Is Romanism of Middle Ages Like Romanism of Today [1852]

7/30/2019 Is Romanism of Middle Ages Like Romanism of Today [1852]

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Digitized by tine Internet Arclnivein 2011 witli funding from

Princeto'n Tlieological Seminary Library


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PAST AND FUTURE:OR

ROMANISM OF THE MIDDLE AGES

TEE SAME WITH

THE ROMANISM OF TO-DAY."Give rao liberty er give me death.'-"Patrick Henry

Y JEHU

SECOND EDITION, WITH AN APPENDIX.

CINCINNATI;PllINTD TOU THE AUTHORj


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PREFACE,Recent events have imparted a new interest to the

long debated question concerning the political tenden-cies of Romanism. The conflicts between the spirit ofliberty and the spirit of oppression in Europe, havewaxed warmer, and seem evidently approaching thefinal struggle. The apparent triumphs of the former,in 1848, gave to the Roman clergy an occasion for pro-fessing a most ardent attachment for its principles , andthe late reaction has emboldened them to throw off themask, and appear more fully in their true character, thanfor many years. In our own country they have proba-bly felt constrained to speak out, lest their followersshould be carried away with the prevailing sentimentsin favor of liberty of the press and freedom of conrscience. Certainly it is high time that Americans un-derstand this subject. Romanism is radically despotic,and can never be otherwise. Its fundamental articlesof faith compel those who embrace it to be the ene-mies of liberty; and, therefore, all hope of reform inthis respect is perfectly vain.The writer of the following" pages wields a vigorous

pen, and has brought out some very important truths,which may be safely commended to the very seriousconsideration of all true Americans, and of all friendsof free institutions. Having himself been a memberof that communion, he may be supposed to know some-thing of its spirit and principles, N, L, R.


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PAST AND FUTURE,That point in progress is forever passed,

when time honored usages can receive the in-discriminate homage of mankind, and be ad-mitted as universal standards.

In by-gone ages of despotism and barbarism,the will of the Monarch was regarded as thesupreme Law of the land, and to the iron scep-tre of the tyrant, right or wrong, the down-trodden subject was obliged to submit.The age in which we have the happiness to

live, presents a very different aspect. The in-quiry now is, not what our ancestors believedor did, but what we, under existing circul^stan-ces, should believe and do.

That our fathers groped their way in thedark, and permitted others to think and act forthem, is no good reason why we should notthink and act for ourselves. Because theytamely submitted, in former ages, to despotickings and rulers, shall we invite foreign mon-archs to extend their dominion over us? Itwas "while men slept" that the enemy sowed


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8 PAST AND FUTURE.his tares ; and it is while the citizens of acountry are neglectful of their rights, and tooimplicitly confide in the vigilance and integri-ty of their public servants, that principles fatalto civil liberty have been introduced.The divine right of kings, the political

creed of olden times, was a doctrine which re-garded the great mass of mankind as createdmerely to subserve the interests of their rulersas abject beasts of burden, doomed to fighttheir battles and toil in their service, withouthaving a voice in making the laws by whichthey were governed, and for the slightest in-fringment of which they were liable to be se-verely punished. Bare existence was then re-garded as a blessing, and the Lord's anointed,the vicegerent of the Most High, affected topossess the power of life and death over hissubjects !

After the lapse of ages, a better order ofthings was introduced, and men began to thinkthat they were formed for a nobler purposethan to be slaves to kings and despots. Self-,government was found to be practicable, whichrecognizes men in office not as rulers, but simplyas servants of the people, and as such, neces-sarily responsible to the people for the manner


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PAST AND FUTURE.in which they discharge the duties confided totheir care.

Such a government can be maintained onlyby free discussion; by securing to every onethe freedom of speech and the liberty of thepress, the two main props of civil and religiousliberty. Eelying, therefore, on the fact that inthis country, these great fundamental rights ofman are clearly defined and duly appreciated,no further apology will be offered for the free-dom of expression which may characterize thefollowing remarks, in which all reflections ofa personal character will be carefully avoided,as every way objectionable, being wrong in it-self and irrelevant to the subject before us.We shall promise, then, that all civil gov-ernments should be organized with referenceto the interests of the governed ; to bless andbenefit the people, and to elevate man physic-ally, morally, and socially, to the highest pointof perfection of which he is susceptible in thepresent life.

That such should be the primary object inorganizing a government, and the method adop-ted in subsequent legislation, cannot be calledin question in a country where the prosperityof the people is the governing motive ; and justso far as civil government tends to promote


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10 PAST AND FUTURE.this result, does it subserve the purpose forwhich it was instituted.How far civil government has hitherto pro-moted this object, must be left to philosophersand political economists to determine.

If we throw a retrospective glance on thepast, and review the history of nations, someof which have long ceased to exist, we shallfind, that just so far as the voice of the peopleprevailed, in that exact ratio did the rights ofman prevail and flourish.

Athens, once the pride of ancient Greece,was a democracy; a government in whichevery adult citizen participated in the work oflegislation and the administration of the laws.Under this most liberal form of government,the city flourished and became the seat of civ-ilization and refinement. But this famous city,the home of so many orators and statesmen,where Demosthenes poured forth torrents ofimpassioned eloquence in defence of civil lib-erty, and where the Apostle Paul proclaimedthe unknown God, has long since been robbedof her liberty, and exists now only in the gloryof the past.

But this form of Government, whatever mayhave been its peculiar advantages, was notadapted to countries of great extent, and could


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PAST AND FUTURE. 11be applied with the best results only in citiesand inconsiderable states and territories.Hence the origin of delegation, by means ofwhich the great body of the people can accom-plish, by their delegates, that which distanceand other circumstances prevent them from ac-complishing in person.

Ancient Rome was, in substance, a govern-ment of this description, a Republic ; but gen-erally, unduly influenced by the military, pop-ular generals and military chieftains bore toogreat a sway, and liberty, after languishing fora time under various forms of government, atlength yielded to the encroachments of despot-ism. And, in casting our eyes over Europe atthe present time, how much of this despotismof barbarous ages still remains, as a mementoof the past

Russia, Austria, Italy, and most of the otherkingdoms of Europe, are still governed by theforce of arms. The " Vox Populi Vox Dei,^'is yet regarded as rank blasphemy and impiety,when attempted to be applied by the people tothe purposes of self government; and the ghostof the divine right of kings, is continuallymade to re-appear, by base flatterers and syco-phants, who seek only their own advancement.In these unhappy countries, the press is fet-


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12 PAST AND FUTURE.tered, and civil and religious liberty are un-known, or only partially enjoyed, under nu-merous and mortifying restrictions. In limitedmonarchies, such for example as England andPrussia, together with some of the minor gov-ernments on the continent, a better state ofthings is presented to our view; but it is onlyin America that civil liberty is enjoyed in thefullest extent.Of all the nations on which the sun shines,

the American Republic is the only governmentin which liberty is well understood ; the onlycountry in which the people possess the gov-erning power, and are able to control their pub-lic servants.

In this highly favored country, the sacreddeposit of liberty is confided to the custody ofthe people; and so long as they continue tofeel the weight of responsibility which restsupon them, it will (humanl}' speaking) be im-possible for any earthly power to wrest it fromtheir giant grasp.Having glanced at some of the nations ofEurope, and noticed briefly the despotism which still exists in most of them, we may,perhaps, be permitted to dwell for a little whilein pleasing anticipations in reference to therising greatness of this wonderful country, (for


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PAST AND FUTURE. 13such it undoubtedly is) in which our lot iscast.

