LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. — r? <: ^heli^AS UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON OBJECTIONS URGED AGAINST RELIGION. PROM THE FRENCH OP L^ABBE DE SEGUR, FORMERLY CHAPLAIN OF THE MILITARY PRISON OF PARIS. '7 No. 37 Barclay Street, 1880. 7r Copyright, 1880, by P. O'Shea. PUBLISHER'S PREFACE rr^HE diverse and incoherent doctrines of the -*- various Protestant sects, without any point of agreement among themselves except oppo- sition to the Catholic Church, have in great measure paved the way for the propagators of the shallow materialism which, although it has no root in our intellect or affections, is now, nevertheless, the greatest obstacle to the spread of Christian truth. The incoherence of Protestantism has lent a deceptive glare to the bold assumptions of men who, however respectable in their own domain of material science, lower themselves to the level of the merest charlatans when they deal with the great questions of religion. It is sad to observe to what an extent belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, in the immor- tality of the soul, and even in a personal super- PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. intending Providence is fast disappearing from among the young men of our day who have been brought* up under Protestant influences. Are not some of our Catholic young men in danger of being carried away by this tide of infidelity ? Can they escape entirely the baleful influences that surround them ? Should they not be taught all that is necessary to preserve themselves^ and be so fortified that their exam- ple and teaching would tend to arrest those false principles that are fraught with so much danger to the well-being of society ? To effect this, good books are certainly useful ; 'and we know of no book better fitted for this purpose than this admirable work of Segur. More than two hundred thousand copies of it have already been circulated in France. AUTHOE'S PEEFACE. HERE is a little book, which I have made expressly for yoii;, my dear reader. It will displease you, perhaps, at first sight ; al- low me, nevertheless, to offer it to you; for that is a certain sign you particularly need it. A good book, they say, is a friend. I hope, whatever you may think of it, that I now present to you one of those very friends. Eeceive it as one's friends should be received, with kindness, and an open heart. I offer ii to you in the same way. Although this friend speaks of rather serious things, I have every reason to believe that he will not tire you. I have strongly impressed this upon him, and he has promised not to preachy but simply to tallc to you. After having read the last chapter, you shall tell me if he has kept his word. You will remark, no doubt, that the prejudices to which I oppose an answer, are of three kinds. Some spring from impiety, they are the worst ; I have commenced with them ; others spring from ignorance ; others^ again, from a kind of cowardice. iV AUTHOR S PREFACE. I hope the greater part of these objections are unknown to you^ and that you haye never se- riously entertained them. I have, nevertheless, noticed them, as a pre- servatiye for the future. It is the antidote which, by way of precaution, I giye you before- hand. I pray G-od that these simple conyersations may do you good, that they may win your heart. Having learned by a sweet experience that true happiness consists in knowing, loving, and serying God, I have no more ardent desire than to see my own happiness, which is so pure, so solid, become yours also. The intention is good. That is something, above all in these times. Is the book itself good ? I trust so, but I know my slender skill. You will find, no doubt, many questions treated too briefly ; but I haye been afraid of tiring you, my dear reader, and I haye chosen rather to be incomplete than to put you to sleep. Wo to the book one nods over ! As to this one, I adyise you not to read too much of it at a time, but, nevertheless, to read it through, from the heginning to the end. Eead with reflection, carefully weighing the reasons which I present to you. / heg you, above all, conscientiously and honestly to seek the truth, not to reject it, if it present itself to your mind. When the heart is upright and sincere, light breaks upon it yery quickly. CONTENTS. PAGE Author's Preface 3 1. What have I to do with religion ? I have none, and that does not prevent me enjoying excellent health 9 2. There is no God 16 3. When one dies, there is an end of every thing 18 4. Every thing is governed by chance — otherwise there would not be so much disorder on earth. How many things are useless, imperfect, bad! It is clear that God does not concern himself about us 22 5. Religion is a very good thing for women 32 6. It is enough to be an honest man ; that is the best religion of all, and it is enough 33 7. My religion is to do good to others 39 8. ReUgion, instead of speaking so much of the life to come, ought rather to occupy itself w^ith the present one, and destroy its misery 42 9. We ought to enjoy life ; we must have a good time of it ; God is too good to have created us for any thing but hap- piness 45 10. The Apostles and early Christians were Communists. They were poor, and had all things in common ; they were pur- sued and hunted down by the civil authorities, just as the Communists are 54 11. There are many learned men and people of mind who do not believe in religion. , 56 vi conte:n'ts. PACE 12. Priests make a trade of religion, they do not believe what they preach 62 13. Priests are drones in the hive J of what use are they ? 65 14. There are certainly some bad priests ; how can they be the ministers of God ? 68 15. Priests ought to marry. Celibacy is contrary to nature 69 16. I only believe what I comprehend. Can any reasonable man believe all the mysteries of religion ? 73 IT. I would willingly have faith, but I cannot ..... 76 18. All religions are good 79 19. Is Jesus Christ any thing more than a great philosopher, a great benefactor of mankind, a great prophet ? Is he really God ? 87 20. It is better to be a Protestant than a Catholic ; one is just as much a Christian, and it is nearly the same thing 102 21 Protestants have the same gospel that we have. 117 27. An honest man ought not to change his religion. We ought to remain in the religion in which we were bom 119 23. The Catholic church has had its day 121 21. For my part, I want the pure gospel— primitive Chris- tianity : 124 25. I have my owm religion. Every one is free to practice his religion as he understands it ; it is a matter that concerns me only, and I serve God in my own way 127 26. Priests are men like others ; the Pope and the Bishops are men : how can men be infallible ? I am willing to obey God ; but not men like myself 129 27. Out of the pale of the church there is no salvation ! What intolerance ! I cannot admit any thing so cruel 132 28. But what have you to say about the massacre of St. Bar- tholomew? ..... ..■..;, ^ 135 co:5ttents. ^^i PAGB 29. There is no such place as hell ; no one has ever returned thence to prove it 138 30. God is too good to damn me 143 31. God has foreseen from all eternity whether I shall be saved or lost. I may do what I will ; I cannot change my destiny 145 32. It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles the soul. God will never damn me for a morsel of meat. Meat is no worse on Fridays and Saturdays than on other days . . 148 33. God has no need of my prayers. He knows my wants with- out my tellxDg them to him 150 34. I pray, and do not obtain what I ask for, I only lose my time. 153 35. What have I ever done to offend God that he should send me go much trouble ? 154 36. What is the use of praying to the Virgin Mary? It is great superstition. Besides, how can she hear us ? 156 37. Why are there no more miracles ? 161 38. Why is Latin the language of the Church ? Why use an un- known tongue ? , - 166 39. Priests are always asking for money 168 40. Confession is an invention of the priests 170 41. What is the use of confession ? 175 42. I do not need to go to Confession. I have nothing to reproach myself with ; I have neither killed nor robbed any one. nor have I injured any one. I should have nothing to say . . 180 43. It is so tiresome to go to confession , 185 44. To go to confession was all very well when I was at school ; but now— 186 45. I know some devotees who are no better than their neigh- bors. So and so, who goes to confession, is none the better for it , 187 viu COKTEI^TS. PAGE 46. How can the body of Jesus Christ be really present in the Eucharist ? It is impossible 189 47. I do not need to go to mass : I pray to God just as well at home 194 48. I have no time 198 49. Icannot! It is too difficult 202 50. I should be laughed at I We must not be singular ; we must do as others do 206 51. One ought not to be a bigot. . . 212 52. A Christian life is too tiresome. It is too melancholy. To deprive oneself of every thing, be afraid of every thing, whatalifel 214 53. I am not worthy to approach the sacraments : we ought not to abuse holy things 217 54. My sins are too great ; it is impossible that God can par- don me 218 55. Youth must pass 220 56. Extreme unction kills a sick man. It is enough to frighten him to death. The priest should never be sent for while consciousness remains 222 57. I will practise the duties of religion some day, when I am more at leisure. I will go to confession by-and-by, on my death-bed. Certainly I will receive the sacraments before Idle 225 Conclusion .^ 230 SHORT m FtMILIJlR miSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON OBJECTIONS AGAINST RELIGION. I. WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH RELIGION ? I HAVE NONE, AND THAT DOES NOT PREVENT MY ENJOYING EXCELLENT HEALTH."^ Answer. Accordingly^ I do not ofter it to yon as a means of growing in lieiglitj or en- joying good health. But, honestly, are we then in this world only for that ; and have we no higher destiny than onr oxen, our dogs, and our cats? All nations, in all times and places, have always been convinced of the contrary, and it appears strange to me that you should be right, against the whole world. It is about this higher destiny, which is yours, mine, that of our kind, that religion is ^ The author begins with the objection of the lowest kind of mere animal man. 10 SHOKT AKD FAMILIAR A:J>rSWEIlS « concerned. Nothing can touch lis nearer — you, and me ; nothing can better deserve the attention of a reasonable man. In faetj according as religion is found true or false, every thing changes in the practical direction of our life, in our ideas, in our most intim:ate and most important sentiments. Now, not only is it possible that religion is true, but there are many grave appearances in its favor, in the immense blessings of civiliza- tion which it has spread upon the earth, and in the respect which has been paid to it by so many men of every nation, eminent for their virtues and their genius, such as Bossuet, Fenelon, Saint Louis, Bayard, Duguesclin, Turenne, the great Conde, Napoleon, St. Vin- cent de Paul, St. Francis Xavier, St. Francis de Sales, and so many others.^ Let me, then, discuss the cause of religion with you. Believe me, you reject it only because you do not know it. As you represent it to your- " self, I can easily understand that it is distaste- ful to you. But do you represent religion to yourself as it really is? This is the whole question. Alas ! what prejudices, what strange errors exist with regard to it ! * To these we may add Columbus, Sir Thomas More, Daniel O^Connell, Claries Carroll, and a host of others, whose names are familiar to o*iir countrymen. TO OBJECTrOJ^S AaAi:^ST RELIGIOK-. 11 It will not be difficult for me, my dear reader^ in these simple conversations, to shov/ you that these prejudices are mijust; that religion is not what they say it is j that not only is it not absurd, but that it is supremely reasonable, beautiful, and harmonious, and that it rests upon the most solid proofs. I am going to show yon that it is made for you, and that you are made tor it. If, like me, you saw it, every day— this holy religion, drying the tears of the poor, changing the most hardened hearts, arresting the pro- gress of evil, repairing injuries, softening hatred and dislikes, infusing everywhere resig- nation, truth, peace, hope, and joy into people's souls, you would soon alter your language, and I should have no need to press this subject upon you. But, unfortunately, this practical and ex- perimental proof of religion requires rather to be felt than heard of. It is experience, and not words, that makes us understand its invin- cible power. Permit me, however, before commencing our conversations, to choose, among a thousand touching incidents which present themselves to my mind, one fact, quite recent, and of which I can answer to you for the absolute truth, since I was a witness and almost an actor in the scene. It will speak, I think, in 12 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS favor of my position more loudly tlian argu- ments* Four years ago, a poor sergeant condemned to death, awaited tlie execution of the fatal sentence, in the military prison of Paris. His crime was very great. He had killed, with premeditation, his lieutenant, in revenge tor having been threatened with some punish- ment by that officer. As chaplain of that prison, I saw the ser- geant Ilerbuel, and conveyed to him the con- sohitions of religiou. As he had already repented of his crime, he received them wil- lingly. On the second or third day after his sentence, he approached the Sacraments, and from that moment the man appeared to be entirely changed. ''i^ow,*' he often said to me, "now I am happy. I am ready : let my good God do with me what he pleases. I enjoy perfect peace, I have no desire for life but to do penance.'" He confessed and received Holy Communion about every week. After he had been two months in prison, on the 1st of November,"^ it was notilied to him that his sentence would be put into execution. He heard the news with the calmness of a Christian. I was close beside him. His frame was shaken by a kind of convulsive trembling ; * In the year 1848. TO OBJECTIOXS AGAIXST EELIGIOX. 