deceives, and is deceived, who preaches that they will not be in damnation." If this doctrine is held at the present time, it is certainly not preached. Many other instances could be given. To state a few-The immediate coming of our Blessed Lord. The days of Creation to be but twenty-four hours long. The earth, the centre of the universe. Christians at one time forbidden to serve as soldiers; at a later period, Bishops fighting, clad in mail. Heresy extirpated by torture and the stake. Tribes forced, at the point of the sword, to be baptized, and so on.

XIV. Change is the law of this world. It governs everything we know of. We see it working in the material creation, in nations, in men, in science, in morals, in the Church. Only Almighty God is unchangeable: "The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Now this change must be forward or backward, progression or retrogression, growth or decay. Growth signifies Life, and decay-Death. For example: In the Old Testament we see the gradual increase of the knowledge of Almighty God, of His character, and of His dealings with men. In the New Testament the light becomes fuller, our Lord shows us the Father. And now we have His promise that the Holy Ghost will guide His Church into all Truth. Not a promise of another revelation, but that we shall be able to apprehend more firmly and to see more clearly the "Truth as it is in Jesus."

XV. We often hear that the belief in the immortality of the soul, like the belief in a Supreme Being, is

universal, and is taught by natural religion. But is this so? Natural religion may teach that the soul does not die when the body does, and that there is a future life of rewards and punishments; but it certainly does not teach that that future life is unending. If the most intellectual and spiritual of men cannot grasp the idea of immortality, and only can conceive of it as extension of time, how can the idea be instinctive in the minds of untutored and savage men?

XVI. Judging, by analogy, all created things will have an end. Anything that has a beginning or first end, will have a finish or latter end.

XVII. We know of three different durations of existence.

That of Almighty God without beginning and without end-Eternal.

That of the righteous with a beginning and without end-Immortal.

That of the wicked with a beginning and with an end-Mortal.

XVIII. Men having learnt that the soul continues to live after the natural death of the body, have fallen into the erroneous belief that the souls of all are immortal. So, of course, the wicked must suffer eternal damnation, because the wicked cannot die. It will be seen in the proofs, that Holy Scripture emphatically declares man to be mortal. Further, it declares our Lord to be immortal and eternal, and only those mortal men have immortal life who become incorporate with Him, who become one with Him, as a branch to a vine, as a

member to a living Head. Thus men obtain the gift of everlasting life; because He is the very Life Himself. "He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life." (1 S. John v. 12.) So the wicked remain mortal and incapable of enduring everlasting punishment.

XIX. Seeing then that at the general resurrection the wicked will still be mortal, and also their sinful bodies to which they are then re-united, how can they live for ever, even in pain? Unless we imagine that at the Last Day the Almighty endows the wicked with endless life, apparently for the sole purpose of enduring pain. For without this gift they being mortal would die in the course of nature.

99

XX. Further, to suit the theory of eternal torment, we must invent new meanings for many words of Holy Scripture. For example: "Death," when applied to the ungodly, must not really mean "death," but "dying" or "eternally approaching to death." "Death' must not mean absence of life, but "indestructible life." Is not this wresting. the Scriptures? Also the words, "Consume," "perish," "destroy," must be made to mean "preserved," "continued," etc., but, of course, in pain.

XXI. Almighty God said, "Thou shalt surely die." The devil said, "Ye shall not surely die."

XXII. The law of change (noted above XIV.) will continue to rule over us in the future life. For we have a goal before us of infinite perfection. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in

Heaven is perfect." (S. Matt. v. 28.)

So we have the

of an endless

glorious prospect spread before us advance in every science and knowledge, in every grace and virtue.

XXIII. But the converse of all this must equally be true, if there is to be eternal torment. For consider: the devil, his angels, and the wicked will be cast into Hell, where there will not be anything good or virtuous to check or retard their wickedness. They must continue to sin or they will cease to be sinners. They will for ever be going further from Almighty God. Their sins will ever become blacker, their blasphemies more awful. How can we reconcile the words describing the triumphs of our Lord with this picture? How can He be the Conqueror and Destroyer of sin and death, and the devil and hell; if somewhere, there will be collected together all these creatures of His, in open rebellion against Him?

XXIV. It may be asked, Why was this erroneous belief allowed? The answer must be, Why are any errors allowed at all? These, and similar questions as to the origin of sin, the devil, etc., are outside the scope of this inquiry.

XXV. Newman, in his "Grammar of Assent," says, 'Next as to the doctrine of future state, Gibbon seems to mean by this doctrine, the fear of hell; now certainly, in this day there are persons converted from sin to religious life by vivid descriptions of the future punishment of the wicked; but then it must be recollected that such persons already believe in the doctrine thus

urged upon them. On the contrary, give some tract upon hell-fire to one of the wild boys in a large town, who has had no education, has no faith; and instead of being startled by it, he will laugh at it as something frightfully ridiculous. The belief in Styx and Tartarus was dying out of the world at the time that Christianity came, as the parallel belief now seems to be dying out in all classes of our own society. The doctrine of eternal punishment does only anger the multitude of men in our large towns now, and makes them blaspheme."

XXVI. How is it that during the great activity of the Church in this land, during the past sixty years, this doctrine, if it be true, has been neglected? Every truth of the Catholic Faith, save this one, has been polished and used, and pressed home. The answer is, It is not now held in the Church. Why then keep a weapon to rust and not to use? Why keep it simply for those who deny our most Holy Faith to turn it against the Church? Why keep a doctrine which is not "of Faith," which is not believed, or only faintly assented to, which is certainly not preached, and which is only a stumbling-block to the inquirer after Truth.

XXVII. "In the beginning. . the Lord God commanded the man, saying. thou shalt not eat of it." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Adam rejected the Word of God, the Logos, the Christ, and so chose death rather than life. But thanks be to God, the Christ, the Logos, "the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as