FOOTNOTES:
[1] Art. i. §. 6. Religio Catholica Apostolica Romana libere in Gallia exercebitur: cultus publicus erit, habita tamen ratione ordinationum quoad politiam.
THE SEE OF ACHONRY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Few dioceses of Ireland present so uninterrupted a succession of bishops as Achonry in the sixteenth century. Thomas Ford, Master of Arts, and an Augustin Canon of the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Petroc, in the diocese of Exeter, was appointed its bishop on the 13th of October, 1492, and after an episcopate of only a few years, had for his successor Thomas O'Congalan, "a man in great reputation, not only for his wisdom, but also for his charity to the poor". He, too, was summoned to his reward in 1508, and a Dominican Father, named Eugene O'Flanagan, was appointed to succeed him on the 22nd December, the same year. The Bull of his appointment to the See of Achonry is given by De Burgo, page 480, and it describes Dr. Eugene as "ordinis fratrum Praedicatorum professorem ac in Theologia Baccalaureum, in sacerdotio et aetate legitima constitutum cui apud Nos de Religionis zelo, literarum scientia, vitae munditiâ, honestate morum, spiritualium providentia, et temporalium circumspectione, ac aliis multiplicium virtutum donis, fide digna testimonia perhibentur". The learned historian of the Dominican order gives two other Briefs of the then reigning Pontiff, Julius the Second, by one of which the newly-appointed bishop was absolved from all irregularities and censures which he might perchance have incurred during his past life, whilst the other authorized him to receive episcopal consecration from any Catholic bishop he might choose, having communion with the Apostolic See. Dr. O'Flanagan was present in Rome at the time of his appointment to the see of Saint Nathy, and before his departure received from the Holy Father commendatory letters to King Henry the Seventh, from which we wish to give one extract, in order to place in clearer light the relations, so often mistaken or misrepresented, which subsisted between the English monarchs and the occupants of our episcopal sees. After stating that by Apostolic authority he had constituted Dr. O'Flanagan bishop of the vacant See of Achonry, Pope Julius thus addresses the English king:
"Cum itaque, Fili charissime, sit virtutis opus, Dei ministros benigno favore prosequi, ac eos verbis et operibus pro regis aeterni gloria venerari, serenitatem Vestram Regiam rogamus et hortamur attente quatenus eundem Eugenium electum, et praefatam Ecclesiam suae curae commissam, habens pro Nostra et Apostolicae Sedis reverentia propensius commendatos, in ampliandis et conservandis juribus suis sic eos benigni favoris auxilio prosequaris, ut idem Eugenius electus, tuae celsitudinis fultus praesidio in commisso sibi curae Pastoralis officio, possit, Deo propitio prosperari ac tibi exinde a Deo perennis vitae praemium, et a Nobis condigna proveniat actio gratiarum".
Dr. O'Flanagan had for his successor a bishop named Cormac, who seems to have held this see for about twelve years, and died before the close of 1529. During his episcopate a provincial synod was held in Galway the 27th of March, 1523, and amongst the signatures appended to its acts was that of "Cormacus Episcopus Akadensis manu propria". It was in this synod that the famous will of Dominick Lynch received the sanction of the western bishops. This will is memorable in the history of the period, not only as showing the affluence of the burgher class, but also on account of the testator's munificence to the Church, as an instance of which we may mention that among his various bequests there is one item assigning a legacy to all the Convents of Ireland. (See Irish Arch. Miscel., vol. i. pag. 76 seq.). Dr. Cormac was succeeded by a Dominican Father, named Owen, or Eugene, who, as is mentioned in a manuscript catalogue of Dominican bishops, held this see in 1530, and by his death in 1546, left it vacant for Fr. Thomas O'Fihely, of the order of Saint Augustine. This bishop was appointed on the 15th of January, 1547, as appears from the following consistorial record: "1547, die 15 Januarii S.S. providit Ecclesiae Achadensi in Hibernia vacanti per obitum Eugenii de persona P. Thomae Abbatis monasterii S. Augustini Mageonen. cum retentione monasterii". Dr. O'Fihely governed this see for eight years, till his translation to Leighlin, as we find thus recorded in the same consistorial acts: "1555, die 30 Augusti: S.S. praefecit Ecclesiae Laghlinensi Thomam Episcopum Acadensem cum retentione parochialis Ecclesiae Debellyns, Dublinensis Dioecesis". This translation to Leighlin is also commemorated by Herrera in his "Alphabetum Augustinianum", pag. 450. The Elizabethan Chancellor of Leighlin, Thady Dowling, in his Annals under the year 1554, gives the following entry: "Thomas Filay, alias Fighill, Minorum frater auctoritate Apostolica Episcopus Leighlinensis". (I.A.S. 1849, part 2nd, pag. 40.) The apparent discrepancy between this entry and the consistorial record may, perhaps, be referred to the well-known inaccuracy of the Anglo-Irish annalists, or perhaps the bishop himself exchanged the Augustinian order for that of St. Francis—similar changes from one religious order to another not being unfrequent in the sixteenth century.
