porary men upon earth; to society, which is called the world, and which divides itself into the various kingdoms of the world; inasmuch as this society of men is held together and is governed by lawful superiors, and by the observance of mutual duties. As in this relation every individual is a citizen of the world, and subject also to an earthly kingdom, so each one has his great or his small private kingdom, in which he is, or ought to be, lord; whether this kingdom consist of extensive possessions, or of a mere angle of land; whether it be over cities and territories, or only over a cot or a shed. And who is not pleased with this, his kingdom? who does not find pleasure in ruling and in governing, in possessing and enjoying? Still each one must feel, let him endeavour to conceal it or not, how untenable is his edifice, and how loose the rock upon which it is built. The famed Dionysius, who had made himself master of Sicily, had prepared a mighty fleet of four hundred ships, and a most powerful army; he had fortified the city of Syracuse with strong walls, and had compelled his rivals to retire. Did he not think that his kingdom was imperishable? But, whilst with a portion of his fleet he had sailed towards Italy, Dion proceeded against Syracuse to make himself master of that city. A message was immediately despatched to Dionysius; but the courier placed in the same leathern pocket in which were his letters some cooked flesh; and, whilst he slept on the way, a wolf approached and carried away his bag. The messenger dared not present himself without his letters before the king, who, as Dion thus gained time, lost all his acquired power, and was compelled to pass the remainder of his days in the

poor occupation of a schoolmaster. What a trivial circumstance was here sufficient to effect the ruin of a mighty kingdom! But there is nothing upon this earth which can promise to man undisturbed possession, or which can truly make man happy; nothing which can fill his spiritual life with the fulness of peace and of joy, that can be found only in absolute life, in God. That courtier who was standing near Alphonsus, king of Arragon, whilst a sum of several thousand golden pieces was presented to him, could not conceal his desire to become the master of so much wealth And ah!' he exclaimed, if this were mine, how happy should I be !' 'Be it so,' said the king; 'take it, and be happy.' Who does not see the irony of these words with which the gift was accompanied ? Every one who is deluded by the error that happiness is to be found in the goods of this earth is governed by the kingdom of this world; a kingdom in that sense in which Christ said, "The world hateth Me, and I the world ;" for, in this sense, by the word 'kingdom of this world,' nothing else is understood than the earthly dominion of error, of lies, and of folly; and in this sense he is designated as "Prince of this world" who was a liar and deceiver from the beginning.

When the human spirit, by its own free act, had turned from God into the path of perversity, and had come into opposition with nature, the pride of sensual life, in union with the blindness and avarice of spirit, and with the wiles of the old tempter, whom sin had made prince of this world, called up every bad passion, which turned away more and more the efforts of man towards his heavenly end, and held him captive in error

and in moral degradation. Error and spiritual blindness displayed itself in the monstrous doctrines and fables of Paganism; moral degradation, in a violent inclination to sensual gratification, and to all the bad passions which spring from man's self-love.

Still the Divine mercy did not entirely abandon men, but, introducing and preparing the work of their redemption, it spoke to them by the revelation of the voice of conscience. They, however, in disobedience to this voice, and borne away by the impulse of nature, fell into new crimes, the consequence of which was a more heavy darkness of spiritual knowledge. Thus, by degrees, the spirit lost its clear knowledge of itself, as something essentially different from unfree nature; and in proportion as the spirit of man lost itself in nature, nature exalted him to the dignity of the Godhead; and thus the religious and moral life of man was buried in the awful night of infidelity, of idolatry, and of false knowledge. Thus did the pagan world become a kingdom of darkness and of lies; and the corrupt spirit, which at first despised the love of God, and placed its happiness in unholy hostility against Him, now raised itself into contempt against the Deity, and looked upon the perverted world as its kingdom. For this reason, as St. John teaches, the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the work of Satan. "As long as a strong man

armed keepeth his court, those things are in peace which he possesseth; but if a stronger than he come upon him, and overcome him, he will take away all his armour in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils." (Luke xi.) As long, that is, as the old stain of sin, and the consequent punishment of the separation

from the sanctity and the love of God, lay upon mankind, the human race was bound in the bonds of sin, in ignorance, and in mental captivity, exposed to the wiles of the tempter, and sunk more deeply in its own misery, But when, in the fulness of time, in the period of the most complete corruption, the same Divine Word which had revealed itself in the voice of conscience appeared amongst men as the Son of God and of man, and by His voluntary obedience expiated sin, and effected a reconciliation of man with God; then were the arms of the strong one broken, darkness fled before the new splendours of revelation, wickedness before the new life of love; and a new kingdom of infinite power and dignity was founded upon earth, which, from its founder and ruler, is called the kingdom of God-the kingdom of heaven: the kingdom of God, because it extends the renewed dominion of God's love over mankind; the kingdom of heaven, because it effects their spiritual regeneration by the new and heavenly Adam. But as this kingdom rules over creatures, and unites within itself the visible and invisible spirit and nature, it is, therefore, itself visible and invisible, external and internal. It is an internal kingdom, inasmuch as it is spiritual; and hence our Saviour says, "The kingdom of God comes not with tumult and with power, and it shall not be said, Lo, it is here or there! for behold, it is within your souls." But as, in the nature of man, spirit and body cannot be so separated, as if they were halves of his being, so the kingdom of God cannot rule the souls of men, without, at the same time, laying its foundations in their corporeal visible nature; and hence this kingdom was compared by our Redeemer to a city built

upon a mountain, and which cannot, therefore, be concealed.

Our Redeemer came as a man amongst men, that He might belong to all men, and that all might belong to Him; and as the entire human race exists through Him, so it is necessary that He be continually present amongst mankind, so that each one who shall desire it may partake of the fruits of redemption. This continued and real presence of the redeeming humanity of Christ, and the consequent continuance of the work of redemption, is the kingdom of God upon earth-the Church. The Church is, therefore, not merely an assemblage of the faithful, nor a certain invisible spiritual bond between men seeking God, but it is the ever continuing, living intercourse between Christ and men, by which He extends to all His merits; and this by means of a visible living form, which being an organic whole reposes upon unity. For as we men are capable of redemption, and possess a Redeemer only as we are members of a specific race or of one great whole; so the Church, which is the continual redemption, must be organically formed, and the continued office of the mediatorship or priesthood of Christ must be continued by earthly servants and representatives, who, ranging themselves around a visible head, as did the Apostles once around St. Peter, form the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Only by means of this divine institution was it and is it possible that the sanctification which was gained by Christ for man could be applied to all those who seek it in a spirit of voluntary obedience. This sanctification is twofold. It consists, first, in the merits of the sacrifice of Christ, which should be applied, not only