thus constituted possessed the unity of a monarchy, the expansive action of a democracy, and between these the constitution of a powerful aristocracy, thus uniting in its centre all the elements of power: the unity which coordains, the action which spreads, and the moderation which keeps unity from being absolute and action from being independent; a perfect economy which no government has ever possessed, because in all human governments the three elements of power have always sought to destroy each other from the passions of men. God alone, by his Son, has accomplished this chef-d'œuvre. Such, Gentlemen, is the hierarchy which was founded to secure for ever the destinies of truth. But in exposing to you its principles of action I have only performed a part of my task. In effect, what is a hierarchy? It is composed of men. And what are men without power? What is the human race itself if it is disarmed? It is needful, then, for the Church to possess a power in addition to the hierarchy. Now, there are only two kinds of power; strength or force which kills the body, and persuasion which kills the soul in order to put another into its place. Which of these, the power which kills the body, or that which kills the soul by changing it, was given to the Church of God? One day, in an Eastern town, some men were at prayer in a chamber, where they waited for something which had been promised to them. On a sudden a voice came from heaven, like a rushing wind, which filled the whole house where they were. Tongues of fire appeared upon their heads; and, filled with the spirit of God, they began to speak all the languages which were spoken under heaven, and one, named Peter, stood up and spoke thus to the multitude: "Men of the Jews, listen; these men are not drunken as you suppose, but this is the accomplishment of the saying of the prophet: The Spirit of God shall be poured out upon all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (1) The power which God gave to his Church was then the power of his Spirit. But this power is invisible; and God, who creates everything in harmony, owed to his Church, existing in time, and ordained for it, a power suitable for time, that is to say, persuasion or force; since in this world man can only be attained by this double action. Which of these, then, has he given to her? Is it persuasion or force? It is not force. When Jesus Christ was attacked in the Garden of Olives, a disciple drew the sword, and the Saviour said to him, "Put back thy sword into its sheath, for he who smites with the sword shall perish by the sword." (2) And when he dispersed his apostles to preach he said to them, "I send you forth as sheep among wolves; be ye prudent as serpents and harmless as doves." (3) You see, Gentlemen, we are not armed like warriors, but like lambs and doves prudence only is recommended to us, because no one is entitled to act without it among men. The only vengeance which is permitted to us by the Gospel is to shake off the dust of our feet: "Excutite pulverem de pedibus vestris." (4) The dust-that which of all things is most feeble, most inoffensive, that which here below is nearest to annihilation! This is all which is permitted to us: to shake a little dust upon the world. The power of persuasion is, then, the power which was given to us. But how? Persuasion reposes first upon reason. The Church should, then, possess the highest reason which exists under heaven. She should be the highest metaphysical authority, the highest historical authority, the highest moral authority, and the highest social authority. The highest metaphysical authority: in this sense, that upon all the mysteries of which the destinies of humanity are composed, mysteries which she does not create but which she explains, she possesses the most rational, the (1) Acts, ch. 2, v. 14 and following. (2) St. Matthew, ch. 26, v. 52. (4) St. Matthew, ch. 10, v. 14. most elevated solutions, before which those proposed by religious and philosophical doctrines in divers times cannot keep their ground. To demonstrate this will occupy much time; this demonstration is the very object of our Conferences, and will result from their development. The highest historical authority: the future is an obscure spot in which all defects may be hidden for a day; but the past belongs only to those who really possess it, and no one, however great his genius may be, whatever power he may wield, is able to create rights of naturalisation for himself in the past, if he has not been borne along in its inaccessible depths. Now, nothing like the Church existed there. The Church is the past of humanity, she is history itself. When you wish to establish anything outside her pale you are compelled to commence with yourselves, with your own dust, and say, "Behold the truth which commences in me!" This pretension humanity will never recognise. This character of novelty is that of the Christian sects, and it is the decree which condemns them. Yesterday, today, in a thousand years, if they exist so long, men will be able to