We cannot refrain from transcribing one of the many beautiful affective prayers. The meditation is on the crowning with thorns.
"Jesus, King and Lord of my heart and soul, what crown shall I give thee to acknowledge thee as such? Alas! gold and silver in my poverty I have none: my gold hath been long since turned into dross, and my silver been alloyed. I have no roses like thy martyrs, who returned thee blood for blood; nor lilies, like thy virgins, who loved thee with an unsullied heart. My soul is barren, my heart is unfruitful, and I have placed thee to reign, as the Jewish kings of old, over a heap of ruins. Long since despoiled and ravaged by the enemy, every flower hath been ploughed up, and every green plant burned with fire, and thorns alone and brambles spring up there. Of these, then, alone can I make thee a crown, my dear and sovereign Jesus. Wilt thou accept it? I will pluck up my unruly affections, that they may no more have roots, and, weaving them together into a wreath, will lay them as a sacrifice at thy feet. I will gather the thorns of sincere repentance which there each day arise and prick my heart with a sharp but wholesome smart, and with these will I make a crown for thy head, if thou wilt vouchsafe to wear it. Or, rather, thou shalt take it from my hand, only to place it with thine around my heart, that it may daily and hourly be pricked with compunction. And may the thorns of thy crown be to my soul so many goads of love, to hasten it forward in its career toward thee."
False Definitions Of Faith,And The True Definition.By Rev. L. W. Bacon.Reprinted from theNew Englanderfor April, 1869.
Mr. Bacon defines faith to be trusting one's self for salvation to Jesus Christ. "The act of faith—of intrusting one's self for salvation to the Lord Jesus Christ—includes, not as a remote consequence, but in itself, repentance, obedience, holiness, andwhatever things besideare demanded in the Scriptures as conditions of salvation." Dropping all dispute about terminology, we will take faith as defined by Mr. Bacon, and prove that it is inconceivable with out the act of intellectual assent to divine revelation, which the church requires. Jesus Christ must be accredited as the Messiah by God the Father in such a way as to give rational, credible evidence to the intellect, before a man can reasonably or conscientiously trust himself to him for salvation. When he is convinced that Christ is the Saviour, and trusts himself to him, he must receive from him certain and infallible instruction as to the method of repenting and obtaining pardon, as to the nature and extent of the obedience and holiness required, and as towhatever things besideare demanded as conditions of salvation. If his Master teaches him certain doctrines, and requires his assent, he must give it as a part of his obedience. If he prescribes sacraments and communion with one certain visible church as a condition of salvation, he must obey. The question with Mr. Bacon is, therefore, not respecting the indispensable obligation of believing what God has revealed respecting the way of salvation, but respecting the medium through which that revelation is communicated, and the actual subject-matter of its contents. Mr. Bacon very reasonably revolts at the tyranny of imposing mere human and probable opinions derived from private judgment on the Scriptures as necessary to be believed for salvation. He has an independent spirit and an active mind which will not suffer him to acquiesce tamely in the dominion which certain great names and traditional formulas have hitherto held among the orthodox Protestants. He thinks for himself and expresses his thoughts in a bold and manly way. In thebrochurewhich he has reprinted from theNew Englander, the defects of the old-fashioned Puritan theology respecting justification are pointed out with distinctness, and a far better and more reasonable view presented, which includes the moral element in the disposition of the soul for receiving grace, thus rejecting the most fundamental and destructive of all the errors of Luther.
The Relations And Reciprocal Obligations Between The Medical Profession And The Educated And Cultivated Classes.An Oration delivered before the Alumni Association of the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York,Feb. 23d, 1869.By Henry S. Hewit, M.D.Published by order of the Association.
