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diff --git a/18438.txt b/18438.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5284b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/18438.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10671 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Explanation of Catholic Morals, by John H. +Stapleton + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Explanation of Catholic Morals + A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals + + +Author: John H. Stapleton + + + +Release Date: May 23, 2006 [eBook #18438] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXPLANATION OF CATHOLIC MORALS*** + + +E-text prepared by Michael Gray (Lost_Gamer@comcast.net) + + + +EXPLANATION OF CATHOLIC MORALS + +A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals + +by + +Rev. JOHN H. STAPLETON + + + + + + + +New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: +Benzinger Brothers +Printers to the Holy Apostolic See +Publishers of Benzinger's Magazine +1913 + + + + +Nihil Obstat. +REMY LAFORT, +_Censor Librorum_. + + + + +Imprimatur +JOHN M. FARLEY, +Archbishop of New York +New York, March 25, 1904 +Copyright, 1904, by Benzinger Brothers. + + + + +PREFACE + +THE contents of this volume appeared originally in The Catholic +Transcript, of Hartford, Connecticut, in weekly installments, from +February, 1901, to February, 1903. During the course of their +publication, it became evident that the form of instruction adopted was +appreciated by a large number of readers in varied conditions of life-- +this appreciation being evinced, among other ways, by a frequent and +widespread demand for back-numbers of the publishing journal. The +management finding itself unable to meet this demand, suggested the +bringing out of the entire series in book-form; and thus, with very few +corrections, we offer the "Briefs" to all desirous of a better +acquaintance with Catholic Morals. +THE AUTHOR. + + + +CONTENTS + + I. Believing and Doing + II. The Moral Agent + III. Conscience + IV. Laxity and Scruples + V. The Law of God and Its Breach + VI. Sin + VII. How to Count Sins + VIII. Capital Sins + IX. Pride + X. Covetousness + XI. Lust + XII. Anger + XIII. Gluttony + XIV. Drink + XV. Envy + XVI. Sloth + XVII. What We Believe + XVIII. Why We Believe + XIX. Whence Our Belief: Reason + XX. Whence Our Belief: Grace and Will + XXI. How We Believe + XXII. Faith and Error + XXIII. The Consistent Believer + XXIV. Unbelief + XXV. How Faith May Be Lost + XXVI. Hope + XXVII. Love of God + XXVIII. Love of Neighbor + XXIX. Prayer + XXX. Petition + XXXI. Religion + XXXII. Devotions + XXXIII. Idolatry and Superstition + XXXIV. Occultism + XXXV. Christian Science + XXXVI. Swearing + XXXVII. Oaths + XXXVIII. Vows + XXXIX. The Professional Vow + XL. The Profession + XLI. The Religious + XLII. The Vow of Poverty + XLIII. The Vow of Obedience + XLIV. The Vow of Chastity + XLV. Blasphemy + XLVI. Cursing + XLVII. Profanity + XLVIII. The Law of Rest + XLIX. The Day of Rest + L. Keeping the Lord's Day Holy + LI. Worship of Sacrifice + LII. Worship of Rest + LIII. Servile Works + LIV. Common Works + LV. Parental Dignity + LVI. Filial Respect + LVII. Filial Love + LVIII. Authority and Obedience + LIX. Should We Help Our Parents? + LX. Disinterested Love in Parents + LXI. Educate the Children + LXII. Educational Extravagance + LXIII. Godless Education + LXIV. Catholic Schools + LXV. Some Weak Points in the Catholic School System + LXVI. Correction + LXVII. Justice and Rights + LXVIII. Homicide + LXIX. Is Suicide a Sin? + LXX. Self-Defense + LXXI. Murder Often Sanctioned + LXXII. On the Ethics of War + LXXIII. The Massacre of the Innocents + LXXIV. Enmity + LXXV. Our Enemies + LXXVI. Immorality + LXXVII. The Sink of Iniquity + LXXVIII. Wherein Nature Is Opposed + LXXIX. Hearts + LXXX. Occasions + LXXXI. Scandal + LXXXII. Not Good to Be Alone + LXXXIII. A Helping Hand + LXXXIV. Thou Shalt Not Steal + LXXXV. Petty Thefts + LXXXVI. An Oft Exploited, But Specious Plea + LXXXVII. Contumely + LXXXVIII. Defamation + LXXXIX. Detraction + XC. Calumny + XCI. Rash Judgment + XCII. Mendacity + XCIII. Concealing the Truth + XCIV. Restitution + XCV. Undoing the Evil + XCVI. Paying Back + XCVII. Getting Rid of Ill-Gotten Goods + XCVIII. What Excuses From Restitution + XCIX. Debts + + + +MORAL BRIEFS. + +CHAPTER I. +BELIEVING AND DOING. + +MORALS pertain to right living, to the things we do, in relation to God +and His law, as opposed to right thinking, to what we believe, to +dogma. Dogma directs our faith or belief, morals shape our lives. By +faith we know God, by moral living we serve Him; and this double +homage, of our mind and our works, is the worship we owe our Creator +and Master and the necessary condition of our salvation. + +Faith alone will save no man. It may be convenient for the easy-going +to deny this, and take an opposite view of the matter; but convenience +is not always a safe counsellor. It may be that the just man liveth by +faith; but he lives not by faith alone. Or, if he does, it is faith of +a different sort from what we define here as faith, viz., a firm assent +of the mind to truths revealed. We have the testimony of Holy Writ, +again and again reiterated, that faith, even were it capable of moving +mountains, without good works is of no avail. The Catholic Church is +convinced that this doctrine is genuine and reliable enough to make it +her own; and sensible enough, too. For faith does not make a man +impeccable; he may believe rightly, and live badly. His knowledge of +what God expects of him will not prevent him from doing just the +contrary; sin is as easy to a believer as to an unbeliever. And he who +pretends to have found religion, holiness, the Holy Ghost, or whatever +else he may call it, and can therefore no longer prevaricate against +the law, is, to common-sense people, nothing but a sanctified humbug or +a pious idiot. + +Nor are good works alone sufficient. Men of emancipated intelligence +and becoming breadth of mind, are often heard to proclaim with a +greater flourish of verbosity than of reason and argument, that the +golden rule is religion enough for them, without the trappings of +creeds and dogmas; they respect themselves and respect their neighbors, +at least they say they do, and this, according to them, is the +fulfilment of the law. We submit that this sort of worship was in vogue +a good many centuries before the God-Man came down upon earth; and if +it fills the bill now, as it did in those days, it is difficult to see +the utility of Christ's coming, of His giving of a law of belief and of +His founding of a Church. It is beyond human comprehension that He +should have come for naught, labored for naught and died for naught. +And such must be the case, if the observance of the natural law is a +sufficient worship of the Creator. What reasons Christ may have had for +imposing this or that truth upon our belief, is beside the question; it +is enough that He did reveal truths, the acceptance of which glorifies +Him in the mind of the believer, in order that the mere keeping of the +commandments appear forthwith an insufficient mode of worship. + +Besides, morals are based on dogma, or they have no basis at all; +knowledge of the manner of serving God can only proceed from knowledge +of who and what He is; right living is the fruit of right thinking. Not +that all who believe rightly are righteous and walk in the path of +salvation: losing themselves, these are lost in spite of the truths +they know and profess; nor that they who cling to an erroneous belief +and a false creed can perform no deed of true moral worth and are +doomed; they may be righteous in spite of the errors they profess, +thanks alone to the truths in their creeds that are not wholly +corrupted. But the natural order of things demands that our works +partake of the nature of our convictions, that truth or error in mind +beget truth or error correspondingly in deed and that no amount of +self-confidence in a man can make a course right when it is wrong, can +make a man's actions good when they are materially bad. This is the +principle of the tree and its fruit and it is too old-fashioned to be +easily denied. True morals spring from true faith and true dogma; a +false creed cannot teach correct morality, unless accidentally, as the +result of a sprinkling of truth through the mass of false teaching. The +only accredited moral instructor is the true Church. Where there is no +dogma, there can logically be no morals, save such as human instinct +and reason devise; but this is an absurd morality, since there is no +recognition of an authority, of a legislator, to make the moral law +binding and to give it a sanction. He who says he is a law unto himself +chooses thus to veil his proclaiming freedom from all law. His golden +rule is a thing too easily twistable to be of any assured benefit to +others than himself; his moral sense, that is, his sense of right and +wrong, is very likely where his faith is--nowhere. + +It goes without saying that the requirements of good morals are a heavy +burden for the natural man, that is, for man left, in the midst of +seductions and allurements, to the purely human resources of his own +unaided wit and strength; so heavy a burden is this, in fact, that +according to Catholic doctrine, it cannot be borne without assistance +from on high, the which assistance we call grace. This supernatural aid +we believe essential to the shaping of a good moral life; for man, +being destined, in preference to all the rest of animal creation, to a +supernatural end, is thereby raised from the natural to a supernatural +order. The requirements of this order are therefore above and beyond +his native powers and can only be met with the help of a force above +his own. It is labor lost for us to strive to climb the clouds on a +ladder of our own make; the ladder must be let down from above. Human +air-ships are a futile invention and cannot be made to steer straight +or to soar high in the atmosphere of the supernatural. One-half of +those who fail in moral matters are those who trust altogether, or too +much, in their own strength, and reckon without the power that said +"Without Me you can do nothing." + +The other half go to the other extreme. They imagine that the Almighty +should not only direct and aid them, but also that He should come down +and drag them along in spite of themselves; and they complain when He +does not, excuse and justify themselves on the ground that He does not, +and blame Him for their failure to walk straight in the narrow path. +They expect Him to pull them from the clutches of temptation into which +they have deliberately walked. The drunkard expects Him to knock the +glass out of his hand: the imprudent, the inquisitive and the vicious +would have it so that they might play with fire, yea, even put in their +hand, and not be scorched or burnt. 'Tis a miracle they want, a miracle +at every turn, a suspension of the laws of nature to save them from the +effects of their voluntary perverseness. Too lazy to employ the means +at their command, they thrust the whole burden on the Maker. God helps +those who help themselves. A supernatural state does not dispense us +from the obligation of practising natural virtue. You can build a +supernatural life only on the foundations of a natural life. To do away +with the latter is to build in the air; the structure will not stay up, +it will and must come down at the first blast of temptation. + +Catholic morals therefore require faith in revealed truths, of which +they are but deductions, logical conclusions; they presuppose, in their +observance, the grace of God; and call for a certain strenuosity of +life without which nothing meritorious can be effected. We must be +convinced of the right God has to trace a line of conduct for us; we +must be as earnest in enlisting His assistance as if all depended on +Him; and then go to work as if it all depended on ourselves. + + + +CHAPTER II. +THE MORAL AGENT. + +MORALS are for man, not for the brute; they are concerned with his +thoughts, desires, words and deeds; they suppose a moral agent. + +What is a moral agent? + +A moral agent is one who, in the conduct of his life, is capable of +good and evil, and who, in consequence of this faculty of choosing +between right and wrong is responsible to God for the good and evil he +does. + +Is it enough, in order to qualify as a moral and responsible agent, to +be in a position to respect or to violate the Law? + +It is not enough; but it is necessary that the agent know what he is +doing; know that it is right or wrong; that he will to do it, as such; +and that he be free to do it, or not to do it. Whenever any one of +these three elements--knowledge, consent and liberty--is wanting in the +commission or omission of any act, the deed is not a moral deed; and +the agent, under the circumstances, is not a moral agent. + +When God created man, He did not make him simply a being that walks and +talks, sleeps and eats, laughs and cries; He endowed him with the +faculties of intelligence and free will. More than this, He intended +that these faculties should be exercised in all the details of life; +that the intelligence should direct, and the free will approve, every +step taken, every act performed, every deed left undone. Human energy +being thus controlled, all that man does is said to be voluntary and +bears the peculiar stamp of morality, the quality of being good or evil +in the sight of God and worthy of His praise or blame, according as it +squares or not with the Rule of Morality laid down by Him for the +shaping of human life. Of all else He takes no cognizance, since all +else refers to Him not indifferently from the rest of animal creation, +and offers no higher homage than that of instinct and necessity. + +When a man in his waking hours does something in which his intelligence +has no share, does it without being aware of what he is doing, he is +said to be in a state of mental aberration, which is only another name +for insanity or folly, whether it be momentary or permanent of its +nature. A human being, in such a condition, stands on the same plane +with the animal, with this difference, that the one is a freak and the +other is not. Morals, good or bad, have no meaning for either. + +If the will or consent has no part in what is done, we do nothing, +another acts through us; 'tis not ours, but the deed of another. An +instrument or tool used in the accomplishment of a purpose possesses +the same negative merit or demerit, whether it be a thing without a +will or an unwilling human being. If we are not free, have no choice in +the matter, must consent, we differ in nothing from all brutish and +inanimate nature that follows necessarily, fatally, the bent of its +instinctive inclinations and obeys the laws of its being. Under these +conditions, there can be no morality or responsibility before God; our +deeds are alike blameless and valueless in His sight. + +Thus, the simple transgression of the Law does not constitute us in +guilt; we must transgress deliberately, wilfully. Full inadvertence, +perfect forgetfulness, total blindness is called invincible ignorance; +this destroys utterly the moral act and makes us involuntary agents. +When knowledge is incomplete, the act is less voluntary; except it be +the case of ignorance brought on purposely, a wilful blinding of +oneself, in the vain hope of escaping the consequences of one's acts. +This betrays a stronger willingness to act, a more deliberately set +will. + +Concupiscence has a kindred effect on our reason. It is a consequence +of our fallen nature by which we are prone to evil rather than to good, +find it more to our taste and easier to yield to wrong than to resist +it. Call it passion, temperament, character, what you will,--it is an +inclination to evil. We cannot always control its action. Everyone has +felt more or less the tyranny of concupiscence, and no child of Adam +but has it branded in his nature and flesh. Passion may rob us of our +reason, and run into folly or insanity; in which event we are +unconscious agents, and do nothing voluntary. It may so obscure the +reason as to make us less ourselves, and consequently less willing. But +there is such a thing as, with studied and refined malice and +depravity, to purposely and artificially, as it were, excite +concupiscence, in order the more intensely and savagely to act. This is +only a proof of greater deliberation, and renders the deed all the more +voluntary. + +A person is therefore more or less responsible according as what he +does, or the good or evil of what he does, is more or less clear to +him. Ignorance or the passions may affect his clear vision of right and +wrong, and under the stress of this deception, wring a reluctant +yielding of the will, a consent only half willingly given. Because +there is consent, there is guilt but the guilt is measured by the +degree of premeditation. God looks upon things solely in their relation +to Him. An abomination before men may be something very different in +His sight who searches the heart and reins of man and measures evil by +the malice of the evil-doer. The only good or evil He sees in our deeds +is the good or evil we ourselves see in them before or while we act. + +Violence and fear may oppress the will, and thereby prove destructive +to the morality of an act and the responsibility of the agent. Certain +it is, that we can be forced to act against our will, to perform that +which we abhor, and do not consent to do. Such force may be brought to +bear upon us as we cannot withstand. Fear may influence us in a like +manner. It may paralyze our faculties and rob us of our senses. +Evidently, under these conditions, no voluntary act is possible, since +the will does not concur and no consent is given. The subject becomes a +mere tool in the hands of another. + +Can violence and fear do more than this? Can it not only rob us of the +power to will, not only force us to act without consent, but also force +the will, force us to consent? Never; and the simple reason is that we +cannot do two contradictory things at the same time--consent and not +consent, for that is what it means to be forced to consent. Violence +and fear may weaken the will so that it finally yield. The fault, if +fault there be, may be less inexcusable by reason of the pressure under +which it labored. But once we have willed, we have willed, and +essentially, there is nothing unwilling about what is willingly done. + +The will is an inviolable shrine. Men may circumvent, attack, seduce +and weaken it. But it cannot be forced. The power of man and devil +cannot go so far. Even God respects it to that point. + +In all cases of pressure being brought to bear upon the moral agent for +an evil purpose, when resistance is possible, resistance alone can save +him from the consequences. He must resist to his utmost, to the end, +never yield, if he would not incur the responsibility of a free agent. +Non-resistance betokens perfect willingness to act. The greater the +resistance, the less voluntary the act in the event of consent being +finally given; for resistance implies reluctance, and reluctance is the +opposition of a will that battles against an oppressing influence. In +moral matters, defeat can never be condoned, no matter how great the +struggle, if there is a final yielding of the will; but the +circumstance of energetic defense stands to a man's credit and will +protect him from much of the blame and disgrace due to defeat. + +Thus we see that the first quality of the acts of a moral agent is that +he think, desire, say and do with knowledge and free consent. Such +acts, and only such, can be called good or bad. What makes them good +and bad, is another question. + + + +CHAPTER III. +CONSCIENCE. + +THE will of God, announced to the world at large, is known as the Law +of God; manifested to each individual soul, it is called conscience. +These are not two different rules of morality, but one and the same +rule. The latter is a form or copy of the former. One is the will of +God, the other is its echo in our souls. + +We might fancy God, at the beginning of all things, speaking His will +concerning right and wrong, in the presence of the myriads of souls +that lay in the state of possibility. And when, in the course of time, +these souls come into being, with unfailing regularity, at every act, +conscience, like a spiritual phonograph, gives back His accents and +reechoes: "it is lawful," or "it is not lawful." Or, to use another +simile, conscience is the compass by which we steer aright our moral +lives towards the haven of our souls' destination in eternity. But just +as behind the mariner's compass is the great unseen power, called +attraction, under whose influence the needle points to the star; so +does the will or Law of God control the action of the conscience, and +direct it faithfully towards what is good. + +We have seen that, in order to prevaricate it is not sufficient to +transgress the Law of God: we must know; conscience makes us know. It +is only when we go counter to its dictates that we are constituted +evil-doers. And at the bar of God's justice, it is on the testimony of +conscience that sentence will be passed. Her voice will be that of a +witness present at every deed, good or evil, of our lives. + +Conscience should always tell the truth, and tell it with certainty. +Practically, this is not always the case. We are sometimes certain that +a thing is right when it is really wrong. There are therefore two kinds +of conscience: a true and a certain conscience, and they are far from +being one and the same thing. A true conscience speaks the truth, that +is, tells us what is truly right and truly wrong. It is a genuine echo +of the voice of God. A certain conscience, whether it speaks the truth +or not, speaks with assurance, without a suspicion of error, and its +voice carries conviction. When we act in accordance with the first, we +are right; we may know it, doubt it or think it probable, but we are +right in fact. When we obey the latter, we know, we are sure that we +are right, but it is possible that we be in error. A true conscience, +therefore, may be certain or uncertain; a certain conscience may be +true or erroneous. + +A true conscience is not the rule of morality. It must be certain. It +is not necessary that it be true, although this is always to be +desired, and in the normal state of things should be the case. But true +or false, it must be certain. The reason is obvious. God judges us +according as we do good or evil. Our merit or demerit is dependent upon +our responsibility. We are responsible only for the good or evil we +know we do. Knowledge and certainty come from a certain conscience, and +yet not from a true conscience which may be doubtful. + +Now, suppose we are in error, and think we are doing something good, +whereas it is in reality evil. We perceive no malice in the deed, and, +in performing it, there is consequently no malice in us, we do not sin. +The act is said to be materially evil, but formally good; and for such +evil God cannot hold us responsible. Suppose again that we err, and +that the evil we think we do is really good. In this instance, first, +the law of morality is violated,--a certain, though erroneous +conscience: this is sinful. Secondly, a bad motive vitiates an act even +if the deed in itself be good. Consequently, we incur guilt and God's +wrath by the commission of such a deed, which is materially good, but +formally bad. + +One may wonder and say: "how can guilt attach to doing good?" Guilt +attaches to formal evil, that is, evil that is shown to us by our +conscience and committed by us as such. The wrong comes, not from the +object of our doing which is good, but from the intention which is bad. +It is true that nothing is good that is not thoroughly good, that a +thing is bad only when there is something lacking in its goodness, that +evil is a defect of goodness; but formal evil alone can be imputed to +us and material cannot. The one is a conscious, the other an +unconscious, defect. Here an erroneous conscience is obeyed; there the +same conscience is disregarded. And that kind of a conscience is the +rule of morality; to go against it is to sin. + +There are times when we have no certitude. The conscience may have +nothing to say concerning the honesty of a cause to which we are about +to commit ourselves. This state of uncertainty and perplexity is called +doubt. To doubt is to suspend judgment; a dubious conscience is one +that does not function. + +In doubt the question may be: "To do; is it right or wrong? May I +perform this act, or must I abstain therefrom?" In this case, we +inquire whether it be lawful or unlawful to go on, but we are sure that +it is lawful not to act. There is but one course to pursue. We must not +commit ourselves and must refrain from acting, until such a time, at +least, as, by inquiring and considering, we shall have obtained +sufficient evidence to convince us that we may allow ourselves this +liberty without incurring guilt. If, on the contrary, while still +doubting, we persist in committing the act, we sin, because in all +affairs of right and wrong we must follow a certain conscience as the +standard of morality. + +But the question may be: "To do or not to do; which is right and which +is wrong?" Here we know not which way to turn, fearing evil in either +alternative. We must do one thing or the other. There are reasons and +difficulties on both sides. We are unable to resolve the difficulties, +lay the doubt, and form a sure conscience, what must we do? + +If all action can be momentarily suspended, and we have the means of +consulting, we must abstain from action and consult. If the affair is +urgent, and this cannot be done; if we must act on the spot and decide +for ourselves, then, we can make that dubious conscience prudently +certain by applying this principle to our conduct: "Of two evils, +choose the lesser." We therefore judge which action involves the least +amount of evil. We may embrace the course thus chosen without a fear of +doing wrong. If we have inadvertently chosen the greater evil, it is an +error of judgment for which we are in nowise responsible before God. +But this means must be employed only where all other and surer means +fail. The certainty we thereby acquire is a prudent certainty, and is +sufficient to guarantee us against offending. + + + +CHAPTER IV. +LAXITY AND SCRUPLES. + +IN every question of conscience there are two opposing factors: +Liberty, which is agreeable to our nature, which allows us to do as we +list; and Law which binds us unto the observance of what is unpleasant. +Liberty and law are mutually antagonistic. A concession in favor of one +is an infringement upon the claims of the other. + +Conscience, in its normal state, gives to liberty and to law what to +each is legitimately due, no more, no less. + +Truth lies between extremes. At the two opposite poles of conscientious +rectitude are laxity and scruples, one judging all things lawful, the +other all things forbidden. One inordinately favors liberty, the other +the law. And neither has sufficient grounds on which to form a sound +judgment. + +They are counterfeit consciences, the one dishonest, the other +unreasonable. They do unlawful business; and because the verdict they +render is founded on nothing more solid than imaginations, they are in +nowise standards of morality, and should not be considered as such. + +The first is sometimes known as a "rubber" conscience, on account of +its capacity for stretching itself to meet the exigencies of a like or +a dislike. + +Laxity may be the effect of a simple illusion. Men often do wrong +unawares. They excuse themselves with the plea: "I did not know any +better." But we are not here examining the acts that can be traced back +to self-illusion; rather the state of persons who labor under the +disability of seeing wrong anywhere, and who walk through the +commandments of God and the Church with apparent unconcern. What must +we think of such people in face of the fact that they not only could, +but should know better! They are supposed to know their catechism. Are +there not Catholic books and publications of various sorts? What about +the Sunday instructions and sermons? These are the means and +opportunities, and they facilitate the fulfilment of what is in us a +bounden duty to nourish our souls before they die of spiritual hunger. + +A delicate, effeminate life, spiritual sloth, and criminal neglect are +responsible for this kind of laxity. + +This state of soul is also the inevitable consequence of long years +passed in sin and neglect of prayer. Habit blunts the keen edge of +perception. Evil is disquieting to a novice; but it does not look so +bad after you have done it a while and get used to it. Crimes thus +become ordinary sins, and ordinary sins peccadillos. + +Then again there are people who, like the Pharisees of old, strain out +a gnat and swallow a camel. They educate themselves up to a strict +observance of all things insignificant. They would not forget to say +grace before and after meals, but would knife the neighbor's character +or soil their minds with all filthiness, without a scruple or a shadow +of remorse. + +These are they who walk in the broad way that leadeth to destruction. +In the first place, their conscience or the thing that does duty for a +conscience, is false and they are responsible for it. Then, this sort +of a conscience is not habitually certain, and laxity consists +precisely in contemning doubts and passing over lurking, lingering +suspicions as not worthy of notice. Lastly, it has not the quality of +common prudence since the judgment it pronounces is not supported by +plausible reasons. Its character is dishonesty. + +A scruple is a little sharp stone formerly used as a measure of weight. +Pharmacists always have scruples. There is nothing so torturing as to +walk with one or several of these pebbles in the shoe. Spiritual +scruples serve the same purpose for the conscience. They torture and +torment; they make devotion and prayer impossible, and blind the +conscience; they weaken the mind, exhaust the bodily forces, and cause +a disease that not infrequently comes to a climax in despair or +insanity. + +A scrupulous conscience is not to be followed as a standard of right +and wrong, because it is unreasonable. In its final analysis it is not +certain, but doubtful and improbable, and is influenced by the most +futile reasons. It is lawful, it is even necessary, to refuse assent to +the dictates of such a conscience. To persons thus afflicted the +authoritative need of a prudent adviser must serve as a rule until the +conscience is cured of its morbid and erratic tendencies. + +It is not scruples to walk in the fear of God, and avoid sin and the +occasions thereof: that is wisdom; nor to frequent the sacraments and +be assiduous in prayer through a deep concern for the welfare of one's +soul: that is piety. + +It is not scruples to be at a loss to decide whether a thing is wrong +or right; that is doubt; nor to suffer keenly after the commission of a +grievous sin; that is remorse. + +It is not scruples to be greatly anxious and disturbed over past +confessions when there is a reasonable cause for it: that is natural. + +A scrupulous person is one who, outside these several contingencies, is +continually racked with fears, and persists, against all evidence, in +seeing sin where there is none, or magnifies it beyond all proportion +where it really is. + +The first feature--empty and perpetual fears--concerns confessions +which are sufficient, according to all the rules of prudence; prayers, +which are said with overwrought anxiety, lest a single distraction +creep in and mar them; and temptations, which are resisted with +inordinate contention of mind, and perplexity lest consent be given. + +The other and more desperate feature is pertinacity of judgment. The +scrupulous person will ask advice and not believe a word he is told. +The more information he gets, the worse he becomes, and he adds to his +misery by consulting every adviser in sight. He refuses to be put under +obedience and seems to have a morbid affection for his very condition. + +There is only one remedy for this evil, and that remedy is absolute and +blind obedience to a prudent director. Choose one, consult him as often +as you desire, but do not leave him for another. Then submit +punctiliously to his direction. His conscience must be yours, for the +time being. And if you should err in following him, God will hold him, +and not you, responsible. + + + +CHAPTER V. +THE LAW OF GOD AND ITS BREACH. + +WITHOUT going into any superflous details, we shall call the Law of God +an act of His will by which He ordains what things we may do or not do, +and binds us unto observance under penalty of His divine displeasure. + +The law thus defined pertains to reasonable beings alone, and supposes +on our part, as we have seen, knowledge and free will. The rest of +creation is blindly submissive under the hand of God, and yields a +necessary obedience. Man alone can obey or disobey; but in this latter +case he renders himself amenable to God's justice who, as his Creator, +has an equal right to command him, and be obeyed. + +The Maker first exercised this right when He put into His creature's +soul a sense of right and wrong, which is nothing more than conscience, +or as it is called here, natural law. To this law is subject every +human being, pagan, Jew and Christian alike. No creature capable of a +human act is exempt. + +The provisions of this law consider the nature of our being, that is, +the law prescribes what the necessities of our being demand, and it +prohibits what is destructive thereof. Our nature requires physically +that we eat, drink and sleep. Similarly, in a moral sense, it calls for +justice, truthfulness, respect of God, of the neighbor, and of self. +All its precepts are summed up in this one: "Do unto others as you +would have them do unto you"--the golden rule. Thence flows a series of +deducted precepts calculated to protect the moral and inherent rights +of our nature. + +But we are more concerned here with what is known as the positive Law +of God, given by Him to man by word of mouth or revelation. + +We believe that God gave a verbal code to Moses who promulgated it in +His name before the Jewish people to the whole world. It was +subsequently inscribed on two stone tables, and is known as the +Decalogue or Ten Commandments of God. Of these ten, the first three +pertain to God Himself, the latter seven to the neighbor; so that the +whole might be abridged in these two words, "Love God, and love thy +neighbor." This law is in reality only a specified form of the natural +law, and its enactment was necessitated by the iniquity of men which +had in time obscured and partly effaced the letter of the law in their +souls. + +Latterly God again spoke, but this time in the person of Jesus Christ. +The Saviour, after confirming the Decalogue with His authority, gave +other laws to men concerning the Church He had founded and the means of +applying to themselves the fruits of the Redemption. We give the name +of dogma to what He tells us to believe and of morals to what we must +do. These precepts of Jesus Christ are contained in the Gospel, and are +called the Evangelical Law. It is made known to us by the infallible +Church through which God speaks. + +Akin to these divine laws is the purely ecclesiastical law or law of +the Church. Christ sent forth His Church clothed with His own and His +Father's authority. "As the Father sent me, so I send you." She was to +endure, perfect herself and fulfil her mission on earth. To enable her +to carry out this divine plan she makes laws, laws purely +ecclesiastical, but laws that have the same binding force as the divine +laws themselves, since they bear the stamp of divine authority. God +willed the Church to be; He willed consequently all the necessary means +without which she would cease to be. For Catholics, therefore, as far +as obligations are concerned, there is no practical difference between +God's law and the law of His Church. Jesus Christ is God. The Church is +His spouse. To her the Saviour said: "He that heareth you, heareth me, +and he that despiseth you despiseth Me." + +A breach of the law is a sin. A sin is a deliberate transgression of +the Law of God. A sin may be committed in thought, in desire, in word, +or in deed, and by omission as well as by commission. + +It is well to bear in mind that a thought, as well as a deed, is an +act, may be a human and a moral act, and consequently may be a sin. +Human laws may be violated only in deed; but God, who is a searcher of +hearts, takes note of the workings of the will whence springs all +malice. To desire to break His commandments is to offend Him as +effectually as to break them in deed; to relish in one's mind forbidden +fruits, to meditate and deliberate on evil purposes, is only a degree +removed from actual commission of wrong. Evil is perpetrated in the +will, either by a longing to prevaricate or by affection for that which +is prohibited. If the evil materializes exteriorly, it does not +constitute one in sin anew, but only completes the malice already +existing. Men judge their fellows by their works; God judges us by our +thoughts, by the inner workings of the soul, and takes notice of our +exterior doings only in so far as they are related to the will. +Therefore it is that an offense against Him, to be an offense, need not +necessarily be perpetrated in word or in deed; it is sufficient that +the will place itself in Opposition to the Will of God, and adhere to +what the Law forbids. + +Sin is not the same as vice. One is an act, the other is a state or +inclination to act. One is transitory, the other is permanent. One can +exist without the other. A drunkard is not always drunk, nor is a man a +drunkard for having once or twice overindulged. + +In only one case is vice less evil than sin, and that is when the +inclination remains an unwilling inclination and does not pass to acts. +A man who reforms after a protracted spree still retains an +inclination, a desire for strong drink. He is nowise criminal so long +as he resists that tendency. + +But practically vice is worse than sin, for it supposes frequent wilful +acts of sin of which it is the natural consequence, and leads to many +grievous offenses. + +A vice is without sin when one struggles successfully against it after +the habit has been retracted. It may never be radically destroyed. +There may be unconscious, involuntary lapses under the constant +pressure of a strong inclination, as in the vice of parsing, and it +remains innocent as long as it is not wilfully yielded to and indulged. +But to yield to the ratification of an evil desire or propensity, +without restraint, is to doom oneself to the most prolific of evils and +to lie under the curse of God. + + + +CHAPTER VI. +SIN. + +IF the Almighty had never imposed upon His creatures a Law, there would +be no sin; we would be free to do as we please. But the presence of +God's Law restrains our liberty, and it is by using, or rather abusing, +our freedom, that we come to violate the Law. It is for this reason +that Law is said to be opposed to Liberty. Liberty is a word of many +meanings. Men swear by it and men juggle with it. It is the slogan in +both camps of the world's warfare. It is in itself man's noblest +inheritance, and yet there is no name under the sun in which more +crimes are committed. + +By liberty as opposed to God's law we do not understand the power to do +evil as well as good. That liberty is the glory of man, but the +exercise of it, in the alternative of evil, is damnable, and debases +the creature in the same proportions as the free choice of good +ennobles him. That liberty the law leaves untouched. We never lose it; +or rather, we may lose it partially when under physical restraint, but +totally, only when deprived of our senses. The law respects it. It +respects it in the highest degree when in an individual it curtails or +destroys it for the protection of society. + +Liberty may also be the equal right to do good and evil. There are +those who arrogate to themselves such liberty. No man ever possessed +it, the law annihilated it forever. And although we have used the word +in this sense, the fact is that no man has the right to do evil or ever +will have, so long as God is God. These people talk much and loudly +about freedom--the magic word!--assert with much pomp and verbosity the +rights of man, proclaim his independence, and are given to much like +inane vaunting and braggadocio. + +We may be free in many things, but where God is concerned and He +commands, we are free only to obey. His will is supreme, and when it is +asserted, we purely and simply have no choice to do as we list. This +privilege is called license, not liberty. We have certain rights as +men, but we have duties, too, as creatures, and it ill-becomes us to +prate about our rights, or the duties of others towards us, while we +ignore the obligations we are under towards others and our first duty +which is to God. Our boasted independence consists precisely in this: +that we owe to Him not only the origin of our nature, but even the very +breath we draw, and which preserves our being, for "in Him we live, +move and have our being." + +The first prerogative of God towards us is authority or the right to +command. Our first obligation as well as our highest honor as creatures +is to obey. And until we understand this sort of liberty, we live in a +world of enigmas and know not the first letter of the alphabet of +creation. We are not free to sin. + +Liberty rightly understood, true liberty of the children of God, is the +right of choice within the law, the right to embrace what is good and +to avoid what is evil. This policy no man can take from us; and far +from infringing upon this right, the law aids it to a fuller +development. A person reading by candlelight would not complain that +his vision was obscured if an arc light were substituted for the +candle. A traveler who takes notice of the signposts along his way +telling the direction and distance, and pointing out pitfalls and +dangers, would not consider his rights contested or his liberty +restricted by these things. And the law, as it becomes more clearly +known to us, defines exactly the sphere of our action and shows plainly +where dangers lurk and evil is to be apprehended. And we gladly avail +ourselves of this information that enables us to walk straight and +secure. The law becomes a godsend to our liberty, and obedience to it, +our salvation. + +He who goes beyond the bounds of true moral liberty, breaks the law of +God and sins. He thereby refuses to God the obedience which to Him is +due. Disobedience involves contempt of authority and of him who +commands. Sin is therefore an offense against God, and that offense is +proportionate to the dignity of the person offended. + +The sinner, by his act of disobedience, not only sets at naught the +will of his Maker, but by the same act, in a greater or lesser degree, +turns away from his appointed destiny; and in this he is imitated by +nothing else in creation. Every other created thing obeys. The heavens +follow their designated course. Beasts and birds and fish are intent +upon one thing, and that is to work out the divine plan. Man alone sows +disorder and confusion therein. He shows irreverence for God's presence +and contempt for His friendship; ingratitude for His goodness and +supreme indifference for the penalty that follows his sin as surely as +the shadow follows its object. So that, taken all in all, such a +creature might fitly be said to be one part criminal and two parts +fool. Folly and sin are synonymous in Holy Writ. "The fool saith in his +heart there is no God." + +Sin is essentially an offense. But there is a difference of degree +between a slight and an outrage. There are direct offenses against God, +such as the refusal to believe in Him or unbelief; to hope in Him, or +despair, etc. Indirect offenses attain Him through the neighbor or +ourselves. + +All duties to neighbor or self are not equally imperious and to fail in +them all is not equally evil. Then again, not all sins are committed +through pure malice, that is, with complete knowledge and full consent. +Ignorance and weakness are factors to be considered in our guilt, and +detract from the malice of our sins. Hence two kinds of sin, mortal and +venial. These mark the extremes of offense. One severs all relation of +friendship, the other chills the existing friendship. By one, we incur +God's infinite hatred, by the other, His displeasure. The penalty for +one is eternal; the other can be atoned for by suffering. + +It is not possible in all cases to tell exactly what is mortal and what +venial in our offenses. There is a clean-cut distinction between the +two, but the line of demarcation is not always discernible. There are, +however, certain characteristics which enable us in the majority of +cases to distinguish one from the other. + +First, the matter must be grievous in fact or in intention; that is, +there must be a serious breach of the law of God or the law of +conscience. Then, we must know perfectly well what we are doing and +give our full consent. It must therefore be a grave offense in all the +plenitude of its malice. Of course, to act without sufficient reason, +with a well-founded doubt as to the malice of the act, would be to +violate the law of conscience and would constitute a mortal sin. There +is no moral sin without the fulfilment of these conditions. All other +offenses are venial. + +We cannot, of course, read the soul of anybody. If, however, we suppose +knowledge and consent, there are certain sins that are always mortal. +Such are blasphemy, luxury, heresy, etc. When these sins are +deliberate, they are always mortal offenses. Others are usually mortal, +such as a sin against justice. To steal is a sin against justice. It is +frequently a mortal sin, but it may happen that the amount taken be +slight, in which case the offense ceases to be mortal. + +Likewise, certain sins are usually venial, but in certain circumstances +a venial sin may take on such malice as to be constituted mortal. + +Our conscience, under God, is the best judge of our malevolence and +consequently of our guilt. + + + +CHAPTER VII. +HOW TO COUNT SINS. + +THE number of sins a person may commit is well-nigh incalculable, which +is only one way of saying that the malice of man has invented +innumerable means of offending the Almighty--a compliment to our +ingenuity and the refinement of our natural perversity. It is not +always pleasant to know, and few people try very hard to learn, of what +kind and how many are their daily offenses. This knowledge reveals too +nakedly our wickedness which we prefer to ignore. Catholics, however, +who believe in the necessity of confession of sins, take a different +view of the matter. The requirements of a good confession are such as +can be met only by those who know in what things they have sinned and +how often. + +There are many different kinds of sin. It is possible by a single act +to commit more than one sin. And a given sin may be repeated any number +of times. + +To get the exact number of our misdeeds we must begin by counting as +many sins at least as there are kinds of sin. We might say there is an +offense for every time a commandment or precept is violated, for sin is +a transgression of the law. But this would be insufficient inasmuch as +the law may command or forbid more than one thing. + +Let the first commandment serve as an example. It is broken by sins +against faith, or unbelief, against hope, or despair, against charity, +against religion, etc. All these offenses are specifically different, +that is, are different kinds of sin; yet but one precept is +transgressed. Since therefore each commandment prescribes the practice +of certain virtues, the first rule is that there is a sin for every +virtue violated. + +But this is far from exhausting our capacity for evil. Our virtue may +impose different obligations, so that against it alone we may offend in +many different ways. Among the virtues prescribed by the first +commandment is that of religion, which concerns the exterior homage due +to God. I may worship false gods, thus offending against the virtue of +religion, and commit a sin of idolatry. If I offer false homage to the +true God, I also violate the virtue of religion, but commit a sin +specifically different, a sin of superstition. Thus these different +offenses are against but one of several virtues enjoined by one +commandment. The virtue of charity is also prolific of obligations; the +virtue of chastity even more so. One act against the latter may contain +a four-fold malice. + +It would be out of place here to adduce more examples: a detailed +treatment of the virtues and commandments will make things clearer. For +the moment it is necessary and sufficient to know that a commandment +may prescribe many virtues, a virtue may impose many obligations, and +there is a specifically different sin for each obligation violated. + +But we can go much farther than this in wrongdoing, and must count one +sin every time the act is committed. + +"Yes, but how are we to know when there is one act or more than one +act! An act may be of long or short duration. How many sins do I commit +if the act lasts, say, two hours? And how can I tell where one act ends +and the other begins?" + +In an action which endures an hour or two hours, there may be one and +there may be a dozen acts. When the matter a sinner is working on is a +certain, specified evil, the extent to which he prevaricates +numerically depends upon the action of the will. A fellow who enters +upon the task of slaying his neighbor can kill but once in fact; but he +can commit the sin of murder in his soul once or a dozen times. It +depends on the will. Sin is a deliberate transgression, that is, first +of all an act of the will. If he resolves once to kill and never +retracts till the deed of blood is done, he sins but once. If he +disavows his resolution and afterwards resolves anew, he repeats the +sin of murder in his soul as often as he goes through this process of +will action. This sincere retraction of a deed is called moral +interruption and it has the mysterious power of multiplying sins. + +Not every interruption is a moral one. To put the matter aside for a +certain while in the hope of a better opportunity, for the procuring of +necessary facilities or for any other reason, with the unshaken purpose +of pursuing the course entered upon, is to suspend action; but this +action is wholly exterior, and does not affect the will. The act of the +will perseveres, never loses its force, so there is no moral, but only +a physical, interruption. There is no renewal of consent for it has +never been withdrawn. The one moral act goes on, and but one sin is +committed. + +Thus, of two wretches on the same errand of crime, one may sin but +once, while the other is guilty of the same sin a number of times. But +the several sins last no longer than the one. Which is the more guilty? +That is a question for God to decide; He does the judging, we do the +counting. + +This possible multiplication of sin where a single act is apparent +emphasizes the fact that evil and good proceed from the will. It is by +the will primarily and essentially that we serve or offend God, and, +absolutely speaking, no exterior deed is necessary for the +accomplishment of this end. + +The exterior deed of sin always supposes a natural preparation of sin-- +thought, desires, resolution,--which precede or accompany the deed, and +without which there would be no sin. It is sinful only inasmuch as it +is related to the will, and is the fruit thereof. The interior act +constitutes the sin in its being; the exterior act constitutes it in +its completeness. + +All of which leads up to the conclusion, of a nature perhaps to +surprise some, that to resolve to sin and to commit the sin in deed are +not two different sins, but one complete sin, in all the fulness of its +malice. True, the exterior act may give rise to scandal, and from it +may devolve upon us obligations of justice, the reparation of injury +done; true, with the exterior complement the sin may be more grievous. +But there cannot be several sins if there be one single uninterrupted +act of the will. + +An evil thing is proposed to your mind; you enjoy the thought of doing +it, knowing it to be wrong; you desire to do it and resolve to do it; +you take the natural means of doing it; you succeed and consummate the +evil--a long drawn out and well prepared deed, 'tis true, but only one +sin. The injustices, the scandal, the sins you might commit +incidentally, which do not pertain naturally to the deed, all these are +another matter, and are other kinds of sins; but the act itself stands +alone, complete and one. + +But these interior acts of sin, whether or not they have reference to +external completion, must be sinful. The first stage is the suggestion +of the imagination or simple seeing of the evil in the mind, which is +not sinful; the next is the moving of the sensibility or the purely +animal pleasure experienced, in which there is no evil, either; for we +have no sure mastery over these faculties. From the imagination and +sensibility the temptation passes before the will for consent. If +consent is denied, there is no deadly malice or guilt, no matter how +long the previous effects may have been endured. No thought is a sin +unless it be fully consented to. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. +CAPITAL SINS. + +YOU can never cure a disease till you get at the seat or root of the +evil. It will not do to attack the several manifestations that appear +on the surface, the aches and pains and attendant disorders. You must +attack the affected organ, cut out the root of the evil growth, and +kill the obnoxious germ. There is no other permanent remedy; until this +is done, all relief is but temporary. + +And if we desire to remove the distemper of sin, similarly it is +necessary to seek out the root of all sin. We can lay our finger on it +at once; it is inordinate self-love. + +Ask yourself why you broke this or that commandment. It is because it +forbade you a satisfaction that you coveted, a satisfaction that your +self-love imperiously demanded; or it is because it prescribed an act +that cost an effort, and you loved yourself too much to make that +effort. Examine every failing, little or great, and you will trace them +back to the same source. If we thought more of God and less of +ourselves we would never sin. The sinner lives for himself first, and +for God afterwards. + +Strange that such a sacred thing as love, the source of all good, may +thus, by abuse, become the fountainhead of all evil! Perhaps, if it +were not so sacred and prolific of good, its excess would not be so +unholy. But the higher you stand when you tumble, the greater the fall; +so the better a thing is in itself, the more abominable is its abuse. +Love directed aright, towards God first, is the fulfilment of the Law; +love misdirected is the very destruction of all law. + +Yet it is not wrong to love oneself; that is the first law of nature. +One, and one only being, the Maker, are we bound to love more than +ourselves. The neighbor is to be loved as ourselves. And if our just +interests conflict with his, if our rights and his are opposed to each +other, there is no legitimate means but we may employ to obtain or +secure what is rightly ours. The evil of self-love lies in its abuse +and excess, in that it goes beyond the limits set by God and nature, +that it puts unjustly our interests before God's and the neighbor's, +and that to self it sacrifices them and all that pertains to them. +Self, the "ego," is the idol before which all must bow. + +Self-love, on an evil day, in the garden of Eden, wedded sin, Satan +himself officiating under the disguise of a serpent; and she gave birth +to seven daughters like unto herself, who in turn became fruitful +mothers of iniquity. Haughty Pride, first-born and queen among her +sisters, is inordinate love of one's worth and excellence, talents and +beauty; sordid Avarice or Covetousness is excessive love of riches; +loathsome Lust is the third, and loves carnal pleasures without regard +for the law; fiery Anger, a counterpart of pride, is love rejected but +seeking blindly to remedy the loss; bestial Gluttony worships the +stomach; green-eyed Envy is hate for wealth and happiness denied; +finally Sloth loves bodily ease and comfort to excess. The infamous +brood! These parents of all iniquity are called the seven capital sins. +They assume the leadership of evil in the world and are the seven arms +of Satan. + +As it becomes their dignity, these vices never walk alone or go +unattended, and that is the desperate feature of their malice. Each has +a cortege of passions, a whole train of inferior minions, that +accompany or follow. Once entrance gained and a free hand given, there +is no telling the result. Once seated and secure, the passion seeks to +satisfy itself; that is its business. Certain means are required to +this end, and these means can be procured only by sinning. Obstacles +often stand in the way and new sins furnish steps to vault over, or +implements to batter them down. Intricate and difficult conditions +frequently arise as the result of self-indulgence, out of which there +is no exit but by fresh sins. Hence the long train of crimes led by one +capital sin towards the goal of its satisfaction, and hence the havoc +wrought by its untrammeled working in a human soul. + +This may seem exaggerated to some; others it may mislead as to the true +nature of the capital sins, unless it be dearly put forth in what their +malice consists. Capital sins are not, in the first place, in +themselves, sins; they are vices, passions, inclinations or tendencies +to sin, and we know that a vice is not necessarily sinful. Our first +parents bequeathed to us as an inheritance these germs of misery and +sin. We are all in a greater or lesser degree prone to excess and to +desire unlawful pleasures. Yet, for all that, we do not of necessity +sin. We sin when we yield to these tendencies and do what they suggest. +The simple proneness to evil, devoid of all wilful yielding is +therefore not wrong. Why? Because we cannot help it; that is a good and +sufficient reason. + +These passions may lie dormant in our nature without soliciting to +evil; they may, at any moment, awake to action with or without +provocation. The sight of an enemy or the thought of a wrong may stir +up anger; pride may be aroused by flattery, applause or even +compliments; the demon of lust may make its presence known and felt for +a good reason, for a slight reason, or for no reason at all; gluttony +shows its head at the sight of food or drink, etc. + +He who deliberately and without reason arouses a passion, and thus +exposes himself imprudently to an assault of concupiscence, is +grievously guilty; for it is to trifle with a powerful and dangerous +enemy and it betokens indifference to the soul's salvation. + +Suggestions, seductions, allurements follow upon the awakening of these +passions. When the array of these forces comes in contact with the +will, the struggle is on; it is called temptation. Warfare is the +natural state of man on earth. Without it, the world here below would +be a paradise, but life would be without merit. + +In this unprovoked and righteous battle with sin, the only evil to be +apprehended is the danger of yielding. But far from being sinful, the +greater the danger, the more meritorious the struggle. It matters not +what we experience while fighting the enemy. Imagination and sensation +that solicit to yielding, anxiety of mind and discouragement, to all +this there is no wrong attached, but merit. + +Right or wrong depends on the outcome. Every struggle ends in victory +or defeat for one party and in temptation there is sin only in defeat. +A single act of the will decides. It matters not how long the struggle +lasts; if the will does not capitulate, there is no sin. + +This resistance demands plenty of energy, a soul inured to like combats +and an ample provision of weapons of defense--faith, hatred of sin, +love of God. Prayer is essential. Flight is the safest means, but is +not always possible. Humility and self-denial are an excellent, even +necessary, preparation for assured victory. + +No man need expect to make himself proof against temptation. It is not +a sign of weakness; or if so, it is a weakness common to all men. There +is weakness only in defeat, and cowardice as well. The gallant and +strong are they who fight manfully. Manful resistance means victory, +and victory makes one stronger and invincible, while defeat at every +repetition places victory farther and farther beyond our reach. + +Success requires more than strength, it requires wisdom, the wisdom to +single out the particular passion that predominates in us, to study its +artifices and by remote preparation to make ourselves secure against +its assaults. The leader thus exposed and its power for evil reduced to +a minimum, it will be comparatively easy to hold in check all other +dependent passions. + + + +CHAPTER IX. +PRIDE. + +EXCELLENCE is a quality that raises a man above the common level and +distinguishes him among his fellow-beings. The term is relative. The +quality may exist in any degree or measure. 'Tis only the few that +excel eminently; but anyone may be said to excel who is, ever so +little, superior to others, be they few or many. Three kinds of +advantages go to make up one's excellence. Nature's gifts are talent, +knowledge, health, strength, and beauty; fortune endows us with honor, +wealth, authority; and virtue, piety, honesty are the blessings of +grace. To the possession of one or several of these advantages +excellence is attached. + +All good is made to be loved. All gifts directly or indirectly from God +are good, and if excellence is the fruit of these gifts, it is lawful, +reasonable, human to love it and them. But measure is to be observed in +all things. Virtue is righteously equidistant, while vice goes to +extremes. It is not, therefore, attachment and affection for this +excellence, but inordinate, unreasonable love that is damnable, and +constitutes the vice of pride. + +God alone is excellent and all greatness is from Him alone. And those +who are born great, who acquire greatness, or who have greatness thrust +upon them, alike owe their superiority to Him. Nor are these advantages +and this preeminence due to our merits and deserts. Everything that +comes to us from God is purely gratuitous on His part, and undeserved +on ours. Since our very existence is the effect of a free act of His +will, why should not, for a greater reason, all that is accidental to +that existence be dependent on His free choice? Finally, nothing of all +this is ours or ever can become ours. Our qualities are a pure loan +confided to our care for a good and useful purpose, and will be +reclaimed with interest. + +Since the malice of our pride consists in the measure of affection we +bestow upon our excellence, if we love it to the extent of adjudging it +not a gift of God, but the fruit of our own better selves; or if we +look upon it as the result of our worth, that is, due to our merits, we +are guilty of nothing short of downright heresy, because we hold two +doctrines contrary to faith. "What hast thou, that thou hast not +received?" If a gift is due to us, it is no longer a gift. This extreme +of pride is happily rare. It is directly opposed to God. It is the sin +of Lucifer. + +A lesser degree of pride is, while admitting ourselves beholden to God +for whatever we possess and confessing His bounties to be undeserved, +to consider the latter as becoming ours by right of possession, with +liberty to make the most of them for our own personal ends. This is a +false and sinful appreciation of God's gifts, but it respects His and +all subordinate authority. If it never, in practice, fails in this +submission, there is sin, because the plan of God, by which all things +must be referred to Him, is thwarted; but its malice is not considered +grievous. Pride, however, only too often fails in this, its tendency +being to satisfy itself, which it cannot do within the bounds of +authority. Therefore it is that from being a venial, this species of +pride becomes a mortal offense, because it leads almost infallibly to +disobedience and rebellion. There is a pride, improperly so called, +which is in accordance with all the rules of order, reason and honor. +It is a sense of responsibility and dignity which every man owes to +himself, and which is compatible with the most sincere humility. It is +a regard, an esteem for oneself, too great to allow one to stoop to +anything base or mean. It is submissive to authority, acknowledges +shortcomings, respects others and expects to be respected in return. It +can preside with dignity, and obey with docility. Far from being a +vice, it is a virtue and is only too rare in this world. It is nobility +of soul which betrays itself in self-respect. + +Here is the origin, progress and development of the vice. We first +consider the good that is in us, and there is good in all of us, more +or less. This consideration becomes first exaggerated; then one-sided +by reason of our overlooking and ignoring imperfections and +shortcomings. Out of these reflections arises an apprehension of +excellence or superiority greater than we really possess. From the mind +this estimate passes to the heart which embraces it fondly, rejoices +and exults. The conjoint acceptation of this false appreciation by the +mind and heart is the first complete stage of pride--an overwrought +esteem of self. The next move is to become self-sufficient, +presumptuous. A spirit of enterprise asserts itself, wholly out of +keeping with the means at hand. It is sometimes foolish, sometimes +insane, reason being blinded by error. + +The vice then seeks to satisfy itself, craves for the esteem of others, +admiration, flattery, applause, and glory. This is vanity, different +from conceit only in this, that the former is based on something that +is, or has been done, while the latter is based on nothing. + +Vanity manifested in word is called boasting; in deed that is true, +vain-glory; in deed without foundation of truth, hypocrisy. + +But this is not substantial enough for ambition, another form of pride. +It covets exterior marks of appreciation, rank, honor, dignity, +authority. It seeks to rise, by hook or crook, for the sole reason of +showing off and displaying self. Still growing apace, pride becomes +indignant, irritated, angry if this due appreciation is not shown to +its excellence; it despises others either for antipathy or inferiority. +It believes its own judgment infallible and, if in the wrong, will +never acknowledge a mistake or yield. Finally the proud man becomes so +full of self that obedience is beneath him, and he no longer respects +authority of man or of God. Here we have the sin of pride in all the +plenitude of its malice. + +Pride is often called an honorable vice, because its aspirations are +lofty, because it supposes strength, and tends directly to elevate man, +rather than to debase and degrade him, like the other vices. Yet pride +is compatible with every meanness. It lodges in the heart of the pauper +as well as in that of the prince. There is nothing contemptible that it +will not do to satisfy itself; and although its prime malice is to +oppose God it has every quality to make it as hideous as Satan himself. +It goeth before a fall, but it does not cease to exist after the fall; +and no matter how deep down in the mire of iniquity you search, you +will find pride nethermost. Other vices excite one's pity; pride makes +us shudder. + + + +CHAPTER X. +COVETOUSNESS. + +"WHAT is a miser?" asked the teacher of her pupils, and the bright boy +spoke up and answered: one who has a greed for gold. But he and all the +class were embarrassed as to how this greed for gold should be +qualified. The boy at the foot of the class came to the rescue, and +shouted out: misery. + +Less wise answers are made every day in our schools. Misery is indeed +the lot, if not the vice, of the miser. 