their principles be successfully promulgated, the heathen times of Greece and Rome, if not savage barbarism itself, must once more be spread over the earth. All, therefore, who seek to promote such views, remain behind the march of time; for they cling to heathenism, which, thanks be to God, is, to all Christians, a time gone by. The light shineth in darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not' (John i. 5). You say in your letter, 'It would have been better for my fame, had I kept silence in the case alluded to;'* but do you not see I should then have resembled those dumb dogs spoken of by Isaiah lvi. 10, had I kept silence regarding the endeavours of those who, since they will not acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God, I must consider his enemies? I declared, in the presence of the Leipsic council, whoso denied the divinity of Christ, to be no Christian. Can you, too,

think me influenced by the desire of worldly fame? A true Christian seeks his glory in something else than the wild clamour of human applause, 'He that glories, let him glory in the Lord' (1 Cor. i. 31); and again, in chap. iii. 20, 21, it is written, 'The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours.'

"You say, 'History will condemn me;' but I tell you, the unbelieving are condemned already (John iii. 17, 18); nay, more, they are declared in Scripture to be not only condemned, but damned; for it is written (Mark xvi. 16), 'Whosoever believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' These are hard sayings to the unbelieving; and because the doctrine of the cross appears foolishness to them, they desire to force their opinions on all the world, not considering that this is really a compelling of conscience, though it be to unbelief, instead of to belief. And why do they so eagerly seek to enforce their unbelief? Simply from a desire to find, in its universal adoption, a confirmation of their own wavering resolutions; a silencing of their own

* Czerski's circular letter to the West Prussian churches.

secret doubts, which assuredly, in their better moments, are ever prone to awake and disturb their quiet. But it is a vain effort to uproot the true faith, to veil the revealed truth concerning the Son of God, or to banish from the world the Holy Ghost-that eternal comforter of suffering humanity. Have you never read what Jesus said, 'The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner; whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken, but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder?'

"The rationalists lighten the victory to the Romanists. How, indeed, can it be otherwise, since both parties, whether credulous papists or sceptical rationalists, follow one and the same end—the extirpation of the true faith and the placing of a false one in its room; to dislodge divine revelation, and bind their own burdensome human inventions on mankind? For, is it not palpably a human invention to set up man's puny reason as infallible, in contradistinction to the doctrines laid down in the sacred books of the Old and New Testaments? The pope and Roman hierarchy follow a similar course; and the criminally arrogant assumption, of the infallibility of the Roman pontiff, in conjunction with his cardinals and bishops, is only an attempt to impose the dogmas propounded by their human reason, on the world as divine, and a desire to have them received and followed as such. I know well that you do not, any more than I, believe the Holy Ghost to be limited to the pope, cardinals, or bishops, either individually or conjointly; but I wish you to see, that the papal college acts, in fact, upon rationalist principles, though with much more foresight and circumspection than you do; and this enables them to employ even the religion of Christ as an engine in accomplishing their selfish ends. They are chiefly distinguished by the secresy with which they pursue their rationalistic views, and the air of sanctity which they contrive to throw over all their proceedings; whilst you, on the contrary, advance with open visor to attack and disparage the faith of Christ: but though your

selected weapons be different, your aim is identical. Or think you, perhaps, that I do the Romanists injustice, when I say, that they have no faith themselves, and seek to turn away those who have? I can assure you, that by far the greater portion of the Romish priesthood are destitute of all Christian belief, and make a mockery, among themselves, of that which they profess to hold most sacred. I know many who do this; now you do the same, only not in secret. You have resolved to decide in your assemblies as to the mode of doctrine, and to dictate to your clergy the norm according to which they are to instruct you and your children in sacred things. How can you possibly do this-you, who have, in reality, neither doctrine nor faith? The clergyman is to be your teacher, your spiritual guide, and the cultivator of your souls; what is to be the rule and substance of his teaching? In consistency with your principles, you cannot advance any articles of faith; but each must be left to himself, to choose and to follow his own course of life. According to what code can you pretend to try the thief, to punish the murderer, or to render the evil-doer innoxious? The individual reason of each, that sole guide which you allow, had suggested his plans, had approved his deeds. Of what use can a clergyman be, to you, among whom each is constituted his own guide, reformer, redeemer, and recompenser? Even belief in a future state is left undetermined; does one of you adopt it? it is well; does he reject it? it is also well. Oh, comfortless creed! Oh, most detestable scepticism, which degrades man to a level with the beasts that perish! Against so miserable a creed, not only I, but thousands, will contend, to the utmost of their power, in order to ward off from ourselves the guilt and the reproach of having, by our fault, caused any to perish for whom Christ died (1 Cor. viii. 11). "JOHANNES CZERSKI."

