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Leader (1850-1860), 11th February 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 15, TRAVEL ANP ENTEltPHISE.* MR. J, G. KOHL,...

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      Palestine.* Rphe[ Moat Hackneyed Subject...

      fulmiriatiori of celestial and triumphant truth as ever . Why , indeed , should -that individuality which : clothes the universe with such " beautiful diversity not be allowed to have its application m the Bible ? Why should it be demanded that there should be everywhere in the Bible one cut and one colour ? The . cotnnvonplace defenders of the Bible , who do the Bible so milch harm , continually parade two alternatives , neither of which is there any necessity for embracing .. ' Proceeding on the modest supposition * that they alone are fitted to judge of the Biblei to pronounce on its contents and intentionsthey aver that the Bible must be a homogeneous book ,

      , every word , every sentence supernaturally inspired , or the authors of the books must have been deceivers . But we may reject the homogeneousness , yet equally reject the - calumny tliat the authors were either deceivers or deceived . Stalwart prophetic souls , bursting into speech , or into song , in the primaeval ages , were not bound by our modern pedantries . . God had his own way of dealing with them . None can appreciate the prophet who is not himself of prophetic nature ; none can decide on inspiration who is not himself inspired ; and none can prove a miracle , unless he holds in ^ his hand the Ion « r chain of the miraculous . In order that our readers

      may bring- the proper temper to M . Munk ' s volume have we thus spoken . It is a work written with no polemical purpose , and with no polemical purpose have we ourselves written . It is a delight beyond words for us when we encounter a book remarkable no less for charity than for thought and learning ; and such is tins by M . Mnnlr . He who peruses it with a childlike mind will know more about Palestine than he ever knew before , and willlove the Bible better . Indeed , he will wonder how there were such rich treasures in the Bible which he bad never previously discovered .

      Feb; 11, 18g0-] The Leader Andsaturday'a...

      Feb ; 11 , 18 G 0- ] The Leader andSaturday ' Atialy'St .. 139

      Domestic Chaplains Ix Italy.* A S Tli.E....

      DOMESTIC CHAPLAINS IX ITALY . * A S tli . e . reader is informed in the dedication to Mr . Thornton Hunt , " Homeand the Priest" is ushered into the literary world under sanction of the name of a no less distinguished member of the -literary profession , and declared friend to the cause of Italy , than'the . accomplished .. and-lamented Leigh Hunt . Both he and his son gave their valuable aid in revising Signor Volpe % ¦ story , ; .-and the correction of the first two volumes was almost the closing labour of the life of the highly esteemed and respected octogenarian champion of'liberty and free thought . The English version in which the work meets the public , eye is said in the dedication to have becm made by an able English pen . It is therefore to be presumed that the task of tiro Messrs ' . ' Hunt was confined to the revision of scenes and passages supposed to be too highly wrought , and of too hnpas- ^ sioned a - character to comport with English tastes and notions of propriety . ' ' ¦ ' ¦ ' ¦ ' 1

      . , . , , . , The ' writer has the advantage of pourtrayingcharacters and depicting scenes with which he is perfectly familiar .. His early life was passed in that district of Italy in which he has placed the chief actors of his tale . Associated with the Roman Catholic Church , not only personally but by family connections , he has had every opportunity of knowing and studying the character of the members of the priesthood , judging of the motives wliieh . influence their conduet , testing their sincerity , weighing the temptations arid the safeguards attached to their position as- an exceptional race of men , and estimatjDg- their true influence upon society and the world in general . As military chaplain to the Venetian forces during the brave struggle of' M . S ,, ho was eyewitness to the stirring events of that period . The interesting episodes of the campaign given in his

      volumes will at once be recognised by participants in the war , and by the readers of contemporary history and journalism , as eminently li ' fe-lilie and truthful . Nor could it be otherwise , since , » n some cases , they are simple descriptions of occurrences which actually took place . Tho special object of Signor Volpe ' s pages would seem to be tp point out tho evils arising from the obligatory vow of celibacy imposed upon the Roman , ' Catholio priesthood , and tbe _ bad consoquencea necessarily attendant upon tho employment of this class'of men as ( iomestio chaplains . When the . talo opens , tho horoino , Ludy Amalia Fossombroni , is about to bo removed from tho . convent in which slio has boon oduoat 6 ( 1 , and where her tendencies to excessive piety and devotion make her wish to remain as a professed nun . Hor grandmother , an aged lady of rank , whose health , is rapidly declining * , is desirous of enjoying tho sopioty of tho young relative , who ia tho Bple link rfimaining between herself and her depavtod

      husband and children . To her great grief , hut in obedience to tho olaims of duty , Amalia quits tho convent , and a fortuitous mooting with tho friend and playmate of her childhood renwakons her feelings of tenderness for him , and banishes for a time her inclination for conventual retirement . Hor direction , both spiritual and temporal , is confided by her grandmother to the domestic chaplain . Don Giuseppe , tho priest , a handsome and intcllifjenfc young man , possessing 1 refined manners and great conversational jpowors , embraced his profession in obedience to parental authority without fooling 1 any special vocation for tho Ohuroh . Ho is now thrown into daily oontnot with a beautiful and amiable girl just developing into womanhood . The natural consequence follows . Ho booomos the subject of emotions and . sentiments utterly at variance with liis vow of celibacy . Quito in opposition to his . true convictions and . to servo hia own interested ends , he affects to bqliovo , and endeavours to convince his spiritual protegee and pupil , that tho now Pope , Piua IX ., will carry out his intention of permitting * the clergy to

