tect him. He has committed some slight fault, for which his master has condemned him to death. He refuses not to die, to die the death of the cross, the ordinary death of a slave. But his master has discovered that human flesh is the best food for his lampreys; hence he takes occasion of any slight fault which a slave may commit to give his favourite fish a feed of human flesh. It is to save him from this death that the slave is entreating Augustus. But, Emperor though he be, he is powerless here. He dare not interfere, for Pollio is absolute master in his own household, and the slave is borne away and cast into the pond to fatten lampreys for his master's table. Turning from the sickening sight, we come upon the apartments set aside for the ladies of the house. Here, at last, we say to ourselves, shall we find some pity for the slave; for if pity is banished from all the world besides, it will surely find a refuge in woman's heart. But no-a poor female slave is issuing from the toilet-room of her mistress, bathed in tears, covered with blood. What has occurred? Her mistress has been using freely that little ivory weapon with the steel point which Roman ladies always carried with them to chastise their slaves. Why was she punished? Perhaps she has made some slight mistake in the arrangement of the hair or part of the dress of her mistress; perhaps she has committed no fault at all, for the Roman ladies are wont to amuse themselves thus at the expense of their slaves.2 If we gain access to the mistress, and remonstrate with her on her cruel conduct, she is astonished at us, and exclaims-O fool! thinkest thou that a slave is a human being: “O demens ita est servus homo."

Pollio was no exception in the Roman society of his day. The best and most eminent men acted towards their slaves more or less as he did. Even Cato the censor-the saint of paganism-Cicero's model of a virtuous man, used his slaves, as we learn from Plutarch, like so many beasts of burden, and turned them off or sold them when they had grown old in his service. We need not wonder at this barbarous treatment of slaves in pagan Rome, when we consider that in the religion, the philosophy, the legislation, or the customs of paganism, there was not the slightest sign of benevolence or charity. Men were subject to the same ills then as now, still no one ever thought of providing for the sick, the aged, or the orphan; nay, we have positive testimony that such were quietly disposed of when their support became troublesome to the community.

Such, then, was the state of society, domestic and civil, in 'Seneca, de ira III., 40: de clem. I., 18: Pliny, IX. 23. * Juv. VI. 498 : Ovid, Am. I. 14, 15; Ar. Am. III. 235. Juv. VI. 219

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the grandest epoch of pagan times. Such was civilization without Christianity. We will not insult the common sense of our readers by asking: Is such a civilization beneficial to the interests of mankind?-a civilization by which the grossest immorality was sanctioned, by which men became demons of lust and cruelty, by which the most despotic tyranny was everywhere established-the tyranny of the husband over the wife, of the parents over the child, of the master over the slave, of the patron over the client, of the patrician over the plebeian, of the despot over the nation, and of each strong nation over its weaker neighbours.

(To be continued.)

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I.-Counsels to Confessors: a Discourse addressed to an Assembly of Missionary Priests, by St. Leonard of Port Maurice. Dublin: James Duffy and Sons, 1875.

BLESSED LEONARD, of Port Maurice, was one of the most remarkable preachers of Italy. Born in 1676, on the frontiers of Liguria, he went through his studies at Rome under the Jesuits, and such was the purity of his morals, that he merited and obtained for himself the name of a second Aloysius. Having finished his studies, he entered the Franciscan Order and was promoted to the priesthood. From this time forward he devoted himself entirely to preaching the word of God. His great zeal for the conversion of sinners, his ardent love of God and his neighbour, the holy enthusiasm which animated all his discourses, produced a wonderful effect upon his hearers. The great orator, Barberini, who was sent by Clement XII. to hear and report on the preaching of Blessed Leonard, told the Pope "that he never heard so captivating a preacher, that the effect of his discourses was irresistible, that he himself was not able to restrain his tears."

His writings, which were at first published separately, were united in a large edition published at Rome in 1853. They form thirteen volumes in octavo, and are mostly ascetical. We believe that among all the beautiful treatises contained in those thirteen volumes, there is not one more full of unction, or more useful for ecclesiastics, than the "Counsels to Con

fessors," which has been lately, and, we believe, for the first time, translated into English. In this little work, B. Leonard takes for his text the words of the Psalmist: "Bonitatem et Disciplinam et Scientiam doce me" (Ps. cxviii. 66), and he reduces the qualities of a good Confessor to those three which the Psalmist begged of God, viz.: Goodness, Prudence, and Knowledge. In the first six chapters he shows how necessary it is that a Confessor should lead a good life, and he points out the means to be adopted for this end. He invites his readers to ponder well the admonition of the Psalmist:-" Declina a malo et fac bonum" (Ps. xxxvi. 27), and in a few brief, but pithy sentences, he points out the evil to be shunned, and the good to be performed. It is, however, to the quality of Prudence that B. Leonard devotes the greater part of the little work before us (vii.-xxvi.), "for," he says, "Prudence is, so to say, the soul of his (the Confessor's) holy functions" (p. 12). Having given a few preliminary admonitions with regard to this quality, he thus introduces the consideration of the three great matters in which its use is absolutely necessary:-"To the prudence of the Confessor it chiefly belongs to ascertain whether his penitent be a habitual or relapsing sinner, if he be in the proximate occasion of sin, and if he have an explicit knowledge of those mysteries which all are bound to know, 'necessitate medii.' These, my dear sirs, are the three important points which shall fittingly engage our attention. We are here assembled for the purpose of entering into a holy league, which shall secure amongst us strict uniformity in practice; but, that we may proceed securely towards our object, allow me to observe to you that it is not my intention to discuss probabilities, or the opinions of such or such an authority. No, gentlemen, I desire to place before you those principles of moral theology only which have been universally adopted by all the doctors, confirmed by the authority of holy fathers, and especially which have been unalterably fixed by the infallible decisions of the Holy See. I proceed now to develop three propositions which the Church has condemned; those decrees will serve as our guide, they will throw light on our decisions, and save us from error. The first regards habitual sinners:'Pœnitenti habenti consuetudinem peccandi contra legem Dei, naturae, aut Ecclesiae, etsi emendationis spes nulla appareat, nec est neganda, nec differenda absolutio, dummodo ore proferat se dolere et proponere emendationem.' This is the sixtieth of Innocent XI. The second has been fulminated against those circumstanced in the occasion of sin, and is the

