. And the hangman would grin serenely at the sim-
plicity of a culprit who should object to the rope, on the
ground that he never oave his consent to the law that made
murder a capital offense.
God, though all powerful, could not create a being and
ALETHAURION. 349
make it independent of Himself. He alone is self-existent
and independent. All things else must bow before Him.
LuriFEii fell when he said, ** I will not serve." And it is
the same spirit that animates his followers. They would
have God to conform to their notions, not they to His law.
When, some live months ago, a notorious pulpit thumper,
of Brooklyn, declared that he did not wish to go to heaven
presided over by a demon, who swept people into hell like
flies, without taking the trouble to kill them, he spoke out
of the pride of his heart, and impiously took upon himself
to judge the Omnipotent and to condemn Him. He made
his own God, as did the Pagans of old. Or, rather, he
imagined one, who should be a servant and factotum to his
creatures, but without the privilege of finding fault with
anything they chose to do.
To criticise the providence of God is an attempt to defy
one's self. It springs from pride, of a stolid and morose
character, and is founded on ignorance of who God is and
who we are.
** Almost from my birth I had evil inclinations," says our
philosopher. Very true indeed, ''the imagination and
thought of a man's heart are prone to evil from his youth."
This is one of the effects of original sin, by which man was
stripped of supernatural gifts, and wounded grievously in
natural endowments.
But what follows from it? Are we to admit that, because
there is a propensity to evil in the human breast, no crime
is imputable to the evil doer? Such a doctrine would upset
all law.
If the inclination to wickedness were of a nature that it
could not be resisted, then, indeed, man would not be res-
ponsible before God for his crimes. Let us put the case in
this way : Can a man avoid giving to another the honor due
to God ; can he avoid taking the holy name in vain ; doing
servile work on Sunday ; dishonoring his parents ; murder,
hatred and revenge ; adultery, fornication, theft, evil
350 ALETHAURION.
thoughts and desire? We ask again, can a man avoid these
things, if he wishes to do so?
He who says ]ie cannot, is, by his own confession, a dan-
gerous character, and ought to be put at once either with
the convicts or the lunatics.
From all we can learn, it would appear that the Supreme
Being intended that man's life here on earth should be a
warfare. And the Apostle says that " no one is crowned
except he who has legitimately fought."
Again, says this man who does not admit eternal punish-
ment :^
*' I have at home a son, who has come to the age of rea-
son, and he sometimes afflicts my heart sorely, by his rack-
less manner of life. He steals from mq and robs me of
everything he can lay his hands on, and spends the proceeds
with companions as wayward as himself. He refuses to
work or assist me in any way, and goes so far as to even
threaten my life, unless I give iiim of my substance to waste
upon harlots. Yet, notwithstanding all that, I could not see
the boy go to the penitentiary, even for a year — not if it
cost me three-fourths of what I am worth. Now God loves
us more than a father can love his child, and we cannot do
Him any injury, nor diminish His happiness, as my unfor-
tunate son does mine. As I am not moi-e merciful than
God, I cannot believe that He will punish His children for
all eternity in flames ; when I could not reconcile myself to
the idea of seeing my boy in the State's prison for only a
very few months."
We may reply : Very likely, you have precisely such a
boy as the one you speak of. You are exactly the kind of
a father to own a lad of his description. You teach him
there is no hell, and he does all in his power to teach you
that the Almighty made a mistake in not creating one.
But let us come to a direct answer. The two cases are
not parallel. God loves man, it is true, with more than an
earthly parent's love. But His justice is commensurate
ALETIIAUI{I(»N. 351
with His love. Destroy thiit — have Him to make no dis-
tinction between the unjust aggressor and his victim, and
you have a Deity altogether different from the one that now
•deserves our adoration.
Parental affection is, by a wis'j law of nature, very strong
in the human breast ; so powerful as sometimes to smother
all opposing considerations. Still, history gives us some
examples of men in authority condemning to death their
own offspring, for violation of law, and we praise the jus-
tice that could make so great a sacrifice.
Shall we expect less of a being infinitely perfect than can
sometimes be found in man? The attributes of God do not
clash, the one with the other, as do the passions and weak-
nesses of His earthly images.
Hence, this man's mode of acting towards his wayward
son is by no means a safe criterion. If his justice were on
a par with his love, the boy would long ago have been occu-
pying a position in the institution that has sashes without
"glasses.
Another objection against the eternity of punishment is
sometimes put in the following way :
Man, inasmuch as he is a finite being, is incapable of an
infinite act, either for good or for evil ; and, as the measure
of punishment ought not to exceed the measure of guilt, so
•an endless torture ought not to be inflicted on account of a
deed done in a moment of time.
We reply : Very true, man, regarded absolutely, is incapa-
ble of anvthini? infinite, but his evil deeds, inasmuch as thev
are directed against God, who is infinite, acquire thereby a
corresponding malice, which calls for an endless retribution.
Moreover, though the act which constitutes a mortal sin may
l)e consummated in a moment of tim3, its formality. con-
tinues until it is repented of.
And, as man's time of probation is limited to this life, if
he should die in mortal sin, having passed over the entire
way to the end of the pilgrimage, where change, in his
352 ALETHAURION.
moral conditian, is no longer possible, the sin in which he
has died, becomes an everlasting one, deserving endless pun-
ishment, according to its malice.
Our next will be about the condition in the next life of
infants who depart without baptism.
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
WHERE UNBAPTIZED INFANTS GO AFTER DEATH.
In the future life there are three places to sojourn —
heaven, purgatory and hell. All who die must pass into
some one of these three states. Those who have never
soiled the white robe of baptism ; those who had shed their
blood for the faith, and those who have done adequate pen-
ance for their sins, in this life, go at once to heaven.
All who die in mortal sin are immediately swept into hell,
while persons who depart with lesser sins, called venial, or
have not satisfied the Divine justice for their transgressions,
are quartered in purgatory.
Thus far everything is clear. But where do the souls of
infants who die without baptism, go? Answer: They go
to hell. That much also is defined by the Church, and the
logical consequence of what is taught in the Scriptures. Let
us come to the proof.
In the Fourteenth Ecumenical Council, held at Lyons, A.
D., 1274, and in that of Florence, A. D., 1439, the follow-
ing was defined to be part and parcel of the Catholic faith :
*' We believe that the souls of those Avho die in mortal sin,
or in original sin alone, go at once to hell, to be punished
according as each deserves." \_Poe7iis tamen disparibus
jpuniendas .~\
The Scriptures teach the same doctrine. From them we
learn that men are born in sin, and that nothing defiled can
enter heaven.
ALETHAURION. 353
Hence, as infants cannot be freed from original guilt in
any other way than by baptism, either of blood or water, it
follows that if they die before having been baptized, they
cannot be saved. ** Unless a man be born again of water
and of the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God." John iii, 5.
Let us take a few texts of Scripture, and see how clearly
the doctrine of original sin is laid down in our sacred writ-
ings. Job xiv, 4, addressing God, says: ** Who can him
clean that is conceived of unclean seed?" In Psalm 1, 7,
King David, says: ** Behold I was conceived in iniquities,
and in sins did my mother conceive me." St. Paul, Ro-
mans v, 12, teaches the same doctrine. ** Wherefore,"
says he, ** as by one man sin entered into the world, and by
sin death ; and so death passed . unto all men in whom all
have sinned. Therefore, as by the offence of one, unto all
men to condemnation, so also by the justice of one unto all
men unto justification of life."
Again, 1 Cor. xv, 21 : ** Death came by a man, and by a
man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die,
so also in Christ all shall be made alive."
These various texts show that men are born in sin and can-
not see the face of God until cleansed therefrom.
Having now given all that is of faith on the subject, we
may next go into some speculations. The idea most per-
sons have of hell is, that it is a pool of fire in which all are
huddled together and punished in the same manner, and to
the same degree. This is false, and conflicts with the jus-
tice of God, who will render to every man accordins? to his
works. For, as in our Heavenly Father's house there are
many mansions, each corresponding to the merits of its
occupants, so in Hades, there are various grades of punish-
ment, to correspond with the iniquities done in the flesh.
Not long ago, while the writer was at a certain place, on
missionary duty, a house was pointed out to him, where
354 AI.ETHAURION.
lives a man whose ideas appear to be somewhat bemuddled
on this point.
<< I know," says this desperate wretch, '* that after death
I will go to hell, and what's the use in trying to be good,
or to avoid doing evil, provided I keep out of the peniten-
tiary, and away from the hangman?"
Qaite correct, on the supposition that hell is the same for
all. But there is where the mistake lies. The o:reater the
iniquity, the more intense the retribution. This brings us
to the aforesaid speculations on thie condition of infants,
who have died without baptism.
In a matter of this kind, before obtruding our own views,
we prefer to give those of others. St. Augustine, whom
nearly all the other Latin fathers have followed, was of
opinion that the souls of unbaptized infants are punished
with eternal fire, but with heat so mild, that one cannot
determine whether existence is to them acceptable, or the
reverse.
Cardinal Norris, who wrote a commentary on the works
of St. Augustine, goes more into particulars. Norris says
their pain is of the lightest and mildest character, the fire
Tvarming the little creatures, and giving some annoyance,
but not so as to scorch them.
The writer does not know where this most eminent Cardi-
nal got his thermometer or how he managed to bring the
matter down to such a fine point. Yet, he is entitled to his
opinion, where the Church has not spoken.
The Greek fathers amongst whom St. Gregory Nazian-
ZEN, and St. Gregory, of Nyssa, differ with the Latins, in
admitting only the plan of loss, and opining that those in-
fants endure no pain of sense whatever.
The schoolmen and theologians do not accord any better
among themselves on this point than do the Fathers. Some
have gone so far as to affirm it is of faith that unbaptized in-
fants are punished with the pain of sense, whilst others,
such as Vasquez hold the contrary opinion, maintaining,
ALETHAURION. 355
with some of the schoolmen, that it is of faith that such in-
fants suffer only the pain of loss. The latter opinion is the
one now most generally held.
Let the reader, however, bear in mind that it is by no
means of faith, and consequently we cannot be abso-
lutely certain about it.
Respecting this pain or loss which unbaptized infants en-
dure, in the future state, our theologians also dispute
among themselves. Bellarmine, and some others are of
opinion that they experience a certain feeling of sadness, on
account of the loss of the beatific vision, whereas, St.
Tho^ias denies it in toto.
Ambrosius Catharinus not only exempts the little ones
from all pain, but grants them in his generosity, a natural
beatitude. And this opinion does not conflict with our holy
faith. "We may hope Ambrosius is right, but he may be
wrong. And this should be a warning to all Christian par-
ents, who have at heart the eternal happiness of their child-
ren, to see that so far as in them lies, they do not depart this
life without the sacrament.
There is no question about the happiness of baptized
infants in the next life. They certainly enjoy the vision of
God. But there is considerable diversity of opinion in
regard to the unbaptized. Moreover, Christ commanded
the Apostles to baptize all nations, and when a command has
been given, there is a corresponding obligation to obey,
St. Thomas Aquinas, qucest, v, de malo, goes on to show
how infants, dying without baptism, though deprived of the
beatific vision, still are not affected with sadness, on that
account. Those souls know they were created for a certain
happiness, but they are not aware that such bliss consists in
the clear vision of God, and- that they are excluded from its
enjoyment on account of original sin.
Hence, they are free from all sorrow, but are excluded
from that ineffable glory which the sacrament of baptism
would have opened to them.
356 ALETHAURION.
How sad to think that, even in a country like this, where
the name of Christ is known, and where ignorant sects rant
so much about baptism, yet thousands of little children are
allowed to perish yearly without having had poured upon
them the waters of recjeneration.
Let us, in conclusion, admire the true Church, that grand
old institution that speaks to man in the name and by the
authority of God, and defines, with infallible clearness, his
duty to his Maker, to his neighbor, to himself, and to his
children from the cradle even to the coffin.
Purgatory will next claim our attention.
CHAPTER LXXXV.
CONCERNTNG PURGATO^RY.
Having finished our explorations of hell, we next come to
purgatory. It may be defined as a middle state of souls
sufferino; for a time on account of their sins.
Let us begin with a statement of what the Church teaches
on the subject, and what we are in consequence bound to be-
lieve ; then, having finished our task, we can devote the re-
mainder of the time to speculation.
Rigorously speaking, there are only two things that we>
as Catholics, must believe in regard to the place or state in
question. First: That it exists. Second: That the souls
therein detained are aided by our prayers and by the sacri-
fice of the mass.
Any one admitting those two points may then give full
play to his imagination ; figure to himself a purgatory
according to his fancy, and no one will have the right to call
him a heretic for doing so. Such is the length of his
tether, and such the circle within which he is allowed to
prance and caper.
There are as many different opinions in regard to the
ALETHAURION. 357
location of purgatory as there are with respect to the site of
Pluto's gloomy realm.
Some imagine it to bo within the earth, and not far off
from hell ; others, that it is on the surface of our globe, and
that each one is punished in the very locality where he com-
mitted the worst, or the greatest number of his sins.
Neither do we know what kind of punishments those souls
are compelled to endure, nor how long a time they have to
stay. Fire is the safest word to use in this connection, and,
as to the limit or term of imprisonment, it is better not to
be too exact.
Soto, a theologian of some reputation, thought ten of our
years sufficient for all purgative purposes ; whereas, there
are others who defer the time of grace and deliverance, for
not a few, until the morning of doomsday.
Purgatory will certainly continue until that period. But
it does not appear reasonable to the writer to suppose that
an individual man is detained there many centuries, nor even
for any great number of years. Intense pain and short time
would answer the purpose quite as well as the sting of a bee
fifty times a day, with ten centuries to endure such annoy-
ance.
We might, also, at this point, raise the question as to
whether the punishment of all are of the same intensity in
purgatory.
At first sight it would appear that they ought not to be,
for the sins of men vary in malice and in number. But, on
a second thought, when we recollect that God can so grade
the time as to give each the salting he deserves, we will
readily see that no absurdity would follow from saying that
all now in purgatory suffer alike, or to the same degree of
intensity. From this it does not, however, follow that the
instrument of punishment must be the same for all.
Two men here may suffer equally — the one from the tooth-
ache and the other from cramp colic. We may now proceed
35 8 ALETHAURION .
to establish the fact that there is a purgatory, and that the
souls in it are helped by our prayers.
The best argument on this, as on all other questions
touching faith and morals, is the authority of the Church.
And, in reasoning with heretics, that point ought to be par-
ticularly insisted upon. It is the Church that teaches. To
it was confided by the Saviour the task of preserving pure,
and propagating through the ages, all that God has revealed
as necessary to salvation.
On occasion we make use of the Scriptures in arguing
with heretics. But the most confounding argument of all is
to establish the fact that Christ founded a Church, that
He commissioned it to teach all nations, that He made it
infallible and indefectible, and that the Church thus founded
and endowed, is the very same as that of which Leo XHI,
is to-day the acknowledged head. •
These facts can be established with the greatest ease.
Hence, even though we should grant that not even one word
nor allusion to purgatory could be found in the Scriptures,
the doctrine would still be credible, for the Church teaches
it. And the Church has preserved a knowledge of all that
Christ taught ; whereas, the Scriptures contain only a por-
tion of what God has revealed to man.
The first bishops of the Catholic Church, viz : the Apos-
tles and Evangelists, wrote the New Testament ; but they
did not reduce to writing all that Christ taught, as many
important truths have been handed down by tradition.
The Fathers of the Council of Trent, Session vi, canon 30,
treating of justification, speak in the following unequivocal
terms of purgatory.
" If any one says that by the grace of justification the guilt and eternal
punishment are so remitted to the penitent that no future temporal pun-
ishment remains to be endured either in this world or in the next life
in purgatory, before entering the kingdom of heaven, let him be anath,
ema,"
Again, Session xxii, canon 3.
ALETHAURION. 35^
*' If auy one says that the sacrllice of the mass is not propitiatory ; that
it ought not be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, chastisements
satisfactions, and other necessities, let him be anathema.'*
From these canons we learn that when one has committed
a mortal sin, he must suffer a temporal punishment either
in this world or in purgatory ; even after the sin itself has
been forgiven in the sacrament of penance. The heretics
of our time deny this, and maintain that when God pardons
a sin He also remits the punishment.
Hence, according to their system, the robber who has
spent his life in pillage, murder and iniquity of every sort,,
if he repents the instant before death, will escape all pun-
ishment for his crimes and go straight to glory. This does
not look reasonable. It is not rendering to man according
to his works. Our opponents point to the parable of the pro-
digal son, who was received 'vvdth open arms on his return
home by his father ; but the two cases are not parallel.
The prodigal suffered for his evil deeds in this world, by
having been compelled to herd with swine and endure hun-
ger. The one under consideration is that of a successful
rogue, who has cheated, robbed and killed, and yet escaped
punishment in this life.
Is he to get off free also in the next? Not if God is such
as He has revealed Himself to be. When Ada3I sinned he
was forgiven, on repentance, but he had to suffer temporal
punishment.
King David offended God mortally, by murder and adul-
tery ; and though the guilt and eternal chastisement were
here also condoned, yet he did not escape, for he had to-
bear temporal woes, sent him because of his crimes.
Having, therefore, once established the fact that God
forgives the sin and eternal punishment due to it, upon
repentance, without exempting the sinner from temporal
chastisements, we have the strongest argument for the
existence of a purgatory.
For as the sinner who becomes reconciled on his death-bed
360 -vLh:THAURION.
has not done penance in this life, he must do it in the
future state. Not in hell, because he is made by repentance
the friend of God ; not in heaven, for there is all happiness,
consequently in purgatory.
The custom from the earliest ages of offering up prayers
and sacrifices for the purpose of the faithful departed, ap-
proved by the same Tridentine Fathers, is also a proof of
the belief in the existence of a middle state.
We here give a few quotations from some very ancient
writings, which show what was the belief in primitive times
regarding purgatory.
St. Dioxysius, the Areopagite, the man whom St. Paul.
converted at Athens, in his tract on the Ecclesiastical Hier-
archy, chapter 7, speaking of a portion of the public service,
says :
'' The venerable prelate, approachino:, goes on with a holy prayer for
the dead ; he prays the Divine clemency to great pardon to the de-
ceased for those sins committed through human frailty, and that he may
receive a place in light and in the land of the living."
This is as clear a case of praying a man out of purgatory
as any one can ask for. And Dioxysius, who indorses it,
was a convert of St. Paul. Again, Tertullian, De Corona,
chapters 3 and 4, says :
"We make oblations for the dead, on the anniversaries of their death.
{Pro natalitiis annua die.) If you seek a Scriptural precept for this, you
will not find any : tradition is the author of it, custom confirms it, and
the faith observes it."
A splendid proof of the belief in a purgatory among the
primitive Christians, may also be found in the acts
of St. Perpetua. To quote the entire passage would
take up too much space. But we give the substance.
She relates how she saw, in a vision, her brother Dixoc-
RATES, seven years of age, suffering in purgatory, and that
after she had prayed for him, his pains entirely ceased.
TVe do not think it worth while to give quotations from
any of those Fathers that lived after the second century ;
and to quote a modern writer would of course be unneces-
ALETHAURION. 361
sary. Even heretics admit that the belief in purgatory goes
back to the second century. We know it does, and beyond
that period.
There are also many passages of scripture that confirm
us in this constant belief, which may be used in disputing
with heretics. In Matthew xii, 32, Christ says :
*' AVbosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be
forgiven him ; but he that sliall speak against the Holy Ghost it shall not
be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.
A pretty clear proof we should think, that there is a pur-
gatory. For in heaven there is no sin to be forgiven, and
out of hell there is no redemption.
In Acts ii, 24, St. Luke speaks of Christ as having
-* 'loosed the sorrows of hell." What more natural inter-
pretation can be given to this than the liberation of those
souls who died in venial sins before His coming.
No one went to heaven before Christ. The good were
all in an intermediate state. Let the heretics tell us when
that ceased to exist?
Again, i Cor. iii, 13, St. Paul says:
*• The Are shall tr\- ever}- man's work : .... if any man's work
burn, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.''''
Hasn't this being saved by fire something of the smell of
purgatory about it?
W^e might also cite many more passages of scripture in
which allusions are made to a middle state, but let one
other suffice. Machabees ii, chap, xii, 46. The inspired
writer says :
*' It is a holy and a wholesome thought to praj' for the dead, that they
may be loosed from their sins.'"
• This shows that the Jews before Christ believed in pur-
gatory, and they were taught by prophets sent directly by
God to lead them in the true way.
We will speak in the next chapter of the resurrection of
the body.
362 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER LXXXVl.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.
That the bodies of all men will, on the last day, be re-
united with their souls, and arise from the dead, is an article
of faith taught by the Church, and believecj by the faithful
from the beginning.
The heretics of the present day also believe this truth,
but Infidels, out of a spirit of contradiction, like the man
who used to button his coat behind, will not admit, nor lis-
ten to a doctrine.
We will therefore, in the first place, show that the resur-
rection of the body is a part of Revelation, in the second,
that it is comformable to right reason ; in the third, we will
answer some objections ; and in the fourth, indulge in spec-
ulations concerning the qualities of the body after the
reunion.
Centuries before the birth of Christ, Job, inspired by the
Holy Ghost, gave expression to his belief, in the follow-
ing words ;
** I know," said he, " that my Redeemer liveth; and on the last day I
shall rise out of the earth ; and I shall be clothed again with my skin, and
in my flesh. I shall see my God ; whom I myself shall see, and my eyes^
shall behold, and not another; this, my hope, is laid up in my bosom.*^
Job, IX, 25, 27.
Job was a cotemporary of Moses, as is generally sup-
posed, and lived about fifteen hundred years before Christ.
We may presume that in the above quotation he expresses-
not only his own belief, but also that of his time, in a resur-
rection.
That the Jews, who lived a century and a half before the
Saviour's birth, were in a like manner possessed of the same
ALETHAURION. 363
hope, we have proof in the .second book Machabees, xii, 43,
where it is stated that Judas Macilabees, after one of his
battles with the army of King Antiochus, sent money to
the temple at Jerusalem, to have sacrifices offered for the
sins of those who had fallen in defense of their faith and
country, **thinking well and religiously,'' says the scripture,
•'concerning the resurrection."
We may here observe, however, that about one hundred
years before the period in question, there sprang into exis-
tence, among the Jews, a sect called the Sadducees, who
denied the immortality of the soul, the existence of angels,
and also the resurrection of the body.
The Sadducees were never very numerous, but they were
rich, and for the most part office holders.
They maintained that God rewards men for their good
deeds, and punishes them for their vices, in this world. And
as things went v^W with them here, they esteemed them-
selves the pickVnd choice fruit in the Lord's vineyard — his
own especial pets and favorites.
These modern writers and speakers, who measure a
nation's sanctity by its temporal prosperity, are all Saddu-
cees in principle. Occasionally they may come in contact
with the Saviour. And it was they who proposed that
well-known puzzle of the woman who had been married con-
secutively to the seven brothers.
They asked whose shall she be in the resurrection ?
He had but little patience with such malicious blockheads.
Hence he cut them off short, by saying that the mistake was
due to their ignorance of scripture and the power of God.
Then he quoted a passage from the Penteteuch, the only
books admitted by the Sadducees, to show that there would
be a resurrection :
*'Have you not read," said he, '' that which was spoken by God, say-
ing to you : I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.*'
364 ALETHAURION.
The Saviour, in arguing with his opponents, did not waste
words, but often confounded them by a single question.
The Apostle Paul teaches the same doctrine in all those
places where he introduces an antithesis between the sin and
death we inherit from Adaivi, and the justification and life
we gain through Christ. Now, his argument would not be
complete without the resurrection of the body. Consult
Eomans v, 12-21; Hebrews, ix, 27-28; 1 Cor., xv, 20.
He also warns his Disciple Timothy, w^hom he had made
Bishop of Ephesus, to beware of those who deny the future
resurrection, by maintaining that it has already taken place,
n Tim., 2, 16.
The same is also clearl}^ laid down in John, v, 28 :
" Wonder not at this,** saj'S the Saviour, "for the hour cometh wherein
all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God."
It is quite evident that reference is here made not to a
spiritual, but to a corporal resurrection i for the spirit is pre-
sumed not to be in the grave, but only the body.
Thus we have seen that the resurrection of the body is a
revealed truth. It cannot, therefore, contradict reason,
though it may be above it.
Three of the most ancient Fathers of the Church —
Athexagorus, Ireneus and Tertullian — have spoken of
this subject in such a way that but little more remains to be
said.
We shall here only give the reasoning of Tertullian, as
it includes that of the other two. In his book {de Resurrec-
tione Carnis) he treats the subject in the following masterly
way. We, of course, do not pretend to give anything more
than a synopsis.
His first argument is this: The flesh or body is v^orthy
of a resurrection, therefore it will arise. He proves its
worthiness.
Firsts because the body was created by God to the image
of His Son, who was to come
ALETHAURION. 365
iSecoiid, the body is worthy, because it is the casket of
the soul created to the image of God.
Thinly the body is the companion and partner of the
soul, whether in virtue or in sin, hence it ought to be a
sharer of its glory or pain.
Fourth^ the body is worthy, because through it the soul
receives the graces of the Sacraments, practices the Christian,
virtues, and gains the crown of martyrdom.
Tertullian's second argument may be expressed as fol-
lows : God can cause the body to rise again, and as it is
worthy, therefore He will raise it to life. That God can
cause the body to rise, will not be questioned, since he cre-
ated it; and it is no more difficult to resurrect than to
create.
His third argument is that the whole man ought to appear
before God to be judged, as it was the whole man that lived
here on earth.
In the fourth and last place he argues that, inasmuch
as Christ died for man, he will save not only his soul, but
also his body. For Christ came to restore all that Ada3I
had lost. And, as in the first Ada3i, we lose the life of
the body, so in the second we regain it.
These form the principal arguments, dra^vn from reason,
for the resurrection of the body, and certainly no better
ones are known to the wi'iter.
Let us now take up a few objections. They may be
reduced to two principal ones.
First : Take the case of a cannibal, or man-eating savage,
who has fed for a dozen years on **long pig." At the
resurrection, how will those w^ho were eaten get back the
substance of their bodies from the Cannibal, since, by a pro-
cess of nature, it has become a part of his body? In other
words, which of them will rise with the flesh that was
eaten ?
Secondly: It has ])een demonstrated that there is a total
change in the human system every seven years, so that there
366 ALETHAURION.
is not, except by accident, one particle now in our composi-
tion that was there seven years ago.
Take then a man w^ho has dei^arted this life at the age of
foi"ty-nine. Such a one evidently had in this life seven dif-
ferent bodies. Which of these will he have at the resurrec-
tion? Or will he arise with all seven, and so j^resent before
the judgment seat the appearance of a man who had been
brought up on beer and w^hale-blubber ?
These are tart questions, but we shall attempt to answ^er
them. Let us suppose the Cannibal spoken of ate his man
just seven years ago ; it is then evident that Mr. Loxgpig
could now arise with the same body he had wiien eaten, as
not a particle of it is to be found in the savage.
Again, suppose the cannibal had died one month after
ha\dng eaten Loxgpig, then he (Loxgpig) could arise with
the body he had seven years previous to his capture, and
still it would be the same body he had in this life.
A little more difficult case is the following: Suppose a
young cannibal, six years of age, should eat Loxgpig'ssou,
also of six years, and die of the meal; it is evident, in this
case, that neither could take the body he had seven years
before.
This case, how^ever, w^hen looked closely into, does not
present as much difficulty as at first sight. If the essence
of the human body consisted in its retaining always the same
molecules or particles of matter, then indeed there w^ould be
a difficulty, for the same molecules have evidently formed
part of tw^o distinct human beings; but, change of substance
in the human body no more destroys its essence, than change
of w^ater does that of a pond.
Hence, God could supply extraneous particles w^here there
was a deficiency, without in the least affecting the identity
of a given body. The reader will not admit that he has lost
his identity within the past seven years, even though there
has in that time taken place a total change in the particles
that make up his body.
ALETHAURION. 367
The stamen originale^ as philosophers call it, is still tho
•same. Moreover, personal identity principally consists in
the interior sentiment, which renders testimony to us that
we are the same persons now we were seven years ago, or
from infancy.
We defer until the next chapter some speculations on the
qualities the body will possess after it has risen.
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
TBT tHARACTER AND QUALITIES OF THE BODY AFTER HAVING
ARISEN FROM THE DEAD.
Having shown that the body will surely arise on the last
day, we now come to examine into its character, and to specu-
late on the qualities it will possess.
First of all, it may be laid down as certain that men will
rise immortal.
The necessity of dying came by the sin of Adam. But
Christ, by His passion, restores to us all that we lost through
the first man.
Hence, at the resurrection of the just, it will be as if Adam
had never sinned. The defects in nature, caused by his fall,
will be repaired.
The death of Christ destroys death ; at present in its
cause, and hereafter in act. **0 death*, I will be thy death,"
Osee, xiii, 14. **And the enemy death shall be destroyed
last." I Cor., x^^ 26. <*Christ, rising again from the
dead, dieth now no more." Romans, vi, 9.
His resurrection is the type of what ours will be. If men
died again after the resurrection, it could not be said with
truth that Christ conquered death. But he has triumphed
•over it. At the resurrection men will rise with the proper
proportions.
And the Great Sculptor, who chiseled to perfection the first
368 ALETH AURION .
man, will remedy the defects of nature in His descendants.
What a consolation this to the decrepid and time-worn of
our race, who have outlived youth and its charms, to know
that they will again be made as good as new ; that long lo.<t
teeth will be restored, wrinkles and crows' feet smoothed
away forever, and raven tresses take the place of dyed hemp
and scanty locks ! It will be a great day for the ladies
Yea, verily.
After the resurrection there will be no further need of
food nor drink, neither shall there be marrying nor giving in
marriage.
The former are necessary now to counteract the waste con-
tinually taking place in the human system. But, in the
resurrection, men will arise with incorruptible bodies, and
the proper quantity of matter to each, incapable of increase
or diminution thereafter.
"It is sown an animal body, it shall rise a spiritual body,"
says St. Paul, I Cor., v, 44. As food and drink sustain
animal life here', thus shall the immortal spirit keep the
body in everlasting youth hereafter.
So also in this life, as individuals die, marrying and being
given in marriage is a necessity to prevent the extinction of
the species.
But in the future life, the individual being free from
death, the species cannot become extinct, and hence there
will no longer be a necessity for the nuptial tie.
There will be, however, a distinction of sex in those who
arise, for this is one of the essentials. Some have thought
otherwise, but their opinion appears to have but little or no
foundation.
It troubles many curious people to know whether negi'oes
will rise black and greasy, as in this life. While we do not
approve of the spirit in which such questions are generally
asked, still it may interest the reader that we give our views
on the subject.
First of all, it is well to bear in mind that he whom God
ALETHAUBION. 369
judges worthy of a place in heaven, "will be fit company for
all he finds there before him, or may come after — even
though his pelt were as tar.
The writer, however, does not think that those of the race
of Ham, who shall have the good fortune to be with the just,
will rise with those defects of feature and color which are
here obseiwable.
It is a doctrine of our holy faith that all men have a com-
mon origin and a common destiny. Whatever defects have
in the course of ages been produced by climate and mode of
life, or by freak of nature, will, at the resurrection, be
properly remedied. A black skin, flat nose, and lips
out of proportion, we scarcely think were in the original
contract.
There is no more reason why an African, whose ancestors,
for generations, lived exposed to a torrid sun, should rise
black, than that an American gentleman, who has spent his
days in carousing and drinking bad whiskey, should rise
with a red face, and a nose set Avith carbuncles.
Persons who live condemned in subterranean dungeons,
acquire an unnatural paleness and a sickly hue. Are we to
suppose that such will also be their color in the day of
resurrection? It does not look reasonable that it should
be so.
The probability, therefore, is that whatever was Adam's
color before the fall, such will also be that of risen men.
And as to those defects of form and feature, which we now
observe in some, they will be remedied by the brash and
chisel of the Great Architect.
Hunchbacks will be straightened, dwarfs lengthened,
giants shortened, bloats tapped, and cross-eyed ladies
remodeled. Possibly the just will have the power of assum-
ing, at pleasure, whatever features or shape they choose.
We read in the Acts of the Apostles how two Disciples, on
their way to Emaus, met the Saviour, and yet did not recog-
nize Him, though His earthly form and ex|)ression of coun-
tenaiK niu>t have been familiar. He had evidently changed.
I
370 ALETH AURION .
for the time being, His appearance, yet retained His
identity.
Let not those who are homely, therefore, murmur at their
lot ; nor those who have had the small-pox bewail with too
many tears the loss of their beauty.
Time will make all things even. It will be all the same
one hundred years from now. But let those who love beauty
of form so live as to deserve it. Now it is a gift, then it will
be the reward of merit. Goodness and beauty, which are
here separable, will be there combined, and the extent of
the one will be the measure of the other.
Another quality that the just will possess, after the resur-
rection, will be that of agility, by which the body will be
entirely under the control of the spirit.
At present we possess it to a limited extent, for the body
here obeys the soul, and walks or lies at rest as the spirit
directs.
Nevertheless, all our actions now are accompanied with
fatigue. After the reunion we will have the power of pass-
ing from place to place with the quickness of thought. Our
bodies, as St. Paul says, will be spiritual, that is, entirely
under the control of the spirit, and obedient to its behests.
From what has been said thus far, it will not be difficult
to surmise at what age men will rise from the tomb. It will
be at that period of life when there is the greatest vigor of
mind and body.
Christ in this, as in all things else that are good and
glorious, is the model. His resurrection is the pattern of
what ours will be. And as He arose about the age of thirty-
three years, so shall the just.
The aged will leave discreptitude in the grave, and appear
again hi the prime of manhood. Infants, snatched by death
from the arms of weeping mothers, will present themselves
once more in the flesh, not the helpless things they were,
but in the bloom and vigor of youth, with bodies and
minds such as they would have had if length of days had
been granted.
ALETHAURION. 371
There are many useless, vain and idle questions that here
present themselves. As, for example, what will be the
length of the hair, beard and nails, at the resurrection;
whether the heart will beat, and the blood continue to circu-
late as now; whether our knowledge of surrounding things
will be gained through the senses, or in some other way.
To such questions we may answer, in general terms, that
men will rise with the same bodies, and with all their essen-
tial parts and actions. •
Hence, that the heart will beat ; that the blood will circu-
late through the veins and arteries ; that the eyes will see,
the ears hear, etc., appear credible. As to the length of the
hair, beard and nails, we may answer that the sacred human-
ity of our Lord furnishes us the example l)y which to form a
judgment.
We are not to presume that Mynheer Stehrexfluter
will take his seventy-five inches of beard with him to Para-
dise, for his was an abnormal growth. Neither should we
suppose that he will appear shaved and powdered amidst the
Cherub ims.
The reunion of the soul and body will be instantaneous,
and vriW take place here on the surface of the earth. No
sooner vdW the archangel have pronounced the words, **arise
ye dead, and come to judgment," than by the almighty
power of God the elements that have composed the bodies
of all men since Adam, will be drawn together from the
four winds, and each soul will repossess its earthly
mansion.
Christ will then appear in the heavens, seated on the
throne of His Majesty, and all the angels with Him. The
just will rise to meet Him in the air, and will be placed at
His right hand. •
Then at the words, **come, ye blessed of My Father, pos-
sess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world," their ])odies will be glorified, and they will shine
like stars around His tbrone.
372 ALETHAURION.
The reprobate, with bodies also immortal and incor-
ruptible, but not changed, will remain below at His left,
surrounded by demons. And at the words, *' depart from
me, accursed," a mighty whirlwind will come from the
north and sweep them, body and soul, into the dreary abode
of the damned; and the separation will be final.
When we meditate on the things that will take place on
that awful day, how vain is the* greatness of this world, and
how insufficient and unsatisfactory any success that is not
eternal. *<What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul."
Before returning to the life and times of St. Paul, we
will have yet a few more words on magic.
Our next will be on divination.
CHAPTER LXXXYHI.
DIVINATION, OR FORTUNE TELLING.
From the most remote times, men have manifested the
desire of peering into the future, to find out, before the
proper time, what might be in the eternal decrees.
A little reflection will convince us that such curiosity,
when unlawful means are employed, is not only absurd, but
sinful. It is a revolt against the providence of God. He
has willed that our knowledge liere should be, as it is, very
limited, in order that w^e might feel our weakness, and at all
times put our trust in Himself.
If more light had been necessary or useful, God would
have given it. He has revealed of the future all that it is
essential we should know. Our present duties and future
destiny are plain ; and what more can a truly rational man
desire ?
God does not forbid us to consult Him, should we wish to
know more than He has granted, in the ordinary course of
ALETHAURION. 373
His providence. The patriarchs of the Old Law foretold
many events that were to come ; and divers saints, since the
time of our Lord, have had the gift of prophecy.
But to have recourse to divination, which consists in the
employment of unlawful means to discover the future. He
does not permit. Levit., xix; Deut., xviii.
It would be impossible, may be undesirable, to point out
all the means that silly people make use of to determine
what is to come.
But we may allude briefly to the principal ones. Among
the most important w^s judicial astrology. This consisted in
examining the heavenly bodies, clouds, meteors, etc., and
from their relative positions, at a given instant, drawing con-
clusions as to the future life of some person, or the ultimate
consequences of a notable event.
The taking of such an observation was called a horoscope ;
and for ages implicit faith was put in the verdict the stars
had rendered.
It might at first appear that \Wien men had gained a
knowledge of even the first principles of astronomy, astrology
would have ceased.
Nevertheless, the ancient Chaldeans, who were skilled in
the foimer science, were also the most superstitiously
addicted to the latter practice.
Nor is it alone in primitive and Pagan times that this
absurdity held sway over the minds of men.
Louis XHI, of France, got the title of Just solely from
the fact that he was born under the sign of the balance ; and
at the birth of his successor, Louis XIV, the baby's horo-
scope was taken with the greatest possible gravity and
circumstance.
During the regency of ^Iaria de Medicis, the astrologers
waxed fat, for ladies were horoscoped then as frequently as
they are now photographed.
Astrology is so absurd, on the face of it, that to even rid-
icule it would be lost time. And yet, even in our dav, there
374 ALETHAURION.
are persons who profess it, and others silly enough to en-
courage the deception by paying the deceivers.
The second sort of divination most extensively practiced
among the ancients, was called augury. This consisted in
observing the flight, movements or cries of certain birds, and
drawing conclusions respecting the future therefrom. It
was noticed that certain ones of the feathery tribe presaged
good weather by their presence, and foretold storms of wind
and rain by their cries.
Hence, it was inferred that they had the gift of prophecy.
And cunning men were not wanting, who professed ability
to understand their language.
Among the ancient Romans, no affair of great importance
was undertaken without consultino: the auijurs. And their
decisions were regarded with superstitious awe by the vul-
gar.
At the capitol there was kept, at the public expense, a
flock of sacred geese, that played a very considerable part
in politics. Their cackling, at unwonted times, was eagerly
listened to by the augurs ; and any variation of the manner
in which a holy gander flapped his wings, or cocked up his
toes, was duly discussed and recorded for future reference.
It must be said, however, that the more enlightened had
but little confidence in those auguries. Nevertheless, the
Roman generals before engaging in battle, were careful to
let it be known to the soldiers, that all the signs were pro-
pitious, and that they would certainly gain the victory.
The augurs helped along the deception, and, if results
were unsatisfactory, there was never any difficulty in find-
ing an excuse.
A third sort of divination, was that made from an inspec-
tion of the gall and entrails of animals. This was called a
hauruspice. It is well-known that the' salubrity of the air
and the quality of the soil, has a good deal to do with the
appearance of the intestines of birds and beasts.
But superstition could not let the matter rest at that pointy
ALETHAURION. 375
and the hauruspices pretended to be able to trace, in certain
marks on th^ liver, lights and gall, of a victim, the course
of future contingent events.
This sort of divination was very popular with the herd, for
they were permitted to eat of the flesh of the victims, and
praise the gods for vouchsafing such comforts to men.
It is still practiced by some old women ; not any longer
upon the entrails of birds or beasts, as of yore, but upon tea
leaves and coffee-grounds. And these also find people fool-
ish enough to encourage deception by paying for it.
A fourth species of divination was that by means of ora-
cles. There were very many of these in Pagan times, where
the gods revealed in various ways, to certain chosen souls,
what the future would beget. But, celebrated above all
others, were the oracles of Delphos, Dodona, Trophonius
and Ammon.
The first was situated at the foot of Mount Parnassus, in
the territory of Phocis, in Greece. The mountain itself was
sacred to the nine muses, and the oracle to the prince of
muses, Apollo.
It was discovered by accident, in the following manner:
Some goats that fed among the rocks at the foot of the
mount, on approaching the mouth of a cave, were observed
by the herdspian to be affected in a strange way, by a gas
that issued therefrom.
Approaching the mouth of the chasm, it was discovered
that men were also influenced, and, while under its power,
spoke in an incoherent and prophetic strain. It was not long
before the fame of Delphos spread far and wide.
A temple was erected on the spot, and all the machinery
of Pagan superstition set going. At first any one who in-
haled the vapor prophesied. J3ut, in course of time, a special
priestess was consecrated for the purpose.
She sat on a tripod over the mouth of the cave, when
about to give the responses of Apollo. The prophets who
stood around received her words, and, having arranged
376 AT.ETHAURION.
and interpreted, gave them to inferior ministers to put in
verse.
Thus, it will be observed that there was here a fine oppor-
tunity open to rascality and manipulation.
Possibly, Satan may have had a part in the business, and
helped to give life and expression to the work.
One thing is certain, that some of those responses of the
Delphian oracle that historians have handed down, are mas-
terpieces of wit and cunning.
Thus, when Crcesus, King of Lydia, consulted the oracle
to know whether he would be successful against Cyrus, the
pythoness answered, that "if his army crossed the river
Halys, a great empire would be destroyed." Crcesus
thought his enemy's empire was meant, but it was his
own.
Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, wishing to engage in war with
the Romans, also sought advice at Delphos, and got the fol-
lowing ambiguous reply in Latin: ^^Dico te ^^achide
Itomanos vincere posse.'' I tell thee, O son of ^^achus, the
Romans can conquer thee, or thou canst conquer the Ro-
mans ; it will translate either way.
