Firmly resolved to be a teacher of the people, in the true sense of the
expression, not in that assigned to it by the Church--resolved to speak
the truth, without respect of persons, and to become no hypocrite, I
entered on my office at Grottkau. Being unacquainted in my sphere of
labour, some time elapsed before I came to know my field of action, or
was enabled efficiently to discharge the practical duties of my station.
I found my school to be the field best adapted to the measure of my
capacity. Independently of the natural love I have for children. I was
always happiest in this holy garden of the Lord, where youthful minds
expand, which is brightened by thoughts as swift and radiant as the
lightning, and where the lovely innocence of childhood exhales its
sweetest fragrance. In school I was free from the espionage by which I
knew my pulpit to be surrounded--which oppressed my heart, and nearly
stopped my utterance; free from the humiliating feeling which the
Confessional aroused within me, where I seemed to be an idol, or a
judge set over the thoughts and consciences of my fellow-men. When the
pressure of the priestly yoke at times became too much for me, I have
fled for refuge to the youth and innocence of the school, and have never
failed to leave it with my strength renewed. These children little knew
the infinite service which they rendered me! Notwithstanding that I
laboured with all my might, as well in the school and the confessional,
as in the pulpit, most resolutely to oppose and counteract the
superstition, the hypocrisy, and all the consequences of priestly
oppression and dissembling, the result could be but small, on account
of the mighty barriers interposed by the hierarchy to every step in the
direction of spirituality.
Within these fearful barriers, and under such restraint, and fettered
thus in mind and body, with watchful care to sow and plant, what, after
all, might be doomed to suffocation in the choke-damp of superstition,
became from week to week less bearable; and all the less so, the more
clearly I perceived the terrible effects of Popish despotism on the
people, and the depth of moral degradation to which many of my brethren
had sunk, bringing the danger all the nearer to myself. I saw it now to
be my duty, openly to declare against the abuses and the soul-killing
tenets of the Church of Rome,--rather to die a bodily than a spiritual
death.
MOTIVES FOR STANDING FORTH
AGAINST THE CONSTRAINT EXERCISED BY THE POPE IN MATTERS OF RELIGION.
The inducements which gradually brought my determination to maturity,
and imposed the carrying out of it upon me as a duty, I here submit to
the consideration of all men:
_I stand forth against the Romish hierarchy, because it is the means of
crushing my dignity as a man, and reducing me to a state of disgraceful
servitude._ The dignity of man is acknowledged to consist in his reason
and his will, and in the unrestrained use of both, for the attainment of
moral freedom,--"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect." As Romish priest I dare not freely exercise my
reason and my will. As such I only dare to think, and speak, and write,
what the Church decrees, or what my superiors may allow. If I think, or
speak, or write, more or otherwise, I am declared to be a _heretic_,
i.e. a most grievous criminal. God himself must only be conceived of and
adored, according to dictation of the Romish Church; and even He dares
to accept no other adoration at my hands, than that prescribed by the
Romish Church, in which, forsooth, salvation only can be found. As
Romish priest I have no freedom, either of thought or conscience.
Neither can I boast, as such, of any of the other rights of man, in
opposition to my superior,--him I must blindly obey. The Romish priest
is not regarded as a being personally free, but as an automaton,
employed to spread abroad the mist of superstition. To cast off this
bondage, and become a free moral agent, is a holy duty and injunction of
the Christian religion, which demands freedom in the exercise of virtue.
In order, however, to convince all men more clearly of the urgent nature
of this duty, I shall attempt a feeble portraiture of the paralyzing
influence exerted on myself, by priestly oppression, while I held an
office in the Church--a portraiture in which the chief features in
the case of hundreds among my colleagues may, at the same time, be
recognized.
I felt a morbid irritability in contemplating the consecrated barriers
which cut me off from my fellow-men; my spirit, sympathy, and active
impulse died away, and in their place, in spite of my endeavours, cold
indifference, and emotions even of hatred crept upon me. I likewise felt
a suspicion of my colleagues, inexplicable in its earlier stages, and,
in particular, I shunned those friends in whose society I had passed
the unfettered years of college life, in order that I might not
unnecessarily open the wounds which the loss of my freedom had inflicted
on my heart.*
* I have often heard the complaint made, that the younger
members of the Catholic priesthood keep aloof from former
friends; a moving cause is given above, which may lead us
rather to compassionate than to condemn them.
