OCR Text |
Show "ONE WORD IS TOO OFTEN PR0- FANED." The misuse of a single word is often as disastrously self-revelatory at the ' minpronounced "shibboleth"' that deliv--cred the oaeophonie Ephraitnitos into the hands of their pursuers. (See Judges, xii., 4-6.) For instance: George Eliot was one of the most careful amateurs who ever tried to take all knowledge for their province with the object of making eventual parade of that knowledge. But when, in "Felix Holt." he used the words "heirs of his body" instead of simply "heirs," and thus created an entail where she had intended a fee simple, she stood at once t-elfoonfes.sed h? an amateur. Second instance: Laet year the Rev. Minot J. Savage talked a good deal Minot J. Savage talked a good deal of apjiarent good eense about what he called "the immaculate conception." imagining that this purely theological term referred to the virginal concep tion of Chriist. and not. as it really does, to the stainless conception of the Virgin Mother i. e., without the Adamite .brand of "original sin." Thte mistake showed conclusively that he was no theologian, however excellent a philosopher. phi-losopher. And now comes the third instance, which ic? more immediately germane to the matter in hand. Mr. Alfred Wesley Wishart. an intelligent and well meaning mean-ing gentleman, "sometimes fellow in church history in the University of Chicago" (so the titular rubric informs us), has1 just published a" book entitled "A Short History of Monks and Mon- asterietf." (Albert Brandt, Trenton, X. JJ. i The crucial chapter in the book is that devoted to the Society of Jesus. Now. speaking strictly and by the card, the Jesuits are r.ot monki. They do not Jive in "monasteries." but in "collegia." "col-legia." This, however. I acknowledge is hypercriticism. Ey slightly forced extension the term monks may be "applied "ap-plied to the Jesuits, because they do take the three monastic vows of pov erty, chastity and obedience. So at last I get to the real point. Mr. Wishart claims that he is justified in speaking evil of this society because Rome, through Pope Clement XIV.. delivered de-livered "an ex cathedra opinion" condemning con-demning it. True enough that "an ex cathedra opinion" is final, irrevocable and damnatory if it condemns. The trouble is Mr. Wishart does not under-j under-j stand the meaning of the theological phrase "ex cathedra." He contents him-! him-! self with the siouchy definition in the Century and other dictionaries, "au-ihoritative." "au-ihoritative." "with authority." etc. Xow. no man is qualified to write n Catholic suljjeots Avho is not familiar with the terminology of Catholicism, and the phrase "ex cathedra" is of essential, es-sential, of vital importance. On its precise pre-cise understanding depends an understanding under-standing of the entire Catholic creed as j it stands today. j For the Pope is infallible only when I he speaks "ex cathedra." and the Vat- I lean Council has explained that this meane only "when, exercising hiw office as the pastor and teacher of all Christians. Chris-tians. he defines a doctrine concerning faith and morals'." Being an infallible decision, no Pope can renege his own ruling, nor that of any of his predecessors. subject in a logical, succinct and vigor-deeply vigor-deeply regretted hie; purely "disciplinary" "discipli-nary" order concerning the Jesuits, and Pope Pius VII. re-established the society. so-ciety. Mr. Wishart, by the way. mentions men-tions the last fact, but omits the first. And now. is all this a mere quibbling about words? I trow not. Suppose a man wrote a book on astronomy, and confounded "occultation" with the depriving de-priving word, "auscultation," or the delightful word "osculation," would you not say at once that he was disqualified from writing about astronomical matters? mat-ters? Th.-n you must agree with ine that Mr. -Wishart i,s disqualified from writing writ-ing on Catholic subjects. In Dundreary phrase, there are some things, that a fellow (even if he has been "sometime "some-time a fellow of church history in Chicago Chi-cago University") docs not know. |