general character of the country people, rather than of the
inhabitants of the metropolis. We have spent several months, at
various times, in more than one Italian village, and have been greatly
edified by the simplicity and piety of the people. They were
guiltless, for the most part, of any political knowledge even as to
the affairs of their own country; and as to any other country beside
their own, it was as far removed from their ordinary range of thoughts
as Mars, Venus, and Saturn still are from the thoughts of our own
peasantry. They rose early and worked hard; still, as M. About is
obliged to acknowledge, one cannot say of them--"as of the Irish, for
example," says M. About--"that they are miserable. They are poor, and
that is all. The fact that their religion, their schooling, and their
medical attendance costs them nothing, compensates to a certain degree
for the heavy taxation they suffer in other ways. Their labor in the
fields keeps them alive till old age. _They pass their life in earning
their livelihood._ {329} The existence of this class resembles a
vicious circle." No doubt it does to those whose view of things is
limited to this world, and who cannot recognize any end or reward of
the suffering of this life beyond it. But the Romans, as he himself
acknowledges, "know how to die. This is a trait in their character
which justice obliges us to recognize. They die as they eat, or drink,
or sleep--quite naturally, simply, and as a matter of course. This
resignation is to be explained by their hopes of a life of happiness
in an ideal world hereafter, and by the continual admonitions of a
religion which teaches that all men must die." In other words, the
Roman peasantry believe the Gospel; and so they accept with patience
the primeval burden laid upon fallen man--"In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou
wast taken." And for this they earn the contemptuous pity of the
enlightened Frenchman. We accept his testimony, whilst we disclaim his
commentary and detest his spirit. We think he speaks truly when he
seizes on this characteristic of the Roman popular mind--familiarity
with the idea of death. We know of no people to whom this and other
truths of the faith seem to be more habitually present. It gives a
color and a tone to their ordinary conversation, even where it does
not bring forth fruits of sanctity. We have ourselves heard of a Roman
lady reconciling herself to a marriage which was proposed to her, and
which in some respects was not inviting, simply by a consideration of
the piety of the intended bridegroom; but this consideration found
expression in a truly Roman way, quite in keeping with what M. About
has observed about them. "He is not lively, I know," said the lady,
"nor handsome, nor clever, but he is pious, and _will make a good
end._" And in a charming little book lately published ("Sanctity in
Home Life") we see another Italian lady, the Countess Medolago,
confiding to a friend her only idea of her future husband much in the
same spirit: "All that I know is that he is pious and very fond of the
Jesuits."
THE POLITICS OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE.
The facts we have adduced, the pictures we have drawn--or rather which
M. About, a bitter enemy of the Papal power, has drawn--of the
condition of the Roman people, ought, one would think, to have great
weight with those who have any real care for the well-being of a
nation. A man must be firmly wedded indeed to some political crotchet,
who is ready to risk the loss of such advantages as these in exchange
for the realization of his dreams. But in truth it is the hatred of
Catholicism, rather than the love of any political principle, which
lies at the root of most of the declamation we hear against the abuses
of the Papal government. Why is it else that those gentlemen who
profess so lively a concern that the political liberties of three
millions of Italians should suffer some abridgment for the sake of
upholding the Father of Christendom in the independent exercise of his
spiritual power, are yet able to bear with the utmost equanimity the
sight of real cruelty and oppression inflicted upon ten millions of
Christians in European Turkey? The balance of political power among
the different European governments is of more value in their eyes than
the spiritual supremacy of the Pope; peace, commerce, and wealth
depend on the one, only virtue and religion on the other.
But let us come now to the political question, and see how it really
stands. It has been often and truly said, that the temporal
sovereignty of the Pope rests on more legitimate foundations than any
other European sovereignty of the day. Long possession, to be measured
not by generations but by centuries; donations from other powers; the
free choice of the people, all combine to impart to the chair of Peter
a dignity and a solidity which does not belong to any other throne.
{330} And if it be objected that, however this may have been in times
past, yet now, at least, the consent of the people is wanting, without
which the modern creed of nations will not allow any power to be
secure, we must answer, what has been proved to demonstration, and
what every one at all conversant with the facts of the case well knows
to be true: that it is not in Rome and among Romans that plots have
been hatched against the Pontifical government; a portion of the
people, the discontented, of whom there must ever be some under every
government, have only lent themselves to the execution of plots
conceived and planned in the secret societies or clubs, or even the
ministerial chambers, of Turin and Genoa. Strangers have always been
at the head of every Roman revolution, adventurers who find their
fortunes in troubled waters, or fanatical politicians, who cannot
endure that any one should be happy, excepting according to their own
receipt. So long as English politicians encourage agitation by their
presence in the country and frequent communications with disaffected
parties in it, or by lending their names and their houses as the
medium of correspondence or of banking transactions between the
conspirators, or by delivering sensational speeches in the house; so
long will the Roman mind be more or less agitated; so long as Piedmont
can send her emissaries into all the towns and villages, distributing
money as the reward of acquiescence in her schemes, conspirators, even
among the Romans themselves, will not be wanting; but if all these
things could be removed, and the question were left to the settlement
of the people themselves, we should have no fear of the result.
Whenever the Popes have been driven out of Rome, the people have
hailed their return with universal acclamations of joy, and already we
are told the short experience of the blessings of Piedmontese rule
which the Legations have enjoyed has sufficed to make them regret the
change. The increase of taxes and the military conscription are a
price higher than they are willing to pay for the _name_ of liberty
under the yoke of Victor Emmanuel. We believe that the following
account of the political creed of the great majority of the Pope's
subjects is as accurate as it is moderate. We are indebted for it to a
French ecclesiastic, who has most gratefully followed M. About through
all his misstatements, and published a complete refutation of them. He
tells us that most Romans are of opinion that people may be happy or
miserable under _any_ form of government, according to the way in
which it is administered; that a government of _some_ kind there must
be; or disorder would be universal; and that the Pope being at the
head of the Roman government, is the cause of many advantages: it
attracts princes and other wealthy foreigners to Rome; sometimes
seventy, eighty, or even ninety thousand strangers at a time; it saves
them from the scourge of war; the operations of commerce, if not so
extensive as in some other capitals, are at least more secure and
stable; there is no financial crisis or panic in the money market
returning at periodical intervals, and spreading ruin and desolation
through innumerable families; industry and good conduct, crowned by
success in business, open the way to the possession of estates and
titles; the ranks of the privileged class itself, so to call it--the
clergy--are open to all comers; the great majority of lucrative
offices about the court, prelacies, bishoprics, judgeships, etc., are
given to members of the middle class, no less than three-fourths of
the cardinals (including Cardinal Antonelli himself) having been
chosen from among them; that ninety-nine out of every hundred holding
office under government are laymen; that not more than 100 priests
altogether are employed in the administration of secular affairs; and
that among officials of the same rank, a layman always receives higher
pay than an ecclesiastic; that even in {331} offices which, as having
to deal with matters of religion, might seem fairly to belong to
ecclesiastics alone, two-thirds of the posts are filled by laymen, and
the salaries are divided in about the same proportion; that the Popes,
haying no families of their own, are always spending their private
fortunes on public works for the good of the country, or on the
rebuilding and decoration of churches, to the great encouragement of
the fine arts, and the support of innumerable families; or, finally,
on schools and hospitals, and other works of charity. They know, too,
that, thanks to this liberality, the education of their children need
cost them nothing; that schools of all kinds are more numerous (in
proportion to the population) in Rome than in any other European
capital, and these not only schools of primary instruction for the
children of the poor, containing about 17,000 scholars, of both sexes,
but also for the middle and upper classes, 3,000 of whom receive here
an education fitted to qualify them for any profession they may
prefer, quite gratuitously.
This we believe to be a very fair account of the state of feeling on
political matters among the majority of the Roman people; and if it is
not satisfactory to our modern liberals, because it ignores all their
bright theories and is content to forego the blessings of
representative governments and triennial parliaments, we cannot help
it. We think there is an intimate conviction in most Roman minds that
God's honor and glory, and man's truest happiness, are more earnestly
sought for and more fully attained in that city than elsewhere; and
that this conviction both does, and ought to, reconcile them to any
political disadvantages which such a state of things may entail, as
Mons. Veuillot has well said.
Elsewhere, man is considered primarily as a power; in Rome, he is
primarily a soul. At Rome, the public manners, following more nearly
the august guidance of the Church, have more frequently and more
closely than elsewhere approached the divine ideal of the gospel. I
know what cruel ravages have been wrought by long and wicked
agitations, begun and fostered from without; I know that every people
has its dregs, its populace; but I know also that at Rome this very
populace is not without faith, and I know, too, what solid Christian
virtues adorn the true Roman hearth. Rarely or never do twenty years
roll by without Rome giving to the world one of those heroes who
devote themselves to the love of God and of souls with the triumphant
energy of sanctity. Blest and encouraged by the Popes, these chosen
ones have always left disciples to prolong, as it were, their own
existence, and works which have not perished. And the enlightened
Christian conscience, despising the empty boasts of ignorant pride,
will always assign the first place among nations to that which best
preserves the faith and produces the greatest number of saints.
We are well aware that this test of national greatness would find no
favor in the ears of an English Parliament, but we are foolish enough
to think that there may be truth in it for all that.
{332}
Translated from the German.
MALINES AND WÜRZBURG.
A SKETCH OF THE CATHOLIC CONGRESSES HELD AT MALINES AND WÜRZBURG.
BY ANDREW NIEDERMASSER.
CHAPTER III.
SCIENCE AND THE PRESS.
In the Belgian congress the section of science and the press does not
treat of the same subjects that occupy the attention of that section
in the Catholic conventions in Germany. At Malines Christian
instruction and education are the principal questions debated; in
Germany, on the other hand, the university question is the chief
subject of discussion; at Malines it is slimly attended; at Würzburg,
Frankfort, etc., on the contrary, there was a crowded attendance, and
the proceedings were of the most interesting character. At Malines
forty-five Catholic journalists met and passed important resolutions;
at Würzburg, more than sixty representatives of German science held a
separate conference and drew up an address to the Holy Father. Even
the meeting of literati held at Munich may be called the offspring of
the Catholic general conventions. At Munich, in 1861, Professor
Michaelis proposed a scheme planned by Döllinger for a meeting of the
German savans, which was rejected. Hereupon the project was somewhat
changed and a separate meeting held at Munich. Its results are well
known.
The principal debaters in this section of the Malines congress were
the genial and venerable Count de Villeneuve, Lenormant the daring
traveller, Lecheoni, Soudan, Léger, du Clisieux, Ducpetiaux, Chopinet,
Soenens, Baeten, and Decoster. The presiding officer was Namèche, of
Louvain, who, together with de Ram, Lanny, Delcour, Laforêt, and Perin
worthily represented the university at Louvain. His neighbor was van
der Haeghen, of Brussels, a writer whose name is well known, not only
in Belgium but in foreign countries. Though an excellent linguist, he
deems it his first duty to refute historical misstatements and to
expose without mercy the errors of modern Protestant historians. As
Onno Klopp unsparingly demolishes German scribblers, so van der
Haeghen puts down the Belgian dabblers in history. He is intimately
acquainted with German literature.
The subjects that occupied the attention of the section were popular
instruction, the classics as a means of mental training, the
establishment of professorships on social questions and discipline.
