The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-08-19

A member Of the faculty of the
University of Minnesota, Oscar W.
Firlxins by name, has published a
book. Whether or not it is the
first he has inflicted upon the read
ing public we do not know, nor do
we care. The new volume has for
it's subject, "Ralph Waldo Emer-
son." and is heralded by the pub
Usher as "a biography Of unusual
interest and Importance and one
that will take it's place as per-
manent contribution to American
literature. "
AS new appraisement Of Emer-
sons work and his significance to
the present generation it may be
all that the reviewers claim; but
we would suggest that, if a sec
ond edition be called for, the Of
fensive references to the Catholic
Church which the present volume
contains be eliminated. AS long
as they remain incorporated in the
text they will proclaim to the in
telligent reader the ignorance of
the author in regard to a subject
about which there is no longer any
doubt in the minds Of persons Of
ordinary intelligence.
On page 70 Of this work, Pro
fessor Firkins goes out Of his way,
it would seem, to drag in offensive
references to the Catholic Church.
He says: christianity had freed
itself with difficulty, in parts of
Europe, at the epoch Of the Refor-
nation, from the superstitions and
corruptions it had admitted under
the sway of the medieval Roman
Church. 5" In the same paragraph
he asserts that the domination Of
the childish superstition of Rome
had been reckoned by
centuries" In subsequent chap
ter, ON page 100, he refers to
Catholics as 'Romanists."
We have no reason to doubt that
the foregoing expressions are in
dicative Of the general attitude Of
Professor Firkins towards the
Catholic Church. They show a
lamentable amount of ignorance
about the religious history Of an
epoch which men Of scholarly at
tainments deem worthy of closest
study. Professor Firkins may be
specialist in literary pursuits
but he is the veriest tyro in the
domain of history appertaining
to the Catholic Church, her doc
trines and her influence on the
centuries. If he would only con-
fine himself to his speciality and
not wander into unknown fields,
he would undoubtedly be able to
conceal his ignorance in regard to
matters with which no man who
lays any claim to scholarship
should be unacquainted. We
would suggest that he procure an
elementary history Of the Church
in the Middle Ages and qualify
himself for membership in an ad-
vanced Sunday school class. The
information obtained therefrom
would enable him to appreciate
at their true worth certain phases
of the subjects with which he is
called upon to deal in his own spe-
cial field of investigation.
From the facility with which
Professor Firkins dragged in the
offensive references to the Church
which mar his book, we are
inclined to think that he finds it
very convenient, from time to
time, to- display ignorance of
these matters in the class room,
where his remarks in regard to
the Church and her institutions
must prove very displeasing to the
Catholic pupils who are unfortu-
nate enough to be members of his
class and very misleading to his
non-Catholic hearers. A professor
who will allow such evidences of
religious bigotry to creep into his
published works will not hesitate,
when occasion offers, to give ex-
preston to them in his class lee
lures.
The University Of Minnesota
can afford to dispense with the
services of Professor Firkins and
men of his caliber; and the sooner
it does so, the better. We are not
unaware of the fact that there are
other members of the faculty
whose views on Catholic doctrine
and history do not differ from
those of Professor Firkins. Cath