The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-12-04
Napoleon B0naparte and the Catholic
Church,

When Gen. Bonaparte seized the reins
OF government by the coup d'etat Of
Brumaire. he soon resolved to put an end
to the independence Of the Church, which
was incompatible with his intention Of
concentrating al power in his own hand
His genius was too clear-sighted for him
not to perceive that religion was, after
all, the highest moral authority.
the strongest influence "a
human society. Hence it was
his design to make it dependent upon
himself, by protecting and substituting it.
It IS altogether erroneous to speak of
him, as it has been common to do, as the
| restorer of the alters of worship. All
that he restored was throne; the alters
had already been reared g. again
under the impulse of that deathless
religious sentiment which can never be
long stifed in the heart of man. Bona
parte only found it convenient to prop Nh
his throne by the altar, as afordine it the
most solid support, and at the same time.
enabling him, while sustaining himself
by means of religion. to keep it under
his control and dependent upon himself.
We need only recall his own words. as
! they have. been handed down to us by
his contemporaries, in order to see clear
" that religion was nothing to him but
| an instrument by which to govern. This
pretended restorer Of the Christian re-
ligion had two years before, in his
Egyptian campaign, used the languages
OF thorough Mussulman to please the
followers of the Prophet For myself"
he said in his Council of State. II see in
religion, not the mystery Of the IncarRa-
ton. but the mystery of social order It
connects with heaven an idea of equality
which prevents the massacre of the ricn
by the poor For him the Gospel was
all summed up in one verse, to which he
referred perpetually, quoting it, however.
only in part. This was the text which
commences, "Render unto Cesar the
things which are Cesar's; but he ALWAYS
stopped there; he never admitted the COM
plement, 'Render unto God the things
which are Gods" This addition Re
treated as mere gloss invented by the
priests. It must be clearly understood,
therefore, that he only concluded the
Concordat with the Pope with the firm
intention offetterlng religion and max
ing it subservient to his will. After long:
and difficult negotiations with the Court
of Rome, in which the Court found it im-
possible to proceed with its usual cautions,
slowness, since it was dealing with man
OF war, accustomed rather 20 command
than to persuade. the Concoraat was at
length concluded between the two powers.
This was Immediately supplemented by
the laws OF Germinal, year 10, which were
the complement and Interpretation of the.
treaty, added to it after it was concluded
and without any intimatien given to the
Pope. Napoleon had embodied all his, :
own views in this addendum, which has
always called forth vehement but inef-
fectual protests from the Papacy.
When the TIE Deum was chanted in. Notre
Dame, after the proclamation of the Con-
cordat, Napoleon declared that the peace
Of religion was henceforth assured. Ii
was soon evident what that peace would
mean, if the clergy did not yield their
master the same implicit obedience, as
did the Army. The first Consul had said
at the very time when he was treating
with the Papacy,s'I can always rely OF.
the support of the French armies" He
knew too well that the armies of france,
were at his bidding, for him to daily long
with an OLD man who mad nothing TO OPP
pose to him but conscientious scruples
and the traditions of his Church. He did
not hesitate, on the first show of resistance,
to have him carried off from the Vatican
by body OF gend 'armes, and dragged
from prison to prison, while his estates were
coniscated. More than 500 priests we're
incarcerated at the close of Bonapartets
reign, and the conflict OF the two powers,
between whom he had pretended to-
cement an alliance, was becoming daily
more bitter. Hence his exclamation at
st. Helena: 'sThe Concordat was the
greatest mistake Of my reign."--The Con
temporary Reeies. z
Josh Billings murders the English Ian
guage and drives in Central Park in an
elegant turnout. Richard Grant White
tries to purify the use of his mother
tongue, and has to depend on the street
cars. AZ