13 but the soul vanquislied that yiolent emotion, and he maintained his peace of heart. " God's will be done ! " said he to the commandant ; " I confess I no longer expected it, after so long a delay ! " I remained alone with him. I received for the last time the avowal of his faults ; then I bore the holy Viaticum to him. He prayed all night, talking composedly from time to time with the two gendarmes wdio guarded him. The fatal carriage which was to transport tis to Vincennes arrived about six o'clock. Her- buel embraced the keeper of the prison, and the commandant ; no one could help weeping. I entered the van w^ith him. He w^as calm, and even gay, on his way to death. '^ Yon could not believe, sir," said he to me, " what a happy day I spent yesterday ! How happy I was ! It was a foretaste permitted by kind Providence. I knew it was All Saints' day : I prayed the whole time. In the even- ing I was perfectly happy, and so I am noio. No loords ean coowey to you the peace I felt during the past night : it was a joy of viJiich no idea can he fonnedP And he was going to meet death ! ! ! 'i Death," added he, " has no longer any ter- rors for me. I know^ where I am going ; I am going to heaven, to the house of my Father ; 14 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS I am going home. In a few moments I shall be there. I am a great sinner, the greatest of all sinners. I put myself the lowest of all ; I have offended God ; I have sinned — but God is good, and I have unbounded confidence in Him." And reading a prayer which reminded him of the Communion, " My God is there," be murmured, and he was full of joy. '' Oh ! " said he, again, ^' how firmly do I believe all the truths of the Church! Oh! how calm I feel ! . . . and what a great day THIS IS ! I shall soon be with God ! " And turning toward me with a smile, he said : '' My father, I shall await your coming ! I will come in my turn to welcome you, but I can do nothing." Then, collecting himself, he ex- claimed : ''I am nothing, God alone is all. All the peace which I feel is from Him, it comes from Him alone. ... I merit nothing ; I am a great sinner ! " He showed me his Christian rifiamial^ and said : ^' Soldiers ought always to have this little book, and never let it quit them. If I had read it all my life, I should not have done what I have done, I should not be where I am." We had arrived some time before at the plain of Vincennes. The moment of the execution drew near. I presented the crucifix to the poor convict : he took it from me with transport^ and looking upon it with inexpres- TO OBJECTIONS agai:n'st RELIGIO]^. 15 sible tenderness, said : ^' My Saviour ! my Saviour ! Yes, there he is I dead for me ! and I, also^ am about to die with Thee I " And he kissed the holy image. All was ready. When we had alighted, Herbuel asked permission to give the word of command to fire ; it was granted to him. " I HAD THE COURAGE TO COMMIT THE CRIME," Said he, " I SHOULD ALSO HAVE COURAGE TO EXPIATE IT ! " He received, on his knees, a last blessing. He stood up before the soldiers whose duty it was to fire upon him. " Comrades/' said he, with a firm voice, ''' I die a Christian ! Behold the image of our Lord Jesus Christ ! See, all of you ; I die a Christian ! " And he showed them all the cross. " Do not do as I have done, but respect your superiors ! " ' I embraced him for the last time. . . . An instant afterward the terrible roll of the mus- ketry was heard. . . . and Herbuel appeared before that Grod who pardons all things to those who repent ! Tell me now, what think you of a religion which causes a great criminal to die in this way ? Is there not something in this to make you reflect I 16 SHORT AI^D FAMILIAR ANSWERS IT. THERE IS NO GOD. Answer, Are you quite sure of that ? Who then has made the heavens and the earth, the sun, the stars, man, the world ? Did all these things create themselves? What would you say if some one were to show you a house, and tell you that it made itself? What would you say even if he pretended that it was possible ? That he was laughing at you — would you not ? or that he was mad ; and you would be quite right. If a house cannot make itself, how much less still the wonderful creatures which fill the universe, beginning with our own bodies, which are- the most perfect of all ! There is no God ! — Who told you so ? Some thoughtless fellow, no doubt, who had not seen God, and thence concluded that he did not exist. Is there nothing real but that which we can see, hear, touch, or feel ? Does not your thought, that is to say, your soul that thinks, exist ? It exists so really, and you know it so evidently, that no reasoning in the world could convince you to the contrary. Yet, have you ever seen, or heard, or touched your thought ? See, then, how absurd it is to say : There is no God, because I do not see Him. TO 0BJECTI01S"S AGAIKST RELIGIOiq'. 17 God is a jf:?i^/'^ spirit^ that is, a being which cannot be brought under the material senses of our body, and which is only perceived by the faculties of the soul. — Our soul is also a- pure spirit : God has made it in his own image. They tell a story that, in the last century, when irreligion was the fashion, a man of talent supped one night with some pretended philos- ophers who spoke of God and denied his exist- ence. — As for him, he kept silent. The clock had just struck when his opinion was asked. He contented himself with point- ing to the clock with his finger and repeating those two lines so full of wit and good sense : — '*For mv part, more I tliink on't, less can I suppose That yon clock keeps good time, jet no watchmaker knows.'^ "^ The story does not tell what his friends re- plied. Another anecdote is related of the reply of a lady to a celebrated unbeliever of the Yoltai- rian school. He had endeavored ineffectually to convert her to his atheism. Mortified by her resistance: ^'I could not have believed," said he, " that in a reunion of people of talent, I should be the only one not to believe in God.'' * Pour ma part, plus j'y pense, et nioins je puis songer Que cette horloge marche et n' ait point d' horloger 18 SHOKT AND FAMILIAR A^-SWERS " But you are not alone/^ replied the mis- tress of the house ; ^' my horses, iny spaniel, and my eat have also that honor ; only those poor beasts have the wit not to boast of it." In plain English, do you know what that boasting phrase, ^^ There is no God/' means ? Here is a faithful translation of it: /'I am a bad man, who am very much afraid that there is some one above who will punish me." III. WHEN OlSTE DIES, THERE IS AN El^TD OF EYERY- THINa. Answer. Tes, if you are speaking of cats, dogs, asses, canary-birds, &c. But you are very modest if you reckon yourself in the number. 1st. You are a man, my friend, and not a beast. It is strange that it should be necessary to tell you so. You have a soul capable of reflecting, of doing good or evil, and that soul is immortal ; the beasts have none. That which makes man is the smd/ that is to say, that which thinks within us, that which causes us to recognise truth, and to love good. This is what distinguishes us from beasts. This is why it is so great an insult to say to any one : " You are a beast, you are an ani- TO OBJECTIOKS AGAHsTST RELIGION. 19 mal," &c. It is to refuse to him his highest glory, that of being a man. To say then, " When I die there will be an end of me," is to say, '^I am a beast, a mere brute, an animal ! And what an animal ! I am not of so much value as my dog, for he runs faster, sleeps better, sees farther, has a more delicate sense of smell, &c., &c. ; or as my eat, who sees in the dark, who has no trou- ble about her apparel, &c. In a word, I am a very inferior beast, the least gifted of animals." If you like that, say it ; believe it, if you can; but allow us to be a little more proud than you, and to proclaim loudly, that we are vieii. 'Tis the least you can do. 2d. What would the world come to if your assertion were true ? It would become a regu- lar den of infamy ! — good and evil, virtue and vice, would be nothing but idle words, or rather odious falsehoods ! Why, indeed, if, on one hand, I have nothing to fear in a future life, and if, on the other, I manage sufficiently well to have nothing to fear in this present one, why should I not steal, or murder, when it would serve my interests ? Why should I not give myself up to all the excesses of licentiousness I Why curb my passions? I have nothing to fear; my con- science is a lying voice, upon which I will im- pose silence* ... One thing only is worth my 20 SHORT AXD PAMILIAR AXSWEE3 attention ; that is, to avoid the police and the office!^ of jnstice. GckxI^ for me, as well as for every other sensible man, will be to elnde them successfully ; evil^ to fall into their clutches. " Wliat language ! " you say ; '^ a man must be mad to use it seriously/' Yery true. And vet, if there is an end of every thino; for us on the day of our death, I defy vou to o-ainsay this odious, this absurd language. If there be no future state, I defy you to show me in what St. Yincent of Paul is more worthy of our esteem than Dick Tui'pin ! ' Judge of the tree hy its fruits^ as we are taught by our own conunon sense, and by the Gospel. By horrible consequences, judge of the principle . . . And dare to repeat again, '* When we die there is an end of us ! " We shall know henceforth, what that means ! 3d. While it is contrary to common sense, materialism is also contrary to the general and invincible sentiment of the whole human family. xUways and everywhere men have believed in a future state. Always and every- where the innocent who have been unjustly pei'secuted, the good man who has been un- fortunate, have looked forward to another life for the justice and happiness which were denied to them in this world ; always and TO OBJECTION'S AGAIKST EELIGIOIir. 21 everywhere men have believed in a God who will be tlie avenger of unpunished crime ! In fine, alw^ays and everywhere men have prayed for the dead, have hoped to find those whom they loved beyond the tomb, and in a better world. " Why do you weep ? " said the dying Ber- nardin de Saint Pierre, to his wife and children. " That which you lose in me will live always. . . . It is but a momentary separation ; do not make it so painful . . . I feel that I am quitting only this earthy and not lifeP Such is the voice of conscience ; such is the voice, the sweet, the consoling voice of truth. Such also is the solemn language of Chris- tianity. It shows us the present life as a season of temporary trial, which God will crown with eternal happiness. It excites us to merit this happiness by self-sacrifice, and by the faithful performance of our duty. When his last hour approaches, the Christian yields up his soul to God wdth confidence, and to a pure, holy, and peaceable life, succeeds an eternity of joy! Far from ns then, far from our enlightened country, be this wretched materialism, w^hich would snatch from us such sublime hopes! Far from us those errors which degrade the heart, which destroy all that is good, all that is dear and worthy of respect in this world 1 32 SHORT AJTB FAMILIAR A:N'SWERS Far from iis be the doctrine which leaves to the suffering and weeping poor^ to the inno- cent who are oppressed, nothing but despair for their inheritance ! The human conscience rejects such, a doc- trine with scorn ! EVERY THIKG IS GOVERKED BY CHANCE — OTHERWISE THERE WOULD KOT BE SO MUCH DISORDER ON EARTH. HOW MANY THINGS ARE rSELESS, IMPERFECT, BAD I IT IS CLEAR THAT GOD DOES NOT CONCERN HIMSELF ABOUT US. Answer.-—*'' Chance f " — And what is, then, this chance? It is an I kno70 not tvhat^ th^t nobody knows any thing about — which no one has ever been able to define— which is nothing ; a word devoid of sense, invented bj^ the im- pious, to replace the name, so dreaded by tliem, of Providence ; a more convenient sort of language, and which has the appearance of explaining things, but which, in fact, is but unmeaning nonsense. Chance governs nothing here on earth, be- cause it is itself nothing. God alone, the Sovereign Lord and only Creator of all beings, governs, watches over, and ordains all by His Providence ; that is to say, in His infinite wisdom, goodness, and justice. He conducts all TO OBJECTIONS AGAIN'ST RELIGION. 