But where shall we begin? The most su-perficial view of this great government, so vastin extent, and so replete with benefits and ad-vantages of every kind, assumes the form offiction, rather than that of sober reality.

As this great republic is in advance of everyother government in point of civil and socialprivileges, so also are her material advantagesof a vastly superior character. A countrywashed by two mighty oceans, and comprisingwithin its spacious limits ev^ery variety of soiland climate, and capable of yielding the pro-ducts of every land on the globe, whose lawsare made not to suit the convenience or protectthe rights and interests of the few, but to blessand benefit all the people ; that all may enjoy,as far as circumstances will permit, equalrights and privileges^ and ultimately becomeas happy, intelligent, and prosperous, as goodgovernment and liberal institutions can makethem, is truly worthy of our admiration.

Shall America, then, on which the eyes ofall nations are turned with admiration shallthis great, free, and glorious republic continueto increase in every element of national great-ness, until the powers of the human intellect


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14 PAST AND FUTURE.shall become fully developed and applied toevery liberal and praise-worthy enterprise cal-culated to elevate this nation above all thenations of the earthuntil other nations shallemulate her glory, and imbibe her spirit, andlight the sacred torch of liberty at her altars ?Shall all these bright anticipations of her fu-ture greatness be fully realized, or shall someunexpected calamity occur to prevent her on-ward marchsome dark and foreboding cloudarise in her political horizon, to exclude thesefond hopes ?

In a word, shall America be permitted totransmit her laws and institutions to the latestposterity; and when revision and maturityshall have given them an excellence and per-fection of character, which shall recommendthem to distant nations, will no bitterness bemingled with them at the fountain headwillthe source still continue pure ?

Americans live and legislate, it should beremembered, not merely for the present, but forthe future ; not for this republic, or continent,but for the whole world : for wherever this country is known, the world over, the influ-ence of its institutions will be appreciatedwill exert a mighty influence. Preserve invio-late this migjjty union of sovereign independent


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PAST AND FUTURE. 15States, and let that wisdom characterize thelegislation of the future^ which has left itsglorious and indelible impress o?i the past; andthe sacred influence of her power for good, willbe felt hj millions in the old world, and des-pots will tremble on their thrones, and thegalling chains of nations wull be snappedasunder by her magic touch. These are con-siderations which interest alike the philanthro-pist and the statesmana subject in which weare deeply and equally concerned.

Let us once more inquire, from what quar-ter are we to look for that principle of oppo-sition calculated to endanger the fair fabric ofcivil and religious liberty, erected on this con-tinent? a monument, reared by. the hands,and cemented by the blood of patriots andwarriors, who now slumber in the dust ! Arewe to look for cause of alarm, to that differ-ence of opinion^ growing out of the long fo-mented bickerings between the two extremitiesof the union? We unhesitatingly answer, no;for the citizens of this great and free republicappreciate too fully the inseparable connectionbetween liberty and union, to admit of alarmarising from this quarter. The great body ofthe people possess too much virtue, intelligence,and love of country, to permit the overthrow


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16 PAST AND FUTURE.of liberty from causes like these. They knowthat the eyes of foreign despots are fixed uponthem, who would exult at witnessing theirfamily quarrels, their internal strifes and ani-mosities. Moreover, they have wise and dis-tinguished statesmen in their Senate, who, bytheir patriotism and wisdom, have allayed, fromtime to time, those storms of passion arisingfrom prejudice and sectional interests, whichseemed to threaten the safety of the union ; onthe preservation of which, under God, the in-creasing prosperity of this great country andnation mainly depends.

Still there exists but two much cause foralarm, but in another direction. It cannot andshould not be dissembled, that in the natureand organization of the Romish Church, withall the modified influences under which it ex-ists in this country, there is cause for alarm toour free institutions. If infant liberty wascrushed in Italy by French bayonets, at thesolicitation of the Pope ; why may not a simi-lar course be attempted, at some future period,in America? Romanism diflfers, most widelyand essentially diflfers, from every other reli-gious system in this, that it owes undying andeternal allegiance to a foreign sovereign !The English, or other European Protestant,


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PAST AND FUTURE. 17on reaching these shores, can renounce ex ani-mo, in sincerity and with the entire approba-tion of his conscience, all allegiance to his for-mer sovereign; and this in spiritual as well asin civil matters ; but not so the Romish immi-grant from Italy or Austria, from Spain or Ire-land, or any other part of the world. Thepapal yoke is on his neck, and hear it he mustall the days of his life. The christian is de-clared by St. Paul to be the free man ofChrist, but the Roman Catholic is emphatic-ally the Pope's hond-man. As the spiritualvassal of this great sovereign prince, every Ro-manist is bound, at all hazards, and in everyportion of the w^orld, to do his bidding. Histribunal is regarded by all his devout follow-ers as an unerring tribunal, where all doubt-ful points are rendered clear, and the path ofduty and the dogmas of religion are madeequally plain to all his spiritual subjects. Hespeaks, and it is done ; he commands, and itstands fast ; unless, perchance, it should be re-voked by some succeeding pontiff, who, in theplenitude of his newly acquired infallibility,may feel disposed to brush off the act of hisinfallible predecessor, thus demonstrating thatthe living infallibility is to be preferred to thedead. In the opinion of his devoted subjects,


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18 FAST AND FUTURE.his commands have the force of decrees; andhis decree is supposed to be ratified in heaven,believed in and submitted to on earth, anddreaded in hell ! So great and terrible is thepower of the PopeWe do not, at the present time, notice theseextravagant pretensions of the papacy in theirreference to religious faith, but only as theymay affect civil liberty in this country. Thequestion is not v/hat extravagant notions men,professing a belief in the supremacy of thePope, may see fit to attribute to this augustpersonage, but how far such a belief may af-fect Roman Catholics, in their civil relationsto the government of this republic. It is notin telling his beads, or saying his prayers in anunknown tongue, that w^e would object to theRomanist ; this is an inalienable right, whichhe enjoys in common with every other Ameri-can citizen; but the great question whichforces itself upon our mind is, can he bear un-shackled allegiance to the constitution and gov-ernment of this republic, while he owes alle-giance to a foreign sovereign? This is apoint on which much indeed has been writtenand said, but we confess that, to our mind, ithas never been made clear ; and we have se-cret misgivings that it is impossible to remove


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PAST AND FUTURE. 19that objection which attaches to this double ortwofold citizenship, of which we are now treat-ing.The papacy has always checked the prog-

ress of civilization in every country where itsblighting and withering influence has been felt.Like a stream of lava, rushing down the sideof Vesuvius or Mount ^Etna, it has rolled overthe fair land of Italy, sweeping away everything valuable in its desolating course. Thepeople of beautiful Italy, who inhabit a coun-try blessed with a soil so fertile and kindly inquality as to be capable of yielding annuallytwo harvests, are, by the oppressions and ex-actions of their despotic rulers, reduced to themost abject condition of distress. If the pa-pacy could be shown to be favorable to libertyand progress in the useful arts, in no othercountry should we expect to find them in a stateof greater perfection than in Italy, the gardenof Europe, and once mistress of the worldbut, alas ! how has the mighty fallen ! Italymay still boast of her clear, blue skies, hersunny fields, her delicious fruits, and the re-mains of her gorgeous palaces and temples, nowcrumbling into dust, but in vain shall we lookwithin her borders for a free, educated, andprosperous people, to improve the natural ad-


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PAST AND FUTURE.vantages of their'"country. The numerous ad-vantages of soil, and clime, and sunny skies,avail them not; a dark cloud hangs over thisfair land, and obscures their brightest hopes.A non-producing class of men have monopo-lized all her sources of wealth, and, likeswarms of locusts, have devoured every greenthing in the land.*Poor Italy is a down-trodden and a priest-ridden country, where commerce and agricul-ture, and the useful arts, exist in their mostfeeble condition; and painting and sculpture,their only remaining boast, had shared a simi-lar fate, had they not been required to beautifyand embellish the gorgeous churches, the erec-tion of which, together with the maintenanceof the priesthood, absorbed the wealth of theland, steeped the people in ignorance and pov-erty, and shrouded the minds of men in darkness

*In the city of Eome, which contains 170,384 in-habitants, there are 34 bishops, 1,240 secular priests,1,892 regular priests, and 1,467 monks.The above note is inserted as it recently appeared inone of the most respectable public journals of this city,making the grand total of priests and monks, regularand secular, 4,633 ! and should we add to this largesupply of male clergy, 3,000 female assistants, andprobably the figure is not too high, we have the as-tounding sum of 7,633 of this non-producing class,men and women, in the eternal city alone.


