Auth. No. Some bishops (as even Pope Benedict himself allows) took upon them to perform canonizations after that time; and such episcopal canonizations as had gained a sort of prescription by the lapse of a century were thenceforth considered valid at Rome.

Land. Bravo-these were resolute bishops. Is it the same with saintship as with fields and meadows, that the title is to be gained by prescription? Or does the sanctity of the party grow so much more rapidly when the pope himself takes the matter in hand? They should not canonize anybody, except upon a certainty; for prescription will never make him a saint; and if they can discover that anybody who has been canonized by a bishop is a saint an hundred years after that event, one would think that they might have discovered it before. I can comprehend so much.

Auth. Oh, you are beginning to take quite a right view of things. Land. But why do not our bishops canonize anybody now-a-days? Auth. Patience-Pope Urban VIII. entirely took away their right to canonize in the year 1634; and since that time, no one has been bold enough to attempt such a thing.

Land. They should make me a bishop; I would take care they did not hinder me. It is as clear as the day, that it is a mere usurpation of the pope; and not a very old one either.

Auth. I am glad you confess it—and I feel that I have said quite as much as is necessary in reply to your first question, " Whether canonization is not exclusively the pope's business."

Land. What a loss it was to the bishops-that usurpation of the pope. Auth. That is as one takes it. If you refer to the money which, since that time, Rome has drawn from canonizations, no doubt it amounts to a great sum; and the bishops might have done a great deal of good with it; but in respect of canonization itself, they have not lost any great deal of power, because it, in fact, consists of nothing more than the expression of an opinion, that this or that person, who died with a high character for sanctity, is deserving of public veneration. Just as those early canonizations, which I have mentioned, had their origin in the opinion and confidence of the people.

Land. If canonization is so entirely a matter of opinion, then we are completely deceived when it turns out that anybody whom we venerate as a saint was in fact no such thing.

Auth. Why, in this sense we are not deceived-we venerate him conditionally, on the supposition that he was a saint; and in imitating any really good works which we read of him, we cannot deceive ourselves.

Land. What then, it is no article of faith, that this or that canonized person was a true saint, and that he really performed all the actions ascribed to him?

Auth. Here, look at this book-François Veron's "Rule of the Catholic Faith," a book that is held in high estimation as an approved work, even for converting heretics.*—" We do not learn," he says

"VERON (François) Missionaire de Paris, entra chez les Jésuites, et en sortit quelque tems après. Il se consacra aux missions, et fut l'instrument du salut de VOL. XIV.-Nov. 1838.

3 U

here, either from the written, or the unwritten, word of God that the holiness of any individual Christian who sleeps in God is an article of faith revealed to us by God. None of the miracles"-observe this "none of the miracles."

Land. My stars, not even the miracles?

Auth. "None of the miracles which have occurred since the time of the apostles form any part of divine revelation; consequently, none can challenge that belief which is due to God. How then can the canonization which is grounded on them, or the judgment of the church"-observe again the words-" the judgment of the church." Land. I see. It is so-" or the judgment of the church."

Auth. Or the judgment of the church, that this or that person is holy, be the object of such belief? Consequently, none of the bulls of canonization which commonly issue from the popes, and only decide an historical question, form articles of faith."

Land. This is what comes of the want of learning. How are our folks to know that this is the case?

Auth. Stay a little-here's another book by the same Muratori, whose work on true devotion I before commended. It treats of the regulation of the natural understanding in religious matters.

Land. You have fine books certainly;-and quite catholic?

Auth. They are I assure you most particularly catholic, and highly esteemed by all intelligent catholics.

Land. Well, and what does the book contain that is to our purpose? Auth. Hear" All commentators agree in opinion that God has not revealed to us all truths; but that the Holy Spirit only teaches 'all truth' that is necessary for the salvation of men, and the maintenance of the catholic church. But how can we say that the veneration of any new saint, and faith in his heavenly blessedness, is necessary for the catholic church ?” *

Land. But before every canonization, there is a regular process carried on against the person whom it is proposed to canonize; and I have understood that there is somebody who appears as the Devil's advocate, and makes it his business to bring forward everything that can have a tendency to prevent the canonization. And it is not till after the strictest scrutiny that the Pope decides for, or against, the sanctity of the party.