On popular instruction Monseigneur Dupanloup delivered a discourse,
which was the event of the congress, and which has since been read by
all Europe. Count Desbassayns de Richemout, of Paris, an orator
favorably known in Germany as the spirited advocate of a Catholic
university, spoke on the mental activity of society. In the Romanic
world the name of Dupanloup acts like a charm. If a charity sermon is
to be held, which is to move and electrify Paris and all France, the
Bishop of Orleans is called upon. In 1862, when it became necessary to
give a new impetus to the Catholic cause in the East, Dupanloup was
summoned to Rome to {333} call the nations of the earth to a sense of
their duties; thousands rushed to hear him preach at the church of St.
Andrea del Galle. At Malines he met with the same success. When
Dupanloup speaks every listener glows with Catholic zeal, that becomes
more and more intense as he proceeds and finally bursts forth in a
fiery enthusiasm, whose influence reaches far and wide. Such was the
spectacle witnessed at Rome, and repeated at Paris and Malines. One of
the brightest ornaments of the French hierarchy, Dupanloup on every
occasion expresses the opinions of Catholic France with irresistible
force. No wonder, then, that even the emperor fears the bishop's
eloquence. His writings are read by all, and admired for their classic
style. As an orator, he enchants the French and Belgians; on the
Germans, however, he exerts a less powerful influence; they prefer
Montalembert, F. Hermann, or F. Felix. His discourse at Malines was
not, properly speaking, a discourse, but a familiar conversation,
grand and splendid in diction, and full of brilliant turns and telling
_jeux de mots_. The remarks made by Dupanloup on August 30, when
returning thanks for his enthusiastic reception, were a masterpiece of
eloquence, which will never be forgotten by those who listened to him.
The Bishop of Orleans is a man of the people. "I do not know much; but
what I know best and love best is the people." If Dupanloup's speech
was the brightest gem of the congress in 1864, Montalembert, in his
speech on "Religious Liberty," eclipsed all his competitors in 1863.
Montalembert's discourse lasted five hours, two hours longer than
Dupanloup's speech. Montalembert and Dupanloup are the most prominent
representatives of Catholic France. Called by God to battle for his
Church, both are leading millions of soldiers arrayed under the banner
of Christ to victory and triumphs. Montalembert, the athlete of the
tribune, hailed by Pius IX. himself as one of the bravest of the
Christian host, cherishes for the Church an ardent, pure, and holy
love. This love may sometimes carry him too far. At Malines, in 1863,
he laid down many propositions not approved by the congress. The
Cardinal of Malines, however, and the Bishop of Orleans, charitably
threw a veil over every thing objectionable, thus resolving into
perfect harmony everything discordant. Dupanloup evidently thought of
his friend Montalembert when, in his remarks on August 30, 1864, he
uttered the words: "Let us not confound opinions and principles, vital
questions and domestic difficulties; among us let there be no
differences, no disunion, no imprudence."
Count Richemont, of Paris, is a true nobleman in appearance and
bearing; his black beard adds new beauty to his handsome face and
sparkling eyes. His gestures are appropriate and graceful. He speaks
very rapidly, however, swallowing many words, so that we Germans did
not understand him well; in fact, we read his speech with more
pleasure than we listened to it. A more favorable impression was made
by Viscount Anatole Lemercier, of Paris, a man of agreeable manners, a
true Parisian, full of wit and humor, a graceful speaker, who will be
heard with pleasure by any assembly. But, great as are Lemercier's
merits, he has a dangerous rival in Henry de Riancey, who unites in
himself every quality required to become a general favorite. Among the
French journalists he is one of the ablest. In his opinions he steers
a middle course between the extreme views of Montalembert and
Veuillot, or Barrier, Faconet and Chantrel, the oracles of the
"Monde;" and "L'Union," the journal of which he is the editor,
occupies an intermediate position between "Le Monde" and "Le
Correspondant" But de Riancey's labors are not confined to his
editorial sanctum; he cherishes holy poverty, is untiring in the
practice of Christian charity, and justly deserves {334} the title of
"Father of the Poor." These holy practices give an unction to his
words, and throw a halo around his person which he does not even
suspect, but which gains for him the hearts of all that see or hear of
him. His speeches in the section of Christian economy excited great
interest, and when speaking on matters connected with the Catholic
faith he reminded us of the fathers of the Church. His discourse
before the general meeting of the congress, Sept. 12, 1864, was a gem.
He spoke as a soldier of Christ, as an heroic defender of the Church,
showing at once that he was a veteran, who had often struggled for the
triumph of principle. The future does not inspire de Riancey with
anxiety or fear; he is full of hope and confidence, believing that he
lives in an age destined to accomplish great things. He is not
discouraged by the superior power of his opponents, for he bears in
mind Christ's promise to his Church.
When speaking, a pleasant smile rests on de Riancey's lips, and his
features reflect the cheerful calmness of his soul. His friendly eyes
charm his listeners, who regret to see them fixed on his manuscript,
for de Riancey reads his speeches. If the applause of the assembly
become too long and noisy, the speaker's face beams with satisfaction,
and he gracefully passes his hand through his hair. De Riancey
fascinates the hearts of all his hearers.
It is hard to say which of the many eminent French orators at Malines
possesses most claims to our preference. Who is the greatest orator,
Count Montalembert or Bishop Dupanloup, de Riancey or Père Felix,
Viscount Lemercier, Count Richemont, Viscount de Melan, Lasserée, or
Lenormant? Each of them has excellences peculiar to himself that claim
our admiration. In like manner, among the great Italian masters,
Michael Angelo is first in grandeur of style and conception; Titian is
distinguished for the grace of his figures; Correggio for their
angelic purity; whilst Raphael merits the palm for fertility of
invention, correctness of expression, and variety. Père Felix, we have
already stated, pleased the Germans more than Bishop Dupanloup. His
concluding discourse, delivered in St Rombaut's cathedral at Malines,
Sept 3, 1864, was a philosophical review of ecclesiastical history;
the grandeur of its conception well befitted the importance of the
occasion. In appearance, F. Felix is not so majestic as F. de
Ravignan, nor has he so powerful and sonorous a voice as his
predecessor. His discourses betray less enthusiastic love of liberty
than those of F. Lacordaire, but still he is at present _the_ orator
of the day, no less than de Ravignan and Lacordaire were some years
ago. F. Lacordaire, the Dominican, addressed his words to thousands of
young men, who, carried away by the political and literary revolutions
of 1830, were frantic with ideas of liberty, who were attracted and
tormented by the "infinite," and panting for vague, undefined ideals.
This yearning Lacordaire strove to satisfy, by pointing out to them
that Christ and his Church were the realization of their indefinite
ideals, and by teaching them to sanctify liberty by devotion and
sacrifice. The vast schemes of 1830 were not carried out, and their
ideals were not realized. French society felt the vanity of its
aspirations, and was seized by a deadly lethargy, a kind of despair,
as if it had suffered shipwreck. Like so many flaming meteors F. de
Ravignan's conferences suddenly shed a stream of light on the
universal gloom. How majestic was his appearance, how sublime his
language, how ardent his faith, and how holy his life! All France
listened to the Jesuit, and seemed spell-bound. Irreligion was
banished from thousands of hearts, and thousands returned to the
practice of their religious duties and were saved. The spirit of the
age took another direction; men busied themselves exclusively with
their {335} material interests, and they thought only of money, of
steam, of machinery and other branches of industry. For many years
progress has been the watchword--material progress--which has brought
about all these wonders of modern times, which is due to human energy
alone, and which, for this very reason, deifies itself in its pride
and threatens Christianity with destruction. To combat these false
notions, God raised up F. Felix. He devoted his attention to the
popular idol, progress, but he dealt with it in his own way. In Lent,
1856, he began, in the church of Notre Dame, in Paris, his famous
conferences on "Progress by Means of Christianity." Archbishop Sibour
had blessed the orator and his subject. His success was astounding,
and henceforth F. Felix will hold an honorable place among French
pulpit orators. F. Felix is about fifty-five years of age; he has an
intelligent countenance, a noble, manly brow, betokening a deep,
penetrating mind, and a firm will. Since 1856 his voice has improved,
having gained both in compass and in sweetness. It is clear and
piercing, completely filling the immense church of Our Lady at Paris.
The two discourses delivered by F. Felix at Malines (Sept. 2 and 3,
1864) are perhaps his most finished productions. He did not call forth
any momentary burst of enthusiasm, but produced a lasting impression,
that will console and strengthen us in the struggle of life.
The university question, which has been so prominent in Germany, was
not discussed at Malines. The Belgians have had for thirty years a
Catholic university at Louvain, which they support at a great expense,
and for the maintenance of which they constantly struggle. The English
speak of establishing a Catholic college at Oxford. Canon Oakley, a
learned English convert, is working zealously to realize the plan, and
if Newman will agree to take the helm, the enterprise will prosper. We
hope the project will succeed, for English Catholics will not send
their sons to the Catholic university at Dublin, which does not
flourish, and numbers only some two hundred students. In Holland a
Catholic university is not even thought of.
The interests of the Catholic press were not neglected at Malines.
Belgium has done much to raise its character, as was shown by Count de
Theux. Since the congress of 1863 the Belgian journals--especially the
"Journal de Bruxelles"--have steadily progressed. In Belgium, small as
it is, there are fifty Catholic periodicals, some French and some
Flemish. The "Journal de Bruxelles" already rivals the Paris "Monde,"
and both are far in advance of any German journal. At Malines the
members of the press form a section of their own, in which the
principal papers are represented by their directors, editors, or
correspondents. The staff of the "Correspondant" was represented by
Count Francis de Champagny, Viscount Anatole Lemercier, and by Francis
Lenormant, the favorite of the Parisians. "Le Monde," too, had sent
its delegates; prominent among these was Hermann Kuhn, the Berlin
correspondent, who contributes valuable articles on Catholic Germany.
He appeared for the "Mayence Journal" also. We are already acquainted
with de Riancey, the editor of "L'Union." The director of "La Patrie,"
published in Bruges, Neut, was president of the section. Although I
earnestly desired to form the personal acquaintance of M. Neut,
circumstances prevented it; but he appeared to be the leading spirit
of the section. Affable and obliging, lively and ardent, he is a
flowing speaker, well fitted to take the lead, and a bold,
uncompromising Catholic, without a trace of fogyism. To see him is to
love him. He is a man of great practical ability, and writes a popular
style resembling that of Ernest Zander, of Munich. Like Zander he has
grown grey in journalism. The vice-presidents of the section were
Count Celestinè de Martini, {336} director of the "Journal de
Bruxelles;" Leon Lavedan, who writes for the "Gazette de France;" and
Lasserre, editor of the "Contemporain," well known in Germany as a
controversial writer. Lebrocquoi, editor of "La Voix du Luxembourg,"
acted as secretary. Digard of Paris took an active part in the
discussions of the section. Spain was represented by Enrique de
Villaroya and Eduardo Maria de Villarrazza; Portugal by Don Almeida.
