convenience in argument," while acquiescing in its condemnation by the
Church authorities, this encyclical of Pope Benedict broke the spell.
Turgot, Quesnay, Adam Smith, Hume, Bentham, and their disciples pressed
on, and science won for mankind another great victory.(457)

(457) For Quesnay, see his Observations sur l'Interet de l'Argent, in
his Oeuvres, Frankfort and Paris, 1888, pp. 399 et seq. For Turgot, see
the Collections des Economistes, Paris, 1844, vols. iii and iv; also
Blanqui, Histoire de l'Economie Politique, English translation, p. 373.
For an excellent though brief summary of the efforts of the Jesuits to
explain away the old action of the Church, see Lecky, vol. ii, pp
256, 257. For the action of Benedict XIV, see Reusch, Der Index der
Vorbotenen Bucher, Bonn, 1885, vol. ii, pp 847, 848. For a comical
picture of the "quagmire' into which the hierarchy brought itself in the
squaring of its practice with its theory, see Dollinger, as above, pp.
227, 228. For cunningly vague statements of the action of Benedict XIV,
see Mastrofini, Sur l'Usure, French translation, Lyons, 1834, pp. 125,
255. The abbate, as will be seen, has not the slightest hesitaion in
telling an untruth in order to preserve the consistency of papal action
in the matter of usury--e.g., pp. 93, 94 96, and elsewhere.

Yet in this case, as in others, insurrections against the sway of
scientific truth appeared among some overzealous religionists. When the
Sorbonne, having retreated from its old position, armed itself with
new casuistries against those who held to its earlier decisions, sundry
provincial doctors in theology protested indignantly, making the
old citations from the Scriptures, fathers, saints, doctors, popes,
councils, and canonists. Again the Roman court intervened. In 1830
the Inquisition at Rome, with the approval of Pius VIII, though still
declining to commit itself on the DOCTRINE involved, decreed that, as to
PRACTICE, confessors should no longer disturb lenders of money at legal
interest.

But even this did not quiet the more conscientious theologians. The old
weapons were again furbished and hurled by the Abbe Laborde, Vicar
of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Auch, and by the Abbe Dennavit,
Professor of Theology at Lyons. Good Abbe Dennavit declared that he
refused absolution to those who took interest and to priests who pretend
that the sanction of the civil law is sufficient.

But the "wisdom of the serpent"