ROMANISM. 



57 



reared, and in which they live, and 

 move, and have their being. In short, 

 they are priests, whose duty is not to 

 think, but learn the system of their 

 infallible Church, and do the work 

 of priests, to which they have been 

 sworn and educated, as so many 

 well-made and well-oiled machines, 

 who have received all their instruc- 

 tion without question, or almost the 

 capacity of questioning it. As hu- 

 man nature, in all its aspects, with 

 trifling or occasional variations, 

 perpetuates itself from generation 

 to generation, so do religion and 

 the priesthood which dominates it ; 

 each contributing to the creation 

 and maintenance of the other, the 

 priests acting on the people, and the 

 people acting on the priests a con- 

 tinual action and reaction that keep 

 both alive, and lead to the filling 

 up of -the ranks of the priesthood, 

 and the perpetuation of the common 

 religion. So much are priests so 

 many machines, so to speak, that, 

 with the Bible in their hands, Pro- 

 testantism seems to the best of them 

 a mystery, however much one may 

 strive to get them to understand 

 that it is nothing but the teaching 

 of Christ and his Apostles, whom 

 they (and the Jesuits in particular), 

 in their own peculiar way, profess 

 to have so much at heart to glorify 

 before men. 



If a doubt arises in the mind of a 

 priest, under almost any ordinary 

 circumstances, it is generally kept 

 to himself, on account of every 

 priest being the other's confessor 

 and detective. If he becomes an 

 infidel or atheist, " having his con- 

 science seared with a hot iron," 

 it makes no difference to him what 

 he thinks of the position he fills. 

 Like many a Pagan priest of old, he 

 is " in the service of the gods, if 

 there be gods," but he does not be- 

 lieve in what is taught ; he does not 

 see, however, that it does any harm ; 

 it might be true, or not true, so far 

 as he knows or cares ; at least, he 

 does not doubt the phenomena of 



human nature, and all its wants 

 and superstitions, with which he 

 is continually called upon and 

 forced to deal : he will do his sworn 

 duty, which is eagerly sought and 

 accepted by his people, whatever 

 the result may be. And as regards 

 himself, he will submit to all the 

 offices of the Church, even the last, 

 not because he believes in them, or 

 because they can benefit or cannot 

 hurt him, but because it is his sworn 

 duty to do so, as a " true son of the 

 Church;" while he will defend it to 

 the last against all opposers. 



The position occupied by priests 

 seems to them something like an in- 

 herent part of human nature itself, 

 for it has existed, in some form, in 

 all ages and religions (the Christian 

 only excepted), as if people were 

 created for them, and they for the 

 people, in whose minds there is a 

 vacuum in regard to ghostly matters, 

 which they, without controversy, 

 question or doubt, have to fill, 

 whether it relates to this life princi- , 

 pally, as under the old Pagan sys- 

 tem, or this life and the life to come, 

 both of which Romanism embraces ; 

 the future life being the principal 

 fulcrum used by them to operate on 

 the passions to secure obedience to 

 their Order, which identifies itself in 

 the highest degree with the most 

 important matter that concerns man. 

 It is for them, the sole and exclu- 

 sive possessors of truth and power, 

 to direct, manage and dominate 

 over others in things spiritual, and 

 temporal so far as they can accom- 

 plish it ; and live upon them, as one 

 animal looks upon another as its 

 natural prey; and their constant 

 thought is about them. Being an 

 exclusive caste, by virtue of its con- 

 secration, and having many peculi- 

 arities which are kept secret from 

 the world, it is exceedingly jealous 

 of outsiders prying into its actions, 

 or the principles by which it is 

 governed and held together; and 

 that these should be divulged by 

 any of themselves, or that anything 



