Introductory. 33 



that in him they must find a defender, he adds : " Did 

 the pope speak against conscience in the true sense 

 of the word, he would commit a suicidal act. He would 

 be cutting the ground from under his feet. His very 

 mission is to proclaim the moral law, and to protect 

 and strengthen that light which enlighteneth every man 

 that cometh into the world." 



On the law of conscience and its sacredness are 

 founded both his authority in theory and his power 

 in fact : " The championship of the moral law and of 

 the conscience is his raison d'etre. The fact of his 

 mission is the answer to the complaints of those who 

 feel the insufficiency of the natural light ; and the insuf- 

 ficiency of that light is the justification of his mission." 



That in his view as to the paramount claims of con- 

 science he is but following the traditions and authorities 

 of the Church he makes plain by references and quota- 

 tions. After quoting the judgment, " He who acts against 

 conscience loses his soul," adduced from the fourth 

 Lateran council by Cardinal Gousset, he adds : " This 

 dictum is brought out with singular fulness and force in 

 the moral treatises of theologians. The celebrated school 

 known as the Salmanticenses, or Carmelites of Salamanca, 

 lays down the broad proposition, that conscience is ever 

 to be obeyed, whether it tells us truly or erroneously, 

 and that, whether the error is the fault of the person 

 thus erring or not. They say that this opinion is cer- 



D 



