EDITOR'S TABLE. 



3 6 9 



which is all that we claimed, but he 

 denies that modern liberalism exerts 

 its baneful and pestilent influence with- 

 in the precincts of his church, or that 

 there is any change going on within it 

 respecting the dogma of hell. Yet of 

 this we are not so certain. The liberal- 

 izing influences of the age are subtile, 

 diffusive, encroaching, and all-pervad- 

 ing. Such influences have been grow- 

 ing for centuries, and the Catholic 

 Church has by no means escaped them 

 in times past. They have convulsed it 

 and rent it, and are now agitating it 

 profoundly. What warrant have we 

 that these patent disturbing agencies 

 are to be inoperative in the future ? 

 Our reviewer, indeed, informs us that 

 there is no change in his church in re- 

 gard to eternal damnation. To our 

 remark that the doctrine of hell is be- 

 ing refined away, he replies that "the 

 literal lake of fire and brimstone is 

 preached even now all over the earth ; " 

 and, to our assertion that the notion is 

 growing obsolete, he rejoins that "two 

 hundred millions of Catholics believe 

 the doctrine as a cardinal tenet of the 

 Church." 



But it is important not to be misled 

 here. In what sense are these two 

 hundred million Catholics said to " be- 

 lieve " in the doctrine of hell ? Belief 

 implies evidence, and is founded upon 

 it ; how, then, can men believe that 

 of which they are never permitted to 

 think in connection with evidence ? 

 They may assent to the doctrine, or 

 accept it under the influence of early 

 teaching, or terror, or the coercion of 

 spiritual authority ; but the rational act 

 of belief implies the liberty of doubt, 

 the freedom of inquiry, and a judgment 

 resting upon proof. How can this be 

 possible with a dogma upon which men 

 are forbidden to exercise their minds, 

 and are not even permitted to class as 

 a " theological opinion ? " We know 

 what the Catholics profess ; it is quite 

 another thing to know what they really 

 believe. Of course, the term belief in 



vol. xin. 24 



the theological world is used in a very 

 loose way, and is made to cover what- 

 ever is contained in an accepted creed. 

 But in aiming to get at the real state 

 of mind, which is the object here, it is 

 necessary to discriminate between views 

 that are rationally entertained on some 

 claim of reasonable grounds and dog- 

 mas that are blindly held under theo- 

 logical dictation. Our reviewer admits 

 that there is a growing liberalization, 

 that it is the very essence of Protes- 

 tantism, and that it is inroading upon 

 the old doctrine of future everlasting 

 punishment; and it is perfectly well 

 known that the Catholic Church is 

 deeply troubled about the encroach- 

 ments of the so-called " spirit of the 

 age," which it denounces in the most 

 solemn manner. Can there be any 

 doubt that the invading spirit of lib- 

 eralism will affect Catholic minds in 

 the same way that it has Protestant 

 minds. If not, where is the danger, and 

 what the excuse, for the anxiety of the 

 Church? Under the external exertion 

 of a rigorous ecclesiastical system, uni- 

 formity of profession can be secured; 

 but of what avail is the force of author- 

 ity in the case, or where does it take 

 effect if not in resisting private reason, 

 and substituting profession for real be- 

 lief? There may be two hundred mill- 

 ion Catholics who still accept the be- 

 lief in hell, but it is not possible that all 

 of them, in this age, can be in such a 

 complete state of mental paralysis as 

 not to reflect upon the grounds of their 

 belief, and to hold the opinion with 

 more or less of the same reservations 

 that are exercised by other classes of 

 Christian believers. 



Prof. Dit Bois-Retmond, of Berlin, 

 several months ago gave an address be- 

 fore a scientific association at Cologne, 

 which was recently published in an am- 

 plified form by the author. We pro- 

 cured an early copy for translation, and 

 sent the English proof to the author 