But most crushing of all was, the performance of certain ceremonies at
the altar, by which, as I knew and could perceive, many of the community
were misguided into superstition and hypocrisy. Was I not forced to be
a party to dissimulation, in the performance of such ceremonies? Could
I help feeling myself lowered in my own opinion? When I knelt at the
altar, with the credulous people behind me, and cast a look within,
I shuddered in my inmost soul, an unspeakable woe tormented me, and
I uttered the despairing cry, "And hast thou so long suffered this
humiliation?" Each morning I was awakened, as with a piercing shriek,
by the thought that I was a slave, and that my life was not only useless
but fraught with degradation to my fellow-men--that I had been robbed
of a bright career of useful labour, and that not even time itself might
put an end to all my ignominy! My fetters were indeed consecrated, and,
according to the prejudices of the world, they seemed to be unremovable.
The world appeared determined to bear patiently the hideous yoke--its
course was still the same!
I saw before me the abyss of falsehood or an early grave! Should I
succumb? Unworthy cowardice! My courage gradually rose; courage for the
contest of life and death within me. I determined to burst my fetters,
and to leave the enchanted circle,--a circle drawn amid the incantations
and the curses of Romish tyranny in the middle ages; I resolved to
assist in tearing off the mask of holiness from the hypocrisy of a
thousand years. This my resolve was only strengthened by contemplating
the fate of my colleagues, some of whom were greater sufferers than even
I. A few were snatched away by early death; they sank mute, and cheated
of their lives, into the grave. He cannot surely have a drop of blood
within his veins, who would not feel it boil with indignation to witness
such a sight. And yet their fate was envied by the others, who glided
through the world like mummies, in the springtime of their days, and
hourly, slowly faded into death. Some rush, to deaden feeling, into
drunkenness and other vices, or sink into insensibility, and passively
vegetate from one day to the next. Others still, of livelier character,
seek to lose themselves in the hierarchical spirit of the middle ages,
and because ours are other days, and they, although they know it not,
belong to _them_, have originated that modern species of bigotry which
rises ofttimes into madness. Such heroes then surround themselves with
halos borrowed from the early Fathers, and affect the startling voice of
the preacher of repentance.
At last I sought, in order quite to fix my resolution, the countenance
of those among the priests esteemed of noblest character; but found
little real manliness, good and amiable (?) as several of them might
be,---or from a certain vacuity of mind, effeminate inertness, or
well-concealed ambition, might _appear_ to be.
_I stand forth against the tyrannical dominion of the Romish Hierarchy,
because it prevents me from faithfully pursuing my avocation as teacher
of the people_.
I am bound, as teacher of the people, and as teacher of religion, at all
hazards to guard, not only my own freedom and independence, but those
also of my fellow-men. In accordance with the language of the New
Testament,---"we are all the children of one father, we are brethren,"
it is my duty, as teacher of the people and of religion, not only to
proclaim freedom to _all mankind_, but to endeavour to realize the
lesson, because it is the freeman who alone is virtuous. It is, in fact,
my duty as a teacher, not only to strive after intellectual perfection
for myself, and to keep pace with the gradual development of mind,
but to carry before my parishioners, the banner of civilization and
humanity. I am not only impeded by the tyrannical oppression of the
Romish Hierarchy in the discharge of all these duties, but am even
commanded to proclaim bondage for freedom, darkness for light, and for
progress--intellectual stagnation! I must thereby call down upon myself
the deserved hatred of the present age, and the curses of posterity.
_I stand forth against the tyrannical dominion of the Romish Hierarchy,
because I am convinced that what the Hierarchs call the Catholic
religion is not the true Catholic doctrine,--is not a doctrine
calculated to promote the happiness of nations; that the Romish,
Hierarchy does not teach and act in accordance with the leading
and fundamental doctrines of the religion of which Christ was the
author,--but that it has introduced abuses, and framed ordinances which
are calculated to undermine the intellectual and physical welfare of
nations, and only to increase the power and riches of a privileged
priesthood, of whom the Roman Bishop is the head._
It were superfluous here to attempt the proof of this position by a
long-winded, learned treatise. The fruits of the Romish Hierarchy have
been proving it for centuries, and it is in the power of every man
to convince himself, who wishes to be convinced. Or is it perhaps in
consequence of the _blessings_ emanating from Rome, that a portion, and
not a small one, of our people, languish in the most abject poverty?!
