ampled in the history of former ages. The natural alliance which mutually converts the Testament of Christ and its guardians-an alliance sealed with his blood-is violated; and the rich deposit which he bequeathed, is attempted to be scattered abroad; not only to be enjoyed by the observers, but to be rifled by the violators, of his covenant. Mixed with the impure errors that cover the earth, the truths of this divine Testament, when dispersed out of the Catholic Church, gradually disappear. Like the manna which fed the Israelites from heaven, and which, if collected as God had prescribed, became substantial nourishment, but vanished from those who sought it any other way; the Word of God becomes life to those who seek it from the Church, while it eludes the search of all who follow their own caprices. In vain, then, is the world inundated with bibles: the dead letter may be circulated, without being informed by the Spirit, which maketh wise unto salvation. All may be invited to slake their thirst with the divine word, but let them recollect, that after being forced out of the inclosures of that Church which is called, the sealed fountain,' its contents, instead of being pure, are the poisoned 'waters of the broken cistern.'

“ Hence, the strange alliance between infidelity and fanaticism, that characterises our period. Retaining, by the principle of resistance to authority, the very root of infidelity, men still affect to insult the inspired writings for what they ought to believe; the result is such as might be expected. Under the common name of Christianity, infidelity lies disguised; and from the latitude of belief which has resulted from each one's sense of the inspired writings, unbelievers have discovered that to abandon them to the interpretation of each individual, is

the most effectual plan to propagate their infidelity. The contest does not now, as heretofore, turn on any peculiar tenet of the Catholic Church: its very authority is aimed at; and the abettors of the perfectibility of the human mind flatter themselves that they have superseded the authority of the Church, by having erected the monstrous system of Bible Societies. This is but giving another name to the principle of private judgment, from which the pretended Reformation sprang. The spirit of man is inventive, and one folly quickly succeeds another. However, in this vast design of reducing the world to a uniformity of faith, by the dumb authority of the Bible, the ancient feuds of the sectaries seem to suffer a temporary respite. In the hope of deposing that authority which equally proscribes them all, they forbear advancing their own claims to any peculiar election. Weary of an incessant struggle, in which they had wasted each other's strength, without any prospect of victory, they have adopted more moderate counsels, in order to effect a stronger opposition against the authority of the Church. But this confederacy will soon be dissolved: the elements of discord, of which it is composed, are incapable of strong or lasting cohesion. Like the leagues which were often formed against the Church, this too will soon pass away, and its fleeting existence will be only remembered as another trophy of the strength of that Church, which it was intended to overthrow.

"To fix then the faith of the true believer, as well as to enable those who have strayed from the paths of truth, to retrace their wandering footsteps, shall be the object of the succeeding chapters. In the prosecution of a work, in which the elucidation of truth is my aim, I shall abstain from every topic that can be considered only a subject of

barren disputation. If candour and temper are deemed essential qualities in every writer, who wishes to make a favourable impression, much more necessary is it for him who labours to promote the interests of charity and the salvation of mankind, to lay aside every acrimonious feeling. In entering on a discussion, in which the spiritual interests of millions are involved, a writer must not lose sight of the nature of the object in which he is engaged. It is not a philosophical discussion, of which the issue is to depend upon the subtlety of argument, or the variety of learning, with which either champion shall vindicate his cause. Much learning and ingenuity may be displayed in the support of an erroneous position; and, if truth were never supposed to triumph, until the spirit of cavil should yield, the sum of certain and indisputable principles would be reduced to a small number. Of the force of subtle and metaphysical arguments, the people are incompetent judges; nor can he be supposed the best calculated to guide their belief, who leads them through a labyrinth where but few can follow. The advocate of one system may be satisfied with the evidence by which it is supported. But if the process of reasoning, by which he has arrived at his conclusions, be intricate, while he displays the force of his own mind, he ought to reflect that such a process is not obvious to every capacity. As the present controversy, then, regards principally the great bulk of mankind, it might happen that the mode of reasoning, in which most ingenuity could be displayed, would be the least adapted to their apprehensions. We are to recollect that it is to the poor that Christ chiefly preached the gospel, and that he gave thanks to his heavenly Father, for having revealed to the little ones, what he had hidden from the wise and prudent of the world.' (Luke x. 21.)

Having, therefore, in view, these words of Christ as our motto, we shall leave to others the subtlety of disputation, conscious that the poor and the little ones are our clients; and our cause, the interests of their salvation."

After a long and very able argument, on the method adopted by Christ of communicating and preserving his doctrines among mankind, or, in other words, on the Rule of Faith, the learned writer goes on to say:

"To preserve these truths, then, which will never cease to inform and vivify the great Catholic body, there must be an authority to guard them. This authority resides in the living pastors of the Church, who transmit the sacred doctrine, which they inherited, to their immediate successors. Between them and those successors, there is a sacred covenant not to violate this inheritance. The study of each individual is to preserve unaltered the precious deposit, which he has received; and thus, while the Protestant, like the prodigal child, dissipates his share of the patrimony, the Catholic is careful to treasure it up in the house of his Father.

"In vain will it be insinuated, that in the Catholic Church, this treasure is studiously locked up from the necessities of the faithful. No, they are encouraged to use it, they are forbidden to abuse it. The treasure is destined for purchasing an everlasting inheritance; and not for being wasted according to each one's caprice, in profligacy and riot. For, alas, how often have the profligate abused the authority of the sacred text, in giving a sanction to their own disorders! In teaching the principles of morality, her instructions are always enriched by the truths of revelation; and, in illustrating her own doctrines, she appeals to its written testimony. In the great voyage through life, the Protestant may have the chart,

but, wanting the knowledge which it requires, and bereft of a guide, he is exposed to all the perils of the way; while the Catholic enjoys all the confidence inspired by the two-fold assistance of chart and guide. If he be ignorant, he trusts to the guide that has already conducted thousands through the same path; and if he be enlightened, so far from his confidence being diminished, it is still heightened when he beholds the Church fearlessly spreading the Scripture before his view; and finds the most admirable accordance between the instructions of the chart, and the skill of his conductor...."

"Thus, the New Testament contains the inheritance which Christ has bequeathed to his children. Though destined for the benefit of all, therefore, it does not follow that all have a right to its administration. Nay, it is for the benefit of all, that this right should be reserved to a particular body, whose authority and wisdom might moderate those disputes, which could not fail to spring from the passions or ignorance of the people. Behold, then, the simple but infallible rule, by which the Catholic is guided-an adherence to the traditionary doctrine of those, to whom the Redeemer promised that they should never go astray. But it may be asked: is not this infallibility of the Church proved solely from the Scripture? No: its promise is registered in the Scripture, it is true, but its operation lives and is felt through the entire history of the Church. Thus, infallibility was in operation before the promise which sustained it was committed to writing. If, therefore, it never had been recorded in the Scriptures, our certainty of its existence would be still the same, since it reaches us through the equally infallible medium of the writings of the Holy Fathers; and through the still more unequivocal medium of the power which the