Protestantism and Catholicity

The phantom which appeared to Zwinglius, the founder of Protestantism in Switzerland, affords us another example of extravagance no less absurd. This heresiarch wished to deny the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; he pretended that what exists under the consecrated species is only a sign. As the authority of the sacred text, which clearly expresses the contrary, embarrassed him, behold, suddenly, at the moment when he imagined that he was disputing with the secretary of the town, a white or black phantom, so he tells us himself, appeared to him, and showed him a means. This pleasant anecdote we have from Zwinglius himself.

Who does not regret to see such a man as Melancthon also given up to the prejudices and manias of the most ridiculous superstition, stupidly credulous with respect to dreams, extraordinary phenomena, and astrological prognostics? Read his letters, which are filled with such pitiful things. At the time when the diet of Augsburg was held, Melancthon regarded as favourable presages for the new gospel an inundation of the Tiber, the birth at Rome of a monstrous mule with a crane's foot, and that of a calf with two heads in the territory of Augsburg, – events which to him were the undoubted announcements of a change in the universe, and particularly of the approaching ruin of Rome by the power of schism. He himself makes the horoscope of his daughter, and he trembles for her because Mars presents an alarming aspect; he is not the less alarmed at the tail of a comet appearing within the limits of the north. The astrologers had predicted that in autumn the stars would be more favorable to ecclesiastical disputes; this prognostic sufficed to console him for the slowness of the conferences of Augsburg on the subject of religion: we see, moreover, that his friends – that is, the leaders of the party – allowed themselves to be ruled by the same powerful reasons. As if he had not troubles enough, it is predicted that Melancthon will be shipwrecked in the Baltic; he avoids sailing on those fatal waters. Certain Franciscans had prophesied that the power of the Pope was about to decline, and then to fall for ever; also that, in the year 1600, the Turks were to become masters of Italy and Germany; Melancthon boasts of having the original prophecy in his possession; moreover, the earthquakes which occur confirm him in his belief.

The human mind had but just set itself up as the only judge of faith, when the atrocities of the most furious fanaticism already inundated Germany with blood. Mathias Harlem, the Anabaptist, at the head of a ferocious troop, orders the churches to be sacked, the sacred ornaments to be broken in pieces, and all books, except the Bible, to be burnt, as impious or useless. Established at Munster, which he calls Mont Sion, he causes all the gold, silver, and precious stones possessed by the inhabitants to be brought to him, and places them in a common treasury, and names deacons to distribute them. All his disciples are compelled to eat in common, to live in perfect equality, and to prepare for the war which they would have to undertake, quitting Mount Sion, as he himself said, to subject all the nations of the earth to his power. He at length dies in a rash attempt, wherein, like another Gideon, he undertook nothing less than to exterminate the army of the impious with a handful of men. Mathias immediately found an heir to his fanaticism in Becold, perhaps better known under the name of John of Leyden. This fanatic, a tailor by trade, ran naked through the streets of Munster, crying out, "Behold, the king of Sion comes." He returned to his house, shut himself up there for three days; and when the people came to inquire for him, he pretended that he could not speak; like another Zachary, he made signs that he wanted writing materials, and wrote that it had been revealed to him by God, that the people should be governed by judges, in imitation of the people of Israel. He named twelve judges, choosing the men who were the most attached to himself; and until the authority of the new magistrates had been acknowledged, he took the precaution not to allow himself to be seen by any body. Already was the authority of the new prophet secured in a certain manner; but not content with the real command, he desired to surround himself with pomp and majesty; he proposed nothing less than to have himself proclaimed king. Now the blindness of the sectarian fanatics was so great, that it was not difficult for him to complete his mad enterprise; it was enough for him to play off a gross farce. A goldsmith who had an understanding with the aspirant to royalty, and was also initiated in the art of prophecy, presented himself before the judges of Israel, and spoke to them thus: "Behold, this is the will of the Lord God, the Eternal: as in other times I established Saul over Israel, and after him David, who was only a simple shepherd, so I now establish my prophet Becold king of Sion." The judges would not resolve on abdication; but Becold assured them that he also had had the same vision, that he had concealed it from humility, but that God having spoken by another prophet, it was necessary for him to resign himself to mount the throne, and accomplish the orders of the Most High. The judges persisted in wishing to call the people together; they assembled in the market-place; there a prophet, on the part of God, presented to Becold a drawn sword, as a sign of the power of justice, which was conferred on him over all the earth, to extend to the four quarters of the world the empire of Sion; he was proclaimed king with the most boisterous joy, and solemnly crowned on the 24th of June, 1534. As he had espoused the wife of his predecessor, he raised her to the royal dignity; but while reserving to her the exclusive privilege of being queen, he continued to have seventeen wives, in conformity with the holy liberty which he had proclaimed in this matter. The orgies, assassinations, atrocities, and ravings of all kinds which followed cannot be related; it may be affirmed that the sixteen months of the reign of this madman were only a series of crimes. The Catholics cried out against such horrible excesses. The Protestants cried out also; but who was to blame? Was it not they who, after having proclaimed resistance to the authority of the Church, had thrown the Bible into the midst of these wretched men, at the risk of their heads being turned by the ravings of individual interpretation, and of precipitating them into projects as criminal as they were senseless? The Anabaptists were well aware of this; and they were exceedingly indignant with Luther, who condemned them in his writings; and indeed, what right had he, who had established the principle, to desire to check its consequences? If Luther found in the Bible that the Pope was Antichrist, if he arrogated to himself, of his own authority, the mission of destroying the reign of the Pope, by exhorting all the world to conspire against him, why could not the Anabaptists say, in their turn, that they had intercourse with God, and had received the order to exterminate all the wicked, and to establish a new kingdom, in which were to be seen only wise, pious, and innocent men, having become the masters of all things.

