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THOUGH the public have been informed, through a prospectus, of the object, plan and management of the Metropolitan, we have a few words to say on this subject by way of introducing it to the reader. The exposition and defence of Catholicity, and the diffusion of intelligence relating to it, being the aim of this periodical, it must not be expected to contain any thing in 'the least at variance with the principles of Catholic faith and morals. That mawkish sentimentalism, frivolity and worldliness which abound so much, under the name of "light reading," in most of our secular magazines, will be totally discarded from its pages. We do not mean to say, however, that all matter of an amusing or entertaining character will be excluded, nor that the doctrinal, controversial or critical essay will not be occasionally relieved by articles of a less serious character; but, that it will be our effort to mingle the agreeable with the useful, without pandering to a morbid appetite. We are convinced, indeed, that this periodical will not make its way into favor, if it do not present to its readers an interesting as well as instructive miscellany of information: but at the same time it cannot be denied, that in the whole range of literature there is nothing more capable of diverting the mind, than the progress and triumphs of Catholicity throughout the world. Her combats and victories, her struggles against error in every shape and form, the intrepidity and self-devotion of her missionaries, the heroism of her martyrs, her immense achievements in the cause of letters and civilization, her inexhaustible resources for the relief of suffering humanity, are subjects of startling interest, not merely in a religious point of view, but even as a portion of the general stock of literature. The ordinary reader, not less than the pious Catholic, must find pleasure in such topics.

VOL. I-No. 1.

By spreading information of this kind, with a variety of other instruction, we hope to lend some assistance in the encouragement of a more general taste for Catholic literature. The position of Catholics in this country demands of them an extensive knowledge, as well as the practical observance, of religion. Surrounded by all the forms of error, which openly assail the Church of God, and exert a covert influence upon social and domestic life, it is impossible for the Catholic to escape the contamination of this infected atmosphere, if he apply not the antidote to the poison; much less will he be able to defend the honor and promote the interests of religion, if he be not acquainted with the various modes of warfare which the enemy of truth employs, and with the proper weapons by which he is to be defeated. This knowledge is to be gathered chiefly from our periodical literature, because this channel of information is adapted to the actual wants of the times, and forms as it were a summary of the more prominent and useful works, which many indeed may peruse, but which the mass of the community have not the leisure to consult.

This reflection leads us to remark, that a magazine of this kind, if conducted even with ordinary ability, will form a valuable repertory of information for the Catholic family; a work which will not only be acceptable at the time when it is issued, but which will prove always, by the variety of its contents, to be a most useful reference on all subjects connected with the doctrines and practices of the Church, and its past and cotemporaneous history. How often is it a matter of regret, when, for our own satisfaction or for the benefit of others, we wish to recall some useful document or article that we have read in the weekly journals, to find that we can no longer have access to it? This inconvenience arises from the fact of there being no suitable mode of preserving such materials. Hence, among all the works that enrich a Catholic library, there are none more really serviceable, or to which the general reader turns with more pleasure, as an occasional source of entertainment and instruction, than a periodical of this description.

In taking a position among our cotemporaries as an auxiliary in the same noble cause to which they are devoted, we are sensible of the close relation which must exist between us, and we hope to fulfil the obligations which it imposes. We shall express our sentiments freely, and in doing so it may be our lot occasionally to differ from a fellow-editor; but we shall not allow the pride of opinion or the spirit of contention, to usurp the place of that moderation and courtesy which are due to others, and which are the plain dictates of Christian charity. We are convinced that our brethren of the press will be disposed to meet us in the same spirit.

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THE CHURCH, THE GUARDIAN OF LETTERS.

BY REV. CHARLES H. STONESTREET, 8. J.

"Animus incorruptus æternus rector humani generis agit atque habet cuncta, neque ipse habetur."

