The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-06-09

erto, bat utterly valueless as . mora
agent. Mr. Bismarck and statesmen of hi
stripe, smatterers in the true science Of his
tory and inflated with the emptiness o
elf-conceit, have seized the reins of power
and fondly dream of governing men with
out God. How truly does Holy Writ cal
them fools! Why, they need not even study
history they need only look around them
Who are they that rob and burn and kill
Are they men that fear and love God
Or are they not men, who either say out,
right, with Bismarck, there il no God, OF
utterly banish his existence from their
mindsf 1t is not superabundant bravery
that makes the bravo, the bully, the
thug there are m much braver men who are
harmless as doves. Every war shows this.
When the hour Of mortal peril comes on
the battlefield, who is the man that stands
frmest at his postf Who obeys orders
most promptlyf Who volunteers when o
specially dangerous call is msde7 Almost
invariably come quiet, peaceable fellow at
home, who never dreamed of breaking the
law. Let him be cure he's right, and he is
the duellist are in the hospital with q head
ache.
WHAT follows from this Z that almost all
men have phyaical courage enough to be-
come desperadoes and assassins that the
fear of society and of law would not deter
them. They all have their hatreds and
their ambitions, their covetouspess and
their concupiscence they have the same
aversion to labor and constraint as the
men who despise all law. But there is
something beyond that which ties their
hands and regulates their steps. What
is III Clearly the sense of moral wrong. They
will not do it, because they feel 1t to be
wrong. But mere sentiment has not much
power with most men. To carry
q real, practical influence, there must be
sanction to it there muet be conviction
of responsibility for the wrong.
Therefore men generally are restrained
from wrong not through timidity, not from
fear of human law and human punishment,
but from the sense of responsibility to
higher sw-maker. In other words, God is
the hidden influence that controls mems
actions, the necessary condition that
makes society possible. Take God away,
let man know that there 10 no future ex-
Istence, and he feels no more restraint
than the lion spd the tiger which are safe
bniy so long as they are in cage.
Yet this is the very lesson that Govern
ments have been teaching their subjects.
Rulers are reetive under the spiritual supre-
macy of Church; therefore they declare
there is no such power in the Church.
Common sebse then follows up the pre-
mise and says: If there is no such power,
there is no Church If no Church, there is
no religion if no religion, no God. Men
6nd this conclusion ratified by such snarl-
ing malignsnts as Bismarck, and they cay
Our only law lie our own will death to the
tyrants that would thwart it; assassination
is justice.
And will these infatuated idiots of states
men, these Bismarcks aud Fslks-wheu they
see the horrid offspring of their own wick
ed alliance with the Devil, when they find
themselves surrounded by legions of fends
evoked by their war on Goodwill they
damn themselves to a still deeper disgrace
by calling on Congress of other blunder
ers to exercise the evil spirit
---~@---
In q series of letters to the Municipal Coun-
Gil of Paris, Mgr. Dupanloup, Bishop of Or
leapa has thoroughly expoee6 the AaRitious.