Hermann preaching the massacre of all the priests and all the magistrates of the world; David George proclaiming that his doctrine alone was perfect, that that of the Old and New Testaments was imperfect, and that he was the true Son of God; Nicholas rejecting faith and worship as useless, treading under foot the fundamental precepts of morality, and teaching that it was good to continue in sin, that grace might abound; Hacket pretending that the spirit of the Messiah had descended upon him, and sending two of his disciples to cry out in the streets of London, "Behold Christ coming here with a vase in his hand!" Hacket himself crying out, at the sight of the gibbet, and in the agony of punishment, "Jehovah! Jehovah! do you not see that the heavens open, and that Jesus Christ comes to deliver me?" are not all these deplorable spectacles, and a hundred others that I might mention, proofs sufficiently evident that the Protestant system nourishes and inflames a fearful fanaticism? Venner, Fox, William Simpson, J. Naylor, Count Zinzendorf, Wesley, Baron Swedenborg, and other similar names, are sufficient to remind us of an assemblage of sects so extravagant, and a series of crimes such as would fill volumes, which would afford us the most ridiculous and the most odious pictures, the greatest miseries and the most deplorable errors of the human mind. I have not invented or exaggerated. Open history, consult authors – I do not mean Catholics, but Protestants, or whatever they may be – and you will every where find a multitude of witnesses who depose to the truth of these facts; notorious facts, which have taken place in the light of day, in great capitals, and in times bordering on our own; and let it not be supposed that this abundant source of illusion and fanaticism has been exhausted in the course of ages; it does not seem that it is yet near being dried up, and Europe appears condemned to hear the recital of visions, such as those of Baron Swedenborg in the inn in London; and we shall still see passports for heaven with three seals given out, like those of Johanna Southcote.