Cormac O'Coyne was appointed his successor in the See of Achonry in 1556, and died in 1561. This prelate belonged to the order of Saint Francis, and was probably the same as "frater Cormacus, guardianus conventus fratrum Minorum de Galvia", who signed the decrees of the provincial synod of 1523 (I.A.S. Miscell., vol. i. pag. 81). The next bishop was appointed on 28th January, 1562, as is thus registered in the consistorial acts:—
"1562, die 28 Januarii: Referente Cardinale Morono Sua Sanctitas providit Ecclesiae Achadensi vacanti per obitum bon. mem. Cormaci O'Coyn nuper Episcopi Achadensis extra Romanam curiam defuncti de persona D. Eugenii O'Harth Hiberni ordinis praedicatorum Professoris, nobilis Catholici et concionatoris egregii commendati a R. P. Davide".
The Pater David here referred to, was David Wolf, of the Society of Jesus, who was sent to Ireland as Apostolic Delegate in 1560, and received special instructions from the Holy See to select the most worthy members of the clergy for promotion to the various ecclesiastical preferments. One of the first thus chosen by Father Wolf and recommended to the Sovereign Pontiff, was Eugene O'Hart. The result more than justified his choice, for during the whole long reign of Elizabeth, Dr. O'Hart continued to illustrate our Church by his zeal, learning, and virtues. One of the good Jesuit's letters is still happily preserved. It is dated the 12th of October 1561, and gives us the following interesting particulars connected with the See of Achonry and its future bishop, Eugene O'Hart:—
"Bernard O'Huyghin, Bishop of Elphin, has resigned his bishoprick in favour of a Dominican Father, the Prior of Sligo, named Andrew Crean, a man of piety and sanctity, who is, moreover, held in great esteem by the laity, not so much for his learning as for his amiability and holiness.... Father Andrew is accompanied by another religious of the same order, named Owen or Eugene O'Harty, a great preacher, of exemplary life, and full of zeal for the glory of God: he lived for about eight years in Paris, and I am of opinion (though he knows nothing of it, and goes thither on a quite different errand) that he would be a person well suited for a bishoprick. And should anything happen to Father Andrew, for accidents are the common lot of all, Father Eugene would be a good substitute, although the present bishop did not resign in his favour. Should it please God, however, to preserve Father Andrew, and appoint him to the See of Elphin, his companion might be appointed to the See of Achonry, which diocese has remained vacant since the demise of Cormac O'Coyn of happy memory, of the order of Saint Francis. The Cathedral Church of Achonry is at present used as a fortress by the gentry of the neighbourhood, and does not retain one vestige of the semblance of religion; and I am convinced that the aforesaid Eugene, by his good example and holy life, and with the aid of his friends, would be able to take back that church, and act with it as Dr. Christopher (Bodkin) did in Tuam". (See Introd. to Abps. of Dublin, pag. 86 seq.)
From this passage we learn that the Statement of De Burgo in regard of Dr. Eugene, is inexact: "from being Prior of the Convent of Sligo", he says "he was made Bishop of Achonry". (Hib. Dom., 486.) Dr. Eugene's companion, however, was the Prior, and not Dr. Eugene himself. His was a still higher post amongst the illustrious fathers of the Dominican Order, as we will just now learn from another ancient record.
The published writings of Rev. John Lynch, Archdeacon of Tuam, throw great light on the history of Ireland during the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was known, however, to have composed other works, which till late years were supposed to be irretrievably lost. It was only two or three years ago that a large treatise "on the History of the Irish Church", by this learned archdeacon, was discovered in the Bodleian Library, and we learn from a few extracts which have been kindly communicated to us, that it is a work of paramount importance for illustrating the lives of some of the greatest ornaments of our island during the sad era of persecution. As regards the appointment of Dr. O'Hart, this work informs us that he was nephew of the preceding bishop, whom he styles Cormack O'Quinn, and when young, took the habit of the order of Saint Dominick in the convent of Sligo. In after years he was chosen Prior of this same convent, from which post he was advanced to be Provincial of the order in Ireland. It was whilst he discharged the duties of this important office that the sessions of the Council of Trent were re-opened in 1562, and he was unanimously chosen by his religious brethren to proceed thither as their procurator and representative. Father Wolf, however, made him bearer of letters to the Pope of still more momentous import, "ut eum ad Episcopalem in Achadensi sede dignitatem eveheret". Dr. Lynch adds, regarding his companion on this journey: "On his journey to Trent he was accompanied by another member of the convent of Sligo, Andrew O'Crean, who fell sick in France, and not being able to proceed further, there received letters from the Pope, appointing him Bishop of Elphin".