23 in general, and each one individually, to their final end, by the means which He knows to be the most suitable. Just as He has created all things without an eflbrtj so does He preserve and govern them without becoming weary ; and it is no more unworthy of His greatness to concern Himself about all His creatures than to make them all. Those who say that God does not concern Himself about us, are very absurd, to say no worse, for it is as impossible to conceive God without Providence, as it would be to conceive light without splendor. It is impossible that an all-powerful God, knowing and seeing all things, should abdicate His Sovereign empire over His creatures, aud after having created theui, should not govern theiTj. It is impossible that a holy and just God, w^ho must necessarily desire good, and detest evil, should remain in- different to our actions, whatever they be, good or bad. JTow, that is Providence. God does for us what a father does for his children. He watches over us ; He teaches us what is right and what is wrong ; He shows us the right path which we must follow, the wrong one which we must avoid ; He punishes us when we disobey Him, and rewards us when we fulfill His holy will. When He does not do it in this world, He does it in that which is to come. What can be more simple ? 24 SHOET AKD PAMILIAR, AKSWERS The idea of denying this Providence, this government of God, would never occur to us. if we did not imagine that we saw so much dis- order on earth. " Why," we often say, '^ is there so much that is useless ? Why so much that is bad ? Why is this one born poor, and the other rich ? why are there so many inequalities in the condition of mankind ? Why so many troubles and afflictions among some, and so much prosperity among others ? " To hear us talk, all is indeed in great confusion, and we would have ordered every thing far better. But who told us that what offends us so much is really confusion and disorder ? What ! do we judge a thing to be useless in the world because we do not know its use ? We think it is bad, because we do not know what it is good for. This is certainly a strange pretension ! If an ignorant person, not able to read, were to open a volume of Corneille, or Racine, and seeing so many unknown letters, arranged in a thousand different ways, united one to an- other, sometimes eight put together, sometimes six, at other times three, or seven, or two, so as to form words ; seeing several lines follow- ing one after the other, this one at the begin- ning of a page, that at the end of one; so many leaves arranged, one at the beginning of the book, another in the middle, another at the end ; perceiving some blank spaces, others cov- TO objectio:n'S again"st religion. 35 ered with printiiig, liere capital letters, there small ones, &c.; if, I say, he were to see all this, of which he understands nothing, and he w^ere to ask, why these letters, these leaves, these lines are put in such a place sooner than in another, why that which is at the beginning is not in the middle, or at the end, why the twentieth page is not the fiftieth, &c., he would be told, '' My friend, it is a great poet, a man of genius, who has disposed all this so as to con- vey his thoughts : and if one page were put in the place of another, if one should transpose, not the lines only, but even the words or the letters, there would be disorder in this fine work, and the author's design would be de- stroyed." And if this ignorant person were to pretend to be well-informed, and undertook to criticise the order of this volume : if he were to say, for instance, " But it seems to me it would have been much better to put all the letters that have any resemblance together, the large with those of the same size, and the small sim- ilarly ; it would have been a far finer order had all the words been of the same length, and composed of the same number of letters ; why are some so short and others so long? &c. Why is there space here and none there ? It is all badly arranged ; there is no order in it. The person who has done it understands nothing of such things; all is left to chance." — We 26 SHORT Aiq'D FAMILIAR ANSWERS should answer him, ''Ignorant tliat you are! It is you who understands nothing' of such things. If all were arranged according to your ideas, there would be neither sense nor reason in that book. All is right as it is. A far higher intelligence than yours presided over, and still presides over this arrangement of things ; and if you do not know the reason of it all, blame only your own ignorance." We are like this when w^e criticise the works of God ! It is His Great Book that we behold when we cast our eyes over the world. All the cen- turies are like its pages, that follow one after the other ; all the years are like the lines ; and ajl the different creatures, from angels and men down to the least blades of grass, and the minutest grains of dust, are the letters, dis- posed each in its own place by the hand of that great Compositor "Who alone is acquainted with His own eternal conceptions, and com- prehends the WHOLE of His work. If you ask why one creature is more perfect than another ; why this one is placed here, and that one there ; why winter is cold, and sum- mer hot ; why it rains now, and not at another time ; why this loss of fortune, of health ; why that sickness ; why that young child's death, while the old man near to it lives on ; why that good man is carried off by death, while the bad man who does nothing but evil is spared ; — TO OBJECTIOirS A^AI^ST KELlGIO:^". 2l I shall reply to you that an Infinite intelli- gence, an Infinite wisdom, an Infinite jnstice and goodness has thus regulated these things^ and that it is certain that all is in due order, although it may not seem so to us. I shall reply to you, that to judge a work correctly, you must know it entirely ; you must consider it as a whole, and in its details, and compare the means with the end which they ought to attain. Now, what man, what creature has ever shared the secret of the eternal counsels of the Creator ? That would be, above all, necessary in order to appreciate the wisdom and justice of Provi- dence with regard to reasonable ^aidifree men, destined to immortal life, capable of doing good and evil, capable of merit and demerit. Sometimes, accommodating himself to our weakness, Grod deigns to justify Himself in this world by results which are either consoling or terrible. There is no age which has not witnessed these signal marks of the divine goodness or justice ; crimes, which have been concealed with diabolical art, are brought to light by the most unlooked for, the most ex- traordinary means ; audacious blasphemers are struck down at the very moment when they are defying that invisible God in whom they do not believe. In 1848, during the elections of the constituent assembly in the neighbor- hood of Tonlouse, an impious demagogue was 2B SHOET AI^D FAMILIAR Ali^SWERS haranguing the peasant electors, seeking to destroy in their minds all respect for religion, that ever formidable obstacle to the projects of the wicked. The orator attacked all belief, even denying the existence of God. " Let Him speak, then,'- . he cried, pointing with his clenched hand toward heaven, " let Him speak, if He hears me ! " He had not finished speaking, when a ter- rible thunder-clap bursts forth, and strikes down the blasphemer in the midst of the awed crowd ! He w^as supposed to be dead, but he recovered his senses after a lapse of two hours. I doubt if afterwards he ever demanded fresh proofs of the existence of God. Another wretch, more culpable, no doubt, was struck more terribly still, in 1849, at a little village near Caen. It was on a Sun- day during mass. This man was with one of his friends at a public house, near the church. The sound of the bells aroused his fury. After a thousand fearful blasphemies against religion and against the priests, seizing his glass, and standing up before his com- panion and the landlord, who vainly tried to calm him ; " If there is a God," he exclaims, " let him prevent me from drinking my glass of wine ! " and he fell at the same instant, struck dead by apoplexy ! One might add innumerable instances of this kind, of Divine TO OBJECTIONS AGAIN^ST RELIGIOIS'. 29 justice sliown forth in this world. These are but specimens, pledges, as it were, of that jus- tice which is to come. God bestows also tokens of His providence upon the just. How much misery is assuaged against all expectation ! How often do we find that we have served as instruments of the Divine goodness ! The poor, and those trae Christians who succor the poor, are at hand to vouch for this. Their life is like an acting providence; it is a living proof of Providence. Whj then does not God always justify in this manner. His justice, goodness, and holi- ness? The reason is simple enough. It is that this present life is but the germ, the be- ginning of all that which relates to us, and that the consummation of God's work in us is more fitly to be looked for in eternity, where, alone, we attain to the perfect development of our being. It is that this present life is the season of faith which believes without seeing, which believes, notwithstanding appearances are against it, that which will be one day revealed to its sight when the veil shall be lifted. We must never lose sight of Eternity, when we are forming a judgment of human affairs. It is the great restorer of order out of the apparent confusion of this world. " Why," it 30 SHORT AKD I'AMILlAIi AKSWEBS is said, " does not God piinisli this great crim- inal ? Why is that wicked man loaded with prosperity, and that good man overwhelmed with misfortmie ? What care does God bestow upon these things? Where is His justice? Where is His wisdom ? Where His goodness ? Behold Eternity, which explains the mys- tery ! It was just and wise to recompense, by the transient prosperity of this world, the little good done on earth by that impious man, that great sinner, whom eternity was to punish. And those good men, reputed by the world so unhappy, paid, by transient afflictions, the penalty chie to the minor sins, which, in their human weakness, they had committed ; a happy eternity was the recompense of their virtue ! It is hy the standard of Eternity that toe raust estimate all that hajppens to man in this world. Without it, it is impossible to under- stand any thing of the designs of God in regard to us. Let us, then, reform our manner of viewing things. Let us no more judge our Mighty Judge. Neither you nor I, rely upon it, are as far sighted as He is. What He does is well done, and if He per- mits evil to be done, it is always for a greater good. Don't you remember the gardener of the fable ? He was busy in his garden, and hap- pened to be near a large gourd. TO OBJECTIO]srS AGAINST EELIGION. 31 *' The Maker ! " cries he, " of what did he dream ? That gourd he has very ill placed. For me, I'd have hung it up there, Upon one of those oaks in the air ; That Vv^ould have been more to my taste. Like fruit and like tree ! as to me it doth seem. 'Tis a pity, good Garo, thou hadst not, to teach, Been present with Him whom the curate doth preach ; Twere all so much better contrived: marry, come Yon acorn, which is not so big as my thumb, In the place of the gourd Fd suspend. God made a mistake ; and the more I attend To these fruits so ill placed, more it seems to Garo, That here is a plain quiproqiioy It was a warm day ; friend Garo was hot and tired ; he seeks the shade of one of the neighboring oaks and lies down at the foot of it. He was just beginning to sleep, when an acorn drops off and, from the top of the tree, falls straight upon his nose. Garo, waking up with a start, cries out, and seeing the cause of what had befallen him : — '' Oh ! oh ! " he cries, " I bleed ! And where would I be, If a heavier mass from the top of the tree Had come down, and this acorn, a gourd it had been ! God thought it not fit ; without doubt he was right ; And the reason is now very plain to my sight.'' And praising the goodness of God with his might. Good Garo returned his own cottage within. Do you act like this worthy gardener, and, far from denying a Divine Providence, be care- ful never even to murmur against its decrees. 33 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS RELIGION IS A YERY GOOD THING FOR WOMEN. Answer. And why not, then, for men ? Either religion is true or it is false. If it is true, it is as true (and consequoDtly as good) for men as for women. If it is false, it is no better for women than for men ; because false- hood is not good for any one. Yes, certainly, '^ religion is a Yery good thing foi women," but also, and for the same reasons, it is good for men. Like women, men haYO passions, often Yery violent ones, to struggle against; and like women, men cannot conquer them without the fear and the love of God, without those power- ful means that religion alone can furnish them with. For men, as well as women, life is full of difficult and painful duties ; duties toward God, toward society, toward their families, toward themselves. For men as for women, there is a God to worship and to serve, an immortal soul to save, vices to shun, virtues to practise, a para- dise to gain, a hell to avoid, a final judgment to fear, an ever-menacing death to be prepared to meet. For one sex, the same as for the other, Christ TO objectio:n^s agai:n^st religio:n". 33 died on the cross, and His commandments regard them both alike. Eeligion is, then, as good for men as for women, and if there is a difierence, it is that it is even more indispensable to men than to women. They are, in fact, exposed to more dangers, they can do wrong more easily, and they are more surrounded by bad examples, particularly as regards loose morals, intemper- ance, and the neglect of religious duties. Eeligion is good for every one. It is espe- cially necessary for those who say it was not intended for them. The more need one has of it, the less one desires it. Yl, IT IS ENOUGH TO BE AK H0:N"EST MAK ; THAT IS THE BEST KELIGI0:N' OF ALL, AND IT IS ENOUGH. Answer. Yes ; to escape hanging ; but not to go to Heaven. Yes : — in the sight of men : — in the sight of God, the sovereign Judge- No ! 