      marry . Scenes and pictures are given descriptive of the sufferings inflicted by him upon the object of his sacrilegious love , who as a devout catholic long shuts her eyes to the : possibility that lie can ^ be actuated by other than the . purest and holiest motives in-thwarting her union with the man she adores—in arousing and then opposing : her latent tendency to a conventual life- —and in effecting * her marriage with an imbecile devotee for whom she feels nothing bufc contempt . The author depicts the unscrupulous and tenacious perseverance with which the Rom an Catholic priest coin passes the misery of his fellow creatures when their interests clash with his own ; and the maddened rage arid impatience of Don Giuseppe at the' unnatural fetters which bind him , until he can no longer support his anomalous position , but after over-stepping all the alike the terrors of

      bounds of prudence and decency , and defying the Church and the future world of punishment , he gives himself up to his frenzy , and flies his country , a ruined , wretched outcast . It will be seen that the novel under review is one of a class likely to be useful in drawing attention to the working -of .-the Romish system . The occurrences which have recently taken place in Italy , and the revelations latterly made in the Central provinces and in Austria in connection with the polity of the Catholic Church and the pre-eminently Catholic powers , will have impressed men ' s minds with the conviction that the infallibility , the unchangeableness , the purity and charity claimed by the Church of Rome , will not stand the test of examination . Tp those ., however , educated in the dogmas of the Catholic Church , and with whom habifc has so

      far become second nature that to think for themselves would be equally at variance with the teachings of their spiritual directors and their own capacity , it may be a startling declaration that the Church has not invariably prohibited the marriage of the cTergjv even since clerical celibacy has been one of her recognised rules of discipline .. Within little more than two centuries , political powers displaying her banner have allowed priests to marry ; nay , more than that , have compelled those . not belonging to a religious order to do so . We are told by the modern writer , Michiels , that the Franconian Diet , with the approval of the Archbishops of Bfiinberg and Wurtzbnrg , formed on the 15 th Pqb . 10-50 , at Nuremberg , a legislative decision which not only allowed priests to marry , but also authorised polygamy . Art . I . of this remarkable document declares admitted into

      that daring an interval of ten years , ho man willbe a monastery who lias not reached his sixtieth year ; Art . II . that . all priests and curates not belonging to a . religious house or chapter are bound tp marry without delay ; and Art . III . that any man is allowed to marry two wives . " But the holy Catholic Church , the mother of the faithful , had of course some good end in view in sanctioning this deviation from her prescribed rules , " will be the exclamation of her dutiful sons and daughters . Certainly she had . The measure was rendered expedient by the excessive zeal manifested in her service by the Emperor Ferdinand II ., and his son and successor Ferdinand HT- These pious princes-of the House of Hapsburg , now so worthily represented by Francis Joseph , had carried on a religious war which had reduced the population of Gormanv two thirds ; that is , from thirty millions to ten millions .

      About twelve millions had perished by the direct ordei's of Ferdinand II ., whose pious catholic fervour would not suffer a heretic in his dominions . Catholic historians tell to his praise that such Was the general poverty and wretchedness of his subjects , that , the Imperial troops would frequently disperse groups of persons collected round a caldron in which human flesh was simmering . We cannot , however , dwell upon these amenities of the Catholic religion , but will just refer to the system of confession . The abuse of this practice , which the- Church of Rome exalts to a sacrament , is well exemplified in " Home and the Priest . " In Don Giuseppe ' s hands ifc is an instrument of moral and mental torture , by means of which he compels Lady Amalia to submit to his indomitable will . Another variety of , its noxious influence is illustrated by the case of "a young clorlcresiding * in tho house pf the parish priest of Ilivalta , whose frankness and straightforwardness make him the object of

      detestation to his ' brethren of the cloth . The poor lad is induced by the sophistry of his confessor much against , his will , to give information which leads to tho temporary disgrace and suspension of his benefactor . His self-upbrnjdings oxcito pity ; nor can he alleviate them by referring to them in the confessional , because it is his confessor who has betrayed him into this error under presence of serving the interests of the Church . That the vaunted secrecy of the confessional is often violated / and for the worst purposes , there can bo no doubt . Of this a striking proof has been brought to light in tho papers left by tho Pontifical Government of Bologna , now published by tho temporary rulers . From this source wo learn that the Bishop of Ajaccio availed himself of his office as eonfesaor to obtain important ' political knowledge , which ho transmitted to Monsignor Mnrini , Governor of lloriie . That tho proscnt alarm experienced by Rome at the prospect of losing a portion of her temporal dominions mny induce her to outer upon tho . course of reform , is a consummation as devoutly to bo wished as it is little to bo hoped for .

      * " Jfomo Andthol?Rlc$T," An Italian Tft...

      * " JFomo andthol ? rlc $ t , " An Italian Tftlo , inthrce volumes , by Girolnmo Volpo . London : T . 0 . Nowby ,

      Travel Anp Enteltphise.* Mr. J, G. Kohl,...

      TRAVEL ANP ENTEltPHISE . * MR . J , G . KOHL , tho Gorman traveller , lins not , perhaps , told us anything 1 positively new as to , tho Ojibbowfty » , . but lie imparts the nmttov to us in a now manner , and from a German

      * Kuahi'qami .• Wawiorhtf/A Round Z«Ko S...

      * KUahi'Qami . Wawiorhtf / a round Z « ko Superior . By J . 0 . Kouu . Chapman itn < l Hull . „ „ _ , , r ,, ~ , _ xt ..,... i . ; . "« Rv me Caroor . Last Voya ^ o , and JPtdo qf CapMa Sir John JTrmlhn . Vy Ouptftln SmkWAUP Osbokn , O . B . Jirndbury and Byiuib .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 11, 1860, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11021860/page/15/