It was probably in Rome that Dr. O'Hart was raised to the episcopal dignity, and on the 25th of May, 1562, and accompanied by Dr. O'Herlihy, Bishop of Ross, and MacConghail, Bishop of Raphoe, he took his place amongst the assembled Fathers of Trent. The metrical catalogue of the bishops of this great Council describes these three ornaments of our Church as
"... Tres juvenes quos frigida Hibernia legat
Eugenium, Thomamque bonos, justumque Donaldum
Omnes ornatos ingens virtutibus orbis
Misit ut hanc scabiem tollant, morbumque malignum
Sacratis omnes induti tempora mitris".
The votes and arguments of Dr. O'Hart are especially commemorated in the acts of the subsequent sessions of the Council. Thus, on the question of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, some were anxious to expressly define that episcopal jurisdiction was derived immediately from God. This opinion, however, was warmly impugned by the Bishop of Achonry, who assigned the three following motives for rejecting it:—"1st, Were this jurisdiction derived immediately from God, we would have innumerable independent sources of authority, which would lead to anarchy and confusion. 2nd, Such an opinion leads towards the heretical tenets, and seems to favour the Anglican opinion, that the king is head of the Church, and that the bishops being consecrated by three other bishops, receive their authority from God. 3rd, Were such a doctrine once admitted, the Sovereign Pontiff could not deprive bishops of their jurisdiction, which is contrary to the prerogatives of the Holy See, and repugnant to the primary notion of the Christian Church". The opinion of Dr. O'Hart was embraced by almost all the other bishops, and the historian of the council adds: "Quae sententia omnibus placere maxime visa fuit". Even the Papal legates, when subsequently dealing with this controversy, expressly refer to the reasoning of our bishop. On another occasion, when the question of episcopal residence was discussed, an Irish bishop, who was probably Dr. Eugene, stated the following curious fact:—
"Est necessarium ut Praelati intersint in conciliis regum et principum, alias actum esset de religione in multis regnis. Nam in Hibernia cum ageretur concilium reginae Mariae et duo contenderent de Episcopatu, alter Catholicus, alter haereticus, dixit advocatus Catholici, adversarium esse repellendum quia obtinuit Episcopatum a rege schismatico Henrico VIII.; tunc statim praefecti consilio judicaverunt illium reum esse laesae majestatis. Ille respondit: rogo ut me audiatis; nam si Henricus fuit Catholicus, necesse est ut regina sit schismatica aut e contra; eligite ergo utrum velitis. Tunc praefecti, his auditis, illum absolverunt et eidem Episcopatum concesserunt".
The Acts of the Council register Dr. Eugene's name as follows:—"Eugenius Ohairt, Hibernus, ordinis Praedicatorum, Episcopus Acadensis". The synod being happily brought to a close, the good bishop hastened to his spiritual flock, and during the long eventful period of Elizabeth's reign, laboured indefatigably in ministering to their wants, and breaking to them the bread of life. He enjoyed at the same time the confidence of the Holy See, and several important commissions were entrusted to him. When in 1568 Dr. Creagh wrote from his prison to Rome, praying the Holy Father to appoint without delay a new bishop to the see of Clogher, Cardinal Morone presented his petition, and added: "Causa committi posset in partibus D. Episcopo Acadensi et aliquibus aliis comprovincialibus Episcopis". Amongst the papers of the same illustrious Cardinal, who was at this time "Protector of Ireland", there is another minute which records the following resolutions regarding our Irish Church: "The administration of the see of Armagh should be given to some prelate during the imprisonment of the archbishop, and should the Holy Father so approve, this prelate should be the Bishop of Achonry. The sum which is given to assist the Primate of Armagh should be transmitted through the President of the College of Louvain. In each province of Ireland one Catholic Bishop should be chosen by the Apostolic See, to give testimonials to those of the clergy who come to Rome, viz., in Ulster, the Bishop of Achonry, during the imprisonment of the Metropolitan; in Munster, the Bishop of Limerick; in Connaught, the same Bishop of Achonry; and in Leinster, too, the Bishop of Limerick" (Ex Archiv. Sec. Vatic.). A few years later we find a brief addressed to "Eugenio Accadensi", granting him some special faculties, and moreover, authorizing him to make use of them throughout "the whole province of Tuam". The only other notice I have met with regarding Dr. Eugene connected with this period of his episcopate, is from the Vatican list of 1578, which gives the names of the clergy who were actually engaged in the mission in Ireland. The first name on the list is "Reverendissimus Edmundus Episcopus Corchagiensis, pulsus tamen Episcopatu". Next comes "Episcopus Rossensis doctus qui interfuit concilio Tridentino et ipse exulans". The third name is that of Dr. O'Hart, "Episcopus Accadensis ex ordine Praedicatorum".
