Page:Essays on Catholicism, Liberalism, and Socialism.djvu/40

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ESSAY ON CATHOLICISM,

heard throughout the world, and had penetrated deeply into the human conscience; and this voice taught the nations, that those of low and mean condition are so placed, in order to be cared for on account of their necessities, and that the rich and great are born to serve others, because they are great and rich. Catholicism, in deifying authority, sanctified obedience; and, in deifying the one and sanctifying the other, condemned pride in its most terrible manifestations, the spirit of domination and that of rebellion. Two things are entirely impossible in a truly Catholic society, despotism and revolutions. Rousseau, who was sometimes capable of sudden and great inspirations, has written these remarkable words: "The rulers of modern times are undoubtedly indebted to Christianity both for the stability of their authority and the less frequent recurrence of revolutions. Nor has its influence here ceased, for, acting upon the rulers themselves, it has made them more humane. In order to be convinced of this, one has only to compare them with the rulers of ancient times."[1] And Montesquieu has said: "We are undoubtedly indebted to Christianity for the public law recognized in peace and respected by nations during time of war, and for whose benefits we can never be sufficiently grateful."[2]

The same God, who is the author and governor of civil society, has also created and regulated domestic society. Placed in the most hidden, the highest, the purest, and the brightest of the celestial regions, is a tabernacle, which is inaccessible even to the choirs of

  1. ↑ Emile, vol. i. ch. iv.
  2. ↑ Spirit of Laws, b. iii. ch. iii.
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