saying of Tertullian, that "What is first is true, and what is subsequent is adulterated," they bring a witness against themselves.

NOTE G. Page 65.

As there are some Protestants who, in a spirit of spurious liberality, the offspring of ignorance and indifference, are disposed to consider the opinions held by conscientious and well informed members of the Church of England respecting Popery, as the result of prejudice, misrepresentation, and intolerance, we subjoin the following testimony from the very able work of a Roman Catholic writer; not one of the disciples of that pestilential school of French philosophy, which seeks to wound Christianity itself through the abuses of Popery, but a conscientious believer and an honest man :

"San Paolo scrisse che quel falso profeta, quell' uomo del peccato il quale dovea venire secondo l'operazione di Satana, sederebbe nel tempio di Dio fra la pompa di segni e miracoli; ed il papa, sedendosi nel tempio di Dio,

L

lo riempì d'un esercito innumerevole di facitori di segni e miracoli, che segue ad accrescere anche oggi le pagine del Flos Sanctorum. San Paolo scrisse che quel messo di Satana avrebbe proibito i matrimonj; e il papa condannò alla sterilità tutta la caterva de'preti, de'frati e delle monache. San Paolo scrisse che quell' agente di Satana avrebbe comandata l'astinenza de' cibi; e il papa introdusse quaresime, vigilie e quattro tempi. San Paolo scrisse che bisognava esercitarsi nella pietà, e non nelle vane afflizioni corporali; e il papa ordinò penitenze, digiuni e discipline. San Paolo scrisse ch'era d'uopo attenersi alla semplice dottrina del Verbo, e fuggire le quistioni di parole onde nascono contenzioni e bestemmie; e il papa fè fiorire le sue scuole di dissidiosi scolastici che resero la teologia un campo di triboli e spine. San Paolo disse che la confessione doveva essere pubblica; ed il papa la pose auricolare. San Paolo, fido al precetto ed alla pratica del divin maestro, gridò che si dovesser fuggire le ricchezze come lacci del diavolo, poichè chi le appetisce abberra dalla fede; e il papa fra splendidi palagi notò nell' opulenza, commercianda fra cristiani d'indulgenze, bolle e dispense. San Pietro

d'accordo scrisse, che verrebbero un giorno nella chiesa di Gesù Cristo maestri mendaci, figli della maledizione, che vivrebbero con busso, e farebbero mercimonio di parole e d'ingiustizia, ecc. e i papi che non dovevano ignorare quelle predizioni, che le leggevano ogni giorno, che le udivano così distinte e caratteristiche, vi andarono incontro coi piedi loro, e si gridavano intanto altamente successori di Pietro e Paolo, che avevano fatto quelle predizioni. Compatiamo coloro che, sedotti dalla coincidenza de' vaticinati segni, credettero ravvisarli." 1

And here, in reference to the observations which the cause of religious truth has compelled us to make on the subject of Popery, we take the opportunity of utterly disclaiming and repudiating all unkind and uncharitable feelings towards those who conscientiously hold its doctrines, among whom we have numbered some of our best friends and most faithful dependents. We wish distinctly and broadly to draw the line between Popery itself

1 "Sullo Spirito Anti-papale che produsse la Riforma,” &c. &c. a work of great candour, acuteness, and research, by Gabriele Rossetti, author of Iddio e l' Uomo, and of an invaluable commentary on the Inferno of Dante.

and the individuals who profess it. Against the former, uncompromising hostility, by means of its only legitimate and effective antagonistthe truths of the Bible; towards the latter, christian charity in its utmost extent, both as respects their temporal and their spiritual and intellectual wants. After some years attentive observation of the workings of the system in a Roman Catholic country, especially in its effects on the education of the lower orders, the conviction was forced upon us, that Popery necessarily implies spiritual despotism in the priesthood, and spiritual slavery in their flock: and surely the true friends of the slave are not those who would help to perpetuate his chains by strengthening the hands of his oppressors, but rather those who would destroy the system under which he is held in thraldom. And to carry on the parallel, as it would be our duty first to prepare the slave for his liberty, lest he fall into the worse state of lawless anarchy, so are we bound to use every exertion and every means in our power, both individually and nationally, to prepare our Roman Catholic population for their spiritual emancipation, by imbuing their minds with the unadulterated truths of the Bible, lest, after

throwing off the yoke of Popery, they fall into Socinianism and infidelity.

NOTE H. Page 70.

The account of the temptation is one of the most impressive and solemn parts of the history of our Lord. The only actors in that mysterious scene were the enemy of mankind, and God made manifest in the flesh, "in order that He might destroy the works of the Devil." If we compare this divine record with the imitations of it in the monkish legends, we shall then see what a wide difference there is between the truth as it is in the Gospelthe mysteries of God recorded by the spirit of inspiration-and the absurdities of human invention, the fantastic reveries of the deluded enthusiast or deluding impostor. The temptation of our Lord teaches us one of the most valuable lessons which our frail human nature is capable of receiving-it teaches us to hold no parley with sin, it sets before us the example of the Deity, who casts it instantly behind Him, as unworthy to stand for a moment before the "angel of his presence."