Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1854-07-13
DIR. IVES AND HIS BOOK.
July 4rH, 1854.

DIR. IVES AND HIS BOOK.
July 4rH, 1854.
Editor Of the Times:
As quite pithy and commendatory notice of
Dr. Ives's book fell under my eye as | looked
over the columns of your paper, this morning, and
as the object Of the writer of it, Git is clear,) Is
to secure, if possible, extensive circulation of
the work in our midst-and great deal more-l
send you caustic, but just, notice of the author
of the book; in the hope that the sugarcd poison,
contained in his s'lttle duodecimo,'' may thus
meet with an efficient and timely antidote-and
that the mind of the unwary reader may be guar
dcd against peruersion. AS matter of justice to
nll ssthe old friends" Of the Doctor and to many
of your readers and subscribers, l ask for the
earliest possible insertion of the editorial of The
Banner Of the Cross herewith transmitted.
JUSTITIA.
THE TRIALS OF MIND IN ITS PRoGREss TO Ca
THoLIcIsm. A Letter to his Old Friends, by
l.. Silliman Ives, LII. D., late Bishop, sc.
Boston: Patrick Donahoe.
Dr.. Ives would invest himself with the
interest and influence of martyr for the
truth. lie parades before the world his
",rias" and losses as kind of mental mar
,yrdom, which shall give greater force and
authority TO the witness he beers. The
natural question then for US 10 ask is
whether the character of his mind was
such that its self-inhicted ''lrials" gave SO
much interest and force 10 his testimony,
that wha. is stale in the arguments OF Ro-
manism becomes fresh, and what has often
been refu.ed becomes conclusive, because
DR.. Ipes hath said 1t In other words,
siees lie fac. s..ssa!f u wing sbsadonsd the
Episcopa,e, given up his nonours and tmol-
nmenls, and having gone through success
sion Of mental gyrations enough to aston
ish dancing Dervish, which he magnilo-
qnenlly calls ''lhe TRIALS of a mind in its
progress 10 atholcism," add such weight
10 his personal convictions, and give US
such confidence in The witness be bears,
that fsllacious arguments aud misaPPlied
authorities, familiar to every student Of the
Romish controversy, and hundred times
answered, shall in the hands Of DR.. Ives be
endued with irresistible power?
In the first place, we are struck with the
size of The production, considering the time
it has consumed in growing 10 its maturity.
After days, and weeks, and months of
expectation since the world was informed
that DR.. Ives was preparing book, we
may we'll be surprised at the appearance Of
this meek little duodecimo, published by
Mr.. Patrick Donahoe, a, the retail price Of
fifty cents! The size and character of the
book do no, justify such delay. We are
led TO ask the cause of IL? The author
onI cono1,lo a.
one or other of the following is the true one.
The Dr.. may have though. it best to wal.
until the Impressions, utterly destructive
10 his moral influence, produced by the
painful and humiliating course he pursued
in his "progresss to Cath holicism,' had been
sofened by time. He would hardly have
dared to tell the history of his s'hials,"
while the facts were fresh in the minds Of
men, which his 'sold friends" deemed most
charitable TO attribute 10 inssni,y Or, the
Dr.. may have found it necessary to study
more thoroughly his subject, with lille
foreign aid, 10 arm himself with &c post
.facto arguments, before he nailed his col
ours TO the mast, and put down his asser-
iions in black and white. This reason is sug-
gcs,ed by the authors own declaration, on
page 229-"l came TO these convictions, as
have written this letter, under the opera
tions of my own mind" To which he
odds in note-"Here feel i, TO be my
duty, from the circumstances in which am
placed, to declare distinctly and positively
that each and every par. of this letter was
written, excep. when have given credit,
without the dic,a,ion, suggestion, or help
of any one but God and that the books
consulted in writing j. were the books
had read while Protestant, except" SC
here he names four writer's. There ere
some men so obivious and visionary, thai
their sayings pariake of the character at.
tribuied to dreams, which require TO be in.
terpre,ed "by contraries." OF such drea-
my character we shall hereafter show the
"mind'' to be, whose "trals" we are now
called upon TO weigh in the balances o.
truth.
1t is all unwelcome task to us, but it is
one which duty imposes, end therefore We
may not shrink from it, to speak severely
Of the character of one whom we once
loved snd honoured. But Dr.. Ives has
forced this unpleasant duty upon his aolt