YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE
COLLEGE OF MISSIONS LIBRARY
at the
YALE DIVINITY SCHOOL

Paganism

IN THE

Papal Church

BY
W. J. W I L K I N S
LATE OF CALCUTTA
Author of " Hindu Mythology," " Modern Hinduism,'' etc.

LONDON
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO.,*Lim
1901

Preface.
The striking resemblance between the
religious practices of Hinduism and those
of the Roman Catholic Church cannot fail
to be noticed by those familiar with the
two systems. Intelligent Hindus affirm
that there is little to distinguish them.
On one occasion, after addressing a Hindu
audience, one of my hearers said that only
a little time before, he entered a church
and saw a vessel of holy water which was
used for washing away sin, an image of a
goddess before which the people were
bowing in worship, and people confessing
to a priest, hoping to obtain pardon for
their sins. He asked me wherein all this
differed from bathing in the Ganges,
worshipping the goddess Durga, and seek
ing salvation from a guru or confessor. I
had to admit that in principle there was
little difference between the heathen and

iv Preface
the Christian practice. In course of time
other ceremonies common to the two
systems were noticed, and the present
work is the result. It has been written in
the hope that some who read it may see
that in departing from the simplicity of
scriptural practice they are moving towards
the old paganism which the Church only
partially overcame. W. J. WILKINS.

CONTENTS

Chap. Page.
I. Introductory, - 9
II. Authority in Faith and Practice, 19
III. Salvation, 39
IV. Good Works and Indulgences, - 55
V. Purgatory, 76
VI. Holy Water, - 92
VII. Transubstantiation and the Mass, ioi
VIII. The Father Forgotten ; the Saints
Adored, 121
IX. Mariolatry, 139
X. The Worship of Images, 153
XI. The Veneration of Relics, 170
XI I. Pilgrims and Shrines, - 183
XIII. Religious Festivals, - 195
XIV. Celibacy and Sainthood, 218
XV. Rosaries and Repetition of Prayers, - 229
XVI. Charms in Pagan and Papal Rome, 236

INDEX.

Absolution, of the dead, 44.
,, Gradual growth of the doc
trine of priestly, 49.
,, Origin of, 50.
Agni, Hymn to, 90.
Authority in faith and practice, 19.
B.
Baptismal Regeneration, 42, 96.
Beads, Telling their, 232.
Bible, The, a Sealed Book, 23.
„ Hindrances to the circulation of, 32.
,, Other books substituted for, 33.
,, Early opinion concerning the use
of, 34-
Commendation of by Popes, 34. _
„ Quesnel's propositions concerning
the reading of, 36.
Erasmus' teaching concerning, 36.
C.
Celibacy, sanctity of, 219.
,, ,, ,, in India, 221.
,, ,, ,, in Buddhism, 222.
,, Praise of, 222 ff.
„ Modern examples of, 226.
,, Old Pagan practice of, 228.
Charms, Use of, 237.
,, ,, in China, 238.
,, ,, ,, India, 238.
,, Benefits of, 239.
„ Various objects used as, 240 ff.
„ Origin of, 245.
Confirmation, 42.
Confessors, Influence of, 43, 74.
Confessional, Origin of the, 47.
Conversion of Europe, The, rapid but not
real, 10.
Corruptions^ gradual growth of, 13.
Creed, a dying man's, 29.
Creed of Pope Pius IV., 26.
D.
Dispensations, a form of indulgence, 69.
Du Choul, quoted, 15.
Durga, two forms of, 170.
E.
Edict of Nantes, The Revocation of, how
obtained, 74.
Extreme Unction, 45> 5°*

F.
Father, The, forgotten, 120.
Festivals; Christmas, 197.
Easter, 201.
Corpus Christi, 202.
Invention and Exaltation of
the Cross, 204.
of the Virgin, 205.
of the Saints, 210.
of St. John, 212.
of St. George 215.
of All Souls, 216.
G.
Gibbon, quoted, 11.
Gregory Xlll., commendation of Bible
study, 34.
Good Works and Indulgences, 53.
H.
Hinduism, Reservation of the sacred
books of, 20.
Hobart Seymour, quoted, 16.
Holy Water, The use of, 93.
,, ,, ,, ,, contrary to Scrip
ture, 95, 97.
„ , , Effective in regeneration, 96.
,, „ Pagan practices copied in
its consecration, 99.
,, „ Hindu use of, 100.
I.
Images, Worship of, 154.
,, Hindu use of, 154.
,, Origin of worship of, 157.
, , Supreme worship to be given
to, 160.
, , Denunciation of the worship of,
160.
„ Greater efficacy of special, 162.
,, Ceremonies connected with the
worship of, 163 ff.
Indulgences, 53.
„ Whence merit to purchase
them is obtained, 62.
, , Origin of the use of, 63.
„ Authority in Creed, 65.
„ Discussion concerning in
Council of Trent, 65.
„ Doctrine formulated, 68.
,, Origin of, 72.
„ Sale of, byTetzel, 188.

Vlll

Index

j.
Japan, Changes in religions of, 17.
L.
Laity, The, have no authority in religious
matters, 20.
Lourdes, The Shrine of, 191.
M.
Madonna, The black, 169.
Manning's, Cardinal, account of Romish
,, traditions, 28.
,, Relics of St. Charles, 171.
Mariolatry, Origin of, 140, 151.
,, Teaching of Council of
Trent, concerning, 141.
, , Dr. Newman s defence of, 142.
,, Development of, 152.
Mary, The Virgin, Hymns addressed to,
144 ff.
,, Stories leading to the worship
of, 148.
,, Power of, in saving sinners,
150-
Martyrs, Worship at the tombs of, 171.
Masses for the dead, 46, 78.
Mediaeval Church, The, Characteristics
of, 10 ff.
Merit, in Papal Church, 53.
„ Various views concerning, 56.
,, Teaching of Council of Trent
concerning 58.
Milman, quoted, 127.
Miracles, Explanation of the cessation
of, 172.
Miracle working images, 168.
N.
Noah, Prayer to, 131.
Newman, Cardinal, quoted, 143.
P.
Pagan, Meaning of the term, 129.
,, Origin of Christian practices ad
mitted, 14, 98.
Picart, quoted, 15.
Pius IV., Creed of, 26.
Praying machines, Buddhist, 235.
Purgatory, as taught in Creed, 76.
, , Contradictory teaching con
cerning, 82.
,, of St. Patrick, description of
84.
,, Buddhistic teaching concern
ing, 15.
„ Origin of the idea of, 88.
Q-
Quesnel's propositions concerning Bible
reading, 36. R.
Regeneration, Hindu idea of, 97.
Relics, Veneration of, 171.
„ Necessity of providing, for
churches, 172.

Relics, Eulogies on, 174.
,, of Old Testament Saints, 177.
,, of the Saviour, 177.
,, of the Virgin Mary, 178.
„ of various saints, 178 ff.
,, in heathenism, 181.
Reservation of truth, 26.
,, Reason for this practice, 37,
Rosaries, The use of, 230.
,, Origin of this practice, 233.
,, Buddhist use of, 235.
S.
Saints, adoration of, 122, 134.
,, Papal teaching concerning, 124.
„ Uselessness of praying to, 126.
,, Why worshipped, 128, 137.
,, Canonisation of, 130.
,, Hymns to, and legends concern
ing, 136.
Salvation, way of, as taught in Scripture,
„ jno certainty concerning, 40.
,, Hindu teaching, 40.
Shrines, 184.
,, Hindu, 185.
,, For deliverance from sin, i8g.
,, For recovery from sickness, 191.
,, For benefit of souls in Purgatory,
192.
,, Old pagan, continued under
,, Christian names, 194.
Sin, Distinction between mortal and
venial, 77.
Staveley, quoted, 81. T.
Talbot Mgr., quoted, 19.
Tetzel, the seller of Indulgences, 188.
Tradition, an authority in doctrines, 26 ff.
„ contradictory teaching of, 31.
Transubstantiation, 102.
,, as taught in Creed, 103
,, recent development,
105.
,, Various opinions con
cerning, 109.
,, Apologies for the doc
trine of, 116.
,, Analogy in Hinduism,
119.
», Objections to, 120.
Trent, Council of, 26, 40, 106,
Treves, Shrine of, 190.
Tylor, quoted, 129, 211; V.
Virgil quoted, 89.
Virgin, Piosary of the Blessed, 234.
W.
Worship, Three grades of, 124.
Wycliffe, Persecution of, 25.
X.
Ximenes, quoted, 23.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
In these days, when a determined effort is made
to undo the work of the Reformation and to
lead back the people to the faith and practice
of mediaeval times, it is our duty to examine
the character of that ideal age. If our fathers
were guilty in separating themselves from the
Church of Rome, which claims to be " the one
true Church," we must be equally guilty in
continuing separate from her communion. But
if they were right in denouncing the anti-
Christian teaching and practices which that
Church authoritatively taught, we should be
guilty if we did not oppose it. For, since
the Reformation, if there has been any change
in Rome's doctrines it has been in a still farther
departure from the simplicity of the gospel.
A careful examination of the ideal age of the
Church, protesting against which has been de-
i

IO PAGANISM

scribed as " a huge mistake " will show that it
was not original where it differed from the faith
of apostolic times. It had come to be what it
was, not by a better understanding of the
scriptures, and by a true developement of what
was common in the early days of the Church.
Without doubt it was a return to what was
universal in the Roman world before Christianity
became the religion of the Empire. If the
original of much of its teaching and ceremony
be sought it will be found in the paganism which
to outward appearance it had supplanted. The
conversion of the nations of Europe was super
ficial rather ihan radical. Heathenism was
suppressed by imperial commands. Princes
were baptized and their ignorant subjects fol
lowed their example; but unfortunately there
was little opportunity of systematic instruction
in Christian truth. The result was that most
of the converts retained their old faiths ; and
the leaders of the Church made the way from
heathenism to Christianity easy, by arranging
their worship so as to make it scarcely distinguish
able from that with which the people were
familiar. "The ruin of paganism, in the age of

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS II
Theodosius, is, perhaps, the only example of the
total extirpation of any ancient and popular
superstition. The imperial laws which prohibited
the sacrifices and ceremonies of paganism were
rigidly executed and every hour contributed to de
stroy a religion, which was supported by custom
rather than by argument. The generation which
arose in the world after the promulgation of
the imperial laws [forbidding the old idolatry]
was attracted within the pale of the Catholic
Church ; and so rapid, yet so gentle, was the fall
of paganism, that only twenty-eight years after
the death of Theodosius, the faint and minute
vestiges were no longer visible to the eye of the
legislator." x But, though the old religion had
nominally disappeared, in the same chapter
the historian gives a picture of what was going
on in the Christian Church, and affirms that
if a saint of a previous century had risen from
the dead and witnessed the ceremonies he would
have been indignant at the heathen practices
then common.
Facts abundantly confirm the historian's words.
Some of the beautiful temples of the old gods
i Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chap, xxviii.

12 PAGANISM

were ruthlessly destroyed by zealous partisans;
but others, without much change, were converted
into churches. Some of the universally honoured
images were broken to pieces ; others were
retained as representatives of the Virgin Mary
or some great -Saint Popes sometimes con
demned this practice, but the superstitions of
ignorant people were too strong to be resisted.
One of our own Saxon kings insisted on having
an altar on which sacrifices were offered to the
devil in the same building in which God was
worshipped. The vessel of holy water, which
of old had stood at the entrance of the temples,
in which the worshippers could wash away
ceremonial defilement, remained in its place
to be used by Christians in a similar manner.
Certain days sacred to some of the lesser gods
of paganism, became associated with Christian
Saints, and similar ceremonies were performed
at their festivals. By the introduction of the
confessional, the priests, professing to have the
power to absolve or condemn, secured a firm
hold upon the people, just as their predecessors
had who initiated members into the mysteries
of heathen deities. Shrines, where special boons
could be obtained, soon became common, and

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS I 3
marvellous stories were circulated to induce
pilgrims to visit them. The doctrine of purga
tory, a place where departed spirits were held
in misery until their surviving friends secured
their release by costly ceremonies, was in perfect
harmony with what had been taught in pagan
times. In fact there was scarcely a superstition
or practice of the old system, that did not sooner
or later find its way into the Christian Church.
The great evils which the Reformation sought
to eradicate were not introduced in the di
mensions they had by that time attained. At
first the departure from primitive practice was
slight and apparently harmless. In innocence
and good faith some leader^took a single step
on a diverging road, scarcely noticing the diver
gence. Others, endowed with clearer vision and
truer insight, saw, deplored, and condemned the
innovations. Unfortunately their warnings were
unheeded. And, in the course of centuries, the
path which at first seemed almost parallel to
that by which the Master walked, was seen to
lead away from the desired goal. It cannot
therefore be too clearly stated that for Protestants
to go back to the faiths and practices of the
Mediaeval Church, is a return, not to a purer, but

14 PAGANISM

to a debased form of the Christian religion ; to
the paganism of Rome rather than to the teaching
of Jesus Christ and His apostles. It is the
object of this book to show how the old
heathenism of Rome was quietly adopted and
adapted by the leaders of the Christian Church.
In tracing the corruptions of the Church to
the heathenism it nominally overcame, one
appears to be an enemy attacking his brethren.
But this is not the case. It is not the charge of
an opponent more than the boast of the leaders
of the Roman Catholic Church that they adopted
much of the heathenism they were professedly
attempting to overthrow. They acknowledge
and glory in the fact. In their judgment it is a
modern illustration of spoiling the Egyptians.
Unfortunately, by this process the Church was
paganised, rather than the nations Christianized.
As a specimen of the way in which authorities in
the Roman Catholic Church have written on
this subject, the following may be given. " If
we closely investigate the subject we shall per
ceive that many institutions of our religion have
been taken and translated from Egyptian and
heathen ceremonies. Of this kind are tunics and
surplices, the crowns made by our priests, their

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS I 5
bowings around the altar, sacrificial pomp, the
music of the temple, adorations, prayers and
supplications, processions and litanies. These
and many other things which the folly and
superstitious ignorance of the heathen refer to
their gods and deified men, our priests adopt in
our mysteries, and refer to the one sole God,
Jesus Christ."1 " In order to win the Pagans to
Christ, instead of Pagan watchings and com
memorations of their gods, the Christians re
joiced in vigils and anniversaries of their
martyrs ; and, to show that they had regard
to the public prosperity, in place of those, feasts
in which the heathen were wont to supplicate
the gods for the welfare of their country, they
introduced rogations, litanies and processions
made with naked feet, invoking Christ instead
of Jupiter ; and this is the reason why our fetes
and ceremonies have generally a pagan origin." 2
In another passage Picart declares that "this
mode of acting was not intended to paganize,
but wisely ? to countermine paganism, and, as a
compromise, to parry the reproaches that the
2Du Choul, quoted in Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 10.
2 Picart in do., p. 26

PAGANISM

Pagans made against the Christians." In his
instructions to his missionaries in the sixth
century, proving conclusively that by that time
the evil was well nigh done, and that fami
liarity with Pagan practices had made Christian
teachers tolerant of them, Pope Gregory told
them to meet the heathen half-way, and thus
make their conversion easy. Hobart Seymour,
in his " Pilgrimage to Rome," says : "In every
land Romanists are usually indignant when it
is said that their ceremonies were originally
heathen. In Italy, on the other hand, that
origin is claimed for them, as a proof of the
wisdom of a Church which has converted a
heathen people, and their heathen customs, into
a Christian people, and Christian ceremonies."
With statements such as these before us, from
accredited teachers of the Roman Church, we
may indicate the origin of what we consider
worthy of condemnation without violating the
law of charity.
The history of the Church shows conclusively
that the practice of adopting pagan customs
that are not in complete harmony with the
teaching of its Head, however good the inten
tion, has been fruitful of the gravest evil. The

"INTRODUCTORY REMARKS I?
learned few may be able to separate them from
their former connexion, the ignorant many
cannot. However helpful a practice may seem
to be, if it is opposed to the precepts of our
divine Master it should be avoided. Possibly if
those who innocently introduced innovations
could see to what their conduct led they would
cry out loudly in condemnation of them. When
Satan offered to the Saviour the dominion of
the world on condition that He would fall down
and worship him, the answer was " Get thee
behind me, Satan." How different would have
been the history of the Church if His followers
had always acted in a similar spirit.
Many in the Roman Catholic Church are
better than their creed. Though we differ from
them on many most important matters, we
agree on more. Take up any good collection of
hymns, and it will be seen how many of the
choicest compositions have been written by
members of that Church. There is nothing to
indicate their theological position. It is the
measure of truth in its teaching that has saved
it, for some of its errors are great indeed.
In the religious history of Japan we find a
striking analogy to what occurred in Europe

1 8 PAGANISM (
When Buddhist missionaries reached Japan
they found the people devoted to an elaborate
system of Nature worship. the__sun_ being the
Supreme. The missionaries wishing to conciliate
the people assured them that the Buddha whom
they preached and the sun and other deities
were the same. They told them to add Buddha
to their other objects of worship, and perform
additional rites which they would teach, and
their happiness would be assured. In time the
work of their new teachers was successful, and
the people, influenced by their rulers, openly
accepted the Buddhist faith. But what is the
result ? The two systems are in force ; and the
professed followers of Gautama Buddha, who,
concerning the existence of God, was a con
sistent agnostic, continue to worship the gods of
their fathers. The temples of the two religions
are often side by side, and the people readily
perform the ceremonies of both, though in many
respects they are diametrically opposed.
In the following chapters, illustrations will be
given of pagan beliefs and practices still common
in the Christian Church.

CHAPTER II
AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE
WHERE there is the belief in a revelation of
God, the book in which it is contained, one
would imagine, would be universally accepted
as the authoritative standard in all matters of
which it treats ; and that every proper means
would be employed to bring it within reach of,
and make it intelligible to the people. By the
Protestant it is accepted as an axiom that the
Bible, given by divine inspiration, ought to be
read by all, and its lessons implicitly obeyed.
But this doctrine is not regarded as axiomatic
by the Romanist. He says that the Church is
to define the doctrine, and regulate the practice.
In a letter written from the Vatican by Mgr.
Talbot to the late Cardinal Manning this is very
tersely put. " What is the province of the laity ?
To hunt, to shoot, to entertain. These matters
they understand ; but to meddle with ecclesias-

20 PAGANISM

tical matters they have no right at all." x It is
the work of the Church, i.e., the Priests, with the
Pope as the head, to read and interpret the
Word of God ; to add to, to desregard its
plainest teaching : it is the duty of those outside
the priesthood to accept their statements and
leave the Bible alone. A privileged class has
usurped and retained possession of one of the
most blessed privileges of the Christian.
Before considering at length the teaching of
the Church of Rome on this important question
it will be interesting to notice a very striking
analogy in modern Hinduism. Many pagan
systems have a similar rule.
Amongst the many ways of salvation which
Hinduism provides, there is one vastly superior
to the rest, called the way of knowledge. Other
ways lead to heaven, a place where there is a
temporary state of happiness, this to the supreme
good, absorption into the divine. This superior
way is through the knowledge of the Vedas, the
oldest, and most highly valued of their many
inspired books. These books are " reserved " for
the members of the highest caste, and it is
1 Life of Cardinal Manning, ii. 318.

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 21
affirmed to be a deadly sin for one of this
privileged class to read them to, or for one of the
lower caste to hear them. This knowledge is
said to confer such power upon its possessors
that even the gods are obliged to do their
bidding. If therefore the non-privileged classes
desire a boon it is natural that they should seek
the powerful intercession of their more favoured
brethren, and be ready to pay a good price to
secure it.
But as the common people wanted inspired
books, others are specially prepared for them.
These have been written with a purpose. In the
older, and carefully " reserved " works, the caste
distinctions declared to be of divine appointment,
have no place. In those earlier days, the heads
of families are instructed to offer gifts and sacri
fices. No mention is made of a privileged class
of priests, possessing the exclusive right of
approaching the gods. These books, now care
fully guarded from the common people, were the
property of all. In the course of centuries great
changes in the life of the people gradually came
about. The privilege of directly approaching
the gods was withdrawn from the low caste
people and made the function of the priestly

22 PAGANISM

caste. As these changes are opposed to the
spirit and letter of the older books, a text was
inserted in them prohibiting their use to any
but the members of the highest caste. And in
the more modern books which have been pro
vided for the people generally, marvellous stories
are found to lead the people to pay honour to
the Brahmans, only, if at all, inferior to that
which is given to the gods. To put this Hindu
practice into the terms of Christianity ; the
Brahmans have " reserved " the Vedas as unsuit
able for the masses, pleading divine sanction for
them ; and have prepared a series of works
better suited to meet their wants. On compar
ing the two classes of literature it is evident that
this has been done to extract the homage of
those who have been defrauded, and to make
them believe that those who have defrauded
them can exert peculiar influence over their
deities. Were the older books read by the
people generally it would be impossible to har
monize recent practice with ancient precept.
In principle, there is little difference between
Hinduism and Roman Catholicism in this
important matter. Where the Romish Church
is free to carry out her plans, uninfluenced by

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 23
an enlightened public opinion, the Bible is a
sealed book ; and in communities where there
is no distinct order forbidding its use, no effort
is made to put it within reach of her members.
Where it has been translated into the common
language, the priests have rather discouraged
than encouraged their people to read it.
Ximenes, Prime Minister of Spain, in the reign
of Ferdinand and Isabella expressed the common
faith of his order. When the Moors were
conquered, and the choice was offered them of
embracing Christianity, or suffering death or
banishment, a considerable number offered them
selves for baptism. A proposal was made that
as Arabic was the only language which they
could read, a copy of the New Testament should
be given to each in that tongue in order that
they might learn something of Christian
doctrine. To this he objected that it was
" casting pearls before swine," to give the Scrip
tures to those who were so recently converted.
Nor would he consent for the Spaniards born in
Christian homes to have them in their own
language. " Catechisms, solid and simple ex
planations of Christian doctrine, and other
writings calculated to enlighten the minds of the

24 PAGANISM

people he was willing to have circulated. The
word of God should be wrapped in discreet
mysteries from the vulgar, who feel little rever
ence for what is plain and obvious. The Scrip
tures should be confined to the three ancient
languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin) which
God with mystic import permitted to be in
scribed over the head of His crucified Son ; and
the vernacular should be reserved for such
devotional and moral treatises as holy men indite
in order to quicken the soul, and turn it from the
pursuit of worldly vanities to heavenly con
templation." J A Spanish Archbishop, when
charging his clergy was still more explicit. He
instructed them to be most careful to keep the
Bible, when translated into a language they
could understand, out of the hands of their flocks
or it would be difficult to lead them to under
stand the reason of much that the Church
taught and commanded. We in England owe
to Wycliffe a debt of gratitude that we have the
word of God in our own tongue, and also freedom
to read it. But how was his work regarded by
his Church? His antagonist — Knighton — thus
1 Memories of Spanish Reformers, p ,32.

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 25
writes, — "Christ delivered His gospel to the
clergy and doctors of the Chnrch, that they
might administer to the laity and the weaker
persons, according to the state of the times, and
the wants of men. But this Master John
Wycliffe translated it out of Latin into the
tongue Anglican — not Angelic. Thus it became
of itself vulgar, more open to the laity, and to
women who could read, than it usually is to the
clergy, even the most learned and intelligent.
In this way the gospel-pearl is cast abroad and
trodden under foot of swine ; and that which
was before precious both to clergy and to laity,
is rendered, as it were, the common jest of both."
For this grand work of giving us the Bible in
our common tongue Wycliffe was regarded by
the professed servants of our Lord and exclusive
teachers of His truth, as " the Devil's instrument,
and the Church's enemy." And though whilst he
lived he was protected from the hatred of his
enemies, thirteen years after his death, by order
of the Pope, his body was exhumed, his bones
burnt, and the ashes thrown into the river Swift,
which flowed beside his rectory at Lutterworth.
The authorized teaching of Rome on this, as
on other questions, is found in the creed of Pope

26 PAGANISM

Pius IV. ; a creed that was based upon the
decisions of the Council of Trent. Owing to the
circulation of what was regarded as heretical
doctrine, this Council was called to define the
Church's teaching. And in reference to
authority in matters of doctrine, this is Rome's
utterance. " Art. I. I most firmly admit and
embrace the Apostolical and Ecclesiastical tradi
tions, and all other observations and constitutions
of the same Church. Art. II. I do admit the
Holy Scriptures in the same sense that Holy
Mother Church hath held and doth hold ; whose
business it is to judge of the true sense and
interpretation of them. Nor will I ever receive
or interpret them except according to the unani
mous consent of the Fathers." In these two
articles we have the position of the members of
the Roman Catholic Church definitely and
authoritatively determined ; they have to accept
the teaching which has found its way into the
Church by tradition, in addition to, and
of equal authority with the Bible ; and they
have to accept the interpretations of the Bible
which the Church, i.e. the clergy, have given.
It is these articles and the canons of which
they are the expression which have led to the

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 27
practical withdrawal of the Bible from the
people. Before this Council was called, and whilst its
meetings were being held, there were pious
priests and learned bishops who urged their
flocks to a careful study of the Word of God.
But the discussions occasioned by Luther's attack
on the Papacy led people to urge the Pope to
call a general council in which the questions in
dispute could be settled. There were some who
earnestly hoped that much needed reforms
might thus be effected. When the Council
assembled, unfortunately, the party of progress
failed to carry out their wishes ; the majority
voted for the articles as they stand. On this
question of authority in doctrine the more
astute saw that it was dangerous to place the
1 New Testament, with the right to read and in
terpret it, in the hands of the common people.
So first comes the article in which faith is ex
pressed in the immense body of traditions which
have come down from past centuries ; and then
the statement that the Scriptures shall be
accepted only in the sense in which the Church has
ever held them, and interpreted only in accord
ance with the unanimous consent of the Fathers.

28 PAGANISM

If ever an ocean was compressed into a teacup
it is in the first article of Pope Pius' creed. In
a short sentence acceptance is made of an
immense amount of doctrine which in the
longest life one would not be able even to read.
According to Cardinal Manning, the four terms
apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions, and
observations and constitutions of the Church,
"embrace every word which the Popes have
uttered in every age in the matter of doctrine,
rite or precept, whether in brief, bull, letter,
encyclical, or any other of the many forms which
the curialism of Rome has invented for the pro
mulgation of her ' ukases.' These of course are
supplemented, or rather preceded by the laws of
the Councils, general and provincial ; by tfie
decisions of various congregations, and by the
exactions of a daily and most minute legislation,
which may at any moment multiply them or
abrogate them — a mass of enactments exceeding
immeasurably the 'Statutes as large' with all
the reports of judges and books of precedents in
our own complicated system of laws. What
this really means may be partially realised when
it is known that the decrees of Councils fill fifty
folio volumes ; the Bulls extend to over sixty

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 29
similar books, whereas the published decisions
of the Congregation for the interpretation of the
Council of Trent and of Rites exceed both
together in number and perplexity." x
In view of this, one has some sympathy with
a story told in a pre-reformation book written
for the direction of the sick and dying, to illus
trate the utility of accepting the creed of the
Church wholesale. "The devil," it is said,
" interrogated a dying man on his faith in these
words, ' What do you believe ? ' to which he re
plied. ' I believe all that the Roman Church
believes.' Whereupon the interrogator rejoined,
' But what does the Roman Church believe ? ' to
which the dying man very prudently replied,
' all that I believe myself " 2
It must not be imagined that this article was
accepted without protest. Many emphatically
denied that the traditions of men were of equal
authority with the word of God. "There is a
a vast difference between scripture and tradition.
For the Holy Scripture is altogether indelible,
whereas many of the apostolic traditions are
^Romanism, by Rev. R. C. Jenkins, M. A. p. 56
"*Ibid, p. 54.

