trum, per ea, quae facta sunt, naturali rationis humanae lumine certo cognosci non posse; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, fieri non posse, aut non expedire, ut per revelationem divinam homo de Deo, cultuque ei exhibendo edoceatur; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, hominem ad cognitionem et perfectionem, quae naturalem superet, divinitus evehi non posse, sed ex seipso ad omnis tandem veri et boni possessionem iugi profectu pertingere posse et debere; anathema sit.

4. Si quis sacrae Scripturae libros integros cum omnibus suis partibus, prout illos sancta Tridentina Synodus recensuit, pro sacris et canonicis non susceperit, aut eos divinitus inspiratos esse negaverit; anathema sit.

Creator and Lord, cannot be attained by the natural light of human reason through the things that are made; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall say that it is impossible, or inexpedient, for man to be instructed by means of divine revelation, in those things that concern God and the worship to be rendered to him; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that man cannot, by the power of God, be raised to a knowledge and perfection which is above that of nature; but that he can and ought of his own efforts, by means of constant progress, to arrive at last to the possession of all truth and goodness; let him be anathema.

4. If any one shall refuse to receive for sacred and canonical the books of holy Scripture in their integrity, with all their parts, according as they were enumerated by the holy Council of Trent;

Or shall deny that they are inspired by God; let him be anathema.

1. Si quis dixerit, rationem humanam ita independentem esse, ut fides ei a Deo imperari non possit; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, fidem divinam a naturali de Deo et rebus moralibus scientia non distingui, ac propterea ad fidem divinam non requiri, ut revelata veritas propter auctoritatem Dei revelantis credatur; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, revelationem divinam externis signis credibilem fieri non posse, ideoque sola interna cuiusque experientia aut inspiratione pri

OF FAITH.

1. If any one shall say that human reason is in such wise independent, that faith cannot be demanded of it by God; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall say that divine faith does not differ from a natural knowledge of God, and of moral truths; and therefore that for divine faith, it is not necessary to believe revealed truth, on the authority of God who reveals it; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that divine revelation cannot be rendered credible by external evidences; and therefore that men should be moved to faith

4. Si quis dixerit, miracula nulla fieri posse, proindeque omnes de iis narrationes, etiam in sacra Scriptura contentas, inter fabulas vel mythos ablegandas esse; aut miracula certo cognosci nunquam posse, nec iis divinam religionis christianae originem rite probari; anathema sit.

5. Si quis dixerit, assensum fidei christianae non esse liberum, sed argumentis humanae rationis necessario produci; aut ad solam fidem vivam, quae per charitatem operatur, gratiam Dei necessariam esse; anathema sit.

6. Si quis dixerit, parem esse conditionem fidelium atque eorum, qui ad fidem unice veram nondum pervenerunt, ita ut catholici iustam causam habere possint, fidem, quam sub Ecclesiae magisterio iam susceperunt, assensu suspenso in dubium vocandi, donec demonstrationem scientificam credibilitatis et veritatis fidei suae absolverint; anathema sit.

IV.

DE FIDE ET RATIONE.

1. Si quis dixerit, in revelatione divina nulla vera et proprie dicta mysteria contineri, sed universa fidei dogmata posse per rationem rite excultam e naturalibus principiis intelligi et demonstrari; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, disciplinas humanas ea cum libertate tractandas esse, ut earum assertiones, etsi doctrinae revelatae adversentur, tanquam verae retineri, neque ab Ecclesia proscribi possint; anathema sit.

4. If any one shall say that no miracles can be wrought; and therefore that all accounts of such, even those contained in the sacred Scripture, are to be set aside as fables or myths; or that miracles can never be known with certainty, and that the divine origin of Christianity cannot be truly proved by them; let him be anathema.

5. If any one shall say that the assent of Christian faith is not free, but is produced necessarily by arguments of human reason; or that the grace of God is necessary only for living faith which worketh by charity; let him be anathema.

6. If any one shall say that the condition of the faithful, and of those who have not yet come to the only true faith, is equal, in such wise that Catholics can have just reason for withholding their assent, and calling into doubt the faith which they have received from the teaching of the church, until they shall have completed a scientific demonstration of the credibility and truth of their faith; let him be anathema.

IV.

OF FAITH AND REASON.

1. If any one shall say that divine revelation includes no mysteries, truly and properly so called; but that all the dogmas of faith may, with the aid of natural principles, be understood and demonstrated by reason duly cultivated; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall say that human sciences ought to be pursued in such a spirit of freedom that one may be allowed to hold, as true, their assertions, even when opposed to revealed doctrine; and that such assertions may

3. Si quis dixerit, fieri posse, ut dogmatibus ab Ecclesia propositis, aliquando secundum progressum scientiae sensus tribuendus sit alius ab eo, quem intellexit et intelligit Ecclesia; anathema sit.

Itaque supremi pastoralis Nostri officii debitum exequentes, omnes Christi fideles, maxime vero eos, qui praesunt vel docendi munere funguntur, per viscera Iesu Christi obtestamur, nec non eiusdem Dei et Salvatoris nostri auctoritate iubemus, ut ad hos errores a Sancta Ecclesia arcendos et eliminandos, atque purissimae fidei lucem pandendam studium et operam conferant.

