consequently, showing that the connexion had been kept up between the Eastern Church and the Church of Rome-" He went to you, and he went to the West; what was transacted between the bishop of Rome and yourself I do not know, but, upon his return, he showed a letter to the Council of Thyana, upon which he was instantly restored to his See." So that we find a bishop in the East, on being deposed, going to Rome, and making his appeal as he would at the present day; that he goes from him with a letter; that upon seeing that letter, although (it is evident from the manner in which St. Basil writes) those who had deposed the bishop were in the right, yet, upon obtaining the letter from the Roman pontiff, he is restored instantly to the possession of his rights. St. Jerome, in writing to the Pope, even goes further in his expressions than probably many of us would do. He writes, "I follow Christ, being joined in communion with your Holiness," that is with the See of St. Peter, "for upon this rock I know the church is founded; whoever eats the paschal lamb out of this house is profane; whoever gathereth not with it, scattereth abroad." These are the terms in which he addresses the Pope; that he follows Christ, because he is in communion with his Holiness-that is his very expression-with the successor of Peter; and upon that rock alone he knows the church is founded. In the passage to which I alluded before, as containing the sentiment of St. John Chrysostom, and which I will read, because it is so particularly energetic and strong, he writes to Pope Innocent, bishop of Rome, in consequence of having himself been ejected from his See, and treated with injustice, "I beseech you to direct that, what has been wickedly done against me when I was absent, and did not examine at the trial, should have no effect; and that they who have thus proceeded, may be subjected to ecclesiastical punishment"—that is, the bishops of the East, who had done this. He writes to Pope Innocent, the bishop of Rome; he entreats him that the proceedings may be rescinded, and those persons subjected to ecclesiastical punishment for their proceedings against him. "That it may be allowed me, who have been convicted of no offence, to enjoy the comfort of your letters, and the society of my former friends." He begs to be restored, consequently, through the influence of the Holy See. In another, still stronger passage, he says, "Wherefore did Christ die, except to purchase his flock, the care of which he committed to Peter and his successors."

Those examples which I have brought you, are but comparatively in the proportion of one to twenty, that we could bring forward; and especially with one exception, I have not dwelt upon the strongest of all authorities—that is, the authorities of the Eastern councils: for you would find in the history of the general councils, that in every instance when the Pope's legate spoke, when the synodical letter, sent by the Pope, was read to the council, the case was decided, the answer was,

"Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo :" and, on another occasion, "What need of any deliberation, the answer has come from Rome." These are councils held in the East, and under the sanction of the Eastern Emperors. These, therefore, prove, not that for one, two, or three centuries, for I might have brought the authorities much further, that it was understood universally in the church, that the bishop of Rome held jurisdiction over the East and West, over the whole Church of Christ, in consequence of his being the successor of St. Peter; and this surely, in the same way as in any other right of succession that can be established, proves he should inherit and succeed to the jurisdiction.

But, my brethren, there is another and a very powerful motive—that is, that the best interpretation of any promise or prophecy is to be found in its accomplishment. When we read over a prophecy simply as uttered, as delivered, it is often exceedingly difficult to arrive at the true import. For instance, in the prophecy which refers to the dispersion of the Jews, we might ask, was it thereby asserted, that the temple should be destroyed simply, or that they should want for ever every form of congregational worship? Was it intended, merely that they should be deprived of a separate kingdom, of a national dynasty, or that they should be deprived also of citizenship with the other nations of the earth? These prophecies, by the light of history all became clear, consistent, and convincing. Now apply this same test to these words spoken unto Peter. We can see, descending from age to age, a system of authority claiming to be derived from St. Peter in a line of succession which seems to be subject to none of those vicissitudes, those revolutions, those corruptions which are the lot of ordinary principalities; we see that succession from age to age, passing unravelled and unbroken, as the only clue which can guide the historian through the mazes and labyrinths, and dominations, and kingdoms, and republics, which have arisen and fallen during that period; presenting the only unbroken succession to which he can attach the prophecies, from their commencement, through their different events, and to their final termination. It cannot be said that this arose from any particular veneration, from any superstitious awe, in which mankind stood in this regard; but, on the contrary, as has been well observed by a very able writer, nothing can be a more false picture of the history of the papal power, than to suppose that it was an all-powerful instrument, that could crush all opposition, and raise itself upon the destruction and ruin of all that opposed it. On the contrary, we cannot but be surprised, in reading the lives of the most determined, and if I may so say, the most absolute pontiffs, to see how little they accomplished, compared with those consequences which might have been expected, from that picture of their power which is ordinarily drawn. We see it again and again baffled; we see disobedience publicly professed to their mandates, even sometimes by