Crassus, before engaging in war with the Parthians, sent
gifts to Delphos, and was told: ^^Ibis et redibis nunquam
perihis in hello.'' That is, you will go and return, you will
never perish in war ; or, you will go and never return, you
will perish in war. Crassus went and he fell by the treach-
ery of his enemies.
Our next will be a continuation.
CHAPTER LXXXIX.
ORACEES.
In the last chapter we spoke of the celebrated Delphian
Oracle, whose priestess gave responses so neatly worded,
that, whether heads or tails turned up, the pro})hecy would
ALETHAURION. 877
he true. The demon thus concealed his ignorance of future
contingent events, and at the same time gave satisfaction to
his dupes.
From Delphos let us pass to Dodona. This town was sit-
uated in Epirus, one of the states of ancient Greece.
The oracle at Dodona was not so celebrated, nor so rich
as the Delphian ; but it had the honor of being the most
ancient in the land. Herodotus, book I, chap. 25.
According to the account given by the priestesses, it had
its origin in the followino: sinofular manner :
One day two black doves flew away from the city of
Thebes, in Egypt, one of which stopped at Libya, but the
other continued its fliofht until it had arrived in the little
village above named.
There, perched among the branches of an aged oak tree,
it pronounced, with a clear and distinct voice, these words :
**Establish ye here an oracle in honor of Jupiter."
The people were justly surprised at hearing a pigeon talk,
and set to work to do as they were bidden.
To us it might appear that this black dove was no other
than an angel, sent from the abyss to draw the people into
idolatry.
Strabo, however. Sup. VII, tells us that, in the language
of ancient Epirus, the word for dove meant also an old
woman.
It would appear therefore, that, instead of a pigeon it was
a witch from the banks of the Nile, who first introduced
fortune-telling at Dodona.
In the time of Herodotus, three priestesses had the right
to announce the decisions of the oracle. But, whenever the
Ba^otians consulted it, they received Jupiter's response
through a servant. None of the priestesses would deign a
r^ply* because of the following circumstance :
At one time, when about to engage in war, they made in-
quiries at Dodona as to the result. The priestess told them
that if they desired success, **they should first commit an
378 * ALETHAURION,
impiety" — ^. e., take the sacred tripods of gold that were in
their temple, and 23laee them in that of Jupiter at Dodona.
The Boeotians, though not quick-witted, suspected rog-
uery. So they took the priestess and threw her in the fire,
remarking at the same time : *' If she has deceived us she
merits death ; and if she has told the truth, we obey the
oracle."
Ever after the priestesses and the Boeotians were at
variance.
Future events were revealed to those ladies in many ways.
Sometimes they heard the voice of Jupiter from * the
branches and rustling leaves of the saci^pd oak that stood
near the temple.
At other times the murmuring of a brook that flowed
throuo^h the orrove made known what was to be. The tinsr-
ling of brazen vessels within the temple, had also a meaning
to the witches' ears, as the clicking of the instrument has for
the operator at the telegraph office.
The oracle of Dodona was also consulted by means of lots
drawn from an urn. The Spartans, at one time took this
method of finding out what would be the result of an expe-
dition they were about to undertake. But, while the draw-
ing was going on, a monkey that belonged to the King of
the Molassians, jumped on the table, upset the urn and scat-
tered the lots.
This was a bad omen, and the priestess told the ambassa-
dors that the *' Spartans, instead of dreaming about victories,
should begin to think of their own safety." They returned,
and, having told the response, never before was there such
terror among a people so celebrated for bravery. Cicero
de divin. tom. 3, lib. T, cap. 34.
* The third of the great Grecian oracles was that of Tropho-
nius, which was in an immense cave near the village of
Lebadea, in Boeotia.
Trophoxius was the architect of the temple of Apollo, at
Delphos, and having done a good job, he felt warranted in
•
ALETHAURION.
asking a
would be
favor,
granted
Apollo
in seven
made
days,
known
at the
37i)
that his request
end of which he
died.
It leaked out after his exit, that he and his brother,
AcJAMEDES, while building the temple had made a secret
passway by which to enter at night and steal away the gifts.
This had the appearance of an irregularity, but it did not
prevent his countrymen from decreeing him divine honors.
The existence of the passway was explained, on the suppo-
sition that Trophonius wished to have access to the temple
by night — in order to pray.
Responses were sometimes given viva voce in the cave at
Lebadea. But, most generally, the will of the gods was
made known by visions of fire. So terrible were these, that
the person who had seen them once, was never the same
man after. Hence, among the Greeks, it was customary to
say of a very sad individual, that he had escaped from the
cave of Trophoxius. Aristopanes, Comedy of the Clouds.
^looRE, in the Epicurean, gives a fine description of the
terrors of one of those prophetic caves. He locates it in
Egypt. But, as the Greeks had borrowed most of their
superstitions from the sorcerers of the Nile, we may take
what he says as a description of the gymnastics and terrors
of the cave of Trophoxius.
Along with the three already named, there were many
other oracles in Greece, but of minor importance.
There was also in the desert of Libya, a renowned pro-
phetic shrine, dedicated to Jupiter A^niox, and originally
founded by one of those black pigeons already mentioned.
About the time Alexaxder the Great took possession of
Egypt, an overgrown and dogmatic priestess had charge of
it, and, from her perch on a tripod, she made known what
the fates, had ordained. Alexaxder wanted to have his for-
tune told. So, with some of his officers, he went to the
shrine of Ammox, where they found the witch in her palace
not far from the temple.
380 ALETHAURION.
She told him he came at the wrong time, and that he
would have to wait two or three days before an answer could
be given. That was too much for the son of Philip, and his
officers seeing him on the point of boiling over, tried to
soften the witch, first by coaxing, then by gold, and, at last,
by threats. But she was inflexible.
By this time Alexander had lost patients, and going up
to her, said he : **As you will not go to the temple by mild
means, I'll take you there."
But as the hero went floundering along under his weight
of prophecy, the witch suddenly ceased to struggle, and, in
subdued tones she gasped : **My son, thou art invincible."
"That's enough," said Alexander, as he loosened his grip
and drew a long- breath. *'Not another word — for now I
know that thou art truly inspired." And he ordered his
purse bearer to give a large donation, for the purpose of
keeping so holy a shrine in due repair.
In the next chapter we will treat of dreams.
CHAPTER XC.
ON THE SUBJECT OF DREAMS.
Most men sleep away nearly one-half their lives. And,
if a person wanted to act contrary, it would not be easy to
prove to him that he is not asleep and dreaming, also the
other half.
A German professor once thought so, and, in broad day-
light when every one is presumed to be awake, he taught his
pupils that whatever they saw, heard, tasted or smelt, had no
reality ; that our visions by day do not differ from our
nightly dreams.
He went farther, maintaining there was no other being
but himself in existence. And himself he called Das Ich,
or the great I am. The visible universe, and the changes
ALETIIAURION. 381
that take place in it, the professor regarded as evolutions of
Das Ich, presented by itself to itself for contemplation.
In a word, our philosopher denied all objective reality.
The scholars used to listen to this second Solomox with
gaping mouths, though they found it difficult to see the
point, or understand him.
One day, however, a circumstance occurred which they
thought would have sufficed to knock his subjectivity higher
than a kite.
As he was passing home through an alley, a couple of
mongrels got to exchanging civilities, and frightened a mule
that stood hitched to a swill cart. The mule, with the en-
thusiasm to a recent convert, did not believe m the profes-
sor's objective reality and ran over him.
After having remained at the hospital for a month or
more, under medical treatment, he returned to his chair ;
yet spoke of the accident in his usual way — as an evolu-
tion of Das Ich presented by itself, for its own contem-
plation.
But the students thought it was the mule, in this case,
that made the evolution, and left Das Ich only the contem-
plation of it, and they were right.
All created things have a reality with regard to us, and
it would be useless to attempt to persuade ourselves that the
objects we see are but phantoms of the brain. Man's inner-
consciousness upsets all such philosophy. But if the Ger-
man philosopher, by Das Ich, should have meant, not him-
self, but God, then we confess that his fancies not only do
not deserve ridicule, but are worthy of admiration.
Viewed with respect to God, creation has not an objective
reality, for '* in Him we live and we move and we are."
Acts xvii, 28.
Pantheism identifies God and the universe, a doc-
trine which cannot be admitted, "^-ithout falling into
many absurdities. The universe is not God, neither does
382 ALETHAURION.
it exist independent of Him. It is the dream of the Omni-
potent.
But let us drop to things that are more on a .level with
liuman understanding. The dreams of men are, generally
speaking, nothing more than the wanderings of the imagina-
tion, unregulated by the will, memory and understanding.
To attempt to trace them up to their cause, would neces-
sitate a paper on the origin of ideas, into which we will not
enter at present.
Along with those that spring from natural causes, there
are dreams that have an undoubted supernatural origin.
Such come either from God, or His angels, or from the
devil and his imps. The former are sometimes admonitory
sometimes prophetic, but the latter are always delusive.
How a spirit conveys its thought to one's mind while
■asleep is a mystery. But that it does so, cannot be ques-
tioned.
We have examples in scripture, where God, either directly
or by the ministry of angels, made known to the dreamers
what was to happen in the future, or else warned them
against present danger. Such were the dreams of Joseph,
Genesis, xxxvii ; of Pharaoh, Genesis, xli ; of Nabuche-
DONOSOR, Dan., iv ; and of St. Joseph, Matt., ii, 13.
Hence, the sweeping assertion sometimes made that there
is nothing in dreams, is false and un scriptural. We must
distinguish and discriminate.
But, when God sends a dream, he also connects with it
such circumstances and motives of persuasion that the
dreamer cannot doubt that it is of a supernatural kind.
And without this interior illumination, it would be sinful to
trust them or make them motives of action upon our part.
Deuteronomy, xviii, 10 ; Jeremiah, xxix, 8.
To place confidence in dreams is also forbidden by the
Church ; and, in the council of Paris, held A. D., 826, the
practice was declared a relic of Paganism.
Some of the ancient Fathers, such as Cyril, of Jerusalem,
ALETIIAURION. 383
Gregory, of Njssa, and Gregory the Great, wrote against it.
In later times, John, of Salisbury, Peter de Blois, and
others, did all in their power to dissipate the error. (See
Thiers' Treatise on Superstitions.)
Here some one may ask, what harm can there be in giving
credit to dreams? We reply, in the first place, the fact
alone that God, through His authorized agents, the piioph-
ets and the Church, has forbidden it, is reason and motive
enough to convince us there is danger in the practice.
He has established on earth a society with power and
authority to speak in His name ; audit is from it'He wishes
men to learn His will. He furnishes us with the means in
abundance to gain all that is essential to our future safety.
But that a mere atom should expect Him to deviate from
the ordinary course of His providence, to satisfy a mere
whim, or an idle curiosity, would be the height of presump-
tion.
Human society despises the mere fortune teller, and that
individual has but a degraded notion of the Divinity who
would conceiv^e Him as whispering in one's ear at night the
events of the following day. Nevertheless, we must not
overlook nor affect to despise facts.
Now, it has happened to multitudes of persons to have
had dreams that were literally fulfilled, and many others
have had such as might be regarded very strange, indeed ;
the events which followed being taken into consideration.
The writer knows a man who, some few days before the
death of the late illustrious and lamented Pius IX, had a
somewhat remarkable experience in the land of Morpheus.
It was night, and, turning his gaze upwards to the sky, he
saw, at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the north-
east, a cluster of stars, one of which was larger and shone
brighter than the rest.
While looking at this constellation, lo and behold, that
star which was the brightest shot downwards through the
sky, until it struck the earth. WTien the star had fallen,
384 ALETHAURIOX.
there was a silence as of a few seconds, and then a murmur
of many voices. But no sooner had it touched the earth,
than a lisrht similar to that from a burnino: house, seen at a
distance, arose ; and the report by some means reached his
ear that a great fire had broken out.
Many rushed to the place to see the conflagration, and
the dreamer himself had gotten part of the way, when he
met others returning, who reported it was a false alarm.
Such was the dream ; and time appears to have already
given the interpretation thereof.
Yet, it was probably only a mere coincidence ; and, at
any rate is too indefinite. AVe must fall back on those
which persons worthy of belief, relate as having been ful-
filled in all their particulars.
To what cause are we to attribute them ? Mere chance
will not explain the mystery. Without being compelled to
have recourse to the first and efficient cause of all thino^s,
which is God, we may possibly find a solution in the fact
that there are in the spirit world beings, both bad and good,
with discretionary powers analogous to those we possess
with respect to one another.
A man of strong mind and keen intellect can, for reasons
known to himself, by lying and misrepresentation, draw a
weaker soul into an enterprise that will certainly prove dis-
astrous, and God will not at all times interfere to prevent
the evil.
So, also, the demon, who has a discretionary power, and
from all we can learn, an intelligence far superior to ours,
may present in a dream, things that he knows are about to
happen, in order thereby to gain the confidence of the
dreamer, and lead him astray on some future occasion.
It would please Satan to find a man whose actions,
while awake, were governed by visions had in slumber.
Such a one would be a very effective weapon in his hands.
But, says some one, Satan himself does not know the
future, how then could he reveal it in a dream? Very true,
ALETIIAURION. 385
he does not know it as God does. But with his knowledge
of the laws of nature, of cause and effect, and of circum-
stances that his intended victim knows nothing about, he is
capable of making a shrewd guess — especially in regard to
things not a long way off.
Take the case of a king, about to engage in war with an-
other. Satan knows the valor of his soldiers, the resources
of the kingdom, the counsels of the enemy, where battles
will take place, the strength of positions, the skill of gene-
rals, and the efficiency of the arms used on both sides.
Thus, by putting this and that together, he could, if he
would, inform such a potentate what the result would be.
Hence, the Church wisely warns all her children to place
no trust in dreams. They are not the means appointed by
God to discover to us either our duty or our destiny.
We do not mean to deny that the good angels, who also
have a discretionary power, may warn men of impending dan-
ger, or give them a glimpse of things to happen.
But any dream or presentiment that does not tend to
make a man repent of his sins and love God the more, is to
be despised or mistrusted.
Our next will be concerning those besieged or possessed
by Sat AX.
CHAPTER XCI.
concerning those TmVT are possessed or besieged liV
THE devil.
Every time a man falls into mortal sin, Satan takes a
mortgage on him, at full value. He is, for the time, condi-
tional owner, and when death comes he forecloses and takes
complete possession.
Some there are, who avail themselves of the advantaire of
the bankrupt act, and leave Satan in the lurch. By virtue
386 ALETHAURION.
of an excellent homestead law, recognized in the court
above, no adverse power can gain entire dominion over
man's immortal part while he lives.
And all such claims may, by taking the proper steps, be
wiped out for good. But it is safer not to incur them, for,
if not cancelled within a definite but to us unknown period,
the mortgagee w^ill appear — and he will raise ructions.
We do not, however, at present, propose to discuss these
sorts of claims. We leave them to the pulpit, and to that
sacred tribunal to which they belong.
Our business is w^ith another and not so serious a matter.
It is a case of tenantry, that demands our attention. That
the body of each man is the abode of a spirit, which we call
his soul, is generally admitted.
But that, along w^iththe soul, one or two devils may reside
within a man's body, is denied by not a few. We Catholics
maintain that such a thing is possible, and our belief is
founded on Scripture and the teaching of the Church.
Infidels do not admit demoniacal possession in the strict
sense, and Protestants, for the most part side w^ith them, in
attempting to ridicule exorcisms to expel the spirit. Let us
take a few texts of Scripture, and with them confound our
adversaries.
In Matthew xii, we read that when the Jews accused
Christ of casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub, he
replied :
*' Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate ; and
«very city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan
cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom
stand? ♦ * * ♦ "When an unclean spirit is gone out of a man?
he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. Then he
sayeth : I will return into my house from whence I came out. And com-
ing he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then he goeth and taketh
with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter in
and dwell there, and the last state of that man is made worse than the
first."
Now, let it be observed, that the Jews, both before and
during pur Saviour's time, believed in demoniacal possession ;
ALETHAURION. 387
they even bad exorcisms, or prayers, said to have been
written by King Solomon, for the purpose of expelling the
evil spirit. Antiquities, viii, 2-5.
If they were wrong, why did Christ confirm them in
error? It will be seen from the quotation that He certainly
did so. Not only does He admit that Satan may enter into
and live in a man ; He goes further : He founds an argu-
ment in proof of His Divine mission, on the fact that He
had the power of casting him out.
Far from condemning the popular belief. He strengthens
it, by giving to His Apostles power over unclean spirits ;
which He distiniruishes from that of curinor diseases. Luke
ix, 1.
Are we to presume that the Saviour would have given
them ability to remedy an evil that had no existence ? As
well might a physician give medicine to chickens to cure the
tooth-ache.
It is needless to say that the Apostles and Disciples exer-
cised, under proper circumstances, the virtues received.
'* Lord," said they, **the devils also are subject to us in
thy name." Luke x, 17. Let us take an example. "We
read. Acts xvi, that one day as St. Paul and his compan-
ion were passing through the streets of Phillipi, a girl, pos-
sessed with a pythonical spirit followed them, crying out
and saying : ** These men are the servants of the most
high God, who show you the way to salvation."
This was done for several days, and, Paul knowing it
was not the girl, but the devil within her, that spoke, turned
and said to the spirit: ** I command thee, in the name of
Jesus Christ, to go out of her." And he went, that same
hour.
It appears also that this damsel brought considerable gain
to her owners, by fortune-telling, and these, seeing all fur-
ther hope nipped in the bud, became enraged against Palx
and Silas, and got them publicly whipped on the pretext
388 AT.ETHAURION.
that they were disturbing the city, and teaching what no
Roman gentleman ought to give ear to.
Here, the circumstances of the case plainly show that the
girl was possessed. For if it had been mere trickery upon
her part, or upon that of her masters, there would have been
no occasion for anoer at Paul.
He simply told her to shut her mouth. The motives that
could have induced Satan to render testimony in favor of
the truth we shall attempt to diagnose in a future number.
Another celebrated case of demoniacal possession, is that
found in Luke viii. This man, who used to tear off his gar-
ments and break chains and fetters of iron, lived in tombs
and solitary places.
The Saviour, having met him, commanded the legion of
devils, by which he was possessed, to go out of him. They
obeyed, but were permitted to enter a drove of swine that
were feeding at some distance. And scarcely had this been
done, when every single hog dashed off toward a precipice »
and, rushing headlong, perished in the sea.
Infidels explain away all such cases by attributing them to
epilepsy, catalepsy, hysteria, or some nervous complaint.
But how several hundred hogs could have taken such a freak,
and so suddenly, they do not make clear.
The Fathers of the first four centuries also bear testimony
to the fact that, by the exorcisms of the Church, devils were
expelled from many. And those same impure spirits were
forced to acknowledge their real character.
The Fathers speak of facts known to the public, and chal-*
lenge the Pagans to disprove them. Indeed, most of
those who had been possessed were not believers, and were
converted to the faith on seeing the miracles that had been
wrought upon themselves.
Paulinus, in his life of St. Felix, of Nola, relates that
he once witnesssed a man who was possessed, walk against
the ceiling of a church, with his head down, and that this
ALETHAURION. 889
same individual was afterwards cured at the tomb of St.
Felix.
SuLPiTius SE^'ERUS, Dialogue, iii, 6, says: ** I saw one
possessed, raised in the air, with his arms extended, on the
approach of the relics of St. Martin.'' To these we may
add some others.
Ferxal, physician to Henry II, and Ambrose Pare, a
Protestant, mention a demoniac who spoke Greek and Latin,
thoufi^h he had never learned either.
For other examples see Cud worth's Intellectual System
chap. V, 82.
There seems to be no good reason for denying that those
clairvoyants, mediums and fortune-tellers we have at the
present day, are persons possessed by the devil. We don't
mean to say that all who pretend to be mediums, and to tell
fortunes, have direct dealings with him. Satan, like the
proud gentleman that he is, chooses his company, and not a
few of these mediums and fortune-tellers are so low and
worthless, that even he gives them the cold shoulder.
Epileptics and cataleptics may also, with some reason, be
placed on the same list. The doctors know but little about
these diseases, which they ascribe to disarrangement of the
nervous system. But it is undoubtedly true that the com-
plaints in question are often, if not always, brought about
by over-indulgence in vice.
And it may be that the devil is, on that account, per-
mitted to take up his abode with them — giving them fits when
he pleases. Many of those demoniacs, mentioned in the
gospel, had symptoms at the moment of attack, altogether
similar to those of epileptics in our own day.
Rigorously speaking, however, we ought not to presume
any one as possessed, unless he has one or more of these
four marks. They are :
First: Remaining suspended in the air for a consider-
able time without support.
390 ALETHAURION.
Second: Speaking in a language that has never been
learned.
Third: Kevealing things actually taking place at a dis-
tance.
Fourth : Bringing to light hidden things, such as giving
an entire stranger a history of his past life, etc.
When a medium or fortune-teller does any one of the
above things, it would be prudent to shun his company and
cut his acquaintance.
We finish this chapter with a few observations on obses-
sion. Obsessed means besieged, and is a term applied to
those whose bodies are not under the control of Satan,
though he keeps close watch, remaining near them at all
hours. The Curate of Ars, for modern, and Sara, the
daughter of Raguel, for ancient times, Tobias iii, 8, are
the best examples that now occur to the writer, of persons
belonging to this class.
In conclusion, the reader must not suppose that because a
person is possessed, or besieged by the devil, that he is
necessarily in the state of sin. It may be otherwise. The
man may be even a saint.
In our next we treat of animal magnetism.
CHAPTER XCII.
ANI^HAL MAGNETISM.
A drowning man, it is said, will catch at a straw. And
we know that the victim of a chronic disease, if wealthy,
will freely expend his money on physicians, until hope
itself has fled.
There appears to be an idea afloat in the minds of many,
that for every ill that flesh and bjood is heir to, God has
provided a remedy which exists somewhere in the great con-
servatory of nature.
ALETHAURION . 391
Ponce de Leon and others who figured on the stage of
life about the time this continent was discovered, were im-
pressed with the notion that there was here, in the new
world, a fountain whose waters could bestow perennial youth,
and ward off death.
But though DE Leon was unsuccessful, the search has not
been abandoned ; a circumstance which has tended to ad-
vance the science of medicine, and has given rise to no in-
considerable amount of quackery.
In this latter branch prominently rises the name of An-
thony Mesmer, a physician who flourished at Vienna,
towards the close of the last century.
In his search for new methods of curing diseases, he
ima£rined that he had at last discovered the ** Fountain of
Youth." It consisted in a very subtile fluid, emanating
from the bodies of all animals. To this our quack gave the
name of '* animal magnetism."
Once that its existence was proven to be a reality, it only
remained to devise means to utilize it, and these were soon
discovered. They consisted, principally, in certain touches,
and motions of the hands, made by the magnetizer in the
presence of the person to be magnetized.
In this way the fluid passed from one to another — from
the positive to the negative. But in some ca- -s the simple
presence of the magnetizer was all that was required, and
the express consent of the patient, at least for the first time,
was a necessary condition. When all things work properly,
two effects were and still are said to be produced :
First, A state of somnambulism in which the patient,
although deprived of his natural reason, yet sees, hears and
answers questions.
Second, A wonderful knowledge, not only of his own con-
dition, and of the remedies suitable to his disease, biit also
of what is taking place at such distant points as the ques-
tion may indicate.
The writer willingly confe$ses never to have witnessed an
392 ALETHAURION.
exhibition of the powers spoken of. Yet in view of what he
has heard from persons worthy of belief, he does not feel at
liberty to deny that the thing is possible ; nor even to call in
doubt its actual occurrence.
Granting, therefore, that others have witnessed the mani-
festations spoken of, the question naturally arises, what are
we to think of them ?
Do they come from God, or from nature, or from the
demon? There are three opinions upon the subject.
The first rejects animal magnetism, as the work of Satan,
on the grounds that the strange effects produced by it can
come neither from God nor from the power of nature.
Not from God ; for, what man of sane mind could for a
moment conceive Him as deviating from the ordinary course
of His providence, at the mere nod of one of His own crea-
tures? True, he did so when Moses struck the rock in
Horeb ; when Joshua said: *' Move not, O sun, towards
Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon f '
and when Peter cured the lame man at the gate of the
temple.
But then, we must confess there is some difference between
them and our animal magnetizers. They were chosen
instruments, men of the highest sanctity. Can the others
claim as much for themselves? We think not. Or, if they
do, their claims will scarcely be allowed.
The effects produced by animal magnetism come not from
nature ; for the will of the agent is required and also that of
the patient, at least for the first time. Now, there is no well
defined connection between a mere internal act of the will
and external physical objects.
Physical forces always act according to known laws, and
independently of the human will . If one should take a horse-
shoe magnet, and bring the poles within half an inch of a
cambric needle, it would attract the needle whether the man
-who held it wished the effect or not.
Moreover, the wonderful Effects of animal mas^netism
ALETHAURIOX. 393
appear to transcend the powers of nature. Even those who
have studied nature's hnvs most profoundly, cannot under-
stand how an illiterate man, when magnetized, can, in an
instant, gain a knowledge of so many sublime sciences, so
as to be able, whilst deprived of the use of his natural
reason and sense, to speak learned languages, see things
many hundred miles away, and prescribe remedies for dis-
eases w4iich, under ordinary circumstances, he would not be
capable of diagnosing. Such is the first opinion, and it
seems reasonable.
The second opinion, which is that held by many celebrated
physicians, maintains that the effects of animal magnetism
may proceed from the powers of nature. For, say they, it
is possible that there may be in the bodies of some men a
subtile fluid, like that of the magnet, which can be made to
pass from theirs into other bodies, and by means of the
physical organs, even act upon the minds of men who come
in contact with them. These, moreover, add, in favor of
their theory, that similar effects are witnessed in cases of
natural somnambulism.
Somnambulists see in the dark, hear, and perform feats
whilst in that state, of which they would be incapable when
awake. Yet somnambulism is not referred to any super-
natural power, and why should animal magnetism be, when
the effects in both cases are so much alike?
Moreover, say the doctors, the fact that the consent of the
patient is required, is not an objection of any consequence ;
for the will, in this case, is not necessary, in so far as it is a
mere internal faculty, independent of the body, but it is
needed only as a means by which to excite the phantasy,
and move the subtile humors of the body, and thus exert
a force upon man's moral condition.
The third opinion, which appears to be the most reason-
able, distinguishes between the various effects of animal
magnetism.
394 ALETHAUEION.
According to its patrons, when the effects produced de-
pend entirely or principally on the will of the magnetizer ;
or when the magnetized gives positive evidence of infused
science, such as speaking languages he never knew before,
seeing things many hundred miles away, etc., then demonia-
cal intervention must be admitted.
For such effects evidently go beyond the powers of na-
ture, whose laws are pretty well known to us now after an
experience of nearly six thousand years ; nor have such
results ever been witnessed in natural somnambulism.
Yet it is not repugnant to reason that one should admit
some other phenomena of animal magnetism without being,
compelled to refer them to supernatural agencies.
With these observations, it will not be difficult to form a
prudent judgment, respecting the spiritualistic exhibitions
given publicly and privately also, here in town, not many
months ago. (Georgetown, Ky.., 1879.)
That there was a force of some kind or other, brought to-
bear upon the tables and other movables used, and that it
was independent of, and different from, the natural muscu-
lar power of the exhibitors, was I think abundantly shown.
But that said force was directed by the will of the
so-called mediums, or by any other intelligent cause, was not
demonstrated. It is possible that if a person possessed of a
great magnetic influence, should give himself heart and soul
to the business, he would before long find some intelligent
but unknown power working with him.
The unknown power the writer believes to be nothing
more nor less than the spirits of darkness. Those who
attribute the movement of tables, etc., altogether to the
agency of spirits, ask why the power, if a natural one, can-
not be scientifically treated ?
We answer that there are many other facts that certainly
depend upon natural causes which yet surpass scientific
analysis.
ALETHAUKION. 395^
CHAPTER XCIII.
PAUL AND THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS.
After a somewhat lengthy digression we again return
to study more of the acts of the great Apostle of the Gen-
tiles.
We parted with him in Cyprus, where he converted the
proconsul, Sergius Paulus, and by the force of a miracle,
confounded the magician Elymas.
The conversion of the governor was hailed with such joy
by the faithful that they changed the Apostle's name from
the Jewish Saul to the Roman Paulus, or Paul ; and he
appears to have accepted the new title.
This was in conformity with a practice long prevalent at
Rome. The victorious general often took, or had given him,
the name of the province or people he had conquered.
The Island of Cyprus, where this conversion took place, is
situated in the extreme eastern part of the Mediterranean
Sea, about thirty-five miles from the coast of Asia Minor,
and seventv-five from that of Svria. It is one hundred and
fifty miles long, by sixty, at its widest part.
In the davs of Paul it belons^ed to the Romans, but now
the English rule it, and an Irishman and Catholic holds the
position once honored by the first Roman Governor, who
embraced the Catholic faith.
Substitute London for Rome, and you have Sir Garnet
WoLSELEY, the successor of Sergius Paulus, who received
the faith from the Apostle of the Gentiles, and, in return,
gave him a name that will be famous as long as the world
lasts.
After having gone through the entire island, and preached
the glad tidings of redemption, Paul passed into Asia
Minor. Asia Minor is that part of Asiatic Turkey lying
between the Black and ^lediterranean seas, and, in those
396 ALETHAURION.
days, was thickly populated ; the cities, especially on the
western coast, being centers of learning and refinement.
It aiay be proper to give here, in general terms, the char-
acter of its inhabitants, from a religious standpoint. The
vast majority were pagans, worshipers of Jupiter, Juxo,
Mars, Venus, Minerva, and the other gods and goddesses
of heathenism. '
There were also in the cities and larger towns Jews, who
worshiped the true God.
These had left their native country for the jDurpose of
trafficking with, or lending money to the Gentiles, and it is
possible that a high per centage of them may have been, as
now, in the clothing, or the rag-picking business.
They appear to have made, from a religious point of view,
little or no impression on the Pagans. For having been
foreign in all their thoughts, words and deeds, they were
looked upon with mistrust, or else despised by their neigh-
bors.
To study them now, is to know them as they were then ;
for a eTew is always a Jew.
Some of their rabbles, out of a spirit of vain-glory, under-
took journeys over the sea and land to make proselytes.
But these, like the Indians converted by Protestant preachers,
became children of hell two-fold more than they were before.
eludaism was never intended to be the universal religion.
And, unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who
attempt it.
The Apostles, who were all Jews, on going forth to preach
the Gospel, most generally began their labors in each place
among their Hebrew brethren. It was natural they should
have done so ; for the Jews were already believers in one
God, and expected that Messiah whom the Apostles preached.
They, moreover, had synagogues in many of the towns ;
and as the Apostles had a greater work than church building
before them, they took advantage of those houses already
ALETHAUKIOX. 397
built, preached in them, aud sought to convert their owners
to the new belief.
It wa3 tho spiritual rather than the material edifice that
claimed and received the attention of those men whom Christ
Himself taught. Inferior, })ut also useful workmen, they
knew would come after, and build houses of brick stone and
mortar.
But we have no evidence going to show that an Apostle
ever built a church, or superintended the building of one, or
begged or lectured for money to build it.
The putting up of suitable houses for worship is a business
that rather belongs to the laity. And they take to it with a
vim, and follow with eagerness, when piety, singleness of
purpose and zeal for God's glory lead the way.
But, when a Cheops undertakes a pyramid, to serve as a
tomb for his own carcass to rot in, he must not throw away
the whip if he does not want the work to flag.
Let us now accompany St. Paul from Cyprus to Asia
Minor.
'•Allien Faul, and they who were with him, had sailed from Paphos,
they came to Perge, in Pamphylia ♦ ♦ Passing through Perge
they dime to Antioch, in Pisidia, and entering into the synagogue on tlie
Sabbath day, they sat down. And after the reading of the law and the
prophets, tlie rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying: Ye men
and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation to make to the people,
speak. Then Paul, rising up, and with his hand bespeaking silence,
said. Ye men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give ear, etc." Acts xiii.
We have here, a description of the way in which the public
worship was conducted in one of those Jewish synagogues,
in the days of the Apostles. The rabbi or lector, first read
the law and the prophets, then looking down over the
assembly, which was, in all probability, not large, and seeing
some strangers present, he and the rulers of the synagogue
exchange a word or two, and come to the conclusion that it
would be well to invite them to address the assembly.
This was what Paul expected and desired, so he stood up
398 ALETHAURION.
and preached that Jesus was the Christ and Messiah expected
for generations by the Jews.
As there were no short-hand writers in those days, to take
down the words as they came from the lips of the Apostle,
we cannot have that thorough knowledge of his style of
preaching, which curiosity might desire.
But, from the synopsis given in Acts xiii, we may reason-
ably conclude that his sermons were not of the flowery and
rhapsodical order, but rather on the argumentative and doc-
trinal plan. This was as might have been expected.
St. Paul knew, and every sensible rnan does, that scatter-
ing flowers of rhetoric from the pulpit is a practice that
works but little good, and, if carried beyond a certain limit,
may do harm. ' Lacordaire is said to have made no con-
verts. Christianity rejects whatever is false, flimsy, and for
show, in its ministers.
If the object be to draw attention to one's self, the
preacher may indulge in high flights, and be dramatic.
But if Christ is to be the principal figure, his minister
cannot act the dancing master nor the charletan, nor the
pulpit thumper.
Whatever may have been Paul's style of oratory, it is cer-
tain he made an impression. He also converted some, and
was invited to preach again on the coming Sabbath.
That day having arrived, almost the whole city went to
hear him. But the rulers of the synagogue, seeing the crowd
and knowing, from the tenor of Paul's remarks on the pre-
vious Sabbath, that his success would lessen their own im-
portance, began to contradict and interrupt him.
When Paul and Barnabas saw it was through envy they
acted, they told the Jews that they would no longer waste
words upon them, but that, for the time to come, they would
turn to the Gentiles.
Many of the latter believed, and the good cause was mak-
ing progress, until the chief men of the synagogue bethought
themselves of a plan to get rid of our two Apostles.
ALETUALIUON. 399
There were at the time in Antioch, some very respectably
connected old women, who made great pretentions to religion,
though, in truth, they had but little of it, and were as ready
at gossip as at their prayers. By skillful manipulation,
these were put on the war-path, who in turn influenced their
husbands, and the consequence was that, after much excite-
ment, Paul and Barnabas were chased out of the town and
country in hot haste.
From Antioch, they proceeded to Icouium. But, before
accompanying them thither, we will first make an observa-
tion, suirsrested bv the matter under consideration.
Here in the United States, there is a field that bears some
analogy to those regions visited by the Apostles. True it is,
that in all the large cities, the faith is firmly planted —
thanks to European Catholics, and to their immediate
descendants. But travel through the rural districts, espe-
cially those parts that are remote from railroads, and what
will you find ?
The Catholic Church is not known well enough to even
blaspheme it properly. The few Catholics that one finds at
rare intervals, like black-jacks in winter, are fruitless, and
almost leafless, from lonsc nesflcct ; while the heretics wallow
in their errors in undisturbed repose.
Not many weeks ago the writer was called to officiate at a
place where some Catholic people lived, far away from any
church. The man who came to give information that the
services of a priest were required, lowering his voice at a
certain point in the conversation, he said : ** And, Father,
have you any objection to Protestants being present and
hearing you preach? " We replied, ** None whatever ; the
more the better."
Omitting details, let it suffice to say that when the, day
came there was no scarcity of Protestants, who, along with
conducting]: themselves in a becomino: manner during: the
services, ate freely of the homeric repast prepared on the
occasion, and strongly pressed the writer to come back on
400 ALETHAURION.
some Sunday, and give further explanations of Catholic
doctrine.
'' We'll give you our meeting house to preach in," said
one noble son of the Dark and Bloody Ground. *' And TU
notify all the neighbors round about, if you let me know
the time you come. You are the first Catholic priest that
has ever been in this region, and they are all as anxious to
see and hear for themselves as I am."
No doubt curiosity entered largely into the good will
shown on the occasion. But taking it altogether, no one
could have wished for a better spirit to begin with. Now,
why is it such people are neglected, left uninstructed, unen-
lightened in the true faith ?
The fault lies in the present system ; and its remedy may
be found by adverting to first principles. The Apostles
ordained in each of those towns where they preached, pres-
byters or elders, who should have care and direction over
those whom they had converted. They themselves never
settled down permanently in any one place, but always kept
up the work of evangelizing.
We are not ignorant of the fact, however, that Peter chose
Eome, and James Jerusalem, as their particular Sees. But
it does not thence follow that they never stirred out of
those cities.
We have, at the present day, in this country, elders
enough, and to spare. Some too old for anything except to
scheme for good places and fat livings. But apostles have
never been, and are not now, numerous enough in the land.
As a remedy, and as a means of bringing a knowledge of
the true faith to thousands, who are to-day floundering in
the mire of heresy, the writer would suggest the propriety
of having in each diocese one suitable person set apart for
the work of an evangelist.
By preaching Catholic doctrine in those places that are
now totally neglected, because altogether Protestant, an in-
calculable amount of good might be done. The ordinary
ALETIIAURION. 401
♦♦ mission " is too unwieldy. It may be compared to the
siege-gun, fit only for the fortress. And, for a fact, mis-
sions are principally confined to the larger cities, and are
attended by only a few outsiders, comparatively speaking.
With the system spoken of, an entire diocese might be
evangelized within a period of a dozen years, and many
brought into the fold who, as things are now going, will
live in heresy, and die in it.
Some of the religious orders were established fen- this very
purpose, by their illustrious and sainted founders — Sed^quo-
modo obscuratum est aitriun, muiatus est ejus color optimus!
As to the Evangelist, he should be a man of intellect, piety
and zeal ; and, with these qualifications he would achieve a
necessary, a great and a glorious work.
In our next we will follow the Apostle to his next field of
labor.
CHAPTER XCIV,
ST. PAUL PREACHES AT ICOXIUM AND DERBE.
Paul and Barnabas, having taken apostolic leave of the
reprol)ate Jews and Gentiles of Antioch, by shaking the dust
of their feet off against them, arrived by forced marches at
Iconiuni, a place one hundred and fifteen miles distant, as
the crow ilies, from Antioch.
Their experience here differed in no wise from what had
befallen them in the place from which they had fled. On
hearing the w^ord, many of the Jews and Gentiles embraced
the faith.
But there were unbelievers enough left to make it too
w\arni for them to remain long. So to escape being stoned
they had to fly from there to Lystra, a town some twenty
miles away.
The brethren was sorry because of their departure, but
402 ALETHAURION.
made no attempt to retain them by physical force. Nor
would Paul have permitted such a thing. Christianity, the
greatest moral force that has ever been known in the world,
was itself planted, and is propagated by means entirely
moral .
" If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainlj'
strive." John xviii, 36.
" Put up again thy sword into its place," said the Saviour, " for all
tliat take the sword shall j^erish by the sword." Matt, xxvi, 52.
Possibly our missionaries in Pagan lands may be as much
hampered as benefitted, by the protection they receive from
so-called Catholic governments.
It is hard for the heathen Chinese to see anything else but
the representative of the Divinity in a man, whose moral
teaching is sandwiched with allusions to a powerful foreign
government.
One thing is very certain : The Apostles had no such pro-
tection to fall back on. And when Paul appealed to C^sae,
it was not to a foreign power he had recourse, but to an
emperor whose authority was acknowledged by the people
amongst whom he lived.
The writer, however, does not wish to be understood as
speaking confidently on this subject ; for it needs to be ap-
l^roached with caution.
Temporal government are for temporal ends, and the ex-
perience of ages shows them up as treacherous and danger-
ous allies of the Church.
The Church can get along without their aid, as she did
'for the first three centuries, and as she does at present in
these United States. But in some places those who sit in
council with C^sar are not satisfied with giving their mas-
ter what belongs to him, they must also place at his disposal
what clearly belongs to God. Hence the trouble and the
conflict.
Our Apostles having arrived at Lystra, a place some
twenty miles distant from Iconium, proceeded at once to
ALETIIAURION. 403
the work of evangelizing. Nor did they confine their labors
to the town alone, but went through the country round
about, scattering the good seed wherever they went.
A miracle wrought l)y St. Paul, on the person of a man
who had been a cripple from his mother's womb, also tended
to arouse the greatest enthusiasm in their behalf.
To such an extent was this the case, that the people no
longer regarded them as men, but thought the immortal
gods had come down to pay them a visit. They supposed
Barnabas was Jupiteu, most probably on account of his
majestic bearing, "while to Paul, who was all life, they gave
the name of Mercury.
According to the mythologies of those Pagan people,
almost every art or branch of business was under the pro-
tection of some deity, and ^Iercury, the son of Jupiter,
being the patron of eloquence and messenger of the gods,
was readily thought of when the people had heard Paul and
saw the miracle he performed.
While the excitement, on account of the cripple, was
going on, the priest of Jupiter, who lived in town, did not
forget what he supposed to be his duty. He went off, and
with his attendants, got ready some of the sacred oxen, in
order to offer a great sacrifice.
But the act of idolatry w^as prevented by the Apostles,
who informed the priest and the people that they were mor-
tals like themselves ; yet commissioned from on high, to
teach them doctrines that could save their souls.
Yet, their success was here also destined lo be of short
duration. Some Jews from Antioch and Iconium followed
St. Paul to Lystra, where they did not fail to have recourse
to their old tricks — misrepresentation and calumny.
Hence, the multitude, that so short a time before were on
the point of offering them divine honors, now pelted our
Apostles with stones. St. Paul, at whom it seems, most
of the missiles were aimed, was dragged outside of one of
the city gates, on the supposition that he was already dead.
404 ALETHAURION.
But as the disciples stood around he came to life again,
and entered the city. By this time the authorities had
quelled the riot, and he was no longer molested. But on.
the next day he set out for Derbe.
It is astonishing to contemplate with what bitterness the
Jews persecuted St. Paul upon all occasions. He must
have been, indeed, a w^onderful man, and well deserving of
the admiration in which he has been held by the good and
wise of all as-es since his dav.
The hatred of the wicked is a surer proof of merit than
the praises of a saint. A good man is often deceived by
outward appearances, but a rogue at heart never mistakes a
truly honest man for a brother. Ko ; far sooner will a fat
quail mistake a sparrow-hawk for its friend.
They who opposed the gospel hated Paul with an intense
and diabolical rage, because they felt his power, and de-
spaired of ever being able to circumvent him by trickery, or
bluff him off from what he had undertaken.