'Tis true that this is one of +the few vices that arrive at permanent advantages, the others offering +satisfaction that lasts but for a moment, and leaves nothing but +bitterness behind. Yet, the more the miser possesses the more +insatiable his greed becomes, and the less his enjoyment, by reason of +the redoubled efforts he makes to have and to hold. + +But the miser is not the only one infected with the sin of avarice. His +is not an ordinary, but an extreme case. He is the incarnation of the +evil. He believes in, hopes in, and loves gold above all things; he +prays and sacrifices to it. Gold is his god, and gold will be his +reward, a miserable one. + +This degree of the vice is rare; or, at least, is rarely suffered to +manifest itself to this extent; and although scarcely a man can be +found to confess to this failing, because it is universally regarded as +most loathsome and repulsive, still few there are who are not more or +less slaves to cupidity. Pride is the sin of the angels; lust is the +sin of the brute, and avarice is the sin of man. Scripture calls it the +universal evil. We are more prone to inveigh against it, and accuse +others of the vice than to admit it in ourselves. + +Sometimes, it is "the pot calling the kettle black;" more often it is a +clear case of "sour grapes." Disdain for the dollars "that speak," "the +mighty dollars," in abundance and in superabundance, is rarely genuine. + +There are, concerning the passion of covetousness, two notions as +common as they are false. It is thought that this vice is peculiar to +the rich, and is not to be met with among the poor. Now, avarice does +not necessarily suppose the possession of wealth, and does not consist +in the possession, but in the inordinate desire, or greed for, or the +lust of, riches. It may be, and is, difficult for one to possess much +wealth without setting one's heart on it. But it is also true that this +greed may possess one who has little or nothing. It may be found in +unrestrained excess under the rags of the pauper and beggar. They who +aspire to, or desire, riches with avidity are covetous whether they +have much, little, or nothing. Christ promised His kingdom to the poor +in spirit, not to the poor in fact. Spiritual poverty can associate +with abundant wealth, just as the most depraved cupidity may exist in +poverty. + +Another prejudice, favorable to ourselves, is that only misers are +covetous, because they love money for itself and deprive themselves of +the necessaries of life to pile it up. But it is not necessary that the +diagnosis reveal these alarming symptoms to be sure of having a real +case of cupidity. They are covetous who strive after wealth with +passion. Various motives may arouse this passion, and although they may +increase the malice, they do not alter the nature, of the vice. Some +covet wealth for the sake of possessing it; others, to procure +pleasures or to satisfy different passions. Avarice it continues to be, +whatever the motive. Not even prodigality, the lavish spending of +riches, is a token of the absence of cupidity. Rapacity may stand +behind extravagance to keep the supply inexhausted. + +It is covetousness to place one's greatest happiness in the possession +of wealth, or to consider its loss or privation the greatest of +misfortunes; in other words, to over-rejoice in having and to +over-grieve in not having. + +It is covetousness to be so disposed as to acquire riches unjustly +rather than suffer poverty. + +It is covetousness to hold, or give begrudgingly, when charity presses +her demands. + +There is, in these cases, a degree of malice that is ordinarily mortal, +because the law of God and of nature is not respected. + +It is the nature of this vice to cause unhappiness which increases +until it becomes positive wretchedness in the miser. Anxiety of mind is +followed by hardening of the heart; then injustice in desire and in +fact; blinding of the conscience, ending in a general stultification of +man before the god Mammon. + +All desires of riches and comfort are not, therefore, avarice. One may +aspire to, and seek wealth without avidity. This ambition is a laudable +one, for it does not exaggerate the value of the world's goods, would +not resort to injustice, and has not the characteristic tenacity of +covetousness. There is order in this desire for plenty. It is the great +mover of activity in life; it is good because it is natural, and +honorable because of its motives. + + + +CHAPTER XI. +LUST. + +PRIDE resides principally in the mind, and thence sways over the entire +man; avarice proceeds from the heart and affections; lust has its seat +in the flesh. By pride man prevaricating imitates the angel of whose +nature he partakes; avarice is proper to man as being a composite of +angelic and animal natures; lust is characteristic of the brute pure +and simple. This trinity of concupiscence is in direct opposition to +the Trinity of God--to the Father, whose authority pride would destroy; +to the Son, whose voluntary stripping of the divinity and the poverty +of whose life avarice scorns and contemns to the Holy Ghost, to whom +lust is opposed as the flesh is opposed to the spirit. This is the +mighty trio that takes possession of the whole being of man, controls +his superior and inferior appetites, and wars on the whole being on +God. And lust is the most ignoble of the three. + +Strictly speaking, it is not here question of the commandments. They +prescribe or forbid acts of sin--thoughts, words or deeds; lust is a +passion, a vice or inclination, a concupiscence. It is not an act. It +does not become a sin while it remains in this state of pure +inclination. It is inbred in our nature as children of Adam. Lust is an +appetite like any other appetite, conformable to our human nature, and +can be satisfied lawfully within the order established by God and +nature. But it is vitiated by the corruption of fallen flesh. This +vitiated appetite craves for unlawful and forbidden satisfactions and +pleasures, such as are not in keeping with the plans of the Creator. +Thus the vitiated appetite becomes inordinate. At one and the same +time, it becomes inordinate and sinful, the passion being gratified +unduly by a positive act of sin. + +This depraved inclination, as everyone knows, may be in us, without +being of us, that is, without any guilt being imputed to us. This +occurs in the event of a violent assault of passion, in which our will +has no part, and which consequently does not materialize, exteriorly or +interiorly, in a human act forbidden by the laws of morality. Nor is +there a transgression, even when gratified, if reason and faith control +the inclination and direct it along the lines laid down by the divine +and natural laws. Outside of this, all manners, shapes and forms of +lust are grievous sins, for the law admits no levity of matter. No +further investigation, at the present time, into the essence of this +vice is necessary. + +There is an abominable theory familiar to, and held by the dissolute, +who, not content with spreading the contagion of their souls, aim at +poisoning the very wells of morality. They reason somewhat after this +fashion: Human nature is everywhere the same. He knows others who best +knows himself. A mere glance at themselves reveals the fact that they +are chained fast to earth by their vile appetites, and that to break +these chains is a task too heavy for them to undertake. The fact is +overlooked that these bonds are of their own creation, and that every +end is beyond reach of him who refuses to take the means to that end. +Incapable, too, of conceiving a sphere of morality superior to that in +which they move, and without further investigation of facts to make +their induction good, they conclude that all men are like themselves; +that open profession of morality is unadulterated hypocrisy, that a +pure man is a living lie. A more wholesale impeachment of human +veracity and a more brutal indignity offered to human nature could +scarcely be imagined. Reason never argued thus; the heart has reasons +which the reason cannot comprehend. Truth to be loved needs only to be +seen. Adversely, it is the case with falsehood. + +It is habitual with this passion to hide its hideousness under the +disguise of love, and thus this most sacred and hallowed name is +prostituted to signify that which is most vile and loathsome. +Depravity? No. Goodness of heart, generosity of affections, the very +quintessence of good nature! But God is love, and love that does not +see the image of the Creator in its object is not love, but the brutal +instinct. + +There are some who do not go so far as to identify vice with virtue, +but content themselves with esteeming that, since passion is so strong, +virtue so difficult and God so merciful to His frail creatures, to +yield a trifle is less a sin than a confession of native weakness. This +"weakness" runs a whole gamut of euphemisms; imperfections, foibles, +frailties, mistakes, miseries, accidents, indiscretions--anything to +gloss it over, anything but what it is. At this rate, you could efface +the whole Decalogue and at one fell stroke destroy all laws, human and +divine. What is yielding to any passion but weakness? Very few sins are +sins of pure malice. If one is weak through one's own fault, and +chooses to remain so rather than take the necessary means of acquiring +strength, that one is responsible in full for the weakness. The weak +and naughty in this matter are plain, ordinary sinners of a very sable +dye. + +Theirs is not the view that God took of things when He purged the earth +with water and destroyed the five cities with fire. From Genesis to the +Apocalypse you will not find a weakness against which He inveighs so +strongly, and chastises so severely. He forbids and condemns every +deliberate yielding, every voluntary step taken over the threshold of +moral cleanness in thought, word, desire or action. + +The gravity and malice of sin is not to be measured by the fancies, +opinions, theories or attitude of men. The first and only rule is the +will of God which is sufficiently clear to anyone who scans the sacred +pages whereon it is manifested. And the reason of His uncompromising +hostility to voluptuousness can be found in the intrinsic malice of the +evil. In man, as God created him, the soul is superior to the body, and +of its nature should rule and govern. Lust inverts this order, and the +flesh lords it over the spirit. The image of God is defiled, dragged in +the mire of filth and corruption, and robbed of its spiritual nature, +as far as the thing is possible. It becomes corporal, carnal, animal. +And thus the superior soul with its sublime faculties of intelligence +and will is made to obey under the tyranny of emancipated flesh, and +like the brute seeks only for things carnal. + +It is impossible to say to what this vice will not lead, or to +enumerate the crimes that follow in its wake. The first and most +natural consequence is to create a distaste and aversion for prayer, +piety, devotion, religion and God; and this is God's most terrible +curse on the vice, for it puts beyond reach of the unfortunate sinner +the only remedy that could save him. + +But if God's justice is so rigorous toward the wanton, His mercy is +never so great as toward those who need it most, who desire it and ask +it. The most touching episodes in the Gospels are those in which Christ +opened wide the arms of His charity to sinful but repentant creatures, +and lifted them out of their iniquity. That same charity and power to +shrive, uplift and strengthen resides to-day, in all its plenitude, in +the Church which is the continuation of Christ. Where there is a will +there is a way. The will is the sinner's; the way is in prayer and the +sacraments. + + + +CHAPTER XII. +ANGER. + +NEVER say, when you are angry, that you are mad; it makes you appear +much worse than you really are, for only dogs get mad. The rabies in a +human being is a most unnatural and ignoble thing. Yet common parlance +likens anger to it. + +It is safe to say that no one has yet been born that never yielded, +more or less, to the sway of this passion. Everybody gets angry. The +child sulks, the little girl calls names and makes faces, the boy +fights and throws stones; the maiden waxes huffy, spiteful, and won't +speak, and the irascible male fumes, rages, and says and does things +that become him not in the least. Even pious folks have their tiffs and +tilts. All flesh is frail, and anger has an easy time of it; not +because this passion is so powerful, but because it is insidious and +passes for a harmless little thing in its ordinary disguise. And yet +all wrath does not manifest itself thus exteriorly. Still waters are +deepest. An imperturbable countenance may mask a very inferno of wrath +and hatred. + +To hear us talk, there is no fault in all this, the greater part of the +time. It is a soothing tonic to our conscience after a fit of rage, to +lay all the blame on a defect of character or a naturally bad temper. +If fault there is, it is anybody's but our own. We recall the fact that +patience is a virtue that has its limits, and mention things that we +solemnly aver would try the enduring powers of the beatified on their +thrones in heaven. Some, at a loss otherwise to account for it, protest +that a particular devil got hold of them and made resistance +impossible. + +But it was not a devil at all. It was a little volcano, or better, a +little powder magazine hidden away somewhere in the heart. The imp +Pride had its head out looking for a caress, when it received a rebuff +instead. Hastily disappearing within, it spat fire right and left, and +the explosion followed, proportionate in energy and destructive power +to the quantity of pent-up self-love that served as a charge. Once the +mine is fired, in the confusion and disorder that follow, vengeance +stalks forth in quest of the miscreant that did the wrong. + +Anger is the result of hurt pride, of injured self-love. It is a +violent and inordinate commotion of the soul that seeks to wreak +vengeance for an injury done. The causes that arouse anger vary +infinitely in reasonableness, and there are all degrees of intensity. + +The malice of anger consists wholly in the measure of our deliberate +yielding to its promptings. Sin, here as elsewhere, supposes an act of +the will, A crazy man is not responsible for his deeds; nor is anyone, +for more than what he does knowingly. + +The first movement or emotion of irascibility is usually exempt of all +fault; by this is meant the play of the passion on the sensitive part +of our nature, the sharp, sudden fit that is not foreseen and is not +within our control, the first effects of the rising wrath, such as the +rush of blood, the trouble and disorder of the affections, +surexcitation and solicitation to revenge. A person used to repelling +these assaults may be taken unawares and carried away to a certain +extent in the first storm of passion, in this there is nothing sinful. +But the same faultlessness could not be ascribed to him who exercises +no restraining power over his failing, and by yielding habitually +fosters it and must shoulder the responsibility of every excess. We +incur the burden of God's wrath when, through our fault, negligence or +a positive act of the will, we suffer this passion to steal away our +reason, blind us to the value of our actions, and make us deaf to all +considerations. No motive can justify such ignoble weakness that would +lower us to the level of the madman. He dishonors his Maker who throws +the reins to his animal instincts and allows them to gallop ahead with +him, in a mad career of vengeance and destruction. + +Many do not go to this extent of fury, but give vent to their spleen in +a more cool and calculating manner. Their temper, for being less fiery, +is more bitter. They are choleric rather than bellicose. They do not +fly to acts but to desires and well-laid plans of revenge. If the +desire or deed lead to a violation of justice or charity, to scandal or +any notable evil consequence, the sin is clearly mortal; the more so, +if this inward brooding be of long duration, as it betrays a more +deep-seated malice. + +Are there any motives capable of justifying these outbursts of passion? +None at all, if our ire has these two features of unreasonableness and +vindictiveness. This is evil. No motive, however good, can justify an +evil end. + +If any cause were plausible, it would be a grave injury, malicious and +unjust. But not even this is sufficient, for we are forbidden to return +evil for evil. It may cause us grief and pain, but should not incite us +to anger, hatred and revenge. What poor excuses would therefore be +accidental or slight injuries, just penalties for our wrongdoings and +imaginary grievances! The less excusable is our wrath, the more serious +is our delinquency. Our guilt is double-dyed when the deed and the +cause of the deed are both alike unreasonable. + +Yet there is a kind of anger that is righteous. We speak of the wrath +of God, and in God there can be no sin. Christ himself was angry at the +sight of the vendors in the temple. Holy Writ says: Be ye angry and sin +not. But this passion, which is the fruit of zeal, has three features +which make it impossible to confound it with the other. It is always +kept within the bounds of a wise moderation and under the empire of +reason; it knows not the spirit of revenge; and it has behind it the +best of motives, namely, zeal for the glory of God. It is aroused at +the sight of excesses, injustices, scandals, frauds; it seeks to +destroy sin, and to correct the sinner. It is often not only a +privilege, but a duty. It supposes, naturally, judgment, prudence, and +discretion, and excludes all selfish motives. + +Zeal in an inferior and more common degree is called indignation, and +is directed against all things unworthy, low and deserving of contempt. +It respects persons, but loathes whatever of sin or vice that is in, or +comes from, unworthy beings. It is a virtue, and is the effect of a +high sense of respectability. + +Impatience is not anger, but a feeling somewhat akin to it, provoked by +untoward events and inevitable happenings, such as the weather, +accidents, etc. It is void of all spirit of revenge. Peevishness is +chronic impatience, due to a disordered nervous system and requires the +services of a competent physician, being a physical, not moral, +distemper. + +Anger is a weakness and betrays many other weaknesses; that is why +sensible people never allow this passion to sway them. It is the last +argument of a lost cause: "You are angry, therefore you are wrong." The +great misery of it is that hot-tempered people consider their mouths to +be safety-valves, while the truth is that the wagging tongue generates +bile faster than the open mouth can give exit to it. St. Liguori +presented an irate scold with a bottle, the contents to be taken by the +mouthful and held for fifteen minutes, each time her lord and master +returned home in his cups. She used it with surprising results and went +back for more. The saint told her to go to the well and draw +inexhaustibly until cured. + +For all others, the remedy is to be found in a meditation of these +words of the "Our Father:" "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive +those who trespass against us." The Almighty will take us at our word. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. +GLUTTONY. + +SELF-PRESERVATION is nature's first law, and the first and essential +means of preserving one's existence is the taking of food and drink +sufficient to nourish the body, sustain its strength and repair the +forces thereof weakened by labor, fatigue or illness. God, as well as +nature, obliges us to care for our bodily health, in order that the +spirit within may work out on earth the end of its being. + +Being purely animal, this necessity is not the noblest and most +elevating characteristic of our nature. Nor is it, in its imperious and +unrelenting requirements, far removed from a species of tyranny. A kind +Providence, however, by lending taste, savor and delectability to our +aliments, makes us find pleasure in what otherwise would be repugnant +and insufferably monotonous. + +An appetite is a good and excellent thing. To eat and drink with relish +and satisfaction is a sign of good health, one of the precious boons of +nature. And the tendency to satisfy this appetite, far from being +sinful, is wholly in keeping with the divine plan, and is necessary for +a fulsome benefiting of the nourishment we take. + +On the other hand, the digestive organism of the body is such a +delicate and finely adjusted piece of mechanism that any excess is +liable to clog its workings and put it out of order. It is made for +sufficiency alone. Nature never intended man to be a glutton; and she +seldom fails to retaliate and avenge excesses by pain, disease and +death. + +This fact coupled with the grossness of the vice of gluttony makes it +happily rare, at least in its most repulsive form; for, be it said, it +is here question of the excessive use of ordinary food and drink, and +not of intoxicants to which latter form of gluttony we shall pay our +respects later. + +The rich are more liable than the poor to sin by gluttony; but gluttony +is fatal to longevity, and they who enjoy best life, desire to live +longest. 'Tis true, physicians claim that a large portion of diseases +are due to over-eating and over-drinking; but it must be admitted that +this is through ignorance rather than malice. So that this passion can +hardly be said to be commonly yielded to, at least to the extent of +grievous offending. + +Naturally, the degree of excess in eating and drinking is to be +measured according to age, temperament, condition of life, etc. The +term gluttony is relative. What would be a sin for one person might be +permitted as lawful to another. One man might starve on what would +constitute a sufficiency for more than one. Then again, not only the +quantity, but the quality, time and manner, enter for something in +determining just where excess begins. It is difficult therefore, and it +is impossible, to lay down a general rule that will fit all cases. + +It is evident, however, that he is mortally guilty who is so far buried +in the flesh as to make eating and drinking the sole end of life, who +makes a god of his stomach. Nor is it necessary to mention certain +unmentionable excesses such as were practiced by the degenerate Romans +towards the fall of the Empire. It would likewise be a grievous sin of +gluttony to put the satisfaction of one's appetite before the law of +the Church and violate wantonly the precepts of fasting and abstinence. + +And are there no sins of gluttony besides these? Yes, and three rules +may be laid down, the application of which to each particular case will +reveal the malice of the individual. Overwrought attachment to +satisfactions of the palate, betrayed by constant thinking of viands +and pleasures of the table, and by avidity in taking nourishment, +betokens a dangerous, if not a positively sinful, degree of sensuality. +Then, to continue eating or drinking after the appetite is appeased, is +in itself an excess, and mortal sin may be committed even without going +to the last extreme. Lastly, it is easy to yield inordinately to this +passion by attaching undue importance to the quality of our victuals, +seeking after delicacies that do not become our rank, and catering to +an over-refined palate. The evil of all this consists in that we seem +to eat and drink, if we do not in fact eat and drink, to satisfy our +sensuality first, and to nourish our bodies afterwards; and this is +contrary to the law of nature. + +We seemed to insist from the beginning that this is not a very +dangerous or common practice. Yet there must be a hidden and especial +malice in it. Else why is fasting and abstinence--two correctives of +gluttony--so much in honor and so universally recommended and commanded +in the Church? Counting three weeks in Advent, seven in Lent and three +Ember days four times a year, we have, without mentioning fifty-two +Fridays, thirteen weeks or one-fourth of the year by order devoted to a +practical warfare on gluttony. No other vice receives the honor of such +systematic and uncompromising resistance. The enemy must be worthy. + +As a matter of fact, there lies under all this a great moral principle +of Christian philosophy. This philosophy sought out and found the cause +and seat of all evil to be in the flesh. The forces of sin reside in +the flesh while the powers of righteousness--faith, reason and will-- +are in the spirit. The real issue of life is between these forces +contending for supremacy. The spirit should rule; that is the order of +our being. But the flesh revolts, and by ensnaring the will endeavors +to dominate over the spirit. + +Now it stands to reason that the only way for the superior part to +succeed is to weaken the inferior part. Just as prayer and the grace of +the sacraments fortify the soul, so do food and drink nourish the +animal; and if the latter is cared for to the detriment of the soul, it +waxes strong and formidable and becomes a menace. + +The only resource for the soul is then to cut off the supply that +benefits the flesh, and strengthen herself thereby. She acts like a +wise engineer who keeps the explosive and dangerous force of his +locomotive within the limit by reducing the quantity of food he throws +into its stomach. Thus the passions being weakened become docile, and +are easily held under sway by the power that is destined to govern, and +sin is thus rendered morally impossible. + +It is gluttony that furnishes the passion of the flesh with fuel by +feeding the animal too well; and herein lies the great danger and +malice of this vice. The evil of a slight excess may not be great +in itself; but that evil is great in its consequences. Little +over-indulgences imperceptibly, but none the less surely, strengthen +the flesh against the spirit, and when the temptation comes the spirit +will be overcome. The ruse of the saints was to starve the enemy. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. +DRINK. + +INTEMPERANCE is the immoderate use of anything, good or bad; here the +word is used to imply an excessive use of alcoholic beverages, which +excess, when it reaches the dignity of a habit or vice, makes a man a +drunkard. A drunkard who indulges in "highballs" and other beverages of +fancy price and name, is euphemistically styled a "tippler;" his +brother, a poor devil who swallows vile concoctions or red "pizen" is +called a plain, ordinary "soak." Whatever name we give to such +gluttons, the evil in both is the same; 'tis the evil of gluttony. + +This vice differs from gluttony proper in that its object is strong +drink, while the latter is an abuse of food and nourishment necessary, +in regulated quantity, for the sustenance of the body. But alcohol is +not necessary to sustain life as an habitual beverage; it may +stimulate, but it does not sustain at all. It has its legitimate uses, +like strychnine and other poison and drugs; but being a poison, it must +be detrimental to living tissues, when taken frequently, and cannot +have been intended by the Creator as a life-giving nourishment. Its +habitual use is therefore not a necessity. Its abuse has therefore a +more far-fetched malice. + +But its use is not sinful, any more than the use of any drug, for +alcohol, or liquor, is a creature of God and is made for good purposes. +Its use is not evil, whether it does little good, or no good at all. +The fact of its being unnecessary does not make it a forbidden fruit. +The habit of stimulants, like the habit of tobacco, while it has no +title to be called a good habit, cannot be qualified as an +intrinsically bad habit; it may be tolerated as long as it is kept +within the bounds of sane reason and does not give rise to evil +consequences in self or others. Apart, therefore, from the danger of +abuse--a real and fatal danger for many, especially for the young--and +from the evil effects that may follow even a moderate use, the habit is +like another; a temperate man is not, to any appreciable degree, less +righteous than a moderate smoker. The man who can use and not abuse is +just as moral as his brother who does not use lest he abuse. He must, +however, be said to be less virtuous than another who abstains rather +than run the risk of being even a remote occasion of sin unto the weak. + +The intrinsic malice therefore of this habit consists in the disorder +of excess, which is called intoxication. Intoxication may exist in +different degrees and stages; it is the state of a man who loses, to +any extent, control over his reasoning faculties through the effects of +alcohol. There is evil and sin the moment the brain is affected; when +reason totters and falls from its throne in the soul, then the crime is +consummated. When a man says and does and thinks what in his sober +senses he would not say, do, or think, that man is drunk, and there is +mortal sin on his soul. It is not an easy matter to define just when +intoxication properly begins and sobriety ends; every man must do that +for himself. But he should consider himself well on the road to guilt +when, being aware that the fumes of liquor were fast beclouding his +mind, he took another glass that was certain to still further obscure +his reason and paralyze his will. + +Much has been said and written about the grossness of this vice, its +baneful effects and consequences, to which it were useless here to +refer. Suffice it to say there is nothing that besots a man more +completely and lowers him more ignobly to the level of the brute. He +falls below, for the most stupid of brutes, the ass, knows when it has +enough; and the drunkard does not. It requires small wit indeed to +understand that there is no sin in the catalogue of crime that a person +in this state is not capable of committing. He will do things the very +brute would blush to do; and then he will say it was one of the devil's +jokes. The effects on individuals, families and generations, born and +unborn, cannot be exaggerated; and the drunkard is a tempter of God and +the curse of society. + +Temperance is a moderate use of strong drink; teetotalism is absolute +abstention therefrom. A man may be temperate without being a +teetotaler; all teetotalers are temperate, at least as far as alcohol +is concerned, although they are sometimes, some of them, accused of +using temperance as a cloak for much intemperance of speech. If this be +true--and there are cranks in all causes--then temperance is itself the +greatest sufferer. Exaggeration is a mistake; it repels right-thinking +men and never served any purpose. We believe it has done the cause of +teetotalism a world of harm. But it is poor logic that will identify +with so holy a cause the rabid rantings of a few irresponsible fools. + +The cause of total abstinence is a holy and righteous cause. It takes +its stand against one of the greatest evils, moral and social, of the +day. It seeks to redeem the fallen, and to save the young and +inexperienced. Its means are organization and the mighty weapon of good +example. It attracts those who need it and those who do not need it; +the former, to save them; the latter, to help save others. And there is +no banner under which Catholic youth could more honorably be enrolled +than the banner of total abstinence. The man who condemns or decries +such a cause either does not know what he is attacking or his mouthings +are not worth the attention of those who esteem honesty and hate +hypocrisy. It is not necessary to be able to practice virtue in order +to esteem its worth. And it does not make a fellow appear any better +even to himself to condemn a cause that condemns his faults. + +Saloon-keepers are engaged in an enterprise which in itself is lawful; +the same can be said of those who buy and sell poisons and dynamite and +fire-arms. The nature of his merchandise differentiates his business +from all other kinds of business, and his responsibilities are of the +heaviest. It may, and often does, happen that this business is +criminal; and in this matter the civil law may be silent, but the moral +law is not. For many a one such a place is an occasion of sin, often a +near occasion. It is not comforting to kneel in prayer to God with the +thought in one's mind that one is helping many to damnation, and that +the curses of drunkards' wives and mothers and children are being piled +upon one's head. How far the average liquor seller is guilty, God only +knows; but a man with a deep concern for his soul's salvation, it seems +would not like to take the risk. + + + +CHAPTER XV. +ENVY. + +WHEN envy catches a victim she places an evil eye in his mind, gives +him a cud to chew, and then sends him gadding. + +If the mind's eye feeds upon one's own excellence for one's own +satisfaction, that is pride; if it feeds upon the neighbor's good for +one's own displeasure and unhappiness, that is envy. It is not alone +this displeasure that makes envy, but the reason of this displeasure, +that is, what the evil eye discerns in the neighbor's excellence, +namely, a detriment, an obstacle to one's own success. It is not +necessary that another's prosperity really work injury to our own; it +is sufficient that the evil eye, through its discolored vision, +perceive a prejudice therein. "Ah!" says envy, "he is happy, +prosperous, esteemed! My chances are spoiled. I am overshadowed. I am +nothing, he is everything. I am nothing because he is everything." + +Remember that competition, emulation, rivalry are not necessarily envy. +I dread to see my rival succeed. I am pained if he does succeed. But +the cause of this annoyance and vexation is less his superiority than +my inferiority. I regret my failure more than his success. There is no +evil eye. 'Tis the sting of defeat that causes me pain. If I regret +this or that man's elevation because I fear he will abuse his power; if +I become indignant at the success of an unworthy person; I am not +envious, because this superiority of another does not appear to me to +be a prejudice to my standing. Whatever sin there is, there is no sin +of envy. + +We may safely assume that a person who would be saddened by the success +of another, would not fail to rejoice at that other's misfortune. This +is a grievous offense against charity, but it is not, properly +speaking, envy, for envy is always sad; it is rather an effect of envy, +a natural product thereof and a form of hatred. + +This unnatural view of things which we qualify as the evil eye, is not +a sin until it reaches the dignity of a sober judgment, for only then +does it become a human act. Envy like pride, anger, and the other +vicious inclinations, may and often does crop out in our nature, +momentarily, without our incurring guilt, if it is checked before it +receives the acquiescence of the will, it is void of wrong, and only +serves to remind us that we have a rich fund of malice in our nature +capable of an abundant yield of iniquity. + +After being born in the mind, envy passes to the feelings where it +matures and furnishes that supply of misery which characterizes the +vice. Another is happy at our expense; the sensation is a painful one, +yet it has a diabolical fascination, and we fondle and caress it. We +brood over our affliction to the embittering and souring of our souls. +We swallow and regurgitate over and over again our dissatisfaction, and +are aptly said to chew the cud of bitterness. + +Out of such soil as this naturally springs a rank growth of uncharity +and injustice in thought and desire. The mind and heart of envy are +untrammeled by all bonds of moral law. It may think all evil of a rival +and wish him all evil. He becomes an enemy, and finally he is hated. +Envy points directly to hatred. + +Lastly, envy is "a gadding passion, it walketh the street and does not +keep home." It were better to say that it "talketh." There is nothing +like language to relieve one's feelings; it is quieting and soothing, +and envy has strong feelings. Hence, evil insinuations, detraction, +slander, etc. Justice becomes an empty word and the seamless robe of +charity is torn to shreds. As an agent of destruction envy easily holds +the palm, for it commands the two strong passions of pride and anger, +and they do its bidding. + +People scarcely ever acknowledge themselves envious. It is such a base, +unreasonable and unnatural vice. If we cannot rejoice with the +neighbor, why be pained at his felicity? And what an insanity it is to +imagine that in this wide world one cannot be happy without prejudicing +the happiness of another! What a severe shock it would be to the +discontented, the morosely sour, the cynic, and other human owls, to be +told that they are victims of this green-eyed monster. They would +confess to calumny, and hatred; to envy, never! + +Envy can only exist where there is abundant pride. It is a form of +pride, a shape which it frequently assumes, because under this disguise +it can penetrate everywhere without being as much as noticed. And it is +so seldom detected that wherever it gains entrance it can hope to +remain indefinitely. + +Jealousy and envy are often confounded; yet they differ in that the +latter looks on what is another's, while the former concerns itself +with what is in one's own possession. I envy what is not mine; I am +jealous of what is my own. Jealousy has a saddening influence upon us, +by reason of a fear, more or less well grounded, that what we have will +be taken from us. We foresee an injustice and resent it. + +Kept within the limits of sane reason, jealousy is not wrong, for it is +founded on the right we have to what is ours. It is in our nature to +cling to what belongs to us, to regret being deprived of it, and to +guard ourselves against injustice. + +But when this fear is without cause, visionary, unreasonable, jealousy +partakes of the nature and malice of envy. It is even more malignant a +passion, and leads to greater disorders and crimes, for while envy is +based on nothing at all, there is here a true foundation in the right +of possession, and a motive in right to repel injustice. + + +CHAPTER XVI. +SLOTH. + +NOT the least, if the last, of capital sins is sloth, and it is very +properly placed; for who ever saw the sluggard or victim of this +passion anywhere but after all others, last! + +Sloth, of course, is a horror of difficulty, an aversion for labor, +pain and effort, which must be traced to a great love of one's comfort +and ease. Either the lazy fellow does nothing at all--and this is +sloth; or he abstains from doing what he should do while otherwise +busily occupied--and this too, is sloth; or he does it poorly, +negligently, half-heartedly--and this again is sloth. Nature imposes +upon us the law of labor. He who shirks in whole or in part is +slothful. + +Here, in the moral realm, we refer properly to the difficulty we find +in the service of God, in fulfiling our obligations as Christians and +Catholics, in avoiding evil and doing good; in a word, to the discharge +of our spiritual duties. But then all human obligations have a +spiritual side, by the fact of their being obligations. Thus, labor is +not, like attendance at mass, a spiritual necessity; but to provide for +those who are dependent upon us is a moral obligation and to shirk it +would be a sin of sloth. + +Not that it is necessary, if we would avoid sin, to hate repose +naturally and experience no difficulty or repugnance in working out our +soul's salvation. Sloth is inbred in our nature. There is no one but +would rather avoid than meet difficulties. The service of God is +laborious and painful. The kingdom of God suffers violence. It has +always been true since the time of our ancestor Adam, that vice is +easy, and virtue difficult; that the flesh is weak, and repugnance to +effort, natural because of the burden of the flesh. So that, in this +general case, sloth is an obstacle to overcome rather than a fault of +the will. We may abhor exertion, feel the laziest of mortals; if we +effect our purpose in spite of all that, we can do no sin. + +Sometimes sloth takes on an acute form known as aridity or barrenness +in all things that pertain to God. The most virtuous souls are not +always exempt from this. It is a dislike, a distaste that amounts +almost to a disgust for prayer especially, a repugnance that threatens +to overwhelm the soul. That is simply an absence of sensible fervor, a +state of affliction and probation that is as pleasing to God as it is +painful to us. After all where would the merit be in the service of +God, if there were no difficulty? + +The type of the spiritually indolent is that fixture known as the +half-baked Catholic--some people call him "a poor stick"--who is too +lazy to meet his obligations with his Maker. He says no prayers, +because he can't; he lies abed Sunday mornings and lets the others go +to mass--he is too tired and needs rest; the effort necessary to prepare +for and to go to confession is quite beyond him. In fine, religion is +altogether too exacting, requires too much of a man. + +And, as if to remove all doubt as to the purely spiritual character of +this inactivity, our friend can be seen, without a complaint, +struggling every day to earn the dollar. He will not grumble about +rising at five to go fishing or cycling. He will, after his hard day's +work, sit till twelve at the theatre or dance till two in the morning. +He will spend his energy in any direction save in that which leads to +God. + +Others expect virtue to be as easy as it is beautiful. Religion should +conduce to one's comfort. They like incense, but not the smell of +brimstone. They would remain forever content on Tabor, but the dark +frown of Calvary is insupportable. Beautiful churches, artistic music, +eloquent preaching on interesting topics, that is their idea of +religion; that is what they intend religion--their religion--shall be, +and they proceed to cut out whatever jars their finer feelings. This is +fashionable, but it is not Christian: to do anything for God--if it is +easy; and if it is hard,--well, God does not expect so much of us. + +You will see at a glance that this sort of a thing is fatal to the +sense of God in the soul; it has for its first, direct and immediate +effect to weaken little by little the faith until it finally kills it +altogether. Sloth is a microbe. It creeps into the soul, sucks in its +substance and causes a spiritual consumption. This is neither an acute +nor a violent malady, but it consumes the patient, dries him up, wears +him out, till life goes out like a lamp without oil. + + + +CHAPTER XVII. +WHAT WE BELIEVE. + +OUR first duty to God, and the first obligation imposed upon us by the +First Commandment is Faith, or belief in God--we must know Him. + +Belief is solely a manner of knowing. It is one way of apprehending, or +getting possession of, a truth. There are other ways of acquiring +knowledge; by the senses, for instance, seeing, hearing, etc., and by +our intelligence or reason. When truth comes to us through the senses, +it is called experience; if the reason presents it, it is called +science; if we use the faculty of the soul known as faith, it is +belief. + +You will observe that belief, experience and science have one and the +same object, namely, truth. These differ only in the manner of +apprehending truth. Belief relies on the testimony of others; +experience, on the testimony of the senses; science, on that of the +reason. What I believe, I get from others; what I experience or +understand, I owe to my individual self. I neither believe nor +understand that Hartford exists--I see it. I neither understand nor see +that Rome exists--I believe it. I neither see nor believe that two +parallel lines will never meet--I reason it out, I understand it. + +Now it is beside the question here to object that belief, or what we +believe, may or may not be true. Neither is all that we see, nor all +that our reason produces, true. Human experience and human reason, like +all things human, may err. Here we simply remark that truth is the +object of our belief, as it is the object of our experience and of +understanding. We shall later see that if human belief may err, faith +or divine belief cannot mislead us, cannot be false. + +Neither is it in order here to contend that belief, of its very nature, +is something uncertain, that it is synonymous of opinion; or if it +supposes a judgment, that judgment is "formidolose," liable at any +moment to be changed or contradicted. The testimony of the senses and +of reason does not always carry certain conviction. We may or may not +be satisfied with the evidence of human belief. As for the divine, or +faith, it is certain, or it is not at all; and who would not be +satisfied with the guarantee offered by the Word of God! + +And the truths we believe are those revealed by God, received by us +through a double agency, the written and the oral word, known as +Scripture and Tradition. Scripture is contained in the two Testaments; +Tradition is found in the bosom, the life of the Church of Christ, in +the constant and universal teachings of that Church. + +The Scripture being a dead letter cannot explain or interpret itself. +Yet, since it is applied to the ever-varying lives of men, it needs an +explanation and an interpretation; it is practically of no value +without it. And in order that the truth thus presented be accepted by +men, it is necessary, of prime necessity, that it have the guarantee of +infallibility. This infallibility the Church of Christ possesses, else +His mission were a failure. + +This infallibility is to control the vagaries of Tradition, for +Tradition, of its very nature, tends to exaggeration, as we find in the +legends of ancient peoples. Exaggerated, they destroy themselves, but +in the bosom of God's Church these truths forever retain their +character unchanged and unchangeable. + +If you accept the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as +revealed by God and delivered to man by the infallible Church from the +Bible and Tradition, you have what is called ecclesiastical, Catholic +or true faith. There is no other true faith. It is even an open +question whether there is any faith at all outside of this; for outside +the Church there is no reasonable foundation for faith, and our faith +must be reasonable. + +However, granting that such a thing can be, the faith of him who takes +and leaves off the divine Word is called divine faith. He is supposed +to ignore invincibly a portion of revealed truth, but he accepts what +he knows. If he knew something and refused to embrace it, he would have +no faith at all. The same is true of one who having once believed, +believes no longer. He impeaches the veracity of God, and therefore +cannot further rely on His Word. + +Lastly, it matters not at all what kind of truths we receive from God. +Truth is truth always and ever. We may not be able to comprehend what +is revealed to us, and little the wonder. Our intelligence is not +infinite, and God's is. Many things that men tell us we believe without +understanding; God deserves our trust more than men. Our incapacity for +understanding all that faith teaches us proves one thing: that there +are limits to our powers, which may be surprising to some, but is +nevertheless true. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. +WHY WE BELIEVE. + +BELIEF, we have said, is the acceptance of a truth from another. We do +not always accept what others present to us as truth, for the good +reason that we may have serious doubts as to whether they speak the +truth or not. It is for us to decide the question of our informant's +intellectual and moral trustworthiness. If we do believe him, it is +because we consider his veracity to be beyond question. + +The foundation of our belief is therefore the veracity of him whose +word we take. They tell me that Lincoln was assassinated. Personally, I +know nothing about it. But I do know that they who speak of it could +know, did know, and could not lead us all astray on this point. I +accept their evidence; I believe on their word. + +It is on the testimony of God's word that we believe in matters that +pertain to faith. The idea we have of God is that He is infinitely +perfect, that He is all-wise and all-good. He cannot, therefore, under +pain of destroying His very existence, be deceived or deceive us. When, +therefore, He speaks, He speaks the truth and nothing but the truth. It +would be a very stultification of our reason to refuse to believe Him, +once we admit His existence. + +Now, it is not necessary for us to inquire into the things He reveals, +or to endeavor to discover the why, whence and wherefore. It is truth, +we are certain of it; what more do we need! It may be a satisfaction to +see and understand these truths, just as it is to solve a problem two +or three different ways. But it is not essential, for the result is +always the same--truth. + +But suppose, with my senses and my reason, I come to a result at +variance with the first, suppose the testimony of God's word and that +of my personal observations conflict, what then? There is an error +somewhere. Either God errs or my faculties play me false. Which should +have the preference of my assent? The question is answered as soon as +it is put. I can conceive an erring man, but I cannot conceive a false +God. Nothing human is infallible; God alone is proof against all error. +This would not be my first offense against truth. + +"Yes, all this is evident. I shall and do believe everything that God +deigns to reveal, because He says it, whether or not I see or +understand it. But the difficulty with me is how to know that God did +speak, what He said, what He meant. My difficulty is practical, not +theoretical." + +And by the same token you have shifted the question from "Why we +believe" to "Whence we believe;" you no longer seek the authority of +your faith, but its genesis. You believe what God says, because He says +it; you believe He did say it because--the Church says it. You are no +longer dealing with the truth itself, but with the messenger that +brings the truth to be believed. The message of the Church is: these +are God's words. As for what these words stand for, you are not to +trust her, but Him. The foundation of divine belief is one thing; the +motives of credibility are another. + +We should not confound these two things, if we would have a clear +notion of what faith is, and discover the numerous counterfeits that +are being palmed off nowadays on a world that desires a convenient, +rather than a genuine article. + +The received manner of belief is first to examine the truths proposed +as coming from God, measure them with the rule of individual reason, of +expediency, feeling, fancy, and thus to decide upon their merits. If +this proposition suits, it is accepted. If that other is found wanting, +it is forthwith rejected. And then it is in order to set out and prove +them to be or not to be the word of God, according to their suitability +or non-suitability. + +One would naturally imagine, as reason and common sense certainly +suggest, that one's first duty would be to convince oneself that God +did communicate these truths; and if so, then to accept them without +further dally or comment. There is nothing to be done, once God +reveals, but to receive His revelation. + +Outside the Church, this procedure is not always followed, because of +the rationalistic tendencies of latter-day Protestantism. It is a +glaring fact that many do not accept all that God says because He says, +but because it meets the requirements of their condition, feelings or +fancy. They lay down the principle that a truth, to be a truth, must be +understood by the human intelligence. This is paramount to asserting +that God cannot know more than men--blasphemy on the face of it. Thus +the divine rock-bed of faith is torn away, and a human basis +substituted. Faith itself is destroyed in the process. + +It is, therefore, important, before examining whence comes our faith, +to remember why we believe, and not to forget it. This much gained, and +for all time, we can go farther; without it, all advance is impossible. + + + +CHAPTER XIX. +WHENCE OUR BELIEF: REASON. + +MY faith is the most reasonable thing in the world, and it must needs +be such. The Almighty gave me intelligence to direct my life. When He +speaks He reveals Himself to me as to an intelligent being: and He +expects that I receive His word intelligently. Were I to abdicate my +reason in the acceptance of His truths, I would do my Maker as great an +injury as myself. All the rest of creation offers Him an homage of pure +life, of instinct or feeling; man alone can, and must, offer a higher, +nobler and more acceptable homage--that of reason. + +My faith is reasonable, and this is the account my reason gives of my +faith: I can accept as true, without in the least comprehending, and +far from dishonoring my reason, with a positive and becoming dignity,-- +I can accept!--but I must accept--whatever is confided to me by an +infallible authority, an authority that can neither deceive nor be +deceived. There is nothing supernatural about this statement. + +That which is perfect cannot be subject to error, for error is evil and +perfection excludes evil. If God exists He is perfect. Allow one +imperfection to enter into your notion of God, and you destroy that +notion. When, therefore, God speaks He is an infallible authority. This +is the philosophy of common sense. + +Now I know that God has spoken. The existence of that historical +personage known as Jesus of Nazareth is more firmly established than +that of Alexander or Caesar. Four books relate a part of His sayings +and doings; and I have infinitely less reason to question their +authenticity than I have to doubt the authenticity of Virgil or +Shakespeare. No book ever written has been subjected to such a +searching, probing test of malevolent criticism, at all times but +especially of late years in Germany and France. Great men, scholars, +geniuses have devoted their lives to the impossible task of explaining +the Gospels away, with the evident result that the position of the +latter remains a thousandfold stronger. Unless I reject all human +testimony, and reason forbids, I must accept them as genuine, at least +in substance. + +These four books relate how Jesus healed miraculously the sick, raised +the dead to life, led the life of the purest, most honest and sagest of +men, claimed to be God, and proved it by rising from the dead Himself. +That this man is divine, reason can admit without being unreasonable, +and must admit to be reasonable; and revelation has nothing to do with +the matter. + +A glaring statement among all others, one that is reiterated and +insisted upon, is that all men should share in the fruit of His life; +ana for this purpose He founded a college of apostles which He called +His Church, to teach all that He said and did, to all men, for all +time. The success of His life and mission depends upon the continuance +of His work. + +Why did He act thus? I do not know. Are there reasons for this economy +of salvation? There certainly are, else it would not have been +established. But we are not seeking after reasons; we are gathering +facts upon which to build an argument, and these facts we take from the +authentic life of Christ. + +Now we give the Almighty credit for wisdom in all His plans, the wisdom +of providing His agencies with the means to reach the end they are +destined to attain. To commission a church to teach all men without +authority, is to condemn it to utter nothingness from the very +beginning. To expect men to accept the truths He revealed, and such +truths! without a guarantee against error in the infallibility of the +teacher, is to be ignorant of human nature. And since at no time must +it cease to teach, it must be indefectible. Being true, it must be one; +the work of God, it must be holy; being provided for all creatures, it +must be Catholic or universal; and being the same as Christ founded +upon His Apostles, it must be apostolic. If it is not all these things +together, it is not the teacher sent by God to Instruct and direct men. + +No one who seeks with intelligence, single-mindedness and a pure heart, +will fail to find these attributes and marks of the true Church of +Christ. Whether, after finding them, one will make an act of faith, is +another question. But that he can give his assent with the full +approval of his reason is absolutely certain. Once he does so, he has +no further use for his reason. He enters the Church, an edifice +illumined by the superior light of revelation and faith. He can leave +reason, like a lantern, at the door. + +Therein he will learn many other truths that he never could have found +out with reason alone, truths superior, but not contrary, to reason. +These truths he can never repudiate without sinning against reason, +first, because reason brought him to this pass where he must believe +without the immediate help of reason. + +One of the first things we shall hear from the Church speaking on her +own authority is that these writings, the four relations of Christ's +life, are inspired. However a person could discover and prove this +truth to himself is a mystery that will never be solved. We cannot +assume it; it must be proven. Unless it be proven, the faith based on +this assumption is not reasonable; and proven it can never be, unless +we take it from an authority whose infallibility is proven. That is why +we say that it is doubtful if non-Catholic faith is faith at all, +because faith must be reasonable; and faith that is based on an +assumption is to say the least doubtfully reasonable. + + + +CHAPTER XX. +WHENCE OUR BELIEF: GRACE AND WILL. + +TO believe is to assent to a truth on the authority of God's word. We +must find that the truth proposed is really guaranteed by the authority +of God. In this process of mental research, the mind must be satisfied, +and the truth found to be in consonance with the dictates of right +reason, or at least, not contrary thereto. + +But the fact that we can securely give our assent to this truth does +not make us believe. Something more than reason enters into an act of +faith. + +Faith is not something natural, purely human, beginning and ending in +the brain, and a product thereof. This is human belief, not divine, and +is consequently not faith. + +We believe that faith is, of itself, as far beyond the native powers of +a human being as the sense of feeling is beyond the power of a stone, +or intelligence, the faculty of comprehension, is beyond the power of +an animal. In other words, it is supernatural, above the natural +forces, and requires the power of God to give it existence. "No man can +come to me, unless the Father who has sent Me, draw him." + +Some have faith, others have it not. Where did you get your faith? You +were not born with it, as you were with the natural, though dormant +faculties of speech, reason, and free will. You received it through +Baptism. You are a product of nature; therefore nature should limit +your existence. But faith aspires to, and obtains, an end that is not +natural but supernatural. It consequently must itself be supernatural, +and cannot be acquired without divine assistance. + +Unless God revealed, you could not know the truths of religion. Unless +He established a court of final appeal in His Church, you could not be +sure what He did reveal or what He meant to say. Because of the +peculiar character of these truths and the nature the certitude we +possess, many would not believe all, if God's grace were not there to +help them, even though one could and would believe, there no divine +belief or faith proper until the soul lives the faculty from Him who +alone can give it. + +The reason why many do not believe is not because God's grace is +wanting nor because their minds cannot be satisfied, not because they +cannot, but because they will not. + +Faith is a gift of God, but not that alone; it is a conviction, but not +that alone. It is a firm assent of the will. We are free to believe or +not to believe. + +"As one may be convinced and not act according to his conviction, so +may one be convinced and not believe according to his conviction. The +arguments of religion do not compel anyone to believe, just as the +arguments for good conduct do not compel anyone to obey. Obedience is +the consequence of willing to obey, and faith is the consequence of +willing to believe." + +I am not obliged to receive as true any religious dogma, as I am forced +to accept the proposition that two and two are four. I believe because +I choose to believe. My faith is a submission of the will. The +authority of God is not binding on me physically, for men have refused +and still do refuse to submit to His authority and the authority He +communicated to His Church. And I know that I, too, can refuse and +perhaps more than once have been tempted to refuse, my assent to truths +that interfered too painfully with my interests and passions. + +Besides, faith is meritorious, and in order to merit one must do +something difficult and be free to act. The difficulty is to believe +what we cannot understand, through pride of intelligence, and to bring +that stiff domineering faculty to recognize a superior. The difficulty +is to bend the will to the acceptance of truths, and consequent +obligations that gall our self-love and the flesh'. The believer must +have humility and self-denial. The grace of God follows these virtues +into a soul, and then your act of faith is complete. + +Herein we discover the great wisdom of God who sets the price of faith, +and of salvation that depends on it, not on the mind, but on the will; +not on the intelligence alone, but on the heart. To no man is grace +denied. Every man has the will to grasp what is good. But though to all +He gives a will, all have not the same degree of intelligence; He does +not endow them equally in this respect. How then could He make +intelligence the first principle of salvation and of faith? God +searches the heart, not the mind. A modicum of wit is guaranteed to all +to know that they can safely believe. Be one ever so unlettered and +ignorant, and dull, faith and heaven are to him as accessible as to the +sage, savant and the genius. For all, the way is the same. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. +HOW WE BELIEVE. + +FAITH is the edifice of a Christian life. It is, of itself, a mere +shell, so to speak, for unless good works sustain and adorn it, it will +crumble, and the Almighty in His day will reduce it to ashes; faith +without works is of no avail. The corner stone of this edifice is the +authority of the word of God, while His gratuitous grace, our +intelligence and will furnish the material for building. Now, there are +three features of that spiritual construction that deserve a moment's +consideration. + +First, the edifice is solid; our faith must be firm. No hesitation, no +wavering, no deliberate doubting, no suspicion, no take-and-leave. What +we believe comes from God, and we have the infallible authority of the +Church for it, and of that we must be certain. That certainly must not +for a moment falter, and the moment it does falter, there is no telling +but that the whole edifice so laboriously raised will tumble down upon +the guilty shoulders of the imprudent doubter. + +And of reasons for hesitating and disbelieving there is absolutely +none, once we have made the venture of faith and believe sincerely and +reasonably. No human power can in reason impugn revealed truths for +they are impervious to human intelligence. One book may not at the same +time be three books; but can one divine nature be at one and the same +time three divine persons? Until we learn what divinity and personality +are we can affirm nothing on the authority of pure reason. If we cannot +assert, how can we deny? And if we know nothing about it, how can we do +either? The question is not how is it, but if it is. While it stands +thus, and thus ever it must stand, no objection or doubt born of human +mind can influence our belief. Nothing but pride of mind and corruption +of heart can disturb it. + +If you have a difficulty, well, it is a difficulty, and nothing more. A +difficulty does not destroy a thesis that is solidly founded. Once a +truth is clearly established, not all the difficulties in the world can +make it an untruth. A difficulty as to the truth revealed argues an +imperfect intelligence; it is idle to complain that we are finite. A +difficulty regarding the infallible Church should not make her less +infallible in our mind, it simply demands a clearing away-Theological +difficulties should not surprise a novice in theological matters; they +are only misunderstandings that militate less against the Church than +against the erroneous notions we have of her. To allow such +difficulties to undermine faith is like overthrowing a solid wall with +a soap-bubble. Common sense demands that nothing but clearly +demonstrated falsity should make us change firm convictions, and such +demonstration can never be made against our faith. + +Not from difficulties, properly speaking, but from our incapacity for +understanding what we accept as true, results a certain obscurity, +which is another feature of faith. Believing is not seeing. Such +strange things we do believe! Who can unravel the mysteries of +religion? Moral certitude is sufficient to direct one's life, to make +our acts human and moral and is all we can expect in this world where +nothing is perfect. But because the consequences of faith are so +far-reaching, we would believe nothing short of absolute, metaphysical +certitude. + +But this is impossible. Hence the mist, the vague dimness that +surrounds faith, baffling every effort to penetrate it; and within, a +sense of rarefied perception that disquiets and torments unless +humility born of common sense be there to soothe and set us at rest. +Moral truths are not geometric theorems and multiplication tables, and +it is not necessary that they should be. + +Of course, if, as in science so in faith, reason were everything, our +position would hardly be tenable, for then there should be no vagueness +but clear vision. But the will enters for something in our act of +faith. If everything we believe were as luminous as "two and two are +four," a special act of the will would be utterly uncalled for. We must +be able, free to dissent, and this is the reason of the obscurity of +our faith. + +It goes without saying that such belief is meritorious. Christ Himself +said that to be saved it is necessary to believe, and no man is saved +but through his own merit. Faith is, therefore, gratuitous on His part +and meritorious on ours. It is in reality a good work that proceeds +from the will, under the dictates of right reason, with the assistance +of divine grace. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. +FAITH AND ERROR. + +INTOLERANCE is a harsh term. It is stern, rigid, brutal, almost. It +makes no compromise, combats a outrance and exacts blind and absolute +obedience. Among individuals tolerance should prevail, man, should be +liberal with man, the Law of Charity demands it. In regard to +principles, there must and shall eternally be antagonism between truth +and error, justice demands it. It is a case of self-preservation; one +destroys the other. Political truth can never tolerate treason preached +or practised; neither can religious truth tolerate unbelief and heresy +preached or practised. + +Now our faith is based on truth, the Church is the custodian of faith, +and the Church, on the platform of religious truth, is absolutely +uncompromising and intolerant, just as the State is in regard to +treason. She cannot admit error, she cannot approve error; to do so +would be suicidal. She cannot lend the approval of her presence, nay +even of her silence, to error. She stands aloof from heresy, must +always see in it an enemy, condemns it and cannot help condemning it, +for she stands for truth, pure and unalloyed truth, which error +pollutes and outrages. + +Call this what you will, but it is the attitude of honesty first, and +of necessity afterwards. "He who is liberal with what belongs to him is +generous, he who undertakes to be generous with what does not belong to +him is dishonest." Our faith is not founded on an act or agreement of +men, but on the revelation of God. No human agency can change or modify +it. Neither Church nor Pope can be liberal with the faith of which they +are the custodians. Their sole duty is to guard and protect it as a +precious deposit for the salvation of men. + +This is the stand all governments take when there is question of +political truth. And whatever lack of generosity or broadmindedness +there be, however contrary to the spirit of this free age it may seem, +it is nevertheless the attitude of God Himself who hates error, for it +is evil, who pursues it with His wrath through time and through +eternity. How can a custodian of divine truth act otherwise? Even in +human affairs, can one admit that two and three are seven? + +We sometimes hear it said that this intolerance takes from Catholics +the right to think. This is true in the same sense that penitentiaries, +or the dread of them, deprive citizens of the right to act. Everybody, +outside of sleeping hours and with his thinking machine in good order, +thinks. Perhaps if there were a little more of it, there would be more +solid convictions and more practical faith. Holy Writ has it somewhere +that the whole world is given over to vice and sin because there is no +one who thinks. + +But you have not and never had the right to think as you please, inside +or outside the Church. This means the right to form false judgments, to +draw conclusions contrary to fact. This is not a right, it is a defect, +a disease. Thus to act is not the normal function of the brain. It is +no more the nature of the mind to generate falsehoods than it is the +nature of a sewing machine to cut hair. Both were made for different +things. He therefore who disobeys the law that governs his mind +prostitutes that faculty to error. + +But suppose, being a Catholic, I cannot see things in that true light, +what then? In such a case, either you persist, in the matter of your +faith, in being guided by the smoky lamp of your reason alone, or you +will be guided by the authority of God's appointed Church. In the first +alternative, your place is not in the Church, for you exclude yourself +by not living up to the conditions of her membership. You cannot deny +but that she has the right to determine those conditions. + +If you choose the latter, then correct yourself. It is human to err, +but it is stupidity to persist in error and refuse to be enlightened. +If you cannot see for yourself, common sense demands that you get +another to see for you. You are not supposed to know the alpha and +omega of theological science, but you are bound to possess a +satisfactory knowledge in order that your faith be reasonable. + +Has no one a right to differ from the Church? Yes, those who err +unconsciously, who can do so conscientiously, that is, those who have +no suspicion of their being in error. These the heavenly Father will +look after and bring safe to Himself, for their error is material and +not formal. He loves them but He hates their errors. So does the Church +abominate the false doctrines that prevail in the world outside her +fold, yet at the same time she has naught but compassion and pity and +prayers for those deluded ones who spread and receive those errors. To +her the individual is sacred, but the heresy is damnable. + +Thus we may mingle with our fellow citizens in business and in +pleasure, socially and politically, but religiously--never. Our charity +we can offer in its fullest measure, but charity that lends itself to +error, loses its sacred character and becomes the handmaid of evil, for +error is evil. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. +THE CONSISTENT BELIEVER. + +THE intolerance of the Church towards error, the natural position of +One who is the custodian of truth, her only reasonable attitude, makes +her forbid her children to read, or listen to, heretical controversy, +or to endeavor to discover religious truth by examining both sides of +the question. This places the Catholic in a position whereby he must +stand aloof from all manner of doctrinal teaching other than that +delivered by his Church through her accredited ministers. And whatever +outsiders may think of the correctness of his belief and religious +principles, they cannot have two opinions as to the logic and +consistency of this stand he takes. They may hurl at him all the choice +epithets they choose for being a slave to superstition and erroneous +creeds; but they must give him credit for being consistent in his +belief; and consistency in religious matters is too rare a commodity +these days to be made light of. + +The reason of this stand of his is that, for him, there can be no two +sides to a question which for him is settled; for him, there is no +seeking after the truth: he possesses it in its fulness, as far as God +and religion are concerned. His Church gives him all there is to be +had; all else is counterfeit. And if he believes, as he should and does +believe, that revealed truth comes, and can come, only by way of +external authority, and not by way of private judgment and +investigation, he must refuse to be liberal in the sense of reading all +sorts of Protestant controversial literature and listening to all kinds +of heretical sermons. If he does not this, he is false to his principles; +he contradicts himself by accepting and not accepting an infallible +Church; he knocks his religious props from under himself and stands-- +nowhere. The attitude of the Catholic, therefore, is logical and +necessary. Holding to Catholic principles how can he do otherwise? How +can he consistently seek after truth when he is convinced that he holds +it? Who else can teach him religious truth when he believes that an +infallible Church gives him God's word and interprets it in the true +and only sense? + +A Protestant may not assume this attitude or impose it upon those under +his charge. If he does so, he is out of harmony with his principles and +denies the basic rule of his belief. A Protestant believes in no +infallible authority; he is an authority unto himself, which authority +he does not claim to be infallible, if he is sober and sane. He is +after truth; and whatever he finds, and wherever he finds it, he +subjects it to his own private judgment. He is free to accept or +reject, as he pleases. He is not, cannot be, absolutely certain that +what he holds is true; he thinks it is. He may discover to-day that +yesterday's truths are not truths at all. We are not here examining the +soundness of this doctrine; but it does follow therefrom, sound or +unsound, that he may consistently go where he likes to hear religious +doctrine exposed and explained, he may listen to whomever has religious +information to impart. He not only may do it, but he is consistent only +when he does. It is his duty to seek after truth, to read and listen to +controversial books and sermons. + +If therefore a non-Catholic sincerely believes in private judgment, how +can he consistently act like a Catholic who stands on a platform +diametrically opposed to his, against which platform it is the very +essence of his religion to protest? How can he refuse to hear Catholic +preaching and teaching, any more than Baptist, Methodist and +Episcopalian doctrines? He has no right to do so, unless he knows all +the Catholic Church teaches, which case may be safely put down as one +in ten million. He may become a Catholic, or lose all the faith he has. +That is one of the risks he has to take, being a Protestant. + +If he is faithful to his own principles and understands the Catholic +point of view, he must not be surprised if his Catholic friends do not +imitate his so-called liberality; they have motives which he has not. +If he is honest, he will not urge or even expect them to attend the +services of his particular belief. And a Catholic who thinks that +because a Protestant friend can accompany him to Catholic services, he +too should return the compliment and accompany his friend to Protestant +worship, has a faith that needs immediate toning up to the standard of +Catholicity; he is in ignorance of the first principles of his religion +and belief. + +A Catholic philosopher resumes this whole matter briefly, and clearly +in two syllogisms, as follows: + +(I.) +Major. He who believes in an infallible teacher of revelation cannot +consistently listen to any fallible teacher with a view of getting more +correct information than his infallible teacher gives him. To do so +would be absurd, for it would be to believe and at the same time not +believe in the infallible teacher. + +Minor. The Catholic believes in an infallible teacher of revelation. + +Conclusion. Therefore, the Catholic cannot listen to any fallible +teacher with a view of getting more correct information about revealed +truth than his Church gives him. To do so would be to stultify himself. + +(II.) +Major. He who believes in a fallible teacher--private judgment or +fallible church--is free, nay bound, to listen to any teacher who comes +along professing to have information to impart, for at no time can he +be certain that the findings of his own fallible judgment or church are +correct. Each newcomer may be able to give him further light that may +cause him to change his mind. + +Minor. The Protestant believes in such fallible teacher--his private +judgment or church. + +Conclusion. Therefore, the Protestant is free to hear, and in perfect +harmony with his principles, to accept the teaching of any one who +approaches him for the purpose of instructing him. He is free to hear +with a clear conscience, and let his children hear, Catholic teaching, +for the Church claiming infallibility is at its worst as good as his +private judgment is at best, namely, fallible. + +Religious variations are so numerous nowadays that most people care +little what another thinks or believes. All they ask is that they may +be able to know at any time where he stands; and they insist, as right +reason imperiously demands, that, in all things, he remain true to his +principles, whatever they be. Honest men respect sincerity and +consistency everywhere; they have nothing but contempt for those who +stand, now on one foot, now on the other, who have one code for theory +and another for practice, who shift their grounds as often as +convenience suggests. The Catholic should bear this well in mind. There +can be no compromise with principles of truth; to sacrifice them for +the sake of convenience is as despicable before man as it is offensive +to God. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. +UNBELIEF. + +AN atheist in principle is one who denies the existence of God and +consequently of all revealed truth. How, in practice, a man endowed +with reason and a conscience can do this, is one of the unexplained +mysteries of life. Christian philosophers refuse to admit that an +atheist can exist in the flesh. They claim that his denial is fathered +by his desire and wish, that at most he only doubts, and while +professing atheism, he is simply an agnostic. + +An agnostic does not know whether God exists or not--and cares less. He +does not affirm, neither does he deny. All arguments for and against +are either insufficient or equally plausible, and they fail to lodge +conviction in his mind of minds. Elevated upon this pedestal of wisdom, +he pretends to dismiss all further consideration of the First Cause. +But he does no such thing, for he lives as though God did not exist. +Why not live as though He did exist! From a rational point of view, he +is a bigger fool than his atheistic brother, for if certainty is +impossible, prudence suggests that the surer course be taken. On one +hand, there is all to gain; on the other, all to lose. The choice he +makes smacks of convenience rather than of logic or common sense. + +No one may be accused of genuine, or as we call it--formal--heresy, +unless he persistently refuses to believe all the truths by God +revealed. Heresy supposes error, culpable error, stubborn and +pertinacious error. A person may hold error in good faith, and be +disposed as to relinquish it on being convinced of the truth. To all +exterior appearances, he may differ in nothing from a formal heretic, +and he passes for a heretic. In fact, and before God, he belongs to the +Church, to the soul of the Church; he will be saved if in spite of his +unconscious error he lives well. He is known as a material heretic. + +An infidel is an unbaptized person, whose faith, even if he does +believe in God, is not supernatural, but purely natural. He is an +infidel whether he is found in darkest Africa or in the midst of this +Christian commonwealth, and in this latter place there are more +infidels than most people imagine. A decadent Protestantism rejects the +necessity of baptism, thereby ceasing to be Christian, and in its trail +infidelity thrives and spreads, disguised, 'tis true, but nevertheless +genuine infidelity. It is baptism that makes faith possible, for faith +is a gift of God. + +An apostate is one who, having once believed, ceases to believe. All +heretics and infidels are not apostates, although they may be in +themselves or in their ancestors. One may apostatize to heresy by +rejecting the Church, or to infidelity by rejecting all revelation; a +Protestant may thus become an apostate from faith as well as a +Catholic. This going back on the Almighty--for that is what apostasy +is,--is, of all misfortunes the worst that can befall man. There may be +excuses, mitigating circumstances, for our greatest sins, but here it +is useless to seek for any. God gives faith. It is lost only through +our own fault. God abandons them that abandon Him. Apostasy is the most +patent case of spiritual suicide, and the apostate carries branded on +his forehead the mark of reprobation. A miracle may save him, but +nothing short of a miracle can do it, and who has a right to expect it? +God is good, but God is also just. + +It is not necessary to pose as an apostate before the public. One may +be a renegade at heart without betraying himself, by refusing his inner +assent to a dogma of faith, by wilfully doubting and allowing such +doubts to grow upon him and form convictions. + +People sometimes say things that would brand them as apostates if they +meant what they said. This or that one, in the midst of an orgy of sin, +or after long practical irreligion, in order to strangle remorse that +arises at an inopportune moment, may seem to form a judgment of +apostasy. This is treading on exceedingly thin glass. But it is not +always properly defection from faith. Apostasy kills faith as surely as +a knife plunged into the heart kills life. + +A schismatic does not directly err in matters of faith, but rejects the +discipline of the Church and refuses to submit to her authority. He +believes all that is taught, but puts himself without the pale of the +Church by his insubordination. Schism is a grievous sin, but does not +necessarily destroy faith. + +The source of all this unbelief is, of course, in the proud mind and +sensual heart of man. It takes form exteriorly in an interminable +series of "isms" that have the merit of appealing to the weaknesses of +man. They all mean the same thing in the end, and are only forms of +paganism. Rationalism and Materialism are the most frequently used +terms. One stands on reason alone, the other, on matter, and both have +declared war to the knife on the Supernatural. They tell us that these +are new brooms destined to sweep clean the universe, new lamps intended +to dissipate the clouds of ignorance and superstition and to purify +with their light the atmosphere of the world. But, truth to tell, these +brooms have been stirring up dust from the gutters of passion and sin, +and these lamps have been offending men's nostrils by their smoky +stench ever since man knew himself. And they shall continue to do +service in the same cause as long as human nature remains what it is. +But Christ did not bring His faith on earth to be destroyed by the +lilliputian efforts of man. + + + +CHAPTER XXV. +HOW FAITH MAY BE LOST. + +IT is part of our belief that no man can lose his faith without mortal +sin. The conscious rejection of all or any religious truth once +embraced and forming a part of Christian belief, or the deliberate +questioning of a single article thereof, is a sin, a sin against God's +light and God's grace. It is a deliberate turning away from God. The +moral culpability of such an act is great in the extreme, while its +consequences cannot be weighed or measured by any human norm or rule. + +No faith was ever wrecked in a day; it takes time to come to such a +pass; it is by easy stages of infidelity, by a slow process of +half-denials, a constant fostering of habits of ignorance, that one +undermines, little by little, one's spiritual constitution. Taking +advantage of this state of debility, the microbe of unbelief creeps in, +eats its way to the soul and finally sucks out the very vitals of +faith. Nor is this growth of evil an unconscious one; and there lies +the malice and guilt. Ignorant pride, neglect of prayer and religious +worship, disorders, etc., these are evils the culprit knows of and +wills. He cannot help feeling the ravages being wrought in his soul; he +cannot help knowing that these are deadly perils to his treasure of +faith. He complacently allows them to run their course; and he wakes up +one fine morning to find his faith gone, lost, dead--and a chasm +yawning between him and his God that only a miracle can bridge over. + +We mentioned ignorance: this it is that attacks the underpinning of +faith, its rational basis, by which it is made intelligent and +reasonable, without which there can be no faith. + +Ignorance is, of course, a relative term; there are different degrees +and different kinds. An ignorant man is not an unlettered or uncultured +one, but one who does not know what his religion means, what he +believes or is supposed to believe, and has no reason to give for his +belief. He may know a great many other things, may be chock full of +worldly learning, but if he ignores these matters that pertain to the +soul, we shall label him an ignoramus for the elementary truths of +human knowledge are, always have been, and always shall be, the +solution of the problems of the why, the whence and the whither of life +here below. Great learning frequently goes hand in hand with dense +ignorance. The Sunday-school child knows better than the atheist +philosopher the answer to these important questions. There is more +wisdom in the first page of the Catechism than in all the learned books +of sceptics and infidels. + +Knowledge, of course, a thorough knowledge of all theological science +will not make faith, any more than wheels will make a cart. But a +certain knowledge is essential, and its absence is fatal to faith. +There are the simple ignorant who have forgotten their Catechism and +leave the church before the instruction, for fear they might learn +something; who never read anything pertaining to religion, who would be +ashamed to be detected with a religious book or paper in their hands. +Then, there are the learned ignorant, such as our public schools turn +out in great numbers each year; who, either are above mere religious +knowledge-seeking and disdain all that smacks of church and faith; or, +knowing little or nothing at all, imagine they possess a world of +theological lore and know all that is knowable. These latter are the +more to be pitied, their ignorance doubling back upon itself, as it +were. When a man does not realize his own ignorance, his case is well +nigh hopeless. + +If learning cannot give faith, neither can it alone preserve it. +Learned men, pillars of the Church have fallen away. Pride, you will +say. Yes, of course, pride is the cause of all evil. But we have all +our share of it. If it works less havoc in some than in others, that is +because pride is or is not kept within bounds. It is necessarily fatal +to faith only when it is not controlled by prayer and the helps of +practical religion. God alone can preserve our faith. He will do it +only at our solicitation. + +If, therefore, some have not succeeded in keeping the demon of pride +under restraint, it is because they refused to consider their faith a +pure gift of God that cannot be safely guarded without God's grace; or +they forgot that God's grace is assured to no man who does not pray. +The man who thinks he is all-sufficient unto himself in matters of +religion, as in all other matters, is in danger of being brought to a +sense of his own nothingness in a manner not calculated to be +agreeable. No man who practised humble prayer ever lost hi& faith, or +ever can; for to him grace is assured. + +And since faith is nothing if not practical, since it is a habit, it +follows that irreligion, neglect to practise what we believe will +destroy that habit. People who neglect their duty often complain that +they have no taste for religion, cannot get interested, find no +consolation therein. This justifies further neglect. They make a +pretence to seek the cause. The cause is lack of faith; the fires of +God's grace are burning low in their souls. They will soon go out +unless they are furnished with fuel in the shape of good, solid, +practical religion. That is their only salvation. Ignorance, +supplemented by lack of prayer and practice, goes a long way in the +destruction of faith in any soul, for two essentials are deficient. + +Disorder, too, is responsible for the loss of much faith. Luther and +Henry might have retained their faith in spite of their pride, but they +were lewd, and avaricious; and there is small indulgence for such +within the Church. Not but that we are all human, and sinners are the +objects of the Church's greatest solicitude; but within her pale no +man, be he king or genius, can sit down and feast his passions and +expect her to wink at it and call it by another name than its own. The +law of God and of the Church is a thorn in the flesh of the vicious +man. The authority of the Church is a sword of Damocles held +perpetually over his head--until it is removed. Many a one denies God +in a moment of sin in order to take the sting of remorse out of it. One +gets tired of the importunities of religion that tell us not to sin, to +confess if we do sin. + +When you meet a pervert who, with a glib tongue, protests that his +conscience drove him from the Church, that his enslaved intelligence +needed deliverance, search him and you will find a skeleton in his +closet; and if you do not find it, it is there just the same. A +renegade priest some years ago, held forth before a gaping audience, at +great length, on the reasons of his leaving the Church. A farmer +sitting on the last bench listened patiently to his profound +argumentation. When the lecturer was in the middle of his twelfthly, +the other arose and shouted to him across the hall: "Cut it short, and +say you wanted a wife." The heart has reasons which the reason does not +understand. + +Not always, but frequently, ignorance, neglect and vice come to this. +The young, the weak and the proud have to guard themselves against +these dangers, hey work slowly, imperceptibly, but surely. Two things +increase the peril and tend to precipitate matters; reading and +companionship. The ignorant are often anxious to know the other side, +when they do not know their own. The consequence is that they will not +understand fully the question; and if they do, will not be able to +resolve the difficulty. They are handicapped by their ignorance and can +only make a mess out of it. The result is that they are caught by +sophistries like a fly in a web. + +The company of those who believe differently, or not at all, is also +pernicious to unenlightened and weak faith. The example in itself is +potent for evil. The Catholic is usually not a persona grata as a +Catholic but for some quality he possesses. Consequently, he must hide +his religion under the bushel for fear of offending. Then a sneer, a +gibe, a taunt are unpleasant things, and will be avoided even at the +price of what at other times would look like being ashamed of one's +faith. If ignorant, he will be silent; if he has not prayed, he will be +weak; if vicious, he will be predisposed to fall. + +If we would guard the precious deposit of faith secure against any +possible emergency, we must enlighten it, we must strengthen it, we +must live up to it. + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. +HOPE. + +THE First Commandment bids us hope as well as believe in God. Our trust +and confidence in His mercy to give us eternal life and the means to +obtain it,--this is our hope, founded on our belief that God is what He +reveals Himself to us, able and willing to do by us as we would have +Him do. Hope is the flower of our faith; faith is the substance of the +things we hope for. + +To desire and to hope are not one and the same thing. We may long for +what is impossible of obtaining, while hope always supposes this +possibility, better, a probability, nay, even a moral certitude. This +expectation remains hope until it comes to the fruition of the things +hoped for. + +The desire of general happiness is anchored in the human heart, deep +down in the very essence of our being. We all desire to be happy, We +may be free in many things; in this we are not free. We must have +happiness, greater than the present, happiness of one kind or another, +real or apparent. We may have different notions of this happiness; we +desire it according to our notions. Life itself is one, long, painful, +unsatisfied desire. + +When that desire is centered in God and the soul's salvation, it +incontinently becomes hope, for then we have real beatitude before us, +and all may obtain it. It can be true hope only when founded on faith. + +Not only is hope easy, natural, necessary, but it is essential to life. +It is the mainspring of all activity. It keeps all things moving, and +without it life would not be worth living. If men did not think they +could get what they are striving after, they would sit down, fold their +arms, let the world move, but they wouldn't. + +Especially is Christian hope absolutely necessary for the leading of a +Christian life, and no man would take upon himself that burden, if he +did not confidently expect a crown of glory beyond, sufficient to repay +him for all the things endured here below for conscience's sake. Hope +is a star that beckons us on to renewed effort, a vision of the goal +that animates and invigorates us; it is also a soothing balm to the +wounds we receive in the struggle. + +To be without this hope is the lowest level to which man may descend. +St. Paul uses the term "men without hope" as the most stinging reproach +he could inflict upon the dissolute pagans. + +To have abandoned hope is a terrible misfortune--despair. This must not +be confounded with an involuntary perturbation, a mere instinctive +dread, a phantasmagoric illusion that involves no part of the will. It +is not even an excessive fear that goes by the name of pusillanimity. +It is a cool judgment like that of Cain: "My sin is too great that I +should expect forgiveness." + +He who despairs, loses sight of God's mercy and sees only His stern, +rigorous justice. After hatred of God, this is perhaps the greatest +injury man can do to his Master, who is Love. There has always been +more of mercy than of justice in His dealings with men. We might say of +Him that He is all mercy in this world, to be all justice in the next. +Therefore while there is life, there is hope. + +The next abomination is to hope, but to place our supreme happiness in +that which should not be the object of our hope. Men live for +pleasures, riches, and honors, as though these things were worthy of +our highest aspirations, as though they could satisfy the unappeasable +appetite of man for happiness. Greater folly than this can no man be +guilty of. He takes the dross for the pure gold, the phantom for the +reality. Few men theoretically belong to this class; practically it has +the vast majority. + +The presumptuous are those who hope to obtain the prize and do nothing +to deserve it. He who would hope to fly without wings, to walk without +feet, to live without air or food would be less a fool than he who +hopes to save his soul without fulfiling the conditions laid down by +Him who made us. There is no wages without service, no reward without +merit, no crown without a cross. + +This fellow's mistake is to bank too much on God's mercy, leaving His +justice out of the bargain altogether. Yet God is one as well as the +other, and both equally. The offense to God consists in making Him a +being without any backbone, so to speak, a soft, incapable judge, whose +pity degenerates into weakness. And certainly it is a serious offense. + +No, hope should be sensible and reasonable. It must keep the middle +between two extremes. The measure of our hope should reasonably be the +measure of our efforts, for he who wishes the end wishes the means. Of +course God will make due allowances for our frailties, but that is His +business, not ours; and we have no right to say just how far that mercy +will go. Even though we lead the lives of saints, we shall stand in +need of much mercy. Prudence tells us to do all things as though it all +depended upon us alone; then God will make up for the deficiencies. + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. +LOVE OF GOD. + +ONCE upon a time, there lived people who pretended that nothing had +existence outside the mind, that objects were merely fictions of the +brain; thus, when they gave a name to those objects, it was like +sticking a label in the air where they seemed to be. The world is not +without folks who have similar ideas concerning charity, to whom it is +a name without substance. Scarcely a Christian but will pretend that he +has the virtue of charity, and of course one must take his word for it, +and leave his actions and conduct out of all consideration. With him, +to love God is to say you do, whether you really do or not. This is +charity of the "sounding brass and tinkling cymbal" assortment. + +To be honest about it, charity or love of God is nothing more or less, +practically, than freedom from, and avoidance of, mortal sin. "If any +one say, 'I love God' and hates his brother, (or otherwise sins) he is +a liar." Strong language, but straight to the point! The state of grace +is the first, fundamental, and essential condition to the existence of +charity. Charity and mortal sin are two things irreducibly opposed, +uncompromisingly antagonistic, eternally inimical. There is no charity +where there is sin; there is no sin where there is charity. That is why +charity is called the fulfilment of the law. + +On the other hand, it sometimes happens that humble folks of the world, +striving against temptation and sin to serve the Master, imagine they +can hardly succeed. True, they rarely offend and to no great extent of +malice, but they envy the lot of others more advantageously situated, +they think, nearer by talent and state to perfection, basking in the +sunshine of God's love. Talent, position, much exterior activity, much +supposed goodness, are, in their eyes, titles to the kingdom, and +infallible signs of charity. And then they foolishly deplore their own +state as far removed from that perfection, because forsooth their minds +are uncultured, their faith simple, and their time taken up with the +drudgery of life. + +They forget that not this gift or that work or anything else is +necessary. One thing alone is necessary, and that is practical love of +God. Nothing counts without it. And the sage over his books, the +wonder-worker at his task, the apostle in his wanderings and labors, +the very martyr on the rack is no more sure of having charity than the +most humble man, woman or child in the lowest walks of life who loves +God too much to offend Him. It is not necessary to have the tongues of +men and angels, or faith that will move mountains, or the fortitude of +martyrs; charity expressed in our lives and deeds rates higher than +these. + +A thing is good in the eyes of its maker if it accomplishes that for +which it was made. A watch that does not tell time, a knife that does +not cut, and a soul that does not love God are three utterly useless +things. And why? Because they are no good for what they were made. The +watch exists solely to tell the hour, the blade to cut and the soul to +love and serve its Maker. Failing in this, there is no more reason for +their being. Their utility ceasing, they themselves cease to exist to a +certain extent, for a thing is really no longer what it was, when it +fails to execute that for which it came into being. + +Charity, in a word, amounts to this, that we love God, but to the +extent of not offending Him. Anything that falls short of such +affection is something other than charity, no matter how many tags and +labels it may wear. If I beheld a brute strike down an aged parent, I +would not for a moment think that affection was behind that blow; and I +could not conceive how there could be a spark of filial love in that +son's heart until he had atoned for his crime. Now love is not one +thing when directed towards God, and another where man is concerned. + +The great hypocrisy of life consists in this that people make an +outward showing of loving God, because they know full well that it is +their first duty; yet, for all that, they do not a whit mend their +ways, and to sin costs them nothing. They varnish it over with an +appearance of honesty and decency, and fair-minded men take them for +what they appear to be, and should be, and they pass for such. These +watches are pretty to look upon, beautiful, magnificent, but they are +stopped, the interior is out of order, the main-spring is broken, the +hands that run across the face lie. These blades are bright and +handsome, but they are dull, blunt, full of nicks, good enough for +coarse and vulgar work, but useless for the fine, delicate work for +which they were made. + +The master mechanic and artist of our souls who wants trustworthy +timepieces and keen blades, will not be deceived by these gaudy +trinkets, and will reject them. Others may esteem you for this or that +quality, admire this or that qualification you possess, be taken with +their superficial gloss and accidental usefulness. The quality required +by Him who made you is that your soul be filled with charity, and +proven by absence of sin. + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. +LOVE OF NEIGHBOR. + +THE precept, written in our hearts, as well as in the law, to love God, +commands us, at the same time, to love the neighbor. When you go to +confession, you are told to be sorry for your sins and to make a firm +purpose of amendment. These appear to be two different injunctions; yet +in fact and reality, they are one and the same thing, for it is +impossible to abhor and detest sin, having at the same moment the +intention of committing it. One therefore includes the other; one is +not sincere and true without the other; therefore one cannot be without +the other. So it is with love of God and of the neighbor; these two +parts of one precept are coupled together because they complete each +other, and they amount practically to the same thing. + +The neighbor we are to love is not alone those for whom we naturally +have affection, such as parents, friends, benefactors, etc., whom it is +easy to love. But our neighbor is all mankind, those far and those +near, those who have blessed us and those who have wronged us, the +enemy as well as the friend; all who have within them, as we have, the +image and likeness of God. No human being can we put outside the pale +of neighborly love. + +As for the love we bear others, it is of course one in substance, but +it may be different in degree and various in quality. It may be more or +less tender, intense, emphatic. Some we love more, others, less; yet +for all that, we love them. It is impossible for us to have towards any +other being the same feelings we entertain for a parent. The love a +good Christian bears towards a stranger is not the love he bears +towards a good friend. The love therefore that charity demands admits a +variety of shades without losing its character of love. + +When it comes to loving certain ones of our neighbors, the idea is not +of the most welcome. What! Must I love, really love, that low rascal, +that cantankerous fellow, that repugnant, repulsive being? Or this +other who has wronged me so maliciously? Or that proud, overbearing +creature who looks down on me and despises me? + +We have said that love has its degrees, its ebb and flow tide, and +still remains love. The low water mark is this: that we refuse not to +pray for such neighbors, that we speak not ill of them, that we refuse +not to salute them, or to do them a good turn, or to return a favor. A +breach in one of these common civilities, due to every man from his +fellow-man, may constitute a degree of hatred directly opposed to the +charity strictly required of us. + +It is not however necessary to go on doing these things all during life +and at all moments of life. These duties are exterior, and are required +as often as a contrary bearing would betoken a lack of charity in the +heart. Just as we are not called upon to embrace and hug an uninviting +person as a neighbor, neither are we obliged to continue our civilities +when we find that they are offensive and calculated to cause trouble. +But naturally there must be charity in the heart. + +We should not confound uncharity with a sort of natural repugnance and +antipathy, instinctive to some natures, betraying a weakness of +character, if you will, but hardly what one could call a clearly +defined fault. There are people who can forgive more easily than forget +and who succeed only after a long while in overcoming strong feelings. +In consequence of this state of mind, and in order to maintain peace +and concord, they prefer the absence to the presence of the objects of +their antipathy. Of course, to nourish this feeling is sinful to a +degree; but while striving against it, to remove prudently all +occasions of opening afresh the wound, if we act honestly, this does +not seem to have any uncharitable malice. + +Now all this is not charity unless the idea of God enter therein. There +is no charity outside the idea of God. Philanthropy, humanity is one +thing, charity is another. The one is sentiment, the other is love--two +very different things. The one supposes natural motives, the other, +supernatural. Philanthropy looks at the exterior form and discovers a +likeness to self. Charity looks at the soul and therein discovers an +image of God, by which we are not only common children of Adam, but +also children of God and sharers of a common celestial inheritance. +Neither a cup of water nor a fortune given in any other name than that +of God is charity. + +There are certain positive works of charity, such as almsgiving and +brotherly correction, etc., that may be obligatory upon us to a degree +of Serious responsibility. We must use prudence and intelligence in +discerning these obligations, but once they clearly stand forth they +are as binding on us as obligations of justice. We are our brothers' +keepers, especially of those whom misfortune oppresses and whose lot is +cast under a less lucky star. + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. +PRAYER. + +NO word so common and familiar among Christians as prayer. Religion +itself is nothing more than a vast, mighty, universal, never ceasing +prayer. Our churches are monuments of prayer and houses of prayer. Our +worship, our devotions, our ceremonies are expressions of prayer. Our +sacred music is a prayer. The incense, rising in white clouds before +the altar, is symbolical of prayer. And the one accent that is dinned +into our ears from altar and pulpit is prayer. + +Prayer is the life of the Christian as work is the life of the man; +without one and the other we would starve spiritually and physically. +If we live well, it is because we pray; if we lead sinful lives, it is +because we neglect to pray. Where prayer is, there is virtue; where +prayer is unknown, there is sin. The atmosphere of piety, sanctity, and +honesty is the atmosphere of prayer. + +Strange that the nature and necessity of prayer are so often +misunderstood! Yet the definition in our Catechism is clear and +precise. There are four kinds of prayer; adoration, thanksgiving, +petition for pardon, and for our needs, spiritual and bodily. + +One need be neither a Catholic nor a Christian to see how becoming it +is in us to offer to God our homage of adoration and thanksgiving; it +is necessary only to believe in a God who made us and who is infinitely +perfect. Why, the very heathens made gods to adore, and erected temples +to thank them, so deep was their sense of the devotion they owed the +Deity. They put the early Christians to death because the latter +refused to adore their gods. Everywhere you go, under the sun, you will +find the creature offering to the Creator a homage of worship. + +He, therefore, who makes so little of God as to forget to adore and +thank Him becomes inferior to the very pagans who, sunk in the darkness +of corruption and superstition as they were, did not, however, forget +their first and natural duty to the Maker. Neglect of this obligation +in a man betrays an absence, a loss of religious instinct, and an +irreligious man is a pure animal, if he is a refined one. His +refinement and superiority come from his intelligence, and these +qualities, far from attenuating his guilt, only serve to aggravate it. + +The brute eats and drinks; when he is full and tired he throws himself +down to rest. When refreshed, he gets up, shakes himself and goes off +again in quest of food and amusement. In what does a man without prayer +differ from such a being? + +But prayer, strictly speaking, means a demand, a petition, an asking. +We ask for our needs and our principal needs are pardon and succor. +This is prayer as it is generally understood. It is necessary to +salvation. Without it no man can be saved. Our assurance of heaven +should be in exact proportion to our asking. "Ask and you shall +receive." Ask nothing, and you obtain nothing; and that which you do +not obtain is just what you must have to save your soul. + +Here is the explanation of it in a nutshell. The doctrine of the Church +is that when God created man, He raised him from a natural to a +supernatural state, and assigned to him a supernatural end. +Supernatural means what is above the natural, beyond our natural powers +of obtaining. Our destiny therefore cannot be fulfilled without the +help of a superior power. We are utterly incapable by ourselves of +realizing the end to which we are called. The condition absolutely +required is the grace of God and through that alone can we expect to +come to our appointed end. + +Here is a stone. That that stone should have feeling is not natural, +but supernatural. God, to give sensation to that stone, must break +through the natural order of things, because to feel is beyond the +native powers of a stone. It is not natural for an animal to reason, it +is impossible. God must work a miracle to make it understand. Well, the +stone is just as capable of feeling, and the animal of reasoning, as is +man capable of saving his soul by himself. + +To persevere in the state of grace and the friendship of God, to +recover it when lost by sin, are supernatural works. Only by the grace +of God can this be effected. Will God do this without being asked? Say +rather will God save us in spite of ourselves, or unknown to ourselves. +He who does not ask gives no token of a desire to obtain. + + + +CHAPTER XXX. +PETITIONS. + +FOR all spiritual needs, therefore, prayer is the one thing necessary. +I am in the state of sin. I desire to be forgiven. To obtain pardon is +a supernatural act. Alone I can no more do it than fly. I pray then for +the grace of a good confession--I prudently think myself in the state +of grace. Were I for a moment left to my depraved nature, to the mercy +of my passions, I should fall into the lowest depths of iniquity. The +holiest, saintliest of men are just as capable of the greatest +abominations as the blackest sinner that ever lived. If he does not +fall, and the other does, it is because he prays and the other does +not. + +Some people have certain spiritual maladies, that become second nature +to them, called dominant passions. For one, it is cursing and swearing; +for another vanity and conceit. One is afflicted with sloth, another +with uncleanness of one kind or another. To discover the failing is the +first duty, to pray against it is the next. You attack it with prayer +as you attack a disease with remedies. And if we only used prayer with +half the care, perseverance and confidence that we use medicines, our +spiritual distemper would be short-lived. + +A person who passes a considerable time without prayer is usually in a +bad state of soul. There is probably no one, who, upon reflection, will +fail to discover that his best days were those which his prayers +sanctified, and his worst, those which had to get along without any. +And when a man starts out badly, the first thing he takes care to do is +to neglect his prayers. For praying is an antidote and a reminder; it +makes him feel uneasy while in sin, and would make him break with his +evil ways if he continued to pray. And since he does not wish to stop, +he takes no chances, and gives up his prayers. When he wants to stop, +he falls back on his prayers. + +This brings us to the bodily favors we should ask for. You are sick. +You desire to get well, but you do not see the sense of praying for it; +for you say, "Either I shall get well or I shall not." For an ordinary +statement that is as plain and convincing as one has a right to expect; +it will stand against all argument. But the conclusion is not of a +piece with the premises. In that case why do you call in the physician, +why do you take nasty pills and swallow whole quarts of vile +concoctions that have the double merit of bringing distress to your +palate and your purse? You take these precautions because your most +elementary common sense tells you that such precautions as medicaments, +etc., enter for something of a condition in the decree of God which +reads that you shall die or not die. Your return to health or your +shuffling off of the mortal coil is subject to conditions of prudence, +and according as they are fulfiled or not fulfiled the decree of God +will go into effect one way or the other. + +And why does not your sane common sense suggest to you that prayer +enters as just such a condition in the decrees of God, that your +recovery is just as conditional on the using of prayer as to the taking +of pills? + +There are people who have no faith in drugs, either because they have +never used any or because having once used them, failed to get +immediate relief. Appreciation of the efficacy of prayer is frequently +based on similar experience. + +To enumerate all the cures effected by prayer would be as bootless as +to rehearse all the miracles of therapeutics and surgery. The doctor +says: "Here, take this, it will do you good. I know its virtue." The +Church says likewise: "Try prayer, I know its virtue." Your faith in it +has all to do with its successful working. + +As in bodily sickness, so it is in all the other afflictions that flesh +is heir to. Prayer is a panacea; it cures all ills. But it should be +taken with two tonics, as it were, before and after. Before: faith and +confidence in the power of God to cure us through prayer. After: +resignation to the will of God, by which we accept what it may please +Him to do in our case; for health is not the greatest boon of life, nor +are sickness and death the greatest evils. Sin alone is bad; the grace +of God alone is good. All other things God uses as means in view of +this supreme good and against this supreme evil. Faith prepares the +system and puts it in order for the reception of the remedy. +Resignation helps it work out its good effects, and brings out all its +virtue. + +Thus prayer is necessary to us all, whether we be Christians or pagans, +whether just or sinners, whether sick or well. It brings us near to +God, and God near to us, and thus is a foretaste and an image of our +union with Him hereafter. + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. +RELIGION. + +AS far back as the light of history extends, it shows man, of every +race and of every clime, occupied in giving expression, in one way or +another, to his religious impressions, sentiments, and convictions. He +knew God; he was influenced by this knowledge unto devotion; and sought +to exteriorize this devotion for the double purpose of proving its +truth and sincerity, and of still further nourishing, strengthening, +safeguarding it by means of an external worship and sensible things. +Accordingly, he built temples, erected altars, offered sacrifices, +burnt incense; he sang and wept, feasted and fasted; he knelt, stood +and prostrated himself--all things in harmony with his hopes and fears. +This is worship or cult. We call it religion, distinct from interior +worship or devotion, but supposing the latter essentially. It is +commanded by the first precept of God. + +He who contents himself with a simple acknowledgment of the Divinity in +the heart, and confines his piety to the realm of the soul, does not +fulfil the first commandment. The obligation to worship God was +imposed, not upon angels--pure spirits, but upon men--creatures +composed of a body as well as a soul. The homage that He had a right to +expect was therefore not a purely spiritual one, but one in which the +body had a part as well as the soul. A man is not a man without a body. +Neither can God be satisfied with man's homage unless his physical +being cooperate with his spiritual, unless his piety be translated into +acts and become religion, in the sense in which we use the word. + +There is no limit to the different forms religion may take on as +manifestations of intense fervor and strong belief. Sounds, attitudes, +practices, etc., are so many vehicles of expression, and may be +multiplied indefinitely. They become letters and words and figures of a +language which, while being conventional in a way, is also natural and +imitative, and speaks more clearly and eloquently and poetically than +any other human language. This is what makes the Catholic religion so +beautiful as to compel the admiration of believers and unbelievers +alike. + +Of course, there is nothing to prevent an individual from making +religion a mask of hypocrisy. If in using these practices, he does not +mean what they imply, he lies as plainly as if he used words without +regard for their signification. These practices, too, may become +absurd, ridiculous and even abominable. When this occurs, it is easily +explained by the fact that the mind and heart of man are never proof +against imbecility and depravity. There are as many fools and cranks in +the world as there are villains and degenerates. + +The Church of God regulates divine worship for us with the wisdom and +experience of centuries. Her sacrifice is the first great act of +worship. Then there are her ceremonies, rites, and observances; the use +of holy water, blessed candles, ashes, incense, vestments; her chants, +and fasts and feasts, the symbolism of her sacraments. This is the +language in which, as a Church, and in union with her children, she +speaks to God her adoration, praise and thanksgiving. This is her +religion, and we practice it by availing ourselves of these things and +by respecting them as pertaining to God. + +We are sometimes branded as idolaters, that is, as people who adore +another or others than God. We offer our homage of adoration to God who +is in heaven, and to that same God whom we believe to be on our altars. +Looking through Protestant spectacles, we certainly are idolaters, for +we adore what they consider as simple bread. In this light we plead +guilty; but is it simple bread? That is the question. The homage we +offer to everything and everybody else is relative, that is, it refers +to God, and therefore is not idolatry. + +As to whether or not we are superstitious in our practices, that +depends on what is the proper homage to offer God and in what does +excess consist. It is not a little astonishing to see the no-creed, +dogma-hating, private-judgment sycophants sitting in judgment against +us and telling us what is and what is not correct in our religious +practices. We thought that sort of a thing--dogmatism--was excluded +from Protestant ethics; that every one should be allowed to choose his +own mode of worship, that the right and proper way is the way one +thinks right and proper. If the private-interpreter claims this freedom +for himself, why not allow it to us! We thought they objected to this +kind of interference in us some few hundred years ago; is it too much +if we object most strenuously to it in them in these days! It is +strange how easily some people forget first principles, and what a rare +article on the market is consistency. + +The persons, places and things that pertain to the exterior worship of +God we are bound to respect, not for themselves, but by reason of the +usage for which they are chosen and set aside, thereby becoming +consecrated, religious. We should respect them in a spiritual way as we +respect in a human way all that belongs to those whom we hold dear. +Irreverence or disrespect is a profanation, a sacrilege. + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. +DEVOTIONS. + +THERE is in the Church an abundance and a rich variety of what we call +devotions--practices that express our respect, affection and veneration +for the chosen friends of God. These devotions we should be careful not +to confound with a thing very differently known as devotion--to God +Himself. This latter is the soul, the very essence of religion; the +former are sometimes irreverently spoken of as "frills." + +Objectively speaking, these devotions find their justification in the +dogma of the Communion of Saints, according to which we believe that +the blessed in heaven are able and disposed to help the unfortunate +here below. Subjectively they are based on human nature itself. In our +self-conscious weakness and unworthiness, we choose instinctively to +approach the throne of God through His tried and faithful friends +rather than to hazard ourselves alone and helpless in His presence. + +Devotion, as all know, is only another name for charity towards God, +piety, holiness, that is, a condition of soul resulting from, and at +the same time, conducive to, fidelity to God's law and the dictates of +one's conscience. It consists in a proper understanding of our +relations to God--creatures of the Creator, paupers, sinners and +children in the presence of a Benefactor, Judge and Father; and in +sympathies and sentiments aroused in us by, and corresponding with, +these convictions. In other words, one is devoted to a friend when one +knows him well, is true as steel to him, and basks in the sunshine of a +love that requites that fidelity. Towards God, this is devotion. + +Devotions differ in pertaining, not directly, but indirectly through +the creature to God. No one but sees at once that devotion, in a +certain degree is binding upon all men; a positive want of it is +nothing short of impiety. But devotions have not the dignity of +entering into the essence of God-worship. They are not constituent +parts of that flower that grows in God's garden of the soul--charity; +they are rather the scent and fragrance that linger around its petals +and betoken its genuine quality. They are of counsel, so to speak, as +opposed to the precept of charity and devotion. They are outside all +commandment, and are taken up with a view of doing something more than +escaping perdition "quasi per ignem." + +For human nature is rarely satisfied with what is rigorously +sufficient. It does not relish living perpetually on the ragged edge of +a scant, uncertain meagerness. People want enough and plenty, abundance +and variety. If there are many avenues that lead to God's throne, they +want to use them. If there are many outlets for their intense fervor +and abundant generosity, they will have them. Devotions answer these +purposes. + +Impossible to enumerate all the different practices that are in vogue +in the Church and go under the name of devotions. Legion is the number +of saints that have their following of devotees. Some are universal, +are praised and invoked the world over; others have a local niche and +are all unknown beyond the confines of a province or nation. Some are +invoked in all needs and distresses; St. Blase, on the other hand is +credited with a special power for curing throats, St. Anthony, for +finding lost things, etc. Honor is paid them on account of their +proximity to God. To invoke them is as much an honor to them as an +advantage to us. + +If certain individuals do not like this kind of a thing, they are under +no sort of an obligation to practise it. If they can get to heaven +without the assistance of the saints, then let them do so, by all +means; only let them be sure to get there. No one finds devotions +repugnant but those who are ignorant of their real character and +meaning. If they are fortunate enough to make this discovery, they +then, like nearly all converts, become enthusiastic devotees, finding +in their devotions new beauties, and new advantages every day. + +And it is a poor Catholic that leaves devotions entirely alone, and a +rare one. He may not feel inclined to enlist the favor of this or that +particular saint, but he usually has a rosary hidden away somewhere in +his vest pocket and a scapular around his neck, or in his pocket, as a +last extreme. If he scorns even this, then the chances are that he is +Catholic only in name, for the tree of faith is such a fertile one that +it rarely fails to yield fruit and flowers of exquisite fragrance. + +Oh! of course the lives of all the saints are not history in the +strictest sense of the word. But what has that to do with the Communion +of Saints? If simplicity and naivete have woven around some names an +unlikely tale, a fable or a myth, it requires some effort to see how +that could affect their standing with God, or their disposition to help +us in our needs. + +Devotions are not based on historical facts, although in certain facts, +events or happenings, real or alleged, they may have been furnished +with occasions for coming into existence. The authenticity of these +facts is not guaranteed by the doctrinal authority of the Church, but +she may, and does, approve the devotions that spring therefrom. +Independently of the truth of private and individual revelations, +visions and miracles, which she investigates as to their probability, +she makes sure that there is nothing contrary to the deposit of faith +and to morals, and then she gives these devotions the stamp of her +approval as a security to the faithful who wish to practise them. A +Catholic or non-Catholic may think what he likes concerning the +apparitions of the Virgin at Lourdes; if he is dense enough, he may +refuse to believe that miracles have been performed there. But he +cannot deny that the homage offered to Our Lady at Lourdes, and known +as devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes, is in keeping with religious +worship as practised by the Church and in consonance with reason +enlightened by faith, and so with all other devotions. + +A vase of flowers, a lamp, a. burning candle before the statue of a +saint is a prayer whose silence is more eloquent than all the sounds +that ever came from the lips of man. It is love that puts it there, +love that tells it to dispense its sweet perfume or shed its mellow +rays, and love that speaks by this touching symbolism to God through a +favorite saint. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. +IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITION. + +THE first and greatest sinner against religion is the idolater, who +offers God-worship to others than God. There are certain attributes +that belong to God alone, certain titles that He alone has a right to +bear, certain marks of veneration that are due to Him alone. To ascribe +these to any being under God is an abomination, and is called idolatry. + +The idols of paganism have long since been thrown, their temples +destroyed; the folly itself has fallen into disuse, and its +extravagances serve only in history "to point a moral or adorn a tale." +Yet, in truth, idolatry is not so dead as all that, if one would take +the pains to peruse a few pages of the current erotic literature +wherein people see heaven in a pair of blue eyes, catch inspired words +from ruby lips and adore a well trimmed chin-whisker. I would sooner, +with the old-time Egyptians, adore a well-behaved cat or a toothsome +cucumber than with certain modern feather-heads and gum-drop hearts, +sing hymns to a shapely foot or dimpled cheek and offer incense to +"divinities," godlike forms, etc. The way hearts and souls are thrown +around from one to another is suggestive of the national game; while +the love they bear one another is always infinite, supreme, without +parallel on earth or in heaven. + +No, perhaps they do not mean what they say; but that helps matters very +little, for the fault lies precisely in saying what they do say; the +language used is idolatrous. And a queer thing about it is that they do +mean more than half of what they say. When degenerate love runs riot, +it dethrones the Almighty, makes gods of clay and besots itself before +them. + +What is superstition and what is a superstitious practice? It is +something against the virtue of religion; it sins, not by default as +unbelief, but by excess. Now, to be able to say what is excessive, one +must know what is right and just, one must have a measure. To attempt +to qualify anything as excessive without the aid of a rule or measure +is simply guesswork. + +The Yankee passes for a mighty clever guesser, outpointing with ease +his transatlantic cousin. Over there the sovereign guesses officially +that devotion to the Mother of God is a superstitious practice. This +reminds one of the overgrown farmer boy, who, when invited by his +teacher to locate the center of a circle drawn on the blackboard, stood +off and eyed the figure critically for a moment with a wise squint; and +then said, pointing his finger to the middle or thereabouts: "I should +jedge it to be about thar'." He was candid enough to offer only an +opinion. But how the royal guesser could be sure enough to swear it, +and that officially, is what staggers plain people. + +Now right reason is a rule by which to judge what is and what is not +superstitious. But individual reason or private judgment and right +reason are not synonyms in the English or in any other language that is +human. When reasoning men disagree, right reason, as far as the debated +question is concerned, is properly said to be off on a vacation, a +thing uncommonly frequent in human affairs. In order, therefore that +men should not be perpetually at war concerning matters that pertain to +men's salvation, God established a competent authority which even +simple folks with humble minds and pure hearts can find. In default of +any adverse claimant the Catholic Church must be adjudged that +authority. The worship, therefore, that the Church approves as worthy +of God is not, cannot be, superstition. And what is patently against +reason, or, in case of doubt, what she reproves and condemns in +religion is superstitious. + +Leaving out of the question for the moment those species of +superstition that rise to the dignity of science, to the accidental +fame and wealth of humbugs and frauds, the evil embraces a host of +practices that are usually the result of a too prevalent psychological +malady known as softening of the brain. These poor unfortunates imagine +that the Almighty who holds the universe in the hollow of His hand, +deals with His creatures in a manner that would make a full-grown man +pass as a fool if he did the same. Dreams, luck-pieces, certain +combinations of numbers or figures, ordinary or extraordinary events +and happenings--these are the means whereby God is made to reveal to +men secrets and mysteries as absurd as the means, themselves. Surely +God must have descended from His throne of wisdom. + +Strange though it appear, too little religion--and not too much--leads +to these unholy follies. There is a religious instinct in man. True +religion satisfies it fully. Quack religion, pious tomfoolery, and +doctrinal ineptitude foisted upon a God-hungry people end by driving +some from one folly to another in a pitiful attempt to get away from +the deceptions of man and near to God. Others are led on by a sinful +curiosity that outweighs their common-sense as well as their respect +for God. These are the guilty ones. + +It has been said that there is more superstition--that is belief and +dabbling in these inane practices--to-day in one of our large cities +than the Dark Ages ever was afflicted with. If true, it is one sign of +the world's spiritual unrest, the decay of unbelief; and irreligion +thus assists at its own disintegration. The Church swept the pagan +world clean of superstition once; she may soon be called upon to do the +work over again. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. +OCCULTISM. + +SPIRITISM as a theory, a science, a practice, a religion, or--I might +add--a profitable business venture, is considered an evil thing by the +Church, and by her is condemned as superstition, that is, as a false +and unworthy homage to God, belittling His majesty and opposed to the +Dispensation of Christ, according to which alone God can be worthily +honored. This evil has many names; it includes all dabbling in the +supernatural against the sanction of Church authority, and runs a whole +gamut of "isms" from fake trance-mediums to downright diabolical +possession. + +The craft found favor with the pagans and flourished many years before +the Christian era. Wondrous things were wrought by the so-called +pythonic spirit; evidently outside the natural order, still more +evidently not by the agency of God, and of a certainty through the +secret workings of the "Old Boy" himself. It was called Necromancy, or +the Black Art. It had attractions for the Jews and they yielded to some +extent to the temptation of consulting the Python. For this reason +Moses condemned the evil as an abomination. These are his words, taken +from Deuteronomy: + +"Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth +soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens; neither let there be any +wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits or +fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord +abhorreth all these things; and for these abominations He will destroy +them." + +The Black Art had its votaries during the Middle Ages and kept the +Church busy warning the faithful against its dangers and its evils. +Even so great a name as that of Albert the Great has been associated +with the dark doings of the wizard, because, no doubt, of the marvelous +fruits of his genius and deep learning, which the ignorant believed +impossible to mere human agency. As witchcraft, it nourished during the +sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The excesses to which it gave rise +caused severe laws to be enacted against it and stringent measures were +taken to suppress it. Many were put to death, sometimes after the most +cruel tortures. As is usually the case, the innocent suffered with the +guilty. The history of the early New England settlers makes good +reading on the subject. + +Some people claim that the spiritism of to-day is only a revival of +old-time witchery and necromancy, that it is as prevalent now as it was +then, perhaps more prevalent. "Only," as Father Lambert remarks, "the +witch of to-day instead of going to the stake as formerly, goes about +as Madam So-and-So, and is duly advertised in our enlightened press as +the great and renowned seeress or clairvoyant, late from the court of +the Akoorid of Swat, more recently from the Sublime Porte, where she +was in consultation with the Sultan of Turkey, and more recently still +from the principal courts of Europe. As her stay in the city will be +brief, those who wish to know the past or future or wish to communicate +with deceased friends, are advised to call on her soon. Witchcraft is +as prevalent as it ever was, and the witches are as real. They may not +have cats on their shoulders or pointed caps, or broomsticks for quick +transit, but they differ from the witches of the past only in being +liberally paid, instead of liberally punished." + +The Church does not deny the possibility of intercourse between the +living and the souls of the dead; she goes farther and admits the fact +that such intercourse has taken place, pointing, as well she may, to +the Scriptures themselves wherein such facts are recorded. The lives of +her saints are not without proof that this world may communicate with +the unknown. And this belief forms the groundwork, furnishes the basic +principles, of Spiritism. + +Nevertheless, the Church condemns all attempts at establishing such +communication between the living and the dead, or even claiming, though +falsely, such intercourse. If this is done in the name of religion, she +considers it an insult to God, Who thereby is trifled with and tempted +to a miraculous manifestation of Himself outside the ordinary channels +of revelation. As an instrument of mere human curiosity, it is +criminal, since it seeks to subject Him to the beck and call of a +creature. In case such practices succeed, there is the grave danger of +being mislead and deceived by the evil spirit, who is often permitted, +as the instrument of God, to punish guilty men. When resorted to, as a +means of relieving fools of their earnings, it is sacrilegious; and +those who support such impious humbugs can be excused from deadly sin +only on the grounds of lunacy. + +Hypnotism and Mesmerism differ from Spiritism in this, that their +disciples account for the phenomena naturally and lay no claim to +supernatural intervention. They produce a sleep in the subject, either +as they claim, by the emanation of a subtile fluid from the operator's +body, or by the influence of his mind over the mind of the subject They +are agreed on this point, that natural laws could explain the +phenomenon, if these laws were well understood. + +With this sort of a thing, as belonging to the domain of science and +outside her domain, the Church has nothing whatever to do. This is a +theory upon which it behooves men of science to work; they alone are +competent in the premises. But without at all encroaching on their +domain, the Church claims the right to pronounce upon the morality of +such practices and to condemn the evils that flow therefrom. So great +are these evils and dangers, when unscrupulous and ignorant persons +take to experimenting, that able and reliable physicians and statesmen +have advocated the prohibition by law of all such indiscriminate +practices. Crimes have been committed on hypnotized persons and crimes +have been committed by them. It is a dangerous power exercised by men +of evil mind and a sure means to their evil ends. It is likewise +detrimental to physical and moral health. Finally, he who subjects +himself to such influence commits an immoral act by giving up his will, +his free agency, into the hands of another. He does this willingly, for +no one can be hypnotized against his will; he does it without reason or +just motive. This is an evil, and to it must be added the +responsibility of any evil he may be made to commit whilst under this +influence. Therefore is the Church wise in condemning the +indiscriminate practice of hypnotism or mesmerism; and therefore will +her children be wise if they leave it alone. It is not superstition, +but it is a sin against man's individual liberty over which he is +constituted sole guardian, according to the use and abuse of which he +will one day be judged. + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. +CHRISTIAN SCIENCE. + +A RECENTLY discovered sin against the First Commandment is the worship +of Mrs. Eddy, and it is commonly called Christian Science. This +sacrilegious humbug was conceived in the brain of an old woman up in +New Hampshire and, like the little demon of error that it is, it leaped +forth, after a long period of travail, full-fledged and panoplied, and +on its lips were these words: "What fools these mortals be!" Dame Eddy +gets good returns from the sacrilegio-comic tour of her progeny around +the country. Intellectual Boston is at her feet, and Boston pays well +for its amusements. + +It is remarkable for an utter lack of anything like Christianity or +science. It is as Christian as Buddhism and as scientific as the +notions of our early forefathers concerning the automobile. It is a +parody on both and like the usual run of parodies, it is a success. + +The average man should not attempt to delve down into the mysterious +depths of mind and matter which form the basis of this system. In the +first place, it is an impossible task for an ordinary intelligence; +then, again, it were labor lost, for even if one did get down far +enough one could get nothing satisfactory out of it. The force of +Eddyism lies in its being mysterious, incomprehensible and +contradictory. These qualities would kill an ordinary system, but this +is no ordinary system. The only way to beat the Christian Scientist is +to invite him to focus all the energy of his mind on a vulgar lamp-post +and engrave thereon the name of the revered Eddy--this to show the +power of mind. Then to prove the non-existence of matter, ask him to +consent to your endeavoring to make a material impression on his head +with an immaterial hammer. + +Of course this is not what he meant; but what he did mean will become +by no means clearer after the wearisome, interminable lengths to which +he will go to elucidate. The fact is that he does not know it himself, +and no one can give what he does not possess. True philosophy tells us +to define terms and never to employ expressions of more than one +meaning without saying in what sense we use them. Contempt of this rule +is the salvation of Christian Science, and that is where we lose. + +Yet there is something in this fad after all. Total insanity is never +met with outside state institutions, and these people are at large. The +ravings of a delirious patient are often a monstrous mass of wild +absurdities; but, if you question the patient when convalescent, you +will sometimes be surprised to find they were all founded on facts +which had become exaggerated and distorted. There is no such thing as +pure unadulterated error. All of which is meant to convey the idea that +at the bottom of all fraud and falsehood there is some truth, and the +malice of error is always proportionate with the amount of truth it has +perverted. + +The first truth that has been exaggerated beyond recognition is this, +that a large proportion of human diseases are pure fiction of morbid +imaginations, induced by the power of the mind. That such is the case, +all medical men admit. Thus, the mind may often be used as a +therapeutic agent, and clever physicians never fail to employ this kind +of Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy is therefore no more the discoverer of +the "malade imaginaire" than Moliere. When you' distort this truth and +write books proclaiming the fact that all ills are of this sort, then +you have Eddyism up to date. Mrs. Eddy gathers her skirts in her hand +and leaps over the abyss between "some ills" and "all ills" with the +agility of a gazelle. Yes, the mind has a wonderful power for healing, +but it will make just as much impression on a broken leg as on a block +of granite. So much for the scientific part of the theory. + +The method of healing of Jesus Christ and that of the foundress of +Christian Science are not one and the same method, although called by +the name of faith they appear at first sight to the unwary to be +identical. There is a preliminary act of the intelligence in both; +there is the exercise of the will power; and a mention of God in +Eddyism makes it look like a divine assistance. To the superficial +there is no difference between a miracle performed at Lourdes by God at +the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and a "cure" effected by the +Widow of New Hampshire hills. + +Yet there is a wide difference, as wide as the abyss between error and +truth. In faith healing, God interposes and alone does the healing. It +is a miracle, a suspension of the ordinary laws of nature. Faith is not +a cause, but an essential condition. In Christian Science, it is the +mind of the patient or of Mrs. Eddy that does the work. It is God only +in the sense that God is one with the patient. Mind is the only thing +that exists, and the human mind is one with the Mind which is God. Then +again this cure instead of being in opposition to the normal state of +things like a miracle, itself establishes a normal state, for disease +is abnormal and in contradiction with the natural state of man. Mental +healing, according to this system sets the machine going regularly; +miracles put it out of order for the moment. Christian Science +therefore, repudiates the healing method of Jesus by faith and sets up +one of its own, thereby forfeiting all title to be called Christian. + +Being, therefore, neither Christian nor scientific, this new cult is +nothing but pure nonsense, like all superstitions; the product of a +diseased mind swayed by the demon of pride, and should be treated +principally as a mental disorder. The chief, and only, merit of the +system consists in illustrating the truth, as old as the world, that +when men wander from the House where they are fed with a celestial +nourishment, they will be glad to eat any food offered them that has a +semblance of food, even though it be but husks and refuse. Man is a +religious animal; take away the true God, and he will adore anything or +everything, even to a cucumber. However limited otherwise, there is no +limit to his religious folly. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. +SWEARING. + +"THOU shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain." + +A name is a sign, and respect for God Himself, as prescribed by the +First Commandment through faith, hope, charity, prayer and religion, +naturally implies respect for the name that stands for and signifies +God. Your name may, of itself, be nothing more than mere sound; but +used in relation to what it represents, it is as sacred, and means as +much to you, as your very person, for whatever is addressed to your +name, whether of praise or blame, is intended to reach, and does +effectively reach, yourself, to your honor or dishonor. You exact +therefore of men, as a right, the same respect for your name as for +your person; and that is what God does in the Second Commandment. + +The name of God represents all that He is. He who profanes that name +profanes a sacred thing, and is guilty of what is, in reality, a +sacrilege. To use it with respect and piety is an act of religion which +honors God. Men use and abuse this holy name, and first of all, by +swearing, that is, by taking oaths. + +In the early history of mankind, we are told, swearing was unknown. Men +were honest, could trust each other and take each other's word. But +when duplicity, fraud and deception rose out of the corrupt heart of +man, when sincerity disappeared, then confidence disappeared also, no +man's word was any longer good. Then it was that, in order to put an +end to their differences, they called upon God by name to witness the +truth of what they affirmed. They substituted God's unquestioned +veracity for their own questioned veracity, and incidentally paid +homage to His truth; God went security for man. Necessity therefore +made man swear; oaths became a substitute for honesty. + +A reverent use of the name of God, for a lawful purpose, cannot be +wrong; on the contrary, it is good, being a public recognition of the +greatest of God's attributes--truth. But like all good things it is +liable to be abused. A too frequent use of the oath will easily lead to +irreverence, and thence to perjury. It is against this danger, rather +than against the fact itself of swearing, that Christ warns us in a +text that seems at first blush to condemn the oath as evil. The common +sense of mankind has always given this interpretation to the words of +Christ. + +An oath, therefore, is a calling upon God to witness the truth of what +we say, and it means that we put our veracity on a par with His and +make Him shoulder the responsibility of truthfulness. + +To take an oath we must swear by God. To swear by all the saints in the +calendar would not make an oath. Properly speaking, it is not even +sufficient to simply say: "I swear," we must use the name of God. In +this matter, we first consider the words. Do they signify a swearing, +by God, either in their natural sense or in their general acceptation? +Or is there an intention of giving them this signification? In +conscience and before God, it is only when there is such an intention +that there is a formal oath and one is held to the conditions and +responsibilities thereof. + +Bear in mind that we are here dealing for the moment solely with lawful +swearing. There are such things as imprecation, blasphemy, and general +profanity, of which there will be question later, and which have this +in common with the oath, that they call on the name of God; the +difference is the same that exists between bad and good, right and +wrong. These must therefore be clearly distinguished from religious and +legal swearing. + +There is also a difference between a religious and a legal oath. The +religious oath is content with searching the conscience in order to +verify the sincerity or insincerity of the swearer. If one really +intends to swear by God to a certain statement, and employs certain +words to express his intention, he is considered religiously to have +taken an oath. If he pronounces a formula that expresses an oath, +without the intention of swearing, then he has sworn to nothing. He has +certainly committed a sin, but there is no oath. Again, if a man does +not believe in God, he cannot swear by Him; and in countries where God +is repudiated, all attempts at administering oaths are vain and empty. +You cannot call, to attest the truth of your words, a being that does +not exist, and for him who does not believe in God, He does not exist. + +The purely legal oath considers the fact and supposes the intention. If +you swear without deliberation, then, with you lies the burden of +proving it; since the law will allow it only on evidence and will hold +you bound until such evidence is shown. When a person is engaged in a +serious affair, he is charitably supposed to know what he is talking +about; if it happens that he does not, then so much the worse for him. +In the case of people who protest beforehand that they are infidels or +agnostics, or who being sworn on the New Testament, disclaim all belief +in Christ, there is nothing to be done, except it be to allow them to +attest by the blood of a rooster or by the Great Horn Spoon. Then, +whatever way they swear, there is no harm done. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. +OATHS. + +THE first quality of an oath is that it be true. It is evident that +every statement we make, whether simple or sworn, must be true. If we +affirm what we know to be false we lie, if we swear to what we know to +be false, we perjure ourselves. Perjury is a sacrilegious falsehood, +and the first sin against the Second Commandment. + +If, while firmly believing it to be true, what we swear to happens to +be false, we are not guilty of perjury, for the simple reason that our +moral certitude places us in good faith, and good faith guarantees us +against offending. The truth we proclaim under oath is relative not +absolute, subjective rather than objective, that is to say, the +statement we make is true as far as we are in a position to know. All +this holds good before the bar of conscience, but it may be otherwise +in the courts where something more than personal convictions, something +more akin to scientific knowledge, is required. + +He who swears without sufficient certitude, without a prudent +examination of the facts of the question, through ignorance that must +be imputed to his guilt, that one takes a rash oath--a sin great or +small according to the gravity of the circumstances. It is not +infrequently grievous. + +Some oaths, instead of being statements, are promises, sworn promises. +That of which we call God to witness the truth is not something that +is, but something that will be. If one promises under oath, and has no +intention of redeeming his pledge; or if he afterwards revokes such an +intention without serious reasons, and fails to make good his sworn +promise, he sins grievously, for he makes a fool and a liar of Almighty +God who acts as sponsor of a false pledge. Concerning temperance +pledges, it may here be said that they are simple promises made to God, +but not being sworn to, are not oaths in any sense of the word. + +Then, again, to be lawful, an oath must be necessary or useful, +demanded by the glory of God, our own or our neighbor's good; and it +must be possible to fulfil the promise within the given time. +Otherwise, we trifle with a sacred thing, we are guilty of taking vain +and unnecessary oaths. There can be no doubt but that this is highly +offensive to God, who is thus made little of in His holy name. + +This is the most frequent offense against the Second Commandment, the +sin of profane swearing, the calling upon God to witness the truth of +every second word we utter. It betrays in a man a very weak sense of +his own honesty when he cannot let his words stand for themselves. It +betokens a blasphemous disrespect for God Himself, represented by that +name which is made a convenient tool to further every vulgar end. It is +therefore criminal and degrading, and the guilt thereby incurred cannot +be palliated by the plea of habit. A sin is none the less a sin because +it is one of a great many. Vice is criminal. The victim of a vice can +be considered less guilty only on condition of seriously combating that +vice. Failing in this, he must bear the full burden of his guilt. + +Are we bound to keep our oaths? If valid, we certainly are. An oath is +valid when the matter thereof is not forbidden or illicit. The matter +is illicit when the statement or promise we make is contrary to right. +He who binds himself under oath to do evil, not only does not sin in +fulfiling his pledge, but would sin if he did redeem it. The sin he +thus commits may be mortal or venial according to the gravity of the +matter of the oath. He sinned in taking the oath; he sins more +grievously in keeping it. + +The binding force of an oath is also destroyed by fraud and deception. +Fear may have a kindred effect, if it renders one incapable of a human +act. Likewise a former oath may annul a subsequent oath under certain +conditions. + +Again, no man in taking an oath intends to bind himself to anything +physically or morally impossible, or forbidden by his superiors; he +expects that his promise will be accepted by the other party, that all +things will remain unchanged, that the other party will keep faith, and +that there will be no grave reason for him to change his mind. In the +event of any of these conditions failing of fulfilment his intention is +not to be held by his sworn word, and his oath is considered +invalidated. He is to be favored in all doubts and is held only to the +strict words of his promise. + +The least therefore we have to do with oaths, the better. They are +things too sacred to trifle with. When necessity demands it, let our +swearing honor the Almighty by the respect we show His holy name. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. +VOWS. + +VOWS are less common than oaths, and this is something to be thankful +for, since being even more sacred than oaths, their abuse incidental to +frequent usage would be more abominable. The fact that men so far +respect the vow as to entirely leave it alone when they feel unequal to +the task of keeping it inviolate, is a good sign--creditable to +themselves and honorable to God. + +People have become accustomed to looking upon vows as the exclusive +monopoly of the Catholic Church and her religious men and women. Such +things are rarely met with outside monasteries and convents, except in +the case of secular priests. 'Tis true, one hears tell occasionally of +a stray unfortunate who has broken away from a state voluntarily, +deliberately, chosen and entered upon, and who struggles through life +with a violated vow saddled upon him. But one does not associate the +sacred and heroic character of the vow with such pitiable specimens of +moral worth. + +The besom of Protestant reform thought to sweep all vows off the face +of the earth, as immoral, unlawful, unnatural or, at least, useless +things. The first Coryphei broke theirs; and having learned from +experience what troublesome things they are, instiled into their +followers a salutary distaste for these solemn engagements that one can +get along so well without. From disliking them in themselves, they came +to dislike them in others, and it has come to this that the Church has +been obliged to defend against the change of immorality an institution +that alone makes perfection possible. Strange, this! More sad than +strange. + +First of all, what is a vow? It is a deliberate promise made to God by +which we bind ourselves to do something good that is more pleasing to +Him than its omission would be. It differs from a promissory oath in +this, that an oath makes God a witness of a promise made to a third +party, while in a vow there is no third party, the promise being made +directly to God. In a violated oath, we break faith with man; in a +broken vow, we are faithless to God. The vow is more intimate than the +oath, and although sometimes the words are taken one for the other, in +meaning they are widely different. + +Resolutions or purposes, such as we make in confession never to sin +again, or in moments of fervor to perform works of virtue, are not +vows. A promise made to the Blessed Virgin or the saints is not a vow; +it must be made directly to God Himself. + +A promise made to God to avoid mortal sin is not a vow, in the strict +sense of the word; or rather such a promise is outside the ordinary +province of the vow, which naturally embraces works of supererogation +and counsel. It is unnecessary and highly imprudent to make such +promises under vow. A promise to commit sin is a blasphemous outrage. +If what we promise to do is something indifferent, vain and useless, +opposed to evangelical counsels or generally less agreeable to God than +the contrary, our promise is null and void as far as the having the +character of a vow is concerned. + +Of course, in taking a vow we must know what we are doing and be free +to act or not to act. If then the object of the vow is matter on which +a vow may validly be taken, we are bound in conscience to keep our +solemn engagement. What we forbid ourselves to do may be perfectly +lawful and innocent, but by that vow we forfeit the right we had to do +it, and for us it has become sinful. The peculiar position in which a +vow places a man in relation to his fellow-men concerning what is right +and wrong, is the characteristic of the vow that makes it the object of +much attention. But it requires something lacking in the outfit of an +intelligent man to perceive therein anything that savors of the +unnatural, the unlawful or the immoral. + +Concerning those whom a vow has constituted in a profession, we shall +have a word to say later. Right here the folly, to say nothing +stronger, of those who contract vows without thinking, must be apparent +to all. No one should dare take upon himself or herself such a burden +of his or her own initiative. It is an affair that imperiously demands +the services of an outside, disinterested, experienced party, whose +prudence will well weigh the conditions and the necessity of such a +step. Without this, there is no end to the possible misery and dangers +the taking of a vow may lead to. + +If through an act of unthinking foolishness or rash presumption, you +find yourself weighed down with the incubus of a vow not made for your +shoulders, the only way out is to make a clean breast of the matter to +your confessor, and follow his directions. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. +THE PROFESSIONAL VOWS. + +THE professional vow is a triple one, and embraces the three great +evangelical counsels of perfect chastity, poverty and obedience. The +cloister is necessary for the observance of such engagements as these, +and it were easier for a lily to flourish on the banks of the Dead Sea, +or amid the fiery blasts of the Sahara, than for these delicate flowers +of spirituality to thrive in the midst of the temptations, seductions +and passions of the every day world of this life. Necessity makes a +practice of these virtues a profession. + +It is good to be chaste, good to be obedient, good to be voluntarily +poor. What folly, then, to say that it is unlawful to bind oneself by +promises of this kind, since it is lawful to be good--the only thing +that is lawful! It is not unlawful, if you will, to possess riches, to +enjoy one's independence, to wed; but there is virtue in foregoing +these pleasures, and virtue is better than its defect, and it is no +more unlawful to do better than to do good. + +If it is lawful to contract a solemn engagement with man, why not with +God? If it is lawful for a short time, why not for a long time? If it +is lawful for two years, why not for ten, and a lifetime! The +engagement is no more unlawful itself than that to which we engage +ourselves. + +The zealous guardians of the rights of man protest that, nevertheless, +vows destroy man's liberty, and should therefore be forbidden, and the +profession suppressed. It is along this line that the governmental +machine is being run in France at present. If the vow destroys liberty, +these fanatics are doing what appears dangerously near being the same +thing. + +There is a decided advantage in being your own slave-master over having +another perform that service for you. If I do something which before +God and my conscience I have a perfect right to do, if I do it with +deliberate choice and affection, it is difficult to see wherein my +liberty suffers. Again, if I decide not to marry--a right that every +man certainly has--and in this situation engage myself by vow to +observe perfect chastity--which I must do to retain the friendship of +God--I do not see how I forfeit my liberty by swearing away a right I +never had. + +In all cases, the more difficult an enterprise a man enters upon and +pursues to a final issue, the more fully he exercises his faculty of +free will. And since the triple vow supposes nothing short of heroism +in those who take it, it follows that they must use the very plenitude +of their liberty to make the thing possible. + +The "cui bono" is the next formidable opponent the vow has to contend +with. What's the good of it? Where is the advantage in leading such an +impossible existence when a person can save his soul without it? All +are not damned who refuse to take vows. Is it not sufficient to be +honest men and women? + +That depends upon what you mean by an honest man. A great saint once +said that an honest man would certainly not be hanged, but that it was +by no means equally certain that he would not be damned. A man may do +sundry wicked and crooked things and not forfeit his title to be called +honest. The majority of Satan's subjects were probably honest people in +their day. + +The quality of being an honest man, according to many people, consists +in having the privilege of doing a certain amount of wickedness without +prejudice to his eternal salvation. The philosophy of this class of +people is summed up in these words: "Do little and get much; make a +success of life from the standpoint of your own selfishness, and then +sneak into heaven almost by stealth and fraud." That is one way of +doing business with the Lord. But, there are greater things in heaven +and on earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio. + +Human natures differ as much as pebbles on the sea shore. One man's +meat has often proven poison to another. In the religion of Jesus +Christ there is something more than the Commandments given to Moses. +Love of God has degrees of intensity and perfection. Such words as +sacrifice, mortification, self-denial have a meaning as they have +always had. God gives more to some, less to others; He demands +corresponding returns. These are things Horatio ignores. Yet they are +real, real as his own empty and conceited wisdom. + + + +CHAPTER XL. +THE PROFESSION. + +ONE of the advantages of the monastic life, created by vows, is that it +is wholly in keeping with human nature such as God created it. Men +differ in their spiritual complexion more widely even than they do in +mental caliber and physical make-up. All are not fitted by character +and general condition for the same 'career; we are "cut out" for our +peculiar tasks. It is the calling of one to be a soldier, of another to +be a statesman, because each is best fitted by nature for this +particular walk of life. The born poet, if set to put together a +machine, will, in the majority of cases, make a sorry mess of the job, +and a bricklayer will usually prove to be an indifferent story-writer. + +So also one is called to be a good Christian, while his brother may be +destined for a more perfect life. If there are vocations in the natural +life, why should there not be in the supernatural, which is just as +truly a life? If variety of aptitudes and likes determine difference of +calling, why should this not hold good for the soul as well as for the +body and mind? If one should always follow the bent of one's +legitimately natural inclinations, no fault can reasonably be found if +another hearkens to the voice of his soul's aspirations and elect a +career in harmony with his nature. + +There are two roads on which all men must travel to their destiny. One +is called the way of Precept, the other the way of Counsel. In each the +advantages and inconveniences are about equally balanced. The former is +wide and level with many joys and pleasures along the way; but there +are many pitfalls and stumbling blocks, while on one side is a high, +steep precipice over which men fall to their eternal doom. Those +destined by Providence to go over this road are spiritually shod for +the travel; if they slip and tumble, it is through their own neglect. + +Some there are to whom it has been shown by experience--very little +sometimes suffices--that they have, for reasons known alone to God, +been denied the shoe that does not slip; and that if they do not wish +to go over the brink, they must get off the highway and follow a path +removed from this danger, a path not less difficult but more secure for +them. Their salvation depends on it. This inside path, while it insures +safety for these, might lead the others astray. Each in his respective +place will be saved; if they exchange places, they are lost. + +Then again, if you will look at it from another standpoint, there +remains still on earth such a thing as love of God, pure love of God. +And this love can be translated into acts and life. Love, as all well +know, has its degrees of intensity and perfection. All well-born +children love their parents, but they do not all love them in the same +degree. Some are by nature more affectionate, some appreciate favors +better, some receive more and know that more is expected of them. + +In like manner, we who are all children of the Great Father are not all +equally loving and generous. What therefore is more natural than that +some should choose to give themselves up heart, soul and body to the +exclusive service of God? What is there abnormal in the fact that they +renounce the world and all its joys and legitimate pleasures, fast, +pray and keep vigil, through pure love of God? There is only one thing +they fear, and that is to offend God. By their vows they put this +misfortune without the pale of possibility, as far as such a thing can +be done by a creature endowed with free will. + +Of course there are those for whom all this is unmitigated twaddle and +bosh. To mention abnegation, sacrifice, etc., to such people is to +speak in a language no more intelligible than Sanskrit. Naturally one +of these will expect his children to appreciate the sacrifices he makes +for their happiness, but with God they think it must be different. + +There was once a young man who was rich. He had never broken the +Commandments of God. Wondering if he had done enough to be saved, he +came to the Messiah and put the question to Him. The answer he received +was, that, if he were sinless, he had done well, but that there was a +sanctity, not negative but positive, which if he would acquire, would +betoken in him a charity becoming a follower of a Crucified God. Christ +called the young man to a life of perfection. "If thou wilt be perfect, +go, sell what thou hast, give to the poor, then come, and follow me." +It is not known whether this invitation was accepted by the young man; +but ever since then it has been the joy of men and women in the +Catholic Church to accept it, and to give up all in order to serve the +Maker. + +Scoffers and revilers of monasticism are a necessary evil. Being given +the course of nature that sometimes runs to freaks, they must exist. +Living, they must talk, and talking they must utter ineptitudes. People +always do when they discourse on things they do not comprehend. But let +this be our consolation: monks are immortal. They were, they are, they +ever shall be. All else is grass. + + + +CHAPTER XLI. +THE RELIGIOUS. + +OWING to the disturbance over things religious in France, vows and +those who exemplify them in their lives are receiving of late a large +share of public attention. On this topic, it seems, every one is +qualified to speak; all sorts of opinions have been ventilated in the +religious, the non-religious, and the irreligious press, for the +benefit of those who are interested in this pitiful spasm of Gallic +madness against the Almighty and His Church. The measure of +unparalleled tyranny and injustice, in which antipathy to religious +orders has found expression, is being favorably and unfavorably +commented upon. But since monks, friars and nuns seldom find favor with +the non Catholic world, the general verdict is that the religious, like +the anarchist, must go; society is afraid of both and is safe from +neither. + +To Catholics who understand human nature and have read history, this +condition of things is not surprising; it is, we might venture to say, +the normal state of mind in relation to things so intensely Catholic is +religious vows. Antagonism against monasticism was born the day Luther +decided to take a wife; and as long as that same spirit lingers on +earth we shall expect this antagonism to thrive and prosper. Not only +that, but we shall never expect the religious to get a fair hearing +for their cause. The hater, open or covert, of the habit and cowl is +whole-souled or nothing in his convictions. And he believes the devil +should be fought with his own weapons. + +We do not expect all men to think as we do concerning the merits of the +religious profession. To approve it without restriction would be to +approve the Church. To find no wrong in it would be indicative of a +dangerous Romish tendency. And we are not prepared to assert that any +such symptoms exist to an alarming extent in those who expatiate on +religious topics these latter days. There will be differences of +opinion on this score, as on many others, and one fellow's opinion is +as good, to himself, as another's. + +There are even objections, to many an honest man, serious objections, +that may be brought up and become legitimate matter for discussion. We +take it for granted that intelligent men do not oppose an institution +as venerable as monasticism without reasons. Contention between people +who respect intelligence is always based on what has at least a +semblance of truth, and has for its object to detect reality and label +it as distinct from appearance. + +We go farther, and admit that there have been abuses in this system of +perfection, abuses that we were the first to detect, the first to +deplore and feel the shame of it. But before we believed it, we +investigated and made sure it was so. We found out very often that the +accusations were false. Scandalmongers and dishonest critics noted the +charges, but forgot to publish the verdict, and naturally with the +public these charges stand. No wonder then that such tales breed +antipathy and hatred among those who are not in position to control +facts. + +A queer feature about this is that people do not give religious credit +for being human. That they are flesh and blood, all agree; that they +should err, is preposterous. A hue-and-cry goes up when it becomes +known that one of these children of Adam has paid the penalty of being +human. One would think an angel had fallen from heaven. We notice in +this attitude an unconscious recognition of the sanctity of the +religious state; but we see behind it a Pharisaic spirit that +exaggerates evil at the expense of justice. + +Now, if the principle that abuse destroys use is applied to all things, +nothing will remain standing, and the best will go first. Corruptio +optimi pessima. Everything human is liable to abuse; that which is +not, is divine. Religious and laymen, mortals all, the only time it +is beyond our power to do wrong is when we are dead, buried, and +twenty-four hours underground. If in life we make mistakes, the fault +lies, not in our being of this or that profession, but in being human. +Whatever, therefore, the excesses that religious can be proven guilty +of, the institution itself must not be held responsible, unless it can +be shown that there exists a relation of cause and effect. And whoever +reasons otherwise, abuses the intelligence of his listeners. + +We desire, in the name of honesty and fairness, to see less of that +spirit that espies all manner of evil beneath the habit of a religious; +that discovers in convents and monasteries plotting against the State +in favor of the Papacy, the accumulation of untold wealth by oppression +and extortion for the satisfaction of laziness and lust, iniquity of +the deepest dye allied to general worthlessness. Common sense goes a +long way in this world. If it were only a less rare commodity, and if +an effective tribunal could be erected for the suppression of +mendacity, the religious would appear for the first time in history in +their true colors before the world, and light would shine in darkness. + + + +CHAPTER XLII. +THE VOW OF POVERTY. + +ONE objection to the vow of poverty that has a serious face on it, and +certainly looks wicked, is that it does not prevent the accumulation of +great wealth, as may be seen in the cases of the Philippine Friars and +the French orders. This is one difficulty; here is another and quite +different: the wealth of the religious is excessive, detrimental to the +well-being of the people and a menace to the State. Taken separately, +it is easy to dispose of these charges and to explain them away. But if +you put them together in one loose, vague, general imputation of +avarice, extortion and injustice, and hurl the same at a person unable +to make distinctions, the shock is apt to disconcert him for a moment. + +The first indictment seems to hint at a contradiction, or at least an +incompatibility, between the profession of poverty and the fact of +possessing wealth. We claim that the one does not affect the' other, +that a religious may belong to a rich order and still keep his vow +inviolate. The vow in the religious is individual and personal; the +riches collective. It is the physical person that is poor; the moral +being has the wealth. Men may club together, put their means into a +common fund, renounce all personal claim thereto, live on a meagre +revenue and employ the surplus for various purposes other than their +needs. The personal poverty of such as these is real. + +This is the case of the religious. Personally they do not own the +clothes on their backs. The necessaries of life are furnished them out +of a common fund. What remains, goes through their hands for the glory +of God and in charity to fellow-man. The employment to which these men +devote their lives, such as prayer, charity, the maintenance and +conducting of schools and hospitals, is not lucrative to any great +extent. And since very few Orders resort to begging, the revenue from +capital is the only means of assuring existence. It is therefore no +more repugnant for religious to depend on funded wealth than it was for +the Apostolic College to have a common purse. The secret reason for +this condition of things is that works of zeal rarely yield abundant +returns, and man cannot live on the air of heaven. + +As to the extent of such wealth and its dangers, it would seem that if +it be neither ill gotten nor employed for illegitimate purposes, in +justice and equity, there cannot be two opinions on the subject. Every +human being has a right to the fruit of his industry and activity. To +deny this is to advocate extreme socialism and anarchy and, he who puts +this doctrine into practice, destroys the principle on which society +rests. The law that strikes at religious corporations whose wealth +accrues from centuries of toil and labor, may to-morrow consistently +confiscate the goods and finances of every other corporation in the +realm. If you force the religious out of land and home, why not force +Morgan, Rockefeller & Co., out of theirs! The justice in one case is as +good as in the other. + +It is difficult to see how the people suffer from accumulated wealth, +the revenues from which are almost entirely devoted to the relief of +misery and the instruction of the ignorant. The people are the sole +beneficiaries. There is here none of the arrogance and selfishness that +usually characterize the possession of wealth to the embitterment of +misery and misfortune. The religious, by their vow and their means, can +share the condition of the poor and relieve it. If there is any +institution better calculated to promote the well-being of the common +people, it should be put to work. When the moneyed combinations whose +rights are respected, show themselves as little prejudicial to the +welfare of the classes, the religious will be prepared to go out of +existence. + +Everyone is inclined to accept as true the statement, on record as +official, that the wealth of the Religious Orders in France is at the +bottom of the trouble. We are not therefore a little astonished to +learn from other sources that it is rather their poverty, which is +burdensome to the people. The religious are not too rich, but too poor. +They cannot support themselves, and live on the enforced charity of the +laborer. French parents, not being equal to the task of maintaining +monasteries and supporting large families, limited the number of their +children. The population fell off in consequence. The government came +to the relief of the people and cast out the religious. + +And here we have the beautiful consistency of those who believe that +any old reason is better than none at all. The religious are too poor, +their poverty is a burden on the people; the religious are too rich, +their riches are prejudicial to the welfare of the people. One reason +is good; two are better. If they contradict, it is only a trifling +matter. As for us, we don't know quite where we stand. We can hear well +enough, amid the din of denunciation, the conclusion that the religious +must go; but we cannot, for the life of us, catch the why and +wherefore. Is it because they are too poor? or because they are too +rich? or because they are both? We might be justified in thinking: +because they are neither, but because they are what they are-- +religious, devoted to the Church and champions of Her cause. This +reason is at least as good as the two that contradict and destroy each +other. In this sense, is monastic poverty a bad and evil thing? + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. +THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE. + +WHAT kind of obedience is that which makes religious "unwilling to +acknowledge any superior but the Pope?" We have been confidently +informed this is the ground given in several instances for their +removal. And we confess that, if the words "acknowledge" and "superior" +are used in certain of the meanings they undoubtedly have, there is +good and sufficient ground for such removal. At the same time we submit +that the foregoing phrase is open to different interpretations of +meaning, several of which would make out this measure of repression to +be one of rank injustice. + +The studied misrule and abuse of language serves a detestable purpose +that is only too evident. A charge like the above is true and false, +that is to say, it is neither true nor false; it says nothing, unless +explained, or unless you make it say what you wish. It is a sure, safe, +but cowardly way of destroying an enemy without being obliged to admit +the guilt to oneself. + +Now the religious, and Catholic laity as well, never think of +acknowledging, in the full acceptation of the word, any other spiritual +superior than the Pope, and there can be nothing in this deserving +repression. Again, no Catholic may consistently with Catholic +principles, refuse to accept as legitimate the legally constituted +authority of the country in which he resides. As to a man's views on +the different forms of government, that is nobody's business but his +own. But whether he approves or disapproves in theory, his life and +conduct must conform with the laws justly enacted under the form of +Government that happens to be accepted. To depart from this rule is to +go counter to Catholic teaching, and no religious order does so without +incurring strict censure. + +The vow of obedience in a religious respects Caesar as well as God. It +cannot validly bind one to violate the laws of State any more than to +violate the law of God. This vow does not even concern itself with +civil and political matters; by it the religious alone is affected, the +citizen looks out for himself. But the citizen is already bound by his +conscience and the laws of the Church to respect and obey lawful +authority. + +A good religious is a good citizen, and he cannot be the former, if he +is not the latter. As a mere Catholic, he is more liable to be always +found on the side of good citizenship, because in his religion he is +taught, first of all, to respect authority on which all his religious +convictions are based. There is a natural tendency in a Protestant, who +will have nothing to do with authority in spiritual matters, to bring +this state of mind over with him into temporary affairs; being +self-willed in greater things, he is fore-inclined to be self-willed +in lesser. The Catholic and, for a greater reason, the religious knows +less of this temptation; and the better Catholic and religious he is, +the farther removed he is from possible revolt against, or even +disrespect of, authority. + +Against but one Order of all those repressed can the charge of +insubordination be brought with any show of truth. The Assumptionists +made the mistake of thinking that they could with impunity criticise +the doings of the Government, just as it is done in Paris every day by +the boulevard press. It is generally conceded that, considering the +well-known attitude of the Government towards the order, this was a +highly imprudent course for a religious paper to pursue. But their +right to do so is founded on the privilege of free speech. It takes +very little to find abuse of free speech in the utterances of the +clergy or religious in France. They are safe only when they are silent. +If there were less docility and more defiance in their attitude, if the +French Catholics relied less on God and more on man for redress, they +would receive more justice than they have been receiving. + +The punishment meted out to the religious for their insubordination has +had, we are told, a doleful effect on the temporal power of the Pope, +an interesting patch of which has been broken up by the new French law. +It is a mystery to us how this law can affect the temporal power of the +Pope any more than the political status of Timbuctoo. It is passably +difficult to make an impression on what has ceased to exist these +thirty years. We thought the temporal power was dead. This bit of news +has been dinned into our ears until we have come to believe. No +conference, synod or council is considered by our dissenting friends +without a good strong sermon on this topic. Strange that it should +resurrect just in time to lose "an interesting patch" of itself! This +is cruelty. Why not respect the grave? We recommend the perusal of the +obituary of the temporal power written in Italian politics since the +year 1870. We believe the tomb is carefully guarded. + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. +THE VOW OF CHASTITY. + +RELIGIOUS are sometimes called celibates. Now, a celibate, one of the +bachelor persuasion, is a person who considers himself or herself good +enough company in this life, and chooses single blessedness in +preference to the not unmixed joys of wedlock. This alone is sufficient +to make one a celibate, and nothing more is required. Religious do not +wed; but, specifically, that is all there is in common between them. +All celibates are not chaste; celibacy is not necessarily chastity, by +a large majority. Unless something other than selfishness suggests this +choice of life, the word is apt to be a misnomer for profligacy. And +one who takes the vow of celibacy does not break it by sinning against +the Sixth Commandment; he is true to it until he weds. The religious +vow is something more than this. + +Again, chastity, by itself, does not properly designate the state of +religious men and women. Chastity is moral purity, but purity is a +relative term, and admits of many degrees. It is perfect or imperfect. +There is a conjugal chastity; while in single life, it may concern +itself with the body, with or without reference to the mind and heart. +Chastity reaches its highest form when it excludes everything carnal, +what is lawful as well as what is unlawful, thoughts and desires as +well as deeds. + +This is the chastity that is proper to religious, and it is more +correctly called virginity. This is the natural state of spirits who +have no bodies; cultivated in the frail flesh of children of Adam, it +is the most delicate flower imaginable. Considering the incessant +struggle it supposes in those who take such a vow against the spirit +within us that is so strong, the taking and keeping of it indicate a +degree of fortitude little short of heroism. Only the few, and that few +relying wholly on the grace of God, can aspire to this state. + +From a spiritual point of view, there can be no question as to the +superiority of this state of life over all others. The teaching of St. +Paul to the Corinthians is too plain to need any comment, not to +mention the example of Christ, His Blessed Mother, His disciples and +all those who in the course of time have loved God best and served Him +most generously. + +Prescinding from all spiritual considerations and looking at things +through purely human eyes, vows of this sort must appear prejudicial to +the propagation of the species. In fact, they go against the law of +nature which says: increase and multiply, so we are told. + +If that law is natural as well as positive, it is certain that it +applies to man collectively, and not individually. It is manifested +only in the instinct that makes this duty a pleasure. Where the +inclination is lacking, the obligation is not obvious. That which is +repugnant is not natural, in any true sense of the word; whether this +repugnance be of the intellectual or spiritual order, it matters not, +for our nature is spiritual as truly as it is animal. The law of nature +forces no man into a state that is not in harmony with his sympathies +and affections. + +Nevertheless, it must be admitted that to a certain extent the race +suffers numerically from an institution that fosters abstention from +marriage. To what extent, is an entirely different question. Not all +laymen marry. It is safe to say that the vast majority of religious +men, vow or no vow, would never wed; so that the vow is not really to +blame for their state, and the consequences thereof. As for women, +statistics show it to be impossible for all to marry since their number +exceeds that of men. + +Now, marriage with the fair sex, is very often a matter of competition. +Talent, beauty, character, disposition and accomplishments play a very +active role in the acquisition of a husband. Considering that the +chances of those who seek refuge under the veil are not of the poorest, +since they are the fairest and best endowed of our daughters, it would +seem to follow that their act is a charity extended to their less +fortunate sisters who are thereby aided to success, instead of being +doomed to failure by the insufficiency of their own qualifications. + +Be this as it may, what we most strenuously object to, is that vows be +held responsible for the sins of others. In some countries and sections +of countries, the population is almost stationary in marked contrast to +that of others. Looking for the cause for this unnatural phenomenon, +there are who see it in the spread of monasticism, with its vow of +chastity. They fail to remark that not numerous, but large families are +the best sign of vigor in a nation. Impurity, not chastity, is the +enemy of the race. Instead of warring against those whose lives are +pure, why not destroy that monster that is gnawing at the very vitals +of the race, sapping its strength at the very font of life, that modern +Moloch, to whom fashionable society offers sacrifice more abominable +than the hecatombs of Carthage. This iniquity, rampant wherever the +sense of God is absent, and none other, is the cause which some people +do not see because they have good reasons for not wanting to see. It is +very convenient to have someone handy to accuse of one's own faults. It +is too bad that the now almost extinct race of Puritans did not have a +few monks around to blame for the phenomenon of their failure to keep +abreast of the race. + +If celibacy, therefore, means untrammeled vice, and marriage +degenerates into New Englandism, the world will get along better with +less of both. Vows, if they have no other merit, respect at least the +law of God, and this world is run according to that law. + + + +CHAPTER XLV. +BLASPHEMY. + +TO blaspheme is to speak ill of God; blasphemy is an utterance +derogatory to the respect and honor due to God. Primarily, it is a sin +of the tongue; but, like all other sins, it draws its malice from the +heart. Thus, a thought may be blasphemous, even though the blasphemy +remain unexpressed; and a gesture, oftentimes more expressive than a +word, may contain all the malice of blasphemy. This impiety therefore +may be committed in thought, in word and in deed. + +Blasphemy addresses itself directly to God, to His attributes and +perfections which are denied, or ridiculed; to Jesus Christ and the +Blessed Sacrament; indirectly, through His Mother and His saints, +through Holy Scripture and religion, through the Church and her +ministers in their quality of ministers,--all of which, being +intimately and inseparably connected with the idea of God, cannot be +vilified without the honor of God being affected; and, consequently, +all contempt and irreverence addressed to them, takes on the nature of +blasphemy. An indirect sin of blasphemy is less enormous than a direct +offense, but the difference is in degree, not in kind. + +All error that affects God directly, or indirectly through sacred +things, is blasphemy whether the error consist in a denial of what is +true, or an attribution of what is false. Contempt, ridicule, scoffing +and sneering, where are concerned the Holy and things holy, are +blasphemous. He also blasphemes who attributes to a creature what +belongs to God alone, or can be said only of holy things, who drags +down the sacred to the level of the profane. + +Revilings against God are happily rare; when met with, they are +invariably the mouthings of self-styled atheists or infidels whose +sanity is not always a patent fact. Heretics are usually blasphemous +when they treat of anything outside Jesus Christ and the Bible; and not +even Christ and Scripture escape, for often their ideas and utterances +concerning both are as injurious to God as they are false and +erroneous. Finally, despair and anger not infrequently find +satisfaction in abusing God and all that pertains to Him. + +Nothing more abominable can be conceived than this evil, since it +attacks, and is in opposition to, God Himself. And nothing shows up its +malice so much as the fact that blasphemy is the natural product and +offspring of hate; it goes to the limit of human power in revolt +against the Maker. It is, however, a consolation to know that, in the +majority of cases, blasphemy is found where faith is wanting or +responsibility absent, for it may charitably be taken for granted that +if the blasphemer really knew what he was saying, he would rather cut +out his tongue than repeat it. So true is it that the salvation of many +depends almost as much on their own ignorance as on the grace of God. + +There is a species of blasphemy, not without its degree of malice, +found sometimes in people who are otherwise God-fearing and religious. +When He visits them with affliction and adversity, their self-conscious +righteousness goes out and seeks Comparison with prosperous +ungodliness, and forthwith comments on strange fact of the deserving +suffering while the undeserving are spared. They remark to themselves +that the wicked always succeed, and entertain a strong suspicion that +if they were as bad as others certain things would not happen. + +All this smacks dangerously of revolt against the Providence of God. +Job's problem is one that can be solved only by faith and a strong +spiritual sense. He who has it not is liable to get on the wrong side +in the discussion; and it is difficult to go very far on that side +without finding Providence at fault and thus becoming guilty of +blasphemy. For, to mention partiality in the same breath with God's +care of the universe, is to deny Him. + +The daily papers, a few years ago, gave public notoriety to two +instances of blasphemy, and their very remarkable punishment, for it is +impossible not to see the hand of God in what followed so close upon +the offending. A desperate gambler called upon the Almighty to strike +him dumb, if in the next deal a certain card turned up. It did turn up, +and at the last accounts the man had not yet spoken. Another cast from +his door a vendor of images and crucifixes with a curse and the remark +that he would rather have the devil in his house than a crucifix. The +very next day, he became the father of what came as near being the +devil as anything the doctors of that vicinity ever saw. These are not +Sunday-school stories invented to frighten children; the facts +occurred, and were heralded broadcast throughout the land. + +Despair urged the first unfortunate to defy the Almighty. In the other +'twas hatred for the Church that honors the image of Christ crucified +as one honors the portrait of a mother. The blasphemy in the second +case reached God as effectively as in the first, and the outrage +contained in both is of an order that human language is incapable of +qualifying. + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. +CURSING. + +TO bless one is not merely to wish that one well, but also to invoke +good fortune upon his head, to recommend him to the Giver of all goods. +So, too, cursing, damning, imprecation, malediction--synonymous terms-- +is stronger than evil wishing and desiring. He who acts thus invokes a +spirit of evil, asks God to visit His wrath upon the object cursed, to +inflict death, damnation, or other ills. There is consequently in such +language at least an implicit calling upon God, for the evil invoked is +invoked of God, either directly or indirectly. And that is why the +Second Commandment concerns itself with cursing. + +Thus it will be seen that this abuse of language offends against +religion and charity as well. To the malice of calling down evil upon a +brother's head is added the impiety of calling upon God to do it, to +curse when He should be prayed to bless. + +Of course all depends on what is the object of our imprecations. One +species of this vice contains blasphemy pure and simple, that is, a +curse which attains something that refers to God in an especial manner, +and as such is cursed. The idea of God cannot be separated from that of +the soul, of faith, of the Church, etc. Malediction addressed to them +reaches God, and contains all the malice of blasphemy. + +When the malediction falls on creatures, without any reference to their +relationship to God, we have cursing in its proper form with a special +malice of its own. Directly, charity alone is violated, but charity has +obligations which are binding under pain of mortal sin. No man can sin +against himself or against his neighbor without offending God. + +A curse may be, and frequently is, emphasized with a vow or an oath. +One may solemnly promise God in certain contingencies that he will damn +another to hell; or he may call upon God to witness his execrations. +The malice of two specific sins is here accumulated, the offense is +double in this one abominable utterance; nothing can be conceived more +horrible, unless it be the indifferent frequency with which it is +perpetrated. + +The guilt incurred by those who thus curse and damn, leaving aside the +scandal which is thereby nearly always given, is naturally measured by +the degree of advertence possessed by such persons. Supposing full +deliberation, to curse a fellow-man or self, if the evil invoked be of +a serious nature, is a mortal sin. + +Passion or habit may excuse, if the movement is what is called "a first +movement," that is, a mechanical utterance without reflection or +volition; also, if the habit has been retracted and is in process of +reform. If neither damnation nor death nor infamy nor any major evil is +invoked, the sin may be less grievous, but sin it always is. If the +object anathematized is an animal, a thing, a vice, etc., there may be +a slight sin or no sin at all. Some things deserved to be cursed. In +damning others, there may be disorder enough to constitute a venial +sin, without any greater malice. + +Considering the case of a man who, far removed from human hearing, +should discover too late, his forgetfulness to leave the way clear +between a block and a fast-descending and ponderous ax, and, in a fit +of acute discomfort and uncontrollable feeling consequential to such +forgetfulness, should consign block, ax, and various objects in the +immediate vicinity to the nethermost depths of Stygian darkness: in +such a case, we do not think there would be sin. + +On the other hand, they in whose favor such attenuating circumstances +do not militate, do the office of the demons. These latter can do +nothing but curse and heap maledictions upon all who do not share their +lot. To damn is the office of the damned. It is therefore fitting that +those who cease not to damn while on earth be condemned to damn +eternally and be damned in the next life. And if it is true that "the +mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart," to what but to hell +can be compared the inner soul of him whose delight consists in +vomiting forth curses and imprecations upon his fellow-men? + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. +PROFANITY. + +PROFANITY is not a specific sin. Under this general head come all +blasphemy, false, rash, unjust and unnecessary oaths, rash and violated +vows, and cursing:--called profanity, because in each case the name of +God is profaned, that is to say, is made less holy, by its application +to unworthy objects and in unbecoming circumstances; profanity, because +it has to do with the Holy Name, and not profanation, which looks to +sacred things. Although language lends itself to many devices and is +well nigh inexhaustible in its resources, this category of sins of +profanity embraces about all modes of offending against the Holy Name, +and consequently against the Second Commandment. + +We have already examined the different species of profanity. But it is +not always easy to classify certain utterances and expressions that +savour of profanity, to determine the specific nature of their malice, +especially the guilt incurred by the speaker. First of all, the terms +used are often distorted from their original signification, or require +that words left understood be supplied; as they stand, they are often +as meaningless to the speaker as to the general uninitiated public. To +get at the formal malice of such utterances is still more difficult, +for it becomes necessary to interpret the intentions of the speaker. +Thus, in one case, words that contain no evident insult to God may be +used with all the vehemence of profanity, to which guilt is certainly +attached; in another, the most unholy language may be employed in +ignorance of its meaning, with no evil intent, the only danger of +malice being from habit, passion or scandal. + +This brings us to consider certain ejaculatory or exclamatory +expressions such as: God! good God! Lord! etc., employed by persons of +very different spiritual complexion. Evidently, these words may be +employed in good and in evil part; whether in one or the other, depends +on the circumstances of their using. They may proceed from piety and +true devotion of the heart, out of the abundance of which the mouth +speaks. Far from being wrong, this is positively good and meritorious. + +If this is done through force of habit, or is the result of levity, +without the least interior devotion or affection, it is a mitigated +form of profanity. To say the least, no honor accrues to God from such +language and such use of His name; and where He is concerned, not to +honor Him is dangerously near dishonoring Him. If contempt of God or +scandal result from such language, the offense may easily be mortal. + +Finally, excited feelings of passion or wrath vent themselves in this +manner, and here it is still more easy to make it a grievous offending. +About the only thing that can excuse from fault is absolute +indeliberation. + +Again, without implying any malediction, prescinding altogether from +the supernatural character of what they represent, as ejaculations +only, we come across the use of such words as hell, devil, damnation, +etc. Good ethics condemn such terms in conversation; hearing them used +people may be scandalized, especially the young; if one uses them with +the mistaken idea that they contain blasphemy, then that one is +formally guilty of blasphemy; finally, it is vulgar, coarse and +unmannerly to do so. But all this being admitted, we do not see any +more moral iniquity in the mention of these words than of their +equivalents: eternal fire, Satan, perdition, etc. We do not advise or +encourage the use of such terms, but it sometimes jars one's sense of +propriety to see people hold up their hands in holy horror at the sound +of these words, as if their mention were something unspeakably wicked, +while they themselves would look fornication, for instance, straight in +the face without a shudder or a blush. + +Profanity is certainly a sin, sometimes a grievous sin; but in our +humble opinion, the fiat of self-righteous Pharisaism to the contrary +notwithstanding, it is a few hundred times oftener no sin at all, or a +very white sin, than the awful crime some people see in it. If a fellow +could quote classical "Mehercule," and Shakespearean cuss-words, he +would not perhaps be so vulgar as to say "hell." But not having such +language at his command, and being filled with strong feelings that +clamor for a good substantial expression, if he looks around and finds +these the strongest and only available ones, and uses them,--it is +necessity and human nature, we wot, more than sacrilegious profanity. +It were better if his speech were aye, aye and nay, nay; but it does +not make it look any better to convict him of the blackest sin on the +calendar just because he mentioned a place that really exists, if it is +hot, and which it is well to have ever before