The Abbé de Chelen and F. Terwecoren also deserve mention. Verspeyen,
editor of "Le Bien Public," at Ghent, is one of the youngest and most
spirited journalists in Belgium. He is a good speaker, very sarcastic
and impressive. On his recommendation Casoni, of Bologna, who has been
shamefully persecuted by the Sardinians, received a heavy subsidy from
the Malines congress. Lemmens, a very clever man, is associated with
Verspeyen in the editorship of "Le Bien Public," which compares with
the "Journal de Bruxelles" in the same way as "Le Monde" and the
"Weekly Register" compare with "Le Correspondant" and "The Home and
Foreign Review." De Haulleville, formerly editor of the "Universel,"
and at present connected with the "Correspondant," is one of the best
Belgian writers. He is not only a journalist, but also a thorough
historian, well versed in German literature. I must not forget to
mention Demarteau, the editor of the "Liege Journal;" A. Coomans, an
able speaker, who represented the "Antwerp Journal," and Frappier, the
editor of "L'Ami de l'Ordre." Among the English journalists the most
prominent were Simpson, a friend of Sir John Acton, who wrote for the
"Rambler" and "Home and Foreign Review," and Wigley, editor of the
"Weekly Register," who writes for the "Monde" also, a worthy rival of
Coquille, Faconet, Leon Pagès, Kuhn, La Tour, d'Aignan, and H.
Vrignault. Among the periodicals that had sent representatives to
Malines were: "L'Ouvrier," "Le Messager de la Charité," "La Revue
Chrétiénne," "Le Journal des Villes et des Campagnes," "El Diario" of
Barcelona, "La Regeneracion" of Madrid, "L'Union" of Valencia, "El
Register Catolico" of Barcelona, "La Belgique," "La Paix," "Les Précis
Historiques," "Le Courrier de Bruxelles," "Le Moniteur de Louvain,"
"L'Escaut," "Le Courrier de la Sambre," "L'Union de Charleroy," "Le
Nouvelliste de Verviers," "Le Journal de Hainaut," "L'Impartial de
Soignies," "La Gazette de Vivelles," and several others.
The assembly consisted of forty-five journalists, and their
proceedings made a favorable impression. The gentlemen of the press
knew why they had met. It was resolved to hold every year a general
convention of Catholic journalists and to establish at Brussels an
international telegraphic bureau for Catholic journals, because most
of the bureaus now existing are in the hands of Jews, who frequently
forge untruthful telegrams. The meeting tended to foster mutual good
feeling among the representatives of the different journals, and
resolutions were passed to secure unity of action in the Catholic
press.
The managers of the "Correspondant" strove to obtain the patronage of
the Malines congress by distributing a list of contributors. In fact,
its staff comprises some of the most able Catholic journalists, and we
deem it proper to give, the names of Bishop Dupanloup, the Duke
d'Ayen, the Prince de Broglie, the Count Montalembert, the Count
Falloux, the Count de Carné, the Count de Champagny, Viscount
Lemercier, Viscount de Melun, Vicar-General Meignan, Prof. Perreyve,
F. Gratry, Villemain, de Laprade, Augustine Cochin, Foisset, Leonce de
Lavergne, Wallon, N. de Pontmartin, Lenormant, de Chaillard, Amedée
Achard, Marmier, and de Haulleville. No doubt it would be difficult to
find a greater array of talent. The "Correspondant" appears once a
month, making six large volumes per year.
{337}
I had been present at a meeting of journalists connected with the
second general congress of the larger German states held at Frankfort
in October, 1864. Twenty-seven representatives of the German press
attended. Many resolutions were passed, but not one of them was
carried out; nay, the third general congress of the larger German
states never convened.
The journalists of the minor German states, also, met at Eisenach on
May 22, 1864. Thirty-four members were present, and resolved to meet
at stated periods in order to consult about the interests of the
German press. A committee of delegates from seven journals was
appointed, whose headquarters was to be at Frankfort-on-the-Main until
the next general meeting in 1865. From the transaction of these
assemblies, it has become evident that journalism in Germany is still
in its infancy. The German journalists cannot compare with those of
other countries. They form no class of their own; they lack
self-respect and _esprit de corps_; in short, they are, without
exception, in a lamentable state of dependence, for they are not
wealthy nor do they receive becoming remuneration.
In Belgium the press is better organized; it is not oppressed by
taxation, and this is the reason why Brussels alone can boast of
sixty-seven periodicals. In Belgium 10 to 12 francs will procure a
well-written daily paper, far surpassing our German journals.
The Belgian journalists whom I met at Malines despise the Catholic
press in Germany. They reproach us with not doing our duty, and sneer
at us for being duped by Jewish writers.
Journalism is an important profession, whose members should be
conscientious and honorable men. The journalist addresses his language
to an audience far more numerous than the professor's, and at present
his influence is, so to say, unlimited; he reaches every part of
educated society and sways public opinion. He is called to be the
standard-bearer of liberty and truth. He must, therefore, implant
sound principles in the popular mind, and, standing above the reach of
paltry prejudice, unite in himself a high degree of intelligence and
true devotion to the eternal laws of the Church. Such are the
qualities which a journalist should possess. Without independence,
dignity, and moral freedom he cannot do justice to the task imposed on
him by God. "_Impavidum ferient ruinae_."
In England, America, and Belgium, the press wields a powerful
influence; it has become sovereign, and is necessary to the nation's
life. Science feels that unless it is diffused it is powerless, and
that the school-room is too narrow a field; hence it is that men of
learning make use of the press. In Catholic Germany, on the contrary,
there are still districts where the journalist is looked upon with a
jealous eye, and where it is deemed preferable to read papers written
by Jews and literary gipsies.
"Let the Church be free, let her unfold fully her immense power, let
her extend her influence to every grade and station of society, and
things will assume a more promising aspect. Let the Church be again
respected, let her word be heeded in the palace no less than in the
hut, let homage be paid to her in the courts of justice and in
institutions of learning, at the university no less than at the
village school, and a new and golden era will dawn upon us." These
words, first addressed to the German nation by its bishops, have been
repeated again and again by the Catholic general conventions. The
Church has a right to watch over popular education and schools, but,
as Moufang says, she has an equally undeniable title to direct the
education of those who are destined to be the leaders of the people.
The Church is the mother of universities, but, alas! most of her
daughters have forsaken her. Germany possesses eighteen Protestant
universities, but she cannot boast {338} of an equal number of
Catholic institutions. The Church has been robbed of her educational
establishments in the same way in which she has been deprived of her
monasteries and other possessions. Of the twenty-two German
universities six only are Catholic. At the mixed universities
Catholics are by no means on a footing of equality with Protestants,
and a professor or a fellow who is a staunch Catholic will almost
certainly fall into disgrace. The Protestant professors number ten to
one; a great grievance, no doubt.
Even previous to 1848, far-sighted men were penetrated with the
necessity of establishing a purely Catholic university. But since the
emphatic approval of the scheme by the episcopal council of Würzburg,
in 1848, the Catholic conventions have displayed a lively interest in
the plan and have done all in their power to further its realization.
At Regensburg (1849), Mayence (1851), Münster (1852), Vienna (1853),
and Linz (1856), it received the fullest consideration. The convention
of Linz recommended in the warmest terms the restoration of the
university of Salzburg. This recommendation was repeated by the
Salzburg convention in 1857, which requested the prince-archbishop of
Salzburg, Baron von Farnoczky, to undertake this affair, so important
to Germany. At Salzburg the debates on this question were very stormy,
because Innsbruck claimed the preference. In fact, the university of
Innsbruck has been much better attended of late years.
But the most decisive steps in this regard were taken by the
convention of Aix-la-Chapelle. Prof. Möller, of Louvain, delivered an
eloquent discourse on the establishment of the Louvain university! In
glowing words he represented to the assembly how, on the opening of
the first course of lectures at Malines, in 1834, but eighty-six
students followed the course, how the number of students increased in
1885 to 261 and the following year to 360, whilst at the present day
the three state universities together number 800 students less than
Louvain alone! He spoke of the generosity of the Belgians, of their
yearly subscriptions, and of their collections, to which even the
poorest contribute their mite. He reminded them that the Louvain
professors are among the most distinguished for mental activity, and
that they form men of principle, who honorably fulfil the designs of
God upon them. "And is it impossible for the great Catholic German
nation to do what four millions of Belgians have accomplished? Follow
the example thus set you; German laymen, raise your voices, and shrink
not before difficulties or obstacles. Impossible--the word is unworthy
of Germans!" By this speech of the noble Möller the assembly was
aroused, and its members were ready to undergo every sacrifice in
order to realize their plans. On the following day, when the
convention had met in secret session, Theising, of Warendorf, brought
up the university question, and a debate followed, in which Baron von
Andlaw, of Freiburg, Schulte, of Prague, Count Brandis, of Austria,
Thissen, of Frankfort, Möller, of Louvain, and Heinrich, of Mayence,
participated. It was at first proposed to appoint a committee, which
was to exert itself energetically in favor of the project. Councillor
Phillips, Baron Felix von Loe, Count Brandis, Baron Henry von Andlaw,
Chevalier Joseph von Buss, and Baron Wilderich von Ketteler, were
appointed members of the committee and their nomination received with
applause. The motion also provided for the collection of the money
necessary to establish the university. A wordy discourse followed, but
no definite conclusion was arrived at, when Baron von Andlaw struck
the right chord. "I will give $500 for the establishment of a Catholic
university," he exclaimed. "I will give $500 more," cried Councillor
Phillips of Vienna, "I subscribe $300," said {339} Zander, of Munich.
Count Richemont, of Paris, next ascended the tribune, addressed a few
enthusiastic words to the assembly, and subscribed $500. He was
rapidly followed by Counts Spee, Loe, Schaasberg, Stolberg,
Hoensbroich, Brandis, and many other nobles from the Rhenish provinces
and Westphalia, who came forward with generous contributions. Prof.
Schulte, of Prague, and Canon Moufang each subscribed a thousand
florins. Dumortier, of Brussels, Prisac, of Aix-la-Chapelle, Martens,
of Pelplin, Thymus, Bachem, and Pastor Becker also gave solid proofs
of their interest in the enterprise. In a short time the subscriptions
amounted to $7,000, and at Würzburg, in 1864, $30,000 had already been
subscribed.
The scene at Aix-la-Chapelle was more imposing than any other that
marked the sixteen general conventions of the Catholic societies in
Germany. Joy and enthusiasm were depicted on every countenance, and
hope filled every breast. The whole of Catholic Germany shared in
these feelings; for there was now substantial reason for believing in
the ultimate success of the university scheme. True, subscriptions did
not continue to pour in so rapidly as at Aix-la-Chapelle, and the
nobility of southern Germany, in particular, were very remiss in
performing their duty. To collect $7,000,000 is no easy task,
especially as the German clergy have been deprived of almost all their
possessions, whilst the mass of the people show little zeal for the
undertaking. Still the agitation of this question has been productive
of great good to Catholicity in Germany, for it has inspired all of us
with redoubled zeal and energy. The Catholics have begun to claim
their just rights and to insist upon them till they are granted. As
the Rhenish Westphalian nobility have demanded the restoration of the
old Catholic university of Münster, so in Bavaria, where there is a
purely Protestant university, the Catholics should urge the
establishment of a Catholic one, for it is our first duty, as was
remarked by Schulte at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1862, and by Moufang at
Würzburg in 1864, to insist that universities which were founded by
Catholics should retain their original character. In mixed
universities, the Catholic professors will, henceforth, strain every
nerve to secure true equality. Where this equality is trampled under
foot, they will protest and demand their rights. The professors will
be supported by the Catholic students, who were ably represented at
Frankfort and Würzburg by Anschütz and Baron Dr. von Hertling. Do not
the Catholics outnumber the Protestants in Germany? No one knew
Germany and its tribes better than Frederick Böhmer, of Frankfort, and
he always maintained that the Catholics can boast of as many able men
as the Protestants, and that southern Germany, far from being
inferior, surpasses the northern races in mental abilities. To carry
out the programme laid down above will require our best energies, but
we must, moreover, found a _new university_ a purely Catholic and free
institution, untrammelled by state dictation, and entirely under the
direction of the Church. To do this the bishops, the nobles, and the
clergy must use their best endeavors; but the professors, too, must do
their share, and not look on with cold indifference, as is the case
with most of them. If the state encroaches unceasingly on the rights
of the Church in the realms of science, and if its tyranny
persistently oppresses the most able votaries of science because they
are Catholics, why should we not rely on ourselves, and seek strength
in union? There is neither truce nor rest for us until we are not only
equal but superior to our opponents in every branch of science.
