ROMANISM. 



study for the priesthood, are assumed 

 to have been as highly endowed with 

 the natural religious instinct as oth- 

 er people ; and their second careful 

 training has developed in them a 

 strong religious, priestly, or sacerdo- 

 tal feeling, connected with what is 

 distinct from the material things of 

 life, such as may be called forth by 

 parts of the service, its dogmas, in- 

 cense, music, singing, praying and 

 confession, and ceremonies foolish 

 enough in themselves, and that gen- 

 eral obeisance to what is outside of 

 themselves, and which may be called 

 ghostly; without destroying, but 

 rather sharpening, those instincts 

 that are applied to advance the in- 

 terests of their corporation all so 

 impressed on them that it is diffi- 

 cult to wean them from " Mother 

 Church." To realize in some degree 

 the ghostly feeling of Romanists 

 lay or clerical let any one enter 

 their churches, and lay aside his re- 

 ligious knowledge and principles, 

 and he can feel what Pagans were 

 inspired with when they entered 

 their temples and gloomy religious 

 groves, provided he has a lively im- 

 agination, and a sensitive feeling of 

 the religion of nature. And that 

 can be said in a much greater degree 

 of Romanists themselves, to whom 

 the scene conveys, generally, an ex- 

 quisite pleasure and a profound awe ; 

 and especially when they contem- 

 plate in the mass, God on the altar, 

 their own belief, confession, and 

 absolution, and the mysterious priest 

 as the instrument of the miracle of 

 transubstantiation, and the custodier 

 of the keys of heaven for all believ- 

 ers. Such phenomena as these are 

 nearly everything, when supported 

 by the common example of old and 

 young ; no one questioning what is 

 s taught and professed, and no infor- 

 mation to be had to the contrary, or 

 no disposition shown to examine it. 

 Such people, when they come to- 

 gether, or think of their religion, will 

 look at each other for encourage- 

 ment and support, passive or active, 

 5 



on a question like this, that has 

 come down to them from a high an- 

 tiquity, when anyone expresses a 

 doubt in regard to it ; and the most 

 positive, noisy and daring of them 

 will carry the crowd with them in 

 the cry, " Great is Diana of the 

 Ephesians," " whom all Asia and 

 the world worshippeth." And " what 

 man is there that knoweth not how 

 that the city of the Ephesians is a 

 worshipper of the great goddess 

 Diana, and of the image which fell 

 down from Jupiter ? " " Things that 

 cannot be spoken against " (Acts 

 xix.), as if they were facts that no 

 one could or would dare doubt. 

 Humanity as such will not question, 

 and is hardly capable of question- 

 ing a national worship of this kind, 

 but receives it actively or passively, 

 with something like a natural in- 

 stinct. Whatever the abuses, real 

 or apparent, that may have crept 

 into it, it was not for the priests 

 publicly to make an ado about them, 

 for fear of destroying the whole re- 

 ligion of the Great Diana herself. 

 If it is hard for people to understand 

 why the more intelligent of the 

 priests of Rome do not condemn 

 many things connected with their 

 religion, but rather teach and prac- 

 tise them, it can be answered that 

 such is for the interest of themselves 

 and their infallible Church, which 

 has to be upheld under all circum- 

 stances ; to say nothing of the things 

 complained of being submitted to, 

 and doubtless believed in by as in- 

 telligent lay members, who have no 

 particular interest in doing so. Con- 

 sidering the amazing things that have 

 been practised as religion, we need 

 feel no surprise at what comes up of 

 that hature, and must therefore re- 

 serve an opinion on what is believed 

 or not believed among Romanists, 

 lay or clerical. At the worst, we 

 can yield to the priests of Rome the 

 credit due to as much belief in their 

 system as could be given to the 

 priests of Paganism, past and present, 

 whatever that might be, provided 



