“ Everywhere society presents the singular phenomenon of a sifting of its elements; and whilst all that aspires to the supernatural life, or clings to revelation, virtue, or truth, is gathered into the bosom of our holy Church, all that is without the Catholic pale is hurried down the inclined plane of Protestantism, and cast into the abyss of infidelity and rationalism. ”

“ Now let us grant, for a moment, the point which we have just been disputing, and let us suppose Moses explicitly to declare that the children of Israel went up armed out of Egypt. Would this statement convey that there were 600,000 armed men? We know, indeed, that this was the number of the adult male population. But when we say that a people is armed, we do not mean that every man of twenty years old and upwards is under arms. ”

“ Now we certainly admit that if any history relate as a fact that which is absolutely impossible, or if it relate two facts which are manifestly inconsistent with each other, it is so far untrue. And if these impossibilities and contradictions are of frequent occurrence, it must forfeit the character of a truthful narrative. But it would be a great mistake to reject as impossibilities those facts which we are simply unable to explain. ”

“ And yet, in the face of this social miracle, a Protestant peer is bold enough to assert that the Catholic Church is opposed to the progress of science and inspired truth;—thus insulting the memory of his own illustrious forefathers, and outraging the feelings of his fellow-countrymen. ”

“ We feel much obliged to our learned and reverend correspondent for the interest he takes in the success and the accuracy of the Record, and we beg to assure him that the greatest attention will be paid to every communication and suggestion from him, or from any other promoter of the study of Irish ecclesiastical literature or antiquities. In publishing the Record, our only desire is to illustrate and uphold truth, and thus to promote the interests of religion. ”

“ But he well knows that the grace of faith was meant for all, though all have not the learning or the power to unravel the sophistry of error. He may, therefore, in safety cling fast to that Church which is "the pillar and the ground of Truth", and pass by unheeded the eloquence and the subtlety of those who would fain draw him into the arena of controversy. Conscious that he has truth upon his side, he has nothing to fear from the progress of human learning. ”

“ Here is an able and accomplished scholar, who presses into his service Hebrew, and Greek, and statistics, and history, and books of travels. These are formidable weapons, which few possess, and fewer still are skilled to use. Yet we need not, therefore, shrink from the encounter. The Catholic Church has provided a defence for all; for the unlettered mechanic, no less than the learned theologian. The one may take shelter beneath the protecting shield of an infallible authority; the other need not fear to venture into the open field, and meet the foe upon his own ground and with his own weapons. ”

“ Every Catholic firmly believes that, in virtue of a divine promise, the Church is reserved free from all error in her teaching. Now, on the subject before us, the Church has pronounced her judgment in clear and simple words. In the Council of Trent it is defined that "God is the author of all the books of the Old and of the New Testament"— (sessio quarta) . And, surely, it would be nothing short of blasphemy to ascribe to God such a book as the Bible would be in the theory of Dr. Colenso. ”

“ Ask even the medieval hymns published by the present Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, which, though shorn by the editor of much of their Catholic beauty, yet bear in each remaining strophe a deep impress of the language and imagery of the Bible, and prove to conviction that, so devoted was the Church of the ante-Reformation period to the study of the inspired text, that the very thoughts of her clergy, their language, their daily life, seemed to be cast in its sacred mould. ”

“ THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE BIBLE.
There are few so foolish as to close their eyes against the brilliant rays of the mid-day sun, and, at the same time, to assert deliberately that the sun is not yet risen, and that the world is still enveloped in darkness.
Nevertheless, something like this has been done quite recently by an estimable Protestant nobleman, who has assured his Irish fellow-countrymen that the Catholic Church, before the Reformation, "neither furthered the interests of science nor disseminated the knowledge of God's written word". ”

“ Amongst the advocates of the new opinion in England, there is none more popular in his style, none more plausible in his arguments, none more earnest in the cause, than John William Colenso, Protestant Bishop of Natal. Distinguished among his clerical brethren for his eminent skill in figures, he became, some few years ago, the chosen candidate for the see over which he now presides. He set out for his new mission armed with the Bible, and full of zeal for the conversion of the Zulus. ”

