man constitụtes one nature and one person, it follows Spirituality demands that the human soul be a sub-
that man, as man, is something different from either sistent form ; and that it is such, arises not from the
of the component elements of being. The body is not fact that it is simple, but because it is immaterial and
man, neither is the soul, but man is formed by the intelligent as well as simple. That it is immaterial I
union of both, bence the nature of the two united have just demonstrated ; but in addition to this it
is different from the nature of each taken separately. po sesses a faculty capable of apprehending things
The body, by its nature, is destined to corruption ; which are immaterial and abstract, nimely : the in-
the human soul to a life eternal, for it is created tei'ective faculty and hence it is intelligent. Now
after the image of God, all other things exhibit the since the abstract and uuiversal ideas, which are
imprint of the Trinity by their unity, form and order, formed by the intellect, a faculty possessed only by
but in the soul we have the image of God Himself. the human soul, are effects which transcends ail

The human soul is also, by its nature, immaterial material effects. They must be ascribed to actions the
spiritual and immortal and as such it cannot be other- cause of which is wholly different from the material
wise than destined for a life that can never end. Now

oriler of being? Man's will also, can love and desire
that a being may be immaterial it is necessary that it only what is morally good and virtuons; it can love
can exist independent of matter. Such beings are of the absolutely true as beaut ful and good, but these
two classes, namely; that being which has no property operations have no identity with the actions of
possessed by matter and which cannot be united with any power in material substance, and therefore they
matter to form one compound substance. To this do not depend on any miterial substances. But since
class belongs every pure spirit as the angels. Again opritious fillow being and as these operations it ru in-
immateriality is applied to that class of beings which, dependent of matter the soul from which they flow
although it has no properties common to matter, must also be independent of matter; hence the soul
nevertheless is fitted and ordained to miion with the cin, when separated from the body continue to have
body and continues to exist and to act when this

its bing aid to perform actions proper to itsell, yet,
union ceases ; such a being is the human soul. Hence by its nature it deinands union with the body.
we see that immateriality does not signify what is . It is a lawful conclusion then that even natural
merely negative, but it expresses something positive releon furnishes us some proof of the body's resurrec-
and it denies that something to be material.

tion). For in death the soul is separated from the
That the homan soul is immaterial can be seen if body and the demand for union most be satisfied.
we consider its powers and operations. Now the Bit to say that the human soul perishes is repugnant
human soul bas intellectual conceptions and opera- to our niture. If trie, it would blast every hope of
tions of reason and judgment independent of material man. Every path that leads to truth, to virtue, to a
organs. This we cannot deny. 'Eich one of noble end woud be abandoned, man would loose all
knows from experience that we perceive with the mind seuse of rectitude. The earth resplendent with its
what our senses cannot reach. Daily we think of vast and beauteous panorama, adorned with a canopy
God, of justice and of virtue; we perceive the differ- whose myriad bodies Jeud the effulgence of their in-
ence between good and evil, yet all these operations chanting rays, ever exulting, erer wging on to nobler
are performed without the aid of material organism, deeds, wonld become a pendemonium. such as the
and since they are independent of matter, that is im- imps themselves could not brook.
material, the principle whence they flow must be also But instead of this general disorder we find man
independent of matter in its actions, it follows then ever striving to become greater and better, firm in his
as a consequence that this principle must be indepen- belief that he posesses within himself a soul that cil
dent of inatter in its being also ; for since the opera- never die, he endures with patience and resiguation
tions are independent of matter and the operations the many trials which beset his path through life ;
follow the being the principle is independent of mat- nay, he oftentimes sacrifices even life itself that his joy
ter in its being.

in the life beyond the grave may be the more com-
Again since we are capable of knowing what is en- plete. Our own inward consciousness tells us that
tirely abstract, it follows that we must possess within our soul is immortal, all nature has ever proclaimed
ourselves a something whose power transcends the it. The writings of Homer, Ovid, and Virgil testify
power of all material substance. For a body can act

that such was the belief of ancient Greece and Rome.
only as a body and its actions are physical, material, Cicero, too, believed in the soul's immortality. In
and the objects which such actions reach are also

fact this belief has been so general that were we to
material, for no agent can naturally perform actions study the history of even the most remote ages,, we
the principle of which he does not possess.

