damental verities"
of Mr. Thompson are "the satanical delusions" of Mr. Johnson. In fact,
there is really less dispute among men as to the interpretation of the
Vedas, of Chinese chronology, or of Egyptian archaeology, than of the
Bible, which, to the eternal dishonour of Protestant commentators, has
now almost ceased to have any definite meaning whatever, because every
imaginable meaning has been defended by some and denied by others. It
is beyond dispute that the Bible, without an infallible Teacher to
explain its true meaning, will be of no use whatsoever as a bond of
unity.

If the unity, promised by God-incarnate, is to be secured, the present
circumstances of the case, as well as the actual experience of many
centuries, prove three conditions to be absolutely necessary, _viz._:
a teacher who is _firstly_ ever living and accessible; _secondly_, who
can and will speak clearly and without ambiguity; and _thirdly_, and
most essential of all, whose decisions are authoritative and
decisive. One, in a word, who can pass sentence and close a
controversy, and whose verdict will be honoured and accepted _as
final_ by all Catholics without hesitation. These three requisites are
found in the person of the infallible Head of the Catholic Church, but
nowhere else.

Experience shows that where, in religion, there is nothing but mere
human learning to guide, however great such learning may be, there
will always be room left for some differences of opinion. In such
controversies even the learned and the well read will not all arrange
themselves on one side; but will espouse, some one view, and some
another. We find this to be the case everywhere. And, since the Church
of England offers us as striking and as ready an example as any other,
we cannot do better than invoke it as both a warning and a witness.

Though her adherents are but a small fraction, compared with
ourselves, and though they are socially and politically far more
homogeneous than we Catholics, who are gathered from all the nations
of the earth, yet even they, in the absence of any universally
recognised and infallible head, are split up into a hundred fragments.

So that, even on the most essential points of doctrine, there is
absolutely no true unanimity. This is so undeniable that Anglican
Bishops themselves are found lamenting and wringing their hands over
their "unhappy divisions". Still, we wish to be perfectly just, so, in
illustration of our contention,