1st. " It is enough to be an honest man," you say. Be it so then ; but let us understand each other. What do you call an honest man f 3 34 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS That is an expression whicli appears to me very elastic, remarkably convenient, and whicli is capable of accommodating itself to many and varied tastes. Ask some licentious young man, for instance, if it is possible to be an honest man while leading the more than dissipated life that he does ? '' What a question ! " he vvdll reply ; ^'the follies of youth do not prevent one's being called an honest man. Undoubtedly, I claim to be considered such, and I should like to see the person who would dispute my title to it ! " Then turn to the covetous tradesman, who sets oif his goods of inferior quality, and sells them as if they w^ere first-rate ; to the artisan who works but half as diligently when he is paid by the day as he does when he is paid by the job; to the master who takes advantage of hard times to rob liis workmen of their Sun- day's repose; ask all these persons if what they thus do prevents their being really honest people f And not one of them will hesitate to reply that he is an honest man, and that these little artifices, these tricks of trade, have nothing to do with the question. Ask, once more, that spendthrift, if his prodigality, — that miser, if his avarice, — that frequenter of the public house, if his drunken- ness — destroys his honesty f Each will claim indemnity for his besetting passion, while he TO OBJECTIONS AGAIKST RELIGION. 35 calls himself an honest, nay a very honest, man ! Thus from the admissions even of the hon- est persons of whom we are here treating, men who are dissipated, dishonest, given to intem- perance, miserly, usurious, prodigal, dissolute, may be honest men^ and no one can refuse them the title, provided they have not stolen any money, or committed any murders ! ! Don't you think this i;low morality is very- con venient ? Whoever is not trocght before the assize court will never have any account to render to God I In fact, ono niu^^t no longer examine the heart, to judge persons' characters, but the shoulder, and wh^jever has not the con- vicffs brand is to be reputed lit for Heaven ! ! What a religion, then, is the honest man\s religion ! And you say that it is your religion ! and the best of all religious ! One which per- mits every thing short of rol^bery and murder ! ! But you do not reflect upon it. It is a perver- sion of ideas, and an atrocious doctrine, and^ no religion at all. 2dly. ^' But," you say, '' I mean more by an honest man than is usually meant. I call him an HONEST MAN 'inho fulfils all his duties^ loho does good and shuns eml^ And I, on the other hand, reply, and I affirm it, supported by experience, that if you are such a man without the powerful aid of religion, 36 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS yon are an eiglith wonder of the world ; bnt I would stake my life that you are no snch thing. For yon cannot make me believe that you have no passions — no disorderly inclinations ; all men have them, an I inaiiy of them. If, then, you are natnraliy iiicliiied to licentious- ness, to gluttony, or Gei^sual pleasures, what will restrain you ? If you are inclined to idle- ness, to violence, to pridj^^ what will moderate these passions ? Wliat will refrain your arm, what will bridle your tongue ? The fear of God ? But there is no question of that in the honest man's reliir-<^>n. The voice of reason? We know what reason can do in a combat with a violent passion. What then ? I can see nothing but the fear of the police, mere brute force. A noble religion this, truly ! I con- gratulate you upon it — but I prefer my own. The Christian religion alone offers eiBcacious remedies for our passions, and opposes a suffi- cient check upon their extravagances. Unless you admit that a man cannot sin, that he is an angel, (which he is not,) we must necessarily infer that without the powerful aids that Chris- tianity furnishes us with, we cannot be con- stantly faithful to all the great duties^ the observlnfi of which constitutes the truly honest wan. Without Christianity we cannot, above all, fulfil them with that uprightness of inten- tion which makes all their moral beauty. TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST RELIGION. 37 The most virtuous Christians (such is the weakness of mankind, from which you pretend to be exempt) — the most virtuous Christians fail from time to time in their duty, in spite of the superhuman strength which they draw from faith. And you who are deprived of this all-powerful check, abandoned to your natural inclinations, exposed to the countless dangers of the world, you pretend to be always faithful to yours ! I affirm v/ith certainty that the man who, not being a Christian, calls himself an honest man^ (in the sense we have just indicated,) either is under a most palpable delusion, or else lies to his conscience. 3dly. I will go further. Supposing even that I were to see you perfectly fulfilling your duties of citizen^ father, husband, son, friend, in a word, all those duties which make the honest man^ according to the world's definition, I should say still : " That is not enough ! " No; t/uit is not enoagh. — And why? Be- cause there is a God who reigns in the Heavens, who has created you, who preserves you, who calls you to Himself, who imposes a fixed law upon you, which no one has the power to annul. — Because you have duties toward this great God, of adoration, of thanksgiving, of prayer, as strict, as necessary, and even more essential, more imprescriptible than your duties toward your fellow-creatures. 3S SHOUT AND FAMILIAR ANSWEKS Can a man, who lias treated some friend with ingr^ititude^ say to himself^ '^ 1 am a good man^ I h.ivo nothiiig to reproach mys^^^if with'^" — No, certainly 1 — ^Well^ then ; you — honest man, according to tlie worid — are guihy of ingrati- tude toward God in forgetting liim ! He is your father^ yon owe to "him your beings your life, your intelHgenee, your moral dignity^ the liealth yon enjoy^ the goods of this world, all in fact ; He has ereatecl the universe for you, for your use^ for your enjoyment.^ — He has him- self taught you His law, He has saved you. He prepares for you in Heaven eternal happiness. — He is your Lord ; He is your master ; He gives you Plis blessing; He pardons you; He loves you ; He waits for you ! . And what do you give Him in exchange ? How much love, i^espeet, homage I You coldly discuss the pretexts that have been invented by His enemies to ¥/ithdraw you from His service I You perhaps have nothing but sarcasms^ hatred, contempt, for every thing that pertains to his worship ! You do not pray to Him. You do not adore Him. You do not give thanks to Him. You jest at faith in His word, at the observance of His laws 1 ! Ungrateful that you are ! And you have nothing to reproach yourself with I And you fulfil. ALL your duties f . . . . Cease, I beg you, to cherish this illusion t TO OBJECTIOKS AGAINST RELIGION. 39 Of what use is it to deceive one's self? Of what use to disguise one's taults ? Rather acknowledge that the yoke of religion, that is, of duty, alarms you, and that it is to re- lease yourself from it with -decorum that you have imagined this rdighii of the Jumest man. Not only is it not enough^ but it is, to say truth, only a well-sounding plirase, empty of meaning and intended to palliate in our own eyes and those of the world, the disorders and weaknesses for which the practice of Christian- ity is the sole remedy. MY RELIGIOIQ' IS TO DO GOOD TO OTHERS, Answer. Nothing can be better. It is just what tho Christian religion most pi^essingly' commands us to do ; even assimilating this duty to that higher and more fundamental one of loving God: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy Ood with all thy heart,'' we ai-^ told is the first commandment. And the second, lohich is like ^mix) the first^ is this, ^' Thou slialt love thy neighbor as thyself" These are the very words of Jesus Christ (St. Matthew, ch. xxii.) but He adds something of which you do not take heed. '' Upmi these TWO commandments hangs all the law." You^ whose religion consists, you say, only in 40 SHORT AHD FAMLIAR AKSWERS doing good to others^ yon suppress one. of the two commandments, the chief one, from which the other generally springs, which develops and nourishes it, and alone raises it up to heroism, and to the height of 2f, religious duty, — the commandment of the love of God^ and the ob- ligation of servmg Him. We must have the use of loth legs to vvalk, must we not ? Jast so, to fulfil our destiny on earth and reach heaven, w^e must practise both the gi^eat commandments : — : 1. Thou shalt love thy God. 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Therefore, the second is rarely observed where the first is neglected ; the experience of nineteen centuries proves this. Those Chris- tians who rest the love of their fellow-creatures on the love of God are the only ones who love them truly ^ efficacioudy y purely ^ and con- stantly. Who have been the greatest benefactors of .suffering humanity ? 2'/ie Saints^ that is, men whose hearts w^ere inflamed with the love of God. , To cite but one of these, look at St. Yincent de Paul, that hero of brotherly charity, that father of the afflicted, wdio continues even in these times to do good all over the world by means of the benevolent institutions he founded ! Who w^as Yincent de Paul ? A priest, a church- man ! What was the source of his unexampled TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST KELIGION. 41 devotion of his fellow-creatnres ? The love of God, the practice of Christ's religion. What are the institutions of benevolence which prosper most, (not to say which alone prosper) ? What are those which live, which develop themselves, and endnre through all ages ? Those which the Church founds ; thoso which rest on a religious idea, which are crowned by the cross of Jesus Christ ! Who founded hospitals ? The Church. Who gave refuge in all times, — who, in our days, despite the obstacles wln'ch blinded gov- ernments have raised up, — still gives refuge to every kind of misery, whether of the body, or •the soul, of infancy, manhood, or old age ? The Church. Who has founded, for the relief of each of these miseries, religious orders of men and wo- men, some devoted to foundlings, some to the education of the poor, some to the nursing of the sick, others to the care of lunatics, to the reclaiming of criminals, to sheltering the weary traveller, &c. &c. &c. ? The Church, and the Church alone. It is she who gives birth to the most perfect devotedness to humanity ; she produces the sister of charity^ as she produces the viission- ary and the monk of SL Bernard! Always by m9an3 of the love of God, as the most solid foundation of the love of mankind. 43 SHORT A'ND FAMILIAR ANSWERS In the present age, more than ever, we hear much said about humanity, fraternity, the love of the poor. Systems are built up ; line words cost nothing ; books are published and speeches are made. Why have they all so little result? Because religion does not vivify these efforts. No effect can subsist without its cause ; the cause, the most fertile principle of brotherly charity, is Divine charity, or the love of God. Distrust these fine systems of fraternity, then, which are independent of religion. There is no love of our fellow-creatures, ^;v^/v^, efficacious^ solid J or durable^ that is not founded in Jesus Christ. VIII. RELIGION, INSTEAD OF SPEAKING SO MUCH OF THE LIFE TO COME, OUGHT RATHER TO OCCUPY IT- SELF WITH THE PRESENT ONE, AND DESTROY 11^ MISERY. Answer. Religion speaks much of the life to come, because that life, being eternal, is of vast importance, and is much more worthy than the present life, that we should be occupied with it. It is there, in fact, that is to be de- cided for ever the great question of happiness or misery ; on earth Vv^e do but prepare its solu- tion. Bat if she speaks a great deal of the life eternal, Relisrion is far from ne^^'lectin^ the life TO OBJECTIONS AGAIIS^ST KELIGION. 