The Irish standard., 1908-03-21
CATHOLICS V|L|F|ED
The Rev. E. Gotham Brewer
Makes Dictionary
Serve as Vehicle For Ridicule
81 and Lies.

There may be found on the shelves
of our public and school libraries Il
work entitled: "a Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable" by the Rev. E. Gotham
Brewer, LII. D., published by the Henry
Altemus Company, about which it may
be we'll for Catholics to know some-
thing. says the Hartford Transcript.
It is not a book called for by the
average reader, but rather a bulky
volume of some fifteen hundred pages.
purporting to be "a standard book OF
reference and guide to be relied on '
The author claims that it has had "a
continuous sale for a quarter of a CEN
tury' and supplies a want largely
felt" The new edition, published in
1854, is a revised, corrected and en-
larged version of former compilation
anG is given out as VIRTUALLY new
work on the old lines
The author makes mum IN his pre-
face Of 1.-The research. the accuracy. the
Drecision now demanded" in labors of
this kind; of 1.-The advantage that has
been taken Of the great movement of
English philology from every available
source" of his multitudinrus labors
for fifty years, of the many specialists
wh, have assisted him, of The sevcrest
scrutiny" to which the present edition
has been subjected. He says nothing OF
truth, fairness and decency, perhaps
because these qualities are taken for
granted in all attempts al erultion
and scholarship; or perhaps because he
considered that in work dealing with
"Eatles," he might well claim the
privilege of delving irto the fabulous.
!. All of which did not prevent the rev.
siend gentleman from misrepresenting,
iiliculing an6 villifyius Catholics and
things Catholic every tine an occasion
offered: and of even going out 70 his
Wa:', Of passing beyond the scope of
such a work. to spread Il bit Of lying
information for the benefit of people
who like that sort Of stuff Whoever
did the searching for fables" had
lrc,trlaturally keen scent for all that
sa, ors Of Papism
rag of a fable or legend escaped him.
And with a fine talent in the art Of
illustrating, the compiler weaves these
horrible examples" into his patch
work of Learned research to the utter
dismay of the reader who expected no
such thing. For who looks for a dis
play Of hateful religious luminosity and
narrowness in a dictionary?
We wish to pay our respects to this
blue goggled old bigot and put before
our readers some facts to show why
this book of his deserves to be placed
by all Catholics on the list of corrupt
wells of information that poison the
public mind against our faith and
spread the distemper of bigotry ana
hatred for things that are entitled to
the respect of decent men and which
we hold, with at least a show of rea
son, to be sacred and dear.
Under the title Pope" one would
naturally expect the writer to rise to
the occasion, ard lie does so splendid
~. After enlightening the ignorant on
the important point of history ian his
torical lie) that Pope Sergius II (S44-
SAD formerly bore the unpoetic name
OF Peter Ilogsmouth or Peter di porca,
he brings to light the saying drunk
like tho pope" and delivers himself
thus: Benedict XII was an enormous
eater and such Wine-drinker that he
gave rise to the bacchanalian express
sion, 'bibamus papaliter.' Here is the
reference appended to the article On
Pope the significance of which need
not be pointed out: ("Sec Drunk'D.
The st. 13oniface Cup, he tells us.
means an excuse for an extra glass, be-
cause ST. Boniface INSTITUTED an in
diligence 10 those who drank his good
health after grace or the health Of the
Pope of the time being."--And we are
Informed that among the various titles
assumed by the Popes are those of
Divine Majesty" Lord God the
4 Pope" while Martin Nv had himself
addressed as "the Lamb of God which,
faketh away the sins of the world"
1.-THE fable of the Popcss Joan natur-
y ally has it's place in q book of this sort
and is given in all it's spicy details:
there is something fascinating about
stories of this kind for certain minds,
and of course the reverend compiler
& OF Fables could not afford to leave it
out.-"A Pope's sermon: only once has
"a Pope been known to preach a sermon
n In three hundred years. In 1S47 q
IS great crowd had assembled to hear the
q famous Padre Ventura preach in SAINT
Il Andrea della Vale, but the preacher