idolatry are nevertheless in vogue. The following is a literal transcription of a scroll which has been recently placed by the Archbishop of Paris on the new weathercock of Notre Dame :-"In this box, tied with ribands of red silk, and sealed with our seal, are placed relics of the true cross, of the holy crown of thorns of our Lord Jesus Christ, of St. Denis, the first Bishop of Paris, and a martyr, and of the virgin St. Geneviève, the patron saint of the city. Paris, on the vigil of Pentecost, after the solemn benediction of the cross, which is to be placed on the summit of the steeple of our metropolitan church, June 11, 1859. † Francis Nicholas Cardinal Morlot. Where is the difference between this prelatical mummery and that of an ignorant fellow who abducted a girl in 1859, from her parents at Woolwich, under the subjoined artifice? "I Thomas Bailie, do, by heart, hand, and word, in the presence of Almighty God and this blessed crucifix († a pen and ink sketch was given) pledge myself to love," etc. The Church of Rome is responsible for indoctrinating her votaries with the elements of delusions, which the depraved and the unwary may apply to the basest purposes. The Council of Trent taught these idolatrous practices in the most express terms. "Images of Christ, of the Virgin, and of other Saints are to be had and retained, especially in churches, and due honour and veneration is to be paid to them;" not, it is explained, that they expect benefit from the images themselves, but the honour with which they are regarded is referred to those who are represented by them. So that we adore Christ and venerate the Saints whose likenesses they bear, when we kiss them, and uncover our heads in their presence, and prostrate ourselves." "Let the Bishops teach further, that, by the records of the mysteries of our Redemption expressed in pictures or other similitudes, men are instructed and confirmed in those articles of faith which are especially to be remembered and cherished; and that great advantages are derived from ali sacred images, not only because the people are thus reminded of the benefits and gifts bestowed upon them by Christ, but also the Divine miracles performed by the Saints, and their salutary examples are thus placed before the eyes of the faithful," etc. "The moral influences of these and the like observances may be inferred from the fact, that the holy Fathers who framed this Decree deemed it necessary to enjoin in connexion with it that ‘all superstition be taken away, all base gain abolished, all indecency avoided, so that images be neither painted nor adorned in a lascivious manner; nor the commemorations of the Saints,

nor visits to relics, be abused to gluttony and drunkenness.”—Papal Errors, p. 159. The influences of superstition upon the vulgar, and its relation to Popery, we shall not discuss in extenso, for appearances are deceptive. Sir Carnaby Haggerstone, who was a Romanist, declared "that his wife made more converts with the kale-pot than the priest with his preaching."-Memoir of the Rev. J. Hodgson.

According to the strict letter of the rubric veneration and not worshipping is the proper term. But who can draw the line of demarcation? The distinction does not exist in the Hebrew tongue, in which the veneration service or adoration of images is forbidden as a direct command to God's people and as an exposition of the primal commandment; the arbitrary distinction exists only in Greek, and none but a Greek could understand it. However, Scripture is given for all and to all.

Grant, O God, that whosoever before this image shall diligently and humbly upon his knees worship and honour Thy only begotten Son, or the Blessed Virgin, or this glorious apostle, martyr, confessor, or virgin, (as the case may be), that he may obtain by his (or her) merits and intercession grace in this present life and eternal glory hereafter." Roman Ritual, ordered by Urban VIII. On the feast of the Purification, the Holy Father blesses a lot of candies which are borne to him at St. Peter's for that "solemn purpose." Antiquity imparts no colour to such practices. The inscriptions among the Catacombs bear not a solitary testimonial to superstition of this kind. It is also condemned by Scripture. "Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands."-Acts vii. c. 48 v. "What agreement hath the Temple of God with idols ?" "Thou shalt not worship any graven image."* Further on is the injunction against "bowing down unto them," (Deut. v. c. 9 v.) "for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." So explicit is the decalogue on this subject that it forbids the “likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." No prohibition could be more explicit than this second commandment. The bowings and reverences of devotees in Romish churches are well known. How these salutations to images and pictures must insult the Majesty of Heaven! The Crucifix and the Agnus Dei, the Scapular and the Rosary cannot appease the wrath of God, nor work out man's salvation. Pictorial objects retard his progress in the Divine life,

* In the Italian School Catechism the Second Commandment is omitted.

because they openly violate the law, "Flee from idolatry." The use of such things is excusable among the benighted Hindoos, for Omnipotence winks at primeval ignorance, but a Church that vaunts her enlightenment and spirituality as above all others in purity should remember the Divine system of government is unalterable, and we must obey it or take the consequences. Man has no right either to enlarge or to contract that which All-Pervading Wisdom decreed. Spirits have fallen from their lofty estate because they rebelled against Heaven, and attempted to tamper with Divine Legislation. But harmony has been restored and rules supreme among the Angelic Host. O, that the Papists were wise enough to apprehend the truth of these Celestial joys being increased through the simple repentance of a sinner, and not evoked by superstitious rites of human contriving.

