The Irish standard., 1913-08-02

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In his great book "Two and Two
Make Four" Hon. Bird S. Coler deals
body blows to many hoary fetishes Of
conventional history. Deeply imbued
with the belief that we are fast drift
ing from our safe moorings as "a Ma
tion Under God,' and that our public
schools are to blame for it, and that
the Catholic Church is the only
agency that can stem the rising tide
of socialism and unbelief, Mr.. Coler's
book is, throughout, a strong plea for
q fairer judgment on the part Of his
fellow Protestant, of the Catholic
Church in history, and for fairer
treatment of her here and now in the
matter of the education of her chill
dren. '"The public schools in this
country" he says, "are not making
for righteousness. There isn't an
educator of any note in this country
who hasn't admitted this. From con-
ventional history I had acquired the
conventional Protestant view of this
church (the Catholic) and its rela-
tions to civilization. The two and
two method gave me a new viewpoint
found that this church
had been defender of civilization in
the past and was the defender of CIV
ilization today. This was not conven-
tional history but it was the truth,
and as the truth set it down.
With the warmth and enthusiasm
of an advocate (though entering a dis
claimer and asserting his own Meth
oaism) Mr.. Coler, with pitiless logic
A6asee Four5 reduced
to fragments, one after another Of the
embalmed and perif1ed monstrosities
OF conventional history-the ever per-
sisting lies against the Catholic
Church. And Mr.. Coler shows where
these lies for the most part originated
''In another place." he writes, II ad-
vanced, for instance, theory with
regard to tavern gossip upon the
mind of Protestant advocates and his
torians. Imagine my surprise to find
my view Uf the matter confirmed, by
no less an authority than Martin
Luther. In the taverns,' wrote Luth-
or, people We'd with one another in
relating amusing anecdotes about the
avarice of priests. The keys, the
power of the Pope, etc., were there
also ridiculed.' How much of what
has colored our minds with respect to
the Catholic Church comes from such
a source, how much Of it rolled orig
inally off the thick tongues of the
bar-room wit? = and SO they
came down to the Protestant writers
of conventional history and from them
they came down to us. Draper, for
instance, lays the blame of the sack
Of Constantinople by the crusaders on
the Church, although quoting Pope
Innocent's indignant protest against
the enormities of that pillage. The
Church is held up as responsible for
the oruelties even of those Christian
princes, with whom she was con-
stantly in trouble because Of her re-
fusal to remain silent in the face OF
their public offenses against the moral
law"
Mr. Coler pleads for independent
and intelligent judgment of the state
ments Of historians. Can their de-
ductions logically follow their admis-
sions of the great good the Church
has done mankind in all ages? And
he quotes some great admissions, not
ably, from the prejudiced Draper
Apply, each one for himself, he says
to US in effect, "The rule of Two-and-
Two Make Four" the rule of CON-
mon sense and the truth may be
reached. 1--WE do not know about
those things you have found-written
on ancient parchments, Mr.. Historian
but we do know that two and two
make four" Even those
historians who wrote Of the Catholic
Church with Protestant or intidel
prejud ICE have been compelled by the
very logic of the results of their re-
searches to set down facts altogether
at variance with their conclusions
How can we believe, for example, that
an institution so evil as Draper de-
clares the Church to be could have
been productive Of results so remark
ably good, as those he describes? Evil
cause and good effect. The upas tree
bearing the apples of life. The mo-
tiyes and deeds of the devil and the