Polynesian., 1859-06-18
No. Z.

a work Of human policy so well deserving of ex-
animation as the Roman Catholic Church. The
history of that church joins together the two
great ages of civilization. No other Institution
is left standing which carries the mind back to
the time when the smoke of sacrifice from
the Pantheon, and when cameleopards and tigers
bounded In the Flavian amphitheatre. The proud
est royal houses are but of yesterday when COM
pared with the line of Supreme Pontifs. That
line we trace back in unbroken series, from the
Pope who crowned Napoleon in the nineteenth
| century to the Pope who crowned Pepin in the
eighth and far beyond the time of Pepin the au-
gust dynasty extends, till it is lost in the twilight
Of fable. The Republic of Venice comes next in
antiquity. But the Republic of Venice was mod
ern when compared with Papacy and the Repub-
lie of Venice is gone, and Papacy remains. The
Papacy remains not in decay-nOt mere antique
but full of life and youthful vgor The Catholic
Church is still sending forth, to the furthest ends
Of the world, missionaries Jealous those who
landed in Kent with Augustin and still confront
ing hostile kings with the same spirit with which
she confronted Attila. The number of her chill
dren is greater than in any former age. Her ac-
QUESTIONS in the New World have more than COM
pensated her for what she has lost in the Old.
Her spiritual ascendaney extends over the vast
countries which lie between the plains OF Missou-
ri and Cape Horn-countries which, century
hence, may not improbably contain a population
Il Il
members of her community are certainly not few
er than hundred and fifty millions and 1t Will
be difficult to show that all other Christian sects,
united, amount to hundred and twenty millions.
Nor do we see any sign which indicates that the
term of her long dominion is approaching. She
saw the commencement of all the governments,
and of all the ecclesiastical establishments that
now exist in this world and we feel no assurance
that she is not destined to the end of them all
She was GREAT and respected before the Saxon had
set foot on Britain-before the Frank had passed
the Rhine-when Grecan eloquence still flourish
ed at Antioch-when idols were still wOrshipped
in the temple of Mecca. And she may still exist
in undminshed vigor when some traveller from
New Zealand shall, in the midst of a vast Solitude
take his stand on broken arch of London Bridge
to sketch the ruins of st. Paul's. We often hear
it said that the world is constantly becoming more
and more enlightened. and that this enlightening
must be favorable to Professionalism and unfayora-
BILE to Catholicism. We wish we could think
But we see great reason to doubt whether this be
well-founded expectation. We see that during
the last two hundred and fifty years the human
mind has been in the highest degree aetive-that
it has made great advances IN every branch OF nat
ural philosophy-that it has produced innumerable
inventions tending to promote the conveniences of
life-that medicine, surgery, chemistry, engineer
ing, have been very greatly improved, though not
to the same extent. Yet we see that, during these
two hundred and fifty years, Protestantism has
made no conquests worth speaking Of Nay, we
believe that, as far as there has been q change,
that change has been in favor of the Church of
Rome We cannot, therefore. feel confident that
the progress of knowledge will necessarily be ia
tai to a system which has, to say the least, stood
its ground in spite of the immense progress which
knowledge has made since the days Of Queen Eli
zabeth."