THE guardianship of letters, which it is the object of the present article to notice, is a theme that daily grows in importance. The public mind, not only of our own country, but of Ireland and of France, is deeply engrossed with it. We begin to feel sensibly that the rod of the master has been for too long a time in the hands of our enemies. This magisterial rod has been forcibly styled, “the sceptre of the world." To share the power of the mysterious wand of learning is a call, at once, of duty and of interest. The spirit of the Church begins to fill anew the breasts of nations, and to animate the hearts of parents with a more than wonted zeal for those whom Providence has entrusted to their care. France rising from her frightful dream of philosophism and again becoming conscious, remembers with gladness that she is Catholic-and Newman is consecrated by English persecution the first President of the Irish University. The Young Catholic's Friend and the St. Vincent de Paul Societies seek a scholar in him, who otherwise might have no friend—religion enlarges her enclosures to receive, and braces her energies to teach the poor and the orphan under the shade of her altars; while her seminaries, her colleges, her academies, throw open their halls to the more favored of her children. Now, as ever, the Church is the guardian of letters.

Moral doctrine is drawn from no other sources, than the Scripture and the teaching of the Church. Christianity therefore introduced into the world a new system of philosophy. She established on the eternal basis of truth the immovable principles of virtue. Reason, heretofore groping in the dark, was then irradiated by the light of revelation-saw at a glance the "summum bonum," the object of man's happiness and heard a heavenly voice teaching its attainment. To determine in what consisted the summum bonum or the object of man's felicity, made a battle ground of Pagan philosophy. Here the Stoic, the Peripatetic, the Academician, and more than a hundred other schools were in constant conflict-here in perpetual error, they brandished at each other, in angry dispute, the fragments of their false axioms and jarring creeds. To have preserved and perpetuated this jargon of absurdity, would have been little to the praise of the Church. Yet even in dealing with these false doctrines of Paganism, their form and language, and whatever of truth could be separated from error, was retained by the conservative spirit of the Church. She destroyed the Lares and Penates-the household gods and the idols of the Pagans, but carefully preserved the choice productions of their gifted sons.

The destruction however of their errors was not material but mental. The darkness of error, like the shadow of death, vanished at the appearance of the Orient light from on high.

The two great principles of the moral sciences-the object of man's happiness and the immortality of the soul-being firmly established, put an end to the otherwise endless wrangling and introduced on the theatre of learning a new set of teachers—the Fathers of the Church-the doctors and masters of Christian philosophy. Some of these men were recent converts from Paganism, and others had been the disciples of the Apostles :-they all glowed with the desire of making the loveliness of truth known to mankind. This honorable and divinely sustained

feeling could not be destroyed by the violent persecutions raised against them. They had to flee to caverns and to catacombs. These then became so many studios whence issued forth writings, destined, like the minds that conceived them, to be immortal. To allay the violence of their enemies, Justin and Tertullian wrote their apologetics for the new philosophy. The power of these masculine compositions shook the tyrant on his throne. Of the writings of one of them, it has been said: "Every word was in itself a sentence, and every sentence a victory." The sweet sound of truth, that had gone forth from Judea, constituted the substance of their teaching. This voice, caught up by the Apostles, had been sounded to the uttermost limits of the earth, and Christian philosophy was to echo it from century to century to the end of time. This heavenly truth sounding among men is the doctrine of the Church, the guardian of letters. Leaving to other times and to other places the consideration of her celestial origin, we are now to view the Church as a power among men.

The primitive Christians converted from Paganism, had no literature of their own. They moreover no longer thought and spoke as of old; for they had ceased to worship the gods of the Gentiles. They besides did not go over to a nation, whose literature was already formed and complete. The old Jewish nation had called down a curse upon itself, that was working out its destruction, and preparing for it a lasting exile from temple and from home. They had forfeited their birth-right to the inheritance of truth, for which they had been the chosen heirs. They were bereft of successors. Their very language soon became a dead one; for the learned and sainted Hieronymus informs us that in his time-viz: the 4th century of the Christian era—he could scarcely find any one who could speak and very few who understood it! The Christians were thus a virgin community, brought into existence by the omnipotent word of the Redeemer.

Here then we are to mark the first epoch, in which the Church acts as the guardian of letters. We may pass over the period of three hundred years, when she had to brave the strong arm of power and prove herself immortal in the midst of persecution. An ever-living victim, she gathered strength from death itself. We hurry on to the time, when the victory of the first Christian prince was written on the cross in the heavens.