would seek in vain to find a single nation without
Man's soul. then is immaterial, and as such it is some presentiment of a future state of existence.
simple and spiritual, because immateriality includes But besides this concurrent opinion of men we find
both. Simplicity is opposed to composition. llence many reasons, which establish beyond doubt that the
the brute soul and every substantial formal principle soul of mam can never die. That it can by its nature
are in themselves simple but not immaterial is is the continue to live throughout eternity, is made evident
human soul for they are not subsistent forms, i.e. when we consider that it is a simple living substance
they cannot exist separated from the matter with that can exist independently of matter. Death is the
which they are joined. The brute sond performs no separation of the living soul from a body informed by
actions but such as are sensible or organic and a sense it. Only that substance then can die which consists
ororgar is material substance,

of a body animated with a living principle. But as

us

Now as

man's soul is in itself a livin principle, and is it people drinking deep from the cup of iniquity words
exercises operations in which etter has no part it is inciting to darker deeds, "Let us eat and drink for to-
not subject to corruption, foorruption supposes the

morrow we die,” forgetful to add

"And after death judgment."
dissolution of parts, and bex can never die. More-

-W. D.N.
over the human soul being spiritual substance can-
not possess within itself ar principle of corruption

Shakespeare's Fidelity to History.
nor can it be destroyed by.ny external cause. But,
you may say, God is omnirent and to affirm that He Dramatic poetry is like history made visible, and is an
has brought the soul fro nothingness into being,

image of actions past as though they were present.

-Lord Bacon.
has not the power to døroy it would be absurd.
Thirt God posesses the prer to annihilate the soul, if
He so wishes, we do not eny.

Yet there are many

UCH is the great philosopher's conception of
reasons on account of wich He will not.

dramatic poetry. He defined it, Shakespeare
long ils the sul can awer the purpose of its ex-

created it. With all his innate genius, the
istence, God can have v reason to destroy it. This

Avonian bard infused onch vivacity into his
purpose the soul can ev accomplish by showing forth dramas as has never been excelled, not even by the
the justice, the power, he goodness, and wisdom of ancient Æschylus. Nature lent its harmony, and
God and thus coutribes to his greater glory the history its trutlı. Both are potent factors in en nobl-
Citlise for which it wagreated.

ing a nation's literature. The one yields its realistic
Again, when we vin the life of man, we are forced beauty, the other Jends solidity to the graces of
to adinit the existenc of future state of life. We ree diction. Each in itself affords ample scope for the
many receive the reard of this life unmerited; while highest literary flight, yet when both are moulded
the virtuous are allwed to pass unrecompenscd and into one harmonious whole by the master-hand of
are often scorned ind ridiculed. The wicked are Shakespeare, the results vie with, and indeed surpass,
suffered to go unanished, while the innocent are the achievements of both ancient and modern genius.
forced to endure te greatest afflictions. Man’s due He it was, who descended. into the depths of things ;
reward or punishimnt for deeds done must therefor he it was, who disclosed the secrets of maukind. He
pertain to a futurstate of existence.

did not soar in regions etherial aiming at the faultless
Never yet was tere a man who did not desire in- like the Greeks, but he simply aimed at reality. Never
ending happiness He must then by his nature be Wils human life so vividly portrayed ; every phase,
fitted and ordaind for a state of perpetual beatitude high or low, successful or unsuccessful, happy or un-
and such being lis nature his soul must ever live else happy, found expression. Him Nature blessed with a
God has created man without an appointed ultimate genial mind and soul, and this blessing so fructified
destiny proportinate to his nature.

that the halo of immortality still encircles his name
But as God ifall perfect he can do nothing in vain, in the world of letters.
the soul is thendestined to eternal life.

Many writers of fame lent their best efforts to cor-
In this life in can find nothing to satisfy the rectly interpret the Swan of Avon. Some have
greatness and ignity which his nature demands. He treated extensively of his mind and art, his character-
may possess thr wealth of a Croesus, or the power of istics; others have critically examined his characters,
a Nero; he my be rich in knowledge and renowned both male and female, as found in every walk of life ;
for his glorinis achievements; he may be honored, but few have ever delved into the historic fidelity of
flattered, iud Iged, yet his desire for something last- bis plays. This field, however, is not entirely unex-
ing, niore eulted becomes stronger and more in- plored. Many have touched upon the subject, but,
satiatable.

as far as we can learn, no one has ever made an ex-
Such then being the nature of the human soul, hanstire study of the fidelity to history of his historierl
can have sone ideas how precious that soul must be and serni-historical plays. All honor is due, however,
to God. H, has created it for man, and in the belief to Warner, Courtnay and Boswell-Stone for their
that it can never die man has been guided to deeds of critically learned expositions of the English historical
love and sef-sacrifice.

plays.
Take, if you will, from this wonderful creation the It has been truly said that the people of England
soul, that grand, that noble, that precious work of learned more of the history of their country from
God ; blot out forever every idea of a future state of Shakespeare than from any other source. His keen
existence ind to what an abyss of baseness, of misery penetration, his distinct outlines, his marvelous ad-
and wue will not man be reduced. He would no hesion to bistory, not only immortalized the poet binn-
longer be guided by the divine light of faith, but self, but also those historical characters which his
heedless and und unted, he would dash on through mighty pen so actualized as to perpetuate them unto
life whitheroserer his baser nature might lead bin.