Auth. My good landlord, canonization, as I have already told you, is properly nothing more than a permission granted for the public veneration of this or that person, who has died with a great character

On

plusieurs pécheurs. Il mourut saintement en 1649, Curé de Charenton. rapporte qu'après la fameuse conférence qu'il eut à Caen sur la religion avec le ministre Bochart (l'un et l'autre ayant un second bien inférieur en force) un Catheolique qui étoit présent, fit cette résponse à des Huguenots qui lui en demandoient des nouvelles : Pour vous dire la vérité, on ne peut pas assûrer que votre Sçavant soit plus sçavant que notre Scavant; mais en recompense, notre Ignorant est dix fois plus ignorant que votre Ignorant.' On a de lui une excellente Méthode de Controverse, et surtout une Règle de la Foi Catholique et d'autres ouvrages, dont la plupart ont été imprimés en 2 vol. in fol."-Nouveau Diction. Hist. Trans.]

* Murat. de Ing. Moder. in Relig. Neg. c. 17.

for holiness. Whether he really was holy, God has not revealed to us; and the Pope cannot make anybody holy that has not been really

So.

Men (and even the Pope is a fallible man) judge only by the pious deeds, the external manifestations of virtues, and the extraordinary and wonderful actions of the deceased which may be produced. All this depends on depositions, documents, and other human means of proof. Such means of proof may deceive even when the scrutiny is ever so strict. The Pope himself confesses that he may err in this matter; and provides for it at every canonization, by publicly protesting, before all the congregation, that by this solemnity he intends nothing contrary to the faith, or the catholic church, or the honour of God. Would such a protestation as this be necessary, if the sanctity of the canonized party was a matter so completely decided? A clearly established truth, without this precaution, could not injure the faith, or the catholic church, or the honour of God.*

Land. Well, all this makes it the harder for me to understand how they can take a saint and place him at once on the altar, or dedicate churches to him.

Auth. My good landlord, our altars should certainly present a different appearance from that which they have, even in the present day. "We say indeed" (writes Muratori in the True Devotion of a Christian) "that this or that church belongs to this or that holy martyr, or confessor, or virgin; but, in truth, the churches and altars are dedicated and consecrated to the true God alone, in remembrance of his holy servants. In like manner, we use to say, The mass of this saint;' and yet it is perfectly clear that this unbloody sacrifice is offered to God alone, though certainly with the intention of honouring the memory of his departed servants, but much more with a design to laud and magnify the Supreme, whose grace and gifts we venerate in the inhabitants of heaven."

"We often

see" (he adds with reference to the pictures of the saints) "that this great God is served with but few lighted tapers at public service, while the picture, or relics, of a saint, on the very altar, are surrounded with a great show of lights. Is it fitting then that the Lord of Hosts should be made inferior to his servant ?" To support this sound doctrine of his, he adduces the ordinance of Pope Clement XI. of the 20th January 1705, by which his holiness commanded, "that whensoever the consecrated Host should be exposed for worship, all pictures on that altar should be covered, no relics or picture should be placed upon it, and still less should the representations of the poor souls in purgatory, in whatsoever way they might, or could, be portrayed, be allowed to be visible.

Land. By my troth, and so they ought to be. The pictures of the saints, in so far as they consist of a mixture of colours spread on canvass, wood, or wall, or, indeed, in my opinion, when they are of gold, silver, marble, wood, or plaster, certainly merit no veneration in themselves; but the only object of veneration is the person of whom the pictures, or the relics, remind us. They might therefore be placed

* Van Espen. tom. iii. p. 574. Christ. Lupus, tom. iv. Scarl. in Can. p. 573.

on the side-walls of the church with reasonable and useful representations of the saints, and of those actions which are really true and worthy of imitation. The altar, however, is a place whereon nothing else should be seen but a crucifix and the consecrated Host, instead of their being placed under the grand altar-piece, so that a devil cast down by St. Michael, or a gaping dragon of St. George, or St. Anthony's pig with his snout, or St. Leonard's ox should exhibit itself to the people, just above the Host and the crucifix.

Auth. Let me embrace you, landlord.

Land. Well, well-take care of my wig in your ecstasies, it is all awry beforehand-but tell me now, how am I to get on with our old rector?

Auth. Let the good old man alone. There is no hope of making anything of people circumstanced as he is. Their heads are full of nonsense, which they got in the schools which were formerly sadly mismanaged, and the confraternities. Books of research were things quite out of their way. Bad school books, a legend, other religious books of a silly nature, some stupidly patched up sermons, and their breviary, form their whole library. The Bible is a book which they can dispense with; and, indeed, it is better that they should let it lie on the shelf; for they do not understand it, and have not the means of forming an opinion on either scripture history or doctrine, from the want of proper education. Be assured, my good landlord, that I would sooner set a common man's head right than many a clergyman's; for the common man, whose head is not stuffed with so many crude absurdities, has that blessed poverty of spirit which renders him fit to receive truth with advantage.

