RELIGION. 277 



hood from the highest motives. St. Paul, a celibate, while 

 emphatically proclaiming the virgin state as the highest possible 

 to mankind when undertaken from the true standpoint, said, 

 " Marriage is honourable in all," * and " it is better to marry than 

 to burn." f Our Blessed Lord also, when His disciples said " It 

 is not good to marry," answered them thus, " All men cannot 

 receive this saying, save they to whom it is given." \ 



The invocation of saints has degenerated into their usurping 

 the position of the One Mediator, and the natives also invoke 

 localized names of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the 

 saints, appearing to consider, e.g., that the Good Lord Jesus of the 

 Good Garden, and Our Lady of the Junction of the Rivers, are 

 more immediately their helpers. 



This cult of the saints is exercised in a practical way, which 

 appears worthy of notice. The instances I detail below may have 

 their counterpart in other Roman Catholic countries, but I, at 

 least, am not cognizant of it. 



"The military standing of Sancto Antonio in the Brazilian 

 army is one of considerable importance and diversified service. 

 According to a statement of Deputy Aristides Spinola, on the i3th 

 of June, 1884, the eminent saint's own feast-day, his career in the 

 military service of Brazil has been the following : By a royal 

 letter of the 7th of April, 1707, the commission of captain was con- 

 ferred upon the image of Sao Antonio da Barra, of Bahia. This 

 image was promoted to be a major of infantry by a decree of 

 September 13, 1810, and by an aviso of July 29, 1859. His pay 

 was placed upon the regular pay-roll of the department of war. 

 The image of Sao Antonio in Rio de Janeiro, however, outranks 

 his counterpart of Bahia, and seems to have had a more brilliant 

 military record. His commission as captain dates from a royal 

 letter of March 21, 1711, and was conferred on him by Governor 

 Antonio de Albuquerque Coelho e Carvalho, in recognition of his 

 valorous exploits in resisting the French invasion under Duclerc. 

 He was promoted to a major of infantry by a decree of July 14, 

 1810, and to a lieutenant-colonel July 26, 1814. . . . He was 

 decorated with the Grand Cross in the Order of Christ by a decree 

 of August 13, 1814, and his pay as lieutenant-colonel was made a 

 * Heb. xiii. 4. t I Cor. vii. 9. J St. Matt. xix. 10, n. 