No doubt many i beutiful attribute of a
Religion which so often confronts us in our moments King Henry V. or VI. would have been lost to po:-
of despair would be supplanted by the profane terity, had not he rescued them from partial oblivion;
worship of the ancient pagans, enthroned in all the nor may it be justly denied that the picture of many
power of the world, a sight such as the lustful eye of a hidious and despicable character 18 indelibly im-
man loves to gaze upon : supported by the wealth pressed on the mind of him who thoughtfully studies
and magnificence of nations, it would proclaim to a King John or Richard III. True, Shakespeare held

we

all ages:

66

the “mirror up to Nature,” and painted characters when he speaks of 'ur strong possessions and our
who actually walked the thorny path of life, who right,” he but endeaved to veil bis deception. But
have either made of their lives a glorious succe88 or a his mother Elinor, 4scions of bis self-deceit, dis-
most deplorable failure. To show the degree of false, closes with courage anqirectness the real fact :
imperfect or faithful reflection of this mirror when

"Your strong possessio, much more than your right,
held up to actual historic facts shall become our task. Or else it must go wronwith you and me.
“ It is a theme as fluent as the sea,” a theme which,

Act I., Scene 2.
to do it justice, would require volumes. But since

Historians have only corded his vices, and the
our essay must be of moderate length, we shall limit bard of Avon dramatized em. Not to say, however,
ourselves to the English historical plays And these

that he had recourse to tl chronicles, for it is a con-
we would clasify as dramas extolling either royal

ceded fact, that he did ot consult this source so
weakness or royal strength. Schlegel has termed seriously as in other plaj Honesty and plighted
them the “mirror of kings ;" and in this opinion he faith were not in accordan with the king's vature :
is indeed upheld by the whole world : King John is contracts were broken, anduith abused, whenever it
the base, unscrupluous, weak-minded, regal criminal; served his purpose. The irocence of Prince Arthur
Henry VI. the kind, unsuspecting, almost saintly proved no safeguard againshis life. And when the
monarch ; Richard III., the high-banded, dishonored, deed was done, he, suddenlyvercome by the heinous-
disloyal, but valorous villain ; while Henry V. is the ness of its cruelty, railing at Jubert, exclaimed:
bard's ideal king : he is stern, yet warm at heart;

Had'st thou but shook thy hd or made a pause,
prudent and christianlike ; valiant, such as a king

When I spoke darkly what I roposed,
ought to be. In him is centered every kingly attri- Or turn'd an eye of doubt up my faith,
bute. No wonder we speak his name with such Deep shame had struck me dub, made me break off.”
reverential awe.

Act IV., Scene 2.
We do not intend to present a minute examination Ah! the pangs of conscience ade him realize the
of each historical play, but will touch upon the most enornity of that wicked death or which the earth
salient points of the types of royalty, or royal vigor. had not a hole to hide this dead. No wonder :
In the plays falling under this treatise we will endea-

Hostility and civil tumult signs
vor to show, first, how Sheakespeare delineated the

Between my conscience andny cousin's death."
kings themselves ; secondly, how faithfully he adhered

Act IV., Scene 2.
to history in this delineation ; thirdly, probably, his Note the voice of God speaking fom his soul, a roice
treatment of one or two minor characters; fourthly, which here etrongly argues coneiousness of guilt.
point out a few more or less remarkably striking in-

But why should he now repent vhat, before he so
stances of historical fidelity or deviation in the dramas

eagerly desired ?

