cannotspendALLmytimeinsaying,HailMary,beforethestatueoftheVirgin。”TheresultwasawarmpersonalattachmentbetweenSimonandRenan;bothwereBretons,educatedinthemidstofthemostorthodoxinfluences,andbothhadunwillinglybrokenawayfromthem。
Renanwasnowemancipated,andpursuedhisstudieswithsucheffectthathewasmadeprofessorattheCollegedeFrance。HisLifeofJesus,andotherbooksshowingthesamespirit,broughtatempestuponhimwhichdrovehimfromhisprofessorshipandbroughtgreathardshipsuponhimformanyyears。Buthisgeniuscarriedtheday,and,tothehonouroftheFrenchRepublic,hewasrestoredtothepositionfromwhichtheEmpirehaddrivenhim。FromhispenfinallyappearedtheHistoireduPeupleIsrael,inwhichscholarshipbroad,thoughattimesinaccurateinminordetails,wassupplementedbyanexquisiteacutenessandapoeticinsightwhichfarmorethanmadegoodanyofthoselessererrorswhichaGermanstudentwouldhaveavoided。Athisdeath,inOctober,1892,thismonumentalworkhadbeenfinished。Inclearnessandbeautyofstyleithasneverbeenapproachedbyanyothertreatiseonthisoranykindredsubject:itisaworkofgenius;anditsprofoundinsightintoallthatisofimportanceinthegreatsubjectswhichhetreatedwilldoubtlesscauseittoholdapermanentplaceintheliteraturenotonlyoftheLatinnationsbutoftheworld。
AninterestinglightisthrownoverthehistoryofadvancingthoughtattheendofthenineteenthcenturybythefactthatthismostdetestedofheresiarchswassummonedtoreceivethehighestofacademichonoursattheuniversitywhichforageshadbeenregardedasastrongholdofPresbyterianorthodoxyinGreatBritain。
InFrancetheanathemaslavisheduponhimbyChurchauthoritiesduringhislife,theirdenialtohimofChristianburial,andtheirrefusaltoallowhimagraveintheplacehemostloved,onlyincreasedpopularaffectionforhimduringhislastyearsanddeepenedthegeneralmourningathisdeath。[488]
[488]ForaremarkablyjustsummaryofRenan’swork,eminentlyjudicialandatthesametimedeeplyappreciative,seetheRev。
Dr。Pfleiderer,professorattheUniversityofBerlin,DevelopmentofTheologyinGermany,pp。241,242,note。ThefactsastotheearlyrelationsbetweenRenanandJulesSimonweretoldin1878bythelattertothepresentwriteratconsiderablelengthandwithmanyinterestingdetailsnotheregiven。Thewriterwasalsopresentatthepublicfuneralofthegreatscholar,andcantestifyofhisownknowledgetothedeepandheartyevidencesofgratitudeandrespectthenpaidtoRenan,notmerelybyeminentoratorsandscholars,butbythepeopleatlarge。AstotherefusaloftheplaceofburialthatRenanespeciallychose,seehisownSouvenirs,inwhichhelamentstheenevitableexclusionofhisgravefromthesitewhichhemostloved。Astocalumnies,onemasterpiece,verywidelyspread,throughthezealofclericaljournals,wasthatRenanreceivedenormoussumsfromtheRothschildsforattackingChristianity。
Inspiteofallresistance,thedesireformorelightuponthesacredbookspenetratedtheolderChurchfromeveryside。
InGermany,towardthecloseoftheeighteenthcentury,Jahn,CatholicprofessoratVienna,hadventured,inanIntroductiontoOldTestamentStudy,toclassJob,Jonah,andTobitbelowothercanonicalbooks,andhadonlyescapedseriousdifficultiesbyampleamendsinasecondedition。
Earlyinthenineteenthcentury,Herbst,CatholicprofessoratTubingen,hadendeavouredinasimilarIntroductiontobringmodernresearchtobearontheolderview;buttheChurchauthoritiestookcaretohaveallpassagesreallygivinganynewlightskilfullyandspeedilyeditedoutofthebook。
Laterstill,Movers,professoratBreslau,showedremarkablegiftsforOldTestamentresearch,andmuchwasexpectedofhim;
buthisecclesiasticalsuperiorsquietlypreventedhispublishinganyextendedwork。
DuringthelatterhalfofthenineteenthcenturymuchthesamepressurehascontinuedinCatholicGermany。Strongscholarshaveverygenerallybeendrawnintothepositionof“apologists“or“reconcilers。”and,whenfoundintractable,theyhavebeendrivenoutoftheChurch。