“ It must be remembered that we have the most convincing, unanswerable proofs that the Pentateuch is a trustworthy history; nay, more, that it is the Word of [276] Eternal Truth. These proofs have for ages stood the test of critical inquiry, and have been accepted as valid by the great bulk of the civilized world. They are not impugned by Dr. Colenso; they are left unshaken, untouched. But he says the history cannot be true, for it contains "many absolute impossibilities", and "a series of manifest contradictions and inconsistencies"— (Part i. p. 11) . ”

“ How glorious a thing this is, all history is the witness; witnesses are our ancestors and ourselves; witnesses are all the nations of Europe, who with one accord proclaim the Irish nation a spectacle of fortitude, so that among all Christian peoples it is deservedly styled a nation of martyrs".
The troubles that clouded the early years of the reign of the youthful King Henry III. were watched with anxiety by Honorius III. In a letter to the Archbishop of Dublin (Theiner, n. 4, p. 2) , that Pontiff enumerates the reasons why he felt so much solicitude for the welfare of the English monarch. ”

“ Colenso is simply this:—That the traditional reverence with which the Bible has hitherto been received, is no reason why it should not be submitted to the test of critical and scientifical investigation: that he has himself applied that test to the Pentateuch and the Book of Josue: that by that test he has proved the leading facts in both these books to be false: that the narrative, in general, cannot be regarded otherwise than as fabulous and legendary ”

“ Now all these great works appeared before a single attempt was made by Protestants to publish a Polyglot Bible; they all appeared under the patronage of the clergy, and show the ever active solicitude of the Catholic Church to promote a true Christian interpretation, and to diffuse an accurate text of the Sacred Scriptures. Even in regard to versions into the various modern languages, Catholics were ever foremost in the field. ”

“ We may also observe that even the use of many colours, or rather the mixture of them, is laid down as an abuse to be abolished, and power is granted to the bishop to allow the use of such vestments in poor churches until they shall be no longer fit for use. If it be an abuse to use many colours, how much greater the abuse if a colour be used quite opposed to the rubric! ”

“ It is said, that as our plan extends to the education of the laity, the appointment of professors to lecture on philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, and the languages, which are common to clergy and laity, should not be vested in the bishops only, because these branches of learning are not intimately connected with religion and morality, and much less with the peculiar duties of ecclesiastics. ”

“ So much for those parts of the Bible to which the bishop's researches have hitherto extended. He means to proceed with his studies in the same spirit through the rest of the sacred books; and he is quite prepared for any consequences to which these studies may lead him.
Such is the general scope and character of a work which we cannot but regard as one of the most remarkable productions of the age. It has gained for its author a wide-spread celebrity. His ingenious arguments are discussed in every literary circle; [274] they find an honoured place in our own periodical press ”

“ Any one who reads the articles of the Record will find that it has no foundation in fact. Penal laws, indeed, and brute force were employed to propagate the Reformation in Ireland, but the true faith was so deeply rooted in the minds of the clergy and laity of the "original Irish Church" that all the powers of Hell could not exterminate it. ”

“ Above all, he possesses that peculiar tact of a clever and experienced advocate,—when his cause is weak he can disguise its weakness; when it is strong he knows how to exhibit its strength with clearness and vigour. ”

“ New sciences may, in their infant struggles, seem for a time to clash with that Revelation which, in God's design, they were meant to confirm, to illustrate, and to adorn. But he may calmly await the issue of the conflict, with a firm conviction that, in the end, the cause of truth must triumph ”

“ In the dedication, which is dated the 1st of February, 1516, Erasmus commemorates the many glories of the house of Medici, and especially the zeal of Pope Leo in promoting religion and literature, and adds: "Quamquam ut ingenue dicam, quidquid hoc est operis videri poterat humilius quam ut ei dicandum esset quo nihil majus habet hic orbis, nisi conveniret, ut quidquid ad religionem instaurandam pertinet haud alii consecretur quam summo religionis principi et eidem assertori". ”

“ It suffices merely to state their claims, to discern whether they are to be reckoned amongst the true shepherds of the flock, or amongst those wolves whose mission it is to rend and scatter the sacred fold of Christ. ”