while another portion, and within it many preachers of religion,
especially the higher prelates, are rolling in superfluous wealth? Are
these the fruits of a Church in which alone is salvation, that some
should be kept by spiritual oppression and ignorance in superstition and
insensibility, and even degraded to a level with the brutes, in order
that others, and among them many consecrated servants of the Pope,
may be the lords and drivers of the dishonoured horde! How then can the
injunction of love to our neighbour find a place in such a Christian
Church, in such a society of Christians? Where then is the succour of
alone-saving Rome, amid so deep spiritual degradation, amid so great
bodily want among our people? Where is the practical working of
brotherly-love! where does she labour for the elevation and improvement
of the people! Where is the right understanding of the Lord's Supper,
the feet-washing! and where the living exemplification of so many
others of the essential doctrines of the New Testament? Has it not all
degenerated into form and pretence! Has not religion been degraded to
a system of usury and hypocrisy, which aims alone at the enriching
and aggrandizement of the Church of Rome! The Church, as the Romish
Hierarchy exhibits and teaches, is but a phantom of falsehood and
dissimulation, which floats unseen above the nations, keeping them in
constant dread and blind obedience. Hence comes the alienation from the
priests, the horror and bitterness of feeling unanimously entertained
by the considerate and right-thinking portion of mankind, towards the
so-called Romish Church! And the animosity is well deserved; for
what efforts do the priesthood make for the temporal and spiritual
amelioration of the suffering people? The greater number of them pass
coldly by, as the priests and Levites passed by the poor Samaritan of
old. We grant that hundreds of the priests are not aware, or are careful
to avoid the knowledge of the game they play, and the Power they
serve as blinded instruments. They speak, His true, of the spirit of
_reconciliation_ and the _Church_, but they halt by the dead letter.
They know not, and they do not desire to know, that _the Church means
all mankind, and mankind here on earth!_ That the need of reconciliation
is indeed most pressing, for mankind in its present condition--I mean
a reconciliation and approximation of the educated and uneducated,
the moral and immoral, portions of mankind. Yea, more, I mean a
reconciliation between the rich and the needy portions of humanity. This
reconciliation and approximation must be brought about preeminently by
the teachers of the people; it must result, not in empty words--with
them we have been surfeited--but in actual deeds. This is a vineyard of
the Lord, where the ears are ripe for harvest, and where labourers
are required. These labourers need no authority from Rome, no outward
consecration--it must be in their spirits--they must have consecrated
hearts! When they appear, the people will acknowledge them, although
they bear no Roman symbols. But seeing that the Romish Hierarchy love no
such labourers--the people's truest friends and guides,--seeing that
she resolutely opposes the moral elevation of mankind, it is a duty to
contend against her and her false system--and such is the duty I shall
now endeavour to fulfil.
_Lastly, I stand forth against the tyrannical dominion of the Romish
Hierarchy\ because its statutes tend directly to the sundering and
oppression of my native land_.
The Roman Catholic priest is debarred by celibacy from the family tie,
bound by his vow of blind obedience, by the tenets of his faith, as well
as by external interest, to the Bishop of Rome, and thus withdrawn and
estranged from the interests of his fatherland. Instead of awakening and
strengthening patriotism and community of feeling, the Catholic priest,
as teacher of the people, is engaged, by the statutes of his Church,
_to stifle both_. History abounds with proofs of the truth of this
assertion, with instances in which their fatherland, and the most sacred
interests of their country have been betrayed, by bishops and priests,
to the Roman Pontiff. But we dare not stop to consider the past; every
day bears striking testimony that the priesthood strives with might and
main, again to bring the German nation under the tyranny of the Pope and
of the Jesuits. Hundreds, truly, of the priests are not aware of this;
but what a load of guilt should _I_ incur, were I to lend myself to the
work of degrading and subjecting my fellow-countrymen,--of delivering my
fatherland over to the Jesuits and the Pope! On the contrary, it is my
bounden duty to contend against the despotism of Rome, and to lend a
hand in working out the emancipation of my native country. These are
the arguments which render it incumbent upon me--on all of us--to fight
against the Hierarchy, and strive to bring about such an improvement
and a reformation in the Church, as shall satisfy the requirement of the
times.
