of the Franciscans at Cologne, in the middle of the choir before the high altar: a handsome tomb was erected to his memory and the following epitaph engraved upon it. Ante Oculos Saxum Doctorem deprimit ingens, Annus Milleno ter centum cum adderet octo. Upon this tomb was also engraved the names of fifteen of the most celebrated writers of the order, who were thus classed; three popes, two cardinals, and ten doctors; of these last, six were English. An edition was published in 1474 of several of his works, by the English Franciscans, exactly ten years after the art of printing became known. He was a most voluminous author, having written at least twelve volumes in folio. Many of his manuscripts which have never been published are still to be found in the libraries of the different colleges of Cambridge and Oxford. Several commentaries upon his works have at various times appeared, generally written by the religious of his order, or by the English Augustin friars, who were great advocates of his school opinions, so much so, that Walsingham relates that one of them, Thomas Penketh, was so versed in him, and was possessed of such a retentive memory, that if all the copies of the works of Scot had been destroyed, he could have retrieved the loss by dint of memory. "The subtle doctor is the chief master of the Franciscans schools, and by a general statute of the order, all their readers in divinity and philosophers are bound to give out their lectures (ad montem Scoti)." He had nevertheless many opponents, amongst whom was William Occham, a friar of his own order, with his followers the Nominalists; but his scholastic questions were principally disputed by the numerous school of Thomists. His writings never betray the petulancy of the master, but such a spirit of humility and piety pervade his compositions, that the reader feels edified from their perusal, although he may not adopt all the positions contained in them: he generally commences and ends each treatise with a prayer to the Almighty, and in his De Principio every chapter begins with a devout raising of his mind to God. A writer, Paul Jovius, two hun dred years after his death endeavoured to cast a slur upon his memory by relating that he fell into an apoplectic fit, and being supposed dead was buried, although it afterwards appeared that he was alive at the time, for coming to himself he cried out aloud, and dashing his head against the lid of his coffin was actually killed; insinuating thereby that he had destroyed himself through impatience. But as the recorder of this event could cite no author from whom he obtained his information, the story gained but little credit, and soon became totally exploded. PROTESTANT MISSIONS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. (Continued from p. 278.) SUMMARY OF THE WHOLE. I Now draw towards the conclusion of my remarks on Protestant Missions. I hope that the premises have completely established what I undertook to prove, viz. that the Protestant church never has converted one infidel country, province, or town, to Christianity, and that their future prospects do not promise more success than their former exertions have obtained. To the Catholic alone belongs the greatest earthly honour that belongs to man, of converting nations. In these remarks I hope I have done some little service to the cause of true religion, by furnishing every Catholic with an immediate and irrefragable answer to all the boastings which Protestants are perpetually making upon this subject. In all conversations about missions, attend not to any words or assertions, or hopes or promises, but ask for the result,-demand of them the number of actual converts, and there is an end at once of the controversy. Perhaps it will be said that most of the foregoing extracts are taken from the report of 1820, and that great things have been done since. the report of 1820; but I equally true in 1830, and in It is true they are taken from have no doubt they will be found 1840 we shall have no reports at all. That up to this date, 1823, nothing new has happened in the Church society, I can establish. The circulating (that is the moden term for itinerant) preachers and secretaries are now (June) making their annual rounds in quest of money. The harvest is not so great as in former years. There is a great falling off in some places. I have attended some of these meetings, and the reader shall know the result. The first thing that struck me, but not with surprise, because I knew the reason, was the absence of all the regular established clergymen of the town. Evangelists, Methodists, Biblemen, Scotchmen, and Independants were there, and yet this is called the Church society. Another circumstance was, that the audience were chiefly females-and that the speakers as if tired or ashamed of addressing themselves to the understandings of men, told the females that their exertions were chiefly solicited. One step more is only wanted, which I shall expect to hear of very soon ;—that we shall not only have female collectors, but female missionaries, and female preachers; then the society will be perfect, and I shall not dare to quesion their success. The result of their exertions was thus stated at York, and afterwards printed by themselves, in The York Herald of May 31, 1823, as the speech of the rev. E. Bickerseth, assistant secretary to the London Church Missionary Society. He said, "First, he would give a general view of the state of the society by comparing it with its earliest years. During the first ten years of the society's establishment, only one mission was made in the heathen world; now the society had nine missions. In the first ten