ancient, for all could not accidentally have agreed on the same subjects and same methods of representation; but not an inconsiderable time must have elapsed between some one's inventing the type, and all artists in different parts adopting it.

This very brief sketch must suffice for the present.Perhaps I might be expected to say something of abuses, had I not interspersed several observations throughout my discourse, which must be, I flatter myself, sufficient. In one word, I will only remark that the charge of abuse arises, in a great measure, from persons not taking the pains to understand or know the feeling of Catholics. If we go into other countries, we find demonstrations of outward feeling, ever of a much warmer and more enthusiastic character than here; and conseqently nothing is more common than to condemn these exhibitions, by comparison with what occurs in colder countries, and among more phlegmatic characters, as superstitious and idolatrous.But they who are acquainted with the people, and who have been instructed concerning their belief, know that, however extravagant they may outwardly appear, inwardly their faith and conviction are perfectly safe, and in accordance with that laid down as the belief of the church.

This subject closes the lectures, with the exception of those on the Eucharist, which I will enter upon at our next meeting. Before concluding this evening, I wish to make one or two remarks, which seem connected with our subject. They regard those vague declamations which are daily heard respecting the Catholic doctrines. I have not the least doubt that this course of lectures will give rise to others of a contrary tendency;* in which attempts will be made to show that the doctrines and practices of Catholics are superstitious, idolatrous, and deserving of every opprobrious epithet. I entreat all who may be induced to listen to such replies, to keep their minds and imaginations exceedingly cool, not to allow themselves to be carried away by eloquence, however fervent, nor by assertions, however positive, but to demand proof for every proposition which affects Catholics; and if opportunity to do so is not afforded them, to search for proofs, and try to verify the grounds on which our doctrine is impugned, before yielding up their minds to the arguments by which we are attacked. I am confident that that method will save a great deal of trouble; because I am sure it will be

* This was actually the case.

found, in almost every instance, tha tthe doctrine assailed is not that of Catholics, and that consequently the argument against it is thrown away; the reasons may be very good against the imaginary doctrine attacked, but worth nothing, as confuting ours.

I am satisfied that we have nothing to fear from persons carrying on the discussion in the way I have represented. I am confident that the time is gone by, when they could raise against us the war-cry of our practising superstitions injurious to God, as much as it is for raising the cry of disloyalty and disaffection to the state. Both have had their day, and the day of both is passed; and no one can serve our cause better, or more thoroughly disgust his hearers, than he who shall endeavor to found his attack upon Catholics, on such declamatory and groundless imputations as these. Thank God, and thank also the generosity and uprightness of our fellow-countrymen, we can now stand fairly and openly before the public. We are anxious, not to shrink from inquiry, but to court it; we throw open our places of worship to all men, we publish our books of prayer and instruction before the world; we submit the least of our children and their catechism to examination; we invite all to inspect our schools, and present the masters and their scholars to their interrogation; all that we write and read is at the command of the learned; and, if in our power, we would open our breasts, and ask them to look even into our hearts,-for God knows that we have nothing to shade, nothing to conceal,-and there let them read our belief, as written on its tablets in the simplest and plainest terms. No attack can any longer be allowed by any sensible, reasonable, generous, or liberal-minded man, except through calm and cool investigation, based entirely on the correct statement of our doctrines, and conducted exclusively, not by vague quotations from the word of God, but by arguments clearly and strongly addressed to his understanding.

These are the concluding admonitions which I wish to impress upon you. At our next meeting, I shall commence, as I have promised, the most important of all subjects, the Eucharist. Perhaps the length to which it will lead me, may not allow me time to make many concluding reflections; and I did not wish you to separate, without a few such as I have just indulged in. There are a great many other observations that offer themselves, but the time has flown too rapidly, and I have only space again to

assure you, as I have done before, that if I have touched lightly upon some points, and seemed to omit others, it has been solely and exclusively through feeling sensible that almost every evening I have detained you here longer than it became me, and that I have trespassed by a desire of communicating too much, rather than by withholding any thing that appeared useful.*

LECTURE XIV.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were sat down; in like manner also the fishes, as much as they would."-John vi. 11.

