Add to these some of their tenets and beliefs, which are so absurd and extravagant, that the wildest fancies of the Stoics, which they so much disdain and decry as paradoxes, seem in comparison just and rational; as their maintaining, that it is a less aggravating fault to kill a hundred men, than for a poor cobbler to set a stitch on the Sabbathday; or, that it is more justifiable to do the greatest injury imaginable to others, than to tell the least lie ourselves.

And these subtleties are alchemized to a more refined sublimate by the abstracting brains of their several schoolmen; the Realists, the Nominalists, the Thomists, the Albertists, the Occamists, the Scotists; and these are not all, but the rehearsal of a few only, as a specimen of their divided sects; in each of which there is so much of deep learning, so much of unfathomable difficulty, that I believe the Apostles themselves would stand in need of a new illuminating spirit, if they were to engage in any controversy with these new divines.

St. Paul, without question, had a full measure of faith, yet when he lays down faith to be the substance of things not seen, these men carp at it for an imperfect definition, and would undertake to teach their apostles better logic. Thus, the same holy author wanted for nothing of the grace of charity, yet, say they, he describes and defines it but very inaccurately when he treats of it in the thirteenth chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians.

The primitive disciples were very frequent in administering the holy sacrament, breaking bread from house to house; yet should they be

asked of the Terminus a quo and the Terminus ad quem, the nature of transubstantiation? the possibility of one body being in several different places at the same time? the difference betwixt the several attributes of Christ in heaven, on the cross, and in the consecrated bread? what time is required for the transubstantiating of the bread into flesh? how it can be done by a short sentence pronounced by the priest, which sentence is a species of discreet quantity, that has no permanent punctum?

Were they asked (I say), these and several other confused queries, I do not believe they could answer so readily as our mincing schoolmen now-a-days take a pride in doing.

They were well acquainted with the Virgin Mary, yet none of them undertook to prove that she was preserved immaculate from original sin, as some of our divines now very hotly contend for.

They worshipped in the spirit, following their Master's injunction, "God is a spirit, and they which worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth;" yet it does not appear that it was ever revealed to them how divine adoration should be paid at the same time to our blessed Saviour in heaven, and to his picture here below on a wall, drawn with arm extended, two fingers held out, a bald crown, and a circle round his head.

Now as to the Popes of Rome, who pretend themselves Christ's vicars, if they would but imitate His exemplary life, in the being employed in an unintermitted course of preaching; in the being attended with poverty, nakedness, hunger,

and a contempt of this world; if they did but consider the import of the word Pope, which signifies a father; if they did but practice their surname of most holy, what order or degrees of men would be in a worse condition?

There would be then no such vigorous making of parties and buying of votes in the Conclave, upon a vacancy of that See; and those who by bribery, or other indirect courses, should get themselves elected, would never secure their sitting firm in the chair by pistol, poison, force, and violence.

How much of their pleasure would be abated if they were but endowed with one dram of wisdom? Wisdom, did I say? Nay, with one Nay, with one grain of that salt which our Saviour bade them not to lose the savor of. All their riches, all their honors, their jurisdictions, their Peter's patrimony, their offices, their dispensations, their licenses, their indulgences, their long train of attendants (see in how short a compass I have abbreviated all their marketing of religion); in a word, all their perquisites would be forfeited and lost; and in their room would succed watchings, fastings, tears, prayers, sermons, hard studies, repenting sighs, and a thousand such like severe penalties; nay, what's more deplorable, it would then follow, that all their clerks amenuenses, notaries, advocates, proctors, secretaries, the offices of grooms, ostlers, serving-men, pimps, (and somewhat else, which for modesty's sake I shall not mention); in short, all these troops of attendants, which depend on his holiness, would all lose their several employments. This indeed would be hard, but what

yet remains would be more dreadful: the very Head of the Church, the spiritual prince, would then be brought from all his splendor to the poor equipage of a scrip and staff.

But all this is upon the supposition that they understood the circumstances they are placed in; whereas now, by a wholesome neglect of thinking, they live as well as heart can wish.

Whatever of toil and drudgery belongs to their office, that they assign over to St. Peter or St. Paul, who have time enough to mind it; but if there be anything of pleasure and grandeur, that they assume to themselves, as being "hereunto called;" so that by my influence no sort of people live more to their own ease and comfort.

They think to satisfy that Master they pretend to serve, our Lord and Saviour, with their great state and magnificence, with the ceremonies of installments, with the titles of reverence and holiness, and with exercising their episcopal function only in blessing and cursing.

The working of miracles is old and out-dated; to teach the people is too laborious; to interpret Scripture is to invade the prerogative of the school-men; to pray is too idle; to shed tears is cowardly and unmanly; to fast is too mean and sordid; to be easy and familiar is beneath the grandeur of him, who, without being sued to and intreated, will scarce give princes the honor of kissing his toe; finally, to die for religions is too self-denying; and to be crucified as their Lord of Life, is base and ignominious.

