connecting iii. 7 with iv. 1. Not only of faith, and presents no strange or doubtful doctrine for Christian accept so, but as thus interpreted its teach ing is in harmony with the analogy ance. EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT. BY J. H. W. STUCKENBERG, D.D., BERLIN, GERMANY. What Does the Catholic Revival Mean? THAT the revival is extensive and produces a great effect on the Catholic Church is beyond question. Its exact nature is, however, difficult to deter mine. The following points are given as the result of long and careful study of the subject. 1. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception has concentrated more than ever the attention of Catholics on the Virgin Mary. The decree of Papal Infallibility by the Vatican Council has given the Pope an exaltation and an authority never attained even in the Middle Ages. The very opposition to these dogmas led the Church to use her power to the utmost for their maintenance and spread. The vast machinery of the Church, particularly the priest hood and the powerful orders, were used for this purpose. After these dogmas were decreed, the very existence of the Church depended on their acceptance. If in their decree the Church made a mistake, then the theory of the infallible authority of that Church is at an end. These dogmas, therefore, became a rallying point, and were used to inflame the zeal of believers. Those who objected to them were obliged to recant or to leave the Church. The Doellingers were not numerous. Bismarck's efforts to protect Germany against the effects of the Vatican Council resulted in the Culturkampf, the political union of the Catholics, and their complete victory. 2. The dogmas which absorbed the attention and inflamed the zeal of Roman Catholics are the very ones which most of all characterize Catholicism as distinct from Protestantism. Devout Catholics in past ages have often em phasized the doctrines which both churches have in common ; but now the emphasis is placed on what is distinctively papal. This has determined the nature of the revival. It is ultramontane, exalts all that has made Rome most obnoxious to evangelical Christians, creates and intensifies a spirit of bitterness toward Protestantism, and is intent on establishing Roman Catholicism on the ruins of evangelical Christianity. This explains the efforts to degrade the Reformation and make it responsible for all the evils of modern times; this accounts for the violent abuse of Luther, as well as for the fanatical opposition to the churches which had their origin in the Reformation. The revival is Romanism intensified and carried to the extreme. We still distinguish between Catholicism and Romanism; but at the same time it is evident that Romanism has almost wholly devoured Catholicism. 3. The Jesuits are the most powerful order in the Catholic Church, and have gained a controlling influence. The dogmas decreed were essentially their dogmas; and the promulgation of the dogmas was virtually a promulgation of their power. They controlled the Vatican Council; they are Ultramontanism and Jesuitism have almost become synonymous. Thus the revival means that the Jesuitical spirit is the dominant factor in the Church. This accounts for the exaltation of that order, and for the demand of their return to the lands from which they were banished. 4. In harmony with the emphasis on the peculiarly papal factors, the revival has been hierarchical and clerical. The Church has been exalted, the power of the priesthood has been emphasized. As the Church has become so largely a priestly institution, especial efforts have been made to increase the number of priests and to make the hierarchical machinery more efficient. Under the priesthood the laity are organized. These organizations are numerous and powerful. The confessional and the keys that unlock heaven and hell give the priest a kind of omnipotence with the faithful Catholic. The doctrines emphasized are in glaring conflict with the culture of the age; but men go from extreme to extreme, and atheistic liberalism becomes a feeder of ultramontanism. 5. The revival has resulted in a vast growth of Catholic literature, and is, on the other hand, also promoted by this literature. In this department wonderful activity has been displayed, and astonishing results have been achieved. And this literature breathes the ultramontane spirit, and is either the product of Jesuits or largely under their control. Much is done in apologetics to overthrow the atheistic and infidel theories in science and philosophy. The polemic literature is directed almost wholly against Protestantism, and is able, shrewd, unscrupulous, and extremely bitter. The Catholic Church, with its institutions and orders, is lauded to the skies. The unbroken history and the vast extent of the Church, the compact unity, with all its internationalism, the great names which adorn its annals, the devotion of its orders, the mysticism and symbolism of its worship, its marvels of art-all are magnified for the promotion of the glory and attractiveness of Catholicism. History and biography are written to prove that all excellencies, even in Protestants, are really Catholic, and that all evils are Protestant perversions of the truth. Catholicism and atheism are represented as the only alternatives. To an age agitated by doubt and immersed in scepticism, an absolute church and omnipotent hierarchy are presented as a refuge of peace and safety. Especially in Germany the power and magnitude of Catholic literature are such that an especial study is required to appreciate them. The journals have greatly increased in number and circulation, and popular pamphlets and learned volumes are constantly dropping from the Catholic press. And all this vast literature teaches the Immaculate Conception, Papal Infallibility, the glorification of the Jesuits, the restoration of temporal power to the Pope, the supremacy of the Church over the State, and the annihilation of Protestantism. 