our eyes against the +temptations of life. + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. +THIRD COMMANDMENT +THE LAW OF REST. + +THE last of the three Commandments that refer directly to God, +prescribes a rest from toil, and profane works; and in commemoration of +the mystical repose of the Lord after the six days' creation, +designates the Sabbath or seventh day as a day that shall be set apart +and made sacred to God. The peculiarity of the commandment is that it +interferes with the occupations of man, intrudes upon his individual +affairs and claims a worship of works. The others do not go thus far, +and are satisfied with a worship of the heart and tongue, of affections +and language. + +Leaving aside for the moment the special designation of a day devoted +to this worship, the law of rest itself deserves attention. Whether the +Saturday or Sunday be observed, whether the rest be long or brief, a +day or an hour, depends entirely on the positive will of God. More than +this must be said of the command of rest; that law grows out of our +relations with God, is founded in nature, is according to the natural +order of things. + +This repose means abstention from bodily activity.. The law does not go +so far as to prescribe stagnation and sloth, but it is satisfied with +such abstention as is compatible with the reasonable needs of man. Of +its nature, it constitutes an exterior, public act of religion. The +question is: Does the nature of our relations with God demand this sort +of worship? Evidently, yes. Else God, who created the whole man, would +not receive a perfect worship. If God made man, man belongs to Him; if +from that possession flows a natural obligation to worship with heart +and tongue, why not also of the body? God has a Maker's right over us, +and without some acknowledgment on the part of the body of this right, +there would be no evidence that such a right existed. There is no doubt +but that the law of our being requires of us an interior worship. Now, +if that spirit of homage within us is sincere, it will naturally seek +to exteriorize itself; if it is to be preserved, it must "out." We are +not here speaking of certain peculiarly ordered individuals, but of the +bulk of common humanity. Experience teaches that what does not come out +either never existed or is not assured of a prolonged existence. Just +as the mind must go out of itself for the substance of its thoughts, so +must the heart go out to get relief from the pressure of its feelings. +God commanded this external worship because it alone could preserve +internal affections. + +Again, there are many things which the ordinary man ignores concerning +God, which it is necessary for him to know, and which do not come by +intuition. In other words, he must be taught a host of truths that he +is incapable of finding out by himself. Education and instruction in +religious matters are outside the sphere of his usual occupations. +Where will he ever get this necessary information, if he is not taught? +And how can he be taught, if he does not lay aside occupations that are +incompatible with the acquisition of intellectual truths? He is +therefore forced by the law of his being, and the obligation he owes +his Maker, to rest from his every-day labors, once in awhile, in order +to learn his full duty, if for nothing else. + +Pagans, who never knew the law of Moses, serve neither Saturday nor +Sunday; neither do they give an entire day, at fixed intervals to the +exterior worship of the Deity, as we do. But a case will not be found +where they did not on certain occasions rest from work in order to +offer the homage of their fidelity to their gods, and to listen, to +instruction and exhortation from their holy men. These pagans follow +the natural law written in their souls, and it is there they discover +the obligation they are under to honor God by rest from labor and to +make holy unto Him a certain space of time. + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. +THE DAY OF REST. + +THE third article of the Mosaic Code not only enunciates the law of +rest, but says just how much time shall be given to its observance; it +prescribes neither a week nor a few hours, but one day in seven. If you +have a taste for such things and look well, you will find several +reasons put forth as justifying this special designation of one day in +seven. The number seven the Jews regarded as a sacred number; the +Romans, as the symbol of perfection. Students of antiquity have +discovered that among nearly all peoples this number in some way or +other refers to the Deity. Science finds that nature prefers this +number; light under analysis reveals seven colors, and all colors refer +to the seven orders of the solar spectrum; the human voice has seven +tones that constitute the scale of sound; the human body is renewed +every seven years. Authorities on hygiene and physiology teach that one +day in six is too much, one day in eight is too little, but that one +day in seven is sufficient and necessary for the physical needs of man. + +These considerations may or may not carry conviction to the average +mind. On the face of it, they confirm rather than prove. They do not +reveal the necessity of a day of rest so much as show its +reasonableness and how it harmonizes with nature in its periodicity, +its symmetry and its exact proportion to the strength of man. As for +real substantial reasons, there is but one,--a good and sufficient,-- +and that is the positive will of God. He said: keep this day holy; +such is His command; no man should need a better reason. + +The God-given law of Moses says Saturday, Christians say Sunday. +Protestants and Catholics alike say Sunday, and Sunday it is. But this +is not a trifling change; it calls for an explanation. Why was it made? +What is there to justify it? On what authority was it done? Can the +will of God, unmistakably manifested, be thus disregarded and put aside +by His creatures? This is a serious question. + +One of the most interesting things in the world would be to hear a +Protestant Christian, on Protestant grounds, justify his observance of +the Sunday instead of the Sabbath, and give reasons for his conduct. +"Search the Scriptures." Aye, search from Genesis to Revelations, the +Mosaic prescriptions will hold good in spite of all your researches. +Instead of justification you will find condemnation. "The Bible, the +Bible alone" theory hardly fits in here. Are Papists the only ones to +add to the holy writings, or to go counter to them? Suppose this change +cannot be justified on Scriptural grounds, what then? And the fact is, +it cannot. + +It is hardly satisfactory to remark that this is a disciplinary +injunction, and Christ abrogated the Jewish ceremonial. But if it is +nothing more than this, how came it to get on the table of the Law? Its +embodiment in the Decalogue makes it somewhat different from all other +ceremonial prescriptions; as it stands, it is on a par with the veto to +kill or to steal. Christ abolished the purely Jewish law, but he left +the Decalogue intact. + +Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, 'tis true; but nowhere in writing +can it be found that His resurrection on that day meant a change in the +Third Commandment. In the nature of the event, there is absolutely no +relation between it and the observance of Sunday. + +Where will our friend find a loop-hole to escape? Oh! as usual, for the +Sunday as for the Bible, he will have to fall back on the old Church. +What in the world could he do without her? He will find there an +authority, and he is obliged to recognize it, even if he does on +ordinary occasions declaim against and condemn it. Incidentally, if his +eyes are open, he will discover that his individually interpreted Bible +has failed most woefully to do its work; it condemns the Protestant +Sunday. + +This day was changed on the sole authority of the Holy Roman Catholic +Church, as the representative of God on earth, to whose keeping was +confided the interpretation of God's word, and in whose bosom is found +that other criterion of truth, called tradition. Tradition it is that +justifies the change she made. Deny this, and there is no justification +possible, and you must go back to the Mosaic Sabbath. Admit it, and if +you are a Protestant you will find yourself in somewhat of a mess. + +A logical Protestant must be a very uneasy being. If the Church is +right in this, why should she not be right in defining the Immaculate +Conception? And if she errs here, what assurance is there that she does +not err there? How can he say she is right on one occasion, and wrong +on another? What kind of nonsense is it that makes her truthful or +erring according to one's fancy and taste? Truly, the reformer +blundered when he did not treat the Sunday as he treated the Pope and +all Church authority, for it is papistical to a degree. + + + +CHAPTER L. +KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY. + +THE Third Commandment bids us sanctify the Lord's day; but in what that +sanctification shall consist, it does not say. It is certain, however, +that it is only by worship, of one kind or another, that the day can be +properly kept holy to the Lord; and since interior worship is +prescribed by the First Commandment, exterior and public worship must +be what is called for. Then, there are many modes of worship; there is +no end to the means man may devise of offering homage to the Creator. + +The first element of worship is abstention from profane labor; rest is +the first condition of keeping the Sabbath. The word Sabbath itself +means cessation of work. You cannot do two things at the same time, you +cannot serve God and Mammon. Our everyday occupations are not, of their +nature, a public homage of fidelity to God. If any homage is to be +offered, as a preliminary, work must cease. This interruption of the +ordinary business of life alone makes it possible to enter seriously +into the more important business of God's service, and in this sense it +is a negative worship. + +Yet, there is also something positive about it, for the simple fact of +desisting from toil contains an element of direct homage. Six days are +ours for ourselves. What accrues from our activity on those days is our +profit. To God we sacrifice one day and all it might bring to us, we +pay to Him a tithe of our time, labor and earnings. By directing aright +our intentions, therefore, our rest assumes the higher dignity of +explicit, emphatic religion and reverence, and in a fuller manner +sanctifies the day that is the Lord's. + +We should, however, guard ourselves against the mistaken notion that +sloth and idleness are synonymous of rest. It is not all activity, but +the ordinary activity of common life, that is forbidden. It were a +sacrilegious mockery to make God the author of a law that fosters +laziness and favors the sluggard. Another extreme that common sense +condemns is that the physical man should suffer martyrdom while the +soul thus communes with God, that promenades and recreation should be +abolished, and social amenities ignored, that dryness, gloom, +moroseness and severity are the proper conditions of Sabbatical +observance. + +In this respect, our Puritan ancestors were the true children of +Pharisaism, and their Blue Laws more properly belong in the Talmud than +in the Constitution of an American Commonwealth. God loves a cheerful +giver, and would you not judge from appearances that religion was +painful to these pious witch-burners and everything for God most +grudgingly done? Sighs, grimaces, groans and wails, this is the homage +the devils in hell offer to the justice of God; there is no more place +for them in the religion of earth than in the religion of heaven. + +Correlative with the obligation of rest is that of purely positive +worship, and here is the difficulty of deciding just what is the +correct thing in religious worship. The Jews had their institutions, +but Christ abolished them. The Pagans had their way--sacrifice; +Protestants have their preaching and hymn-singing. Catholics offer a +Sacrifice, too, but an unbloody one. Later on, we shall hear the Church +speak out on the subject. She exercised the right to change the day +itself; she claims naturally the right to say how it should be +observed, because the day belongs to her. And she will impose upon her +children the obligation to attend mass. But here the precepts of the +Church are out of the question. + +The obligation, however, to participate in some act of worship is +plain. The First Commandment charges every man to offer an exterior +homage of one kind or another, at some time or another. The Third sets +aside a day for the worship of the Divinity. Thus the general command +of the first precept is specified. This is the time, or there is no +time. With the Third Commandment before him, man cannot arbitrarily +choose for himself the time for his worship, he must do it on Sunday. + +Public worship being established in all Christian communities, every +Christian who cannot improve upon what is offered and who is convinced +that a certain mode of worship is the best and true, is bound by the +law to participate therein. The obligation may be greater if he ignores +the principles of religion and cannot get information and instruction +outside the temple of religion. For Catholics, there is only one true +mode of public worship, and that is the Sacrifice of the Mass. No +layman is sufficient unto himself to provide such an act of religion. +He has, therefore, no choice, he must assist at that sacrifice if he +would fulfil the obligation he is under of Sunday worship. + + + +CHAPTER LI. +WORSHIP OF SACRIFICE. + +WE Catholics contend, and our contention is based on a law of nature +that we glean from the history of man, that sacrifice is the soul of +religion, that there never was a universally and permanently accepted +religion--and that there cannot be any such religion--without an altar, +a victim, a priest, and a sacrifice. We claim that reason and +experience would bear us out in this contention, even without the +example and teaching and express commands of Jesus Christ, who, in +founding a new and the only true religion, Himself offered sacrifice +and left a sacrifice to be perpetually offered in His religion; and +that sacrifice constitutes the high worship we owe to the Creator. + +It is our conviction that, when man came into the presence of the +Almighty, his first impulse was to speak to Him, and his first word was +an act of adoration. But human language is a feeble medium of +communication with the Almighty. Man talks to man. To talk with God, he +sought out another language; and, as in the case of Adam's sons, he +discovered in sacrifice a better and stronger mode of expressing his +religious feelings. He therefore offered sacrifice, and sacrifice +became the language of man in his relations with the Deity. + +In its simplest definition, sacrifice is the offering to God of a +victim, by one authorized for that task. It supposes essentially the +destruction of the victim; and the act is an eloquent acknowledgment, +in language that is as plain as it possibly can be made, that God is +the supreme Lord of life and death, that all things that exist come +from Him, and revert to Him as to their natural end. + +The philosophy of sacrifice is that man, in some manner or other, had +incurred the wrath of the Almighty. The pagan could not tell hi just +what his offense consisted; but there is nothing plainer than the fact +that he considered himself under the ban of God's displeasure, and that +sin had something to do with it; and he feared the Deity accordingly. +We know that original sin was the curse under which he labored. + +Whatever the offense was, it was in the flesh, the result of weakness +rather than malice. There was something in his nature that inclined to +evil and was responsible for sin. The better part tried to serve, but +the inferior man revolted. Flesh, therefore, was wicked and sinful; and +since all offense must be atoned for, the flesh should pay the penalty +of evil. The wrath of God could be appeased, and sacrifice was the +thing that could do it. + +Another thing most remarkable among those who worshiped by sacrifice in +the early times, is that they believed firmly in the reversibility of +merit, that is, that the innocent could atone for the wicked. Somehow, +they acquired the notion that stainless victims were more agreeable to +God than others. God sanctioned this belief among the Jews, and most +strikingly on the hill of Calvary. + +This being the case, man being guilty and not having the right to +inflict the supreme penalty upon himself, the natural thing to do was +to substitute a victim for himself, to put the flesh of another in the +place of his own and to visit upon it the punishment that was due to +himself. And he offered to God this vicarious atonement. His action +spoke in this wise: "My God, I am a sinner and deserve Thy wrath. But +look upon this victim as though it were myself. My sins and offenses I +lay upon its shoulders, this knife shall be the bolt of Thy vengeance, +and it shall make atonement in blood." This is the language of +sacrifice. As we have said, it supposes the necessity of atonement and +belief in the reversibility of merit. + +Now, if we find in history, as we certainly do find,--that all peoples +offered sacrifice of this kind, we do not think we would be far from +the truth if we deduced therefrom a law of nature; and if it is a law +of nature, it is a law of God. If there is no religion of antiquity +that did not offer sacrifice, then it would seem that the Almighty had +traced a path along which man naturally trod and which his natural +instinct showed him. + +We believe in the axiom of St. Augustine: "securus judicet orbis +terrarum, a universally accepted judgment can be safely followed." +Especially do we feel secure with the history of the chosen people of +God before us arid its sacrifice ordained by the law; with the sanction +of Christ's sacrifice in our mind, and the practice of the divinely +inspired Church which makes sacrifice the soul of her worship. + +The victim we have is Jesus Christ Himself, and none other than He. He +gave us His flesh and blood to consume, with the command to consume. +Our sacrifice, therefore, consists in the offering up of this Victim to +God and the consuming of it. Upon the Victim of the altar, as upon the +Victim of the Cross, we lay our sins and offenses, and, in one case as +in the other, the sacred blood, in God's eyes, washes our iniquity +away. + +Of course, it requires faith to believe, but religion is nothing if it +is not whole and entire a matter of faith. The less faith you have, the +more you try to simplify matters. Waning faith began by eliminating +authority and sacrifice and the unwritten word. Now the written word is +going the same way. Pretty soon we shall hear of the Decalogue's being +subjected to this same eliminating process. After all, when one gets +started in that direction, what reason is there that he should ever +stop! + + + +CHAPTER LII. +WORSHIP OF REST. + +PARTICIPATION in public worship is the positive obligation flowing from +the Third Commandment; abstention from labor is what is negatively +enjoined. Now, works differ as widely in their nature as differ in form +and dimension the pebbles on the sea-shore. There are works of God and +works of the devil, and works which, as regards spirituality, are +totally indifferent, profane works, as distinguished from sacred and +sinful works. And these latter may be corporal or intellectual or both. +Work or labor or toil, in itself, is a spending of energy, an exercise +of activity; it covers a deal of ground. And since the law simply says +to abstain from work, it falls to us to determine just what works are +meant, for it is certain that all works, that is, all that come under +the general head of work, do not profane the Lord's day. + +The legislation of the Church, which is the custodian of the Sunday, on +this head commends itself to all thoughtful men; while, for those who +recognize the Church as the true one, that legislation is authority. +The Church distinguishes three kinds of profane works, that is, works +that are neither sacred nor iniquitous of their nature. There is one +kind which requires labor of the mind rather than of the body. These +works tend directly to the culture or exercise of the mind, and are +called liberal works, because under the Romans, freemen or "liberi" +almost exclusively were engaged therein. Such are reading, writing, +studying, music, drawing--in general, mental occupations in whole, or +more mental than corporal. These works the Church does not consider the +law includes in its prohibition, and they are consequently not +forbidden. + +It is impossible here to enumerate all that enters into this class of +works; custom has something to say in determining what is liberal in +our works; and in investigating, we must apply to each case the general +principle. The labor in question may be gratuitous or well paid; it may +cause fatigue or afford recreation: all this is not to the point. The +question is, outside the danger of omitting divine service, scandal or +circumstances that might lead to the annoyances and distraction of +others--the question is: does this work call for exercise of the mind +more than that of the body? If the answer is affirmative, then the work +is liberal, and as such it is not forbidden on Sunday, it is not +considered a profanation of the Lord's day. + +On the other extreme are what go by the name of servile works, which +call forth principally bodily effort and tend directly to the advantage +of the body. They are known also as works of manual labor. Before the +days of Christianity, slaves alone were thus employed, and from the +word "servi" or slaves these are called servile works. + +Here again it is the nature of the work that makes it servile. It may +be remunerative or not, recreative or not, fatiguing or not; it may be +a regular occupation, or just taken up for the moment; it may be, +outside cases of necessity, for the glory of God or for the good of the +neighbor. If it is true that the body has more part therein than the +mind, then it is a servile work and it is forbidden. Of course there +are serious reasons that dispense us from our obligation to this law, +but we are not talking about that just at present. + +The reason of the proscription is, not that such works are evil, but +that they interfere with the intention we should give to the worship we +owe to God, and that, without this cessation of labor, our bodily +health would be impaired: these are the two motives of the law. But +even if it happened, in an individual case, that these inconveniences +were removed, that neither God's reverence nor one's own health +suffered from such occupations as the law condemns, the obligation +would still remain to abstain therefrom, for it is general and +absolute, and when there is question of obeying a law, the subject has +a right to examine the law, but not the motives of the law. + +We shall later see that there are other works, called common, which +require activity of the mind and of the body in about an equal measure +or which enter into the common necessities of life. These are not +forbidden in themselves, although in certain contingencies they may be +adjudged unlawful; but, in the matter of servile works, nothing but +necessity, the greater glory of God, or the good of the neighbor, can +allow us to consider the law non-binding. To break it is a sin, slight +or grievous, according to the nature of the offense. + + + +CHAPTER LIII. +SERVILE WORKS. + +BUT, if servile works are prohibited on the Lord's day, it must be +remembered that "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the +Sabbath," that, for certain good and sufficient reasons, the law ceases +to oblige; and, in these circumstances, works of a purely servile +nature are no longer unlawful. This is a truth Christ made very clear +to the straight-laced Pharisees of the old dispensation who interpreted +too rigorously the divine prohibition; and certain Pharisees of the new +dispensation, who are supposed assiduously to read the Bible, should +jog their memories on the point in order to save themselves from the +ridicule that surrounds the memory of their ancestors of Blue-Law fame. +The Church enters into the spirit of her divine Founder and recognizes +cases in which labor on Sunday may be, and is, more agreeable to God, +and more meritorious to ourselves, than rest from labor. + +The law certainly does not intend to forbid a kind of works, +specifically servile in themselves, connected with divine worship, +required by the necessities of public religion, or needed to give to +that worship all the solemnity and pomp which it deserves; provided, of +course, such things could not well be done on another day. All God's +laws are for His greater glory, and to assert that works necessary for +the honoring of God are forbidden by His law is to be guilty of a +contradiction in terms. All things therefore needed for the preparation +and becoming celebration of the rites of religion, even though of a +servile nature, are lawful and do not come under the head of this +prohibition. + +The law ceases likewise to bind when its observance would prevent an +act of charity towards the neighbor in distress, necessity, or pressing +need. If the necessity is real and true charity demands it, in matters +not what work, not intrinsically evil, is to be done, on what day or +for how long a time it is to be done; charity overrides every law, for +it is itself the first law of God. Thus, if the neighbor is in danger +of suffering, or actually suffers, any injury, damage or ill, God +requires that we give our services to that neighbor rather than to +Himself. As a matter of fact, in thus serving the neighbor, we serve +God in the best possible way. + +Finally, necessity, public as well as personal, dispenses from +obligation to the law. In time of war, all things required for its +carrying on are licit. It is lawful to fight the elements when they +threaten destruction, to save crops in an interval of fine weather when +delay would mean a risk; to cater to public conveniences which custom +adjudges necessary,--and by custom we mean that which has at least the +implicit sanction of authority,--such as public conveyances, +pharmacies, hotels, etc. Certain industries run by steam power require +that their fires should not be put out altogether, and the labor +necessary to keep them going is not considered illicit. In general, all +servile work that is necessary to insure against serious loss is +lawful. + +As for the individual, it is easier to allow him to toil on Sunday, +that is, a less serious reason is required, if he assists at divine +worship, than in the contrary event. One can be justified in omitting +both obligations only in the event of inability otherwise to provide +for self and family. He whose occupation demands Sunday labor need not +consider himself guilty so long as he is unable to secure a position +with something like the same emoluments; but it is his duty to regret +the necessity that prevents him from fulfiling the law, and to make +efforts to better his condition from a spiritual point of view, even if +the change does not to any appreciable extent better it financially; a +pursuit equally available should be preferred. Neglect in seeking out +such an amelioration of situation would cause the necessity of it to +cease and make the delinquent responsible for habitual breach of the +law. + +If it is always a sin to engage without necessity in servile works on +Sunday, it is not equally sinful to labor little or labor much. Common +sense tells us that all our failings are not in the same measure +offensive to God, for they do not all contain the same amount of malice +and contempt of authority. A person who resolves to break the law and +persists in working all day long, is of a certainty more guilty than he +who after attending divine service fails so far as to labor an hour. +The question therefore is, how long must one work on Sunday to be +guilty of a mortal sin. + +The answer to this question is: a notable time; but that does not throw +a very great abundance of light on the subject. But surely a fourth of +the whole is a notable part. Now, considering that a day's work is, not +twenty-four hours, but ten hours, very rarely twelve, frequently only +eight, it will be seen to follow that two hours' work would be +considered a notable breach of the law of rest. And this is the +decision of competent authority. Not but that less might make us +grievously guilty, but we may take it as certain that he who works +during two full hours, at a labor considered servile, without +sufficient reason, commits a mortal sin. + + + +CHAPTER LIV. +COMMON WORKS. + +THERE is a third sort of works to be considered in relation to Sunday +observance, which, being of their nature neither liberal nor servile, +go by the specific name of common works. This class embraces works of +two kinds, viz., those which enter into the common, daily, inevitable +necessities of life, and those in which the mind and body are exerted +in an equal measure. + +The former are not considered servile because they are necessary, not +in certain circumstances, but at all times, for all persons, in all +conditions of life. Activity of this kind, so universally and +imperiously demanded, does not require dispensation from the law, as in +the case of necessary servile works properly so-called; but it stands +outside all legislation and is a law unto itself. + +These works are usually domestic occupations, as cooking and the +preparation of victuals, the keeping of the house in becoming tidiness, +the proper care of children, of beasts of burden and domestic animals. +People must eat, the body must be fed, life requires attention on +Sunday as well as on the other six days; and in no circumstances can +this labor be dispensed with. Sometimes eatables for Sunday consumption +may be prepared on the previous day; if this is not done, whether +through forgetfulness, neglect or indifference, it is lawful on Sunday +to prepare a good table, even one more sumptuous than on ordinary days. +For Sunday is a day of festival, and without enthusing over the fact, +we must concede that the words feast and festival are synonymous in +human language, that the ordinary and favorite place for human +rejoicing is the table, and in this man differs not from the other +animals of creation. This may not be aesthetic but it is true. + +In walking, riding, games, etc., the physical and mental forces of man +are called into play in about equal proportion, or at least, these +occupations can be called neither liberal arts nor manual labor; all +manners of persons engage therein without respect to condition or +profession. These are also called common works; and to them may be +added hunting and fishing, when custom, rightly understood, does not +forbid them, and in this region custom most uniformly does so forbid. + +These occupations are looked upon as innocent pastime, affording relief +to the body and mind, and in this respect should be likened to the +taking of food. For it is certain that sanitary conditions often as +imperiously demand recreation as nourishment. Especially is this the +case with persons given to sedentary pursuits, confined during the week +to shops, factories and stores, and whose only opportunity this is to +shake off the dull monotony of work and to give the bodies and minds +necessary relaxation and distraction. It is not physical rest that such +people require so much as healthy movement of a pleasing kind, and +activity that will draw their attention from habitual channels and thus +break the strain that fatigues them. Under these conditions, common +works are not only allowed, but they are to be encouraged. + +But it must not be lost sight of that these pursuits are permitted as +long as they remain common works, that is, as long as they do not +accidentally become servile works, or go contrary to the end for which +they are allowed. This may occur in three different manners, and when +it does occur, the works known as common are forbidden as servile +works. + +1. They must not expose us to the danger of omitting divine service. +The obligation to positively sanctify the day remains intact. Sin may +be committed, slight or grievous, according as the danger to which we +expose ourselves, by indulging in these pursuits, of missing public +worship, is more or less remote, more or less probable. + +2. These works become illicit when they are excessive, when too much +time is given to them, when the body receives too large a share of the +exercise, when accompanied by overmuch application, show or fatigue. In +these cases, the purpose of the law is defeated, the works are +considered no longer common and fall under the veto that affects +servile works. An aggravating circumstance is that of working for the +sole purpose of gain, as in the case of professional baseball, etc. + +3. Lastly, there are exterior circumstances that make these occupations +a desecration of the Lord's day, and as such evidently they cannot be +tolerated. They must not be boisterous to the extent of disturbing the +neighbor's rest and quiet, or detracting from the reverence due the +Sabbath; they must not entice others away from a respectful observance +of the Lord's day or offer an opportunity or occasion for sin, cursing, +blasphemy and foul language, contention and drunkenness; they must not +be a scandal for the community. Outside these contingencies of +disorder, the Sabbath rest is not broken by indulgence in works +classified as common works. Such activity, in all common sense and +reason, is compatible with the reverence that God claims as His due on +His day. + + + +CHAPTER LV. +PARENTAL DIGNITY. + +WE have done with the three commandments that refer directly to God. +The second Table of the Law contains seven precepts that concern +themselves with our relations to God, indirectly, through the creature; +they treat of our duties and obligations toward the neighbor. As God +may be honored, so He may be dishonored, through the works of His hand; +one may offend as effectively by disregard for the law that binds us to +God's creatures as for that which binds us to the Creator Himself. + +Since parents are those of God's creatures that stand nearest to us, +the Fourth Commandment immediately orders us to honor them as the +authors of our being and the representatives of divine authority, and +it prescribes the homage we owe them in their capacity of parents. But +that which applies to fathers and mothers, applies in a certain degree +to all who have any right or authority to command; consequently, this +law also regulates the duties of superiors and inferiors in general to +one another. + +The honor we owe to our parents consists in four things: respect for +their dignity, love for their beneficence, obedience to their authority +and assistance in their needs. Whoever fails in one of these +requirements, breaks the law, offends God and sins. His sin may be +mortal, if the quality of the offense and the malice of the offender be +such as to constitute I serious breach of the law. + +'Tis the great fault of our age to underrate parental dignity. In the +easy-going world, preference is given to profligate celibacy over +honorable wedlock; marriage itself is degraded to the level of a purely +natural contract, its bond has lost its character of indissolubility +and its obligations are shirked to meet the demands of fashion and +convenience. When parents, unworthy ones, do not appreciate their own +dignity, how will others, their children, appreciate it? And parenthood +will never be esteemed while its true nature and sanctity are ignored +and contemned; there is no dignity where the idea of God is excluded. + +After God had created man, He left him to work out his destiny in a +natural way; and immediately man assumed towards his offspring the +relation that God first held towards himself--he assumed the +prerogatives of paternity and of authority. All paternity belongs to +God, and to Him alone; yet man is delegated to that lofty, quasi-divine +function. God alone can create; yet so near does the parental office +approach to the power of creation that we call it pro-creation. + +Tis true, this privilege man holds in common with the rest of animated +nature, but with this difference: that the fruit of his loins is a +child of God, with an immortal soul, an heir to heaven where its +destiny is to glorify the Eternal during all eternity. And thus, man, +in his function of parent, is as far differentiated from the rest of +animal nature as the act by which God created man is superior to all +His other creative acts. + +If the tempter, when working out his plan for the fall of our first +parents, had simply and unconditionally said: "Ye shall be as gods," +his utterance would have in it more truth than he intended, for the +mantle of parenthood that was soon to fall upon them made them like +unto God. The children that romped around them, looked up to them even, +almost, as they were accustomed to look up to the Creator. And little +the wonder, since to their parents they owed their very existence. + +As depositaries of authority, there is no human station, however +exalted, comparable to theirs. Children are not merely subjects, they +belong to their parents. Church and State, under God, may see to it +that that authority is not abused; but within the bounds of right, they +are held to respect it; and their acts that go contrary to the exercise +of parental authority are, by the fact of such opposition, null and +void. Before the State or Church, the family was; its natural rights +transcend theirs, and this bowing, as it were, of all constituted human +authority before the dominion of parents is evidence enough of their +dignity. + +"God could not be everywhere, therefore he made parents--fathers and +mothers"--that is how the pagans used to put it. However theologically +unsound this proposition may appear, it is a beautiful attempt at a +great truth, viz., that parents towards us stand in God's stead. In +consequence of this eminent dignity that is theirs, they deserve our +respect. They not only deserve it, but God so ordains it. + + + +CHAPTER LVI. +FILIAL RESPECT. + +WORTHY of honor are they whom the Lord sees fit to honor. In the +exalted station to which they have been called and in the express +command made by the Lord to honor them, we see evidence of the dignity +of parents; and the honor we owe them for this dignity is the honor of +respect. By respect, we mean the recognition of their superiority, the +reverence, veneration and awe all well-born men instinctively feel for +natural worth that transcends their own, the deference in tone, manner +and deportment that naturally belongs to such worth. + +It is much easier to say in what respect does not consist than to +define the term itself. If it really exists in the heart--and there it +must exist, to be at all--it will find expression in a thousand +different ways, and will never be at a loss to express itself. Books +will give you the laws of etiquette and will tell you how to be polite; +but the laws that govern respect are graven on the heart, and he whose +heart is in the right place never fails to read and interpret them +correctly. Towards all, at all times and in all places, he will conform +the details of his life with the suggestions of his inner +consciousness--this is respect. + +Respect has no substitute; neither assistance nor obedience nor love +can supply it or take its place It may happen that children are no +longer obliged to help their parents; they may be justified in not +obeying them; the circumstances may be such that they no longer have +love or affection for them; but respect can never be wanting without +serious guilt. The reason is simple: because it is due in justice, +because it is founded on natural rights that can never be forfeited, +even when parents themselves lose the sense of their own dignity. + +Sinful, wicked and scandalous parents there have been, are, and will +be. But just as they do not owe the excellence to any deed of their +own, but to the free choice of the Almighty, so it depends not on +themselves to forfeit it. God made them parents without respect for +their personal worth. He is the custodian of their dignity. Good or +bad, they are parents and remain parents. Woe unto those who despise +the authors of their days! + +Respect overlooks an innocent joke at the expense of a parent, when +absolutely no malice is intended, when on both sides it is looked upon +as a matter of good-natured pleasantry. It brooks humor. Not all +familiarity breeds contempt. + +But contempt, which is directly opposed to respect, is a sin that is +never anything but mortal. It refuses honor, belittles dignity and +considers parents beneath esteem. It is contempt to laugh at, to mock, +to gibe and insult parents; it is contempt to call them vile, +opprobrious names, to tell of their faults; it is contempt, and the +height of contempt, to defy them, to curse them or to strike them. It +is bad enough when this sort of thing is directed against an equal; but +when parents are made the objects of contempt, it acquires a dignity +that is infernal. + +The malediction of Heaven, the almighty wrath of God follows him or her +who despises a parent. We are repeatedly told in Holy Writ that such +offenders "shall die the death." Scorn of parents is looked upon as a +crime almost on a par with hatred of God. Pagans frequently punished it +with death. Among Christians it is left to the avenging wrath of God +who is pledged to defend the dignity of His delegated paternity. + +It is not a rare occurrence to see just retribution visited upon +parents who in their day were undutiful, unworthy and unnatural +children. The justice of Heaven often permits it to be done unto us as +we do unto others. Our children will treat us as we shall have treated +our parents; their hands will be raised against us and will smite us on +the cheek to avenge the grandsire's dishonor and tears, and to make us +atone in shame for our sins against our parents. If we respect others, +they will respect us; if we respect our parents, our children will +respect us. + + + +CHAPTER LVII. +FILIAL LOVE. + +HE who has a heart, and has it properly located, will not fail to love +that which is good; he will have no difficulty in so doing, it will +require neither command nor persuasion to make him do so. If he proves +refractory to this law of nature, it is because he is not like the rest +of mortals, because he is inhuman; and his abnormal condition is due, +not to nature's mistakes, but to his own. And no consideration under +heaven will be equal to the task of instilling affection into a stone or +a chunk of putty. + +That is good which is desirable, or which is the source of what is +desirable. God alone is absolutely good, that is to say, good in +Himself and the cause of all good. Created things are good in the +proportion of their furnishing us with things desirable, and are for +that reason called relatively good. They confer benefits on one and not +perhaps on another. When I say: this or that is good, I mean that it is +useful to me, and is productive of comfort, happiness and other +desirable things. Because we are naturally selfish, our appreciation of +what is good depends on what we get out of it. + +Therefore, it is that a child's first, best and strongest love should +be for its parents, for the greatest good it enjoys, the thing of all +others to be desired, the essential condition of all else, namely its +existence, it owes to its parents. Life is the boon we receive from +them; not only the giving, but the saving in more than one instance, +the fostering and preserving and sustaining during long years of +helplessness, and the adorning of it with all the advantages we +possess. Nor does this take into account the intimate cost, the +sufferings and labors, the cares and anxieties, the trouble and +worriment that are the lot of devoted parenthood. It is life spent and +given for life. Flesh and blood, substance, health and comfort, +strength of body and peace of soul, lavished with unstinted generosity +out of the fulness of parental affection--these are things that can +never be repaid in kind, they are repaid with the coin of filial piety +and love, or they remain dead debts. + +Failure to meet these obligations brands one a reprobate. There is not, +in all creation, bird or beast, but feels and shows instinctive +affection towards those to whom it owes its being. He, therefore, who +closes his heart to the promptings of filial love, has the consolation +of knowing that, not only he does not belong to the order of human +beings, but he places himself outside the pale of animal nature itself, +and exists in a world of his own creation, which no human language is +able to properly qualify. + +The love we owe to our parents is next in quality to that which we owe +to God and to ourselves. Love has a way of identifying its object and +its subject; the lover and the beloved become one, their interests are +common, their purpose alike. The dutiful child, therefore, looks upon +its parent as another self, and remains indifferent to nothing that for +weal or for woe affects that parent. Love consists in this community of +feeling, concern and interest. When the demon of selfishness drives +gratitude out of the heart and the ties of natural sympathy become +strained, and love begins to wane; when they are snapped asunder, love +is dead. + +The love of God, of course, primes all other love. "He who loves father +or mother more than me," says the Saviour, "is not worthy of me." +Filial love, therefore, must not conflict with that which we owe to +God; it must yield, for it draws its force from the latter and has no +meaning without it. In normal conditions, this conflict never occurs; +it can occur only in the event of parents overriding the law that +governs their station in life. To make divine love wait on the human is +criminal. + +It may, and no doubt does, happen that parents become unlovable beings +through disregard for the moral law. And because love is not a +commodity that is made to order, children may be found who justify on +these grounds their absence of affection or even their positive hatred +for such parents. A drunken parent, one who attacks the life, virtue or +reputation of his offspring, a low brute who has neither honor nor +affection, and whose office it is to make home a living hell, such a +one can hardly be loved. + +But pity is a form of love; and just as we may never despise a fallen +parent, just so do we owe him or her, even in the depths of his or her +degradation, a meed of pity and commiseration. There is no erring soul +but may be reclaimed; every soul is worth the price of its redemption, +and there is no unfortunate, be he ever so low, but deserves, for the +sake of his soul, a tribute of sympathy and a prayer for his +betterment. And the child that refuses this, however just the cause of +his aversion, offends against the law of nature, of charity and of God. + + + +CHAPTER LVIII. +AUTHORITY AND OBEDIENCE. + +AUTHORITY means the right to command; to command is to exact obedience, +and obedience is submission of one's will to that of another, will is a +faculty that adores its own independence, is ambitious of rule and +dominion, and can hardly bear to serve. It is made free, and may not +bend; it is proud, and hates to bend; some will add, it is the dominant +faculty in man, and therefore should not bend. + +Every man for himself; we are born free; all men are equal, and no one +has the right to impose his will upon another; we are directly +responsible to God, and "go-betweens" are repudiated by the common +sense of mankind,--this is good Protestant theory and it is most +convenient and acceptable to the unregenerate heart of man. We +naturally like that kind of talk; it appeals to us instinctively. It is +a theory that possesses many merits besides that of being true in a +sense in which only one takes it out of fifty who advocate it. + +But these advocates are careful--and the reason of their solicitude is +anything but clear--to keep within the religious lines, and they never +dare to carry their theory into the domain of political society; their +hard common sense forbids. And they are likewise careful to prevent +their children from practicing the doctrine within the realm of +paternal authority, that is, if they have any children. Society calls +it anarchy, and parents call it "unnatural cussedness;" in religion it +is "freedom of the children of God!" + +If there is authority, there must be obedience; if one has the right to +command, there arises in others the correlative duty and obligation to +submit. There is no question of how this will suit us; it simply does +not, and will not, suit us; it is hard, painful and humiliating, but it +is a fact, and that is sufficient. + +Likewise, it is a fact that if authority was ever given by God to man, +it was given to the parent; all men, Protestants and anarchists alike, +admit this. The social being and the religious being may reject and +repudiate all law, but the child is subject to its parents, it must +obey. Failing in this, it sins. + +Disobedience is always a sin, if it is disobedience, that is, a refusal +to submit in things that are just, to the express command of paternal +authority. The sin may be slight or grievous, the quality of its malice +depending on the character of the refusal, of the things commanded and +of the command itself. In order that the offense may be mortal, the +refusal must be deliberate, containing an element of contempt, as all +malicious disobedience does. The command must be express, peremptory, +absolute. And nothing must be commanded done that may not reasonably be +accomplished or is not within the sphere of parental jurisdiction or is +contrary to the law of God. + +An order that is unreasonable or unlawful is invalid. Not only it may, +but it should be, disregarded. It is not sufficient for a parent, +wishing to oblige under pain of grievous sin, that he ask a thing done, +that he express his mind on the matter; he must order it and leave no +room to doubt that he means what he says. There may be disobedience +without this peremptoriness of command, but it cannot be a serious +fault. It is well also to make certain allowance for the levity and +thoughtlessness of youth, especially in matters whose importance is +beyond their comprehension. + +It is generally admitted that parental authority, exercised in things +that concern good morals and the salvation of the soul, can scarcely +ever be ignored without mortal offending. This means that besides the +sin committed--if the prohibition touches matters of sin--there is a +sin specifically different and a grievous one, of disobedience; by +reason of the parental prohibition, there are two sins, instead of one. +This should be remembered by those who, against the express command of +their parents, frequent bad companions, remain on the street at night, +neglect their religious duty, etc. + +Parents have nothing to say in the choice their children make of a +state in life, that is, they may suggest, but must not coerce. This is +a matter that depends on personal tastes and the inner voicings of the +spirit; having come to the age of manhood or womanhood, the party +interested knows best what walk of life will make him or her happy and +salvation easier. It is therefore for them to choose, and their choice +must be respected. In this they are not bound to obey the will of their +parents, and if disinclined to do so, should not. + + + +CHAPTER LIX. +SHOULD WE HELP OUR PARENTS? + +THERE are few things more evident to natural reason than the obligation +children are under to assist their parents when necessity knocks at +their door, and finding them unable to meet its harsh demands, presses +them with the goad of misery and want. Old age is weak and has to lean +on strength and youth for support; like childhood, it is helpless. +Accidentally, misfortune may render a parent dependent and needy. In +such contingencies, it is not for neighbors, friends or relatives to +come in and lend a helping hand; this duty devolves on the offspring, +on them first and on them alone. + +Charity is not alone to prescribe this office of piety. A stronger law +than charity has a claim in the matter, and that is the law of justice. +Justice demands a "quid pro quo," it exacts a just compensation for +services rendered. Even though there be no agreement between parents +and offspring, and the former gave without a thought of return, nature +records a contract, by the terms of which parents in want are entitled +to the same support from their children as the latter received from +them in the days of their helplessness. + +Those who do not live up to the terms of this natural contract stand +amenable to the justice of Heaven. The obligation follows them during +life, wherever they go; and they can no more shirk it than they can +efface the characters that declare it, graven on their hearts. Nothing +but sheer impossibility can dispense them. + +So sacred and inviolable is this obligation that it passes before that +of assisting wife and children, the necessity being equal; for filial +obligations enjoy the distinction of priority. Not even engagements +contracted before God hold against the duty of relieving parental +distress and want, for vows are of counsel and must yield to the +dictates of natural and divine law. + +Of course, the gravity of this obligation is proportionate to the +stress of necessity under which parents labor. To constitute a mortal +sin of neglect, it is not necessary that a parent be in the extreme of +privation and beggary. It is not easy to draw the line between slight +and grievous offending in this matter, but if some young men and women +examined their conscience as carefully as they do their new spring +suits and hats, they would find material for confession the avowal of +which might be necessary to confessional integrity. + +It has become the fashion with certain of the rising generation, after +draining the family exchequer for some sixteen or eighteen years, to +emancipate themselves as soon as their wages cover the cost of living, +with a little surplus. They pay their board, that is to say, they stand +towards their parents as a stranger would, and forgetting the debt +their younger years have piled up against them, they hand over a +miserable pittance just enough to cover the expenses of bed and board. +This might, and possibly does, make them "feel big," but that feeling +is a false one, and the "bigness" experienced is certainly not in their +moral worth, in many cases such conduct is a prevarication against the +law of God. This applies with equal force to young women whose vanity +overrides the claims of charity and justice, and who are said to "put +all their earnings on their backs," while they eat the bread that +another earns. + +Frequently children leave home and leave all their obligations to their +parents behind them at home. If their letters are rare, enclosed checks +are still rarer. They like to keep the old folks informed of the fact +that it costs a good deal to live away from home. They sometimes come +home on a visit; but these are visits; and visitors, even if they do +stay quite a while, do not pay board. + +But pecuniary assistance is not all; it is occasionally care and +attention an aged parent requires, the presence of a daughter who +prefers the gaiety of the city to the quiet of the old homestead that +is imperiously demanded. If the parent be feeble or sick, the undutiful +child is criminally negligent; the crime is still greater if there be +danger through that absence of the parent's dying without religious +consolation. + +I have said nothing of that unnatural specimen of humanity, sometimes +called a "loafer," and by still more ignoble names, who, to use a +vulgar term, "grubs" on his parents, drinks what he earns and befouls +the home he robs, with his loathsome presence and scandalous living. +The least said of him the better. He exists: 'tis already too much +said. + + + +CHAPTER LX. +DISINTERESTED LOVE IN PARENTS. + +LOVE seems to resume all the obligations of parents toward their +offspring; certainly, it directs all their actions, and they fulfil +these obligations ill or well according to the quality of that love. +But love is not sufficient; love is of two kinds, the right and the +wrong; nothing good comes of an affection that is not properly ordered. +In itself, parental love is natural, instinctive; therefore it is not +meritorious to any high degree. But there is much merit in the proper +kind of parental affection, because it requires sacrifice. + +There may be too little love, to the neglect and misfortune of +children. There may be too much, to their spoiling and utter +perversion. Again there may be affection that is partial, that singles +out one for caresses and favors to the exclusion of the others; hence +discord and dissensions in the family. The first two forms of +inordinate affection are equally bad, while the last combines both and +contains the double evil thereof. It is hard to say which is the worse +off, the child that receives too much or the one that receives too +little of that love which to be correct should avoid extremes. + +Parents are apt, under the sway of natural affection, to overlook the +fact that God has rights over the children, and that the welfare and +interests of the children must not be left outside all consideration: +herein lies the root of all the evil that befalls the family through +degenerate love. What is commonly, but improperly, called love is +either pagan fondness or simon-pure egotism and self-love. + +When a vain person looks into a mirror, she (if it be a "she") will +immediately fall in love with the image, because it is an image of +herself. And a selfish parent sees in his child, not another being, but +himself, and he loves it for himself. His affection is not an act of +generosity, as it should be, but an act of self-indulgence. He does not +seek to please another, he seeks to please himself. His love, +therefore, is nothing but concentrated vanity--and that is the wrong +kind. + +Such a parent will neglect a less favored child, and he will so far +dote on the corporal and physical object of his devotion as to forget +there is a soul within. He will account all things good that flatter +his conceit, and all things evil that disturb the voluptuousness of his +attachment. He owns that child, and he is going to make it the object +of his eternal delights, God's rights and the child's own interests to +the contrary notwithstanding. This fellow is not a parent; he is a pure +animal, and the cub will, one day make good returns for services +rendered. + +A parent with a growing-up family, carefully reared and expensively +educated, will often lay clever plans and dream elaborate dreams of a +golden future from which it would almost be cruelty to awake him. He +sees his pains and toils requited a thousand fold, his disbursements +yielding a high rate of interest and the name his children bear--his +name--respected and honored. In all this there is scarcely anything +blameworthy; but the trouble comes when the views of the Almighty fail +to square with the parental views. + +Symptoms of the malady then reveal themselves. Misfortunes are met with +complaints and murmurings against Providence and the manner in which it +runs the cosmic machine. Being usually self-righteous, such parents +bring up the old discussion as to the justice of the divine plan by +which the good suffer and the wicked prosper in this world. Sorrow in +bereavement is legitimate and sacred, but when wounded love vents its +wrath on the Almighty, the limit is passed, and then we say: "Such love +is love only in name, love must respect the rights of God; if it does +not, it is something else." The Almighty never intended children to be +a paying investment; it belongs to Him to call children to Himself as +well as parents themselves, when He feels like it. Parents who ignore +this do not give their children the love the latter have a right to +expect. + +Intelligent and Christian parents, therefore, need to understand the +true status of the offspring, and should make careful allowance for +children's own interests, both material and spiritual, and for the +all-supreme rights of God in the premises. Since true love seeks to do +good, in parents it should first never lose sight of the child's soul +and the means to help him save it. Without this all else is labor lost. +God frowns on such unchristian affection, and He usually sees to it +that even in this world the reaping be according to the sowing. + +The rearing of a child is the making or unmaking of a man or woman. +Love is the motive power behind this enterprise. That is why we insist +on the disinterestedness of parental love, before touching on the +all-important question of education. + + + +CHAPTER LXI. +EDUCATE THE CHILDREN. + +BEFORE reaching the age of reason, the child's needs are purely animal; +it requires to be fed, clothed and provided with the general +necessities of life. Every child has a natural right that its young +life be fostered and protected; the giver must preserve his gift, +otherwise his gift is vain. To neglect this duty is a sin, not +precisely against the fourth, but rather against the fifth, commandment +which treats of killing and kindred acts. + +When the mind begins to open and the reasoning faculties to develop, +the duty of educating the child becomes incumbent on the parent. As its +physical, so its intellectual, being must be trained and nourished. And +by education is here meant the training of the young mind, the bringing +out of its mental powers and the acquisition of useful knowledge, +without reference to anything moral or religious. This latter feature-- +the most important of all deserves especial attention. + +Concerning the culture of the mind, it is a fact, recognized by all, +that in this era of popular rights and liberties, no man can expect to +make anything but a meagre success of life, if he does that much, +without at least a modicum of knowledge and intellectual training. This +is an age in which brains are at a high premium; and although brains +are by no means the monopoly of the cultured class, they must be +considered as non-existent if they are not brought out by education. +Knowledge is what counts nowadays. Even in the most common walks of +life advancement is impossible without it. This is one reason why +parents, who have at heart the future success and well-being of their +children, should strive to give them as good an education as their +means allow. + +Their happiness here is also concerned. If he be ignorant and untaught, +a man will be frowned at, laughed at, and be made in many ways, in +contact with his fellow-men, to feel the overwhelming inferiority of +his position. He will be made unhappy, unless he chooses to keep out of +the way of those who know something and associate with those who know +nothing--in which case he is very liable to feel lonesome. + +He is moreover deprived of the positive comforts and happiness that +education affords. Neither books nor public questions will interest +him; his leisure moments will be a time of idleness and unbearable +tedium; a whole world--the world of the mind--will be closed to him, +with its joys, pleasures and comforts which are many. + +Add to this the fact that the Maker never intended that the noble +faculty of the intelligence should remain an inert element in the life +of His creature, that this precious talent should remain buried in the +flesh of animal nature. Intelligence alone distinguishes us from the +brute; we are under obligation to perfect our humanity. And since +education is a means of doing this, we owe it to our nature that we +educate ourselves and have educated those who are under our care. + +How long should the child be kept at school? The law provides that +every child attend school until it reaches the age of fourteen. This +law appears to be reasonable and just, and we think that in ordinary +circumstances it has the power to bind in conscience. The parent +therefore who neglects to keep children at school we account guilty of +sin, and of grievous sin, if the neglect be notable. + +Outside this provision of the law, we think children should be kept at +school as long as it is possible and prudent to do so. This depends, of +course, on the means and resources of the parents. They are under no +obligation to give to their children an education above what their +means allow. Then, the aptitudes, physical and mental, of the child are +a factor to be considered. Poor health or inherited weakness may forbid +a too close application to studies, while it may be a pure waste of +time and money to keep at school a child that will not profit by the +advantage offered. It is better to put such a child at work as soon as +possible. As says the philosopher of Archey Road: "You may lead a young +man to the university, but you cannot make him learn." + +Outside these contingencies, we think every child has a right to a +common school education, such as is given in our system under the high +school, whether it be fourteen years of age or over. Reading and +writing, grammar and arithmetic, history and geography, these are the +fundamental and essential elements of a common school education; and in +our time and country, a modicum of information on these subjects is +necessary for the future well-being, success and happiness of our +children. And since parents are bound to care for the future of their +children, we consider them likewise bound to give them such an +education as will insure these blessings. + + + +CHAPTER LXII. +EDUCATIONAL EXTRAVAGANCE. + +OUR public educational system is made up of a grammar and a high school +course, the latter consisting of a four years term of studies, devoted +in part, to a more thorough grounding in the essentials of education; +the other part--by far the more considerable, according to the +consensus of opinion--is expended on educational frills and vanities. +These "trimmings" are given gratis, the public bearing the burden of +expense, which foots up to a very respectable total. + +For a certain class of people--the people of means--this sort of a +thing has not many disadvantages; it is in a line with the future +occupation or profession of their offspring. But for the bulk of the +children who attend our free schools and on whose parents educational +taxes are levied, it has serious inconveniences, is not in line with +their future occupation or profession, is not only superfluous, but +detrimental. It is for them so much time lost--precious time, that were +better spent learning a trade or otherwise fitting themselves for their +life work. Herein therefore we discover a double extravagance: that of +parents who provide unwisely for their children's future and that of +the municipality which offers as popular an education that is anything +but popular, since only the few can enjoy it while all must bear the +burden alike. + +There is much in getting a start in life, in beginning early; a delay +is often a handicap hard to overcome. With very few exceptions, our +children gain their livelihood with their hands and eyes and ears, and +not solely with their brains; they therefore require title most +practical education imaginable. They need intellectual tools to work +with, and not a smattering of science, botany, drawing and political +philosophy to forget as soon as possible. Pure culture studies are not +a practical gain for them, while the time consumed in pursuing these is +so much taken away from a thorough training in the essentials. Lectures +on science, elementary experiments in chemistry, kindergarten +instructions in water color painting, these are as much in their place +in the education of the average child as an ivory-handled gold pen in +the hand that wields the pick-ax. + +A boy is better off learning a trade than cramming his head full of +culture fads; he is then doing something useful and profitable on which +the happiness and success of his life will depend. By the time his +companions have done dabbling in science and have come to the +conclusion that they are simply being shown how ignorant they are--not +a very consoling conclusion after