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PAST AND FUTURE. 21more dense than that which once rested onthe land of Egypt.

Although traces of the fine arts still remainin the land, monuments to the memories of herformer painters and sculptors, her living artistscease to produce specimens which even approx-imate to the excellence which characterized theproductions of their predecessors. Havinglong since completed the portraits of the virginand the saints, and exhausted all the subjects inthe calendar, the brush has passed from theirhands into that of our brilliant West ; and Ca-nova having closed the catalogue of her sculp-tors, has yielded the palm of glory to our ownimmortal Powers !

Italy, a land so highly favored by the greatcreator in physical advantages, shouldexhibitthe largest amount of happiness of any countryin Europe, or perhaps in the world.

Private judgment has been carefully guardedagainst, and " all false doctrine, heresy, andschism," hitherto excluded from Italy. Thehead of the church has also been head of thegovernment. Where, then, according to Ro-man Catholic calculation, could we expect tofind so large an amount of prosperity, nationaland individual, as in that country ? The gen-uine fruits of the Romish religion, if anywhere


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22 PAST AND FUTURE.on earth, might be expected to exist, in theirgreatest perfection, in this land, unmarked bythe footsteps of heretics or schismatics, and en'\circling the throne of Infallihility I What,then, are its fruits ? Poverty, oppression, andignorance ! But the bitterest fruit which itproduces is, depression of the immortal mindof man ! Here the iron enters into theSOUL !The proud despot of Eussia can send a man

to the frozen wilds of Siberia ; but once there,the exile may muse at pleasure on the cruel andarbitrary policy which sent him hither; butthe slave of Romanism enjoys no such privi-lege. The Russian exile can at least enjoyfreedom of thought. The emperor cannot en-ter within his breast and detect what is passingthere, or denounce it as treason " against hiscrown and dignity;" but what the emperorcannot do the priest can. He can enter intothe soul of his subject, and scrutinize histhoughts and emotions, and scan his purposesand designs ; arraigning him from time to timebefore his tribunal, and directing the channelthrough which his very thoughts must flow !Is this a system friendly to liberty ? If this beliberty, what, I ask, is despotism ?


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PAST AND FUTURE. 23The serf of Romanism does not even enjoy

the liberty of thought !The pure religion of Christ is calculated tomake the wilderness bud and blossom like the

rose, while Romanism transforms the fertilefield into a desert.

This grasping power has always shown it-self to be the enemy of education, so far asthe masses are concerned.Romanism has uniformly placed the candle

"under a bushel," and confined learning andscience, as much as possible, within the wallsof the monastery and the convent.

Under the control of this despotic power,the Bible is not the only sealed hook whichhas no meaning of its own, but by its notes andglosses must speak the language of its keepers.We say the Bible is not the only book, northeology the only science, doomed to suchilliberal restrictions by these spiritual guides.History, philosophy, and political economy,are all, in Roman Catholic countries, subjectto the control of the ruling Churchare allliable to fall under the ban of this spiritualembargo !Rome attempted to control the motion of the

heavenly bodies by the action of canon law,and sent the astronomer Galilio to prison.


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24 PAST AND FUTURE.merely for asserting that the earth movedaround the sun.

Even language was regarded as identifiedwith heresy, particularly the Greek, whichBishops, sometimes, were pleased to call "aheretical language.'^

These were the palmy days of popery, thegolden age of the Church, when priestcraftbore sway and triumphed over the intellect ofman!The learning of those times flourished, as

before remarked, within the w^alls of the con-vent and the precincts of the cloister, lockedup in unknown language, translations of whichwere prohibited to be made and read, underpain of excommunication; a word which, inthose times of darkness, carried with it fargreater terror than at the present day, when thethunder of the Vatican creates little or noalarm.Even during the late reign of Gregory XVI,

progress was vigorously opposed. Railroadsand factories, and any additional activity oradvancement, were regarded with suspicion.

These remarks hold good, with some modi-fication, it may be, wherever popery is in theascendant in Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily,Naples, and every other country under the in-


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PAST AND FUTURE. 25fluence of this power. But of all countrieswhich have groaned under the weight of thisincubus, none have suffered so severely as thatbright gem of the ocean, [reland, the land oforators and poets, where the human intellect,unchained, soars aloft, and exults in deeds ofvalor and patriotism.

Under the combined influence of Englishmisrule and Romish superstition, the most as-tounding evils have been inflicted on this un-happy country. The great body of the people,uninstructed in learning and the science of civilgovernment, became an easy prey to those whofound their account in plundering them of theirproperty and legal rights.

If, in this work of spoliation, the Englishgovernment took the lead, by imposing on themheavy burdens, in the shape of taxes and tithes,for the support of the government and the na-tional Church, the landlords and the priestscompleted the work of destruction, by scrapinginto their coffers what the former exactors hadleft behind.A million of human beings blotted from thepage of existence in one island by the frightfuldeath of famine in three years, is an eventwhich a nation of the same numerical strengthperhaps never before experienced. It is truly


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26 PAST AND FUTURE.heart-rending to dwell on a scene of such des-olating misery ; yet all this distress may becharged to the account of Romanism, as itsgrand agent and primary cause.

Popery and monarchy paved the way for theintroduction of that train of effects whichworked such unparalleled mischief in this un-happy country this congenial pair preparedthe way for that complication of evils whichfell with such crushing weight on this ill fatedand unhappy land. The great body of thepeople, long unused to reflection and patier.tthought, excluded from the benefits of educa-tion, and unskilled in the arts of life, sufferedtheir governors, temporal and spiritual, to be-come their masters, and ultimately the destroy-ers of their lives.And thus it has ever been, and it ever will bethe case, that where learning declines amongthe masses, tyranny will take its place ; forwhere the people will not think for themselves,or are too indolent and ignorant to do so, therewill always be found at hand those who willthink and act for them : but it should be bornein mind that they will also be paid /or this la-bor of love. They will filch from the peopletheir rights and liberties ; this will be thedear-bought compensation which alone will


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PAST AND FUTURE. 27compensate these choice spirits for their devo-tion to the dear people. ^

Liberty must be guarded by eternal vigilanceby untiring labor and industry ; and no peo-ple can be accounted worthy to enjoy its bless-ings, who are unwilling to share in the caresand toils necessary to its preservation. Whengross darkness had long covered the earth, daydawned in the Morning of the Reformation !As the chains fell from the Apostle Peter atthe bidding of the Angel, so were the heavierfetters of the human race burst asunder bp thatpower which attended the Reformation ! Thehuman mind, chained and bound and presseddown to the dust by Papal oppressors and Ec-clesiastical Tyrants, awoke then from its slum-bering trance of ages, to assert and claim its in-herent and heaven-born rights ; among the veryfirst of which, is that right of every one, tothink and act for himself!And this, I take it, constitutes the prominent

and distinguishing characteristic of the Reform-ation : the exercise of Private Judgment^ inopposition to the unqualified Dictum of theChurch ! It was this principle, so long dor-mant, but now roused to activity^ which gavethat impetus to progress^ which remains to the


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28 PAST AND FUTURE.present time, and will, in all probability con-tinue, should we prove faithful to our trust, tilltime shall be no longer.

