The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-02-13
Rationalism-No. 8.

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reality as independent OF orr faculties,
nay, as creating those very faculties, by
impinging on which-to borrow word
from the least material of natural sciences
they respectively endow with motion
and activity. In the speculative sciences
Truth is often ignored or denied. Theology
has its skeptics, philosophy it's pantheists
and idealists- Imfmitus," quoth the wise
| man, Z" est numerous stuitorHm." Goldsmith,
on his visit to the shades, found that ineer-
rlglble wine-bibber, Auacreon, turned poll
tician, for politics is trade everybody
knows, and SO it would seem to be with
religion. Here, every second man you
meet is au amateur Doctor of Divinity, and
it can be but the dread of the lunatic asy-
lum that keeps men from being SO in
mathematics. Bnt in mathematics Who
ever heard of such a monster as an anna
teur Mathematics is pure, unmitigated
despOtism, and yet it reposes on no frmer
basis than the Queen of Sciences, like
which, all its authority, as has been shown,
is derived from Divine Revelation.
The human science We had an eye to in
treating of the True, is Ontology. In our
few remarks on Beauty, we trespassed a
little on the charming pleasure grounds of
Esthetics, and now in discoursing on the
Good, our object is to throw out some views
on the principles of Ethics-in other words,
on the science of morals. God in creating
US stamped His own image on our soul re-
vealed Himself to us as the True, the
Beautiful and the Good and these three
| al fri nt in init Of
cycle of our existence with the three
sciences just mentioned, and even with the
studies, inappropreately termed sciences,
| already referred to, are, in the theological,
copied into and kept from rusting in our
! souls by the practice of the Divine Virtues,
Faith, Hope and Charity the sum of
abridgm of all religion.
in man, is nevertheless al idea sal generis,
as the philosophers speak it is an idea in
itself, interviewer with every free human
act an idea absolute, and really and essen
italy distinct from the pleasant, the useful,
the fair, and even from the True itself,
since the True regards cognition or know
ledge, whereas the aim Of the Good is simply
action. Viewed in this light, the Good, of
which, as of the True and Beautiful, we
have immediate intuition in the light of
Him, "who was in the world, albeit the
world knew Him not may be defined ga
dirine perfection, in rhich free and rational
creatures participate, in az imperfect manner,
through tie knowledye it imparts to them Of
the absolute Lac, and the free conformity Of
their 1rM ,cith that la,c.' From this detipi-
ton, which comprises the whole question
of ethics, and sheds much light ON the
manifold struggles OF the human heart, in
which "the law of the mind is<everlastingly
at variance with the law in our members"
it results that Goodness, like understand
ing, wisdom, liberty, nay, Being itself, is
an absolute perfection, which may however
become relative, and partaken by rational
creatures. And surely Goodness is that
sweet attribute, in which we love to pic
ture to our hearts our Heavenly Father
and this endearing name of Father 'ex-
presses itself the idea of goodness, and in
warming our hearts with this sublime idea,
awakens in our souls the most soothing
affections; for if God were simply the
Omnipotent or the Eternal, terror, as old
Lucretius sang, were the only religion of
mankind, and man would fall PROSTATE, in
Oriental abjectness, before divinity he
was helpless to propitiatc. But we, who
are the children, not the slaves, of our God;
who believe in Him, who hope in Him, who |
love Him-we hesitate not to come as close |
to Him as children to their Father, and re-
sign ourselves into His blessed arms, be-
cause we know Him to be infinitely good |
Indeed, goodness is one of the strongest,
while it is the tenderest, of those links |
which connect the Creator with all His |
rational works; the lowliest of which He
holds in that Paterpal hand, without the |
Withholding of which not even sparrow
falleth to the ground.
Now what has Ratonalism to say to this
What idea does it give US of Code The
Freemasons give us at least an Industrious
God one who with the materials at his |
disposal has managed to fashion for us
quite snug little world, which he is all |
the time busy in keeping in repair. But
the Rationalists have in the shape of a |
God, absolutely nothing to satisfy our
cravings for truth, to attract and celestify |
our hopes, and offer to the poor, hayward |