True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1855-01-18

prise, though we might not dread the re-
suit. True literature is based upon an
indiscriminate exercise and intercommuni-
cation of thought and opinion, 1t is not
confined TO q favored few, and that few the
elite of the country, The plebian in this
sense need not be beggar, and indeed the
aristocrat may be but mendicant in the
schools of learning. What has been the
history of the Catholic Church, ana what
her uniform course, not only in her esti-
mate and treatment of literary men prop
erly so called, but in reference also to that
which, in our estimation, constitutes the
true and only basis of all sound literary
advancement For the first few centuries
of the Christian era, she did not assume
to dictate SO authoritatively in matters
which concerned the mere literary advance
ment of the people; other interests enga-
ged her attention, and all other subjects
were insignificant in the comparison.-
Councils were principally engaged in set
tling the various claims and issues result
ing from another controversy. Who
should rule at Rome, and not who should
discourse Plato, was the question. The
arm ofpowcr was not then uplifted to crush,
with an iron sceptre, the men who declai-
med and wrote on these subjects. Litera-
ture was in some sense regarded as dis
tinct and separate pursuit, and church
chroniclers were not anxious to attempt to
rival the classic excellence of their own
great models of taste and eloquence. We
are, informed that even in these early days
in view of the violent and relentless oppo-
sition which Christians had to encounter
from Pagans and from their opposing
brethren, many of them fell into mistakes,
reasoned badly, and falsely construed the
Scriptures. Even then the "mystery of
iniquity began to work" and it seems as
though an injudiciOus zeal, in the heat of
controversy, caused them to grasp every
shadow with which to refuto their oppo-
nents, and their singular fondness for allie
gory confouuded their understandings, so
that they have in many instances substitu-
ted fanciirul rcsemblances for solid argu-
ments. Many of them failed to draw dis
tinction between the light of reason and
that of revelation; as revelation, in many
instances, presented subjects of faith and
not reason; they erred in suppOsing that
reason was to be rejected. Some went so
far as to say that reason was the devils
work, and therefore rejected 1t altogether
repudiating the logic of Aristotle as the
deceitful wisdom of this world, they claim
ed to have better in thu demonstration
of the spirit. Catholicism has ever been
intolerant of civil and religious freedom,
and has been assiduously ze, ,lous in at
tempting to put down that liberty which
seems essential to the proper Improvement,
if not to the very existence of learning
itself. To this cause we attribute her
meagre proportion of truly learned men,
not only during the "dark ages" but even
long before the police of the inquisition in
its fanatical frenzy threatened to extin-
guish the last emotion of literary ambition.
1t is mournful to contemplate the effects of
religious bigotry and malevolence under all
its forms, but when learning and science,
the unofending handmaids Of religion, be-
come the objects of its hate, we want Ian
guage to express just sense Of indigna-
ton at its unprovoked assault. We need
not inquire here what amount of liberty
and what other adjunct facilities are requi-
site to the successful cultivation of letters.
Nor need we stop to inquire somewhat into
the condition of ancient men of science
The question is not whether an aristocrat
or republican will become the greater
scholar, but whether such restrictions as
the Roman hierarchy has imposed, can be
at all compatible with education and with
her present pretensions. No well informed
Catholic will claim that the church has as
such encouraged Or countenanced men of
learning, Her whole history is full of
the most disgusting and servile inspection
of the works of men of genius and most
frequently where she did not destroy them,
she destroyed their works. 1t is indeed
lamentable, that often those who have la
bored most zealously to instruct mankind,
have been those vino have suffered most
from ignorance and the discoverers of
new arts and sciences have hardly ever
lived to see them accepted by the world.
With noble perception of his own genius,
Lord Bacon, in his prophetic will thus ex-
presses himself; "For my name aud men,
ory, leave it to mems charitable speeches,
and to foreign nations, and the next ages"
Before the times of Calico and Harvey
the world believed in the stagnation of the