This pamphlet contains a great deal of matter within a very short compass. It shows the relation of medicine to philosophy and intellectual culture, refutes the wretched materialism by which the profession has been too much infected, castigates with merciless severity that charlatanism by which some ignorant pretenders practise on the credulity of the public, and that criminal malpractice by which others more skilful, but equally without conscience, prostitute their science to complicity with licentiousness and child-murder. A higher standard of education in medical science, a more liberal preparatory culture, and a distinction in medical degrees are advocated. These are matters of the deepest moment to society, in which Catholics have especial reasons to be interested. The physician is next to the priest, and, in his sphere, very like the priest in the responsibilities of his office, his power of doing good or evil, and in the necessity of resorting to him under which all men are placed in those dangerous and painful crises of life where he alone can give effectual help. According to Catholic theology, no one can pretend to practise medicine or surgery, without grievous sin, who has not received a competent education, and who does not follow what, according to the judgment of learned and skilful men, are truly scientific methods. Ignorance, carelessness, rash empiricism, or violation of the laws of morality as laid down by the church, are all grievous sins. They are followed by the most fatal consequences to those who become their victims, causing even the loss of life and the privation of baptism, which involves the loss of eternal life, on a vast scale. It is of the utmost consequence that we should have a body of Catholic physicians whose scientific culture is the highest possible, and whose professional code of morals is strictly in conformity with the moral theology of the church. If we are ever so happy as to possess a a Catholic university, it is to be hoped that Dr. Hewit's suggestions in regard to medical education may be carried out. The author has rendered a great service to the profession and to the cause of morals and religion by the publication of this able and high-toned oration, and we trust it may receive a wide circulation, and exert an equally wide influence. Dr. Hewit served with great distinction as chief of medical staff to Generals C. F. Smith, Grant, and Schofield during the late war, and contributed some valuable papers to the medical journals. We are indebted to him for some of the best literary notices which have appeared in our columns, and the present oration not only shows scientific culture and sound principles, but also a capacity for producing literary composition of many varied and rare excellences, combining terse and close logical reasoning with a vivid play of the imagination. The closing sentence is remarkably beautiful, and speaks of the adventurous life which the author led during his military career.
"The sun has crossed the meridian, and tends toward the western horizon; the tops of the distant mountains are bathed in purple light, and the black shadows at their basebegin to creep in a stealthy and hound-like manner over the plain;a rising murmur in the branches of the forest warns us to lift up again our burdens, and take our respective roads."
We should like to see a volume from the pen that wrote this sentence, in which the descriptive power of the author would have full scope, and another in which the sound principles of philosophy and morals contained in the oration in an aphoristic form would be fully developed.
Glimpses Of Pleasant Homes;Or, Stories For The Young.By the authoress ofMother McAuley.Illustrated. 1 vol. 12mo, vellum cloth.Catholic Publication Society,126 Nassau Street. 1869.
No one can read a sentence of the preface to this volume without becoming deeply interested in the book itself.Every line tells us that the author has something important to say, and that her whole soul is in the work of educating the moral faculties of children simultaneously with their physical and mental powers. Her aim is to enlist all heads of families in the work, by making their homes pleasant refuges from the troubles of busy life, in which their few leisure hours may be spent in "fitting all those under their charge for the duties of this earth, without unfitting them for heaven."
The responsibility of forming and directing the tastes of children is often thrown upon the school-teacher; and, while the father builds gorgeous business palaces for the benefit of his family, their future welfare is perilled and their whole life embittered by the system of education "which assumes the obligations of priest and parent, and is gradually driving filial piety from the face of the earth."
This book contains not only good examples of the practical working of kindness and love, but points out the manner in which the parents make many blunders in the management of young and boisterous children. Some regard their mechanical toys as causes of trouble, and wish their children would play outside, "and keep their noise, dust, and confusion out of sight and hearing of their seniors." Experience among families where such is the fact has taught the author to depict with truth the results:
"These parents who should have aided in developing and cultivating the tastes of their children, may possibly find, ere long, that there are no tastes to be developed save those acquired in the streets, where habits have been formed which it is now all but impossible to root out. Their children have, as the phrase is, got beyond them; not because, as is often falsely asserted, juvenile human nature is different now from what it was in other ages, or because its lot happens to be cast in the United States of America, but because parents have not done their part to multiply and strengthen the sweet and powerful ties that could and should bind their children indissolubly to them."
To warn parents against this evil, to cause them to be kind to their children, and to bind the child more closely to its home, the author has written theseGlimpses of Pleasant Homes, in which mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are made to speak and act in so natural a manner that every reader will be forced to love them.
In those happy homes, we find boys full of life and fun, but always eager to listen to interesting and useful instruction; girls who are not dolls, made to act and speak by machine; and fathers and mothers whose example will force every parent to give a little thought to the manner in which they treat their offspring. The story of little Frank will be long remembered by those who read it, and all will like the manly little fellow, who gravely says:
"'I should rather be whatever it is right to be,' returned the boy. 'The Catholics have the Blessed Virgin, and I think they must be right, for every one knows the Lord would not let his own mother stay in the wrong place. I asked Mr. Griffin was she a Calvinist or a Unitarian, and he said no, that she was a Catholic. Now, I want to be of her church, and I don't see why I cannot receive the sacraments as well as Tommy and Bernard. Please, mamma, allow me, and I'll be ever so good and steady.'" And immediately after tells us that John Griffin is a first-rate fellow, because "he gives me lots of fruit, and tells me pleasant stories about birds and angels."
