New-York tribune., 1870-01-11
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
JANUS.

The extraordinary sensation NhlCn tnlS bOok mas
produced, both in Germany and England, is due to
two causes in nearly equal proportions 1t is an eX.
ceedingly able attack upon the theological princi-
pies which are held by tho vast majority of Roman
Catholics and which the Vatican Council is expected
to confirm; and il is an attack coming prOfessedly
from the bosom of t.o Church itself and significant,
if il represents the opinions of a strong or growing
party. of a movement whose importance we can
hardly overestimatc. OF its real weight, either
as q controversial treatise as the manifesto
Of theological party, It is not yet time to judge
The historical Investigations and array of facts upon
which its argument is based are so new, and are
drawn from such unfamiliar sources, that It is I'M
possible to iudge them at once, and the strength of
Janus's adherents has yet to be developed. We are
assured in the preface that more than one hand has
been concerned in the preparation of the book but,
so far as know, not rumor as to its authorship
has yet been heard, either in Germany or elsewhere.
Certainly, there can be few scholars among the lib
eTal German Catholics who are capable of producing
q work at learned and so vigorous terrible
in its arguments and so calm in its language
The purpose and character of the book indicated
pretty clearly 10y the preface:
We have written under a deep sense OF anxiety in
presence OF serious danger threatening primarily the
internal condition of the Catholic Church, and then-as
is inevitable with what affects corporation including
IsOOOOO Of men-destined TO vaser dimensions.
not be- without is influence on ecclesiastical communities
ana nations outside the Catholic Church.
This danger docs not date from yesterday, and did not
begin with the proclamation Of the Council For
twenty four years, the reacuonary movement in the
Catholic Church, which is now swollen to mighty tor
rent has been manesting itself and now il is preparing
like an advancing hoodtde, TO take possession OF
the whole organic life Of tie Church By means OF this
Council.
that OF the Catholic Church and her mission which
term In s h & o rennte iTT @ a Ppcomgro
p.siu gfI If hp 0f
Jcsults-two powers intimately aied-and never men.
uoued by them without bitterness. We are OF the!r
opinion who persuaded, drSt, that the Catholic
altitude toward the principles Of political intellectual
aud religious freedom and Independence Of Judgment IN
far they capable Of Christian interpretation
or rather directly derived from the letter and spirit
of the Gospel ought the contrary, to be IN POSITIVE
accord with them and to exercise constant purifying
that great and searching reformation OF the Church
evaded
Janus takes mp seriatim three principal points Of
doctrine which the Council is expected to erect into
dogmas Of faith namely: the declarations Of the
Syllabus the bodily assumption Of the Virgin, and
the personal infalliblty of the Pope. To the first
and second, he dcvotes only two short chapters the
real point Of attack is the Papal nfalibility for
that being once established, declarations Of councils
upon other articles of belief will of course be super
fiuous Ont of the eighty negative propositions of
the SyllQbus he selects six which, converted into
positive dogmas he declares i is the purpose of Plus
~. 10 urge upon the fathers of the Council.
These are that the Church has the right
10 employ physical coercion. or lin other
words persecution; that the POpes have
never exceeded the bounds of their power or usurpcd
the rights Of princes; that the Immunities of the
clergy were not conceded by the civil power; that
the eXtvavagaut pretensions Of the POpes did not
contribute to the separation of the Eastern and
Western Churches; that it is wrong to allow liberty
of couscicce cgs4ggl Political rights to Protestants
and that the reconciliation Of the Pope with modern
progress and Hb,ralsmiS either possible o. desirable
Stated in this bread and aggressive form, the prop
Vsitions seem so offensive that most Protestants
would cali ita waste of breath to point out their
absurdity. Catholic cOutrOveTsalists will probably
aitc that they do not fairly represent the negative
staicmcuts Of the syllabus TO which they are sup
noscd TO be c0uivalcut and, until we learn whether
tbov are to be presented to the Council in this cX
trayagant shape it will hardly be worth while TO
discuss them. Janus passes them over lightly, ana
to the next point the doctrine of the Assumption, he
deyotes only two pages. Whether 1t be formally
defined by the Council not makes very little differ
pucc: IT is already so generally believed by Roman
Catholics that We dare say most of the laiy of that
creed Will bc surprised TO learn that II Is not actually
an article Of faith.
But the question of infallbility is far more cmbar
Tassug and upon this the author puts forth all his
mowers. For generations. il has been the bone of
contention between two great parties in the Church
whose foremost representatives, in later times have
bccn the Jcsuits on the one hand and the Gallican
clergy on the other Janus undertakes to show that
the primacy Of the Roman See in carly ages IN
Nolyed no recognition and even no claim OF the de-
spotIc and absolute power which now asserts, but
the prcrogatiycs Of the papacy have been gradually
4 sHs lGsffrt tlfsrrgF nan
tf mainly ly the forgery Of spurious decretals and
letters. and by the usuIpaton Of the rights Of
other churches; and that far is infalh-
bilitv from being personal attribute Of the Pope
that many of the Bishops Of Rome have fallen into
grievous d0ctTiua errors while some have even been
convicted of hercsy. lie gives a long list Of in
stance, in which different Popcs have made contra
dictory decisions, or councils have mathematical
the declarations Of Pontifls, or the Popes have pro-
nounccd docmatc yerdicts opposed to the received
doctripe Of the whole Church; and if it can be
proved that in these POpcs were in thcolog
ical sense spcaking c cGto3rd-that is under the con-
ditions i'm which the Ultramontansts claim for them
the Gift of infallibility-we do not how any rea
sonabe Catholic can any longer adhere to the extreme
Roman party. There a tremendous force in the
fact that at the Council Of Constantinope called by
the Emperor Constantine in $50 to settle the Mono
thelite controversy, Pope HOrouus l., who had ap
proved the heretcal opinions,
was condemned for hercsy in the most solemn manner
and not q single voice. Of the Papal gtes who
were present was raised in his defense His dogmatc
writings committed TO the flames as heretcaL THIS
one fact-that Great Council universally received
aftcrwatd without hesitation throughout the Church. and
presided over by Papal lcgatCs, pronounced the
dOynatIc decision of a Pope herctical and ana
thematizsd him by name as heretlc-ls-
proof, clear as the at MONDAY, that the
notion Of any peculiar enlightenment or meTancy OF the
POpes was then utterly unknown 10 the whole Church
The only resource OF the defenders OF Papa lnfalhby
since TOrquCmada and BelauniDc, has been 10 attack