30 PAGANISM

variable, and -can be changed or taken away
according to the will of the Church." x Whilst
another boldly declared that it was vain to trust
in traditions when they possessed a full gospel in
a written form.
When the claim is made for the authority of
tradition, equal to that of the Scriptures, what is
really meant is this : — that the Holy Spirit who
inspired holy men to write the Scriptures, also
inspired others to interpret them. But an ex
amination of these " inspired " interpreters show
them to have been at variance on almost every
question. So that one may be quoted as worthy
of acceptance in some 'cases, and unworthy in
others. At the present time, the Pope professes
to speak with an infallible voice to determine
what the divine tradition is. As Protestants we
have the Bible, containing God's revelation, and
the Holy Spirit promised to every humble
seeker after truth ; the Romanist adds the
traditions of men, with the Pope as interpreter.
But when it is seen that in many cases these
traditions are opposed to the inspired Word of
God, we claim the right to reject them in
1 Bishop of Farlo, Romanism, p. 57.

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 3 1
favour of the teaching of our Lord and His
Apostles. The second article of the Creed is, if possible,
more effective still in closing the Bible to the
people. In this the believer admits the Holy
Scriptures "in the same sense as the Church hath
held and doth hold them," and promises " not
to interpret them except according to the un
animous consent of the Fathers." How can
people unacquainted with Hebrew, Greek, or Latin
know what is in the Scriptures unless trans
lations into the common languages are" made ?
How can they learn "the sense in which the
Church has held them ? " And seeing that in
different ages, and in distant places, most con
tradictory interpretations have been given, how
can they interpret them according to the un
animous consent of the Fathers? It is a life's work
to read what the Fathers have taught, and
absolutely impossible to harmonize their teach
ing. If all the passages on which the Fathers
have expressed contradictory opinions were cut
out of the Bible there would be little left. The
reading of the Scriptures, it is true, is not for
bidden : but this article has made intelligent
reading of them, impossible. It is not surpris-

32 PAGANISM

ing that most of the members of the Church of
Rome read other religious works in preference
to the book God has given.
In harmony with the spirit of this creed,
has been the practice of the Romish Church.
As far as possible, resistance has been offered to
the popular demand for the Bible in a known
language ; and at first translators and printers
had to work in secret as they were in danger of
death. Where the powers to persecute has
been taken out of the hands of the Church,
and the Bible has been put into circulation,
the priests exert their great influence to dis
courage the people from reading it. In Spain,
Italy, and other countries where the power of
the Pope is still great, the ignorance of the
teaching of God's word is profound and
universal. The efforts of the Bible Society and
similar institutions are openly anathematized,
and the books obtained through their agency
are demanded by the priests that they may be
destroyed. It seems as if there is a fear that if
the Bible were read, the people would learn that
the way to the Father is open to all, without the
intervention of the priest ; and that it would be
difficult to harmonize much that is taught and

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 33
done with precepts of Jesus Christ and His
Apostles. As in India, suitably written books are given
to those from whom the Vedas have been with
held, the Romish church has not been slack in
providing books for those from whom the Bibie
is withheld. What is their character? The
teaching, for the most part, is such as to lead
away the thoughts and devotion from a Father
infinite in mercy, goodness, love ; from a Saviour
whose compassion prompted Him to seek out
the suffering and the sinful, that He might save
and comfort, and lead the people to put their
trust in, and centre their affections upon the
Virgin Mary and a host of saints, in order to
secure their intercession with God. It is in these
books that the peculiar teaching of the Romish
Church is given ; that which finds its authority
in the traditions rather than in the Bible. A
study of these works will show clearly the
expediency of discouraging the circulation and
study of the word of God. Strange to say, the
Fathers are practically unanimous on this point :
that the Scriptures are the sole authority on
questions of doctrine ; they fully admit that
they themselves are fallible men.

34 PAGANISM

If the Holy Scriptures are divinely inspired,
is it not strange that they should be couched in
terms that the pious, though ignorant, readers
cannot understand them ? Early in the 4th
century, writing on this question Lactantius asks
" Is not God the Creator of the mind, and voice
and tongue able to speak clearly ? Undoubtedly
He is ; and by His divine providence He wills
that His divine truth should be devoid of all
disguise, that all might understand what was
spoken alike to all." History repeats itself.
Our Saviour condemned the practice of those
who in His day made the commandments of
God of none effect by their traditions. It seems
to be one of the greatest, perhaps the funda
mental error of Rome to refuse the Scriptures
to the people, or at any rate to put obstacles in
the way of those who would study them.
Occasionally Popes have highly commended
the study of the Scriptures. Thus Gregory XIII.
writing soon after the Council of Trent — in a
letter addressed to the King of France, which
was prefixed to the royal edition of the French
Bible, says, "every ground of our salvation and
happiness is contained in it, nothing can be more
excellent than the reading o these books

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 35
nothing more fruitful, nothing better adapted to
every race of mankind. In a similar sense
Pius VI., in his letter to Archbishop Martini
commending his well-known translation of the
Vulgate into Italian, writes : — " The Scriptures
are those abundant fountains which ought to be
open for all, in order that they may drink in
both holiness of life and doctrine," adding " and
you have done opportunely in putting forth in
our own tongue the divine letters, in order that
they may be within reach of all."1 And yet,
strange to say, a lady in the diocese of Arezzo
very soon after this letter was written, was
threatened with excommunication by her priest
for reading a portion of Scripture daily from
this very translation ! The prohibition, rather
than the politely written letter was more in
harmony with the principles and practice of the
Papacy when it is remembered that Clement XL,
in 171 3, solemnly condemned the following self
evident propositions as they seem to us, which
were propounded by Quesnel : —
" It is useful and necessary, at all times and
in all places, and for all kinds of persons to
1 Romanism, p. 8p,

36 PAGANISM

study the Scriptures, and to understand its
spirit, its piety, and its mysteries.
"The holy obscurity of the Word of God is
not a reason for any man to dispense with read
ing it.
" To take from the hands of Christians the
Holy Bible, or to close it to them by taking
away from them the means of its interpretation,
is to shut up from them the very mouth of
Christ. "To prohibit the reading of the Scriptures,
and particularly the Gospels, is to deny the use
of light to the children of light, and to make
them suffer a kind of excommunication." 1
Erasmus has put the , case perhaps as clearly
and forcibly as anyone since his time. " Let us
consider what kind of hearers Christ Himself
had. Were they not a promiscuous multitude,
among them the blind, the halt, beggars, publicans
centurions, workmen, and even boys ? If Christ
did not exclude them from hearing His voice,
neither will I exclude them from reading His
books. I would that they were translated into
every language. For Christ desired His holy

1 Romanism, p. 80.

AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE 37
philosophy to be propagated as widely as
possible. As He died for all, He wished to be
known by all." i
The idea of " reserving " knowledge from the
masses which may be given to a favoured few
was doubtless suggested by what were termed
"mysteries" in pagan worship. This hidden
doctrine was carefully concealed until a process
of initiation was effected ; and the initiated
were prevented by the administration of a dread
ful oath from divulging it to others. These
mysteries were connected with several deities,
and it was only after a somewhat lengthened
waiting, that the coveted knowledge was im
parted. In the early ages of the Church, as
long as the departure from apostolic teaching
was slight, the study of the Scriptures was not
forbidden ; but when the deviation was pro
nounced, the light of revelation was inconvenient.
The darkness was congenial when the Church's
deeds became evil. From the day the Bible
became dangerous, the declension of the Church
became rapid. For by the very necessity of
closing its sacred pages, confession was made
1 Romanism, p. 85.

38 „ PAGANISM

that human invention was trusted rather than
the revelation of God. In forbidding the people
to read it, the priests themselves closed their
eyes to the truth and judicial blindness followed
as a natural result.

CHAPTER III
SALVATION
In the all-important matter of salvation, ^ the
departure of the Church of Rome from the
simplicity of apostolic practice has been most
marked. The gaoler at Philippi furnishes a
typical illustration of what was common then.
In his distress he cried, "What must I do to
be saved ? " The answer was given in a single
sentence, " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."
The same night he and his household received
baptism, and was assured of his salvation, for
<' he rejoiced in God with all his house." There
was the earnest question of an inquirer, the
answer of an apostle, and the immediate enjoy
ment of the blessing sought. But now, alas, all
'this is changed. The obtaining of salvation,
once so simple, is a most complicated business
now. And when a man has followed the in
structions of a priest, he cannot be certain that

40 PAGANISM

he will enter heaven. The teaching of the
Council of Trent is clear on this : — " No man
can know with infallible assurance of faith, that
he has obtained the grace of God." Hence,
urged by fear of evil, those about to die have
given their goods, and after their death, their
surviving friends have impoverished themselves
in order to secure the help of priestly interces
sions on their behalf.
India furnishes us with an illustration of the
way in which an interested priesthood has made
the way of salvation difficult, and the result
uncertain after all. Duties are multiplied,
each in turn declared to be necessary ; and
though a life-time is spent in their discharge,
no assurance of salvation is given.
Every child is believed to be the direct gift
of a god : but this does not secure its well-
being. When only four days old another deity,
styled the Creator, must be approached with
gifts, in order that he may decree a life of
happiness, as its earthly career is then irrevoc
ably fixed. At twelve years of age a guru or
confessor is appointed, who undertakes the
responsibility of the child's religious welfare,
and selects one of the many deities, as the

SALVATION 41

special object of its worship. Henceforth the
closest ties bind preceptor and pupil. It is
considered less dangerous to offend a god than
a guru, because this man is able to open or close
the gate of heaven for his disciples. When the
youth grows up to manhood, and is burdened
with a sense of sin, he is advised to bathe at
Saugor Island, where holy river and sea meet ;
to visit Benares, the city specially sacred to the
great god ; to make a pilgrimage to Puri, the head
quarters of the worship of Jagannatha. Promises
are found in sacred books that those who per
form these ceremonies will find salvation. But
though the condition is fulfilled, the blessing
is not found.
Even when a man has done all, there is no
peace. Forit is taught that unless his descendants,
for generations, continue to authorize services on
his behalf, his spirit, even though in heaven, will
be in misery. If he be a special worshipper of
Siva, the great god, a sacred bull must be set
free to wander at will, damaging the growing
crops, or robbing shopkeepers of their grain.
At the funeral feasts, Brahmans and other castes
must be fed, that through their good offices, the
inhabitants of the spirit-world may welcome the
3

42 PAGANISM

new arrival. At wedding and other im
portant ceremonies, offerings must be made on
their behalf. If these be neglected a man's own
personal efforts will fail to ensure his salvation.
And in all these rites the assistance of the priest
is necessary. This is paganism outside the Church ; in
principle the practice of the Roman Catholic
Church does not greatly differ.
The first act necessary to salvation is Baptism.
By a decree of the Council of Trent it is affirmed
that " the Sacraments contain the grace which
they signify, and confer that grace itself upon all
who do not present a bar " or obstacle. Accord
ing to this, the reception of the grace depends
rather upon the priest conferring, than upon
the people receiving. Under certain circum
stances, the administration of Baptism is valid
if performed by one not in priest's orders ;
provided that it was done with "the intention
of doing what the Church does." But when,
a person from another communion joins that
of Rome, although already baptized, the rite
is again administered.
Next comes the Sacrament of Confirmation.
By this the "disciple is initiated into the mysteries

Salvation 43

of the Church, and comes under the influence
of the Confessor. The chain is now forged
which binds him to a fellow man, who professes
to have the power to forgive, or to refuse the
forgiveness of sin. In the confessional there
is not a voluntary recital of offences, and the
acceptance of what the priest considers an
appropriate penance, or punishment ; but a
searching inquiry is made concerning the most
sacred thoughts and desires. He who hears
this confession speaks with divine authority ;
hence his immense influence over the penitents.
Every means of bringing men into subjection
to a priest seems to be in use. Salvation is so
great a blessing ; hell-fire so dreadful a doom,
it is not surprising that people should live in
dread of those in whose hand such momentous
issues lie. The penance ordered, before absolu
tion is granted, is said to be a compensation for
the sin, as though the infinite mercy of God
were insufficient. " We properly satisfy for our
own sins, whilst Christ's satisfaction serves only
to make it valid ; " 1 a doctrine entirely opposed
to the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. He

1 Romanism, p. 101,

44 PAGANISM

taught that there was a full and free forgiveness
for the penitent soul ; His would-be exclusive
teachers affirm that, in the true sense of the
word, there is no pardon, seeing that every sinful
act must bring upon the sinner its appropriate
punishment. If penance is our equivalent for a
sin, where is forgiveness ?
The power of the priest to absolve has been
carried to its logical conclusion. If the living
can secure absolution, why not the dead ? So
when a man dies before the magical words " I
absolve thee," are spoken in the sacrament of
Extreme Unction, his friends can secure this
boon for him. The priest asks the assembled
friends if they wish the dead man to be absolved,
and on their request, addressing the corpse, he
says, " I absolve thee." 1 A case is cited of a
baron who died excommunicated. After his
death his case was reconsidered, as though he
still lived, and absolution duly pronounced ; and
Pope Urban IV., ordered the absolution of the
Emperor Henry to be declared after his death,
or his body could not have been laid in conse
crated ground.

Romanism, p. ioo.

SALVATION 45

But the uncertainty of salvation, when it is
made contingent upon the action of others, does
not end here. In order to secure a happy
entrance into heaven, the rite of Extreme
Unction must be administered. When death
seems near, this last solemn ceremony is con
sidered necessary. The body is anointed with
oil, professedly in accordance with the instruction
in the Epistle of St. James, although the anoint
ing there commended was to be employed as
a means of securing the recovery of the sick ;
and the consecrated wafer is placed upon his
tongue. Unless this is done, it is feared that
the dying man's salvation is imperilled. Here
again there is the necessity for the intervention
of the priest ; another obstacle is put in the
way of the soul's direct communion with God.
In principle this is exactly like the custom of
the Hindus in removing their dying friends to
the banks of a sacred stream, filling their lips
with holy water, and placing a few grains of
consecrated rice on their tongue.
And finally it is taught, that after death
masses must be said for the repose of the soul,
by which its sufferings in purgatory may be
shortened and lessened. This doctrine is taught

46 PAGANISM

with the greatest earnestness, and in very similar
terms to those employed by the pagans of India
and China. At certain seasons of the year most
impassioned addresses are delivered in the
Churches, appealing to the love of the wor
shippers for friends departed. The pains of
souls in the intermediate state are described in
the strongest terms, as a means of inducing the
living to arrange for masses on their behalf.
Children are urged to save their parents from
the pains of purgatory ; and where no one
specially dear may be in need, the general
benevolence of the people is appealed to on
behalf of those who may have no relatives
sufficiently interested to perform this service on
their behalf. It is distinctly taught that the
living can secure their own salvation ; but those
who have passed away are entirely dependent on
those still on earth. Did any one really believe
that the saying of a mass would save a soul from
the flames, what altar would be empty ? The
infallible Church has however limited the number
to be offered by any priest to three a day.
From what has been said it will be seen how
similar in principle is the paganism of the East
and West. In place of the simple apostolic

SALVATION 47

instruction " believe and be saved," an elaborate
series of ceremonies is enjoined, for the right
performance of which the repeated intervention
of a priest is necessary. Whence came the
additional services? Are they the natural de
velopment of the Master's and apostles' teaching?
Or have we here the adoption of what was in
vogue in the district where the recognised head
of the Church held his courts and issued his
commands ?
The origin of the confessional is distinctly
and undoubtedly pagan. The ceremony of
initiation into the Church, with confession to a
priest, was copied in almost every particular
from the initiation into the " mysteries " of the
gods of Greece and Rome. If further search be
made it will be found that the original home of
the practice was Babylon, where idolatry first
arose. It was there that men turned aside from
the worship of God, to adore the hosts of heaven,
andafterwards theproducts ot humanimagination.
And as at first this declension would have involved
suffering at the hands of the faithful, the greatest
secrecy was observed : — the doctrine and practice
were only gradually taught to those who were
considered suitable. By most stringent oaths,

48 PAGANISM

the new members were advanced from stage to
stage. There were outward and public rites to
which the general public were admitted, there
were also secret and carefully concealed doctrine
and practice with which the " initiated " only were
made familiar. And along with the objects of
worship, the peculiar ceremonies were carried
from Babylon to Egypt, Greece, and Rome. So
carefully kept were the secrets thus solemnly
communicated that there is very little certainly
known concerning them. For after a man for
sook these societies, through respect to his oath
or through fear of evil consequences from the
gods, or those with whom he had been formerly
associated, he would shrink from revealing what
he had learned.
But enough is known to show that this was
the model which was copied by the Christian
leaders. The priest who initiated the members
proposed certain questions to which answers
were made in a set form. These questions were
of a very personal character, not unlike those
in use in the Roman Catholic confessional
to-day. The main object of these searching
examinations was to make the priest familiar
with the secret life of the candidate, that he

SALVATION 49

might render him obedient to his will. " Their
silence, in regard to everything they were
commanded to keep secret, was secured both
by the fear of the penalties- threatened to a
perjured revelation, and by the general con
fession of the aspirant after initiation ; a con
fession which caused them greater dread of the
indiscretion of the priest, than gave him reason
to dread their indiscretion."1 Can there be
any doubt as to the original of the confessional ?
In its present form it is in principle identical
with the old pagan practice.
And with the confessional came the idea of
priestly absolution. The one who examined
the candidate and administered the oath,
decided whether he was to be admitted or
rejected ; or whether his admission was to be
deferred. As great benefit was hoped for by
the initiated, — they expected to be admitted into
a state of friendly relation with the god by this
process, — it can easily be understood that there
was a strong desire on the part of many to
secure this privilege. The power to admit or
reject gave the hierophant immense influence.
1 Potter's Greek Antiquities, vol. i, 356.

50 PAGANISM

So is it with the priest of the Romish Church.
He professes to have the power to bind or loose,
to open or close the gate of heaven.
The awful usurpation of the divine preroga
tive was not effected by a single effort. For
centuries the phraseology employed was in the
form of a prayer that God would absolve the
penitent. As late as the 1 3th century, William
of Auxerre, Bishop of Paris, and Cardinal
Hugo strongly denounced the new formula
in which the priest said, " I absolve thee," and
declared that even the apostles did not employ
such language. They affirmed that the innova
tion was not more than twenty years old.1
In the case of Extreme Unction the origin is
clearly traced. This important ceremony con
sists in the anointing of the body of the dying
person with oil, and the placing of the con
secrated host upon the tongue. The modern
pagan counterpart to the latter is seen in the
giving of Ganges water to dying Hindus ; the
river being regarded as a goddess, as the wafer
is declared to be part of the body and blood of
the Divine Saviour. When a person was about

^Romanism, p. 99.

SALVATION 5 1

to consult an oracle, i.e. to enter into the
presence of a god, it was customary to anoint
the body with oil. This custom arose from the
fact that an olive branch was a recognised
symbol of the Messiah or Mediator in the old
Babylonian system, and was carried from there
to Rome. By this anointing the intercession of
the Mediator was sought. The reference to the
Epistle of St. James was evidently an after
thought. The question of Purgatory will be
considered later on.
When considering the condition of those
trusting in Jesus Christ, the language of the
New Testament is clear and full : " There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who
are in Christ Jesus." Who can separate the
believer from his Saviour? The cruelty of
heathenism in the East, and of paganized
heathenism in the West, is seen in the way it
holds its adherent in perpetual doubt concerning
the future, in order that they may have recourse
to its nostrums, administered by its priests.
Rome's " grand object has always been to keep
the souls of its votaries away from direct and
immediate intercourse with a loving and merciful
Saviour, and to inspire a sense of the necessity

52 PAGANISM

of human mediation. Considering the preten
sions which it makes to absolute infalli
bility, and the supernatural powers which it
attributes to its priests in regard to regeneration,
and the forgiveness of sin, it might have been
supposed, as a matter of course, that all its
adherents would have been encouraged to rejoice
in the assurance of their personal salvation.
But the very contrary is the fact. Perpetual
doubt to his life's end is inculcated as a duty."1

1 The Two Baby Ions, p. 215

CHAPTER IV
GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES
As on the important subject of salvation there
is a marked departure from the simplicity of
Scripture, and the adoption of what was common
in paganism, the same process is evident when
we examine the answer given to the question,
" How can man be just before God ? "
The infallible Church teaches that the grace
received at Baptism imparts a special character
to a man's conduct ; that what was inherently
good becomes of still greater value through this
grace. The Holy Spirit leads to a life of faith
in and obedience to God, which in some cases
is equal to God's requirements, in others it may
be above or below that standard. When it is
above what is necessary for the salvation of the
individual, it is termed meritorious, and being
added to the merit inhering in the Virgin Mary,
and to the infinite merit of the Saviour's suffer-

54 PAGANISM

ings, forms a fund which can be drawn upon
for those who need it. From this inexhaustible
treasury, indulgences are granted, by which
punishments are remitted in this life, and the
pains of Purgatory modified.
The accumulation of " merit " is the aim of
many Hindus. At their shrines are saints, who,
by the endurance of intense physical pain,- are
endeavouring to acquire merit, which, they ad
mit, is not necessary to salvation. This can be
used for themselves or for others. According
to their belief, conduct is divided into two classes,
necessary and meritorious. Amongst the neces
sary duties are the observance of the rules
relating to their own caste, and abstinence from
certain articles of food. To disregard these
duties, a man brings upon himself exclusion
from the society of his fellow castemen here, a
more or less lengthy residence in hell, and the
re-appearance on earth in a lower caste than
that oLwhich he was a member in his present
life. In some of their religious books is a long
list of actions, with their appropriate penance
or punishment. And, on the other side, is a
list of "good works," which may be used in
liquidating the debts incurred according to the

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 55
list of offences. Amongst these are pilgrimages
to shrines ,- gifts to the gods without any ex
pectation of special benefit in return ; acts of
worship without the desire for personal gifts ;
the erection of temples, presents to Brahmans
and other similar deeds. By such works a man
may more than balance his sins, and the surplus
can be employed in lengthening his stay in
heaven, raising his position in his next earthly
life, and benefitting his ancestors and others
whose conduct fell short of what was necessary
to salvation.
In China a similar system is in vogue. There
the list of virtues and vices is drawn up more
elaborately. The virtue acquired in a given
year can be carried forward ; and the debt of
any year wiped out by extra deeds in the year
following. The merit can be expended on
securing the welfare here and hereafter of him
who obtains it, or be applied to others.
The similarity between this and what is com
mon in the Romish Church is very striking. It
is in her teaching on the question of justification
that the whole structure is built. This we shall
now consider.
At the Council of Trent (1545-1563) this

56 PAGANISM

doctrine was settled. The view which was
accepted had been held for some time previously
by many, though by no means all those
present. Cardinal Seripandi opened the dis
cussion, but unfortunately his views were re
pudiated. " The state of the question is this : —
Whether we who are justified before the Divine
tribunal, are to be judged only by the righteous
ness of our own works, proceeding out of the
charity (grace) which is in us, or by a two-fold
righteousness, our own, and the righteousness of
Christ supplying our imperfections. They say
we ought to reply to these questions not specu
latively but practically. Let the sinner be
arraigned before the tribunal of God, and asked
' whether he will be judged only by his own
righteousness, and rely upon that, or will supply
his imperfections by the righteousness of Christ.' x
It is certain that when a test of this practical
character is applied, few would be bold enough
to trust in their own works alone, but would fall
back on the merits of the Saviour. Hence
others arguing on the same side said, " No man,
when he is dying, takes refuge in his own

1 Romanism, p. 1 1 1.

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 57
inherent righteousness, nor in the righteousness
of his past life, nor in his good works, but in
the passion ot Christ and His mercy. Therefore
our own inherent righteousness is insufficient to
constitute us righteous before the tribunal of
Christ."^ Another great dignity of the Church,
Cardinal Contarini, who died before the Council
had completed its labours, writes, " We see by
experience that holy men, the more they ad
vance in holiness, so much the less are pleased
with themselves, and therefore so much the_
more discover their need of Christ. Hence
they forsake themselves, and rely on Him alone."
And in another place he declares, " this is the
received doctrine in the Christian Church ; this
it ' is to be truly a Christian — to know well our
own weakness and to flee by faith to Christ;
to put all our hope in Him, distrusting our own
weakness. Of this doctrine the Epistles of
Paul, of this the Gospels themselves, of this all
the Scriptures are full." And again, "As we
have all sinned in Adam, and all deserve death
in him, so all our obedience is in Christ, and all
our deserts in Him."2
1 Romanism p. 113. 2Ibid, p. 114.

58 PAGANISM^

Although such opinions were held and fear-
lesly expressed by many, unfortunately they did
not prevail. The leaven of heathenism had
done its work, and the majority accepted "human
inventions " in place of the precepts of Holy
Scripture. " The Catholic position is this — that
there is one single righteousness which is inherent
to us, or rather which forms us whether it be
grace or charity, by which everyone who is
righteous is righteous, as St. Augustine testifies;
through which one righteousness, our sins,
are wiped away, and we are adopted among
the children of God."1 In its 32nd Article
the Council of Trent anathematizes those who
say that " the good works of a justified man are
so far the gifts of God, that they are not also
the good merits of the justified man himself, and
that the justified person by the good works
which he has done through the grace of
God, and by the merits of Christ, does
not truly merit increase of grace, and eternal
life." Dr. Di Bruno teaches that " regeneration,
and therefore justification and pardon of sin
given for the first time, are clearly attached by

1 Romanism, p. 115,

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 59
our Lord to the Sacrament of Baptism, and has
plainly and peremptorily attached the pardoning
of sin, at other times to the sacramental absolu
tion of the priest, and not to mere trusting ;
though hope and trust in God is in itself one of
the necessary dispositions never to be omitted
on coming to the Sacrament of penance as the
Catholic Church teaches."1 The Council of
Trent distinctly teaches that " Men are not
justified by the imputation of Christ's righteous
ness alone."
A sentence or two from more recent writers
will give the present form of this great doctrine
in the Church of Rome. " We do as truly and
properly merit rewards when we do well, as we
do merit punishment when we do ill. Our good
works do merit eternal life condignly, not only
by reason of God's covenant and acceptation,
but also by reason of the work itself.2 Such are
the words of Cardinal Bellarmine. Vasquez
goes a step farther. " Seeing the works of good
men do merit eternal life, there is no need that
any condign merit, such as that of Christ, should
1 Ptimer of Roman Catholicism, p. 115.
a Romanism, p. 116.