Since its organization, two years ago, the university committee has
done all in its power to promote the good cause. One of the most
zealous members is the young Prince Charles, of {340}
Löwenstein-Werthheim, who has been substituted for the deceased Count
Brandis.
Canon Moufang, of Mayence, spoke on the university question at
Würzburg in 1864. Of all the members of the convention he was best
fitted to do justice to the subject. Since 1848 Dr. Moufang has been
present at almost every one of the sixteen general conventions, and
whatever good has been accomplished by them he has promoted and
encouraged. Connected with most of the Catholic movements of our age,
he understands the feelings of his Catholic countrymen and knows how
to give forcible and opportune expression to them; at times his words
are irresistible, like the mountain torrent. At Munich he delivered a
discourse on the Holy Father and his difficulties; in Aix-la-Chapelle
he thundered against the want of principle and of true manliness which
distinguishes our times; at Frankfort he ridiculed anti-Catholic
prejudices, and at Würzburg he convinced his hearers of the necessity
of a Catholic university. But the school question, also, and the
relations between capital and labor, he has lately treated in an
admirable manner. "_Il faut être de son temps_," is Moufang's motto,
and hence he is one of the representative men of public opinion in
Catholic Germany, and when he combats the enemies of the Church the
advantage is always on his side. On the nineteenth of December, 1864,
Dr. Moufang celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination.
Hundreds of priests from the dioceses of Mayence, Limburg, and
Freiburg were present on this solemn occasion, which they will cherish
for ever in their memory. Dr. Moufang's name immediately suggests that
of Canon Heinrich. They are a "_par nobile fratrum_" in literature as
well as in public life, emulating the example of Raess and Weiss and
of Augustus and Peter Reichensperger. At the age of thirty, after
promoting the organization of the first general convention at Mayence,
Dr. Heinrich was appointed secretary of the national council held at
Würzburg in 1848. Since 1848 he distinguished himself at almost all
the general conventions by his activity and the zeal he displayed in
furthering every Catholic enterprise. He is equally active in the
committees, in the secret and in the open sessions. He is not only a
favorite speaker, but also a skilful controversialist and a journalist
of no mean ability. He published the best reply to Renan, and as a
theologian and jurist he is able to cope with any adversary.
Prof. Haffner is the worthy colleague of Moufang and Heinrich. He
cultivates the science which Aristotle and Plato pronounced the
sublimest of all sciences--philosophy. But Haffner is a philosopher
who is intelligible even to ordinary mortals; he makes a practical use
of his knowledge, and is a favorite at the Rhenish clubs. In fact,
there is no reason why he should not be so. His speeches are
instructive, sublime in conception, and well written. The details are
well arranged and he has due regard for literary perspective. His
incomparable humor is unmixed with biting sarcasm, and his figures are
exquisitely beautiful. Haffner's speeches are perfect gems. Long may
you live, noble son of Suabia!
The Mayence delegates form an attractive group, and they all work
right earnestly for the success of the conventions. Beside those
already noticed, I shall mention Dr. Hirschel, canon of the cathedral,
who presided at the first general meeting of the Christian art unions
at Cologne in 1856; Monsignore Count Max von Galen, who delivered an
elegant discourse on the Blessed Virgin at Aix-la-Chapelle; Professors
Holzammer and Hundhausen, profound scholars; Frederic Schneidier,
president of the young men's associations in the diocese of Mayence;
and Falk, president of the social clubs or casinos.
{341}
Councillor Phillips, of Vienna, is generally chosen chairman of the
section of science and the press. Richly does he deserve this
distinction, for Phillips is an ornament to German literature, and his
work on canon law is a "_monumentum aere perennius_" which will be
numbered among the German classics. On the Catholic press, too,
Phillips has conferred a great benefit, for, in conjunction with
Jareke and Joseph von Görres, he founded the "Historico-Political
Journal," of Munich, which he edited for a long time, assisted by
Guido Görres. Being sent as a delegate to the Frankfort Parliament,
Phillips was numbered among the men of "the stone house;" that is to
say, he belonged to the Catholic party, and became the associate of
Döllinger, Lasaulx, Sepp, Förser, Geritz, Dieringer, Von Bally, and
others who took an active part in the debate on the relations between
church and state. Since 1862 Phillips has been chairman of the
committee on the establishment of the Catholic university. The
speeches of the learned professor were remarkable for the force of
their arguments and the clearness of their ideas. His committee
reports are to the point, and he presides with tact and ability.
Privy Councillor Ringseis delivered telling speeches at
Aix-la-Chapelle and Munich; at Frankfort and Würzburg he did not make
his appearance, being already too much bowed down by age. Ringseis was
born in 1785. In the literary world he occupies a prominent position;
but he has always been more successful as an orator than as a writer.
His appearance is inspiring, his words enthusiastic. The simplicity of
his heart, his pleasing cordiality, and the unchanging freshness of
his intellect, endear him to all with whom he comes in contact; yet he
is one of the men who have bravely weathered all the storms of our
age. He resembles an oak that proudly withstands every hurricane.
Baron von Moy was president of the Würzburg convention. From 1832 to
1837 he lectured on constitutional and international laws, and from
1837 he was for ten years professor at Munich, at a time when the fame
of the Munich university attracted hundreds of young men to the
Bavarian capital, when all Germany knew that there was a great
Catholic university at Munich, and when, in the words of Moufang,
"Görres, Ringseis, Döllinger, Möhler, Slee, Phillips, Moy,
Windischmann, and their colleagues, formed the central group of
Catholic Munich." Baron von Moy presided at Würzburg with much tact
and success. Age has already made its inroads, but his voice is still
rich and agreeable. He is untainted by the ungenial formality of our
German professors. In him solid piety is coupled with affability,
cordiality, and benevolence, and adorned by true Catholic
cheerfulness.
The Catholic professors, on the whole, have taken little interest in
these conventions, because the majority of them are unacquainted with
real life. There are exceptions, however, such as those mentioned
above. Schulte, of Prague, also, has displayed a laudable zeal in
every convention until 1862. He favors true progress, and earnestly
wishes the Catholics not only to rival but surpass the Protestants in
every respect. Sometimes he is a little too exacting in his demands;
his expressions are rather strong, and his strictures on abuses are
not sufficiently tempered with moderation. Schulte is no visionary,
for he is thoroughly acquainted with the state of the Church, but he
is carried away by a burning zeal, a kind of holy anger. Hermann
Müller, professor at the Würzburg university, a jurist and philologer,
and formerly well known as a journalist, was the most handsome member
of the Würzburg convention, and his magnificent beard attracted
universal attention. The university was likewise represented by
Professors Contzen and Ludwig and by Dr. Wirsing. Long continued study
has left its traces on the features of Prof. Vering, of Heidelberg,
but it has not {342} hardened his heart against the claims of the
Catholic cause.
At Würzburg sixty-three professors and authors signed an address and
sent it to the Holy Father. In it they declare their readiness to
submit unconditionally to the decision of the Holy See regarding the
meeting of the German _literati_. I cannot refrain from saying a few
words on this meeting, especially as it may be said to have originated
in the general conventions. In fact, the sensation caused by the
Würzburg meeting has by no means subsided. I have lying before me
Döllinger's "Discourse on the Past and Present of Catholic Theology,"
and criticisms on it by the Mayence "Katholik," the Paris "Monde," and
the "Civiltà Cattolica;" also Prof. Hergenröther's speech at Würzburg
on meetings of European scholars, the pamphlet of Prof. Michelis, of
Braunsberg, and a cutting reply in the November number of "Der
Katholik." To these I may add the papal brief to the Archbishop of
Munich (December 21, 1863), the despatch of Cardinal Antonelli to the
nuncio at Munich (July 5, 1864), and the letter of the Holy Father to
Professors Hergenröther and Denzinger, dated October 20, 1864. I fear
the matter will take a disagreeable turn, and that our learned
professors will bring themselves into difficulty. No doubt there is
much truth in Hergenröther's reflections on his colleagues: "All our
learned men are not as prudent as they should be; they have not
sufficient tact, and are wanting in knowledge of the actual state of
things; many a professor in his sanctum acquires ideas wholly at
variance with real life."
The Catholic general conventions will not alter their character in
order to busy themselves with purely scientific concerns; in short, it
cannot become a congress of learned men, nor a substitute for such a
congress. Fully persuaded of this fact, Prof. Denzinger declared, in
the most explicit terms, that the meeting of the German _literati_ was
independent of the sixteenth general convention, which was nowise
responsible for its doings.
Moreover, it is a fact to be borne in mind, that the Holy See has not
forbidden such meetings, that the German bishops do not wish them to
be interfered with, and that no Catholic party, as Michelis says, has
intrigued to prevent them.
If, in spite of all this, the matter does not prosper, the learned men
alone are to blame. It seems to be extremely difficult to prevent
dissensions among men who devote themselves to different branches of
science, to unite in the bonds of friendship and concord the disciples
of the speculative, the historical, and the practical sciences. If I
belonged to the class of men of which I am speaking, I would express
my opinions more fully. Why did not the illustrious theologians of
Tübingen deign to come to Munich in 1863? Why is there so slim an
attendance of German professors at the Catholic congresses? Why do the
representatives of sciences so intimately connected remain estranged
from each other? A closer union would bring about renewed activity,
prejudices would be dispelled, the jealous reserve with which we now
meet on every side would give way to a more healthy state of things,
and youthful genius would be encouraged by the conviction that they
are stayed and supported by men of experience and acknowledged merit.
Will the congress of 1863 remain a fragment, as the general meeting of
the art unions in 1857? We hope not. The best rejoinder to all that
has been said on such meetings would be a general European congress of
all learned Catholics, at Brussels, Greneva, or Frankfort--attended by
Döllinger, Phillips, and Alzog, as the representatives of Germany; by
Perin, Delcour, and de Ram; by Newman, Oakley, Acton, and Robertson;
by Meignan, Montalembert, and Rio, and by the Italians Nardi, Cantu,
and Casoni. The union between the civilized nations of Europe is
becoming {343} closer day by day; will our scholars alone remain
stationary and isolated? If they follow this course, the day of
retribution will soon arrive.