Then two great languages-the Greek and the Latin, told the thoughts of the masters of the world: and divided between them the empire of literature and the arts. The historic muse had made an elegant record of the daring of heroes on the field and of the wise resolves of sages in council. Such record was read in the great public assemblies of Athens. The praises of one called into action the virtues of another-" one great hero fanned another's fire"-till every citizen became a patriot and every man "a brave." The virtues of a predecessor became a pledge for the prowess of his successor. The image of ancient worth appeared even in his dreams to the youthful warrior; for Themistocles was kept awake by the monument of Miltiades. The tragic poets representing to the eyes of the people the achievements and trials of their military chiefs-now enkindled their patriotism by the view of Marathon-now moulded their hearts to sacred piety by the sufferings of Leuctra. Classic writers had been stimulated (and not without effect) to mental exertion by the hope of obtaining the civic crown at the Olympic games. They were moreover urged on in their compositions by a natural and honest desire of living even after death in the grateful memories of their fellowcountrymen. Eloquence had flourished for centuries in the forum; at one time terse and piercing as the lightning appeals of Pericles, and again full and sonorous

as the thunder-toned orations of Demosthenes. Intellectual culture, aided by a beautiful language, had been carried to the highest pitch of excellence. The treasures of Grecian literature, of which the Church became guardian, were immense. If we turn our looks to the west, we there see Rome, the mistress of the world, like the fabled goddess Cibele, crowned with cities and kingdoms, and leading after her triumphal car suppliant monarchs and conquered nations. The majesty of the Romans transfused itself into their writings, and the language of this kingly people became as grand as were the conceptions of their intellect. Great achievements were accompanied with great virtues in their early republic. These achievements and virtues, when ripened and hallowed by time, became a fruitful theme for the poet and the historian. The firmness of Cato, the prudence of Fabius, the daring of Marcellus, the patience of Scevola, devotion to the public good of Curtius, the frugality of Fabricius, the plain life and fervent patriotism of Cincinnatus, who saved his country-and will live forever in the American heart, and be by us called Washington-these, these are examples of ennobling virtues rescued from oblivion by the guardian of letters.

There is a singular beauty and appropriateness in the greatest republic of antiquity, teaching virtues and giving lessons and warnings to us. Memory calling up the shades of the mighty dead-we feel the full force of what Sallust says: “I have often heard that Quintius Maximus, Publius Scipio and other renowned men of our State were used to observe: when they beheld the images of their ancestors they felt their minds most powerfully stimulated and moved to virtue." We must moreover bear in mind that the ancient writers not unfrequently drew rather pictures of human excellence, (proposed to excite the admiration and elicit the imitation of youth,) than faithfully recorded past events. Hence we hear the Romans, while admiring the actions of Greece, putting in this salvo; "that although great and worthy of imitation, they are still somewhat less than fame makes them!" It is indeed a matter of doubt yet among the learned: whether Xenophon in his Cyropedia gives a life of Cyrus, or draws a portrait of a perfect prince. St. Basil the Great, in his erotesis or exhortation to Christian youth to read the books of the Gentiles, gives, as his opinion, that all the poetry of Homer is a eulogy of virtue and military valor. He cites examples from this author and from Hesiod to show the excellence of nature, speaking truth and goodness to the youthful mind and heart. This same teacher of Christian philosophy quotes in his address to youth the description of a Chian sophist of the vision of the young Hercules, who saw under female forms Virtue and Pleasure. He chose the former; for although showing him a thousand perils and immense labors by land and sea, she promised him at death a place among the gods.

Literary toil diligently persevered in for lengthened centuries, had amassed a store of doctrine, abundantly sufficient to supply all nations; and of such a cast as to bear upon it the impress of an immortality, destined to serve all times. These treasures fell principally into the hands of the Church-and she alone preserved them. Other guardians either died off, or became recreant to their trust. The Church alone is the golden chain that links the older days of Greece and Rome to our own times: the Church alone put to flight the errors of Pagan, by the truth and sublimity of Christian philosophy. Still she guarded their writings, and preserves, even now, their Aristotle and their Plato. The fervid invectives of her Chrysostom rebuked even emperors, who profanely indulged in indecorous equestrian and scenic exhibitions; but her Basils and her Gregories prepared themselves, with her approbation, for a useful manhood, in the school of Libanius.

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