Note 12, p. 60

Nothing is more palpable than the difference which exists on this point between Protestants and Catholics. On both sides there are persons who consider themselves to be favored with heavenly visions; but these visions render Protestants proud, turbulent, and raving mad, while among Catholics they increase the spirit of humility, peace, and love. Even in that very sixteenth century, in which the fanaticism of the Protestants agitated and stained Europe with blood, there lived in Spain a woman who, in the judgment of unbelievers and Protestants, is certainly one of those who have been the most deeply infected with illusion and fanaticism; but has the supposed fanaticism of this woman ever caused the spilling of a drop of blood, or the shedding of a tear? Were her visions, like those of Protestants, orders from heaven for the extermination of men? After the desolate and horrible picture which I have given in the preceding note, perhaps the reader will be glad to let his eyes rest upon a spectacle as peaceful as it is beautiful. It is St. Theresa writing her own life out of pure obedience, and relating to us her visions with angelic candor and ineffable sweetness. "The Lord (she says) willed that I should once have this vision: I saw near to me, on the left hand, an angel in a corporeal form; this is what I do not usually see, except by a prodigy; although angels often present themselves to me without my seeing them, as I have said in the preceding vision. In this the Lord willed that I should see him in the following manner: he was not tall, but small and very beautiful, his face all in a flame, and he seemed to be one of the angels very high in the hierarchy, who apparently are all on fire. Without doubt, he was one of those who are called seraphim. – These angels do not tell me their names; but I clearly see that there is so great a difference among the angels, between some and others, that I do not know how to express it. I saw in his hands a long dart of gold, which appeared to me to have some fire at the end of the point. It seemed to me that the angel buried this dart from time to time in my heart, and made it penetrate to my bowels, and that when withdrawing it, he carried them away, leaving me all inflamed with a great love of God." (Vie de St. Thérèse, c. xxix. no. 11.) Another example: "At this moment I see on my head a dove very different from those of earth; for this one had no feathers, but wings as it were of the shell of mother of pearl, which shone brightly. It was larger than a dove; it seemed to me that I heard the noise of its wings. It moved them almost for the time of an Ave Maria. The soul was already in such a condition that, herself swooning away, she also lost sight of this divine dove. The mind grew tranquil with the presence of such a guest, although it seemed to me that so wonderful a favor ought to fill it with perturbation and alarm; but as the soul began to enjoy it, fear departed, repose came with enjoyment, and the mind remained in ecstacy." (Vie, c. xxviii. no. 7.) It would be difficult to find any thing more beautiful, expressed in more lively colors, and with a more amiable simplicity. It will not be out of place to copy here two other passages of a different kind, which, while they enforce what we wish to show, may contribute to awaken the taste of our nation for a certain class of Spanish writers, who are every day falling into oblivion with us, while foreigners seek for them with eagerness, and publish handsome editions of them. "I was once at office with all the rest; my soul was suddenly fixed in attention, and it seemed to me to be entirely as a clear mirror without reverse or side, neither high nor low, but shining every where. In the midst of it, Christ our Saviour presented himself to me, as I am accustomed to see Him. He appeared to me to be at once in all parts of my soul. I saw Him as in a clear mirror, and this mirror also (I cannot say how) was entirely imprinted on our Lord himself, by a communication which I cannot describe – a communication full of love. I know that this vision has been of great advantage to me every time that I recollect it, principally when I have just received communion. I was given to understand that when a soul is in a state of mortal sin, this mirror is covered with great darkness, and is extremely obscure, so that our Lord cannot appear or be seen therein, although He is always present as giving being; as to heretics, it is as if the mirror were broken, which is much worse than if it were obscured. There is a great difference between seeing this and telling it; it is difficult to make such a thing understood. I repeat, that this has been very profitable to me, and also very afflicting, on account of the view of the various offences by which I have obscured my soul, and have been deprived of seeing my Lord." (Vie, c. xi. no. 4.)

In another place she explains a manner of seeing things in God; she represents the idea by an image so brilliant and sublime, that we appear to be reading Malebranche, when developing his famous system.

"We say that the Divinity is like a bright diamond, infinitely larger than the world; or rather like a mirror, as I have said of the soul in another vision; except that here it is in a manner so sublime, that I know not how to exalt it sufficiently. All that we do is seen in this diamond, which contains all in itself; for there is nothing which is not comprised in so great a magnitude. It was alarming to me to see in so short a time so many things assembled in this bright diamond; and I am profoundly afflicted every time that I think that things so shocking as my sins appeared to me in this most pure brightness." (Vie, c. xl. no. 7.)