Foremost among the promoters of scientific progress, during the second
half of the nineteenth century, stands a Catholic prince, King
Maximilian II. of Bavaria. History tells of few princes who have so
liberally patronized men of science. With royal munificence he has
founded and endowed institutions of learning and fostered scientific
enterprise. He will always be praised as one of the most generous
patrons of German science, and in the history of literature and
science will occupy an honorable position. Unfortunately, however, the
ideas of the noble prince were not realized by the men he protected.
He lived to be sorely disappointed, and to discover that he had
bestowed his benefits on men unworthy of his confidence. Döllinger,
without mentioning the king's mistakes, has done full justice to his
merits. Döllinger himself holds a princely rank in the European
republic of letters. With skilful hand he is rearing the immense
edifice of a universal Church history. The corner-stone is already
laid and the foundation completed. May God give life and vigor to the
architect, that he may finish his vast undertaking. Since his famous
lectures at the Odeon at Munich, delivered before a mixed audience in
April, 1861, Döllinger has fixed the attention of men holding the most
contrary opinions both in and out of the Church. Of late, many have
been disappointed in Döllinger, though without any reason; they have
given a false meaning to his words--misinterpreted his intentions.
True, he speaks with a boldness to which all cannot immediately
accustom themselves, for he is a thorough enemy of all mental
reservation in theology. He stands on an eminence, surveying not only
our own times but the whole extent of sacred and profane history, and
combines a correct estimate of the necessities of the age with a
fervent love of Christ and his Church.
Hergenröther, our revered professor, is in many respects the
scientific complement of Döllinger. If Döllinger at times goes too
far, Hergenröther knows how to explain, to correct, and to limit his
expressions; this he has done several times of late. Hergenröther is a
man of great learning, acquired by continued mental activity; but he
is likewise well acquainted with the ideas of the present age. His
speech at the Würzburg convention was a masterpiece, full of clear and
well-defined ideas.
His most active colleague in the Würzburg committee was Professor
Hettinger. He is perhaps the most eminent of living controversialists.
He teaches apologetics, which forms the transition from philosophy to
theology. Hettinger takes a large and philosophical, but at the same
time truly Christian and Catholic, view of the world. Every grand and
beautiful idea, both ancient and modern, he has made his own; he has
analyzed every philosophical system, separating truth from falsehood,
and has gathered every sound principle scattered over the wide range
of philosophical literature. His controversial works deserve to be
ranked among the classics of the nineteenth century. His discourses
are listened to with pleasure, whether he speaks from the pulpit, the
professor's desk, or the tribune. At Frankfort and Würzburg he spoke
in a masterly style.
Denzinger presided at the Würzburg conference which sent an address to
the Holy Father. He is a deep theologian, well versed in all
philosophical systems. His mind is admirably trained, his character
settled and determined, and in learning, notwithstanding the frailty
of his body, he has attained an eminence to which few can aspire.
Self-possessed in debate, sure and cautious in his remarks, a deep
thinker, he exhorted all to forbearance, and gave universal
satisfaction.
{344}
The Würzburg professors do honor to every assembly of scholars and to
every Catholic convention.
Abbot Haneberg, of Munich, perhaps the most venerable of our German
monks, bishop elect of Treves, a linguist who speaks fifteen
languages, a first-rate teacher, who will ever be remembered by his
many disciples as one of the best pulpit orators in Germany, was a
zealous advocate of the Munich congress of literati. The circular was
signed by Haneberg, Döllinger, and Prof. Alzog, of Freiburg. Alzog's
manual of ecclesiastical history is the text-book, not only in
Hildesheim and Freiburg, but in almost every seminary in Europe. The
work resembles one of the beautiful mosaics so much admired in St.
Peter's at Rome, and has been of great use. Alzog was present at the
Frankfort conventions.
Prof. Reusch, of Bonn, is one of our best commentators. He has
rendered the Catholics of Germany a great service in translating the
works of the English cardinal, for Wiseman's writings are read by the
whole Church. About a hundred years ago all Germany perused the
productions of the English free-thinking deists, Shaftesbury, Locke,
Morgan, Woolston, and Toland; at present all read the works of
Wiseman, Faber, Newman, Marshall, Dalgairn, and Manning. Toward the
close of the last century, Voltaire, Rousseau, d'Alembert, Diderot,
and the other infamous encyclopaedists furnished the educated portion
of Germany with intellectual food; now we eagerly study the writings
of Dupanloup, Montalembert, L. Veuillot, Ségur, F. Gratry, and
Nicolas. True, Renan too and "Le Maudit" have their admirers, but the
admirable replies of Dupanloup, Felix, Freppel, Lasserre, Veuillot,
Ségur, Pressensé, Parisis, Scherer, Coquerel, Lamy, and Nicolas, have
likewise found an extensive circle of readers. Catholic controversy
has never flourished more than at present, when hundreds of able
writers plead the cause of Christ and of his vicar on earth.
Professor Vosen, of Cologne, is another eminent controversialist; he
is a skilful debater, and possesses a thorough knowledge of
parliamentary rules and of the social condition of Germany. His
utterance is rapid, but he uses no superfluous verbiage, and every
sentence is clear and well brought out.
Prof. Reinkens, of Breslau, and Floss, of Bonn, were members of the
executive committee at the Munich convention of scholars. Not long ago
he dedicated to us his biography of "Hilary of Poitiers," a work that
may be classed with Möhler's "Athanasius."
Prof. Reischl, of Regensburg, repeatedly a member of different
committees at the general conventions, and an excellent teacher, whose
memory will ever be cherished by his students, is on the point of
finishing, in the course of the present year, his laborious
translation of the Holy Scriptures. For twelve years he has labored
unceasingly, and the work is the golden fruit of his labors, and will
outlive many generations. We may justly place Reischl's translation of
the Bible among our Catholic classics, such as Möhler's "Symbolism,"
Döllinger's "Paganism and Judaism," Hefele's "History of the
Councils," Phillips' "Canon Law," Hettinger's "Apologetics,"
Amberger's "Pastoral Theology," Dieringer's "Book of Epistles,"
Lasaulx's "Philosophy of the Fine Arts," Stöckl's "Philosophy of the
Middle Ages," Kleutgen's "Theology of the Past," "The Legends of Alban
Stolz," etc. Most of these have appeared since 1848, or rather within
the last twelve years, and are the precursors of a great Catholic
literary period, for which every preparation seems to be already made.
That our writers are improving in beauty of style no observer can fail
to notice; as a proof, I need only mention the names of Haffner,
Molitor, Redwitz, and Hahn-Hahn. I cannot pass unnoticed {345}
Stolberg's "History of the Church," Danberger's "History of the Middle
Ages," Gfrörer's great work on Gregory VII. and his times, and the
works of Frederick von Hurter. "Sepp's Jerusalem," also, is a work of
undoubted merit. Professor Sepp delivered some brilliant speeches at
the first Catholic general conventions. His last book is a telling
refutation of Renan and other modern infidels who deny the divinity of
Christ, and deserves to be ranked with the writings of Heinrich,
Haneberg, Deutinger, S. Brunner, Wriesinger, Michelis, Daumer, and
Hahn-Hahn on the same subject.
Michelis, of Braunsberg, shows some of Tertullian's violence; nay,
sometimes he becomes personal in debate, owing to his passionate
temper and his somewhat peevish character. These qualities are coupled
with an ardent love of his religion and his country, and manly honor
and straightforwardness. His speech at Frankfort, in 1862, was
well-timed and called forth immense enthusiasm. Michelis bears a close
resemblance to Prof. Remirding, of Fulda, who has lately acquired a
great reputation as a dogmatic theologian. Remirding has for a long
time been a teacher in England, and is thoroughly acquainted with
English affairs. To him we may apply the adage: "Still waters run
deep." He is silent, uncommunicative, and fond of thought. His bright
eyes beam with intelligence, gentleness, and benevolence. Prof.
Janssen held his maiden speech at the convention of Frankfort, in
1863; it was very successful. Janssen is a disciple of Böhmer, and he,
as well as Ficker, of Innsbruck, and Arnold, of Marburg, is a worthy
successor of that great historian. He is well fitted to write a
satisfactory history of Germany, for Giesebrecht's "History of the
German Emperors" fails to do justice to the Church during the middle
ages. There is no longer any lack of Catholic historians in Germany,
and the labors of Protestant writers have rendered the task easy for
them. Among our Catholic historians I shall mention Onno Klopp, of
Hanover; Hoefler, of Prague; Bader, Huber, Hergenröther, of Würzburg;
Marx, of Treves; Dudik, Gindely, Kampfschulte, of Bonn; Niehus, Rump,
and Hülskamp, of Münster; C. Will, of Nuremberg; Lämmer, of Breslau,
who has lately been appointed professor of theology; Remkens, of
Breslau; Alexander Kaufmann, of Werthheim; Cornelius, Friedrich, and
Pichlcr, of Munich; Roth von Schreckenstein, Watterich, Dominicus,
Ossenbeck, Ennen, Remling, Junckmann, Kiesel, Bumüller, Weiss, Kerker,
and Alberdingk-Thijm.
These gentlemen should try to meet very often, for by seeing ourselves
reflected in others we learn to know ourselves. Böhmer, Pertz, Chmel,
and Theiner have laid the foundations of historical research; on their
disciples devolves the task of continuing the building, and of
completing it according to the intentions of their masters.
My subject is carrying me away, and I am passing the limits I had
marked for myself. How many other names connected with the Munich
reunion of scholars, or the last Catholic congress, should I notice in
order to do justice to all! Professors Reithmayer, Reitter, and
Stadlbauer, of Munich; Mayer, of Würzburg; the learned Benedictines,
Rupert Mettermüller, of Metten, Gallus Morel, of Einsiedeln, Boniface
Gams, of Munich; Professors Schegg, of Freising, Hähnlein, of
Würzburg; Zobl, of Brixen, Uhrig and Schmid, of Dillingen, Engermann,
of Regensburg, Scheeben, of Cologne, Oischinger and Strodl, of Munich,
Hagemann, of Hildesheim, Pfahler, of Eichstadt, Kraus, of Regensburg,
Brandner and Schoepf, of Salzburg, Nirschl and Greil, of Passau; among
our rising scholars, Messrs. Constantine von Schaetzler, of Freiburg,
Langen, of Bonn, Wongerath, Silbernagel, Friedrich, Pichler, and
Wirthmüller, of Munich, Hitz, Kaiser, Kagerer, J. {346} M. Schneider,
J. Danziger, Bach, H. Hayd, Pfeifer, Kaufmann, of Munich, and Thinnel,
of Neisse; among the clergy, Dr. Westermayer, a celebrated preacher;
Schmid, of Amberg, Dr. Gmelch, of Lichtenstein, Dr. Clos, of
Feldaffing, Dr. Zinler, of Gablingen, Wick, of Breslau, Dr. Zailler;
and finally, Canons Rampf and Herb, of Munich, W. Mayer, of
Regensburg, Düx, of Würzburg, Freund, of Passau, Werner, of St.
Pölten, Provost Ernst, of Eichstädt, Canon Eberhard, of Regensburg,
Lierheimer, of Munich, and a host of others.
Truly Providence has blessed Germany with many great intellects, and a
glorious period seems to have begun for Catholic literature. Our
leading men should be animated with a fervent love of their faith, and
true patriotism; thus they will be enabled to take a truly Christian
view of the world.
