The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-09-13 00:00:00

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1853.

at the Philharmonic Hall, even art, which, as has been
demonstrated, does not imply the exercise of the higher
faculties of the soul, had become all but extinct !
Hear his own words, " Art never took a strong hold on
Rome—there was never any great original feeling _
it such as to create a distinct type. _ It was imitative, o
_ _

a copyist, of Greek
3 did that

And as this declined, so
le time of Constantine it

Still, it

worse, for be adds

how its revival was prepared." Now, hOwi
the total extinction of art was prevented ?
genius of Popery, or any influence emanatii

.do you think
' Not by the
rig within the

bosom of th

komist

But by t

le intercourse

which these obtained between the towns of Genoa and
Venice in the west, and Constantinople in the east. This
is an important admission. Constantinople wls the seat
of the Greek Church, a church which has never, even to
this day, acknowledged the supremacy of the Pope ; and

where the authority of the Pope is ad
netians," says Dr. Wiseman, " had ob

The Ve-

that in Con-

there were superior architects v and better workmen."
This revival of art, occasioned by commerce with the
heterodox Greeks, took place in the thirteenth century, and
from henceforward "Italy was supplied in its artistic wants

by Greece or by its Italian scholars." So, then, proud
Rome, the mistress of the world, that ruled supreme over
the religious and political resources of Rum*, was unable
even to keep alive the genius of art, which was at length,
after nearly eight centuries of decline, verging on total
extinction, and was indebted to schismatic Greece for its
revival. (Cheers).
But it has been said that the entire of Eirope was sunk

in darkness and ignorance ; and so it was, vith the excep-
tion of one only country, Ireland. On the intellectual
condition of that country, hear the statements of Mosheim,
the ecclesiastical historian :—" The Irish, or Hibernians,
who, in this century (the eighth) were called Scots, were
the only divines who refused to dishonour their reason by
submitting it implicitly to the dictates of authority. Natu-
rally subtile and sagacious, they applied their philosophy,
such as it was, to the illustration of the truths and doc-
trines of religion, a method which was almost generally
exploded and abhorred in all other nations." And in a note

this century, were lovers of learning, and distinguished
themselves in these times of ignorance by the culture of
the sciences beyond all the other European nations ; tra-
velling through the most distant lands, both with a view
to improve and communicate their knowlOge.7 _

Such is the testimony of Mosheim. Now, let it be re-
membered, that until the twelfth century the Irish Church
never acknowledged the authority of the Pope of Rome.
It was then forced on them by Henry 11., urged on by
Pope Adrian IV.,—the only Englishman who ever as-
cended the Papal Chair. What does this remarkable fact
prove, but that Ireland was superior in learning to other
e she refused, whilst they submitted to the
which
mnt

of no other solutic

for the fact, that the entire Of Christendom was over-
shadowed with darkness ; —art, scienee, and literature
extinct, save in Constantinople in the east, and Ireland
in the west,—neither of which had submitted to the
blasphemous intercessions of Antichrist, under whose
oppression all Europe beside lay expiring ? (Applause.)
But look not only at the history of Europe, but at the
present condition of its several countries. Contrast the
Romish with the Protestant countries, and the immeasur-
able superiority of the one in learning, art, science, civili-
zation, freedom, and morality over the other, will prove
whether Popery be favourable to the advancement of the
human mind, or not. The testimony of the historian Ma-
caulay is interesting : " During the last three centuries, to
stunt the growth of the human mind has been the chief
object of the Church of Rome, throughout Christendom.
Whatever advance has been made in knowledge, in free-
dom, in wealth, in the arts of life, has been made in spite of
her, and has everywhere been in inverse proportion to her
power ; the loveliest, and most fertile provinces, of Europe
have, under her rule, been sunk in poverty, in political
servitude, and intellectual torpor, while Protestant coun-
tries, once proverbial for sterility and barbarism, have
been turned, by skill and industry, into gardens, and can
boast of a long list of heroes, statesmen, poets, and philo-
sophers." (Hear, hear.)
Dr. Wiseman, in reply to this charge, enumerates, in his
lecture at Leeds, the names of many poets and scientific
men, who belonged to the Romish communion. He men-
tions the names of Dante, Petrarch, Armati, Galvani,
Volta, and Torricelli ; but it may be replied, that the less
said of Dante and Petrarch the better. Their greatness
of mind recoils upon himself ; for Dante, in his poem, de-
picts Pope Anastasius "sunk deep in the abyss of hell,
loaded with the crimes of the church. Nicholas 111. also
in hell, standing on his head, with his heels upward, wish-
ing to be relieved by Boniface VIII, who is in his turn to
be succeeded by Clement V. ;" and Petrarch, in a well-
known passage, calls Rome "a temple of heresy,—Babylon
false and guilty,—a hell pf the living." _