Land. You really describe the rector very accurately. He will not hear of any book beside the legend and his breviary. "There," says he, "is the Truth, which has kept its ground in spite of all freethinkers and writers."

Auth. Observe, now, that this good old gentleman really does not understand his breviary; and has not the least idea of what has happened to it and to the legends. Those registers of the martyrs, which people call martyrologies, the legends, and the breviaries, have often been subjected to critical review by the order of councils, popes, and bishops, and will have to go through the same again. It cannot be all done at once.

Land. Hey?what do you say?

Auth. Why, as respects the breviary, the Council of Trent, Pope Paul IV. [elected 1555], and in particular Pope Pius V. [elected 1559], immediately after the Reformation, began to consider of the matter. To be sure, Pius V. imagined that the breviary set forth by him would require no farther improvement; and on that ground forbad any alteration. But his breviary was never received by all bishops, especially in France, because it still contains improper and fabulous matter. On this account a farther correction was undertaken in the time of Pope Clement VIII. [elected 1592], and a second in that of Pope Urban VIII. [elected 1623.] And, notwithstanding this, learned and industrious men belonging to our catholic church have

pointed out the improprieties and fables which, through human infirmity, and the want of due investigation, have been allowed to remain in the breviary, so clearly and in such a way, that the general wish of the intelligent and right-thinking clergy is, that it should be still farther purified from so many improper forms of prayer, and so many untrue stories, as have been brought into it from the fabulous legends." Your rector might satisfy himself of the alterations which it has undergone, even from its title-page.

Land. He does not know one word of it. He gives himself but little trouble about the title-page of his breviary; for he says he feels it such a comfort when he has got it over.

Auth. What would you have farther? Even in the Romish ecclesiastical law + there is a decree, attributed to Pope Gelasius [in the year 494], that the acts and passions of the holy martyrs should not be read in the Romish church, seeing that they were compiled with fables and improper stories, some by unbelievers, some by private persons, sometimes by persons unknown. Moreover, the holy Council of Constantinople, in the year 692, made a similar decree, that the legends, filled with all sorts of romance and nonsensical stories, should be burned, in order to withdraw the Christian people from such things.+

Land. Then why were they not burned.

Auth. My good landlord, as we have chiefly to thank the monks for the existence of these legends originally, so we are principally indebted to them for having them still.

Land. I know some very honest and good monks, who most sincerely protest, just as you do, against the abuses and fables that have crept in among catholics.

Auth. You are right. I know myself some honest and good monks; but they are only monks in name and dress; this they are obliged to be; but they are not monks in disposition and feelings. These, how

Van. Espen. edit. Lovan. T. ii. p. 671, et seq.

+ Gratiani dist. 15. can. 3. [The passage referred to is as follows:-" Item gesta sanctorum Martyrum, qui multiplicibus tormentorum cruciatibus, et mirabilibus confessionum triumphis irradiant. Quis ita (al. ista) esse Catholicorum dubitet, et majora eos in agonibus fuisse perpessos, nec suis viribus, sed gratia Dei et adjutorio universa tolerasse? Sed ideo secundum antiquam consuetudinem singulari cautela in sancta Romana Ecclesia non leguntur: quia et eorum, qui conscripsere nomina penitus ignorantur, et ab infidelibus, aut idiotis superflua, aut minus apta, quam rei ordo fuerit, scripta esse putantur: sicut cujusdam Quirici, et Julitæ: sicut Gregorii, aliorumque hujusmodi passiones, quæ ab hæreticis perhibentur conscriptæ. Propter quod, ut dictum est, ne vel levis subsannandi oriretur occasio, in sancta Romana ecclesia non leguntur." The genuineness of this decree, as it regards Gelasius, has nothing to do with the purpose for which it is here referred to. It has stood as his in the Decretals quite long enough to gain a settlement in Rome.-Trans.]

[It must be observed that the canon (No. lxiii.) particularly specifies martyrologies written by the enemies of the truth, with intent to bring the holy martyrs into contempt. (τὰ ψευδῶς ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθρῶν συμπλασθέντα μαρτυρολογια, ὡς ἂν τοὺς τοῦ Χριστοῦ μάρτυρας ἀτιμάζοιεν, καὶ πρὸς ἀπιστίαν ἐνάγοιεν TOÙÇ аKOVOVTα.) It is, however, a clear and important testimony that at that time such things were in existence, and were (or, to say the least, were liable to be) adopted in the church, by those who had the power of regulating its services.—Trans.]