Our Bishop was subjected to many annoyances and persecutions whilst Bingham administered the government of Connaught. This governor was a worthy agent of Elizabeth, imbued with her principles, and animated with her hatred of the Catholic faith: his cruel exactions and barbarity became proverbial in the West, and he reaped a rich harvest of maledictions from the good natives of that province. In Dowera's narrative, published by the Celtic Society in 1849, mention is incidentally made of an excursion of this governor to the episcopal town of Dr. Eugene: "he passed the mountain", says this narrative (pag. 207), "not far from an abbey called Banada, and encamped at night at O'Conroy (Achonry) a town of the Bishop Oharte". It seems to have been in some such excursion that Dr. Eugene was arrested in the beginning of 1585, and sent a close prisoner to Dublin Castle. Sir John Perrott, who was then Lord Deputy, commissioned the Protestant Archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Long, to visit him, and a fulsome letter of this dignitary to Walsingham, dated 4th June, 1585, reveals to us the important fact that the hopes and desires of the government of that period were precisely like those of the soupers of our own days. Dr. Long's letter is as follows: "Owen O'Hart, Bishop of Achanore, alias Achadensis, committed unto me by his Lordship to be conferred with, who was at the Council of Trent, is brought by the Lord's good direction to acknowledge his blindness, to prostrate himself before her majesty, whom he afore agreed to accurse in religion. So persuaded, I doubt not of great goodness to ensue by his means. He has resigned his Bishoprick and no doubt (void of all temporizing) is thoroughly persuaded that the man of sin sitteth in Rome. I assure your honour if we used not this people more for gain than for conscience, here would the Lord's work be mightily advanced". (Record Office, Ir. Cor., vol. cxvii.) The Protestant primate soon found that these his desires and hopes were as groundless as his tenets, and hence, as soon as the circumstances permitted, Dr. Eugene was deprived of his temporalities, and a crown nominee was appointed to administer the see of Achonry. Perrott, however, was for the present anxious to conciliate the powerful septs of the Western Province, most of whom were closely allied to the O'Harts, and hence he gave full liberty to our Bishop on his acknowledging the sovereignty of Elizabeth. In an indenture made on 23rd September, 1585, the various members of the O'Hart family and other Western septs submitted to hold their lands from the crown, and amongst the favours granted in return by the lord deputy, we find it decreed "that the Lord Bishop of Aghconry shall have four quarters of land adjoining his house or town of Skrine in the barony of Tireragh, free, and six quarters as a demesne to his house or town of Achonry in the barony of Magheraleyny, free" (Morrin's Calendar, ii. pag. 150; and publications of I. A. S. 1846, pag. 345). In another inquisition which was held in 1558, we find it further mentioned that the Bishop of Achonry was allowed to hold one quarter of land in Kilmore in the barony of Belaghanes, commonly called Mac Costello's country (Morrin, ib., pag. 141). There is also a State Paper of 1586, which not only mentions Dr. O'Hart as Bishop of Achonry, but further adds that the friars then held in peace their abbeys and houses throughout all Sligo and Mayo. As soon, however, as the government found itself sufficiently strong to despise the O'Harts and their dependants, a Protestant Bishop was appointed to hold this see. Dr. Mant, indeed, is of opinion that Miler McGrath, appointed in 1607, was the first crown nominee to Achonry. Archdeacon Cotton is more discreet in his statement: "Queen Elizabeth", he says, "appears to have neglected filling up this see, as well as some few others, during great part of her reign". Ware, too, only obscurely hinted that, besides the Catholic Bishop Eugene, there was another contemporary of the same name holding from the crown the see of Achonry. Nothing more, however, was known about this Bishop till the manuscript history by Archdeacon Lynch, above referred to, disclosed to us some remarkable features of his ministry. This contemporary Protestant Bishop of Achonry was Eugene O'Conor, who, from being dean of this see, was appointed by letters patent of 1st December, 1591, Bishop of Killala and administrator of Achonry. Dr. O'Hart had been in early life the friend and school companion of this court favourite, and hence easily persuaded him not to interfere in the spiritual administration of the diocese, engaging, on the other hand, to pay him annually one hundred and eighty marks, that is, the full revenue of the see. One passage of this narrative is so important, that we must cite the original words of the learned Lynch: "Id etiam commodi ex episcopatibus Achadensi et Alladensi Eugenio O'Conor ab Elizabeth Regina collatis hausit, ut ab illa sede sua minime motus fuerit, utpote cui arcto amicitiae nexu ante religionis mutationem devinctus fuerat, sed centum et octaginta marcarum censu veteri sodali quotannis persoluto quietem sibi et functiones episcopales intra suae Dioecesis fines obeundi potestatem comparavit. Et alter ille Eugenius ideo tantum a fide descivit, ut se fluxis et caducis divitiis et voluptatibus expleret". By this means Dr. O'Hart secured peace for his diocese during the remainder of Elizabeth's reign; if the temporalities were lost, his spiritual fold, at least, was preserved from the wolves that threatened it, and the good Bishop was enabled to continue undisturbed to instruct his faithful children, and dispense to them the blessings of our holy faith. It was in 1597 that the Franciscan Superior, Father Mooney, visited the western convents of his order. During this visitation he met with Dr. O'Hart, and in the narrative which he subsequently composed, he describes our good bishop as being then venerable for his years, and still not deficient in strength and energy, "grandaevus, robustus tamen". For six years more Dr. O'Hart continued to rule the see of Achonry, till at length, having survived the arch-enemy of his Church and country, he, in 1603, yielded his soul to God, having attained the forty-third year of his episcopate, and the one-hundredth of his age. He was interred in his cathedral church, and Lynch describes his place of sepulture as being "prope aram principalem suae Ecclesiae in cornu Evangelii".
THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED.
Eternal Punishment and Eternal Death. An Essay. By James Barlow, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Dublin. London: Longman and Co., 1865.
There is a class of writers at the present day, who believe themselves good Christians, and yet whose spirit contrasts very strangely with the spirit of the Gospel. It was a maxim of St. Paul, that every understanding should be made "captive unto the obedience of Christ".[2] But in the nineteenth century Christian philosophers are found who presume to sit in judgment on the doctrine of Christ, and to measure it by the standard of human reason. Mr. Barlow's book, we regret to say, partakes largely of this spirit, equally at variance with the faith of the Catholic Church and with the maxims of Inspired Scripture. It is fit, therefore, that the Irish Ecclesiastical Record should raise its voice to expose the dangerous tendency of his principles and the fallacy of his arguments.
The Apostle Paul was "rapt even to the third heaven", and was there favoured with those mysterious revelations "which it is not granted to man to utter".[3] Nevertheless, when he looked into the profound depths of God's decrees, and saw at the same time the littleness of human reason, he was forced to exclaim: "How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!"[4] Not so Mr. Barlow. He has ventured to sound those depths which St. Paul could not fathom; he has been bold enough to scrutinize those judgments which St. Paul could not comprehend. The decree of eternal punishment, pronounced by Jesus Christ against the wicked, does not harmonize with Mr. Barlow's notions of morality.[5] He has weighed the malice of sin in the scales of human philosophy, and he has pronounced that it does not "deserve" eternal torments. Therefore, he concludes, must this "detestable dogma" (p. 135) "be struck from the popular creed" (p. 144). Such is the general scope and tenor of a book on which we propose to offer a few remarks.
Our readers are well aware that the eternal punishment of the wicked is the unmistakable doctrine of Sacred Scripture. It is foreshadowed in glowing imagery by the Prophets; it is set forth in simple and emphatic words by Jesus Christ; it is borne to the farthest end of the earth by the burning zeal of the Apostles. We need not be at any pains to search for texts. The following are familiar to us all. "Then shall He say to them also that be on His left hand: Depart from me, you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels". "And these shall go into everlasting punishment; but the just into life everlasting".[6] Let it be observed, that the punishment of the wicked is here declared everlasting, in the very same sense as the happiness of the good is said to be everlasting. On another occasion our Divine Lord thus admonishes His disciples: "If thy hand or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire".[7] Or, as St. Mark has it: "To be cast into unquenchable fire; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished".[8] This dreadful judgment of the wicked had been already announced by St. John the Baptist to the multitude who flocked around him in the desert of Judea. Speaking of Christ, whose coming he announced, he said: "He will gather His wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire".[9] And long before, it was written by the prophet Isaias: "And they shall go out, and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched".[10] Again, we read in the Apocalypse: "And the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire".[11] These passages speak plainly for themselves; they stand in need of no commentary from us. True, it is an awful doom; and he who ponders well upon that fire which shall never be quenched, that worm which shall never die, must look forward to the great accounting day with "fear and trembling". But we must not hesitate to accept a doctrine which comes to us from the lips of Eternal Truth, in language so clear, so simple, so divine.
Indeed, some of the texts we have adduced seem to Mr. Barlow himself so very conclusive, that he candidly admits he can offer no satisfactory solution. "I trust I shall not be misunderstood to assert that there are no passages in the New Testament relating to the question, which present formidable difficulties. This would be simple dishonesty. Such passages exist, and though the difficulties involved in them may be much extenuated, they cannot be wholly removed"—p. 86. The "difficulties", indeed, are "formidable", and "cannot be wholly removed", because in these passages it is simply asserted that the punishment of the wicked will be eternal, whereas Mr. Barlow maintains that it will not.
So far the testimony of Scripture. As for Tradition, we shall content ourselves with Mr. Barlow's own admission. He tells us that "the eternity of future punishments has been, in truth, the immemorial doctrine of the great majority of the Church"—Preface, p. v. And in another place, he speaks of "a longing to make out a doctrine of everlasting punishment, which has in all ages characterized the genuine theologian"—p. 86. Such, then, are the overwhelming odds against which this intrepid writer boldly takes his stand, the clear and obvious meaning of the sacred text, "the immemorial doctrine of the great majority of the Church", and the teaching of "the genuine theologian in all ages". Surely he is a dauntless warrior, and must come forth to the conflict armed with mighty weapons, and clad in impenetrable armour. Not so, indeed; but his understanding, which should have been made "captive unto the obedience of Christ", has shaken off that sweet and gentle yoke; he has looked with too curious a scrutiny into the mysterious decrees of God, until at length his dizzy reason has become the dupe of false principles and fallacious arguments.