Every story in this book will amuse the young, interest the old, and instruct all in the secret ways of showing kindness to those with whom they may come in contact. Kindness is the author's watchword; every line bears witness to her love of her fellow-beings; she fulfils her mission of kindness in a delightfully pleasant manner, and few will finish readingThe Glimpseswithout wishing for many more such pictures, and hoping that the author may enjoy a little of that happiness on this earth, which she so lavishly bestows on her readers.
Black Forest.Village Storiesby Berthold Auerbach.Translated by Charles Goepp.New York: Leypoldt & Holt.
This volume is a collection of stories from the German, filled with quaint illustrations of peasant life in the Black Forest. The representations are well drawn and life-like; but the tales, with two or three exceptions, fail to interest, except as illustrations of strange phases of human life, and odd customs retained from age to age by people who seldom left their own hamlets, or heard from the outer world.
Each story carries through some of the characters introduced before, so that there is an intimate connection between them all. In general, they have no special moral teaching, but there are two notable exceptions, in the story of "Ivo, the Gentleman," and "The Lauterbacher."
The first of these, "Ivo the Gentleman", professes to give the life of a Catholic family, and the story of a student in his preparation for the priesthood. We cannot fail to be interested in the home-life of the collegian, and anxiously watch the development of doubts and difficulties in his path; but there is a coldness and hardness in the analyzation of his perplexities and his religious footsteps that lead one to feel that there is little vitality in the creed of the author.
In the story of "The Lauterbacher," there are many striking thoughts brought out with such charming familiarity as to make one wonder why they have never before seen them on paper. The moral of this tale is clear and good. Now and then, however, one meets with a touch of the mystical transcendentalism with which many of the works of this author abound; but we find in this volume less of these fancies than in anything we have seen from his pen.
The stories are interspersed with grotesque wood-cuts as illustrations, with a sprinkling of fantastic rhymes, which remind us forcibly of our childhood's first introduction to the muses through the whimsical measures of Mother Goose's Melodies.
Biographical Sketches.By Harriet Martineau.New York: Leypoldt & Holt. 1869.
No one at all familiar with the mental characteristics and proclivities of Harriet Martineau could expect from her pen a more liberal view of the characters which she has here attempted to delineate than the volume before us actually presents. The ordinary reader, ignorant of or not fully appreciating the standpoint from which the authoress judges the dispositions and achievements of mankind will, however, experience a feeling of disappointment and dissatisfaction. The tone of many of her sketches is depreciatory. The time-honored maxim, "Nil de mortuis," etc., is rigidly ignored, and the shadows in the lives of the personages she notices are brought into striking contrast with the sunlight of their virtues and accomplishments. We remark this especially in regard to those whose work in the world was of a religious or charitable nature. It grates upon our inward reverence for men, whose toil and self-sacrifice have resulted even in a transient benefit to mankind, to be told that they were mere creatures of an ephemeral occasion, or the unconscious agents of political aspirants; that the seed which they sowed had no root, and the plant has withered away. It seems like an aspersion on the moral capabilities of the human race when those men who reach the highest ranks of ecclesiastical and religious preferment are represented as untrue to their convictions, and recreant to the principles confided to their propagating and protecting care. Miss Martineau does good morals and large charity no service, by showing that their outward exercise may coexist with hypocrisy, tergiversation, and sordid self-seeking. Nor is it absolute justice to the dead that, having during life received from her no admonition to correct their faults, they should at last, when such correction has become impossible, be held up to posterity as being, after all, but frail and failing specimens of human kind.
With this exception, we have found the work before us worthy of the encomiums bestowed upon it by the press both of this country and England. It is a handbook to read and remember, to take up with interest and lay down with pleasure, and, after the first reading, to consult, from time to time, as a gallery of portraits painted from subjects of unusual eminence by a skilful hand.
The Free-masons.What they are—What they do—What they are aiming at.From the French of Mgr. Sègur, author ofPlain Talk.Boston: Patrick Donahoe. 1869.
