The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-11-28
DEATR or THB ABBB MTGNE.
lSsv Yorh Yr.sn.... yourpa, xov. "a

NOV York FresnAn's Journal. Sov. ISl
The death 10 ANNOUNCED of the Able
AigDe. 40 celebrated for his various Cnrsus
Pafrologies, etc. Able Migne was in his
seventy sixth year. II is nearly forty years
ago that he was seized Of the idea that oc-
eupied all bis active life--it was to furnisb
70 the studions, of narrow means and re-
mote from public libraries, editions of the
oest Catholic authors at q very low price
Lee project grew, under the bands Of able
aigbe, TO proportions he never could have
dreamed of at first. The success of his
first attempts led him to proposing farther
greater ventures. 1t was no longer sepa-
rate works of speciai value 70 be coRtem-
plated, but the get;iug ont of complete
courses of ali the Latin Fathers of the
Catholic Church. from the First to the
middle of the Z hirteenth Century Having
completed this o. rather, before having
completed il, Able Migne undertook, aud
pushed forward, Course containing all the
Greek Fathers of the Church. With mex
haustib!e industry he was engaged in re-
producing cheap and excellent editions of
TIE most celebrated scboofmen, when the
calamity happened of the complete and
utter destruction of his extensive and re-
mai Eao.e composing, printing. an binding
shopsr at hontrouge, Dear Paris. These
immense works were not insured and the
5 sweeping away ofthe esults, of every kind.
OF life SO INDUSTRIOUS, was too much for
the SeptuagenaIian 10 attempt tn begin
again Ge noSo. Only a few years before the
destruction of Montrouge, the Able
Aiche offered, and desired, that the clergy
OF france, or large body of them, In some
corporate form, would bay this vast collec-
ton OF his editions of FATHERS and School
men, and theologians, and Catholic authors
or the Fathers and Scboolmep, and other
standard works. he always had stereotype
plates taken. Thus, while the fiess of his
EDITIONS, IN this cheap form. were rather
iuii OF Typographical errors, IL was his hope
aud his plan, By CONTINUED suggestions of
learned readers, to correct ali these so
as, 10 time, to present editions as nearly as
once corrected, being subject to no more
errors of the type settlers.
While occupied in editing, or rather
having edited by q large corps of learned
men, the treasures Of Pathology and of the
SchoolmeD, able Migne was not inatten-
tive to the requirements OF the severer Cath
Ole students in other lines of study. Wit
ness of this is the Cafhoiicun Lexicon
em brscing in one volume of about a thou
sand pages, series of the most exact and
Iexicons, erammars, and COM
parative analyses, of the Hebrew with the
Sy riac, and other cognate languages. The
Chevalier Dracb, a converted Jewish
Rabbi, of great learning, helped in this
"spoiliDg the Philistines," both Jewish aud
after the school of Gesepius.
This Cdthofieum LeSicon, sold for about
three dollars in gold, gained the highest
praise from the moot learnM orientalists,
chief of whom is the veteran Chevalier AL
phonse Bonneti-sti!l in a fresh old age,
after forty five years of learned labor in
defence of Catholic Tradition, in all its
forms.
When the able Migne launched out into
the mechanical production of books, on 80
large a notwithstanding, in fact, a manu-
fuctursr and commercial dealcr-employ-
ing, at one time, nearly five hundred men,
either in literary labors, or in type setting,
printing, etc.-the then Archbishop of
Paris withdrew from able Migne the leave
to cay Mass in the Diocese of Paris-he not
being priest of that Diocese. The alleged
reason was that such commercial engage
ments were unbecoming the Priesthood,
contrary to the ancient Canons which, 10
many other points, were never invoked by
the metropolitan Of Paris. This probibi
ton, we have understood, was Withdrawn
at later date. But, from the beginning,
the able M'gne seems to have taken pains
to have all his editions of modern works
so edited as to speak, in clear accents, the
doctrines of Roman Orthodoxy Take, for
example, the Dictionnaire de 7heoloqie of
old Professor Bergier. 1t has been SO
carefully edited that the Gailican poison is
taken out OF every paragraph it appeared
IN, so far as we have noticed, and the olive
OF! anu balsam of sound doctrine we'll ap-
piled. This was done not by truncatipg
Bergier's text, but by adding, in brackets,
by the editors, a solid and plain reputation
of Bergier's text.
Catholic scholars especially, who have
profted by getting Migne's very cheap
editions of most valuable Catholic Classics,
ought to pray for tho repose of the soul OF
this man of labor, and OF an ambition to do
good.
MEssRs. sKARDoN g. WusoN.-Else where in