be printed shall be referred to the bishop, or some skilfu! person whom he shall nominate, and the inquisitor of heretical pravity of the city or diocese in which the impression is executed, who shall gratuitously and without delay affix their approbation to the work in their own handwriting, subject, nevertheless, to the pains and censures contained in the said decree; this law and condition being added, that an authentic copy of the book to be printed, signed by the author himself, shall remain in the hands of the examiner and it is the judgment of the fathers of the present deputation, that those persons who publish works in manuscript, before they have been examined and approved, should be subject to the same penalties as those who print them; and that those who read or possess them should be considered as the authors, if the real authors of such writings do not avow themselves. The approbation given in writing shall be placed at the head of the books, whether printed or in manuscript, that they may appear to be duly authorized; and this examination and approbation, &c. shall be granted gratuitously.

"Moreover, in every city and diocese, the house or places where the art of printing is exercised, and also the shops of booksellers, shall be frequently visited by persons deputed for that purpose by the bishop or his vicar, conjointly with the inquisitor of heretical pravity, so that nothing that is prohibited may be printed, kept, or sold. Booksellers of every description shall keep in their libraries a catalogue of the books which they have on sale, signed by the said deputies; nor shall they keep or sell, nor in any way dispose of any other books, without permission from the deputies, under pain of forfeiting the books, and being liable to such other penalties as shall be judged proper by the bishop or inquisitor, who shall also punish the buyers, readers, or printers of such works. If any person import foreign books into any city, they shall be obliged to announce them to the deputies; or if this kind of merchandize be exposed to sale in any public place, the public officers of the place shall signify to the said deputies, that such books have been brought; and no one shall presume to give to read, or lend, or sell, any book which he or any other person has brought into the city, until he has shown it to the

deputies and obtained their permission, unless it be a work well known to be universally allowed.

"Heirs and testamentary executors shall make no use of the books of the deceased, nor in any way transfer them to others, until they have presented a catalogue of them to the deputies, and obtained their license, under pain of the confiscation of the books, or the infliction of such other punishment as the bishop or inquisitor shall deem proper, according to the contumacy or quality of the delinquent.

"With regard to those books which the fathers of the present deputation shall examine, or correct, or deliver to be corrected, or permit to be reprinted on certain conditions, booksellers and others shall be bound to observe whatever is ordained respecting them. The bishops and general inquisitors shall, nevertheless, be at liberty, according to the power they possess, to prohibit such books as may seem to be permitted by these rules, if they deem it necessary for the good of the kingdom, or province, or diocese. And let the secretary of these fathers, according to the command of our holy Father, transmit to the notary of the general inquisitor, the names of the books that have been corrected, as well as of the persons to whom the fathers have granted the power of examination.

Finally, it is enjoined on all the faithful, that no one presume to keep or read any books contrary to these rules, or prohibited by this index. But if any one keep or read any books composed by heretics, or the writings. of any author suspected of heresy, or false doctrine, he shall instantly incur the sentence of excommunication; and those who read or keep works interdicted on another account, besides the mortal sin committed, shall be severely punished at the will of the bishops." 35

A permanent committee, styled the "Congregation of the Index," is specially charged with the execution of these tyrannical and iniquitous laws. Under its care the index has been increased from year to year, by the additions of such new works as were deemed unfit for

35 See Mendham's "Account of the Indexes, both prohibitory and expurgatory, of the church of Rome;" a very valuable and useful work.

Roman Catholic readers. It now forms a considerable volume. A few of the names found in it may be mentioned. No Roman Catholic is suffered to read the writings of Wiclif, Luther, Calvin, Bucer, Zuinglius, Melanchthon, Bullinger, Ecolampadius, Beza, Tyndal, Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Knox, Coverdale, Bishop Hooper, John Fox, the Martyrologist, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Addison, Algernon Sydney, Lord Bacon, Boerhaave, Bayle, Bochart, Brucker, George Buchanan, Buxtorf, Camden, Casaubon, Castalio, Cave, Claude, Le Clerc, the Critici Sacri, Erasmus (his Colloquies, and several other works,) Glassius, Grotius, Sir Matthew Hale, Father Paul, Kepler, Lavater, Locke, Milton, Mosheim, Robertson (history of Charles V.,) Roscoe (Life of Leo X.,) Saurin, Scaliger, Scapula, Schmidt, Selden, Sleidan, Jeremy Taylor, Vossius, Walton (the Polyglott,) Young (the Night Thoughts.) Of these authors, the works of some may not be possessed or read, according to the above rules, under any circumstances, without incurring the guilt of mortal sin, and the punishment of excommunication; the perusal of others is permitted, by license, after examination, or expurgation, to a favoured few, "learned and pious men." In Burnet's History of the Reformation the form of one of these licenses may be seen, given by Tonstall to Sir Thomas More. Such a license, it is presumed, Mr. Butler has received, to enable him to read Southey's "Book of the Church," and other heretical publications, which he has taken so much pains to answer, but dared not peruse till his superiors gave him the requisite permission. For we are not speaking of a defunct statute. The authority of the Index is acknowledged and felt in the nineteenth century; and in Roman Catholic countries the censorship of the press and the tyrannical vigilance of the priests perpetuate the dominion of ignorance, enslave and fetter the human mind, and inflict untold miseries, religious and political, on a suffering people.