And as for Galvani, Volta, and Torricelli, it may be re-
plied that they lived since the Reformation, in the last
century, and that whatever discoveries they may have
made in natural philosophy must be attributed to Protes-
tantism; for, were it not for the mental activity originated
by: an open Bible, the latent influence of which has reached
even to benighted Italy itself, and set in motion, to some
slight extent, its long entombed intellect, such men as
Torricelli, &c., could have had no existence. (Cheers.) Can
Dr. Wiseman show us any scientific men before the Refor-
Mation ? Oh, yes, he replies. Armati discovered' spec-
tacles in the year 1317. Now to this and other instances
(if any can be produced) of scientific genius in pre-Refor-
mational times, let it be answered in general, that the Re-
formation was not merely the work of the sixteenth cen-
tury—that the influences which ultimately accomplished the
Reformation were at work, yea, and in active operation for
three centuries previous. The crusades—the revival of
letters—the fall of Constantinople—had stimulated the
European mind to activity. The Reformation of the six-
teenth century was but the development of those princi-
ples which had thus been long at work; and any instances
which might be produced by Romanists must be put to the
credit of the Reformational leaven already in operation.
(Cheers.) But more particularly Armati may have had the
invention from such a man as Friar Roger Bacon, an
eminent philosopher, who is said to have approximated to
the discovery of the telescope, the camera obscure, gun-
powder, and the correction of the calendar, but who was
imprisoned for many years by the ignorant Romish autho-
rities on a charge of heresy and magic. His companions
(Arnold and Petrus) after death were declared by the Inqui-
sition to be worthy of being burned for their magic. Bacon
died A.D. 1292. (Hear.)

The Church of Bome'has always persecuted scientific
men. In the year 1337, Cecco Asculi, a philosopher, ma-
thematician, and physician, having performedsome mecha-
nical experiments which seemed miraculous to the vulgar,
was charged by the Inquisition with magic and dealing
with the devil, and burnt alive at Florence ! In the year
1481, Platina and a society of antiquarians were thrown
into prison, in ehains, for two years by Paul 11. One of
his companions died on the rack. In the year 1600, Bruno
Jordan, a philosopher, was burnt on a charge of heresy
by the Inquisition at Padua. Campanella was imprisoned
for 28 years, and frequently tortured, for opposing the
Aristotelian philosophy. And the story of poor Galileo
is well known, who was summoned twice before the Inqui-
sition for his astronomical discoveries—condemned to per-
petual imprisonment, and only escaped being burnt by
abjuring his science. The blasphemy of Dr. Wiseman's
statement —" that Galileo might hold and maintain it as a
mathematician and a philosopher, but that he must not
treat it as a true theory," implying that a thing might be
philosophically and scientifically true, but theologically
false—setting the God of Revelation against the God of
Nature—does not require an answer. (Applause.)
The rev. lecturer proceeded to show, from recent sta-
tistics of the most convincing character, the immeasurable
superiority of Protestantism over Popery in promoting
the intelligence, the morality, and the wealth of nations ;
comparing England with Ireland, and the North of Ire-
land with the remaining portions, and which satisfactorily
proved that Popery and poverty are correlative terms, as
are Protestantism and prosperity. In conclusion, he ex-
horted all to read, prize, and propagate the Bible,—the
fountain of all our blessings, the source of all our great-
ness, social, commercial, and scientific. (Deafening ap-
plause).
The above is a brief abstract of the able lecture, which
occupied more than two hours in delivery. We regret
that, from the shortness of the notice, we were unable to
make arrangements to give it at greater length.
Mr. BRAKELL moved, in a stirring speech, and Mr. I.
WILLrAms seconded, a vote of thanks to the lecturer,
which was carried by acclamation ; after which the Rev.
Mr. BARDBLET moved, and Rev. Mr. IRELAND seconded,
a vote of thanks to the chairman. The assembly was dis-
missed about 11 o'clock by singing the doxology, and the
benediction.