60 ' PAGANISM

interpose, to the end that eternal life might be
rendered to them." Strange to say although in
life Bellarmine had expressed his views as
above, when he came to die he expresses his
faith in quite another fashion. In his will he
writes, " I pray that God may admit me among
the number of His saints and elect, not weighing
my merits, but pardoning my offences.' The
practical testing of opinion by death showing, in
his case as in others, that it is God's infinite
mercy rather than their own meritorious deeds
that affords a truer defence, a safer shelter.
From what has been said, it will be seen the
Church of Rome teaches that the justification of
the soul is secured by the use of two means ; the
merits of Jesus Christ obtained by the exercise
of faith ; and the righteousness which, inheres in
human souls, or which is produced by, or flows
from some special grace. But this second
ground of salvation, is of very variable quality
and amount. In some it more nearly approaches
perfection than others. Some therefore may
have a surplus of merit, others be more or less
deficient. Can the good works, which are over
and above what is necessary in the superlatively
good, be utilized for the benefit of those who fall

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 6l
short? This transfer of merit is openly
advocated. Good actions are divided into two classes,
those necessary to salvation, and those above
what is necessary. To these latter the, term
" works of supererogation " is given. Some
actions are commanded, and are therefore
necessary to salvation, others are counselled,
and are desirable only. The authority for this
distinction is based on the conversation of our
Lord with the rich young ruler who asked,
" What good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life ? " Jesus enumerated the chief
commandments, and when the inquirer replied;
" All these things have I kept from my youth
up, what lack I yet ? " Jesus answered, " if thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven." It is affirmed that our
Lord made a distinction between what was
necessary to salvation, and what would give
, something more than mere salvation, treasure
in heaven, which could he utilized for the good
of others, as his earthly treasures might benefit
the poor. These works are not said to be
inherently better than those regarded as neces-

62 PAGANISM

sary, nor that they are performed independently
of God-given grace ; but they being beyond
what will secure the personal salvation of him
who performs them, can be made use of for those
whose attainments may be a little below the
necessary. It is as though a thousand marks
are declared to be necessary for candidates to
pass an examination. One man obtains fifteen
hundred ; the five hundred are then available for
those who have failed to secure a thousand.
When it was accepted that it was possible for
some to secure a greater merit than was actually
required for themselves, the question arose as to
what use could be made of this spiritual wealth.
He who earned it did not need it ; and it was
far too valuable to be lost. Then came in the
doctrine of indulgences, for the purchase of
which this merit of the Saints, added to that of
the Virgin and her Divine Son, was available.
The purchase, however, was not made from those
whose piety had secured it but from the Church
represented by Pope and Priests to whose credit
it was placed in heaven's treasury. In the
present age an indulgence is said to be a re
mission of the temporal punishment which a sin
merits, after the sinner has obtained divine

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 63
forgiveness ; and the punishment, from which it
secures deliverance, though generally granted to
the living, may be, and frequently is, extended
to those who are passing" through the cleansing
fires of purgatory.
The origin of this monstrous system was very
simple and almost innocent. In the early
Church, the greatest effort was made to secure
the purity of the members. They separated
themselves from a corrupt society ; it was there
fore a matter of supreme importance that their
life should show the beneficial influence of the
gospel. When therefore any member fell into
open sin, he was cut off for a longer or shorter
period from the Services or Sacraments of the
Church. This deprivation of a privilege was
regarded as an expiation ; a punishment inflicted
by the visible Church after the offender had
obtained divine forgiveness. Sin was regarded
as an offence against God whose pardon had to
be sought, and as a crime against His visible
Kingdom, which had to be expiated by punish
ment. It was a common practice for these
penalties pronounced by the Church, to be
lightened or shortened in response to a request
from the Confessors and Martyrs, whose fidelity

64 PAGANISM

to the faith, and suffering for conscience sake
had raised them to a higher level than those
who had not thus endured. Their super-
excellence was available to make up for the lack
of excellence of those who had fallen. Of course
this freedom from merited punishment was
bestowed only on those whose penitence was
manifest; and in many cases penitence had to
be accompanied by good deeds. The next step
was a disastrous one, and some time elapsed
before it was generally accepted. The "good
works " prescribed as the necessary accompani
ment of penitence, could be commuted by a
money-payment for a specified object ; and then,
later still, by the payment of money to the
Church, without its being ear-marked, and might
be spent in any way the priests might wish.
This opened a broad way for corruption.
Though the thing signified was in practice long
before, it was not until the nth century that the
term Indulgence was in common use. In the
time of the Crusades, service in these holy wars,
or assisting them by gifts of money, purchased a
full indulgence from all kinds of penance. And,
by this means, many a sinner secured salvation
from the penalties of sin they might afterwards

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 65
commit as of sins of which they were already
guilty. At first local Bishops had the power to
grant partial, and even plenary or full indulg
ences to those within their own diocese ; but
Innocent III. reserved for the Popes the power
to grant the fuller forgiveness. Gradually the
misuse of their power increased, until it had
assumed such vast dimensions as to scandalise
the more thoughtful and earnest of the flock,
and was the occasion of the rise of the Refor
mation in Europe. It was one of many evils,
perhaps the most glaring, which set afire the
combustible materials accumulating for centuries.
The creed of Pope Pius IV. expressly declares
that " the power of indulgences has been left in
the Church by Christ, and their use by Christian
people is of a most saving character." Though
this was the authoritative statement of the
Church, at the time of the Reformation most
opposite views were held. In fact, in the
Council where the question was discussed, some
were almost as outspoken as Luther himself
in their opposition to this dreadful doctrine.
Nevertheless the majority silenced those who
objected, and belief in the efficacy of indulgences
was authoritatively affirmed. When the consider-

66 PAGANISM

ation of this question came on, Cardinal Cajetan,
who held the brief in their favour, boldly marshalls
the objections that could be raised against them.
He represents an opponent declaring, that as
no one had ever performed more good works
than were due to God, there was consequently
no surplus available for others ; that even martyrs
for the truth, who were commonly believed to be
the richest in this wonder-working merit, simply
did their duty by remaining faithful unto death ;
and that as St Augustine taught, it was the
duty of all saints to pray " Forgive us our sins,"
thus expressing, that they as well as others were
in need of pardon. And that supposing a saint
could perform good works above, what was
necessary for himself, they could not avail for
others defects. Having thus voiced the objections
of his opponents, when we should have expected
him to admit their force and validity, he falls
back on the unlimited power of the Pope to
proclaim their efficacy as a sufficient answer.
And further, after rehearsing the objection that
the Saviour committed to the Pope power to
forgive the sins of the living only, the Cardinal's
answer was, that the Pope's declaration in his
letter of indulgence proved that he could open

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 67
the Kingdom of heaven through the merits of
Christ and the Saints, to the souls in Purgatory,
taking them out of the pains which hindered
them from entering the kingdom of heaven.
This same Cardinal in the last work he wrote,
commenting on 2 Peter ii. 3, "and through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you," says " not far from such as
these are those preachers who abuse the devotion
of Christian people for gain ; who ignorantly or
rashly dare to preach that those who pay a
carline, or a ducat, for what is called plenary
absolution are in the same state as if they were
newly baptized, and in the same manner that
they can free a soul from Purgatory ; for these
are monstrous things and traffickings with
Christian people. The Christian religion knows
no such figments ; they are inventions of those
who through covetousness with feigned words
make merchandise of Christians, abusing them
for gain."1 Strange language from one who
had argued in favour of the use of indulgences,
and was well aware to what extent the Pope
had profited by their sale !
1 Romanism, p. 235, 6.

68 PAGANISM

In 1350, this theory was formulated, and
issued with the authority of Pope Clement VI"
After referring to the death of Christ for the
salvation of the world he says, " Wherefore from
hence, in order that the mercy of so great an
effusion of blood should not be void or superfluous,
He acquired a treasure for the Church militant,
working as a pious father, to lay up a store for
his sons. Which treasure He did not hide in a
napkin, or bury in a field, but committed to be
dispensed through St. Peter, the key-bearer of
heaven, and his successors, his vicars upon earth.
To add to which heap of treasure, the merits of
the Blessed Virgin, and of all the elect from the
first to the last are known to give their assist
ance, so that none need fear its consumption or
diminution."1 The indulgences granted in consideration of
this treasury of merit, are either partial or
plenary. The lessser gift is when a part only
of the penalty is remitted, the plenary when
there is a full and complete deliverance. It
was in the year 1095 that the larger gift came
into use. The object of this great offer was

1 Romanism, p. 239.

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 69
an inducement to nobles and their retainers to
volunteer for the Crusades. This was an agree
able method, for professional soldiers, of obtaining
a discharge of their obligations to God and the
Church. As the indulgence had retrospective
and prospective effect ; as it was declared to be
efficacious in saving a soul from the pains of
Purgatory, as well as from ecclesiastically
imposed penance, it . is not surprising that it
was effectual in leading some of the worst men
to volunteer for the wars against the Moors.
There is another form in which this treasure
of merit can be drawn upon, viz. by securing
immunity from punishment by the purchase of
what is called a dispensation. Under Papal
authority, a catalogue of crimes is published, in
which the money price is quoted for payment of
which an absolution, or license can be obtained.
Almost every sin that can be named has its
price. By this means a court is provided in
which the rich can purchase freedom to gratify
the desires of an evil heart. When it is remem
bered that these indulgences and dispensations,
are said to avail not only before the bar of the
Church, but at the judgment seat of the All-
righteous God ; that by the authority of the

70 PAGANISM

Vicar of Christ a man can be delivered from the
just judgment of the Almighty, there seems to
be no greater departure from the truth imagin
able. To exaggerate the evil of this teaching is
impossible. In 1552, the Roman Catholic Princes of
Germany drew up a memorial of grievances in
which they complain not only of the heavy drain
on their purses which the purchase of indulgences
makes, but of the lack of piety induced by their
frequent sale. They speak of the people, by their
means, being encouraged to commit all kinds of
sins, when they know they can purchase immunity
from punishment in this life and the next.
A strong indictment against the multiplication
of these deliverances from the due punishment of
sin is made by Dean Alford in his Letters form
Abroad. " By visiting the Church of Santa
Croce in Gerusalemme on the second Sunday
in Advent, may be gained 11,000 years of
indulgence and remission of all ones sins. By
visiting that of SS. Cosmas and Damian in the
Forum any day a 1,000 years, and on the day
of the Stations, 10,000 years. By kissing the
foot of the idol in St. Agostino once every day,
100 years of indulgence may be gained : so that

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 7 1
if a devout Roman Catholic choose to pass in his
walk every day for a year these two last Churches
he might gain at St. Agostino 36,500, and at SS.
Cosmas and Damian 365,000 years remission
from Purgatory — in all 401,500 years for every
day of his life from these two Churches only.
It is no exaggeration to say that this number
might easily be multiplied ten-fold without
entailing any onerous duty. Percy gives an
authorised measure of the Virgin's foot from her
real shoe, on which is inscribed that Pope John
XXII. conceded 300 years (in the German
authorised edition of the same it is 700) of
indulgence to whosoever should kiss the measure
and recite three Ave Marias. This was con
firmed by Pope Clement VIII. in 1603, and was
extended to any similar measures taken from
the original one ; adding that it is applicable to
souls in Purgatory. So that any devout German,
without stirring from his chair, might, supposing
three Ave Marias to occupy five minutes, gain
in one hour of each day of his life, 8,400 years
of indulgence, or by this means alone each year
upwards of 3,000.000." 1
1 Manual of Roman Catholicism, p. 103,

72 PAGANISM

Where are we to look for the origin of this
dreadful doctrine, with its wonderful develop
ment? Not to the New Testament certainly,
In the teaching of our Lord, as in that of His
Apostles, we shall look in vain for any counten
ance to the idea that a man may acquire merit
which can be made available for the short
comings of others. The opposite of this is
clearly taught by them. When a man has done
his best he is but an unprofitable servant, he has
done no more than his duty. And in the
parable of the Virgins the wise who had oil for
their lamps, are represented as having none over
to supply the needs of others. The Apostles
made no claim to possess the power of setting
men free from merited punishment who had
paid them for' this service. Without doubt we
have here a relic or a revival of Paganism of a
very pronounced type, which was once common
in the city and country where this abomination
had its rise, and which has profited so largely
by it.
The proof of this statement is most convincing.
In the Eleusinian Mysteries, the model of
most others, " one of the great objects was the
presenting to fallen man the means of his return

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 73"
to God. These means were the cathartic or
purifying virtues, by the exercise of which a
corporeal life was to be vanquished. Accord
ingly the mysteries were termed 'perfections,'
because they were supposed to induce to
perfectness of life. Those who were purified by
them were said to be brought to perfection." —
In the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, who was
himself initiated in the mysteries of Isis, we find
this goddess represented as saying to the hero,
"If you shall be found to deserve the protection
of my divinity by sedulous obedience, religious
devotion, and inviolable chastity, you shall be
sensible that it is possible for me, and me alone,
to extend your life beyond the limits that have
been appointed to it by your destiny,"1 And
when the same individual has received proof of
the favour of the deity, the onlookers express
their congratulations in these terms : — " Happy
by Hercules ! and thrice blessed he to have
merited, by the innocence and probity of his
past life, such special patronage of heaven." In
Egypt the formulae of the funeral ceremonies
were similar to those in the Romish Church.
1 Hyslop's Two Babylons, p. 209.

74 PAGANISM

The deceased is represented as asking for
admission into the company of the Gods on the
ground that he has merited this favour by his
obedience and service. There Anubis was said to
weigh the action of men and so decide their fate ;
in Rome the Archangel Michael discharges this
duty. Naturally men feared to die when uncertain
as to the result of their life assize. This caused
them to avail themselves of the help of the
priest in death, and to arrange for his further
help after they had passed away. It is this
which give Rome's priests such awful power
over her people. " In a famous letter of Pere le
Chaise, confessor of Louis XIV. of France,
giving an account of the method he employed
to gain his consent to the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, we see how the fear of the
scales of St. Michael operated in bringing about
the desired result. " Many a time since," says the
accomplished Jesuit, referring to an atrocious
sin of which the king had been guilty, " many a
time since when I have been at confession, I
have shook hell about his ears, and made him
sigh, fear, and tremble, before I would give him
absolution. By this I saw he had still an

GOOD WORKS AND INDULGENCES 75
inclination to me and was ere long to be under
my government. So I set the baseness of
the action before him by telling the whole story,
and how wicked it was, and that it could not be
forgiven till he had done some good action to
balance that and expiate the crime. Where
upon he at last asked me what he must do ? I
told him that he must root out all the heretics
from his kingdom." Thus, as a work of merit
to outweigh a grave crime, the weak king in
the hand of a cunning confessor was induced
to authorize the massacre of the Huguenots.

CHAPTER V
PURGATORY
THE term Purgatory signifies a state or place
of cleansing. According to Roman Catholic
teaching, those who enter it, though saved from
the eternal punishment of hell, are not sufficiently
pure to enter into the presence of God. Their
mortal sin is forgiven, but their so-called venial
sin remains, and must be got rid of by the fires
of Purgatory. This painful experience can be
modified in fierceness and duration by the
prayers and gifts of the living rather than by the
sufferers themselves.
The present day belief is thus expressed in
the Creed of Pope Pius IV. " I constantly
hold that there is a Purgatory, that the
souls therein detained are assisted by the
suffrages of the faithful." In greater fulness the
doctrine is stated by one of Rome's learned
teachers : — " There is a Purgatory, that is to say,

PURGATORY fj

a place or state, where souls departing this life,
with the remission of sin, as to the guilt, or
eternal pain, but yet liable to some temporal
punishment, still remaining due,; or not perfectly
freed from the blemish of some defects, which
we call venial sin, are purged before their
admittance into heaven, where nothing that
defileth can enter. Such souls so detained in
Purgatory, being the living members of Christ
Jesus, are relieved by the prayers and suffrages
of their fellow members here on earth."
It will be noticed that sin is separated into
two classes, mortal and venial. Whilst mortal
sin consigns the sinner to eternal damnation,
venial sin can be acted upon by the fires of
Purgatory. There has been great diversity of
opinion as to what sin is mortal, what venial.
The common belief is that any sin is venial
when it is seen to be sin, and there is penitence
of heart concerning it ; whilst persistence in
evil is mortal and unpardonable. Some affirm
that mortal sin deprives the guilty of sanctifying
grace, whilst venial sin only weakens it. This
is another way of saying that persistency in evil
renders salvation impossible, because there is no
desire for this great blessing, nor any effort to

78 PAGANISM

secure it ; whilst a temporary fall may coincide
with what is, on the whole, a life of faith and
obedience. It is for such people that a place
of purging is considered necessary before they
" are meet for the inheritance of the Saints in
light" The great evil connected with this subject is
not so much the belief that an intermediate state
is necessary, as that the purifying process is said
to be largely affected by the gifts and prayers of
others, rather than by those who are undergoing
it. The rich can secure the saying of numbers of
masses on their behalf; the poor have no such
remedy. It is true the charitably disposed are
earnestly entreated to pay for masses to help
the poor, as in Protestant Churches they are
asked to support missions amongst the heathen.
The saying of masses is the means by which
the pains of Purgatory can be modified. It is
as though God were a hard creditor, who, whilst
forgiving the greater part of a debt demands an
equivalent for the rest. The sacrifice represented
by the payment of money is the asset available
for the balance, and can be paid before a man's
death, or by his surviving friends. Strange to say
the Canon of the Mass used for the dead

PURGATORY 79

-excludes the idea of Purgatory, and speaks of
those on whose behalf it is offered as " sleeping
the sleep of peace." " Remember also, Lord,
Thy servants and hand-maids who have gone
before us with the sign of faith, and sleep in
peace. To them, Lord, and to all who rest in
Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of
refreshment, of light, and peace,"1 In a tract
printed in 1497 on "The value of Masses," the
writer clearly points out the uselessness of those
that are offered by the living for the dead,
although he was a priest of the Church. " One
mass celebrated for you whilst living will profit
you more than a hundred after your death ; one
little prayer you now offer will be more useful
to you than all the psalm singing of the monks
will then be ; one sigh or tear you pour forth
for your sins now, profits you more than all the
groanings and sobs of monks and mourners."
Alas ! this was the voice of one drowned by the
shouts of a multitude. The profits arising from
the appeals to the fears and affections of the
faithful were too remunerative for a general
reform to be effected.

1 Romanism, 179.

80 PAGANISM

The celebration of a mass is, professedly, the
offering of the body and blood of our Lord to
save a sinner from merited punishment. And
yet one such sacrifice is not deemed sufficient.
They are multiplied indefinitely, and continued
for many years. Surely if the one offering of
Jesus Christ was enough to save a world from
the greater condemnation of hell, one mass
ought to suffice to save a soul from the penalty
imposed by the Church. In some Churches, the
special masses which have been paid for are so
numerous that it is impossible for them to be
celebrated ; hence the ordinary celebrations have
to do double duty for the living and for the
souls in Purgatory. In the Archdiocese of
Vienna in 1787, the numbers of masses for the
dead was 97,000, requiring more than three
hundred priests daily to perform them. In one
Church — St. John and St. Paul in Venice, the
unperformed masses due at that time amounted to
i6,400.1 These had all been paid for, as a means
of lessening the sufferings of those who had been
saved by Jesus Christ, but who, at the hour of
death, were not ready to enter His presence.

1 Romanism p. 184.

PURGATORY

What a slur this practice casts upon the justice
and mercy of God, and upon the saving work of
His dear Son, which has to be supplemented
by the sufferings of those who died trusting in
Him, and by the prayers and gifts of their sur
viving friends. Uncertain as to their parents fate,
affectionate children have impoverished them
selves to assist them in their hour of suffering.
And it is supposed that this help will be needed
year after year. " The doctrine and invention
of Purgatory became a most forcible engine to
draw the people's money. For when men were
made to believe, that, after death, their souls
would enter into a region ¦ of fire, to suffer long
and bitter torment, to be purged and fitted for
the region of bliss ; but to be eased there, and
the sooner released, according to the number
of masses and prayers made on their behalf here,
people were put upon it to make the best pro
vision they could in their lifetime, or, at least
at death, that such helps and means should be
used on their behalf, as they might reasonably
reckon upon a short and tolerable continuance
there."1 It is with Romanism, as with heathen
1 " On the intolerable charge of Popery to this Nation,"
Stavely quoted in Romanism, p. 184.

82 PAGANISM

systems where similar faiths are held, the profit
made by the priest casts suspicion upon it. The
enormous amount of money received from the
bequests of the dead and the gifts of the living
on their behalf, impells the belief that it is a
human invention ; but when it is looked at in
the light of our Lord's teaching, it is so opposed
to the spirit of His gospel, that it is wonderful
His professed disciples could accept the doctrine.
The contradictory teaching of authorities in
Church doctrine on this important question is
well worthy of notice. " I have sometimes en
deavoured to understand the nature and import
of this popish Purgatory, but could never yet
meet with any satisfaction therein and to say
the truth, the difference amongst the Papists
are so many and irreconcileable, that they serve
sufficiently, instead of all other reasons and argu
ments to confute it. First the place. Eckius
will have it to be at the bottom of the sea, some
will have it in Mt Etna, and Bernardus de Bustis
in a hill in Ireland. Next for the torments.
Sir Thomas More will have them to be only by
fire ; but Fisher, his fellow sufferer, by fire and
by water. Then for the executioners : — these
differ no less again ; for Bishop Fisher will

PURGATORY 83

have them to be holy angels, but Sir Thomas
More to be the very devils. Then for the sins
to be expiated ; some will have them to be
venial only, and others say mortal too. And
for the time for their continuance in that state,
Dionysius the Carthusian extends it to the end
of the world, whilst Dominicus a Soto limits it
to ten years ; and others make it depend on
the number of masses and offices that shall be
done on their behalf, or if the Pope do but speak
the word. Lastly for the extremity of their
pains, Aquinas makes them as violent as those
of hell ; but the Rhemists say that the souls
there are in a very fine condition. But by
all this uncertainty, and contrariety rather, of
opinion, it may clearly be seen upon what weak
foundation they have raised this building, which
certainly would have fallen to the ground long
ago, if it had not been for the profit which the
popes, priests, and friars have raised by the
fiction." 1
The following may be taken as a specimen of
the more popular style of teaching given by the
priests of the Romish Church on this question.
1 Stavely quoted in Romanism, p. 186,

84 PAGANISM

It is taken from O'Sullivan's Catholic History of
Ireland as a description of the Purgatory of St.
Patrick. " There are numbers of men, whom no
arithmetic can reckon up, all lying on the ground
pierced through the body. They uttered hoarse
cries of agony, their tongues cleaving to their
jaws. They were buffeted by violent tempests,
and shattered by repeated blows of devils. The
devils drove them into another plain, horrible
with exquisite tortures. Some, with iron chains
about their necks and limbs, were suspended over
fires, others were burned with red-hot cinders-
Not a few were transfixed on the spits, and
roasted, melted lead being poured into them.
Alas for those who do not penance in this world."
It will be remembered that this is not supposed
to be a description of hell, but of that place to
which souls saved from hell's torments are sent to
get rid of the remains of sin which render them
at present unfit to enter upon the bliss of
heaven. Contrast this teaching with the word
of Jesus to the thief upon the cross, " This day
thou shalt be with me in Paradise," and with
that of St. Paul where he declares that to be
'' absent from the body " is to be " present with
the Lord." Does it not make God appear as a

PURGATORY 85

relentless tyrant to inflict suffering such as this
upon those who have trusted in the Saviour?
It is a strange salvation if those, who accept it,
have to endure such pains before it can be
enjoyed. In the teaching of Buddhism, on this question,
there is great similarity. At the entrance to the
temples are pictures, or life-size models represent
ing men and women enduring the tortures of hell.
To this place all must go for a time, unless their
" merit " is greater than their sin. If a man during
his life, or, immediately on his death, his relatives
pay the price, the priests profess to secure a rapid
passage from hell to heaven, or, even to arrange for
him to go there direct. There are two powerful
motives impelling the survivors to hasten the
entrance into heaven of a deceased relative.
Love leads them to lighten the pain of one who
was dear, and fear drives them to do the same,
lest the unhappy spirit should bring evil upon
them. But many have not the means or inclination
to incur the expense of these soul-saving cere
monies ; and their relatives are also lacking the
means of paying for them. These spirits may
be productive of ev;l to the community. To

86 PAGANISM

prevent this, some who have no near relatives
dependent on them, or may have more money
than is required for them, will arrange for services
on behalf of these friendless people.
In the Purgatory of the Papal Church, fire,
literal fire is regarded as the chief means of
purifying the soul ; in the Buddhist hell, it is
only one of many. The ingenuity of evil-minded
priests has been employed in inventing forms of
torture which are realistically represented in the
temples. The main purpose of all this is, evi
dently, not to lead those who see them to live a
good life, for by the performance of appropriate
ceremonies they can obtain deliverance from sin's
penalties ; but to lead them to secure the assist
ance of the priests for their own benefit and for
the benefit of others who have died.
Where did the Romish Church obtain the
idea of Purgatory? It was a common idea
among the heathen who crowded into the
Church. Seeing the influence its acceptance
gave to the priests of the pagan deities, the
leaders of the Church deemed it politic to allow
it to remain. In most ancient forms of religion
there were similar beliefs and ceremonies. It
was felt that in many cases men were not alto-

PURGATORY 87

gether evil so as to deserve hell, nor sufficiently
pure to be admitted immediately into the abodes
of the gods. An intermediate state was there
fore devised in which their salvation could be
completed, either by their own sufferings, or by
the efforts of their living friends, or by a combina
tion of the two. Where men have been ignorant
of the infinite love of God in freely forgiving
the sinner, or where by the force of old religious
notions this truth has been obscured, they have
recource to this supplementary method of salva
tion. Thus Plato, speaking of the future judg
ment of the dead, holds out the hope of the final
deliverance of all, but maintains that, of those
who are judged, some must first " proceed to a
subterranean place where they shall sustain the
punishment they have deserved," others, in con
sequence of a favourable judgment, being elevated
at once to a celestial place, "shall pass their
time in a manner becoming the life they have
lived in a human shape." In pagan Rome it
was a common article of their religious belief
that it was only through a purgatory that they
could reach the heavenly fields. As a matter of
fact, Virgil is really the authority for much that
has come to be regarded as Christian truth.

88 PAGANISM

Compare the following lines with what is written
in acknowledged orthodox works of Roman
Catholic doctors, and there can be little doubt
on this question. Anchises is explaining to
his son, ^Eneus, the process by which souls as
they pass away from the world are freed from
their impurities. " Nor can the grovelling mind,
In the dark dungeons of the limbs confined,
Assert the native skies, or own its heavenly kind ;
Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains :
But long-contracted filth e'en in the soul remains.
The relics of inveterate vice they wear ;
And spots of sin obcene in every face appear.
For this are various penances enjoined ;
And some are hung to bleach upon the wind ;
Some plunged in waters, others purged in fires,
Till all the dregs are drained, and all the rust expires.
All have their manes, and these manes bear ;
The few so cleansed to these abodes repair,
And breathe in ample fields the soft Eliysian air.
Then are they happy, when by length of time
The scurf is worn away of each committed crime ;
No speck is left of their habitual stains,
But the pure ether of the soul remains." ]
In Virgil other processes of cleaning are men
tioned. In the teaching of the Romish Church
fire is regarded as more common and more
1 Dryden's JEneid, vi. 995.

PURGATORY 89

powerful. Probably this arose from the Persian
doctrine of the existence of a cleansing fire which
was in the long run to burn up all evil. From
thence the idea was carried to the West. In
India Agni, the god of Fire, is said to be the
Purifier, and the bodies of the Hindus are burned
to ashes that by this process they may be freed
from all impurity. In a hymn from one of the
oldest sacred books addressed to him we have
the following lines : —
" Preserve us Lord, thy faithful servants save
From all the ills by which our bliss is marred ;
Tower like an iron wall our homes to guard,
And all the boons bestow our hearts can crave,
And when away our brief existence wanes,
When we at length our earthly homes must quit,
And our freed souls to worlds unknown must flit,
Do thou deal gently with our cold remains,
And then, thy gracious form assuming, guide
Our unborn part-across the dark abyss
Aloft to realms serene of light and bliss,
Where righteous men among the gods abide."
Such was the faith of a sister nation to Rome
soon after she settled on the plains of India.
Probably the idea was common to the people
from whom the various branches of the Aryan
family sprang. When the Western people came
into the Christian Church, and became acquainted 6

90 PAGANISM

with the Scriptural teaching concerning the
awful purity of God, it is not difficult to under
stand how it came to be taught, that though
faith in the Saviour had secured salvation from
the eternal pains of hell, the sanctification of
most being incomplete at death, must be some
where perfected. Then came in the practice of
"Extreme Unction," by which some of the evil
of the soul could be removed, and the belief
in an intermediate state where the good work
could be completed. At first the teaching was
comparatively harmless. No effort was made to
extort money as a means of securing the
happiness of the departed. A pious wish for
the welfare of the dead gradually grew into
formal prayers, and these developed into
elaborate ceremonies which require the aid of
a Priest. Old stories connected with Hades of the
pagan faith have been copied into Church teach
ing. In classic literature we read of men being
carried into the Spirit world in seasons of
madness or trance, and then allowed to return
to relate their experience to the living. These
stories reappear in later times, the actors having
Christian names. Gregory the Great declared

PURGATORY 91

that a nobleman, named Stephen, died, and in
Hades saw that many things which he had been
taught were true, though he had not believed
them. It was discovered that this Stephen was
not the man summoned, but a smith bearing the
same name. The smith died, the nobleman was
permitted to return to the world. Of course
his faith was confirmed by what he had seen
and heard in Hades. By stories such as these
the doubters were led to believe, and the stingy
to become liberal.