Spain has from the beginning patronised and promoted this detestable crusade against knowledge, with characteristic zeal. 36 The index was immediately reprinted in

36 There is still fixed, every year, at the church doors, the index,

that country, and was subsequently so enlarged that it reached the enormous size of two folio volumes! In 1571 another index was published by royal command, wholly expurgatory, that is, containing lists of those passages in certain authors, or in Protestant editions of their writings, which were to be erased, before the books were allowed to be read: this was chiefly intended for the Netherlands, then under Spanish dominion. The manner in which it was framed furnishes clear proof of the object which the Church of Rome has in view in these nefarious proceedings, viz. to crush evangelical truth. This is especially evident from the plan adopted in regard to the editions of the Fathers. In the "Contents" appended to the works of Augustine, Jerome, Chrysostom, &c. by Protestant editors, the theological sentiments of those illustrious men are arranged in alphabetical order, with suitable references to the pages. Now, to contradict the Fathers would never be endured; yet it was felt that on many important points their opinions symbolized with those of the reformers. In this dilemma, it was resolved to condemn those opinions, as they

or list of those books, especially foreign, of which the holy office has thought fit to interdict the reading, on pain of excommunication." Bourgoing's Modern State of Spain, ii. p. 276.

"To expect a rational system of education where the inquisition is constantly on the watch to keep the human mind within the boundaries which the church of Rome, with her host of divines, has set to its progress, would show a perfect ignorance of the character of our religion. Thanks to the league between our church and state, the catholic divines have nearly succeeded in keeping down knowledge to their own level. Even such branches of science as seem least connected with religion, cannot escape the theological rod; and the spirit which made Galileo recant upon his knees his discoveries in astronomy, still compels our professors to teach the Copernican system as an hypothesis. The truth is, that with Catholic divines, no one pursuit of the human mind is independent of religion. Astronomy must ask the inquisitors' leave to see with her own eyes; geography was long compelled to shrink before them. Divines were made the judges of Columbus's plan of discovery, as well as to allot a species to the Americans. A spectre monk haunts the geologist in the lowest cavities of the earth; and one of flesh and blood watches the philosopher on its surface. Anatomy is suspected and watched closely, whenever it takes up the scalpel; and medicine had many a pang to endure, while endeavouring to expunge the use of bark and inoculation from the catalogue of mortal sins. You must not only believe what the inquisition believes, but yield implicit faith to the theories and explanations of her divines." Doblado's Letters from Spain, p. 109-111.

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were given in the "Summaries," or Contents," compiled by the editors, and not in the text itself! The following propositions, contained in the "Index" or "Contents" to the works of Chrysostom, are therefore ordered to be expunged;-" That sins are to be confessed to God, not to man-that we are justified by faith only-that Christ forbids us to kill heretics-that it is great stupidity to bow before images-that priests are subject to princes-that salvation does not flow from our own merits-that the scriptures are easy to be understood and that the reading of them is to be enjoined upon all men." Chrysostom had affirmed all this, and much besides that was equally opposed to popery: yet they have not condemned Chrysostom, (he is one of the saints in their own calendar,) but only the unfortunate editor who has reported his opinions!

The

In the same way have these lovers of darkness dealt with the apostles, yea, with our Lord himself. An edition of the bible, published by Robert Stephens, contained an index, stating the doctrines of scripture, with reference to the texts wherein they are found. following propositions, with many others, are ordered to be expunged, as suspected, tanquam suspectæ:""He who believeth in Christ shall never die, John xi. 26. -The heart is purified by faith, Acts xv. 9.-—We are justified by faith in Christ, Gal. ii. 16.—Christ is our righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30.—No one is righteous before God, Psalm cxliii. 2.-Every one may marry, 1 Cor. vii. 2." Here, notwithstanding the flimsy pretence of condemning only the editor, it is evident enough that the sentence is in fact issued against the Saviour and his inspired servants; for though they are not in express words censured for uttering the foregoing sentiments, yet as Robert Stephens is condemned for asserting that they uttered them, it is plain that through him our Lord and his apostles are attacked. This is truly the "mystery of iniquity."37

37 The title of the book is, "An Expurgated Catalogue of the books which have appeared during this century, either filled with the errors of a corrupt doctrine, or with an unprofitable and offensive slander, according to the decree of the Council of Trent. Published by the command and authority of his Catholic Majesty, Philip II. and by the council of the Duke of Alva, in Belgium 1571."

An expurgated copy of Nicephorus Callistus lies now before the