Their only weapons ought to be those of the Spirit; and of these in

deed they are mighty liberal, as of their interdicts, their suspensions, their denunciations, their aggravations, their greater and lesser excommunication, and their roaring bulls, that fright whomsoever they are thundered against; and these most holy fathers never issue them out more frequently than against those, who, at the instigation of the devil, and not having the fear of God before their eyes, do feloniously and maliciously attempt to lessen and impair St. Peter's patrimony; and though that apostle tells our Saviour in the gospel, in the name of all the other disciples, we have left all and followed You, yet they challenge as His inheritance, fields, towns, treasures, and large domin

ions; for the defending whereof, inflamed with a holy zeal, they fight with fire and sword, to the great loss and effusion of Christian blood,

thinking they are apostolical maintainers of Christ's spouse, the church, when they have murdered all such as they call her enemies; enemies more bloody and tyrannithough indeed the church has no cal than such impious popes, who give dispensations for the not preaching of Christ; evacuate the main effect and design of our redemption by their pecuniary bribes and sales; adulterate the Gospel by their forced interpretations and undermining traditions; and lastly, by their lusts and wickedness grieve the Holy Spirit, and make their Saviour's wounds bleed anew."

N our July number, allusion was made to a magazine which called itself The Marian, published in Opelika, Ala. Without naming Watson's for fear of advertising it-the Marian made a furious assault upon it.

By the way, what is a Marian? Those who worship Christ, call themselves Christians. Those who worship Budda, call themselves. Buddhists. Those who worship Mohammed, call themselves Mohammedans.

To call one's self a Marian, means, necessarily, that one is a worshipper of Mary. Which Mary? The Hindoo goddess? She was named Mary-that is, her Indian

name admits of no other Hebraic form than Mary.

This Hindoo Mary was called "The Virgin Mother," "Queen of the Heavens," "Our Lady," and "The Mother of God." If the editor of the Opelika publication is a Buddhist, the name of his magazine is well chosen.

But if he named it after Mary, the wife of the Nazarene carpenter and the mother of Jesus Christ, he has done a blasphemous thing.

He has put a human being above Jehovah and His Son.

Mary was a good woman, and a prolific wife. She bore to Joseph a houseful of children. Nobody paid her any especial honor in her life

From the mire of a Southern magazine, which we wish not to advertise by naming, we with a longhandled fork pitch up some of the slimy lies. These are the least nauseating ones, the vicious obscenity of the others would rot the handle, and plague the hand. In noticing them, we beg to apologize; for no educated man would believe them, no educated man does believe them. But we have found many of the ill-educated in little towns and through the woods who actually and honestly thought them true. "Tis there these lies find their sales, not amid the busy marts of the cities. With apologies to our friends, Catholic and Protestant:

"The Pope owns $500,000,000 worth of property in the United States." He does not own a cent's worth. The property is owned by American Catholics,

666

'Some people claim that the priests do nothing more than remit the temporal punishment due to sin." Who? Protestants do not admit it; Catholics do not claim it. The Catholic believes that that the priests have the power to remit sin itself from the repentant sinner. Jesus said to the first priests, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven." The writer is not familiar with the Catholic doctrine; he means "indulgences" do not remit sin, but only the punishment due to sin.

"""The orthodox Catholic doctrine is a triune God with as many equals on earth as there are priests." If he had consulted the penny catechism which the six-year-old Catholic child is taught, he would have found the following answer to the question, "Why can there be but one God?" "Because God being supreme and infinite cannot have an equal."

"They transplanted from Roman and Oriental priesthoods the forgiveness of sins." St. John, one of the twelve first priests, says in the twentieth chapter of his Gospel, that Jesus said to the first priests, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.

"They took purgatory from the doctrines of Zoroaster." In chapter XII of the second book of the Machabees it will be senn that the ancient Jews believed in purgatory-a place where the prayers of the living may reach and help the dead.

"The confessional was never known till 1215." St. John Chrysostom who lived in the middle of the fourth century writes: "If a sinner, as becomes him would use the aid of his conscience and hasten to con

"In Spain there used to be confessors who pretended to be deaf, and who after the confession would hand the penitent a certificate freeing him from the penalties of the Church for a year." A historical lie. "The Pope has invariably been an Italian." Another historical lie. See any Church history for its refutation.

"It is justifiable to kill a Protestant for being one." Ask any honest American, irrespective of creed, if this be true. The writer lieth too much to believed by the Hottentot. He defeats his own purpose.

"The Catholics throughout the world worship images." The six year old Catholic child would answer, "It is not allowed to pray to the erucifix or images of the saints, for they have no life, nor power to hear us, nor sence to know us." (Penny Catechism.) We do not pray to the statue of General Lee when we doff our hats in passing it. We do not pray to the "Conquered Ban ner" when we give it the place of honor in our halls, or when we salute it in the streets. We do not pray to the photograph of our mother, although it has the place of honor

on our parlor walls. If the Catholic can honor the heroes of the country, and the flag and the photograph, is hean idolator if he honors, but does not adore, the cross of the Hero of Calvary, the images of the soldiersaints that fought under His banner or the picture of His mother that gave Him to us?

"These statues have done miraculous things." Sometimes they have, but not of themselves. If God is Almighty, then He can work wonders through things that He has made. made. That He has done so at various times rests altogether upon the evidence adduced. The Church is very slow to give credence to reports of miracles. It takes more time to weigh the evidence than it takes even an American jury to send a man to the gallows.

"Baptismal fonts are from the Persian." Even in Apostolic days baptism was sometimes given within doors. (Acts 9-18.) The font was used simply as convenient to keep the water blessed for the purpose.

"The signing of the child's head with the sign of the cross is Persian." Says Tertullian of the second century: "In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out . . . . whatever employment occupies our mind we mark our forehead with the sign of the cross. For these and such like rules, if thou requirest a law in Scripture, thou shalt find none; tradition will be pleaded to thee as originating, custom as confirming, and faith as observing them."

"The custom of throwing earth into the grave and saying 'Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,' is taken