They understood him, and he was not ignorant of what
depraved human nature is capable, under the specious plea
of zeal for the law.
Hence, though bold he had caution, and though he loved
men with true Christian charity, he did not forget the
Saviour's injunction, to beware of them.
No doubt the sufferings that our ancestors in the faith, in
early times, had to endure at the hands of both the Jews and
Pagans, were to them highly mysterious.
Indeed it was not easy for the rank and file, maybe not
for the Apostles themselves, to understand why God should
have permitted the wicked to afflict them as they did.
But we who live at this day, can see the reason. Those
men who saw and were taught by the Saviour, were, in the
designs of God, destined to be examples for all time.
Their lives and their deaths are now, to us, amongst
the strongest motives of credibility for believing that
ALETHAURION. 405
Christ was God, and that tho Catholic Church is a divine
institution.
They all sealed, with their blood, the truths they had
taught mankind.
After having raised quite a tempest in Asia Minor, Paul
and Barnabas returned to Antioch, in Syria. They found,
on arrival, that some false teachers had been at work during
their absence, and that there was danger of a schism in the
•Church.
To settle matters a council was held at Jerusalem, and
tranquility, by its means, again restored.
In our next we will speak of this.
CHAPTER XCV.
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM.
After Paul and Barnabas had returned from Asia Minor
to Antioch, in Syria, they found the brethren greatly exer-
cised over a question that had been introduced during their
absence.
Some half-converted Pharisees, enamored of everything
Jewish, came down from Judea, and with characteristic
effrontry, began at once to hint around, and even teach pub-
licly that tho gospel had only been half preached in Antioch,
and that along with believing in Christ they must also be
circumcised, and observe the law of Moses.
The greater part of those who had been converted, and
received into the Church, after having listened to the preach-
ing of Paul and Barnabas for a year or more, of course
paid no attention to those emissaries of discord. But there
were at Antioch, as there are in every place, some weak
people, who could be badgered into almost anything. It
was amonirst these that those malcontents were most sue-
cessful.
406 ALETHAURION.
Paul and Barnabas, though inspired men and workers of
miracles, had no small contest with them. Such has ever
been the obstinanoy of those possessed with the spirit of
heresy. They will not yield to inspiration itself.
It was finally agreed, for the sake of peace, to refer the
matter in dispute to Peter, and to the other apostles and
priests in Jerusalem.
Both parties chose delegates to represent their views be-
fore the council ; and these after having arrived at Jerusa-
lem, the Apostles and ancients came together to consider the
matter. Acts, xv, 6.
Paul and Barnabas pleaded their cause, we may pre-
sume with their usual strength and eloquence, whilst the
heretics were bitter and defiant. This we learn from the
character of the speech made by Peter on the occasion.
For after there had been much disputing, and no prospect
that those in error would yield, he, the first Pope and head
of the Church, at last arose.
He told of how, by divine relation, Cornelius, the cen-
turion, had entered the Church without circumcision, and of
how God made no distinction between Gentile and Jew.
Then turning toward those who stood up for the observance
of the Mosaic law, and with meaning in his eye, he said :
*' Xow, therefore, why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the necks
of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? '^
(Acts XV, 10.)
When Peter had spoken there was no more opposition
in that assembly. Those who were so loud at Antioch,
and even at Jerusalem, before the lion had roared, were now
as silent as clams. The question was finished, Peter had
spoken, *' and the whole multitude held their peace. '^
Acts XV, 12.
In confirmation of what the Pope had said, Paul and
Barnabas next began to relate their own experiience ; and
James the apostle, bishop of Jerusalem, put the finishing
touch, by quoting the prophets in defence of Peter's de-
cision.
ALETUAURION. 407
How wonderful indeed, are the inspired writings, so sim-
ple, and yet so sublime, so brief and yet so pregnant with
important facts and data.
That council at Jerusalem, whose history is given in eO
few words in Acts xv, has been the model and pattern ever
since.
Men of heretical spirit begin to introduce new doctrines ;
or to call in doubt those already believed in the Church ;
they are at once met and opposed by the faithful, discussion
waxes warm, and the matter becomes of suflScient import-
ance to call the attention of the local Church authorities.
The latter render judgment on the merits of the case, but
the heretics will not submit. Finally the case goes to the
Pope, and from his decision there is no appeal to a higher
court on earth — and we may add, there is none to the court
above ; for the voice of ^he Pope, speaking ex Cathedra, is
the echo of Christ's.
Whatever he binds on earth is bound also in heaven. He
is the rock on which the Church is built. Matt. xvi. He
feeds the lambs and the sheep of the flock. John xxi He
is commissioned to confirm his brethren. Luke xxii.
Let the reader also observe, that w^hen the dissension
arose, in regard to the question of circumcision at Antioch,
it was not to the scriptures an appeal wa? made. No,
the question was referred to a living teaching authority —
to a supreme judge in things appertaining to faith and
morals.
Let our ^lethodist, Baptist, Campbellite, Presbyterian,.
Episcopal and Mormon friends take a note of this.
They have discussions among themselves on religious
points, about which they cannot agree. AVhy do they not
imitate those of Antioch and appeal to Petek?, He' would
very soon decide these questions for them, and he has never
failed to do so when asked.
But no. They i)refcr to wrangle, and have the rabble for
a judge. All heresy stands self-condemned, because it has
408 AT.ETHAURION.
110 commission to decide who is right and who is wrong in a
controversy.
Not long ago, in a certain town in this State, there was a
vacancy in the pulpit of one of the sectarian meetinghouses.
Accordins: to custom, the members took a minister on trial
before engaging him for a year.
He preached for them some few times, but they found
fault with his doctrine, which smelt strongly of heresy — it
was the old story of the pot and the kettle. At any rate, he
w^as not employed.
The preacher next went through another ©rdeal, and, we
presume, preached the same doctrines in a meeting house
some ten or a dozen miles away. Here he was received with
opened arms, and dubbed orthodox, by men and women of
the same denomination with those who had already passed
judgment and pronounced him unsound.
It is a wonder that such a patent inconsistency does not at
once open the eyes of sectarians, and cause them to abandon
such ridiculous organizations, and enter at once that Church
which professes infallibility, and acts as only a divinely com-
missioned infallible society can act.
The man who opposed Paul and Barnabas at Antioch,
and raised such a commotion in the Church, was, accord-
ing to some of the ancient Fathers, especially St. Epiphan-
lus, no other than that oily and mendacious heresiarch, Cer-
IXTHUS, of whom we have already spoken in Chapter
XXVH.
The condemnation pronounced against his doctrines by the
Council of Jerusalem, does not appear to have cured him of
his obstinancy, for it has*been handed down that he went
from bad to worse, and, finally met a sudden death in his
impenitence.
In our next, beginning with the first general council of
Nice, we will give a synopsis of what was done in it and in
others held in the East.
ALETIIAURION. 409
CHAPTER XCVI.
BIRD S EYE VIEW OF THE GENERAL COUNCILS.
In the last chapter we spoke of the council of Jerusalem
which, properly speaking, was not a general one. In the
present, we treat of those synods that by universal con-
sent, have received the name of Ecumenical, or General
Councils.
They are eighttcn in number, according to the opinion of
the best and most reliable theologians ; though some French
writers add one more to the list.
The first was held at Nice, a town of Bithynia, in Asia
Minor, A. D. 325 ; during the reign of Coxstaxtixe, the
first Catholic Emperor of Rome ; Sylvester being Pope.
Tliree hundred and eighteen bishops from various parts
of the empire, were present, and participated in its deliber-
ations.
Coxstaxtixe took no hand in the discussions, and, of his
own free choice, occupied a seat ai)art from, and inferior to
those destined for the bishops ; for he did not come there to
dictate, but to learn and be guided by their decisions.
In this council were condemned the errors of Arius, a
priest of Alexandria, in Egypt, who denied the diviiilty of
Jesus Chrl'^t. The bishops, guided by the Holy Ghost,
having declared Christ consubstantial, that is of the same
substance with God the Father, pronounced sentence against
the heresiarchs.
Seventeen, however, of their number, admirers of Arius
and his doctrines, refused to subscribe to his condemnation,
and to the decisions of the council, but, after a few days,
twelve relented, and finally only two remained obstinate, who
were exiled along with their master.
The Fathers of this council, also defined the time for cel-
ebrating the feast commemorative of the resurrection of our
410 ALETH AURION .
Lord, and enacted other laws in regard to matters of disci-
pline.
Hosius, the bishop of Cordova, in Spain, along with Yito
and Vincent, two Roman priests, sent as legates by the
Pope, presided.
The second general council w^as held at Constantinople,
A. D. 381, during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius.
About five hundred Oriental bishops took part in it.
These condemned anew the errors of Arius, and those of
ApoLLiNAPtius, who taught doctrines at variance with the
mystery of the Incarnation. But their principle work was
the condemnation of Macedonius, a wicked usurping bishop
of Constantinople, who denied the divinity of the Holy
Ghost.
The year following, Pope Damasus approved the acts of
this council, since which, it has been regarded as ecumenical.
We do not know with certainty who presided ; but the prob-
abilities are mostly in favor of Timothy, patriarch of Alex-
andria.
The third general council was held at Ephesus, a- city on
the western coast of Asia Minor, A. D. 431. Cyril of
Alexandria, presided, having been authorized to do so by
Pope Celestine.
Two hundred and sixty-four bishops were present, who,
after having duly considered the question, brought sentence
of condemnation against Nestorius, bishop of Constanti-
nople, for teaching, that in Christ there were two persons,
the divine and the human ; and that the Blessed Virgin
had no right to the title of Mother of God ; she, accord-
ing to Nestorius, having given birth to the human person
only.
For this impiety he was deposed and branded, to the great
joy and satisfaction of all the faithful. The sentence of
Pope ZoziMUS against Pelagius and his followers, was also
confirmed by the fathers of this synod.
ALETILVUKION . 411
Not long after these events, another possessed of an heret-
ical spirit, came to the surface. His name was Eutyches,
a monk of Constantinople.
Out of hatred to the errors of Nestorius, he fell himself
into heresy, maintaining that in Christ there was only one
nature, viz : The divine. That the body of our Saviour
also came from heaven, and simply passed through the Virgin
as through a canal.
To set the seal of reprobation on such doctrines, the fourth
general council was convened at Chalccdon, A. D. 451.
r>etween live and six hundred bishops, presided over by
Paschasixus, Lucentius and Bonifacius, papal legates,
were there on the occasion. These, after having approved
of the acts of the Council of Ephesus, defined that in Christ
there were two natures, the divine and the human.
The fifth general council was held at Constantinople, A. D.
535, during the pontificate of Pope Vigilius, who,
though he neither personally nor by legates, presided at it,
yet afterward approved its acts.
There were present nbout one hundred and sixty-five bish-
ops ; and their principal work consisted in the condemna-
tion of what were called the Three Chapters : viz., the writ-
ings of Theodore of Mopsuest ; of Theodoret, bishop of
Cyr ; and a letter which Iahs, bishop of Edessa had written
to a Persian named Maris.
These three Chapters, being unsound, were causing as
much disturbance then as the question of the ** three year
olds," and the '* four year olds " once did in Tipperary.
But the fathers of council knocked the three' into one pulpy
mass and ended the strife.
The sixth general council was held at Constantinople,
A.D. 680. There were present about one hundred and sixty
bishops, besides the legates of Pope Agathon.
These, in council, sat at the- left of the Emperor, Cox-
stantixe Pogoxatus, or the bearded, because in the East,
that is the position of honor ; whereas Macarius, bishop of
412 ALETHAURIOX.
Antioch, and George, bishop of Constantinople, sat at his
right.
In this council the Monothelites, a branch of the Euty-
chian heresy, received a fitting rebuke. Their error, which
consisted in maintaining that Christ had only one will — the
divine — was condemned ; and the true Catholic doctrine,
that the Saviour had two wills, the divine and human, form-
ally declared.
The seventh general council was held A. D. 787, at Nice,
in Bithynia. Three hundred and seventy-seven bishops,
with Peter, the archpriest of St. Peter's, and Peter, abbot
of St. Saba, legates of Pope Adrian I, were present.
In this council the errors of the Iconoclasts, or imas^e
breakers, were condemned. From the beginning all true
believers honored the pictures and images of our Lord, His
blessed mother and the saints.
But about the beginning of the seventh century, there
came a sect into existence, whose religion meant war upon
all such. The members were called Iconoclasts, and the
sect flourished for a time, under the patronage of the Em-
perors Leo the Isaurian, and Coxstaxtixe Coproxymus.
The latter, whose name would not sound well if translated,
brought together, A. D. 726, in Constantinople, upwards of
three hundred bishops ; who, either through innate villainy,
or through fear of the emperor absolutely condemned the
worship of images.
It was to remedy the evils caused by such pusillanimity on
the one hand, and abuse of power on the other, that the
seventh general council was convoked.
The fathers condemned what had been done by Coproxy-
mus and his batch of cowardly hirelings in the former
synod.
Then they made a declaration of the true Catholic and
apostolic doctrine, viz : That one may, and ought to give
honor to the imaijes of Christ and his saints ; but not the
honor and worship that belongs to God.
ALETHAURION. 413
The eighth general council was held, A. D. 8G9, at Con-
stantinople, and one hundred and two bishops took part
therein. Donatus, Stephen and Marixts, legates of Pope
Adrian II, presided. Piiotius, the author of the Greek
schism, and as polished and consummate a scoundrel as ever
spoke that language, here got his deserts.
Having, by order of the emperor, come before the council
he refused to plead his cause, comparing himself to our
Saviour in the house of Pilate. But he did not escape con-
demnation. This was the last of the general councils held
in the East.
In our next we will give a synopsis of those of the West.
CHAPTER XCVII.
BIRD S EYE VIEW OF THE GENERAL COUNCILS.
Having spoken of the eight general councils held in the
East, we now come to those of the West.
The ninth was held A. D. 1123, at Rome, in the Church
of St. John Lateran, during the pontificate of Calixtus I.
More than three hundred bishops were present, and the Pope
in person presided.
The question of investitures was here discussed and de-
cided. It meant the right, or privilege, claimed by some
feudal lords, in the middle ages, of appointing persons to
vacant bishoprics or abbacies, and was called an investiture,
because the king or prince gave the bishop a crozier and
ring, in token of the authority to him transferred.
The custom had its origin in the munificence of Catholic
princes towards the Church, and in the beginning w^as at-
tended with no evil consequences. But there was in it a
germ of mischief that could not fail to produce bitter fruit
in due season.
I
414 ALETHAURION.
The prince had not only the temporal, but also the spirit-
ualpower in his hands ; for bishops owed their elevation to
him, and hence, when he was good they were good, but
when he was bad, they were horrid.
Pope Gregory VII, after having studied the question
long and prayerfully, came to the conclusion, as w^ell he
might, that this privilege of investiture was at the bottom of
much of the evil that existed in the Church at his day.
So he determined to stop it, which caused great coolness
to spring up between him and Hexry IV, the Bismarck of
his time.
The story is too long to tell here in full ; let it suffice to
say that the cause of right and truth at last prevailed, so
that investitures are now things of the past. But the sha-
dow of the skeleton still remains, under the title of royal
exequaturs.
In this council were also enacted some laws against Simony,
and ambitious monks, ^v\\o had usurped the jurisdiction and
functions of ecclesiastics, were again lassoed, and taken back
to their stalls.
The tenth general council was held also at Rome, and in
the Lateran Basilica A. D. 1139, during the pontificate of
Innocent II.
There were present nearly one thousand bishops, presided
over by the Pope in person.
It was convoked for three principal ends :
Firsts To extinguish the schism of the anti-pope Anacle-
Tus II. (Peter Leonis.)
Second, To condemn the heresies of Peter de Bruis and
Arnold of Brescia.
Third, To invigorate Church discipline, which had become
flabby.
Peter Leonis lived as anti-pope twelve years, and died
impenitent. Arnold, Abbot of Bonavallis, a cotemporary
writer in his life of St. Bernard, book ii, chap, i, gives a
good description of the means taken by him to gain, enlarge
ALETHAURION. 415
iind retain his power — all of which were unjust and tyranni-
cal. Happily the council extinguished the schism and re-
stored peace to the Cluiroh.
After having settled the question of the tiara, the Fathers
next turned attention to the errors of Peter de Bruis and
Arnold of Brescia, which they also condemned.
Peter de Bruis was born in Dauphiny, France, and be-
gan to preach his errors about the year 1110. According
to Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, who lived at that
■day, they were five in number :
First, That there is no necessity for baptizing infants be-
fore the age of reason ; because, according to Bruis, it is the
actual faith of the subject that saves him thi^ugh baptism.
/Second, That churches ought not to be builtr; on the con-
trary, they should be destroyed ; and that prayers are just
iis ijood in a bar-room.
Tliirdy That crosses should be burned, because all Chris-
tians should have a horror of that on which Christ died.
Fourth, That Christ is not really and truly present in the
Eucharist.
Fifth, That sacrifices, prayers and alms for the dead avail
nothing.
Peter de Bruis departed A. D. 1130, having been con-
demned to be burned for his many crimes, seditions and
blasphemies.
Arnold of Brescia taught much the same errors as those
of Peter de Bruis, and was something of a revolutionist
beside. He went about preaching that all ecclesiastics who
held property in their own names, or as a community, would
be damned.
Finally he appeared in Rome and tried to get the people
to rebel agaiust the temporal power of the Pope, for which
he was arrested, tried and condemned, A. D. 1115.
His errors, along with those of Peter de Bruis, were
anathematized in the council of which we are speakinsr.
The eleventh general council was held A. D. 1179, also in
416 ALETHAURION.
the Lateran Basilica. Pope Alexander III, and about
three hundred bishops, assembled within its walls on that
occasion.
It was convoked in order to condemn in a solemn manner,
the schism of the anti-Pope Victor IV, who, on the strength
of three votes given in conclave, presumed to call himself
the successor of Peter, in opposition to Alexander III^
lawfully elected by twenty-three Cardinals.
The Fathers of this council, along with enacting some laws
in regard to discipline, condemned the errors of Peter
Waldo, and his followers, the Waldenses.
Waldo's errors, condemned by the council, were briefly
as follows :
Firsts That evangelical poverty is absolutely necessary for
salvation.
Second, That all priests who possessed any of the goods
of this wx)rld lost, by that fact alone, the power to validly
administer the Sacraments.
Third, That a layman Avho practiced evangelical poverty,
had a better right to preach the Gospel and to administer
the. Sacraments, than a priest who had temporal goods.
Fourth, That it is wrong to take an oath, even in court.
Fifth, That capital punishment ought not to be inflicted
for crime.
Sixth, That no one should seek reparation for an injury.
Seventh, That it is w^rong to go to war for any reason
whatever.
Such were their errors in the beginning. But Keixer
Sacho, the historian of the sect, tells us that in the course of
time they added others to the catalogue, viz :
They rejected the doctrine of purgatory ; the invocation
of saints; the ceremonies of the Church; the baptism of
infants; the sacraments of confirmation; extreme unction
and matrimony. Along with these errors they refused to
honor the cross, or the pictures and images of our Lord and
the saints.
ALETIIAURION. 417
The Waldenses admitted the doctrine of transubstantiation,
but maintained that the change of substance took phicc, not
in the hands of a sinful consecrator, but in the mouth of the
worthy receiver.
These errors were all anathematized in the council afore-
said. The Baptists of the present day chiim the Waldenses
as their religious ancestors. But, as the reader may have
already surmised, as well might a man claim for his bull-dog
lineal descent from a crocodile, on the ground that the latter
has four legs, two eyes and a tail, and the bull-pup idem.
The Baptists and Campbellites of the present day are dis-
tinct sects, even though both hold nearly the same views.
How mi:ch.more the Baptists and Waldenses.
The twelfth general council was held in the same Lateran
Basilica, A. D. 1215.
Pope IxNOCEXT III presided. There were present four
hundred and twelve bishops, two patriarchs, seventy-seven
primates, upwards of eight hundred abbots and priors, and
of absent prelates, procurators without number.
The diploma of convocation states that it was convened
for the repossession of the Holy Land, for the condemnation
of heresies, and for the reformation of the Universal
Church.
In this council the errors, some of them new ones, of the
Waldenses were again condemned; and the Albigenses,
another pestiferous and immoral sect of that day, got a
hearing from headquarters.
According to Alanus de Citeau and Peter de Vaux-
CERXAY, cotemporary ^vriters, the Albigenses held the fol-
lowing errors :
Firsts They maintained that there are two Gods, the one
essentially good, the other essentially wicked.
Secondy That there were two Christs, the one wicked,
who appeared on earth with an unreal body and died, and
arose again only in appearance ; the other good, but never
seen in this world.
418 ALETHAURION.
Thinly They denied the resurrection of the body, iind
held that our souls are demons, united with our bodies in
punishment of crime. They in consequence denied the
existence of purgatory and of hell.
Fourth; They rejected all the Sacraments; held the Holy
Eucharist in horror, and refused to confess their sins to the
ministers authorized by the Church.
Fifth, They dishonored and destroyed, when they could,
the images of Christ and the saints.
/Sixth, They held marriage in abomination, declaring
the propagation of the human species to be eminently
sinful .
They were divided into two orders — the Perfect and the
Believers. The former were consummate knaves, who
made much putward show of piety ; the latter lived like the
rest of men, only a great deal worse than the majority, and
believed they could be freed from all their wickedness by
the imposition of the hands of the perfect.
Against these errors the Fathers of the council pro-
€laimed anew, in a solemn manner, the doctrine of the real
presence, and made a law obliging all the faithful to go to
oonfession and communion at least once a year. This law is
found in the celebrated 21st canon, beginning with the words
^^omnis utriiu^que sexus.''^
It is worthy of remark that the word transubstantiation is
found for the first time in the acts of this council, though,
of course, the doctrine it expresses is as old as the Apostles.
Those who get their learning from almanacs, also point to
this council as the one which first introduced confession.
In our next we will glance at the six remaining general
councils.
ALETHAUUION. 419
CHAPTER XCVIII.
I
BIRD S EYE VIEW OF THE GENERAL COUNCILS.
The thirteenth general council was held at Lyons, A. D.
1245, and was presided over by Pope Innocent IV.
Besides the cardinals, there were present three patriarchs,
about one hundred and forty bishops ; Baldwin, Emperor of
Constantinople; Tiiaddeus de Suessa, procurator of the
Emperor Frederic II, with the orators of Louis IX, those of
the King of England, and of some other princes, too insig-
nificant to have their names inserted here.
In this council the Pope excommunicated Frederic II
for heresy and other crimes, absolved his subjects from
their oath of allegiance, and declared the throne vacant,
after having deposed the Emperor.
The right of a Pope to depose the King or Emperor, for
crime, is not an article of faith; and the case we speak of,
along with some others, must be decided on their own
merits.
On the principle involved, our theologians are divided.
The extremists on one side claim for the Pope a direct right
to depose kings — for crimes or tyrranies, as a matter of
course.
No one has ever dreamed of granting him such a power
under any other circumstances. The extremists on the
other side deny that the Pope can, for any reason whatever,
lawfully depose a King.
The intermediate view of the case, advocated by Cardinal
Bellarmine, Tract de Rom. Pontif, lib. 5, cap. 11, appears
to be the true one, viz. :
That the Pope has only an indirect power : that is to say,
when the good of the Church and society require it, he can
4 20 ALETHAURION .
by excommunication declare a king fallen from his throne,
and . pronounce his subjects absolved from their oath of
fidelity.
»/
The other reasons for convening the council were :
First, The interruption of the Tartars
Second, A desire to influence the Greeks to abandon their
schism, and unite with the true Church. It is somewhat
strange, however, that we find nothing in its acts bearing on
that subject.
Tliird, To condemn some heresies of those times.
Fourth, To procure aid for the faithful in the Holy Land
against the Saracens.
The fourteenth general council was held also at Lyons,
A. D. 1274, during the pontificate of Pope Gregory X, who
presided at it in person.
Along with the Latin patriarchs, there were present Paxta-
LEO, patriarch of Constantinople; Opizio, patriarch of Anti-
och; five hundred bishops, seventy abbots, and upwards of a
thousand other inferior prelates, besides kings, or their
embassadors.
In this council the Greek schismatics formally united with
the true Church, after having admitted that the Holy Ghost
proceeds from the Father and Son, and that the Pope of
Home is, by divine right, head of the Universal Church
The twenty-third disciplinary canon of the second Council
of Lyons is remarkable, from the fact that it forbids the
establishment of new religious orders, and suppresses all the
mendicant orders that came into existence since the Lateran
Council, A. D. 1215, such, of course, as had not been con-
firmed by the Holy See.
The fifteenth general council which lasted four years, viz. :
from 1307 to 1311, was held at Yienne, inDauphiny, during
the pontificate of Pope Clement V.
Besides the cardinals and patriarchs of Alexandria and
Antioch, there were present three hundred bishops and a
ALETHAURION. 421
vast concourse of inferior prelates. The Pope in person
presided.
The work of this council consisted principally in the sup-
pression of the Knights Templar, and in the condemnation
of the errors of some obscure sects then in existence.
The Knights Templar were first organized in Jerusalem,
about the year 1118 of our era, by Hugh de Paganes and
Geoffrey de Saixt-Omer. Their object was to protect the
holy sepulchre of our Lord against infidels.
B.vLDwix II, King of Jerusalem, gave them a house, sup-
posed to have occupied the site of the temple of Solomon ;
and from this circumstance they were called Templars. In
course of time the order became very rich, and its members
correspondingly corrupt, in France and other European
countries.
They were accused of denying Jesus Christ, and of spit-
ting on the cross at their initiation, of sins against nature in
their temples ; of adoring an idol with a gilt head and four
legs ; of practicing magic, and of obliging all postulants to
take a horrible oath of secrecy.
For these and other blasphemies, many were tried, found
guilty, and executed. Others escaped, and founded a secret
society whose foundation stones were : hatred of Jesus
Christ and war against the Pope.
Some Galilean writers regarded the Council of Constance
as ecumenical. In it was extintruished the fjreat schism of
the west, and the errors of John Huss and Jerome of Prague,
jackals of Luther, were condemned.
When this council began, A. D. 1414, there were three
Popes, viz : John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict
XIII, each of whom claimed to be the legitimate Pope.
But, at its close, in the year 1418, Martin V, elected
by the Fathers of the council, was universally acknowl-
edged to be the successor of Peter, all the others having
resigned.
422 ALETH AURION .
In the last session, the Pope confirmed all that had been
done ''conciliariter" in the council.
Gallican writers also regarded the Council of Bale as
ecumenical, up to its twenty-sixth session. It was convened
A. D. 1431, in virtue of a decree made in the thirty-ninth
session of the Council of Constance, and was prolonged to
the year 1443.
Pope Eugene IV, withdrew from it in 1437, and some of
the bishops of Gallican proclivities thought they could 'get
along without him. It was that old case of the body 'and
members declaring themselves free and independent of the
head. They went even farther, by electing the Duke of
Savoy as anti-pope, who took the title of Felix V.
The sixteenth general council was held A. D. 1438, first
at Ferrara, for a year, and then, on account of a pestilence
that had broken out in the city, transferred to Florence.
Pope Eugene IV, presided. In this council the Greek
schismatics united with the true Church ; and a formula of
belief, written by the Pope, for the Armenian schismatics,
was by them accepted A. D. 1441.
The seventeenth general council was that of Trent, begun
A. D. 1545, and finished A. D. 1563.
Of this, and of the Vatican, in a future chapter.
CHAPTER XCIX.
bird's eye view of the general councils.
The seventeenth general council was held at Trent, a town
of Tyrol, situated a little to the north of the Italian frontier.
It was the most remarkable assembly ever convened, since
that day when Christ told the Apostles to go forth and
teach all nations.
The Bishops of former Councils sometimes had no more
than one or two errors to examine and condemn. The
ALETHAURION. 423
Fathers of Trent came together to take cognizance of Pro-
testantism, which is a conglomeration of all the heresies that
ever were, and we may add, that ever will be. As the
Catholic Church teaches all that the Saviour revealed ; so,
Protestantism is equally universal, in that it denies every-
thing He wishes men to know and believe.
The Church need not any longer dread the appearance of
new heresies ; for Luther and his brood have exhausted the
catalogue of possibilities. Rationalism and Materialism,
whfch are the principal ingredients of Protestantism, already
deny the existence of a personal God. The mystery of
creation is consequently impugned, and Pantheism installed
in its place. The Socinians, or Unitarians, deny the mys-
tery of the nriost Holy Trinity, and reject the Incarnation
and Atonement of the Son of God, as also the divinity of
the Holy Ghost.
The Universalists believe there is no hell ; and Ingersoll,
a sturdy, rubicund protestor, is advocating their cause.
The Methodists and Presbyterians reject five of the seven
sacraments instituted by Christ as a means of salvation.
The Baptists and Campbellites deny the utility of infant
baptism ; impugning thereby the doctrine relating to the
propagation of original sin.
The Mormon apostles are at variance with the Apostles of
old, on the subject of matrimony ; and the Spiritists of our
day have revived once more the Tlieurcjy and Diabolism of
Pagan times.
To finish all in one sentegce : Let the reader call to mind
any one of the doctrines taught by Christ, and he will find
a Protestant to deny, may be to laugh or make sport of it.
It was to attack this many headed hydra, and to provide
an antidote to its venom, and to that of the brood yet within
its womb, that on the morning of the thirteenth day of
December, 1545, at the bidding of Paul III, Pope of Rome
John Mart de Monte, Marcellus Cervinus, and Re-
ginald Pole, cardinals of the Holv Roman Church, and
424 ALETHAURION.
the legates of the See of Peter, at the head of a chosen
band of bishops, appeared at Trent. From there were pro-
claimed anew, and in a solemn manner, to the whole world,
doctrines taught by the Son of God, and sealed with His
blood.
The council lasted for eighteen years. But most of those
who had taken part in its first session had gone to their
eternal rest before the morning of the fourth of December
1563, when Zambeccarus, of Sulmo, approached the a,ltar
to offer sacrifice for the happy conclusion of its twenty-fifth
and last sittini^.
Pius IV was then Pope. His predecessors, Paul HI,
tTuLius III and Paul IV had watched, each in turn, the
progress of the council, until wearied, they sank at the post
of duty and went to their reward.
Two histories of the council of Trent have been written ;
the one by Paolo Sarpi, a Venetian, who under the cowl
and frock of a monk, concealed a Protestant head and
heart.
Pope Paul V, and the Senate of Venice were, at that
time, not on the best of terms ; and Sarpi, who hated Rome,
thought to ingratiate himself with the leading men of his
native city, by spewing out his bile against the Tridentine
Fathers.
But after the difference had been amicably adjusted by
the mediation of Henry IV, Sarpi no longer daring to pub-
lish his work in Italy, contrived to put the manuscripts into
the hands of Marc Antonio detDominis, another apostate ;
nnd through him an English bookseller has given to the
world a monument that well illustrates the cunning, dupli-
city and disregard for truth of its author.
To refute this book and give a true history of the Great
Council, Cai'dinal Pallavicini undertook his admirable
work, "The History of the Council of Trent," which first
iippeared in print about the year 1665, and which is based
U[)()n official and authentic documents.
ALETHAURION. 425
The work of Sarpi, translated into French, with notes by
Le CouiivER, was also handsomely riddled in a volume pub-
lished at Nancy in 1742, entitled, ** The Honor of the Cath-
olic Church and of the Sovereign Pontiffs, defended against
the History of the Council of Trent by Fra Paolo, and the
notes of Father Le Couryer."
We have not space here to give even a synopsis of what
TN'as done in the various sessions of the Council.
But in general, we may say, that the work of the Triden-
tine Fathers has been, not only the reformation of the Uni-
versal Church, but the exposure and condemnation of Pro-
testantism in its root and in its branches.
The eighteenth and last of the general councils was that
of the Vatican, begun A. D. 18()9, on the Feast of the Im-
maculate Conception, and continued through a part of the
following year, until cannon guns silenced the canon law,
and brute force leveled the barriers of justice.
The Vatican is one of the hills of Rome, and stands at the
southwestern extremity of the present city. On it the Pope
has his palace, and at the foot of the hill, stands the Church
of St. Peter, the noblest monument ever raised by mortal
hands for the worship of the Almighty. The ground plan
<?mbraces an area of six Englisih acres, and under the high
altar, in a receptacle of gold, adorned with precious stones,
are the mortal remains of the first Pope, Soion Peter, the
fisherman of Galilee.
It was in this church that almost a thousand bishops, with
Pius IX at their head, met, and after due deliberation, de-
fined and declared it to be an article of faith, taught by
Christ and by the Apostles, that the Pope, the successor of
St. Peter, prince of the Apostles, when speaking ex cathe-
dra j that is addressing the Universal Church on a question
appertaining to faith and morals, is ixfallible.
We have now given the back-bone of Church history ; and
in our next we return to do some more chiseling around one
426 ALETHAURION.
of the eyes of the mighty statue — we go back to the life and
times of' St. Paul.
CHAPTER C,
ST. PAUL VISITS THE CHURCHES OF SYRIA AND CILICIA — HE-
CARRIES THE GOOD TIDINGS INTO MACEDONIA.
After the question in regard to circumcision had been set-
tled by the council of Jerusalem, a disagreement arose be-
tween Paul and Barnabas, and they separated. Even good
and holy men may differ about the means to a desired end.
We should never, therefore, get angry with others because
thev do not see thinsrs as we do.
But give a little authority to a blockhead, and it makes a
tyrant of him. Fear is then the best medicine to bring him
to his senses.
No man should idolize his own will unless he be sure that
his intelligence, on a controverted point, outweighs the com-
bined wisdom of his opponents. This attachment of a man
of intellect to his opinion is called firmness, but a fool's
infatuation with his fancies is termed obstinacy.
" Make an agreement," said the Saviour, " witli thine adversary quickly^
whilst tlioii art in the way with him; lest, perhaps, the adversary deliver
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be
cast into prison."
It is better to separate in peace from those with whom we
cannot agree, than to provoke strife for the purpose of mak-
ing a display of our strength
Far from getting angry or testing their strength, one with
the other, Paul and Barnabas took thenceforth different
roads.
Silas became associated with the former, and John, sur-
named Mark, followed the latter.
ALETHAURION. 427
When Paul and Silas, in the course of their visitation of
the churches, had come to Derbe and Lystra, towns of Asia
Minor, they found in one of them a young man named
Timothy, who was well spoken of through the country round
about.
The mother of this youth was a Jewess, but his father was
a Pagan.
Now, according to the law of Moses, it was not permitted
a daughter of Israel to receive in marriage the hand of a
Gentile, lest she might thereby be drawn away from the
faith of her fathers.
But this woman, it appears, ran the risk. And though
she did not lose the faith herself, yet it would seem that her
son grew up without the practice of it, for he was not cir-
cumcised, as by the law he should have been on the eighth
day after his birth.
Most probably Timothy, in his boyhood, was neither a
Jew nor a Gentile, but half and half ; not caring much for
either. He was raised up in indifference, for the faith of
his mother was chilled by his father's unbelief.
Still, through the mercy of God he received the grace of
conversion, and therein his example differs from that of so
many others, who are born of mixed marriages.
The Church very wisely discountenances the union of any
of her children with Infidels or false believers. And no
Catholic should, except for the very gravest cause, ever
dream of accompanying to the altar any but one of his own
faith.
The husband and wife, who ought to be twain in one flesh,
cannot be so in the strict sense, whilst one is a Catholic and
the other an unbeliever.
Not many miles away from where the writer now resides,
there was a sectarian preacher married to a Catholic lady.
Whether he took to preaching after the union or before it,
we have not been able to learn. At any rate, the faith of
his wife he felt to be a drawback to his own success as a
428 ALETHAURION.
pulpit thumper, so he tried to *' convert" her, and took a
novel way of doing it. On Fridays he would sometimes
seize hold of her around the neck, force meat into her mouth
^nd almost ram it down the poor woman's throat. Her
modesty kept her a long time from exposing the wretch ;
but, the persecution continued, she could not stand it always
and she left him. This is an extreme case, but it should be
a warning.
" Bear not the yoke together with unbelievers." says St. Paul, '' for
what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath
light with darkness? " II Cor. vi, 14.
Heretics, on the other hand, have nothing like this to fear
from Catholics, for no priest nor bishop will receive an adult
into the Church unless siich person first makes a free and
open confession that he believes everything the Church teach-
es. We respect conscience, even where we have good rea-
son to suppose that it is benumbed by pride and worldliness.
We leave judgment of such matter to Him who sees the
heart, and make use of means that are righteous beyond all
suspicion, satisfied, as we are, that a hypocritical convert is
worse than an avowed Infidel.
After having confirmed the brethren at Derbe, Paul,
Silas and Timothy visited the other Churches of Asia
Minor. But, when they had come to where stood the city of
ancient Troy, Paul was admonished, in a vision, to pass
over into Macedonia. They accordingly took shipping, and,
in due jtime, arrived at Neapolis, and thence proceeded to
Philippi, the chief town. Here he converted a woman
named Lydia, a seller of purple, and baptized not only her-
self but her whole family, in which, we may reasonably pre-
sume, there were some children who had not come to the age
of reason.
There, also, he came into contact with that pythoness or
clairvoyant mentioned in a former chapter. Whether the
demon by which she was possessed, gave testimony to the
truth on that occasion, of his own free will, or whether he
ALETIIAURION. 429
was compelled to do so by a higher power, is a question that
might challenge inspection.
Taking all the circumstances of the case into considera-
tion, it would appear that he was forced to make the con-
fession. Still, he may have done it for sinister purposes,
known to himself.
Infidels and heretics sometimes speak and write fine things
of the Catholic Church, and yet their praises do us no good
because a nimbus of insincerity overshadows the picture.
Who knows but this demon may have thus introduced
St. Paul for the express purpose of paralyzing his influ-
ence or of getting him into trouble with the owner of the
pythoness. If he had the latter object in view, he certainly
succeeded to a nicety, for St. Paul was publicly scourged
and thrown into prison on account of her. Nevertheless, it
may have been at the other object he w^as aiming, viz : To
put a suspicion of fraud from the start on whatever the
Apostle might say.
It is well known that the devil can never tell a story
story straight, and without doubt those who knew the
pythoness and heard her prophecies, w^ere fully aware that
she often mixed up the leaven of falsehood with many things
that were true. Hence their faith in her entire veracity
was not unbounded, and Satan knew well that her testi-
mony in favor of the Apostles would be recieved by the
Pagans with a sardonic grin, and a large grain of salt.
Whilst in prison, which was only for one night, St. Paul
converted and baptized the jailer, with his whole family.
After a careful consideration of the facts and circum-
stances of this conversion, as given in Acts xvi, it will
readily occur to the reader that baptism on the occasion
must have been administered either by sprinkling or by
pouring, unless, perchance, the authorities kept a hogs-
head of water for the purpose of ducking the prisoners — a
supposition that must not be too readily entertained, for
that method of punishment is rather a modern invention.
430 ALETHAURION.
In our next we accompany St. Paul to Thessalonica and
Berea.
CHAPTER CI.
ST. PAUL AT THESSALONICA AND BEREA.
Leaving Philippi, Paul and his two companions. Silas
and Timothy, came to tlie city of Thessalonica.
According to custom he began the work of evangelizing
in one of the synagogues, with the usual result.
Many of the Jews and Gentiles believed, but those who
did not, raised a tumult, which made it unsafe to remain
longer with them.
Instead of meeting him in argument, and showing that
Iiis reasoning was fallacious, they had recourse to a much
better plan.
They went to the civil magistrates, and complained that
Paul was preaching contrary to the decrees of Cesar,
''saying that there is another King Jesus." Acts, xvi, 7.
Let the reader here take notice of the villainy of those
Jews of Thessalonica. In their hearts they hated Cesar,
but were willing then to show great zeal in his behalf, in
order to crush the Apostle, and they succeeded.
This same thing has happened time and again in every
age of the w^orld's history, since Christ lived on earth.
The enemies of truth, with an eye to present success, have
accused the Apostles and their successors, even to the pres-
ent day, of being hostile to CiEAR. In this country, where
we have no C.Esar, in the literal sense, the calumny takes
another shape. The Catholic Church, say the enemies of
the Gospel, is inimical to civil liberty. It is the same old
lie, put in different words.
It is astonishing that well-meaning heretics, whilst read-
ing the New Testament, especially the Acts and Epistles of
ALETIIAUKIOX. 431
the Apostles, do not at once see and recognize the identity
of the Roman Chuivli of the i)rescMit day with that of whicli
Paul was so distinguished a champion.
Why is it that the sects do not meet with the same oppo-
sition from the World, the Flesh and the Devil that we have
to encounter?
It is because the World, the Flesh and the Devil see in
them nothing but shams, too ridiculous to call for serious
attention, and of parts too incoherent to exert any salutary
force.
From Thessalonica Paul went to Berea, a town forty-five
miles distant.
Now, those Jews of Berea were more noble than they of
Thessalonica, and for this reason: Instead of opposing
Paul by calumny and misrepresentation, they listened to
^vhat he said about Christ, believed his teachings, and to
strengthen themselves yet more, by making their faith a
reasonable one, they examined those parts of the ancient
prophecies which the Apostle had commented upon.
Those Bereans may be likened to many excellent men and
women of our own times, who, though brought up in heresy
and presumptions ignorance, have, upon hearing a Catholic
sermon or reading some Catholic book, been led to examine
the sacred writings with a more critical eye, and finally to
enter the true fold.
These may be also said to be more noble of soul than
those of their brethren who are content to remain in heresy,
and calumniate the Church of Rome as an excuse for their
obstinacy.
But, when the Jews in Thessalonica had knowledge that
the Word of God was also preached by Paul at Berea, they
came thither, stirring up and disturbing the multitude. • Acts,
xvii, 13.
He was once more obliged to beat a hasty retreat. So
turning his face southward, he departed for Athens. Before
we accompany him thither, it may be well to make an
432 ALETHAUEION.
observation concerning those Jews of Berea who were **moie
noble*' than they of Thessalonica.
Some modern heretics have very much abused this scrii)-
ture testimony. They wish to make it appear that the reason
why the Bereans were praised was because they did not
beheve Paul's preaching until they had examined the
scriptures, to see whether he was right or wrong.
Now, such an interpretation is contradicted by the con-
text and the circumstances of the case.