43 of this present world. All the interests of man are present to her ; his soul, his body, his transitory life, his future and unchangeable life ; she forgets nothing. If she does not completely destroy the mis^ eries of life, it is because those miseries cannot 1)6 (hstroj/ed ; and they cannot be destroyed because the causes whicli produce them cannot be suppressed. Of these, the first is the inequality of phy- sical strength, of bodily health, of talents, intelligence, and energies in men. — If, in con- sequence of an accident, or simply from the effect of old age, I lose the strength necessary for pursuing my trade or occupation, shall I not fall into misery? — If, in spite of all my efforts, I am so unskilful as not to be able to work as well as my fellow-workmen, will not my customers prefer to deal with those who excel me ; and shall I not fall into misery ? — Yet, who can guarantee us from sickness, accidents, or old age ? Who can give talent to those who have it not ? Who can render all men equal in strength, in intellect, in willing- nsss? . . . See, then, here a fertile source of misery, and one which it is impossible even for religion to destroy. The second cause of human misery, not less profound than the first, arises from the vices incidental to our feeble nature, corrupted by 44 SHOUT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS sin ; idleness, licentiousness, drunkenness, in- ordinate love of pleasure, revenge, pride, &c. Among a hundred poor persons, how man^^ are unhappy through tJieir own faults ! Nine- teen out of twenty. They accuse heaven, when they ought only to accuse themselves. The good poor soon hnd help ; God and the faithful children of God never abandon them ! Poverty, like sickness and death, is the pun- ishment of sin. It is impossible to destroy it ; for it is impossible to destroy original sin, which is an established fact, and to render man impeccable. But that which is possible, and which religion performs admirably, is to lessen misery, to relieve and soften its pangs, to render it supportable, in fine, to sanctity it. Keligion reveres^ in the body, the temple of that hnmortal soul, which is itself the living temple of God. She exerts herself to heal, to prevent even, all these afflictions, by the num- berless charitable institutions, the asylums of every kind, which abound in the Christian world. Wherever her voice is listened to, the rich man becomes the friend, the brother, and often the servant of the poor. He pours forth joy- fully his superfluity into the lap of the afflicted. The poor man in his turn, learns to hope. He learns, in the school of Jesus Christ, to endure with patience, and some- times he even attains so high as to love sutler- TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST RELIGION. 45 ings, which he knows are destined, in the adorable designs of his heavenly Father, to prove his fidelity, to purify him of his faihngs, to render him more like to his poor and cruci- fied Saviour, and to lay up for him ineffable treasures of happiness m the eternal Country t . . . How many good poor have I not seen thank God for their sufi[erings, and rejoice in their privations ! Eeligion, therefore, does just what she ought, by occupying herself with our happiness in this life, but occupying herself a great deal more with the life to come. None have any cause to complain of religion. Let the rich become good Christians, and con- sequently charitable ; and the poor become good Christians, and consequently patient and resigned ; this is the secret of happiness. IX. WE OL^GHT TO ENJOY LIFE ; WE MUST HAVE A GOOD TIME OF IT ; GOD IS TOO GOOD TO HAVE CKEATED US FOR ANY THING BUT HAPPINESS. Answer. Oh, yes! God, in His goodness, has only created us to make us happy ! But the great point is not to misunderstand what HAPPINESS is. You seek happiness. You are right. But beware of deceiving yourself in the choice of 46 SHOM AKD FAMILIAR AKSWEHS your means for attaining it ! Many roads lie open before you ; one only is the right road . . . woe be to him who takes a wrong one ! ! » • • » It is a mistake more easy to make at the present day than ever ; foi' never, I think, has our country been more inundated with lying doctrines on this subject* Wicked or dehided men diffuse on all sides, and through the many channels which the press affords, doctrines which, flattering human passions, easily pene- trate into the minds of the people. They would fain persuade us that we are only placed here on earth for the purpose of enjoj^meiit ; that all hopes of a future life are but chimeras ; that happiness consists in mate- rial prosperity, in money, and the means of enjoyment which money can procure. Such is the doctrine oi mere pleasure. It is the doctrine which is at this moment striving to gain the mastery over Christianity, and to materialize happiness. In the last cen- tury it was called Ph ilosophj ; in our times it is called Commukism, FouPwIerism, Socialism, &c.^ * The funclaraental principle of these systems is the same, as regards morality ; they differ only in some de- tails of their application, by no means esssntial. This doctrine, as professed by the learned, is called Pantheism, The morality of Pantheism is the same as that of Communism. It is Communism talking Latin and dressed up as a x^edagogue and a pedant. TO 0BJi:CTI0:!^3 AaA.I\"3T RELIGION. 47 I will not insult you by attemi)ting to prove that such liapplness is of a dcgradlny kind. It is sufficiently obvious. All that distinguishes 113 from tli3 brute creation, goodness, virtue, self-devotion, moral order, it annihilates. Man no longer diiTers from his dog except exter- nally ; h((.pj)hiess for both is the same, the satisfaction of all their inclinations, mere brute enjoyment ! But th3 point on which the world is not yet convinesd, and to which I would direct your attention, is the 'practical hnpossibilitii of the comm:inist doctrine, the absurdity of this uni- versal happiness.' I want to make you feel its ahsolute ojjpo-^ sit ton to the Qjaiural ord(^r of things^ to exist"- imj facts ^ which no tiring can change ; and to convince you that such a system is nothing but a dream, a dangerous and ridiculous Utopia, and that under the fine words with v/hich it arrays itself, tliere is no tiring. If there is a iact that is proved, and as clear as the light of the sut, it is, without contradic- tion, the sad necessity we are under, here be- lovf, of suiiering and dying ; this is the condi- tion of man in Vv^hat is essential to it on earth ; it is the condition in Vv^hich I am, in which you are, in which our fathers were and our chil- dren will be, and no human efforts can extri- cate us from it. Are there not, I as-:, here belovv', and will 48 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR AKSWERS there not alwayf^^ alwccTjs^ alwayshe^ sicknesses, suiFerings, afflictions ? Are there not, and will there not always be widows and orphans? — mothers weeping inconsolably beside the empty cradle of the child ? Are there not, and w^ill there not always be struggles between temperaments opposed to each other ? — collisions of wills ? — deep decep- tions ? Can any thing change this state of things ? Will any new organization of society^ what- ever IT BE, preserve ns from diseases, suffering, consumption, fever, govit, cholera ? — preserve us from losino; those wdiom we love ? . . . Will it prevent the disagreeable variations of the seasons, the rigor of winter's cold, the burning heat of summer ? . . . Will it free man from his tendencies to vice ? from pride, egotism, violence, hatred ? Will it, above all, prevent his dying ? Is all this true, or is it not ? And is it not as certain, as indubitable, that it is^ as it is certain that it will oZioays he the state of things ? One must be crazy to deny it ! And what becomes — pray tell me — in pres- ence of this fact — what becomes, in the midst of so many inevitable evils, of that consta^nt enjoyynent^ that perfect terrestrial happi- ness which Communism promises us ? The mere approach of sickness, sorrow, and death, TO OBJECTION'S AGAINST RELIGION. 4:9 suffices to destroy it ! . . . And these terrible foes are ever at our door. Your Communism, or Socialism, then, (give it what name you please,) is a dream, a vain Utopia, contrary to the nature of things. It cheats itself, then, or it cheats me, v^hen it promises to me the repose of perfect happi- ness on earth, where such cannot exist, and when it makes it consist in an impossible state of enjoyment. I must, therefore, seek for happiness else- where, for that it is somewhere to be found I know ; the wisdom, the goodness, the power of God, are a sure guarantee of this to me. . . . Where, then, am I to seek it ? — There, where Christianity points it out to me : in the germ here on earthy hut in its perfection i7i Heaven. Christianity — it is in perfect accordance with the great fact of our mortal condition. It explains to us the formidable problem of suf- fering and happiness. It embraces man in all his relations, and takes him just as he is by nature , it takes ac- count of the essential facL^ which Communism ignores, (such as original degradation, the sen- tence of perpetual penance, the Redemption of Jesus Christ, the necessity of imitating the Saviour, so as to have a share in that redemp- tion, the eternal life which awaits us, &c.) It 50 SHOET AJTD FAMILIAK ANSWERS does not deal in airy reasonings, based on chimerical suppositions, like Communism. Communism discerns in us notliing but the outside shell t it forgets the kernel, which is the soul. — Christianity does not forget the shell, that is the body ; but it also perceives the kernel, and it finds that the kernel is of more value than the shell. — It refers every thing to the soul, to eternity, to God. By means of an influence as gentle as it is powerful, it cleanses the soiil little by little of its pride, its cupidity, its concupiscence ; its excesses, its selfishness ; in a word, of all its vices ; and it thus penetrates to the deepest roots of the greater number of those evils that we have just enumerated. In fact, our trou- bles, in most cases, spring from our passions ; and these passions, Christianity calms them, it restrains their vehemence, it tames them. It communicates to the heart that joy, that peace so sweet, which purity of conscience produces. ~^aith shows us clearly the path which leads lo happiness; hope and love make us run in that path, and render light and pleasant the yoke of duty. If it does so much for the soul, it (Chris- tianity) does not forget the h(u/f/. We have described above the cares which it bestows upon it. It occupies itself with it, not as with the TO OBJECTIONS AGAII^ST RELIGIO^sT. 51 cliief and master, (that would be disorder,) but as with the confederate and companion. It preserves it by sobriety and chastity ; sanc- tifies it by external worship, by participation in the sacraments, and, above all, by a nnion with the sacred body of Jesns Christ in the Eucharist. It receives its dying breath ; it accompanies it with honor to its final resting-place ; and even there does not bid it an eternal adieu. It knows that, one day, that Christian body, purified by the baptism of death, will come forth radiant from its dust, will revive in glory, will be reunited to the soul, and enjoy with it, in Paradise, ineffable delights ! . . . Such is Christianity. It understands what happiness is, promises it, and confers it. It confers on earth that happiness v/hich is possible on earth. If it does not give unalloyed happiness, it is be- cause such ought not to be given, and cannot, hers below. It rests its promises on the most irrefragable proofs. That which he does not now possess, the Christian kiiowSj is sure he will possess hereafter. Therefore, every true Christian is happy. He has trouble, sorrow ; ... it is impossible to be free from them here; but his heart is ever filled, ever calm and content. Does Communism thus treat the poor wan- 53 SHOKT AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS derers whom it amuses with its chimeras ? It promises what no human power can give ; it promises the impossible, ... It has no other guarantees than the audacious affirmations of its chiefs ; and those chiefs, are they calculated to inspire confidence ? " The vrorld will be happy," they say, '' ichen every t/ihvj is dtangcdy Yes ; hut when imll evertj tinny he changed? If, as ^ve believe we have proved, this change is contrary to the nature of things^ the world runs a great risk of never findino; happiness. Communism is something like the wily bar- ber, who put over his shop-door : ^'To-morrow, shaving gkatis liere ! " To-morrow remained always to-morrow. Communism* desires the recompense without the labor ; the Christian desires the recom- pense after the labor. Tii3 one talks like Avorkraen of bad charac- ter, the other like good workmen. Thus every goocl-for-nothing, every lazy fellow, v/illingly adopts the Communist doctrines, and instinc- tively rejects the voice of religion. Lot our country, therefore, bewnre of these hollow bat seductive promises, with Vvhich her enemies fill their newspapers, novels, and pamphlets. Lot her reject such promises ; let her pun- TO OBJECTIOKS AGAINST RELIGIOiT. 53 ish, by a just contempt, the men who are 'not ashamed to propose to their brethren the ignoble happiness of brutes — mere enjoy- ment. Let us raise our heads; let us revive our torpid faith ; let us again be Christians ! There alone is the remedy for all our evils. Let ns learn to understand, like our fathers, those divine lessons which the GEEAT MASTER has left to us on the snbject of happiness. Blessed (n^e the poor in spivH^ (that is to say, those v^hose spirit is detached from the fragile goods of the world), said He,/i9/' tlieirs is the ki.nydom of heaven ! Blessed are the meek and the joeacema.Jcers^ for tlteji sJiall he called the children of God ! Blessed are they who moxirn^for they shall he comforted. ! Blessed a^re the merciful^ for they shall oh- tain mercy ! Blessed are the pure of hearty for they shall see God! Let us instruct our minds, and imbue them with this Catholic religion, which has made France what it is ; let us infuse its spirit into our hearts, our maimers, our institutions, and our lav/s ! . . . We shall enjoy the luippiness which is possible in this world, and the haj)- pin ess which is perfect in the world to come ! He who desires more than this is a madman. 54 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS who will never enjoy either the one or the other."