It is a remark of Cervantes, which in more recent times has been suggested to many who seem to have forgotten a passage where it was admirably stated, that "after all, it is the saints of the Catholic Church who have obtained the greatest glory upon earth. His fame who cures the sick, before whose sepulchre lamps are continually burning, and whose chapels are crowded, his fame, I say, shall be greater, both in this world and in the next, than that which all the heathen emperors, and knights, and, we may truly add, all the ledger men achieving capital in the world, ever had, or ever shall have." The inference, therefore, of the famous squire is, that he and his master had better turn saints immediately, and they shall then attain to that renown they aim at. But independent of this consideration, it must be admitted that to make men independent of the world, is to render them a real practical service; for nothing can be more useful, than that perfect justice, which St. Gregory says "consists in living in the world, and having nothing of the concupiscence of the world; in not seeking what belongs to others, and not fearing to lose one's own, in despising the praises of this world, and in loving reproach for Christ's sake." It is well to resemble the lily on the running waters—“quasi lilia in transitu aquæ-the lily," says St. Anthony of Padua, "is the pure soul, the passing water, worldly prosperity *." Catholicism comprises that lofty sentiment expressed by the Count de Maistre, that "honour and reason are our own, but that the rest does not depend upon ourselves." This is the spirit of the old chivalry. In the Four Sons of Aymon, Charlemagne is represented making a proposal to Archbishop Turpin, which the latter deemed dishonourable. "But," said the king, I will make you pope." "I would not accept the office on such terms,” replied Turpin, "even though you should add thereto France and the empire. That which is evil, all the empires in the world could not convert into good." Alanus de Insulis enumerates some of the advantages of despising the world, which are all sufficiently practical. "O homo, si mundana et vana contempseris, non te timor concutiet, non laxabit spes, non arctabit tristitia, non dissolvet lætitia; nulli servies, liber eris, adversitatis non timebis insultum, serena tibi conscientia erit, pacifice mortis expectabis adventum, mors grata, post mortem expectatio beata. Si vero mundanis voluptatibus adhæseris, terrenis irretitus illecebris, erit tibi conscientia cauteriata, mors invisa, post mortem concluderis pœnâ æternâ +." *Serm. Dom. xii. post Trin. + Summa de Arte Prædicatoria, c. 3. Again, discarding still the highest considerations, must not men admit that it is useful to be preserved from becoming an accuser of others, to prevent the growth of which odious character, we read that St. Ignatius of Loyola required all accusations to be presented in a written form; and further, that it is a most practical service to render men indifferent to calumny, since" nulla tam modesta felicitas est, quæ malignitatis dentes vitare possit ?" The supernatural element makes men docile to receive correction; and we see what advantage that disposition confers on those who, by a happy disposition, are induced to imitate, in this respect, the practice of religion. How men are struck, for instance, at seeing Raphael, when at the height of his renown, and covered with honours by the sovereign pontiff, evincing such modesty and affability, such anxiety to take advice, to listen to objections, and such gratitude for being corrected! Fourthly, the supernatural element confers an immense benefit by rendering men apt to profit by occasions, and able to make use of them in the right way. When man is in that state which disposes him for receiving the impressions of heaven, he is ready to act heroically well as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Whereas, in the contrary condition, without the influence of the supernatural principle, it is the excuse which is always ready. The man can see a reason for failing in every thing at the right moment. The current of the false maxims of the world is too strong for him; but if he had been self-collected at the time, and furnished with the supernatural motive, he would have resisted that current, and imitated the best examples. How useful is it to possess that sense of opportunity which, when evinced even by men who are not under the supernatural influence, extorts the admiration of all beholders! An instance occurred on the murder of the Duc d'Enghien, when Louis XVIII. sent back to the king of Spain the decoration of the order of the golden fleece, with which Bonaparte was invested, saying, that there could be nothing in common between himself and the great criminal;" an example of the old honour which was followed by Gustavus Adolphus, who also returned to the king of Prussia the cordon of the black eagle for the same reason, saying that "according to the laws of chivalry he could not be brother in arms of a murderer." Singular allusion in such an age! and one that may call attention to the possibility indicated by Cervantes, of composing books of chivalry by rules that would render them agreeable, and even useful, to many persons. The supernatural morality of Catholicism, being conducted by unswerving principles, enables men in this manner to act well, opportunely, traditionally, and even when the action that ensues might be qualified as an anachronism, to leave an example which must captivate the admiration of every one possessing a noble mind. Fifthly, the utility of this influence is seen in rendering men brave, frank, and noble; for all that is manly it encourages, but what is weak and effeminate, it disowns. The fig-tree, the "inutile lignum" of Horace, is allowed by all foresters to be soft, weak, easily split, and the worst of all kinds of wood. Such is not the timber that Catholicism forms. We find that this latter is useful for all purposes, and for none more so than for such as demand high valour; for he cannot fear who builds on noble grounds. My brother," said Richard to Renaud de Montauban, when the latter exhorted his troops to have courage and prudence, courage is never wanting in those who aim at glory, 66 66 'When councils fail, and there's in man no trust, How many Even then an arm from heaven fights for the just.”” Such is the spirit that pervades the forest here. men have distinguished themselves, even in the sphere of art, from having acted under the inspiration of faith? Philippo Brunelleschi, when it was question of constructing the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore at Florence, after remarking that the difficulty of the enterprise appeared to him prodigious, concluded with these words, "yet remembering that this is a Church consecrated to God in honour of the blessed Virgin, I confidently trust that, for a work executed to the Divine glory, knowledge will not fail to be infused where it is wanting, and strength, wisdom, and genius bestowed on him who shall be author of such a work." Well might the ascetic say, "amor Jesu nobilis, ad magna operanda impellit, et ad desideranda semper perfectiora excitat. -Valet ad omnia, et multa implet, effectui mancipat, ubi non amans deficit et jacet." In the moral order, all ancient European history abounds with examples of the grandeur which attends actions inspired by the old Catholic sense of duty, which are admirable even in the eyes of those who deem that, on the particular occasion, it was mistaken in its estimate of men; as when Achille de Harlay, walking in his garden, received the visit of a hostile duke, who had figured at the barricades from which the king had retired, and the grave magistrate continued his walk, saying with a loud voice, when he saw him approach, "c'est grand pitié que le valet chasse le maistre; au reste, mon âme est à Dieu, mon cœur est à mon roy, et mon corps est entre les mains des méchans; qu'on en fasse ce qu'on voudra." This invincible constancy-the "mens æqua in arduis," does not belong to the man only naturally honest, whose variations render very conspicuous the utility of a deliverance from such falls as the modern civilization witnesses. On the 19th of March, Bonaparte being at the gates of Paris, Benjamin Constant signed an article ending with these words, "je n'irai pas, misérable transfuge, me trainer d'un pouvoir à l'autre, couvrir l'infamie par le sophisme, et balbutier des mots profanes pour racheter une vie honteuse." On the 20th, he changed his part, and made his submission to Bonaparte*. It is useful to be trained "to speak plain, and to the purpose, like an honest man, a soldier, and not to use words like a very fantastical banquet.” It is useful, also, to be impressed with a sense of the duty of not succumbing to an unjust attack upon the general good; and Catholicism actually comes in aid to men that would otherwise waver, and produces these results. St. Gertrude, fearing that concord would be disturbed in her own mind by the contradictions of some who were opposed to the religious state, "heard," she says, 66 our Lord replying, 'the virtue of concord is not forfeited when man resists injustice +."" The supernatural element not only impels, but also assists men to persevere in such contests. It causes the mind to resemble one of those feudal castles of old Norman skill, in which the passages were so constructed, that if the garrison should be obliged to take refuge through them in the keep, the soldiers might fly to several successive stages, each rising above the other, from which they could take up positions which, by their elevation, would give them a command over their assailants. Sixthly, the practical utility of the same element, appears in the patience and calm fortitude with which it enables men to meet the injustice of the world, and the calamities of life. The fatum Christianum wholly differs from the fatum Mahometanum and the fatum Stoicum. Those who submit to it act by a knowledge of the Divine perfections, from which the love of God flows, and not only evince patience like the Stoic philosophers, but show that they are content with what the providence of God ordains, knowing that it is for the best, not alone in general, but for the individual. 66 Every one should read," says Leibnitz, "the book by Cardan de Utilitate ex Adversis Capienda,' and that by Novarinus-'de Occultis Dei Beneficiis."" The utility on which these authors treat, involves a consideration of the advantage resulting from the supernatural principles which are provided for the occasions that they describe. As an instance, one may refer to the letter which Sir Thomas More wrote to * Chateaub. Mém. d'Outre Tombe. VOL. VI. Vita ejus, iv. 39. Y his wife, in 1528, after the burning of his house at Chelsea: "Sith it hath liked God," he says, "to send us such a chaunce, we must and are bounden not only to be content, but also to be glad of His visitation. He sente us all that we have loste; and sith He hath, by such a chaunce taken it away againe, His pleasure be fulfilled. And, peradventure, we have more cause to thank Him for our loss than for our winning; for His wisdom better seeth what is good for us than we do ourselves. I pray you to make some good ensearche what my poor neighbours have loste, and bid them take no thought therfor; for, and I shold not leave myself a spone, there shall no poore nighbour of mine bere no loss by any chaunce happened in my house!" This spirit attends Catholicism in every age. "Some readers," says Gerbet, alluding to his own work, "will think perhaps that the preceding pages present a singularity, as having been written in these times of revolution. The world seems to shake from its foundations; and we are calmly writing the theory of a genuflexion; but so it is with us Catholics. We have been always made thus. It is a family tradition. The popes of the catacombs made rules respecting holy water; after the agony of the Roman empire, Gregory II. picked up a pen among the ruins of Italy, to write an ordonnance about the lamps of a tomb; and when society is convulsed, the priest is no less attentive each morning to consult the rubrics in order to recite his breviary on the crater of a volcano." It is a remark by Peter of Blois, "that they who regulate the passions through piety are more qualified than all others for most things, inasmuch as they have gained more power over their own wills *." This victory-the grand desideratum where faith is lost is never more useful than when occasions are presented of enduring wrong or sorrow. How useful, then, to be able to practise the maxim which James Bordingus had always on his tongue "Nobile vincendi genus est patientia; vincit Qui patitur; si vis vincere, disce pati + !" Antiquity never found but two men of even temper in all varieties of fortune, Socrates, in Greece, and Lelius, in the Roman republic. What do not men owe to principles which, in every Christian age, produce, in all walks of life, the man and woman amidst all trials as calm as virtue? "Passion exagge rates," says the Père de Ligny. "Envy made the disciples of St. John the Baptist say, Et omnes veniunt ad eum,' because many went with him; and an impassioned zeal for our Lord's *Pet. Bles. de Amicit. Christ. |