years only four stations were established, now there were between forty and fifty. During the first ten years the society only had four teachers, last year 24 were added, and the society now had 324 labourers; during the first ten years only 200 children were gathered together to receive Christian instruction, now there were between 11 and 12,000 children of heathen parents in the society's schools; during the first ten years the society did not know OF ONE INDIVIDUAL HAVING BEEN TURNED FROM IDOLATRY TO CHRISTIANITY, but amidst all these discouraging circumstances, they had persevered, and God had blessed their efforts; for now they had at least 1,000 monthly* communicants at the Lord's table, who were formerly idolaters or Mahometans; there was reason to hope the good work had been begun in the souls of 1,000 more; and 50 or 60,000 individuals were now receiving instructions from the missionaries. As the society had increased abroad, it also had at home; for after ten years labour, the sum gathered in all that time was only 15,000l. whilst last year alone that sum was more than doubled, as the money collected in that short space of time amounted to 35,000, which sum had been raised principally by the small contributions of the poor and lower classes of the community. During the first year of the establishment of the society it was supported by only 50 clergymen ; in the tenth year by 260; and now by 1,206, and also by four bishops. Mr. B. having mentioned two instances of persons having been led to reflect on the state of their own souls, by becoming subscribers to the society, he remarked upon the great good likely to result from the formation of a missionary seminary, near London, to which institution two friends in the city had already subscribed 50%. each. When we remembered that there were no less than 75,000,000 females in India destitute of the blessings of education, how cheering must be the intelligence that a zealous female had established 15 schools, in which 400 Hindoo girls were receiving instructions. The worthy secretary then mentioned two or three anecdotes relative to some of the converted Hindoos. One of them he would briefly notice. A poor converted Hindoo was expostulated with by one of his superiors, for reading the New Testament, and was asked how he knew it to be the word of God, &c. to which he replied that honey was sweet,t but he alone who tasted it could tell * At the Liverpool missionary meeting the word monthly was very conve niently omitted, and the blushing thousand modestly swooned away to six hundred. Must we, on witnessing such variations, tax the memories of the orators, or suppose that their statements are made at random, or according to the supposed credulity of their audience. This latter supposition is not a very safe plan, for it may perchance be, that some wicked Papist, with a copy of a former speech, in one hand, and a pencil in the other, is present noticing the discordances in order to expose them. Durst any public orator assert that there are 1000 monthly communicants in the whole Protestant city of London? And if he did, would he gain credit? "Honey was sweet!" Who does not admire the profound wisdom of this of its sweetness; a man who never did taste it, could not have any idea how sweet it was, however it might be described to him; and so it was with the knowledge of the true God. With respect to New Zealand, he was sorry to say, it was the most trying mission the society had. Two chiefs had paid a visit to this country certainly uninvited, and it now appeared that they had done so merely with ambitious views, to assist them to gain the sovereignty of the island. They had obtained guns, gunpowder, &c. in New South Wales, and had been carrying on a most sanguinary war, having destroyed 300 captives, and persecuted the missionaries for discountenancing and reprobating their cruel conduct. If the mission in New Zealand was the most trying, he was happy in saying that West Africa was the most prosperous mission ;-there 15,000 Africans were living in the worship of God ;* and in Regent's town, no such thing was now known as swearing, drunkenness, or Sabbath-breaking." The reader is thus in possession of their own statements in the twenty-third year of their labours-and all their converts, if drawn from the four quarters of the globe, like the elect assembled from the four winds, would not amount to 1000, some say only 600. I shall, however, take the larger number, and on that make a few calculations for the reader's amusement. 1st. The labourers are 324, which dividing the number of converts, 1000, gives a product of 3 converts and a fraction to each labourer, in three-and-twenty years!!! Let no one henceforward despond, nor insinuate that they are not improving, since it is on record, that they had not altogether one convert during ten years. 2dly, If the reader will turn to page 131 et seq. of this volume, he will find the Church society has above 40 places, in which there are one or more missionaries. Now if we portion out the converts in equal numbers, among these places, we shall find answer! Sir Isaac Newton himself could not have devised any thing more satisfactory. Women and children were listening, when this was spoken. *Were living in the worship of God." How conveniently this is expressed for one who hears without thinking. Are these 15,000 communicants? O no! Are they baptized? No! Then they are Heathens still. Very true, but still they are living in the worship of God, i. e. they are hearers, and attend the church with as much fidelity as they do the drill serjeant, when he calls them out to exercise, See our account of Africa, page 134 |