Quoniam vero satis non est, haereticam pravitatem devitare, nisi ii quoque errores diligenter fugiantur, qui ad illam plus minusve accedunt; omnes officii monemus, servandi etiam Constitutiones et Decreta, quibus pravae eiusmodi opiniones, quae isthic diserte non enumerantur, ab hac Sancta Sede proscriptae et prohibitae

sunt.

not be condemned by the church; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that it may at any time come to pass, in the progress of science, that the doctrines set forth by the church must be taken in another sense than that in which the church has ever received and yet receives them; let him be anathema.

Wherefore, fulfilling our supreme pastoral duty, we beseech, through the bowels of mercy of Jesus Christ, all the Christian faithful, and those especially who are set over others, or have the office of teachers, and furthermore we command them, by authority of the same our God and Saviour, to use all zeal and industry to drive out and keep away from holy church those errors, and to spread abroad the pure light of faith.

And whereas it is not enough to avoid heretical pravity, unless at the same time we carefully shun those errors which more or less approach to it; we admonish all, that it is their duty to observe likewise the constitutions and decrees of this holy see, by which wrong opinions of the same kind, not expressly herein mentioned, are condemned and forbidden.

LIBRARY

THE Catholic, like the church, is one and the same in all ages and all times. As she came forth from the hands of her Architect finished, complete, and perfect in every particular of solid structure and exquisite adornment, in like manner the individual member, if he be faithful to her tradition, practice, and direction, is, with the allowance of human infirmity, perfect and complete in one age as well as another, without regard to local circumstances of civil government, education, exterior refinement, occupation, complexion, or race.

Religion in its interior nature and intention has reference to the life to come. The life to come is the complement of the present; as the religion of the Catholic Church is perfect, the future life which grows from the seeds planted in time must necessarily be absolute perfection and unending satisfaction. The temporal fruit must likewise become true material wellbeing, if its growth and perfection be not interrupted by adventitious causes. The assertion of the absolute perfection of the Catholic religion, with reference to time as well as eternity, is made with precisely the same significance with which we assert the VOL. XI.-28

perfection of God. It is made simply and boldly, without hesitation, qualifi cation, or reserve, and it will be the basis of our argument, and the starting-place for the views and opinions: we propose to put forth. It is intended for Catholic eyes. The defence of the proposition is no part of our concern.

When they who deny or dispute it shall have vanquished a single one of the great champions of our faith from Athanasius to Archbishop Kenrick,, from Cyril of Alexandria to Archbishop Spaulding of Baltimore, picked up the glove which Dr. Brownson has flung down upon the field of controversy, replied to Wiseman, refuted Manning, and silenced Newman, it will be time enough for us to begin to consider the measures necessary for making good the position we have chosen.

Placing ourselves distinctly upon the proposition, we invite attention to certain relations which the Catho lic of to-day holds toward his race;, his country, his age, and the particu lar order and condition denominated! progress, and the spirit of the nineteenth century.

It becomes necessary under these

aspects to consider him as a dutiful subject of the head of the church, and a loyal citizen of an independent state; as a freeman, and one bound by supreme authority; as recognizing and obeying reason, and, in the free exercise of that royal faculty of the soul, surrendering certain prerogatives of private judgment to infallibility; as subject and at the same time sovereign, both obeying and commanding; submissive to the laws and acknowledging the supremacy of a higher law, which he is prepared to vindicate with property, liberty, and life, if the two come in conflict upon any vital point in which he or the church is concerned, in the nineteenth century, precisely as he did in the first, the second, or the third century.

The most obvious, interesting, and important view of the Catholic in his relations to the century is that of voter. Suffrage, or the privilege of voting for our rulers, and indirectly making the laws by which we are to be governed, is not a natural right. It is an acquired privilege, and only becomes a right when conveyed and acknowledged by competent authority. Once obtained, it cannot be abrogated, and can only be lost by revolution, the fruit of gross political misconduct, or by voluntary neglect and disuse.

The right of suffrage bestows special prerogatives upon its possessors. It superadds legislative and magisterial functions to the obligations of private obedience; it communicates grace and dignity to the manly character, imposes definite and heavy responsibilities upon each individual, requires the humblest citizen to participate in the dignity of the highest offices, and holds the most exalted personages to a distinct accountability to the people. It permits every Catholic to share actively in the plans, policy, and beneficent enterprises of

the church, and enables him in some sense to take part in the divine government of the universe, physical and moral.

It is a specific and precious gift bestowed on Catholics in this age and country, and we are compelled to stand in the full blaze of the light of the nineteenth century, which is rolling out its illuminated scroll before our dazzled eyes and almost bewildered understandings, charged with the manifold blessings or curses which must flow from the use or abuse of this momentous, one might almost say holy and hierarchical function.

An offer and promise are as distinctly made to the Catholics of this age as they were to the chosen people when released from the Egyptian bondage. A land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, is spread out before them, and offered for their acceptance.

The means placed at their disposal for securing this rich possession are not the sword, or wars of extermination waged against the enemies of their religion, but instead, the mild and peaceful influence of the ballot, directed by instructed Catholic conscience and enlightened Catholic intelligence.

A careful consideration of this subject is particularly important at the present epoch and century.

The nineteenth century is interesting to us because it is ours; because it is the expression and exponent of much that has been dark and obscure in the past, because it is the most fruitful and bountiful in material resources and advantages of any of which we possess authentic knowledge, because it shines glorious amidst the centuries by its own intrinsic light, and by the light derived from modern discoveries, investigations, and interpretations thrown back upon the past, and by it reflected in turn upon the