26 DISCOURSES OF FATHER HYACINTHE. 



Look on the l)row of the fiitlior, on the gray hair of 

 the patriarcli. It is encircled by a triple crown, the 

 tiara, if I might call it so, of secular authority. When 

 I behold the pontiff' of the Catholic Church, the father 

 of redeemed humanity — let me call him by his name, 

 that sweet name that grows in glory as it grows in ex- 

 perience of trial — when I behold Pius IX., I see upon 

 his gentle and majestic brow three crowns not to be 

 disjoined. In primeval times, when as yet there was 

 no universal pope, these three crowns were worn by the 

 pontiff of every dwelling : he was father, king, and 

 priest. Oh, how lovely, and at the same time how ven- 

 erable, the father's crown ! I salute it with trembling 

 lips. Thou art a father, aged patriarch with hoary 

 head, that gatherost upon thy knees and in thy bosom 

 the children of three generations ! Thou art a father, 

 son of man, that hast reached the highest grade of 

 natural greatness possible to humanity ; from thy loins 

 have sprung a numerous seed, in thy heart have been 

 treasured all the affections of humanity, on thy voice 

 waits obedience only less complete than that w^hich is 

 yielded to God. A father, thou art a priest as well. 

 Thus far, Christ has not yet come into the world with 

 his sacerdotal institution, with his bishops and priests; 

 thou standest alone in the sanctuary of the household, 

 holding all their consciences in thy hand, uiiiting all 

 their prayers in thy prayer, oftering all their hearts in thy 

 heart. A priest, thou art a king withal ! Thou stretch- 

 est fortli the ^cepti-c of righteousness to regulate and 

 guard ail rights ; tliou bcarest the sword to defend and 

 to avenge, as Al)raham, a mere head of family, using 

 the right of war A\liicli belonged to him, rescued liis 

 nephew's family from the hands of his enemies. . . . 



Now, from tlie head of the father of the family 