A thorough reformation of the Church, it appeared to me, could only be
brought about by General Councils,* in which laymen should bear their
legitimate part; and I determined to lay down my views in writing on
this subject, together with a sketch of the Romish abuses, which I
expected to have ready by the autumn of 1843. The necessity for such a
step was the more impressed upon my mind, the more I saw increasing
the violence and lordliness of the High-Church and Jesuitical party
throughout Germany, and particularly in Silesia, under Dr. Bitter, who
was at that time Vicar of the Bishopric. Dr. Bitter disposed and managed
all things to his own heart's content. Such curates and chaplains as
did not please him were most unceremoniously deposed, translated,
imprisoned, admonished in letters couched in Russian terms, and dealt
with as suited his humour. Thus was Mr. Beer, the curate of Brieg,
translated in defiance of his people's wish to retain him; Mr. Schotte
was degraded to the lower office of chaplain, and Mr. Weiser,
the chaplain, on a mere calumnious charge, without examination or
opportunity of defence, ordered to the Seminary for punishment. These
were men of unblemished reputation, their only fault being that they
were not sufficiently abject and Romish. But Dr. Bitter rained and
hailed on right and wrong, and enacted the part of Providence in the
diocese of Breslau.
* Even in the Seminary I spoke to several of my quondam
friends, of the necessity of General Councils. Some of them
have probably forgotten now, what then they acknowledged to
be needed.
The inferior clergy, who besides had few or no privileges in comparison
with their superiors, were really most arbitrarily dealt with. A feeling
came over us at that time, as if the days of club-law were at hand. In
some places, as in Brieg and Ziegenhals, it really came to violence. But
Ritter's creatures _rose_, and managed in the spirit of their master.
He, in the fulness of his power, issued an interdict against mixed
marriages, at once dishonouring to us, and injurious to chastity; he
commanded that the old Silesian ritual, which probably dates from the
time of trials for witchcraft,* (it contains at least much of the same
stuff,) should again be brought into universal use, because he learned
that some curates no longer employed it.** Neither did the Seminary
escape him; he ordered the pupils never to mix with their fellow-men
except in clerical costume, (probably for the sake of exemplifying
neighbourly and brotherly love,) and enjoined it with suitable
earnestness. Bigotry and fanaticism increased still more and more
among the young and newly-appointed chaplains, and the old experienced
ministers saw themselves all at once outdone in piety.
* This expression is not too severe; for according to the
Silesian ritual, in baptism, for instance, the Devil is
three times driven ont of the innocent little child. At the
consecrating of Holy Water, and at other consecrations, in
like manner, a number of exorcisms are employed.
** At the same time, indeed, he promised a new one, which,
however, after a lapse of three years, has not yet appeared.
Numerous rosary associations and prayer-meetings were established.
Schneeweiss, the professor of divinity, instituted such meetings in
Neisse, and introduced rosary-books from Bavaria, which, pandering
to the grossest materialism and sensuous worship, manifest the most
horrible Jesuitism. The members paid weekly two silver groschen, which
money, with that realized by the books, was reported to find its
way into the coffers of the Jesuits in Bavaria. Herr Schneeweiss is
generally considered in Neisse to be a Jesuit. The pupils at the High
School were compelled to join these associations.
Similar reunions were established in other places, among which
that under pastor Schaffraneck, at Beuthen, in Upper Silesia, was
distinguished. Thus were we placed by Dr. Hitter, the _quondam_
Hermesian,* quite on the ecclesiastical war establishment of the middle
ages. Nothing now was wanting to Dr. Ritter, except monasteries and
convents, for which pious mites were already beginning to be collected,
and the bishop's mitre of Breslau. He lost his point, however; for Mr.
Knauer, a mild and humane priest, was chosen. Now commenced a general
intrigue among the High Church party. Mr. Knauer was complained of at
Rome as incapable; Rome, therefore, hesitated for a year to confirm
the appointment, during which time the agitation and disturbance in
the diocese increased. Citizens and honest Churchmen in the province
complained loudly of this bad state of matters; but neither the
incorporation of burgesses, (who, to be sure, have no voice in matters
affecting the good of their souls, or regarding their clergy,) nor
a single pastor, deemed it incumbent on them to oppose the tide of
disorder and of bigotry. Aroused by the disgrace of our increasingly
gloomy prospects, and excited by the shamelessness of the creatures of
Rome, as well as by the intrigues in regard to the bishopric of Breslau,
which were daily coming to our ears, I resolved, although I had never
yet written for publication, to attack the scandals which issued from
the chapter of Breslau, and wrote the paper entitled, 'Rome and the
Chapter of Breslau signed 'A Chaplain.'
* Disciples of Professor Hermes, formerly of Bonn.
[This article appeared in No; 135 of the "Vaterlands-blatter," of the
year 1842, and runs thus:--
"ROME AND THE CHAPTER OF BRESLAU.
