第1111章

On the other hand， we are obligated to the Church， for she is a cité， the city of God， and， following the Roman definition， the cité is not an abstract term， a collective term， but a real， positive existence， "the commonwealth " (chose publique)， that is to say a distinct entity consisting of generations which succeed each other in it， of infinite duration and of a superior kind， divine or nearly so， which does not belong to individuals but to which they belong， an organized body， with special form and structure， based on traditions， constituted by laws and ruled by a government. The absolute authority of the community over its members and the despotic leadership of the community by its chiefs - such is the Roman notion of the State and， for much stronger reasons， of the Church. She， thus， is a militant， conquering， governing Rome， predestined to universal empire， a legitimate sovereign like the other one， but with a better title， for she derives hers from God. It is God who， from the beginning， has preconceived and prepared her， who has bodied her forth in the Old Testament and announced her through the prophets； it is the Son of God who has built her up， who， to all eternity， will never fail to maintain and guide her steps， who， through his constant inspiration， ever remains present in her and active through her. He has committed to her his revelation. She alone， expressly delegated by Christ， possesses second sight， the knowledge of the invisible， the comprehension of the ideal order of things as its Founder prescribed and instituted， and hence， accordingly， the custodianship and interpretation of the Scriptures， the right of framing dogmas and injunctions， of teaching and commanding， of reigning over souls and intellects， of fashioning belief and morals. Henceforth， the mystic faculty is to be confined within dikes. At bottom， this is the faculty for conceiving of the ideal， to obtain a vision of it， to have faith in this vision and to act upon it； the more precious it is the greater the necessity of its being under control. To preserve it from itself， to put it on guard against the arbitrariness and diversity of individual opinions， to prevent unrestrained digression， theoretically or practically， either on the side of laxity or of rigor， requires a government. - That this is a legacy of ancient Rome the Catholic Church does not dispute. She styles herself the Roman Church. She still writes and prays in Latin. Rome is always her capital； the title of her chief is that which formerly designated the head of the pagan cult； after 1378 all the Popes except five， and since 1523 all， have been Italians； at the present day， thirty-five out of sixty-four cardinals are likewise Italians. The Roman stamp becomes still more evident on comparing the millions of Christians who are Catholics with the millions of Christians who are not. Among the primitive annexations and ulterior acquisitions of the Roman Church， several have separated from her， those of the countries whose Greek， Slavic and Germanic populations never spoke Latin and whose language is not derived from the Latin. Poland and Ireland are alone， or nearly so， the only countries which have remained loyal， because， with these， the Catholic faith， under the long pressure of public calamities， has become incorporated with national sentiment. Elsewhere the Roman deposit is non-existent or too thin. On the contrary， all the populations that were once Latinized have at bottom remained Catholic；four centuries of imperial rule and of Roman assimilation have deposited in them of layers of habits， ideas and sentiments which endure.[29] To measure the influence of this historic layer it is sufficient to note that three elements compose it， all three contemporary， of the same origin and of the same thickness， a Roman language， the civil law of Rome， and Roman Christianity； each of these elements， through its consistence， indicates the consistence of the others.

Hence the profound and established characteristics by which the Catholic branch now distinguishes itself from the other two issuing from the same Christian trunk. With the Protestants， the Bible， which is the Word of God， is the sole spiritual authority； all the others， the Doctors， Fathers， tradition， Popes and Councils， are human and， accordingly， fallible； in fact， these have repeatedly and gravely erred.[30] The Bible， however， is a text which each reader reads with his own eyes， more or less enlightened and sensitive， with eyes which， in Luther's time， possessed the light and sensibility of the sixteenth century， and which， at the present time， read with the sensibility and light of the nineteenth century； so that， according to epochs and groups， the interpretation may vary， while authority， if not as regards the text， or at least its meaning， belongs wholly to the individual. With the Greeks and Slavs， as with the Catholics， it belongs only to the Church， that is to say to the heads of the Church， the successors of the apostles. But with the Greeks and Slavs， since the ninth century， the Church had decreed no new dogmas； according to her， revelation had stopped； the creed was finished， final and complete， and there was nothing to do but to maintain it. - On the contrary， with the Catholics， after as before that date， the creed never ceased developing itself， always becoming more precise， and revelation kept on； the last thirteen councils were inspired like the first seven， while the first one， in which Saint Peter at Jerusalem figured， enjoyed no more prerogatives than the last one convoked by Pius IX. at the Vatican. The Church is not "a frozen corpse，"[31]