evident that she lived and died without ever having thought of going to
confess.

The deacon Pontius wrote also the life St. Cyprien, who lived in the third
century; but he does not say a word of his ever having gone to confession,
or having heard the confession of any one. More than that, we learn from
this reliable historian that Cyprien was excommunicated by the Pope of
Rome, called Stephen, and that he died without having ever asked from any
one absolution from that excommunication; a thing which has not seemingly
prevented him from going to Heaven, since the infallible Popes of Rome, who
succeeded Stephen, have assured us that he is a saint.

Gregory of Nyssa has given us the life of St. Gregory of Neo-Caesarea, of
the 3rd century, and of St. Basil, of the 4th century. But neither speak of
their having gone to confess, or having heard the confession of any one. It
is thus evident that those two great and good men, with all the Christians
of their times, lived and died without ever knowing any thing about the
dogma of auricular confession.

We have the interesting life of St Ambrose, of the 4th century, by
Paulinus; and from that book it is as evident as two and two make four,
that St. Ambrose never went to confess.

The history of St Martin of Tours, of the 4th century by Severus Sulpicius
of the 5th century, is another monument left by antiquity to prove that
there was no dogma of auricular confession in those days; for St. Martin
has evidently lived and died without ever going to confess.

Pallas and Theodoret have left us the history of the life, sufferings and
death of St. Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, who died at the
beginning of the 5th century, and both are absolutely mute about that
dogma. No fact is more evident, by what they say, than that holy and
eloquent bishop lived and died also without ever thinking of going to
confess.

No man has ever more perfectly entered into the details of a Christian
life, when writing on that subject, than the learned and eloquent St
Jerome, of the 5th century. A great number of his admirable letters are
written to the priests of his day, or to some Christian ladies and virgins,
who had requested him to give them some good advices about the best way to
lead a Christian life. His letters, which form five volumes, are most
interesting monuments of the manners, habits, views, morality, practical
and dogmatical faith of the first centuries of the church; and they