66
"Your friend,

One other letter seems, in justice to Czerski, to demand a place here. It appeared in the July number of the "Catholic Reform Journal," and is addressed to Dr. Theiner. It proves

that the accusation brought against Czerski, of a desire to make himself the leader of the party, is without foundation. The letter is as follows:

"Reverend sir, and beloved brother in Christ Jesus, "The intelligence of your having left the ranks of the Romish priesthood, and your being firmly resolved to devote your powers to the true free church (apart from all human ordinances and traditions), has filled my bosom with joy.

"I have not, indeed, the honour of your reverence's personal acquaintance; but the spirit of truth by which you are animated, and enabled, in defence of the pure revealed doctrine of Jesus, to enter the lists against all falsehood, is known to all, and has reached even unto me. By this spirit of truth I feel myself attracted towards you; and these lines are designed to express at once my joy and high estimation of the step you have taken. You may, perhaps, be already aware that I, too, have forsaken the service of Rome, because I perceived in it a heathen rather than a Christian adornment; and hatred and discord in the place of that love, which the apostle declares to be the 'fulfilling of the law' (Romans xiii. 10). Moreover, I severed myself from the Roman priesthood, because the great majority are either voluntary or involuntary hypocrites; because a living faith in Jesus Christ is abandoned by most of them, and his pure doctrine obscured; and because, finally, the Romish church justly deserves the reproach of vainly honouring Christ, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men ;' 'laying aside the commandment of God, and thus making the word of God of none effect by her traditions' (Mark vii. 7, 8, 13). I left, therefore, an ecclesiastical society which refuses, in its pride, to see that its established ordinances run counter to the gospel of Christ; and which seeks to maintain and uphold its own statutes, because on them its worldly power depends, even at the cost of truth itself. My powers, therefore, such as they are, I have consecrated to the spread of pure Christian doctrine, and will continue to labour in this cause to the end of life.

"No inconsiderable portion of Roman Catholics have awakened from their spiritual sleep, and opened their eyes upon the pure light of the Sun of righteousness. It is, however, deeply to be deplored, that some of those who have fallen away from Rome, have likewise fallen away from faith in Christ, as the Son of the living God. One cause, perchance, of this distressing state of things may be, the want of a determinate direction for all the new congregations. You, reverend sir, are in a position to afford, by your extensive learning, very essential service to the infant church. You can point out to her the course she must follow, in order to pass through the hosts of enemies and rivals which beset her path, towards the great goal she has in view. I, for my part, gladly commit into your hands the guidance of the congregations of a portion of our father-land; and, in the persuasion that you will go before us in the way which leadeth to salvation, I willingly submit myself to your direction.

(Signed) "JOHANNES CZERSKI." Before concluding this summary of the chief points in Czerski's experience, labours, trials, and successes, the details of which will, from time to time, appear in the chronological account of the progress of the reform movement, it is requisite to notice a very singular occurrence, which I give on the authority of the "Catholic Reform Journal" for October, 1845. The article is dated, Schneidemühl, October 17.

"In order to correct the erroneous statements which have appeared in several public journals, respecting some late events which have taken place in the Christian Catholic congregation of this place, I beg leave to state the following, as the true circumstances of the case:

"Pastor Czerski having for a considerable time carried on a correspondence with the Berlin protest party, the latter sent hither a deputation, consisting of several persons who had been members of the Lutheran church (together with an Englishman named Smith, and his wife), whose commission was to treat with the members of the Christian Catholic con