6. The revival has affected all departments of the Church, so that its whole life has been intensified. The laity have been inflamed with zeal. Numerous and enthusiastic Catholic conventions have been held in the interest of the Church. The problems of the day are carefully studied, and remarkable wisdom has been revealed in the attempts at their solution. With all its inflexible elements, that Church also has a marvellous adaptability to the demands of the age. Especially has great energy been displayed in meeting the crisis produced by socialism. But the zeal of the laity has largely been inspired by artificial means and by ultramontane tactics. The fiction of the prisoner of the Vatican has been repeated ad nauseam, a fiction believed as if it were a dogma, except in Italy, where it is laughed at. Pilgrimages are used to promote the zeal of the laity, indulgences are offered, and the coat at Treves is exposed to the reverence of vast multitudes for the same purpose. These means at the close of the nineteenth century are a significant revelation of the culture and piety in that Church. Not the great truths of Christianity, not the culture of the Divine Spirit in the heart, are the inspiration of the zeal, but externals and what is mechanical. Whatever the immediate effect may be, there must surely be a reaction, when all the emptiness of this zeal will be manifest and the Church will suffer for its Pharisaism. 7. The Catholic Church has by means of the revival made great gains in political and social power. Its compact unity, its resoluteness, and the persistency of its demands have had a powerful effect on governments. Even in Protestant Germany the Catholic Centre is the strongest party in parliament. Protestant divisions are everywhere confronted with Catholic unity. Even infidel liberals respect the power of the Catholic Church, while they treat distracted Protestantism with contempt. The papacy claims to be the conservative element in nations, the supporter of thrones, the promoter of law and order. This has a marked influence on many who dread revolution and anarchy; and especially is it claimed that the papacy will give to thrones the needed stability. Catholicism professes to be the only power that can check socialism. Its professions have not been realized; nevertheless, governments and society are anxious to secure its aid in saving the present social structure. In point of influence, the Catholic Church has within the last decades gained vastly, and in political and social power it is immeasurably superior to what it was while the Pope still held the temporal sovereignty in Rome. For 8. Yet just as the zeal of the laity is largely artificial, so the boastful claims of the growth of Catholicism are calcu lated to deceive. The revival is confined mostly to the Church itself. The converts have not been numerous. evident reasons, they have relatively been most numerous among princes and the nobility. But the power and influence gained by Catholicism have had their effect on other churches, in promoting what are called high church tendencies. Most of all is this evident in the Anglican Church. 9. This leads us to examine into the actual, as distinguished from the pretended progress made by Catholicism. R. Buddensieg, a German writer, has for many years investigated this prob lem, and the results he has attained are here given. Leo XIII. has established 1 patriarchate, 12 archbishoprics, 65 bishoprics, and 53 apostolic prefectures. This shows that in various countries there has been an enormous development of the hierarchy, but more than this it does not prove. There have been great losses of power, particularly in Italy and France. In these countries, where ultramontanism seemed to have the undisputed supremacy, Catholicism is losing influence. The statistics of 1886 gave 27,000,000 Catholics in France, while 9,684,900 one fourth of the population, claimed to be without religion. The author affirms that a similar condition is found in Italy, Spain, Belgium, South America, and other Catholic lands. In Germany and Austria the ultramontanes hold their own, with neither progress nor retrogression. How about the ultramontane progress in the United States and England, which has been so often announced by Cardinal Manning and others? In these countries, too, the hierarchical apparatus has been developed marvellously during the last five decades, but the fruits have not been correspondingly great. The Catholic Directory of Cardinal Manning is proof that the progress is a fiction. In 188788 there were reported to be 1,354,000 Catholics in England; in 1888-89 the number was 1,360,000, an increase of 6000 sculs. But this increase does not even keep pace with the actual growth of the population, to say nothing of the emigration from Ireland. For a long time the gain of the Catholic Church in England has been simply through the transfer of Catholics from Ireland. In spite of all the converts from the English Church, Roman Catholicism has never gained an influence over the masses in England. In position and political power Catholicism has made vast gains in the United States, but in point of numbers it has more than it can do to hold its Edmund de Pressensé, D.D.