^ THE APOSTLES AND EARLY CHRISTIANS W^ERE COMMUNISTS. THEY WERE POOR, AND HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON ; THEY WERE PURSUED AND HUNTED DOWN BY THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES, JUST AS THE COMMUNISTS ARE. Answer. " Or^ just as inalef actors are^'^ you might add. And that is enough to show you where your reasoning fails. And tell me, since when does it suffice to be poor, to have things in common, to be pursued and imprisoned, in order to be a Christian ? That which constitutes the C/rristimi is not outward poverty, but a mind disengaged from the transitory goods of earth ; it is not the bare material fact of having things,in common, but the invisible tie of fraternal charity, which makes, as it were, of all hearts but one heart. Such were the early Christians ; angels in the flesh, men dead to the world and to them- selves, living only in Jesus Christ, aspiring only to a happy eternity. * Althougli this chapter is more appHcable to the state of France than it is to America, it is not without great pertinence here, too ; the essential doctrine of tlie Com- munists has many advocates on this side the Atlantic. TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST RELIGION, 55 And it is to these men of prayer, of peni- tence, of meekness, and celestial peace, that you would venture to compare the detestable bands of our modern secret societies ! You would give for brethren to these men of eter- nity, men who do not even believe in eternity, and who aspire only to the pleasures of this world ? . . . Good God ! what an aberration of mind ! The Oommunifcjts are persecuted, they are tracked by jiistice, transported ; yes, no doubt they are. But, here again, is it enough to be pursued, imprisoned^ even killed, to be called a disciple of Jesus Chkist ? According to this method, all robbers, all murderers, would be excellent Christians ! The Apostles and Christians were persecuted because of their virtues ; you, promoters of anarchy, are persecuted because of your ex- cesses. They strove to sanctity the world, you desire to excite sedition. Prayer and meekness of heart were their weapons ; they went forth to martyrdom, pardoning their executioners ; while you, armed with deadly weapons, harbor nothing but envy, hatred, and revenge in your hearts. No, you are not Christians, but Anti-Chris- tians ! You blaspheme that which Christians adore, and that which you love they abhor. Besides, there still exists, and has never ceased to exist among the disciples of the 56 SHORT Aiq^D FAMILIAR ANSWERS Gospel, that primitive and perfect life, in which all men are hretliren^ where all things are in common, where poverty and sanctity reign. Visit our monasteries. There you will find what you seek ; they are real Phalan- steries^ of which the communist Utopias are but a horrible and unreal imitation. Let not, then, the Socialists in future usurp the sacred name of the Saviour ; let them no more speak of fersecutions^ of martyrdoin^ of Calvaivj, They are, it is true, on Calvary ; but they are there like the bad thief crucified for his crimes, and not like the Divine Son of Mary. XL there are many learned men and people of mind who do not believe in religion. Answer. What is to be concluded from that, but that it is not enough to have profane learning or to possess talent, in order to be a Christian, and to receive from God the gift of faith ; but that something more is required, namely, a pure and upright heart, humble, well-regulated, willing to make those sacrifices that the knowledge of truth imposes. Now, this is just what is wanting among those learned men (and they are few) who are irreligious. TO OBJECTIO^q^S AGAIN^ST RELIGION". 57 1st. Either they are indifferent and ignorant in matters of religion ; absorbed in their mathematical, astronomical, physical studies, they neither think of God nor of their soul ; and then it is not surprising that they know nothiuo; of religion. In what concerns rehVion they are ignorant, and their judgment on it is worth no more than that of a mathematician about music and painting. There are some learned men wlio are more ignorant of religion than a child of ten years old, who is assiduous in learning his cate- chism. 2d. Or else, what happens oftener, they are haughty spirits who presume to judge God, to argue with Him as an equal, and to measure His word by the dimensions of their feeble reason. Pride is the profoundest in its malice of all the vices. Tlierefore, they are justly rejected as presumptuous minds, and deprived of that light which is only given to simple and humble hearts. God does not love proud rebels. 3d. Or else, what happens still oftener, and is generally accompanied by the two other vices, these learned men cherish some bad pas- sions of which they will not rid themselves, and which they know to be incompatible with the Christian Tleligion. Moreover, if one will only weigh the num- ber and value of the witnesses, the difficulty entirely disappears. 58 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS One may affirm that, for the last eighteen hundred years, among the eminent men of each century there has not been more than one in twenty, who was a freethinker. And in this trivial number, one may also affirm that the majority were not steadily in- credulous, but before their death took refuge in tlie arms of that religion which they had so often blasphemed. — Such were, among others, some of the leaders of the Voltairian school of the last century, Montesquieu, Biiffori^ la Harpe, &c. Voltaire himself, when illness overtook him in Paris, sent for the rector of St. Sulpice about a month before his death.—The danger passed, and with the danger, the fear of God it had inspired. But a second crisis came on : all the impious companions of the sick man hastened to his side. . . . His physician, an eye-witness of the scene, attests that Voltaire again called for the assistance of religion . . . but this time in vain ; the priest was not allowed to approach the dying man, who ex- pired a prey to the most horrible desjDair ! D'xllembert also was anxious to confess his sins ; and he w^as prevented, just as his master had been, by the pliiloso^liers surrounding his bedside.— '' If we had not been there/' one of them afterwards said, '^ he would have plaj^ed the coward just like the others ! " What moral value have these men ? And TO OBJTECTIOKS AGAI2nd ever wdll live, the Christian gen3iMtio:i3, it is for Him that the generations of tiie an3ient faithful, the disciples of Moses, the propli3t3, and the patriarchs have lived ! It is in Him they have hoped ; it is for Him that they have looked ; it is He vvdiom they have so loved ! The sun, in his meridian, 90 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR AKSWERS bathes in his rays all space, that which he has passed in his course, and that which he lias yet to travel tlirough ; so Jesus Christ, the centre of humanity, enlightens, quickens all things, the past, the present, and the future. 3dly. Jesus Christ, and He alone, is the type of perfection, the model after which the moral civilized w^orld is formed, the mould into which humanity casts itself, as it were, to reform its vices. — What else is virtue, but the imitation of Jesus Christ? There is nothing in common between Him and any other known type of perfection, whether Jev/ish, Greek, or Eoman. He is Himself^ He is alone^ He is lultliout a parallel^ He is above all. In human perfection, there is always compe- tition, one man surpasses another, parallels may always exist. Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, is the exception. Tliere is a solution of continuity between His perfection and that of human beings. What name can be placed beside Ilis? Whom would one venture to compare to Him ? The saints, who are the heroes of virtue on earth, are but His pale copies. None think, none have ever thought to equal Him ; for they feel that it is no longer a ques- tion of possible rivalry. All is effaced in His light, as the factitious lights of the3 earth be- come pale wdien the sun bursts forth in all its TO OBJECTIOIS'S AGAIJST^T RiilLIGIOK 91 splendor. He has also said this Himself, ''/ am the light of the worMP And this superhuman perfection is a phe- nomenon without antecedents, it is preceded ])y nothing, prepared by nothing. It arrives like the doctrine it teaches, all created. It participates in no theological or philosophical school ; it is without a cause, producing or explaining it, unless it is the presence of Per- Fi^:cTio2f itself, which is God, It gives light to all things, and receives light from nothing ; it is the concentration of all light. Another observation not less striking, and peculiar to Jesus alone : with Him, this truly divine perfection, which seems so much ele- vated above humanity, inaccessible to our weakness, is nevertheless the most practical, the most imitable, the most fruitful, the only one fruitful in imitators and disciples. It pro- poses itself for imitation to all men, to the child and the aged man, to the ignorant and the learned, the poor and the rich, to the beo;inner as much as to him who has lono; persevered. It seems made for each one in particLil.ir. It adapts itself to all, and reforms all ; it is perfection for all ! Who does not discern here the stamp of Divinity ? Can man do any thing of all this ? •Finallv, the last trait of the perfection of Jesus Christ ; superhuman^ like all the otherSj 92 SIIOKT AND FAMILIAR ANSWEKS and, like all tlie others^ peculiar to Him alone: His perfection is without excess. Man always carries his good qualities to ex- cess. Feeling himself weak, he ])refers, from fear of tailing, to exceed even in good. St. Vincent of Paul was humble, but he ap- pears to carry to excess his low opinion of him- Belf ; St. Charles was austere, but his austerity appears alarming to iis ; St. Francis was poor, but his self-imposed priv-ations are almost car- ried too far, &c. ; human weakness pierces throuo:li the heroism of their virtues. — In Jesus Christ, the good is perfectly true and genuine ; nothing is extravagant; the perfection of the divine nature is made manifest, and blends itself with the real and virtuous emotions of human nature. In Him all the man appears. The God and the man are complete. And on this account, this Model so perfect never causes any to despair ; on the contrary, it is sweet, mild, and amiable ; it is the reality of a virtue, both perfect and possible, proposed for imitation to mankind by a God-man, as truly man as He is God. What a singular and marvellous fact ? What a prodigy is Jesus Christ ! Who would not exclaim : •' Behold the finger of God ! '' 4thly. And His doctrine ! And that word, which, during eighteen centuries that it has been meditated on, discussed, attacked, dis- TO OBJECTIOKS AGAIKST RELIGION. 93 sected by every variety of knowledge, by the most jjrofound geniuses, has excited all kinds of hatred, been applied to commnnities, na- tions, individuals, has never been convicted of error !— ^' It ever remains the light of the world ;'' and each attepipt to destroy it does but verify what the Master predicted. " Heaven and earth shall pass awoy^ but my wobds shall KOT pass away." Wherever this doctrine is knovvm, penetrate civiliz.itioij, moral and intellectual life, pro- gress, enlightenment ; where it does not reign, and iii proportion as it is less and less known, degradation, lethargy, barbarism, death, mark its absence. It is this doctrine, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has founded our modern society ; which has become the guide, the directing torch of human reason and philosophy ; and whether voluntarily or involuntarily, it is with the very means that Jesus Christ has given them, that unbelieving Christians argue against Him. "Never man!