The best notice we can give of this book is to reproduce an extract from the translator's preface:
"This short treatise, written, not by the archbishop of Paris, as carelessly stated by some newspapers, but by Mgr. de Sègur, the author of the work lately translated and published under the title ofPlain Talk, was composed to unveil and show Free-Masonryas it is in the old world. Its strictures, therefore, are not wholly applicable to Freemasonry as it is in the United States. Yet Masons here may read it with profit to themselves; and those who are not Masons, but might be tempted to join some lodge, will, it is hoped, abandon the idea if they read this book. Even here, Free-Masonry is a secret society, and to become a member of it, one must take at least an oath, and swear by the name of God to do so and so. Now, God's command is, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.' And surely it is taken in vain by American Free-Masons, because they take it without any sufficient and justifiable cause. For, apart from other ends of their society, and especially that of affording members a chance never to want what assistance they may need in case of a momentary difficulty in their affairs or loss of means or health, the main object seems to be to meet at times, in order to spend an afternoon in a merry way, and to partake of banquets provided for the occasion. But where is the necessity to bind one's self by an oath, to gather now and then round a bountifully supplied table, or even to be charitable, and, for such purposes, to be a member of asecretsociety? We have many benevolent societies; there is no secret about them, no oath to be taken by those who wish to be members of them. Their object is to carry out the principles of Christian charity; to that they bind themselves simply by a promise, as also to contribute so much for the purposes of the society. There are other objections to joining Free-Masonry, even here; but this is not the place to discuss that subject."
The Dublin Review, for April, 1869.London, Brown, Oates & Co.
Dr. Ward On American Orthodoxy.
TheDublin Reviewfor April closes a notice of F. Weninger's late book onPapal Infallibilitywith the following sentence: "In the United States, no less than in these islands, a higher and more orthodox type of Catholic doctrine seems rapidly gaining the ascendant. To God be the praise!" This implies that hitherto a low and unorthodox type of doctrine has had the ascendant among us—an insinuation not very complimentary to our hierarchy, clergy, professors of theology, and Catholic writers. We deny the charge emphatically, and affirm positively that no type of doctrine, whatever, is now gaining the ascendant over any different one which has formerly had the ascendant. The maxims of that set of court canonists, who maintain the superiority of the episcopate in council over the pope, and deny the superiority of the pope over a general council, have never prevailed or been advocated in this country. The dogmatic decrees of the holy see have always been received here as binding on the interior assent to the full extent to which the holy see intends to impose them; and as for filial obedience to the pontifical authority in matters of discipline, Gregory XVI. expressed the true state of the case when he said that he was nowhere so completely pope as in the United States. The encyclical of Pius IX. was received without a whimper of opposition, and our college of bishops, in their steadfast loyalty to the holy father, amid his struggles with the assailants of his temporal authority, have represented the universal sentiment of their clergy and laity. The spirit of the theology which has always been taught in our seminaries, and prevalent among our clergy, may be seen in the works of that great prelate, one of the glories of both Ireland and the United States, the late Archbishop Kenrick.A large number of our bishops and leading clergymen have been thoroughly educated and received the doctor's cap at Rome, and we are sure that they have never come into collision with any body of their brethren holding contrary opinions, or found it necessary to make any imputation on their orthodoxy. We esteem highly the great services which Dr. Ward has rendered to religion, and the many noble qualities of mind and heart which he has exhibited from the beginning of his Oxford career to the present moment. We think, however, that the impetuosity of his zeal needs a little curbing, and that if he were somewhat more sparing of reproofs and admonition to his brethren and fathers in the church, which savor more of the novice-master than the editor, his review would be much more useful, as well as more generally acceptable. We know that our opinion on this point is shared by some of our most distinguished prelates, who are as thoroughly Roman in their theology as Dr. Ward can profess to be, and we think there are few on this side the water who would dissent from it.
Church Embroidery, Ancient And Modern,Practically Illustrated.By Anastasia Dolby,Late Embroideress to the Queen.Church Vestments;Their Origin, Use, And Ornament.By the same.For sale by the Catholic Publication Society,126 Nassau St., New-York.