ThesamegeneralpolicyhadbeenevidentinFranceandItaly,buttowardthelastdecadeofthecenturyitwasseenbythemoreclear-sightedsupportersoftheolderChurchinthosecountriesthatthemultifarious“refutations“andexplosiveattacksuponRenanandhisteachingshadaccomplishednothing;thatevenspecialservicesofatonementforhissin,likethefamous“Triduo“atFlorence,onlydrewafewwomen,andprovokedridiculeamongthepublicatlarge;thatthrowinghimoutofhisprofessorshipandcalumniatinghimhadbutincreasedhisinfluence;andthathisbrilliantintuitions,addedtothecarefulresearchesofGermanandEnglishscholars,hadbroughtthethinkingworldbeyondthereachoftheoldmethodsofhidingtroublesometruthsandcrushingpersistenttruth-tellers。
Thereforeitwasthatabout1890abodyofearnestRomanCatholicscholarsbeganverycautiouslytoexamineandexplainthebiblicaltextinthelightofthoseresultsofthenewerresearchwhichcouldnolongerbegainsaid。
Amongthesemenwere,inItaly,CanonBartolo,CanonBerta,andFatherSavi,andinFranceMonseigneurd’Hulst,theAbbeLoisy,professorattheRomanCatholicUniversityatParis,and,mosteminentofall,ProfessorLenormant,oftheFrenchInstitute,whoseresearchesintobiblicalandotherancienthistoryandliteraturehadwonhimdistinctionthroughouttheworld。Thesemen,whilestandingupmanfullyfortheChurch,wereobligedtoallowthatsomeoftheconclusionsofmodernbiblicalcriticismwerewellfounded。Theresultcamerapidly。ThetreatiseofBartoloandthegreatworkofLenormantwereplacedontheIndex;
CanonBertawasoverwhelmedwithreproachesandvirtuallysilenced;theAbbeLoisywasfirstdeprivedofhisprofessorship,andthenignominiouslyexpelledfromtheuniversity;Monseigneurd’HulstwassummonedtoRome,andhassincekeptsilence。[489]
[489]ForthefrustrationofattemptstoadmitlightintoscripturalstudiesinRomanCatholicGermany,seeBleek,OldTestament,London,1882,vol。i,pp。19,20。ForthegeneralstatementregardingrecentsuppressionofmodernbiblicalstudyinFranceandItaly,seeanarticlebyaRomanCatholicauthorintheContemporaryReview,September,1894,p。365。ForthepapalcondemnationsofLenormantandBartolo,seetheIndexLibrorumProhibitorumSanctissimiDominiNostri,LeonisXIII,P。M。,etc。,Rome,1891;Appendices,July,1890,andMay,1891。Theghastlypartoftherecord,asstatedinthiseditionoftheIndex,isthatboththesegreatscholarswereforcedtoabjuretheir“errors“andtoacquiesceinthecondemnation——Lenormentdoingthisonhisdeathbed。
ThematterwasevidentlythoughtseriousinthehigherregionsoftheChurch,forinNovember,1893,appearedanencyclicalletterbythereigningPope,LeoXIII,onTheStudyofSacredScripture。
Muchwasexpectedfromit,for,sinceBenedictXIVinthelastcentury,therehadsatonthepapalthronenoPopeintellectuallysocompetenttodiscussthewholesubject。While,then,thosedevotedtotheolderbeliefstrustedthatthepapalthunderboltswouldcrushthewholebroodofbiblicalcritics,votariesofthenewerthoughtventuredtohopethattheencyclicalmight,inthelanguageofoneofthem,prove“astupendousbridgespanningthebroadabyssthatnowdividesallegedorthodoxyfromestablishedscience。”[490]
[490]Forthisstatement,seeanarticleintheContemporaryReview,April,1894,p。576。
Boththeseexpectationsweredisappointed;andyet,onthewhole,itisaquestionwhethertheworldatlargemaynotcongratulateitselfuponthispapalutterance。Thedocument,ifnotapostolic,woncreditas“statesmanlike。”Ittookpains,ofcourse,toinsistthattherecanbenoerrorofanysortinthesacredbooks;itevendefendedthosepartswhichProtestantscountapocryphalasthoroughlyastheremainderofScripture,anddeclaredthatthebookofTobitwasnotcompiledofman,butwrittenbyGod。HisHolinessnaturallycondemnedthehighercriticism,buthedweltatthesametimeonthenecessityofthemostthoroughstudyofthesacredScriptures,andespeciallyontheimportanceofadjustingscripturalstatementstoscientificfacts。Thisutterancewasadmirablyoracular,beingsusceptibleofcogentquotationbybothsides:nothingcouldbeinbetterformfromanorthodoxpointofview;but,withthatstatesmanlikeforecastwhichthepresentPopehasshownmorethanonceinsteeringthebarkofSt。Peteroverthetroubledwavesofthenineteenthcentury,hesofarabstainedfromcondemninganyofthegreaterresultsofmoderncriticalstudythatthemainEnglishdefenderoftheencyclical,theJesuitFatherClarke,didnothesitatepubliclytoadmitamultitudeofsuchresults——results,indeed,whichwouldshocknotonlyItalianandSpanishCatholics,butmanyEnglishandAmericanProtestants。
