In the first place, I think I have a just subject for complaint in their having made known my defence in extracts, while they published the entire letter of the first president; on pretext, it is true, to clear themselves from the reproach spread throughout my defence, as if such a consideration ought ever to authorize any one to represent things in a. different point of view to the author's meaning. Any writing whatever loses its force by being published in insulated sentences. Neither have they a right, in such matters, to anticipate the judgment of the public, who are sufficiently capable to appreciate such things for themselves. what purpose? The first president | proceedings of my adversaries oblige had pronounced my condemnation me to follow this course. before he had even heard my defence. Be it as it may, the base object of those who caused this in. sertion to be made was to make me, as well as the vicars-general of Aix-la-Chapelle, appear in false colours in foreign places, where the true state of things was totally unknown. It was not till more than a month after I addressed the invitation to them to convict me of error, that they came out with their sandy arguments, and even then it was under the anonymous veil; the veil with which injustice loves so much to cover itself. They presented themselves to the battle at a time when they had already taken part against me, by the insertion of the pre-recalled letter, and by which, for the same reason, they were bound to satisfy my demand much sooner. Finding they could not attack me with success, with regard to the principal object of the affair, they were compelled to enervate my justification, which had before come to the knowledge of the public, by giving a false interpretation to the whole, in adding observations absolutely foreign; in short, in drawing from my justification sophistical and fallacious consequences. Tante Molis erat!! This chef-d'œuvre may be read in No. 131 of the Journal of the province of Liege. I here give my answer exactly as when I forwarded it to be inserted in this Journal. I have maintained in my introduction, say my censurers, that I had a right to attack the principles. of protestantism, because protestant writers had before me attacked the catholic church; but, continue they, such reasoning is by no means conclusive: for there exists a great difference between controversial writing and controversial preaching. Answer. I derive my right to speak as I have, principally from my quality of a minister of religion, charged, as such, to teach, and rigorously bound to guard the faithful confided to my care against the spi rit of the times and false doctrines, as also to point out to them the means to counteract their malevolent influence. Why have not my censurers quoted this part of my apoMy accusers have endeavoured, logy? The arguments which I drew in No. 131 of the Journal of the from the proceedings of the protestprovince of Liege, to refute the ant writers were merely accessary. writing I had remitted to my eccle- But in what consists then this great siastical superiors, justifying myself difference between controversial with respect to the accusations which writings and controversial sermons? had been preferred against me before It consists only in forms, and no his excellency the first president, wise in fundamentals. What is still Von Ingersleben. However incon- more, the influence of controversial venient it may appear to treat of re-writings spreads far wider than any ligious matters in this journal, the arguments verbally discussed in the interior of a church. After all, where can these matters be more properly expounded than in the pulpit of truth? In short, the sermons directed against the catholics, occasioned by the secular feasts of the protestants, were not these preached before they became public by printing? I could if I choose recite here examples drawn from this circumstance, which took place at Wesel, at Cleves, Montjoy, and even at Berlin. Passing now to the first head of the accusation, viz. the attack upon the deceased professor Barhdt of Halle, critics pretend that I was, in this respect, greatly deficient in the duties of christian charity. Answer.-Once more, why do they not report my own words of defence, and spare me the trouble of repeating them? Christian charity, it is true, covers secret faults injurious to none but the culprit, and which may be expiated by true repentance; but it is not a cloak for public seducers, who make a profession of drawing others into their snares. It orders, ou the contrary, that such are signalized to the end, that the ignorant be placed on their guard against them. If these are personalities then, the pulpit ought not to resound with them. The fathers of the church, and all the doctors of christianity since its birth, have then, as well as me, committed the like fault, every time they pronounced in their sermons the names of Celse, of Julien, Arius, Nestorius Pelagius, &c.!! My critics will have to reproach themselves for having brought me forward by name in attacks inserted in the public papers. It was, they say, bighly improper in me to speak of the professor Bahrdt by his name, while his son exercises in this town functions which demand the greatest confidence. Now, they may rest assured, if the son, by better principles, or at least by more discretion, knows how to merit public confidence, the bad reputation of his father will never do him any injury. It is no longer the prejudice of our days to pass the faults of fathers down to their posterity. They judge of every man according to his own works. My critics would even enter upon a polemic discussion with me, by saying that the sale of indulgences was effectually a lucrative traffic, and that Jesus Christ has not spoken of purgatory. Answer. In respect to the first point, I agree with them; but I most earnestly entreat them to produce proofs that the catholic church has ever sanctioned the sale of indulgences. I shall wait for these proofs, not in Journals, but in a particular work, which traces this matter to the bottom; and, in that case, I engage to point out to them also the passages in which Jesus Christ has spoken of purgatory. We cannot see, they continue, how the anecdote of the dispute between Luther and the devil at the chateau of Wartbourg could tend to the edification of his audience. Answer.