第1116章

Elsewhere， the conflict is less permanent and less sharp the two conditions which aggravate it and maintain it in France are， one or both， wanting. In other European countries， the Church has not the French form imposed upon it and the difficulties are less； in the United States of America， not only has it not undergone the French transformation， but the State， liberal in principle， interdicts itself against interventions like those of the French State and the difficulties are almost null. Evidently， if there was any desire to attenuate or to prevent the conflict it would be through the first or the last of these two policies. The French State， however， institutionally and traditionally， always invasive， is ever tempted to take the contrary course.[46] - At one time， as during the last years of the Restoration and the first years of the second Empire， it allies itself with the Church； each power helps the other in its domination， and in concert together they undertake to control the en tire man. In this case， the two centralizations， one ecclesiastic and the other secular， both increasing and prodigiously augmented for a century， work together to overpower the individual. He is watched， followed up， seized， handled severely， and constrained even in his innermost being； he can no longer breathe the atmosphere around him； we can well remember the oppression which， after 1823 and after 1852， bore down on every independent character and on every free intellect. - At another time， as under the first and the third Republic， the State sees in the Church a rival and an adversary； consequently， it persecutes or worries it and we of to-day see with our own eyes how a governing minority， steadily， for a long time， gives offence to a governed majority where it is most sensitive； how it breaks up congregations of men and drives free citizens from their homes whose only fault is a desire to live， pray and labor in common； how it expels nuns and monks from hospitals and schools， with what detriment to the hospital and to the sick， to the school and to the children， and against what unwillingness and what discontent on the part of physicians and fathers of families， and at what bungling waste of public money， at what a gratuitous overburdening of taxation already too great.

IV. Contrasting Vistas.

Other difficulties of the French system. - New and scientific conception of the world. - How opposed to the Catholic conception. -How it is propagated. - How the other is defended. - Losses and gains of the Catholic Church. - Its narrow and broad domains. - Effects of Catholic and French systems on Christian sentiment in France. -Increased among the clergy and diminished in society.

Other disadvantages of the French system are still worse. - In (the nineteenth) century， an extraordinary event occurs. Already about the middle of the preceding century， the discoveries of scientists， coordinated by the philosophers， had afforded the sketch in full of a great picture， still in course of execution and advancing towards completion， a picture of the physical and moral universe. In this sketch the point of sight was fixed， the perspective designed， the various distances marked out， the principal groups drawn， and its outlines were so correct that those who have since continued the work have little to add but to give precision to these and fill them up.[47] In their hands， from Herschel and Laplace， from Volta， Cuvier， Ampère， Fresnel and Faraday to Darwin and Pasteur， Burnouf， Mommsen and Renan， the blanks on the canvas have been covered， the relief of the figures shown and new features added in the sense of the old ones， thus completing it without changing in any sense the expression of the whole， but， on the contrary， in such a way as to consolidate， strengthen and perfect the master-conception which， purposely or not， had imposed itself on the original painters， all， predecessors and successors， working from nature and constantly inviting a comparison between the painting and the model. - And， for one hundred years， this picture， so interesting， so magnificent， and the accuracy of which is so well guaranteed， instead of being kept private and seen only by select visitors， as in the eighteenth century， is publicly exposed and daily contemplated by an ever-increasing crowd. Through the practical application of the same scientific discoveries， owing to increased facilities for travel and intercommunication， to abundance of information， to the multitude and cheapness of books and newspapers， to the diffusion of primary instruction， the number of visitors has increased enormously.[48] Not only has curiosity been aroused among the workmen in towns， but also with the peasants formerly plodding along in the routine of their daily labor， confined to their circle of six leagues in circumference. This or that small daily journal treats of divine and human things for a million of subscribers and probably for three millions of readers. - Of course， out of a hundred visitors， ninety of them are not capable of comprehending the sense of the picture； they give it only a cursory glance； moreover， their eyes are not properly educated for it， and they are unable to grasp masses and seize proportions. Their attention is generally arrested by a detail which they interpret in a wrong way， and the mental image they carry away is merely a fragment or a caricature； basically， if they have come to see a magisterial work， it is most of all due to vanity and so that his spectacle， which some of them enjoy， should not remain the privileged of a few. Nevertheless， however imperfect and confused their impressions， however false and ill-founded their judgments， they have learned something important and one true idea of their visit remains with them： of the various pictures of the world not one is painted by the imagination but from nature.[49]