"Although a year has already elapsed since Prebend Knauer was chosen
Bishop by the Chapter of Breslau, the appointment has not yet been
confirmed at Rome, notwithstanding that the diocese has been two years
without a bishop, and that other bishops, much more lately chosen, have
been confirmed long ago. The circumstance excites, however, no surprise;
for Knauer is a moderate, and humane, perhaps even a liberal-minded man.
And yet it is somewhat strange that the Chapter of Breslau should submit
so patiently to see its own and Knauer's honour so abused by Rome, and
the rights of the diocese so disregarded! To object to this, that the
Pope considers Knauer unfit for his office, were absurd. How should
the Pope know aught about it, unless from informers, (his divine
qualifications being now no longer admitted,) since the Chapter, by its
choice, has declared him to be fit, and since it cannot be supposed that
a college of venerable men would elect as bishop an unsuitable person,
merely for the sake of appearances--not to advert to the influence of
the Holy Spirit, whose efficacy would thus have been unrecognized in the
election! But how can the Pope have more faith and confidence in a few
pitiful informers, than in a whole college of men upon oath? How can he
place these men in such an equivocal light before the eyes of the world,
and so impede their usefulness in the diocese! Should this, however,
happen, will not the Chapter incur a moral obligation, to vindicate
its own and Knauer's honour, as well as to preserve the rights of the
diocese? Hitherto the Chapter of Breslau has been silent. Is this
from meekness? No one recognises in this silence an act of Christian
forbearance, but somewhat very different! Of course, the people have
learnt in the catechism, 'The Church is the community of all Christians,
not the Pope.' People have strange notions in our day, especially about
Church and State, freedom and the rights of man! All would fain have
freedom and their rights, and, as they say, their warrant is in the
Bible!
"It will here be objected, however, that the Pope, having the right of
confirming, has, consequently, also the right to refuse confirmation.
Let us cast all else aside, even reason and honour, and consider the
matter from the point of view of historical right, acquired by force.
The Pope, then, has the right to confirm the bishop, consequently also
to refuse confirmation; but the Chapter, in like manner, has the right
of choosing, and, consequently, of not choosing--perhaps even the right
of refusing admission to a bishop not elected by themselves. It is not
difficult to determine whether Rome or the Chapter of Breslau would fare
the worst in such a contest.
"Or may not the informers, who throw suspicion on the sentiments and
fitness of Knauer, perhaps be members of the Chapter; and the Italians,
presuming on their want of unity, venture to enact in Germany a part
they have not dared for long? The silence of the Chapter and the
impudence of Rome are scarcely capable of any other explanation. Should
it indeed be so, and should individual members of the Chapter have
sacrificed the welfare, the rights and privileges of the diocese, to
their private ambition, their jealousy, or to other interests, and thus
have made a level road for the Italians again to enter Germany, then
would we call upon these men, who bear rule in the diocese, and whose
part it is to promote our welfare, and to protect our rights and
liberties, to vindicate their trust, if they do not wish to incur the
reproach of want of principle, and dereliction of their duty.
"Are those days to return, in which it was necessary to send gold-laden
cavalcades to Rome, in order to become a bishop? If so, the Canons of
Breslau would have but faint chance of a mitre. It is very remarkable
what the Italians have of late demanded of us Germans. We are commanded
to pray that the Spaniards may return to their old ecclesiastical
bondage! Who have been the leaders of this bloody drama? Perhaps the
disobedient people? Espartero, and such like! We know in Germany, and
almost every school-boy knows it, that, next to the tyranny of royalty,
the bloody slaughtering of this fine people has been for the most part
occasioned by the licentious, lazy, Rome-subjected priesthood! We also
know that the French Revolution was not occasioned by Danton, Camille
Desmoulins, and others of their stamp; but by the tyranny of Louis XIV.,
the profligacy of Louis XV., aided by the shameless excesses of the
court nobility, lay and clerical. No less are we aware that the Thirty
Years' War was not caused by Luther and Melancthon, but had been
hatching for centuries by Rome and the lay and clerical nobility of
Germany. It is, indeed, most necessary that we pray for ourselves and
for the Spaniards, but it shall be for the freedom and independence
of ourselves and them--in union with which alone can true religion and
morality exist--and not for slavery and dependence, which can at best
engender dissimulation and hypocrisy.
"A Chaplain."]
Well did I know that I was subscribing my own sentence; and yet, on
closer consideration, I could not believe that the Hierarchy, or Church
as it is called, would treat both truth and justice with such open
scorn as I found that it could, through Dr. Ritter and the vicar-ship of
Breslau.
