CXXVl. PROLEGOMENA. 



article of belief to faith, if only it be spoken by 

 God. We never pretend to understand the 

 manner of this miracle, but we believe and adopt 

 the words of Christ. We know nothing of the 

 manner by which God and the Saints hear our 

 prayers, but we are positive they do hear them, 

 because their petitions are so often granted. 

 Those are really the absurd people who limit 

 their belief in the Christian mysteries, according 

 to their own private judgment. All the early 

 fathers of the church, and all the Saints, believed 

 in the Real Presence ; and the first doubt in it has 

 run through protestantism, Arianism, unitarian- 

 ism, and deism to atheism. A rational man cannot 

 adopt the absurdity of a compromise, but must 

 admit or deny the whole of Christianity, as he 

 finds it supported by authority. 



Objection 5. That the tithes were instituted 

 by the Catholic Church. 



Answer. The tithes were originally insti- 

 tuted by our Catholic forefathers, in order to 

 form a fund for the support of the poor, instead 

 of being given wholly to the parson, as is now 

 the case in these times of " protestant improve- 

 ment." Formerly one third of the tithe only 

 belonged to the priest ; one third went to the 

 maintenance of the poor ; and the remaining 

 third to the repairs of the church — ])oors' rates 

 and church rates being then unknown. The 