Certainly it would have been strange in Luke^ the writer
of Acts, to have called any one noble who refused to believe
or set up his own private judgment against the teaching of
an inspired Apostle. True nobility consists in believing at
once what God has revealed, because His authorized agents
can teach only what is in conformity with the natural law,
inscribed upon the heart of man from the beginning.
Hence, it is a sure proof, where one disbelieves, or hesitates
to accept the truth fairly proposed, that his heart is not right
in the sight of God — that he is a crooked tube, through
which the sun's light will not pass.
*'He that doth not believe is ah-eady judged, because he believeth not in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment,
because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness better
than light ; for their Avorks were evil. For every one that doth evil, hat-
eth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be re-
proved. But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may
be made manifest because they are done in God."' — (John iii, 18-21.)
Let the reader draw on his experience, and he will find
that the more ready a man is to reject the Gospel, the proner
he also will be to accept error of almost any kind. A
crooked man will believe a liar far sooner than he will an
Apostle.
The followins incident was related to the writer some
seven years ago, by a man named Durbin, who then lived,
and may be does yet, on the Irvin road, about six miles
beyond Eichmond, in this State : *'When I was a boy,'' said
he, *'my father had a farm up in the neighborhood of
ALETHAURION. 433
Station Camp, and one summer there came to the place a
strange preacher, who held protracted meetings, and set the
whole country 'round about almost wild with religious
excitement. After he had baptized several hundred persons
in the creeks and pools around there, one morning he turned
up missing, though a large crowd stood awaiting his arrival
at the meeting house; and not a few were there in mourn-
er's rig, ready to go into the pond to be dipped. On
toward noon, before the assembly had dispersed, some well-
aijmed strangers rode up and made inquiry in regard to the
whereabouts of a man who, under the guise of a preacher,
had been doing a large business in horse-flesh. They were
oflficers of the law, and the supposed preacher was a horse-
thief. His confederates would slip off with the best ani-
mals, whilst he was expounding the Bible inside the
meeting-house, at night. But during his brief missionary
career, there were more searchers of the Scripture around
that locality than were ever known before or since."
To search the Scriptures, of itself, ennobles no one.
Witness the Pharisees of old, to whom the Saviour said:
'*You search the Scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlast-
ing, and the same are they that give testimony of me, and you will not
come to me that you may have life." — John v, 39.
Some heretics and infidels do also, in our day, search the
Scriptures but without the proper spirit, and hence, like the
Pharisees, they derive no good from them.
Still, those who have recourse to the Bible to find argu-
ments against the Church, like those Bereans spoke of, are
in a sense more noble than others who, like the Thessalonian
Jews, rely altogether upon trickery, misrepresentations and
lies.
But truly noble is he who, having received the virtue of
faith in baptism, reads the Scriptures with a contrite and
humble heart, by that light which the Church holds aloft,
that all may see and know the Truth.
434 ALETHAURION.
In our next we will take a view of St. Paul, as he
appeared amongst the philosophers and statesmen of Athens.
CHAPTER CII.
ST. PAUL PREACHES THE GOSPEL TO THE ATHENIANS HE CON-
VERTS DIONYSIUS, THE AREOPAGITE, AND OTHERS TO
THE FAITH.
Athens was, in many respects, the most remarkable cit}*
of ancient times. Though at no period of its history very
large ; its citizens had for ages the reputation of being the
most learned and refined of the human race.
From their lofty perch they looked down with complacency
and contempt upon all outside barbarians. And even the
other cities of Greece, they were disposed to regard with
feelings akin to pity.
They had models of excellence in almost every department
at home, which made them imagine that, though Athens
might teach, it had nothing to learn from others.
Solon was their law-giver ; Homer their poet ; Miltiades,
Themistocles, and Cimon their warriors ; Socrates and
Plato their philosophers ; Phidias and Praxiteles their
sculptors. Demosthenes and ^schines illustrated in their
speeches, what an orator should be ; whilst ^schylus,
SoPHACLES and Euripides wooed the tragic muse with a
success unparalleled in days of yore.
They had the typical statesman in Pericles ; Thucydides
told the story of their deeds of valor, and told it well ; the
sarcastic Aristophanes made them laugh at folly ; and
Alcibiades furnished them with the beau ideal of a fast
young man.
Thus, it will be seen, that the Athenians had good reason
for being pleased with themselves and their city. No other
ALETHAURION. 435
did before, or has to this day, produced such an array of
unmistakable geuius.
When we recollect that the little children on the streets,
and even the wharf-rats and gutter-snipes around Pirceus,
spoke sweeter Greek than our most learned professors, we
will experience no pang in withdrawing from the race, and
yielding by acclamation, the palm to Athens. True it is
that Philip chastised them at Cheronea, and the Romans
drubbed them in after years ; still, their vanity was great,
for past glories will gild the captive's chain, and throw a
halo around his dungeon.
The Athenian Republic was the purest democracy that has
€ver been, and its free citizens, taken as a body, the most
learned and critical ever known.
When an orator mounted the stand in the agora, to
address the people, he had to be choice in his words and
pronunciation, or else be whistled down by his hearers.
The story is told, in classical literature, that Demosthe-
nes once played a shrewd trick on his great rival, ^schines.
When delivering his speech **0n the Crown," he asked
the people to say whether ^Eschixes was not a hireling :
mhthotts — putting the accent on the second syllable ; they,
hearing the word mispronounced, cried out at once mistho-
tes ! misthotes ! putting the accent on the final where it
belonged.
It was to this, people puffed up with vain admiration of
themselves and of their ancestors, that Paul came with the
hope of leading them to the light of faith. Humanly speak-
ing, the prospect of success was faint. Intellectually, Paul
might have been, and probably was, the equal of any of
their great heroes or sages ; but he was a Jew, with an
uncouth accent, and his words and sentences wanted the
grace and polish of those to which their ears had been long
accustomed.
The philosophers and statesmen of Athens, looked for
nothing in the line of knowledore from outside barbarians.
I
436 ALETHAURION.
And sooner would Jay Gould ask advice in finance, of the
humblest brakeman in his employ, than an Epicurean or
Stoic, would think of consulting a Jew, to learn the nature
or genealogy of the immortal gods.
But truth is mighty and will prevail As the stars grow
pale when the day has dawned, so has Grecian philosophy
lost its luster before a superior light ; and Grecian culture is
hollow and counterfeit, as compared with Christian civiliza-
tion.
Paul has supplanted Plato ; and Socrates, with his cup
of hemlock, ordering the sacrifice of a cock to Esculapius,
has ceased to be a model.
Having arrived at Athens, Paul sent word to Silas and
Timothy to come to him. No doubt he felt somewhat
isolated, and, before beginning work, he wished to have the
support and encouragement of his two friends and co-
laborers.
''Whilst he waited for them at Athens, his spirit was ex-
cited within him, seeing the city given up to idolatry.'^
Acts xvii, 16.
But, like the valiant soldier that he was, he could not let
his s\vord rest in its scabbard, with the enemy before him
and anxious for the fray. An Athenian was always ready
for a dispute, so, considering the natural bent of Paul's
mind, and his zeal for religion, they must have had a lively
time at Athens while he stayed there. When Greek meets
Greek, then comes the tug of war.
He began, as usual, in the synagogues amongst the Jews,
but did not neglect the Pagans. Every day in the market
place, the people flocked around to heai, to them, a new
story about the true God, and the incarnation, birth, life,
miracles, death, resurrection and ascension of His Son.
The philosophers who frequented the agors^ to make a
display of their learning, and be refreshed with the praises
of the bystanders, could not long endure seeing a mere Jew,
ALETHAURION. 437
with a foreign accent, drawing attention away from them-
selves.
Hence, they disputed with him, but soon discovered they
had mistaken their man. He appeared not only familiar
with their different schools of philosophy, but there was also
a certain indefinite superiority in his conceptions which para-
lyzed argumentative opposition.
They found themselves checkmated, and all their philoso-
phical pieces worthless, after a few rapid and brilliant moves
on the part of their opponent.
One of them, with a face flushed with anger, and still
writhins: from the lash, called Paul nothing but a babbler.
Others who stood by listening, stole off quietly, and on
being asked who this man was that created so much talk,
replied somewhat more respecf uUy : <*He seemeth to be a
publisher of new gods.'' Acts, xvii, 18.
An old tradition amongst the Greeks, to which the writer
does not, however, attribute any historical importance, ia-
forms us that the name of the Epicurean snuffed out by the
Apostle on the occasion alluded to, was Boroxtes.
From the derivation of the word, we would be led to sup-
pose that he must have been a great eater and drinker —
boros, in Greek, signifying edacious.
But, on account of a habit he had when speaking in pub-
lic, of whining and trying to excite the pity of his hearers,
an attic wit of the day, called him Boroxtes Mega to
Brepiios ; in English, Boroxter, the hig pappoose. From
his mother, a Cretan, he inherited a disposition to lie, and
from his father, a Boeotian, the inability to cover up his
tracks.
He held the office of Epistates, or Mayor, in one of the
little country towns, until, having become thoroughly odious
to the people, on account of his avarice and venality, he
was obliged to fly from the place at night to Athens, for
protection.
438 ALETHAURION.
There he started a sort of business house, which was a com-
promise between a bank, a pawn, and a note-shaving establish-
ment. But, he was universally despised, and many secretly
rejoiced, when Paul covered the impudent fellow with con-
fusion.
A victory over such a man is, at best, not worth talking
about ; it is simply abating a nuisance, and nothing more.
The big pappoose having been disposed of, some of the
other philosophers invited Paul to give a regular discourse
on the Hill of Mars, in the presence of the chief men of the
city. He readily assented, and his discourse must have been
a master-piece, for he converted Dionysius, one of the
judges ; also a woman named Damaris, and others.
Dionysius or Dennis was ordained Bishop of Athens by
the Apostle, and according to Eusebius iv, 25, it seems that
he suffered martyrdom for the faith.
But whether or not he succeeded in converting the big
pappoose, is a matter on which history and tradition are both
silent.
In our next we accompany the great Apostle to Corinth.
CHAPTER CHI,
ST. PAUL AT CORINTH.
• Leaving Athens, Paul came to Corinth, one of the prin-
cipal cities of Greece, and at that time a place of consider-
able commercial importance.
Finding there a converted Jew named Aquila, a tent
maker by trade, he stayed with him, working during the
week at the same business ; but on the SubbatK, disputing
in the synagogue, and persuading the Jews and the Greeks.
Before going further, it may be well to make here an ob-
servation about Paul's example in doing manual labor.
ALETIIAURION. 439
Whatever an Apostle is known to have done, one may do
again, without danger of disgrace, or even impropriety.
Hence, manual labor dishonors no one who has not other
means of gaining a livelihood.
The disciple is not above the master, and our masters and
teachers under Christ are the Apostles.
So far, the theory and the principles involved ; now for
the practice :
There are some greedy, groveling men, who are so wTapt
up in the rags and enamored of the trash of this world that
they may be said to be but little above mere animals.
As swine feeding on acorns under a tree never look up to
the branches fi-om which their food descends, so those men
enjoy what they have in coarse delight, and never raise their
thouj]jhts to God from whom all blessinjjs flow.
When asked to do something for the advancement of re-
ligion, their text is ready, and their excuse formulated.
**Paul," they say, ** worked with his own hands on week
days, then preached on the Sabbath. Why don't the minis-
ters now do likewise, and let the gospel be free for every-
one?'*
Some wit once said, that farthings were first coined in
order to give Scotchmen a chance to contribute to orphan
asylums ; and we may say of the text in question, that St.
Luke must have written it on purpose to give such people
just the shadow of an excuse for their meanness.
The writer has heard of a clergyman, who, during the
week, plows in the field, shucks corn, feeds the hogs, looks
after the chickens and turkeys, and, on Sundays, oflSciates
in stoga boots — unpolished.
His mode of life would seem to be apostolic and primitive
enough for even the most exacting; and, if he lived in a
coninuinity where all were Pagans, unwilling to contribute
anything for his support, he would be deseiTmg of high
honor, and entitled to be ranked almost with the Apostles.
But, where the faith is already planted, such primitiveness
440 ALETHAURION.
is not praiseworthy. A clergyman's labor lies in the field of
thought, not in the cornfield. He is, by his profession, a
fisher of men, not a feeder of swine. His cares are of an
exalted and spiritual nature, not to be wasted on chickens
and ducks.
The same Apostle Paul, though, from all we can learn of
him, not disposed at any time to say a great deal about
money, yet did not fail in his day to read the law to the
faithful on this very subject :
*' Know you not," said he, " that they who work in the holy place,
and they who serve the altar, partake with the altar?" '' So also the
Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel."
I Cor. ix., 13-14.
The faithful have a duty to fulfill. And, certainly, no
Catholic should look upon himself as sinless who does not,
according to his means, contribute to the support of his re-
ligion. Still, it is better to say not enough than too much
on this subject.
It is a truth confirmed by the experience of many, that
the vast majority of the faithful do their duty in this respect,
and do it willingly ; witness the many splendid church
edifices, schools, hospitals and asylums throughout the land.
These are proofs of a great power behind the throne, and
they show the tender love and respect of Catholics for their
holy faith.
Occasionally a curmudgeon is met with, like that rich old
widow lady in one of the lower counties. She sent her pas-
tor on New Years' day, in recognition of services for twelve
months passed, two pippin apples and a coil of sausage meat
— with her compliments.
There is another matter also in this connection, which those
advocates of a free gospel do not appear to take into consid-
eration. The Apostles had no need of study to prepare
themselves to announce the truth to the nations.
Their knowledge came by divine inspiration. They were
even forbidden to think beforehand, what they should say
ALETHAURION. 441
when brought before kings and rulers. **It will be given
jou in that hour," said the Saviour, ** what you shall speak."
Matt. X, 19.
Possibly, were we of the present day brought into the
presence of such people, to answer for the faith that is in us,
the Holy Spirit would also teach us what to say. Yet, it
would not be wise nor profitable to make a practice of going
up into the pulpit Sunday after Sunday, and blurting out
the first thins that came into one's mouth.
To preach the gospel reasonably well, requires not alone a
certain natural aptitude, but also persistent and faithful
study — unless, indeed, one should take the risk of being de-
tected in the fraud of preaching, and passing off as his own,
what another has written.
Hence, the practice common from early ages of exempting
ecclesiastics from military duty, and from all kinds of
manual labor, is not only a mark of respect ; it is wise
withal.
The man who passes the week amongst cattle and hogs,
followed through the fields by a flock of gobbling turkeys,
will rarely have those finer qualities of mind, those
adornments that are justly looked for around the altar.
His person and his thoughts may recall memories of the
hay-rick and stable, but they will not instruct, refine and
ennoble.
To gain this knowledge which should adorn the minis-
terial character, time is required ; and not that alone, but
freedom, to a considerable degree, from wordly cares and
anxieties.
'^ The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge/' says the Prophet Mala-
ciiY, " and they shall seek the lau' at his mouth, because he is the angel
of the Lord of hosts.'' Chap, ii, 7.
The foregoing observations may serve to convict of folly,
those whose only show of religious zeal consists in finding
fault, and being more apostolic in talk at least, than the
Apostles themselves would be were they now living.
442 ALETHAURION.
Paul stayed one year and six months at Corinth, preach-
ing the gospel and disputing with the Jews and Gentiles pro-
miscuously. The former, seeing that ihe apostle always got
the better of them in a debate, and that he was drawins:
many to believe in Christ, did not fail to have recourse at
last to physical arguments. <•
Cunning is a characteristic of weakness, candor of
strength. Error has many arts, trutli is all simplicity — yet,
truth conquers in the end. The fox has more tricks than the
lion, but the lion is king nevertheless.
So with the Jews and Paul. They brought him before
the Governor, or Pro-Consul Gallio, and accused him of
persuading men to worship God contrary to the law of
Moses.
Now Gallio, who was a Pagan, knew probably as much
about Moses and the law as one of our country magistrates
does about Chancellor Kent and his commentaries. But he
was a different man from Poxxius Pilate, and the Jews
found they could not use him as a tool to work iniquity.
He listened patiently to what they they had to say, until
he found it was all nothing but a wrangle about points of
belief. Then he drove them off, telling them he would not
be judge in such matters.
Alono: with beinof a fair-minded man, Gallio must also
have been somewhat of a wag, able to enjoy a joke when he
was not too drunk. For after he had dismissed the case a
fight ensued between the Jews in the court-house ; to which,
it is said, Gallio paid no heed.
Most likely the old Pagan chuckled heartily at seeing
those zealous idiots cracking one another's heads — all for the
love of Moses and the Law.
In our next we follow St. Paul to Ephesus.
ALETHAURION. 443
CHAPTER CIV
ST. PAUL AT EPHESUS.
Leavinff Athens Paul visited some of those churches
founded by him, in Asia Minor ; then he went to Syria, and
finally returned again to labor amongst the Greeks.
He pitched his tent at Ephcsus, and opened the campaign
with some disciples of John the Baptist. These he baptized
**in the name of the Lord Jesus," and also confirmed by
the imposition of hands. Acts xix.
We have, in this circumstance, an argument against one
of the errors of Luther.
Relying on the false principle that man is justified by faith
alone, the heresiarch taught that the sacraments are only
means to excite our faith, and consequently, that the baptism
of JoHX, and in general, the sacraments of the Old Law,
were in no wise different, as regards their eflScacy, from those
of the New Dispensation.
The former, according to him, did nothing more than
excite faith in a Redeemer to come, whilst the latter effect
the same in a Saviour already born into the world.
The fact that Paul regenerated some of those whom John
had baptized, knocks the breath out of Luther's theory,
and shows conclusively there is a difference between the bap-
tism of John and that of Christ.
The Catholic doctrine is : That the sacraments of the New
Law, through the merits and by the will of Christ, confer
grace by a virtue inherent to themselves — ex opere operato,
as our theologians say.
A sword may require a hand to wield it, but it takes off
the head of a traitor by a power altogether its own.
It may be proper here also to call attention to another
matter. It is said that Paul baptized ** in the name of the
4 44 ALETHAURION .
Lord Jesus." Now, in the true Church, it has always been
held as essential to the validity of baptism, that the names
of the three divine persons be expressly invoked.
Some of our theologians, on the strength of the text al-
ready given, have surmised that the Apostles, by a privilege
peculiar to themselves, did sometimes baptize in the name
of our Lord alone, omitting the express invocation of the
Father and Holy Ghost.
Others deny this, and explain the text by saying that the
Apostles, though using the same form that we do, some-
times added by way of elucidation, the name of the Lord
Jesus.
Hence, according to the latter, the form used on some
occasions by them would be this :
*' I baptize thee in the name of the Father; and of the Son, the Lord
Jesus; and of the Holy Ghost.''
This gives a satisfactory explanation of the text, and at
the same time, relieves us of the necessity of having
recourse to the theory of a special privilege ; for which, in
truth, there seems to be no solid foundation.
We read also, in this xix chapter of Acts, that when Paul
had imposed hands on those he had baptized, the Holy
Ghost came upon them, and they spoke tongues, and pro-
phesied.
Here we have a clear proof of the sacrament of confirma-
tion administered by an Apostle. Consult also on this head.
Acts viii, 17. Some of the sects pretend to follow the
scriptures as their rule of faith, yet do not practice the im-
position of hands, so clearly taught in the sacred writings.
Spiritually, of course, the imposition of a preacher's hands
would not amount to any more than a clout from a babboon ;
still, for the sake of consistency, it should have been
retained in all the sectarian conventicles.
Apropos of this, it may be proper to write down here, a
little circumstance that happened not long ago :
A Protestant lady, known by name to the writer, formed
ALETHAURION. 445
and expressed the intention of renouncing heresy to enter
the true Church.
She hud been reading the scriptures to some purpose, and
having found in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel, and
in other places also of the sacred volume, such clear proofs
of the doctrine of the Real Presence, she came at once to the
conclusion that her own sect could not be the Church of the
New Testament. This led to further investigation, and she
resolved to become a Catholic.
At this stage of the case, some of her friends and
acquaintances, on learning her intentions, became more
tender toward her than she had ever before known them to
be. All agreed that it would be ** just awful to go off and be-
come a Catholic."
The local preacher was called in ; but she polished him off
so handsomely, in an argument, that he had her prayed for
at meeting, on the following Sunday.
Some that were there prayed also, in silence, for the
preacher himself ; that he might have light from above, and
that he might do less card playing and more study.
But neither the prayers nor the entreaties of friends
seemed to count for naught ; the case was becoming desper-
ate — inveterate, so to speak. The preacher next bethought
himself of a plan to still retain her as a member of his
church, and at the same time, give peace of conscience on
the subject of the Real Presence.
Meeting her one day, quoth he :
** Now you say that unless one eats of the flesh of the Son of Man, and
drink His blood he cannot have life in him ; and he that eats the flesh of
Jesus and drinks His blood abides in Christ and Christ in him, <S:c. I
do not forbid you to believe so, if your conscience teaches you that such
is the truth. But you can, without becoming a Catholic, do all that in
our Church, ever}^time you take the sacrament.''
We have heard of an East Indian juggler who could
change a rupee, held tight in another man's fist, into a Mex-
ican silver dollar. But that jugglery by which a woman can
change a piece of bread and some wine into the real body
44(3 ALETHAURION
and l)lood of Christ by a simple thought, takes the lead
and the blue ribbon.
When will those preachers ever learn that Christ gave to
the Apostles only, and to their successors, the bishops and
priests of the Catholic Church, the power of forgiving sins,
of transubstantiation, and, in general, of dispensing the
mysteries of God.
They are not the successors of the Apostles, for they have
not a line of bishops extending back to apostolic times ; we
have, and therein lies the difference. A Catholic bishop of
the present day has all the ordinary powers that Christ
gave the twelve, because they have been transmitted from
one prelate to another, down through the arcade of ages,
never to cease, in the Church, until the Archangel shall have
sworn that time shall be no more.
To return again to the question of confirmation : It is
stated that ** when Paul had imposed his hands on them,
the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke tongues
and prophesied."
Such extraordinary gifts were common in the days of the
Apostles. Yet, it must not be supposed that all, upon
whom their hands had been laid, received the powers
alluded to.
St. Paul reminds us of the contrary. He says :
"And God, indeed, hath set some in the Church— first, apostles;
secondly, prophets ; thirdly, teachers ; after that miracles, then the
graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations
of speeches. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Are all workers of miracles? Have all the grace of healing? Do all
speak with tongues? Do all interpret? " 1 Cor. xii, 28-30.
He then tells the Corinthians to be zealous for better
gifts, and he would show them a more excellent way. Infi-
dels, or persons on the way to unbelief, sometimes call
attention to certain passages of Scripture to show that the
promises of Christ have failed.
" These signs," said the Saviour, *' shall follow them that believe; in
my name they shall cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ;
ALETHAURION. 447
they sliall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt thcui ; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they
«hall recover.'" Mark xvi, 17-lS.
Such things are not done now, hence either there are no
true believers, or else the promise is a failure.
Very well for you, Mk. Infidel. You quote scrii)ture
first rate, but you made a mistake in supposing that the
above promises are made to each individual believer. They
are not made to the individual, but to that body, of which
Christ is the head — the Roman Catholic Church. In it
miracles have never ceased, and never will.
Witness those of Lourdes and elsewhere, at the present
day. These cannot be called in doubt without tearing up
the very fundamental principles of certitude.
Now we challenge one and all of the sects to give us even
a single well authenticated miracle from their past histories.
It will not do for them to look pious, and say that the time
of dreams and holy communions is passed.
If the day of miracles be passed, the Infidel is right, and
the promises of Ciikist are made void. He did not set
limit, why should we, since God is the same, yesterday,
to-day, and forever.
The time has never been when a false religious system
could produce a real miracle, and that time will never come
when it can.
St. Paul's experience among the silversmiths at Ephesus
will be our next subject.
CHAPTER CV.
DLAJJA OF THE EPHESIAN8.
Having spoken already of miracles, wo here only call
attention to the fact, that even those handkerchiefs and
aprons that had touched the Apostles' body, acquired the
virtue to cure diseases and to expel devils. Acts, xix, 12.
448 AT-ETHAUPJON.
Heretics find fault with us sometimes, because we honor
not only the saints themselves, but also their relics. They
read the scriptures, and receive them as their rule of faith ;
yet, having eyes, they see not how God Himself, by signs
and wonders, has approved of the honor thus given.
The descendants of Simon jVIagus may sometimes abuse
these things ; and to peddle the Sacramentals may to some,
appear less laborious and more profitable than to preach the
gospel ; but the principle itself is sound, because clearly
taught in the scriptures and approved by the Church.
That a thing may be abused is no proof that it should not
be used.
In this connection, we may also briefly take note of the
bad effect produced in the minds of the people by unscru-
pulous waiters, whose eyes are ever open to those human
imperfections that have ever been, and will be, until the
end of time.
They do not see the good the Church has done, and is
doing, as a society, but are on the alert to write down and
publish abroad the short-comings of some individual who
may represent religion in a peculiar locality.
' Such writers are nothing but literary scavengers. A buz-
zard and an eagle flying over the same tract of country will
see it differently.
The eagle's eye will glance along the silvery stream, on
whose sedgy banks the wild duck seeks its food, or over the
moonlit lake where the beautiful swan loves to dwell, or it
penetrates the sylvan shades to discover the well-rounded
turkey, that perchance, dreams not of an enemy. The
eagle sees only what has life, and is fair to the eye.
But the instincts of the buzzard are different. He sees
but the putrifying carcass ; and its odor, though offensive
to men, is to him as the sweet fragrance of many flowers.
Heretics, traveling in some of those old Catholic countries
of Europe, do often remind us of carrion birds. They fail
to notice the sobriety, justice and piety of the masses, and
ALETUAURION. 449
the patience with which they await the blessed hope and the
coming of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour
Jesus Christ.-
The magnificence of Catholic worship has no charms for
them ; those splendid cathedrals that attest the zeal and piety
of generations long since passed from earth to heaven, have
for them no exalting influence.
But let them see an old blear-eyed beggar, rattling his tin
box and asking for alms, by one of the church doors ; ah !
* then they brighten up, the buzzard has found something
congenial, and he gloats over it.
If that poor mendicant has about his person some emblem
that recalls to his mind the atonement of the Son of God,
and encourages him to look up from the miseries of earth to
the bliss of heaven ; if he wears about his neck the relic of
some saint whose virtues he desires to imitate, so much the
better. The buzzard sees in all such, only a reason for his
poverty.
Such things, however, do not astonish us a great deal ; for
we have grown accustomed to the malice of heretics, and we
pity their blindness.
But when a correspondent of a journal that has the name
of being Catholic, writes in the same strain, and dishes up
to his readers not the virtues of a people that have done so
much for the faith, in our day and generation, but the short-
comings, real or supposed, of some of their leading men in
the Church, our feelings are of scorn, and we at once repu-
diate such a monster.
One enemy in camp is capable of doing more harm than a
dozen without. We have no use for a Ther sites, to stir up
dissension and disaffection amongst believers in a country
like this, where there are so many others, whom to save w^e
must first conquer.
If anv one of the faithful has a srrievance, that he thinks
needs redress ; or, if there be evils in the Church, that in
tis zeal he desires to see clipped into due proportions, there
450 ALETHAURIOX.
is an authority to which he may appeal, a tribunal that will
investigate each alleged abuse, and as far as possible, pro-
vide a remedy.
Our enemies sometimes do us good by putting us in mind
of our faults ; but our true friends will never publish them.
It is the snake in the grass, the traitor in the camp, that
does it.
In making these observations, however, let it be under-
stood that they are not meant to reflect adversely upon the
course of some, who, in our day, have sharpened their
crayons against an absolutism, which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear.
The Holy See itself, though possessed of the plenitude of
power, is never absolute. It ever has and does respect the
rights of all. Equally just and considerate toward those
who rule and those who obey, it will not abrogate privileges
granted to prelates in missionary lands until it has become
clear that power has been abused.
But when, through human fraility, or through a desire to
ape the rulers of this world, that which was granted for the
purpose of building up, has been turned into an engine of
destruction, then the Holy See takes it away.
After Paul had preached at Ephesus, for about two years
and three months, the number of his converts was great.
They who had abandoned Spiritism for Christianity, in proof
of sincerity, brought their magic-books to the public square
and burned them.
Toward the end of the period above mentioned, a new
coalition was formed against the Apostle. It took the shape
of .a trades-union of silversmiths.
There was, in those days, at Ephesus, a temple of Diana,
of such magnificent architecture and vast proportions, that
it passed for one of the seven wonders of the world. Inside
was a colossal statue of the goddess, and, attached to it,
numerous smaller ones, put there as votive offerings, by the
piously inclined.
ALETIIAURION. 451
Men of wealth were accustomed also to have silver shrines
made, and set up in the temple, as well as in their own
houses. And this love and respect of the entire community
for the ffreat Diana was a source of considerable revenue to
the jewelers.
It became evident to these that, if Paul was permitted to
go on preaching, Diana would sooner or later give up the
ghost, and their custom would go to Hades with her.
Demetrius, one of their number, made them a speech,
and a good one it seems, for he put the whole city in an
uproar.
The people rushed into the theatre, some'not knowing
why or wherefore they had come there. But all joined in
the cry : ** Great is Diana of theEphesians." Actsxix, 28.
Paul, with his natural impetuosity and fearlessness, was
also about to proceed thither ; but the brethren would not
suffer him to do so ; for the Pagans would have torn him
limb from limb, and the Jews would have willingly buried
the pieces forever out of sight. Finally the town clerk suc-
ceeded in restoring order, and the day ended peaceably.
Our next will be about societies.
CHAPTER CVI.
SOCIETIES.
The uproar against St. Paul, raised by the silversmith
trades-union at Ephesus, gives us an opportunity of stating
a few truths, and giving expression to some views on the
subject of societies.
The word is used in various senses, but here it is
employed to mean an organization of any kind.
The highest type is seen in God. The thr^e divine
persons, though really distinct, are united in one and the
same essence.
452 ALETHAURION.
The lowest is met with in hell, where division, false-
hood and malice, among the demons, take the place of
unity, truth, and goodness, which should be found in every
society .
Societies among men may be divided into two great
classes, the one temporal, the other spiritual. The object of
the former is to provide for the welfare of the body, the
latter is charged with the care of the soul.
And as the body and soul are united, so should these be.
The soul, which is the more noble of man's constituent
parts, directs and rules the body. Thus also, the spiritual,
which is the higher principle, is destined, in the order of
Providence, to shape the course and acts of the temporal.
When there is an entire ^paration, the temporal goes to
the grave, to rot, while the spiritual returns to God.
From a consideration of these truths, of which we have so
good an illustration in our own persons, it will be seen that
any society which eliminates the spiritual, can not hope to
live and do good.
In AdAxM, the father and head of the human race, both
those elements were united. He was king, and therefore
under an obligation to provide for the temporal welfare of
that society of which he was the progenitor and ruler. He
was also a high priest, burdened with the care of leading the
members to happiness in the future life.
In his two-fold character of king and priest, he could
permit nothing to be done, in the temporal order, that would
interfere with the acquisition of spiritual blessings. His
successors, the patriarchs, up to the time of Moses, were
like unto him in this particular.
They were rulers of God's people, not only in a temporal
sense, but high priests, at the same time.
According as mankind increased in numbers, their interests
or neces^ties, or, may be, the ambition of powerful leaders,
induced them to separate into various tribes, each forming
an independent people.
ALETHAURION. 453
This was lawful ; for it nowhere appears from revelation
that it was a part of the plan of the Almighty to establish
on earth a universal temporal monarchy in the person of
Adam or any of his descendants.
But the same cannot be said of that spiritual monarchy
of which Adam was also the representative. None were at
liberty to refuse direction from him, or from his successors
in the patriarchal chair. And the fact that many did so,
eliminating altogether the spiritual element, or subjecting it
to the temporal, was what brought on the deluge.
The reader will gather from this, that from the beginning
of the world, true religion has had a unity, and a right to
restrain man from such a pursuit of temporal happiness, as
would lead him astray, or make him unfit to be an heir to
heavenly bliss.
Down to the time of Moses, the temporal and spiritual
direction of God's people was vested in the same person.
He, by divine command, gave a development to the patri-
archal religion, founding thereby the Jewish Church or Syn-
agogue. By miracles and holiness of life, he proved his
right to do this.
To his brother Aaron, he entrusted all that appertained
to the worship of God, while he still retained in his own
hands the right to guide the nation.
The division here made was not perfect nor entire. For
Aaron and the Levites did not form a society independent
of Moses. Nor was it until our Saviour came that the tem-
poral and spiritual elements were completely separated ;
each forming an autonomous society independent within its
sphere.
Christ left the temporal kingdom where He found it and
where it had been since Adam ; but the spiritual He still
further developed, changing its internal organization and
giving it, not alone autonomy in the highest sense, but also
the right and the duty to direct temporal kingdoms ; so that
454 ALETHAURION.
their acts may be conducive to the salvation of their peo-
ple.
" Going forth,'* said he to the Apostles, "teachall nations"— kingdoms
if you wish — "teach them to observe all thing whatsoever I have com-
manded you.'* Matt, xxviii, 19-20.
Hence, the idea sometimes expressed by thoughtless peo-
ple, that the State is entirely independent of the Church is
false. As well might one say that the body is independent
of, or ousfht to rule the soul.
Now, as between the body and soul, there is a never-ceas-
ing warfare ; the body seeking that which gives temporal
ease and satisfaction, the soul aspiring to heavenly joys, so,
between the Church of Christ and the State there will be
that same kind of war so long as the world lasts.
"I see," says St. Paul, "another law in my members, fighting against
the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my
members." Romans vii, 23.
But, as he approaches nearest to perfection whose carnal
appetites are subject to the law of his mind, so also is that
temporal kingdom most complete, which, while neglecting
nothing conducive to the comfort and happiness of its citi-
zens, is yet directed by that other and superior spiritual
kingdom, namely, the Church of Christ.
From what has thus far been said, it will be observed that
we have in the world, two, and only two, organizations of
divine mstitution, viz : the Church and the State.
The Church has unity in a most perfect degree, so that it
can never be divided, any more than the soul can, and it de-
pends upon God alone, who has made it indefectible and
infallible.
States, taken collectively, have not unity, except in the
Church, which is to them a cap or complement. Taken
singly, each has unity and independence, but not to such an
extent as to be at liberty to resist the law of the mind, which
is that of the Church.
We may now descend to the consideration of societies
properly so called, ^. e., to those which do not pretend to
ALETIIAURION. 455
be of divine institution, nor sovereign, in the strict sense.
These also may be divided into two chisses — illegitimate
and legitimate. An illegitimate society is one that either
directly or indirectly aims at the overthrow of the State or
the Church, or cramps the free and lawful action of either.
Hence, in temporal matters, all organizations gotten up
for the purpose of eluding the law, or interfering with its
proper execution, are illegitimate.
Trades-unions, in which mechanics or laborers bind them-
selves by oath to resist, by violence, State or municipal
laws, guaranteeing to the employers certain rights, are of
this class.
Men engaged in any legitimate calling, have certainly the
right to form themselves into a society for mutual protec-
tion, and even to strike for higher wages, where no previous
contract obliges them to continue working for the same hire.
The State tacitly concedes such a right to the employed.
But the employer has rights also, and he cannot lawfully be
prevented by force or intimidation from employing others
to take the places of those who do not choose to work.
Much less can those others be killed or maimed for accepting
such employment.
All secret, oath-bound societies, even those that may have
a patent from the State, are illegitimate, so far as baptized
persons are concerned. This is so. not by reason of the oathy
nor of the secrecy enjoined upon the members, but because
of a positive law of the Church. That a dozen or more men
should bind themselves by a vow or solemn promise to do
something, not otherwise unlawful, is not of itself bad.
But long experience, under existing circumstances, has
taught the Church that such organizations are dangerous,
and become the occasions of sin, even apostacy, to those
who enter them. Hence tiie protest, and the coihmand,
to beware of those evil associations which corrupt good
manners.
To the same illegitimate category belong all heresies.
456 ALETHAURIOX.
schisms, and other organizations that pretend to lead men
to the final destiny, but which do not acknowledge the
authority of the true Church.
These are in the worst condition of all, for they do not
pretend to hold their right to exist by temporal or State
authority, and they certainly do not live by the authority of
the Church.
From whence, then, their raison d'etre?
Legitimate societies are all those expressly or tacitly
approved by the Church ; such, for example, are the monastic
orders, sodalities, and benevolent societies among Catholics ;
as well as all sorts of corporations for purely temporal ends,
and approved by the State.
In our next we continue the history of St. Paul.
CHAPTER CVII.
ST. PAUL LEAVES EPHESUS VISITS THE CHURCHES OF
MACEDONIA AND GREETCE RETURNS TO ASIA MINOR
GIVES A PARTING ADVICE AND BLESSING TO THE CLERGY
OF EPHESUS.
After the silversmith tumult had been suppressed, Paul
again passed through Macedonia and Greece, and, coming
back, stayed a short time at Miletus. This city stood about
thirty-eight miles south of Ephesus.
Desiring to be at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost,
lie did not visit Ephesus, but sent word to its bishops to
come to him, that he might give some final advice and
instructions.
On arrival, he called them together, and explained how he
had delivered to them the. entire gospel. He exhorts them
to take heed to themselves, and to all the flock, over which
the Holy Ghost had placed them as bishops, to rule the
Church of God. Let the reader take note of the svstem
ALETHAURION. 457
and plan of salvation introduced by the Saviour, and carried
out by the Apostles. Christ wrote nothing. For about
three years He taught His Apostles and others, orally. Before
the ascension He commissions, not all mankind, but the
Apostles, to preach to the nations what they had heard from
himself. The example set, and the instructions given with
regard to the mode of planting the Church, we find to have
been carried out by the twelve, to the letter.
St. Paul and the other Apostles began in each place first
to teach by word of mouth, in order to draw the Jews and
pagans to belief in Christ. But this done, their work was
not yet finished. They were commissioned to not alone
teach mankind certain moral and doctrinal truths, such as
even the pagan philosophers had done ; but they were
moreover ordained to enlarge that Kingdom already founded
by the Saviour. Hence the gospel preached by the Apos-
tles was the ** Gospel of the Kingdom." Matt, iv, 23;
ix, 35.
This required that they should establish in each place
such organizations as is found in every kingdom.
Consequently we see that Paul placed over each of the
churches that he had established, bishops who should con-
tinue after he was gone, not only to teach, but with power
also to select others, and ordain them ministers of the
kingdom, as they themselves had been chosen and ordained
by the Apostle. **Asthe Father hath sent Mc, so also I
send you," said Christ to the twelve. Now Christ was
sent by the Father with power to teach, and authority to
apj)oint others to continue what he had begun ; and the
same may also be said of the Apostles.
Just at this point there arises before the mind's eye a
pertinent question. Since, as we have seen Paul, and the
others also, established in each town a living, teaching
authority, empowered by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church
of God, at what period, we ask, did it become lawful for
AiQ individual member to ignore that authority, and be
458 AT.ETHAURION.
guided in his belief and practice by a book? In other
words, at what exact time did the oblioration of hearinor the
Church cease to have binding force? Let those who have
left us arise and explain, for it concerns them. When did
the Church cease to be what St. Paul said it was : '* The
pillar and ground of truth?" I Tim. iii, 15.
If they say the obligation of being guided by a living,
teaching Church, ceased with the death of the Apostles,
then we ask, how could St. Paul have told the converted
Jews, *' Obey your prelates, and be subject to them; for
they watch as being to render an account of your souls."
Heb. xiii, 17.
Or how could a prelate be held responsible for the soul
of another, if that other is under no obligation to listen to
or be guided by the prelate?
Or hovv could St. Paul have told Timothy to commend
to faithful men, who should be fit to teach others, what
his disciple had learned before many witnesses, II Tim. ii,.
2, if each man could become his own teacher?
The fact then that Paul commissioned some to rule and
give instruction, implies the obligation on the part of others
to learn of and to obey those in authority.
Sectarians pretend to take the written word as their rule
of faith, and that alone shows they are not apostlic, for all
the apostolic Churches had been founded before the various
books of the New Testament were written, and many years
before they had been collected into one volume.
The New Testament contains a part of the will of the
Great King. And the fact that Christ made a will, implies
a kinofdom which ministers to execute it. Alexander
made no will when dying, and why? Because he knew that
his kinijdom would end with himself, and a will under the
circumstances would have been an absurdity.
Baptized heretics hold copies, more or -less genuine, of
the Saviour's will, and are co-heirs with us, we grant ; but
being in rebellion, they can never hope to gain their part of
ALETHAUKIOX . 459
the inheritance, until they lay down their arms and acknowl-
edge those who govern in the King's name.
Now, as in temporal matters, the State interprets the law
of the land, so is the Church constituted the interpreter of
the law and will of her Founder.
Here, also, we may take notice of an idea that preoccu-
pies the minds of many deluded people in our day. To
simplify we put it in the concrete. Adozen unbaptized
farmers meet together ; they read the Bible, and, at the end
of the day, each comes to the conclusion that it is an inspired
book. They next organize, by electing three of their
number to what they call the Eldership, and a fourth they
employ to preach for them at a stated salary. This organi-
zation they call a Church. Whose Church? Evidently the
Church of those twelve farmers, because they first called it
into existence. No, say they, it is not ours, but the Church
of Jesus Christ ; for it is planned and built on the model
of Ilis. *' But, my dear fellows," says a neighbor, ** you
make a great mistake, it appears to me. It is wxU known that
the Church of Christ began to exist upwards of eighteen
centuries ago, and, as His kingdom is an everlasting one, it
must be in existence now ; and yours is certainly not it, for
the simple reason that yours began yesterday, and cannot be
traced bock to the time Christ lived on earth.
'' Behold,'' said the angel to the Virgin Mary, thou shalt conceive in
»thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High :
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His
father; and He shall reign in the house of J acou forever. And of His
Kingdom (Church J there shall be no end/^ Luke i, 31-33.
Similarity is not identity. Hence, though a dozen or more
of you should organize a Church in every particular like the
Church of Christ, it would still not be the one He founded,
for the same reason that Smith's house is not Brown's,
though built exactly like it, and according to the same
specifications. So with your Church ; it is not that of
Christ, but an imitation, and a bad one. Suppose fifty
460 ALETHAURION.
thousand American citizens should take the Constitution and
organize by electing a President and two houses of Congress ;
would that give them the right to call themselves the Ui^^
States? Neither does your possession of the Scriptures
give you a right to coin a new Church." So far the
neighbor.