all--he will have already laid the +foundation of his career and be earning enough to settle down in life. +He may not be able to talk on an infinity of subjects about which he +knows nothing at all, but he will be able to earn his own living, which +is something worth while. + +If the free high school were more of a business school, people would +get better returns for their money. True, some would then be obliged to +pay for the expensive fads that would be done away with; but since they +alone enjoy these things, why should others be made to pay for them who +cannot enjoy them? Why should the poor be taxed to educate the rich? +Why not give the poor full value for their share of the burden? Why not +provide them with intellectual tools that suit their condition, just as +the rich are being provided for in the present system? The parochial +high school has, in several places we know of, been made to serve as a +protest against such evils and as an example that has already been +followed in more than one instance by the public schools. Intelligent +and energetic pastors, knowing full well the conditions and needs of +their people, offer the children a course in business methods as being +more suitable, more profitable and less extravagant than four years +spent in acquiring a smattering of what they will never possess +thoroughly and never need in their callings in life. It is better to +fill young minds with the useful than with the agreeable, when it is +impossible to furnish both. Results already bespeak the wisdom of this +plan and reflect no small honor on its originators. + +Parents therefore should see to it that their children get the kind of +education they need, the kind that will serve them best in after life. +They should not allow the precious time of youth to be whiled' away in +trifles and vanities. Children have a right: to be educated in a manner +in keeping with their conditions in life, and it is criminal in parents +to neglect the real needs of their children while trying: to fit them +for positions they will never occupy. + +In the meantime, let them protest against the extravagance of +educational enthusiasts and excessive State paternalism. Let them ask +that the burden of culture studies be put where it belongs, that is, on +the shoulders of those who are the sole beneficiaries; and that free +popular education be made popular, that is, for all, and not for an +elite of society. The public school system was called into existence to +do one work, namely, to educate the masses: it was never intended to +furnish a college education for the benefit of the rich men's sons at +the expense of the poor. As it stands to-day, it is an unadulterated +extravagance. + + + +CHAPTER LXIII. +GODLESS EDUCATION. + +THE other defect, respecting education as found in the public schools +of the land, is that it leaves the soul out of all consideration and +relegates the idea of God to a background of silent contempt. On this +subject we can do no better than quote wisdom from the Fathers of the +Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. + +"Few, if any, will deny that a sound civilization must depend upon +sound popular education." But education, in order to be sound and to +produce "beneficial results, must develop what is best in man, and make +him not only clever, but good. A one-sided education will develop a +one-sided life; and such a life will surely topple over, and so will +every social system that is built up of such lives. True civilization +requires that not only the physical and intellectual, but also the +moral and religious, well-being of the people should be improved, and +at least with equal care. + +"It cannot be desirable or advantageous that religion should be +excluded from the school. On the contrary, it ought to be there one of +the chief agencies for moulding the young life to all that is true and +virtuous, and holy. To shut religion out of the school, and keep it for +home and the Church, is, logically, to train up a generation that will +consider religion good for home and the Church, but not for the +practical business of real life. A life is not dwarfed, but ennobled, +by being lived in the presence of God. + +"The avowed enemies of Christianity in some European countries are +banishing religion from the schools (they have done it since) in order +to eliminate it gradually from among the people. In this they are +logical. Take away religion from the school, and you take it away from +the people. Take it away from the people, and morality will soon +follow; morality gone, even their physical condition will ere long +degenerate into corruption which breeds decrepitude, while their +intellectual attainments would only serve as a light to guide them to +deeper depths of vice and ruin. A civilization without religion would +be a civilization of 'the struggle for existence, and the survival of +the fittest,' in which cunning and strength would become the +substitutes for principle, virtue, conscience and duty." + +One of the things the Catholic Church fears least in this country is +Protestantism. She considers it harmless, moribund, in the throes of +disintegration. It never has, cannot and never will thrive long where +it has to depend on something other than wealth and political power. It +has unchurched millions, is still unchurching at a tremendous rate, and +will end by unchurching itself. The godless school has done its work +for Protestantism, and done it well. Its dearest enemy could not wish +for better results. + +Popular education comes more and more to mean popularized irreligion. +The future struggles of the Church will be with Agnosticism and +Infidelity--the product of the godless public school. And without +pretending to be prophets or sons of prophets, we Catholics can foresee +the day when godless education, after making bad Christians, will make +bad citizens. And because no civilization worthy of the name has ever +subsisted, or can subsist, without religion, the maintenance of this +system of popular and free government will devolve on the product of +Christian education, and its perpetuity will depend upon the +generations turned out of the religious school. + +The most substantial protest the Catholic Church offers against godless +education is the system of her parochial schools; and this alone is +sufficient to give an idea of the importance of this question. From +headquarters comes the order to erect Catholic schools in every parish +in this land as soon as the thing can be done. This means a tremendous +amount of work, and a tremendous expense. It means a competition on +educational grounds with the greatest, richest and most powerful nation +in the world. The game must be worth the candle; there must be some +proportion between the end and the means. + +The Catholic Church has the wisdom of ages to learn from; and when she +embarks on an enterprise of this kind, even her bitterest enemies can +afford to take it for granted that there is something behind it. And +there is. There is her very life, which depends on the fidelity of her +children. And her children are lost to her and to God unless she +fosters religion in her young. Let parents share this solicitude of the +Church for the little ones, and beware of the dangers of the godless +school. + + + +CHAPTER LXIV. +CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. + +THE Catholic school system all over this land has been erected and +stands dedicated to the principle that no child can be properly, +thoroughly and profitably--for itself--educated, whose soul is not fed +with religion and morality while its intelligence is being stocked with +learning and knowledge. It is intended, and made, to avoid the two +defects under which our public school system labors--the one +accidental, the other fundamental--namely, extravagance and +godlessness. The child is taught the things that are necessary for it +to know; catechism and religion take the place of fads and costly +frills. + +The Catholic school does not lay claim to superiority over another on +purely secular lines, although in many cases its superiority is a very +patent fact; it repudiates and denies charges to the effect that it is +inferior, although this may be found in some cases to be true. It +contends that it is equal to, as good as, any other; and there is no +evidence why this should not be so. But it does pretend to give a more +thorough education in the true sense of the word, if education really +means a bringing out of that which is best in our nature. + +Neither do we hold that such a training as our schools provide will +assure the faith and salvation of the children confided to our care. +Neither church, nor religion, nor prayer, nor grace, nor God Himself +will do this alone. The child's fidelity to God and its ultimate reward +depends on that child's efforts and will, which nothing can supply. But +what we do guarantee is that the child will be furnished with what is +necessary to keep the faith and save its soul, that there will be no +one to blame but itself if it fails, and that such security it will not +find outside the Catholic school. It is for just such work that the +school is equipped, that is the only reason for its existence, and we +are not by any means prepared to confess that our system is a failure +in that feature which is its essential one. + +That every Catholic child has an inherent right to such a training, it +is not for one moment permitted to doubt; there is nothing outside the +very bread that keeps its body and soul together to which it has a +better right. Intellectual training is a very secondary matter when the +immortal soul is concerned. And if the child has this right, there is a +corresponding duty in the parent to provide it with such; and since +that right is inalienable, that duty is of the gravest. Hence it +follows that parents who neglect the opportunity they enjoy of +providing their offspring with a sound religious and moral training in +youth, and expose them, unprepared, to the attacks, covert and open, of +modern indifferentism, while pursuing secular studies, display a woeful +ignorance of their obligations and responsibilities. + +This natural right of the child to a religious education, and the +authority of the Church which speaks in no uncertain accents on the +subject go to make a general law that imposes a moral obligation upon +parents to send their children to Catholic schools. Parents who fail in +this simply do wrong, and in many cases cannot be excused from mortal +offending. And it requires, according to the general opinion, a very +serious reason to justify non-compliance with this law. + +Exaggeration, of course, never serves any purpose; but when we consider +the personal rights of children to have their spiritual life well +nurtured, and the general evils against which this system of education +has been judged necessary to make the Church secure, it will be easily +seen that there is little fear of over-estimating the importance of the +question and the gravity of the obligations under which parents are +placed. + +Moreover, disregard for this general law on the part of parents +involves contempt of authority, which contempt, by reason of its being +public, cannot escape the malice of scandal. Even when the early +religious education of the child is safeguarded by excellent home +training and example and no evil effects of purely secular education +are to be feared, the fact of open resistance to the direction of +Church authority is an evil in itself; and may be the cause of leading +others in the same path of revolt--others who have not like +circumstances in their favor. + +About the only person I know who might be justified in not sending his +children to Catholic schools is the "crank," that creature of mulish +propensities, who balks and kicks and will not be persuaded to move by +any method of reasoning so far discovered. He usually knows all that is +to be learned on the school question--which is a lie; and having +compared the parochial and the public school systems in an intelligent +and disinterested manner--which is another--he finds that the Catholic +school is not the place for his children. If his children are like +himself, his conclusion is wisely formed, albeit drawn from false +premises. In him, three things are on a par; his conceit, his ignorance +and his determination. From these three ingredients results a high +quality of asininity which in moral theology is called invincible +ignorance and is said to render one immune in matters of sin. May his +tribe decrease! + + + +CHAPTER LXV. +SOME WEAK POINTS IN THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. + +SOME parents claim that their children do not learn anything in the +Catholic school. It is good policy always to accept this statement as +true in all its parts; it may be true, and it is never good to deny the +truth. All are not equally endowed with brains in this world. If a +child has it dinned into his ears that the school he attends is +inferior, he will come to be convinced of the fact; and being +convinced, he will set to work verifying it, in his case, at least. +Heredity may have something to do with it; children are sometimes +"chips of the old block,"--a great misfortune in many cases, +handicapping them in the race of life. It is well, therefore, not to +claim too much for our schools. We concede the point. + +Another parent thinks that because he went through the public schools +and kept the faith in his day, his children may be trusted to do the +same. This objection has a serious front to it. It does seem strange +that children should not walk in the footsteps of their worthy parents; +but the fact is, and facts are stubborn things, the fact is that they +do not always act thus. And they might tell you, to justify their +unseemly conduct, that the conditions that obtained in life in olden +days are not the same as at present; that there were no parochial +schools then to offer a choice in matters of education and that kind +Providence might have taken this into consideration: that it was the +custom in those days for children to imitate the rugged virtues of +their parents struggling against necessity on one hand and bigotry on +the other; but that through the powerful influence of money, the +progeny of the persecuted may now hobnob with the progeny of the bigot, +and the association is not always the best thing in the world for the +faith and religious convictions of the former, unless these convictions +are well grounded in youth. The parent therefore who kept the faith +with less had a very considerable advantage over his child who +apparently has more privileges, but also more temptations and dangers. +The objection does not look so serious now. + +Of course there is the question of social standing--a very important +matter with some parents of the "nouveau riche" type. A fop will gauge +a man's worth by the size of his purse or the style and cut of the coat +he wears. There are parents who would not mind their children's sitting +beside a little darkey, but who do object most strenuously to their +occupying the same bench with a dirty little Irish child. A calico +dress or a coat frayed at the edges are certainly not badges of high +social standing, but they are not incompatible with honesty, purity, +industry and respect for God, which things create a wholesome +atmosphere to live in and make the world better in every sense of the +word. There is no refinement in these little ones, to speak of, not +even the refinement of vice. There is something in the air they breathe +that kills the germ of vice. The discipline considers sin a worse evil +than ignorance of social amenities, and virtue and goodness as far +superior to etiquette and distinction of manners. If a different +appreciation of things is entertained, we grant the inferiority of our +schools. + +"But then, it is so very un-American, you know, to maintain separate +schools in opposition to an institution so intensely American as our +public school system. This state of affairs fosters creed prejudices +that it is the duty of every true American to help destroy. The age of +religious differences is past, and the parochial school is a perpetual +reminder of things of the past that were best forgotten." + +We deny that the system that stands for no religious or moral training +is intensely American. This is a Christian land. If our denial cannot +be sustained, we consider such a system radically wrong and detrimental +to the best interests of the country; and we protest against it, just +as some of us protest against imperialism, high tariff and +monometalism. It is wrong, bad, therefore un-American. + +We also claim that the Protestant propaganda that is being carried on +under the guise of non-sectarian education is unspeakably unjust and +outrageous. Protestantism is not a State institution in this country. A +stranger might think so by the way public shekels are made to serve the +purposes of proselytism; but to make the claim, in theory, or in +practise, is to go counter to the laws of this land, and is un-American +to a degree. That is another un-Americanism we protest against. + +We teach truth, not creed prejudices; we train our children to have and +always maintain a strong prejudice for religious truth, and that kind +of prejudice is the rock-bed of all that is good and holy and worth +living for. We teach dogma. We do not believe in religion without +dogma, any more than religion without truth. "That kind of religion has +not been invented, but it will come in when we have good men without +convictions, parties without principles and geometry without theories." + +If there is anything un-American in all this, it is because the term is +misunderstood and misapplied. We are sorry if others find us at odds on +religious grounds. The fact of our existence will always be a reminder +of our differences with them in the past. But we are not willing to +cease to exist on that account. + + + +CHAPTER LXVI. +CORRECTION. + +AMONG the many things that are good for children and that parents are +in duty bound to supply is--the rod! This may sound old-fashioned, and +it unfortunately is; there is a new school of home discipline in vogue +nowadays. + +Slippers have outgrown their usefulness as implements of persuasion, +being now employed exclusively as foot-gear. The lissom birch thrives +ungarnered in the thicket, where grace and gentleness supply the whilom +vigor of its sway. The unyielding barrel-stave, that formerly occupied +a place of honor and convenience in the household, is now relegated, a +harmless thing, to a forgotten corner of the cellar, and no longer +points a moral but adorns a wood-pile. Disciplinary applications of the +old type have fallen into innocuous desuetude; the penny now tempts, +the sugar candy soothes and sugar-coated promises entice when the rod +should quell and blister. Meanwhile the refractory urchin, with no fear +to stimulate his sluggish conscience, chuckles, rejoices and is glad, +and bethinks himself of some uninvented methods of devilment. + +Yes, it is old-fashioned in these days to smite with the rattan as did +the mighty of yore. The custom certainly lived a long time. The author +of the Proverbs spoke of the practise to the parents of his generation, +and there is no mistaking the meaning of his words. He spoke with +authority, too; if we mistake not, it was the Holy Ghost that inspired +his utterances. Here are a few of his old-fashioned sayings: "Spare the +rod and spoil the child; he who loves his child spares not the rod; +correction gives judgment to the child who ordinarily is incapable of +reflection; if the child be not chastised, it will bring down shame and +disgrace upon the head of its parent." It is our opinion that authority +of this sort should redeem the defect of antiquity under which the +teaching itself labors. There are some things "ever ancient, ever new;" +this is one of them. + +The philosophy of correction may be found in the doctrine of original +sin. Every child of Adam has a nature that is corrupted; it is a soil +in which pride in all its forms and with all its cortege of vices takes +strong and ready root. This growth crops out into stubbornness, +selfishness, a horror of restraint, effort and self-denial; mischief, +and a spirit of rebellion and destruction. In its native state, +untouched by the rod of discipline, the child is wild. Now, you must +force a crooked tree to grow straight; you must break a wild colt to +domesticate it, and you must whip a wild boy to make him fit for the +company of civilized people. Being self-willed, he will seek to follow +the bent of his own inclinations; without intelligence or experience +and by nature prone to evil, he will follow the wrong path; and the +habits acquired in youth, the faults developed he will carry through +life to his own and the misery of others. He therefore requires +training and a substitute for judgment; and according to the Holy +Ghost, the rod furnishes both. In the majority of cases nothing can +supply it. + +This theory has held good in all the ages of the world, and unless the +species has "evolved" by extraordinary leaps and bounds within the last +fifty years, it holds good to-day, modern nursery milk-and-honey +discipline to the contrary notwithstanding. It may be hard on the +youngster--it was hard on us!--but the difficulty is only temporary; +and difficulty, some genius has said, is the nurse of greatness, a +harsh nurse, who roughly rocks her foster-children into strength and +athletic proportions. + +The great point is that this treatment be given in time, when it is +possible to administer it with success and fruit. The ordinary child +does not need Oft-repeated doses; a firm hand and a vigorous +application go a long way, in most cases. Half-hearted, milk-and-water +castigation, like physic, should be thrown to the dogs. Long +threatenings spoil the operation; they betray weakness which the child +is the first to discover. And without being brutal, it is well that the +chastisement be such as will linger somewhat longer in the memory than +in the sensibility. + +The defects that deserve this corrective especially are +insubordination, sulkiness and sullenness; it is good to stir up +the lazy; it is necessary to instil in the child's mind a saving +sense of its own inferiority and to inculcate lessons of humility, +self-effacement and self-denial. It should scourge dishonesty and lying. +The bear licks its cub into shape; let the parent go to the bear, +inquire of its ways and be wise. His children will then have a moral +shape and a form of character that will stand them in good stead in +after life; and they will give thanks in proportion to the pain +inflicted during the process of formation. + + + +CHAPTER LXVII. +JUSTICE AND RIGHTS. + +JUSTICE is a virtue by which we render unto every man that which to him +is due. Among equals, it is called commutative justice, the which alone +is here in question. It protects us in the enjoyment of our own rights, +and imposes upon us the obligation of respecting the rights of our +fellow-men. This, of course, supposes that we have certain rights and +that we know what a right is. But what is a right? + +The word itself may be clearer in the minds of many than its +definition; few ignore what a right is, and fewer still perhaps could +say clearly and correctly what they mean by the word. A right is not +something that you can see and feel and smell: it is a moral faculty, +that is, a recognized, inviolable power or liberty to do something, to +hold or obtain possession of something. Where the right of property is +concerned, it supposes a certain relation or connection between a +person and an object; this may be a relation of natural possession, as +in the case of life or reputation, a relation of lawful acquisition, as +that of the goods of life, etc. Out of this relation springs a title, +just and proper, by which I may call that object "mine," or you, +"yours;" ownership is thereby established of the object and conceded to +the party in question. This party is therefore said to have a right to +the object; and the right is good, whether he is in possession or not +thereof. Justice respects this right, respects the just claims and +titles of the owner, and forbids every act injurious thereto. + +All this pre-supposes the idea of God, and without that idea, there can +be no justice and no rights, properly so-called. Justice is based on +the conformity of all things with the will of God. The will of God is +that we attain to everlasting happiness in the next world through the +means of an established order of things in this life. This world is so +ruled, and our nature is such, that certain means are either absolutely +or relatively necessary for the attaining of that end; for example, +life, reputation, liberty, the pursuit of happiness in the measure of +our lawful capacity. The obligation therefore to reach that end gives +us the right to use these means; and God places in every soul the +virtue of justice so that this right may be respected. + +But it must be understood that the rights of God towards us transcend +all other rights that we may have towards our fellow-men; ours we enjoy +under the high dominion of Him who grants all rights. Consequently, in +the pursuit of justice for ourselves, our rights cease the moment they +come into antagonism with the superior rights of God as found in His +Law. No man has a right to do what is evil, not even to preserve that +most inalienable and sacred of all rights, his right to life. To deny +this is to destroy the very notion of justice; the restrictions of our +rights are more sacred than those rights themselves. + +Violation of rights among equals is called injustice. This sin has a +triple malice; it attacks the liberty of fellow-men and destroys it; it +attacks the order of the world and the basis of society; it attacks the +decree and mandate of the Almighty who wills that this world shall be +run on the plan of justice. Injustice is therefore directly a sin +against man, and indirectly a crime against God. + +So jealous is God of the rights of His creatures that He never remains +satisfied until full justice is done for every act of injustice. +Charity may be wounded, and the fault condoned; but only reparation in +kind will satisfy justice. Whatever is mine is mine, and mine it will +ever remain, wherever in this world another may have betaken himself +with it. As long as it exists it will appeal to me as to its master and +owner; if justice is not done in this world, then it will appeal to the +justice of Heaven for vengeance. + +The six last commandments treat of the rights of man and condemn +injustice. We are told to respect the life, the virtue, the goods and +the reputation of our fellow-men; we are commanded to do so not only in +act, but also in thought and desire. Life is protected by the fifth, +virtue by the sixth and ninth, property by the seventh and tenth, and +reputation by the eighth. To sin against any of these commandments is +to sin against justice in one form or another. + +The claims, however, of violated justice are not such as to exact the +impossible in order to repair an injury done. A dead man cannot be +brought back to life, a penniless thief cannot make restitution unless +he steals from somebody else, etc., etc. But he who finds himself thus +physically incapable of undoing the wrongs committed must have at least +the will and intention of so doing: to revoke such intention would be +to commit a fresh sin of injustice. The alternative is to do penance, +either willingly in this life, or forcibly in the purging flames of the +suffering Church in the next. In that way, some time or other, justice, +according to the plan of God, will be done; but He will never be +satisfied until it is done. + + + +CHAPTER LXVIII. +HOMICIDE. + +TO kill is to take life, human or animal. It was once thought by a sect +of crazy fanatics, that the Fifth Commandment applied to the killing of +animals as well as of men. When a man slays a man, he slays an equal; +when he kills an animal, he kills a creature made to serve him and to +be his food; and raw meat is not always palatable, and to cook is to +kill. "Everything that moves and lives," says Holy Writ, "shall be unto +you as food." + +The killing therefore herein question is the taking of human life, or +homicide. There can be no doubt but that life is man's best and most +precious possession, and that he has an inborn right to live as long as +nature's laws operate in his favor. But man is not master of that gift +of life, either in himself or in others. God, who alone can give, alone +may take it away. Sole master of life, He deals it out to His creatures +as it pleases Him; and whoever tampers with human life intrudes upon +the domain of the Divinity, violating at the some time the first right +of his fellow-man. + +We have an instinctive horror of blood, human blood. For the ordinary +individual the Mosaic enactment that forbids murder is almost +superfluous, so deeply has nature graven on our hearts the letter of +that law. Murder is abominable, for the very reason that life is +precious; and no reasonable being, civilized or savage, dealing death +unjustly unto a fellow-man, can have any other conviction in his soul +than that he is committing a crime and incurring the almighty wrath of +the Deity. If such killing is done by a responsible agent, and against +the right of the victim, the crime committed is murder or unjustifiable +homicide. + +Which supposes that there is a kind of homicide that is justifiable, in +seeming contradiction of the general law of God and nature, which +specifies no exception. But there is a question here less of exception +than of distinction. The law is a general one, of vast comprehension. +Is all killing prohibited? Evidently no. It is limited to human beings, +in the first place; to responsible agents, in the next; and thirdly, it +involves a question of injustice. What is forbidden is the voluntary +and unjust killing of a human being. Having thus specified according to +the rules of right reasoning, we find we have a considerable margin +left for the taking of life that is justifiable. And the records of +Divine revelation will approve the findings of right reason. + +We find God in the Old Law, while upholding His fifth precept, +commanding capital punishment and sanctioning the slaughter of war; He +not only approved the slaying of certain persons, but there are +instances of His giving authority to kill. By so doing He delegated His +supreme right over life to His creatures. "Whoever sheds human blood, +let his blood be shed." In the New Testament the officer of the law is +called the minister of God and is said not without cause to carry the +sword; and the sword is the symbol of the power to inflict death. + +The presence of such laws as that of capital punishment, of war and of +self-defense, in all the written codes of civilized peoples, as well as +in the unwritten codes of savage tribes, can be accounted for only by a +direct or indirect commission from the Deity. A legal tradition so +universal and so constant is a natural law, and consequently a divine +law. In a matter of such importance all mankind could not have erred; +if it has, it is perfectly safe to be with it in its error. + +These exceptions, if we may call them exceptions, suppose the victim to +have forfeited his right to live, to have placed himself in a position +of unjust aggression, which aggression gives to the party attacked the +right to repel it, to protect his own life even at the cost of the life +of the unjust aggressor. This is an individual privilege in only one +instance, that of self-defence; in all others it is invested in the +body politic or society which alone can declare war and inflict death +on a capital offender. + +Of course it may be said that in moral matters, like does not cure +like, that to permit killing is a strange manner of discouraging the +same. But this measure acts as a deterrent; it is not a cure for the +offender, or rather it is, and a radical one; it is intended to instil +a salutary dread into the hearts of those who may be inclined to play +too freely with human life. This is the only argument assassins +understand; it is therefore the only one we can use against them. + + + +CHAPTER LXIX. +IS SUICIDE A SIN? + +MOST people no doubt remember how, a short time previous to his death, +Col. Robert Ingersoli, the agnostic lecturer, gave out a thesis with +the above title, offering a negative conclusion. Some discussion ensued +in public print; the question was debated hotly, and whole columns of +pros and cons were inflicted on the suffering public by the theologues +who had taken the matter seriously. + +We recall, too, how, in the height of the discussion, a poor devil of +an unfortunate was found in one of the parks of the Metropolis with an +empty pistol in his clinched fist, a bullet in his head and in his +pocket a copy of the thesis: Is suicide a sin? + +To a Christian, this theorizing and speculation was laughable enough; +but when one was brought face to face with the reality of the thing, a +grim humor was added to the situation. Comedy is dangerous that leads +to tragedy. + +The witty part of the matter was this: Ingersoli spoke of sin. Now, +what kind of an intelligible thing could sin be in the mind of a +blasphemous agnostic? What meaning could it have for any man who +professes not to know, or to care, who or what God is? + +If there is no Legislator, there is no Law; if no Law, then no +violation of the Law. If God does not exist, there can be no offending +Him. Eliminate the notion of God, and there is no such thing as sin. +Sin, therefore, had no meaning for Ingersoli; his thesis had no +meaning, nothing he said had any meaning. Yet, people took him +seriously! And at least one poor wretch was willing to test the truth +of the assertion and run his chances. + +Some people, less speculative, contend that the fact of suicide is +sufficient evidence of irresponsibility, as no man in his right senses +would take his own life. This position is both charitable and +consoling; unfortunately, certain facts of premeditation and clear +mindedness militate so strongly against such a general theory that one +can easily afford to doubt its soundness. That this is true in many +cases, perhaps in the majority of cases, all will admit; in all cases, +few will admit it. However, the question here is one of principle, and +not of fact. + +The prime evil at the bottom of all killing is that of injustice; but +in self-destruction where the culprit and the victim are one and the +same person, there can be no question of injustice. Akin to, and a +substitute for, the law of justice is that of charity, by which we are +bound to love ourselves and do ourselves no harm or injury. The saying +"charity begins at home" means that we ourselves are the first objects +of our charity. If therefore we must respect the life of our neighbor, +the obligation is still greater to respect our own. + +Then there is the supreme law of justice that reposes in God. We should +remember that God is the supreme and sole Master of life. Man has a +lease of life, but it does not belong to him to destroy at his own +will. He did not give it to himself; and he cannot take it away. +Destruction supposes an authority and dominion that does not belong to +any man where life is concerned. And he who assumes such a prerogative +commits an act of unquestionable injustice against Him whose authority +is usurped. + +By indirect killing we mean the placing of an act, good or at least +morally indifferent, from which may result a benefit that is intended, +but also an evil--death--which is not intended but simply suffered to +occur. In this event there is no sin, provided there be sufficient +reason for permitting said evil effect. The act may be an operation, +the benefit intended, a cure; the evil risked, death. The misery of ill +health is a sufficient reason for risking the evil of death in the hope +of regaining strength and health. To escape sure death, to escape from +grave danger or ills, to preserve one's virtue, to save another's life, +to assure a great public benefit, etc., these are reasons proportionate +to the evil of risking life; and in these and similar cases, if death +results, it is indirect suicide, and is in nowise criminal. + +The same cannot be said of death that results from abuses or excesses +of any kind, such as dissipation or debauchery; from risks that are +taken in a spirit of bravado or with a view to winning fame or lucre. +For a still better reason this cannot be said of those who undergo +criminal operations: it is never permitted to do what is intrinsically +evil that good may come therefrom. + +All this applies to self-mutilation as well as to self-destruction; as +parts of the whole, one's limbs should be the objects of one's charity, +and God's law demands that we preserve them as well as the body itself. +It is lawful to submit to the maiming process only when the utility of +the whole body demands it; otherwise it is criminal. + +One word more. What about those who call upon, and desire death? To +desire evil is sinful. Yes, but death is a moral evil when its mode is +contrary to the laws of God and of nature. Thus, with perfect +acquiescence to order of Divine Providence, if one desire death in +order to be at rest with God, that one desires a good and meritorious +thing and with perfect regularity; it is less meritorious to desire +death with the sole view of escaping the ills and troubles of life; it +would even be difficult to convict one of mortal offending if he +desired death for a slight and futile reason, if there be due respect +for the will of God. The sin of such desires consists in rebellion +against the divine Will and opposition to the providence of God; in +such cases the sin is never anything but grievous. + + + +CHAPTER LXX. +SELF-DEFENSE. + +THE thought is a terrible one--and the act is desperate in itself--of a +man, however justified his conduct may be, slaying with his own hand a +fellow being and sending his soul, unprepared perhaps, before its +Maker. But it is a still more desperate thing, because it strikes us +nearer home, to yield up one's life into the hands of an agent of +injustice. There is here an alternative of two very great evils; it is +a question of two lives, his and mine; I must slay or I must die +without having done anything to forfeit my life. + +But the law of charity, founded in nature, makes my life more precious +to me than his, for charity begins at home. Then, to save his life, I +must give mine; and he risks his to take mine! I do not desire to kill +my unjust aggressor, but I do intend, as I have a perfect right, to +protect my own life. If he, without cause, places his existence as an +obstacle to my enjoyment of life, then I shall remove that obstacle, +and to do it, I shall kill. Again, a desperate remedy, but the +situation is most terribly desperate. Being given law of my being, I +can not help the inevitable result of conditions of which I am nowise +responsible. The man who attacks my life places his own beyond the +possibility of my saving it. + +This, of course, supposes a man using the full measure of his rights. +But is he bound to do this, morally? Not if his charity for another be +greater than that which he bears towards himself, if he go beyond the +divine injunction to love his neighbor as himself and love him better +than himself; if he feel that he is better prepared to meet his God +than the other, if he have no one dependent on him for maintenance and +support. Even did he happen to be in the state of mortal sin, there is +every reason to believe that such charity as will sacrifice life for +another, greater than which no man has, would wash away that sin and +open the way of mercy; while great indeed must be the necessity of the +dependent ones to require absolutely the death of another. + +The aggression that justifies killing must be unjust. This would not be +the case of a criminal being brought to justice or resisting arrest. +Justice cannot conflict with itself and can do nothing unjust in +carrying out its own mandates. The culprit therefore has no grounds to +stand upon for his defense. + +Neither is killing justifiable, if wounding or mutilation would effect +the purpose. But here the code of morals allows much latitude on +account of the difficulty of judging to a nicety the intentions of the +aggressor, that is, whether he means to kill or not; and of so +directing the protecting blow as to inflict just enough, and no more +disability than the occasion requires. + +Virtue in woman is rightly considered a boon greater than life; and for +that matter, so is the state of God's friendship in the soul of any +creature. Then, here too applies the principle of self-defense. If I +may kill to save my life, 1 may for a better reason kill to save my +soul and to avoid mortal offense. True, the loss of bodily integrity +does not necessarily imply a staining of the soul; but human nature is +such as to make the one an almost fatal consequence of the other. The +person therefore who kills to escape unjust contamination acts within +his or her rights and before God is justified in the doing. + +We would venture to say the same thing of a man who resorts to this +extreme in order to protect his rightly gotten goods, on these two +conditions, however: that there be some kind of proportion between the +loss and the remedy he employs to protect himself against it; and that +he have well grounded hope that the remedy will be effective, that it +will prevent said loss, and not transform itself into revenge. + +And here a last remark is in order. The killing that is permitted to +save, is not permitted to avenge loss sustained; the law sanctions +self-defense, but not vengeance. If a man, on the principle of +self-defense, has the right to kill to save his brother, and fails to +do so, his further right to kill ceases; the object is past saving and +vengeance is criminal. If a woman has been wronged, once the wrong +effected, there can be no lawful recourse to slaying, for what is lost +is beyond redemption, and no reason for such action exists except +revenge. In these cases killing is murder, pure and simple, and there +is nothing under Heaven to justify it. + +Remembering the injunction to love our neighbor as ourself, we add that +we have the same right to defend our neighbor's life as we have to +defend our own, even to protect his or her innocence and virtue and +possessions. A husband may defend the honor of his wife, which is his +own, even though the wife be a party to the crime and consent to the +defilement; but the right is only to prevent, and ceases on the event +of accomplishment, even at the incipient stage. + + + +CHAPTER LXXI. +MURDER OFTEN SANCTIONED. + +ALL injury done to another in order to repair an insult is criminal, +and if said injury result in death, it is murder. + +Here we consider an insult as an attack on one's reputation or +character, a charge or accusation, a slurring remark, etc., without +reference to the truth or falsity thereof. It may be objected that +whereas reputation, like chastity and considerable possessions, is +often valued as high as life itself, the same right exists to defend it +even at the cost of another's life. But it must be remembered that the +loss of character sustained in consequence of an insult of this kind is +something very ephemeral and unsubstantial; and only to a mind +abnormally sensitive can any proportion be perceived between the loss +and the remedy. This is especially true when the attack is in words and +goes no farther than words: for "sticks and stones will break your +bones, but names will never hurt you," as we used to say when we were +boys. Then, words are such fleeting things that the harm is done, +whatever harm there is, before any remedy can be brought to bear upon +it; which fact leaves no room for self-defense. + +In such a case, the only redress that can be had is from the courts of +justice, established to undo wrongs as far as the thing can be done. +The power to do this belongs to the State alone, and is vested in no +private individual. To assume the prerogative of privately doing +oneself justice, when recourse can be had to the tribunals of justice, +is to sin, and every act committed in this pursuit of justice is +unlawful and criminal. + +This applies likewise to all the other cases of self-defense wherein +life, virtue and wealth are concerned, if the harm is already done, or +if legal measures can prevent the evil, or undo it. It may be that the +justice dealt out by the tribunal, in case of injury being done to u's, +prove inferior to that which we might have obtained ourselves by +private methods. But this is not a reason for one to take the law into +one's own hands. Such loss is accidental and must be ascribed to the +inevitable course of human things. + +Duelling is a form of murder and suicide combined, for which there can +possibly be no justification. The code of honor that requires the +reparation of an insult at the point of the sword or the muzzle of a +pistol has no existence outside the befogged intelligence of godless +men. The duel repairs nothing and aggravates the evil it seeks to +remedy. The justice it appeals to is a creature dependent on skill and +luck; such justice is not only blind, but crazy as well. + +That is why the Church anathematizes duelling. The duel she condemns is +a hand-to-hand combat prearranged as to weapons, time and place, and it +is immaterial whether it be to the death or only to the letting of +first blood. She fulminates her major excommunication against +duellists, even in the event of their failing to keep their agreement. +Her sentence affects seconds and all those who advise or favor or abet, +and even those whose simple presence is an incentive and encouragement. +She refuses Christian burial to the one who falls, unless before dying +he shows certain dispositions of repentance. + +Prize fighting, however brutal and degrading, must not be put in the +category of duelling. Its object is not to wipe out an insult, but to +furnish sport and to reap the incidental profits. In normal conditions +there is no danger to life or limb. Sharkey might stop with the point +of his chin a blow that would send many another into kingdom come; but +so long as Sharkey does the stopping the danger remains non-existent. +If, however, hate instead of lucre bring the men together, that motive +would be sufficient to make the game one of blood if not of death. + +Lynching, is another kind of murder, and a cowardly, brutal kind, at +that. No crime, no abomination on the part of the victim, however +great, can justify such an inhuman proceeding. It brands with the crime +of wilful murder every man or woman who has a hand in it. To defend the +theory of lynching-is as bad as to carry it out in practice. And it is +greatly to be feared that the Almighty will one day call this land to +account for the outrageous performances of unbridled license and +heartless cruelty that occur so frequently in our midst. + +The only plea on which to ground an excuse for such exhibitions of +brutality and disrespect for order and justice would be the inability +of established government to mete out justice to the guilty; but this +is not even the case, for government is defied and lawful authority +capable and willing to punish is spurned; the culprit is taken from the +hands of the law and delivered over to the vengeance of a mob. However +popular the doctrine of Judge Lynch may be in certain sections of the +land, it is nevertheless reprobated by the law of God and stands +condemned at the bar of His justice. + + + +CHAPTER LXXII. +ON THE ETHICS OF WAR. + +IN these days, since we have evolved into a fighting nation, our young +men feel within them the instinct of battle, which, like Job's steed, +"when it heareth the trumpet, saith: 'ha, ha'; that smelleth the battle +afar off, the encouraging of the captains, the shouting of the army." +Military trappings are no longer looked upon as stage furniture, good +only for Fourth-of-July parades and sham manoeuvers. War with us has +become a stern reality, and promises to continue such, for people do +not yield up willingly their independence, even to a world-power with a +providential "destiny" to fulfil. And since war is slaughter, it might +be apropos to remark on the morality of such killing as is done on the +field of battle and of war in general. + +In every war there is a right side and a wrong side; sometimes, +perhaps, more frequently, there is right and wrong on both sides, due +to bungling diplomacy and the blindness of prejudice. But in every case +justice demands the triumph of one cause and the defeat of the other. +To determine in any particular case the side of right and justice is a +very difficult matter. And perhaps it is just as well that it is so; +for could this be done with truth and accuracy, frightful +responsibilities would have to be placed on the shoulders of somebody; +and we shrink instinctively from the thought of any one individual or +body of individuals standing before God with the crime of war on his or +their souls. + +Therefore it is that grave men are of the opinion that such a +tremendous event as war is not wholly of man's making, but rather an +act of God, like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the like; which +things He uses as flails to chastise His people, or to bring them to a +sense of their own insignificance in His sight. Be this as it may, it +is nevertheless true that a private individual is rarely, if ever, +competent to judge rightly by himself of the morality of any given +cause, until such time at least as history has probed the matter and +brought every evidence to light. In case, therefore, of doubt, every +presumption should favor the cause of one's own country. If, in my +private opinion, the cause of my country is doubtfully wrong, then that +doubt should yield to the weight of higher authoritative opinion. +Official or popular judgment will be authority for me; on that +authority I may form a strong probable opinion, at least; and this will +assure the morality of my taking up my country's cause, even though it +be doubtful from my personal point of view. If this cannot be done and +one's conscience positively reprove such a cause, then that one cannot, +until a contrary conviction is acquired, take any part therein. But he +is in no wise bound to defend with arms the other side, for his +convictions are subjective and general laws do not take these into +account. + +Who are bound to serve? That depends on the quality of danger to which +the commonwealth is exposed. First, the obligation is for those who can +do so easily; young men, strong, unmarried, with a taste for such +adventure as war affords. The greater the general peril, the less +private needs should be considered. The situation may be such as to +call forth every able-bodied man, irrespective of family necessities. +To shirk this duty when it is plainly a duty--a rare circumstance, +indeed--is without doubt a sin. + +Obedience to orders is the alpha and omega of army discipline; without +it a cause is lost from the beginning. Numbers are nothing compared to +order; a mob is not a fighting machine; it is only a fair target. The +issue of a battle, or even of a whole war, may depend on obedience to +orders. Army men know this so well that death is not infrequently the +penalty of disobedience. Consequently, a violation of discipline is +usually a serious offense; it may easily be a mortal sin. + +War being slaughter, the soldier's business is to kill or rather to +disable, as many of the enemy as possible on the field of battle. This +disabling process means, of course, and necessarily, the maiming unto +death of many. Such killing is not only lawful, but obligatory. War, +like the surgeon's knife, must often lop off much in order to save the +whole. The best soldier is he who inflicts most damage on the enemy. + +But the desire and intention of the soldier should not be primarily to +kill, but only to put the enemy beyond the possibility of doing further +harm. Death will be the result of his efforts in many cases, and this +he suffers to occur rather than desires and intends. He has no right to +slay outside of battle or without the express command of a superior +officer; if he does so, he is guilty of murder. Neither must there be +hate behind the aim that singles out a foe for destruction; the general +hatred which he bestows on the opposing cause must respect the +individual enemy. + +It is not lawful to wantonly torture or maim an enemy, whoever or +whatever he may be, however great his crime. Not even the express +command of a superior officer can justify such doings, because it is +barbarity, pure and unmitigated. In war these things are morally just +what they would be if they were perpetrated in the heart of peace and +civilization by a gang of thugs. These are abominations that, not only +disgrace the flag under which they are committed, but even cry to +Heaven for vengeance. + + + +CHAPTER LXXIII. +THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS. + +HEROD, the Bloody, slew all under two. A modern Moloch, a creature of +lust and blood, disguised often under the cloak of respectability, +stalks through a Christian land denying the babe the right to be born +at all, demanding that it be crushed as soon as conceived. There is +murder and murder; but this is the most heartless, cowardly and brutal +on the catalogue of crime. + +It is bad enough to cut down an enemy, to shoot him in the back; but +when it comes to slaying a victim as helpless as a babe, incapable of +entering a protest, innocent of all wrong save that of existing; when +even baptism is denied it, and thereby the sight of God for all +eternity; when finally the victim is one's own flesh and blood, the +language of hell alone is capable of qualifying such deeds. + +Do not say there is no injustice. Every innocent human being, at every +stage of its existence, from the first to the last, born or unborn, has +a natural and inalienable right to live, as long as nature's laws +operate in its favor. Being innocent it cannot forfeit that right. God +is no exceptor of persons; a soul is a soul, whether it be the soul of +a pontiff, a king or a sage, or the soul of the unborn babe of the last +woman of the people. In every case, the right to live is exactly the +same. + +The circumstances, regular or irregular, of its coming into life, not +being of its own making, do not affect the right in the least. It +obeyed the law by which every man is created; it could not disobey, for +the law is fatal. Its presence therefore, cannot be morally obnoxious, +a crime on its part. Whether its presence is a joy or a shame, that +depends solely on the free act of others than itself; and it is for +them to enjoy the privilege or bear the disgrace and burden. That +presence may occasion poverty, suffering, it may even endanger life; +what if it does! Has a person in misfortune the right to strike down +another who has had no part in making that misfortune? + +Life does not begin at birth, but precedes it; prenatal life is truly +life. That which is conceived, is; being, it lives as essentially as a +full-grown man in the prime of life. Being the fruit of humanity it is +human at every instant of its career; being human, it is a creature of +God, has an immortal soul with the image of the Maker stamped thereon. +And the veto of God, "Thou shalt not kill," protects that life, or it +has no meaning at all. + +The psychological moment of incipient life, the instant marked by the +infusion of soul into body, may furnish a problem of speculation for +the savant; but even when certitude ends and doubt begins, the law of +God fails not to protect. No man who doubts seriously that the act he +is about to perform is a crime, and is free to act or not to act, is +anything but a criminal, if he goes ahead notwithstanding and does the +deed. If I send a bullet into a man's head doubting whether or not he +be dead, I commit murder by that act, and it matters not at all in +point of fact whether said person were really dead or not before I made +sure. In the matter, therefore, which concerns us here, doubt will not +make killing justifiable. The law is: when in doubt, do not act. + +Then, again, as far as guilt is concerned, it makes not a particle of +difference whether results follow or not. Sin, you know, is an act of +the will; the exterior deed completes, but does not make, the crime. If +I do all in my power to effect a wrong and fail in the attempt through +no fault of my own, I am just as guilty before God as if I perpetrated +the crime in deed. It is more than a desire to commit sin, which is +sinful; it is a specific sin in itself, and in this matter, it is +murder pure and simple. + +This applies with equal force to the agent who does the deed, to the +principal who has it done or consents to its being done, to those who +advise, encourage, urge or co-operate in any way therein, as well as to +those who having authority to prevent, neglect to use it. The stain of +blood is on the soul of every person to whom any degree of +responsibility or complicity can be attached. + +If every murderer in this enlightened Christian land of ours received +the rope which is his or her due, according to the letter of the law, +business would be brisk for quite a spell. It is a small town that has +not its professional babe-slaughterer, who succeeds in evading the law +even when he contrives to kill two at one time. He does not like to do +it, but there is money in it, you know; and he pockets his unholy blood +money without a squirm. Don't prosecute him; if you do, he will make +revelations that will startle the town. + +As for the unnatural mother, it is best to leave her to listen in the +dead of night to the appealing voice of her murdered babes before the +tribunal of God's infinite justice. Their blood calls for vengeance. + + + +CHAPTER LXXIV. +ENMITY. + +KILLING is not the only thing forbidden by the Fifth Commandment: +thereby are prescribed all forms of enmity, of which killing is one, +that attack either directly or indirectly, in thought or desire, as +well as in deed, the life, limbs or health of the neighbor. The fifth +precept protects the physical man; everything therefore that partakes +of the nature of a design on the body of another is an offense against +this commandment. All such offenses are not equally grievous, but each +contains a malice of its own, which is prescribed under the head of +killing. + +Enmity that takes the form of fighting, assault and battery, is clearly +a breach of the law of God. It is lawful to wound, maim and otherwise +disable an assailant, on the principle of self-defense, when there is +no other means of protecting oneself against attack. But outside this +contingency, such conduct is ruffianism before man, and sin before God. +The State alone has the right to inflict penalties and avenge wrongs; +to turn this right over to every individual would be destructive of +society. If this sort of a thing is unlawful and criminal when there +might be some kind of an excuse for it on the ground of injury +received, the malice thereof is aggravated considerably by the fact of +there being no excuse at all, or only imaginary ones. + +There is another form of enmity or hatred that runs not to blows but to +words. Herein is evil, not because of any bodily injury wrought, of +which there is none, but because of the diabolical spirit that +manifests itself, a spirit reproved by God and which, in given +circumstances, is ready to resort to physical injury and even to the +letting of blood. There can be no doubt that hatred in itself is +forbidden by this commandment, for "whosoever hateth his brother is a +murderer," according to St. John. It matters little, therefore, whether +such hatred be in deeds or in words; the malice is there and the sin is +consummated. A person, too weak to do an enemy bodily harm, may often +use his or her tongue to better effect than another could his fists, +and the verbal outrage thus committed may be worse than a physical one. + +It is not even necessary that the spirit of enmity show itself at all +on the outside for the incurring of such guilt as attends the violation +of this commandment. It is sufficient that it possess the soul and go +no farther than a desire to do harm. This is the spirit of revenge, and +it is none the less sinful in the eyes of God because it lacks the +complement of exterior acts. It is immoral to nourish a grudge against +a fellow-man. Such a spirit only awaits an occasion to deal a blow, +and, when that occasion shows itself, will be ready, willing and +anxious to strike. The Lord refuses the gifts and offerings and prayers +of such people as these; they are told to go and become reconciled with +their brother and lay low the spirit that holds them; then, and only +then, will their offerings be acceptable. + +Even less than this suffices to constitute a breach of the Fifth +Commandment. It is the quality of such passions as envy and jealousy to +sometimes be content with the mere thought of injury done to their +object, without, even going so far as to desire to work the evil +themselves. These passions are often held in check for a time; but, in +the event of misfortune befalling the hated rival, there follows a +sense of complacency and satisfaction which, if entertained, has all +the malice of mortal sin. If, on the contrary, the prosperity of +another inspire us with a feeling of regret and sadness, which is +deliberately countenanced and consented to, there can be no doubt as to +the grievous malice of such a failing. + +Finally recklessness may be the cause of our harming another. It is a +sound principle of morals that one is responsible for his acts in the +measure of his foreseeing, and consenting to, the results and +consequences. But there is still another sound principle according to +which every man is accountable, at least indirectly, for the evil +consequences of his actions, even though they be unforeseen and +involuntary, in the measure of the want of ordinary human prudence +shown in his conduct. A man with a loaded revolver in his hand may not +have any design on the lives of his neighbors; but if he blazes away +right and left, and happens to fill this or that one with lead, he is +guilty, if he is in his right mind; and a sin, a mortal sin, is still a +sin, even if it is committed indirectly. Negligence is often culpable, +and ignorance frequently a sin. + +Naturally, just as the soul is superior to the body, so evil example, +scandal, the killing of the soul of another is a crime of a far greater +enormity than the working of injury unto the body. Scandal comes +properly under the head of murder; but it is less blood than lust that +furnishes it with working material. It will therefore be treated in its +place and time. + + + +CHAPTER LXXV. +OUR ENEMIES. + +WHAT is an enemy? A personal, an individual enemy is he who has done us +a personal injury. The enemy, in a general or collective sense, are +they--a people, a class or party--who are opposed to our interests, +whose presence, doings or sayings are obnoxious to us for many natural +reasons. Concerning these latter, it might be said that it is natural, +oftentimes necessary and proper, to oppose them by all legitimate +means. This opposition, however lawful, is scarcely ever compatible +with any high degree of charity or affection. But whatever of aversion, +antipathy or even hatred is thereby engendered, it is not of a personal +nature; it does not attain the individual, but embraces a category of +beings as a whole, who become identified with the cause they sustain +and thereby fall under the common enmity. The law that binds us unto +love of our enemy operates only in favor of the units, and not of the +group as a group. + +Hatred, aversion, antipathy, such as divides peoples, races and +communities, is one, though not the highest, characteristic of +patriotism; it may be called the defect of a quality. When a man is +whole-souled in a cause, he will brook with difficulty any system of +ideas opposed to, and destructive of, his own. Anxious for the triumph +of what he believes the cause of right and justice, he will rejoice +over the discomfiture of his rivals and the defeat of their cause. Wars +leave behind an inheritance of hatred; persecution makes wounds that +take a long time to heal. The descendants of the defeated, conquered or +persecuted will-look upon the generations of their fathers' foes as +typifying oppression, tyranny and injustice, will wish them all manner +of evil and gloat over their downfall. Such feelings die hard. They +spring from convictions. The wounds made by injustice, fancied or real, +will smart; and just as naturally will men retain in their hearts +aversion for all that which, for them, stands for such injustice. This +is criminal only when it fails to respect the individual and become +personal hate. + +Him who has done us a personal injury we must forgive. Pardon drives +hatred out of the heart. Love of God is incompatible with personal +enmity; therefore such enmity must be quelched. He who says he loves +God and hates his brother is a liar, according to divine testimony. +What takes the place of this hate? Love, a love that is called common +love, to distinguish it from that special sort of affection that we +have for friends. This is a general kind of love that embraces all men, +and excludes none individually. It forbids all uncharity towards a man +as a unit, and it supposes a disposition of the soul that would not +refuse to give a full measure of love and assistance, if necessity +required it. This sort of love leaves no room for hatred of a personal +nature in the heart. + +Is it enough to forgive sincerely from the heart? It is not enough; we +must manifest our forgiveness, and this for three good reasons: first, +in order to secure us against self-illusion and to test the sincerity +of our dispositions; secondly, in order to put an end to discord by +showing the other party that we hold no grudge; lastly, in order to +remove whatever scandal may have been given by our breach of +friendship. The disorder of enmity can be thoroughly cured and healed +only by an open renewal of the ties of friendship; and this is done by +the offering and acknowledgment of the signs of friendship. + +The signs of friendship are of two sorts, the one common, the other +special. Common tokens of friendship are those signs which are current +among people of the same condition of life; such as saluting, answering +a question, dealing in business affairs, etc. These are commonly +regarded as sufficient to take away any reasonable suspicion of hatred, +although, in matter of fact, the inference may be false. But the +refusal to give such tokens of pardon usually argues the presence of an +uncharitable feeling that is sinful; it is nearly always evidence of an +unforgiving spirit. There are certain cases wherein the offense +received being of a peculiar nature, justifies one in deferring such +evidence of forgiveness; but these cases are rare. + +If we are obliged to show by unmistakable signs that we forgive a wrong +that has been done, we are in nowise bound to make a particular friend +of the person who has been guilty of the wrong. We need not go out of +our way to meet him, receive or visit him or treat him as a long lost +brother. He would not expect it, and we fulfil our obligations toward +him by the ordinary civilities we show him in the business of life. + +If we have offended, we must take the first step toward reconciliation +and apologize; that is the only way we have of repairing the injury +done, and to this we are held in conscience. If there is equal blame on +both sides, then both are bound to the same duty of offering an +apology. To refuse such advances on the part of one who has wronged us +is to commit an offense that might very easily be grievous. + +All this, of course, is apart from the question of indemnification in +case of real damage being sustained. We may condone an offense and at +the same time require that the loss suffered be repaired. And in case +the delinquent refuse to settle amicably, we are justified in pursuing +him before the courts. Justice is not necessarily opposed to charity. + + + +CHAPTER LXXVI. +IMMORALITY. + +THE natural order of things brings us to a consideration of the Sixth +Commandment, and at the same time, of the Ninth, as treating of the +same matter--a matter so highly immoral as to deserve the specific +appellation of immorality. + +People, as a rule, are tolerably well informed on this subject. It is a +knowledge acquired by instinct, the depraved instinct of our fallen +nature, and supplemented by the experiences weaned from the daily +sayings and doings of common life. Finally, that sort of journalism +known as the "yellow," and literature called pornographic, serve to +round off this education and give it the finishing touches. + +But, on the other hand, if one considers the innocent, the young and +inexperienced, who are not a few; and likewise the morbidly curious of +sensual tendencies, who are many, this matter must appear as a high +explosive, capable of doing any amount of damage, if not handled with +the utmost care and caution. + +Much, therefore, must be left unsaid, or half-said; suggestion and +insinuation must be trusted to go far enough, in order that, while the +knowing understand, the ignorant may be secure in the bliss of their +ignorance and be not prematurely informed. + +They, for whom such language is insufficient, know where to go for +fuller information. Parents are the natural teachers; the boy's father +and the girl's mother know what to say, how and when to say it; or at +least should know. And if parents were only more careful, in their own +way, to acquaint their children with certain facts when the time comes +for it, much evil would be avoided, both moral and physical. + +But there are secrets too sacred even for parents' ears, that are +confided only to God, through His appointed minister. Catholics know +this man is the confessor, and the place for such information and +counsel, the holy tribunal of penance. These two channels of knowledge +are safe; the same cannot be said of others. + +As a preliminary, we would remark that sins, of the sort here in +question as well as all kinds of sin, are not limited to deeds. +Exterior acts consummate the malice of evil, but they do not constitute +such malice; evil is generated in the heart. One who desires to do +wrong offends God as effectively as another who does the wrong in deed. +Not only that, but he who makes evil the food of his mind and ponders +complacently on the seductive beauty of vice is no less guilty than he +who goes beyond theory into practice. This is something we frequently +forget, or would fain forget, the greed of passion blinding us more or +less voluntarily to the real moral value of our acts. + +As a consequence of this self-illusion many a one finds himself far +beyond his depth in the sea of immorality before he fully realizes his +position. It is small beginnings that lead to lasting results; it is by +repeated acts that habits are formed; and evil grows on us faster than +most of us are willing to acknowledge. All manner of good and evil +originates in thought; and that is where the little monster of +uncleanness must be strangled before it is full-grown, if we would be +free from its unspeakable thralldom. + +Again, this is a matter the malice and evil of which very, very rarely, +if ever, escapes us. He who commits a sin of impurity and says he did +not know it was wrong, lies deliberately, or else he is not in his +right frame of mind. The Maker has left in our souls enough of natural +virtue and grace to enable us to distinguish right and wrong, clean and +unclean; even the child with no definite knowledge of the matter, +meeting it for the first time, instinctively blushes and recoils from +the moral hideousness of its aspect. Conscience here speaks in no +uncertain accents; he alone does not hear who does not wish to hear. + +Catholic theologians are even more rigid concerning the matter itself, +prescinding altogether from our perception of it. They say that here no +levity of matter is allowed, that is to say, every violation, however +slight, of either of these two commandments, is a sin. You cannot even +touch this pitch of moral defilement without being yourself defiled. It +is useless therefore to argue the matter and enter a plea of triviality +and inconsequence; nothing is trivial that is of a nature to offend God +and damn a soul. + +Weakness has the same value as an excuse as it has elsewhere in moral +matters. Few sins are of pure malice; weakness is responsible for the +damnation of all, or nearly all, the lost. That very weakness is the +sin, for virtue is strength. To make this plea therefore is to make no +plea at all, for we are all weak, desperately weak, especially against +the demon of the flesh, and we become weaker by yielding. And we are +responsible for the degree of moral debility under which we labor just +as we are for the degree of guilt we have incurred. + +Finally, as God, is no exceptor of persons, He does not distinguish +between souls, and sex makes no difference with Him. In this His +judgment differs from that of the world which absolves the man and +condemns the woman. There is no evident reason why the violation of a +divine precept should be less criminal in one human creature than in +another. And if the reprobation of society does not follow both +equally, the wrath of God does, and He will render unto every one +according to his and her works. + + + +CHAPTER LXXVII. +THE SINK OF INIQUITY. + +THE malice of lust consists in the abuse of a natural, a quasi-divine +faculty, which is prostituted to ignoble purposes foreign to the ends +by the Creator established. The lines along which this faculty may be +legitimately exercised, are laid down by natural and divine laws, +destined to preserve God's rights, to maintain order in society and to +protect man against himself. The laws result in the foundation of a +state, called matrimony, within which the exercise of this human +prerogative, delegated to man by the Creator, receives the sanction of +divine authority, and becomes invested with a sacred character, as +sacred as its abuse is abominable and odious. + +To disregard and ignore this condition of things and to seek +satisfaction for one's passions outside the domain of lawful wedlock, +is to revolt against this order of creative wisdom and to violate the +letter of the law. But the intrinsic malice of the evil appears in the +nature of this violation. This abuse touches life; not life in its +being, but in its source, in the principle that makes all vitality +possible, which is still more serious. Immorality is therefore a moral +poisoning of the wells of life. It profanes and desecrates a faculty +and prerogative so sacred that it is likened to the almighty power of +the Creator. + +A manifold malice may attach to a single act in violation of the law of +moral purity. The burden of a vow in either party incurring guilt, +whether that vow be matrimonial or religious, is a circumstance that +adds injustice or sacrilege to the crime, according to the nature of +that vow; and the double guilt is on both parties. If the vow exists in +one and the other delinquent, then the offense is still further +multiplied and the guilt aggravated. Blood-relationship adds a specific +malice of its own, slight or grievous according to the intimacy of said +relationship. Fornication, adultery, sacrilege and incest--these, to +give to things their proper names, are terms that specify various +degrees of malice and guilt in this matter; and although they do not +sound well or look well in print, they have a meaning which sensible +folks should not ignore. + +A lapse from virtue is bad; the habit or vice, voluntarily entertained, +is infinitely worse. If the one argues weakness, even culpable, the +other betrays a studied contempt for God and the law, an utter +perversion of the moral sense that does not even esteem virtue in +itself; an appalling thralldom of the spirit to the flesh, an appetite +that is all ungodly, a gluttony that is bestial. Very often it supposes +a victim held fast in the clutches of unfeeling hoggishness, fascinated +or subjugated, made to serve, while serviceable; and then cast off +without a shred of respectability for another. It is an ordinary +occurrence for one of these victims to swallow a deadly potion on being +shown her folly and left to its consequences; and the human ogre rides +triumphantly home in his red automobile. + +But the positions may be reversed; the victim may play the role of +seductress, and displaying charms that excite the passions, ensnare the +youth whose feet are not guided by the lamp of experience, wisdom and +religion. This is the human spider, soulless and shameless, using +splendid gifts of God to form a web with which to inveigle and entrap a +too willing prey. And the dead flies, who will count them! + +The climax of infamy is reached when this sort of a thing is made, not +a pastime, but a business, when virtue is put on the market with its +fixed value attached and bartered for a price. There is no outrage on +human feeling greater than this. We are all born of woman; and the +sight of womanhood thus degraded and profaned would give us more of a +shock if it were less common. The curse of God is on such wretches as +ply this unnatural trade and live by infamy; not only on them, but on +those also who make such traffic possible and lucrative. Considering +all things, more guilty the latter than the former, perhaps. Active +co-operation in evil makes one a joint partner in guilt; to encourage +infamy is not only to sin, but also to share all the odium thereof; +while he who contributes to the perpetuation of an iniquity of this +nature is, in a sense, worse than the unfortunates themselves. + +The civil law which seeks to eliminate the social evil of prostitution +by enactment and process, gives rise, by enactment and process, to +another evil almost as widespread. Divorce is a creature of the law, +and divorce opens the door to concubinage, legalized if you will, but +concubinage just the same. The marriage tie is intact after as well as +before the decree of divorce; no human power can break that bond. The +permission therefore to re-marry is permission to live in adultery, and +that permission is, of its very nature, null and void. They who avail +themselves of such a permission and live in sin, may count on the +protection of the law, but the law will not protect them against the +wrath of the Almighty who condemns their immoral living. + + + +CHAPTER LXXVIII. +WHEREIN NATURE IS OPPOSED. + +CERTAIN excesses, such as we have already alluded to, however base and +abominable in themselves and their effects, have nevertheless this to +their credit that, while violating the positive law of God, they +respect at least the fundamental laws of nature, according to which the +universe is constructed and ordered. To satisfy one's depraved +appetites along forbidden but natural lines, is certainly criminal; but +an unnatural and beastly instinct is sometimes not-satisfied with such +abuse and excess; the passion becomes so blinded as to ignore the +difference of sex, runs even lower, to the inferior order of brutes. +This is the very acme of ungodliness. + +There are laws on the statute books against abominations of this sort; +and be it said to the shame of a Christian community, said laws find an +only too frequent application. Severe as are the penalties, they are +less an adequate punishment than a public expression of the common +horror inspired by the very mention of crimes they are destined to +chastise. To attain this depth of infamy is at one and the same time to +sin and to receive the penalty of sin. Here culminates repeated +violence to the moral law. When one is sated with ordinary lusts and is +bent on sweeping the whole gamut of mundane experiences and +excitations, that one invariably descends to the unnatural and +extraordinary, and lives a life of protest against nature. + +St. Paul confirms this. According to him, God, in punishment for sin +delivers over people to shameful affections, to a reprobate sense; he +suffers them to be a hell unto themselves. And nature seldom fails to +avenge herself for the outrages suffered. She uses the flail of disease +and remorse, of misery and disgust, and she scourges the culprit to the +verge of the grave, often to the yawning pit of hell. + +People shudder at the very thought of such unmentionable things: but +there are circles in society in which such sanctimonious shuddering is +a mighty thin veil of hypocrisy. Infinitely more common, and little, if +any, less unnatural and abominable are the crimes that are killing off +the old stock that once possessed the land and making the country +dependent for increase of population on the floods of immigration. The +old Puritan families are almost extinct; Boston is more Irish than +Dublin. The phenomenon is so striking here that it is called New +Englandism. Why are there so few large families outside the Irish and +Canadian elements? Why are there seen so few children in the +fashionable districts of our large cities? Why this blast of sterility +with which the land is cursed? Look behind the phenomenon, and you will +find the cause; and the finding will make you shudder. And if only +those shudder who are free from stain, the shuddering will be scarcely +audible. Onan and Malthus as household gods are worse than the gods of +Rome. + +Meanwhile, the unit deteriorates alongside the family, being given over +to a reprobate sense that is centered in self, that furnishes, against +all law, its own satisfactions, and reaps, in all justice, its +inevitable harvest of woe. To what extent this vice is common it would +serve no purpose to examine; students of criminology have more than +once made known their views on the matter. The character of its malice, +both moral and physical, needs no comment; nature is outraged. But it +has this among its several features; the thralldom to which it subjects +its victim has nothing outside itself to which it may be compared. +Man's self is his own greatest tyrant; there are no tortures so +exquisite as those we provide for ourselves. While therefore we reprove +the culprit, we commiserate with the unfortunate victim, and esteem +that there is none more worthy of sympathy, conditioned, of course, on +a state of mind and soul on his part that seeks relief and freedom; +otherwise, it were pity wasted. + +We have done with this infernal category of sin and filth. Yet we would +remark right here that for the most part, as far as they are general +and common, these excesses are the result of one cause; and that cause +is everyday systematic Godlessness such as our public schools are +largely responsible for. This system is responsible for a want of vital +Christianity, of a lack of faith and religion that penetrates the human +fibre and makes God and morality a factor in every deed. Deprived of +this, youth has nothing to fall back on when the hour of temptation +comes; and when he falls, nothing to keep him from the bottom of the +pit. + +It is impossible to put this argument in detail before the Christian +and Catholic parent. If the parent docs not see it, it is because that +parent is deficient in the most essential quality of a parent. Nothing +but the atmosphere of a religious school can save our youth from being +victims of that maelstrom of impurity that sweeps the land. And that +alone, with the rigid principles of morality there inculcated, can save +the parents of to-morrow from the blight and curse of New Englandism. + + + +CHAPTER LXXIX. +HEARTS. + +THE heart, the seat of the affections, is, after the mind whose +authority and direction it is made to obey, man's noblest faculty; but +it may, in the event of its contemning reason's dictates, become the +source and fountain-head of inordinate lust and an instrument of much +moral disaster and ruin. When the intelligence becomes powerless to +command and to say what and when and how the affections shall disport +themselves, then man becomes a slave to his heart and is led like an +ass by the nose hither and thither; and when nature thus runs +unrestrained and wild, it makes for the mudholes of lust wherein to +wallow and besot itself. + +The heart is made to love what is good; now, good is real or apparent. +Love is blind, and needs reason to discern for it what is good and what +is not, reason to direct its affections into their legitimate channels. +But the heart may refuse to be thus controlled, swayed by the +whisperings of ignorant pride and conceit; or it may be unable to +receive the impulse of the reason on account of the unhealthy fumes +that arise from a too exuberant animal nature unchastened by +self-denial. Then it is that, free to act as it lists, it accepts +indiscriminately everything with an appearance of good, in which gets +mixed up much of that which appeals to the inferior appetites. And in +the end it gets lost. + +Again, the heart is a power for good or evil; it may be likened to a +magazine, holding within its throbbing sides an explosive deposit of +untold energy and puissance, capable of all things within the range of +the human. While it may lift man to the very pinnacle of goodness, it +may also sink him to the lowest level of infamy. Only, in one case, it +is spiritualized love, in the other, it is carnal; in one case it obeys +the spirit, in the other, the flesh; in one case its true name is +charity, in the other, it is animal, sexual instinct, and it is only +improperly called love. For God is love. Love therefore is pure. That +which is not pure is not love. + +People who trifle with the affections usually come to woe sooner or +later, sooner rather than later; affairs of the heart are always +morally malodorous affairs. Frequently there is evil on one side at +least, in intention, from the start. The devil's game is to play on the +chaste attachment, and in an unguarded moment, to swing it around to +his point. If the victim does not balk at the first shock and surprise, +the game is won; for long experience has made him confident of being +able to make the counterfeit look like the real; and it requires, as a +general rule, little argument to make us look at our faults in their +best light. + +Many a pure love has degenerated and many a virtue fallen, why? because +people forget who and what they are, forget they are human, forget they +are creatures of flesh and blood, predisposed to sin, saturated with +concupiscence and naturally frail as a reed against the seductions of +the wily one. They forget this, and act as though theirs were art +angelic, instead of a human, nature. They imagine themselves proof +against that which counts such victims as David and Solomon, which +would cause the fall of a Father of the desert, or even of an angel +from heaven encumbered with the burden we carry, if he despised the +claims of ordinary common sense. + +And this forgetfulness on their part, let it be remembered, is wholly +voluntary and culpable, at least in its cause. They may not have been +attentive at the precise moment that the flames of passion reached the +mine of their affections; but they were well aware that things would +come inevitably to such a pass. And when the mine went up, as it was +natural, what wonder if disaster followed! Who is to blame but +themselves? People do not play with matches around a powder magazine; +and if they do, very little consolation comes with the knowledge of +their folly when they are being picked up in sections from out of the +ruins. + +Of course there are easier victims than these, such as would not +recognize true inter-sexual love if they saw it through a magnifying +glass; everything of the nature of a fancy or whim, of a sensation or +emotion with them is love. Love-sick maidens are usually soft-brained, +and their languorous swains, lascivious. The latter pose as "killers;" +the former wear their heart on their sleeve, and are convinced that +every second man they meet who treats them gallantly is smitten with +their charms and is passionately in love with them. + +Some go in for excitement and novelty, to break the monotony of +virtuous restraint. They are anxious for a little adventure and +romance. A good thing, too, to have these exploits to narrate to their +friends. But they do not tell all to their friends; they would be +ashamed to. If said friends are wise they can supply the deficiencies. +And when it is all over, it is the same old story of the man that did +not know the gun was loaded. + +They therefore who would remain pure must of all necessity keep custody +over their heart's affections, make right reason and faith their guide +and make the will force obedience thereto. If wrong attachments are +formed, then there is nothing to do but to eradicate them, to cut, tear +and crush; they must be destroyed at any cost. A pennyweight of +prudence might have prevented the evil; it will now take mortification +in large and repeated doses to undo it. In this alone is there +salvation. + + + +CHAPTER LXXX. +OCCASIONS. + +OCCASIONS of sin are persons, places or things that may easily lead us +into sin: this definition of the little catechism is simple and clear +and requires no comment. It is not necessary that said places or +things, or even said persons, be evil in themselves; it is sufficient +that contact with, or proximity to, them induce one to commit an evil. +It may happen, and sometimes does, that a person without any evil +design whatever become an occasion of sin for another. The blame +therefore does not necessarily lie with objects, but rather with the +subject. + +Occasions are of two kinds: the remote or far and the proximate or +near; they differ in the degree of facility with which they furnish +temptation, and in the quality and nature of such temptation. In the +former, the danger of falling is less, in the latter it is more, +probable. In theory, it is impossible to draw the line and say just +when an occasion ceases to be proximate and becomes remote; but in the +concrete the thing is easy enough. If I have a well-grounded fear, a +fear made prudent by experience, that in this or that conjuncture I +shall sin, then it is a near occasion for me. If, however, I can feel +with knowledge and conviction that I am strong enough to overcome the +inevitable temptation arising from this other conjunction of +circumstances, the occasion is only remote. + +Thus, since danger in moral matters is nearly always relative; what is +a remote occasion for one may be a proximate occasion for another. +Proneness to evil is not the same in us all, for we have not all the +same temperament and the same virtue. Two individuals may assist at a +ball or a dance or a play, the one secure from sin, immune against +temptation, the other a manifold victim of his or her folly. The dance +or spectacle may not be bad in itself, it is not bad in fact for one, +it is positively evil for the other and a near occasion of sin. + +Remote occasions cannot always be avoided, they are so numerous and +frequent; besides the evil they contain is a purely imaginative, and +therefore negligible, quantity. There may be guilt however, in seeking +such occasions and without reason exposing ourselves to their possible +dangers; temerity is culpable; he that loves danger shall perish. + +With the other kind, it is different. The simple fact of embracing a +proximate occasion of sin is a grievous fault, even in the event of our +accidentally not succumbing to the temptation to which we are exposed. +There is an evil in such rashness independent of its consequences. He +therefore who persists in visiting a place where there is every +facility for sinning and where he has frequently sinned, does a deed of +crime by going there; and whatever afterwards occurs, or does not +occur, affects that crime not in the least. The same is true of reading +certain books, novels and love-stories, for people of a certain +spiritual complexion. The same is true of company-keeping, +street-walking, familiarity and loose conversation. Nor can anything +different be said of such liberties, consented to or merely tolerated, +as embracing and kissing, amorous effusions and all perilous amusements +of this nature. When experience shows these things to be fraught with +danger, then they become sinful in themselves, and can be indulged in +only in contempt of the law of God and to our own serious spiritual +detriment. + +But suppose I cannot avoid the occasion of sin, cannot remove it. What +then? + +If it is a clear case of proximate occasion of sin, and all means fail +to change it, then the supposition of impossibility is a ridiculous +one. It is paramount to asserting that sin and offense of God is +sometimes necessary; and to talk thus is to talk nonsense. Sin is a +deliberate act of a free will; mention necessity in the same breath, +and you destroy the notion of sin. There can never be an impossibility +of avoiding sin; consequently, there can never be an impossibility of +avoiding a near occasion of sin. + +It may be hard, very difficult; but that is another thing. But, as we +have already said, the difficulty is rather within than without us, it +arises from a lack of will power. But hard or easy, these occasions +must nevertheless be removed. Let the suffering entailed be what it +may, the eye must be plucked out, the arm must be lopped off, to use +the Saviour's figurative language, if in no other way the soul can be +saved from sin. Better to leave your father's house, better to give up +your very life, than to damn your soul for all eternity. But extremes +are rarely called for; small sacrifices often cost more than great +ones. A good dose of ordinary, everyday mortification and penance +goes a long way toward producing the necessary effect. An ounce of +self-denial will work miracles in a sluggard, cowardly soul. + +It would be well on occasion to remember this, especially when one in +such a state is thinking seriously of going to confession: if he is not +prepared to make the required effort, then he had better stay away +until such a time as he is willing. For if he states his case +correctly, he will not receive absolution; if his avowal is not +according to fact, his confession is void, perhaps sacrilegious. Have +done with sin before you can expect to have your sins forgiven. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXI. +SCANDAL. + +ON only rare occasions do people who follow the bent of their unbridled +passions bethink themselves of the double guilt that frequently +attaches to their sins. Seemingly satisfied with the evil they have +wrought unto their own souls, they choose to ignore the wrong they may +have done unto others as a consequence of their sinful doings. They +believe in the principle that every soul is personally responsible for +its own damnation: which is true; but they forget that many elements +may enter as causes into such a calamity. We are in nowise isolated +beings in this world; our lives may, and do, affect the lives of +others, and influence them sometimes to an extraordinary extent. We +shall have, each of us, to answer one day for results of such +influence; there is no man but is, in this sense, his brother's +guardian. + +There are, who deny this, like Cain. Yet we Icnow that Jesus Christ +spoke clearly His mind in regard to scandal, and the emphasis He lays +on His anathemas leaves no room to doubt of His judgment on the +subject. Scandal, in fact, is murder; not corporal murder, which is a +vengeance-crying abomination, but spiritual murder, heinous over the +other in the same measure as the soul's value transcends that of the +body. Kill the body, and the soul may live and be saved; kill the soul +and it is lost eternally. + +Properly speaking, scandal is any word or deed, evil or even with an +appearance of evil, of a nature to furnish an occasion of spiritual +downfall, to lead another info sin. It does not even matter whether the +results be intended or merely suffered to occur; it does not even +matter if no results follow at all. It is sufficient that the +stumbling-block of scandal be placed in the way of another to his +spiritual peril, and designed by nature to make him fall; on him who +placed it, is the guilt of scandal. + +The act of scandal consists in making sin easier to commit--as though +it were not already easy enough to sin--for another. Natural grace, of +which we are not totally bereft, raises certain barriers to protect and +defend the weak and feeble. Conspicuous among these are ignorance and +shame; evil sometimes offers difficulties, the ones physical, the +others spiritual, such as innate delicacy, sense of dignity, timidity, +instinctive repugnance for filth, human respect, dread of consequences, +etc. These stand on guard before the soul to repel the first advances +of the tempter which are the most dangerous; the Devil seldom unmasks +his heavy batteries until the advance-posts of the soul are taken. It +is the business of scandal to break down these barriers, and for +scandal this work is as easy as it is nefarious. For curiosity is a +hungering appetite, virtue is often protected with a very thin veil, +and vice can be made to lose its hideousness and assume charms, to +untried virtue, irresistible. There is nothing doing for His Satanic +Majesty while scandal is in the field; he looks on and smiles. + +There may be some truth in the Darwinian theory after all, if we judge +from the imitative propensities of the species, probably an inherited +trait of our common ancestor, the monkey. At any rate, we are often +more easily led by example than by conviction; example leads us against +our convictions. Asked why we did this or that, knowing we should not +have done it, we answer with simian honesty, "because such a one did +it, or invited us to do it." We get over a good many old-fashioned +notions concerning modesty and purity, after listening to the +experiences of others; we forget to be ashamed in the presence of the +brazen, the unabashed and the impudent. We feel partially justified in +doing what we see done by One to whom we are accustomed to look up. "If +he acts thus," we say, "how can it be so very wrong in me; and if +everybody--and everybody sometimes means a very few--if everybody does +so, it cannot be so bad as I first imagined." Thus may be seen the +workings of scandal in the mind and soul of its victim. Remembering our +natural proneness to carnal indulgence, it is not surprising that the +victims of scandal are so many. But this cannot be taken as an apology +for the scandal-giver; rather the contrary, since the malice of his sin +has possibilities so unbounded. + +Scandal supposes an inducement to commit sin, which is not the case +when the receiver is already all disposed to sin and is as bad as the +giver. Nor can scandal be said properly to be given when those who +receive it are in all probability immune against the evil. Some people +say they are scandalized when they are only shocked; if what shocked +them has nothing in it to induce them into sinning, then their received +scandal is only imaginative, nor has any been given. Then, the number +of persons scandalized must be considered as an aggravating +circumstance. Finally, the guilt of scandal is greater or less +according to the helplessness of the victim or intended victim, and to +the sacredness of his or her right to immunity from temptation, +children being most sacred in this respect. + +Of course God is merciful and forgives us our offenses however great +'they may be. We may undo a deal of wrong committed by us in this life, +and die in the state of grace, even after the most abominable crimes. +Theologically, therefore, the idea has little to commend itself, but it +must have occurred to more than one: how does one feel in heaven, +knowing that there is in hell, at that moment, one or many through his +or her agency! How mysterious is the justice of God to suffer such a +state of affairs! And although theoretically possible, how can anyone +count on such a contingency in his or her particular case! If the +scandalous would reflect seriously on this, they would be less willing +to take the chances offered by a possibility of this nature. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXII. +NOT GOOD TO BE ALONE. + +A MAN may come to discover that the state in which he finds himself +placed, is not the one for which he was evidently intended by the +Maker. We do not all receive the same gifts because our callings are +different; each of us is endowed in accordance and in harmony with the +ends of the Creator in making us. Some men should marry, others may +not; but the state of celibacy is for the few, and not for the many, +these few depending solely on an abundant grace of God. + +Again, one may become alive to the fact that to remain in an abnormal +position means to seriously jeopardize his soul's salvation; celibacy +may, as for many it does, spell out for him, clearly and plainly, +eternal damnation. It is to no purpose here to examine the causes of, +and reasons for, such a condition of affairs. We take the fact as it +stands, plain and evident, a stern, hard fact that will not be downed, +because it is supported by the living proof of habit and conduct; +living and continuing to live a celibate, taking him as he is and as +there is every token of his remaining without any reasonable ground for +expecting a change, this man is doomed to perdition. His passions have +made him their slave; he cannot, it is morally impossible for him to do +so, remain continent. + +Suppose again that the Almighty has created the state of wedlock for +just such emergencies, whereby a man may find a remedy for his +weaknesses, an outlet for his passions, a regulator of his life here +below and a security against damnation hereafter; and this is precisely +the case, for the ends of marriage are not only to perpetuate the +species, but also to furnish a remedy for natural concupiscence and to +raise a barrier against the flood of impurity. + +Now, the case being as stated, need a Catholic, young or--a no longer +young--man look long or strive hard to find his path of duty already +clearly traced? And in making this application we refer to man, not to +woman, for reasons that are obvious; we refer, again, to those among +men whose spiritual sense is not yet wholly dead, who have not entirely +lost all respect for virtue in itself: who still claim to have an +immortal soul and hope to save it; but who have been caught in the +maelstrom of vice and whose passions and lusts have outgrown in +strength the ordinary resisting powers of natural virtue and religion +incomplete and half-hearted. These can appreciate their position; it +would be well for them to do so; the faculty for so doing may not +always be left with them. + +The obligation to marry, to increase and multiply, was given to mankind +in general, and applies to man as a whole, and not to the individual; +that is, in the common and ordinary run of human things. But the +circumstances with which we are dealing are outside the normal, sphere; +they are extraordinary, that is say, they do not exist in accordance +with the plan and order established by God; they constitute a disorder +resulting from unlawful indulgence and wild impiety. It may therefore +be, and it frequently is the case, that the general obligation to marry +particularize itself and fall with its full weight on the individual, +this one or that one, according to the circumstances of his life. Then +it is that the voice of God's authority reaches the ear of the unit and +says to him in no uncertain accents: thou shalt marry. And behind that +decree of God stands divine justice to vindicate the divine right. + +We do not deny but that, absolutely speaking, recourse to this remedy +may not be imperiously demanded; but we do claim that the absolute has +nothing whatever to do with the question which is one of relative +facts. What a supposed man may do in this or that given circumstance +does not in the least alter the position of another real, live man who +will not do this or that thing in a given circumstance; he will not, +because, morally speaking, he cannot; and he cannot, simply because +through excesses he has forgotten how. And of other reasons to justify +non-compliance with the law, there can be none; it is here a. question +of saving one's soul; inconveniences and difficulties and obstacles +have no meaning in such a contingency. + +And, mind you, the effects of profligate celibacy are farther-reaching +than many of us would suppose at first blush. The culprit bears the +odium of it in his soul. But what about the state of those--or rather +of her, whoever she may be, known or unknown--whom he, in the order of +Providence, is destined to save from the precariousness of single life? +If it is his duty to take a wife, whose salvation as well as his own, +perhaps depends on the fulfilment of that duty, and if he shirks his +duty, shall he not be held responsible for the results in her as well +as in himself, since he could, and she could not, ward off the evil? + +It has come to such a pass nowadays that celibacy, as a general thing, +is a misnomer for profligacy. Making all due allowance for honorable +exceptions, the unmarried male who is not well saturated with +spirituality and faith is notoriously gallinaceous in his morals. In +certain classes, he is expected to sow his wild oats before he is out +of his teens; and by this is meant that he will begin young to tear +into shreds the Sixth Commandment so as not to be bothered with it +later in life. If he married he would be safe. + +Finally what kind of an existence is it for any human being, with power +to do otherwise, to pass through life a worthless, good-for-nothing +nonentity, living for self, shirking the sacred duties of paternity, +defrauding nature and God and sowing corruption where he might be +laying the foundation of a race that may never die? There is no one to +whom he has done good and no one owes him a tear when his barren +carcass is being given over as food to the worms. He is a rotten link +on the chain of life and the curse of oblivion will vindicate the +claims of his unborn generations. Young man, marry, marry now, and be +something in the world besides an eyesore of unproductiveness and +worthlessness; do something that will make somebody happy besides +yourself; show that you passed, and leave something behind that will +remember you and bless your name. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXIII. +A HELPING HAND. + +THE moralist is usually severe, and the quality of his censure is +merciless, when he attempts to treat the unwholesome theme of moral +deformity; and all his efforts are mere attempts, for no human language +can do full justice to such a theme, or fully express the contempt such +excesses deserve. It is just, then, that, when he stands in the +presence of the moral leper who blushes not for his degradation, he +flay with the whip of scorn and contempt, scourge with anathema and +brand him with every stigma of infamy, in order that the load of +opprobrium thus heaped upon his guilty head may at least deter the +clean from such defilement. + +But, if guilt is always guilt, the quality of guilt is varied. Just as +all virtue is not equally meritorious, so to other sources than +personal unworthiness may often be traced moral debility that strives +against natural causes, necessary conditions of environment and an +ever-present and ever-active influence for evil. A fall does not always +betoken profound degradation nor a stain, acute perversity of the will. +Those therefore who wrestle manfully with the effects of regretted +lapses or weaknesses, who fight down, sometimes perhaps unsuccessfully, +the strong tendencies of a too exuberant animal nature, who strive to +neutralize an influence that unduly oppresses them,--against these, +guilty though they may have been, is not directed the moralist's +unmeasured censure. His reproaches in such cases tend less to condemn +than to awake to a sense of moral responsibility; earnestness in +pointing out remedy and safeguards takes the place of severity against +wilfulness. For he knows that not a few sentences of condemnation +Christ writes on the sands, as He did in a celebrated case, and many an +over-zealous accuser he has confounded, like the villainous Pharisees +whom He challenged to show a hand white enough to be worthy to cast the +first stone. + +Evidently such pity and commiseration should not serve to make vice +less unlovely and thus undo the very work it is intended to perform. It +should not have the characteristics of certain books and plays that +pretend to teach morality by exposing vice in all its seductiveness. +Over-sensitive and maudlin sympathy is as ridiculous as it is +unhealthy; its tendency is principally to encourage and spoil. But a +judicious, discreet and measured sympathy will lift up the fallen, +strengthen the weak and help the timorous over many a difficulty. It +will suggest, too, the means best calculated to insure freedom from +slavery of the passions. + +The first of these is self-denial, which is the inseparable companion +of chastity; when they are not found together, seldom does either +exist. And by self-denial is here meant the destruction of that eternal +r reference for self, that is at the bottom of all uncleanness, that +makes all things, however sacred, subservient to one's own pleasures, +that considers nothing unlawful but what goes against the grain of +natural impulse and natural appetites. There may be other causes, but +this self-love is a primary one. Say what you will, but one does not +fall from his own level; the moral world is like the physical; if you +are raised aloft in disregard for the laws of truth, you are going to +come down with a thud. If you imagine all the pleasures of life made +for you, and become lawful because your nature craves for them, you are +taking a too high estimate of yourself; you are going before a fall He +who takes a correct measure of himself, gets his bearings in relation +to God, comes to realize his own weak points and several deficiencies, +and acknowledges the obligations such a state of affairs places upon +him, that one may sin, but he will not go far. + +He may fall, because he is human, because strength sufficient to guard +us against the assaults of impurity is not from us, but from God. The +spirit of humility, therefore, which makes known to him his own +insufficiency, must be fortified with the spirit of faith which makes +him ask for support through prayer. It is faith that makes prayer +possible, and living faith, the spirit of faith, that makes us pray +aright. This kind of prayer need not express itself in words; it may be +a habit, a long drawn out desire, an habitual longing for help coupled +with firm confidence in God's mercy to grant our request. No state of +soul however disordered can long resist such a power, and no habit of +evil but in time will be annihilated by it. + +The man or woman who undertakes to keep himself or herself pure, or to +rise out of a habit of sin without the liberal use of divine +supplication has in hand a very ungrateful task, and he or she will +realize it before going far. And unless that prayer is sincere and +heartfelt, a prayer full of faith that will not entertain the thought +of failure, every effort will be barren of results. You must speak to +God as to one near you, and remember that He is near you all the time. + +Then there are the sacraments to repair every breach and to heal every +wound. Penance will cleanse you, communion will adorn and equip you +anew. Confession will give you a better knowledge of yourself every +time you go; the Food of God will strengthen every fibre of your soul +and steel you against the seductions that otherwise would make you a +ready victim. Don't go once a year, go ten, twenty times and more, if +necessary, go until you feel that you own yourself, that you can +command and be obeyed. Then you will not have to be told to stop; you +will be safe. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXIV. +THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. + +THE Seventh Commandment is protective of the right of property which is +vested in every human being enjoying the use of reason. Property means +that which belongs to one, that which is one's own, to have and to +hold, or to dispose of, at one's pleasure, or to reclaim in the event +of actual dispossession. The right of property embraces all things to +which may be affixed the seal of ownership; and it holds good until the +owner relinquishes his claim, or forfeits or loses his title without +offense to justice. This natural faculty to possess excludes every +alien right, and supposes in all others the duty and obligation to +respect it. The respect that goes as far as not relieving the owner of +his goods is not enough; it must safeguard him against all damage and +injury to said goods; otherwise his right is non-existent. + +All violations of this right come under the general head of stealing. +People call it theft, when it is effected with secrecy and slyness; +robbery, when there is a suggestion of force or violence. The swindler +is he who appropriates another's goods by methods of gross deception or +false pretenses while the embezzler transfers to himself the funds +entrusted to his care. Petty thieving is called pilfering or filching; +stealing on a large scale usually has less dishonorable qualificatives. +Boodling and lobbying are called politics; watering stock, squeezing +out legitimate competition, is called financiering; wholesale +confiscation and unjust conquest is called statesmanship. Give it +whatever name you like, it is all stealing; whether the culprit be +liberally rewarded or liberally punished, he nevertheless stands +amenable to God's justice which is outraged wherever human justice +suffers. + +Of course the sin of theft has its degrees of gravity, malice and +guilt, to determine which, that is, to fix exactly the value of stolen +goods sufficient to constitute a grievous fault, is not the simplest +and easiest of moral problems. The extent of delinquency may be +dependent upon various causes and complex conditions. On the one hand, +the victim must be considered in himself, and the amount of injury +sustained by him; on the other, justice is offended generally in all +cases of theft, and because justice is the corner stone of society, it +must be protected at all hazards. It is only by weighing judiciously +all these different circumstances that we can come to enunciate an +approximate general rule that will serve as a guide in the ordinary +contingencies of life. + +Thus, of two individuals deprived by theft of a same amount of worldly +goods, the one may suffer thereby to a much greater extent than the +other; he who suffers more is naturally more reluctant to part with his +goods, and a greater injustice is done to him than to the other. The +sin committed against him is therefore greater than that committed +against the other. A rich man may not feel the loss of a dollar, +whereas for another less prosperous the loss of less than that sum +might be of the nature of a calamity. To take therefore unjustly from a +person what to that person is a notable amount is a grievous sin. It is +uniformly agreed that it is a notable loss for a man to be unduly +deprived of what constitutes a day's sustenance. This is the minimum of +grievous matter concerning theft. + +But this rule will evidently not hold good applied on a rising scale to +more and more extensive fortunes; for a time would come when it would +be possible without serious guilt to appropriate good round sums from +those abundantly blessed with this world's goods. + +The disorders necessarily attendant on such a moral rule are only too +evident; and it is plain that the law of God cannot countenance abuses +of this nature. Justice therefore demands that there be a certain fixed +sum beyond which one may not go without incurring serious guilt; and +this, independent of the fortune of the person who suffers. Theologians +have fixed that amount approximately, in this country, at five dollars. +This means that when such a sum is taken, in all cases, the sin is +mortal. It is not always necessary, it is seldom necessary, that one +should steal this much in order to offend grievously; but when the +thief reaches this amount, be his victim ever so wealthy, he is guilty +of grave injustice. + +This rule applies to all cases in which the neighbor is made to suffer +unjustly in his lawful possessions; and it effects all wrongdoers +whether they steal or destroy another's goods or co-operate +efficaciously in such deeds of sin. It matters not whether the harm be +wrought directly or indirectly, since in either case there may be moral +fault; and it must be remembered that gross negligence may make one +responsible as well as malice aforethought. + +The following are said to co-operate in crime to the extent of becoming +joint-partners with the principal agent in guilt: those in whose name +the wrong is done, in obedience to their orders or as a result of any +other means employed; those who influence the culprit by suggesting +motives and reasons for his crime or by pointing out efficient means of +arriving thereat; those who induce others to commit evil by playing on +their weaknesses thereby subjecting them to what is known as moral +force; those who harbor the thief and conceal his stolen property +against their recovery; those whose silence is equivalent to +approbation, permission or official consent; those finally who before, +during or after the deed, abstain from performing a plain duty in +preventing, deterring or bringing to justice the guilty party. Such +persons as the foregoing participate as abettors in crime and share all +the guilt of the actual criminals; sometimes the former are even more +guilty than the latter. + +The Tenth Commandment which forbids us to covet our neighbor's goods, +bears the same relation to the Seventh as the Ninth does to the Sixth. +It must, however, be borne in mind that all such coveting supposes +injustice in desire, that is, in the means by which we desire to obtain +what is not ours. To wish for, to long ardently for something that +appeals to one's like and fancy is not sinful; the wrong consists in +the desire to acquire it unjustly, to steal it, and thereby work damage +unto the neighbor. It is a natural weakness in man to be dissatisfied +with what he has and to sigh after what he has not; very few of us are +free from this failing. But so long as our cravings and hankerings are +not tainted with injustice, we are innocent of evil. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXV. +PETTY THEFTS. + +A QUESTION may arise as to petty thefts, venial in themselves, but oft +repeated and aggregating in the long run a sum of considerable value: +how are we to deal with such cases? Should peculations of this sort be +taken singly, and their individual malice determined, without reference +to the sum total of injustice caused; or should no severe judgment be +passed until such a time as sufficient matter be accumulated to make +the fault grievous? In other words, is there nothing but venial sin in +thefts of little values, or is there only one big sin at the end? The +difficulty is a practical one. + +If petty thefts are committed with a view to amass a notable sum, the +simple fact of such an intention makes the offense a mortal one. For, +as we have already remarked in treating of the human act, our deeds may +be, and frequently are, vitiated by the intention we have in performing +them. If we do something with evil intent and purpose, our action is +evil whether the deed in itself be indifferent or even good. Here the +intention is to cause a grave injustice; the deed is only a petty +theft, but it serves as a means to a more serious offense. The act +therefore takes its malice from the purpose of the agent and becomes +sinful in a high degree. + +As to each repeated theft, that depends again on the intention of the +culprit. If in the course of his pilferings he no longer adverts to his +first purpose and has no intention in stealing beyond that of helping +himself to a little of his neighbor's goods, he is guilty of nothing +more than a venial sin. If, however, the initial purpose is present at +every act, if at every fresh peculation the intention to accumulate is +renewed explicitly or implicitly, then every theft is identical with +the first in malice, and the offender commits mortal sin as often as he +steals. Thus the state of soul of one who filches after this fashion is +not sensibly affected by his arriving at a notable sum of injustice in +the aggregate. The malice of his conduct has already been established; +it is now completed in deed. + +A person who thievishly appropriates small sums, but whose pilferings +have no moral reference to each other, will find himself a mortal +offender the moment his accumulated injustices reach the amount we have +qualified as notable, provided he be at that moment aware of the fact, +or even if he only have a doubt about the matter. And this is true +whether the stolen sums be taken from one or from several persons. Even +in the latter case, although no one person suffers serious damage or +prejudice, justice however is seriously violated and the intention of +the guilty party is really to perpetrate grave injustice. + +However, such thefts as these which in the end become accumulative, +must of their nature be successive and joined together by some bond of +moral union, otherwise they could never be considered a. whole. By this +is meant that there must not exist between the different single thefts +an interruption or space of time such as to make it impossible to +consider reasonably the several deeds as forming one general action. +The time generally looked upon as sufficient to prevent a moral union +of this kind is two months. In the absence therefore of a specific +intention to arrive at a large amount by successive thefts, it must be +said that such thefts as are separated by an intervening space of two +months can never be accounted as parts of one grave injustice, and a +mortal sin can never be committed by one whose venial offenses are of +this nature. Of course if there be an evil purpose, that alone is +sufficient to establish a moral union between single acts of theft +however considerable the interval that separates them. + +Several persons may conspire to purloin each a limited amount. The +circumstance of conspiracy, connivance or collusion makes each +co-operator in the deed responsible for the whole damage done; and if +the amount thus defrauded be notable, each is guilty of mortal sin. + +We might here add in favor of children who take small things from their +parents and of wives who sometimes relieve their husbands of small +change, that it is natural that a man be less reluctant to being +defrauded in small matters by his own than by total Strangers. It is +only reasonable therefore that more latitude be allowed such +delinquents when there is question of computing the amount to be +considered notable; perhaps the amount might be doubled in their favor. +The same might be said in favor of those whose petty thefts are +directed against several victims instead of one, since the injury +sustained individually is less. + +The best plan is to leave what does not belong to one severely alone. +In other sins there may be something gained in the long run, but here +no such illusion can be entertained, for the spectre of restitution, as +we shall see, follows every injustice as a shadow follows its object, +and its business is to see that no man profit by his ill-gotten goods. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXVI. +AN OFT EXPLOITED, BUT SPECIOUS PLEA. + +IT is not an infrequent occurrence for persons given to the habit of +petty thefts and fraud, to seek to justify their irregular conduct by a +pretense of justice which they call secret compensation. They stand +arraigned before the bar of their conscience on the charge of niching +small sums, usually from their employers; they have no will to desist; +they therefore plead not guilty, and have nothing so much at heart as +to convince themselves that they act within their rights. They +elaborate a theory of justice after their ideas, or rather, according +to their own desires; they bolster it up with facts that limp all the +way from half-truths to downright falsities; and thus acquit themselves +of sin, and go their way in peace. A judge is always lenient when he +tries his own case. + +Secret compensation is the taking surreptitiously from another of the +equivalent of what is due to one, of what has been taken and is kept +against all justice, in order to indemnify oneself for losses +sustained. This sort of a thing, in theory at least, has a perfectly +plausible look, nor, in fact, is it contrary to justice, when all the +necessary conditions are fulfilled to the letter. But the cases in +which these conditions are fulfilled are so few and rare that they may +hardly be said to exist at all. It is extremely difficult to find such +A case, and nearly always when this practice is resorted to, the order +of justice is violated. + +And if common sense in the case of any given individual fail to show +him this truth, we here quote for his benefit an authority capable of +putting all his doubts at rest. The following proposition was advanced: +"Domestic servants who adjudge themselves underpaid for services +rendered, may appropriate to themselves by stealth a compensation." +This proposition has received the full weight of papal condemnation. It +cannot be denied that it applies to all who engage their services for +hire. To maintain the contrary is to revolt against the highest +authority in the Church; to practise it is purely and simply to Sin. + +A case is often made out on the grounds that wages are small, work very +hard and the laborer therefore insufficiently remunerated. But to +conclude therefrom the right to help oneself to the employer's goods, +is a strange manner of reasoning, while it opens the door to all manner +of injustice. Where is there a man, whatever his labor and pay, who +could not come to the same conclusion? Who may not consider himself +ill-paid? And who is there that really thinks he is not worth more than +he gets? There is no limit to the value one may put on one's own +services; and he who is justified to-day in taking a quarter of a +dollar, would be equally justified to-morrow in appropriating the whole +concern. And then what becomes of honesty, and the right of property? +And what security can anyone have against the private judgment of his +neighbor? + +And what about the contract according to the terms of which you are to +give your services and to receive in return a stipulated amount? Was +there any clause therein by which you are entitled to change the terms +of said contract without consulting the other party interested? You +don't think he would mind it. You don't think anything of the kind; you +know he will and does mind it. He may be generous, but he is not a +fool. + +"But I make up for it. I work overtime, work harder, am more attentive +to my work; and thereby save more for my employer than I take." Here +you contradict yourself. You are therefore not underpaid. And if you +furnish a greater amount of labor than is expected of you, that is your +business and your free choice. And the right you have to a compensation +for such extra labor is entirely dependent on the free will of your +employer. People usually pay for what they call for; services uncalled +for are gratuitous services. To think otherwise betokens a befuddled +state of mind. + +"But I am forced to work harder and longer than we agreed." Then it is +up to you to remonstrate with your employer, to state the case as it is +and to ask for a raise. If he refuses, then his refusal is your cue to +quit and go elsewhere. It means that your services are no longer +required. It means, at any rate, that you have to stand the cut or seek +to better your condition under other employers. It is hard! Of course +it is hard, but no harder than a great many other things we have to put +up with. + +If my neighbor holds unjustly what belongs to me, or if he has failed +to repair damages caused, to recover my losses by secret compensation +has the same degree of malice and disorder. The law is instituted for +just such purposes; you have recourse thereto. You may prosecute and +get damages. If the courts fail to give you justice, then perhaps there +may be occasion to discuss the merits of the secret compensation +theory. But you had better get the advice of some competent person +before you attempt to put it in practice; otherwise you are liable to +get into a bigger hole than the one you are trying to get out of. + +Sometimes the bold assertion is advanced that the employer knows +perfectly that he is being systematically robbed and tolerates it. It +is incumbent on this party to prove his assertion in a very simple way. +Let him denounce himself to his employer and allow the truth or falsity +thereof hang on the result. If he does not lose his job inside of +twenty-four hours after the interview, he may continue his peculations +in perfect tranquillity of conscience. If he escapes prosecution +through the consideration of his former employer, he must take it for +granted that the toleration he spoke of was of a very general nature, +the natural stand for a man to take who is being robbed and cannot help +it. To justify oneself on such a principle is to put a premium on +shrewd dishonesty. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXVII. +CONTUMELY. + +THE Eighth Commandment concerns itself with the good name of the +neighbor; in a general way, it reproves all sins of the tongue, apart +from those already condemned by the Second and Sixth commandments, that +is to say, blasphemous and impure speech. It is as a weapon against the +neighbor and an instrument of untruth that the tongue is here +considered. + +By a good name is here intended the esteem in which a person is held by +his fellow-men. Call it reputation, character, fame, renown, etc., a +good name means that the bearer is generally considered above reproach +in all matters of honesty, moral integrity and worth. It does not +necessarily imply that such esteem is manifested exteriorly by what is +technically known as honor, the natural concomitant of a good name; it +simply stands for the knowledge entertained by others of our +respectability and our title to honor. A good name is therefore one +thing; honor is another. And honor consists precisely in that +manifestation on the part of our fellows of the esteem and respect in +which they hold us, the fruit of our good name, the homage rendered to +virtue, dignity and merit. As it may therefore be easily seen, these +two things--a good name and honor--differ as much as a sign differs +from the thing signified. + +The Eighth Commandment protects every man's honor; it condemns +contumely which is an attack upon that honor. Contumely is a sign of +contempt which shows itself by attempting to impair the honor one duly +receives; it either strives to prevent that honor being paid to the +good name that naturally deserves it, or it tries to nullify it by +offering just the contrary, which is contumely, more commonly called +affront, outrage, insult. + +Now, contumely, as you will remark, does not seek primarily to deprive +one of a good name; which it nearly always succeeds in doing, and this +is called detraction; but its object is to prevent your good name from +getting its desert of respect, your character supposedly remaining +intact. The insult offered is intended to effect this purpose. Again, +all contumely presupposes the presence of the party affronted; the +affront is thrown in one's face, and therein consists the shocking +indecency of the thing and its specific malice. + +It must be remembered that anger, hatred, the spirit of vengeance or +any other passion does not excuse one from the guilt of contumely. On +the other hand, one's culpability is not lessened by the accidental +fact of one's intended insults going wide of the mark and bearing no +fruit of dishonor to the person assailed. To the malice of contumely +may, and is often, added that of defamation, if apart from the dishonor +received one's character is besmirched in the bargain. Contumely +against parents offends at the same time filial piety; against God and +His saints, it is sacrilegious; if provoked by the practice of religion +and virtue, it is impious. If perpetrated in deed, it may offend +justice properly so called; if it occasion sin in others, it is +scandalous; if it drive the victim to excesses of any kind, the guilt +thereof is shared by the contumelious agent. + +Sometimes insult is offered gratuitously, as in the case of the weak, +the old, the cripple and other unfortunates who deserve pity rather +than mockery; the quality of contumely of this sort is brutal and +fiendish. Others will say for justification: "But he said the same, he +did the same to me. Can I not defend myself?" That depends on the sort +of defense you resort to. All weapons of defense are not lawful. If a +man uses evil means to wrong you, there is no justification, in +Christian ethics, for you to employ the same means in order to get +square, or even to shelter yourself from his abuse. The "eye-for-eye" +principle is not recognized among civilized and Christian peoples. + +This gross violation of personal respect may be perpetrated in many +ways; any expression of contempt, offered to your face, or directed +against you through a representative, is contumely. The usual way to do +this is to fling vile epithets, to call opprobrious names, to make +shameful charges. It is not always necessary that such names and +epithets be inapplicable or such charges false, if, notwithstanding, +the person in question has not thereby forfeited his right to respect. +In certain circumstances, the epithet "fool" may hold all the +opprobriousness of contumely: "thief" and "drunkard" and others of a +fouler nature may be thus malicious for a better reason. An accusation +of immorality in oneself or in one's parents is contumelious in a high +degree. Our mothers are a favorite target for the shafts of contumely +that through them reach us. Abuse is not the only vehicle of contumely; +scorn, wanton ridicule, indecent mockery and caricature that cover the +unfortunate victim with shame and confusion serve the purpose as well. +To strike one, to spit on one and other ignoble attacks and assaults +belong to the same category of crime. + +The malice of contumely is not, of course, equal in all cases; +circumstances have a great deal to do in determining the gravity of +each offense. The more conspicuous a person is in dignity and the more +worthy of respect, the more serious the affront offered him; and still +more grave the offense, if through him many others are attainted. If +again no dishonor is intended and no offense taken, or could reasonably +be taken, there is no sin at all. There may be people very low on the +scale of respectability as the world judges respectability; but it can +never be said of a man or woman that he or she cannot be dishonored, +that he or she is beneath contempt. Human nature never forfeits all +respect; it always has some redeeming feature to commend it. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXVIII. +DEFAMATION. + +DEFAMATION differs from contumely in that the one supposes the absence, +the other, the presence, of the person vilified; and again, in that the +former asperses the reputation of the victim while the latter attacks +the honor due or paid to said reputation. A good name is, after the +grace of God, mans most precious possession; wealth is mere trash +compared with it. You may find people who think otherwise, but the +universal sentiment of mankind stigmatizes such baseness and buries it +under the weight of its opprobrium. Nor is it impossible that honor be +paid where a good character no longer exists; but this is accidental. +In the nature of things, reputation is the basis of all honor; if you +destroy character, you destroy at the same time its fruit, which is +honor. Thus will be seen the double malice of defamation. + +To defame therefore is to lessen or to annul the estimation in which a +person is held by his fellow-men. This crime may be perpetrated in two +different manners: by making known his secret faults, and this is +simple detraction; and by ascribing to him faults of which he is +innocent, and this is calumny or slander. Thus it appears that a man's +character may suffer from truth as well as from falsehood. Truth is an +adorable thing, but it has its time and place; the fact of its being +truth does not prevent it from being harmful. On the other hand, a lie, +which is evil in itself, becomes abominable when used to malign a +fellow-man. + +There is one mitigating and two aggravating forms of defamation. Gossip +is small talk, idle and sufficiently discolored to make its subject +appear in an unfavorable light. It takes a morbid pleasure in speaking +of the known and public faults of another. It picks at little things, +and furnishes a steady occupation for people who have more time to mind +other people's business than their own. It bespeaks small-ness in +intellectual make-up and general pusillanimity. That is about all the +harm there is in it, and that is enough. + +Libel supposes a wide diffusion of defamatory matter, written or +spoken. Its malice is great because of its power for evil and harm. +Tale-bearing or backbiting is what the name implies. Its object is +principally to spread discord, to cause enmity, to break up +friendships; it may have an ulterior purpose, and these are the means +it employs. No limit can be set to its capacity for evil, its malice is +especially infernal. + +It is not necessary that what we do or say of a defamatory nature +result, as a matter of fact, in bringing one's name into disfavor or +disrepute; it is sufficient that it be of such a nature and have such a +tendency. If by accident the venomous shaft spend itself before +attaining the intended mark, no credit is due therefore to him who shot +it; his guilt remains what it was when he sped it on its way. Nor is +there justification in the plea that no harm was meant, that the deed +was done in a moment of anger, jealousy, etc., that it was the result +of loquacity, indulged in for the simple pleasure of talking. These are +excuses that excuse not. + +There are those who, speaking in disparagement of the neighbor, speak +to the point, directly and plainly; others, no less guilty, do it in a +covert manner, have recourse to subterfuge and insinuation. They +exaggerate faults and make them appear more odious, they put an evil +interpretation on the deed or intention; they keep back facts that +would improve the situation; they remain silent when silence is +condemnatory; they praise with a malignant praise. A mean, sarcastic +smile or a significant reticence often does the work better than many +words and phrases. And all this, as we have said, independently of the +truth or falsehood of the impression conveyed. + +Listeners share the guilt of the defamers on the principle that the +receiver is as bad as the thief. This supposes of course that you +listen, not merely hear; that you enjoy this sort of a thing and are +willing and ready to receive the impression derogatory to the +neighbor's esteem and good name. Of course, if mere curiosity makes us +listen and our pleasure and amusement are less at the expense of the +neighbor's good name than excited by the style of the narrator or the +singularity of the facts alleged, the fault is less; but fault there +nevertheless is, since such an attitude serves to encourage the +traducer and helps him drive his points home. Many sin who could and +should prevent excesses of this kind, but refrain from doing so; their +sin is greater if, by reason of their position, they are under greater +obligations of correction. + +Although reputation is a priceless boon to all men, there are cases +wherein it has an especial value on account of the peculiar +circumstances of a man's position. It not infrequently happens that the +whole success of a man's life depends on his good name. Men in public +life, in the professions, religious and others similarly placed, +suffer from defamation far more than those in the ordinary walks of +life; and naturally those who injure them are guilty of more grievous +wrong. And it goes without saying that a man can stand an immoral +aspersion better than a woman. In all cases the malice is measured by +the injury done or intended. + + + +CHAPTER LXXXIX. +DETRACTION. + +TO absolve oneself of the sin of detraction on the ground that nothing +but the truth was spoken is, as we have seen, one way of getting around +a difficulty that is no way at all. Some excuses are better than none, +others are not. It is precisely the truth of such talk that makes it +detraction; if it were not true, it would not be detraction but +calumny--another and a very different fault. It would be well for such +people to reflect for a moment, and ask themselves if their own +character would stand the strain of having their secret sins and +failings subjected to public criticism and censure, their private +shortcomings heralded from every housetop. Would they, or would they +not, consider themselves injured by such revelations? Then it would be +in order for them to use the same rule and measure in dealing with +others. + +He who does moral evil offends in the sight of God and forfeits God's +esteem and friendship. But it does not follow that he should also +forfeit the esteem of his fellow-men. The latter evil is nothing +compared with the first; but it is a great misfortune nevertheless. If +a man's private iniquity is something that concerns himself and his +God, to the exclusion of all others, then whosoever presumes to judge +and condemn him trespasses on forbidden ground, and is open to judgment +and condemnation himself before his Maker. + +All do not live in stone mansions who throw stones. If there is a mote +in the neighbor's eye, perhaps there is a very large piece of timber in +your own. Great zeal in belaboring the neighbor for his faults will not +lessen your own, nor make you appear an angel of light before God when +you are something very different. If you employed this same zeal +towards yourself, you would obtain more consoling results, for charity +begins at home. One learns more examining one's own conscience than +dissecting and flaying others alive. + +It may be objected that since detraction deals with secret sins, if the +facts related are of public notoriety, there is no wrong in speaking of +them, for you cannot vilify one who is already vilified. This is true; +and then, again, it depends. First, these faults must be of public +notoriety. A judicial sentence may make them such, but the fact that +some, many, or a great many know and speak of them will not do it. The +public is everybody, or nearly everybody. Do not take your friends for +the public, when they are only a fraction thereof. If you do you will +find out oftener than it is pleasant that your sins of detraction are +sins of slander; for rumors are very frequently based on nothing more +substantial than lies or distorted and exaggerated facts set afloat by +a calumniator. + +Even when a person has justly forfeited, and publicly, the +consideration of his fellowmen, and it is not, therefore, injurious to +his character to speak of his evil ways, justice may not be offended, +but charity may be, and grievously. It is a sin, an uncharity, to harp +on one's faults in a spirit of spite, or with the cruel desire to +maintain his dishonor; to leave no stone unturned in order to +thoroughly blacken his name. In doing this you sin against charity, +because you do something you would not wish to have done unto you. +Justice itself would be violated if, even in the event of the facts +related being notorious, you speak of them to people who ignore them +and are not likely ever to come to a knowledge of them. + +If you add, after telling all you know about a poor devil, that he did +penance and repaired his sin, you must not imagine that such atonement +will rehabilitate him in the minds of all. Men are more severe and +unforgiving than God. Grace may be recovered, but reputation is a thing +which, once lost, is usually lost for good. Something of the infamy +sticks; tears and good works will not, cannot wash it away. He, +therefore, who banks too much on human magnanimity is apt to err; and +his erring constitutes a fault. + +"But I confided the secret to but one person; and that one a dear +friend, who promised to keep it." Yes, but the injured party has a +right to the estimation of that one person, and his injury consists +precisely in being deprived of it. Besides, you accuse yourself openly. +Either what you said was void of all harm, or it was not. In the one +case, why impose silence! In the other, why not begin yourself by +observing the silence you impose upon others! Your friend will do what +you did, and the ball you set rolling will not stop until there is +nothing left of your victim's character. + +Of course there are times when to speak of another's faults is +derogatory neither to justice nor to charity; both may demand that the +evil be revealed. A man to defend himself may expose his accuser's +crookedness; in court his lawyer may do it for him, for here again +charity begins at home. In the interests of the delinquent, to effect +his correction, one may reveal his shortcomings to those who have +authority to correct. And it is even admitted that a person in trouble +of any kind may without sin, for the purpose of obtaining advice or +consolation, speak to a judicious friend of another's evil ways. + +Zeal for the public good may not only excuse, but even require that the +true character of a bad man be shown up and publicly censured. Its +object is to prevent or undo evil, to protect the innocent; it is +intended to destroy an evil influence and to make hypocrisy fly under +his own colors. Immoral writers, living or dead, corrupt politicians +and demagogues, unconscionable wretches who prey on public ignorance, +may and should be, made known to the people, to shield them is to share +their guilt. This should not be done in a spirit of vengeance, but for +the sole purpose of guarding the unwary against vultures who know no +law, and who thrive on the simplicity of their hearers. + + + +CHAPTER XC. +CALUMNY. + +TO the malice of detraction calumny adds that of falsehood. It is a +lie, which is bad; it is a report prejudicial to the character of +another, which is worse; it is both combined, out of which combination +springs a third malice, which is abominable. All the more so, since +there can exist no excuse or reason in the light of which this sin may +appear as a human weakness. Because slander is the fruit of deliberate +criminal spite, jealousy and revenge, it has a character of diabolism. +The calumniator is not only a moral assassin, but he is the most +accomplished type of the coward known to man. If the devil loves a +cheerful liar, he has one here to satisfy his affections. + +This crime is one that can never be tolerated, no matter what the +circumstances; it can never be justified on any grounds whatsoever; it +is intrinsically evil, a sin of injustice that admits no mitigation. +When slander is sworn to before the courts, it acquires a fourth +malice, that of irreligion, and is called false testimony. It is not +alone perjury, for perjury does not necessarily attack the neighbor's +good name; it is perjured calumny, a crime that deserves all the +reprobation it receives in this world--and in the next. + +To lie outright, deliberately and with malice aforethought, in +traducing a fellow-man, is slander in its direct form; but such +conditions are not required to constitute a real fault of calumny. It +is not necessary to be certain that what you allege against your +neighbor be false; it is sufficient that you be uncertain if it be +true. An unsubstantiated charge or accusation, a mere rumor given out +as worthy of belief, a suspicion or doubt clothed so as to appear a +certainty, these contain all the malice and all the elements of slander +clearly characterized. Charity, justice and truth alike are violated, +guilt is there in unquestioned evidence. Whatever subterfuge, +equivocation or other crooked proceeding be resorted to, if mendacity +in any form is a feature of the aspersions we cast upon the neighbor, +we sin by calumny, purely and simply. + +Some excuse themselves on the plea that what they say, they give out +for what it is worth; they heard it from others, and take no +responsibility as to its truth or falsehood. But here we must consider +the credulity of the hearers. Will they believe it, whether you do or +not? Are they likely to receive it as truth, either because they are +looking for just such reports, or because they know no better? And +whether they believe it or not, will they, on your authority, have +sufficient reason for giving credence to your words? May it not happen +that the very fact of your mentioning what you did is a sufficient mark +of credibility for others? And by so doing, you contribute to their +knowledge of what is false, or what is not proven true, concerning the +reputation of a neighbor. + +For it must be remembered that all imprudence is not guiltless, all +thoughtlessness is not innocent of wrong. It is easy to calumniate a +person by qualifying him in an off-hand way as a thief, a blackleg, a +fast-liver, etc. It is easy, by adding an invented detail to a +statement, to give it an altogether different color and turn truth into +falsehood. But the easiest way is to interpret a man's intentions +according to a dislike, and, by stringing in such fancies with a lot of +facts, pass them on unsuspecting credulity that takes all or none. If +you do not think well of another, and the occasion demand it, speak it +out; but make it known that it is your individual judgment and give +your reasons for thus opining. + +The desperate character of calumny is that, while it must be repaired, +as we shall see later, the thing is difficult, often impossible; +frequently the reparation increases the evil instead of diminishing it. +The slogan of unrighteousness is: "Calumniate, calumniate, some of it +will stick!" He who slanders, lies; he who lies once may lie again, a +liar is never worthy of belief, whether he tells the truth or not, for +there is no knowing when he is telling the truth. One has the right to +disbelieve the calumniator when he does wrong or when he tries to undo +it. And human nature is so constructed that it prefers to believe in +the first instance and to disbelieve in the second. + +You may slander a community, a class as well as an individual. It is +not necessary to charge all with crime; it is sufficient so to +manipulate your words that suspicion may fall on any one of said class +or community. If the charge be particularly heinous, or if the body of +men be such that all its usefulness depends on its reputation, as is +the case especially with religious bodies, the malice of such slander +acquires a dignity far above the ordinary. + +The Church of God has suffered more in the long centuries of her +existence from the tongue of slander than from sword and flame and +chains combined. In the mind of her enemies, any weapon is lawful with +which to smite her, and the climax of infamy is reached when they +affirm, to justify their dishonesty, that they turn Rome's weapons +against her. There is only one answer to this, and that is the silence +of contempt. Slander and dollars are the wheels on which moves the +propaganda that would substitute Gospel Christianity for the +superstitions of Rome. It is slander that vilifies in convention and +synod the friars who did more for pure Christianity in the Philippines +in a hundred years than the whole nest of their revilers will do in ten +thousand. It is slander that holds up to public ridicule the +congregations that suffer persecution and exile in France in the name +of liberty, fraternity, etc. It is slander that the long-tailed +missionary with the sanctimonious face brings back from the countries +of the South with which to regale the minds of those who furnish the +Bibles and shekels. And who will measure the slander that grows out of +the dunghill of Protestant ignorance of what Catholics really believe! + + + +CHAPTER XCI. +RASH JUDGMENT. + +THE Eighth Commandment is based on the natural right every fellow-man +has to our good opinion, unless he forfeits it justly and publicly. It +forbids all injury to his reputation, first, in the estimation of +others, which is done by calumny and detraction; secondly, in our own +estimation, and this is done by rash judgment, by hastily and without +sufficient grounds thinking evil of him, forming a bad opinion of him. +He may be, as he has a right to be, anxious to stand well in our esteem +as well as in the esteem of others. + +A judgment, rash or otherwise, is not a. doubt, neither is it a +suspicion. Everybody knows what a doubt is. When I doubt if another is +doing or has done wrong, the idea of his or her guilt simply enters my +mind, occurs to me and I turn it over and around, from one side to +another, without being satisfied to accept or reject it. I do not say: +yes, it is true; neither do I say: no, it is not true. I say nothing, I +pass no judgment; I suspend for the moment all judgment, I doubt. + +A doubt is not evil unless there be absolutely no reason for doubting, +and then the doubt is born of passion and malice. And the evil, +whatever there is of it, is not in the doubt's entering our mind-- +something beyond our control; but in our entertaining the doubt, in our +making the doubt personal, which supposes an act of the will. + +Stronger than doubt is suspicion. When I suspect one, I do not keep the +balance perfectly even between yes and no, as in the case of doubt; I +lean mentally to one side, but do not go so far as to assent one way or +the other. Having before me a person who excites my suspicion, I am +inclined to think him guilty on certain evidence, but I fear to judge +lest I should be in error, because there is evidence also of innocence. +If my suspicion is based on good grounds, it is natural and lawful; +otherwise it is rash and sinful; it is uncharitable and unjust to the +person suspected. A suspicion often hurts more than an accusation. + +Doubt and suspicion, when rash, are sinful; but the malice thereof +is not grave unless they are so utterly unfounded as to betoken +deep-seated antipathy and aversion and a perverse will; or unless in +peculiar circumstances the position of the person is such as to make +the suspicion gravely injurious and not easily condoned. There is guilt +in keeping that suspicion to oneself; to give it out in words is +calumny, whether it be true or not, simply because it is unfounded. + +In a judgment there is neither doubt nor suspicion; I make my own the +idea presented to my mind. The balance of assent, in which is weighed, +the evidence for and against, is not kept even, nor is it partially +inclined; It goes down with its full weight, and the party under +consideration stands convicted before the tribunal of my judgment. I do +not say, I wonder if he is guilty; nor he most likely is guilty; but: +he is guilty--here is a deliberate judgment. Henceforth my esteem +ceases for such a person. Translated in words such a judgment is not +calumny because it is supposedly founded in reason; but it is +detraction, because it is injurious. + +Such a judgment, without any exterior expression, is sinful if it is +rash. And what makes it rash? The insufficiency of motive on which it +is based. And whence comes the knowledge of such sufficiency or +insufficiency of motive? From the intelligence, but mostly from the +conscience. That is why many unintelligent people judge rashly and sin +not, because they know no better. But conscience nearly always supplies +intelligence in such matters and ignorance does not always save us from +guilt. An instinct, the wee voice of God in the soul, tells us to +withhold our judgment even when the intelligence fails to weigh the +motives aright. To contemn this voice is to sin and be guilty of rash +judgment. + +In the language of ordinary folks, not always precise and exact in +their terms, an opinion is frequently a judgment, to think this or that +of another is often to judge him accordingly. The suspicions of +suspicious people are at times more than suspicions and are clearly +characterized judgments. To render a verdict on the neighbor's +character is a judgment, by whatever other name it is called; all that +is necessary is to come to a definite conclusion and to give the assent +of the will to that conclusion. + +When the conduct of the neighbor is plainly open to interpretation, if +we may not judge immediately against him, neither are we bound to give +him the benefit of the doubt; we may simply suspend all judgment and +await further evidence. In our exterior dealings this suspicion should +not affect our conduct, for every man has a right to be treated as an +honest man and does not forfeit that right on the ground of a mere +probability. This, however, does not prevent us from taking a cue from +our suspicion and acting guardedly towards him. This does not mean that +we adjudge him dishonest, but that we deem him capable of being +dishonest, which is true and in accordance with the laws of prudence. + +Neither are we bound to overlook all evidence that points to a man's +guilt through fear of judging him unfavorably. It is not wrong to judge +a man according to his merits, to have a right opinion of him, even +when that opinion is not to his credit. All that is necessary is that +we have good reason on Which to base that opinion. If a neighbor does +evil in our presence or to our knowledge he forfeits, and justly, our +good opinion; he is to blame, and not we. We are not obliged to close +our eyes to the truth of facts, and it is on facts that our judgments +are formed. + + + +CHAPTER XCII. +MENDACITY. + +TO lie is to utter an untruth, with full knowledge that it is an +untruth. The untruth may be expressed by any conventional sign, by +word, deed, gesture, or even by silence. Its malice and disorder +consists in the opposition that exists between our idea and the +expression we give to it; our words convey a meaning contrary to what +is in our mind; we say one thing and mean another. If we unwittingly +utter what is contrary to fact, that is error; if we so clumsily +translate our thoughts as to give a false impression of what we mean, +and we do the best we can, that is a blunder; if in a moment of +listlessness and inattention we speak in a manner that conflicts with +our state of mind, that is temporary mental aberration. But if we +knowingly give out as truth what we know is not the truth, we lie +purely and simply. + +In misrepresentations of this kind it is not required that there be a +plainly formulated purpose of deceiving another; an implicit intention, +a disposition to allow our words to run their natural course, is +sufficient to give such utterances a character of mendacity. For, +independently of our mental attitude, it is in the nature of a lie to +deceive; an intention, or rather a pretense to the contrary, does not +affect that nature. The fact of lying presupposes that we intend in +some manner to practise deception; if we did not have such a purpose we +would not resort to lying. If you stick a knife into a man, you may +pretend what you like, but you did certainly intend to hurt him and +make him feel badly. + +Nor has any ulterior motive we may have in telling an untruth the power +to change its nature; a lie is a lie, no matter what prompted it. +Whether it serves the purpose of amusement, as a jocose lie; or helps +to gain us an advantage or get us out of trouble, as an officious lie; +or injures another in any way, as a pernicious lie: mendacity is the +character of our utterances, the guilt of willful falsehood is on our +soul. A restriction should, however, be made in favor of the jocose +lie; it ceases to be a lie when the mind of the speaker is open to all +who listen and his narration or statement may be likened to those +fables and myths and fairy tales in which is exemplified the charm of +figurative language. When a person says what is false and is convinced +that all who hear him know it is false, the contradiction between his +mind and its expression is said to be material, and not formal; and in +this the essence of a lie does not consist. + +A lie is always a sin; it is what is called an intrinsic evil and is +therefore always wrong. And why is this? Because speech was given us to +express our thoughts; to use this faculty therefore for a contrary +purpose is against its nature, against a law of our being, and this is +evil. The obnoxious consequences of falsehood, as it is patent to all, +constitute an evil for which falsehood is responsible. But deception, +one of those consequences, is not in itself and essentially, a moral +fault. Deception, if not practised by lying and therefore not intended +but simply suffered to occur, and if there be grave reason for +resorting to this means of defense, cannot be put down as a thing +offensive to God or unjustly prejudicial to the neighbor. But when +deception is the effect of mendacity, it assumes a character of malice +that deserves the reprobation of man as it is condemned by God. And +this is another reason why lying is essentially an evil thing, and can +never, under any circumstances be allowed or justified. + +This does not mean that lying is always a mortal sin. In fact, it is +oftener venial than mortal. It becomes a serious fault only in the +event of another malice being added to it. Thus, if I lie to one who +has a right to know the truth and for grave reasons; if the mendacious +information I impart is of a nature to mislead one into injury or loss, +and this thing I do maliciously; or if my lying is directly disparaging +to another; in these cases there is grave malice and serious guilt. But +if there is no injustice resulting from a lie, I prevaricate against +right in lying, but my sin is not a serious offense. + +This is a vice that certainly deserves to be fought against and +punished always and in all places, especially in the young who are so +prone thereto, first because it is a sin; and again, because of the +social evils that it gives rise to. There is no gainsaying the fact +that in the code of purely human morals, lying is considered a very +heinous offense that ostracizes a man when robbery on a large scale, +adultery and other first-degree misdemeanors leave him perfectly +honorable. This recalls an instance of a recent courtroom. A young +miscreant thoroughly imbued with pharisaic morals met with a bold face, +without a blush or a flinch, accusations of misconduct, robbery and +murder; but when charged with being a liar, he sprang at his accuser in +open court and tried to throttle him. His fine indignation got the best +of him; he could not stand that. + +Among pious-minded people two extreme errors are not infrequently met +with. The one is that a lie is not wrong unless the neighbor suffers +thereby; the falsity of this we have already shown. According to the +other, a lie is such an evil that it should not be tolerated, not one +lie, even if all the souls in hell were thereby to be liberated. To +this we answer that we would like to get such a chance once; we fear we +would tell a whopper. It would be wicked, of course; but we might +expect leniency from the just Judge under the circumstances. + + + +CHAPTER XCIII. +CONCEALING THE TRUTH. + +THE duty always to tell the truth does not imply the obligation always +to tell all you know; and falsehood does not always follow as a result +of not revealing your mind to the first inquisitive person that chooses +to put embarrassing questions. Alongside, but not contrary to, the duty +of veracity is the right every man has to personal and professional +secrets. For a man's mind is not public property; there may arise at +times circumstances in which he not only may, but is in duty bound to +withhold information that concerns himself intimately or touches a third +person; and there must be a means to protect the sacredness of such +secrets against undue curiosity and inquisitiveness, without recourse +to the unlawful method of lying. Silence is not an effective resource, +for it not infrequently gives consent one or the other way; the +question may be put in such a manner that affirmation or negation will +betray the truth. To what then shall one have recourse? + +Let us remark in the first place that God has endowed human +intelligence with a native wit, sharpness and cunning that has its +legitimate uses, the exercise of this faculty is evil only when its +methods and ends are evil. Used along the lines of moral rectitude +strategy and tact for profiting by circumstances are perfectly in +order, especially when one acts in the defense of his natural rights. +And if this talent is employed without injustice to the neighbor or +violence to the law of God, it is no more immoral than the plain +telling of truth; in fact it is sometimes better than telling the +truth. + +But it must be understood that such practices must be justified by the +circumstances. They suppose in him who resorts thereto a right to +withhold information that overrides the right of his interrogator. If +the right of the latter to know is superior, then the hiding of truth +would constitute an injustice, which is sinful, and this is considered +tantamount to lying. And if the means to which we resort is not lying, +as we have defined it, that is, does not show a contradiction between +what we say and what we mean, then there can be no fear of evil on any +side. + +Now, suppose that instead of using a term whose signification is +contrary to what my mind conceives, which would be falsehood, I employ +a word that has a natural double meaning, one of which is conform to my +mind, the other at variance. In the first place, I do not speak against +my mind; I say what I think; the word I use means what I mean. But the +other fellow! that is another matter. He may take his choice of the two +meanings. If he guesses aright, my artifice has failed; if he is +deceived, that is his loss. I do him no injustice, for he had no right +to question me. If my answer embarrasses him, that is just what I +intended, and I am guilty of no evil for that; if it deceives him, that +I did not intend but willingly suffer; I am not obliged to enter into +explanations when I am not even bound to answer him. Of the deception, +he alone is the cause; I am the occasion, if you will, but the +circumstances of his inquisitiveness made that occasion necessary, and +I am not responsible. + +This artifice is called equivocation or amphibology; it consists in the +use of words that have a natural double meaning; it supposes in him who +resorts to it the right to conceal the truth, a right superior to that +of the tormentor who questions him. When these conditions are +fulfilled, recourse to this method is perfectly legitimate, but the +conditions must be fulfilled. This is not a weapon for convenience, but +for necessity. It is easy to deceive oneself when it is painful to tell +the truth. Therefore it should be used sparingly: it is not for +every-day use, only emergencies of a serious nature can justify its +employ. Another artifice, still more delicate and dangerous, but just as +legitimate when certain conditions are fulfilled, is what is known as +mental restriction. This too consists in the employ of words of double +meaning; but whereas in the former case, both meanings are naturally +contained in the word, here the term employed has but one natural +signification, the other being furnished by circumstances. Its +legitimate use supposes that he to whom the term is directed should +either in fact know the circumstances of the case that have this +peculiar significance, or that he could and should know them. If the +information drawn from the answer received is insufficient, so much the +better; if he is misinformed, the fault is his own, since neither +genuine falsehood nor evident injustice can be attributed to the other. + +An example will illustrate this better than anything else. Take a +physician or lawyer, the custodian of a professional secret, or a +priest with knowledge safeguarded by the seal of the confessional. +These men either may not or should not reveal to others unconcerned in +the matter the knowledge they, possess. There is no one but should be +aware of this, but should know that when they are questioned, they will +answer as laymen, and not as professionals. They will answer according +to outside information, yes or no, whether on not such conclusion agree +with the facts they obtained under promise of secrecy. They simply put +out of their mind as unserviceable all professional knowledge, and +respond as a man to a man. Their standing as professional men puts +every questioner on his guard and admonishes him that no private +information need be expected, that he must take the answer given as the +conclusion of outside evidence, then if he is deceived he has no one to +blame but himself, since he was warned and took no heed of the warning. + +Again we repeat, the margin between mental restriction and falsehood is +a safe, but narrow one, the least bungling may merge one into the +other. It requires tact and judgment to know when it is permissible to +have recourse to this artifice and how to practise it safely. It is not +a thing to be trifled with. In only rare circumstances can it be +employed, and only few persons have the right to employ it. + + + +CHAPTER XCIV. +RESTITUTION. + +A PECULIAR feature attaches to the sins we have recently treated, +against the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth commandments. These +offenses differ from others in that they involve an injury, an +injustice to our fellow-man. Now, the condition of pardon for sin is +contrition; this contrition contains essentially a firm purpose that +looks to the future, and removes in a measure, the liability to fall +again. But with the sins here in question that firm purpose not only +looks forward, but backward as well, not only guarantees against future +ill-doing, but also repairs the wrong criminally effected in the past. +This is called restitution, the undoing of wrong suffered by our +neighbor through our own fault. The firm purpose to make restitution is +just as essential to contrition as the firm purpose to sin no more; in +fact, the former is only a form of the latter. It means that we will +not sin any more by prolonging a culpable injustice. And the person who +overlooks this feature when he seeks pardon has a moral constitution +and make-up that is sadly in need of repairs; and of such persons there +are not a few. + +Justice that has failed to protect a man's right becomes restitution +when the deed of wrong is done. Restitution therefore that is based on +the natural right every man has to have and to hold what is his, to +recover it, its value or equivalent, when unduly dispossessed, supposes +an act of injustice, that is, the violation of a strict right. This +injustice, in turn, implies a moral fault, a moral responsibility, +direct or indirect; and the fault must be grievous in order to induce a +grave obligation. Now, it matters not in the least what we do, or how +we do it, if the neighbor suffer through a fault of ours. If any human +creature sustains a loss to life or limb, damage to his or her social +or financial standing, and such injury can be traced to a moral +delinquency on our part, we are in conscience bound to make good the +loss and repair the damage done. To do evil is bad; to perpetuate it is +immeasurably worse. To refuse to remove the evil is to refuse to remove +one's guilt; and as long as one persists in such a refusal, that one +remains under the wrath of God. + +Restitution concerns itself with things done or left undone, things +said or left unsaid; it does not enter the domain of thought. +Consequently, just as an accident does not entail the necessity of +repairing the injury that another sustains, neither does the deliberate +thought or desire to perpetrate an injustice entail such a consequence. +Even if a person does all in his power to effect an evil purpose, and +fails, he is not held to reparation, for there is nothing to repair. As +we have said more than once, the will is the source of all malice in +the sight of God; but injustice to man requires material as well as +formal malice; sin must have its complement of exterior deed before it +can be called human injustice. + +We deem it unnecessary to dwell upon the gravity of the obligation to +make restitution. The balance of justice must be maintained exact and +impartial in this world, or the Almighty will see that it is done in +the next. The idea that God does not stand for justice destroys the +idea that God exists. And if the precept not to commit injustice leaves +the guilty one free to repair or not to repair, that precept is +self-contradictory and has no meaning at all. If a right is a right, it +is not extinguished by being violated and if justice, is something more +than a mere sound, it must protect all rights whether sinned against or +not. + +It might be convenient for some people to force upon their conscience +the lie that restitution is of counsel rather than of precept, under +the plea that it is enough to shoulder the responsibility of sin +without being burdened with the obligation of repairing it, but it is +only a soul well steeped in malice that will take seriously such a +contention. Neither is restitution a penance imposed upon us in order +to atone for our faults; it is no more penitential in its nature than +are the efforts we make to avoid the faults we have fallen into in the +past. It atones for nothing; it is simply a desisting from evil. When +this is done and forgiveness obtained, then, and not till then, is it +time to think of satisfying for the temporal punishment due to sin. + +Naturally it is much more easy to abstain from committing injustice +than to repair it after it is done. It is often very difficult and very +painful to face the consequences of our evil ways, especially when all +satisfaction is gone and nothing remains but the hard exigencies of +duty. And duty is a thing that it costs very little to shirk when one +is already hardened by a habit of injustice. That is why restitution is +so little heard of in the world. It is a fact to be noted that the +Catholic Church is the only religious body that dares to enforce +strictly the law of reparation. Others vaguely hold it, but rarely +teach it, and then only in flagrant cases of fraud. But she allows none +of her children to approach the sacraments who has not already +repaired, or who does not promise in all sincerity to repair, whatever +wrong he may have done to the neighbor. Employers of Catholic help +sometimes feel the effects of this uncompromising attitude of the +Church; they are astonished, edified and grateful. + +We recall with pleasure an incident of an apostate going about warning +people against the turpitudes of Rome and especially against the +extortions of her priests through the confessional. He explained how +the benighted papist was obliged under pain of eternal damnation to +confess his sins to the priest, and then was charged so much for each +fault he had been guilty of. An incredulous listener wanted to know if +he, the speaker, while in the toils of Rome had ever been obliged thus +to disgorge in the confessional, and was answered with a triumphant +affirmation. At which the wag hinted that it would be a good thing not +to be too outspoken in announcing the fact as his reputation for +honesty would be likely to suffer thereby, for he knew, and all +Catholics knew, who were those whose purse the confessor pries open. + + + +CHAPTER XCV. +UNDOING THE EVIL. + +WHENEVER a person, through a spirit of Police or grossly culpable +negligence, becomes responsible for serious bodily injury sustained by +another, he is bound, as far as in him lies, to undo the wrong and +repair the injustice committed. The law of personal rights that forbade +him to lay violent hands on another, now commands that the evil be +removed by him who placed it. True, physical pain and tortures cannot +be repaired in kind; physical injury and disability are not always +susceptible of adequate reparation. But there is the loss incurred as a +result of such disability, and this loss may affect, not one alone, but +many. + +Death, too, is of course absolutely irreparable. But the killing of the +victim in nowise extinguishes the obligation of reparation. The +principal object is removed; but there remain the loss of wages, the +expenses necessitated by illness and death; there may be a family +dependent on the daily toil of the unfortunate and made destitute by +his removal. One must be blind indeed not to see that all these losses +are laid at the door of the criminal, a direct result of his crime, +foreseen, too, at least confusedly, since there is a moral fault; and +these must be made good, as far as the thing is possible, otherwise the +sin will not be forgiven. + +Slander must be retracted. If you have lied about another and thereby +done him an injury, you are bound in conscience to correct your false +statement, to correct it in such a manner as to undeceive all whom you +may have misled. This retraction must really retract, and not do just +the contrary, make the last state of things worse than the first, which +is sometimes the case. Prudence and tact should suggest means to do +this effectively: when, how and to what extent it should be done, in +order that the best results of reparation may be obtained. But in one +way or another, justice demands that the slanderer contradict his lying +imputations and remove by so doing the stain that besmirches the +character of his victim. + +Of course, if it was by truth and not falsehood, by detraction and not +calumny, that you assailed and injured the reputation of another, there +is no gainsaying the truth; you are not justified in lying in order to +make truth less damaging. The harm done here is well nigh irreparable. +But there is such a thing as trying to counteract the influence of evil +speech by good words, by mentioning qualities that offset defects, by +setting merit against demerit; by attenuating as far as truth will +allow the circumstances of the case, etc. This will place your victim +in the least unfavorable light, and will, in some measure, repair the +evil of detraction. + +Scandal must be repaired, a mightily difficult task; to reclaim a soul +lost to evil through fatal inducements to sin is paramount, almost, to +raising from the dead. It is hard, desperately hard, to have yourself +accepted as an angel of light by those for whom you have long been a +demon of iniquity. Good example! Yes, that is about the only argument +you have. You are handicapped, but if you wield that argument for good +with as much strength and intensity as you did for evil, you will have +done all that can be expected of you, and something may come of it. + +The wrong of bodily contamination is a deep one. It is a wrong, and +therefore unjust, when it is effected through undue influence that +either annuls consent, or wrings it from the victim by cajolery, +threat, or false promise. It becomes immeasurably aggravated when the +victim is abandoned to bear alone the shame and burdensome consequences +of such injustice. + +Matrimony is the ordinary remedy; the civil law will force it; +conscience may make it an obligation, and does make it, unless, in rare +cases, there be such absolute incompatibility as to make such a +contract an ineffective and ridiculous one, an inefficient remedy, or +none at all. When such is the case, a pecuniary compensation is the +only alternative. A career has been blasted, a future black with +despair stares the victim in the face, if she must face it unaided; a +burden forced upon her that must be borne for years, entailing +considerable expense. The man responsible for such a state of affairs, +if he expects pardon for his crime, must shoulder the responsibility in +a manner that will repair at least in part the grave injustice under +which his victim labors. + +If both share the guilt, then both must share the burden. If one +shirks, the other must assume the whole. The great victim is the child. +That child must get a Christian bringing-up, or some one will suffer +for it; its faith must be safeguarded. If this cannot be done at home, +then it must be placed where this can be done. If it is advantageous +for the parent or parents that their offspring be raised in ignorance +of its origin, it is far more advantageous for the child itself. Let it +be confided to good hands, but let the money necessary for its support +be forthcoming, since this is the only way to make reparation for the +evil of its birth. + +I would add a word in regard to the injustice, frequent enough, of too +long deferring the fulfilment of marriage promises. For one party, +especially, this period of waiting is precarious, fraught with danger +and dangerous possibilities. Her fidelity makes her sacrifice all other +opportunities, and makes her future happiness depend on the fulfilment +of the promise given. Charms do not last forever; attractions fade with +the years. If affection cools, she is helpless to stir up the embers +without unmentionable sacrifice. There is the peril. The man who is +responsible for it, is responsible for a good deal. He is committing an +injustice; there is danger of his not being willing to repair it, +danger that he may not be able to repair it. His line of duty is clear. +Unless for reasons of the gravest importance, he cannot in surety of +conscience continue in a line of conduct that is repugnant alike to +natural reason and common decency, and that smacks of moral make-up +that would not bear the scrutiny of close investigation. + + + +CHAPTER XCVI. +PAYING BACK. + +A MAN who has stolen, has nothing more urgent and imperative to +perform, on this side of eternity, than the duty of refunding the money +or goods unjustly acquired, or the value thereof. He may possibly +consider something else more important; but if he does, that man has +somehow unlearned the first principles of natural honesty, ignores the +fundamental law that governs the universe, and he will have a difficult +time convincing the Almighty that this ignorance of his is not wholly +culpable. The best and only thing for him to do is to make up his mind +to pay up, to disgorge his ill-gotten goods, to make good the losses +sustained by his neighbor through his fault. + +He may, or may not, have profited to any great extent by his criminal +proceedings; but there is no doubt that his victim suffered injustice; +and that precisely is the root of his obligation. The stolen goods may +have perished in his hands and he have nothing to show; the same must +be said of the victim the moment his possessions disappeared; with this +difference, however, that justice was not violated in one case, and in +the other, it was. The lawful owner may be dead, or unfindable among +the living; but wherever he may be, he never intended that the thief +should enjoy the fruit of his crime. The latter's title, vitiated in +its source, cannot be improved by any circumstance of the owner's +whereabouts. No one may thrive on one's own dishonesty. + +You say this is hard; and in so saying, you lend testimony to the truth +of the axiom that honesty is the best policy. There is no one but will +agree with you; but such a statement, true though it be, helps matters +very little. It is always hard to do right; blame Adam and Eve for it, +and think of something more practicable. But must I impoverish myself? +Not to the extent of depriving yourself of the necessaries of life. But +you must deprive yourself to the extent of settling your little +account, even if you suffer something thereby. But how shall I be able +to refund it all! You may never be able to refund it all; but you may +start in immediately and do the best you can; resolve to keep at it; +never revoke your purpose to cancel the debt. In case your lease of +life expires before full justice is done, the Almighty may take into +consideration your motives and opportunities. They do say that hell is +paved with good intentions; but these intentions are of the sort that +are satisfied with never coming to a state of realization. + +But I shall lose my position, be disgraced, prosecuted and imprisoned. +This might happen if you were to write out a brief of your crime and +send the same, signed and sworn to, to your employer. But this is +superfluous. You might omit the details and signature, enclose the sum +and trust luck for the rest. Or you might consult your spiritual +adviser; he might have had some experience in this line of business. +The essential is not that you be found out, but that you refund. + +It may happen that several are concerned in a theft. In this case, each +and every participant, in the measure of his guilt, is bound to make +restitution. Guilt is the object, restitution is the shadow; the +following is fatal. To order or advise the thing done; to influence +efficaciously its doing; to assist in the deed or to profit knowingly +thereby, to shield criminally the culprit, etc., this sort of +co-operation adds to the guilt of sin the burden of restitution. Silence +or inaction, when plain duty would call for words and deeds to prevent +crime, incriminates as well as active participation, and creates an +obligation to repair. + +There is more. Conspiracy in committing an injustice adds an especial +feature to the burden of restitution. If the parties to the crime had +formed a preconcerted plan and worked together as a whole in its +accomplishment, every individual that furnished efficient energy to the +success of the undertaking is liable, in conscience, not for a share of +the loss, but for the sum total. This is what is called solidarity; +solidarity in crime begets solidarity in reparation. It means that the +injured party has a just claim for damages, for all damages sustained, +against any one of the culprits, each one of whom, in the event of his +making good the whole loss, has recourse against the others for their +share of the obligation. It may happen, and does, that one or several +abscond, and thus shirk their part of the obligation; the burden of +restitution may thus be unevenly distributed. But this is one of the +risks that conspirators in sin must take; the injured party must be +protected first and in preference to all others. + +No Catholic can validly receive the sacrament of penance who refuses to +assume the responsibility of restitution for injustices committed, and +who does not at least promise sincerely to acquit himself at the first +favorable opportunity and to the extent of his capacity. This means +that only on these conditions can the sin be forgiven by God. That man +is not disposed sufficiently to receive absolution who continually +neglects opportunities to keep his promise; who refuses to pay any, +because he cannot pay all; who decides to leave the burden of +restitution to his heirs, even with the wherewith to do so. It is +better not to go to confession at all than to go with these +dispositions; it is better to wait until you can make up your mind. + + + +CHAPTER XCVII. +GETTING RID OF ILL-GOTTEN GOODS. + +IT may happen that a person discover among his legitimately acquired +possessions something that does not in reality belong to him. He may +have come by it through purchase, donation, etc.; he kept it in good +faith, thinking that he had a clear title to it. He now finds that +there was an error somewhere, and that it is the property of some one +else. Of course, he is not the lawful owner, and does not become such +by virtue of his good faith; although, in certain given circumstances, +if the good faith, or ignorance of error, last long enough, a title may +be acquired by prescription, and the possessor become the lawful owner. +But we are not considering the question of prescription. + +It is evident, then, that our friend must dispossess himself in favor +of the real owner, as soon as the latter comes upon the scene and +proves his claim. But the possessor may in all innocence have alienated +the goods, destroyed or consumed them; or they may have perished +through accident or fatality. In the latter case, nothing remains to +refund, no one is to blame, and the owner must bear the loss. Even in +the former case, if the holder can say in conscience that he in nowise +became richer by the possession and use of the goods in question, he is +not bound to make restitution. If, however, there be considerable +profits, they rightly belong to the owner, and the possessor must +refund the same. + +But the question arises as to how the holder is to be compensated for +the expenditure made in the beginning and in good faith when he +purchased the goods which he is now obliged to hand over to another. +Impartial justice demands that when the rightful owner claims his +goods, the holder relinquish them, and he may take what he gets, even +if it be nothing. He might claim a compensation if he purchased what he +knew to be another's property, acting in the interests of that other +and with the intention of returning the same to its owner. Otherwise, +his claim is against the one from whom he obtained the article, and not +against him to whom he is obliged to turn it over. + +He may, if he be shrewd enough, anticipate the serving of the owner's +claim and secure himself against a possible loss by selling back for a +consideration the goods in question to the one from whom he bought +them. But this cannot be done after the claim is presented; besides, +this proceeding must not render it impossible for the owner to recover +his property; and he must be notified as to the whereabouts of said +property. This manoeuvre works injustice unto no one. The owner stands +in the same relation to his property as formerly; the subsequent holder +assumes an obligation that was always his, to refund the goods or their +value, with recourse against the antecedent seller. + +The moment a person shirks the responsibility of refunding the +possessions, by him legitimately acquired, but belonging rightfully to +another, that person becomes a possessor in bad faith and stands +towards the rightful owner in the position of a thief. Not in a +thousand years will he be able to prescribe a just title to the goods. +The burden of restitution will forever remain on him; if the goods +perish, no matter how, he must make good the loss to the owner. He must +also disburse the sum total of profits gathered from the illegal use of +said goods. If values fluctuate during the interval of criminal +possession, he must compute the amount of his debt according to the +values that prevailed at the time the lawful owner would have disposed +of his goods, had he retained possession. + +Finally, there may be a doubt as to whether the object I possess is +rightfully mine or not. I must do my best to solve that doubt and dear +the title to ownership. If I fail, I may consider the object mine and +may use it as such. If the owner turn up after the prescribed time, so +much the worse for the owner. An uncertainty may exist, not as to my +proprietorship, but as to whom the thing does belong. If my possession +began in good faith and I am unable to determine the ownership, I may +consider myself the owner until further developments shed more light on +the matter. + +It is different when the object was originally acquired in bad faith. +In such a case, first, the ill-gotten goods can never be mine; then, +there is no sanction in reason, conscience or law for the conduct of +those who run immediately to the first charitable institution and leave +there their conscience money; or who have masses said for the repose of +the souls of those who have been defrauded, before they are dead at all +perhaps. My first care must be to locate the victim; or, if he be +certainly deceased or evidently beyond reach, the heirs of the victim +of my fraud. When all means fail and I am unable to find either the +owner or his heirs, then, and not till then, may I dispose of the goods +in question. I must assume in such a contingency as this, that the will +of the owner would be to expend the sum on the most worthy cause; and +that is charity. The only choice then that remains with me is, what +hospital, asylum or other enterprise of charity is to profit by my +sins, since I myself cannot be a gainer in the premises. + +It might be well to remark here that one is not obliged to make +restitution for more than the damages call for. Earnestness is a good +sign, but it should not blind us or drive us to an excess of zeal +detrimental to our own lawful interests. When there is a reasonable and +insolvable doubt as to the amount of reparation to be made, it is just +that such a doubt favor us. If we are not sure if it be a little more +or a little less, the value we are to refund, we may benefit by the +uncertainty and make the burden we assume as light as in all reason it +can be made. And even if we should happen to err on the side of mercy +to ourselves, without our fault, justice is satisfied, being fallible +like all things human. + + + +CHAPTER XCVIII. +WHAT EXCUSES FROM RESTITUTION. + +THOSE who do not obtain full justice from man in this world will obtain +it in the next from God. If we do not meet our obligations this side of +the tribunal of the just Judge, He will see to it that our accounts are +equitably balanced when the time for the final reckoning comes. This +supposes, naturally, that non-fulfilment of obligations is due on our +part to unwillingness--a positive refusal, or its equivalent, wilful +neglect, to undo the wrongs committed. For right reason and God's mercy +must recognize the existence of a state of unfeigned and hopeless +disability, when it is impossible for the delinquent to furnish the +wherewithal to repair the evils of which he has been guilty. When this +condition is permanent, and is beyond all remedy, all claims are +extinguished against the culprit, and all losses incurred must be +ascribed to "an act of God," as the coroner says. For no mart can be +held to what is impossible. + +Chief among these moral, as well as legal, bankrupts is the +good-for-nothing fellow who is sorry too late, who has nothing, has no +hopes of ever having anything, and who therefore can give nothing. You +cannot extract blood from a beet, nor shekels from an empty purse. Then +a man may lose all his belongings in a catastrophe, and after striving +by labor and economy to pay off his debts, may see himself obliged to +give up the task through sickness, misfortune or other good causes. He +has given all he has, he cannot give more. Even though liabilities +were stacked up mountain-high against him, he cannot be held morally +responsible, and his creditors must attribute their losses to the +misfortune of life--a rather unsubstantial consolation, but as good a +one as the poor debtor has. + +There are other cases where the obligations of restitution are not +annulled, but only cancelled for the time being, until such a time as +circumstances permit their being met without grave disaster to the +debtor. The latter may be in such a position that extreme, or great, +want would stare him in the face, if he parted with what he possesses +to make restitution. The difficulty here is out of all proportion with +the injustice committed for, after all, one must live, and charity +begins at home, our first duty is toward ourselves. The creditors of +this man have no just claim against him until he improves his +circumstances; in the meantime, the burden of responsibility is lifted +from his shoulders. + +The same must be said when the paying off of a debt at any particular +time, be it long or short, would cripple a man's finances, wipe out his +earnings to such an extent as to make him fall considerably below his +present position in life. We might take a case during the late coal +famine, of a man who, in order to fill his contracts of coal at six +dollars a ton, would be obliged to buy it at fifteen and twenty dollars +a ton; and thereby sacrifice his fortune. The thing could not be +expected, it is preposterous. His obligee must wait and hope for better +times. + +A man's family is a part of himself. Therefore the payment of a just +debt may be deferred In order to shield from want parents, wife, +children, brothers or sisters. Life, limb and reputation are greater +possessions than riches; consequently, rather than jeopardize these, +one may, for the time, put aside his obligations to make restitution. + +All this supposes, of course, that during the interval of delay the +creditor does not suffer inconveniences greater than, or as great as, +those the debtor seeks to avoid. The latter's right to defer payment +ceases to exist the moment it comes into conflict with an equal right +of the former to said payment. It is against reason to expect that, +after suffering a first injustice, the victim should suffer a second in +order to spare the guilty party a lesser or an equal injury. Preference +therefore must be given to the creditor over the debtor when the +necessity for sacrifice is equal, and leniency must be refused when it +becomes cruelty to the former. + +Outside these circumstances, which are rare indeed, it will be seen at +once that the creditor may act an unjust part in pressing claims that +accidentally and temporarily become invalid. He has a right to his own, +but he is not justified in vindicating that right, if in so doing, he +inflicts more damage than equity calls for. The culprit has a right not +to suffer more than he deserves, and it is mock justice that does not +respect that right. If the creditor does suffer some loss by the delay, +this might be a circumstance to remember at the final settlement but +for the present, there is an impediment to the working of justice, +placed by the fatal order of things and it is beyond power to remove +it. + + + +CHAPTER XCIX. +DEBTS. + +BEFORE closing our remarks, necessarily brief and incomplete, on this +subject, so vast and comprehensive, we desire in a few words to pay our +respects to that particular form of injustice, more common perhaps than +all others combined, which is known as criminal debt, likewise, to its +agent, the most brazen impostor and unconscionable fraud that afflicts +society, the man who owes and will not pay. More people suffer from bad +debts than from stealing and destruction of property. It is easier to +contract a debt, or to borrow a trifle, than to steal it outright; it +is safer, too. Imprudence is one of the chief characteristics of this +genus of iniquity. "I would sooner owe you this than cheat you out of +it:" this, in word or deed, is the highly spiritual consolation they +offer those whom they fleece and then laugh at. + +The wilful debtor is, first of all, a thief and a robber, because he +retains unjustly the lawful possessions of another. There is no +difference between taking and keeping what belongs to the neighbor. The +loss is the same to a man whether he is robbed of a certain amount or +sells goods for which he gets nothing in return. The injustice is the +same in both cases, the malice identical. He therefore who can pay his +debts, and will not, must be branded as a thief and an enemy to the +rights of property. + +The debtor is guilty of a second crime, of dishonesty and fraud against +his fellow-man, by reason of his breaking a contract, entered upon with +a party in good faith, and binding in conscience until cancelled by +fulfilment. When a man borrows or buys or runs an account on credit, he +agrees to return a quid pro quo, an equivalent for value received. When +he fails to do so, he violates his contract, breaks his pledge of +honor, obtains goods under false pretense. Even if he is sincere at the +time of the making of the contract, the crime is perpetrated the moment +he becomes a guilty debtor by repudiating, in one way or another, his +just debts. Now, to injure a person is wrong; to break faith with him +at one and the same time is to incur guilt of a double dye. + +There is likewise an element of contumely and outrage in such dishonest +operations; the affront offered the victim is contemptible. Men have +often been heard to say, after being victimized by imposture of this +sort: "I do not mind the loss so much, but I do object to being treated +like a fool and a monkey." One's feelings suffer more than one's purse. +Especially is this the case when the credit is given or a loan made as +a favor or service, intended or requested, only to be requited by the +blackest kind of ingratitude. + +And let us not forget the extent of damage wrought unto worthy people +in hard circumstances who are shut out from the advantages of borrowing +and buying on credit by the nefarious practices of dishonest borrowers +and buyers. A burnt child keeps away from the fire. A man, after being +defrauded palpably a few times, acquires the habit of refusing all +credit; and he turns down many who deserve better, because of the +persecution to which he is subjected by rogues and scoundrels. Every +criminal debtor contributes to that state of affairs and shares the +responsibility of causing honest people to suffer want through +inability to get credit. + +And who are the persons thus guilty of a manifold guilt? They are those +who borrow and buy knowing full well they will not pay, pile debt upon +debt knowing full well they cannot pay. Others, who do not repudiate +openly their obligations, put off paying indefinitely for futile +reasons: hard times, that last forever; ships coming in, whose fate is +yet unlearned; windfalls from rich relatives that are not yet born, +etc.; and from delay to delay they become not only less able, but less +willing, to settle their accounts. Sometimes you meet a fellow anxious +to square himself for the total amount; half his assets is negotiable, +the other half is gall. He threatens you with the alternative of half +or none; he wants you to accept his impudence at the same figures at +which he himself values it. And this schemer usually succeeds in his +endeavor. + +Others there are who protest their determination to pay up, even to the +last cent; their dun-bills are always kept in sight, lest they forget +their obligations; they treasure these bills, as one treasures a thing +of immense value. But they live beyond their means and income, purchase +pleasure and luxury, refuse to curtail frivolous expenses and +extravagant outlay. And in the meantime their debts remain in status +quo, unredeemed and less and less redeemable, their determination holds +good, apparently; and the creditor breaks commandments looking on and +hoping. + +Some do violence to their thinking faculty by trying to find +justification, somehow, for not paying their debts. The creditor is +dead, they say; or he has plenty and can well afford to be generous. An +attempt is often made at establishing a case of occult compensation, +its only merit being its ingenuity, worthy of a better cause. All such +lame excuses argue a deeper perversity of will, a malice well-nigh +incurable; but they do not satisfy justice, because they are not +founded on truth. + +A debt has a character of sacredness, like all moral obligations; more +sacred than many other moral obligations, because this quality is taken +directly from the eternal prototype of justice, which is God. You +cannot wilfully repudiate it therefore without repudiating God. You +must respect it as you respect Him. Your sins and your debts will +follow you before the throne of God. God alone is concerned with your +sins; but with your debts a third party is concerned. And if God may +easily waive His claims against you as a sinner, a sterner necessity +may influence His judgment of you as a debtor, through respect for the +inviolable rights of that third party who does not forgive so readily. + + + +THE END. + + + + +STANDARD CATHOLIC BOOKS +PUBLISHED BY +BENZIGER BROTHERS + +CINCINNATI: 343 MAIN ST. +NEW YORK: 36-38 BARCLAY ST. +CHICAGO: 214-216 W. MONROE ST. + +Books marked net are such where ten per cent, must be added for +postage. Thus a book advertised as _net_, $1.00, will be sent postpaid +on receipt of $1.10. Books not marked _net_ will be sent postpaid on +receipt of advertised price. + +MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS + +ABANDONMENT TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE. CAUSSADE. _net_, 0 50 +ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. TESNIERE. _net_, 1 25 +ANECDOTES AND EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATING THE CATHOLIC CATECHISM. SPIRAGO. +_net_, 1 50 +ANGELS OF THE SANCTUARY. MUSSER. 0 20 +ANNOUNCEMENT BOOK FOR SUNDAY MASSES. _net_, 1 25 +ART OF PROFITING BY OUR FAULTS. 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