I cannot refrain from saying a few words on the representatives of the
German press.
Dr. Ernest Zander, of Munich, is the spokesman of the German
journalists at the general conventions.
Zander has now been connected for twenty-seven years with the press,
but he is still quite hearty and ready to do battle, and the
subscribers of "Der Volksbote" read his spicy articles with
undiminished pleasure.
Although a poor speaker, his appearance is always greeted with
applause, and at the close of his remarks there is no end of cheering.
He calls things by their proper names, spares nobody, and has an
inexhaustible fund of wit and humor.
His numerous decorations, his bushy eyebrows, his twinkling eyes, and
his sarcastic smile, make his remarks doubly interesting.
On matters connected with the Catholic press, there are no authorities
more reliable than Zander and Jörg, of Munich, Sausen, of Mayence, and
Sebastian Brunner, of Vienna.
J. B. von Pfeilschifter, of Darmstadt, is older than the gentlemen
above mentioned; in fact, he is the oldest Catholic journalist in
Germany.
Pfeilschifter, says Maurice Brühl, combines varied learning and
extensive reading with the experience of many years.
Since 1815 he has been actively engaged as a journalist, and for a
long time he was the only champion of lawful authority and political
order, and for this reason he was continually scoffed at and slandered
by his revolutionary colleagues. Zander has a worthy rival in Bachem,
of Cologne. Properly speaking, Bachem is a publisher, but he is
likewise a very able editor. At the conventions he is the most
business-like representative of the press, and seems to know more
about journalism than the editors. In 1865 Bachem's paper will
probably number 6,000 subscribers, which is a very respectable
circulation. His journal is one of the most influential Rhenish
papers, and very ably edited. If papers of equal merit were published
at Mayence, Carlsruhe, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Munich, Innsbruck, Vienna,
Prague, Breslau, and Münster, our political press would satisfy every
reasonable demand.
Francis Hülskamp, of Münster, is one of the youngest among our German
journalists, but he has outstripped many older men, for he was the
first to give a decisive impetus to the Catholic press. Three years
ago Hülskamp and his friend, Hermann Rump, founded the "Literary
Index." Now, in December, 1864, the "Index" can boast of 6,000
subscribers and 30,000 readers. All the other German literary papers
together, Protestant as well as Catholic, do not equal the "Index" in
circulation. Success like this is unheard of in Germany, and proves
that for the Catholics the time of inaction is past. Hülskamp is not
only a critic, but also well-versed in philology, exegesis, and
ecclesiastical history. In poetry, too, he has made some creditable
essays, and at Frankfort, in 1863, he proved conclusively that he is a
promising {347} speaker. Long may this energetic son of Westphalia's
red soil live and flourish!
Among the most regular members of the Catholic conventions is Dr.
Louis Lang, of Munich, who has distinguished himself by his ability as
secretary. The Catholic press also owes him a debt of gratitude. He
has greatly enlarged and improved the Munich "Sonntagsblatt" and
secured for it the services of the best writers in Germany,
succeeding, by these means, in making it rival the "Heimgarten" and
the "Sonntagsfreude." The "Josephsblatt," a monthly published by Lang,
has already a circulation of 40,000 subscribers, and bids fair to
number 100,000 by the end of 1865. Our illustrated papers, too, have
improved wonderfully since 1862; therefore let us not despair, but
trust in God.
At our Catholic conventions there were no meetings of journalists
exclusively. But there were many complaints of the inefficiency of the
press, and the journalists were severely blamed. Nor is the press so
numerously represented as at Malines, and the journalists present are
not so independent as the members of the Belgian, English, and French
press, who are fully conscious of the importance of their position.
Among the journalists whose acquaintance I formed at the Catholic
conventions, the most distinguished are Dr. Max Huttler, of Augsburg,
a man who has the welfare of the Catholic press deeply at heart;
Hoyssack, of Vienna, Dr. Krebs, of Cologne, Dr. Stumpf, of Coblentz,
Hermann Kuhn, of Berlin, Daumer, of Würzburg, Planer, of Landshut, Dr.
Frankl, of Gran in Hungary, Dr. von Mayer, of Hungary, Aichinger, of
Pondorf, Riedinger and Hällmayer, of Spires, Stamminger, the
enterprising editor of the "Chilianeum" at Würzburg, Thüren, of
Cologne, and a number of others.
It is but proper to give at least a passing notice to the latest
offspring of the Catholic conventions, the "Society for the
Publication of Catholic Pamphlets." It was founded at Würzburg, but
the seat of the executive committee is at Frankfort. On motion of
Heinrich and Thissen, of Frankfort, it was recommend by the Catholic
convention at Würzburg. Previous to the Würzburg convention, Thissen
had already made some attempts at Frankfort.
The scheme was well received in Germany. Already the number of
subscribers amounts to 2,000 and at the end of 1865 it will probably
reach 25,000. Canon Thissen has been one of the leading spirits at
every convention which he attended. He has an artful way of suggesting
ideas and gaining for them the favor of the assembly; to carry them
out, however, he needs the help of others. A thorough master of
parliamentary tactics, he is a capital manager, and in debate he may
safely trust to the inspiration of the moment. His brother, A.
Thissen, of Aix-la-Chapelle, is well suited to be the secretary of our
conventions.
{348}
From The Month.
FALLING STARS.
(FROM THE GERMAN.)
Oh, know'st thou what betideth
When from the heavens afar.
Like fiery arrow, glideth
An earthward-falling star?
Yon glorious myriads, streaming
Their quiet influence down,
Are little angels gleaming
Like jewels in a crown.
Untiring, never sleeping,
God's sentinels they stand;
Where sounds of joy and weeping
Rise up on every hand.
If darkling here and dreary,
One patient cheek grow pale;
If in the conflict weary
One trusting spirit fail;
If to the throne ascendeth
One supplicating cry,--
Then heavenly mercy sendeth
An angel from on high.
Soft to the chamber stealing,
It beams in radiance mild.
And rocks each troubled feeling
To slumber like a child.
This, this is what betideth
When from the heavens afar.
Like fiery arrow, glideth
An earthward-falling star.
--------
{349}
From Once a Week.
A BUNDLE OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS.
Carols, as the name implies, are joyous songs for festive occasions,
at one period accompanied with dancing. In an old vocabulary of A.D.
1440, _Caral_ is defined as _A Songe;_ in John Palsgrave's work of
A.D. 1530, as _Chanson de Noël;_whilst in Anglo-Saxon times the word
appears to have been rendered _Kyrriole,_ a chanting at the Nativity.
The earliest carol in English, known under that name, is the
production of Dame Berners, prioress of St Alban's in the fourteenth
century, entitled _A Carolle of Huntynge_. This is printed on the last
leaf of Wynkyn de Worde's collection of Christmas carols, A.D. 1521,
and the first verse modernized runs thus:
"As I came by a green forest side,
I met with a forester that bade me abide,
Whey go bet, hey go bet, hey go how.
We shall have sport and game enow."
Milton uses the word carol to express a devotional hymn:
"A quire
Of squadron'd angels hear his carol sang."
And that distinguished light of the English Church, Bishop Jeremy
Taylor, speaks of the angels' song on the morning of the Nativity as
the first Christmas carol: "As soon as these blessed choristers had
sung their Christmas carol, and taught the Church a hymn to put into
her offices for ever," etc.
According to Durandus, it was customary in early days for bishops to
sing with their clergy in the episcopal houses on the feast of the
Nativity. _"In Natali praelati cum suis clericis ludant, vel in
domibus episcopalibus."_ These merry ecclesiastics sung undoubtedly
Christmas carols.
But carols, like everything else, must be divided into two sorts,
religious and secular--the carols "in prayse of Christe" and the merry
songs for the festive board or fireside. These may be broken up into
further varieties, thus:
RELIGIOUS
Scriptural,
Legendary,
Lullaby.
SECULAR
Convivial or festive.
Wassail,
Boar's head,
In praise of holly and ivy.
Of the variety called _Legendary_, I propose now to speak. These are,
as a rule, the most popular of all carols, deriving mainly, as I said
before, their origin, and many of their expressions, from the ancient
mysteries. In the old plays songs are frequently introduced which
resemble, in a very striking manner, what are commonly called carols.
The following song of the shepherds occurs in one of the Coventry
pageants:
"As I rode out this endenes [Footnote 50] night,
Of three Jolly shepherds I saw a sight,'
And all about their fold a star shone bright;
They sang terli, terlow,
So merrily the shepherds their pipes can blow."
[Footnote 50: Last]
The last lines actually form the chorus of one of the carols in the
fifteenth-century manuscript formerly in the possession of Mr. Wright:
"About the field they piped full right,
Even about the midst of the night;
Adown from heaven they saw come a light,
Tyrle, tyrle,
So merrily the shepherds began to blow."
Again, in _Ludus Coventriae_:
"Joy to God that sitteth in heaven,
And peace to man on earth ground;
A child is born beneath the levyn,
Through him many folk should be unbound."
A sixteenth-century carol commences:
"Salvation overflows the land.
Wherefore all faithful thus may sing,
Glory to God most high
And peace on the earth continually,
And onto men rejoicing."
{350}
In the Coventry Plays again we find:
"Of a maid a child should be born,
On a tree he should be torn,
Deliver folks that are forlorn."
A genuine carol of the sixteenth century supplies us with the
following:
"Jesu, of a maid thou wouldst be born.
To save mankind that was forlorn,
And all for our sins."
And one of the reign of Henry VI.:
"Thy sweet Son that thou hast borne,
To save mankind that was forlorn.
His head is wreathed in a thorn.
His blissful body is all to-torn."
The "Cherry-Tree Carol," formerly a great favorite throughout England,
recollections of which yet linger amongst the country-folk, is in many
instances a literal copy from the Coventry Mysteries. I give the
popular version of the "Cherry-Tree Carol:"
"Joseph was an old man.
And an old man was he.
When he wedded Mary
In the laud of Galilee.
"Joseph and Mary
Walked through an orchard good.
Where were cherries and berries
As red as any blood.
* * * * *
"O then bespake Mary
With words both meek and mild,
'Gather me some cherries, Joseph,
They ran so in my mind.'"
St. Joseph refuses "with words most unkind" to grant her request,
apparently unaware that his spouse is about to become the mother of
the Son of God. The unborn Saviour, however, directs the Blessed
Virgin to
"'Go to the tree, Mary,
And it shall bow to thee,
And the highest branch of all
Shall bow down to Mary's knee.'
* * * * *
"Then bowed down the highest tree
Unto his mother's hand:
Then she cried. 'See, Joseph.
I have cherries at command.'
"O eat your cherries, Mary,
O eat your cherries now,
O eat your cherries, Mary,
That grow upon the bough.'"
Another version gives the following reply of S. Joseph:
"O then bespake Joseph.
'I have done Mary wrong.
But cheer up, my dearest.
And be not cast down.'"
I give a portion of the rest of the carol, some of the verses being
remarkably touching and beautiful:
"As Joseph was a-walking,
He heard an angel sing,
'This night shall be born
Our Heavenly King.
"He neither shall be born
In honsen nor in hall,
Nor in the place of paradise.
But in an ox's stall.
"He neither shall be clothed
In purple nor in pall,
But all in fair linen
As were babies all.