While, previously to the dawn of the Ref-ormation, the intellect of man was held in lead-ing-strings ; civilization, and those arts whichresult from the expansion of intellect were intheir infancy, such of them as were then born ;and long would they, in all human probabilityhave continued in a state of protracted child-hood or stultified minority, but for the lightwhich broke in upon the world at that eventfulperiod.And -what can be so pleasing to the Philan-

thropist, as to trace the mental and materialprogress, resulting from this great moral eman-cipation ; the progress of learning and science,of material comfort and civilization, whichhave sprung up in all lands, visited by thosepure streams, then bursting forth in all theirpristine purity and svv^eetness, and carrying withthem, into all countries, through which theyflowed, every blessing which could be enjoyedor secured by the joint action of civil and re-ligious liberty.And here, since objects strike the mind most

forcibly, and leave the most lasting impression


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PAST AND FUTURE. 29when placed in contrast, it may be well toplace in this manner, those countries which en-joyed the light of the Reformation, with thosestill under the dominion of Popery,whichstill remain under the shadow of papal darknessand despotism, being "fast bound in miseryand iron".Take for example the ancient and extensive

kingdom of Spain, and contrast it with theseindependent and sovereign States of America,touching civil and religious freedom ; and thedifference is almost as great, as between mid-night and noonday.

In Italy, Spain and Portugal, the liberty ofspeech and the freedom of the Press, and therights of man, are utterly denied ; or at best sonarrowed dowm and circumscribed, as' scarcelyto be worthy the name ; while in this happyland they are enjoyed to the fullest extent, andsecured to every citizen by the Constitution.We have already spoken of the material pro-gress which has followed the Eeformationwherever it has spread, it has stamped thisgreat feature of its character on our ownCountry !A hasty glance at some of the cities of thisUnion will fully illustrate this point.


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so PAST AND FUTURE.Detroit, nearly as old as Philadelphia, long

remained an insignificant village or depot forhunters ; and until the war of 1814, whichpaved the way for the introduction of Protest-ant influence and activity gave little hope offuture expansion : since that period however ithas grown up into a City, containing a largeand flourishing population.The same remark holds good when applied

to New Orleans, St. Louis, and Cincinnatiit is by the joint influence of capital and intel-ligence, aided by the great motive power ofwhich we have been speaking, that these faircities have attained their present importance.We might further notice in this place, thatthe great body of English literature has beenthe result of the Reformation ; Shakespeareand Milton, Thompson and Cowper and Watts 5and a long list of Poets, too numerous to men-tion, have sprung up since the glorious Reform*,ation, to breathe sweet music into the soul ofman ; while Addison, Johnson and Swift,and a host of essayists, of orators, historiansand statesmen have appeared^ both in the oldworld and in the new, to enrich our literatureand language, and to refine and elevate societyby their productions* Indeed there is scarcelya book in the English language worth reading,


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FAST AND FUTURE. 31that has not been written since the Reformation,Man must be free before he can make desirableproficiency in any science or art : the mindscorns to remain bound and fettered, and utterlyrefuses to act under the influence of coercion ordictation ; suitable training and a right direc-tion is all that it requires ; which leads me tothat topic, most worthy of our consideration ina treatise on civil Liberty, to point out the bestmethod of preserving unimpaired, this inestim-able blessing.As ignorance has ever been themother of superstition, so, by parity of reason-ing we may infer, other things being equal,that learning and enlightenment will producefreedom of thought, and all the attendant bless-ings and benefits of well ordered society.A sound education for youth is the first stepwhich should engage the attention of parents

and lesjislators.Superior institutions will never be wanting,

to which the children of the wealthy or com-paratively wealthy can resort for instructionbut the blessings flowing from the general dif-fusion of education are so numerous, that exer-tions should be made to extend it to every childin the land. Every one should be taught, notmerely the rudiments of his language, butshould be instructed in all the solid and useful


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32 PAST AND FUTUHE.branches of education. Hence the necessityfor District or common schools, to aid so im-portant an enterprize ; these institutions, sincethey are designed for the benefit of all, it isonly reasonable that they should receive thesupport of all. Every man should be calledupon by the public authority, to contribute hisshare, in proportion to his means, to establishsuch nurseries of learning in every hamlet orneighborhood in the land.

As our civil Liberty was at first secured byjoint effort, so can the general diflfusion of edu-cation be most effectually promoted in likemanner. It was by pulling together, withoutregard to sect or party in politics or religion,that our patriotic forefathers secured fortheir descendants the invaluable blessings ofliberty and independence ; and it is only byacting in concert in advancing the scarcelyless valuable cause of general education, thatwe can hope to secure the largest amount ofsuccess in this great undertaking.

'' United toe stand,'' was the motto then, thesame union of strength is necessary to successnow, in extending the benefits of popular edu-cation. The means provided by public au-thority for the support of schools, by being di-vided, would be frittered away, and in the end


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PAST AND FUTURE. 33prove nearly useless; particularly would thismark be found to apply to schools in the coun-try, where the sparseness of the population, to-gether with other causes, must ever prevent, asa general rule, more than one School in thesame vicinity or School-District.

Furthermore, there can be no good reason as-signed for such a subdivision of the funds, ap-propriated by the Legislature for the support ofcommon Schools ; the measure, indeed, isfraught with danger, and replete with mischiefof every kind.The peace and harmony of society are best

promoted, by that kind and friendly commin-gling together for purposes of public utility ofpersons maintaining, on minor points, someslight diversity of opinion.

Such a measure, as the division of schoolfunds, provided for the support of general in-struction, if carried into operation, would notonly interrupt the existence of this friendlyfeeling, but would also annihilate a large'proportion of the public schools, and mostprobably subject great numbers to the mis-fortune of being brought up in ignorance ;or might be the means of placing them undersuch influences, as would prove detrimental tothe advancement of sound education and the


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34 PAST AND FUTURE,diffusion of liberal principles. Evils everyway injurious both to the community andto individuals. "Divide and conquer" isthe policy of an influential and aspiring class,*who might find such a division and apportion-ment of the Public School funds conducive tothe consummation of their ambitious desis^ns.

But we again remark, that the noblest mon-ument which can be erected to the honor of thecountry, is an intelligent population !" Andsince the great masses of the people are notprivileged with the advantages held out by thesuperior schools and colleges, the standard ofeducation should be elevated, as far as possible,in the district or common schools ; whichshould be made accessible to every child withintheir sphere of operation.The District Schools should never be re-garded as common in the sense of inferiority ;but only, as the air we breathe, and the waterwith which we allay our thirst ; in every otherrespect they should be, as far as practicable,superior schools ; for the blessings and bene-fits of education, like light and air, should, befreely enjoyed by every one.We have already hinted at the general in-convenience which would attend the distribu-


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PAST AND FUTURE. 35tion of the school funds, as respects the ruraldistricts ; we might here add, that we cannot dis-cover any counterbalancing advantages whichwould result from the measure.We cannot see any good reason, why thechildren of Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Bap"tists and Methodists, and even Romanists, Ma-homedans, and Pagans, may not be instructedin the same school or college, without receivingthe slightest injury from such association.