"The civilization of the nineteenth century jars with a belief in everlasting torments, to be inflicted by the All-Merciful on the creatures of His hand"—Preface, p. iv. This is the sum and substance of Mr. Barlow's difficulty. The words of eternal truth, and the faith of the universal Church, are weighed in the balance against the civilization of the nineteenth century; they are found wanting, and they must be cast aside. We cannot contemplate this sentiment without a feeling of horror and amazement. One would think that, if such a contradiction did really exist, it would be the duty of a Christian writer to elevate modern civilization to the standard of revealed truth. But this is not the principle of Mr. Barlow. He looks down, as it were, from the vantage ground of the nineteenth century, and he proposes to reform the faith of Christ, and to raise it up to the level of his own philosophy.
We are satisfied that this dreadful principle contains the germ of all that Mr. Barlow has written against the doctrine of eternal punishment. But it does not always appear in its naked deformity. Sometimes it assumes the grave and imposing garb of philosophical argument; sometimes it is adorned with the graces of rhetoric; and thus for a time it is made to appear plausible, and even attractive. In the following passage it may be recognized without much difficulty: "I cannot conceive any finite sin deserving such a doom. I cannot conceive it proceeding from a merciful being. The sentence appears to be clearly repugnant not only to mercy, but to justice. It surely requires some explanation. The onus probandi rests upon its supporters; let us see what they have to allege on its behalf".[12]
Mr. Barlow "cannot conceive any finite Sin deserving such a doom!" Mr. Barlow "cannot conceive" eternal punishment proceeding from a merciful being! That is to say, one of the "incomprehensible decrees" of God exceeds the limits of Mr. Barlow's conception, and this is a sufficient reason "to strike it from the popular creed" (p. 144), and to reform the venerable symbols of Christian faith.[13] He adds, indeed, that "the sentence appears to be clearly repugnant not only to mercy, but to justice". But when we look for a proof of this daring assertion, we are told that the onus probandi rests upon us. Now, this is a simple issue. Does the onus probandi rest with us or with Mr. Barlow? Let our readers judge for themselves. Mr. Barlow professes to believe in the Bible. We urge upon him the solemn declaration, so often repeated by Christ and His Apostles, that the wicked "shall go into everlasting punishment". True, he replies, I cannot gainsay these words; but "I believe that the doctrine is untenable" (Preface, p. iv.), because it is repugnant to the attributes of God. Surely it devolves upon him to prove this alleged contradiction between the attributes of God and the words of Christ. As for us, we have nothing to prove. We cling fast to the words of eternal truth, with a firm confidence that they cannot be shaken by the arguments of human wisdom, nor even by the boasted civilization of the nineteenth century.
The ingenious sophistry by which our author seeks to shift the burthen of proof from his own shoulders, may be exposed more clearly by the following illustration: God alone exists from eternity. This world, therefore, which we inhabit must have been created by Him out of nothing. This is an obvious and a certain conclusion. But some one might object: "This opinion is untenable if creation out of nothing is an impossibility; and 'I cannot conceive' that it is possible. How do you prove that it is consistent with the Divine attributes?" Mr. Barlow, we think, would give little quarter to such an objector. And yet this is the very course of reasoning he has himself pursued. The answer in each case is exactly the same. We know that creation is possible, because it has actually taken place. And so, too, we know that the doctrine of eternal punishment is in harmony with the attributes of God, because He that cannot deceive has told us that the doctrine is true. If we cannot see that harmony, it is because the judgments of God are incomprehensible, His ways unsearchable to our finite understanding.
But we must do justice to Mr. Barlow. Though he maintains that the burthen of proof rests with his adversaries, yet he does set himself to demonstrate that the doctrine of eternal punishment contradicts the attributes of God. Now, in this part of his task, we freely admit that much of his reasoning is cogent and indeed conclusive: but it falls very short of the conclusion which he labours to establish. Thus, for example, in the case of a little child that "cries about taking its medicine", Mr. Barlow cannot bear the idea that this trivial fault will be punished with eternal flames (pp. 19, 20). Or, "you fall asleep for a minute or two in church, at afternoon service on a hot day: of course you have not been attending to the service; but, honestly and truly, do you clearly see and feel that those two minutes' sleep deserves at the hand of Infinite Justice everlasting agony?" (p. 38, note). Again, "a quick little child of two years old, or even younger, knows very well that it is naughty to get into a passion and strike his mother or his nurse: his elders, however, do not think a great deal of this little ebullition of temper, and consider it amply expiated by sending him to bed. But the child may suddenly die in his sin. Will the 'All Merciful' consign him to everlasting tortures?" (p. 44). In another place (chap. v.) he adduces several texts to prove that "punishment after death, finite in duration, as the lot of some, is the unambiguous doctrine of Holy Scripture" (p. 116). There is nothing in all this to which we can object. But we maintain that such arguments are worthless in the cause of which Mr. Barlow is the advocate. He proves, indeed, that there are many sins which do not deserve eternal punishment. He proves too from the Inspired Writings, that, beyond the grave there is a state of expiation, in which many souls must needs be purged from such minor transgressions before they can appear in those mansions of heavenly purity where "nothing defiled shall enter".[14]
Our readers will here recognize without difficulty the Catholic doctrine of venial sin, and the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. Unconsciously Mr. Barlow has become for a time the champion of Catholic faith. But the question at issue has not to do with the innocent little babe that beats its nurse, nor the wayward child that refuses its medicine, nor yet with the just man that, through human frailty, "shall fall seven times, and shall rise again".[15] The controversy in which Mr. Barlow has engaged regards the future lot of the wicked—of those who, with full deliberation, have committed grievous sin; of whom St. Paul has said that they "shall not possess the kingdom of God";[16] in a word, of that unhappy band to whom the Great Judge will one day speak those dreadful words: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire". It yet remains for Mr. Barlow to demonstrate that this fire will not last for ever, that it will one day be extinguished, and that the torments of the wicked will cease.