In our next we will dwell a little longeron this subject.
CHAPTER CYIII.
MORE ABOUT THE CHURCH OF THE TWELVE FARMERS.
The theory that appears to underlie the thoughts of nearly
all Protestants on religious matters, appears to be, in sub-
stance , as follows :
They regard Christ as a man sent of God to teach man-
kind certain truths, andj in order the better to accomplish
this, He chose twelve men, whom He first instructed, and
then sent to preach to others all that had been confided to
themselves. These, aft«r the death of their Master, did as
they were told, ^. e., preached everywhere wiiat they knew
of Him, or had heard from His lips. But as the twelve
w^ere not to live always, they took care, before dying,
to i)ut in writing, for the guidance of future generations, all
they had orally taught mankind; and the book thus left,*
now called the New Testament, constitutes the highest
authority on all points of belief and practice. Furthermore,
any one now may take the New Testament, study it for his
own salvation, and teach its precepts to others, indepen-
dently of Church authority.
This, We believe, is a fair statement of the Protestant
theory, put in as few w^ords as the nature of the subject will
permit. And it includes no less than four false assump-
tions.
ALETUAUKION. 461
First, It is fivbe that the New Testament took the place
of the Apostles.
Sficond, It is not true that it contains all they taught
mankiiul.
T/iirdy It is ridiculous to speak of the New Testament as
authority in controverted matters.
Fourth J It is not lawful for each and every one who has
read the Scriptures, and thinks he understands them, to
constitute himself a guide, and profess ability to lead others
to heaven.
Let us say a word or two about those several points :
First, The New Testament did not take the place of the
A[X)Stles, for the simple reason that a book can by no fic-
tiop.pf law succeed to a man's position in a kingdom. Dis-
raeli's Endymion will never be Victoria's Prime Minister,
nor will Grant's Des Moines speech be President of the
United States, as long as the world lasts.
We hear it said, and we occasionally read in sectarian
news'joapers, that the Apostles had no successors. But, if a
man who holds the same position, under the same constitu-
tion, in the same kingdom that another once filled, be not
the successor of that other, then we confess that succession
in office is something totally beyond our comprehension.
Now, we know that Paul founded the Church of Ephe-
sus, and that while there he acted as the minister of Christ,
and dispenser of the mysteries of God ; and that his Disci-
ple, Timothy, having later on been ordained bishop of the
same city, continued to exercise, even after Paul's death,
and by his express orders, those very same functions. Who
then can deny that Timothy succeeded Paul at Ephesus ?
So also Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, first estab-
lished his See at Antioch, in Syria, and after seven years,
by divine command, as is generally admitted, he took pos-
session of Rome, ordaining or cau^ing to be ordained a cer-
tain EvoDius, to his place in the Syrian capitol. Can it be
462 ALETIIAUKIOX.
denied that Evodius was the successor of Peter in the epis-
copate at Antioch? There is, however, a sense according
to which it can be said that the Apostles had no successor>.
Each and every one of them had what is called an extraor-
dinary mission ; ^. e., they were sent directly by God ; and,
as proof of this they had the gift of miracles. No bishop
since the Apostles, pretends that his mission is such as theirs
in this particular. They claim descent from the twelve, on
the strength of that order which Christ established in His
kingdom. Neither does any bishop claim a personal power
to work miracles. The founder of a State has sometimes
to perform great deeds in order to establish his throne. His
son does not undergo the same fatigue, but simply proves
his legitimate descent, and by that becomes heir to all his
father gained by valor or genius.
Now, there is not a Catholic bishop but can prove his de-
scent from the Apostles, according to the order established
by the Saviour in His Church. The essential laws of the
kingdom of Christ, like those of nature never vary, except
by miracle. And just as each man now living knows that
he had here on earth five thousand years ago, an ancestor in
direct line from whom he has descended, so each priest and
bishop knows that the powers by which he is constituted a
minister of Christ have come down from the Apostles. A
real and true bishop, without a consecrator, would be as
great a prodigy as a real and true man who never had a
father.
Asjain : There is another sense in which it can be said that
no individual bishop except the Pope, is the successor of an
Apostle. Each of the twelve, along with St. Paul, had
conjointly with Peter, a universal jurisdiction ; i. e., had the
right to preach the gospel, found churches and dispense the
mysteries of religion in any part of the world. But at the
present day, if we except the Bishop of Rome, no prelate
has universal jurisdiction, and consequently cannot be called
a successor of the Apostles in that particular. The reason
ALETHAURION. 4()3
is also quite obvious. The universal jurisdiction given to
the other Apostles was extraordinary, and to last onh' dur-
ing their lives. Hence, they could not transmit to their
successors what they held themselves by life lease only.
But the jurisdiction given to Peter was ordinary, and con-
sequently descended whole and entire to his successor.
In the matter of jurisdiction, the bishops, taken as a body,
with the Pope at their head, are the successors of the Apos-
tles, taken as a body. Individually, no. bishop except one
has a jurisdiction outside his own diocese ; and so far, they
are unlike the Apostles. Though Timothy, at Ephesus, and
Titus, in Crete, succeeded to Paul as ministers, yet each
was obliged to stay at his particular post until relieved by
death or by apostolic authority.
Again : The Apostles were all inspired, and in this too
they are alone and without regular succession. Infallil)ility
is not inspiration, but a continuance of £he Saviour with His
Church, through its head. He being present, the chief
bishop cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and
morals. By inspiration the Apostles planned the way ; by
infallibility the Pope is kept from straying out of it.
From all that has thus far been said, the reader will
easily gather that the Pope and bishops of the Catholic
Church are the successors of the Apostles in essentials. The
accidentals, such as inspiration, universal jurisdiction of
more than one and the personal gift of miracles, were extra-
ordinary and temporary.
The succession of the bishops of Rome, from Peter, is a
fact of history so well known that it has always been a won-
der to the writer how any heretic could run his eye up along
the line from Leo XIII to Simon Peter, and still remain
outside the true Church.
In our next we will show that the New Testament does
not contain all the Apostles taught mankind.
464 ALETHAUEION.
CHAPTER CIX,
EACH APOSTLE PREACHED A GREATER NUMBER OF SPECIFIC
TRUTHS THAN HE COMMITTED TO WRITING.
Sectarians of almost every shade deny that the Saviour
revealed anything to the Apostles, as necessary for salvation
beyond what we find in the scriptures. We Catholics hold
that though the twelve preached the entire gospel, they did
not commit it all to writing. Hence we maintain that the
deposit of faith is to. be found, not alone in the written
Word, but also in the divine traditions of the Church. This
point we prove by the scriptures themselves, i. e., we show
by what the Apostles and evangelists wrote, that there were
other truths of the faith which they indeed preached, but
did not put on parchment.
Opening the New Testament at Thessalonians, second
Epistle, ii, 14, we read.
"Therefore, brethren, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you
have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.""
Now bear in mind that Paul had already written one let-
ter to those Thessalonians, and writing a second time, he
tells them to believe and hold as certain all he had written
in the first, and not alone that, but what they had heard
from his own mouth, ^.e., they must believe and firmly,
hold what he had said and not written. It is furthermore
evident that what Paul had communicated to them orally
was of importance, for he tells them to stand firm, and to
hold it, as part of revelation, evidently.
Can it then be denied, after reading so plain a text, that
Paul taught the Thessalonians more than is to be found in
his letters to them.
Let us take another text. In I Cor. ii, 2, we read : ** Now
I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of
ai.et:iav!:iox. 465
me, and keep my ordinances as I delivered them to you."
Bear in mind that these words are found in the Jirst epistle
to the Corinthians. Now it is evident that the ordinances
spoken of, which Paul delivered hy word of mouth, arc not
the same as those in his letter, for he praises thcni for hav-
ing kept the first. Hence there was no need to more than
allude to them in his epistle. The Corinthians knew what
Paul meant, though only a hint was given.
Again : In I Tim. vi, 20, we read : ** O Timothy, keep
that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane
novelty of words and oppositions of knowledge falsely so
called." Here Paul warns his disciple to keep safe what
was intrusted to him, i. e., all the truths of the faith and
the methods to be observed in the practice of it. Now who
will be so ridiculous as to affirm that the entire gospel is
contained in Paul's first epistle toTLMOTHY? It is evident,
therefore, that Paul taught Timothy more than is to be
found in his letters to his well-beloved disciple.
Again: In II Tim. i, 13, he says: '* Hold the form of
sound words, which thou hast heard from me in faith, and
in the love which is in Christ Jesus." Observe here that
the ** form of sound words" is not the epistle written to
Timothy, but Paul's oral instructions. In chapter ii, 2, of
the same letter, Paul warns him, saying: *'And the things
which thou hast heard from me, before many witnesses, the
same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach
others also."
He instructs Timothy to teach others — teach what? Was
it the substance of the written epistle? Evidently not. It
was what Timothy had learned ** before many witnesses,"
2. c.,tneoral teaching of St. Paul, which embraces the
entire gospel. Paul does not say: Keep this epistle I -now
sendiyou and also the one I wrote on a former occasion. He
docs not tell him to write to the Corinthians, to the Philii)-
pians, to the Galatians, for copies of the letters sent them*.
He does not say to him that he must collect all the writing?
466 ALETHAURIOX.
of the Apostles and transmit these to His successors. No,
Timothy was to teach what Paul had already taught him
orally.
How then stands the case? Here we have Timothy, Bishop
of Ephesus, as also his successors for a number of years,
teaching the entire gospel, and the only scriptures in their
possession, most likely, were the books of the Old Testa-
ment and three epistles of St. Paul.
What we say here of the Church of Ephesus, may be re-
peated of those of Corinth, Athens, Crete, Philippi, and
others. Not one of them had the entire written word, such
as we now possess it. For it was not until many years had
passed, after the death of the Apostles, that what they had
written was collected into one volume.
If the ministers of those primitive Churches had not had
an oral teaching, we would not at present have, in the first
place, anew Testament at all, and in the second, no mortal
man would be able to pick that sense out of it which the
Apostles and evangelists desired to convey.
Let us take another text. In Hebrews vi, 1-3, Paul tells
the Jews that he does not wish to speak to them of penance,
of dead works, of faith in God, of the different kinds of
T:)aptism, of the imposition of hands, of the resurrection of
the dead, and life eternal, but that he would do so, God
permitting.
We do not see that Paul has treated all these things in
his letters. It remains, therefore, that we hold such things
to have been taught the Jews orally only. Add to all this,
that of the twelve Apostles, seven wrote not a line.
How did the Churches founded by these seven get along
without the written word ? They had the Apostles with them,
says some one, and that of course sufficed. Very well, say
we also ; during the lifetime of those first bishops of the
Church they had competent, inspired teachers, we grant.
• But from the death of St. Andrew, for example, to the
time when the scriptures were all collected into one volume,
i
ALETHAURION. 467
and its books recognized as inspired, by public authority,
what did the Churches founded by him do?
The Bible man answers, they had to do the best they
could.
We reply : St. Andrew, and those other six who wrote
nothing, explained the doctrines of Christ orally to faithful
men, and these in turn taught others, and ordained minis-
ters, as they had themselves been ordained and authorized
to teach by the Apostles.
And thus the truth was preserved and the entire gospel
preached ift those Churches, the members of which never
saw the New Testament, nor the Old one.
Again : St. Paul wrote fourteen epistles ; no sectarian
will dare affirm that these contain the entire gospel ; for there
are some things in the other inspired writings not found in
them.
What follows? That Paul did not write do\vn all he
preached. And what is said here of Paul may be repeated
of each and every one of the evangelists. None of them
left in writing all they taught the people orally.
Our next will be a continuation of this subject, for it is
an important one.
CHAPTER CX,
THE WRITTEN WORD ALONE IS NOT A SUFFICIENT GUIDE TO
LEAD ONE TO HEA\'EN.
In the last chapter we saw that each Apostle preached
more truths than he wrote. This no sectarian will or can
deny. It is too plain a case.
But they try to get out of the difficulty by saying that,
though no one of the Apostles or evangelists wrote the entire
gospel, yet the New Testament contains the united teachings
of all ; so that what Matthew omitted was supplied by Mark,
468 ALETHAURION.
what jVIark omitted was supplied by Luke, what Luke
omitted was supplied by Peter, Paul and Jude ; and
finally, what all these had omitted was supplied by John,
who wrote his gospel and revelations on towards the close
of the fir^t century.
This is the theory that appears to be afloat in the mind
of almost, if not every Protestant. And it is perfectly
gratuitous. Now it is a principal in logic, that, what is
asserted without proof may also be denied without proof.
Hence, after having shown that each evangelist, singly »
wrote less than he preached ; after pointing out what St.'
John says, xxi, 25 :
''But there are also many other things which Jesus did; wliieh if they
were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to
contain the books that should be written."
When we have called attention to the fact that Christ
never commanded the Apostles to write at all ; we can say
with great peace of mind to our dissenting brethren, prove
your point. Prove that the written word contains all that'
Christ taught.
You, who are but a small minority, must not take for
granted what three-fourths of all who believe in Christ
deny. The burden of proof in the case lies altogether with
you heretics, and for at least two reasons.
The Catholic Church, before and at the time of your sep-
aration from it, held that the Apostles jDreached more than
they wrote. Rome was in possession ; it was your duty to
prove her wrong, but to this day you have not done so.
Secondly^ How in reason can you maintain that the writ-
ten word includes the entire gospel, when it nowhere
affirms such of itself. Can you show that there was an
understandinij between those who wrote that what this one
omitted the other should supply? You cannot. On the
contrary, there is abundant evidence to demonstrate that
there was no such an agreement made. The four gospels
4
)
ALETHAURION. 469
give us, in a variety of instances, the very same facts
related in different words.
The book called the Acts of the Apostles is certainly not
the result of a consultation among the twelve, for it treats
principally of the labors of St. Paul, of whom its author,
Luke, was a disciple and follower.
If it had been intended as a history of the Church, we
would therein have registered what the other Apostles
also did.
The Epistles of Sts. Peter, Paul, Jude and John, are
nothing more nor less than pastoral letters of those first
bishops of the Church, bringing into relief certain truths of
the faith, and warning the people against evils that existed
in those days.
Now we know that a pastoral letter may be most excel-
lent, and yet contain only a small number of the truths
taught by the Saviour. Leo XIII, when Bishop of Perugia,
wrote several such, which have since been collected and
published in one volume. They are good reading.
But no Catholic, for a moment, regards them as a full
and complete exposition of our holy religion. They pre-
suppose the faith already preached among the people to
whom they are addressed, and an allusion only is made, in
many places where a full explanation would be in order if
they were intended to be exhaustive doctrinal treatises.
It is thus, also, with the letters written by the Apostles.
They would be enigmas to the public without preparatory
religious instructions. The scriptures are in a peculiar
manner the property of the Church.
They were written by believers for believers, and there is
no evidence to show that the Saviour ever intended that the
written word should be put into the hands of Pagans. Indeed
it is not at all likely that a Pagan would derive the least
spiritual protit from reading even the New Testament.
Some previous training would surely be required.
And this has been the plan of the Catholic Church from
470 ALETHAURION.
the commencement. She does not put the scriptures into
the hands of the people until such time as they would be
likely to profit by the reading of them.
Let us here take a rapid survey of the methods used by
the Catholic missionary, and the sectarian minister, respec^
tively, in dealing with Pagans.
We have as yet, in the far west, some tribes, and frag-
ments of others, to whom this country originally belonged.
They got lead in exchange for a part of their lands, and fire-
water, with a few blankets, and some damaged provisions,
for the rest.
In a word, they have been cheated, robbed, and then shot
down and murdered, for daring to complain or assert their
manhood. The writer does not hold the civil government
entirely responsible for such iniquity.
It began and was fully developed before our existence as
a nation ; for true religion was not on hand to restrain what
human passion suggested. The civil government of these
States has ever shown a desire to treat the Indian fairly and
humanely ; but the spirit of heresy has as often stepped in,
to neutralize its good intentions.
Years ago, when a school boy, we read in histories intended
for children, a good deal about the cruelties of Cortez, in
Mexico, and of Pizarro, in Peru. The historian appeared
to have had only one object in view, which was to show how
unjust and tyrannical the agents of the so-called Catholic
government could be.
We do not here undertake to write an apology for any
one, whether Catholic or heretic, who does iniquity. The
name of Catholic will not save him if he be guilty.
But, not to be ponderous, we simply ask, how does it
happen that, notwithstanding all that has been said about
those two Spanish worthies, there are Indians in Mexico and
Peru yet and none here? No argument can upset a fact.
The Spanish conquerors may have, in some instances^
done wrong ; no doubt they did, for they were men of the
)
ALETHAURION. 471
sword, with many temptations in their way. But the
Catholic Church, to which they belonged, stepped in and
healed, as far as possible, t^e wounds which human passion
had inflicted.
Its action saved the conqueied Indian tribes from exter-
mination, and, for the sovereignty which they had lost, it
gave them the faith, and that peace which the world cannot
give. This accounts for the existence of Indians in Mexico
and South America.
But how did the Catholic Church effect what we are
speaking of? It was in this way: She sent priests among
those people who taught them the truths of Christianity,
gained their confidence, and never forfeited.it by unjust
dealing. Those priests established schools for the children
and taught their parents the rudiments of civilization.
In this way, those tribes were brought within the pale of
the Church, where they, or rather their descendants, remain
to this hour, cultivating a soil inherited from their fore-
fathers, and living, with few exception, the lives of
Christian men.
The Catholic Church did not send colporteurs into Mexico
to sling bibles at the Aztecs, and then drive them out of their
own country for not being able to read and understand them^
She took a different plan, and the result shows that she
alone civilizes the savage ; and, from a Pagan, makes a
Christian of him. The very same thing would have been
done in this country, if the Church had been given free
action.
The Indians would have been civilized and Christianized
without the Bible and without battles, and, at this day, would
be numerous, prosperous, peaceable and happy, instead of
being as they are, reduced to a mere handful of wretched
starving hostiles.
And if those blatant bushwhacking preachers, that in early
dftyh went trotting tluok^rh this State, with the Bil)]e in one
saddle-pocket, and the Lord knows what not in the other.
472 ALETHAURIOX.
*' foaming out of their own confusion," had taught a religion
of love instead of hate, we would now have more Indians
and less bigotry.
To return again to the point : What in the name of com-
mon sense can an Indian or any savage do with the Bible?
Heretics themselves, who pretend to learning and civiliza-
tion, wrangle over its meaning, and do they expect savages
to take in the whole thing as by inspiration?
Give the Bible to a Chinese mandarin who never had any
experience among Christians, and, far from being al)le to
learn in its fulness, that system of religion which Chkist
taught, the volume would be to him as ab.surd as the book
of Mormon is to us.
If the Bible contains all that Christ revealed, and is so
plain that it may be understood by each one, as the heretics
say it is, why don't they all agree? What warrant have
they for keeping the first day of the week holy instead of the
seventh, as God commanded should be done.
From these various considerations it will appear that the
written word is not, of itself, a sufficient guide to lead men
to heaven. It needs the light of divine tradition, without
which it certainly is a dangerous volume for any one to
handle.
The Apostles and evangelists wrote the New Testament.
Its full meaning they taught orally ; and this apostolic
interpretation has been handed down, in the faith and' prac-
tice of the Roman Church, from their day to our own.
In the next we will consider the question whether a man
who has road the Bible, and thinks he understands it, has a
right to constitute himself a guide, and profess ability to
lead and direct others to heaven.
i
'W^
ALETHAURION. 473
CHAPTER CXI.
}
WHETHKK ANY ONE WHO HAS READ THE BIBLE AND THINKS
HE UNDERSTANDS IT CAN LAWFULLY PROFESS HIMSELF A
MINISTER OF CHRIST AND A DISPENSER OF THE MYSTER-
IES OF GOD.
From the beginning of the world, to the time of MosES,
each head of a family that worshiped the true God, had the
right to offer sacritiee and to teach his children with author-
ity, such truths as had been revealed either immediately to
himself, or had come to his knowledge by tradition.
But, after Moses had lead the chosen people out of Egypt
he, by Divine command, restricted the right of offering sac-
riticeto Aaron and his posterity, who, assisted by the other
meml)ers of the tribe of Levi, were henceforth to have the
exclusive right of directing and managing all matters apper-
taining to the worship of God.
This restriction was not pleasing in the eyes of Core,
Dathan and Abiron, three influential and envious men of
that day. These regarded the innovation in favor of Aaron
and his children as something not to be tolerated at all.
So upon their own authority, they, with their adherents,
concluded to worship God as they saw fit ; Moses and his
brother Aaron to the contrary, notwithstanding. We are
all good enough to be priests, said they, in substance, and
why do you two, Moses and Aaron, lift yourselves above
the people of the Lord ?
But God, on that occasion, taught those wicked men
that it is His prerogative to choose out from among men those
by whom He wishes to b© served in His sanctuarv ; for the
earth opened and s^^w^^hem down alive into hell,
timbers xvi.
;^^^^
~
474 ALETHAUEIOX.
• From all of which it appears that, among the Jews, dur-
ing, and from the time of Moses, it was not lawful for each
one who thought he understood the business to arrogate tO'
himself the title and privileges of a minister of God.
When Christ came into the world, He abolished the
Aaronic priesthood. And, though we have Jews yet, they
have no longer a sacrifice, for the descendants of Aaron
cannot now be distinguished from the common herd.
In a word, there is not a Jew living that knows to what
tribe he belongs. From the days of Jacob to the destruc-
tion of their city, each Hebrew family knew from which one
of his sons it had drawn its origin, for genealogical tables
were kept in every house with the greatest care.
But, because those tablets have for ages been lost, it so
happens, that the pedigree of a modern Jew is as perplexed
as that of the average Gentile.
The Jewish Church and sacrifice having ceased, let us
next inquire whether, in the New Dispensation, there be a
body of men corresponding to Aaron and the Levites, or
whether, as in patriarchal times each one who wishes to*
minister in the holy place is at liberty to do so without a
vocation.
That there is a distinction in the Church of Christ, analo-
gous to that in synagogues which preceded it, may be
proved in two ways.
First of all we have occular demonstration of the fact in
the Catholic Church, which goes back year after year and
century after century to the time when Christ lived upon
this earth.
The mysteries of God are dispensed only by a set of men
specially set apart for that purpose, and comprised in three
grades or classes, viz : Bishops, priests and deacons.
Beginning with this nineteenth century, and sailing up the
stream of time, we find them in every age, now administer-
ing the sacraments, now preachings the gospel ; regarding
themselves and regarded by the people, as a distinct class.
i
ALETHAURION. 475
History fixes no period subsequent to the time of the
Apostles, when the distinction we si)eiilv of began ; and it
even forbids us to entertain, for one moment, the theory
that it was not so from the l)oginning.
Here then, we have a public fact ; we have in the Church,
which Christ founded, a hierarchy claiming exclusive right
to dispense the mysteries of God, and having that claim
allowed without a dissenting voice in the whole Church.
There must be some cause to account for it, and we confi-
dently affirm, without fear of successful contradiction, that
none can be found until one goes back to Jesus of Nazareth.
The conclusion, therefore, is that Christ set apart some
in His Church to direct and control in spiritual matters.
This same truth will also appear, no less clearly to the mind
if we take up the New Testament, even as a history, and
examine its pages.
We learn from three of the gospels that Christ, on the
night before His crucifixion, while seated w^ith His Apostles
at table in an upper chamber of a house in Jerusalem,
took bread, which he gave them with the words : <'Take
and eat, this is my body." In like manner the wine, saying:
** Drink ye all, this is my blood ; do this in commemoration
of Me.'* Christ on that occasion offered a sacrifice, in
accordance with the words of holy David, speaking of the
future Messiah : **The Lord hath sworn, and it shall not
TQpent Him ; thou art a priest forever according to the
order of Melchisedec." Ps. 109. He empowered and
commanded the twelve Apostles, only to do what He had
done. Let it be remembered that Christ had, at the same
time, seventy-two disciples ; yet, as neither they nor His
Blessed Mother were present on the occasion, neither
received the powers given to the twelve.
Again: To the Apostles alone, He said: ''Receive ye
the Holy Ghost ; whose sins you shall forgive, they are for-
given ; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.''
And before ascending to the Father, He said to them and
476 ALETHAURION.
to their successors, alone: '< All power is given to Me* in
heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you ; and behold,
I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world." Matth. xxviii.
Here, in those texts already given, and in others which
could be adduced, we see a distinction made between the
Apostles and the other followers of Christ ; the very same that
is observed at this day in the Catholic Church, between the
•clergy and the laity. The Apostles themselves, true to the
instructions they had received from the Saviour, taught the
people everywhere, to make the same distinction.
*' Let a man so regard us," says St. Paul, *' as the min-
isters of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God."
I Cor. iv. *' Neither doth any man take the honor to him-
self, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was." Heb. v, 4.
The latter is a very important text, and should be well
studied. Paul maintains that before one run the risk of
calling himself a priest, or a minister of the gospel, he should
have a vocation, ^. e., be called, either by God Himself
directly, or by some one who has authority. Though Aaron
had a divine vocation, yet it was Moses that authorized him
to act.
Again, says the Apostle : ** How can they preach unless
they be sent?'^ Rom. x, 15. All these texts go to show
that, as now, there was also in the days of the Apostles a
clergy and a laity in the Church.
The Apostle asks : ** How can they preach unless they
be sent?" St. Paul is here somewhat old-fashioned in his
language ; and most likely, when that new translation of
the Bible comes out, to take the place of King James' ver-
sion, the passage will read : ** How can they preach unless
they have a call." Sectarians, in speaking of their preach-
ing brethren, always carefully avoid the use of the word
ALETHArniON. 477
snify which implies an authority in the Church. A 111:111
who is not sent has evidently no right to preach, according
to the Scrij^turcs. Sectarianism is Aveak on that point, and
feels it. Who sent Lutiieh? Who sent Calvin? Who
sent Wesley? Who sent Campbell? Who sent San^eden-
liORG? Were they sent by Goi> directly, or were they fccnt
by sr)me authority here on earth? If by God directly, tell
us what miracles did they perform, in proof of their extra-
ordinary mission. If by an earthly authority, tell us its
name.
None of these heresiarchs were sent to preach by the Cath-
olic Church : and they could not have been sent by those con-
venticles which they themselves founded, for a being must
exist before it can act. Hence, outside of the Catholic Church,
there can be no such thing as a mission. For if one goes
l)ack far enough into the history of any sectarian conventicle
he will find that it was first organized by somebody who was
not himself sent, and, as a consequence, had no right nor
authority to send others.
Sectarians forget that the Church of Christ is a king-
dom, with all the machinery of government. And, just as
the writer of this, though a citizen of the United States, is
not entitled to handle the mails that come to this point,
without the authority of the President, so neither can a
simple member of the Church of Christ act in an official
capacity, without the authorization of Christ's vicar on
earth.
So far we have considered some things a member of the
laity cannot lawfully do.
478 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER CXII.
SOME SPECULATIONS REGARDING THE EXTENT TO WHICH A
LAYMAN IS A MINISTER OF CHRIST AND DISPENSER OF
THE MYSTERIES OF GOD.
In the last chapter we spoke of the distinction made by
the Saviour between the Apostles and those others who
believed in them. To the former He gave all power and
authority in His Church, and, upon the latter, He imposed
the obligation of obedience. The Apostles represented the
hierarchy, or teaching and governing part of the Church.
This was organized, with Peter at its head, before Pente-
cost, the day on which the ship was formally set afloat.
The captain and crew were already on board, at their posts,
and only awaited passengers ; three thousand of whom
entered their names on the date aforesaid.
We may here lay it down as a principle, that all ordinary
power in the Church was given to the Apostles alone. To
them only it was said : ** As the Father hath sent Me, so
also I send you," '* going forth, teach all nations . . .
teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have com-
manded you." Extraordinary powers, such as the gift of
miracles, prophecy, etc., were given, and still are, to others.
The ordinary powers are three in number, viz : authority to
preach the Gospel, to administer the Sacraments, and to
govern the Church.
We may now inquire whether, in the first place, the twelve
had a right to delegate the power received ; and in the
second, to what extent such was actually done. The first ques-
tion is one easily solved. ** As the Father hath sent Me,"
said Christ to them, ** so also, I send you." Christ could
delegate His power ; therefore the same is true of the Apos-
tles. But the extent to which it was actually done, can be
ALETIIAURION. 479
learned only in one way, viz : by a study of the faith and
practice of the Roman Church. That faith and })rac-
tice teaches, that they transmitted to bishops all the
ordinary powers received from Christ. To priests, as part
of an undivided whole, they gave power to preach the gos-
pel, to administer all the sacraments except one (orders),
and to rule and direct a portion of God's people. To dea-
cons they gave the right to serve the priest or bishop at the
altar, to distribute the bread of life to the people, to have
care of temporalities, and to preach the gospel. To all
mankind, without exception, to the end of time, the Apos-
tles gave the power to administer, validly, the sacrament of
Baptism, and, when baptized, that of Matrimony.
As the reader will observe, we have here called attention
to first principles only ; which must be taken in connection
with that principle of authority^ which runs through the
entire Church. The Apostles gave no bishop the right to
minister, as independent of the Pope ; they gave to no
presbyter or deacon, immunity from episcopal supervision,
they gave to no one of the laity a right to ignore his imme-
diate pastor.
As regards the governing power in the Church, it may he
well to bear in mind, that the Apostles reserved that in toto
to the hierarchy, composed of bishops, priests and deacons.
Hence*, those lay trustees that are to be found in some par-
ishes, who arrogantly assume to themselves the right to
direct and control, on the ground that priests know nothing
about financial matters, go beyond their powers.
The priest, according to the apostolic plan, is to be the
director, and his decision holds good until modified or
reversed by superior authority. The right of appeal is how-
ever, at all times to be cheerfully admitted. It is just and
proper that the pastor should control, for churches are pri-
marily, and we would even say solely, houses of prayer.
They are built as aids to lead us to heaven. But when man-
.aged by a clique of worldly-minded men who have money
480 ALETHAURIOX.
alone on the brain, a Christian Church may very easily
become what the temple at Jerusalem was in our Saviour's
time, viz: *' A den of thieves." Matt, xxi, 13.
Usury, with all its damnable concomitants, should be
scourged forever from the house of God.
Thus we have spoken of the prerogatives o§ the clergy,
and the rights of the laity, so far as the government of the
Church and the administration of the sacraments are con-
cerned. Let us, in the next place, consider to whom and to
what extent the Apostles transmitted the power to preach
the gospel.
Now, we believe that much confusion of thought may be
avoided, and loads of learning saved by one simple distinc-
tion. The Apostles transmitted to the hierarchy the power
to preach the gospel, as a duty to he fulfilled. Others may
use the. sword of the spirit, but arc not bound, as regularly
enlisted soldiers. A command is given to the hierarchy,
permission is granted to the laity. A special grace accom-
panies the former, a rich reward goes with the latter.
Hence, each and every man living has the right to preach
Catholic doctrine, *' for it is good to hide the secret of a
king, but honorable to reveal and confess the woi-ks of
God," said Kapilel to Tobias, xii, 7.
And should a layman desire to devote his energies to the
spread of Catholic truth, the writer knows of no law to pre-
vent him, so long as he teaches sound doctrine, and disturbs
not the existing order in the Church.
Thus far the theory. Practically, such a thing would not
be desirable to any great extent. For, considering the weak-
ness of human nature, unsustained by the grace which the
Sacrament of Order gives, it would be more than likely that
such Quixotic zeal would soon end in a fiasco. The present
discipline of the Church on that point, is the result of cen-
turies of experience, and the creature of a day should open
the safety-valve of his conceit chamber before attempting
an improvement.
ALETHAURION. 481
As regards the dissemination of Catholie truth through
newspapers, the case is different. The layman, whose zeal
is directly through that channel, preserves intact his family
and social relations. The propositions he puts forward may
easily be examined, and their tone and drift maturely con-
sidered by those whose duty it is to watch over the flock,
and see that no poison, under the name of food, is smuggled
into the fold. We do not wish to enter here into the rami-
fications of positive law on the subject of printed publica-
tions, on doctrinal themes.
But we state it is as our opinion that the theory w^hich
would make the episcopal imprimatur a necessary preface
to a Catholic journal, is unsound.
It must never be forgotten that the Catholic Church
is not a stranded vessel, but still afloat, and that its oflScers
may take in or let out sail, as the needs of the hour
may require. In a word, it must be borne in mind. that in
Kome there is not only a judicial but also a legislative
authority.
Hence, though one should grant, which need not, howxver,
be done, that in past years, the imprimatur was necessary to
a Catholic newspaper, in the light of recent acts and
declarations of the chief bishop, it would no longer follow
that such is now the case.
But the right of the ordinary, to have supervision over a
Catholic journal published in his diocese, no Catholic will
deny.
The injured party, however, in case of condemnation, may
appeal to higher authority. But he should not bring his
case into the Church before having had recourse to those
other means mentioned in the gospel.
In our next we return once more to the life and timjss of
St. Paul.
482 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER CXIII.
ST. PAUL VISITS JERUSALEM FOR THE LAST TIME, IS ARRESTED
BY THE JEWS, TRIED, AND SENT FOR SAFE KEEPING TO
C^SAREA.
After having preached the gospel and founded churches
in Asia Minor, Syria, Macedonia, Greece and other parts,
Paul returned to the Holy City, for the last time.
On arrival he proceeded without delay to the house of
St. James the Apostle, and bishop of Jerusalem. To him
and to the ancients he *' related particularly what things
God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry."
Acts xxi. 10.
They were pleased at the recital, and glorified the Lord.
But knowing the impetuous character of Paul, they counseled
moderation and prudence, so as not to excite the fury
of those Jews who lived in the city.
He appears to have yielded to their suggestions, and, as
his principal sin, in the estimation of his unconverted coun-
trymen, consisted in not causing the law of Moses to be
observed, he purified himself and others that were with him,
in order to gain the good will of the unbelieving, or at
least prevent their active opposition.
The observance of the Mosaic law, was, of course, no
longer obligatory, yet the early followers of the Saviour
did not abandon it at once, partly from prudential motives,
and partly in order to bury the synagogue with honor.
But Paul's efforts to conciliate, went wide of the mark.
His character for restless zeal in the cause of the Nazarene
was too well known.
And those Jews that had seen and heard him in Asia,
were fully persuaded that the leopard would change his
ALETHAURION. 483
spots and the Ethiopian his skin, before he would change
his aorijressive habits.
Homer represents Hector as always either engaged in a
battle or preparing for one ; and indeed, the same may be
said of the Apostle of the Gentiles. He was never at rest,
not even in prison, and possibly in his dreams he fought
over again the battles of the Lord. His presence alone was
a menace to falsehood, and it was so felt.
Hence, one day as he was in the temple, not disputing
or interfering with any one, some Asiatic Jews sat upon
him, dragged him outside the door, and would have mur-
dered him, had not the military tribune come to his rescue
with a band of soldiers.
The officer, without waiting to inquire who was to blame,
seized on Paul, and having bound him with chains, took
him off to prison.
On the way, he asked permission to speak to the crowd,
which by this time was very large, and leave having been
granted, he told the circumstances of his conversion.
The Jews listened for a time ; but when he declared that
God had destined him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles,
they could stand it no longer and cried him down. Some,
in their fury, cast off their garments and threw dust in the
air, like a herd of maddened cattle.
Paul was next brought before tho council, composed of
the high-priest and chief men of the synagogue. But when
he began to speak, the high-priest commanded one of the
attendants to strike him on the mouth, which made the
apostle call his loftiness a whitcd wall.
*' For sittest thou there to judge me according to the law,'* said he,
*• and contrary to the law commaudest me to be struck.'' Acts xxiii, 3.
From the glimpses we get, through the sacred writings,
of Paul's personal character, he appears to us as a man of
the linest sensibilities ; totally incapable of wantonly hurting
the feelings of any one.
But he did not respect iniquity in high places, nor make
484 ALETHAUEION.
a drone of himself to avoid beinsj res^arded bv his enemies
as a dangerous opponent. The good and the truthful loved
and admired him, but the wicked thought him arrogant,
because he bore testimony against their meanness.
True heroism is not spasmodic, but an abiding viixue of
the mind, and Paul, yielding sometimes to the force of
circumstances, but never abandoning through fear, a specific
and grand design, is one of the highest types of a hero.
Napoleon once said that you could never form a reliable
judgment of an enemy's bravery, except when under fire.
Probably the panic amongst his own men at Waterloo was
what put the idea into his head. But he was correct.
What the action of the multitude may be, must remain an
unknown quantity until the day of trial comes. The reason
is, because true heroism is as rare as true genius. It is the
twin brother of sanctity, and has a very close resemblance
to it.
We may sometimes bet on a man, but to wager money on
the multitude is to run the risk of losing it.
The reader must not take what is here said as favoring the
kingly form of government, which would be contrary to the
writer's conscientious opinion. We believe in a republican
form of State government.
A heroic, wise and just king would certainly be a blessing
to any country. But the main difficulty would be to find
such a one, and to keep him from getting spoiled after dis-
covery. Republics are the natural consequences of monarchi-
cal failures.
In the former, one party watches the other, and thievery
is kept within bounds but to mistrust royalty, would be
unprofitable, and dangerous withal.
When Paul had been brought before the council, he ob-
served that it was made up, principally, of Pharisees and
Sadducees. The former believed in a hereafter, and in the
resurrection of the body, as well as in the doctrine of rewards
ALETHAURION. 485
and punishments, in the future life. They also accepted the
books recognized as divine, by the Jews of our day, twenty-
two ill number.
The Sadducees would receive no others than the five books
of Moses : denied the existence of spirits, and maintained
that men are rewarded or punished iu this life only, for the
good or evil they may do.
Between those two sects there was as much disputing and
wrangling on points of belief, as between Methodists and
Campbellites of this country. But the Pharisees, being
more numerous, more learned in the law, and more bare-
facedly pious, generally succeeded in carrying the day.
St. Paul had but little to expect from either party, Tor
both had opposed the Saviour, and neither had any love for
His Apostles. But, by a shrewd maneuver, making use of
an ambiguous expression, he gained the good will of one of
the parties, and escaped their united malice.
To have recourse to similar tactics would be lawful also
at the present day, under proper circumstances. Let us
suppose a town or city inhabited by heretics and infidels, and
that between both there is much relii^ious hatred, the one
maintaining the authenticity, integrity, veracity and inspira-
tion of the scriptures, and the other denying one and all
these truths.
A Catholic, persecuted for the faith, and brought before
a council composed of men from both sides, could make use
of the same ruse, and say, almost in Paul's words.
" Men, brethren, I am a believer in the Bible, the son of a man who
believed in it : Concerning the truth contained therein I am called in
question."" Actsxxiii,6.
Thus Paul escaped the fury of those bloodhounds, who
now turned upon one another and wrangled. The tribune,
fearing that he might be torn in pieces amongst them', sent
soldiers, who again conducted him to prison.
But the danger w^as not yet over. Next day no less than
486 ALETHAURION.
forty Jews entered into a conspiracy, and *' bound them-
selves with a curse, that they would neither eat nor drink
till they had killed Paul."
Their plan was to get the chief priests to have him brought
once more before the council, and they, lying in wait, would
assassinate him as he was led from prison.
Having learned their designs, and wishing to give them
ample time to fast, he made known the secret to the tribune,
who immediately took measures to send him to Ccesarea,
where Governor Felix laid down the law, and made others
observe it.
Before accompanying the Apostle thither, we will state a
few* truths regarding secret societies : a subject suggested by
the conspiracy already mentioned.
CHAPTER CXIY.
SECRET SOCIETIES AND KINDRED SUBJECTS.
A proclivity for clap-trap and secrecy is a weakness that
seems inherent, if not to all, at least to very many of Adam's
race. It may be noticed even in the savage, though it
attains the perfection belonging to its species, in civiliza-
tion.
The various tribes, hostile one to another, found on this
continent at the time of its discovery, point out the exis«
tence of a powerful centrifugal force in human nature, for
in all probability, there were not at first, more than a few
distinct families.
But in the course of time, rivalries sprang up between
leading men ; then secrecy and scheming took the place of
manly arts.
As among savages, the coercive force to maintain unity
was not strong, schism after schism was the natural result ;
until the presence of some common danger made further
ALETIIAUKION. 487
division not desirable. Among civilized people, on the con-
trary, there appears to be, in our time, a tendency to agglo-
meration. This comes of superior political sagacity.
Men are getting to see more and more the advantages of
unrestrained intercourse with one another ; and the day is
possibly not distant when the whole of North America will
be only one and the same nation ; with home rule in each
particular state, and a central authority to complement the
whole.
England at one time had seven kings ; and Ireland had
many princes with, long pedigrees. Until recently, Ger-
many was cut up like sauer-kraut, with grand dukes and
electors, too thick to thrive. Italy, too, had its stock of
princes, each independent, and with one exception, insig-
nificant.
But things have changed within the present century, and
we hope that before another hundred years shall have
passed, kings will be confined principally to the chess-board
and to the stage, where they shine brightest and do the
least harm.
With the establishment of republics in the various coun-
tries of Europe, the process of agglomeration will go on
more steadily, and standing armies, those adjuncts of des-
potism, that paralyze in peace, and destroy in war, will be
out of a job.
But though superior intelligence causes men to unite on
some grand and leading principle, and to resent the viola
tioa of it on the part of individuals, still that centrifugal
force — that weakness for separation, will in all probability,,
be never totally eradicated.
In these United States, where the general government is
loved by the majority and respected by all, that itching for
division from the herd manifests itself in the multitude of
secret societies. Besides Free Masons and Odd Fellows we
have an almost endless secondary list, some local, others
488 ALETHAURION.
national, and the catalogue is not as yet completed, for new
ones are daily springing into existence. Now it is iKjtto be
wondered at, that in countries like Russia and Germany,
where the people are trampled in the dust by their rulers,
and where a man can scarcely breathe the free air of heaven
without a license from the king, that there should be secret
leagues among the people, in order to rid themselves of the
monstrous incubus. But here in America, where every one
whose cause is just, has not only free speech and free action,
but likewise the sympathy and support of the country and
its institutions, it appears strange at first sight, that there
should be found so many secret cliques.