CHAPTER VI
HOLY WATER
FROM the use of water in cleansing the body, it
seems natural to adopt it as a symbol to signify
the purifying of the soul from sin. In most
religions it has been employed for that purpose.
In or near the entrance of the temple, the laver
of water was conspicuous. Here the travel
stained worshipper could wash his feet before he
crossed the threshold of the sacred building;
and as many came bare-footed, or wearing
light sandals, it was a comforting, as well as
cleansing act. The same was done on entering
a house, and, in eastern lands, is practically the
equivalent to the removal of the hat in the west.
The next step in the use of water as a
religious rite, was to subject it to special treat
ment by which its purifying power was supposed
to be increased. Then it was employed, not for
the washing of the body, but to exert a miracul-

HOLY WATER 93

ous cleansing of the moral nature. When the
old temples were transformed into churches, the
lavers remained in their place ; when new ones
were erected the vessel of holy water was not
forgotten. The water was specially consecrated ;
and instead of the feet, hands, face being washed
with it, a few drops were sprinkled on the
worshippers. This wonder-working water was
used in the Baptismal Font, at the consecration
of buildings, and for purifying the congregation
at certain holy seasons. The ceremony of
charging the water with its special power, in the
Romish Church takes place on the day after
Good Friday, and is instructive. The following
account is from " Foyes' Romish Rites."
There are three kinds of Holy Water. In the
first, a little salt only is added, and is used in
the consecration of buildings. In the second,
salt, ashes, and wine are added, and is used at
the consecration of altars. It is the third kind
that with great solemnity is prepared on Holy
Saturday, and is used for Baptism, and for
sprinkling over the congregation. The cere
monies performed on this occasion are significant.
The priest first divides the water in the font with
his hand in the form of a cross. Then, touching

94 PAGANISM

it again with his hand, he expels demons and
evil spirits. He breathes into it three times, and
letting down the great Paschal candle into it,
says " The might of the Holy Ghost descend
into this fountain plenitude. This is repeated
a second and a third time. Breathing into the
water three times he says " Impregnate with
regenerating efficacy the whole substance of this
water," and removes the candle. A little oil, and
stranger still, a little saliva is also mixed with it.
The water is now charged with the power to
cleanse the soul from sin. What is the meaning
of this consecration? It is said that when
Linacre, a bigoted Romanist in the reign of
Henry VIII., fell in with a copy of the New
Testament, he said with an oath "either this
Book is not true, or we are not Christians." The
account of the various baptisms in the Scriptures
does not lend much authority to ceremonies
such as these. When St. John baptised the
Saviour in the JorcTanTtnere was no consecrated
water available ; and when St. Philip baptised
the eunoch, and St PauJ^a^tjggd^ the gaoler at
Philippi, it was ordinary, not holy water that
was used. The use of holy water as a means of
purifying the soul is essentially pagan.

HOLY WATER 95

Heathen poets had taught that infants uniniti
ated into the mysteries of religion were classed
with suicides and consigned to hell. To save
them from this painful position, the merciful
spirit of Christianity led to the formation of the
doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration. The simple
initiatory right as instituted by the Saviour,
was charged with miraculous powers, and was
said to make those children of God, who,
naturally were children of the devil, whose
proper portion was the torment of hell. By the
act of Baptism, original sin, as well as the guilt
of sin actually committed, was taken away.
Hence, the practice soon became common of
delaying the reception of this grace, as long as
possible, lest after its reception, the person
should imperil his salvation by sinning, without
this means of getting rid of the penalty.
In most of the religions which preceded
Christianity there was a form of initiation very
similiar to that of Christian Baptism. In some
cases the rite was practically identical, and
those initiated were spoken of as regenerated, or
born again. In India, a missionary has to be
most careful to explain the Scriptural meaning
of the statement " ye must be born again," or his

96 PAGANISM

hearers would imagine that he was teaching a
familiar doctrine, very different in its significance
from what was taught by our Lord. According
to their belief, the members of the inferior castes
must appear on earth as Brahmans ; then, and
not until then, on their initiation into the
mysteries they will be twice-born, and on the
way to attain the supreme good ; — absorption
into the Divine Being from whom they came.
In the old Chaldean mysteries, baptism was
administered before instruction. In the rites of
Isis and Mithra, baptism was practised ; and, to
the baptised, pardon and regeneration were
promised. In the religion of our forefathers, and
even in Mexico, a form of baptism was in use.
For the other things now added at the con
secration of the water, Roman Catholic writers
admit that they have no authority in Scripture.
" We are not satisfied with that which the
Apostles or Gospels do declare, but we say,
that, as well before as after, there are divers
matters of importance and weight accepted and
received, out of a doctrine which is nowhere set
forth in writing. For we do bless the water
wherewith we baptize, and the oil wherewith we
anoint ; yes, and besides that, him that is

HOLY WATER 97

christened. And out of what Scripture have
we learned the same ? Have we not it of a
secret and unwritten ordinance? And further,
what Scripture hath taught us to grease with
oil ? Yea, whence cometh it that we dip the
child three times in the water ? " 1 " And indeed
Father Newman himself admits, in regard to
Holy water and many other things that were,
as he says, the ' very instruments and append
ages of demon worship ' that they were all of
pagan origin, and sanctified by adoption into
the Church. What plea then, what palliation
can be offered for so extraordinary adoption ?
Why this ; that the Church ' had confidence in
the power of Christianity to resist the infection
of evil ' and to transmute them to ' an evangelical
use.' " 2
It is painfully interesting to see how closely
in some of these ceremonies connected with the
consecration and use of holy water, the pagan
copy has been followed. A lighted candle is
put into the water, as a prayer is offered that
'Jodocus Tiletanus of Louvaine, quoted in Two
Baby Ions, p. 199.

2 Ibid, p. 230.

98 PAGANISM

the Holy Ghost would enter, and give efficacy
to the water to wash away sin. What can be
the meaning of such an act ? " The purifying
virtue of water, which, in pagan esteem, had
such efficacy in cleansing from sin, and regener
ating the soul, was derived in part from the
passing of the mediatorial god, the sun god, the
god of fire, through these waters, during his
humiliation and sojourn in the midst of them." 1
This deity was immersed in .water, that he might
give efficacy to it, that when used for baptism
it might effect its great purpose of washing
away sin, and quickening the spiritual in those
who received it. In the temples of Greece,
every person who came to the solemn sacrifice
was washed with water. To which end, at the
entrance of the temples there was commonly
placed a vessel full of holy water. This water
was consecrated by putting into it a burning
torch taken from the altar. The burning torch
was the express symbol of the god of fire. This
very same method is used in the Roman Church
for consecrating the water for baptism. The
unsuspicious testimony of Bishop Hay leaves

1 Two Babylons, p. 207.

HOLY WATER 99

no doubt on this point. " It is blessed on the
eve of Pentecost, because it is the Holy Ghost
who gives to the waters of baptism, the power
and efficacy of sanctifying our souls ; and be
cause the baptism of Christ is with the Holy
Ghost and with fire. In blessing the water a
lighted torch is put into the font Here then
it is manifest that the baptismal regenerating
water of Rome is consecrated just as the regen
erating and purifying water of the Pagans was.
Whilst the Romish doctrine in regard to baptism
is purely pagan, in the ceremonies connected
with the papal baptism, one of the essential
rites of the ancient fire worship is still practised
at this day."
In India, the belief in the soul-cleansing power
of water is universal among the Hindus ; but as
the climate is warm, the people immerse them
selves in it rather than receive a sprinkling.
Every stream is sacred, some are pre-eminently
so. Those living near, bathe in them daily ;
those whose home is at a distance visit them
as pilgrims. Such is the efficacy of bathing, at
certain places, on specially holy days, that by
one act, all sin, past, present, and future, can be
removed ; and the sins of the bathers' ancestors

100 PAGANISM

too. In the approach of death, if possible, the
sick are removed to the banks of a sacred river,
in the belief that the sight of the holy water
will cleanse the soul, and afford a passport to
heaven.

CHAPTER VII
TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS.
IN the doctrine of transubstantiation, as taught
in the Romish Church, it is affirmed that the
wafer and wine used in the celebration of the
Mass, up to a certain moment, are ordinary
matter ; by the act of consecration, i.e., the
repetition of the words " This is my body, this is
my blood," this, though to outward appearance
unchanged, is converted into the natural body
and blood of our Lord. If this is true, it is the
greatest miracle the world has ever heard of;
if it be false, it is as great a fraud as the history
of religion can show. •
That this is a fair statement none can doubt,
who read what Rome's Councils have decreed,
and her accredited teachers have taught. Here
are the words of the creed of Pope Pius IV.,
which was compiled as a summary of the
decisions of the Council of Trent. " In the

102 PAGANISM

most holy sacrament of the Eucharist there is
truly, really, and substantially, the Body and
Blood, together with the soul and divinity of our
Lord Jesus Christ ; and there is a conversion of
the whole substance of the bread into the
Body, and of the whole substance of the wine
into the Blood, which conversion the Catholic
Church calls Transubstantiation." The Canons
of the Council on which this sentence is based are
the following : " If any shall say that He [i.e.,
Christ] is only in it [the Eucharist] as in a sign
or figure ; that there remains the substance of
bread and wine along with the Body and Blood
of our Lord, although the appearance of bread
and wine remain ; if any shall deny that,
in the sacrament of the Eucharist under each
kind [i.e. under the bread and wine], when a
separation is made, whole Christ is contained ; if
any shall say that, when consecration has taken
place, the Body and Blood of our Lord is not
present, but is there only in use, while it is being
taken, but not before or after ; and that in the
hosts, or consecrated particles which are reserved,
or remain after communion, there does not
remain the true Body of the Lord ; and if any
say that in the sacrament of the Eucharist,

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 103
Christ is not to be adored with the worship of
Latria {i.e. the worship due to God alone], nor to
be publicly placed before the people in order to
be adored, and that those who adore it are
idolators, let him be accursed." In harmony
with these Canons, the host is raised in the
presence of the congregation to be adored ; part
is reserved for administration to the sick ; and
as it is carried through the streets at special
festivals, the people are expected to bow their
heads in worship.
What an awful perversion of a beautifully
simple act of our Lord ! Reclining at the
Passover feast, over which the head of the family
usually presided, Jesus was surrounded by His
chosen friends. The meal had been prepared
with peculiar ceremonies to commemorate the
deliverance God had wrought for His people on
the eve of their departure from Egypt. Jesus took
bread and wine remaining over from the feast,
and, giving a little to each disciple, told them to
continue the practice as a memorial of the great
Sacrifice he had made, which would be completed,
when, on the cross His body was broken, and
blood shed. The Eucharist of the Romish
Church differs in almost every particular from

104 PAGANISM

the instructions of the Saviour. In the upper
room in Jerusalem it was celebrated at the
close of a meal ; now it must be taken fasting.
There was no official priest necessary ; now,
only a priest can officiate. The disciples partook
of the wine as well as of the bread ; Rome
restricts the use of the wine to the priests. And
in order that the communicants may not regard
this as a mutilated sacrament, a second miracle
is said to be performed ; the wafer which was
changed into the body of our Lord, has then to
be further changed into His blood. It is
marvellous that such a perversion of our Lord's
teaching could have been made ; or that it can
still be accepted. Dark indeed, were the
centuries during which the change was effected.
And, when light began to illuminate the Church,
thousands of the best men and women were
cruelly tortured and consigned to death because
they raised their voice against this and other
corruptions which had crept into the Church.
It is within comparatively recent times that
this awful doctrine was taught in the form given
above. In the Council of Trent the most diverse
views were expressed by the recognised teachers
of the Church. Many argued and voted against

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS I05
the view that was finally accepted. The Canons
were carried by a small majority, composed
largely of Italians, sent by the Pope, with the
object of forcing his views upon the assembly.
This servile set outnumbered by more than a
hundred, the independent representatives of the
rest of Christendom. Members of the minority
openly expressed the opinion that it was useless
to attempt to hold their ground against the
Roman phalanx, who voted according to order
rather than from conviction. Hitherto it had
been an unwritten law of the Church, that
practical unanimity was necessary before a
decree could be made by a Council ; on this
fundamental question of the Eucharist, there
was anything but practical unanimity.
The Council completed its work in 1570.
In 1438, Cardinal Bessarion wrote as
follows :
" Paul delivered to us that which he had
received ; but since he delivered that only which
he writes in the Epistle to the Corinthians, that
he alone received ; and that alone saw the apostles
do ; for had he seen them do more, he would
have delivered that also. And he, in that Epistle,
says nothing more than that Christ broke bread
7

106 PAGANISM

with His hands, blessed, and gave it to His
disciples and said, ' Take, eat, this is my body.' "
Some of the earlier writers refer to the Passion
ceremonies, and bear witness to the fact that
though Jesus broke the bread, this is not now-a-
days done in the services. In 1458, in a dis
cussion between a Jew and a Christian, the way
in which the disciples present at the inauguration
of the feast would understand their Master's
words is well brought out. " As Christ said ' This
is my body,' so we in like manner say ' This is
the bread which our fathers ate in the land of
Egypt, though that bread has long since passed
away and exists no more. Thus it is sufficient
for Christians to say, that the sacrifice of the
altar is in memory of that bread of Christ,
though this bread is not that." 1
When the early Christians were taunted by
the heathen that they had no sacrifices in their
churches, they replied that they offered to God
what was better than a sacrifice of material
things : — faith, love, obedience. This is a very
different reply from what would be given by the
modern Romanist.

] Romanism, p. 126.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 107
The Canon of the Mass is quite opposed to
what is taught in the Creed of Pius IV. When
that was written very different views were held
from those which prevailed in later years. This
was clearly noticed by Bossuet, who undertook
to write a work for the benefit of those
who, by fear of persecution, had been driven
into the churches of his diocese. But the diffi
culties he attempted to clear away still
remain. The Canon of the Mass and the
decisions of the Council of Trent, as condensed
in the Pope's creed, are in absolute contra
diction. 1. " The only oblation recognised in the Canon
of the Mass is the offering of alms, of first-
fruits, and of the elements intended for con
secration ; the oblation thus preceding the
consecration. 2. " The idea of a corporal presence in the
Eucharist was then absolutely unknown, and,
had it been known, would have been eagerly
repudiated. 3. " The service implies throughout the com
munication of all present.
4. " Who all communicate in both kinds, as is
admitted even by the Roman advocates them-

108 PAGANISM

selves thus leaving no distinctive participation
for the priest alone." 1
Such was the custom prior to the 16th century.
From the words of the more ancient liturgy then
in use, the Mass consisted of , three parts ; an
oblation or gift to God of bread and wine as an
expression of thanks for His goodness ; the con
secration of these gifts into memorials of Jesus
Christ ; and finally, the reception of these by the
believers, who, by this means, were rendered an
acceptable sacrifice to God.
As a specimen of the views held at the Council
of Trent., the following are given. Cardinal
Cajetan thus expresses what he conceived to be
the teaching of the Scriptures. Writing a com
ment on Hebrews x. 1 8, " now where remission
of sin is, there is no more offering for sin," he
says, " From the fact that by the new law remis
sion of sins is made by the one offering of Christ,
no other offering for sin remains. For, in such
a case, an injury would be done to the offering
of Christ, as though it were insufficient. Nor
let the novice on this account be surprised that
the sacrifice of the altar be duly offered in the

1 Romanism, p. 132.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 109
Church of Christ. For this is not a new sacri
fice, but a commemoration of that which Christ
offered, according to Christ's own charge, ' This
do ye in remembrance of me.' For all the sacra
ments of Christ are nothing less than the appli
cation of the passion of Christ to the receivers.
It is one thing, however, to repeat the passion of
Christ, and another to repeat the commemoration
and application of His passion." x
Cardinal Contarini says practically the same.
" Do we not in the Canon say ' Receive, O Holy
Trinity, this oblation which we offer to Thee in
remembrance of the passion of our Lord JesUs
Christ ? ' and ' This do in remembrance of Me ? '
It is expressly said that we make a remembrance
of the passion of Christ, by which one sacrifice
we are reconciled to God."2 This is the very
opposite to the statement in the creed, viz., that
"in the Mass there is offered to God a true,
proper and propiatory sacrifice for the living and
the dead." In another book he says "in what
manner is the Mass a sacrifice ? It is a sacrifice
of praise, it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, it is a
1 Romanism, p. 137.
'Ibid, p. 138.

I IO PAGANISM

sacrifice because it is the memory of that only
sacrifice by which Christ through the Holy Ghost
offered Himself up for us to the Father."
There were four distinct views held then on
this important question. " Some affirmed that
Christ offered Himself in the supper, and, there
fore it was propiatory sacrifice. The second view
was that the sacrifice was not propiatory but a.
sacrifice of thanksgiving. The third was that
Christ offered Himself simply, and not in a
propiatory manner. And lastly there was the
opinion adopted and represented in the canons
of the Council."1 By the Italian contingent
this was forced on the Council, although it was
admitted that it was not capable of proof from
Scriptures, and was opposed to the common
faith of the teachers of the Church.
It is strange that any sane man can believe,
or any good man teach, that it is possible to eat
his God. And yet this is what this doctrine of
transubstantiation comes to. We have given
reasons for believing that many doctrines and
ceremonies distinctive of the Roman Catholic
Church have their origin in heathenism. But

1 Romanism, p. 139.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS III
this goes beyond the doctrines of paganism.
" When we call fruit Ceres," writes Cicero, " and
wine Bacchus we employ a common usage of
language. But who, think you, would be so
mad as to believe that that which we have eaten
is a deity ? " " Since these Christians," ex
claimed the philosopher Averroes on his death
bed, "devour the God they worship, let my
soul be with the philosophers."1 And this is
not an unfair statement of our apponets' views.
Here is the teaching of S. Alphonsus Ligouri,
in his well known work entitled, "Visits to
the Blessed Sacrament," a devotional book
recognised as suitable reading for the faithful.
" St. Paul extols the obedience of Jesus Christ
by telling us that He obeyed His eternal
Father unto death. But in this Sacrament His
obedience is still more wonderful, since He is
pleased not only to obey His" eternal Father, but
even man himself. Yes the King of Heaven
descends from His throne in obedience to the
voice of man, and remains upon our altars,
according to His pleasure. He is there without
motion, or apparent will, suffering Himself to
1 Romanism, p. 141.

112 PAGANISM

be carried about from place to place, and to be
given in communion, both to the just and to
sinners. Whilst He lived on earth He was
obedient to His blessed mother and St. Joseph ;
but in this Sacrament He obeys as many
creatures as there are priests upon earth." J
It is not surprising that the Romish Church
should teach in the Catechism of the Council
of Trent, that " Since Bishops and Priests as
the interpreters of God, are both a kind of
mediators, who in His name teach men the
Divine Law, and the precepts of life, and
sustain the part of God Himself on earth, it is
plain that no greater function can be imagined
than theirs ; wherefore they are deservedly
called not only angels, but even Gods, since
they have, among us, the power and the divinity
of the immortal God."2 And further, it is
affirmed that the priests of the New Testament
far exceed all others in honour. For the power
which is conferred upon them of making, as well
the Body and Blood of our Lord, and of remitting
^English Edition of Works, p. 70. Quoted in Primer
of Rom. Cath., p. 54
''Primer of Roman Catholicism, p. 78.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 113-
sins, surpasses human reason and intelligence,
nor can anything equal or like to it be found on
earth."1 Something like, though not equal to
it, is, as we shall see, common in Hinduism, and
in other heathen systems.
The blasphemy of this teaching is appaling.
In Butler's Lives of the Saints it is affirmed
that "the Eucharist is offered as a perpetual
sacrifice, by which our sin might be expiated,
and our heavenly Father be won from wrath to
mercy." It was in the year 121 5 that the doctrine of
the corporal presence of Christ in the Eucharist
was forced upon the Church by Innocent III.
But owing to the opposition which his teaching
aroused, he modified his views, so as to limit the
period of the change in the bread and- wine to
the moment they were taken into the mouth.
This modified view was condemned by the
Council of Trent.
The doctrine of the transforming of wafer and
wine into the actual body and blood of our Lord
is supported by legends of miracles wrought to
confirm the faith of the doubtful. "A priest
1 Primer of Roman Catholicism, 79.

1 14 PAGANISM

implored the Almighty to let him see and
handle Christ present in the Holy Eucharist.
His prayer was granted ; he saw upon the altar
the infant Christ He was bidden by an angel
to take the Child in his arms. He did so,
fondly embraced Him and kissed His eyes.
He then replaced Him upon the Altar, and
implored the Lord to assume His former shape.
The prayer was answered, and the Child was
again transformed into the ordinary Host.
Saints are reported to have seen the elevated
Host presenting the appearance of a boy,
shining like the sun, expressing approbation
with His looks, and speaking with His tongue,
and going into the mouths of communicants
when they were receiving the Eucharist." In
pictures, as in words, this fiction of a perverted
imagination is represented so as to appeal to the
mind through the eyes of the most ignorant. A
figure of the Saviour is represented as rising
from the wafer when raised for adoration. Pope
Gregory VII. is said to have authorized a vigil
in the Church of S. Anastasia in Rome in order
that a miracle might occur, similar to one which

3 Primer, p. 74.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 115
occurred in the time of Gregory the Great ;
that a finger might be seen in the place of the
wafer. The vigil was kept, but the narrator
confesses that the sign desired was not forth
coming. The manufacture of legends of miracles
to confirm the faith of the doubter is not peculiar
to the Papal Church. In India, similar stories
are found in abundance so that it is
difficult to accept as trustworthy, accounts of
miracles wrought in support of doctrines, or to
lead to the performance of special religious
ceremonies. The objection raised by the senses to the fact
of any change in the wafer and wine on the
altar, is skilfully anticipated in the Catechism of
the Council of Trent. Seeing that the wafer
may become corrupt, and the wine sour, even
after the stupendous miracle has been wrought
on it, how can it be ascertained that the
transformation has been affected ? " Since by
the common nature of men, it is abhorrent to be
fed with human flesh and blood, He most wisely
caused that the most holy body and blood
should be ministered to us under the appearance
of those things, namely, bread and wine, by the
daily and common sustenance of which we are

1 1 6 PAGANISM

specially gratified. And, moreover, there are
combined these two advantages : we are saved
from the calumnies of the infidels, which we
could not avoid, if we were seen to eat our Lord
under his proper appearance ; and, while we
partake of the body and blood of our Lord in
such a manner, that, though truly, it cannot be
perceived by the senses, this is of the greatest
efficacy in increasing faith in our souls."1
In order to true consecration, pure wheat
must be used for the wafer, and the wine must
be pure juice of the grape. And further, -there
must be a definite intention on the part of the
celebrant to consecrate all the elements he has
prepared. If the officiating priests, from any
cause, fail to have this definite intention, no
change is effected, 'and the unconsecrated host
being elevated, the people are guilty of idolatry ;
they give to wafer and wine the adoration which
can rightly be given to God alone.
When Jesus instituted this Sacrament, He
took the bread remaining over from the Passover
Feast, and brake it, and gave it to His disciples.
In place of bread, a round, flat wafer has been
1 Primer of 'Catholicism, p. 51.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 117
substituted, called a host. This, was the word
usually employed in pagan Rome for the
sacrificial victims offered on their altars. As far
as is known, the wafer was first used by Christian
converts in Arabia, where they had been used as
offerings to the local deities. The use of them
was forbidden in the Church as associated with
heathenism ; but afterwards the prohibition was
removed, and their use became common in the
Western Church. In the Eastern Church
ordinary bread is still used.
In another respect, the example of our Lord
is disregarded ; the wine is withheld from the
people, the wafer only given. The first indica
tion of this practice is found in the thirteenth
century. There was considerable objection
raised to the innovation, the people imagining
that they were defrauded of a right. But the
Church affirmed that under either bread or winei
" a whole and entire Christ, and a true sacrament
was received." Yet, strange to say, in the
recorded visions by which the faith of the people
in this doctrine is confirmed, part only of the
body of our Lord was said to have been seen.
The reasons for this practice are as follows : — ¦
to avoid spilling a drop of the blood of Jesus on

Il8 PAGANISM

the ground ; the Eucharist ought always to be
available for the dying ; if the wine be kept too
long, it may become sour ; wine of the right kind
cannot always easily be obtained : to refute the
heresy of those who asserted that a bloodless
sacrifice was under the appearance of the bread.
In some countries the withholding of the wine
from the people led to serious riots, and the old
order was temporarily restored until the pre
judices of the people were overcome.
Such is Romanism. In India there is a
striking analogy in the consecration of their
images. On days, sacred to a deity, temporary
images are provided for use at the festival.
These are made of mud from a sacred stream.
While in the hands of the workman, they possess
no sacred character. When finished they are
taken to the house where the ceremony is to be
held, and up to a certain moment are regarded
as gaily decorated lumps of mud. On the eve
of the festival, the act of life-giving is performed.
A priest recites texts, by which an invitation is
given to the deity to visit the house and inhabit
the image as his temporary dwelling. The eyes,
nose, ears, mouth, hands, feet of the idol are
touched in turn, by which, and the repetition of

TRANSUBSTANTIATION AND THE MASS 119
special texts,- a notable miracle has been
wrought ; the image is now supposed to be. a
living god. Only Brahmans may approach it ;
and their services are necessary to present the
gifts that the family wish to offer. When the
worship is over, a reverse process is gone through.
The deity is thanked for his presence, and dis
missed, and the image is thrown into the river
from which it came. The noticeable feature of
the transaction is : that by the repetition of a
formula, and the performance of certain ritual,
the mud is made divine and becomes a proper
object of adoration. Legends are not lacking to
show how want of faith in the supposed miracle
has been punished. Some are said to have been
struck blind, others killed for presuming to treat
the image as though it were not divine. ,
Where is there the slightest authority in the
Scriptures for the belief that a priest can
perform the greatest miracle the world has ever
witnessed ; — convert bread and wine into a God,
1
and demand the adoration of the faithful. If
there is a whole Christ in any particle, how .
many are there in a whole wafer ? Though God
is omnipresent, what evidence is there that the
human body of Jesus Christ has the power of

120 PAGANISM

infinite extension ? There was no manifestation
of this when he was on earth amongst men ;
rather the opposite. If the subject were not so
sacred, it furnishes abundant matter for ridicule.
And yet this has been and still is the teaching
of a Church which professes to be infallible !

CHAPTER VIII
THE FATHER FORGOTTEN ; THE SAINTS ADORED
In Roman Catholic communities, by many
people, the direct worship of God has practically
ceased ; the altars where the Saviour is repre
sented are largely neglected, whilst those of the
Virgin Mary and the saints attract the majority
of the worshippers. The explanation is simple.
Being afraid of the infinitely merciful Father
they hope to secure His favour through the
powerful intercession of these venerated persons,
and hence direct to them the adoration due to
God alone.
India furnishes an analogous case. The
Hindus affirm that "God is one without a
second," and in the same breath, with equal
emphasis, add that the One has manifested him
self in millions of forms. Very probably this
declaration of the divine unity is a survival from
the faith of their ancestors. The farther back
8

122 PAGANISM

their religious history is traced, the fewer are
their objects of worship, and there seems good
reason for believing that at one time monotheism
prevailed. But now all this is changed. The
One, who except by the more thoughtful is
practically forgotten, has manifested himself in
three chief forms, called the Creator, the Pre
server, and the Destroyer. Of these, the Creator
is largely ignored ; having finished the work of
creation, he has nothing more to give his wor
shippers. But as the Preserver and the Destroyer
are still influential, their aid is sought, with
costly gifts, or physical suffering. At various times,
and in various forms, it is affirmed they have ap
peared on earth, and, with their wives, attract the
adoration of the people. The supreme has been
supplanted by the three ; and, these again, have
been supplanted by later, so-called incarnations.
In addition to these divine beings, saints and
heroes have been raised to the position of demi
gods, to whom worship is rendered, identical
with that which is given to the gods themselves.
And this is justified on the ground that their
intercession will be helpful. Afraid to go direct
to a divine being, they try to interest these
friends at court on their behalf.

