PROLEGOISTEIVA. XXXV. 



as a learned Bishop has said, we may exert our 

 reason to find out which is the true church ; and 

 to an intelHgent man, who enquires sincerely, a 

 firm Belief that the Catholic Church is such, 

 will be the natural consequence : but this is not 

 all we mean by Faith ; for, as he goes on to say, 

 when we have discovered the true guide, then 

 are we bound to assent to her doctrines, and 

 submit to her discipline, and thus to fulfil the 

 covenant (that is the con veniuntj between God 

 and man, which is the Authority of the Church, 

 with whom Clirist promised to be for ever. So 

 that an Act of Faith is an act of covenant, or a 

 solemn declaration of consent to all that the God, 

 by the Catholic Church, teaches or commands, 

 and includes previous belief that her authority is 

 from God.* Therefore it is not true that we make 

 a voluntary act of one that is involuntary, as 

 some heretics accuse us of. By this etymology 

 we see also that a dereliction of Faith is a breach 

 of covenant, whereby we, in justice, incur the 

 punishment of heresy. A child learns to ap- 

 j)reciate the authority of his father, but believes 

 and obeys him, without further enquiry about 

 modes of causation beyond iiis years. In respect 

 to the greatness of the Deity we are all children. 



* I do not pretend to be, by any means, a learned man, 

 much less a theologian, so if I be wrong in these remarks, for 

 they are edged tools, I hope some person, better informed, will set 

 me right : sugr/esiio est, non autlwritas. 