Besides, there is no keresy or schism to befound in Grammar, Arithmetic, Natural His-tory, Geography, or in the higher branches ofMathematics, Astronomy, or even in Greek it-self ; and the Latin has been too long employedin the sacred service of the church, to be fearedby any, except uneasy spirits or demons.*)But another objection made to this friendlyand liberal association or union of all the vari-ous denominations, has been that in the workof education the denominational views of eachwould be encroached uppn, or unduly influencedby teachers and instructors. This objection

*) We have, as we believe, a well authenticated ac-count of the laying of a spirit by the Rev. Mr. M , Ro-man Priest in Patterson, New Jersey. This happenedonly a few yeas since.The above was given us by a highly respectable clergy-man of the city of St. Louis.


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36 PAST AND FUTURE.must prove groundless when we remember thatunder the parental roof, and in the SundaySchool, an abundant opportunity is offered forthe inculcation of religious instruction, in thatmrinner most pleasing to parents and guardians.Indeed five days in the week, are amply suf-ficient for the work of secular instruction ; theremaining two may, at the discretion of theparents, l;e devoted to such a system of re-ligious trai.iing as they respectively prefer.But should the Bible be introduced as a

text-book in schools 9The introduction of this book of books, has

been made one of the principal objections tothe great union of the people for the advance-ment of education.

If admitted, the schools are pronounced sec-tarian in their character'if excluded, God-less and Infidel institutions !

Jesuits and Romanists in general, objectalike, on both views of the subject, to thatcourse, ickich alone can insure the largestamount of education and sound instructionfor the great body of the people !The Bible is not like the dogmas of men,calculated often to mislead, but without noteor comments " able to make wise unto salva-tion " ; and besides the sacred treasure of di-


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FAST AND FUTL'KE. 3?vine truth, of which it is the bearerj it con*tains the most ancient and interesting historyin the world the history of the Creation, andof man, the lord of the Creation. TheProphets and the Psalms contain poetry neverequalled by the ingenuity of uninspired man^while its precepts teach us lessons of mercy andcompassion to our lellow men, under every ex-igency of life. Our duty to God and our dutyto our neighbor, are there most distinctlytaught, and yet in a manner free of all sectarianbias.

.

Who then, regarding the good of the com*munity, and the due expansion of the humanintellect, would bar our this book from schoolsand other institutions of learning ?

There is in the holy Scriptures enough onwhich all denominations are fully agreed, tomake the Bible invaluable to them !

But the objection raised to the admission ofthe Bible into schools, is attempted to be puton the ground of the faulty or incorrect translation of the Sacred Scriptures, in general usaamong Protestants, This is merely an evasion,on the part of Roman Catholics, v^ho are reallyopposed to the distribution of the Sacred Scrip-tures among the people, in any language ortranslation, And in their schook and semi*


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38 PAST AND FUTURE.naries, when were they ever known to teach aboy to think or reason independently on anysubject, whether on civil liberty or religion?When, and to whom did they ever put thequestion : " how readest thou, or how thinkcstthou ? " The true state of the case is, thattheir pupils have nothing to do v/ith thinking,except as per?nitted by their spiritual guides !Indeed there is scarcely anything more to bedeplored than that of introducing sectarian strifeand diversity of religious teaching and opinionwithin the walls of the District or commonSchool. The country expects every one to dohis duty as a good citizen ; but could such anarrow-minded measure be made conduciveto good citizenship? Instead of proceedingto examine the constitution with independenceand liberality, the youth who had been trainedunder sectarian influence in the school, wouldbe disposed to associate his particular religiousbelief with the constitution of the country.

Humanity} and compassion^ and all themilder virtues, as they might be styled, are un-folded in the Sacred Scriptures for our admira-tion and imitation, **All things whatsoever yewould that men should do to you, do ye evenso to them^^j is the fraternal burden which theauthor of this bkiied book has gently laid uponm alL When the Diiclplis of Christ? urged


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PAST AND FUTURE. 39by a generous but mistaken attachment to theperson of their Master, desired that they mightbe permitted to call down fire from heaven toconsume the churlish villagers who refusedthem hospitality, he rebuked their blind zeal,and assured them that they knew not whatspirit they were of; and thus, when any set ofmen would lock up this treasure of Divinetruth, or exclude it from schools and semi-naries of learning, the most charitable construc-tion which we can put upon their conduct is,that they know not what spirit they are of.Had this spirit of humanity been inculcatedmore generally, and impressed betimes on theminds of the young, this world would havebeen a far fitter abode for man than it now is.Religious persecution would have been un-known, benevolence would have pervaded everyheart, and men of every nation and of everycreed, would have been, in very deed, a bandof brothers.We have said, in the former part of this ad-

dress, that civil liberty had just cause ofalarm J in this country, from the encroach-ments of Popery. The manner in which thePope treated, and still continues to treat, hisItalian subjects is a sufficient proof of his op-position to free institutions. And with what


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40 PAST AND FUTURE.sincerit}^ can Eomish Priests and Prelates, inAmerica, persist in asserting their preferencefor Republican institutions, when they so lib-erally aided the Pope in his late exile, not innot in recovering his spiritual jurisdiction^for this was never lost, but in regaining histemporal sovereignty over the poor Italians,who, but for this aid, and the cooperation ofRepublican France might have gained theirLiberty and separated Church and State, a dis-solution of partnership which the RomishPriesthood in this county formerly affected somuch to admire. The cruelty perpetrated inputting down this struggle for liberty in Italy,fully illustrates the character of the Papacy.The Church of Rome is the same persecut-

ing cruel enemy of civil and religious libertynow, that she was in the depths of the dark?ges ; it is her boast that she never changes,and though all things around her bear unmis-takable marks of mutation, she remains foreverthe same. Her method of suppressing libertyhas ever been open and aggressive when shepossessed the power, and when she judged theexigency required it. But in her aggressionson those who differed from herself in mattersof faith, never probably did her zeal blaze withgreater lustre than on the eve of St. Barthole^


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PAST AND FUTURK. 41mew's day, in 1572, when thousands perishedin a single night. The Protestant, after theusual salutations rf the night, surrendered him-self to sleep, or still lingered in the social cir-cle, when the deep peal of the great bell of theMetropolitan church aroused him to meet theknife of the midnight assassinThere was inthis horrid transaction such a compound of hy-pocrisy^ cruelty and barbarity, as very rarelycan be met with in the annals of crime. Ruf-fians, with white crosses on their shoulders,rushed suddenly upon their unsuspecting vic-tims, sparing neither age nor sex ; and ere thebeams of the morning sun illuminated the spiresand domes of Paris, husbands and wives, par-ents and children w^ere weltering in their blood,a sad spectacle to men and angels.But how was the intelligence of this cold-blooded butchery received at Rome? Withevery demonstration of joy. The Sacred Pon-tiff ordered the bells to send forth their mer-riest chimes, and Te Deum laudamns to bechanted in the churches, in token of gratitudeto the Almighty for this signal victory over theenemies of the church !Not even content withgiving such proofs of his exultation on this oc-casion, he ordered a new coin or medal to bestruck in the Holy Papal mint on which was


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42 PAST AND FUTURE.engraved " Hugueriotorum Strages '', the Mur-der or Slaughter of the Huguenots !