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN I 23
The teaching of the Church of Rome is almost
identical with this. "The saints, reigning to
gether with Christ, offer to God, their prayers
for men ; and it is good and useful to invoke
them with supplications ; but they who deny
that they, enjoying eternal happiness in heaven,
are to be invoked ; or who assert that they do
not pray for men, or that the invoking them is
idolatry, or that it is contrary to the word of
God, and opposed to the honour of the one Medi
ator between God and man, or that it is folly,
either by word or thought to supplicate them
are impious in their opinions."
Is it surprising, that, thus instructed, the
people should pray to and worship human beings
who have passed away ? It is true that in the
Romish Church it is affirmed that worship is of
three kinds ; — the lowest such as can rightly be
given to saints and angels ; a higher appropriately
offered to the Virgin Mary ; the highest to God
alone. But who can distinguish these ? If the
essence of idolatry is to give to a creature, what
is due to the Creator only, how dangerous, to
use no stronger terms, is it to teach that worship
of any kind can rightly be offered save to God
Himself. Roman Catholics have freely admitted

124 PAGANISM

this. At first many of her teachers deemed it
unwise to allow the practice of invoking the
saints, lest their converts should retain their old
superstitions. What is the natural consequence of this
teaching ? Sinful people find it easier to repair
to their fellow men for sympathy and help than
to the great God and Father ; or to the mighty
Saviour. In the Cathedral at Canterbury was
a shrine of Jesus Christ, another of the Virgin,
and another of Thomas-a-Becket In the boxes,
placed to receive the offerings of those who
sought the intercession of these advocates, on
a certain day, St Thomas' box contained £100 ;
the Virgin's, ;£io, that before the Saviour was
empty ! Whilst many invoked the help of a
man, none sought that of the Divine.
In an illustrated edition of the life of St.
Francis, published by authority, are two in
structive pictures. In one the Saviour is repre
sented as sitting in His throne judging the
world. The Virgin, seated at His feet, is asking
Him to spare it, and, in answer to her prayer
He does so. In the other, the saint is seen
dragging souls out of the scorching flames of
Purgatory.

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 125
Conversing with a lady educated in a convent,
it seemed to her as a real revelation, that God
was gracious ; more ready to bless than His
children to pray. It was an axiomatic truth
with her up to that time, that without the aid of
powerful intercessors it was vain to ask His
favour. In praying to saints, a very important matter
seems to be overlooked. A man may reasonably
ask counsel and help from a friend in matters
spiritual and secular, provided that friend is at
hand, and able to assist. Or, if he be at a dis
tance, a letter may be sent to him. But what
proof, what hint have we in the Scriptures, that
the saints, finite in knowledge, and unable, when
here, to be in more than one place at a time,
have become omniscient so as to hear the prayers
of thousands of people, and omnipresent, so as
to be able to assist their numerous suppliants ?
In life their knowledge and power were limited,
what evidence have we that death has endowed
them with divine attributes to enable them to
know the wants of all who pray to them. If
there were no harm in worshipping them, how
can they be conscious of the adoration of many
men in many places.

126 PAGANISM

In his history of the Christian Church, Mil-
man says, " Men passed from rational respect
for the remains of the dead, the communion of
holy thought and emotion which might connect
the departed saint with his brethren in the flesh,
to the superstitious veneration of relics, and the
deification of mortal men, by so easy a transition,
that they never discovered the precise point at
which they transgressed the unmarked, and un-
watched boundary. The worshipper felt and
acknowledged his dependence on these inter
mediate beings, the intercessors with the inter
cessor. They were arrayed, by the general
belief, in some of the attributes of Deity —
ubiquity ; the perpetual cognizance of the affairs
of the earth ; they could hear prayer, they could
read the heart, they could control nature ; they
had a power derivative, aided from a higher
source, but still exercised according to their
volition over all the events of the world. Thus
each city, and almost each individual began to
have his tutelar saint; the presence of some
beatified being hovered over and hallowed
particular spots, and thus the strong influence
of local and particular worships combined again
with that great universal faith of which the

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 1 27
great Father was the sole object, and the
universe, the temple. x And He expresses the
opinion that the Christians believed as firmly
in the existence of the old pagan deities as the
people who continued to worship them ; hence
their fierceness in demolishing the temples and
casting down the idols. 2
" An illustration of the new form assumed by
Christian worship may be seen in Paulinus, who
celebrates the nativity of St. Felix, the tutelary
saint of Nola. St Felix is at least invested with
the power ascribed to the intermediate deities of
antiquity. Pilgrims crowded from the whole of
south Italy to his festival. Rome, though she
possessed the altars of St. Peter and Paul, poured
forth myriads. St. Felix is implored by his
servants to remove the impediments to their
pilgrimage from the hostility of men and adverse
weather, to smooth the seas, and send prosper
ous winds. There is a constant reference indeed
to Christ as the source of his power, yet the
power is fully and explicity assigned to the
saint. He is the prevailing intercessor between
^History of Christianity, v. iii., p. 543.
2 Do p. 144.

128 PAGANISM

the worshipper and Christ. But the vital dis
tinctions between the paganised form of Christi
anity itself is no less manifest in the poems. It
is not merely as a tutelary deity in this life that
the saint is invoked ; the future state of existence,
the final judgment are constantly present to the
thought of the worshippers. St. Felix is en
treated after death, to bear the souls of his
worshippers into the bosom of the Redeemer,
and to intercede for them at the last day." 1
Christianity spread rapidly in the towns, be
cause the teachers could readily reach the people
there ; and because the reforming arm of the
law enforced the new regulations. Hence the
term pagan, meaning one who dwelt in the
country, became a synonym for one who followed
old religious cults. But such was the ignorance
of many of those country converts, that they
trembled lest the forsaken deities might punish
them for their infidelity and neglect. It is
therefore highly probable that it was not until
the whole of the tutelary deities had been re
placed by what may justly be called the inferior
deities of paganized Christianity, saints, martyrs
1 Millman's History of Christianity, v. iii., p. 543.

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 1 29
and angels, that Christianity was extensively
or permanently established in the rural districts.
To these saints of the new religion, distinct
duties were assigned as was commonly the case
with the gods of the old. Thus St. Cecilia is the
patron of musicians, St. Luke of artists, St. Peter
of fishmongers, and St. Crispus of cobblers. St.
Theodorus takes the place of Romulus, and is
supposed to heal the sick, and SS. Cosmos
and Damianus are the successors of ^Esculapius.
These were martyrs in ^Egaean Cilicia where
the god of health was commonly worshipped.
Years after their death, they are said to have
appeared to the Emperor Justinian in Byzantium,
and - their worship, especially among the sick,
spread far and wide. 1
The number of saints to whom prayers can
be addressed is increased from time to time.
At first bishops had the power to canonize any
whom they considered worthy of the honour,
but since the 12th century the prerogative has
been vested in the Pope. An imposing service is
held at which the process of saint making is
performed. The names of the illustrious dead
1 Taylor's Primitive Culture, p. 47.

130 PAGANISM

are proposed, and their virtues eloquently ex
tolled ; proofs are given of miracles performed
by them after their decease ; whilst an ecclesiastic
styled " the devil's advocate" raises objections to
the canonization. If the objections are con
sidered valid, the honour is refused ; if his
charges are declared non-proven, or trivial, the
addition to the goodly array of saints is com
pleted. The list is lengthy and goes back into
the early ages of the world. There are more
than enough for every day of the year to be
honoured with one, so those who cannot have a
day for themselves share one with others, and
that none may be omitted, they are honoured en
masse on all saints' day.
Who are the men and women who have
received this signal mark of honour, whose inter
cession, it is affirmed, is a Christian's duty to
invoke ? Noah is worthy of considerable respect,
seeing that faithful amongst the faithless, he
believed in God, and amid the ridicule of his
neighbours obeyed His command. But who
would think of invoking his aid? Yet in 1855
the Archbishop of Florentine thought differently.
For years the grape vintage in Tuscany had
failed, and in order to bring about a better state

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 131
of affairs, he published eight prayers for help in
this matter, one of which is addressed to Noah.
Presumably, as the patriarch had successfully
passed through a flood, he could assist those
undergoing a similar affliction. One passage is
very striking. " Most Holy Patriarch, Noah !
who didst employ thyself in thy long career in
cultivating the vine, and gratifying the human
race with that precious beverage which allays
the thrist, restores the strength, and enlivens the
spirit of us all : deign to regard our vines, which,
following thine example, we have cultured hither
to, and, when thou beholdest them languishing
and blighted by that disastrous visitation which
before the vintage, destroys the fruit (in severe
punishment for many blasphemies and other
enormous sins we have committed) have compas
sion on us, and, prostrate before the lofty throne
of God, who has promised to His children the fruits
of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine,
entreat Him on our behalf; promise Him, in our
name, that with the aid of divine grace, we will for
sake the ways of vice and sin, that we will no
longer abuse his sacred gifts, and will scrupulously
observe His holy law, and that of our holy Mother,
the Catholic Church," etc. This collection of

I32 PAGANISM

prayers concludes with one to the Virgin Mary
in which the phraseology differs from that used
in invoking Noah. She is implored herself to
save the vines from destruction ; Noah is asked
to implore God to grant their protection.
The great company of saints, who, by canoniza
tion have been made into a spiritual aristocracy,
contains some worthy of the respect of the whole
world, some who were not conspicuous for good
ness, and some who were positively bad. Some
lived before the Christian age, and never heard
of many doctrines, for the non acceptance of
which men are pronounced accursed ; others,
since that age, who in important questions such
as the Supremacy of the Pope, the invocation of
Saints, the existence of Purgatory, have openly
expressed opinions opposed to those authori
tatively taught ; and yet others, who, though
guilty of grave crimes, were useful members of
the one true Church. How some of these can
be regarded as helpful to the tried and tempted
is difficult to see. And as some were canonized
by men who were usurpers of the Papal throne,
their title to sainthood must be a doubtful one.
The practiceof raising the spirits of thedeparted
into demi-gods was frequent in Europe before the

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 1 33
Christian age. Whilst the greater gods were
common to Rome and other nations, each
district had its own local deities. To these were
added the manes, or spirits of their ancestors.
Later on came the deification of the Emperors,
both dead and living. When, therefore, people
familiar with the idea of mortals being raised to
the position of gods, came into the Church, they
wanted some inferior deities to take the place of
those they were commanded to forsake. These
people lived in fear of the infinitely great and
merciful Father, and sought the aid of those who
had passed into His presence as intercessors.
Their teachers, therefore, provided them with
saints and martyrs, who, in time, came to be
regarded as demi-gods, only slightly inferior to
the Virgin and her divine Son. The process
was a somewhat lengthy one by which a favour
was obtained — a saint was besought to intercede
with the Virgin, who, in her turn, would intercede
with the Saviour, and He would use His influence
with the Father. Strange indeed that this could
be possible when Jesus had declared that as the
Father loved His children, knowing their wants,
He would give all necessary good, even without
His own pleading on behalf of suppliants.

1 34 PAGANISM

To a Protestant it seems strange that people
can believe in the existence of a great number
of gods ; but a little thought will show that it is
not unnatural. The universe is vast, the wants
of men are many. As under an Emperor are
subordinate officers, each having charge of a
department, so they imagine it to be in God's
government. They think that He is too great
to attend to the trivial affairs of mortals, and has
delegated His power of control to subordinates.
Hence, it is believed, that there are gods of the
heavens, gods of the earth, gods of the sea, and
gods of the rivers. And the custom is, for a
suppliant to seek the help of the one in charge
of a department, rather than of the Supreme.
The newly converted heathen crowded into the
Church, with their minds filled with these super
stitions, and saints and angels were provided to
take the place of these deities to whom they had
been accustomed to pray. It is true, that in the
Church formularies, the worship which is given
to saints is said to be inferior in kind to that
which is given to God. Yet it is undoubtedly
true that the ignorant Christian, as the ignorant
pagan, lavishes his devotion on the inferior
being, who, as he believes, has given directly, or

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN I 35
obtained by his intercession, the desired boon.
God alone can pardon, says the formulary ; but
to whom is the gratitude of the pardoned soul
given ? God alone can heal ; but the votive
offering is laid at the foot of the image of the
Virgin Mary.
If further proof were wanted that Christian
saints occupy the place once given to pagan
deities, we have it in the fact that hills, springs,
and other places of resort, once known by the
name of the old gods, now have Christian names ;
and the special benefits obtained at these places
are sought from their modern guardians. The
following hymn addressed to St. Rosolia, the
protectress of Palermo, is almost identical in
spirit with what was commonly sung to heathen
guardians of cities : —
" Virgin modest as the rose,
Fairer than the lily's snows ,
Listen, whilst our lips disclose
A nations prayer —
Nature's scourges banish hence,
Earthquake, battle, pestilence ;
Oh grant us but thy firm defence
And come what dare."1
1 Blunt's Vestiges, p. 19,

136 PAGANISM

Blunt gives the following account of the way
in which Christians have substituted saints for
the old pagan deities.
They are the Lares, or household gods, and
are placed at the meetings of roads as of old,
and are decorated with flowers and corn. They
are made guardians of homes ; niches at the
entrance being occupied by images of the Virgin
and saints. They have places in the rooms,
where they are represented by image or picture,
and frequently a lamp burns in front of them.
They are guardians of the bed ; they are pro
tectors of travellers by land and sea. They give
names to vessels, as was common with the old
deities. Their figures are worn as charms ; and,
as of old, were statues of the gods in the fields
as guardians and protectors, some crucifixes and
images of the saints occupy their old places. 1
In the Cathedral of Lucca is an altar with the
inscription, " Christo liberatori ac Deis Tutelari-
lus." To Christ, the Deliverer, and to the
Guardian Deities." The very word being used
for the guardian saints which was usually em
ployed by the pagan Roman for his guardian gods!

1 Blunt's Vestiges p, 20, ff,

THE FATHER FORGOTTEN 1 37
Not only have the old statues of pagan deities
been utilized as the representatives of Christian
saints, but old legends, concerning some of the
better known, have been copied or adapted to
give peculiar glory to similar ones now in use-
Tacitus tells a story of the introduction of the
image of Serapis into Alexandria. Ptolemy had
sent to Pontus for this popular image, but king
and people objected to its removal. So it is
said that it quietly walked on board a ship, and
in due time reached Alexandria, where a magni
ficent temple was erected to receive it. At
Lucca is a celebrated image of the Saviour,
called the Volto Santo. This, according to the
legend, was made in Palestine, but as the work
man engaged could not form a suitable head,
one came direct from heaven. A Piedmontese
Bishop was anxious to secure this wonderful
work. Seeing a vessel in the port of Joppa,
without anyone on board, the Bishop, carrying
his treasure, reached the ship, and as soon as he
stepped on deck, the vessel started and sailed to
Lerici without captain and men. On reaching
port, no one but the Bishop was able to lift the
image, but he carried it to Lucca, where it has
since remained. 9

138 PAGANISM

As an illustration of the attitude of ignorant
people towards certain saints it is affirmed that
recently an old woman was heard praying in a
Church. She asked God to beseech St. Anthony
of Padua to find her keys for her !

CHAPTER IX
MARIOLATRY
In the previous chapter, it has been indicated,
how, in the Christian Church, saints have been
raised to the position once occupied by the
inferior deities of paganism ; in this chapter
attention is called to the worship of the Virgin
Mary. Two circumstances may be regarded as the
chief factors in originating her worship. Very
early in the history of the Church, controversies
of the fiercest character were carried on con
cerning the person of Christ. In the heat of
discussion those who differed in opinion were
vigorously cursed by their opponents, and con
signed to the fires of hell. The name of the
loving Jesus thus became intimately associated
with what was fierce and fearful, and men fancied
that some one more tender and gracious was
needed to render their approach to God less

140 PAGANISM

terrible. Who so suitable as His mother?
Would not she, who procured by her intercession,
wine for the wedding guests at Cana, plead for
the sinful and sorrowful.
Another, and, in the case of many, still more
powerful reason, was this. In their pagan days
they had worshipped goddesses as well as gods.
Whilst Jupiter and his male associates had been ¦
clothed with the sterner and more dreadful
attributes of Deity, the goddesses were the
impersonations of the more gentle and loveable.
The early Christians missed this class of divinity.
Accordingly Mary was gradually raised from
her humble position. Succeeding generations of
preachers and writers surpassed their predecessors
in sounding her praise, until she has come to be
regarded practically as divine, to whom worship,
second only to that which is due to God Himself,
can be rightly offered. And her grace has been
so lavishly sung, that many approach her with
greater confidence of being heard than when
they direct their appeal to the All-merciful
Father, and His All-gracious Son.
That in thus speaking there is no exaggera
tion, the following extracts from Rome's accredited
teachers clearly prove. The Council of Trent

MARIOLATRY 141

did not in its Canons authorize the worship of
the Virgin, but in the Catechism based upon
its decrees are these words : " rightly has the
Holy Church of Christ joined to this, giving of
thanks, prayers and supplications to the most
Holy mother of God, by which, suppliantly, we
might fly to her, that she would, by her inter
cession, reconcile God to us sinners, and obtain
for us those good things which are necessary for
us to this life and to life eternal."1
"We have to go a long way back in the
history of the Church before we reach the
commencement of this practice. In the 4th
century when the Council of Nice was called to
condemn the heresy of Arius concerning the
person of Christ, in order to secure a majority on
the orthodox side, Bishops from Egypt were
summoned. According to their belief, the three
persons forming the Trinity were, ' The Father,
the Virgin Mary, and the Messiah,' and Dr.
Newman, referring to this astounding fact,
elicited by the Nicene Council, speaks of these
discussions as tending to the glorification of
Mary. ' Thus the controversy opened a question
1 Tract, by Rev. Prebendary Pennington, p. 11.

142 PAGANISM

which it did not settle. It discovered a new
sphere, if we may so speak, in the realms of light
to which the Church had not yet assigned an
inhabitant. Thus there was a wonder in heaven ;
a throne was seen far above all created powers,
mediatorial, intercessary, a title archetypal, a
crown bright as the morning star, a glory issuing
from the eternal throne ; robes pure as the
heavens, and a sceptre over all, and who was the
predestined heir of that majesty ? Who was
that wisdom, and what was her name, the mother
of fair love, and fear, and holy hope, exalted like
a palm tree in Engadi, and a rose plant of
Jericho, created from the beginning, before the
world, in God's counsels, and in Jerusalem
was her power? The vision is found in the
Apocalypse, a woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars. The votaries of Mary do
not exceed the true faith, unless the, blasphemers
of her Son come up to it. The Church of
Rome is not • idolarous, unless Arianism is
orthodoxy.'1 Such is the language of an English
divine in the nineteenth century. If Jesus is

1 Two Baby Ions, p. 119.

MARIOLATRY 1 43

divine, and not as Arius taught, a created and
therefore subordinate being, then Mary is to be
exalted and worshipped. If she holds a ' sceptre
over all ' surely she can be little, if at all, less
than God. And this is acknowledged in some
quarters, for in Lisbon is a Church with this
inscription, " To the Virgin goddess of Loretto,
the Italian race devoted to her divinity, have
dedicated this temple."
Such a confession would probably be repudiated
by many, who do not, however, shrink from
giving her the intermediate homage which is
declared lawful. But from what follows, evidently
there is scarcely an appreciable difference in the
attitude of the soul towards her from what is
proper to God only.
In what is known as the Liturgy of St. James,
which, though bearing the honoured name of an
apostle, in its present form was unknown to him,
we find these words addressed to the Virgin
Mary. "Oh, Mother of ineffable light, honouring
thee with angelic songs, we exalt, we magnify
thy name. It is meet and just that we pronounce
thee truly blessed, Mother of God, ever blessed,
and in all the ways of thy life, unblameable and
pure ! Mother of our God, in dignity and honour

144 PAGANISM

above the cherubim, and in glory above the
seraphim, thou, who, without spot or stain of
human corruption, didst bring forth God the
Word, thee truly do we exalt and magnify ! To
thee, O full of grace, every created being pours
forth its congratulations. To thee who art the
hallowed temple, the spiritual paradise from
whom God assumed flesh and became a child ;
the God who is before all ages! Truly did He
make thy womb a throne that heaven itself could
not surpass in glory! Thou who didst bring
forth the true God, pray to Him, O Virgin, on
our behalf, that He would bless and save our
souls." The phrase " Mother of God " here twice
repeated, and now commonly employed in
addresses to the Virgin, was not admitted into
the Church without protest. It came into use,
possibly through the action of converts in Africa
who transferred the worship, formerly paid to
Venus, to the mother of our Lord, in which they
retained some familiar pagan ceremonies. In the
fifth century Anastatius, a presbyter, preached
against its use, and in this was supported by
Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople. But the
Council of Ephesus adopted it, and since then it

MARIOLATRY I45

has been regarded as proper. Now the epithet,
Mater Dei, Mother of God, was a name of
Cybele, a very popular goddess ih Italy. And
proof that the worship of this pagan deity
has been transformed to the Virgin, is seen in
the fact that Lady Day, now devoted especially
to her worship, formerly was Cybele's great
festival. In " The Garden of the Soul," a well-known
devotional work, are the following, amongst
many other epithets, equally striking : — " Holy
Mother of God," '• Mother of divine grace,"
" Gate of heaven," Morning star," " Refuge of
sinners," " Comforter of the afflicted." It will
be noticed that some of these are, in the Scrip
ture, applied to Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Spirit. And in harmony with such phrases is
the following prayer : — " Oh, Holy Mother of
God, despise not our petitions but obtain our
deliverance in all dangers. Pray for us that we
may be made worthy of the promise of Christ."
Another work entitled " The Glories of Mary,"
by Liguori, a saint canonized in 1 839, carries the
instruction farther still. " Although Mary is
under an infinite obligation to her Son, for
having chosen her to be His mother, it cannot

146 PAGANISM

be denied, but that the son is under great obliga
tion to her for having given Him His humanity ;
and therefore honours her in an especial manner
by granting all her petitions." But this is sur
passed in an awful travesty of one of the grand
est texts in the Bible, given as a quotation from
Bonaventura ; " As it is written of the love of
the Eternal Father that ' He so loved the world
as to give his only begotten son,' so also we can
say of Mary, that ' she so loved the world as to
give her only begotten Son for us.' " In a
similar spirit, with varied phraseology, this teach
ing is reiterated through the book. " The way
of salvation is open to none, otherwise than
through Mary." " Whoever expects to obtain
graces without the intercession of Mary, endeav
ours to fly without wings." " Go to Mary, for
God has decreed that he will grant no grace
otherwise than by the hand of Mary." "All
power is granted to thee [Mary] in heaven and
on earth, and nothing is impossible to thee."
" God has placed the whole Church under the
dominion of Mary." "To become the mother
of God, the Blessed Virgin had to be raised to
a sort of equality with the Divine Persons, by
an almost infinity of graces." In a professed

MARIOLATRY 147

quotation from another writer he says " You, oh
Holy Virgin, have over God the authority of a
mother, and hence can obtain pardon for the
most obdurate of sinners." And in another,
" You, oh Holy Virgin, can effect by your prayers
all that God can operate by His power."
Not only in phrases which might be regarded
as the impassioned utterances of an excited
imagination is the adoration of the Virgin
encouraged. Stories easily understood and re
membered are told to show that it is both easier
and safer to go for salvation to Mary than to
her divine Son. " Brother Leo saw a red ladder
on the summit of which was Jesus Christ, and a
white one on the top of which was His holy
mother. Some who tried again and again to
ascend the red ladder fell back ; they then tried
the white one and easily ascended it, for our
Blessed Lady stretched forth her hand to help
them and they got safely into heaven. Mary
is the mistress of heaven, for there she commands
as she wills, and admits as she wills." x In other
devotional works, though the form of words is
different, the teaching is practically the same.
1 Primer of Roman Catholicism, p. 124.

I48 PAGANISM

One writer declares that Mary was the repairer
of the guilt of Eve as our Lord was of that of
Adam." And another, Professor Oswald,
affirms that "She was the Woman as Christ
was the Man, and that she is co-present in the
Eucharist, and that it is an indisputable fact,
according to the Eucharistic doctrine of the
Church, this presence of Mary is true and real,
not merely ideal or figurative." x In the decree
concerning the Immaculate Conception, which
was authoritatively declared in 1854, Pope Pius
IX. declared that she " rose from the dead, and
being assumed on high, became Queen of
heaven." In a picture of the crucifixion, Mary
is represented with a sword through her breast ;
at the foot this explanation is given : — " Thy
beloved Son did sacrifice His flesh, thou thy
soul ; yea, thy soul and body." With such
teaching how is it possible for the people to
restrict their worship to what, according to the
formularies of the Church, is due to the Virgin ?
Where such views are held of her powerful
influence it is not to be wondered at that in
seasons of danger her aid has been sought, and

1 The Two Baby Ions, p. 391.

MARIOLATRY 1 49

that marvellous stories are told of deliverances
wrought by her. In the time of Gregory the
Great, a fierce pestilence raged in Rome, and
thousands of the people perished. The prayers
of the Pope failed to procure relief until he
ordered a solemn procession in honour of the
Virgin, and then the trouble ceased, and " before
the end of the procession, an angel was seen on
the Tower of Adrian, named ever since, the
Castle of St. Angelo, sheathing a bloody sword.
At the same moment the angels were heard
singing the anthem ' Triumph, oh Queen,
Alleluia.' "
" At a monastery of St. Peter, near Cologne,
lived a monk perfectly dissolute and irreligious,
but very devoted towards the Apostle. Unluckily
he died suddenly without confession. The fiends
came to seize his soul. St. Peter, vexed at losing
so faithful a votary, besought God to admit the
monk into Paradise. This prayer was refused,
and though the whole body of saints, apostles,
angels and martyrs joined at his request to make
interest, it was of no avail. In his extremity, he
had recourse to the mother of God. ' Fair lady ! '
he said, ' my monk is lost if you do not interfere
for him.' The Queen mother assented, and,

150 PAGANISM

followed by all her virgins moved towards her
Son, and the rest may be easily conjectured."
Hallam from whom this story is taken, gives
another, equally well calculated to lead the
sinner to trust in the Virgin as in a Saviour.
A nun ran away from her convent, and for ten
years lived a life of sin. During her absence the
Virgin- had filled her place so that her absence
was never noticed. On her return to the convent
she took up her old position, and no one was
aware of her flight. This service was rendered
because, whenever the girl passed an image of
the Virgin, she piously repeated an Ave before it.
We have already indicated what appears to be
the real origin of the worship of the Virgin, and
abundant proof of this can readily be found.
The pictures of the Madonna, by Italian and
Spanish masters, usually represent her as beauti
fully fair, with blue eyes, and golden hair. But
the prevailing type of beauty in those lands was
very different. The model was Venus, the most
popular of Roman deities, who was usually
painted in this way. If the older sculptures of
Venus and Cupid, and the more modern ones of
the Virgin and Child be compared, little doubt
will remain of the fact, that the later were copies

MARIOLATRY 15!

of the earlier. The common name of the Virgin,
Madonna, is simply a translation of a title of the
great goddess of Babylon.
The development of the worship of the Virgin
is very, clearly marked. The first step was the
authoritative use of the phrase " Mother of God."
Then came the festival of the Assumption ; a
feast founded upon a legend that three days
after her death her body was carried away to
heaven. In the eleventh century such language
as this could be used in a sermon preached on the
anniversary of that event: " Sovereign Lady of the
World ! Queen of heaven ! Seated at the right-
hand of God ; all-beautiful, because all-deified ;
and placed on the throne of the Trinity." Yet,
in some minds, an element of doubt concerning
this remained. Was she not, because born of a
sinful race, defiled by original sin ? And if so,
was she a fit object of worship ? This was dis
pelled by the decree of her immaculate concep
tion, by which, it is affirmed, that in her case,
sin's entail was miraculously cut off. By a
special act of God, she was freed from participa
tion in inherited evil common to the human race.
Although the' doctrine was not formally and
authoritatively announced until 1854, it had for

152 PAGANISM

a long time been accepted as the truth. Without
any share in inherited sin, and absolutely pure
in conduct, all ground for doubt regarding the
propriety of adoring her is removed. From the
lavish way in which her praise is sung, and from
the benefits promised those who supplicate her,
it is most difficult to see how any can accept this
teaching and be guiltless of giving to her the
adoration that is due to God only.

