"Never mind," I said, "I have been there. But I won't accept these excuses at all. You must work, whether you like or no. Now, I am going to take away all excuses. I have been searching a lot of old catalogues, and I have discovered that these are the books for you. On the subject of 'Modern Pantheism' we will get:—
"(1) Lewes' 'History of Philosophy,' 4 vols.
"(2) Brucker's 'Historia Critica Philosophiæ,' 6 vols.
"(3) Tenneman's 'History of Philosophy' (Cousin).
"(4) Émile Saisset's 'Modern Pantheism,' 2 vols.
"(5) 'History of Pantheism' (Plumtre).
"(6) 'An Essay on Pantheism,' by J. Hunt, D.D.
"(7) 'Spinoza,' by Principal Caird, LL. D.
"(8) 'Spinoza,' by D. J. Martineau.
"(9) 'Spinoza, his Ethics and Correspondence,' by R. Willis, M.D.
"(10) 'Spinoza,' by Nourrisson.
"Now, on the subject of Ecclesiastical History we will get, read, and consult:—
"(1) 'Historia Literaria Ecclesiæ,' by Cave.
"(2) Farrar's 'Lives of the Fathers,' 2 vols.
"(3) Cave's 'Lives of the Fathers,' 3 vols.
"(4) 'Lives of the Fathers,' by the S. P. C. K.
"(5) The Bishop of Lincoln (Kaye) on 'The Fathers and Early Councils.'
"(6) 'Lives of the Fathers,' by the author of 'A Dominican Artist,' 3 vols.
"(7) Neander's 'Church History,' 8 vols.
"(8) Neale's 'Oriental Church.'"
Here Father Letheby stopped me, as he broke from a suppressed chuckle into uncontrollable laughter.
"Why, Father Dan, what in the world are you reading? Don't you know that you are calling out a list of the most rampant heretics and disbelievers, every one of whom is probably on the Index? Is it possible that you cannot discover any English Catholic authorities on these subjects?"
"I have not seen them," I said mournfully. "And do you mean to say that all these Protestants, and many of them, you say, infidels, have not been interested in these subjects?"
"Well, I presume they would not have gone to the vast trouble of accumulating material, and writing ponderous volumes otherwise."
"And what are we doing? And if ever these grave subjects become of importance or interest to our youth, say in the higher systems of education, what books can we put into their hands?"
We were both in a brown study. These things make men thoughtful. At last Father Letheby said:—