We now proceed to shew certain Papal affinities relating to this subject. "Almost the whole of Paganism is converted into Popery."Newton. "The old Heathens worshipped images; the Papists do the same. The ancient Heathen temples were dedicated to their various Gods; so are the Popish churches to their patron saints. The canonization of Popish saints answers to the deification of Heathen gods. The Pope to the supreme Pontiff, and the monks and nuns of Popery to the augurs and vestal virgins of Heathenism. The Popish altars to the Pagan ones. The perpetual fires before Heathen idols, to the lamps and candles which are perpetually burning before the images and shrines of Popish saints. The votive offerings to Heathen idols resemble those now made to the saints of the Popish calendar; and as those of the Pagans were hung up in the temple of the god to whom an offering had been vowed, so those of the Papists, in a similar manner, are suspended in the church of their idol saint. The processions in honour of Popish saints are borrowed from those in honour of Heathen gods: and as the Heathens carried in pomp the idol images they worshipped, so do the Papists theirs. Still more surprising is, that at Rome and other places, the very idols and temples of the Heathen, by only changing the name, have been used in the Antichristian Church. As we have seen, Popery and Paganism are, in many respects, one and the same system, under different names."-Dr. Middleton. Roman Catholic writers admit the Pagan source of their formularies. La Cerda, in a Commentary on Virgil, says "hence was derived the custom of our Church to provide purifying or holy water for the Faithful to sprinkle themselves with.”

This "custom" was so repugnant to the feelings of the Primitive Christians that they condemned it as "impious and detestable." Indeed, Justin Martyr attributes the contriving of such a practice "to demons.” First Apol. qu. Antichrist Unmasked, p. 307. The Egyptians, with other of the primal race, called aboriginal nations, worshipped the rising sun, thence the bowings eastward in our fashionable mummeries. The voice that proclaimed the law amid the thunders of Sinai, forbade such idolatry. Innovations upon the Truth, and corrupt practices borrowed from the Heathen, meet us at every turn whilst reviewing Romanism. Here is a modern example. "Consecration of an Abbot in the Temple of Honam, China. The Buddhist ceremonial bears a strong resemblance to the Roman Catholic, even to the way the priests chant the prayers. The Abbot wore a kind of rosary round his neck, and went through a variety of ceremonies before the altars in this vast temple. The Abbot was dressed in scarlet and purple. Wax tapers were burning at the altars, as in Roman Catholic churches. After the Abbot was consecrated, he went into a throne-room and received the congratulations of his friends, and then partook of a banquet in the refectory."-Special Correspondent. Illustrated London News, December 11, 1858. Heathenism is man's most degraded state, his farthermost point from civilization. We do not malign the Socialist's theory of government by reducing it to the same level. Pagans and Infidels are twin barbarians, because they live without a dependance upon God. What then shall we say of a system which draws its copious streams of Faith out of the polluted fountain of Ancient Idolatry?

Another feature of Roman Catholicism is that the primary error of image-worship leads the devotee to an illicit adoration of unbounded extent. They pray to the Virgin Mary, to Saints and Angels, and to the dead. The Scriptures expressly declare there is but one Mediator between God and Man, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Papists teach otherwise. "Hail! holy mother. Thou art blessed and worthy of our respects."Votive Masses of the Virgin Mary. "I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever a virgin."-Roman Missal. In the Litanies, the mother of God is worshipped equally with the Holy Trinity. "Queen of Mercy," Hope of the Universe," "Refuge of Sinners," and similar adulatory phrases are addressed to the Virgin Mary. The Psalter of Bonaventure is a shameless perversion of David's Book. Here is a parallel passage. "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be

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ashamed deliver me in Thy righteousness."-Ps. xxxi. 1 v.

"In thee, O Lady, have I put my trust, let me never be confounded: in Thy favor receive me." This blasphemous plagiarist is enrolled among the Saints, and his works approved by the Pope. "Turn then, most gracious

advocate, [Mary] thy eyes of mercy towards us."-The Poor Man's Manual of Devotion. "O God, grant we beseech Thee, that we may be delivered from the slavery of the Devil by her merits and prayers." The deluded worshipper further solicits Mary's "intercession," and when dying says, with all affection and possible submission, "Jesus, Maria!” There is abundant proof that the Roman Catholics are idolators by command of their Church. "The Virgin Mary is raised by the greatness of her merits above all the choirs of Angels up to the throne of God; who has crushed under the foot of her virtues the head of the old Serpent. The foundation of our confidence is in the Most Holy Virgin, since it is in her that God has placed the plenitude of all good, in such sort that if there be in us any hope-if there be any spiritual health--we know that it is from her that we receive it, because it is the will of Him who hath willed that we should have all by the instrumentality of Mary."-Pius the Ninth's Encyclical Letter, dated February 2nd, 1849. "She [Mary] is most powerful with God."-Catholic School Book. " Mary the Saviour of sinners, the only hope of the desperate, command Him [Jesus Christ] to lead us into His Kingdom at the world's end."-Roman Prayer. "0 blessed Virgin, who expiateth our sins with the authority of a Mother, command the Redeemer."-Fletcher's Lectures, p. 217. "Never any person invoked the Mother of Mercies, who has not been sensible of her assistance."-St. Bernard. "Christ gave her all power in heaven and earth under Himself."-Dr. Gallagher's Irish Sermons, p. 6. "We fly to thy patronage, O Holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers."-Loretto's Litany. Glory be to God and to the blessed Virgin."-Papal Doxology. "Into thine hand, O Lady, I commend my spirit."-The Psalter. "I pray for my friends and my enemies, the living and the dead, and I beg mercy, grace, and salvation for all. Then I conclude by desiring our blessed Lady to be a mother to me, and by recommending myself to my good angel, and to all the court of heaven."-Ex. Douay Catechism. "How is it that, whereas we ask many things of God, without obtaining them, we no sooner ask through Mary than they are granted us?"--St. Anselm. In this case the Virgin is represented beyond her usual character of