Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1857-05-08
Correspondence Of the Free Press
Letters from Europe.
No. XVIII.

matters which attracted my attention, did not
fail to glance at them.
Rome is often called the Capital of the Christian
world, and the phrase has passed without criticism
because it conveniently enough expresses an idea
which Protestants as well as Roman Catholics have
sometimes occasion to express With the Cath
olics it is a avorite phrase, because it seems to
| imply what they ready to insist, that the
! Roman Catholic Religion is the only form of real
Christianity. 1t is the Capital Of the Roman Cath
| Ollie woodland it is the Capital Of tho Pope's
temporal dominion II is his Capital as tho sol DIS
ant Vicar ofChrist and his Capital as King Of the
! Roman States. 1t is tho only Capital whose SOW
ereign places upon earth the Capital Of His King
dom whose Kingdom is not of this world, and
claims to sit upon His Throne who is at the right
hand of God in the Heavenly places, far above all
Prncipaities and Powers and might and domin-
ion and every name that is named, not only in
this world. but also in that which Is to como. In
the Papll sense it is the Capital of the
Christian world, but in no other, and
no Protestant should use tho phrase even by
adoption. But in this as in many other things
we yield much to the Roman Catholics in seeming
to admit the justice of their exclusive claims
We call their church the " Catholic church, and
We leave to their exclusive that most
pressiye sign Of christianity, the Cross. In my
judgment every Christian Church in the world
should bear conspicuously the cross, that the
shippers in them should far at least glory in the
cross Of Christ.
In such a capital Of such a dominion it is quite
plain that the education of the people must be
always and every where in the hands Of those who
in being ordained as priests Of the church are by
force Of the same ceremony made officers and
agents Of the State. There are those who
say that such a system as the Roman Catholic re-
ligion can only be sustained by the ignorance of
those who profess il, There can be no greater
mistake Such asystem could never be maintained
| except by most careful and constant incubation
If il be not taught diligently to the children they
will inevitably depart from it. 1t is not the reli-
| gion Of Ignorance. In country see so many
of the Irish catholics who are ignorant, that we
/ have transferred their ignorance to the mass Of
catholics every where, while it is true that in
some ages of the world all the learning Of the
world was in the catholic church, and in tho most
eni ghtened ages ofthe world, including our own,
| Protestantism has produced no men so cultivated,
SO well educated, so eloquent or so spiritual and
deYout that their equals in all these respects
not sincere and faithful believers in the Roman
Catholic Church, co-worshippers and co-believers'
with the Pope of Rome.
We do ourselves, as we'll as the Catholic church,
great injustice when we profess to disbelieve or
to doubt the sincerity and tho piety of Fenelon
and Bossuet and Massilon and Bourdaloue and
] TX uot,isn md Il he q
only because their names familiar to all. But
if these, why may not millions Of humber names
be written in the Lambs Book of Life. If with
their light and intelligence they were devout
Christians in the Church of Rome, shall not the
less enlightened many, who listened to their in
structions, be permitted to sit down with them and
! with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the King
! dom Of Heaven.
! I think there is general misapprehension Of
the educational system of the Roman Catholics, as
it exists at the Catholic Capital, where certainly
we should expect to see its best manifestations.
am quite willing to confess my previous ignorance
on the subject. l had, however, in the hope Of
procuring some reliable information, written to
Mr.. Cass our representative at the Court of Rome,
for information, before had any expectation Of
visiting Rome myself lie did me the honor to
reply 70 my letter, and avowing his ignorance, he
promised to get the necessary information for me.
/ have never heard from him again and relied
upon my own inquiries on the spot For my in
formation am mainly indebted to the civility of
Father Secchi-Professor Of Astronomy and so in
charge Of the Observatory at the Roman Col
lcge.
At the head OF the public educational institutions
is the University Of Rome, sometimes called the
Collegia della Sapenza (the college Of wsdom)
because over one Of it, entrances is the passage in
Latin The fear Of the Lord is the beginning Of
wisdom. 1t is near the Pantheon in the quarter of
St. Eustatus. Its fine large inner court is paralI-
ollogram; and as you enter it, the opposite side
is the front of the church in the form Of triangle,
and the other three sides are decorated with two
rows of pilasters,one Doric and Ionic, forming
arcades 1t has no external decoraton-plain
walls with two rows Of windows The beauty and
the science as well as the quiet and seclusion are
/ within the squares. This institution is more than
/ 600 years old, and by the friendly patronage Of
successive Popej has been extended and strengthen
cd In ls2j Leo l. entirely remodelled it and gave
to it and the University of Bologna the rank of the
two primary universities of his doninions. 1t has
AZ professors and all the faculties, each faculty
being called college the college Of theology
with five professors the college Of law, with
seven professors the college Of medicine with
thirteen professors the college Of natural phlo-
sophy with eleven professors and the college Of
phiIology with six professors, 1t has secular and
lay teachers well ecclesiastcs They entire
ly supported by the State (Pope) and instruction is
entirely free except that fifty dollars is demanded
from those who take degrees. 1t has a fine
library and collections of minerals, geolog ical
specimens of the local formations, Roman
fossil remains, all the marbles and stones of the
ancient monuments, comparative Anatomy and
Zoology, and Gems, and Botanic garden, The
University has a large number of students. On
the third floor of TIE University is school Of
| Engineers, not under the special charge of the
University; and on the lower floor is the Academy
of st. Luke, with its IL Professors and its schools
Of the fine arts.
Next in importance is the Roman College, es-
tablishcd by Gregory XIII, during whose pontif-
cate the calendar was reformed, and after him
sometimes called the Gregorian University. 1t 10
entirely under the management of the Jesuits.
Father Secch, to whom was introduced in the
Observatory-he is Professor of Astronomy-vith
his characteristic civilIty accompanied me through
the visible portions Of the establishment, and was
exceedingly communicative and intelligent in re-
laton, in bringing to my notice such matters as
he knew would not fail to be interesting to me-
By the way, the Observatory is reached by wind
ing staircase of reasonably easy ascent, which is
cut Of the solid walls of the building, two hum
drcd years old-the whole staircase being within
the solid wall, This gives one some idea of the
stability with which such buildings erected in
the latter part of the 10th century, when this Me-
tropoitan College of the Jesuits was built The
stairway was cut within the wall at much more
recent period This too, externally, has no preten