those whose duty it was to carry them into execution; we see them trampled upon, and every way opposed, and even injured, by those who professed themselves to be their dutiful children: and hence it is, that whatever was effected and carried by the popes, was done rather by constant endurance and perseverance in the object in view, than by any bold stroke of irresistible power. If we look at other histories, we find that no other race of men have undergone vicissitudes to the extent that they have done. Again and again you will find their territories usurped by plunderers; you will find the capital city sacked by the despoiler; you will witness the Holy See laid in ashes by barbarians for many successive generations; you will find them forced to remain in exile by their own rebellious subjects. They were cast into bonds, many of them bereft of life, and every thing befel them which, in ordinary history, puts an end to human principalities, or mortal domination. But there appeared to be a mysterious unseen vigour about this line of holy and sacred princes, which seemed to defy all the powers of earth to destroy them. Notwithstanding all these vicissitudes, although their bishops were swept from the face of the earth, we see the line of succession uninterruptedly continued. We find the solemn conclave making their election, meeting sometimes at distant towns, in Italy, in France, and even in Germany; but a successor is found universally admitted by all, so that it might be said, that every instrument which is formed against it is not allowed to prosper. At the same time we find them exercising the most important influence over the whole lot and history of Christianity. We find it was from the splendid virtues of its successive rulers that those of the whole earth seemed to flourish, and to burst into bloom. If there come immorality in some among them, the whole world seems to sympathize and languish, so that all human virtue seems to rise and fall, to ebb and flow, entirely by their increase or wane. Not only so, but we find the very destiny of Christianity seems to be interlaced with their lot; it may be said not to have existed, in fact, for centuries, except in union with them. There was no pastor in the church, who did not profess to have his jurisdiction from them; no teacher, that did not profess that he taught doctrines which he received from their lips. All that is most brilliant in Christianity, seems to come but as a reflection from their light; canons of discipline, codes of morality, terms of communion, and symbols of faith, all were derived more or less from them; and all were received from them with implicit obedience. Now, a system so completely interwoven with Christianity throughout, one swaying as it were, and influencing its very existence, cannot be considered merely an accidental modification; it must either be, on the one hand, a most important organ, exercising a necessary vital function, and acting energetically to the very extremity of the frame, or else it must be a most

monstrous form of connexion, which has become deeply rooted therein, and exercising a morbid influence through the whole body; it must be either an essential portion of Christianity, or it must have existed therein so long, in its despite.

Now, do you wish to consider it in this latter view? If so, only observe what difficulties you necessarily have to encounter. For, in the first place, you completely break in pieces all that is most wonderful in the beauties of Christianity--the docile submission to the teaching of the faith; that anchor which hope gives in a better world; that unity of charity and affection which can unite men of the most opposite disposition together. All the teaching of the doctors; all the constancy of martyrs; all the self-devotion of pastors existed for ages, only in communion with it, and professed to be in strict connexion and accordance with all that it taught and felt, in bearing testimony, and giving weight to its authority. If you would not allow this; if you suppose this system, therefore, to have been proved to have existed in despite of the authority of God, you must suppose all this to have borne testimony to a system of monstrous deceit; you own, therefore, that it may be a witness to falsehood and lies; you deprive it of all its power of testimony; and you must, consequently, look elsewhere for that most beautiful and most touching evidence of Christianity.

You must account, in the second place, how it was that this Institution, of all others, should have been so especially under the care of divine Providence; for remember the reasoning of Gamaliel-" If this design be of God, then, of course, it is in vain to oppose it; but if of man, it must fall of itself." We have no instance of any other power ruling to that extent or that duration; the common, ordinary lot of human power is, that first it rises, it springs up, it flourishes for a moment, and then it fades away; that it is raised with great labour; that it stands for a little while, and that it then perishes for ever. Look at the history of every empire, however based it may have appeared upon the strongest natural principles, and you find, when its course has been run, it has fallen, and its place has been found no more. But only in this instance, therefore, you are to suppose that there was a law exempting this power from all the ordinary rules of human dominion, and you are to suppose that, in this respect alone, God, as it were, allowed the common course of human events, to be suspended; and that over this alone he watched with special, watchful care, so that it should not be subjected to the common lot of every mortal and human establish

ment.

But you have to account for something still more difficult, and that is, how divine Providence should have made use of our anti-Christian system as its only instrument for the preservation of religion, and the propagation of it among mankind. In the preservation of religion: for

I am sure that there is no one who diligently studies the history of the church, but will find that whatever opinions have been condemned, or have sprung up in the church, and have afterwaads been thence uprooted -and which he himself considers erroneous, they have been plucked up entirely through the agency of this Institution, you will not find a single error or heresy of the older church, and of later ages, which has been extirpated from the church which does not owe its removal to the sentence pronounced upon it by the holy See, and the acquiescence of the whole church in the justice of the decision. As the only means, I say also of propagating religion. I have before gone over this ground; and, though I was obliged to pass over what was perhaps the most beautiful portion of the subject; that is, the propagation of religion, during the middle ages, by apostolic men, sent expressly from the holy See; yet I trust I did show you sufficient to prove, that Providence does make use, even at this day, of that which has been generally considered an antiChristian apostacy; so that it has been the best, and most complete, and most effective means of communicating the light of the gospel, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ to heathens that knew him not.

Such are the difficulties you necessarily incur, the moment you suppose this authority, this supremacy in the church of Christ, to be merely a human institution, an usurpation to which it has no right. Perhaps you will tell me, that God is able, and oftentimes willing to make use of the most unworthy instruments, for the purpose of effecting good; that he might use even such an institution as this, for the purpose of spreading religion, and that, according to Paul, it matters not if the gospel be preached, even through contention, provided the gospel be but preached. Now I can allow, if you please, that God may make use of wicked individuals, or wicked bodies, for the purpose of punishing, of correcting, and of chastening his church; but not that he should commit the whole keeping and guardianship to his or their hands. I can conceive it is the extraordinary instrument, but I cannot consider that it is the ordinary means of his Providence. I may allow that one individual, or many, may themselves have been wicked, and unworthy of trust, and yet God may have made use of them as instruments for important purposes; but I cannot conceive that an institution of succession should have been admitted, if the institution was in direct opposition to the law and appointment of God. We can, for instance, imagine, that he should have allowed wicked kings to have ruled over Israel; but we can hardly conceive, that from the first to the last, he should allow the true worship in Jerusalem, and in the temple, to have been exclusively the property, and to have been kept up solely by men, who turned away from him into frightful idolatry. We may conceive even, if you please, that one prophet or another, like Balaam, may have been brought to bless when