The Irish standard., 1915-07-10

design was conceived and prosecuted
To accomplish the Divine will by tn,
works of justice and charity was tn,
guiding rule of those great empir,
builders; and such an idea compat
ible as it is with the essential trutl
of things in the order of human in
telligence must have had its warran
in the divine good pleasure and wa,
manifestly therefore a proof of tn,
divine action in moving the wills O
these rulers in church and state t,
undertake the great design.
In claiming that the actions of tn,
persons who prosecuted this great de
sign correspond in their general tren.
to the criteria of the morally good il
human conduct, do not mean to sa.
that no moral defects can be found
for example, in the personal character
and particular acts of a Gregory, {
Charlemagne, an Otto l or a Bonifact
VIII. Indeed we should be attempt
ing to prove too much were we to e
on the assumption that all the per
sons that had to do with the execu
ton of so gigantic an undertaking
were actuated in every instance b,
the highest moral considerations.
We freely grant then that some &C
tions Of the popes as well as of the
emperors and their co-operators in the
plan were not morally right and just
By no means does it follow, however
that the moral excellence of their mo
tives, intentions, and actions, taken
as a whole and as related to the
main purpose, were morally defec
tive.*
In the case of the wrong actions
done under the influence of bad mo-
tives and intentions, 1t is quite be
side the issue to regard them as in.
volving their authors in moral guilt,
unless, indeed, it can be shown that
such accompaniment and the sue.
ceeding acts were clearly apprehend.
ed as bad and actually chosen as the
means of attaining the desired good
end. Again, we must not confuse the
evil effects consequent upon the pur.
suit of the scheme with the moral dis.
position of the persons engaged there.
in; neither should we conclude that
the design itself was bad because its
prosecution was followed by certain
evil effects, unless indeed such evil eff
fects could have been foreseen and
being thus foreseen were nevertheless
formally chosen as means, or intend.
ed as an end.
To reason otherwise would be to
confound actions properly directed to
intrinsically right ends with the evil
consequences to which even the best
of actions not infrequently give oc
casion.
~ Cf/Schlegel's Philosophy of His
tory, Lect. XIII, p. 1863.
The many disorders and abuses
with their resultant evils for the
church and the empire, which sprung
up in the tenth and eleventh cen
turtles cannot be fairly regarded as
affording proof that the plan was rad
ically wrong; at most they but EN-
phasize the fact that cause good il
itself can be utilized to, serve un
worthy ends when committed to the
care of INSCRIPTIONS men.
The design itself was one of thu
grandest that could engage thu
thoughts and quicken the energies O
enlightened and generous minded rul
ers. That it did not so inspire Ger
tain popes and emperors is proof O
the moral indisposition of the agent,
in question to execute a lofty mora
purpose. Contrasting this state O
moral personal unfitness with the in
trinsic excellence of the design w,
may well advert to the significan
comment of DR.. Pastor: Gan imper
feet setting does not affect the in
trinsic worth of the jewel, nor doe,
the golden coin lose its value becaus,
it passes through impure hands"
Certainly the desire for universe
Christian unity-the dominating not,
of the great enterprise-did not be
get the obtrusion Of unworthy candi
dates into the papal chair; nor did /
cause the scandal of the '"Grea
Schism"; it did not excite the unseen
ly quarrels and rival contentious O
the popes and emperors about theil
respective rights in the dual combina
ton of secular and religious author
ity.
These unfortunate conditions were
the parasitic evils that grew and -four
ished In the dark caverns of human
passion and were transplanted BY
ruthless hands into the fair garden O.
virtuous and noble aims which thu
heirs of Charlemagne's and Leo's idea
had labored to enlarge and adorn.
Be it granted that the design al
prosecuted by its authors showed II
many instances that moral perverse
ness rather than virtuous, zeal for 6
great cause, actuated its advocates; II
does not follow that these excesses
of certain popes and emperors prove
that the design was incapable Of real
ization, much less that the attendant
and subsequent evils were caused b,