[1] Another old word occasionally used in the sense of an index is
"pye." Sir T. Duffus Hardy, in some observations on the derivation of
the word "Pye-Book" (which most probably comes from the Latin
_pica_), remarks that the earliest use he had noted of pye in this
sense is dated 1547--"a Pye of all the names of such Balives as been
to accompte pro anno regni regis Edwardi Sexti primo."
INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM, the title of the official list of those
books which on doctrinal or moral grounds the Roman Catholic Church
authoritatively forbids the members of her communion to read or to
possess, irrespective of works forbidden by the general rules on the
subject. Most governments, whether civil or ecclesiastical, have at all
times in one way or another acted on the general principle that some
control may and ought to be exercised over the literature circulated
among those under their jurisdiction. If we set aside the heretical
books condemned by the early councils, the earliest known instance of a
list of proscribed books being issued with the authority of a bishop of
Rome is the _Notitia librorum apocryphorum qui non recipiuntur_, the
first redaction of which, by Pope Gelasius (494), was subsequently
amplified on several occasions. The document is for the most part an
enumeration of such apocryphal works as by their titles might be
supposed to be part of Holy Scripture (the "Acts" of Philip, Thomas and
Peter, and the Gospels of Thaddaeus, Matthias, Peter, James the Less and
others).[1] Subsequent pontiffs continued to exhort the episcopate and
the whole body of the faithful to be on their guard against heretical
writings, whether old or new; and one of the functions of the
Inquisition when it was established was to exercise a rigid censorship
over books put in circulation. The majority of the condemnations were at
that time of a specially theological character. With the discovery of
the art of printing, and the wide and cheap diffusion of all sorts of
books which ensued, the need for new precautions against heresy and
immorality in literature made itself felt, and more than one pope
(Sixtus IV. in 1479 and Alexander VI. in 1501) gave special directions
to the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, Trier and Magdeburg regarding the
growing abuses of the printing press; in 1515 the Lateran council
formulated the decree _De Impressione Librorum_, which required that no
work should be printed without previous examination by the proper
ecclesiastical authority, the penalty of unlicensed printing being
excommunication of the culprit, and confiscation and destruction of the
books. The council of Trent in its fourth session, 8th April 1546,
forbade the sale or possession of any anonymous religious book which had
not previously been seen and approved by the ordinary; in the same year
the university of Louvain, at the command of Charles V., prepared an
"Index" of pernicious and forbidden books, a second edition of which
appeared in 1550. In 1557, and again in 1559, Pope Paul IV., through the
Inquisition at Rome, published what may be regarded as the first Roman
Index in the modern ecclesiastical use of that term (_Index auctorum et
librorum qui tanquam haeretici aut suspecti aut perversi ab Officio S.
R. Inquisitionis reprobantur et in universa Christiana republica
interdicuntur_). In this we find the three classes which were to be
maintained in the Trent Index: authors condemned with all their
writings; prohibited books, the authors of which are known; pernicious
books by anonymous authors. An excessively severe general condemnation
was applied to all anonymous books published since 1519; and a list of
sixty-two printers of heretical books was appended. This excessive
rigour was mitigated in 1561. At the 18th session of the council of
Trent (26th February 1562), in consideration of the great increase in
the number of suspect and pernicious books, and also of the inefficacy
of the many previous "censures" which had proceeded from the provinces
and from Rome itself, eighteen fathers with a certain number of
theologians were appointed to inquire into these "censures," and to
consider what ought to be done in the circumstances. At the 25th session
(4th December 1563) this committee of the council was reported to have
completed its work, but as the subject did not seem (on account of the
great number and variety of the books) to admit of being properly
discussed by the council, the result of its labours was handed over to
the pope (Pius IV.) to deal with as he should think proper. In the
following March accordingly were published, with papal approval, the
_Index librorum prohibitorum_, which continued to be reprinted and
brought down to date, and the "Ten Rules" which, supplemented and
explained by Clement VIII., Sixtus V., Alexander VII., and finally by
Benedict XIV. (10th July 1753), regulated the matter until the
pontificate of Leo XIII. The business of condemning pernicious books and
of correcting the Index to date has been since the time of Pope Sixtus
V. in the hands of the "Congregation of the Index," which consists of
several cardinals, one of whom is the prefect, and more or less numerous
"consultors" and "examiners of books." An attempt has been made to
publish separately the _Index Librorum Expurgandorum or Expurgatorius_,
a catalogue of the works which may be read after the deletion or
amending of specified passages; but this was soon abandoned.