CHAPTER X
THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES
WHEN it is remembered that our Saviour lived
in a Jewish home, and observed the Jewish law
in religious and in social life, it is strange that
image worship should be common amongst His
followers. If there was one lesson, which, by
precept and punishment, God had impressed
upon that race, it was that image worship was an
abomination. Jesus did not in word condemn
the practice because it had ceased for centuries.
The temple of Jerusalem was free from visible
representations of the Deity ; the interior of
many Christian churches differ little from heathen
shrines. In pagan communities image worship is
common in private and public worship. The
Brahmans spend hours daily in their private
devotions, before representatives of their gods.
It may be a brass image, a shapeless stone, or
10

1 54 PAGANISM

moulded mud. He treats it as though it were
a living and powerful being ; going through a
series of ceremonies similar to that shown by a
host to an honoured guest. He raises it from
its couch, bathes it, and then places food before it.
If the day is hot, he fans it, if it is cold, he
clothes it warmly. With each symbolical act, an
appropriate text is recited. In the temples a
similar though more elaborate ceremony is
observed. On festival days, music and dancing
are provided for , his amusement. During the
hotter part of the day the temple doors are
closed to allow the Deity to have rest. What is
considered proper for an attendant to do for his
master, this in mimic fashion is done for the
image. When a man is grateful for favours
shown by the god it represents, he is lavish with
gifts to the idol ; when angry, because his desires
remain unfulfilled, he upbraids and punishes it.
If an intelligent man be asked whether the
image is really divine, he will reply, that God is
in the image as He is in everything else ; but that
some representation of Him is necessary to
secure a definite mental picture. If the ignorant
many be questioned, they will unhesitatingly
affirm that the image is a living god, and are

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 1 55
mortally afraid lest they should kindle its
anger. What is common in Roman Catholic Churches
does not greatly differ from this. Beautiful
works of art are placed in imposing buildings,
as representations of God the Father, the
Saviour, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. Un
doubtedly these assist in the formation of clear
mental pictures of the beings they represent ; but
the All-wise Father, knowing how easily the mind
rests on these, rather than on Him who alone is
worthy of worship solemnly forbade the making
of graven images, and repeatedly punished His
people for their disobedience. But, alas, men
deem themselves wiser than God. The danger
of the practice is fully admitted. A Roman
Catholic writer puts the case for their use in
this manner. "It is true that the use of these
signs (images) becomes dangerous. Formerly
God was obliged to forbid it to the Jews, the
Christians, however, thought they might without
risk imitate their predecessors the Heathen.
Serenius, Bishop of Marseilles, in order to pre
serve the new converts from the guilt of idolatry,
destroyed the images in his diocese. But St.
Gregory, the Pope, ordered them to be restored,

156 PAGANISM

considering that pastoral instruction would cor
rect the grossest of popular errors.1 Could human
presumption go farther? What God forbids,
Popescornmand. IfThepractice of placing images for worship
in Churches did not come from the teaching of
Jesus Christ, nor from Judaism, whence did it
arise? There can be but one answer to this
question : — it was from the paganism, which
Christianity had nominally overcome. In pagan
Rome, the temples were adorned with beautiful
statues : many of these were destroyed by zealous
Christians, others were allowed to remain after
receiving Christian names, and in place of those
that were destroyed, representations of the
Virgin or Saints were substituted.
What is the authoritative teaching of Rome
on this question ? The creed of Pope Pius IV.
says, " I most firmly assert that the images of
Christ, of the Ever- Virgin Mother of God, and
of other Saints are to be had and retained, and
that due honour and veneration are to be rendered
to them." In formal phrase it is taught, that
there is no honour and reverence due to the
1 Picart, quoted in Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 114.

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 1 57
image itself, but only to the being it represents ;
but some of Rome's admitted leaders, as we
shall see, have taught the very opposite. And
even had God not distinctly forbidden it, expedi
ency would have decided against it, when it was
known how the heathen regarded their images
as divine and living beings.
There is a general consensus of opinion that
image worship was unknown in the second
century after Christ. It was not until the fifth
that it became common. The tombs of the
Christians in the Catacombs were adorned with
symbols such as the dove, the cross, the good
shepherd, etc., but this was _ a very different
matter from the placing of images in the
churches. It was chiefly these and similar
symbolical ornaments with which the sacred
buildings were at first adorned. But in ' the
seventh century this was forbidden, and in their
place it was ordered that the Saviour should be
represented in human form. From that time
the custom has prevailed in the Western Church.
But fierce disputes indicate clearly that many
saw the evil and stoutly resisted the innovation.
In 726, an imperial decree ordered the removal
of all images excepting those of the Saviour.

158 PAGANISM

Four years later a far stronger one was issued
declaring the worship of images to be idolatrousi
and threatening with death those who practised
it. But what the Emperors forbade, Popes
ordered. The secular power commanded, the
spiritual refused to obey. The Empress Irene
summoned a Council at Nice in 870, the outcome
of which was that the edicts against image wor
ship were withdrawn. But her successor being
of a different mind, continued the opposition'
and the Council of Constantinople was called
to settle the matter. By the decrees of this
assembly whilst pictures were declared to be
permissible, images were forbidden. The East
ern Church accepted this decision, and to this
day, images are kept out of their churches ;
the Western refused ; and in that section of the
Church, the practice of image worship continues-
As a reason for their removal it was alleged that
their presence hindered the conversion of the
Jews and Mahomedans.
In the Council of Nice, the definition of image
worship was given. It was stated that " the
worship given to the Virgin and Saints was of
an inferior kind to that which is due to God, and
that the worship was not to be paid to the image,

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 1 59
whether of the Saviour, the Virgin, or the Saint,
but to the being, divine or human, whom it
represented." But St. Thomas Aqinas affirmed
the very opposite. " Since therefore Christ is to
be worshipped with the worship of latria," (the
superior kind of adoration which is due to God)
it follows that his image is to be also adored
with the worship of latria.
In the early centuries, the Christians carefully
pointed out to their pagan neighbours the
difficulty of restricting their worship to an
unseen being, when there was a visible represen
tation of him before them. And yet, after the
lapse of years, their descendants ignore this
teaching. In a statement made by Cassander
to the German Emperor at the time of the
Reformation, we have these words, " This
worship exhibited to God through images and
statues, even the most prudent of the pagans
held to be not sufficiently chaste and suitable
to God, but invented by superstitious men."
And he argues that if pagans felt this, how much
more ought Christians to condemn the custom.
Athanasius, and other early Christian writers,
uttered the sharpest denunciations against
what afterward became common in the Church.

i6o Paganism

Arguing with pagans, they declared that by
the use of images they practically denied the
omnipresence of their gods, and that a picture
of a person, though useful to recall the features
of an absent one, was useless when he was
present.1 And further, that a representation of
God ought to be living and rational and not a
lifeless image, conditions found in the sculptor
rather than in the sculpture.
It is alleged that images are " laymen's books,"
that is, they are for the less cultured members
of society. This was practically the defence
adopted by the old pagans when attacked by
the Christians ; now it is used by Roman Catholic
apologists when arguing with Protestants. But,
strange to say, although most people are far
better educated than their ancestors were, we
do not see any diminution in the use of this
help for the ignorant. Idolatry has, and ever
had, a fatal fascination for the human heart. To
condemn the practice that an infallible Church
has commanded, would be too flagrant an
admission of fallibility. What Rome was, she
is, and must continne to be. There appears

1 Romanism, p. 220.

The worship oF images 161
to be more hope of ending, than of mending,
her. Certain images are credited with greater
efficacy than others, which represent the same
being, divine or human. This has led people to
believe that some peculiar virtue must inhere in
them. This was seen by the more thoughtful
of Rome's teachers. In 1787 there was an
attempt to check the evil by an assembly of
bishops in Tuscany. They drew up a paper in
which these words occur, " The honour which is
due to images is only founded on the power
they possess of representing and reca1Hngr_thp
memory of their prototypes. Therefore equal
honour is due to all which represent that memory
decently, and there cannot, justly, be any
distinction between the worship of one image
and another."1 Yet crowds flock to images,
concerning which wonderful stories have been
put into circulation, imagining that blessings
unattainable elsewhere are there to be had for
asking. Many shrines of the Virgin are said to
possess greater potency than others. The
millions of India believe that their great god is
1 Romanism, p. 223.

1 62 PAGANISM

vastly more gracious at Benares, his favourite
city, than any where else. And legends en
courage this idea. Interested temple proprietors
have done their best to make them draw ; and
similar means have been used in Christendom.
A hurried description of the specially honoured
images would fill a volume ; all that can be
attempted is to select some of the more con
spicuous. It will be seen that in this, as in so
many other matters, the example of the old
paganism has been closely followed.
First of importance is the image of St. Peter
in the magnificent cathedral dedicated to him
in Rome. In an illustrated catologue of the
Vatican, it is said of this statue, "the metal
which previously served for a false divinity,
now serves a sacred and devout use." This
"false divinity" is generally believed to have
been Jupiter, as he was represented on the
Capitoline Hill by a magnificent image. " It is
thus that the Church /of Christ converts the
remains of superstition and error to a better
cause ; for whereas before, the metal only
expressed human madness, and the folly of the
Gentiles, the Church now exhibits it as a
monument of faith and devotion. On the

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 163
apostle's foot are imprinted the kisses of the
people, who assemble there to obtain the
indulgences granted by the Roman Pontiff.
Remembering that the bronze from which the
statue of the Prince of the Apostles was
formed, was, in remote times, an ornament of
the Capitol, we will add a few words on the
object presented to us. Jupiter Capitolinas was
so named from the temple of the God on the
Capitoline Hall. In one hand he held the
thunder, in the other a javelin. He was covered
with a purple robe similar to that of the Roman
Emperor. In the Vatican Basilica, on various
annual solemnities, it is also the custom to
clothe the statue of St Peter in full pontificial
dress, and so present it for the worship of the
faithful, rich with gold and gems." 1
Such is the description of this renowned
image, wherein in principle, does the later use of
the bronze differ from the earlier ?
Reference is made to two customs connected
with image worship; kissing and clothing the
images. Kissing is a very common form of
expressing devotion. Sometimes, as in the case
1 Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 121.

164 PAGANISM

of St. Peter's image, the lips of the worshipper
can touch the toe only ; sometimes the body is
kissed from head to foot ; and where the mouth
cannot be reached, kisses are thrown by the
hand as is common when friends part. As wax
images quickly wear away, the part usually
kissed, is covered with a metal sheath. In the
Church of Sopra Minerva in Rome, a marble
statue of the Saviour by Michael Angelo has
had to be protected in a similar manner ; though
of late years it has scarcely needed it, as the
Virgin's images have almost entirely superseded
those of the Christ. In the Augustino and other
places, the statues of the Virgin are protected in
this way.
Whence has arisen this practice ? It is not
universal in heathenism. The people are care
fully excluded from Hindu temples. Brahmans
only being permitted to enter. It was different
with Pagan Rome. " In the temple at Agrigen-
tum, "writes Cicero," is a bronze statue of
Hercules, than which it would not be easy to
find anything more beautiful. Its mouth and
chin are slightly worn away, because the people,
in their prayers and thanksgiving, are not only
in the habit of worshipping, but also of kissing

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 165
it." Lucretius, who died in the year 55 B.C., tells
us that in his day the hands of idols were treated
in a similar manner to that which is common
now. " Then near the door, the reverend statues stand,
Worn down and polished is the outstretched hand.
So oft the crowd respectful, as they pass
Salute and touch the consecrated brass."
The clothing of images on festival days is a
common practice. As the Capitoline Jupiter
was arrayed in the imperial purple, his successor
the Christian Apostle is arrayed in vestments
similar to those worn by the Pope. This adorn
ing of statues is not confined to that of St. Peter.
It is considered a meritorious act to provide
garments and jewels, especially for the images of
the Virgin. In the sixth book of Iliad is a graphic
account of Hecuba, the Trojan Queen, when
seeking help of Pallas, presenting her with the
most costly garments obtainable. In heathen
Rome the people regarded the images as living,
and made offerings of a kind such as they
imagined would be welcome to them. In
Christian Rome a similar superstition leads to a
similar practice.

166 PAGANISM

There are other ceremonies that seem equally
strange until the customs prevailing in Christen
dom anterior to the establishment of Christianity
are known, then the mystery disappears. On
days devoted to the worship of a saint, an image,
or it may be a relic representing it, is carried
through the streets. Priests, soldiers, bands of
music, banners, etc., are called into use ; in fact,
whatever is calculated to gather and impress a
crowd. The image is taken to pay a visit of
respect to another church, and on its return, a
bountiful feast is spread before it. In times of
calamity, as special help is wanted, special pro
cessions are got up to secure it. In a precisely
similar manner on days devoted to the deities,
the images of the old gods of Rome were treated.
What is pleasing to themselves they imagined
would please the deity ; hence the universal
feasting on such occasions. As the temples were
usually closed for a few hours in the afternoon,
whilst the gods were having their siesta, the
churches are closed to-day. If the gods were
unpropitious, their images were cursed, beaten,
reproached. On the death of Germanicus, the
people were so angry that they pelted the images
with stones ; and Augustus took revenge on

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 1 67
Neptune for the loss of his fleet by refusing to
allow his image to be carried in the procession
to the games which followed shortly afterwards.
To-day it is common for the images to be ill-
treated when the saints represented by them
have not been gracious to the suppliants.
There are images in various parts of Christen
dom said to work miracles in the sight of their
adorers. It is a significant fact that there is
scarcely one which has not its original in old
Rome. Has an image of the Virgin been seen
to weep ? To this power of the gods of his day
Lucan alludes, when speaking of the prodigies
that occurred during the civil wars : —
" Tears shed by gods, our country's patrons,
And sweat from Lares, told the city's woes."
Virgil too refers to similar wonders : —
" The weeping statues did the wars foretell
And holy sweat from brazen idols fell."
When in the consulship of Appius Claudius
Publius Crassus was slain in battle, Apollo's
statue at Cumce shed tears for four days without
intermission. If a Madonna can wink, the
images of paganism can laugh, Has an image

PAGANISM

of the Virgin the power to look benignantly
on her worshippers and send them home happy ?
The image of the Egyptian Isis was so con
structed that the silver snake on her forehead
could shake."i
In a previous chapter mention has been made
of the miraculous manner in which some images
have been transferred from one place to another.
Probably the story of an image of Cybele was
the original. The vessel which brought it
to Rome ran aground at the mouth of the
Tiber. Nothing could move her, until a girl,
whose purity had been questioned, tied her veil
to it. Being able to tow it into the city by so
slender a rope, her innocence was proved beyond
question. As a rule, the images of the Virgin represent
her as beautiful and attractive in appearance.
At Auvergne there is a black image of the
Madonna as ugly as an artist could make it.
Probably in former days there was a popular
local deity represented in this form, whose
worship was superseded by this unique image of
the " Queen of Heaven." In a similar manner

1 The Two Baylons, 277.

THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES 169
in India, the goddess Durga, beautiful in form,
and attractive in appearance, as she is re
presented at one season of the year, at another
her image is black, and her appearance as
savage and cruel, as can be imagined. It is
known that this repulsive image is a representa
tion of a goddess once commonly worshipped
in Bengal, upon the cult of which that of the
more benignant looking Durga was grafted.
Now they are declared to be differing forms of
the same deity. Might not a Roman Catholic
prelate have said of the whole system what he
was bold enough to say of the Cathedral of
Orvieto, where classic deities and Christian
saints are represented side by side," this is
paganised Christianity ? "

11

CHAPTER XI
THE VENERATION OF RELICS i
In the Creed of Pius IV. it is declared "that the
relics of the Saints are t^o be venerated." When
Dr. Manning was about to establish a branch of
the Order of St. Charles in England, he visited
Milan, the head-quarters, to learn all he could
about the saint, and the rules of the institution.
In a letter to Cardinal Wiseman, he said "the
Archibishop received me very kindly, and has
given me two relics of the blood of St. Charles.
There was no portion of the body to be obtained."
About forty years ago, the Pope, as a special
favour, gave what was declared to be a tooth of
St. Peter, to the Emperor of Austria.
Very early in the Christian era the tombs of
the martyrs were regarded as specially sacred.
To them the persecuted resorted for prayer, that
by the remembrance of their faithfulness>
they might be kept stedfast. By a short step,

THE VENERATION OF RELICS 17I
not the place of interment only, but part of the
saint's body, or property, came to be regarded
as worthy of veneration. Over their tombs
churches were erected ; and in more distant
places, others were built to commemorate
them and under the altar their relics were
treasured. So desireable did the Church con
sider this practice, that by the Second Council
of Nice, in the year 787, a decree was made
forbidding the consecration of a Church unless
relics could be obtained. The greater the
number of such treasures, and the greater the
saint to whom they had belonged, the more
holy the building in which they were enshrined-
Wonderful stories of miracles wrought by these
remains were circulated, and many came to
secure the benefit obtainable from them. Lecky
has called attention to the fact, that, as know
ledge spreads, the accounts of miracles become
less frequent, until they entirely cease, and
quotes an ingenious explanation of this from
Bishop Spratt " God never left Himself with
out a witness in the world ; and, it is observable,
that he has usually chosen the dark and ignorant
ages, wherein to work miracles, but seldom or
never times when natural knowledge prevailed

172 PAGANISM

For He knew that there was not so much need
of extraordinary signs, when men were diligent
in the works of His hands, and attentive to the
impression of his footsteps in His creatures." 1
It is not easy to say exactly when the transition
from simple reverence for the faithful witnesses
was made to an idolatrous veneration of their
remains. The belief in the resurrection of the
body led the early Christians to bury rather that
burn their dead. And the martyrs especially,
they were anxious to honour with decent burial.
Probably it was during the age of persecution
that the evil spread rapidly ; so that in a short
time, what was to the more intelligent a mere
memento of an honoured disciple of Jesus Christ,
was treated by the more ignorant with the same
respect, and accredited with even greater power
than its owner had exercised during life. In
the Acts of Fructuosi, who died in the year 259,
the friends of the martyrs are forbidden to retain
any relics. When a martyrdom took place the
Christians came by night to carry off the charred
remains. But, it is said, the saint appeared to
forbid this practice. Though the earliest mention

Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe, I. p. 145.

THE VENERATION OF RELICS 173
of the veneration of relics is in the fourth century,
it is probable that it originated at an earlier date.
From that time stories of miracles wrought by
relics increase in number and extravagance.
That the people should venerate, and even
worship such things, can scarcely be wondered
at, when we read the words of their religious
teachers. Chrysostom says "Let us fall down be
fore their remains, letjjsembrace their coffins, for
the coffins of the martyr's acquire great virtue.
The bonesof the martyrs drive, away disease,
and put death to flight. Where the bones of
the martyrs are, the devils fly as from fire." St.
Basil declared " that from the tomb of Juletta at
Caesarea, a spring of water issued, which was a
safeguard in health, and a comfort to the sick."
At Aries, in order that the whole city should
benefit by the remains of Genesius, his blood
was allowed to remain where it fell, but his
body was carried to the district on the opposite
side of the river. St. Augustine solemnly
affirms that " in his own diocese at Hippo, in
two years only, no less than seventy miracles
had been wrought by the body of St. Stephen ;
and that in the neighbouring Province of
Calama, where the relic had previously been

174 PAGANISM

preserved, the number was incomparably
greater. He gives a catalogue of what he
deems undoubted miracles, selected from a
multitude so great, that volumes would be re
quired to relate them. In that catalogue we
find no less than five cases of restoration of life
to the dead." i When Bishop Projectius brought
the relics of St. Stephen to Aquse Tibulitinas,
the people came in crowds to welcome them.
Amongst these was a blind woman, to whom
the Bishop gave some flowers which she pressed
to her eyes and was able to see. Another
story, as told by Augustine, is as follows.;
A tailor who had lost his coat, and was too
poor to buy another, went to the shrine, of
the twenty martyrs, and asked their help. As
he left the place, a number of boys made fun
of him, asking what the martyrs had done for
him. Walking along he saw a fish lying
panting on the shore. This he sold to a cook,
and went home, hoping to get a new garment.
But soon afterwards, the man who had bought
the fish, came to the tailor with a gold ring
which he had found inside it. Thus the man's
1 Rise and Influence of Rationalism, I. p. 163,

THE VENERATION OF RELICS 175
prayer was answered more generously than even
he had expected. 1
Such stories are not confined to a fardistantpast.
" In 1870, an Italian lady afflicted with incipient
cancer, was exhorted by a Jesuit priest to
commend herself to the Blessed John Berchmans,
a pious Jesuit novice of Belguim, who died in
1621, and was beatified in 1865. Her adviser
procured for her three small packets of dust
from the coffin of this saintly innocent, a little
cross was made from the boards of the coffin the
blessed youth occupied, as well as some portion
of the wadding in which his venerable head was
wrapped. During nine days' devotion, the patient
accordingly invoked the Blessed John, swallowed
small portions of his dust in water, and at last
pressed the cross to her breast so vehemently
that she was seized with sickness, went to
sleep, and awoke without a symptom of the
complaint"2 The bones of the Old Testament saints were
regarded as unclean by the Jews and converts
from Judaism ; butin thefourthcenturytheattitude
1 The Two Babylons, p. 258
'Taylor's Primitive Culture, ii. p. 112,

176 PAGANISM

of Christians towards them was very different.
In a letter to Marcella, written by Paula in the
year 386, it is suggested that on her visit to the
Holy Land, she should pray at David's tomb,
hasten to the tabernacles of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob ; visit Samaria and adore the ashes of
John the Baptist, Elisha, and Obadiah. Jerome
affirms that Arcadius translated the bones of the
prophet Samuel from Judaea to Thrace. By the
aid of Charlemagne the following relics are said
to have been found : the blood, hair, and
garments of John the Baptist, the bones of
Zacharias, some memorials of Simeon. In the
fourteenth century it is affirmed that some of
.Noah's beard was on view.
Of our Saviour, as might have been expected,
there are many relics reverenced. The wood of
His cross was naturally an object to be desired;
and it is affirmed, on good authority, that of this,
enough could be collected from churches in
Christendom to make many. The teachers of
the Church do not deny it, but explain how it
has come about. It has been miraculously
increased by God, as the bread increased in the
hands of the disciples in order that the multitudes
might have food in the desert. The reed on

THE VENERATION OF RELICS 1 77
which a sponge was offered Him, as He hung
upon the cross, as also the sponge itself; the nails
which pierced his hands and feet ; the pillar
against which He leaned whilst He was scourged ;
the thorns of His crown are all somewhere to
be seen ; whilst his garments have multiplied
indefinitely ; no less than twenty cathedrals
have professed to be in possession of His seam
less robe. A reliquary at Corbie is especially
rich in relics of our Lord, as it is affirmed that it
contains some of His blood and hair; the
manger in which He lay, the napkin that was
about His head in the tomb, part of His cross,
and some of His garments.
As the body of the Virgin was said to be
carried to heaven three days after her death
there are but few relics of her to be had. Amongst
others, it may be mentioned, that what professes
to be her hair, her milk, her girdle, her veil, and
shreds of her garments, are carefully preserved
in various places. The most important relic of
her is her home, which was miraculously con
veyed from Syria to Italy.
The heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, and
portions of their bodies, are said to be kept at
the Churches sacred to them in Rome. But the

178 PAGANISM

most wonderful relic is a cloth, with which a few
drops of water were wiped up, which fell from
the robes of St. Stephen when he appeared in a
vision to a man on board a ship in distress.
As the demand for relics increased, the supply
proportionately increased. Many made profit
from the sale, and others made profit from
their exhibition. In some instances, articles
professedly worthy of veneration were rejected,
because they could not stand the tests that were
applied. Our own country furnishes a typical story of
relic finding. Tradition teaches that St. Alban
was the first Christian martyr in Britain. He
was a Roman citizen who was put to death in
the Diocletian persecution for harbouring a
friend. On the spot where he was put to death,
the cathedral now stands. There is no real
proof that St. Alban or his friend ever lived; the
name of the friend being Amphibolus, and may
mean his cloak.
In the year 793 the Church and monastery
were founded by the Saxon King Offa, as an
atonement for the guilt of murder. Relics were
wanted for the consecration. Some one dreamed
that St. Alban's bones were to be found in a

THE VENERATION OF RELICS 179
certain place. Priests and people marched in
solemn procession to the spot, and a light flash
from heaven indicated exactly where the excava
tion should be made. A box was found, and the
sacred remains transferred to the Cathedral. In
the shrine are holes, where the limbs or clothes
of the sick were able to reach the saint's remains,
by whose virtue they hoped to regain health.
Some years later, doubts arose amongst the
monks regarding these relics. As one of these
doubters was reciting the evening service in
honour of the saint, he was terrified at seeing a
stranger who said, " I am Albanus ! Didst thou
not see me come from the tomb ? " This settled
the matter. Further proof was unnecessary.
It was not until the sixteenth century that
there was any serious condemnation of relic hunt
ing and relic worship. Attempts had been made
to regulate it. In 675 a Council condemned
the custom of Bishops marching in procession
before relics as though they were the ark of the
Lord ; but at the Council of Trent it was en
couraged rather than condemned.
A meeting for prayer and praise at the scene
of an act of heroism, or the erection of a church,
to commemorate an act of fidelity to conscience is

180 PAGANISM

innocent and beneficial. But when a church
cannot be consecrated without relics ; or when
they are held up for veneration, and people flock
to them for healing, they cease to be innocent
aids to devotion. To many they are idols, and
their veneration idolatry. Most strange it is
that men can believe a lifeless bone to have
greater power for good than a living man. It is
another form of the superstition that the dead
are more powerful than the living. The Romish
Church, rather than correct this, has made use
of it as a means of filling her coffers.
Was the veneration of relics original ? It was
not apostolic, nor Jewish, but it was pagan.
Plutarch tells the story of Cimon searching for
the bones of Theseus. Seeing an eagle tearing
up the earth, he took this for a heavenly sign
where to dig, and was rewarded by the sight of the
hero's body. Athens rejoiced at the discovery,
erected a splendid building to receive them, and
set apart a day to commemorate their recovery.
The shoulder bone of Pelops was indicated by
an oracle as a means of saving the Eleans from
a pestilence. The Thebans preserved the bones
of Hector, as a means of securing prosperity. In
Egypt, such was the demand for relics of their

THE VENERATION OF RELICS l8l
gods, that many cities had arms and legs of the
same Deity. '
In Hinduism reverence for relics is not
common. The custom of burning the dead has
largely deprived the people of these treasures.
Moreover, according to their system, contact
with a dead body is defiling. But there are two
notable exceptions to this rule.
The goddess Parvati committed suicide, and
her husband, mad with grief, wandered about
with her dead body. As this caused great
trouble, a god named Vishnu cut it into fifty
pieces, and wherever a part fell, a temple grew
to honour it These buildings are hundreds of
miles apart ; but it is the relic contained in them
that gives them peculiar sanctity. As Puri, in
the celebrated temple of Jagannatha, it is
affirmed that the bones of Krishna, a Hindu
deity, are enshrined. This place was the chief
centre of Buddhism ; but when the older Hindu
ism re-asserted itself, and the Buddhists were
persecuted, the shrine of the heterodox worship
was made attractive to the orthodox, by
placing within the image the relics of the Hindu
god. But in Buddhism, the veneration of relics, to

182 PAGANISM

say the least, is as prominent as in the Roman
Catholic Church. As a rule, these are preserved
in buildings erected specially for their preserva
tion, rather than in temples. In a standard
work is an account of the erection of a Dagoba,
as these reliquaries are called. As soon as it
was ready, the master of the ceremonies is said
to have sprung into the air, to the height of
seven palm trees, and brought down a casket
containing the dress of Buddha, which he laid
aside on entering the priesthood. This was
solemnly placed in its shrine. In various places,
Buddha's teeth, nails, bones, hair, are sacredly
preserved, and on festival days exhibited. Many
miracles are said to have been wrought by them.
Some time after his death, an attempt was
made to collect his scattered limbs, and an
annual festival is held to commemorate that
event. In its main features, the veneration of
relics is very similar in Christendom and
heathendom.

CHAPTER XII
SHRINES AND PILGRIMS
The idea that special sanctity attaches to
certain places, where blessings unattainable
elsewhere may be secured, is common in pagan
ism. Nor is this surprising. Believing in many
gods, by an offering at one shrine the aid of one
deity is invoked ; at another shrine quite a
different being. These may be not merely
unfriendly but positively hostile to each other.
But it is surprising that those who believe in an
Almighty Father should adopt similar methods ;
and especially when this practice was distinctly
condemned by the Saviour. In answer to the
woman of Samaria, who affirmed that her people
considered that district most suitable for worship,
whilst the Jew considered Jerusalem peculiarly
holy, He said, " The hour cometh when ye shall
neither in this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem,
worship the Father."