These two elegant volumes furnish a complete and practical description of every kind of ecclesiastical vestment, from the Roman collar to the Fanon, which, as Miss Dolby informs us, "appertains only to the vesture of the sovereign pontiff." The authoress is a "Ritualist," and, as will be seen, of the highest order of that formidable sect of the English Church, as by law established. Her books are full of costly engravings, the volume on church embroidery being adorned with a fine illuminated frontispiece—an antependium and frontal for high festivals—and the one on church vestments, with one representing aPontifical High Mass, in which the deacon is a little out of place for such a mass, according to the rite as celebrated by the "Roman obedience," but which, we presume, is strictly in accordance with the "Anglican obedience." We smile at the pretty piece of assumption, but forgive Miss Dolby from our hearts, for we have derived the greatest pleasure and benefit from the use of her valuable books. Although the volumes are costly, yet the information they contain would be considered cheap at treble the price by those who are interested in furnishing the holy sanctuary with all things appertaining thereto, in good taste. The authoress is a practical workwoman, and not only tells uswhatto do, but also, what is of the highest moment to many of us,howto do it.
The Ark Of The Covenant;or, a Series of Short Discourses upon the Joys, Sorrows, Glories, and Virtues of the Ever Blessed Mother of God.By Rev. T. S. Preston.New York: Robt. Coddington.
This is a new edition of a work already, we are sure, widely known and much admired. It is prepared by the reverend author to suit the beautiful devotion of the month of May, and we do not hesitate to say that it is the best one for that purpose yet written. It is truly refreshing to meet with a book like this, when one has had a surfeit (as who has not) of the many namby pambyMonths of Mary, from whose pages we have been expected to cull flowers of piety for our spiritual enjoyment of the sweet season dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.
The General; Or, Twelve Nights In The Hunter's Camp.A Narrative of Real Life.Illustrated by G. G. White.Boston: Lee & Shepard.
This is an account of the doings of the D—— Club, on one of its annual excursions. It is interspersed with stories told round the camp-fire, by "the general," of his own adventures in the west, when it was still the home of the Indian, and immigrants and land-surveyors were slowly finding their way through the forests and over the prairies.
The club were encamped near Swan Lake, two miles east of the Mississippi, and for twelve days gave themselves up to all the pleasure and excitement of hunting and fishing. They had a good time, and one almost envies them the fresh, pure air, the freedom, the invigorating sport, and enjoyment of nature. The author thinks that "more tents and less hotels in vacation would make our professional men more vigorous. Moosehead and the Adirondacks are better recuperators than Saratoga, Cape May, and the Rhine; and fishing-rods and fowling-pieces are among the very best gymnastic apparatus for a college." Summer is coming, and the advice could be tried. The adventures of the general, and of the hunters at Swan Lake, would while away most pleasantly the hours of a warm summer afternoon on the Adirondacks or Lake George.
Reminiscences Of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.A Social and Artistic Biography.By Elise Polko.Translated from the German by Lady Wallace.New York: Leypoldt & Holt. 1869.
A woman's book in every page and line, charming for its simplicity and pleasant gossip. Madame Polko was a friend and enthusiastic admirer of the great musician. All that he ever did, said, or wrote she tells us with an air of pride and earnestness only equalled by thenaïverecital of all baby's wonderful pranks and precocious intelligence peculiar to young mothers.
These reminiscences will do to beguile a dreamy summer hour, when the mind needs relaxation, and is not able to bear anything heavier than the innocent prattle of children, and the soothing sound of the seaside waves.
Ferncliffe.1 vol. 12mo.Philadelphia: P. F. Cunningham. 1869.
Ferncliffeis an interesting tale of "English country life." The author has been fortunate enough to give us scenes and characters which appear in all respects very natural, and therefore are exceedingly interesting. It is seldom we find a book containing so many characters, each possessing some peculiarity, and all kept in that complete subordination to the principal one which is so necessary to the full development of the plot.
The book is neatly printed on fine paper, and is a credit to the enterprising publisher who, we are glad to see, is accepting the "situation," and making his books in conformity with the improvements of the age in style and manner of getting up. We wish all our publishers would do the same; for it is high time that Catholic books appeared in as good a dress as non-Catholic books.
Salt-water Dick.By May Mannering.Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 230. 1869.The Ark Of Elm Island.By Rev. Elijah Kellogg.Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp. 288. 1869.
In these volumes we have, in addition to the usual amount of amusing incident and startling adventure inseparable from sea voyages, a very full and interesting description of life at the Chincha Islands, the great guano depot; pleasant glimpses into Lima, Rio Janeiro, and Havana; graphic details of encounters with sea-lions, etc.; a dreadful storm in the Gulf of Mexico, with a wonderful escape from shipwreck by literally "pouring oil on the troubled waters," the whole agreeably diversified with numerous facts in natural history.
Combining amusement with instruction, books such as these have a great fascination for boys, and may, in most cases, be safely recommended.
