'_rely upon my memory. It
has failed me often; it may fail me again. But look at these
testimonials in my favour, and judge me only by them._' And the world
looks at them, examines them carefully; it at last sees that they look
suspicious, and that they may, very possibly, be forgeries. It ask the
Protestant Church to prove them genuine; and the Protestant Church
cannot.

But the Catholic Church comes to us in an exactly opposite way. She too
brings with her the very same testimonials; but she knows the
uncertainty that obscures all remote evidences, and so at first she does
not lay much stress upon them. First she asks us to make some
acquaintance with herself; to look into her living eyes, to hear the
words of her mouth, to watch her ways and works, and to feel her inner
spirit; and then she says to us, '_Can you trust me? If you can, you
must trust me all in all; for the very first thing I declare to you is,
I have never lied._ _Can you trust me thus far? Then listen, and I will
tell you my history. You have heard it told one way, I know; and that
way often goes against me. My career, I admit it myself, has many
suspicious circumstances. But none of them positively condemn me: all
are capable of a guiltless interpretation. And when you know me, as I
am, you will give me the benefit of every doubt._' It is thus that the
Catholic Church presents the Bible to us. '_Believe the Bible, for my
sake_,' she says, '_not me for the Bible's_.' And the book, as thus
offered us, changes its whole character. We have not the formal
testimonials of a stranger; we have instead the memoranda of a friend.
We have now that presumption in their favour that in the former case was
wanting altogether; and all that we ask of the records now is, not that
they contain any inherent evidence of their truth, but that they contain
no inherent evidence of their falsehood.

Farther, there is this point to remember. Catholic and Protestant alike
declare the Bible to be inspired. But the Catholics can attach to
_inspiration_ a far wider, and less assailable meaning: for their Church
claims for herself a perpetual living power, which can always
concentrate the inspired element, be it never so diffused; whereas for
the Protestants, unless that element be closely bound up with the
letter, it at once becomes intangible and eludes them altogether. And
thus, whilst the latter have committed themselves to definite
statements, now proved untenable, as to w