ALTHOUGH, my brethren, not accustomed to attach any great importance to such accidental coincidences, I will acknowledge, that I felt some pleasure on discovering, when, brought this evening, by my arrangement of the topics to be discussed in your presence, to the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, that it was precisely the very lesson proposed to us by the church, in the Gospel of the day. For I can not but hope that the blessing of God will be more abundant on our labors, when our teaching is not merely in accordance with, but even in its outward forms all regulated by that authority which he has appointed to govern and instruct us. Thus I shall enter with confidence at once upon the task which I have assigned myself; and as the course which we shall have to pass over this evening will be rather protracted, and as, even to do it but partial and tolerable justice, it will be necessary for me to omit many merely special and digressive questions which will present themselves in our way, I will, without further preface, enter at once on the great object now before us. It is no other than to examine the grounds on which the Catholic church proposes to us her belief on this subject, the most important, the most solemn, the most beautiful, the most perfect of all I have proposed to treat of-the true and real presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the altar.

VOL. II.-10.

* Acts xx. 20.

This doctrine of the Catholic church, which perhaps, of all other dogmas, has been most exposed to misrepresentation, or, at least, certainly to scorn and obloquy, is clearly defined in the words of the council of Trent, where we are told that the Catholic church teaches, and always has taught, that in the blessed Eucharist, that which was originally bread and wine, is, by the consecration, changed into the substance of the body and blood of our Lord, together with his soul and divinity, in other words, his complete and entire person; which change the Catholic church has properly called Transubstantiation.* Such, my brethren, is our belief; and I will proceed to lay before you, in this and subsequent discourses, the grounds whereupon we hold this doctrine; which, to those who have not embraced it, appears most incomprehensible, and repugnant, and which forms with too many the greatest bar to their uniting themselves with our communion; but which to every Catholic is the most consoling, the most cheering, and in every way the most blessed portion

of his creed.

Now, before entering on the arguments from holy writ, regarding this point, it is important that I should lay down clearly before you, the principles which will guide me in the examination of Scriptural texts. I have had, on another occasion, opportunity to remark how there is a vague and insufficient way of satisfying ourselves regarding the meaning of Scriptural texts:—that is to say, when reading them over, and having in our minds a certain belief, we are sure to attach to them that meaning which seems either absolutely to support it, or is, at least, reconcilable with it. It is in this way that many most opposite opinions are by various sects equally held to be demonstrated in Scripture. Certainly there must be some key, or means of interpreting it more securely; and on the occasion alluded to, when I had to examine several passages of Scripture, I contented myself with laying down, as a general rule, that we should examine it by means of itself, and find the key in other and clearer passages, for the one under examination. But on the present occasion, it is necessary to enter more fully into an exposition of a few general and simple principles, which have their foundation in the philosophy of ordinary language, and in common sense, and which will be the principles that I shall seek to follow.

* Sess. xiii. c. iv.

The ground-work of all the science of interpretation is exceedingly simple, if we consider the object to be attained. Every one will agree that when we read any book, or hear any discourse, our object is to understand what was passing in the author's mind when he wrote or spoke those passages-that is to say, what was the meaning he himself wished to give to the expressions which he then wrote or uttered. At this moment, for instance, that I am addressing you, it is obvious, from every conventional law of society, that I wish and mean you to understand me. I should be trifling with your good sense, your feelings, and your rights, if I intended otherwise; and thence it follows that I express myself to the best of my power, in the way that I believe most conducive to convey exactly to your minds the ideas passing in mine at the moment I am relating them. In fact, the object of all human intercourse, pursuant to the established laws of social communication, is to transfuse into other minds the same feelings and ideas that exist in one; and language is nothing more than the process whereby we endeavor to establish this communication,

It is evident that we have here two terms, which are to be equalized, the mind of the speaker and that of the hearer; and if the process of communication be properly performed, the one must thoroughly represent the other. To illustrate this by comparison,-if, from the lines which you see impressed on paper from a copper-plate, you can reason, and that infallibly, to those inscribed on the plate, so can you in like manner, if you see only the plate, just as correctly reason to the impression which must be thereby produced, provided the process followed be correct, and calculated by its nature to communicate that impression. Just so, therefore, the object of any person who addresses others, either in writing or in speech, is to convey as clearly as possible, his meaning to their minds. If the processes of language be correct, except in extraordinary cases of error-for it is an exception if we misunderstand one another-if the act of imprinting be correctly performed, we receive the impressions and ideas which the writer or speaker wished to convey. And hence we can accurately reason from the meaning attached to a speech by those who heard it, to the ideas passing in the speaker's mind.

If then we wished to ascertain the meaning of any passage in a book written a hundred or a thousand years ago,