Let us now suppose, with Protestants, that all these visions were only pure illusions: at least it is evident that they do not pervert ideas, corrupt morals, or disturb public order; and assuredly, had they served only to inspire these beautiful pages, we should not know how to regret the illusion. This is a confirmation of what I have said of the salutary effects which the Catholic principle produces in souls, by preventing them from being blinded by pride, or throwing themselves into dangerous courses. This principle confines them to a sphere where it is impossible for them to injure any one; but it does not deprive them of any of their force or energy to do good, supposing that the inspiration is real. Although it would have been easy for me to cite a thousand examples, I was compelled, for the sake of brevity, to confine myself to one, when selecting St. Theresa as one of those who are the most distinguished in this respect, and because she was contemporary with the great aberrations of Protestantism. In fine, as she was a daughter of Spain, I seized the opportunity of recalling her to the memories of Spaniards, who begin too much to forget her.

Note 13, p. 64

Some of the leaders of the Reformation have left suspicions that they taught with insincerity, that they did not themselves believe what they preached, and that they had no other object than to deceive their proselytes. As I am unwilling to have it imputed to me that I have made this accusation rashly, I will adduce some proofs in support of my assertion. Let us hear Luther himself. "Often," he says, "do I think within myself that I scarcely know where I am, and whether I teach the truth or not (Sæpe sic mecum cogito, propemodum nescio, quo loco sim, et utrum veritatem doceam, necne)." (Luther, Col. Isleb. de Christo.) And it is the same man who said: "It is certain that I have received my dogmas from heaven. I will not allow you to judge of my doctrine, neither you nor even the angels of heaven (Certum est dogmata mea habere me de cœlo. Non sinam vel vos vel ipsos angelos de cœlo de mea doctrina judicare)." (Luther, contra Reg. Ang.) John Matthei, the author of many writings on the life of Luther, and who is not scanty in eulogies on the heresiarch, has preserved a very curious anecdote touching the convictions of Luther. It is this: "A preacher called John Musa related to me that he one day complained to Luther that he could not prevail on himself to believe what he taught to others: 'Blessed be God (said Luther) that the same thing happens to others as to myself: I believed till now that THAT was a thing which happened only to me.'" (Johann. Matthesius, conc. 12.)

The doctrines of infidelity were not long delayed; but would it be believed that they are found expressed in various parts of Luther's own works? "It is likely," says he, speaking of the dead, "that, except a few, they all sleep deprived of feeling." "I think that the dead are buried in so ineffable and wonderful a sleep, that they feel or see less than those who sleep an ordinary sleep." "The souls of the dead enter neither into purgatory nor into hell." "The human soul sleeps; all its senses buried." "There is no suffering in the abode of the dead." ("Verisimile est, exceptis paucis, omnes dormire insensibiles." "Ego puto mortuos sic ineffabili et miro somno sopitos, ut minus sentiant aut videant, quam hi qui alias dormiunt." "Animæ mortuorum non ingrediuntur in purgatorium nec infernum." "Anima humana dormit, omnibus sensibus sepultis." "Mortuorum locus cruciatus nullos habet.") (Tom. ii. Epist. Lat. Isleb. fol. 44; t. vi. Lat. Wittenberg, in cap. ii., cap. xxiii., c. xxv., c. xlii. et xlix. Genes. et t. iv. Lat. Wittenberg, fol. 109.) Persons were not wanting ready to receive such doctrines; and this teaching caused such ravages, that the Lutheran Brentzen, disciple and successor of Luther, hesitates not to say: "Although no one among us publicly professes that the soul perishes with the body, and that there is no resurrection of the dead, nevertheless the impure and wholly profane lives which they for the most part lead, show very clearly that they do not believe that there is another life. Some even allow words of this kind to escape them, not only in the intoxication of libations, but even when fasting, in their familiar intercourse. (Et si inter nos nulla sit publica professio quod anima simul cum corpore intereat, et quod non sit mortuorum resurrectio, tamen impurissima et profanissima illa vita, quam maxima pars hominum sectatur, perspicue indicat quod non sentiat vitam post hanc. Nonnullis etiam tales voces, tam ebriis inter pocula, quam sobriis in familiaribus colloquiis.)" (Brentius, Hom. 35, in cap. 20, Luc.) There were in this same sixteenth century some men who cared not to give their names to this or that sect, but who professed infidelity and scepticism without disguise. We know that the famous Gruet paid with his head for his boldness in this way; and it was not the Catholics who cut it off, but the Calvinists, who were offended that this unhappy man had taken the liberty to paint the character and conduct of Calvin in their true colors. Gruet had also committed the crime of posting up placards at Geneva, in which he charged the pretended reformers with inconsistency, on account of the tyranny which they attempted to exercise over consciences, after having shaken off the yoke of authority on their own account. This took place soon after the birth of Protestantism, as the sentence on Gruet was executed in 1549.