Dotty Dimple Stories.Dotty Dimple At School.By Sophie May, Author ofLittle Prudy Stories.Illustrated.Boston: Lee & Shepard.
This story is one of a series, although quite complete in itself. They are all admirably written; for children's stories, they are almost perfect. They teach important lessons without making the children feel that they are taught them, or giving them an inclination to skip over those parts. If the little folks get hold of these books, they will be certain to read them, and ever afterward count Miss Dotty Dimple and dear little Prudy among their very best friends. Such a pen only needs to be guided by Catholic faith to make it perfect for children. We do not say this with any want of appreciation of what it is already, for its moral lessons are beautifully given; but what might they not be, enlightened by the truth, the holiness, and the beauty of Catholic faith!
Alice's Adventures In Wonder Land.By Lewis Carroll.With forty-two Illustrations by John Tenniel.Boston: Lee & Shepard, 49 Washington Street. 1869.
These adventures are most wonderful, even for Wonderland. One cannot help regretting that children should be entertained in this way instead of by some probable or possible adventures. They are well written, and the illustrations are excellent.
Juliette; Or, Now And Forever.By Mrs. Madeline Leslie.Boston: Lee & Shepard. Pp.416. 1869.
A religious tale, strictly Protestant, plentifully besprinkled with scriptural texts, allusions, etc., which will, no doubt, prove deeply interesting to those for whose special delectation it is intended.
The Catholic Publication Societyhave purchased all the stereotype plates and book stock of Messrs. Lucas Brothers, Baltimore. Some of these books have been out of print for some years, or have not been kept constantly before the public. The society will soon issue new editions of all of them.
Messrs. Murphy & Co., Baltimore, have just issued an edition of Milner'sEnd of Controversy, in paper covers, which is sold for seventy five cents a copy.
Mr. P. F. Cunningham, Philadelphia, will soon publishCatholic Doctrine, as defined by the Council of Trent, expounded in a series of conferences delivered in Geneva during the Jubilee of 1851, by Rev. Father Nampon, of the Society of Jesus; proposed as a means of reuniting all Christians. It will make an octavo volume of some 600 or 700 pages.
From Roberts Brothers, Boston:
Handy-volume Series. Realities of Irish Life.Little Women; or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.By Louisa M. Alcott.2 Vols. Illustrated.
Foreign Literary Notes.
The Abbé Sire, Superior of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, some time since undertook to procure the translation of the bull "Ineffabilis" into all the written languages of the world. In this vast enterprise he has made great progress, and more than a year ago his zeal received the honoring recognition of the holy father in a letter addressed to him, beginning: "Hinc gratissimum nobis accidit, Dilecte Fili, consilium a Te susceptum curandi, ut Apostoliae Nostrae de dogmatica Immaculati ejusdem Dei Genitricis Conceptus Definitione Litterae e latino idiomate in omnes converteretur linguas."
Catholic Ireland has made a handsome contribution to M. Sire's work in a volume published in Dublin, containing the Bull and its translation into the French, Latin, and Irish languages. The Irish translation is by the Rev. Patrick J. Bourke, President of St. Jarlath's College, Tuam, where, alone in all Ireland, under the auspices, and, we may say, the national enthusiasm of the Rt. Rev. Dr. McHale, the language of Ireland is taught, and endeavored to be preserved. We say endeavored; for it seems that, excepting among the hills of Connaught, the mother tongue of the Celtic race has died, or is rapidly dying out in the green island. Dr. Bourke's volume, published in Dublin, is a fine specimen of typography.
We believe, although we have never seen any announcement of it, that Dr. Bourke is also the editor of theKeltic Journal and Indicator, a semi-monthly commenced at Manchester, (England,) in January last. Why it is called Keltic, instead of Gaelic or Irish, we do not know, nor can we understand why it should be published in England rather than in Ireland. Two other Gaelic races, the Welsh, and the Bretons of France, have periodicals in their native dialect; the latter, the Feiz he Breiz, and the former, several.
The dying out of the Irish language on the lips of a million of people who speak it, may be attributed mainly to two causes—emigration, and the indifference of its own race.
There is still another difficulty. Its pronunciation no longer accords with its received orthography, and, as written, it is encumbered with a quantity of unpronounced letters. If the language is to continue to exist as a written one, a radical reform similar to that effected by the Tcheks in the Bohemian dialect at the end of the last century is absolutely necessary. Meantime, Dr. Bourke is entitled to great praise for his unceasing efforts in the cause of Ireland's national literature.