"He neither shall be rocked
In silver nor in gold,
But in a wooden cradle.
That rocks on the mould.
"He neither shall be christened
In white wine nor in red.
But with the spring water
With which we were christened.'"
In the fifteenth pageant of the Coventry Mysteries the following lines
occur:
"_Mary_, Ah, my sweet husband, would you tell to me
What tree is yon, standing on yon hill?
"_Joseph_, Forsooth. Mary, it is yclept a cherry tree.
In time of year you might feed you thereon your fill.
"_Mar._ Turn again, husband, and behold yon tree.
How that it bloometh now so sweetly.
"_Jos._ Come on, Mary, that we were a yon city.
Or else we may be blamed, I tell you lightly.
"_Mar._ Now, my spouse, I pray you to behold
How the cherries (are) grown upon yon tree;
For to have thereof right fain I would.
And it please you to labor so much for me.
"_Jos._ Your desire to fulfil I shall assay sekerly,
How to pluck you of these cherries, it is a work wild.
For the tree is so high, It would not be lightly (easy).
* * * * *
"_Mar._ Now, good Lord, I pray thee, grant me this boon,
To have of these cherries, and it be your will;
Now I thank God this tree boweiht to me down,
I may now gather enow, and eat my fill.
{351}
"_Jos._ Now I know well, I have offended my God in trinity.
Speaking to my spouse these unkind words.
For now I believe well it may none other be,
But that my spouse beareth the King's Son of Bliss."
It is interesting to note the way in which the more modern composition
retains all the incidents and traditions of the mediaeval mystery. Our
popular carol speaks of St. Joseph as _an old man, and an old man was
he,_ while the mystery represents him as saying (p. x.), _I am an old
man, and I am so aged and so old._The tree is the same, there is the
same desire of the Virgin Mother to taste the fruit, the same refusal
and bitter retort of her husband, the bowing-down of the tree, and the
regret of St. Joseph for his unkindness. Mr. Hone was not ashamed to
say of the "Cherry-Tree Carol:" "The admiration of my earliest days
for some lines in it still remains, nor can I help thinking that the
reader will see somewhat of cause for it."
The following example is still given on almost every broadside
annually printed: it is called "The Three Ships." I ought perhaps
first to state that the Three Ships are supposed to signify the
mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation being, as the _Speculum
Vitae Christi_ hath it, "the high work of all the Holy Trinity, though
it be that only the Person of the Son was incarnate and became man:"
"I saw three ships come sailing in,
On Christmas day, on Christmas day:
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day in the morning.
"And what was in those ships all three,
On Christmas day? etc.,
And what was in, etc.,
On Christmas day in the morning?
"Our Saviour Christ and our Lady, etc..
On Christmas day in the morning.
Pray whither sailed those ships all three? etc.,
On Christmas day in the morning.
"O, they sailed into Bethlehem, etc..
On Christmas day in the morning;
And all the bells on earth shall ring, etc.,
On Christmas day in the morning.
"And all the angels in heaven shall sing, etc,
On Christmas day In the morning.
And all the souls on earth shall sing, etc.,
On Christmas day in the morning.
"Then let us all rejoice amain, etc..
On Christmas day in the morning."
Another rude and rather amusing version is sometimes given of this
carol, called "The Sunny Bank:"
"As I sat on a sunny bank,
A sunny bank, a sunny bank.
As I sat on a sunny bank,
On Christmas day in the morning,
"I spied three ships come sailing by, etc..
On Christmas day, etc.;
"And who should be with those three ships?
On Christmas day, etc.,
"But Joseph and his fair lady, etc.,
On Christmas day, etc.
"Oh, he did whistle, and she did sing,
And all the bells on earth did ring.
For joy that our Saviour they did bring
On Christmas day in the morning."
An old Dutch carol, given by Hoffman, commences:
"There comes a vessel laden.
And on its highest gunwale
Mary holds the rudder,
The angel steers it on."
And thus explains the mission of the ship:
"In one unbroken course
There comes that ship to land:
It brings to us rich gifts,
Forgiveness is sent to us."
This translation is taken from Mr. Sandys' book on "Christmas-tide."
About the sixteenth century a similar carol was sung at Yule, which is
given by Ritson:
"There comes a ship far sailing then,
Saint Michael was the steersman;
Saint John sat in the horn:
Our Lord harped, our Lady sang,
And all the bells of heaven they rang
On Christ's Sunday at morn."
Another specimen I take from a Birmingham collection; it is called
"The Seven Virgins." This is given also by Mr. Sylvester from "the
original old broadside." It is singular, however, that his old copy
should include a line which he confesses to be a "modern
interpolation!"
"All under the leaves, and the leaves of life,
I met with virgins seven.
And one of them was Mary mild.
Our Lord's mother in heaven.
O, what are you seeking, you seven pretty maids.
All under the leaves of life?"
{352}
'We're seeking for no leaves, Thomas,
But for a friend of thine.
We're seeking for sweet Jesus Christ,
To be our heavenly guide.'
'Go down, go down to yonder town,
And sit in the gallery,
And there you'll see sweet Jesus Christ
Nailed to a yew tree.'
And they went down to yonder town
As fast as foot could fall,
And many a bitter and grievous tear
From our Lady's eyes did fall.
'O, peace, mother, O, peace, mother,
Your weeping doth me grieve,
I must suffer this, he said.
For Adam and for Eve.
* * * * *
'O mother, take you John Evangelist
To be your favorite son,
And he will comfort you sometimes.
Mother, as I have done.'
* * * * *
"Then he laid his head on his right shoulder.
Seeing death it struck him nigh,
'The Holy Ghost be with your soul,
I die, mother. I die.'"
Many of my readers will recollect the famous carol of "The Seven
Joys," still croaked out in the streets of London and elsewhere about
Christmas time. Very similar carols to this exist of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries, one of which I select from Mr. Wright's
manuscript. I have, as in all other cases, modernized the orthography:
OF THE FIVE JOYS OF OUR LADY.
* * * * *
"The first Joy that came to thee
Was when the angel greeted thee.
And said, 'Mary, full of charity,
Ave, plena gratia.'
The second joy that was full good
When God's Son took flesh and blood.
Without sorrow and changing of mood,
'Enixa es puerpera.'
The third joy was full of might,
When God's Son on rood was put.
Dead and buried, and laid in sight,
'Surrexit die tertia.'
The fourth joy was on Holy Thursday,
When God to heaven took his way,
God and man withouten nay.
'Ascendit supra sidera.'
The fifth joy is for to come.
At the dreadful day of doom,
When he shall deem us all and some
'Ad coeli palatia.'"
* * * * *
The following carol for St. Stephen's day is from a manuscript of the
time of King Henry VI. The reader will be amused to find the great
proto-martyr here introduced as a servant of King Herod, and intrusted
with the task of bringing in the boar's head, a famous dish, and "the
first mess" at Christmas and other high festivals. There was evidently
some honor attached to this office, for Holinshed tells us that King
Henry II., in 1170, on the day of his son's coronation, served him as
sewer, bringing up the boar's head, _according to the manner_; and in
1607, at St. John's College, Oxford, the "first mess was carried by
the tallest and lustiest of all the guard."
"Saint Stephen was a clerk in King Herod's hall.
And served him of bread and doth as ever king befall.
"Stephen out of kitchen came, with boar's head in hand.
He saw a star was fair and bright, over Bethlem stand.
"He cast adown the boar's head, and went into the hall,
_S. Stephen._ I forsake thee, King Herod, and thy works all,
"I forsake thee, King Herod, and thy works all,
There is a child in Bethlehem born, is better than we all.
"_Herod._ What aileth thee, Stephen? What is thee befall?
Lacketh thee either meat or drink in King Herod's hall?
"_S. Stephen_. Lacketh me neither meat nor drink in King Herod's hall.
There is a child in Bethlehem born, is better than we all.
* * * * *
"_Herod_. That is all so sooth, Stephen, all so sooth, I wit,
As this capon crow shall lyeth here in my dish.
"That word was no soon said, that word in that hall.
The capon crew _Christus natus est_ among the lords all."
* * * * *
This brings us to the more modern legendary carol of "The Carnal [a
bird] and the Crane," in which the same incident occurs of the bird
crowing in the dish:
"As I passed by a river side.
And there as I did rein [run],
In argument I chanced to near
A carnal and a crane.
"The carnal said unto the crane,
'If all the world should turn,
Before we had the Father,
But now we have the Son.'
"'From whence does the Son come?
From where and from what place?
He said, 'In a manger,
Between an ox and ass.'
* * * * *
"'Where is the golden cradle
That Christ was rocked in?
Where are the silken sheets
That Jesus was wrapt in?'
"'A manger was the cradle
That Christ was rocked in;
The provender the asses left
So sweetly he slept on.'
{353}
"There was a star in the west land,
SO bright it did appear
Into King Herod's chamber.
And where King Herod were.
"The wise men soon espied it,
And told the king on high,
'A princely babe was born that night,
No king could e'er destroy.'
"'If this be true,' King Herod said,
'As thou tellest unto me.
This roasted cock that lies in the dish,
Shall crow full fences three.'
"The cock soon freshly feathered was,
By the work of God's own hand,
And then three fences crowed he
In the dish where he did stand."
Herod then gives orders for the general massacre of the young
children, and the Saviour, with Joseph and his mother, travel into
Egypt amongst the "fierce wild beasts." The blessed Virgin being
weary, "must needs sit down to rest," and her son desires her to "see
how the wild beasts come and worship him:"
"First came the lovely lion,
Which Jesu's grace did spring.
And of the wild beasts in the field
The lion shall be the king."
The Holy Family continuing their flight, pass by a husbandman "just
while his seed was sown:"
"The husbandman fell on his knees,
Even before his face;
'Long time thou hast been look'd for,
But now thou'rt come at last.'
* * * * *
"'The truth, man, thou hast spoken,
Of it thou mayst be sure.
For I most lose my precious blood
For thee and thousands more.
"'If any one should come this way,
And inquire for me alone.
Tell them that Jesus passed by,
As thou thy seed did sow.'"
King Herod comes afterward with his train, and furiously asks of the
husbandman whether our Saviour has passed by; the husbandman replies
that
"'Jesus passed by this way
When my seed was sown.
"But now I have it reapen,
And some laid on my wain.
Ready to fetch and carry
Into my barn again.'"
Herod, supposing that it must be "full three quarters of a year since
the seed was sown," turned back, and "further he proceeded into the
Holy Land." A manuscript of the fifteenth century, preserved in the
British Museum, contains a representation of the flight into Egypt, in
which the above legend is introduced. The city of Bethlehem stands in
the background, and on the right, in the distance, a field of corn and
a reaper, who is in conversation with a soldier by his side. A curious
Scotch tradition states that when Herod and his soldiers made their
inquiry of the husbandman, "a little black beetle lifted up his head,
and exclaimed, _The Son of Man passed here last night_." Black beetles
are probably not more popular here than in Scotland, but Highlanders,
whenever they find the dastardly insect, kill it, repeating the words,
"_Beetle, beetle, last night_."
"The Holy Well" is a very favorite carol with the broadside printers;
I have seen it side by side with a very lively "legendary" production,
"Flyaway Carol:"
"There good old Wesley, and a throng
Of saints and martyrs too,
Unite and praise their Saviour's name.
And there I long to goo.
