speech or thought in religious matters, but must, with the obedience which belongs to the brute creation, receive and obey the commands of his priest. Oh, you know this well; and are conscious that you, even you, act contrary to the religion of Christ, when you aid in degrading your fellow-citizens by imposing papal fetters on them. But you have not courage to emancipate yourselves by risking the loss of daily bread, and you dread suffering and labour; but such fears are unworthy of the disciples of truth and of Christ. Such ought to fear nothing, but the degradation of themselves and their fellowmen, which is inseparable from the papal yoke; and therefore it must be their sacred duty to abjure the Roman hierarchy, and become true priests to their nation. Or, do you own your inability to promote the welfare and salvation of your fellowcitizens? Do you feel the need of an Italian bishop, of a foreign power? You are more capable of promoting their weal than any distant Italian bishop. Or do you dread that the abjuration of Rome will lead to discontent? Fear it not; we are men, and will act as men. Let us act with manly courage and consideration; unite with our fellow-citizens, and, assembled with one accord in free interchange of counsel and opinion, let that which is resolved on as necessary, be carried into effect. Those undertakings cannot excite discontent, in which every shadow of compulsion is unknown. Discontent is, indeed, the natural result of arbitrary power and Romish rule, which knows no law but its own interest, its own supremacy. The Romish hierarchy drives Germany's daughters from the altar, if they have bestowed their hearts on men of a differing confession. It profanes the bridal, virgin modesty of our sisters, by wanton claims, which they foist upon religion. It presumes to refuse the sacrament to German mothers, if their children are not brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. It foams with rage at the idea of every reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. It is the resolute opposer of peace, however much the people may long for it.

"The Roman college has laid upon us an unchristian yoke;

introduced abuses into our religion, which foster superstition and vice, and deprives us of the doctrine of the gospel. To remove these abuses must be our first care. We must banish the Latin tongue from our churches, which is incomprehensible to our people, and is the memorial of our spiritual slavery; of that flagitious coercion which sins against the clearest awards of the gospel; for, Paul says, 1 Cor. xiv. 19, 'I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.' And, in the 23rd verse, he declares expressly, and most justly, the use of a foreign, uncomprehended language, to be the act of the insane.

"We must further get rid of auricular confession-that institution of mental torture; that degrading inquisitorial tribunal, which stamps men hypocrites or blinded slaves of the priesthood; which holds back so many Catholics from the participation of the sacred supper; and which, devoid of all scriptural foundation, was first introduced by an ambitious pope, twelve hundred years after the Christian era.

"We must further abrogate all those pernicious Roman contrivances for squeezing money out of the people, which undermine true piety, and degrade the priesthood into mere taxgatherers for the Roman treasury. Nothing must be left standing, but the pure, true Christian Catholic religion; and its great commandment, 'to love one another,' must be evidenced, not by words only, but by our conduct towards all our brethren of the human family, of whatever confession or religion they may be. This is, in short, my friends, what I feel myself called upon to address to you, as professing disciples of the truth, and authorized teachers of religion. It is an expostulation to which, love for my fellow-citizens, and anxiety for their salvation, well-being and honour, pressed from me; an expostulation which, love to you yourselves, who most severely pine under the Roman yoke, impelled me to utter. It remains with you to decide whether you will follow the urgent calls of religion, of your fellow-citizens, and of your

own better convictions. Woe, woe be to such of you as, refusing to listen to this call, prefer remaining in hypocrisy and delusion. The first indignation of your people, now awakened to consciousness, will pronounce your sentence in a voice of thunder, and history will engrave the judgment in its pages with indelible characters. Yet the work will be com

pleted without your aid. But to you who follow this call, you who, armed with moral courage, determine to shrink from no sacrifice, no labour, in the performance of your duty; all happiness and blessing be upon you! yes, happiness and blessing to all such! The approbation of their own bosoms will be their rich reward; the love of the nation and the ineffable tribute of history will carry down their names to latest posterity."

This powerful appeal spread, despite the utmost efforts of the papal party, throughout Germany, and (having been translated into Polish) even made its way into Poland and the adjoining countries; so that three editions, of ten thousand each, were speedily bought up.

His next publication bore the title, "My Justification," which, with the various documents bearing on the circumstances which led to, and followed, his withdrawal from the Romish communion, will be read with interest. Although the law of censorship prohibits the publication of libels against the church of Rome, by any members of her own communion, yet the censor, thinking the pamphlet of an excommunicated priest could not come within that category, permitted the printing of the Justification; and as all works printed with censorial sanction can be immediately distributed, the application afterwards made for its suppression, by the district censorship, came too late to detain more than fifty copies, which chanced still to be in the printing-office; all the rest, of an edition of ten thousand, had been already dispatched to every part of Germany, and, though the Romish clergy prohibited its perusal, the power of curiosity was too strong for even priestly influence, and the dangerous truths were read with avidity.

85

CHAPTER IV.

REFORMATION OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

(CONTINUED).

Rongé's Justification-His humble Birth and Occupation-Choice of the Clerical Profession-Disgust at the Romish Clergy— Departure from the Alumnat-Appointment to a Chaplaincy at Grottkau-Excommunication from the Romish Church-Strictures on Rongé's Opinions.

"I was born on the 16th of October, 1813, in Bischofswalde, a village in the circle of Neisse, in the close vicinity of the Sudetic mountain chain. I was the third born child of my parents, who had ten children besides myself (of whom, however, two died early), and as our whole support depended on the produce of a small hereditary farm, possessed by my father, we were early accustomed to industry; and whilst my eldest brother assisted in the field-work, I, being the second surviving child, was entrusted with the charge of our small flock of sheep. This was my chief occupation during spring, summer and autumn, from my sixth to my twelfth year: in winter, other country employment was found for me. My father was of a grave and fearless nature, with a sound judgment, and wholly devoid of superstition. He died in March, 1842. Our mother, who devoted herself unceasingly to the care of her family, was taken from us in October, 1831. My education commenced in the village school of my native place,

where the instruction was, indeed, very limited; as the only branches taught, even to the upper classes, were reading, writing, arithmetic, the catechism, and the Bible history. It was only in the last year of my being at school, that geography and the history of Silesia were added to my studies. During the many solitary hours of my shepherd's life I committed to memory the catechism, and the tasks of Bible history, given me by my teacher, and many serious thoughts pressed upon my mind concerning religion generally, a life beyond the grave, time and eternity; and these thoughts often filled me with melancholy. The persuasions of one of my teachers induced my father to send me to the gymnasium of Neisse (a decision to which his numerous family would most likely have prevented him forming for himself), and accordingly I entered it in 1827, and left it in 1836. Foreign languages had little interest for me. Horace and the other Roman authors were, therefore, no favourites; but I had the greatest passion for German literature and history, and Rotteck enchanted me. It was with delight that, in 1836, I entered the university of Breslaw. I felt and knew that I was free, and I would have blushed to think myself capable of abusing that freedom by listlessness and sloth. In common with a number of nobleminded youths, my earnest desire was to cultivate my mind and strengthen my body*. I fixed on theology as my profession, because, feeling a great desire for imparting instruction, the clerical state seemed to me to offer the best opportunities for gratifying that predilection. It is true, I dreaded its formal restraints; yet I then little knew the compulsory and hypocritical system of the Roman hierarchy, with which I was afterwards but too well acquainted; and, although many of my friends tried to divert me from my purpose, I deemed myself possessed of sufficient strength of mind to meet the difficulties, and even to labour with success, in the sacred calling. My father contributed so liberally to my support, that

*Certainly somewhat otherwise than is prescribed by the Ro

manists.