The publishing house of Adrien Le Clerc (Paris) announces an important work in press. It isL'Histoire des Conciles, in ten volumes 8vo, (large,) of 640 pages each. The first volume appeared on the 31st of January. It is a translation, by the Abbés Goschler and Delarc, from the German of Dr. Ch. Jos. Hefele, Professor of Theology at the University of Tübingen. The Messrs. Clarke, of Edinburgh, have announced an English translation of the same work from the German.
The Femall Glory, or the Life and Death of our Blessed Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary, God's owne immaculate Mother, etc. etc.By Anthony Stafford, Gent. London, 1635. Reprinted in 1869. An exact typographical reproduction of the original, in all its quaintness of ancient characters and antiquity of English, preceded by the apology of the author (Stafford) and an essay on the cultus of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Edited by the Rev. Orby Shipley.
Independently of its intrinsic merit, this work has always attracted great attention, from the fact that it was written by a member of the English (Episcopal) Church, and approved by prelates of that denomination as distinguished as Laud and Juxon.
As a matter of course, such a book was found to be "egregiously scandalous" by the Puritans, who looked upon it as nothing short of a device of papacy. And Henry Burton, minister of Friday street, London, in a sermon,For God and the King, denounced "several extravagant and popish passages therein, and advised the people to be aware of it." This was the beginning of a controversial war concerning the "Femall Glory" that made it one of the most notable works of the day. That a papist should have written such a book might have passed without comment, but that a noble Stafford of Northamptonshire, a graduate of Oriel College Oxford, and a staunch Church of England man, should have done this thing was an irremissible sin in Puritanic eyes.
Stafford was distinguished as a man of letters, and wrote various other works, most of them with quaint titles, according to the taste of that day; as,
Niobe dissolved into a Nilus: or his Age drowned in her own tears.1611.Heavenly Dogge: a Life and Death of that Great Cynick Diogenes; whom Laertius styled Canis Caelestis, the Heavenly Dogge. 1615.
The attacks of Burton and others brought outA Short Apology, or Vindication of a book entitled Femall Glory, etc., which is republished in the fourth edition of 1869.
The Femall Gloryis a book of genuine English growth, entirely free from imitation or adaptation of foreign words, and, beyond mere sketches of the most meagre character, the only full life of the Blessed Virgin.It is valuable, in a controversial point of view, as contrasting, the clear and distinct acknowledgment of the dignity and sanctity of the mother of God, as recognized by English Protestants of that, with the Episcopal Low Church views of the present day. Citations might be made from such men as Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Bull, Bishop Pearson, Archdeacon Frank, and Archbishop Bramhall, to show this conclusively. Not the smallest charm about the book is the odor of its quaint seventeenth century tone of thought and expression. Thus, in the preface "To the Feminine Reader" she is told, "You are here presented, by an extreme honourer of your Sexe, with a Mirrour of Femall Perfection. … By this, you cannot curle your haires, fill up your wrinckles, and so alter your Looks, that Nature, who made you, knowes you no more, but utterly forgets her owne Workmanship. By this, you cannot lay spots on your faces; but take them out of your Soules, you may." Then there is "The Ghyrlond of the Blessed Virgin Marie."
"There are five letters in this blessed Name,Which, chang'd, a five-fold Mysterie designe;The M, the Myrtle, A, the Almonds clame,R, Rose, I, Ivy, E, sweet Eglantine."
"There are five letters in this blessed Name,Which, chang'd, a five-fold Mysterie designe;The M, the Myrtle, A, the Almonds clame,R, Rose, I, Ivy, E, sweet Eglantine."
That such a book should not find favor in the eyes of the LondonAthenaeum, is not surprising. The author ofSpiritual Wivesand the recognizer of the Pope Joan fable as veritable history could scarcely be expected to recognize merit in such a work as theFemall Glory.
A Slavonian Version of the Bibleis now in preparation at Rome. The original Slavonian text was the work of St. Cyril and St. Methodus, apostles to the Slavonians in the ninth century. In the lapse of years, the original text has been seriously tampered with by so-called emendators and incompetent copyists, so that it is now very difficult to determine several important questions concerning it. Was the translation made from the Latin, the Greek, or the Hebrew? What class of manuscripts were used by these apostles? Which of the Slavonian dialects was the vehicle of the translation? And, finally, was the original version written in glagolitic or cyrillic characters?
