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individual, character of the pontiff, and his public conduct; and yet there is a distinction necessary to be kept between them, as I observed at the commencement of this discourse. Our Saviour, in giving them such power, gave them, if unworthy of it, a means of great evil as well as of the greatest good; yet did not, at the same time, deprive them of individual responsibility-he left them in possession of their own free will, in a position the most dangerous to which humanity could be exposed.

This, therefore, supposes the possibility of a certain number being unworthy of their station; and that such has been the case, no one will deny; but, at the same time, in a number of instances, there is more misrepresentation than could be found in any other part of history. With regard to the pontiffs of the first ages, no man will gainsay that they were all worthy of what they have received,-a place in the calendar of saints. Of the pontiffs of the latter ages, in like manner, it has been acknowledged, not only by Catholic, but by Protestant writers, not in former times, but very lately, that since the change of religion in some parts of Europe, since the Reformation, and before, nothing could be more exemplary or more worthy of their station, than the conduct of all those who have filled the chair of St. Peter.

The only part, then, of history, from which such objections could be drawn, is in those centuries which are called the middle or dark ages. Now, persons who profess to pass judgment on this period of history, are, in general, totally unacquainted with its spirit; and without being competent to judge, by their true standard, of measures then pursued, but judging only from the no less peculiar and narrower views of their own time, they condemn the conduct of the popes, as being directed by nothing but a desire of temporal aggrandizement, and worldly imperial sway. But into this chaos and confusion, into which prejudice had plunged the history of those times, a bright light is beginning to penetrate, and it comes from such a quarter, as will not easily give rise to suspicion. Within the last ten years a succession of works has been appearing on the continent, in which the characters of the popes of the middle ages, have been not only vindicated, but placed in the most beautiful and magnificent point of view. And I thank God, that they are, as I just said, from a quarter which cannot be suspected-every one of the works to which I allude, is the production of a Protestant. We have had, within these few years, several lives, or vindications of that pontiff, who has been considered the embodying type of VOL. I.-21

that thirst for aggrandizement which is attributed to the popes of the middle ages. I speak of Gregory VII., commonly known by the name of Hildebrand. In a large voluminous work, published a few years ago by Voigt, and approved of by the most eminent historians of modern Germany, we have the life of that Pontiff drawn up from contemporaneous documents, from his own correspondence, and the evidence of both his friends and enemies. The result is-and I wish I could give you the words of the author-that if the historian abstract himself from mere petty prejudices and national feeling, and look on the character of that Pontiff from a higher ground, he must pronounce him a man of most upright mind, of a most perfect disinterestedness, and of the purest zeal; one, who acted in every instance just as his position called upon him to act, and made use of no means, save what he was authorized to use. In this he is followed by others, who speak of him with an enthusiasm which a Catholic could not have exceeded; and of one, it has been observed, that he cannot speak of that pontiff without rapture.*

We have had, too, within the two last years, another most interesting work, a life of Innocent III., one of the most abused in the whole line of papal succession, written by Hurter, a clergyman of the Protestant Church of Germany. He again, has coolly examined all the allegations which have been brought against him; he has based his studies entirely on the monuments of the age; and the conclusion to which he comes, is, that not only is there no fault in his character, but that it should be the object of unqualified admiration. And to give you some idea of the feeling of this work, I will read you two extracts, applicable to my subject in general. Thus, then, he writes:-"Such an immediate instrument in the hands of God, for the securing the highest weal of the community, must the Christian of these times, the ecclesiastic, and still more, he who stood nearest to the centre of the church, have considered him who was its head. Every worldly dignity works only for the good of an earthly life, for a passing object; the church alone for the salvation of all men, for an object of endless duration. If worldly power is from God, it is not so in the sense, and in the measure, and in the definiteness in which the highest spiritual power of those ages was; whose origin, development, extent, and

* Eichhorn, Luden, Leo, Muller, and many other Protestant writers, whose attestations I hope to find a better opportunity to give at length.

influence, (independently of all dogmatical formulas) form the most remarkable appearance in the world's history."*

In another passage he thus speaks:-"Let us look forward and backward from any period, upon the times, and see how the institution of papacy has outlasted all the other institutions of Europe; how it has seen all other states rise and perish; how, in the endless changes of human power, it alone invariable, has preserved and maintained the same spirit; can we be surprised, if many look upon it as the rock which raises itself unshaken above the stormy waves of time?"t

But to conclude this subject, I trust, that by degrees, what is doing abroad may be better known among us; and when we begin to contemplate those ages in the same true spirit, as our continental neighbours, we shall discover many misstatements relative to persons who are most deserving of our respect and admiration, even independent of religion: and consequently, the objections brought against the divine authority of the papal supremacy from individual examples, will be very much diminished. Thus have I endeavoured to give you a summary view of the arguments whereon we rest the supremacy of the successors of St. Peter. You have seen what is the ground on which we base it; clear texts of Scripture, interpreted, I am sure without violence, but simply by their own construction, and by reference to other passages in God's holy word. You have seen how this institution has been transmitted and maintained through a succession of ages and of pontiffs, until we reach the one who at present occupies the chair of St. Peter.

