ART. V. Solution de Grands Problèmes, mise à la portée de tous les Esprits. Par l'Auteur de Platon-Polichinelle. Lyon. 1847. 4 tomes. 18mo.

Ar a period like the one in which we live, when the civil commotions which agitate the nations of the Old World, and the uneasiness which exists amongst the instructed of all classes and creeds in the New, offer to the mind of the Christian philosopher strong indications of a conflict far more important than that of nation against nation, sect against sect, and subjects against their rulers, when men are so apt to stand firmly in the position they assume, and to pronounce emphatically and to act energetically for the cause into whose scale they throw their influence, it is extremely necessary for each one to understand clearly the programme, so to speak, by which he is to abide, or whose provisions he is to oppose. The irresolute, the wavering, the inconstant, of both sides, are those who render most difficult a mutually satisfactory understanding. While others find it a difficult task to define what principles such doubtful champions embody, they themselves feel the effects of drowsy carelessness incidental to one who knows not whence he came, or whither he is going.

The author of the celebrated work before us seems to have written especially for these victims of uncertainty, and while, by the brilliancy of his imagination, the rapidity of his argument, the lucidness of his reasoning, and the earnestness of his conclusions, he interests them in the discussion, he gives proof of so much honesty, so much warmth, so much anxiety for their welfare, that they cannot but admire his sincerity and reciprocate his affection. Less profound than Moehler, less searching than Gioberti, less eloquent than Balmes, he partakes of the genius and solidity of each of these great writers, and is more popular than any of them. He does not exactly engage you in a profound study of the principles he defends, but gives you the quintessence of his own reflections upon them, with such power of illustration, such clearness of views, such brilliancy of wit, such varied and pleasing erudition, as to force you almost to consider as absurd and ridiculous what you thought it hard for him to prove simply false. He does not merely tell you the direction in which you are going, but points out to you the end at which you will arrive, using in the mean time rather your own intellect than his, and adroitly

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enlisting your good sense and your good nature against yourself. We shall be highly pleased to see an English translation of this admirable work, and we are sure that a first edition of it will be speedily exhausted. In the mean time we recommend it earnestly to all who would possess a strong Catholic statement of principle in regard to matters not strictly connected with the solemn worship of the Church, and to those who wish to place in the hands of their Protestant friends a brief and conclusive answer to the many objections and doubts which a want of any fixed principle is apt to beget.

Our object in this article is, not to review it, but to offer some reflections upon a subject incidentally connected with it, and which daily becomes more and more important, the relative position of religion and society. Our remarks are intended chiefly for our Catholic brethren, before whom we would place such doctrines of the Church and such passages of her history as may suffice clearly to explain the influence she rightfully claims to exercise on our social relations, and the only conditions on which society can reap the fruits of her heavenly guidance and protection. It is always a more pleasing task for us to illustrate and apply our own principles, than to attack the erroneous systems of those who have not the privilege of the infallible guidance of the Church. In this spirit we enter upon the subject of Religion in Society, the development of which is every day becoming a more important department of our Review.

When the Son of God came down from heaven and was made man, he did not simply assume human flesh as a garment which might screen the effulgent majesty of a Divine visitor, but, intimately uniting himself with humanity, he stood before the world a real and true man in soul, in body, in all save that which alone man received not from God, the guilt of ingratitude and rebellion. The fulness of his Divine nature dwelt in human nature, by means of whose outward form he lived and moved among men, condescending to fulfil various offices which mere human persons fulfil according to their various callings. These offices and callings which we so feebly and imperfectly perform, he in a perfect manner discharged for our encouragement and instruction. Hence it is that his example presents the perfect ideal of a holy priest, a faithful friend, a dutiful son, a kind master, an upright subject, an honest neighbour, a virtuous and useful citizen.

The Church, established by him to continue throughout all

ages the mission which he discharged during his life upon earth, directs towards him the eyes of her children, and teaches even the most feeble and helpless of them to copy according to the best of their ability the perfections of his sinless character. Wherever their lot may be cast, whatever office or calling may have been apportioned to them by the hand of Providence, she teaches them to fulfil the duties of their station for the one great ultimate end of the glory of God and the salvation of their souls, to fulfil them as nearly as possible in the manner Christ did when similarly engaged upon earth. These remarks present three ideas to the mind, viz. the Candidate, the Guide, and the Exemplar, that is to say, the Christian, the Church, and the Redeemer. The Christian is to accomplish the end for which he was created, the Church leads him onward towards its accomplishment, and Christ shows how it is to be accomplished.