The Staple of Biographical Noticesof Pope Sixtus V., is usually made up of a series of stories, to the effect that he was the son of ignorant parents and himself a swineherd; that he rose by his talents to the dignity of cardinal, and that, feigning extreme illness to the point of appearing to be on the verge of the grave from debility and disease, was no sooner elected to the papacy than he threw away his crutches and declared himself perfectly restored to health.
These stories have found such favor with compilers of historical books that they have been carefully preserved in spite of their want of confirmation by contemporary historians. M. A. I. Dumesnil has lately written a life of Felix Peretti, Pope Sixtus V., in which he shows that his origin was not low, and that he was allied to the best families, short of nobility, of his province. The stories of his illness, simulated feebleness, and affected use of crutches, he pronounces to be all fabulous, and quotes Tempesti, one of the historians of the conclave which elected Sixtus, thus: "In electing Montalto pope, still vigorous of years, since he had reached only sixty-four and enjoyed a robust and vigorous constitution, it was felt certain that he would live long enough to bury Farnese and his partisans." M. Dumesnil does not appear to have added anything by research or discovery to the materials already known to be in existence, but has simply used the matter furnished by Tempesti, Guerra, Fontana, and other Italian historians, with skill and judgment. He bears testimony to the extraordinary talent, judgment, and energy of the great pontiff, whose reign of less than five years was, unfortunately, too short to complete the extensive reforms commenced by him in the temporal government of his territory. Sixtus V. was remarkable for his energy in the suppression of abuses, order and economy in the public finances, and unbending severity toward criminals, encouragement of industry, an enlightened fondness for the arts, as shown by numerous monuments and his patronage of the great architect, Fontana, and an inflexible determination to raise the holy see from any dependence upon foreign princes.
There is anotherLife of Sixusin preparation by Baron Hübner, formerly Austrian Ambassador to France, in which he promises numerous documents, French, Spanish, and English, never yet published.
[Six paragraphs have been moved, three paragraphs toward the end, from this location according to the notice on page 711-2.]
Concilium Seleuciae et Ctesiphonti, habitum anno 410. Textum Syriacum edidit latine vertit notisque instruxit, T. J. Lamy. Lovanii, 1868.
From ancient Syrian literature, so rich in works relative to the church, its history, its discipline, and its dogmas, the Abbé Lamy, Professor at the University of Louvain, has here selected one of its most precious monuments for translation and comment. Not less remarkable for the charm of their antique simplicity of language than their fulness of doctrine, these few pages alone would almost suffice to establish the complete symbolism of the church. "Confitemur etiam"—thus testify the fathers of the Council of Seleucia—"Spiritum vivum et sanctum, Paracletum vivum, QUI EX PATRE ET FILIO in una Trinitate, in una essentia, in una voluntate, amplectentes fidem trecentorum decem et octo Episcoporum, quae definita fuit in urbe Nicea. Haec est confessio nostra et fides nostra, quam accepimus a Sanctis Patribus Nostris.
[The following six paragraphs have been moved to this location according to the notice on page 711-2.]
It will be remembered that in the fifth century the Priscillianists, in those countries infected with the Arian heresy, took unfair advantage of the special mention made by the Council of Constantinople of the first person of the Trinity and of the omitted mention of the Son, to maintain that the Son was not consubstantial with the Father.
Then followed the express insertion of the word FILIOQUE by decree of a general council.
The history of the Greek schism turns upon this point, and students of church history will find high interest and solid instruction in tracing the reasons and circumstances connected with the fact that, although this addition offilioquereally made no change in the doctrine of the church, although in the ninth century the western churches used it, and yet Pope Leo III. insisted on the use in Rome of the form adopted by the fathers of Constantinople, and although between the Greek and the Latin churches there was no divergence on this doctrinal point, nevertheless it was not until after the consummation of the schism of Photius and of Michael Cerularius that the Greeks began to pretend that they had never professed this dogma.
Then follows the treatment of this question by the councils of fourth Lateran, (1215,) third Lyons, (1274,) and that of Florence, (1439.)
Of course it will be seen that the importance of the action of the Council of Seleucia lies in the fact that it was composed of forty bishops, of whom one, at least, was a member of the first ecumenical council of Constantinople, and that it was called at the instigation and through the initiative of the Greek Church herself.
So that, as the lawyers say, it does not lie in the mouth of the Greek Church, at the present day, to say that it is simply opposing a Latin innovation.