-Pressensé, the most prominent representative and ablest advocate of French Protestantism, died in Paris, April 8th, aged 67 years. He studied theology in Lausanne from 1842-45, where Vinet exerted a deep and lasting influence on his mind and heart. In Halle and Berlin, 1845-46, he was especially drawn to Tholuck and Neander. Not only the scholarship, but also the living faith and earnest spirituality of these three teachers became determining factors in his life. From 1847 till 1871 he was pastor of Taitbout Chapel, Paris. His sermons and pastoral work, however, represent but a small part of his activity. He delivered numerous addresses on religious, ethical, social, and political subjects, edited the Revue Chrétienne, and became a voluminous author. "The History of the Christian Church during the First Three Centuries," 1858-78, received the prize of the French Academy, and made him extensively known. His book on Jesus Christ, His Times, His Life, and His Work," passed through seven editions. A number of his works have been translated into different languages. His numerous articles in French and other journals have made his name familiar in many lands. The esteem in which he was held in other than theological circles is evident from the fact that he was elected to the National Assembly in 1871, to the Senate in 1883, and a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1889. His patriotism, his uprightness, his deep sincerity commanded the respect even of his opponents." He was noble and at the same time simple, strong in faith and of great moral force." To purity of heart he added the most generous benevolence. The spirit of intolerance was most offensive to him, no matter to whom it might be manifested. Against the press he uttered bitter invectives because it so often becomes the minister of impurity and vice. Once he wrote, "If God takes me to Him, let it be known that the warfare against an infamous press was one of my intensest desires." During his political career he is said always to have ascended the tribune when a worthy cause seemed to need a defender. He was a strenuous advocate of religious freedom, and based his hopes on a Church permitted to manage its own affairs without State control. He was especially attracted to bodies which represent the unity of believers, and was a warm friend of the Evangelical Alliance. The Conference at Florence sent him, per telegram, hearty Christian greetings, and he returned a most grateful response. From his long and painful illness --the same as that which caused the death of Emperor Frederick-he was released while the Conference was still in session at Florence, and Rev. Theodore Monod was requested to represent the Alliance at his funeral. The funeral made it evident that he was one of the eminent men of France. Besides the large assembly of members and pastors of different Protestant churches, there were present the leaders in politics, in science, and literature -namely, Ministers of State, the rector and members of the Academy, and numerous other persons of distinction. He had been a voluntary chaplain dur ing the war, for which he received the Cross of the Legion of Honor. He was buried with military honors. His death is a loss to French Protestantism, and it was becoming that preachers of differ ent evangelical churches should deliver addresses at his funeral. Dr. E. Reuss.-This eminent scholar died April 15th, in Strasburg. He was born in the same city July 18th, 1804, and it remained his home till his death. He pursued his theological studies in Strasburg, Halle, Goettingen, and Paris, making a specialty of Oriental languages, biblical literature, and historic investigations. Being equally at home in French and German, he wrote in both languages, exerted a powerful influence on the Protestant scholarship of France and Germany, and did much to promote the intercourse between the theology of the two countries. In 1828 he became Privat-Docent in Strasbourg; he was professor-extraordinary in 1834, and professor in ordinary in 1836. After lecturing for fifty years he closed his labors in the university at the end of the summer term of 1888. His great influence at the university over students preparing for the ministry, for professorships, and for authorship, was supplemented by his numerous works, some in German, others in French. Four of these are of especial importance, and give an idea of the ex 66 In Reuss we see a scholar who pursued his studies for the sake of scholarship itself. The elucidation of the matter in hand was his law, not the practical application, which is now the chief concern of many theologians. As an investigator both of Scripture and of history, he belongs to the first rank. The rector of the university said at his grave, What a scholar can attain he attained." He had a rare knowledge of philosophy, but did not favor speculative constructions in theology. He pursued the empirical method, with emphasis on facts and on grammatical interpretation. He was keenly critical, and anticipated some of the views pro mulgated by Wellhausen and Kuenen; but he was opposed to the critical details in which some seemed to lose themselves, and was too conservative to give expression to the extremely radical tendencies of the negative critics. His broad scholarship and many-sided views may have made him hesitate to give a final opinion where many others were ready to give a decision. The style of his works is superior to average German scholar. that of the The amount of work he accomplished is marvellous. He seemed to need no vacations. Nature had no especial attractions for him. When he visited Geneva, he spent his time with friends and scholars, or buried himself in the archives and in the manuscripts of Calvin. Being in danger of distraction on account of the multiplicity of his |