We may pass on, then, to other proofs. "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things".[17] This is the sentiment of St. Paul and of the Prophet Isaias. But, argues Mr. Barlow, if the gospel of eternal punishment be true, he that goes forth to preach the gospel to the heathen is a curse and not a blessing. Now what are the practical results of our missions to the heathen? "Is not the testimony of all unbiassed witnesses who have travelled among them uniform? Success is infinitesimal, failure all but universal. What impression has been made by our associations on the hundred and fifty millions of India? Taking the estimates of the missionaries themselves, who are not unnaturally disposed to magnify the good results of their work, the nominal converts are barely one in two thousand, while the number of bonâ fide native Christians, 'possessed of saving faith', may be regarded as practically evanescent. Remembering, then, these facts, and assuming as a not improbable proportion, that a zealous missionary preaches the Gospel to a thousand who reject it for one whom he converts to Christ—God help him—the load of human misery which that man has brought about must surely weigh heavy on his soul.... Has any tyrant, a recognized scourge of the human race, brought down such storms of misery on his species as must be ascribed to the active missionary who has failed? And they have all failed—failed a thousand times over for once they have been successful" (p. 14, 15).
On reading this very remarkable passage we are struck with the ingenuous candour of the writer. It is nothing new for us to learn that Protestant missions in pagan countries have been all but absolutely barren. But it is something new to find a distinguished Protestant Divine, who frankly admits this inconvenient fact. Mr. Barlow must, indeed, find it difficult to persuade himself that the Church which sends forth such missions, is the same as that which Isaias addressed in those well known words: "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles; spare not; lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left, and thy seed shall inherit the gentiles".[18] "And the gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes round about and see: all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side. Then shalt thou see, and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee, the strength of the gentiles shall come to thee". This magnificent prophecy, Mr. Barlow must confess, has no fulfilment in the Protestant Church.
But let that pass. It is not with the fact but with the argument that we purpose to deal. And first, it occurs to us that the argument, if valid, would prove not only against the doctrine which Mr. Barlow impugns, but also against that which he defends. He certainly will admit that a grievous sin against God is a dreadful crime; that it far transcends every other evil which exists or can be conceived. He maintains, moreover, that each one will receive, in the world to come, rewards and punishment "according to his works". Therefore, the punishment reserved for the sinner, even though it were not eternal, must yet be something dreadful to contemplate. And the missionary, the number of whose real converts, "'possessed of saving faith', may be regarded as practically evanescent", brings down this dreadful punishment on all to whom he preaches the gospel. Hence, if we accept Mr. Barlow's argument, even on his own doctrine of finite punishment, the missionary will be a curse to heathen nations; not indeed so great a curse as if the punishment of sin were eternal, but still a curse and not a blessing. He must therefore answer his own argument, or else he will be forced to maintain that there is no punishment for sin in the world to come.
To us his reasoning offers little difficulty. If the heathen, when he rejects the Christian faith, commits a deliberate grievous sin, he will certainly be punished accordingly. But this punishment must surely be ascribed to his own wickedness, and not to the labours of the missionary. The work of the missionary is a blessed work; it is the heathen himself that has changed it into a curse. We may illustrate this explanation from the pages of Sacred Scripture. The wicked servant in the gospel, if he had not received the one talent from his master, could not have buried that talent in the earth. And yet, for this fault he is "cast into exterior darkness", and condemned to "weeping and gnashing of teeth".[19] Will Mr. Barlow say that the gift of his master was not a blessing but a curse? If so, he arraigns the conduct of God Himself, whom this master represents. Again, if our Divine Lord had not selected Judea for the scene of His public mission, the Jews would never have been guilty of the frightful crime of Deicide, nor would they have incurred the terrible chastisement with which that crime was punished. Yet who will deny that the presence of the Incarnate Word amongst them was a special favour—the last and greatest—vouchsafed by a loving Father to that unhappy people? We need only add that the words of holy Simeon, addressed to the Virgin Mother on the presentation of her Infant Son in the Temple, are still applicable to every zealous missionary: "Behold, He is set up for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel";[20] for the resurrection of those who hearken to the glad tidings, and eagerly accept the grace which He brings; for the fall of those who spurn the one, and trample the other under foot.
