INDIFFERENCE AND FANATICISM.
In rejecting the authority of the Church, and in adopting this
resistance as its only principle, Protestantism was compelled to seek
its whole support in man; thus to mistake the true character of the
human mind, and its relations with religious and moral truth, was to
throw itself, according to circumstances, into the opposite extremes of
fanaticism and indifference.
It may seem strange that these opposite errors should emanate from
the same source; and yet nothing is more certain. Protestantism, by
appealing to man alone in religious matters, had only two courses to
adopt; either to suppose men to be inspired by Heaven for the discovery
of truth, or to subject all religious truths to the examination of
reason. To submit religious truths to the judgment of reason was
sooner or later to produce indifference; on the other hand, private
inspiration must engender fanaticism.
There is a universal and constant fact in the history of the human
mind--viz. its decided inclination to invent systems in which the
reality of things is completely laid aside, and where we only see
the workings of a spirit which has chosen to quit the ordinary path
in order to give itself up to its own inspirations. The history
of philosophy is little else than a perpetual repetition of this
phenomenon, which the human mind shows, in some shape or other, in all
things which admit of it. When the mind has conceived a peculiar idea,
it regards it with that blind and exclusive predilection which is found
in the love of the father for his children. Under the influence of this
prejudice, the mind developes its ideas and accommodates facts to suit
it; that which at first was only an ingenious and extravagant idea,
becomes the germ of important doctrines; and if it arise in a person of
an ardent disposition, fanaticism, the cause of so much madness, is the
consequence.
The danger is very much increased when the new system applies to
religious matters, or is immediately connected with them. The
extravagances of a diseased mind are then looked upon as inspirations
from Heaven; the fever of delirium as a divine flame; and a mania of
being singular as an extraordinary vocation. Pride, unable to brook
opposition, rises against all that it finds established; it insults
all authority; it attacks all institutions; it despises everybody; it
conceals the grossest violence under the mantle of zeal, and ambition
under the name of apostleship. The dupe of himself rather than an
impostor, the wretched maniac sometimes becomes deeply persuaded that
his doctrines are true, and that he has received the commands of
Heaven. As there is something extraordinary and striking in the fiery
language of the madman, he communicates to those who listen to him a
portion of his insanity, and makes, in a short time, a considerable
number of proselytes. The men capable of playing the first part in
this scene of madness are not numerous, it is true; but unhappily the
majority of men are foolish enough to be easily led away. History and
experience sufficiently prove that the crowd are easily attracted, and
that to form a party, however criminal, extravagant, or ridiculous, it
is only necessary to raise a standard.
I wish to take this opportunity of making an observation which I have
never seen pointed out--viz. that the Church, in her contest with
heresy, has rendered an important service to the science which devotes
itself to the examination of the true character, tendency, and power
of the human mind. The zealous guardian of all great truths, she has
always known how to preserve them unimpaired; she was fully acquainted
with the weakness of the mind of man, and its extreme proneness to
folly and extravagance; she has followed it closely in all its steps,
has watched it in all its movements, and has constantly resisted it
with energy, when it attempted to pollute the pure fountain of which
she is the guardian. During the long and violent contests which she
has had with it, the Church has made manifest its incurable folly; she
has exhibited it on every side, and has shown it in all its forms.
Thus it is that, in the history of heresies, she has made an abundant
collection of facts, and has painted an extremely interesting picture
of the human mind, where its characteristic physiognomy is faithfully
represented; a picture which will doubtless be of great service in the
composition of the important work which is yet unwritten--viz. the true
history of the human mind.[10]
Certain it is that the ravings and extravagances of fanaticism have not
been wanting in the history of Europe for the last three hundred years.
Their monuments still remain; in whatever direction we turn our steps,
we find bloody traces of the fanatical sects produced by Protestantism,
and engendered by its fundamental principle. Nothing could confine this
devastating torrent, neither the violent character of Luther, nor the
furious efforts which he made to oppose every one who taught doctrines
different from his own. Impiety succeeded impiety, extravagance
extravagance, fanaticism fanaticism. The pretended Reformation was soon
divided into as many sects as there were found men with the ingenuity
to invent and the boldness to maintain a system of their own. This was
necessarily the case; for besides the danger of leaving the human mind
without a guide on all questions of religion, there was another cause
fruitful in fatal results, I mean the private interpretation of the
sacred books.