Having thus stated the end to be gained, who is to gain it, and how and by what guidance he is to gain it, the question most likely to arise is, How far does the vigilance of the Church, as by Christ commissioned, extend in eliciting this sublime spirit of imitation? It extends to all time and place where God may be honored or offended, to every soul that may be lost or saved, to all men not sentenced already as belonging to heaven or to hell. These remarks contain the sum and substance of all the elucidations that may be required to place the formulary adopted as our subject Religion in Society in its true aspect. Many readers, however, will be apt to approach its solution from a more remote quarter, and to recall sayings quite common in our day, the truth or error of which lies back, so to speak, of the region in which we have practically opened our case. The sayings to which we allude as maxims which pass current in our day, would most likely suggest the following questions:- Has Religion any thing to do with Society? Is Society bound to take its principles from Religion? Has Religion any right to interfere with Society, except in matters connected with the solemn worship of the Creator? Does Religion, for instance, occupy herself with our business pursuits, our secular avocations, our temporal possessions, our politics, our bargains, our manners, our amusements? We can almost imagine some of our young friends who talk so loudly about the rights of the people, the temporal power of the Pope, the necessity of keeping the spiritual order and the political order distinct, the glories of liberty, the base

ness of kings, &c., propounding these questions, and demanding no obscure or uncertain answer. And while we are in this mood, we cannot help imagining how different an answer the Spirit of the Age, if interrogated in the above manner, would return to those youthful inquirers from what Catholic doctrine points out as the true one. A wonderful genius is this Spirit of the Age! No matter how true or how much needed a maxim may be, one is reminded of the danger he incurs in uttering it, by the awful warning that it is not in accordance with the Spirit of the Age. The Spirit of the Age knows all things, and has an opinion to express on all subjects, past, present, or future. It is a thousand pities that so learned a spirit can never be tangibly taken hold of and made to speak for himself. But, like certain other spirits, though always busy at work, he is never seen, and though quoted by everybody, never speaks himself. Still, as we do not bear him unlimited veneration, we take the liberty sometimes to bring him fairly before us, in the form we imagine his vague and unsettled nature would choose, were he to become visible. In these instances the great Genius presents himself adorned with a face very much like that of an ape, for his speech imitates wisdom and truth precisely as a monkey imitates a man. The body, half human and half Satanic, winds off in a serpentine manner, emblematic of the crookedness of his philosophy. On his head, in lieu of the Socratic bays, we discern a little Red Republican cap dashed slightly on one side, to make him look interesting; under his arm he carries a wonderful dictionary, compiled from the leading socialist, progressive, ultrademocratic, and Young-Ireland periodicals of the day. From this book of wisdom, the obliging Genius answers, without stopping to take breath, all the possible difficulties of every art, science, and creed, in a manner which would put all the graybeard philosophy of olden times to the blush. Nothing is too high or too profound for him. Yet, to tell the truth, whenever he affirms a thing, we have a shrewd suspicion that he knows he ought to deny it, and whenever we hear him cry loudly for a measure as good, we feel pretty sure that secretly he understands it to be evil. What he says may often seem plausible enough, but we prefer to look at his professions more searchingly, and discover what he means. Thus, for example, when he opens his dictionary at the word Liberty, and reads a brilliant passage descriptive of its greatness and glory, we marvel at his keeping a serious face, and suspect that, were he to state

honestly what he means, it would sound very much in this fashion:-"Gentlemen, Liberty means leave for me to pick your pocket, and for you not to complain." He turns over a leaf of his book, and tells us of the philosophy of his enlightened school. We translate his definition of philosophy, and it avers that philosophy is the art of proving that two and two, not unfrequently, make five; that black in many cases looks exceedingly like white, and that persons who wish to preserve their countenances from being burnt by the sun ought to wear a thick veil, especially at twelve o'clock at night. Does the Genius speak of the upwardness of modern' progress? Then, to our understanding, he means that progress is a faithful imitation of the motion of a crab going down hill. He descants upon the comforts of equality. Understood as he means it, no matter what he may say, equality consists in the very pleasant process of cutting off the heads of the tall men, and in pulling out the small men, as one might do a spy-glass, so that both become of a size. And when he searches his dictionary to give us the true meaning of his favorite word, Fraternity, his warm description of the peace which it produces puts us in mind of the famous Kilkenny cats, who fought until they had eaten each other up, all except the tips of their respective tails, which they wagged in token of defiance.

Guided by this key to the true meaning of the learned Genius of the Age, we look to him for an answer to the questions proposed higher up, and we have no doubt that his true view of the case would embody itself in solutions equivalent to the following. "Religion and society," he would say, "are two orders, one opposed to the other. Religion was made, of course, by the Almighty, it begins at the altar, ends at the holy-water font at the door, and is bounded by the four walls of the church. The period of its duration is from Sunday morning until Sunday evening. Society was invented by the Devil, and it rules the week from Monday morning until Saturday night. Business, politics, and amusements are things that lie beyond the verge of morality, and the control of religion. He who pretends to be religious anywhere but inside of the church is a bigot, a hypocrite, a man of the Dark Ages; and he who outside of the church suits his convenience by cunningly cheating, smoothly lying, playing, in short, the confidence man, is a smart man, in fact, something of an honand, in fact, (if he take care not to be found

orable man,

out,) he may be one of the most remarkable men of his age and country."