-It served to shew to what extravagances a man is subject, when, after having quitted the church, which the Divine Founder has given him for a guide, he has abandoned himself to the direction of his own private spirit. Such a man resembles a child, who, having lost its nurse, fears at every step to encounter a ghost. It served to provehow nearly heterodoxy and su perstition are allied, and to bind still tighter the bonds which attach my catholic audience to their church. It ought then not to amuse, but to instruct. So my critics should place this anecdote by the side of the golden legend of Luther and his disciples, which they are so taken with, but by no means to me, nor to any other catholic in his senses, who regard both the one and the other as reveries. when they were fully awake; and to what point did it strike them at all? All my attacks have been di rected against ancient protestantism My critics again consider my hav-as the source of modern indifferenting spoken of the extravagances of ism; and my aim was to convince Adam Muller, and of madame von my catholic audience more and more, Krüdener, who were otherwise fallen by this exposition of the truth of into oblivion, to have been useless; their religion, which alone is in a and they confess that they are igno-state to arrest indifferentism. Perrant of the connexion between phi-haps I may even have been useful to losophy and Krüderianism. many of my non-catholic hearers, (for I have a good number of them) at least to those amongst them who still know how to estimate revelation and faith as the gifts of God. The critics doubt if it be a zeal pursuant to science, which attacks from the pulpit a religion publicly exercised in the same town. Answer: If we take the word science in its political sense, for worldly prudence, my zeal may be very indis but a like discretion ought creet; Answer: Then I may boast of having taught these gentlemen something that they did not know before. True philosophy has, in fact, nothing to do with Krüderianism, nor with any folly of the sort; but false philosophy, or that which amounts to the same thing, the private spirit of the protestants, or their reason abandoned to itself, which would rule when, according to the precept of the apostle, it ought to be led captive by the yoke of faith. There is the true mother of Krüderianism and Quakerism, and of so many other follies into which it has drawn men, who pique themselves on their philosophy. It was then by no means useless to speak of extravagances which had fallen into oblivion, because the germ of the evil, viz. the private spirit of protestant ism, which produced such absurdi- My critics acknowledge that it ties, always exist. As for the rest, would be unjust to take offence at those who blame me for pointing the prayers offered up by catholics out, by name, persons still living, for the conversion of protestants, equally blame St. Paul, who as pub- because, they say, it is liberal for prolicly taxed the heterodoxy of Alex-testants to pray also for the converander and Hymenaus, his cotempo- sion of catholics. raries. My critics agree that it is not wrongfully that I have accused our non-catholic brethren of the present age with indifferentism. But of what good is it, say they, to hold such discourses in the presence of people, who do not even dream of becoming protestants? Answer. This thought at least did not appear to enter their minds to be absolutely banished by every friend of truth, and above all from a minister of religion. However, the very discreet apostle St. Paul, from whom my critics borrow their expression; Zelus, sed non secundum scientiam, did not regard the indiscretion of attacking the divinities of pagan ism, which were notwithstanding those of the Roman empire. Answer: If the catholic religion really were as superstitious as our adversaries pretend, it would not be merely liberal in protestants to pray for the conversion of the catholics, it would even be for them a sacred duty. But the catholic church, in praying for the return of her wandering children, prove that she alone is the true mother, while the protestants, by their indifference to gain us to their belief, strongly testify that we are not in error. Lastly, my critics speak much of the manner in which Jesus Christ preached; he confined himself, say they, to teaching his divine morals without insulting either the priests of Jupiter Olympus, or the Python of Delphos. Answer: The conduct of Jesus Christ would have been very singular indeed, had he combatted in Judea, idols and oracles, which had neither partisans or adorers. But afterwards, when his disciples preached the gospel to those nations, they spared neither Jupiter Olympus nor Python of Delphos. With respect to our Saviour's manner of preaching against the false doctors of his people and of his time, the scribes and pharisees, my critics would do well to