184 PAGANISM

In India, as in other non-Christian lands,
shrines are numerous. Some enjoy only a local
fame ; others attract people from most distant
parts of the country. Different boons are sought
at different places ; by visiting many, almost
every good for this life and the next, can, it is
hoped, be obtained. And there are Christian
shrines almost perfectly analagous. In both
cases touts are employed, or other means used to
advertise them. Shrine management is a
lucrative business. The more visitors, the
greater the income.
The Ganges is regarded as a holy and sanctify
ing river throughout its entire length ; but four
places are superlatively so. To these pilgrims
go in myriads. The source of the stream, where
the melted snow from the lofty peaks of the
Himalayahs, rushes into the plains ; Allahabad,
where two branches unite; Benares where the
great god has his favourite earthly home ; and
Saugor Island, where river and sea meet It is
the boon of salvation that the visitors hope to
secure by bathing. Rightly understood, it is not
deliverance from the love and power of sin
that is sought, but deliverance from the penalty
of sin. Bathing is an act of merit, which can be

SHRINES AND PILGRIMS 1 85
employed as a set-off against offences. Of the
river shrines Benares is by far the most important.
Fully two-thirds of the people met there are
pilgrims. Some go for a few days only, others
remain for years, and others are carried there to
die. The great god, in a fit of anger, cut off one
of the Creator's heads. This stuck to his hand until
he came in sight of the city. Delighted that he
had, at last, lost the sign of his sin, he promised
salvation to all who visited, and a speedy
entrance into heaven to those who died there.
There is another place, Puri, where salvation
is promised to the visitor. There the boon is
to be obtained by seeing the image of the god.
The greater gods united their energies to endow
this shrine in order that there might be a means
whereby the greatest sinner could obtain deliver
ance, no matter against ' whom the offence was
committed. Other shrines promise deliverance from bodily
sickness. To these the blind and dumb, the lame
and halt, the leper and epileptic go in crowds to
bathe in a filthy pond, and drink polluted water.
Stories of their healing virtue are circulated by
interested people ; but it is difficult to find any
who have derived benefit. The suffering ones
12

1 86 PAGANISM

present admit that their troubles remain, but are
comforted with the assurance that the virtue of
the visit will be experienced on their return home.
Many of these shrines have been celebrated
for centuries ; but occasionally new ones' are
added There is another class of religious resorts that
should be mentioned ; those to which pilgrims
go to benefit their ancestors rather than them
selves. Gaya, in North India, is visited annually
by large numbers of people who go there to
perform part of the ceremonies for the dead,
under the impression that they will then exert
far greater influence than if performed at home.
Not only the person who has recently died, but
remoter ancestors are said to be greatly benefitted
in this way.
There are Christian Shrines where almost
identical benefits are expected. First come
those visited with the hope of getting salvation
from sin. In christian countries, as in heathen,
it is deliverance from the penalty rather than
the power of sin that is promised. Indulgences
are the reward of all who make a pilgrimage to
them : and an indulgence is simply the remission
of the punishment attached to sin. In the lette

SHRINES AND PILGRIMS 1 87
authorizing Tetzel to sell them to enrich the
revenues of Rome, we learn what benefit they
promise. " We, Leo, have granted John Tetzel the
most ample power of communicating indulgences,
so that he can absolve in all cases, specially and
generally, and in any manner so ever, reserved
to the Roman Apostolic See, such as the same
See would be rightly consulted upon. Also of
absolving from sins repented of, confessed, and
forgotten, and even from those not repented of,
and not confessed ; and, in the moment of death,
of bestowing a universal remission of all sins,
guilt, and penalty to be paid in Purgatory.
Also to shut the gates of hell, and to open the
gate of Paradise."1 Can human presumption
surpass this? God promises pardon to the
penitent ; the Pope offers it, for a money con
sideration, to the impenitent. The Hindu
promise is that the act of bathing will remove
all sin, past, present, and future. The Pope's
indulgences promise practically the same bles
sing. At any rate sins as yet uncommitted can
be cancelled by them.
The Pope grants indulgences to those who
1 Romanism, p. 235.

PAGANISM

visit certain churches, repeat a prayer before an
image, or crowd to see a reputed relic of our
Saviour or a saint. Superstitious people fulfil
the condition under the impression' that they
can escape from the penalty attached to sin.
They trust in God for deliverance from the
condemnation of hell, they buy, by money or
service, an indulgence to free them from the
lesser punishment. When a Japanese pilgrim
visits a temple at the foot of the sacred mountain,
he receives a stamped certificate, which, in his
estimation, is a passport to heaven, as a similar
document with an official stamp, is a passport
to the town he wishes to visit. In principle it is
difficult to see wherein the Christian method of
salvation is superior to the Buddhist. The
origin of the Roman Catholic system of obtain
ing money by, the sale of pardons, very probably
was a practice of the Emperor Vespasian.
When he was in need of funds, he filled his
coffers by selling pardons to criminals.
As an illustration of the shrines to which
pilgrims are attracted by the promise of an
indulgence, the Cathedral of Treves may be
•mentioned. The authorities there have what
is called "The Holy Coat," the seamless robe

SHRINES AND PILGRIMS 1 89
of our Saviour which he wore up to the time of
the crucifixion, and for which the soldiers cast
lots. The Empress Helena, mother of Con-
stantine, is said to have acquired it during a
visit to Jerusalem, and to have given it to the
Cathedral where it is now kept. By many it is
implicitly believed that this garment is what it
professes to be, and is worshipped accordingly.
Strange to say the first written notice of this
treasure is eight centuries after the time when
it was discovered. The lady who found it is also
credited with finding the Cross of Calvary. She
went to secure relics, and she secured them, or
what served her purpose as well. Legends of
an extravagant character have been multiplied
about this robe. The Virgin Mary, it is said,
spun the cloth. Herod gave it to a Jew, who
cast it into the sea. A holy pilgrim recovered
it, but because he was nnworthy to possess
such a sacred treasure, he threw it back into the
sea, and it was swallowed by a whale. In due
time the whale was caught, and the garment
was purchased by the King of Treves, for the
thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying
his Master, this money being supplied by the
Virgin Mary. Once in about fifty years it is

190 PAGANISM

exposed to view, and about two millions of
people file before it. In special cases the sick
are allowed to touch the glass case in which it is
kept ; but this favour is not easily obtained. An
indulgence of seven years is promised to those
who see it, which indulgence can be enjoyed
by the pilgrims themselves or transferred to^a
soul in Purgatory.
As an illustration of Christian superstition
similar to that which leads a Hindu to visit a
shrine rather than a physician in case of sickness,
the pilgrimage to Lourdes may be given. In
1858 a girl declared that she saw a vision of the
Virgin Mary, which was repeated several times.
At last the Virgin informed her that a spring of
water running near by had miraculous powers of
healing, and sent a message to the priest of the
village to build a church. Eventually this was
done, and the fame of the place has rapidly
grown, until now there is an annual pilgrimage
mostly of sick folk and their friends. The
methods employed are similar to those in*
India : — the drinking of the water, and bathing
the affected parts with it. Careful examination,
by trustworthy and disinterested parties, proves
that a few of those who go are benefitted ; but

SHRINES AND PILGRIMS 191
the sufferings of most are increased by the
long journey, and discomforts of the place.
Stories of faith healing, where no outward and
visible means for recovery are employed,
are as wonderful as the reported cures at
Lourdes. The excitement of travel, the general
commotion at the shrine, the stories of
miraculous cures which are recited, and the
expectation of good, will account for most, at
any rate, of the restorations with which " Our
Lady of Lourdes " is credited.
As an instance in the Romish Church, where
a shrine is resorted to rather for the benefit of
the dead than the living, may be given that at
New Pompeii, an interesting account of which is
found in the "Sunday at Home" for 1894. As
Don Bartolo the founder of the Church of the
Madonna of the Rosary was standing in his
field at vesper-time, the Virgin and child
appeared to him in a vision, and then he saw a
Church, around which a city grew. From that
moment he set to work to make the vision a
reality. First came the building of the church,
and then the providing a suitable picture to
adorn it, before which the faithful might bow.
The story of the discovery and purchase of this

192 PAGANISM

picture, the most sacred and adorable object in
the church, has features in it, ludicrous in the
extreme, if they were not almost blasphemous.
It was found in an old curiosity shop, touched
up by ah artist, the original saints around the
central figure being painted out, while others
were painted in to take their place. It was at
first set up in an unfinished form, but as funds
came, improvements were made.
In connection with this Church, and as an
inducement to people to flock there, several forms
of indulgence are offered. One is to this effect,
" in the Sanctuary of Pompeii whosoever hears a
mass at the altar of St. Joseph obtains plenary
indulgence, and the liberation of a soul from
Purgatory." Another, " On the day of the
apparition of St. Michael there is plenary
indulgence for those who visit the Church, or
hear a mass, together with the liberation of
souls from Purgatory.1'
Whence has come the idea that blessings
are more easily obtained at certain places?
Surely not from Him who taught " if ye being
evil know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your Father which
is in heaven give good things to them that ask

SHRINES AND PILGRIMS I93
Him." It is simply the result of old supersti
tions ; of the old heathen idea that God is not
spontaneously gracious, but may be made so by
gifts and suffering. The following account of
St. Teodoro's Church in Rome furnishes an
illustration of the way in which a heathen shrine
has been changed into a Christian one, retaining
the old inducements to pilgrims to visit it. " It
is curious to note in Rome how many a modern
superstition has its root in an ancient one, and
how tenaciously custom still clings to the old
localities. On the Capitoline Hill, the bronze
she-wolf was once worshipped as the wooden
bambino is now. It stood in the temple of
Romulus, and thither the ancient Romans used
to carry children to be cured of their diseases by
touching it. On the supposed site of the temple
now stands the church dedicated to St. Teodoro.
Though names have changed, and the temple
has vanished, and church after church have
decayed and been rebuilt, the old superstition
remains, and the common people, at certain
periods, still bring their sick children to the
Saint that he may heal' them with his touch."1
1 Hare's Walks in Rome, i. p. 233.

194 PAGANISM

In old Rome the people went to the temples
of the deity, who was supposed to be able to
assist in the way help was wanted. For a good
harvest Ceres was propiated ; for the deliverance
of their friends from hell, Pluto's aid was asked ;
those about to brave the sea, committed them
selves to the care of Neptune. As there would
not be within reach of all a temple of every god
whose blessing they desired, pilgrimages became
necessary. To meet this old superstitious desire
in the hearts of those who had not learned that
the Father was ever near, special shrines were
provided, and worshippers attracted by the
promise of benefits.

CHAPTER XIII
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
In non-Christian communities, the sacredness of
the Sabbath is unknown, but on days devoted to
the worship of certain deities the people wholly
or partially abstain from their ordinary work
that they may visit the temples, or be present at
worship in their homes. A similar practice was
common in ancient Rome, for the poets charged
the people with neglecting the duties of the
house, the farm, the mart, in order that they
might assist at these festivals of the gods.
In considering the Christian Festivals which
have supplanted the pagan, first in order will
be those connected with our Lord, then those of
the Virgin, and finally those of the Saints.
i. Festivals connected with the life of our
Lord.

I96 PAGANISM

Christmas Day.
Probably most Christians imagine that Jesus
Christ was born on December 25th. It has
been their practice from infancy to associate
that great event with that day. As a matter of
fact, the year, much less the month of the
nativity is not known. This, however, with
confidence may be affirmed, that it was not in
the year 1 of the Christian era, nor was it on
December 25th of any year. During the first
century no special festival marked the day, the
first certain trace of it is about the middle of the
second century. A few years later it was
observed in many parts of the Empire ; in some
places, January, in others, the Spring, and in yet
others, December was the time selected. The
main argument against December, being the
month of the Saviour's birth is based on the
fact, that, at that season shepherds do not watch
their flocks by night on the plains, as the
weather is too cold and wet for them to be
exposed. Dr. Kitto says, "It is clear that a
celebration of the day of Christ's nativity was
not thought of in the earliest days of the Christian
Church. When it was at last considered proper ,

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 197
no clue or , tradition existed as to the real time,
which had to be determined by probabilities, of
which we are as competent judges as the
founders of the festival were ; and perhaps more
competent, from the more severely critical
tendencies of our age. We strongly think that
there is no satisfactory evidence of the time of
year, and still less as to the precise day ; and, it
appears to us, that the season, and consequently
the day, have been determined on erroneous and
uncritical data." Clement of Alexandria, in the
middle of the third century, expressed the
opinion that the attempt to fix the year and day
was " futile and impracticable." In the Eastern
Church no mention of it is found before the fourth
century ; and it was decided to join the celebra
tion of the Saviour's birth with that of the
Epiphany on January 6th, on which date it is
still observed. Sir Isaac Newton suggested that
the great festivals of the church were designedly
distributed to the cardinal points of the year ;
the Annunciation Day being in the Spring, St.
John's birth in the Summer, St. Michael's in the
Autumn, and Christ's birth at Christmas. The
general opinion seems to be that the Nativity
was in September, about the time of the Feast

198 PAGANISM

of Tabernacles. The harvest then being
gathered in, the people were free to go up to the
centres to which they belonged for the census
ordered by the Emperor.
A study of the ceremonies common at
Christmas will indicate that it is a perpetuation
of a popular heathen festival. Centuries before
our Lord's birth, Dec. 25, was regarded as a
specially holy day. On it was celebrated the
birth of a deity in Babylon, and Egypt, and in
. Greece and Rome who derived their religious
knowledge from them. It was the time when
the sun started on a new circle ; this, in poetic
language, was called his birth. The visible sun
was the representative of the invisible god who
made it. The feast fixed for this day, celebrated
the birth of God on earth. It continued for
several days, and was a time of drunkenness and
revelry. Slaves were free during its continuance,
and ruled their masters, as in the dark ages
of Europe there was a "lord of misrule," who
presided over the amusements at Christmas.
The burning of candles, the Christmas tree, the
Yule log, the boar's head, as part of the feast,
were all found in the older festival ; and all had
symbolic meaning. In the decking of our homes

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 1 99
with evergreens there is the continuance of a
custom which prevailed in far off days ; by this
means our fathers expressed their faith in the
power of the sun to renew the face of nature.
What has here been said must not be regarded
as a condemnation of a proper observance of
the Christmas feast ; but as an illustration of
the wholesale borrowing of pagan ceremonies
by the Church. We do well to give thanks to
the Father that He gave his Son to save the
world ; to rejoice that the Infinitely Great con
descended to appear on earth as a child. But
the Christmas ceremonies in a Roman Catholic
Church, if not idolatrous, it is difficult to see
wherein they differ from idolatry. In a brilliantly
lighted building, with attractive music, the
sacred drama of the Saviour's birth is enacted.
The stable, the manger, and the infant are on
view. As the wooden image is raised aloft, the
choir sing, " Glory to God in the Highest," and
the people bow in solemn adoration. Of course
the more intelligent know that the image is
merely representative ; the young and ignorant
regard it as divine. When Aaron made the
calf in the wilderness, the people knew it was
made of the gold they had given ; but their

200 PAGANISM

action was an offence to the Almighty, and
brought upon them severe punishment. A
stranger watching Christians in Church, and
heathen before a shrine would be unable to see
any difference in their attitude towards their
visible representations of the Divine.

Easter Day
In other Christian lands this is known as the
Passover Feast ; it being held at the time the
Jews observe their great festival to commemorate
the deliverance God wrought for their forefathers.
How is it that it bears another name in this
country? The early Missionaries found that
our ancestors had a great feast; at this season.
They rejoiced in the victory Spring had gained
over Winter, and that the time had come for
the budding of the leaf, the singing of the birds,
the manifestation of renewed life. This feast
bore the name of Easter, and was connected
with the worship of Baal and Astarte, as some
ceremonies still observed clearly indicate. On
their conversion to Christianity, the older festival
with its familiar name was retained. The God

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 201
of heaven was substituted for Baal, and the people
were taught to celebrate the Resurrection of our
Lord in addition to the return of the spring.
That the worship of Baal was at one time pre
valent in this country the following account of
what takes place annually near Crieff will show :
"A number of men and women, assemble at
an ancient Druidical circle of stones at Baltaire.
They light a fire, and each person puts a bit of
oatcake in a shepherd's bonnet. The people,
blindfolded, draw a piece of the cake from the
bonnet, one of which has been blackened. Who
ever draws this has to jump through the fire and
pay a forfeit. This is part of the ancient worship
of Baal, and the person thus chosen by lot was
previously burned as a sacrifice. Passing through
the fire represents that ; and the payment of
the forfeit redeems the victim." x

Corpus Christi Festival
This was ordained to call attention to the
stupendous miracle of transforming the wafer and
wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord. It
1 The Two Babylons, p. 148. "3

202 PAGANISM

was founded in the year 1264 by Pope Urban
IV., and is celebrated on the Thursday after
Trinity Sunday. The Host is cairied through
the streets in solemn procession, and an oppor
tunity given to those, who do not attend Mass,
to adore it. Indulgences are liberally promised
to all who properly keep this feast : — Two
hundred days to those who attend matins ; forty
to those who are present at the later services ;
and two hundred to those who take part in the
preparatory services on the eight days preceding.
The origin of it is as follows. Whilst Urban
was staying at Orvieto, the report of a wonderful
miracle at Bolsena reached him. It should be
noted that although the doctrine of Tran
substantiation had been taught for fifty years, it
was not universally accepted. A young priest,
who was somewhat sceptical about this great
dogma, whilst celebrating mass at Bolsena, saw
blood flowing from the broken wafer, and
bubbling from the cup. Of course he was con
verted, and went to tell the Pope. By the Pope's
order, the Bishop of Orvieto fetched the wafer,
and the linen on which the blood fell. These
were solemnly exhibited, and who could then
doubt ? The splendid cathedral of Orvieto was

Religious festivals 203
built in commemoration of the events In 1264
a Bull was issued ordering the perpetual observ
ance of the Festival of Corpus Christi. In the
Cathedral are frescoes vividly representing the
miracle which quickened faith in the great
doctrine. The Church contains figures of heathen
deities side by side with Christian saints, and
a Roman Catholic official admitted to a sturdy
Protestant that it was a structure of " paganized
Christianity." The Invention or Discovery and the Eleva
tion or Exaltation of the Cross. The former
is held on May 3rd, the latter on Sept. 14th.
In the year 326, Helena, the mother of the
Emperor Constantine, undertook a pilgrimage
to Palestine, to visit the places sacred through
their association with the Saviour. She was
nearly eighty years of age when she set out.
She first tried to find the sepulchre. This was
covered to a considerable depth with rubbish.
On the removal of this, three crosses were found,
and, what was declared to be, the inscription
Pilate placed on that of the Saviour. The
question as to which of the crosses was the one
1 Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 224.

204 PAGANISM

on which the Saviour died was settled by
miracle. A sick person touched all three ; but
recovery was effected by one only. At the same
time the nails which had pierced His hands and
feet were also found. One half of the cross was
left in Jerusalem in a Church built specially to
enshrine it ; the other half was divided between
Constantinople and Rome. In following years
pieces of the cross were given to specially holy
pilgrims ; but there was no perceptible diminu
tion of the original wood. When the Persians
conquered Jerusalem, they carried off the cross.
Fourteen years later they restored it; the second
festival is to commemorate its return to its
shrine. The circumstances attendant on the
discovery of the cross throw discredit upon the
story. It was an uncritical age. Miracles are
reported to induce faith in the result of the
search. It is a notorious fact that in the present
enlightened age archaeologists, notwithstanding
the care with which they examine desired relics,
are frequently imposed upon.
II. Festivals of the Virgin.
As the worship of the Virgin is so universal

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 205
and popular, it is natural that her festivals should
be numerous and attractive. There are four
that call, for notice.
The Nativity of the Virgin.
This though first in order, is not the first
in importance. Its origin dates back only to
the year 1683. When Vienna was besieged by
the Moors, a fire broke out near an arsenal.
Had this exploded, a breach in the walls would
have been made. The help of the Virgin was
sought, and, as the threatened evil was averted,
it was attributed to her intercession. This
happened on the eve of the Festival of the
Assumption, and was regarded as the birthday of
the Virgin, and a new festival was inaugurated
to commemorate it.
The Annunciation.
This, the great festival of the Virgin, is cele
brated on Lady Day, and is intended to com
memorate the visit of the angel, informing her
that she was to be the mother of our Lord. In

206 PAGANISM

the early -days of the Church, no attempt was
made to mark this day as specially important ;
but when it was decreed that the birth of Jesus
should be celebrated on Dec. 25th, the 25th of
March was taken as the date of the angel's visit,
and duly honoured. On this day, a feast had
been kept many centuries before in honour of
Cybele, the mother of the Babylonish Messiah.
This was now restored ; even the titles of the
heathen goddess being transferred to Mary.
She was known in Rome's pagan days as
Domina, the lady ; from this the common term
Madonna has come. The Assumption.
According to the teaching of the Romish
Church, the body of the Virgin was " assumed,"
or taken to heaven, three days after her death :
this festival was appointed to celebrate the
event. Her resurrection was ante-dated. But
grave doubts concerning this were entertained
by many. They asked, how can an evil body
enter into the presence of a holy God. Mary's
body, by natural descent from Adam, was tainted
with original sin. To remove this uncertainty,

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 207
in 1854, it was authoritatively taught, that she
was freed from inherited evil by a divine act
The decree is as follows : " We declare,
pronounce, and define, that the doctrine which
holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first
instant of her conception, by the singular privilege
and grace of the omnipotent God, in virtue of
the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the
world, was preserved immaculate from all stains
of original sin, has been revealed by God, and
therefore should be firmly, and constantly
believed by the faithful." Such is the teaching
of the infallible Church to-day, although the
doctrine has been vehemently opposed by some
of the holiest and most learned of her teachers.
Some have gone so far is to charge with mortal
sin those who attend services in which the
doctrine is taught and commemorated. In
addition to the reason given above, it is hel<*
that this dogma is needed to support the belief
in the sinlessness of Jesus. If His mother, from
whom He obtained His human body, was not
free from sin, how could he be absolutely pure ?
The idea of the deification of the human was
familiar to the early converts. The Emperors
after death, and in some cases during their life,

208 PAGANISM

were regarded as divine. It was not an original
conception that man could be made into a god,
nor that a body could be assumed, and permitted
to enter heaven. Bacchus is said to have rescued
her mother from the powers of darkness, and
carried her in triumph to heaven. Of Porsepine,
daughter of Ceres, it was common to speak, as
" the holy Virgin," and of her it was affirmed,
that she was " not only free from actual sin, but
pure in essence, and immaculately conceived."1
In the titles given to the Virgin, in her festivals,
and in the attendant ceremonies, there is a
striking resemblance to what was common in
heathen Rome. The Purification.
This is to commemorate the visit of the holy
mother to the temple after the birth of her son.
At first it is not easy to see why any great prom
inence should have been given to this act. There
can, however, be little doubt that the feast was
arranged to take the place of an older festival in
honour of Ceres. In pagan days, processions
1 The Two Baby Ions, p. 183.

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 209
marched through the fields, and offerings were
made to induce the goddess to grant a bountiful
harvest. At night torchlight processions were
arranged, and her worshippers expressed their
sympathy with her at the loss of her daughter,
and assisted in searching for her. The Christian
Festival is fixed for the same date, February 2nd ;
and the ceremonies by day and night identical,
candles being used in place of torches.
III. Festivals of the Saints.
The number of Saints, having their duly
appointed festivals, is very great. Many who
were canonized were martyrs, and their feasts
were kept on the anniversary of their death ;
their entrance into life eternal being considered
of greater importance than their birth into a
world of sin and sorrow. Hence their tombs
became shrines ; and so attractive did they
become, that, by many, life's duties were largely
neglected. The enemies of the Church noticed
this, and charged them with imitating their
pagan ancestors. Virgil, when teaching the
duties of the agriculturist, declares :

2IO PAGANISM

" No laws, divine or human can restrain
From necessary works, the labouring swain.
E'en holy days, and feasts permission yield
To float the meadows, or to fence the field,
To fire the brambles, snare the birds, and steep
In wholesome waterfalls, the woolly sheep." 1
It was intended, by the observance of these
days, to stimulate the faith, and inspire with
courage those who might be exposed to similar
trials. But it was not necessary to adopt
customs common in the heathen world. And
yet this is what they did. " The classic funeral
oblations became Christian ; the Silicernum was
succeeded by the feast at the Martyr's tomb.
Faustus inveighs against the Christians for
carrying on the ancient rites. ' Their sacrifices,'
he says, ' indeed you have turned into Christian
feasts ; their idols into martyrs, whom, with like
vows you worship ; you appease the shades of
the dead with wine and meals ; you celebrate
the Gentiles solemn days with them ; — of their
life, certainly you have changed nought.' 2
The saints being so numerous, all that can be
1 Georgics I. p. 361.
'Tyler's Primitive Culture, II. p. 31,

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 211
done is to give a few illustrations, with an
account of their originals in heathen Rome.
The Festival of St. John is observed on June
24th, Midsummer Day. As his- birth occurred
six months earlier than that of Jesus Christ, it
was natural that this day should be selected.
But from many details of the festival, as it is
now observed, it is very evident that it is a
continuation of an older one. This was the day
on which the sun-god was specially worshipped
in old Babylon ; it commenced with lamentation
at his death, and rejoicing at his resurrection.
This was a religious expression of sorrow at the
setting and gladness at the rising of this earthly
manifestation of the great God. In Babylon the
more important ceremonies took place on the
Eve of the 24th of June i.e., on the 23rd, and this
is the case in the Festival of St. John. The
following is an account of the observances in
Brittany; in Ireland they are very similar.
" Every fSte is marked by distinct features
peculiar to itself. That of St. John is perhaps
the most striking. Towards evening one fire is
followed by two, three, then a thousand gleam
out from the hill-tops, till the whole country glows
under the conflagration. Sometimes a priest

212 PAGANISM

lights the first fire in the marked place, and
sometimes it is lighted by an angel which is
made to descend from the top of a church. The
young people dance about the fires, for there is
a superstition amongst them, that if they dance
round nine fires before midnight they will be
married in the coming year. Seats are placed
close to the fire for the dead, whose spirits are
supposed to come there, for the pleasure 01
listening once more to their native songs, and
contemplating the lovely measures of their
youth." ' " On that great festival of the Irish
peasantry, St. John's Eve, it is the custom at
sundown to kindle bonfires throughout the
country. The fire being kindled, a piper plays,
and dancing follows. When the fire has
burned low, an indispensible part of the
ceremony commence. Every one of the
peasantry passes through it, and several children
are thrown across it." It is known that long
before Christianity was introduced into Britain,
the Druids observed a festival on June 23rd.
They made bonfires to please the gods, in order
to secure the ripening of the corn and fruit. The

1 The Two Baby Ions, p. 166.

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 213
walking through the fire, and throwing children
over it, is the harmless survival of the old custom
of offering human sacrifices. What possible
connection can these ceremonies have with St.
John? The old Babylonian deity Baal has a place in
the Roman Calendar as St. Bacchus, for Baal
and Bacchus are different names of the same
diety. In the Christian list St. Bacchus is
described as a martyr, but his festival is on the
same day, which of old was sacred to the
Roman god. And under his Greek name
Dionysius, another festival is provided for him
two days later. This Dionysius became the
Patron Saint of Paris, of whom a legend affirms,
that, after he was beheaded he walked about
with his head under his arm. This strange
legend had a very simple origin. It was the
custom to represent saints, who had died by the
sword, .by a headless body. Such was the
ignorance and superstition of the people, that an
artist's symbol was interpreted as a literal fact.
A hymn descriptive of the wonderful walk of
St. Denis was usually sung at his festival ; this
was omitted for some years, but was restored to
the service by order of the Pope.

