The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-01-20

| shall hlmSelt nave proved W NC AC5IIi-
mate; but philosophy should not and
cannot subject itself to any authority
whatever
| Observation-Disclosures the Savior of the
World came upon earth and repeated
| those sublime words uttered at the Gre
ation-Fiat lux, philosophy, oppressed
! beneath the burden of its own inoroh-
nate pride, CROPPED about in the dark
ness which enveIoped the human intel
| lect. Guided solely by the faint, incon-
slant light of reason, it grappled with
the mysterious problems which under
lie the origin, the nature, the duties
and the destiny of man. But it was ut
| terly unequal to the task of explaining
them satisfactorily The solution Of
fered by it's opponents were diverse and
frequently contradictory. And herein
we have an explanation of the fact
that certain philosophers of more than
ordinary acutenesS of intellect, who had
approached mere or less closely to the
truth and were skilled in the art of
persuasion, We're able to secure a nu-
merouS following among other philoso-
pliers less capable than themselves.
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are nota-
Bile examples of such men. These phil
osophers enjoyed the reputation of hav-
ing penetrated deep into the mysteries
of life and by the sheer force of native
genius, were enabled to found authOri-
tative systems to which a numerous
array of adherents eturnedETAOIN
array of adherents rendered willing
obedience-so true is it that man is nat
urally inclined to listen to the voice
of authority even in those matters
which are strictly within the sphere
Of reason. We render all the more
willing obedience to such authority, if
we find it to be in conformity with our
own private opinions, for in that case
it strengthens our convictions and
seems to afford conclusive proof Of
their correctness. And when we desire
to impress upon others the truths we
have ourselves discovered, it is graft
flying, after having first adduced the
reasons Of our own belief. to be able
to add: Such and such learned men
hold the same opinion and agree with
us perfectly. 1t is, therefore, evident
that the philosophers. that is, those who
searched after wisdom, placed them
selves under the guidance of these
schools, whose teachings were in ac-
cord with their own idea of truth
Every system of philosophy is a col
lection of doctrines. speculative as we'll
as practical, derived from certain fun
damental principles, which in their
turn are the result of the gradual de-
velopment of consequences, differences
and corrolIaries. If the principles are
false or erroneous, or if the conse-
quences be incorrectly drawn, the sys-
tom itself is necessarily false, and no
authority can make it true. In such
cases the only remedy is to remove
the foundation upon which the system
is based, or, in other words, to subject
the consequences to rigid examina-
ton conducted in accordance with
the rules of a rigorous and unbend-
ing logic. The poor pagans were
to be Ditied because they did not pcs
sess an fpfallible authority capable of
correcting their errors, or of assuring
them of the truth of their opinions.
They were directed solely by the glim-
mering light of reason, by the aid of
which they could at best attain but
very neagTe results. Reason lis a sure
guide, only when illumined by faith;
and reason thus iNumined is the exc1u-
sive prerogative OF the true Catholic,
who receives with humility and graft
tude all the truths which God DESIGNS
to reveal through the ministry of His
infallible Church. Conscious of the
truth, he has no other duty than to
render that truth evident On the con-
trary, those who reject the authority
of the Church are even worse than the
pagans themselves, because the latter
would have joyfully accepted this au-
thority, had it been given them to par
ticipate in the benefits of revelation.
Infidels despise the truth and obstinate
ly close their eyes to the light; siIese-
runt images tenebrae, and hence their
philosophy is, and will continue to be,
a poisonous fountain of error.
Eleventh error: THE Church should
not only never censure philosophy, but
should, on the contrary, tolerate the
errors OF philosophy, leaving it to cor
rect itself"
Refutation-Modern inadels not only
desire to utterly discard the teaching of
the Church, but force her to remain si-
lent in the face of their pernicious er-
rors, forgetting that these. errors are
either directly or indirectly CONNECTED
with principles which clash with the
dogn1as of revealed religion, and that,
in all matters pertaining to faith or
morals. it is the right, as it is the duty
of the Church to speak with the voice
of authority and thus preserve unity
of doctrine among all her children. The
Church, they say, not only must net in
terfere with philosophy, but must even
tolerate the errors of philosophy, leav-
ing it to correct itself. What folly!
Christ commands the Church in the
most SOLEMN manner to teach all "a
tons and to feed His lambs and sheep
and yet in the face of this positive IN
junction, infdels would compel her to
maintain II ignoble silencel The
Church has for eighteen centuries obey
ed the command OF her Divine F'oun-
der, and she will continue to do so I'M
til the end Of the world. Let not her
enemies fatter themselves that she Will
fail in her mission. Sine is enlightened
by the Spirit OF Truth. and the sound
ef her tremendous voice, Distinguishing
between truth and error, will always
make itself heard above the din and |
confusion of conflicting opinions. Her
children will be comforted by her as
surances. The Dre-ordalned will ac- I