With the alteration of social conditions, however, the Rules of Trent
ceased to be entirely applicable. Their application to publications
which had no concern with morals or religion was no longer conceivable;
and, finally, the penalties called for modification. Already, at the
Vatican Council, several bishops had submitted requests for a reform of
the Index, but the Council was not able to deal with the question. The
reform was accomplished by Leo XIII., who, on the 25th of January 1897,
published the constitution _Officiorum_, in 49 articles. In this
constitution, although the writings of heretics in support of heresy are
condemned as before (No. 1), those of their books which contain nothing
against Catholic doctrine or which treat other subjects are permitted
(Nos. 2-3). Editions of the text of the Scriptures are permitted for
purposes of study; translations of the Bible into the vulgar tongue have
to be approved, while those published by non-Catholics are permitted for
the use of scholars (Nos. 5-8). Obscene books are forbidden; the
classics, however, are authorized for educational purposes (Nos. 9-10).
Articles 11-14 forbid books which outrage God and sacred things, books
which propagate magic and superstition, and books which are pernicious
to society. The ecclesiastical laws relating to sacred images, to
indulgences, and to liturgical books and books of devotion are
maintained (Nos. 15-20). Articles 21-22 condemn immoral and irreligious
newspapers, and forbid writers to contribute to them. Articles 23-26
deal with permissions to read prohibited books; these are given by the
bishop in particular cases, and in the ordinary course by the
Congregation of the Index. In the second part of the constitution the
pope deals with the censorship of books. After indicating the official
publications for which the authorization of the divers Roman
congregations is required, he goes on to say that the others are
amenable to the ordinary of the editor and, in the case of regulars, to
their superior (Nos. 30-37). The examination of the books is entrusted
to censors, who have to study them without prejudice; if their report is
favourable, the bishop gives the _imprimatur_ (Nos. 38-40). All books
concerned with the religious sciences and with ethics are submitted to
preliminary censorship, and in addition to this ecclesiastics have to
obtain a personal authorization for all their books and for the
acceptance of the editorship of a periodical (Nos. 41-42). The penalty
of excommunication _ipso facto_ is only maintained for reading books
written by heretics or apostates in defence of heresy, or books
condemned by name under pain of excommunication by pontifical letters
(not by decrees of the Index). By the same constitution Leo XIII.
ordered the revision of the catalogue of the Index. The new Index, which
omits works anterior to 1600 as well as a great number of others
included in the old catalogue, appeared in 1900. The encyclical
_Pascendi_ of Pius X. (8th September 1907) made it obligatory for
periodicals amenable to the ecclesiastical authority to be submitted to
a censor, who subsequently makes useful observations. The legislation of
Leo XIII. resulted in the better observance of the rules for the
publication of books, but apparently did not modify the practice as
regards the reading of prohibited books. It is to be regretted that the
catalogue does not discriminate among the prohibited works according to
the motive of their condemnation and the danger ascribed to reading
them. The tendency of the practice among Catholics at large is to reduce
these condemnations to the proportions of the moral law.
See H. Reusch, _Der Index der verbotenen Bücher_ (Bonn, 1883); A.
Arndt, _De Libris prohibitis commentarii_ (Ratisbon, 1895); A.
Boudinhon, _La Nouvelle Législation de l'index_ (Paris, 1899); J.
Hilgers, _Der Index der verbotenen Bücher_ (Freiburg in B., 1904); A.
Vermeersch, _De prohibitione et censura librorum_ (Tournai, 1907); T.
Hurley, _Commentary on the Present Index Legislation_ (Dublin, 1908).
(A. Bo.*)