214 PAGANISM

St. George of England furnishes another
illustration of a pagan hero being transformed
into a Christian saint. This George rose from
a very obscure position, was converted, and
became a Bishop of the Church ; but owing to
his cruelty, was hated and violently put to
death, and his body cast into the sea, that no
relics might be preserved. The Roman Catholic
view of his life is very different. He was born
at Cappadocia, entered the army in his youth,
was put to death in the persecution of Diocletian,
and by his patient endurance of suffering con
verted the Empress Alexandria with forty
thousand men to the Christian faith. In the
legend of St. George, two ladies appear to have
been enamoured of him. In this and many
other details his story is not unlike that of
Adonis. Whilst in his encounter with a dragon,
there is simply a slighty varying story from what
is common in every mythology. It seems as
if the story of Perseus had somehow become
incorporated with that of St. George. In the
heathen story, the conqueror marries the princess
he rescued ; in the Christian version, a great
number of converts are won to the faith.
All Soul's Day is ordained not only to keep

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 215
in memory those who have passed away, but, as
fitting time for efforts to be made to modify
their pains in Purgatory. It was originated by
Odils, Abbot of Cluny, at the end of the tenth
century, and afterwards adopted by papal
authority. " A hermit living near a volcano,
where wicked souls were tormented in flames,
heard a demon declare that their work of
torture was interfered with by the alms and
prayers of the faithful, leagued against them to
save souls ; and especially by the monks of
Cluny. The hermit informed the Abbot of
what he had heard, in consequence of which
Odils decreed, that the 2nd of November, the
day following All Saints' Day, should be set
apart for service for the departed. He set on
foot one of those revivals which have so often
given the past a new lease of life. The Western
Church took up the practice, and round it there
naturally gathered surviving remnants of the
primitive rites of banquets for the dead. The
accusation against the early Christians, that they
appeased the shades of the dead with feasts
like the Gentiles, would not be beside the mark
now, fifteen hundred years later. All Soul's
Day keeps up, within the limits of Christendom,

2l6 PAGANISM

a commemoration of the dead, which combines
some touches of pathetic imagination, with relics
of savage animism, scarcely to be surpassed in
Africa or the South Sea Islands." x
On this day friends of the departed lay flowers
upon their tombs, priests sprinkle their tombs
with holy water, and celebrate masses on their
behalf; a practice identical with what was
common in pagan times. The visit to the tomb
of a loved parent, or child, the decoration of the
grave with flowers, as an evidence that they are
not forgotten, is a beautiful custom ; but the
payment for masses as the chief, if not the only
way by which their well-being in the spirit world
can be secured merits the strongest condem
nation. It is opposed alike to revelation and
reason. It is a survival of the old heathenism of
the Roman Empire ; and is in perfect harmony
with what is common in heathenism at the
present time.
It is sad to see that the ravings of a
hysterical monk exert such influence over half
of Christendom. How dishonouring is that
belief, that human effort is necessary to supple-
1 Tylo^s Primitive Culture p. 31.

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 217
ment the salvation an infinitely loving Father
offers to His sinful children. How it limits the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came as the
Saviour, if His work has to be completed by
the masses of a priest !

14

CHAPTER XIV
CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD
Of the superlative excellence of the unmarried
state, the Church of Rome has spoken clearly
and fully. In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul
wrote : " In the latter times some will depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils ; " and as a sign that they
had departed from the faith, mentions that they
would " forbid marriage." Rome's writers have,
in most extravagant terms, commended celibacy,
and her rules compel her priests to adopt
it. According to her authoritative teach
ing, the life of man or woman if married,
however Christlike and useful, is poor compared
with that of those who are buried in a " religious
house," and are under a vow not to marry.
The evil commenced in the early days of the
Church. Persecution drove some to seek a
refuge in the desert ; later on, when prosperity

CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD 219
came, others sought safety from the seductions
of the world, by a life of poverty, seclusion and
self-denial. In the thirteenth century, when
Dominic and Francis founded the great orders
called after 'them, they simply gave system to
what was already a common practice. Many,
who submitted to the authority of these great
leaders, had already retired from the world ;
others were attracted to them by the conviction
that the monastic life was pre-eminently pleasing
to God.
The root idea from which this grew, is the
inherent evil of matter, hence it was regarded as
the duty of those who wished to live a religious
and spiritual life, to get rid of, rather than
control their natural appetites and desires. By
forsaking the crowded city, and living absolutely
alone, or with others of a similar spirit ; by
spending their time, in fasting, prayer, and
watchfulness, it was thought that this could be
done. When the great orders were founded,
and the Pope's benediction increased their
prestige, it became the fashion to join them.
Young and enthusiastic people were attracted
by the savour of sanctity to enter upon this
unnatural life ; and those who had drunk

220 PAGANISM

deeply of life's varied experience, and had been
led to say, " all is vanity," sought a quiet resting
place where they could prepare to meet their God.
The connection between sainthood and
cebilacy is commonly recognised in the East.
In Hinduism its influence is great. The priests
however marry. This office is confined to
members of one caste, to which there is no
entrance, except by birth. Were marriage
prohibited to these powerful intercessors with the
gods, they would die out. But although marriage
is a duty of the priests, as of others, it is
considered a specially holy act to leave home
and family and assume an ascetic life. These
men wander from shrine to shrine, and their
blessing is earnestly sought. To add to their
sanctity, many of them have destroyed their
eyes, arms, or legs, and are pitiable objects.
They are said to have gained absolute control
over their passions, and hundreds of them may
be seen marching quite naked at religious
festivals. Their life seems wasted. They are
merely parasites on an ignorant and super
stitious people.
In Buddhism there is an almost exact counter
part of what is found in the Roman Catholic

CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD 221
community. There is practically no caste in
Buddhism. Any one may enter the priesthood,
and celibacy is enforced. In addition to the
regular priesthood, many enter monasteries and
convents, and spend their days in ceremonial
acts by which they hope to secure " merit," which
can be utilized for themselves or for others.
In the Romish Church there is the regular
priesthood, and, in addition, a large army of
monks and nuns who have taken a vow to
remain unmarried, under the impression that
special sanctity attaches to their state. 0*"
these many are actively engaged in tuition, sick
visiting, and in the care of the poor and home
less. A great part of their time, however, is
devoted to the repetition of prayers, and the
performance of purely ceremonial acts. In the
" Life of the Religious," St. Alphonsus Liguori
eloquently sings the praise of this so-called
religious life. " There is no consecration so
prefound, so entire, as that of the ' religious,' on
the day of their profession, because there is
none so purifying, so constant, or so religious.
The consecration of bishops and priests is more
exalted, as, being a sacrament, it is more noble,
conferring a more sublime dignity and ineff-

222 PAGANISM

able character ; yea, it is more powerful, because
it imparts to the mere creature some of the
powers of God. But it is not so complete as
the monastic consecration, because it does not
include a mans entire separation from himself,
and from the world ; it is not so entire, because
it does not absolutely consume the liberty, the
independence, and the spontaneousness of his
nature, it is a great sacrifice and a great sacra
ment, but not a true holocaust" When speaking
of the evil of unfaithfulness to the vow, he says :
" The violation of the vows is a very grievous sin
against the virtue of religion — the crime of
sacrilege. Man consecrated to God, and to His
service, becomes something divine; he owes
himself, therefore, religious respect, which re
bounds even to God ; and if ever he should
dishonour by mortal sin, the vows of poverty
obedience, and virginity, of which he has made
profession, he would commit an outrage against
the Divine honour, he would be guilty of
sacrilege. What rashness ! What crime ! What
impiety would it not be then to violate your
vows." i When this life is so commended, and
Nunnery Life in the Church of England. Appendix.

CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD 223
the forsaking of it so condemned, is it wonderful
that many enter upon it ? or, when they have
found the convent-life different from what they
anticipated, that they should shrink from
relinquishing it? In many cases the lack of
food, the constant watching, the monotony of
employment, having proved unbearable, suicide
has put an end to their misery. The pictures of
the "religious" in Christendom and the "saints"
of India greatly resemble each other. But the
Hindu believes in gods who delight in the
sufferings of their servants ; the Christian in a
Father who is infinite in mercy and goodness.
Tertullian, writing in the second century,
contrasts the Christians of his day with the
hermits of Indian ; had he live a little later, he
would have seen how little they differed. And
he would have seen Christain teachers in public
and private urging young and old to adopt the
ascetic life. " St. Jerome declares, with a thrill
of admiration, that he had seen a monk, who, for
thirty years, had lived on a small portion of
barley bread, and muddy water; another, who
lived in a hole, and never ate more than five figs
for his daily repast; a third, who cut his hair
only on Easter Sunday, who never washed his

224 PAGANISM

clothes, who never changed his tunic till it fell to
pieces, who starved himself till his eyes grew
dim, and his skin like a pumice stone, and whose
merits shown by his austerities, Homer himself
would be unable to recount." » A long list of
self-inflicted tortures of the "religious" might
be drawn out, in which the ingenuity of the
sufferers is manifest. Some ate but little ; and
that of the poorest kind of food. Some wore
heavy irons on their legs, similar to those at one
time ordered for refractory convicts. Some for
the space of forty years never lay down to sleep.
Some lived in dens of wild beasts or other uncon
genial places. Some made their homes in the
field, eating grass and roots like the animals.
Some seldom, others never, washed themselves.
St. Simeon Stylites carried this madness in
misery to perfection. He began by being tied
to a pillar until the cords cut the flesh, and
caused it to putrify. He ended his career by
raising a pillar 60 feet high on which he stood
for thirty years, exposed to every change of
climate, constantly swaying his body in prayer.
And for centuries Bishops of the Church
^History of European Morals, ii. p. 108.

CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD 225
commended him, and held him up in their
impassioned addresses as an example worthy
of imitation. This was the state of things
for centuries until St. Benedict and others
founded orders, in the rules of which a similar
spirit is manifest, though the methods are more
reasonable. But it may be said that such doings are not
sanctioned to-day. Here is an account of what
was seen recently in the Church of the Flagellants
in Rome. The whip used was similar to those
used in our goals. "The discipline was at
night, and was thus arranged. The monks
assembled and sat in the choir, where I also sat
with them. A few candles only were burning,
to enable the brother, who handed round the
scourges, to see his way. All the candles
except one were then extinguished, and by that
feeble light I saw a little, while I heard much of
what was going on. The brethren — some of
them at any rate, perhaps all — laid aside their
garments, and commenced the discipline. The
Church resounded with the strokes, but I heard
no cries. The monks — thirty or forty — were
kneeling opposite each other. The exercise
lasted some minutes, and then the lights were

226 PAGANISM

relighted' and we departed."1 Without doubt
this is a modern Christian survival of the old
custom by which the priests of Cybel attracted
the attention and quickened the sympathy of
the worshippers of the deity. The whips of
ancient and modern times are strikingly similar.
And as the monks of the early Christian days
sought to secure their own deliverance from the
power of sin by cruelty on their bodies, the
monks of the later ages seek the same end by
the adoption of similar methods.
Asceticism has ever exerted a powerful
influence over the ignorant and superstitious ;
and in some places is as influential as ever.
Bodily discomfort, and self-inflicted pain lead
the masses to imagine that there must be
superior sanctity to compel it ; and where there
is superior sanctity, its possessor must have
greater power with God. If men lose sight of
the manifestations of His love in the gift of
His dear Son, they are eager to avail them
selves of any help that offers, in order to secure
deliverance from the penalty of sin and the
attainment of other blessings. And the Church
1 Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 44.

CELIBACY AND SAINTHOOD 227
of Rome has fostered this error. By making
celibacy a condition of entering the priesthood,
by encouraging the formation of brotherhoods
and sisterhoods, whose members must take the
vow to remain unmarried, by praising, in ex
travagant terms, the piety of those who enter
a convent, and urging the young to adopt it,
she teaches that such conduct is pleasing God.
The same impression is given, when those who
are not wholly cut off from their kind, are
taught to make their visit to certain Churches as
painful as possible. It is no uncommon thing to
see people make a circuit round a Church, or re
peatedly ascend a flight of steps upon their knees
until they bleed. Here pain is inflicted under the
impression that it will purchase a spiritual boon.
For this, too, there are pagan precedents. Julius
Csesar, it is said, ascended the Capitol on his
knees to avert an evil omen ; and Claudius is
credited with a similar act. Juvenal speaks of
a woman seeking to expiate her sin in this
manner. " She will break the ice and go into the
river in the' depth of winter, dip herself three
times in the Tiber at early dawn, and then, naked
and shiverjng, crawl on her bleeding knees over
the whole extent of the Campus Martius."

228' PAGANISM

In the teaching of Jesus Christ we look in
vain for sanction for such practices. He went
about doing good, and for His disciples prayed,
not that they should be taken out of the world,
but by divine grace kept from evil. There is
not a word in His teaching that can be strained
into countenancing the idea that self inflicted
suffering is a sign of, or conducive to, superlative
holiness. Those who are most like Him are
those who manifest His spirit in the home, in the
family, in the busy mart, in the house of sorrow,
in the social circle, rather than those who hide
themselves in convents, where temptations of a
different kind, though equally deadly, assault
them. The Christian life is a warfare. A life
of seclusion is rather cowardly than commend
able. It is as though some should hide them
selves in a fort, leaving the dangerous and difficult
work to others. Supposing that some who
adopt this life are superlatively good, their light
is hidden ; their lives, if lived openly, might
illumine society, and tend to purify it. The
Saviour's command was, " let your light so
shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in
heaven."

CHAPTER XV
REPETITION OF PRAYERS AND ROSARIES
Instructing His disciples on the subject of
prayer, our Lord said, " Use not vain repetitions
as the heathen do, for they think they shall be
heard, for their much speaking. Be not ye
therefore like unto them." What was the heathen
practice which He condemned ?
It is an every day sight in India. Many
spend hours in repeating the name of a god.
There is no real prayer, no asking for favours
desired, but a mere repetition of a name. In
order to be certain as to the number of times
it crosses their lips, a string of seeds, a Rosary
is in common use. Sometimes, instead of the
mere name of the deity, a doggrel rhyme of
sounds without meaning, in which the name
occurs is recited. This is termed a mantra,
and is taught by the confessor, or guru, at the
disciple's initiation. It is supposed to exert

230 PAGANISM

magical powers. Whilst its repetition will bring
great benefit ; to neglect its use, or to repeat it
in the hearing of another person, will bring great
suffering. When converted to Christianity some
converts are afraid to tell others the mantra they
received, lest the forsaken deity should be angry.
The rosaries usually have a hundred and eight
seeds, as it is a duty to repeat the text as often
as this daily. If it is done more frequently, it is
a work of merit, or supererogation, and will be
credited to him who does it, or can be transferred
by him to others.
The common practice oi the Roman Catholic
Church seems rather to resemble the " vain re
petitions " of the ¦ heathen, than prayer as it was
taught by the Saviour. One of the commonest
acts of penance is the repeated recital of the
Lord's prayer, or the salutation given to Mary
by the angel ; and special rewards are promised
to those who repeat certain holy phrases, or even
the name of Jesus Christ. " Pope Sixtus v., in
1587, granted an indulgence of fifty days to
Christians as often as they salute others with
the words " Praised be Jesus Christ," and as
many to him who devoutly answers "Amen."
And the same Pope granted twenty-five days

REPETITION OF PRAYERS AND ROSARIES 23 1
indulgence to those who simply repeat the name
Jesus. Still further he granted plenary indulg
ence at death, to those who have made a practice
of repeating the name of our Lord, and in their
last hour heartily invoke Him, although they
may be unable audibly to pronounce His name.
And he also promised three hundred days in-
dulgence to those who recite the Litany of Jesus."1
These promises were confirmed in 1728 by
Pope Benedict jxttt
All are familiar with the phrase common
amongst Roman Catholics of " telling their
beads." The word bead, or as it should be
spelt, bede, in Anglo Saxon, and old English
means a prayer, and then in later times came
to be used for the small perforated balls on a
string used for counting them. A bedesman
was one who was paid to pray for another ; and
it was, at one time, a common practice for those
who could afford it thus to pray by proxy. In
the same way in Hindu Society it is a common
practice for a man to lacerate his body, swing
on a lofty bamboo with an iron hook in his flesh,
make a journey on foot a thousand miles to
1 Butler's Lives of the Saints, iv„ p. 31.

232 PAGANISM

fetch a vessel of water from the sacred Ganges
and transfer the religious merit of the act to
those who were willing to pay for it.
It is uncertain when the use of rosaries became
common in the Church; or when the people
were encouraged to spend their time in repeat
ing a form of prayer over and over again. In
the 4th century it is said that the Abbot Paul
was in the habit of repeating the Lord's prayer
three hundred times a day, and, to assist him
in counting, used pebbles, one of which he
dropped into his lap as he finished the prayer.
Then came the custom of wearing a necklace
which could be used for this purpose. And
later on the construction of the more elaborate
rosary, which, by its beads of various sizes, can
be used for various forms of prayer. The deriva
tion of the term rosary has been traced to
various roots. It may come from " The Mystical
Rose," one of the many names of the Virgin
Mary which occurs in the Litany of Loretta,
in commemoration of whom the beads were
originally made of rosewood. In the earlier
centuries it was the Lord's Prayer that was com
monly recited ; but as the adoration of the Virgin
assumed a more prominent position, the Hail

REPETITION OF PRAYERS AND ROSARIES 233
Mary, largely superseded it. In the rosaries
in common use the larger beads are for the
Paternosters, the smaller for the Aves.
The " Rosary of the Blessed Virgin " is a
litany which is generally known. It is popularly
ascribed to St. Dominic, in the twelfth century ;
if not arranged by him, it was through his
influence that it became popular. It is a series
of fifteen exercises, divided into three parts, in
each of which mention is made of some event in
the life of our Lord, or of the Virgin. This is
followed by a Paternoster, Ave, Doxology, and
a Prayer. Indulgences are promised to those
who voluntarily recite it ; and its repetition is
often ordered as an act of penance. The beads
of the rosary are used to save the trouble of
counting. Virtue seems to lie in the mere
mechanical reciting of the words, rather than in
the cultivation of a devotional spirit. It is much
easier to say, " I have repeated so many prayers,"
than, " I have truly repented of my sin, and
sought divine forgiveness."
The numerous repetitions, even of the Lord's
Prayer, seems to be in opposition to the precepts
of Jesus Christ. It goes on the assumption
common to heathenism, that God, though not
15

234 PAGANISM

spontaneously gracious, may be made so by
human effort or suffering. Jesus condemned
this practice as He said, " Your heavenly Father
knoweth you have need of these things." His
children are commanded to ask for what they
want that their dependence on Him may be
realised ; they are forbidden to repeatedly ask,
lest they should imagine that they have to make
an unwilling Father willing to bless.
In securing the " merit " acquired by the mere
repetition of a form of words with least personal
effort, the Buddhists have manifested far more
ingenuity than their Western brethren. They
have invented a praying machine. On a cylinder
the words are engraved, and inside is a coil of
paper on which they are written. By a mere
movement of the hand, the wheel revolves and
the prayer is said a hundred times. The magic
words are printed on flags which the wind wafts
to heaven ; and in many places a large wheel is
kept in motion by running water. By such
mechanical means it is supposed that the Divine
favour can be secured for him who owns the
machinery. Where a prayer, however beautiful
in spirit and expression, is repeated in a purely
formal manner, it is difficult to see in what

REPETITION OF PRAYERS AND ROSARIES 235
respect it is superior in its influence upon the
one who offers it, than is the use of his praying
machine to the Buddhist.

CHAPTER XVI
CHARMS
THE use of charms has been, and still is almost
universal amongst ignorant people. An im
pression prevails that the powers of the unseen
world are inimical to the seen, and can be counter
acted by the use of charms. A discoverer of a
new one was regarded as a benefactor of the
race. Even those who have been taught that a
loving Father guards His children have sought
protection from evil by their use. " It may be
questioned whether this form of fetishism was
even more prominent in paganism than in
mediaeval Christianity."1 The term " charm " is
commonly used for amulets and such things that
can be worn upon the body, it is here employed
in a wider sense for whatever is supposed to act
1 Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe, i. p. 193.

CHARMS 237

in a magical manner as a protection from evil,
and as a means of securing a blessing.
In China it is the universal belief that the air
is full of cruel and vindictive beings, many of
whom are supposed to be the unhappy spirits of
departed relatives. At the gates of the cities,
and at the doors of the houses, are images or
pictures of deities, whose work it is to keep them
away ; and, as a bribe to these invisible foes,
paper money, clothes, furniture, etc., are burned
that the articles represented, may pacify them.
In India charms of various kinds are worn.
Some are to protect the wearer from deadly
snakes, from various kinds of disease, and in a
general way, from harm. Childless wives wear
them to secure children ; jealous ones to retain
a husband's love. Rice from a shrine is put on
a child's tongue at the name-giving ceremony to
obtain for him a prosperous career; and at death
a drop of water from the Ganges, or a grain of
consecrated rice is given as a means of cleansing
the soul from sin. In Tibet the ashes of specially
holy priests are made into medals and worn as
charms. In Southern India are many Christians!
whose ancestors were won to Christ early in the
Christian era. Tradition asserts that St. Thomas

238 PAGANISM

preached the gospel there. To a man they wear
charms similar in shape to those on the neck
and arms of the Hindus. These are images of
the Virgin Mary ; those of the Hindus represent
various heathen deities.
In the charms worn by Christians, precisely
similar benefits are expected from their use as
is common in paganism. The following verses
accompanied a charm sent by Pope Urban v. to
his Emperor : —
" Thunder it chases
Sin it effaces,
From fire it saves
And flood when it raves.
Sudden death shuns it,
Devils revere it,
Enemies fear it.
Far from danger are set
Both children and mother,
Who to make it are met.
Where good is found
It makes it abound.
Big pieces or small
Are alike good to all." '
Another. Pope, Gregory xiv., usually wore an
1 Rome, Pagan and Papal, p. 87.

CHARMS ' 239

image of St. Philip Neri, which, he believed had
saved his life during an earthquake at Beneven-
tura. If Popes trusted in charms, it is not
surprising that their people cherished similar
superstitions. " The sign of the cross was perhaps the earliest
[in use amongst Christians.] It was adopted not
simply as a form of recognition, or as a holy
recollection, or even as a mark of reverence, but
as a weapon of miraculous power; and the
writings of the fathers are crowded with the
prodigies it performed ; and also with the many
types and images that adumbrated its glory.
Thus we are reminded by a writer of the second
century, that the sea could not be traversed
without a mast, which is in the form of a cross.
The earth becomes fertile only when it has been
dug with a spade, which is a cross." 1
The holy water of the Baptismal font was
supposed to possess the magical effect of chang
ing the spiritual character of those to whom it
was administered, " without any immediate co
operation of deity." In this the Christian's
attitude towards the water, was less rational
1 Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe, i., p. 191.

24O PAGANISM

than that of the Hindu towards the Ganges. He
justifies his use of it as a means of soul-cleansing
agency by the assurance that it is a living
goddess, who, by remaining on earth, graciously
provides a way of salvation for the sinner.
The consecrated host is used by many as a
charm. It has been employed as a love charm
by a neglected wife, to render bees fruitful, to
drive away a plague of caterpillars, and as a
cure for blindness. A story is told by Amaliri of
Metz, that when a wicked man was taken to the
grave for burial, the earth refused to receive his
body. St. Benedict gave the friends a wafer,
which was laid upon the corpse, and their
trouble was over.1
The cross is very commonly worn as a charm.
It is supposed to be specially effective in driving
away evil spirits. An engraving common in
France represents a child carrying a cross, and
asking his good angel to protect him from a
snake. The angel replies, " Carry that sign
[the cross] before you in confidence, and the
serpent will be powerless."
A few illustrations of the use of charms in the

1 Rome Pagan and Papal, p.

CHARMS 241

Church will show how common was the faith in
their efficacy. In Spain, during the days of
chivalry, a knight was not permitted to enter
the lists, until he had divested himself of those
he commonly wore and made a declaration that
he was not secretly protected by them ; to this
day, few, if any, of the Spanish troops go into
action without one. Bull fighters usually wear
them and credit them with their escape ; and it
is no unusual thing to find a silver heart of the
Virgin, round the necks of Italian banditti."
The Times correspondent in Naples affirms
that "the brigands who are taken red-handed
in this province are invariably found to have
rosaries and relics around their necks." And
even when converted to Protestantism, in some
cases the old superstitious regard for these things
continues. A minister at the bedside of a poor
woman noticed that she was fumbling with
something under the bedclothes while he was
speaking to her. On pressing for an answer as to
what she was doing, he discovered that she had
some medals as charms, and, with difficulty, was
persuaded to give them up.1 An Indian officer,.
'¦Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 91.

242 PAGANISM

visiting Rome, called on an honorary chaplain
of the Pope, who was most anxious to win over
his Protestant friend to the true ? faith. Hand
ing him a medal, he asked him to wear it for
nine days, whilst he and others, prayed for his
¦conversion. It is evident that the superstitious
regard for charms is not yet effete; nor is it
confined to those who have enjoyed but few
educational advantages.
In the life of Charles V. is an account of the last
moments of that monarch, which show the
influence of this superstition upon such as he.
'" Towards eight o'clock in the evening, Charles
asked if the consecrated "tapers were ready.
' The time is come ' said he ' bring in the candles
and the crucifix.' These were cherished relics,
which he had long kept in readiness for the
•supreme hour. The one was a taper from our
Lady's shrine at Montserrat ; the other a
crucifix he had taken from the hand of his dead
wife at Toledo. He received them eagerly from
the Archbishop. On his bosom was placed the
crucifix, and at the head of the bed, hung a
beautiful picture of our blessed Lady." 1
1 Rome Pagan and Papal, p. 91 .

CHARMS 243

When the Duke of Monmouth was taken
prisoner at Sedgmoor, he was fortified by a
charm hanging round his neck ; and when the
Prince Imperial fell pierced by a Zulu spear, he
was wearing a medal of the Virgin. This the
Zulus feared td touch. They recognised it as a
charm such as they themselves wore, and allowed
it to remain on the dead body, lest it should
transfer the bad luck of its late owner to the
man who might possess it. And to give
authority to the use of such things, it is not
uncommon to see pictures of the infant Saviour
with a charm round his neck, similar to those in
use amongst the people. The artists' models
probably wore them and so they are represented
on the canvas.
As an illustration of the belief in the power of
holy water to protect those in danger, the follow
ing extract from a letter in a recent journal may
be given. The writer was evidently in charge of
emigrants. " A storm was raging, when an old
woman sent for me. She said she had a bottle
of holy water, and that if I sprinkled the ship it
might still the storm. I complied with her request;
after which she desired me to throw the bottle into
the sea, so that it might calm the angry waters."

244 PAGANISM

From what has been said it will be noticed
that the use of charms is not confined to the
more ignorant. Where did Christians learn to
wear them ? Certainly not from the Saviour but
from the old paganism. Many in use to-day are
identical in shape and material with those of the
old heathen times ; some of them being distinctly
indecent. In other cases the form, has been
changed ; but the trust in their efficacy remains
the same. " My people have committed two
evils ; — they have forsaken me the fountain of
living water, and hewn out broken cisterns which
can hold no water."
The following extract from Virgil will show
that it is from such writings, rather than the Ne w
Testament, that the Church has drawn its
instruction on the use of charms : —
" Charms have the power to draw down the truant
moon from heaven.
Circe, by charms, transformed the trusty band of
Ulyses. Crushed by the force of charms, the cold snake lies
dead in the meadow." 1
Amulets, of various materials, were almost
1 Fortnightly Review, xxii., p. 87.

CHARMS 245

universally worn ; frequently these were images
of the gods enclosed in leathern cases. Bells
were supposed to be terrifying to evil spirits.
Holy water was in common use as a means of
purifying the soul, and of protecting from evil,
Candles were burned at funerals and other
religious services. Emperors wore images of
guardian deities, as their Christian successors
wore those of guardian saints. In the fields, and
at cross roads, images of protecting gods
occupied the places where crosses and crucifixes
now stand. An image of Pallas, the Palladium
of Troy, was supposed to exert such influence that.
until it was carried off, the city could not be
taken, as the girdle of the Virgin in the Palla
dium of Tortora in Spain. In the fourth century
the clergy were forbidden to sell charms, in the
8th the people were forbidden to wear them ;
but the use of them at the present time is almost
universal. THE END.

W. JOLLY AND SONS, PRINTERS, BRIDGE STREET, ABERDEEN.