172 In the greater part of the country‐places the popes have not been in
any seminary at all. They have been taught to read and write, to
make themselves acquainted with the ceremonies of the church and the
regulations of the czars, and then they have been ordained priests.
173 Mgr. Eugenius, _Historical Dictionary of the Ecclesiastical Writers
of the Græco‐Russian Church who have lived in Russia_. (In Russian)
St. Petersburg, 2d. ed., 1827.
174 We are so far from objecting to the exercise of censure upon
writings which treat upon religious matters that, in a note to the
_Réglement Ecclésiastique_ (p. 178), we in some sort express a
desire for it, even with regard to what is uttered in the pulpit.
Only we require as a condition that this censure should be exercised
by a _competent authority_. Now, in Russia it is no longer the
bishops, but the state, which, not as protector, but as lord and
master of the church, rules and measures the manifestation of
religious thought. It is against this illegitimate censure that we
contend. Very far removed is the sentiment which bows its head
before the religious autocracy of the czars from the submission of
the Catholic, who bows before the church _because he owns in her a
divine authority_. The submission of the Catholic is that which is
due to the truth and to God. It elevates and ennobles.
175 We could mention cases in which the pope who wishes to speak to his
bishop must fall on his knees at the door, even, of the room, and
drag himself along thus to the prelate, to whom he must only speak
kneeling.
176 _Statuti Generali ed altri documenti dei Framassoni pubblicati per
la prima volta con note dichiarative._ Roma: 1874.
_Rituali Massonici del primo e del trentesimo grado detti di
Apprendista e di Cavaliere Kadosh, per la prima volta pubblicati e
commentati._ Roma: 1874.
177 The French Reformers were reproached for inserting this article, but
it is found in the statutes of the Scottish Rite printed at Naples,
the centre of Italian orthodoxy. Perhaps it was left an innocuous
relic of bygone servitude, when royal Freemasons insisted on
fettering the craft with this clause. But its value was as well
understood then as now.
178 It is also explained, but not at this stage, that the invocation of
S. John as patron of the lodges is a deception, _Janus_ being the
real protector.
179 A living member of the French Academy, famous for his anti‐Christian
writings, on his admission to this grade, struck the Pontifical mask
with such violence that the poniard broke and wounded his hand,
which he carried bandaged for some time after.