It may be urged that the Maltese have a language of their own; but it is neither studied nor cultivated, and is little esteemed; it is entirely confined to the lower orders, and is a spoken not a written language: the Italian, on the other hand, is the language of the educated classes. I have always advanced these arguments to those who sought to ameliorate the religious condition of this people. I have discountenanced the translating into the Maltese language either the New Testament or the English liturgy; as has been done by the Bishop of Gibraltar: since whoever in that country desires to read, chooses the Italian language, which is preferred to all others. And it is on this account that none but an Italian Church can hope to supersede the Latin one; and that only after a long laborious effort. Provided the Italian Church were established in Malta, it would greatly tend to its extension in Sicily, since the place is much resorted to by the Sicilians, both for business and pleasure; and lately indeed by unfortunate refugees. During the whole time that our Church was open, many worthy Sicilians frequented it in preference to any other; and each of these, on returning home, carried with him at least his Bible, with the Christian Catechism, which we gave away on the occasion.
All is now over, through a jealousy the most foolish, the most incoherent I ever heard of. Weak men suffered themselves to be deceived and overcome, and after having made their first false step, had the folly to persist in and vindicate their error. I witnessed the fall of a Church, which yet was "built on the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."[100] I had to lament over the destruction of the work we had effected in the Lord's vineyard, and the dispersion of the labourers. Oh, how many tears have I shed over the destruction of our infant Church! God alone knows all that I have done to raise and preserve it. Those who, to their eternal disgrace, have occasioned this evil will doubtless meet with due punishment. At any rate, I have the consolation of being free from remorse.
These reverses, nevertheless, served to instruct us with respect to the future. I, in particular, had occasion to acquaint myself with many things that I had not known before, and to undeceive myself with respect to many others. I had it in contemplation to commence my work with an appeal to the priests of the Romish Church. Their conversion would naturally have led to that of the laity. I argued with myself that if I could gain over to the Gospel of Christ the present ministers of the Romish Church, and separate them from the Pope's bulls, the people would assuredly follow their example; that the conversion of the ministers could not be a very difficult matter, since as they are all more or less read in the Holy Scriptures I could call their attention to them, and make it evident how widely Papistry is separated from early Christianity. "The Bible will be the touchstone," I said, "to which I can refer the two doctrines, Christian and Papist. The Bible itself will decide the question."
My reasoning was just, and I have found by experience that whenever a priest has consented to undergo the trial, he has finally been obliged to yield, and has acknowledged me to be the victor. The same success has attended my writings; Cerioni has frequently assured me that some articles of mine in the "Indicator" led him to examine the question, and that the consequence was his abandoning the Romish Church; and the same was asserted by two other members of the Theological College, besides many others. Similar success occurred in Rome. Many declared themselves willing to abide by the testimony of the Bible, but as sure as they came to argue the matter, so sure was I to gain the victory. I shall not relate here how many of the priests, seeing that from the authority of the Scriptures the falsity of the Romish doctrines was made manifest, ended by concluding that the Bible was no better authority than the bulls of the Popes, or the decrees of the Councils. I wish to confine myself more particularly to the mention of those who, impressed with the authenticity of the Holy Word, and convinced that the principles of Christianity cannot disagree with its teaching, drew the natural consequence that Popery is not Christianity.
It may be asked, What advantage do I gain in converting a priest from the Church of Rome? I answer, I gain a friend, an associate, in a holy cause; one who, if I desired it, would be ready, for his own part, to nominate me his bishop. If I was an ambitious man, I could assume an authority over most of these whom I have thus won over to the truth,—I could become their head, and establish a Church which should be called after my name; and so add another to the numerous sects which already divide the Christian world. But there is no danger that this will take place; I have invariably rejected the idea, whenever it has been suggested to me, as unworthy of a minister of the Gospel. Priests, above all people, are naturally inclined to sectarianism; they are accustomed to regard the Church as of higher importance than the Bible; according to them, Religion is not the work of God alone, but of God and man together. Hence it is that the Priesthood, in every Christian sect, is that which divides, opposes, denounces, and excommunicates. It is through the Priesthood that we have schisms, and we shall continue to have them so long as in the Church of Christ the believer is not placed before the minister, the spirit before the form, grace and faith before outward rites and observances.
The Roman priests, more than any others, naturally fall into this error; being desirous, even in their reform, to preserve their old customs. But there is another obstacle of no less importance—the priest has been accustomed to live, as they term it, by the Altar. We know it is written, "The labourer is worthy of his hire;" and Jesus Christ himself quotes the old saying, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." It therefore is clear, that every minister, of whatever sect he may be, who duly works, has a right to be decently provided for. But this doctrine, though sound in itself, becomes nevertheless objectionable, when it is made a dominant principle, the axle on which the wheel must turn. The minister who serves the Gospel is maintained by those to whom he dispenses its truths; but he is not equally to be so maintained, on the sole ground of his priestly office, when he is unemployed.
It is a difficult matter to drive this idea from the heads of the priests and monks of the Romish Church, the major part of whom are accustomed to an idle life, setting aside the laborious duty of saying Mass; so that even when they leave their ancient creed, from motives of conscience and clear conviction, their first inquiry is, how they are to live. Hence it follows that many of them are kept in their allegiance to Rome, because they fear they shall die of hunger if they desert her. Others, on the contrary, deceived by false statements, forsake the Church of Rome, and throw themselves boldly into any reform whatever, under the vain hope of finding the means of becoming rich in so doing. The first err through too great timidity, and the second through too great rashness. Both the one and the other are very little serviceable to the cause. I have had experience with both kinds—with those who before joining me looked for an agreement on my part that I should always be at the expense of their maintenance, and with others who unreservedly associated themselves with me, under the idea that I should, with a liberal hand, supply them with all the money they wanted.
On the contrary, I have been poor ever since I left the Church of Rome; still I never solicited aid from any other than God alone. I admit, however, that His goodness never failed me. I have laboured hard to gain my living, but have never eaten the bread of idleness; and I have sometimes, through my own exertions, been able to minister to the necessities of my brethren. I have never regretted the privations I have had to undergo; I have even frequently concealed them, in order not to be burthensome to others. My companions have seen all this, and can bear witness how I have confided my wants to the care of the Divine Providence, and how often it has happened that some one has spontaneously come forward to our relief, at the moment we most required it; through the agency of man we have been fed by the hand of God.
But the priest who leaves the Church of Rome, persuaded of the truth, yet not converted by it, is always in search of "what he shall eat, what he shall drink, and wherewithal he shall be clothed," and becomes unhappy and desponding if he be not regularly supplied according to what he thinks necessary.
The idea of providing for these priests, and the great difficulty of finding the means of doing so, has, in fact, hitherto prevented me from calling them to me. I had had a sad experience on the subject, when I associated myself with those at Malta. As long as they were well fed, peace and harmony prevailed; but the very day our means failed, they rebelled against me, with the exception of one or two, and turned out ungrateful, unthankful, and altogether unworthy.