1808.] 
ebout 1740. The continuation of P. 
Yournely furnishes the treatises for the 
third year. The study of pure morality 
forms a most essential part of a priest’s 
education who is ex efficio to direct the 
consciences of his flack. An illinformed 
priesthood would be the very bane of a 
society, wliére auricular confession is en- 
joined: therefore either decatholicize 
freland or give her well-instructed priests. 
The first is easier said than done, and so 
is the second; but of the two it presents 
less difficulty. This is perhaps the only 
branch ef religious education, that Go- 
vernment has any right to interfere in. 
Too much refiiement has produced ditfe- 
renees and difliculties, as in most other 
things. 
Dy. Milner has heard of acourse of 
Canon Law, another of Ecclesiastical 
History, “ and take notice, Sir,” says he, 
I challenge inquiry.” All this he desired, 
and so do we; but are sorry to find not 
one syllable on the subject, in the official 
documents. Not a word about the holy 
fathers or councils. Another blank gives 
us still greater pain. . 
“ No regular professor of Scripture for 
the present.” Alas! no; nor for the 
past, except fer one short half year, viz. 
the last months of 1796, and the first of 
2797. No professor regular, or irregular, 
of the Hebrew tongue, the key to the 
Scriptures. Lamentable! Yet both these 
are marked in the statutes; and so they 
ought. For what are all the speculative 
niceties of the Thomists or the Moli- 
nists? whatareall the quibbles.of casuistry 
compared to the divine information to be 
found in Scripture? And bow defend 
religion against infidelity or immorality, 
how heal the breaches of Christianity, 
without this heavenly knowledge? O Hi- 
bernia! island of saints and of doctors, 
“ whose light shone forth when the sun 
of science had almust set in the west,” is 
the last of thyrays gone down for ever? Is 
the heek ef beoks shut for thee, and for 
thee alene? Arethere no clildren born to 
thee instead of thy fathers, to open its trea~ 
sures, at least, to those from whose lips thou 
art to seek for knowledge? If so, travel 
to distant climes, rest not until thou find 
among the nations once enlightened by 
thee, some one able to interpret the di- 
vine oracles, and to instruct thee and thy 
children within thee in the language sa- 
cred to religion and antiquity, Evoke 
from Abraham’s bosom some blessed 
shade who may give thee again Moses 
and the Prophets. . 
But no! they hear the Scripture. 
How shall they bear without a preacher ? 
ai Maynooth, near Dublin. 
491 
Or how shall they understand without an 
interpreter? The Protestant rule of faith 
is to leave the Scripture to be explained 
by every man of sound judgment. The 
Catholic, onthe contrary, swears that he 
never wiil take and interpret the Scrip- 
tures, but according to the unanimous 
consent of the Fathers. All this suppeses 
instruction. We are told indeed, that 
“ portions of the New Testament are com 
mitted to memory every week,” i. e. the 
lessons from the Gospel every Sunday,an 
exercise very fit for schoolboys: but in 
an ecclesiastical college we should wish 
them less committed to memory than to 
judgment. No Pentateuch, no Prophets, 
é&c. “ but the Gospels, Epistles and Acts 
of the Apostles are explained.”—By 
whom? Perhaps construed by the Pro- 
fessor of belles-lettres, from Calmet, 
Maldonatus, Esthius, Synopsis Critico- 
rum, ard other biblical expounders. 
Glad to hear it; but ave these volumi- 
nous authors perused by a person who 
has any thing else todo? Then we will 
venture to say: it is done ina very super- 
ficial manner. Is it expected that any 
of the junior professors who have exclu- 
_sively the expectancy of the higher chairs, 
will start self-taught, a doctor of He- 
brew and an expounder of Scripture? 
If not, why shut the door against im- 
provement . from without, by. prema- 
ture exclusions. But alas! on class 
days, (diebus negotiosis, as the Statutes 
quaintly call them) we see no tine allotted 
for biblical lectures; net a moment of 
leisure to con over the Psaltry, and the 
iessons of the Breviary,* much less to ex- 
pound: and, diebus ofiosts, on days of relax- 
ation, would it not be treating too slightly 
this most serious, most sacred, most ims 
portant of ecclesiastical studies, to think. 
oft then, only when the mind must be 
unnerved by application. 
We must again descend to a terrestrial 
sphere, and find our young divines once 
more humanized. «Among the modern 
languages they are restricted to English, 
Trish and French. One hour per day, 
is all that is allowed for all three; to 
-comenit 
Aa at pening lip cap 
* Breviury, the daily office appointed to 
be said by all im holy orders. It is not quite 
so short, as its’name implies. It requires at 
least an hour and a half, or two hours read- 
ing with all decent dispatch. The Jesuits 
were of opinion, that this office interfered too 
much with the studies of their youog mem- 
bers: and therefore put off their ordination to 
the last years of their studies. 
+ Hence we gather that these classes are 
Mot freqeented by the same pupils in the same 
year 