^'^ said the Jews, '^ spake as did this man I '^ Open the gospel, in fact. What imheard-of power ! What authority! What calmness ! What celestial simplicity it mani- fests ! Jesus teaches what He sees, what He knows. He does not argue; He does not seek to prove, to convince ; His word is suffi- cient for Him ; He is sure. Pie affirms. None 94 SHORT Ai^TD FAMILIAR ANSWERS but God made man, and speaking to men, can use such language. Furthermore, the word of Jesus Christ proves its own divine origin, for it unceasingly affirms His divinity. He calls Himself God^ the Son of God^^ Christy the Truth, the Life^ the Saviour^ the Messiah. » If thou art tlie Christ," said the Jews to Him, " tell us." — " I speak to you^'^ He answered them, '^ and you do not believe Me. The miracles that I do in the name of My Father hear witness of Me. I and my Father are oneP They de- sired to stone Him, instead of believing these words : '' Why Avould you stone Me '^ " said Jesns to them. ''Because of Thy blasphemy, and because, heiag mcin^ Thou makest Thyself God, The woman of Samaria spoke to Him of Christ, the Redeemer, who should save man- ^ By ** Son of God " Jesus Christ did not mean, nor did the Jews to whom He spoke understand him to mean, a just man, a, child, of God, a friend of God. He meant, and they understood thereby, the diiine Word, Ihe second person of the holy Trinity, the eternal and only Son of God, God, like the Fathe/ and the Holy Ghost. There- fore, when Jesns told Caiaphas that He was *' the Son of God,'* the liirrh priest and tlie Pharisees cried out. He hlas- lihemetli, and condemned Him to death as a blasphemer, Decause Re made Himself God. TO OBJECTIOKS AGAIKST EELIGIO^n^ 93 kind, and teacli tliem all truth. '' I am He,'"* said He to her, '' Iw/io speak to tlieer Another time He is teaching the assembled crowd: ^^ Verily^ verily^ I say unto you, As the Father raises up the dead to life, so does tlie Son give life to those ivhom He chooses .... . . so that ALL MAY RENDEK TO THE SoN, HONOR EQUAL TO THAT WHICH IS BEE TO THE FaTHER.'" '^ He THAT HOKORETH NOT THE SoN, HONORETH KOT THE Father." He was instructing a learned Jew, who had come to consult Him : '' No man," said he to him, '• shall go up into heaven^ save He who CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, THE SoN OF MaN WHO IS IN HEAVEN. '' God so lovedj the luorld^ that He gave His ONLY BEGfOTTEN SoN, SO that all lubo believe in Him may not perish^ but may have eternal life, . . , Ood sent His Son into the loorld^ that the loorld might he saved by HimP "'He who believes in Him shall not he con- demned^ BUT HE WHO BELIEVES NOT IS ALREADY JUDGED, BECAUSE HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SoN OF GoD." He has just healed the man born blind ; the ^' Tills is an exact translation of tlie Frencli : in out Eno'lish Bible the reading- is, that all men may HONOi?: THE Son as theiy honor the Fatheti, 96 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS latter, driven from the synagogues by the Pharisees, because he declared that his bene- factor was at the least a prophet, finds Ilim, and throws himself at His feet, '' Do you be- lieve in the Son of God ? " Jesns asks him. — ^' Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him ? " " Thou hast both seen Him, and it IS He that talketh with thee.'' And the poor man answers, " 1 believe, Lord ! " and, prostrating himself, he adores Him. Is this enough, or will you hear more? " Abraham, your father," said He to the Jevv^s, " rejoiced to see my day, he saw it, and was glad." The Jews answered, " Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham V ^ Jesus said to them, ''Before Abraham was, I AM." To the sister of Lazarus, who comes to be- seech Him to raise her brother to life. He saith : '' I am the Resurrection and the Life. lie ivho believes in Me shall live^ even after death. And whosoever lives in Me and believes in Me, shall not die eternally. Do you be-- lieve ? " '' Yes, Lord," answers the faithful Martha ; " I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, who art ;oME INTO the world." * Abraham lived twenty centuries before Jesus Christ. TO OBJECTIOII^'S AGAINST RELIGION. 97 And a short time afterward, wJieii He had come before the ah^eady putrid corpse of Laza- rus, he adds these divine words^ ^' My Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me, and 1 know that Thou hearestMe always, but because of tlie people who stand about have I said it : that they may helieve that Thoii haH sent Jtfe." And He cried aloud, '* Lazarus, come forth ! '^ And the dead arose, yet bound, — face, hand^ and feet, — with the cerements of the grave ! . . . . One might cite the whole of the gospels. Read, above all, the ineffable discourse before the Last Sapper, (St. John, xiv. 6th and follow- ing verses,) " I am," said He, '' the way, the TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. No mail cometh to the Father hut hy Me, If you had knoiun Me^ you ivould^ ivithout douht^ have known My Father also. He THAT SEETH Me SEETH THE FaTHER ALSO." " Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name^ that ivill I do ; that the Father may he glo- rified in the Son, If any one love Me^ he luill keep My ivord, and My Father -will love him^ and WE will come to him^ and make our abode with hiiinP Even upon the cross, Jesus Christ affirms that He is God, and speaks as God. The good thief, crucified beside Him, enlightened by faith, exclaims: '"Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," '^ This day," 7 98 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS Jesus answers, '' thou shalt be with Me in Par- adise," Finally — for I must limit myself — the unbe- lieving Thomas sees Him, and touches Him after the resurrection ; convinced by this evi- :ion. As a (general rule, distrust the recital of historical facts, in which religion is made to play a ridiculous, or barbarous, or ignoble part. It is possiijle that they may be true ; and in such a case, we must throw the whole blame on the weak or vicious nature of the man who has forgotten what he owed to his Cii iracter of priest, bishop, or even of pope, perhaps, and who has done evil v/hen it was his duty to do good ; but it is also possible, (and * Letter to the Marquis of Argens. 138 SHORT Al^B FAMILIAR AI^SWERS this is more frequently the case,) that these facts are, if not pure invention, at least so much perverted and exaggerated, that one can, with justice, tax them with falsehood. Nothing is easier than to attack the Church in this manner ; but is it a legitimate mode of attack ? Is it fair I Is it honest I XXIX. THERE IS NO SUCH PLACE AS HELL ,' NO ONE HAS EVER RETURNED THENCE TO PROVE IT. Answer. Certainly, no one has ever returned thence ; and if you go there yourself, you will not return any more than others. If any one person had ever returned thence, I would say to you, '' Go there, and you will see if there is such a place.'' But it is pre- cisely because we cannot make this experiment, that it is such ivadness to expose ourselves to an evil irremediable, interminable, and un- bounded. You say there is no hell ? Are you sure of it ? I defy you to affirm it sincerely. You would have a conviction that none has ever had before you, not even the most impiGu-.s of men. Rousseau's reply to the question, "Is there a hell ? " was, ''I cannot tell^ And Vol- taire wrote to one of his friends, who thought he had discovered proofs of the non-existence TO OBJECTIO:S'S AGAIKST UELIGIO^^T. 13 of hell, "You are very fortunate. I am far from having arrived at that^ But I will show you Avhat a terrible affirma- tion I can oppose to your perhaps, Jesus CriEiSTj the Son of God, made man, declared that there was a hell, and one so dreadful, that '^ the iire thereof shall never be quenched." These are His own words, repeated three times over."^ And which should I believe by preference ? One who has never studied religion, who at- tacks what he knows nothing of, who can possess no certainty, nothing but douhis on this subject ; or He who has said, '' I am the teutii ; iieaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away ? " Be not so rash : it is Jesus^ the good Jesus ; * We see in the Gfospel tliat our Lord spoke on fifteen d'.fferent occasions of the fire of hell. See, ainong" otliers, tlie sevea or eight last verses of the ninth chapter of St. Mark, where it is said, it is better to lose all and suffer all than to be cast into the hell of fire, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. Also, *' for every one shall be salted with fire," that is, at once impregnated with it, consumed, and seasoned by it, as salt preserves liesh by becoming impregnated with it. See nlso in St. Matthew, at. the end of the twenty -fifth chapter, "Depart from me, you cursed, into evcTlastmg fire, which w^as prepared for the devil and his angels . . . and these shall go into ever- lasting pnnhhment, but the just into life everlasting.'' And in the fifteenth chapter of Sfc. John, " If any one abide not in me," by grace^, '* he shall cast him into the fire, and he burneth. " 140 SHOET AKD FAMILIAR AKSWERS Jesus, SO merciful and compassionate, who par- dons all to poor repentant sinners ; who re- ceives without a word of reproach the guilty Magdalen, and the woman taken in adultery, the publican Zaccha3us, and the crucified mal- efactor ; it is Jesus, I say, who declares to you that there is an everlasting hell fire^ and who repeats it on fifteen separate occasions in His Gospel ! Would you pretend to understand mercy and goodness better than Jesus Christ ? In this matter, you see, more than in any other, it is frequently the wicked man^s heart which suggests these ideas, and not his reason. It is the cry of wricked passions, fearing the justice of God, and anxious to stifle the voice of conscience, ^^ There is no divine justice ; there is no hell ! '^ Yet, what matter these cries, these evil pas- sions in reality ? Does the blind man who denies the light prevent the light from shining ? Whether the blasphemer denies or acknow- ledges the fact, there exists a hell^ where wick- edness is punished^ and that hell is eternal. It is the conviction of humanity at large ! The certainty of hell is so thoroughly im- planted in the depths of the human conscience, that one meets with this dogma among all nations, ancient and modern, among idolatrous TO OBJECTIONS AGAIKST RELIGION. 141 savages, as among civilized Christians. It is so completely a fundamental part of Chris- tianity, that, of all the heresies which have attacked Catholic dogmas, not one has thought of denying it. The truth of hell has alone remained standing, intact, amidst so many ruins. "^ The greatest philosophers, and men of genius, not only among Christians, for that is a matter of course, but among pagans, have admitted its existence : Virgil, Ovid, Horace, Plato, Socrates, lastly, the impious Celsus him- self, that Yoltaire of the third century. Who would presume to be more difficult to persuade than these ? The doctrine of eternal punishment has, be- sides, a complete compensation, according to the Church's teaching, in the doctrine of eter- nal reward. The one manifests the sovereign and infinite justice of God ; the other his sov- ereign and infinite goodness. But are not all the attributes of God worthy of adoration. His justice among them ? I repeat again, few would think of denying it, if they did not stand m just dread of it. * However, among Protestants there has arisen a sect, the Universalists, numbering some hundred thousands of adherents in the United States, who deny the eternity or even the existence of future punishments. The denial of it is also a tenet of the Rappists. 142 SHORT AKD FAMILIAR AKSWERS I might add, in this place, many reflec- tions on the, use, and even necessity of tlie dogma of the eternity of future punishments. I might remark that it is this eternal duratioii whicli renders it thus useful and necessary; as it is the eternal duration and that only which alarms the wicked man, and has power to arrest the course of his crimes. Man feels that he will never come to an end; thence ensues the necessity for him of hopes and fears of a like immortal stature ; all that is below it disappears from his sight. If all the crimes which the fear of an eternal hell has arrested could be known, men would be struck with the necessity of this sanction ; and as Grod gives to man all that is necessary for him, from the necessity of eternal punish- ment, one w^ould conclude its reality. I might further show that there is no re- pentance possible in hell, and consequently there is no pardon possible ; that hell only ap- pears incomprehensible to us because we do not form an adequate idea of the enormity of sin, of which it is the chastisement, and of the easy means afforded us of avoiding it, etc. But I desire only to abide by the two great authorities I have already furnished you with touching your doubts : the authority of Jesus Christ and that of the human race. Let us have a lively faith in the mysteries of Christianity. Let us live in accordance with TO OBJECTIONS AGAIKST RELIGIOK. 143 our faith ; let us love God and serve Him ; let us imitate Jesus Christ ; let us be good Chris- tians, and we shall no longer have any thing to do with hell. XXX. GOB IS TOO GOOD TO BAim ME. AisrswER. Accordingly, it is not God v^ho damns you, it is you who damn yourself, God is no more the cause of hell than of sin, which has given birth to hell. Wh}^ then does He permit sin ? Because, having endowed you with the most sublime of all His gifts, that of intelligence^ which renders you like to Himself; and pre- pared eternal happiness for you, it was not fit- ting that He sliould treat you like the animal creation, who liave not that intelligence, and are only made for this world. It v/as not fitting that you should be forced to receive God's gifts ; it was needful that you should employ your intelligence to accept freely, a.nd acquire for yourself the treasures of eternal bliss. This is v/hy God has given to us, together with intelligence, moral liberty^ that is to say, the faculty of choosing with our free-will be- tween good and evil, of following or shunning 144 ^HORT AKD FAMILIAR AKSWERS tHe voice of our merciful Father whieli calls us to him. This liberty is the highest mark of honor and love that we could receive from God. If we abuse it, the fault is ours, not His. If I were to give you a wet^pon to preserve your life in any danger, would it not be a proof of my affection for you ? And if, against my will, and despite all the warnings and in- structions I gave you, so that you might make a good use of it, you were to turn this weapon against yourself, should I be the cause of your wound ? Would it not be to you alone that the blame should be imputed i This is what God does for us. He gives us the liberty to do good or evil ; but he neglects no means to induce us to choose good. In- structions, warnings, kind and earnest invita- tions, terrible threats, He spares none. He loads us with His grace, He surrounds us with His assistance ; — but He does j\oi force us : that would be to destroy His own w^ork. He respects in us the gifts which He has 'bestowed on us. It is, then, the reprobate who runs to his own perdition ; it is not God who damns him, it is he who damns himself. God does but give to each one that which he has freely chose^ life or death ; Paradise, the fruit of virtue, — or hell, the fruit of sin. Two roads lie open before us in this life, the TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST KELIGION. 