But time would fail us to speak of the great


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PAST AND FUTURE. 43be shot!For what? Simply for what somany brave men did in this country in 1776for contending nobly in the cause of Liberty.But hard as his fate was in being condemnedto suffer death at the hands tyrants, it was butthe fate of warthe result to be expected fromdefeat ! We leave him, then, in the hands ofthe bloody soldiers of a haughty despot, whilewe proceed to notice the treatment he receivedfrom the Rofnish Vriesthoobmen who onceministered with him at the same altar ! Surelythese holy men, bound by the sacred vows ofreligion to be mild, and merciful, and just, willpity poor Bassi, and do everything in theirpower to mitigate and assuage his grief Markthe compassion they discover for the unhappyman. They rush upon him, like raveningwolves upon the defenceless flock : The Priestmust be displaced from the ministry, excom-municated from the church, and handed over tothe tender mercies of Satan, so far as these menpossessed the will and malignity to send himthither. But not content with the bare exerciseoi these clericalpowers and prerogatives, theseblood-hounds proceed, with the malice of Demons and Infernal spirits, to flay the skinfromhis hands, and to tear the scalpfrom his bleed-ing head ; under the hypocritical pretext of


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44 PAST AND FUTURE.honoring God and advancing the sacred causeof religion !As a suitable punishment fortreason and heresy, as the means of vindicatingthe claims of Religion ! '^'

To honor Religion 9The Religion of thatmerciful and compassionate Redeemer of men,of whom it is said by the evangelic Prophet :''A bruised reed shall he not break." Oh,merciful Saviour, how every way dissimilar wasthy spirit from the spirit of those who boast,that they alone, of the thousands "who professand call themselves christians," are thy truedisciplesthe only called according to thypurpose ! Oh, what a monstrous libel is thecruel despotism of Romanism on the blood-bought Religion of the Son of God ! Whatgreater dissimilarity could be imagined to existin the widely extended universe of God, thanthat which distinguishes Romanism from themild and merciful religion of Jesus ChristChrist came into the world, to savenot todestroyto pardonnot to condemn : Whileon the contrary, Romanism seems to delight indevising new modes of torment for the punish-ment of its unhappy victims.

*) The substance of this tragic account was obtainedfrom a most respectable Religious Journal published in thecitv of St. Louis.


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PAST AND FUTURE. 46Instead of assuaging the griefs of mankind,

and cheering them on their pilgrimage throughlife, the church of Rome delights in pressing asmuch of bitterness as she can, into every one'scup, for the good of his soul and the honor ofreligion. By her anathemas and excommuni-cations, her fasts and penances, she would seemresolved to make the world a howling wilder-ness -the fit abode of hermits and monks, ratherthan the cheerful residence of social beings !

As dispensed by Romish Priests, how, Iwould ask, can the Gospel prove, as its nameimports, " Good tidings " which shall be to allpeople ?Did it speak this language when itcharged the Priests to tear the scalp from thebleeding head of Bassi ?

But why select this from among the thousandbloody acts which have marked the cruel pro-gress of Romanism ?

Where are the thousands, and tens of thou-sands, snatched, by this nursing mother, fromall the ties of friends and kindred, and con-signed to the gloomy dungeons of the Inquisi-tion !Romanism has ever been the enemy of civil

and religious Liberty ; and if she has some-times appeared to espouse the rights of thePeople, it has been to punish the insolence of


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46 PAST AND FUTURE.some haughty Monarch, whom she regarded asa rival in power.Rome can hear no Rival. She can ac-knowledge no superior ; hence her eternal en-

mity to the various governments of the world." Trw^A," she avers by her dignitaries, '^ has

ever been hostile to error ^^"^ and she assumesthat she only has the truth !that she onlyknows how to explain and enforce it : and thisshe has done, by that attitude of antagonism inwhich she has opposed progress and humanity,and the sacred rights of man, under the speciouspretext, that they are errors^ and opposed tothe honor and interests of religion !The exercise of private or individual judg-

ment is regarded by Romanism, as rebellionagainst God, as impiety and blasphemy, astreason against heaven and the church, asfraught with every conceivable mischief to re-ligion.And here, it cannot be denied, that Romanism

and the Protestant or Reformed religion, arein a condition of antagonism ! Both possessvitality, both contend for the mastery. Shouldthe former succeed in her ambitious designs,the darkness of by-gone ages would again re-turn. The clouds would return again after therainafter the refreshing showers of the early


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PAST AND FUTURE, 47part of the sixteenth century. The dark cloudsof ignorance and superstition, it is much to befeared, would once more cover the horizon ofthe church, and divine truth would again beobscured.

Formerly, physical force was employed insettling differences on the subject of religionand civil liberty. Now it is to be hoped, thata better method will be resorted to, that of ar-gumentnot brute force ; alike dishonorableto the head and heartto the intellect andthe moral sensibilities.

But A BATTLE MUST BE FOUGHT ; but it willnot be fought by the dim twilight of the middleages, nor in priest-ridden Italy or Austria, butin the full blaze of the nineteenth century, andon the free soil of America ! The priests willnot find the despotic kings and emperors of theold world at their side, to support them in theprosecution of their ambitious and politic de-signs ; but the free and independent people ofAmerica, who will yield to no foreign influ-ence nor submit to any authority, civil or re-ligious, which cannot be made to coincide withthe rights of freemen. And on these pointsthey are accustomed to judge for themselves.

For information on the first point, they gonot to the President, but to the Constitu-


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48 PAST AND FUTURE.TioN ; and for light on the second, they resortnot to the Priest, but to the Bible !On the manner, therefore, in which this sub-

ject is approached, may the prosperity of thisgreat Republic and the happiness and intelli-gence of unborn millions be suspended.The influence which the Pope exercises over

his subjects, is the most despotic that can beimagined !Popery leaves to man nothing but the hu-

man form, and holds him accountable for themanner in which he exercises every faculty ofmind or body ! How, therefore, can such per-sons,bound by oaths and obligations writtenin blood, and enforced under the pains and pen-alties of the divine displeasure, bear true alle-giance to these free and independent States ofAmerica 9

Impossible !the thing is utterly impossibleand until some method can be devised, bywhich darkness can be blended with light,truth with falsehood, meekness with arrogance,and mercy with cruelty and savage barbarity,it will be worse than idle to assert, that civiland religious liberty have nothing to apprehendfrom the usurpations and encroachments ofPopery !


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APPENDIX

The author of the preceeding pages hascharged Romanism with being unfriendly toprogress, in whatever sense the term may belegitimately understood, in its application tocivil and religious liberty, and the right ofprivate judgment.

In this second edition of the little work,which he now presents to the public, withsuch slight alterations as he hopes may makeit more interesting and acceptable to his read-ers, he will prove, by quotations from a mostrespectable Roman Catholic journal, "TheShepherd of the Valley," published in the cityof St. Louis, under the protection of one ofthe most distinguished prelates of the RomanCatholic Church, that the views w^iich he hasadvanced, so far from being rejected, are con-firmed by the Roman Catholic Church of thepresent age; thus showing that Romanism isever the same, both with respect to date andcountry, and aims to control republics as wellas monarchies.


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50 APPENDIX.In the introductory part of this little book,

the author observes that, " of all the nationson which the sun shines, the American Re-public is the only government in which libertyis well understoodthe only country in whichthe people possess the governing power, andare able to control their public servants."