It was then found that the best things may be abused, and that these
divine volumes, which contain so much instruction for the mind, and so
much consolation for the heart, are full of danger to the proud. How
great will this be, if you add to the obstinate resolution of resisting
all authority in matters of faith, the false persuasion that the
meaning of the Scriptures is everywhere clear, and that, in all cases,
the inspirations of Heaven may be expected to solve every doubt? What
will happen to those who turn over their pages with a longing desire
to find some text which, more or less tortured, may seem to authorize
their sophisms, subtilties, and absurdities?
There never was a greater mistake than that which was committed by the
Protestant leaders, when they placed the Bible in the hands of all
for self-interpretation; never was the nature of that sacred volume
more completely lost sight of. It is true that Protestantism had no
other method to pursue, and that every objection which it could make
to the private interpretation of the sacred text would be a striking
inconsistency, an apostasy from its own principles, and a denial
of its own origin; but at the same time, this is its most decided
condemnation. What claim, indeed, can that religion have to truth and
sanctity whose fundamental principle contains the germ of sects the
most fanatical--the most injurious to society?
It would be difficult to collect into so narrow a space, in opposition
to this essential error of Protestantism, so many facts and convincing
proofs of this, as are contained in the following lines, written by
a Protestant, O'Callaghan, which, I have no doubt, my readers will
thank me for quoting here. "Led away," says O'Callaghan, "by their
spirit of opposition to the Church of Rome, the first Reformers
loudly proclaimed the right of interpreting the Scriptures according
to each one's private judgment; but in their eagerness to emancipate
the people from the authority of the Pope, they proclaimed this right
without explanation or restriction: and the consequences were fearful.
Impatient to undermine the papal jurisdiction, they maintained without
exception, that each individual has an incontestable right to interpret
the Scriptures for himself; and as this principle, carried to the
fullest extent, was not sustainable, they were obliged to rely for
support upon another, viz. that the Bible is an easy book, within the
comprehension of all minds, and that the divine revelations contained
in it are always clear to all; two propositions which, whether we
consider them together or apart, cannot withstand a serious attack.
"The private judgment of Muncer found in the Scriptures that titles
of nobility and great estates are impious usurpations, contrary to
the natural equality of the faithful, and he invited his followers
to examine if this were not the case. They examined into the matter,
praised God, and then proceeded by fire and sword to extirpate the
impious and possess themselves of their properties. Private judgment
made the discovery in the Bible that established laws were a permanent
restriction on Christian liberty; and, behold, John of Leyden, throwing
away his tools, put himself at the head of a mob of fanatics, surprised
the town of Munster, proclaimed himself king of Sion, and took fourteen
wives at a time, asserting that polygamy is Christian liberty, and the
privilege of the saints. But if the criminal madness of these men in
another country is afflicting to the friends of humanity and of real
piety, certainly the history of England, during a great part of the
seventeenth century, is not calculated to console them. During that
period an immense number of fanatics appeared, sometimes together
and sometimes in succession, intoxicated with extravagant doctrines
and mischievous passions, from the fierce ravings of Fox to the more
methodical madness of Barclay; from the formidable fanaticism of
Cromwell to the silly profanity of 'Praise God Barebones.' Piety,
reason, and good sense seemed to be extinct on earth, and to be
succeeded by an extravagant jargon, a religious frenzy, and a zeal
without discretion. All quoted the Scriptures, all pretended to have
had inspirations, visions, and spiritual ecstasies, and all, indeed,
had equal claims to them. It was strongly maintained that it was proper
to abolish the priesthood and the royal dignity, because priests
were the ministers of Satan, and kings the delegates of the whore
of Babylon, and that the existence of both were inconsistent with
the reign of the Redeemer. The fanatics condemned science as a Pagan
invention, and universities as seminaries of antichristian impiety.
