P-ROLEGOMENA. CXXi. 



of men and of cities. And not as Conyers, 

 Middleton and other sectai-ians have thought, 

 vvlio, reversing the natural order of things, vainly 

 imagined that our Christian customs came from 

 those of Greece and Rome. 



The whole, life of our Blessed Saviour on 

 Earth is full of emblematical allusions, even from 

 the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin 

 Mary, to the consummation of Christianity in 

 the Ascension. Not only are the parables which 

 Christ spoke full of important allusions, but 

 probably every act of the divine mission is preg- 

 nant with lessons of morality and precepts of 

 example. Are not our Lord's Incarnation, 

 Nativity, Baptism, Fasting, Temptation, Trans- 

 figuration, Suffering in the Garden of Olives, 

 Cross and Passion, Death and Burial, Resur- 

 rection and Ascension, the Descent of the 

 Holy Ghost, and all other great facts on record, 

 available also as emblems of the birth, temptations, 

 crosses, death and resurrection of us, his imi- 

 tators, who have been redeemed by his blood, 

 and are to be admitted with him into Heaven on 

 condition of following him on earth ? And what 

 are all the ceremonies of the church, but com- 

 memorations of the life of Christ, expanded 

 over the senses of all Christendom in the 

 sacred office, as the means of regenerating the 

 spirit of Christ in their hearts ? And I believe 



