The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-11-09

troop homeward with their satchels-
thero you have Protestant community.
NJ. Edmond About is a pretty impartia
witness, for he affects to belong to NJ
church at all, and it is impossible aftei
such testimony for an Englishman t
avoid speculating as to what might have
been the condition Of France had tn,
Huguenots triumphed in the religious
wars of the 10th century, and had Prot
estantism been at this hour the dominan
faith Of the country. One thing is fairly
certain-namely, that the constitutions
question would in such case have beer
settled long ago. 1t seems to be an i'm
mutable political law that wherever Cath
olicism is supreme, despotism or anarchy
is prevalent, whereas Protestant countries
all settle down more or less easily to The
use Of freedom. Richelieu judged far
sightedly when he made war on the Prot
estants-not because .hey were heretics
for which he cared little, but because
they were political reformers.
To return to NJ. de Pressense, who is
one OF the best typos of a sect which may
be called the chosen tribe of France. II
was in 1S40 that be published his first
work, q collection of Lectures on Christ.
ianity in Its Application to Social Ques.
tlons," and soon afterward he put forth
another entitled Catholicism in France. y
This work which summed up the fruits oi
Catholicism in the terms "material pros
perity, moral decadency," placed the au.
thor on the highest rank as a controver-
sialst, but stirred him up host oil
enemies, who accused him of defaming
the state church, aud camored that gov
ernment ought to prosecute him. Gov.
ernment had the sense to leave him alone,
and the learned pastor gave himself up to
the composition OF History of the First
Three Centuries Of the Christian Era"
This book. which the author himself trans.
lated into German, earned the approval
of all European savants, and is still con-
suited as standard work of reference
Its style is clear aud brilliant, erudtion
deep, aud its accumulation of facts such
as to form popular store.house Of infor.
nation about the beginnings of Christian.
ity. Encouraged by the success of this
work, it was but natural that NJ de Pres
scuse should turn his mind toward the
colossal controversy which NJ Remains
Life of Jesus" was Just then exciting
He first launched pamphlet in which he
endeavored to demolish the outworks of
NJ Renan's theory, and then assailed the
main citadel Of the eminent skeptics ar.
gunent with counter "Lifc of Christ. +"
This work would have made great noise
had it been published in England, or had
it been produced by French Catholics
pen. AS it was, the fact Of the authors
being Protestant considerably restricted
its circulation, although the late arch.
bishop of Paris, Monsignor Darboy, to
his honor. did the utmost to seal the merit
Of the work by publicly thanking the au.
thor, From that moment M dc Pressense
came to be regarded as the chief luminary
Of the French Protestant church. His
small chapel was filled every Sunday by
attentive crowds, among whom figured
not few jealous thinkers OF other faiths
tRa i Il d%9S4sa liz nOthp68 q the atgac !a
they often contained allusions to the poll.
tics Of the hour, with covert criticisms of
imperial policy, M. de Pressense was
known to be fervent liberal, and after
the fall of the empire he found little diff.
fculty in getting returned to the National
Assembly as member for Paris iu the re.
publican interest.
In the Assembly, NJ de Pressense has
sustained his reputation as an orator, and
his only fault is that he does not speak
often enough. Conservatives, however,
do not complain Of this, for the matter
of NJ de Presseuse'S speeches is unpalat-
able to them. At moment when a
man burst scarcely emit an apology for
the commune without the risk of being
shouted at as a traitor, the Protestant
deputy had the boldness to advocate an
amnesty for all the humber insurgents
of the rebellion and before the effect of
this speech had passed away he delivered
two others on trades.unions and 90 mill.
tary recruiting, which the reactionary
SstSa NJ
Of a red radical. La his votes Nj. de
Pressenso has invariably gone with the
republican left, but as was proper in one
of his cloth he has held aloof from all
party cabals, and has not sought to emu.
late his clerical antagonist, the bishop Of
Orleans, as faction-leader or lobby.n-
triguer, Possibly the congregation of
the Taitbout chapel would be glad if NJ
dc Pressense renounced politics altogeth-
er, for not even the most indefatigable of
of toilers can do two things perfectly to.
gether, and since he has had legislative
duties to engage him the author of the
Life Of Christ" has preached less ire.
queDtly than before