“ When a fact is established by indisputable proof, we must accept that fact, even though we may not be able to point out the means by which it was accomplished. This is a principle so simple and plain that our readers may, perhaps, wonder why we stop to enforce it so strongly. ”

“ And here we must remark that Latin was the literary language of that age, and that whosoever could read at all, was sure to be versed in the Latin tongue. How justly, then, does Mr. Hallam, when speaking of this period, state: "There is no reason to suspect any intention in the Church of Rome to deprive the laity of the scriptures"; 3 and how truthful are the words of another eloquent man: "The Catholic Church is not the enemy of the Bible. ”

“ Colenso. It will be less tedious, and more satisfactory, to appeal to the authority of those who have made the Hebrew language the subject of their special study, and who have availed themselves of all the means which the science of philology can supply, to determine the precise signification of every word in the Bible. ”

“ With regard to the third question, we beg to say that the ciborium or particles ought to be placed on the altar-stone, and that not only during the consecration, but to the communion. The chalice and host must be placed on it, according to the rubric; of the missal, and we see no reason why the same thing is not to be done with the small particles which are to be consecrated. St. Alphonsus Liguori is clearly of this opinion: "Non igitur licet ante communionem ponere particulas consecratas extra aram". ”

“ The best, and indeed the only remedy we can suggest, especially where there are many communicants, is to procure a large altar-stone. We have heard of some bishops declining to consecrate any stone that was under fourteen inches in length, and twelve inches in width, at least. It is unnecessary to observe that there is great danger, and irreverence too, in placing a large number [287] of particles on a very small space or corner of an altar-stone, where an accident, and that of the most serious nature, is likely to take place at any moment. ”

“ Soncino, near Cremona, in 1488, Naples in 1491, and Brescia in 1494, are the cities to which belongs the glory of thus giving birth to the first editions of the Hebrew text. Bologna, too, was privileged in being the first to publish the Chaldaic paraphrase of Onkelos: its edition appeared in 1482; and for the next two editions, which appeared towards the close of the century, we are indebted to Catholic Portugal. 5
As to the Greek text of the New Testament, its first edition was printed in 1514, under the auspices of an illustrious Spanish Franciscan, Cardinal Ximenes. ”

“ We cannot subscribe to this position, as experience has convinced us of the fatal impressions made on youth in all times and places, particularly in France, by infidel, seditious, or immoral professors even of grammar, and proved the necessity of scrupulous attention to the principles and conduct of every teacher previous to his admission into any seminary or school. It is always more advisable to prevent evil in this manner, than punish the whisperers of atheism and Jacobinism by a controlling power in the bishops to expel them. ”

“ They may indeed attract and amuse that numerous class which is ever in search of what is novel and startling; they may bewilder and perplex the superficial and careless reader; they may even bring conviction to the minds of many who hold the gift of faith with an infirm grasp, and who, in the words of the Apostle, are "carried about by every wind of doctrine". ”

“ If, then, we seek to ascertain its exact meaning in the first chapter of Numbers, we must examine the context in which it is found, and the circumstances to which it refers. Moses is commanded by God to number the people, and the way in which he executed that command is accurately described. There is not a word, in this, or the following chapters, about soldiers, or arms, or warfare. The object of the census was simply to distribute the people of Israel, according to their tribes and families, around the Tabernacle which stood in the midst of the camp. ”

“ Theiner's industry has reunited and given to the world. A collection of one thousand and sixty-four documents, in which are registered the shifting phases of most of the important events in Church and State in Ireland and Scotland which occupied the attention of thirty-seven Roman Pontiffs, from 1216 to 1547, offers to research so vast a field, and so boundless, that we may well be pardoned if we feel puzzled where to begin. Our attention is, however, arrested on the very threshold of the work by a question than which few others are more interesting to Irishmen ”

“ And then turning to those around him, he added: "Of the many arduous duties which I have performed for the benefit of the country, there is nothing on which you ought to congratulate me more than on the completion of this edition of the Bible". 7 This Polyglot comprises all the books of the Old and New Testaments in their original text, together with various ancient versions. Its expense was wholly defrayed by the Cardinal, who spared no pains to render it as complete as human efforts could effect. ”