Before entering into speculations regarding the cause of
this, it may be proper in a cursory way, to call attention to
an important point of distinction between the secret socie-
ties of Europe and those of America. Many, if not all, of
the former, are revolutionary in their tendencies ; i. e., they
aim at the overthrow of the civil government or of the
Church. In Russia, the Nihilists, wearied with despotism
and injustice, would liberate themselves from a galling
bondage, by the destruction of the throne itself. In France
and Italy, where the secret societies manage the govern-
ment, their action is directed against the Church. In this
country, on the contrary, there is not, so far as we can see,
that same revolutionary spirit among secret societies ; yet,
they are not the less to be dreaded, for they are like pow-
der magazines.
Secrecy alone, is a presumption of guilt. The great
Teacher and Model of our race, has said ;
*' Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and conieth not to the
light that his worlcs may not be reproved : but he that doeth trnlh,
cometli to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they
are done in God." John iii, 20 21.
If you analyze the motives of any man who enters a secret
society, you will find them, in nine cases out of ten, either
vain, selfish or sinful — principally vain or selfish. AVhen
ALETHAURION. 489
we take into consideration the influence wielded by such
societies, the secret bonds of friendship between the mem-
bers, their oiiths to be true to one another, etc., it will no
longer astonish us that men who seek preferment, success in
business, or social standing, should wish to have theirnames
inscribed on the rolls of one or more of them.
But, what harm can there be in making friends and allies
to help us through in the battle of life? says some one. We
freely admit that, in dealing with a non-Catholic, it is not
an easy thing to convince him that he is wrong in being a
Freemason or Odd Fellow. He reasons thus : Our society
is established for no revolutionary purpose ; men of all shades
of political opinion can become members ; we require no
religious test from any one ; Catholics, Protestants, Jews
and Infidels may join us, if they wish, and still go to their
own places of worship on Sundays, or stay away, just as
they choose. We make w^ar upon no government. Church
or organization. Our objects are brotheily love, mutual aid,
and sociability.
What reply shall we give to a man who states his case in
the foregoing words?
A substantial answer to the Freemason's plea, implies a
long argument showing that Christ, who proved His
Divinity by rising from the dead, established on earth a
society intrusted with man's peace of soul here, and his
happiness hereafter ; that said society is the Catholic
Church, and that what she condemns cannot be really
good or advantageous to mankind. This is the only line
of argument by which one can reach a non-Catholic Free-
mason.
Little incidents do occur, from time to time, that may be
used to advantage against secret societies. Thus, f«)r exam-
ple, a Freemason, high in the order, commits a felony, that
might take one of the uninitiated to the State's prison or to
the gallows ; but the judge is a brother, the sheriff is a
brother, more than half of the most influential jurors a.Tfi
490 ALETHAUKION.
i,
brothers, the lawyers on both sides are brothers, and the-
felon slips out of the clutches of the law between them.
In this consists the very essence of those societies contem-
plated in the anathemas of the Church. When allegiance to-
a society is made paramount to the fidelity which is lawfully
due the State or Church, then it becomes sinful, and the
organization that encourages it can be little else than an
engine of Satan.
It is to counteract the evil influence of those secret socie-
ties which are under heretical or infidel control, that others,
modeled almost on their plan, have been established, and
are very properly encouraged among the faithful. In this;
way, men with a weakness for bunting, processions, and
clap-trap generally, have a means of indulging their genius,,
wtthout being exposed to the danger of seduction.
Let us here attempt to define what is to be understood by
a Catholic society. A Catholic society is an association of
men professing the Catholic faith, subject to the control of
ofiScers duly elected, or appointed, acknowledging the
authority and guided by the just counsels of the pastor,
within whose jurisdiction the society is established and the
members reside.
Here also, it may be proper to call attention to the dis-
tinction between a Catholic society and a society of Catholics,
The right of individual Catholics to organize, for a specific
and lawful purpose, cannot be questioned, nor is there any
need that such an organization should make, as a society, a
formal acknowledgment of its allegiance to the Church
It may be simply a civil institution, each member thereof
fulfilling the duties and obligations of his religion, as
an individual, without relation to his connection with the
society.
But while we maintain that Catholics have the right to
organize civil societies for one good purpose or another, we
are not ignorant of the fact that such may easily become, in
t.he hands of a few designing men, powerful engines for
ALETIIAURIOX. 491
mischief. Thoy have not the indcfcctibility and infallibility
that belongs to the Church ; hence, such organizations may
err in their aims, or may, in course of time, cease to be
what they were originally. The pool that receives not from
time to time, a fresh su[)|)ly from the fountain, is apt to
corrupt ; and a society of Catholics, even without the secrecy,,
may easily become, to all intents and purposes, a secret
society. Yet, lot no one attempt to make the way narrower
than ChrIvST made it. He that would curtail liberty may do
to keep a jail, but is not fit to lead men to what is noble,
grand and glorious.
In our next we return to St. Paul.
CHAPTER CXV.
ST. PAUL IS TAKEN TO C.ESAREA, AND THENCE TO ROME.
After his narrow escape from Jewish treachery in Jerusa-
lem, Paul was taken to Csesarea to be judged by Governor
Felix. Felix, like most of the underlings of that day,
and in fact, like the majority of State officials in every age
and country, had that cringing regard for Cesar, usually
termed loyalty, which then, as now, meant little more than
a love of office and of the emoluments appertaining there-
unto. He did not neglect to give the Apostle a speedy trial,v
but, though finding nothing in him worthy of punishment,
yet he did not suffer him to regain his freedom, and on
one pretext or another kept him prison.
Fellx, no doubt, often had his palm greased by litigants
before his tribunal, and that a leading man like Paul should
be taken out of prison by the multitudes who loved and
admired him, on paying a round sum, appeared to His
Excellency as largely within the bounds of probability.
But he was mistaken. Our ancestors, in the faith of those?
primitive and palmy days, took no bribes and gave none.
492 ALETHAURION.
Paul was not slow in divining the real motives that influ-
enced his jailer. Hence, one day when Felix came with
Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, upon the pretence
of hearing the faith which is in Christ, the Apostle treated
in a special manner, of justice, of chastity and of the judg-
ment to come. We are informed the Governor did not relish
such a discourse any to well, being terrified by the earnest-
ness and eloquence of the great Apostle. But on account
of his wife he tried to bluff his way out of the confusion
plainly visible in his countenance. So, with an air of great
importance and authority, he said to Paul, *' You may go
now, but at a convenient time I will send for you."
Seutoxius, in Claudius, section twenty-eight, informs us
that the Felix here spoken of had, in all, three wives or
queens ; and it is moreover evident, from Josephus, Antiq.
XX, 7-2, that Drusilla was not his lawful wife, but a woman
whom Simon Magus had persuaded to leave her own hus-
band, who was king of Emesa, and a proselyte, in order to
cohabit with Felix, an idolator.
These facts being known, we readily comprehend why he
was so terrified at hearing the Apostle's discourse concern-
ing chastity and the judgment to come ; and we may also
easily guess the reasons that moved Paul to choose those
su))jects on the occasion. For he never missed an opportu-
nity to humble and confound the insolent and unjust, whilst
he infused a spirit of manly dignity into the hearts of all
who loved the truth.
Tacitus, speaking of this same Felix, says :
" He exercised the authority of a king with the disposition of a slave,
and relyin«: upon the great power of his hrother Pallas at court, thought
that he might safely be guilty of all kinds of wickedness."
Many, if not all the Roman governors of provinces, at
this period, were but mere creatures, brought to the surface
by force of meanness and time serving. Such men never
know how to use authority with propriety for their instincts
ALETHAURION. 49$
being of a low, slavish nature, they combat magnauimity
instead of encouraging it in others.
Indeed, we may lay it down as a general principle, that
they who gain position by humoring the follies and vices of
one man are rarely fit to govern many.
The providence of God is certainly mysterious, but in
nothing more so than in permitting a base wretch, with the
demeanor of a favorite lackey, like Felix, to exercise au-
thority over such men as St. Paul. After two years of
injustice and petty tyrany, Felix w^as called to Rome to
answer for his crimes.
His neck was in danger, and it would have cracked had
not his brother Pallas, another black Cherub, obtained his
pardon through personal influence with Nero.
Fortius Festus succeeded him, who also left Paul still a
prisoner ; for he wished to gratify the Jews. In meantime
the chief priest and principal men of the city had formed a
new plot — to have Paul taken back from Cresarea to Jerusa-
lem, so their hired assassins, in which the country .then
abounded, might murder him on the way.
As the Apostle had but little confidence in the firmness of
Festus, and knowing, moreover, that he sought to gain
favor with the Jews, he did not- hesitate to take the last
step by appealing at once to Caesar :
" I stand at Cesar's tribunal," said he " for if I have injured them, or
have committed an3'thing that deserveth death, I refuse not to die, but if
there be nothing of these things whereof they accuse me, no man can
deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.
While Festus was awaiting a favorable opportunity to
send Paul to Rome, he received a complimentary visit
from his fiiend. King Agrippa. He also wished to see and
hear the Apostle.
But though a man of fine, natural abilities, and a bdiever
in the prophets, Agrippa did not embrace Christianity ; for
the fog of worldly pleasure, prevented the light of the gos-
pel from shining upon his soul in its full splendor. He
494 ALETHAURION.
remjiined in unbelief, satisfied with the praises of men, and
careless al)out the great hereafter.
The incidents in Paul's voyage to Kome are given in the
last two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. We shall
shall take notice of only one of them.
It is related that after shipwreck, while in the island of
Malta, he was bitten by a viper, but having suffered no
harm, the people took him for a god. That the viper's
poison should have lost its deadly force on the Apostle
does not excite our wonder, considering the many miracu-
lous interpositions of Providence in those days.
But there is another circumstance in connection there-
with, which may not be known to all. There are vipers,
and many of them, to this day in Malta, yet strange to say,
they are no longer venemous. And the natives have a
tradition to the effect, that ever since St. Paul was bitten,
the vipers on the island have ceased to be poisonous.
The absence of snakes and other venemous reptiles in
Ireland is an almost parallel case. An ancient and univer-
sal tradition throughout the island ascribes their banishment
to St. Patrick. And we see nothing absurd in admitting
such as true.
Scientific men have found nothing in the soil or climate
of Ireland different from those of England or Scotland, and
yet serpents abound in both the latter, and not in the for-
mer country.
In our next we will finish the life of St. Paul.
CHAPTER CXVI.
ST. PAUL ENTERS ROME — HIS DEATH. •
Leaving Malta, Paul was brought to the city of the
C^SARS, there to finish his ministerial life on earth, and
seal with his blood the truth of all he had taught the
nations.
ALETIIAURION. 495
As the chai'Ofes againj^t liiin were not, according to Roman
law, of serious consequence, he was permitted to occupy
his own hired lodgings, with one soldier as a guard. St.
Luke tells us that he remained two whole years in the
4iforesaid quarters.
Many Jews, residents of the city, called upon him, to
whom he preached the new order of things ;^ to some with
success, w^iilst the majority remained obstinate.
Let the reader here recollect that up to the time of which
we are speaking, viz : A. D. 61, the followers of Christ
experienced the utmost toleration at the hands of the civil
authorities. Indeed it is said, that the Emperor Tiberius
desired to place the statue of our Saviour in the Capitol,
among the gods of Rome. He was lil)eral enough in his
views.
But the Senate, moved by a higher power that wills not
that truth and falsehood be blended, refused to accede to
his wishes. It was the obstinate Jews that first pointed out
to the Roman magistrates the difference between themselves
and the early followers of Christ.
Judaism, being tbe religion of the people that formed a
part of the Empire, was tolerated at Rome ; but Christianity
had no such backing. And, as said above, were it not for
Jewish malice, the civil authorities would have remained for
years ignorant of any distinction between those w^ho
observed the law of Moses and those who believed in
Christ.
Cesar is not excusable for his persecution of the Church.
But, in extenuation of his crime, it may be said that it was
the Jew who first put him up to it.
* With the liberation of St. Paul from prison ends the
narrative of St. Luke, as found in the Acts of the Apostles.
The few remaining incidents in his life have been handed
down by tradition.
It is said that during his stay in the city, and before the
persecution under Nero had broken out, he wrote some
4 9 G AT.ETHAURION .
letters to the Pagan philosopher Sexeca, and received
others from him in return. Of these epistles, and of
Seneca himself, St. Jerome, in his catalogue of Ecclesias-
tical writers, speaks in the following words :
"Lucius Ann.eus Seneca, of Cordova, the disciple of Socion the
Stoic, and uncle of the poet Luc an, was a man of the greatest continency,
whom I would not put in the catalogue of Saints, if those epistles read by
many, of Paul to Seneca and of Seneca to Paul had not moved me
thereunto. In which epistles Seneca says that he could wish to hold
the same place among his own people that Paul does among the
Christians.""
St. Augustxe also, in his 54th epistle, which is to Mace-
DONius, alludes to letters passed between our Apostle and
the philosopher in question.
It is most probable, however, that the genuine letters
have been lost, for those given by Sixtus Sexexsis, lib. II.
Biblioth, Sane, are generally regarded by the learned as
spurious. Consult Baronius, Tome I, Annals A. D. 60.
From the time of Paul's egress out of prison to that of
his death, A. D. 69, we have a period of eight years, and one
would naturally inquire whether he spent it all in evange-
lizing the Eternal City. In reply, it may be said, that, we
have no means of determining wnth certainty whether he
stayed in the city or went elsewhere to preach the gospel. '
His well known restless disposition and zeal in diffusing
the truths of the faith would lead us to believe that he could
not remain so long a time in one place — even though it had
then some millions to be converted.
Indeed, while he was yet at Corinth, preparing to go to
Jerusalem w^ith the charitable contributions collected in
Achaia and Macedonia, he wrote to the Romans, warning
them of his intention to visit their city, and from there to
pass into Spain.
"When I shall begin," says he, " to take my journey into Spain, I hope
that as I pass, I shall see you. and be brought on my way thither by you,
if first, in part, I shall have enjoyed you." Romans xv, 24.
ALETHAURION. 497
•i
His arrest at Jerusalem, and subsequent imprisonment for
four years made it impossible for him to accomplish his
design of visiting Spain as soon as he otherwise would have
done. But that he afterwards did so, we are assured by
many of the ancient Fathers. Cyril, of Jerusalem, Catech.,
17, speaking of our Apostle, says :
'* From Jerusalem even to Illyriciiin did he disseminate the f^ospel,
who also taught regal Rome, and extended the alaeiity of his preaching
as far as Spain."
St. Johx CnRYSOSTOM, Homily 76, in Matt., says:
*' Wlien therefore he had passed two years in Rome, he was at length
permitted to regain his freedom, then he went into Spain . . . and then,
perhaps, returned to Rome, when he was put to death at the command of
Nero.*'
Many others also testify to the same fact ; but let those
we have given suffice.
Some time after these events the Emperor Nero, who had
taken a fancy to fluting and poetry, conceived the design of
setting Rome on fire, in order that he might have the pleasure
of witnessing a conflagration similar to that of Troy. His
minions accordingly applied their torches ; whilst Nero,
seated on an eminence, with his flute, enjoyed the blaze.
But, as the firing of Rome was something that even an
emperor could not be guilty of, with impunity, Nero rightly
judged that it was none too soon to divert attention from
him.'^elf, and lay the blame on some one else.
The Christians were charged with the crime, and a perse-
cution inaugurated to blot them out. Peter and Paul,
along with scores of others, were seized and cast into prison.
Of the former we have already spoken, and the story of the
latter we shall now finish in a few words.
There is a place in the Roman campagna, alongside the
road to Ostia, called the Three Fountains, to which the finger
of tradition points as the spot where Paul fought his last
battle.
498 ALETHAURION.
The writer had the pleasure of a visit to it on the 25th of
February, 1868, and what follows is taken verbatim from
his note book :
" To-day at half-past eight, a. m., TA-ent out to see the Church of the
Three Fountains, where St. Paul was martyred. This Church is on tlie
Ostian way, some three or four miles, English measure, beyond the
Ostian Basilica. There are, properly speaking, three Churches. One
built in the Basilican style ; the other two, circular. In one of the latter
is a place that contained, or still contains, the relics of ten thousand
martyrs. The other is built over the spot where St. Paul laid down his
life for his faith. In this there are three fountains. Tradition says that
when Paul's head was severed from his body it made three leaps, and,
wherever it struck the earth, a fountain of water sprang up. The foun-
tains in question are about four paces apart, and in a straight line. They
are now surrounded by masonrj', and the head of St. Paul is represented
over each one in marble. Some persons claim they can distinguish a
difference in the taste of the m aters ; there may be, but I failed to notice
it. However, it seemed to me that the water from one of the fountains
was warmer than that of the others. These three Churches seem much
neglected, and, in fact, one could scarcely expect it to be otherwise,
because they are far removed from the city, in the dreary solitute of the
Campagna. Things will soon mend, for the Holy Father has concluded
to bring a colony of Trappists to cultivate the ground and keep them in
repair. There are present, already, some three or four of these monks —
all Germans, dressed in brown habits and wearing heavy wooden shoes.
But in a few days the real colony is expected to arrive from France."
In our next we will give a synopsis of what the other
Apostles did, and how they died.
CHAPTER CXVII.
SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF THE LIVES AND LABORS OF THE
APOSTLES.
Simon Peter, prince of the Apostles, born in the province
of Galilee, was in early life a fisherman. Called to be an
Apostle, he received from the Saviour a primacy not only
of honor, but also of jurisdiction over the Universal
Church.
ALETIL\UrjON. 499
He labored in JeriiJ;aleiii and amongst the Jews who were
disper:scd through the regions of Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia,
Cappadocia and Asia. Founded the See of Antioch,Euseb.
iii, 1, and finally went to Rome, which he made the center
of Catholic unity, by fixing his chair permanently therein.
Was put to death for the faith, by order of Neko, «Iune 29,
A. D. 69.
Paul was born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, persecuted the Church
at first, but, after conversion, became the most active of all
the Apostles. He was beheaded for the faith in Rome, June
29, A. D. 69. St. Gregory of Nyssa, Orat viii, de Beatitu-
dine, says, incorrectly, that he was crucified.
Andrew, the brother of Simox Peter, is said to have
first preached to the Scythians, Sogdians, and to other tribes
north of the Black Sea. Later on, he entered Greece, and
Avas crucified at Patrie, in Achaia.
The cross on which he suffered is still preserved in the
monastery of St. Victor, at Marseilles ; but its shape is
the same as that of the Saviour. Andrew wrote nothing.
The acts of his martydom, said to have been composed
by the priests of Achaia, are a bone of contention amongst
the learned. The most probable opinion is, they are not
authentic.
James the Greater, son of Zebedee, and brother of St.
John the Evangelist, was one of those who witnessed the
transfiguration on Mount Tabor.* He was beheaded for the
faith, by order of Herod Agrippa, A. D. 44.
It is uncertain whether he ever passed as an Evangelist,
beyond the confines of Judea. The Spaniards maintain that
he first introduced the gospel into their country. But their
claims to the honor are not generally allowed.
John the Evangelist, son of Zebedee, lived the longest
of any of the Apostles. The ancient Fathers Euseb iii, 31,
tell us that he died at Ephesus, about the year 104 of our
•era.
500 ' ALETHAURION.
Tertullian, in his work, De proescrip. hoereticoriim^ chap.
36, relates, that, during the persecution of Domitiax, he
was brought to Rome and thrown into a caldron of boiling
oil, from which he came forth unharmed, and even more
vigorous. The spot where this took place is still pointed
out, not far from the Latin gate.
Peter, bishop of Alexandria, informs us that his gospel,
in John's own handwriting, (^0 ^(Z^oc7^^>o?^,) was preserved
at Ephesus up to the sixth century. See Chron., Alex., by
Eader.
It is stated in the revelations of both St. Bridget and of
St. Gertrude, that St. John's body has already anticipated
the glory of the general resurrection. But the student of
history and theology must take those special revelations with
caution. Women are naturally imaginative, and a vivid
dream may sometimes be taken by them for a vision from
on high.
Philip preached the gospel of the Kingdom, first in
Scythia, and then in Phrygia, where he died in the city of
Hierapolis, A. D. 54. It is uncertain whether he suffered
martyrdom.
EusEBius, in Chron., says :
**This same year, the fourth of the 107th Olympiad, Philip, the
apostle of Christ, whilst preaching the gospel to the people of Hierapo-
lis, a city of Asia, was fastened to across and overpowered with stones.''
This testimony appears clear enough. But it is wanting
in some very important manuscript codes, and hence the
doubt regarding its genuinity.
Bartholemew first preached the gospel in Armenia, and
then in India, whither he also took with him the gospel of
St. Mattiieav, in Syro-Ccaldaic. Pantcenus, a christain
philosopher, came across it there a hundred years later, as
Eusebius v, 10, testifies.
Pie is said to have been skinned alive, and afterwards
beheaded at Albanopolis, a city of Armenia. Others say
that, after being cruelly scourged and nailed to a cross, he
ALETHAURION. 501
finished his days and gained the crown at an extreme old age,
in Urbanopolis, also in Armenia.
Matthew, first a tax collector, and afterwards called to
the apostolate, preached the gospel in Ethiopia, now called
Abyssinia. Socrates iii, 19. He is said to have died among
the Parthians, to whom he also preached. Ancient authors
do not agree respecting the manner of his death.
Clement of Alexandria, Strom, iv, affirms that he did not
suffer martydom, but died in peace.
Nicephorus, ii, 41, states that his persecutors having
kindled a fire around him, he extinguished it by his prayers,
and at length yielded up his soul in peace. Latin authors
generally hold that he died a martyr.
The Apostle Thomas, was the first to confess clearly and
distinctly, the divinity of the Saviour. John xx, 28.
Thouo^h slow to believe what had been related concerninor
the resurrection, yet, in the words of St. Gregory the
Great :
"We are more assured in our faith by the doubt of St. Thomas than
b}' tlie ready belief of the otlier Apostles.'' Horn. 26, in Evang.
From Eusebius, iii, 1, we learn that our Apostle labored
amongst the Parthians. By Parthia may be understood
also Persia, and those regions bordering on India.
A tradition of the third and fourth centuries informs us
that he was buried at Edessa, a city of Mesopotamia. But,
by a more recent one, we are assured that he suffered marty-
dom in the city of Calamina, in India.
When the Portuguese came to Malabar, about the year
1500 A. D., they found native believers who called them-
selves Christians of St. Tho^lvs ; and when it became known
that those people differed in belief somewhat from the
Roman Church, the French Huguenot, La Croze, set to
work to prove that the Christians of St. Thomas were genu-
ine Protestants.
But his book entitled, **The History of Christianity in
the Indies,** was so thoroughly riddled by Rexaudot, Le
502 ALETHAURION.
Brun and Assemaxi, that no Protestant now pretends to
claim kinship any longer with the native Christians of
Malabar.
The best theory we have seen on this subject is, that those
people, or rather their ancestors, were originally converted
from Paganism by St. Thomas, but were drawn about the
fifth century, into the Nestorian heresy, with which they
were found tainted at the time of discovery by the Portu-
guese.
It has also been handed down that St. Thomas converted
those three Magi, who adored our Lord in his infancy,
and that he ordained them as coadjutors in the Evangelical
field.
James, the son of Alpeus, surnamed the Lesser, became
first bishop of Jerusalem, and was martyred by the Jews,
having been precipitated from the top of the temple. Euse-
bius, ii, 23.
Simon Chaxaneus is said to have preached the gospel in
Mesopotamia, and also in Egypt. In fact, little or nothing
is known with certainty, regarding his labors or death.
Of JuDE, called alsoTHADDEUS, and of Mathias who took
the place of Judas Iscakiot, we may repeat what has been
said of Simon Chananeus ; little is known about them that
appears to rest on a solid basis. The former is said to have
preached in Lybia, Mesopotamia, Arabia and Idumoea ; the
latter in Judea and Ethiopia.
There may be uncertainty in some cases regarding the
particular countries in which the Apostles labored ; one thing
is clear — they labored well.
In our next we take up the gifts of the Church.
ALETHAURION. 50^
CHAPTER CXVm.
THE PREROGATIVES OF THE CHURCH — INDEFECTIBILITY.
The Church of Christ has three prerogatives, granted by
its divine founder. They are indcfectibility in existing,
infallibility in teaching, and authority in ruling.
By the indefectilMlity of the Church we mean that it will
retain, until the end of time, the same nature and proper-
ties, as well internal as external, that it had on the first day
of its existence — that it can not change in essentials. This
indcfectibility of the Church differs from visibility, which
effects only its external part. A Church may be conceived
as visible without being indefectible, as for example, any
one of the various sectarian conventicles.
So, also, indcfectibility differs from infallibility, for the
latter is a term used only in connection with its office as
teacher. A Church may be conceived as infallible in its
general councils for one or two generations, or even cen-
turies, and yet not be indefectible.
Anglicans generally maintain that the Church taught the
truth for the first five or six centuries, and then, little by
little, fell away.
In other words, they deny the indcfectibility of the Church,
whilst admitting its infallibility in council assembled ; at
least for the period mentioned. Indcfectibility differs also
from perpetuity, for by the latter nothing more is meant
than mere duration. The indcfectibility of theChun-h may
be likened to the personal identity of a man, with this dif-
ference, that the retention of indentity in the individual does
not necessarily imply retention of truth or of authority,
whereas, in that moral person we call the Church 1t does
imply both the one and the other ; and the admission of any
one prerogative logically leads to the admission of the
remaining two.
504 ALETHAURION.
Let us, before giving the proofs, call attention to the im-
portance of the 'subject. Those that have left the Catholic
Church do not deny that it goes back, as an organized
society, to the time of Christ and the Apostles ; for to call
that in doubt would be the act of an ignorant man. The
succession of the popes, from Peter to Leo, proves it to a
demonstration, for without a Church there would have been
no popes. Hence, dissenters were compelled to find some
pretext to justify their separation from us, and the pretext
was this : That the Church had changed ; become corrupt ;
that whilst it, indeed, still retained external or material
sameness, it had lost it internally and formally ; that it
taught error for truth, and consequently lost its right to
command.
Now, if it can be shown that the Church of Christ can-
not essentially change, either externally or internally, it will
be perceived that the prop slips from the pretext, and both
tumble together.
There is another error in the popular mind that prevents
many well disposed heretics from seeing their way clearly :
It is the idea of human progress.. IMen know from reading
history, and also from personal observation, that some
advance has been made in the arts and sciences within the
present century. They see the ocean now traversed by
powerful steamers that seem to bid defiance to the elements,
whereas, a century ago seafaring people were, to a great
extent, at the mercy of the winds and waves. They see
news now transmitted from city to city with the speed of
lightning. They see books and newspapers multiplied to an
almost endless extent, by the art of printing ; whereas, pre-
vious to the middle of the fifteenth century, the transcrib-
ing of even one co[)y of the Scriptures was a lal)or of many
months. Seeing such things, those who have not the faith
are apt to think and say : As we make progress in art and
science, why not al&o in religion?
We once listened to an arij^ument on this subject. The
ALETHAURION. 505
"disputjints were two old farmers who had come to town on a
Saturday afternoon, to refresh the inner man, get the mail,
and disburden themselves of their stock of political and
theoloirical smartness. Being mudsills and antiquated, their
illustrations were homespun and rural, like themselves —
taken principally from the corn-field, the blacksmithshop,
and the stock-yard. But, though not classical, they had
the merit of being expressive. The advocate of progress in
religion came out triumphant. He overwhelmed his oppon-
ent with a shower of modern instances. Finally, said he :
*' See how mu«3h better plows and reapers we have now; how much
finer horses and cattle; how much better houses to live in. than when you
and I were lads! All this is owing to progress, sir; to education, sir!
And why can't we make some advance also in the study of the Bible, and
in religion as well, sir?"
One of the bystanders was going to tie on the blue ribbon,
but another in the crowd said no ; that his nose was blue
enough to make him conspicuous in any assembly in
America.
This argument, to one outside the true church, is both
captious and plausible ; and, if we look well into the idea
expressed by the farmer in his own crude way, it will be
found to have had not a little to do with the rise and pro-
gress of many of the sects. To a Catholic who believes in
a living, teaching, indefectible, infallible Church, there can
of course, be no difficulty ; but to the Protestant mind, there
is here a powerful stimulus to everlasting change.
With all the sects it passes for a fundamental principle,
that the truths of religion are to be learned from the Bible
alone ; that there is no infallible authority on earth to define
its meaning in case of a controversy ; and that infallil)ility
ceased in the Church with the death of the last Apostle.
Moreover, he has been taught that for some ages b.efore
the time of Lutiieh, the ignorance and moral darkness was
such that the religion of Chkist had practically ceased to
exist amongst men, and was to be found, pure and uudefiled,
in the Bible only.
506 ALETHAURION. •
What is then more natural than for a Protestant to say to
himself : ** The more modern the sect the more likely it has
truth on its side ; for it has the .wisdom and experience of
all that went before, and its own. Hence it is more likely
that men are now nearer the true meaning of Scripture than
they who lived three hundred years ago ; for they had not
our advantages in education and enlightenment ; and those
living a hundred years hence, will be able to come still
closer to the truth, for they will have advantages of which
we cannot boast."
Now, as said above, to the Catholic, who has learned even
the first principles of his faith, the same difficulty does not
present itself. He believes that our Lord established on
earth a living, teaching, infallible authority. He believes
that the authority in question has, from the day of Pente-
cost, taught all that Christ did, and will continue to do so
until the day of judgment.
For a Catholic, there is no such a phrase as near, nearer,
nearest to the truth. He makes no progress in belief. It
is the same yesterday, to-day and forever.
But the man who takes the Bible alone as his guide, is
obliged either to say that he is himself infallible in his
understanding of what is in it, or admit the progressive
theory, and be ready to change his belief each day and hour,
according as he becomes more or less learned in the Scrip-
ture.
Let us take another illustration of human progress, and
contrast it with the unchangeableness of the Church.
In the year 1807, Egbert Fulton invented the steamboat,
and made trial of his work, for the first time, on the Hud-
son. It was a rude craft, but the attempt having been made,'
and with success, the ingenuity of others was set to work, in
changing and perfecting what was defective ; until we now
have the mighty Cunarder, that walks the Atlantic with the
strides of a giant.
Here we have an example of progress in art. We have a
ALETHAUKION. 507
change certainly for the better. One learns by observation
of even his own work ; and if ho does not another may.
But is it so in the work of God? No. God makes no pro-
gress in knowledge.
Hence, when He calls anything into existence for a special
purpose, it most aptly fulfills its end from the beginning,
and cannot be remodeled nor improved.
Suppose He should have revealed to some man in Ful-
ton's day, the plan and model of a ship that would be the
best possible for one hundred years ; the reader will readily
see that progress in the art of shipbuilding would be at an
end, until the one hundred years had passed, unless there
arose, in the meantime, some man wiser than the Omnis-
cient.
It is thus with the Catholic Church. It is the direct crea-
tion of God, for the specific purpose of taking men to the
port of eternal rest.
No man can improve on it ; and tnat it cannot be changed
for the worse, we will show, by direct proofs, in a future
chapter.
CHAPTER CXIX.
REASONS GOING TO SHOW" THAT THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 18
INDEFECTIBLE.
In some of the earlier chapters of this work, we proved
that the Saviour placed certain marks on his Church, by aid
of which any one in search of the true fold, may easily
identify and distinguish it from any and all the dens of error.
These marks are Unity, Holiness, Universality and Apos-
tolicity.
Having already explained their import, we shall not re-
peat, but observe that, if well considered, they prove the
mdefectibility of the Church.
If the Church of Christ could become a conglomeration
508 ALETHAURION.
of all who believe in His name, whether Catholics or not ; if
it could teaoh in one place that our Lord is really and truly
present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and in another,
that it is a matter of indifference whether such a doctrine is
believed or not, then the mark of Unity would no longer
serve as a means by which to identify the Church.
Again : If it taught false doctrine in matters appertain-
ing to faith and morals, if it approved what God condemns.
Holiness would not do as a mark. If it became a mere local
society, confined to one city or province, teaching only a
part of what Christ taught, the mark of Universality would
be of no avail.
We do not, however, wish to enter here into'that specula-
tive question so ably discussed by Cardinal Bellakmime.
Lib. iv. De notis eccl. cap. vii, viz: That the Church
of Christ might be confined, materialiter ^ to even one pro-
vince, and still have upon it the mark of Universality.
We simply observe that he appears to us to have proved his
point.
But, historically speaking, if we except its infancy, it
never has been confined to one province, and prophetically
speaking, we believe it never will.
However that may be, it is yet certain that, if the Church
lost both ma^en'aZ and /brmaZ Catholicity, Universality would
no longer serve as a mark by which to find it. We may
repeat the same of Apostolicity.
If the Church taught doctrines different from those of
the Apostles, or employed ministers not regularly ordained,
it is evident the mark of Apostolicity would no longer serve
its purpose.
We may now illustrate what has thus far been said by an
anecdote.
Early in the Autumn of 1865, the writer went on a trip
^ver to London, and from there to some few noted cities on
the Continent. On the way across the Atlantic, we were
-blest with good wxather, generally speaking ; and our
ALETIIAURION. 50^
captain, a thoroughbred «Tohn Bull, with leg-of-motton whis-
kers, thick neck and red face, was not a bad sort of a bloat,
in the main.
Amongst the passengers was a middle-aged lady, from
somewhere out in the Great West, whose ideas regarding
ships and navigation were evidently of home manufacture,
and correspondingly crude. She had her three girls with
her; all prudent, well-conducted gentle women, and fair as
the daughters of Job. Two of her boys were also on board ;
line specimens of manhood, each fully six feet high, and
fiddlers, both of them.
Passing up the English Channel, we came to the town of
Deal, beautifully ensconced in trees, and fanned by wind-
mills. At this point the renowned Roman captain, Julius
CAESAR, is said to have first effected a landing in Britain ;
and the place retains something of the lustre and romance
that surrounds his great name. After having run over, in
imagination, some of the events of his life, and the circum-
stances of his untimely exit, we Avere awakened from our
reverie by a question from Madam Prairielark to the
captain. **What makes the waves break so," said she, **out
here to the right, in that one particular spot, and nowhere
else?"
Ah, madam," said our Palinurus in his sweetest and
mildest way, **they are the Goodwin quicksands and are
very dangerous for us sea-faring people, so that we have to
keep a close watch when passing through this portion of the
channel."
**And why don't they put a mark over them, so as to
warn people of their danger?" again chimed in our Great
Western.
**A mark, madam," said the captain, ** would be of po
service there, for those sands, not unfreciuently, shift several
rods in one night, and a buoy anchored to one spot, would
be the means of leading mariners into what might be a
510 ALETHAURION.
fatal error, instead of serving as a warning against dan-
ger/'
Great Western, nothing daunted by so clear a statement
of the case, came to the front once more, wanting to know
why they did not make buoys with floating anchors, that
would move according as the sand bank shifted.
The idea of a buoy with a floating anchor was too much
for Captain Pinkum's gravity ; and one might notice the
laugh coming up from his toes until it spread all his face,
and finally came out of both eyes and his mouth, in a mon-
strous guffaw, that made the cables vibrate. A giggle of
the others that stood around followed the captain's heroic
effort.
But Great Western, after declaring that she could not
see what there was to laugh at, walked off proudly and in
high dudgeon to her state-room ; remarking as she went,
that people should not try to pass them-selves off for gen-
tlemen, until they had learned their manners, and that
impoliteness to. a lady was nothing to be proud of — in her
opinion.
To put a buoy, anchored or otherwise, over the Goodwin
quicksands, would certainly be a piece of folly on the part
of a man, unless he first invented some means of keeping
them permanently in one place ; and to put marks on the
Church, and permit it to drift away from them is something
that never can be reconciled with the infinite wisdom and,
love of the Saviour.
• The marks then, prove the indefectibility of the Church,
for Christ Himself impressed them, and on that account,
He is in a manner constrained to keep the Church from
drifting.
Hence, though the sects may need buoys with floating
anchors, wo Catliolics surely do not.
Our Church is built upon a rock ; and though the winds
may blow and the waves may dash in fury against it, it will
ALETHAURION. 511
remain inini()val)le forever. Ho that commands the ele-
ments and holds the sea in the hollow of His hand, has said :
*«Thou art Petek, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and
the gates of hell shall not prevail n'jninst it/'' Matt. xvi. 18. " Behold, I
am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." Matt,
xxviii. 20.
The end for which the Church was established would, of
itself, all the circumstances considered, be proof sufficient
of its indefectibility. Christ founded and built the Cath-
olic Church in order, through it to teach mankind, not alone
for one or two generations, but for all time, the will of His
Father.
The Church is the ordinary imi)lement by which He
works, in the spiritual order on earth. And as a wise hus-
bandman will not suffer his farming utensils to rust or rot,
as the soldier keeps his gun and sabre bright, and in work-
ing order, so the Saviour will forever preserve His Church
in indefectibility.
The bride of the Lamb cannot become an adultress.
** She is the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys ;
her cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's ; and her neck
as jewels ; she goeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke
of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of all
the powders of the perfumer. She is all fair, and there is
not a spot in her; she is an inclosed garden, a fountain
sealed up. Her neck is as the tower of David, which is
built with bulwarks ; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all
the armor of valiant men." (Canticle of Canticles; pas-
817)1.)
In our next we consider some changeable elements in the
Church.
512 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER CXX.
A CHANGEABLE ELEMENT IN THE CHURCH.
On toward the close of the middle ages, a celebrated
painter was one day passing through a villa, near the city of
Florence, when his attention was called to a group of chil-
dren at play near one of the fountains. Taking a seat in
the shade of some forest trees that grew hard hy, he watched
their gambols, forgetting for the moment his own dull cares,
or mingling them with the events of last night's dream, and
the scenes of days long ago. Whilst in this pensive mood,
the children drew^ around, asking many boyish questions ; to
each of which he gave a suitable and gentle answer, and in
turn he also asked information of his youthful friends. He
soon discovered that they belonged to the large class of
youngsters to be found in every great city, who may be
properly designated as " the Lord's own boys," for no one
else appears to have either care for, or control over them.
But the artist, far from being displeased at their freedom,
listened to and encouraged each, as he told the story of the
dangers he had passed, and the deeds that he had done.
Then, having distributed amongst them some few small
coins, he took his leave ; but not until he had exacted a
promise of the largest, to come to his house on the next day
at a certain hour.
The boy's finely chiseled features, admirably shaped head
and agile body, proclaimed him a member of the aristocracy
of beauty ; whilst the steady gaze of his lustrous and flashing
eyes showed that genius was not wanting.
The artist had been seeking such a model for months, and
secretly rejoiced that he had at length found it where he
least expected.
Not long after a picture was hung up in one of the public
ALETHAURION. 513
galleries of the city, one that readily attracted, and fixed the
attention of every passer-by. It was a faithful portrait of
the youth already mentioned. All who saw it and had
learned that the picture was really from nature, felt happier
at the thought that the race of Ad^ui could yet boast of such
models of perfection.
But, whilst others were pleased the artist seemed restless
and despondent every time he looked upon the picture. He
had, in fact, on the day of its completion, conceived the
idea of painting its counterpart. But though he could
have drawn on his imairination, and easily have produced a
work as ugly as the other was beautiful, yet the contrast
in that case would not have been perfect.
For years he sought a living model, and, though he found
many whom accident or design had disfiguied, he failed to
discover a genuine work of nature to correspond with his
conception of what the counterpart should be.
Finally he gave up the search in despair and had set his
thoughts upon other things ; until one afternoon he chanced
to pass bythe public prison, where he saw, through the bars
a face that at once brought back his former hopes and
asi)irations.
It was that of a man who apparently, had not as yet, by
many years, touched the meridian of life. But the expres-
sion and the features were so intensely diabolical that it was
a wonder to even the artist himself how so much haggard
villainy could have been gathered within so small a com-
pass.
He lost no time, but called upon the jailer forthwith.
From him he learned that the prisoner had l)een, until the
day before, a brigand, and a leader amongst them ; and
since his capture he had not ceased to blaspheme God, the
saints, and his own soul, in the most horrible manner.
The painter then made known his errand ; and the things
were so arranged, that without the prisoner's knowledge, a
truthful image of him was soon registered upon the canvas.
514 ALETHAURION.
The urti^it next brought his former ideal from the gallery,
where it had hung for years, and placing it alongside of
that other just finished, requested that the prisoner be led
from Ills cell, to a point from which he could see both, and
mark the contrast.
The brigand gazed upon that portrait in which his present
-depravity was so faithfully depicted, and as he did so, a flash
of infernal satisfaction darted from his truculent eyes.
But when he had looked only for a moment on its counter-
part — on that handsome and innocent youth — the hardened
robber, house-burner and assassin, shuddered, tottered to
the opposite wall, and wept.
It too, was his own likeness, taken years ago, before
crime had blackened his soul, and evil thoughts and pas-
sions distorted the lineaments of his fair face. But repent-
ance could not then satisfy the demands of justice, which
claimed his life.
Still the battle was won ; the lost sheep was found ; the
prodigal was on his way home, thanking the Heavenly
Father for his mercies which endure forever.
" For years," said he to his confessoi*. "■ I despised the wise counsels
of the Church, and sought only the admiration of the wicked, and the
Indulgence of my evil passions ; but now I know that virtue is to be
more highly esteemed than beauty of form, and that honest and system-
atic mediocrity better than erratic genius."
The case of this youth, who whilst retaining personal
identity, changed in everything else not essential to his
being, will serve to illustrate how the Church can be one,
holyj catholic, apostolic, indefectible, infallible and author-
itative, and yet change in matters appertaining to discipline.
It may easily be conceived how the Church, in one or
more provinces, through incompetency or vice on the part
of those who represent it, could be made so haggard as to
be an object of scorn to the passer-by and an affliction to
the sacred heart of its Divine Founder.
The Jewish Synagogue, which pointed out the true way
until the Saviour appeared on earth, became under the
ALETHAUKION. 515
manipulation of the Scribes and Pharisees, such as we speak
of. Ophni and Phinees, the sons of the High Priest Heli,
rendered the Synagogue odious also in their day.
Even in the apostolic times, God, through the mouth of
St. John, warned the bishop of Ephesus, because he had
fallen away from his first charity.
In the middle ages the right of investiture claimed by
some temporal princes, was a frightful source of mischief,
bespattering the garments of the spouse of Christ with
ordure in the shape of worthless al)bot8 and bishops.
So deeply indeed had the evil taken root, that Pope St.