say to him who founded them, "On such a day, at such an hour, you were at Wittemberg; you appeared in the public square in the costume of a monk; you held in your hand a bull of your pontiff, and you threw it into a pile! . . . But humanity preceded you by twenty centuries: it was too late!" Thus, when men say to us, to us of antiquity, "You would do well to make yourselves a little newer," it is just as if they had told a king of France to go to St. Denis and gather together the bones of his ancestors and throw them into the Seine, to the end that the sepulchre be whiter when he descends into it. It is easy to understand that this historical authority is our strength and our glory, and it is on this account that it is disputed with so much animosity, men waste all their energies in building up against us fabulous chronologies. It is easy to make figures, but man cannot make days; and when he has tired himself with inventing lying origins, he VOL. I. C suddenly, on a stone or a strip of paper grown old, meets with that which is sufficient to drive his inventions to the winds. We, on the contrary, have our traditions, our book, and for witness to that tradition, for guardian to that book, an eternal race. There are some Jews in this assembly, everywhere is seen that man whom popular phraseology has called the Wandering Jew. The priest cannot speak anywhere without raising up an eternal man, a Jew who stands up to say, "Yes, it is true; I was there." Ah! The highest moral authority: for the Church is chaste, she engenders chastity, and there is no morality without chastity. It is chastity which makes families, royal races, genius, enduring and powerful nations. Wherever that virtue exists not there is only corruption in a tomb. if there are any here who are not my brethren by faith, I desire but to appeal to their consciences, I shall ask them, Are you chaste? How should you believe if you are not chaste? Chastity is the elder sister of Truth: be chaste for a year and I answer for you before God. It is because we possess this virtue that we are strong, and those who attack ecclesiastical celibacy, that halo of the Christian priesthood, know well what they are doing. Heretical sects have abolished it among themselves; it is the thermometer of heresy at each degree of error corresponds a degree if not of contempt for, at least of diminution of, this celestial virtue. Finally, the highest social authority: society is impossible if it be not founded upon respect for authority by the people, and for the people by the authority. Well, then, the Catholic Church carries the respect of the people for authority to its highest degree: she changes the master into a father, so that if the father errs, the children, like those of the patriarch, cover his faults with the mantle of their respect. At the same time, she instils into the hearts of sovereigns that respect so delicate, so precious in the eyes of their people. In their palaces, and in the midst of their pomp, she causes them to practise that saying of the Gospel, "He who would be greatest among you let him be your servant." (1) The persuasive force which resulted from these rational advantages was immense. Whether men examined opinions, history, morality, or society, the Church was without parallel. They were able to deprive her of everything, her patrimony, the help of the civil authority, the liberty common to all; they could cast her ministers into prisons, torture them on scaffolds; but men do not imprison reason, they do not burn accomplished facts, they do not dishonour virtue, they do not assassinate logic. We are strong, then, Gentlemen, first by the spirit of God which speaks in us, but also in the human mind which, when it comes coolly to examine our history, our dogmas, our morality, is obliged to agree that nothing is more firmly established. Nevertheless, this was not yet enough. History only addresses itself to those who have studied it; ideas enlighten only those who can compare them; civilisation is only appreciable to civilised men. The Church needed a yet more human, that is to say, a more general source of persuasion. God gave to his Church charity. There was no heart into which the Church could not penetrate by charity; for misfortune is the monarch of this lower world, and sooner or later every heart is touched by his sceptre. Men may resist grace and reason, but who shall resist charity? Why hate those who do good? Why kill those who give their life? Henceforth the Church might advance with confidence to subdue the universe, for there are tears everywhere in the world, and they are so natural to us that even if there were no cause for them they would flow without cause, by the simple charm of that indefinable sadness of which our soul is the deep and mysterious well. Metaphysics and history are the pillars of truth: but these pillars are hidden in the foundations of the temple, they are only sought for by the light of flambeaux and by distinguished men. A humble priest, a cure of a country (1) St. Matthew, ch. 20, v. 26. |