After the many ardent professions, in highplaces among the Roman Catholics, of strongattachment to this republic and our free institu-tions, "The Shepherd of the Valley" givesutterance, and no doubt with great sincerity tothe following language :

" The Church, it is true, does not admit thedoctrine, so universally received in this coun-try, that republicanism is the only legitimateform of civil government : that freedom is im-possible where this form is not established.She does not profess to recognize the UnitedStates of America as the censor of nations,nor does she, w^e believe, iji any way, inti-mate a preference for a republic over otherforms of government, considered in themselves.Where it [a republic] lawfully exists, she com-mands her children to respect and obey it, andthat is all.''The most careless reader can scarcely help,

noticing in this extract from " The Shepherd


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APPENDIX. 51of the Valley," a most striking contrast andpalpable contradiction, to those oft repeatedprofessions of loyalty and attachment for re-publican institutions, which, from time to time,have so profusely garnished the public orationsof the Most Rev. John Hughes, Arch Bishopof New York, and which have been used, se-cond-handed, by men of less intellectualstrength, who have followed in his wake.These gentlemen, until quite recently, have

been accustomed to laud, with imited voice,our free institutions to the skies; Lut now they"command their children to respect and obeythem, and that is all."What a falling off is this ! And to what

cause are we to ascribe it ? To what are weto attribute this haughty and imperious frontwhich they now present to our institutions ?Simply to reliance on their numerical strengthin this country.

But the


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52 APPENDIX.seems," lie adds, ''a harsh tiling to say; butwe are not of those who think ivith Richlieu,[Querywhether ever Richlieu said it ?] thatlanguage was given to man to enable himto conceal his thoughts. We think so, andtherefore we say it. The advocate of freedomof speech should not object to that." Nor dowe, good " Shepherd of the Valley," but giveyou full credit for sincerity. To use yourown language, we think "the devil speaks outlike an honest devil," when he declares fromthe lips ot Romish prelates, or from their pub-lic journals, that popery has no sympathy withour republican institutions.

In the course of his remarks in the foregoingpages, the author observes, that " Romanismdiffers most widely and essentially, from everyother religious system in this, that it owes un-dying and eternal allegiance to a foreign sov-ereign."

This charge against Romanism, the " Shep-herd of the Valley" makes good, when he as-serts, that "it is not true, as some say, that theCatholic is left by his Church free to adoptany political theories which it suits his tempo-ral interests to espouse for the time." Here,again, we give the " Shepherd" credit for sin-cerity ; and although we have often been told


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APPENDIX. 53that ill the exercise of their political rights andprivileges, the Roman Catholics were as freeas the Protestants, yet we never believed suchpersons, but regarded them as being either ig-norant or interested, and therefore not worthyof entire confidence. The "Shepherd" givesus the true statement of the case, for w^hicii wethank him.

But the worthy *' Shepherd of the Valley"proceeds to give a very plausible reason whymen should not be permitted to exercise theright of judging for themselves, in politicalatfairs. "The civil power," he says, "hasits limits ; it may overstep them, for it is notinfallible like the Church : when it does so,obedience at once ceases to be a duty. Thequestion of the justice or injustice- of a civilenactment is one, however, which the individ-ual is not competent to decide the fact of thenecessity of a tribunal capable of determininga point like this, is presumptive evidence infavor of the claims of the Church ; and thefact that the Church is such tribunal, is asufficient answer to all those who declaimagainst her, as the enemy of the rights of man.Civil liberty cannot exist without the Church."(Roman Catholic, of course.) " Where sheis not recognized, anarchy or despotism must


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64 APPENDIX.of necessity prevail. Grant that no tribunalexists, capable of pronouncing when the Statetranscends its powers ; when man is freed fromthe obligation of obedience, and when it be-comes sinful to obey ; and you either establishdespotism by asserting that every State enact-ment must of necessity be obeyed, or destroygovernment altogether, and introduce universaldisorder, by applying to practical life, thatmost absurd of all doctrines, the doctrine ofthe right of private judgment.''^

Such startling language as this, is calculatedto awaken the keenest apprehension in themind of every one who regards either nationalor individual liberty. The government and theindividual citizen are here represented, by the" Shepherd of the Valley," as alike incompe-tent to form a correct judgment of the validityor propriety of a legislative enactment ; as ut-terly unable to determine '' when man is freedfrom the obligation of obedience, and when itbecomes sinful to obey." No other tribunalor body can determine this most importantpoint, save the Church of Rojne. Are reflect-,ing American citizens prepared to subscribe tothis doctrine, so distinctly announced by the" Shepherd of the Valley " ? Are they readyto give up themselves and their country into


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APPENDIX. 65the hands of the Roman Catholic Church, andas her bond-men, submit to any terms she maybe pleased to dictate ?We have been long accustomed to thatwatch-word, " Hear the Church," as falselyapplied by the old lady of Rome to her spirit-ual dictation, but were not altogether preparedfor its direct application to the affairs of civilgovernment also.We had always supposed that the SupremeCourt of the United States, was the tribunalof final appeal to w^iich legislative enactmentshould be brought for adjudication ; but thegood " Shepherd of the Valley" teaches usour mistake, and tells us that we must bring upall such enactments to the Court of Rome forfinal settlement. Privilege ! privilege ! with avengeance. No marvel, under this view of thecase, that the " Shepherd of the Valleyshould regard the Roman Catholic Church asthe great sine que non in the science of gov-ernment, as the only means of prolonging the"existence of civil liberty." We only add,in this place, that we most sincerely pray, thatit may be long before this great republic willconsent to carry up appeals to the court ofRome, or crouch before papal power.We still feel slow to yield our assent to the


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66 APPENDIX.assertion of the " Shepherd's," viz.: that theonly hope of this great republic is suspendedon the progress of Romanism in this country.How, we beg leave to ask, can Romanismprove a blessing to this country, when it hasbeen a curse to every other country on whichit has been fastened?

True it is, that in the estimation of this pa-per, that most detestable ''doctrine of the rightof private judgment" would be rooted out ofthe land, yet in sober truth, in what respectwe should become gainers by the change, isdifficult to determine; but the "Shepherd"tells us so, and as obedient children of theChurch, we should have nothing to do but sub-mit to the dictation of Holy Mother, who can-not err!Little as we can discover in the person ofan old Italian priest, some thousands of milesdistant, to engage our attention and challengeour respect, yet it is only by swearing spiritualallegiance to this old imbecile, that the " Shep-herd" can promise us even prolonged exist-ence AS A nationthe only way the " Shep-herd can devise of saving the country !* But we proceed to shew that the " Shep-herd " feels a strong preference for monarchicalinstitutions. He continues in this liberal


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APPENDIX. 67strain : " We must be loyal to our republicaninstitutions, because they are legitimate here.'^Mark the reason he assigns for the necessity ofthis prolonged loyalty on the part of RomanCatholics in this country. But he immediate-ly adds: " Were we subjects of a monarchy,however, the case would be reversed, and weshould then be compelled to true obedience tothe existing order, so long as it preserved itsclaims to our obedience, by setting us the ex-ample of subbordination in its own submis-sion TO THE LAWS OF GoD AND THE ChURCH ! "Here we have it ; so long as the existing gov-ernment, whether republic or monarchy, sub-mits to the Roman Catholic Church, so longthe Church will command her subjects to obeythe civil government, and no longer!No comment that we could offer, would

place this Romish domination in a clearer orstronger light, than that in which it is placedby this last extract from the '- Shepherd."