sixty-first of the same Pontiff Potest aliquando absolvi, qui in proxima occasione peccandi versatur, quam potest et non vult omittere : quinimo directe et ex proposito quaerit, aut ei se ingerit.' The third refers to those ignorant of the mysteries of faith-Absolutionis capax est homo, quantumvis laboret ignorantiâ mysteriorum fidei, et etiamsi per negligentiam etiam culpabilem nesciat mysterium sanctissimae Trinitatis, et Incarnationis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi.' This is the sixty-fourth of the same. Innocent XI." (p. 16).

The greater part of the little work is taken up with the development of those three propositions. In the last four chapters (xxvi.-xxxi.) B. Leonard speaks of the knowledge necessary for Confessors, especially as regards the enjoining of penances, and also of the Sigillum Sacramentale. The translation has been well executed by one who has already, in an unpretending way, rendered good service to religion in this country by placing within the reach of our people many of those beautiful and devotional little books which, from time to time, appeared on the Continent. It has, moreover, the approbation of His Eminence Cardinal Cullen, who recommends it "to those who have the direction of the consciences of others, hoping that they will derive light and instruction from the words of a most holy and zealous labourer in the vineyard of the Lord."

II.-The King's Highway: or, the Catholic Church the Way of Salvation, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. By the Rev. AUGUSTINE F. HEWITT, of the Congregation of St. Paul. London Burns, Oates and Co., 1874.

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THE writer of this work is a convert. "I was bought up," he tells us in his Preface, "in Calvinism, and studied the Calvinistic theology. I made a sincere effort to believe it, and to find in it a doctrine satisfactory to my reason, conscience, and heart. The result of my studies, and prayers, and efforts to find out and fulfil the will of God, was that I became, through the divine grace, a Catholic. shall be most happy if I can assist others to follow the same course, and obtain a share in the same great blessing. Having myself passed over the road from Calvinism to the Catholic faith, I know it well, and I am confident that all those who are disposed to follow the same route, will receive great assistance from what I have written in the present volume." His arguments are, therefore, directed against those who still follow the doctrines of

Luther and Calvin. It must be confessed that they do not form a large sect at the present day. Protestantism was essentially a changeable religion. If Luther and Calvin were to come on earth again, they would not find, amid the numberless and conflicting Protestant sects, many professing their opinions. Hence it is that our modern Catholic controversialists generally concern themselves but little about the tenets of the early Reformers: they address themselves either to the High Church party, which forms the extreme right, or to the Rationalistic party, which forms the extreme left of Protestantism. Nevertheless, there are among Protestants some who adhere to the old-fashioned doctrines of the Reformers, and it is well that they should not be lost sight of. We accordingly hail with delight the appearance of Father Hewitt's book: we are sure that it will prove a useful and valuable addition to modern Catholic controversy.

The plan of his book is thus described by the Author :"The mortal principle of the heresy of Luther is the doctrine of justification. Therefore I have made it my first object to refute that false and absurd tenet, and to prove the true and Catholic doctrine of justification as the vital principle of the sound and orthodox doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ. From this interior principle and doctrine, I have proceeded outward to the exterior body and surface of the Catholic Church, instead of the usual method of beginning with the outward and visible, and going inward to that which is its invisible and spiritual form. This method is the most suitable for the class of persons I wish to reach, and for my chief object, which is, to present the Catholic Church, not so much in its historic truth and grandeur, as a divine institution for a certain general end and good, as in its relation to each individual soul, as the way and means of its eternal salvation." As a specimen of the Author's style, we give the following extract:-"The churches of Protestantism are built on the sand, and their unstable foundations are rapidly being undermined and washed away by the encroaching tide of infidelity and impiety. The Bible is fast losing the authority which belongs to it, but which cannot stand long without the support of the Church. The remnants of the Catholic creed are fast dissolving, and the ancient Christian laws of morality loosening their hold. Protestant orthodoxy is crumbling to pieces before our eyes, and the descendants of those who were the most zealous workmen in building and extending it, are the most active agents in the work of tearing down the structure of their fathers. The men of the present generation may con