We do not think it was so much
of which we treat.

the blackness of the deed as the murmurs of his
Considering King John, whose reign marked one nobles and people. It served bis interest to have the
of the greatest erents in history, we find that the

prince living, because his very thone was now at
poet's genial pen has painted a base, profligate, weak- stake. But why am I speaking thiz? Shakespeare
minded mortal ; cowardly in all his actions ; his

causes the Prince to shorten bis wn life; while
mother Elinor dominating to a great extent his feeble historians differ regarding the mannr of his death.
inind. His conscience is unrestrained, his temper Yet his disappearance was affected clandestinely, and
perfidious, his soul fickle and feeble, uncouth, cruel Lingard remarks: “If the manne of his death
and pittiless. All these qualities combine in awaken- could have borne investigation, Join for his own
ing a feeling of disgust. However, we do not forget honor would have made it public. Hy silence proves
that in the beginning of the drama the poet hardly that the young Prince was murdered.”
infuses such a spirit; but he finds his king on a King John's characteristics as presented by Shakes-
rather stable throne, which is rapidly undergoing a peare differ but slightly from those of be historians.
change for the worst. His character is a black spec., The very name brings with it a sort o unavoidable
trum in the pages of English history, and such a horror. Some historians have ir deed considered him
spirit has the dramatist infused into his play. His

without parallel in history for his intermugled cruelty
reign, however, proved the chief highway to the and licentiousness; but their judgment m doubt went
liberties of the people of England in curbing the un- to extremes and their conclusions oftentines bordered
restrained power of the king.

on the improbable. It is our opinion that the
To the title of king he seemed unworthy; the regal character, though dark and hidious, scarcely deviates
crown was too noble for his brow ; his conscience was from that of the most reliable historians. Still the
too callous for a monarch. He appears out of his dramatist has presented him in a somewhat more
sphere and is charged by King Philip that he “had

agreeable light, owing to his unbounded insight into
done a rape upon the maiden virtues of the crown.”

real human nature.
Proceeding he asks :

The noble presentation of Constance ought not to
“How comes it then, that thou art called a king,

be passed over without a few comments. In her we
When living blood doth in these temples (Arthur's) beat, behold a feerless, loving, friendly, but helpless mother
Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest ?”

of a wronged Prince. Having gained the assistance
-Act II., Scene 1.

of France she most humanely entreats Philip to defer
True. his right did not consist in might as that of action until her messengers "bring from England that
Henry IV., nor in heritage as that of Henry VI.; and right in peace which she here urged in war.” But

a

:

the same woman, when she later learned that Philip Many more instances may be cited to illustrate our
and John's royal hands were “knitt'd, coupled and assertion, but as the Zeit-geist is preserved, we will
link'd together with all religious strength of sacred only call attention to one important omission. Any
vows,” overwhelmed by the sense of injury exclaimed: one familiar with English history will recall that King
“War! war! no peace! peace is to me a war,"

John's reign is especially noteworthy for having

-Act III., Scene 1, witnessed the grant of Magna Charta, "the palladium
Note her invocation to heaven :

of English liberty.” Why Shakespeare did not utilize
"Arm, arm you heavens, against these perjured kings!

this important instrument is a mystery which has
A widow cries,-be husband for me heaven.

baffled the critics of all times. Some critics, however,

-Act III., Scene 1. see its effect in the whole play; still the dramatist has
And again :

not made the most remote allusion to it. In fact the
"O! that my tongue were in the thunder's mouth! discontent and uprisings of the nobles seem to be
Then with a passion would I shake the world.

caused by Arthur's death, who at that time was dead

-Act III., Scene 4.
Is it possible for a mother to be otherwise ? First she

twelve years. To our mind it appears that the poet
obtains assistance from a powerful monarch to right than he deserved, and in order to sustain the sympathy

has brought the yonng Prince into greater prominence
her wrong, which is shortly afterwards perfidiously of the readers, and to keep his person prominently
withdrawn. All fond expectations of her son's future

before their minds, he caused the insurrection to be
glory rested in the hands of Philip, who at the very

the due outcome of the Prince's death. Had le
crisis abandoned her most shamefully. O! what sad-

introduced the Magna Charta, the play itself would
ness! what grief! what dispair! must have filled her

have taken a different aspect, and at the same time
heart when she exclaimed :

the Prince and his unfortunate mother could not have
"Law cannot give my child his kingdom ;

played such a conspicuous part.
For he that holds his kingdom holds the law."

The great spirit of the play is England's aspiration
-Act III , Scene 1.

to a place among nations. The spirit so instrumental
She is indeed deserving of pity; and is the embodi-

in her present greatness, is expressed in these words:
meut of hundreds of actually similar cases which
have repeatedly occured in the strife of centuries.