About six weeks after the appearance of the article, I received a note
from Dr. Ritter,* in which he called upon me to tell him, on my priestly
word of honour, whether I were the author of the article, "Rome and
the Chapter of Breslau," or had taken any part in the drawing up or
despatching of it. Dr. Ritter, the vicar of the bishopric, a priest,
nearly sixty years of age, with grey hair, dared to call me to account
for speaking the truth!--me, who, as a priest and proclaimer of the
truth, had lately been sent into the world with the commission, "to
speak the truth without fear of man,"--Dr. Ritter, who himself had sent
me forth, ventured to call me to account for doing so! And is religion
thus to be turned to mockery and reproach! Should I not speak the
truth? or had I not spoken the truth? I had written down that the Romish
priesthood were preeminently the cause of the German Thirty Years'
War, and of the Revolutions in France and Spain. Are these not facts of
historical notoriety, contained in every manual, and should I not
dare to write them? I had also asserted that the calumnies and want
of unanimity among the candidates for the bishopric, were probably the
reasons for the Pope daring so long to delay the confirmation of Bishop
Knauer, and keeping the diocese in confusion. The divisions and quarrels
of the candidates for the bishop's mitre were known to all the diocese,
and also _who_ had principally contributed to the retiring of the humane
Bishop Sedlinitzky--much indignation was felt at the discord occasioned
by clerical ambition; and I, forsooth, should not give utterance to the
opinions of my fellow-citizens and colleagues! Dr. Ritter, then, placed
falsehood and hypocrisy on the altar, and desired that I should honour
them, in calling me to a reckoning for my truthfulness.
* DR. RITTER'S DECREE.
"Public opinion points to you as the author of the article
entitled "Rome and the Chapter of Breslau," and signed "A
Chaplain," in No. 135 of the Saxon Vaterlands-blatter. I
hereby require you, on your word of honour as a priest,
distinctly to declare, by return of post, whether you are
the author of the above-named article, or the sender of it,
or, in fact, whether you had any share in the drawing up or
despatching of the same.
"Ritter,
"Canonical Vicar and General Administrator of the
Diocese,
"Breslau, December 20, 1842."
Had I given vent in words to my first angry feelings,--had I not allowed
some weight to the existing relations between the higher and inferior
clergy,--had I not, in short, considered the situation of my orphan
sisters--Dr. Ritter would indeed have received a very different reply
from that, which, after the exercise of much self-control, I sent him.
After calm reflection and consultation with a man of experience, I
came to the resolution, that as I had written in the name of my
fellow-citizens and colleagues, I ought not to make any concession
prejudicial to their rights, and must rely for protection on the laws.
According to the laws of Prussia, the name of an author can only be
required, and that by the courts of law, when his writings contain
matter of a libellous or seditious nature. If this law be not applicable
to one of the inferior clergy, it follows that he dares not give
utterance to any assertion or opinion which may be distasteful to his
superiors (were it the most undeniable truth,) without being deprived of
his situation. But who would willingly at once give up his place? Were
governments to proceed after the fashion of Dr. Ritter, or the Church,
no commissioned-officer would dare to notice an abuse, without running
the risk of being examined and cashiered by his superiors.
Dr. Ritter had no right to take me to task, since by so doing, he
interfered with the privileges and the duties of the whole body
of inferior clergy, in calling me to account, by his inquisitorial
questions, for a simple expression of opinion. I dared not accede to
his demands without injuring religion and my colleagues. Or has the
so-called inferior priest, perhaps, no right to tell the truth? or to
tell it without placing his situation in jeopardy! Is the so-called
inferior priest not under the protection of the laws of his native
country? and are the superior clergy perhaps the only, and the
infallible pillars of the truth? With a due regard to my good cause, and
my defenceless condition, compared with that of an unfettered opponent,
I gave the short reply--"that my conscience forbade me to satisfy such
queries." The Papists and priestlike blockheads always turn the darkest
side, and so they did in my case. Dr. Ritter and his Popish allies
would gladly have attributed to me falsehood and cowardice, and pointed
triumphantly to these words, as well as to other disconnected passages,
in order thereby to lower me in the eyes of my fellow-citizens, but in
vain. That I desired to save my place, as was asserted, by cowardice and
falsehood, I have practically refuted, by demitting my office, braving
poverty and want, although it would have been very easy for me, by
falsehood or retractation, to have escaped from the suspension.*
* See the Vicarial document of February 184 3. The letters
of Mr. Schneeweiss, and the conference with the Prebend F.
at the Episcopal audience.