IV.
Two things, then, are crucially indicative of a coming struggle ; the softening of the land-slip, and the hardening of the City on the Rock." "If God is the authority we must be Catholics : if man, we must be materialists." In other words, all the Churches that never had anything to do with Rome, and all that have separated from her, will gradually melt down into the devouring sea of Atheism, while she herself "protected by sacramental grace," as the only properly constituted representative of Divine authority on earth, will oppose a mighty bulwark to the destructive waves which will break against her in vain. What a pity that metaphors are not arguments ; for then with a few strokes of the pen the Reformation could be transformed into a mere "land-slip." Catholicism into an impregnable rock of infallible truth, and the whole universe of things beyond into a dreary waste of godlessness and irreligion.
That there are indications of a coming struggle is probable enough. Every age has its own problems to solve, and will solve them in spite of all resistance. Religion itself has no higher obligation than that every human being should turn hit faculties and his opportunities to the best account for the common welfare. The more diligently and honestly this is done, the richer will be the treasured brought to light from the arcanum of nature. But how can increasing discoveries of the grandeur, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator's works lead to a denial of His existence ? They may conflict with dogmas which self constituted interpreters of the Divine economy of things proclaim as infallible truth ; but then, so much the worse for the dogmas, not so much the worse for God's own economy of nature. Christianity, as it appears in the sacred books, the only authorative source from which it can be fairly tested, is not in conflict with modern science, material, social, or political. All that physical science seeks is to find out the laws of the universe in regard to material things, and to turn these laws to the best uses. How can religion have anything to say against that ? On the contrary, it offers the highest motive for the prosecution of so beneficent a work. Social and political science has to do with the relations of men to each other, and its beau ideal is to found those relations on absolute and universal equity, and make them as much as possible contributors to human happiness. Does this conflict with the sanctions of religion ? To suppose that would be little less than blasphemy, for it would make religion the enemy instead of the friend and saviour of man.
Where, then, is the danger of a coming struggle ? In the attitude assumed by the Vatican towards these fundamental principles of modern civilization. No voice but hers must say what is the meaning of Scripture ; she is the interpreter of her own dogmas, and the guarantee for their veracity. In those respects Dr. Vaughan declares that " the rock is hardening," " the reins are being held more firmly." " the mechanism is receiving more unhesitating authority." In not this a confession of the truth of Mr. Gladstone's assertion that within the present generation " Rome has refurbished and paraded anew every rusty tool she was fondly thought to have disused ? " What has this " hardening" process been? It has pronounced anathemas against the liberty of the Press, liberty of speech, freedom of conscience from external coercion, civil marriages, the supremacy of the State in matters civil. It declares that the Roman
Pontiffs and Councils have never transgressed the limits of their power, nor usurped the rights of princes ; consequently the deposition of monarchs and the transference of their kingdoms to others by Papal decree were legitimate. It claims the right to employ force in support of its purposes, which covers all the persecutions of the past. It proclaims that no religion other than the Roman may be established by the State. It condemns those who maintain that in "countries called Catholic the free exercise of other religions may laudably be allowed." These are some forms in which the hardening process has manifested itself, and by which the rebellious world is to be brought back into allegiance. These are some of "the rusty tools " of the past ; and Dr. Newman says that they civilized Europe, and, having served their purpose, may fall into disuse But did they civilize Europe, and have they fallen into disuse? Pius IX. has himself anathematised those who say that he ought to come to terms with modern civilization ; and how can these medieval weapons have created that which they are now rebrandished to destroy—unless it should be held that modern civilization is not the product of the past centuries, and that the age of feudal tyranny and darkness was better than the light and liberty of the present ?
That the mediæval Church, with all its imperfections and corruptions, did confer benefit on mankind is freely admitted. It was probably a necessity of the age, like Judaism, and all other forms of religious faith that ever existed. Nothing is slower than the growth of society and the development of mankind. At times great impulses seize upon the popular mind, and seem to carry it into a new era in a single generation ; but there is invariably a reaction. The old ideas retain their influences, and linger in the minds of men like the memories of the classic divinities which haunted the sacred places of the world in popular apprehension long after the decay of Greece and the fall of Rome. In describing the instant dissolution of Paganism on the birth of Jesus, Dr. Vaughan has translated into a fact that which Milton gives as a prophecy :—
The oracles are dumb ;
No voice or hideous hum
Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine
Can no more divine,
With hollow shriek the steeps of Delphos leaving.
No nightly trance or breathed spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell.
The lonely mountains o'er,
And the resounding shore
A voice of weeping heard and loud lament,
From haunted spring and dale,
Edged with poplar pale,
The parting genius is with sighing sent ;
With flower-inwoven tresses torn
The nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn.
The prophecy is not yet completely fulfilled, not even in the old world. Much of Paganism still survives nowhere more than in the ritual and polity of Dr. Vaughan's own Church. The Pagan Pontifex Maximus is both the ecclesiastical and the etymological ancestor of the Catholic Supreme Pontiff.
A comparison of Ovid's ancient Roman Fasti with the present Roman calendar will show how many festivals and sacred days are common to the two, the names being changed and the rites modified, but their purpose and use remaining the same.
"These holy rites performed, now take your time
To attend the remnant of the day in feasts.
Such fit repasts are pleasing to the saints
Who are your guests, though not with mortal eyes
To be beheld."