The sympathies of his immediate predecessors have been particularly alive to this portion of their flock, and the very church in which we stand, bears testimony to what the Holy See has felt and thought in your regard. I allude particularly to that venerable High Priest of God, who, of all others, exemplified in himself the indestructible tenure of his dignity; inasmuch as the mighty emperor, who endeavoured to destroy it in his person, yielded to the fate of worldly things, while he again rose, and sat in peaceful possession of the throne of his ancestors. He, Pius VII., testified his affection for this very flock, by presenting to this church, when first erected, the splendid service of church plate, which is yet here pre

* Hurter Geschicthe Pabst Innocenz III., und seiner Zeitgenossen, Hamb. 1834, vol. i. p. 56.

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served. I was in Rome at the time; and I remember well an expression which he used, when some remonstrated with him for parting with the most valuable sacred vessels in his possession: his answer was, "The Catholics of England deserve the best thing that I can give them." And from this feeling of paternal affection, he who now sits in that chair has not degenerated. Of him it may be said, that never did any man pass through the ordeal of prosperity more unharmed. Raised, successively and rapidly, from the humble and mortified retirement of the cloister, to be first a prince, and then the ruler, of the church, he has changed nought of the simple habits, the cheerful piety, and the unaffected cordiality which characterized him there. To the triple coronet which surrounds his brow, has been indeed added a thorny crown, in the political turbulence of his own dominions, and the spoliating and disobedient acts of some of his spiritual provinces. But from these painful topics, he can turn with consolation, to view the daily advances of our holy religion, in this and other distant countries, and the constant increase of his children, where, not many years ago, his title could scarce have been whispered without danger. And the name which he bears, is one of bright omen for us. Twice has it been the source of grateful recollection to Catholic England. It was the first Gregory who sent Augustine and his companions to convert our ancestors to the faith; and when a giddy spirit of error threatened to overthrow and destroy the work, the 13th of the name stood in the breach, supplied the means of education to our clergy, and cherished in his bosom the little spark, which is now once more breaking into a beautiful flame. It is from the very house of the great Gregory, and of his disciples, Augustine and Justus,* that the present pontiff came forth to rule the church, animated with the same zeal, and attached to the same cause. Oh! may the same results attend his desires; may he live to see all the sheep, which are not of his flock, joined unto it, that there may be only one flock and one shepherd; that when Jesus Christ, "the prince of pastors," whose vicar he is, shall appear, we may all receive a "never-fading crown of glory."†

* The Church and Monastery of St. Gregory, on the Cælian Hill, possessed by the Camaldolese Monks, were the house of that pontiff; and on the portico of the church is an inscription, recording, that thence went forth the first apostles of the Anglo-Saxons. In this house the prepope lived many years, till created a Cardinal.

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† 1 Pet. v. 4.

LECTURE IX.

RECAPITULATION OF THE LECTURES ON THE CHURCH.

"Our fathers adored on this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is the place where men should adore."-John, iv. 20.

SUCH, my brethren, was the question which divided men, and men who believed in only one God, at the time of our Saviour's mission; and precisely similar is the question which may be said to divide us now. There are some of us who say, that only what we follow is the true path of salvationthat only where we adore, is true sacrifice offered to the living God; and, on the other hand, there are those who reply, "this is the place where our fathers have worshipped-this is the religion which we have been taught by our ancestors: why, therefore, should we be expected to abandon it, on account of the claims of another, and more exclusive system ?" Happy would it be for us, if we, like the Samaritan woman in this day's gospel, had one to whom we could refer all our disputes, to whose judgment we all should submissively bow! Happy should we be, could we, in the presence of our blessed Redeemer, visible amongst us, examine the respective claims which we have to be considered the true Church of Christ; and that we could be sure, through his personal decision, that the conclusions we have come to, are such as God hath sanctioned!

But, unfortunately I may say for us, although, no doubt in the decrees of Eternal Providence most righteously, it is not given us to have such an absolute and final award pronounced in our differences; and hence it is our duty, with all good offices of charity to bring forward our respective claims-and more especially is this our duty who feel sure that we possess them, on the most solemn, the most dignified, and the most highly sanctioned ground; if so, haply we may bring to some conclusion, the endless disputes touching religion, which have too long divided us, and those who have gone before us in the land. I have, so far as my small abilities allowed me, endeavoured to present you with a simple, unvarnished exposi

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