Accordingtothisinterpreter,thePopehadnothoughtofdenyingthevarietyofdocumentsinthePentateuch,orthepluralityofsourcesofthebooksofSamuel,orthetwofoldauthorshipofIsaiah,orthatallaftertheninthverseofthelastchapterofSt。Mark’sGospelisspurious;and,asregardsthewholeencyclical,thedistinguishedJesuitdweltsignificantlyonthepowerofthepapacyatanytimetodefineoutofexistenceanypreviousdecisionswhichmaybefoundinconvenient。Morethanthat,FatherClarkehimself,whilestandingasthechampionofthemostthoroughorthodoxy,acknowledgedthat,intheOldTestament,“numbersmustbeexpectedtobeusedOrientally。”andthat“alltheseseventiesandforties,as,forexample,whenAbsalomissaidtohaverebelledagainstDavidforfortyyears,cannotpossiblybemeantnumerically“;and,whatmusthavegivenafearfulshocktosomeProtestantbelieversinplenaryinspiration,he,whileadvocatingitasadutifulSonoftheChurch,woveoveritanexquisitewebwiththedeclarationthat“thereisahumanelementintheBiblepre-calculatedforbytheDivine。”[491]
[491]FortheseadmissionsofFatherClarke,seehisarticleThePapalEncyclicalontheBible,intheContemporaryReviewforJuly,1894。
Consideringthedifficultiesinthecase,theworldhasreasontobegratefultoPopeLeoandFatherClarkefortheseutterances,whichperhaps,afterall,mayproveabetterbridgebetweentheoldandthenewthancouldhavebeenframedbyengineersmorelearnedbutlessastute。EvidentlyPopeLeoXIIIisneitheraPaulVnoranUrbanVIII,andistoowisetobringtheChurchintoapositionfromwhichitcanonlybeextricatedbysuchludicroussubterfugesasthosebywhichitwasdraggedoutoftheGalileoscandal,orbysuchatortuouspolicyasthatbywhichitwrithedoutoftheolddoctrineregardingthetakingofinterestformoney。
Inspite,then,oftheattemptedcrushingoutofBartoloandBertaandSaviandLenormantandLoisy,duringthisveryepochinwhichthePopeissuedthisencyclical,thereiseveryreasontohopethatthepathhasbeenpavedoverwhichtheChurchmaygracefullyrecedefromtheoldsystemofinterpretationandquietlyacceptandappropriatethemainresultsofthehighercriticism。Certainlyshehasneverhadabetteropportunitytoplayatthegameof“beggarmyneighbour“andtodrivetheolderProtestantorthodoxyintobankruptcy。
InAmericathesamestrugglebetweentheoldideasandthenewwenton。InthemiddleyearsofthecenturythefirstadequateeffortinbehalfofthenewerconceptionofthesacredbookswasmadebyTheodoreParkeratBoston。Athinkerbraveandofthewidestrange,——ascholarindefatigableandofthedeepestsympathieswithhumanity,——amancalledbyoneofthemosteminentscholarsintheEnglishChurch“areligiousTitan。”andbyadistinguishedFrenchtheologian“aprophet。”hehadstruggledonfromthedivinityschooluntilatthattimehewasoneoftheforemostbiblicalscholars,andpreachertothelargestregularcongregationontheAmericancontinent。ThegreathallinBostoncouldseatfourthousandpeople,andathisregulardiscourseseverypartofitwasfilled。Inadditiontohispastoralworkhewieldedavastinfluenceasaplatformspeaker,especiallyinoppositiontotheextensionofslaveryintotheTerritoriesoftheUnitedStates,andasalectureronawiderangeofvitaltopics;andamongthosewhomhemostprofoundlyinfluenced,bothpoliticallyandreligiously,wasAbrahamLincoln。DuringeachyearatthatperiodhewashearddiscussingthemostimportantreligiousandpoliticalquestionsinallthegreaterNortherncities;buthismostlastingworkwasinthrowinglightuponoursacredScriptures,andinthishewasoneoftheforerunnersofthemovementnowgoingonnotonlyintheUnitedStatesbutthroughoutChristendom。EvenbeforehewasfairlyoutofcollegehistranslationofDeWette’sIntroductiontotheOldTestamentmadeanimpressiononmanythoughtfulmen;