study it in the following passages: Wo to you scribes pharisees! to you hypocrites! generation of vipers. Math. xxiii. You have the devil for your father, John. viii. I have then room to hope that these gentlemen will freely pardon me for having simply accused our non-catholic brethren of error. I join, in conclusion, in the requests of my critics in saying with them: Since the ministers of all worships follow the example of their W Master, who taught one only doctrine, we have but one and the same God, one only and the same gospel; how is it that so many divisions reign among christians? The answer to this question, ought, in my opinion, to be furnished by those who are separated from the unity of the church, and still persist in their schism. I believe I am here able to terminate my disputation. Quanto rectius hic, qui nil molitur ineptè ? In case my adversaries wish still to engage in the lists, I must beg of them to unmask, for I do not love to fight against invisible spirits, and I even declare that I shall not again answer praters who delight themselves in quarrels. It would be com-promising the holiness of our religion to make it serve as a matter for indecent disputes. For the discussion of an object which regards religion, it is necessary that both sides are animated by a sincere love of truth. It would be to me a real satisfaction, to find myself opposed by an adversary, who would seek nothing but the truth. We should treat each other with a cordial and fraternal affection, and the partisans of truth would become more numerous, EPITOME OF INTELLIGENCE. E stated in our last, that an expression of feeling in favour of her majesty queen Caroline had been manifested by some catholics in the metropolis, and that a general meeting would be called early in this month, to consider on an address to that illustrious personage. On Sunday, the 1st inst. bills were distributed at the different chapels, after each mass, announcing that such meeting would be held on Wednes it; when catholics could not sit [ their religion. This day will raise down in company with their dissent- you in the merited estimation of proing neighbours without hearing it testant England, and of the whole stated, that it mattered not to the world. It will confound your reviItalian witnesses whether they swore lers, and redeem from calumoy your falsely or truly, as they could get ab- politics and your faith; and I do not solution from their priests for a trifle; regret that you have called a priest when, we say, the catholic religion to your chair, for my clerical chawas thus involved in the important racter will throw round your proquestion between the queen and her ceedings the air of religion After persecutors, we did imagine, that, dilating on the sufferings of her mawhen individuals, who, if they do jesty, he remarked, that God, in not possess that "chivalrous attach- every age, had poured out his venment to the throne" which, if we are geance on those governments that to believe their panegyrists, belongs had wantonly violated his first divine exclusively to the English catholic institution of matrimony. To say aristocracy, have at least the manly nothing of Spartan Helen, whose spirit to feel for the oppressed, and, rape involved imperial Troy in thus feeling, boldly come forward to flames, aud caused the first general rescue their religious principles from war in profane record, we read in the having any share in the business of sacred book of Judges, that the vioiniquity, and to express their abhor-lation of the Levite's wife was folrence of the acts of injustice carry-lowed by the total extirpation of the ing on against an injured and persecuted queen, we did imagine, we repeat, that, on such an occasion, catholic clergymen would not have been found arrayed against these proceedings. But, we blush to say, that such was unhappily the case. At some of the chapels considerable opposition was given to the distribution of the bills, but without success. guilty tribe of Benjamin. To pu nish the crime of David, the exterminating angel went forth with the sword of pestilence in his band, and in three days slew 70,000 of Israel. The barbarity offered to the chaste Lucretia burled the Tarquins from the Roman throne, and founded, under the auspices of Brutus, the consular republic. The adultery of count Julian introduced the Moors into Spain, which they held in bondage 800 years; and had not the immortal Peiajo, the last scion of her Gothic kings, maintained his last po On the evening appointed a very respectable and numerous assembly was held, consisting of about 500 persons, the largest number, we believe, of catholics ever collected in London on any public question.sition in the mountains of Biscay, the As soon as the gentlemen composing the committee had taken their seats, the Rev. Mr. Hayes was unanimously called to the chair. After the reverend gentleman had taken his place, he rose and addressed the company in a very eloquent and energetic speech. He commenced by expressing his joy and satisfaction at meeting so respectable, intelligent, and numerous a body of his fellow-catholics, "This," observed Mr. H. " is a glorious day for the catholics and brave Spaniards of the present day would have been without a country to liberate. Ireland was compelled to bow the neck to Henry the second of England, in consequence of the elopement of Dermod, king of Leinster, with the wife of the prince of Brefuy; and England became the victim of civil war and religious per secution, by the divorce of Catharine of Arragon. "Thus," continued he, "has God avenged the holy institate of matrimony; and from my |