Wliether priest or prelate, or whoever mayhave been the author of the article, the drift ofthe artful writer is evidently this, viz.: to placethe Romish church above the civil govern-ment, and to dictate the manner and matter oflegislation. However disguised by Jesuiticalcimning and sophistry, the ultimate design of


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68 APPENDIX.the party is here hinted at, in language tooobvious to be misunderstood by any reader.

But the ''Shepherd" does not attempt todefend the Church of Rome from the charge ofDESPOTISM. Indeed, he confesses that "theChurch cannot be defended from the charge offavoring despotism, if a monarchy is essentiallya despotism, for she would interfere to protectthe just authority of the throne, no less than toshelter the people, as she has done a thousandtimes, from an abuse of that authority." Weclearly discover, in this last extract from the" Shepherd of the Valley," an acknowledg-ment of that authority over civil government,which the Church of Rome, with the Pope atits head, pretends to claim, as a prerogative bydivine right, and which he tells us she has ex-ercised " a thousand times." Those who arewont to sympathize with the Romish apostacyin this country, do sometimes tell us, by wayof apology for that spurious Church, that al-though the Pope did formerly, during the darkages, depose kings from their thrones, and givetheir kingdoms to others, releasing their sub-jects from their oath of allegiance, yet that nowthe thing is quite changed, and that they layclaim to no such power ! But does the" Shepherd of the Valley " confirm this gra-


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APPENDIX. 59tuitous apology? No, nothing of the kind;and, let the author remark here, that the Churchof Rome gives little praise to those who at-tempt to apologize for her conduct, at the ex-pense of her immutability!

Notwithstanding the Saviour of the worldunequivocally declares, "My kingdom is notof this world," yet ever since the bishop ofRome obtained (partly by gift and concession,but more by usurpation,) the proud title ofSovereign Pontiff, he has claimed this right,and still exercises it over Spain, Portugal, Aus-tria, Naples, and wherever ignorance and su-perstition prevail.The governments support the papacy ; and

the papacyj in return, sanctions their despoticacts, and commands the people to yield obedi-ence to their arbitrary rulers, under pain of ex-communication IThe "Shepherd'' further informs us, that

"the Catholic has no mission to propagate de-mocracy.'^ We never supposed he had; wemight as well look to the Emperors of Russiaor Austria for the exercise of such a mission,as to expe t it from the Church of Rome,While the "Shepherd" proclaims the Church

to be " indeed the friend of the people, theonly refuge of the individual and the masses in


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60 APPENDIX.every time of trouble," yet it adds : *' It ifalse to say, that she prefers the liberty cap to(he crown, or the liberty-pole to the sceptre."This last quotation shows how strongly thegreat Metropolitan Shepherd is attached to re-publican institutions ! Verily, the Church ofRome cannot be defended from *^ favoring des*potism," when she cordially approves the gov-ernments of Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal,and Naples, and has used her best exertions toextinguish liberty in Europe generally, wherever her influence has extended.

But the " Shepherd" reserves his most spirit-ed attack for the castigation of Protestantism :*' The Church, we hear, is hostile to liberty ;obscures the dignity of human nature ; wouldtrample under foot the rights of man i is every-where leagued with despots againgt their un-happy subjects ; and opposes, and always hasopposed, all intellectual and social progress.In short, in this country, the devil speaks outlike an honest devil. He takes up his old cryof rebellion; he persuades men that none buttyrants would demand obedience and submis-sion ; he proves that the Church does demandobedience, absolute and implicit obedience,from her children to herself, and all legitimate"Civil rulers, and he flatters himself that his


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APPENDIX. 61task is done, and in very many cases the devilis right. When he has done this he has madeout his case, and confirmed in their rebellionagainst the Church, all who are determined tomaintain the supremacy of man. Dr. John-son said that the devil was the first whig. Bythis he meant that he was the first created be-ing that rebelled against his legitimate ruler.lie would have done better had he said thatthe devil teas the first Protestant.'^

In a similar strain the "Shepherd'' con-tinues: '^ Liberty and authority are not re-concilable on Frotestant principles.^' Andonce more, to the same efl^ect : " Protestantismas it really is not a religion, not a positive sys-tem or collection of systems, but the incarnatedemon of rebellion against all authority andlaw. As such, the Catholic is bound to fleefrom it as from a pestilence ; is bound to useall his influence in every way [fire and faggotnot excepted] to check and put it down."

In a recent number of the " Shepherd of theValley," the WTiter, after asserting religioustoleration to be the work of the devil, anddeeply to be deplored in " this miserable coun-try," uses the following language ; " Religioustoleration and civil toleration are, however, weadmit, things perfectly distinct. The first,


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62 APPENDIX.every christian is bound to condemn; the second,he will and must approve, wherever it is expe-dient." Note, here, it may, in some cases,be expedient to kill heretics, and then everytrue christian (Catholic) " must approve " ofit ! '^ We will say, however, that we are notin favor of roasting heretics , but we are not,therefore, going to deny the facts of history, orto blame the saints of God, and the doctors andpastors of the Church, for what they have doneand sanctioned. We say that the temporalpunishment of heresy is a mere question of ex-pediency ; that protestants do not persecute ushere, simply because they have not the power;and that where we abstain from persecutingthem, they are well aware that it is merely be-cause we cannot do so, or think that by doingso we should injure the cause that we wish toserve. We are all intolerantall of us [i. e.all Roman Catholics] who believe."The reader must be convinced that the Ro-

man Catholic Church is truly hostile to repub-lican institutions, individual liberty, and theprotestant faith, which, under God, is the primeauthor of all our blessings, national and social,and, therefore, to be cherished by every truerepublican and sincere friend of his country.By way of applying these remarks, we add,


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APPENDIX. 63that principles will and ought to be freely andfully discussed in this country. The spirit ofthe age and the genius of our government re-quire it. And yet, strange to say, not onlyRoman Catholics, but even some protestantsare to be found, who are utterly averse to freediscussion ! Protestants should remember, thatreligious liberty and free discussion go hand inhand. To look upon free discussion, then, inthe light of persecution, is all wrong, and dis-covers a prejudice and narrowness of mind, bet-ter adapted to down-trodden Italy or priest-rid-den Austria or Spain, than to free republicanAmerica. Free discussion, whether in refer-ence to politics or religion, in a governmentproceeding from the people, is all important,and should be so regarded by freemen U

Those great principles which lie at the foun-dation of civil and religious liberty, call forpatient investigation, in order that freemen mayduly appreciate their just rights, and have wis-dom to defend them against every hurtful influ-ence.

Americans are not easily intimidated by de-nunciations, either from popish journals orpresses. The time has passed for this bravado;this spirit of defiance, this priestly blustering


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64 APPENDIX.aad cursing belongs to ages which have passed,we hope never to return.

Let such men as Archbishop Hughes, O. A.Brownson & Co., see how very unbecoming it is to attempt to palm the tyranical governmentof the Church of Rome on free America. Howevery way incompatible such gross denuncia-tions as the following, with their oft repeatedprotestations of loyalty and attachment forrepublican institutions : They denounce ournational faith as *' the religion of the devil."The Protestant religion as " no religion," buta moral pestilence," -' a system of anarchy,which every consistent Catholic should laborin every way in his power to check and putdown."Thi^ is neither the age nor the country todenounce Protestants from the pulpit, as hav-

ing forfeited their lives to divine justice," be-cause they refuse to submit to the authority ofthe Pope. To these agents of the so styledholy father, we would say, *' bless and cursenot ; " and to our readers and patrons beg leaveto add, that while we hold fast the Bible,. theconstitution, and free discussion, we shall havenothing to fear.

THE END.


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