Gregory, after having fought against it during his entire
pontificate, had to console himself on his death-bed with the
words :
" I have loved justice and hated iniquitj', therefore I die in exile."
The laxity of discipline, for some years before and at the
time of Luther, was without doubt one of the causes or
occasions of that heresiarch's success in the dissemination of
his errors. For, were he to arise from the dead and appear
now, his drunken bellowings would only excite contempt,
and his deljaucheries render him odious to all the living.
There are evils even in our own day and country, which
the good and virtuous are beginning to regard with some
alarm. A growing spirit of pride and pomposity seems to
be taking the place of the simplicity and zeal of earlier
years.
And the acquisition of muftimon, through banking and
speculation is no longer regarded as unworthy of the purple.
Such things have happened before, and they will come to
pass again, and be followed ))y the same consequences.
"The Saviour's fan is still in His hand; and he will thoroughly cleanse
his lloor atid gailier His wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn
with unquenchable fu-e." Matt, iii, 12.
Though, from the beginning, it has been a rule with us
not to admit long quotations into these papei*8, yet ou
account of the matter of which we now treat, it may be
516 ALETHAUKION.
proper to insert here what a great saint and martyr of the
third century had to say of the changes that had come over
the Church in his own day. It is the martyr Cypriax who
speaks :
^' As long repose," says he, '• had corrupted the discipline which had
come down to us from God, the Divine -judgment awakening our faith
kept it from declining, and if I may so speak, from going to sleep ; and
though we deserved yet more for our sins, the most merciful Lord has so
miOderated all, that what lias passed seemed rather a trial of what we
were, than an actual infliction. Every one was applying himself to the
increase of wealth, and forgetting both what was the conduct of believers
under the Apostles and what ought to be their conduct in every age ;
they, with insatiable eagerness for gain, devoted themselves to the mul-
tiplying of possessions. The priests were wanting in religious devoted-
ness, the deacons in entireness of faith, there was no mercy in works, no
discipline in manners. Men wore their beards in fantastic ways, and
women painted their faces with a color. The eyes were changed from
what God made them, and a lying hue was given to the hair. The
hearts of the simple were misled by treacherous artiflces, and brethren
became entangled in seductive wiles, ties of marriage were formed with
unbelievers, members of Christ abandoned to the heathen. Not only
rash swearing was heard, but even false; persons in high places were
puffed up with contemptuousness ; poisoned reproaches fell from their
lips; and men were estranged by never ceasing quarrels. Numerous
bishops, who ought to have been an encouragement and an example to
others, despising tlieir sacred calling, engaged themselves in secular
vocations, relinquished the pulpit and deserted their people, strayed
among foreign provinces, hunted the markets for mercantile profits, tried
to amass large sums of money while they had brethren starving within
the Church, took possession of estates by fraudulent proceedings, and
multiplied their gains by accumulated usuries." St. Cyprian de lap-
sis, iv.
St. Cyprian, who wrote tiie above not very flattering ac-
count of the Church in his day, was Bishop of Carthage, in
Africa, and suffered martydom for the faith, A. D. 258.
It will readily be seen from the tenor of his remarks how
he acknowledges, with sadness, that the Church had,
after a long term of peace, changed for the worse, in its
discipline.
But should any one have attacked its indefectibility, or
its infallibility, in matters appertaining to faith and morals,
no one in his day would have been the readier or more
ALETHAURION. 517
vftliant with the pen, in its defense, than the same Cyprian.
Hence, the faithful must not rest upon their oars, because
the Church is indofectihle ; there is need of continual effort
to prevent the bark from going down the stream.
But, if the sentinels on the tower of Zion neglect duty, or,
through sloth and worldliness, refuse to be the instruments
of God's mercy. He will raise up the unbeliever and the
heretic to cleanse His floor and be the instruments of His
justice and vengeance.
In our next we will take a view of the changeable clement
in the Church, from the opposite standpoint.
CHAPTER CXXI.
A CHANGEABLE ELEMENT IN THE CHURCH.
If one should take an acorn and place it in the ground,
under favorable circumstances, it would not be long before
a tiny and tender shoot would be seen rising above the
surface ; this, in due time, and with proper care, would
develop into a twig, the twig into a sapling, and the sapling
into a lordly oak. Each season a change would be visible,
for it would continue to put forth new branches and increase
in size, until it had attained full growth.
And, even then, it would notecase to change, for, as each
winter came, it would shed its leaves, to be clothed again
with others in the Spring, until, as the centuries passed, its
branches, one by one, would die and fall to the ground,
leaving only the trunk, which, in its turn, would also share
the fate of all things earthly.
Such a tree we may regard as an emblem of the^^^aiholic
Church. Beginning as a tiny sprout, it too has grown and
flourished, until its branches overshadow the earth. It is
by far the grandest organization that has ever been known
518 ALETHAURION.
in the world, and nothing human can ever hope to rival its
maofnificence.
But, like the tree, whilst retaining identity, it too is con-
tinually undergoing changes ; for as long as there remains a
nation to be converted to Christianity, so long will it con-
tinue to shoot forth new branches.
Yet it is not so much to those changes, which are the re-
sult of natural growth, that we desire to draw attention.
There is another mutal)le element, symbolized by the putting
forth and fall of each year's foliage, of which we wish to
speak.
According as any society increases in numbers, so also
will new laws and regulations become a necessity. The
workingman, who has but himself and wife to take care of,
has only a very short and simple code to go by, in his domes-
tic affairs — he does the providing, and she, the cooking.
But, as his family increases and grows up, he has to make
many new rules and regulations. The pervicacity of some
may need to be restrained by a ukase against keeping bad
company, and a firman against laziness may be necessary to
stimulate the sloth of others.
Thus, also, while the Church was in its infancy, but few
laws were necessary. Hence, the Apostles and ancients,
assembled in council at Jerusalem, far from undertaking to
write out an exhaustive system of canon law, confined them-
selves to what was needed under the existing circumstances.
" For it hath seemqd good to the Holy Ghost and to us," said they,
"to lay no further burden upon you than these necessary things. That
you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication ; fi'om which things, keeping your-
selves, you shall do well." Acts xv, 28-29.
But, as the Church increased, and received under its
mantle men of all nations, tribes, and tongues, we find that
new disciplinary laws were made, and old ones, in some
cases, abrogated, or suffered to become obsolete.
In the above text we have also a clear proof of the fact
ALETH\URION. 519
that the Apostles themselves drew a line of distinction
between dogma and discipline.
The command to abstain from blood and things strangled
was evidently not intended to hold good for all time ; yet,
let it be observed, in this connection, that the Apostles, iii
making the law, do not state, either expressly or impliedly,
that there would come a time tvhen the law would no longer
have binding force.
Here is just the place where our heretical neighbors get
stuck in the mud. What authority have they for saying
that it is not sinful to drink blood ?
Protestants eat blood puddings, and yet pretend to follow
the New Testament, which expressly forbids that they should
taste of such things.
For us Catholics there is no difficulty. We believe in a
living, teaching, authoritative Church, which has the power,
the privilege, and we m{»y add, the duty of deciding what is
dogma and what is discipline.
Hence, though, in the scripture, the eating of a blood
pudding is ranked with fornication, we Catholics of the pres-
ent day do not attribute the same importance to the one that
we do to the other ; for the Church has long since decided
that the first is a mere matter of discipline, and consequently
may be changed, or altogether abrogated, whereas the other
is a truth of the faith, a doirma that can not be changed.
Again, we are told in the Acts, iv, that, in the beginning
at Jerusalem, all things were in common amongst those that
believed ; **for as many as w^ere owners of lands or houses,
sold them, and brought the price of things they sold, and
laid it down at the feet of the Apostles. And distribution
was made to every man according as he had need."
Why do not the heretics of our day who receive the New
Testament as an inspired book, hold their goods in com-
mon?
They cannot have recourse to the subterfuge that such is
520 ALETHAURION.
one of the non-essentials, for it is stated in the same book
of Acts, that AxAXiAS and Saphiea were both struck dead
for refusing to conform, and for lying about what they
possessed.
The Shakers are certainly more consistent in this respect
than any other of the heretical sects. What right has any
Protestant to say that a community o-f goods amongst
believers is not one of the apostolic dogmas.
Suppose a shaker should come across a Campbellite and
charge him with theft for appropriating to his own exclusive
use, goods that ought to be common, according to apostolic
example, what would the Campbellite have to say in his
defense ?
He would be compelled to have recourse to the Catholic
doctrine of a distinction between dogma and discipline.
But, not having the same ground to stand on that the Cath-
olic has, the Shaker would come at him again, wanting to
know on what authority he made such a distinction.
The Campbellite would be forced to say on his own ; and
the Shaker, with a grin and a shake, would reply, then you
take yourself to be a greater man than St. Peter? He
not only encouraged a community of goods amongst the
early followers of Christ, but even punished Axaxias and
Saphira with death for their prevarication in the matter.
The sects of our day, and indeed of all ages, not having
a living teaching and infallible authority to guide them, do
confound dogma and discipline most damnably, and to the
eternal perdition of many souls, redeemed by the blood of
Christ. Take e. g. that passage in the epistle of St. James
the Apostle, wherein he says :
"Is any man sick among you? let him bring in the priests of the Church
and let them pray over him, aimoiiitiug him with oil. in the name of the
Lord : And the prayer of faith sliall save tlie sick man; and if he be in
sins, they shall be forgiven him." — v, 14-15.
This plain command, which evidently was to have, and is
to remain in force as lonoj as men become sick and die.
ALETIIAURION. 521
the heretics regard as a matter of more discipline, and
conseciuently do not any longiM- obey it.
So also the injunction to confess their sins one to another
(James v, 1(3,) is not observed by the majority of the sects.
In many other ways, too numerous to specify here, tlicy
have changed dogma into discipline, and discipline into
dogma.
If a deacon's daughter gets sick, her father will never
dream of calling in the priests of the Church to anoint her
with oil, because, in his opinion, it is a matter of indiffer-
ence ; but if the same girl happens to go to a dance, ah, tlien
the good deacon is at his wit's end to find some way to ex-
cuse his daughter for that awful crime.
We profess no special admiration for dancing masters,
and we firmly believe the country could get alouij well
enough without them, yet, dancing under some circum-
stances is not all sinful. And why some of the sects elevate
their prejudice against it into a dogma, is one of those things
past finding out.
The Church, then, as we Catholics freely admit, has and
•does change in its discipline. Like the tree that year after
year puts forth new leaves, the Church will continue to
abrogate old and make new laws, according as the circum-
stances of time and place may require.
But, in essentials, it will remain indefectible, immutable,
until the archangel's trumpet shall have sounded, and then,
like the fallen tree, the grandest organization ever known
amongst men, will have place no more upon this earth.
In our next we will institute a comparison between the
public worship of the Church in its infancy, and as it is at
the present day.
522 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER CXXII.
SO^IE CHANGES IN THE MODE OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.
In the gospel of St. Matthew we read, that the Saviour
on the night before he died, whilst seated with the twelve at
table, *'took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his
disciples, and said: 'Take ye and eat ; this is my body.'
And taking the chalice he gave thanks, and gave to them
saying : 'Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the
New Testament, which shall be shed for many for the re-
mission of sins.' " Matt, xxvi, 26, 28.
The same account is given substantially in the gospels of
Sts. Mark and Luke, and I Cor., xi. On the occasion
alluded to, mass. was said for the first time ; the Saviour in
person. High Priest, forever, according to the order of
Melchisedec, being celebrant, and the Apostles communi-
cants.
Not wishing to discuss here the doctrine of the real pres-
ence, nor to show that in the mass there is offered to God a
true sacrifice, we shall content ourselves with instituting a
comparison between the ways of conducting the public wor-
ship then and now.
Mass, as first said, was essentially the same as it is to-day ;
the priest is the same, the words and sacrificial act are in
nowise different. Yet, to the outward eye, there is a vast
change.
A liturgy has been formed and ceremonies have been in-
troduced that give offense to heretics. They are continually
jabbering about simplicity, forgetting that Christ always
spoke and acted as God.
The commander-in-chief of an army does not employ his
time in drilling lecruits, teaching this one how to hold his
ALETIIAUKION. 523
gun, and that one how to wear hi.-^ hat. Such things are
entrusted to the care of inferior officers.
Yet, the general is not indifferent ; on the contrary, he
takes care to see that his soldiers are well able to handle
their arms, and capable of executing military evolutions with
ease and rapidity.
Thus also the Saviour, the head of the Church, whilst in
this life, did not concern Himself to any great extent with
matters of mere ceremony ; but He left with His Apostles,
inspired by the Holy Ghost, and with the Church which He
founded, the right and authority to introduce such as would
be most suitable.
Hence we find that, at the beginning of the fourth cen-
tury, when peace was given, there was a liturgy and cere-
monies dating back almost or quite to the Ai)ostles.
Thus, in the matter of which we are speaking, there has
been an evolution, so to speak ; the grain of mustard seed
sown in the earth has grown up and become greater than all
the herbs, and has shot out great branches so that the birds
of the air may dwell under its shadow. Mark, iv.
The man who is scandalized at the present magnificence
of Catholic worship, and whines for primitive simplicity,
may well be likened to him who would cut down the lordly
oak, and then go rooting in the ground to find the acorn
from which it sprung.
But let us come to concrete analysis. Suppose some
biblical backwoodsman, who had never before been inside
of a Catholic Church, should, on a fine Sunday morning,
enter one of our places of worship. What is the first thing
that would attract his attention?
Most probably it would be the great number of lights he
would see burning around the altar. And, if of a Yankee
turn of mind, he would naturally ask the question : To what
purpose are all those lights in daytime ?
Let us, as far as we can, give him a reasonable answer to
his question.
524 AT.ETHAURION.
First of all, he must be told that in the early ages of
Christianity, those who professed it did not enjoy the liberty
of worshipping God in broad daylight. If they had
attempted to do so, their pagan neighbors would have had
them arrested and put to death.
It was only in the dark depths of tlie Catacombs, or in
places equally obscure, that they could feel safe whilst cele-
brating or being present at the sacred mysteries.
And at the present day, in passing through the Catacombs
of St. Calixtus, one may find little chapels, where mass was
celebrated in early days, the altar being the tomb of some
one of the martyrs. Hence the necessity and origin of
lights around the altars.
Even after the persecutions had ceased, the use of lights
was still continued, for the churches in primitive times were
purposely so constructed as to admit but little light from the
outside. It was supposed that houses so built would be
most favorable to recollection of spirit.
Yet it is not alone for utility sake, not alone for the orna-
mentation of our altars, that we still continue the use of
lights. There is also another reason. Who is it that can
be ignorant of the fact that at least one way of honoring
those who are esteemed worthy, is by means of fire and
lights.
Light is a sign of joy and gladness, and hence, on great
public occasions, when there is question of celebrating some
remarkable event, when popular feeling is brought up to a
high state of excitement, by reason of some victory gained,
such joy is manifested externally by bonfires and by the
illumination of houses.
We, on the same principle, use lights in our Churches to
honor God, who, though He fills the universe with His
majesty, is present in a special manner in those houses where
we worship Ilim.
This custom of using lights during time of divine service,
we find to have been practiced from the earliest times, not
ALETIIAURIOX. 525
alone in the Church of Rome, but also in the Oriental
Churches, which have rites and ceremonies coming do\yn
from apostolic times.
St. Jerome, who flourished during the fourth century,
^ays, in vol. iv, part i, page 284, of his works, that in his
time, throughout the East, candles were used in the churches
in broad daylight, not so much to dispel the darkness, as for
a sign of joy, and in order to represent by the sensible light
that other interior one, of which the Psalmist speaks when
he says :
*'Thy word, O Lord, is as a torch which enlightens me and directs my
steps in the paths of virtue."
The lighted candles remind us of Christ, who is the true
light which enlightens every man coming into this world ;
and that it is from Him we receive the light of faith here,
and will receive the light of glory hereafter.
The next thing that would be likely to arrest the attention
of our backwoodsman, on entering a Catholic Church for
the first time, would most likely be the great number of
crosses, pictures and statues he would find therein.
And we may conceive him as reasoning thus with himself :
Is it then really true that these Catholics worship pictures
and statues, as I have often heard Brother Spriggixs say
they do ?
We may answer : It is quite possible for men to w^orship
pictures and statues, for w^e know, from very authentic
sources, that the Pagans of ancient times did so, and that
men who were giants intellectually, w^ere idolators not wit h-
standinc:.
But no Catholic pays supreme homage to a picture or
statue. We give them an inferior honor, because they
relate to Christ and His saints. And if a man is not hope-
lessly drunk with prejudice, he will readily see how very
appropriately such an honor is bestowed.
To illustrate: The writer has found in the houses of
526 ALETHAUPwIOX.
Methodists pictures of Joiiy Wesley, and in those of Camp-
bellites, likenesses of Alexaxder Campbell. Did he sup-
pose for a moment that they worshipped those pictures ? Bj
no means. Why then are they kept? It is because the
Methodist wislies to honor the memory of Wesley, who
founded his Church, and the Campbellite wishes to do the
fair thing by his man, Campbell.
On the same principle we Catholics retain in our places of
worship the pictures and statues of Christ, for He was the
founder of our Church.
As regards the cross, much need not be said. Every sen-
sible man ought to see at a glance how appropriate is its
presence in a Christian Church. Every time we look upon
the cross, we are reminded of Calvary and of the redemption
of the human race.
Hence we put that sacred emblem on the pinnacles of
our steeples, and on the tops of our altars, and in other con-
spicuous places about our Churches. And it is astonishing
that the heretics themselves do not see what a fund of ridi-
cule there is in the practice of putting weather-cocks on the
tops of meeting houses.
As regards the sign of the cross, which is made by putting
the right hand to the forehead, breast, right and left shoul-
ders, with the words: **In the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," which our backwoodsman
may have also noticed, we may quote for his benefit, and in
proof of its antiquity, the words of Tertulliax, a Christian
writer of the second century. In his book (De Cot*ona,
chap, iv.) speaking of this practice, he says :
"At the beginning of all our actions, on entering our houses, and on
going out, when putting on our clothes, when laying them aside, at table,
when we take a seat or a light, we make the sign of cross on our fore-
heads. These practices are not commanded by a formal law of Scripture,
but we are tauglit them by tradition ; custom confirms them, and the
faith observes them."
It is worthy of remark that TertulllAlX does not say that
ALETIIAURION. 527
the practice began in his time, but refers it to a yet more re-
mote date.
Indeed, it is ceilain that it was the Apostles themselves
who llrf?t taught the people to make the sign of the cross,
for otherwise it would never have gained such universality.
Our next will be a continuation.
CHAPTER CXXIII.
THE USE OF THE LATIN IX THE PUBLIC SERVICES OF THE
CHURCH.
Another of those things likely to arrest the attention of a
backwoodsman, attending public worship for the first time
in a Catholic Church, would be the fact that the officiat-
ing minister speaks iu a language to him strange and
unknown.
This is one of the proofs of our antiquity. It shows that
our rites and ceremonies go back to a period when the Latin
was the living tongue.
If the Catholic Church had, like most of the sects, begun
its existence within the past two or three hundred years, in
England or this country, then the English, in all probability,
would be the lanofuajje used.
But such is not the case. The Catholic Church bejjan its
career long before there was an English language. This
happened at a period when Rome was at the heighth of its
power and splendor; when the Latin and Greek were the
lanfiruajjes of the civilized world.
And if that backwoodsman should not happen to know
much about Latin, or its history, it would be well to tell him
that it is one of the noblest tongues ever spoken.
It was the language of the greatest race of men known to
histoiy, the Roman people, the conquerors of all nations,
528 ALETHAURION.
who by valor in Avar, and wise moderation in peace, ruled
the world.
Whose generals, statesmen, orators, poets and philoso-
phers have never been surpassed and seldom equalled ; who
in their better and purer days, took nothing from their
enemies but their arms and the power of doing harm ;
whose motto it was to humble the proud and spare the
vanquished.
It is the language of this great people that we use to-day
in the public services of the Catholic Church. Christianity
took it captive, as it did that mighty Kome where it had its
birth and development.
The Latin is by excellence the language of the Church.
Yet in this connection, it may be well not to omit stating
that it is not the only one employed. The ancient Greek,
Syriac and Coptic share with it this honor.
These also have liturgies coming, down from apostolic
times, though as regards the last, or Coptic, there are some
doubts among the learned as to whether the liturgy in it is
of equal date with the others. It would not be an easy
task to show that it is, and would be still a more difficult one
to prove that it is not.
Let us say a word or two concerning those different litur-
gies.
In the days of the Apostles, the ancient Greek was spoken
not only in Greece proper, and on the coast of Asia Minor,
but was also pretty well known among the higher classes in
all the principal cities throughout the oriental countries ;
it having been introduced there and rendered respectable
by the valor and genius of Alexander the Great, and his
successors.
Hence the apostles established in the Greek a liturgy,
which has comedown, with some changes, to our own times.
So also throughout Syria, Palestine and other Asiatic coun-
tries, the Syriac, having been in use among the masses, has
a liturgy dating back to the apostles.
ALETHAURION. 529
These are the only three liturgies that are certainly of
apostolic origin.
As regards the Coptic, which is an anialguni of the Greek
and the ancient language of Egypt, spoken by the common
people in the latter country, at the commencement of our
era, it is not certain whether its liturgy is apostolic or only
a translation.
To the four languages mentioned, may be added the
Armenian, Ethiopian and Sclavonic. The first two of which
have each a liturgy dating back to the fourth century, and
the last one had its origin in the ninth.
Thus besides the Latin, there are six otlier languages
that have liturgies of their own ; and in which priests say
Mass.
A few years ago, we noticed in one of the daily papers^
a proposition made, or said to have been, by some promi-
nent Anglicans to the authorities at Rome. It was to the
effect, that if certain concessions were made, they would
all become good Catholics. As nearly as we can now
recollect, one of the conditions was, that the liturgy be
translated into English, and an Anglo-Saxon rite formally
inaugurated.
If such a proposition had been made in good faith, from
true religious motives, and by person* who could command
a following, no doubt, for the sake of the souls concerned^
it would have met with a favorable hearing at Rome.
But it is too clear to any one, except an idiot, that such
advances spring from a sickly sentimentality which ends in
froth only. If the writer understands what true Christian-
ity is, and he thinks he does, it is the principal almve all
others most antagonistic to pride of race and conceit of
wealth.
It was a boorish soggy pride that made John Bull apos-
tatize in the first place ; and he must learn who he is, and
what the Catholic Church is, before he again becomes a fit
subject for it and for heaven.
k:
5 30 ALETH AURION .
Hence, as it is not likely that Rome will add fuel to the
iiame by gratifying the vanity of a handful of heretical
preachers, it is likewise not probable that we will have an
Anglo-Saxon liturgy in our day.
Notwithstanding what has been said regarding the Syriac,
Oreek, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian and Sclavonic, Latin
is still, by excellence, the language of the Church, for the
Pope, and by far the greater number of bishops as well as
people belong to that rite.
Now, some one may say, have not those Greeks and
Orientals an advantage over the Catholic laity in the Latin
Church, inasmuch as they have liturgies in their own lan-
ojuas^es?
We may reply : If it be an advantage that the people
understand what the officiating minister says at the altar,
those of whom we speak do not possess it to any greater
degree than is enjoyed among the Latins.
Modern Greek, called Romaic, is as different from the
ancient, as Italian is from Latin. And as to the Syriac,
Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian and Sclavonic, they are also
either dead languages or so changed that they are no longer
intelligible to the masses of the people.
In an institution like the Catholic Church, which has
lived, and is to live for ages, teaching always the same
truths, every one not blinded by prejudice will see at once
the importance of having one or more unchangeable lan-
guages to serve as repositories for truths that must not be
tampered with.
True, the Church might throw all those ancient liturgies
overboard and still teach the way of salvation with a liturgy
in each modern tongue. Yet, such a course w^ould entail
endless labor ; for the liturgies and authorized versions of
the Scripture would have to be changed according as each
lansruasje chan«^ed.
And, that the reader may have ocular demonstration of
the mutations that may, in the course of centuries, take
ALETHAURION. 531
place in a living tongue we submit here for his observation
a sentence taken from the beginning of King Alfred's
translation of Boetius. It runs as follows :
*' On thare tide the Gotan of Scidhdhiu— Mcegdhe widh Romana-rlce
ge\vin upjihofon, and inidheoracyninguin, Roedgota and Eallerica w.neron
hatne, Romana-burh abneeon, and eall Italia-riee, that is betwux tliain
miintum andSioilia tliam ealonde, in anwald gerehton."
The English language of a thousand years hence will proba-
bly be as different from ours as ours is from that of Alfred.
It is a well-known fact that in a living language not only the
pronunciation of many words«changes, but the meaning also,
in a comparatively short space of time.
The writer has never been able to see very clearly on what
the opposition of heretics to the liturgy in a dead language
is based. Do they mean to insinuate that the Omniscient
does not understand prayers said in Latin, Greek or Syriac?
CHAPTER CXXIV.
THE USE OF SACRED VESTMENTS IN THE PUBLIC WORSHIP.
A backwoodsman, entering a Catholic Church for the first
time, during divine service, would also most probably be
very much impressed, not alone by the reverential bearing
of the officiating ministers and people, but likewise by the
peculiar garments worn by the former.
And comparisons, which are said to be odious, would sug-
gest themselves. But, as we intend, in our next number, to
call attention to the modes of conducting public worship
amongst sectarians, we shall content ourselves at present
with giving our backwoodsman some ideas regarding . the
antiquity and propriety of those garments.
Judging from what we read in the book of Revelations, it
would appear that the use of sacred vestments is almost, if
not quite, as old as Christianity. St. John the Evangelist, in
532 ALETHAURION.
the book referred to, speaking of a vision which he had,
whilst on the island of Patmos, says :
" I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I saw seven golden can-
dlesticks; and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like
unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded
under the arms with a golden girdle.*' Rev. i 10-13.
Again :
" After these things I saw: and, behold, a door opened in heaven:
and the first voice which I heard, was as it were, of a trumpet speaking
with me, saying: Come up thither, and I will show thee things which
must come to pass hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit : and
behold, there was a throne set in iieaven, and one sitting upon
the throne. And he that sat was to the sight like the jas-
per and the sardine-stone; and there was a rainbow round
about the throne in sight like to an emerald. And round about
the throne were four and twenty seats ; and upon the seats, four and
twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on
their heads.'' Rev. iv, 1-4.
In these visions we have the head of the Church, Christ
himself, as well as the ancients that surrounded His throne^
represented as clad in sacerdotal robes.
Rigorously speaking, however, the visions do not show
conclusively that such garments were used at the celebra-
tion of the divine mysteries in the days of St. John ; for
the description is not of earthly but of heavenly scenes. But
we have enough to enable us to draw a very favorable
inference.
Indeed it is not at all an easy matter to give specific and
positive proofs that the Apostles used any others besides
their ordinary garments during time of divine service. And
yet, it would be a more hazardous undertaking, should any
one attempt to prove that they did not.
Hence, in default of proof either way, we may be
allow^ed to theorize. If we take into consideration the im-
portance attached from the very beginning, to the com-
memoration of the last supper of our Lord, it would not be
a stretch of imagination, but rather a true insight into human
nature, if one should say that in those houses, private at that
time, where the faithful were accustomed to meet, there was
ALETUAURION. 533
kept a mantle or cloak of some kind, to be used over his
ordinary garments by the officiating minister.
Propriety and a l)ecoming sense of decency in the divine
worship would easily have suggested such a thing. That
sectarian preacher who, a few weeks ago, refused to put in
an appearance in his pulpit until his people had got him a
new suit of clothes, showed his appreciation at least of the
importance of his position.
And it must not be presumed that the Apostles and other
early bishops of the Church had less respect for the holy
table at which they officiated than he had for his pulpit.
Such a mantle or cloak being once introduced, we may easily
imagine the rest.
The piety and taste of devout women, skillful with the
needle, who ministered to the wants of the churches, would
have embroidered those garments, and thus in a very short
time they would have become sanctified, in the eyes of the
people, by their use in the celebration of the divine mysteries.
This appears to the writer to be the true theory of the origin
of sacerdotal robes in the New Dispensation. Some may wish
to go farther back, and connect the use of our sacred vest-
ments with the command given by God to Moses, (Exbdus
xxviii,) respecting the official robes to be worn by Aaron
and his sons.
But, as the ceremonial law of the Jews ceased to have
binding force with the Saviour's death, we can hardly regard
that command as the cause or even the occasion of sacerdotal
robes in the New Law.
The same motive which influenced Moses in this matter,
viz : a wish to inspire the people with respect for the public
worship, and the pi'iests themselves with an idea of the sub-
limity of their office, could also have had an independent
influence in shaping the conduct of the Christian hierarchy
in primitive times.
Whatever may be said of the use of sacred vestments
during the centuries of the Pagan persecutions, it is certain
534 ALETHAURION.
that no sooner had permission been granted to the Christians
to worship freely *n b-oad day-light than we find a becoming
splendor in the ceremonies of the Church, and a richness
and mas^nificence in ihe official robes of its ministers.
Theodoret (Hist.Eccl., ii, 27) tells us how Constaxtine,
the first Catholic Emperor of Kome, made a present of a
robe of gold cloth to the bishop of Jerusalem, to be used by
him in administering the sacrament of baptism.
BixGHAM (Orig. Eccles., xiii, 8) gives many other exam-
ples, taken from authors of the fourth century ; yet
insinuates at the same time that no vestige of the practice
can be found in the history of the three preceding centuries.
But BixGFix\M should know that, from the fa(;t that no ex-
press mention is made of sacerdotal robes by writers of the
first, second and third centuries, it by no means follows that
such garments were not in common use.
Apropos of what has been thus far said, we may here
insert a quotation from the learned Fleury :
" From the early days of the Church," says he, " the bishops, priests
and other ministers dressed in brilliant robes, specially suited to their office.
* * * Xot that these garments were of an extraordinary shape.
The chasuble was the ordinary dress in the time of St. Augustine ; the
dsilnnatic was in use from the days of the Emperor Valerian; the stole
was a common mantle worn even by women ; finally, the maniple was
only a linen cloth which the ministers of the altar carried in their hands,
to serve them at the holy table. The alb itself, was at first, not peculiar
to clerics. But, after these had become accustomed to wear it continually^
it was recommended that priests should have another, to be used exclus-
ively at the altar, so that it might be clean. Thus also it is probable that
at the time when priests wore the chasuble or dalmatic every day, they
had others, made of richer material and more attractive as to color, but
of the same shape, to be used only at the altar." (Mceurs des Chret. 41.)
Not a few authors, amongst whom St. Germain,
patriarch of Constantinople, a writer of the eighth century,
have given to each vestment a mystic signification.
The stole, according to him, represents the humanity of
Christ, sprinkled with His blood ; the alb is a symbol of
the innocent lives which Ecclesiastics should lead ; the cinc-
ture represents the cords with which the Saviour was bound ;
ALETHAURION. 535
and the chasuble stands for the purple robe thrown over
Him, in mockery, whilst in the house of Pilate.
The destructive genius of Protestantism has, with a few
exceptions, banished all those sacred robes and ornaments
from their churches, leaving only the bare walls, the
benches, and a preacher in claw-hammer coat and breeches,
to shout from that roost they call the pulpit. This is apos-
tolic simplicity with a vengeance.
The greater part of our next will be description of a.
camp-meeting.
CHAPTER CXXV.
THE PUBLIC WORSHIP AMONGST SECTARIANS — DESCRIPTION
OF A CAMP-]HEETING.
Having spoken of divine services as conducted in the
Catholic Church, we shall now finish the subject with a
few remarks on the mode of public worship amongst
sectarians.
Ultra-Protestantism, which is closely allied to InfiRlity^
has done away with almost everything calculated to arouse
the true religious sentiment within the human breast.
Its meeting houses, even when new, are but sign -posts to
desolation ; and the thumping and screaming of the
preacher, exciting his hearers to hatred against the true faith
or against some rival sect, carry the imagination to the
abodes of the damned, rather than to the blessed mansions
of the angels.
Protestantism has no sacrifice, no priesthood. It has no
one who can say with authority from on high to the dying
sinner: '*I absolve thee from thy sins."» Its commemor-
ation of the Last Supper is only a parody on Mass. Its
whole being and entity is like every work of the devil ; a
sham and a snare.
536 ALETHAURION.
We had intended at first to have given, from fragmentary
hearsay, and imperfect personal observation made years ago,
a true account of all that would be likely to arrest the
attention of a Catholic witnessing for the first time some of
the maneuvers of heresy. But as such an attempt might
lead to a suspicion of exaggeration, we prefer presenting to
the reader what another, a disinterested man of the world
has written on the subject.
Camp-meetings give us true pictures of ultra-Protestan-
ism ; and, in studying their development we get to the quint-
essence of heresy, viz : private interpretation of the Scrip-
tures, and a supposed divine inspiration of the individual.
The following description of one of those camp-meetings,
is from the pen of an eye witness. The writer has made no
essential change in the text, but only abbreviated.
*' On approaching the camp-ground," says he, ''every-
thing seemed in confusion . Some were eating, some talking,
some smoking, some in the tents singing — some praying.
'' In this confusion a few toots from the bugle brought
the people streaming from all parts to seats under the arbor.
Six preachers next took their seats in and near the pulpit.
AAymn having been sung, one of the ministers arose and
read another. The congregation stood up and joined in.
*' Another hymn, and then the minister read his text. He
related some deatli-bed scenes in' a tone and manner that
made some women scream. At the recital of one of his
anecdotes several shouted, some clapped their hands and one
woman swooned. The excitement became so great and the
noise so loud I had to draw nearer the stand to hear what
the speaker was saying.
'* He was a man some five feet ten inches high, full chest,
^small head, retreating forehead, large mouth, thick neck,
fiery eyes and strong voice. Towards the conclusion of his
discourse he kicked, struck his breast and appeared greatly
excited, and concluded by inviting mourners to the altar of
prayer.
ALKTHAURION. 537
**The sinijcrs struck up a hymn, and the pen in front,
called the altar, having been cleared, several came forward.
Mothers started for their sons, sisters for their brothers, and
some for other friends. They seized them by the hands
and draorored them into the altar.
** One refused to go but others pushed him, whilst a
fourth beat time on the smitten mourner's back. At this
juncture questions were asked and answered to the satisfac-
tion of the inquirers ; and it was announced that another
soul was converted. This swelled the volume of frenzy, and
singing, praying, groaning and shouting followed.
** After this scene of confusion had begun to subside a
brother was called on to pray. He commenced in a soft
and subdued tone, but soon his petitions, were drowned in
an ocean of * Aniens.' Gradually warming up to his work,
his voice became louder and louder, until the ravings of a
maniac could scarcely have equalled the flow of his peti-
tions.
*' Suddenly he stopped, but in a moment the operators
were on their feet singing and crying out ' Amen, Lord ! '
* God grant it ! ' * Yes Lord ! ' and such like expressions,
uttered with every imaginable emphasis and intonation, IB
the frenzy got beyond all control. It seemed as if Bedlam
had been let loose.
'' Every violent distortion, every frenzied expression of
the countenance, every conceivable intonation of the voice
were seen and heard, blended in one indescribable scene of
the most fanatical and harrowing excess. They jumped and
yelled, and barked and groaned, and grunted, howled and
screamed, cried and laughed, tumbled and rolled over one
another — men, women and children, as if reason had been
dethroned and the mind had become chaos.
** Amid this confu»i(»n, a trumpet-lunged brother cried
out for more straw. (The straw had become wet from a
recent shower). Adding that some of the poor mourners
might be lost for the want of straw. * Straw ! straw ! more
538 ALETHAURION.
straw!' said he. * Yes,' answered one in the pen, MYe
want more straw. We are going to have a ground. scuffle
with the devil here to-night.'
** In the meanwhile some were working off their super-
abundant religion, like a- locomotive with too big a head of
steam on, by shouting, * Glory ! hallelujah!' Others in
spasmodic jerkings, kickings, and tossing of their arms.
" Another cried out suddenl}^ : * Shout ! shout ! the devil's
about ! ' * Yes.' responded a third, * the devil is here, breth-
ren ; and I'll drive him off ! ' Taking his cane he began to
strike here and there at a round rate, running and turning,
and striking on the ground as he went, first on one side and
then on the other. 'There he goes ! there he goes ! ' said
he, 'he's gone; thank God ! Amen! Hallelujah?' Then
followed a scene of wild excitement that is indescribable.
" After this a fiery class-leader was called on to pray. By
rubbing and clapping his hands and sucking in the wind, he
soon got up steam and prayed for arrows of conviction.
'Yes, Lord," said a brother ' let them fly thick and fast ! '
' Amen ! ' said another. ' Send them now Lord ! just now ^
ifit this particular instant !'
p " About this time one of the mourners gave indications of
the working of his faith by tossing his arms about and kick-
ing. He foamed at the mouth, his teeth were set, and his
fists clenclied ; reminding one of the man possessed by the
devil, mentioned in the Scriptures. Directly he shouted,
' Glory ! glory ! hallelujah ! '
" The brethren and sisters fi^athered around, some lauojh-
ing, some shouting ' Glory to the Lord ! another sinner has
got religion ! ' The effect was electrical. Some dozen
females were seized with spasmodic religion. They
groaned and screamed and howled and jumped ; clapped
their hands, fell down, and enacted scenes shocking to
modesty.
" About this time a messenger arrived, and calling to one
of the women rolling about in the pen, so happy that she
ALETHAURION. 539
had probably forgotten that she had either feet or legs, and
told her * that Tom had got religion.' She sprang to her
feet and cried, * Glory be to God ! Tom's got religion !
Glory! glory! glory I Where's Tom? Where's Tom?
Glory ! hallelnjah !'
*' In the midst of this excitement, one who seemed to be
general manager, gave a few toots on the bugle, and in an
instant all was quiet ; the congregation broke up and struck
for the tents, and I for the inn.
" I attended the meeting again on the following night. A
tall slender man delivered a discourse, which, though argu-
mentative and good, produced no marked impression. He
sat down, and another minister arose, singing an exciting
song.
** The latter was a high-chested and tough-lunged citizen,
with stentorian voice. The song concluded, he commenced
his exhortation by rubbing his hands, sucking the wind, and
stamping with his feet. He related anecdotes of death-bed
scenes.
•* Some groaned, one ejaculated, * Fire, Lord ! fire!'
'Amen,' shouted another; * send down the Holy Ghos^
Lord with power ! cried a third ; * Let him come now, ju^
now, this very minute, this particular second. * Amen,'
shouted a fourth brother. Mourners were called for, and a
few matched into the straw altar. They prayed and sang,
but every thing seemed to drag.
** A new thought suddenly struck the mind of one of the
veteran operators. * For some reason brethren,' said he,
' God has withdrawn his presence from us.' * That's true,
that's true,' responded another. * That's so,' cried a third.
* I believe he is somewhere, not far off,' suggested another,
* Let's go and hunt him.'
*< In a minute quite a number were engaged in the search.
One went to a bushy-topped sapling, and looking up, cried
out, * O Jesus, are you up there?' then he commenced
barking up the tree and saying: 'Brethren, He's up here.*
540 ALETHAUKION.
** The others had now got to the tree, and all the brethren
"barked, to brmg down the Lord. * There He goes, right
straight to the altar,' cried one of the hunters, and away
they started for the altar.
<*When things had gone on in this way for sometime, one
of the leaders cried out, *Shout! shout! we are gaining
ground.' The effect was electrical. Some females sprang
to their feet and began to shout. 'Glory ! glory ! I have got
religion ! Glory.'
"It was now necessary to change the meeting. The gen-
eral squeeze and roll and tumble, which had been so long
and so energetically kept up, together with the hugging, in
which their spiritual affection liked so well to indulge, and
which they seemed so much to enjoy, both men and women,
had completely exhausted the operators. Orders were then
issued to chans^e into a class-meetinor."
Such is a description of sectarian public worship, from the
pen of an eye witness ; and he very justly observes, in con-
clusion, that, if the scenes usually enacted at camp-meetings
were dramatically represented, the most bitter Infidel could
not desire a better burlesque on Christianity.
9 In our next we treat of the infallibility of the Church.
CHAPTER CXXVI.
CONCERNING THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH.
Having spoken of the indefectibility of the Church of
Christ, we now approach a yet more interesting and useful
question, viz : its infallibility.
We need not dihite upon the importance of this subject ;
for, it must be clear to every one, that, to prove the Church
of Christ infallible, is to deal a death blow to heresy.
As in this and some following papers our game will be
lieretics, and not Atheists nor Deists, we take for granted,
ALETHAURION. 541
first: the existence of a personal God, All-A\ise and All-
powerful ; and, in the second place, we assume as conceded,
the fact that He has revealed His will, or at least a part of
it, to man.
The Atheist denies there is a God at all ; whilst the Deist
though accepting that great truth, yet refuses to admit that
the Supreme Being has ever revealed His will to man in any
other way than through the material universe. The book
of nature is the Bible of the Deist, and he will not acknowl-
edge that any other contains the will of the Creator.
Hence, takinsr for m-anted that God has mven to man a
revelation, we shall inquire whether such was intrusted to
private individuals, to be interpreted privately, or to some
public, everlasting, and infallible society, divinely founded
for the purpose of preserving and explaining it to man-
kind.
We here speak exclusively of that revelation which is con-
tained in the Scriptures, and in the divine traditions of the
Church. With those other special manifestations of His
will, which God has, from time to time, made to chosen
souls, we have nothing to do just now.
Thus, e. g, we Catholics believe, as a fact of history, that
God made known to Pope Pius V., immediately after the
battle, that his fleet had gained a victory over the Turks. But
that particular revelation is no part of our Faith, which
only embraces what was revealed to the prophets and Apos-
tles.
God is certainly no less adorable in His special revelations
than in those which form the substance of our Faith ; yet
He does not impose upon us the obligation of believing the
former, unless we have a mind to, whereas the latter we are
bound to accept or be lost eternally. ** He that believeth
not shall be condemned." Mark, xvi, 16.
Hence, if one of the faithful should say : I do not believe
that God made such a revelation to Pius V. ; I am rather
disposed to think it was nothing more than a mere dream ;
542 AT.ETHAURION.
his language, though offensive to pious ears, would not be
heretical .