HALL'S ANTI-CORROSIVE INK.— It will be seen by
advertisement, that Mr. E. T. Hall, of this town, has pro-
duced a writing ink possessing several useful properties.
Among others it professes to be anti-corrosive, and thus
to be peculiarly adapted for writing with steel pens.
From a trial, we are enabled to say it flows freely from the
pen, has a good colour, which appears to be durable, and
is an agreeable ink to write with.
DESPERATE ASSAULT.—On Thursday evening, two
ruffians made a desperate attempt at garotte robbery upon
Mr. Lynch, of Bootle, while on his road to his own home.
He struggled manfully, and so effectually that he tripped
one of them up. While holding him on the ground, and
calling lustily for assistance, the other man endeavoured
to kick him on the head. He, however, caught hold of
his leg, and also threw him down. In the meantime, the
man who had first fallen succeeded in tearing himself
from Mr. Lynch's grasp, and getting upon his feet. On
this, his prostrate companion called out to him to cut Mr.
Lynch's throat, in order to release him from his un-
pleasant position. Fearing that he might endeavour to
comply with this request, Mr. Lynch raised himself to pre-
vent it, and both men then made off. Mr. Lynch states
that he did not meet with a policeman during his walk,
home.
Loss OF A LIVERPOOL. SHIP.—The ship Pytha, 928
tons, Captain Edward Davis, from this port, was destroyed
by fire, when lying in the Old Calabar River, on the 7th of
July. She left this port in February last, with aoo casks
oil, 200 casks powder, and other mercl
very valuable cargo. She was to be sti
bia, where she was to trade with oth
lying in the river, at midnight. (

ndise, forming a
ttioned in the Gam-

essels. While
the 7th July, smoke

ad a ii 4 hours

I blew up at noon
timed. The crew

diaelion the discovery
At the time of the fire
.-4,;TiQ. on board. Pre-

r'avnedntYobtoafhlthecle

ill be r
LARG

is in Fe

teraay, amounted to upv

engagemen

lIPPIN

s to cross the Atlantic

considerable exp,

Scots in I opened on the

The splendid new off``" aglo
inst. Service, eleven o'cic'e''

LATEST INTELLIGENO.

VISITATION.—Friday next is the day appointed for
visitation of the Lord Bishop of the Diocese in LiverP°.%
It will be held at St. Peter's Church, where divine 0111'
will commence at eleven o'clock.
A STEAMER is being built at New York whicY
guaranteed to run between New York and Englandwitililir3
six clays, in all seasons, with greater comfort to passe%
and less risk to life than by the present conveyances'

_The numbe, r
c 1 in LiverPo' "'.
;;,;..andrpitiehenolirelftev

witnessed even in these busy times. Yete
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC IN Six DAYS ,s 5t
York Herald says :—" A steamer is now on thine ~;eb
the ship-yard of John W. Griffiths, at Greenpo,
is expected to be ready for sea early in Februal
This steamer is being constructed under the placs
specifications of William Norris, civil engineer, johndtheir
W. Griffiths, naval architect, who have patented lice,
improvements in this country, England, and Fence,
The builders and patentees, as we are informed, are n,
to
New 'fag

England, within six days, in all seasons. no a
ittee
CHIMES FOR ST. PETER'S CH CH.—The CO e„igi
appointed for the purpose of taking steps to raise ,nlapi
rnr the restnratinri the ollirnPg of St. Peter:?

,ur We renurtudou us I,lle CIIIILICS eS. -
Church, met yesterday in order to report Proceew'eroberg
appeared that, notwithstanding only a few of the toe,_„di
had commenced to canvass the town, the .amount
collected is nearly £5O ; and, as the work can
ila)et,Lte
formed for £2OO, every confidence is felt in the. rob-
success of the undertaking. A list of the priliciPli
scribers will be found in our advertising columns, to
shall be happy to add the names of any of our reamsthe list. e
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH, HARDMAN-STREET.-- I
top-
Dr. Hook, vicar of Leeds, and chaplain in ordinal at St.
Queen, is expected to preach, morning and evening:st)ai of
Philip's Church, on Thursday, the 29th inst. (festi,eata
St. Michael and all angels). There is to be an,e'is, iII
service in this church on Sundays, at half-Pot. coul'
addition to the present afternoon service, wbiehil
mence on Sunday, the 2d October. The gas-fltt.Vi•olll4
being completed, and from the manner of fixing, liminerit
appear that three very desirable objects are jfirweer.
namely, a non-interference with the architectunu ',lobesng ;
ante of the church • the dispensing with gigand consequent avoidance of much heat ; and ll.'dill"s'