Montaigne, who has been pointed out as one of the first sceptics who acquired reputation in Europe, carries the thing so far, that he does not even admit the natural law. "They are not serious (he says) when, to give some certainty to laws, they say that there are any laws fixed, perpetual, and immutable, which they call natural, which are impressed on the human race by the condition of their peculiar essence." (Montaigne, Ess. l. ii. c. 12.)

We have already seen what Luther thought of death, or at least the expression which escaped him on this subject; and we cannot be astonished after that, that Montaigne wished to die like a real unbeliever, and that he says, speaking of the terrible passage: "I plunge my head, insensibly sunk in death, without considering or observing it, as in a silent and obscure depth, which swallows me up at once, stifles me in a moment with powerful sleep full of insipidity and indolence." (Montaigne, l. iii. c. 9.) But this man, who wished that death should find him planting his cabbages, and without thinking of it (Je veux que la mort me trouve plantant mes choux, mais sans me soucier d'elle), was not of the same opinion in his last moments. When he was near breathing his last, he wished that the holy sacrifice of the Mass should be celebrated in his apartment, and he expired while making an effort to raise himself on his bed, in the act of adoring the sacred Host. We see that he had profited in his heart by some of his ideas with respect to the Christian religion. "It is pride," he had said, "that leads man out of the common path, and urges him to embrace novelties, loving rather to be the chief of a wandering and undisciplined band, than to be a disciple of the school of truth." In another place, at once condemning all the dissenting sects, he had said, "In religious matters it is necessary to adhere to those who are the established judges of doctrine, and who have legitimate authority, not to the most learned and the cleverest."

From all that I have just said, it is clear that if I accuse Protestantism of having been one of the principal causes of infidelity in Europe, I do not accuse it without reason. I repeat here, that it is by no means my intention to overlook the efforts of some Protestants to oppose infidelity; I do not assail persons, but things, and I honor merit wherever I find it. In fine, I will add, that if at the end of the seventeenth century a considerable number of Protestants displayed a tendency towards Catholicity, we must seek the reason for it in the progress which they saw infidelity making, – a progress which it was impossible to check, at least without holding fast to the anchor of authority which the Catholic Church offered to the whole world. I cannot, without exceeding the limits which I have marked out for myself, give a circumstantial detail of the correspondence between Molanus and the Bishop of Tyna, of Leibnitz and Bossuet. Readers who desire to become thoroughly acquainted with that affair, may examine it partly in the works of Bossuet himself, and partly in the interesting work of M. de Beausset, prefixed to some editions of Bossuet.

Note 14, p. 86

In order to form an idea of the state of knowledge at the time of the appearance of Christianity, and become convinced that there was nothing to be expected from the human mind abandoned to its own strength, it is enough to recall to mind the monstrous sects which every where abounded in the first ages of the Church, the doctrines whereof formed the most shapeless, extravagant, and immoral compound that it is possible to conceive. The names of Cerinthus, Menander, Ebion, Saturninus, Basilides, Nicolas, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus, and so many others, remind us of the sects in which delirium was connected with immorality. When we throw a glance over these philosophico-religious sects, we see that they were capable neither of conceiving a philosophical system with any degree of concert, nor of imagining a collection of doctrines and practices to which the name of religion can be applied. These men overturned, mixed, and confounded all; Judaism, Christianity, and the recollections of the ancient schools, were all amalgamated in their deluded heads; what they never forgot was, to give a loose rein to all kinds of corruption and obscenity.