But if that man should say, I do not believe that angels
appeared at or near Bethlehem on the night the Saviour was
born, he would be guilty of heresy, and as deserving the
name of heretic, as Luther. Why? Because he impiously
assumes the right to discriminate in matters that he should
wholly accept, in as much as a part of the deposit of Faith.
The reader will gather from this, that by revelation, we
do not here understand everything that God has made known
to men, either naturally or supernaturally, but only what he
revealed to the Prophets and Apostles.
The conservation and propagation of the truths contained
in this we maintain have been entrusted to a divinely consti-
tuted infallible authority, for the following reasons':
Firsts without such an eternal, public and infallible au-
thority we could never be absolutely certain regarding the
identity of the revelation itself. There would always be
room for doubt as to whether the Scriptures we now possess
contain exactly w^hat the Prophets and Apostles wrote.
A word or two left out of a sentence will often chanofe its
meaning, and the addition of a single letter, in some cases,
could give a passage in the original Greek or Hebrew a dif-
ferent signification from what the author intended.
Nor would it be .-possible to refer to the apostolic manu-
scripts, for it is conceded that they no longer exist. Consult
Cellerier : (Essai d'une introduction critique au Kouveau
Testament, Sec. Hi.)
If you ask a Protestant to tell you how he knows that the
epistle of St. Paul to the Romans is what the Apostle wrote,
he will never give you a straight answer, simply because he
cannot without committing himself to the doctrine of an in-
fallible livins: authority.
If you ask a Catholic the same question, he will answer
you at once : I know that the epistle to the Romans is the
ALETHAURION. 543
genuiue work of St. Paul, and thiit, substantiulh , it con-
tains nothing more nor less than what ho wrote, because the
Church is voucher for its authenticity and integrity. She
has preserved that and other portions of Scripture, just as an
orator keeps the manuscript notes of his speeches. Slie
knows the hand-writing of all her children, and no forgery
can pass current within her domain.
The Protestant who does not admit the existence of an in-
fallible authority having guardianship over the Scriptures,
cannot have even the same certitude regarding their purity
that one may have of that of the Eneid, or of the Iliad ; for not
one man in a million could have successfully interpolated
either of them, on account of the style and subject matter,
whereas with our Scriptures the case is altogether different.
To garble and interpolate would, absolutely speaking, have
been the easiest feat imaginable. And, considering the num-
ber of discordant sects, existing in primitive times, it will
readily be understood that motives for making essential
changes could not have been wanting.
Were it not for the authority of the Catholic Church, the
New Testament would, of all the books that have come down
to us from ancient times, be the most open to suspicion.
Second : Even though it should be granted that, by a spec-
ial providence, the Scriptures had been kept pure up to our
day, the fact that many passages are obscure implies the
necessity of an authority to decide what is the true sense.
For a man to say that the Scriptures are so plain that any
one can, by private interpretation, easily divine their mean-
ing, is to assert what the experience of ages contradicts.
The existence at this moment of scores of sects acknowl-
edging, on the one hand, the authenticity, integrity, and in-
spiration of the Scriptures, and on the other, warring about
the meaning of numberless passages, knocks that theory
higher than Donaldson's balloon. It does not deserve a
; serious answer.
The revelation of GrOD, to become known to us, must be
544 ALETHAURION.
expressed in words ; and since words are often ambiguous,
what would be the use of u revelation unless there be at the
same time some infallible authority to define the exact mean-
ing of the words in which it is expressed?
At the capital of this State, laws are made for the govern-
ment of our people in temporal matters. They are worded
as plainly as possible; for our legislators do not wish that
we should be eternally at litigation with the Commonwealth
and with one another ; yet, the interpretation of those laws
is not left to each individual citizen.
We have judges to whom that business belongs, and whose
decisions are enforced by all the power at the command of
the chief executive. What a glorious example of anarchy
we would have if each citizen were to take the statutes and
interpret for himself ! And yet that is precisely the doctrine
held and taught by sectarians, in a matter, too, of far great-
er importance.
Third : The revelation of God has been given not alone
for the benefit of those that lived in times past, or may be now
living, but likewise for the good of all who are to be until
the end of time.
Now, even though we should grant that at this very mo-
ment the Scriptures be pure, setting aside the authority of
the Church, what guarantee can we possibly have that peo-
ple living within the next five thousand years will let them
remain so.
Take the Scriptures from the guardianship of that infalli-
ble authority we speak of, and in a thousand years from
now, not a man living Avould be able to tell what was or what
was not a revelation. The manuscript codes that still exist
will not last always, and we know how quickly the moths
make away with paper books.
Again : Suppose in the first place, that we do away with
the idea of an external, infallible authority having charge of
the Scriptures, and, in the second, that some man now living
should take the ^ew Testament, and, after having garbled
ALETHAURION. 545
and interpolated the text, should take the pains to have his
work engraved on tablets of silver or brass, and hidden in a
cave.
Suppose, in the third place, that, after the lapse of ^ve
thousand years, those tablets were discovered ; on Protest-
ant principles, how would it be possible to prove that they
were forgeries?
After the lapse of the period spoken of, the arguments in
favor of their authenticity would be stronger than those in
favor of any copy that might be then extant; for it would
certainly be more ancient, l)y many hundreds of years, than
any other public monument.
Or, to put the same idea in another form, suppose some
antiquarian whilst making excavations amidst the ruins of
Ephesus, should discover a number of brazen plates, con-
taining St. Paul's epistleto the Ephesians, but different, as
to sense, from that we now possess ; how would it be possi-
ble, without a living infallible authority, to decide whether
it or ours be what St. Paul wrote ?
It would be impossible to decide absolutely. But the prob-
abilities would be mostly on the side of that found in the
ruins.
In oui* next we will take up and discuss some objections
that may be brought against what has thus far been said.
CHAPTER CXXVII.
SO^fE OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE DOCTRTXE SET FORTH IN LAST
NUMBER, VIZ : THAT THE REVELATION OF GOD HAS BEEN
INTRUSTED NOT TO INDIVIDUALS BUT TO A PUBLIC INFAL-
LIBLE AUTHORITY.
It may be objected against the Catholic doctrine of an in-
fallible public authority here on earth, that, from the time
546 ALETHAURION.
of Adam to that of the Saviour, there was nothing of the kind
to be found amongst men.
And, if not essential during that long period of 4004 years,
why should it be needed now? If the patriarch, that lived
before tho time of Abraham, and the Jews that lived after,
could climb into heaven without an infallible synagogue,
what can prevent Christians from gaining the same end with-
out an infallible Church ?
This objection is certainly a very captious one ; but it lacks
solidity. It is founded on the assumption that Christ either
could not or would not establish a more perfect way than
had been in existence before his time.
Now, the ancient prophecies bear testimony to the contrary.
IsAiAS, speaking of the times of the future Messiah, says :
And a path and a way shall be there ; and it shall be called the holy-
way ; the unclean shall not pass over it ; and this shall be unto you a
straight way, so that fools shall not err therein." — Isaias, xxxv, 8.
What else can this mean but an infallible Church, within
which not even a fool can miss his way to heaven?
Christ, in his character of Sou of God, had the ri<rht to
inagurate the new element of infallibility, and make it a pre-
rosrative of his Church, even thouirh the svnao^oorue had it iK>t.
Moreover, in so far as it is granted to us to see into the
•designs of the Almighty, we may assign reasons to show it
was not expedient that there should have been organized be-
fore the Messianic period, a society infallible in the sense
that the Church is. For at no time, before the coming of
Christ, was revelation complete ; it was yet in a state of
formation.
And, as the jeweler does not suffer a watch to be taken
from his work-shop, until every wheel and spring is in its
place and the instrument in running order, so God had direct
care of his revelation, until in the fullness of time, through
his Divine Son, he perfected it ; and then only was it givei\
over to the guardianship of the Church, to receive no further
augmentation.
ALETHAURION. 547
*'But though we," says St. Paul, or an angel from heaven preached a
gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be
anathema." — Gal. i,8.
For present convenience we may divide the period before
the Saviour's advent into two epochs. The one embracing:
all those centuries from the fall of Adam to the time of
Moses : the other from the promulgation of the law on Mount
Sinai to the commencement of the Saviour's public career.
During the first of these, revelation included only a very
few of the truths of religion, such as the belief in one God ;
the belief in a future Redeemer, and in the doctrine of re-
wards and punishments in the next life.
St. Paul, (Heb, xi. (j,) sums up in a few words all that was
necessary for belief in those patriarchal times :
*' Without faith," he says, ''it is hnpossible to please God. For he that
cometh to God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of them that
seek Him."
These few primary truths could easily have been trans-
mitted by oral tradition from father to son. And the fact
that they were so few and so clean cut, made it unnecessary
that there should have been establised at that time a public
infallible society charged with their conservation and pro-
pagation.
Moreover, it is not strictly correct to say that God left his
revelation entirely to the chances of a simple oral tradition
before the time of Moses.
For, as in our day, he guards its purity by the Church,
Tvbich is the ordinary means, so, in patriarchal times, he in-
sured the same result through the ministry of angels sent to
encouraire those who believed in Hi5 name, and to confirm
them in the truth of all that had come down by tradition
from Adam.
It must also be observed that, before the time of Moses,
there were not, as far as we know, any inspired writings
needing a guardian to preserve their integrity and puritv.
Hence the parallel between the patriarchal and Messianic pe-
riods is unjust and calculated to deceive.
k:
548 ALETHAURION.
Let us now briefly consider the second epoch, viz : from
the promulgation of the hiw on Mount Sinai to the beginning
of the Saviour's public career.
It is true that during that long period, of about fifteen hun-
dred years, there was no permanent infallible authority, such
as we now have in the Catholic Church ; yet, there was even
then an institution, viz : the Aaronic priesthood, which ful-
filled a duty with respect to the inspired writings analogous
to that which the Church now performs. Nor did this pub-
lic authority ever cease to exist until the kingdom of the
Messiah had been fairly established.
JosEPHUS Flavius, the renowned Jewish historian and war-
rior, gives us a list, in an uninterrupted series, of all the high
priests from Aaron, to Annas and Caiphas, under whom
the Saviour was put to death ; and thence to John Giscala^
who was the last in the list of Aaron's line, during whose
term of office Jerusalem was taken and sacked by the Romans.
It may interest the reader that we give here the number
of high priests, corresponding to the different epochs in Jew-
ish history, from the time of Aaron to the final destruction
of the temple. It is as follows :
From Aaron to King Solomon, a period of 612 years, 13
high priests ; from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity, 46 G
years, 18 high priests ; from the Babylonian captivity to An-
TiocHUS EuPATOR, 412 years, 15 high priests ; from Antio-
CHUS to Herod II, 113 years, 15 high priests ; from Herod
to Titus, 107 years, 28 high priests. Altogether, 89 high
priests in a period of 1»710 years. Antiquities, xx, 10.
Thus it will be observed that, from the time of Moses to
that of the Saviour, there was a public authority amongst
the Jews ; which same, as we are informed by the Spanish
Jew, Salvador, was established for the purpose of preserv-
ing the Law and keeping it free from error. Hist, of the
Institutions of Moses, II book.
But, though the Synagogue fulfilled a very important duty
before the Saviour's coming, yet was not infallible, in the
ALETHAURION. 549
strict sense ; for its authority had to be complemented by a
succession of prophets.
The hitter were sent immediately by God, and had their
authority to act the part of reformers from Ilim, and not
from the Synagogue. If the Synagogue had been a perfect,
self-sufficient society, such as the Church now is, the Jews
would have been excusable for not having given ear to the
teachings of the Saviour.
But the Jewish people never regarded the Synagogue in
the same light that we Catholics do the Church. When a
controversy of any magnitude arose, they looked to the au-
thority of a prophet.
Hence, Josephus Flavius, (Cont. Apion. i, 8,) speaking
of those books, recognized as inspired by the Jews, uses the
following words :
"We have not an inumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing
from and contradicting one another, as the Greeks have, but only twenty-
two books which contain the records of all the past times ; which are
justly believed to be divine; and of them tive belong to Moses, which
contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death.
This interval of time was little short of three thousand years ; but as to the
time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Per-
sia, who reigned after Xerxes ; the prophets who were after Moses,
wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remain-
ing four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conluct of hu-
man life. It is true, our history has been written since Artaxerxes,
very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with
the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact suc-
cession of the prophets since that time.
The histories here spoken of by Josephus as having been
written after the time of Artaxerxes, constitute what are
now called the deutro-canonical books of the Old Testament.
The Synagogue had not the authority to pronounce upon
their inspiration ; but the Church of Christ, which is a
prophet continuously abiding with us, failed not to do so ages
ago ; so that we now regard them with the same veneration
that we do the proto-canonical books.
Now, some one may say : Well, that theory of an oral
550 ALETHAURION.
tradition, from the time of Adam to that of Moses, supple-
mented by angel visits ; and of a public authority from the
days of Moses to those of Christ, kept from going wrong
b}^ a succession of prophets, looks reasonable enough at a
distance and in the abstract ; but if examined closely it will
not stand the test.
Take, for example, that period of time that elapsed from
the death of prophet Malachy to the days of the Messiah,
in all, about four hundred years ; what public infallible au-
thority was there amongst the Jews during that time?
Furthermore : In what did the Synagogue, during those
four hundred years, differ from any Protestant church at the
present day ?
We may reply to each of these questions as follows :
First : We admit that the Synagogue was not infallible in
se ; but, we maintain that God, as occasion required, made
up for the deficiency by extraordinary means.
The fact that no prophet appeared in Israel from the days
of Malachy to those of Christ is of itself a proof that none
was necessary. It is one thing to say that the Synagogue
was infallible, and quite a different proposition to assert that
it actually erred and led the people astray during that period.
In the light of what the Saviour himself said of the chair
of Moses (Matt, xxiii, 23,) no one can safely affirm that the
Synagogue had gone wrong up to the time those words were
spoken.
If it afterwards denied Christ it was not until He, by His
mighty works, had clearly established His right to be regarded
as a prophet ; and there was not a Jew from Dan to Beer-
seba but knew that the authority of a prophet was greater
than that of the Synagogue.
Second: What difference between the Synagogue, from
the death of the prophet Malachy to the birth of Christ,
and one of our Protestant churches?
Answer : The former genuine, the latter counterfit. The
Aaronic priesthood was a divine institution ; Protestant
ALETHAURION. 551
churches are, to say the least, of human origin. The Syna-
gogue received directions, when such was required, from
prophets sent of God ; Protestant churches have not the
promise of any such assistance. Judaism was a preparation
for the kingdom of the Messiah ; the stairway leading up to
the church door ; heresy is a rebellion airainst that kingdom ;
a pitfall to the rear of the church of God.
In our next we will show that the Church of Chkist is the
custodian of revelation.
CHAPTER CXXVin.
THE CTirRCH OF CHRIST IS THE IXFALLIBLE AUTHORITY TO
WHOSE GUARDIANSHIP THE REVELATION OF GOD HAS
BEEN INTRUSTED.
By the word Church, as used here, we do not mean the
entire assembly of the faithful, but rather the universal
episcopate or body of pastors, taken with the Roman
pontiff.
Now, the Apostles who, in common with Peter, their
/lead, were the first bishops of the Church received immedi-
ately from Christ and the Holy Ghost, the fulness of Reve-
lation. In proof of this, it will only be necessary to call
attention to a few passages in the New Testament, which we
here use simply as a history, prescinding from its inspired
character.
"Go ye therefore," said Christ to those flrst bishops, *'and teach all
nations; baptizing them in tlie name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of tlie Holy Ghost: Teacliin*; tlicm to observe all things whatsoever I
have oommanded you ; and behold I am with you teaching and baptizing^
all days even to the consummation of the world.'* — Matt. xx\-iii, 10-20.
Again he says :
*'I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that
He may abide with you forever. Tlie Spirit of truth .... shall
abide with you, and shall be in you.*'— John xiv, lC-17.
552 ALETH AUPvION .
"Wlien the Spirit of truth shall come He will teach you all truth." —
John xvi, 13.
"As the father hath sent me so also I send you." — John xx, 21.
From these and similar texts, that might easily be adduced,
three conclusions follow clearly and naturally.
The first is, that Christ entrusted the revelation that He
had from the Father to the Apostles. And they, with
Peter at their head, constituted the Church of Christ, or at
least its teaching part. Taken as a society, they were infal-
lible, which no sectarian will deny.
Secondly: It follows that the society or organization of
which the Apostles were the first members, the incorpora-
tors, so to speak, was not to end with them, but was to con-
tinue in the world, orainino: new members and installing new
oflicers, according as the society extended, or as the old were
called away by death.
Thirdly: It follows that this society cannot at any time
err nor lead men astray, for Christ promised to remain with
it forever.
That the Church of Christ is constituted the guardian of
whatever has been revealed, is furthermore evident from
what we read in Matt, xviii :
"If thy brother shall offend thee," says the Saviour, "go and reprove
him between thee and him alone. If he shall here thee, thou slialt gain
thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand.
And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if he will not hear
the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."
Sectarians maintain that everything revealed by God, as
binding upon man, is contained in the Bible. We also hold
that, indeed, no small portion of what He wishes us to know
and believe, in order to be saved, is to be found either ex-
pressly or implicitly in the same volume.
But, instead of saying as do the sectarians, that God has
intrusted His revelation to a book, we maintain that it has
t>een given over to the care of a living and everlasting
Society or Church.
ALETHAURION. 553
To illustrate this point more fully, let us take that case
which occurred down at Maple Grove, some time ago.
A member of the Church there, after having read his
Bible over carefully, came to the conclusion that the doctrine
of seven sacraments is clearly taught therein, and made no
secret of his change in belief.
His neighbor and co-religionist came to him, and, said he,
<'you must abandon such a doctrine, for you ought to know
that our Church holds those views to be false and un-
ficriptural."
**I have made up my mind, and am satisfied that our
Church is wrong on that point,'' said the other.
Then the neighbor went off and got two or three of his
friends, who came with him to expostulate with the erring
brother. They found him still obdurate, and the only course
open to them, was to tell the Church.
The minister was accordingly notified, and requested to
call a meeting of that body at an appointed hour on a cer-
tain day. The erring brother was also summoned to appear
befoie his judges, be duly tried and condemned.
The following description of the proceedings may mterest
the reader, and we accordingly insert it here for future
reference :
**The Elders occupied chairs in front of the pulpit, and the
rank and file were distributed in knots all through the
Church ; some impressed with the importance of the matter
in hand, and others apparently indifferent. The minister
next called the house to order, and announced that business
would begin forthwith.
**One of the elders, a venerable and patriarchal looking
man, with an abundance of silvery hair floating over
his shoulders, next arose in the assembly and spoke as
follows :
**My beloved friends and brethren — for sixty years save
one, have I marked the downward course of the forest
554 ALETHAURION.
leaves, and seen these hills clothed in snow, since T, with
fourteen others, first organized this Church.
'*0f that little band, I alone survive to see this day — the
rest have gone to sleep beneath the sod ; and their spirits-
have been wafted to that shore where dissension and sorrow
are unknown. They have gone to receive the reward of
th'eir earthly labors ; to rest forever under the shade of the
tree of life, and quench their thirst for truth at the eternal
fountain .
* 'For many years our numbers were few and scattered;
our way beset with countless difficulties ; and the good Lord,
in order to try our patience and perseverance, appeared to
have hidden His face from us for a season. But our con-
cord and brotherly love impressed the unbeliever, and some
who came on the Sabbath to scoff, remained here to inquire
what they should do to be saved.
*'Our numbers increased steadily, and the trials of those
early days are now almost forgotten, or mingled in my
thoughts with other dreams of the long ago. Many eloquent
men have stood in this pulpit ; and oftentimes has my heart
swelled with thanksgiving and gone out in silent worship to
the author of all good, for having vouchsafed to us His
glorious gospel.
**More than once have we listened to the exhortations of
our now dissenting brother, for so I call him still, and each
time that he mounted these steps to open that holy
book, it seemed to me as if the current of my life had been
reversed.
**The looks, the action, and the voice of a father, the friend
and companion of my youth, whom I loved, came before me-
once more in the son. Eight years ago to-day, we laid him,
with tears in our eyes, under the shade of yonder willow.
And, if his spirit could know what sadness is, up there, how
sad it feels now, looking down on us, and knowing the cause
of our coming.
ALETHAURION. 555
♦»IIe wMs a man over true to his convictions, and hence
true to otliors. lie aided to build up this Church, and its
growth aud prosperity was the object nearest to his heart.
Schism was odious in his eyes, and he avoided the conten-
tious as he would a leper.
**Could it ever have entered his mind whilst in life, that
his own son would put his hand to the work of destroying
what he had built — to undoing what he had done? No,
never !
**But why do I dwell on these unpleasant thoughts?
The shadow of the tomb has lengthened across my pathway,
my days arc almost numbered, my sun of life approaches
the horizon and will soon sink into the ocean of eternity.
This, my nearness to the end, is what urges me now to ful-
fill yet one more duty ere I am called away.
** 'Let me exhort you then dear brother, to reconsider your
acts ; to avoid novelties in religion ; to continue still a faith-
ful son of the Church. Walk in the path that your father
trod. And, by the veneration you owe his memory ; by the
love you bear your own children ; by the good example that
you, as a Christian man, are bound to set them. I now
adjure you not to force upon us the necessity of cutting you
off, as a rotten branch from this Church, of which, by your
ancestry and by your education, you should be a living
member and a shining light. I have done.'
* 'Others next arose in order, and spoke in the same strain.
Brother Smith was of opinion that excommunication from
the Church would work disadvantageously from a business
point of view.
''Brother Bkowx thought that the social ostracism, which
would result from such an act, would be worse than
death.
"Brother tToxES declared the doctrine of seven sacraments
to be nothing more nor less than rank popery.
"The dissenting brother was then called upon, and he
spoke as follows :
^56 ALETHAURION.
** *I willingly confess, my friends, that nev/i beJcore in
my life have I experienced within my breast, so umny con-
tending emotions. The memories of early youth, the
friendships contracted in more advanced years, and the
ties of blood and kindred are bonds that ought not to be
severed.
" 'And, so far as I am concerned, they will not be, for
I wish them to remain whilst this life shall last, to be
strengthened and made more perfect in that beyond the
tomb. Were I called upon to address an ordinary assembly
upon a topic, that did not so closely concern the finer feel-
ings of our nature, I would have no misgivings, I would
answer arguments with arguments, and threats with defi-
ance.
** *But, after having listened to the pathetic words and
touching allusions of my venerable friend'who first claimed
your attention this evening, my heart was moved, and I felt
the magnetism of a long cherished friendship drawing me
back to where reason and conscience bade me not to stay.
Yet I will say, that if the eloquence of man could render
ineffective what I regard as an inspiration from above, his
would have done so.
*' 'But this is not the question. You have assembled here
to try me for the crime of heresy, and I have come to pre-
sent such reasons for my course as seem to me best.
" 'If the cradle and the coffin constituted the terms of
human existence, and if man were not responsible to a
higher power for the use or abuse of every light given him
in this life, then indeed this present complication would not
have arisen.
" 'I would have agreed with you fn belief, or suppressed,
for the sake of peace and friendship, each dissent of mind
that might lead to discord. I would go peaceably Avith the
current, and still continue for the future, as for the
past, to enjoy the pleasure of your society, friendship and
confidence.
ALETHAURION. 557
** 'But I am convinced that there is a being of infinite
power who directs the universe, and has made man a free
and responsible agent. I am satisfied that of old, lie re-
vealed His will to the patriarchs and prophets, and, in later
times, finished and perfected that same revelation throuirh
His Divine Son. I am persuaded that the system of religion
introduced by Christ, is not a vague, but a most definite
one. For otherwise, how could he have made the accepta-
tion of it a condition necessary for salvation? He that
believeth not shall be condemned. Mark xvi, 16.
** *In a word, I am convinced that there is here on earth,
a living authority, with power to not only propagate and
keep pure, but also to define exactly each point of faith.
In my youth, I was taught to believe as you now do ; that
the Scriptures and private interpretation were to be my
rule. '
** *But, as time passed on, thoughts presented themselves
to my mind that would not let me rest. I found men of
other denominations who professed to be guided by that
same principle, differing with me in regard to many essential
matters.
** *This led me to question the truth of lessons learned in
early life, and I set diligently to work and studied the Scrip-
tures more thoroughly than I had ever done before. With
each step that I took, scales dropped from my eyes, and I
befran to see thin^rs in a new lifjht.
'' 'I learned from those Scriptures, that Christ founded
a Church. *Thou art Peter,' said He, *and upon this rock
I will build my Church.' Matt, xvi, 18.
** 'I next inquired whether that to which I belonged, was
the Church which Christ established ; and here the result
of my studies was not favorable to my preconceived notions.
I could not trace mine, as a visible organization, further
back than about three hundred years ; whereas, that which
Christ founded was evidently much older.
558 ALETHAURION.
**Yet, with all this, I tried to smother my doubts, consol-
ing myself with the thought that the Church to which I be-
longed believed, and practiced what the Saviour taught.
But, upon closer investigation, I w^as doomed again to disap-
pointment. I found that the Scriptures commanded me to
hear the Church, Matt, xviii, though mine disclaimed any
power to speak with authority on a point of belief.
'* Studying this evident contradiction, I began to suspect
more and more strongly that mine could not be the one al-
luded to in the Scriptures. For, if it were, it could not be
ignorant of its own prerogatives, nor refuse to exercise them
upon suitable occasions.
*'But I was not yet fully persuaded of my errors, until I
had taken another view of the same case, and studied my
Church in its daily practice. Here I found the w^orst discrep-
ancy of all — the Scriptures admitted to be the rule of faith,
and yet their plainest teaching disregarded.
*' *I found no imposition of hands to correspond with what
I read in Acts viii, 17.
*' *The communion was held to be nothing more than a fig-
ure of the body and blood of Christ ; though He declared
it to be His real body and blood. Matt, xvi, 26-28 : Affirm-
ing, John vi, 54, unless one eat His flesh and drink His blood
he cannot have life in him.
*' *I discovered no one in my Church who claimed to have
that power of remitting sin, given by Christ to the Apostles
and their successors. John xx, 23.
" *The injunction of James the Apostle, to call in the priests
or elders of the Church and annoint the sick with oil, is un-
heeded. James v, 14.
** *The unity and indissolubility of marriage so clearly
taught in i Cor. vii, and by the Saviour himself, Matt, xix,
is openly denied ; and the validity of divorces granted by
civil courts conceded.
*' ''These are only a few of the inconsistencies that I took
ALETIIAUltlOX. 551)
mote of in my search for a more perfect way. But the irrcat-
est absurdity of all, is your presence here to try me for the
crime of heresy. For, according to a fundamental piinciple
of your Church, the Scriptures, privately interpreted is the
true rule of faith. I have read them, and my honest convic-
tion is that they teach the doctrine of seven sacraments. I
4isk you therefore, which is guilty of heresy?
***I, who read the Scriptures, and interi)ret them accord-
ing to what you admit to be a true principle ; or you, wlio
deny that it is every man's right and privilege to read the
Bible and make his personal understanding of it a rule of con-
duct? I admit you have the right to exclude me from this
house, which belongs to you as a chartered society.
***But that power you have from the State Legislature.
There is no right inherent to your body to exclude any (>ne.
And every time you do so you destroy the very foundation
on which your Church rests ; practically taking to yourselves
the office of teachers and judges of the law, and assuming
an infallibility which, in theory, you deny is possessed by
you or by any other body of men in existence.
***But, as by the civil law, j^ou have the power to exclude
me from this house, I will save you all further trouble by a
voluntary withdrawal. I will enter a Church whose practice
•does not contradict its teachings ; and if such a course be det-
rimental, from a temporal point of view, I have consolation
in knowing that it doth not profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul.
** *If by such a course I am to forfeit the friendship of men,
the friendship of God and the testimony of a good conscience
will more than suffice for the loss. And as to my children,
I leave them for a legacy the knowledge of the fact that,
having seen the light, their father had the courage to follow
the dictates of his conscience and approach it. If this be
Catholic doctrine, you may write me down a Catholic.'*
560 ALETHAURION.
CHAPTER CXXIX.
THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE.
We now approach one of the most interesting and impor-
tant questions connected with the history of the Church in
modern times — the infallibility of the Pope.
To the Infidel and sectarian the declaration of this truth,
by the highest spiritual authority on earth, has been a sad
reminder of their own waywardness and rebellion. Hence^
they do not cease to decry it as an absurdity.
But, their opposition is harmless, except to themselves ;
and their knowledge and wisdom, weighed in the scales of
truth, have, long ago, been found wanting.
Nor is it alone to those outside the Church that the formal
presentation of this dogma has been a stumbling block ; even
some Catholics, who had been regarded as pillars of the
Church and lights of the sanctuary, blinded by a vain con-
ceit of their own intelligence, in an evil hour, struck against
that stone, and tumbled headlong into the abyss of error.
For this reason, we shall attempt to put the matter in as
clear a way as possible.
Now, one of the means necessary to gain a true conception
of any question is to fix the force and signification of the
principal words used in discussing it.
What, therefore, is meant when we say that a being is in-
fallible? We mean that he has some virtue or power, by the
aid of which he makes no mistake.
When this virtue is possessed to such a degree that the
being cannot err in anything, then he may be said to pos-
sess absolute infallibility. In this sense God alone is infallible.
Hence, not even the angels can lay claim to it ; for inas-
much as they are finite beings, there must 1)0 truths, be-
yond their comprehension, concerning which they would be
liable to err, from deficiency of knowledge.
ALETHAURION. 581
Absolute infallibility presupposes omniscience, primarily^
and, by implication, all the other perfections of the Godhead.
But infallibility is very often used, in a more limited «ense,
to express exemption from failure in some things.
The historian of Alexander the Great, tells us that,
whilst the hero was on his way to the conquest of Asia, there
was brought to him one day a certain man, who had acfjuircd
such skill in pitching peas through an iron ring, placed sev-
eral yards away, that he never missed his mark.
Alex^vxder, who was as munificiont a patron of the arts
of peace as he was brave in war, ordered his commissary to
give the performer a large basket of peas, and ten minutes
time, to convey it beyond the lines.
Now, the individual in question was certainly infallible,.
for he never failed to put the pea through the ring ; and we
may also presume that he did not fail to get outside the lines
within the time specified.
There is a man down in Posey country who is, likewise,
infallible. For, if you stick half a doUur on top of a pole,
seventy-five yards away, and tell him he can have it for the
hittinsr ; he will not fail with his own trustv rilie, well loaded
and primed, to carry off the prize. He is an infallible marks-
man.
We may now pass on a step, and consider a more august
species of infallibility — that of the Pope.
What do we mean when we say the Pope is infallible? —
That he is a good marksman? No : History affords us no
data on which to base the conclusion that any one of the
Popes was ever a dead shot — except, may be, when hurling
bulls at the heads of despotic monarchs, or aiming anathe-
mas at the anatomies of refractory monks.
Do we mean by infallibility that the Pope is incapaHe of
commiting sin? No : Imi>eccability and infallibility are two
things entirely different. And, out of the tuo hundred and
fifty-six Popes we have had since Peter, half a dozen or
5iy2 ALETHAURIOX.
more have never been regarded as prominent candidates for
canonization.
Do we mean, by infallibility, that the Pope knows all
things, and that, when aslved a question on any subject, his
answer will always be in conformity with truth? No : Om-
niscience belongs to God alone.
The Pope does not pretend to be master of all the sciences ;
nor has there ever yet lived a man that had an exhaustive
knowledge of even one.
Let us go a step farther. Do we mean by infallibility that
the Pope cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and
morals?
Here it will be necessary to make a distinction. The Pope
may be regarded in two ways — either as a private doctor,
or as the head of the Church. If he speaks or writes as a
theologian his conclusions have only a weight corresponding
to the reasons he may produce in support of them.
But when he speaks as head of the Church, on a question
of faith and morals, •/ro??2 the chair, as the phrase is, we be-
lieve that he is infallible.
This point we may illustrate by an example. We have, at
Washington, a Supreme Court, made up of one Chief Justice
and eight associates.
Its decisions, on all matters within its jurisdiction, are
practically infallible ; ^. e., there is no appeal.
Now let us suppose that some questions of great impor-
tan<?e should arise, and be referred to the Supreme Court
for adjustment.
The discussion of the case at issue might take up several
months.
Suppose that, in the meantime. Chief Justice Waite should
give his views, privately, to a few of his friends, on the merits
of the case : Do you suppose that the country at large
would attribute great importance to his opinions so deliv-
ered? Not at all; for the private opinion of Mr. Waite,
on a question under discussion, would not amount to more
ALETHAUBION. 563
than that of many other prominent barristers in the
country.
The opinion of Mr. Waite is not the decision of Supreme
Justice Waite — not by a good deal.
But when Mr. AVaite speaks y?'om the bench, in his official
capacity of Chief Justice, then his decision is indeed a
weighty one for the vanquished party, because it is the fiat
of the Supreme Court of the United States.
So also, we may say in regard to the Pope. When speak-
ing as a theologian, on questions of faith or morals; when
reproving Emperors, Kings, and Princes for their wayward-
ness ; when granting episcopal jurisdiction to some, or taking
it away from others, we do not claim that he is infallible.
His acts in such matters may be the best possible under
the circumstances ; and then again they may not be.
But when the Pope, ex Cathedra, gives a definition of
faith, we hold that decision to be infallible.
We have taken the office of the Chief Justice to illustrate
this case, in preference to that of the President, because,
strictly speaking, the Pope is infallible only in his character
of judge. But to what degree he is influenced by this, in
his capacity of chief legislator, or chief executive, we leave
untouched for the present.
• As to Avhether the Pope himself can ever fall into herecy^
is one of those idle questions discussed by theologians who
have little else to do.
We believe, on the strength of the words addressed by
Christ to Peter : **I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail
not.** Luke, xxii, 31. That no Pope will ever be, at heart,
a heretic.
But, whatever may be said of him as a man, we know
that as Chief Judge in the Church he cannot err, and that
is quite sufficient. For, that being certain, we are sure that
what we believe, is what Christ taught.
Before we enter on the proofs for the infallibility of the
Pope, as defined in the Council of the Vatican, it may be
-Db4 ALETHAURION.
proper to say a few words regarding the state of the ques-
tion, l)efore its definition.
We know from the writings of the Fathers that from the
earliest ages all controversies regarding points of faith were
referred to Rome for final decision.
If proofs be asked for this, they can be furnished in abun-
dance. *'Peter has spoken, the question is ended," a
phrase used so often by middle-age writers, is but a short
ivay of expressing the belief of all true Catholics that the
See of Rome will ever be found true to its lofty destiny.
Nor was it until about the time of the Council of Con-
stance, A. D. 1414, that distinctions between the Church
and its head, the See and its occupant, etc., began to be
talked about.
This jealous spirit, kept alive and fostered by some
l)ishops, finally crystallized into what was called GalUcanism ,
This was m.ade up, principally, of tAvo ingredients. The
first consisted in denying that the Pope had a just right to
change the disciplinary laws, framed during the first five or
six centuries of Christianity, and in force in the Galilean
Church.
Those French bishops wanted the Galilean Church to
remain in statu quo, even in matters of discipline, like an
immense heap of barley piled up at one end of an elevator.
But the Pope thought differently, and, in his judg-
ment, a change of position, and a winnowing, once in a
ivhile, was necessary to prevent the grain from heating and
sprouting.
The other ingredient of Gallicanism consisted in denying
the personal infallibility of the Poi)e.
This denial was put forward, in a most emphatic manner,
in 1()82, by not a few of the French clergy, and sustained,
principally, by the illustrious Bossuet. His tract, entitled:
•**The defense of the declaration of the French Clergy," is
•certainly an able statement, and it comprises nearly every-
thing that can be said against the infallibility of the Pope.
ALKTllALUION. .">«>.)
But, with all his learning and genius, ho failed to prove
his point ; for no arguments hold good against prophecy.
BossiET and other Gallieans maintained that the authority
of a general couneil was superior to that of the Pope, and
that the bishops, in eouncil, could pass judgment ou his ex
Caf/iedra decisions, and change them at pleasure.
From these various considerations it will be seen that the
formal declaration of the infallibility, by the Vatican Coun-
cil, was not uncalled for.
Gallicanism was slowly, but surely, sapping the faith of
the French people, and the time had come for the com-
mander-in-chief of all the faithful to call a halt.
We may now bring foi'ward some texts of Scripture that
go to confirm what was defined by the Fathers of the Vati-
can Coj.incil, respecting the matter under consideration.
The first to which we shall invite attention, are the words
of the Saviour addressed to Peter, as follows:
*' And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to
have you, that he inaj' sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fail not ; and thou being once converted, confirm thy breth-
ren.'' — Luke xxii, 31-32.
In the foregoing verses are contained three important
items :
First : The Apostles were to be tempted by Satan ; and
by the Apostles we may here understand the entire Church.
Second: In order that Satan may not triumph, the
Saviour prays for Peter that his faith fail not.
Third: Peter, or Simox, as he was then called, is com-
manded to confirm his brethren.
Now, if Peter, or his successors in the primacy, could
fail — could teach false doctrine — what consequence would
follow? That the Saviour's prayer was not heard by the
Father, which would be absurd to even think of Him.-
'-"NMio in the days of His flesh, offering: up prayers and suppli*.'ations,
with a strong cry and teai*s. to Him tliat was able to save Hiui from death,
was heard for his reverence. "—Heb. v, 7.
566 ALETHAURION.
Moreover, the Saviour commands Peter to confirm his
brethren. Suppose for a moment that the Pope was capa-
ble of teaching error, would he not, in that case, confirm the
brethren in falsehood instead of truth, contrary to the
Saviour's intention?
The obligation, therefore, imposed upon Peter, of
strengthening others, necessarily implies strength in himself
to begin with.
Another text of Scripture, which bears directly on the
subject of infallibility, is that celebrated one, in which
Christ, addressing Peter, says:
"And I say to thee : Thou art Peter, and npon this rock I will build
my, Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." — Matt.
xvi. 18.
Peter is the rock on which the Church of Christ is built.
He is the foundation, solid enough to insure the building
against the power of Sata?^ and his imps.
Now, if the Pope's decisions on points of faith could be
improved by the rest of the bishops, either in council or out
of it, it would no longer be the foundation giving strength
to the building, but the building affording firmness to the
foundation.
The supposition is contrary to the tenor of the Saviour's
words, and in contradiction to the nature of things.
There is yet one more text of Scripture, in which the doc-
trine of infallibility is taught, even more clearly than in
those already given.
In the xxi chapter of St. John's gospel we read of how
the Saviour appeared, after his resurrection, to Peter and
to some of the other Apostles, on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, and commanded the same Peter to feed the lambs
and sheep of His flock, ^. e'., the faithful, both lay and
clerical.
The food here spoken of is evidently of a spiritual nature,
in accordance with those words of the Saviour, addressed to
the tempter in the desert :
ALETHAURION. 5G7
"Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out
t)f the month of God.'*— Matt, iv, 4.
Let us for a moment consider the case of a Pope teaching
error ; what then ?
It would ])e Peter no longer feeding the flock with the
manna of truth, but rather inebriating the lambs and sheep
with the poison of error.
And, furthermore, if the dogmatical definitions of the
Pope could be essentially altered by the other bish()i)s, as
the Galileans atone time maintained, then it wotild no longer
be Peter feeding the flock, but rather the flock feeding
Peter ; contrary to the spirit and meaning of the Saviour's
command.
It was, precisely, on the occasion spoken of in the text, and
just after Christ had said the words: **feed my lambs,
feed my sheep," that Peter became the first Pope.
Hence, the objection, sometimes put forward, that Peter
denied Christ in the house of Pilate, has no ground to
stand on ; for he had not as yet been made Pope.
And, even though we should grant that Peter was Pope
at the time, we can hardly suppose that he meant to give an
ex Cathedra decision to that virago that threatened to tell
on him.
Imagine Chief Justice Waite arguing with a plumber, in
regard to an exorbitant bill : Will any one, for a moment,
take what the Judge would be liable to say, on such an occa-
sion, as his decision, from the bench of the Supreme Court?
Another objection to the infallibility of the Pope, fre-
quently brought forward by sectarian ministers, is founded
on what St. Paul says of Cephas or Peter, in his epistle
to the Galatians, chapter ii.
"But when Cephas was come to Antioch,'' says he, *'I withstood
him to the face, because he was blameable."
This objection is yet more easy of solution than that noticed
already.
568 ALETHAURION.
That in which Peter was blameable was either a questioa
of faith, or it was not. If not a matter appertaining to
faith, it has' nothing to do with either Peter's or the Pope's
infallibility.
If Peter was blameable to the extent of teaching false
doctrine, then the text proves too much for those ministers
who use it.
It proves that Peter was not an inspired Apostle.
Indeed, it will appear evident, to any one who takes the
trouble to read the entire chapter, that the question at issue
between those two great Apostles was not one of faith at all.
Paul blames Cephas for his temporizing policy and dissimu-
lation toward the converted Jew.
It was a mere matter of policy. Cephas thought his own
way the best, under the circumstances, and Paul thought it
wasn't.
The infallibility is also objected to on the ground that it
places too much power in the hands of one man.
To which we may reply by asking a question : Does it
throw too much power into the Supreme Court of the United
States, to make its decision final?
There must, in every organic community, be a ne plus
ultra, beyond which controversies cannot go.
The founders of this government gave the right to decide
controversies, arising within its jurisdiction, to one chief
and eight associate justices ; the founder of the Catholic
Christian Church gave the same right to the Apostle Peter
and to his successors.
The other objections against the doctrine of papal infalli-
bility are mainly historical. It has been asserted of some
few Popes that they fell into heresy, or endorsed false doc-
trines — asserted ; yes : But never proved.
ALETHAURION. 569
CONCLUSION.
During the progress of this work, we have occasionally
made use of some tart expressions when speaking of Protest-
antism or of heresy in general ; but we have nothing to
retract.
Ere we conclude, however, we have a few kind words to
say of American Protestants : for they are not as bad as the
religion they profess.
To their credit, it must be told, that there are but few
Catholic Churches or charitable institutions in our country,
to which our Protestant fellow citizens have not liberally
contributed.
And, may we not hope, that it was of such generous souls
the Saviour spoke when he said :
" And, other sheep I have, that are not of this fold : them also I must
bring; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one
Shepherd?'' John x. 16.
THE END.
LatLs Deo, et Beat<£ Marioe Virgini.
GETHSEMAN! ABBEY,
GETHSEMANl, P, 0. KY.
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