The statesmen of that age may be pardoned for not attempting the impracticable. It is contrary to reason to suppose that the national amusements of Pagan Rome would instantly lose their power over the people upon the proclamation that henceforth Rome was to be Christian. They were as great a social force as religious' rites, and it is not discreditable to the early ecclesiastical reformers that they attempted to associate new meanings with the public holidays and festivals without doing violence to the common sentiments and habits of the people. Nor must the influence of the medæval Church be forgotten as a check upon the rapacity of barons and princes, and as a sanctuary for those treasures of antiquity which survived the ravages of the Goths, the Vandals, and the Huns. The liberties of the people often found some of their their boldest champions, as well as some of most dangerous assailants, among the school men and ecclesiastics of the dark and middle ages. No Englishman ought to forget that if Innocent III. annulled Magna Charta, Arch bishop Langton was the moving spirit in wringing from King John this palladium of British liberty. Of the mediæval as of the Pagan age it is true that God was making the best of everything consistently with the principles of His moral government. Morality and religion are essentially the same in every age ; they are immutable as the character and nature of God. But it is only gradually that men grow into the recognition of their existence and authority, and it is both unscientific and impious to make the Divine economy responsible for the imperfections and blindness of man.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing in this lecture is its denunciation of Freemasonry. This institution is represented as the centre of Materialism, as Rome is of the Supernatural, and is accused of being a secret conspiracy against religion, law, and order. Dr. Vaughan's charges are so grave and assume such a definite form, that they ought to be officially challenged, and either proved or retracted. With "Hidden Springs" the State has nothing to do, but it is concerned with overt acts, and here Freemasonry has never yet come into collision with the State. Do the Freemasons ask any recognition of their organisation by the State? Have they ever put forth a demand for State endowment of their order ? Is there a single right or liberty of the private citizen which they have ever interfered with or called in question ? There are other secret societies besides Freemasonry. The College of Cardinals, the Vatican Council, the Society of Jesus, and other religious orders —the confessional, with all its secrets at the command of the Church—in fact, every separate Christian congregation meeting under the protection of its trust deeds, every benefit society, and every special organisation of any kind are all secret societies, privileged so far as their internal proceedings are concerned. The right of the people to form voluntary associations for any purpose they may deem fit is sacred, and must not be tampered with by either Church or State. If they associate for illegal purposes, let proof of this be given, and the law has its remedies. But so long as they obey the law they have a right to its protection, and their secrets, if worth keeping, which is very seldom, are in their own hands. This fire brand which Dr Vaughan represents as threatening society with a terrible conflagration is probably an ignis fatuus of his own creation. In any case he has said either too much or too little, for the social atmosphere ought not to be poisoned with jealousy and suspicion without ample and sufficient reasons.
It should mitigate our alarm at the awful times which are coming upon us to learn that Dr. Vaughan has a very simple remedy. It is that "the State, deriving such evident advantage from the great circle of the Supernatural, should support, according to a given scale, every school in which the Supernatural should be taught." There is no possibility of mistaking this proposal. It is the re-endowment of all religious Denominations in this colony, because the Government is asked to support the schools for the sake of having the Supernatural taught, and not for the sake of the secular curriculum. And if the schools, why not the Churches, and all other agencies for teaching the Supernatural ? The proposition is wide enough to include all religious' institutions, and even Paganism, for there are certainly some Pagan members of the body politic who "believe in the Supernatural. It would endow every church, every Sunday-school, every tract Society, every private school which professes to give a religious education, every joss-house, every spiritual seance, and even every evening circle whose amusement consists in telling stories of witchcraft, ghosts and diablerie, for all these come within the region of the Supernatural, find it will not do to assume that any of them claim the term improperly. It is needless to say that Dr, Vaughan would place some limit 'to the term Supernatural, as the Church to which he belongs places to State support, and even toleration wherever she has the power.' It is likewise needless to say that the day for such a condition of things in this Colony has gone by. Fourteen years ago Parliament decided that "It is expedient to prohibit future grants of money from the Public Funds in aid of Public Worship," and passed an Act for that purpose Thirty thousand pounds per annum was reserved on account of life interests, and that has been reduced now to the sum of twenty thousand, and will cease entirely in a few years. But the Churches have still seven thousand per annum from public lands, and twenty-eight thousand from the Consolidated Revenue for their separate schools. The question for Parliament to consider is not whether these grants shall be increased, but how soon they shall cease altogether. If the "Hidden Spring" of the Supernatural cannot be set in motion and win the victory over its adversary without a subsidy from Parliament, the less said of its purity and power the better.
To indulge in day dreams is an easy if not a very profitable occupation ; and if we were tempted to forecast the world's future our picture would be as bright with hope as Dr. Vaughan's is black with foreboding. The progress of society is like the incoming tide. Each particular wave that breaks upon the shore is hurled back into the surf, but the tide flows on for all that ; the next wave rises higher than its precursor, and the next higher still, until the high tide mark is reached, and every obstacle swept away. So is it with the great social forces that sway the destinies of mankind. They ebb and flow, and of them it is as true as of things material that action and reaction are equal and contrary. But every generation gains something upon its predecessor ; and when a standpoint is reached from which the whole results of an era can be surveyed, the advance is undoubted and is worth all that it cost. With every step onward the work of enlightenment and amelioration will be accelerated until every land and every tribe will feel its benignant influence. The reign of ignorance, superstition, and war cannot last for ever. No one who believes in God can despair of His government, or doubt of its issues. Already the nations are joining hands across the seas, and confessing their dependence upon each other. Instead of deadly foes they will finally become mutual benefactors, and the spirit of true religion—"peace on earth and good will to men"—will be enshrined in the heart of a regenerated world. That Australia may be worthy of a place in the great federation of nations should be the ardent wish and constant aim of every member of our Commonwealth.
NOVA CAMBRIA.
The Sydney Morning Herald 30 October 1876,
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