Bishops were not protected by the sanctity of their functions, or kings
by the majesty of the throne; both, as objects of contempt and hatred,
were mercilessly put to death by these fanatics, whose only book was
the Bible, without note or comment. During this time, the enthusiasm
for prayer, preaching, and the reading of the sacred books was at
the highest point; everybody prayed, preached, and read, but nobody
listened. The greatest atrocities were justified by the Scriptures; in
the most ordinary transactions of life, scriptural language was made
use of; national affairs, foreign and domestic, were discussed in the
phraseology of Holy Writ. There were scriptural plots, conspiracies,
and proscriptions; and all this was not only justified but even
sanctified by quotations from the word of God. These facts, attested
by history, have often astonished and alarmed men of virtue and piety,
_but the reader, too much imbued with his own ideas, forgets the lesson
to be learnt by this fatal experience; namely, that the Bible without
note or comment was not intended to be read by rude and ignorant men_.
"The majority of mankind must be content to receive the instructions
of others, and are not enabled to trust themselves. The most important
truths in medicine, in jurisprudence, in physics, in mathematics, must
be received from those who drink at the fountain head. The same plan
has in general been pursued with respect to Christianity; and whenever
the departure from it has been wide enough, '_society has been shaken
to its foundation_.'"
These words of O'Callaghan do not require any comment. It cannot be
said that they are hyperbolical or declamatory, as they are only a
simple and faithful narration of acknowledged facts. The recollection
of these events should suffice to prove the danger of placing the
sacred Scriptures, without note or comment, into the hands of all,
as Protestantism does, under the pretence, that the authority of the
Church is useless for understanding the holy books; and that every
Christian has only to listen to the dictates which generally emanate
from his passions and heated imagination. By this error alone, if it
had committed no other, Protestantism is self-reproved and condemned;
for it is a religion which has established a principle destructive to
itself. In order to appreciate the madness of Protestantism on this
point, and to see how false and dangerous is the position which it
has assumed with regard to the human mind, it is not necessary to be
a theologian, or a Catholic; it is enough to have read the Scriptures
with the eyes of a philosopher or a man of literature. Here is a
book which comprises, within a limited compass, the period of four
thousand years, and advances further towards the most distant future,
by embracing the origin and destiny of man and the universe--a book
which, with the continued history of a chosen people, intermingles, in
its narrations and prophecies, the revolutions of mighty empires--a
book which, side by side with the magnificent pictures of the power and
splendor of Eastern monarchs, describes, in simple colors, the plain
domestic manners, the candor, and innocence of a young nation--a book
in which historians relate, sages proclaim their maxims of wisdom,
apostles preach, and doctors instruct--a book in which prophets,
under the influence of the divine Spirit, thunder against the errors
and corruptions of the people, and announce the vengeance of the God
of Sinai, or pour forth inconsolable lamentations on the captivity
of their brethren, and the desolation and solitude of their country;
where they relate, in wonderful and sublime language, the magnificent
spectacles which are presented to their eyes; where, in moments of
ecstasy, they see pass before them the events of society and the
catastrophes of nature, although veiled in mysterious figures and
visions of obscurity--a book, or rather a collection of books, where
are to be found all sorts of styles and all varieties of narrative,
epic majesty, pastoral simplicity, lyric fire, serious instruction,
grave historical narrative, and lively and rapid dramatic action; a
collection of books, in fine, written at various times and in various
languages, in various countries, and under the most peculiar and
extraordinary circumstances. Must not all this confuse the heads of
men who, puffed up with their own conceit, grope through these pages
in the dark, ignorant of climates, times, laws, customs, and manners?
They will be puzzled by allusions, surprised by images, deceived by
expressions; they will hear the Greek and Hebrew, which was written in
those remote ages, now spoken in a modern idiom. What effects must all
these circumstances produce on the minds of readers who believe that
the Bible is an easy book, to be understood without difficulty by all?
Persuaded that they do not require the instructions of others, they
must either resolve all these difficulties by their own reflections,
or trust to that individual inspiration which they believe will not be
wanting to explain to them the loftiest mysteries. Who, after this,
can be astonished that Protestantism has produced so many absurd
visionaries and furious fanatics?[11]