145 road of virtue and that of vice. The latter is sometimes smoother and more attractive than the former, particularly for the first part of the way ; but it leads to hell, where sweet- ness is changed into bitterness ; while the <>ther leads to Paradise, w^here our labor is changed into an unspeakable rest. To reach the gates of Paradise, w^e must choose the road that leads to Paradise ; that is plain enough. The Catholic priest is the ciiaritable guide sent from God, who shows us this road. How many, alas ! close their ears to his voice! How many lose their way, and perish, from not following his directions ! XXXI. GOD HAS FOEESEEN FEOM ALL ETEENITY WHETHER I SHALL BE SAVED OK LOST. I MAY DO WHAT I will; I CANI^OT CHANGE MY DES- TINY. Answer. Suppose your wife were to say to you, '' My dear, God has foreseen from all eter- nity whether you wdll dine to-day or not. I may do what I wdll ; it will happen as God has foreseen. I go, therefore, to take a prom- enade, and your dinner w^ill prepare itself as it may." ^ ,' Or if one of your children were to say, " My, ■L dear papa, God has foreseen from all eternity 146 SHORT AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS whether I shall work to-day or play the truant. Do what I will, I cannot change my destmy ; so I will go and ainuse myself, instead of read- ing and writing." I think you would not be puzzled to reply to. tliem, and especially to bring them to reason. What you would reply to your wife and child, I will now reply to you. The prescience of God does not destroy our liberty. And although our feeble reason can- not thoroughly solve this great mysteiy^ it still knows enough about it to be certain of its truth. 1. First, we have all an inward conviction, in spite of all arguments, all sophistries, that we are free in all our resolutions. I feel in writing these lines that it depends on my will, to place one word here instead of another, to continue or break oif my work, &c. You v/ho are reading, you feel, and nothing can convince you to the contrary, that it de- pends on yourself whether to read this book or close it, to sing or to be silent, to rise or re- main seated, &c. — You and I, theii, are free, agents. 2. In the second place, is it as difficult, really, as it appears, to reconcile our moral liberty with tlie prescience of God ? I do not think it is, and I only see iu it ci question of words. TO OBJECTIO:tirS AGAINST KELIGIOIS^ 147 We measure God by our own standard, we speak of Him as of ourselves. We invest Him in our minds with our weaknesses ; and thereby create for ourselves chimerical diffi- culties. There is not, to say truth, any prescience in God. Prescience oy foresirjlit is to see heforeJiandy to see ichcd to ill one day happen. To foresee is to suppose a future, not yet arrived. Now there is neither /l^^i^re nor succession of time with God, but an eternal and immutable pres- cut. The past and future exist only for finite beings subject to change. We, human crea- tures, foresee; but that is just one of the im- perfections of our being. God, the perfect being, sees, He does not foresee. He sees us ac^t. Now I never heard of any one saying, that the actual knowledge that God possesses of our actions w^as in any way a re- straint on our liberty. Yery well, my friend, God has no other but that. This appears to me very simple, very easy to comprehend. There now only remains the mystery of God's eternity and immutability, or rather, the mystery of His existence. But who would ever be mad enough to say, I re- fuse to believe in God, because I cannot com- prehend the INFINITE ? Use, then, your liberty^ under the eye of a merciful God, who will ren- der to every man according to his works. \ 148 SHOET AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS XXXII. IT IS NOT WHAT GOES INTO THE MOUTH THAT DEFILES THE SOUL. GOD WILL NEVER DAMN ME FOR A MORSEL OF MEAT. MEAT IS NO WORSE ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS THAN ON OTHER DAYS."^ Answer. Yoii are quite right : it is not the meat which would condemn you ; meat is as harmless one day as another. What does con- demn you is disobedience, Avhich is the cause of your eating meat on those days. What is not harmless on Friday and Satur- day, is the violation of a law which does not exist for other days ; it is the revolt against the legitimate authority of those pastors whom we onght to obey as representing him who sends them ; '' Go, I send you forth. He who hear- eth 3^ou heareth me; he who despiseth you despiseth me." It is not, then, a question of any particular food or day, or of the palate ; but of the sin incurred by refusing to obey a law at once obligatory and easy to keep. Besides the great and general motive for observing all the laws of the Church, we may further urge that these laws are uot made at * III France there is not a dispensation, as with us, for eating- meat on Saturday. TO OBJECTIONS AGAIiiTST RELIGIO:^'. 149 random, or through caprice; they are based on solid and important reasons. Thus the law of abstinence, the application of: which occurs every week, is designed to recall incessantly to the Christianas recollection the Passion, sufferings, and death of the Sa- viour, as well as the necessity of doing pen- ance; ic is the public practice of penance among Christians, &c. l^one biit the ignorant and superficial can regard this institution as useless. It is incred- ible how efficacious in practice is this simple observanca of abstinence on Fridays and Sat- urdays, in retaining the soul within the sacred influence of reli2:iou3 ideas. The laws of the Church, although binding on pain of sin, are far from being harsh or tyrannical. The Church is a Mother, not an imperious mistress. It is quite sufficient that serious and legitimate reasons prevent your observing abstinence, to insure its dispensation in your case. The Church desires to do you good, not to do you harm. She desires to make you expiate your sins, not to mate you in. Illness, weakness of constitution, the fa- tigues of constant hard labor, extreme poverty, great difficulty in procuring abstinence fare ; such are the reasons which dispense with this law. To avoid any mistake, however, it is better to consult beforehand your parish priest or 150 SHOET AND FAMILIAR ANSWERS confessor, who are the proper interpreters of the law. This observation, which extends to all the laws of the Church, shows how^ Avise and mod- erate is the authority which enacts them. Let us, then, respect this authority from the bot- tom of our hearts ; let us leave those to laugh who know nothing about it, while we fuliil, without murmuring, commandments so simple, so judicious, and so profitable for our souls. XXXIII. GOD HAS NO NEED OF IVIY PRAYEIiS. HE KNOWS MY WANTS WriHOUT MY TELLING- THEM TO HIM. Answer. Undoubtedly He knows them ; but you would be very wrong if you were to conclude from that that you could dispense with prayer. God has no need of your prayers, it is true. Your prayers and homage in no way change His eternal beatitude. But He exacts from you this homage, this adoration, these thanks- givings, these prayers ; because you. His crea- ture and His cliild, owe Him these things. To your thought, of which He is the author, He has a right ; He desires that you should direct that thought to Him ; and that heart TO OBJECTIONS AGAINST RELIGION. 151 which He has also given yon, He has a right to its love, and He desires that, by love, you freely bestow it upon Him. God knows all your wants. That is also perfectly true. It is not to make them known to llim, that you must acknowledge them to Him. It is that you may not lose sight of yoar utter helplessness without His succor ; it h that you may ever keep in mind your de- pendence on Him. It iQ for your sake that He has commanded you to pray, not for liimself. He ivills that you should pray, first, because it is right and just that you should adore your God, that you should think of that Baing who ever thinks of you, that you should love Him who is the Su- preme Good and your great benefactor ; and finally, because it is good, profitable, and abso- lutely needful for you to pray. What can be more sublime, what more sim- ple, more easy, than prayer ! It is the noblest occupation of man in this world ; it is that which ennobles, exalts, and renders worthy of a reasonable being, all our other occupations. It is human thought applied to its most worthy object, to God. . It is the heart uniting itself to a God of in- finite goodness, of infinite perfection, of infinite love, who can alone fully satisfy it. It is the child speaking to bia beloved father. 152 SHOET AKD FAMILIAR ANSWERS It is the friend holding familiar conveisc witli his friend. It is the pardoned criminal tenderly thanking his Saviour, the weak and infirm sinner pray- ino; for meix!y to that God who has said, "' I will never reject him that cometh to me." Prayer is our consolation in all our troubles. It is that treasure of inward happiness, wliicli nothing can take away from us. For prayer is in us; it is ourselves, I may say: because it is ourselves thinking of God and loving God. It is the same with prayer as with the love of God, It is a thing so sweet and consoling, that God, in imposing this obligation on us, lias only commanded us to be happy. Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to render us happy by rendering us good, recommends to us nothing so much as prayer : '' Pray without ceasing,^' said he, '' and do not weary." That is, accustom your soul to think of God, and to love Ilim above all things. Prayer is the very foundation of the Christian life. Pray, and with earnestness ; not merely with vour lips, but from the bottom of your heart, l^e faithful in rendering to God your lilial, honiao-e at the beo-inniuii: and at the close of the day.'^ Pray in your troubles ; pray in your * " Expect notliiiiir," said St. Vincent de Paul one day, ** of a man who docvs not say liis prayers morning and TO 0BJECTI0:N^S against KELIGIOX. 153 dangers ; pray in your temptations. Pray after your faults and tails, to obtain their pardon. Pray in all the principal circumstances of your Mingle your daily actions with prayer. Thus accompanied, nothing is insignificant before God ; nothing is lost for Paradise. You will be pure and good, if you have constant re- course to prayer. Your heart will be at peace. In the midst of the sorrows of this life, you will have that internal iov which alleviates their bitterness; and when the time of your probation is at an end, you will reap a hundred- fold the fruit of your faithfulness. XXXIY. I PRAY, AKD DO KOT OBTAIN WHAT I ASK FOR- ONLY LOSE IMY TIME. Answer. Did St. Monica, the mother of 8t. Augustine, lose her time, when, during sixteen years of prayers and tears, she sought of God what she at last obtained — the conversion of her son ? Did St. Francis of Sales lose his time when he labored during twenty-two years to attain meekness of heart ? Perseverance is one of the chief qualities of prayer. Let us never weary of praying ! God often 154 SHOKT AXD FAMILIAll ANSWERS seems to be deaf that we may cry to TTim more loudly and more frequently. He seems to liide from us in order that we may feel His absence more sensibly, and appreciate better the sweet- ness of His presence. Let us recall the promise of our Divine Master. '' Seek^ a^d you shall find." We shall find, we are assured that we shall find. But we are not assured that we shall find im- medialehf, St. Monica, that woman full of faith and perseverance, only found her desire after the lapse of sixteen years, and it is her unshaken constancv which sanctified her. Tlie Oanaanite woman in the Gospel obtained her child's life after asking three times, and this delay, so painful to the heart of a mother, was the trial and the triumph of her faith .... Let \\^^ then, never be weary. In the very hour, perhaps, when our courage forsook us, (xod was at hand to help us ! The very moment in which we lost courage was, perhaps, when God was just about to come to our aid. XXXV. WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO OFFEND GOD THAT HE SHOULD SEND ME SO MUCH TROUBLE? Answer. ''Man of little fixith," who un- derstandest not the secrets of God ! When He TO OBJECTIONS AGAI^'ST RELIGION. 155 visits you with suffering, never, I beseech you, propose to llim that dreadful question, '' Vv^liat have I done to offend you, that I should thus suffer?" It is very sddom that He could not replv to you, by spreading out before your terrified eyes, a*" long and' frightful list of sins, which your religious indifference veils from your ob- servation^ and the eternal pains of hell wliich these sins have merited a hundred times over ! He might always reply to yon by recalling to your recollection the terrible flames of pur- gatory, by reminding you that none are holy in His sight, and that the mitigated pains of this present life are very trivial in comparison with the expiation that is to comie. He might ahcays reply by showing to you the Paradise where He now dwells, the manger at Bethlehem, the cross ; an.d by telling you that your journey through tliis world is but a passing condition of trial ; that He has given to you the example of patience, so that by the holy use of suffering, you may sanctify your soul, and accumulate on your head a gi^eat am