Fly away! Fly away!
While yet it's called to-day!"
The Magi or three Kings of Cologne form the subject of many an old
carol. The names of these "famous men" are supposed to have been,
Kasper or Gaspar, King of Tarsus, young and beardless; Melchior, King
of Nubia, old, with long beard and grey hair; and Balthazar, King of
Saba, a negro. Their offerings were, as is well known, symbolical; to
use the words of the Anglo-Saxon Hymnary, translated by the recorder
of Sarum:
"Incense to God, and myrrh to grace his tomb,
For tribute to their King, a golden store;
One they revere, three with three offerings come,
And three adore."
From an old commentary on the gospel of St. Matthew, we gather some
curious matter relating to the history of the Three Wise Men. A
certain nation dwelling close to the ocean, in the extreme east,
possessed a writing, inscribed with the name of Seth, concerning the
star which was to appear:
{354}
"Twelve of the more learned men of that country * * * has disposed
themselves to watch for that star; and when any of them died, his son
or one of his kindred * * was appointed in his place. These,
therefore, year by year, after the threshing out of the corn, ascended
into a certain high mountain, called _Mons victorialis_, having in it
a certain cave in the rock, most grateful and pleasant, with fountains
and choice trees, into which, ascending and bathing themselves, they
prayed and praised God in silence three days. And thus they did,
generation after generation, watching ever, lest peradventure that
star of beatitude should arise upon themselves, until it appeared
descending on the mountain, having within itself, as it were, the form
of a man-child, and above it the similitude of a cross; and it spake
to them, and taught them, and commanded them that they should go into
Judaea. And journeying thither for the space of two years, neither
food nor drink failed in their vessels."
Other old accounts state that their journey occupied twelve days only:
"they took neither rest nor refreshment; it seemed to them indeed as
one day; the nearer they approached to Christ's dwelling, the brighter
the star shone." [Footnote 51]
[Footnote 51: Early Christian Legends.]
[Illustration: Drawing described below. ]
There appears to have been no decided opinion or tradition as to the
form of the star; it is shown thus by Albert Durer, in an old book
which I have by me of 1519: it is drawn with eight points, the lowest
one being much longer than the others; in another book, 1596, I find
it represented as a star of six points; in some old pictures it is
shown as a sort of comet, and it is described to have been "as an
eagle flying and beating the air with his wings," having within the
form and likeness of the Holy Child.
In "Dives and Pauper," printed in 1496, we gather the following
account of it:
"_Dives_. What manner of star was it then?
"_Pauper_. Some clerks tell that it was an angel in the likeness of
a star, for the kings had no knowledge of angels, but took all heed
to the star. Some say that it was the same child that lay in the
ox-stall which appeared to the kings in the likeness of a star, and
so drew them and led them to himself in Bethlehem."
I wish it were possible to give here a quaint illustration of the
journey of the Three Wise Men, from a sheet of carols printed in 1820,
which forms one of the wood-cuts procured with no little difficulty
from the publisher by Mr. Hone, and is but little known.
The history of the Magi is even traced further; after their return to
their own country they were baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle, became
missionaries with him, and were, it is said by some, martyred.
Their journeyings did not, however, end with their deaths--their
bodies were translated to Constantinople, thence to Milan, and
afterward to Cologne, where they are still preserved in the cathedral,
and their history recorded in a series of frescoes. Their shrine at
Cologne was once exceedingly rich and magnificent, but during the
excitement of the first French revolution many of the jewels which
adorned the monument were sold and replaced by paste or glass
counterfeits. The following description of their tomb I gather from
Mr. Fyfe's book on "Christmas:"
"The coffin is stated to have two partitions, the lower having a
half, and the upper a whole, roofing. The former compartment
contains the bones of the three kings, whose separate heads appear
aloft through the aperture in the half-roofing; and on this roofing
are inscribed the names _Gaspar, Melchior, Balthazar_, encrusted in
rubies. {355} The heads are adorned with crowns weighing six pounds
apiece, of gold, diamonds, and pearls. It is asserted (but doubted)
that the tomb and its contents are of the value of £240,000."
From the offerings of the three kings arose the practice of Christmas
gifts, and the festival of the Epiphany has always been observed in
remembrance of their visit to Bethlehem; it has also been the custom
from earliest times for our sovereigns to offer the three mystic gifts
of gold, myrrh, and incense at the altar on the day of the Epiphany,
which custom is still observed at the Chapel Royal, the royal
oblations being received by the dean or his deputy in a bag of crimson
and gold. The Epiphany is also a "scarlet day" at the universities.
After this long roundabout discourse, I am almost afraid to weary my
readers with a second edition of the wanderings of the Wise Men, but I
must rely upon their generous forbearance; the accompanying carol is
from a manuscript of the time of King Henry VII.:
"Now is Christmas i-come,
Father and Son together in One,
Holy Ghost, as Ye be One,
In fere-a:
God send us all a good new year-a.
"There came iij kings from Galilee
Into Bethlehem that fair city
To seek him that ever should be,
By right-a,
Lord, and King, and Knight-a.
"At they came forth with their offering,
They met with Herod that moody king,
This tide-a,
And this to them he said-a.
"_Her_. Of whence be ye, you kings iij?
"_Mag_. Of the East, as ye may see,
To seek him that ever should be,
By right-a.
Lord, and King, and Knight-a.
"_Her_. When you at this child have been,
Come home again by me,
Tell me the sights that you have seen,
I pray you,
Go no other way-a.
* * * *
"The Father of heaven an angel down sent,
To these iij kings that made present
This tide-a.
And this to them he said-a,
My Lord hath warned you every one
By Herod King you go not home
For an you do, he will you slay,
And strew-a,
And hurt you wonderly-a.
"Forth then went these kings iij
Till they came home to their countree.
Glad and blithe they were all iij,
Of the sights that they had seen.
By dene-a.
The company was clean-a."
* * * *
I will conclude with a modern specimen of a legendary carol written by
the Rev. Dr. Neale, and published in Novello's shilling collection.
The story of St. Wenceslaus, the good King of Bohemia, is given by
Bishop Jeremy Taylor in his "Life of Christ:"
'"One winter night, going to his devotions in a remote church,
barefooted in the snow, * * his servant Podavius, who waited on his
master's piety, and endeavored to imitate his affections, began to
faint through the violence of the snow and cold, till the king
commanded him to follow him, and set his feet in the same footsteps
which his feet should mark for him; the servant did so, and either
fancied a cure, or found one, for he followed his prince, helped
forward with shame and zeal to his imitation, and by the forming
footsteps for him in the snow."
"Good King Wenceslaus look'd out.
On the Feast of Stephen;
When the snow lay round about.
Deep and crisp and even:
Brightly shone the moon that night,
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gath'ring winter fuel.
"'Hither, page, and stand by me.
While thou know'st it telling,
Yonder peasant who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?
"'Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence,
By Saint Agnes' fountain.'
"'Bring me flesh and bring me wine.
Bring me pine logs hither;
Thou and I will see him dine,
When we bear them thither.'
Page and monarch forth they went.
Forth they went together:
Through the rude wind's wild lament,
And the bitter weather.
"'Sire, the night is darker now.
And the wind blows stronger.
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.'
"'Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly;
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.'
"In his master's steps he trod.
Where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men--be sure--
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
Shall yourselves find blessing."
------
{356}
From The Dublin Review.
THE FORMATION OF CHRISTENDOM.
_The Formation of Christendom_. Part First.
By T. W. ALLIES. London: Longmans.
It is somewhat paradoxical, but strictly true, to say that the
greatest and most important revolution which ever took place upon
earth is that to which least attention has hitherto been paid, and
concerning which least is known--the substitution of "Christendom" for
the heathen world. Before our own day no historian, no philosopher of
modern times has felt any interest in this vast theme, and whatever
information with regard to it is attainable must be sought in the
fragmentary remains of ancient writers, or in works very recently
published on the continent. In the volume before us Mr. Allies has
taken ground not yet occupied by any English author. He has availed
himself of two works--Döllinger's "Christenthum und Kirche" and
Champagny's Histories--and he acknowledges in the most liberal and
loyal manner his obligation to them; but, in the main, he has been
left to find his way for himself, and no man could well be more highly
qualified for the task, whether by the gifts of nature or by the
acquirements of many years. We infer from the work itself that his
attention was immediately turned to the subject by his appointment as
professor of the "Philosophy of History" in the Catholic university of
Dublin, under the rectorship of Dr. Newman. The duties of his post
obliged him to weigh the question, "what is the philosophy of
history?" and the inaugural lecture with which the volume before us
commences, although it gives no formal definition of the phrase (which
is to be regretted), supplies abundant considerations by the aid of
which we may arrive at it. History, in its origin, was far more akin
to poetry than to philosophy, and even when it passes into prose it is
in the half-legendary form, which makes the narrative of Herodotus and
of the annalists of the middle ages so charming to all readers. They
are ballads without metre. Next came that style of which Thucydides is
the model, and which Mr. Allies calls "political history." "Its limit
is the nation, and it deals with all that interests the nation."
"Great, indeed, is the charm where the writer can describe with the
pencil of a poet and analyze with the mental grasp of a philosopher.
Such is the double merit of Thucydides. And so it has happened that
the deepest students of human nature have searched for two thousand
years the records of a war wherein the territory of the chief
belligerents was not larger than a modern English or Irish county.
What should we say if a quarrel between Kent and Essex, between Cork
and Kerry, had kept the world at gaze ever since? Yet Attica and
Laconia were no larger."
And yet it needed something more than territorial greatness in the
states of which he wrote to enable even Thucydides himself to realize
the idea of a philosophical history. For the five hundred years which
followed the Peloponnesian war brought to maturity the greatest empire
which has ever existed among men, and although, at the close of that
period, one of the ablest and most thoughtful of writers devoted
himself especially to its history, yet, says our author, "I do not
know that in reading the pages of Polybius, of Livy, or even of
Tacitus, we are conscious of a wider grasp of thought, a more enlarged
experience of political interests, a higher idea of {357} man, and of
all that concerns his personal and public life, than in those of
Thucydides." Great, indeed, was the genius of those ancient
historians, magnificent were the two languages which they made their
instruments--languages "very different in their capacity, but both of
them superior in originality, beauty, and expressiveness to any which
have fallen to the lot of modern nations. It may be that the marbles
of Pentelicus and Carrara insure good sculptors." "In the
narrative--that is, the poetic and pictorial part of history--they
have equal merit. Their history is a drama in which the actors and the
events speak for themselves. What was wanting was the bearing of
events on each other, the apprehension of great first principles--the
generalization of facts." And this no mere lapse of time could give.
It is wanting in the works of the greatest ancient masters. It is
found in moderns in all other respects immeasurably their inferiors.
"What, then, had happened in the interval?" Christianity had
happened--Christendom had been formed. '"There was a voice in the
world greater, more potent, thrilling, and universal, than the last
cry of the old society, _Civis sum Romanus_, and this voice was _Sum
Christianus_. From the time of the great sacrifice it was impossible
to sever the history of man's temporal destiny from that of his
eternal; and when the virtue of that sacrifice had thoroughly leavened
the nations, history is found to assume a larger basis, to have lost
its partial and national cast, to have grown with the growth of man,
and to demand for its completeness a perfect alliance with
philosophy."