The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-01-14

presumption to think that you will strike
out future generations of your stamp by
means of schools. But professional men
know well, and experience proves, that this
pretension is absurd, and might become
Irightfut tyranny. Education ny ltseu,
whether primary or secondary, with all that
can be added of the higher sciences-alge-
bra, chemistry, etc.--d0es not teach moral
ity, and those particularly who fatter the
| teachers, really think more of their infiu-
| ence over the electors than of the interests
| of the children.
Do you know what has most influence
over families aud society," It education,
| whether smoral or immoral, religious or
atheistical. And do you know why mis-
| trust your reform Z 1t is simply because it
| will be neither moral nor religious.
Indeed, what ia meant by an education
| truly modern and truly democratic Is there
| modern geometry, a democratic grammar,
new morality aud an unpublished geo.
graphyf All these mighty words are moth
ing more than. cloudy metaphors, empty
| and obscure, and unmeaning when ana
Used
However, after having treated your audi
ence to these flights of oratoFy, you go on
to utter your party cries, the orders Of the
| day. You say education is to be free. That
means thirty millions more taxes. But
what does that matteri You have spent
many other millions. The poor will paw
they are indebted to You for tho benefit.
Obligatory-be it SO, if you are able to. pro-
cure a solid sanction for your lava real
guarantee for the liberty of families, and,
above all, masters who will, without the
most abominable tyrannies, force fathers to
children. But these vulgar details do not
stop you. Finally, education is to be
sccular-there is the great word out at last.
1t is easy to attack and calumniate alb
sent priests and Religious who cannot de-
fend themselves. 1t is not in very good
your own party, ard abuse of the Church
may pass for kindness to others. The
Church and State are henceforth to be
separated. But this is not enough; the
Church must be separated from the school,
and the school from all religion.
You have said, monsieur, that YOUR Re-
public will be liberal. If you commence
by excluding a whole list of citizens and
women from the common right to teach,
only because their religious beliefs are not
the same as yours, do not, beg you. any
longer call yourself liberal, and no more
accuse the Church of intolerance. Or rather
be logical, and separate the State from the
school for the State is supported by the
taxes-entirely by our money. You can
not, without tyranny, force parents to send
have done with these sounding phrases, and
call things by their proper names. We are
the Church-you are the State. To take
away our money, our doctrines, and give
the money to you, for the support of your
doctrines-this is what is called the separa-
what treasured about parents sending their
children to your schools, when learn from
you what is to be the programme of this
system of education. cit is an extensive
and varied programme, of such design that,
instead of mutilated science, all truth
<@ kI,-L L.
that the human mind can grasp shall be
concealed" De omnj re scibili-this is
charming. You will be able to create minds
capable Of receiving such an encyclopedia.
You are a man of such wonderful capacity
This, then, is the education, free, obliga-
tory, compulsory for all, secular, and com
plete even to impossibility but then, if
this is the formula of socialism, it is also
the formula of absurdity.
cat school," You say, they shall teach
the truths Of science in the strictest sense,
and in their majestic simplicity" and thus
"you will have formed citizens whose prin-
ciples are supported upon bases on which
our social relations rest"
What do you mean By these great words Z
What are these principles-wlat are these
bases7 Whether these principles are sup
ported on these bases, or these bases are
attached to these principles, it matters not
which you teach the child of seven to eleven
years old. I ask you again to give me
distinctly the text of the programme of
science, that our doughty village s;hool-
masters, to inspire children of from seven
to eleven years of age with the spirit of
duty and sacrifice, ought to substitute for
the Ten Commandments of God, and for
the holy, sublime and wide spread Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What, then, monsieur, makes you so un-
grateful to the electors Of Paris or Lyons,
who have almost all been educated by the
Christian Brothers-what makes you 80
harsh towards the priests, who perhaps,
have helped not a little Your own early
education-and why are you 80 unjust to
this point, and to protest against your
calumnies. After the clergy of France
have devoted themselves, as they have
done, to the service of our soldiers and
prisoners for months, after our almoners
and Brothers of the Christian Schools being
shot dead on the field of battle, after our
religious have devoted themselves to your
ambulances, it is now yon take heart to tell
us that we are no longer Frenchmen! And