The next argument to which we shall invite the attention of our readers, is founded on the condition of the blessed in Heaven. "But the terrible difficulty arising from the relations of the saved to the lost cannot even be mitigated" (p. 22). This "terrible difficulty" is presented to us in two different forms. First, Mr. Barlow implicitly appeals to the divine precept of fraternal charity. Every one is bound to love his neighbour as himself. Now, if the blessed in Heaven fulfil this precept, they must be intensely miserable. For the proof of true charity is that we feel for our neighbour's sufferings, the same grief as if they were our own. Therefore the saints must experience the same internal anguish for the torments of the damned as if they endured these torments themselves.[21] This argument may be dismissed in a few words. The precept of fraternal charity does not extend to the future life. The blessed inhabitants of Heaven cannot love the wicked in Hell; much less are they bound to love them. They see God face to face, and they love Him with a resistless impulse. Whatever else is good and pleasing to Him, that they love for His sake; whatever is bad and offensive in His sight, they cannot love, because they see that it is unworthy of their love. A divine precept to love the devil and his unhappy companions in misery, is an idea peculiar to Mr. Barlow.
The second form in which this "terrible difficulty" appears is more plausible than the first. Many a saint in Heaven will miss from the mansions of the blessed the friend of his bosom. Many a fond sister will look in vain for her gay and dissipated, but yet warm-hearted and affectionate brother. Many a loving mother will behold afar off the undying torments of her darling son. Are we to suppose that the generous affections of the human heart are extinguished in Heaven? If so, then man must be morally worse in Heaven than he was upon earth. And if not, it cannot be true that "mourning and sorrow shall be no more"[22] in the City of God. Here is the argument as it is put by Mr. Barlow. "I firmly believe that if, in the fruition of the Heavenly Kingdom, a time should come when I shall be capable of forgetting that one who truly loved me in this world ... is alive in hopeless torment—scorched by the everlasting flame—gnawed by the undying worm—I must have sunk down lower in the moral scale before this came to pass. I must have become more deeply immersed in heartless selfishness than I am now. And this, which I believe of myself, I believe of every one else. There is only one explanation of this frightful difficulty. We must assume that the redeemed are morally worse in Heaven than they were on Earth" (p. 24).
This difficulty, which appeals more strongly to the feelings than to the judgment, is by no means peculiar to the doctrine of eternal punishment. It must be explained as well by those who say the torments of the damned will come to an end, as by those who say they will not. If the saints must grieve at the eternal punishment of their friends, they must certainly grieve at the temporal punishment of their friends. The latter grief will be less poignant, it is true; but it will still be inconsistent with perfect happiness. Let Mr. Barlow explain how the inhabitants of Heaven will be free from all sorrow, if the punishment of Hell be limited in duration, and it will be easy to show they will be equally free if the punishment be eternal.
As for us, we see no necessity for any explanation. God has promised to make His saints happy. Surely He is able to do it. Mr. Barlow thinks they will be weeping for their friends. But is it not written that "God will wipe away all tears from their eyes"?[23] In what manner this will be done it is not necessary for us to explain. Yet we may be allowed to offer a conjecture, which, as it seems to us, is supported alike by reason and by revelation. We would say that, in the saints every affection that has not for its object what is good and pleasing to God, will be utterly extinguished; and therefore they will cease to love those unhappy souls that have been condemned to Hell. The reason is clear. The saints in Heaven see things as they are; and hence they cannot love that which is wicked and hateful in the sight of God. In Mr. Barlow's mind this severance of earthly ties must come from an increase of "heartless selfishness". To us it seems to flow from perfect love of God. Neither does it follow, as he supposes, that the saints have "sunk down lower in the moral scale". On the contrary, it is manifest they have been raised up immeasurably higher. On Earth their affections were often guided by mere human motives, and, at best, were governed by an erring human judgment; in Heaven, they are moulded with the most perfect fidelity after a Divine model.
With these remarks, we take leave of Mr. Barlow and his book. We cannot, however, close this brief paper without directing the attention of our readers to a very serious consideration which this book suggests. The Reverend Mr. Barlow is a Fellow of Trinity College. And there are many who would ask Catholic parents to entrust the education of their children to him and his colleagues. We have seen a specimen of his principles; in particular we have seen that, according to his views, "the civilization of the nineteenth century jars" with a doctrine which every Catholic is bound to believe. Is it safe, then, for a Catholic youth to gather his ideas of modern civilization from the lips of such a teacher as Mr. Barlow? We are told, indeed, it is for secular education alone that a Catholic student should go to Trinity College: that he may learn his religion from other sources. But, if we understand the words aright, secular education must surely include modern civilization, and modern civilization, as taught by Mr. Barlow, is contrary to Catholic faith. These are simple facts. Our readers may draw their own conclusion.