“This England never did, nor never shall

Lie at the proud foot of a conquerer.
Deserted and betrayed as she seems, we can not but

Naught shall make us rue,
admire the moral dignity of her character. All her

if England to itself be true.
heroic efforts, all her unfaltering spirit tended to

-Act V., Scene 7.
secure the recognition of the rights of her son. But

Richard II. also has solicited no inconsider able
lo! what a miserable failure !

praise upon the stage. This drama has the good
Though chroniclers have left but scanty records of

name of being the most accurate of the chronicle
her reign in Brittany, dispersing only periodically the plays. The king himself, a graceful monarch, tasted
dim mist surrounding her womanly nobleness, yet the of the sweets of good fortune, and he felt too the
historian Marshall warrants her contentment while

pangs of adversity. His reign is especially character-
reigning in that country. We have noticed above ized by rebellions, and owing to the lack of proper
that the poet speaks of her as being a widow—"a remedies he was finally forced to yield his crown. He
widow cries ;" while the same historian speaks of her did not possess the many-sided activity of Henry IV.,
“faithful husband Guy De Thonars, as well as of her

who would not dare to leave his realm while traitors
forced marriage to the Earl of Chester. Here we buzzed about his ears. Among the most noteworthy
have an intentional deviation from history. Probably deviations from history may be mentioned Richard's
to elevate her character and demonstrate the perfidy own abdication of the crown ; also placing it person-
of the opponents in her sorrow ful struggle for right- ally on Bolingbroke's head. Lingard and Marshall
eousness. Whatever the poet's aim inight have been, acknowledge no voluntary abdication, nor do they
he has succeeded in showing the failure of her life. warrant the truth of the latter act. The poet's
Viewing the play as a whole we learn that the most

reason for this extreme humiliation of the king is un-
eloquent bard that ever summed up the virtues of a doubtedly to excite a more lasting and lamentable
Brutus or the haughtiness of a Coriolanus, has in-

pity of bis great misfortune, whose
fused into it the spirit of the times. The chronologi-

“glory like a shooting star
cal sequence, however, swings back and forth within

Feil to the base earth from the firmament."
a period of seventeen years. The entrance of Peter
of Pomfret in Act IV., scene 2, brings its historic

Passing on to Henry VI., we find him in most re-
date to 1212, and when Hubert in the same scene

spects the exact opposite of King John. His charac-
speaks of the five moons we retrograde twelve years.

ter as shown in Part I., leans strongly towards humane
Savs Holinshed : “About the month of December principles. On several occasions the king speaks of
(1200) there were seen in the Province of York five

his extreme youth, even when he had reached the age
moons, etc.” Act V. opens with the vigil of Ascen- of twenty-three, he specified by his own words:
sion Day, making historic date May 22, 1213; now

“My tender age was never yet attaint
when Pandulf departs to make the French lay down

With any passion of inflaming love."
their arms,” we are brought face to face with events that even at an age when manly vigor and activity
hippening fully three years later, while subsequent to are most apparent, be bad not yet realized his man-
this point of time we are introduced to the battle of hood.
Byuvines occurring July 27, 1214.

(Continued.)

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THE NIAGARA INDEX,

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SEPTEMBER 1, 1899.

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ANNOUNCEMENT.

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A NEW STAFF.
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A FORMER SCRIBE.
established a record for themselves, to surpass which ELICITATIONS are in order for Mr. John E.
the students of '99 and ’00, must put forward their Fitzgerald of last year's staff. In the early
best efforts. That they will accomplish this, we have part of vacation he was notified of an appoint-
no doubt and the editors expect to see their desks ment to a scholarship at the Catholic University of
soon filled with first-class matter. Again a healthy America, Washington, D. C. Accompanying the
rivalry and lively competition among the members of notice of this appointment came a call to major
the different classes will, we are sure, be productive of orders and the priesthood. He returned shortly after
great activity in the literary circles of the college. To the opening of the Seminary to make a preparatory
endeavor to perfect onesself in knowledge should be retreat. He left on the morning of the 16th ult. for
the laudable ambition of every student. To reward a Albany where on the following day he received sub-
student for his hard work and patient study, his com- deaconship. Tuesday following be received deacon-
position appears in the journal of his Alma Mater. ship, and priesthood on the following Sunday. The
This is and should be considered the highest praise orders were conferred by his ordinary, the Rt. Rev.
accorded a student. The editors in their turn, will T. M. A. Burke, D.D., at the Immaculate Conception
contribute their earnest attention and kindest con- Cathedral.
sideration to all matter presented for publication. In His studies at Washington will be of a post-gradu-

W"

astic year.

F